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Now that the dust has settled on the 2017 North Dakota Legislature, a group of lawmakers will return to Bismarck next week to begin laying the groundwork for the session set to begin in 18 months.
The 17-member North Dakota Legislative Management team will spend much of its meeting Wednesday prioritizing the slate of 2017-18 interim studies and to which committees lawmakers will be assigned.
Typically, about 40 studies are chosen for the interim. Fifty-two studies will be reviewed by the committee: 47 are optional studies and the remaining five are mandatory.
North Dakota Legislative Council Director Jim Smith said this was significantly down from the 111 studies that were whittled down to a total of 44 in 2015 for the previous interim.
Optional studies for consideration include looking at parts of the states K-12 funding formula, changing city and local election dates to November, wind energy taxation and the impact of a victims rights measure, known as Marsys Law.
Lawmakers will be sent questionnaires allowing them to identify their interim committee preferences. On June 13, a basic committee structure for the interim will be approved.
Sen. Ray Holmberg, R-Grand Forks, chairman of Legislative Management, said Wednesdays process is fairly straightforward. There routinely are requests to add items to the existing list of studies or add items to the scope of various studies.
One item that may be brought forward is to study the financial condition of the states 11 college and university campuses as part of interim committee work on higher education, according to Holmberg.
Its not on the agenda, but Im sure itll come up, Holmberg said of the matter of whether or not the Legislature should reconvene to take up some of Gov. Doug Burgums vetoes.
Republican leadership recently said nothing likely will be done about the vetoes. Holmberg said it could be a possibility that items, such as studying the Public Employees Retirement System, may be proposed as additional study items.
Anything that deals with social services is a priority, anything that deals with property taxes is a priority, Rep. Jim Schmidt, R-Huff, said.
Schmidt, whos serving on Legislative Management for a third interim, chaired the Water Topics Overview Committee last interim, which he said hed like to do again.
During the previous interim he scheduled multiple meetings that included the State Water Commission as well as visits to sites away from the Capitol, something he said more committees ought to try and do in order to gather more information firsthand.
I really think the interim committees need to be more active, Schmidt said.
Sen. Erin Oban, D-Bismarck, whos on Legislative Management for the first time, said further studying of behavioral health needs in the state will be important. Some strides were made in incarceration, but more will need to be done in that area, too.
I think we do our best when we dive into serious issues over the interim, said Oban, adding that any ideas developed that can help streamline K-12 education without taking away from services would be a positive.
Though not a member of Legislative Management, Sen. Dick Dever, R-Bismarck, said hed like to serve on the Employee Benefits Committee and see it more closely track whats being done by the PERS board of which hes also a member. He said to more closely track what the PERS board is doing could help heal a rift that exists between the House and Senate when it comes to the PERS board and the state employee health insurance contract.
"My faith has to do with it a lot. I'm still really the same person."
Elianna Vazquez, on how she deals with a Mandan home explosion in December that killed her mother and stepfather.
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"You park a car and you just leave it; next thing you know, the streets become a dumping ground for vehicles."
Bismarck Police Lt. Steve Scheuer, on why police typically enforce the 48-hour tow law.
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"It's not us versus them. It's we. We as a community, as a state, as a nation, must fight the forces of evil together and heal together."
U.S. Attorney Chris Myers, during a memorial service for North Dakota law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty.
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"It was a place you could just go. Other bars came and went, but it was the one that was always there. It was special, a place you could be comfortable in. You didn't have to dress up."
Noni Hoff, 53, recalling the Kokomo Inn in Lemmon, S.D. The building is being turned into an art gallery.
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"Personally, what bothers me more are reports of documents being destroyed and misreporting of oil and gas numbers. I don't know why there's such resistance to an audit. We spent thousands of dollars to find out what's going on. You'd think Oil and Gas would want an audit."
Attorney Derrick Braaten, on 38,700 emails at the state Oil and Gas Division that were deleted.
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"I appreciate the president's commitment to cutting the deficit and balancing the budget for the first time in several years. I'm also grateful we have a president that takes America's commitment to national defense seriously. That said, I believe some of the cuts requested particularly the drastic cuts aimed at the federal crop insurance program are misguided and fail to address the biggest drivers of debt in our country."
Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., on President Donald Trumps budget proposal.
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"This budget puts the administration's priorities on display. By slashing programs rural communities in every corner of our state depend on, it leaves North Dakota and rural America out in the cold. Some increases to defense spending are needed, but not at the expense of critical and sometimes lifesaving programs that support farmers, families and those across our state just trying to put food on the table."
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., discussing Trumps budget.
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"With the state of the oil industry, we're going to have less money to spend. Are we going to see a lot of work being done? Absolutely. We'll be able to see significant progress. There isn't a place in the state you can go where we don't have projects going."
Garland Erbele, the state's engineer, explaining that a lot of water projects will be tackled.
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"Joining the Navy was probably the biggest thing that set my course. I knew I didn't want to stack hay and feed someone else's cows for the rest of my life."
Mandan veteran Jerry LaFave, on enlisting in February 1966.
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"It's unfortunate that we got to that position, and it's really unfortunate that we're talking about this 10 years after the fact, but, I think that there are solutions."
Bismarck School Board member Karl Lembke, discussing the debt created when parents didnt pay their kids school lunch bills.
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"We didn't have the opportunity in the past because it was survive or die. Now we have the flexibility to look at our options."
Lignite Energy Council President Jason Bohrer, on how the Trump administration has opened the door to research on capturing and using carbon dioxide emissions.
Ansa Merchant, Tatil, Tatil Life have good year
Speaking before the start of the days business, bank director Timothy Hamel- Smith said Sabga laid down the DNA that underpinned the success and growth of the institution and its subsidiaries.
Reminiscing about the banks small start, Hamel-Smith said Sabga had a certain vision for the bank. Without that vision, we would not have been here today, not giving thanks for all the great work that is being done by our management. He understood that you had to go forward to grow. Or go backward. And yes, he pushed people to achieve higher standards in order to reach the point we are today, said Hamel-Smith.
Hamel Smith also praised what he referred to the deceased businessmans, Innate genius. One of the things about Sabga was that he had a certain instinct for business and that is not something you learn in a book.
He would not want us to rest on our laurels, or remain where we are, but to go for better and bigger opportunities in order to gain the ultimate vision that he would have had for this bank. Sabgas son, A. Norman Sabga was elected to replace him as chairman of the banks board in a meeting prior to that of the shareholders.
The bank and its subsidiaries, which include Tatil, Tatil Life, Brydens Insurance and Consolidate Finance Co Ltd, the latter two based in Barbados, had a good year which saw overall increases in profit before tax.
In a presentation, director Chip Sa Gomes revealed that the banking groups profit before tax increased 12 per cent from $297 million to $322 million. Profit attributable to shareholders increased two per cent, while dividends increased by 14 per cent over last year.
The group controls a balance sheet of $7.4 billion with a ten per cent increase in asset base, which Sa Gomes said, was reflective of the purchase of Consolidate Financial Co Ltd.
Chopping victim recovering
Police sources said while Garcias condition has been upgraded from critical to stable, he needs to remain in hospital under supervision by doctors as he is still very weak owing to major blood loss.
On Monday night, four men including a 17-year-old, forced their way into the couples home and chopped them.
The attack came after an altercation broke out between Garcia and one of his attackers over beach chairs. The four were arrested hours after the brutal attack and they remain in custody at four different police stations assisting investigators. A file is expected to be sent this weekend to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The men could face charges of murdering Lewis and the attempted murder of Garcia. Once charged, they will appear in the magistrates court.
Following the arrests, police raided the suspects homes. A car with bloodstains on the inside has since been impounded.
CJ given until Monday
Akili Charles, one of six men who last month staged a near-riot at the Port of Spain Magistrates Court, which led to the resignation of former chief magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a high court judge, has written to Arcie calling on him to rescind the decision taken at a stakeholders meeting on Wednesday.
At that meeting, it was decided that the 53 cases left in abeyance when Ayers-Caesar was elevated to the high court bench, will be restarted from scratch. A mere two weeks into her appointment as a judge on April 12, Ayers-Caesar resigned admitting she failed to inform the JLSC about part-heard matters she left behind in the magistrates court.
Charles attorney Gerald Ramdeen, in the letter to the CJ, questioned the source of the jurisdiction of the persons who met on Wednesday to make the decision on his clients case. He has threatened to file a constitutional claim if CJ Archie does not rescind the decision taken last Wednesday to have the 53 cases - including the one involving his client Charles - start over from scratch.
Ramdeen reminded the CJ that the jurisdiction to determine the manner in which Charles case proceeds _ was vested exclusively in the court hearing that matter, in accordance with provisions of the Summary Courts Act.
For this body, led by you Chief Justice, to arrogate unto itself the power to determine the future conduct of my clients judicial proceedings is unlawful, unconstitutional, in breach of the rule of law and violates the fundamental tenets of due process and protection of the law to which my client is entitled. Any decision intended to determine how the future conduct of my clients proceedings are to be conducted are null and void and of no effect, Ramdeen told the CJ.
He also noted that neither Charles nor his attorneys were invited to Wednesdays meeting or told about it beforehand.
Charles has been incarcerated at the Frederick Street Prison since 2010, when he and Chicki Portello, Anton Cambridge, Kareem Gomez, Levi Joseph and Israel Arnold Lara were charged for the murder of Cepep employee Russell Antoine at Covigne Road in May of that year.
Morvant soldier freed
In his submissions, Pierres attorney Lyndon Leu argued that the prosecution failed to prove its case as they were unable to bring any witness to testify that Pierre was driving dangerously before his vehicle crossed the median at the Churchill Roosevelt Highway in Trincity and crashed into a vehicle driving in the other lane.
Leu also relied on his cross-examination of police investigator Cpl Paula Hospedales who admitted there was damage to the rear of Pierres vehicle, which suggested he may have been hit from behind by another driver, causing him to lose control and crash. State prosecutors conceded on Leus submission that they had failed to prove their case.
Pierre, 36, was last assigned to the Regiments Camp Ogden base in St James, was initially charged under the Motor Vehicle and Road Traffic Act for causing 20-year-old Camachos death by dangerous driving. However, the charge was eventually amended to the lesser offence of motor vehicle manslaughter.
Tobago woman threatens action against AG
Attorneys representing Kadisha Romeo of Bethesda Road, Plymouth, have initiated legal proceedings against the State over the continued failure by the police to release over $30,000 in assorted currency seized from her since November 2015.
In a pre-action protocol letter sent on Thursday, attorneys Kelvin Ramkissoon and Sonya Gyan claim that Sgt Joel Forbes breached her rights when he failed to follow the order of a magistrate, who ordered that the money be returned to her in December, last year.
According to the letter, the money- TT$15,001, US$ 2,003 and a small quantity of other currency - was seized on November 20, 2015, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Senior Magistrate Lucina Cardenas-Ragoonanan ordered that the cash be released on December 14, last year, as there was no justification for the continued detention, but this was not done by Forbes.
Romeo is claiming that she had already spent $37,000 for legal representation to try to recover her money.
She is also seeking repayment of the legal fees as well as declarations that her constitutional right to enjoyment of her property has been infringed.
The Office of the Attorney General has two weeks in which to respond to Romeos letter.
Smith talks Tobago, CPL
Speaking prior to a news conference at which Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley expressed disappointment over Smith, the Sport Minister said, I was not in Tobago from the 19 to the 22 (of May). He said he received an invitation from the THA to attend its annual sport awards at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort last Sunday.
Smith said he arrived in Tobago at 5 pm last week Saturday, attended the event and also held discussions.
He left Tobago the following Monday at noon and returned to his office. Smith said he visited the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet although this was not part of his official agenda. Smith indicated that ministry and Sport Company officials made a site visit to the stadium because of upgrade work planned for that facility.
Smith also said discussions with the CPL are ongoing regarding the final being held in TT. He said Cabinet will take a decision when the matter comes before it.
House Speaker Bridgid Annisette George disallowed two questions from Princes Town MP Barry Padarath, in which he alleged that CNC3 and the Trinidad Guardian newspaper reported Smith as saying the final would be held in TT, at a cost of $1 million.
PM: Ferry owned by TT
As head of the Government, I want to apologise to the people of Trinidad and Tobago...to the people of Tobago in particular, for what is happening between the Port of Port of Spain and the Port in Scarborough.
We have to accept that it is far beneath what it should be and the circumstances are quite troublesome.
On a personal level and on a business level, people are in fact suffering losses because of the inability of the State to provided an adequate umbilical chord between Trinidad and Tobago. He said the situation did not develop overnight.
Rowley said when he returns from a state visit to Chile next Wednesday, he will have more to say on the matter. Rowley said while there will be some pain in the process, in the interim, the Port Authority should be able to rectify the situation in the not-too-distant future. Rowley said that in the long term, Government intends to construct a vessel that will be wholly owned by the people.
The Cabinet is looking into that at the moment. We are also going to order two fast ferries. But these not things that you order today and buy tomorrow. They have to be built and it takes a number of years. So, the intention is to own and operate our own vessels down the road. But in the meantime, we are going to either wet lease or otherwise obtain short-term leases to ensure adequate service while the two vessels - the Spirit and the Express are put on dry dock some time soon, Rowley added.
$5 million to families of slain officers
The minister said these people made it clear that they did not want their identities to be publicised and all parliamentarians should respect that. Dillon also said the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Task Force has not been disbanded. Later in the sitting, Deputy Speaker Esmond Forde cautioned Naparima MP Rodney Charles when Charles charged that the media was co-conspiring with the PNM to downplay crime in TT.
GRAND FORKS Its still an applicants market when it comes to jobs in North Dakota.
Despite continued challenges to the states leading energy and agricultural commodities, the unemployment rate was about 2.7 percent as of April, according to Job Service North Dakota. The jobs data, which coincides with spring thawing, might hold some answers for more than just job-hunters. Unemployment rates are being closely watched by economists tracking the fortunes of North Dakota, looking for signs of recession or growth.
As they look to the numbers, some of those professionals are drawing different conclusions while attempting to answer the question of just how to classify the states current economic position.
The state is, overall, weathering a recession caused by losses in its energy and agricultural sectors, said Dan White, a Moodys Analytics director and senior economist who compiles reports for North Dakota. That said, things might be starting to look a little brighter.
White said his data for April indicate an increase in year-over-year, statewide employment for the first time in almost two years.
Payroll (employment numbers) has been flat since last June, which seems to be when things bottomed out, White said. Weve been waiting since last year for things to turn up.
Much of that improvement is due to steady increases in rig counts in North Dakotas western Oil Patch. Though the count is still far below its all-time high, White said the gains are a good sign of life. Away from energy, he added that wheat prices are rebounding and ag commodities are generally performing at stronger levels than in the recent past.
White believes North Dakota is still in a recession, but he described the economy as having turned a corner. If the stronger numbers seen in April are sustained as a trend over at least the next three to four months, White says hed be comfortable saying the state has moved on from its sluggish post-oil-boom period.
Defining our fortunes
University of North Dakota professor David Flynn, chair of the universitys economics department, has been researching North Dakotas economy much as Moodys has. In fact, Flynn has taken aim in the past at the firms forecasting and the reports it has delivered to state lawmakers attempting to predict revenues while commodities were flagging.
Hes more hesitant than White to definitively answer whether North Dakota is in recession. The question is one Ive been struggling with for quite some time, Flynn said.
Thats partly due to the demographics of North Dakota. He also chalks it up to what he views as a lack of precision in defining an economic recession.
There are everything from precise, quantitative definitions to loose, more wordy definitions, Flynn said, characterizing the official, nationwide designation as falling into the latter category.
That national definition, which he says is informed by the National Bureau of Economic Research, basically outlines recessions as a sustained combination of negative economic growth and a significant decline in economic activity.
That decline is measured by several factors -- such as unemployment rates, gross domestic product and real income -- and would be required to last for at least a few months.
The NBER definition is pretty vague as far as Flynn is concerned, though he agrees North Dakota absolutely, without hesitation fits its criteria of recession. However, as he unpacks state-specific context, Flynn said hes more unsure if the label fits.
North Dakota isnt immune from quarters of poor or negative GDP growth, but Flynn said its not common to see two of those quarters consecutively. More often, he said, the state economy might alternate between better and worse showings.
All of this is also with the backdrop that labor markets havent shown significant kind of effects youd expect from recession, he said, meaning that even when the state experiences negative GDP growth, those losses are moderated by persistently low rates of unemployment.
Both economists point to those jobless rates as an important means of explaining the North Dakota economy. Across the state, the unemployment rate sits well below the national unemployment level of about 4.4 percent, a 10-year low for that statistic.
In North Dakota, the maximum unemployment rate in the past five years has hovered at about 3.5 percent and has dipped as low as almost 2.5 percent, Flynn said.
We jump from say 2.7 percent state unemployment to 3.1 percent and technically thats a 25 percent increase, so it seems big, he said. But there are any number of states around the country saying, Thats your recession? Well gladly take that, because theyve been dealing with high unemployment rates for a long time.
The low rates of unemployment enjoyed by North Dakota are believed by both men to be largely a product of the states demographics and a flexible pool of migratory workers.
White said the state is blessed or cursed, depending on your perspective, with a tight labor market, meaning that the economic limitations might be set more by scarcities of workers than shortages of jobs.
Staffing up across the state
At least in Grand Forks, employers might be finding it easier now to maintain a full staff.
Keith Reitmeier, leader of the Grand Forks office of Job Service North Dakota, said the county as a whole was down about 300 job openings from April 2016 to the same month this year. Grand Forks County isnt alone in that, Reitmeier said, pointing out year-to-date declines in Cass County and elsewhere in the state.
Thats not to say people arent looking for work. Reitmeier saw about 600 job-seekers at a recent employment fair and, according to a post-fair survey completed by a minority of the employers at the event, more than 80 attendees were hired as a direct result of showing up.
Reitmeier is optimistic about the regional employment offerings despite the drop in offerings since last year.
Things can flow in pretty large numbers when ... primary-sector employers are in a hiring cycle, he said. Employers, particularly those in the manufacturing or construction sectors, have told him the bar has been raised in terms of their standards for a new hire.
Job Service data show that unemployment rates remain low in most counties. Though some more-rural counties are showing rates higher than the national average as of May 22, Grand Forks County posted an unemployment rate of 2.2 percent and Cass County saw a similar level. Pembina County had the highest unemployment rate in the states northeast corner with a level of 4.2 percent.
In the Oil Patch, unemployment numbers maintained that low bar. McKenzie County, which includes Watford City, had a rate of 2.9 percent. Williams County, home of Williston, saw 3 percent.
Again, the economists say this is due at least partly to demographics.
You need to take into context the fact that you had a lot of labor migrate in to meet incredible demand during the boom, Flynn said. Short-term people had an easy out of leaving, departing when the oil economy peaked and started its decline.
He said the flexibility of that migrating labor helped the state avoid a hangover that might have contributed to higher rates of unemployment and other negative economic metrics.
We dont get that high, excess, unused labor which could have depressed income and labor -- rather, we have that ability to move on and get forward, he said.
Migration within the state also helped cushion the potential impact of lost jobs in the oil fields. White said declines in the west helped businesses in the east.
Labor markets in Grand Forks and Fargo were so tight, during the boom, he said. They had openings for workers and needed prospects to fill them.
The population exchanges between east and west might not have kept both sides of the state fully staffed at all times, but they did help North Dakotans find jobs where they needed them -- particularly when workers were leaving the oil fields in 2015-16 for comparably greener, cheaper pastures in Fargo and Grand Forks.
The labor flows are set within what White calls the two stories of the North Dakota economy as of late. He says the two major Red River Valley population centers have generally been humming along with a relatively steady pace even as plunging commodity prices hit other regions of the state. He attributes that to diversified local economies which are less dependent on energy and ag production.
Thats not to say the two cities havent felt the impacts of those hard knocks. Both Fargo and Grand Forks are in major agricultural zones. Both of their economies, diversified as they might be, are tied to some degree to the health of local commodities. And both have seen declines in the number of available state-funded jobs as the North Dakota government absorbs major budget reductions brought on by slashed state revenues.
Still, according to White, the relative independence from commodities in the cities economies meant they never really went into recession at all, at least as far as his data is concerned.
Its kind of a microcosm for North Dakota versus the rest of the country, and its one of the reasons why North Dakota has done more poorly than Colorado, Texas and some of the other production states, he said. For the majority of the state, it just doesnt have that diversified economy.
Kamla chides Faris
Her complaint was made under Standing Order 32(2).
She alleged the AGs statement had diverted the House from its business, was irrelevant and was an abuse of the privilege of freedom of speech in Parliament.
Persad-Bissessar also contended that the AGs actions were reckless and were a wilful and deliberate misleading of the House, alleging he had said things he knew or ought to know to be untrue.
Earlier, she said two top court administrators had refuted ministerial claims that a court appeal was fixed for hearing on the said Monday at 9 am. She alleged the AGs failure to apologise for his recklessness is an offence against the dignity of the Parliament and one which has brought this Honourable House into odium and ridicule.
Madam Speaker, in light of the foregoing, I submit that the Honourable Attorney General has committed a contempt of this Honourable House and with your leave, I hereby request that this matter be referred to the Committee of Privileges for its consideration and report.
Khan: NGC workers treated fairly
Responding to a question in the House of Representatives, Khan said most of these people were, connected to the aborted Beetham Wastewater Treatment Project under the former Peoples Partnership (PP) government.
He reminded MPs that the project was terminated after the Peoples National Movement (PNM) assumed office in September 2015. Khan said some of these people were administrative assistants while others were, displaced by offshore workers who were successfully re-deployed in 2016. Reiterating that none of these people were permanent employees, Khan said, NGC had followed best practice with this exercise, treating them as permanent workers under the Industrial Relations Act by affording them severance benefits. He added, No other company in this country has ever done that. Khan said these people will be provided with counselling and the move is important as NGC seeks to streamline its operations for greater efficiency.
Later in the sitting, Speaker Bridgid Annisette-George rejected respective requests from Couva North MP Ramona Ramdial and Caroni Central MP Dr Bhoe Tewarie to have the domestic seabridge and the closure of the Preysal Government Primary School, raised as matters on the adjournment of the House.
Ramadharsingh calls for healing after motion
Speaking at a news conference outside the constituency office of Lackram Bodoe, the MP for Fyzabad, yesterday, Ramadharsingh said the PNM councillors did not properly file the motion of no-confidence against him. The Corporation, which is controlled by the Opposition UNC, is almost equally split between both parties with the UNC having seven council members- (five councillors and two aldermen) and the ruling PNM which has six council members (four councillors and two aldermen).
During Wednesdays motion of no confidence, the corporations vice chairman, Leo Doodnath and the PNMs Gerald Debisette, the councillor for La Brea were absent.
The motion which was brought against the chairman by the PNM alderman Christopher Max Encinas was defeated with the help of Ramadharsinghs two votes in his capacity of Chairman of the Regional Corporation.
Ramadharsingh said he is now putting everything behind him and moving on to serve the burgesses of Siparia and environs. It is time for healing of Siparia, he said.
Activists attempt to ESCAPE Ecuador after suffering shocking ordeal
When activist Carlita Shaw first headed to Ecuador six years ago, she had no idea what was in store for her. She went to the South American country to work on biodiversity conservation projects in conjunction with Amazon indigenous groups, and while she accomplished a great deal, her stay there has recently been marred with harassment, torture, and kidnappings. [Note: Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.]
When Ecuador recognized the rights of nature in its constitution in 2008, it became the first Latin American country to do so. However, the same respect has not been shown to the indigenous people that live there and their desire to see an end to the rampant exploitation of the natural resources found in the rainforest, which is their ancestral land. Since then, the government has approved countless mega-projects, mostly for Chinese businesses, that include hydroelectric dams and large-scale mines.
Things have been getting progressively worse for the indigenous people there because of the mining and oil extraction. Shaw has written numerous works on these problems, one of which is a piece called Ecocide in Ecuador that was published in The Ecologist. In the article, she draws attention to the exploitation of the rainforest in the name of oil drilling and how it is affecting the thousands of species that live there. She has also addressed these matters in her book, Silent Ecocide.
Going into Hiding
In November 2014, indigenous activist Jose Isidro Tendetza was murdered ahead of a trip to the Peru climate talks, where he was planning to denounce the actions of the Chinese mining companies that were ravaging his ancestral home. He was an outspoken critic of the government of President Rafael Correa, accusing government agents of going back on their promise to respect indigenous lands and nature. He started receiving threats against his home and his life. Eventually, his crops and home were set on fire. His family last saw him boarding a bus for the protest meeting. His body was found in a river with signs of being tortured and tied up. Many believe the mining company he spoke out against so vocally was behind his murder, but little was done by officials to investigate his death.
This incident prompted Shaw to go into hiding, spending a year in voluntary solitude in the coastal jungle. She eventually decided to take a step back from writing about the petrochemical and mining companies there, and its hard to blame her given the horrific crimes they are all too willing to carry out to protect their interests.
When she took a job at an English school, she met her partner, Andre Piedro Leone, a like-minded activist who was also looking for a quieter life. He had worked with Newman, a South African professor who had been raising awareness about vaccines. He served as Newmans interpreter, giving high-profile interviews warning the public about vaccines on Ecuadorian TV, particularly the H1N1 vaccine.
Early last month, Andre failed to return home one day after work. Shaw found him unconscious and drugged in the school where he worked. Blood tests showed he had been drugged with the mind control substance scopolamine. Also known as Devils Breath, this dangerous drug is derived from the pollen of the Datura tree and is known for wiping its victims memories and making them compliant. The pollen can be blown into victims faces, rendering them completely programmable.
A week later, Andre was kidnapped again. After the police proved unhelpful, he eventually showed up on Shaws doorstep four days later early in the morning donning hospital clothes, covered in torture marks and signs of electric shock. He said he managed to escape captors who he believes targeted him because of his anti-vaccine work.
Trying to Escape
Now, Shaw is seeking help for her and her partner to get out of Ecuador as the situation has become untenable. Everywhere they go, they are followed by military and police, who threaten and film them. The embassies dont want to get involved. Andre is having trouble obtaining a passport, which they believe is another attempt by the Ecuadoran government to keep him under control. Past attempts to help him reach a safe house across the border proved to be unsuccessful, and the couple is now destitute.
She is seeking donations on GoGetFunding.com to help them fly out of the country to safety in an unspecified European Union location. Complicating matters is the fact that she also wants to bring her pets along. A self-proclaimed animal lover, Shaw says she has helped to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome nearly 30 dogs and cats during her six years in Ecuador. The only airline that will accommodate her two dogs and two cats on a flight from Ecuador to the EU is expensive, and shell also need to cover expenses related to their travel, such as blood tests, health certificates, and crates.
In the meantime, they are trying to stay safe and get all their paperwork in order as they wait for all the pieces to fall into place. In addition to financial help, they are also seeking assistance from lawyers and therapists who specialize in trauma.
Sources:
GoGetFunding.com
TheGuardian.com
NaturalNews.com
TheEcologist.org
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James Comey. Photo: Eric Thayer/Getty Images
Members of Congress eager to see memos written by former FBI director James Comey after his meetings with President Trump are going to have to keep waiting. On Thursday, the FBI denied Representative Jason Chaffetzs request to see the memos, which are thought to include Comeys description of Trump asking him to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. In denying the request, the FBI cited the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to run the probe into Russias election tampering.
Chaffetz, the House Oversight Committee chairman, did not respond well to the denial. In a letter to acting FBI director Andrew McCabe, he wrote that the purpose of the Congressional investigation is different from Muellers. While the special counsel is conducting a criminal investigation, Congress is conducting oversight of the Executive branch.
Congress and the American public have a right and a duty to examine this issue independently of the special counsels investigation, Chaffetz wrote. I trust and hope you understand this and make the right decision to produce these documents to the committee immediately and on a voluntary basis.
Chaffetz provided a June 8 deadline for the FBI to comply. Hes planning to leave Congress a few weeks later.
Kushner may need that flak jacket again. Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Senior White House adviser Jared Kushner spoke with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December about setting up a secret backchannel for communication between the Trump transition team and the Russian government, reports the Washington Post, New York Times, and others. The request, which would have established a line of communication beyond the reach of U.S. surveillance efforts, apparently led nowhere, but was still either extremely naive or absolutely crazy, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official who spoke with the Post. Neither Kushner nor the White House disclosed the extraordinary inquiry until March, but Kislyaks report t0 his superiors regarding the proposal was intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials. Also present at the Trump Tower meeting was former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who was ousted from the White House in February as a result of other undisclosed conversations with Kislyak.
Reuters additionally reports that the December conversation was one of at least three previously undisclosed conversations that Kushner had with Kislyak since April of last year, and that, according to six sources, there may have been multiple conversations between the two beyond that. Kushners lawyer, in response, claimed that Kushner participated in thousands of calls over that time and has no recollection of the calls as described.
According to the Post (per the intelligence intercepts regarding the backchannel request), Kushner discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring a suggestion so abnormal that even Kislyak was apparently taken aback. Since the only point of conducting such communications would be to avoid surveillance by the U.S. intelligence community, news of the request alarmed American law enforcement and national-security officials. Whats also strange is that the idea makes little sense since any visit by a Trump team official to a Russian diplomatic facility would have likely drawn the attention of the FBI, who routinely surveil such locations. An Americans use of such a facility could also potentially compromise the security of Russias communications methods, so its unlikely Moscow would have ever even considered setting up the backchannel in that way to begin with.
Ultimately, the Times reports that the backchannel idea was never followed up on by the Trump team or the Russians, and was dropped altogether after President Trump named Rex Tillerson the former Exxon chief with an already close relationship to Kremlin officials as his nominee for secretary of State.
According to three officials with knowledge of the discussion who spoke with the Times, the backchannel was intended for secret talks between Flynn and Russian military officials regarding potential co-operation in the Syrian civil war, but its not clear why such secret communications would have been required for that purpose. Obama administration officials told the Post that they were never approached by the Trump transition team about setting up a secure communications channel with Moscow, and any such request would have been unusual. The December meeting at Trump Tower was not monitored by U.S. surveillance, but while Kislyaks intercepted report appears to be the crucial source, it also seems unlikely that the Russians would have made up the details of the meeting as part of some disinformation campaign.
Trump and Russian ambassador Kislyak at a controversial White House meeting, requested by Putin, during which President Trump reportedly disclosed sensitive intelligence about ISIS. The meeting took place the day after Trump fired FBI director James Comey. Photo: Alexander Shcherbak/TASS via Getty Images
The discussion was not disclosed at the time by the Trump transition team, though it seems they did later disclose (and attempt to downplay) the meeting in March. The New Yorker also reported on the Trump Tower meeting in March, adding that the White House had said the purpose of the meeting was to develop a more open line of communication in the future.
Speaking with The Atlantic, Brookings fellow Susan Hennessy, a former attorney in the National Security Agencys office of general counsel, notes another troubling possible problem with what Kushner reportedly requested:
For employee-security rules, the U.S intelligence community treats visiting a foreign embassy like visiting a foreign country. Many of the most significant examples of U.S. espionage all occurred through foreign embassies. [] Like Flynn, theres the possibility that Kushner put himself in a position to be compromised, because the Russians knew he tried to set up a secret channel.
The idea of using Russian facilities to skirt Russian surveillance in the U.S. would either be a serious attempt to hide something or the actions of a young amateur, added the Foreign Policy Research Institutes Clint Watts, also to The Atlantic. Former acting CIA director John McLaughlan gave an even harsher assessment Friday on MSNBC, explaining that though he still wanted to know more about the exact content of the conversation, I cant keep out of my mind the thought that, if an American intelligence officer had done anything like this, wed consider it espionage.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from the Post or Times about the meeting or Kushners request on Friday; similarly, The Wall Street Journal was unable to reach Kushners lawyer regarding the story. Speaking with reporters on Saturday, current White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster said that he was not concerned about the reports, adding that we have backchannel communications with a number of countries, which allows the U.S. to communicate in a discreet manner.
A few days after making the backchannel inquiry, Kushner, apparently at Kislyaks request, also met with Sergey Gorkov, a Russian intelligence officer turned banker with close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Gorkov was one of the people sanctioned by the U.S. following Russias 2014 invasion of Crimea. Reuters adds both that the FBI is looking into whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump and that Gorkovs bank, Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, not only is under U.S. sanctions but also was implicated in a recent espionage case that led to one of its executives being jailed for spying. The bank has said that the meeting with Kushner was one of many conducted as part of a new corporate strategy.
Kushner did not disclose that meeting with Gorkov or the contact with Kislyak in his application for security clearance as a member of the Trump administration, which his lawyer has claimed was a simple error that Kushner quickly rectified.
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Kushner, who is also President Trumps son-in-law, was one of the Trump officials being investigated as part of the ongoing FBI probe into Russias intervention in last years presidential election. Kushner and Flynn were among the Trump associates involved in at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails with people linked to the Putin regime in the seven months before the election in November, according to Reuters.
Its also worth pointing out, again, that Kushner may not have had any idea what he was even talking about when requesting the backchannel and that wouldnt be the first or last time a member of President Trumps novice-stacked administration has done, said, or asked something bizarre and nonsensical. At least for now, there also continues to be no indication that Kushner is suspected of wrongdoing, or that he is even a central focus in the overall Russia investigation. It remains hard to see Kushners naivety clearly, however, through all the intensifying smoke produced by his lack of effort disclosing his interactions with people linked to the Kremlin, as well as his reported efforts to stifle the investigation into those contacts. Trump administration sources have leaked that Kushner not only pushed President Trump to fire former FBI director James Comey, who had been overseeing the FBIs Russia investigation, but also to retaliate against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for his decision to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an independent Russia investigation.
Furthermore, while Kushner hasnt been interviewed by the FBI yet, that doesnt mean he wont soon be. A source close to Comey told The New Yorkers Ryan Lizza that the FBI not having interviewed Kushner is either meaningless with respect to culpability or, pointing to the riskier side, the more likely that hes implicated, because the people youre really suspicious of you dont really interview until later.
yes. give them your money. :)
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Lol yes
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men are so stupid.
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idiots
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Thats what i was thinking
Like honestly, as much as I love Fury Road, i know it wouldn't have gotten as much success without the MRA complaining about the "feminazi" agenda
They're morons
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Exactly. Please buy tickets that go to PP. absolute idiots.
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I swear to fucking God. Someone needs to teach these childrenand conservatives more generallyhow to engage in civil disobedience. First off, they'll have to learn what actually constitutes a violation of civil rights.
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Men were a mistake.
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truly
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This accuracy.
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this
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Fact
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yes, they are
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We all start out female in the womb anyway so literally tbh
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Even God admitted it and had to make another person that wasn't a dude tbh.
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lol
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lmao
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oh my god
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lollllllllllllllllll
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Ain't this the truth
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yes
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Omg
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If/when my marriage to my husband ends, likely from him dropping dead of a heart attack in his 70s, I'm DONE with men. He's the last one I will ever give a shit about.
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If/when my marriage to my husband ends, likely from him dropping dead of a heart attack in his 70s, I'm DONE with men. He's the last one I will ever give a shit about.
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Omg
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honestly and truly
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We were all a mistake.
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This is a masterpiece. 10/10 would read again
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Considering the sad degenerative state of the XY chromosome, seems like the universe agrees lmao.
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mte
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oh good another conservative protest where they give money to the people they are protesting against
these people are not smart
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it's not just conservatives either, it's all men
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Straight, white males should experience real oppression one day. Let's see how those fucking pissbabies handle it then. Life must be nice if your biggest problem is a fucking women's only movie screening
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i hope i'm alive to see that day
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imagine if they faced 1/1000543534535634563463463th of the inequality and discrimination women face
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Apparently you hate guys making cute faces
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I need that shirt lol
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They're the fucking worst. Apparently millennia of missing out on everything is to be ignored because women want equality now and so MUST NOT HAVE ANYTHING EXTRA ELSE DISCRIMINATION!!
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Can men just like... stop? Just for a minute? Just...stop.
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A Yale School of Medicine study shows for the first time that a high level of testosterone, such as that caused by the use of steroids to increase muscle mass or for replacement therapy, can lead to a catastrophic loss of brain cells.
http://news.yale.edu/2006/09/26/elevated-testosterone-kills-nerve-cells
They'll never stop. Testosterone kills brain cells.
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i love this post
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How? They never ever shut the fuck up. It takes a millisecond for them to ruin everything. Like, they got no chill at all
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For me, it's like, yeah, sure you're technically correct, but you're still being a fucking asshole. JFC. Grow up. Not all things in life are meant for you, in spite of what you were raised to believe.
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Men literally don't want women to have anything.
It's sad that women can't even have a fun movie outing to go to without men crying about it.
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Must be a nice life if this is the only thing these men have to whine about.
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So, I kinda told my sister and my two female cousins that I'd go see Wonder Woman with them and we'd make a girls day of it (we did the same thing last summer for Ghostbusters), but one of my cousins doesn't get home from college until June 16th. And I don't want to wait that looooong.
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I might, but uuuugh movies are so expensive!
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that's the day it comes out in my country
you can wait bitch (jk)
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this makes me paranoid about something like what happened at that screening of Trainwreck happening again
I fucking hate men
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iirc in louisiana a man went into a screening of trainwreck and shot two people, a woman and a man I think, and the guy had some deranged postings about how much he hates women online
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Ugh, right? I was thinking that banning men from movie theatres is literally the best way to make sure no one's going to shoot up the fucking place, since that's exclusively a male pastime -- but of course, preventing them from doing anything at all that they want to do is likely to make them fly into exactly that kind of rage, so. Once again, we can't win.
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i've been thinking that for a few days now and i'm both depressed and relieved that i'm not alone in worrying. i hope all the women who see this movie get to do so in a safe environment.
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I've been worried about that too
At the very least I'm *postive* these screenings will have scumbag men just waiting outside EXCLUSIVLY to harass these women after they had a fun time seeing the movie
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I try to remain optimistic but it's always in the back of my mind :/
they cancelled the premiere next week in the UK and the Mummy one too, but not Dunkirk so it's kinda like... is it bc of the female characters...
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Unfortunately I've been worried about this as well.
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it's so fucked that men's issue w this kind of event is "BUT MUH FEELINGS" while women's issue is "will i literally survive this"
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I'm not American but I was in NYC for a couple weeks and decided to go see Snatched. Between having my bag thoroughly searched and watching the ads before the film asking the audience to be aware of suspicious behaviour in the theatre and look for the nearest emergency exit, it was a reminder that going to the cinema is not really a safe thing to do in America. I found it really jarring and confronting. Then I remembered the Trainwreck shooting and that the shooter specifically targeted Amy and her female audiences, and I got really creeped out and changed seats so I was closer to the exit :/ :/ :/
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Hope they aren't doing it to meet women because 92% of women there are going to think they're a douche
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lol perfect
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Their social media team deserves a raise!
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Lmao love it
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Love it
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Lol
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yasss
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wow their SM people are on point lmao
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i'm crying
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My queen Furiosa don't give a shit about all the yelling men.
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This is awesome. Now that we have an Alamo, I don't think I'd go to another theatre.
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omg they're so dgaf, I love it
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Lol still amazing
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lmfao
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Sooooo when is the virus that wipes out men gonna come to fruition?
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not soon enough!!
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I think his actions are going to encourage more perturbed men to go to the screening and that's fucking dangerous
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Even if he doesn't he's setting a dangerous tone...he's encouraging a lot of radicalize men to do this kind of shit and it could lead to something very dangerous
It's sad but I really hope the theater bumps up security that night
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Do actors only read like a page of a script when they go into an audition? I dont get how castings work.
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I've always wondered this bc casting directors don't always seem to get the right actor for a film, so I guess that would explain it.
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Gal mentioned 'sides' in this video, which are a portion of a script given to an actor to perform during an audition.
Sometimes, especially for open castings (like what Star Wars did for The Force Awakens), sides will be made up specifically for auditions that won't be seen in the film itself to prevent spoilers
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It depends really, lots of castings use different methods. A few pages of the actual script is the usual, sometimes a special script is written to avoid spoilers if it's a big movie. Ad-libbing is sometimes done (mostly for comedies) and occasionally they will use a completely different source, like Pride & Prejudice or A Doll's House or something, but ask to deliver the lines in a certain way/from a certain viewpoint.
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what did she think she was auditioning for?
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Seeing it on next Thursday
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Same, I cannot wait!
I'm so ready for women to redeem the DCEU and to finally get a good DC movie.
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Someone pointed out that the WW costume boots have wedge heels and now it's all I see.
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They do that to make the character taller.
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batman has the wedges too?
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lol i don't have any problem with the wedges, but patty came right out and said it's to make wonder woman's legs look awesome because that's her female perspective, that women want awesome looking legs
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Taking me back to this
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Ugh why?!
I can live with superhero boots having unobtrusive/low (2 inch or less) heels but other than that, fuck off.
Also I'm tired of the long loose flowy hair on women in action scenes. I get that it's the WW look but her hair is actually tied back/braided in Themiscyra and Muggle London and then it's all loose and whipping around when she's in battle gear, smh.
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I like that they're wedges and not heels like Anne hathaways catwoman. I can actually run in wedges. I don't know about kicking ass though.
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So does Black Widow
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It's stupid and ONTD defending it is really mind-boggling lmao WHO FIGHTS IN HEELS???
'It's to make her taller' GTFO with that excuse. Did they make Sir Ian wear stilts to make him look taller than the Hobbits in fucking 1998??? No? They used something called perspective??
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Yeah I had the same issues. IDK why though.
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not happening to me, but have you checked from a different browser?
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I got it on my laptop and my phone (different browsers tho the comments all showed once I posted a comment in response to OC).
I think it's prob lj fucking up again.
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Same here, but it happened in most posts I tried to read this morning
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yeah i keep getting it too
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e's the one who talks about how he was into bdsm till he met his wife because he respects her too much but still likes porn on twitter right
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bralesss
May 27th, 2017, 12:57 am (local)
Track This
yes
ReplyParentThreadLinkError running style: S2TIMEOUT: Timeout: 4, URL: ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/106369663.html at /home/lj/src/s2/S2.pm line 531.
Read more at ONTD: i just got it here:e's the one who talks about how he was into bdsm till he met his wife because he respects her too much but still likes porn on twitter rightReplyThreadLinkbralesssMay 27th, 2017, 12:57 am (local)Track ThisyesReplyParentThreadLinkError running style: S2TIMEOUT: Timeout: 4, URL: ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/106369663.html at /home/lj/src/s2/S2.pm line 531.Read more at ONTD: http://ohnotheydidnt.livejournal.com/106369663.html#ixzz4iIFEQ2F0
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yep I'm getting those errors too.
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I thought it was just me because my laptop is doing something weird lately
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I got it in every post I opened except this one lol
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I haven't seen that one, but I do get an error when I try to preview my comments
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Lol right below the replies to ur comment I see one.
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It's all the posts for me.
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It's not just you and it's happening on other posts too, the last couple of posts I commented on did the same thing w cutting off half the comments
I suppose this is where I could insert a joke about the Russians coming for us but that's way too close to real life w lj's new TOS so...
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oh I just got it in this post in this thread
Thanks
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same it's getting really annoying
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very inconvenient
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It was in every post this morning. I gave up on ONTD and went to go read a book instead. Came back and the error was gone at least.
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Yeah, same thing.
Seems to be ok if you refresh teh page, but that's annoying
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yeah i keep getting it in all the posts instead of the page navigation
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lol i just get that same error when i scrolled past down these comments :( booo
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Got the error in every post. Have to keep refreshing the page.
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i get the same error and it's a tad frustrating
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It's happening in every post for me. This one too, yours is the last comment lol
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Yep been happening to me at pretty much any page I look at and just started today
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I'm getting it too. It must be LJ?
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i cant believe all the crow some ppl, even on here, are gonna have to eat when reviews go up on monday
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That they think it's going to be bad or good?
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i'm referring to people who made a bafoonish spectacle of thinking this movie would be trash
see: john campea
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Wow, she is adorable af
I like that story :) so lucky!
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To think she was considering giving up on acting before all this.
Is she the new Viola Davis or something?
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How dare u disrespect Viola Davis like this.
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Never! I just don't understand OP's comment.
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Viola can act.
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It's a shame Gal Gadot is such a shitty person.
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I literally forgot that until I read this lmao.
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I wonder who else was considered for WW
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Emma Watson
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Um
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http://variety.com/2013/film/news/batman-superman-1200665552/ here ya go lad
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Reportedly, the final three were Gadot, Elodie Yung (subsequently cast as Elektra in Daredevil) and Olga Kurylenko.
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I like that there isn't some ridiculous age gap between him and Gal, fwiw.
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Yass werk gal
Haters are anti Semite
Edited at 2017-05-27 04:09 pm (UTC)
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why are you like this
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Because anti semitism, transphobia, transmisoginy, HIV/STD stigmatization run rampant in this website and it's not a secret?
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I almost got involved in an argument about the women only screenings of Wonder Woman on Reddit but I decided to delete my comment and flee the thread because I could see the direction it was going. Checked it this morning and it has hundreds of comments that are saying it's discrimination etc. I'm mad because this isn't even a fucking movie subreddit and also I hate men.
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I called out the asshole on twitter who bought the ticket and is bragging about it. He RT-ed me and for several hours it was just men screaming at me about reverse sexism. Men really are the worst.
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That's happened to me before, men hate women so much
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On one hand I'm laughing bc sure, of course men are dumb enough to think that giving sth your money is the way to show you object to it
otoh it terrifies me bc these 'reverse sexism' whiners exist irl and god help the women in their lives.
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That reads like a plot point from a Christopher Guest movie.
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Shades of What The Deaf Man Heard
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I love that movie!
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I mean, I know with auditions you tell them you can do whatever they want and then figure it out later but this is extreme.
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Yes Millicent Simmonds is deaf.
Tags added
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Welp, they proved they can act tho!!11!1
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gotta do what you gotta do to get the role. hustle bitches. bust those ear drums
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abled people trying to take roles away from disabled actors? i'm shocked
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Yes, stage parents are ruthless.
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lol fr
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lmao mte. julianne moore, jacob tremblay, ben affleck, fuck the entire lot of them.
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Isn't Jacob Tremblay what, 9 years old?
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Seriously
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ifkr
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To be fair they couldn't hear anything over the sound of their hustle
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Wow, that's messed up. :/ Give the role to a deaf person, please.
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He did
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oh man.
the other day i was waiting in a line with a visibly pregnant woman, and 3 of us had to literally convince her to cut in front of us, she was like "no guys i'll wait" and we were like "sis just go ahead!"
there's two kinds of people i guess
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Eww, that's so tacky. I remember reading an article about people getting so offended because a pregnant woman wanted to sit down on the train and no one would give up their seat for her! I usually offer to give up my seat to old people or pregnant women just out of respect.
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I had a coworker whose sister faked a whole pregnancy to get money out of dude. She never showed and had her friend who was a nurse helping her lie to him. That was honestly one of the dumbest men I have ever heard about.
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Wow. That's gross & rude as fuck, but that sounds like some crazy stage-parent thing to me. I wouldn't entirely blame the kids; they don't fully understand why that's not just 'acting' and is actually a really a disrespectful thing to do. That's just Mama Rose being determined for her kid to get a part. Ugh.
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tessa thompson played the role of a deaf girl but nobody cared~
stop giving ableds roles that are for disabled/deaf actors.
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There was some backlash to that though.
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here, on ONTD? this surprises me.
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*stage parents make their children pretend to be deaf to audition for todd haynes movie
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i'm just glad this isn't a "cute" anecdote like, ~and when this girl auditioned, she told us she was deaf, but then we found out the truth. we were shocked, but she was just that good, we had to cast her anyway! she was the best person for the job~~~
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The actress they cast is actually deaf!
It's sad that I'm surprised that they actually cast a hearing impaired girl for a hearing impaired character.
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no bb i know, that's what i meant! i was pleasantly surprised, this could be one of those classic "she lied about her age, we didn't know she was 15 but lol we cast her anyway" stories.
and mte.
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Yep, when I read the title that's how I thought the post was gonna go
So glad they didn't do that horseshit
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We even got a few girls who later admitted that they weren't deaf. It was pretty intense. It was a little bit of a shock."
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ugh
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Ick nast.
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Lmao, this throw back right now.
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lmao
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I wonder if they all feel sorry for poor Jana, an old maid at 27, or if they really just want her to stay single so she can keep raising all the younger brothers and sisters.
Edited at 2017-05-27 04:47 pm (UTC)
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Maybe both. She probably raised all of her brother and sisters, still is. Motherhood for her, been there, done that
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it's honestly like a Jane Austen novel at this point. like she's going to have to stay an old maid forever because of the scandal of her younger sisters being married before her. she is damaged goods.
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i wonder if jana feels the need to stay, in case something happens to the younger siblings.
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I've often wondered this, too.
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I bet the married girls are too busy wondering who the babysitter was left too in the will
These people have no souls
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#FreeJana Probably a mixture of pity for her and relief that they don't have to do all the shit she does.
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I've heard that her parents don't let her court, cause she's the Cinderella of the family and has to raise her younger siblings, she has no choice.
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he looks inbred
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This family is so gross, ugh
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Bahaha my exact comment
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looool great minds think alike
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This family is so gross.
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so sad, the betrayal she'll feel when she finds out that while she was away, someone else made a white trash fundie reality tv family post.
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Lmao the icon
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How dare she.
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Really sad
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"Child Bride Gets Sold To Highest Bidder"
good for Jana tbh, I hope it's her decision to stay the f away from the kind of men Jim Bob would select. I hope once Ma & Pa Duggar are old and decripit she peaces out and leaves Josie to wipe their asses.
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1. How is that fair to Josie?
2. I don't know that never having a day off and being unpaid labour for her gross parents is any better than having to get married.
It's so crazy that the only two options she has for her life are both incredibly sad and completely out of her control. Like what the fucking fuck.
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I wouldn't leave them to Josie to take care of them, I'd just put them in a home.
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i don't think josie can wipe her own ass. she is like 10 and they treat her like an infant. she will never be able to take care of herself
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i don't think any of them have
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none yet. people were holding out hope for a couple of them, but nothing has happened. :/
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Lol srsly how tacky is that
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Right? Like especially in this family! This is literally the ONE DAY in her entire life that gets to be *her* day and then this asshole comes and steals the attention from her
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Basically what I came in here to say, fucking bye.
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If I were getting asked, I'd be super pissed that now instead of it being our moment, it's at someone else's wedding... even if the bride and groom are okay with it.
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i would be too! definitely tacky to take away from the bride and grooms on their day.
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The men are taught in this family that women don't matter, so I'm not surprised at all that he disrespected his sister like that.
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Mte...height of tackiness
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lmao I knew someone this happened to, I think like after the rehearsal dinner (night before the wedding). It was the wedding couple's BFF couple and they were both in the wedding party. Mess.
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wonder what the deal w jana & john david is. this family bums me out so much.
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Honestly, I always figured they were there to 'take care' of everyone else since Jim Bob and Michelle can't be fucked. Like since Josh is a POS John David was forced to step up taking care of the 'family businesses' since he's got a fairly clean record, and Jana is forced to raise all the kids.
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John David lives his own life. He has a plane, works outside the family, doesn't even live there.
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This family is a plague
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"During Joy Anna's reception, third Duggar brother Joseph, 22, proposed to his...courtshipfriend? Kendra Caldwell, 19. The couple initially announced their courtship in March."
omg how fucking tacky
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i would be so pissed if someone got engaged during my wedding.
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The top loaded of the pic and I thought it was Bobby Flay LOL
Remember when we thought Jinger would save us all? Le sigh
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At least she gets to wear shorts now
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lmao i saw a post where her husband was basically like "look, wearing jeans is fine, youre not going to hell because you wore pants instead of a skirt"
apparently he and jim bob don't see eye to eye a lot
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U.S. has brought crude oil from 80 nations into its refineries
In the past 30 years, the U.S. has imported more than 91 billion barrels of oil, drawing from a large variety of sources.
The EIA began carefully tracking American oil imports in 1986, meaning there is now a significant amount of historical data. From 1986 to 2016 the U.S. imported 91.2 billion barrels of crude oil, in just under 244,000 individual records.
In total, the EIA lists 80 different countries from which the U.S. has imported crude oil.
The top ten countries are listed below by oil volume. These ten represent 86 percent of all imports in the last thirty years.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: EnerCom Analytics
U.S. has bought 17.3 billion barrels from Canada
Canada has provided the most oil to the U.S.a total of 17.3 billion barrels since 1986. Imports from Canada have been growing steadily, powered primarily by oil sand production. The country has been main source of imported oil for the U.S. since 2004, and has grown significantly since then. The U.S. imported more than 3,250 MBOPD from Canada last year, nearly triple the volume imported from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia is No. 2 U.S. oil provider at 14.5 billion barrels
Saudi Arabia has sent the U.S. more than 14.5 billion barrels of oil since 1986. Its the U.S.s second-largest oil source. Imports from the OPEC leader are falling however, gradually declining from the peak 1,726 MBOPD America received in 2003. In 2016, the U.S. imported 1,097 MBOPD from the kingdom, making it our current second-largest oil source.
Mexico is No. 3 at 12.1 billion barrels
Perhaps more surprising is third place: Mexico. At 12.1 billion total barrels, Mexico was actually the primary import partner of the U.S. back in 1986, and has always been in the top five sources. Production from the country has been declining in recent years however, and lower supply combined with growth in U.S. shale production mean Mexican oil exports to the U.S. have been decreasing. Current export rates are down nearly two thirds from their peak in 2004.
Venezuela has sold the U.S. 11.9 billion barrels, the fourth largest source of crude oil
Despite occasionally rocky relationships with the U.S., Venezuela has been Americas fourth-largest source of oil since 1986. The heavy oil producer has provided the U.S. with about 11.9 billion barrels of oil over the last thirty years. In 1996 and 1997 Venezuela ranked first among Americas oil import partners. Like Mexico, however, imports from Venezuela are currently declining. Venezuelas current economic troubles and unrest will likely push imports down further.
Shale production forces out Nigerian oil, the U.S.s fifth largest crude source at 7.8 billion barrels
Rounding out the top five is Nigeria, which was once the second-largest provider of oil to the U.S. The African nation has sent the U.S. about 7.8 billion barrels of oil in the last three decades. Imports from Nigeria are typically lighter crude, similar in grade to the oil produced in U.S. shale operations. The shale boom quickly forced Nigeria out of the U.S. market, as unconventional crude flooded the market. In 2010, the U.S. imported 983 MBOPD of oil from Nigeria. Only four years later, though, this value had fallen to merely 58 MBOPD, a drop of 94 percent. This situation is not likely to change any time soon, as U.S. shale is projected to grow significantly in 2017.
North Sea production in decline
Iraq, Angola, Colombia, Kuwait and the UK represent the 6th through 10th largest sources of oil for the U.S. Of these, the UK has seen the largest change in production. Imports from the North Sea, or the UK and Norway combined, were once a major source of oil for the U.S. In 2002, the two countries exported 753 MBOPD of oil to the U.S. Like many other oil trade partners of the U.S., however, declining production has sharply decreased imports. In 2014, the U.S. imported only 19 MBOPD from the UK and Norway, representing a decline of 97 percent.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: EnerCom Analytics
Several unexpected nations
The list of sources of oil for the U.S. also includes several countries that might be surprising.
Trinidad and Tobago ranks relatively high in volume delivered to the U.S. due to a quirk in regulations. Many American ports are too small to accommodate the largest supertankers that are most economic to transfer oil over long distances. To get around this, it is common to offload large tankers onto smaller ships, which then take the oil to the port. In such situations, the country in which the large tanker is flagged is often recorded as the source of the oil. Related: Is The U.S. Getting Left Behind In The Renewable Race?
Trinidad and Tobago is a popular country to register vessels, inflating its ranking as an oil trade partner.
(Click to enlarge)
Source: EIA
Sweden is another unexpected import partner, but the Scandinavian nation has sent the U.S. 266,000 barrels of oil. Kyrgyzstan, a landlocked nation in the heart of Asia, has provided the U.S. with 601,000 barrels of oil despite being more than 1,000 miles from any ocean.
Ras Al Khaymah and Ajman are two sources of oil on the DOE import roster. Both are individual emirates in the UAE.
Perhaps the oddest source of oil is listed as Neutral Zone. This most likely refers to the Saudi-Kuwaiti neutral zone, the southern section of Kuwait. The U.S. received 3.3 million barrels from this area in early 1988.
This article is second in a series looking at the volume and nature of oil imported by the U.S. and the impact of U.S. shale on the dynamics of the industry. In follow-up stories, we will examine imports from OPEC members specifically.
By Oil and Gas 360
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Goldman Sachs analysts have warned that OPECs job is not over with the announcement of an extension to its November agreement. Now the group needs to convince markets that even with the cut, U.S. shale output growth can maintain the global glut, with a view to curbing capital inflows into shale production.
OPEC needs to create a credible threat that the oil market may return into surplus to finally slow the capital inflows into shale. This could be achieved by both expressing the goal of growing future production, and gradually ramping up production to grow market share but keep stocks stable and backwardation in place.
Its difficult to say how the latter part of this advice can be accomplished, especially with global inventories still above the five-year average, which OPEC has set as a goal. Whats more, Asian refiners are saying, according to Bloomberg, that OPEC members are already seeing their regional market share diminish as a result of the initial cuts. The decline will most likely continue, and any sign of a ramp-up in production in any non-exempt OPEC member will sound an alarm, further pressuring prices.
Crude oil prices fell by around 5 percent after OPEC announced the cut yesterday at its Vienna meeting, as traders and investors were disappointed as hopes were dashed that OPEC would cut production more deeply, instead of just for longer.
Also, Libya and Nigeria remained exempted from the cut, with both countries having made public their plans to further boost their oil output into seven-figure territory before the end of the year. Non-OPEC producers besides the U.S., such as Canada and Brazil, are also expanding their output.
In this context, OPECs task, as suggested by Goldman, to push prices up, keep stockpiles within reasonable limits, and maintain market share looks very much like OPEC trying to both have their cake and eat it, too. Perhaps Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton was correct when he said yesterday that The days of OPEC using oil supplies and prices as a political weapon are gone.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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It was about time big data entered the lives of Big Oil. Yet its not happening exactly as expected. Oil companies are not making a mad dash to collect and process unstructured data in order to make sense of it and use it to expand or improve their business. No, its individuals and startups that are leveraging the potential of these unstructured data to supply it in a structured and useful way to oil traders.
The oil industry is notoriously opaque, especially those parts of it that are grouped in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Iran does not release information about its tanker loads, for example. China does not release updates about its oil reserves. Yet this is information that, like the EIAs weekly petroleum updates, can push prices up or down very quickly.
So far, there have been a few large providers of these data, such as Bloomberg and Thomson Reuters. Now, there are startups popping up all over the place, using algorithms to collect and make sense of shipping data, tanker tracking info, news, reports, and customs data, writes Georgi Kantchev for the Wall Street Journal.
One of these newcomers is Kayrros, which says its mission is to enable smarter investment decisions in the energy industry. The company says it combines analysis of satellite images and social news with financial and technical data to complete this mission, using data science, machine learning, and advanced mathematical models.
Another startup, Vortexa, says on its website that it is helping traderslarge and successful onesto beat their rivals by providing them with real-time market data on oil flows. The company says it collects information from billions of data points and hundreds of sources and interprets it by using artificial intelligence.
In short, Kayrros and its peers are doing what the oil industry does, only with data instead of crude oil and gas. They explore for it, then extract and process it, and then they turn it into a refined product that fuels, in their case, informed decisions.
The proliferation of these new data-crunchers highlights two things. One, how far technology has gone in the last few years, making it possible for all these massive data to be gathered, processed, and interpreted in a meaningful way. And two, what hunger there is among traders and investors for reliable oil data.
Oil is the most traded commodity in the world. It is likely that it will continue to be so in the observable future. These trades are based on information and there is too often not enough of it or it is unreliable. And even unreliable information, such as unconfirmed reports or a short remark from an oil official from OPEC, for example, can move prices up or down. Related: Is The U.S. Getting Left Behind In The Renewable Race?
The hunger is for abundant and reliable data and these companiesand several million of individuals united on Twitter by the hashtag #OOTTare providing it. The #OOTT story is quite fascinating, actually. One man from Sweden started it all. Samir Madani started mining oil data for his own trading purposes: the large data providers are not cheap. Soon, the enterprise grew thanks to Twitter, where Madani created the Organization of Oil Trading Tweeters, or #OOTT, as a way of bringing together individual traders like him and relevant oil information. As anyone who follows Madani on Twitter knows, Madani lives, eats, and breathes oil. Madani, along with Lisa Ward, has also created a groundbreaking tanker-tracking website, TankerTrackers.com, which offers free tanker data to anyone interested--their only request is that the data, if published, is credited.
The power of this data should not be underestimated by the industry. Traders are hungry for this data that has until now played hard to get, but interest in the data from the websitethe only free one of its kindis growing at a rapid pace. This website is the first in a new way of doing things, and the oil industry will have to adjust to this new trend as information is now, more than ever, at-the-ready for traders, and sentiment will take a backseat to facts when it comes to making trading decisions.
So, the world of oil is changing in more ways than just new production technology and another OPEC deal. The world of oil has seen the light coming from big data. While the industry itself must still catch up with the bigger big data trend, those trading with their products are ahead thanks to the influx of more affordable and even free information resources.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
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Uzbekistan revealed in late April that it had begun building a new $2.2 billion oil refinery that would produce fuel for sale domestically and abroad.
Official news sources stated perfunctorily that oil supply agreements had already been reached with Kazakhstan and Russia, although the finer details still in fact need to be decided.
The ambition is formidable.
The refinery being built in the Jizzakh province, which lies adjacent to the South Kazakhstan Region, is being designed to process up to 5 million tons of oil annually, an almost 50 percent increase on Uzbekistans existing refining capacity. It will when completed turn out 3.7 million tons of gasoline, more than 700,000 tons of aviation fuel and 300,000 tons of associated products. Completion of the project is slated for 2022.
The location was chosen with supplies from the north in mind. A representative with state-owned holding company Uzbekneftegaz told RIA-Novosti news agency earlier this month that a 95-kilometer pipeline is to be built to plug into an existing route from Siberia to southern Kazakhstan.
We have agreed with Kazakhstan to extend the [3,100-kilometer] Omsk-Pavlodar-Shymkent pipeline into our territory. It will be sufficient to build 95 kilometers worth of pipeline, and then [5 million tons of oil per year] will flow into Uzbekistan," the company representative said.
The unnamed Uzbekneftegaz official may have been running ahead of himself by implying that all the oil for the Jizzakh refinery would come from Russia and Kazakhstan, but the remarks are suggestive all the same.
Building the pipeline will obviate the current reliance of railway transportation and should bring down costs substantially. Uzbekneftegaz estimates that it currently bears costs of between $150 and $250 for every ton of oil imported into Uzbekistan by train. Related: Is The U.S. Getting Left Behind In The Renewable Race?
Uzbekistan already has three refineries AltyAryk NPZ, Ferghana NPZ and Bukhara NPZ that can collectively process up to around 11 million tons of oil. In planning that certainly made more sense in Soviet times, when all the Central Asian republics had closely integrated economies, AltyAryk NPZ and Ferghana NPZ were built a mere 30 kilometers from one another, positioned conveniently in the regionally central Ferghana Valley. As a result, the sight of convoys of oil trucks plying their way from central Uzbekistan to the Ferghana Valley, day and night, has long been a common one. Notably, the convoys are routinely accompanied by police cars, not so much for their protection, say people living along the route, but to ensure the truck drivers are not tempted to pilfer fuel as a way of supplementing their income.
The figures for capacity at those refineries is only theoretical, however. At the moment, shortage of crude supplies means that the plants are only operating at 60 percent of their potential. The knock-on effect of that are the regular gasoline shortages that blight the lives of the countrys motorists. That in turn has led to the flourishing of a vibrant black market trade that enriches black market traders but hits regular people hard in the pocket.
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has already reached tentative agreements with Russia and Kazakhstan separately on the future supply of oil.
But that issue is still object of some discussions between officials in those nations. The energy ministers of Russia and Kazakhstan met in Moscow on May 25 to discuss the question of Kazakhstan serving as a transit point for Russian oil, and how exactly that would happen.
Inevitably, there are some politics involved. Back in April, one analyst speaking to Russian news agency Sputnik said that work was underway in Moscow on finding a way to supply Uzbekistan with duty-free oil, but only on condition Tashkent agrees to entertain joining the Russian-dominated Eurasian Economic Union. Related: Trump Aims To Scrap Gulf Coast Oil Royalties
This project [to supply Russian oil] is promising because Uzbekistan could become a full-fledged member of the [Eurasian Economic Union]. That is the context in which there are discussions going on about the delivery of levy-free Russian oil in relatively small amounts, said Alexander Pasechnik, an analyst with the Moscow-based National Energy Security Fund think tank.
Still, the Pavlodar-Shymkent pipeline is pumping well below its design capacity around 25 million tons of oil annually which gives Uzbekistan some leeway for negotiation. Even once the overhaul of Kazakhstans three refineries is completed, annual oil processing capacity there will, to go by remarks made by Energy Minister Kanat Bozumbayev in March, reach 17.5 million tons. And one of those refineries, in Atyrau, draws its crude supplies from reserves in western Kazakhstan and therefore has no impact on the Pavlodar-Shymkent route.
If Uzbekistan can really bring its new refinery online within the promised timeframe, this all makes for a promising picture, but it would be naive not to expect some bumps along the way.
By Eurasianet
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OK, so how close are Iraqi Kurds to establishing their own independent state in Northern Iraq? In this article, Gallia Lindenstrauss and Adrien Cluzet analyze the myriad factors that have to be addressed if a truly autonomous or South Sudan-like homeland is to appear. In all cases, our authors are confident that such an entity would be pro-Western, have a favorable attitude towards Israel, and remain lukewarm to the idea of creating a Greater Kurdistan
In February 2016, Masoud Barzani, President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, announced his desire to hold a referendum among Iraqi Kurds on the issue of independence. While he did not promise that the results would dictate an immediate declaration of independence, he did state that such a referendum will reveal the wish of the people, and will be realized at the appropriate time and circumstances.1 An informal referendum already took place in 2005, in which 99 percent of those who voted supported independence, and the idea for a formal referendum surfaced in 2014. A referendum is likely to result in a sweeping majority of Kurds favoring an independent state. As Mustafa and Aziz note, The idea of having a sovereign Kurdistan is so popular that it is hard to find a single Kurd who would oppose it.2 Hence the question arises, what will be Barzanis steps following such a vote. Opposition elements inside the Kurdish Region have charged that Barzani will use the referendum to bolster his own legitimacy as president. Yet irrespective of his political ambitions, the Iraqi Kurds aspiration for independence is strong.
This article examines how far the Iraqi Kurds have moved toward gaining independence and establishing a Kurdish independent state in northern Iraq, and will assess the likelihood of Barzani declaring independence. Beyond the issue of the Iraqi Kurds demands for self-determination, these questions bear on the fear of Kurdish independence that has been a long-time concern for countries with a significant Kurdish minority in the region; many have invested much effort in quelling such ambitions. With the weakening of Baghdads central authority and the prominent role of the Kurds in the struggle against the Islamic State, never has Iraqi Kurdish independence been discussed so much. As to political orientation, a Kurdish independent state in northern Iraq will likely be a pro-Western state with a favorable attitude toward Israel.3
The article will address the issues of political unity and institution building, economy and energy dimensions, the situation of the security forces, and the level of international support for the idea of independence, in order to assess the viability of an independent entity, if indeed the Iraqi Kurds move toward it. A unilateral declaration of independence is a possible but not likely prospect for the Kurdish Region. Another way for the region to gain independence is by agreement with Baghdad (a type of South Sudan model), or if Iraq as a state completely disintegrates.4 Indeed, in March 2017 President Barzani said, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia have faded away, as happens today to the legacy of Sykes-Picot.5 There is also the possibility of the Kurdish Region gaining independence and trying to form a greater Kurdistan, but this seems to be a very unlikely scenario and hence will not be discussed.
Political Unity and Institution Building
Of the many challenges to political unity that have long confronted Iraqi Kurdistan, most still exist. In 2005, the new Iraqi federal constitution granted the Kurdish region a legal autonomous status. It stipulated that Kurdistans institutions exercise legislative and executive authority in many areas, including allocating the Regional budget, policing and security, education and health policies, natural resources management and infrastructure development.6 This power extends over four governorates (Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Dohuk, and Halabja) of Iraqi Kurdistan. The parliamentary regime of the region gives powers to the President, elected by universal suffrage, and to the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the elected Parliament.
Despite this relative institutional emancipation, however, the Kurdistan Region has never been fully able to gather together the different Kurdish parties and reach fundamental agreement on many issues. These difficulties, regularly exploited by external powers, are partly related to the tribal division in Kurdish society. It has proven difficult to deepen political unity because of some clan differences, and the lack of political unity is also linked to the various spoken dialects; the two main dialects are Sorani (Arabic script) and Kurmanji (Latin script). At the same time, most Kurds understand both dialects,7 and in any case, tribal divisions and dialect differences, while hindering unity, have not prevented other states from forming or from basic performance. In addition, from 2014, the advances of the Islamic State have acted to some degree as a unifying element, although as the organization has weakened, its unifying effect has decreased.
These divisions were one of the main reasons behind the civil war among the Kurds in the 1990s, bringing into conflict the KDP (Kurdistan Democratic Party) and the PUK (Patriotic Union of Kurdistan). The memory of this civil war resonates in the region, the scars are still palpable, and the Iraqi Kurds want to avoid a return to domestic conflict. The KDP was established in 1946, thanks to Soviet-backing against the Iraqi and Iranian monarchies. Now based in Erbil, capital of the Kurdish Region, it is considered the most influential party within the region, thanks to the role of both President Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani. The PUK was born out of a split in the KDP in 1975 and since its creation has been based in Sulaymaniyah. Its formation was inspired by Ibrahim Ahmad, former member and intellectual of the KDP-I (the Iranian branch of the KDP), and the Talabani family influence in it is very strong.8
Today, the main differences between these two parties are fanned by recent political developments. Beyond the inheritance of divisions and conflicts, the PUK accuses Barzani of not respecting the democratic game, and denounces the illegality of Barzanis continuing role as President.9 This division has caused the blocking of any presidential election since 2013 (postponed to 2015, then to 2017). Moreover, the 2013 parliamentary election gave rise to a new political party. The Gorran (Change) party, which defines itself as opposed to the ruling two-party coalition (PUK-KDP), came second (after the KDP and before the PUK), highlighting a possible evolution of Kurdish society vis-a-vis this inner crisis. Others, however, claim that the rise of Gorran mostly reflects a division within the PUK.10 These elections also gave 12 parliamentary seats (out of the 100 seats that were open)11 to three Islamist parties, thereby indicating the growing importance of the Sunni identity.
The regional positioning of the Kurdish Region, between various spheres of influence and within a country at war for almost 15 years, makes achieving political stability difficult. This instability and intra-societal differences complicate the task of strengthening democratic institutions. In the various fields where the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has the freedom to act, the government has had difficulties in finding a political consensus and in legitimizing newly founded domestic institutions. These difficulties are also related to problems of corruption and nepotism in the Kurdish Region. The KRG has planned a deep restructuring of the current institutions and their operations for 2017, and it remains to be seen if it succeeds in this goal.
Energy and Economy
In the post-Saddam period, many international oil companies arrived in the Kurdish region,12 perceived as the last big onshore easy oil province.13 Still, while oil revenues have facilitated the economic development of the region, the previous estimations regarding the Kurdistan Regions oil and gas reserves have overstated the amount of exploitable resources.14 If the Kurdistan Region declares independence without a prior agreement with Baghdad and issues concerning the legality of the regions oil exports remain unresolved, it is likely that uncertainty will continue to deter major international companies from investing further in the region. There has already been disappointment with the real returns on prior investments of these companies. However, should the region reach understandings with Baghdad, it will be able to sell its oil at a higher price, as the current price reflects a discount the KRG must give to compensate for the legal risks the buyers are taking on themselves.15 As the Kurdistan Region is landlocked, it relies on Turkey to export its oil. There are calls (especially among the PUK) for the need to diversify the possible outlets for the Kurdistan Regions oil and to use Iran as well as a possible future outlet.
In 2015, the KRG began facing difficulties paying salaries to the 1.3 million employees on its payroll. Note that the total workforce in the Kurdistan region is around 2 million, which testifies to a problem of an inflated public sector. There are several reasons for the economic problems. Since 2014, because of the Kurdish Region independent sale of oil, Baghdad has reacted with a halt on budget payments from the central government. The declining energy prices have also been one of the major causes of the growing debt of the Kurdistan Region. Another issue has been the resources needed to pay for the handling of over 1.8 million Iraqi displaced people and Syrian refugees arriving in the Kurdish Region after the major advances of the Islamic State (marking some 30 percent of the regions population). In addition, the price of the military struggle with the Islamic State has put pressure on the KRG budget.16Not being a state entity has also made it harder for the region to obtain international loans, although the struggle against the Islamic State has brought about a first direct loan from the United States to the KRG to pay the salaries of the Peshmerga armed forces. Opposition sources, however, claim that the crisis mainly results from the uncertain destination of the oil revenues, which in turn raises charges of corruption.17
The KRG has made some efforts to carry out economic reforms in the region. While not cutting the number of employees in the public sector, salaries have been reduced. Also, the low oil prices have been used to begin removing subsidies on gasoline and, with World Bank funding, a much-needed overhaul of the electrical infrastructure is planned.18
Security Forces Dimension
Related to the political consensus necessary for the construction of common public institutions is the organization and the efficiency of security forces. Within the region, several agencies are supposed to control public order and ensure homeland security, including Peshmerga army forces, Zeravani forces (a type of gendarmerie), police, Asayish (intelligence agency), emergency, and anti-terror forces.19
The two veteran political parties (KDP and PUK), formerly militias, are known for keeping powerful security forces. Although all Peshmerga forces are officially subordinated to the KRG Presidency Council (the cabinet) and its Peshmerga Ministry, and article 121 of the Iraqi Constitution and Kurdistan Regions laws allow only one single and unified force as the regional guard force (the Peshmerga army), the two forces remain subordinate to separate PUK and KDP commands. Moreover, many civilians possess weapons in their home, adding to the lack of full control of the KRG over the security dimension. One estimate in 2009 put the number of PUK Peshmergas at 42,500 soldiers and KDP Peshmergas at 54,700, plus 30,000 former KDP Peshmergas transferred to Zeravani militarized police, officially under the Iraqi Interior Ministry orders.20 Today, and with its reservists, the Peshmerga army is estimated to have between 150,000 and 200,000 fighters.21 Legally financed by both KRG and Baghdad, the Peshmerga armys budget is a matter of dispute between these two sources, and payments of the soldiers salaries constitute a source of negotiating leverage for Baghdad. Related: Goldman: OPEC Needs To Do More To Restrain Shale Oil
The war against the Islamic State revealed some of the weaknesses of the Peshmergas.22 Their equipment and effectiveness depend in many respects on Western countries support allocated since the war against the Islamic State began, as weapons originating from the former USSR and Yugoslavia are beginning to be sorely lacking in effectiveness.23 On the other hand, the war against the Islamic State has made the Peshmergas important allies for the international coalition against the Islamic State.
The Peshmergas effectiveness is questioned by many experts. The prevailing picture in the media of a very effective Kurdish army is the result of real achievements against the Islamic State but also of a successful public relations campaign and the excessive glorification of the female combatants. However, many of these successes occurred in Syria and were registered by the Syrian offshoot of the PKK (YPG), not by the Iraqi Peshmergas. The armed forces of the KRG remain very much dependent on Western support, without which the Peshmergas will find it difficult to impose their will on the ground.
International Legitimacy and Support
The independence of the Kurdish Region is closely linked to foreign support and to international legitimacy, and thus to the interest of global and regional powers not to block Kurdish independence and even to assist it. Located in a war-torn country and in a region of economic and geopolitical significance, the fate of Iraqi Kurdistan is very important for Turkey and Iran, for major Arab states such as Saudi Arabia, and for the world superpowers as well. There are currently 34 foreign consulates in Erbil, including representatives from all the major powers.24
The regional powers have exploited divisions within the Kurdish Region. While the PUK has been backed by Iran for many years, the KDP is pulling the KRG towards a strong relationship with Turkey. As an important ally for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both in his struggle against the PKK and as part of Turkeys attempt to counter Irans sphere of influence in Iraq, Barzani has held multiple meetings with Turkish leaders over the years. Aside from the economic aspect of this relationship, the backing it receives from Turkey in the regional context is essential for the KRG. For Erdogan, beyond achieving more diversification of Turkeys energy supplies, this alliance represents a way to show that he is not against the Kurds in general but rather only against the PKK. In 2010, Ankara opened a consulate in Erbil, and there have been negotiations about the opening of a KRG representation in Ankara.25 In February 2017, during Barzanis visit to Turkey, the Kurdistan flag was hoisted next to the Turkish and Iraqi flags on several occasions, a move that was criticized by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), but defended by the ruling party.26 This relationship remains very much unbalanced, vital for Erbil but of secondary importance for Ankara.27 Moreover, the intensification of the conflict with the Kurdish minority in Turkey also puts a strain on the relations with the KRG.
The Iranian neighbor is positioning itself to oppose Kurdish independence, much more so than Ankara. Indeed, Iran is afraid of the spreading and strengthening of the drive for independence among its own Kurdish and other minorities. In December 2016, accusations surfaced that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were responsible for double bomb attacks against KDP-Is offices in Erbil.28 Tehran is also afraid of an instrumentalization of the Kurdish cause by its rivals, such as Saudi Arabia. Several Iranian officials asked Saudi Arabia to remove its diplomatic representation from Erbil, which opened in February 2016.29That was somewhat ironic, since Iran has two consulates in the Kurdistan Region (in Erbil and in Sulaymaniyah). Nevertheless, a top Iranian commander has called on Saudi Arabia to leave Erbil because its presence is destabilizing.30 Iranians are also wary of a loss of their interests in favor of the Turks within the Kurdish Region. With that in mind, they have increased their backing of the PUK.31 Iran seems clearly opposed to the independence of the KDP-led Kurdish Region, which represents a red line for Tehran. Still, it is not clear whether Iran will use its military power to halt a Kurdish drive for independence (especially if such a state earns US backing), although they will certainly invest much effort in weakening such an entity.32
The US has opposed Kurdish independence, especially since the 2003 War, because it saw it necessary to keep Iraqi borders intact. However, as Iraqs instability persists and even worsens, there are calls inside Washington to rethink its policies. It is quite clear that the Kurdish state will be a friendly actor to the US and that if the US chooses to give such a state security guarantees, this might well deter the Iranians from acting militarily against it.33 The US already has small deployments of forces in the region.34 Russias position toward the Kurds is complex. Traditionally, Russia has had friendly relations with the Kurds and was one of the first countries to open a consulate in Erbil.35 Moscow, however, opposes a unilateral decision by Erbil to declare independence and will support an independent Kurdish state only if that emerges with the consent of Baghdad. There is also a linkage between the situation in Syria and Iraq, and an Iraqi Kurdish precedent of seceding from the Iraqi state would not be received well in Damascus and in Tehran, whose position on the matter may affect that of Russia. It is likewise unclear that a Kurdish state, which will be pro-Western, is in the best interest of Russia.
While Israeli support is not expected to significantly change the Kurdish calculations, it is clear that Jerusalem will be fully in favor of such an independent state. In June 2014, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pronounced his support for the establishment of an independent Kurdish state in Northern Iraq, stating that they deserve it.36 That same month, then-President Shimon Peres met President Barack Obama and also spoke in favor of a Kurdish state in light of the situation in Iraq.37 While some of the reports on the Israeli purchase of oil from the Kurdistan Region have been exaggerated, Israeli companies did facilitate the export of oil from the region and were not afraid to bypass Baghdad, since Israel doesnt have diplomatic relations with Iraq.38 In January 2016, Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked also voiced her positive sentiments towards the Kurds, and stated, It is time to help them and the Kurdish people are a partner for the Israeli people.39 Related: Unstoppable: U.S. Adds Oil, Gas Rigs As OPEC Extends Deal
Thus, it appears that the rise of the Islamic State and the struggle for its defeat have created a situation in which the Kurds have gained growing international attention and wider acknowledgment of their achievements and rights, thereby creating an overall positive feeling (at least in public opinion in Western states) toward possible Kurdish independence. Moreover, as time passes and with the election of President Donald Trump, who does not see himself committed to continue the policy of its predecessors, American insistence on keeping Iraq as a unified state will perhaps diminish. Turkeys alliance with Barzani has been sustained for quite a while, and Turkeys growing troubles in the Middle East seem to imply that it will not endanger this alliance as long as it continues to view it as bearing fruit both in the energy realm and in its struggle against the PKK.
Conclusion
As with many new states, it seems that the Kurdistan Region will not obtain the blessing of some of the actors in the region if it declares independence, and its birth as a state may be accompanied by war. Hence, courageous and strong leadership is an imperative for the Kurdistan Region. A new state in the making also requires a minimum of international legitimacy to become independent and, as Anaid argues, what is surprising nowadays is the lack of a strong reaction to announcements regarding possible Kurdish independence and the sense that both the region and the world are becoming gradually more receptive to an independent Kurdistan.40
The political divide is a lingering problem in the Kurdistan Region, and of all the issues discussed in this article, it is probably the most difficult to solve. While the initial euphoria following, independence might somewhat mitigate the intensity of this challenge in the first few months, it will likely resurface again early on. The issue of unifying the Peshmerga forces has been on the Iraqi Kurds agenda for almost three decades, and clearly some major steps have been taken in this respect, albeit not enough. Acquiring a state status would probably serve as a catalyst for advancing this aim further. Some of the economic problems the KRG is now encountering will accompany it if it achieves independence (for example, the inflated number of employees in the public sector and the economic price of absorbing the IDPs and refugees in the region). However, some of the economic difficulties will be more easily handled once the Kurdish Region gains independence and is able to issue its own currency, control the exchange rate, and obtain the necessary loans for building the state. Foreign support for independence will likely be rather muted. It is not expected that either Turkey or the US will give the KRG a green light, but it will be an achievement if these actors dont present Barzani with a red light. Iran will presumably continue to be a staunch opponent of Kurdish independence, but while the possibility that it would attack this new entity exists, it is more likely to try and further strengthen its relations with the PUK and act in a subversive manner from within the new state. An independent Kurdish state will thus have many problems to deal with and will be highly dependent on Turkey and the US to deter Iran. Given all this, however, the balance sheet seems to tilt cautiously in favor of independence.
Find the sources in the original article.
By ISN Security Watch
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A 45,000-capacity ultramodern factory that processes guinea fowls and other live birds has been established in the Tamale Metropolis by a private investor.
It is aimed at helping government to implement the one district, one factory initiative.
The facility, which is the first of its kind in the Northern Region, is also aimed at providing jobs to over 50,000 residents, including guinea fowl farmers.
According to managers of the facility located at the industrial hub of Tamale, the factory can process a minimum of 1,500 birds every 8 hours.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Geese Fresh Point Limited, Kofi Gyamfi, in an interview with BUSINESS GUIDE, said he established the factory in the North to make the product readily available for consumers.
Upon my return from the US, I paid a visit to a friend in the North and realized that there were a lot of guinea fowls but no ready market. I also observed that residents south of the country were craving for guinea fowl meat but how to get it fresh and hygienic was the problem. I therefore decided to set up here and started preparing the guinea fowls on a small-scale for sale to customers in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and other areas. I think it is now time to extend our tentacles, he revealed.
The factory, according to him, has a rendering plant that converts the feathers, blood and intestines into protein meal for pigs and poultry.
This facility is also fitted with cutting machine/portioning machines, blast freezer that freezes the product within the shortest possible time in average of minus 30 degrees. There are refrigeration trucks to transport birds under a controlled temperature to the market centres, he declared.
Source: Daily Guide
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Captain smart along with hundreds of anti-corruption protestors have presented over 300 documents to EOCO, alleging embezzlement to the tune of about $1.2 billion.
He explained that the investigations and documents gathered were based on the Auditor-Generals report from 2015.
Presenting the documents to some officials of EOCO, Captain smart expressed his frustrations at the extent to which the canker had eaten into the fibre of public service.
He indicated that this is the beginning of the fight against corruption and urged EOCO to start working on the documents so as to obtain immediate result.
Mothers are dying and fathers are running from homes, not because they are irresponsible but because some people have taken our money, the money that belongs to us. The money that could have been used to develop the country. I do not understand why every administration comes and borrows money before Ghana will be developed he stated.
Today, these documents contain embezzlement of over $1.2 billion. I am presenting these to you, the names are there. Please, reinvestigate, arrest and prosecute and take our monies for us. he added
Officials of EOCO who received the documents on behalf of the organisation expressed gratitude that individuals and Civil Society Organisations have awakened and joined the fight against corruption.
The assurance was given that the documents will be reviewed and actions taken against anyone found guilty.
Officials of EOCO also revealed that the Akufo-Addo led administration has shown enough goodwill to prosecute persons who are found guilty of corruption or embezzlement.
The fact that Civil Society bodies have realised the need to join the fight against corruption is cardinalWe have taken possession of the materials you have given us which could be a very good basis of enquiry and investigation.
We can only assure you that we will do a very decent, diligent investigation. You are equally assured that EOCO has the support of higher authority in this fight and we will do just that Officials noted.
Captain Smart revealed that EOCO has been given a timeline of three months within which to take drastic actions against offending public officials.
He also hinted of similar demonstrations in Ashanti and Eastern Regions in the coming months.
Source: ghanaweb
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A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts in Ghana, have said nuclear power could play a huge role in the developmental agenda of a country.
They said the IAEA sees energy as very essential for development and that everyone must have access to modern energy sources to reduce poverty, raise living standards, improve health care, and boost industrial and agricultural outputs.
However the growing demand had come at a time when the world was already on a dangerous and unsustainable path in terms of climate change and air pollution.
Nuclear power is a proven technology that could provide a stable, clean, low-carbon, base load electricity that would create better, higher-paying jobs than other types of energy sources, Mr Mikhail Chudakov, Deputy Director-General of the IAEA, said.
Mr Chudakov, who on a working visit to Ghana, said this during a lecture at the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences at its Atomic campus in Accra.
The lecture was attended by students and key management and staff of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC) and other affiliated institutions.
Accompanied by Dr Anthony Stott, also an IAEA Expert, and the two praised Ghana for the decision to include nuclear power into its energy mix and said it was a very good and major decision ought to be pursued with the involvement of all the key stakeholders, in order to ensure a smooth implementation process.
He said there is the need to vigorously pursue its Nuclear Power Programme (NPP), which was currently at the first Phase of the infrastructure development.
He said there were several benefits of nuclear power that outweighed that of other sources of energy supply, in terms of sustainability and environmental issues adding that the truth be told instead of focusing on the few accidents including the Fukushima Daichi of Japan, that had been recorded in history, and the fear of the initial cost which was highly capital intensive.
Mr Chudakov said the global demand for sustainable energy had grown so high, with a total of about 2.6 of the world's population relying on biomas, while 1.1 billion and one billion people respectively had no access to energy and health care services, leading to poverty and underdevelopment.
He said there was therefore a direct and indirect relation between energy consumption and poverty, which could only be addressed by nuclear energy, which was the safest, cheapest compared to other sources and the most highly regulated in terms of safety, security and safeguards.
He said due to the unique characteristics of nuclear power, there is the need to pay special attention to ensure high safety, security and safeguard measures, which the IAEA was currently assisting newcomer countries like Ghana to develop in their NPPs.
Currently there were several nuclear power plants under construction even after the Fukushima Daichi accident, and 60 out of the 138 IAEA Member-States were also seeking to construct a nuclear power plant and therefore being assisted by the Agency to prepare their infrastructure in accordance with the global standards and Milestone Approaches, he said.
Mr Chudakov said the IAEA had supported 22 countries including Ghana, in conducting an Integrated Nuclear Infrastructure Review (INIR) mission, to help them know their status in the first phase of development of their NPP, and to address the identified gaps to en able them fulfill the requirements of the initial processes of their national Roadmaps.
The IAEA had also supported countries with aging nuclear power plants to maintain and manage nuclear fuel.
He said it was expected that with good leadership, management and operational practices, nuclear power could be the most safest and beneficial commodity for economic empowerment, enhanced livelihoods, and wished Ghana well in her Nuclear Power agenda.
Professor Benjamin J.B Nyarko, the Director General of GAEC, said the country had made quite some progress in the development of its Phase One nuclear power infrastructure, and was gradually progressing.
He also attested to the fact an objective IAEA-INIR mission conducted in January this year to peer review Ghana's infrastructure progress, had been very helpful in that it helped in identifying areas that needed to be focused on to enable the country to fulfill the requirements of the first phase milestone of its Roadmap.
The Ghana Nuclear Power Programme Organisation, he said, was posed for action and would like to thank all stakeholders who had so far contributed to the success of the programme.
Source: GNA
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Angry Y3GYI Y3 SIKA demonstrators have slammed the Akufo-Addo-led administration for its slow paced approach to retrieving state monies and prosecuting officials who have engaged in corruption.
The Y3GYI Y3 SIKA demonstration which translates into We are taking back our money is an initiative of Adom FMs Radio presenter, Captain Smart to present intercepted documents which point to alleged corrupt activities to EOCO.
Some participants of the anti-corruption protest expressed disappointment that five months after the swearing in of Akufo-Addo as President, very little has been seen in terms of his fight against corruption.
The enraged demonstrators say they expect the President to be proactive in his fight and prosecute without further delay officials that have been cited for acts of corruption.
They bemoaned the effects that corruption has on the society and were convinced that monies retrieved from corrupt officials could be used for the benefit of all in Ghana.
Ahead of the 2016 general elections, corruption was one of the major arsenals Akufo-Addo used against the then NDC government led by John Mahama.
The president has on several occasions boasted about the transparency of his government and his incorruptible self.
Akufo-Addo also assured the Ghanaian community in Sierra Leon as part of a State visit, that he will not be talked out of prosecuting public officers found guilty of corruption by anyone, not even his wife.
He emphatically stated that once an official is found guilty he will be prosecuted.
When people get caught up in the net, I am imploring people not to come to me and say that Oh! Nana, this man is my relative, so spare him. That is the problem in Ghana.
"You find people going to speak to your wife with the hope of trying to influence you," he stated, adding, "I am not going to listen to that because my concern is Ghana and not one or two individuals.
Despite these assurances, angry demonstrators explained that the nation has been ripped off its wealth by corruption thus it requires immediate action.
They were however optimistic that the president will keep his words to fight the canker.
Source: Ghanaweb.com
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SCHUYLERVILLE The new timber-frame tourism center is about to be raised, and then local officials will turn their attention to the park around the new building.
The canal is just steps away from the building in Fort Hardy Park, and in one officials blunt appraisal, it stinks.
Their next priority is to get the water moving in that canal. That means dredging it which could be costly if the sediment is contaminated with PCBs.
The Environmental Protection Agency is looking at the canal and other areas of standing water. Officials are in discussions with General Electric on how to sample those areas, with the goal of collecting samples next year, EPA officials said.
Once the village has data on the canal sediment, it can begin seeking bids to dredge the canal.
The canal is a shallow trough a remnant of the original canal used by tugboats towed by mules.
For now, residents will focus on finishing the Champlain Canal Region Gateway Visitors Center on Ferry Street. The Timber Framers Guild will lead a two-day project to raise the building by hand. They also prepared the timbers with hand tools last fall, but had to delay the raising because the site foundation wasnt ready.
The community is invited to join in the raising, which will take place all day Friday, June 16, and Saturday, June 17. The guild needs at least 40 people, working in teams, to put up the building in an event similar to an old-style barn raising.
The building will become the regional visitors center, which will guide tourists to historic sites, events and local activities. It has been designed to resemble a Dutch barn.
However, the raising is not the last step in construction. The roof, walls, plumbing, electrical work and all interior work will take months. Then, the tourism guides must build displays inside.
The opening is now projected to be next spring.
Local children covered by the Childrens Health Insurance Program and Medicaid are at risk of losing health insurance coverage, according to Ben Anderson, a health policy analyst for New Yorks Childrens Defense Fund.
Referring to more than $14 billion in combined funding cuts from the proposed American Health Care Act and the presidents proposed 2018 fiscal budget, Anderson said all children could be affected.
Its enormous, Anderson said. I have never seen cuts like this. We expect fewer kids will be covered and families will have to pay. And families only have a fixed amount of income.
Anderson continued.
We consider budgets as moral documents that show where your priorities are. Whats more important? Tax cuts for the wealthy or a safety net for struggling families?
Nonetheless, Edmund Haislmaier, senior research fellow in health policy studies at the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank, said that drawing such conclusions makes assumptions on what is not yet known.
I hesitate to validate doom and gloom or roses and sunshine, Haislmaier said in an interview on Friday afternoon.
According to Haislmaier, children will not lose health care coverage with the Republican plan. What will change is how states receive and handle federal Medicaid dollars under new Medicaid caps.
Still, Anderson contends that 54 percent of the states children covered by Medicaid and CHIP are at risk of losing health care coverage with the AHCA and the presidents proposed cuts.
Locally, according to the state Department of Healths October 2016 figures, in Washington County 53 percent of the countys children are covered by Medicaid and CHIP; in Warren County, 45.1 percent; Saratoga County, 27.6 percent; Essex County, 45.5 percent; Hamilton County, 41.1 percent; Franklin County, 44.7 percent; and Clinton County, 46.1 percent.
The numbers show by county the total number on Medicaid and funded by the Childrens Health Insurance Program, Anderson said. All are at risk of losing Medicaid coverage.
On Wednesday, the Congressional Budget Office released an independent analysis of the AHCA passed by the House earlier this month that points to an increase in the number of uninsured Americans, including children.
According to the CBOs analysis, under the AHCA, federal Medicaid spending would fall by $880 billion over the next 10 years, leaving 14 million fewer people covered by the Medicaid program, and children are included in that total.
Additionally, President Donald Trump proposed a $610 billion reduction in federal Medicaid and CHIP spending in his proposed budget.
Anderson said there has been some confusion about the cuts, but that the presidents cuts are in addition to the AHCA reduction in Medicaid spending.
The Trump administrations misguided and cruel cuts to Medicaid and CHIP are simply unacceptable, said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., in a Thursday news release. When it comes to something as important as health care, we cannot allow a situation to arise in which children cannot get the checkup or prescription they need because their family cannot afford the payments or insurance.
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Willsboro, who voted in favor of the AHCA, is opposed to the presidents budget because it cuts programs like CHIP, according to a spokesman.
Haislmaier, of the Heritage Foundation, said to set aside the presidents budget when considering the issue.
Whats relevant is the AHCA and the open question about what the Senate does with Medicaid caps, he said.
Stefanik is encouraged that the CBO found that the AHCA will lower taxes, reduce our deficits and lower premiums, said spokesman Tom Flanigan by email Friday.
But the CBO reported that the AHCA, as passed, would initially increase premiums an average of about 20 percent in 2018 and 5 percent in 2019. By 2020, average premiums would depend in part on any waivers of essential health benefits granted to states under the AHCAs MacArthur Amendment.
Although premiums would decline, on average, in states that chose to narrow the scope of EHBs, some people enrolled in nongroup insurance would experience substantial increases in what they would spend on health care, the CBO reported.
Regarding Medicaid caps, Anderson, of New Yorks Childrens Defense Fund, said per capita proposals are dangerous because they do not take into consideration increased costs from epidemics and advances in technology and treatment.
Medicaid caps are a way for the federal government to cut the amount of money they spend over time. There is a lot of baseline spending and it limits the growth per person, he said, adding that currently care decisions are between the child, parent and physician. The new AHCA inserts the government in the decision of what will be paid.
Haislmaier said that states like New York and California, which have expanded Medicaid eligibility criteria, have watered down the pool with more people enrolled in the program. Rural states like Idaho cover fewer people, but those people have more access to care.
Anderson said, Most likely the state (New York) would have to scale back and fewer kids will be covered.
FORT EDWARD Washington County department heads are offering new visions and big ideas and giving the treasurer nightmares.
Theres a capital (project) snowball rolling through the building right now, Treasurer Al Nolette said in the middle of a presentation last week for new IT services.
The IT department was talking about new software, better security and faster service. Nolette saw dollar signs.
Everywhere I go, I keep hearing of more, he said, noting recent proposals for improvements at the jail and building a new garage for the Department of Public Works.
Its beginning to give me really bad panic attacks, he said.
Its Nolettes job to guard the countys savings. He needs the savings, both as cash flow and as a cushion in case of emergencies.
But little by little, proposed projects would whittle it away. So he hit the brakes last week, telling department heads to turn in cost estimates for their big ideas. He will add them up for a presentation to the Board of Supervisors.
Argyle Supervisor Bob Henke, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, is looking forward to that list.
What makes a difference to me is what has to be done, he said. Im never in favor of enhancing just for the purpose of enhancing.
But the list may be much more than the county can afford. Nolette expects the total to be a big number.
I just dont want to sit here in the middle of budget season in August and start talking $3 million, $4 million, he said. We need to talk about it now.
Hebron Supervisor Brian Campbell, the budget officer, agrees that the supervisors need to see the entire plan before approving any spending. But he thinks some spending will be approved.
You try to fund as much as you can. You start with the top priorities, not just who gets their number in first, he said. Lets see whats on that priority list.
In one way of looking at it, next year is the right time for big projects. The county will make its last payments on a major portion of its debt, freeing up money that could be used to pay on new debt.
That is not what Nolette had in mind, though.
Were going to retire our borrowing in 18 just to turn around and borrow again? he said.
Campbell said it would make sense to add borrowing when old loans are paid off, because that can allow the county to make improvements without raising taxes. Still, he was sympathetic to Nolettes plea.
In all honesty, wed all like to be debt-free, he said.
For decades, state officials have played bureaucratic shell games to shield government decisions from the public. These devious maneuvers take many forms, including creating boards and authorities that dont always have to comply with two tenets of good government in New York the Open Meetings Law and the Freedom of Information Law.
Too often, we have seen what can happen when these boards and authorities are kept in the shadows, yet have the power to make big decisions and spend oodles of public money. State authorities, for instance, have accumulated an alarming amount of debt. There is little accountability and transparency in their decisions. Consequently, there also have been plenty of abuses over the years, including sweetheart deals being given to contractors and lavish bonuses going to their executives.
The most recent and troubling case in point involves two scandal-ridden boards that oversaw operations at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute, the Albany-based college that steered much of upstates economic development. The boards, Fort Schuyler and Fuller Road Management, largely operated outside of public oversight, including not complying with FOIL and the Open Meetings Law, at least at times.
Fort Schuyler and SUNY Poly now find themselves at the center of a federal criminal investigation connected to potential bid-rigging. While this investigation continues, the state can take definitive action to bring more accountability to these type of boards.
You can always rely on Robert Freeman, executive director of the New York State Committee on Open Government, to break down these often complicated matters into digestible terms, and he did so earlier this year in a guest column published by the Poughkeepsie Journal. He says in many cases, quasi organizations are, in reality, part of the government: They would not exist but for their relationship with a government agency.
Usually a nonprofit entity is not part of the government, but sometimes, its a creation of the government, he wrote. When that is so, its really part of the government.
Thats why the Committee on Open Government rightly says laws should be changed to make any nonprofit entity tied to a government subject to FOIL. A bill based on the committees recommendation has been introduced by state Democratic Assemblyman Robin Schimminger, of Kenmore, and Republican Senator Philip Boyle, of Bay Shore. That bill reads in part, Efforts by the news media to gain access to records of those entities have been rebuffed, despite our view that many are and have been required to comply with FOIL.
The bill has been offered, In the hopes of rebuilding the publics faith in their government by furthering transparency and expanding access to information.
Those are great goals. The state ought to come clean, offering honest assessments on these organizations and acknowledging they must be part of an open government.
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According to Politico, Ryan and Brady began to pass around a document recently that gives lawmakers reasons to back the BAT, positioning the idea as a pro-worker, populist proposal. The document also paints the tax as a repeal of the "Made in America" tax, in which products are taxed when they are exported by both the US and the country of destination.
In public, both Ryan and Brady have been on a media blitz in support of the idea.
Ryan went on a tour of US manufacturers earlier this month and talked up tax reform, though he did not explicitly talk about the BAT.
Brady went on CNBC to defend the BAT on Thursday, calling the idea "critical" to produce a revenue-neutral tax plan. Additionally, Brady's House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on the tax reform this week, with business leaders speaking in support of the BAT.
Man With Real Guns, Knives Arrested at Phoenix Comicon
Comic-Con gatherings give superhero and sci-fi fans the opportunity to dress as their favorite characters and celebrate comic book counterculture. And some of those costumed fans can be carrying impressively accurate portrayals of their characters' favored weapons, including swords and laser cannons.
But the weapons one fan carried to Phoenix Comicon yesterday got all too real. A 30-year-old man was arrested trying to enter the convention with three handguns, one shotgun, and a knife, all while clad in body armor. So how did cops know his firepower was real?
Online Threats, IRL Arrests
Phoenix police spokeswoman Sgt. Mercedes Fortune told the Arizona Republic the man was also carrying ammunition and an array of handheld weapons and had made threats against authorities on social media prior to the incident. Fortune said the man was taking pictures of police officers, including some patrolling Comicon, and posting them with threats on social media. A female acquaintance alerted law enforcement and police arrested him on site.
No matter how many times it happens, some criminals either still don't know their online threats can be illegal or they're trying to get caught. If a threat is directed at a specific person, with a specific threat of harm, from an easily identifiable source, and appears credible, it will likely be illegal even if it's made on social media.
Fake Guns, Real Consequences
Following the man's arrest, Phoenix Comicon organizers banned even ersatz weaponry from the event. The event's Facebook page advised convention goers:
Costume props will no longer be allowed on-site. All costume props should be left at home, in your car, or in your hotel room. This includes costume props for staff, crew, costuming groups, panelists, and participants in the masquerade ball. Any panels or activities impacted by this change will be updated on the website soon.
All costume props are no longer allowed, including foam and cardboard props, shields and sabers. Purchased props will be wrapped by the vendors and must remain so while they are on-site. We encourage you to take your purchases to your car or hotel as soon as possible after purchase
Sadly, one bad actor can spoil the entire comicon bunch.
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During the presidential transition period leading up to Trump's inauguration, Kushner held a series of meetings with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, and the head of a Moscow bank that was under US sanctions.
In talks with Kislyak in December, Kushner floated the possibility of setting up a secure line of communication between the Trump transition team and Russia and having those talks take place in Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, essentially concealing their interactions from US government scrutiny, The Post wrote, citing US intelligence officials briefed on the matter.
Kislyak reportedly passed along that request to Moscow. The Post's Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous, and Greg Miller reported that the Russian ambassador was "taken aback" by Kushner's request, because it posed significant risks for both the Trump team and the Kremlin.
Kushner, who did not disclose the meeting on his security clearance form, is now a subject in the FBI's investigation of Russia's election interference, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to undermine Hillary Clinton.
He also had two previously undisclosed phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of last year, according to Reuters. Kushner's attorney Jamie Gorelick responded to the Reuters story Friday evening via CNN, saying "Mr. Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information."
"GOOD GRIEF. This is serious," said Bob Deitz, a veteran of the NSA and the CIA who worked under the Clinton and Bush administrations.
"This raises a bunch of problematic issues. First, of course, is the Logan Act, which prohibits private individuals conducting negotiations on behalf of the US government with foreign governments," Deitz said. "Second, it tends to reinforce the notion that Trump's various actions about [fired FBI Director James] Comey do constitute obstruction."
"In other words, there is now motive added to conduct," Deitz noted. "This is a big problem for the President."
Kushner did not previously disclose the December meetings to US officials during his background check, and the White House only acknowledged them after news outlets reported on it. It follows a pattern among key Trump advisers that unfolded during and after the 2016 election.
"If you are in a position of public trust, and you talk to, meet, or collude with a foreign power" while trying to subvert normal state channels, "you are, in the eyes of the FBI and CIA, a traitor," said Glenn Carle, a former top counterterrorism official at the CIA. "That is what I spent my life getting foreigners to do with me, for the US government."
Carle noted that, if the Kushner-Kislyak meeting and reported discussion were an isolated incident, then it could be spun as normal back-channel communication arrangements among states."
"If Jared Kushner was trying to set up a back channel with the Russians, doesn't that mean he wasn't colluding with them?" a White House official said in response to the story, according to CNN.
But Kislyak and the Trump campaign interacted extensively, and Trump associates either kept those interactions secret from US officials or misrepresented them, as was the case with Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign in February for similar reasons.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Flynn and Kislyak also spoke about setting up a secret back channel during the transition between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin "that could bypass the US national security bureaucracy."
"We know about the multiple meetings of Trump entourage members with Russian intel-related individuals," Carle said. "There will be many others that we do not know about." He noted that while this reported back channel is "explosive," it is worth questioning who planted the story The Post reportedly received an anonymous letter in December tipping them off to the Kushner-Kislyak meeting.
Additionally, as a longtime diplomat, Kislyak would have known that his communications were being monitored. So the possibility remains, Carle said, that the Russians used the meeting with Kushner to distract the intelligence community and the public from potentially more incriminating relationships between the campaign and Moscow.
Indeed, Kushner also met with the CEO of Russia's state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergey Gorkov, in December 2016, The New York Times reported in late March. The meeting which had not previously been disclosed and came on the heels of Kushner's meeting with Kislyak at Trump Tower caught the eye of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether any members of Trump's campaign were complicit.
Kislyak reportedly orchestrated the meeting between Kushner and Gorkov, who was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January 2016 as part of a restructuring of the bank's management team, Bloomberg reported last year.
The Kremlin and the White House have provided conflicting explanations for why Kushner met with Gorkov.
Former CIA Director John Brennan, in testimony Tuesday before the House Intelligence Committee, said that he was concerned by some of the "interactions" between Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign that took place during the election last year.
Republican Rep. Tom Rooney asked Brennan if he ever found "any direct evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Putin in Moscow" while he was the CIA director.
Brennan replied that "there was intelligence that the Russian intelligence services were actively involved in this effort ... to try to get individuals to act on their behalf either wittingly or unwittingly." He added that he was "worried by the contacts that the Russians were having with US persons" and "had unresolved questions" by the time he left office about whether" the Russians had succeeded in getting Americans to do their bidding.
Traditionally, burns are treated using pig and human tissue, which transfer collagen, a healing protein, to the victims' skin. In Fortaleza, Brazil, however, those tissues weren't readily available.
That shortage led researchers at the Jose Frota Institute to turn to tilapia as an alternative treatment for people in the community who suffered from burns.
Here's the story of how the team discovered this unconventional new approach.
Second- and third-degree burns are painful, and occasionally deadly depending on how widespread they are on the body. Using tissue can often help speed up the healing process. But at the Jose Frota Institute, doctors were only able to use burn creams and gauze that had to be changed out frequently, a painful process.
So the team looked for other options, including sterilized tilapia skin. When they analyzed the tilapia's skin, they found something unexpected.
We got a great surprise when we saw that the amount of collagen proteins, types 1 and 3, which are very important for scarring, exist in large quantities in tilapia skin, even more than in human skin and other skins, Dr. Edmar Maciel, a burn specialist at the institute told Stat News.
Source:
Tilapia is a common fish found in Brazil's rivers and fish farms, which makes the skin readily accessible for the experimental treatment.
In some cases, the sterilized tilapia skin can be left on until the patient's skin starts to scar. But in more extreme cases, the tilapia needs to be changed out, though not as frequently as the gauze-and-cream combination does. Here, doctors wrap a child's burnt skin with tilapia skin.
Tilapia skin also appears to relieve some of the pain. Car mechanic Antonio Janio used the treatment after getting a burn on his arm. "Use the tilapia skin. It's excellent," he told Reuters. "It takes the pain away. You do not need to take medicine. In my case, I did not need it, thank God."
Source:
The tilapia skin is also relatively inexpensive, costing 75 cents less than traditional bandages per application. That's in part because it's considered fish-farm waste.
Once the packaged skin is treated to sterilize it and kill off any viruses, it can be refrigerated and will keep for up for two years.
Source:
For now, the method is still in clinical trials, with 56 people receiving treatment with the skins already. Eventually, though, the practice could spread to other countries, including the US. Im willing to use anything that might actually help a patient," Dr. Jeanne Lee, the interim burn director with the University of California at San Diego, told Stat News.
This represents 64 percent increment from the previous.
Some of the shareholders who were not glad about the proposed increase voted overwhelmingly against the motion at an Annual General Meeting(AGM) held in Accra.
Making suggestions on the floor, some demanded for reasons in the increase since the old board which was dissolved this year last increased their remuneration in 2013.
The Board Chairman, Mr. Jude Kofi Arthur after a brief consultation with other members on the board suggested a head count of the shareholders against the motion, but beat a retreat, upholding the decision.
READ ALSO: Jude Arthur is new chair of GCB Board
The board proposes fees, the board is appointed by the shareholders to run the affairs of the company, and therefore all key issues as stated in law, it must come to the shareholders for approval. The directors did the right thing by looking at the economy and proposing benchmarks for approval by the shareholders. The shareholders by their wisdom looked at it and felt by show of hands that they will not approve it. We have to go and look at it and then come back to them, he said.
Mr. Arthur admitted that the rejection may have been caused by the inability of some shareholders not receiving an earlier report dispatched to them via mail as required by the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, the bank has announced GHS1.1 billion income for its operations in 2016, representing a 24 percent increase. This is compared to GHS 863 million recorded in 2015.
The bank also recorded a profit after tax of 318 million cedis in the same period under review, indicating a 25 percent increase compared to 2015. The new Board assured that it will expand its branches to post good results this year.
In addition, he feels the situation has been compounded by the House of Representatives' (HoR) soft stance against movie piracy.
According to him, the failure of the HoR to pass laws that will limit the activities of adulterators of movies has prevented actors from making enough money which could be channeled towards health insurance.
Balogun who spoke to Punch News at the unveiling of the "Banana Island Ghost" said:
People die but because we are in the public eye, death of actors resonates more. Two million people can die but nobody would write about them unlike when actors die. People die every day.
"It is not that we are not checking ourselves, it happens but I am begging all actors to work on their health.
"I was supposed to celebrate my birthday from May 24 to 26 but I postponed it in honour of our fallen colleagues.
The reason why most actors solicit for funds when they are ill is because of lack of health insurance and we should talk to insurance companies about that.
"If we are making our money now, we should look at health insurance policy for future sake.
"I keep begging that the House of Representatives pass hard laws on piracy because if we are making good money, we would be able to subscribe to insurance policies.
"If I am making N500,000 and the school fees of my daughter is N600,000, where would I see money for insurance?
"It is the people that are not passing hard laws on piracy that are killing us.
"I have an insurance policy as the President of The Golden Movies Ambassadors of Nigeria. I have been on an insurance policy for over four years.
His comments came at the heels of the passing of top Nollywood actors such as Olumide Bakare, Pastor Ajidara and most recent, Moji Olaiya.
The actors kicked the bucket within a month interval.
Although the union has not been officially recognised by the government, she married the building in 2015, and celebrated their one year anniversary last Christmas.
According to Ms Santa Fe, she has 'sex' with the station mentally and identifies herself as an objectum sexual, that is, a person who is sexually attracted to inanimate objects and structures.
"I am married to the Santa Fe train station - her name is Daidra.
"We didn't start a relationship until 2011 but I had been in love with the station since I was a young girl.
"When we got married, I stood there and I told her that I take it as my partner.
"It was the happiest day of our lives."
The volunteer support worker said everyday, she takes a 45 minute bus ride to the station to spend time with the building.
"When I get there I say hello to her - I then walk around the block circling around her, trying not to let anyone notice I am talking.
"There is a private bit where two walls meet, I go there to touch her, which I do by leaning against her with my clothes on.
"When I'm touching her, I feel as though it actually holds me and kisses me.
"I don't have physical sex with the station in public, I want to be respectful.
"I wouldn't do that with a human in public so why would I do it in this case.
"I do have sex with Daidra in my mind when I stand there.
"I especially like when I hear the trains rev up their engines - it turns me on."
Ms Santa Fe, who has lived in California since she was three, claims the train station is the love of her life even though she has been in a previous relationship with a man.
She said: "I loved a human once before, his name was Tom and we were together for 18 months.
"But it didn't work out and I felt amazing when I got into a relationship with Diadra because she told that she would never leave me.
"I love her so much, she is so romantic.
"We first consummated our love a few years ago when I felt the wall behind me, and I felt this energy.
"I came close to an orgasm and I was scared I'd get caught by the station staff.
"I don't ever want the security guards to find out - I am a closeted objectum sexual.'
Ms Santa Fe realised that she was an objectum sexual after she searched online 'I am in love with a building'.
But she is not the first to confess her love for inanimate objects.
Erica Eiffel, an objectum sexual, famously married Paris's Eiffel Tower in 2007.
Eklof Berliner-Mauer is another well-known objectum sexual who married the Berlin wall in 1979 and was the first person to come forward with objectum sexuality.
There is a debate as to whether the phenomenon is a sexuality, fetish or mental condition.
The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, stated this during the 24th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the Guild of Medical Directors (GMD) in Abuja.
The News Agency pf Nigeria reports that the minister was represented at the occasion by the Director, Hospital Services , Dr Joseph Amedu.
The theme of 2017 conference is Let Make Nigeria Hepatitis Free.
According to the minister,Hepatitis is important as it affects the liver, without presentation with any weighty symptoms until it has caused severe damage and chronic liver disease, liver cancer and untimely death.
He said the conference was appropriate, as it would create the necessary awareness on the menace of viral Hepatitis.
This will in no small measure reduce the dangers associated with lack of knowledge of the disease and prevent it from reaching epidemic levels like meningitis and the Ebola virus.
Adewole said as operators of private hospitals in country, the guild was an indispensable partner in contributing 60 to 70 per cent stake in achieving the healthcare delivery in the country.
I therefore urge you all to reciprocate governments gesture of Public Private Partnership with dedication and commitment to your duty of care and shun situation that will make you abandon your responsibilities.
Let us work together in peace and harmony to give the health sector the change the President Muhammadu Buhari Administration intends for the health sector.
In a keynote address, Dr Chukwuma Anyaike, a Consultant Public Health Physician , called for increased awareness of hepatitis and provision of safe and effective vaccines in the country.
The key intervention to make the country free from hepatitis is to prevent mother to child transmission of the disease.
Others are safe injection practices and safe blood as well as safer sex which include the use of condoms to prevent the disease, he said.
Anyaike called for partnership with government, Civil Society Organisations and the private sector to reduce the menace of the disease.
He said that such partnership must be tailored with concrete action and national plan.
Most of these foods have the same element even though their methods of preparation generally differ from one another. However, one thing is consistent in any African food, it's palatability is never
Below is a list of the elements you are sure to find in every African food.
1.The "Stinking Fish" family
How can the members of this family not make a cameo at least? These members add to the spiciness and local touch of the whole gathering when used in food preparation. Wondering who they are? Momoni, Kako, Koobi, Dawadawa, Kpanla, Kpomo, Shaki, etc. These are not necessarily foods on their own but work together for the common good, much like the AU, lol.
2.Lots of pepper
Africans like so much chilli and have no chill. There is no gathering in Africa without the corner side dish that comes super packed with chilli for days. (Pepper soup anyone?) Be it in a bid to whet visitors' appetite, or to be had in the corner with meat and bottles of beer, you wouldn't have to break a sweat to locate it at any African gathering.
3. The "Chichinga" element
Be it the "Shisha Nyama" of South Africa, "piri piri chicken" from Mozambique, "Suya" of Nigeria or "Venison" of Namibia, Africans know how to tear it down when it comes to their meat servings for that party. Whatever it is called and no matter where it is found, there is no party without the Chichinga element!
4. The Carb balls
What's an African gathering without the Carbs? How does that even pan out? No Fufu and Abenkwan or any other Nkwan? no fufu and njama njama from Cameroon? No pounded yam or Eba and egusi soup from Nigeria? No Sadza from Zimbabwe and other parts of southern Africa? ..how? In fact, we just can't imagine! As far as we are concerned, Carbs are in a comfortable lead here, no two ways.
5. Green sisters
How can we talk carbs without our greens? There's always that green dish on the sidelines we just can't put a finger on standing far off. Kontomire stew, Bitterleaf, Egusi soup, 'green stew' from Sierra Leone, you name it.
6. Has pepper been mentioned already? Well, Africans and their love for pepper is just insatiable so we had to bring it back. There are also traits of aromatics, herbs and spices such as ginger, garlic, black pepper, rosemary etc in every African meal.
7. The Nameless meals
Let's face it, there are some meals that just don't have names in Africa. We obviously can't list them because they are nameless, or just a mouthful to pronounce so remain nameless, but a favourite among the people. Can you think of any off the top of your head?
8.Jollof
It's either Jollof or something that looks like Jollof named differently (Ghana Jollof, Nigerian Jollof, Benachin, Riz au gras) Either way, it is Jollof. It's so popular- especially in the West African region- that Nigeria and Ghana are at war as to who makes the best of it. Senegalese even claim ownership of this delicacy. Did you know that there's even an ancient empire named after this wonderful meal?What's an African gathering without it then?
In her new role, she's styled several celebrities including Anita Erskine, Efya, Shirley Frimpong-Manso among others. She's also a two-time winner of the Blogger of the year at the Glitz Style Awards. As an authority on things fashion, beauty and style she shares her top lipstick colours with readers.
Here are her favourite lipstick colours of all time
1. MAC RETRO MATTE LIQUID LIP COLOUR IN DANCE WITH ME
This matte drying liquid colour is an easy wear giving my lips an even red cover. My top and bottom lips happen to be different shades, but I do not notice it with this red shade, unlike others I have tried! It is not as long lasting as I would have hoped it would be, as it tends to fade from the inner lip out once I drink something.
2. SO AESTHETICS VALENTINA LIPSTICK
I use this lipstick more often than any other. It goes with almost everything I wear and easily transitions from day to night. It is a medium burgundy shade with great moisturising features. The happy news is that it is sold right here in Ghana! The only nay, I would have to be the fact that the lipstick easily breaks and so care needs to be taken when handling it.
3. LYVV MATTE LIPSTAIN IN MAMI
Another African brand to be proud of is made by Senegalese entrepreneurs. This smooth easy glide on lip gloss is long lasting and quite moisturising. It is a purple shade that works well during the day and night. Even though it dries on matte, it does not overly dry my lips or crack. It also smells quite heavenly.
4. TAOS COSMETICS MATTE LIPGLOSS IN GOLD COAST
This Nigerian made brand was the first brand where I found a nude brown shade that looked really good, not just on me but on pretty much everyone that tried it. It dries on matte but after a few hours of wear, it begins to crack up and dry your lips. A good way to battle this out is to wear some kind of lip moisturiser before applying this product.
5. MAC MEDIA LIPSTICK
I can't help but feel incredibly bad ass when I wear this shade. Media is a dark burgundy colour which works well for me for my night time looks. Without much makeup, it glams up my look instantly. It VERY VERY moisturising! No dry lips here!
Well, there you have it! My lip colour obsessions! Try them out when you can and do not forget to tag me in your images! Thanks for stopping by.
You can follow Afua Rida on her various social media channels to see more of her day-to-day style and beauty.
Instagram: @AfuaRida
Twitter: @Afua_Rida
The trial of the suspect, Lucas Agboyie was supposed to begin on Friday.
However, when the case was called, both Agboyie and a representative from the Attorney-Generals Department (A-G) were absent.
The Presiding Judge, Mr Justice Lawrence L Mensah was, therefore, compelled to issue the order.
She also directed the court registry to serve hearing notice on both the Ghana Prisons Service and the A-G.
The trial has been adjourned to June 13, 2017.
Agboyie has been charged with murder and defilement over the incident which occurred on April 19, 2015 at Ashaiman, near Tema.
He was committed to stand trial by the Accra Central District Court last April.
Chipotle Sued for Covering Up Bathroom Spying
Last month, an 18-year-old manager of a Texas Chipotle was arrested for placing a spy camera in the women's bathroom. Joanny Castillo was charged with invasive visual recording, but that wasn't the end for him or for the company.
A new lawsuit claims the location's general manager, along with Chipotle upper management, attempted to cover up the spying scandal, going so far as to direct another manager to get off the phone with police when she called to report the incident.
Wouldn't Be Prudent
The allegations in the lawsuit, filed by a female customer and her minor child, are not kind to Chipotle's in-store management or their superiors. After a female employee discovered a spy cam in the women's restroom for the second time and suspecting that it was Castillo who had placed the camera in the women's restroom, she turned it over to Castillo's boss, general manager Franco Diaz. But instead of contacting law enforcement or upper management, Diaz took the camera home with him to, as the lawsuit alleges, "presumably engage in self-gratification while watching the video footage of exposed women and children."
It wasn't until the employee reported it to another manager that Chipotle higher ups, in the form of Team Leader Juan Hernandez and Restauranteur Irma Valenzuela, were brought in. According to the suit, both Hernandez and Valenzuela attempted to persuade the manager that "it would not be prudent" to call the police and even urged her to hang up after she dialed 911.
It's Not the Crime -- It's the Cover-Up
But the lawsuit's allegations don't end there:
The cover-up includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) attempting to blame customers for planting the recording device, (2) destroying SIM cards which contained graphic images of the women and children undressing and using the restroom, (3) mandating that none of the Chipotle managers and employees with knowledge of the visual recording scandal notify anyone, including law enforcement, (4) the General Manager allowing another member of Management to take the video recorder home in an attempt to destroy evidence and to undoubtedly engage in self-gratification from viewing the videos of the women and children undressing and using the restroom, (5) by continuing to allow the general manager who was involved in the cover-up to continue working in a managerial capacity for over two months after the invasive video recording scandal was uncovered, (6) by removing interoffice emails which advised a Manager, who was a co-conspirator and close friend of one of the sexual predators, of the names of Chipotle employees and former employees complaining of the scandal that were provided to Chipotle by Plaintiffs' counsel in confidence in an attempt to resolve Plaintiffs' claims without resorting to a lawsuit, and (7) by refusing to notify any of its employees and/or customers, including children, who had no knowledge of the invasive video-recording scandal.
The suit also highlights four other charges of sexual assault against Chipotle managers involving women and minor children. It should already be obvious to any small business owner, but just as a reminder: it is illegal to install surveillance cameras in restrooms. And if you catch an employee installing a spy cam in the bathroom, fire them and call the cops.
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Dr. Anaba in a writ filed at the Supreme Court is praying the court to issue an "order declaring that the decision of the minister of health contained in the letter dated 10 May 2017 was unlawful and therefore null and void and of no effect whatsoever".
He is also praying for an "order reinstating the applicant to the position of medical director, Greater Accra regional Hospital, Ridge in Ghana Health Service or to an equivalent position in the Ghana Health Service without a reduction in the rank and other conditions of service".
Dr. Anabas appointment was supposed to last till 2020 and had the option to re-apply but has been revoked. He was appointed on February 1, 2016 during the tenure of former President John Mahama.
It is unclear why the Public Service Commission and the government terminated his appointment.
The Health Minister Dr. Kwaku Agyemang-manu said Dr Anaba is no longer useful at the facility and has no managerial skills and is unfit to manage the hospital.
He said "I transferred him because he is no longer useful for me to manage the new facility he can never refuse to leave that position, let him so try it we will take over our place.
He said executives of the NPP have no knowledge about the disappearance of the bags of subsidised fertiliser.
READ MORE: NPP executives fingered in smuggling subsidized fertilizers
"If the dealers are NPP members, they are Ghanaians and entitled to do business. Where the problem is is how to get the subsidised fertiliser to our people. That is our main concern as a government and as a political party," he told Accra-based Class FM.
The president of the local chapter of the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, Shiraz Jawol accused some members of the NPP in the Upper West Region of diverting over 20,000 bags of subsidised fertilisers.
He said the fertilisers are smuggled to neighbouring Burkina Faso and sold for higher profit.
But the Upper West Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP said "I dont know the people he [Shiraz Jawol] has pinpointed as sympathisers of the NPP who are the dealers of fertiliser. I know as a regional youth organiser, a member of the region and son of the region, I know the key distributors in the region. Those who actually receive the fertilisers from Accra are not sympathisers of NPP, but that is not our hurdle.
"Our hurdle is that 20,000 bags of fertiliser are supposed to come to the region to be given to our farmers but our investigations showed that less than half of it have gotten to our peasant farmers and that is our biggest challenge and we have made all we can to make sure that the 20,000 bags that were allocated to the region actually get to our people."
He added that the government is committed to all farmers and will ensure transparency in the distribution of the fertilizers.
The three Russians, Farid Isaev, Vadim Potokin and Serhii Chepurnly; and the Ukrainian, Genadly Rubec, have been charged with conspiracy to commit crime and undertaking small-scale mining without licence.
At the court hearing on Friday, May 26, the pleas of the alleged illegal miners were not taken because they made a sign which meant that they did not understand English and could only speak Russian.
The court, presided over by Ms Ruby Aryeetey, instructed the court registrar to arrange for a Russian interpreter to facilitate the continuation of the trial.
The presiding judge also remanded the four accused persons in police custody and adjourned the case to May 31, 2017.
Their arrest was caused by the Lands and Natural Resources Minister, John Peter Amewu when he paid a visit to some illegal mining sites.
The company owned and run by Russians and Ukrainians was mining on concessions fronted by three Ghanaian companies Kasmil Mining Company Limited, K. Afriyie and Sons Precious Metal Company and King Solomon Mining Company.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Cletus Abadanlowra, the prosecutor told the court that Isaev, Potokin and Chepurnly were engineers of a mining company Geo Professional Service, while Rubec was the site manager of the same company.
The Vice President in a statement before the start of the month-long Islamic ritual said "Ramadan is a period of great sacrifice, patient endurance and gratitude. It inspires in us the common values and experiences we share as human beings."
READ MORE: Chief Imam announces May 26 as start of Ramadan
Dr. Bawumias message took on a markedly compassionate tone as his statement noted the "acts of charity and meditation" that define the holy month."
Below is the full statement of Bawumias message:
I would like to extend my warmest felicitations to the Muslim Ummah in Ghana and around the globe on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
An occasion which heralds the twenty-nine day period of fasting when Muslims are expected to exercise self-restraint.
Ramadan is a period of great sacrifice, patient endurance and gratitude. It inspires in us the common values and experiences we share as human beings.
READ ALSO: 26 killed in fresh attack on Christians
The rich and powerful go through the experience that the hungry and weak go through so that they develop empathy for weak and hungry and gratitude for the bountiful blessings of God.
As we mark this auspicious month, may we all (Muslims as well as Christians), rededicate ourselves to the universal human values of love, humility, empathy for others and thankfulness for the blessings of God.
Let us pray for our dear country Ghana. I wish you a blessed month. May Allahs peace be upon us all.Ramadan Mubarak!
No casualties were recorded but the fire destroyed several properties.
Speaking to the media, the boyfriend, Kofi Adusei said he has ceased taking care of Priscilla, who is pregnant due to what he describes as her bad attitude and lack of respect towards him.
He said Priscilla visited him in the night but they had a misunderstanding so he decided not to spend the night with her in the same room.
READ ALSO: Woman marries train station after being in love with it for 36 years
Adusei left his room and went to sleep in another room where a second girlfriend was waiting for him.
While relaxing in my room, I later smelled a scent like that of burning clothes and so I thought she had taken some of my clothings out to burn them. I really wasnt bothered, but later I heard shouts and calls that my room is on fire, we rushed to see the room in flames with Priscilla nowhere to be found, he said.
Kofi Adusei subsequently reported the incident to the police.
Paul Ademan, who is also facing an additional charge of causing harm to the victim, was arrested by the Police at Abomboso in the Eastern Region after absconding.
Ademan denied the charges.
The Court presided over by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku, however, at the end of the trial found him guilty on the charges of defilement and causing harm.
When asked whether he had something to say before sentence was passed Ademan said he would not give up adding he would go to jail and come back.
Earlier, Prosecuting Detective Inspector Judith B. Asante said the complainant Vida Ahensah is a trader residing at Pantang Village with her family, including the victim.
Ademan also resides in the same vicinity.
In October 2013, the accused persons wife one Mavis Adjeiwaa sent the victim to their house to inform her children to stay indoors as the clouds were gathering and it could rain.
Detective Inspector Asante said the victim went to Madam Agyiewaas house with his kid sister but on reaching the house Madam Adjeiwaas children were not in the house.
Prosecution said Ademan took advantage of that and lured the victim and her sister into his kiosk and Ademan spread a piece of cloth on the floor for the victim to lay her kid sister on it and with this the victim also lay beside her kid sister and fell asleep.
Detective Inspector Asante said the victim said while sleeping, she felt sharp pains in her vagina and realised that her face had been covered with a piece of cloth.
The victim, prosecution said, removed the cloth and saw Ademan having sexual intercourse with her and though she screamed for help but no one could hear her as her mouth was covered.
Prosecution said the victim after her ordeal went home with her sister and Ademan threatened her with a knife warning her not to disclose the incident to anyone.
READ ALSO: Police constable defiles primary 5 pupil
The victim informed the accused persons wife but he denied having sexual intercourse with the victim.
Later prosecution said the accused wife informed the victim that accused person had confessed to the crime.
The victim after some days became paralysed and broke her story to a prophetess in the area.
On December 2013, a report was made to the Domestic Violence and Victims Support where medical form was issued to the victim to undergo medical examination.
Ademan, however, went into hiding until January 4, when he was arrested at his hideout Abomboso near Anyinam in the Eastern Region.
They would continue to remain at the heart of its economic policies empowering them economically, to enable them to make useful contribution to nation building.
READ MORE: Man stabbed to death with scissors during wake
She was addressing a youth rally organized to commemorate the Africa Union (AU) Day in Kumasi.
The event, organized by the National Youth Authority (NYA), was under the theme "Investing in the youth to help themselves; tasks and responsibilities of stakeholders".
It brought together various youth groups and students from across the metropolis.
Mrs. Bawumia encouraged them to take advantage of programmes rolled out through the NYA to better their lives.
READ ALSO: Sacked Director of Ridge Hospital drags govt to court over dismissal
She also advised them to be patriotic and to accept to uphold the values of patriotism, hard work, integrity, decency and self-discipline.
She applauded the NYA for the strong and determined effort it was making to give young people employable skills for sustainable livelihood.
Ms. Erica Goldson, acting Representative of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), said it was important for all stakeholders "to see investment in young people as critical to development".
She hailed the government for placing premium on youth development and said that was a right step.
Mrs. Elizabeth Agyemang, Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister, urged the youth to be innovative and to have the courage to venture into business.
That, she indicated, was vital to the fight to bring down the high unemployment.
Mr. Emmanuel Asigri, the Chief Executive Officer of the NYA, said they would go the extra mile to ensure that governments investment in the youth achieved the intended goals.
According to him, hell offer himself as a courageous leader who will make the laws of Ghana work, a leadership quality he asserts the country currently lacks.
Victor Smith who has publicly declared his support for the former President as NDCs surest bet for the 2020 election speaking on Accra-based Asempa FM, said hell be the perfect replacement for Mahama if he declines to contest.
"If President Mahama says he wont run again, I may suggest something else. If he says he won't go then I'll offer myself.
READ ALSO: Alban Bagbin for President campaign posters pop up
"Ive gone through enough and I dont see the commitment from certain people, I dont see the kind of drive Im looking for. Not because of NDC per say but for Ghana, becuase we cant be making the same mistakes otherwise that upheaval we talked about one day will face us," he added.
The government of the New Patriotic Part (NPP) has sacked and forced out some key government appointees and laid off some workers it said the Mahama-led administration employed without following due process.
His comment comes at the back of the dismissal of the Medical Director of the Ridge Regional Hospital Dr Thomas Anaba.
Mahama condemned the act saying it is unacceptable for the government to dismiss workers.
Mahama in a tweet added that it is a "Bad precedents for our governance. Mass sacking of workers by the NPP govt unacceptable."
READ ALSO: Government halts issuance of small scale mining license
Whether employed by his government or whichever government, each citizens deserves a right to be employed.
It has apologised for the "global system outage" and indicated that it was "working to resolve the problem".
Heathrow Airport said it was working closely with British Airways to solve the issue.
The airline told the BBC that at this stage it has no evidence to suggest the system failure was caused by a cyber attack.
It has since asked passengers with flights before 18:00 BST on Saturday not to come to Gatwick or Heathrow airports, which it said had become "extremely congested".
Passengers affected will be offered the option of rescheduling or a refund.
Meanwhile, other airlines flying in and out of Heathrow and Gatwick are not affected.
The situation means that parts of BA's website are unavailable and some travellers said they could not check in on the mobile app.
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By the time she was a senior, Google reached out to Coligado for an interview, this time for a full-time software engineer position. She was hired and began working there in the fall of 2016.
1. Practice the interview
This is always sound advice no matter what industry you're in. But for engineering jobs in particular, the technical interview, where you'll be asked to show off your coding skills, can be especially difficult.
"Ask a peer to play 'interviewer' for an hour so you can practice whiteboarding algorithms in front of another person. Research projects at the company you're applying for and be prepared to talk about them with an interviewer," Coligado says.
2. Ask for help
Don't glean all your information about a position from the job posting use your resources.
"Even if you don't know anyone at the company you're applying to, find a recruiter's email online and ask for application tips or a tour of campus," Coligado says. In other words: network.
3. Don't obsess over things out of your control
"Externalize the things that are out of your control," says Coligado. Specifically, how you may be treated in the interview process based on your race, gender, or ethnicity.
"While I was at Stanford, I heard everything from friends being referred to by the wrong pronoun after correcting their interviewer multiple times to having interviewers pay inordinate amounts of attention to their clothing (usually dresses)," Coligado says.
"So if you feel like you're being evaluated for anything besides your ability to code and work with a team, the problem probably isn't yours. Remember that," she says.
4. Celebrate the small successes and learn from the failures
On the other hand, Coligado says, "do internalize your successes and little victories, which you are in control of."
On Monday, Gap CEO Art Peck told CNBC that the retailer will be opening 60 new Old Navy locations in 2018. It currently has over 1,000 locations.
struggled in recent years and announced 200 store closings at its namesake brand and sister store Banana Republic,
The growth at Old Navy is not specific to any one section of the store. "Old Navy had a super strong fourth quarter," Gap Inc CEO Art Peck said on the earnings call. "It was very diversified and was not relying on any one horse to pull the cart."
We timed our visit to Old Navy with the start of Memorial Day weekend sales. The first thing that struck us was the amount of clothing and accessories that were on sale.
The store was awash with signs offering discounts ranging from 20% to 60% off.
There were also several clearance sections around the store.
Even before discounts, however, Old Navy was still much cheaper than Gap.
The price discrepancies were evident in both the women's and men's jeans sections.
A pair of women's jeans at Old Navy cost between $29.94 and $44.94.
The cheapest pair of women's jeans at Gap was $69.95.
The focus on value at Old Navy is resonating well with price-savvy customers in the US.
There is a noticeable difference in the quality of similar items at Old Navy and Gap. These Gap espadrilles, for example, cost $49.95 and are made with real suede and 100% cotton.
At Old Navy, a similar pair cost $24.94 but were made with synthetic materials.
Fast fashion has made disposable shopping a trend. "Once I've worn something for a season or two I am usually going to be sick of it and want to buy something else," McKay said. "Id rather buy a $30 dress than an $80 dress knowing that I am only going to wear it for a season or two."
In the men's section, there was a lot of variety. The colors and patterns were bolder and brighter than the clothing at Gap, which might appeal to younger shoppers.
In Gap, you typically see plain colors and a lot of denim.
Old Navy also has their own cheaper versions of popular products. These Vans-style shoes cost $29.94 (at Vans, a similar pair costs $55).
But while turnover is important, Old Navy is also valued for its staple items. "Their 'Rockstar' jeans are very consistent. When they come out with new colors, I can buy them and I am going to be happy with them," McKay said.
Though they change the colors and styles of their products frequently, the shape often remains the same.
Old Navy's women's pixie pants, which were launched in 2014, have become one of the brand's most popular products. Stefan Larsson, the former president of Old Navy, told The New York Times in 2015 that when the pants were first tested, they sold 2.4 million pairs in a year.
"It's one of the biggest revenue-generating styles that we have," he said.
The store has consistently low prices across all of its departments.
We noticed a big difference in prices in the baby clothing section. At Old Navy, it cost $24.95 for a pack of three "Babysuits."
At Gap, it cost $29.95 for one. The items at both stores were 100% cotton, though at Gap, the cotton is organic.
Old Navy is also trying to improve the shopping experience. The amount of discounted labels can make it confusing to know how much you can expect to pay. But there are stations throughout the store where you can scan and check prices.
We tried the scanners out, and they worked well. This shirt, which scanned for $21.55, was originally marked at $26.94.
Faith, a female 300 level undergraduate studying English language in the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, is one of several women who have tasted the bitter experience of unsolicited advances from randy male lecturers.
After luckily surmounting the hurdle associated with the endless wait of getting an admission into a tertiary institution, what laid ahead of her proved to be another bout with sorrow.
At 20, she had already started getting exposed to the gender related hardship suffered by young girls in the hands of promiscuous instructors.
Dr. Muhammad Sani Idiagbon, formerly a prominent lecturer in the English department, who was also its head until around June 2016, reportedly harassed the subject sexually in a bid to initiate a romantic relationship with her.
His attempts however met several reproach from Faith who could not fathom the thought of engaging her instructor in an illicit affair.
This was the prelude that birthed one of the most shocking lecturer-student scandals recorded at the institution in recent times.
At a loss and not knowing what to do, Faith resorted to pursuing the only bright idea that came to her during the 2016 Sexual harassment incident.
She opted to make a recording of one of the conversations she had with Idiagbon in his office following an invitation by the latter.
More pressure from the lecturer soon prompted the release of the audio file which went viral and appeared on most prominent online media platforms including Pulse News.
An investigation was quickly launched into the matter, but Idiagbon reportedly failed to respond to an invitation made by the universitys Staff Disciplinary Committee in its bid to make formal findings on the case.
This is according to Kunle Akogun, the universitys Director of Corporate Affairs in a chat with Sahara Reporters shortly after the scandal came to light.
Idiagbon, who is rumoured to be a relation of the Vice-Chancellor, Abdul Ganiyu Ambali has allegedly taken up a new role as a professor at a tertiary school in Gombe State.
Faith on the other hand is facing a possibility of expulsion from the University of Ilorin based on claims that she falsely registered Asa Local Government Area of Kwara state as her local government of origin.
The victim, who reportedly lost her father 20 years ago is originally from Ondo State.
Abdulraheem Garuba, a close friend of her late father became her foster parent following an adoption that has seen him assume the role of a progenitor in Faiths life.
Some camps have perceived the focus on such trivial matter as a desperate means employed by the university to punish her for exposing Idiagbon, when she should be in fact protected and praised for her bravery.
Other experiences reportedly encountered by Faith since the sexual harassment issue became public knowledge include alienation by her colleagues for fear of unforeseen consequences, hostile treatment by members of the university, and undue attention from stalkers.
Despite the vigorous activities of women rights groups and other partners aimed at putting an end to some of the maltreatment suffered by the female gender, many of these socially unacceptable behaviour found in work places, among associations and even religions organizations still continues in full throttle.
Nani gave the charge during his farewell speech in the Divisions conference room and 242 Battalion parade ground in Kinnasara Military Cantonment, Monguno, on Saturday.
In a statement issued in Maiduguri and signed by Col. Timothy Antigha, the Deputy Director Army Public Relations Department, Nani attributed the successes troops doggedness, comradeship, bravery and resilience.
He charged them to remain vigilant and most importantly, accord his successor the same support and solidarity that he had enjoyed.
He thanked the troops for their immeasurable sacrifices in ensuring that terrorists had no safe haven in the divisions area of responsibility.
I am handing over this command to my successor a fulfilled commander due to the successes recorded during my tour of duty.
And I attribute this to the irrepressible courage and zeal of the troops," he stated.
Antigha said in the statement that one minute silence was observed in honour of fallen compatriots who paid the supreme sacrifice in the fight, to ensure that normalcy was fully restored in the divisions area of responsibility.
In his remarks, the incoming GOC thanked the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, for giving him the opportunity to serve.
He commended the outgoing GOC for his achievements and pledged to uphold the ideals of the division and make its jurisdiction untenable for terrorists.
The climax of the evening, according to Antigha, was the signing of the handing and taking over notes.
Others were the presentation of command flag by the outgoing GOC to the incoming Acting GOC Brig.-Gen. Stevenson Olabanji in the divisions conference room.
Ekweremadu made this known in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Uche Anichuwu on Friday.
He said the Police, however, did not find anything incriminating during the raid at the premises located at No. 10 Ganges Street, Maitama, Abuja.
They met the steward, Oliver Ogenyi, and some of Ekweramdus staff and their children in the house.
In spite of the fact that they were informed that the property is the guest house of the Deputy President of the Senate, they nevertheless proceeded to thoroughly search the house without establishing any contact with the Deputy President of the Senate or any of his senior staff.
The steward was taken away by the Police to the Special Anti-Robbery (SARS) Office, Garki, Abuja, where the IGP Special Squads office is also located.
Ogenyi was later released after making a statement.
The Deputy President of the Senate is a law-abiding citizen and does not dispute the fact that the security agencies are empowered by law to carry out searches on premises in accordance with the law.
However, the law requires that the owner of the property or his representative must be informed and should be present during the search, the spokesman noted.
Ekweremadu, according to the statement, is worried about the manner in which his guest house was raided.
He asked, The questions are: Was there a search warrant? What were they looking for? Who searched the police officers before the search? Who supervised the search?"
The statement recalled efforts in the past to incriminate the deputy president of the senate.
The governor, who inspected ongoing projects in Kubau Local Government, said he was satisfied with the level of progress recorded in the projects being executed by his administration.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the El-Rufai had visited Galma Dam which would supply water to Zaria regional water project expected to be inaugurated on May 27.
NAN also reports that Galma dam facility would be used for irrigation to help in the development of the rural communities.
I am happy with the progress so far on all our project. The Shehu Idris school of health and technology Pambeguwa campus is however not very impressive.
Other than that all our other projects are going well. I am very proud that much of the work is being done by indigenous contractors and they are doing good quality work.
I am happy that Kubau local government is being well serviced with projects and I am happy with the efforts being made by both the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Works as well as the member representing Kubau, they are doing well and the people are happy , El-Rufai said.
He reiterated that his administration would continue to deliver more developments across the state.
According to a report by Premium Times, Adoke asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission illegal.
Adoke, who is facing corruption charges, has asked the court to determine the constitutionality of a serving minister exercising executive power through a presidential directive.
He further stressed in his suit that his involvement in the Malabu Oil deal was limited to carrying out the directive of former president, Goodluck Jonathan.
In the affidavit filed in support of the originating summons, Adoke traced the evolution of the deal from 2006 until 2010 when Mr. Jonathan approved the transfer of the oil block to Dan Etete maintaining that his role in the deal was shaped by former presidents directives.
That at all time material the plaintiff carried out the Presidential directive diligently, faithfully, impartially and in good faith and without any personal gain to himself nor to any other person except as was agreed to by the known parties to the parties.
The plaintiff verily believes that he did not exceed the directives/ approval given to him by the President and did nothing wrong to warrant his prosecution on account of the implementation of the Settlement Agreement, the affidavit stated.
ALSO READ: Adoke calls out Obasanjo, Jonathan over involvement in Malabu oil deal
Adoke prayed the court to declare that his involvement in the negotiation between the Nigerian government and Malabu Oil and gas Limited, Shell, Nigeria national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Agip in the matter of OPL 245 was in furtherance of the lawful directive/approval of the president in the exercise of his powers.
Ibas said this on Saturday while donating medical and other items to Kuchigoro Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in the FCT as part of activities marking the navys 61st anniversary.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CNS was represented by Rear Adm. Segun Adebari, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters.
Ibas said the service had extended its medical outreach to some selected communities in Sokoto, Adamawa, Rivers, Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Benue.
Ibas said the donation was part of the navys corporate social responsibility to show beneficiaries love and sense of belonging and give back to the society.
It is also part of building civil/military relations which is one of the cardinal objectives of the NN, the CNS said.
Items donated included treated mosquito nets, malaria drugs, consumables, eye glasses, school materials and toiletries.
Ayade said this on Saturday in Calabar in his anniversary speech to the people of the state.
He said that Cross River had every reason to celebrate 50 years of its existence as a state, considering its monumental achievements during the period.
The governor said the pardon was in the spirit of the celebration and based on the provision of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said, in the spirit of the celebration and the powers vested on me by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, I hereby grant clemency to the following category of people serving various jail terms in the state.
They are five people on death row; 16 prisoners serving life sentences; four prisoners who are above 60 years of age; nine convicted criminals who are terminally ill and may likely die any moment if not granted pardon.
Ayade stressed the need for the people to always remember past leaders of the state who had made considerable efforts in moving the state to greater heights.
He said that in spite of the great challenges that have bedeviled the state, there was the need for the people to have hope for a greater future.
According to him, the state has excelled in many fields of endeavors including tourism, agriculture and forest preservation.
He added that the annual Calabar Carnival has become the greatest street party in Africa.
I therefore call on you to stick together as we look forward to a greater tomorrow," he said.
Ayade had earlier performed the public signing into law of eight bills passed by the State House of Assembly, as part of the celebration.
The laws include Administration of Criminal Justice in Cross River; Citizen Right, Cross River Inland Water-ways, Cross River Scrap Regulatory Agency, Cross River Lottery; Hawkers Right; Emergency Management Agency, and House of Assembly Commission.
The governor also used the occasion of the celebration to call on the people of the state to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammad Buhari.
It would be recalled that Cross River was created on May 27, 1967 from the former Eastern Region as South Eastern State by the then Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime.
Jude Madu, the commands spokesman, who said this in an interview with NAN on Saturday, asked Nigerians to reject the intentions of the groups.
He confirmed that some pro-Biafra agitators were arrested for unlawfully sensitising the public to stay at home on May 30, in observance of the group anniversary.
On Monday, the policearrested about 137 protesters in Enugu, Cross River and Ebonyi.
IPOB and MASSOB are illegal groups and did not get permission from the police to embark on such exercise which threatens the peace and security of the state, he said.
The command with the directive of the commissioner of police, Mr , has commenced intensive sensitisation of the populace to disregard the sit-at-home directive and go about their lawful businesses.
These groups have not provided amenities or other forms of social security for the people they are directing to stay at home; it shows that their intentions are not sincere and must be rejected by all.
Madu warned members of the group not to carry out outlawed activities within the state before, during and after May 30, as the full weight of the law would be brought on any defaulter.
Any person or group found culpable would be arrested and duly prosecuted as the groups activities amount to mutiny or fighting a sitting and legally recognised government.
IPOB and MASSOB are techniques developed by some individuals to gain public interest and recognition as the former is even a breakaway organ of the latter.
He advised the groups that not everybody was interested in issues concerning secession as people still remember the horrors of the civil war and other upheavals in the country after then.
Madu told them to realise that most people are not interested in their preaching, and called on traditional rulers and town unions across the state to assist the police in sensitising the people and provide relevant information about the groups activities.
The command has distributed various call contacts (numbers) to the public to report activities of these groups within this period, especially molestation if they refuse to heed to the stay-at-home order, he said.
Any gathering of two or more people propagating the IPOB/MASSOB messages or executing related activities should be promptly reported to the police for immediate actions.
He gave the advice in his message to felicitate with the Muslim community in Nigeria as they join other faithful across the world to commence Ramadan, the holy month of fasting and prayer.
The Acting President implored Muslims to seek maximum benefits from the Ramadan period by replicating the teachings of the Holy Prophet in all their engagements, both private and public.
He urged Muslims to use the Ramadan to renew their commitments to the virtues of love and peace taught by the Holy Prophet Muhammad, and also works towards achieving them.
He noted that the period was one for spiritual perseverance, temperance, introspection and retrospection with the Almighty Allah.
The Acting President called on Nigerians to continue to pray for President Muhammadu Buhari and the nation in general.
Saraki, in a message he signed, said the Holy month presented another opportunity for Nigerians to show love to the less privileged, especially those currently living in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps across the country.
It is a great pleasure and honour to once again felicitate with millions of Nigerian Muslims, and of course, Muslims across the world, on the start of the glorious month of Ramadan.
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam.
Ramadan is a unique symbol of the values that Muslims and people of all faiths share that is charity, cooperation, compassion and self-restraint, he said.
He added that Ramadan was also an occasion for Muslims to strengthen family and community ties and share Gods gifts with those in need.
This is why I invite us to reflect on the conditions of our brothers and sisters in IDPs camps that for no fault of their own are unable to fast in the comfort of their homes like you and I.
This heart-breaking conditions, therefore, remind us all of our common humanity and compel us into positive actions that could bring a permanent end to the situations.
I like to also use this occasion to pray for the quick recovery of our dear President, President Muhammadu Buhari.
My thoughts and prayers are always with him just as I wish for him a complete and restful recovery.
Sani, who is also an author, play wright and human rights activist, made the call in his address at the foundation-laying ceremony of Writers Village on Friday in Abuja.
He said, This is because people in the positions of power are finding it difficult to accept criticisms; they do no agree that they were democratically elected and not crowned as kings, queens or emperors.
We find bloggers arrested; they go after journalists; they demolish radio stations for one reason or the other and they use hate speeches as excuses to trample on freedom of speech.
I think this must be resisted; a democratic country must give each and every person the right to speak.
He also observed that in some states, members of the assembly lacked the courage to engage governors who are not delivering good governance.
According to him, only lawmakers in the National Assembly can criticise government and its policies.
He underscored the fact that legislators at the three levels of government are vital democratic institutions that need to provide checks and balances.
We live in a society and system whereby we wait for the government to be changed before we know the truth.
Most former governors, ministers, and senators facing trial today were recipients of so many awards when they were in power.
We live in a country that we believe so much in praising people when they are in power and criticising and stoning them them when they leave power.
It is not new; this is what has been happening since 1999," he stated.
Sani commended the legal team of the Association of Nigerian Authors(ANA) for fighting resiliently and ensuring that the land was retained.
He also commended the current leadership of ANA under Malam Abdullahi Denja for kick-starting the construction of the Writers Village by organising the foundation-laying ceremony.
She expressed the hope that the remaining girls would be rescued soon and be reunited with their families.
Tinubu also urged the government to provide food, shelter, affordable and accessible health care and education for those who had been displaced by insurgency.
This is your right and I hope that Nigeria can be better to provide you a whole world of opportunities ahead of you.
It is my hope that every one of you can be protected from violence in all its forms such as exploitation, abuse, trafficking, physical and humiliating punishment and harmful traditional practices among others.
However, you must not let the difficulty of the situation around you limit the greatness you have, she said.
She promised to continue to do her best to ensure better conditions, welfare and opportunities for children, women and the vulnerable in the society as the senator representing Lagos Central.
My commitment to you children has not waned.
You are Nigerias future and everything you do and learn is to prepare you for that great responsibility and equip you with all the necessary tools. Please make the most of it.
I wish you a happy Childrens Day and I hope sincerely that you take on the baton of excellence, impacting lives, your surroundings and Nigeria in all you do, Tinubu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that IPAC is the umbrella organisation of all political parties in Nigeria.
In a statement signed by the Enugu State Chairman of IPAC, Chief John Nwobodo, on Saturday, the body expressed delight at the achievements of Ugwuanyis administration in just two years in office.
Nwobodo said that the governors many positive actions, projects and programmes have elevated governance to a higher pedestal in the state.
The IPAC chairman also lauded the governors exhibition of vision, candor, humility, simplicity, all inclusiveness and other uncommon leadership styles.
According to him, these exemplary qualities have endeared him to the people of the state.
Your Excellency, following our objective and dispassionate assessment, we are pleased to say that we appreciate your achievement, especially in the areas of road construction and rehabilitation, including intervention on Federal roads, rural access roads and rural interconnectivity through bridges.
You have also ensured peace and security, regular and prompt payment of salaries of civil servants and release of subventions to government parastatals and institutions," he said.
He commended Ugwuanyi for his empowerment programmes aimed at economic growth and alleviation of the sufferings of the people such as the Enugu State Traders Empowerment Scheme.
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Adewale of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff-led PDP, made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
He acknowledged that internal problems within the party had caused some setbacks, but said the party would rise above its challenges for a strong showing.
The PDP is a strong party in the state. Agreed there are some problems here and there caused by some people for their personal interests, but the party will overcome all that and do well at the poll, he said.
Adewale said he had made overtures to the faction led by Moshood Salvador on the need to have a united party but that his efforts were not appreciated.
He said the disagreement would not deter his faction from preparing well for the poll even as he said the door of peace was still open to the Salvador camp.
Adewale said his faction conducted its primary in all the 20 local government area and 37 local council development areas on Friday and that it was largely peaceful.
We had our primary election on Friday and I can tell you that it was largely peaceful and successful.
Apart from Agege, Ikeja and Amuwo where we recorded some problems, the primaries went well and candidates emerged for the chairmanship and councillorship seats.
The successful conduct of our primary is a reflection of our determination and resolve to do well at the poll despite the odds. he said.
Adewale condemned the alleged holding of primary by some groups under the name of PDP, saying it was illegal.
He said he was the authentic chairman of the state based on the Appeal Court judgement affirming Sherrif as national chairman, adding that any other primary outside his own was illegal.
I am the authentic Chairman of PDP in Lagos. If any group is holding any primary in the state under the name of the party, it is null and void as it is illegal, he said.
Meanwhile, the Salvador faction of Sen Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker Committee has directed its aspirants to seek any other political platform apart from the PDP to contest the forthcoming poll.
The Publicity Secretary of the faction, Mr Taofik Gani, told NAN that the faction took the decision as reconciliation with Adewale faction was not yielding results.
Yes, we have directed our aspirants to seek any political parties of their choice for the election.
They are using parties temporarily for the election pending the resolution of Makarfi /Sheriff at the Supreme Court, Gani said.
Gani, however, said the faction would monitor and guide their aspirants while they contest on the platform of different political parties.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that some aggrieved party supporters engaged one another in a free-for-all midway into the election, smashing ballot boxes over allegations of imposition of candidates at the election.
Scores of delegates and others present at the Teslim Balogun Stadium venue fled in different directions as a result of the fracas, even as some were injured.
The Chairman of the Elections Committee, Sen Tokunbo Afikuyomi, was also attacked, with his top taken off by angry supporters who accused him of impartiality as he scampered to safety.
Security officials later forced him out the grip of the angry youths and whisked him away.
NAN reports trouble started when some party members in Surulere and Lagos Mainland openly protested against the names of candidates being read out by Afikuyomi for endorsement as consensus candidates.
They alleged that the party leadership was foisting candidates on them and said the decision of the leadership to approve consensus candidates in 18 councils was wrong.
The aggrieved members initially vented their anger through protests, but it later degenerated into fracas between supporters of selected candidates and those who opposed them.
A party faithful, Mr Wale Tokunbo, had told NAN shortly before the violence broke out that the substitution of Mr Tajudeen Ajide for the Surulere Local Government Area Chairmanship for another candidate was unjust.
The removal of Ajides name for the name of somebody we dont know is not acceptable to us.
If we talk about democracy, we should be able to practise it. This primary is a sham; we would resist it, he said.
Another party faithful in Mainland Local Government who pleaded anonymity had told NAN that party members were surprised at the mention of Yaba Local Government as one of the areas with a consensus candidate at the primary.
He said there were aspirants contesting for the post in the area and that nobody knew of the consensus candidate until they got to the venue.
What consensus candidates are they talking about? We are just knowing that Yaba is one of them now. This is wrong, he said.
Earlier in his speech, the Chairman of the party, Mr Henry Ajomale, had urged the delegates and other supporters not to be violent.
I welcome you all to this election and I urge you all conduct yourselves in a peaceful manner.
We have the information that some people are here to cause trouble. We shouldnt allow them because they are saboteurs, he said.
These days, all it requires to get them into the wrestling arena is a news report or press statement or both.
Earlier this week, news filtered in that Wike had penned Amaechi's name as one of those to be handed awards at the Governor's pleasure.
Rivers celebrates its golden jubilee all week long and dishing out awards to 'deserving' recipients is part of the drill.
Here's a recap of what Wike was up to this week, as filed by Pulse:
"Amaechi and other nominees will be honoured for their individual contributions to the development of Rivers.
"Other persons on the list of 29 people include former presidents, and and late activist, .
"The awards ceremony will expectedly hold on May 27 in Port Harcourt, the State capital.
"The Governors decision to honour Amaechi comes as a surprise because the two have been at loggerheads for more than three years".
I wasn't expecting Amaechi to fly to Port Harcourt just because he wants to receive an award from Wike, given the level of animosity between both men.
But I also wasn't expecting this from Amaechi:
"The purported award itself is a contradiction of monumental proportions, a contradiction that can only come from a warped and perverted mind.
"From day one as Governor, Wike has made it his sole, one-point agenda to attack, abuse, insult and falsely denigrate Amaechi, his immediate predecessor and erstwhile benefactor.
"Since he became Governor, Wike spends most of his time making reckless, deeply irresponsible malicious, false allegations against Amaechi, as he attempts, albeit fruitlessly, to malign and destroy the outstandingly superb performance and legacy of Amaechi in Rivers State.
"So, what is the bases or criteria for Wike to give an award/honour to a man he (Wike) has rashly attacked and called all sorts of unprintable names in the past two years?
"What will Amaechi tell Rivers People when he goes to collect an award from that man-child who sits in Government House that is directly or indirectly responsible for the present deplorable state of sufferings, economic and infrastructural decay, violence, crime, insecurity, kidnappings and killings in Rivers State.
"Amaechi will not accept any award from a petty low-life conman, who rode to power on the blood of Rivers people".
Harsher words haven't been delivered.
Driving home on Friday night, I knew Wike's riposte was going to arrive my mailbox, laden with all invectives imaginable.
And the Rivers Governor didn't disappoint.
He held nothing back; practically throwing the kitchen sink at Amaechi.
Here goes:
"The Rivers State government has learnt with much relief news of the rejection of a proposed State award, by a former Governor of the State, and current Minister for Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi", Wike wrote in a press statement signed by Dr. Austin Tam-George, who is his commissioner for information and communication.
"Given Mr Amaechi's sanctimonious statement of rejection, it is important to clarify that the Rivers State Government never set out to honour Mr Amaechi for any meritorious service to the State during his time as Governor.
"As part of the events of the State's Golden Jubilee celebration, the State government accepted the recommendation of the organizing committee that a variety of awards be given to different categories of individuals who have earned a place in the history of the State.
"There is a category of the awards designated for former Governors of the State. And as a former Governor, Mr Amaechi fell automatically in that category.
"We wish to emphasize that the award was never meant as a validation of Mr Amaechi's horrendous administration.
"Mr Amaechi was personally indicted for stealing billions of public funds during his time in office, by a court-approved panel of inquiry set up by the state government. The government will soon initiate a prosecutorial process against him in multiple jurisdictions, in Nigeria and abroad.
"And no award would have stopped that process. We must confess that as a government, we wrestled with the moral horror of giving any kind of award to a man whose government was no better than a criminal syndicate.
"Mr Amaechi may be a scoundrel of history, but he was once a Governor of the state.
"The proposed award was to serve as a sad acknowledgement of the especially dark place he occupies in our State's otherwise illustrious history. His rejection of the award is therefore a huge moral relief for the administration, and the people of the state".
It saddens me that these men are leaders in our country.
You'd be forgiven if you thought they were some thugs exchanging 'yo momma' invectives out in the parking lot.
Amaechi's and Wike's kids have been watching and reading.
Young Nigerians who want to become the next Amaechi or Wike some day soon, have been watching and reading as both men never pass an opportunity to hurl mud and shtick at themselves.
These men control State and federal budgets in the billions of Naira and have people looking up to them.
What an example they've become!
On Wike and Amaechi's accounts, hundreds of lives have been lost in Rivers and the State has become a cesspool of blood and a theatre of violence.
It's time to stop.
Politics could be bitter, but it pays to always know when to draw the line.
Amaechi and Wike have entertained us bitterly since the latter succeeded the former in Rivers government house in 2015--and even before that.
I have interacted with both men at close quarters and the bile they both harbour for the other is palpable.
It's no longer funny.
One more invective laden statement from these guys and I'll flip.
In this partnership, AUN Hotel has provided the venue for The Spelling Bee Challenge Adamawa Quiz Debate Contest final slated for June 24 within its premises; the clubhouse has been chosen as the befitting place for the Grand Finale, Prize and Award Giving Ceremony.
The Hotel also provides food and drinks for the occasion to cater to the over 150 guests, at discounted rates.
Fidson Healthcare PLC, makers of Astymin, Astyfer and other multivitamin drugs, have given support with the supply of promotional items for student challengers, on the day.
The complimentary items were received in batches from the companys coordinator of promotions, Mrs. Yetunde Adesola, in Lagos; the second batch was received from the Adamawa representative in of the company, Mr Ugochukwu Anagbogu, in the State.
The items received include Notepads, Biros, and Carrier Bags etc.
With the initial provision of 10 cartons each of FARO table water and FARO juice, Adama Beverges has increased its support for The Spelling Bee Challenge Adamawa Quiz Debate Contest by further supplying another 10 cartons of the products for the Grand Finale, Prize and Award Giving Ceremony this June.
Mr Macaulay Maduwuba, Director of The Spelling Bee Challenge Council of Administration and Organisation was at the Jimeta office of the company to receive the supplies.
In honor of this day and all it represents, here are three innovative inventions that arent just changing lives here in Africa, but potentially across the globe as well.
Africa is oft-denigrated by Western media most times needlessly. But Africans are resilient. Nobody makes their way through stuff like we do and that is why we believe and remain steadfast for an eventual triumph. All hail the motherland.
Guterres, in a statement issued by Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, said the attack was unjustified.
The terrorists attacked a bus in Egypt, in which at least 28 people were killed and dozens, including children, were injured.
The bus was conveying members of the Egypts Coptic Christians when gunmen opened fire on them killing 28 people and injuring dozens others.
There can be no justification for such horrific violence, Guterres said.
The Secretary-General expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Egypt.
The UN Security Council had earlier condemned the attack, demanding that perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of the reprehensible acts of terrorism be brought to justice.
The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack that took place on a bus travelling to a monastery in Minya, Egypt.
The 15-member Council, whose rotating membership currently includes Egypt, began a regularly scheduled meeting on Friday with a moment of silence in honour of the victims.
The statement, issued by the Council President for May 2017, Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay), called on Governments to cooperate actively with the Egyptian Government and all relevant authorities.
The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.
As he met the German chancellor on the sidelines of Thursday's NATO summit in Brussels, Erdogan said he raised the issue of "the putschist soldiers whose asylum applications have been accepted, and gave a firm reaction."
"We asked: 'How can you do this?'" Erdogan said, quoted by the Hurriyet newspaper.
Since the attempted coup, dozens of Turkish diplomats and high-ranking officials have sought asylum in Germany as Ankara presses a crackdown on those suspected of links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of ordering putsch.
Earlier this month, German media reports said numerous Turkish military personnel and their families had been granted political asylum, prompting Ankara to accuse Berlin of "embracing a pro-coup mentality."
But Erdogan said Merkel told him asylum approval "was not up to her".
Ankara's relations with the EU have been strained since the July 15 coup and have been further tested by a number of other issues, including last month's referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.
When Turkish ministers were blocked from speaking at rallies in the Netherlands and Germany ahead of the April 16 vote, Erdogan accused both countries of "Nazi practices".
A further blow to relations was Ankara's imprisonment in February of Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist with Die Welt, on terror charges.
'A positive meeting'
EU Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker also met with Erdogan ahead of the NATO summit in an effort to rebuild ties.
Erdogan was quoted as saying it was a "positive meeting for a new and positive momentum in Turkey's EU membership process".
He said Brussels had presented Turkey with a 12-month timetable for improving relations, adding that Ankara would work with the bloc and "take steps" without giving detail.
A European Commission spokesman said Thursday that Turkey and the EU "must and will continue to cooperate".
Germany's interior ministry said Friday that 217 of the asylum applications came from Turks holding diplomatic passports while another 220 were from people with passports issued to other government employees and their dependants.
It is not known how many have been given asylum or how many are from the military.
Incirlik base spat persists
Erdogan also said he discussed with Merkel the issue of German lawmakers wanting to visit the Incirlik military base near Syria.
Ankara refused to allow German lawmakers to visit the base this month and Erdogan said Turkey wanted a list of those who would visit because some MPs "openly support terrorists".
The lawmakers called off their visit but not before Berlin warned it could move its 250 military personnel stationed at the base to another location in the region, most likely Jordan.
It is the latest in a series of assaults on Western-backed forces as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive and the insurgency expands more than 15 years after they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion.
"A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 13 people," said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish. "The target was a public bus station which was hit by the bombing. The victims were in civilian clothes and it is difficult to verify their identities."
But provincial police chief Faizullah Ghairat said members of the elite Khost Provincial Force (KPF) -- known to be paid and equipped by the American CIA -- were the target of the attack.
"The bombing took place early morning when KPF members were heading to work," Ghairat told AFP. "But most of the victims are civilians."
The KPF, estimated to have around 4,000 fighters, are believed to operate a shadow war against the Taliban in a province that borders Pakistan and are accused of torture and extrajudicial killings.
The brazen attack, claimed by the Taliban on their website, comes just a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when insurgents attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The attack in Shah Wali Kot district followed insurgent raids earlier this week on military bases in the same area and Maiwand district, bringing the death toll among Afghan troops in Kandahar to around 60.
'Unforgivable crime'
The battlefield losses mark a stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces and have raised concerns about their capacity to beat back the resurgent Taliban.
Afghan forces are beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks.
The United Nations this week called on all parties of the conflict for a halt in fighting during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
That has prompted no response from the Taliban, who launched their annual spring offensive in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy.
"Terrorists, on the first day of Ramadan, conducted an attack in Khost that martyred a number of countrymen," the Afghan presidential office said in a statement.
"The terrorists do not value any religious and holy days, committing a war crime and an unforgivable crime."
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan.
Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna on Friday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of IS strikes that have killed more than 100 Copts in Egypt since December.
Haftar's forces carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt in Derna, the air force said in a statement carried by the LANA news agency loyal to Libya's eastern administration.
Egypt used French-built Rafale fighter jets to target military camps and the headquarters of the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city, it said.
"The operation was a success and the losses of the Al-Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment," the statement said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), opposed by Haftar, denounced the raids as a violation of its sovereignty.
"Whatever the pretext, we reject any action that undermines the sovereignty of our country. There is no justification for the violation of the territory of other countries," a GNA statement said.
Derna was known for being a bastion of extremists even before the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libya's longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
After the revolt, the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia slowly spread its presence to Derna.
In 2014, some jihadists defected to join IS, which took control of Derna.
Pro-Al-Qaeda elements opposed to IS banded together to form Majlis Mujahedeen Derna to fight both the group and Haftar's forces, in 2015 expelling the jihadists from the city.
Haftar's forces regularly carry out air raids on positions of the pro-Al-Qaeda alliance.
Macedonia has endured almost two years of protracted and sometimes violent political crisis ahead of the eventual transfer of power to the longtime opposition, which now looks to be imminent.
President Gjorge Ivanov on Wednesday gave the Social Democrats (SDSM) a mandate after they won the support of minority ethnic Albanian parties in a December election.
The conservative president had been refusing to grant the SDSM a mandate, saying national unity would be undermined by the demands of Albanian groups, before recanting after the SDSM secured a majority.
SDSM leader Zoran Zaev saw his party and his allied Albanian parties win 67 of 120 seats in the country of some two million people, which aspires to join both the European Union and NATO.
Macedonia was plunged into crisis in 2015 after Zaev began releasing tapes that appeared to show official and widespread wiretapping, top-level corruption and other crimes by the government under former prime minister Nikola Gruevski.
Gruevski, who leads the rival conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, stepped down last year after a decade as premier ahead of an early election.
Ethnic Albanian parties, whose supporters account for about one-fifth of a predominantly Slav Orthodox electorate, then switched support to the Social Democrats, which prompted nationalist protests against a new coalition.
But Xhaferi told AFP that a new government would have to seek widespread parliamentary support for changes such as making Albanian an official language, a key demand of the minority parties.
"It is not enough just to have a simple majority," said Xhaferi, as constitutional reforms require the support of two-thirds of parliamentarians.
Xhaferi added he wanted to see an investigation into the violence on April 27, when rightwing militants stormed parliament and assaulted several lawmakers, to "establish the political responsibility" of those who participated.
Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, recently faced criticism from conservatives for placing a small Albanian flag on his desk in parliament.
Multiple security forces units are attacking "what remains of the unliberated areas" on the west bank of the River Tigris, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
"Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and Counter-Terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood," it said.
All three neighbourhoods are located north of the Old City, a warren of closely spaced buildings and narrow streets that has posed significant challenges to Iraqi forces seeking to oust IS.
The Joint Operations Command said later on Saturday that two colonels from the Iraqi army's 16th Division were killed in the Mosul area, but did not provide details about when or how they died.
On Friday, the federal police said they had bombarded IS positions with Grad rockets and field artillery in "preparation for attacking the Old City in the coming hours".
But the Joint Operations Command did not mention any attack on IS-held areas of the Old City on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped "hundreds of thousands of leaflets" on IS-held areas of Mosul, urging "citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces".
Dangers to civilians
International aid group Save the Children expressed concern that the call for civilians to leave could expose them to additional danger.
"The Iraqi government must ensure all exit corridors are genuinely safe for people to flee," it said.
"The call for civilians to leave their homes is a U-turn on former directives that compelled civilians to stay and wait for the battle to pass" -- instructions that also raised concerns about the risks.
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained much of the territory they lost to the jihadists.
Iraqi forces launched a major operation to retake Mosul in October last year, fighting their way to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
The battle has taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee, while hundreds more have been killed or wounded.
On Thursday, the United States announced the results of an investigation into a deadly coalition air strike earlier this year.
The probe found that at least 105 civilians had been killed and 36 remained unaccounted for, but said most had been killed by the secondary explosion of IS munitions stored in a nearby house.
There have also been reports that members of an Iraqi interior ministry special forces unit tortured and killed detainees during the Mosul operation.
Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady recounted witnessing the abuse, which he also filmed, in an article for German magazine Der Spiegel. US network ABC News also reported on Arkady's footage.
The interior ministry has launched an investigation into the allegations.
The two sides had just opened formal talks when chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza objected to the communists' telling guerillas to intensify attacks in response to President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in parts of the country.
"The government panel is now left without any other recourse but to announce... that it will not proceed to participate in the fifth round of peace negotiations," he said.
He added that talks would not resume until there were indications of an "environment conducive to achieving just and sustainable peace".
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law over the southern third of the country on Tuesday to quell fighting with pro-Islamic State militants in a southern city.
Communists insurgents, who are active in wide areas of the archipelago, including the south, responded to his declaration by ordering their forces to "carry out more tactical offensives".
But communist alliance negotiators blamed government officials, saying their statement resulted from government officials announcing that New People's Army fighters would also be targeted in Manila's crackdown on Islamic extremists.
Senior rebel negotiator Luis Jalandoni said that despite the government's ultimatum, the guerrillas' attacks would continue.
Government negotiator Silvestre Bello said the rebel panel had originally asked for a 10-minute recess to discuss the government's threat but refused to return to the table afterwards.
'Talks not closed'
But chief rebel negotiator Fidel Agcaoili told journalists he was hopeful the talks could resume, despite the government's suspension.
"The talks are not closed," Agcaoili said.
"Of course we intend to sit down again, the two panels, and then perhaps find some constructive solution between the two of us to continue the fifth round of talks."
If a solution could be reached, the talks "could resume tomorrow," said Agcaoili, chief negotiator for the National Democratic Front of the Philippines, a coalition of several groups, of which the Communist Party of the Philippines is among the most prominent.
The CPP's armed wing is the 4,000-member NPA guerilla unit.
The communist insurgency in the poverty-stricken Asian country which began in 1968 is one of the longest running in the world. It has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives, according to the military.
Peace talks have been conducted on and off for 30 years, and were revived after Duterte, a self-declared socialist, was elected president last year.
Norway had coaxed the two sides back to the negotiating table in August, but little progress has been made since then.
The talks were moved to Noordwijk aan Zee, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) from Utrecht, where several of the rebel leaders live in exile.
The fiery Duterte has also taken strong positions against the rebels, imposing conditions including that the guerrillas stop extortion and arson activities.
Duterte angrily called off the peace talks in February after the collapse of unilateral ceasefires that saw guerrillas killing several soldiers and police in a series of attacks.
The Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said 103 people were confirmed killed while another 113 were missing.
The military conducted search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road.
Home Affairs minister Vajira Abeywardena said that while the worst of the rain was over, there was a danger of fresh flooding downstream.
He urged people living in low-lying areas to move to higher ground.
"There are several remote places which are still inaccessible," Abeywardena told reporters in Colombo. "We have reports of places where neither helicopters nor boats can reach."
He said the government was air dropping 10,000 life jackets for marooned people until they could be moved to safer ground.
The government has set up 104 temporary shelters in public buildings to accomodate those driven out of their homes by flooding and landslides, he added.
-Indian supplies-
An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday.
Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said a second larger vessel was expected in Colombo on Monday with more aid.
"When you feel the pain, we also feel the pain," the envoy said while formally handing over the Indian aid to Sri Lanka's Foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Colombo port.
The Indian aid included a medical team as well as inflatable boats and medicine.
India has offered more aid, including helicopters, to boost the relief operations, government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, rushed to Kalutara, just south of the capital Colombo, to supervise relief operations.
At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto army armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to high ground for burial.
There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the island's gem capital, which was also flooded.
The meterological department said they expected rains to subside, but the monsoon will remain active at a lower intensity.
"The monsoon has firmly established and we could have evening showers at a lesser intensity," meterological department chief S. R. Jayasekera said.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said.
Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing just over 100 people.
The jihadist group claimed in a statement that its fighters "set up a checkpoint" for the Christians as they headed to the monastery, then killing them and setting one of their vehicles on fire.
The interior ministry said masked gunmen in three pick-up trucks had attacked the bus as it heading for Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Cairo, before fleeing.
The attack prompted Egypt to unleash air strikes on jihadist camps in neighbouring Libya.
The military published footage of the strikes but declined to say where they took place.
A spokesman for the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city in eastern Libya, said the Egyptian air force carried out eight raids on the city without causing casualties.
The air force loyal to Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Egypt, on Saturday said it had participated in the strikes, describing them as "heavy in casualties".
Majlis Mujahedeen Derna ousted IS from Derna in 2015 and also fights Haftar's forces.
The group has no known connections to IS in Egypt.
The link between Derna and Friday's attack was not immediately clear, but Egypt has repeatedly expressed concern over militants crossing from Libya to Egypt to conduct attacks.
In a speech on Friday, Sisi said setbacks to IS in Syria were driving its fighters to try to relocate to Libya and Egypt's Sinai.
In past attacks, Egypt had usually identified local jihadists as the perpetrators.
Friday's attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.
IS claimed all the bombings and threatened more attacks on the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million.
It has also killed several Christians in North Sinai, forcing dozens of families to flee.
The latest attack drew global condemnation.
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil," US President Donald Trump said in a statement.
Two years into Illinois' budget wars, Jeff Gripp has some advice for Gov. Bruce Rauner.
Don't back down.
A retired truck driver who lives in a middle class neighborhood in Rock Island, Gripp thinks Illinois' first-term governor is engaged in a worthy fight for control.
"If he can get power away from Chicago, then it's better for the rest of us," he said.
Given the slip in the governor's approval rating over the two-year budget impasse, voices like Gripp's are probably pretty welcome to Rauner. That's likely even more true given where it comes from. Gripp's single story house, in a tree-lined neighborhood just southeast of Longview Park, lies within a precinct that backed Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
In 2014, it shunned Democrat Pat Quinn and delivered Rauner a close victory, 50.7 percent to 46.3 percent.
That's roughly the same margin by which Rauner won Rock Island County.
If Democrats expect to win Rock Island County back next year, an important one in the fight for Downstate Illinois, neighborhoods like these will be important.
After months of cascading headlines about struggling social service agencies and college debt downgrades, Illinoisans' patience is wearing thin with Springfield, and Rauner is feeling the impact, too.
The governor's statewide approval rating in March was at 36 percent, according to a poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, down five points from the year before. Downstate, it was slightly better, at just short of 38 percent, but it too was down by about five points from the year before.
It's true that House Speaker Mike Madigan, a Democrat, fared worse. But Rauner's 58 percent disapproval rating statewide was up eight points in the poll from the previous spring and 26 points from the spring of 2015.
The governor has stepped up his presence in recent months. He's hit the road to sell his case against the Democrats, and campaign-like television ads featuring the governor with a roll of duct tape have been a constant presence in communities like Rock Island since early April.
It's not hard to find a harsh word for Springfield in Rock Island County. Complaints that people and businesses are fleeing the state abound.
"If you live in Iowa, stay there," Rich Simmons, a retired postal worker, said the other day. His house sits just a few blocks from where Gripp lives.
Simmons voted for Rauner in 2014, and he still supports him. Nevertheless, he doesn't think much will change. "I'm not real confident," he said.
That pessimism about change is also frequently heard. But so is a desire its particularly loud in the business community -- that the state end the budget standoff.
Bill Anderson, a retired federal government worker who voted for Quinn in 2014, is resolute when he says, "we've got to get a balanced budget." And he's equally sure that he doesn't think Rauner is doing his share to get there. "It sounds to me like he's politicking more than he's doing his job," he said.
Since he came into office, Democrats have accused Rauner of an ideological campaign to bust unions and hurt working people. Now, they say, the states fiscal stalemate and its consequences cant help but hurt him with voters.
"He's held the state's budget hostage for two years," said Doug House, chairman of the Rock Island County Democrats and leader of the Illinois County Democratic Chairmen's Association.
With 18 months to go before next year's election, it's hard to tell what the political climate will be like, nationally and statewide. Christopher Mooney, director of the institute of government and public affairs at the University of Illinois, said even if a deal is reached, its elements will be important. And to make a dent in the state's debt, it will require sacrifice. Its not as if they get a deal and its happy days are here again. Thats when the pain is going to really start," he said.
Senate Democrats passed a budget package Tuesday that raises income taxes and expands the sales tax. They argued the state couldn't wait any longer, and there needed to be some certainty brought to the state's fiscal situation. Moody's Investors Service warned in March if the state can't get a budget by the scheduled adjournment date of May 31, its already weak credit rating would suffer further.
Rauner has argued that any deal with new revenue had to include a measure to curb property tax increases. He and Democrats couldn't come together on the issue, and after the vote the Republicans unleashed robocalls criticizing Democrats.
That Rauner is holding fast to his agenda wears well with the two dozen or so conservatives who attended the Ronald Reagan Breakfast Club on Wednesday at City Limits Saloon and Grill in Rock Island.
A weekly meeting, its members like to joke it is the "largest unorganized gathering of conservatives that meet weekly in the state of Illinois." Members pass a microphone and, over eggs and coffee, take turns making announcements, sharing information and offering opinions on events of the day.
Rauner has been a guest at the club, and so have other officeholders.
Support for Rauner here appears to be strong. Told of a reporter's interest in their opinion about the governor, several people at the table vowed their support as the microphone went around the table.
"He is doing what he said, and he is sticking to his guns. And that is what we want," said Bill Long, a Republican from Rock Island.
Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds set foot in Scott County on Friday for the first time as the state's chief executive.
In front of 75 to 100 people, most of them area Republicans, the state's history-making governor greeted well-wishers with hugs and a pledge that she and the new acting Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg would be a vigorous team.
She said she would push to change the state's tax code, advance energy policy and improve education and the state's workforce. She made no specific proposals and gave no details in remarks to reporters afterward.
However, Friday wasn't so much a day for making policy pronouncements as it was a chance for the state's first female governor to reintroduce herself to people across the state many of whom she already knows well but this time as the successor to ex-Gov. Terry Branstad.
The new governor spoke of her upbringing in the small town of St. Charles, in Madison County, her work in local government and her selection by Branstad to be his running mate in 2010. And now, after his resignation and her taking the oath of office on Wednesday, she's the state's 43rd governor.
"I guess dreams do come true," Reynolds said with a wide smile.
In the crowd to greet her was Maggie Tinsman, a former Republican state senator who was somewhat of a trailblazer herself. Tinsman was the first woman to sit on the Scott County Board of Supervisors, and now she helps to lead a group that pushes to get more women into elected positions in Iowa.
"I think she's terrific," Tinsman said. "She knows how to bring people together. That's what you have to do in Iowa."
As she usually does, the new governor gave a nod to Branstad on Friday. But now, she will chart her own course. And if that wasn't clear already, Gregg emphasized it in his own remarks.
"The apprenticeship is over," he told the group inside a meeting room at the Davenport Municipal Airport.
Reynolds faces the possibility of a primary challenge next year. Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett has been considering a bid for governor, but Tinsman said he would face a difficult fight if he runs.
"I think he could challenge her," she said. "I don't think he would be successful."
Reynolds also faces a large group of Democrats who hope that, with Branstad now out of the way, they may be able to claim the governor's office next year.
Iowa Democratic Party Chair Derek Eadon took the occasion of Friday's tour to point to Iowa's most recent legislative session to rebut the idea that Reynolds is a consensus builder or even much of a change from her predecessor.
"Governor Reynolds has a clear history of prioritizing her own partisan agenda before the needs of working families in Iowa," he said in a statement.
The late afternoon visit to Davenport was Reynolds' fourth stop of the day, part of what her office called the "Build a Better Iowa" tour. Her remarks were fairly brief. Instead, she spent much of the time talking one-on-one with people, posing for pictures, embracing acquaintances and accepting their congratulations.
"I don't think any one is more qualified to work on budgets, to do the hard work she has before her," said Carolyn Tallett of Clinton. "And she's a role model for women, and I like that."
The Bettendorf Police Explorers will host a bike sale 8:30-11 a.m. Saturday, June 10, at the Bettendorf Police Department (back parking lot), 1609 State St. There will be over 50 bikes on sale. For more information, contact Officer Neil Chapman, nchapman@bettendorf.org.
Life is long and short. Its all in how you look at it. At my age, I look at it both ways. It seems like just yesterday that I graduated from Davenport High School. Now they call it Central, although I never have figured out why they changed the name. When I graduated in 1943, commencement was held in the big gymnasium because we had 448 in our senior class. The old auditorium wouldnt hold all the mamas and papas and all those graduates, which seemed a lot of people that long ago.
Last week, they gave a semi-cold shoulder to the old auditorium, which was so small that today's students had to attend assemblies in shifts or sit on the wood steps. A badly needed new and immense auditorium called a performing arts center was dedicated on Wednesday with ribbon cutting and all such things for an auditorium that should last for the next 110 years, which is the age of the current school building.
LIFE IS BOTH long and short, and I got a lump in my throat when I last crossed that old original auditorium stage. The thick brass railing around the balcony is untouched with a perpetual shine. The original stage was cramped, but the performers carried on.
I strolled around that old stage with 1943 tear-jerking innocence and remember playing the role of a carnival pitchman to sell World War II war bond stamps. I was regularly on that stage, in some farce or another. I once did a little jig-dance with Dick Steckel while Gwen Makeever sang Rosie the Riveter in a wartime musical. My only real bid to serious fame was one of a trio of cornetists playing Carnival of Venice during a band concert.
LIFE IS BOTH long and short when memories of Davenport High life bubble up. If a girl walked on that auditorium stage, or any place in the school for that matter, and her skirt looked too short, woe unto her: The principal had decreed that All skirts in this school have to be knee length. The student had to kneel and the hem of her skirt had to touch the floor. If it didnt, she was sent home, to return wearing something decent.
To reach the old auditorium, we sometimes climbed wide stairs from one school level to another. There were separate stairs for boys and girls, with restrooms for each sex on each level. To reach the main building and auditorium from the gym, you took a tunnel. One day I roller-skated down that tunnel, to the hilarity of my classmates. I was summoned to the principals office, expecting the worse. A.I. Nauman slammed his office door and stared me eye-to-eye. Then he laughed: I wanted to do the same tunnel-skate thing all my life. He even shook my hand.
I've known for some time that the old auditorium's days were limited. The auditorium stage floor was creaking. One year, I was handing out scholarships and then had to rush off to the Col in downtown Davenport to read noon honors to the Irish Mother of the Year. A committee arranged quick transportation a hearse to haul me from the high school to the Col.
Believe me: Life is long and short.
News / National
by Staff reporter
GOVERNMENT says it will pay Eskom of South Africa a substantial amount of money next week to ward off the imminent threat of load-shedding after the firm threatened to cut off supplies to Zimbabwe by Thursday over a $43 million debt.Energy and Power Development Minister Dr Samuel Undenge yesterday said load shedding last experienced 16 months ago, would not return.Zesa Holdings and Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe officials will meet on Monday to agree on the amount to be paid for now towards servicing the arrears owed to Eskom, to avoid being switched off.Dr Undenge said Zesa officials would also be in South Africa next week for discussions with Eskom."The nation should be rest assured that there will be no load shedding as we are taking internal and external measures," he said. "We are working with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe and they will be meeting with Zesa."We will also dispatch a team to South Africa to engage the Eskom side. We will pay Eskom a substantial amount and we are confident that the power situation will remain stable as is the case now. There is no need for industry and the generality of Zimbabweans to panic. The situation is now under control."Zesa has an outstanding import bill of $43 million and the irregular payments have seen Eskom threatening to cut supplies to Zimbabwe beginning next Thursday.Zimbabwe gets 300 megawatts from Eskom and 50 megawatts from Hydro Cahora Bassa of Mozambique.Zesa chief executive Engineer Josh Chifamba said: "We will be meeting with the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to work on the modalities before we engage the South Africans."We now have a clear picture and by Monday we will give you concrete details."Zimbabwe consumes about 1 400MW daily against a generating capacity of around 980MW.A further reduction by 300 megawatts would have a damaging effect on industry and winter wheat cropping season, which is under way.Zesa overally owes Eskom $80 million and HCB of Mozambique $40 million, but the $43 million is emanating from a payment plan the power utility failed to honour due to foreign currency shortages.To back up power imports from South Africa, Government recently issued a R500 million ($35 million) guarantee to Eskom and it is that surety that the South African power utility is threatening to call up.Earlier this year, Zesa made payment plans with regional power utilities and should have paid $89 million between January and April.The power utility managed to pay only $46 million under the payment plan which included last year's arrears.The steady power supplies Zimbabwe has been enjoying since December 2015 are a result of various initiatives, including imports.Officials from HCB of Mozambique were in the country this week and are said to "have had an understanding with Zesa."The country's economic blueprint, Zim-Asset, identifies energy as a key enabler under infrastructure and utilities, as well as the value addition and beneficiation initiatives.The cluster needs massive support and its failure spells doom for the country.Industrialists and miners this week implored monetary authorities to prioritise power provision, saying any cuts on supplies would impact negatively on the recovering economy.
The Manchester terror attack by an alleged Islamic State "soldier" will accelerate the push by the U.S. and its allies to capture the terror group's strongholds in Mosul and Raqqah. But it should also focus some urgent discussions about a post-ISIS strategy for stabilizing Iraq and Syria.
For all President Trump's bombast about obliterating the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, the Raqqah campaign has been delayed for months while U.S. policymakers debated the wisdom of relying on a Syrian Kurdish militia known as the YPG that Turkey regards as a terrorist group. That group and allied Sunni fighters have been poised less than 10 miles from Raqqah, waiting for a decision.
All the while, the clock has been ticking on terror plots hatched by ISIS and directed from Raqqah. U.S. officials told me a few weeks ago they were aware of at least five ISIS operations directed against targets in Europe. European allies have been urging the U.S. to finish the job in Raqqah as soon as possible.
The horrific Manchester bombing is a reminder of the difficulty of containing the plots hatched in ISIS -- and the cost of waiting to strike the final blows. ISIS is battered and in retreat, and its caliphate is nearly destroyed on the ground. But a virtual caliphate survives in the network that spawned Salman Abedi, the alleged Manchester bomber, and others who seek to avenge the group's slow eradication.
The Raqqah assault should move ahead quickly, now that the Trump administration has rejected Turkish protests and opted to back the YPG as the backbone of a broader coalition known as the Syrian Democratic Forces. These are committed, well-led fighters, as I saw during a visit to a special forces training camp in northern Syria a year ago.
The Trump administration listened patiently to Turkish arguments for an alternative force backed by Ankara. But the Pentagon concluded that this force didn't have any real battlefield presence, and that the real choice was either relying on the Kurdish-led coalition to clear Raqqah or sending in thousands of U.S. troops to do the job.
The White House rightly opted for the first approach several weeks ago. To ease Ankara's worries, the U.S. is offering assurances that the Kurdish military presence will be contained, and that newly recruited Sunni tribal forces will help manage security in Raqqah and nearby Deir el-Zour.
The endgame is near in Mosul, too. Commanders say that only about 6 percent of the city remains to be captured, with 500 to 700 ISIS fighters hunkered down in the old city west of the Tigris River.
Once Raqqah and Mosul are cleared, the challenge will be rebuilding the Sunni areas of Syria and Iraq -- with real governance and security -- so that follow-on extremist groups don't quickly emerge. This idea of preparing for the "day after" ISIS has gotten lip service from U.S. policymakers for three years, but very little serious planning or funding. It should be an urgent priority for the U.S. and its key Sunni partners, such as Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Intelligence services from several key allies are said to have met in recent weeks with Sunni leaders from Iraq to form a core leadership that can take the initiative. But so far, this effort is said to have produced more internal bickering than clear strategy -- a depressing rewind of failed efforts to build a coherent Sunni opposition in Syria.
CIA Director Mike Pompeo told me and several other journalists in an interview Tuesday that he plans to move the agency to a more aggressive, risk-taking stance. Here's a place to start.
The Kurds are the wild cards in both Iraq and Syria. The Syrian Kurds are already governing the ethnic enclave they call "Rojava." That should be an incentive for Syria's Sunnis to develop similar strong government in their liberated areas. Meanwhile, Iraqi Kurds have told U.S. officials they plan to hold a referendum on Kurdish independence soon, perhaps as early as September.
U.S. officials feel a deep gratitude toward Iraqi Kurds, who have been reliable allies since the early 1990s. But the independence referendum is a potential flashpoint, and U.S. officials may try to defer the Kurdish question until well after Iraqi provincial elections scheduled in September.
Iraq and Syria need to be reimagined as looser, better governed, more inclusive confederal states that give minorities room to breathe. The trick for policymakers is to make the post-ISIS transition a pathway toward progress, rather than a continuation of the sectarian catastrophe that has befallen both nations.
"The Forgotten Few" will be forgotten no more.
During a special ceremony Saturday at City Cemetery in Davenport, 20 headstones were dedicated honoring 19 Civil War veterans and one veteran from the Spanish-American War.
The event was called The Forgotten Few: A Veterans Remembrance Ceremony.
For generations to come, people will know that these men served their country, said Jason Morin, a historian with the Army Sustainment Command at the Rock Island Arsenal, and the keynote speaker.
The event came about after Kory Darnall, of Davenport, who has volunteered at the cemetery for years, was researching burials and helping to make improvements.
But he soon discovered that not all veterans buried in the cemetery have headstones. He was aware of a Veterans Administration gravestone program that funds new headstones for vets. So, he contacted Coky Powers of Davenport, a retired school librarian, to help in track down documentation.
Eventually, they were able to identify names and get backgrounds on all 20 soldiers buried there in need of headstones.
Most of the soldiers were from Germany, she said.
The program was arranged by Natalie Woodhurst, coordinator of veterans recruitment and services at St. Ambrose University, Davenport.
"It was very exciting, Woodhurst said. It is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. And it was very exciting to finally give them their recognition.
The event included the Honor Guard from the Rock Island Arsenal, taps being played; the Blackhawk Pipes and Drums of the Quad-Cities played the drums and bagpipes; local artist Don Mitchem sang, and there also was a 21-gun salute and 1862 cannon fire.
A crowd of about 100 attended.
I just wanted to be part of this, said B.J. Wilson of Galesburg, Mich., who was visiting her sister who lives in the area.
Karen Crum of East Moline is doing research on her family history and has come across a Heinrich Gerdts, one of the names on the new headstones.
I am curious about one marker, but I do not know if he is connected to this or not, saying she does not know if the Gerdts on the headstone is her relative.
A family reunion of sorts took place after the event when several distant relatives of Carl Wendt gathered to take pictures of his new marker. He was a Civil War veteran who was killed while fishing in 1901.
Sheila Schafer and Sherry Murphy, both of Rock Island, said they were distance cousins to Carl Wendt.
But suddenly Mike Wendt of East Moline came over to the marker on display and they asked if he was a Wendt. He told them he is the great, great-grandson of Carl Wendt. They all had never met.
He is finally getting the honor he deserves, Mike Wendt said of Carl. The family is happy he is being recognized. He was captured at the Battle of Bull Run and sent to Fort Sumter in Andersonville, Ga. He escaped and came all the way back to Cordova, where he lived.
I think this event is cool, Murphy said. I am finding so much more about my family history after all these years.
Aglow International Regional Rally
People from six states will be attending the Great Plains/Rocky Mountain Aglow International Regional Rally June 9-11 at the Best Western Ramkota.
Speakers for the event are authors Nancy and Dave McDaniel. Nancy serves as the International Prayer Director for Aglow and Dave leads the Aglow Men of Issachar.
Worship will be led by Destiny Four Square Worship Team and childcare provided on site for extra fee. Cost is $70 for four session or $25 per session at the door.
'Faithkeepers' film to be shown in Rapid City
ACT For American and Bighorn Canyon Community are hosting a film premiere event of "Faithkeepers," Wednesday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at the Elks Theatre. The documentary tells the story of Christian who suffer and refuse to renounce their family. Admission is $8.
Pentecost event
Saint John the Theologian Orthodox Church will be celebrating Pentecost on June 4 with special Divine Liturgy beginning with Orthros prayers at 9 a.m. The celebration is 50 days after Easter and is the day we remember and celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down on the praying disciples in tongues of fire.
Pope names cardinals for Laos, Mali, Sweden, Spain, Salvador
In a surprise announcement last week Pope Francis named new cardinals for Spain, El Salvador and three countries where Catholics are a tiny minority: Mali, Laos and Sweden.
"Their origin, from different parts of the world, manifests the universality of the Church spread out all over the Earth," Francis said, speaking from the window of the Apostolic Palace to thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square.
The five churchmen chosen are Monsignor Jean Zerbo, archbishop of Bamako, Mali, where he has been involved in peace efforts amid Islamist extremism; Monsignor Juan Jose Omella, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Monsignor Anders Arborelius of Stockholm, who became a Catholic at the age of 20; Monsignor Louis-Marie Ling Mangkhanekhoun, apostolic vicar of Pakse, Laos; and Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chavez, an auxiliary bishop who works as a parish pastor in San Salvador, El Salvador.
SPEARFISH | Discover their story. Honor their sacrifice.
Black Hills State University students are helping to share stories of veterans buried at five national cemeteries in South Dakota through the Veterans Legacy Program, a collaboration with the National Cemetery Administration.
On Memorial Day, National Cemetery Administration officials will gather for a ceremony at Black Hills National Cemetery that will include a recognition of the BHSU students research. BHSU is one of three universities nationwide, along with the University of Central Florida and San Francisco State University, to be awarded a contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop digital learning products to connect communities with the interred veterans legacy at national cemeteries.
There is a story behind every veteran, Kelly Kirk, instructor of history at BHSU who is leading the interdisciplinary group of faculty and students working on the project, said in a release. Our students are contacting families and visiting the cemeteries to create lesson plans and biographies for public education.
Kirk said BHSU is covering five national cemeteries in South Dakota for the project: Black Hills National Cemetery and Fort Meade National Cemetery in Sturgis, Hot Springs National Cemetery, Lakota Freedom Veterans Cemetery in Kyle, and Sicangu Akicita Owicahe Veterans Cemetery in White River.
The U.S. is one of the only countries that memorializes veterans legacies in national cemeteries, Kirk said. Many of our students know people interred at these cemeteries; they have a personal connection.
BISMARCK, N.D. | A Dakota Access pipeline protester has been cleared of charges after being accused of endangering a police plane with his drone last September in North Dakota.
Aaron Turgeon, 32, of Rapid City was found not guilty of reckless endangerment and physical obstruction of a government function after a one-day bench trial Thursday, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Prosecutors argued Turgeon endangered a pilot and the group protesting at a construction site in Morton County when he flew his drone on Sept. 6. Investigators also alleged Turgeon didn't cooperate with authorities.
Judge Allan Schmalenberger, who presided over the trial, ruled that Turgeon operated his drone in a "methodical manner," not in a manner that endangered anyone. Turgeon said he was filming the protest.
"The defendant did not fly the drone at the plane. He did not fly the drone in a reckless manner over either the people or at the plane," the judge said.
Turgeon said he was grateful for Schmalenberger's fairness and honesty.
"It's a call for other judges here in Morton County to understand that there might be things happening that you're not seeing," Turgeon said. "In my case, they tried to take my drone. If they would have taken my drone, I would not have video evidence that showed I never flew toward that plane."
The incident helped prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to impose a no-fly zone over the protest area.
Protests in southern North Dakota against the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline led to hundreds of arrests between August and February.
Black Hills timber harvesters and a local industry trade group are lauding the Trump administrations announcement this week that it will impose tariffs averaging 20 percent on softwood lumber entering the U.S. from Canada.
In a dispute dating to the 1980s, the Trump administration and industry representatives contend that Canada has unfairly subsidized its softwood lumber industry by allowing federal and provincial governments to charge prices for harvesting timber on public lands that are below market rates, amounting to a subsidy that puts U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage.
Local timber producers agree, and they welcomed the tariffs, which they say could lead to more U.S. timber production, healthier forests and more jobs.
Im not going to condemn Canada, but as an offshoot of the British Commonwealth, they have protected jobs, provided labor incentives and huge benefits to the Canadian rail system to transport wood very cheaply, said Jim Neiman, president of Hulett, Wyo.-based Neiman Enterprises Inc., which operates three major sawmills in the Black Hills and another in Montrose, Colo.
The last 10-year tariff expired in October of 2015, and as soon as that expired, the Canadians flooded the lumber market and drove prices to nearly as low as the recession of 2007-08, Neiman said. I am a supporter of free trade, but it has to be fair trade, and we have not had fair trade with Canada.
Neiman, whose 81-year-old company started by his grandfather currently employs 490 workers, as well as 350 independent loggers and truck drivers, said an unlevel playing field created by Canadian subsidies had led Colorado to close 11 sawmills and Wyoming to lose another nine mills since the 1980s.
The Black Hills used to have seven major mills, and now were down to three, he said.
After meeting with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue during a stop in Rapid City last week, Neiman said he was encouraged by the former Georgia governors stance on logging in the countrys 157 national forests.
We should be focusing on the national forests in the U.S., where we are only cutting about 10 to 15 percent of the annual growth on those forests, he said. We need to revitalize the forest products industry in our country, create great jobs in small communities, and provide for the majority of our own domestic softwood needs.
Nothing new
Meanwhile, Carroll Korb, president of Forest Products Distributors Inc., a lumber brokerage and re-manufacturing plant that employs 80-100 workers at its Rapid City-based operation, said U.S. lumber buyers had already weathered two major price increases this year from Canadian suppliers eager to get ahead of the new tariff.
We have seen volatility in the lumber market, with two major increases in the past three months, because Canadians are hedging their bet, Korb said. There is a lot of emotional hype. They just need to figure it out and the market will take care of itself. I think weve already seen the price increases, and we might see prices actually come down in the short term.
And Korb, with more than three decades of lumber industry experience, said the newest tariff enacted by the Trump administration is just the latest in a cycle of U.S.-Canadian lumber tariff disputes dating to the early 1900s.
This is not a new issue, because it comes over and over and over again, he said. Its been a constant battle between the U.S. and Canada. Lumber is one of the few commodities that is closest to a true supply-demand curve. Were not subsidized in the U.S. We all have to live on our own wits.
While some industry experts estimate as much as a third of the softwood lumber used in the U.S., mostly in new home construction, originates in Canadian forests, Korb said less than 5 percent of his supply comes from our neighbor to the north.
A spokesman for the Black Hills Forest Resource Association, a nonprofit trade association of forest products manufacturers, forestry and timber harvest professionals, welcomed news of the new softwood tariff this week and noted that the local industry provided direct employment to about 1,400 workers and salaries and contractor payments totaling $120 million annually.
Overall, we think it is a fair tariff to be placed on Canadian lumber, and we are in support of it, said Ben Wudtke, forest programs manager for the association. Without the tariffs, it is a matter of unfair timber costs and allowing Canadian producers to compete on an unfair playing field with the U.S. It is to the detriment of U.S. sawmills and the jobs they offer and the communities they support.
Consumer impact
Estimates of the tariffs impact on increased costs to consumers considering building a new home vary widely, from the Black Hills Forest Resource Associations $143 hike for an average new residence to the National Association of Homebuilders' estimate of $3,700. But due to price hikes on Canadian lumber already incurred this year, industry experts say the true cost likely will fall somewhere in between those numbers.
Neiman, who described the Homebuilders' estimate as ridiculous, estimated the tariff could increase a new homes cost by $300 to $500.
No way will the impact of this Canadian tariff amount to that much, he said. There may be a $300 to $500 increase to the average home initially, but supply and demand will control those costs.
Noting that softwood accounts for only about 15 percent of a new homes construction, Korb said he had seen credible estimates of the tariff adding about $1,500 to the cost of a new $400,000 home.
That isnt even a major increase, he said. Other components of new construction have gone up even more than lumber, so 15 percent may be too large.
WASHINGTON | The appalling truth about the Trump administration can be found in something the late Maya Angelou once said to Oprah Winfrey: "My dear, when people show you who they are, why don't you believe them? Why must you be shown 29 times before you can see who they really are?"
The chaos and dysfunction we have seen since Jan. 20 constitute, I fear, the new normal. Anyone holding out hope for some magical transition from lunacy into sanity will surely be disappointed. President Trump has shown the nation who he is.
There are leading Republicans, people whose integrity I respect, who have been telling me since the inauguration that the administration is on the cusp of settling down and that Trump is starting to appreciate the solemnity of his new role. One such person who is in regular contact with the president told me the administration had "finally hit the reset button" just days before Trump rashly fired FBI Director James Comey in an act compared to Richard Nixon's "Saturday Night Massacre." Trump's honorable well-wishers are in denial.
Other supporters, including most Republican members of Congress, are being dangerously cynical. With majorities in both chambers, they hope to use Trump to enact a far-right agenda of huge tax cuts for the wealthy, massive reductions in government aid for the poor and across-the-board deregulation. To get what they want, they are willing to pretend the emperor is wearing clothes.
Imagine the reaction had President Obama fired Comey while the FBI was investigating Hillary Clinton. Articles of impeachment would have been drawn up within hours.
For Democrats and others who opposed Trump's candidacy, there is no solace to be taken in the Trump campaign promises that sounded vaguely progressive. In early rallies, he flirted with the idea of universal medical care, which eventually morphed into a pledge of health insurance "for everybody." But he threw his full support behind the House attempt to snatch insurance away from at least 24 million people and cut Medicaid by some $800 billion. His budget director recently mused that diabetics are to blame for their own pre-existing condition.
The most significant single accomplishment of the administration putting Justice Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court is not anything progressives are likely to celebrate. And Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions, is trying to reverse the progress the Obama administration made on ending mass incarceration for nonviolent drug offenses.
Meanwhile, Trump promised an "America First" foreign policy of nonintervention. But he ordered a military strike in Syria, drawing us deeper into that bloody conflict, and has decided to send more troops to Afghanistan. Rather than emphasize human rights, he has had warm words of support for autocrats and strongmen such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Trump's bromance with Russian President Vladimir Putin smolders on.
There is no silver lining that I can discern. There is no realistic hope of sudden salvation.
Thinking some transgression or another will eventually prove to be a tipping point for Republicans is logical but not realistic. The see-no-evil GOP response to the Comey firing is instructive. Trump said during the campaign that he could "stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody" and not lose popular support. For House Republicans to impeach him, presumably there would have to be multiple victims.
There are those who entertain the fantasy that Trump will get bored or frustrated and eventually resign. But he's already bored and frustrated with the drudgery of governing, and he has developed coping mechanisms he stages campaign-style rallies, chews out his hapless staff, vents on Twitter. When he invited House members to the White House to celebrate that awful health care bill, he interrupted his speech to say, "Hey, I'm president! Can you believe it, right?" He's not going to voluntarily give that up.
If news reports are correct, he is mulling a substantial shakeup of his White House staff. But no communications team is going to look good while having to defend the crazy, indefensible things Trump regularly says. No chief of staff can institute orderly processes if Trump is going to ignore them and fly by the seat of his pants. Trump is used to running things a certain way. He's not going to change.
We are where we are. Democrats need to flip one or both houses of Congress next year to slow this runaway train. It won't stop itself.
Iowa lawmakers should be commended this year for not only protecting the state's medical marijuana law, but for improving it.
As a result, more Iowans will have access to relief for conditions from which they suffer.
In 2014, the Legislature took an important first step on the issue of medical marijuana. Lawmakers passed a bill through which patients afflicted by epilepsy could possess an anti-seizure medicine derived from cannabis. Because we have compassion for these Iowans and because we have faith and confidence in Iowa's medical community and believe physicians should have, within a proper framework, the legal option to write a prescription for medical marijuana, we supported the bill.
At the time, in fact, we stated our support for future debate about extending Iowa's medical marijuana program to illnesses other than epilepsy. Last year, we encouraged lawmakers to legalize production and distribution of cannabidiol in Iowa, at least for use by epilepsy patients. This, in response to reasonable concerns expressed by Iowans about the fact the 2014 bill didn't address production and distribution of the drug within the state. In other words, the legislation allowed an Iowan to legally possess the drug for treatment of epilepsy, but it remained illegal in the state to produce or distribute it.
The bill passed by the Legislature this year addressed expansion as well as production and distribution.
The bill:
Allows for the production of cannabis oil at two locations.
Legalizes the use of cannabis oil for additional conditions. In addition to seizures from epilepsy, the conditions covered in the expanded medical marijuana program include: cancer; multiple sclerosis; HIV or AIDS; Crohn's disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; Parkinson's disease; and any terminal illness with a life expectancy of under a year.
Creates an advisory board to review medical evidence and make recommendations to the state's Board of Medicine on what conditions should be added to the list of conditions and whether a tetrahydrocannabinol level of more than 3 percent should be allowed for certain conditions. The bill passed this year limits the amount of THC allowed in cannabis oil to 3 percent, which critics say limits the oil's potential to help individuals who suffer from conditions other than epilepsy seizures.
We understand some medical marijuana proponents do not believe the bill passed this year goes far enough, but we give credit to lawmakers for taking another step in the right direction on this issue.
We encourage more dialogue about ways to improve the state's medical marijuana program in future years.
News / National
by Staff reporter
A PROMINENT businessman from Chirumanzu who was facing allegations of raping his wife's younger sister (18) has been acquitted.Seviyasi Piki, a polygamist and well known Zanu-PF member with businesses dotted around Chirumhanzu pleaded not guilty to two counts of rape when he appeared before Regional Magistrate Mr Morgan Nemadire.At the close of the State's case, Mr Nemadire discharged Piki saying the evidence availed to the court did not add up, hence the court did not have faith in what the complainant was saying."The evidence given by the complainant is not credible. She took too long to report the matter; the complainant only reported the matter after the issue of a phone bill occurred," said the magistrate.In his defence Piki said he did not rape his sister in-law."These allegations only surfaced when she was confronted about a $200 phone bill by her sister which accumulated when she was calling her boyfriend.She wrongfully accused me and only wanted sympathy from relatives and decided to tarnish my image," said Piki.Prosecuting, Mr Lloyd Mavhiza said in January 2015, the complainant was sent by her sister to clean her bedroom."As the complainant was cleaning, the accused person entered and locked the bedroom door. The accused person demanded sex from the complainant stating that she was using his money yet in the end she would be married to another man. The complainant refused the accused's request but he went on to rape her," said Mr Mavhiza."The complainant got dressed and went on to report the rape to her sister who is also Piki's wife but she did nothing about it."He said on another day in the same month, Piki allegedly instructed the complainant to accompany him to his plot in Mvuma with his two children."Upon arrival the accused person assigned his workers and children to his shop which is located 50 metres away from his homestead."Piki returned home alone and found the complainant bathing. He went into the bathroom and lifted the complainant from the bath tub before he proceeded with her to the bedroom. The accused person who was already undressed raped the complainant once," Mr Mavhiza said.He said the complainant reported the matter to her other sister, who is also married to Piki, but she allegedly covered up the matter.The prosecutor said in April last year the complainant moved to Harare to stay with another sister.Mr Mavhisa said the complainant started communicating with her boyfriend using her sister's land line before she was reprimanded for raising the phone bill."The sister called the complainant's boyfriend wanting him to explain what they would be talking about. The complainant's boyfriend then told her that they would be discussing her alleged rape by Piki," said Mr Mavhiza.He said the complainant was reprimanded by her sister before she attempted suicide. The court heard that the complainant wrote a suicide note highlighting the rape incidents at the hands of the accused person."A report was made to the police by her brother who came from South Africa leading to the arrest of Piki," said Mr Mavhiza.
HELENA Montana's School Choice program can grant scholarships to students who attend faith-based schools, a state judge has ruled.
District Judge Heidi Ulbricht ruled Tuesday that the state Revenue Department incorrectly excluded such students from the program, which is funded by donations that can be offset by up to $150 in non-refundable tax credits. The 2015 bill that created the program limited its annual tax credits to $3 million.
"What a wonderful victory this is for all the families in Montana who have chosen private education for their children," said Kendra Espinoza, one of three people who challenged the Revenue Department's decision. "We are thrilled and encouraged. This is going to make such a difference for all the parents who will now have the opportunity to send, or continue to send, their children to the school of their choice."
In writing the administrative rules for the program, the Revenue Department said an institution controlled by any church or religious sect could not be considered a "qualified education provider." The agency argued the state constitution does not allow appropriations to faith-based schools.
A poll of lawmakers found a majority said it was not their legislative intent to exclude faith-based schools from the program. Still, the agency enacted the rule in December 2015.
Espinoza, Jeri Ellen Anderson and Jaime Schaefer, whose children attend Stillwater Christian School in Kalispell, challenged the rule with the help of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian public interest law firm.
In March 2015, District Judge David Ortley granted a preliminary injunction to prevent the Revenue Department from implementing the rule. The plaintiffs then moved for summary judgment.
Ulbright found that the program is funded through tax credits, not appropriations, and the constitution does not address the use of tax credits. "Non-refundable tax credits simply do not involve the expenditure of money that the state has in its treasury," Ulbright wrote.
Greg Gianforte's physical attack on a reporter on the eve of his election as Montana's sole U.S. House member thrust both him and the state into the bright glare of the national spotlight, and it could have lasting repercussions.
Longtime election analyst Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan campaign news site Inside Elections, said he believes that Gianforte will of course get more attention from the press when he arrives in Washington.
He didnt just poke the bear, he body slammed the bear, Gonzales said, referring to a criminal assault charge after Gianforte threw Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses at a campaign event on Wednesday night when Jacobs began asking questions about the Republican health care plan.
Gianforte is scheduled to appear in court in Gallatin County before June 7.
Hes going to come to Washington and have to deal with the consequences, more consequences I guess, Gonzales said. To put it another way, the D.C. press corps is going to treat him differently than Ron Estes, who won the special election (for Congress) in Kansas. Theres going to be more attention on Gianforte because of the last 48 hours of the campaign.
Gonzales said that the fact that Gianforte hails from a rural state with a relatively low population will not allow him to keep a low profile.
His constituency and his geographic location will have no bearing on the scrutiny hell receive at all, Gonzales said. It will all have to do with his interaction with that reporter.
"Time could heal some wounds, but theres no going back with the reporters. Hell get an extra level of scrutiny that most members of Congress dont have. Hes not going to be able to sneak through the hallways of the Capitol. Hes going to attract attention.
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At least one longtime D.C. political analyst believes that Gianforte may also be shunned by the Republican leadership and given less important committee assignments in an effort to avoid tying the Republican party to his personal controversy.
James A. Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had call on Gianforte to apologize was telling.
For the Speaker to publicly say, 'The gentleman should apologize, something generally doesnt get to this, said Thurber, who has written 12 books on American politics. Therefore, the party leadership may take him aside and say, 'You've got to be a little more civilized in terms of the way you interact with the press.''
Thurber said the controversy could affect Gianforte's stature in Congress.
"People that have been around a long time, when theyre judging who should get certain committee assignments, this doesnt help (Gianforte). There are things that are unsaid that happen. There will be opportunities that dont come about (for Gianforte) because of things like this, but hell never know it.
He added said that normally, not many people even know who freshmen members of Congress are.
To pop out like this among freshmen, especially in a special election, is rare, Thurber said. To be a showboat this early is not good. Usually, nobody even knows who they are. They co-sponsor a few bills, do constituent work and vote with the party.
Thurber also predicted that Gianforte would suffer politically if he becomes a national punchline, especially if his interaction with Jacobs is parodied by Saturday Night Live, which Thurber said on Friday afternoon would probably happen.
If he turns into a joke, thats deadly for a public official, Thurber said.
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Jeff Ballou, president of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., said that national journalists are very busy and also very professional.
If people are thinking were going to be somehow waiting outside his door with pitchforks and torches, we frankly have better things to do, he said. And there are a cacophony of issues to cover in the nations capitol. Gianforte will be one of a crowd, low in seniority and high in profile.
Ballou said that Gianforte does come in under unique circumstances.
Like any high profile for very different reasons in this case member of Congress-elect, therell be a lot of attention, if for nothing else but a curiosity factor, Ballou said. Everybody knows what hes done. Hes apologized for it. He will be given the same respect as any member-elect of Congress.
Ballou said that the job of elected officials in a democracy, where the First Amendment prevents Congress from abridging the freedom of speech or the press, is to talk to the media.
For any member of Congress, he or she will be expected to perform his or her duties and part of that is to take questions from members of the press, Ballou said. Our job is constitutional just like his.
"It is one thing to serve, but part of that service is being accountable for your service and to taking questions on votes youve taken or positions you take.
Its not the job or imperative of the D.C. press corps to mount a campaign against Gianforte to try to get him ousted, Ballou explained.
Our gig is to treat him simply like the other 434 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate and call the balls and strikes as he delivers them,'' he said. "Its not the job of the D.C. press corps to fan those flames.
Ballou said that the people of Montana deserve to know more about Gianfortes actions in Washington above and beyond just his roll call voting record.
All his statements, all his movements, all the things that people expect to know about a member of Congress, Ballou said. Hes going to get some white hot spotlight, Im sure, when he first arrives and at some point the press corps will move on.
Ballou added that since the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, recently joked about shooting reporters at a gun event, he believes there is a concerning trend happening in the coverage of politics in America.
Its not funny when collectively there is this atmosphere of incivility and rhetorically undermining the Constitution, he said. That serves no one. It doesnt serve the people of Montana or, in Gov. Abbotts case, Texas."
The most important thing, he said, is to not let the controversy overshadow how Gianforte does his job.
"It just gets in the way of being able to see what (Gianforte) is actually doing for his new day job," Ballou said. "Thats all we want to do. If he starts slamming doors and hiding, the people of Montana are going to go what gives? We wish him respectfully well to have a successful term in Congress, and we hope he doesnt duck our questions.
"All we ask is for elected officials to respect the whole document (the Constitution) that they were elected to uphold and protect.
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Lesley Clark, who has worked as a journalist in D.C. for a decade and is now a national correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers D.C. Bureau, said no reporter wants to become the story.
Reporters first instinct is to treat all members of Congress with respect and dignity, she said. However, we all want to get answers to questions.
Clark and other D.C. journalists told the Missoulian that since President Donald Trump was elected, there have been more reporters on Capitol Hill.
She thinks it will be a little awkward when journalists interact with Gianforte for the first time.
(Gianforte) will find himself with a recorder in his face pretty much all the time, walking through the hallway or coming in for votes, she said. He cant really expect to not see reporters unless hes in is own office or sitting on the House floor.
"But most members know that and are pretty good about it. Theyll come out and answer questions, and if they dont want to, theyll walk away. We will pester them a little and say things like, Oh, come on, you can answer that.' So hes going to have to get used to that. Theres no way to serve in Congress without that.
Clark also said that at least initially, Gianforte will face greater scrutiny from the media than other low-profile members of Congress.
People in the news get greater scrutiny'' she said. "All eyes are going to be on him when he first gets up here.
David Lightman, a veteran national political correspondent for McClatchy, had a different opinion.
Hell get the same scrutiny anybody else does, the only difference is hes better known because of the incident, Lightman said. Hell get the same scrutiny we give anybody else.
Gianforte is not the first member of Congress to serve while facing a criminal charge.
On Thursday, the news site Vox published an article explaining how elected officials continue to serve after committing offenses. For example, author Jeff Stein wrote that Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted on federal corruption charges two years ago, but is still serving in the Senate.
Rep Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was indicted on federal racketeering charges in July of 2015 and continued to serve for more than a year. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was indicted in 2008 on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts and served in Congress for five more months.
Gianforte is also not the first to threaten a reporter. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., threatened to break a reporter in half and throw him off a balcony while on camera. Grimm was facing tax evasion charges at the time, and then-Speaker of the House John Boehner privately asked him to resign. Grimm later apologized and resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion.
TOWNSEND Lloyd Barrus has pleaded not guilty to all 25 charges filed in connection with the May 16 slaying of Broadwater County sheriffs deputy Mason Moore.
The suspect also apologized to Moores wife and three children during a District Court proceeding Friday in Broadwater County.
A Nov. 13 trial date was set for Barrus, 61, who was ordered to be held on $4 million bond by District Court Judge James Reynolds.
Barrus is being held in Missoula County, where he was taken into custody with his son, Marshall Barrus, 38, after a high-speed chase through several counties before a gunfight that left his son mortally wounded.
Among the charges is one count of accountability for deliberate homicide in connection with Moores death, two counts of accountability for attempted deliberate homicide involving two Butte-Silver Bow police officers and five counts of attempted deliberate homicide involving a Montana Highway Patrol officer and law officers from four jurisdictions.
All charges carry a possible death penalty.
Broadwater County Attorney Cory Swanson could not be reached Friday afternoon to learn if the death penalty will be sought for any of these charges.
Helena attorney Greg Jackson is representing Barrus along with co-counsel Craig Shannon of Missoula, who said after the hearing that he hoped the death penalty would not be sought.
Its a long process. It is very possibly a death penalty case and so were looking probably at a lot of time in order to learn what the case is about, develop it, and investigate, so were probably in this for many, many months, Jackson said.
And its awful early to say, Shannon noted.
Theres no doubt that it is probably one of the most difficult cases that an attorney could have, Jackson said.
Publicity has been an issue, and whether that will impair the ability for Barrus to obtain a fair trial is yet to be determined, he noted.
Barrus, whose hands were manacled in front of him and attached to a chain he wore around his waist, spoke in a clear and strong voice when responding to Reynolds.
He corrected his name and said he wanted it to include his middle name, Mortier. He also mentioned aliases hes used.
Reynolds advised him of his right to remain silent and said if he spoke to anyone other than his attorneys about the case and the prosecution became aware of what was said, it could be used against him.
Camera shutters crackled as Reynolds read Barrus the charges and the possible penalties they carried.
Jackson confirmed for Reynolds that not guilty pleas were to be entered for all charges. Judge Kathy Seeley, Reynolds noted, will be presiding over the case.
While the court papers that detail the charges and possible penalties were made public, other information was ordered sealed by Reynolds without objection by the defense to protect the rights of the victim and to preserve the fairness of the trial process which may be harmed by extensive pre-trial publicity.
Barrus asked to address the court, and Reynolds cautioned him against speaking to preserve his right to remain silent.
Your honor, I understand it and I appreciate what you have to say, but I still do want to say please tell officer Moores wife and kids Im sorry for their loss," Barrus said.
According to court papers, Moore, 42, died from gunshot wounds after his patrol car was passed by a white Suburban while driving southbound on Highway 287 just off Montana Highway 2 in Broadwater County.
Moore followed the vehicle for about a minute before activating his emergency lights and siren. The vehicle he was pursuing did not stop, and he advised dispatch of the pursuit. The California license plate number he provided came back as belonging to a 1998 Chevrolet belonging to Lloyd Barrus.
Another call to dispatch at about 2:32 a.m. reported reaching speeds of 100 mph.
The patrol car video that recorded the pursuit and ensuing gunfire showed that after six minutes, Moore appeared to have been struck by gunfire. The camera was knocked from its mount and the patrol car came to a stop off the side of the road.
Moore was silent and did not move for about three minutes after the initial gunfire, according to the video, before he seemed to regain consciousness and could be heard moaning faintly before he opened the door to his vehicle.
About a minute later Moore and his vehicle were struck by additional gunfire.
Backup officers arrived about eight minutes later and found Moore dead just north of Three Forks.
The vehicle Moore was pursuing was spotted by a Butte-Silver Bow County sheriff's deputy near Anaconda around 3:30 a.m., spurring a chase that led to the Rock Creek area on Interstate 90.
Lloyd Barrus and his son, Marshall Barrus, allegedly fired at officers at the end of the chase. Lloyd Barrus was taken into custody, and Marshall Barrus was shot in the head and died the next day.
GREAT FALLS A Great Falls man is charged with deliberate homicide in the death of a woman whose body was found in a motel bathroom.
Court records say Stanley Lebeau was arrested on a probation violation late on May 16 and told officers he had been hearing voices after using meth and spice and killed a woman because she wouldn't shut up.
Investigators believed the woman had died several days earlier from a blow to the head. Her name hasn't been released.
Prosecutors said Lebeau told officers his arrest saved lives because he was planning on going on a killing spree. However, he said he lost the scissors he was going to use to kill people.
Lebeau made an initial court appearance Friday and was ordered held on $500,000 bond. He did not enter a plea.
Men and women placed memorial flags for veterans and Masons, while others cleaned their loved ones' headstones at the Corvallis Cemetery Saturday morning in preparation for Memorial Day.
American Legion Post 91 Commander Scott Turner organized volunteers to place flags and give a salute to all 507 veterans buried at the Corvallis Cemetery.
Working in pairs, one volunteer read off names, while the other knelt to place a flag centered a foot in front of each veteran's headstone. Members of the Ionic No. 38 Masonic lodge also placed memorial flags in front of the graves of former members. More than 50 people participated.
The American Legion members organized the memorial flag event with exacting precision. The event was scheduled for 10 a.m., but by 9:45, many participants had arrived ready, teasing one another about their collective punctuality.
All these guys have some function at the American Legion, Turner said, noting the camaraderie.
Earlier in the week, Turner and another organizer, Doug Mason, divided the cemetery up into sections and rows, then placed a card with the names of each veteran at the end of the row to ease the process of finding each headstone.
Turners three children all participated helping the American Legion members. Its a family affair, Turner said.
In addition to the American Legion and the Masons, others paid their respects at Corvallis Cemetery Saturday.
Darrell and Merle Stanhope drove from Puyallup and Wenatchee, Washington, respectively, to visit the graves of their family members. They grew up south of Hamilton in the early 1940s in a small cabin up Camas Creek.
We moved here from Baker, Montana, when I was three, Darrell Stanhope said. It took us two weeks to get here in an old Buick, five kids and a dog in the car, and pulling a trailer with our belongings behind us.
Today, that ride would only take around nine hours, but Stanhope said the the Buick kept breaking down.
We had a couple of chickens with us, but none of them made it to Hamilton. My mother had to keep selling them to fix the car, Darrell Stanhope said.
The Stanhope brothers were visiting their niece, Terri Martensen, who still lives in the area. The three cleaned and swept the gravestones of their family members, all buried in a row in the Corvallis Cemetery.
The Stanhope brothers both served in the military between the Korean and Vietnam wars. Their brother Orville Stanhope was one of the veterans receiving a flag from the American Legion.
On Memorial Day, the names of all the veterans buried at Corvallis Cemetery will be read at noon by members of the American Legion Post 91.
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Two years after he bought the 157-year-old Fisher House, Jeffery Roberts says he's starting to get to know the Italianate Villa he bought as a live-work space in the city's Fairmount Square Historic District.
"I kind of feel like I'm the caretaker to honor what's here," says Roberts, who operates his interior design studio, Jeffery Roberts Design, on the main floor and lives on the second floor.
Roberts is the latest in a chain of owners and business operators in the neighborhood landmark, originally built in 1860 as a farm house for a wealthy landowner.
Over the years, the brick house at 330 Eastern Avenue SE has been home to a private college prep school, the Webb Academy for Girls, a YWCA, the Eggebeen-Gerst Funeral Home and the corporate offices of Project Rehab.
Rather than restore the old house, Roberts has been removing some of the changes while keeping other aspects that have been added over the years. He says has not kept track of the money has spent on the property nor does he want to know.
As he works to make the house a reflection of his own style, Roberts has removed some of parts of the house that have grown out of style or detract from the home's original style.
For example, he's removed most of the flooring and carpeting that was added over the years to expose the home's original pine flooring. Rather than re-finish the floors, Roberts has clear-coated them and kept the patinas he's found, even the aqua paint he found in part of the old breakfast room.
Unlike the big mansions on Heritage Hill, Roberts said he's come to realize this house was built as a farm house for a farmer and thus, lacks the fine woodwork and flooring found in fancier mansions. One exception is the original walnut staircase.
The big parlors at the front of the house are now presentation studios in which they meet with clients and prepare projects. The ceilings of the rooms, each with molded plaster medallions, have been preserved but updated with brighter light fixtures.
Art and artifacts line the walls of the room as Roberts gathers them for his clients and future projects. The walls are marked with the vestiges of former closet partitions that have been removed and may or may not be painted over.
The dining room is the reception area and work space for his staff while the homes former kitchen remains empty and unfinished as Roberts decides how to best use the space.
The garages that once stored hearses for the funeral home have been converted into a woodworking shop in which Roberts can fabricate furniture or millwork for his clients.
Upstairs, Roberts is converting the former Project Rehab offices back into a living quarters - not unlike the previous owners who lived above the funeral parlor. In fact, he's kept the 1970s-style kitchen that was added to the second floor.
Roberts has added a master suite, converting one of the bedrooms into an ensuite bathrooms with a walk-in shower and a cobalt glazed tile flooring. He cut through the thick brick wall to a master bedroom in which he has stripped the original plaster to reveal the original brick wall.
One of the front parlors has been converted into a giant walk-in closet. In researching the old house, Roberts said he discovered most homes like his were built without closets because tax codes of the day considered and taxed them as separate rooms.
The old basement has remained untouched except for a billiards room that Roberts has installed for entertaining. He says he's toying with the idea of putting a bar in the funeral home's old embalming room. He's also not gotten around to opening an old floor safe that was embedded in the concrete floor.
When Roberts moved in, he said he was curious to know if any ghosts resided in halls and rooms of the venerable old house.
"Not a single one. None! No one has visited me," says Roberts with a laugh.
Click here to read the article we wrote about this house in 2015.
This is one in a series of articles we have published about High-End Homes in West Michigan. Here are similar articles we have published recently:
In part, this is because the few special elections for Congress so far have taken place in red-leaning districts, where the near-daily barrage of new controversies involving Mr. Trump has not damaged him irreparably and where he remains fairly popular.
The Montana contest was the second special House election this year in a conservative district where rank-and-file progressives rallied behind their candidate only to see Washington-based Democrats shrink from the fight as Republicans launched ferocious attacks to ensure victory.
In Kansas last month in a Wichita-area district that is even more conservative than Montana national Republican groups stepped in to ensure that another lackluster candidate, Ron Estes, pulled out a win , while the Democratic nominee, James Thompson, waited in vain for his partys cavalry to ride in.
If the national Democratic Party would start getting more involved in these races earlier, then maybe we could flip them, Mr. Thompson said in an interview. Its frustrating.
For Republicans, the outcome in Montana, where Mr. Gianforte apologized in his victory speech late Thursday night to the reporter he had attacked, is likely to calm nerves at least for a while, staving off what the party feared would be a full-blown panic if Mr. Gianforte lost on such favorable turf. Washington-based Republican strategists had grown increasingly pessimistic about the race in recent weeks, bemoaning their candidates political deficiencies and predicting a narrow victory.
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For Democrats, though, the contest pointed to an increasingly heated disagreement over where the party has a realistic chance to win. Party officials in Montana and progressive activists beyond the states borders grew frustrated last month watching outside Republican groups savage Mr. Quist as Democratic groups remained on the sidelines.
After a special House election in Georgia in which the Democrat Jon Ossoff received more than 48 percent of the vote nearly averting a runoff and demonstrating the extent of voter enthusiasm on the left Senator Jon Tester, a Montana Democrat facing re-election next year, called Representative Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, the chairman of the House Democratic campaign arm, and implored him to consider spending money on Mr. Quist in the final weeks of the Montana race, according to two Democratic strategists briefed on the call. Mr. Tester also contacted the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, to see if he would carry the same message to the House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi of California.
But House Democratic officials make no apology for their prudence, believing they are more likely to claim the 24 seats needed to capture the House majority in suburban districts with highly educated voters, where anger at Mr. Trump runs high. That includes districts like the one in suburban Atlanta, previously represented by Health Secretary Tom Price, where both parties have poured tens of millions of dollars into a contest that looms all the more consequential after the Democratic defeats in Kansas and Montana.
Even this week, just two days before the Montana vote, Mr. Lujan announced new spending in the Georgia race. And in private, Mr. Lujan was telling other House Democrats that Mr. Quist stood little chance, based on private polls showing Mr. Gianforte with a healthy, consistent lead of about 10 percentage points, according to one of those present at a closed-door meeting of the caucus. After the election was called, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee circulated a memo declaring that it had refused to waste money on hype.
On Friday, Democratic leaders emphasized that Mr. Quist had performed better than the partys past congressional candidates in Montana, apparently benefiting from the enthusiasm of rank-and-file Democrats even as he fell well short of victory. The partys nominees, they noted, are outpacing their predecessors on fairly forbidding terrain, and Democratic voters are participating at higher rates than Republicans, despite being outnumbered in these districts.
But other Democrats acknowledged that they must work harder to make inroads with voters who live far beyond major cities and their suburbs, if they want to pick up seats like the one Mr. Gianforte just captured.
While both Mr. Trump and key Republican policy proposals, like the American Health Care Act, are broadly unpopular in public polling, the president and his party retain a strong hold over rural America, potentially limiting the map on which Democrats can compete next year.
Representative Joseph Crowley of New York, the chairman of the Democratic caucus, said that the outcome in Montana had come as little surprise, and that he took heart that it was not an easy struggle for Republicans to retain a normally safe seat.
But Mr. Crowley said that his partys approach to competing in rural areas was a work in progress, and that Democrats were still honing a positive message on the economy and jobs ahead of the 2018 campaign.
By Dirgha Raj Prasa
The Maoist, Congress, UML Party leaders say- 'the ongoing local election- 2074 BS, can stabilizes the secular and republican system as the achievement of the protest of 2062.63 B.S. which was forwarded from Indian Congress (I) and its RAW to terrorize Nepal. In fact, the ongoing local election has nothing to do with the secular and republican system, as it is necessary for the welfare of the Nepalese people for the development of local governance. In that sense, to celebrate the republican day forcefully, Nepalese people are not supporting that imposed system.
On 24, April, 2006, the peoples uprising came to a stop after an agreement was reached between the monarchy, NC and UML and Maoist included. The agitators were pleading for monarchy as an alternative force in times of crisis. An agreement was reached to reinstate the House of Representatives, which was dissolved under NC recommendation in 2058 BS although the monarchy did not possess the right to reinstate it. The monarchy reinstated the parliament and appointed Girija Prasad Koirala to the post of premiership. The king himself in the royal Palace premises gave the oath of office ceremony of Prime Minister. Gradually, the agreement reached with the king was broken and the royal institution attacked, which is a work of huge betrayal. A political agreement, 24 April, 2006, converted a political betrayal.
Nepal is standing on the verge of dismemberment in the last ten years. When the relationship between the king and the people have been detached one can easily imagine, Nepal can't remain safe and unified if monarchy is actually abolished from the country. In a country with such geographical and ethnic diversities Nepal will fall into a severely dangerous situation because of the foreigners' intervention. The Maoist, Congress, UML leaders are responsible to terrorize this peaceful holy land.
The Nepalese Maoist and many Left leaders are obsessed and gripped with the RAW's idea of making Nepal a republic state. How could they establish sovereignty just by removing monarchy without any logical and rationale reasons? This would only be a 'Herculean Attempt' without any logic and even absurd. History is proof that the kings of Nepal have never acted against the country's sovereignty. In Nepal opposing monarchy is as easy as it is difficult to support. But those who are true nationalists cannot speak or act by forgetting the ground reality of the country because monarchy in Nepal is related to the country's unity and independence. If there was no monarchy in Nepal and there was no China on the north, Nepal would not have remained as an independent country.
It was about 42 years ago democratic movement was gaining momentum in Sikkim. After Lendup Dorje became prime minister of Sikkim went to meet BP Koirala at Banaras to put forth a proposal to remove Chogyal (King) of Sikkim. Giving his advice BP Koirala had told Dorje that if Chogyal is removed Sikkim would lose its sovereignty and it will cease to become an independent country. BP had told Dorje to recognize and to be aware who is making them fight. But Dorje did not listen and like BP said Sikkim lost its sovereignty and became a state of India. India is facing a similar situation.
In Afghanistan, after the Kingship was abolished in 1973, hundreds of thousand people were killed in the war and conflict between the communists supported by the then Soviet Union and the Mujaheddin supported by America. Hundreds of thousand others had to take refuge in Pakistan and Iran. Afghanistan virtually disintegrated because of war and foreign power play. After the Russia-supported Najibullah was hanged the Talibans came to power and since then Afghanistan is beleaguered by war, conflict and struggle.
In Cambodia also, in the name of abolishing the Kingship, the Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot killed millions of people. Thus, the plot for republic could be a trap to finish off Nepal because even if it remains as a country, this country may become like North and South Vietnam when there is election for the president. Will America remain quiet by allowing a communist to become a president in Nepal? If there is a real possibility of the spill of streams of blood why should we think about if it will do something good for the country? Why should an innocent country like ours become the tug of war of big powers? But the country's nationalism has reached to a point, which is virtually impossible to reverse. There are forces that are looking for this moment. Therefore, in such a critical hour, especially the Maoist must not link Nepal's nationalism with international communist ideology and their movement.
Why would there be a need for a King if Nepal can survive without him? Nepal should not be compared to other nations. Monarchy is Nepal's alternate power. Nepal does not demand an autocratic royal institution but a pro-people institution. The institution of monarchy is such a force that fights off imperialist force to create a greater Nepal.
The King of Nepal never sold the nation, pleaded before foreigners nor killed the people and will never do so. The geographical and class reality of Nepal is such that the absence of monarchy would mean there will be no Nepal. This nation was created with joint efforts between the people and the King. The Royal Institution is the backbone of Nepali nationality; it is a pillar of trust for continuing stability between China and India. The royal institution is the base pillar for the lasting creative democratic nationalism, which is pessimistic towards autocratic and imperialist management, traitors and terrorism. Nepal as a republic can pose a threat to both India and China. The royal institution is broken because some Maoist leaders, puppets from Nepali Congress, and UML followed Indian Congress (I) and its RAW directives and went against the royal institution.
At this time, Girija Prasad Koirala who had to bear the brunt during the direct rule of the king had tried to prove the rationality of monarchy in Nepal and this has made him the focal point of Nepal's political discussion. But his leadership will be recognized only if his thinking becomes his party's ideology. Nepalese politics has become tainted by the practice of going for monarchy when one is in power and opposing it when one is out of power. The CPN-UML has put a serious stake to its political future by betting on politics for position. But to bargain for nationality with foreigners for post and money is nothing but to compare oneself with the Quislings like Jay Chand and Lendup Dorje.
The Maoists and all other parties must be able to respect the people's wishes on a sensitive issue like monarchy and become clear about status duties and responsibilities of the head of the state. Nepal is the home of all Nepalese including the King and every one of us must be equally concerned about how this country could maintain its independent existence and identity. In the context of the Nepalese sovereignty, a prominent leader of Nepali Congress says-' Republic is a system that is a murderer of the nation. Our nation is not like India, China, America or France. Nepal can't compare with those nations.'
After all, a news was published in this link- > http://sputniknews.com/politics/20150708/1024363467.html#ixzz3fIl2roLA< 'France needs to return to monarchy, as democracy is incompetent and brings the country down, French Minister of Economy Emmanuel Macron told Le 1 Hebdo magazine in an interview according to Le Figaro. Macron regrets that the role of king is absent from French politics. "Democracy always implies some kind of incompleteness because it isn't sufficient in itself," the French Minister of Economy said, according to Le Figaro. French political life is missing a strong figure, someone who could decisively lead France. It's the moment a new Napoleon appears, Macron said.'
There has been a drastic rise of foreign meddling in Nepal. Indian leaders and their intelligence chiefs come here and put pressure to get rid of monarchy. Nepal's present state is like just before the 'infamous' Kot parba (the mass killing of nobilities before Jung Bahadur established the Rana oligarchy) when foreigners give swords in our hands and inciting us to pull down the foundations of Nepal's independence and sovereignty. That is why it is time for us to come to a consensus to establish the monarchy within a boundary and also the people's representatives set a limit for themselves. There is a huge mass of people who still see the need and necessity of monarchy in Nepal.
Therefore, going to the people with the question of whether the monarchy should be kept or removed would be would result in the Pyrrhic victory no matter which side wins and will become the starting point for disintegration of the country. Therefore, it will be absurd and tragic to raise the issue of whether Nepal should remain a monarchial country or a republic. Therefore, we, Nepalese are forced to live together in harmony and concord because of our geographical and ethnic diversity. Everyone knows that the country, which had taken the responsibility of protecting Sikkim, finally gobbled it up. Those, who judge the present situation of this country feel and fear the same thing,.
So, let's not sink this country knowingly or unknowingly. Nepal is formed by the aggregation of many smaller states such as Nuwakot Kirtipur, Kantipur, Bhaktapur, Lalitpur, Makawanpur, Baisi, Chubisi, Palpa, Bajhang, Mustang.. But already there are attempts of demeaning Nepal as a country. The reinstatement House of Representatives of 2063 B.S. has degraded the status of the country by working towards converting it into territories and provinces. If this is allowed to continue, no one can say that there will not attempt to change the country's very name and the national flag. It could be that there are other forces, which are conspiring against this country by putting the Maoists at the front.
In 1999, there was a plebiscite in Australia whether to accept the British monarchy as its head of state and majority of the Australians voted for the existing arrangement. Even in Canada, the British monarchy has been accepted as its head of state. If they can accept the Queen of Britain as their head of state, why can't we in Nepal keep monarchy, which had the principle role in unifying this country, and modernize it. It is true that all monarchs are equally good and monarchy is an institution, which primarily functions according to its limited circle, and it is also true that bad and evil advisors are the cause of the fall of monarchy.
Similarly, all those parties, UML, NC (D), RPP and Madeshi Party and their leaders such as Madhav Kumar Nepal, late Surya Bahadur Thapa, Sher Bahadur Deupa and Lokendra Bahadur Chand who accepted Article 127 of the constitution of 2047 and joined in the government must also take responsibility for this situation. In politics, everyone must be evaluated on the basis of their conducts and results. The cause of the country's downslide is because of the intellectual cons and defrauders, smugglers, corrupt and those involved in nepotism and favoritism. Until such elements are sidelined from politics and government, the country cannot find a correct path.
Nepal is called the Shangri-La, and the World Hindu Conference had passed a resolution that the earth of Nepal was worthy to be bowed down by Hindus all over the world. This is the highest honor Nepal could receive from the international community. Nepal is the country where both Hinduism and Buddhism originated and it is a scared land for more than a billion Hindus and Buddhists. Nepal's prestige and honor would elevate further if this country is declared a Hindu and Buddhist country, instead of a secular one. Therefore, we must not take up anything that would become too burdensome to carry on. Nepal does not have any basis or foundation that could support republic. Carrying the slogan of a republic is not the solution of our country. Nepal needs-'Monarchy' a permanent institution that can shoulder the responsibility for country's independence, national unity, sovereignty and safeguard the people...
Email: dirgharajprasai@gmail.com
Kathmandu, May 27, 2017- The Saturday's meeting of the Legislature-Parliament started deliberations on the government policies and programmes for the fiscal 2017-18. President Bidya Devi Bhandari presented the policies and programmes at the parliament on Thursday.
Taking part in the deliberation, CPN-UML parliamentary party deputy leader Subas Chandra Nembang expressed happiness over the resumption of the parliamentary business while noting they wish to see the policy and programme of permanent government rather not of a caretaker.
Ram Narayan Bidari of CPN (Maoist Centre) accused the main opposition party, UML, of making mockery of parliamentary system and termed the government policy and programme scientific.
Kunti Kumari Shahi of Rastriya Prajatantra Party urged all political parties to cooperate to hold the second phase of local election and expressed her confidence that the peopled elected local representative could only cater to the people's need of sustainable development.
UML lawmaker Lal Babu Yadav said the policy and programme has nothing new measures to bridge the rural-urban gaps.
Kamal Pangeni of Nepali Congress called for the main opposition party to show positive gesture to endorse the constitution amendment bill which was brought to widen the acceptance of the constitution.
Also speaking on the occasion, lawmaker Dr Subodh Kumar Pokharel demanded attention for modernization in agriculture sector and adequate availability of money at local levels.
He said that the government was successful in its campaign of 'Light Nepal'.
Ramhari Khatiwada of Nepali Congress claimed that the government policies and programmes had addressed the demands of opposition and come on its consent, insisting on the need that all political parties should have unity regarding the implementation of constitution.
Likewise, lawmakers Dr Ganeshman Gurung, Kripasur Sherpa, Ananda Prasad Pokhrel and Geeta Chhetri aired their views on vivid aspects of the policies and programmes.
President Bhandari had on May 25 presented the government policies and programmes. As per the parliamentary customary, the government policies and programmes should get approved before the announcement of a new budget and in the context of Nepal, the constitution has set 15th of the month of Jestha in Nepali calendar as the 'budget day'.
Fresh policies and programmes were brought amidst the two rounds of local-level at the consent of political parties, giving continuity to the existing programmes. That's why the parliament held no pre-budget session this time.
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal ' Dahal' had resigned as per the previous agreement between the ruling partners on May 24, a day before the presentation of government policies and programmes and a less number of amendment proposal comparatively than past were registered this time.
Prem Suwal of Nepal Workers and Peasants Party, presenting an amendment proposal regarding the policies and programmes, demanded that policies and programmes should incorporate the issue of withdrawing the constitution amendment bill and of controlling corruption and price hike. The amendment proposal had extended gratitude to the President.
NWPP's Anuradha Thapa Magar sought the inclusion of a provision of establishing a child care center and a child park in every wards and settlement.
Durga Poudel of Rastriya Janamorch, presented an amendment proposal seeking the provision of acquisitioning personal land beyond the ceiling and distributing to landless.
The Legislature-Parliament shall meet again at 11am on May 28, tomorrow. RSS
News / National
by Staf reporter
PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe splurged close to US$3,5 million to charter a Comlux Aviation Boeing 767 BBJ aircraft to Singapore and Mexico from May 7 to 26. This comes at a time government is struggling to raise salaries for its bloated civil servants as well as maintain its grounded Air Zimbabwe planes, the Zimbabwe Independent can reveal.Investigations revealed that Mugabe chartered the Boeing 767 registration number P4-CLA, flight number CXB767 from May 7 until May 26. He went to Mexico to attend a global platform for disaster risk reduction after returning from Singapore for treatment.The globetrotting Mugabe spent US$36 million on foreign and domestic travel in the first 10 months of 2016, piling pressure on the cash-strapped government that is failing to buy painkillers for public hospitals.Aviation sources said it costs US$1 million to hire the Boeing 767 for four days and the bill escalates even when the plane is parked at Harare International Airport."It costs US$1 million to hire the plane for four days so Mugabe paid that when he went to Singapore," the source said, adding: "The plane also attracted close to half a million dollars in charges when it was parked for six days, from May 13 to May 18 while the cabin crew was at a local hotel. Mugabe paid close to US$2 million for the nine days the plane took him to Mexico."Contacted for comment, Transport minister Joram Gumbo declined to disclose how much Mugabe spent on the charter but said the cost is similar to rates charged by Air Zimbabwe."Air Zimbabwe is used at a cost and the rates are the same. Every last penny is paid for by the President's Office," he said.Gumbo also dispelled claims Mugabe's security is compromised by the use of leased planes."This is not the first time we have leased aircraft and it happens in any country. In fact, airlines also do the same for their commercial services when they bring unmarked aircraft. We lease these planes (for Mugabe) from friendly countries and a lot of due diligence is put into these arrangements including the security aspect," he said.This is not the first time that Mugabe has chartered Comlux Aviation's Boeing 767. In March, he splurged US$1 million when he chartered the same plane to Singapore and Ghana. Government officials say the ultra-luxurious aircraft is being leased because the Air Zimbabwe jet he normally uses is grounded and needs complete service for long-haul flights.The European Union (EU) has banned the flag carrier, Air Zimbabwe, effectively run by Mugabe's son-in-law Simba Chikore, from flying to Europe, due to its failure to meet the bloc's stringent safety requirements. This is despite the fact that the troubled airline discontinued commercial flights into Europe in 2011 after one of its planes was impounded in London over failure to repay debts.The chartered plane arrived in Zimbabwe on May 7 and left for Singapore on May 8. Mugabe spent four days in Singapore."Mugabe came back on Friday May 12 and the plane was parked for six days before he left for Mexico on May 19," a government official said.Mugabe is expected in the country tonight after spending nine days in South America. Official sources said the plane comes with a full complement cabin crew whose accommodation and other expenses are catered for by the government."From May 13 to May 18 the cabin crew was in Zimbabwe and accommodated at one of the five-star hotels with expenses being paid for by Mugabe's office," another government official said.According to the Comlux website the: "Boeing 767 BBJ is a product dedicated to Heads of State, Royal Families and Business leaders. It is a long-range wide-body aircraft, allowing the transport of 63 passengers over 14 hours of flight non-stop."Fitted with a Head of State VVIP cabin fully refurbished end of 2013, the aircraft has always been maintained at the highest standards of the industry. The efcient cabin of the 767BBJ allows the Principal and his Executives to travel in extreme comfort and privacy at the front, while a spacious section at the back is fully dedicated to his delegation and entourage."In addition Comlux offers a comprehensive set of services to VIP customers who wish to have their own aircraft, managed personally and professionally. This includes aircraft management, sales and acquisitions, cabin design and completion and maintenance and engineering services."The planeserial number 32954 LN: 861 and engines: GE CF6-80C2B6Fcruises at 860km/h and has state-of-the-art facilities which include: "Private bedroom, bathroom, office and dining area for the entourage."Seating capacity includes 10VVIP, 20 business and 33 premium economy to give total capacity of 63 passengers.Since March, Mugabe's usual Air Zimbabwe plane has been grounded with the troubled national airline failing to conduct the mandatory C-check, an extensive maintenance exercise requiring a large majority of the aircraft's components to be inspected.
Solukhumbu, Nepal: Critically injured captain Paras Kumar Rai of the ill-fated aircraft belonging to Summit Air (Goma Air) has died as plane crashed at Tenzing Hillary Airport on Saturday afternoon.
Captain Rai died while receiving treatment at Pasang Lhamu Nicole Niki hospital at Solukhumbu.
A cargo aircraft with a call sign 9N-AK LY had crashed shortly before landing at the airport at around 2 pm on Saturday afternoon. The plane struck in a pine tree just before touching down to the runway. It is said that bad weather was the reason behind the accident.
Other two crew members co-pilot Srijan Manandhar and air hostess Pragya Maharjan also injured in the incident.
Granville S. Austins report on the Passing of Jawaharlal Nehru 28 May 1964
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From the Guardian archive:
28 May 1964: The death of Nehru
by Victor Anant
Indias first prime minister is dead following a stroke, leaving many anxious about the "after Nehru" era
Jawaharlal Nehru, Prime Minister of India, is dead. At 2 p.m. local time today 460,000,000 people in this country that has been forged on the anvil of this one mans dreams and conflicts were plunged into the nightmare world which they have, in the last decade, come to dread as the "after Nehru" era.
At 6.25 a.m. today Mr Nehru, who had gone to sleep last night "fresh and fit" after his short holiday at a hill station, had a stroke. He lost consciousness almost immediately, but not before he had complained to his valet of a pain in the back. He died without regaining consciousness, and according to a member of his household, his death was due to "an internal haemorrhage, a paralytic stroke, and a heart attack."
His daughter, Mrs Indira Gandhi, had sent immediately for the three doctors who had been attending Mr Nehru since his last stroke some six months ago. They tried everything but failed.
Parliament, which had reassembled this morning for a special seven day session, had been told that the Prime Minister was sinking. MPs heard the news of his death at 2.05 p.m. During question hour Mr Nehru was to have replied to a series of questions about Kashmir and Sheikh Abdullah. Mr Gulzarilal Nanda, the Minister of Home Affairs, is taking charge of the caretaker Cabinet. There is to be a Cabinet meeting tomorrow morning. Mr Nanda is the most senior of the Ministers.
At about 4.00 this afternoon after the MPs and the Cabinet Ministers, the Congressmen and the Socialists and the Communists, the Hindus, the Sikhs and the Moslems, had gone in by a side door of the Prime Ministers house, I was allowed to see the body. My shoes joined the others outside, silent witnesses to a sacred moment.
I walked into a house laden with the smell of burning sandalwood sticks, softly past nameless white men in khadi into the bedroom in which he lay.
It was a white wake that was being kept in the bedroom on the first floor. Ones first instinct was not to look at Mr Nehru but at the people around him.
After five minutes one dared to see him. No, the face was not waxen. No, the face was not sad. No, the face was not in pain. No, the face was not that of an old man.
The face was frozen into a mould of bewildered determination. In death as in life this was a face not of repose but of eager, impatient discovery.
One walked out to let in the diplomatists, the MPs, the Sikhs and the Hindus and the Moslems. They came - but they did not weep. Instead, the eyes shifted, there were tremors of disbelief, tinctured with moments of illumination as if this had to happen, and then the eyes shifted again. This time with fear.
Fear was the one dominant feeling one experienced as one came out. Fear that at this moment one had to avoid the reality of Nehrus death and the Pandoras box of suppressed ambitions it will release.
The funeral procession tomorrow will cover six miles. Mr Nehru will he cremated at Raj Ghat, where Gandhi was cremated. The last rites for this agnostic will be administered by Hindu priests.
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May-26-2017 22:20 TweetFollow @OregonNews 28 Egyptian Christians Killed in Bus Attack on Friday In April, at least 45 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in two separate suicide bomb attacks
One of the buses targeted by militants.
Photo from video/Reuters.
(Minya Province, EGYPT/Alwaght) - Masked gunmen attacked two buses and a truck carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt on Friday, killing at least than 28 people and wounding dozens more. Egyptian officials say children were among the dead. The groups were travelling to the Saint Samuel Monastery in the Minya province, about 220km south of Cairo. The attackers arrived in three pick-up trucks and opened fire on the vehicles carrying the Christians before fleeing from the scene, with Security forces in pursuit. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. "They used automatic weapons," said Essam el-Bedawi, Governor of Minya. The Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is an Oriental Orthodox Christian church with 1822 million members worldwide. The Egyptian Church is more than 1,900 years old, believed to be the oldest Christian church in the world. It was founded by St Mark, an apostle and evangelist, in the middle of the 1st century, approximately AD 42, according to accepted tradition. Egypt's Christian minority, which makes up about 10 percent of the country's population, has repeatedly been targeted by armed groups. Following the attack, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for a meeting with security officials before an apparent retaliatory strike against training camps in Libya Friday afternoon. Egyptian fighter jets directed strikes at camps which Cairo says have been training militants responsible for killing the Christians earlier in the day. In April, at least 45 people were killed and more than 100 wounded in two separate suicide bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Tanta and Alexandria during Palm Sunday ceremonies. The April attacks were claimed by ISIS terrorist groups which is active in Egypt especially in the Sinai Peninsula region. Egypt has had an imposed nationwide three-month state of emergency after the April bombings, with the option to extend for another three months dependent on a parliament vote. Lebanons Hezbollah resistance movement has joined the international community in condemning the attack on innocent Christians in Minya, terming the incident a sinful crime. In a statement, Hezbollah, that is fighting terrorists in Syria, said that this crime is added to the record of the murderous gangs whose acts are devoid of the human sense, violate the sanctity of the human soul that God has guaranteed. Hezbollah added that they were painfully grieved by the human losses, calling for a serious and sincere stand in face of terrorism which uses religion to overlay its crimes and urged for a decisive fight against the terrorists and their ideological and financial supporters. Source: Alwaght; other sources _________________________________________
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The Class of 2017
Of the 993 students of Hancock College's 2017 graduating class, 476 students live in Santa Maria, 189 students in Lompoc and 14 in the Santa Ynez Valley.
The class was also comprised of 71 students from Nipomo, 35 from Arroyo Grande and 26 from Guadalupe.
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Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team, according to a report by the Washington Post. The channel was intended for US and Russian officials to "discuss Syria and other security issues," The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the discussion.
As featured on Washington Post: Kushner proposed secret communication channel with Kremlin President Donald Trump's son-in-law and trusted aide Jared Kushner may have discussed creating a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin with Russia's ambassador Sergei Kislyak, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The Pentagon says it has shot down a mock warhead over the Pacific in a success for America's missile defense program.
I like to watch a man (or woman) who is good at what he does. It is relaxing to me to observe a man working quickly and skillfully. It is pleasing to see a man making sure and steady progress toward a worthy goal. It is a delight to watch a man conquer a difficult task with seeming ease. I marvel at his focus and skill and discipline and effort and attention to detail. Watching a craftsman build is a thing of beauty. Observing an artisan create thrills the soul.
God is creative and so is man made in His image.
In Proverbs 22:29, God asks an interesting question and follows it up with a keen observation, Do you see a man who is skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men. (NASU) The question and comment seem to imply that such men are few and far between, a rarity to be sought after. This verse plainly states that a talented, diligent, skilled worker will not work for common, unappreciative men. They will rather be in the employ of the rich and powerful, even kings. This verse implies that these skilled workers will be well compensated for their work, never having to worry about their livelihood. It appears that the diligent and skilled worker will be well respected. This verse provides ample motivation and encouragement for honing ones skills.
Proverbs contains many warnings against laziness and a lack of diligence. Proverbs points out the end results of a life of slothfulness. Proverbs states that talking instead of working leads to a life of poverty. This passage presents a positive argument for becoming skilled. This passage intends no disrespect or criticism to a common or obscure man. Rather the emphasis is on the fact that the most highly skilled and diligent workers will have the opportunity to work for those who will be able to offer steady employment and pay much higher wages.
Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah, Esther, and others are good examples of this proverb. Each of them was given opportunity to stand before kings, to serve in high places because of their skill and diligence and faithfulness. Even though Saul of Tarsus was not right with God, it seems to me that his dedication, skill and training made him the perfect choice as the Apostle to the Gentiles. We assume that because of spending his childhood in Tarsus, known as a great center of Greek learning, that he was well educated in Greek culture. We know for a fact that his long hours at the feet of Gamaliel in the school founded by Hillel in Jerusalem gave him the best possible Hebrew education. After meeting Jesus, he stood before leaders and kings many times. Talent, skill, training, and diligence are important in the Christian life. Those who have these qualities should receive places of influence where they can accomplish the greatest good. Pray that talented men will be godly men.
When the queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, she commented about how blessed Solomons men were because they were able to stand before him continually and hear of his wisdom. That was true but what awaits the Christian is even better. The book of Revelation tells us that one day, those who belong to Christ will stand before Him, serving Him, seeing Him face-to-face. The Bible speaks of heavenly rewards for Christians. Could it be, is it possible that this pleasure, this reward, is reserved for the skilled and diligent servant of the Lord? I wonder if the skilled, diligent worker for the Lord here on earth will be the one who will be allowed in heaven to stand in front of the King of kings. Its something to consider.
The groundbreaking, 24-hour-long, 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist musical A 24-Decade History of Popular Music is returning to San Francisco this September, and to that end the production is shooting a promo video all day Saturday for the plays Bay Area run. The video shoot is looking for extras, and has put out a casting call allowing you yes, you! to show up Saturday, May 27 and perform alongside legendary actor, playwright, and performance artist Taylor Mac. The self-described unique mash-up of music, history, performance, and art is asking that extras come dressed in the American history period costume of their choice. You wont be paid, but you will get to appear in promotional materials for the show that New York Times theater critic Wesley Morris called one of the great experiences of my life, and SFist theater critic Jay Barmann gave 240 stars when sections of it ran at The Curran in 2016.
The Curran theater tells SFist in a statement that The premise is Taylor Mac (Bay Area native and award-winning artist) marching through SF with a small brass band and extras parading behind, all in celebration of the city that inspired his show which is coming to the Curran in September.
You can be a part of it by signing up on the Taylor Mac Video Extras Google Doc. You are advised to sign up as soon as possible, considering that the shoot starts at 6 a.m. Saturday and goes until 7 p.m. There are four different slots for which you can apply, whose times and locations are listed below:
7:30am - 10:00am: Pac Heights (Broadway & Divisadero)
10:30am - 1:00pm: Civic Center (Golden Gate & Polk)
1:30pm - 4:00pm: Balmy Alley (24th & Treat)
4:30pm - 7:00pm: Castro (Noe & Market)
Come dressed inspired by something from your favorite decade of American history (i.e. Abe Lincoln, a 20's flapper, Rosie the Riveter, Betsy Ross, a Suffragette, a 60's hippie, your favorite 80s punk), the signup form advises. We encourage creativity and taking liberties with what your favorite piece of American history means to you. Please avoid stripes and beige.
'A 24-Decade History Of Popular Music', image courtesy Kevin Yatarola
Once completed, you'll receive a final confirmation email with details regarding your participation on Saturday including call time, locations, and transportation information, the production also notes.
SFist did sign up, and received the confirmation info and a call sheet within about 12 hours, but that response may vary for you. They were insistent that extras arrive on time, and they really encouraged performers to pack light as on-site storage will be exceedingly limited.
'A 24-Decade History Of Popular Music', image courtesy Vess Pitts
Yes, Taylor Mac will be there in person for the shoot! Should you actually get to encounter Taylor Mac in person, do be aware that the actor and playwright prefers judy a gender pronoun.
Taylor Mac: A 24-Decade History of Popular Music plays at the The Curran on September 15, 17, 22 and 24, with each performance a separate, six-hour chapter. The show will also stage an abbreviated three-hour version at Stanfords Bing Concert Hall on September 27.
Related: Curran Theatre Breaks Off From SHN, Will Produce Its Own Edgier Shows
The business of food has been heating up, so to speak, as the unofficial/official start to summer arrives on Memorial Day. This week we learned of Ritual Coffee opening in the Castro, Chez Panisse losing longtime chef Cal Peternell (in July), and Slanted Door expanding to Las Vegas. We also just got word, in the delivery app realm, that Sprig is no more. But here's everything else that's been going on.
RT Rotisserie, as foretold last week, will be making its grand entrance on the Hayes Valley/Civic Center scene on Monday, Memorial Day. The fast-casual, rotisserie spinoff of the acclaimed and popular Rich Table will feature sandwiches, salads, and rotisserie meal deals focusing on chicken, porchetta, and a vegetarian roasted cauliflower. Eater has the menu here, and Inside Scoop got some photos of the place.
Gott's Roadside, the burger stand formerly known as Taylor's Refresher, is going strong and now has plans to open three new Bay Area locations this fall in Walnut Creek, Greenbrae, and at SFO. As Inside Scoop reports, they also have their eyes on LA down the line.
Mission Bay got its own poke spot in the form of Poke Life (1700 Owens Street). Hoodline caught that news, noting that the place is only open for lunch right now, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Hoodline also reports on the relocation of Indian Palace from Lower Pac Heights to the Mission, 2154 Mission Street, to be exact, between 17th and 18th. It's the former Minako Sushi location that more recently was briefly home to Naan 'n' Curry.
Eater got a look inside, and a look at the final menu, at Le Marais in the Castro (498 Sanchez Street at 18th), which is going to sport a full-service, all-day menu with rotisserie meats, as well as fine baked goods and Viennoiserie that fans have been enjoying at the bakery-cafe's other locations. They'll also be serving Sightglass Coffee, Fort Point beer, and Planet wine, and will initially be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The exact opening date is unclear (and could be this weekend), but look for it perhaps to debut on Tuesday.
Also in the Castro, the real estate agent who's listed the building where the Sausage Factory lives a listing that indicated the ground floor space would be "delivered vacant" to any buyer disputes last week's story of the beloved red-sauce Italian spot's imminent demise. He tells Inside Scoop that the nearly 50-year-old restaurant is staying open "indefinitely," for now, and he also disputes the fact that the Azzolino family, who may still own the restaurant but do not operate it day to day anymore, does not in fact own the building. It does sound as though the restaurant itself could be on the market, though. Stay tuned, as this seems highly uncertain.
Bay Area Peet's Coffee shops are testing something new: chicken sausage and waffle sandwiches. The spin on chicken and waffles is available only locally on a trial basis through August 31, as SFGate tells us.
Michelin-starred Aster, in the Mission, will be switching things up a bit starting next week, doing away with the a la carte option that's been available for a couple of years. Now diners will only have the option of the four-course prix fixe for $75, with choices for each course, as Inside Scoop reports.
Laurel Heights has a new Thai spot called Derm, which just opened in the former La Belle restaurant space at 3226 Geary Blvd. Hoodline reports that the menu features "noodle and curry standbys, plus a plethora of more unique dishes such as pan-fried mussels, [and] ribeye steak with tamarind sauce."
In the New York Times this week, local chef Mourad Lahlou shared his recipe for the egg dish known as shakshuka, the Moroccan version, anyway.
San Francisco is about to get a new taste of deco sushi, also known as kazari maki, at SoMa lunch spot Sue's Kitchen. As Hoodline tells us, it's opening at 303 2nd Street this summer, offering up $11.75 lunch combos that include a salad and either four, six, or eight pieces of deco sushi which is typically colorful and bite-sized, and often features decorative and figurative flourishes, like maki roll slices that look panda heads.
And over in Oakland, gluten-free fried chicken and baked goods spot Grease Box is making the move this summer from it's isolated location in North Oakland to downtown, to 378 17th Street, hoping for better foot traffic, as Eater reports.
This Week In Reviews
Michael Bauer dropped in to update his thoughts on Sons & Daughters, giving the six-year-old Nob Hill spot a three-and-a-half-star rave, praising the work of chef Teague Moriarty who is now operating without the help of former chef-partner Matt McNamara. He loves everything from the very first amuse, calling out the thoughtful wine pairings by new wine director Amy Currens, and saying, "The meal was carefully crafted, like a great play, with each course getting bolder." His only criticism comes at the end when he writes, "While the menu doesnt showcase as many unusual ingredients and combinations as when the two [chefs] were together, it shows consistency and a solid orchestration that makes Sons & Daughters a must-visit destination."
And Bauer had a good week, it seems, because he offers an all-out rave as well for Royal Feast, a seemingly generic Sichuan restaurant in Millbrae that he insists is anything but. It gets the stamp of approval from Bay Area Chinese food doyenne Cecilia Chiang herself, who hosted a feast there for friends recently, and Bauer notes that chef Zongyi Liu once worked at the famous Beijing Hotel, headed up China's winning team at the Bocuse d'Or culinary competition in 1999, formerly worked at the acclaimed China Village in Albany, and is "one of the last people with firsthand knowledge of Chinese grand cuisine before the Communist revolution." Chiang especially approves of the braised abalone with four treasures, and the caramelized fried banana dessert which she used to serve at The Mandarin. And Bauer says that Liu's exacting technique shows through in even the simplest dishes. His verdict: three big stars, with three and a half for the food.
The Weekly's Pete Kane went down to check out Dad's Luncheonette, the new mostly outdoor spot based in a railroad car by the side of Highway 1 in Half Moon Bay. He says the burger is "very good" but that the sauteed oyster sandwich was even better, even though both were very messy and wishes there were mustard for the burger. He also enjoys the herb salad, the humble mac-and-cheese with crumbled potato chips on top, and the carrot soup with homemade ricotta which he calls the "stealth winner."
Writing for KQED, Trevor Felch took an early look at the newly open Dumpling Time in SoMa, the dumpling spinoff from the Omakase/Okane team. He notes that "There arent a lot of dumplings at Dumpling Time," but there are "a good range" of them, even if they are not "life-changing." Also, he says, "Service is good-hearted but obviously overwhelmed with the opening need to turn tables."
And finally, SF Mag's Josh Sens gives his take on China Live, writing that it's "a rollicking crash course" in Chinese cuisine "thats by turns delightful and disorienting in the expanse of the terrain it covers." And, "Like the best surveys, it leaps back and forth between the familiar and the surprising, and holds your interest by reminding you how much there is to know." He does note that "the sheer eclecticism of the menu makes it hard to pick out a coherent meal," but says that isn't much of a problem, and gives the place three stars.
Acclaimed fiction writer, poet, and playwright Denis Johnson, most famous for his short story collection Jesus' Son which was turned into a 1999 film of the same name, died Wednesday at the age of 67 at his home in Sea Ranch, in Sonoma County. The cause was cancer, as the SF Chronicle reports, and his death was confirmed by his literary agent Nicole Aragi.
He is survived by his third wife, Cindy Lee Johnson, and their three children.
Johnson was a huge figure in the fiction world despite having written relatively few books. Jesus' Son, was cited in a 2006 New York Times poll as one of the most important works of fiction of the previous 25 years. His last book, Laughing Monsters, was published in 2014, and he won the National Book Award in 2007 for Tree of Smoke, his novel about the Vietnam War. He was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for that novel, as well as for his 2012 novella Train Dreams. The New Yorker has assembled all of the stories of his that they published over the last three decades, which are linked and available to read here. I highly recommend "Work" from 1988, one of the central, most compact and most moving of the stories that ended up in Jesus' Son.
Work, however, was not necessarily something Johnson was fond of. He joked with the New Yorker's fiction editor Deborah Treisman just a few weeks before his death, when she asked him if he would contribute something on the topic of "jobs" to this year's fiction issue. "Come now," he wrote back, "dont you know that in certain circles we dont even utter the J-word? My second wife came home one day and said, When are you gonna get a job? and it came over me like a revelation, and I said never. And she left. But she came back. (Later left again.) Thats my whole contribution to the J subject.
He also claimed only to have written his last novel so that he could buy a piece of land he wanted next to his own in Idaho.
The New York Times' Michiko Kakutani writes:
In his own novels and poems, Mr. Johnson fulfilled that task with extraordinary savagery and precision. He used his startling gift for language to create word pictures as detailed and visionary, and as varied, as paintings by Edward Hopper and Hieronymus Bosch, capturing the lives of outsiders the lost, the dispossessed, the damned with empathy and unsparing candor. Whether set in the bars and motels of small-town America, or the streets of wartime Saigon, his stories depict people living on the edge, addicted to drugs or adrenaline or fantasy, reeling from the idiocies and exigencies of modern life, and longing for salvation.
Jonathan Galassi, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus & Giroux, and the man who published Jesus' Son, called Johnson one of the great writers of his generation," and added in a statement to the Associated Press, "He wrote prose with the imaginative concentration and empathy of the poet he was."
Kakutani adds, "Mr. Johnsons America, past or present, is uncannily resonant today. Its a troubled land, staggering from wretched excess and aching losses, a country where dreams have often slipped into out-and-out delusions, and people hunger for deliverance, if only in the person of a half-baked messiah. Reason is in short supply here, and grifters and con men peddling conspiracy thinking and fake news abound; families are often fragmented or nonexistent; and primal, Darwinian urges have replaced the rule of law. And yet, and yet, amid the bewilderment and despair, there are lightning flashes of wonder and hope glimpses of the possibility of redemption."
Nothing is as delicious as an outdoor room for summer! Of course, if you live in mosquito country, you are rolling your eyes and thinking about screened-in porches. That's nothing compared to folks who live in gator country and must worry about four-legged critters creeping onto their veranda. Nonetheless, it's time to get creative so you can enjoy whatever outdoor space is available to you.
Some of the most precious real estate in the country exists in the form of elegant high-rise condominium living. Skyscrapers in Chicago, Miami, San Diego, San Francisco and New York offer stunning views of the cityscape and bodies of water. In many cases, a balcony is the only outdoor space offered, even with a $2 million price tag. In general, the higher the floor, the more costly the unit is; and while a penthouse suite might offer larger decks and balconies, most can be shockingly small. The introduction of a texture helps to establish a cozy feeling. Consider seasonal outdoor carpeting. The company FLOR offers carpet tiles or squares that can be installed over a concrete slab. Hundreds of weather-resistant area rugs and runners are on the market -- an internet search will reveal plenty of choices.
Another idea is to introduce music and the soothing sound of water. This could be accomplished with a simple tabletop water feature or a larger one that needs installation. These take a bit of patience. While it seems simple enough to fill an electric fountain with water, there are a few other things to keep in mind. First, you must be sure that the fountain will sit on level footing. If your deck or balcony is not level, you will need to do so. Also, blowing debris, such as bits of seeds or pine needles, can clog the filter and affect how the device operates. You must be prepared to keep it clean and in good operating order.
Decorate your patio, deck or balcony with blooming potted plants. Make sure that the pots match or are at least the same color. Nothing is as ugly as an assortment of mismatched plant containers. And remember that less is more in many cases. Keep your arrangements in groups of three or five. If you need inspiration, do a little snooping for ideas on how to group different plant types together. For example, a mix of roses and bird of paradise is incongruent. Bird of paradise would work well with palms or ferns. Plants require the same thought as any other design accessory!
Introduce a little whimsical touch with string lights or a hanging swinging chair, like the one featured. These are great for spots with limited space. Of course, be certain that it is properly supported for the safety of your guests. Most of these rattan hanging chairs need a pillow as well as a seat cushion. This is an opportunity to introduce some bold sassy colors to your outdoor room that you might be reticent to use indoors!
Stacking chairs are another space-saving way to provide seating on a confined patio. And look for a drop-leaf wood table to push up against the house when not in use. These are offered in rectangular and round shapes.
If you need a shade cover, there are options ranging from electric awnings that attach to the fascia of your home, to portable umbrellas, to shade screens that stretch from your home to a fence or a tree. Again, people in insect country have the additional need for netting. The Mosquito Curtains website offers temporary mosquito screens.
Photo Credit: Cranmore Home
Christine Brun, ASID, is a San Diego based interior designer and author of "Small Space Living." Send questions and comments to her by email at christinebrun@sbcglobal.net.
COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM
Bronzeville Teacher Accused Of Sexually Assaulting 16-Year-Old Student
By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 26, 2017 8:15PM
Chicago Police Department handout photo of Anthony Frontera.
A teacher at Bronzeville's Chicago Military Academy has been charged with criminal sexual assault after he allegedly conducted a six-month-long sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl at the school, according to police.
Anthony Frontera, 53, of the 2800 block of North Ottawa Avenue was arrested Wednesday afternoon, and arraigned in the county's criminal court Friday morning. Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. set the bail at $750,000, according to the Tribune, and told Frontera: "These accusations and these facts are egregious, sir. You are a teacher."
Prosecutors said Frontera began his sexual relationship with the girl, who may have been 15 at the time but is now 16, sometime after Nov. 1, 2016. On that day, Frontera allegedly told the girl he wanted to date her. Prosecutors said that Frontera began to regularly sexually assault the girl in his office, and that he would lock his classroom door and draw the shades while they were alone. He also allegedly told the girl's relative, who came to the school on report card pickup day, that she would "make a great wife" and he was "helping [her] become a lady."
The girl reportedly told a friend about the sexual relationship sometime in April. The friend told school administrators about the relationship after Frontera and the girl had a fight. Prosecutors detailed the fight that Frontera, who appears to be a science teacher, reportedly had with the girl on May 9, according to DNAinfo:
Several students witnessed the aftermath of Frontera's May 9 fight with the girl, which happened inside his classroom at 3519 S. Giles Ave., prosecutors said. Coffee was spilled on Frontera's pants, cabinets, table and floor. Broken yardstick pieces were strewn across his desk. According to [a prosecutor], the girl was limping, and Frontera claimed he spilled coffee when a lab experiment went wrong.
On May 12, Frontera allegedly contacted another teacher while off work to ask the teacher to look for cameras in his office. He admitted to the teacher that he was having a sexual relationship with "someone younger," prosecutors said in court.
Chicago Public Schools officials said in a statement that Frontera was removed from his job earlier this month after investigators determined "he was potentially harming a student." CPS officials notified both police and the Department of Children and Family Services, according to authorities.
Someone (it is unclear who) recently made a Facebook page about Frontera arguing that he is "innocent." The page shows photos of him with science students and the about section says:
Mr. Frontera has dedicated his life to education and helped several of students succeed in the sciences. His dedication has allowed students to pursue higher education and reach their potential in science, math, and technology. He has served as mentor to several students and helped students throughout his career. In addition, he has always been a big advocate for helping the community in the Bronzeville area. Support this page and help Mr. Frontera seek justice!
ANTHON, Iowa | In the small town of Anthon, there are two cemeteries one mile apart -- Oak Hill Cemetery on the north edge of town and the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery on the south end. The latter is where people of the Catholic faith have been buried for generations.
Separate cemeteries for Catholics have been a tradition in many Iowa communities since the state was first settled more than 150 years ago, although with some differences. Twenty miles from Anthon, for example, the town of Danbury has a single cemetery, although with widely known sections for Catholics and non-Catholics.
"Well, you go to the Catholic side," was the phrase Ruth Groth, of Anthon, said she heard from her Catholic relatives from Danbury.
The separate Catholic cemeteries are something many Siouxlanders have known about, and they'll have a reminder this weekend when many decorate the graves of relatives and friends as part of the Memorial Day holiday.
But in many communities, the practice of separate cemeteries is waning, according to local officials.
Groth, who serves as the Anthon city clerk, said about five years ago the practice of Catholics being only buried in St. Joseph started ending, so some now are interred in Oak Hill Cemetery. University of Northern Iowa History Professor Thomas Connors also pointed to the change regionally.
There was a history of anti-Catholic sentiment in American history well into the latter half of the 20th century, including the perception that it was groundbreaking -- and troubling to some people-- that a Catholic, John F. Kennedy, was elected president in 1960. But Connors noted the rise of separate Catholic cemeteries didn't emerge out of anti-Catholic opinions by people who wanted to nix Catholics from being buried with them or their decedents.
Rather, the professor said, the practice began with Catholics setting their own cemeteries in Europe hundreds of years ago.
"The tradition of burial in consecrated ground for Catholics, in a separate Catholic cemetery, is very old, dating back to the Medieval period, even before cemeteries themselves were developed in the 19th century, when all burial grounds tended to be sectarian churchyards that only members could be buried in," Connors said.
Connors noted other denominations also established their own cemeteries. That's the case in places in Woodbury County with cemeteries that are 100 years old, such as a next to a Lutheran church in the so-called Midway area near Battle Creek and a Methodist church in the ghost town of Rock Branch.
"In some Iowa communities, I've heard there are separate German Catholic and Irish Catholic cemeteries," Connors said, citing something that was true for Danbury.
Connors said Catholic officials, since the Vatican II reforms of the 1960s, loosened the necessity of Catholics only being buried in cemeteries entirely under church control. He gave the example of the Catholic cemetery in Cedar Falls, Iowa, now being incorporated into a public cemetery, and a priest has blessed the entire cemetery so that Catholics can be buried anywhere there.
In Woodbury County, Groth said people of varying faiths are choosing on their own not to be constrained by old conventions of being buried in only a specific cemetery.
"It is not as hard and fast," she said.
Groth said some Catholics in the last five years have been buried in Oak Hill and non-Catholics are interred in St. Joseph. Anthon became a town in 1883 and St. Joseph opened in 1897.
Over in Danbury, Mary Ann Sohm is a township clerk who has a role in oversight of the sole cemetery, St. Patrick's, which has some three interesting elements within. There are two portions with former Catholic cemeteries (St. Patrick's for Irish and St. Mary's for Germans that date to the 1880s) that adjoin, along with the non-Catholic community portion of Liston Township.
They are all combined in one cemetery, with a longstanding east-west line of separation between the combined Catholic and non-Catholic section. Sohm added, "it is an imaginary line," after stone markers once at the corners were removed some years ago.
Sohm said people of varying faiths are being buried on both sides of the Danbury cemetery, something she said started about 10 years ago and is increasing.
"We've got it going both ways. The lines are not as distinct anymore," Sohm said.
Brooke Kafton, of Danbury, said she was raised in the Catholic faith, however, her family never insisted that members must be buried in a Catholic tract. Kafton, 29, hasn't set her funeral plans, but said it won't specifically involve a Catholic cemetery.
"Wherever I end up, I end up," Kafton said.
NORTH SIOUX CITY | In his daydreams, Raymond Semple can be anything he wants to be.
He might imagine himself a superhero trying to save Earth from a giant asteroid; a James Bond-like secret agent battling an evil mastermind; or a scientist seeking the Fountain of Youth.
You see, Raymond Semple has the same vivid imagination that many 17-year-old boys have in the months leading up to high school graduation.
"Raymond isn't really daydreaming his way through life," Bob Lawrence explained. "He's merely discovering his life's path in his own terms."
Indeed, Lawrence, the author of "Daydreamer: The Amazing Adventures of Raymond Semple," can relate to his titular character.
"I grew up in a middle-class Atlanta household in the years following World War II," he remembered. "When I was Raymond's age, I wanted to become an important TV anchorman like CBS' Douglas Edwards or a globe-trotting reporter like Dan Rather."
Eventually, Lawrence's dreams did come true. He was the longtime anchorman for KCAU-TV before becoming a mass communications professor at Morningside College. After that, he became the owner of a Dakota Dunes-based public relations firm.
"My dream came true early in life," he said. "That's why watching Raymond dodge and weave in and out of trouble is so much fun for me as a writer."
I can totally see how fun it is writing for a character like Raymond. He can literally daydream his way into any adventure, right?
"Yes, and he always wins. He's always in control."
Well, actually Raymond isn't the person in control. You are. As the writer behind all of Raymond's adventures, you're the one who is calling the shots.
"That's a really big distinction. When I was a journalist, I covered war, floods, the farm crisis and every other story that came my way. It was my job to be on the scene but I couldn't control the outcome. As a fiction writer, I now get to control the outcome."
Do you ever suffer from writer's block?
"Never. On my computer, I have a folder entitled 'fictional ideas.' I have more ideas than I'll ever need. If I hit a roadblock in a story, I'll devise a number of options. These options will often lead down a different road that I ordinarily wouldn't take. It's great."
By the way, do you still daydream the way Raymond Semple daydreams?
"Not anymore. When you're a 17-year-old, you have your entire life in front of you. Anything and everything is possible. As you grow older, you achieve many of the things you imagine in daydreams or, at least, you're close to seeing them come to fruition."
So, you no longer daydream about becoming a secret agent like James Bond, right?
"I still daydream about winning the lottery but I think my days of battling criminal masterminds have come and gone."
SEASIDE HEIGHTS, N.J. Nearly five years after Superstorm Sandy plunged a roller coaster into the sea in what became one of the storm's most enduring images, the ride has been replaced safely inland this time.
Hydrus opened this month at the Casino Pier amusement park, built above the beach rather than out over the water to prevent another catastrophe. It's not only thrilling riders; it's also raising spirits in a section of the Jersey shore where not everything is yet back to normal after the October 2012 storm.
"This is part of the rebirth of the town," said Mayor Anthony Vaz, who was among the many Seaside Heights residents displaced from their homes by the storm. "It's like a new start for us."
Seeing the Jet Star rusting away in the surf was painful, the mayor said.
"It went from icon to eyesore," he said.
Vaz estimated the resort town made infamous by the MTV reality show "Jersey Shore" has made a 70 percent recovery from Sandy. The borough's taxable property is still worth about $200 million less than it was before the storm.
Its neighbor to the north, the Ortley Beach section of the community of Toms River, is still struggling. Many vacation homes near the beach that were destroyed have yet to be rebuilt, and many streets are pockmarked with empty lots and half-built wooden frames.
And to the south, businesses along the boardwalk in adjacent Seaside Park are still being rebuilt following a fire that swept through the Seaside Heights and Seaside Park boardwalks in September 2013.
Maria Mastoris, a spokeswoman for Casino Pier, said the company never doubted it would replace the Jet Star.
"Our team at Casino Pier has worked extremely hard since Hurricane Sandy in 2012 to rebuild and come back from the devastation," she said. "With our brand new roller coaster Hydrus, and Ferris wheel on our brand new extended pier, we can finally close the book on Sandy and start fresh."
Mastoris would not say how much the ride cost to build other than to say "millions."
Getting the new coaster in place took some doing. The old pier jutted out over the water; one of the main attractions of the Jet Star was the sensation of looking down and seeing the waves underneath.
But after Sandy destroyed part of the pier, it was obvious that a safer plan would be to build the new roller coaster on the beach.
That required a complicated land swap among Casino Pier and Seaside Heights because the ride would be occupying beachfront land that had public use restrictions on it.
In return for permission from the state Department of Environmental Protection to use the beach, Casino Pier donated land to the borough for additional parking, and gave the borough a historic boardwalk carousel that was due to be dismantled and sold off piece by piece. It will be displayed in a museum on the donated land.
Painted neon green and bright blue, the roller coaster has a 72-foot vertical drop, and several loops and twists that rattle the brains more than on the Jet Star. It costs about $10 to ride, although tickets can be bought cheaper in bulk.
"It was awesome!" exclaimed Alison Cornell of Belvidere, New Jersey. "It looked like you were going right in to the ocean. It was exhilarating. You get a 360-degree view of the whole area around it. It was really exciting."
SOUTH SIOUX CITY | The Dakota County Sheriff's Department is searching for a suspect who robbed a gas station Saturday morning.
According to a press release, around 6 a.m. Saturday morning, an armed robbery was reported at Heritage Express gas station at 1501 Sable Dr., South Sioux City.
The suspect was reportedly wearing a hooded jacket with the hood pulled up, and sunglasses, according to authorities. The man displayed a handgun and demanded money and cigarettes, and upon receiving them, drove off in a white four-door vehicle.
The incident is under investigation by the sheriff's department.
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and trusted aide Jared Kushner may have discussed creating a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin with Russia's ambassador Sergei Kislyak, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
WASHINGTON -- President Trump arrived in Jerusalem this week with a most curious bit of information for Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
"We just got back from the Middle East," Trump announced. "We just got back from Saudi Arabia."
At this, the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, put his forehead in his palm.
Did Trump not know Israel is in the Middle East? Did he not know he was in Israel? There was little time to contemplate this mystery, because Trump was moving on to generate more puzzlement at his meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister.
The two men had wrapped up a news conference and reporters were shouting questions when Trump volunteered a confession. "Just so you understand," he announced, "I never mentioned the word or the name Israel in conversation. Never mentioned it during that conversation. They are all saying I did. So you had another story wrong. Never mentioned the word Israel."
Thus did Trump apparently confirm that Israel was the unnamed ally that had provided sensitive intelligence to the United States that Trump then handed over to Russia. U.S. officials were concerned that if the ally were identified, Russia might try to disrupt the source.
Mark Twain wrote "The Innocents Abroad" in 1869 while traveling through the Holy Land and Europe. This week, Trump wrote his own chapter as he bumbled his way through Saudi Arabia and Israel before heading for Rome. Americans by now have become accustomed to perpetual chaos. Now lucky friends and allies are seeing the Trump tornado firsthand.
After Monday night's attack at a concert in Manchester, England, Trump reacted with outrage and sorrow for those "murdered by evil losers in life." But then he made this aside: "I won't call them monsters because they would like that term. ... I will call them from now on losers because that's what they are. They're losers."
Thus did the president apply the same label to murderous terrorists that he had previously bestowed on Rosie O'Donnell, Cher, Rihanna, Mark Cuban, George Will, Charles Krauthammer, Bill Maher, Ana Navarro, Chuck Todd, the attorney general of New York, an astrologer in Cleveland, Gwyneth Paltrow, Howard Stern, Jeb Bush, John McCain, Marco Rubio, Karl Rove, Megyn Kelly, the Huffington Post and the New York Daily News -- among many others.
Beyond that, did Trump run a focus group to find out terrorists prefer being called "monsters" to "losers"? And does he suppose that taunting them as losers will be an effective counterterrorism strategy? If so, he might form an "L" on his forehead with thumb and forefinger when he invokes terrorist losers.
Presumably Trump didn't think it through. Likewise, he didn't mean to offend his hosts in Saudi Arabia by referring to "Islamic terror" rather than "Islamist terror." He was "exhausted," an aide explained. Perhaps fatigue also made him turn Saudi Arabia's King Salman into "King Solomon" -- he was off by 3,000 years -- and expand the Strait of Hormuz into the "Straits of Hormuz." Less clear is what made him leave a cheerful message n the guestbook at the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem: "so amazing and will never forget!"
Trump does best when he sticks to the script others have written for him, as he did in his well-received speech in Saudi Arabia. It's when he ad-libs that he gets in trouble, as when he proclaimed recently that peace is "maybe not as difficult as people have thought over the years." Diplomats of the past 70 years must have been losers.
Problem is, Trump has trouble sticking to the script. The White House distributed Trump's prepared remarks for his meeting with Rivlin, making it possible to identify his ad-libs, a clutter of asides and superlatives. "Amazing." "Very holy." "And that's No. 1 for me." "There's no question about that."
Had the president's predecessors employed such filler, these immortal words might be etched in marble on the Potomac:
"Four score and seven years ago -- that's a long time ago, very long -- our fathers, who spoke about this at great length, did what perhaps has virtually never been done before: brought forth on this continent, a new nation, a very great new nation -- there's no question about that -- conceived in liberty -- and that is so important! -- and dedicated to the amazing proposition -- and they felt very strongly about this, I can tell you -- that all men are created equal. No. 1 for me."
The world, hopefully, will not long remember the gaffes Trump made over there. But it can enjoy a good chuckle.
Police Will Have 1,300 Extra Cops Patrolling On Memorial Day Weekend
By Rachel Cromidas in News on May 26, 2017 9:37PM
The Chicago Police Department has announced that they will add 1,300 extra cops to the streets each day of Memorial Day Weekend, in addition to bolstering the department's special units around the parks, beaches and highways, police said in a press conference Friday afternoon. That's up from 800 additional officers each day last year, officials said.
Memorial Day Weekend is a historically bloody weekend for Chicagolast year for example, at least 69 people were shot, at least 6 fatally. In 2015, 44 people were wounded and 12 were killed in shootings around the city from Friday to Tuesday of Memorial Day Weekend. As the unofficial start of summer in Chicago, when the weather is warmer and the violence rate typically goes up, Memorial Day Weekend is of particular concern for law enforcement agencies.
"Chicago Police will not tolerate violent behavior, and if you choose to put others in danger with your actions, you will feel the full weight of CPD and our partners in law enforcement," Police Chief Eddie Johnson said in the press conference.
It was another rough week for political reporters. Well, one in particular.
I know Ben Jacobs. Some of you may as well. He was here in Iowa a lot during the 2016 caucuses.
For those who may not know, Jacobs is a reporter who covers U.S. politics for the U.K. newspaper The Guardian. On Wednesday night, on the eve of a special Congressional election in Montana, Jacobs was body-slammed, he said, by Republican candidate Greg Gianforte after Jacobs tried to ask Gianforte about the estimated impact of U.S. House Republicans health-care reform bill. An audio recording seemed to confirm his account.
Gianforte was charged with assaulting Jacobs, a misdemeanor.
The next day, Gianforte won the election.
He never did answer that question about the health care reform bill.
Its the latest --- and certainly most violent --- incident in what has become, for this reporter at least, an unsettling trend of increasing hazards for political journalists.
In recent months other journalists also trying to ask questions of people in positions of government power have been arrested and pinned against a wall by security guards.
Jacobs handled his incident with aplomb, even joking with a New York Times reporter who called for a story on the incident. While still in the hospital, Jacobs asked that the New York Times not post its story online before Jacobs had a chance to post his story because he did not want to be scooped on an incident in which he was involved.
I am pleased to report that Jacobs has emerged from his brief stint as professional wrestling heel relatively unscathed.
Equally upsetting as journalists being physically attacked and arrested for nothing more than doing their jobs, perhaps even more so, is the disinterest with which so many people reacted.
Heck, some conservative commentators darn near celebrated the incident involving Jacobs. One Fox News personality called it a bit of Montana justice.
Many folks on the ground level, in Montana and across the country, doubted the story (even though it was confirmed in small part by the audio recording and in large part by a local Fox News television crew that witnessed it), said they were unfazed by it or even cheered it, according to various media reports.
Steve Thomma, executive director of the White House Correspondents Association, listened to Rush Limbaughs radio show and tweeted one quote from a caller who said, If enough of this happens, those reporters are gonna learn to back off a little bit.
Fortunately, with only a rare few exceptions of which I am aware, I have not experienced or witnessed similar hostility toward the press in Iowa in the past couple of years. Maybe there really is something to that Iowa nice thing. It would be better if that was the case everywhere else, too.
We need less anger toward and more trust of the press in this country these days. Thats not a lecture and its not laying blame at anyones feet. Im not smart enough to know how we repair the publics trust with the press; I just know we need to, because our democracy will not function as well as it should without that relationship.
The best thing I know to do is maintain an open dialogue with readers. If someone calls or emails me, even in passionate anger, I try to respond. It may not always sway an upset readers viewpoint, but I hope it at least helps develop a trust that Im just trying to do a job, not promote an agenda.
We need more trust in that relationship between the press and the people. Fewer gas lighters would help, too.
Speaking of which, Im sorry to disappoint that caller to Limbaughs program who expects a few more assaults would teach reporters to back off a little bit. Unfortunately for him or her, we reporters dont learn very quickly. Pin us to the wall, arrest us, body-slam us ... were going to keep doing our job, keep asking questions.
That reminds me, I have a quick question for Rep.-elect Gianforte: Could you give us your reaction to the CBOs impact analysis of the American Health Care Act?
SIOUX CITY | This weekend, travelers will turn their keys, ignite their engines and take off on their first auto adventures of the summer, hauling campers, visiting family and sightseeing.
As Memorial Day, the traditional start of the summer travel season, draws near, gasoline prices in Sioux City remain largely stable, as they have for the past year.
In Sioux City on Tuesday, self-serve regular unleaded gas prices jumped slightly from about $2.19 per gallon to around $2.29 at many stations, though some remained in the lower range.
The local prices are roughly on par with a national average of $2.35 per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA.
The EIA is predicting gas prices this summer will remain about where they are now, not rising above $2.41 per gallon.
Nationally, gas prices have been steady for the past year, bouncing between $2.27 in May 2016 to a high of $2.42 last month. These prices stand in stark contrast to prices between 2011 and 2014, when average gas prices hovered around $3.50 per gallon.
Moville, Iowa resident Anessa Opsahl stopped to buy gas at the Pilot Travel Center, 2815 Singing Hills Blvd., where self-serve regular unleaded was $2.19 per gallon.
Opsahl said she and her husband seek the best price available for gas.
"This is the cheapest, everywhere else is $2.30 or $2.27," she said. "My husband's got an app that shows him the cheapest (gas)."
This summer, Opsahl said she is going to Wisconsin for her daughter's wedding, a trip made a bit easier by relatively modest gas prices.
"And then we do a lot of camping," she said. "Every other week."
If the elevated gas prices of three years ago were to return, Opsahl said that would mean less summer travel.
"This to me isn't cheap, I mean I can remember when I lived in Wisconsin, and they're 50 cents higher than us," she said. "But if it goes up more, it is difficult to travel."
Patty Brown, a resident of Selah, Washington, was also at the Pilot station Thursday afternoon. She was traveling north on Interstate 29 to Sioux Falls for a wedding.
Brown said she also plans to travel to Arizona this summer to see her grandson, and to Ohio.
The gas price in Sioux City was reasonable compared to some other places, Brown said.
"They're a lot cheaper here then they are in Washington," Brown said of her home state, where prices run about $2.99 per gallon.
The gravity of the existential threat we face from Islamic Jihad is truly of epic proportions. It is essentially a battle pitting free-civilized man against a totalitarian barbarian. What is at stake is the struggle for our very soul - namely who we are and what we represent. The lives that were sacrificed for individual rights and freedoms that we've come to cherish are being chiseled away from right under our noses by the stealth jihadists. And many of us are in denial and totally clueless.
The left's appeasement and pandering to evil is nothing new. What makes their utopian delusions so infuriating and unpardonable is that it is not only they who will have to pay the consequences, and deservedly, so, they are thwarting and undermining our best efforts at resistance and are thus dragging us down in the process as well.
By Peter Lancz,, the head of the Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign Against Racism.
Xia Lifeng, general manager of Changsha CEC Software Park Co. Ltd. , gives a speech at the Second China-Russia Conference for Representatives of Young Entrepreneurs in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk on May 22, 2017. [Photo by Zhang Junmian/China.org.cn]
Representatives of young entrepreneurs from China and Russia said on May 22 in the Russian city of Ulyanovsk that they expect more bilateral cooperation and connectivity in the business field in the future.
"Young entrepreneurs in Changsha CEC Software Park expect more cooperation with their Russian counterparts and we welcome Russian youths to start their business in the industrial park," Xia Lifeng, general manager of Changsha CEC Software Park Co., Ltd. , said at the Second China-Russia Conference for Representatives of Young Entrepreneurs.
Xia, who is also a member of a 100-member Chinese youth delegation sent by the All-China Youth Federation(ACYF), noted that the Changsha-based industrial park is home to more than 200 innovation-oriented businesses established by young entrepreneurs in China.
The industrial park, co-founded by China Electronics Corporation (CEC) and Hunan Province in 2009, features companies engaged in research and development of high-tech products including drones, high-end CPU chips and computers.
"Some products made by companies in our industrial park have already entered the Russian market and more Russian young talents are coming to work there," Xia said, stressing that the industrial park will continue to foster different platforms for bilateral youth cooperation, including maker space, incubators and business schools for promoting youth innovation and entrepreneurship.
He said, "In this way, we will establish a system of deepened exchanges and cooperation in talents, technologies and products for common development of young people from China and Russia."
Kasimov Iskander, chairman of the Board of Directors at Ulyanovsk-based Alterism Venture Capital, expressed his hope that the company could expand their business into the Chinese market.
His company is engaged in some venture projects in a number of fields, including alternative energy and technologies, as well as infertility treatment and oncology, and biotechnology.
Tatiana Seliverstova, deputy chairman of Russian Union of Youth (RUY), stressed that it is very important to invite more young entrepreneurs from China to Russia and from Russia to China to make business together, so as to promote cooperation between China and Russia in business fields.
"Together with the All-China Youth Federation, we will open Chinese-Russian college students' business incubators in eight cities this year," Seliverstova said.
According to Seliverstova, the incubators will be opened in July in four Russian cities and four Chinese cities, with 60 young Chinese entrepreneurs invited to Russia and 60 young Russian entrepreneurs going to China to work together in groups to learn within three weeks about how to make business in both countries and how to organize business programs together.
"And at the final level, they will make presentations for their projects to investment companies," said Seliverstova.
Uba Ekaterina Vladimirovna, deputy governor of the Ulyanovsk region, believed that there is huge potential for bilateral cooperation under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.
Vladimirovna said in her addressing speech at the opening ceremony, "We have good ideas and concepts for common development, and young entrepreneurs can play a bigger part in fulfilling these ideas and concepts."
Chen Bichang, deputy director of the Chinese Youth Delegation and honorary chairman of Shandong Youth Federation, thought that young people from China and Russia could seek mutual development through joint efforts.
The alignment between China's Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) offers opportunities for youths' participation and platforms for their development, according to Chen.
China-Russia ties are at the highest level in history and the overall strategic cooperation partnership between the two countries has been developing steadily.
Substantial progress has been achieved in cooperation of various areas including trade, finance, agriculture, infrastructure, aerospace and aviation.
In 2016, bilateral trade between China and Russia reached US$69.53 billion, up 2.2 percent year-on-year, according to Guo Xu, director of the General Office of the Department of Eurasian Affairs under China's Ministry of Commerce. China continued to be Russia's largest trading partner for the sixth consecutive year since 2010.
Guo continued, "In the first four months of 2017, bilateral trade amounted to US$24.73 billion, up 26.2 percent year-on-year."
Chinese firms' non-financial direct investments in Russia exceeded US$14 billion in 2016, making China Russia's fourth largest investor.
The Chinese youth delegation was invited by the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia and the Russian Union of Youth for a series of exchange activities in Moscow and Ulyanovsk of Russia between May 18 and 25.
WASHINGTON
(May 27, 2017)The U.S. Department of Defense recently announced the following contract awards that pertain to local Navy activities., is being awardedfor modification P00005 to a previously awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-15-C-0007) to exercise an option for operator, maintenance, logistic support and sustainment engineering services in support of the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance-Demonstrator (BAMS-D) program. The logistics support includes training, supply chain and spares management for Global Hawk peculiar items, peculiar support equipment, and technical publications. In addition, this option provides for organization, intermediate, and depot level maintenance, and field services representatives to ensure the BAMS-D aircraft are mission-capable for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland (70 percent); Rancho Bernardo, California (5 percent); and various forward operating locations (25 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2018. Fiscal 2017 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $64,526,366 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 modification P00003 to a previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (N00019-16-C-0026) for procurement of additional hardware to integrate Navy large aircraft infrared countermeasures on combat aircraft for the Navy and the governments of the U.K. and Australia. Hardware for this procurement includes weapon replaceable assemblies and support equipment: two 2103 Signal Processors, 23 Guardian Laser Transmitter Assemblies (GLTAs), 23 GLTA shipping containers for the Navy, and 18 Multi-role Electro-optical End-to-End Test Sets for the Navy (14) and the governments of the United Kingdom (two) and Australia (two). Work will be performed in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (34 percent); Goleta, California (30 percent); Longmont, Colorado (11 percent); Colombia, Maryland (3 percent); various locations within the U.S. (19 percent); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (3 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2019. Fiscal 2017 aircraft procurement (Navy, Air Force); working capital fund (Navy); and international partner funds in the amount of $13,935,792 are being obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This modification combines purchases for the Navy ($13,055,492; 94 percent); Air Force ($528,180; 4 percent); and the governments of U.K. ($176,060; 1 percent) and Australia ($176,060; 1 percent). The, is the contracting activity., is being awarded ancost-plus-incentive-fee contract for incorporation of the Block II Infrared Search and Track System (IRST) in the F/A-18 E/F aircraft. This contract includes the initial design and development, procurement of prototyping hardware, technical risk reduction efforts, integrated product support, and technical reviews of IRST Block II with the F/A-18E/F aircraft to support the system through the preliminary design review. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida (86 percent); and St. Louis, Missouri (14 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2020. Fiscal 2017 research, development, test, and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $21,000,000 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was noncompetitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The, is the contracting activity (N00019-17-C-0024)., is being awarded afirm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide propeller, engineering, reliability, and logistics sustainment for the R391 propeller system on the KC-130J aircraft for the Marine Corps and the government of Kuwait. Work will be performed in Sterling, Virginia (73 percent); Iwakuni, Japan (6 percent); Cherry Point, North Carolina (6 percent); Miramar, California (6 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (3 percent); Al Mubarak Airbase, Kuwait (2 percent); Newburg, New York (2 percent); and Cheltenham, United Kingdom (2 percent), and is expected to be completed in May 2022. No funds will be obligated at time of award; funds will be obligated against individual delivery orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This contract combines purchases for the Marine Corps ($48,120,982; 91.5 percent); and the government of Kuwait ($4,453,388; 8.5 percent), under the Foreign Military Sales program. The, is the contracting activity (N00019-17-D-0089)., is being awardedfor cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to delivery order N0001917F0108, issued previously against basic ordering agreement N00019-14-G-0020. This modification procures work on the aircraft memory system and panoramic cockpit display in order to alleviate diminishing manufacturing sources constraints projected under F-35 production Lot 15 for the Air Force ($7,938,730; 40 percent); Navy ($3,969,366; 20 percent); Marine Corps ($3,969,366; 20 percent); and international partners ($3,969,366; 20 percent). Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed in March 2019. Fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation (Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps); and international partners funds in the amount of $2,661,064 are being obligated on this award, $2,128,000 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The, is the contracting activity.
As John Campbell prepared to head to Sweden for his final Elitlopp, he admittedly knew little about the horse he is driving in Sundays elite invitational for older trotters. But he did know the most important thing.
The only thing I know is that hes inexperienced for this level of competition, but he does have a lot of speed and ability, Campbell said about lightly raced five-year-old Tjacko Zaz. Hes got the fastest race time in Sweden this year. As a driver, thats what youre looking for, something that can go fast. And he definitely can. Ill certainly get a lot more information from the trainer when I get there.
Tjacko Zaz has raced only once this year, winning in 1:51.4 (mile rate on a five-eighths-mile track). The horse is a son of U.S. stallion Crazed out of the Angus Hall mare Kinoras Zaz. He is trained by Timo Nurmos and will start from post four in the first of Sundays two Elitlopp eliminations at Stockholms Solvalla Raceway. The top four finishers from each elimination return later in the day for the final.
Campbell, who will hang up his colours in July to take over the role of Hambletonian Society president and CEO from the retiring Tom Charters, won the 1988 Elitlopp with Mack Lobell. Campbell last competed in the event in 1996, winning an elimination with Triple T Storm and finishing fifth in the final.
Three years ago, Campbell returned to Solvalla for a legends race, and was reunited with Mack Lobell for a special ceremony at the racetrack.
In addition to Sundays Elitlopp, Campbell will drive in six other races that day at Solvalla.
Im really looking forward to it, Campbell said. Its obviously my last time driving in Sweden, so theres that. Any time you get to go to the Elitlopp its special. And theyve treated (my wife) Paula and I so well every time weve gone to Sweden that you just cant help but look forward to it. Theyve treated us extremely well over the years.
Campbell has won 10,659 races in his Hall of Fame career and earned a record $299.71 million (U.S.) in purses. Campbells win with Mack Lobell in the Elitlopp ranks among his greatest memories.
The first thing that comes to mind is the crowd, the fans, just how electric and enthusiastic they are, Campbell said. Its more than a horse race, its a sporting event.
Winning it with Mack, hes the only four-year-old to have won it, which is something that is very special in my career. Just the fact Mack did that, I look back in almost astonishment that he did. Its one of my best memories.
Campbell can recall all the details from the day.
That one is easy to remember, both heats, Campbell said. He had an outside post (seven) in the first race, and they were trotting out of there a hundred miles an hour, so I just took him off the gate. They go so slow the middle half, and when they started to slow down Mack really got on the bit, and I wasnt going to be able to keep him in where I wanted. I flipped him three-wide (prior to the second turn) and he made the front, and won easily from there.
I remember one of the Swedish journalists said All we ever heard about was how fast Mack Lobell could leave and he didnt leave at all. I said, Well, you just stick around for this second heat. And he just went right down the road and won. He left the gate really hard the second heat, and he had to because there was so much early speed. Once he got control of the race, he did everything else on his own from there.
This year, French star Bold Eagle is the favourite to win the Elitlopp. Bold Eagle is in the first elimination, with Campbell and Tjacko Zaz, and will start from post five.
The elimination also includes U.S. representative Resolve, who will leave from post eight with trainer-driver Ake Svanstedt, as well as several other horses that launched their careers in the States: DDs Hitman, Delicious, and Cruzado Dela Noche.
Online oddsmakers have Bold Eagle as the favourite in the elimination, followed by Delicious, Resolve and DDs Hitman.
Returning Elitlopp champion Nuncio, whom Campbell drove during a multiple-stakes-winning career in the U.S., is a slight favorite in Sundays second elimination. Up And Quick and formerly U.S.-based Propulsion also are receiving strong consideration in the division.
Bold Eagle is the favorite to win the final, followed by Delicious, Nuncio, Resolve, Propulsion, and Up And Quick.
Campbell might have a longshot in the Elitlopp, but he is thankful for the opportunity to drive in the event and focused on the task at hand.
Before the race, youre going to take a look around and take it all in, for sure, Campbell said. Once you get in the post parade, youre not soaking in anything. Youre concentrating on the race. Its a totally different mindset once you go to the post parade.
Just to have a horse in the Elitlopp this year is really special because I didnt expect it, he continued. When I spoke to them about going over, I was going to drive in some other races and make some appearances, so this is a bonus getting into the Elitlopp.
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S. Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.
The Daily Gleaner has reported that a non-wagering card with a minimum of five races has been confirmed for Saturday, Sept. 9 during New Brunswick Exhibition Week.
Fredericton's former racing secretary Brent Briggs told the The Daily Gleaner that purse money will be available thanks to the Chippin family providing $2,500 for the annual Jennie and Joe Chippin Memorial Pace and the New Brunswick Exhibition Association contributing to four memorial races for late board of directors Albert Goodine, Tony DeCourcey, Jim Fearnley and Bill Thornton as well as $3,500 for expenses. Additional sponsorships will be sought leading up to the card and fundraising efforts will also be ongoing.
Were going to need a starting gate, and the grounds need a little bit of fixing up, said Briggs. But were going to use purse money as an incentive to bring horses in. Were looking to bring horses from PEI or Nova Scotia or other parts of New Brunswick.
Its just going to be fun. Its going to be an opportunity for horse people to get together and race. Horsemen like coming to Fredericton, they always have.
(With files from The Daily Gleaner)
The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) conducted its regular meeting Thursday, May 25, at Santa Anita Park. Chairman Chuck Winner presided. First Vice Chair George Krikorian, Second Vice Chair Madeline Auerbach and Commissioners Jesse Choper, Araceli Ruano and Alex Solis also were in attendance.
The audio of this entire Board meeting is available on the CHRB Website (www.chrb.ca.gov) under the Webcast link. In brief:
The Board approved the license for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club to operate a race meet at Del Mar from July 19 through September 5. Representatives of Del Mar listed some of the steps they are taking to improve the safety of horses and riders, beginning with a delayed opening to allow more time to get their racing surfaces into excellent condition. Their dual-focus marketing plan will provide more racing-related benefits to frequent visitors, while offering more concerts, food festivals and other major events to the general public.
The Board authorized Del Mar to write medication conditions for the Breeders Cup races that will be run during their fall meet, so that any horse that tests positive for any anabolic steroid or other listed prohibited substance in an out-of-competition test sample within six months of the Breeders Cup will be ineligible to compete in any Breeders Cup race.
The Race Dates Committee reported on the previous days meeting where the discussion focused not so much on race dates but rather on ways to increase field sizes, which might impact on date allocations. The committee will meet again in July to further discuss some of the ideas floated at Wednesdays meeting and to receive any other new, creative ideas that might be expressed by the industry and the public.
The Medication, Safety and Welfare Committee reported on its Wednesday meeting, including a discussion of the new fatality review program. Executive Director Rick Baedeker stressed that the purpose of this program is to learn ways to help avoid future catastrophic injuries in horses. The Committee also received an update on a proposed regulation to require continuing education for trainers.
The Board approved the license for the California Exposition and State Fair to conduct a horse racing meet at Cal Expo from July 12 through August 1.
The Board authorized the Northern California Stabling and Vanning Committee to modify the distribution of revenues from advance deposit wagering in order to pay off existing debt and to properly fund ongoing vanning and stabling operations.
Scott Daruty with Monarch Management described the functions of the company, which negotiates simulcast agreements for 15 racetracks, including all thoroughbred tracks in California.
(CHRB)
Dexter Cup champion Lord Cromwell has the biggest win in his division so far this year, but he will have his hands full on Memorial Day (Monday afternoon) when he takes on last years New York Sire Stakes champion Devious Man in the second (race 6) of three divisions of the NYSS for three-year-old colt trotters at Vernon Downs. Each carries a purse of just under $40,000.
He was a little immature last year, said Lord Cromwells trainer, Ed Hart. He had some medical issues. We gelded him in late spring but he had complications from that. It was just a variety of things. But he had shown some flashes of brilliance, so I turned him out over the winter for three or four months. Hes not a big horse so he gets around a half super. Thats his forte, quick speed. But he did surprise me that day.
That day was the May 6 Dexter at Freehold, where Lord Cromwells dexterity served him well as he negotiated the half-mile track to the tune of a resounding 5-1/4 length score in 1:55. The son of Chapter Seven departs from Post 3 with Jason Bartlett driving and is 9-2 on the morning line.
Hes not a big powerful horse and that worries me a little bit, said Hart. But hes got a heart of gold and Ill think hell be OK.
Off a marvelous 2016 campaign that saw him win seven-of-12 starts -- including the NYSS Final -- and earn $308,233, Devious Man is the one Lord Cromwell will be going after in the sixth race (division two). The son of Credit Winner, who will be making his first start of 2017, established his lifetime-best of 1:53.2 at Lexington in the International Stallion Stakes on October 6 of last year. He is the 2-1 early choice from Post 4 for the trainer-driver team of Julie and Andy Miller.
In the first division (race 4), Bills Man is 5-1 on the early line from post 2 with Corey Callahan driving, but figures to be shorter at post time off a good-looking 1:53.2 score at the Meadowlands. He faced older stock (last week) and won, said trainer John Butenschoen of his Credit Winner progeny. He had a good winter, his qualifiers went well and he did what we were hoping for in his first two starts of the year.
The George Ducharme-trained Stick With Me Kid is the 9-5 favourite with Brian Sears in the bike. The Deweycheatumnhowe product, who will leave from Post 5, has won three times in 12 lifetime starts and has hit the board on 10 occasions.
Enterprise tops the third division in the ninth race for trainer Marcus Melander. The son of Chapter Seven will leave from Post 4 with Sears driving and is listed as the 2-1 favourite. The lightly-raced colt has won all three of his lifetime starts, including his two outings this year at the Meadowlands (on April 21 and May 5) in identical clockings of 1:54.2.
Post time at Vernon Downs on Monday is 1:05 p.m.
(with files from the NYSS)
A new sign showing the ticket prices is seen in a newly-decorated tram in Hong Kong, south China, May 26, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
The tramways of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region unveiled a new logo and visual identity on Friday for its century-old tramcars, also known as Ding Ding car.
The background color of the new visual identity of tramcar is green, representing the tramcars are environmental and safe.
The new slogan, "catch a ride, catch a smile" is printed on the front of the tramcar. On the bottom of the vehicle, there is a smile expression, meaning tramcars' friendly personality and faithful service.
For the coming months, tramways is also going to make its 160 tramcars smile with an additional sticker on the bumper.
Besides this new graphic system, Hong Kong tramways also pledged to make its passenger information on stops and website more friendly.
As all tramcars are designed and built at tramways' depot by skillful and experienced craftsman in Hong Kong, to commend the hard work of them, tramways will install a bronze plate on board of each tramcar to remind the public of the unknown heroes.
Hong Kong tramways has been in service since 1904 and operates nowadays a fleet of 164 tramcars. It is the world's largest fleet of double-deck tramcars in operation, carrying about 200,000 passengers every day.
A woman accused of keeping 28 dogs in unsanitary conditions in freezing temperatures in a U-Haul and a van in Castle Rock faces thousands of dollars in fines and will go to trial in July on animal cruelty charges.
Julie Maria Yetko, 52, of Clovis, Calif., has been cited for 24 infractions for mistreatment of animals. Her fines under these total about $9,400.
Yetko also has been charged with four counts of second-degree animal cruelty and one count of transporting animals in an unsafe manner, both misdemeanors. Her trial on these charges is tentatively scheduled for 9 a.m. July 7.
On Dec. 6, the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office responded to a report about an abandoned U-Haul with a tow dolly and minivan on it in the 200 block of Blue Mountain Road in Castle Rock. When the deputy approached, he heard barking from inside both the van and U-Haul. Noting the near-freezing temperatures, the deputy contacted nearby residents hoping to find an owner.
The neighbors told him that the vehicle belonged to a woman claiming to be dog rescuer who was taking the animals from California to Alaska. They also reported that no one had been around for about five days since the vehicles were parked there, according to court and Animal Control records. The deputy then called Animal Control and a tow truck.
The U-Haul and van were opened and Animal Control seized 28 animals. The sheriffs deputies and animal control officers noted strong odors of urine and feces. They found dogs in kennels that were too small and that had been stacked upon one another.
Some of the dogs were emaciated. Most of the dogs had urine and feces in their cages, little to no water and none had food. There were also no heaters in either vehicle. Officers estimated the dogs had been in the vehicles for at least 48 hours in the unsanitary conditions, according to the records.
One of the dogs had severe dental disease. Others suffered from pneumonia, tick borne illnesses, dehydration, parasites caused by lack of sanitation, tape worms and Giardia, according to the records. Several larger dogs were in cages too small for them to lie down.
The dogs were taken to the Humane Society, where they were cleaned up and cared for. Officers left a note on the vehicle stating they had attempted to make contact and the dogs were impounded.
The day after the dogs were seized, on Dec. 7, Yetko came to the Humane Society to retrieve her animals. She told Humane Society staff that she had left the dogs in the car for a little while when she went to town to get dog food, according to the records. She told Humane society workers she was an animal rescuer and was moving from California to Alaska with her 28 dogs, so it wasnt uncommon for her to transport large numbers of animals. She also said that she cleaned, fed and watered the dogs daily and that there were heaters in the vehicles, but now she couldnt find them, according to the records.
When asked why there wasnt adequate food or water, Yetko said she doesnt put water in the carriers because little dogs spill it. She also said she let the dogs out daily to eat. She then explained that she was doing Gods work and that she didnt know why an animal shelter would be giving her such a hard time, according to the reports.
There was also another womans name listed on the tags for the animals. When officers contacted that woman, she explained that she and Yetko had a falling out because of the way Yetko used to leave pet carriers with dogs in them for days on end without food or water, and that it was only a matter of time until she got caught, according to records. The woman told investigators that several dogs had died under Yetkos care due to unsatisfactory conditions, according to the records.
Yetko later returned to the Humane Society several times, and on one occasion told a worker there that she had made a mistake and that us finding her dogs was a blessing in disguise. She also asked for her dogs back and on several occasions allegedly began yelling at Animal Control officers when they questioned her, according to the records.
Yetko later had her lawyer file paperwork to retrieve the dogs, but then dropped that case.
IANS
The Kerala education department on Friday announced the holistic intervention of ICT (information and communication technologies) that will assist education in 9,279 schools. Students of Class 1 to 7, through IT@School Project, would be benefited in the new academic year starting in June.
Kerala, being a role-model in ICT-enabled education, started IT education under IT@School Project for High School classes (Class 8 to 10) in early 2005 and with Friday's launch, ICT-enabled education would be available from Class 1 to 12.
"The scaling up of ICT enabled education in classrooms is a major step in achieving the educational goal of the government with respect to its General Education Rejuvenation Mission. Computer labs and Smart Classrooms would be set-up in all schools," said Kerala Education Minister C. Raveendranath while launching this new initiative.
"IT@School has already imparted specific ICT training for 70,602 teachers in the state and we have roped in BSNL for providing broadband connectivity to all schools in the State and as on date 97 percent of the schools have been fully covered," said K. Anvar Sadath, Executive Director of IT@school project.
Sheldon Pinto
Xiaomi's Mi Max was one of the many 'Max-sized' smartphones that were launch last year. The device went to the max with everything, including that powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 chipset (652 on the Prime model). It was overwhelmingly large, but at the same time catered to a phablet audience, ones that like to watch movies, play games and more.
Come early 2017 and the Mi Max was trumped by Xiaomi's own Redmi Note 4. While it packed in a slightly slower (yet battery-happy) chipset in the form of the Snapdragon 625, it also featured a 4,100 mAh battery that was slightly smaller than the 4,850 mAh unit in the Mi Max. With not too may users interested in holding a large smartphone, despite the large Full HD display, we are pretty sure, the Redmi Note 4 may have eaten into the Mi Max and the Mi Max Prime sales eventually.
Just yesterday, Xiaomi launched the Mix Max's successor in China called the Mi Max 2. While Chinese smartphone maker has not confirmed any India plans just yet, we can be pretty sure, that this one just like its successor, will arrive in India, thanks to the demand for large-screened smartphones. But how does it compare to the previous model and how well does it distinguish itself from the Redmi Note 4? Let's find out!
Design
Starting off with design, it is easy to spot the differences between the Max 2 and its predecessor. The Mi Max featured a metal back plate that hosted the fingerprint reader high up towards the top. There were plastic caps at the top and bottom, but the fit and finish could have done with some polish.
This time around, the Mi Max 2 certainly came prepared. The Mi Max 2 now features an all-metal body. There are no plastic bits anywhere for the antenna gap inserts and the smartphone looks refined and polished, with a curved edge back. However, it comes at a price, as the metal unibody does add a few grams to its weight.
The overall design is a bit more rounded than before but it does look slimmer thanks to the curved edges on the back. The antenna design has changed as well, thanks to the metal unibody, they now stretch around the top and bottom edges of the smartphone allowing for a cleaner look.
The front largely remains the same with the addition of 2.5D glass, that lends to the premium look and feel. All-in-all the design is a big jump from the budget-friendly Mi Max and will certainly attract some more fans this time around.
Audio
While the previous Mi Max came with just one speaker, despite its large form factor, Xiaomi has included two on this one. The move makes plenty of sense with one speaker placed under the bottom right grille while the other sits under the receiver of the device just above the display. Both speakers are apparently active when the device is held in landscape mode. This makes plenty of sense as many will choose this phablet to watch movies and play games. The dual speakers should allow for a great stereo audio experience.
Camera
Indeed this is one of the areas where the Mi Max 2 seems to be a bit of a downgrade. The Mix Max 2 steps down from a 16MP f/2.0 camera to a 12MP f/2.2 unit. Xiaomi at the event however pointed out that the pixels are slightly larger (from 1.0um to 1.25um) that should provide better quality imagery thanks to a 56 percent increase in light intake by each pixel.
Battery
The Mi Max too certainly did not fall short of battery life. It had a massive 4,850 mAh battery to bank on. In the case of the Mix Max 2 there is good news as Xiaomi has bumped up the battery capacity by quite a large margin to 5,300mAh. Indeed it now appears like Xiaomi has taken advantage of that large phablet-sized body and will clearly help it deliver better battery life even when compared to the Redmi Note 4. Add to this some much needed relief with Quick Charge 3.0 and parallel charging, and you should be able to 68 percent of the battery charged in one hour (that is a big deal). Xiaomi also compared the Mi Max 2 to a power bank being able to keep the smartphone up and running for a whole two days. We will surely put these claims to test when the unit arrives in India.
Chipset
If there was one area I had no complaints about in my Mi Max review, it would have to be the chipset. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 was a powerhouse given the budget and price tag of the handset. Things got even better with the Prime model with a Snapdragon 652 inside paired with 4GB RAM.
But Xiaomi fans just like the Redmi Note 4 will be a little disappointed this time around. That's because Xiaomi has gone in for the Snapdragon 625 chipset. It is certainly not as powerful as the 650, but its strong points include 14nm manufacturing process and better thermal efficiency. Expect the Mi Max 2 to not be as powerful as the Mi Max, so 3D games may take a slight hit with lack of those Cortex-A73 cores, but nonetheless the 2.0GHz clock speed will keep things running quick enough and more importantly, for a longer duration. The GPU again takes a hit from an Adreno 510 to a slower Adreno 506, indeed there's a lot of give and take here.
NFC, USB Type C and more
While the fingerprint reader is still mounted at an odd location (because of the massive display on the front) you do get NFC on the new model along with a Type C reversible port unlike the previous model.
Software and Pricing
Unlike every other Xiaomi smartphone out there, you surprisingly get Android 7.1.1 onboard the Xiaomi Mi Max 2. Xiaomi has been promising updates on its recently launched handsets, but they have yet to arrive. So for those who want the latest software version, the Mi Max 2 when launched will be a great choice.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 has been launched in just a Gold variant and will be available in two storage options. Both models pack in the same specifications with 4 GB RAM but offer 64 GB and 128 GB of storage. This will matter to those who plan to use it as PMP and is a good move, provided both models arrive in India.
All-in-all the Xiaomi Mi Max 2 is a worthy upgrade, considering that it is targeted as a portable media player with massive battery, a big display and chipset that does not sip power quickly. Let's hope this one makes it to India.
Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
A total of 42 countries and regions have confirmed their participation in the 2017 China (Beijing) International Fair for Trade-in Services (CIFTIS), which will be convened in Beijing from May 28 to June 1.
According to a press conference on May 22, the 2017 fair will center on Chinas national strategies like further opening up the service industry, the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province. The fair will cover 30 fields including trade in technology, e-commerce, cultural trade, financial services, traditional Chinese medicine and so on. The total area of exhibition amounts to 50,000 square meters, and 85 forums, meetings and trading activities will be held.
This years fair sees the participation of eight more countries and regions than last year. Meanwhile, 18 countries will attend the fair for the first time, including Switzerland, Spain and Hungary. Six South-Pacific countries like Samoa and Micronesia will set up a joint exhibition area to promote their advantages and investment environment in the tourism, finance and telecommunication industries. A total of 23 Belt and Road countries and regions will hold exhibitions or theme events during the fair, including Thailand, Switzerland, Hungary and South Africa.
Besides the three organizations offering permanent support (World Trade Organization, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development), representatives from other international organizations like International Trade Center, World Trade Point Federation and World Trade Centers Association will also attend the fair. Besides, the CIFTIS organizing committee has also invited 63 overseas institutions like Ecommerce Europe and Japan Information Industry Association to participate in or undertake the events and exhibitions.
According to the statistics from CIFTIS organizing committee, a total of 2,683 enterprises and 14,695 business people from 93 countries and regions, as well as 111 media outlets and 654 reporters have registered to attend the fair by May 21.
Chinese market, German innovation a recipe for success
Xinhua, Berlin :
Combining German technology with Chinese efficiency, innovation is a keyword in Sino-German economic cooperation, say attendees at the Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) event in Berlin.
The 12th APW, taking place from May 15 to 28, is a unique platform in Europe for interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
The China Forum attracted more than 100 Chinese and German delegates from governments, enterprises, industry organizations and institutions to discuss innovation in the Sino-German economic and trade relationship.
GROWING PRESENCE
Despite sluggish global growth, Sino-German cooperation remains strong and there are frequent high-ranking visits between the two sides, Zhang Junhui, minister of the Chinese embassy in Germany, said during the forum, adding that Chinese leaders are expected to visit Germany later this year.
Data show that the trade volume between the two countries reached 170 billion euros (about 190 billion U.S. dollars) last year and China surpassed the United States to become Germany's largest trading partner, Zhang said.
According to Zhang, there are currently some 8,200 German companies operating in China and over 2,000 Chinese companies in Germany.
According to Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), a Berlin-based foreign trade and investment promotion agency, China invested in 281 projects last year in Germany, holding its position as the largest foreign direct investor nation in Germany for the third consecutive year.
"China has been the country with the largest number of investment projects in Germany for three consecutive years, which shows the trust of Chinese companies in Germany as an investment destination," said Benno Bunse, CEO of GTAI.
"Through investment in Germany, more and more Chinese enterprises are able to explore the international market and to enhance their own brands and technology," he added.
BEST COMBINATION
China is one of the most important oversea markets for ALBA, said Zhang Pei.
Removal of sculpture in front of SC protested
Barisal Correspondent :
An agitation rally was held on Friday morning protesting removal of sculpture in front of Supreme Court and exclusion of fine arts course from school level educational curriculum.
The programme was organized by Charukala Barisal, fine arts teaching organization, in front Ashwini Kumar Hall at the city center.
Children drawing painting and speakers delivering speeches urged government to reinstate the removed statue of `Lady Justice' in front of Supreme Court immediately.
They also protesting the decision of education ministry to exclude fine arts course from school syllabus said fine arts could play vital role in preventing expansion of militancy and forming mindset of the children in creative learning.
The fine arts activists said government for advancing the country on a progressive way and maintaining our cultural heritage and tradition should not kneel down before the illogical demands of the fundamentalists.
Artist Mahamud Chowdhury presided over the protest rally.
Among others Ajoy Dasgupta renowned journalist, Dasgupta Ashish Kumar, Faridul Alam Jahangir, Barisal Teacher's Assocision leaders, Altaf Hossain, president Charukala Barisal, Suvash Chandra Das, Tunu Rani Karmakar, Abdus Sobahan Bacchu, cultural activists, addressed the protest rally.
Anti-India protests hit Kashmir after top rebel killed
Masked Kashmiri protesters throw exploded tear gas at Indian policemen during a protest in Srinagar, Indian controlled Kashmir on Friday.
AP, Srinagar :
Massive anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday after government forces killed a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gunbattle in the disputed region.
Rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that rebels were hiding there, police said. The gunbattle ended later Saturday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching in the area for at least one more body, police said.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape.
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
As the news of the rebel leader's killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom." Traders shuttered shops and businesses across the Kashmir Valley, including in the region's main city of Srinagar. Officials said clashes were reported from over four dozen places in the region. Many civilians were reported injured in the clashes.
Authorities suspended most internet services in the region a day after they lifted a monthlong ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The social media ban on April 26 came after videos depicting the alleged abuse of Kashmiris by Indian forces fueled widespread protests.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep among the region's mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels' cause against Indian rule despite a decades-long military crackdown to fight the armed rebellion.
Last year, similar massive protests followed by clashes roiled Kashmir following the killing of charismatic rebel leader Burhan Wani. His death led to months of protests and a security lockdown during which at least 90 people were killed and thousands injured. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by the firing of government forces.
Earlier Saturday, Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels along the highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the army said.
The gunbattle erupted after a group of heavily armed militants crossed from the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir into the Indian-held portion in western Rampur sector, said army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia.
On Friday, the army said soldiers killed two suspected militants in the same area after they crossed into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir from the Pakistani-held part.
Public rental houses in Beijing. [File photo]
Beijing will continue to increase the supply of rental housing in the next five years, during which 1,300 hectares of land will be supplied for 500,000 sets of rental housing.
The rental houses, which will be mostly built on collectively-owned land, will be rented in bulk at market price by the municipal government and then offered to low-income families at affordable housing prices with a term of ten years. The government will fill the gap in price.
On May 24, a total of 927 sets of rental housing in Tangjialing of Haidian District, which are of the first batch of pilot projects, was officially opened to low-income families in the district for on-site house selection and contract signing.
Since 2011, Beijing has rolled out pilot project of rental housing on five collectively-owned areas, providing 12,800 rental houses to staff working at nearby industrial parks, migrant workers and urban low-income families.
Trump to set up 'war room' to repel attacks over Russia probe
Donald Trump returns to Washington on Saturday from his first trip abroad as President.
Reuters, Washington :
Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency.
Trump's advisers are planning to establish a "war room" to combat mounting questions about communication between Russia and his presidential campaign before and after November's presidential election, while bringing new aides into the White House, administration officials and persons close to Trump told Reuters.
The strategic shake-up comes as Republicans in Washington increasingly have fretted that the probe, continued chaos in the West Wing and Trump's steady slide in opinion polls will derail the president's drive to reform healthcare, cut taxes and rebuild the nation's infrastructure.
Upon Trump's return, the administration will add experienced political professionals, including Trump's former campaign manager, and possibly more lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head the investigation, the sources said.
Beyond pushing back at suggestions that Moscow is unduly influencing Trump's administration, the messaging effort will also focus on advancing Trump's stalled policy agenda and likely involve more trips out of Washington that will feature the kind of raucous rallies that were the hallmark of Trump's campaign.
A person in regular touch with the White House said it needed a different structure to focus on the "new reality" that there would be continued leaks to the media from the law enforcement and intelligence communities, leaks that have increased in frequency since Trump fired former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey on May 9.
"Since the firing of Comey, that really exposed the fact that the White House in its current structure ... is not prepared for really a one-front war, let alone a two-front war," the person said. "They need to have a structure in place that allows them to stay focussed" while "also truly fighting back on these attacks and these leaks."
The White House declined to comment on plans for a "war room" but said Trump will be looking to expand on momentum it believes it has built up during the president's trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe. A White House official confirmed plans to hold more rallies.
Trump returns to Washington on Saturday from his first trip abroad as president.
"The president has had an incredibly successful trip overseas and the White House looks forward to continuing an aggressive messaging strategy to highlight his agenda when we return to D.C.," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, will be involved in the new strategic messaging operation, as will Steve Bannon, another top adviser who specializes in managing Trump's populist appeal and shaping his political image, the sources said. Bannon and Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, have been laying the groundwork for the plan this week, they added.
On Thursday, NBC News and the Washington Post reported that Kushner, who held several meetings with Russian officials following the election, is a focus of the probe, making him the first current White House official to be caught up in it, although Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, is also expected to be part of the effort. Lewandowski, who has been seen in the White House recently, could join the administration as early as next week, a source close to him said.
Thinking of becoming a student activist?
Joanna Hughes :
"We are living in an age of protest," UN special rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai recently told The Guardian. And indeed, people are taking to the streets to advocate for causes in which they believe and to express outrage over injustices. They're also taking to college campuses-a trend which prompted The Atlantic to declare the arrival of the "renaissance of student activism."
Wondering whether you should join the fight for what's right? Read on for a guide to everything you need to know about student activism today.
The new (old) student activism
Student activism is hardly new. In fact, says Milk.xyz, "Student activism has existed almost as long as the university system itself. In the early years of higher education, way back in the 1200s, students would clash with townspeople over a multitude of things; from property damage to the treatment of servants, students at universities were always clashing over hot button issues. Despite a checkered European past, student activism really arrived in the United States around the 1600s."
But some moments in history have called for more student activism than others, and now is one of those times. As history professor and student activist specialist Angus Johnston told The Atlantic of the ripe-for-protest climate in the US, "The campus environment right now has, for the past couple of years, reminded me a lot of the early- to mid-60s moment, where there was a lot of stuff happening, a lot of energy-but also a tremendous amount of disillusionment and frustration with the way that things were going in the country as a whole and on the campuses themselves."
But this attitude is far from limited to the US. All over the world-from Chile to Paris-students are united by a common thread in stepping up for change, says Johnston: "One of the thing that ties (the campus movements) altogether is a sense that the future doesn't look as rosy as it might have a few years ago."
Furthermore, asserts, Johnston, universities are uniquely positioned to facilitate activism among students. He told The Atlantic, "A lot of the protests embrace national issues through the lens of campus policies. The university is big enough to matter but small enough to have an influence on. It becomes a site of organizing because there are opportunities to organize on campus that a lot of times you don't have in an off-campus community."
A recent Higher Education Today blog takes this concept a step further by suggesting that higher education institutions have a mandate to foster campus activism in order to remain "vehicles for social change" with benefits to students and universities alike.
Jumping into student activism
If you're ready to add your voice to the collective call for justice, keep in mind that there are many different ways to do so-the majority of which, we feel compelled to add, don't necessarily involve shouting into a bullhorn, tying yourself to a tree, or even carrying around a mattress on your back the entire academic school year. (Although there's arguably a time and place for gestures of a more extreme nature.) Nor does student activism implicitly mean getting in trouble with your university, arrested, maced or something worse.
Says QS Top Universities, "Student activism and campaign work need these 'media moments', but they also need research, networking, planning, events organization, debates and discussions, fundraising, petitions, press releases - and more. So wherever your skills lie, you'll be able to put them to good use." The Anti-Defense League (ADL), meanwhile, suggests 10 different ways to engage in activism, only one of which actually involves demonstrating.
And while student activists may once have been viewed through a negative lens, the times they are a changing. According to a recent Financial Times article, even MBA programs-which "have not traditionally been regarded as hotbeds of activism" are now getting in on the activist action. Their inspiration? The examples of real-world world business leaders like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, who use their positioning to make change.
The best part? The leadership skills you gain from your activist exploits will distinguish your graduate school applications and/or resume in today's increasingly conscientious business landscape. Says FT, "Another reason why MBA students are willing to campaign is efforts by schools to broaden their appeal beyond people hoping to fast-track careers in investment banking and consultancy, to executives from the public sector and not-for-profits. Increasing numbers of applicants put 'social impact' goals in their business school applications, according to Paul Bodine, founder of Admitify, the MBA admissions consultancy."
That being said, making real change takes something else: real time. Adding activism to an already full student schedule can quickly become overwhelming, and may eventually lead to diminishing returns. The key to making your investment pay off? Choosing a cause you truly believe in.
(Joanna worked in higher education administration for many years at a leading research institution before becoming a full-time freelance writer. She lives in the beautiful White Mountains region of New Hampshire with her family).
ORGANISATION SNIPPETS
Bangladesh Chhatra Juba Oikya Parishad
A rally organised by Bangladesh Chhatra Juba Oikya Parishad was held in front of the Jatiya Press Club in the city's Topkhana Road on Friday. In the programme the leaders of the parishad demanded immediate release of Shiyamal Kanti Vakta, Headmaster of Pyar Sattar Latif High School in Narayanganj. They also demanded withdrawal of false cases filed against Vakta. The rally was addressed, among others, by General Secretary of the parishad Ramen Mondal, General Secretary of Mahanagar Chhatra Juba Oikya Parishad Kishore Kumar Basu Roy Chowdhury Pintu, Amitab Basak Bappi, Krishna Sur and Rana Ghosh. President of Bangladesh Chhatra Juba Oikya Parishad Nirmal Kumar Chaterjee presided over the function.
World Vision Bangladesh
A roundtable on 'Child Marriage' organised jointly by World Vision Bangladesh and Ladies Organisation for Social Welfare (LOFS) was held on the 26th instant at a restaurant in Rajshahi. In the programme the speakers called upon all to build social awareness among people for establishing a child marriage-free society. Combined efforts of all including government and non-government organisations are very important to reach the goal. The government or any other single organisation can't do this alone, they added. They said child marriage couldn't be prevented without boosting mass-awareness. Eradicating child marriage and violence against women is imperative for a glorious Bangladesh. They said that equal rights to education, training, science and technology is a precondition for women empowerment. Overall national development could not be possible until the girl children are educated and their fundamental rights ensured.
Kushner 'discussed secret line to Moscow': US media
Donald Trump's son-in-law attempted to set up secret communications with Moscow a month after Mr Trump's election, US media say.
Jared Kushner wanted to use Russian facilities to avoid US interception of discussions with Moscow, the Washington Post and New York Times said. Mr Kushner, a senior White House aide, has not commented.
He is said to be under scrutiny by the FBI as part of its inquiry into Russian interference favouring Mr Trump's win. Reports in the US say investigators believe he has relevant information, but he is not necessarily suspected of a crime. Imagine, for a moment, that Jared Kushner and Michael Flynn had succeeded in setting up secure communications with Russia that bypassed US government channels. The past few months might have turned out very differently. Mr Flynn's late December contact with Ambassador Sergei Kislyak to discuss the recently imposed punitive sanctions on Russia for meddling in the presidential election likely would not have been intercepted up by US intelligence surveillance.
Without that intercept there would have been no urgent meeting between acting attorney general Sally Yates and Trump administration officials to discuss Mr Flynn's possible susceptibility to Russian blackmail.
There would have been no leaks to the US media that eventually exposed Mr Flynn as having been less than forthcoming about those conversations to the public and Vice-President Mike Pence. Mr Trump likely wouldn't have felt compelled to fire Flynn from his national security adviser job in mid-February - a move the president reportedly still regrets.
In this scenario Mr Flynn - who accepted money to advocate for Turkish interests last year and is currently under FBI investigation - could be in a top White House post to this very day.
The most recent reports - which cited unnamed US officials as sources - said Mr Kushner had spoken with Moscow's Ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak, about setting up a back channel using Russian diplomatic facilities in America. The meeting was held in early December at Trump Tower in New York - Mr Trump's power base. According to both reports, Mr Trump's first national security adviser Michael Flynn was present at the meeting. The secret channel was supposed to be used to discuss Syria and other policy issues during the transition period between Mr Trump's election in November and his inauguration in January 2017.
The Washington Post says the proposal surprised Mr Kislyak as it meant Americans using Russian facilities at their diplomatic missions in the US. The New York Times said the line was never established.
The US and Moscow have always had a hotline - popularly referred to as the Red Phone, even though it was not a telephone. This was meant to enable the two superpowers to avoid nuclear catastrophe during the Cold War.
Mr Kushner appears to be proposing a similar set-up. But what is unusual is that this would be a channel using Russian hardware.
So this would have been outside official communications normally used by a team about to assume the leadership of the US - meaning US leaders were using Russian channels instead of their own.
And, significantly, these communications would not form part of documented US policy-making.
Very. Remember that Russian allegations of interference to sway the election in favour of Donald Trump emerged in May 2016 with the first reports of hackers targeting the Democratic Party.
What followed were reports that US intelligence agencies had traced the breaches back to Russian hackers. In August, Wikileaks released 20,000 internal emails of members of the Democratic National Convention (DNC), stolen by the hackers. Mr Trump's then campaign manager, Paul Manafort, resigned after being accused of accepting millions of dollars in cash for representing Russian interests in Ukraine and US. In October, the US intelligence community released a unanimous statement formally accusing Russia of being behind the DNC hacking. So, by December when the alleged Kushner-Flynn-Kislyak meeting was held, the Trump team would have had grounds to believe in the existence of an investigation into the Russian links.
The Washington Post had already reported FBI investigators were focusing on meetings Mr Kushner held last year with Mr Kislyak, as well as a banker from Moscow, Sergei Gorkov.
Mr Gorkov is the head of Vnesheconombank, which has been subject to sanctions imposed by the Obama administration in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The bank is under the control of Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and other members of the government, and has been used to fund major projects such as the 2014 Winter Olympics in the southern Russian resort of Sochi. Mr Kushner has said he did not discuss sanctions with Mr Gorkov.
His lawyer has previously said his client would co-operate with any inquiry.
Mayor against market manipulation DSCC forms 8 monitor teams
Staff Reporter :
Eight surveillance teams will monitor the kitchen markets under Dhaka South City Corporation's jurisdiction during the holy month of Ramzan.
"Every shop owner must sell their commodities as per the prices fixed by the city corporation in this holy month. If any trader hikes prices of essential commodities, he will face prosecution," said DSCC Mayor Mohammad Sayeed Khokon while visiting a kitchen market at Hatirpool in the city.
The DSCC officials accompanied the mayor on the occasion. The mobile court of DSCC Executive Magistrate Mamun Sardar fined a shop Tk 20 thousand for charging abnormal price from the customers.
"It is a very bad habit that dishonest traders hike prices of essential products during the month of Ramzan. No law breaker can get respite from legal action as our eight surveillance teams will monitor a total of 29 kitchen markets in this month," the mayor warned.
Sayeed Khokon visited a number of shops and talked with both traders and customers. DSCC Chief Executive Officer Khan Mohammad Billal and other officials were present.
AG turns down Greek statue's reinstallation move
Staff Reporter :
The statue of Greek Lady Justice, which was removed from the Supreme Court gate area on Friday, might be installed in front of the court's annex building, the sculptor, Mrinal Haque, has claimed.
However, Attorney General Mahabube Alam turned down the
speculation of reinstallation of the controversial statue.
Both Attorney General and Registrar said they were not aware of any such decision.
"We only know that the meeting between Chief Justice and the senior lawyers has only decided to remove the statue. No decision has yet been taken to reinstall that in another place," Mahbube Alam said.
The statue was erected in December 2016, holding the familiar sword and scales of justice in her hands, amounts to idolatry.
But the statue erected in December last year provoked the anger of hardliners who demanded removal of the statue showing its spiritual conflict with Islam.
They also claimed that the statue was in full view of Muslims pray at the National Eidgah.
On April 9, 2017, a writ was filed with the High Court, seeking removal of the statue from the Supreme Court premises. Later, on Apr 11, Hifazat Chief Shah Ahmed Shafi led Qawmi madrasa representatives at a Ganabhaban meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated its demand for removal of the statue.
Finally, the controversial statue had been removed from the Supreme Court premises on early Friday.
Holy Ramzan begins today
Staff Reporter :
The holy Ramzan, the lunar month of self-purification through fasting and abstention from all immoral and some certain activities, begins today (Sunday) with due religious fervour and solemnity across the country.
This year, the fasting hours will range between 15.44 hours and 15.53 hours in the country. Ramzan fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam, along with the Muslim declaration of faith in Allah, five times daily prayers (Namaj), Zakat and performing the Hajj pilgrimage to Makkah.
The holy Ramzan is the ninth month in the Islamic (Hijri) calendar. It is the most holy month as the holy Quran was revealed to Prophet Mohammed (Sm) during this month.
The Lailatul Qadr, the night of divine blessing and benediction, will be observed on the night of June 22.
It consists of fasting from dawn to sunset. Muslims all over the world fast during the days of this month and make special prayers including Tarabih at night.
The government has already fixed the office timings for this Ramzan from 9:00am to 3:30pm.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police has taken security measures in the city during the holy month of Ramzan.
Security has already been ensured especially during the period of iftar, tarabi and sehri with deployment of a huge number community and plain clothed police alongside the regular one.
It also has taken some 'effective' measures, including proper intersection management, drives against unfit vehicles and illegal shops on footpaths and stopping, illegal parking on roads to free the city from traffic jam.
Besides, the DMP is planning for better management of intersections, entry and exit points of the city alongside with conducting drive against unfit vehicles, illegal occupation of footpaths and illegal parking on roads to ease the traffic congestion in the city.
Surveillance by intelligence agencies and police patrolling will continue to check mugging and extortion as well as the activities of 'Ogyan and Malam parties' during the fasting month.
7 grenades, 3 suicide vests recovered from 'militant den' Two children, woman rescued
Staff Reporter :
The police raid on a suspected militant hideout at Ganda in Savar on the outskirts of the capital ended with the seizure of seven grenades and three suicide vests.
The raid was conducted late Friday and ended around 2:30pm on Saturday.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Shah Mizan Shafiur Rahman briefed the media on the feed back in the afternoon.
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit initially surrounded a five-storey building in the town's Genda around 7:30pm on Friday and raided a flat, but they discovered that the terror suspects had left it in the morning. Two hours later, security forces raided a six-storey building in the same neighbourhood, the SP said.
That raid led to a discovery of some explosives inside a flat in the second building, Rahman said.
CTTC Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mahibul Islam Khan said that the bomb disposal unit was called in to search the flat for explosives on Saturday morning,
Sound of nine explosions was heard between 12:10pm and 1:57pm after the bomb disposal team broke into a room of one of the suspected militant dens on the first floor of the six-storey building, the DC said.
With the bomb squad still raiding the flat, security forces descended on a tin-shed house nearby, he said.
One of the tenants of the tin-shed house, Mili Akter said that a man known as Kamal rented six rooms of the house a few days ago. Kamal and five others, who used to live in the rooms, were not seen in the last few days.
Police questioned a neighbour, Kabir Hossain, who later told the media, "Kamal rented rooms of the tin-shed house to manufacture cosmetics. Kamal had told me that he manufactures cream and hair gel, but I don't know what he actually did."
Police also found equipment used in making cosmetics on the site.
Savar Police Inspector Golam Nabi said they questioned Kabir as locals reported that they saw him speaking with Kamal. Locals said the six-storey building was owned by an expatriate and his brother Sakib, who was also quizzed by the police.
Sakib said a man and a woman, who identified themselves as a married couple, rented a flat on the first floor.
Police said they fled just before the raid conducted on Friday night. "We found the food in the kitchen warm, indicating that they escaped just before we moved in," Detective Branch Inspector ASM Sayed told the media.
Earlier on Friday night, a CTTC team raided a suspected militant den on the ground floor of a five-storey building, adjacent to the two houses, with assistance from the Savar Model Police Station.
A woman and two children were rescued from the house, said the on-duty officer of Savar Police Station.
They were taken to police custody, he said.
Filing of a case with the police station in this connection was under process till filing of this report around 9:30pm.
1818 killed in car bomb blast in Afghanistan
SBS News :
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing, which provincial authorities said targeted Afghan security forces working with American troops in Khost province.
The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Western-backed forces as the Taliban step up their annual
spring offensive and the insurgency expands more than 15 years after they were toppled from power in a US-led invasion. "A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 18 people and wounded six others, including two children," said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
"The target was a public bus station which was hit by the bombing. The victims were in civilian clothes and it is difficult to verify their identities at this stage."
As the Islamic holy month of Ramadan begins, SBS World News explains why Muslims celebrate it and what the associated Eid al-Fitr is all about.
But provincial police chief Faizullah Ghairat said the victims were civilians and members of the elite Khost Provincial Force (KPF) working with US troops.
"The bombing took place early morning when KPF members were heading to work," Ghairat told AFP.
The brazen attack comes just a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major insurgent assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The assault in Shah Wali Kot district followed insurgent raids earlier this week on military bases in the same area and Maiwand district, bringing the death toll among Western-backed troops to around 60.
The battlefield losses mark a stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces and have raised concerns about their capacity to beat back the resurgent Taliban.
Afghan forces are beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help. Senior US officials have formally approached the Australian Defence Force to call for more troops in Afghanistan, according to The Weekend Australian.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks. The Taliban launched their annual spring offensive in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy. US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan. The United States and several NATO allies are considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.
SPBn Nayek shot outside Ganobhaban, dies at DMCH
2 probe bodies formed
Staff Reporter :
A Special Security and Protection Battalion (SPBn) Nayek, Atiqur Rahman, who was shot while on duty outside Ganobhaban -- the official residence of the Prime Minister -- on Friday night, succumbed to his injuries early Saturday.
Police said, Atiqur breathed his last around 1:30am at Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) following his severe chest injuries. During the incident he was performing his duty near the mosque at the north gate of Gonobhaban around 10:45pm.
Iqbal Hossain, Superintendent of Police and Commanding Officer (CO) of SPBn-2, told The New Nation yesterday that, "Atiqur suffered bullet injuries around 10:45pm on Friday and he was rushed to Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College and Hospital. As his condition deteriorated within few minutes of the admission, Atiqur was referred to DMCH where he succumbed around 1:30am."
It was not immediately clear who fired the shot or why, he said.
"It is yet to be clear how Nayek Atiqur was shot, but we suspect that he was hit by a bullet fired from his own gun," the police official said.
The Police Headquarters has formed a three-member probe body to investigate the incident. The SPBn also made another five-member investigation committee led by an Additional SP to unearth the incident.
"The SPBn's probe body has started its work while the PHQ committee will start the work soon," Iqbal Hossain said.
The investigation committees will submit their reports within two to three days, he added.
Deceased Atiquur Rahman's using gun has already been sent to the Forensic Department of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), he further said.
Atiqur Rahman, a nayek at Special Security and Protection Battalion or SPBn, which is tasked with providing security for the state's VVIPs, he added.
DMCH Forensic Department's Associate Professor told reporters that Atiqur died in bullet hit which was pierced on chest from back side of the body.
Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Ganesh Chandra Biswas said that an Unnatural Death (UD) case has been filed with the police station in this connection.
The CID will test how the bullet pierced on his body, the OC said.
Quoting the relatives of the deceased, Abdul Majid, OC of Hatiya Police Station, said, "Atiqur is son of Md Bahar and Sufia Begum, inhabitant of Charki village in Hatiya upazila of Noakhali district.
He left his wife Sharmin Akter and two year old daughter Tishi, the OC said.
The body is scheduled to be buried at their village at 10:00am today (Sunday), he said.
The tax reductions of Beijing reached 29.7 billion yuan (US$4.33 billion) by replacing business tax with value-added tax (VAT) until January.
Since Beijing put on trial the policy of replacing business tax with VAT in May last year, the State Administration of Taxation of Beijing Municipal Office has completed the practice among 238,000 taxpayers in four major industries, with a reduction of 29.7 billion yuan by January this year.
The taxation bureau has also integrated tax services through platforms including the internet, mobile phone and self-service machines. It has also set up a 24-hour tax self-service center, which offers a green passage for tax services online and offline.
At least three people were killed and 22 injured as passenger bus met an accident on Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway at Trishal in Mymensingh on Saturday.
Trump allowed time over Paris climate change deal
Front row, L-R: Kenya\'s President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea\'s President Alpha Conde, U.S. President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Niger\'s President Mahamadou Issoufou and Tunisian President Beji Ca
BBC Online :
Leaders of the G7 group of rich nations have failed to agree a statement on climate change. Six of the leaders will instead give US President Donald Trump time to decide if he will continue to implement the Paris accord, sources said.
Mr Trump, who once dismissed global warming as a "hoax", has previously threatened to pull out of the deal aimed at reducing greenhouse emissions.
This is Mr Trump's first G7 summit - during his first foreign trip.
He told his fellow G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Friday that he had not yet decided whether or not to endorse the 2015 deal. The summit has agreed a statement on fighting terrorism. Leaders were still discussing trade, focusing on Mr Trump's opposition to previous statements by the group against protectionism. French sources at the summit told AFP news agency that as the US was evaluating its policy on climate, the six other G7 countries would still reaffirm their commitment to Paris "while taking note" of the US position. Other sources confirmed this to Reuters agency. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the discussion on climate change had been "very unsatisfactory". "We have a situation of six against one, meaning there is still no sign of
whether the US will remain in the Paris accord or not." Mr Trump tweeted on Saturday: "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" Media captionAntonio Guterres: "The agreement doesn't collapse if a country leaves" UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who is also in Sicily for the meeting, told the BBC earlier that the accord would survive regardless of Mr Trump's position.
The leaders' last summit in Japan last year stressed the need to avoid protectionism. But this was before the election of Donald Trump and his campaign slogan of "America First".
There has been concern that the US president might promote a protectionist agenda.
German weekly Der Spiegel quoted Mr Trump as saying in a meeting with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday that Germans were "very bad" regarding car exports to the US.
During his election campaign last year, Mr Trump threatened customs duties in retaliation for Germany's trade surplus with the US, saying it owed "vast sums of money" to the US.
Leaders from Tunisia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Niger and Nigeria took part in the discussions in Sicilian town Taormina earlier on Saturday. Italy is keen to encourage the world's wealthiest nations to support African countries in developing their economies, so fewer young people will feel forced to make the dangerous journey to Europe.
However, a diplomat told Reuters that other Italian proposals - which looked to highlight the benefits of migration and promote a major initiative on food security - were dismissed ahead of the summit.
According to the source, Mr Trump's administration was unwilling to highlight benefits of human mobility, Reuters reported.
A statement originally intended to be separate and run into several pages is now expected to be condensed to two paragraphs. So far this year, more than 1,500 migrants are thought to have drowned in the Mediterranean.
Once his first foreign trip draws to a close on Saturday, President Trump will return to the US where his approval ratings are low and he is coming under increasing pressure over alleged Russian meddling in November's election. His chief-of-staff, Reince Priebus, said Mr Trump had shown "his commitment to confronting evil, promoting peace and putting America First on [a] historic and highly successful first trip abroad" in a tweet on Friday. Conservative daily The Washington Times said Mr Trump "neared the end of his first foreign trip Thursday by largely fulfilling a transformative agenda that was more ambitious than anything Mr Obama tried overseas during his first year in office". It went on to note "the president has made no major gaffes on the trip" But James P. Rubin, a former assistant secretary of state for Bill Clinton, was far less forgiving. Writing in Politico Magazine, he described Mr Trump as doing little more than "muddling" through the engagements. Mr Rubin went on to say that "despite the highly staged events designed to pump up Trump's image, the new administration has done nothing on this trip to restore respect and admiration for US international leadership"
Broadcaster ABC News, meanwhile, chose to focus on the President's "awkward body language moments" - including pushing the Montenegrin prime minister out the way.
However, headlines in the US continue to be dominated by alleged links to Russia, and there are whisperings of discontent within his own party over policy decisions.
Making his first foreign trip as president, he came to Sicily from Brussels where he had held talks with EU and Nato leaders. At Nato headquarters, he complained that many Nato member states were not spending enough on defence, expecting the US to bear the burden.
Before that, he visited Pope Francis in Rome and toured the Middle East - first Saudi Arabia, then Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Holy Ramzan is not for greedy business
THE Holy month of Ramzan starts from today with a surge in the pieces of essentials in the kitchen market to a new height. The government leaders said the market has enough supply and it is true because traders have imported essentials in huge quantity in the past months anticipating sudden rise in demand of such goods in this month. But why then the prices have phenomenally gone up by at least 20 percent for essentials like onion, garlic, lentils and spices surging of meat and mutton prices is also quite confusing. It is not a supply crisis but an artificial pricing crisis pressed by business syndicates. We say it must be held in check.
We appreciate the initiative of the two Dhaka City Corporations --- Dhaka South City Corpn. and Dhaka North City Corpn. for fixing prices of some major items asking traders to hang the price charts for public information. They have fixed prices of beef, buffalo meat and mutton at Tk 475, Tk 440 and Tk 725 per Kg and have also decided to sell fruits free from chemicals for the benefit of city dwellers. In the first place, such price charts only cover a few items while the cost of majority of essentials like prices of gram, ginger, salt, sugar and green vegetables, which are used in huge quantity during this month have been left totally out of control.
Market report said traders are not selling beef and mutton at the City Corpn. rates at most market places. They are charging Tk 50 to 70 more per kg at their will. Chickens sell at exorbitant prices and fish market is on very high side. What is noticeable is that City Corpn. stalls for selling chemical free fruits at some city corners are claiming almost twice as much of price from open market places and it appears that many party men are controlling the decorated shops from behind to make their own fortune.
It should not be a matter of government coercing only, it should be for the sanctity of Ramzan that businessmen should restrain the greed of making high profit.
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Officials and representatives launch The Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database in Beijing, May 26, 2017. [Photo/China.org.cn]
A new database portal of poverty reduction cases was launched in Beijing on Friday, aiming to share innovative and successful approaches and solutions from China and other developing countries and contribute to the global fight to end poverty.
The Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database (http://case.iprcc.org.cn/) serves as a portal for South-South knowledge sharing. It presents cases in a user-friendly way, while also allowing users to upload their own cases, thereby creating a truly global poverty reduction database.
It was launched on Friday at the 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum held in Beijing, attended by officials and representatives from international organizations, embassies as well as businesses.
Guo Weimin, the vice minister of the State Council Information Office (SCIO), said China's experiences in poverty reduction were intellectual treasures that could be shared with the world, adding, "There are still more than 700 million people living in extreme poverty in the world today. Poverty reduction requires a global strategy. We should work together to realize zero poverty by 2030."
The forum could be a new starting point for in-depth communication and exploration to reach consensus and assemble the global will and power to establish a new pattern for poverty reduction.
Chen Zhigang, the deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said China's experiences on poverty reduction was playing a very important role in the world that could not be ignored.
Launched by the Global Poverty Reduction & Inclusive Growth (GPIG) Portal and managed by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC) and the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the database portal draws great benefit from a strong network of contributors.
While the IPRCC takes a lead on the Chinese side by leveraging its own resources and partnering with universities and research institutes, many international organizations also play their part. With main contributions from the World Bank, the portal has also developed partnerships with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as well as more than 40 global think tanks and research institutions to contribute to the case database. The public are also encouraged to upload cases that could be valuable.
Bert Hofman, World Bank country director for China, Mongolia and Korea said, "China has achieved phenomenal success in reducing poverty, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty between 1981 and 2015, the fastest rate of poverty reduction ever recorded. China's experience in poverty reduction can offer useful lessons to other developing countries."
Bekele Debela, the program leader of World Bank said, "This is a very resourceful platform. And its resourcefulness is also because it is based in China that has abundant experience in poverty reduction, it will serve both China and the rest of the world."
Meanwhile, Vincent Martin, FAO Representative in China and DPR Korea, declared, "Invaluable poverty reduction policies and know-how generated in China and elsewhere should be made available to the international community to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In that regard, the launch of the online case database is a key step forward, and innovation should be embedded in the sharing of policies and best practices."
"China's experience clearly contains lessons for alleviating poverty that other developing country can learn from," said Benedict Bingham, the country director of PRC Resident Mission, ADB. "I am therefore delighted that IPRCC is launching a platform, which ADB has helped initiate, to share poverty reduction experience in China and other countries."
"It is important to learn about what has worked well in reducing poverty, beyond ensuring stable macroeconomic environment and pursuing broad structural transformation agendas. Poverty reduction requires well-targeted strategies to tackle the needs of the most vulnerable," he said.
Shozab Abbas, the political counsellor of Pakistan Embassy to China, told China.org.cn he believed it was a very important platform, with China being the leading country in alleviating poverty, so Pakistan would like to listen to and learn from China, while the two countries could collaborate with programs in this area in the future.
The online case database was launched at the 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum held in Beijing, aiming to share experience and discuss practical solutions to poverty.
The event was jointly organized by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC), the International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), the World Bank, FAO and ADB.
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China's Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining was appointed acting mayor of Beijing Saturday.
The appointment was made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress.
The meeting also accepted the resignation of Cai Qi as mayor of Beijing.
Cai was appointed to the post of the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee announced on May 27.
Chen, 53, is an environmental scientist by training. He received his Ph.D degree from Imperial College London, where he worked as a research associate before returning to teach at his alma mater Tsinghua University in 1998.
Chen climbed the career ladder at Tsinghua, where he became president before being appointed to head the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2015.
SB16 was amended in the House to allow prosecutors to seek life without the possibility of parole sentences in cases involving juvenile offenders. That runs counter to SCOTUS rulings on juvenile life sentences, including one directly involving Louisiana.
The way Louisiana sentences juveniles convicted of capital crimes has been the subject of indirect and direct rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States since 2012. SB16 by Sen. Dan Claitor was intended to bring the state's juvenile sentencing guidelines in line with those SCOTUS decisions.
However, amendments made to SB16 in the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee authored by committee chair Rep. Sherman Mack would leave the state out of compliance with SCOTUS rulings on the matter, according to the attorney who won a ruling against the state in the nation's highest court.
Mark Plaisance is the public defender in Lafourche Parish. He represented Henry Montgomery in a suit against the state of Louisiana that was decided by the Supreme Court in 2016. In that case, Plaisance argued that an earlier court ruling that declared sentencing juveniles to life sentences without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional applied retroactively to Montgomery and others already serving those types of sentences in Louisiana. Plaisance says there are 300 other Louisiana inmates affected by Montgomery's win.
Plaisance says the 2012 SCOTUS decision in Miller v. Alabama did not distinguish between the classifications of the murder charges when sentencing juveniles. SB16 as amended by Mack would do just that.
"Miller talks about all cases of murder without distinguishing between classifications," Plaisance told The Independent in a Friday morning interview. "The court ruled that you cannot just flat out sentence a juvenile to life without the possibility of parole like we do now. The court said that, when it comes to juveniles, science has shown us that their brains are structured differently, and they should have the right to argue that they should have the opportunity for parole."
Mack amendment SB16 when the bill was up before his committee on May 10 to allow prosecutors the discretion of pursuing life without parole sentences in cases involving "the worst of the worst." The amendment allows prosecutors to pursue those sentences in first and second degree murder cases.
Plaisance says that the state will face more litigation if the bill is enacted as written. The Independent contacted Rep. Mack on multiple occasions this week to talk about SB16 and his amendment. He had not responded to any of those requests at press time.
Jill Pasquarella is the supervising attorney for the Campaign to End Extreme Sentences for Youth. She works for the New Orleans-based Louisiana Center for Children's Rights. The LCCR has been working on juvenile sentencing reform in Louisiana for several years. She told The Independent on Friday morning that Mack's amendment perpetuates the status quo on juvenile sentencing.
"The Louisiana Legislature has a history of doing as little as possible to bring the state into compliance with Supreme Court decisions on this issue, and this is another example of that," Pasquarella says. She cited the state's foot dragging on juvenile sentencing reform dating back to 2010.
"Everyone could see after the Graham case where this was headed," Pasquarella says, referring to the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Graham v. Florida. In that case, the court ruled that juveniles could not be sentenced to life without parole in cases that did not involve murder.
"So, the Legislature changed the law, ending life sentences without parole for non-murder cases, but it was clear then that the court was going to address the issue in murder cases," Pasquarella explains. "The court likes to leave states the option to act. When they don't the court will use a case to direct them to act."
The Miller v. Alabama case in 2012 was the next case.
"Louisiana was one of seven states to enact laws in response to Miller that did not address the issue of those people who had already received life without parole sentences," Pasquarella points out. "There really is no difference between being 16 in 1973 and being 16 today."
Nonetheless it took Henry Montgomery's case argued by Plaisance to get the court to direct Louisiana and the six other states to provide a pathway to parole for those who were juveniles when they were sentenced to life.
"Let's be clear, it is not a guarantee of parole" Plaisance says. "It is the right to have the opportunity for parole. Even Justice Kennedy made that clear in his opinion."
Plaisance notes that anecdotal evidence suggests that very few paroles have been granted to those who have sought them in the wake of the Miller and Montgomery cases: "The number of paroles granted has been few and far between," Plaisance offers. "In Miller, the Supreme Court said that only the rarest of the rare of those former juveniles would not qualify for parole at some point. I can't believe that all of these people are 'the rarest of the rare.'"
Plaisance says the low percentage of paroles granted raises questions about the nature of the hearings. "Are they just pro forma to be able to say that they had the opportunity for parole," he asked rhetorically. "At some point, that will have to be looked at."
Pasquarella says prosecutors in Louisiana have continued to seek life without parole sentences in cases involving juveniles even after the Miller decision.
"We're finding that while prosecutors have been given the option of seeking these sentences, they are doing it in 75 percent of the cases involving murder," Pasquarella says. "We think this raises questions about compliance with Miller that could lead to further litigation."
She adds that Mack's bill does nothing to change that.
Both Pasquarella and Plaisance say that in order for prosecutors to seek those kinds of sentences the courts must conduct "Miller Hearings" to assess the defendant's mental development.
"Those sentencing hearings should be quite extensive and include a detailed review of the juvenile's entire life experience," Pasquarella says. "The fact that these sentences are imposed so frequently raises questions about the fairness and thoroughness of those hearings."
Plaisance says, done right, those hearings can be very expensive to both defense and prosecutors. "They can run up to about $50,000 per case for us and about the same for prosecutors," Plaisance says. He adds that the same costs would apply to the 301 Louisiana cases involving former juveniles who are still serving their life without parole sentences. He notes that Henry Montgomery is now 70 years old.
Pasquarella gets to the core of the conservative argument in support of criminal justice reform the financial cost of the process.
"The Supreme Court has set guidelines about what these hearings must consider," Pasquarella explains. "They're expensive to both sides. The state doesn't have the resources to continue pursuing these."
Pasquarella hopes that the Senate will reject Mack's amendments and send SB16 to a conference committee where the bill that emerges will end the practices. If not, she and Plaisance agree that the state will face more litigation.
"If nothing changes, I can guarantee you that there will be a flood of litigation," Plaisance declares. "I can't imagine the case against the state not succeeding."
SB16 as amended in the House was received in the Senate on Thursday. It can be considered for concurrence with the House amendments when the Senate reconvenes on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Rebekah Gee on Friday characterized budget cuts ordered by the House in HB1 as arbitrary and irresponsible.
Photo by Robin May
Louisiana Department of Health Secretary Rebekah Gee told members of the Senate Finance Committee on Friday morning that House-ordered cuts to her department contained in HB1 would result in cuts totaling nearly one billion dollars.
Gee, who is an MD and holds a master's degree in public health, says the $234 million dollar cut in state funding contained in HB1 and the areas that the department and the Division of Administration were prohibited from cutting would translate into $920 million in cuts to the department because of the loss of federal dollars that those state dollars are used to draw down.
The Senate Finance Committee heard from LDH in what will be its final day of reviewing the impact of the House version of HB1 with the heads of state departments and agencies. Committee chairman Eric Lafleur has scheduled a Saturday session of the committee to allow the public to weigh in on the budget.
After the brief run-through of department funding in recent years and an examination of the impact of mid-year cuts and the proposed executive budget and the impact of HB1, Lafleur told Gee and his committee that LDH constitutes half of the state budget.
"We have about a $29 billion budget and LDH is about $14 billion of it," Lafleur said. "You almost should have your own committee just to focus on our department."
Gee ran through a series of statistics to demonstrate that LDH has been bringing better healthcare outcomes to people in need while at the same time helping state finances. She focused attention on the impact of Medicaid expansion on the state.
"Medicaid expansion brought the state an additional $320 million in federal funding," Gee said. "That's allowed 91,000 people to gain access to a primary care physician and preventative care, many of them for the first time in their lives."
Gee told the committee that total Medicaid expansion enrollment stands at 428,000, bringing total Medicaid enrollment in the state to 1.6 million people.
Gee said her department is working with the private partners who are operating the former LSU Hospital System facilities to come up with a more stable funding mechanism than the system that relies on supplemental payments that come well after the care has been delivered.
Gee
She said that because of the cuts and the areas of the department's budget that were ruled off limits by the House Appropriations Committee, graduate medical education in the state is at risk. Graduate medical education is the way the state trains doctors and other professionals. Much of that work is tied into the pubic-private hospital partnerships.
Gee said the fact that Appropriations did not consult with her department about the cuts and their impact made them "arbitrary and irresponsible."
"You can't cut $1 billion from our budget and not have a negative impact on the people of our state," Gee declared. "You can't cut $1 billion and not eliminate valuable programs that help people."
According to Gee, HB1 would force the elimination of Medicaid behavioral health services. "Think about what that would do for the safety of our citizens and our communities," Gee told the committee. She noted the link between behavioral health problems and the size of the state's prison population.
Gee explained that because of the nature of so much of the department's work, cutting positions as HB1 orders translates into cuts in services.
"We do direct service provision for people. We are their safety net for those people," Gee said. "When you can't fill positions, you put people at risk including patients and our workers."
Gee told the committee that because House Appropriations ignored the complexity of the state and federal funding relationship, it amplified the negative impact of the cuts contained in HB1 more drastic.
Lafleur and the Finance Committee will likely meet again over the Memorial Day weekend to meet their goal of having a revised budget ready for the full Senate by the time that body reconvenes on Tuesday afternoon.
Gee's testimony contained what has become a refrain in testimony from department heads who have paraded through Senate Finance over the past two weeks: They were not consulted by House Appropriations on the impact of final budget decisions on the operations of their respective departments.
The session must end by 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 8. The Senate could act on the budget next week, sending it back to the House to either accept or reject the changes. The House will likely reject the changes, sending the bill to a conference committee.
House Speaker Taylor Barras has tentatively planned for the House to be in session over the weekend of June 3-4, according to Albert Speer, Clerk of the House.
It's not clear how much time a conference committee on the budget would need to reach a compromise agreement or how many votes each chamber might be able to take on a compromise if one is reached and rejected by either chamber. Gov.John Bel Edwards has vowed to veto any budget that emerges from the session that resembles the HB1 that originally emerged from the House.
By AM Saturday, May 27, 2017 Share Tweet Share Share Email
On the 6th and 7th of March there was a referendum in UCC for students. It stated: Should UCC Students Union campaign in favour of a United Ireland? Students were asked to give a Yes or No response to the motion. The campaign manager was Kate Kelly, who led a committee and although members of this committee were affiliated to various political parties, this group was strictly non-partisan.
We brought this campaign to a referendum to UCC students as we felt the issue of Irish unity should be addressed by our Students union. As a result of the campaign our Students union is now mandated to campaign for a United Ireland. We see it as a necessity that our Students Union recognises issues and campaigns from an all-Ireland perspective. We felt that the only way students needs can truly be addressed is by firstly achieving the Ireland we want to live in one based on equality and fairness. This can only be realized by the reunification of Ireland. Now the Students union can begin to bring the issue of Irish unity to the discussion table, and begin to lobby on behalf of students who voted in favour of Irish unity.
The referendum was held in conjunction with the UCC Students Union annual student elections. 3949 votes were cast from a student population of nearly 19,000. The Yes response received 63% of the total votes.
Within a week UCC, UCD and NUIG referendums for Irish Unity have passed resoundingly.
The 1916 Societies as a group take great inspiration for the students in Cork and other Universities around the Country that have campaigned and held similar referendums with great effect.
This sort of grassroots activism, in where students organise proactive campaigns at their own behest, has been to the forefront of social agitation and core to securing the rights of the oppressed in anti-imperialist struggle down through the decades. As seen in the African American Civil rights movement as well as the Civil Rights movement here in Ireland in the Six Counties and the fight for civil rights in the Gaeltacht, Gluaiseacht na Gaeltachta.
The 1916 Societies have been campaigning for past number of years for an All Ireland Referendum on Irish Unity in which the island of Ireland vote as one unit and without outside influence from those with no mandate on this island. Rather than the Border Poll as proposed by some, in which the island is segregated long partitionist lines and vote is gerrymandered in favor of the Unionist minority on the island.
So it is refreshing to see others strike up similar initiatives, we hope this sort of campaigning garners a lot more momentum and a more comprehensive National Campaign is formed of the back of this for National Self Determination.
Jennifer Olson of Carterville was welcomed as a new member of the Delta Leadership Network advisory council in Clarksdale Mississippi, along with Sesser Mayor Jason Ashmore of Sesser representing the state of Illinois.
The network provides graduates of the annual Delta Leadership Institutes Executive Academy with opportunities to improve regions throughout the Delta region. The advisory council promotes members and projects that will help create and retain jobs, build local communities and improve lives. It also helps plan the network's annual conference, bringing more than 200 alumni together. Olson and Ashmore were elected by fellow DLN members in Illinois and confirmed by the Delta Regional Authority leadership to serve a one-year term.
I am blessed to have the opportunity to continue to work with the Delta Leadership Institute alumni, and look forward to representing Illinois this year, Olson said in a news release. "These graduates have an unwavering passion for improving their communities for future generations.
The Southern
CARBONDALE In the age of instantaneous communications and ubiquitous high-tech devices, surveillance is almost inescapable.
Since the 2013 revelations of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, CryptoParties grassroots events where regular citizens learn how to protect their privacy in communications have become increasingly popular nationwide.
Nathaniel D. Fortmeyer, a recent graduate of Southern Illinois University Carbondales Master of Science in Professional Media & Management Studies program, did his research project on privacy and surveillance. As his practicum, he hosted two CryptoParties.
Hell be hosting another from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Carbondale Public Library.
The basics of privacy
Our electronic communications pass through a multitude of digital terminals to get to recipients.
A good analogy is the post office, Fortmeyer said. When you send a postcard, everybody can see who handles it. So it goes to the postman or postwoman, it goes to the post office, it gets routed to a different post office every person can see whats on the postcard. Now, if you send a letter, they cant see the contents, they can only see the sender and the receiver. So when you think about email, or text or phone calls, if theyre not encrypted, you are sending postcards.
Encryption, then, acts like an envelope. Its a method of keeping information private and secure. Another applicable analogy would be a lock: when something is encrypted, only the sender and receiver have the key.
In addition to the basics of encryption, CryptoParties focus on methods of blocking corporate and government tracking.
Sometimes theyre the same, Fortmeyer said; public officials can work for private companies, and private companies can work for the government through defense contracts.
There are a lot of things we can do to block corporate tracking. Were never going to be completely private from the NSA. They have so much power and so many resources, if the NSA actually wants to look in your information, its going to be almost impossible to stop them, Fortmeyer said.
Fortmeyer said he often gets pushback from people who tell him that they dont need encryption measures because they have nothing to hide.
First of all, privacy isnt about having something to hide. Privacy is about having security in your person and your possessions and having a safe space away from the scrutiny of the world, so you can have a place to think thoughts and talk to people in an open way without being worried about how it might be used against you, or taken out of context to smear you.
Most people that say (they have nothing to hide), I would suspect, close the door when they use the bathroom. Now, why do they need to close the door? We all know what we do when we go in the bathroom. Because its not about hiding something. Its about having privacy. And thats a constitutional right, Fortmeyer said.
The following is a list of practical tips Fortmeyer calls the low-hanging fruit of privacy as it pertains to both government and corporate tracking.
For further reading, Fortmeyer recommends the work of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which he calls the ACLU of digital rights. Their information-rich Surveillance Self Defense guide is available at ssd.eff.org.
Messaging
Signal is an open-source, free messaging app available for both Apple and Android devices. Encryption keys are stored locally on the devices of the sender and the recipient, and as a message is transmitted, it appears to anyone intercepting it as a cipher text a random string of numbers and letters. Then the key in the recipient's device decrypts the message.
The app can also be used for phone calls.
Signal uses something called VOIP Voice Over Internet Protocol. Its sort of like Skype. You dont have to have a plan with a telephone provider; as long as you have internet you can use it. You can send pictures through (Signal), you can send video, audio. Its a great app, Fortmeyer said.
This past March, WikiLeaks published a set of documents called Vault 7 detailing the monitoring capabilities of the CIA. The information led some people to believe that intelligence agencies are able to render ineffective the cryptographic elements of services like Signal. Thats not exactly true the leak revealed that the CIA can hack into devices using malware.
If encryption was compromised, the government wouldnt have to hack into your laptop. The reason the CIA has hacking tools to hack into actual laptops is because encryption works, because Signal works, and the more people that use it, the more powerful these technologies become, Fortmeyer said.
Email
Gmail and most free email providers scan the contents of users inboxes electronically.
They dont have an actual physical person reading your emails, but they scan them for advertising purposes, Fortmeyer said.
If you have your own website, you can host your own email. Alternatively, ProtonMail is a free encrypted email service. Kolab Now is an encrypted email service hosted in Switzerland, which has very strict privacy laws; it costs several dollars a month.
Search engines
Fortmeyer recommends avoiding Google when you need to search for something.
They track every search you do, which especially can be dangerous because if youre looking up information, say, on a medical condition, and then that information is sold to an insurance agent, they can use that information to label you as a pre-existing condition and mess with your insurance rates or even deny you coverage, he said.
DuckDuckGo is a search engine that does not track users or store search histories.
Browsing
A web browser is a software application that connects users to the internet. Examples include Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Microsoft Edge. Fortmeyer recommends using Firefox with the following free, downloadable add-ons:
Privacy Badger: An EFF-created extension that does away with ads and tracking cookies.
uBlock Origin: An extension that prevents corporate tracking by blocking ads. Fortmeyer prefers it to the popular AdBlock Plus.
HTTPS Everywhere: A free extension that converts http connections to the more secure https. This protects your information, not only from malicious hackers, but also from just being monitored by your ISP (internet service provider). So they can tell what website youre on, but if your encryptions on, they cant exactly see what youre doing on the page, Fortmeyer said.
Sites like Facebook track users across multiple tabs while theyre logged in. Fortmeyer said users should log out of services Facebook and Gmail, close their web browser and then start it back up to browse.
iPhone users can download Firefox Focus, which comes with a number of ad blockers and tracking blockers. Firefox Focus can also be integrated with other browsers like Safari, which is the Apple default; you just have to go into your settings and allow it. The app is not yet available for Android.
A free anonymity network called Tor short for The Onion Router is a downloadable browser that privacy advocates recommend. It works by sending information down a decentralized path along volunteer-run nodes, or relays.
So instead of going directly to a site, your connection, through an encrypted link, goes through at least three Tor nodes, which change every 10 seconds, and then it goes to the site, Fortmeyer said.
Webcams
Your webcam can be hacked without your knowledge. Both intelligence agencies and malicious hackers can turn on your webcam without triggering the indicator light.
(Snowden revealed) that people in the NSA were hacking into peoples webcams and inside the office would be passing memos back and forth rating people based on appearance, Fortmeyer said. They would turn these on and watch people undress, that they would use them spy on their boyfriends and girlfriends to see if they were being faithful.
Theres a low-cost solution: cover your camera with a piece of tape or a sticker.
Even former FBI Director James Comey called covering ones webcam a sensible personal security measure.
Faraday cage
You know that your phone can be used to track you even if its turned off as long as theres juice in the battery, right? Fortmeyer said. So the only way to be sure youre not being tracked is to take the battery out of your phone. The problem is, with a lot of new phones, you cant access the battery.
Faraday cages named after the English scientist Michael Faraday block electromagnetic fields and can cut a device off from electronic interference. Fortmeyer uses a Faraday bag for his phone.
Fortmeyer said hes sometimes taken as a tin foil hat guy.
The problem is, this is all real, this is all documented, he said.
Hes found that some people feel overwhelmed and powerless after learning about the current tracking capabilities of corporations and government agencies.
Part of the CryptoParty is to make people feel empowered again and to give them a sense of control over their own privacy and anonymity, Fortmeyer said.
Charles H. Johnson's widow says he would consider the dedication of a monument honoring all veterans who attended or worked at Claflin University a milestone accomplishment -- but not for himself.
Rather, she said her late husband would most certainly consider it an accomplishment for all the men and women he loved and respected so much at the institution where he was dean of student affairs for nearly 20 years.
Johnson launched the Claflin University Veterans Memorial project, and the school has since fulfilled his dream of a veterans memorial.
The Memorial Day dedication ceremony for the Claflin University Veterans Monument will be held at 11 a.m. Monday, May 29, at the James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel.
The monument is a tribute to all veterans of the nation's armed services who attended or worked at Claflin University. It lists the names of those veterans and provides a historical narrative of the university's ROTC program.
Admission to the ceremony is free and open to the public.
Dr. Vermelle Johnson said her late husband would be proud of the monument dedication.
"He was very intent on recognizing students. ... When he continued to see these young men and women go out and get such fantastic jobs in all the branches of the military, he just felt we needed to do something tangible to say, 'Thank you for the work that you do representing the institution and helping to make the nation safer and the world a better place,'" Mrs. Johnson said.
Claflin President Dr. Henry N. Tisdale said the monument is a "lasting tribute to and recognition of the brave men and women who are affiliated with the universitys ROTC program and have made enormous contributions to sustain the viability of our nation.
It is also a symbol of Claflins commitment to produce students who are actively engaged in matters impacting humanity throughout our nation and abroad, the president said.
Dr. Willie Frazier, a retired colonel who spent 30 years in the U.S. Army and 1975 Claflin graduate, served as co-chairman of the Veterans Monument Steering Committee.
Frazier said the successful coordination of the Army ROTC Cross-Enrollment Program with South Carolina State University was one of Johnsons most notable accomplishments.
He said it is exciting to finally have the monument honoring veterans dedicated.
Its just good to see the work come to an end on a positive note in terms of what we set out to do. I think its going to be something that well all be proud of," Frazier said. "Its been challenging, but very rewarding in terms of what weve accomplished."
Tisdale added, It is pleasing to see the support that was generated when this project began. The response was overwhelming, and I am confident the Claflin family will be tremendously proud of this successful effort to honor those who serve our nation with utmost dedication and devotion.
Claflins history with the military stretches back to 1967, when an agreement was signed between then-S.C. State College Dean Dr. Algernon Belcher and then-Claflin College Dean Dr. B.L. Gore to begin a pilot cross-enrollment program.
Under the program, students from other local institutions without an ROTC program were permitted to receive training at South Carolina State University and remain at the institution of their choice. Claflin is one of four institutions that currently has a cross-enrollment agreement with S.C. State.
With the pilot programs success, a formal agreement was signed in 1972 by then-S.C. State President Dr. M. Maceo Nance Jr. and Claflin President Dr. Hubert V. Manning.
To ensure that the program would remain successful, Manning had asked Johnson to continue serving as coordinator. Johnson became an adviser to the ROTC Program, which began with 13 students in 1967. There were 107 male and female students enrolled in the program by 1977.
Frazier has said previously that numerous students have gone on to successful military careers as a result of Johnsons mentoring and dedication to the program. To date, a total of 118 cadets have been commissioned as second lieutenants through the program.
Mrs. Johnson said the monument dedication will be a happy day for her.
It marks one of the big accomplishments that my husband left for us to do. I think he had no qualms or doubt as to whether we were going to go through with it," she said. "It will the culmination of a very big goal that weve worked on for some time."
President Donald Trump's son-in-law and trusted aide Jared Kushner may have discussed creating a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin with Russia's ambassador Sergei Kislyak, The Washington Post reported Friday, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The claim comes from intercepts of conversations between Russia's ambassador and Moscow.
Kislyak reportedly told higher-ups in Moscow that Kushner suggested the proposal in a meeting at Trump Tower -- which former national security adviser Michael Flynn also attended -- in December. Kushner "suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications," the Post reported.
The idea was to have Flynn "speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues," The New York Times reported, citing three people with knowledge of the discussion.
Reached Friday, an administration official said there would be no comment on the latest Kushner report.
However, Washington Post reporter Adam Entous said there is a chance that Russia could have intentionally exaggerated what happened in the meeting.
"Kislyak has a good reputation in terms of the accuracy of his reporting, according to the officials that I've talked to," Entous, one of three reporters who wrote the article, told CNN's Pamela Brown on Friday. "That being said, ... adversaries to the United States routinely put false information into their communications. Sometimes they do so in order to see if the Americans are in that channel."
CNN has not yet confirmed the Post's report.
However, earlier this year, in March, CNN reported Kushner had "relationship meetings" with Kislyak and with Russian banker Sergey Gorkov to discuss issues like sanctions. The transition team was looking for ways to establish a back channel to Putin, a source told CNN.
The FBI's investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 election is looking at Kushner's multiple roles in the Trump administration, CNN reported Thursday.
Reuters, citing seven current and former US officials, also reported Friday that Kushner had previously undisclosed contacts with Russia's ambassador -- including two phone calls between April and November of 2016.
However, officials told Reuters -- and have previously told CNN -- that so far they have not seen evidence of wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump administration and Russia.
"There may not have been anything improper about the contacts," the law enforcement official told Reuters.
Kusher's attorney Jamie Gorelick said his client "has no recollection of the calls as described."
"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described," Gorelick said in a statement to CNN. "We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information."
CNN's Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.
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Australian city of Perth hosted a presentation of Azerbaijans economic and investment opportunities.
During the presentation, organized for Australian entrepreneurs by Azerbaijans Honorary Consulate in Perth, Honorary Consul of Azerbaijan Aydan Rzayeva spoke about the rapid growth of the Azerbaijani economy in recent years, the projects implemented in the country, as well as Azerbaijans investment attractiveness, a source in Azerbaijani Parliament told Trend.
In particular, information was provided on the implementation of projects to develop energy resources, the Southern Gas Corridor project, as well as transportation projects, including the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. It was noted that the development of the non-oil sector of economy, agriculture, manufacture of export-oriented products are among the main priorities of Azerbaijan.
Head of the Azerbaijan-Australia friendship group John Hammond provided information about modern Azerbaijan, its values ??of multiculturalism and tolerance. He noted that Azerbaijan has become a center for discussion of the problems of the modern world.
It was also announced that in October, Baku will host an Australia-Azerbaijan business forum.
The presentation was attended by more than 60 representatives of various Australian companies engaged in agriculture, dairy and livestock sectors.
Representatives of oil and gas, transportation and tourism companies also attended the event.
The presentation of Azerbaijans economic potential caused great interest among the participants, and many of them expressed desire to take part in the Australia-Azerbaijan business forum in Baku.
By Azertac
The Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United Kingdom has organized an official reception to celebrate the Republic Day and the Armed Forces Day.
The 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the UK was also marked as part of the event.
Co-chair of the Anglo-Azerbaijani Society, Rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov, professor Nargiz Pashayeva attended the event.
The reception brought together nearly 300 participants, including the British government and state officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in London, local public, and members of the Azerbaijani and Turkish communities.
Azerbaijani violinist Nazrin Rashidova first performed Azerbaijan's and UK's national anthems.
Addressing the event, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK Tahir Taghizade expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims of recent terrorist attack in Manchester.
The Ambassador then highlighted the history of the establishment of the first democratic Republic in the East. Ambassador Taghizade hailed the Azerbaijan-UK bilateral relations and reciprocal official visits. He expressed his gratitude to the co-chairs of the Anglo-Azerbaijani Society Nargiz Pashayeva and Lord German for the activities of the Nizami Ganjavi Scientific Centre at the Oxford University and for the establishment of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.
In her remarks, British Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan Baroness Emma Nicholson highlighted her visit to Azerbaijan. She hailed the Azerbaijani music and the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people, saying she learned a lot about the history and culture of the country during her visit.
Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Michael Tatham thanked President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan for the condolences and solidarity messages over the tragic events committed in Manchester. He described Britain as one of the biggest investors in Azerbaijan. Mr Tatham underlined British companies' interest in operating in Azerbaijan. Michael Tatham hailed the great potential for further development of bilateral relations, saying the British government is keen to enhance ties with Azerbaijan.
The event participants then viewed the Azerbaijani stand which demonstrated the books and magazines highlighting the socio-economic development and tourism potential of the country.
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By Trend
Azerbaijan has condemned the May 26 terrorist attack in Egypt.
We condemn the terror attack in Egypt and extend our condolences to families of victims and Egyptian people, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry tweeted May 26.
Gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt May 26, killing 28 people and wounding 24, with many children among the victims, Reuters reported citing Egyptian Health Ministry officials.
The attack, which Egypt's Muslim leaders condemned, happened 15 km from the monastery.
By Trend
Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 125 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said May 27.
The Armenian armed forces were using large-caliber machine guns and 60-mm mortars (7 shells).
The Azerbaijani army positions in the Bala Jafarli village of the Gazakh district underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of the Ijevan district.
Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani army positions in the Aghbulag and Munjuglu villages and on nameless heights of the Tovuz district were shelled from the Armenian army positions located in the Chinari and Aygedzor villages of the Berd district of Armenia.
The Azerbaijani army positions on nameless heights of the Gadabay district also underwent fire from the Armenian army positions located on nameless heights of the Krasnoselsk district of Armenia.
Moreover, the Azerbaijani army positions were shelled from the Armenian positions located near the Armenian-occupied Shikhlar, Garagashli, Bash Garvand, Javahirli, Kangarli, Marzili villages of the Aghdam district, Kuropatkino village of the Khojavand district, Horadiz and Ashagi Veysalli villages of the Fuzuli district, as well as from the positions located on nameless heights in the Goygol, Goranboy, Tartar, Aghdam, Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts of Azerbaijan.
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.
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) is welcomed by European Council President Donald Tusk upon his arrival at the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
The initial interaction between President Donald Trump and NATO leaders in Brussels shows his lingering mistrust of the historic trans-Atlantic military alliance which he called "obsolete" in his election campaign.
Expectations were obviously high about Mr. Trump reiterating an American commitment to collective security, as he arrived at NATO's newly-built headquarters following a highly symbolic tour of Saudi Arabia, Israel and a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, places linked with the three Abrahamic religions.
There was a tinge of tension as well due to Manchester suicide bombing taking at least 22 innocent people. It was evident Mr. Trump would talk about the monstrous attack and use it as an occasion to deliver a message of unity to all NATO members. He did this, condemning the incident and again calling the militants "losers".
However, what followed was a session in shock therapy for the majority of the leaders representing the 28-member body. In his trademark brash style, Mr. Trump ripped through the failure of NATO countries to keep up their financial commitments. He scolded them directly, without mincing words, as some of leaders were seen shifting restlessly, clearly feeling disturbed.
He reminded them that 23 countries were behind in their dues payments. He dug deeper, pointedly that defense spending representing two percent of GDP was simply not enough. It looked like a stern-faced headmaster chiding lazy students for not paying their tuition fees, with a hidden warning they might be expelled.
After the admonishment regarding non-payment, Mr. Trump indirectly criticized those European nations, led by Germany, that had let thousands and thousands of foreigners enter into various countries without truly knowing their identity or background. He urged them to get tough and be vigilant.
It was the first direct attack against the policy of welcoming migrants from war-torn Muslim countries a reminiscent of his campaign, when Mr. Trump had threatened to ban their entry into America.
As if this was not enough, he refused to give any commitment on collective defense under Article 5 of the NATO Pact. Though, he vaguely talked about the threat posed by Russia on eastern and southern borders of the bloc, it was not what various leaders had gathered to hear.
On the crucial issue of fighting terrorism, the American president was more direct and tackling the evil head-on and "stopping it in its tracks". It proved an awkward moment having just lambasted them on the issue of money.
It would hardly help the cause of achieving a strong showing against the militants' menace. A disgruntled NATO with internal rifts is hardly qualified to defeat a formidable, cohesive group like ISIS.
In pure military terms, NATO is not an alliance in fighting trim to fight obscure ideologies and unseen enemies. It is a hardcore military outfit formed to engage in regular warfare. For the majority of its European members both from the Western and Eastern blocks the alliance means meeting the Russian threat.
The first NATO contact with militants, in Afghanistan, was a failure. After fighting for more than a decade, the alliance failed to achieve the objective of eliminating either the Taliban or al-Qaeda.
However, it did help create an Afghan security force to which it handed over security responsibility. The Afghan forces are valiantly fighting; yet, can they win when NATO failed? It has resulted in a resurgence of the Taliban who are threatening to reverse the gains of past years.
Mr. Trump's ideas on eliminating militants suggest a role for NATO against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Frankly, though, this would probably lapse into a quagmire. Already several nations are involved in Syria without any sign of success. It shows that fighting militancy by conventional military means is simply not enough. You are up against a mindset which cannot be defeated on the battlefield.
The Brussel summit, if it can be called that, has highlighted tension between Trump's America and rest of the NATO. It comes at a critical juncture when a confident-looking Russia and rising threat of ISIS demand more unity. The Trump speech at NATO headquarters shows that serious reforms are needed to carry on the concept of collective security.
Sajjad Malik is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:
http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/SajjadMalik.htm
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
By Trend
A business forum organized by the chambers of commerce and industry of Turkmenistan and Belarus has been held in Ashgabat, the Embassy of Belarus in Turkmenistan said in a message May 26.
The forum participants discussed development of bilateral cooperation at the level of business circles, including the supply chains, logistics and financing, the message said.
Ambassador of Belarus to Turkmenistan Oleg Tabanyukhov in his speech at the forum drew attention to the efforts of the Turkmen and Belarusian presidents aimed at creating a favorable environment for the two countries entrepreneurs.
About two dozen large enterprises and companies of Belarus took part in the forum.
Belarus offered its services in the supply of high-technology equipments and organization of their production, and expressed interest in Turkmen textile, agricultural and industrial products, and deepening cooperation in the manufacture of food products.
The sides also discussed the possibility of supplying railway rolling stock, agricultural and road machinery.
The two countries also discussed cooperation in establishing production of high-technology lighting equipment, as well as partnership in the field of printing.
AM Investco, a joint venture led by ArcelorMittal, the world's largest producer of steel, along with top Italian steel company Marcegaglia and leading banker Intesa SanPaolo, has emerged as the winning bidder for Ilva, the largest steel company in Italy, said a report, citing sources.
Ilva's special commissioners - Corrado Carrubba, Piero Gnudi and Enrico Laghi - made the decision yesterday (May 26) and later informed Italian Economic Minister Carlo Calanda, stated Platts, S&P Global, a leading independent provider of information and benchmark prices for the commodities and energy markets.
AM Investco was selected despite lingering anti-trust concerns, as ArcelorMittal is already the largest steelmaker in Europe.
The special commissioners had recently asked the two JVs competing for Ilva to extend the validity of their tenders until March 31, 2018, as well as to not alter the economic terms of their offers, guaranteeing investment plans to which they've already committed, and to not modify their plans for the structure of the new company.
Acciai Italia, the other JV involving JSWSteel, Arvedi, Luxottica and Cassa depositi and Prestiti, did not agree to the extension, while AM Investco did.
Now, the Italian government must give its official approval and the deal will need to clear anti-trust hurdles, as well.
As previously reported, Am Investco and Acciai Italia submitted binding offers to financial advisor Rothschild on March 6, said the Platts, S&P Global report.
Neither bidder disclosed its offer price, but according to published reports, Am Investco pledged 1.6 billion ($1.72 billion), while Acciai Italia was said to have bid 1.2 billion, along with a cap-ex commitment of 3 billion ($3.34 billion), it added.
The American University of Ras Al Khaimah (Aurak) has signed an agreement with Neon Energy Green Building Construction Materials, a multinational German company which focuses on energy-efficiency and renewable solutions.
As per the deal, Neon Energy will assist the university throughout its participation in the 2018 Solar Decathlon Middle East competition, which will see Aurak construct an entirely sustainable, zero-energy home, remarked Prof Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, the president of the university, after signing the deal with top Neon Energy officials CEO Alexis Gianniotis and COO Marios Gekas.
The agreement ensures that the students who form the universitys team will receive training, support and the latest technology from the German group as they participate in the prestigious eventm, he stated.
Neon Energy, in addition to its office in Dubai, also operates in Greece, Turkey, Romania and Bulgaria, as well as New York and California in the US.
Prof Al Alkim said: "This competition puts Aurak in the spotlight, so we are striving to ensure that our team has world-class expertise and state-of-the-art technology. This type of support will enable us to reach our full potential and really show the world what we are capable of."
According to him, the German firm will also collaborate with Aurak in terms of research, through its RAK Research and Innovation Center, which specialises in harnessing solar energy for a number of tasks, such as cooling and water desalination.
On the partnership, Gianniotis said: "Its our duty to contribute to the environmental sustainability of the UAE. It is a great honor to be aligning this vision with the American University of Ras Al Khaimah."
The two entities have also agreed to cooperate in the provision of Rakrics energy auditing services, to exchange relevant information and expertise. Similar to the Rakric, Neon Energy focuses on energy-efficient solutions, energy-efficient aluminum systems, and renewable energy solutions.
Prof Mousa Mohsen, dean of the universitys School of Engineering and director of Rakric, stated, There is a lot of exciting work in these fields and we are looking forwarding to working alongside Neon Energy as we attempt to provide the world with viable renewable energy solutions.
Specific areas that the two parties intend to investigate include LED lighting, photovoltaic cells and electrical power systems.-TradeArabia News Service
US-based Navistar Defense, an affiliate of Navistar International Corporation, has been awarded a $18.77 million firm-fixed-price foreign military sales contract for 115 medium tactical vehicles for Iraq, said a report.
Navistar Defense offers a complete portfolio of tactical and commercial off the shelf (COTS) military wheeled vehicles as well as custom-tailored lifecycle support solutions.
One bid was solicited and one bid received, added the Iraq Business News report.
Work will be performed in West Point, Mississippi; Ooltewah, Tennessee; and Marion Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of January 13, 2018, it added.
The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (Dafza) said it performed exceptionally well in first quarter of 2017, achieving 62 per cent of its total annual sales target.
This was accompanied by an increase of seven per cent in sales revenues over the same period in 2016.
The freezone also posted a significant 31 per cent growth in the number of its registered companies, as compared to last year, noting a 16 per cent rise in the number of multinational businesses, such as Fujikura, Global Sources, Armasal, Blue Star and Markolin.
The positive financial results showed a significant increase in the demand for office space, said the company in a statement.
Among the number of registered companies at Dafza for the first quarter, 32 per cent belonged to the information and communications technology (ICT) and electronics sector thus topping the industry list followed by the investment and business development sector with nine per cent; cargo, logistics and consumer goods with eight per cent in the third place; and food and beverages, aerospace and aviation, and machinery all coming in at fourth with six per cent.
Engineering and building materials ranked fifth with five per cent, followed by financial, insurance, medical equipment and pharmaceuticals at four per cent each. The other sectors collectively posted an 8 per cent of the total number of registered companies.
Commenting on the results, Dr Mohammed Al Zarooni, the director general of Dafza, said: "The excellent results from Q1 reflects our positive outlook for 2017. The growth that we are witnessing is attributed to our business model, efficient operational management, flexible yet highly efficient requirements for investments, and global market volatility."
"Our successful financial results reflect Dafzas commitment towards its efficient and value added role in driving the national economy, and we expect this growth to continue as a result of our strong operational and financial performances," he added.
According to him, the growth of leased office space reached 35 per cent with leased light industrial units jumping by 36 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Dafzas exceptional performance can also be attributed to its plan to attract more foreign direct investments (FDIs), which included a promotional plan targeting the world's leading markets and vital economic sectors currently booming in the Mena region.
During Q1, Dafza completed a tour including stops in South Korea, India, Germany, and Italy. The tour was successful as Dafza created new strategic partnerships through meetings with major foreign investors interested in establishing their businesses in the Freezone, to capitalise on the opportunities brought forward by Dubai and the Mena region.
The tour also featured the launch of the Smart Office, a product designed specifically for developing markets. It enables multinational companies to explore opportunities for growth and expansion in the region, through flexible solutions offered by Dafza.
The Smart Office has been highly-acclaimed by existing investors, and has already achieved a 21 per cent occupancy rate.
Al Zarooni pointed out that Dafza's approach towards empowering and encouraging freezone operators to expand their scopes of work in the Mena region had contributed towards the development of promising opportunities for new and existing investors.
"We work to support the economic diversification of the Emirate, by providing the best incentives for investment and innovative solutions, and are determined to support regional and international investors, while enabling them to grow and learning from their experience, contributing to the strength of the GDP," he noted.
"The remarkable results achieved by Dubai over the last year have had an immense impact on the growth we are seeing this year," remarked Al Zarooni.
According to him, Dubais FDI capital has exceeded Dh25.5 billion ($6.94 billion) with the emirate ranking seventh globally.
"It also ranked third for its number of current foreign direct investment projects, which had totaled 247 by the end of 2016, according to a recent statistics report issued by the Dubai Investment Development Corporation," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Agility, a leading global logistics provider, on Saturday announced a global settlement in the case involving the US government food-supply contracts that the company held from 2003 to 2010 (the Prime Vendor contracts).
The contracts spanned seven years, involved nearly 200,000 invoices to the US government, and were valued at over $8.6 billion, said a statement from the company.
Agility settled on terms that preserve and validate the companys reputation for integrity, it added.
Announcing this new development, CEO Tarek Sultan said: "The settlement affirms our long-standing view that Agility acted transparently and responsibly as it carried out to near-perfection the extraordinarily complex mission to deliver food and related materials to US troops in an active war zone."
In the criminal portion of the case, Agility announced earlier that it has agreed to plead to a misdemeanor in connection with a single invoice valued at $551. The misdemeanor is a minor offense, unrelated to any of the original criminal charges. It requires Agility to pay a maximum of $551 in restitution, but carries with it no criminal fine.
In the parallel civil proceedings of the case, the company has agreed to pay $95 million in cash.
In addition, Agility and the US government have agreed to mutual releases of all outstanding contract claims related to the food-supply contracts.
The agreement will resolve all legal issues related to these contracts for Agility employees, directors, officers and affiliates, said the top official. The terms of the settlement are subject to final court approval.
The settlement will allow Agility to resume the pursuit of new US government contracts.
Under the terms of the settlement, the US government has agreed to remove Agility and all of its subsidiaries and affiliates from the list of suspended companies on its System for Award Management (SAM) database, formerly known as the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), within 60 days.
Todays settlement removes uncertainty for investors and lenders, ends costly litigation, and opens a pipeline of potential government and commercial contracting opportunities, remarked Sultan.
Agility has a healthy balance sheet and low net debt, he stated.
"The company can meet its obligations under the settlement without jeopardizing its current investments or its future growth. By bringing the case to an end, we have the ability to unlock additional value for shareholders," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
OMV, an international oil and gas company based in Vienna, Austria, said it has reached an agreement with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) to explore opportunities for co-operation, among others in downstream projects.
The agreement explores potential opportunities to work together to support Adnocs downstream businesses and the companys smart growth strategy, said a statement from the company.
It also provides for co-operation in a number of areas, including the evaluation of opportunities in downstream projects; the exchange of knowledge and experience in refining operations and refinery-petrochemical integration and optimization, and downstream technical and maintenance support, it stated.
The MoU was signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and Group chief executive of Adnoc, and Dr Rainer Seele, CEO of OMV in the presence of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the Austrian Federal Chancellor Christian Kern.
"This agreement provides the opportunity to work with OMV to identify areas for mutual collaboration that will contribute to our plans to maximise the value from our assets and operations," remarked Dr Al Jaber.
It will provide access to the in-depth knowledge and experience of OMV, in refining operations and petrochemicals, enhancing our own experience and skills, as we focus on delivering the companys strategic objectives, he stated.
Adnoc has a rich history of working with partners to unlock opportunities in both its upstream and downstream operations. Such partnerships will continue to be an important enabler and we see exciting opportunities ahead. We look forward to working with companies such as OMV to realize our ambitious goals, he added.
Adnocs 2030 Strategy, he stated, is transforming the company into a commercially-minded, performance-based organization centered on maximizing the value from every barrel of oil and delivering the greatest possible return to Abu Dhabi.
It will ensure a more profitable upstream; a more valuable downstream and a more sustainable and economic gas supply, he added.
On the Adnoc partnership, Seele said: "With this we have the opportunity to expand our co-operation across the entire value chain: From upstream to downstream, including petrochemicals. We will have a close exchange of expertise that will enable us to make our outstanding, long-term partnership with Adnoc even stronger.
Under Adnoc's 2030 Strategy, crude production capacity is set to increase to 3.5 million bpd by 2018, while it also plans to expand its sour gas production, from its Al Hosn facility, by 50 per cent.
The Abu Dhabi group has also placed significant focus on its downstream business with plans to double crude refining capacity and triple production of petrochemical and higher value products to take full advantage of the fastest growing segment in the oil and gas industry.-TradeArabia News Service
Travellers at the BA check-in counter at Madrid airport in Spain.
British Airways on Saturday cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports because of "a major IT system failure" leading to chaos and confusion at airports across the world, reported BBC.
Delays have also been reported in Rome, Prague, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga due to the system failure.
However, authorities were quick to dismiss reports suggesting that it could be an cyber attack.
A "major IT system failure is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide", the British airline stated.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion" at the terminals, with all BA planes grounded before 6pm on Saturday.
It apologised for the "global system outage" and said it was "working to resolve the problem".
Heathrow Airport said it was "working closely" with BA to solve the issue.
There is no evidence at this stage to suggest the system failure was caused by a cyber attack, the British flag carrier told BBC.
All passengers affected by the failure - which coincides with the first weekend of the half-term holiday for many in the UK - will be offered the option of rescheduling or a refund, it stated.
The airline, which had previously said flights would be cancelled until 18:00 BST, has now cancelled all flights for Saturday and asked passengers not to come to Gatwick or Heathrow airports.
Some passengers have reported having to leave Heathrow without their luggage, reported BBC.
The problems mean parts of BA's website are unavailable and some travellers claimed they could not check in on the mobile app.
BA aircraft landing at Heathrow are unable to park up as outbound aircraft cannot vacate the gates, which has resulted in passengers being stuck on aircraft, said the BBC report.
BA staff in Heathrow's Terminal 5 were resorting to using white boards, it added.
National carrier Oman Air has announced a special baggage offer for Ramadan under which travellers in economy classes will be able to travel with two bags (weighing up to 30kg in total) for no extra charge during the festival period.
The same offer will also be applicable for Oman Air guests who book their flights during Ramadan for travel after the holy month. Guests wanting to travel with more than two pieces of luggage totalling 30kg will be able to purchase an additional piece of up to 20kg for a nominal fee, said the flag carrier in a statement.
For travel within Oman, the rate per extra piece of 20kg bag will be RO16 ($41.4) with the number of extra bags that can be purchased put at four; for Jordan, Iran, Iraq it will be RO20 ($52) and two bags; for Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt (RO20 and two bags); UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia (RO16 and two bags); India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal (RO20 and two bags); UK, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland - RO30 ($78) and four bags and for sectors in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, China, Indonesia it will be RO30 and four extra bags, it stated.
Unveiling the offer, Oman Air officials said the idea for this new baggage offer was raised at a guest panel organised by the airline last week, where a selection of the airlines Sindbad Frequent Flyer members were asked for their opinions and suggestions on how Oman Air can improve its new baggage system.
The decision was then taken by Oman Air to implement this special baggage offer during Ramadan, it added.
Deputy chief executive and executive VP (Commercial) Abdulrahman Al Busaidy said: "We are delighted to be introducing this special baggage offer in Ramadan as a way to celebrate the holy month and meet the needs of our valued guests."
"As an airline, we place great importance on listening to our guests and responding to their opinions as we continue our journey to Become the Best. We will be advertising the special policy to the public through multiple channels to ensure that the message is clearly conveyed and that everyone can take advantage of this great offer," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
The TransGriot is available for speaking engagements, college lectures, panel discussions, media interviews, conferences or Trans 101 education efforts for your school, business or professional organizations.
For local Houston area, Texas or national events, you can e-mail me at transgriot@yahoo.com
For events outside the Houston metro area, I ask that my travel and lodging expenses be covered.
This is separate from my speaking fee.
If you are interested in having me appear as a speaker or panelist, you can e-mail me with the date and details of your proposed event.
Please book as early as possible because my speaking and event calendar slots during the year rapidly fill up.
Helping Others
Food for Fines
The Natrona County Library will hold its semiannual Food for Fines drive June 1 through June 15. Bring nonperishable food to any library branch, including the Bookmobile, between June 1 and 15 to clear your late fees. The promotion applies to late fees on books and other library items, and does not include fees for lost or damaged items or collection accounts. All collected food will be donated to Joshua's Storehouse to benefit our local community.
Hospice needs volunteers
Would you like the opportunity to truly make a difference in someones life? Choose how you would like to give back, whether being a companion to our patients, helping run the Memory Lane Boutique, or sit vigil through patients last hours. Join us for our next Volunteer Training Program beginning June 6 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Please call Tammy at 577-4832 or go to cwhp.org and fill out an application. We would love to have you on our team.
Hospice boutique accepting donations
Memory Lane Boutique at Central Wyoming Hospice and Transitions is in need of donations for its inventory. Items accepted include furniture, jewelry, household goods, knickknacks, craft supplies, toys and sporting goods. Donations may be dropped off from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at 319 S. Wilson. The public is invited to shop during the same hours.
Would you host a hockey player?
The Casper Coyotes are preparing for the next season already and that means finding loving families to host young men, ages 17 to 20 years old from across America and foreign countries. The boys arrive in August and stay until March or April. They should have a room of their own and become a part of your family. Their expenses are paid. Team rules are simple and you add family rules. If you raised a young man this age, then you know that it takes love, but the love and cultural experience that comes back is many times greater. Interested? Call a veteran of hosting and let's talk, Joe at 315-1987.
Volunteer for family event
Its time for the 5th annual HUD Fathers Day event. Wyoming Food Bank of the Rockies is in search of volunteers to help with set up, distribution, and clean up for our mobile pantry assisting single fathers in Natrona County. Come join us in Washington Park on June 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information or to sign up as a volunteer, contact Ashley Nickolai at 265-4016 or anickolai@foodbankrockies.org.
Quilts of Valor every Wednesday
The Central Wyoming Chapter of Quilts of Valor meets from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays to sew at the Central Wyoming Senior Services Center, 1831 E. Fourth St. Quilts of Valor are made by volunteers. Donated fabrics, supplies or monetary donations are appreciated. The group makes all quilts for service men and women who have been touched by war. Our chapter awards quilts to veterans who reside in the Central Wyoming region. Dues are $5 per year and new members are always welcome. If you have any questions, please contact Yung Hui Torske at 258-5578, Sandy Elliott at 307-554--0331 or any chapter member.
Theater appreciates donation
Casper Theater Company would like to send a huge thank you to Karen and Jims Restaurant (soon opening as The Office Bar and Grill) for donating all of their tableware and flatware. As the theater proceeds through its season, it will have all of our own table settings for its dinner theater. The theater wants Karen and Jim to know how very grateful it is to be the recipient of their generous donation. Karen and Jim have a history of donating to the community and without generous people like them in our community, a huge contingent of nonprofit organizations would not be where they are today. So thank you Karen and Jim, you are so very much appreciated!
Donate blood, win a Harley
Blood donations tend to drop as the school year winds down and summer vacation season kicks into high gear, but every day patients need blood in hospitals across Wyoming and beyond. Donors who make time to give blood at United Blood Services (UBS) community donor centers in Cheyenne or Casper or a UBS blood drive in Wyoming during May and June are automatically entered to win prizes, including a Harley-Davidson motorcycle as a special thank you for helping ensure patient needs continue to be met.
In all, five names will be drawn during a Facebook live event on Wednesday, July 12. The grand prize is a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. Four finalists will receive a $100 gas gift card.
Donors must be age 18 or older by the drawing date to be eligible to win. Donors who are 16 or 17 will instead be entered to win an iPad mini 4 tablet. Twenty will be awarded to donors who give in May and another 20 for those who come in during June.
Official entry rules are available at unitedbloodservices.org/wy.
Whole blood donors are eligible to give blood every eight weeks and are encouraged to donate at least three times each year to help UBS meet the needs of patients.
Donors can save time and fill out their Fast Track Health History Questionnaire online at unitedbloodservices.org the day of their donation. To donate blood, volunteers must be at least 16 years old (16 and 17-year-old donors need a minor donor permit which is available online) and be in good health.
Find the hero in you. To make an appointment call 877-827-4376 or visit unitedbloodservices.org. Walk-ins are also welcome.
Scarves for Special Olympics
Special Olympics Wyoming invites those who knit and crochet to make scarves for the Wyoming Special Olympics athletes to wear at State Winter Games in February 2018. Please use black, gray and white in the scarves, which should measure approximately 6 by 60 inches in any pattern. The deadline to receive the scarves is January 2018. Please send scarves to Special Olympics Wyoming, attn. Scarf Project 2017, P.O. Box 624, Jackson, WY 83001. There is more information available at www.sowy.org/other-fundraisers.
Support team hosts reception
J.R.s Hunt For Life is having a reception at Metro Coffee from 6 to 8 p.m. June 5. Many of J.R.s professional outdoor photos will be on display for the month of June and for sale by ordering. There will be free bracelets, decals to purchase, free signup for J.R.s Hunt, a hunting giveaway and other things. This is all for suicide prevention and awareness.
Food of the month
Wyoming Food for Thought Project has announced its food of the month suggestions for the nearly 1,000 weekend food bags its volunteers prepare for food-insecure school students in Natrona County each week. Often, schools, churches and other groups designate certain collection days for a specific type of food as a donation.
The suggested food items may be taken to program headquarters at 900 St. John, but it's best to call ahead to make certain someone is there to receive it.
May, tuna; June, peanut butter; July, pork 'n beans; August, mac n cheese; September, Chef Boyardee products; October, cereal; November, soup; December, chili.
For more information, call Cassandra at 337-1703.
Disabled vets need volunteer drivers
The Disabled American Veterans need volunteer drivers to take veterans to their medical appointment at the VA hospital in Cheyenne. The volunteer driver will transport them in a VA vehicle. If you are interested, please call the DAV transportation office in Cheyenne at 307-778-7577 for further information.
WASHINGTON Republicans and Democrats found cause for optimism Friday even as the GOP candidate, facing last-minute assault charges, held onto Montanas sole House seat.
The final unofficial tally in Thursdays election showed wealthy Republican businessman Greg Gianforte with 50.2 percent of the vote, compared to Democratic musician Rob Quist with 44.1 percent.
Great win in Montana, President Donald Trump said Friday as he attended the G-7 summit in Italy.
Democrats, who hope to harness the energy of liberal voters outraged at Trump to take control of the House in next years midterms, said that forcing Republicans to spend millions to get a narrow win in conservative Montana amounted to a victory itself. Party strategists argued that Gianfortes margin in a state where Trump swamped Hillary Clinton by 20 points bodes well for dozens of other districts where the parties are more evenly matched.
From the beginning this race was going to be very difficult, particularly for an oddly timed special election still in Trumps honeymoon, said Meredith Kelly, communications director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Kelly said there are 114 other Republican-held districts with more favorable partisan makeups for Democrats than the Montana seat. Democrats would have to pick up 24 seats in next years elections to retake the House majority.
Republicans disputed that analysis, arguing they employed a successful strategy in defining the Democratic candidate early and staying focused through Election Day.
And instead of Trump, who was embraced by Gianforte and rarely mentioned by Quist in a state where the president remains popular, Republicans said the key national figure in the race was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Polls show the California Democrat is strongly disliked by GOP base voters and she was mentioned in much of the advertising seen by voters ahead of the election.
Greg Gianforte will be the next congressman from Montana, and Nancy Pelosi and liberals in Washington were rejected again, Rep. Steve Stivers of Ohio, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, said after the GOP win.
Republicans said the outcome lifts their hopes approaching two other special elections next month in Georgia and South Carolina. The Georgia election was another race where Democrats hoped to pull off a surprise victory, but their candidate fell short of 50 percent in the April primary, forcing a runoff in June.
For Democrats, there is frustration that despite the energy and activism from their base voters, they have yet to score a special election upset this cycle. Both candidates in the Montana contest were seen as flawed, but Quist in particular was a weak recruit for Democrats. The cowboy-hat-wearing musician making his first run for Congress had some financial problems in his past that Republicans jumped on.
That raises the question of whether Democrats are going to be able find convincing candidates to put up against GOP incumbents, who in some cases will be defending districts Trump won. The Democratic political bench is thin, due in part to the loss of more than 1,030 seats in state legislatures, governors mansions and Congress during Barack Obamas presidency.
Pelosi herself, in a recent interview with The Associated Press, insisted that regardless of the outcome of any individual special election, Democrats would be well-positioned for the midterms because the opposition party historically picks up seats during the presidents first term.
We like to win, dont get me wrong. But Im just saying, history is on our side, Pelosi said. Well keep up the enthusiasm, no question about that. We have one of the greatest organizers ever Donald Trump.
Republicans were also reluctant to put too much meaning into the Montana outcome, given the particular circumstances of that race.
These are always little stress tests, said Matt Gorman, communications director for the House GOP campaign committee.
Since around two-thirds of votes were cast before Election Day, the effect of the assault charge against Gianforte was unclear. The incident took place Wednesday, the day before the election, when witnesses said Gianforte slammed to the ground a reporter who was asking him questions about the Republican health care bill. Gianforte could be heard on an audio tape yelling at the reporter, Ben Jacobs of The Guardian.
Gianforte was later charged with misdemeanor assault, which will not prevent him from being seated in the House even if he is convicted.
After the altercation, Gianfortes campaign issued a statement blaming the reporter and the candidate stayed out of sight.
But after he was declared the winner, Gianforte apologized for the attack.
When you make a mistake, you have to own up to it. Thats the Montana way, he said. Last night, I made a mistake. I took an action I cant take back and I am not proud of what happened.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel called the apology a good first step toward redemption and I hope Gianforte continues to work toward righting his wrong.
A company that sells home security systems will pay the state $100,000 as part of a settlement of alleged wrongdoings by the business door-to-door salespeople.
The Wyoming Attorney Generals office came to the agreement with Vivint Inc. after a multi-year review of the companys door-to-door sales practices, the attorney generals office announced in a news release Friday.
After that investigation, the Attorney General alleged that Vivint misrepresented the discounted price of its equipment and installation, failed to provide timely refunds after consumers cancelled within the three-day cancellation period provided by the Consumer Protection Act, and engaged in unlawful door-to-door sales tactics, according to the offices website.
As part of the agreement, the company has reformed its sales practices to meet state laws that protect consumers from high-pressure door-to-door sales. The states Customer Protection Act allows a customer to cancel most purchases made from a door-to-door salesperson within three days and receive a full refund. The seller then must refund the customers money within 10 days.
The law also makes it illegal to use unfair and deceptive sale practices. It also mandates that salespeople must leave a potential customers home if asked and cannot knock on a door if the home posts a no solicitation sign.
The settlement did not include a finding that Vivint broke any laws.
The companys settlement follows previous settlements from 18 individual Vivint salespeople who allegedly violated those laws in 2015, according to the news release.
If you have concerns about the conduct of any door-to-door salesperson, please contact our Consumer Protection Unit, Wyoming Attorney General Peter Michael said in a news release. Wyoming law safeguards the right to enjoy the peace and privacy of your own home without unreasonable interruptions from aggressive door-to-door salespeople who ignore no solicitation signs, solicit during late evening hours, and refuse to leave when asked. This right must be respected.
New plaque
The local chapter of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution took an opportunity to clarify some Casper history recently. The group unveiled a new plaque that bears more accurate information about the Fort Caspar grounds than the original marker, which was dedicated eight decades ago. Together, the two will offer valuable information and a sense of how the understanding of the regions history has changed over time.
Hogadon improvements
The new lodge at Hogadon Ski Area on Casper Mountain looks to be a dramatic improvement over its predecessor. With a focus on attracting visitors year-round, the $5.3 million lodge project features a streamlined process for buying ski passes and renting equipment as well as a more spacious experience. Heres hoping that strategy pans out.
Lessons in democracy
Three young men Tu Zahkung, Kelvin Yii and Tze Howe are visiting Cheyenne from Asia to learn about government and U.S. democracy. They are meeting with state officials and others as part of the American Council of Young Political Leaders program, which aims to foster global understanding and communication among people under 40. Ideally, that would then bring better legislation and policy around the world, proponents say. Its great to see Wyoming be part of this effort.
Unemployment rate
Wyomings jobless rate slid to 4.3 percent for April, a big decrease from the previous months 4.5 percent and an even more significant drop from April 2016s 5.6 percent. Thats heartening for state residents and companies who have struggled over the past year and a half because of the downturn in oil, gas and coal.
Diversity officer
The University of Wyomings move to hire a chief diversity officer is a welcome one. Emily Monago will oversee the writing of a strategic plan and creating and leading a diversity council. Hopefully, she will be able to create an atmosphere thats conducive to learning for everyone on campus, including those in underrepresented groups.
New leaders
The community has a pair of new leaders in Dallas Laird and Paul Bertoglio, who were recently chosen to serve on Casper City Council and the Natrona County Commission, respectively. In a time of change in the city and county, both have the potential to make a significant difference for the future, along with their colleagues. They also seem excited about the prospect of shaping Casper and Natrona County for years to come. Both are proven leaders, and if they focus on listening to their constituents, were confident they can serve their community well.
The site of the future Caterpillar headquarters near downtown Tucson will soon be abuzz with activity.
A fence will be erected around the work site, west of Interstate 10 and south of West Cushing Street, to begin removal of an existing landfill.
Contractors expect to move between 10 and 15 trucks through the area per hour with another dozen personal vehicles on site.
Digging up the landfill and transporting it to Los Reales landfill on the citys southeast side is expected to take about four months and set to begin in early June.
A project team met with residents of Menlo Park to walk through the remediation process and plans to protect them from excessive dust and odor, said Gene Einfrank, president of the neighborhood association.
Theres been good communication, he said.
Two neighborhood representatives meet with the design team to give input on the future buildings appearance.
We have given them some ideas of what we dont want, Einfrank said. Glass and steel is not something we would desire.
He said they havent requested a specific architectural look.
We would like to see a lot of attention paid to how this building is going to look and fit into the neighborhood, Einfrank said. It should reflect a respect for Tucsons birthplace and the fact that its in a historic neighborhood.
Rio Nuevo Chairman Fletcher McCusker said all neighbor concerns are being taken into consideration as the contractor and architects work on the design, as well as Caterpillar employees.
The design team has been to Peoria to talk about the interior of the building, what kind of space they want, what functions, type of cafeteria, weight room, etc., McCusker said. With neighbors theyve discussed aesthetics, plant life, where the road should go.
Everyone is eager to get going.
He was particularly pleased that local construction company Sundt was awarded the contract. Smith Group JJR and its partner WSM Architects Inc. are designing the building.
This project has been given a lot of attention, said Ian McDowell, regional director of Sundt in Tucson. Were very lucky to be part of the team.
He said when Sundt put in a bid for the project, it was the first time his parents called to wish him luck.
Its one of our more significant projects, McDowell said.
Last year Caterpillar announced it would move its Surface, Mining & Technology Division to Tucson with more than 600 executive jobs over the next five years.
Employees are temporarily housed in a county-owned building at 97 E. Congress while the new headquarters is built.
The attorney for the states largest electric utility said the fact that Bob Burns may think the other members of the Arizona Corporation Commission are scoundrels does not give him the right to issue his own subpoena for the companys records.
On Thursday, Mary OGrady told Judge James Kiley of Maricopa County Superior Court that Burns has no legal basis for issuing his own demand for the records of Arizona Public Service and parent company Pinnacle West Capital Corp. She said only the full commission has the power to make such a demand, particularly in the middle of its consideration of an APS rate hike case.
What that means, she argued, is that Burns needs to make his case for the subpoenas to his four colleagues and get at least two of them creating a majority to demand the records. OGrady said only if and when APS and Pinnacle West were to refuse to comply, and only after after the commission issues an order to compel disclosure, would it be proper for Kiley to intercede.
But Bill Richards, who is representing Burns, told the judge thats not necessary. He contends the Arizona Constitution specifically gives each commissioner the right to demand documents of regulated utilities. And that, said Richards, trumps everything else.
Anyway, he suggested it would be improper to force Burns to actually ask the other commissioners to vote on his request.
Burns contends that APS may be the source of dark money spent to elect Republicans Tom Forese and Doug Little in 2014, a contention the company will neither confirm nor deny.
APS did admit to spending money to elect the three Republican candidates this year: Andy Tobin, Boyd Dunn and Burns himself. But Burns said the money spent on his behalf was only because APS executives were far more scared of the possibility of Democrats getting elected.
What all that means, said Richards, is that the other commissioners may actually be legally disqualified from voting on anything involving APS. And that, he told Kiley, underscores the need for Burns to be able to act on his own and for the judge to enforce the subpoenas.
OGrady, however, told Kiley he cannot usurp from the commission its ability to act first on the subpoenas.
Sometimes commissioners get outvoted, she said.
And maybe he thinks his colleagues are scoundrels and ought not do the job that the voters elected them to do, OGrady continued. But the commission and the commissioners, all of them, need to sort through those things and have an opportunity in the first instance to address them.
Richards said Burns has a legitimate right to seek the documents to get answers to questions he has been asking.
One is whether or not APS and its parent company have been setting their rate requests in a way to ensure that its customers will unknowingly be funding millions of dollars that the company uses to try and exert and create political influence over its designated regulator, he told Kiley. Richards said that includes questionable, perhaps even unlawful coordination between other commissioners and APS or their surrogates.
The fear that a regulated monopoly might nevertheless try and capture, through spending millions of dollars, a majority of the commissioners is one reason we respectfully submit that the framers of our constitution wisely granted ... each elected commissioner the individual power to conduct investigations, issue subpoenas, inspect corporate records, he said.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some May 27 papers in history. With a subscription to newspapers.com you can search the Arizona Daily Star and many other newspapers using keywords or dates, and download articles or pages.
All 14 high school seniors who were in danger of not graduating donned caps and gowns with their classmates this week after finally passing the state-required civics test.
The students all from the Tucson Unified School District, with the exception of one from Marana were given the opportunity to take the test at least two more times this past week to graduate.
Students were required to answer 60 of the exams 100 questions correctly to pass.
This was the first year students were required to pass a civics test to receive a high school diploma.
The Civics Education Initiative is working to implement a civics test requirement in every state before students can graduate from high school.
Arizona became the first state to pass legislation requiring the test when Gov. Doug Ducey signed it into law in January 2015.
Now, there are 22 states that have implemented the requirement.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
The questions are taken from the U.S. Citizenship Civics test from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service.
Test your knowledge with these 10 sample questions, then go online to civicseducationinitiative.org/take-the-test/ for the full 100.
1. How many amendments does the Constitution have?
a.) 12; b.) 27; c.) 35; d.) 42
2. We elect a U.S. senator for how many years?
a.) 4; b.) 8; c.) 6; d.)10
3. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?
a.) The Bill of Rights; b.) The Ten Commandments; c.) The Bill of Lading; d.) The List of Ten
4. Which is a right or freedom from the First Amendment?
a.) Right to vote; b.) Right to avoid taxes; c.) Right to free exercise of religion; d.) Right to bear arms
5. What severed ties with Great Britain?
a.) The president of the United States; b.) The Supreme Court; c.) The U.S. Constitution; d.) The Declaration of Independence
6. Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
a.) Franklin Roosevelt; b.) Harry Truman; c.) Calvin Coolidge; d.) Richard Nixon
7. When was the Constitution written?
a.) 1902; b.) 1787; c.) 1802; d.) 1998
8. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
a.) Abraham Lincoln; b.) Thomas Jefferson; c.) Bill Clinton; d.) George Washington
9. How many U.S. senators are there?
a.) 89; b.) 100; c.) 134; d.) 72
10. How many justices are on the Supreme Court?
a.) 9; b.) 13; c.) 2; d.) 5
Answers: 1.) b; 2.) c; 3.) a; 4.) c; 5.) d; 6.) a; 7.) b; 8.) b; 9.) b; 10.) a
The Golder Ranch and Mountain Vista fire districts northwest of Tucson are working to complete a consolidation before an August deadline, officials said.
Under the plan, the much larger Golder Ranch will absorb Mountain Vistas 19-square-mile district in northern Pima County, Marana and parts of Oro Valley, along with its employees, which means the smaller district will no longer exist.
Gov. Doug Ducey signed House Bill 2414 on April 10 restricting the use of a document thats necessary for fire districts to provide ambulance service. Anyone operating an ambulance is required to have a certificate of necessity, which is approved by the states Department of Health Services.
Golder Ranch has a certificate, but Mountain Vistas department has relied on private ambulance service since it was formed in 2008 after a merger of three smaller fire districts.
Under the previous law, a merger or consolidation of two districts expanded the boundaries of the certificate, but the new law no longer allows for that. In an effort to improve service to the community, Golder Ranch and Mountain Vista have fast-tracked to have the consolidation finalized before Aug. 9, which is when the new law takes effect.
Although the departments had been discussing the consolidation for about a year, the change in legislation has shortened the consolidation timeline, said Mountain Vista Fire Chief Cheryl Horvath.
Horvath and Golder Ranch Fire Chief Randy Karrer say the consolidation is the right step for the departments to take.
While American Medical Response, the ambulance service Mountain Vista uses, has provided excellent service and meets the standards set by the state, those arent necessarily the best practices to use on a local level, Horvath said.
In addition, as a private ambulance company, AMR isnt required to share its local performance results with the fire department.
While Mountain Vista is able to track ambulance response times through the 911 dispatch system, records kept by AMR are not made available to department officials.
Another factor in the consolidation is that as a large nationwide company, smaller districts likely dont mean as much to AMR as they do to local departments, Karrer said.
Its about the local communities needs, Karrer said. The consolidation will provide us with more local control. This makes sense because organizationally, we share very similar philosophies and we want to see the best service provided to our residents.
The consolidation also makes sense because the departments have worked closely for a number of years.
We currently run a couple of intergovernmental agreements with Golder Ranch, Horvath said. They take care of our IT services and our fleet, and we start off training together and we share the fire marshal services.
Because Mountain Vistas district is so spread out, it has been working with Northwest Fire District and Golder Ranch under whats called automatic aid, where the closest unit responds to the emergency regardless of district boundaries.
Were a small district, we dont have a lot of resources and were only two stations. Weve had these agreements with Golder, so it really seemed like the natural step to work toward a consolidation, Horvath said.
Mountain Vista has 54 employees to Golder Ranchs 192.
Founded in 1977, Golder Ranchs district is 222 square miles, has eight stations and serves 60,000 residences in Oro Valley, Catalina, SaddleBrooke and southern Pinal County.
Because Mountain Vistas district is 80 percent residential, with 38,000 residents, its unlikely that it will experience much commercial development in upcoming years, Horvath said.
While the department is in good shape financially for the next five to seven years, beyond that, the sustainability is in question, she said.
Its always better to make a move when youre in a good financial position, Horvath said.
No job losses are expected under the consolidation, especially since Mountain Vista runs a lean department, with only five administrative staff members who work 40 hours per week, Horvath said.
Its likely that people will move into different positions, but the consolidation is also expected to reduce the redundancy of administrative costs.
Aside from ordering more Golder Ranch uniforms and changing the name on Mountain Vistas fire stations and vehicles, there arent expected to be any significant costs associated with the consolidation.
Under the consolidation, Golder Ranch will also have more robust resources in special operations, since it will absorb Mountain Vistas hazardous materials and technical rescue employees, Karrer said.
While Mountain Vistas tax rate is $2.35 per $100 of secondary assessed property value and Golder Ranchs is $2.29, the consolidated rate will be $2.29, which means no change for current Golder Ranch residents and a slight decrease for Mountain Vista residences. For a home valued at $230,000, the consolidated fire district tax on the property would be roughly $526.70 a year.
Horvath and Karrer have been working closely with the labor unions on the consolidation process and department employees have also expressed support.
Because there are no personalities, politics or egos at play, the process has run smoothly, Karrer said.
Our (departments) cultures are very aligned, our labor groups are very aligned, said Were doing this together and everybodys very positive about it and excited, said Steve Lunde, North Tucson Firefighters Association president and captain at Golder Ranch.
Andrew Hatfield, the Mountain Vista union representative for the Northwest Firefighters Association, said his group is looking forward to the consolidation.
We fully support this and weve always been supportive of the departments working real closely together, Hatfield said. This really just solidifies the relationship that we have with our public safety partners.
Under the consolidation, Karrer will remain chief of Golder Ranch and Horvath, who has served as Mountain Vistas chief since last January, will be included in the senior level of command.
I need her leadership and her skills to make this work, because I cant do this without her, Karrer said. Shes brought a tremendous sense of not just ownership, but also leadership to Mountain Vista. She was able to really make that organization shine.
Because transparency and education are the primary focus of the process, the departments are holding public meetings in June and hearings in July. (See box for times and locations.)
Although the votes by the two districts governing boards take place July 17, and, if approved, the consolidation will be in place by the end of July, the district still has to get the state to approve the expanded certificate of necessity before the Aug. 9 deadline. However, Karrer isnt anticipating any problems.
This is no different than a boundary change under annexation, he said.
Horvath and Karrer believe the public will embrace the consolidation, saying that when first responders arrive at an emergency, people arent worried about whose logo is on the uniform.
The lobbyist at the center of a bribery indictment says hes not guilty of anything, with his attorney suggesting theres a hidden motive behind the allegations.
In a prepared statement, Jim Norton said he is innocent of the eight charges and is confident these allegations will be shown to be without merit.
Attorney Ivan Mathew went a step further, raising questions about the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator who apparently gave prosecutors information linking Norton, former utility regulator Gary Pierce, Pierces wife, Sherry, and George H. Johnson, the manager of Johnson Utilities.
The motivation behind these allegations will become transparent when the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator is revealed, Mathew said in his own prepared statement. A spokesman for both Norton and Mathew said they would provide no further information or explanations behind Nortons activities outlined in the indictment.
Separately, the attorney for Pierce and his wife said the indictment should be seen for what it is: simply the government using the facts it wants to tell what it thinks happened.
I have seen the indictment and have had access to some other information that the government possesses, said attorney Tom Henze. What I see is a picture that has two sides.
He said the couple will tell their side of the story but not now. The time or the place is not in the media, Henze said.
Henze said he, too, thinks that the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator, when that is unmasked, will help the public better understand whats behind the charges.
I think its obvious, he said.
Meanwhile, Democrat gubernatorial hopeful David Garcia is hoping to score points by demanding incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey disclose all ties he has had with Norton as well as Johnson who, aside from owning a water and sewer company, also is a developer.
Records show that Norton has given Ducey $9,000 for both his initial gubernatorial run in 2014 as well as helping finance his 2018 reelection campaign.
Hes known Jim since college, said Ducey press aide Daniel Scarpinato. But Scarpinato said there is no real ongoing relationship between the governor and the lobbyist.
In terms of currently, the governors really an outsider to the Capitol and to politics, he said. He doesnt really spend time with lobbyists, inside or outside of the Capitol.
And Scarpinato said Ducey typically doesnt take meetings with lobbyists, saying he leaves those to his staff. Scarpinato said he does not know if or when Ducey and Norton have chatted. But it doesnt appear theyve formally met in the office, he said.
Scarpinato said he is not aware of any contacts or meetings between the governor and Johnson.
An effort by Johnson to get higher rates, according to the indictment, led to the actions that resulted in bribery charges. That starts with a 2010 decision by the five-member ACC to deny a request by Johnson Utilities for a rate hike. Part of the request included Johnson passing on to customers the taxes he has to pay from the income he received from the company.
A year later, though, Pierce, along with two other commissioners, voted to increase the value of the company, a move that allowed it to collect more from customers. One commissioner abstained; the other said there was a lack of new evidence or information to overturn the earlier ruling.
Then in 2012 Pierce wrote a draft policy allowing the owners of companies like Johnson Utilities to recovery personal income taxes through rates. That change was approved in 2013.
The indictment says that beginning in 2011 Johnson, working with Norton, provided $31,500 to Pierce and his wife in exchange for favorable and unlawful official actions on matters before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
One piece of information missing from the indictment is the identity of that unindicted co-conspirator. According to the legal papers, it was that person, acting under the direction of Johnson and Norton, who had Sherry Pierce submit monthly invoices for approximately $3,500 for what the indictment calls simple tasks.
The moneys source was Johnson, funneled through the consulting firm of the unindicted co-conspirator to Sherry Pierce, the indictment says.
PHOENIX Arizona continues its most rapid growth on the edges of its largest communities.
New figures released last week from the U.S. Census Bureau show Queen Creek grew a whopping 8.2 percent in the year ending June 30, 2016. Those are the most recent figures available from the federal agency.
Jim Chang, the state demographer, told Capitol Media Services this isnt some sort of mistake.
That number is actually very real, he said, mirroring estimates he makes for the state Office of Economic Opportunity. Its actually growing pretty fast.
Queen Creek, extending from the far southeast side of Maricopa County into Pinal County, has the advantage of being adjacent to a lot of vacant land. That makes it a prime opportunity for growth.
A similar situation exists on the other side of the Phoenix area, with Buckeye showing a 4.8 percent year-over-year growth.
The availability of land to grow also boosted the population of Marana by 3.6 percent in just one year and Apache Junction by 3.3 percent. Tucson, meanwhile, showed small population growth year over year.
For some other communities logging what appears to be rapid growth, there may be less there than meets the eye.
Take Casa Grande, which according to the Census Bureau grew by 3.3 percent.
Chang said there has been construction in the Pinal County community. But he said that a prior population estimate, based on housing construction reports, left out a few hundred units.
So the actual year-over-year increase may be less than what the new report shows. Still, the community is growing, with the new population figures 12.2 percent more than the 2010 census.
At the other extreme, the Census Bureau figures that Florence shed 691 residents. That translates out to a 2.6 percent population decline.
Chang said, though, that year-over-year changes in Florence may simply be linked to changes in prison population.
Hayden lost 1.7 percent of its residents, followed by Willcox at 1.5 percent, Tombstone at 1 percent and Huachuca City with a 0.9 percent drop.
The figures for Cochise County communities reflect the anemic economic situation in all of Cochise County. A separate report by the state Office of Economic Opportunity shows no overall job growth in the past 12 months, with the 300 new private-sector jobs being offset by an identical loss in government positions.
Chang said the numbers reflect the continued fallout from decisions made years ago by the military to redeploy some people stationed at Fort Huachuca. He said this has had a continuing ripple effect on not only Sierra Vista, but also on nearby communities.
The annual report is based on estimates done by the federal agency starting with the official decennial base counts of housing units and population.
Census Bureau staffers then update that each year to first reflect boundary changes. They then factor in households to come up with the each years mid-decade figures.
All this, of course, is subject to correction when the figures from the 2020 census, involving an actual count, are released in 2021.
But the interim figures provide at least some indication of where the state is growing or not.
That in turn, has important implications.
For example, cities get revenue sharing from the state based on population. With the amount of revenue-sharing dollars determined each year based on fixed formulas, that means more for the rapidly growing communities and less for those that do not grow as fast as the state average.
And there also can be political fallout.
The state is divided into 30 legislative districts, each supposedly with essentially equal population.
With a fixed number of House and Senate seats, that means more representatives coming to the Capitol from the most-populated areas. And that, in turn, means slow-growing areas particularly in rural counties will find themselves with fewer people to make their case in Phoenix.
Congressional representation is a bit trickier.
There are 435 seats in the U.S. House, apportioned by population. Arizonas growth between 2000 and 2010 gained it a ninth seat.
If the states growth is sufficient, Arizona might have another member of Congress after 2020. That then involves redividing the state into 10 or possibly 11 equally populated congressional districts
By definition, the Census Bureau numbers are estimates. But the agency is not the only one keeping tabs, with Chang also doing similar counts for the Office of Economic Opportunity.
There are some differences.
Statewide, for example, the Census Bureau puts the June 30, 2016, population at 6,931,071. But Chang figures the actual state population on that date was about 95,000 less.
Thats a difference of only about 1.4 percent.
But the ability to do accurate estimates for both the feds and the state get trickier as you move from statewide numbers to county figures and, ultimately, to cities and smaller towns.
Mary Jacobs, the assistant city manager in Sierra Vista, has been named the new town manager for Oro Valley.
Her first day on the job will be Sept. 5, the town said Friday in a news release. Jacobs was one of four finalists for the job named by the town earlier this month. Her base annual salary will be $160,000.
Oro Valley has been working to find a new town manager since June 2016, following the resignation of Greg Caton. Town officials restarted the hunt in February after not finding a suitable replacement during an initial search.
During that time, Police Chief Daniel G. Sharp served as interim town manager. Sharp will return to his position as police chief when Jacobs begins in September.
Jacobs has served more than 17 years in her position with Sierra Vista, where she functions as the citys chief operating officer, supervising all nonpublic safety operational departments and services.
Ive lived and worked in Arizona local government long enough to know that Oro Valley is indeed a gem, Jacobs said. I am excited to be joining an organization committed to providing superior services and an exceptional quality of life for its residents, a commitment I passionately share. I look forward to leading the organization into the next phase of Oro Valleys bright future.
Oro Valley Mayor Satish I. Hiremath said Jacobs has a wealth of knowledge and contagious enthusiasm.
I am confident Oro Valley residents, business owners and stakeholders will be thrilled with our decision, he said in the towns news release.
Prior to her position in Sierra Vista, Jacobs served as assistant town manager of Barnstable, Massachusetts, for six years. She also worked in several professional and managerial positions for Maricopa County from 1989 to 1994.
Jacobs holds a bachelors degree in political science and a masters degree in public administration from the University of Arizona. She grew up in Tucson, where her parents and many family members still reside.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Image(WASHINGTON) -- President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner talked with the Russian ambassador in December about establishing a backchannel for communications, ABC News has learned from two sources.
The sources stress that the talk between Kushner and the Russian envoy about communications was focused on the U.S. response to the crisis in Syria and other policy-related matters.
The meeting, as ABC News has previously reported, took place at Trump Tower in New York and was also attended by Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who later became President Trump's short-lived national security adviser.
The Washington Post was the first to report that Kushner wanted to set up a secret backchannel to communicate with Russian officials during the transition period between the election and Trump's inauguration.
The Post report cited communications intercepted by U.S. intelligence officials as Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow.
Russia occasionally attempts to deliberately disclose misleading information when it believes it is being monitored, allowing for the possibility that the request from Kushner did not actually occur, the Post story noted.
Former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn was also present at the meeting between Kushner and Kislyak at which the ambassador "reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate," the Post reported.
This is not the first time reports of Kushner's relationships with Russians have surfaced: Kushner and Flynn met with Kislyak together in Trump Tower in December, and Kushner later met with Sergey Gorkov, who runs a bank that drew sanctions from the Obama administration after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
Kislyak has been at the center of contacts between Trump administration officials and Russia. The ambassador's conversations with Flynn prior to Trump's inauguration led to Flynn's firing in February after it was revealed that Flynn misled White House officials about the nature of their discussions.
Meetings between Kislyak and Attorney General Jeff Sessions resulted in Sessions' recusal from investigations into Russian interference in the presidential election. The ambassador was also present two weeks ago when President Trump revealed classified intelligence information during an Oval Office meeting.
Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Join the Dunn County Historical Society on Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m. for a presentation by Terry Fisk on UFOs in Wisconsin. Admission for this event is $5 for adult, $1 for a child. Snacks and refreshments will be available.
We have all heard the stories about possible UFO (Unidentified Flying Object) in Elmwood, Bloomer, and Frederic. Fisk will examine these instances and others from around Wisconsin. Are these flying saucers fact or fiction? You be the judge.
Terry Fisk is also a paranormal investigator for Unexplained Research LLC and noted authority on death and the afterlife. He is a shamanic Buddhist practitioner and member of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies who studied Philosophy and Religion at the University of Wisconsin. Terry co-hosted The Unexplained paranormal radio talk show and directed The Unexplained television series.
Terry has been featured in hundreds of radio interviews, TV appearances, and newspaper articles. Terry is also the co-author of the Road Guide to Haunted Locations book series.
The Rassbach Heritage Museum is located at 1820 Wakanda Street in Menomonies Wakanda Park. For information, visit www.dunnhistory.org/events or call 715-232-8685.
Michael and Mary seem to have a lot in common. Both are in late middle age, saddled with suffocating office jobs and indifferent spouses.
Seems like theyd make a great couple. Too bad theyve already been married to each other for 25 years.
Writer-director Azazel Jacobs observant comedy-drama The Lovers digs into the messiness of a long-time marriage that is teetering on the edge of oblivion. And yet Lovers is a film thats light on its feet, wry and even affectionate at times to its misbegotten, unfaithful lovers.
Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger) arent fighting theyre long past that. The marriage has withered to almost nothing, with strained small talk and insincere pleasantries passing for actual communication or affection.
Their energies are focused elsewhere. Michael is having a long-term affair with dancer Lucy (Melora Walters), while Mary has been seeing Irish writer Robert (Aidan Gillen) for a while. Even their infidelity has become routine, half-heartedly mumbling the same tired working late excuses to avoid coming home.
Both are secretly planning to leave the other after their college-age son (Tyler Ross) visits, but a funny thing happens on the way to divorce: Michael and Mary find themselves attracted to each other again. A sleepy morning kiss becomes meaningful eye contact, which becomes passionate lovemaking in every room in the house. But is this a true rekindling of their romance, or sort of a last hurrah before they call it quits?
Michael and Mary dont really know where its all going themselves, and its absorbing to watch as they try and figure it out. Jacobs screenplay is bracingly honest in showing how damage thats done in marriage cant simply be undone. But hes also generous and empathetic to both Michael and Mary (and, really, Lucy and Robert, too), all four of them muddling through, yearning for the closest thing to happiness they can get.
Letts, a celebrated playwright who has become a reliable sourpuss character actor in films like Indignation and Christine, is amusingly befuddled as Michael, who seems emotionally ill-equipped to juggle one love affair, let alone two. His sighs of bewildered-Dad exasperation at each new development made me laugh every time.
And Winger, one of our best and unfortunately least-seen movie actresses, makes Mary a complex bundle of wit, strength and vulnerability that you cant take your eyes off of.
Jacobs paints the screen in 50 shades of beige to suggest Michael and Marys humdrum suburban existence, the ennui offset, sometimes comically, by Mandy Hoffmans sweeping romantic score. The contrast suggests the lonely, aching hearts within this seemingly bland middle-aged everycouple.
Against the odds, we hope they find some kind of happy ending. Even though we havent a clue who that would be with.
At least seven Tucson-area dogs may have been sickened by a potentially deadly bacterial infection that can spread to humans.
On Thursday, the Arizona Department of Agriculture confirmed four cases of the contagious disease leptospirosis in Pima County dogs, all from the last month. But reports from veterinarians and owners of dog-related businesses in Tucson indicate there are more cases than the official report, with seven local dogs known to be potentially affected.
No human cases have been reported here, say officials with the Pima Animal Care Center and the Pima County Health Department.
The disease can be treated with antibiotics if its caught early enough. However, in more advanced cases, dogs go into kidney or liver failure and may require other types of care, costing thousands of dollars.
The Sit! Stay! Play! dog day care in midtown chose to temporarily close last week after one of its dogs tested positive for leptospirosis and another dog began showing symptoms, owner Janet Galante said. As of Friday she suspected four dogs from her facility got sick from the disease.
The business held an impromptu vaccination clinic for clients Wednesday and some of the exposed dogs are taking prophylactic antibiotics under the supervision of their veterinarian, Galante said.
In Maricopa County, 65 dogs have been sickened with the previously rare leptospirosis since February 2016, said Craig Levy, an epizoologist with the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
Because of what he terms a steady increase in the number of dogs diagnosed with leptospirosis throughout Arizona, state veterinarian Dr. Peter Mundschenk is recommending dog owners consider vaccinating their dogs.
Mundschenk also recommends that dog boarding and day care facilities consider requiring proof of a leptospirosis vaccination prior to accepting dogs.
No cases have been reported at the county-operated Pima Animal Care Center but the dogs there are being closely monitored for symptoms, said Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, director of veterinary services at the shelter. County officials say they could find no laboratory-confirmed occurrences of leptospirosis in the shelter dating back to 2000.
Wilcox is recommending all clinicians practicing in the Pima County area consider leptospirosis in their diagnoses during the evaluation of ill animals.
The incubation period of the disease can vary quite a bit from four to 21 days.
Leptospirosis at Sit! Stay! Play! is unprecedented and an emotional issue. In the 15 years since shes opened, Galante has never before halted operations due to any illnesses in her client dogs. Sit! Stay! Play! is scheduled to reopen for vaccinated dogs on Monday.
So far, the sick dogs from Galantes day care have survived, though one nearly lost her life and was hospitalized for a week. That dog, a 5-year-old Siberian Husky named Sobaka, was scheduled to go home from a local animal hospital Friday. Still, the long-term effects from the leptospirosis remain unknown, her owner John Peterson said. He anticipated a veterinarian bill of about $5,000 or more.
Vaccine
A vaccine against leptospirosis is not included in the regular recommended core vaccines that dogs get at their annual checkups. Dog owners must specifically ask for the vaccine if they want it.
The bacteria that causes leptospirosis is spread in the urine of infected animals, including rodents, wildlife, pets and livestock. The Arizona State Veterinarians Office says signs of leptisporosis in dogs include drinking and urinating more than usual, redness in the eyes, depression, a reluctance to eat and sometimes a fever.
The Southern Arizona Veterinary Medical Association sent out a letter last week for its members to be on the lookout for leptospirosis, confirmed Dr. Kay Dennis of the Monument East Veterinary Hospital.
Since the early symptoms of leptospirosis are vague, it could be easily missed particularly if veterinarians are not looking for it. The first dog to test positive from Sit! Stay! Play! had a delayed diagnosis of nearly a week despite visiting a veterinarian.
Its not really on our radar here, Dennis said of the disease. We have the wrong climate for it.
Sobakas diagnosis came two days after Peterson first noticed she wasnt feeling well and he took her to the vet.
Her vets were not thinking leptospirosis, Peterson said.
Peterson, an aerospace engineer, has been sharing Sobakas story on Facebook and with his work colleagues over the past week and says he knows of at least three dogs that have recently been vaccinated as a result.
Gina Ragonese panicked last weekend when her 10-year-old pug-poodle named Ella, who attends Sit! Stay! Play!, had an upset stomach. Suspecting leptospirosis, she immediately took Ella to the veterinarian, who conducted whats known as a SNAP screening test for leptospirosis and the result was negative. Ella has remained healthy and on Wednesday was vaccinated.
Dennis was one of three volunteer veterinarians who gave leptospirosis vaccines to dogs at Galantes business for five hours on Wednesday. Dog owners paid $25 per vaccine and their pets will need a booster for another $25 within the next four weeks. Prices of the vaccines vary by individual veterinary clinics and an exam is needed to make sure dogs are healthy enough to get vaccinated.
Longtime Sit! Stay! Play! client Janet Klipp had all four of her dogs vaccinated for leptospirosis, even though they dont all attend the day care. Im a better-safe-than-sorry person, she said as she held her Maltese mix Lexi for her exam with Dennis.
Klipp said she is grateful that Galante was so proactive and transparent.
Galante is now requiring a leptospirosis vaccine for all dogs that use her facility.
Rare in Arizona
Leptospirosis is historically rare in Southern Arizona because sunlight and dry weather kill the bacteria, said Dr. Polina Vishkautsan, an internal medicine specialist at the north-side Veterinary Specialty Center of Tucson. Its more typically found in areas with more water and humidity, such as the U.S. South and Northeast.
In dry areas, the disease is often spread through a water source, she said, citing as an example a 2015 outbreak in dogs in Fresno, California that was traced to a dog park.
Like other local experts, Vishkautsan recommends dog owners in Pima County have individual discussions with their vet about vaccinating, particularly if their dog goes hunting, frequents communal areas, or has contact with wildlife or cattle.
An older version of the canine leptospirosis vaccine was associated with adverse allergic reactions. But the newer vaccines are considered safer for dogs, she stressed.
Now we dont see more vaccine reactions from leptospirosis than from any other vaccine, Vishkautsan said. I pretty much think that the vast majority of dogs should be considered for vaccination.
Still, the risk for disease in Tucson remains very low, she said. News of the sick dogs should be a reason for awareness, not panic, she added.
Most of the dogs do recover. If diagnosed and treated with antibiotics and most require stabilization with IV fluids the vast majority of them survive.
In rare cases, dogs will need dialysis, which is not available locally but is available in California. Its expensive, but the survival rate is between 80 and 90 percent, Vishkautsan said.
Human effect
In humans, leptospirosis can cause a wide range of symptoms, including some which may be mistaken for other diseases, says the Centers for Disease Control. Some infected persons may have no symptoms at all.
Without treatment, leptospirosis in humans can lead to kidney damage, meningitis inflammation of the membrane around the brain and spinal cord liver failure, respiratory distress, and even death.
However, in Maricopa County, one study of 100 staff members at veterinary clinics found no humans had contracted the disease, suggesting humans are at low risk at least to the strain that was circulating there.
In the U.S., humans at highest risk for the disease include workers at farms, mines, sewers, slaughterhouses and dairies, and veterinarians. Pima County officials say they checked records back to 2000 and found no human cases here.
Its not usually people in Western countries getting it from their dog, Vishkautsan said. Because its such a serious disease in people we want to be vigilant, but we do not want to instill panic. We just want awareness. The bacteria does not stay in the environment very long.
Leptospirosis can affect a wide variety of animals, but Vishkautsan said shes not aware of the disease in other domestic pets. There is new information that cats can be carriers, but they usually do not get clinically ill, she said.
Arizona spike unexpected
Levy says the 65 dogs sickened in Maricopa County likely represent a fraction of the dogs that contracted leptospirosis. Thats because some dogs get infected but either have mild or no symptoms, yet can still be carrier shedders, shedding the bacteria in their urine.
Officials dont know exactly how the increase in Arizona occurred, but now that its here, the higher number of cases could continue.
We have travelers coming in and out of Arizona, with folks using dog day cares and boarding, Levy said. They intermingle, urinate and sniff that is what dogs do.
When he runs a residential construction class, Chippewa Falls High School teacher Brian Hefty likes to tie the project back into the community in some way.
So when Mike Cohoon at Landmark Christian Church asked if his students could help build a tiny house for the Hope Village project to house people without without a place to live, Hefty said it was easy to say yes.
It was a pleasant surprise, Hefty said. Its nice for them to do something that has meaning.
Hope Villages tiny house project is a product of Landmark Christian Church and the Chippewa Falls Mission Coalition. The group is working on building tiny houses to house the homeless in Chippewa County. Cohoon said Landmark Christian Church in Lake Hallie currently has two tiny houses with residents, and Trinity United Methodist Church in downtown Chippewa Falls was recently approved by the city for a conditional use permit to host their own tiny house.
Chi-His residential construction class is made up of seven students, and they have been building the house from the trailer up since the weather was warm enough to work on it.
The house is made of donated materials, including the trailer on which it is built. With the rain, Hefty said they havent had as much time as they would have liked, but they put up the walls, flooring and are currently working on the porch and windows.
There is no way we can realistically get it done, but whatever we can do is enough for them, Hefty said.
Part of the classs final will include work on the house.
Hefty said hes glad to have the students get some real-world experience part of which includes solving problems when they come up.
There have been some challenges, and things dont always go as planned, he said. But they learn to adapt, and its been good for them.
Senior Skyler Brauwens said the hardest part for him wasnt building itself, but working with a team to get it done.
Each student has their own ideas about how to do certain things, but Brauwens, who hopes to go into a construction-related field one day, said it was great to learn more about working on a team project.
And though the house wont be completely finished, Brauwens is proud of the work they have done.
Weve gotten more than I thought we were going to get done, he said. It feels good to know this is going toward something someone will use.
Cade Hawkins, also a senior, was impressed by how difficult the porch was to create. That gave him an opportunity to work on measuring skills he learned in class.
His favorite part, though, was putting up the walls, because thats when it became real for him.
It goes from being a trailer to actually being this building with walls, Hawkins said. And we built that.
Hefty said if the opportunity ever arose again, he would definitely consider it for another class. Especially with block scheduling next year, he thinks theyd be able to get even more done.
Cohoon said a technology education class at Bloomer High School is also working on a tiny house. They have completed the outside and are working to finish the interior before the school year lets up.
Students in a welding class at Chippewa Valley Technical College have also been working on a trailer for the tiny homes.
Eventually, Cohoon hopes to create a permanent village for the tiny houses all in one location, but until then churches in the area are volunteering to host the homes.
Help India!
By Abheet Singh Sethi
New Delhi, (IANS) : There has been a 42 per cent rise in terrorism-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II).
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The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has increased 72 per cent from 111 in the last three years of UPA-II to 191 in the BJPs first three years, according to data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). The SATP compiles data on fatalities from terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on May 24.
The number of civilian deaths in Jammu and Kashmir has also increased by 37 per cent, while terrorist deaths have risen 32 per cent.
The BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on May 16, 2014, and Narendra Modi was sworn in as Indias Prime Minister on May 26, 2014. This analysis takes into account the roughly 36-month period from June 1, 2014, to May 21, 2017, during which the BJP has been in power, and the last three years of the UPA-II government from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2014.
The BJP had vowed to adopt a zero tolerance policy on terrorism in its election manifesto released on April 7, 2014.
Most of the terrorism-related deaths have taken place over the past year, especially after July 8, 2016, when the security forces gunned down terrorist leader Burhan Wani. His death led to violent protests, several months of curfew and an overall deterioration in the states security situation.
The BJPs third year witnessed 293 terrorism-related deaths in the state, 53 per cent more than the 191 recorded during the second year of its term. This period saw a corresponding increase of 61 per cent in the number of security personnel killed 98 killed during the BJPs third year, including the 18 soldiers killed in a terrorist attack on an army garrison in the Kashmir town of Uri on September 18, 2016.On September 19, 2016, India responded to the Uri attack by mounting surgical strikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan.
The total number of deaths from terrorist violence in the northeast of the country has declined by 12 per cent to 765 during the first three years of the BJP, as compared with 874 during the UPA-IIs last three years. The data indicate an overall improvement in the security situation.
The region has, however, become more unsafe for Indias security forces, who recorded 62 per cent more casualties among their ranks 89 under the BJP as against 55 under UPA-II.
Civilian deaths have declined by 15 per cent to 287 under the BJPs rule while terrorist deaths in security operations have gone down by 19 per cent to 389.
Organised militancy in the region (northeast) is on the decline, Home Minister Rajnath Singh noted at a northeast review meeting on May 16, 2016. Singh said the central governments initiatives to boost infrastructure in the region and increase security cooperation with neighbouring countries have helped improve the security situation.
The total number of deaths due to Maoist terrorism across India declined by nine per cent to 1,016 under the BJP, from 1,112 in the UPA-IIs last three years.
Deaths of security personnel have decreased by 43 per cent under the BJP to 216, as compared with 380 under UPA-II. And civilian deaths have also declined 27 per cent to 328 while the deaths of Maoists in security operations have increased 34 per cent to 472.
However, overall deaths from Maoist violence have increased 60 per cent from 259 in 2014-15 to 414 in 2016-17. The April 24, 2017, ambush by Maoists that killed 26 Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) jawans in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district made 2017 the deadliest year for Indian security forces in the past seven years.
This increasing number of casualties, and attacks such as the one in Sukma, indicate a worsening security situation in Indias Maoism-affected areas, especially over the past 12 months.
Help India!
By Siddhant Mohan, TwoCircles.net
Last week, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced a hackathon for the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). However, it seems that parties like the Aam Aadmi Party, Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party, who had been most vocal against the use of EVMs, have decided to not participate in the challenge.
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The step by the aforementioned parties becomes even more surprising given that parties like CPM, RJD and NCP have agreed to participate in the challenge even though they have hardly ever raised doubts over the credibility of EVMs. However, the ECI rejected the RJDs application as it reached after the deadline of 5 PM on Friday.
Trinamool Congress asked the ECI for more time to let the party decide representatives for EVM hacking and demonstration, but the ECI turned down the request and asked TMC to send the names and application, if any, by the set time and date.
Reportedly, the Aam Aadmi Party requested the ECI to let them change the EVMs motherboard, possibly to prove their point, which ECI turned down citing the demand as irrational. The AAP has written a letter to the ECI and has asked that why the ECI is running away from no-holds-barred hackathon.
Talking to the media, AAP leader Gopal Rai said, Conditions put by ECI do not resolve the issue. The commission has denied our request to touch the machines.
In the letter to the ECI, AAPs national secretary Pankaj Gupta wrote, .only a visual inspection of the inner machinery of the EVM would be permitted and no use of tools would be allowed. Do you think a machine can be hacked by looking at it? It almost seems as if youre trying to hide the inadequacies of the EVMs by not letting anyone touch the EVM.
Moreover, the AICC also requested ECI to relax some rules in hackathon, but it was also not entertained by the ECI. The AICCs communication in-charge Randeep Surjewala wrote in a letter to Chief Election Commissioner that it (ECI) should allow access to components of EVMs other than Ballot Unit (BU) and Control Unit (CU). Currently, ECIs norms allow access to challengers only to Ballot Unit and Control Unit, but political parties including Congress and AAP have been demanding access to other components like motherboards and etc.
The reason cited by AAP and Congress, who came as biggest accusers of EVM tampering, for not taking part in EVM hacking challenge relates to the rules and regulation imposed by ECI, which may prevent challengers to carry out a detailed test and analysis of the EVMs.
Apart from CPM and NCP, three parties CPI, RLD and BJP have decided to watch the hackathon. The aforesaid EVM hackathon challenge will be held on June 3, and is likely to wind up within hours as number of participating parties is just two.
Notably, Congress and AAP have been the forerunners of the whole EVM debate. After the defeat in UP Polls and Delhi civic polls, Congress and AAP accused EVM tampering for their losses, respectively. Their reasons for not taking part in the hackathon also sounds obvious, as the whole EVM debate depends upon tampering, which could only be possible by manipulating the machinery with tools, for which ECI has not agreed.
Help India!
By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) and Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has published a report which claims that last year India saw displacement of 4.48 lakh people, just because of conflicts and violence. The report also says that there are 7.96 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in India.
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The report says, Indias significant economic growth and recent attempts to improve its social protection system have failed to resolve the persistent problem of inequality between social groups and between people living in urban and rural areas.
It further says, Rapid population growth and the inability of the poorest segments of the population to benefit from the countrys economic growth have exacerbated interethnic and interreligious tensions over access to land and resources.
The report specifically accounts Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) enacted in Jammu and Kashmir and north-eastern states of the country as one of the major causes of such displacements and accounts it as conferring an impunity for the excessive and disproportionate force that has led to human rights violations.
IDMC takes note of various regional reasons of displacement which doesnt often accounted for displacement, Displacement caused by violent secessionist movements has primarily been associated with the National Socialist Council of Nagaland and the Assam movement, as well as the ongoing war between militants and the state in Kashmir, which became a point of contention between Pakistan and India after the 1947 partition. Identity-based autonomy movements have also caused displacement in many parts of India, including the states of Telangana and Assam.
Inter-communal violence between Hindus and Muslims, for example in Gujarat, has resulted in smaller-scale displacement, as have caste disputes in states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the report says while discussing religious as well as caste- based clashes as the reason for displacement in the north as well as western state, like Gujarat, of the country.
The report cites development and subsequent displacement under conflict and explains, Most of Indias land conflicts arise from state takeovers, often on behalf of private investors. The adverse social and environmental impacts of development projects implemented through large-scale land acquisitions with minimal (if any) consultation and compensation have fuelled tensions, violence and conflict over land access and use.
Talking about the pattern of such displacement, the report marks, Over half of the people displaced by conflict are located in the northern states of Jammu and Kashmir and Assam. In Jammu and Kashmir, most have been displaced since the 1990s, while in Assam most have been displaced since 2014. Others fled to Delhi and have been displaced within or to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Nagaland, Telangana, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
It further adds, the return of people displaced by conflict is obstructed by ongoing insecurity, hostility between groups, and unresolved housing and land disputes. No data is available on the location and length of displacement for the remaining people displaced by conflict.
WASHINGTON President Trumps budget demonstrates the costs of accepting lies as a normal currency in politics, broken promises as a customary way of doing business, false claims of being populist as the equivalent of the real thing, and sloppiness as what we should expect from government.
Trumps fiscal plan was described as dead before arrival, but approaching it this way is a mistake. Many of the steep cuts in programs for low-income Americans mimic reductions passed before by Republicans in the House of Representatives. Theres more life in this document than the easy dismissals would suggest.
Particularly astounding from a president who promised better health care for Americans who cant afford it is the $1.85 trillion reduction over a decade from Medicaid and subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. But didnt Trump promise not to cut Medicaid? Never mind, Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNBCs John Harwood. That pledge, Mulvaney explained, had been overridden by his promise to repeal and replace Obamacare.
Right, and my commitment to losing weight was overridden by my insistence on eating anything I want. We demean ourselves if we cynically normalize the reality that every Trump promise is meaningless claptrap aimed at closing a deal and that the vows will be forgotten even before the ink on the agreement is dry. Many who did business with Trump learned the hard way not to trust anything he said. His supporters are being forced to earn the same dreary wisdom.
Trump lies so often that journalists tied themselves up in an extended discussion of when it was appropriate to use lie, and when it was better to deploy such euphemisms as misstatement or fabrication. We should stick to the short and simple word. Allowing Trump any slack only encourages more lying.
Although fibbing with numbers is an old trick, the etiquette of budget discussions leans toward references to rosy scenarios and the like. But how can you explain a budget that counts $2 trillion in claimed economic growth twice? Its used once to pay for massive tax cuts for the wealthy, and another time to paint Trumps budget as reaching balance in a decade.
This cant just be careless math.
Companies that make comparable errors in their prospectuses for public offerings can face legal action. No wonder former Obama administration economic adviser Seth Hanlon called this plan the Bernie Madoff Budget.
Another sign of fiscal fraud: the budgets blithe assumption that we will hit 3 percent annual GDP growth over an extended period. That would be nice. But no respectable economic forecaster thinks this is credible. Trump is asking us to bank our countrys fiscal future on his signature catchphrase, Believe me. We should know by now that we cant.
But there are also philosophical lies, and these may be even more offensive. Trump and Mulvaney are selling this budget as good for hardworking taxpayers by leading us to believe that it would really only hurt moochers and layabouts. Thus did Mulvaney claim that a $192 billion reduction in food stamp spending over a decade was directed at the folks who are on there who dont want to work.
Well, as the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reported, it turns out that in food stamp households with at least one working-age, nondisabled adult, more than 80 percent work in the year before or after receiving benefits, and more than half work while getting them. This is a program aimed primarily at easing the lives of the working poor.
And it is worth noting, as Ron Brownstein did in The Atlantic, that in the five Rust Belt states that swung from Barack Obama to Trump, whites without a four-year college degree the heart of the Trump constituency constitute most of those receiving assistance from food stamps and the parts of Social Security that Trump would also slash. If Trump really wants people to go to work, how does he think taking money away from job training and college assistance will ease their path to self-sufficiency?
Martin Wolf, the Financial Times columnist, captured Trumps ideology with precision when he called it pluto-populism. It involves policies that benefit plutocrats, justified by populist rhetoric.
Trumps seriousness about the details of governing can be measured by his decision to be abroad when his budget was released. This is a man who sees his job as little more than spectacle, his word as negotiable and all numbers as fungible. The scandal of his presidency extends far beyond the Russia story.
JPMorgan, Legal & General, the list goes on of businesses scarpering as the possibility of Britain walking away from the EU with no deal become imminent. Big businesses consider the Single Market to be the only prosperous trade deal Britain could ever achieve in its history. The option of remaining in the European Economic Area became attractive to many soft Brexiteers and Remainers after June 23rd, but even this body parallels the EU's structure. A soft Brexit would betray everything Vote Leave campaigned for. If one studies trade figures produced in between 2005-15, Britain's trade with the rest of the world has been growing whilst British trade with the EU is shrinking.
The truth is, Britain can thrive on World Trade Organisation rules.
'British exports to South Korea grew by 1300%'
During this period, our trade with non-EU nations expanded by 75%, yet trading levels with the EU stagnated to 25%. Switzerland has a preferential trade agreement with the EU, yet it conducts most of its trade with the UK. British exports to South Korea grew by 1300% and British exports to Turkey expanded by 80%.
The possibility of pursuing free trade agreements outside the EU helped drive Vote Leave's argument last year. Nations that do not have similar arrangements with the superbloc thrive. Australia experienced a spectacular growth rate of 45%. Many of the countries that Theresa May has attempted to charm since becoming Prime Minister, like Saudi Arabia, India and Singapore, which many commentators have modelled Britain's post-Brexit economy on, have grown by an average of 146% between them.
'PM should do her utmost to negotiate a trade deal'
It is admirable our Prime Minister wants to continue trading with the EU in a similar fashion to what we do now. She should do her utmost to negotiate a free trade deal with the superbloc. Vote Leave argued last year Britain's ability to prosper outside the EU would not be hampered by leaving.
So why do our politicians keep flirting with the option of remaining in the European Economic Area or transitional agreements? If one studies the WTO trading figures for 2005-15, it is obvious Britain will be just fine. WTO rules will provide Britain with sufficient flexibility for the Government to implement horizontal programmes to mitigate the impact of tariffs.
Mrs May should crack on with implementing that free trade deal, but she should be praised if she has the courage to walk away. It is apparent WTO rules will bring significant wealth to this country, as it does for the nations prospering without even trading with the EU.
The Manchester Attack was the handiwork of British-born Muslim, 22 year-old Salman Abedi, this man was radicalised by Al-Baghdadi and his followers. He became so committed to Islamic resurgence, and the return of the Caliphate, that he felt he should do as much damage as possible to England. In other words, kill as many English citizens as possible. Probably, the young man felt that by sacrificing his life the Islamic Caliphate will be born and he will go to heaven. The Islamic heaven includes 72 virgin wives and an unspecified number of boys.
Failure to identify the source of terror
The British government failed to identify this source of terror, and into the bargain put their own citizens' lives at risk. The British prime minister Theresa May was trying to be politically correct when in all her speeches she failed to mention "Islamic terror". She talked of terror in general terms, and that is not the way to fight terrorists. She should have taken a leaf out her ally Donald Trump's book, who even in his first address to Congress in February this year talked of "radical Islamic terror". The English approach has led to fighting an invisible enemy.
Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Churchill, the great wartime leader, clearly identified the enemy.
One can recollect that he denounced the Munich pact with Hitler calling him "evil". Theresa May and the British leadership must follow Churchill. How do you fight an enemy when you don't identify him? Theresa May and company have done a great disservice to the English by failing to identify the enemy as "politically incorrect".
Once you don't identify the enemy the law enforcement agencies are also bewildered. Thus, attacks by radical Muslims, most of them homegrown, have spread in Europe and hundreds are killed. Will this stop? I don't think so, and there are millions around the world who also echo similar thoughts.
Islamic terror is the result of a dream.
An impossible dream that an Islamic Caliphate will be restored. It fires the imagination of the believers and the result is mayhem, murder, and suicide bombers. One has in such circumstances to identify the source of the problem. This is also part of the Principles of War as enunciated by Clausewitz.
Religion-based terror movement
The world is facing a religion-based terror philosophy. England is no exception. But England's political leadership is at fault by making statements denouncing terror and not stating that the source is radical Islam.
This attitude won't lead to victory, but a stalemate where hundreds of innocent English will be killed as the radical Islamists continue the spread of Islam. Already there is talk of an Islamisation of Europe. The facts are always hard to digest.
Watching the President of the United States of America, and leader of the free-world, one Donald J Trump work the room in front of various heads of States in the new NATO building in Brussels yesterday, was a sharp lesson. Even after 100+ plus days in the job, has he not yet learned even the basics of simple diplomacy?
Speech
Firstly, who writes the speeches? They are infantile to the most embarrassing degree. It is as if he is addressing those who can only process words that use the fewest syllables. He reads as if his batteries need changing, with all the passion and gusto of a dead mouse.
Whereas, his illustrious predecessor seemed to speak from the heart and totally off the cuff.
After leading a tribute and then a minutes silence for the victims of Monday's Manchester attack -- which surely should have been Theresa May's job - he then rounded on those gathered as if asking why their homework was late this week: telling off those who have more experience in political matters is surely a job for off camera not on.
You cannot get away with treating those who, in some cases, are masters of their trade like errant schoolchildren. These people are leaders of their countries and have more diplomatic miles behind them than Trump has in front of him. Trump is the one giving the reprimand and ends up looking like a complete fool.
It was no wonder the Dutch PM, and others in his immediate hearing sniggered behind their hands.
Actions
According to a report by USA Today, possibly the most embarrassing moment occurred when he physically pushed the Montenegran -- not yet a NATO member -- President out of the way as if to get to the ice cream and jelly tray first, only to be disappointed by yet another photo opportunity.
Or perhaps it was simply a misheard moment. At the back of the queue 'photo shoot' can be misheard as 'puppet show?'
His appearance with the new French PM was a further embarrassment, as he seemed to almost arm wrestle instead of giving a cordial handshake. Once again, it is all about Trump's inability to handle the simplest task and his macho dominated desire to be seen to be 'always in charge.'
The action has now moved to a G7 Summit meeting in Sicily and one can only wait with bated breath as to what antics go down there.
As his first overseas jaunt draws to a close its success or failure can be summed up by the look on one man's face. The Pope looked none too pleased as his audience with the Trump Party drew to a close on Wednesday. The Pontiff, a man whose smile can light up a darkened room, showed his irritation. At what? No one will ever know, but if it was replicated at the end of every one of The Donald's meetings over the past seven days, the President surely must be feeling pleased with how well this whole Trump trip, has gone down.
Lloyds Bank becomes the first financial institution to commit to the UK as its chairman expressed confidence in Britain's ability to thrive, post-Brexit.
London's domination as the globe's financial hub will not be threatened by Brexit, Lord Norman Blackwell has said.
Lord Blackwell has mocked numerous doomsday predictions by different experts about Britain's prospects outside the European Union.
Lord Blackwell, who supported leaving the EU during last year's referendum, said London's financial foundations will ensure the Capital is resilient if the markets jitter once negotiations to leave the superbloc start.
'The Capital will survive'
He said the Capital will survive, regardless of the threats made by numerous companies to vacate the UK since June 23rd 2016.
Many organisations have panicked since Prime Minister Theresa May said she will quit her negotiations with the EU, should they fail to agree on a free trade agreement.
This would mean Britain and the superbloc would have to trade on World Trade Organisation rules, which the markets fear would be worse than the deal the UK gets from the EU's Single Market.
'London is like a Jenga tower'
The chairman of HSBC, Douglas Flint, warned London is like a Jenga tower.
He added that if one brick falls down, who knows how many more will follow.
However, Lord Blackwell mocked his HSBC counterpart's remarks, saying the Capital is considerably stronger than a Jenga tower due to its history of financial success.
He compared the Capital to the Tower of London due to its solid foundations.
The Chief Executive of Lloyds Bank, Antonio Horta Osorio, repeated his boss's claims.
But HSBC is not the only financial institution that fails to share Lloyds' confidence in Britain's post-Brexit prosperity.
Insurers Legal & General and Aviva have threatened to move some operations to the Republic of Ireland because of Britain's EU exit.
Dublin has offered British companies incentives to shift their activities to EIRE, particularly unfettered access to the EU's Single Market.
Many British firms feel access to the Single Market will be jeopardised by leaving the EU, regardless of the Prime Minister's ability to agree a free trade deal with the superbloc.
L&G assured staff they will not be made redundant as a consequence of this decision.
L&G said this was part of their strategy to ensure that they continue to provide a service to their clients, regardless of Brexit.
Reuters reported Aviva said on Friday it would transform its Irish life and general insurance branches into subsidiaries.
Asset manager M&G, which is owned by Prudential, revealed plans to establish a fund management company in Luxembourg, while Legg Mason said it also intends to relocate to Dublin.
Another asset manager, Standard Life, said it may well choose to scarper to the Irish capital as well in order to preserve its EU activities.
JPMorgan has already done so as it bought a building in Dublin to employ 1,000 staff.
'Ireland's financial strength'
Ireland's Jobs Minister, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, welcomed the news numerous British companies wish to cross the border to EIRE, saying it demonstrated Ireland's financial strength.
Martin Shanahan, the head of the IDA Ireland, which is responsible for attracting foreign investment on behalf of the Irish Government, said this was a signal of Ireland's ability to attract businesses without causing significant disruption to the market.
Many EU countries have attempted to disrupt Brexit by providing British businesses with the opportunity to re-establish themselves in their financial cities.
Spain's Basque region is a typical example of an area of Europe that has thrived from post-Brexit uncertainty.
Many Basques work in Britain in the science, technology and engineering sections.
Despite this, many of them have returned to Spain since Britain voted to leave the EU on June 23rd 2016.
Ivan Jimanez, the head of Bizkaia Talent, an organisation that attempts to prevent highly-skilled Basques from relocating abroad, said many of them are returning home from the UK.
Veteran campaigner of 30 years
Let's face it, Jeremy Corbyn, the present Labour leader has stuck to his core principles and his beliefs for all the time he was a back bencher. Love Corbyn or hate him that cannot be said for many politicians in the spotlight now trying to convince you to elect them in the general election.
Corbyn opposed anything he did not agree with like, the Iraq War and fox hunting, that his general election opponent Theresa May has said she would not mind being re-instated.
Corbyn has been regarded as an extreme left winger along with Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, saying at one time they would win power through the picket line, not through the ballot box.
Let's face it, Jeremy Corbyn has a past but then so do many politicians presently out to get your vote. Even Winston Churchill, the great war leader that he was, said and did many things that today some would take as fascistic.
I am not defending Jeremy Corbyn here or any other politician; I'm just saying all of us before we cast the first stone should get our own house in order before judging others.
Corbyn misunderstood
It is believed that during the 1990s MI5 and the Metropolitan Police held files on Corbyn as he was regarded as a threat to National Security.
Corbyn apparently shared a stage with a known IRA killer and it is well known that he supported a united Ireland; one of the long term goals of the IRA as it is now with Republicans.
Corbyn has responded to this by saying the security forces held files on many people not just those on the left but some on the right too.
A spokesman for Corbyn has said Corbyn supported a united Ireland to bring peace and Met Republican and Unionist groups. The same as meeting Palestinian groups Corbyn has been labeled anti - Semitic for his condemnation of how Israel treats the Palestinians but just because someone speaks out against people like Netanyahu that does not make them necessarily Adolf Hitler.
Corbyn's wilderness Years
The fact that Jeremy Corbyn was on the back benches speaking out against things he opposed or when he was attending CND rallies and addressing crowds this, may explain his present general election strategy. Yes, Corbyn appears with rent a crowd behind him holding up Labour banners, but unlike May, he has a core support of followers young, old and those with different political/religious beliefs.
It is those who are always attending where he appears.
These groups like Momentum and Christians on the Left are his stormtroopers if you like; those who believe what Monsieur Zen believes. However, Corbyn is hoping his 'what you see is what you get' rallies for this general election will cut through to the general public and win new supporters to propel him into 10 Downing Street.
Negotiation skills could come into their own for Corbyn
With Corbyn talking to ordinary people on the street or talking to all sides in a conflict during his wilderness years before being Labour leader, these skills may be an asset.
If he were elected our next Prime Minister we know things would be different to the present incumbent and in some ways, it would be a revolution in politics.
Hopefully, the revolution would be for all those Corbyn has promised to lift up and help those who Cameron and May have left behind.
So Corbyn's skill of talking to people whether it be President Assad, Putin or indeed Trump or Kim Jong-un may be what we need in a world where the first thing in a crisis is to use force.
Dubai just deployed the world's first operational Robotic Police Officer, Robocop. Named after the protagonist of the 1980s classic sci-fi movie, the android can read facial expressions and help the public with everything from reporting crimes and paying traffic fines to transmitting and receiving messages from police headquarters.
Robocop was launched at the 4th Gulf Information Security and Expo Conference (GISEC), a three-day event held in Dubai.
Developed by PAL Robotics, a Barcelona-based company, the five feet five inches tall droid is equipped with facial recognition software that can scan faces from a distance of up to 20 metres and identify hand gestures from about 1.5 metres away.
The tool can be used to detect and identify offenders and alert the local police.
The Robocop can also broadcast live feeds to the police command room.
Officials are also hoping to establish a robot-only police station by 2030
The cyborg's deployment is part of the U.A.Es ambitious plan to staff multi-lingual robotic cops that would make up a quarter of the citys total police force by 2030.
Dubai officials had made an announcement about the city polices plans to recruit a team of robotic crime-fighters in March, during a Best Police Practices Forum held in the capital city.
The robocop is officially on-duty since Wednesday May 24th
Currently patrolling malls and tourist hot spots around Dubai, the AI-powered supercop has a battery life of approximately eight hours.
Designed to detect emotions and facial expressions, the newly recruit robocop can identify whether someone is happy or sad and can interact with the person accordingly.
Other features include a built-in touchscreen tablet on its chest that can be used by the public to contact the city police and a microphone which feeds directly to Dubai Police call centres.
The in-built integrated system can be connected to social media and other applications as well.
Moreover, the 220 pounds droid speaks in six different languages, including Arabic and English. It can chat with people, respond to public queries, shake hands and even offer a military salute, according to a Mirror report.
"We're not going to fire our police officers by replacing them with this tool, Brigadier-General Khalid Nasser Al Razzouqi General Director of the Smart Services Department at Dubai Police told The National.
With the number of people in Dubai increasing, we want to relocate police officers so they work in the right areas and can concentrate on providing a safe city, he added.
Well, Memorial Day is right around the corner, the first official holiday of the summer. The summer will arrive, flourish and depart before we once again think of the military and our way of life. The following story is about two brothers from Hallie. The story brackets Memorial and Veterans days much like the summer does.
Charlie and Frank Pepin were born and raised on a farm in Hallie. Frank was the older brother by about 2 years. They were the sons of Bruno and Mollie Pepin. When the Selective Service Act was passed by Congress on May 18, 1917, Frank and Charlie were required to register. Charlie Registered on July 5 and claimed an exemption to the draft as he was needed on his parents farm.
Frank registered in Eau Claire County, but he claimed no exemption. He worked for the Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway as a brakeman. Frank lived in Spooner. Since both were not colored or Negros, the draft registration card lower left corner was not cut off so they both moved up the draft ladder.
The best guess is that both were drafted about the same time. It appears that both went to Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois, for basic training. They were assigned to the 343rd Infantry of the 86th Division.
Popularly known as the Black Hawk Division this division was composed of drafted men from Illinois and Wisconsin. First units embarked overseas on Sept. 8, 1918, and the last units arrived in France on Oct. 28. Upon arrival in France, the division was ordered to the LeMans area, where it was broken up for replacements at the front.
The division saw no combat in World War I. It was activated Aug. 25 1917, at Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois, went overseas in August 1918, returned to the United States in November 1918, and was deactivated in January 1919. That is all simple enough, but it was not simple for Charlie and Frank Pepin.
When Charlie and Frank arrived in France in August 1918, it appears they were separated. Charlie went to the front but died of pneumonia on Oct. 2, 1918. Charlies death was in all probability was part of the 1918 Spanish Flu influenza and pneumonia outbreak that killed more American soldiers and sailors during the war than did enemy weapons. From searching, it appears that Pvt. Charles Victor Pepin is buried in France.
Frank Pepin was wounded sometime during the last week of World War I. He is listed in the final causality report of the war on Nov. 25, 1918. He was a better soldier than Charlie, for he was promoted to corporal. The extent of his wounds is unknown.
Frank Joseph Pepin returned to Hallie after the war then moved to Chippewa Falls. He made a life for himself. He married a young woman named Nina. They had one daughter, Patricia, and had a servant named Helen Falling.
They lived for years at 32 East Spruce St., the current site of the Chippewa County Sheriffs Office and the jail. Frank lived to be 64, dying on Oct. 8, 1956. Frank is buried in the Veterans Cemetery at Spooner. To my best guess, his brother will never join him.
We celebrate our military members who have given their lives for our country. Yet what do we think of people like Charlie Pepin? Charlie never fought an enemy; he probably never fired a shot in anger. He was a 23-year-old man with his whole life ahead of him. He was struck down by a disease, not enemy action. Does that make his sacrifice any less than soldiers killed in combat?
If you have a brother or sister, I am sure that you think of them often. I think of mine almost daily. I wonder what Frank thought of his brother Charlie. I guess we will never know. Charlies death for our country should be remembered as any other combat death would be.
John McCrae, a Canadian doctor wrote the poem In Flanders Fields during May 1915. This line speaks to us: Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields. Please remember Charlie Pepin and others like him this weekend.
As noted by Reuters, any U.S. or other passengers hoping to fly out of London Heathrow or Gatwick airport with British Airways will experience endless delays on Saturday, due to a major IT system failure. The airline has canceled all Flights leaving prior to 18:00 local time.
According to a statement from British Airways, a major IT system failure has caused severe disruption to their worldwide flight operations. The airline apologized for the delays, stating that they are working to resolve the problem. Reportedly London Heathrow Airport is also working closely with with the airline in an attempt to resolve the issue.
BBCs business correspondent, Joe Lynam, has been told there is no evidence of a cyber attack relating to the system failure.
British Airways warns passengers to stay away from the airports
The airline has warned passengers with flights leaving before 18:00 local time on Saturday to stay away from both Heathrow and Gatwick airports as both are currently extremely congested with waiting passengers. Anyone booked on flights up until that time has the option of either rescheduling their flight or receiving a refund.
However, many passengers who have tried to reschedule their flights have come up short, as the airline cannot access their computer system to find which flights are available.
Stuck inline waiting for BA to give us a docking station! Hopefully they'll arrange another flight for us to America! #britishairways pic.twitter.com/FO06myFE64 Jessica Kelly (@Jessica234K) May 27, 2017
Numerous problems experienced due to British Airways IT system outage
The IT system outage is causing numerous problems, including the fact that certain areas of the British Airways website are currently unavailable, with many passengers finding they could not check in using the mobile app.
Gates are being blocked by planes that are unable to take off, resulting in incoming flights being unable to land or park at the airports.
Other cities experiencing delays with British Airways flights
The problems experienced at Heathrow and Gatwick are causing a ripple effect, with major delays in other European cities, including Malaga, Milan, Prague, Rome, and Stockholm.
Delays are also affecting other U.K. cities, leading to travelers taking to Twitter to complain.
Four hours stuck on the plane to finally announce that the flight was cancelled! Very disappointed! @British_Airways #britishairways pic.twitter.com/t3RCaSpjdw Alfonso Pezzella (@AlfPezzella) May 27, 2017
As noted by Reuters, one Twitter user was supposed to be flying to Las Vegas today but is currently stuck on the tarmac in Leeds airport, unable to catch his connecting flight.
Still on the tarmac at Leeds. #britishairways reckon Heathrow is so backed up we can't set off. No way we'll make our Vegas flight David Raine (@david_raine) May 27, 2017
According to one Twitter user, Martin Patience, British Airways staff in Heathrow have had to resort to the use of old school white boards, rather than computer equipment.
Many Twitter users quipped that the airline should try turning the IT system off and on again.
Have you tried turning it on and off again? #BritishAirways https://t.co/GLLXK9D8XY Cromwell (@Cromwell606) May 27, 2017
Another passenger mentioned that the luggage conveyors are also down at Heathrow.
#heathrow #britishairways checkin system down.Using backup system and staff having to remind themselves how to use. Luggage belts down too acute cio (@AcuteCIO) May 27, 2017
However, some Twitter users managed to keep a sense of humor when fast food started running low at the airport, by referring to the current threat levels in the U.K.
After a week out of the United States, Donald Trump is on his way back to the White House. As he was making his return home on Saturday, the president decided to send out multiple tweets, many of which didn't go over well with his critics.
Trump on Twitter
Over the last week, Donald Trump has spent time in several countries and meeting with many different world leaders as he represented the United States on an international platform for the first time as commander in chief. While Trump and his administration, along with select members of the right-wing media, have appeared pleased with what has gone down during the week, critics of the president and more mainstream news outlets haven't been so kind.
From the moment Trump touched down in Saudi Arabia for his first stop, those who oppose the president have pushed back at his behavior. As the week went on, Trump continued to make apparent blunders during stops in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as in Rome with Pope Francis, and later during his meeting with leaders from other G7 nations. With a controversial trip now behind him, the former host of "The Apprentice" decided to return to Twitter on May 27 to give his thoughts on the past week, while also tweeting about his plan to bring back money from the Middle East.
Bringing hundreds of billions of dollars back to the U.S.A. from the Middle East - which will mean JOBS, JOBS, JOBS! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017
Taking to Twitter on Saturday afternoon, Donald Trump concluded his foreign trip by sending out a few tweets.
"Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger," Trump tweeted out. In a follow-up Twitter message, Trump went on to add, "Bringing hundreds of billions of dollars back to the U.S.A. from the Middle East - which will mean JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!"
Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017
Twitter reacts
Not long after Donald Trump sent out his tweet about saving "billions" from the Middle East, social media critics hit back.
"It means you sold a shitload of weapons to Saudi Arabia," Tony Posnanski tweeted in reference to Trump's recent $110 billion weapons deal with the Saudi.
What will it take for GOP to put country over party? Does Putin have to literally be sitting in the Oval Office? #ImpeachTrumpNow Rob Reiner (@robreiner) May 27, 2017
@realDonaldTrump Are you tweeting this from the golf cart? Tony Posnanski (@tonyposnanski) May 27, 2017
"Seriously starting to question your legitimacy, Sir," author Joe Papp wrote on Twitter.
"Your approval ratings are terrible, you've yet to accomplish nothing but talk conspiracies during your presidencyWay to go down in history," another social media user added. "What will it take for GOP to put country over party? Does Putin have to literally be sitting in the Oval Office?" actor and director Rob Reiner went on to write.
So if Trump's election was obtained thru collusion, how far do we get to unwind this? And does Gorsuch get a vote if SCOTUS hears this? George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) May 27, 2017
@realDonaldTrump Your approval ratings are terrible, you've yet to accomplish nothing but talk conspiracies during your presidencyWay to go down in history. rafael (@rarmenta_) May 27, 2017
@MatthewDicks @realDonaldTrump Saudi Arabia is buying over $100 billion in arms from US. You know, the country that is the literal breeding ground for terrorism. Korey Kruse (@KoreyKruse) May 27, 2017
"LIES, LIES, LIES!" actor Tommy Campbell tweeted.
"So if Trump's election was obtained thru collusion, how far do we get to unwind this? And does Gorsuch get a vote if SCOTUS hears this?" actor George Takei added. With Donald Trump returning to Washington following his controversial foreign trip, it appears that critics on social media will continue to hold his feet to the fire for the foreseeable future.
Donald Trump has concluded his first foreign trip as commander in chief which resulted in daily criticism and mockery from those who oppose the current administration. After First Lady Melania Trump tweeted about returning to the United States, social media users were quick to fire back.
Melania on return home
It was just over a week ago when Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and members of the administration made their way out of the United States to embark on the president's first international trip. From the day the former host of "The Apprentice" touched down in Saudi Arabia, he received endless trolling.
Whether it was his controversial speech on terrorism to Saudi leaders or dancing during a welcoming celebration, Trump faced backlash that continued for the rest of his trip. Trump went on to stop in Israel where he met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as visiting the Vatican in Rome where he had his well-documented and controversial meeting with Pope Francis. Trump went on to engage in meetings with several world leaders, before announcing that he would delay his decision on the Paris climate accord, leaving the United States as the only G7 nation to do so. During the trip, Melania was also present, making headlines after being caught on two different occasions snubbing her husband's attempt at holding hands.
As seen on her Twitter account on May 27, Melania posted an exit tweet as the trip came to a close.
.@Potus & I are heading home after a very successful first International trip. Thank you to all of the host nations for your hospitality! pic.twitter.com/uWTgNgnA6O Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) May 27, 2017
Taking to her Twitter feed on Saturday, Melania Trump seemed happy with how the trip went.
"(Donald Trump) & I are heading home after a very successful first International trip," Melania tweeted, before adding, "Thank you to all of the host nations for your hospitality!" The First Couple continues to come under fire from their critics back in the states, especially as the scandal surrounding Russia and son-in-law Jared Kushner heats up.
Twitter reacts
Responding to Melania Trump and her tweet about the conclusion of the foreign trip, critics on social media didn't hold back their thoughts on the first lady and the billionaire real estate mogul. "'Very successful.' Must be nice living in a bubble of make believe," one Twitter user wrote.
@MAGATrumpster @vivavelo @djjkim @FLOTUS @POTUS No they do not. She is a nude model who married a bloated fat felon for $$$ They are DISGUSTING #STILLWITHHER (@yankefan) May 27, 2017
@FLOTUS @POTUS "Very successful." Must be nice living in a bubble of make believe. ChickaDee (@TheObamaphile) May 27, 2017
@FLOTUS @POTUS thank you for selling weapons to saudi arabia....which will be used against iran and shia muslims....resulting terrorism in world (@iamahmadshah) May 27, 2017
"You know very well that's a lie, we were the laughingstock of the world with y'all.
You must live in an alternative world," another tweet read. "Does it make you want to vomit holding that tiny, tiny hand? You ought to just flick it away!" another social media rhetorically asked.
@FLOTUS @POTUS @IvankaTrump you know very well that's a lie, we were the laughingstock of the world with y'all. You must live in an alternative world Provencio (@Azulimperial) May 27, 2017
@FLOTUS @POTUS Does it make you want to vomit holding that tiny, tiny hand? You ought to just flick it away! dave (@moorchild) May 27, 2017
"Are you guys out of your mind? Successful??? Guess you didn't have access to internet back there?" another tweet pointed out.
"'Successful'. 'Dumpster fire'. I guess they're the same thing," a social media user wrote in response to Melania Trump. As the negative reaction continued, it was made clear that the partisan divide in the country was not going to end anytime soon.
Prison officers were summoned to the B Facility, Pelican Bay State Prison, to break up a fistfight at 10:25 a.m. yesterday. The fight between two inmates in the prisons maximum security general population yard ensued and it raged on even after officers used batons and pepper spray. The two continued fighting as officers tried subduing them.
The officers were outnumbered and overwhelmed when other inmates, in large groups, ran toward the fight and began attacking the officers. In an effort to stop the attacks, officers from three gun towers used lethal force.
LA Times reported that a total of 19 rounds were fired from semi-automatic rifles. Three hard foam rounds were also used.
Seven inmates injured and eight officers injured
Terry Thornton is a spokeswoman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). She said a total of seven inmates were injured. Three, of five inmates who sustained gunshot wounds, were admitted to outside hospitals for treatment. One inmate needed a higher level of care and was airlifted to a different hospital.
Of the eight Officers Injured and taken to an outside hospital, two remain hospitalized. Though the officers injuries were not life-threatening, one will need shoulder surgery for an injury.
Thornton said its frightening when inmates swarm, overwhelm and attack officers.
Pelican Bay State Prison, outside of Crescent City, California, houses approximately 2,000 high-security inmates. At the time of the initial fighting incident, several hundred inmates were in the prisons exercise yard.
Inmate movement restricted
Inmate movement throughout the prison facility has been restricted. The riot is under investigation. With the ongoing investigation, 97 inmates have been placed in the Administrative Segregation Unit. Thornton said that 97 inmates being rehoused is an indication that they were involved at some level.
At this time, it is unknown if it was gang-related or the attack on corrections officers was planned, according to Thornton.
A Deadly Force Investigations Team was sent to the prison by the CDCR. The team will undertake the criminal and administrative investigation concerning the use of deadly force. Investigators from the CDCRs Office of Correctional Safety are also being sent to investigate. Notice was also given to the Office of the Inspector General.
To ensure CDCR employees involved are provided with coping resources, following the traumatic events, the Peer Support Program was also activated. Pelican Bay State Prison, near the Oregon border, has approximately 1,300 employees.
Prior, most recent California prison riot also 2017
The last prison riot under CDCR was in March 2017 at the California Correctional Center in Susanville, which is a minimum security facility located roughly 200 miles northeast of Sacramento. An inmate reportedly attacked an officer in the dining hall. Approximately 30 prisoners swarmed and began attacking the responding officers, punching, and kicking. They threw food trays or broke them over the officers heads.
Non-lethal projectiles, pepper spray, and physical force were used to quell the riot within minutes. The outcome was a corrections counselor who suffered a broken thumb and four officers were treated for bruises and minor cuts. One inmate sustained a broken orbital socket.
Syrian government soldiers along with allied militias have pushed back and regained a large portion of ISIS territory in Syria's southern desert. Syrian troops also pushed back U.S. backed rebels fighting Assad's regime in the process.
What is the impact of the success of Syrian forces?
Syrian Government forces are massively backed by Russia and Iran. The success of their attacks gives strength to Assad's regime, which the United States tries to topple through supporting anti-Assad fighters and Kurdish troops.
Assad's forces have taken back a vast territory in the southern desert in Syria from ISIS and gained a tactical advantage over the region.
Also, Syrian forces with the help of Russian air strikes have taken back the Damascus-Palmyra road, a vital highway from ISIS control.
Because of this victory, the Syrian forces have regained control over the mineral and oil resources located in the contested desert. This will provide better resources for Assad's regime and possible resources Russia and Iran can take advantage of.
How will this affect U.S. policy in Syria and the justification for spending on "freedom" rebels?
The major Syrian victory is a huge setback for U.S. plans in the region. After U.S. strikes on a Syrian convoy escorted by Iranian militia, the victory of pro-Assad forces emboldened the sense of vindication for their cause.
However, despite this setback, the United States continues on to finance rebel forces battling Assad's regime. Even though U.S. officials admitted that the Syrian victory poses a threat to American-backed forces in the area. The main concern now for the Pentagon is the upcoming offensive to take back ISIS-held territory in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.
What is the next plan of the United States on the impending attack on Raqqa?
The main focus of the United States as of the moment is preparing the Kurdish forces on their attack into ISIS territory. Though Turkey is voicing out stringent protests over the U.S. move of arming Kurdish troops, the training and preparations are gaining pace.
Raqqa is considered the capital of ISIS and its taking will be both a tactical and symbolic victory. As the start of the invasion into ISIS territory is set this June, the mounting tension in this part of the Middle East heightens.
The United States must also take into consideration the movements of Russia and Iran, which are becoming more involved in Syria in the past few months. The power struggle in the destroyed country is far from over and many more people will unfortunately perish.
The White House is not giving up its battle to keep citizens from six muslim-majority countries out of the U.S. through a travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. In a decision on Thursday, U.S. 4th Circuit court of Appeals' Chief Judge Roger Gregory refused to reinstate the travel ban.
In rejecting the travel ban, Gregory said Trumps executive order had vague words of national security but is full of religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination. The court upheld the decision of a lower court that blocked the suspension of issuance of new visas for 90 days for people who come from Iran, Somalia, Syria, Libya, Sudan, and Yemen until the government puts in place a stricter visa screening system, Associated Press reported.
Gregory wrote that while Congress has granted the president broad power to deny entry to aliens, it is not an absolute power. It must not go unchecked because the executive order can cause irreparable damage harm to individuals across the U.S.
Ban is motivated by religion
Comments made by Trump and his campaign before and after the election were cited as evidence that the policy was mainly motivated by religion, according to the Maryland Federal Judge Theodore Chuang, whose decision the Appeals Court upheld.
However, the White House insisted the executive order did not mention religion. The six nations were on the list not because Islam followers comprise the majority, but these countries present terrorism risks.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said the temporary travel ban is needed to guard the U.S. against terrorist attacks.
Michael Short, a White House spokesman, added that since these days are very dangerous times, the country needs every available tool at its disposal to prevent terrorists from entering the U.S. and causing violence and bloodshed.
Three voted for the ban
Ten members of the court ruled against reinstating the travel ban, three voted for the ban. Two other judges of the court, both Republicans, were recused from the case. The appeals court pointed out that refugee groups, individuals, and other who would challenge the travel restriction have high chances of winning.
Groups against the ban claim it breaches the U.S. Constitution which prohibits favoring one religion over another, Reuters reported.
The government had insisted that Trumps views during the campaign should not be taken into consideration by the court since it happened before the billionaire became president on January 20. However, the court did not buy that argument because Trumps campaign comments provide a window into what motivated his actions as president.
According to Fox News, ISIS is claiming responsibility for the attack on a busload of children on Friday. This comes just in time for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The terror groups reported that "its soldiers" stopped the bus as it was heading for a monastery in Cairo. As the bus stopped, the terrorists boarded the bus and ordered members off the bus. The terrorist then ordered the group to recite a Muslim prayer.
When they refused, the terrorists then opened fire and killed 32 people. The terrorists then saw cars coming and left after giving the rest of the people flyers, promoting their ideology.
The Egyptian authorities said the 13 who survived the attack are recovering in the hospital in Minya where the attack took place. The 13 are doing fine, but feel shaken by the attack.
The fourth attack on Christians since December
According to Fox, this attack marks the fourth on Christians since the close of last year. President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has told reporters that he ordered air strikes on the terror group. Sissi told the Coptic Pope that he will not rest easy until justice is served. Attacks, such as the Easter attack on the churches in North Cairo, called for a three-month "state of emergency."
On Friday, President Trump and the world condemned the attack.
Trump made the statement that America wished to crush evil organizations of terror. Trump also condemned terrorists who "engaged in a war against civilization" and decried the "merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt." President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to Trump: "I direct my appeal to President Trump: I trust you, your word and your ability to make fighting global terror your primary task."
Terror must never become 'the new normal'
In an article published by Fox, after the attack in Manchester, they stated: "It is not a normal thing for a suicide bomber to attend an Ariana Grande concert." So this must not be labeled the "new normal." There is nothing normal about a grown man killing a venue full of children.
Terror must be fought with every tool we have. We must keep fighting until we have exhausted all avenues.
These people will not stop until they are dead or have converted us all to their twisted ideology. If we give in, then we are no better than them. Let's not stoop to their level and resort to ignorance. We must trust our military and government to put an end to this senseless murdering. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section below.
As the 100th day of Donald Trump's presidency approaches, critics have been quick to point out the many low points of his time in office. While Trump has done his best to spin the news in his favor, others are not so kind, including actor George Takei who is never shy about voicing his opposition to the president.
Takei on Trump
Almost immediately after Donald Trump made his candidacy for president official, he received instant backlash from Hollywood. With most celebrities holding more liberal political views, Trump's remarks about illegal immigrants from Mexico being mostly "rapists" and "murderers" didn't go over so well.
In the nearly two years since the former host of "The Apprentice" became a politician, Hollywood has continued to push back, especially since Trump was elected over Hillary Clinton and given the power of the White House following his inauguration. Over the last 99 days that Trump has been the commander in chief, he's raised red flags over the growing scandal with Russia, in-fighting within his own administration, bickering with the Republican Party, as well as his questionable executive orders and policy proposals. After yet another week of controversy, the president is doing his best to put a shine of his 100th day in office coming later this week, but not before George Takei took a shot at him during a series of April 26 Twitter posts.
When I remark on how little Donald has accomplished in #Trump100days, it's with this in mind: The less he achieves, the better for us all. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
Taking to his Twitter account on Wednesday was former "Star Trek" actor George Takei who made sure to troll Donald Trump as his 100th day in the White House inches closer.
"When I remark on how little Donald has accomplished in #Trump100days, it's with this in mind: The less he achieves, the better for us all," Takei wrote on Twitter.
No one trolls Donald like WH Photographer @PeteSouza on Instagram. Simple, elegant photos of Obama during his first 100 days speak volumes. pic.twitter.com/zjoHtPFap3 George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
Does anyone think the money corporations put back in their pockets after Trump's tax cut will go to anyone besides wealthy executives? George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
"Mr.
Trump: If you are a friend to LGBTs as you claim, then speak out on the gay concentration camps and torture in Chechnya," George Takei tweeted out in reference to the horror being handed out to the LGBT community under the majority Sunni Islam nation of Chechnya. "He's 0-3 with federal judges on immigration orders," Takei added in another tweet, while linking to an article where Trump lashed out at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals for blocking his latest executive order on sanctuary cities.
Mr. Trump: If you are a friend to LGBTs as you claim, then speak out on the gay concentration camps and torture in Chechnya. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
Pay attention to what is happening. Urge action. https://t.co/DMRoT6XWdG George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
"Donald has a desk button that he pushes when he wants a coke delivered.
Hope he doesn't mix it up with the one that gets bombs delivered," George Takei went on to tweet. "No one trolls Donald like WH Photographer @PeteSouza on Instagram. Simple, elegant photos of Obama during his first 100 days speak volumes," he added while posting pictures recently released by Obama's former White House photographer.
He's 0-3 with federal judges on immigration orders. https://t.co/QV7ktt16er George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
Donald has a desk button that he pushes when he wants a coke delivered. Hope he doesn't mix it up with the one that gets bombs delivered. George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) April 26, 2017
Double down
Not stopping there, George Takei then hit back at the president over his tax proposal, writing, "Does anyone think the money corporations put back in their pockets after Trump's tax cut will go to anyone besides wealthy executives?" While Takei just celebrated his 80th birthday last week, the veteran actor and LGBT rights activists doesn't look to be slowing down his criticism of the billionaire real estate mogul anytime soon.
Josh Duggar is a sore thumb among the other children raised by Jim Bob and Michelle. His fall from grace happened when it was revealed that he molested several of his sisters and another family friend when he was a teenager. When the news broke, people were quick to crucify him. A few months later, Josh Duggar was caught in the middle of the Ashley Madison hack. It was revealed that he had two separate accounts with the cheating site, and had attempted to stray from his very loyal and devoted wife, Anna Duggar.
Josh Duggar appears to be living back at home
According to the Hollywood Gossip, Josh Duggar is reportedly living back at the Duggar compound with his wife and kids. Anna Duggar lived with the family while Josh was seeking help in Illinois at a treatment facility. It is believed now that they moved back home with the family to keep things under control and to assure Josh stays on the right path. Jana appears to be helping Anna with the kids as photos of her surfaced with Meredith, the little girl who was born to Josh and Anna during the 2015 scandals.
Details of the type of treatment Josh Duggar received has been slowly leaking to the press. He is reportedly still in counseling for sex addiction.
This isn't incredibly shocking because many believe his problems were far worse than ever reported. Anna Duggar did not have any sexual relations with Josh for nearly a year after the scandals broke. This is a bit odd for some to take in, especially because that means she got pregnant with her fifth child almost immediately.
The couple is due at some point this summer with another little Duggar boy.
Will Josh Duggar ever fade away?
Many fans have been voicing their concern over what they believe to be a witch hunt over what he did in the past. Josh Duggar is appearing disheveled and depressed in the recent photos that have made it to social media.
This constant battle of defending himself and running into critics daily has taken a toll on his mind and body. There is concern that Josh and Anna are living with the Duggar in the family home because he can't even help her with the children. While that seems a bit far-fetched because the men typically don't handle the children anyway, it does seem that there is more happening than meets the eye.
Because TLC will not allow Josh Duggar to appear on the family show, "Counting On," everything about him is speculation. He has been removed from the spotlight and will never return as long as the family continues business with the TLC network.
WASHINGTON To many observers on the left, the initial embrace of Seth Rich conspiracy theories by conservative media figures was merely a confirmation of the rights deformed soul. But for those of us who remember that Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity were once relatively mainstream Reaganites, their extended vacation in the fever swamps is even more disturbing. If once you knew better, the indictment is deeper.
The cruel exploitation of the memory of Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer who was murdered last summer, was horrifying and clarifying. The Hannity right, without evidence, accused Rich rather than the Russians of leaking damaging DNC emails. In doing so, it has proved its willingness to credit anything no matter how obviously deceptive or toxic to defend Donald Trump and harm his opponents. Even if it means becoming a megaphone for Russian influence.
The basic, human questions are simple. How could conservative media figures not have felt felt in their hearts and bones the God-awful ickiness of it? How did the genes of generosity and simple humanity get turned off? Is this insensibility the risk of prolonged exposure to our radioactive political culture? If so, all of us should stand back a moment and tend to the health of our revulsion.
But this failure of decency is also politically symbolic. Who is the politician who legitimized conspiracy thinking at the highest level? Who raised the possibility that Ted Cruzs father might have been involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy? Who hinted that Hillary Clinton might have been involved in the death of Vince Foster, or that unnamed liberals might have killed Justice Antonin Scalia? Who not only questioned President Obamas birth certificate, but raised the prospect of the murder of a Hawaiian state official in a cover-up? How amazing, Trump tweeted in 2013, the State Health Director who verified copies of Obamas birth certificate died in plane crash today. All others lived.
We have a president charged with maintaining public health who asserts that the vaccination schedule is a dangerous scam of greedy doctors. We have a president charged with representing all Americans who has falsely accused thousands of Muslims of celebrating in the streets following the 9/11 attacks.
In this mental environment, alleging a Rich-related conspiracy was predictable. This is a concrete example of the mainstreaming of destructive craziness.
Those conservatives who believe that the confirmation of Justice Gorsuch is sufficient justification for the Trump presidency are ignoring Trumps psychic and moral destruction of the conservative movement and the Republican Party. Hillary Clinton, with a small number of changed votes, would have defeated Republicans. But Trump is doing a kind of harm beyond anything Clinton could have done. He is changing the partys most basic moral and political orientations. He is shaping conservatism in his image, and ensuring an eventual defeat more complete, and an eventual exile more prolonged, than Democrats could have dreamed.
The conservative mind, in some very visible cases, has become diseased. The movement has been seized by a kind of discrediting madness, in which conspiracy delusions figure prominently. Institutions and individuals that once served an important ideological role, providing a balance to media bias, are discrediting themselves in crucial ways. With the blessings of a president, they have abandoned the normal constraints of reason and compassion. They have allowed political polarization to reach their hearts, and harden them. They have allowed polarization to dominate their minds, and empty them.
Conspiracy theories often involve a kind of dehumanization. Human tragedy is made secondary something to be exploited rather than mourned. The narrative of conspiracy takes precedence over the meaning of a life and the suffering of a family. A human being is made into an ideological prop and used on someone elses stage. As the Rich family has attested, the pain inflicted is quite real.
A conspiratorial approach to politics is fully consistent with other forms of dehumanization of migrants, refugees and the other more generally. Men and women are reduced to types and presented as threats. They also become props in an ideological drama. They are presented as representatives of a plot involving invasion and infiltration, rather than being viewed as individuals seeking opportunity or fleeing oppression and violence. This also involves callousness, cruelty and conspiracy thinking.
In Trumps political world, this project of dehumanization is far along. The future of conservatism now depends on its capacity for revulsion. And it is not at all clear whether this capacity still exists.
There has been a lot of speculation this week about what happened to Matt Brown of "Alaskan Bush People" recently. Rumors were running wild that during the filming of "Alaskan Bush People" he was injured by an explosion. It turns out that according to TMZ part of this story is true. Fans are happy to hear that Matt isn't near as bad as the rumors made it sound.
A fridge explosion hurts Matt Brown
It turns out that Matt Brown was at home when an explosion happened in his fridge. It injured Matt so bad that he had to go and get nine staples in his head.
This all went down on Tuesday night at Matt's house in Hoonah, Alaska. He had filled a mason jar with gunpowder and cannon fuse and stored it in his fridge. For some reason, Matt thought this would be okay. The Brown boys are known for trying crazy things. Nobody even knows why Matt had that in his fridge. I am sure he had some reason that he felt like was a great one.
So this ended up exploding inside Matt's fridge. When that happened, the door of his fridge flew off, and it hit Matt Brown in the head. Matt was sent to the hospital where he got staples in his head and was sent home. The rumors were going crazy that he could have had to be flown to another hospital and more, but according to TMZ, this isn't the case at all.
It sounds like Matt was able to go home pretty soon and won't have anything to deal with long term over this injury. He is very lucky because things could have been a lot worse for him.
Will you get to see this on the show?
Sadly, you won't get to see this happen on "Alaskan Bush People." The cameras were not rolling when it went down.
There is a chance that they followed Matt to the hospital and were able to catch up with him to find out what happened. It sounds like Matt was just hanging out at his house when this went down. "Alaskan Bush People" wasn't shooting at this time.
There will be another season of "ABP" coming soon. There has been a lot of talk about if the show would end up canceled or come back, but they are filming season seven at this time.
The fans can't wait to see another season of the Brown family and find out what they decide to do next.
Are you shocked to hear about Matt Brown's injury? Did you hope that the "Alaskan Bush People" cameras were rolling? Sound off in the comments section below on your thoughts, and don't miss new episodes of "Alaskan Bush People" on Discovery. The new season should be coming very soon and the fans can't wait to see how it all goes down.
In a statement on Twitter on Friday, Ariana Grande announced that she is planning to return to Manchester to hold a Benefit Concert in order to raise money for the victims of Mondays bombing that killed 22 and injured dozens more after her concert that night. Grande said other performers reached out to her about the benefit concert, but she is currently not revealing any names.
No date yet for Manchester benefit concert by Ariana Grande
As noted by ABC, while she is unable to officially confirm the date of the benefit concert, she thanked all her fans for their support and love, saying she had been thinking of them non-stop all week.
Ariana said in the Twitter post that the way her fans have handled the situation has been inspiring and has made her more proud than they could ever know.
Grande added that the love her fans are showing to each other was the exact opposite of what she termed the heinous intentions of the terrorists behind Mondays attack. She went on to write that her Dangerous Woman tour was intended to be a safe space for her fans, where they could get together to enjoy her music.
As reported by NBC News, despite the attack Ariana went on to say that that will not change. She said her audiences are always a beautiful, pure, happy and diverse crowd, with thousands of people, all so different, but there for the same reason.
She went on to urge her fans to react to the violence with kindness and love.
The full text of Grandes message is included here.
Upcoming Ariana Grande tour dates currently suspended until June 5
Grande had just finished performing her concert when the explosion happened on Monday, April 22 at the Manchester Arena.
Hours after the attack she tweeted her apologies, saying she was broken. On Tuesday, Ariana returned to the United States. Wednesday saw an announcement by her management that upcoming tour dates would be suspended until they can further assess the situation. More recent news states that her tour dates through June 5 have been postponed.
Ariana Grande to hold concert in Manchester for bombing victims https://t.co/654vBlg3HF pic.twitter.com/7ZTNBlZQKJ Reuters Top News (@Reuters) May 26, 2017
Other performers react to the tragedy at Manchester Arena
As reported on Blasting News, since the attack other performers have cancelled scheduled appearances out of respect for the victims of the Manchester attack, while others have said the show must go on and life must continue, despite the ongoing threat.
John Stamos and The Beach Boys were staying in a hotel close to the Manchester Bombing and made a special tribute to the victims and their families on Wednesday during their concert in Scarborough in the U.K.
Construction of European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), the worlds largest optical and infrared telescope, has finally started in Chile. On Friday, Michelle Bachelet, the President of Chile, inaugurated the construction work of this telescope, slated to be installed on a high mountain on Cerro Armazones in the middle of Atacama Desert.
Atacama region in Chile, with its dry atmosphere, offers ideal observing conditions to astronomers for observing the vast universe. By 2020, about 70 percent of the world's astronomical infrastructure is slated to be located in Atacama region.
Main features of E-ELT
E-ELT will be installed about 20 km from ESOs Very Large Telescope on Cerro Paranal. This project is being funded by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) organization whose members include European and southern hemisphere countries. In 2012, ESO had estimated the cost of this megastructure project to be around 1 billion euros. When completed, the telescope will be about five times bigger than many of its current counterparts. The most amazing feature of E-ELT is its 39-meter-wide main mirror that will allow the telescope to gather about 13 times more light than other optical telescopes in use today. The rotating dome of the telescope will have a diameter of about 85 meter and a total mass of approximately 5000 tonnes.
The telescope will have capabilities to correct for the atmospheric distortions from the start. The images captured by E-ELT will be about 16 times sharper than Hubbles images. It will add immensely to current astrophysical knowledge by locating even small planets that are difficult to spot using current telescopes. E-ELT will also be able to characterize atmospheres of smaller planets, thus helping scientists find possibilities of presence of life of these planets.
E-ELT will also help scientists understand the origin and nature of galaxies, dark sectors, and black holes in the universe.
Contract for construction of dome and telescope structure
Last year, ESO had awarded a contract to ACe Consortium for construction of the dome and telescope structure of E-ELT. ACE Consortium consists of Cimolai, Astaldi, and nominated sub-contractor EIE Group.
The contract was signed in Garching bei Munchen, Germany, and was the largest contract ever awarded by ESO. The contract included the design, construction, transport, on-site assembly and verification of telescope and dome structure.
In her inauguration speech, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet described E-ELT as a great example of the possibilities of science." E-ELT is expected to start operations in 2024.
AU experts undergo training in China under Huawei-sponsored program
Xinhua | Updated: 2017-05-27 13:15
ADDIS ABABA - Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday sent the 3rd batch of 10 technical experts of the African Union (AU) to China for a two-week training on information and communication technology (ICT) sector.
Huawei and AU signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in January 2015 for cooperation between the two sides in the area of ICT and capacity building for the African continent.
In the implementation of the MoU, under the initiative dubbed "Seeds for the Future", Huawei has been organizing training and experience sharing visits for African experts in China, aiming also at familiarizing the experts with latest technologies in the ICT area.
The participants in the 3rd batch took part a pre-departure orientation and guidance by Huawei, AU, and the Chinese Mission to AU on Friday at the AU Headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.
In his remarks on the occasion, Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the AU Commission, hailed China's rise and development as "very, very impressive, incredible," which he said is best example for Africa.
The Deputy Chairperson, who recently visited China and attended the Belt and Road Forum, noted that China has dynamic, flexible leadership that shows Africa the way through inclusive education as foundation and its application of science and technology.
Quartey commended Huawei for its support by providing the training for African ICT experts on the topics very relevant for Africa.
He also urged the participants to use the opportunity to acquire the knowledge to effectively implement the African projects.
"Education, training, science and technology is key for Africa especially as we focus on the theme of harnessing the demographic dividend of the youth through investments. The skills and know-how transfer is key," he stated.
Cheng Ning, Counselor of Cooperation and Exchange at the Chinese Mission to AU, said that the training helps Africa's effort to develop capacity in the ICT sector.
Stating that the training is organized in collaboration and partnership with Huawei, Chen said it is in line with China's commitment to supporting Africa to realize sustainable development under the 10 major cooperation plans between China and Africa.
Besides Huawei's program, he said that China has been providing capacity building support to Africa, through various short and long-term training programs in China.
Stating that China has also been providing support to various social activities in Africa, Chen said China will continue supporting capacity building efforts on the continent.
He called for the participants to explore China during their stay in the country for the training.
Speaking on the occasion, Deputy CEO of Huawei Ethiopia, Adam Ma, reiterated that the training is organized to support AU's effort in the ICT area.
With 18 years of experience within Africa's ICT industry coupled with extensive industry global network, Huawei is well positioned to partner with the African Union and share its experience, noted the Deputy CEO.
Two AU staff members, who have participated in the Huawei's program with previous batches, namely Yagouba Traore and Martha Yetayew shared their experiences during the training.
BEIJING -- China strongly denounced the communique released after a G7 summit, saying it interfered in the East China Sea and South China Sea issues in the guise of international law, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said early Sunday.
The 2017 G7 summit concluded with a joint communique Saturday, saying the G7 members are committed to "maintaining a rules-based order in the maritime domain based on the principles of international law", and expressing concerns about the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea.
China's position on the East China Sea and South China Sea issues is clear and consistent, said Lu.
China has been committed to properly handling disputes, cementing cooperation, and safeguarding peace and stability of the East China Sea and South China Sea through talks and consultations directly with related parties, he said.
Lu urged G7 and countries outside to understand the situation, stick to the pledge to take no position on relevant disputes, fully respect the efforts made by countries in the region to handle disputes, and stop making irresponsible remarks.
BEIJING -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng called on China's young entrepreneurs to contribute to the country's economic development and socialist cause Saturday.
In a meeting with representatives of China's young private entrepreneurs, Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, listened to their presentations and voiced his hope for them.
Yu urged young entrepreneurs to strengthen faith in national development and make further contributions to the progress of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
They were also asked to strengthen their awareness of the law and patriotism to boost the country's innovation-driven growth and repay society.
The senior leader also urged authorities at various levels to enhance contact with young entrepreneurs, sincerely listen to their concerns and help them resolve difficulties.
Profundo Nero, an international cinema event dedicated to the film noir genre, is set to launch on the picturesque island of Corsica and will run June 1-9, 2018.
Profundo Nero - International Noir Film Festival will debut on the picturesque Mediterranean island in June 2018, with Chinese mega-star Zhao Wei serving as one of the event's official ambassadors.
An emphatically cool new addition is coming soon to the global film festival circuit.
Profundo Nero, an international cinema event dedicated to the film noir genre, is set to launch on the picturesque island of Corsica and will run June 1-9, 2018.
For its ambitious debut, the fest will feature an international competition section, retrospectives and special tributes, restored movie screenings, a film music concert, a sidebar featuring noir movies adapted from manga, and more. And since the launch will coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the birth of Jean-Pierre Melville, the festival also will feature a special retrospective dedicated to the singular life and work of the revered film noir master.
"Whether it's Christopher Nolan and David Fincher in the U.S. or Takashi Miike and Park Chan Wook in Asia, film noir is a style and a category that continues to attract and inspire many of the greatest and most distinctive filmmakers around the world," says Profundo Nero co-founder and general delegate Yves Montmayeur, who is a director and specialist in Asian cinema (he is moderating the Asian filmmaker press conferences during Cannes this year).
"Film noir is also a genre that emerged with an interesting critical eye on society, and it continues to have this useful and important political dimension," says former film critic and current director Jean-Baptiste Thoret (We Blew It), the festival's other co-founder and general delegate.
The event mostly will be split between two main locations on the southern side of Corsica. In the coastal commune of Porto-Vecchio, two movie theaters will be dedicated exclusively to the festival's screenings, while the cliffside village of Bonifacio will host indoor and outdoor film viewings in settings such as a covered market and an ancient chapel. Further events will take place on the island's beaches and mountains.
Bringing some international star power and Asian industry clout to Corsica, Zhao Wei, one of Greater China's biggest screen stars, will serve as an official ambassador, or "Godfather" as the festival is calling him in a hat-tip to gangster cinema, during the inaugural year (an additional star ambassador will be announced at a later date).
"Film noir is the perfect genre to serve as a bridge between the film worlds of East and West, and Corsica, with its natural beauty and rich and cinematic history, is the perfect place for all of us to gather and celebrate," says Los Angeles- and Beijing-based producer Hattie Yu, who is serving as the event's international consultant and liaison to the Chinese industry.
Juliana Young Koo. Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn
Juliana Young Koo, who became one of the first staff members at the UN protocol and liaison department in New York, has died. She was 111.
She died peacefully on May 24 at her home in New York surrounded by her family.
Koo encountered many challenges during her long life, which she faced with courage and optimism, as reflected in her motto: "Every day is a good day."
An admired beauty in Shanghai, she married a young diplomat, Clarence Kuangson Young, and moved to Europe where she embarked on the demanding life of a diplomat's wife, a role she filled with energy and style.
Her husband was imprisoned and executed at the end of World War II, and she raised her three young daughters, Gene, Shirley and Frances.
She chose to come to the United States to give her children greater opportunities. Having to support the family, she got a job as a protocol and liaison officer at the United Nations, where she worked for 13 years.
She married Wellington Koo in 1959, and they lived in The Hague, Netherlands, where he was a judge on the International Court of Justice, and they moved to New York City when he retired.
Known by friends and family as a wife and mother first, she brought together all the members of her extended family of three daughters, seven grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren and two great, great grandchildren, as well as members of the Koo family.
In addition to focusing on raising her family, she also was the focal point for her many friends, holding mahjong games and putting on lavish dinners.
A fervent believer in the value of education, she provided an excellent education for her daughters and for the children of her extended family and household.
She is survived by daughters Genevieve Young and Shirley Young. Daughter Frances died. She was married to Oscar Tang.
A memorial service will be held on June 21 from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm at the Church of the Heavenly Rest, 2 East 90th Street in Manhattan. Funeral services and interment will be private, for the family and close friends.
BRASILIA - The Brazilian government rejected on Friday "in the strongest terms" a joint statement from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) criticizing repression in the country in recent days.
Brazil's Foreign Ministry blasted the statement, calling it "uninformed and biased."
"It is scary the lightness with which the UNHCR and the IACHR want to lead (people) to believe that Brazil does not have solid institutions, dedicated to the protection of human rights and cemented in the democratic rule of law," read its response.
On Friday, the two international bodies criticized excessive police force in the removal of drug users from the center of Sao Paulo and the repression of a union protest in Brasilia. They demanded that the Brazilian government seek dialogue and to protect people taking part in protests.
For Brasilia, this stance shows a lack of concern for the security of public officials and of protests subject to "systematic and deliberate" violence.
The government said that a violent protest on Wednesday saw the buildings of the ministries of culture, economy, planning and agriculture being attacked, with a number of fires being started, putting those inside in danger.
In response, President Michel Temer ordered army troops onto the streets to protect the ministries.
While the army and police fought back with tear gas and rubber bullets, live ammunition was also fired, with one street vendor in a critical condition after being shot in the face.
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Hungarian Minister Zoltan Balog Honored with World Congress of Families Award at the Budapest Family Summit
Contact: Larry Jacobs, World Congress of Families, 815-997-7106 mobile, ljacobs@profam.org
Photo: Larry D. Jacobs, left, presents World Congress of Families Award to Minister Zoltan Balog of Hungary at WCF XI Budapest Family Summit. ( BUDAPEST, May 27, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Zoltan Balog, Minister of Human Capacities in Hungary received the "Familia Et Veritas" Award at the Congress of Families XI, The Budapest Family Summit in recognition of his public service in defense, truth, and humanity.Photo: Larry D. Jacobs, left, presents World Congress of Families Award to Minister Zoltan Balog of Hungary at WCF XI Budapest Family Summit. ( high-resolution version ).
The World Congress of Families award reads, "For unselfish service and outstanding contributions in affirming the Natural Family as the fundamental and sustainable unit of society and defending the sanctity and dignity of all human life from conception to natural death, the World Congress of Families gratefully recognizes Zoltan Balog, Minister of Human Capacities, for his vital role in supporting the World Congress of Families XI Budapest Family Summit and for his efforts that promote a greater understanding of the Natural Family as the primary source of a prosperous, virtuous, and free society."
The theme of WCF XI Budapest Family Summit is "building family-friendly nations, making families great again." Other sessions at the Congress which lasts through Sunday, May 28 include: "Family and Education," "The Sanctity and Dignity of All Human Life from Conception to Natural Death," "The Importance of Motherhood and Fatherhood," "National Movements on Marriage" and "Family, Population and Demographics."
The World Congress of Families ( www.worldcongress.org ), is a project of the International Organization for the Family ( www.profam.org ) and unites and equips leaders worldwide to promote the natural family as the fundamental and only sustainable unit of society and to defend the sanctity and dignity of every human life from conception to natural death. As the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights observes, "The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the state."
Previous Congresses have been held in Prague (1997), Geneva (1999), Mexico City (2004), Warsaw (2007), Amsterdam (2009), Madrid (2012), Sydney (2013), Salt Lake City (2015) and Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia (2016).
WCF XI is taking place in the Congress Center in Budapest. More than 2,000 delegates have registered among them leaders, activists, scholars and legislators, from more than 65 countries.
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HA NOI The real estate market is busy with mergers and acquisitions (M&A), which are forecast to touch a record high this year, driven by the sectors steady recovery.
M&A have become popular among developers who have the financial capacity as it is a quick way to acquire clean land funds for property development and catch the opportunities on time in a fast-recovering market.
Fresh capital inflows from M&A have helped revive a number of long-delayed projects, reducing inventories and bad debts in the sector, said property expert ang Hung Vo.
One of the major M&A deals this year was developer Quoc Cuong Gia Lai selling the Phuoc Kien project in HCM Citys Nha Be District to Sunny Island Investment for an undisclosed amount. However, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai is known to have received US$50 million, which went into paying off a VN1.35 trillion ($59 million) debt to the Bank for Investment and Development of Viet Nam (BIDV).
Recently, Phat at Real Estate Development Corporation announced that it has found a partner to transfer a part of EverRich 3 project in HCM City, into which the developer had poured in VN1.58 trillion in 2016 and planned to spend another VN642 billion in 2017. Phat at is expected to sell off the entire project for VN2.5 to VN3 trillion, which will be used to repay debts.
In March, An Gia Real Estate Development and Investment Company saw investment from Japans Creed Group and acquired seven blocks of the Lacasa project in HCM Citys District No 7 from Van Phat Hung. Previously, An Gia had bought several stagnant projects; it expects more M&A deals in the future.
M&A has become a strategy for real estate companies such as Hung Thinh Real Estate, which has acquired some 20 long-delayed projects. It has resumed construction in 10 of these projects and sales have begun, such as Moonlight Park View, Tan Huong Tower, Sky Centre and Mekody Residences.
Other realty firms such as Novaland, Greenland, Thu uc House have also hopped onto the M&A bandwagon.
Le Hoang Chau, president of HCM City Real Estate Association, said M&A deals have become the buzz word in the property sector during the past two years as investors see significant opportunities in the recovering market. It is also the fastest way to acquire clean land with the legal work done, as available land dries up in major cities such as Ha Noi, HCM City and a Nang.
According to Chau, there is scope for more M&A deals in the southern city, which has around 500 delayed projects. Investors are cooperating with each other and seeking partners with funds to implement projects as credit policies for property development get tougher.
There is a growing interest in the Vietnamese property market among foreign investors from Hong Kong, Korea and Singapore, JLL Viet Nam said. Stephen Wyatt, general director of JLL Viet Nam, was quoted by cafef.vn as saying that several foreign investment funds are looking to expand their presence in Viet Nam through M&A deals.
Previously, Wyatt had forecast a record year for M&A deals in the real estate sector, driven by an improved economy.
Property services firm Savills Viet Nam also expects a rise in property M&A deals this year.
Nguyen Van ong, M&A consultancy director of Rong Viet Securities Company, has also said that M&A deals in the realty market would dominate this year, in an interview with au Tu Chung Khoan (Securities Investment). - VNS
HA NOI Yesterday, during an official visit to China by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) Tran Thanh Nam, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) expressed interest in opening official channels for Vietnamese pork to enter Chinas market, said Nguyen Xuan Duong, Deputy Head of the Department of Livestock Production (DLP) under the MARD.
The visit proved fruitful, and the Chinese ministry is leaning toward welcoming Vietnamese pork products into their domestic market with a set quota, Duong said.
However, he also made it clear that food hygiene and product quality must be top concerns for Vietnamese pork farmers and processors. China requested strict control over these criteria, with particular focus on keeping the pigs free from contaminations such as foot and mouth disease.
Regarding official export protocols, China asked Vietnamese authorities, especially the MARDs Department of Animal Health (DAH), to monitor and manage food hygiene so that the Chinese government can clear the previous 2012 ban on Vietnamese live pigs.
These procedures will be discussed later during upcoming negotiations before the two sides reach an official bilateral trade agreement.
Meanwhile, the MARD suggested Viet Nams government agencies work on meeting Chinas standards and produce certificates of assurance on hygiene and quality. Chinese animal health agencies promised to do their best to help their Vietnamese counterparts in finishing these official regulations as soon as possible, starting with a Chinese delegation visiting Viet Nam in the foreseeable future to gather information about Viet Nams current approach to disease control. China also recommended that Vietnamese producers freeze their exported pork products to maximise food safety.
Despite Chinas pork price dropping from VN65,000 (US$2.9) per kilogramme to VN45,000 ($2.01), the current Vietnamese domestic pork price is still a bit lower.
This means Vietnamese producers and farmers will surely benefit from exporting their pork products to China. Even though Chinese importers are currently bringing in pork from other countries besides Viet Nam, the Chinese demand a large supply of pork. On estimation, China can import roughly one million tonnes of pork from Viet Nam annually, according to Duong.
As such, a reconstruction of the livestock industry is much needed to create a strong link between farms, processors and exporters. Furthermore, there should be a stronger and more practical implementation of technological solutions to lower product costs for a stronger competitive edge within the ASEAN region. VNS
Shares bounced back on Friday thanks to the growth of a few leading large-cap stocks, but the market is exposed to risk of a downward correction following a prolonged rally. Photo thanhnien.vn
HA NOI Shares bounced back on Friday thanks to the growth of a few leading large-cap stocks, but the market is exposed to risk of a downward correction following a prolonged rally.
The benchmark VN-Index on the HCM Stock Exchange edged up 0.2 per cent to close at 743.41 points.
On the Ha Noi Stock Exchange, the HNX-Index was up 0.23 per cent to end at 93.69 points.
Bank stocks, which had fueled market momentum during the week, were mixed on Friday.
Four out of nine listed lenders advanced while another four declined. Big banks BIDV (BID) and Military Bank (MBB) were losers while Vietcombank (VCB), Asia Commercial Bank (ACB) and Eximbank (EIB) were gainers.
Shares of Hau Giang Pharmaceutical (DHG) rose by more than 6 per cent as shareholders of the pharmaceutical firm received bonus shares at a rate of 50 per cent.
Among the top 30 shares by market value and liquidity, growth of Vinamilk (VNM), real estate VinGroup (VIC), steelmaker Hoa Sen Group (HSG) and insurer Bao Viet Holdings (BVH) supported the market.
A portion of money inflows shifted to mineral mining shares on Friday, lifting prices of these companies.
Construction Investment Corporation 3-2 (C32), Binh Thuan Mineral Industry (KSA) and KSH Invesment & Development (KSH) hit the maximum daily rise of 7 per cent on the HCM Stock Exchange. Others such as Binh Duong Mineral & Construction (KSB) and Hoa An Co (DHA) increased 4.7 per cent and 6.4 per cent, respectively.
On the defensive side, energy and oil stocks slumped with big names including PV Gas (GAS), PetroVietnam Drilling and Wells Service (PVD), Kinh Bac City Development (KBC), Tan Tao Investment Industry (ITA) and at Xanh Real Estate Service & Construction (DXG).
Liquidity declined with a total of 250 million shares, worth over VN5 trillion (US$220.3 million), traded on the two markets, down 9 per cent in volume and 14.3 per cent in value compared to Thursdays figures.
Declining liquidity (the lowest for the week) along with neutral market breadth indicated rising investor caution, analysts at BIDV Securities Co wrote in a note.
On the market capitalisation figures, cash flows were channeled into small- and medium-cap shares, showing that the market is in the value accumulation stage to break the resistance threshold of 745 points, they said.
Foreign investors returned as net buyers on the two markets, picking up shares worth a combined net value of VN189 billion. VNS
Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Maritime Bank) has failed to get approval from shareholders to trade its shares on the stock exchanges. Photo plo.vn
HA NOI Vietnam Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Maritime Bank) has failed to get approval from shareholders to trade its shares on the stock exchanges.
At the banks annual shareholder meeting held on Friday, 97 per cent of shareholders disapproved of the proposal put forward by the banks board to list shares on one of the three major stock exchanges.
The three exchanges in question are the HCM Stock Exchange (HoSE), Ha Noi Stock Exchange (HNX) and Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM).
The bank submitted its application for share listing to the Vietnam Securities Depository (VSD) in January 2017 and had to provide additional documents to comply with VSD requirements. Maritime Bank reapplied to VSD in early April.
Shares of Maritime Bank have been traded on the Over-The-Counter (OTC) market since June 26, 2009 under code MSB. The banks share price has fallen from a starting level of VN19,200 (85 US cents) per share to around VN4,000 per share.
According to the banks management board, the price of bank shares has remained low due to the downward trend of the economy in general and the banking sector in particular.
In 2017, Maritime Bank targets to increase its total assets, mobilised capital and lending by 15 per cent, 17 per cent and 14 per cent to VN106.6 trillion (US$4.74 billion), VN72.3 trillion and VN51.75 trillion, respectively.
The bank also plans to raise its pre-tax profit slightly to VN165 billion from last years figure of VN164 billion. Maritime Bank plans to make dividend payouts at a rate of 5 per cent for 2017 and zero for 2016.
Tran Xuan Quang, vice chairman of the banks standing management board, said at the meeting that Maritime Bank would continue provisioning its bad debts in order to make sure the banks operations are secure.
Maritime Bank expects its pre-provision profit for 2017 will reach VN2.2 trillion and it projects to handle VN7 trillion worth of bad debts and maintain a bad debt ratio of below 3 per cent by the end of 2017. VNS
QUANG NAM A ban on sand mining in the area of Thu Bon Rivers Cua ai estuary and Hoi Ans beaches may help save Cua ai Beach from worsening erosion.
The proposal was made by a group of scientists at a two-day workshop, which wrapped up yesterday, in central coastal Quang Nam Provinces Hoi An Town, organised by the Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development, the provincial Peoples Committee, the European Union delegation to Viet Nam and the French Embassy.
Professor Nguyen Kim an, leader of the group said ongoing research on erosion in Hoi An, conducted since July 2016, cost more than VN12.4 billion ($546,000) funded by the Agency for Development of France and the provincial Peoples Committee with support from the EU, found that a shortage of muddy sand flowing from the upstream Thu Bon river was to blame for the erosion.
Constructing hydropower plants on the upstream Thu Bon River and over-exploiting sand were believed to have caused the shortage of muddy sand, he said.
The research also showed that there was a lot of muddy sand in the reservoirs of ak Mi 4 and Song Tranh 2 hydropower plants.
Additionally, more big waves were hitting the beach than nine years ago, he added.
Its a very worrying situation, he said.
Scientists also suggested the province build a 6.5-km underground dyke, about 200m from the beach, to reduce the impact of waves on the beach.
Nguyen Trung Viet, principal of the Central Region College of Technology, Economics and Water Resources said Viet Nam lacked a policy that required all sand exploiters to discuss how to effectively mine sand but still protect the environment.
In developed countries, they did this a long time ago, he said.
Responses
inh Van Thu, vice chairman of the Peoples Committee of Hoi An said the local administration had taken measures to save the beach from erosion but they had failed.
Thu said The research results and advice from scientists lay a foundation for us to issue a comprehensive solution to save the stunning beach from erosion.
Deputy Minister of Agricultural and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang said that beach erosion was happening in many central localities and Mekong Delta provinces due to over-exploitation of sand and climate change.
Finding a radical solution to fix it is necessary, he said.
In the short term, Thang asked the provincial administration to take measures to minimise erosions impact on the beach during the storm and flood season this year.
In the long term, Thang ordered the construction sector to consider replacing natural sand with man-made sand for construction.
If localities allowed sand over-exploitation, it would be hard to stop beach erosion, he said.
Speaking at the workshop, French Ambassador Bertrand Lortholary said Hoi An was a World Cultural Heritage, with a stunning beach suffering from erosion.
Thus, the French Government had decided to finance research to help Hoi An fix the problem. The French Government would continue its support to improve Viet Nams resilience to climate change, sustainable management of flood risks, coastal protection from erosion or recovery of coastal mangrove and more, he said.
Ambassador Head of EU delegation Bruno Angelet said the research was in response to EU commitments made in Paris during a climate summit to support Viet Nam in adapting to climate change.
Based on the research results, an investment programme will be designed including hard and soft adaptation measures that could include dyke building, mangrove rehabilitation and capacity building for environmental management, he said.
Quang Nam has 125-km of beach, with Cua ai Beach playing an important role in socio-economic development and tourism. However, the beach has suffered from erosion, on average, of a 2km -long section of the beach each year, with a depth of 10-15m. VNS
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of the USs Alphabet Inc, Googles parent company, in Ha Noi yesterday. VNA/VNS Photo Thong Nhat
HA NOI Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested tech giant Google open an official representative office in Viet Nam to handle any issues that may arise while receiving Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of the USs Alphabet Inc, Googles parent company, in Ha Noi yesterday.
He welcomed the Alphabet Executive Chairmans visit, saying Google is doing well in Viet Nam with many of its products popular among Vietnamese people and businesses.
The PM affirmed the policy of the Vietnamese Government to make it easy for foreign businesses to invest and do business successfully in the country.
"The two countries have huge potential for cooperation, and the upcoming official visit to the US by a high-ranking Vietnamese governmental delegation will seek to step up economic, trade and investment ties for mutual benefit," the Government leader said.
He asked Google to work closely with the Vietnamese side to tackle incorrect and damaging information posted online, that violated Vietnamese law.
He spoke highly of Googles assistance to the Viet Nam Farmers Association to help improve digital literacy for thousands of farmers.
Alphabets Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt affirmed his companys support for cooperation between Viet Nam and the US.
He said he was impressed with Vietnamese people using YouTube for educational purpose, noting that Viet Nam ranks second globally in using the website.
He said he just attended the inaugural ceremony of the Google-sponsored project to train Vietnamese farmers to access digital resources. The project will enable those living in remote and rural areas to use information to serve their daily life and work.
Eric Schmidt said his company would work closely with Viet Nam to remove information that infringes upon Vietnamese law and would study the possibility of opening a representative office in the country.VNS
HA NOI The National Assembly yesterday expressed concerns about the transition of regulations on planning and the handling of current regulations when discussed the draft Law on Planning.
Deputy Hoang Van Cuong from Ha Noi, said that while planning must be adjusted to fit changes in society, he was worried that these adjustment might be conducted due to the subjective will of leaders.
The Law provides six bases for revising the plan but the rules are very general. For example, according to the draft law, changes will be made when there is an adjustment of objectives of the socio-economic development strategy or abnormal changes of the socio-economic situation. However, in the current socio-economic environment, such regulations could be very easily used as an excuse for changes if those in charge of a specific sector want to adjust," he said.
He suggested the drafting body clarify the criteria for adjusting the plan more specifically so that adjustments dont depend on the subjective will of experts or managers.
Regarding construction planning, NA deputies said that it needs to be integrated into the national master planning law based on current regulations to avoid unnecessary disturbances.
As explained by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, for construction planning and planning of specific functional areas, the current provisions of the Law on Construction include four areas: regional planning, urban planning, specialised area planning and rural planning.
The report presented by Vu Hong Thanh, Chairman of the NA Economic Committee, said that after consulting with ministries to ensure the consistency of regulations, the Government would let the specialised management body (the Ministry of Construction) integrate regulations on urban planning and rural planning to national master planning.
NA Deputy Nguyen Sy Hoi, from Nghe An Province, said the draft law ignored maritime planning.
"Maritime planning has a very important role in national security, but the law hardly touched upon it and no specific body has been assigned for this matter," he said.
The task of building a strong maritime defence system should be done properly, and I think maritime planning must be a major part, he said, adding that there must be a body assigned with maritime space planning.
In terms of airspace planning, Thanh from the NA Economic Committee, said no country had developed its own plan for airspace.
Current planning deals only with the allocation and arrangement of space including on the ground, underground and in the air to a certain height in accordance with international treaties, he said.
But we have included a provision on this matter, the Guidance on the exploitation and management of airspace. The Government will have to guide this regulation in detail", Thanh said.
Meanwhile, deputy To Van Tam from Kon Tum Province, said the draft law needed to make sure it has tight principles so that interest groups dont influence planning.
Deputy Le Cong inh from Long An Province agreed with this, saying that the draft law must be specific on acts of corruption as stipulated in the Law on Corruption Prevention and Fighting.
A total of 32 current laws are to be amended once the Planning Law is passed, of which only four have to be overhauled while the rest need small changes. Therefore, the Ministry of Planning and Investment suggested promulgating an omnibus law to amend 178 articles and clauses of the 28 laws concurrently with the Planning Law.
The other laws could be revised one after another to ensure enforcement of the Planning Law in early 2019.
Tackling bad debts
On the same day, deputies discussed the draft resolution on handling bad debts of credit institutions; the draft amended Law on Credit Institutions.
Deputy ang Ngoc Nghia from Thua Thien Hue Province, suggested reviewing the exact total of bad debt and find the cause of the bad debts.
Deputy Can Van Luc, also a financial and banking expert, said that there should be a law on bad debt management.
Deputy Le Xuan Nghia, a member of the National Financial and Monetary Policy Advisory Council, said that the longer it took to sort out bad debts, the more damage is caused to the economy.
Nguyen Van Binh, former governor of the State Bank of Viet Nam, Chairman of the Party Central Committees Commission for Economic Affairs, said the banking system and the law made significant progress over the past 10 years, but legal foundations were not consistent, making handling bad debt difficult.
"I remember NA deputies saying bad debt is like a blood clot, that image is very accurate: if it is a mild case, we can cure it; but if its a serious one, we will die. We cant let bad debts accumulate but have to tackle them continuously, he said.
Regarding the resolution, Binh said as a banker, he was surprised that the draft resolution was only applicable to bad debts incurred by December 2016.
"Any bad debt is bad debt. Whenever they arise, yesterday, today or tomorrow, they are still bad debt. If we make such a regulation, does that mean were doing a favour to old bad debts? he asked.
Binh said there should not be regulations on any specific date for tackling bad debt.--VNS
HA NOI Handmade cosmetics containing natural ingredients are often bought online by women who love nature-based products, but consumers are often unaware of their potential long-term risks, the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reports.
Handmade cosmetics producers said that their products, varying from soaps, facial masks to facial cleanser, lotion, are extracted from natural ingredients such as essential coconut oil, green tea, gac fruit (scientifically known as Momordica cochinchinensis) or rice bran.
I took the ingredients from a friend of mine and mixed them by my own method. I bought bottles, containers and design products name tags by myself, a female seller from ong Nai Province told the newspaper.
However, Associate Professor Nguyen Huu uc from HCM City-based University of Medicine and Pharmacy advised customers not to use any kinds of cosmetics sold online or advertised among people.
The majority of these cosmetics do not have tags or are not verified by authorised agencies. The supposed ingredients and quality might be fabricated, he said.
Other experts also say that without verification, antibiotics and corticoids are added secretly to cosmetic ingredients. The substances help to smoothen skin in a very short time of three to seven days; but, for the long term, its side effects cause atrophia cutis, cracked skin, skin infection and pimples.
uc said that the use of corticoid over a long time might result in female pre-pubescent hair development disorders.
Associate Professor Le Ngoc Diep, head of skin treatment clinic of HCM Citys Hospital of University of Medicine and Pharmacy, said that cosmetic containers hygienic conditions are not ensured. The containers, put under different temperatures, can have mildew. Ingredients such as honey, rice bran oil, olive oil make a good environment for bacteria to grow.
Skin illness doctor Huynh Huy Hoang said that there is not any evidence of the safety of handmade cosmetics. It may cause skin allergy when mixed with an incorrect concentration. For example, AHA (alpha hydroxy acid) and BHA (beta hydroxy acid) functions to exfoliate skin but can peel skin.
He said that despite natural ingredients, handmade cosmetics might cause skin allergy, rash, red pimples and most seriously, skin peeling.
Hoang advised customers to take a look carefully at manufacturing addresses, ingredients, expiry dates and production licences. In addition, consumers should check whether the inside texture has mildew or discolouration.
If the skin turns red or itchy, stop using it and go to see dermatologist, uc said.
uc advised women to be careful when using skin care products, just as they would when taking medicine. Those infected with skin diseases such as bruises, burns, pimples or wrinkles should go to a dermatologist for proper treatment. VNS
HA NOI Nguyen Thi Oanh, an inhabitant of the Rainbow apartment building in the Linh am urban area in Hoang Liet Ward is struggling to find a primary school for her six-year-old child.
All public schools in the area have denied her application for the next school year as they are already full.
Because of the high demand, Oanh is forced to consider sending her child to a school in a neighboring ward.
Hoang Liet Ward, home to some 52,000 households with more than 8,000 children under the age of five, has only three public nursery schools and over 50 private ones.
With the number of apartment dwellers in the ward growing, children, especially in the Linh am urban area, are more disadvantaged than those from other areas. The number of uneducated children here is higher than other areas. The fact was pointed out at a recent educational conference by leaders of Ha Nois Department of Education and Training, and the peoples committees of Hoang Mai District and Hoang Liet Ward.
On the other side of the city, the Me Tri Ha urban area is home to hundreds of resettlement households, but there are only four or five private nursery schools demanding high tuition fees. A number of parents have to send their children back to the schools in their hometowns.
A lack of educational facilities is common at apartment complexes, including those in the Nam Trung Yen urban area in Cau Giay District.
Dozens of skyscrapers loom over the area, however, the two patches of land nearby, which are planned to be used for schools, are currently car parks.
Poor supervision
A resident of Nam An Khanh area in Hoai uc District, named Chu Kh in the Lao ong (Labourer) newspaper, said that at a parental meeting for An Khanh Secondary school, the teacher announced that from the upcoming school year, 2018-19, the school will only admit students living in traditional residential quarters, not those residing in new apartment complexes.
Nguyen Phan Minh, head of the Education Division of Hoai uc District told the newspaper that due to a lack of investment in infrastructure, the public school system was not meeting the demands of a surging population and a rising number of students in the district.
Minh said that the teachers explanation about admittance was not justified.
Children have a right to go to school in the area where their family has registered. However, if the population is growing and schools cannot meet the demand, the school leaders must ask local authorities and investors to share solutions, Minh said.
Architect ao Ngoc Nghiem, Vice Chairman of the Ha Noi Department of Planning and Urban Development blamed the problem on a lack of attention from city officials with regards to planning and population distribution.
Nghiem said that "educational socialisation is a very important issue, which needs a balance between socialisation and the rights of children to be universally educated".
We need to consider which ones should be socialised and which ones need State investment, he said.
He added that most school construction projects at apartment complexes had been slow as local authorities loosen the management of investors. "Under current mechanisms, the educational sector cannot interfere in the construction progress of a school. The responsibility belongs to local authorities," he said.
Le Ngoc Quang, deputy director of Ha Nois Department of Education and Training said that the municipal Peoples Council was conducting supervision at district-level to review the situation and prepare for a question and answer session in the upcoming meeting. VNS
WATERLOO -- A man was hospitalized after being shot Saturday afternoon in the 500 block of Sumner Street.
Waterloo police were called to the shooting at 2:12 p.m. Saturday. The victim, whose name was not released, was taken from the scene by ambulance for what police believed to be non life-threatening injuries.
CHARLES CITY -- Authorities say they found evidence of a meth lab this week at a residence in the 300 block of 13th Avenue in Charles City.
Narcotics-related and meth lab-related items were seized during a narcotics search warrant at the residence Wednesday evening, according to the Charles City Police Department's Facebook page.
Charles City Police Capt. Brandon Franke said two individuals he described as "persons of interest" were detained for questioning, but they are no longer detained and have not been charged.
Testing will be done on the items found at the residence as part of the investigation, according to Franke.
He said he didn't have a timeline as far as how long the investigation will take or when arrests will be made.
The Charles City Police Department was assisted at the scene by the Floyd County Sheriff's Office, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement and a Iowa State Patrol tactical team.
CHARLES CITY -- Two male juveniles from Cedar Rapids in an allegedly stolen vehicle face multiple charges following a high-speed chase in Floyd and Cerro Gordo counties Friday.
A deputy observed a speeding vehicle traveling west on the Avenue of the Saints at 3:19 a.m., according to a news release from the Floyd County Sheriff's Office.
The deputy attempted to stop the vehicle, which led to a pursuit with speeds exceeding 120 mph.
The Iowa State Patrol deployed stop sticks, and a short distance later the vehicle approached the Avenue of the Saints/Interstate 35 interchange in Cerro Gordo County.
The vehicle entered a ditch and the driver and passenger allegedly fled. They were taken into custody after a brief foot chase, deputies said.
A handgun and drug paraphernalia was found inside the vehicle, which authorities believe was stolen in Linn County.
The driver of the vehicle was charged in Floyd County with felony eluding and first-degree theft, as well as misdemeanor carrying weapons, possession of drug paraphernalia and multiple traffic violations.
The State Patrol has charged the driver and passenger with multiple offenses in Cerro Gordo County.
The juveniles, who were not identified, were transported to a juvenile detention center. No injuries were reported at the scene.
WATERLOO A federal magistrate has ruled that a Waterloo couple caused of luring two Chicago teens to Iowa to engage in prostitution will remain in jail until trial.
Lawrence Edward Campbell Jr., 36, and Sade Desire Campbell, 25, were indicted May 3 on charges of sex trafficking of children by force or coercion.
On Thursday, Magistrate C.J. Williams found the Campbells were a danger to the community. He ordered they remain detained until trial, which is currently set for August in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.
Waterloo police arrested the couple on state charges in August after two 16-year-old girls from Chicago told investigators they had been brought to Waterloo and directed to have sex with men for money and to steal from local stores to get items to sell.
WATERLOO A Waterloo woman has been arrested after her teenage son claimed she tried to stab him during an argument.
Tequila Love, 36, of 1326 W. Fourth St., was arrested Thursday for two counts of child endangerment after the 15-year-old son and his 3-year-old brother ran to a friends house and called 911. Love was later released from jail.
According to court records, police were called to Loves home around 11:50 p.m. Wednesday following an argument where she allegedly threw his PlayStation to the ground and then retrieved a knife and attempted to stab him while his brother was standing next to him.
The teen told police he blocked the weapon with a book bag, picked her up, punched her in the face and grabbed the knife, court records state.
Love told police she had been drinking and admitted to holding a knife and told police she was going to kill her son, records state. But she denied trying to stab him and told officers he had assaulted her.
WATERLOO Iowa Rep. Timi Brown-Powers, D-Waterloo, said in a statement her support for Abby Finkenauers congressional bid has been overstated.
Finkenauer, a state lawmaker from Dubuque, released a list of 23 endorsements May 12 that included Brown-Powers. Brown-Powers said Friday her inclusion on that list was not approved by herself or her campaign.
I will be holding off any endorsement until the field further manifests itself, Brown-Powers. We need a strong progressive voice, articulating a forward-thinking vision for the people of Iowa. Im confident that through a robust primary, a viable Democratic nominee will emerge in June and go on to defeat Rep. Rod Blum.
Brown-Powers said she is encouraged to see many people exploring a bid to take on incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Rod Blum in Iowas 1st District. She said separately shes happy to support any Democratic congressional candidates bid but distinguishes that from an endorsement.
She said withholding an endorsement at this time gives her constituents a chance to meet all the candidates without tipping the scales.
Finkenauer is the first candidate to officially announce her campaign to seek the Democratic nomination to run against a likely re-election bid from Blum. But others have expressed interest, and its early in the cycle. The primary will be held in June 2018 before the November election.
Brown-Powers spoke highly of Finkenauer during her first stop in Waterloo as a congressional candidate but didnt endorse her. Finkenauer announced her campaign in her hometown of Dubuque on May 3 and made a stop in Waterloo later that day.
I am really inspired that she took that step to come forward. She is putting herself out there; we dont see anybody else putting themselves out there right now, so I commend her fully on that, Brown-Powers said at the time.
Finkenauers campaign did not respond for a request for a comment.
CEDAR RAPIDS President Donald Trump will reschedule his visit to Iowa for some time in mid-June, according to Eric Branstad, the son of former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad who works in the Trump administration.
Eric Branstad said the date of Trumps event is still to be determined, but it will be roughly in mid-June before Terry Branstad leaves to serve as U.S. ambassador to China. He said the event will double as a send-off to the former governor.
The event likely will be in Cedar Rapids as originally scheduled, Eric Branstad said.
A Trump campaign rally originally was scheduled for Thursday in Cedar Rapids. But the Trump team announced Saturday morning that the event was postponed for unspecified reasons.
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The Japanese officials also said that they have given Rosselkhoznadzor the right to include Russian enterprises in the register of exporters of finished pork and beef products to Japan under its official guarantees, the watchdog said. Japanese experts inspected two Russian companies Miratorg Agribusiness Holdings Kaliningrad subsidiary Miratorg-West and Ratimir in Primorye and cleared them to export to the Japanese market.
[contentcards url=http://interfax.com/newsinf.asp?y=2010&m=2&d=4&pg=7&id=730981]
From 10 years ago and importing almost all beef, pork and chicken; to know totally self-sufficient in all three. Russia is becoming an exporter of all three above meats
It has been amazing to watch this happen and all it took was sanctions to stimulate the desires for a better life, a life free of servitude by the west
No wonder the west hates Russia
WtR
PS: You should keep a link for the home page of Interfax. You can find Russian news and more there and it is worth looking at daily
Russians are demure: Definition of demure reserved, modest and or serious
This includes attachment to all aspects of their life. Be it from gathering food to feed the family to defending their country. Not a perfect world, but a modest, moral and intelligent world about all things pertaining to them. Russians would rather be left alone and stagnate, as long as they have the basics of life; all is good
But do not push a Russian in the wrong way. They and I have learned to be this way. They will silently look at you and remember exactly what you have done and never forget what is happening. A Russian is sharp as a tack and does not understand what it means to bluff your way through life
This makes Russians easy to live with and they accept outsiders (who are sincere,) into their lives and will care for these outsiders. A typical Russian does not understand many things that the west has propagated from mole hills to huge mountains of disinformation
A Russian does not understand the issues that have become forefront in the west
Political correctness, lawsuits constantly, cops interfering in your business, following rules to the tee, working 80 hours a week, living for money and on and on
Russians understand somethings though
Children come first, long vacations must be, many holidays, real food GMO free, being lazy, money is a necessity not a desire, peace, quiet and on and on
Yes there are exceptions to every rule, but a Russian in general is just like many Americans in the older days
That is what I have said for 10 years now; Russia is like America 50 to 60 years ago! and like America it is changing slowly but relentlessly
I hate to see it happening, but I understand and am thankful to live in a society that places value still upon morals and children
If you live in a place like Britain and or America? It is doubtful that you can understand anymore what is being said by me. You have changed too much and I guess I have not changed enough to accept what the west has become
Russians cannot embrace accepting everything at face value, without doubting the implications of it all. They do not accept homosexuality as being wonderful (nor do they condemn), they do not accept all children being equal and deserve the same prizes to appease the masses, they do not accept money as a necessary evil or for that matter as something we need at all, they do not accept ownership of the earth by a few humans, they do not accept that your rights means you can impose and or hurt others in your quest for your goals and power, they do not accept that we do not have enough food to feed the world, so on and so on
In Russia the acceptance that we are all different is universal, but the acceptance that you have a right to impose it upon others is the red line. Be an example; a homosexuality is fine, but be homosexual behind your doors. Same with be heterosexual, but keep it behind your doors. Society norms are important in Russia, just as culture and history is very important. Russians have a whole bunch more years behind them than Americans do and thus they have a whole bunch more history to mull through and see what works or not
As always individuals stand out in contrast to the norms, but the term stands out is the factor. Russians quietly step around such factors and get on with their lives
Just do not point fingers and tell the Russians they have to embrace the rights of a thong wearing homosexual man dancing in a parade! That will not go over well and that is as it should be. Wear the damn thong in your own home and dance there. Kids do not need to accept things as normal when it is really not
Yes that is right and that is what they think is normal and as I said, I doubt seriously you can understand anymore what I am saying. and or want to understand and or care to understand. That is your business, just keep your business away from my/our business. We do not want to see and accept it
I had hard adaptation:
As in all societies, there is a fine line between right and wrong. That is acceptable, but it become rough when you travel. Knowing the riles of life in another country is a good idea and being a good boy or girl in that country should be priority. Just because you like something in your country, does not mean the country you visit will see that as acceptable
It is easy to temporarily adapt to a country as you visit. But to live there takes much more effort. I spent years adapting to a new way of life. I was helped by the fact that my past life as I grew up was much like the life I saw before me in Russia
So I was lucky in many ways. Plus I have a wonderful Russian woman who helped to pave the way. Between here and I we made it. Was not easy at times. Russia has been hard for this expat to try to adapt to all the rules and regulations. For while Russians may ignore most rules, an expat does not have such leeway to ignore such rules that govern your stay in Russia
Visa issues changed so many times in 10 years, that I gave up trying to write about it on WtR. I simply say, Do your homework before you try to come to Russia and you will do fine!
At one time I was leaving Russia every three months for up to a month at a time. Now I get three year visas and all has settled down. Knock on wood and stick a thousand needles in your eye
I have become Russian:
That is too be expected. I have been here 10 years and more. I understand that American Cowboy type behavior is not the way of life and intimidation does not work in Russia, like it does in America
I expect no help from any agency in Russia and I will never accept help from anything to do with the American embassy and consulate. I will utilize our embassy as a business and nothing more. A business to deal with America and her idiosyncrasies
If I was tossed in jail in Russia, I would never accept and or try to call my government. They have done nothing for me and have hurt me much more than helped in my past. I will stand on my own two feet
Being Russian is much more than a term. Being Russians is a culture, an attitude, a way of life and being acceptable of the world around you. It is a way of life that understands that the world is not perfect, yet even as things fall apart?
There is always time for a shot of vodka, dried smoked fish and or squid, a chuck of raw garlic and or onion and a cuppa of tea. to wash that biscuit/treat down with
WtR
PS: Tidbit of information
A startup needs to test an idea quickly. For this, an MVP is created. MVP, Minimal Viable Product a test version of a product or service with a minimum set of functions (up to one or two), which allows you to see the product's value for consumers and the market. MVP is created to test hypotheses and check the viability of the intended product: is it worth developing the project further, what changes should be made? The sooner a startup brings its MVP to market and tests the idea, the better. This article will look at how no-code technology can help founders achieve their business goals.
This article will try to cover everything that a founder needs to know about no-code at the initial stage of creating a startup.
What is no-code?
No-code, zero-code platform is a tool for creating websites, applications, chatbots, and other programs without the need for direct code writing by programmers. No-code is a valuable alternative to traditional development.
No-code is confused with low-code, but there is a difference in these terms. Low-code includes no-code and the ability to "finish code", add parts of code and the functionality.
A user of a no-code platform usually does not need to know layout, programming languages, or hire a team of programmers. The user of the no-code tool creates an application using a visual block constructor, which he fills with the necessary content and functions, and the no-code platform itself does the processing of requests, compiling the application and other "magic." It generates code using AI and/or contains blocks of code pre-written by programmers.
No-code allows the startup founder to create an MVP himself, entrust it to his employee with basic technical literacy and understanding of the project, or hire a no-code developer. Even in the case of hiring a no-code developer, the cost of creating an MVP will be significantly lower than with classical development with programmers. For example, you can read the interview of a startup and no-code developer on our website, who initially worked as a Product Manager and was able to master no-code for his project himself.
Benefits of no-code for a startup founder
There are the following key advantages for a startup founder in using no-code technology:
a large selection of no-code tools, platforms, and their integrations at the moment already in 2022, there are many tools and platforms for creating an MVP, a larger project, or even a finished product on no-code, but few people still know about them, and others are far from all startups and founders use their potential;
cost no-code development saves the money by speeding up the development process, not hiring professional programmers or no need to maintain a developer department, monitoring functions and quick bug fixes, avoiding or reducing the growth of technical debt;
speed is the main advantage over classical development no-code allows you to build a simple application in a weekend, and a more complex one can be built in a month. In this way, you can test an MVP and even several versions of an MVP very quickly;
low entry threshold to master a no-code platform, you often do not need technical education at all, but only an understanding of a company's business processes or product from the inside. In the case of pro-level no-code platforms, technical education is required, but you can get used to it hundreds of times faster than with any programming language. This makes no-code available to almost everyone who wants to work with technology;
ease of use no need to write hundreds of code lines just move the blocks and assign links between them. Work on a project can be entrusted to your employee without communicating with a team of third-party developers. You can speak "in your language" without the need to understand the "inner kitchen" of developers;
flexibility with the help of no-code, it is easy for a startup founder to add new functionality and new features right during a project or a MVP testing without a significant increase in development costs.
Possible disadvantages of no-code for a startup founder
As often, any property can be, under certain conditions, both a disadvantage and an advantage. In no-code, many of the benefits with the wrong choice of tool can turn into disadvantages:
no-code is not always a budget solution for a project. Sometimes in a no-code development package, you get unnecessary functions and additions (on AppMaster.io you can separately connect the frontend and pay only for the backend or only for those functions that you are using); if you do not understand the needs of your project, then you can make a mistake with the choice of a no-code tool and not be able to implement the necessary functions on it, or it will be too difficult to implement them; often, no-code tools fail to ensure proper data security and contribute to data leakage (but AppMaster.io allows you to host a finished application on any server); no-code tools often do not provide the ability to upload source code or provide uploading in an inconvenient format, which makes it difficult to move to another tool or to your development. You have to choose a no-code tool "once and forever immediately" (AppMaster. io gives you the ability to download the source code. Also, we generate human-readable code and you will not have any difficulties with its transportation); most no-code tools on the market are not suitable for creating a finished product, and there are significant difficulties with scaling the project if the MVP is successful (AppMaster.io is a professional no-code platform and our capabilities allow us to implement and support the finished product and scale it in the future).
Forewarned is forearmed. Choose your no-code tool wisely and take full advantage of your choice.
Types of no-code platforms
Conventionally, all no-code tools can be divided into several types: no-code devices with a low entry threshold (you can create frontend and not very powerful backend on them), integrators that help connect applications and services, and professional no-code platforms (they strive to replace the code completely, provide the ability to create a robust backend and high bandwidth).
The basic principle of operation of your MVP and the choice of a no-code platform depend on such a conditional division into types. For example, if you make a simple application like a diary, you can limit yourself to a no-code tool with a low entry threshold and a beautiful design.
If your application has powerful potential, high bandwidth, multi-user interface, and works with large amounts of data or real-time data, it is better to choose a professional no-code platform like AppMaster.io or Direcual.
If you use several services at once, link them on integrators like Integromat and Zapier.
Adalo
An easy-to-learn designer with a relatively user-friendly interface. The free version is helpful for learning. The free version contains Adalo watermarks and does not allow you to upload your applications to GooglePlayMarket and AppStore. Beginners often choose this no-code platform to create their first applications with simple logic.
Bubble
It will take more time to learn Bubble , but the platform allows you to work with the backend, databases, business processes, and layout. There are many plugins. The free plan allows you to master the tool, and you can start developing at the middle rate. The price increase is due to the rise in the number of users.
Integromat
It is an integrator. Experts talk about it as a simple and affordable platform for linking applications and services. Scenarios can be created personally, or you can use templates. If you need to connect an application with a service not from the Integromat database, fill out the form and connect to its API via HTTP.
Zapier
This is an integrator for linking applications with each other or with other external services. You can transfer data between thousands of applications. There is a script constructor (one event starts a chain of necessary actions).
Directual
The no-code platform positions itself for creating MVP applications (Minimal Viable Product, minimum viable product) and full-fledged applications of finished products. Scenarios are the backbone of the platform. Using scripts, you can automate the backend logic of the application, create and combine workflows. The Directual catalog includes out-of-the-box connectors, HTTP requests, webhooks, database listeners, and integration with popular services.
AppMaster.io
No-code next-generation platform for creating native and web applications on a real backend. Visual drag-and-drop designer, user-friendly business process designer, one-click app publishing to AppMaster Cloud, or integration with any cloud platform. Push notifications, authorization using social networks. Networks, email, and more. Connect applications to hundreds of services or programmatically access them using APIs. The ability to upload source code and documentation in a human-readable format and transfer it to your servers. Documentation auto-generation. Modern and fast language GoLang at the core.
No-code perspectives for startups
No-code development is gradually gaining popularity around the world. There are already more than 500 no-code tools for creating websites and various types of applications.
According to the forecasts of IT world experts, no-code will develop more and more actively and capture parts of the market responsible for medicine, small online business, small business, and all niches where it is possibly necessary to optimize and automate development processes.
The mass shift of businesses and their customers online and to gadgets has increased the demand for the fast and inexpensive creation of mobile applications that would work according to a single quality standard and have a simple, understandable, user-friendly interface.
Conclusion
No-code is visual programming in the form of a constructor without directly writing code. Usually, basic knowledge in development is enough to build applications on no-code.
The logic of no-code constructors is intuitive: the application interface is assembled from blocks, icons, buttons, and text which are connected to the database. Usually, you can choose a suitable template or do everything from scratch. Speed and economy are the main advantages of no-code tools.
No-code is suitable for creating an MVP, testing an idea or new features in a product, saving time for solving standard tasks. PRO level no-code platforms can provide you with a finished product, an application.
If you don't have an account on AppMaster.io yet, join us. After registration, you will be given a free trial period for 14 days, in which all the basic functionality of the platform is available. It will allow you to learn the intricacies of working with a professional-level no-code platform and understand its potential.
Jonathan Ernst/Getty Images(TAORMINA, Italy) -- President Trumps national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, repeatedly declined to answer media questions about reports that the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, sought backchannel communications with Russia prior to Trump's taking office. But McMaster said, generally speaking, he would not be concerned about such an action.
Its not something that I've in any way been involved with or have any knowledge of, McMaster said at a press briefing in Italy of the revelation that Kushner talked about communications in his discussion with Russias U.S. ambassador in December.
Asked whether he would be concerned as a general matter if someone in the administration or National Security Council sought backchannel communications with the Russian embassy, McMaster said he would not.
No, we have backchannel communications with a number of countries. So, generally speaking about backchannel communications, what that allows you to do is to communicate in a discreet manner, McMaster said.
Pressed in a follow-up question about whether he has any concerns at all about Kushner's talking to the Russian ambassador about setting up such communications, McMaster stayed silent and simply did not respond.
Backchanneling is a practice at times used by government officials, but Kushner was not yet a government employee at the time of his contact with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December.
Another senior administration official, Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn, said the topic of Kushner and his relationship to Russia was not raised at the G7 summit in Italy, which ended on Saturday.
"Never came up," Cohn said when asked if the subject were discussed.
He also said issues around Russia, while discussed at the G7, were not raised in any of the presidents bilateral meetings.
"Russia as a country came up a lot. It was part of the communique; it was discussed many times, Russia as a country," Cohn said. "Russia never came up in the bilaterals.
Trump held no press conferences on trip
Asked about the absence of any press conferences by Trump during the trip, Cohn said the president has been very busy with a robust schedule and that he has worked nonstop.
When reporters said other world leaders are making time to hold press briefings, Cohn said, I dont know that thats true.
Paris climate deal
Cohn, asked to explain his comment Friday that the presidents view on the Paris climate accords is evolving, said Trump is continuously talking to people about the issue to gain more knowledge about the issue.
'Amazing deals'
Speaking broadly speaking about Trump's foreign trip, Cohn said the the president was able to make some of the most amazing deals that have been made by an administration ever.
Cohn specifically cited the arms deal and private business deals announced in Saudi Arabia, saying they amount to close to a half-trillion dollars and that hes never seen so many deals come together at once.
Copyright 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
The data, published this week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that between 1999 and 2014, the number of deaths from Alzheimers grew from 16.5 per 100,000 Americans to 25.4 per 100,000. Nearly 94,000 Americans died of the disease in 2014.
CDC epidemiologist Christopher A. Taylor, the studys lead author, said in an interview that there are at least two possible explanations for the increase. One is that greater awareness of Alzheimers among the public and the medical profession is leading to earlier diagnoses, making it more likely that doctors list it as the cause of death.
The rise may also be related to increases in life expectancy. Weve seen rates of cardiovascular disease go down in recent years, he said. Age is the greatest risk factor. As more people live longer, their risk for Alzheimers increases.
Ballot stamps cause minor issue in Brown, turnout in Codington 63%
While there was a minor issue counting some ballots in Brown Co., local election officials said Tuesday night went pretty well. SD voter turnout 57.5%
May 26, 2017
US President Donald Trumps torrent of controversial remarks on Iran and the Middle East has sparked a variety of reactions in Tehran. In his first speech abroad, delivered from Saudi Arabia on May 21, Trump attacked the Islamic Republic and said he prayed for the day when the Iranian people would have the just and righteous government they deserve.
His words came shortly after Iran held its 12th presidential election with a 73% voter turnout. The May 19 election saw President Hassan Rouhani be re-elected with some 57% of ballots. Indeed, voters formed long lines outside polling stations both within Iran and abroad. Turnout was so high in some areas that people were unable to cast their ballots before voting ended, despite having waited in line for hours.
Yet, two days later, Trump said in Saudi Arabia, From Lebanon to Iraq to Yemen, Iran funds, arms and trains terrorists, militias and other extremist groups that spread destruction and chaos across the region. For decades, Iran has fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.
Iranian officials did not hesitate to respond. In a tweet on May 21, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote, Iran fresh from real elections attacked by @POTUS in that bastion of democracy & moderation. Foreign Policy or simply milking KSA of $480B? Rouhani also responded one day later during his first press conference following his re-election and said, "The gathering in Saudi Arabia was just a show with no practical or political value of any kind. Saudi Arabia has hosted such gatherings before. You can't solve terrorism just by giving your people's money to a superpower. He added, Those who have been fighting terrorism in the Middle East are the peoples of Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. Iran has and will assist these two great nations [Iraq and Syria] and other nations through diplomats and military advisers.
The Iranian president then rhetorically asked, Who fought against the terrorists? Who funded the terrorists? and then thundered, Those who fund terrorists cannot claim they are fighting against them. At the same time, I dont think the American people are willing to trade the many lives that were lost on September 11 with billions of dollars from arms sales.
Zarif additionally argued in an op-ed for The New York Times on May 26, What President Trump called lots of beautiful military equipment wont drain the swamps in which terrorism and militancy fester, adding, Neither will golden chains or glowing orbs provide a magical solution to the socioeconomic and political challenges that drive radicalization.
Former Iranian diplomat Fereydoun Majlisi told Al-Monitor, Trump had promised to fight those who sponsor Daesh [Islamic State], but since his government is a tradesman when it comes to [selecting which] axis [to join], it will exchange anything for money. Previously, he had described [Saudi Arabia] as the perpetrator of the September 11 attacks. Now, after receiving money in exchange for an arms deal, he has forgotten this.
Rouhani also commented on the US agreement to sell arms to Saudi Arabia during his May 22 press conference, saying, Saudi Arabia had previously given $97 billion to [former Iraqi dictator] Saddam [Hussein] during the [1980-88 Iran-Iraq War]. Saudi Arabia has many similar experiences. It saw the results of that era: $100 billion of the Saudi peoples money is going into US pockets. Saudi Arabia buys weapons. We dont need to buy weapons. We make weapons. We have the power to make weapons. Saudi Arabia will not use such weapons.
Washington and Riyadh signed arms deals worth $110 billion on May 20 as Trump was visiting the old US ally. But what do Iranian analysts think of this? Saeed Laylaz, a professor at Tehrans Shahid Beheshti University, told Al-Monitor, We have to look at the issue from an earlier time point in history. I think the war in Syria is not strange at all and [in fact] the result of Persian Gulf littoral states generating more revenues through oil. Every time [oil] prices go up, regional countries willingly engage in war. However, today, oil has lost its value at least for a decade [looking ahead] and this means the Middle East has lost its value for the US as well. Therefore, Trumps presence and all the ceremony in Saudi Arabia is solely to sell weapons and make money. It would be foolish to think that the Trump administration is doing anything more than this in the Middle East. All his words in Riyadh were just to please Saudi Arabia and sell more weapons to that country.
Iranian politicians do not seem to have taken Trumps remarks too seriously either. Addressing an open session of parliament on May 23, Speaker Ali Larijani accused Saudi Arabia of being a sponsor and exporter of terrorism. Larijani also alluded to the lack of human rights in Saudi Arabia, saying, Iran is developing democracy in the region by holding elections and polls, while Saudis still prevent women from driving and have no constitution.
Rouhani said at the May 22 press conference, We hope the Saudi government will choose the right path and realize that power cannot be obtained through purchasing weapons. The foundation of power is shaped through national strength. It is shaped through elections and the peoples presence [on the political stage]. Mr. Trump came to Saudi Arabia when 45 million people took part in elections in Iran. This is while the Saudi people have never even seen a ballot box.
Trump repeated his statements about Iran during the second leg of his trip, in Israel on May 22, once again calling Tehran a state sponsor of terrorism. Yet, the Iranians so far appear unfazed about the prospect of Washington pivoting back to the Middle East, reversing former President Barack Obamas policy of pulling out of the region. Instead, as seen in Zarifs New York Times op-ed, the Islamic Republic while criticizing Trump and Saudi Arabia appears to continue to call for inclusive regional solutions to the regions problems.
Another impact of the Trump administrations hawkish tone toward Iran may be that European countries appear to be diverging from Washington in their views of the Islamic Republic and regional developments. On May 20, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini tweeted a message of congratulations to Rouhani for his victory in the election: "I congratulate President @HassanRouhani for strong mandate received #EU ready to continue work for full JCPOA implementation, bilat engagement, regional peace, and meet expectations of all people in #Iran."
Notably, in a May 21 message to Rouhani, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier congratulated his Iranian counterpart on his re-election and expressed hope that Iran and Germany will continue their good relations in the future. Similarly, newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron also congratulated Rouhani on May 20 and, while praising the election process in Iran, said France hopes that with the Iranian presidents re-election, the two countries can improve their historic ties.
In the grander scheme of things, the bigger story may thus be the wider consequences of Washingtons adoption of a harsher stance toward Iran, including the possibility of a rupture between the United States and Europe over how to approach Tehran. As such, the consequences of the Trump administration refraining from the pivot back to the Middle East should also be considered.
May 26, 2017
BAGHDAD As the administration of US President Donald Trump looks ahead to a post-Islamic State (IS) status in the Middle East, it is clear there are concerns over the potential military role the armed organizations backed by Iran could play.
Stuart Jones, the top US diplomat for the Middle East, recently told the Associated Press the United States is still forming a comprehensive Iran policy that addresses Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government and militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen.
Meanwhile, according to Kuwaiti Al-Rai newspaper, Trump promised Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, during the prince's May 15-17 visit to Washington, that the United States is working to impose sanctions on the Iranian allies who are involved in terrorism including allies in the Iraqi and Lebanese governments.
A Saudi delegation to the United Nations earlier this month also expressed concern that Iranian militias continue to pose a threat to stability in the region.
It's evident the United States and the Gulf states are worried about the wide Iranian influence in these countries, be it through political leaders, armed organizations or militias. In Lebanon, the biggest player is Hezbollah, backed by Iran. In Iraq, there are armed parties and factions known for their close relationship with Tehran and for receiving financial and political support from it.
Rayan al-Kaldani, the leader of the Babylon Brigade, which is a part of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), told Al-Monitor, The relationship between the PMU and Iran is not based on dependence, as the Gulf states like to promote. He noted, Tehran helped Iraq in its war on [IS], and this has been recognized by the Western parties themselves.
He added, Regional states such as Turkey and [those in] the Gulf that deem the PMU to be a terrorist organization are putting pressure on Washington and luring it with money to impose sanctions on PMU leaders.
The fruits of that strategy seem to have matured in Lebanon. On May 19, Washington and Riyadh announced the inclusion of Hashim Safi al-Din, the head of the executive board of the Lebanese Hezbollah, on the joint blacklist of terrorism.
In the same context, the United States is trying to cut off communication between the Shiite militias affiliated with Iran to confine their action. Iranian media outlets deemed the US raid on a convoy of Syrian forces May 18 a US insistence to prevent any contact between Baghdad and Damascus. Meanwhile, Western experts confirmed May 20 that the air raid reveals the US military plans in the region.
Abu Ala al-Walai, one of the leaders of the Iranian-backed armed Shiite organizations in Iraq and the secretary-general of Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, announced May 19 that the US Air Force targeted PMU forces near the Iraqi-Syrian border.
It is well known that the Gulf states and US cricles accuse many PMU leaders of being linked to and supported by Iran. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a PMU committee head in Iraq, said in an April 23 video that he has ties to both Tehran and Iranian Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani.
Akram al-Kaabi, the leader of the Iraqi Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, seemed more explicit about his relations with Tehran when he visited in September and said there was a need for the Iraqi PMU to fight in Syria.
Qais al-Shathir, a parliament member with the Coalition of Iraqi Forces, told Al-Monitor, "The relationship of Iraqi political parties and politicians with Iran is not hidden, as these receive material and moral support from it. He added, The potential US sanctions against these do not serve the interests of Iraq.
Also, "The majority of those referred to as having a close relationship with Tehran are popular in Iraq, are part of the political process and have contributed to the battles against IS," he said, noting that Washington should think twice before taking on those groups.
However, Jassim al-Moussawi, a writer, political analyst and head of the Media Monitor Center, told Al-Monitor that such pro-Iranian groups could be successfully targeted for sanctions because "some Iraqi Sunni leaders sought to internationalize what they say are crimes committed by the PMU in the areas liberated of IS. This could "serve to legitimize any sanctions against them.
Moussawi said, Washington could exert pressure on the Iraqi government to extradite those wanted by law and prosecute and prevent PMU leaders from traveling based on international lists of wanted people. It could also impose other measures such as freezing assets and resorting to prosecutions.
In March, Trump talked with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi about his government's close relationship with Tehran and the Iranian fighters who are helping Baghdad fight IS.
However, Moussawi said, I don't think that Iran and its allies inside Iraq will take the matter seriously because going too far in this direction would cause unrest in Iraq again and directly expose Washington's interests in Iraq to Tehran's local allies."
But there are already accusations that Iran has widely deployed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and PMU factions on the Iraqi borders with Syria and Jordan. This has prompted Gulf leaders to petition Washington to classify Iran-backed militias as terrorist groups.
Both the United States and regional players believe the post-IS phase will require joint action to encircle armed groups and militias both in Iraq and Syria, knowing that these groups have grown in number and gained important combat experience during their war against IS, thus posing a threat to US interests in the region and to the Gulf states allied with Washington.
May 26, 2017
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia The Mohammed bin Nayef Center for Counseling and Care feels like a resort. There is a large indoor swimming pool, with pictures of swimmers in action on the walls. Next door is a spacious gym with large windows and a banquet hall. Inmates here are referred to as beneficiaries. But these men were part of al-Qaeda or the Islamic State (IS), fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. Here they walk around freely in flowing white robes that cover green electronic ankle monitors. Through an individually tailored program, which includes group sessions and art therapy, they are taught to eschew violence and are prepared for a peaceful future on the outside.
In his speech in Riyadh on May 21, US President Donald Trump called on Muslim nations to drive out terrorists. But this program in Saudi Arabia shows another approach: how to bring them back into the fold. The center is a showpiece of the Saudi governments soft approach to terrorism. It was started in 2004 in response to a growing number of domestic terror attacks. Since then, more than 3,300 people have graduated, including 123 former inmates of Guantanamo Bay.
A stay of three months is usually sufficient, though some stay longer; those beyond reproach are returned to the judiciary process, which usually means jail. There are currently 84 men staying at the Mohammed bin Nayef Center in Riyadh, and there are another 45 at its sister facility in Jeddah. The walls are decorated with paintings painted during art therapy sessions. Some are reminders of the past. One depicts a brick watchtower behind a concrete wall topped with barbed wire, bearing the sign Camp VI Guantanamo. In the clear blue sky, there is an all-seeing eye. But there are also pictures of hope: a single burning candle in darkness, or a pair of shackled, balled-up hands breaking free from their chains. Many beneficiaries initially dont want to draw humans because they think it is contrary to Islam, said Badr Alrazain, who oversees art therapy at the center. But the paintings really show the changes they go through.
Some of the artworks even show the face of Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud. A key idea in the ideological reprogramming is that holy war, or jihad, is only allowed to be carried out if the ruler in this case, the Saudi king commands it. All prisoners sign a patriotic contract before being allowed to re-enter society.
Ali Rimi, a 32-year-old with a stubbly beard, is on the cusp of freedom. He was just 16 when he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay, where he was held for 15 years. His US file says he attended the Al-Farouk al-Qaeda training camp in September 2001, and his brother is believed to be the current emir of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
Transferred to Saudi Arabia in April 2016, he has spent the last 10 months at the Nayef center. He was worried about life on the outside when he initially left Guantanamo, saying, I am worried about how people will look at me. But he said his time at the center has helped him overcome such concerns. He said he is a reformed man, and he dismisses violence. Only crazy people would kill someone, he said in basic English, which he picked up at Guantanamo.
Rimi married in April. His family arranged the match with relatives of the bride. Ive only seen her on Skype, he said, smiling. After the fasting month of Ramadan, he will be let out and the pair will celebrate their union. The center supports this marriage help is a pillar of the program, as it allows an individual to anchor in society.
According to the centers statistics, 80% of the Guantanamo returnees have stayed on the straight and narrow. But there have been some embarrassing failures. Said al-Shihri completed the program in 2008 and then crossed the border into Yemen and went on to become the deputy chief of al-Qaeda there.
You never truly know whether someone is deradicalized, admitted Yasser al Mazrua, a psychologist at the center. You try to build up a therapeutic relationship, and you observe their behavior. But we arent perfect. Mazrua has seen radicalization up close; when he was 16, his best friend joined al-Qaeda in Iraq and was killed several months later. Now he is concerned about the next generation he will treat who have joined not al-Qaeda, but IS. More than 2,500 Saudis have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight for the extremist group, the highest number second only to Tunisia. Treating them will be the biggest challenge yet, Mazrua said. IS has corrected the weaknesses of al-Qaedas ideology. Right now he is working with half a dozen men who returned from Syria. Recently, one boy was sent back to jail after six weeks at the Nayef center. We couldnt get through to him.
But the changes achieved can be striking. A group of prisoners who had spent 15 years in Guantanamo Bay did not rule out the possibility of forgiving the Americans who jailed them. There is a different administration now to the one that imprisoned us, said Mansour al-Qattar, who spent 10 years on a hunger strike and was force-fed. If you are in Guantanamo, you hate the people who do this to you, but this program has helped me overcome.
For those who do change their views, the center stays involved with them after they walk out the door. There is up to a year of financial support to help the men get back on their feet and help with getting a job if need be.
Trumps call to drive terrorists out of this earth does not fall entirely on deaf ears. Not everyone is given a second chance; those linked to attacks in the kingdom are executed. Last year, Saudi Arabia executed 47 men for terrorism offenses, a term encompassing government critics as well as violent extremists. According to Human Rights Watch, 43 were associated with al-Qaeda attacks in the 2000s.
That might be the fate for some returnees from Syria and Iraq, too. It is unclear how many of the IS fighters will come home to Saudi Arabia, if at all. But through the countrys unique approach, combining Islamic theology with science, it hopes to reintegrate them and deter others from traveling in the future. As the founder of the center, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, has said, If a man reverts to violent extremism having been given everything by the state, he attracts little if any public support, whereas if a man returns to violence because he has been tortured or otherwise mistreated, he is likely to take others with him.
May 26, 2017
ANKARA Dozens of Kurdish and Turkish activists came together silently in Ankara May 20 to discuss efforts to revive the Kurdish settlement process, which collapsed into bloodshed two years ago. The gathering held without much publicity in the highly charged political climate that prevails in Turkey today was part of a fledgling civic initiative that seeks to strengthen Turkish-Kurdish dialogue on the grassroots level and encourage skeptic Turks to see the Kurdish problem beyond the violence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
The initiative comes amid recent reports that Ankara might consider jumpstarting the settlement effort, but this time without the PKK which both Turkey and much of the international community consider a terrorist organization.
After peace negotiations ended in tatters in July 2015, Ankara launched a ferocious crackdown on urban PKK militants holed up behind trenches and barricades in residential neighborhoods in the Kurdish-majority southeast, leaving urban areas in ruins and thousands of civilians displaced. On the political front, hundreds of members of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), including both of its co-chairs, landed behind bars on charges of collaborating with the PKK, while dozens of Kurdish-run local administrations were handed over to government-appointed trustees.
In such a gloomy atmosphere, reviving peace initiatives seems an uphill task, but the activists in Ankara are convinced that Turks and Kurds have no other option but to pick up the pieces and resolve their problems through dialogue.
Spearheading the Social Peace Network initiative is the Tigris Social Research Center (DITAM), a think tank based in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast. The first leg of the initiative involved meetings between various nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the region, while the Ankara meeting marked the second leg, which aims to expand the network into the rest of the country.
The gathering that Al-Monitor attended brought together diverse participants, among them prominent intellectuals and longtime activists on the Kurdish issue, but also Kurds close to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turks with no particular sympathy for the Kurdish cause. Their views were equally diverse. Some suggested that Ankara should drop the terrorism rhetoric against the PKK; others argued that the PKK seemed as eager on war as the AKP.
What Ive seen throughout my existence is that [the majority of ordinary Turks] never saw the Kurdish problem as a problem of human rights violations. Rather, the Kurdish problem became a terrorism problem, one participant grumbled. I dont think the government will move forward on a settlement unless it has some really big interest. What we need to do as NGOs is to insist that the settlement process is the only solution.
Other participants also underscored the need to reach out to both Turks and Kurds to dispel mutual misgivings and explain what peace would actually mean.
Mehmet Emin Ekmen, a former Kurdish lawmaker for the AKP, argued that pro-Kurdish activists tended to focus on the governments military crackdown, disregarding the PKKs own violence. Referring to the PKKs increased regional involvement, he said, The [failed] process might have had a lot of shortcomings, but the PKKs intricate ties with Damascus, Moscow and Tehran also contributed to the point weve come to today. A new effort at settlement, he stressed, should involve a third eye or a monitoring party to deal with disarming the PKK.
Prominent sociologist and writer Ismail Besikci, an ethnic Turk who has served several jail terms for his dissident work on the Kurdish issue, criticized the PKK for entrenching militants in urban neighborhoods, which took the clashes to residential areas. It is very important for Kurds in this period to secure popular support from the west [of Turkey]. Western Turkey would not support fighting in the trenches, but if the Kurds face oppression because of their mother tongue or because of their Kurdishness in general, it would lend them support, he said.
Speaking to Al-Monitor later, Besikci underscored that the Kurdish struggle should be waged on the political field. The HDPs election breakthrough in June 2015, when the party won 80 seats to become the third-largest force in parliament, should have pushed the guerrilla struggle to the back burner, he said, adding, The struggle would have been much more successful in this way, and destruction would have been avoided.
DITAM president Mehmet Kaya remained hopeful, even though pessimists seemed to prevail at the gathering. In remarks to Al-Monitor, he observed that civic groups of diverse leanings Kurdish, pro-AKP, Kemalist and neo-nationalist all agree that the problem cannot be resolved through fighting or security-centered solutions.
This is a very important resistance point, he said, adding that the next goal would be to win over influential civic groups, which see the Kurdish issue only as a problem of terrorism.
The Turkish bureaucracys hostility toward Kurds was another heated topic at the gathering. Although some participants disagreed with such a notion, recent developments in the southeast speak to the contrary. One of the first things the government-appointed municipal trustees did in Diyarbakir was to dismantle a monument dedicated to the 34 Kurdish civilians who were mistakenly bombed to death in December 2011, a tragedy of collective mourning for the Kurds.
And while the meeting in Ankara was underway, municipal trustees in the province of Van changed the name of a park that had been named after much-respected Kurdish human rights lawyer Tahir Elci, whose murder in 2015 had also shaken the Kurdish community.
Those two incidents alone demonstrate how tough the road to peace is. But it is not impossible. All participants were convinced that Turks and Kurds would ultimately find a middle ground, despite all difficulties.
Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
50 places to eat along Alabama's 'beach highway'
The summer season is upon the Alabama Gulf Coast, and that means Orange Beach and Gulf Shores will be mobbed with tourists. And we know you come hungry. Here are 50 places to eat along Highway 182, also known as the "Beach Highway."
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Beach House Kitchen and Cocktails
One of the newer places in town, Beach House Kitchen and Cocktails is located on the west side of Gulf Shores. It's become a hit with locals and tourists for the great food, popular happy hour which runs from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., daily and features $2 Yuengling, $4 well drinks, $3 house wine. Beach House offers $5 special appetizers during happy hour. Since there's not a whole lot of choices down secluded west beach, good thing Beach House Kitchen is within walking distance of many popular lodging locations. Location: 1154 W. Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, Ala., 251-948-2431.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Flip Flop Deli Shop
You're at the beach, you're hungry, you've got sand in your toes, but you don't want to go back to the condo to clean up. Then go to the new Flip Flop Deli, a cool little oasis to get some grub for the kids while having a few laughs. It's a deli, ice cream shop and pizza parlor all in one. On the cheap and good, too. Can't go wrong for classic Pleasure Island grub in the middle of the day. Location: 524 West Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251540-2188, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Janino's Pizza
We remain in West Beach for Janino's Pizza, the newest pizza parlor to open at Alabama's beaches. And not a moment too soon. Janino's will bake a traditional pie but the menu also features pizza pies named after the geography of New York City, like The Manhattan, The Bronx, The Queens, The Brooklyn and The Long Island. Order pizza at 14-inch for $17 or 18-inch for $20. Location: 984 West Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251500-1506.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Bahama Bob's Beachside Cafe
Known for its cheeseburger, Bahama Bob's Beachside Cafe is a staple in the heart of Gulf Shores. It's most famous burger creation is called "A Paradise Lovers Burger" but Bahama Bob's serves a variety of items perfect for the whole family at decent prices. Small dining room, lots of deck seating, small bar, and stunning view of the Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Shores Public Beach, usually a wait during the day. Location: 601 West Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251-948-2100.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Gulf Island Grill
Gulf Island Grill has been part of the Gulf Shores food scene for a long time -- and with good reason. It's an upscale, somewhat pricier option but well worth it. Island-themed seafood menu and cocktails served in an informal, wood-adorned eatery across the street from Gulf Shores Public Beach. Few Pleasure Island standards but also some signature dishes like Key West Seafood Platter. Interesting place if you're looking for the different. Location: 244 E. Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251-968-4440.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Bill's by the Beach, Gulf Shores
Bill's by the Beach has established itself as one of the best eateries in the hear of Gulf Shores. Upscale menu with upscale prices but worth it if you're looking for more than the standard fare. Great bar, plentiful outdoor seating with view of Gulf Shores Public Beach and Gulf. Plus, the food is really good, too. The menu holds ribs, fish tacos, burgers, but it's the fresh fish like mahi mahi, grouper, sword fish and more that keep all coming back. Nice dining room, too. Awesome Sunday brunch. Some live music. Location:300 W. Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251-948-5227, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen, Gulf Shores
One of the most famous restaurants in Gulf Shores, DeSoto's Seafood Kitchen has earned a loyal local and tourist following for their superb seafood menu and traditional Southern-inspired comfort food items, awesome daily specials, great apps, all at very affordable prices, two dining rooms, small bar with craft beers on draft, drink specials. Just in case you didn't know it was famous, the numerous awards dotting the walls tell the full story. Location: 138 West 1st Ave., Gulf Shores, 251-848-7294.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
The Hangout
The Hangout Fest was just a week ago, but The Hangout is here in Gulf Shores 365 days a year -- and The Hangout is celebrating "The Endless Summer" all season long. Located right on Gulf Shores Public Beach, this is a very popular family restaurant featuring great seafood and sandwich basket food for those on a budget, perfect for large parties, huge square bar with lots of TVs, large open air dining room with view of Gulf of Mexico, live music nightly and daily, games, several outdoor bars. The Hangout is ground zero for tourists looking to have fun. Reservations not recommended, short wait on busier nights. Location: 101 East Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251-948-3030.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Pink Pony Pub
Known to locals as "The Pony" the world famous Pink Pony is a beach-side watering hole that is a favorite with tourists and it's right on Gulf Shores Public Beach. Pink Pony serves up some great bar grub including sandwiches and some great appetizer items but may most famous for its loaded nacho plate. And if you're looking to get your Karoake on this vacation, The Pony features Karaoke all weekend long. Have a seat on the deck with a bushwacker and a burger with the whole family. Location: 137 East Gulf Place, Gulf Shores, 251-948-6371.
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Tara Massouleh | tmassouleh@al.com
Sea N Suds
Sea N Suds is a famous local eatery overlooking Gulf of Mexico whipping up tasty seafood items, great appetizers, cheeseburgers, oysters and more, popular local hangout, great prices for a great view. Now, these folks serve up all the standards, but I recommend a bowl of gumbo, half dozen raw oysters and a cold beer. In fact, some snowbirds claim this is the best gumbo in the land. We're not sure about that, but it's pretty darn good. Location: 405 East Beach Blvd., Gulf Shores, 251-984-7894.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Mikee's Seafood
If you're family is on a budget, then you can't go wrong with Mikee's Seafood. Now, it's not on the beach but it's a stone's throw from the Gulf of Mexico. When it comes to famous eateries yards from the beach, few are more famous than Mikee's Seafood. You catch 'em, we'll cook 'em' is the official saying and they will, super casual atmosphere, small bar, simple menu serving up area fried standards at great prices. There's something for everyone on the menu. Location: 205 E. 2nd Ave, Gulf Shores, 251-948-6452, open 11 a.m. daily.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Ribs and Reds
Located just across the street from Gulf Shores Public Beach is Ribs and Reds, a popular rib joint with locals and snowbirds. The spacious dining room and adjacent covered deck has an elevated view of the beach which is pretty cool. Huge menu features more than 60 delectable items, including all the usual Pleasure Island fare at decent prices. Very casual atmosphere, great drink specials. Awesome upper deck with view of Gulf of Mexico. Location: 128 E. 1st Ave., Gulf Shores, 251-948-7337, open 11 a.m. daily.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Momma Lottie's
We finally leave Gulf Shores and head into Orange Beach. Here, we begin with Mama Lottie's Pizza which has become one of the best places in Orange Beach. Nice dining room and great service. I recommend the 18-inch Meat Lovers pizza ($19.49). It holds a generous amount of pepperoni, beef, sausage, ham and bacon. Located across the street from the beach, Mama Lottie's gets much of its customers from the nearby condominiums. Yes, they deliver. Location: 25405 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala., 251-981-2911. Delivery? Yes.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Cobalt the Restaurant
If you're not on a budget and want some upscale food, then Cobalt the Restaurant the restaurant is one of the island's most upscale restaurant serving fine dining plates, many seafood choices, fine cuts of meat, surf and turf, kids menu, daily specials, huge dining room, large bar, plenty of patio seating, tiki bar with live music on some nights. And then there's the view of the Intracoastal Waterway and Perdido Pass. Cobalt has become one of the premier dining destinations in Orange Beach, reservations recommended on busier nights with larger parties. Location: 28099 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-923-5300.
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Tad Denson
Bendetto's Italiant Ristorante
Got a taste for some authentic Italian this Memorial Day weekend, well luckily there's Bendetto's Italian Ristorante at Zeke's Landing in Orange Beach. This Italian eatery offers a great view of the the backbay in Orange Beach along with a Mediterranean-inspired menu with signature dishes, too. They will make a great pizza pie but it's the entree section where they offer the real Italian food. From ravioli to veal to antipasti and a killer Carbonara for $12. Location: 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala., 251-981-0032.
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What's New at the Beach
Little New Orleans
Got a hankering for some genuine New Orleans-inspired chow? Then, check out Little New Orleans in Orange Beach. This place serves up authentic food from the Big Easy. Yep, you'll get all the standards from NOLA, but they do a great po' boy along with other Cajun and Creole items. Location: 25241 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala., 251-981-5252.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Cotton's
Cotton's Restaurant is the oldest eatery on the island, and one of the best restaurants in Orange Beach to be sure. Cotton's serves up upscale Southern-inspired comfort food and tasty seafood, not on the cheap but worth every dime, large second floor dining room featuring historical Orange Beach decor, cozy bar, gift shop, super popular with large parties, great specials, reservations not required but recommended for large parties. Location: 26009 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-9268.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Wintzell's Oyster House
There will be oysters shucked all over Orange Beach and Gulf Shores this long weekend, and no doubt Wintzell's will serve up plenty of oysters on the half shell. They have plenty of oysters but you'll want to belly up to their raw bar to belt back a few during happy hour. Nice dining room, big square bar, outside bar and good happy hour from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wintzell's offers more than oysters, so there's plenty on the menu for the whole family. Location: 24131 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala., 251-974-2122.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Gulf Shores Steamer
It's called Gulf Shores Steamer, but it's in the heart of Orange Beach. Looking for something on the healthier side? Then the Steamer has some great options, including their mammoth steamed seafood platter. Comfortable dining room, small bar, some patio seating with view of San Roc Cay Marina. Location: 27267 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-948-6344, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Wolf Bay Lodge
Probably one of the most famous casual family restaurants at the Alabama Gulf Coast, the legendary Wolf Bay Lodge is must-try during the summer. Large, comfortable dining room with rustic and cozy feel, history of Wolf Bay and the area on the walls, gift shop, cool bar. Also known for outstanding service. Expansive menu at reasonable prices serving up all the beach seafood standards. Location: 20801 Miflin Road, Foley, 251-987-5129, open at 11 a.m. daily. My suggestion: Fried crab claws ($market price).
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Shrimp Basket
Maybe you just want to fill the kids up before or after the beach on a budget yet enjoy some classic Pleasure Island fare. Then you can't go wrong at Shrimp Basket. You know what you're going to get. Large dining room, small bar, covered patio seating. Basket food on a budget. Good fries and hush puppies. Location: 26651 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-974-1833.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Gilbey's Seafood and Steak
Maybe you're coming to the beach with a significant other this weekend and want to wine and dine your partner. If so, Gilbey's is a very upscale eatery with large dining room, large awesome bar with drink specials, some live music, classy dining room so leave the flip flops at home -- if you can. The menu features brunch, lunch and dinner. But it's dinner menu that has put this place on the must-try list. It features the best cuts of steak in the area and nine seafood creations that'll make you melt. Yeah, it's on the expensive side, but you get what you pay for and here you get the best. Location: 25775 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-2988, open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Fiddlefish Seafood Cafe
Opened four summers ago, Fiddlefish at San Roc Cay in Orange Beach offers traditional Pleasure Island chow for families on a budget. It's a simple place with some items done really well like the fish tacos. Arrive here from the beach at Perdido Pass in flip flops, wet hair and sandy toes and that's not a problem at Fiddlefish. Nice little patio to enjoy sandwiches with some great Southern sides. Location: 27267 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-923-3474.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Moe's Original BBQ
Moe's Original BBQ is certainly the most famous barbecue joint across the street from the beach. Moe's whips up traditional and signature smoked basket creations, small usually packed dining room, awesome outdoor seating with beach sand, live music on some nights. Lots of pulled pork favorites plus some signature creations. Got a hankering for barbecue? Can't be Moe's. Location: 25603 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-7427.
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Flying Harpoon
Known to locals at "The Poon" the Flying Harpoon has two locations -- one in Gulf Shores and one on the beach highway in Orange Beach. So if you're looking for a dive bar with a local feel but some of the best food on the island then try the Flying Harpoon in Orange Beach. Two levels, fun bar, awesome po boy sandwiches. Location: 23479 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-8100.
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Franco's, Orange Beach
Franco's Italian Restaurant in Orange Beach has been around a long time, but went under new ownership a couple of years ago -- and the word has gotten out about this authentic, Italian family restaurant. Restaurant holds large dining, comfortable and cozy dining room and bar, with some sidewalk seating. Ocassional live music. Menu is about as Italian as you get at the beach or anywhere else. Menu items cover the usual Italian suspects, plus some surprises from the Gulf with an Mediterranean twist. Location: 25241 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala. 251-981-9800.
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Hurricane Grill and Wings
Hurricane Grill is ground zero when it comes to families on vacation looking for burgers, nachos, wings and more -- all at a reasonable price point. you'll find a mix of patrons here, serves up a variety of house specialty grill foods at great prices, some Mexican-inspired food, great burgers and wings, cool dining room with lots of TVs, large fun bar with craft beers. Location: 25755 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-3041.
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Chronic Tacos
Chronic Tacos to Orange Beach opened just one year ago this summer. Very interesting and popular way of building your own burrito and taco. Dining room is small but most folks take the food on-the-go. Sure, it's a chain with dozen of locations across the country but that doesn't mean it's not good. These guys are good. Serving up everything from breakfast burritos to classic Mexican tacos and burritos. Location: 25775 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, open 10 a.m. daily.
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Cafe Beignet
For a sweet taste of New Orleans, check out Cafe Beignets in Orange Beach. You'll find some great coffee, and classic beignets. Not a lot of places you can find an authentic beignet on the island. Location: 25405 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-2711.
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Mexico Lindo
Orange Beach has a few secret places and Mexico Lindo Mexican Restaurant is one of those hidden gems. Low-key operation with a folksy vibe and traditional Mexican meals, plus daily specials and happy hours. Some claim this place tucked away mixes up the best margarita on the island. And on Memorial Day, these folks serve .99 cent tacos all day long. Great little Mexican eatery across the street from the beach. 25405 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-974-2777.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Liquid Life Cafe
Liquid Life Cafe is a popular coffee joint offering some great beverages and some really fresh, tasty sandwiches that aren't deep fried or come with a mountain of fries. Lunch menu features signature items like Chipotle Panini, Vegetarian Panini, Wasabi Panini, plus some signature creations. Awesome dining room with house music, lots of covered patio seating. Location: 25741 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-968-3758, open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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China Dragon
Hey, Memorial Day weekend isn't just about fried basket food. Sometimes, some great Asian food is exactly what you want. Luckily, Pleasure Island has several great Chinese/Japanese restaurants, including China Dragon in Orange Beach. You'll find all the basics at this Chines place. So, for a break from seafood this weekend, take out some great Chinese. Location: 25405 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-5855.
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Live Bait
One of the most famous places in Orange Beach, Live Bait offers the ultimate menu for the most popular items from seafood to steaks to seafood platters. Large dining room, cool bar, some outdoor seating and awesome night club when the sun goes down. Menu prices aren't quite for those on a budget, especially for those with a large family. But good food overall. Location: 24281 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, Ala., 251-974-1612.
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Ruby Slipper Cafe
There are several places serving up traditional New Orleans-inspired food. New Orleans famous breakfast eatery Ruby Slipper has opened a location in little ole Orange Beach about a year ago and it's been a hit since. You can't miss this place along the "beach highway" with its giant red slipper out front. Nice bar, lots of indoor seating and a patio, too. Let them work the kinks out and we think this place will fit in nicely at the beach. My suggestion: Eggs Blackstone and Bloody Mary. Location: 24151 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-800-7470, open 11 a.m. daily until 3 p.m.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Lartigue's Fresh Seafood
Lartigue's Fresh Seafood is one of the most interesting places in Orange Beach (or anywhere). Seafood market and small crawfish shack in one, it's a must if you're having a low country boil at home. But they have an on-site list of items like lobster tails, crawfish, sea scallops, mussels, oysters, crabs, and tons of crab meat. Just stop in this place for recipes, advice and because there's no place like it around. Location: 23043 Perdido Key Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-948-2644.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Andy's Ice Cream Parlor
Andy's Ice Cream Parlor is just pure fun for the kids -- plus they offer some fun beach food. Sure, you can get that ice cream sundae but Andy's is a secret for one of the best little burgers at the beach. Not a lot of places you can get a chili cheese hot dog (believe it or not) but Andy's has a great one. Yep, it's all on the cheap, most grilled items under $6. Recommend: Hand cut fries, gumbo and Blue Belle ice cream. Indoor and patio seating. Location: 25405 Perdido Beach Blvd., 251-981-1100.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Hazel's Seafood Restaurant
Hazel's Family Seafood remains one of the most popular family destinations for those on a budget. And their buffet popular with tourists (and yes, snowbirds) because it's cheap and not bad at all. Yep, they been around forever, it's popular. Some of it's pretty good in fact. Diner style dining room, friendly staff. Location: 25311 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-4628, open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
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Bubba's Seafood House
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Grazie's
Upscale Italian eatery Cafe Grazie is a tourist favorite, packed out every weekend in the high season. It's an upscale restaurant with a stunning view of San Roc Marina and the backbay of Orange Beach. Spacious dining room with a cool bar, overall nice atmosphere. But it's the italian food with a Gulf Coast twist that folks love. The menu features shrimp scampi, Grazie Canneloni, and Seafood Linguini and more. Location: 27267 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-251-981-7278, open 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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Voyagers
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Louisiana Lagniappe
Very upscale Creole-inspired restaurant at San Roc Cay in Orange Beach is another must-try, very popular with tourists and locals alike. Nice dining room with view of San Roc Marina. Large menu with appetizer section featuring barbecue jumbo shrimp, Mardi Gras shrimp, dinner menu includes Grouper Pontchartrain, Bayou Grouper and much more. One of the most expensive restaurants in the area, best for anniversary dinner. Location: 27267 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-981-2258, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.
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Photo courtesy of The Gulf
The Gulf
The Gulf: Hot spot for superb and thoughtful but limited menu, all outdoor seating with view of Gulf of Mexico, beach area with comfy seats, fun house music, great for kids and dogs, two large bars, famous for its food and view. Locals' secret: Awesome cheeseburger with a cold beer ($15). 27500 Perdido Beach Blvd., Orange Beach, 251-424-1800.
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What's New at the Beach, Ole River Bar
Ole River Bar and Grill
On the Alabama-Florida state line rests Ole River Bar and Grill, right across the street from the Flora-Bama. This water-side watering hole provides a view of Ole River and Ono Island. The restaurant serves some great seafood and and one of the area's best burgers. Live music, bar downstairs, indoor seating. Best part of the view: Boats and other water vessels coming and going. Lot's of craft beers on tap, shaded deck, all ages welcome. Location: 17400 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-483-6262.
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The Authentic Taco
wners of the Flora-Bama Lounge and Package in Perdido Key, Fla. were happy to take on The Authentic Taco this spring right on the premises. Already, the TAT has been a hit with spring breakers and locals looking for anything to eat in the wee hours after one-too-many bushwackers. But, to be sure, TAT is pretty darn good.
Location: 17401 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Flora-Bama Lounge and Package
The Flora-Bama Lounge and Package weren't contained in this list. It just might be the king of local bars around here, especially after the tourists depart. In fact, many locals (and I mean residents from Orange Beach and Perdido Key) swear off the 'Bama until after Labor Day weekend. Sure, it slows down a bit, but you'll definitely meet some interesting locals who are more than happy to invite you into their party. Best local day and what kind of locals: Sunday's, lots of bikers. Location: 17401 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-492-0611.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Flora-Bama Yacht Club
Flora-Bama Yacht Club offers customers an upscale menu with great variety of primarily seafood dishes and signature items and daily specials, some basket items for kids, very relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere in open air dining room with view of Ole River and Ono Island, large square bar, lots of TVs, live music nightly, beach access, boat access, outdoor bar, lots of picnic bench seating. Menu costs a little more but worth it. Location: 17350 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-483-6272.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Lillian's Pizza
Lillian's Pizza: Located just over the Alabama state line in Florida, Lillian's tosses gourmet, signature pizzas with fresh ingredients, popular with locals, delivers, large spacious dining room, covered deck, full bar, some live music, pizza will cost you more than chain but well worth it. Locals' secret: Large calzone ($11) paired with margarita. Location: 14514 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-492-0131.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Sports Bar of Perdido Key
The Sports Bar of Perdido Key is ground zero for locals, especially on Saturday and Sunday during football. Best food menu on the key with blue plate specials, happy hour, live music. The room offers plenty of seating with a view of more than two dozen televisions, so you don't have to jockey for a good view of your game. Dozens of TVs, covered outdoor patio. Cool place to watch football while mingling with locals. Best day for locals and kind of locals: Saturday and Sunday daylight hours, residents of Innerarity Point Road and Gulf Beach Highway. Location: 13583 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-332-6403.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Jellyfish Bar
Jellyfish Restaurant is a popular bar and eatery at the east end of Perdido Key popular with tourists staying locally. This restaurant offers a large variety of seafood, steaks and sushi. Pricey, but quality food menu with the best sushi on the key. Large dining room, small bar, but the place locals hang is on the balcony. Location: 13700 Perdido Key Drive, Perdido Key, Fla., 850-332-6532.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
Fisherman's Corner
It was once a bait shop but now Fisherman's Corner is one of the best restaurants in Perdido Key, Fla., serving upscale seafood and steaks in a cozy, small dining room and deck. Small dining room, but great service. If you're on the Key and looking for a romantic place for dinner or brunch, then you'll want to check out Fisherman's Corner. Location: 13486 Perdido Key Drive., Perdido Key, Fla., 850-791-6914.
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Brian Kelly | bkelly@al.com
More food guides for Memorial Day weekend
50 places to eat at the beach
Best po boys at the beach
Best gumbo at the beach
Thousands of people took to Gulf Shores Public Beach on Saturday, May 27, 2017, the second day of Memorial Day weekend at Alabama's beaches. (Photos by Brian Kelly/bkelly@al.com)
Memorial Day weekend did not disappoint as thousands of people took to Alabama's most popular beach on Saturday, May 27, 2017. By noon, the clouds had cleared giving way to plenty of sunshine and rising heat, too, forcing many beachgoers into the rough waves of the Gulf of Mexico, despite red flags warning swimmers of dangerous riptides.
While some enjoyed riding the waves, other remained in the shade of beach umbrellas. Jacob Brewer, 21, took the opportunity during his vacation to propose to his girlfriend, Taylor Adcock, 21 as hundreds of people looked on and applauded.
"Well, I had planned on doing this but wasn't sure when," Jacob said. "This seemed like the perfect time -- on the beach in Gulf Shores."
She said yes.
Meanwhile, Devon Marshall of Philadelphia, Miss. sat in a lounge chair, his body glistening in suntan oil, a small American flag whipping he'd staked in the sand whipped in the wind.
"At some point you have to get in the water because it's so hot," Marshall said.
Marshall was in good company when he sauntered down to the waves breaking on the beach to cool off.
"It's pretty rough for sure," said Steven James, 14, of Jackson, Miss. "But I like it that way. It's way more fun."
Denzell Thomas
A 22-year-old man has been indicted in the separate shootings of two transgender women, one of whom died.
A Jefferson County grand jury issue the indictments against Denzell Latrell Thomas on May 5, and those indictments were made public this week. He is charged with murder in the Sept. 23, 2016 shooting death of 30-year-old Hason Amin Alford and attempted murder in the Oct. 3, 2016 shooting of another victim at a Fifth Avenue South home. Thomas has been held without bond in the Jefferson County Jail since his arrest last year.
Thomas is charged with murder in the Sept. 23, 2016 death of Hason Amin Alford. Housekeeping at the Kings Inn on Third Avenue North made the discovery in a second-floor room. Alford, of North Carolina, had been shot multiple times, according to family members. She was found lying naked on the floor of the room and pronounced dead on the scene. Officers were told that gunshots could be heard at the location prior to officers' arrival to the scene.
Alford's sister Toya Milan, said her sister was native of High Point, N.C. who transitioned five years ago, and later helped her with her own transition. "She was very educated and very beautiful,'' Milan said.
She graduated from college in Florida and worked as a call center representative for an airline company, but also advertised as an escort on backpage.com. Milan believes that may have been what led to her sister's death. "A lot of men know transgender women escort and think that we're going to have money,'' Milan said. "They make a lot of money and they figure that out and they try to rob us."
Milan said Alford was on her way to Atlanta to visit her when the radiator on her car blew. "She was stuck in Birmingham,'' Milan said.
When family couldn't reach Alford, they began calling the motel and it took hours for them to get the news of the fatal shooting. "When I first heard the news, I couldn't even cry,'' Milan said. "I didn't have any emotion. I just couldn't believe it."
Thomas is also charged with attempted murder and first-degree robbery in a shooting in 7500 block of Fifth Avenue South. The victim was shot in the face and rushed to UAB Hospital, but survived.
One man is dead and another is sought after a Friday-night shooting in Irondale that appears to have stemmed from a dispute over a woman.
Irondale police and rescue workers responded about 9:15 p.m. to at a home in the 1500 block of Monticello Road on a report of someone shot. Det. Sgt. Michael Mangina said when they arrived on the scene, they found 26-year-old Drakkar Fontez Avery Christian wounded in the back yard. He had been shot with a rifle.
Christian was rushed to UAB Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 9:50 p.m. "Fortunately for us, there were several witnesses who gave us a perfect account of the events,'' Mangina said.
The shooting happened at a house where two sisters live with their mother. Detectives learned that the suspect, 32-year-old Broderick Lewayne Morgan, is the father of one of the sister's babies. He came to the home upset because he thought that Christian was seeing the mother of his child.
Mangina said the two men don't know each other. "It appears to be a domestic-related act of rage,'' he said.
Police Friday night issued a lookout bulletin for Morgan, but efforts to find him have been unsuccessful. Police on Saturday morning obtained a murder warrant against him. His bond is set at $150,000.
This is Irondale's first homicide of 2017 and the 60th in all of Jefferson County.
"This was a senseless murder,'' Mangina said. "This cold-hearted killer will be brought to justice."
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Irondale police at 205-956-5990 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. Morgan should be considered armed and dangerous.
Selling to North America has been a long-held dream for the Khoury family, owners of a microbrewery in Taybeh village.
Taybeh, Occupied West Bank When it launched in 1994, Taybeh Brewing Company was the Middle Easts first microbrewery; today, the family-owned business produces 600,000 litres of beer annually and is selling to the United States for the first time.
The convoluted journey to the US market involved a 40-foot container, 40,000 bottles of beer and wine, Israeli port bureaucracy and countless checkpoints but the owners were undeterred. Last month, Taybeh beer and wine were on the shelves of two US liquor stores for the first time.
Selling to North America has been a long-held dream for the Khoury family, who established their microbrewery in the small Palestinian village of Taybeh more than two decades ago.
Their products are made from grapes found in vineyards near the West Bank town of Birzeit and from hops and malt brewed in Taybeh, about 10km northeast of Ramallah.
People thought I was crazy, to come to the end of nowhere [in Palestine] and open a brewery, founder Nadim Khoury told Al Jazeera over the chink of the beer-bottling machine in Taybeh.
But the gambit paid off: Nadim recently travelled to the US city of Boston to oversee the arrival of the Palestinian wine and beer, which travelled from the commercial port at Ashdod, Israel.
We are very excited and happy to have finally been able to bring the beer to Boston, Nadims son, Canaan, told Al Jazeera. [My father] spent more than 15 years living there, and there is a lot of sentimental value in this accomplishment. His friends in the area have been ecstatic, waiting to try the beer since 1994.
Taybeh is a family enterprise: While Nadim and Canaan managed the US expansion, daughter Madees handled the brewery, with some help from her younger sister, Raneen, who is training to be a lawyer.
Brewing beer in Palestine is not like brewing beer anywhere else in the world, said Nadim, who opened the business with his brother, David, under the guidance of their late father.
From occupation to local ports, which we dont have, getting ingredients, the wall [Israels separation barrier], you name it you could make a book out of it.
IN PICTURES: The enduring art of Palestinian tiles
On the first day of sales at Foleys Liquors in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts, bottles of Taybehs Cabernet Sauvignon were accompanied by a sign reading: Conceived in Boston; created in the Holy Land; just hit US ground.
The Brighton Gourmet and Wine Cellar in the town of Brighton, Massachusetts, was also stocking Taybeh beer and wine and offering tastings.
Boston resident Nicholas Croce said that he sampled Taybeh beer on a previous visit to Israel and the occupied West Bank, and rushed to buy it two days after he heard it had become available in the US.
I had been waiting since I moved to Boston a few years ago to hear this news. I immediately told other friends, near and far, who have a connection to Israel and Palestine, Croce told Al Jazeera.
The high cost of shipping - due to checkpoints and other constraints posed by Israel - makes it extremely difficult to compete in the US market. by Canaan Khoury, Taybeh brewery
I do hope the beer grows in popularity [in the US], he added. Perhaps it can start important conversations. Ive always thought that peace is possible when we take the time to know each other, and if beer can facilitate that, I support Taybeh all the more.
Since the US launch, Taybehs Facebook page has been flooded with scores of comments from US residents, asking for expanded distribution from Nevada, to Washington, to Colorado.
But exporting to the US from the occupied Palestinian territories comes with inevitable challenges. Under the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureaus rules against making false or misleading statements on labels, Taybeh was told it had to remove the word Palestine from the Product of description on the beer label.
We are able to export the beer to many countries all over the world with the words Product of Palestine, such as Denmark, Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, Belgium, UK and even Israel, Canaan said.
However, the beer label was only approved for the US after Taybeh changed the wording to Product of West Bank.
In addition, the high cost of shipping due to checkpoints and other constraints posed by Israel makes it extremely difficult to compete in the US market, Canaan said.
The container got sent back twice and couldnt pass the checkpoints until it finally went through. These unforeseen costs make the situation even harder.
Showing Al Jazeera a beer keg sliced in half lengthways, Nadim explained how it accompanies him on export trips to Israeli ports, to convince officials at checkpoints that his cargo contains nothing illicit.
READ MORE: Israel harms Palestinian economy report
Despite the limitations imposed by Israeli authorities, however, Israel and the occupied West Bank make up 60 percent of Taybehs current market. Their products are not sold in Gaza.
Meanwhile, Madees, 31, points out that she is among the few if not the only female brewers in the Middle East region: When I started, I was 21, and then the older generation of distributors and suppliers were used to dealing with my father and uncle. But now they are much older, so their sons are taking over, and they would rather talk to me, not my dad and uncle. So its changing, and that makes me feel better.
She believes the family product is helping to shape the view of Palestine in the region and internationally.
With Taybeh, you are getting the name Palestine, and a high-quality product, to Israelis and you are changing the way they see Palestinians, she told Al Jazeera, sitting in the sunshine overlooking the olive groves that surround the brewery. [Our global expansion] resembles hope, determination, and success; not just for us, but for Palestinians in general.
One Afghan refugee describes how his life was destroyed in just 12 hours as he was returned to the country hed fled.
Kabul, Afghanistan Mohammad Shoaib Hosseini thought he was the luckiest man in Germany.
Seven years after fleeing his home in war-torn Afghanistan, he had a full-time job at a timber factory, rented a modest apartment and had friends who were like family.
But on March 27, his life imploded.
My question is, why did they destroy my life in just 12 hours, sending me here without money or any help. Is there anyone who can answer me? by Mohammad Shoaib Hosseini
At 9am, five police officers marched into his factory in the German city of Brandenburg, handcuffed him in front of his colleagues, and within just 12 hours had put him on a plane back to Afghanistan.
I asked them, Why? What have I done wrong?' he said. They said, Youve been rejected, thats why were sending you back.
Like hundreds of thousands of Afghans trying to escape conflict in their country, Hosseini had applied for asylum in Germany through a lawyer. His petition had been rejected twice, but he hoped his third appeal would be successful.
Even my lawyer didnt know that Id been rejected the third time, he said. They never sent me any letter or anything, so I wasnt worried. I thought theyd let me know if they were going to deport me.
When they handcuffed me, I was so ashamed. I asked them, Please dont handcuff me. Ill come with you. I asked them not to take me in front of my colleagues. Did I murder anyone?
We met Hosseini in Kabul hours after he arrived from Germany. He had 50 euros ($56) in his wallet, a small suitcase with clothes, and some documents given to him by the Afghan government recognising his citizenship.
My question is, why did they destroy my life in just 12 hours, sending me here without money or any help. Is there anyone who can answer me?
Germany has experienced an unprecedented influx of asylum seekers. In 2015 alone, 890,000 people arrived, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan. The country accepted around 40 to 50 percent of the Afghans seeking refuge.
But the doors are slowly closing on Chancellor Angela Merkels so-called open door refugee policy. With federal elections approaching on September 24, 2017, and a growing reluctance by voters to accept more refugees, Germany and other European Union countries are forcibly deporting asylum seekers whose applications have failed.
The deal was struck between the EU and the Afghan government last October in the lead up to a major donor conference in Brussels. Afghanistan would agree to take back its nationals and the EU would pledge more than $15bn in aid to the country. A leaked memo suggested that if Afghanistan had refused, the EU would slash donations to the impoverished country.
Some 80,000 Afghans are now expected to be deported from Europe, more than 12,000 from Germany alone.
The discussion is not about whether Afghanistan is a safe country which can receive deportees or not, said Thomas Ruttig, a German researcher and cofounder of the Afghanistan Analysts Network. Its more or less purely about domestic politics here in Germany.
Afghanistan is still one of the most intense conflicts in the world
According to Ruttig, between 2005 and 2015 Germany only deported Afghan asylum seekers under exceptional circumstances, because their home was considered too dangerous to return to.
But without the situation in Afghanistan really changing for the better, the government scrapped that.
Afghanistan is still one of the most intense, violent conflicts in the world. Its not that the government doesnt have information and they dont know about it. But its for domestic purposes that its presented in another way, he said.
Germany, and other countries, wanted to withdraw their soldiers [from Afghanistan] by the end of 2014 first and then 2016. It didnt happen. Its a clear indication that the time is not right for that, and deportations into that situation are really irresponsible.
Germanys interior minister, foreign minister and other senior officials rejected repeated requests from Al Jazeera for an interview.
But in a background briefing in the Afghan capital, Kabul, Germanys ambassador stated that every Afghan who is deported is given four weeks notice and the opportunity to apply for at least 700 euros ($784) in financial aid.
But this was not Hosseinis experience. Both he and his German lawyer told us that they never received any notice of deportation. Without this information, Hosseini said he had no reason to apply for financial aid.
On a document provided to him by the Afghan embassy in Berlin, it is stated that he volunteered to return to his country. How could I have come voluntarily? I never signed the documents. I didnt even know I was being deported, he said.
If someone is coming voluntarily, they let them know in advance. A person can sell his possessions, vacate his home. But you come to my work, you handcuff me and then you show me a fake document that I came voluntarily. Am I crazy that I would come here where I dont know anyone?
Hosseini spoke to us in his small bedroom in a temporary hostel in Kabul run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for deported Afghans who have nowhere else to go.
His father had sold their family home in Kandahar province to pay for his journey to Germany. His family has since fled to Nepal to register as asylum seekers with the UN, hoping to be resettled somewhere else. He has no family left in Afghanistan.
Every mother and father want the best for their child. They want them to achieve their potential. But in Afghanistan theres nothing. Theres no work, theres only war. Thats why they send their kids overseas. Thats why my parents sent me, so that I could eventually help them.
They took away my home, my job and now Im worried about my family in Nepal, because I would send them money. What will happen to them?
In a few days, Hosseini will be forced to leave his hostel because the IOM provides accommodation for only 14 days.
Here in Kabul, in all of Afghanistan, I have nobody. I made a life over there for seven years. I made friends. It was really hard, but now Im here. Where can I go? he asked.
Alaa Arsheed and his musical partner plan to compose new songs while travelling along the Balkans refugee route.
Syrian violinist and composer Alaa Arsheed plays the violin with his eyes closed, following the rhythm and moving slightly to the notes. When he reopens them, he smiles widely at his friend and fellow composer, Isaac de Martin, who smiles back at him.
Music is their passion, and they aim to use it to send a message of peace. After being invited to perform with their band, the Adovabadan Jazz Orchestra, at a journalism festival in Italy last month, the duo opted to launch a crowdfunding campaign to play their music along a route well-travelled by Syrian refugees.
The idea is that of a music tour by camper through the Balkans, driving from Italy to Greece, walking [along] the refugees route, meeting artists and recording an album, as well as providing music sessions and workshops for refugees, Arsheed, a Syrian refugee who has lived in Italy since 2015, told Al Jazeera.
Although he misses his family, who are split between Syria and Lebanon, Arsheed decided to seek asylum in Europe after he was granted a music scholarship by the Italian organisation Fabrica. In the meantime, he holds regular jamming sessions over Skype with some of his family members who are also musicians.
Playing the violin takes Arsheed back to his memories of his home city, Sweida, in southern Syria. In 2006, his father founded an art space and library called Alpha, where artworks were exhibited monthly and young musicians used to gather, listen and play music.
To Arsheed, this represented the beginning of a broader cultural revolution in the Arab world, culminating in the 2011 uprising.
If you entered this art space, you could see someone painting while another was playing an instrument, and a lot of people were coming in and sharing, Arsheed recalled. Every week, we had a different cultural event: fine arts exhibitions, poetry nights and music concerts. And so, every week, we had also a man from the [Syrian] intelligence, sitting at the table, watching and listening to our talks.
But I felt his human side, Arsheed added. When he was looking at paintings and listening to music, he was touched by that.
WATCH: Syria, songs of defiance
During the uprisings that spread across the Arab world in 2011, Sweidas citizens also began to demonstrate peacefully in the streets, expressing a sincere desire for change. The states reaction, however, was swift and harsh.
Men of pro-government militias came to destroy and attack our space, burning books and musical instruments, Arsheed said. When these violent men see art, they see freedom; this is the reason why they arrived there to steal our dreams. They were afraid of change, and they wanted everyone to be like them. On the contrary, in that period, someone wrote in a cafe [the famous phrase]: I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.'
The art space was forcibly closed by police and Arsheeds father was jailed for a month. At that point, Arsheed and his sisters realised that it was no longer safe for them to remain in Syria.
Arsheed left with his violin and a few belongings, and moved to Beirut to finish his studies in music. He also taught music in the Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila, worked in television, radio and theatre, and had the chance to play violin for a performance of Majnoon Yehki alongside Lebanese playwright Ziad Rahbani in 2013.
But only after he arrived in Italy was he finally able to produce his debut, Sham, an eight-song album inspired by his life and musical journey. Along with de Martin, Arsheed later founded Alpha Art to pursue the construction of a new international art gallery based on the one founded by his family in Sweida.
After many concerts and a festival in Italy, the duo are now focusing their energies on the next big project: their tour through the Balkans route.
READ MORE: Painting away the trauma of Syrias war
The journey will take approximately one month, de Martin estimated. The camper will serve us to move, to sleep and to record. In fact, we want to transfer our studio in there: speakers, mixers, PC, microphones, cables, musical instruments. At each stage of our journey from Italy to Greece crossing Slovenia, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia we will interact with talented artists and with people and register a track for the album Seeds.
At the same time, the music tour will become a documentary film, with a director and crew joining them along the route.
I hope this project also produces seeds of hope for Syria, Arsheed said. Music has to become the turning point from brutality to hope.
The cost of investing in Iraqs education will be high, but the return of this investment will be immense.
Even though 200,000 people 85,000 of them children continue to be trapped in the violence raging in west Mosuls Old City area, work is ongoing to re-open 47 schools in the areas of west Mosul that were retaken from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) by Iraqi forces.
I visited east Mosul, which was fully recaptured by Iraqi forces in January this year, after the violence wound down. I spoke to many parents; their one request was for schools to re-open and for their children to finally continue their education after being deprived of it for so long.
Since then, many schools in east Mosul are reopened with remarkable success. Although many challenges remain for families living in this section of the city, more than 380,000 children are now back in school.
We have seen this enthusiasm for education in the face of incredibly difficult circumstances across Iraq: in Fallujah and in Ramadi we have seen young children, girls holding hands, step their way through the debris of war to reach their school. And even if theres no electricity and its dark in the classrooms, or there is not enough space, Iraqi children and their teachers go to school every morning.
Children tell us that they see their school like a second home, a place where they can not only study but also play with their friends. Teachers have told us how happy they are to be back in their classrooms, and they have asked for more books, more materials, more training.
READ MORE: Mosul University after ISIL Damaged but defiant
Just like teachers, Iraqi families are also committed to providing a good education to their children. They know that without education, their children will not be able to achieve their potential, their hopes, their dreams and aspirations.
But a report on The Costs and Benefits of Education recently released by the Iraqi Ministry of Education with the support of UNICEF, notes that Iraq spent only 5.7 per cent of its government expenditure on education in the 2015-16 school year, which puts the country on the bottom rank of Middle East countries in any given year.
The report states that a relatively large gender gap remains in Iraqs education system and adds that children from poor families are more likely to be out of school compared with children from well-off families.
According to the report, only half of Iraqs internally displaced children have access to school and the cost to Iraqs economy of having so many children out of school is roughly $1bn in unrealised potential wages.
There is an urgent need to increase investment in the countrys education sector if we do not want to lose one of Iraqs key accomplishments, namely being a leading country on education in the Middle East.
This can be achieved through a number of concrete steps: improving the efficiency of the educational system; providing more equitable access to educational opportunities; investing more in teachers training; rewriting the curricula; and elevating the quality of childrens overall learning outcomes. The economic cost of dropouts and grade repetitions that largely result from academic failure, accounts for almost 20 per cent of the countrys education budget.
While we see Iraqi children lining up to go back to their classrooms, it is a fact that half of the nations schools are in need of repair. Many schools in Iraq are currently running on a multiple system we sometimes see triple or even quadruple shifts in schools.
Iraqi students, who have very limited learning opportunities outside school, are having as little as 10 contact hours of interaction with their teachers on average a week, and this lack of contact is depriving them of quality education. Only 70 per cent of the children who attend the evening shift in their school can pass the national assessment.
Quality education is not entirely about teaching children technical skills; its also about making sure that they learn life skills and values. It serves the social function of cultivating a generation that is ready to rebuild a peaceful Iraq. Education has been identified as one of the key conditions for sustainable peace and reconciliation within societies. Just one extra year of schooling can significantly reduce the probability of a young person engaging in violent crimes.
Iraq needs decentralised and community-based management. This needs to be facilitated by school-based grants and a curriculum that encourages personal empowerment and active citizenship as well as facilitating quality learning and employability.
The cost of investing in Iraqs education will be high, but the return of this investment will be immense.
Peter Hawkins is the UNICEF Representative in Iraq. He has more than 20 years of experience in the humanitarian and international development sector. He previously worked in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Nigeria.
The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
US at odds with other six members as President Donald Trump refuses to endorse the Paris climate change accord.
German leader Angela Merkel said on Saturday that US President Donald Trumps G7 partners remained in the dark about his intentions on climate change, calling the debate at a summit in Sicily very unsatisfactory.
The whole discussion on the topic of climate was very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory, Merkel said, as the two-day G7 summit of some of the worlds wealthiest nations in the seaside town of Taormina, Sicily, drew to a close.
Here we have a situation of six against one, meaning there is still no sign of whether the US will remain in the Paris accord or not, she added.
A final G7 communique on Saturday said that all member countries except the US had reaffirmed their strong commitment to abide by the 2015 Paris climate agreement to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
READ MORE: Seven things you need to know about the G7 summit
Trump says he will make a final decision on whether the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Trumps campaign. Trump once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax.
But Gary Cohn, Trumps economic adviser, on Friday said the president had told his G7 colleagues that he regarded the environment as important.
His views are evolving, he came here to learn, Cohn said. His basis for a decision ultimately will be whats best for the United States.
The US is the worlds biggest carbon emitter after China.
Al Jazeeras Laurence Lee, reporting from Taormina, said the picture that had emerged from the summit was largely of one against six, particularly as the other countries tried to explain their belief in the importance of the Paris accords.
You sort of get the sense that he doesnt feel comfortable in this group, he said.
Its a bit like what Vladimir Putin was like when Russia was in the G8; [looking] a little bit separate, looking a bit surly and like he doesnt really belong here. [Trump] seemed to be much more comfortable in Saudi Arabia and in Israel, said Lee.
Lee said that the US had apparently won some battles at the summit, particularly regarding refugees.
Italy frustrated on refugee debate
Italy was disappointed not to receive more backing for its call to open up more legal channels for immigration to try to slow the flow of people risking their lives to reach Europe on flimsy boats from lawless Libya.
That was very much Donald Trumps doing because he said [the US] didnt want to take any more refugees just because the G7 wants to, reported Al Jazeeras Lee.
Reuters reported that a European diplomat, who declined to be named, said: There was very strong opposition by the Americans and British who wanted to refocus on security and water down the expansive language on freedom of movement.
The G7 also stated that they are ready if necessary to slap extra sanctions on Russia if it continues failing to honour its commitments on Ukraine, the summit declaration reads.
Sanctions can be rolled back when Russia meets its commitments. However, we also stand ready to take further restrictive measures in order to increase costs on Russia should its actions so require, the final statement read.
The G7, urged on by Japan, also adopted common language against North Korea after a series of missile tests by the nuclear-armed nation. The G7 statement said that North Korea poses an increasing threat of a grave nature to international peace and security.
The G7 leaders also reached agreement on improving cooperation against terrorism in the wake of the bomb attack on a concert in Manchester on Monday night that left 22 people dead and dozens wounded.
Verbal agreement on trade
There was relief that Trump agreed to language on trade in the final G7 communique that commits to a rules-based international trade system.
The final declaration pledged to fight against protectionism while standing firm against unfair trade practices.
The issue is sensitive because Trump has questioned free trade policies normally traditionally championed by the G7.
His treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said the US reserves the right to be protectionist if trade arrangements are unfair to US companies and workers.
INSIDE STORY: Is Donald Trump against free trade?
The G7 is an informal gathering that meets every year under a rotating chairmanship. Its decisions are not binding as an international treaty would be simply representing the leaders political commitments.
The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them to reach a wider audience.
The G7 countries are: Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the US, and the UK. The European Union also attends.
Media frenzy follows departure of Schapelle Corby, whose imprisonment for drug smuggling riveted her homeland.
Australian Schapelle Corby was deported from Bali on Saturday, 12 years after being convicted of drug trafficking on the tourist island, battling through a media storm in a dramatic end to a saga that has captivated her homeland.
Her final day on the Indonesian island was a blaze of media attention, as she was hustled out of a villa with her face hidden under a scarf, and then chased by a huge pack of journalists across Bali before boarding a flight home.
In a final twist, she managed to outsmart the media by heading back to Brisbane on a different flight than had been widely expected, apparently to avoid travelling with a large contingent of reporters.
The day of drama was a fitting finale to a story that has fascinated the Australian public like few others in recent times.
READ MORE: Australias Schapelle Corby phenomenon
The beauty-school dropout was arrested in 2004 at the age of 27 after customs officers at Balis airport found 4 kilograms of marijuana stashed inside her surfing bag, sparking a media frenzy in Australia on par with Americas OJ Simpson trial.
The drama was tailor-made for TV: a photogenic Australian beach girl who had apparently fallen victim to corrupt officials in an Asian country that had come to be viewed with fear and suspicion after dozens of Australians were killed in the 2002 Bali bombings.
A court sentenced her to 20 years in prison, though that was later reduced.
Corby, now 39, maintained her innocence, insisting the drugs had been planted, and received much support back home.
Proving her innocence became a national cause, sparking Free Schapelle T-shirts and Boycott Bali banners.
Her face took the place of celebrities on magazine covers, but she was not beloved by all. Some dubbed her a bogan Australian slang that means white trash.
Her sentence was cut due to regular remissions and after an appeal to the president, and she served nine years behind bars. She was released early in 2014 but was required to remain on Bali for three years under the conditions of her parole.
Australian media descended on Bali ahead of her homecoming, camping out outside her villa for several days as Corby did her best to stay hidden.
The Ganja Queen
Hundreds of police were deployed to provide security on Saturday. Corby was led out of the villa in the afternoon, hidden under the scarf and wearing a pair of sunglasses, before being whisked away in a convoy that included armoured vehicles.
The view of the Australian has been starkly different in Indonesia than in her homeland. She was dubbed The Ganja Queen by the local press and received little sympathy from the public, who largely support the countrys tough anti-drugs laws.
Bali officials have been forced to defend the huge security deployment for her departure, with corrections chief Surung Pasaribu saying the Australian consulate on the island had requested help to ensure it went smoothly.
We will pray for her that she will repent, God wants humans to return to the right path, he said.
She headed first to government offices to fill out documents. Good bye to this parole paperwork, she posted on her Instagram account, which already had over 67,000 followers just a few hours after being set up.
Corby then headed to the airport, pursued all the way by a massive Australian press pack, who broadcast every moment live to the millions who have followed her case for years.
Despite the controversy surrounding her case, Indonesia has stepped up its campaign against drug use since she was jailed.
Authorities have embarked on a campaign of executions targeting drug smugglers, and in April 2015 put to death two Australians along with six other foreigners.
Unmarried couples have until the end of the year to legalise their relationships, Burundi government has said, as part of an effort to reform morals in the country.
The order follows the launch of a campaign this month by President Pierre Nkurunziza to moralise society where he urges Burundians to show their love for each other and their country by getting married.
The government has since been pressuring unwed couples across the country to tie the knot.
Terence Ntahiraja, interior ministry spokesman, told the AFP news agency that Burundi was facing a population explosion, which he blamed on illegal marriages, polygamy, bigamy and hundreds of schoolgirls getting pregnant.
READ MORE: Burundi today, after a year of unrest
He said church and state-sanctioned weddings were the solution and were a patriotic duty.
Authorities in the southeastern province of Rutana have ordered that persons living in common-law unions should be put on a special list by 22 June, while officials in northwestern Bubanza province have demanded unspecified sanctions against aisle-dodgers.
Positive traditional values
Pierre, a 27-year-old farmer living with his partner in Ngozi, in Burundis north, said local officials had threatened him with a 50,000 Burundian franc ($29) fine and said any child born out of wedlock would not be eligible for free education and medical costs.
Pierre said he had not married because he could not afford the bride price demanded by his girlfriends family.
She told me she was pregnant. As I am poor, we decided to come together to raise our child, he told AFP. We thought we would legalise our union as soon as we could afford it.
That was five years ago and the couple is now onto their third child.
To enact the presidents orders, officials have begun organising mass weddings, something one civil society activist opposed as a violation of human rights because the state has no right to attack two adults who have decided to live together without being married.
READ MORE: Wasting away in Burundi
The activist said the forced marriages were part of a religious crusade led by Nkurunziza and his wife, both fervent, born-again evangelical Christians.
Ntahiraja, the ministrys spokesman, dismissed such arguments saying the governments campaign was within the law.
We want Burundians to understand that everyone is responsible for his life, we want order in this country, he said.
All this is done within the framework of the patriotic training programme, he added, referring to an initiative launched by Nkurunziza in August 2013 to reinforce positive traditional values.
Since 2015, when Nkurunziza ran for a controversial third term, at least 500 people have been killed in political violence while around 400,000 have fled Burundi for refugee camps in neighbouring countries.
Tens of thousands fled the town of Bria after heavy fighting broke out this week in Central African Republics south.
Bria, Central African Republic The sounds of heavy gunfire drew Herman Pouka from his house one morning last week, putting him face to face with armed men in camouflage.
As soon as I saw them I lost my senses, he recalled. I ran.
He hid in a neighbours house until the firing subsided, then donned womens clothes to flee towards a nearby UN base. They dont do anything to the women. Us? They kill us, he explained.
He joined some 40,000 others whod fled an eruption of violence in this central mining town. About two dozen people were killed in the fighting including Poukas brother, Jonathan.
Jonathan had been walking with a friend when firing erupted; the friend ran and later recounted hearing Jonathans cries.
He was so fun. He smiled a lot, Pouka said, his body starting to shake before he devolved into guttural sobs. We havent been able to bury him The pigs ate at his body.
The fighting in Bria is the culmination of a spasm of violence that killed about 300 people in two weeks around the Cental African Republic. It has sent shockwaves through an already traumatised population and ripples of fear throughout CAR that the country is descending back into chaos.
A predominantly Muslim rebel coalition known as the Seleka toppled CARs government in 2013, looting and killing its way through the country. Local defence groups dubbed the anti-Balaka rose up to fight them. Both sides were accused of atrocities.
The arrival of UN peacekeepers in September 2014 helped staunch the bloodshed, but not before thousands of lives were lost and some 800,000 people forced from their homes. A democratic election was held in 2016 which was billed as a sign of hope for CARs future.
But just over a year later, those hopes have all but evaporated. And the international community has started to withdraw and look away.
Elections should not be made as a benchmark for the international community to leave, cautioned Joseph Inganji, the UN humanitarian agencys chief of office for CAR.
OPINION: Chasing ghosts in the Central African Republic
Today, CARs democratically elected government wields little to no power outside of the capital, Bangui. More than a dozen armed groups control vast swathes of the country, exercising their own brands of authority from taxation to justice.
And the shaky calm that had held since the election has in recent weeks erupted into violence at a level not seen in years some say since the peak of the conflict in 2014. The fighting has taken on ethnic dimensions, adding another layer of complexity to an already complicated and fragmented crisis.
The UN said on Thursday that 300 people have died in renewed violence in the past two weeks. There was an attack on the southern town of Alindao. A days-long assault on the southeastern town of Bangassou followed. Six UN peacekeepers were killed in the span of a week. And then the guns started firing in Bria.
The situation is worsening, Inganji said. We can only know the consequences that are related to this upsurge of violence, but actually who is behind that or why the violence is increasing, we really do not know.
A November attack in Bria was still fresh in the minds of those in the town when fighting erupted last week.
When it comes to the question of why the situation has exploded anew, the answer is: Its complicated.
Locals and analysts alike tend to reject the idea religion is or was truly behind the initial crisis and todays violence. They say its more about power, and profit.
Some analysts suggested that armed groups grew tired of waiting for promised positions in the government and broader representation like the ex-Seleka in particular. Others said its about CARs multitude of natural resources; more still said it was just too difficult to know what exactly is driving the violence.
The promises or the hope that the elections brought about havent materialised and we continue to see serious challenges with issues like disarmament, demobilisation, reconciliation and very importantly justice and accountability, said Evan Cinq-Mars, a CAR expert and a policy adviser at the non-profit Center for Civilians in Conflict.
All of these outstanding issues not being resolved are contributing to these cycles of violence and the upswing.
Still, he said the violence must be viewed in the context of a broader deterioration of the security situation and civilian protection since mid-2016.
Thats when different factions of the Seleka attempted to align themselves under one broader umbrella movement. However, one faction known as the UPC resisted.
That really kicked off what weve seen since November particularly in Bria, Bambari, and other areas of the east and south, Cinq-Mars explained.
Interactive: The war across the river
Now in addition to fighting each other, armed groups are targeting civilians based on ethnicity, religion, and perceived support for other combatants.
That means its becomes increasingly difficult to figure out who is fighting who. These days, its not just the ex-Seleka or anti-Balaka.
When it comes to the recent attacks, people need to start asking questions about who these individuals are, who theyre tied to, Cinq-Mars said.
The Seleka were at the outset an alliance, or coalition, of predominantly Muslim groups. Those have since fractured.
The term ex-Seleka I dont think its very useful anymore because the efforts to bring all different groups under one umbrella have not really progressed, Cinq-Mars added. Now, they dont call themselves that. They call themselves the FPRC, the UPC.
At least one faction of the ex-Seleka the FPRC has struck a tenuous alliance with elements of the anti-Balaka, once their sworn enemy. They united to fight against the UPC and according to some the Peuhl ethnic minority. The UPCs leader is an ethnic Peuhl.
The nature of the anti-Balaka is even harder to pin down given that the term from the outset referred to a disparate grouping of local self-defence militias with no clear chain of command.
To Cinq-Mars, billing recent violence as clashes between ex-Seleka factions and anti-Balaka could even be counterproductive.
Im not sure that calling these groups one name or another adds anything but more questions because its really difficult to nail down whos committing what, he added.
That doesnt mean civilians are any less scared of what is to come.
People are very nervous about the situation, Oxfams CAR country director Ferran Puig told Al Jazeera. The tension is very, very high.
He described how security and alliances change in CAR from day to day, calling the situation very confusing.
What needs to happen is really for [armed groups] to stop this fighting, to negotiate a peace agreement or something like that Just think about people, he said. But now it looks like thats really a dream, at least for the short term.
READ MORE: Four UN peacekeepers killed in Central African Republic
The south and southeast of the country are of particular concern going forward not least because the UN peacekeeping mission is overstretched and under-resourced. The withdrawal of US Special Forces and Ugandan troops too deployed in the southeast of CAR in search of LRA leader Joseph Kony isnt expected to bode well for civilians.
Its contributed to a larger security vacuum in that region of CAR that is certainly posing problematic as the situation deteriorates in the south and southeast, Cinq-Mars said.
In the absence of international peacekeepers and given the fact that this is an area which largely does not have any state presence, were going to see armed groups continue to control vast swathes of territory in CAR and subject civilians in these areas to abuses, extortion, taxation.
In the meantime, aid agencies warn the number of internally displaced could soon hit 500,000. Compounding matters is a grossly underfunded humanitarian aid appeal at just 16 percent in a country where half the population is in need of assistance.
The pope last week appealed for peace in Central African Republic and the International Criminal Court said it was monitoring the recent wave of violence.
For now, Bria is calm but tensions are still running high. Officials say members of armed groups have infiltrated sites for the displaced. Fighters can be spotted throughout the town along with packs of pigs, foraging in the mud and grass.
The fighting displaced almost the entire population of Bria, giving the red-dusty streets the eerie sense of a ghost town.
By Friday signs of civilian life were returning a few shops had opened and some people appeared to be returning to their homes.
Sylviane Longago, though, said she would not be among them.
The house was burned. Where will I go? the 42-year-old mother of eight asked, crouching in a muddy site for the displaced. I have no option other than to stay here.
She was with her husband and children when shots rang out on Tuesday, telling Al Jazeera even the small ones understood the noise meant danger.
I left with only the clothes Im wearing, she said, pointing to her blue yellow and green wrap. We fled into the bush.
Longago said she passed out from duress amid the chaos; her husband was shot in the foot while carrying her to safety. On a recent afternoon they sat in an empty and half-finished shelter, a filthy bandage covering her husbands wound.
I dont know what were going to do, she said, listing off what her family had lost. Even the childrens notebooks, their clothes burned.
Who is the one that did this and can feel nothing? she asked. Everyone feels something.
She added: Theyre thieves. They came just to steal. Justice must be done.
At least 18 people killed in a suicide car bomb attack in a crowded area of the eastern city of Khost.
A suicide car bomber has attacked Afghan police providing security to US forces in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 18 people, government officials said.
The attack, responsibility for which has been claimed by the Taliban, took place around 8:30am (04:00 GMT) on Saturday near a stadium and bus station in Khost City, Mubariz Zadran, a spokesman for the governor of Khost province, told Al Jazeera.
Eighteen people were killed and 10 people injured, including two children, Zadran said. The target of the attack was Afghan police and US forces, but most of the victims were civilians.
Saturday was a public holiday in Afghanistan as it marked the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
In clear defiance to a call by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan for a ceasefire during Ramadan, the Taliban announced on Friday they would intensify their attacks during the month.
Separately, 10 civilians, including women and children, were killed and six others were wounded when a minibus hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistans western Herat province on Friday.
The incident took place in Adraskan district of Herat on Friday morning, Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for the Herat provincial police, said on Saturday.
Philippines president reassures soldiers who might be accused of committing abuses under Mindanao island martial law.
President Rodrigo Duterte joked on Friday that soldiers could rape up to three women, as he reassured them of his full support under his newly declared martial law in southern Philippines.
Duterte made the comments in jest during a speech to soldiers on Mindanao island, where he imposed military rule law on Tuesday to try to crush ISIL-linked fighters, who have been battling the army after laying siege to Marawi City.
The president, who is known for remarks often deemed offensive, reiterated that only he would be liable for any backlash. He has, however, said he would not tolerate abuses.
If you go down, I go down. But for this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible. Just do your job, I will take care of the rest, Duterte said at an army base in Iligan City, outside Marawi City, according to a presidents office transcript.
Ill imprison you myself, he said, referring to any soldiers who commit violations. Then he joked: If you had raped three, I will admit it, thats on me.
READ MORE: Mindanao crisis A city on fire
This was not the first time Duterte has made a joke about rape.
In the lead-up to his presidential election win last year, he caused an outrage when he recalled a 1989 prison riot in which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined up to rape her.
In what was intended as a joke, Duterte said the victim was beautiful and as mayor of Davao City, where the riot took place, he should have been first in line. He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women or rape victims.
Duterte is known for his informal style and his speeches are often loaded with profanity, threats and jokes about taboo subjects, which offend some, but are taken lightly by many Filipinos.
More bombs
Meanwhile, Philippine security forces on Saturday dropped more bombs on Marawi, as truckloads of troops were driven into the city.
We have identified where they are consolidating so we are doing surgical air strikes to destroy the local terrorist group, military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Jo-ar Herrera told the AFP news agency.
Marawi is one of the biggest Muslim-populated cities in the mainly Catholic Philippines. Its population of about 200,000 residents had largely been evacuated because of the fighting.
READ MORE: Peace is still possible in Dutertes Philippines
The violence erupted on Tuesday when dozens of gunmen went on a rampage throughout Marawi City in response to an attempt by security forces to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran Filipino fighter regarded as the local leader of armed groups that have pledged allegiance to ISIL.
The gunmen planted black ISIL flags, took a priest and up to 14 other people hostage from a church, and set fire to buildings.
Duterte has vowed to extinguish the threat of the fighters, whom he has said belong to the banned local Maute group but are being backed by criminals in the area.
Armed fighters working with criminals and corrupt politicians are common across Mindanao, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s.
Aid groups express alarm over civilians safety as Iraqi forces seek to push last remaining ISIL fighters out of Mosul.
Iraqi forces have launched a broad assault on parts of Mosul, closing in on the remaining pockets of territory held by ISIL, amid growing concerns over the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk of being caught in the crossfire.
Saturdays offensive to retake three ISIL-held neighbourhoods north of Mosuls Old City is the latest push in the more than seven-month battle to drive ISIL out of its last stronghold in Iraq.
Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and Counter-Terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement, speaking about the locations on the west bank of the River Tigris.
At least 15 Iraqi soldiers were killed in ISIL suicide attacks in the first day of the offensive, security sources said on Sunday. More than 30 ISIL fighters were also killed in clashes.
The three neighbourhoods are seen as the last areas that separate Iraqi forces from ISILs last bastion in Mosuls Old City.
They have narrow streets and closely-spaced buildings which pose significant challenge to the forces seeking to oust ISIL, also known as ISIS.
Military and political analysts expect that it could take several days for the Iraqi forces to gain hold of these territories, before making their final push for Mosuls Old City.
Trapped behind ISIL lines
The United Nations expressed deep concern for the hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped behind ISIL lines, in a statement on Saturday from the organisations under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen OBrien.
Although the UN is not present in the areas where fighting is occurring, we have received very disturbing reports of families being shut inside booby-trapped homes and of children being deliberately targeted by snipers, he said.
The UN last week said up to 200,000 more people could flee Mosul as fighting moves to the Old City.
About 700,000 people, or a third of the pre-war citys population, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps or neighbouring towns and cities.
In Erbil, east of Mosul, thousands of people have been brought to receive treatment, including many children.
I was trying to escape from the Old City at 3am and two bullets hit me, a young boy told Al Jazeera from an Erbil hospital. One ripped through my leg, the other in my groin.
Al Jazeeras Osama bin Javaid, reporting from Erbil, said the childs story is repeated hundreds of times in each hospital of the city.
Almost all children in this ward are from the embattled city of Mosul. Most of them have been wounded as they try to reach towards safety, but in densely populated Mosul, where bombs continue to fall and snipers continue to shoot, there is no place that is safe, he said.
READ MORE In west Mosul, nowhere is safe for civilians
ISIL overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air raids have since regained much of the territory they lost to the group.
Iraqi forces launched a major operation to retake Mosul in October last year, fighting their way to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
The battle has taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee, while hundreds more have been killed or wounded.
Trumps son-in-law tried to create a secure communications channel with Russia in December, Washington Post reports.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian envoy to set up a secret and bug-proof communications line with Moscow, according to a Washington Post report.
The report is the latest allegation of potential collusion between Trumps campaign team and Russia, which US government intelligence agencies have accused of meddling in last years election in the Republicans favour.
Kushner proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the secure communications, the Post reported late on Friday, citing anonymous US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The alleged proposal was made at a meeting on December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower in New York with Russias Ambassador Sergei Kislyak, weeks before Trump took office.
Kislyak, whose communications with his superiors about the meeting were intercepted by the US, reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion, according to the Post.
Kushner, 36, is a real estate developer who is married to Trumps daughter, Ivanka. He is a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser to Trump, involved in everything from Middle East peace to an initiative to streamline the US bureaucracy.
OPINION: The US never-ending days of reckoning
The December meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security adviser, who resigned after just 25 days on the job and who is at the centre of the FBIs Russia probe into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
Kushner also met that month with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of VneshEconomBank, the Russian state-owned bank under US sanctions since July 2014.
Both those meetings have since been publicly acknowledged by the White House, but Kushner initially failed to declare them on forms submitted to obtain a security clearance.
His lawyer later said it was a mistake, telling the FBI that he would amend the forms.
The White House did not immediately comment on the Posts Friday report.
Witch hunt
Besides the Kushner developments, which strikes at Trumps core by drawing his family into the crisis, the White House also faces a cascade of other worries in the coming week.
James Comey, the fired ex-FBI director, has promised to testify at a yet unscheduled open session before the Senate Intelligence Committee, sometime after Mondays Memorial Day holiday.
And the White House staff itself could be facing upheaval. CBS News reported that Trump is expected to consider plans for a shakeup of his communications operation upon his return.
READ MORE: Trump condemns probe by special counsel for Russia
The FBI investigation is now being overseen by Robert Mueller, a respected former FBI director who was given broad powers to pursue the case as a special counsel after Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9.
Trump has denied any collusion between his campaign and Russia, calling the probe the greatest witch hunt in American political history.
Russia has also denied interfering in the November 8 US election.
Former CIA director John Brennan revealed this week that intelligence chiefs had been looking into suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials since mid-2016.
It should be clear to everyone Russia brazenly interfered in our 2016 presidential election process and that they undertook these activities despite our strong protests and explicit warning that they do not do so, he told the US House of Representatives Intelligence Committee.
The Senate and House Intelligence Committees also are investigating, but not with an eye to bringing criminal charges.
Moroccan authorities were engaged in a manhunt on Saturday for a protest leader in the Rif region. His arrest was ordered for interrupting an imams prayer sermon following more than six months of social unrest.
The kings prosecutor late on Friday ordered the opening of an investigation and the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi after he obstructed, in the company of a group of individuals, freedom of worship in the Mohammed V mosque in Al-Hoceima.
The northern port city has been rocked by protests since the death in October of a fishmonger crushed in a garbage truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.
Calls for justice for Mouhcine Fikri, 31, in the ethnically Berber Rif region soon evolved into a grassroots movement demanding jobs and economic development, with Zefzafi emerging as the leader of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or Popular Movement.
Zefzafis whereabouts on Saturday were unclear.
WATCH: Whats behind Moroccos street protests?
According to the prosecutor, the protest leader on Friday stopped the preacher from continuing his sermon, giving a provocative speech in which he insulted the imam and fomented disturbances that undermined the calm and sacredness of the place of worship.
Mobile phone footage shared on Facebook shows Zefzafi calling the imam a liar, asking whether mosques were built for God or those in power, and slamming those who want to make the Rif capitulate.
A relative of Zefzafi said the protest leader had managed to escape arrest as he left the mosque on Friday.
Shortly after, in footage broadcast on social media, the leader appeared on his rooftop in Al-Hoceima surrounded by supporters, saying: Im not scared. If they want to arrest me, let them come.
In another video posted afterwards, he said he was safe and sound and called for peaceful demonstrations.
His supporters said on Facebook his home had been searched.
A source at the interior ministry said Zefzafi had not been arrested, adding that young protesters had thrown stones at security forces on Friday in the city of some 56,000 inhabitants.
Official news agency MAP said clashes between demonstrators and police wounded several people, including three members of the security forces who were seriously injured.
Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit led a large government delegation on a visit to Al-Hoceima on Monday, the latest trip to the region to promise projects to boost the local economy.
The Chaman border crossing was closed last month after troops from both sides traded fire, leaving 15 dead.
Pakistan announced it had reopened a major border crossing with Afghanistan on Saturday, more than three weeks after at least 15 people were killed when troops from both sides exchanged fire for several hours.
The Chaman crossing into Afghanistans Kandahar province was reopened on humanitarian grounds after Afghan officials submitted a request, according to a statement by the Pakistani military.
The move to reopen the crossing comes on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Pakistan.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghans were killed on May 5, according to the statement.
Pakistan claims the violence began when Afghan forces opened fire on census workers and troops escorting them. Kabul blames Pakistan for initiating the gunfire.
READ MORE: Pakistan-Afghanistan crossing closed after border clash
Mohammad Sharif Gharzi, an official from the Afghan passport department at Spin Boldak, said the border reopened around 4pm local time on Saturday after negotiations between officials from both countries.
We welcome the opening of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan at Spin Boldak, said Gharzi.
He added that, given the pressure on locals fasting during Ramadan, this was great news for all.
Pakistan shares a porous, 2,200km-long border with Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, a Pakistani oil tanker driver was killed on Saturday when his vehicle was hit by a mortar round fired by the Iranian border force in the Panjgur area of the southwestern Baluchistan province bordering Iran, said Abdul Jabbar, an administrator in the district.
Abdul Jabbar said the incident would be raised at the upcoming flag meeting of border officials from both countries.
Deal struck with Israel after intense talks hailed as victory for Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike for 40 days.
A mass hunger strike staged by Palestinian prisoners over conditions in Israeli jails was suspended on Saturday after a deal with Israel, officials said.
About 1,500 inmates launched the actionon April 17, in one of the largest such strikes.
The 40-day hunger strike raised tensions with Israel as protests in support of the strikers spilled over into clashes in the occupied West Bank and along the Israel-Gaza border.
More than 800 prisoners, who had stuck with the hunger strike until Saturday, ended it after talks held with the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Authority concluded in an agreement with Israel, allowing prisoners to receive two visitors per month.
Issa Karaka, Chairman of Prisoners Affairs at the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), confirmed the inmates had agreed to stop the strike.
WATCH: Whats behind Palestinian prisoners hunger strike?
On Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Raad al-Hussein urged Israel to improve conditions for Palestinians in its custody.
Both Karaka and the Israeli Prisons Service did not initially divulge the full details of the agreement. However, the Prison Service did say that a second monthly family visit would be reinstated after it had been cut in the past.
After intense negotiations, a compromise was reached on the just demands of the prisoners and based on the agreement, the details of which will be disclosed later, the strike has ended, Jamal Mheysen, a member of the central committee of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbass Fatah movement, said in Ramallah.
Today, we declare the victory of the prisoners and the Palestinian people. We declare the triumph of the prisoners in their epic struggle and fight for freedom and dignity, he added.
The strike was called by Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, the most high-profile Palestinian jailed in Israel, to protest against solitary confinement and an Israeli practice of detention without trial that has been applied to thousands of prisoners since the 1980s.
Other demands included longer and more regular family visits, landlines installed in prisons and better healthcare.
There are currently 6,500 Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including more than 500 administrative detainees, according to Jerusalem-based prisoner rights group Addameer.
READ MORE: How my father survived a hunger strike in Israel
Speaking to Al Jazeera from Ramallah, Majed Bamya, who oversees the prisoner files for the Palestinian foreign ministry, said the outcome of the hunger strike was a success.
This was one of the widest and longest Palestinian hunger strikes in history of the prisoners movement and it was for basic demands.
Israeli reaction was that there will not be a dialogue, nothing will be given. They tried to break the hunger strike by force and utterly failed. The hunger strikers remained steadfast, dialogue was established and the demands were met.
We will have the details in the coming hours.
The Free Marwan Barghouti campaign said in statement that the Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike prevailed.
This is an important step towards full respect of the rights of Palestinian prisoners under international law. It is also an indication of the reality of the Israeli occupation, which has left no option to Palestinian prisoners but to starve themselves to achieve basic rights they are entitled to under international law, the statement added.
Barghouti was convicted for his involvement in the second Palestinian intifada, and sentenced in 2004 to five life terms.
Surveys show many Palestinians want him to be their next president.
Ninety-seven missing and hundreds of homes destroyed after heavy rain triggers devastating flooding and landslides.
Floods and landslides in Sri Lankas southern and western regions have killed at least 122 people and damaged more than 1,700 homes, officials said on Saturday.
Ninety-seven people were also reported missing, at least 40 others have been hospitalised, and over 400,000 people have been displaced after unusually heavy rain on Friday triggered a string of mudslides and caused rivers to burst their banks, according to the countrys Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
Indian medical teams and emergency relief arrived in the capital, Colombo, on Saturday to help Sri Lanka deal with the worst flooding in 14 years.
Many thousands are displaced and are trying to come to terms with what has happened with this huge deluge of water, Al Jazeeras Minelle Fernandez, reporting from the southern town of Agalawatte, said.
Some places received a years supply of rain in 24 hours. It has taken everyone by surprise.
In Agalawatte, some 100km south of Colombo, rescuers pulled at least 11 bodies out from the mud and earth, while one person was found alive.
READ MORE: The seasonal climate of Sri Lanka
Its been 15-18 years since weve had so much water. Its left people helpless, a man told local media.
We were moving things from 2am. Kitchen stuff floated off, and the roof shades were blown away, a woman said.
Authorities issued fresh evacuation orders for those living downstream of two major rivers, citing a risk of flooding even though the rains had subsided.
Soldiers have fanned out in boats and helicopters to help with rescue operations. Residents said there are more people trapped in interior villages where boats have been unable to reach.
An Indian ship carrying medical supplies docked in Colombo on Saturday, after Sri Lanka issued an international appeal for help. Another ship is due to arrive on Monday.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful Southwest monsoon, officials said.
The DMC said the monsoon ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
Mudslides have become common during the monsoon season in the tropical Indian Ocean island as land has been heavily deforested to grow export crops such as tea and rubber.
Last May, a massive landslide killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.
Massive anti-India protests and clashes erupt in Kashmir after Hizbul Mujahideen leader is shot dead by security forces.
Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir on Saturday killed a top rebel commander in a gun battle, sparking massive protests and clashes in the region.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, a senior leader of the Hizbul Mujahideen group, was killed overnight by government troops in Tral area, some 40km south of Kashmirs capital, Srinagar, police said.
Hizbul Mujahideen is the largest indigenous rebel group fighting against Indian-rule in the Himalayan territory since a armed rebellion broke-out in 1989.
In July 2016, the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burwan Wani sparked months of anti-India protests in which scores of people died.
One of Bhats fighters was also killed in the gun battle, which erupted late on Friday after government forces cordoned off a village following an intelligence tip-off.
Yes, both of them were gunned down, police chief Shesh Pal Vaid told the AFP news agency.
READ MORE: Kashmir anger at India award for human shield soldier
Police said the fighting was ongoing with at least one fighter holed up in a house.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebel escape.
We want freedom
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
As the news of Bhats killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting slogans such as Go India, go back and We want freedom.
Many civilians were reported wounded in the clashes.
READ MORE: Resistance is a way of life for Kashmiri youth
In a separate incident, the Indian army on Saturday said they had killed six fighters who had infiltrated across the border from Pakistan in the Himalayan region.
Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in 1947. Both claim the disputed territory in its entirety.
Most people in Indias portion favour independence or a merger with Pakistan.
Several armed rebel groups are fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir, with tens of thousands of people, most of them civilians, killed in the nearly three decades-old conflict.
HRW says it has documented arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance by Houthi, government and UAE-backed fighters.
Human Rights Watch has urged all warring sides in Yemen, the Houthi-Saleh fighters, the government troops and forces backed by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to seize the advent of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to remedy the wrongful treatment of detainees and to free those who were arbitrarily held.
HRW said in a statement that detainees should have access to lawyers and family members, and urged warring sides to reveal the fate or whereabouts of those forcibly disappeared.
The forces should also release children and others being needlessly held and hold to account officials responsible for mistreatment, HRW said in the statement.
Documented cases
The organisation said it had documented arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances by Houthi rebels and those loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh, as well as the government troops and UAE-backed security forces in the southern and eastern parts of the country, including in Aden, Abyan, and Hadramawt governorates.
It said Yemeni non-governmental groups estimated that the number of people currently held by all sides was in the thousands.
HRW itself documented 65 cases in which Houthi-Saleh forces forcibly disappeared people and arbitrarily detained at the Political Security Organisation headquarters, Zain al-Abdeen mosque in Hiziyaz and the National Security Bureau in Sanaas Old City.
French general says armed rebels used canoes to cross Niger River for surprise strike on Malian army in northern city.
An armed rebel group, the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, or MUJAO, has claimed responsibility for an attack on the city of Gao in northern Mali and a suicide bombing the day before.
Hundreds of residents gathered around the heavily damaged police headquarters building in the center of the city early on Monday, where body parts lay strewn about a day after al-Qaida-linked rebels launched a surprise attack on the city.
Yesterday we had the gunfire and hid in our homes all evening, said Soumayla Maiga as he stood with his friends near the rubble of the police offices. We were stunned when we came out and saw what happened.
Fighters armed with AK-47 automatic rifles sneaked into Gao on Sunday to launch a surprise attack on the Malian army in the most populous city in northern Mali, two weeks after French and Malian troops routed the al-Qaeda-linked fighters in the city.
The attackers used canoes to cross the Niger River to penetrate Gao, according to French General Bernard Barera, who cited Malian officials.
The combat started at about 2:00pm local time (14:00 GMT) in Gaos commercial hub and the fighting continued through the night.
Later, the sound of gunfire was replaced by the clattering of helicopters overhead.
On Monday morning, French helicopters fired at a police station at the centre of the clashes, the AFP news agency reported. A tense calm had descended on the city by the afternoon, and it was unclear how many fighters on either side had been killed.
Earlier, on Saturday night, a suicide bomber had detonated his explosives at a checkpoint at the northern entrance to Gao, killing himself and injuring one Malian soldier.
Another suicide bomber, on a motorcycle, blew himself up at the same security post on Friday, killing only himself and injuring a Malian lightly.
Troops at the checkpoint where both suicide attacks occurred said no one else was wounded in Saturdays blast.
MUJAOs claim
In a statement to AFP news agency on Sunday, Abou Walid Sahraoui, spokesman for MUJAO, which had already claimed responsibility for Fridays blast, said: Today Gods faithful successfully attacked the Malian army, which let the enemies of Islam come to Gao. MUJAO also claims [Saturdays] suicide bombing that made the Malian soldiers flee.
The combat will continue until victory, thanks to Gods protection. The mujahedeen are in the city of Gao and will remain there.
A witness describing Sundays fighting in Gao said the attackers hid in the citys empty central police station, then attacked Malian soldiers when they arrived.
When reinforcements came, snipers hidden in surrounding buildings opened fire on them.
Fighting also erupted around the governors offices.
Rocket-propelled grenade explosions and fire from heavy machine guns and light weapons could be heard in Gao late in the afternoon.
A French Tiger attack helicopter circulated over the neighbourhood and French and Malian forces conducted joint patrols, warning residents that snipers could be hidden in the city.
A death toll could not immediately be established. A Malian officer said many rebels had been killed, and a witness reported seeing a body that appeared to be a civilian hit by a stray bullet.
The fighting appeared to centre near the police headquarters, where Malian soldiers with rocket-propelled grenades traded fire with the MUJAO fighters.
Soldiers were positioned at every corner in the neighbourhood of mud-walled buildings.
Ongoing clashes
Since French forces took Gao on January 26, rebels have clashed with security forces on the citys outskirts.
This was the first time they succeeded in entering the strategic city.
The al-Qaeda-linked fighters seized the northern half of Mali in April 2012, sending poorly disciplined and equipped Malian forces retreating in disarray.
France launched its military intervention in its former colony on January 11 when the fighters, many of whom had fought for ex-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, began encroaching on the south, threatening the capital Bamako, which lies deep in southern Mali, 1,200km from Gao.
France has said that it wants to hand over responsibility to the Malian military and other African nations who have contributed troops and has raised with the UN Security Council the possibility of establishing a UN peacekeeping operation in Mali.
What will OPECs production cut extension mean for energy jobs in the region?
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and 11 other oil-producing nations have extended oil production cuts until March 2018 in an attempt to drain the global oversupply of oil and prop up the price of crude.
The by Cian
industry is changing, but theres a greater emphasis on cost management.]
Saudi Arabia led the push to extend the curbs, but oil prices have risen less than OPEC countries have hoped for. And thats because oil at current prices is enough to bring US producers back into the market.
What will OPECs production cut extension mean for energy jobs in the region?
Cian Brennan from the consultants Turner and Townsend looks at what changes are coming for the Middle Easts oil industry.
Also on this episode of Counting the Cost:
Food trends: How is our obsession with photographing food altering the way the restaurant industry looks at itself?
Taking photos of what you eat and posting them to forums such as Instagram is a global social phenomenon that seems to be growing. Cloud eggs, Unicorn Frappuccinos and avocado toast all have one thing in common: Social media made them a hit.
There are 208 million posts that have been hashtagged food on the photosharing app since it was founded in 2010. This has compelled restaurants, food growers and the retail market to pay attention.
When a trend catches on, it can have a big impact. For instance, avocado prices are at their highest in data going back 19 years. Shares of Starbucks are near all-time highs too, and its said the Unicorn Frappuccino coffee trend is a factor.
Fern Potter, a global digital partner at Carat, analyses what happens when the camera eats first.
Asian growth dynamics: Japan has been getting a lot of positive press lately with Mays quarterly GDP up 2.2 percent. The International Monetary Fund said back in April that the economy has been performing well. Welcome news indeed as that marked the countrys longest economic expansion in 11 years, helped by government stimulus.
Meanwhile, financial chiefs in Hong Kong and China issued statements saying that they disagree with the credit rating agency Moodys decision to lower their credit rating. Moodys cut Chinas debt to A1 from Aa3, saying it wont be able to control a credit boom, while Hong Kongs debt downgraded to Aa2 from Aa1 because of its close ties to the mainland. Both governments issued statements saying Moodys was wrong.
Geoff Lewis, the senior Asia strategist with Manulife Asset Management, shares his view from Hong Kong.
Fords new CEO: The American car giant Ford has replaced its chief executive. Mark Fields seems to have taken the hit for the auto firms falling profits and huge decline in its share price. Hes being replaced by the companys self-driving cars chief, Jim Hackett. Alan Fisher reports.
Somalias fishermen: Fishermen in Somalia say they are being pushed towards piracy because illegal fishing is hurting their livelihood. They say flotillas from countries such as Yemen, Iran and South Korea are plundering Somalias rich fishing grounds. Mohammed Adow reports from Bosaso, Somalia.
Egypt has launched air strikes against targets in Libya in response to attack on Christians in Minya.
Egyptian jets have carried out a number air strikes in Libya in retaliation for an attack that killed 29 Christians in central Egypt.
The air strikes targeted camps near Derna where armed men responsible for the attack are believed to have been trained.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi argued in a speech after the attack that countries sponsoring what he called terrorism would be punished.
But is targeting Libya the answer to the growing number of attacks against Christians in Egypt?
Presenter: Richelle Carey
Guests:
Anas El Gomati political analyst and director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute
Ahmed Badawi senior researcher at the Centre for Middle Eastern and North African Politics at the Free University of Berlin
Thousands of ISIL fighters are training in the mountains of Afghanistan, plotting an attack on the Kremlin.
Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) have always considered the West and the United States in particular the ultimate enemy.
But following President Vladimir Putins policy of military involvement in Syria, Russia may have taken its place as ISILs main target.
At the moment ISIL's rage is directed at Bashar al-Assad and Putin.They are the main enemies of ISIL because Russia has smashed ISIL in Syria and the same in Iraq. They will do anything to get their revenge on Russia. by Ahmad Saeedi, Dawat University, Kabul
Thousands of ISIL fighters from Syria, Iraq and elsewhere are regrouping in the virtually impregnable mountains of Afghanistan, plotting revenge against the Kremlin.
ISILs high command have given orders to target Russian cities, with thousands of trained fighters ready to act at any time.
Most recently, a lone terrorist on the metro in St Petersburg demonstrated the vulnerability of any modern city. On a moving train, in the middle of the day, a young Uzbek man with Russian citizenship detonated a bomb made with TNT and packed with shrapnel. Dozens were hurt and 15 killed. The bomber was later reported in the Russian media to have been in Syria with ISIL in 2014.
The Russians maintain that they are monitoring ISILs movements closely, claiming lack of concern regarding threats from the group.
The Russia-Afghanistan connection is nothing new, with a decades-old history laced in conflict.
The Soviet-Afghan war, led by Leonid Brezhnev first and then Mikhail Gorbachev in the mid-1980s, was waged against insurgent groups known as the mujahideen and the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. After almost a decade of war, they were driven out by a coalition of Afghan tribesmen led by the charismatic Ahmad Shah Masoud, who became known as the Lion of Panjshir.
When the Soviet army eventually withdrew in 1989, the power vacuum made way for the rise of different armed factions which would slowly tear the nation apart allowing the Taliban, al-Qaeda and ISIL to take root in Afghanistan.
Zubair Massoud, the nephew of Ahmed Shah Massoud, is the adviser to the Afghan National Security Council. He sees the recent influx of ISIL fighters as a major threat to Afghanistan and its neighbouring countries.
The terrorists you see in Syria are the same individuals that are here now in Afghanistan. These are terrorists that come from different countries from Tajikistan, from Uzbekistan, Chechnya. Its a strategic place. They could go across the border and finally their main goal is Russia, he says.
As well as attacking isolated villages, ISIL has brought terror to the capital, Kabul. In one incident alone, 80 people were killed in a suicide bombing. So if they manage to infiltrate Russia with the number of trained sleeper cells they speak of, then the carnage they currently create in Afghanistan is merely a precursor to their plans for Moscow, St Petersburg and other target cities.
Zamir Kabulov, President Putins special envoy to Afghanistan, appears dismissive of the growing threats across the borders from Russia. He says that the worst-case scenario would only be realised if ISIL were able to create instability across Central Asia, flooding Russia with refugees that could cause a security issue.
Massoud fears that the Russians and other neighbouring countries to the north of Afghanistan may not understand the extent of the situation, with numbers of fighters in the region growing at an exponential rate.
As I have seen in the last three to four years, were in a very bad state in Afghanistan, says Massoud.
Just as the US troops were starting to leave, more militants started to come inside Afghanistan. Theyve come together and theyre increasing in size every day. Last year, there were 300. Now there are 2,000 foreigners in Badakhshan, which is a danger for everyone.
With unprecedented access, ISIL: Target Russia looks at how ISIL and its splinter groups are training and organising to move fighter units north, through the Caucuses, with the intent of attacking Russia. We profile some of ISILs women fighters and meet commanders and fighters in the remote mountains of northern Afghanistan who explain that their plan to hit Russia is already well under way.
The playwright discusses her Broadway plays and what it says about society in the United States today.
Before the US presidential election, Donald Trumps campaign focused heavily on minorities and foreigners, with rights groups raising concerns that electing him might legitimise outward racism and physical violence.
Days before the vote, a black church in Mississippi was burned and spray-painted with Vote Trump on one of its outside walls. He received widespread criticism for a series of misogynistic, racist and xenophobic remarks, and many Americans have used social media to recount racist attacks that took place following his election win.
Quick facts Since 1999, the total number of hate groups in the US has more than doubled.
FBI statistics show that hate crimes targeting Muslims had already grown by 67 percent between 2014 and 2015.
In the first three months following Trumps election, the SPLC recorded 1,372 bias incidents.
Nearly 19 percent of those incidents targeted African Americans.
Source: Al Jazeera
President Trump has also chosen advisers and cabinet officials that are facing accusations of racially biased behaviour.
Steve Bannon, Trumps chief state strategist, is a controversial right-wing media figure and former Goldman Sachs banker who has regularly been accused of xenophobia, anti-Semitism and misogyny.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions served as a United States Senator for Alabama since 1996, but the Senate refused to confirm Sessions as a federal judge in 1986 amid accusations that he had made racially insensitive comments.
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin made a fortune working for Goldman Sachs and later founded a successful movie production company. He also faces allegations of racial discrimination.
In the middle of this political climax, playwright Lynn Nottage is celebrating her second Pulitzer award for a drama that couldnt be more timely.
Sweat explores the economic and societal pressures facing working-class America.
Set in Reading, Pennsylvania, where factories are shipping jobs overseas and local residents are turning on each other to preserve whats left of their American dream, the drama explores both the issues and the feelings that helped to propel Donald Trump to the US presidency.
Its been called the first theatrical landmark of the Trump era.
But despite critical acclaim for her work, its taken eight years for Nottage to finally get the chance to stage a production on Broadway.
Lynn Nottage tells us about her journey in what President Trump used to call the forgotten America.
Al Jazeera: Your play, Sweat, was written before the last election, and yet it really captures the mood of working-class America. Those old industrial cities where the jobs have gone, the factories have packed up, the very people who voted for President Trump and so many prognosticators thought he would never win the election. Im wondering, did you see it coming?
Lynn Nottage: You know, I must say I was as surprised as anyone else that Trump won. I would never anticipate that wed sort of swing that far to the extreme.
But what I did recognise and certainly what I wrote in Sweat is that people were in pain, and people felt invisible and people feel frustrated and really wanted some sort of shift, philosophically. I didnt know that the philosophy would lean towards Trump.
White panic
Al Jazeera: During the election I heard a lot of comments, people saying on the right that identity politics is whats wrong with America. This was heard over a lack of pride in white America.
Nottage: For a really long time white privilege has been seen as a superpower, and really diversity is the kryptonite. White folks thought as long as theyre white they can sort of dismiss and look down on those of us who are really part of the fabric of this culture. And I think that theres been a paradigm shift, because suddenly you have a very insurgent and really robust economy thats built on people of colour. And were growing in this nation.
I think that by 2050, this country will probably be a majority-minority country.
I think thats really scary to a lot of folks. And there is what I call white panic: this panic that the culture is going to change so much and that theyre going to lose their identity rather than sort of embracing that its a shifting identity In order to move forward we have to adapt and change.
And I think thats the part of whats been beautiful about America. But I think thats also part of what this white working-class that vote for Trump is reacting to.
Working-class America
Al Jazeera: You spent two and a half years in Reading researching. How were you as a big-city African-American woman received there?
Nottage: Reading is a small city and its interesting because its really not that different demographically from New York and the communities that I grew up with. Its predominantly Latino. I grew up in a predominantly Latino community.
So there are things and aspects of it that felt very familiar to me, and I felt comfortable going into that city, though often I was perceived as an outsider.
Al Jazeera: And how was it interacting with the white working class in particular, though?
Nottage: Well its surprising because I thought that there would be some resistance but, I think so few people actually asked them questions, and asked them questions like How were you feeling and what are you experiencing? that I found that people really sort of leaned in and responded with a level of honesty that surprised me and that I hadnt anticipated.
Al Jazeera: So Reading was once home to the Reading Railroad factories textile mills. But theyve lost more than just jobs, right?
Nottage: I think that for so many Americans, particularly Americans who lived in the Rust Belt and some of these industrial powerhouse cities, work was really tied to identity.
And so when you lose the work, you really lose a sense of who you are. And I think thats whats happening in America on a larger scale is that you have a large swath in particular of white Americans who have really been identified with what they did. And when thats removed, I think folks begin grappling with what our narrative is now. Who are we?
And when I was interviewing people in Reading one of the things that I was really struck by was that people always said Reading was they always spoke of Reading in the past tense. And I find it fascinating that a culture that cant really see itself in the present tense or future tense tells you something about how we perceive who we are.
In the age of President Trump, can we come together?
Al Jazeera: So Sweat does highlight these divisions in our country, this polarisation. But it ends on a note of hope. Do you have hope in the age of President Trump that we can come together?
Nottage: You know Im an eternal optimist. And I think sometimes when we are in the midst of a turmoil or a moment like this that we can lean into the pessimism, but I think that sometimes it pulls us together. I think that we may find interesting alliances that are forged because of whats happening right now and thats what I look to, you know. I just dont want to sort of give into the malaise and become complacent.
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The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the heinous and cowardly terrorist attack that took place today, 26 May 2017, on a bus traveling to a monastery in Minya, Egypt, where at least 28 people were killed and dozens were injured, including children. They expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
Switzerland has transferred approximately EUR 3.5 million to Tunisia, in response to a request for mutual legal assistance. The final destination of these assets will depend on the proceedings currently under way in Tunisia. Acting on a request for mutual legal assistance from Tunisia, on 26 May 2017 the Office of the Attorney General of []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
The U.S. Embassy in Cairo condemns the depraved, horrific terrorist attack today against innocent civilians in Minya. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this heinous, reprehensible assault. We express our deepest condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery. The United States []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
A backlash is simply a reaction to a situation, development, or political action, etc. A backlash maybe an adverse reaction but it can also be a just and right reaction. Backlashes should not have a negative connotation for all situations; at times they are warranted and needed to enact change or justice.
The liberal/progressive groups and the media selectively backlash and have knee-jerk reactions when it suits their agenda. It is nauseating to see liberals and the media discuss a potential backlash against Islam in the U.S. after any bombing, gun attack, truck attack, or attack du juor that a terrorist chooses. They perch themselves on their high horses looking down at the common people and in unison repeat the same talking points, hoping said attack doesnt create a backlash against Islam. They proclaim that Americans shouldnt let these terrorist acts affect our thinking on Islam, and certainly shouldnt affect any of our refugee or immigration programs. According to them, this sort of reaction would be Islamaphobic and unjust for a country like America, the great melting pot, to participate in this kind of thinking or make any proposal for policy change.
In fact, they go as far to say that reducing or modifying refugee programs could radicalize more Muslims, which would in turn generate more terrorist attacks. Media and the liberal thought process suggests if America enacts change to our refugee/immigration policy from hostile Muslim countries then America might face Muslim backlash via terrorist attacks.
So why doesnt the media preach to the Muslims and hope there isnt a backlash against the U.S.? Lets see them sit on their high horses and tell the Muslim community that these policy changes are an effort to protect its citizens and that it is a new normal, instead of preaching to the American people. Why do Americans have to adjust in our own country to a new normal of two to three terrorist attacks a year? As the new normal, shouldnt it be the refugees and immigrants endure deeper background checks and vetting as they try to come into our country so that we can ensure that they are not part of a radical sect of Islam or a terrorist group?
Essentially, the media and the liberal/progressives want us to do nothing and accept this new normal while they sit back asking questions about why the FBI or CIA didnt catch an attacker before it happened. They loathe anyone that suggests changes to the refugee and immigration policies. Even though there is evidence that terrorists and jihadists are using the refugee programs of the West to infiltrate those countries, grow their networks, convert others to their ideologies, and finally, commit terrorist attacks.
Let us look at the reactions of the media, liberals, and progressives to mass shootings, whether perpetrated by Muslim terrorist or a deranged individual. Their immediate reaction is to backlash against the law-abiding gun owners and the NRA. They will condemn anyone that doesnt want to see certain guns banned, large-capacity magazines banned, or even a complete ban on gun ownership. They pine for the day that 2nd Amendment rights are done away with and we become an unarmed society like the British and Australians.
The progressives and the media are perfectly ok with backlashing against the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens spelled out in the 2nd Amendment. Therefore, I believe they have earned the moniker gunophobes.
They are adamant that no American needs an AR-15 or high-capacity magazines, and that we need to have a background check for any gun or ammo purchase. Yet they abhor any immigration or refugee policy that mandates better vetting and background investigation of those coming from hostile nations. They only want U.S. citizens to endure onerous background checks for individual private sales in the free marketplace, which wont affect criminals or terrorists in the least.
Even after a mass shooting that involves an Islamic terrorist (San Bernardino or Orlando), the media and liberals go after the NRA, the 2nd Amendment, gun owners, and the FBI instead of demanding that Muslim leaders quell and stop this radicalization.
I have to say that their logic and reasoning skills are wanted and have anointed themselves the judge of appropriate backlashes. Or maybe they have an agenda.
The massacre of Christians and innocents in Manchester, England and again in Egypt comes against the backdrop of the Fourth Circus, er, Circuit Court of Appeals ruling against the Trump travel ban as an unconstitutional ban on Muslims. Your honors, may I submit as evidence against your ruling the bodies of the dead murdered by radical Islamic terrorists in Egypt and in England?
Fortunately, the case is now likely to go to the Supreme Court upon which, thanks to President Trump, Justice Neil Gorsuch now holds the Scalia seat.
The Manchester bombers family is from Libya, one of the countries included in Trumps travel ban. Descriptions of the terrorist as home-grown because he was born in Britain are inaccurate. Being born in Britain doesnt make one British, any more than in the San Bernardino attack being born in America makes you American. You have to want to be British or American or anything else, immersing yourself in and respecting the culture of your new homeland. You must assimilate, not plot to murder your hosts who welcomed you. As Fox News reported:
Other terror links involving the bomber's relatives emerged Wednesday. Abedi's father, Ramadan, was a member of the Al Qaeda-backed Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s, according to former security official Abdel-Basit Haroun -- but the father denied the claim. In addition, the killer's brother Hashim had links to the Islamic State and may have been planning a separate attack in Tripoli, a Libyan government spokesman told Reuters. Salman Abedi left Libya for England four days before the bombing, his mother said. He apparently fooled his parents by telling them he was heading to a pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Sounds suspiciously like the Tsarnaev brothers, doesnt it, traveling back to ones terrorist roots before murdering innocents. Yet another case in point for Trumps extreme vetting. The latest massacre of Coptic Christians, this time travelling on a bus in Egypt, may not seem to be, but is a reminder of the worldwide reach of ISIS. Egypt is not on the travel ban list but is an example of how terror will always find an opening to spread its deadly venom.
A team of gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo Friday, killing at least 28, including children, and wounding 22 other people, Egyptian officials confirmed.
As many as 10 attackers stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks, according to witnesses. The victims were on their way to visit a monastery. Only three children survived the attack, the Copts United news portal reported No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but Egypts Coptic Christians have become the preferred target of the Islamic State in the region. Egypt's Copts, the Middle East's largest Christian community, have repeatedly cried out for help from discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at the hands of the country's majority Muslim population. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt's 93 million people.
Someone should tell the Fourth Circuit that this is what discrimination, aka religious persecution, really looks like. The navel-gazers on the Fourth Circuit, however, think, based on campaign rhetoric rather than any recitation of actual law, that it is discrimination to bar the killers in Manchester and Egypt from being properly vetted or by being denied entry until proper vetting can be done.
We are asked to show compassion for potential jihadis but not for potential victims who publicly express their fear of unrestricted admission of refugees from hotbeds of terror. The protestors are wrong that such jihadists have a right to be here. The President under the Constitution has authority over immigration policy and the Constitution is not a suicide pact. Those who go abroad to be radicalized should not be readmitted. Those who believe Sharia law trumps the Constitution should not be allowed in, period. Give us you poor huddled masses yearning to breathe free, but not those desiring to end our way of life. That is what extreme vetting is all about.
As Rush Limbaugh noted on his show, President Trumps travel ban is lawful under 8 U.S Code 1182, and there is ample historical precedent for employing its bestowed authority to ban any class of aliens at any time, for any reason if the President deems the national security of the United States requires it:
Here is number eight US Code 1182, inadmissible aliens. This law was written in 1952. It was passed by a Democrat-controlled Congress, House and Senate, and signed by a Democrat president. Suspension of entry or imposition of restrictions by president. Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, the president may, by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate. Over here, everybody in the establishment in the political class, Republican, Democrat, media, you name it, is all claiming that what Trump said is dumb, stupid, reckless, dangerous, unconstitutional, while it is the law of the land. And it was utilized by Jimmy Carter, no less, in 1979 to keep Iranians out of the United States, but he actually did more. He made all Iranian students already here check in, and then he deported a ton of em. In November the 1979 United States attorney general had given all Iranian students one month to report to the local immigration office. Seven thousand were found in violation of their visas, 15,000 Iranians were forced to leave the United States, 1979. When this law, inadmissible aliens I just read to you, which Im gonna be reading a lot to you today to the point youre gonna get tired of hearing it, but you wont forget it.
As for the application by Judge Derrick Watson of the Establishment Clause to Trumps travel ban, this is from some Alice In Wonderland law book. If the travel ban violates the Establishment Clause, why hasnt 8 U.S. Code 1182 been struck down by Judge Watson or any other liberal judge? Oklahoma Attorney Robert Barnes, interviewed on Sirius XM radio, says Judge Watson is clearly wrong in extending the Establishment Clause to non-citizen foreigners:
His basis for doing so was an extraordinary interpretation of the right to travel and the freedom of association, which before, has only been associated with U.S. citizens, Barnes continued. Every court decision in the 200 years prior to this has said that people who are not citizens of the United States, who are not present within the United States, have no First Amendment constitutional rights. The Constitution doesnt extend internationally to anybody, anywhere, anyplace, at any time. Instead, this judge said it did, as long as you had a university here who wanted to assert, quote-unquote, the foreigners rights, or you had some physical person here. In this case, it was one of the leading Muslim imams in Hawaii; he wants to bring over various family and friends from the Middle East. The Hawaii judges decision says he has a First Amendment constitutional right to do so because hes Muslim. It was one of the most extraordinary interpretations of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment ever given, which is that because these are Muslim countries that were banned where the issue of terror arises from that that meant they had a special right to access the country and visit the country, he said. As long as there is somebody here that wants them here, no president can ever preclude them from coming here. He basically gave First Amendment rights to everybody around the world and gave special preferences to people who are Muslim under his interpretation of the First Amendment, Barnes summarized. So its an extraordinarily broad order. Its legal doctrine has no limits. If you keep extending this, it means people from around the world have a special right to access the United States, visit the United States, emigrate to the United States, get visas to the United States. There wouldnt be any limit, and the president would never be able to control our own borders. It would be up solely to the whim of a federal judge who effectively delegated it, in this case, to a Muslim imam in Hawaii, he contended.
And who is this Imam who prompted Judge Watsons order by asserting he had been harmed by President Trumps travel ban? Conservative Review described the man behind the lawsuit:
Dr. Ismail Elshikh -- the imam of the Muslim Association of Hawaii -- is suing Trump in reaction to the second version of his immigration moratorium, which was signed on Monday. The order imposed a 90-day hold on foreign nationals from six terror-tied countries from entering the United States. According to the Muslim Association of Hawaii website, Imam Elshikh is a member of the North American Imam Federation (NAIF), a fringe Islamic organization that has a board and current leadership stacked with radical Islamic connections. Kyle Shideler, a terrorism expert and director of the Threat Information Office at the Center for Security Policy, tells CR that its concerning that Imam Elshikh is a part of NAIF. Given NAIF's history it should come as no surprise that the end goal of this lawsuit is, ultimately, weakening American counter-terrorism or immigration security efforts, Shideler said. He added: "That a member of an organization whose leaders have included a convicted war criminal, an individual who defended donating money to a Hamas linked charity, and an unindicted co-conspirator in a terrorism bombing wants to tell the American people who they can admit for immigration should say a lot about why such an executive order is needed in the first place."
The fact is that the Constitution, which gives the President exclusive power to conduct foreign policy, does not extend infinitely to every non-citizen on this planet who may have some connection to someone here. The law clearly gives the President the legal authority to ban entry to any noncitizen who he determines may be a threat to the national security of the United States.
Manchester and Egypt are chilling reminders of the threats we face from those who respect laws nor any religion. The terrorists of Egypt and Manchester would slaughter the judges of the Fourth Circuit in a heartbeat. Our courts, like our President, has an obligation to protect us from such predators. The greatest social service a government can perform for its people is to keep them alive and free.
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.
In the immediate aftermath of the massacre of kids at Manchester Arena, when did British PM Theresa May utter the words, Islamic terrorism? If those two words came from Mays lips together, they came incidentally. We heard the word terror plenty from the prime minister, as if theres a generic menace stalking the globe. An all-purpose Hollywood terror, it is.
Will May pick up the epithet, losers, that President Trump attached to Islamic terrorists? Not likely. Shes very deep establishment. But an election is pending in Great Britain, so May, who leads the Conservative Party, may somehow recalibrate -- temporarily.
Over half of Brits voted to Brexit. In Manchesters wake, Mays advisors should be cautioning her to tread lightly with Britain First constituencies. Alienating a big bloc of voters with nationalist impulses wont help Conservatives, who covet a big majority in the House of Commons.
What should really worry May and her compatriots throughout the West isnt the impact of a one-off terror event, however tragic. What needs to concern the jihad-denying establishment is that Manchester is more affirmation -- in a recent series of affirmations -- that reality is dangerously at odds with establishment interpretation. Its that increasing dissonance that could swell nationalist ranks in the ensuing months and near-years.
Manchester is another vividly bloody attack in a string of vivid, bloody attacks occurring in a compacted timeframe that are building a penetrating counternarrative.
Islamic terror attacks in just the last handful of years in Western Europe and the U.S. are creating that counternarrative. The keys: growing frequency, tactical shift, and compressed timeframe. It challenges the reality-denying establishment narrative thats dominated since shortly after 9/11. Jihadists are disrupting the establishment narrative. The enemys actions are rudely trespassing, degrading Western establishments credibility.
The changing dynamic has less to do with persuasion by Westerners who grasp the reality of jihad. Facts on the ground are doing the persuading. Jihadists are unwittingly serving as recruiters for Western nationalist movements.
Kate Hopkins, a columnist for Londons Daily Mail, frets that its too late for Great Britain. Hopkins despairs that the British establishments denial of reality is too far gone. Its stranglehold on government and culture is too great. She might have added that growing Muslim populations there change political equations, too. She attributes the denial of reality to cowardice.
From Hopkins column:
And you [Andy Burnham, the new mayor of Greater Manchester] say it is business as usual [after the massacre]? The dead never get to carry on as normal. This is not usual, Andy. This is not 'part and parcel' of city life, Sadiq [Kahn, Londons mayor]. This country is not usual. It is absurd. Disgusting. Forlorn. Broken. And we will have a full day of this, this standard response to terror. A narrative so drilled into the minds of the terrified that they cling on to it for fear of drowning in the horror. Like a bit of flotsam in the sea long after the boat has sunk, and all you feel is numb.
Hopkins argument is unintentionally bolstered by George Monbiot, a writer for the leftist Guardian.
In a post-Manchester column, Monbiot identifies Islamic terrorists as psychopathic murderers. Jihad is a mental illness. As was made abundantly clear in the 20th Century, psychopathic killers were all-in for revolutions, wars, causes, and ideologies that slaughtered tens upon tens of millions. They made up some of the combatant/killers, but most werent psychopaths. They were true believers, fervent and willing to kill and die for a cause. Or hard men with self-interests that they hitched to causes.
Monbiot had this to say about the pathology of terrorism:
This is why terrorism happens: those who perpetrate it know that an attack on one is an attack on all. People are killed or injured in order to maximise the distress suffered by a far greater number -- and to induce us, blinded by outrage, to forget our humanity and to lash out. This then cultivates a political environment in which terrorists prosper: a nation dominated by fear, a cycle of revenge, and the escalation of conflict.
The passage reads like Monbiot is channeling inner-city Detroit afflicted with gang fights. It reeks of Great Society sociology adapted to rationalize jihad.
Monbiots prescriptions reflect the British establishment sensibilities that Hopkins decries. Candlelight vigils, marches for peace, hugs, getting on with it, and the like substitute for recognizing war for war, albeit an unconventional one. Pacifism and therapy are the remedies for jihad. Werent those approaches tried just before Churchill?
Wars require securing the homeland. In this war, thats aggressively expelling suspected jihadists, supporters, and sympathizers. Deporting radical Muslim clerics. Shuttering mosques that are hotbeds for militants. Ending the import of Muslims. And taking the fight to the enemy. Thats not just fighting conventionally militarily, but asymmetrically, to destroy the ideo-religious underpinnings that animate jihad.
Lets grant that fear of Islamic terror is driving denial and a head-in-the-sand reaction. Among establishments, fear and denial arent disassociated from ideology and worldview. What may be rattling Western establishments and giving traction to Monbiots limp prescription is that jihadists assaults on flesh and blood innocents are assaulting establishment worldviews. They cant handle the truth, so they rationalize and shrink.
Jihadists are waging war at a time of great vulnerability in the West. Europes bloody civil wars and mass fratricides in the 20th Century destroyed the old order, and with it, confidence in Western Civilization and its supremacy. The elites who have arisen in the past century are infected by isms. Statism and relativism, chiefly. Statism is a repeated failure and relativism makes for unreality. Elites have grown increasingly insular and inbred. Many loath their societies. They suffer conceits.
Many millions of people throughout the West arent blinkered. Many already are Nation First. They welcome alliances with kindred spirits across borders to defeat a common enemy. They see jihad as is: an ambition to impose Islam on the West -- indeed, the world. Militant Muslims are being true to their religions tenets. Mohammed conquered with sword and blood, and so shall they. Western realists accept the challenge and urge the fight.
Millions more are going to awaken to the reality of jihad. It wont be an aha moment. Itll come through the compilation of attacks in compressed time. Come from increased frequency. Come through the changed nature of the attacks, going from the spectacular to intrusions on the ordinary. The ordinary -- sitting at a cafe only to be shot in the head; boarding a train only to be axed. Kids being butchered at a concert or run over at school crossings (to come).
But for these millions, fear wont cause them to shrink. Itll lead them to identify with Nation First movements wherever they live. Thats sure to lead to domestic conflicts, as ascendant nationalist movements vie with establishments and their constituencies for primacy. The outcomes of those clashes across Western Europe are uncertain. Brexit should give Hopkins some hope. Trumps election and U.S. history gives hope here.
Yet Hopkins worry cant be dismissed. Is it too late? Have the unreality and decadence of Western establishment worldviews so deeply infected institutions and polluted cultures that seachanges are unachievable? Is Western Europes future full of landscapes dotted with minarets? Will Call to Morning Prayer be pervasive? Will Turning Turk be commonplace?
Well, lets hope those very real fears never come to pass.
In the weeks leading up to and after Betsy DeVos being confirmed as head of the Department of Education, there was so much noise coming from the liberal media that it was impossible to have an honest and constructive conversation on what the education system would actually look like under her leadership. Now that the dust has settled, we can take a look.
Why Do Liberals Despise DeVos?
The first thing we should take a look at is why exactly liberals -- and the media they control -- despise DeVos so much. What is it about her that made them decide that, for many weeks, she would be the target of their ire? From leftwing bloggers to CNN, MSNBC, and everyone in between, the narrative quickly became that Betsy DeVos was (a) unqualified and (b) radical.
But when you study reality and examine the facts -- something thats often challenging for those on the emotional left -- its obvious that both of these narratives are a little twisted and exaggerated.
She hasnt been a teacher, a principal, or a superintendent. She doesnt know how to pick a curriculum, evaluate an instructor, or write an Individual Education Plan for students with disabilities. All true, admits Michael J. Petrilli, former member of George W. Bushs Education Department. And if she were seeking employment as a teacher, a principal, or a superintendent, that experience gap would be damning. But shes not.
As Petrilli, someone who actually understands what goes on behind the scenes, explains, President Trump has elected her to be the U.S. Secretary of Education -- not a school principal. Her job is to handle education policy and politics. Shes tasked with interacting with governors and members of Congress, drafting bills, and providing support for those on the front lines. And for that, it would be hard to say shes anything but qualified.
What about the narrative that DeVos has radical views? Once again, we call balderdash. As New York Times columnist Ross Douthat explains in detail, Devos views arent really all that different from those of Democrat Senator Cory Booker or even the Obama Administration, which took a heavily pro-charter school position. While there are plenty of areas where her views differ from theirs, shes simply suggesting new strategies for common goals that folks on both sides of the aisle tend to agree on.
Before we can have any constructive conversation on where education is going under the leadership of DeVos, its important for everyone to recognize that the narratives pushed by the liberal media over the past few months are completely asinine. Theres plenty that DeVos will do that upsets the left, but shouting unqualified and radical from the rooftops has done nothing but make the left look like a bunch of petulant schoolchildren clamoring for anything they can possibly get their hands on.
What Will DeVos Impact Be?
Now that things have settled a bit and the media has launched other witch hunts in hopes that something will stick, its time to have a constructive conversation on what sort of impact DeVos will have on this countrys education system. What sort of potential does she have and what can be expected?
Lets discuss school choice first, since thats the topic everyone gets so worked up about. School choice, something that DeVos adamantly supports, is about giving economically underprivileged kids the opportunity to attend top schools that better suit their needs and give them a chance to succeed. Whether its another public school, charter schools, or private school, students of every background would be given the chance to improve their situation.
Democrats argue that this would undermine the public school system and deplete it of resources. But when you consider that key metrics like high school seniors reading achievement scores and math performance have remained steady or dropped over the past couple of decades, does it really make sense to maintain the status quo?
Opposing school choice is all about maintaining control over impoverished communities and ensuring minorities dont have an equal chance to thrive alongside more privileged students in good school districts. Supporting school choice is about giving everyone an opportunity to be successful in their own educational pursuits.
The second thing you can expect from DeVos is the abolishment of Common Core and decentralization of education. Shes in support of giving the decision-making back to individual states and removing Washington from the equation as much as possible. In other words, her goal is to essentially eliminate some of her own authority.
Thirdly, DeVos has the ability to change how federal Title I dollars are allocated. As things currently stand, Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides roughly $15 billion in funding to schools in low-income neighborhoods. And while nobody is in disagreement that failing schools need help, DeVos has a chance to restructure the allocation of financial resources so that they have a positive impact beyond encouraging underperforming schools to continue underperforming.
Specifically, DeVos could try to make Title I dollars portable, meaning students and their families could use federal dollars to pay for things they need to thrive. For example, they could choose to use some of that money to participate in online courses that supplement the teaching theyre receiving in the classroom. Or they could use it to cover the cost of tuition for a private school. Options like these would allow for real change.
For those whose thinking has been slowed or hindered by liberalism, it turns out that mutilating your body in order to satisfy some demented desire to change your sex simply because you feel like it can have deadly consequences.
Recently in my home state of Georgia, a 25-year-old woman, Rebeccah Feldhaus, who was in the process of "transitioning" to a man which is, of course, impossible died of sepsis after complications from a hysterectomy. According to the Augusta Chronicle, Feldhaus's hysterectomy was necessary to treat her polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
Among other things, PCOS often results in extra facial and body hair, acne, and infertility. According to WebMD, PCOS typically occurs when women's ovaries produce excess androgens (male sex hormones). Miss Feldhaus had elevated levels of androgen along with the typical complications that arise from excess androgen that led to the necessity for surgery because she was receiving testosterone (a type of androgen) shots in order to aid in her "transition" to a man.
In other words, Feldhaus was having her uterus removed not simply as a means of female-to-male "sex reassignment surgery" which is typical in such a surgery. Her procedure was medically necessary because of how she was mistreating her body in order to satisfy her delusions that she was a man.
The complications Feldhaus experienced are not at all uncommon. Athletes especially female of the once dominant but now nonexistent East German Olympic team paid a terrible price for the widespread and frequent use of performance-enhancing drugs mostly synthetic testosterone. As The Daily Mirror reported in 2015:
The stars of yesterday suffered severe depression, heart conditions, degenerative bone disease and infertility. Some even changed sex because of the drugs. Many spiraled into drink and drug addictions, unable to find work.
Shot putter Heidi Krieger suffered the loss of her femininity. She had a "sex-change" operation (again, impossible) and now lives her life pretending she's a man, "teaching youngsters the dangers of pumping steroids in a bid for sporting glory."
Concerned that the current situation with Olympic athletes in Russia mirrors that of East Germany, Ines Geipel, 55, a 1980s East German champion sprinter, warns:
It is more than 25 years ago now and yet there are so many parallels with the Russian situation and ours. It is about a state-controlled abuse. It carried on until 1989. We are probably talking about 10 to 15,000 athletes in total. We saw kids as young as eight being doped. They were guinea pigs and we have seen the health impact down the generations, passed from grandfather to grandchild. The bodies are broken, and so are the souls. Naturally there was great gynaecological damage because the women were taking men's hormones. We have seen still births, infertility, disabled children born to former athletes.
In spite of what sound science and what used to be good common sense reveals, in today's "mixed up, muddled up, shook up world," humans who mutilate their bodies in a desperate desire to achieve the impossible are rarely presented with facts, correction, and redirection. Instead, they are celebrated as "brave" and encouraged to "be who you are." This was certainly the case with Miss Feldhaus.
Feldhaus an Augusta University student, Army reservist, and board member of the homosexual and transgender advocacy group Georgia Equality first made headlines in Georgia last year when a state Superior Court judge denied her request for a name change. Naturally, the mainstream media and social media jumped all over such blatant "discrimination." Since she first made news, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution (AJC) the largest newspaper in Georgia has run multiple favorable articles on behalf of Feldhaus and the perverse transgender cause.
One story went so far as to glowingly highlight children as young as three years old whose "bodies don't match their gender identity" and whose parents have chosen to indulge childhood and childish fantasies. "Indulge" includes putting kids as young as 12 with additional discussion beginning as early as 9 on powerful "puberty-blockers." Even the transgender-apologetic article admits that there is "scarce" data on the use of such blockers, but no caution is urged.
The article also mentioned a St. Louis family who indulged their seven-year-old daughter's desire to begin puberty-blockers "when the time came." According to the piece, when the girl (of course, the article says "boy") turned 11 last year, "a pediatric endocrinologist prescribed the sex hormone suppressor Eligard, an injection that he [she -- because, if she was indeed a 'he,' then 'he' wouldn't need such drugs] receives every four months."
The piece goes on to lament how difficult it is to get insurance companies to pay for such treatments. Pro-perversion lawyers, lawmakers, and judges are lining up to put an end to this "discrimination" as well. This LGBT health insurance madness has gone so far that we now have homosexual couples demanding infertility coverage because, you know, no matter how often they try, two men "mating" or two women "mating" just can't seem to make a baby!
Instead of reporting this madness for what it is, and ignoring all sound science and morality, the media are helping to spread virtually every absurd idea spawned by the LGBT agenda even as people are dying. When Miss Feldhaus died, the AJC report on her death was suspiciously silent about the details. A subsequent article mentioned the hysterectomy in the following sentence:
Feldhaus had a hysterectomy, WRDW-TV reported, and a few days later went into septic shock and lost oxygen to his [sic] brain.
Did you catch that? It was "his" "hysterectomy." In an article about a human being dying as the result of complications from a hysterectomy, a major media outlet in the United States the envy of the world when it comes to science, information, and education used a male noun or pronoun to describe said human being ten times! Forget the malpractice involved by not discussing the dangers of Feldhaus's lifestyle choices that led to her death, how about at least not medically contradicting a procedure that's been around for a century and a half and is "the most common non-pregnancy-related major surgery performed on women in the United States"?
Yet, this is where we are with the media and the LGBT agenda. Even in the face of disease and death, even with the lives of children at stake, we can't get the truth. This is what Miss Feldhaus deserved. This is what she needed. If she had been told the truth, maybe she would be alive today.
Trevor Grant Thomas: At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason.
www.trevorgrantthomas.com
Trevor is the author of the The Miracle and Magnificence of America.
tthomas@trevorgrantthomas.com
President Trump was elected to lead the Western fight against radical Islam, but as president he seems to have lost his way, instead spending his energy and time in pursuing the ultimate peace deal between the Israelis, who have been fighting Islamic evil for generations, and the Palestinians, who embody this form of evil.
It was sad and disappointing that a few hours after a radical Islamist terror attack in Manchester which killed 22, and critically injured over 59, mostly aged eight to eighteen, Trump chose to meet in Bethlehem and discuss peace with the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, the cofounder of modern Islamist terrorism. It was sad that President Trump discussed the terrorist attack in Manchester while standing next to Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority gives 300 million dollars every year to Palestinian terrorists and their families on a rising scale according to the level of their atrocities against innocent Israelis.
President Trump in his speech in Jerusalem made a clear distinction between good and evil in the world, and called on the forces of good to defeat the forces of evil. But in reality, he seems to forget that Abbas has been a major promoter of this evil and Israel has been a force for good fighting with the West against Islamic terror for the last 50 years.
Trump must know that he will lose the fight against Islamic terrorism if he believes that the Palestinian terrorists are different than the ISIS terrorists or those of al-Qaida or any other Islamist Jihadists. Would the United States have sat down and negotiated peace with Al-Qaida and their leader Osama Bin Laden, who was responsible for 9/11 and the murder of thousands of Americans or would Britain sit and negotiate peace with the Islamic State, and its leader Al Baghdadi, who claimed responsibility for the Manchester attack?
Europe, as well as the Trump administration, must wake up soon and acknowledge that a religious war is underway between radical Islam and the civilized, democratic, and free Western world, which includes Israel. Israel has no peace and has been victimized by Palestinian terrorists not because it deserved it, but because it represents the values that all Muslim Arab terrorists despise about the West. Israel has been in the forefront of the war on terror because it is a Western, democratic, and Jewish nation located in the barbaric, primitive, Islamist neighborhood where radical Islam originates.
History teaches us that after evil entities and ideologies kill the Jews, they then go after everyone else. The establishment of a Palestinian state or even the total destruction of the only Jewish state will not stop the jihadist cancer from spreading throughout Europe and the United States. This enemy is against the whole civilized world while Western nations foolishly focus on appeasing it in regard to Israel by scapegoating the Jewish state.
For many years, Israel has been trying to explain to Western nations, including the United States, Britain, France, and other European countries, that the root of the Israeli-Arab Palestinian conflict is extreme Muslim indoctrination to jihad, violence, and hatred against them. However, the West seems to dismiss this argument as an excuse, and insists that the roots and the causes of the anti-Israel terrorism and violence have been lack of a peace deal, the so-called occupation of Palestinian lands by Israel, the settlements, lack of economic opportunities and a sense of humiliation and hopelessness among the Palestinians.
However, Europe and the United States should know that pressuring Israel to agree to a suicidal peace deal which will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state and dividing Jerusalem will not save the West from radical Islam but will strengthen the radicals by weakening Israel which is one of the few countries successfully fighting terror. Associating with, negotiating with, sympathizing with and granting concessions to the Palestinian Authority, only reassures ISIS that Europe and the United States is not serious about defeating Muslim terror and eventually can be weakened to embrace them too.
Trump seems to be as obsessed as the Europeans and is singlemindedly using his diplomatic efforts to solve the Palestinian Israeli conflict, instead of uniting world efforts to advance the cause of defeating the Islamic State, Iran, its proxies Hizballah and Hamas, and their sympathizers.
First, Trump has met Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, twice in the last month, honoring him warmly in the White House and in the City of Bethlehem. For those who do not remember, Abbas was for over 30 years the No. 2 to Yasser Arafat, one of the worst terrorists in history, responsible for the killings of thousands of innocent Jews.
Second, while visiting Israel, Trump refused to state that the Western Wall or Jerusalem are part of Israel to appease Abbas and convince him to enter peace negotiations. Moreover, President Trump decided to break his promise to Israel to relocate the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in order not to inflame Arab or Palestinian violence. Breaking promises to an ally and a democracy because of threats of terror do not increase the American deterrence power or lead to ultimate victory. Undermining an ally while showing desperation for a deal with terrorists only strengthens them.
The motivation of the PLO and Islamic terrorists worldwide is clear. They are engaging in an end of days clash between the Muslim world ruled by Sharia law and the Quran, and the Western world characterized by individual liberties, equality, the rule of law, and value for life.
Europe has already lost the struggle against radical Islam because of political correctness and fear of rejecting it in all its forms. How much more blood must be shed for the United States and Trump to understand that even if there was a so-called ultimate peace deal and the creation of a Palestinian state, there would still not be peace for the West or Israel with radical Islam but an invitation to more terror?
Shoula Romano Horing is an Israeli born and raised attorney and is available for national speaking engagements. Her blog: www.shoularomanohoring.com
Hillary Clinton waded back into the celebrity college commencement speaker trough, undoubtedly with big speaking fees, giving her first public speech outlining her tax-and-spend agenda at her old alma mater, Wellesley College.
Her operatives also played down reports from it that she had long cough attacks during the delivery, which may be signs of serious medical issues. They casually dismissed it as allergies. Of such unnecessary protestations, "at this point, what difference does it make?"
This brings us to the real point here: Hillary is running for president again.
One has to ask what the motivation for this might be, given that she is in poor health, in her mid-70s, has seen her pay-to-play foundation fundraising cash cow collapse, and undoubtedly is mentally exhausted from the last run just six months ago.
American Thinker editor emeritus Richard Baehr has observed:
I think she looks at rest of democratic field and President Trump's approval numbers and is considering one more try for president. What else can keep her relevant?
He's right. She sees her opportunity, and she's going to take it. That would explain the public speaking engagements (paid, of course) and the hard-to-believe denials of chronic medical problems.
So what does the field look like, and who else is out there? Will Andrew Cuomo take her place as the next Democratic Party favorite? He's making noises for it. Possible, but not entirely a threat, given Clinton's vastly greater name recognition and popularity among her supporters. Bernie Sanders? Maybe, but he's got a ceiling on his support due to his socialist orientation. There's Chuckie Schumer, the Castro brothers, Corey Booker from New Jersey, Massachusetts Democrat governor Deval Patrick, maybe Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez. Yet none can hold a candle to her own standard as party standard bearer or presidential candidate.
There's one name that might be such a threat, however: Elizabeth Warren, whose name recognition is comparable to Hillary's own and who also has a fanatic base of followers.
She's also not known to be on good terms with Hillary Clinton or the Clinton machine, despite occasional limp endorsements. In fact, it's believed that the two women hate each other. Hillary can never see Warren as a friend or coeval she's an unwelcome rival.
And if so, there are plenty of reasons why, to look at the psychology of the matter.
Hillary married her way to power and is highly reliant on her husband, the oozing charm natural politician Bill Clinton for political advice and direction. She knows this. Elizabeth Warren, on the other hand, is entirely self-made. And Clinton knows this, too. This one fact alone has to rankle her the most.
House-flipper, fake Indian, affirmative action fraudster Elizabeth Warren bit and clawed her way to the top in ways only someone from a hardscrabble lower-middle-class background with immense ambition could do. Hillary has always had her "achievements" handed to her by someone else. Yes, it has to rankle.
Warren also has a track record of sorts, making a name for herself with the establishment of the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau, supposedly to use as a hammer against corporate interests, which are so part of her political platform. She's a tenured Harvard professor, too, which has to rankle Clinton further, given her own middle-class roots. Hillary, by contrast, has no achievements to point to, either as a senator or as a former secretary of state. In fact, her record is one of continuous failure not merely left-wing policy, but failed leftwing policy. It has to rankle.
Warren is also a fresher face, and it might mean something that she's thinner than the chronically corpulent Clinton. Personal jealousy? I vote yes.
In light of all those variables, is it any surprise that Hillary might just be thinking of running? She's not going to let the "first female president" title go to a hated rival like Warren. No, with her Wellesley speech and other calculated appearances, Clinton's going to continue pursuing the crown she thinks is rightfully hers. Especially since she sees that Warren might get it.
Newscaster Bob Schieffer unwittingly demonstrated the depths his colleagues will descend to disparage President Trump at CNN.
Schieffer broke from the standard CNN narrative to remark that the president "actually" sounded "dignified and even presidential" during his momentous speech before more than 50 Arab and Muslim leaders delivered recently in Saudi Arabia. Apparently, Schieffer had gone too far in his faint praise of the president.
"You know, Bob," said his on-air colleague John Berman, "There will be people who look at that last comment you made and say you're normalizing the president." That was just the wind-up before landing the real punch: Berman mused aloud over making laudatory remarks about the president just "because he [Trump] met this admittedly very low bar for not sounding foolish."
This time, Berman wasn't dealing the race card, but rather pulled out the character assassination card from the bottom of the deck. After all you wouldn't want to "normalize" a wife-beater or serial killer. Why would you think of "normalizing" the president? Liberal hysteria is now a national condition.
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Schieffer wasn't going to be shamed into marching back his remarks on President Trump: "I'm not trying to normalize him in any way," Schieffer replied. "I'm trying to do what reporters do report and try to emphasize what I think is important."
Being an old-school journalist, Schieffer may be raising the bar for his colleagues at the Trump-bashing network. Sadly, in the end, Schieffer joined his colleagues at the cable channel in both condescending rhetoric and mean-spirited tone.
"He didn't sound like the guy at the end of the bar popping off," Schieffer added. "You may agree or disagree with what he said but he sounded like a president. This went over very well mainly because he stayed on script. He sounded like someone who actually thought about what he was going to say before he said it. No tweets today." Faint praise indeed.
Schieffer never veered too far off script himself. But, just for a moment, he actually sounded as if he was a newscaster "trying to do what reporters do report."
Writing as Spengler, the wise analyst of civilizational conflict, David P. Goldman, offers a provocative interpretation of the Manchester Arena massacre: that it was timed as a response to President Trump visiting, touching, and leaving a prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Read the whole thing.
The first rule of intelligence work is that there are no coincidences. A horrifying terror attack at a pop concert Monday night at the Manchester Arena followed by hours the first-ever visit by a sitting American president to the Western Wall of the ancient Temple at Jerusalem. ... The importance of President Trump's visit to the Western Wall--in Hebrew, the Kotel--cannot be overestimated. Even though the United States announced the visit as a personal rather than an official one, and even though Israeli officials were excluded from the visit, the image of an American president standing in awe before the embodiment of the three-thousand-year Jewish presence in Jerusalem was a diplomatic gesture on the grand scale. It came on the eve of Israel's celebration of the 50th anniversary of the unification of its ancient capital during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the president of the United States touched the ancient stones in reverence, his Jewish daughter Ivanka prayed a few meters away at the women's section.
The fact that there are pictures is key. Literacy is not a universal in the Middle East, outside Israel. Trump touching and praying at the Wall is a clear endorsement of Israeli sovereignty over all of Jerusalem, and in particular the Al Aqsa Mosque that stands above the Wall. With his Jewish family members behind him. The Muslim and Arab worlds notice this and read deep meaning into it. Remember that religion is a huge part of their lives, and that they are obligated to help Islam spread.
Whether or not the Manchester bombing was a response, Spengler is right that Trump was sending a clear message, that it is time to concede that the Jews own Jerusalem. Who owns Mecca and Medina is an issue of far greater importance right now. When the Saudis saw the images, it visually confirmed the understanding they had reached and communicated to the Muslim heads of state in Riyadh.
Trump was openly reversing President Obama's historic upending of U.S. policy at the U.N.:
With this gesture, President Trump buried years of diplomatic maneuvering to deny the Jewish connection to Jerusalem and the Temple, which is a synecdoche for the Jewish presence in the Holy Land. Jerusalem is the tipping point for American diplomacy. Last December 23 the outgoing Obama administration refused to veto UN Resolution 2334, which called Israel's presence in East Jerusalem an illegal settlement. The decisive phrase, which America's veto had suppressed until then, referred to "Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, including East Jerusalem," including the Western Wall. Israel rightly regarded Obama's abstention as a stab in the back.
President Trump has now reversed the reversal, and then some. He is signaling a new era, and the message is being received by Arabs and Muslims. This is bold diplomacy of the highest order. If it works, it will be a masterstroke.
Even as our own media remain focused on Russia, still with no evidence or even a crime.
On May 25, Rick Moran detailed the plight of California-located Duarte Nursery, being sued by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) for plowing a small portion of a recently purchased 450-acre farm for the purpose of planting wheat. Mr. Duarte purchased the land in recognition that significant portions were to remain fallow because they were wetlands protected by the Clean Water Act (CWA). But, after planting wheat for harvest in 2013 on a portion determined by a paid consultant not to be such protected wetlands, Mr. Duarte was sued by the Corps for "not obtaining a permit to discharge dredged or fill material into seasonal wetlands considered waters of the United States," according to USA Today. The dredged or fill material would be particles of soil and/or chemicals loosened by plowing. The amount of the fine sought against Mr. Duarte is some $2.8 million, with his attorney's fees, time wasted, and potential mitigation activities all significant added expenses.
At the heart of the problem is the Obama-era Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule that sowed the seeds of confusion the day it took effect on August 31, 2015 and one day after a federal district court in North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the WOTUS rule, in response to a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of 13 states: North Dakota, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, South Dakota, Wyoming, and New Mexico. Designed in collaboration between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the ACE, the rule was held by that federal court to be "exceptionally expansive" and to "irreparably diminish the States' power over their waters" in extending the scope of federal jurisdiction over the CWA.
Among many concerns regarding the WOTUS rule was the text that stated "waters within 4,000 feet of the high tide line or the ordinary high water mark of a traditional navigable water, interstate water, the territorial seas, impoundments, or covered tributary are subject to case-specific significant nexus determinations." This is quite vague, some fear deliberately so, and in any case open to interpretation and costly litigation. On a personal note, the installation of drainage tile emptying into an adjacent creek on my northwestern Indiana corn and soybean farm, commonly done in agriculture, could theoretically violate the rule.
The Congressional Research Service (Dec. 29, 2016) reviewed the controversy and options surrounding the WOTUS rule, first noting that the stated intent of EPA and the ACE was to "clarify CWA jurisdiction, not expand it." Despite that assertion, many agricultural and nonagricultural property owners, real estate developers, and state and local governments continue to fear federal overreach beyond statutory authority to regulate activities that effected "navigable waters" of the United States. The key issue has always been what constitutes "navigable waters" and what constitutes "tributaries," raising fears of many that any low spot that even temporarily collects water from rainstorms could constitute "navigable waters" because some of such water may eventually end up in a nearby "tributary" and eventually into a river. Indeed, the North Dakota federal court order noted that the key criterion was the proximity of any such standing water, or water in saturated soil, to a tributary making a reasonable contribution of water to navigable waters.
The court based its preliminary injunction on two things. First, the vague definition of tributaries in the rule included "vast numbers of waters that are unlikely to have a nexus to navigable waters within any reasonable understanding of the term." Secondly, the court noted the lack of a "scientific basis for the 4,000-foot standard" in determining the distance from such navigable waters that would subject a property or a portion of a property to the WOTUS rule. Many regulatory agencies then interpreted the ruling to apply to only the 13 plaintiff states, leaving enforcement open in the remaining 37 states, including California, as Mr. Duarte is now finding out.
In response to the apparent intrusion upon state responsibilities and landowner rights, the Trump administration issued on Feb. 28 its executive order directing the EPA and ACE to review the WOTUS rule, and all associated "orders, rules, regulations, guidelines, or policies implementing or enforcing the final rule" for the purpose of revising it or rescinding it. The purpose of the executive order was to insure "that the Nation's navigable waters are kept free from pollution, while at the same time promoting economic growth, minimizing regulatory uncertainty, and showing due regard for the roles of the Congress and the States under the Constitution." On March 6, the EPA and ACE published a notice in Federal Register of "their intention to review that rule, and provide advanced notice of a forthcoming proposed rulemaking consistent with the Executive Order."
While it appears that the WOTUS rule shall eventually be rolled back, Mr. Duarte has still his legal battles. His plight was noted in a May 25 joint press release by House Agriculture Committee chairman Michael Conaway (TX-11) and House Judiciary committee chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-6), in which they issued a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions calling for a review of the former Obama Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute the case against Mr. Duarte. In the letter, they note that DOJ's actions are not consistent with legislative intent and pose questions pertaining to whether such regulatory overreach needs to be corrected through legislative actions. The latter could include amendments to the Clean Water Act, standalone legislation targeting implementation of WOTUS, and appropriations bill limitations.
Rollback of the WOTUS rule may not spare Mr. Duarte significant legal and other costs, but he may recoup these through his own lawsuit, a related waste of taxpayer's money caused by political malfeasance.
Draining swamps is always a costly but necessary endeavor.
Dale Leuck is a Ph.D. in agricultural economics, a federal employee who forecasts economic phenomena and provides advice to policy makers, and one with significant background in philosophy, sociology, and involvement in the left-wing political movement of the 1960s and 1970s, from which he has retired, and a producer of corn and soybeans in northwestern Indiana.
The level of fraud in the food stamp program (officially the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) is so high that it amounts to a moral cancer on the civic body. Millions probably in the tens of millions of people are cheating taxpayers by working off the books or otherwise receiving food stamps they are not entitled to. Mass cheating, knowingly stealing from others, and thinking it is fine or at least normal.
Over time, the ethos spreads that only suckers play by the rules, that cheating is natural, that get-as-much-as-you-can is the essence of smart citizenship (and permanent residenceship, and illegal alienship, too, apparently). The deepest damage that decades of communism did to Russia was the creation of an ethos similar in kind, but to even a greater degree of corruption. But then again, communism had seven decades to erode and distort values, and we are just getting started with corrupting the populace on a mass level.
The Trump budget proposes a national work requirement for food stamps. Sean Moran of Breitbart:
President Donald Trump's 2018 budget will save $190 billion over the next ten years by requiring able-bodied adults to work to receive food stamps. President Trump wrote in his letter to Congress, "We must reform our welfare system so that it does not discourage able-bodied adults from working, which takes away scarce resources from those in real need. Work must be the center of our social policy." White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said at a press conference, "If you're on food stamps and you're able-bodied, then we need you to go to work." The number of recipients on food stamps skyrocketed recently, 50 million Americans now receive food stamps and use Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards at grocery or convenience store to buy food and drinks. The 50 million citizens on food stamps amount to 15 percent of the population, a substantial increase from the 17 million Americans who received food stamps in 2000.
If you want to gauge the dimensions of fraud in food stamps, look at what happened when Georgia enacted a work requirement. Katherine Rodriguez of Breitbart:
More than half of the 11,779 people enrolled for food stamps in 21 counties, an estimated 7,251 people, have dropped out of the food stamp program a drop of 62 percent, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Georgia first rolled out its work requirements for the food stamp program in three counties in January 2016. Since then, the state has expanded work requirements in an additional 21 counties, giving people in those 21 counties until April 1, 2017 to find a job or lose food stamp benefits. Those who receive benefits must work at least 20 hours a week, be enrolled in state-approved job training, or volunteer for a state-approved non-profit or charity. State officials say the plan is to extend the work requirements to all 159 counties in Georgia by 2019 and implement work requirements in 60 more counties, starting in 2018.
Or look at Maine. The Heritage Foundation reports:
In the first three months after Maine's work policy [required to take a job, participate in training, or perform community service] went into effect, its ABAWD [Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents] caseload plummeted by nearly 80 percent, falling from 13,332 recipients in December 2014 to 2,678 in March 2015. This rapid drop in welfare dependence has a historical precedent: When work requirements were established in the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program under President Bill Clinton in the 1990s, nationwide caseloads dropped by a similar amount, albeit over a few years rather than a few months.
In fact, there used to be a national work requirement, but the Obama administration granted waivers that remain in effect. If the GOP has the guts to keep a national work requirement in place for food stamps to, it will help reverse a national slide into civic decay, in addition to saving many billions.
Are you still waiting for your invitation to the State Department's Ramadan Iftar celebration? Well, you can stop hovering around your mailbox...because it's never coming!
The State Department, which has made a practice of celebrating Ramadan every year since 1999, apparently will not be celebrating this year.
Several prominent Muslim-American groups in the Washington area [which] are normally invited to the Ramadan event told Reuters this week that they had yet to receive an invitation from the State Department, which they said was unusual. "If they're having one, we haven't been invited," said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington. A representative for her group has been invited to the State Department event in the past, she said.
Maybe their invitation got lost in the mail?
In April, the State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs made a request to Tillerson's office that he deliver remarks at an Eid al-Fitr reception this year, and suggested a two-week range of dates in July. Several weeks later, that office and other offices at the State Department were alerted that Tillerson declined the request, the officials said.
Good for him. Why should America celebrate Islamic holidays? In addition to our being at war with radical Islam, there are a great deal of compatibility problems between "mainstream" Islam and what we know of as modern human rights. In "mainstream" Muslim countries, women are treated like second-class citizens. Homosexuals are brutalized. Non-Muslims constantly run the risk of being killed, and in some countries, like Saudi Arabia, worshiping in other religions is enough to get you arrested.
So why should America celebrate an intolerant religion? You should ask the Pentagon this question, because, unlike the State Department, it is celebrating Ramadan. This is the very same Pentagon that recently decided to allow American soldiers to wear hijabs. The policy started under Obama but continues under Trump.
The U.S. Army has issued a directive on grooming and appearance regulations that allows observant Sikh men and conservative Muslim women to wear religious head covering. "The Army has reviewed its policies to ensure soldiers can serve in a manner consistent with their faith so that we can recruit from the broadest pool of America's best," Army Secretary Eric Fanning said in a statement.
It looks as though the military is still in the grips of Islamophiles. Why is Trump tolerating this? It is bizarre that we are fighting Islamic fundamentalism while permitting sharia-compliant soldiers to serve in the military.
It's just as bizarre as hosting a Ramadan dinner with people who may very well be our enemies. Here's how the situation was in 1803:
The first documented White House Iftar occurred more than 200 years ago, when President Thomas Jefferson hosted the Tunisian envoy Sidi Slimane Mhlmyla on Dec. 9, 1805, to discuss the issue of piracy in the Mediterranean Sea.
And here's how it was just three years ago:
Yet even under Obama, celebrating Ramadan was controversial, most notably in 2014, around the time of the 2014 Gaza War. Invitees who showed up to mark Islams holy month were offended by the presence of the Israeli ambassador[.]
They were offended by the presence of an Israeli. They sound really tolerant.
You have to wonder what is going on at the Pentagon. Or at a White House that tolerates this.
Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.
High in the Andes, in southwest Bolivia, towering above one of the highest cities in the world, stands the cone-shaped peak of Cerro Rico the rich mountain. The name was given by the Spanish Colonials for the huge quantities of silver it contained. The Spanish thought that the entire mountain was made of silver ore.
In 1545, a small mining town was established at the foot of Cerro Rico, and some 3 million natives were forced to work at the mines. Hundreds of thousands died from accidents or killed by overwork, hunger and disease. Nearly five centuries later, the Spanish overloads are long gone, but conditions deep in the bowels of the mountains appear to have changed little.
Photo credit: TomaB/Flickr
Dozens of men and young boys still die in the mines from cave-in and collapses. Centuries of mining have left the mountain riddled with thousands of holes and unstable, and there is a serious risk of the entire mountain coming down. Indeed, the mountain has already diminished in height by a few hundred meters due to extensive mining during the Spanish monarchy.
According to historian Eduardo Galeano, an estimated 8 million men have died in the Cerro Rico since the 16th century, although critics believe the figure is exaggerated and includes all the people who left the region around the mines, and not just those who died working in the mines. While it might be difficult to say how many people actually lost lives to the mountain, the figure is undoubtedly huge, earning Cerro Rico the nickname, the Mountain that Eats Men.
While many die from accidents, the greatest toll comes from silicosis, a lung disease caused by breathing dust. Usually, in modern mines, the dust is prevented by a continuous stream of water directed out of the drill tip. There is no such provision in Cerro Rico. Here, the dust drifts back down the mine shaft where it is breathed into the lungs by the miners. Once inside the lungs, the dust sits and causes scarring of the lung tissues accompanied by chronic bronchitis-like symptoms, fever, chest pain, weight loss, weakness and eventually death. Very few live to the age of forty. According to the local widows' association, 14 women are widowed each month.
Today, the mines no longer produce in quantities it did back in the 18th century. Potosi has been on a slow economic decline ever since.
Photo credit: Toto/Flickr
Photo credit: green_lava/Flickr
Situated at an altitude of 4,090 meters, Potosi is one of the highest cities in the world. Photo credit: travelmag.com/Flickr
Photo credit: Mariano Mantel/Flickr
Sources: Wikipedia / BBC / NPR / PRI
Hate Crime not yet at Manchester massacre levels
If you think its a hate crime, then it is a hate crime. The Mail has news on hate crimes in Manchester, where many of the people injured in last weeks slaughter are being treated for life-threatening injuries.
Paul Coleman explains:
To understand the current situation in Europe, we have to look back to the middle of the last century. After the Second World War, the international community gathered together and launched the United Nations. The member states of this newly formed body then proceeded to draft and adopt the non-binding yet foundational Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and a series of binding human rights treaties, including the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1966) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). During the drafting of these three documents, the issue of free speech was furiously debated. Two opposing views emerged. On the one hand, there were the Western liberal democraciesthe United States, Canada, and Western Europeall of which argued for strong free speech protections.
At the debates, US delegate Eleanor Roosevelt said it was extremely dangerous to ban hate speech because any criticism of public or religious authorities might all too easily be described as incitement to hatred.
And so to the news that hate speech is something the police are onto. Its your moral duty to report it.
Greater Manchester Police bosses said the number of reports had risen from 28 to 56 since Salman Abedi set off a nail bomb at Manchester Arena. Chief Inspector Ian Hopkins called for the city to stand up against hate and ensure any incidents are quickly reported to the police. He said: Manchester has come together this week but it is important we continue to stand together here in Greater Manchester against the hate-filled views we have seen from small minorities of the community. We had 28 reports of hate crime on Monday, which is the average, but it rose to 56 reports on Wednesday, although we cannot directly link that to the attack. Salman Abedi murdered 22 people. He maimed 120 more. Hate crime has not yet reach that level of barbarity. Brendan ONeill: After the terror, the platitudes. And the hashtags. And the candlelit vigils. And they always have the same message: Be unified. Feel love. Dont give in to hate. The banalities roll off the national tongue. Vapidity abounds. A shallow fetishisation of togetherness takes the place of any articulation of what we should be together for and against. And so it has been after the barbarism in Manchester. In response to the deaths of more than 20 people at an Ariana Grande gig, in response to the massacre of children enjoying pop music, people effectively say: All you need is love. The disparity between these horrors and our response to them, between what happened and what we say, is vast. This has to change. Do we want freedom? Then we must want the freedom to offending saying what we think and having tho opinions held up to scrutiny. And in the Times: Intelligence officers have identified 23,000 jihadist extremists living in Britain as potential terrorist attackers, it emerged yesterday. The scale of the challenge facing the police and security services was disclosed by Whitehall sources after criticism that multiple opportunities to stop the Manchester bomber had been missed. About 3,000 people from the total group are judged to pose a threat and are under investigation or active monitoring in 500 operations being run by police and intelligence services. The 20,000 others have featured in previous inquiries and are categorised as posing a residual risk. Are they haters?
Anorak
Posted: 27th, May 2017 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
If youre considering a subscription to the Disney Plus streaming service, you may be wondering how much it costs. The service is available on both
YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. Days of Armenia will be held in the State of Qatar, while the tourism result of Armenia will be presented in Germany through a presentation.
The state tourism committee continues its strategy aimed at developing Armenias tourism.
Zarmine Zeytuntsyan, chairman of the committee, said the level of recognition of Armenia is low globally, and currently they are working on the countrys branding.
First of all, we have a task of presenting Armenia as a historic-cultural country. A county, which was the first to adopt Christianity, she said.
According to her, one of the tools for presenting Armenia throughout the world for the committee is the media.
We invite foreign reporters and bloggers to tour Armenia. Soon Indian and Philippine media representatives will visit our country, she said, adding that various presentations are also held in different countries for raising awareness.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian governments delegation, led by Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan, participated today in the Eurasian intergovernmental councils session in Kazan, Russia. The Armenian delegation took part in the session in both narrow and expanded formats.
The governments press service told ARMENPRESS the PM delivered a speech, thanking the Russian side and Russias PM Dmitry Medvedev for the warm reception and high-level organization of the session.
Speaking on the development of integration partnership within the EEU, Karen Karapetyan namely said Every time Armenia declares that this platform is interesting and has prospects and is important for the development of our country and economy. I would like to indicate several key issues, which we discussed today in a narrow format The first is EEUs digital agenda. We are in favor of the digital agenda idea and we attach importance to it. We must continue working in that direction, moreover when operating, to some extent active systems already exist in our countries. We must take this into consideration, ensure their partnership, relevant tools and in the event of coordinated work we will be able to transform these separate systems into a common technological platform.
The second issue is partnership aimed at eliminating obstacles and barriers. Today, we were briefed on an analysis about what hasnt been done in given areas. The Armenian side had said that the shortcomings that we have recorded will be eliminated soon. In this direction, the work is very beneficial because it actually diversifies our mutual economic relations.
We are in favor of adopting the procedure on the outlined works for the agro-industrial complex and we have already made proposals to the commission on scientific-research works, with the purpose of including it in the relevant two-year plan.
I would also like to point out the issue of single window in todays agenda. I believe this is a quite interesting tool. We have gathered some experience, it is coordinated yet, but we have advanced in several directions.
The Prime Ministers of EEU member states discussed issues related to deepening integration partnership in the fields of economy, customs, industry and agro-industry. Several documents were signed upon the sessions results on the program of actions on eliminating barriers in the EEU internal market, developing the single window mechanism etc.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Bako Sahakyan, President of the Republic of Artsakh, released a statement congratulating on the First Armenian Republic Day May 28, Artsakhs Presidential Office told ARMENPRESS.
Dear compatriots,
On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities, I congratulate you on the Day of the First Armenian Republic.
The Armenian nation has always been struggling to restore its statehood, live freely and independently on its soil, master its destiny on its own.
On 28 May the century- long struggle was crowned with success. In the battles of Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa our people demonstrated unprecedented endurance, heroism and gained success, resisted the invading enemy and forced it to retreat, rescuing from destruction the last fraction of the historical homeland and its future.
The Artsakh Liberation Struggle became the continuation of those glorious heroic battles proving once again that Armenian freedom-loving spirit is unshakable and passes down from generation to generation.
Today the entire Armenian people have united and combined their efforts for the development and reinforcement of the two Armenian republics, for the secure and prosperous life of the Armenians in their own country, their homeland. It is a nationwide issue which should be solved by all of us, in Mother Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora.
Once again, I congratulate all our people on the state holiday and wish peace, prosperity and new victories on the way of the state building process.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, has died aged 89, BBC reports.
Mr Brzezinski "passed away peacefully" in Virginia on Friday evening, his daughter Mika said on social media.
President Carter paid tribute to him as a "superb public servant".
After leaving office, Mr Brzenzinski worked as an author and academic into his 80s, endorsing Barack Obama and becoming a vocal critic of his successor, President Donald Trump.
One of his last tweets, sent in February, dryly noted: "Do we even have a foreign policy right now?"
The "inquisitive and innovative" son of a Polish diplomat, Mr Brzezinski was a "natural choice" as national security adviser, Mr Carter said in his tribute. "He was brilliant, dedicated, and loyal, and remained a close adviser to my work at The Carter Center. I will miss him."
He also taught American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. A necessity of product insurance exists in terms of making exports to the EEU market, Martin Sargsyan, president of Armenias chamber of commerce and industry said during the EEU-Armenia cooperation annual business forum.
According to him, problems also exist regarding issuance of loans during transactions.
These are important, because problems might occur for exporting products to EEU markets, and in this event insurance is very important in both financial terms, and in case of force majeure situations, he said.
Sargsyan said Armenia has great potential in the EEU market for exporting agricultural goods. According to him, the government is highly focused on the development of this branch, which might also be the moving force of the economy in Armenia.
We have problems in the indusial sector. It is necessary to choose within this sector the branches which have the potential for development. We must put all our efforts on these, in order to be able to develop it, he said.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. President of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan participated in the Board of Trustees session of Hayastan All Armenian Fund in Yerevan on May 27.
In his speech Bako Sahakyan said: The formation and maintenance of a viable security system are amidst the top priorities of the Artsakh Republic state building process.
They are also among the most important tasks of all the world spread Armenians with the Mother Armenia and the Diaspora spare no effort for that. Large-scale work is being carried out in this direction by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund too.
The President proposed to include in the program of the "Telethon - 2017" projects of drilling deep wells, constructing new irrigation network and introducing solar power system.
According to President Sahakyan the construction of modern irrigation network will give a qualitatively new impetus to safeguarding high level of food security, developing agriculture, raising the living standards of rural population, ensuring guaranteed jobs in the regions. The proposal was approved and included in the program of the 2017 telethon.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Russian businessmen arent well informed on the opportunities of Syuniks Free Economic Zone, Eurasian Economic Commission minister of trade Veronika Nikishina said at the May 27 EEU-Armenia Cooperation annual business forum.
According to her, the Iranian businessmen are more informed on the FEZs opportunities.
Thats why this kind of a forum and similar events are a good occasion to talk about programs and finding common ground for joint cooperation, Nikishina said.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Hayastan All Armenian Fund confirmed this years fundraisers topics.
Ara Vardanyan, executive director of Hayastan All Armenian Fund, told reporters the topics were discussed in the 26th session of the Board of Trustees, which were proposed by the president of Artsakh Bako Sahakyan.
There are two topics. The first is the program on deep well waters, with which we hope that irrigation process will begin in currently un-irrigated territories of Artsakh. It will greatly impact the development of agriculture. 50 thousand dollars are required for drilling each borehole. There are 180-200 similar wells. I cant say that well be able to completely fulfill it with the first fundraiser, but I will definitely emphasize that the program has been adopted not just for a single year. We will continue it by seeking philanthropists, Vardanyan said.
The second program is the solar energy usage project. The Fund has previously implemented a similar program in Armenia and has gained experience.
Next year, it will be possible to launch the solar energy usage program in almost all villages of Artsakh.
The first phase will include schools and community center, which will use solar energy for electricity purposes.
Vardanyan expressed confidence that these two projects will be continuous, just like all other projects which were launched years ago.
During the 25 years of the Funds operations we had 700,000 donations worth 350 million dollars. The numbers are rather expressive. A significant portion of the money is comprised through small donations. We are very proud that a large number of philanthropists support the Fund. We are sure that a day will come when we will state that 10 million philanthropists are supporting us, rather 700,000, he said.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia His Holiness Aram I held meetings with the Armenian community and representatives of local structures on the sidelines of his visit to Kuwait.
Representatives of local organizations briefed the Catholicos on their activities, as well as concerns and difficulties.
Catholicos Aram I mentioned the priority significance of serving to our nations spiritual, cultural values, the school and church, and being a participant of the national demanding struggle. He mentioned that it is necessary to be united around our structures.
It is vital to participate in our collective life, he mentioned.
Aram I expressed joy that the community was able to build a church and Primacy with its efforts.
The human books concept was first introduced in Denmark in 2000.
If you want to wrap your head around a concept or learn about a burning issue, you can now borrow human books. Introduced in Denmark in 2000 by Ronni Abergel, the human library aims to use people's (human books) experiences to spread awareness and confront prejudices in society. From racism to caste discrimination, from sexual abuse to polygamy, from gender inequality to LGBTQ rights, the human books engage people with their stories and experiences.
The Human Library Organisation (HLO) organises events across the world where participants can choose a human book from several categories. Once a reader selects a human book, he or she has a one-on-one chat with them for 30 minutes.
Who can become a book? Anyone who has faced discrimination, been victimised or has a story to tell.
Mr Abergel says, Books are carefully recruited and prepared for publication based on their personal experiences and backgrounds. Typically, they are members of groups in the community that are exposed to stigma, stereotypes or prejudices because of their social status, religion, occupation, ethnicity, sexuality, lifestyle, health or disability. Not everyone can be published; only those with valid experiences and who are able to communicate and understand their role as an open book.
Harshad Fad, who works with the Human Library Organi-sation in India, says, We decide the issues we want to highlight, and then we find people who represent them. It is like composing music and then putting the lyrics to it.
Detailing the process of recruiting human books, Mr Fad said candidates are given questions that revolve around the kind of prejudices they have faced and experiences they want to share with readers.
The Human Library Organisation also reaches out to people whose experiences allow readers to challenge deep-seated prejudices. There are a lot of issues that people don't know much about. For example, sex trafficking. People don't understand the gravity of the problem. So we approach NGOs who help us to find a book that can talk about that issue. We had an NGO volunteer who spoke about sex trafficking survivors and the dangers they face.
Human book Aditya Raja, who represents the LGBTQ community, said that sharing extremely personal stories of his trials and tribulations with a group of strangers made him feel vulnerable at first, but it was a unique experience to have a dialogue with readers as it helps them to see the human side of an issue that they haven't encountered in their lives.
Mr Raja has interacted with people of different ages and backgrounds at two events recently held in Hyderabad, and he feels that often people leave the session with an entirely different opinion or more informed opinion.
He says people who are biased don't understand the issues faced by the LGBTQ community. Whatever misperception the readers have, they can directly ask the human book during the interaction session. It changes their perspective entirely.
The human library concept, born out of the Stop the Violence movement in Denmark in 2000, has spread across the world. Australia has become the first country to have a permanent human library. The HLO recently held events in Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. It is represented in over 70 countries, mostly in partnership with local organisations.
Highlighting its growing popularity, Mr Abergel says, We engage many thousands of volunteer books, editors and librarians across the world. We are expanding every day with more book depots and more partners in new countries.
The Human Library Organisation is looking to spread its wings further. It is very important for the concept of the human library to reach more and more people and cities. We are helping local organisers to understand the process. People are reaching out to us through social media to organise events. Currently, there are 30 human books in India, says Mr Fad.
The development comes at a time when its peers Wipro and Cognizant are taking similar measures to control costs.
Bengaluru: Founder chairman of Infosys N.R. Narayana Murthy on Friday expressed sadness over the IT firms laying off their employees as part of their cost cutting strategy.
...It is sad..., Mr Murthy told in an email reply to a PTI query about recent IT layoffs. Mr Murthy, however, did not elaborate on the matter.
Infosys had announced that it could hand out pink slips to hundreds of mid and senior-level employees as it carries out bi-annual performance review amid a challenging business environment.
The development comes at a time when its peers Wipro and Cognizant are taking similar measures to control costs.
Cognizant had rolled out a voluntary separation programme for directors, associate VPs and senior VPs, offering them 6-9 months of salary.
Wipro, too, is learnt to have asked about 600 people to leave as part of its annual performance appraisal even as speculations were that the number could go as high as 2,000.
According to executive search firm Head Hunters India, the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer tech.
A McKinsey & Company report said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be irrelevant over the next 3-4 years.
IT firms have been one of the largest recruiters in the country. However, they have warned that increasing automation of processes would lead to reduction in hiring in coming years.
While the outsourcing model has placed India on the global map, increasing scrutiny and rising protectionist sentiment are also posing challenges for the $140 billion Indian IT industry.
Companies are now working towards reducing their dependence on work visas and instead hiring more locals to ensure continuity of work for clients, even though it impacts their margins.
The police also said the civilian was killed in the crossfire between militants and security forces in Tral.
Clashes broke out in the Down Town area after Sabzar Ahmed Bhat's death on Saturday. (Photo: DC/H U Naqash)
Srinagar: One civilian was killed and 19 were injured in the firing between security forces and militants at Tral, after violence erupted following the death of Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmed Bhat on Saturday.
The police also said the civilian was killed in the crossfire between militants and security forces in Tral.
According to hospital sources, six people received bullet injuries while the rest were wounded by pellets. Six policemen were also injured due to stone pelting
Earlier on Saturday, Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, killed along with one accomplice in a fierce gunfight with security forces in Kashmirs southern Tral region.
Violence erupted in several parts of the valley as the news about Bhats killing spread. More than 50 people have been injured in clashes underway in different parts of the south, central and north Kashmir, and Srinagar.
In a separate incident, six infiltrating militants were killed in a clash with Army troops in Uri sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district. The incident comes a day after the Army had said it stopped an infiltration attempt backed by the Pakistan army along the de facto border by killing two intruders believed to be the members of a Pakistan armys Border Action Team (BAT).
The officials in Srinagar said that the firefight began in Trals Saimu village after the security forces laid siege to it on learning about the presence of militants. Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Ved, confirmed that Bhat is among the two militants killed, so far.
The other slain militant along with Bhat was identified as Faizan Ahmed.
Spontaneous clashes erupted in several parts of the Valley after the news of Bhats killing spread. Clashes between irate crowds of youth and the security forces have been reported also from encounter site in Trals Saimu village.
Five people were injured in security forces action against the protesters, the reports said. The areas elsewhere in the Valley that have witnessed protests and clashes fall in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and Kupwara.
At most places, the traders have brought their shutters down and vehicles are being withdrawn in a chaotic situation. Media persons have been denied access to the encounter site, reports said.
We were not allowed to go close to the encounter site by the security forces. Tral is very tense and people are out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Sabzar and for freedom, said Zubair Ahmed Dar, a reporter over the phone from Tral.
A report from Anantnag said that at least 35 injured persons were admitted to the district hospital following clashes occurred in different parts of Anantnag town and its neighbourhood.
One of the seriously injured persons has been referred to a Srinagar hospital for specialised treatment, doctors at the district hospital said.
Amid heightening tensions and clashes, the authorities have suspended Internet services partially to restrain the spread of rumours and use of social media to provoke violence.
The suspension of the Internet came a day after the State government lifted a month-long ban on, at least, 22 social networking websites.
The students of various educational institutions across the Valley left their classes midway and taken to the streets at many places yelling pro-freedom slogans. The police and the CRPF are facing a tough time to deal with the situation at places, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bhat had succeeded Burhan Wani, the popular Internet-savvy commander of Kashmirs frontline indigenous militant outfit, whose killing by security forces on July 8 last year had resulted in massive violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In the five-month long turbulence, more than 80 civilians and two policemen had died and thousands injured, mainly in security forces firings and other actions besides leaving behind trails of destruction of infrastructure.
Also, over 4,000 security personnel were injured in stone-pelting incidents and mob violence.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday should not be given any "political" interpretation.
"This has nothing to do with politics. In the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister, our prime minister invited me to the lunch. Everyone knows that Mauritius has close ties with India, especially Bihar as more than half of Mauritius people have their origins in Bihar. I came here to discuss the problems faced by Bihar," Kumar told reporters outside Bihar Bhawan, in New Delhi.
He said he met the Prime Minister as Bihar's Chief Minister and not as a representative of political party, adding that the meeting pertained to floods that have been ravaging the state.
"I came here to discuss one of the major problems Bihar has been facing. Every year our lands are ravaged by floods caused due to over flowing of Ganga River. Apart from that I have also requested for silt management policy and asked the Prime Minster to send a group of scientist to analyse the situation," Kumar said.
When asked about the reason for his absence on a lunch invitation by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Kumar said, "I had already met Sonia on April 20, she invited me and during that we disused about the Presidential polls. It was already decided that Sharad Yadav will be representing from our party."
"I did not skip the lunch. This is a mere misinterpretation," Nitish added.
On Friday, more than 17 political parties took part in Sonia Gandhi's luncheon to hold discussions on naming a candidate from the Opposition for presidential polls. But Kumar was absent from the event.
Gandhi will visit Saharanpur to take stock of the prevailing situation, where a caste conflict had erupted.
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday left for strife-torn Saharanpur, despite district authorities denying him permission to visit the area.
Party sources said Rahul left for Shabbirpur village, the centre of the caste-based violence in the district, by road this morning after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
He is being accompanied by AICC general secretary in charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar.
If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, the sources said.
"They cannot suppress the voice of the poor, Dalits and Adivasis of this country. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party will continue to speak," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"Nobody will be able to stop Rahul from reaching out to the victims of the violence which have been perpetrated at the instance of BJP gundas," he added.
Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes his month.
Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.
On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
Despite being denied permission by the authorities, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached riot-hit Saharanpur.
New Delhi: Taking a swipe at Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's visit to riot-hit Saharanpur, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday described him as a 'photo opportunist'.
Naidu said in New Delhi, "Rahul Gandhi is a photo-opportunist, whenever there is a photo opportunity he always goes there,"
Despite being denied permission by the authorities, Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached riot-hit Saharanpur.
On Thursday, the Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General Law and Order Aditya Mishra had requested all political parties to steer clear of the violence-hit area until the situation returns to normal.
"We have requested all political parties not to visit the state until the situation is brought back to normal in Saharanpur." Mishra said.
Gandhi will visit Saharanpur to take stock of the prevailing situation, where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted.
Clashes occurred earlier after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.
The State Government also announced to give compensation of Rs 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.
In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Yogi Adityanath Government transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit a report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.
Earlier, Saharanpur District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked after he was unable to control the clashes between two communities in the area.
On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.
Reports said that the police stopped the Maharana Pratap procession after some Dalits informed the police. This angered Rajputs, who allegedly resorted to violence.
He also informed that he will file a FIR and will take all the evidence to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
New Delhi: Sacked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Kapil Mishra on Saturday made yet another attack on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of Rs 300 crore worth scam in the health care department of the state.
"Delhi government had given the largest allocation in its budget to health and now the government doesn't even have basic medicines for people", Mishra said in a presser here.
"In this scam, first the purchasing power of hospitals was curbed and Central Procurement Agency (CPA) was formed. Then the medicines were bought in advance for which the hospitals didn't have the requirement or space to keep. Now when the medicines are actually required, neither the government nor the hospitals have the medicines."
He added that there is also discrepancy in the prices of hundred ambulances that were bought, saying the actual cost of an ambulance is Rs 11 lakh but the government bills show that these ambulances were bought for Rs 23 lakh.
Mishra also claimed that many junior doctors were promoted superseding many seniors, adding that there is an attempt to divert the blame from Delhi Health Minister and Health Secretary to Chief Secretary.
He also informed that he will be filing a First Information Report (FIR) on the basis of the evidence and will take all the evidence to Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.
Following is the list of accusations laid by Mishra against Arvind Kejriwal so far:
May 6: Mishra alleged he was removed from the position of Delhi Water Minister because he was going to submit the names of those people involved in the tanker scam to the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
May 7: Mishra revealed that he was witness to Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain offering a Rs 2 crore bribe to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
May 8: Mishra accused that the Chhatarpur seven-acre farm house deal and Rs 10 crore fake bill scam of Public Works Department (PWD), was done for Kejriwal's brother in law. He also added that there are inconsistencies and corruption in the donations made to the party that he has informed Central Bureau of Investigation about. He also alleged that AAP leaders like Ashish Khetan, Sanjay Singh, Satyendra Jain, Raghav Chadha and Durgesh Pandey used party funds to travel abroad.
May 14: Mishra accused AAP for misleading the Election Commission and Income Tax department. He added that the party is continuously involved in money laundering. He also alleged that donations were made to the party by 16 shell companies of its own MLA.
May 19: Mishra claimed AAP is involved in 'Hawala' and foreign funding.
Modi said that it was the faith of the people that had guided and inspired him to take difficult decisions in the past three years.
Guwahati: Completing three years in power and flushed with electoral victories, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday decided to address the nation from Assam with the message of gratitude for peoples support for him and his government till now, and vowing to fulfil all his promises.
Addressing a huge public rally in Guwahati, Mr Modi, in his hour-long speech, presented his governments report card, explained the major initiatives taken, and got emotional while speaking of his commitment to ensuring the well-being of 125 crore countrymen.
Earlier in the day, Mr Modi put out statistics related to various sectors to show comparisons between 2014 and now, and he invited the public to participate in a survey on his NarendraModi App about the performance of his government. Sath hai, vishwas hai, ho raha vikas hai (There is cooperation, there is confidence and progress is being made), the Prime Minister tweeted.
Along with the tweets, he posted graphics related to various sectors like agriculture, mobile banking, tele-density, women empowerment, Make-in-India, tourism, electrification, solar energy and distribution of LED bulbs.
Referring to Make-in-India, the graphic said that there has been a giant boost to investments in electronic manufacturing.
Marking the third anniversary of his government in the Northeast, Mr Modi said that it was the faith of the people that had guided and inspired him to take difficult decisions in the past three years, and added, I am committed to fulfilling the assurances given to the people of my country.
Keeping his eyes firmly on the poor and the backward, the Prime Minister spoke of his governments move to set up the OBC Commission, while regretting that the previous government had ignored this demand.
I have noticed that people have become a part of the administration in these three years, he said, and went on to thank people for supporting demonetisation a tough decision that, he added, was successful because of peoples blessings.
There were attempts to provoke the countrymen against demonetisation, but they failed, he said.
Reiterating his faith in his countrymen, Mr Modi said that the drive against black money and corruption would continue. I will extract all benami property and black money that has been built by looting the public exchequer, he said, adding that he was prepared to face any kind of challenges and difficulties to fulfil this assurance to the people.
When I came to power three years ago, I spoke about cleanliness, I spoke about toilets, some people were stunned and some were laughing. They said what kind of PM is this. But now it has become a movement in the country, he said, and added, I need your pro-active support for my mission New India.
When we came to power, there was only disappointment everywhere. People thought nothing will change and had made peace with it. However, now everything has changed. Indians believe that we will become a global power.
He mesmerised the huge gathering when he recited a poem, Tan samarpit, man samarpit, aur ye jeevan samarpit/Sochta hun Maa tujhe aur kya doon (This body is dedicated to you, this soul is dedicated to you/I wonder what more can I do for you, my Motherland).
In a speech that was often evocative and left many in tears, Mr Modi said, I have experienced and understood the pains that the common man goes through. I intend to do big things for the small people.
While referring to the investment of more than Rs 3,500 that Assam got in a day after the inauguration of a bridge and laying the foundation for an AIIMS and IARI (Indian Agricultural Research Institute), Mr Modi said this is how his government intends to work. He added that satellite programmes in India have been going on for the last so many years, but it was now that India had succeeded in attracting global attention by launching 104 satellites in one go.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu and Manipur chief minister N Biren Singh were also present at the rally, which was attended by a large number of people, who braved heavy rains to listen to the Prime Minister.
The site, near Rupa Valley, is about 64 km from Tezpur where it lost radar contact with the base.
The wreckage of IAF's Su-30 MKI jet that went missing with two pilots onboard, has been found in the thick forest around 60 Kms from Tezpur, Assam. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: The search and rescue operations aerial hunt has sighted the wreckage of the crashed Sukhoi 30 MKI near Rupa Valley in Arunachal Pradesh. But despite desperate tries, could not reach the site because of the inclement weather conditions and the deep rain forest terrain along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
The tail chute and one rudder is seen besides a proper impact point of a Su 30, sources told this newspaper.
An advanced light helicopter (ALH) on Friday had attempted to airdrop a team of six IAF Garud commandos who would have slithered down from the chopper, but the terrain made it impossible to do so. The team had to fly back and will resume the operation on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, as per normal procedure, the IAF has ordered a court of inquiry (CoI) into the incident.
Search for flight data recorder and missing crew will be perused by the ground parties after they reach the crash site. A CoI has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident, said IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee.
The site, near Rupa Valley, is about 64 km from Tezpur where it lost radar contact with the base.
Army ground teams, along with local administration officials, are also attempting to reach the site. A number of assets, including a C-130 J, Su 30, Dhruv and Chetak helicopters, are engaged in the operation besides 18 ground teams that includes the Army and the civilian personnel.
The Met department, too, had grim news on weather prediction for Saturday with heavy rain predicted for many areas of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
Besides losing valuable lives, till date eight Sukhoi 30s have crashed, resulting in an estimated loss of about Rs 2,700 crore.
With a speed of about 2,100 kmph and a range of 3,000 km, the Sukhoi 30 can remain airborne for more than 3.5 hours. It is capable of carrying a variety of weapons and there are ongoing efforts to fit the supersonic Brahmos missile onto a Sukhoi.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: India on Saturday announced a $500 million line of credit to Mauritius, and the two nations also inked a pact for cooperation in maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
In a statement issued later, Mr Modi said he and Mr Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities and provide security to the people of both the countries.
We have to keep up our vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing, and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources, the Prime Minister said.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen cooperation and capacities, he said, noting that the two sides also agreed to strengthen their wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain.
On his part, Mr Jugnauth said the two countries need to ensure that the sea lanes of communications are safe and secure and regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing in the territorial waters and drug trafficking.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders.
They were for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius, one on cooperation in ocean research and the US dollar Credit Line Agreement between the SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Company and Export-Import Bank of India.
Mr Modi said the agreement on the line of credit to Mauritius was a good example of the strong and continuing commitment to the development of that country.
The two sides also decided to ramp up cooperation in a number of areas including trade and investment.
India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius, the Prime Minister said, adding that emphasis was also given on cooperation in skill development during the talks.
Reaffirming Mauritius unwavering support to India for UN Security Council membership, Mr Jugnauth also welcomed New Delhis support to the island nations claim over the Chagos archipelago.
The JD(U) chief had on Friday skipped the luncheon meeting hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
New Delhi: Attacking the Opposition parties for coming together against the NDA government, Union minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday that only the corrupt, communal and casteist people are upset with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Citing that the unprincipled alliance of the Opposition parties will not last longer for the want of an ideology and an able and stable leadership, he also hit out at Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi over his visit to Saharanpur and termed it as just another photo opportunity for the latter. He also suggested that not much should be read out of shrewd politician Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumars meeting with the Prime Minister on Saturday.
The JD(U) chief had on Friday skipped the luncheon meeting hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. However, Sharad Yadav and KC Tyagi were in attendance there. There are three categories of people who are upset with Modi: the corrupt, communal and casteist. They are unhappy because Modi has weeded them out.
Asked if Mr Kumar and Mr Modis meet hinted at a reunion of the JD(U) and the BJP, the Union minister said, These are speculations. The JD(U) had in 2013 broken its 17-year alliance with the BJP.
The accused was nabbed while going to meet a lawyer at Karkardooma court on Thursday, said the officer.
New Delhi: Delhi Police have arrested a man who allegedly kidnapped and murdered his wife's 11-year-old brother whose skull and bones were recovered from Loni in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh.
A complaint was filed by Raju, a resident of Mandoli Extension in northeast Delhi, regarding his missing son at Prashant Vihar police station on May 20.
While the cops were clueless initially, they later zeroed in on the suspect Prashant, 21, who is married to the deceased's sister, said Ajit Kumar Singla, DCP (northeast).
Prashant was nabbed while going to meet a lawyer at Karkardooma court on Thursday, said the officer.
"During interrogation, he admitted his role in kidnapping and murder of the boy and helped police in recovery of the victim's skull, bones, clothes, slippers and a Taviz (talisman) from a forest in Loni (Ghaziabad)," he said.
The accused claimed that his relations with his in-laws were troubled since his marriage in July, 2016. He had lured the victim on the pretext of playing video games and took him to Loni where he murdered him, added the officer.
The AAP legislator had held a demonstration last month in the Delhi Assembly to prove that the voting machines could be tampered with.
New Delhi: A day after dropping out of the Election Commissions EVM challenge, AAPs Greater Kailash Assembly legislator Saurabh Bhardwaj did a Facebook live from Botswana, the South African country that had invited hackers to crack the electronic voting machines, or EVMs, earlier this month.
The AAP legislator had held a demonstration last month in the Delhi Assembly to prove that the voting machines could be tampered with. To prove his point, he had changed the motherboard that controlled the device.
But the EC, which has announced an EVM Challenge on June 3 to address concerns among political parties about the voting machines, made it clear that it would not allow challengers to make any changes to the machines hardware.
AAP, along with Congress, has decided to skip the event, insisting that the ground rules were far too restrictive.
On Saturday, Mr Bharadwaj did a live Facebook session on the truth about the hackathon in Botswana.
Botswana, a country twice the size of Uttar Pradesh and with a population of about 2.3 million about one-tenth of Delhis population is struggling to implement a decision to introduce Made in India electronic voting machines for its 2019 general elections.
The ruling Botswana Democratic Party has never lost power since the African country gained independence in 1966. Sensing that they could oust the ruling party in the next election, Botswanas four Opposition parties have joined hands and are deeply suspicious about the voting machines. It was in this context that Botswanas election commission had agreed to a hackathon.
Bharat Electronics is reported to have pulled out from the event after AAP pointed out how Made in India EVM were allowed to be hacked in Botswana but not in India.
Villagers brought the girl back home from nearby fields, where the assailants had left her in a pool of blood after the sexual assault.
The ghastly incident took place in Ghurpur police station area of the district's trans-Yamuna region, about 40 km from the city of Allahabad, on Thursday morning. (Photo: File/Representational)
Allahabad: A 7-year-old girl was allegedly gangraped in a remote village of the district, police said on Friday, adding four persons have been arrested in this regard.
The ghastly incident took place in Ghurpur police station area of the district's trans-Yamuna region, about 40 km from the city, on Thursday morning.
"The girl was picked up from her house in Amreha Budawan village while she was asleep beside her mother. She was brought back home by villagers who found her lying in a pool of blood in the nearby fields, where the assailants appear to have dumped her after the sexual assault," Sandeep Tiwari, Public Relations Officer of the Senior Superintendent of Police of Allahabad, said.
He said the girl has been admitted to a hospital where her condition was stated to be critical. Medical examinations have confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.
"A case has been registered against unknown persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Four suspects have also been arrested for interrogation," Tiwari said.
SSP Anand Kulkarni also visited the site of the crime on Friday, he added.
The victim, a Class 10 student, fled home on Thursday afternoon and visited a friends house in Purba Jadavpur.
Kolkata: A teenaged girl was sexually assaulted by her stepfather for the last five years in Survey Park. The accused Ranjit Gayen, a van-puller, was arrested by the police. The victim, a Class 10 student, fled home on Thursday afternoon and visited a friends house in Purba Jadavpur.
Her family lodged a missing diary with the police. The cops later rescued the victim from her friends house following a tip-off. She however told the police that she had no wish to return home because her stepfather sexually assaulted her on the pretext of caring for her, according to sources.
She even alleged that she complained to her mother who ignored her, sources added. Gayen was arrested on rape charge of the Indian Penal Code and other charges of the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act. On Friday, Ranjit was remanded by the court in the police custody till June 6.
Over 20 police personnel were injured in the violence and 141 BJP workers arrested including 21 who tried to enter the city police headquarters.
Kolkata: The West Bengal BJP unit on Friday accused the Kolkata police of filing false cases against the party activists who took part in Thursdays agitation, and organised a demonstration outside Bowbazar police station.
The party workers also staged a protest at Howrah bridge, demanding immediate release of all their activists. We are here to protest against the Kolkata police who are behaving like party cadres of the TMC and are filing false cases against our leaders and workers. Most of the cases were filed in Bowbazar police station so we are here to demonstrate outside the police station, BJP leader Kishan Jhawar said.
The BJP workers were stopped near Bowbazar police station where they organised a demonstration. BJP workers had on Thursday clashed with the police at different places across the city during their march to the Lalbazar police headquarters demanding arrest of corrupt TMC leaders, prompting the force to use teargas shells, water canons and batons to disperse them.
Over 20 police personnel were injured in the violence and 141 BJP workers arrested including 21 who tried to enter the city police headquarters.
BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, state chief Dilip Ghosh, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha, party Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly and state secretary Locket Chatterjee were among those arrested during the agitation.
Patient died during treatment; 4 cops also assaulted.
Mumbai: Four members of a family have been arrested for allegedly beating up a doctor of Titan Hospital in Manpada, Thane and four police officials as well. The arrested accused also vandalised hospital property, after the doctor declared that their family member had died during treatment.
According to an official of the Chitalsar-Manpada police station, on Friday night around 1 am family members of Dattatray Belgire (50) brought him to Titan Hospital. As Belgire was declared dead during treatment, the hospital authorities called the police for panchnama. After doctor D. Khan informed police officials as soon as they came, Belgires relatives allegedly started beating him up as he had declared Belgire dead.
The arrested accused were identified as Baba Waghmare (30), Sagar Gargade (23), Sairam Gargade (24) and Ravi Ahire. Officials said Dr Khan sustained internal injuries and some police officials suffered head injuries in the incident.
Shamita Shire, a Titan Hospital employee, said, All relatives and family members of Belgire were told that he was no more but they forced the doctor to check once again. Later they started telling everyone about his death. One of the men came inside and held Dr Khan by his collar and started beating him. After this we called the police. The relatives started pelting stones at the police officials who came to control the situation. Three policemen were injured.
Senior police inspector of Chitalsar-Manpada police station, G.D Pingale, said, Three out of our four constables are admitted in hospital now because of injuries they suffered after Belgires relatives pelted stones at them. Doctor Khan is also injured. There are more than 13 accused and we have arrested four relatives so far. Others are still absconding. A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and The Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage of Property) Act.
Efforts to contact Harshwardhan Kabra, president, Central Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors, KEM Hospital, were in vain.
He became one of the three climbers in the world to hold the record for most of the summits on Mt Everest
Kathmandu: A 47-year-old Nepalese Sherpa today scripted history by becoming the third climber to scale Mount Everest for a record 21 times.
Kami Rita Sherpa stood atop the 8,848 metre peak, the world's highest, at 8:15 am. Jiban Ghimire, Managing Director at Shangri-La Nepal Trek, said that Kami Rita climbed the peak as part of the Alpine Ascents Everest Expedition.
He became one of the three climbers in the world to hold the record for most of the summits on Mt Everest, Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering Association, said. Apa Sherpa and Phurba Tashi Sherpa are the climbers to have achieved the feat earlier.
Since Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first summitted Mount Everest in 1953, the peak has become the pinnacle of any high-altitude climber's career.The final day of ascent goes over three prominent rocky steps on the north-east ridge at an altitude of more than 8,500m (27,887ft) in the so-called "death zone".
Ten fatalities occured on the world's tallest peak this season. Nearly 300 people have died on Mt Everest since the first ascent to the peak was made in 1953.It is estimated that more than 200 dead bodies are still lying on the mountain.
Nepal has cleared 371 mountaineers to climb Mt Everest during the current season ending this month.
According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed.
The Pentagon vehemently denies this, and insists its targeting procedures and protocols to avoid civilian casualties have not changed. (FIle Photo)
Washington: Reports of civilian deaths from US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria have soared in recent months, raising questions about whether President Donald Trump's order to "annihilate" the Islamic State group is fueling the increase.
The Pentagon vehemently denies this, and insists its targeting procedures and protocols to avoid civilian casualties have not changed.
Here is a look at what is going on.
How many are dying?
Since the campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014, the coalition has conducted 21,663 strikes -- 12,740 Iraq in and 8,923 Syria.
According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed.
That toll came before Thursday's announcement that at least 105 people were killed in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March. The official numbers are also dwarfed by claims from monitoring groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition's operations in Syria.
It said between April 23 and May 23, coalition strikes killed 225 civilians in Syria, including dozens of children.
Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,681 people have died in coalition strikes -- between 283 and 366 of them in April alone.
What has changed?
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to quickly defeat IS, ordered his generals to come up with a revised plan to defeat the jihadist group.
The review resulted in an "annihilation campaign" to kill all IS fighters, and saw commanders gain greater autonomy to make battlefield decisions.
Observers worry this is translating to a greater willingness to risk civilian life.
Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, voiced concerns the White House can't be trusted to provide accurate information about civilian deaths, and whether guidance has changed.
"Even in war, there are rules and those rules are aimed at protecting civilian life," she told AFP.
"It's not at all clear that all feasible precautions are being taken to protect civilian life."
What does the Pentagon say?
The Pentagon strongly disputes such assertions, and says that protecting civilians is a top priority in assessing targets.
"Throughout this fight, every target goes through our refined process to ensure it's not only a legitimate target under the law of armed conflict, but that it meets a threshold of proportionality and necessity," said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.
Only 0.24 percent of engagements have resulted in a "credible" report of civilian casualties, according to the Pentagon.
So what is happening?
The battlefield is changing, and in some places very quickly.
Whereas at the start of the campaign, the coalition was primarily striking IS fighters as they moved across large areas of open terrain, the fight is now focused on predominantly urban areas.
In Iraq's second city Mosul, for instance, IS jihadists are operating from tightly populated areas. The March 17 strike that resulted in the death of at least 105 civilians came when IS snipers were spotted in a building.
The air strike on the snipers inadvertently caused a stash of IS munitions to blow up, triggering the building's collapse, according to the Pentagon.
Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon policy official at the end of the Obama administration, said the increasing civilian toll is due to fighting in a city, rather than any policy change under Trump.
"They are trying very hard to avoid civilian casualties," he said.
"It's what the law tells them, and they want to avoid handing ISIS propaganda victories. But the risk of making mistakes is going to go up when you are operating in an urban environment."
Sisi said Egyptian forces had hit a jihadist training camp in an undisclosed location in retaliation for the attack on the Christians' bus.
Washington: President Donald Trump on Friday decried an attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt that left at least 28 dead, calling on allies to band together to defeat terrorism.
"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement issued by his press office as he attends the G7 summit in Taormina, Italy.
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilization, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil."
Hours earlier, masked men in three pick-up trucks had attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of Cairo.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack on Copts after the Islamic State jihadist group bombed three churches in December and April, killing dozens of Christians.
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls," said Trump, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a summit in Riyadh last week.
"Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity. But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted and thuggish ideology.
Sisi said Egyptian forces had hit a jihadist training camp in an undisclosed location in retaliation for the attack on the Christians' bus. Egyptian state television reported that the air force struck training camps in neighboring Libya.
Christians have been targeted by Islamist militants across the Middle East in recent years, forcing thousands to flee a region which has been home to some of the oldest Christian communities in the world.
Trump said the United States "makes clear to its friends, allies and partners that the treasured and historic Christian Communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected.
"Civilization is at a precipice -- and whether we climb or fall will be decided by our ability to join together to protect all faiths, all religions, and all innocent life. No matter what, America will do what it must to protect its people."
Michael Flynn, who would become Trump's national security adviser before being fired 24 days into the job, was also at the meeting.
Washington: President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof communications line with the Kremlin, the Washington Post reported Friday.
Kushner, then and now an adviser to Trump, went so far as to suggest using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States to protect such a channel from being monitored, the Post said, quoting US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The paper said the proposal was made December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower in New York, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by US officials.
Michael Flynn, who would become Trump's national security adviser before being fired 24 days into the job, was also at the meeting.
The Washington Post article did not say what came of Kushner's proposal.
The report is another sensational detail in the deluge of allegations raising questions about the Trump team's relationship with the Russians, whom US intelligence agencies say tried to sway the November election in Trump's favor and thus deny Hillary Clinton the presidency.
Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak was surprised by Kushner's idea of the secret channel and passed it on to the Kremlin, the Post said.
Kushner is a polished 36-year-old property developer married to Trump's daughter Ivanka.
The Post previously reported that investigators are focusing on meetings he held in December with Kislyak and the head of a Russian bank that has been under US sanctions since 2014.
Kushner has offered to talk to Congress about these meetings, according to his lawyer Jamie Gorelick.
The Post reported last week that the Russia investigation had been extended to a top White House official as a "significant person of interest."
Kushner is the only person currently in the White House known to be under investigation.
The attack comes a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar.
The attack comes on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month. (Photo: Representational/AP)
Khost (Afghanistan): A suicide car bomber killed 18 people in the eastern Afghan city of Khost on Saturday, the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the interior ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said a public bus station was hit by the bombing, but local police said the target were Afghan security forces working with American troops in the province.
"A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 18 people and wounded six others, including two children," Danish said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Kandahar attack, but it comes as Taliban insurgents step up their annual spring offensive.
The attack comes a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major insurgent assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The attacks mark another stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces.
The battlefield losses have raised concerns about the capacity of Afghan forces, beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks.
The Taliban launched their annual "spring offensive" in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan.
The United States and several NATO allies are considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.
The statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman.
Pakistan security personnel look on as travellers wait to cross the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan at Chaman. (Photo: AFP)
Quetta: Pakistan's military says authorities have reopened the main Chaman border crossing at Afghanistan's request after shutting it down earlier this month when the two sides traded fire there, killing 15 people on both sides.
The move comes on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadhan. In a statement, the military said the border was reopened Saturday on "humanitarian grounds."
The statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghan were killed on May 5.
Pakistan says the violence began when Afghan forces opened fire on census workers and troops escorting them. Kabul blames Pakistan for initiating the fire.
Pakistan shares a 2,200-kilometer- (1,375 mile-) long porous border with Afghanistan.
The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory.
Islamabad: A mortar fired by Iranian forces on Saturday killed a man in Panjgur district of Pakistan's south-western Balochistan province.
Commissioner Makran, Bashir Bangulzai, said that the mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk, and causing extensive damage nearby.
Jan was travelling in the vehicle. His body was shifted to a local hospital. "We have informed provincial and federal governments about the Iranian violation," Bangulzai said.
Security forces reached the site of the attack and cordon off the area. They have started a probe into the incident. The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory. There is tension between the two countries since April 26 when 10 Iranian border guards were killed in a militant attack near the border.
Iran accused that militants hiding in Pakistan were involved in the attack.
The "Interreligious Initiative in the Negev" was launched by representatives of the three monotheistic religions, inspired by two women who called for dialogue as a tool of peace. The group works with young people, schools, libraries and universities. Religions are a "solution" to, not a "cause" of conflict.
Beersheba (AsiaNews) "Religion is not the cause of the conflict here. Religion, real religion, is a solution. It pushes towards others, never towards hate, said Fr Piotr Zelazko, parish priest in Beersheba, southern Israel, as he spoke to AsiaNews about the message the Interreligious Initiative of the Negev wants to spread.
Fr Zelazko, together with Rabbi Mauricio Balter and Sheikh Jamal Alumbra of the Rahat Mosque, is one of the founders of the initiative.
People have become used to seeing a rabbi attend Christmas Mass, and a priest at the synagogue during high holidays, he said. It is a commonplace for them to meet in a mosque with a group of young people."
The initiative is a response to growing tensions caused by a shooting at Beersheba Station on 18 October 2015. "As tensions grew in the country, people began to wonder what they could do. Regular people, not politicians. "
Two women, Amirit Rosen and Roxana Omer, chose dialogue as a tool for peace. "They took the initiative not only to think, but also to act. They invited rabbis, sheikhs and myself, a Catholic priest, to meet. They wanted us to share, to know each other. It was a great idea.
We began meeting once a month at Beersheba University, and then organised meetings in our communities, in mosques, synagogues, and churches. We have become friends and together we have started several projects, groups, meetings."
One of the main activities is religious education for 12th grade students in cooperation with the Education Ministry and the Ministry of Religious Services. Representatives of religions come to schools, both Jewish and Islamic, to talk about possible solutions to the conflict, spreading the message that faith is tolerance, peace and coexistence.
Ben Gurion University in Beersheba offers a semester course to Muslims and Jews to study together the Bible and the Qur'an.
Public libraries and other cultural, educational, and artistic institutions hold seminars with Jewish, Christian and Muslim representatives to discuss the opportunities and challenges of Israels diverse society. This is very important, says Fr Zelazko, because such meetings provide an opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues.
The last meeting Fr Zelazko attended was on 18 May with about 40 future school principals at the al-Nur mosque in Rahat. Muslim, Jewish, and Christian representatives discussed the challenges of a multi-religious society, focusing on education that fostered tolerance and peace.
by Santosh Digal
The social arm of the Catholic Church has rescued nearly a million people. It has expertise in reducing disaster risk and connecting rescue and rehabilitation to development. The guiding principle must be "readiness", that is to know how to respond promptly and appropriately.
New Delhi (AsiaNews) - Caritas India wants to engage other religious organizations to give immediate responses in the event of man-made and natural disasters. That is why the social arm of the Catholic Church on 16 May organized a meeting with Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim and Sikh delegates and those of other confessions. At the meeting, the proposal of a network of interreligious bodies was launched, capable of intervening in a concerted manner in the event of an emergency.
Speaking to AsiaNews Amrit Sangma, head of the Caritas Public Relations Office, states: "In all religions there is a lot of good. This effort wants to combine kindness to give compassionate answers to those who may need God's hand, especially in painful situations. In this way Caritas can be the answer to everybody's prayers. "
According to the Catholic, the network of organizations "can also be a way to set aside differences and help people live and realize the common values of love and justice that every religion diffuses. From such a platform, India could benefit a lot, being a country with different religions. "
The Indian subcontinent is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. This is mainly due to the geographical and climatic conditions, but also to the damaging effects of socio-economic situations, wild urbanization, development in high-risk areas, environmental degradation, climate change, epidemics and pandemics.
Over the years, Caritas India has increased its expertise in reducing disaster risk (DRR) and linking rescue and rehabilitation to development (Lrrd). The humanitarian organization has helped nearly a million people, both at home and abroad, in floods, tsunamis, avalanches, ethnic conflicts and cyclones. More and more experience has emerged showing that people affected by disasters have the right to receive humanitarian assistance from around the world; That this must meet high quality standards; And that all concerned parties must do their utmost to prevent and alleviate human suffering.
Despite the joint efforts of governmental organizations and civil society, the reality of the facts is that disasters continue to be of frightening proportions. Therefore, the guiding principle must be "readiness", that is to know how to respond promptly and appropriately in any situation of need. The purpose, Sangma concludes, is to minimize losses, save lives, reduce the number of dead and injured, protect community livelihoods.
by Loula Lahham
The testimony of a survivor: "They asked us to proclaim the Muslim faith. We refused. Then they opened fire. " Protests mount across the nation accusing authorities and the government of [timid] fight against terrorism. Muslims and Christians queue to donate blood. The first funeral celebrated yesterday.
Cairo (AsiaNews) - "They took our jewellery and money, saying that it was their right to do so because we were their hostages. Later, they asked us to proclaim the Muslim faith [and convert], but we refused. At that point, they started open fire on us. " This is the dramatic testimony of one of the survivors of an armed commando attack against a group of Coptic Christians from Minneh, Egypt, gathered by AsiaNews. The identity of the assailants is still unknown, although jihadist members of the Islamic State have long been active in the area.
Protests have erupted across the country, critical of the attackers and authorities, unable to guarantee the security of citizens. "Our interior minister pays homage to the bodies of the victims," says Fr. William Sidhom, Egyptian Jesuit - instead of protecting living citizens from the attacks. "
There are also those who point their finger against the teachings that are being transmitted in mosques and the Koranic schools. "There is no real intention," says Ossama Tharwat, a young Copt from Minya, to fight terrorism. As long as it goes on, there will be religious edicts coming from Salafi's radical sheikhs, political parties of a religious matrix, and a religious discourse that foments violence against Christians, and we will witness more and more tragedy every day. "
Those who accuse the Copts of "apostasy" are "complicit" of the crime, warns former minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour that it is not possible to allow extremist leaders to issue "religious edicts" which then trigger this chain of murders. "Even before judging the assassins - says the Muslim Medhat Mokhtar - we must judge the proponents of these plans, those who finance them and those who do nothing to oppose them."
Dozens of people have died in the attack: up to 35, according to sources of the Orthodox Coptic Patriarch, although the Cairo government speaks of 29 dead and 22 injured, some of whom seriously. The death toll could increase in the next few hours. The victims, including several children, were on board a bus, a minibus, and a pickup truck and left the Coptic Church of Maghagha, 180km south of Cairo.
On the way to the orthodox Amba Samuel monastery, where a prayer function was planned, they were blocked by three cars; The assailants, wearing military uniforms, board the vehicles. After asking for their faith and stripping them of their possessions, they opened fire on against men, women and children. Among the minibus occupants, only three children and one woman escaped death.
The victims' relatives flocked hospitals in the area in search of their loved ones. In a mixture of anger and exasperation, many asked authorities not to proceed with an autopsy on the corpses but to be allowed to bury them. In the late afternoon of yesterday, the first funerals were celebrated. The desperation of family members has united dozens of Christians and Muslims in the area in solidarity who wanted to donate blood for the worst injured.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi chaired an emergency meeting and ordered the attack on "terrorist training centers" in Derna, near Libya. In recent days, several ambassadors and foreign diplomats had received warnings about a possible new attack - without specifying their nature - against Christians in Egypt, demanding their citizens to avoid public gatherings.
There remains the pain and sorrow of an entire country, once again mourning victims of Jihadist violence because of their faith. More dead after the explosions at the churches of last month [Palm Sunday] and the attack on the Coptic St. Catherine cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo, in December. Excursions to the ancient convents, says Emad Khalil, originally from Al-Adwa, are "the only fun opportunity for these children and young people who do not have anything." "They killed them before the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan," adds Michael Fares, Egyptian journalist - perhaps because it is 'haram' [prohibited] to do so during the fast. But is it lawful to kill on an ordinary day? " "Forgive me, Lord - concludes Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris - but I cannot turn the other cheek and I cannot love my enemies.
The objective was two Islamic State snipers. The attack dates to March last. Raid ammunition triggered explosives hidden in the building, causing it to collapse. In the lower floors were dozens of people dragged from their homes earlier. Hidden bombs amplified blast damage at least four times. In the war, the US, like the Russians and the Syrians, kills civilians.
Baghdad (AsiaNews / Agencies) - The United States has admitted to killing of at least 105 Iraqi civilians in an air raid launched last March in Mosul, north of the country, long-held by the Islamic State (IS). Since last October, the area has been the scene of an offensive by the Iraqi army and Kurdish militias, backed up by the air power of the US-led international coalition.
The US Central Command (CentCom) reports that it had targeted two IS snipers, using "precision ammo". However, shots triggered the explosives hidden by jihadists inside the building and caused the building to collapse, killing civilians trapped inside.
The US command points out that among the civilian casualties of the March attack there were also four people who were in an adjacent collapsed structure.
Eyewitnesses say there were another 36 people in the building who died in the context of the attack. However, for US experts, "the evidence" is "insufficient" to "determine their status".
In a declassified report on the affair, it emerges that civilians were littered in the low floors of the targeted building after being driven out of their homes by IS militiamen. The attackers, the note goes on, "could not have imagined the presence of civilians in the structure."
US official sources explain that the type of bombs used were to "minimize side effects," but the explosives hidden by jihadists amplified the effects and damage of the explosion by at least four times.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians have abandoned Mosul since the start of operations to retake the city which fell to Daesh [Arabic acronym for IS] in the summer of 2014, along with most of the Nineveh Plain. In January 2017 the government of Baghdad announced the full "liberation" of the eastern sector, while the western area faces greater difficulties - narrow and ancient roads, overcrowding, civilians used as human shields - for coalition men and vehicles.
In the struggle against IS - and against Syrian Bashar Assad - the United States has often blamed the Syrians and their Russians allies of causing civilian casualties.
The first stage of Pope Francis' visit to Genoa is in the Ilva steel plant, marked by economic difficulties and unemployment. The virtues of a good entrepreneur and good worker. The "speculator" is a "mercenary" who sells everything, including his dignity. Work for everyone and not "social security". At the meeting with priests and religious, Francis recalls the martyrdom of Coptic Christians in Minya and his "Brother Tawadros".
Genoa (AsiaNews) - There is an "illness" in the economy that is sinking into the transformation of the entrepreneur into "speculator" and "mercenary", for which the "faces" of those who work or their dignity are unimportant. And "sometimes the political system seems to encourage those who speculate on labor and not who invests and believes in labor." In his visit to Genoa, Pope Francis puts his finger on the many wounds that afflict the world of work. Francis and Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of the city, decided to begin the visit at the Iva steel plant, plunged in crisis, marked by unemployment and the fragility of an uncertain future.
Immediately afterwards, the Pope met clergy and religious in the cathedral of St. Lawrence. The meeting began with a moment of prayer and silence for the dead and the entire Egyptian Coptic community and for "brother Tawadros II", once again wounded by violence in Minya, Lower Egypt. "And let's remember - said Francis - that today's martyrs are far more numerous than those at the beginning of Church history."
The two meetings, the one with the world of work and that of the priests and religious, were structured as a dialogue between the pontiff and some representatives.
At Iva he responded to questions from a businessman, a worker, a day-labourer, an unemployed. In his answers, the pontiff exalted the virtues of the "good entrepreneur": "" creativity, love for one's own enterprise, passion and pride for the labor produced by hands and intelligence, his and his workers " , "The ability to create, create work, create products".
There are also the virtues of the worker: "Sometimes a worker is thought to work well just because he is paid: this is a serious disrespect for workers and labor, because it denies the dignity of work that begins with working well for dignity, honor ".
WIth regards the dignity of work and the worker, the Pope seems to reject the idea of "social security or unemployment allowance" that some political parties seem to suggest to overcome unemployment. The pontiff urged people "not to resign themselves to the ideology that takes hold and imagines a world where only half will work and the others will be maintained by a social security check: it must be clear that the goal to reach is not income for everyone but work for everyone, because without work for everyone there will be no dignity for everyone."
Entrepreneur and workers are united as "in a family". And this also determines how to deal with difficult choices such as layoffs or bankruptcies. "If and when a boss must fire someone," said the pope, "it is always a painful choice and he would not do it if he didn't have to. No good entrepreneur loves to lay off his people. No. Anyone who thinks about solving the problem of his company by firing people, is not a good businessman: he is a trader. Today he sells his people, tomorrow ... he sells his own dignity. He always suffers, and sometimes from this suffering new ideas arise to avoid lay-offs. This is the good entrepreneur. "
Francis also pointed out that "an illness of the economy is the progressive transformation of entrepreneurs into speculators. The entrepreneur must not be confused with the speculator: they are two different types. The speculator is a figure similar to what Jesus in the Gospel calls 'mercenary', in contrast to the Good Shepherd. The speculator does not like his company, does not love the workers, but sees business and workers only as a means to profit. He uses his company and workers to make profit. Firing, closing, moving the company does not create any problems, because the speculator uses, exploits, eats people and means for his profit targets."
"When the economy is inhabited by good entrepreneurs, businesses are friendly to people and even to the poor. When it falls into the hands of speculators, everything is ruined. With the speculator, the economy loses face and loses its faces. It is a faceless economy. An abstract economy. Behind the speculator's decisions there are no people and therefore you can not see people to be dismissed and cut. When the economy loses contact with the faces of concrete people, it itself becomes a faceless economy and therefore a ruthless economy. We must fear the speculators, not the entrepreneurs. No, do not be afraid of the entrepreneurs because there are so many good guys! No: fear the speculators."
"But paradoxically, sometimes the political system seems to encourage those who speculate on labor and not those who invests and believes in labor. Why? Because it creates bureaucracy and controls, starting from the hypothesis that the actors of the economy are speculators, and so those who do not remain disadvantaged and who can find the means to circumvent the controls and reach their goals. It is known that regulations and laws designed for dishonorable end up penalizing honorable. And today there are so many real entrepreneurs, honest entrepreneurs who love their work-loving people who work close to them to carry on the business: these are the most disadvantaged by these policies that favor speculators. But the honest and virtuous entrepreneurs in the end succeed, in spite of everything."
The Pope's answers were interrupted dozens of times by the applause of the thousands of workers in the Ivva factory, some in their worksuits, others waering helmets, others with constantly waving Vatican flags. Everyone calling "Fran-ce-sco! Francis!". At the beginning of his conversation, the Pope had said, "There has always been a friendship between the Church and work, starting with a working Jesus. Where there is a worker, there is the interest and the gaze of love of the Lord and of the Church. "
The encounter with priests and religious had the tone of a quiet conversation with anecdotes, facts, ideas of Pope Francis who commented on some questions of parish priests, young priests, religious, a nun who asked him questions about Priestly fraternity, the bond with the diocese, the charism of the religious institute, the difficulty of finding vocations due to negative demographics.
by Santosh Digal
The nun belongs to the Congregation of the Union of Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 2014 she was the first Catholic to arrive in Boudh district. Since then, she has taught children, and helped women learn to sew. For the first time, 30 women went to a government office.
Boudh (AsiaNews) An Indian nun has challenged the social stigma of untouchability that still surrounds Dalits to help women find work in Odisha. Sister Annmary Thekkekandathil Andrews, of the Union of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (PBVM), has made this her missionary vocation.
She arrived in Boudh in 2014, a district where no Catholic before her had dared to visit Dalits. After "establishing the first contacts with villagers and gaining their trust, I decided to help Dalit women, mostly mothers and housewives," she told AsiaNews.
Sister Annmary began her novitiate in Bangalore (Karnataka) in 1975 and two year later made her perpetual vows. Before coming to Odisha, she worked in Kodaikanal, Chennai, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, Jammu Kashmir, Delhi, and Zambia. Everywhere, she served the poor as a teacher, social worker, group coordinator, organiser, and provincial leader of her congregation.
When she arrived in Boudh district, she knew that she had her work cut out because of the veil of discrimination that hung over Dalits. Theoretically protected by the Indian constitution, which banned the caste system (art 17), they are still very much marginalised. Their status is usually associated with humble and dirty jobs, as well as illiteracy.
"I still remember the day I arrived, she said, when the one who introduced me to the village told me not to touch them or sit down in their homes. Today thats all changed.
By visiting six villages, the nun managed to win over the locals. At present, she teaches at St John's School, which is run by the Resurrection of Jesus parish. "We started with children education. Nobody helped us, except Fr Nabokishore Digal, the local parish priest."
"In addition to teaching, my deepest desire is to work for the poor, for those whose human dignity and rights are in danger, she said.
For this reason, she picked groups of women, all Hindus, "who needed to learn trades to support themselves and their families. Thus, we help them build self-confidence, and understand that as people they have value and dignity and can be productive members of society." In two years, "we taught many women the art of sewing, as well as incense and candle making. Now at least 30 of them are earning some money."
From this came to the idea of breaking another taboo, that of Dalit social inclusion. Some 30 women went to the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and the Rural Self-Employment Training Institutes (RSETI), two government agencies in charge of entrepreneurship development in rural areas. "For all of them, this was the first time inside a government office, Sr Annmary said.
The missionary also donated sewing machines to eight young women, which brought in many more. "At first people were very suspicious of us nuns and of Catholics. When we opened classes for children and their parents, they told us that it would be hard for them to accept us. However, my deep faith in God sustained my commitment to the poor and needy. I let myself be inspired by Jesus and Nano Nagle, the founder of our congregation."
"When I asked people why they did not set up their own businesses, they would answer, Because no one would buy things from us since we belong to the lowest caste and are untouchables', she said.
I wanted to change this perception and help them change their attitude, giving them back their innate human dignity." Thus, Today, women in Boudh earn a living sewing. The first shop has opened in the area," she said with satisfaction.
The decision was made by Myanmars Buddhist authority the Sangha Maha Nayaka,. The movement forced to remove its flags and banners by July 15th. Wirathu, a prominent monk in the organization, was banned from giving sermons for a year. The army rejects the allegations of ethnic cleansing launched by the United Nations.
Yangon (AsiaNews / Agencies) - An organ of the Burmese government governing the Buddhist clergy in Myanmar has banned an organization of ultra-nationalist monks known for its anti-Islamic rhetoric, ordering the group to dissolve or face the penalties established by Buddhist and secular law.
According to a document found by the media, the Sangha Maha Nayaka (Ma Ha Na) Committee, a group of high ranking monks acting as Myanmar's Buddhist authority, on May 23 informed the government ministers who had ordered the extremist group Ma Ba says to put an end to its activities.
"People, both as individuals and as a group, cannot take any action under the name of Ma Ba Tha," Sangha said in his report. The Ma Ba Tha movement is also required to remove its flags and banners throughout the country by July 15th.
Extremist group members report that Ma Ba Tha's fourth anniversary conference, scheduled for 27 and 28 May, has been cancelled. An official statement of the movement says a meeting will be held in place to discuss the Sangha decision.
In recent years Myanmar has experienced frequent waves of religious violence following tensions sparked by extremist groups such as Ma Ba Tha. One of the last incidents occurred on May 9 in a Yangon district, where Ma Ba Tha monks claimed some Rohingya Muslims were being illegally hidden. Following a violent confrontation between Buddhists and Muslims, two people were injured and the police fired warning shots to disperse the crowd.
Sangha's decision to ban the Ma Ba Tha came several weeks after it also banned Wirathu, a prominent monk in the ultranationalist organization, from giving sermons for a year. His incitement to hatred against religions other than Buddhism is seen as a cause of ethnic conflict and an obstacle to common efforts to maintain the rule of law. Since then, the monk made several appearances in front of crowds with a gagged mouth, in protest against the silence imposed by the authorities, and recently arranged a controversial visit to the state of Rakhine, in western Myanmar, which is home to the Muslim Rohingya minority.
The Buddhist majority in Myanmar considers the Rohingya, a stateless ethnic group of 1.1 million people, illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh, and for decades government policies have denied them citizenship and other fundamental rights.
The news of the ban imposed by Sangha came as the Myanmar army yesterday rejected the charges, launched by a United Nations report in February, that it had conducted ethnic cleansing on the Rohingya in Rakhine State. Even Myanmar's civilian government, led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, denied allegations of violations of rights against Rohingya and refused to authorize a UN investigative commission in the State of Rakhine.
Hi, I'm currently planning to relocate from the UK to Sydney in July. I'm waiting for confirmation of the start date for my job so plans for my accommodation will be quite last minute. I will be looking to rent a private room in a house share, I'd like to get it all confirmed before I fly out. Does anyone have any tips on the best way to go about this or have any recommendations for sites to use?
Also I'd be grateful for any recommendations for safe areas to live that are commutable to Sydney.
Thank you
Nebraska Pork Producers Association is hosting a one-hour online webinar on Tuesday, June 13, beginning at noon. The webinar will focus on the different types and the importance of biosecurity on and off the farm. It is a great review for pig farmers who have been in the industry and for new pig farmers to learn more about the importance and different areas of biosecurity. There is no fee to participate in the webinar.
Registration for the webinar can be accessed by visiting www.nepork.org/producer-education. Participants are encouraged to register for the webinar, several days in advance and will receive an email with the direct link for the webinar.
Dr. Benny Mote, Assistant Professor; Swine Extension Specialist will speak about the importance of biosecurity through different avenues on the farm from:
New animal entry into the barn
Downtime before farm entry
Trucking biosecurity issues and protocol
New barn siting separation from other pig farms
Farmers priority of keeping their pigs healthy is an issue of biosecurity. Pig farmers have made great changes in their biosecurity practices over the years, but there are still areas for improvement, said Dr. Benny Mote.
Nebraska Pork Producers Association will be hosting a webinar on the second Tuesday of every month from noon to one oclock. The July webinar will cover heat stress on hogs in farrow-to-wean barns. For additional information on webinar topics and speakers go to www.nepork.org/producer-education.
Taken on its own merits, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is a serviceable, occasionally entertaining pirate yarn.
It is, however, almost impossible to take the film on its own merits. This is a Pirates of the Caribbean sequel, and like every other sequel in the wake of the 2003 original it carries the burden of having to measure up in some way to that films maniac, thrilling cinematic genius.
Looked upon in that light, Dead Men Tell No Tales is a drab, leaden affair. Its too long, its script lacks comic zip, and its lead performances range from bland to almost unintelligible.
Whats it about?
Young Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites), the son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley), has spent virtually his entire life searching for a way to free his father from the curse of the Flying Dutchman (see Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End). Having studied the seas many myths and legends, he believes at last hes found the solution: a mystical artifact said to have the power to end all curses, the Trident of Poseidon.
Just one problem the Trident, supposedly, can never be found. That is, until Henry encounters Carina Smyth (Kaya Scodelario), a young woman whose willful attitude and mind for astronomy and mathematics have most people convinced that she is, in fact, a witch. (It is the 18th Century, after all.)
Carina believes she can read the map that will lead to the Trident. She just needs a ship to get her there.
Enter infamous scoundrel and scalawag Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp). As usual, Jacks down on his luck his beloved ship, the Black Pearl, is still stuck in a bottle, his crew has all but deserted him, and hes being hunted by one very angry cursed ship captain, Salazar (Javier Bardem), who is also destroying any other pirates who get in his way.
A mythical treasure, an undead and very persistent antagonist, the British Navy, as always, out to stretch his neck, and two young, rather annoyingly virtuous people Jack would gladly keel-haul except that he needs them to save his own skin. Sound familiar? Youd think Jack would be getting weary of this sort of thing.
But then again, what would a pirates life be without them?
Back to tried-and-true
After letting Jack take center stage in 2011s Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and veteran Pirates scribe Terry Rossio return to tried-and-true with this new adventure. As much as audiences might be there to see Jack be Jack, they seem to realize that part of the winning formula in this franchise early on came from what Bloom and Knightleys characters provided: heart and romance.
However, screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) struggles with balancing the many elements needed to successfully recreate the Pirates brand of chemistry. Many of the films one-liners and comic beats fall flat, its pacing drags, and its attempts at romantic tension lack any fire.
Its not entirely Nathansons fault, to be fair. Directors Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg (Netflixs Marco Polo) fall short in their effort to create scenes and set pieces worthy to stand alongside those of Gore Verbinski, who directed the first three films.
They do come close once or twice watch for the fun bank robbery sequence near the start of the film that serves as audiences re-introduction to Jack but more often the action tends to drag on towards monotony. Theres an energy, a cinematic magic, thats missing here, and its been missing since Verbinski left the franchise.
&amp;amp;nbsp;
Leads lack presence
Theres also no denying that the young stars serving as leads in Dead Men Tell No Tales Thwaites and Scodelario simply dont have the presence to carry the films weight.
This, again, is a fault of the script. Nathanson seems to have designed Henry and Carina as characters to remind audiences of Will and Elizabeth at the start of the adventure, but the parallels are so heavy-handed that the characters just come off as bland copies.
Further, the actors, Thwaites and Scodelario, just arent Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley. Bloom and Knightleys combined charisma and chemistry could carry the earlier films despite their characters being underwritten or underdeveloped. Asking these two new actors to do the same is simply too much.
Finally, this new adventures villain, as well as the actor playing him, are a bitter disappointment. Bardems over-the-top delivery of Salazar is made even more ridiculous by the thickness of the Spanish accent he adopts for the fanatical Armada captain. Any terror the character might have inspired with his height and spectral appearance is lost because his line reads are so hard to understand half the time.
Worth seeing?
Given all that, its tough to recommend Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales beyond maybe catching it once it gets to home video or even cable.
However, if youre a die-hard Johnny Depp fan or Jack Sparrow fan and you have to see it, do yourself a favor and avoid watching it in 3D. This is a very dark film, lighting-wise many sequences are given the appearance of taking place at night or in dark spaces, and even scenes that take place in more conventional settings look dimly lit.
As 3D tends to make dimly lit films look even darker, the format does this movie no favors. In fact, it may even hinder any enjoyment you might otherwise experience from the films elaborate production and costume design.
Maybe Bruckheimer and company will get it right next time and yes, there will be a next time.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Starring Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin r. McNally and Geoffrey Rush. Directed by Joachim Rnning and Espen Sandberg.
Running time: 129 minutes
Rated PG-13 for sequences of adventure violence, and some suggestive content.
COLUMBUS Friends of Headworks is organizing two events to raise money for insurance if Loup Public Power District reopens the off-road trails at Headworks Park near Genoa.
LPPD closed the trails in September after the Nebraska Off Highway Vehicle Association (NOHVA) disbanded because of liability concerns and lawsuits filed against the group, two of which involved accidents at Headworks Park.
Jason Kunes organized the Friends of Headworks group after his son asked him to reopen the all-terrain vehicle trails. The nonprofit has nine board members, including people from Fremont, Fullerton, Norfolk and Genoa.
Kunes has been in contact with LPPD President and CEO Neal Suess over the past few months. For now, Suess has put the trail issue on hold while the district focuses on renewing its hydroelectric license, which may or may not include provisions that affect the park.
Friends of Headworks (FOH) hasnt signed an official agreement with Loup, but the understanding is that the group would be responsible for maintenance and liability should the trails reopen, similar to the arrangement NOHVA had with the utility.
There isnt a guarantee, said Kunes. We stopped taking donations because we dont have a formal agreement.
Kunes said he was quoted an annual cost of $25,000 for insurance coverage. Some ATV manufacturers, such as Kawasaki, Can-Am and Polaris, have told FOH they'll donate money to help cover that cost once the park reopens and a formal agreement with LPPD is in place, according to Kunes.
For now, Kunes and the board are holding events on land behind T-Bone Truck Stop, just south of the Loup River.
FOH organized a drag-racing fundraiser May 6 honoring Austin Fritz, who died last year of pneumonia and meningitis. ATV enthusiasts came from as far away as Iowa to participate in the event, according to Kunes.
Although that site doesnt accommodate as many people as Headworks Park, Kunes said it keeps people's spirits up and lets FOH practice organizing events.
(It gives) people something to do, he said. Were getting experience with these small events because when we get Headworks open again for the Jamboree, well have 2,500 people.
An event planned for June 24 includes a performance by 2001 Columbus High School graduate Chris Votta, who raps as Young Votta.
Im pretty excited by it, said Votta. I havent done a show in Columbus in a couple years and a few people are noticing my music.
Vottas third album comes out in July and will be available online.
Registration for the June 24 mud drags and time trials is set for 10 a.m. to noon, with racing starting at 1 p.m. Live music will follow from 8-10 p.m. with a $5 cover charge.
An ATV and motorcycle drag-racing event is scheduled for June 3 at the property, with registration beginning at 9 a.m. and racing starting at 11 a.m.
The entry fee is $25 for riders in both the June 3 and June 24 events. Spectators' admission is $5.
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This summer, Disneyland guests will see the return of two classic beloved attractions and the opening of one brand new one.
Over Memorial Day weekend, the new Guardians of the Galaxy attraction will open in the former Tower of Terror hotel space at the California Adventure theme park. In the ride, guests join Rocket, the gun-wielding, lab-enhanced raccoon, as he attempts to rescue his friends and fellow Guardians Star-Lord, Baby Groot, and Gamora, Drax from the Collector's Fortress.
The ride features lifts and drops on a gantry lift not unlike the elevator movements on the former Tower of Terror ride while the Guardians make their escape. The adventure is, of course, soundtracked to classic pop songs by Steppenwolf, the Jackson 5, and Pat Benatar.
However, not all guests will experience the ride the same way. As Estefania Harbuck, a Creative Producer with Walt Disney Imagineering explains, there are a bunch of totally different shows on the ride.
"Guardians of the Galaxy Mission: BREAKOUT! has six different shows, each one set to a different pop song and each one with a different mix of media scenes," she says. "These shows will play randomly so guests won't know what they're going to get until they get on the ride and hear the song start."
Disneyland also has plans to reopen updated the Rivers of America and the Disneyland Railroad.
The Rivers of America, paying homage to the American Mississippi, Missouri, Rio Grande, and Columbia rivers, will add a new Columbia Gorge section and five new waterfalls. Additionally, the "Indian Village" section will feature a more prominently placed Shaman, "seen telling the story of how the hummingbird taught the Indian chief to make a flute."
There's no word yet when those two classic attractions will re-open, other than a note that it will be sometime this summer.
See photos from the new and updated attractions in the above gallery.
Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.
Google Street view
A student at Channelview ISD was allegedly given an award from teachers that called her "most likely to become a terrorist."
Jason Miles of KHOU tweeted a photo of the award on Thursday.
Here, Steven C. Anagnost, MD, discusses the future of independent practice and solo physicians in the rapidly evolving healthcare arena.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.
Certain idioms seem to always hold true We live. We die. We pay taxes. It seems we may need to add to this list: We will all get sick at some point and have to take part in our confusing world of healthcare and insurance reform.
While we hear on the news the frustration and the cost of dealing with recent healthcare changes in the last eight years, what we hear less of is how these changes have drastically altered the landscape of how physicians are allowed to care for their patients. With legislative changes, physicians have been pigeonholed into new regulations from the federal government. Private insurance industry has piggybacked onto these new regulations to force doctors to play by rules which many times seem to advocate for the insurer, rather than the patient. These regulations and bureaucratic red tape have produced huge financial burdens on physician practices. Much like Walmart and Home Depot, the small, mom-and-pop stores are shoved out, along with any semblance of personal service and caring. Thus, medicine has become much more of a bottom-line business, rather than an art and practice of individualized caring from doctors, and ethical and moral safe haven for patients.
One example of this is the EMR. Healthcare reform began some of its earliest changes by demanding and requiring physicians to adopt an EMR. This was done under the threat of fines and levies to doctors who did not comply. As we know, implementing an EMR is an enormous expense to a practice. Solo practice and independent physicians undergo a much larger financial burden to implement these expensive changes required by the federal government. Larger hospital-employed multispecialty groups were able to adopt these expensive requirements more easily. Hospitals, who often work hand-in-hand with the government via large and powerful lobbying groups in Washington D.C., were much more easily able to absorb and implement these expensive mandates of purchasing and implementing the electronic record. Recent mandated healthcare reform, also required doctors to adopt these EMR practices, with no standardized format for the kind of EMR systems. In fact, each year, the government would change these requirements, sometimes making the new EMR system a doctor just purchased obsolete. These EMR systems can be in the $50,000 to $100,000 range.
While healthcare reform is forcing these changes on to doctors, it is concurrently lowering the reimbursements to doctors across the board. There is no other industry that lowers the reimbursement rates each year for the same services in such a drastic way as medicine. The formula is less money for doctors and a huge increase in expenses. It is a recipe for disaster with both doctors and patients suffering the consequences.
The independent physician is the cornerstone of American healthcare. Americans demand a physician who is empathic and spends time with each patient. Independent doctors have stood up to the large insurers, and hospital lobby, to do what is best for their patients, and not simply what is best for the bottom line of the corporate health ledger. With reimbursements going down each and every year, and expenses skyrocketing, the independent physician must see more and more patients, in order to meet these demands and expenses.
Physicians are trained to treat patients, not to necessarily be the best business managers. The independent physician is the most susceptible to these financial burdens. Thus in recent years, there has been a mass exodus of independent physicians from solo practice and into hospital employment. This trend from independent physicians to hospital employment is mostly based on the financial burden weighing upon independent doctors. This has resulted in a loss of autonomy of the practitioner, and a decreased ability to do what is right for the patient.
This has led to the some of the current anger patients are feeling in dealing with doctors and healthcare. Doctors are forced to spend less time with patients, because each year, the independent doctor get less and less reimbursement for his or her work. Thus, the only way to keep up, is to see more patients in the same amount of time, to make up the difference and stay afloat. Quality of care suffers and patients suffer.
Insurance premiums are skyrocketing and deductibles are increasing. Employers are no longer able to keep up with the medical insurance premium increases. Patients are getting less care, for more money. This is because fewer and fewer independent doctors are out there, fighting for their patients. Doctors are opting to forego the hassles of regulations and joining bigger hospital systems or insurance companies who will cover the increasing practice expenses and regulation for doctors.
In order to fiscally survive, doctors must become part of a larger hospital system. Unfortunately, doctors are realizing that even though they are giving up control, they are still held to be ultimately responsible for patients legally. Less control and more liability can and will likely lead to disaster for many doctors in the future.
In our colleges, medical schools and residency programs throughout the United States, teachers and doctors alike strive to recruit top young minds to enter into the morally rewarding field of medicine. With modern healthcare's increased regulations and decreased reimbursements, all while demanding more hours worked, many of the nations top students are not pursuing medicine as a profession. Soon, medicine will no longer have students from the top of the class, because these top students are increasingly choosing profession other than medicine. I mentor young students and residents in my office and OR. I am all too frequently asked, "why would anyone want to work this hard, with so many hassles in medicine, with all that debt and time in school, when we can just go into business?" Honestly, it is becoming harder and harder to remain optimistic and positive about the beauty of medicine, which is increasingly overshadowed by the negatives of increased regulation and liability, with decreased reward.
National trends show fewer and fewer students at the top of their graduating class choosing medicine. Does anyone want their neurosurgeon to be from the bottom of his class? Of course not! But this is what is happening, much of this is due to the insanity of recent healthcare reform. Healthcare reform has frightened many of the brightest minds away from the field of medicine. This occurs at a time when the baby boomer population is exploding. The population of U.S. citizens over the age of 65 is set to quadruple in the next two years. These senior citizens of America have already paid their hard-earned dollars to Medicare, only to need it now, and then find out that the money has already been spent.
In a system of exponential increase in regulation of doctors, combined with yearly decreased reimbursement for services and procedures, the future of both the independent physician as well as the hospital-owned physician, are both fated between a modern day Scylla and Charybdis; with danger on both sides of this Catch 22 dilemma of current day healthcare.
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Even though winter feeding has the greatest costs associated with keeping livestock, some hay feeding is inevitable even for the most cost-efficient livestock producers. Several hay management options are available that can reduce the associated costs of extended hay feeding during the winter.
In a hay production system, the only two management practices that are under complete control of the producer are fertility, which directly influences forage yield, and plant maturity at harvest, which directly influences forage nutritive value. Forage yield is a function of the soil type, available moisture, forage type and fertilizer, primarily nitrogen fertilizer. A common misconception is that fertilizer greatly improves forage nutritive value. With the exception of crude protein, most nutritive value increases are small and amount to less than 2 percentage points. Any advantages gained in increased nutritive value will disappear if the forage is not harvested in a timely fashion.
Plant maturity is the primary factor determining forage quality or nutritive value. An immature plant has more nutritive value and should have higher quality than a mature plant. In general, the highest-quality forage is harvested when the forage plant is in a vegetative stage of growth. As the seedheads begin to appear, forage quality begins to rapidly decline. Forage quality is an important factor because hay that tests greater than 10 percent crude protein will provide the protein requirement of a lactating beef cow if fed free choice. If crude protein is less than 10 percent, the same cow will require additional protein supplementation to meet her nutritional needs. For comparison, a dry cow requires 8 percent crude protein.
In general, high-quality hay should be harvested at the boot stage (just as seedheads are beginning to emerge). After this, little additional forage yield will occur and quality will decline. The crude protein concentration of fertilized grass hay, harvested at the boot stage, usually exceeds 10 percent crude protein. However, if it harvested much later, it can be as low as 5 or 6 percent.
Summer annual forages such as forage sorghums, sudangrass or millets, should be harvested in the boot stage, which occurs just as the seedheads begin to emerge. Nutritive value in sorghums and sudangrasses declines rapidly. Crude protein of sorghum-type forages can decline half a percentage point per day following emergence of the seedheads. It is possible for sorghum type forages to drop from 15 percent crude protein at boot stage to less than 6 percent percent when fully headed. This can occur in only two weeks time.
Simply stated, low-quality forage generally has similar production costs to high-quality forage while overly mature forage is still low-quality forage even if it has been fertilized. Grow or purchase the highest-quality hay possible.
Dr. Daren Redfern, Extension forage and pasture management specialist at the University of Nebraska, provided the information used in this weeks column.
DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she does not expect to see a referendum on a united Ireland in her lifetime.
The former First Minister dismissed renewed talk of a border poll on the issue, which has been driven largely by Sinn Fein.
During an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mrs Foster was asked if she was confident there would not be a border poll in her lifetime. She replied: "I'm very confident about that.
"One of the difficulties with Brexit is the fact that people are superimposing Brexit on another issue, which of course in Scotland is independence and in Northern Ireland is a united Ireland.
"There are many unionists who voted to remain within the European Union, but if they were asked the question around staying in the United Kingdom or going into a united Ireland, they would very firmly say that they wanted to stay in the United Kingdom, for all of the reasons I have spoken about. It won't happen."
Mrs Foster said the forthcoming Westminster election was an opportunity to "send a very clear message" about Northern Ireland's place in the UK, as she denied that Brexit had fuelled republicanism. Mrs Foster also hinted that technology could ease the issue of a hard border with the south, citing the example of the frontier between Norway and Sweden. "I'm not saying that we copy what goes on there, but I am saying there are already examples," she said.
Reacting to her comments, Sinn Fein's Chris Hazzard accused the DUP leader of "running scared of public opinion".
He said: "It is not in the DUP's gift to determine when the people can have their say on Irish unity. Her comments are another example of the arrogance of the DUP."
On a canvass in Co Antrim yesterday, Mrs Foster rubbished republican attempts to differentiate IRA attacks on Manchester from the suicide bomb outrage.
She contrasted the condemnation of Monday's atrocity by Sinn Fein Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill, who also signed a book of condolence, with her attendance at a recent commemoration in Co Tyrone for eight IRA men shot dead by the SAS as they attempted to blow up a police station in Loughgall. Critics have accused Sinn Fein of hypocrisy and double standards for its response to the outrage in Manchester, given the IRA detonated bombs in the same city during the Troubles.
"Of course she has condemned Manchester, my goodness who wouldn't?" said the former Stormont First Minister.
"Then you have to reflect on the fact that only a few weeks ago she was... commemorating those who were going out to murder. I think that's where the hypocrisy lies in all of this."
As a teenager Mrs Foster was on a school bus blown up by the IRA.
Some republicans have insisted the IRA's actions in Manchester were different because they issued bomb warnings.
"I was on a bus that didn't have any warning in terms of being blown up," said Mrs Foster.
"So it is just a nonsense to talk about the fact that there were warnings given in every sort of circumstances."
A nine-year-old boy, who was left critically ill after coming into contact with a toxic substance dumped at a Belfast bonfire site, has been taken off a ventilator.
Cameron Dickson's condition remains serious, but he is now said to be stable.
His father Harry said his son "sniffed" the chemicals after he and his friends were playing on waste ground where there is a small bonfire site.
He said: "They came across barrels of chemicals. They were playing with them as kids do, opened them and poured them out.
"Cameron, unfortunately, was the one who sniffed the liquid. He said there was no smell off it and it looked like water."
However, just hours later he fell ill and was left fighting for his life on Wednesday night in intensive care.
The toxic substance was dumped at a bonfire site at Glenwood Street, close to the Shankill Road in north Belfast. It prompted police and health officials to issue a warning to the public.
Bonfires across the city are now set to be inspected after the nine-year-old almost lost his life.
According to a memo issued to Belfast city councillors, inspections will focus on chemicals that could pose a risk to public safety.
It states that council officers and the police will deploy extra resources to carry out joint visits to all bonfire sites across the city over the coming days "with a view to identifying any visible, immediate or acute chemical public health risks."
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Earlier this week PSNI Inspector Laura Kelly urged parents who live in that area to seek medical help if their children display any symptoms including redness of eyes, sore throats, coughing and any problems breathing.
Officers warned it could take up to 36 hours for symptoms to become apparent.
Mr Dickson said he mistakenly believed his son was suffering from a chest infection.
He said he did not realise how ill Cameron was until a family friend pointed out that his symptoms were abnormal.
"I was just being a typical dad - 'he's a boy, he's got a chest infection, everybody gets a bug'."
Mr Dickson paid tribute to their friend for spotting the danger, saying: "Only for her, I honestly believe that we would be burying our son."
Jeremy Corbyn insisted he did not and does not support the IRA as he faced renewed questions over his links with the republican terror group.
The Labour leader stressed his desire for peace in Northern Ireland, adding: "I never met the IRA."
Mr Corbyn also denied claims he supported the armed struggle for a united Ireland but was seeking to distance himself from this position in his bid to become Prime Minister.
His remarks came during a BBC One interview with Andrew Neil.
Asked why people would want him as PM given his previous support for the IRA, Mr Corbyn replied: "I didn't support the IRA. I don't support the IRA.
"What I want everywhere is a peace process. What I want everywhere is decency and human rights.
"We went through all the horrors of Northern Ireland - all through the Seventies and Eighties - through the period of the Troubles, and eventually came from that a peace process, the Good Friday Agreement, and now relative peace and stability."
Mr Corbyn said a minute's silence he observed in 1987 for the eight IRA members killed by the SAS in Loughgall was "for all who'd died" in Northern Ireland.
Questioned if he urged the IRA to stop the bombs, Mr Corbyn replied: "I never met the IRA. I obviously did meet people from Sinn Fein, as indeed I met people from other organisations, and I always made the point that there had to be a dialogue and a peace process.
"Now, a lot of people did a lot of work on this and eventually it was Mo Mowlam as much as anybody else that managed to bring those groups together, and she used a lot of connections in order to bring those people together. And I think we should recognise that."
Mr Neil later asked: "Isn't the truth that you've basically supported the armed struggle for a united Ireland, but now you want to be Prime Minister you have to distance yourself from it?"
Mr Corbyn said: "No. What I want is peace. What I want is to learn the lessons from Northern Ireland and also to make sure during the Brexit negotiations we don't return to or receive any kind of hard border between the North and the Republic."
But Mr Neil pressed him further asking why he invited convicted IRA terrorists to tea in the Commons a few weeks after the Brighton bomb, stood for a minute's silence to honour IRA terrorists killed by the British Army, and spoke at scores of republican gatherings.
"I always wanted and always do want peace, always want a dialogue between people of vastly different backgrounds. And the minute's silence you referred to was in 1987 and it was for all who'd died in Northern Ireland," he said.
Mr Neil also put to Mr Corbyn bluntly: "The IRA killed 1,800 people."
The Labour leader responded: "Yes. And people were killed by loyalist bombs as well. All deaths are appalling, all deaths are wrong. There isn't a military solution to a conflict between traditions and communities. There has to be a better way and a better process of doing it."
Boosted security at the Continental Market in the city centre has been welcomed by visitors, but a council employee has called for new measures at Belfast City Hall also.
"We have asked many times, for weeks on end: where are the bag checks?" the employee told the Belfast Telegraph.
Privately contracted security guards carried out bag checks as a constant flow of people made their way into the crowded market in the grounds of the City Hall yesterday, but there are now questions as to why council security staff have not implemented similar checks in the building itself.
The council employee said colleagues had been flagging up real fears over weak security long before Monday night's terror attack in Manchester.
"It's the right thing to do, and not just in light of what happened in Manchester. These attacks have been happening for a long time elsewhere and there are no checks in City Hall," they added. "We have a lot of tourists coming in with backpacks on and there is no real security measures in place."
The staff member also claimed that a mass casualty first aid kit had been delivered to premises four weeks ago, but Belfast City Council refused to confirm this.
It is not known if vital medical equipment - which could save lives in the event of a major attack - is being kept in one of Belfast's busiest buildings.
A spokesman said: "Belfast City Council do not comment on the security arrangements at any of our buildings or facilities."
UUP councillor Jim Rogers said he had been advocating changes to security procedures for a long time.
"We want to open up our beautiful building to visitors, but we have to draw the line somewhere, it's not realistic to continue unfettered access," he said.
"There is a very real terror threat and we have a duty to protect staff and members of the public. The sad truth is that people could be carrying objects that have the ability to wreak havoc and destruction."
Mr Rogers stressed that he had full confidence in the security staff at the City Hall and said he welcomed gaps in security being highlighted. "It is the role of the media to do those things and I will be calling for the bag checks to continue when the market is over," he added.
"Security personnel have been very visible over the past 48 hours and I will be pushing to keep that."
Visitors to the Continental Market had no objections to queueing and welcomed the bag checks at all entrances to the grounds, saying it made them feel safer. Ann and David Craig, both aged 76 and visiting from Ballymena, had no objections to being searched yesterday.
"We have no problem with it all, we lived through the Troubles and don't mind it," they said.
"You can't stop everything, but you have do to something."
Matthew Skinner (23) visited the market on his lunch break yesterday.
He said that being searched was a small price to pay for safety.
"If it means there is less likelihood of something happening, then it is worth it, I absolutely feel safer knowing they are checking people," he added.
After having his bag searched yesterday afternoon, Michael Weir (30), who lives in Belfast, said he understood the checks but doubted their effectiveness.
"This is just so it looks like the Government is doing something, but they aren't protecting us," he claimed. "They are probably doing this all over Europe in response to one incident and it's pointless because in a few weeks they will stop."
Market Place Europe confirmed that organisers of the Spring Continental Market took the decision to increase security after discussions with Belfast City Council.
"An increase in security staff may at times also be supported with random bag searches. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we are sure the public will understand that the safety of our visitors is our priority at all times," it said.
Councillor Carole Howard added: "Security has been increased around the Spring Continental Market in line with Home Office direction for all events across the UK. Alliance remains supportive of measures to ensure public safety."
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the IRA's bombing campaign after coming under severe pressure to single out the terror group for criticism.
The Labour leader said the IRA's bombing campaign was "completely wrong" because it killed civilians.
Mr Corbyn has come under fire over his association with Irish republicans and for failing to single out the IRA for criticism and instead condemning all bombing during Northern Ireland's Troubles.
But asked about his reaction when Downing Street and then-prime minister Sir John Major were targeted in an IRA mortar attack in 1991, Mr Corbyn told reporters in Hackney Marshes, east London: "Obviously appalled. I was in Parliament at the time, I heard the attack go off.
"And the bombing campaign was completely wrong because it was taking civilian lives and there had to be a process that dealt with the basis of it in Northern Ireland.
"And fortunately politicians in Northern Ireland, firstly on the national(ist) side, Gerry Adams and John Hume, privately got together and brought about the Hume-Adams accord, that moved on to agreements between the nationalists and the unionist side, which eventually led to the peace process which was a recognition of the shared history of Ireland from extremely different cultural perspectives and that led to the Northern Ireland peace process, which I think was the great success of the 1997 (Labour) government."
The Labour leader has faced repeated questions about his association with the IRA and its political wing Sinn Fein during the 1980s and 1990s.
On Monday he condemned "all acts of violence from wherever they came" during the Troubles, but declined to specifically denounce the IRA as terrorists.
On Friday, the BBC's Andrew Neil pointed out to him in an interview that the IRA had killed 1,800 people.
Mr Corbyn replied: "Yes. And people were killed by Loyalist bombs as well. All deaths are appalling, all deaths are wrong. There isn't a military solution to a conflict between traditions and communities. There has to be a better way and a better process of doing it."
Despite Mr Corbyn's insistence in Friday's interview that he had "never met the IRA", shadow home secretary Diane Abbott suggested he may have met members of the terror group in their roles as Sinn Fein activists.
Confronted during an interview on LBC radio with reports that Mr Corbyn had shared platforms with convicted bomber Brendan McKenna and IRA member Raymond McCartney, Ms Abbott said: "He met with Sinn Fein. I think his understanding is he met with them in a capacity as activists in Sinn Fein.
"I think we have to distinguish between conducting private meetings and supporting violent attacks and actually being on a platform."
Ms Abbott declined to disown comments in a 1988 interview with a pro-Republican journal in which she reportedly said: "Every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us. A defeat in Northern Ireland would be a defeat indeed."
But she said the comment was made 34 years ago and that she had since "moved on".
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: "Jeremy Corbyn's lies have been exposed by his own shadow home secretary. Just hours after Corbyn claimed he had never met the IRA, Diane Abbott says he did - and she disgracefully sought to defend it.
"It is increasingly clear that Jeremy Corbyn will make up anything in an attempt to mislead voters. He's pretending he didn't support the IRA, just like he is pretending he won't raise taxes and pretending he will replace our Trident nuclear deterrent.
"The risks of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister, in charge of our Brexit negotiations and our security, are enormous.
"And Jeremy Corbyn would make Diane Abbott home secretary - putting a woman who refused to outlaw al Qaida and wants open-door immigration in charge of our security and our borders. Only a vote for Theresa May and the Conservatives will stop this happening."
Conservatives released a hard-hitting campaign video featuring excerpts from Mr Corbyn's speeches in which he boasted of opposing anti-terror legislation and called for the closure of Nato, the abolition of Trident and cuts to the Army.
The video showed a clip from a recent Sky News video in which the Labour leader was asked if he condemned the IRA and replied that he opposed "all bombing".
And it ended with Mr Corbyn telling a BBC Radio Ulster interviewer he could not hear his questions and putting the phone down after being asked three times if he refused to condemn the IRA.
The Tory video warned: "This man is only six seats away from being Prime Minister. On June 8, it's him or Theresa May."
An elderly couple have been found murdered in their own home. A 40-year-old man has been arrested
A family was plunged into mourning and a community left reeling in shock last night after an elderly couple were savagely murdered in their own home.
The bodies of the two pensioners - both aged 83 - were discovered yesterday afternoon when their daughter and son-in-law came to visit them in their home in a leafy cul-de-sac at Portadown's Upper Ramone Park.
It's understood they had both been subjected to a savage knife attack.
The couple were named locally last night as Michael and Marjorie Cawdery.
Mr Cawdery was a retired veterinary researcher, and had a long and distinguished career in his profession.
Educated in Nairobi, at Portora Royal School and at Trinity College Dublin, Mr Cawdrey - along with his wife - had been directors of veterinary firm Cawel Ltd, which was dissolved in 2011.
He published many well-regarded research articles in a wide range of academic journals in his field.
Just a week ago, he had written a letter to the British Medical Journal, examining the impact of the Ransomware virus which infected NHS computers.
Detectives are still working to establish a motive for the brutal crime which has stunned the Portadown community.
Last night, the cul de sac remained sealed off, with the murder scene under police guard as forensics experts conducted their investigations.
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Speaking at the scene, DUP General Election election candidate David Simpson spoke of the shock that had swept over the community.
"This is an awful shock for everyone," he said.
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"I received the call from the PSNI to tell me about the incident at around 5pm.
"This is a quiet area, it never has any anti-social behaviour, any issues like that.
"It's an area where you would have a lot of retired elderly folk living.
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"They come here for peace and quiet.
"All our thoughts and prayers go out to the family.
"For a family member to come home and witness that and see the devastation... to find their parents dead - it's an awful situation."
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He added: "We don't yet know the background, we don't know any fine details, whether he knocked the door or broke into the house.
"Elderly people would have been taken unawares and certainly, in their 80s, they couldn't have defended themselves.
"It's a tragedy and for a family member to come home and witness such a scene, it is appalling. It's a really awful situation for the family."
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Mr Simpson said police had assured him that the daughter who had discovered the bodies of her parents was being looked after, adding that he would like to express his condolences to the family personally after they had time to grieve.
"If I can be of any help to them in this dreadful time, I will do my best," he said.
Neighbour Alvin Winter said the murder had frightened him: "I feel a wee bit apprehensive that something like this could happen round here. We always felt that this was a safe, quiet area.
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"But you never know, now - this just makes you a wee bit scared."
Local UUP councillor Julie Flaherty lives just around the corner from the murder took place.
Shock was plainly audible in her voice as she spoke to the Belfast Telegraph last night.
"I can't get over it," she said.
"I'm still so shocked that this could happen here.
"This is just a quiet little cul-de-sac, just round the corner there's a church, and the school I went to.
"This is going to hit the area hard."
A family statement issued on Saturday read: "The awful and incomprehensible events of Friday 26 May have deprived our family of two wonderful people Michael and Marjorie who were our father, mother, brother, sister and grandparents.
"We thank the police for their prompt response and professional actions. We also thank everyone who has expressed sympathy in whatever way and offered help. Finally, we ask for respect and privacy in the coming days as the family try to come to terms with their loss. "
Yesterday's double murder is the second tragedy to hit the Co Armagh town in a week.
Craigavon High School pupil Caitlyn White (15) died last Saturday in a suspected drug-related incident.
Four people have so far been arrested by police investigating her death.
"I know her family, I know her mummy," Ms Flaherty said.
"I spoke to her this morning, and she is in pieces.
"And now we're facing another dreadful weekend, and another family torn to pieces," Councillor Flaherty added.
The PSNI confirmed that a 40-year-old man has been arrested following the incident, and is currently helping police with their inquiries.
Detective Superintendent Kevin Geddes said: "Police were called to an address in the Upper Ramone Park area of the town at around 3.40pm yesterday afternoon. On arrival, officers found the bodies of Michael and Marjorie.
"Earlier in the day, at around 12.20pm, we had a report of a male breaking into a car in the Upper Ramone Park area. We are appealing for anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the area between 11am and 5pm yesterday to get in touch with police on the non-emergency number 101.
"The family car belonging to the deceased, a grey Renault Kango van, registration NJZ 6101 was taken from the house and later found at around 5pm in the Edenderry Gardens area.
"We need to know the movements of this car from the time it left Upper Ramone Park until it was recovered in Edenderry Gardens. Again, please get in touch with detectives on the non-emergency number 101 if you saw it in the Portadown area yesterday between 3.30pm - 5pm.
"A 40-year-old man who was arrested yesterday afternoon in the Springfields area of Portadown remains in custody.
"I would appeal to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in and around the Edenderry or Springfields areas yesterday, to please let us know.
"Detectives remain in the area and we will have extra patrols in the Portadown area.
"Anyone with information should contact police on the non-emergency number 101. Or, if you would prefer to provide information without giving your details, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111."
COLUMBUS Frank Ciboron Jr. got his final salute at a Columbus cemetery in April from a brotherhood he joined in 1944 in the South Pacific.
He was serving in the Pacific Theater as the American military was island-hopping toward the Japanese home islands with the close of World War II drawing near.
Ciboron, who died April 4 at Columbus Community Hospital at the age of 91, was one of a dwindling number from the generation who served during WWII, a group who grew up weathering the hardships of the Great Depression and became battle-hardened by global war.
They were a tough bunch, said Dale Ciboron, one of Franks two sons, along with Ted Ciboron of Columbus.
Dale got a little choked up during the American Legion Hartman Post 84 Honor Guard ceremony at his dads April 7 funeral at St. Bonaventure Cemetery.
Frank's name will be read along with all the names of other veterans who have died since last Memorial Day during the American Legion's ceremony Monday in Frankfort Square.
The elder Ciboron was a raw 18-year-old when he landed in the Pacific Theater as a member of the U.S. Armys 62nd Signal Corps.
The signal corps develops, tests, provides and manages communications and information systems support for the command and control of the country's combined armed forces.
Signal corpsmen operated what my dad jokingly called 'bitch boxes,'" said 47-year-old Dale Ciboron, a Columbus Police officer for 17 years and Platte County Sheriffs deputy for 11 years to begin his law enforcement career.
The elder Ciboron helped set up and man the radio and related equipment that forward military units used to communicate their manpower and supply needs to stations in the rear of the combat action.
My dad didnt see a lot of combat action, but he spent a lot of of his time overseas, said Dale, the youngest of Frank and the late Josephine Ciborons four surviving children. He was proud of his service. It was a meaningful time for him.
Franks WWII service ushered him into a fraternity of men and women that would have lifelong consequences for him in the decades after he returned to Nebraska in 1947.
When he got back home, he became a member of the American Legion, initially joining the post in Platte Center and, after five years, moving to American Legion Hartman Post 84 in Columbus. He served a combined 42 years on the posts honor guards, 37 of those in Columbus.
Frank was a recipient of the Keith Bryan Award, the highest award an honor guard member can receive.
My dad was a member of Columbus honor guards at 1,008 military funerals. That was important to him, said Dale. That total doesn't include Frank's five years with the Platte Center post.
Family members who are grieving appreciate a graveside ceremony and 21-gun salute that celebrates the sacrifices and service of their loved ones.
Families find it gratifying. Its a neat honor, said Dale, a veteran of the U.S. Navy.
Dale said about half of one side of St. Bonaventure Catholic Church was made up of mourners with close ties to the American Legion and honor guard the day of Frank's funeral.
Frank, who spent his civilian working career with Purina Mills and Wayne Feed in Columbus before retiring in 1989, had a gift for striking up conversations with strangers, often during his frequent visits to the local American Legion Club or Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3704.
My dad was what I like to call a professional socializer,'" said Dale, whose brother Ted drove Frank to the American Legion Club every Monday in the last several months of his life to help him maintain that connection with his military comrades while his health was failing.
He would light up when he met someone from his generation (with similar memories). His social life revolved around hanging out with his buddies ... they always had those connections, Dale said.
Its a generation whose ranks are shrinking with every passing day.
A woman has told the heartbreaking story of her miscarriage and how she lost twins a fortnight apart.
Karen Irvine told of the devastating moment she realised she was losing her baby and - after suffering severe pain - she later learned she had been expecting twins.
"I was sitting at work when I realised I was losing my baby," Karen said. "The year was 2003, I was 41 years old and had undergone fertility treatment following years of trying to conceive.
"Only a week prior, I had been ecstatic with the news that I was five weeks pregnant and no way could I keep it a secret until week 12, as custom dictates. I told everyone immediately.
"This actually made things easier for me later, as I couldn't have hidden my grief, it was too painful.
"After one night in hospital and following a procedure the next day to remove the remaining 'products of conception', I was discharged.
"I went to bed and stayed there, weeping for the loss of our much-wanted baby and sinking into a deep depression."
However, over the next two weeks Karen began to experience abdominal pain which her GP said was her "womb shrinking back to the normal size".
But as the pain increased she sought advice from her local family planning clinic.
"On conducting a urine test the clinic said my pregnancy hormone levels oddly had increased rather than decreasing," she said.
"At home that evening I was in unbearable pain.
"At the Early Pregnancy Unit of the Royal Victoria Hospital doctors and consultants did not know what was wrong with me. One suggested appendicitis."
As an investigatory laparoscopy was about to be performed, and as Karen was going under the anaesthetic, someone mentioned an ectopic pregnancy. "I became inconsolable, begging the surgeon, if so, to move the baby into my womb," she said.
"Of course, I knew later that this is not possible and that my baby would already be dead.
"The following morning my surgeon sat at the end of my bed and said that I was lucky to be alive; I did not feel lucky, as my fallopian tube had burst and the remains of it and my foetus had been removed.
"My husband and I had lost twins two weeks apart, one from in the womb and the other in a fallopian tube. This was known as a 'heterotrophic' pregnancy."
The twins were named Tonii and Kyrie and had their names placed in the Book of Remembrance in St Anne's Cathedral.
After seven months Karen returned to work but as she struggled to come to terms with the loss she said the Mariposa Trust - a support charity providing support to thousands each week globally, who have suffered the loss of a baby at any stage of pregnancy, at birth or in infancy - helped her feel less alone.
Karen has urged people to attend the trust's Saying Goodbye service at St Anne's Cathedral tomorrow at 3.30pm.
A total of 38 people lost their lives after a gunman stormed the beach
Six security officers and 20 other people are on trial in Tunisia over the 2015 Islamic extremist attack on a beach resort that killed 38 people, mostly British tourists.
Tunisia's tourism industry has yet to recover from the massacre, and the country still struggles against extremist violence.
The attacker, a Tunisian student who trained with Libyan militants, was killed by police after the attack on June 26 2015.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on the Imperial Hotel in the Mediterranean resort of Sousse.
The officers who went on trial in Tunis are accused of failing to prevent or stop the attack.
The other suspects face accusations including involvement in preparing or inciting the violence.
The unusually large trial includes around 70 lawyers as well as British Embassy representatives and foreign observers.
British Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick and Heathrow as computer problems cause disruption worldwide.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion" at the terminals, with all BA planes grounded before 6pm on Saturday.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide."
BA added: "We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack."
"The terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick have become extremely congested and we have cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick before 6pm UK time today, so please do not come to the airports," the airline continued.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
Travellers have been told to check the airline website and twitter account for updates about the situation.
It comes as scores of Britons headed overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays on Saturday morning.
The airline has experienced issues with its online check-in systems in the past.
Passengers were hit by severe delays in September and July last year because of IT glitches.
Hooray! We have finally landed. @British_Airways Belfast to Heathrow after the computer delay caused a long delay #britishairways Philip Bloom (@PhilipBloom) May 27, 2017
The latest problem meant parts of BA's website were unavailable and some travellers were unable check in on the mobile app, with many venting their frustration on social media.
Melissa Davis, who runs a legal PR agency in London, was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow, on a BA flight returning from Belfast.
Speaking from the plane, Miss Davis said the air conditioning had been off "so I don't think we will be going anywhere any time soon", but added that the passengers had been kept informed by their pilot and given water while they remained seated.
She later said she and others were then told they could not transfer to other flights because "they can't bring up our details".
Henry Tail, a 27-year-old teacher from London, claimed he had missed his flight to Rome because of the technical problems.
"I checked in online using the BA app at 8.15 for my flight at 9.25, then went and had breakfast," he told the Press Association.
@PA Full statement: BA urges people not to come to Heathrow or Gatwick airports as it cancels all flights there before 6pm pic.twitter.com/1XpC4Er0Oq Stephen Jones (@SteveJonesPA) May 27, 2017
"At some point, the app restarted and when I went to go through security, I couldn't log in to my booking to get my QR code.
"This meant I couldn't go through security, and by the time I'd gone back and forth to various customer service desks, the flight had closed," he said.
Gareth Wharton, also at Heathrow Terminal 5, tweeted a picture of BA staff writing gate information on a whiteboard amid the systems outage.
"Gets worse, #T5 staff having to put gate info up on a white board #LowFi #Heathrow," he tweeted.
Passengers at Gatwick Airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem on Friday.
Those taking flights were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
Heathrow said it has posted extra staff at the terminals and warned BA passengers on flights before 6pm not to go to the airport.
"Passengers travelling with British Airways after 6pm should check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport," it added in a statement.
It began when he was advised to use a little porn in the bedroom to bring excitement to his sex life. Just the thought of that idea made him interested. But the more he began to view porn, the more obsessed with it he became.
He found himself going to his computer on lunch breaks and winding down his evening with viewing. He started to crave the images and knew this was a problem. He couldnt generate the same excitement with his partner that he could while masturbating to porn. But he couldnt stop, even knowing this was beginning to control him. His sex life took a new turn. He found himself in the office of a local urologist complaining of erectile dysfunction. Porn had changed his sex life, but not in the way intended.
Matthew Christman, MD, a urologist at the Naval Medical Center San Diego, California can attest to the changes described above. Dr. Christman and colleague, Dr. Berger, surveyed active duty men and women to see if there was an association between addiction to pornography and sexual dysfunction. What they found was that the incidence of erectile dysfunction increased in men who preferred intercourse with pornography (31%), and was highest among men who preferred masturbation with pornography (79%).
And Dr. Christman also attests to the reality than mental health clinicians see this correlation of porn and sexual dysfunction in their offices on a regular basis. Once the pornography addiction is treated, the sex life improves and the related erectile dysfunction is no longer present.
The clinical impact of pornography addiction is real. Porn on the brain activates the same circuitry as addictive substances do. And like all addictions, the fall out is destructive. In this case, the addiction can lead to sexual dysfunction.
Porn changes the brain. Viewing porn causes it to rewire and pump out chemicals to form new neural pathways. The more you use that neural pathway, the stronger it becomes. And that pathway is tied to the reward centers of the brain, providing you with pleasure. The pleasure is remembered and craved. But if you stop using porn, the pathway begins to lose traction and the brain can reboot.
So if you want to change your sex life, stop the porn and dont listen to bad advice that a little porn can be helpful. Its a bit like saying, A little cocaine can help!
Reference: American Urological Association (AUA) 2017 Annual Meeting: Abstracts PD44-11 and PD69-12, Presented in a briefing May 12, 2017.
Growing Nebraska is our vision for our state. Whether its new jobs, educational opportunities or regulatory reform, every initiative from my administration is focused on growth. The work we do at the state supports the work of the job creators in the private sector. We work to create a business-friendly climate that supports the job creators who are the economic engine of Nebraska.
The numbers show that Nebraska is growing. The latest U.S. Census report in December showed that Nebraska's population exceeded 1.9 million residents for the first time. Nebraska is growing at a faster pace than 32 other states nationally, including our neighboring states Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Wyoming. Those people are also attracting new investments. Recently, Nebraska won the Governors Cup for national economic development success for 101 new capital investment projects. This was the most per capita of any state in 2016.
This year, Nebraska continues to see signs of growth. In March, Nebraska notched our 13th consecutive month of 1 million non-farm jobs. Nebraska ranks sixth-best in the nation for our low unemployment rate, and sixth-highest in the nation for our workforce participation rate. Over the past few months, Nebraska has seen significant new investments from several companies. Here are a few examples:
In April, we welcomed Facebook to Silicon Prairie with the announcement of their Papillion campus. Last fall, I traveled to Menlo Park, California, to their headquarters to pitch them on building their next data center in Nebraska.
Kawasaki announced its first aerostructures production line in the United States with a $12.5 million investment at its Lincoln plant. This investment follows a 2015 trade mission I led to Japan where I visited Kawasaki to thank them for their investment in Nebraska.
Novozymes unveiled a new $36 Million investment in their Blair plant following a trade mission I led to Denmark in 2015 where I encouraged them to consider making additional investment in Nebraska and our growing biofuels industry.
Becton Dickinson announced a $100 million investment in their Holdrege facility to expand manufacturing capacity and a $60 million investment in Columbus.
Cargill invested $111 million to convert its Columbus plant to a cooked meats operation, which is doubling the employment and size of their plant.
Another great development occurred recently for Nebraska beef, our states No. 1 industry. Over the past two years, the Nebraska Department of Agriculture and I have been supporting efforts to reopen the Chinese beef market to Nebraska beef, which has been closed for years. In 2016, we led a trade mission to China to share the story of beef from Nebraska with potential customers in anticipation of the market re-opening. In 2015, we visited Beijing to urge the Chinese government to reopen the Chinese market to American beef. Last year, I visited with then candidate Donald J. Trump about the importance of the Chinese beef market to our state, and he pledged to make it a priority as president. This month, American and Chinese officials struck a deal that will allow American beef into China for the first time since 2003. Reopening the China market was a team effort not only involving state officials, but numerous commodity organizations, U.S. embassy staff, federal trade representatives and a host of other partners.
Trade has been such an essential part of growing Nebraska, and thats why I continue to lead trade missions around the world. This fall, I will be returning to Japan for my second trade mission. Japan is Nebraskas third-largest trading partner and largest direct foreign investor. The trade mission delegation will be attending the 49th Annual U.S. Midwest-Japan Association Conference in Tokyo as well as traveling to Shizuoka, Osaka and Kobe to meet with potential investors and promote Nebraskas ag commodities. If youre interested in joining the trade mission, please visit http://nediplomats.com/2017-trade-mission/ for more information.
These are just a few of the many announcements and investments that are helping to grow our state. Im excited about our opportunities and will continue to do everything I can to promote and grow Nebraska.
Indian Army personnel in Amritsar, India carry the coffin of Paramjeet Singh, one of two soldiers allegedly killed by Pakistani troops in Kashmir, May 2, 2017.
The Indian Army said Friday its soldiers had killed two members of the Pakistani armys elite Border Action Team (BAT) along the disputed border in Kashmir, in an exchange of gunfire amid rising tensions between the two nuclear-armed rival nations.
Tensions have escalated since India accused the BAT of beheading two Indian soldiers on May 1 after members of the Pakistani unit had allegedly infiltrated Indian Kashmir by crossing the Line of Control (LoC), a de facto border that divides the Himalayan region between the two countries. The armies from the two sides have since regularly traded cross-border fire.
The BAT team was moving in a suspicious manner along the LoC and attempted to target an Indian Army post in the Uri sector of Baramulla district, the Indian Army said.
The alert Indian Army patrol that came under attack acted swiftly, killing two BAT attackers, army spokesmen Col. Rajesh Kalia told BenarNews., adding that the Indian Army was always prepared to give a befitting reply to ceasefire violations from across the border.
The bodies of the Pakistani soldiers have been recovered, a police official said.
Some weapons, including a pistol and a Pakistan-made automatic rifle were recovered from the slain attackers. An intermittent exchange of fire between the Indian Army and BAT soldiers is still on, the official, who did not wish to be named, told BenarNews.
On Tuesday, the Indian Army on Tuesday said it attacked Pakistani posts along the LoC, a claim denied by Pakistan.
Similar skirmishes between the two armies since earlier this month have left at least three Indian and two Pakistani civilians dead and forced more than 2,000 Indians to vacate villages situated on the border.
India and Pakistan have fought three full-blown wars two of them over Kashmir since the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947.
Kashmir, which is claimed in its entirety by India and Pakistan, has been grappling with a separatist insurgency that has claimed over 70,000 lives since the late 1980s.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (white shirt) pays a hospital visit to a policeman who was injured in a suicide bombing outside a bus station in the Jakarta area, May 25, 2017.
Indonesian President Joko Jokowi Widodo is calling for increased police powers to help prevent terrorism in the wake of a twin suicide bombing in Jakarta this week that authorities say was carried out by militants linked to Islamic State (IS).
IS has claimed responsibility for Wednesday nights attack outside the Kampung Melayu bus station in East Jakarta, which left three policemen and two suspected bombers dead in the worst terror act to hit the Indonesian capital in 16 months.
After visiting a police hospital in Jakarta where some of the attacks survivors were recovering from injuries, the president called on the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) to speed up efforts to pass a long-delayed bill that proposes to toughen Indonesias laws against terrorism.
We want the government and DPR to immediately complete the anti-terrorism bill so it will make it easier for the law enforcement officials to have a strong foundation to act, Jokowi told reporters as he left the hospital on Thursday.
The priority is to do prevention, he said.
On Friday, Indonesian police counter-terrorist squad Densus 88 made the first three arrests in connection with the East Jakarta attack, taking the suspects into custody in raids in Bandung, West Java, reports said.
According to the nations police chief, the Bandung cell of local militant group Jamaah Ansharut Daulah carried out the attack, and JAD is linked to Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian IS figure based abroad who is wanted by authorities back home.
It's an old and small network. We will continuously hunt its members; people do not need to panic. We all remain strong and we do not have to worry about, Karnavian said Friday while visiting the scene of the attack.
The United States has labeled JAD a foreign terrorist organization and Indonesian police have accused Bahrun of orchestrating a terrorist attack in central Jakarta that left eight people, including four suspects, dead in January 2016.
According to police, Bahrun joined IS in Syria in 2014 but may have moved to the southern Philippines, where IS-linked militant groups are very active.
Phenomenon of decentralization
During the past year, Indonesian police said they had thwarted a number of alleged terror plots hatched by JAD. Last Christmas, for instance, the authorities said they stopped the group from carrying out attacks targeting revelers during the Christian holiday season. Police arrested four suspected members of a JAD cell and shot dead two others during a counter-terrorist raid in West Java province.
The attack in East Jakarta and elsewhere in the world was part of a trend resulting from Islamic State being cornered by government and anti-IS military offensives in Syria and Iraq, where the groups traditional strongholds are located, Karnavian suggested.
Currently there is a phenomenon of decentralization. As their centers were attacked, they split, and then they ordered the support cells in various countries to carry out attacks to divert attention, he told reporters.
In recent years, Indonesian police have taken a heavy toll in terrorist attacks or in efforts to combat terrorism, the police chief added.
Up to today, more than 140 police have become victims of terrorist groups, he said, noting that 40 officers were killed, including the three who died in the line of duty on Wednesday, and the rest were injured.
Late on Thursday, ISs official news agency Amaq claimed via social media that one of the fighters of the Islamic State had carried out the East Jakarta attack on a police gathering, according to SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based website that monitors online communications among Muslim extremist groups worldwide.
Anti-terror bill
Legislative efforts to change Indonesias anti-terror laws have stalled because of resistance put up by some political parties and concerns raised by activists that the changes could infringe on human rights.
Under the existing laws, Indonesians who go overseas to join extremists groups like Islamic State cannot be prosecuted in Indonesia unless they commit a terrorist act on home soil.
The proposed revisions would broaden the definition of terrorism and give police the power to detain suspects without trial for longer. The changes would also permit the authorities to arrest people for hate speech and disseminating radical content, Reuters reported.
Asrul Sani, a lawmaker who sits on a DPR committee working on the anti-terrorism bill, said the committee was still identifying and making a list of problematic parts of the proposed changes.
Members have agreed to intensify the discussion of the problems. Next week, we will meet again to sharpen the discussion, he told BenarNews on Friday.
The committee members have not yet agreed on a definition for terrorism, he said.
It is not only us, but the government has also not yet agreed. But essentially, we will seek together to accelerate the discussion of this bill, Asrul said.
Black smoke billows from a burning building in the southern Philippine city of Marawi on Friday, as government forces engage dozens of Islamic State-inspired fighters in fierce fighting, May 26, 2017.
Updated at 6:44 a.m. ET on 2017-05-28
Southeast Asian militants have helped Islamic State-inspired Filipino fighters in their deadly battle against Philippine government troops in the besieged southern city of Marawi, where they are holding several hostages, including a Catholic priest, officials said Friday.
The governments solicitor-general, Jose Calida, said militants from Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore were providing back-up firepower to the local terror groups Abu Sayyaf and Maute in the fighting since Tuesday in Marawi, capital of Lanao del Sur province on Mindanao island.
Calida said the fierce gunbattle forced Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to place Mindanao under martial law.
"Whats happening in Mindanao is no longer a rebellion of Filipino citizens," Calida said.
"It has transmogrified into invasion by foreign terrorists who heeded the clarion call of the ISIS to go to the Philippines if they find difficulty in going to Iraq or Syria," he said, mentioning the other name of Islamic State.
Officials said that since the fighting began, 31 militants, 11 soldiers and two police officers have been killed. At least 30 soldiers have also been wounded.
Armed forces spokesman Brig. Gen. Resituto Padilla said foreign fighters were monitored to be with the Filipino fighters trying to escape from Marawi, a city of 200,000.
He said that at least six of the slain fighters were believed to be foreigners, based on documents that were recovered from them.
Brig. Gen. Padilla said there were "certain foreign elements" in the south who have been training the militants in bomb making for years.
"There are also Malaysians, Singaporean in the fight that has been ongoing in Marawi. We are continuously verifying that there have been a number of them who have been killed," he said, adding that of the earlier casualty figures about six were "foreign terrorists."
Duterte visited troops in the nearby city of Iligan on Friday and said he was willing to talk with the militants to stop the violence, but warned them he would be harsh if rebuffed.
Duterte said the Marawi clash indicated that the IS has established a foothold locally.
"My message mainly to the terrorists on the other side is: We can still solve this through dialogue," he said.
Small groups of civilians remained trapped as fierce fighting transformed Marawi into a ghost town. Aid groups were trying to reach them as food and water rations were dwindling, eyewitnesses said.
"The fighting and clearing operations are going on. They (the enemy) have occupied vantage positions. We have carried out several surgical airstrikes to neutralize the bandits," military spokesman Lt. Col. Joar Herrera said.
He said the gunmen had split into smaller groups as they battled government forces in three villages.
Fighting was triggered when the military received reports that Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, who is listed on the FBIs list of most-wanted terrorists with a $5 million bounty on his head, had been spotted in Marawi this week.
Government forces moved to arrest him, but were overwhelmed by about 100 fighters armed with high-powered weapons, officials said.
Intense battles
Intense running gunbattles followed, and the gunmen torched several buildings and abducted a Catholic priest and several of his followers.
"The focus of the operations right now is to clear the city of every terrorist," he said. "This clearing operations are now being carried since the other day. And as of midnight last night, I am glad to report to you that we have been able to reach parts of the city, which have been held by some of these terrorist elements the past few days."
Rebel snipers were providing resistance, but the army has been able to move in isolated areas and free trapped residents. Padilla said about 20 civilians who were caught in the crossfire have been rescued.
"Up this moment operations are ongoing and there are still firefights between our forces and those of the terrorists in certain parts of the city," he said. "But the objective of our armed forces is to clear the city the soonest time possible."
Filipino soldiers patrol the streets of Marawi city as they move to dislodge Islamic State-inspired militants that, officials said, are backed by Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean fighters, May 25, 2017. [Jeoffrey Maitem/BenarNews]
Defending martial law
There was ample evidence that the Maute and Abu Sayyaf groups were behind a series of attacks across Mindanao cities in recent years, including a September blast that killed 15 in the president's hometown of Davao, Calida, the solicitor-general, said.
Previous bombings in the southern cities of Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and the islands of Sulu and Basilan "were all perpetrated by either the Maute terrorist group or the Abu Sayyaf," he said.
While the Maute group is smaller, it is believed to have embraced the Islamic State ideology ahead of the more dangerous group Abu Sayyaf, which has been known for a string of high-profile attacks, including bombings and kidnappings. Abu Sayyaf members beheaded a German hostage this year and two Canadians last year.
"The infamous Abu Sayyaf, Isnilon Hapilon, has been declared by the ISIS as its emir or leader in the Philippines," Calida said.
Reports of foreign militants in Mindanao are not new. Filipino Muslim rebel fighters have also been known to cross over to nearby Malaysia and Indonesia to train there, and foreign jihadists have been spotted in rebel camps in the south as early as two decades ago.
In June 2016, a propaganda video showed Malaysian and Indonesian fighters declaring their support for Hapilon (alias Abdullah al-Filipini).
The 21-minute video, viewed by BenarNews, also showed two men and a Filipino carrying out what appeared to be the beheading of three prisoners.
In January, Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar exposed a new IS cell that planned to use the eastern state of Sabah as a transit point for sending militants to the Philippines.
Khalid made the statement after police arrested four people a Filipino, two Bangladeshi men and a Malaysian woman during counter-terror raids in Sabah and Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 13 and 19. He said the cell received orders from Mahmud Ahmad, a former lecturer at Malaya University who allegedly became a militant in the southern Philippines, and Hapilon.
In 2015, 44 Filipino police commandos were killed in a firefight in the south when they were sent in to neutralize a Malaysian bomb maker named Marwan, who was also on FBIs most-wanted list.
Aid agencies help trapped residents
In Marawi on Friday, aid agencies have started arriving in a bid to reach out the people left behind in the city.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said its volunteers were assisting the local government and troops in evacuating the trapped residents and providing them with essentials, including potable water.
Many of those who fled are staying with relatives, while others went to evacuation centers or sought shelters in schools, it said.
The situation is very fluid. Residents are moving in and out of Marawi, and we are seriously concerned about those who are trapped or have chosen to stay in the city, who are in need of food and water," said ICRC head Pascal Porchet.
Medicines and other supplies, including food have been trucked in the nearby city of Iligan. Humanitarian workers said they anticipate the need for increased help in the coming weeks.
Porchet urged those involved in the fighting to take the necessary steps to spare civilians.
But British aid agency Oxfam said "very little is known of the plight of civilians" who chose to wait it out in Marawi, where sporadic clashes were continuing.
"Aside from sketchy reporting about men, women and children exposed to a higher risk of being killed and injured, there is no actual account of those individuals and families affected and information as to where they will go to for safe evacuation," it said.
It said affected families are left on their own to decide whether it is safer to stay inside their homes or evacuate while they still can.
An earlier version reported incorrectly that the raid by 44 police commandos that targeted Malaysian bomb maker Marwan took place in 2013.
Dear President Trump: I implore that you direct VA Secretary, David Shulkin, to abandon his attempts to strip benefits from our veterans and disabled veterans. I respect that you have a "hands off policy" when issues concern your Cabinet's decisions, however, Secretary Shulkin's plans to take away the individual unemployability payments are a slap in the face of veterans who gave the best years of their lives to the country they love. What does this say to the latest generation of service members who have known 17 years of warfare? Nothing says "thank you" like taking half of your entitlement away.
It can be tough to be a vegetarian. You have to work harder than everyone else to make sure youre getting all the nutrients your body needs. So, when its time to take a
RwandAir will today, 26 May 2017, take off for the first direct commercial flight to Gatwick International Airport in London.
The first European destination of the airline will be serviced by a brand new Airbus A330 aircraft that boasts in-flight connectivity.
The addition of Gatwick, London takes the airline to 22 destinations served currently. The airline will fly to the English capital three times a week.
This direct flight, according to aviation experts, is an important milestone towards improving trade relations between Rwanda, the region, and Europe. It also makes the route more competitive and more efficient which will ultimately benefit passengers.
Opportunity for exporters
Rwandan exporters say they are excited and looking forward to taking full advantage of the opportunity.
"We anticipate increased volumes in terms of exports to the European market through the UK," said Epimaque Nsanzabaganwa, the horticulture division manager at the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB).
RwandAir has already offered to cut freight charges for exporters to as low as $0.95 per kilogramme.
Donatille Nibagwire, the managing director of FLORIS Export Company, said the new developments are very likely to change the dynamics of the country's export business.
Boosting tourism
Meanwhile, experts say the flights will boost tourism between the UK and Rwanda. And, according to Osborn Kinene, the Rwanda Eco-Tours country manager, the flights will lead to increased number of tourists visiting the two countries.
"Rwanda is counting on tourism to boost its exports, therefore creating a seamless connectivity between Rwanda and other markets means people can now find it easier to travel between destinations," he told The New Times.
Connecting Kigali to markets in Asia, Europe and later America, means an increase in volumes of trade as well as enhanced tourism which will drive economic development and sustainability, Kinene added.
In addition, Rwanda has recently become one of the countries that offer tourists a 'Big 5' experience, having reintroduced both lions and eastern black rhinoceros into Akagera National Park.
Last month, the airline launched direct flights to Mumbai, India's financial capital.
More flights in the offing
Meanwhile, RwandAir is scheduled to launch flights to New York as well as other Asian destinations.
On the African front, the airline plans to fly to Conakry in Guinea, Bamako in Mali, as well as Dakar, Senegal, Lilongwe in Malawi, and Durban in South Africa.
Last year, the airline acquired its first A330-200 and A330-300 Airbus planes, boosting its fleet to 11 aircraft and capacity to compete globally.
It is also scheduled to take delivery of another brand new Boeing before the end of the month.
Patrick Gakuru, a Kigali-based aviation expert, says: "The growth of aviation business in Rwanda is a reflection of the general economic performance which has showed resilience under the good leadership of President Kagame."
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Archbishop Bashar Warda: the Man Fighting to Save Iraq's Assyrians
Archbishop Bashar Warda. ( Aid to the Church in Need) Down the quiet, polished corridor of a central London hotel, a Middle Eastern archbishop, clad in his black cassock, strides with a purposeful swoosh. Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil is here to start raising a staggering $262m, so that Iraqis displaced by Islamic State three years ago can return home and repair their homes. We speak less than a mile from where MPs approved the invasion of his country in 2003. When we met in 2011, Archbishop Warda told me flatly that Tony Blair had done "much harm to Iraq." This time, Warda, whose archdiocese in Iraq's Kurdish region has been co-ordinating aid for around 95,000 displaced Iraqis, wants to talk about the future, and in particular a sort of "Marshall Plan" for the northern Nineveh Plains region. "We'd like as many benefactors as we can; states, organisations--because this will speed the whole process... and show the [Iraqi] Christians we are serious," the archbishop told Prospect. The appeal is aimed at Europeans and Americans, he adds, and during his visit to London he met officials from the Foreign Office and the Department for International Development, as well as the Prince of Wales, a vocal supporter of Middle Eastern Christians. The multi-million dollar figure is how much the ecumenical Nineveh Reconstruction Committee (NRC) has calculated it will cost to renovate 13,000 homes in nine majority-Christian villages in the Nineveh Plains region around Mosul, an area Archbishop Warda describes as "secure but like a ghost town." Iraqi Christians' plummeting numbers--from 1.4m in 1987 to between 230,000 and 275,000 now, raising fears that they could disappear from Iraq in the next few years--have forced collaboration between the hitherto rivalrous Syriac Catholic, Syriac Orthodox and Chaldean Catholic Churches. Why is the reconstruction not the work of the Iraqi government? Warda says Baghdad has pledged $1,000 per house, but he appears to have low expectations. "We need works, not words," he insists. "From what I see, Iraqi politicians are working for different agendas--Turkey, the Gulf, Iran." According to the UN refugee agency, almost 1.8m Iraqis and Syrians have taken refuge in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, and "communities, authorities and infrastructure are at breaking point." However, clergy say the Christians have preferred to avoid the UN-run camps out of fear of encountering IS sympathisers. The archdiocese's temporary charges--mainly Christians, but some Yezidis, Sunnis, Shabaks and Mandaeans--arrived in Erbil in 2014, many on foot, after IS' strike on Mosul and the Nineveh Plains. Some who fled have continued to Jordan, Turkey or Lebanon to apply for asylum outside the Middle East. But most have stayed, waiting to see whether a return to their old lives is possible. The further from the city of Mosul, the better condition the village is in, Warda says. In the village of Telskuf, which is "fairly secure" and where the NRC has assessed the level of damage as "about 25 to 30 per cent," some 500 families have already returned. The NRC is not against rebuilding the homes of Yezidi neighbours, he says, but is keen to avoid accusations of proselytism. He acknowledges that mines and bombs may need clearing in the Nineveh Plains towns and villages, and that fresh attacks are possible. In the town of Qaraqosh, "You would find four to five groups--the Iraqi army, the Shia mobilised forces, the Babylonian [Christian] forces, NPU," he said, referring to the mainly ethnic Assyrian Nineveh Plains Popular Units. "Certain families are accusing these forces of being the new looters of houses." In Mosul itself, where IS is holding out in the Old City and hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped, the return of Christian residents will be slower, he said. Much of the liberated areas are in ruins. Some Christians have visited briefly from Kurdistan to check on the state of their homes; bishops have reported returning to find churches "burnt, or destroyed, or... a skeleton." In two churches bishops found "instruments of torture," which, he added, was consistent with the videos IS uploaded to Youtube. The archbishop warned that the defeat of IS would not guarantee an end to the violence. "We expect some Sunni-Sunni issues," he said. "Last week one of the Sunni families [in Erbil] reported that they have received threats from Sunni in Mosul that if they will come back, they will be killed, because they 'betrayed' them and left Mosul." Concerned by an ongoing lack of security, bishops from the two Syriac Churches called for an internationally protected enclave for minorities, an idea that has appeared and reappeared in the years since the invasion. But Archbishop Warda said the idea was unrealistic, "against the sovereignty of Iraq," and would only increase the vulnerability of its inhabitants. Iraqi Christians should work with all their neighbours, be they Sunni, Shia, Shabak or Yezidi, he stressed. Yet he favours some form of special protection. He does not argue that the Christians are in greatest material need among Iraq's vast displaced population, but that for them this crisis is existential. Christians and Yezidis "are so small in number that we cannot survive without political protection, social protection," he says. Warda refutes the notion that to prioritise minorities is to aggravate the divisions that contributed to the country's disintegration. "When you help minorities, you help the country; you keep the diversity there... You are strengthening communities who were always bridge-builders."
By contrast, the ethnic armed groups insisted that there must be a federal army that accurately reflects the diverse ethnic composition of the federal Union, according to Lieutenant Colonel Sai Nguen, spokesperson for the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA).
A heated debate on this issue started yesterday [May 25]. We will continue to discuss it today. The Burma Army submitted its policy in favor of having a single army. The EAOs submitted a policy supporting the federal army. We cant negotiate on the term federal, he said.
A Tatmadaw representative insisted that every country across the world has only one army. According to the RCSS spokesperson, the representative used the examples of the US, Indian and British armies, pointing out that none of them refer to their armies as federal.
The second session of the Union Peace Conference also called the 21st-Century Panglong is being held in Nay Pyi Taw from May 24 to 28 with discussions revolving around five main topics: politics, security, economics, social issues and land and natural resources.
Translated by Thida Linn
Edited by Laignee Barron
Their Hands Are Dipped In Toilet Bowls When these so called patients clean the bathroom clinic, they need to be double sure while they mop and scrub every surface with a toothbrush. They are supposed to pick up all the hair on the floor. And if they miss out on even one, they are punished by getting their bare hands dipped into the toilet bowls.
The Bizarre Shower Therapy The patients are left alone for a maximum of seven minutes, and a minimum of four, for their showers. Before this, they are forcefully made to hear Catholic music for hours, and also made to study Alcoholics Anonymous literature, which is believed to be a therapy for homosexuality disorder'!
They Are Even Raped In Name Of Therapy These women claim that they have been raped by the male employees and it was all no big deal, as it was considered to be a part of treatment programmes' to cure homosexuality!
They Are Made To Feel Feminine These young women are made to dress in short skirts, makeup and heels. They force them to practice walking like real women'. The act not only leaves the women emotionally drained out, it is physically painful as well.
They Are Not Allowed To Talk The inmates are not allowed to talk to the others around them. If they are caught for even passing notes, they are taken to the therapy room, where they are tortured alone with loud religious music being played. The therapist hits them in the chest, and orders them to kneel on the cold floor and spread their arms, on which they take the weight of the bibles, while they add more bibles to torture them.
They Are Kicked For Not Eating When the inmates refuse to eat food, they are kicked into a corner of a room, while rest of the inmates watch them getting kicked by the male employees. This is done to set an example to the others.
They Are Taught To Do Makeup Each morning, the inmates are made to stand in front of the mirror, where they are monitored to check for the correct makeup application procedure. All this is done to make them feel like proper women'.
They Are Made To Drink Water Mixed With Chlorine, Toilet Water This is one of the worst tortures one can do. The women are forced to drink a solution that they are totally unaware of and it contains chlorine, bitter coffee and toilet water.
They Spend Sleepless Nights They tend to spend endless, sleepless nights, as they are made to feel that they are worthless and a disgrace to their parents. With these tortures, we wonder who can sleep peacefully.
They Are Beaten With The TV Cables The inmates are beaten up with TV cables when they are punished. The reasons for punishment requires nothing big, but a very minute one to be punished.
Tortured With Never-ending Cleaning Duties Each inmate spends hours and hours of time on their cleaning duties. Each day, they are allocated to a cleaning group for the office, corridor, kitchen or the bathroom. If the staff are not satisfied with their work, they are still insulted and beaten again.
They Are Tied And Left In Bathrooms On many nights, the inmates are left tied to the bed or in the bathroom. The reason for this? It is done to just make them feel hurt and disgusted with their ownself!
They Are Fed Bad Food They are fed with cheap tuna and rice, bread or bad noodle soup. They aren't even allowed to talk to the person who sits next to them on the dining table.
They Are Made To Exercise A therapist or orderly shouts at the girls over push-ups and squats every single morning and this is considered to be a part of the therapy to cure them for their homosexuality.
Canada NewsWire
TORONTO, May 26, 2017
TORONTO, May 26, 2017 /CNW/ - The National Magazine Awards Foundation (NMAF) presented the winners of the 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards at a gala this evening in Toronto at the Arcadian Court. Nearly 300 of Canada's top magazine writers, artists, editors, art directors, publishers, and other guests representing 75 nominated magazines gathered to recognize and celebrate excellence in the content and creation of Canadian magazines in 2016.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a welcome message to the audience via video, congratulating the nominees and winners and praising the important work of Canada's magazine creators.
"As writers, photographers, artists, and more, you tell the stories we need to hear to understand our world and our place in it. And for forty years, the National Magazine Awards Foundation has supported this vital cause. This year marks 150 years since Confederation, and as we look forward to the next 150 years, your leadership and your storytelling will continue to shape our country for the better."Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
The Foundation presented Gold and Silver Medal awards in 25 categories at a ceremony co-hosted by Kim Pittaway, Michael de Pencier, and D.B. Scottthree of Canada's most respected journalists and publishers, and all former winners of the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement. Indigenous writer and Gold Medalist in the Essays category, Alicia Elliott, delivered the keynote address, urging all Canadian magazine creators and publishers to recognize their role in educating and informing the public about the complex social and cultural issues of our time, including empowering Indigenous voices and perspectives in the media.
Visit magazine-awards.com to view the complete list of winners and read the full text of all winning articles. Download the entire list [PDF] of nominees and winners. @MagAwards.
"Forty years ago the NMAF set about building a coalition of institutions to form the foundation of what would become the National Magazine Awards. The goal was to create a truly national program that would recognize individual excellence in the many aspects of the magazine industry. Forty years later that legacy has endured. Tonight we have recognized the outstanding work of Canada's magazine creators. Congratulations to all the nominees and winnersyou have truly inspired the future of great journalism in this country."Nino Di Cara, President, NMAF
MAGAZINE OF THE YEARCanada's 2017 Magazine of the Year is Cottage Life. The award for magazine of the year goes to the publication that most consistently engages, surprises, and serves the needs of its readers. The award is judged according to four criteriaoverall quality, impact, innovation, and brand awarenessand success relative to the magazine's editorial mandate.
"With a clear and creative editorial strategy that is loyal to their brand, audience, and business, Cottage Life continues to diversify its mandate, grow its readership, and excel at publishing. The magazine's tone is perfectly playful, its stories educate and delight, and its story packaging is alluring. Cottage Life has demonstrated creativity and excellence in evolving its brand through events, shows, and multimediareinventing itself again and again. And throughout its evolution, the magazine itself remains fresh and fascinating."The National Magazine Awards Jury
Honourable Mention for Magazine of the Year went to Explore, Nouveau Projet, Ricardo, and The Kit Compact.
INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
MAGAZINE HIGHLIGHTS
Visit magazine-awards.com to view the complete list of winners and read the full text of all winning articles. Download the entire list [PDF] of nominees and winners.
FOUNDATION AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT
Penny Caldwell, publisher and vice-president of Cottage Life Media, was presented with the 2017 Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, the highest individual honour in the Canadian magazine industry, which recognizes an individual's innovation and creativity through contributions to the magazine industry.
"Penny's career exemplifies the best of what it means to lead a magazine: a deep respect for the audience, a commitment to the highest quality, a desire to innovate, and a dedication to respecting and fostering the talent of those with whom she works."Kim Pittaway, 40th Anniversary National Magazine Awards co-host
To read more about Penny Caldwell and the Outstanding Achievement Award visit magazine-awards.com/oa.
40TH ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDS: TOP WINNERS
Magazine
GOLD
SILVER
HM
L'actualite
3
0
10
The Walrus
2
4
8
Nouveau Projet
2
0
6
The New Quarterly
2
0
2
Report on Business
1
2
8
Maclean's
1
1
4
Globe Style Advisor
1
1
1
Canadian Business
1
1
0
Today's Parent
1
1
1
Hazlitt
0
2
4
NOW Magazine
0
2
1
Won 1 Gold Medal: Air Canada enRoute; Caribou; Corduroy; Cottage Life; Geist; Hakai Magazine; Jeu, Revue de theatre; The Malahat Review; Prairie Fire; PrecedentWon 1 Silver Medal: Atlantic Business Magazine; Chatelaine; esse Arts + Opinions; Listed; MoneySense; New Trail; ON Nature; PRISM International; Toronto LifeFirst-time NMA winners: Atlantic Business Magazine; Caribou; esse Arts + Opinions; Hakai Magazine; Jeu, Revue de theatre; Listed; SAD Mag
SPECIAL GUESTSPrime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a welcome message to the audience via video, congratulating the nominees and winners and praising the important work of Canada's magazine creators.
Toronto Mayor John Tory also addressed the gathering via video to offer his congratulations to the nominees and winners and offer his support for Canadian magazine creators.
Alicia Elliott delivered the keynote address. Alicia is a Tuscarora writer from Six Nations, currently living in Brantford, Ontario. Her writing has most recently been published by CBC Arts, Room, Grain, The New Quarterly and The Malahat Review. Later in the evening she won the Gold Medal in Essays for "A Mind Spread Out on the Ground" (The Malahat Review).
For the 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards, the NAMF welcomed a number of its former winners of the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, led by Kim Pittaway, Michael de Pencier, and D.B. Scott, who co-hosted the event.
Also attending and presenting awards as former winners of the Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement: James Ireland, Sally Armstrong, Ken Rodmell, Lynn Cunningham, Stephen Trumper, Al Zikovitz, and Paul Jones.
Other special guest presenters included award-winning illustrator Min Gyo Chung, award-winning writers Hon Lu and Desmond Cole, award-winning art director Gilbert Li, and former NMAF president Arjun Basu.
ABOUT THE 40th ANNIVERSARY NATIONAL MAGAZINE AWARDSNearly 300 members of the Canadian magazine industrypublishers, editors, art directors, writers, photographers, illustrators, circulators and morejoined esteemed sponsors and other guests at the Arcadian Court for the 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards gala.
This year, 197 Canadian magazines from coast to coast to coastEnglish and French, print and digitalentered the best of their editorial and design to the National Magazine Awards, submitting the work of more than 2000 writers, editors, photographers, illustrators, art directors and other creators. The NMAF's 112 volunteer judges nominated a total of 202 submissions from 75 different Canadian magazines for awards in 25 written, visual, integrated and special categories.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSThe NMAF gratefully acknowledges the support of the Government of Canada, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Ontario Media Development Corporation.
The NMAF gratefully acknowledges the support of its sponsors and table patrons: Access Copyright, Alberta Magazine Publishers Association, Bookmark, Canadian Media Guild, Content Writers Group, CDS Global, CNW a Cision Company, ExpertWomen.ca, Goetz Storytelling, Impresa Communications, Oliver & Bonacini, Ricardo Media, Rolland Enterprises, Ryerson University School of Journalism, Studio Wyse, TC Transcontinental Printing, University of King's College School of Journalism, Very Good Studios, and Vividata.
The NMAF gratefully acknowledges its 112 Judges who volunteered their time and their expertise to serve on the juries for the 40th anniversary National Magazine Awards.
ABOUT THE NMAFA charitable foundation, the NMAF's mandate is to recognize and promote excellence in content creation of Canadian print and digital publications through an annual program of awards and national publicity efforts.
The Foundation produces two distinct and bilingual award programs: the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. Throughout the year, the Foundation undertakes various group marketing initiatives and professional development events.
Visit magazine-awards.com to view the complete list of winners and read the full text of all winning articles. Download the entire list [PDF] of nominees and winners.
SOURCE National Magazine Awards Foundation
What a difference a few decades make.
When I first joined the military in 1974, it was as a freshman cadet at West Point. That was following the Paris Peace Accords of January 1973, which began the withdrawal of American troops from combat in Vietnam. We had yet to acknowledge the secret air war that concluded in Cambodia the year prior. When the Class of 1978 graduated, the Soviet Union was the only other superpower in the ideological struggle between communism and democracy. Our future then was as uncertain as the future facing this summers graduates.
In May of each year, U.S. Army War College students participate in the three-day National Security Staff Ride #3 to the national capital region, centered on the District of Columbia. This year I led a small group of 12 students to various offices among the executive and legislative branches of our U.S. government.
The U.S. Agency for International Development was our first stop. We were greeted with the mission statement that harkens to back its founding in 1961 We [USAID] partner to end extreme poverty and promote resilient, democratic societies while advancing our security and prosperity. Our students learned of the 3 Ds Diplomacy, Development, and Defense as integral components of U.S. foreign policy. It was clear that facilitating the social and economic development of other nations with effective. U.S. policies and programs create opportunities to protect and pursue our national interests.
The second day focused on the legislative branch, with visits to Capitol Hill and members of Congress. Students met with a sitting U.S. senator and the legislative director and assistant of two members of the House of Representatives. We were privy to discussions about the tensions of meeting the demands of local constituents and addressing national-level issues in an era of political polarization. Students witnessed the efforts, beyond the public rhetoric, of very talented and motivated public servants.
On the third day, I took a portion of my small group to a major organization of the executive branch the Department of Defense, whose mission is to provide the military forces needed to deter war and to protect the security of our country. As we walked around the A-ring of the Pentagon, students examined several displays of the history and traditions of the U.S. military.
The Vietnamese officer in our group recognized the landscape on a wall mural of the Vietnam War. A bit further down the hall was a glass display case containing weapons captured from the Viet Cong and North Vietnam Army regular soldiers with a U.S. propaganda card that he translated for us from his native language. We took an impromptu photo of the foreign officers from Vietnam, Cambodia, and Albania with their American classmates.
I noticed a four-star marine general just ahead of us ... it was Gen. Joe Dunford, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (principal military adviser to the President and Secretary of Defense). As I shook his hand and mentioned that we were from the Army War College, Gen. Dunford proudly proclaimed, I am an Army War College graduate!
It has been nearly 40 years since I was commissioned into the U.S. Army. The adversaries of my early career are now partners in the pursuit of national security and common interests. I am sure that my 1978 counterparts in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Albania could not have imagined their successors having the experiences of our small group members. I am reminded of the charge of our USAWC founder Elihu Root: Not to promote war, but to preserve peace
Who knows what the next 40 years will bring if we continue to engage, educate, and listen to other leaders within the profession of arms.
India and Mauritius Inks Four Agreements
Published: May 27, 2017
India and Mauritius have signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth in New Delhi. Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth has chosen India as a destination of his first visit since taking over as prime minister of Mauritius early this year.
India has extended a 500 million dollar line of credit to Mauritius. The Line of Credit has been signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.
Further, both the countries have agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in Indian Ocean is sine qua non for pursuing economic opportunities. India and Mauritius agreed to keep a vigil against piracy, humans and drugs trafficking as well as illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
India had also appreciated Mauritius for signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance.
Both the countries have also agreed to cooperate hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain. India is also supporting the National Coast Guard of Mauritius to augment its capacity through Project Trident. India will also renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, which was given to Mauritius under an assistance programme.
Four Agreements
Agreement on Maritime Security
Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius.
MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Mauritius Oceanography Institute in marine sciences and technology.
Submission of instrument of ratification of International Solar Alliance (ISA) by Mauritius.
Month: Current Affairs - May, 2017
Topics: India-International Relations India-Mauritius International
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Listening to James and Angie Chambers talk about bread is like listening to a poetry recital.
In some cultures, cutting bread with a knife is considered too violent, James said, adding that the whole concept of breaking bread by hand is a family and community-building action that has been in large part lost over the years.
Where mass-produced white breads have their place in the market, James said; it doesnt have texture and character and there are just so many different types of breads and ways to bake bread that weve kind of lost that in our culture.
Tyler Clarke/The Brandon Sun James and Angie Chambers outside of 29 10th St., which they intend on transforming into the Chez Angela Bakery and Cafe by December.
It was something that brought people together, and I think weve lost a lot of that along the way with food trends and health trends, Angie added.
The Chambers want to turn things around and bring people back to a simpler time when bread meant community an effort that has resonated throughout the community despite their downtown business, Chez Angela Bakery and Cafe, still several months away from opening full operations at 29 10th St.
Their companys namesake Facebook page has already received more than 600 likes as of press time, creating a very early buzz in advance of their expected December opening.
Its an early reception both James and Angie have been surprised to see take hold so strongly.
Its insane, James said, adding that they introduced the Facebook page and its accompanying bread give-aways have been better received than they could have ever dreamed.
They plan on snowballing this early attention at the Global Market Brandon, where theyll sell their goods at as many events as possible, including the weekly farmers markets on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. beginning July 1.
Today, theyll be set up at the market, located on the corner of 12th Street and Rosser Avenue, for Eco Day festivities from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
All this exposure is taking place while their gutted business space, which has yet to receive a carpenters touch, is more than a half-year away from opening.
The two, now 39 years of age, met at Neelin High School when they were 16.
Throughout their 23-year relationship, a bonding interest has always been food.
Theyve travelled throughout North America, visiting countless bakeries, coffee shops and restaurants, picking up inspiration along the way for the business they hoped to one day build together.
In Las Vegas, they found things they absolutely loved, James said. There were little shops in Seattle they adored, and the most clever ideas for how to interact with customers in Montreal.
Angie has a business degree from Brandon University and recently completed a culinary arts program at Assiniboine Community College after spending the past several years baking for her family.
Compiling all these sources of inspiration and expertise with a unique Brandon flair, the couples underlying motivation for opening Chez Angela Bakery and Cafe is to help foster the sense of community theyve seen bread capable of initiating.
Harvest tables will line their space at the historic Bass Building, which they plan on building out of wood that currently lines the ceiling, which has to be removed due to modern building regulations.
Theyll source as many ingredients from local area producers as possible and hope to reach out beyond their spaces four walls with a possible bread delivery program being set up next spring.
The building is owned by Robyn and Jason Sneath, who have amassed a small collection of structures in the citys downtown core as part of an area renewal effort centred around their own businesses at 1031 Rosser Ave., Fraser Sneath Coffee and SKIN Clinics.
Robyn said that shes thrilled to have secured James and Angie Chambers to lease their space at 29 10th St., citing their passion for the project as reaffirming her own optimism for the areas renewal.
Theyve taken a very calculated approach to everything. Theyve really thought everything through and theyve been very amazing people to partner with, Robyn said. Its very exciting to have someone so cool (move) in.
tclarke@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis are often referred to as hidden diseases because those suffering from them often appear healthy.
But beneath the surface lies a daily struggle.
It totally consumes your life, said Cathie Pardy, who was diagnosed with Crohns disease nearly 20 years ago. From the moment you get up trying to get out of bed, because all your joints are stiff to not being able to sleep because of the steroids that you might be on.
Submitted Cathie Pardy, right, poses for a #GutsyWalk photo with Carleen Easter. Pardy has been named the honorary chair of the Westman Gutsy Walk, taking place on June 4 at the Riverbank Discovery Centre.
The diseases inflame the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and disrupt the bodys ability to digest food, absorb nutrition and eliminate waste in a healthy manner. According to Crohns and Colitis Canada, symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, gas, bloating, fatigue, diarrhea and loss of appetite. It can be difficult to diagnose.
You deal with pain every single day, Pardy said. It affects everything you do You have to cancel things on a moments notice, because you dont feel well.
Pardy has three grown children, and she recalls missing volleyball games and even a college graduation because of her health.
Over the years, Pardy has experienced some skeptics.
Its so deceiving. People see me and say, Are you really sick? she said.
Pardy has tried many drug treatments over the years, including some still in trial stages.
She has linked up with the Westman chapter of Crohns and Colitis Canada in an effort to educate the public on this prevalent disease.
I believe that the more people who know of and understand this disease, the more educated and compassionate people will be, Pardy stated on gutsywalk.ca.
Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis affect 1 in 150 Canadians, with more than 10,000 people suffering from the diseases in Manitoba.There is a particularly high density of sufferers in Westman.
To those who are recently diagnosed, Pardy has some advice.
Have a really good connection with your doctor, she said. And take time. If you need a day to rest, take it, and dont feel guilty because your body needs it. I spent years and years forcing myself to do things so people wouldnt think I was sick.
Pardy has been named honorary chair of the Westman Gutsy Walk, a fundraiser for the foundation taking place at the Riverbank Discovery Centre on June 4 at 3 p.m.Walks will take place across Canada on the same day at more than 60 sites.
Visit gutsywalk.ca to get involved or donate.
Sandra Williams, a volunteer with the Westman chapter, hopes the event will raise awareness and get people talking about what is often a taboo subject. Williams two daughters were both diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at a young age.
Youre usually diagnosed between 15 and 25, she said. Most people dont talk about their bowels We dont want people to live in isolation and we want the pain to stop, so we need to fundraise for the cure.
Last year, the Westman walk raised nearly $20,000, and the goal this year is to raise $28,000 towards a national fundraising goal of $3.6 million. Funds raised are invested in transformational research, patient programs and advocacy so that every adult and child can live life to the fullest, and ultimately, be cured.
jaustin@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @jillianaustin
A special session called this week by Gov. Eric Greitens that brought lawmakers back to Jefferson City resulted in a proposal agreed to Friday which the state hopes will attract two factories to Missouri's Bootheel.
This week the Legislature revisited a measure that would allow the state Public Service Commission to offer lower electricity rates to companies considering the reopening of the shuttered aluminum smelter at the former Noranda facility in Marston and open a new steel mill in New Madrid County.
The bills supporters say the bill could create up to 500 jobs for a part of the state that is experiencing economic hard times.
In a statement by the governor, he said, "When this bill died a few weeks back, some people in Southeast Missouri told us that they gave up hope that industry could return to their region," Greitens said in a statement. "We won this fight for them, and for all the families who need quality, high-paying jobs."
The bill sent to Greitens' desk Friday afternoon is markedly different than the original one that was under consideration during the regular session. According to Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington, the finalized version is missing language allowing utilities like Ameren to modernize their electrical grids and raise rates for customers to pay for the upgrades. That's a feature both Sen. Doug Libla, R-Poplar Bluff, and Romine have voiced opposition to for years.
Romine admits it's been a hard week spent negotiating with other legislators to come to a place of agreement.
"I filed a Senate version, but once we filed our bills Monday and we started going through the process, I stayed in Jeff City the whole week," he said. "I worked with the speaker and other members of the House and with Sen. [Ryan] Silvey, who is chairman of the Commerce Committee which the bill was going to go through.
"I pretty much spent the week negotiating and massaging the language so that we ended up with what we thought was a very good product to present to the Senate. And since we'd put that much work into Rep. [Don] Rone's bill on the House-side, we felt it was only fitting for his bill to be the vehicle to get it done. Sen. Libla was actually the Senate handler. It was just a good team effort to create a product that I think will go a long way in drawing some business and industry."
Asked about complaints by some of his fellow lawmakers that Romine was fighting against bringing good jobs to the region, the senator stressed that his concerns were about Missouri consumers seeing increases in their utility bills.
"Some of the legislation that we had been fighting during session that would have allowed the utility company to more easily and readily raise rates on consumers was attached to that jobs bill," he said. "There's no way I'm going to vote to pass a bill that's good that has bad language on it. We could not have lived with those consequences.
"So, it was very important that when the opportunity came up for us to deal with this issue on its own merit, I was very happy to support the bill and I did. I spent the whole week trying to get the language to the point where it just focused on the smelter and the steel mill."
Romine noted that there was another important addition to the bill.
"Any new industry or existing business that increases its electrical load by 50 megawatts would be eligible for a special rate as well," he said. "It became an economic development tool and we were able to keep the language off that would have allowed utility companies to unfairly raise rates on consumers. That's what the issue became about and it was very frustrating at the end of the session in the 11th hour that it was a Conference Committee report and there was no way to amend or divide the question. So, as much as I hated to, we had to kill the bill with the bad language on it.
"We took the Senate version and did not amend it in any way. We passed it as it was, so now it goes to the governor. The House does not have to do anything other than the speaker has to do the technical signing, the pro tem do the technical signing and then send it to the governor. I don't think they can get it done Friday afternoon, but Tuesday I'm sure it will be completed and on the governor's desk by Tuesday afternoon at the latest."
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Personal and medical information of more than 1,000 Prairie Mountain Health patients are at risk after an internal website was hacked.
The regional health authority, in a statement Friday, said they do not believe the intent of the hack was to access personal information, but conceded they cannot exclude the possibility that identifiable personal details were viewed or copied.
The security breach may have jeopardized the personal details of as many as 1,176 clients in the northern portion of PMH and 453 PMH and affiliate employees, though the likelihood is low that personal information was compromised, the health authority stated
The hack was identified on April 5 this year, and each person affected has received written notification of the security breach, PMH said.
Anytime there has been a compromise of personal or personal health information, we remain concerned, PMH CEO Penny Gilson said in a statement. However, we carried out our best efforts to notify impacted individuals as soon as reasonably possible so that any necessary precautions could be taken.
The content of the letter, received by The Brandon Sun, stated the personal health information stored on the website included patient care reports for ambulance transports from 2013 to the present year.
Details like name, date of birth, personal health identification number, address and phone numbers were enclosed, the letter stated, as well as specifics about the emergency visit like the individuals health condition and treatment they received.
PMH believes the hack was intended to transmit a virus into files maintained within the website.
The information at risk was not stored in a way that would be easily extracted for further use by the attacker, Gilson explained, referencing that an entire database was not compromised. It was limited to select files only and would have required going through each individual file and transposing, in the case of client information, handwritten information.
A source at PMH, who did not want their name disclosed for risk of discipline for speaking, understood that fellow staff did not consider the hack a malicious attempt at stealing data.
They left a few faces, just to show they accessed it, the employee said, referring to the hacker allegedly leaving behind emojis as evidence.
PMH has taken containment and prevention actions as a result of the hack, the health authority said.
Laurie Thompson, executive director for the Manitoba Institute for Patient Safety, said any breach to a persons personal health information is troublesome.
Referring to the Personal Health Information Act, she said the legislation ensures the privacy of such sensitive information is respected and that any breach of that is obviously a concern.
ifroese@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @ianfroese
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Henry Champ Gymnasium at Brandon Universitys Healthy Living Centre was bustling with energy on Friday, as graduates eagerly got dressed in their caps and gowns pinning them to perfection ahead of their morning or afternoon ceremonies.
For most grads, convocation means looking toward the future after a post-secondary career that seemed to just fly by.
For others, its also a time to reflect on the journey it took to get here.
Erin DeBooy/The Brandon Sun Liz Burgoyne, left, with her daughter, Shayleen, and granddaughter, Amelie, on Friday afternoon before graduating from the Brandon University for the second time. It was Burgoynes second time graduating from BU almost 50 years after getting her education degree.
Liz Burgoyne was seated on the bleachers that line the gym, watching the other grads scurry around, taking photos and chatting with friends before having to line up to take their seat.
It was Burgoynes second time graduating from BU almost 50 years after getting her education degree.
I was a teacher with the Brandon School Division for many years, but I always wanted to come back and do this, Burgoyne said. After I retired, I just wanted to do it so I did.
This time around, Burgoyne graduated with a three-year arts degree in sociology and creative writing.
Ive always wrote, but I learned so much more in taking the course, Burgoyne said. It was wonderful, I enjoyed every minute of it.
Burgoyne said she has a cheering squad waiting for her in the audience her four children and their spouses, as well as eight out of her 10 grandchildren.
We are so proud of her we drove 17 hours (from Michigan) to see this, said Burgoynes daughter, Shayleen.
Burgoyne gave her granddaughter, Amelie, a hug before she runs to grab a seat for the ceremony.
Im just so glad I did it, Im so happy today, Burgoyne said.
This isnt valedictorian Jaqueline Sinclairs first graduation rodeo, either.
I have an office admin diploma in the medical field, I also have my hairstyling certificate from the Academy of Hairstyling in Brandon my family really supported and guided me toward the education field, Sinclair said.
After becoming a research assistant at BU in the department of education, Sinclair said she decided she wanted to take some classes.
Ive been in school for seven years, and that is a really, really long time. There were actually two points in that timeline that I almost quit its been quite a journey, Sinclair said with a laugh.
But for Sinclair, it seems to be just the beginning.
As an advocate for aboriginal inclusion with the City of Brandon and the education sector, Sinclair developed a website, urbanabnet.com, that identifies specific services, resources and support personnel for the aboriginal community.
Shes also a poet, hoping to complete a manuscript with poems from her creative writing thesis, and shes contemplating going back to school for her masters degree, Sinclair said.
I would just like to really enjoy myself, enjoy my family and friends while I work for a bit, and then we will see, Sinclair said.
Im just really happy to be able to enjoy this moment with my classmates, with my family and friends, and with other graduates. Weve all made it here and were celebrating, we just want to enjoy life.
edebooy@brandonsun.com
Twitter: @erindebooy
DEAR HARRIETTE: At the last minute, I agreed to have an acquaintance help out on a project I was working on because it sounded like she might be able to bring in some much-needed funding. It turns out that her participation was shocking. She was loud and obnoxious the whole time. She did not bring in one dollar. She did turn me on to a couple of good resources for the project, but honestly, it wasn't worth it.
I feel like her involvement sullied my brand. She and I have completely different personalities, and she is not professional in her behavior. How can I sever ties with her? She has been pressuring me to host another public project that she could partner on with me. After how poorly this recent fiasco ended, I don't want to have any more to do with her. How do I walk away from her without suffering the negative consequences of her bad-mouthing me for doing so? -- Awkward, Atlanta
DEAR AWKWARD: Be careful. Think long and hard about a strategy to acknowledge this person's efforts, even if they didn't pan out. Thank her for her hard work. Let her know that you appreciate her interest in helping you with this project. Tell her that you will not be pursuing the other project that she recommended. Suggest that she look for another partner for future projects.
DEAR HARRIETTE: Recently, I have been feeling kind of run down. I think in part it's because I've been worrying about money and how to make ends meet. But I know I have gained weight and not paid such great attention to my body as I've been trying to hustle to pay my bills. I feel like I need to rest, but I don't know when I can do it. I also need to get a physical, but I'm afraid of what the doctor is going to say. I feel stuck, and that only makes me want to take a nap. How can I do something positive for myself when I'm feeling so blue? -- Frozen, Philadelphia
DEAR FROZEN: The good news is that you understand how you feel and what you are facing. Now you need to take action. Why not address each concern independently? Start by scheduling a physical examination. As scary as this may be, it will give you a gauge on what you need to do for your life in order to become stronger. One friend of mine felt like she was dragging for months. She learned that her vitamin D was so low that it was likely the culprit. Now she takes prescription-strength vitamin D supplements and feels better. Who knows what you will learn about yourself, but it's worth finding out.
Next, consider what you are good at doing that people pay for. It may be time to change your job or add something to your work schedule. The best way to determine what that is will be to evaluate your skills.
Finally, it's OK to nap. Some people nap daily for a few minutes to get a little boost in the day. You can, too. Just don't stay in bed too long!
DEAR HARRIETTE: I have a neighbor who doesn't understand boundaries. She is lonely and constantly wants to engage with me and my family, as well as other neighbors. It has gotten to be too much. She will stop by unannounced and uninvited and bang on the door or ring the bell. The time of day is of no matter to her. And if I answer and tell her it's not a good time or that I have company, she barges in anyway and inserts herself into the experience. I haven't figured out a way to get her to understand that mine is not an open door for her. I don't want to be rude, but she has gone way overboard in wearing out her welcome. SOS! -- Overboard, Brooklyn, New York
DEAR OVERBOARD: I know this may seem harsh, but what you are going to have to do is stop responding to her. If she rings your bell and you don't want her to come over, do not answer the door. If she calls repeatedly when you are unavailable, do not respond. If you see her out and about and she approaches you about why you are avoiding her, explain that you are not always available. If she says that she could hear people in your house when she came knocking on your door, tell her that you may have had company and didn't hear the door. Ultimately, if she keeps pushing, you will have to tell her that it bothers you that she attempts to come to your home whenever she pleases without asking first. Tell her that you do not appreciate her overstepping your personal boundaries. Ask her to stop.
DEAR HARRIETTE: My mother is getting older, and she is beginning to show signs of aging. She is frail and doesn't get around as easily as she once did. My siblings live all over the country, and I'm the only one who sees her on a regular basis. I have told my brothers and sisters that I think they should visit more often because Mom is not doing well, but I don't think they believe me. Her voice sounds strong on the phone, and most of them speak to her relatively frequently, so they think I'm exaggerating.
As the child who watches out for her, I can tell you that we have had a few scares -- everything from a bad cold (which can be tough for an 85-year-old) to a sinus infection, the flu and fainting. My mother's doctor calls her condition "the normal signs of aging," but the way I see it, whatever is going on, her children need to see her more frequently. How can I impress this upon them? -- Older Mom, Boston
DEAR OLDER MOM: Use technology to support your cause to let them see how your mother is doing and also help to connect them more immediately. Engage FaceTime, Skype or another service to set up video calling with your mother so that they can see for themselves what her state is.
Additionally, call them separately and ask them to come visit. Consider hosting a family get-together this summer where you invite all family members to attend and pitch in with food and beverages. You will have fun and celebrate your mother.
Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
Opinion
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (1994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Reading news can be sometimes more than just getting informed. When I read about the Latin American region, it is also an exercise of self-reflection every time, about the huge differences in lifestyles and commodities between Canada and Latin America, and about the reasons many immigrants have for relocating to Manitoba.
For instance, I realized this week that there are massive civil strikes happening in Colombia, in the poorest of its departments, El Choco. Choco and Buenaventura residents, predominately Afro-Colombian, began civic strikes on May 10 and May 16, respectively, protesting for better living conditions and an end to state-sanctioned violence.
Large demonstrations, confrontations with the government and police, looting and vandalism are happening as anger mounted over a lack of access to basic amenities, such as running water.
Running water! Unbelievable, when Choco is one on the regions in the world with the largest records of annual precipitation, with close to 400 inches (10,000 mm). It also has plenty of fresh water sources like rivers, and natural groundwater reserves. But there is not a decent aqueduct.
What are the reasons for this to happen then? How can this happen in this century? Here is the rest of the picture.
Choco is a department of Colombia known for its large Afro-Colombian population, predominantly the descendants of African slaves brought by the Spanish colonizers after conquering the Americas. According to the Peoples Defense Office in Colombia (Defensoria del Pueblo), 62.8 per cent of its population are living in poverty and 37.1 per cent in extreme poverty, while 79.1 per cent of people have no access to housing or education, and other public services. One in five Chocoans have not completed basic schooling and the maternal mortality rate is 357 women every 100,000 live births, surpassing statistics of countries such as Rwanda (290) and Cambodia (161).
Quibdo, a city of 400,000 and the capital of Choco, has only one hospital. This one hospital is at risk of going bankrupt due to widespread corruption and the embezzlement of health-care funds. Limited access to clean water and poor medical attention means illnesses that are usually preventable become fatal, particularly for the elderly and children. With 70.40 child deaths per thousand, Chocos child mortality rate is one of the highest in the world, and it is normal in this Colombian region to see children die of malnutrition, parasitism and malaria. An astonishing 42 per cent of babies die before reaching their first birthday.
Sadly, all this numbers reflect a humanitarian crisis and a blatant systematic neglect. One could argue its state racial discrimination. This has been the situation of this region in Colombia for ages, basically since Spanish rulers organized the country and established a system of racial classes. It is the colonial legacy.
The Spanish rulers forced the indigenous nation of Choco Indians, which gives the region its name, and brought African slaves to work in gold mines. Since then, the idea of every government colonial and post-colonial has been a similar one: to extract resources and wealth from the region at the expense of its people, formerly conquered aboriginals and slaves, and today victims of racialized government policies.
Every new government promises to change, but racial economic discrimination reigns every time. This creates systematic impoverishment and exclusion. Exclusion of black and indigenous peoples.
Political commitments made by the current government of President Juan Manuel Santos, like investments in health, education and roads, have gone unfulfilled again and the people have not swayed from their demands. This is the same President Santos who just won the Nobel Peace Prize. To this racial conflict, the government responded with police repression in a region where 52 social leaders and human rights defenders have been killed so far this year!
On top of all of this, Choco is perhaps the region in Colombia with some of the highest criminal and war activity with a large number of violent killings and kidnapping perpetrated by paramilitary groups that benefit from the lack of government, presence.
For years, Choco was a battleground for left-wing rebel groups and right-wing paramilitaries fighting for control of important routes and access to gold mines and coca plantations and crops. Many civilians, often poor Afro-Colombian or indigenous populations, were caught in the crossfire of this power struggle.
Chocos current social unrest shouldnt come as a surprise to the Colombian government. For years, national and international organizations have called on the government to take action and alleviate the disastrous humanitarian conditions in which the Chocoanos are forced to live, but to no avail.
One of the latest tourism slogans the Colombian government released was: Colombia, the risk is wanting to stay. The real risk for thousands of its inhabitants though, is to survive every single day without the most basic living conditions.
Jaime Chinchilla is part of Brandons Latin American community and a member of the popular Son Latino Band. His column appears monthly. jaimech@gmail.com
Opinion
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
I was thinking about the phrase a little knowledge is a dangerous thing as I watched news coverage of world leaders, including our own prime minister and U.S. President Donald Trump, gather in Brussels for the NATO summit. Except in this case it is not a little knowledge that is dangerous, but rather ill-informed and uneducated opinion.
During the presidential campaign, Trump sent shock waves among the United States western allies when he harshly criticized NATO, the North American Treaty Alliance formed in 1949 to protect North America and Western Europe from Soviet attack.
Calling the defense alliance obsolete and accusing the other NATO member states of being freeloaders for not paying their fair share, it looked to many as if a Trump-led United States would be turning its back on an organization that has been the cornerstone of global security since the Second World War. Fast-forward three months, and it appeared that Trump had somewhat changed his mind on NATO, now that he had apparently taken the time to educate himself a bit more on what the alliance actually does.
Setting aside for the moment the obvious question of how someone who wants to be leader of the free world would not have thought it a good idea to do his homework on major world issues before announcing his candidacy, Trumps initial criticisms of NATO were levelled on two fronts.
First, he criticized the organization for not being involved in the fight against terrorism, a criticism which, as even his own foreign policy and security advisers pointed out, was simply not the case. In fact, NATO has been actively involved in counter-terrorism activities dating back to the 1980s, and, following the 9/11 attacks on the U.S., it has played a significant role in the war on terror. Most notable has been the deployment of NATO troops in Afghanistan for more than a decade, a mission which has led to the loss of more than 1,000 NATO soldiers.
NATO is also heavily involved in intelligence gathering and training the militaries of numerous Middle Eastern countries to help them fight terrorism in the region.
Trump has also criticized NATO members for not paying their fair share of expenses, essentially accusing them of free-riding on the United States. He even went so far as to say that the U.S. would not come to the support of other NATO allies if they were attacked unless they had met their financial obligations to the alliance. Although Trump has backtracked on the obsolete accusation, he continues to maintain his stance on this issue.
This position is a clear violation of Article 5 of the NATO treaty, the most critical article, which states that an armed attack against one or more member states shall be considered an attack against them all. The irony is that Article 5 has only been invoked once to come to the aid of the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks (which explains why NATO troops were in Afghanistan to begin with).
To give Trump some credit, it is fair to suggest that NATO can only continue to do its job as long as its member countries are willing to foot the bill. And it is clear that some countries including Canada have not been sufficiently stepping up. Each NATO member is supposed to spend two per cent of its annual gross domestic product on defense. Only five of the 28 countries that are currently NATO members including the U.S., which spends about 3.6 per cent meet the two per cent requirement.
Canadas contribution? Less than one per cent, where it has been for the past several years. This across-the-board, chronic underfunding among member countries has led to a build up of military deficiencies within NATO, making it harder to do the kinds of things we need it to do like fight terrorism and, I would add, deter Russian aggression in central and eastern Europe.
As Fred Kaplan recently pointed out in the online news magazine Slate, it is possible that the U.S. president is using his shifting positions on NATO, and in particular on Article 5, as a bargaining chip to scare the other member countries into spending more on their defence. If so, this is a precarious game to be playing at a time when the threats to global security appear higher than ever. As Kaplan argues, by toying around with Article 5 and playing coy on whether or not the U.S. will honour its NATO commitments, Trump is sending dangerous signals both to allies, who may start to doubt Americas word and seek security elsewhere, and to adversaries, who may see the shrug as a temptation to take aggressive risks.
In a world full of dangers, its best to keep your friends and allies close. Lets hope this is a lesson that the U.S president does take the time to learn.
Kelly Saunders is an associate professor with the Department of Political Science at Brandon University. kellylsaunders@hotmail.com
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the IRA's bombing campaign after coming under severe pressure about his links to the organisation.
The Labour leader said the IRA's bombing campaign was "completely wrong" because it killed civilians.
Mr Corbyn has come under fire over his association with the IRA and for failing to single out the IRA for criticism and instead condemning all bombing during the Troubles.
But asked about his reaction when Downing Street and then-prime minister John Major were targeted in an IRA mortar attack in 1991, Mr Corbyn told reporters in Hackney Marshes, east London: "Obviously appalled. I was in Parliament at the time, I heard the attack go off.
"And the bombing campaign was completely wrong because it was taking civilian lives and there had to be a process that dealt with the basis of it in Northern Ireland.
"And fortunately politicians in Northern Ireland, firstly on the national(ist) side, Gerry Adams and John Hume, privately got together and brought about the Hume-Adams accord, that moved on to agreements between the nationalists and the unionist side, which eventually led to the peace process which was a recognition of the shared history of Ireland from extremely different cultural perspectives and that led to the Northern Ireland peace process, which I think was the great success of the 1997 (Labour) government."
The Labour leader has faced repeated questions about his association with the IRA and Sinn Fein during the 1980s and 1990s.
On Monday he condemned "all acts of violence from wherever they came" during the Troubles, but declined to specifically denounce the IRA as terrorists.
On Friday, the BBC's Andrew Neil pointed out to him in an interview that the IRA had killed 1,800 people.
Mr Corbyn replied: "Yes. And people were killed by Loyalist bombs as well. All deaths are appalling, all deaths are wrong. There isn't a military solution to a conflict between traditions and communities. There has to be a better way and a better process of doing it."
Conor McGregor was one of the many Irish people enjoying the sunny weather over the last few days.
And while we were rushing off to purchase a disposable BBQ, the MMA fighter bought a yacht and some jet skis.
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt in which 29 people were killed.
The group's news agency, Aamaq, said on Saturday that an IS unit targeted the bus as it travelled to a remote desert monastery south of Cairo on Friday, and put the death toll at 32.
The discrepancy in casualty figures is not uncommon in the aftermath of major attacks by the militants, who have been waging an insurgency centred on northern Sinai, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
Egypt responded to the attack, the fourth by IS targeting the country's Christian minority since December with air strikes against what the military says are bases in eastern Libya where the militants have been trained.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in a news release on Saturday that 13 victims of the ambush remain in hospital in the capital and the southern city of Minya where the attack took place. Authorities had previously said 28 people were killed.
The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hours afterwards, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced that Egypt had launched air strikes against militant training bases in Libya.
Senior Egyptian officials said fighter jets targeted bases in eastern Libya of the Shura Council, an Islamist militia known to be linked to al Qaida, not IS. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.
Mr El-Sissi told Pope Towadros II, the pope of the Coptic Church in Egypt, in a phone call on Friday that the state would not rest easy until the perpetrators of the attack were punished.
The president declared a three-month state of emergency following the targeting of two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday. In December, a suicide bomber targeted a Cairo church. The three attacks, for which IS claimed responsibility, left at least 75 people dead.
Egypt's government has been struggling for the last three years to deter militants led by an Islamic State group affiliate and centred on the Sinai peninsula.
After a visit to Egypt last month by Pope Francis, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians and urged Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies.
- AP
Russias ambassador to the US told his superiors that he and Jared Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between Donald Trumps transition team and the Kremlin in December, according to a report.
The Washington Post cited anonymous US officials who were briefed on intelligence reports on intercepted Russian communications.
UPDATE 6.50pm: British Airways says it believes a "power supply issue" was the cause of a global IT failure that grounded scores of flights today.
Passengers were told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion" after all BA flights from Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled.
Chief executive Alex Cruz said: "We believe the root cause was a power supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack."
BA said delays could continue into Sunday, but most long-haul flights should be able to land as normal in London.
A BA spokeswoman said: "We are working hard to get our customers who were due to fly today on to the next available flights over the course of the rest of the weekend. Those unable to fly will be offered a full refund."
There were chaotic scenes at the London terminals on Saturday as people tried to make their way overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holiday.
BA initially cancelled all flights before 6pm but later announced that planes would be grounded for the rest of the day.
A letter from British Airways being handed to passengers. Pic: PA
UPDATE 6.15pm: The British Airways IT crash has caused unprecedented disruption for the airline which could last for several days, experts say.
Thousands of holidaymakers were stranded after BA flights from Heathrow and Gatwick were grounded on Saturday.
It is feared that it could take days for services to return to normal and clear the backlog of passengers.
Air industry consultant John Strickland said: "There's a massive knock-on effect.
"Customers and from the airline's point of view - manpower, dealing with the backlog of aircraft out of position, parking spaces for the aircraft - it's a challenge and a choreographic nightmare."
He added that the problems with BA's IT systems last year were not on the scale of this issue.
"They were bedding in a new check-in system last year and there were teething problem but not of the magnitude of this," Mr Strickland said.
The disruption has been compounded by the timing of the outage coinciding with a bank holiday weekend and school half-term holidays.
"Heathrow ordinarily would be busy but would be exacerbated by the bank holiday, half-term and Ascension Day, which is celebrated in a lot of Europe," Mr Strickland added.
"Even if they could quickly get the show back on the road, which is a big uncertainty, disruption could run into several days."
Update 4.30pm: British Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick and Heathrow for the rest of Saturday after a global IT crash.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion", with scores left stranded at the terminals.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: "We are working hard to get our customers who were due to fly today onto the next available flights over the course of the rest of the weekend. Those unable to fly will be offered a full refund."
BA said delays could continue into Sunday, but most long-haul flights should be able to land as normal in London.
"Following the major IT system failure experienced earlier today, with regret we have had to cancel all flights leaving from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of today, Saturday, May 27," the statement added.
"The system outage has also affected our call centres and our website but we will update customers as soon as we are able to.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers during this busy holiday period."
Eearlier: British Airways has cancelled all flights from Gatwick and Heathrow as computer problems cause disruption worldwide.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of "extreme congestion" at the terminals, with all BA planes grounded before 6pm on Saturday.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide."
No check in. No bags working. Queues everywhere. Planes cancelled. No information. No help. Not even a tannoy
Massive @British_Airways #fail pic.twitter.com/xkwy5ZSOLV Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) May 27, 2017
BA added: "We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack."
"The terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick have become extremely congested and we have cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick before 6pm UK time today, so please do not come to the airports," the airline continued.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
Queues at the BA desk in Heathrow. Picture: @theboyg/PA
Travellers have been told to check the airline website and twitter account for updates about the situation.
Travellers have been told to check the airline website and twitter account for updates about the situation.
It comes as scores of Britons headed overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays on Saturday morning.
The airline has experienced issues with its online check-in systems in the past.
Passengers were hit by severe delays in September and July last year because of IT glitches.
The latest problem meant parts of BA's website were unavailable and some travellers were unable check in on the mobile app, with many venting their frustration on social media.
Melissa Davis, who runs a legal PR agency in London, was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow, on a BA flight returning from Belfast.
Speaking from the plane, Miss Davis said the air conditioning had been off "so I don't think we will be going anywhere any time soon", but added that the passengers had been kept informed by their pilot and given water while they remained seated.
She later said she and others were then told they could not transfer to other flights because "they can't bring up our details".
Henry Tail, a 27-year-old teacher from London, claimed he had missed his flight to Rome because of the technical problems.
"I checked in online using the BA app at 8.15 for my flight at 9.25, then went and had breakfast," he told the Press Association.
"At some point, the app restarted and when I went to go through security, I couldn't log in to my booking to get my QR code.
"This meant I couldn't go through security, and by the time I'd gone back and forth to various customer service desks, the flight had closed," he said.
Gareth Wharton, also at Heathrow Terminal 5, tweeted a picture of BA staff writing gate information on a whiteboard amid the systems outage.
Gets worse, #T5 staff having to put gate info up on a white board #LowFi #Heathrow pic.twitter.com/NZhjQC4BI9 Gareth Wharton (@theboyg) May 27, 2017
"Gets worse, #T5 staff having to put gate info up on a white board #LowFi #Heathrow," he tweeted.
Passengers at Gatwick Airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem on Friday.
Those taking flights were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
Heathrow said it has posted extra staff at the terminals and warned BA passengers on flights before 6pm not to go to the airport.
"Passengers travelling with British Airways after 6pm should check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport," it added in a statement.
Feel sorry for these guys, they've been on the plane for a couple of hours waiting to push back, due to the computer outage #T5 #heathrow pic.twitter.com/ugkg2tDd5o Gareth Wharton (@theboyg) May 27, 2017
Dan Power said he and his 80-year-old grandmother are stranded at Heathrow, waiting for a flight to Milan, and have had no information from BA.
He told BBC News they have been offered "absolutely nothing" in the way of refreshments and added: "We haven't been offered any chairs, any water, any vouchers - nothing.
"I don't think our week's holiday will happen at this rate.
"My main concern now is I don't want my 80-year-old grandma spending the night on Heathrow floor - but all the hotels are fully booked, we don't have any transport back up north, so we are actually stuck in Heathrow with nowhere to go."
Photo of @British_Airways baggage desk in #T5 arrivals, this is going to be a long and painful day... #chaos pic.twitter.com/rjeZF9i2Z1 Gareth Wharton (@theboyg) May 27, 2017
Several passengers at Heathrow told the Press Association they had not been informed their flights had been cancelled until more than an hour after the airline put out a press statement announcing the decision.
Images posted to social media showed a group of people gathered around the customer services desk at Heathrow's Terminal 5 trying to get information.
Shortly after the statement was released, Terry Page, 28, from London, said: "There's no such announcement here. The boards are showing 'Go to gate' and no mention of cancellations."
More than an hour later, he said cancellations of individual flights were still being announced.
"They've announced them 30 minutes apart - I think to prevent panic and mass exit," he suggested.
Footage filmed at Terminal 5 showed long queues at customer services, after passengers had been advised that they would be unable to rebook due to systems remaining down.
Student Emily Wilson told the Press Association that she had been advised "we are unable to get bags, and that no more flights are taking off", several hours after having arrived at the airport for her flight to Stockholm.
Ms Wilson added: "We were told (it would be) about three hours for collecting bags, that all compensation will have to be done online, and that we are unable to rebook flights now because of the system being down."
She said that information on screens still suggested her flight could board shortly, but that staff contradicted that information, saying there were "no slots left".
UPDATE 6pm: British environmentalists accused Donald Trump of treating the international community with "utter contempt" after he refused to sign up to global action on climate change at an international summit.
The US President told leaders of the G7 countries that they would have to wait until next week for his decision on whether America would honour its undertakings under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
Under pressure from other G7 states - the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan - Mr Trump put his name to commitments to avoid trade protectionism and preserve a rules-based trade system.
But he refused to join the consensus on climate change, sending a tweet to say: "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!"
European leaders made little attempt to hide their frustration, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel describing discussions on climate change at the gathering in Sicily as "very unsatisfying".
EARLIER: President Donald Trump has he will make a final decision on whether the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week.
He made the surprise announcement on Twitter after resisting pressure from European leaders at the G7 summit in Sicily to commit to staying in the pact.
The president tweeted on Saturday: "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!"
Earlier on Saturday, the other six members of the G7 group of some of the world's wealthiest nations, voted to abide by the Paris climate agreement, according to a source familiar with the talks.
Mr Trump was cajoled for three days - first in Brussels at meetings of Nato and the European Union and then in Sicily - but will leave Italy without making clear where he stands.
Under the G7 agreement, the Trump administration will be given more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Mr Trump's campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they do not opt out entirely.
Other G7 nations leaned heavily on Mr Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many arguments".
"His views are evolving, he came here to learn and get smarter," Gary Cohn, national economic council director, said on Friday of the president's thinking.
Mr Trump once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax.
The G7 comprises the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK.
- AP
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A man has been arrested after a major police operation following the evacuation of a supermarket.
West Midlands Police said the suspect was detained following an area search after reports of a man armed with a knife at Sainsbury's in Blackheath, West Midlands.
A police spokesman said no injuries had been reported but confirmed that several nearby roads had been closed, including Halesowen Street, John Street and Union Street.
Fire crews also attended the incident at about 12.10pm on Saturday.
A police spokeswoman said she was unable to comment on claims that a gas cannister had been set off in a toilet at the store, prompting fears of an explosion.
The man was detained after armed officers and a police helicopter were deployed to the area.
In a statement confirming a fire had been set inside toilets at the shop, Chief Inspector Paul Minor said: "The store remains closed while we examine the scene and assess the cause of the fire.
"The man is in custody and his motives remain unclear. However, we do not believe this to be related to any terror threat."
Two Syrians have been detained in Sicily on suspicion of terrorism as G7 leaders were meeting on the island, the Italian news agency ANSA says.
ANSA reported that Italian anti-terrorism police held the two Syrians after they arrived on a ferry from Malta in the port of Pozzallo, which is 80 miles from where the G7 leaders were meeting.
ay packages for America's top executives once again climbed in 2016 after slipping the year before.
Perhaps the pay surge reflects the times: Stocks are coming off a strong run. Unemployment is low. The US economy is percolating.
And President Donald Trump is not only promising to roll back what he calls excessive business regulations but also listening keenly to what corporate America has to say. Since taking office in January, the businessman-turned-politician has met with hundreds of executives, including at least 41 of last year's 200 best-paid CEOs, a New York Times analysis shows.
The biggest winner last year was Thomas Rutledge of Charter Communications, who pulled down a $US98 million pay package, according to the Equilar 200 highest-paid chief executive rankings, conducted for The New York Times.
If you hadn't been watching actress Rebel Wilson's sensational defamation hearing against a magazine publisher last week there are a few things you wouldn't know.
Such as learning that Disneyland has a secret and exclusive club for celebrities that costs $15,000 a year to join.
In the opening days of the three-week trial against Bauer media, publisher of several weekly tabloids including Woman's Day, the usually dour Supreme Court of Victoria also heard debate over the definition of "bogan" suburbs and whether an Instagram filter is capable of disguising eczema.
All the while, Wilson, who is arguing she lost work opportunities after the May 2015 articles accused her of lying about her age, among other things, has been putting on a show for the media on her walks to and from the courtroom each day.
US First Lady Melania Trump stepped out in Sicily on Friday wearing a Dolce & Gabbana floral coat with multicoloured silk flowers that retails for US$51,500 ($70,000).
No one was more excited about this than designer Stefano Gabbana, who lauded the occasion on his personal Instagram with a flurry of heart emoji. Others on social media wondered what exactly could possibly make a coat worth so much money. And, of course, there was the how-dare-she contingent who contrasted the costly coat with her husband's health care bill, which is estimated to strip 23 million people of their medical insurance by 2026: The lady wears Dolce while the middle class implodes.
The head-shaking and tsk-tsking over Melania Trump's coat calls to mind the outrage and indignation that erupted in 2009 when Michelle Obama wore US$540 ($725) Lanvin sneakers to a Washington food bank. There's a big price gap between a pair of designer sneakers and a coat that costs as much as a house in some parts of the country, but the fundamental point is the same: fashion shame.
Clothes can be deeply symbolic. And Trump's choice of Dolce & Gabbana - an Italian brand that has been deeply inspired by Sicilian culture - for a trip to Sicily makes sense.
Three men have been hospitalised and two arrested after police used pepper spray to break up a brawl in Redfern on Friday night.
Police and paramedics were called to a convenience store on Redfern Street about 11.30pm, where a fight had broken out between the five men.
Paramedics treated one man, aged 26, for facial lacerations, and he was later taken to St Vincent's Hospital.
Another man, aged 24, suffered injuries to his ribs and a third, aged 31, was treated at the scene for the effects of pepper spray. Both were taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
The remaining two men, aged 21 and 26, were arrested near the store, but have been released without charge while inquiries continue.
About 500 words stood between Gail Winters and a diploma that would lead to a new career as a nurse. Shortly before midnight on Thursday a text message sank those dreams.
Ms Winters is a victim of the latest collapse of a private training college, Careers Australia, which went into voluntary administration this week.
Gail Winters (left) and Christine Layt say they have been left with no options following the collapse of Careers Australia. Credit:Lian Driver
She says she is not only down nearly $30,000 in fees but she is also not able to obtain credit for the study she has completed at another institution, despite being a week away from finishing her diploma.
Federal funding cuts pushed Careers Australia, one of the country's largest private training colleges with campuses in five states, into voluntary administration affecting 15,000 students and 1000 staff.
More than 60,000 Australians have been involved in peacekeeping and security operations spanning over 70 years, but current contributions have hit a near all time low.
On Saturday, about 150 people gathered in Brisbane City for a march and service to mark the 70th Anniversary of Australia's involvement in international peacekeeping missions.
Young Macedonian girl Katia Taparcevski prepares to take part in the the 2017 Peace Keepers March along with other members of the local community. Credit:Lisa Maree Williams
Peacekeepers travel to counties torn by conflict to create the conditions for lasting peace.
United Nations Association of Australia national president retired Major General Michael G Smith said in many places around the world UN peacekeepers were being asked to keep the peace in situations where there is no peace to keep.
Passengers on board her flight were reportedly warned against taking photographs and said Ms Corby was hiding her face and appeared nervous. Schapelle Corby leaves the parole offices in Denpasar after signing papers before being deported today from Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali, back to Australia. Credit:James Brickwood Others said she was spotted laughing with her security guard and ate a vegan meal during the flight. Jane Szach and Kerry Webb, who were visiting Ms Szach's daughter in Bali, said the departure gate at Denpasar International Airport was changed twice without notification.
Indonesian police escort the car which Schapelle Corby is in as she prepares for deportation from Indonesia on May 27. Credit:Getty On the flight itself, Ms Szach and Ms Webb said, they briefly saw Ms Corby with her sister and a bodyguard referred to as John. "We were quite shocked that she was on our flight," they said. "But she looked amazing. She seemed fine and very relaxed." Lynne Bellinger and Gabrielle Amies, who were on the same flight into Brisbane as Schapelle Corby. Credit:Scott Beveridge Gabrielle Amies and Lynne Bellinger, holidaying in Bail, said it was "business as usual" on the flight and that without seeing Ms Corby they wouldn't have known anything was different prior to take-off.
However, this changed in the air, with toilets blocked off towards the end of the flight to ensure a hasty exit for Ms Corby. Schapelle Corby at At Ngurah Rai airport, Denpasar, Indonesia. Ms Amies and Ms Bellinger said that on landing in Brisbane, all passengers were forced to remain in their seats, with an announcement saying, "The special guest has to get off first". Ms Corby said in a statement that her focus had turned to "healing and moving forward" "It is with gratefulness and relief that we mark Schapelle Corby's return to Australia," the statement, read by a member of the security team, said.
"We would like to say thank you to Schapelle's supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years. "To all those in Australia and to all of those in Bali, who were there throughout the difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed. "To each and every one of you, you are appreciated." The family called for privacy as the convicted drug smuggler tries to settle back into life in Queensland. "Priority of focus will now be on healing and moving forward," the statement said.
Corby was arrested at Bali's international airport on October 8, 2004, with 4.2 kilograms of marijuana stuffed in her boogie board bag. After almost a decade in jail and three years on parole, she is finally a free woman. A media circus swarmed Ms Corby as she departed from Bali. Wearing sunglasses and a white shawl around her head, Ms Corby carried a handbag showing a picture of missing NSW boy William Tyrrell as she got into a corrections vehicle under the glare of flashing cameras. The William Tyrrell charity said on Sunday it was not associated with the convicted drug smuggler and was "not happy" Ms Corby had used the image.
As media outlets compete to secure the first post-parole interview, legal experts have warned that Ms Corby could breach proceeds-of-crime laws should she profit from the media frenzy. Barrister Christian Juebner, an expert in proceeds of crime, said Ms Corby could not profit from her "criminal notoriety". Nor could she benefit from remuneration given to family or friends. The Australian Federal Police are likely to scrutinise Ms Corby, given that she has already fallen foul of the Proceeds of Crime Act. In 2009, Australia's Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions recovered $128,000 received by Ms Corby's family from the sale of her book My Story. While the Corby family has asked for privacy, Schapelle created an Instagram account from Bali and a Snapchat account to share her homecoming with the world.
Her debut 'gram', a photo of her two dogs, Luna and May, was posted from her Kuta home only hours before she was picked up by a police convoy to begin her trip home to Australia. It has already gathered more than 7000 likes. "Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May," Ms Corby, who was convicted in 2005 of smuggling more than four kilograms of marijuana into Bali in a bodyboard bag, posted. Her second post, which appeared after she was whisked away by police, shows her "Bali family", including Mercedes and brother Michael Corby. "Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother-in-law Wayan," she wrote. She then posted a series of pictures, including one of her parole papers.
By Sunday evening, the account had 125,000 followers. Ms Corby also thanked her supporters via Snapchat. "Thank you for all the love and support everybody x", she wrote. Some members of the public were quick to throw support behind her. "Good job girls. Stay strong ignore the haters. Welcome back to the Gold Coast Shappelle," one supporter said on Instagram.
An elderly pedestrian has been hospitalised after he was struck by a car in Melbourne's north.
Emergency services were called to High Street in Preston about 9.45pm on Saturday.
The man, aged in his 70s, suffered cuts and abrasions, an Ambulance Victoria spokeswoman said.
He was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital in a stable condition.
The driver of the car, a man in his 40s, stopped at the scene and spoke with authorities.
Anthony Foster, whose two daughters were abused, speaking to the media. Credit:Simon O'Dwyer She now requires 24-hour care. Mr Foster's family said they felt humbled by the overwhelming support from the general public. "Anthony's heart was so big he fought for others to make sure what happened to our family, could not happen to anyone else," the family said in a statement on Saturday. "The recognition of Anthony's passionate efforts to protect children has made us all humbled and helps provide comfort through this journey."
His family said it had given them "a great deal of peace" that, "in line with Anthony's generosity in life and death", he was able to become an organ donor. Yeshiva Centre child sexual abuse whistleblower Manny Waks said he was devastated by the death of his close friend. "Despite all they endured, they maintained determination and dignity in their ongoing campaign for justice and reform within the Catholic Church - for them and for others," Mr Waks posted in an emotional tribute on Facebook. In 2010, Mr Foster told Fairfax Media that his wife Chrissie was his "soul mate". "Everything that has happened to Chrissie and me has always been underpinned by our amazing relationship," he said at the time.
"When we became aware of O'Donnell's crimes against our daughters, Chrissie and I automatically became a common force trying to deal with the might of the Catholic Church. The church should be ashamed. If it had been open about the abuse, Emma might have still been here today." Ms Foster also spoke of her unconditional love for her husband during the same interview: "Anthony gets upset if I say, "It's my fault." He says: "I love you. This happened and we are in it together." It's humbling. If it was the other way round, I don't know if I'd have the same reaction. He says: "I don't want to lose you because that would be the end of everything." "The Catholic Church has taken two of our daughters from us, but they can never take away our love for each other and for our children." Mr Foster told the inquiry Victorian inquiry into how the churches handled child sex abuse in 2012 Cardinal Pell showed a "sociopathic lack of empathy" when he met them, and challenged them "if you don't like what we are doing, take us to court".
The Fosters rejected a $50,000 offer under the Catholic Church's Melbourne Response scheme and took the church to court, where the church - despite having given the Fosters a written apology and the finding of independent commissioner Peter O'Callaghan confirming the rapes - denied O'Donnell had abused the girls. They settled before judgment for $450,000 for Emma plus compensation for Katie and costs. Last year, the Fosters travelled with other survivors to Rome to watch Cardinal Pell give evidence to the Royal Commission. Each night in Rome after Cardinal Pell's evidence at the Hotel Quirinale, Mr Foster would front the world's media holding a photo of his two smiling daughters, Emma and Katherine, dressed in their school uniforms. "These are my girls," he told reporters.
"A Catholic priest was raping them when this photo was taken. This was my perfect family. We created that. The Catholic Church destroyed it." He also confronted Cardinal Pell outside the hotel after the Cardinal's second day of testimony via video link. He clutched the Cardinal's hand as he left the hotel, telling him "he was holding the hand of a broken man". The chair of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse Justice Peter McClellan said the commissioners and staff were deeply saddened by Mr Foster's death. "They attended hundreds of days of public hearings and participated in many of our policy roundtables," Mr McClellan said.
"With a dignity and grace, Anthony and Chrissie generously supported countless survivors and their families whilst also managing their own grief." Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews paid tribute to Mr Foster and said his advocacy would never be forgotten. "Anthony campaigned tirelessly for justice from the Catholic Church and [over] the evil done to his daughters and his family," Mr Andrews said. "That he was able to take the incredible hurt, pain, and anger caused by this and become an advocate for all child sexual abuse victims is a mark of just how remarkable Anthony was. By speaking out against child sexual abuse, he helped other victims find their voice and gave them strength. Anthony will never be forgotten and the fight for justice goes on." Ballarat clergy abuse survivor and victim's advocate, Peter Blenkiron, said Mr Foster had dedicated his life to trying to make something good come out of the horror inflicted on his children.
"What the Fosters have done together has been beyond measure," Mr Blenkiron said. "He stood up for his kids. Anybody with an ounce of decency knows it is not OK to rape children. He stood up against those who didn't get that. "He tried to change the world. And he did. A good man has been taken from us far too soon." Chief executive of the Catholic Church's Truth, Justice and Healing Council, Francis Sullivan, also paid tribute to Mr Foster. "Throughout the commission process and in private encounters with Anthony and Chrissie they have always put the interests of their daughters and the many survivors they have worked with first. Anthony's strong and clear advocacy and support will be missed by many."
London: British Airways cancelled all its flights from London's two biggest airports on Saturday after a global computer system failure caused confusion and chaos, with thousands of passengers queuing for hours and planes left stuck on runways.
The airline, which said there was no evidence of a cyber attack, said the major outage meant it had been forced to cancel all scheduled flights from Heathrow and Gatwick and had also hit its call centres and website.
Passengers stand at the British Airways check-in desk after the airport suffered an IT systems failure. Credit:GARETH FULLER
"Most long-haul flights due to land in London tomorrow are expected to arrive as normal, and we are working to restore our services from tomorrow, although some delays and disruption may continue into Sunday," said BA, part of Europe's largest airline group IAG.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers during this busy holiday period."
LONDON: British police have released a photograph of Salman Abedi on the night he killed 22 people in a suicide bomb attack in Manchester and say they believe an apartment in the city centre was where he put together his device.
"We know one of the last places Abedi went was the city centre flat and from there he left to make his way to the Manchester Arena," Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins and Neil Basu, Senior National Coordinator UK Counter Terrorism Policing said in a joint statement on Saturday.
"The flat is highly relevant as a location which we believe may be the final assembly place for the device."
Hopkins and Basu said they had gathered significant information about Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton born to Libyan parents, how his bomb was built, his associates, finances, the places he had been and the wider conspiracy.
Manchester: A shopkeeper has told of how he hid terrified bus passengers in the back of his store after armed police stormed a bus.
Daryl Lawson said up to six people rushed into his shop as armed police stormed the bus they were on.
He then saw a police van pull up at the back of the bus, and believes a male passenger was taken away in it.
"Basically some other people from the bus came running in the shop absolutely terrified, they said a number of armed police were on the bus," the 29-year-old said.
Bucks Democrats expect to have majority in state House
Democrats expect to gain one more seat in state Senate, but still be in minority there.
A selection of works by Albuquerque sculptor and architect Bruce Warren Davis and multi-disciplinary artist and professor at the University of New Mexico, Mary Tsiongas. Runs through 6/30.
Repurpose/Revision/Reconstruction Bruce Warren Davis and Mary Tsiongas
What The Color Blue Sounds Like Mick Burson
May 30July 21
Gallery Reception: Saturday, May 27, 68 pm
Richard Levy Gallery is pleased to present Repurpose/Revision/Reconstruction, a selection of works by Albuquerque sculptor/architect Bruce Warren Davis and multi-disciplinary artist and professor at the University of New Mexico Mary Tsiongas. Davis constructs three-dimensional artifacts that explore space and material. Tsiongas projects landscape paintings onto found architectural models to create mesmerizing photographs.
As an architect, Davis has completed hundreds of projects throughout the Southwest and has recently turned his attention to sculpture. Davis focuses on objects like frames and boxes that normally serve to contain. He creates wooden assemblages and loosely painted colorful frames from raw and reclaimed construction materials. Born and educated in Illinois, Davis moved to New Mexico in 1972 and has maintained a private architecture practice since 1975. He has exhibited artwork in Albuquerque and Santa Fe.
In her recent work entitled Aporia, Mary Tsiongas creates dimly lit sets by using small architectural models and old slides of landscape paintings. The projections are then photographed and printed digitally. Aporia comes from the Greek work meaning an impasse, a puzzlement, a contradiction. Born in Greece and now based in Albuquerque, Mary Tsiongas has performed, exhibited, and lectured extensively for the past twenty years. Her work has been shown in over fifty solo and group exhibitions nationally and internationally. She is currently a Professor of Experimental Art and Technology in the Department of Art at the University of New Mexico.
In the Project Room the gallery presents What The Color Blue Sounds Like, a sculptural installation made from wood, metal, and paint by Mick Burson. He is also showing lithographs printed at the Tamarind Institute. The gallery commissioned Burson to paint a mural on the outside back wall of the building. It will be unveiled at this event. Originally from Waco, TX, Burson is currently in the masters degree program in studio art at the University of New Mexico.
Images for this exhibition can be found on our website www.levygallery.com.
High-resolution images are available on request.
State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) presented a check to Yardley Borough Police Chief Joseph Kelly for $68,600 for the purchase of a new police vehicle and motorcycle during a visit to the station. Our police put themselves on the line every day to keep our community safe, said Sen. Santarsiero. Dating back to when I was a Lower Makefield Township Supervisor more than...
will start receiving the proceeds from the stake sale in its rental arm in October this year after the deal is wrapped up.
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Jindal Steel & Power Ltd (JSPL) chairman, Naveen Jindal, said the commissioning of the four million tonne per annum (MTPA) steel capacity at the company's Angul facility in Odisha today would contribute a lot in the financial turnaround of the company.
The newly built 4 MTPA facility has taken the total steelmaking capacity at Angul to 6 MPTA and the total steel capacity of the company to 10.75 million tonne, making it the fourth largest steel producers in the country.
In what could raise Indias share to Transportations global sales to double digits, the Canadian railway vehicle and signalling system major is looking to serve Asia Pacific through its Savli plant in Vadodara.
Having transformed 2,500 kirana stores across eight cities into virtual super markets, Ratan Tata-backed start-up further plans to collaborate with 15,000-20,000 store owners in top 30 cities of the country by the end of this year.
Suspected operative Naseer Ahmed was remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court on Saturday.
The CJM court sent Naseer, arrested by the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) from Sonauli on India-Nepal border earlier this month, to judicial remand, government counsel Raghuvansh Shukla said.
The court had earlier remanded Naseer in 12-day police custody as the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad wanted to question him.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had also sought his remand citing cases lodged against him there but the court disallowed it.
Naseer Ahmed alias Sadiq (34), hailing from Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, was held on May 13 from Sonauli border post in Mahrajganj.
He was trying to sneak into India from Nepal in the guise of a carpet vendor and was nabbed by the SSB, which guards the 1,751-km-long open border.
Naseer was carrying a Pakistani passport and an identity card showing that he was a resident of Lala Musa village in Punjab province of Pakistan.He was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh ATS for further investigation.
Naseer had joined Hizbul Muzahideen in 2002-03 and moved to Pakistan. He was allegedly involved in a number of terrorist activities.
In 2002, he sustained bullet injuries during an encounter with the Army in Banihal.
Naseer was residing in Pakistan since September 2003 and was allegedly involved in many attacks against civilians and security forces including an attack on an STF camp in India in 2003.
He was sent to India by his handler for a specific mission, according to an SSB spokesperson.
The paramilitary, based on initial interrogation of the terrorist, said he and his accomplice Mohd Shafi landed in Kathmandu on May 10 from Faisalabad in Pakistan via Sharjah.
The SSB said Naseer reached the Indo-Nepal border in a bus with an intention to sneak into Indian territory and carry out terror activities in India.
"He was in touch with a handler from India, who used to deposit money, in his account, off and on. On his instructions, he came to India for undertaking terrorist activities but was apprehended by the SSB," the SSB said.
State-owned Oil and Corp (ONGC) has said that producing is no longer a profitable business for the company as the government-mandated gas price is significantly below the cost of production.
The BJP-led government had in October 2014 evolved a new pricing formula using rates prevalent in gas surplus nations like the US, Canada and Russia to determine rates in a net importing country. Prices have halved to $2.48 per million British thermal unit since the formula was implemented.
ONGC Chairman and Managing Director Dinesh K Sarraf said the company lost Rs 5,010 crore in revenue on business, and about Rs 3,000 crore in profit in just last one year because of cuts in gas prices.
"Natural gas is no more profitable business because the cost of production is very very significantly higher than current gas prices," he told reporters here.
For any company, it does not make economic or commercial sense to invest in new fields or in augmenting production from existing ones through fresh investment if the price it will get is below the cost of production.
Sarraf said the price paid to domestic producers is less than half of the rate paid for import of gas (LNG).
India currently imports half of its natural gas needs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on cutting down import bill by raising indigenous production and 'Make in India'.
ONGC, he said, has sought a review of the natural gas pricing formula.
"We have no reason to disbelieve that gas prices will not be raised," he said.
India's largest natural gas producer is demanding a floor or minimum price of natural gas be fixed at $4.2 per mmBtu for the business to make economic sense.
"Keeping in view of cost of production of gas, cost of alternate fuels and other market dynamics, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is requested to review the existing domestic gas price formula and provide a floor price at least to the level of earlier APM (regulated) price ($4.20 per mmBtu)/ non-APM price ($4.20 to $5.25 per mmBtu) fixed in June 2010," ONGC said in a recent communique.
The new formula provides for revising rates every six months - on April 1 and October 1, based on one-year average gas price in the surplus nations with a lag of one-quarter.
When the formula was implemented, rates went up from $4.2 to $5.05 per mmBtu but fell to $4.66 per mmBtu in April 2015 and to $3.82 in October that year.
It further dipped to $3.06 per mmBtu in April 2016 and to $2.50 per mmBtu in October 2016. In April this year, it further fell to $2.48 per mmBtu.
Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on March 20 had stated that the cost of production of natural gas in the prolific Krishna-Godavari basin is between $4.99 per mmBtu and $7.30 per mmBtu.
The same for other basins is in the range of $3.80 per mmBtu to $6.59 per mmBtu, he had said, adding the production costs of companies vary from field to field depending upon size of the reservoir, location, logistics and availability of surface facilities.
ONGC is the country's biggest gas producer, accounting for some 80 per cent of the 70 million standard cubic meters per day current output.
This past week, the Indian Army honoured with a Commendation Card for his sustained efforts in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu & Kashmir. The recognition comes barely a month after he tied a supposed stone-pelter to his jeep, using him as a human shield to prevent violent protesters from attacking his vehicle. Major Gogoi was responding to a call from an officer who had informed him that around 1,200 people had cornered his polling booth and were trying to burn it with petrol bombs during a by-election in Budgam on April 9. Defence and strategic affairs expert MAROOF RAZA talks to Dhruv Munjal about the armys decision to award the officer amid a public outcry, and if the force has let itself down with the handling of this situation. Edited excerpts:
How do you view the Indian Armys decision to felicitate Major Gogoi with the Chief of Army Staffs Commendation Card? An inquiry into the incident is still on.
It hasnt been often in recent memory that the army has formally encouraged an officer to take such a step. Mostly, senior generals have been cautious while taking on the political establishment. This is a drastic change and I see it as a good one. As far as the timing of the award is concerned, yes the inquiry is underway, but Im sure the broad contours of the inquiry findings must have been conveyed to Bipin Rawat, the Chief of Army Staff. Perhaps that is why they went ahead with the announcement of the award.
There are many who feel that there was a clear violation of human rights in this whole episode.
Those posing such concerns should question the pretext of human rights. The soldiers were cornered and there were several lives at stake; this was clearly an act of self-defence. And those raising worries about human rights should come out and offer alternative solutions to what Major Gogoi couldve possibly done. Keeping the situation and the sensitivity of the place in mind, the right thing was done. Moreover, no one is bothered about the human rights of the soldier, or the difficulties he endures. In the US, cases of conflict trauma have been found in more than 50 per cent of the personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Indian soldiers go through something similar.
Others believe that the army has let itself down in the handling of the human shield incident, and also lost the moral upper hand that it always held in Kashmir.
No one the Kashmiri politicians in particular has the right to question the morality of the Indian Army. These politicians are ungrateful people who have never supported the army in anything it has done. If they feel that the army showed restraint all these years, did they acknowledge its efforts even once? You never hear them saying a word against Pakistan, either.
More importantly, people blaming the army for this moral letdown have an extremely superficial understanding of conflict. Most of them have very little idea about national security. If the army has indeed held the moral high ground in Kashmir for the past so many decades, then that hasnt really solved the problems that afflict the state.
Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has stated that Indian forces must be allowed to take calls in war-like zones such as Kashmir, and not be dictated by what politicians say. Isnt that dangerous?
There was much need for what the defence minister has said. What the army needs is clear instructions in such precarious areas and that cannot come from politicians. Also, this will help boost the morale of the troops stationed in Kashmir, and offer great encouragement.
This past week, the Indian Army released footage of it destroying Pakistani bunkers in Nowshera along the Line of Control. Are such publicised assaults the new normal now?
There is a clear plan being followed by the Indian government. It wants to take on Pakistan by going public with all the information and evidence it possesses, which is the right way forward. This also shows that the Indian Army has been given a free hand. And, the people who are questioning the government and the army for publicised attacks had a problem when no evidence was released for the surgical strikes conducted against Pakistan last year. Im certain that video evidence of that assault exists as well, but is being held back for strategic reasons. With these attacks, we are trying to dispel the myth that the Pakistani army can actually cause some problems. They are, in fact, quite inept.
There have been 42% more terrorism-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government (BJP) came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II).
The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has increased 72% from 111 in the last three years of UPA-II to 191 in the BJPs first three years, an IndiaSpend analysis of data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), run by New Delhi-based non-profit Institute for Conflict Management, shows. The SATP compiles data on fatalities from terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on May 24, 2017.
As the BJP government completes three years in office this week, IndiaSpend is analysing five of its key electoral promiseson employment, Swachh Bharat, roads, access to electricity and terrorism. In the concluding part today, we examine the BJP governments performance on tackling terrorism.
Terrorism claims more lives in J&K
The BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on May 16, 2014, and was sworn in as Indias Prime Minister on May 26, 2014. This analysis takes into account the roughly 36-month period from June 1, 2014, to May 21, 2017, during which the BJP has been in power, and the last three years of the UPA-II government from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2014.
The BJP had vowed to adopt a zero tolerance policy on terrorism in its election manifesto released on April 7, 2014.
The period under BJP rule has witnessed 42% more terrorism-related deaths in J&Kamong civilians, security personnel and terroristscompared with the last three years of UPA-II.
Ahmedabad has reported the first confirmed cases of Zika virus in India. In its latest disease outbreak news dated May 26, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed three cases of Zika virus from Ahmedabad, including a pregnant lady tested this January.
The Uttar Pradesh government has set a goal to keep the River Ganga in Varanasi free from pollutants before the commencement of the 2019 Ardh Kumbh, said Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday.
He was addressing a programme under the Swachh Bharat Mission in which public representatives of all local bodies participated.
Apprising the media about his government's resolve to keep the Ganga clean, the Chief Minister said, "The government is making a plan to ensure that no pollutant is thrown in the Ganga before 2019 Ardh Kumbh in Varanasi."
He said that the Ganga is the mother of everyone and everyone is responsible for keeping the river clean.
He said that during British rule an effort to disturb the flow of the Ganga in Haridwar was thwarted by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya and British had to sign an agreement in this regard.
"Considering the shortcomings of earlier efforts to clean the Ganga, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has earmarked Rs 20,000 crore for the Project," said Yogi.
He asserted that the role of public representatives of Uttar Pradesh in cleaning the Ganga is very important as the river flows through the state.
"If we think that keeping the Ganga clean is only the government's duty, then we are not only deceiving ourselves but also others," said the chief minister.
He, however, said that much has been done in the direction of cleaning the Ganga, but still, the public participation is needed.
"For example, around 4,43,718 public toilets have been constructed in the 1,627 villages on the banks of the Ganga but if these toilets are not used then how the Ganga would be cleaned," questioned Adityanath.
He exhorted leaders of local bodies to create awareness about the usage of toilets.
The chief minister also announced that "the government has set a goal of making 30 towns free from open defecation (ODF) by the end of this December".
He said the government had also set a goal to make all the districts of the state free from open defecation practice by October 2, 2018.
Unlike in the previous five years, the first anniversary of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagams (AIADMKs) second term in the government passed off without ceremony. The leadership vacuum following the death of J Jayalalithaa in December has affected not only the morale of the party, but also the state, which is facing a water crisis, resulting in farmer suicides and popular agitation, slowdown in investment flow, among other things.
The government is in favour of exiting totally if a suitable investor is available, says finance and defence minister Arun Jaitley. When 84 per cent of the aviation market can be run by private airlines there is no reason why it cannot go to 100 per cent, the minister noted at Dialogue@DDNews, a series of interviews with the ministers of Narendra Modi-led government to mark the completion of its three years in office. The programme is expected to be aired today.
Finance and Defence Minister has said the Indian army is in domination across the entire stretch of the Line of Control (LoC).
Indian firms' (ECBs) in April went up more than three-fold to $1.30 billion, while ECBs were at $304.57 million in the same month of 2016, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has said.
According to RBI data released here on Thursday, the borrowings by Indian companies in April this year included $1.27 billion through the automatic route, and $39.26 million via the approval route.
During the month in consideration, Indian firms also made additional borrowing of $394.53 million through rupee denominated bonds (RDBs), which have been permitted from September last year.
In the category of automatic route, JSW Steel took a loan of $500 million for overseas acquisition and refinancing of earlier ECB, while HPCL-Mittal Energy raised $372 million to pay-off earlier ECB.
A substantial portion of ECBs in April was taken to start new projects.
Under the approval route, Essar Shipping was the only company, which raised $39.26 million for import of capital goods.
The firms which floated rupee denominated bonds overseas were - $310 million by NTPC for power, $62 million by Nissan Renault Financial Services for on-lending and $22.48 million by UCWeb Mobile for general corporate purpose.
Press Statement by Prime Minister during the State visit of Prime Minister of Mauritius to India (May 27, 2017)
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Your Excellency Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth .
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Members of the media .
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Ladies and Gentlemen, .
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It gives me great pleasure to welcome Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and his delegation to India. We are truly honoured, Excellency, that you have chosen India for your first overseas visit after taking on the new responsibility as Prime Minister of Mauritius earlier this year. Your visit reflects the depth of our ties that have endured and enhanced over two centuries. And, our bonds are not limited to Governments. They extend to our people and societies who take pride in our shared roots. Our bonds have flourished despite time and distance. Today, they weave a rich tapestry of friendship in diverse areas. .
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Friends, .
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My discussions with Prime Minister Jugnauth have been warm and productive. Our conversation reminded me of my own memorable visit to Mauritius in March 2015. That visit, which was my first to the Indian Ocean region, gave us a robust agenda for cooperation. It also underscored the commonality of our values, interests and efforts. .
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Friends, .
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Today, we have taken another leap in our bilateral agenda. As frontline states of the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Jugnauth and I agree that it is our responsibility to ensure collective maritime security around our coasts and in our EEZs. We agree that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities; protect the livelihood of our communities, and provide security to our people. And, for this India-Mauritius cooperation is very very important. .
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We have to keep up our vigil against : .
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Piracy that impacts trade and tourism;.
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Trafficking of drugs and humans;.
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Illegal fishing, and.
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Other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
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The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement today, will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities. We have also agreed to further strengthen our wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain. India is supporting the National Coast Guard of Mauritius in augmenting its capacity through Project Trident. We have also taken a decision to renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, that was provided to Mauritius, under a grant assistance programme. .
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Friends, .
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A strong developmental partnership with Mauritius is a hallmark of our engagement. India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius. The agreement today on a 500 million US dollars Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects. Prime Minister Jugnauth and I welcome the progress in ongoing projects. India will extend full support for the timely execution of projects identified between our countries. Projects that will vitalize the economy of Mauritius and mark a qualitative transformation in our relations. In our discussions, we also focused on increasing skill development cooperation with Mauritius. It is an active part of our present interaction under Indias multiple capacity building programme with Mauritius. We are happy to further deepen our exchanges in this domain. .
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Friends, .
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We applaud the leadership shown by Prime Minister Jugnauth in drawing attention to the importance of renewable energy. The signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance by Mauritius has opened up new vistas of regional partnership for both countries in this field. .
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Friends, .
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We take pride in this contribution of the Indian-origin community to the national life of Mauritius. To promote our thriving links with the diaspora in Mauritius, India had, in January this year, declared a special carve-out on OCI cards only for Mauritius. Our flag carrier airlines have agreed to enhance their code sharing arrangement to new destinations. This too is expected to lead to greater tourism and people-to-people contacts between our countries. .
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Friends, .
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Apart from bilateral issues, Prime Minister Jugnauth and I also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues. We agreed to continue supporting each other in multilateral fora and cooperate closely on our common challenges and interests. Prime Minister Jugnauths visit will contribute to elevating our relationship to new heights on the bed-rock of our traditional links. I thank Prime Minister Jugnauth for his vision and support to our relationship. And I look forward to working closely with him in the coming months as we put into action the decisions we have taken today. Once again, I extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister Jugnauth and wish him a fruitful stay in India. .
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Thank you. .
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Thank you very much. .
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on Saturday cancelled most flights out of Londons Heathrow, Gatwick airports as a computer system broke down, causing chaos for travellers at the start of a three-day weekend in the UK. We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide, the airline said in a statement, without specifying what caused the outage or how long it will take to fix.
The Egyptian army has launched intensive airstrikes on terrorist groups in Libya in response to the attack by suspected Islamic State militants that killed 28 Christians south of Cairo, the army spokesperson said.
Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip which also included footages of army aircraft while taking off on his official Facebook and Twitter pages yesterday.
The army operation is still going on, he said in a statement.
The airstrikes came after the army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen yesterday attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo, the Ministry of Interior said.
The gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles, it said.
Reports said there had been between eight and 10 attackers who were wearing military uniforms.
Prior to the army's announcement, Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained on attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the earlier attack in Menya governorate.
The president did not give other details on the strikes or the location, however, the local media then quoted official sources who confirmed that Egypt launched airstrikes on camps belonging to terrorists in Derna city in Libya.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 28 people were killed and dozens other injured in the attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three- month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
There have been a number of attacks on Copts in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypt's Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint George's Cathedral in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
After the Centre announced strict rules to prohibit sale of animals for slaughter or religious sacrifice at livestock markets and animal fairs that are a common occurrence in rural areas, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday stated that by issuing this order, the government is imposing greater burdens on farmers.
"It is an absurd decision because this prohibition which the Centre has now announced includes buffaloes also. Buffaloes, are in agricultural operations also, when they are too old or they cannot discharge the operation, the farmers sell them or exchange them for younger buffaloes. By issuing this order, the Centre is imposing greater burdens on farmers," CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury told ANI.
"Already, the government has admitted that in last three years more than 12,000 farmers have committed stressed suicides each year. By bringing in such type of order, they are putting more burdens on the farmer community and it is very unfair to India's annadaata."
Echoing similar views, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja stated that this decision can have impact on the Centre-state relations.
"It is a major decision taken by the Centre but it has far reaching implications and the Centre should have applied its mind properly before taking such a decision. First, it can have impact on the Centre-state relations. It will be considered as encroachment on the powers of the state governments so state governments will be questioning the Centre's decision," Raja told ANI.
Raja further said the government cannot harass or subject the farming community to such ordeals by taking such decisions.
"Secondly, when the Centre takes such a decision, the parliament has to be taken into confidence. The parliament has not been taken into confidence. By passing parliament, undermining it and taking decisions has become the style of the Modi Government. The government cannot harass or subject the farming community to such ordeals by taking such decisions. The government needs to reconsider this decision," Raja said.
Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Harsh Vardhan yesterday ordered that the ministry has notified the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 to ensure that the sale of cattle is not meant for slaughter purposes.
"Aim of the rules is very specific. It is only to regulate the animal market and the sale of cattle in these markets, and ensuring welfare of cattle dealt in market. And the rule provides for a strict animal monitoring committee and an animal market committee at the local level," Vardhan told ANI.
He said the seller and buyer both have to ensure that the cattle is not been bought or sold in the market for slaughter purposes.
"An undertaking to this effect has to be given to the member secretary of the animal market committee from the seller as well as the buyer," Vardhan added.
As per the notification, cattle is defined as "bulls, bullocks, cows, buffalos, steers, heifers and calves and camels".
The rules also state that the purchaser shall not sacrifice the animal for any religious purpose or sell it to a person outside the state without permission and must keep in with the state's cattle protection laws.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Slamming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi who visited riot-hit Saharanpur despite being denied permission, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday said that the former took an immature decision by going to the district.
"Rahul Gandhi's idea of going to Saharanpur shows his political immaturity and lack of sensitivity to the demands of the situation. The local administration and the Uttar Pradesh administration are doing their best to bring the situation under control," BJP leader G. V. L. Narasimha Rao told ANI.
Rao further said the opposition is currently showing their irresponsible nature towards such a grave situation.
"At a time like this the political parties and leaders who indulge in such political tourism show their highly irresponsible nature. Rahul Gandhi who has also done such similar incidents earlier will never learn from his mistake," Rao said.
Firing back at the saffron party, Congress leader P. L. Punia stated that law and order situation is being handled badly by the BJP Government.
"The situation in Saharanpur is still chaotic. The way the current government has handled the issue is not good. The law and order is handled badly as they (BJP) can do much better. We can't understand why the opposition is not allowed to enter the district, as if they are hiding something from us," Punia told ANI.
"Rahul Gandhi had gone there to meet the injured but he was not allowed which is unexpected. But later on the injured victim's family had come to meet Rahul ji and also happy to see him," he added.
Gandhi yesterday said that the Uttar Pradesh administration asked him to leave as the situation is not stable.
However, the police did try to stop the Congress vice-president but the latter adamantly reached the clash-affected area to take stock of the situation.
Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by senior Congress leader Gulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar, also discussed the deteriorating situation prevailing in the state with the locals there.
After meeting the locals, he was seen being engaged in an altercation with the police force where he questioned them as to on what grounds he was not allowed to enter Saharanpur.
The Congress vice-president was also denied permission to visit the clash-affected district where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted.
Clashes broke out earlier after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.
In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Yogi Adityanath Government transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.
On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday welcomed the meeting of the duo, however refraining from commenting on speculations revolving around the same.
BJP leader Shaina NC said there could be any kind of talk, either developmental or a generic one, but one does not need to speculate on it.
"Nitish Kumar is the Bihar Chief Minister and obviously he is entitled to meet the Prime Minister because this the Prime Minister of the nation, and not a particular party. I think there could be a lot of development talk taking place or even a general talk. Why should we speculate on it," Shaina told ANI.
Expressing similar sentiments, BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma said the meeting was only over a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it.
"It is a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it. As far as we are concerned, our agenda is 'sabka sath, sabka vikas', so every person who believes in the same will always be welcomed by us," Verma told ANI.
Nitish Kumar is likely to attend a lunch to be hosted by Prime Minister Modi, which is scheduled to be to held today in the capital in the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
Interestingly, Nitish earlier on Friday missed the lunch organized by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, which was attended by JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tral (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], May 27 (ANI)
According to reports, Wani's successor, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, was gunned down in an encounter in Saimu Village. Howerver, the Army has not yet confirmed the news.
According to the scources, Sabzar, son of Ghulam Hassan Bhat, was a resident of Ratsona village in Tral. He had taken over the anti-India terror operations of HM after Burhan Wani was killed.
Another HM militant Faizan Muzaffar Bhatt was also killed in the encounter. Faizan, son of Muzaffar Ahmed Bhat, was resident of Payen, Tral.
Acting on specific information of Bhat's presence, Rashtriya Rifles (RR) and the Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) had jointly launched a cordon in Saimu village of Tral sector on Saturday morning. Both militants were neutralized after an encounter that lasted more than one hour.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
With the Centre banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from animal markets through an environment ministry notification, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Saturday said that the decision was 'illogical' and the state would introspect what it could do legally.
"The government cannot decide the choice of our food. The decision seems illogical. The state government will look into it and see if anything can be done legally," Isaac told media here.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) led LDF government in Kerala and the Congress-led UDF attacked the Centre for the ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre's decision was surprising which was unsuitable for a democratic nation.
The Centre's notification has restricted the sale of animals for slaughter which were used for agricultural purposes.
The environment ministry this week notified a regulation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 prohibiting sale of cattle through animal markets across the country.
Regulating animal trade is a state business but animal welfare is a central subject, thereby providing the window for the ministry to notify the rule.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a fiery commencement speech at her alma mater of Wellesley College on Friday, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton drew a comparison between U.S. President Donald Trump and former President Richard Nixon.
"We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice, after firing the person running the investigation into him at the Department of Justice," Clinton said, discussing the sentiment on campus the year that she graduated.
Clinton was referencing the ongoing FBI investigation into alleged ties between members of Trump's campaign and Russians that attempted to hack the U.S. presidential election, reports the CNN.
Clinton went on to take other thinly veiled digs at Trump, saying that "when people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society."
Clinton's commencement speech came more than six months after her defeat to Trump.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Khan of Kalat Mir Suleman Dawood has said that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an existential threat to the Baloch nation and its people and threatens India as well as American interests in the region.
Dubbing CPEC as a 'Chinese military project', Mir Suleiman asked the United States and the Indian Government to support an independent Balochistan and called on Pakistan to stop the genocide of Balochs. He said only independent Balochistan can help remove the threat of war to India from its western border.
Balochistan under Kalat was independent for nearly seven and a half months until Pakistani military forcefully occupied it on March 27, 1948. There was no annexation agreement between Balochistan and Pakistan.
He further said that the Pakistan Army invaded Balochistan at 'the point of a barrel'.
"The attack on the Palace of Khan of Kalat is proven fact that the occupation was forceful by the army," Mir Suleiman said.
"The Balochs will never stop pursuing the case of illegal occupation and human rights violations in Balochistan. The situation in Balochistan is deteriorating," he added.
He further said that 25,000 people are missing and over a million people are displaced.
"Pakistan's rule over Balochistan has never been legitimate, it has no moral authority and now it has lost control over Balochistan. The Indian, American, Afghan, Arab states and others should realize that the future is Balochistan," Mir Suleiman said.
"Mass graves have been found in Khuzdar Baluchistan and other places, There are other locations which we believe need to be investigated by the international institutions," he added.
Mir Suleiman said that the CPEC project is meant to fulfill the Chinese expansionist ambitions in the region.
Seeking an international intervention to end the occupation from the 'barbarian Pakistan army', Suleiman asked 'likeminded nations' including Afghanistan, India and Japan to declare Pakistan a terrorist state as Baloch are the victims of 'Pakistani sponsored terrorists'.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The G7 leaders have pushed U.S. President Donald Trump to join the rest of the in combating climate change, but the President has made no promises despite the White House insisting his views are "evolving".
The G7 nations had hoped that Trump, who had previously described climate change as a "hoax", would publicly back the Paris Agreement and the commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions, reports the Independent.
According to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leaders had a "controversial debate" on the subject.
Despite that and despite repeated criticism that Trump has turned his back on science, the U.S. insisted that the President had gone to listen and learn to the other leaders.
The ongoing 43rd summit of G7 leaders in the Sicilian town of Taormina includes the heads of state of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, plus the EU.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Anti-Pakistan political unrest is growing by the day in Gilgit with the region's leaders calling on the state of Pakistan to vacate the occupation of the region.
Speaking at a major political rally in Gilgit despite a ban on such gatherings, local Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leader Amjad Hussain said that it is time for the people of Gilgit to rise against Pakistani occupation.
He added that its time that the federal government starts treating the people of Gilgit as humans and stop their loot of land and resources.
"Mian Sahab (Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif) you will have to treat us like humans. The second most important issue is that no one can snatch our land from us. We the people of Gilgit-Baltistan hold the rights of the lands here and they cannot allot these lands to government projects on their own will like they are doing now," he said at the gathering.
"They do not want the people of Gilgit-Baltistan to be self dependent that's why they want to loot our lands and resources," Hussain added.
Earlier, Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) leaders also voiced their concerns regarding the formation of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) over the right to compensation for the acquisition of community land and forceful acquisition of land.
Some land owners had also filed a complaint before Prime Minister Sharif against the forced acquisition of the land they inherited for the CPEC project by the GB administration.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 'revolutionary' Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill was passed by the Himachal Pradesh State Assembly on Saturday, further paving the way for its roll out on July 1.
The two-day special session of the Assembly, which ended today, was chaired to discuss the revenue projections that had been highlighted in the state budget announced earlier, with the view of benefitting from the 'consumer-friendly' tax regime, as portrayed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
Earlier, the Rajya Sabha passed four GST Bills without amendments setting the stage for the government for the launch on July 1.
Jaitley had said that the GST would lead to new tax regime.
The four bills passed on April 6 - the Central GST bill, the Integrated GST bill, the Union Territories GST bill and the compensation law - have already been cleared by the Lok Sabha, where the government enjoys majority.
Hailed as a 'revolutionary' tax regime, the GST is said to be India's biggest tax overhaul since independence in 1947. It will replace a slew of federal and state levies, transforming Asia's third largest economy into a single market.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran Indian off-spinner has sharply hit back at the media reports suggesting that he had a problem with Mahendra Singh Dhoni's selection for Champions Trophy.
The 36-year-old was quoted in an interview on Thursday by a news channel, that he does not receive similar privilege as Dhoni gets, when it comes to Team India selection.
Slamming media sites for misquoting him, Harbhajan clarified that he never doubted the former skipper's selection and requested not to quote him on things which he never said.
"Dear media plz don't misquote all the time. Any1 who wants 2know what exactly I said in that interview please go & see the entire video," Harbhajan wrote on Twitter.
The Indian off-spinner further said that Dhoni is his good friend and a great player, while urging not to harm his image just to create sensational stories.
"MSD is a dear friend & a great player, I never doubted his selection so please don't quote me on things which I never said against him. just to run ur sites n create 'sensational stories' don't misquote & run out of context to harm someone elses image," he added in a series of tweets.
Dhoni is currently in England along with India's Champions Trophy squad, in which Harbhajan was not selected. India will play their first match against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4.
India and Mauritius on Saturday agreed to cooperate in stepping up vigil against conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean.
After holding discussions with visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a press conference, that as frontline states of the Indian Ocean, the two sides ensure collective maritime security around the coasts and in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).
"We agree that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities. And, for this India-Mauritius cooperation is very very important," said the Prime Minister.
He added that the two nations need to keep up vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities, said Prime Minister Modi.
"We have also agreed to further strengthen our wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain," he added.
India is supporting the Coast Guard of Mauritius in augmenting its capacity through Project Trident and will renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, that was provided to Mauritius, under a grant assistance programme.
India also agreed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Mauritius for various projects.
"We applaud the leadership shown by Prime Minister Jugnauth in drawing attention to the importance of renewable energy. The signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance by Mauritius has opened up new vistas of regional partnership for both countries in this field," the Prime Minster concluded.
The Prime Minister also declared a special carve-out on OCI cards for Mauritius.
On his part, the Mauritian leader said, "We need to ensure that our sea links are safe and secure and our regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities."
He said that India and Mauritius have developed strong bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security.
"The acquisition of offshore patrol vessels and fast interceptable boats have enhanced the capacity of our police and coast guards to patrol and protect our maritime zones. We also appreciate the training dispensed to our police personnel which have enhance their skills," he added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
As catastrophic landslides and floods hit Sri Lanka, Colombo on Saturday received Indian Naval Ship INS Kirch with relief items.
The ship was received by Indian High Commissioner to Colombo Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Sri Lankan Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
"On directive of @narendramodi last night, INS Kirch arrives in #SriLanka with relief material and rescue and medical teams today morning (Sic)," tweeted the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka.
India has dispatched three Navy ships to help the massive rescue and relief operations launched by the island nation's tri forces.
"Foreign Min @RavikOfficial received relief assistance. #India stands by #SriLanka in this hour of need. INS Jalashwa & INS Shardul coming," the High Commission said in another tweet.
The INS Shardul with medical relief kits and diving teams and INS Jalashwa carrying victualing, clothing, medicines and water will also soon reach Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka tri-forces personnel including more than 1000 Army troops are currently engaged in the rescue and relief operations in coordination with the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), District and Divisional Secretariats, Police and other authorities in flood-affected areas.
Floods and landslides fueled by torrential rains have so far left 91 people dead and another 110 missing.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The terror threat level in United Kingdom has been reduced from "critical" to "severe" after temporarily raising the level in response to Manchester Arena attack in which 22 people were killed and several others injured.
The change means that an attack is highly likely and not imminently expected.
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday announced that the terror threat level in the country had been reduced from its top level "critical" to "severe".
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, after Prime Minister May's announcement, had said that security plans will remain in place this and urged all the people to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious to the police.
Earlier, Prime Minister May, after chairing a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, had announced that the country's terror threat level has been raised to its highest level based on evidence gathered during the investigation of the deadly attack at a Manchester Ariana Grande concert.
She said the military personnel will help armed police officers in guarding key sites.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) had claimed responsibility for the attack.
Manchester Police identified the attacker as Salman Abedi, who was killed in the explosion.
He was a son of Libyan immigrants and was born in Britain.
Police have also arrested several people believed to be connected to the bombing.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Earlier, the Mauritius Prime Minister met Vice President Hamid Ansari and Union Minister Arun Jaitley.
Earlier in the day, Mauritius Prime Minister Jugnauth met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment. Swaraj said there was scope to expand bilateral ties in a range of areas.
India and Mauritius today signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart.
Both the countries agreed to cooperate in stepping up vigil against conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean.
The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities, said Prime Minister Modi.
India also agreed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Mauritius for various projects.
Prime Minister Jugnauth also thanked India for its assistance in the field of education, training and research while describing India as closest strategic partner.
In the morning, the Mauritius Prime Minister was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
He is on a three-day state visit to India. This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lauding the Indian Army for neutralizing two Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri sector, the defence experts on Saturday said the myth of the supremacy of the Pakistani BAT stands demolished for all times to come.
Defence Expert P. K. Sehgal said Pakistan has recently deployed BAT all along the border to scare the Indian Army but the reverse has taken place.
Sehgal further said that gone are the days when BAT did things which were barbaric in nature, but hereafter there is no way that the Indian Army is ever going to allow them to do a thing like this.
"The so called myth of the supremacy of the Pakistani Border Action Team (BAT) stands demolished for all times to come. With the change of strategy of the Indian side (wherein we will be on the offensive, we will dominate the Line of Control (LoC)), this is the first time when the BAT tried to ambush the Indian Army patrol and the result is there for all to see," Sehgal told ANI.
Another Defence Expert S.R. Sinho also opined the same, saying that it is a good lesson for Pakistan to learn that it would not succeed in its actions in future.
"In Uri sector, the Pakistani BAT again tried to ambush our patrolling party, but they were alert and they have learnt from the previous action and so, they were able to neutralise this attack of the BAT. Both the BAT personnel were killed...I think the Pakistanis should stop this nonsense," Sinho told ANI.
After foiling an infiltration bid along the LoC in Uri Sector, the Indian Army yesterday recovered two bodies along with weapons including one AK 47 rifles and one pistol.
"At about 8.40 am in the morning, two armed intruders infiltrated in Uri Sector of Jammu and Kashmir from close vicinity of a known Pakistan post and came close to Indian Army post about 500 meters inside own side of LoC. After a fire fight, both intruders were neutralised by own troops. Two bodies, one AK 47 Rifle, one Pistol and warlike stores recovered from the sight," Army PRO Colonel Aman Anand said.
The jawans gunned down two Border Action Team (BAT) terrorists.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Kerrville, TX (78028)
Today
Cloudy skies this morning will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 80F. Winds S at 10 to 15 mph..
Tonight
Partly cloudy with late night showers or thunderstorms. Low 61F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
The opposition in Pakistan unanimously condemned the recommendations of the fifth federal budget which was presented by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar on Friday in the National Assembly.
Criticising the recommendations laid forth in the budget, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's leader Asad Umar said this government is not farmer-friendly but it is an enemy of them.
He said Pakistan is buried under debt and cannot become free through this budget.
Umar added that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif led PML-N government took the same amount of loans within 45 months that the Pakistan People's Party government took during its five years' tenure.
Rejecting the fiscal budget for the year 2017-18, Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan chief Farooq Sattar dubbed the budget as 'status quo budget'.
Asserting that taxes have been piled up on the poor, Sattar called for a reduction in the ratio of sales tax from 17 percent to nine percent.
He added that the petroleum levy should also have been be ended along with sales tax.
"There is nothing for the youth, women and non-Muslims in the current budget," the Dawn quoted the MQM-P chief, as saying.
Pakistan on Friday proposed to increase its defence budget to Rs. 920 billion, a hike of seven percent, during the government's federal budget announcement.
Pakistan Finance Minister Ishaq Dar presented the fifth budget of incumbent Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government with an estimated outlay of Rs 4.75 trillion.
"The defence budget allocation for 2017-18 has been increased to Rs. 920 billion," the Express Tribune quoted Dar as saying.
Apart from that, Rs180 billion have been allocated for the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) related projects, even as the tensions with India have been increasing over the same.
Pakistan's National Assembly also proposed 31 new projects, including a new international airport, 200-bed hospital, 200MW power generation plant and a desalination plant in Gwadar port.
The Nawaz Sharif-led government has also allocated Rs. 45.6 billion for projects in Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK), Gilgit-Baltistan and FATA area.
The finance minister said that the salaries of army officers have also been increased by 10 percent in addition to a 'special allowance' of over 10 percent on their income.
"Pensions of federal government employees and army personnel will be increased by 10 percent," Dar said.
Dar claimed that Pakistan would be one of the largest economies by 2020.
"Just four years ago, this extraordinary turnaround would have seemed impossible," Dawn quoted Dar as saying.
"International observers are cognisant of Pakistan's successes, and Standard and Poor's, Moody's and Fitch have raised their ratings for the country," Dar claimed.
The proposed hike in defence budget comes in the wake of escalating tensions with India over ceasefire violations along the Line of Control (LoC) and the arrest of alleged Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav.
Last year, Islamabad recorded a 5.28 percent GDP growth and the volume of its economy crossed USD 300 billion.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan on Saturday opened the Friendship Gate at Chaman Border crossing on "humanitarian grounds" for Ramzan after remaining closed for 22 days in wake of the alleged Afghan attack in the country that claimed 12 lives.
"Pakistan has opened Friendship (FS) gate Chaman on humanitarian grounds in Ramazan on request from Afghan authorities," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
"After the Chaman incident, Pakistan has its area under effective control having pushed back Afghan Border police troops. Census has been completed in the Pakistani side of the divided villages," it added.
The statement further said that it has been agreed upon by Pakistan authorities that cease fire shall continue to be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable and Pakistani troops will maintain its positions along international border in Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir on Pakistani side of the border.
Earlier, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to avoid escalation at border during a meeting between representatives of the two sides in Chaman.
DIG Frontier Corps Balochistan led the Pakistani delegation while the Afghan side was headed by a Brigadier rank officer of the Afghan Border Police.
The Pakistani delegation informed the Afghan side that the Pakistani troops shall remain on its own side where they are deployed along the international border.
Islamabad and Kabul are caught in a fresh verbal salvo as Pakistan's Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Nadeem Ahmed earlier during the month claimed that Afghan forces targeted the civilian population, while Pakistan targeted their check-posts, leaving 50 Afghan troops dead and 100 others wounded.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hussain Nawaz, the eldest son of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has submitted a plea against two Joint Investigation Team Officers, Bilal Rasool and Ahmer Aziz, expressing his apprehension about the impartiality of the officers in the Panamagate probe.
A three-judge special bench will hear the plea that objects the presence of the two JIT officers for the family's investigation in the Panama Papers leak on May 29.
Hussain submitted his plea, citing the political bias the two officers may portray. The Express Tribune reported that Bilal Rasool, was a representative from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and nephew of Mian Muhammad Azhar who is is an ardent supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Hussain accused Rasool of being vocal against the government, in his plea.
Ahmer Aziz, who is a representative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was also a part of the National Accountability Bureau investigation that was carried out during former President Pervez Musharraf's tenure.
Another member of the Nawaz family has filed a complaint against JIT, citing misbehavior. This complaint was filed by the Prime Minister's cousin Shafi to the JIT's head Wajid Zia against some of the JIT members after his interrogation.
The complaints have been forwarded to the Supreme Court for perusal and will be heard by a special 3-judge bench on 29 May.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ongoing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed that latter is giving foothold to the anti- powers in the Valley.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving foothold to anti- powers in Jammu and Kashmir," Rahul said in Saharanpur.
He also claimed that during the tenure of the Congress, the grand old party brought peace in the Valley and the current the government has failed to do so.
"We worked for ten years and brought peace in Jammu and Kashmir, now see the present situation of the state. Whenever there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, it is profitable for the India. But when violence took place, it's profitable for Pakistan. It's all done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he further said.
Earlier in the day, the Jammu and Kashmir Police killed two terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Sabzar Bhatt who succeeded Burhan Wani, were killed in an encounter in Saimu Tral sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Government of Jammu and Kashmir snapped the mobile internet (2G, 3G and 4G) services in Kashmir fearing law and order problems, especially after the killing of top HM commander Sabzar Bhatt in Tral encounter.
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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has left for his visit to the riot-hit city of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, news agency ANI reported. Earlier he was denied the permission to visit the citry by the UP government.
Rahul Gandhi leaves for Saharanpur from his residence in Delhi pic.twitter.com/2k29EmaDUE ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 27, 2017
Slamming the opposition after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was denied to visit riot-hit Saharanpur, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday asserted that the former is a master in political tourism and photo ops which is why he decided to visit Saharanpur.
"If Rahul Gandhi wants to do a political tourism and wants to do photo ops which he is known for then certainly the administration will not give him permission and we have seen that recently the permission was given to Mayawati but the situation worsened there. It was not the fault of the administration but on the leaders who go there like Mayawati- who made an aggressive pitch and that worsened the situation," BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Siddharth Nath Singh told ANI.
Singh further stated that Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh will decide whether it would allow political tourism or not.
"The idea is to control the situation and therefore the administration is free under Yogi's government to make a decision whether they will allow political tourism or not," he added.
Resonating similar views, another BJP leader S. Prakash stated that playing in Saharanpur will only add fire to the situation.
"In many Congress-ruled states, the opposition party leaders prefer to visit those areas to find out the status. This visit has been denied on the law and order situation. Saharanpur needs to be brought back to normalcy, playing at this time will only add fire to the matter. It will be better for Rahul Gandhi choose to visit the place once the situation is cooled off and balanced," Prakash told ANI.
After being denied permission to visit riot-hit Saharanpur, Gandhi yesterday vented his ire on the Centre while saying that latter is adopting the policy of 'divide and distract' as they have failed to deliver their promises.
"When they fail to deliver they divide & distract. But anger and hatred will not convert into jobs or solutions," Rahul said in a tweet.
Rahul was denied permission to visit Saharanpur where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted.
The confirmation of this development was given by Additional Director General of Police Law and Order Aditya Mishra to ANI.
Gandhi was supposed visit Saharanpur to take stock of the prevailing situation.
Clashes occurred on Tuesday after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.
The state government also announced to give compensation of Rs. 15 lakh to relatives of the person, who was killed during this incident.
In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Yogi Adityanath Government on Thursday transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit a report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.
Earlier, Saharanpur District Magistrate Nagendra Parsad Singh was sacked after he was unable to control the clashes between two communities in the area.
On May 5, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.
Reports said that the police stopped the Maharana Pratap procession after some Dalits informed the police. This angered Rajputs, who allegedly resorted to violence.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan has announced that his party would start campaigning for the 2018 general election soon after Ramzan.
Khan made this announcement after holding party meetings on Friday.
"We will clean-sweep Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the upcoming general election" as the party's popularity graph in the province has gone up," Dawn quoted Khan as saying.
Welcoming Member of National Assembly Noor Alam Khan, who recently left the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to join the PTI, Khan said his joining to would boost the party's position in the region and described it as a major development in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's political landscape.
Citicising the use of batons and teargas by the police against farmers who were protesting ahead of the budget session in Islamabad on Friday, the PTI chief termed it as a brutal use of force against poor farmers.
Lashing out at the federal government for imposing heavy taxes on agriculture, Khan said the PML-N government has given no relief to farmers in four years.
"Go Nawaz Go has become a national slogan and everyone wants better leadership for the country," Khan said in reference to his demand for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's resignation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated mutual commitment on Saturday to deepen the strategic partnership between the two countries, the Kremlin said.
During a phone conversation, the two leaders talked about the mutual cancellation of trade restrictions imposed after Turkey downed a Russian jet near the Turkish-Syrian border in November 2015, the Xinhua reported.
As for the Syrian conflicts, the two leaders underscored the importance of the Memorandum on De-escalation Zones in Syria and they agreed to step up the coordination of efforts on these issues at different levels.
Russian-Turkish relations have been recovering since Erdogan apologized in June 2016 to Putin for the downing of the Russian aircraft.
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The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday called on NATO to stop confrontation and seek better relations with Moscow.
Russia-NATO relations are "in the deepest crisis since the end of the Cold War," said the ministry in a statement, reports the Xinhua.
It stated that the military alliance has unilaterally frozen projects of practical cooperation on European security.
The ministry said the deployment of NATO hardware and personnel close to Russia's borders dilutes the provisions of the Founding Act and leads to a dangerous round of arms race.
"Growing negative trends are not Russia's choice. This is a direct result of the long-term destructive policy of the bloc aimed at recklessly achieving military and political domination in European and affairs," the statement said.
NATO decided to freeze relations with Russia in April 2014 over the latter's incorporation of Crimea and its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis.
Both sides said they have continued to keep channels for political dialogue open.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In yet another attack on Afghan security forces, a suicide car bomber targeted vehicles belonging to members of the local police force campaign in Khost province on Saturday.
Tolo News citing sources reported that as many as 30 were left dead and wounded post the attack.
The local police force campaign members fall under the U.S-Forces.
The provincial governor's spokesman Mubariz Zadran confirmed the incident and said the incident occurred at the Mujahid square in Khost city.
Zadran, however, did not give details regarding casualties.
So far no group including the Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Meanwhile, Khaama Press reported that provincial public health acting director Gul Mohammadin confirmed that 14 people were killed in the attack and at least 8 others were wounded.
Earlier this week, at least 11 Afghan soldiers were killed and nine others injured in a Taliban attack on a military base in Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
Meanwhile in two different incidents last week, six policemen were killed in an insurgent attack in southern Helmand province while 20 local and national policemen were killed in clashes with Taliban insurgents in southern Zabul province.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The social media sites and applications including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter were on Friday restored in Kashmir Valley.
The Indian government on April 17 blocked access to 22 websites and applications, including Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, as well as 3G and 4G data services in the restive part of the northern state.
The ban came in the wake of reports that these social networking sites were being "misused by anti- and anti-social elements to create law and order disturbances" in Kashmir.
The ban had evoked widespread condemnation within the state and beyond.
On May 11, United Nations experts had even urged the Indian government to withdraw the ban on Internet services in Jammu and Kashmir and "reinstate" freedom of expression.
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A large Taliban explosion targeting an elite Afghan militia force that has worked closely with the C.I.A. killed at least a dozen people on Saturday in the eastern part of the country.
Gen. Faizullah Ghairat, the police chief of Khost Province, which borders Pakistan, said that members of the Khost Protection Force, a militia trained and paid for by the United States, were returning from a mission and had stopped at a crowded bazaar when a car bomb exploded, the New York Times reported.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll.
Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry put the number at 18, while another senior security official said 13 people had been killed.
It was not immediately clear how many of the casualties were civilians or members of the militia, known as K.P.F.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which came on the first day of Ramadan, the holiest month of the Muslim calendar.
In a statement to the news media, the group's spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said that the attack had been planned for months and that it had targeted "the strike force that is trained by the American C.I.A.
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U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark the Islamic holy and fasting month of Ramadan, according to reports.
The move could break a bipartisan tradition that has been in place for nearly 20 years as the month of fasting and prayer for Muslims gets under way in many countries on Saturday.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either an Iftar dinner to break the day's fast during Ramadan or a reception marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, at the State Department.
Tillerson turned down the request forwarded by the State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host an Eid al-Fitr reception as part of Ramadan celebrations.
The reports emerge days after U.S. President Donald Trump in his first official tour abroad visited the Muslim majority nation of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries.
However, earlier Trump came under much fire for his attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Meanwhile, Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan, which he called "a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection."
President Trump also wished Muslims "a joyful Ramadan," on Friday, urging them to use the holy month to reject violence by the extremists.
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A man yelling anti-Muslim slurs stabbed two men to death on a Portland, Oregon, commuter train on Friday.
The two men were stabbed after they confronted a passenger who was "yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs," CNN quoted a Portland police spokesman as saying.
"It is unclear if he was directing (slurs) at specific people but witnesses told us he may have been targeting two girls described as Muslim, one wearing a hijab. We have not been able to find those girls to verify that," said Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Simpson further informant that a suspect is in custody.
"This is at the early stages of the investigation. We do not know if the suspect was drunk, on medication, had mental issues or anything else," Simpson added.
The stabbing occurred on a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light-rail train. According to witnesses one of the victims was stabbed in the neck.
Portland police said that both the victims died adding that a third passenger who also tried to intervene with the shouting man was injured.
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Expressing his solidarity over the Christian killings, U.S. President Donald Trump has said that America stands with President Al Sisi and all the Egyptian people today, and always, as they fight to defeat the common enemy.
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilization, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil. This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls. Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity. But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology," Trump said in a statement.
Trump said that America also makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian Communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected, adding that the bloodletting of Christians must end and all who aid their killers must be punished.
"Civilization is at a precipice-and whether we climb or fall will be decided by our ability to join together to protect all faiths, all religions, and all innocent life. No matter what, America will do what it must to protect its people," he added.
Meanwhile, Following attacks on the Coptic Christians in Egypt, government jets have attacked positions in eastern Libya.
The bombings were aimed at "terrorist" outposts, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said, adding that any form of state-sponsored terrorism should be punished. Irrespective of whether terrorists are inside or outside Libya's borders, they will be targeted by Egyptian attacks, the president added. Six "terrorist" camps were struck by the sortie, the Sputnik reported.
Earlier on Friday, 28 Coptic Christians were ambushed and killed while en route to St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Egypt's Minya province.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Court has asked all the accused in the Uphaar tragedy case, to appear before the court for next hearing on August 16 and 18 in the alleged tampering with the evidence related to the case.
The court observed that if any exemption is to be sought on medical grounds, the accused will have to submit the supporting medical reports along with the exemption application.
The court has already reserved its order on the basis of the chargesheet filed by the police on charges made by Neelam Krishnamurthy, who lost her children in the Uphaar tragedy.
Sushil and Gopal Ansal had approached the High Court challenging the charges framed against them for tampering with evidence.
The district court earlier had ordered framing of charges against seven accused for abetment of offence, causing disappearance of evidence, criminal breach of trust by public servant and criminal conspiracy.
All the accused had denied allegations against them but the court dismissed their petition.
Earlier in April, Gopal Ansal surrendered before the Tihar jail authorities after the Supreme Court refused to grant him more time.
The apex court also refused Ansal's plea, for more time to surrender and ordered the real estate baron to undergo the rest of his jail term.
The apex court directed senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who appeared for Ansal, to ask the real estate baron to complete the rest of his jail term.
The apex court sentenced Ansal to one-year jail term on February 9, while, his elder brother Sushil was ordered to skip his prison term citing old age and ill-health.
At least 59 people died of asphyxia and over 100 others were injured in the stampede after fire broke out in Uphaar cinema on June 13, 1997, during the screening of J.P. Dutta's film 'Border'.
This court case continued for 20 years.
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The Pentagon has announced plans to test its first-of-its-kind missile intercept in the next week that would involve shooting down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - similar to what North Korea recently launched.
U.S. military personnel plan to launch a custom-made missile from the Marshall Islands and aim to shoot it down in space by firing an interceptor missile from a base in California, reports Fox News.
The missile is meant to simulate an ICBM, meaning it will fly faster than missiles used in previous intercept tests, according to Christopher Johnson, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.
This is the first time the U.S. military has attempted to test a ground-based interceptor against an "intercontinental class target," said the Missile Defense Agency.
The interceptor test, scheduled for Tuesday, comes after a series of successful North Korean ballistic missile launches the recent being on May 21.
Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the missile hit the water about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from the east coast of North Korea. She said the missile did not go higher than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), according to preliminary data.
On May 14, the test missile by Pyongyang reportedly reached an altitude of more than 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles).
According to analysts the test gave North Korea critical information on developing a re-entry vehicle for nuclear warheads and showed Pyongyang had a missile capable of striking the U.S. territory of Guam.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had earlier vowed to field a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching American territory.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Of Rs 0.75 per share
Jain Irrigation Systems announced that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 24 May 2017, inter alia, have recommended the final dividend of Rs 0.75 per equity Share (i.e. 37.5%) , subject to the approval of the shareholders.
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On 30 May 2017
Oyeeee Media will hold a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company on 30 May 2017, to consider and approve the Audited Financial Results for the Half year and Financial year ended 31st March 2017 and such other matters as specified in the agenda.
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Sales rise 6.80% to Rs 4.40 crore
Net profit of Phoenix Township declined 34.04% to Rs 0.31 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 0.47 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. Sales rose 6.80% to Rs 4.40 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 4.12 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016.
For the full year,net profit rose 18.18% to Rs 0.52 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 0.44 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. Sales rose 11.00% to Rs 14.53 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 13.09 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Mar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Sales4.404.12 7 14.5313.09 11 OPM %16.8224.03 -19.4121.31 - PBDT0.821.33 -38 2.662.67 0 PBT0.560.66 -15 0.770.63 22 NP0.310.47 -34 0.520.44 18
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Sales decline 11.44% to Rs 25.93 crore
Net profit of Saint-Gobain Sekurit India declined 45.64% to Rs 1.06 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 1.95 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016. Sales declined 11.44% to Rs 25.93 crore in the quarter ended March 2017 as against Rs 29.28 crore during the previous quarter ended March 2016.
For the full year,net profit reported to Rs 6.77 crore in the year ended March 2017. There were no net profit/loss reported during the previous year ended March 2016. Sales declined 12.21% to Rs 122.14 crore in the year ended March 2017 as against Rs 139.12 crore during the previous year ended March 2016. ParticularsQuarter EndedYear EndedMar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Mar. 2017Mar. 2016% Var.Sales25.9329.28 -11 122.14139.12 -12 OPM %11.3814.38 -12.9515.77 - PBDT3.494.77 -27 18.1123.44 -23 PBT1.432.72 -47 10.3714.93 -31 NP1.061.95 -46 6.770 0
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Sixteen thousand police personnel have donated blood over the past one week to overcome the blood crisis in West Bengal during the ongoing summer, chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Saturday.
The Chief Minister had earlier urged police personnel and her party Trinamool Congress workers to organise voluntary blood donation camps in the city and across districts to meet the shortage of blood in hospitals and blood banks as part of the celebrations to mark the sixth anniversary of her government. Besides, the Banerjee government on Saturday completed its first year in office in its second term.
"Till yesterday (Friday), 16,000 police personnel have donated blood," Banerjee said while addressing a function at the state secretariat, Nabanna.
She said the Trinamool workers and the state government employees had also started holding blood donation camps from Saturday.
"There will be nearly 50,000 bottles by June 10," Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister said the total collection of around 66,000 bottles would mitigate the blood shortage in the state.
The state government, together with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, also started an ambulance service during the day. The 53 air-conditioned ambulances would be used both in the city and the districts.
Banerjee also launched an air-conditioned fast bus service from Kolkata to Bolpur and Suri in Birbhum district.
In an oblique reference to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which is celebrating the completion of its third year in office on a grand scale, Banerjee said: "We could also have celebrated the sixth year of our government with fanfare. But we are not doing so.
"Instead, we are organising blood donation camps and starting ambulance services, besides taking up other social programmes for benefit of the public".
On the occasion, the state government also published a booklet and released a compact disc highlighting its successes over the years.
--IANS
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At least 18 persons were killed when a suicide car bombing struck a crowded area in Afghanistan's Khost city on Saturday, an official said.
Ten security guards and eight civilians were among the dead in the attack that targeted local off-duty security guards, known as Campaign Forces, Xinhua news agency quoted the security official as saying.
The blast took place near a taxi station where the guards arrived to go to Camp Chapman, a military base run by the US and NATO forces, he said.
Police chief General Faizullah Ghairat said the police have launched an investigation into the incident that also left about six persons injured in the attack in Khost, capital of Khost province bordering Pakistan.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack.
The attack came as Afghans mark the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, during which the faithful fast from dawn to dusk.
--IANS
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Three members of a gang, who would lure bikers by putting on the guise of loose women at night and rob them, have been arrested, police said here on Saturday.
"Posing as prostitutes, two-three members of the gang would stand along the road at night and when bikers stopped, they would rob them," a senior police officer told IANS.
"They used to not just rob people stopping their vehicles but also thrashed anyone resisting them," he added.
The gang used to operate in Wazirabad-Khajuri Khas Chowk stretch and Yamuna Pushta road, in north-east Delhi.
"Police has worked out 12 cases (after their arrest) and has recovered six mobile phones and a motorcycle," Deputy Commissioner of Police A.K. Singla said.
The arrested have been identified as Vinay, 22, Abhishek, 23, and Arjun, 19 -- all residents of Delhi.
On Friday, the accused were trying to sell stolen mobile phones in Shastri Park area when police noticed them.
When the accused realised that policemen were watching them, they tried to flee the spot on a motorcycle, but they were arrested after a long chase.
Police said that the accused had admitted to have carried out about a dozen robberies in the area.
Police are on the hunt for five more members of the gang.
--IANS
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The AAP on Saturday accused BJP-ruled states of spending over Rs 2,000 crore on advertisements praising three years of the Narendra Modi-led government and said the money should have been utilised to build schools and hospitals instead.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will appeal to a committee set up to monitor the Supreme Court's guidelines on government advertisements, to redeem this money from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"When we inquired in different states, we came to know that a budget of over Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated for advertisements praising three years of the BJP (NDA) government," the AAP leader said.
When IANS asked how the AAP arrived at the figure of Rs 2,000 crore, AAP leader Ashutosh said it is from "our own sources", and didn't elaborate.
Showing newspaper advertisements from different states, the Deputy Chief Minister said: "These are advertisements from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh. In these BJP-ruled states, tax payers' money is being spent on praising three years of BJP (NDA) government."
"Governments have the right to give advertisements and it's needed too, but it must be to communicate with people and not for celebrating your party's three years at the Centre," Sisodia said.
Speaking about allegations made by sacked Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra earlier on Saturday, about a Rs 300 crore "scam" on procurement of medicines by the Delhi government, Sisodia dubbed it as a "daily soap opera" and baseless.
--IANS
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The BJP will not get a single seat in the Telangana assembly elections in 2019 while the Congress will get two, says a survey conducted on behalf of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Rao will win 106 seats in the 119-member assembly, if elections are held now, claims the survey.
The survey findings were announced during a meeting of TRS MPs and legislators here on Saturday, party sources said.
TRS had bagged 63 seats in the 2014 elections. The Congress finished second with 26 seats while the BJP bagged five seats.
The survey comes close on the heels of Bharatiya Janata Party national President Amit Shah's three-day visit to Telangana, during which he exuded confidence that the party will come to power in Telangana in the 2019 elections.
The visit triggered a war of words between TRS and BJP with Chandrasekhar Rao terming as a blatant lie Shah's claim that the Centre had given Rs 1 lakh crore additional funds to Telangana in three years.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, asked Shah to apologise to the people of Telangana for what he said was "belittling" the newly created state.
He also threw the challenge that if Shah proved his claim he will resign as the Chief Minister.
The TRS chief, who has been conducting surveys on the performance of his ministers and party legislators, told the TRS leaders that the Congress will get only two seats.
KCR's survey forecast that the Modi factor may not have much impact in the next assembly elections. It also claimed that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen will win six seats, down one from its 2014 performance.
The meeting called by KCR discussed the latest developments in the wake of Amit Shah's visit to the state and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's proposed visit next month.
--IANS
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People across sections in the northeastern states are more or less unanimous in their opinion that enforcement of the cattle slaughter rules issued by the central government on Friday will have little or no impact in the region.
In a bid to regulate the hitherto unregulated cattle trade, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government at the Centre issued a notification which bans sale of cattle, including cows, bulls, buffaloes, camels, heifers, calves and camels, for slaughter through animal markets.
Speaking about the new rules, A. Romenkumar, an Advocate and former Additional Director General of Police, told IANS that those opposing the ban on cattle slaughter may cite the right to food guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution.
"But the same Constitution also ensures the right to life. The Supreme Court had ruled in a 2014 case that all forms of animal life are included in the expanded meaning of 'life', as enumerated under the Article 21 of the Constitution."
Referring to irregularities by abattoirs, Romenkumar said: "Clause (i) of the Police Act, 1861 says that slaughterhouses should possess a licence and a veterinarian should certify the quality of the meat... Clause (ii) says that there shall be no cruelty, inhuman torture of the animals...
"During my stint as a police officer, several abattoirs and meat shops in and around Imphal city were closed, as they did not possess licence or health certificate from veterinarians."
Nimaichand Luwang, a former minister who had unsuccessfully contested the March 2016 assembly elections on a BJP ticket, said: "The ban (new rules) can never be implemented in Manipur where there are Christians, Muslims and others, who relish meat. Vaishnavite Hindus constitute only a small percentage of the population. The move will be counter-productive for the BJP."
Advocate and human rights activist Khaidem Mani asserted: "The meat ban cannot be enforced in Manipur. One state has already registered a strong protest and Manipur may follow suit."
L. Haokip, who has been slaughtering cattle for selling meat in the market in Churachandpur district, said: "Our forefathers were hunters and we kill cows and buffaloes for meat on all festive occasions and for day-to-day sale. The new rules are something incomprehensible."
Brajamani Sharma, a devout Vaishnavite, said: "Personally, I have no objection to meat eating by others. But cruel ceremonial killings of trussed buffaloes by dancing tribals, who pierce the helpless animals with spears, is something reprehensible and it must be stopped."
All tribal markets in Manipur sell beef, venison and other kinds of meat, including that of migratory birds, every day. Even the meat of wild animals is on sale.
Similar is the scenario in other states like Mizoram, Meghalaya and Nagaland.
According to the law enforcers, "there's not much we can do" towards implementing the new rules.
Officials of the police and forest departments said that apart from the fact that slaughtering of animals has been a tribal tradition for generations in the region, there is a only a skeleton government staff in the hill areas and police personnel have not been issued even the necessary firearms.
(Iboyaima Laithangbam can be reached at imphalreport@gmail.com)
--IANS
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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has compared US President Donald Trump's "imperiled presidency" to that of Richard Nixon's in a fiery commencement speech at her alma mater Wellesley College.
"We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment after firing the person running the investigation into him at the Department of Justice," Clinton said, before clarifying she was speaking about Nixon.
In 1973, President Nixon ordered the then Attorney General to fire a special prosecutor who was looking into taped conversations recorded in the Oval Office as part of the Watergate scandal. He later resigned while facing the threat of impeachment in 1974.
Clinton's reference to Nixon's firing of an investigator, in a graduation speech at the college on Friday, was an apparent knock at Trump's controversial decision to sack his former FBI Director James Comey, CNN reported.
Since Comey's ouster, the President has been accused of urging Comey to end a probe into his ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
She took repeated veiled shots at Trump for having launched "a full-fledged assault on truth and reason" and proposing a budget that represented an "attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us".
Her sharp remarks met thunderous applause and cheers from the graduating class. She went on to say that "when people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society".
Wellesley College president Paula Johnson noted in her introduction of Clinton that the famous alum almost broke the "highest, hardest glass ceiling."
"And she won the popular vote," Johnson added.
Clinton herself joked that she got through the aftermath of the election with the help of friends, family and wine.
"Long walks in the woods. Organising my closets," she said. "Chardonnay helped a little too."
The former presidential nominee's commencement speech came more than six months after her defeat to Trump, and almost five decades after a young Hillary Rodham's speech at her own graduation thrust her into the national spotlight, according to the report.
Following the speech, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that Clinton's comments were a "stark reminder why (she) lost in 2016" and accused her of "lashing out with the same partisan talking points".
--IANS
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Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has come under fire for making a joke about rape, according to reports on Saturday.
"If you had raped three, I will admit it, that's on me," Duterte said at a press conference referring to soldiers deployed under martial law in the Mindanao region where the army is fighting insurgent Islamist groups.
Duterte made the comment on Friday after warning the uniformed men that they must not commit abuses, Efe news reported.
It is not the first time that Duterte has joked about rape; in April 2016 during the successful presidential election campaign, he made a joke about Australian missionary worker Jaqueline Hamill, who was gang raped and killed in a riot in a Philippines prison in Davao in 1989, when Duterte was the city's mayor.
Duterte said he regretted he could not be the first one to have a go at the young woman.
"I was mad she was raped but she was so beautiful. I thought, the mayor should have been first," the then-presidential candidate said.
Duterte later apologised for the comment.
"There was no intention of disrespecting our women and those who have been victims of this horrible crime. Sometimes my mouth can get the better of me," he added.
Duterte is also known for publicly insulting personalities such as the former US President Barack Obama whom he, in September 2016, called "son of a whore" for being reluctant to meet him.
--IANS
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The makers of "Lipstick Under My Burkha" had to approach the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) once again after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was dragging its heels to grant a certificate to the film. Now the censor body has been directed to certify the movie within a week.
The FCAT issued an order in this regard on Friday, read a statement issued on behalf of the film's makers.
Producer Prakash Jha said in a statement: "Since the was not issuing the certificate, we had to approach the FCAT again. I'm glad the FCAT has directed the to issue the certification to the film within the week. We will be announcing the release date soon."
Earlier, the FCAT had directed the to issue an 'A' certificate to the film via an order dated April 18, 2017. The order was sent out later that week, but the CBFC has still not issued the certificate.
On May 1, Jha submitted the film for viewing to the CBFC, in order to get the certification. But the CBFC has been delaying the process on one pretext or the other, read a statement.
When the FCAT was informed of the delay by the producer, they summoned the CBFC to explain the situation. But no one showed up for the hearing, resulting in the latest order.
It may be recalled that "Lipstick Under My Burkha" was first denied certification by the CBFC in January and then again by the Revising Committee in February as its narrative was considered to be too laced with sexual scenes and abusive language. The producers had then filed an appeal with the FCAT for a reversal of the CBFC decision.
Director Alankrita Shrivastava said, "These are pressure tactics by the CBFC. They are once again trying to do their best to stifle the voices of women. Because the FCAT has pointed out that the CBFC cannot deny certification to a film because it is 'lady-oriented', the CBFC is just delaying the process.
"It has been weeks. And we have been waiting to get the certification in hand so we can announce a release date. We first applied for the censor certificate at the end of December. It is now almost June. Who is going to pay for the delay of five months?"
Meanwhile, Lipstick Under My Burkha has already won multiple awards at film festivals abroad, including the Grand Jury Prize at Films de Femmes Creteil, France and the inaugural Oxfam Award for the Best Film on Gender Equality. It has been officially screened at over 25 international film festivals across the world.
The film features actors like Konkona Sensharma and Ratna Pathak Shah, and tells the story of four small town women in search of a little freedom.
A court in China's Henan province on Saturday sentenced Wu Changshun, a former senior political advisor and deputy head of the public security bureau of Tianjin city, to death with a two-year reprieve for graft.
Wu was also deprived of his political rights for life and all his personal assets were confiscated, Xinhua news agency cited a court statement as saying.
The Zhengzhou court found Wu guilty of taking advantage of his various positions in Tianjin to seek benefits for entities and individuals, while taking bribes of more than 84.4 million yuan ($12.3 million).
Wu was also found guilty of illegally possessing public assets worth 342 million yuan and causing a loss of 101 million yuan to public funds through his abuse of power, the statement said.
The court showed leniency in the ruling, taking into consideration his confession, remorse and the fact that he voluntarily reported information on the crimes of others.
--IANS
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This story has been circulating for several months but was featured tonight on PBS.Sweden has not fought a war since 1814. It has nurtured its neutrality for over 200 years. During the Cold War, it was neutral because it was suspicious of both the superpowers. But now Russian muscle-flexing is jangling Swedish nerves.The government is promising to increase defense spending by 11 percent over the next five years and it is to reintroduce conscription. Gotland is a popular Nordic tourist destination. Its main town, Visby, the best-preserved fortified commercial city in Northern Europe, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.The island, a three-hour ferry ride from the Swedish mainland, is vulnerable because of its strategic location, close to Latvia and the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, where a quarter of a million military personnel are based.AND....Sweden isn't the only nation concerned. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Finland are extremely concerned at Russia's aggressive show of force AND the combination of world leaders like Putin and Trump, who seem to emulate a hawkish nature. Swedish citizens have been quoted as saying: Im not at all positive about the future, because, I mean, how can you be positive with Trump as president?Today, Trump refused to mention or endorse Article 5 in his NATO speech, the enduring principle that binds its members together, committing them to protect each other and setting a spirit of solidarity within the Alliance.Mother Jones says to "drop the hysterics" about Article 5. Really??
The leaders of the G7 nations issued a joint communique on Saturday that found common ground on counter-terrorism, migration as well as trade, though US President Donald Trump had shown reluctance to agree with others over the last.
Trump, however, appeared to have backed down from his fiercely protectionist stance on trade.
The G7 -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, the US -- "reiterate our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism, while standing firm against all unfair trade practices", the joint communique said, Xinhua reported.
The leaders also reached a compromise on migration, acknowledging that states "share a responsibility" in dealing with the mass exodus of men, women and children from war and famine zones in Africa and the Middle East.
The lion's share of the document was dedicated to ongoing conflicts in Libya, Syria, and Iraq, which are breeding grounds for fundamentalist terrorism.
"We commit to continuing ... efforts ... to complete the liberation of the Islamic State-held territories, in particular Mosul and Raqqa, in the pursuit of the IS's final destruction," read the communique, using the various acronyms used for the Islamic State.
The IS actively urges its followers to carry out terrorist attacks. It has claimed Monday's suicide bomb blast in the British city of Manchester that claimed 22 lives, as well as responsibility for the slaughter of dozens of Coptic Christians in Cairo on Palm Sunday.
"It will be impossible to defeat terrorism without a political settlement" in Syria, the G7 document said.
They also stressed the need to stop North Korea nuclear weapons programme. North Korea "increasingly poses new levels of threat of a grave nature to international peace and stability", the G7 statement said.
The communique came on the second and final day of the 43rd G7 summit.
--IAN
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Google has refused to share salary information requested by the US Labour Department, saying that it would cost too much to retrieve the data.
According to a report in ReCode on Friday, the US Labour Department has sued Google for salary records, arguing it is legally entitled to on grounds that Google is a government contractor.
Google has been accused of "systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce."
The search engine giant argued in a US court that it would take 500 hours and $100,000 to fulfil the Labour Department's request.
According to Google, the requests from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a section of the Labour Department, were "overbroad in scope or reveal confidential data."
"We've worked hard to comply with the OFCCP's current audit and have provided hundreds of thousands of records over the last year, including those related to compensation," the report quoted a Google spokesperson as saying.
"However, the handful of OFCCP requests that are the subject of the complaint are overbroad in scope, or reveal confidential data, and we've made this clear to the OFCCP, to no avail."
The spokesperson added that these requests include thousands of employees' private contract information which they safeguard rigorously.
Refuting the claims of the Labour Department, Google claimed that its own analysis of its data showed no gender pay gap, and that its pay model prevented such discrimination.
However, not all former employees agreed on this.
--IANS
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A day after the missing Sukhoi-30 fighter jet's wreckage was found, efforts by search and rescue teams to reach the spot have been hampered by inclement weather, rugged terrain with a steep gradient and thick foliage, defence sources said on Saturday.
Indian Air Force (IAF) officials said the ground parties comprising IAF Special Force Garuds and Army's Para Special Forces are however endeavouring to reach the crash site. The IAF has said the area is "totally inaccessible".
"The progress is slow and painstaking, owing to the rugged terrain and thick undergrowth," an IAF official said.
The wreckage of the Sukhoi-30 fighter jet, which went missing on May 23, was found on Friday during an aerial recce in a thick forest around 60 km from Tezpur in Assam.
A search for the flight data recorder and the two missing pilots will be conducted once the parties reach the spot.
Search parties from the Army are also attempting to reach the spot by trekking but are constrained by inclement weather, thick vegetation and steep gradient of the terrain.
The Su-30 took off from the IAF Tezpur airbase, about 172 km from the India-China border in Arunachal Pradesh, around 10.30 a.m. on May 23 on a routine training mission.
It lost radar and radio contact with the controlling station around 11.10 a.m. near Arunachal Pradesh's Doulasang area, adjoining China, 60 km north of Tezpur.
Tezpur has one of the three IAF air bases in the country that host the Sukhois.
Last year, a Sukhoi-30MKI crashed near Nagaon town of Assam during a routine sortie. While the two pilots ejected safely, some locals suffered splinter injuries in the crash.
--IANS
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The average daily tourist footfall to Jammu and Kashmir has nosedived to about 5,000 in March and April this year, an official of the northernmost state said here on Saturday.
"If the situation was in control then we would have had at least 10,000 tourists per day visiting our state. This is the peak time, but we have not seen a spurt in numbers. We are hoping the footfall will go up in the next couple of months as the situation has improved," Ghulam Zeelani Zagar, Deputy Director of Jammu and Kashmir tourism, told the media here.
In 2016, as many as 17 lakh tourists toured the troubled state.
"This fiscal, we apprehend a lakh or two less number of tourists because the situation in the last six months has not been so good, particularly after July," Zagar said.
Zagar appealed to the public not to turn their backs on the scenic spots such as Gulmarg, Sonmarg and Srinagar.
"The recent terrorist activities are only near the border areas. The tourist destinations of the state are well protected with maximum safety and security for the tourists. The hotel owners, the transport operators and the administration are ready to provide safety and security for the tourists," he said.
To lure travellers, the state Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC) is offering a discount of around 50 per cent on its tour packages, while the private tour operators have come forward with 30 per cent discount.
The situation turned grim for tourists, especially after July 8 last year, when the security forces gunned down Hizbul leader Burhan Wani.
His death led to violent protests, several months of curfew, an overall deterioration in the state's security situation, and more than 100 deaths across the valley.
--IANS
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A Kannada film director and four others were arrested for allegedly abducting an advertising agency owner over a money transaction, police said on Saturday.
"Film director Madan and his four accomplices Chalapathy, Kiran, Murthy and Mohan, aged 25-40 years, were arrested on Friday on the charge of abducting Paramesh, owner of Ravi Askhay Ad Agency, who was paid Rs 16.3 lakh for promoting his Kannada film 'Eradu Kanasu' through advertisements," Deputy Commissioner of Police, West, M.N. Anucheth told reporters here.
Police rescued the 29-year-old victim on Friday from a farmhouse on the city's outskirts, where he was kept since Wednesday for ransom.
Though the film was released on March 17 in about 100 theaters across the state, it was withdrawan two weeks later.
"Unhappy with the agency's work, Madan asked Paramesh to return Rs 8 lakh. As the latter was avoiding the director, the other four accused were sent to meet the victim on the pretext of discussing the issue and kidnapped him on Wednesday," said Anucheth.
Madan later called Paramesh's family and demanded a ransom.
Based on a complaint by Paramesh's family, a police search team traced the four accused and nabbed them on Friday night.
A case was regigtered against the accused for kidnapping or abducting in order to murder under the Indian Penal Code.
--IANS
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Popular TV host Jimmy Kimmel says US President Donald Trumps speeches are "a lot like a fourth grade book report".
Kimmel mocked Trump's first trip abroad on Thursday night's episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!", reports dailymail.co.uk.
He said: "I've noticed (his speeches) sound a lot like a fourth grade book report. He speaks very slowly and simply - not too bigly."
The late night host was pointing at the several speeches that Trump has given on his current nine-day, five country tour through Europe and the Middle East.
In order to highlight the fact that Trump 'uses vocabulary even a child could understand', Kimmel brought in a group of fourth grade students to read his speeches.
The title of the presentation was "My Big Trip", possibly a reference to Trump calling his trip to Saudi Arabia - his first visit overseas as President - his big foreign trip in a Twitter post last week.
"Jimmy Kimmel Live!" is aired in India on Star World and Star World HD.
--IANS
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US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke with Russias ambassador about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow, said US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The claim comes from intercepts of conversations between Russia's Ambassador Sergey I. Kislyak and Moscow.
Kislyak told higher-ups in Moscow that Kushner suggested the proposal in a meeting at Trump Tower -- which former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn also attended -- in December, the Washington Post reported, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the US for the communications and the proposal took Kislyak by surprise, the report said on Friday.
The idea was to have Flynn speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues, the New York Times reported, citing officials.
But neither side followed up on it. And less than two weeks later, the idea was dropped, said the report.
In the days after the meeting with Kislyak, Kushner had a separate meeting with Sergey N. Gorkov, a Russian banker with close ties to President Vladimir Putin.
Though the proposal was designed primarily as a conduit to discuss policy issues, it was unclear why such communications would have needed to be carried out though a secret channel.
The White House declined to comment.
The revelation has stoked new questions about Kushner's connections to Russian officials at a time when the Federal Bureau of Investigation is conducting an investigation into Moscow's attempts to disrupt last year's presidential election.
Current and former American officials said Kushner's activities, like those of many others around Trump, are under scrutiny as part of the investigation.
But Kushner is not the subject of a criminal investigation.
--IANS
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Faraz Arif Ansari, the maker of "Sisak" -- being touted as India's first silent LGBTQ film -- says though presently people are trying to bring the conversation about the community in the mainstream space, it is mostly misrepresented and misinterpreted among a majority of the people.
"I think mostly, they (filmmakers) never shown us (LGBTQ Community) as human beings. Keeping the orientation aside, we are normal. I mean just because I am gay, that doesn't make me less of a filmmaker or writer.
"How does my (sexual) orientation have anything to do with the normalcy of life? I think that thought needs to be brought into the mainstream cinema. LGBTQ community is misinterpreted in mainstreama," Ansari told IANS here.
The filmmaker started writing the project in 2013 after the Supreme Court criminalised homosexuality.
"I started to write the story.... Expressed my thoughts pages after pages and once I finished writing, I realised there are no dialogues in it. I had so much to say about those characters. I did not write anything a single dialogue on them... They are silent, therefore I decided to make it a silent film. However, it took me three years to make the film completely," he added of the short movie.
"Sisak" features Jitin Gulati and Dhruv Singhal as two men who meet in a local train compartment in Mumbai.
The film premiered at the Wicked Queer, a LGBTQ Film Festival in Boston, on April 6.
"It is the first Indian film of last 33 years, that won the Audience Choice Best Film Award there and I think it is a moment of pride and honour for all of us," Ansari said Faraz.
"We have the screening of the film in various other international film festivals in New York, Brazil and Mexico among others," he said ahead of the movie's showcase at the Kashish LGBTQ Mumbai Film Festival 2017 here on Sunday.
Having grown up in a middle class background, it is a constant struggle that Ansari went through because of his sexual orientation. He faced the same when he planned to make "Sisak".
Being a creative person, he feels that the more challenges he faced in life, he came out with flying colours creatively.
"Look at those great films from Iran, South America where people are living in poverty, a conservative society and filmmakers face challenge on censorship... The more we get narrowed as a creative person, we come out with creative explosion," said the director.
Sharing his struggle of making the film, Ansari said: "I struggled so much to make the film, went to people for support as I wanted the story to come on mainstream space, and no one supported financially. So I put all my money that I saved, but the post-production was left.
"We went for crowd funding. Thankfully, Wishberry supported us, we raised the money and finished the film."
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor had launched the trailer of the film in January this year.
Overwhelmed by her support, Ansari said: "She is very very supportive. She is such a huge star who has millions of followers on social media. She put the trailer out and so many people got to know about our film. I lovingly call her Godmother... Such kind of support from mainstream people (from cinema) is always needed for the right reason."
(Arundhuti Banerjee can be contacted at arundhuti.b@ians.in)
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Bihar Chief Minister on Saturday said that opposition unity on the issue of the presidential election is intact and clarified that he came to attend the lunch hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as it was in honour of the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
"Opposition is united on the issue of presidential election," told reporters after meeting the Prime Minister.
The JD-U president said it was unfair to compare the luncheon meeting organised by Sonia Gandhi on Friday for opposition leaders, with that hosted by Modi, and added that it was "always clear" that Janata Dal-United leader Sharad Yadav would go for the opposition meeting .
"Half of the population in Mauritius is of Bihari origin. We have an emotional connect with Mauritius so I thought it is appropriate to accept the invitation," said.
Asked about his skipping the Friday opposition meet, Kumar said: "What is the connection between the two? I have already met Sonia Gandhi on April 20."
"It was already decided that Sharadji will go for that meet. The invitation for today was for the Bihar Chief Minister," he said.
"Comparing the two is a misinterpretation of the situation," he added.
He also said that he urged the Prime Minister to send a team of experts before the arrival of monsoon to study the situation of flooding in his state.
He handed over a letter to Prime Minister Modi demanding special grants for Bihar.
"We have the mandate of people, we have a 'Mahagatbandhan' (grand alliance). Raising the issues of the state with the Centre is our duty," he added.
Abidjan, May 27 (IANS/MAP) Ivory Coast's Minister of National and Technical Education Kandia Camara said that 1,165,325 schoolchildren, representing 39.9 per cent of the country's population, are without birth certificates.
Camara officially launched the mass reviews in Agboville and expressed her concern about this "crucial" issue on Friday.
The ministry urged all the partners in the education system to effectively involve themselves in the process of making supplementary judgments and extracts of birth certificates for those children without identification papers.
The Ministry of Justice and Human Rights has granted three months for the finalisation of this operation.
--IANS
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CORVALLIS One of the victims in Mondays knife attack at a house in Corvallis could lose his left eye, according to an affidavit of probable cause released Friday by the Benton County District Attorneys Office.
The document, filed early Monday afternoon, outlines the accusations against Benjamin Leland Bucknell, the 22-year-old Corvallis man charged with attempted murder and a host of other offenses in an incident that injured five people.
Bucknell stabbed one of the victims, Jesus Valencia-Camacho, in the left side of his head, causing Valencia-Camacho to lose vision in his left eye. He was taken by helicopter from Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland for treatment, according to the affidavit.
Authorities say Bucknell also stabbed four of Valencia-Camachos roommates in the house at 413 NW 27th St. Prosecutors charged Bucknell on Tuesday with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of attempted felony murder, three counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree arson, four counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of second-degree assault, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of resisting arrest and one count of second-degree criminal mischief.
Bucknell pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment in Benton County Circuit Court.
Before attacking Valencia-Camacho inside the house, Bucknell poured gasoline on the ground outside and lit the fuel on fire, the affidavit states. One of the roommates, Nadav Mouallem, reported the fire entered the basement and ignited the sleeping bag he was sleeping in.
Bucknell, who was reportedly wearing a bandana over his face and a hooded shirt, then entered the home, according to the affidavit. Bucknell attacked roommates Catherine Lisman and Dan Rinkevich, who were asleep in a bedroom, the affidavit states. Both victims sustained serious stab wounds to their heads and shoulders, as well as skull fractures. They underwent emergency surgery at Good Samaritan, according to the affidavit.
The suspect allegedly stabbed another roommate, Nolan Butuso, who received a cut to his face, the affidavit states. Additionally, Bucknell attacked roommate Evan Burns, causing cuts to his nose and torso, according to the affidavit.
A passerby reported seeing Bucknell crawl out of the house through a broken window, the affidavit states. The witness followed Bucknell as he fled the scene and told another person to call 911. Bucknell reportedly tried to remove his blood-soaked clothing prior to police arriving, according to the affidavit. Police arrested him less than two blocks away in the parking lot of the Corvallis Senior Center at 2601 N.W. Tyler Ave. Bucknell fought with officers and refused to obey their commands, the affidavit states.
Bucknell had injuries consistent with having cut himself while attempting to stab another person, according to the affidavit. He also had scrapes consistent with having crawled out of a broken window, the document states.
Bucknell was booked into the Benton County Jail, where he remains on $1 million bail.
Thomas Hill, Bucknell's court-appointed defense attorney, declined to comment, saying he needed more time to investigate the facts of the case.
Over 800 Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons ended a 40-day hunger strike on Saturday after reaching an agreement over their demands.
The suspension of the hunger strike was agreed to by a committee consisting of several prisoners, including the leader of the strike and Fatah member Marwan Barghouti, which negotiated with Israeli prison authorities during the last 20 hours, head of the Palestinian Prisoners Club Qadura Fares told Efe news.
At around 5 a.m., after negotiations and a lot of pressure in the Ashkelon prison, Barghouti and his team agreed to end the strike, Akram Al-Ayasa, spokesman for the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, said.
The Israeli prison service reported in a statement that the end of the strike was achieved through an agreement between Israel, the Red Cross and the Palestinian National Authority, offering national security prisoners a second visit from their relatives per month, to be financed by the Palestinian government.
The restoration of the bi-monthly visits, a system that worked until last year, was one of the demands of the strikers, who also called for the end of solitary confinement, torture, medical negligence and administrative detention, as well as access to education and medical care.
According to Israeli prison authorities, 1,578 Palestinian prisoners out of the nearly 6,500 serving sentences in Israeli prisons were involved in the hunger strike that began 40 days ago.
Since then, 18 strikers were hospitalised and more than 750 abandoned the strike, which was upheld by 834 inmates until its suspension.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Late King of Pop Michael Jackson's daughter Paris was referred to as a "homeless person" ahead of a photo shoot here.
The model shared the experience on Twitter.
"One of the first people on set, sitting in the parking lot and this dude comes up to me and says, 'Homeless people aren't allowed in this area'," Paris wrote on Twitter, reported etonline.com
She didn't open up about what happened after the incident and instead retweeted musician Nahko's reply to her, which read: "You're home free, not homeless."
Paris has signed a contract with IMG Models, and she also made her acting debut by guest starring on Fox's "Star".
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Philippines government on Saturday announced that it will not participate in the fifth round of peace talks in the Netherlands with rebels.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza said the government "will not proceed to participate" in the scheduled peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), until there is an "enabling environment" to proceed with the talks to end Asia's longest-running insurgency.
"The road to peace is not a well paved road. It has humps and bumps along the way. This is not an easy road to peace," Xinhua news agency quoted Dureza as saying.
Dureza also cited the attacks by the New People's Army (NPA), the military wing of the CPP, and the latest order of the CPP to its ground forces to intensify their offensive amid President Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
The Philippines government and the leftist rebels signed "an agreement on an interim joint ceasefire" during their April peace talks in the Netherlands.
However, the government claimed the NPA attacked a food company, torching some equipment and disarming security guards in southern Mindanao, on April 29.
NDF negotiating panel senior adviser Luis Jalandoni said it received notice from the government about the cancellation.
"So we see clearly, it's their responsibility in doing so because the NDF negotiating panel side was willing to take up such issues as the human right violations and how these can be remedied," Jalandoni said.
The government and the rebel panels are scheduled to resume peace talks from Saturday to Thursday in the town of Noordwijk in the Netherlands.
Norway is brokering the ongoing formal peace negotiations, acting as the third party facilitator of the talks since 2001.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Federation of Educational Publishers in India (FEPI) on Saturday urged the government to addresses some "inadvertent anomalies" that have crept into the tax structure for books under the proposed GST regime.
Addressing its concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the FEPI -- an umbrella body of over 2,000 publishers -- said that according to the final Goods and Service Tax (GST) slabs, books had been largely exempted from tax.
The publishers' body, however, added that some categories of books, such as those for colouring, drawing, workbook of all types and exercise books, have been made taxable under the GST structure.
"We would like to point out that these books are for children, who have just entered the schools and are in the age group of three to 12. This additional tax will pose financial burden on their parents. We request the government to immediately rectify this," said S.K. Ghai, the FEPI President.
Science practical and lab manuals, and maths activity manuals with printed material and some blank pages have also been put under the taxable category.
Terming these "anomalies" as a "major oversight", FEPI General Secretary R.K. Gupta urged the Finance Minister to roll it back.
"This will lead to a major burden on millions of children and their parents, who shall have to bear the burden of more expensive books. These books for tiny tots not only bring out the hidden talent of children but also help them shape their creativity and evolve into good human beings," said Gupta.
He further added that all types of books should be kept away from the GST.
--IANS
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Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday held the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh responsible for caste violence in Saharanpur district and said the clashes escalated due to its "prejudiced action".
There is no town or city in Uttar Pradesh where crime is not soaring after the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Yogi Adityanath has been sworn in, the Congress leader said.
He also targetted the Centre, saying both the state and central government have "miserably failed on all fronts".
Gandhi made the comments after meeting persons affected by the Saharanpur violence at a roadside eatery in Sarsawa on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border.
He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kashmir violence and said Pakistan had benefitted due to the situation in the Valley.
On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission to Gandhi to visit the villages where caste conflicts since May 5 have left at least two dead and over two dozen others injured.
Clashes between the Dalits and Rajputs erupted on May 5 in Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur after objections were raised over the playing of loud music in connection with the celebration of the birth anniversary of warrior king Maharana Pratap.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi reached Saharanpur around 3.30 p.m. along with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar before walking for about half a kilometre to meet the violence affected.
Earlier, a major crisis was averted when district administration and police officials succeeded in convincing the Congress leaders not to enter Saharanpur district, where heavy police force was deployed and its borders sealed.
--IANS
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Ten civilians were killed and six others wounded in an explosion in Afghanistan's Herat province, local media reports said.
The incident occurred on Friday, when a moving vehicle ran over an Improvised Explosive Device in Adraskan District of the province, 640 km west of national capital of Kabul, according to a report by Tolo News.
All people aboard the vehicle were affected by the explosion and those among the victims were several women and children, Xinhua news agency reported.
About 715 civilians were killed and over 1,460 others injured in conflict-related incidents across Afghanistan in the first three months of the year, according to figures released by the UN mission in the country.
--IANS
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Burglars looted Rs 15 lakh from an ATM in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district, police said on Saturday.
The burglars looted the money from a J&K Bank ATM in Unisoo village in Langate area late Friday night.
"An FIR has been lodged and investigations are on," a police official said.
Fearing robbery attempts by gunmen, the authorities of J&K Bank have been carrying on cashless operations of some of its branches in south areas.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
South African Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba has opposed a multi-million dollar deal involving South Africa's state-owned weapons manufacturer Denel and Indian origin business family Gupta-linked company.
This came after Denel Chairperson Daniel Mantshe told parliamentarians on Thursday that Gigaba's concern over the deal would be resolved, Xinhua news agency reported.
The National Treasury on Friday said Gigaba in a meeting with Mantshe earlier this week discussed the Denel Asia joint venture.
Gigaba has reiterated his opposition to the joint venture with VR Laser Asia, owned by the Guptas, given the fragile financial situation that Denel is in, said National Treasury spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete.
The minister further asked Denel to withdraw its litigation against the National Treasury, Tshwete said.
"The matter is currently before the court and we would like to respect the process. We will not make any further comment until the matter is finalised. We hope that other parties also respect the court process and refrain from misleading public comments," Tshwete added.
In March, Denel approached the High Court in Pretoria, seeking an order to force the Treasury's approval of the Denel Asia joint venture deal.
In this joint venture, VR Laser Asia will contribute 100 million rand ($7.8 million) in loan to set the ball rolling.
For its part, Denel will contribute the product and its knowledge to the partnership. According to the business plan, it has already spent 500 million rand to develop products.
The projected profit for the joint venture over 10 years is 4.5 billion rand. As VR Laser Asia has a 49 per cent stake, it translates into a forecast profit of 2.2 billion rand.
The deal puts the wealthy Gupta family in the spotlight again and adds grist to the alleged "state capture", in which the Guptas are accused of exerting undue influence on President Jacob Zuma in the appointment of cabinet ministers and the awarding of contracts to Gupta-linked companies.
--IANS
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A South Korean fishing vessel and all crew members on board were found to be safe after contact was re-established with the vessel, a maritime official said on Saturday.
"The vessel is safe," Xinhua news agency quoted John Steed, the regional manager of non-profit group Oceans Beyond Piracy, said here after the organisation got in touch with the vessel.
Steed said earlier that the ship lost contact after sending a message that they were being chased by suspected Somalian pirates on Saturday.
"We received a call from fishing vessel named Seo Hyun 389 that they were being chased by suspicious pirates in Position 0630N 06100E," Steed said.
South Korean's naval contingent, the Cheonghae Unit, was reportedly deployed to the site after the ship carrying both South Korean and foreign crew members went out of contact.
The fishing vessel which was registered in Mongolia and owned by an ethnic Korean businessman living in South Africa, has three Koreans and 18 Indonesians on board.
Demanding millions of dollars in ransom for captured ships and their crews, Somali pirates had intensified operations between 2008 to 2011 not just off their own coastline, but further afield in the Red Sea, particularly during the monsoon season in the wider Indian Ocean.
Tankers carrying Middle East oil through the Suez Canal must first pass through the Gulf of Aden.
According to maritime officials, about 4 per cent of the world's daily oil supply is shipped through the gulf.
--IANS
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The South India Hotels and Restaurants Association (SIHRA) on Saturday said it will support the May 30 shutdown called given by another industry body, the Tamilnadu Hotels and Restaurant Association, against the GST rate.
Protesting against the levy of 12-28 per cent GST rate, the Tamilnadu Hotels and Restaurant Association had recently announced their decision to call for a shutdown strike.
As a result all hotels and restaurants in Tamil Nadu will down their shutters on May 30 from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In a statement issued here, SIHRA said hospitality and hotel industry is reeling under since 2009 due to economic and other conditions.
"Recently, the Supreme Court came with a judgement preventing any liquour sales within 500 metres of the National and State highways, crippling the business of hotels which are located on the arterial roads," it added.
--IANS
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Billy Huffman loved the ballad "Kathleen Mavourneen," with its soulful lyrics lamenting the parting of two lovers and the fear they may never meet again.
The Linn County man's wife, Betty, had learned the song from the Irish nuns she met during nursing training in a Catholic school in Baker. "Mavourneen," in Irish slang, is a term of endearment. Huffman liked it so much he and his crew named their B-17 "Mavoureen," accidentally leaving out the first "n," in its honor.
The lyrics of the tune would prove prophetic. Huffman had enlisted in the Army in 1942, three days after his 22nd birthday, and was assigned to the 452nd Heavy Bombardment Group. The Mavoureen went out on a mission on Feb. 20, 1944, and never came back.
There is more to the story a great deal more, as Randy Martinak found while doing research for the annual Linn County Memorial Day Service. Part of his job is to find the stories to tell.
The service will be at 11 a.m. Monday, May 29, at Timber-Linn Memorial Park. The public is invited.
Every year, Martinak, a member of the Linn County Veterans Memorial Executive Board, chooses the name of a soldier from the names on the memorial wall, and researches that person's history.
"It allows all of us to know and grieve the loss of his or her life, as their families did at the time of their death, on this one day, in one short hour of ceremony," he said. "As I do this research, the one who is to be honored becomes a living person again, not just a name on the wall."
This year, it will be Billy Huffman who stands for the soldiers, and their families, who sacrificed all.
Martinak has asked that Huffman's name be announced just prior to the rifle salute, to signify that the salute is for him and for all those who died. The fired casings will be gathered and sent to Huffman's widow, Betty Lou (Huffman) Rosevear, now 96 and living in San Diego.
The couple's story "shows not only the loss of war, but the pain and suffering of families, the anguish of not knowing what happened or where their loved one is, the mountain of paperwork that it takes to find out what happened, and the extreme that our country will go to in locating and repatriating a deceased member of our armed forces," Martinak said.
'Sweet Billy Lou'
Martinak dug into websites with military service histories and Huffman's Individual Deceased Personnel Files to find the details of Huffman's story. He tracked down Huffman's widow, Betty Rosevear, from a Facebook post and spoke with her, which is how he was able to obtain photos, family anecdotes and even a DVD of a National Archives interview with Rosevear.
Huffman was born April 6, 1920, the son of Edward H. Huffman and Laura Randolph Evans Huffman. His father owned a farm on the Linn County side of Stayton, and it's likely Huffman was born in Linn County, but his mother died just days after his birth and was buried in Baker. Huffman grew up in Baker, at the home of an aunt and uncle.
Huffman's mother called her new baby her "sweet Billy Lou." He bore that name ever since. When he was older, his family thought about changing it to a more formal "William Louis," but somehow it never stuck.
"He didnt mind at all. I think he kind of enjoyed people asking him, are you from the south? said his widow, Betty Rosevear, with a chuckle.
Huffman attended Oregon State College. He moved back to Linn County to do so, living at Route 1, Box 51, Stayton. He visited Baker frequently, however, which is where he met Betty, who was training to be a nurse.
After Huffman completed basic training, he was accepted as an aviation cadet, went to flight school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. Betty was training in a children's program at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland in June 1943. Shortly before Huffman was shipped out for combat duty, he traveled to Portland. He and Betty were married there on June 6, 1943.
Huffman was assigned to the 452nd Heavy Bombardment Group, part of the 8th Air Force, and to the 728th Bomb Squadron, which deployed to England. On Feb. 20, 1944, with Huffman as pilot, the Mavoureen headed out on a bombing mission to Poland and Germany. It was over Denmark when German planes attacked.
Witnesses later reported the Mavourneen took a hit to its No. 1 engine, with a 20 mm cannon blasting a hole about 2 feet by 3 feet on the leading edge of the wing. Huffman's crew bailed out, parachuting into the sea. Two were captured. the other seven died.
Huffman stayed with the Mavoureen, which crashed north of Fuglebjerg, on Seeland Island roughly 90 kilometers southwest of Copenhagen.
German records captured before the war ended and included in Huffman's files indicated Huffman's body was found near the plane and buried in the Danish cemetery of Svino By.
Both Huffman's remains and his effects eventually made their way home to Oregon, but not without delays, sidetracks and various forms of miscommunication; not unusual in wartime.
Huffman's death wasn't officially confirmed by the Army until July 1, 1944. His father and stepmother received his clothing and other basic items, although a recording error sent them first to a Charles Hoffman in Glendale, California. The Germans had taken a ring bearing his initials, however, which Allied forces later confiscated and which made it back to the family after Betty asked that it be sent to them.
Betty received Huffman's Purple Heart, but later lost it when the foot locker in which it was stored, which friends were keeping, disappeared shortly after the war ended. (Martinak found her through a 2016 Facebook post in which she mentioned its loss; he said he is working to get the medal replaced.)
Bringing Billy home
Betty had become a second lieutenant while Huffman was overseas, working in a hospital in Auburn, California, by the mid-1940s.
Following Huffman's death, Betty continued with nursing, working in a tent hospital in the Philippines and then in Manila, where she was when the war ended. She went next to a hospital at the Presidio in San Francisco, and on her discharge remarried, to another World War II veteran named William Rosevear. The two went on to travel much of the world before Rosevear's death in 2004.
The Huffmans wanted Billy's remains brought home to Oregon, but Betty, even though she had remarried, needed to first sign off on that request. She did so, and the Huffmans provided the Army with a copy of Betty's new marriage certificate to seal the deal.
Huffman's remains went first to the U.S. Military Cemetery in Belgium. In February 1949, they were returned to his family. He was buried at the IOOF Cemetery in Salem.
In his work at the Linn County Veterans Memorial, Martinak said, he's passed by the walls bearing the names of those killed in the nation's various wars hundreds of times, perhaps more.
The names of Linn County's World War II dead number at least a hundred in themselves. But people forget, he said, that each was a person, with a family, a dream and a story to tell.
"Billy L. Huffman, to me, and I hope to all who show up at the memorial to pay tribute, is not just a name on the wall," he said.
The death toll in the floods and landslides in Sri Lanka has increased to 100 while 99 persons were reported missing, the Disaster Management Centre said on Saturday.
Around 12,000 people have been evacuated from areas at risk of floods that have already affected over 200,000 people in 14 districts, the centre said in its latest report.
"Water level of Kalaniya River is still rising so evacuations are still taking place," DMC spokesperson Predeep Kodippili told Efe news.
The first vessel with humanitarian aid from India arrived in Colombo earlier on Saturday. A second vessel will arrive on Sunday.
Heavy rainfall since Thursday has caused water levels of the Kalu, Kelani, Gin, Nilwala and Attanagalu rivers to rise and cause flooding.
Seven districts have been severely affected, the worst of which is the coastal Kalutara, where 38 people have died and 80 people are missing.
The meteorology department has forecast more rain in the coming days.
In May 2016, torrential rain in Sri Lanka owing to an atmospheric depression over the Bay of Bengal left close to a 100 people dead and 300,000 displaced.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
British Airways computer systems went down globally on Saturday causing major delays for holiday makers at the start of the bank holiday weekend.
It came as many Britons headed overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays.
The carrier apologised for the "global system outage" and said it was "working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible", the Guardian reported.
BA's website was unavailable and some travellers claimed they could not check in on the mobile app, with many venting their frustration on the social media.
Others said they had been delayed at the airport or on runways before take off.
There were reports that hundreds of bags were left unattended as BA staff tried to control the situation.
One passenger tweeted: "Stuck on a British Airways plane at Belfast, going nowhere. 'BA computers down worldwide', whatever that means!"
Another posted: "British airways computers down T5 and standstill, stranded on the plane and they make us pay for food!! Please retweet this indicency!"
A passenger claimed that BA "made no announcements at all" about the delays.
A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed the computer system outage and said: "We apologise to customers who are facing some delays following an IT outage this morning."
"We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."
It came a day after passengers at Gatwick airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem, said the report.
Those taking flights on Friday were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
--IANS
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Two persons were arrested, six firearms seized and 104 vehicles without proper documents impounded in Rohini area of north Delhi during a police operation on Saturday, police said.
"Those arrested included a proclaimed offender wanted in a 13-year-old case," Deputy Commissioner of Police Rishi Pal said.
The police operation in which 771 personnel were involved was carried out between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m., he said.
"A total of 703 persons with criminal background were questioned after the entire area was properly sealed," the officer added.
Apart from 104 vehicles that were impounded, 25 persons were fined for using vehicles with tinted glasses.
--IANS
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Days after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the Ganga erosion issue during her Delhi visit, Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti on Saturday said that her ministry will co-operate with the state government to check erosion but stressed proposals should be drafted properly.
"I am telling you that the proposal which the Bengal government sends to my ministry, will be considered and executed by us. But I will also stress that please ensure the proposal is correctly drafted. It should not have any gaps. If there are gaps then we cannot sanction money for an incorrect proposal. Unless its drafted as per rules, we can't sanction funds. I will ensure not a single penny is sacrificed at the altar of corruption over Ganga," Bharti said at a public meeting at Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas district.
She emphasised that the Centre will not indulge in in the name of development in the state.
"Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said one thing... he has told us not to indulge in in the name of development. We will not do that. I will not do any in the name of development in Bengal, I am telling Mamata didi. The only thing that should be ensured is any project proposal that comes from the state government, is properly drafted," she said.
Bharti also said she will write to the Bengal government to submit proposals on conveniences for Ganga Sagar pilgrims at Kakdwip.
"Women need separate places to change clothes, they need washrooms. I will write to the CM urging her to send proposals," Bharti said.
She reiterated that fish ladders, that aid fish in their migration upstream to spawn, would be installed in the Farakka Barrage.
"I came to know that the Hilsa was earlier found till Chambal. Now due to its dwindling numbers, the fishermen community has been destroyed. We have decided to install fish ladders in the Farakka Barrage so that Hilsa numbers increase and fishermen get their livelihoods back," she added.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Even as the Centre has introduced stringent rules regarding cattle slaughter, it was business as usual for beef sellers across Kerala on Saturday, with people queuing up to buy one of their favourite food items. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for repeal of the new rules, which he termed an "intrusion into the rights of states".
The opposition Congress also slammed the new rules, saying the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) was behind the move as they were "trying to divide the society".
Vijayan, who has earlier condemned the beef ban in some states as nothing but a ploy to go forward with the RSS agenda, in his letter to the Prime Minister said: "I request you to kindly intervene in this matter and repeal the newly imposed restrictions, so that the lives and livelihoods of millions of our fellow countrymen can be protected, while safeguarding the fundamental principles of our constitution."
He pointed out that in Kerala, vast majority of the population consumes meat, as is the case with all other South Indian and Northeast Indian states.
"Even in states like Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and West Bengal, non vegetarians out number vegetarians."
Vijayan said the new rules should have been introduced in consultation with the states.
"The absence of efforts to take the states into confidence on such a drastic move with far reaching consequences is detrimental to our democracy. I am afraid it amounts to an intrusion into the rights of the states in our federal structure. The introduction of such restrictions in a hasty manner would certainly prove to be a challenge in upholding our plurality, the essence of our nation. It would also be against the principles of secularism and federalism enshrined in our constitution," he added.
Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony, speaking at a party meeting here, on Saturday said the order in Kerala will have "the value of a paper only" and it's "dangerous to implement this here".
"This order will be torn and thrown into the dust bin. The RSS is behind the move as they are trying to divide the society," said Antony.
Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala told the media in Thrissur that the party will deal with the issue both legally and politically. The party has decided to observe Monday as a 'black day' to protest this "foolish law".
"The Centre cannot infringe on the rights of people, who have the freedom to decide on what they want to eat and what they do not. We will take up this issue very strongly," he said.
Meanwhile, it was normal across Kerala on Saturday morning as hundreds of bovines were traded at the biggest cattle market in Kuzhalmandam, Palakkad district.
"The only thing we are worried is what will happen if the state government implements the rule. We doubt this is going to be practical. Anyway we will wait," a group of cattle traders told the media.
"We came as usual and started doing the same thing as we have been doing for years. Our customers are also here waiting to collect their packets of beef," said a butcher in the busy Kozhikode market.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala blamed the media for "twisting the facts" to rake up unnecessary issues.
State BJP General Secretary M.T. Ramesh said it was most unfortunate that top leaders from various leading political parties linked the Friday order with Ramadan.
"It's meant to whip up passions as both the media and political parties are twisting the gist of the order. If anyone has any doubt on the order, the best way out is to seek legal help. The order is very clear and many are feigning ignorance in order to take it up politically," said Ramesh.
To protest the new order, the student and youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) held beef festivals across Kerala, where beef curry was served with tapioca, chapatti and other food items.
At Kollam, Mahila Congress president Bindu Krishna prepared beef and served it to people in the main road.
"We will send a packet of this beef curry to Modi also," said Krishna.
The price of beef stands at Rs 300 per kg here, and it costs around Rs 280 in towns and smaller cities.
Meanwhile, the Union Environment Ministry on Saturday clarified that the rules were modified to prevent cruelty to animals in cattle markets and not to regulate cattle traded for slaughterhouses.
The Ministry said the livestock markets are intended to become hubs for animal trade for agriculture, while animals for slaughter will have to be bought from farmers at farms.
The statement said the notified rules will remove the scope for illegal sale and smuggling of cattle, a major concern for the government.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The purpose of our government is to make Uttar Pradesh a perfect state in five years, Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya said on Saturday as he gave away the "Vision of UP 2017" awards at an event here.
Also present at the event, organised by the Dainik Bhaskar group to facilitate those who have contributed to the field of social welfare, were the state's second Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Singh and Minister of State Swati Singh.
Among those honoured was Vishakha Tirpathi, President of Jagadguru Kripalu Parishat (JKP), for her contribution in the fields of health and education.
Deputy Chief Minister Sharma lauded her for JKP's efforts towards spirituality and social service. JKP focuses on providing education and health benefits, mainly to the girl child.
JKP Secretary Rampuri said his organisation provides free education, including transport, to girls from the primary level up to Master's at its Ashram in Mangadh.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Top Hizbul commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat alias Abu Zarar, a close aide of militant 'poster boy' Burhan Wani, was killed on Saturday after a gunfight in Tral in south Kashmir, triggering widespread protests in the Valley once again, with one civilian death reported. Authorities were bracing up to prevent a recurrence of the 2016 unrest that saw nearly a 100 dead.
In another incident, six militants were killed by the army when an infiltration bid was foiled on Saturday in Rampur sector of the Line of Control in Baramulla district.
Sabzar, 28, was killed in a four-hour-long gunfight in a village in Tral sub-division of Pulwama district. He was named as the successor of Wani after the latter was killed in a gunfight with security forces on July 8 last year.
The Tral gunfight ensued after a patrol of the army's counter-insurgency unit Rashtriya Rifles was fired upon near Tral town late on Friday evening and security forces quickly surrounded two houses in Saimoh village where the militants had taken shelter.
A fierce gunfight started in the village on Saturday morning and ended when the houses the militants had been using as fortified bunkers were destroyed, police said.
State police chief S.P. Vaid had earlier said that three militants were trapped in the security force cordon, but during search the bodies of only two were recovered from the debris of the demolished houses. One of them was identified as of Bhat, carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
"The bodies of Sabzar Bhat and his accomplice identified as Faizan Ahmad have been retrieved and identified," police said.
As soon as news about the gunfight spread to neighbouring villages, dozens of protesters marched to the site and pelted stones at the security forces.
A civilian was killed and over two dozen protesters were injured during the clashes in Tral. Police sources said that the third militant, a foreigner, took advantage of the tumult to escape.
Valley police chief Muneer Khan said the civilian died in cross firing between the holed up militants and the security forces.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in all districts and major towns of the Valley and protests started in Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Badgam, Ganderbal, Srinagar and Kupwara.
Public transport went off the roads throughout the Valley as people rushed home in their private vehicles while others walked long distances. Schools and colleges were also shut.
Over 30 people were injured in clashes at different places in the Valley. Some persons reported at hospitals with pellet gunshots, according to attending doctors.
Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in parts of Srinagar city till further orders, according to authorities.
Vaid said the clashes during the day were of "minor nature" and the situation was well under control
Authorities quickly suspended Internet services in the Valley and blocked all social networking sites, which had been restored only on Friday after over a month.
Heavy deployment of paramilitary and police have been made at all district headquarters and sensitive places in the Valley to ensure that the situation remains under control.
Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was holding a meeting of top security and intelligence officials to ensure that the situation does not flare up like it did in the aftermath of Burhan Wani's killing last year when 94 civilian protesters were killed in the nearly six-month long unrest that followed.
--IANS
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
During a natural calamity, be it a storm, flood or an earthquake, hundreds of individuals are affected. Consider the floods in Jammu and Kashmir in 2014 or the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 which went missing in 2014 or the Chennai cyclone in 2016, losing a loved one, especially if one goes missing to such a calamity/disaster, could traumatise anyone.
BJP president on Saturday said his party would consult opposition parties, which have been working to forge unity over a joint presidential candidate, before deciding on the ruling alliance's pick for the top constitutional post.
He, however, parried a query on whether the BJP would seek to build a consensus with the opposition.
"Consensus is a word that it is used in several ways. But we will hold discussions with everybody, including opposition parties," he told PTI during an interaction.
Parties like the Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the Left have spoken about fielding a "secular" opposition candidate if the BJP-led NDA picks a nominee with Hindutva leanings.
However, the ruling block is unlikely to be perturbed with the stand of the opposition parties as numbers in the presidential electoral college favour it.
Shah declined to speak about likely names from the NDA for the president's post, claiming they have not decided on anyone yet.
"We have not decided on any name yet. We will first talk to our NDA allies. Then we will talk to opposition parties," he said.
The electoral college for the presidential polls has a total of 11,04,546 votes with the BJP-led NDA's tally currently standing at about 5.38 lakh votes.
The NDA crossed the majority mark in the electoral college after the YSRCP, the Andhra Pradesh party headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, announced his outfit's support for the ruling combine and the TRS, which is in power in Telangana, indicated that it will follow suit.
The BJP is also hopeful of getting the support of both the factions of the AIADMK, which is in power in Tamil Nadu.
The presidential election is due in July and the poll to the post of the vice-president is scheduled for August.
The electoral college for picking the vice president is clearly in the BJP-led NDA's favour with the alliance having the support of 418 members out of 787, the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
The Opposition seems to have found a common plank in the ban on animal slaughter to rally against the central government, with some states even planning to move court against it.
The letters green ink remains so vibrant, its hard to believe it was written 66 years ago from a war zone more than 5,300 miles away from Albany.
It was delivered in the familiar red and blue striped Airmail envelope and postmarked Feb. 14, 1951.
Hi honey, it begins, much like the more than 100 other letters Staff Sgt. Joe Copeland had written nearly every day from Korean war zones to his young bride, Dorothy.
Im lucky, it continues. I got a letter from you and Mary (Dorothys sister) today.
Joe goes on to describe his work duty for the day, including repairing top bows and tarps on trucks used to haul soldiers to and from Seoul, South Korea.
He was an honorable man, Dorothy Copeland said of her husband, who died December 20, 2016, at the age of 91. He was upright and honest, and I had such deep respect and love for him.
They met on a double-blind date in 1947 at his family home near Cottonwoods. It was set up by Joes best friend, who would go on to marry Dorothys sister, Mary.
Joe and Dorothy married a few months later.
Having grown up on a farm, Joe Copeland had learned the value of hard work. He graduated from Albany High School in 1943 and spent a year trying to get into the Army but was rejected twice due to poor eyesight.
But his persistence paid off, and in 1944 he began boot camp in Kentucky.
He was sent to England where he was a cook in a hospital for a time, Dorothy recalled. But he kept trying to get into action and he made it to a company that was hauling supplies for the troops in the Rhineland. At one point, his company was hauling fuel to General Pattons Army. They were driving amphibious trucks across the Rhine 24 hours a day.
Joe rose to the rank of staff sergeant before being discharged in 1946, then came home to the Lebanon area where he began working as a carpenter.
We started life together on a little farm on McDowell Creek Road, Dorothy said. Then, one day in 1950, he was surprised to get orders to report to duty. The Korean War had begun and all available troops were needed. He was in the Army Reserves.
Dorothy said her husband shipped out for Korea in December.
At first, he was sent to the 38th parallel to help build roads for the infantry during the height of the war, she said.
Joe had earned enough points during WWII that his time in Korea was short, about six months. But he faithfully wrote Dorothy nearly each day.
She keeps the letters in a shoe box. A daughter recently helped her put them into chronological order.
February 18: The wind has been blowing and it was pretty cold. It seems like Nevada weather with the barren hills, the cold and wind. I stayed close to the fire this morning.
In a prior letter to Joe, Dorothy had been worried if he was getting enough good food.
I weighed 178 with my clothes on the other day, he replied. That ought to prove it. I never in my life weighed that much before.
On March 10, Joe wrote: Weve been working 24 hours a day because the roads are in such bad need of repairs.
He cautioned Dorothy to not place a lot of stock in news reports of battles at the Han River, which his unit was supporting.
Its not any bigger than the Santiam and the water is very clear. Ice is just starting to form, he wrote.
In several letters Joe recounted battles with Chinese troops, often describing gruesome events. In another, he joked with his wife about an incident at her work.
So you cut your bosses phone off in the middle of a conversation, huh? Hmmm, you sure you still have a job there Honey? he queried lightheartedly.
And after describing a typical days schedule, he noted, This work reminds me of when I used to go to work at Andys Garage
Joe was discharged in 1951 and resumed his training as a carpenter, before starting his own business.
He always said he was meant to be a carpenter, Dorothy said, but he also really enjoyed raising cattle and farming.
In addition to his work for others, Joe built 10 new homes that he and Dorothy lived in before he retired at the age of 65. They then moved to a ranch in Central Oregon, where they raised alfalfa and cattle.
The couple returned to the Albany area 10 years later. Joe built a home on Riverside Drive, where Dorothy still lives.
In 1974, Joe ran for the County Board of Commissioners, but came up a couple hundred votes short.
At the age of 75 he built the house and shop and put together an irrigation system, Dorothy said. He raised vegetables that he sold at farmers markets in Albany and Corvallis. He did that until he was 84 years old.
Joe was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Albany, now called the Willamette Community Church, for 59 years. He was a member of the Gideons for more than 30.
Former Linn County Clerk Del Riley became friends with Joe and Dorothy in 1965, when Riley started attending the First Baptist Church.
I was a new Christian at the time and Joe took me under his wing and had a lot to do with my Christian walk, Riley said. He was quite a mentor over the years. He was a good man, a solid man. He built a lot of homes in this community.
Joe was buried with military honors in 2016 and Dorothy was presented with a U.S. flag, as is tradition.
I had this big, beautiful flag and I didnt want to have it folded up and put away, she said. I asked Del and he contacted the American Legion about building a flag pole.
Dorothy, 88, said the American Legion Post 10 presented her with a smaller flag, and this past week, volunteers installed a flag pole outside her homes front door.
I just love it, she said. I love listening to it and seeing it flying there.
Three persons have been arrested by the Gurgaon Police's cyber cell for their alleged role in duping a job seeker of Rs 2.57 lakh in an online fraud case, police said today.
The gang was busted following a complaint by Sumit Saini, a resident of Begampur, with the cyber cell stating that he had been duped Rs 2.57 lakh online.
"The investigation has revealed that all phone calls made to Saini were from Delhi. The suspects had formed a fake call center to make crank calls to potential job seekers," said Sumit Kuhar, DCP crime.
The kingpin of the fake job racket, identified as Surya Pratap, was earlier employed with a private bank in Gurgaon. He was arrested on Wednesday from Sector-18 in Noida during a raid.
His other two accomplices, Hemant and Bhuvan, were arrested on Thursday from Palam village in Delhi.
The police said the trio lured Saini by offering him a job in Dubai.
"They then asked him to deposit Rs 15,000 as fees. Saini's bank details were also obtained by the suspects. The victim later found that Rs 2.57 lakh was missing from his account. He tried to contact the trio but in vain," a police officer said.
The matter is being probed, he said, adding that around 30 persons have been duped by the gang in the city and Delhi.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three children from Bihar, who were brought here on the pretext of jobs and rescued from the railway station, were kept in a shelter home "with their limbs tied".
A video of the children in confinement also rocketed around the Internet and aired by TV cahnnels.
The children, aged between 8 to 10, were promised jobs in Allahabad by a man in their village in Bihar's Begusarai district.
They were rescued from Allahabad junction by government- run Railway Childline and taken to a shelter home, where their limbs were tied after they tried to run away, senior officials said.
"The children in their statement to the magistrate concerned said Gulab Yadav had promised them jobs that could fetch them up to Rs 6,000 a month.
"On the magistrate's directions, they were taken to the Kalyan Seva Samiti shelter home in Phaphamau," Additional District Magistrate (City), Allahabad, Punit Shukla told PTI.
"They were ordered to be kept there till their family members arrived to take them back. However, the children got agitated and hit some staff members on being stopped from running away," Shukla said.
"The staff members of the shelter home have admitted to tying the children with pieces of cloth, but only for a few minutes and as a desperate measure.
"Nevertheless, it is an offence and those responsible are likely to face punishment. The district probation officer has also recommended the removal of the shelter home's superintendent," the ADM said.
Shukla also took exception to an NGO having shot a video of the children, which was shared on social media and aired by a number of channels.
"As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, clicking photographs and shooting videos inside a shelter home is strictly prohibited.
"Even if the NGO had flouted the rules with a bona fide intention, it should have shared the video with the officials concerned only. The people involved in the exercise, too, may face punishment as per law," he said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least six persons were killed and four others injured today after an under-construction building collapsed in east China's Shandong province.
The workers were adding a second floor to a house in Shaodong village when it collapsed.
Police and firemen were rushed to the rescue following which they pulled out those trapped in the debris, state-run Xinhua agency reported.
Six workers died and the injured were taken to a hospital for treatment. None of the injured are in a critical condition, the report said.
Investigators said the construction was being carried out illegally. Those allegedly responsible for the construction have been detained, it said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A leading private hospital in Kerala today said it is going to provide state-of-the-art specialty medical care to members of Bangladesh Armed Forces (BAF), including retired personnel, and their family members.
The Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (Amrita Hospital) said a wide-ranging agreement was signed for collaboration in patient care, medical education, research and training, and exchange of healthcare professionals.
The agreement was signed by Major General SM Motahar Hossain, Director General of Medical Services (DGMS), Bangladesh Armed Forces, and Dr Prem Nair, Medical Director of the Kochi-based hospital.
Explaining how the collaboration will work, Nair said "this is a remarkable instance of international cooperation in South Asia."
He said they would admit patients at Amrita Hospital for treatment upon referral from BAF.
"The collaboration also involves long and short-term training of doctors, nurses and paramedics from BAF at our hospital.In addition, we will collaborate in medical research initiatives and joint projects of mutual interest in both the countries," he said.
Major General Hossain said the collaboration will bring the two nations closer, even as members of Bangladesh Armed Forces benefit from the state-of-the-art medical expertise and infrastructure available at Amrita Hospital.
"We are also going to set up telemedicine and tele-radiology facilities at the Combined Military Hospital in Dhaka which will connect doctors at Amrita Hospital to our patients in Bangladesh for consultation," he said.
This collaboration would help save many lives as patients will be referred for complex surgeries and medical procedures, he added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
There is no information on two persons from Madhya Pradesh who were on board the ill-fated bus that fell into the Bhagirathi river near Nalupani in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district, an official said today.
A total of 24 persons from Madhya Pradesh were travelling in the bus on a pilgrimage tour of Chardham yatra in Uttarakhand when the mishap took place on May 23.
Twenty-two of the pilgrims were killed, while the two others - Santoshbai (60) and Tejkaran Choudhry (25) - went missing.
"No clues are available about the missing persons," Indore collector P Narhari told PTI.
Santoshbai was among the pilgrims, while Tejkaran was included in the team as a cook. They hail from rural areas of Indore and Dhar districts.
The pilgrims left for the tour on May 12.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami today said he will comment on the Centre's ban on cattle sale after going through the notification in this regard.
Opposition parties, however, condemned the move and demanded that the Centre withdraw the notification banning sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets across the country.
After inaugurating the 'summer fest and flower show at the hill station of Yercaud, the chief minister said full information pertaining to the ban was yet to be received and he could not react based on media reports.
"I can reply only after fully studying it (notification)," Palaniswami said.
On the other hand DMK working president M K Stalin condemned the move and urged the Centre to withdraw the ban to protect the country's pluralism.
The centre should not curtail the freedom of choice in respect of food, he said.
In a statement, he said the BJP-led Centre should refrain from shaking the basic tenet of secularism enshrined in the Constitution.
The leader of the opposition in the assembly said the move was a bid to change the secular face of the country and deprive minorities, farmers and poor farmers of their rights.
Blaming the centre for "snatching" the rights of states on subjects listed under state and concurrent lists, he said the centre was doing it on matters beginning with 'Jallikattu' (taming of the bull) issue to the present cattle ban.
Cattle was on state list and prevention of cruelty to animals was on concurrent list, he said.
"Since they (Centre) cannot claim any achievements, they have brought new rules to hide it," he told reporters at Chennai.
PMK chief S Ramadoss too wanted the centre to withdraw the notification and dubbed the curbs as a "wrong decision" taken with a "narrow intention" and without understanding "reality."
"This is an action which interferes in the food rights of a section of people and will affect the natural equilibrium," he said.
Hitting out at the BJP for "doing cattle politics, CPI (M) state secretary G Ramakrishnan said the move would cause "very severe loss to the farmers," and lead to social unrest.
CPI state secretary R Mutharasan said his party would stage protests against the "anti-people move of the Modi regime."
The Centre has banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter and prohibited practices which are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Chinese consul-general Ma Zhanwu here today expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi not attending the recently concluded OBOR meet in Beijing and hoped that Indian leadership would attend the next meeting in 2019 at the same venue.
"China had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers to the One Belt One Road (OBOR) meet in Beijing. However, they did not find it convenient to attend the meet. Some Indian scholars had attended," Ma Zhanwu said at a Calcutta Chamber of Commerce session on Indo-China relationship.
He said that representatives from 130 countries had attended the OBOR meet.
Zhanwu said the idea behind OBOR was not to form a small bloc against any country, but to explore the possibilities of working together.
China's foreign policy was guided by the five principles of 'Panchsheel', Zhanwu said, adding his country always believed in non-aggression and peaceful co-existence with the neighbours.
The Chinese consul-general said the two countries have differences which could not be solved in the short term but were kept within control through negotiations.
Zhanwu said, "Some see China as a security threat."
"We have great respect for India. Still, there have been apprehensions when China builds spaceships, re-positions its aircraft carrier," he said.
An atmosphere for bilateral relationship is important for proper economic cooperation between the two countries.
"I am dismayed over the slow progress of economic cooperations between India and China in terms of trade and investment. In the next five years, China will invest USD 750 billion globally and import USD eight trillion of commodities and services," he said.
Zhanwu hoped that India would be able get a big chunk of those investment and import orders.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Demonstrators clashed with Venezuelan police again as they descended on the offices of the state media regulator, the latest in nearly two months of often-violent protests demanding the ouster of President Nicolas Maduro.
Youth with their faces covered yesterday blocked the main motorway running through Caracas, cutting it off with trucks that they then set on fire. They also erected barricades of rubble.
Police fired tear gas to disperse the rally, and demonstrators fought back by hurling Molotov cocktails and stones.
Demonstrations that kicked off in late March have claimed the lives of 58 people, as opposition leaders seek to ramp up pressure on Venezuela's leftist president, whose already-low popularity has cratered amid shortages of food and medicines, among other economic woes.
Yesterday's protest in Caracas was held to mark 10 years since the government shuttered a popular television station.
The network, RCTV, was shut down by Maduro's predecessor, the late populist leader Hugo Chavez, after more than a half- century on the air, for its outspoken criticism of his government.
The move "was an atrocious act against freedom of expression," Julio Borges, leader of the opposition-led legislature, said at the protest.
At the time, officials said the move to close RCTV aimed to "democratize" the airwaves in Venezuela.
Since its demise, a state television broadcaster, TVES, was founded and has been operating in its stead.
The government also ordered the Spanish version of CNN off the air in February, accusing it of broadcasting "war propaganda."
"You never find out about anything. We have to get information from Facebook and social media on the internet, through international TV channels," said Matilde Quintero, a retiree marching through Caracas wearing a cap with the yellow, blue and red colors of the national flag.
In a speech, Maduro praised staff at TVES, saying "for 10 years they have been broadcasting humanist television."
Maduro also stood by his plan to elect a constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution and do so without input from opposition parties. Opposition leaders call this a ploy to avoid early elections and cling to power.
On Friday, riot police greeted throngs of protesters who rallied at a complex of buildings housing the defense ministry in Caracas.
Demonstrators had hoped to sway the support of the armed forces against Maduro, who has been resisting opposition calls for early elections.
Organizers said more protests are planned for Monday.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Cognizant layoff case has been closed in favour of employees and the company has been asked to hold talks one-on-one to resolve the issue.
"We have closed the case in favour of affected employees and suggested the company management to continue everybody and hold one-on-one discussion to resolve the issue," Telangana Joint Labour Commissioner Chandra Shekaram today told PTI over phone from Hyderabad.
As many as eight employees had filed petition with the labour department, complaining against Cognizant for forced resignation as the company went ahead with a performance-based human resource review.
"Yesterday, a team from Cognizant met the joint commissioner of labour in Hyderabad," the Cognizant spokesperson said. "We reiterated that allegations about employees being forced to resign are totally unfounded. Cognizant has not conducted any layoffs and changes resulting from the company's performance review process are consistent with the standard practice that has been followed by the IT industry for many years."
The labour department has also advised the company management to give one more opportunity for the petitioners to prove themselves, Shekaram said.
"We have also advised the management to give all eight employees one more opportunity to prove their mettle," he added.
The labour department also has advised employees not to resign, Shekaram said.
"We have advised the employees not to tender resignation because once they did that they would lose their right to petition us or move labour courts. A sacked employee has all the right to contest his termination," he argued.
Out of the eight petitioners, three had resigned and "we have asked them to withdraw their resignations" for contention.
"The company has also accepted considering revoking resignations of the three employees and engaging them in discussions," he added.
The company has not been given any timeline to resolve the matter.
FITE, a representative body of employees working with IT companies and call centres, had alleged that the US-based firm is illegally terminating thousands of employees by forcing them to resign. It held that highly-paid experienced professionals are being replaced by those with lesser experience and lower pay.
To a query, Shekaram said that if the employees are still unhappy with the outcome of the discussions, they can revert to the labour department or move the labour court.
"If they revert to us, we will try to deal the case within the parameters of the Industrial Disputes Act and take stern action. If the company has been found violating, we will punish them," he said.
"Generally, it is not easy to terminate an employee," he warned.
Under fire for its 'employee separation package', Cognizant President Rajeev Mehta had said the company has not made any layoffs, but conducted performance reviews to reflect on the work of last year and ensure the goals for the subsequent year are clear.
He also contended that the software player had offered the employee separation package in India and the US for the first time, unlike its peers, who keep taking such steps regularly.
It has rolled out a 'voluntary separation programme' for directors, associate vice-presidents and senior V-Ps, offering them 6-9 months of salary to make way for the new generation to move up the chain.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union minister Ramdas Athawale today said consensus can be worked out within NDA constituents if NCP leader Sharad Pawar opts to be their Presidential candidate.
Pawar is an intelligent politician and he will not contest to lose. If he wants to get elected he should come with NDA, said Union Social Justice Minister Ramdas Athawale here.
Athawale's comment comes against the backdrop of Pawar's name being earlier discussed by the opposition camp for Presidential post.
The astute Maharashtra politician had then said that he would not be contesting the Presidential polls.
Athawale was speaking to reporters at Ravi Bhavan in Nagpur where he came to attend the birthday celebrations of Union minister Nitin Gadkari.
"Only NDA candidate will win the election. Pawar shares a good relation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and he should discuss with PM Modi and BJP president Amit Shah about his candidature," said Athawale reacting to a question on the nominees for Presidential elections.
"We will support him if he fights as NDA nominated candidate.However, he should not contest as a UPA candidate," said the Union social justice minister.
Athawale praised PM Modi andthe NDA government on completionof its three-years in power.
Modi has a pro-Dalit approach and large number of Dalits too are coming forward and voting for the BJP. Theoutcome can be seen in the recent electoral success in several states, he said.
"There is a scenario being created by the opposition that reservations will be abolished and the Constitution will be changed. The Parliament can only make amendments to the Constitution, it cannot change it. PM Modi has clearly said that the reservations of Dalits, tribals and OBCs will continue," said Athawale.
He condemned recent attacks on houses of Dalits in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and said they should be protected and provided security.
However, he went on to add that the present government there cannot be blamed for violence.
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A 37-year-old criminal carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head has been arrested from Kherki Daula area here, while his sister who was his partner-in-crime was arrested from Guna in Madhya Pradesh.
Police said Ram Pujan, a native of Madhya Pradesh was arrested with illegal fire arms during a raid by crime branch Bilaspur yesterday on the basis of a tip off.
Pujan's sister, identified as Salochna was arrested from a village in Guna district in Madhya Pradesh.
"Ram Pujan, a notorious criminal was involved in over 40 cases of murder, loot and robbery in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and Gurgaon. He was active from last 15 years," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sumit Kumar told PTI.
"Pujan on May 22 robbed a businessman's house in Gurgaon sector-10 and earlier committed three thefts in Delhi," Kumar added.
Pujan, kingpin of a gang of 6 women and 7 teenagers from his native village in Ghuna in Madhya Pradesh, used to send them to various states, specifically targeting metro cities, he said.
During daytime, the gang members used to sell balloons at flyovers, railway stations and bus stops. At night, they used to identify potential targets including bungalows, 'kothis' and other houses for theft, the officer said while elaborating on their modus operandi.
"The gang used to enter the houses after breaking their grills. Pujan sold the stolen jewellery to Madhya Pradesh based jewellers with the help of his sister Salochna," the DCP said.
The history-sheeter was sent to five-day police custody by a local court and further investigations are on, he added.
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Premier national laboratory Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO) today said it has developed a grain moisture analyser which will help growers harvest crops at the right time after ensuring correct moisture levels.
"CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh developed Impedance based Grain Moisture Analyser (IGMA) which rapidly detects moisture levels on the spot without any need for chemical analysis," an official release said.
CSIO is a unit of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
This technology is transferred to Jalandhar-based grain testing equipment company R L Wason & Co for its indigenous production, it said.
"This technology can help farmers harvest crops at the right time after ensuring correct moisture levels and to decide market sale rates (minimum support price) by the government officials in grain markets.
"It will also help Food Corporation of India (FCI) warehouses to store grains at the right moisture levels to protect spoilage and losses thus ensuring high shelf life for stored grains," it said.
Moisture content in grain is an important parameter which controls shelf life of the stored grains and is mainly responsible for mold growth and spoilage, the release said.
The cost of the developed technology is almost half as compared to similar imported products available in the market and is completely developed with indigenous efforts, it said.
Being made in India, it is possible to repair and maintain it economically. Also, it will be easy to customise it as per the Indian environment.
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Realty major DLF's promoters are likely to enter into an agreement with Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC in the next few weeks to sell their 40 per cent stake in rental business for an estimated Rs 13,000 crore.
DLF, the county's largest realty firm, expects the deal to be concluded by October this year after receiving regulatory and all other approvals, its CFO Ashok Tyagi said.
"We have made significant progress in the proposed transaction. We expect GIC to conclude extensive due diligence in the next few weeks.
"Simultaneously, legal documentation is at an advanced stage which will be completed in the next few weeks," DLF Senior Executive Director (Finance) Saurabh Chawla told analysts today in a conference call.
Chawla said it is very difficult to give an exact timeline as it is a "very large transaction".
In early March, DLF's promoters K P Singh and family had entered into an exclusivity pact with GIC for the deal.
Chawla explained that GIC will approach fair trade regulator CCI for approval while DLF would take approval from minority shareholders. He said the "basic valuation has been frozen" but declined to give a specific number.
Sources had earlier said that the deal is likely to be valued at around Rs 12,000-13,000 crore.
Tyagi said the proposed transaction is likely to be concluded and "funds will come into the company by October".
In October 2015, DLF had announced that its promoters would sell their entire 40 per cent stake in DLF Cyber City Developers Ltd (DCCDL), which holds the bulk of the commercial assets of the group.
The promoters would invest a significant amount from this proposed transaction into DLF Ltd, which will use it for reduction of debt that has crossed Rs 25,000 crore.
In late 2009, DLF had announced the merger of its subsidiary DCCDL with promoter firm Caraf Builders and Constructions. DCCDL had then issued compulsorily convertible preference shares (CCPS) worth Rs 1,597 crore to promoters.
Post conversion of CCPS into ordinary shares, promoters will have a 40 per cent stake in DCCDL, while the remaining 60 per cent is with DLF.
DLF has about 30 million sq ft of commercial area with an annual rent of about Rs 2,700 crore. Out of that, DCCDL holds about 22 million sq ft of commercial space.
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Delhi University has shelved its decision to hold online entrance tests for its M Phil, PhD and PG programmes as it feels that conducting these along with the offline format won't be feasible.
The standing committee in a meeting held on May 19 had given approval for holding both online and offline exams for M Phil, PhD and PG programmes.
It had attracted criticism from student circles, including the Delhi Union Student Union and the ABVP, who claimed that the online test could disadvantage students from rural areas.
The decision to stick to offline pattern was taken after a committee meeting today in which it was concluded that the dual mode was "unfeasible".
"Logistics involved in conducting both kind of examinations were not feasible. Several stakeholders were consulted and it was found that it needed a large exercise," a member of Standing Committee for Admissions told PTI.
"Diverting the same resources for two examinations would not only involve more cost but also manpower. Also time is very short," the member said.
The offline exams would be held in six major centres across the country. They would be held in Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Guwahati and Nagpur while in South India, the centre would either be in Bangalore or Chennai.
Next year the exercise would be started a bit early and then it would be seen if this can be taken forward, he added.
Some members of the meeting also said that the move needed a nod from Academic Council.
A special invitee to the meeting, elected AC member Samrendra Kumar confirmed that the online examination would be done away with for this year and said a proposal was also put forth to get AC's assent before going ahead with the move.
Registrations for entrance-based courses, PG, M Phil and PhD programmes, will begin on May 31.
According to a statement issued by the DU, on an average one student registers every 5 seconds online for undergraduate (merit-based) programmes. Over 80,000 applicants have already registered.
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The ISIS terror group today claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians that left 29 people dead in Egypt, the second major attack on the country's minority community in two months.
In a statement posted on its propaganda agency, Aamaq, the terror group today said one of its unit targeted the bus the previous day and put the death toll at 32.
At least eight to 10 attacker wearing military uniforms and masks attacked the bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Menya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo.
The victims had been on a pilgrimage to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery when the attack took place.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Interior, the gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles when they opened fire randomly on the bus.
The ages of the victims ranged from children to over 60, the bishop of El-Minya told private-owned TV Channel DMC. Many victims were children, only three kids survived the attack.
The Egyptian army later launched intensive airstrikes, targeting terrorist hideouts in Libya.
The airstrikes came after the Army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained for carrying out attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the earlier attack in Menya governorate.
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Several parts of the Kashmir valley were on the boil today after security forces inflicted heavy damage on militants, killing eight of them, including Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani following his killing last July.
In a major success for the security forces, Bhat was gunned down along with another militant, at Soimoh village in Tral of Pulwama district, about 36 km from Srinagar, during a cordon and search operation following specific information about the presence of terrorists there.
The state's police chief S P Vaid said Bhat was among the two militants killed in the encounter.
They were holed up inside a house and opened fire at security personnel as they closed in on their hideout. The two were killed in retaliatory fire.
The Army also foiled a major infiltration bid from across the Line of Control in Rampur sector, killing six militants.
There was a fierce exchange of fire after the troops noticed some "suspicious movement" in the early hours. On being challenged, the militants opened fire, and in the encounter that ensued, six infiltrators were felled, the Army said.
A civilian was also reported dead in cross-fire at Soimoh village during the encounter in which Bhat was killed. However, some locals claimed he was killed in firing by the security forces on protesters who took to streets and fought pitched battles with men in uniform after the encounter.
The two factions of separatist conglomerate--the Hurriyat conference--have called a two-day shutdown in the valley from tomorrow against the "use of force" against protesters in the aftermath of Bhat's killing.
Mobile internet services have been suspended across the valley to prevent rumour-mongering, officials said.
Violence erupted at more than 50 places in the valley after the of Bhat's killing spread like wildfire.
Stone-pelting youth were out on streets in Srinagar, Tral and several big and small towns in the valley, attacking security forces.
According to an official at sub-district hospital in Tral, 19 injured people were admitted there.
While six persons had bullet injuries, 13 others were hit by pellets.
A teenager, Samir Ahmad, was hit by a tear smoke shell in the head in Mattan area of Anantnag district during clashes between security forces and protesters. He was rushed to a hospital here in a critical condition.
Five persons were injured in Shopian district during similar protests, he said adding the number of those injured across the valley might go up by the end of the day as clashes were reported from many parts.
Five police personnel were also wounded in clashes in Srinagar and have been hospitalised, the official said.
As the situation in the valley worsened, jittery people rushed back to their homes in Srinagar, leading to traffic snarls, and schools were close three hours ahead of schedule.
The separatists, while announcing a two-day shutdown, have also called a march to Tral on May 30 to pay tributes to Bhat and seven other militants killed today.
"We condemn the use of brute force against unarmed civilians, injuring hundreds of them and call for a strike on Sunday and Monday," separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, said in a statement in Srinagar.
They asked people in the valley to turn up in large numbers in Tral on Tuesday to pay tributes to the slain militants.
Mobile internet services were suspended in the valley as a precautionary measure, but BSNL's broadband service was functioning normally, official said.
The move came hours after the government lifted a month- long ban on 22 social networking websites and apps in the valley region.
Authorities have decided to impose curfew in areas under seven police stations in Srinagar tomorrow to prevent violent protests.
"Curfew will be imposed tomorrow in seven police station areas of the city as a precautionary measure," District Magistrate Srinagar Farooq Lone told PTI.
He said the police station areas where curfew will be in force are Khanyar, Kralkhud, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Safakadal.
Lone said educational institutions in the city will remain closed on Monday.
"The admit cards of students appearing in CET and other competitive examinations tomorrow will be treated as curfew passes. The staff posted as invigilators can use their identity cards for reaching the centres and back home," he said.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Northern Command said in Jammu that "relentless" operations by security forces had resulted in the killing of 10 militants in the last 24 hours.
"Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan," the spokesman said.
He said besides the eight killed today, the Army had yesterday shot dead two militants along the LoC in the Uri sector.
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The Central Board of Trustees (CBT) of retirement fund body EPFO today turned down the proposal to reduce the mandatory contributions from workers and employers to 10 per cent.
Presently, employees and employers contribute 12 per cent of basic wages each towards Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPF), Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) and Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI).
The proposal to reduce the contributions by employers and employees to 10 per cent of basic wages, including basic pay and dearness allowance, was listed on the agenda for meeting of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), which was held here today.
"The employer, employees and the government representatives expressed their reservations about it and they feel that it should be continued at 12 per cent.
"It is their view and it has been recorded... Now we will see... Government will take a view on it," Labour Secretary M Sathiyavathy said.
Union Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya attended the meeting.
In the meeting, CBT approved hike in investment limit in exchange traded funds (ETFs) from the present 10 per cent to 15 per cent, Dattatreya told reporters.
CBT has decided to continue with SBI Mutual Fund and UTI Mutual Fund as ETF managers.
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India today announced a USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries decided to firm up cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
In a statement, Modi said he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities and provide security to the people of both the countries.
"We have to keep up our vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing, and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources," the prime minister said.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen cooperation and capacities, he said, noting that the two sides also agreed to strengthen their wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain.
On his part, Jugnauth said the two countries need to ensure that the sea lanes of communications are safe and secure and regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing in the territorial waters and drug trafficking.
A decision to extend the operational life of Coast Guard ship Guardian, that was given by India to Mauritius under a grant assistance programme, was also taken.
During his visit to Mauritius in March 2015, Modi had commissioned offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Barracuda, built and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
Holding that Mauritius has "strong" defence and security ties with India, the visiting prime minister said the acquisition of such OPVs and fast interceptor boats from India has enhanced the operational capacities of its police and coast guard.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders. They were for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius, one on cooperation in ocean research and the US dollar Credit Line Agreement between the SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Company and Export-Import Bank of India.
Modi said the agreement on the line of credit to Mauritius was a good example of the strong and continuing commitment to the development of that country.
The two sides also decided to ramp up cooperation in a number of areas including trade and investment.
"India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius," Modi said, adding that emphasis was also given on cooperation in skill development during the talks.
Reaffirming Mauritius' "unwavering" support to India for UN Security Council membership, Jugnauth also welcomed New Delhi's support to the island nation's claim over the Chagos archipelago.
Both the UK and Mauritius have competing claims over the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Jugnauth also discussed with Modi the issue of a comprehensive economic cooperation and partnership agreement (CECPA) on which discussions have been held in the past.
He expressed satisfaction over the resumption of the negotiations on the CECPA issue last year, saying Mauritius looked forward to its conclusion by the end of this year.
"The CEPCA will play a major role in the economic dynamics between our two countries, by enhancing trade and enabling collaboration with Indian entities," he said.
Referring to the India-funded Metro Express Project from Curepipe to Port Louis, Jugnauth said it will play a pivotal role in the economic development of the island nation. The metro network will have 19 stations.
Mauritius also informed India about its ratification of the International Solar Alliance, a project involving 120 countries. It was initiated by Modi and former French president Francois Hollande.
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An Indian Naval ship carrying relief materials today left for Sri Lanka to provide humanitarian assistance to the Island nation hit by floods.
A Naval spokesman said INS Shardul has been dispatched from Southern Naval Command here to render humanitarian assistance.
The ship, which sailed from Kochi in the morning, is carrying not only relief materials such as food, water and medicines, but also has a medical team of doctors and assistants to render immediate medical aid to people, he said.
The vessel will reach Sri Lanka tomorrow.
The ship has on board diving teams along with rubber inflatable craft to evacuate persons in flood affected areas.
Equipped with a Chetak helicopter, the ship is also capable of undertaking search and rescue mission by air.
In the wake of floods, the Sri Lankan government had asked for flood relief assistance from India.
The death toll from the worst floods since 2003 in Sri Lanka crossed 100 and authorities warned of more rains.
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The Rachakonda Police today said they have arrested a man for allegedly killing his son-in-law who belonged to another caste.
Srinivas Reddy killed his son-in-law Naresh on May 2 and burnt his body, said a senior police official.
"We were suspecting Srinivas Reddy's hand in missing of Naresh. During our investigation, Reddy admitted having committed the crime," Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat told reporters.
Reddy killed Naresh in the fields and burnt his body, Bhagwat said, adding investigation is still on to tie the loose ends in the case.
The police also arrested one Sathi Reddy in connection with the crime.
On May 16, Reddy's daughter Swathi had allegedly committed suicide at her father's house in Telangana, a day after she was summoned by the Hyderabad High Court to tell it about her missing husband.
Swathi married Naresh in March and the couple was living in Mumbai. She returned to her father in Bhuvanagiri district after the father seemingly agreed for the marriage, he said.
But Naresh went missing just a few days after he dropped Swathi at her parents home, the commissioner said.
Naresh's father Venkataiah moved court on May 15 suspecting some foul play by Swathi's father in his son's disappearance.
On complaint about his son's disappearance and the High Court's directions on the same, special teams have been formed and sent to Mumbai and Hyderabad to trace Naresh, a senior police official had earlier said.
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A mortar fired by Iranian forces today killed a man in Panjgur district of Pakistan's south- western Balochistan province.
Commissioner Makran, Bashir Bangulzai, said that the mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk, and causing extensive damage nearby.
Jan was travelling in the vehicle. His body was shifted to a local hospital.
"We have informed provincial and federal governments about the Iranian violation," Bangulzai said.
Security forces reached the site of the attack and cordon off the area. They have started a probe into the incident.
The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory.
There is tension between the two countries since April 26 when 10 Iranian border guards were killed in a militant attack near the border.
Iran accused that militants hiding in Pakistan were involved in the attack.
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Actor Bob Odenkirk, the only star from "Breaking Bad" to get a spin-off in "Better Call Saul" wants Jesse Pinkman and Hank Schrader from the cult drug drama to make an appearance on the new show.
In the original story, Odenkirk played a shady lawyer. Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was the one who advised Walter White (Bryan Cranston) to hire Goodman.
"Better Call Saul", currently in its third season, has already seen fan favourite characters Gus Fring, a dangerous drug kingpin, and Mike, his right hand man, return to the show that is set before "Breaking Bad".
"I would like to see Jesse come back into our show from 'Breaking Bad'. I would love to see Hank (Schrader, Walter White's DEA agent brother-in-law) come back, because Hank knew Saul when they met in the hallway.
"They had some run-ins before so I would love to see those two characters in some capacity come back. I hope that happens," Odenkirk told PTI in an interview over telephone from New York.
Not much was known about the character's personal life on "Breaking Bad", which gave the writers enough room to trace his evolution from Jimmy McGrill to Goodman.
"Better Call Saul" airs in India on Colors Infinity.
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Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly wanted to have a secret communication channel with the Russians weeks after the US presidential polls, according to a media report.
Kushner, in a meeting with the Russian envoy to the US Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between the then transition team and the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, The Washington Post reported.
The information, which Kislyak relayed to Moscow after their meeting on December 1 or 2, was intercepted by the US intelligence agencies, the daily said quoting an unnamed US official briefed on intelligence reports.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, the daily said.
"The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest," the daily reported.
The opposition Democratic party urged Trump to fire Kushner.
"Trump has no choice but to immediately fire Kushner, whose failure to report this episode on his security clearance is reason enough for a criminal investigation," the Deputy National Committee deputy communications director Adrienne Watson demanded in a statement.
"The next question is whether the President authorised this, becauseno one stands betweenTrumpand Kushner on the chain of command," Watson asked.
Democratic Congressman Nanette Diaz Barragan from California tweeted, "The Kremlin and Kushner/ #Trump ties become more & more disturbing as we learn more facts w each passing day."
According to The Washington Post, the Russian Ambassador was alarmed by such a proposal from Kushner, who is now the senior most advisor to President Trump and has played a key role in his trips to Saudi Arabia and Israel and Palestine.
The daily alleged that the discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trump's closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts.
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Donald Trump's influential son- in-law Jared Kushner allegedly wanted to have a secret and secure communications channel with the Russians weeks after the US presidential polls, according to media reports today.
Kushner, in a meeting with the Russian envoy to the US Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between the then transition team and the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, The Washington Post reported.
The information, which Kislyak relayed to Moscow after their meeting on December 1 or 2, was intercepted by the US intelligence agencies, the daily said quoting an unnamed US official briefed on intelligence reports.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, the daily said.
"The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest," the daily reported.
Kushner, 36, a senior White House aide, has not commented.
The opposition Democratic party urged Trump to fire Kushner.
"Trump has no choice but to immediately fire Kushner, whose failure to report this episode on his security clearance is reason enough for a criminal investigation," the Deputy National Committee deputy communications director Adrienne Watson demanded in a statement.
"The next question is whether the President authorised this, becauseno one stands betweenTrumpand Kushner on the chain of command," Watson asked.
Democratic Congressman Nanette Diaz Barragan from California tweeted, "The Kremlin and Kushner/ #Trump ties become more & more disturbing as we learn more facts w each passing day."
According to The Washington Post, the Russian Ambassador was alarmed by such a proposal from Kushner, who is now the senior most advisor to President Trump and has played a key role in his trips to Saudi Arabia and Israel and Palestine.
The daily alleged that the discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trump's closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts.
The secret channel was supposed to be used to discuss Syria and other policy issues during the transition period between Trump's election in November and his inauguration in January 2017.
The New York Times said the line was never established.
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Pakistan today called on the UN and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In a statement, Foreign Office said the Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at Line of Control.
Aziz accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistan's unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self- determination.
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Paris Jackson, the daughter of the legendary King of Pop Michael Jackson, revealed she was mistaken for a homeless person while on set of a photo shoot.
The 19-year-old star took to Twitter after being told "homeless people" were not allowed on the set.
"One of the first people on set, sitting in the parking lot and this dude comes up to me and says, 'Homeless people aren't allowed in this area,'" she tweeted.
Jackson did not further explain on what happened after and instead retweeted musician Nahko's reply to her, which read, "yer home free, not homeless."
She is set to make her feature film debut with Amazon Studio's untitled Nash Edgerton project.
The dark comedy follows a mild-mannered American businessman (David Oyelowo) who crosses a line from citizen to criminal.
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The air force loyal to Libya's strongman Khalifa Haftar said today it took part in Egyptian air strikes on jihadist positions in the country after a deadly attack on Egypt's Copts.
Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna yesterday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people.
The Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of IS strikes that have killed more than 100 Copts in Egypt since December.
Haftar's forces carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt in Derna, the air force said in a statement carried by the LANA agency loyal to Libya's eastern administration.
Egypt used French-built Rafale fighter jets to target military camps and the headquarters of the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city, it said.
"The operation was a success and the losses of the Al- Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment," the statement said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), opposed by Haftar, denounced the raids as a violation of its sovereignty.
"Whatever the pretext, we reject any action that undermines the sovereignty of our country. There is no justification for the violation of the territory of other countries," a GNA statement said.
Derna was known for being a bastion of extremists even before the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libya's longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
After the revolt, the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia slowly spread its presence to Derna.
In 2014, some jihadists defected to join IS, which took control of Derna.
Pro-Al-Qaeda elements opposed to IS banded together to form Majlis Mujahedeen Derna to fight both the group and Haftar's forces, in 2015 expelling the jihadists from the city.
Haftar's forces regularly carry out air raids on positions of the pro-Al-Qaeda alliance.
Libya's Islamists accuse Haftar allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of taking part in these strikes.
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Ramzan, the month of fasting in Islam, began today across the Gulf region.
Today was the first day of fasting after Saudi Arabia announced the sighting of the moon, marking the beginning of the month.
The Saudi Arabian Supreme Court on Thursday had issued a statement, saying that the Ramzan crescent moon has not been sighted.
The court then held another a hearing on Friday evening and the beginning of the month wasannouncedafter spotting the moon.
Ramzan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar when Muslims abstain from food and water from sunrise to sunset and join mass prayers at mosques.
This annual observance is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam.
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: Learning will go digital in state-run schools in Kerala from first standard itself in the next academic year onwards.
The Education Department has announced the holistic intervention of Information and Communications Technology (ICT)-assisted education to its 9279 schools, from classes 1 to 7 in the state.
The initiative would be implemented through IT@School Project, a state government initiative to impart IT education in schools, in the academic year starting from June 1, 2017, Education Minister C Raveendranath said.
Kerala, being a role-model in ICT enabled education, has already started IT education under IT@School Project for High School classes (standards 8 to 10) in early 2005.
It has now being scaled up to the Lower Primary and Upper Primary sections, thus enabling ICT enabled education right through standard one to 12, he said.
Under the programme, the department has launched e@Vidhya, new ICT textbook for Std 5 to 7, and an Operating System & Resource DVD for primary schools, developed by IT@School.
"The scaling up of ICT enabled education in upper primary classrooms is a major step in achieving the goal of the government with respect to its General Education Rejuvenation Mission," Raveendranath said. The detailed ICT school survey for the lower primary and upper primary classes would commence in June and the Detailed Project Reportwould be prepared by IT@School in July.
Computer labs and smart classrooms would be set up in all lower primary and upper primary schools, he added.
K Anvar Sadath, executive Director of IT@school project, said specific ICT training had been imparted for 70,602l lower primary and upper primary teachers in the state.
"We have roped in BSNL for providing broadband connectivity to all LP&UP schools in the State and as on date as many as 8918 LP&UP schools (97 per cent) have been fully covered", he said.
IT@School has implemented ICT-enabled education rather than IT Education in High School section in 2009.
"Now in 2017, we are scaling up the same in LP&UP section after elaborate preparations including content development, teachers training, operating systems and so,' Sadath said.
All contents in the new ICT textbook, 'e@Vidhya', are prepared entirely using free and open source software.
In addition to the Malayalam version, the new ICT textbook is also made available in English, Tamil and Kannada languages.
Each school would also be provided with a DVD that contains the software packages which would assist in learning the ICT-enabled contents in the textbook, IT@School sources added.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A civilian was killed and at least 30 people were today injured in violent clashes between protesters and security forces in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of two Hizbul Mujahideen militants, including top commander Sabzar Bhat, in an encounter in Pulwama district.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the Valley as violence erupted at more than 50 places in the wake of killing of Bhat, a police official said.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant in Tral area.
Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests started at around 50 places, including many parts in the city, Tral town and other towns and district headquarters of the valley, the official said.
"A person was hit by a bullet during the exchange of fire between militants and security personnel in Tral. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to injuries," a police official said.
However, the protesters alleged he was killed during clashes with the security forces.
According to an official at sub-district hospital Tral, 19 injured people were admitted there.
While six persons had bullet injuries, 13 others were hit by pellets.
A teenager, Samir Ahmad, was hit by a tear smoke shell in the head in Mattan area of Anantnag district during clashes between security forces and protesters. He was rushed to a hospital here in a critical condition.
Five persons were injured in Shopian district during similar protests, he said adding the number of injured people across the valley might go up by the end of the day as intense clashes were reported from many parts.
Five police personnel were also injured during the clashes and have been taken to police hospital here for treatment, the official said.
The situation across the Valley is tense. Unnerved people rushed to their homes, leading to traffic snarls on certain routes. The schools closed three hours early.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Criminal elements are easily procuring mobile phone SIM cards in Goa and telecom companies must tighten their verification process to curb their misuse, the state's police chief has said.
"Criminals are very easily obtaining SIM cards by submitting forged documents. They produce somebody else's photographs, name and even signature to procure SIM cards," Director General of Police Muktesh Chander told reporters here yesterday.
Representatives of telecommunication companies opt for verification of the address and other details of customers over phone. They often avoid personal visits to verify these details, which is in violation of norms, he said.
The DGP said SIM cards are being sold across the tourist state like "onions and potatoes" due to which they are readily available to criminals.
"Non-implementation of know your customer (KYC) requirement is eventually helping criminal-minded people. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to identify and trace the actual subscriber," the DGP said.
"We have asked companies/dealers/agents to ensure SIM cards don't fall in wrong hands," Chander said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal today conferred the first ever Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha Award to Bodoland Territorial Council supremo Hagrama Mohilary at Jeraigaon in Assam's Dibrugarh district.
The award was presented in honour of first ruler of Muttock, King Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha to mark his 212th birth anniversary which started on May 24 and culminated today.
The Chief Minister said from next year on May 24 the government would observe and celebrate the birth anniversary of Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha.
''The ideals and philosophy of Sarbananda Singha could impact the development of Assam and the younger generations should follow his ideals to contribute to the making of a vibrant Assam'', he added.
The Minister also announced that the Chair in the name of Srimanta Sankaerdev at Dibrugarh University would be activated further and a sum of Rs 20 lakh would be given to the university for the purpose.
BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary expressed his gratitude for conferring him with the award and announced a financial assistance of Rs one crore for the construction of Swargadeo Sarbananda Singha auditorium.
Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Transport Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, Ambassador of Laos to India Southam Sakonhninhom were among others who were present on the occasion.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
G7 nations today hit deadlock over climate change and strived to finesse divisions over trade, as US President Donald Trump rebuffed pressure to toe the collective line in the club of powerful democracies.
Trump tweeted that he would reveal his hand only next week as to whether he will keep the United States in the Paris accord, a global pact on curbing carbon emissions that he vowed to jettison when campaigning for the White House.
The Group of Seven leading economies, in an extraordinary summit statement, acknowledged that six members were committed to upholding the 2015 accord while the United States stood apart.
"The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," the statement said in highly unusual language.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also crossed swords with Trump on free trade at the G7, complained that the US president was keeping his colleagues in the dark.
"The whole discussion on the topic of climate was very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory," she told reporters, labelling the G7 deadlock as "six against one".
On trade, the G7 vowed "to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism", but also to combat "unfair trade practices" and help those left behind by globalisation, after Trump came to power vowing "America First".
On other fronts, the G7:
- Noted that the global economy remains patchy with downside risks, pledging "to use all policy tools" to sustain growth
- Threatened stronger sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea if Moscow's actions warrant it
- Condemned nuclear-armed North Korea's recent missile tests and said they were ready to take new measures as necessary after various rounds of UN sanctions
- Demanded support from Russia and Iran for a peace process in Syria, and similarly called for an inclusive dialogue in Libya.
After starting his first presidential trip abroad wreathed in smiles, Trump ended it with rebukes, upbraiding America's European partners over military spending, trade and global warming.
An enduring motif of the G7, which represents the lion's share of global economic output, has been to champion free trade.
At last year's summit in Japan, leaders issued a lengthy communique in support of resisting protectionism, as well as helping refugees and fighting climate change.
But that was then, when Barack Obama still occupied the White House. Today, his successor is defiant about defying the G7 line after accusing China, Germany and others of cheating in international trade.
Trump reportedly described the Germans as "bad, very bad" in their trade practices while visiting Brussels this past week.
"We had very hard deliberations and discussions about trade but we found a reasonable solution," Merkel said, stressing the G7 statement's commitment to open markets.
The G7 leaders began the concluding day of their annual summit with discussions with leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Tunisia.
The five African states are key players in the Mediterranean migration crisis, as countries of origin or transit for hundreds of thousands of migrants attempting to reach Europe via perilous sea crossings.
The G7's Italian presidency held this year's summit on an ancient hilltop resort in Sicily to underline the proximity of the crisis.
But even that prompted discord among participants as Trump, according to Italian sources and activists, resisted the hosts' desire to issue a declaration underlining the benefits as well as pitfalls of migration.
That sort of language is anathema to a White House that wants to impose a ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority countries.
The G7 statement recognised the human rights of migrants and refugees.
But with Trump promising to build a "beautiful" wall on the US-Mexico border, it also said "we reaffirm the sovereign rights of states, individually and collectively, to control their own borders".
In a telling sign of the divisions now plaguing the G7, this year's statement came in at a meagre six pages -- down from 32 pages last year.
The summit did find common ground on Friday in endorsing a British call urging internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on jihadist content online after 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber in the northwestern English city of Manchester this week.
But while Trump did battle on an array of summit fronts, he also found himself dogged in Europe by new allegations as investigations proceed in Washington into whether Russian meddling helped his election victory last year.
The Washington Post reported that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof communications line with the Kremlin.
There was no immediate comment from the White House, but Trump has angrily rejected allegations of such collusion.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Swine flu has claimed as many as 221 lives in Maharashtra so far this year with Pune accounting for more than one-fourth of the fatalities, a government official said today.
Four of the victims hailed from adjoining Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (two each) who were admitted to state hospitals, where they succumbed to the infection, according to a report compiled by the Maharashtra health department.
The report has figures related to H1N1 affected patients from January 1 to May 26.
"During this period 15,003 patients showed swine flu like symptoms and were administered medicines as a preventive measure," Joint Director of Family Welfare Mukund Diggikar told PTI.
Of these patients, 1,106 tested positive for the deadly virus. Among them, 23 were from neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he said.
"H1N1 infection has been the cause of death of 221 people in Maharashtra between January 1 and May 26. There has been some fluctuation in the temperature, which is accelerating the infection," said Diggikar, who holds the additional charge of epidemic diseases in the department.
"The common symptoms of swine flu include cough, fever and cold. It seems people are reporting their infection late. Most of the people must be assuming that these symptoms are that of common cough and cold. Hence, by the time H1N1 infection is detected, most of the patients are severely affected by the virus," Diggikar said.
Going by the district-wise figures, Pune has reported 58 swine flu deaths -- the highest in the state, followed by 30 in Nashik district, he said.
According to the report, Aurangabad district reported 20 deaths and Ahmednagar district 19. Nagpur district in Vidarbha has recorded 17 fatalities, the highest in the eastern region of the state.
Amravati district in Vidarbha reported 12 deaths, followed by Akola (8), Buldhana (7), Kolhapur and Solapur (five each), Satara and Thane (four each), Parbhani and Mumbai (three each), Latur, Beed, Sangli, Osmanabad, Washim and Dhule districts (two each).
Jalna, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Wardha, Mira Bhayandar (a municipal corporation), Ratnagiri, Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Sindhudurg and Bhandara reported one death each due to H1N1 infection, Diggikar said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Police have arrested three persons for allegedly assaulting doctors and ransacking a private hospital here.
Senior Inspector G D Pingle of Chitalsar-Manpada police station today said 11 people were involved in the incident, which took place on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, and a hunt was on for the other attackers.
The police gave the names of the arrested trio as Baba Waghmare, Sagar Gargade and Sairam Gargade.
According to a police complaint lodged by the hospital, a group of local residents brought a patient to the medical facility and asked the doctors on duty to examine him.
The doctors examined the patient and declared him brought dead. The locals asked the physicians to once again check the patient, Vasu Dattapa Belgire. The doctors confirmed that Belgire had passed away, according to the complaint.
Hearing this, the group members, numbering about a dozen, got angry and allegedly attacked two doctors and ransacked the hospital, it said.
The violence, during which the vandals also damaged glass panes of the hospital's ICCU, went on till the wee hours of Friday, police said.
When policemen arrived at the spot, the violent group pelted stones at them, they said.
The accused have been booked under relevant sections of the IPC and the Maharashtra Medicare Service Persons and Medicare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage or Loss to Property) Act, they said.
The Act seeks to protect doctors and their hospitals from attacks by patients' relatives, neighbours or friends.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
President Donald Trump today said his maiden trip abroad was a "home run" and he vowed to overcome the threat of terrorism, concluding a grueling five-stop sprint that ended with the promise of an imminent decision on the much-discussed Paris climate accord.
Trump ended his nine-day trip with a speech to US troops in Sicily, where he recounted his visits to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium and Italy and his work to counter terrorism. The president said recent terrorist attacks in Manchester, England and Egypt underscored the need for the US to "defeat terrorism and protect civilisation."
"Terrorism is a threat, bad threat to all of humanity," Trump said, standing in front of a massive American flag at Naval Air Station Sigonella. "And together we will overcome this threat. We will win."
Trump tweeted earlier in the day that he would make a final decision next week on whether to withdraw from the climate pact.
European leaders he met with at the Group of 7 summit in Sicily have been pressuring Trump to stay in the accord, arguing that America's leadership on climate is crucial.
Besides reaching a decision on the climate agreement once back in Washington, Trump will also face a new crush of Russia-related controversies. On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke with Russia's ambassador to the US about setting up secret communications with Moscow.
Trump held no conferences during the nine-day trip, which allowed him to avoid questions about the Russia investigations. His top economic and national security advisers refused to answer questions about Kushner during a press briefing today.
The White House had hoped to use Trump's five-stop trip as a moment to reset. The president was warmly received on his opening stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, though he has come under more pressure in Europe, particularly over the Paris accord.
Trump was cajoled for three days first in Brussels at meetings of NATO and the European Union, then in Sicily for G-7 but will leave Italy without making clear where he stands.
As the G-7 summit came to a close Saturday, the six other members Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan renewed their commitment to the accord. The summit's communique noted that the Trump administration would take more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Trump's campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they don't opt out entirely. Other G-7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many arguments.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Uttarakhand Government has demanded funds from the Centre to expand and beautify Ganga ghats in Haridwar including 'Har ki Pauri' where devotees converge in large numbers on religious occasions.
Expansion of the ghats is necessary to deal with the huge crowd of devotees which gather there from across the country and abroad on all festivals which require a ritual bath apart from Kumbh and ardhakumbh, State Urban Development Minister Madan Kaushik said.
With the pressure on just a few ghats like Har ki Pauri, some additional ghats need to be developed to accommodate the growing number of devotees, he said.
"We have sought an assistance of Rs 10 crore from the Centre for the purpose which will be spent on expansion and beautification of the existing ghats besides strengthening public amenities along the banks and developing some new ghats which have not been developed properly," he said.
The demand was made when Kaushik met Union Minister of State for Water resources Sanjiv Baliyan in New Delhi recently, he said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UN raised "serious concerns" today over the fate of a Turkish man deported by Myanmar and Thailand this week for alleged links to Fetullah Gulen, the cleric accused of plotting a failed coup against Turkey's president.
Muhammet Furkan Sokmen, an accountant who had been working at an international school in Yangon, is at least the sixth person in recent months to be deported from Southeast Asia over alleged connections to Gulen, the UN said.
"The UN Human Rights Office has serious concerns for their safety in Turkey where there are substantial grounds to believe that they would face an imminent risk of grave human rights violations, including torture," the UN's Southeast Asia office said in a statement.
Turkey has accused Gulen of orchestrating the July 2016 attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The US-based preacher strongly denies the allegation.
Since the failed putsch Turkish authorities have carried out an unprecedented crackdown on suspected Gulen supporters, arresting or sacking more than 100,000 people.
Muhammet was first arrested at Yangon airport on May 24 with his family.
He was then transferred to Thailand, where he was held for 24 hours before being sent back to Turkey on Friday, according to the UN, which said it had urged Thai authorities to halt the deportation.
The UN added that it has seen a spike in cases over the past month of Turkish nationals in the region being scrutinised for suspected links to the Gulen movement.
Muhammet's deportation comes shortly after three branches of the Horizon International School, where he used to work in Yangon, were shut down.
Local Myanmar magazine Frontier reported police had launched an investigation into the school for links to "terrorist organisations" shortly after Turkey's failed coup.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Hundreds of supporters of Zambian opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema protested outside court today when a judge again adjourned a hearing on treason charges brought against him.
Hichilema, who has been held in custody for more than six weeks, will be detained until at least June 12, when the case will return to court.
Amnesty International said Hichilema and five others from the United Party for National Development (UPND) were victims of a "cynical ploy to silence all political opposition in Zambia".
Hichilema was arrested for allegedly endangering President Edgar Lungu's life when Hichilema's convoy failed to make way for the presidential motorcade on a main road.
"I hold the view that this is a proper matter for judicial review," magistrate David Simusamba said after Hichilema's lawyers lobbied to have the treason charges immediately thrown out.
Treason suspects are not eligible for bail in Zambia and could theoretically face the death penalty if found guilty.
"The Zambian authorities must stop misusing the criminal justice system to target and harass the political opposition," Amnesty said.
South Africa's main opposition party leader Mmusi Maimane led a demonstration in Pretoria today to support Hichilema.
Maimane, head of the Democratic Alliance, was barred from entering Zambia after he landed in Lusaka airport yesterday to attend the hearing.
Hichilema made a fifth unsuccessful bid for the presidency at last year's election.
He has since refused to recognise Lungu as president and has challenged the narrow poll defeat in court.
Outside the court today, Hichilema's supporters called for him to be released.
"He should have been president, but we have a dictator persecuting him," protester Stephen Katuta told AFP.
The election campaign was marked by clashes between supporters of Lungu's Patriotic Front party and Hichilema's UPND.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Communist Party of China Central Committee has appointed Beijings mayor Cai Qi as the citys party chief, replacing 69-year-old Guo Jinlong, who takes the post as deputy director of the Central Commission for Guiding Ethic and Cultural Progress.
Cai was elevated quickly, with five promotions in three and a half years. In 2013, he served as the vice governor of Zhejiang province for only four months before he was promoted deputy head of the general office serving the National Security Commission in 2014, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.
In 2015, he was promoted to ministerial level at the partys security body. He won another major promotion in late October 2016, assuming the role of acting mayor of Beijing, and he was elected the mayor in January this year.
While serving in Beijing, he publicly responded to several hot topics that drew extensive negative media coverage for the capital, including heavy smog and soaring house prices.
Last December, he promised that house prices in the capital would not rise in 2017, one of the worlds least affordable cities.
In January, he set out the capitals most ambitious plan to tackle air pollution to date, with a target to cut concentrations of PM2.5 fine particles most hazardous to human health by 18% in 2017.
Cai runs a blog on the Caixin website and is also a regular posts on Weibo, Chinas equivalent of Twitter. Some of his blogs were compiled into a book entitled The Glass House and published in 2011.
For government officials, a blog is an incomparable platform to communicate with people, observe public feelings and understand public opinions, Cai wrote in his book.
Contact reporter Song Shiqing (shiqingsong@caixin.com)
| BY Lynchy |
In an Australian first, Commonwealth Bank Group today announced details of IdeaBank; a new idea generation site and online community that allows customers and budding inventors to help collaborate, create and shape the future of banking.
Launching this Thursday December 8 as part of the Banks Centenary, Commonwealth Bank IdeaBank allows people to make suggestions and post ideas on ways they feel banking can evolve and improve. The interactive platform also gives the community the ability to discuss, promote and demote others ideas, democratically elevating the most popular ideas and bringing these to the Banks attention for possible implementation.
From apps and products to suggestions for better customer service, Commonwealth Bank IdeaBank welcomes ideas from anyone in Australia. Launching with a Future of Banking theme to help celebrate the Banks Centenary, the Bank will reward the creator of one of the most popular ideas with $10,000 in March 2012 voted on by both customers and the Banks leadership team.
Says Andy Lark, chief marketing and online officer, Commonwealth Bank: Were incredibly excited to bring this pioneering platform to life and looking forward to a future that includes greater collaboration with customers to turn mutually beneficial ideas into reality. Never before have our customers been so empowered to both contribute and vote for innovation and improvement. Im delighted that were able to pioneer in this space and harness the collective power of our 10 million plus customers, and work together to build a Bank thats always one step ahead.
Technology has played a critical role in our past 100 years of Banking, helping us grow and continually improve, therefore its only natural that we continue to invest in this channel to both differentiate our brand and offer stand out customer service, experience and now contribution.
Commonwealth Bank IdeaBank is a long-term initiative from Commonwealth Bank and will diversify in 2012 to include more categories across all sectors of banking and financial services.
Commonwealth Bank is Money Magazines 2011 Bank of the Year, and thanks to the recent migration of customers to a new core-banking platform, the Bank is one of the most technologically advanced in the nation.
"It will allow me to do this work I have wanted to do for a long time," she said. "This tool will give information about how wet the vegetation is. Imagine that there are two forests in Australia that are burning, but one is far drier. That one is more likely have a fire that burns quickly."
"[There will be] around $5 million of additional funding over the next 10 years for the Queanbeyan Public School and, of course, growth rates, as I say, in excess of 5 per cent per student per annum locked in for the next 10 years," he said.
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The Lexus CT200h has reached the end of the road in the United States as Car & Driver is reporting the hatchback will be dropped after the 2017 model year.
The CT200h was introduced in America at the 2010 New York Auto Show and was primarily designed to appeal to European customers.
Despite being the Lexus most affordable model with a base price of $31,250, the car never really caught on with consumers as the company sold around 15,000 units annually in the United States. However, recent competition from models such as the Audi A3 and Mercedes CLA has caused sales to dwindle and the company only moved 8,903 CTs last year.
The CT200h will reportedly continue to be sold in other markets but in the United States the brands entry-level model will become the NX crossover which starts at $35,285.
As a refresher, the CT200h has hybridized powertrain that consists of a 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine and a small electric motor that produce a combined maximum output of 134 hp (135 PS). This enables the car to return 43 mpg city, 40 mpg highway, and 42 mpg combined. Those numbers are nothing to sneeze at but the $23,475 Toyota Prius beats them with 54 mpg city, 50 mpg highway, and 52 mpg combined.
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Police in Nelson are issuing a public warning after a cougar was spotted Thursday night in the citys biggest and busiest park.
The animal was spotted about 11 p.m. at Lakeside Park. Home of the citys main beach and recreation grounds, hundreds of people visit the area daily.
Theres no cause for alarm, says conservation officer Sgt. Cynthia Mann. We usually dont respond to general sightings, unless there are several in an area and/or people or pets having encounters with an animal.
Mann said there have been no other sightings recently of cougars in populated areas.
Anyone encountering a cougar is advised to stay calm, stand your ground and not back down. Back away slowly when safe to do so.
Raise your voice and speak firmly, raising your hands to look larger. Throw anything you might be holding at the animal, but don't bend down to pick up a rock, as this can trigger a pounce response.
Photo: Dave Ogilvie
A sedan and tandem tanker truck collided in downtown Westbank Friday afternoon.
The septic tanker slammed into the back of a sedan at Elliott Road and Highway 97 (Dobbin Road) in West Kelowna about 2:20 p.m.
The female driver of the sedan suffered minor injuries in the collision.
It could have been a lot worse. The foul contents of the septic truck weren't the only concern. A fuel tanker was unloading gasoline at the Chevron station just across the sidewalk from the crash, only a few feet away.
Police, firefighters and paramedics attended the incident, which backed up traffic through Westbank.
Photo: The Canadian Press Needle kits at the Insite safe injection clinic in Vancouver.
Health Canada has approved plans to create three new supervised consumption sites in British Columbia and one in Quebec to help combat the ongoing overdose crisis gripping the country.
The sites allow people to use illicit drugs under the supervision of a medical professional in case they overdose.
Two of the new sites are in Surrey, one is in Vancouver, and a mobile consumption site has been approved to operate in Montreal.
Health Canada says in a news release that the mobile site is the first of its kind to be approved in Canada, and will provide a "geographically flexible" service to clients.
Canada's two existing supervised consumption sites are both located in Vancouver.
Health Canada says evidence shows supervised consumption sites save lives and decrease the transmission of disease without increasing drug use or crime in the surrounding area.
Photo: Contributed
Highway 99 is closed in both directions 15 km south of Lillooet because of a Police incident. No estimated time of opening available. An assessment in progress. Next update at 8:00 p.m.. No detour is available.
Photo: The Canadian Press B.C. Green party leader Andrew Weaver speaks to media outside the legislature.
Green Leader Andrew Weaver says he's very close to making a deal with either the Liberals or the New Democrats on forming a new minority government in British Columbia.
He said negotiations between the parties have intensified since Elections BC confirmed election results earlier this week with the Liberals holding 43 seats in the legislature to the NDP's 41 and the Greens' three.
"For us, it's very important to ensure that we can demonstrate to British Columbians that we can make a minority government work," he told a news conference on Friday.
Weaver said the parties have looked at a range of examples of minority governments in Canada and overseas to determine how to proceed, and he isn't interested in a coalition government because that would undermine the Greens' ability to defend their platform.
"We obviously need to find a situation that will be stable, that can advance the kind of policies we think got the B.C. Greens 17 per cent of the popular vote," he said.
Reforming the voting system to implement proportional representation remains one of the key issues for the Greens, but Weaver said "how we get there is, of course, up for negotiation."
The NDP's John Horgan has said he wouldn't want to change the electoral system without a referendum. Weaver has said his preference is to implement proportional representation and then after two elections hold a referendum on whether people want to keep it.
Christy Clark said the Liberals intend to form a government because they have a plurality of seats in the house.
Photo: File photo
An urgent warning about deadly drugs has been issued in New Westminster.
New Westminster Police issued the public warning Friday night about a lethal strain of street drugs circulating in the city.
One person has died from the unknown drug, and another is in critical condition, police say.
Both individuals purchased the drug in pill form from the same street drug dealer.
Drug users who dont feel well are advised to seek medical attention immediately.
NWPD continue to investigate the case. Anyone with information is asked to call 604-525-5411.
Photo: The Canadian Press Policemen guards the entrance of the Cathedral road in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus carrying Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, which killed 29.
Egypt responded to Friday's attack by launching a series of airstrikes that targeted what it said were militant bases in eastern Libya in which the assailants were trained. On Saturday, the military said on its official Facebook page that the airstrikes were continuing "day and night" and that they have "completely" destroyed their targets. It gave no details.
"What you've seen today will not go unpunished. An extremely painful strike has been dealt to the bases. Egypt will never hesitate to strike terror bases anywhere," President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a televised address to the nation late Friday. He said the attacks on Christians aimed at driving a wedge between them and the country's Muslim majority.
He also appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to lead the global war against terror.
The claim, published by the group's Ammaq news agency, takes to four the number of deadly attacks targeting Christians since December that the extremist group says it's behind. The claim put the death toll at 32, but there was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
In all, the four attacks Friday's, two in April and one in December killed at least 104, mostly Christian, people. El-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency following April's twin attacks, which fell on Palm Sunday.
The Egyptian Cabinet, meanwhile, said 13 victims of Friday's bloodshed remained hospitalized in Cairo and Minya province, where the attack took place. The bloodshed came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
El-Sissi told Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, in a phone call late on Friday that his government would not rest until the perpetrators of the attack were punished.
Egypt's government has been struggling contain an insurgency by Islamic militants led by an IS affiliate that is centred in the northern region of the Sinai peninsula, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
After a visit to Egypt last month by Pope Francis, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians and urged Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies.
Photo: Brenda Gooder Okanagan Lake rose just one centimetre overnight.
UPDATED 1:53 P.M.
The BC River Forecast has indicated there is the potential for Okanagan Lake to increase to 343.15 m. Environment Canada reported Okanagan Lake reached 343.05 at 11:25 a.m. on May 27.
This is a five-cm rise since May 26 at 4 a.m. when the lake level was reported as 343 m.
People are reminded to leave flood protection measures in place and bolster them in preparation for high water and possible windy conditions. High lake levels and variable weather conditions are expected to persist for the foreseeable future.
The flows in Mission Creek are expected to increase significantly over the next few days with the forecasted hot weather. Crews are monitoring the area and evaluating options for further protection between Lakeshore Bridge and the mouth of Okanagan Lake.
Residents living along Mission Creek, especially those closer to the lake, are urged to reinforce the flood protection around their properties, due to increasing lake levels and potential for back water effect.
Sand and sand bag locations can be found on cordemergency.ca.
Sand is continually being replenished.
Things are calm on Okanagan Lake at the moment, but that could change.
Carla Weeden, with the CORD emergency operations centre, said the lake rose by only one centimetre overnight.
That's the good news.
The bad news is hot weather is expected to settle in over the next few days and that will cause snow at higher elevations to melt
It will take a while for the hot weather to create higher flows, said Weeden.
But with the lake already threatening to flood much of the waterfront, any increase in lake level could be problematic.
We are anticipating Mission Creek flows could go almost triple its regular flow. There is still lots of snow to come down from higher elevations, said Weeden.
But the mid and low-level snowpack that feeds smaller creeks is already gone.
Weeden said Environment Canada is calling for a wind event later in the week, and that has officials concerned.
High winds last Tuesday caused flooding and damage up and down the Valley and Weeden said another similar event is possible.
We are already 11 cm above Tuesday's storm and the lake could go up anther 10-15 cm, so we could be 25 cm above where we were last week, she said. But things could change and it might not be a concern.
What is a concern is boaters.
Weeden said with the onset of warm weather, people will want to take their boats out and that could be bad for residents and boaters alike.
Weeden said officials are not recommending people go boating for three reasons: debris, submerged infrastructure (docks) people can't see and the damage the boat wakes could cause to the shoreline and to properties on the threshold of flooding.
The wake generated by a boat will hit the shoreline with similar force to the waves kicked up by high winds.
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) Wyoming cities and towns in areas dependent on the coal, oil and natural gas sectors saw the greatest population declines in the state last year, with Casper losing nearly 1,000 residents, new census figures show.
Cheyenne, the states largest city with an economy based on government jobs, gained 615 residents. That pushed its population just above 64,000.
Its likely that some people who lost mining-related jobs in other areas of the state moved to Cheyenne in 2016, Wenlin Liu, chief economist for the state, told the Casper Star-Tribune in a story published Friday.
Statewide, Wyomings population fell by 1,054 residents to 585,501 in 2016, the first population decline for the state since 1990, according to estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau in December.
The three key industries that support the states labor force and economy have been in decline over the last several years.
Oil, natural gas and coal suffered from falling prices. Some economists believe that the declines have bottomed out and say the coal sector in particular is suffering because of low prices for natural gas.
Cheyenne was relatively immune to the downturn for petroleum and coal extraction, Liu said.
Casper is a hub for the oil and gas field and lost about 1.6 percent of its population, which dropped below 60,000 residents.
Gillette, located in the coal rich Powder River Basin in northeast Wyoming, lost 329 residents and now has a population of 32,398.
Officials have recently pointed to some positive signs for the states most important economic sectors. The number of oil and gas jobs is increasing and applications for state permits to drill for oil have increased.
Photo: Contributed
There is a new millionaire in B.C.
A single ticket purchased in Prince George matched all seven numbers from across Canada to win the $1 million Maxmillions prize on the May 26 Lotto Max draw.
All lottery prize winners have 52 weeks from the draw date printed on their ticket to come forward to claim their prize. The specific retail location where the ticket was purchased in Prince George will be announced after the winner has come forward to claim their prize.
The jackpot for the next Lotto Max draw on June 2, is set at $55 million with an estimated six $1 million Maxmillions prizes offered.
Madison Erhardt
The annual United Way Bus Pull is back.
Ten teams of eight community champions competed for bragging rights and the coveted Community Cup by pulling a B.C. Transit bus to the finish line Saturday.
Funds from the event will go towards the 2017 United Way CSO fundraising campaign which supports one in three people in the community.
"We have raised about $19,000 so far. Our goal is to hit $20,000 and you will be able to donate for the next couple of weeks," said organizer Marianne Dull.
The Heathy Haulers team said," It's a great cause. Who doesn't want to pull a bus on a hot and sunny day?"
"We will be back year after year. It is such a fun event."
To donate, click here.
Luis Martinez Medina
April 9, 1962-May 19, 2017
Luis Martinez Medina, 55 passed away at his home on May 19, 2017. Luis was born in Wells, NV on April 9, 1962 to Margarita and Jose Martinez Medina. He lived in Wells and then Elko where he attended Elko High School. Luis was a veteran of the United States Army and obtained various certifications from Great Basin College.
Luis was known as a person of great compassion, a wonderful sense of humor and dedication to helping other.
An open casket viewing will be at Burns Funeral Home on Tuesday, May 30, from 9am to 4pm with a Mass on Wednesday May 31 at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 10am with Burial immediately after a he Cemetery followed by a luncheon hosted by the Women of St. Joseph will be at Mater Dei Hall.
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125 years ago
May 21, 1892: Jake Nelson has taken charge of the Butler saloon and stable, opposite the Elko flour mill. The bar has been stocked with a choice assortment of wines, liquors and cigars. Hay and grain at the stable, and the best of care given to stock. Give Jake a call.
The shipping of bullion from Tuscarora has commenced again. Eighteen bars, valued at $87,300, were shipped by the Union Mill Company this week.
Ben Craigheads delivery horse took a spin around the block Wednesday morning and lost part of his harness and about half of the wagon.
Sheriff Polk returned from Deeth on Monday nights train with Edward Gorman, the escaped prisoner, whom he captured in the foot hills some five miles northwest of Deeth.
100 years ago
May 21, 1917: Ben Curler has arrived from Stanford college where he finished the term. He will remain with his parents until about the first of the month, then go on to New York and join the American corps bound for France.
Miss Muriel Littlefield, who last February took the civil service examination for typewriting, has been notified that she passed an exceptionally good exam. She has decided not to accept the position offered her by the government at the present time but will possibly go some time next fall. The government is now calling for 5,000 typewriters and are offering situations at various points about the country.
May 22, 1917: The mausoleum being erected by Geo. Russell in the Odd Fellows and Masonic cemetery, has been finished and now stands forth as the most imposing structure in the cemetery. It is 10x12 feet, composed on the exterior of immense granite slabs, with four pilasters supporting the front. The interior is of pure Colorado veined marble, with receptacles for eight caskets. The stone was cut and shipped here, and weighed more than a hundred tons, every portion of the exterior being granite, with the exception of the doors, which are of solid bronze. In the rear of the building is a small colored window, representing a sunset, a most magnificent piece of work. The entire structure is simple in the extreme, and we understand, cost nearly $8,000. It stands at the front of the cemetery and immediately to the left of the entrance to the south. The remains of Mrs. Russell, who died some years ago, have been placed in the mausoleum and the receptacle hermetically sealed.
75 years ago
May 21, 1942: Effective June 1 passenger, air mail and air express services both in and out of Elko will be discontinued until further notice, it was announced here today by William Wunderlich, manager of the Elko airport and Mary C. McNamara, Elko postmaster. The service into Elko has been cut off due to increased need for space for carrying materials essential to the war effort. The discontinuance of all air service here is a temporary move and when more planes are available the schedule may be resumed it was stated. In any event it will be restored after the war.
May 27, 1942: Members of the Rotary Club of Elko were given a lesson in spotting various kinds of planes today as more than a score of various models were exhibited by Max Wignall and Jimmy Konold, high school students. The model ships which were shown were of American, English, German and Japanese design. They will be used in the instruction of air raid wardens, gunners, etc. so that those spotting them might become fully familiar with the various designs. The boys, presented by Dick Warren, gave an interesting outline of the work being done at the Elko high school. It is necessary that the planes be made to scale and they must be very exact to meet government specifications. About 50 of the model planes will be sent from Elko to Ogden for use there.
50 years ago
May 22, 1967: The Elko County Planning Commission does not have the power to enlarge the States definition of Subdivision, the State Attorney Generalss office said today. The Planning Commission has concluded that the acreage exempt from the term Subdivision should be forty acres rather than ten acres as provided for in the State law. Deputy Atty. Gen. Peter L. Breen said this conflict would invalidate the county proposal.
May 23, 1967: Would you be willing to give a days pay to help the Elko County community college? That is the question that will be asked of you beginning this week in Elko. The contributions from the large donors are in and now the drive has been passed to the smaller contributors, the employees of Elkos businesses. The drive to get the $40,000 necessary to open the colleges doors this September is about halfway to the goal. The bosses of various businesses have put in their donation and now the success or failure of Elkos college is placed directly in the hands of the employees.
Community College progress in Elko can be measured by the funds thermometer, on Fifth Street off Idaho Street. With institution of the Give a Days Pay program, fund workers are hopeful the fund thermometers mercury will rise as quickly as that of the weathermans thermometer in recent days.
25 years ago
May 21, 1992: Bear Creek Summit is open, the county road department reports. Ray Bishop said county crews working from the Jarbidge side used a front-end loader to remove a 12-foot snowdrift that was covering about 20 feet of the road earlier this week. The road to Jarbidge usually isnt open until the Fourth of July, Bishop noted, adding, Its dry and dusty all the way this year. Bear Creek Summit is located about six miles southwest of Jarbidge, between that town and Charleston.
Saying the public should have more time to comment, Elko County Commissioners yesterday tabled the first reading of an ordinance that would regulate county employees who hold other jobs. The first reading was postponed for 30 days. The new ordinance 1992-F would require employees of the county and county townships to notify the county manager of any other jobs they hold. The ordinance also sets standards for banning certain outside jobs. Officials said the rule is aimed at preventing conflicts of interest rather than restricting employment.
May 23, 1992: Nevada Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Marcia Bandera will be leaving her state post to become director of instruction for the Elko County School District. She was hired this week by the school board, which also named Elko Junior High School Vice Principal Joe de Braga as the principal of the new Spring Creek High School now under construction. The board hired de Braga to the principal post a year before the school is actually open so he can assist in getting the schools on line and fully staffed. Bandera will fill a slot created when Royal Orser, who was director of elementary education, was promoted to associate superintendent.
ELKO The Nevada Department of Safety is looking to shake things up at its Nevada Highway Patrol dispatch.
Due to the relatively low numbers of emergency calls, the Department of Safety has decided to close the dispatch center in Elko later this year, with local emergency calls being answered by dispatch centers in Carson City and Las Vegas.
General Services Division Administrator Julie Butler said the dispatchers will not be losing their jobs despite the closure.
Many of the positions were already vacant or staff had transferred to other centers within the department of public safety, she said. There are four positions locally and three of those positions will be transferring to the Highway Patrols warrants unit there in Elko and one of the individuals will be retiring.
When the state looked at making budget cuts heading into the biennium, the governors office asked each of the executive branch agencies how they could cut five percent of their spending.
With the low number of calls the dispatch center receives, Butler said Elko was a logical place for the department to cut costs.
The call volume doesnt really justify having a third center, she said, citing improvements in technology. And its historically been difficult to recruit and offer a competitive wage given the local economics out there, she said. It just reached its time to cut down to the two centers.
Dispatchers are expected to have some familiarity with the area the caller is calling from but the department does not anticipate the closure creating issues with response times to emergencies.
Nevada Department of Public Safety Director Jim Wright said the individual officers knowledge of the area should be enough to ensure all calls are responded to in a timely fashion.
There was a fear of a lack of location experience, he said. Ive been through these before like that and closed a dispatch center ... Theyve all worked. Its the individual trooper that actually should know those areas, those landmarks and things.
Wright said incidents where dispatchers give the wrong location to a trooper happen occasionally but he does not anticipate misunderstandings like that becoming major issues.
Dispatchers may be hundreds of miles away from where the emergency is taking place but they are still expected to have some knowledge of the Elko area.
Typically the identifiers on Interstate 80, theyre referencing mile markers, so everybody should be a heads up that theres a big mile marker difference between Winnemucca and West Wendover, he said.
Dispatchers from Elko who have transferred to the two offices will help with the transition but Butler is also planning to get trainees out to Elko so they can see how much ground there is for an officer to cover.
Some of the folks who are not employed in Elko transferred to Carson City and our Vegas center and they do have a familiarity with the area and they are educating their coworkers about that, she said. The other thing were trying to do is incorporate trips for our trainees as part of their learning so they can go out and get a feel for the area, so they can get an appreciation for the large geographic distances.
ELKO The slower than usual traffic on Idaho Street was for a good cause this Friday when officers from three agencies came together to light the torch for the Special Olympics.
Members of Elko County Sheriffs Department, Elko Police Department and Nevada Highway Patrol opened the ceremony at the NHP offices and ended at the sheriffs office.
The nearly four-mile long event came with a police escort and included a stop at CVS, where officers met up with Special Olympics athletes to complete the run to the sheriffs office.
The torch lighting takes place in advance of the Special Olympics games in Reno on June 9-10 and NHP trooper Jim Stewart said he has enjoyed helping to support the cause.
The torch run is done in Elko, Reno, Carson City, Las Vegas, all throughout the state and it goes to support the Special Olympics athletes of Nevada, he said. Its a great thing. Weve done it for years and its a lot of fun.
In addition to participating in the torch lighting ceremony local law enforcement will also be putting on the Tip-A-Cop fundraiser June 14 with proceeds from that event going to the Special Olympics.
Co-area Director for the Special Olympics Lorie Beckstead said she enjoys the annual torch run and is always glad to see the athletes she works with interact with members of the community.
I love the torch run. I love when the athletes get to interact with the officers and the officers get to interact with the athletes because it brings something to each and every one of them that is unique, she said. The athletes love unconditionally and they love being out and showing their team spirit and their love of Special Olympics.
HUMESTON, Iowa The Iowa Select pig farm gives its visitors headphones, because the squeal of hogs is deafening. This is either a chorus for the damned or the sound of pork's ascendancy.
Americans, long devoted to chicken and beef, are eating more pork now than they have in years. And brand-new farms such as this one, a $20 million facility one hour south of Des Moines, are opening to meet demand for everything from pork belly to pig ears.
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In Iowa alone, meatpackers have recently broken ground on new slaughterhouses worth well over $500 million. By the end of 2018, the Agriculture Department predicts that U.S. pork production will equal and occasionally exceed that of beef, though neither red meat yet rivals chicken.
Some of that demand will come from growing foreign markets. But Americans have developed a new taste for pork, particularly bacon, as well. According to the market research firm Euromonitor, sales of pork are up 20 percent in the United States since 2011.
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"More people are eating out, and pork is in a good position in the food service sector," said Dennis Smith, a commodities broker and analyst at Archer Financial Services. "Just look at all the bacon they're putting on burgers."
As Smith and others who watch the hog industry explain it, a confluence of factors appears to lie behind pork's growing popularity. Bacon is indeed one of them: Last winter, demand grew so high that the country's pork-belly supply hit a 50-year low sparking (unfounded) fears of a bacon shortage.
The growing influence of Asian cuisines, particularly Korean and Vietnamese, have also made some cuts of pork newly popular. In its 2016 food trends report, Google named char siu, bulgogi and banh mi which frequently include pork among the year's hottest foods.
And Americans are increasingly turning to fast-food restaurants for breakfast, where bacon and pork sausage are both popular.
Demographics play a major role, as well: Pork is a popular meat in Latino cooking, and sales have grown with that population.
Pork has also benefited from the fact that Americans' spending on food, particularly at restaurants, has rebounded since the recession. According to the USDA, Americans have spent more money at restaurants in each year since 2010. A 2013 study by researchers at Purdue University found that spending on meat, in particular, spiked after the recession, especially for high-quality cuts of chicken, pork and beef.
If all that weren't enough, pork has also had a little help from an organization called the Pork Board an industry group that works to grow demand for the "other white meat." (They are, in fact, the ones who coined that tagline in the 1980s.)
For the past several years, the Pork Board has been waging an aggressive campaign to popularize different cuts of pork, explained Jarrod Sutton, a marketing executive with the organization. Aside from publicizing pork recipes and rebranding several cuts a pork chop can now be a "porterhouse," for instance the board has worked behind the scenes with restaurants and retailers, getting things such as pork bellies on their menus and in their meat cases.
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Recently, Pork Board partnered with Longhorn Steakhouse a chain best known, as its name implies, for gigantic servings of beef to feature a sous-vide pork chop with garlic-herb butter.
According to Datassential, a market research firm that tracks restaurant menus, that is only one of many U.S. restaurants that have recently begun introducing dishes made with pork belly, pork shoulder, pulled pork and better chop cuts.
"How much pork are people willing to consume?" Sutton asked. "Based on the intelligence we have, it's only going to grow in the future."
Anticipated growth in the United States is not the only reason that new hog farms and slaughterhouses are popping up across the Midwest. Foreign demand is also strong in markets such as Mexico, China and Japan, and hog farms and processors are becoming more productive.
A number of companies have recently decided to embark on expansion projects. In Sioux City, an afternoon's drive from the Humeston pig farm, Seaboard Triumph Foods is building a huge, $300 million plant that will span almost a million square feet and process upward of 20,000 hogs a day. Prestage Foods, a large producer of pork and turkey, recently broke ground on a new pork plant in Eagle Grove, Iowa, that will process 10,000 hogs each day.
When these facilities open, USDA predicts, an additional 900 million pounds of pork will hit the U.S. market which may edge prices down a bit and further stimulate demand. In either case, by the end of 2018 U.S. farmers are expected to produce as much pork as beef which is, for the pork industry, an unprecedented accomplishment.
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"It's never happened before," Smith said. "It's the first time in history that pork has equaled or surpassed beef production."
In Humeston, pig producers are gearing up. In addition to this new facility, which houses more than 6,000 sows, Iowa Select is building three other, larger sow farms across Iowa.
A new litter of piglets is born here every 25 minutes, on average, stumbling out into the chorus of pig squeals and the glare of overhead heat lamps. Bloated sows lie in grids of 84 metal pens to give birth, their piglets - some still trailing dried umbilical cords - squirming and sleeping next to them.
After three weeks here with their mothers, the piglets are trucked to a separate nursery, then to a "finishing" farm where they'll fatten up. After that, it's off to the packing plant.
And quite possibly, your next pack of bacon.
The radio on a corner countertop is playing the song "Burnin' for You" by Blue Oyster Cult.
While nothing is burning and there are no oysters around, things are definitely cooking in this kitchen classroom at the Lyons Township High School South Campus in La Grange, where students in an advanced culinary arts course are competing in teams to see who has the best mock food truck fare and menu.
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This Food Truck Face-Off, held on a recent Wednesday in May, gives students a taste (pun intended) of what it's like to run a food truck. If you've been to a busy downtown Chicago street at lunchtime, a concert or other special sporting event, you know that food trucks are as hot right now, as, say, Nashville Hot Chicken or just-from-the-fryer doughnuts.
Doughnuts, in fact, are one dish that a group of students in this class have prepared for the challenge. They dubbed their food truck business Lil' Donuts, and they served up sugar-and-cinnamon dusted doughnut holes.
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Other food trucks in the 8th period advanced culinary arts class were Gyromeister, Mistaken Bacon, Good Dog hot dog pizza, Gusto Deli Italiano, Nifty Noodles and The Magic Burger Bus.
Students in another advanced culinary arts class prepped their own original food truck menus and samples earlier that same day.
The special event capped a semester of learning about and preparing a variety of foods in the class and followed a visit by the operator of Gino's Steaks food truck.
"Students had an opportunity to see and learn the ins and out of the business, and then had a chance to do the project," explains Lauren Engelhardt, family and consumer science teacher at LTHS, who leads the 5th period class.
"They had to come up with the concept, logo and name of the food truck business, create a menu and cookbook, and then make six samples of their star dish for judges to taste."
A group of judges, including principal Brian Waterman, director of curriculum and instruction Scott Eggerding and several teachers and paraprofessionals, sampled the fare, reviewed the menus and evaluated the students' respective projects. They dropped "Lion cash" (faux bills with a Lion head) into the mock cardboard food trucks designed by the student groups.
In the 8th period class, teacher Kate Mitchell said that the results from the judging will be used to determine which group had the most successful food truck concept from a real-life perspective.
"We'll count up the Lion cash from the judges and then look at other factors, like a profit-loss analysis that the students did. The real winner will be the food truck that brought the most money in," says Mitchell.
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Given the fact that the classroom smelled like bacon and doughnuts, among other savory aromas, one can't help but wonder (and hope) for a real-life food truck to grace the curbside at LT's campus. I'd be one of the first in line.
Thousands of college students have recently heard hundreds of commencement addresses by speakers famous and wise; and occasionally even both. What is there to say that hasn't already been said? It would take me less than 10 minutes to advise them 1) what to take with and 2) what to leave behind:
Take with you the name and address of the professor who most impacted your life, be it in the classroom, in the library or maybe in the local bar. If they were that influential, why wait for some distant reunion to tap the spring?
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Take with you the best of your best friend from campus. Someone whose Huckleberry unconventionality was a first in your life. You can't afford to return home without that delicious burr under your saddle.
Take with you that special book that you couldn't help quoting and re-quoting over midnight pizzas. That's a mind you dare not keep in your library; you must find a place for it in your life.
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Leave behind that first awful freshman fear about stepping out of your comfort zone. If you have by now conquered it, good; if not quite, never stop chipping away at it.
Leave behind the broken pieces of your heart, shattered by the betrayal of that someone you thought you could trust. You want the memory of the lesson, but god forbid you should wear the hideous pieces themselves like Marley did his chains.
Leave behind the worst grade you ever received over these four years. Get over it. But what you must not get over is just how you did it, so you can remember how not to do it again.
Jack Spatafora
Park Ridge
ELKO The Murph Challenge is not for the faint of heart.
Named for Navy SEAL Lt. Michael Murphy, who considered the workout one of his favorites, it requires someone to wear 20 pounds of body armor while they run one mile, do 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats and run the mile again.
For 18 local U.S. Marine Corps recruits, this was a physical training event in preparation for the rigors of boot camp led by Staff Sgt. John Kreutzer.
On Thursday, Kreutzer brought the challenge to the memorial of fallen Elko County soldiers in front of the Elko County Courthouse, which was an opportunity for his recruits to reflect on the importance of Memorial Day.
We did that as a pre-Memorial Day to reflect upon those who have given and made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our great nation, said Kreutzer.
It gives the young people a chance to really reflect on what Memorial Day is all about, Kreutzer continued. Its not low, low prices day. Its not hamburger, hot dog day. Its a time to reflect on those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
The participants are from Elko, Spring Creek and Carlin. Some are preparing to enter the Marines after graduation and others are in the process of signing up, said Kreutzer.
After the challenge, which included a run along Idaho Street, Kreutzer had the recruits complete one more task.
When we were done, I said, get online, read a medal of honor citation from someone who received that posthumously and take a moment and think about what that really means to do that, Kreutzer said.
One of those posthumous recipients was Lt. Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan during Operation Red Wings in 2005.
Not all of the physical training events are Murph Challenges or in a public venue, such as on Idaho Street, explained Kreutzer.
Sometimes we do dodge ball with water balloons, something fun, Kreutzer said.
People see us out there, they see us having a good time, doing something challenging, and they ask questions, Kreutzer said. Its a good way to attract an audience and gain interest through physical training and putting ourselves in the spotlight while we do it.
A Marine for 12 years, Kreutzer is a native of Texas and during his career has been to more countries than I could name on all my fingers and toes, before he and his family moved to Elko recently.
Im here recruiting the next generation of Marines, someone to take my place when I depart, said Kreutzer.
Freedom isnt free, thats something we have to pay. There is a great cost and well always owe that.
John Halstead, of Crown Point, holds up a sign in protest of the deportations happening Friday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport in Gary on Friday, May 26, 2017. (Jim Karczewski/Post-Tribune )
Protesters clasped onto the fence Friday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, shouting anti-deportation chants as two busloads thought to be full of people living in the U.S. illegally parked next to an airplane.
"It's probably their worst day or one of the worst days of their life," L.E. Whitman said of the men and women on the buses. "We want to make a lot of noise because we want them to know that there are people here fighting for them. That's really why we are at the airport today."
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This was the second demonstration in the past two months organized by Northwest Indiana Resist, a group formed to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights deporting people out of the country from the Gary/Chicago International Airport.
The demonstration started Friday morning with dozens of protesters in front of the airport, picketing and firing off a series of chants in Spanish:
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"Deportaciones, no mas. Deportations, no more."
Miguel Molina, of Chicago, talks about his sister being deported and not being able to see her for more than five years outside the Gary/Chicago International Airport on Friday, May 26, 2017. (Jim Karczewski/Post-Tribune )
"El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido. The people united will never be defeated."
But the mood changed as two buses with blacked-out windows and a white van with tinted windows pulled into the west gate of the airport off of Industrial Highway.
"Isn't it disgusting?" Ruth Needleman, one of the organizers of the protest, asked rhetorically. "This is inhumane."
The crowd's chants grew louder and more aggressive as the buses, which the group believed carried the detainees, pulled into the airport. A pack of protesters flocked toward the buses but were blocked by a fence that surrounds the terminal.
The detainees are bused from a detention center in Broadview, Ill. After boarding an airplane at the Gary/Chicago International Airport, they are flown to other domestic airports before being transported back to their native country.
People peered through the black fence hoping to get a glimpse of the detainees before they boarded the airplane.
Steve Tallackson, of Ogden Dunes, solicits honks of support from passing vehicles Friday, May 26, 2017, near the Gary/Chicago International Airport where ICE deports people every Friday. (Jim Karczewski/Post-Tribune )
ICE officials were the first to get out of the vehicles to unload the buses and prepare the MD-83 plane, which holds more than 100 people, for takeoff. Before the detainees disembarked the buses, two Gary police officers instructed the protesters that they were on private property and had to move back on the lawn in front of the airport. There were no arrests.
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After Gary recently became the first municipality in Northwest Indiana to become a "welcoming city," which provides some protection for noncitizen residents of Gary, Needleman said it's a conflict for the city to still be deporting immigrants out of its airport.
"It's a contradiction for them to be a welcoming city engaging in this dark-ops stuff," she said. "We do not want another deportation from this airport."
ICE Air Operations, the transportation division within the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, first began using the Gary/Chicago International Airport for detainee removal flights in June 2013, according to ICE officials.
"If you are a person of faith or a person of value or a person that believes in human life and human rights, that's why we are here," the Rev. Cheryl Rivera said. "This is still America."
Whitman said it's important that organizers continue to put pressure on the airport and not fade away.
"We want a little bit of consistency," she said. "This has been going on for years, but there has never been a protest outside of the airport before us. We really want people to know that it's happening."
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Needleman said they do not have a solution yet, but they are committed to stopping the deportations from the airport.
"We are going to need everybody's help in figuring out how we are going to put a stop to these deportations," she said. "We're going to have to put pressure on people. ... We're going to have to really make it clear that this airport and this city will not deport."
jaanderson@tribpub.com
Twitter @JavonteA
In "Great Expectations," Charles Dickens crafted an indelible portrait of a young man of no means whose desires to be a "gentleman" almost come true but with tragic consequences. At its most basic level, it's a tale of personal ambitions and assimilation gone wrong.
Tanika Gupta's 2011 adaptation of Dickens' novel takes Pip's journey and turns it into a metaphor for the soul of India under the Raj. It's set during the same years that Dickens wrote the novel the early 1860s. But instead of traveling from the marshes of Kent to the urban grit of London, Gupta's Pip moves from a small Indian village not long after India's First War of Independence in 1857 to the dizzying mix of cultures in colonized Calcutta.
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Gupta is a celebrated British writer of Bengali descent whose great-uncle, Dinesh Chandra Gupta, was a revolutionary hanged in 1931 for his role in assassinating a British inspector-general of prisons. One can only speculate how that personal family history influenced her perspective on a story where a man convicted by the Crown plays a key role.
But it's entirely clear from Remy Bumppo and Silk Road Rising's ambitious and intelligent co-production of Gupta's sprawling adaptation that Dickens grafts well in the soil of the subcontinent. Co-directed by Lavina Jadhwani and Nick Sandys, the three-hour production has its slow spots, to be sure. At times, it feels a little too faithful to the original, instead of bringing in even more details of the time and place to which Gupta has transplanted the story.
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On balance, though, it works quite well at enlarging the scope of Pip's existence from a personal tale of yearning and betrayal to a portrait of a colonized nation wrestling with the pressures to become more like the colonizers in education, manners and dress.
So for example, when Pip's good-natured roommate, Herbert Pocket (Lane Anthony Flores), explains the finer points of table manners to him (at Pip's request, it should be noted), it's not just an amusing fish-out-of-water moment. It's a snapshot of how even the most anodyne of cultural norms can feel fraught when imposed from colonizers on the colonized. (In every other respect, though, Flores' Herbert remains a good guy who at least makes an effort to respect Indian customs as well.)
The most compelling relationship here, as in the original story, is between Pip (Anand Bhatt) and his brother-in-law, Joe Gargery (Anish Jethmalani), a cobbler who raises Pip. Despite his unlettered status, Joe sees more clearly than anyone else that there are great dangers in Pip taking money from a mysterious benefactor and going off to the city. He also sees the affectations that Pip adopts in his quest to be a gentleman. "To be sure, you are an honor to your queen and country," he tells Pip on a visit to Calcutta and in Jethmalani's acidic reading, it's not a compliment.
How far does one trust British people and British justice? That's also a compelling question underneath both Pip's journey and that of the convict, Magwitch (Robert D. Hardaway), who ends up playing a crucial role in his life. Magwitch decries the "white locusts sweeping through the land" who conquered his African home and eventually brought him to India.
In that sense, Linda Gillum's Miss Havisham, whose personal heartbreak turns into a quest for vengeance on men that damages her African-Indian adopted daughter, Estella (Netta Walker) as well as Pip, might well be one of those "white locusts," even though she never leaves her home. Gillum's wraithlike appearance and her crepuscular home (captured in its cobwebby gloom through Yeaji Kim's projections and Lindsey Lyddan's shadowy lighting) stand in contrast to the sunny if poor world of the village outside her door.
In contrast to cold Estella, there's good-hearted Biddy (Rasika Ranganathan), who teaches Pip both to read and to seek out poetry from Indian writers. (Pip later hears some of the work of Bengali poet Michael Madhusudan Dutta from a street orator in Calcutta one of the places where Gupta does add welcome specificity to her adaptation.)
The staging here gets bogged down from time to time with cumbersome scene changes, though the musical underscoring in Ronnie Malley's original soundscape provides lively accompaniment. The dozen actors many playing multiple roles enliven the busy street scenes in Calcutta as country boy Pip attempts to negotiate them.
Bhatt's Pip, while perhaps a tad too understated at times, moves through the character's changing circumstances with a palpable and convincing air of self-consciousness. He, like his country, is torn between loyalty to one's own culture and people and a desire for wealth and respectability as defined by outsiders. Until he knows who he is, his expectations can never be truly great.
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Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.
ctc-arts@chicagotribune.com
Review: "Great Expectations" by Silk Road Rising and Remy Bumppo Theatre (3 stars)
When: Through July 2
Where: Chicago Temple, 77 W. Washington St.
Running time: 3 hours
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Tickets: $35 at 312-857-1234 ext. 201 or www. greatexpectationsplay.org
The city's teen birth rate continues to decline and hit a historic low in 2014, the most recent year city data is available, Chicago officials have announced.
The birth rate in 2014 was 32 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, or 2,992 live births, representing a steady decrease since 2007, when the birth rate was 66.1. The decrease is even more dramatic compared with the teen birth rate of 80.5 in 2000.
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While the local decrease mirrors a national decline of teen births, Chicago's rate is still higher than the national average for 2014 of 24.2 births per 1,000 females. More recent data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a further drop in teen births nationwide to a 22.3 birth rate for 2015 another record low.
"Optimally, we'd have zero. We're not there yet, so more work needs to be done," said Chicago Department of Public Health commissioner Dr. Julie Morita. "We really have made huge strides ... Making sure long-acting contraception is available, doctors are recommending it and teens know to ask for it all that will lead to a lower teen birth rate, and it has to be done in every community."
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Although the birth rate declined across all races and ethnicities in Chicago in 2014, racial and ethnic disparities exist, with slightly higher rates among non-Hispanic black and Hispanic teens. For example, non-Hispanic blacks had a birth rate of 41 births per 1,000 females while Hispanics had a birth rate of 37.2, much higher than the rate of non-Hispanic white teens at 6.5 and of Asians and Pacific Islanders at 4.
Chicago communities with higher teen birth rates tend to be on the city's West and South sides, with North Lawndale, West Garfield Park and West Englewood having the highest rates for 2014.
The city's Public Health department has partnered with Planned Parenthood since 2015 on an effort called Chicago Healthy Adolescents and Teens to target communities with high birth rates and high rates of sexually transmitted infections. The program educates teens about STIs and offers students at select schools the option to leave urine samples to be tested for chlamydia and gonorrhea, the two most common bacterial sexually transmitted diseases.
So far this school year, more than 12,000 students have been educated and more than 6,500 youth provided with STI screening at more than 40 schools, the city said.
Additionally, there's a citywide approach to educate teens about pregnancy prevention and long-lasting, reversible and effective birth control such as implants in the arm and intrauterine devices, also known as IUDs.
Last year, the city launched the chataboutit.org website to provide teens with accurate and reliable sexual health information, complementing the sex education curriculum in Chicago Public Schools classrooms.
The city also encourages condom use. An updated version of the "Chicago Wears Condoms" program rolled out earlier this month. The program, initially launched in 2015, is a citywide social media and marketing campaign with billboards and CTA ads to educate teens about unplanned pregnancies and STIs by providing information on testing sites and where to get free condoms.
Also, Morita said the city is working on creating an app to provide locations of free condom sites using GPS.
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She underscored the importance of teens postponing childbirth.
"Becoming a parent early can interfere with educational opportunities," Morita said. "We know girls that get pregnant as teens are less likely to graduate from high school and less likely to go to college and get a college degree."
lvivanco@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @lvivanco
A gas mask is just one of dozens of artifacts from World War I that will be on display at the new exhibit opening on Memorial Day at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center in downtown Aurora. (Denise Crosby/The Beacon-News )
I'll be the first to admit, I've been on a World War I kick lately.
It's the 100th anniversary of the U.S. involvement in the war, so of course my already active interest in history has been piqued by this centennial mark. But I've also noticed there are a lot of folks, even teachers and those with advanced degrees, who don't know a whole lot about the conflict.
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I didn't know a whole lot about it myself until I wrote a column in April about the World War I exhibit being put together by the GAR Memorial Museum and Aurora Historical Society to remember the over 3,600 Aurorans who joined the military and the thousands more in this community who came together to support the war effort.
I won't go into detail about the impact this war had on mankind, but I will encourage you to take time to visit "With the Colors From Aurora: A Memorial to the First World War" at some point between its grand opening on Memorial Day at the David L. Pierce Art and History Center at 20 E. Downer Place and its conclusion in January 2018.
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I dropped by last week to watch as GAR Curator Erin Howard and her assistant, Eric Pry, along with Historical Society Executive Director John Jaros, were putting the finishing touches on the exhibit that features over 80 artifacts, including uniforms from all our military branches, machine guns, gas masks, battle art, mess kits, personal diaries and photos.
What I really wanted to do was check out the 18-foot life-size reproduction of one of the trenches that became synonymous with the grueling kind of warfare that took place during World War I.
This trench was built by 25-year-old Pry and his father Duane, a carpenter with Lamp Inc. of Elgin, which also donated all the material for the project.
It was during that first meeting about the exhibit months ago, said Howard, that her assistant came up with the idea of featuring a life-size trench. And it only took a few text messages to Eric Pry's dad to confirm that father and son, who share a love of history, would work on the project together.
As Howard said, "They just took ownership of it," spending well over 100 hours constructing this wheelchair accessible reproduction which allows visitors to get a better idea of what life was like for these soldiers in the trenches of World War I.
"We really had a good time building it," said Eric.
The goal is to make it as authentic as possible, down to the crude warning system basically a wooden noise-maker that was used to let soldiers know it was time to don gas masks as a cloud of deadly poison was heading their way.
Complete with barb(less) wire and sandbags to make it harder for the enemy to come over the top, the trench also features a periscope similar to the kind soldiers used to spot approaching enemy. And Pry was making plans to finish the sides with a sludge-like coating to give guests a better sense of the muddy hell these soldiers endured with little sleep.
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As Public Arts Commission Director Rena Church, whose grandfather fought in this war, described it, "these soldiers had to deal with rats scurrying at their feet, lice on their bodies, standing ankle deep in mud from all the rain and that was all before they even got to the fighting part of the war."
In addition to gas masks and weaponry including a rifle, pistols and machine gun (that would often jam when encased with mud) visitors can check out the leg wrappings that attempted to give soldiers relief from the foot rot they developed inside the watery trenches, as well as a Red Cross surgeon's kit that included knives, scissors, scalpels and a bone saw.
And there are also plenty of fascinating photos one I can't easily forget is with soldiers proudly displaying a string of trench rats their rat terrier had caught.
It's an informative, fascinating, free exhibit but not an enormous one. Even if you took time to look at every single item and read each description, it would take no more than 45 minutes to go through it.
And when you are are finished, chances are good you will long remember America's Forgotten War.
DCrosby@tribpub.com
It was one of the most outlandish episodes in Frank Lloyd Wright's outlandish life: On Oct. 16, 1956, the 89-year-old architect stood before an enormous gold, silver and moblue canvas in the ballroom of the Sherman House Hotel and unveiled his plan for a mile-high skyscraper 528 stories, with enough room for 100,000 people, 15,000 cars and 100 helicopters.
"This is The Illinois, gentlemen," Wright told the assembled reporters, including a young Paul Gapp, who would become the Tribune's architecture critic. "In it, will be consolidated all government offices now scattered around Chicago."
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Wright had no client and no confirmed site for his proposed skyscraper, which was never built and never forgotten. As the 150th anniversary of Wright's June 8 birth approaches, his plan for the Mile-High Illinois, as it's often called, remains an object of fascination and curiosity.
Why did Wright, who supposedly hated cities, carry out this outrageous stunt? Why would this fierce advocate of decentralization design a skyscraper that would have been more than four times taller than the 1,250-foot Empire State Building, then the world's tallest building?
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Hint one: A quest for posterity.
Hint two: Follow the money. "Give me the luxuries," the free-spending Wright would say, "and let the necessities take care of themselves."
These hints come from no less a scholar than Barry Bergdoll, curator at the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Architecture and Design and chief organizer of the upcoming exhibition, "Frank Lloyd Wright at 150: Unpacking the Archive," which opens at the New York museum on June 12.
The show's title suggests the 2012 transfer to MoMA and Columbia University's architecture library of the archives of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in Arizona 5,000 drawings and moreand the effort to "unpack" the physical contents and underlying meaning of the trove. Even after the show's catalog went to press, Bergdoll came upon new Mile-High material in the archives, including invitations to a Sherman House Hotel dinner held in tandem with the press conference for the skyscraper.
"The Mile-High is so unbelievably symbolic," Bergdoll said in a telephone interview Friday. "It's really an incredible attention-getting thing."
Today's star architects, or "starchitects," hire publicists to beat the drums for their latest eye-grabbing skyscraper or museum. Wright, who was born in 1867 and died in 1959 after a life of divorce, scandal, fires and fame, didn't need one.
Throughout his career, the architect excelled at crafting his public image as well as his pathbreaking buildings. He was a pioneering media manipulator, taking to television in the 1950s to appear on the popular game show "What's My Line?" (His profession, the home audience learned, was "World Famous Architect.") And he was a shrewd self-promoter, as the run-up to the Mile-High press conference reveals.
Six weeks before the event, a Tribune reporter was invited to Wright's Taliesin compound in Wisconsin to get the scoop about the supertall skyscraper. "The Empire State Building would be a mouse by comparison," Wright said. Newspapers around the country jumped on the story. Mayor Richard J. Daley proclaimed Oct. 17, 1956, the day after the press conference, "Frank Lloyd Wright Day."
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Wright sought such attention, Bergdoll speculates, because architectural historians were portraying him as a has-been. The new wave was personified by the German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, whose steel-and-glass high-rises at 860-880 N. Lake Shore Drive had won wide acclaim when they were completed five years earlier. Wright couldn't stand what Mies was doing.
"I detest seeing the boys fooling around and making their buildings look like boxes," he said. "Why not design a building that really is tall? ... Long ago I observed trees after the passing of a cyclone. Those with deep taproots were the ones that survived."
The Mile-High didn't simply aim to be tall. It was the ultimate expression of Wright's "taproot" structural system, which sank a central concrete mast deep into the ground and cantilevered floors from the mast. In contrast to a typical skyscraper, in which same-size floors are piled atop one another like so many pancakes, the taproot system lets floors vary in size, opening a high-rise's interior and letting space flow between floors.
Wright already had used the system in his 15-story S.C. Johnson Research Tower of 1950 in Racine, Wis. There, alternating square and round floors reach out like tree branches from a reinforced concrete core. Now, he was joining the approach to a kind of hyper-centralization that sought to replace many tall buildings with a single supertall skyscraper. The idea: Free up the ground plane and rid cities of the very congestion and over-crowding Wright had spent decades attacking.
If it was a bid for posterity, it didn't work. The plan was technically unfeasible. Today's world's tallest building, the half-mile-high Burj Khalifa in Dubai, relies on a three-lobed structural system inspired by Chicago's Lake Point Tower, the glass-sheathed, Y-shaped skyscraper completed in 1969 by disciples of Mies.
Wright's attempt to frame the Mile-High as the culmination of new developments in high-rise concrete "has never emerged as a dominant thread in American modern architecture," Bergdoll writes in the show's catalog.
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But the proposed supertall skyscraper did help Wright succeed at another grab for posterity, the curator tells us.
The Sherman House Hotel dinner associated with the Mile-High press conference raised $25,000, a considerable amount in those days, Bergdoll reports. In the process, it helped secure the future of the Taliesin Fellowship, Wright's architecture school.
Architectural stardom has its privileges even when the blazing ideas of architectural stars fizzle out.
bkamin@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @BlairKamin
Blanche "Boots" Boyce pauses after placing a carnation on a wreath in memory of her husband, Patrolman James R. Boyce Jr., at a memorial service Friday, May 26, 2017, at the Public Safety Facility. (Carole Carlson / Post-Tribune)
One by one, family members placed a white carnation inside a blue star wreath Friday outside the Gary Public Safety Facility.
Blanche "Boots" Boyce remembered her husband, James R. Boyce Jr., gunned down in 1974 by a 19-year-old heroin user during an armed robbery.
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David Rorex and Dorian Rorex Jr. couldn't recall much about their dad, Dorian Rorex, slain in 1998 chasing a drug dealer through a Gary alley. David was just 10 months old and Dorian hadn't been born yet.
They joined other families in the annual ceremony for 15 fallen officers, punctuated by a rifle salute, Taps, and a lone bagpiper playing "Amazing Grace."
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Gary Police Lodge 61 set up a tent and chairs in the building's parking lot for the ceremony that FOP President Terry Peck hopes is soon moved to a permanent police memorial location, tentatively on the site of the former Sheraton hotel just south of City Hall on Broadway. The FOP is raising money and accepting donations for the memorial.
The families sat quietly as police officers stood at rapt attention as an American flag was hoisted to half-staff. Sgt. Marlin Gray sang the national anthem and chaplain Sgt. Justin Illyes offered a prayer.
"There's a special sense of unity today ... with the ties that bind us together," said Police Chief Larry McKinley. "Their courage, training and dedication helped keep us safe even as they put themselves in harm's way."
Coming to this blacktopped parking lot every May probably wasn't what Blanche "Boot" Boyce, of Valparaiso, envisioned when she married James R. Boyce Jr., her high school sweetheart, in the late 1960s.
She hasn't missed a ceremony, nor has she missed a parole hearing for Keith Ware, the man convicted of killing her husband in a robbery at Jackson's Steak House on U.S. 20 back in 1974. Boyce had just gone off duty when he heard the robbery call and rushed to the scene.
The couple's son was 7 and their daughter was 3. "My son was daddy's shadow," she said. James H. Boyce would go on to become a police officer himself and retired recently as Kouts police chief.
Ware was sentenced to life, but with the option of parole. His next hearing is in 2021. "As long as I'm living, I'll be there," said Blanche Boyce, who opposes Ware's parole. Ware is serving his sentence at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City.
"It's been a long journey, but it's been a good one," she said.
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The Rorex brothers wore white shirts and ties as they paid tribute to the dad they didn't know.
"This means a lot to us," said David Rorex. "We're surrounded by other officers. We don't know much about our father, and they can tell us stories about him."
The brothers support the FOP's dream to create a permanent memorial. "This would be better at an actual, dedicated place," said David Rorex.
State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Merrillville, said the officers' sacrifice won't be forgotten.
"Today we celebrate all that they were, all they did, and all that they stood for."
Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter at the Post-Tribune.
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Gary officers killed in line of duty
Jeffrey Westerfield July 6, 2014
Benjamin Wilcher, Jr. Aug. 12, 2007
Louis W. Donald, Jr. Aug. 27, 2001
Dorian D. Rorex Jan. 15, 1998
Johnny Spears July 30, 1991*
George Yaros Aug. 11, 1981
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James R. Boyce Jr. Oct. 5, 1974
George Lowe June 2, 1970
Michael G. Rusnak June 11, 1966
John E. Moore Aug. 4, 1955
Elza O'Dell Jan. 31, 1953
Walter Poturalsky Aug. 8, 1935
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James L. Kelly March 31, 1932
Pearl Agnes Lanham March 12, 1930
Julius Gunther Sept. 16, 1921
*auxiliary officer
The Chicago Torture Justice Center opened in Englewood on May 26, 2017, and aims to provide mental health and case management services to an estimated 60 remaining Burge torture victims, as well as community members affected by police violence. (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune) (Phil Velasquez/Chicago Tribune/Chicago Tribune)
Standing in a corner of the newly opened Chicago Torture Justice Center on Friday, Darrell Cannon quietly recalled the details of his experience with Chicago police detectives almost 34 years ago.
How they questioned him about a murder he had no role in for more than eight hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 3 in the afternoon, he said. How they pressed an electric cattle prod to his testicles, he added. How Cannon had to falsely confess to his involvement and face a murder conviction that would later be overturned, because by the time the torture had ended Cannon couldn't even recite his own name, he said.
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"I continue to live this hell. Everyday. I stay mad. People say that I should not be mad, that I should let God handle it," said Cannon, who spent 24 years in prison before the murder charges against him were dropped. His eyes turned red with tears. "But I'm a human being, and as long as I have breath in my body, I'm gonna stay mad."
Cannon, 66, suffered at the hands of the former police Cmdr. Jon Burge, who with his so-called midnight crew of rogue detectives allegedly tortured upward of 100 people, many of them African-American men from the South Side, in efforts to extract confessions from them between early 1972 and late 1991.
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Accusations against Burge began to surface when former Mayor Richard M. Daley was state's attorney. The controversy lasted for decades as the city fought the torture claims. So far, it has cost the city more than $100 million in lawsuit settlements, judgments and other costs.
But in May 2015, the City Council moved to acknowledge the victims by approving a $5.5 million reparations package, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel said showed Chicago wanted to deal with a dark chapter in its history and that the behavior wouldn't be tolerated in the future.
The ordinance paved the way for Friday's opening of the torture justice center in Englewood, which aims to provide mental health and case management services to an estimated 60 remaining Burge torture victims, including about 20 who are still in prison, as well as community members affected by police violence. It is the first such center in the country, its director and staff said.
For victims like Cannon, who is serving as the center's outreach director, the opening stirred painful memories. "No one should have to go through hell in order to bring about a measure of justice," he said. "This center is something that should never have to come about."
The center, which sits inside the Englewood Neighborhood Health Clinic at 63rd Street and Lowe Avenue, will provide individual and group therapy to anyone who feels they need healing services or legal assistance resulting from police misconduct. There is no criteria to qualify for those services, staff members said, and anyone who feels they have a case of police brutality is welcome to walk in.
"Our door is open to anyone who feels like egregious wrong has been done to them," Cannon said.
Policy brutality continues to be an issue in Chicago even as the Burge era has receded into the past.
A U.S. Department of Justice report released in January concluded that the city's police officers are poorly trained and quick to turn to excessive and even deadly force, most often against blacks and Latino residents, without facing consequences. The report cited problems that have for decades been the focus of complaints from citizens, lawsuits and news investigations.
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Burge victims said the reparations have been long in coming and say they are grateful for the center's opening. When Chicago passed the 2015 ordinance, it became the first municipality in the country to pay reparations for such police misconduct, lawyers involved in the negotiations said.
Burge and the detectives under his command had used electric shock, suffocation and even Russian roulette to coerce confessions from dozens of black suspects, special Cook County prosecutors concluded after a four-year investigation.
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The ordinance included the creation of a permanent memorial recognizing the victims and ensured that eighth- and 10th-grade students attending Chicago Public Schools would be taught about the Burge case and its legacy.
The center is funded mostly by the Chicago Department of Public Health, said its executive director, Christine Haley. It is also funded in part by the Crossroads Fund and the Polk Brothers Foundation.
Ald. Howard Brookins, 21st, former chairman of the council's black caucus, told reporters Friday that during the Burge era detectives would play a game of "eeny meeny miny moe," charging "anyone they could catch" with a crime in order to curb crime statistics. The result was unsolved crimes and residents' distrust of police, he said.
Almost 30 years later, he said, the community still sees the impact "a few bad officers" have on an entire community.
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"So today we're closing, partially closing, this sad chapter of the city's life," he said. "Where whoever you could pick to put the crime on was the person who did it, while the real people who perpetrated those crimes remained in our community."
meltagouri@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @marwaeltagouri
Using an April drive-by shooting that injured three in the Old Town neighborhood as an impetus, Chicago police announced raids that netted dozens of drug- and gun-related arrests that authorities hope will tamp down Memorial Day weekend violence.
The arrests follow the April 11 shooting of two 12-year-old boys on spring break and a man in his 60s in the 1400 block of North Sedgwick Street. The suspected gunman in that case, a participant in a violent neighborhood drug feud, was aiming at two gang rivals standing nearby, but instead hit the bystanders, police said.
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Since the shooting, police say, they have concentrated on the area, focusing on at least six gangs believed responsible for the area's heavily contested drug trade and the resulting violence. Leading up to Saturday part of a holiday weekend during which authorities typically beef up their presence in crime hotspots police made several raids on gun and drug warrants, arresting about 30 people, and seeking at least 20 more.
Police also seized more than 262 pounds of heroin, along with about 400 pounds of marijuana. They did not release details regarding those arrested or where they were arrested.
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Meeting with reporters across the street from the store on Saturday, police brass said the raids would help head off a violent holiday weekend.
"That's the objective we want to take the wind of it, take the guys calling the shots and driving the violence. And we know a lot of it is narcotics-related and that's our way to get them off the street," said Anthony Riccio, head of CPD's organized crime unit.
It was unclear whether the gunman who wounded the three in April was among those caught up in Chicago police's raids. But authorities believe they've taken great strides at helping cripple the drug market that led to the shooting.
The North Side raid also follows the "Operation Bunny Trap" in which local and federal authorities earlier this week charged nearly 50 members or associates of the Gangster Two-Six Nation street gang accused of dealing guns and drugs on Chicago's South Side and surrounding suburbs.
Several of those arrested in the raids announced Saturday were expected to appear before a Cook County judge Saturday for a bond hearing.
This holiday weekend will have more extra officers working each day than Memorial Day weekend 2016, according to Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson.
This year, 1,300 extra officers, on top of the normal staffing levels, will be working this weekend, Johnson said. Last year, there were about 880 extra officers working, he said.
The home invasion follows a string of similar incidents that began May 19 in the Jefferson Park, Albany Park and Grand Central police districts that have left seniors seriously injured.
Police spokesman Jose Estrada said Saturday morning that the latest attack could be part of the pattern.
"Given the similarities in this incident and the ones suspected in the alert, there's a possibility that these incidents are connected," he said.
Waller said it was not yet determined whether the person in custody Saturday was connected to the earlier home invasions.
In the recent cases, home invaders have broken into homes or climbed into them through unlocked windows, according to police. In the attacks, the home invaders have gotten in, then threatened and battered victims and demanded their property, according to a police alert warning residents of the Jefferson Park, Albany Park and Grand Central police districts about the crimes.
One home invasion happened just after 11:45 p.m. Thursday in the 5400 block of West Henderson Street in the Cragin neighborhood, when two male attackers got in through an open window and battered two elderly victims, injuring one of them seriously, according to police. The robbers got away with property and cash.
Another attack took place about 9:35 p.m. Tuesday in the 4800 block of West Nelson Street, also in the Cragin neighborhood, according to the alert. Two male attackers pried open a rear door, battered one person and took the victims property, police said.
In the earliest known home invasion in the pattern, in the Irving Park neighborhood, at least one attacker forced his way into a home in the 4100 block of North Avers Avenue about 1:10 p.m. on May 19, according to police. The attacker or attackers took property and left an elderly victim seriously injured.
Police do not have a detailed description of the attackers, who are described only as males who were wearing dark clothing.
Anyone with information about the home invasions is asked to call Area North detectives at 312-744-8263.
The Chicago Tribune's Grace Wong contributed.
Armando Serrano arrives at his family's Chicago home after being released from Dixon Correctional Center on July 20, 2016. Murder convictions against Jose Montanez (not shown) and Armando Serrano were vacated earlier that day. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)
Cook County prosecutors are seeking to force a controversial former Chicago police detective to take the witness stand to disprove allegations by two men convicted of a 1998 double murder that they were coerced into confessing.
Retired Detective Reynaldo Guevara has repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when asked about allegations that he abused and framed numerous suspects while with the Police Department.
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Now prosecutors in State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office want to force his testimony at an upcoming court hearing by giving him immunity from prosecution, according to filings by the office. Prosecutors secured a similar agreement from federal prosecutors, according to the filings by the state's attorney.
Those grants of immunity would keep Guevara from being prosecuted as long as he testified truthfully but would not protect him from any previous misconduct or criminal wrongdoing.
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"We have stated we will seek an order compelling his testimony and use all available means to enforce that order," Tandra Simonton, a Foxx spokeswoman, said in a statement.
At issue are allegations by Gabriel Solache and Arturo Reyes that Guevara physically abused them to coerce their confessions to the 1998 stabbing deaths of a Bucktown couple.
Attorneys representing the two in an upcoming post-conviction hearing want a judge to throw out those confessions, a step that could eventually lead to their release after nearly 20 years in prison.
Guevara's attorney has indicated to prosecutors that the former detective intends to invoke his Fifth Amendment right and not answer questions even though the statute of limitations on any potential charges likely has long passed, according to the prosecution filings.
If he still refuses to testify in spite of the grants of immunity by county and federal authorities, Guevara could be held in contempt of court.
But if Guevara takes the stand and intentionally lies, or if his testimony differs in a significant way from his previous statements under oath, he could open himself up to prosecution on perjury charges, according to attorneys.
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At a 2013 evidentiary hearing in the case, Guevara repeatedly took the Fifth Amendment. That led Judge James Obbish to draw a "negative inference" that the ex-detective didn't testify in order not to admit wrongdoing a key factor, prosecutors said, in Obbish ordering the suppression hearing for Solache and Reyes.
To avoid that from happening again, prosecutors are pressing to force Guevara to testify, confident in the two's guilt after "a thorough review" of the underlying charges, prosecutors said.
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Multiple convictions linked to Guevara's investigations have been thrown out in recent years. Most recently, the murder convictions of Roberto Almodovar and William Negron were tossed in April after the state's attorney's office announced it could no longer support the case against them. That case rested on witness testimony that was obtained in large part by Guevara.
In 2009, Juan Johnson was awarded $21 million in damages after serving more than 11 years on a murder conviction that was overturned after a 2004 retrial. Witnesses at the retrial said Guevara had bullied them into saying Johnson was the killer.
In yet another Guevara-related case, Armando Serrano and Jose Montanez were convicted of a 1993 murder on the testimony of a witness facing four felony charges. He recanted in 2004, claiming Guevara had fed him the story. Charges against Serrano and Montanez were dropped last year at the request of the state's attorney's office, then headed by Anita Alvarez.
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
Twitter @crepeau
Artsakh President: It is a nationwide issue which should be solved by all of us
President of the Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan sent a congratulatory address in connection with the day of the First Armenian Republic. The address runs as follows: "Dear compatriots, On behalf of the Artsakh Republic authorities and myself personally I congratulate you on the Day of the First Armenian Republic. The Armenian nation has been always struggling to restore its statehood, live freely and independently on its soil, master its destiny on its own. On 28 May, the century- long struggle crowned with success. In the battles of Sardarapat, Bash-Aparan and Gharakilisa our people demonstrated unprecedented endurance, heroism and gained success, resisted the invading enemy and forced it to retreat, rescuing from destruction the last fraction of the historical homeland and its future. The Artsakh Liberation Struggle became the continuation of those glorious heroic battles proving once again that Armenian freedom-loving spirit is unshakable and passes down from generation to generation. Today the entire Armenian people have united and combined their efforts for the development and reinforcement of the two Armenian republics, for the secure and wealthy life of the Armenians in their own country, their homeland. It is a nationwide issue which should be solved by all of us, in the Mother Armenia, Artsakh and Diaspora. Once again, I congratulate all our people on the state holiday and wish peace, prosperity and new victories on the way of the state building process".
Zbigniew Brzezinski, who helped topple economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West as President Jimmy Carter's national security adviser, died Friday. He was 89.
His death was announced on social media Friday night by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. She called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."
In a statement, Carter called Brzezinski "a superb public servant" as well as "brilliant, dedicated and loyal."
Earnest and ambitious, Brzezinski helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords in September 1978. Three months later, U.S.-China relations were normalized, a top priority for Brzezinski.
Born in Warsaw and educated in Canada and the United States, Brzezinski was an acknowledged expert in Communism when he attracted the attention of U.S. policymakers. In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy and served in the Johnson administration.
In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser. He had not wanted to be secretary of state because he felt he could be more effective working at Carter's side in the White House.
Brzezinski often found himself in clashes with colleagues like Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. For the White House, the differences between Vance and Brzezinski became a major headache, confusing the American public about the administration's policy course and fueling a decline in confidence that Carter could keep his foreign policy team working in tandem.
The Iranian hostage crisis, which began in 1979, came to dramatize America's waning global power and influence and to symbolize the failures and frustrations of the Carter administration. Brzezinski, during the early months of 1980, became convinced that negotiations to free the kidnapped Americans were going nowhere. Supported by the Pentagon, he began to push for military action.
Carter was desperate to end the standoff and, over Vance's objections, agreed to a long-shot plan to rescue the hostages. The mission, dubbed Desert One, was a complete military and political humiliation and precipitated Vance's resignation. Carter lost his re-election bid against Ronald Reagan that November.
Brzezinski went on to ruffle the feathers of Washington's power elite with his 1983 book, "Power and Principle," which was hailed and reviled as a kiss-and-tell memoir.
"I have never believed in flattery or lying as a way of making it," he told The Washington Post that year. "I have made it on my own terms."
The oldest son of Polish diplomat Tadeus Brzezinski, Zbigniew was born on March 28, 1928, and attended Catholic schools during the time his father was posted in France and Germany.
The family went to Montreal in 1938 when the elder Brzezinski was appointed Polish consul general. When Communists took power in Poland six years later, he retired and moved his family to a farm in the Canadian countryside.
At his new home, the young Brzezinski began learning Russian from a nearby farmer and was soon bitten by the foreign policy bug.
Brzezinski's climb to the top of the foreign policy community began at Canada's McGill University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science. Later at Harvard, he received a doctorate in government, a fellowship and a publishing contract for his thesis on Soviet purges as a permanent feature of totalitarianism.
Frequent trips to Eastern Europe and several books and articles in the 1950s established Brzezinski as an expert on Communism, and by the 1960s he'd begun to attract the interest of policymakers. Throughout his career, he would be affiliated with moderate-to-liberal groups, including the Rand Corp., the Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty International and the NAACP.
The Washington Post's national security team just reported that during the transition, Jared Kushner proposed to the Russians that they set up a secret channel of communication using secure Russian facilities. That's what the Russian ambassador to the United States told Moscow about a December conversation he had with Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser.
This is a damning piece of news for the White House caught under an avalanche of revelations about its dealings with Russia.
If it's true, it's the most difficult for them to explain in the context of an FBI investigation into Russia meddling in the U.S. election and whether Trump's campaign helped. Why would Trump's transition team need to secretly talk to the Russians, using their Russian channels?
The White House declined to comment.
Everything we've learned these past few weeks as it relates to the FBI's investigation into Russia is noteworthy, but it can be caveated with a reasonable explanation from the Trump White House. This news is much more difficult to caveat.
To wit:
1) Kushner is now a focus of the FBI's investigation into Russia meddling. Of interest to FBI investigators is likely Kushner's several meetings with the Russian ambassador.
Caveat: The FBI has accused Kushner of no wrongdoing, and he's not their main focus.
2) Kushner didn't share those meetings with the Russians on his security clearance form. A security clearance is required for anyone who is privvy to the nation's deepest secrets.
Caveat: His lawyer said it was a mistake, and Kushner corrected it after the New York Times reported it.
3) CNN reported Friday that FBI investigators are also interested in how Russia helped use computer bots to target and push negative information on Hillary Clinton (and positive information about Trump) on Facebook. Trump campaign's data analytics operation was supervised by Kushner.
Caveat: Kushner ran a media company, so it conceivably makes sense he'd take over social media for the campaign.
4) Now we learn that Kushner proposed setting up a secret communications channel between Trump's transition team and Russia using Russian facilities, according to Russia ambassador's report home. U.S. officials told The Post this was an apparent move by Kushner to block any monitoring of Trump's activities ahead of the inauguration from the U.S.
Here, to we have a caveat: Russians at times feed false information into communication streams that they think the United States is watching.
But we have a caveat to that caveat: It's unclear why the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, would misreport his conversations to his own people. (Although it's conceivable Kislyak was exaggerating or misunderstood what was said.)
This news also feeds directly into what the FBI, a special counsel and multiple committees in Congress are investigating: Did Trump's campaign worked with Russia to influence the election?
Secret back channels. Meeting with the Russians. Forgetting to disclose your meetings with the Russians. (Kushner is just one of several current and former Trump campaign officials who held meetings with the Russians, then forgot to share those meetings.)
If the Trump campaign did not work with Russia to try to influence the election, they certainly had a lot of interactions with the Russians that they didn't want the U.S. government and/or the public to know about.
Which raises the question: What reason would Kushner have to keep talks secret from the U.S. government, when his father-in-law was a month away from being the head of the U.S. government?
Obama officials told Washington Post reporters that the best they can surmise is perhaps Trump's campaign was afraid it'd get out to the media that they were trying to talk to the Russians. News was breaking that U.S. officials thought Russia meddled in the election, and Kushner may have recognized how politically sensitive it would be to meet with the Russians.
It's not unusual for campaigns and transitions to have conversations with foreign leaders, but in this context, it is weird for U.S. campaigns to meet with Russians. It's also unusual for transition teams to request sensitive ways to communicate with foreign governments. And it's really unusual to request a foreign government's help communicating secretly, which is what the Russian ambassador told Russian officials Kushner asked for.
Well before any of this was public, Team Trump's meetings with Russians raised eyebrows for former CIA director John Brennan, who told Congress recently:
"[B] the time I left office on January 20, I had unresolved questions in my mind as to whether or not the Russians had been successful in getting U.S. persons involved in the campaign or not to work on their behalf, again, either in a witting or unwitting fashion. And so, therefore, I felt as though the FBI investigation was certainly well-founded and needed to look into those issues."
Since then, revelations into the Trump campaign's relationship with Russia have made their interactions look more - not less - suspicious. That Kushner may have tried to establish secret communications with the Russians tops that list.
Dr. Hassan Najafi performed the first successful heart transplant in Chicago on Dec. 27, 1968, at what was Presbyterian-St. Luke's Hospital.
Najafi, a cardiac surgeon who led a team of doctors, nurses and technicians in the transplant operation, was later chairman of the department of cardiovascular-thoracic surgery at what is now Rush University Medical Center from 1972 to 1997.
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Najafi, 86, died of natural causes Saturday in Northfield, where he'd lived for about 50 years, according to his son Kevin.
Dr. Thomas Deutsch, former Rush Medical College dean and now provost of Rush University, said Najafi remained one of the most respected heart surgeons in Chicago from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s.
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"He was a phenomenal surgeon in terms of his skills, as well as just his knowledge of the planning as well as the management of extraordinarily sick patients who required heart surgery," Deutsch said.
Najafi, he said, also had the skill and foresight to assemble a team of surgeons, physicians, nurses and technicians into an outstanding cardiac surgery crew. "That (team) was for many many years in Chicago second to none."
Najafi was born in 1930 in Tehran. He had completed a surgical residency at what was then Pahlavi Hospital there before coming to the United States.
In 1959, he began a two-year general surgery residence at Rush, followed by another two-year residency in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery. In addition to chairing the cardiovascular-thoracic surgery department, he was a professor of surgery with Rush Medical College. From 1994 to 1997, he was both vice dean of the college and associate vice president for medical affairs.
Dr. Marshall Goldin was a student in the early 1960s when he met Najafi, who was then senior fellow in cardiovascular thoracic surgery at Rush.
"Throughout my training, he was one of my mentors," said Goldin, who was on the transplant team as a trainee. He later became one of Najafi's partners in a practice that came to be called Cardiovascular Surgical Associates.
In that groundbreaking 1968 transplant operation, Goldin said the team at least 30 people by Rush's account was divided between two operating rooms, one for the patient getting the new heart and one for the deceased donor of the heart.
In a March 1969 edition of the hospital's publication, "News Rounds," Najafi called the effort "a campaign, in which surgery, medicine and the entire institution were involved."
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The 50-year-old recipient of the new heart, Ervin Cramer, recovered quickly enough to leave the hospital less than a month after the transplant, as reported in the Tribune. But a Tribune story in April 1969, about another transplant planned in Texas, noted that Cramer had died about three months after the surgery.
Goldin said Najafi was a major contributor to the cardiovascular surgery literature in many areas. Najafi, he said, was very well known for operating on thoracic aortas, those within the chest. "Aneurysms of the aorta were one of the areas of his special interest and expertise."
In addition to his surgical skills, Najafi was a renowned teacher. As director of the cardiovascular surgery training program at Rush for some 25 years, he helped lead a strong training program that attracted top doctors.
"It was known as one of the best training programs in the United States," Goldin said. "Many of the surgeons he trained are in prominent cardiovascular programs throughout the country."
In retirement, Najafi worked with his son on a collection of stories about his life and the people and events in it. "He was a storyteller," his son said. "He made a lot of contributions nationally, a lot of research, a lot of training of residents. He had a huge career."
He also is survived by his wife, Marsha; daughters Susan Davidoff and Melinda Cooke; another son, Chris; sisters Mansoureh, Mahboubeh and Nahid; a brother, Abbas; and eight grandchildren.
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Visitation will be at 10 a.m. Saturday followed by a funeral service at noon in Wm. H. Scott Funeral Home, 1100 Greenleaf Ave., Wilmette
Graydon Megan is a freelance reporter.
With their adjournment scheduled for Wednesday, lawmakers in Springfield spent the week rushing mostly inconsequential bills through the legislative funnel. The Senate passed its version of a budget, but the House has shown little interest and instead adjourned early Friday and canceled Saturday.
That's right. The House already took a week off this month and two weeks last month, preceded by a light schedule since the start of the year. Consider Friday's adjournment another indication there is no urgency, still, from House Speaker Michael Madigan to steady the state's financial tailspin.
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He might, however, allow a vote on a massive casino expansion. A House committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Monday, but we won't be surprised if that gets canceled, too.
The bill would add casinos in Chicago, Lake County, the south suburbs, Rockford, Danville and Williamson County in southern Illinois. It would allow the state's existing 10 casinos to add more machines and tables. It would permit slots at Chicago's airports. And it would legalize slots at the state's horse racing tracks.
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We know. A cumbrous gambling bill is an annual ritual, fed by special interest groups, lobbyists and consultants who make money off the constant drumbeat. That beat got a little louder recently when Gov. Bruce Rauner said he would be willing to support additional casinos if they were part of a broader budget and reform package.
But wait. Let's examine.
The latest 533-page expansion bill comes after the slow rollout of legalized video gambling in bars and restaurants, which the legislature approved and former Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law in 2009. Consumers can sit at poker terminals at thousands of mom-and-pop taverns, gambling cafes and even some fast-food joints. Now up and running, the state's video poker footprint is so expansive, it is the equivalent of Illinois having added roughly 22 casinos.
As casino proposals have come and gone, this page has been mildly supportive of expanding gaming, particularly in Chicago, where it would serve tourists and conventiongoers. But the longer the proposals have simmered, and the more video poker machines that have come on line, the more relevant the saturation question becomes. Illinois now has more opportunities to gamble than Las Vegas does.
The state's nonpartisan forecasting arm predicted the latest gambling expansion bill would raise an additional $560 million annually, about 18 percent more than what the state receives now. That's a nice chunk of change but not nearly as lucrative as supporters claim. The new bill also would lower tax rates on all casinos.
A Chicago casino would be overseen by the Illinois Gaming Board and a new Chicago Casino Development Authority, a five-member board chosen by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. While the bill stipulates that the Gaming Board would maintain ultimate control over a Chicago casino, the mayor's appointees also would have a say on contracts, including choosing the operator of the casino and selecting locations for both a temporary site and a permanent site, among many other duties.
That's a red flag. City Hall should have no oversight role of a casino in which Chicago has any ownership. A casino here should be regulated like all the others: by the Gaming Board.
It's unclear how the two bodies would work together, or serve as checks and balances, or overlap and clash.
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One thing is clear: The Gaming Board and its experienced, professional staff should lead the development and oversight of every aspect of a Chicago casino, no matter how inconvenient and time-consuming for an impatient mayor and hungry developers. We're talking about a multibillion-dollar project, with plenty of opportunities for organized crime to try to insert itself in construction and operation.
This bill hasn't gotten much attention, given the budget standoff and the tradition of gambling bills piling up, up, up, then toppling over before the May 31 adjournment deadline.
But by the looks of this version, that wouldn't be a bad thing.
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Roughly 30 percent of North Carolina's voters are registered Republicans, but the GOP holds 10 of the state's 13 seats in Congress. How did that happen?
Republicans drew the electoral map, that's how.
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As lawmakers huddled to craft the current boundaries, state Rep. David Lewis suggested the goal should be to stack 10 districts to favor Republicans, leaving three to the Dems, "because I do not believe it's possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats," according to a transcript of the meeting.
Lewis didn't bother to disguise the naked partisanship that guided mapmakers' hands, and no wonder. Across the country, brazen gerrymandering has flourished as federal courts shrugged off legal challenges from voters who were cheated by such lopsided maps.
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In 2011, a panel of federal judges called Illinois' newly drawn map "a blatant political move to increase the number of Democratic congressional seats" and upheld it anyway.
That masterful gerrymander prompted Politico to declare that House Speaker Michael Madigan, the state's top Democrat, had "punched his ticket to the partisan hall of fame." It flipped the balance of the state's congressional delegation from 11 Republicans and eight Democrats in 2011 to 12 Democrats and six Republicans in 2013. (Illinois lost one seat because of declining population.)
Courts have acknowledged that extreme partisan mapmaking isn't consistent with democratic principles one man, one vote, remember? but they've also recognized that redistricting is inherently political. The majority party can always be counted on to manipulate the maps in its favor. When does it cross the line?
The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to make that call, saying it's up to the aggrieved party to propose a constitutional standard that can be applied. The justices have never rejected a map for being too partisan. They will soon have another chance to do so.
On Monday, the justices threw out North Carolina's map not because it cheated Democrats, but because it cheated African-Americans. A 1995 ruling declared it unconstitutional to sort voters into districts based on race without a compelling reason, such as to promote minority representation under the federal Voting Rights Act. Since then, several maps have failed that test.
Lewis, whom we've come to think of as North Carolina's Mike Madigan, had argued that the GOP's map was acceptable because it's a partisan gerrymander, not a racial one. True, the Republicans had secured their advantage by concentrating blacks into two districts, but mapmakers said they based the decisions on voting history, not skin color. The Supreme Court didn't buy it.
The tactic, known as "packing," minimizes the impact of the targeted voters by containing them in as few districts as possible. The opposite is "cracking" scattering them into many districts, so their votes never add up enough to make a difference.
Both are employed ruthlessly for partisan advantage. And this fall, they could provide the Supreme Court with the metric it has been asking for to gauge how badly a map is rigged to favor one party.
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The justices have agreed to consider whether Wisconsin's State Assembly map violates the 14th amendment's equal protection clause because it was drawn to neutralize the votes of Democrats, depriving them of representation.
The standard proffered by a bipartisan group of voting advocates is a straightforward mathematical calculation. It tallies the number of votes that are "wasted," or assigned to a district in which they could not affect the outcome of an election. A handful of Democrats carved into a Republican stronghold, for example, or the redundant Republicans crowded into a district where half as many would have constituted a majority.
A map drawn without bias would "waste" about the same number of Republican and Democratic votes. The difference, or the "efficiency gap," is a measure of partisan imbalance. The larger the gap, the harder it would be for mapmakers to convince a court that the lines weren't drawn to disenfranchise the opposing party.
That makes sense to us. It made sense to the panel of federal judges whose decision is now before the Supreme Court. We hope the justices are impressed as well.
The current maps were based on population shifts as measured by the 2010 U.S. census and here we are, still arguing about them in 2017. The Wisconsin case is an opportunity for the Supreme Court to take a stand against partisan election rigging, before the 2020 census rolls around.
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As Chicago surpasses 1,000 gun-related murders in 16 months, I dont want my family to be an excuse for our state turning its back on suffering communities. I cannot claim to be helpless in the face of the state budget crisis and gun violence until I have tried every avenue to help. That same standard applies to our governor.
The University of Chicago Crime Lab could not conclude that Chicagos homicide rise was caused by any of the most commonly cited reasons, but noted that "the recent deterioration in the financial condition of the state of Illinois, and the resulting budget impasse have caused disruptions for many community organizations, the impact of which cannot yet be measured for lack of specific data. Add to the prevalence of violence and lack of opportunity the repeated and painful uncertainty that Chicago children have about their education, including frequent scares about school closings. We cannot wait for the effects of the budget impasse to be studied both Rauner and I are morally required to do everything we can to support young Illinois lives.
Even after two years, Rauners discussion of the budget often amounts to a campaign soundbite: Democrats havent passed a balanced budget for decades. Be that as it may, Rauners proposed budget has a $4.6 billion deficit that he relies on the Illinois Senate to address. Why does he repeatedly depend on the General Assembly to do something that he also says they are incapable of? Perhaps this political cover allows him to inoculate himself against the pain of the divestment of marginalized neighborhoods and schools. Our children have no such comfort.
The true measure of our states greatness will not be whether we balance our budget. It will be whether we do right by our most vulnerable citizens. I implore the governor: Please dont continue to hurt our states most at-risk youth in your effort to protect the taxpayer. I prefer the tax burden to the moral burden.
Lindsay Hagy, Chicago
I am a senior who is not enrolled in Medicaid, and that means I am one of 36,000 seniors who the governor wants to move into his new Community Reinvestment Program.
I have worked my entire life. I started off on a farm, then a bakery, and finally the railroad.
Now that I am older, I need a little help around my house. After my wife passed, my health went downhill. I needed help. Thats when my home care worker Georgie started coming in to help me.
Georgie keeps my apartment clean; she takes me to the doctor; she makes me breakfast five days a week; and she helps with buttoning my buttons because my fingers cant do it anymore. This may not sound like much, but it means everything to me.
Weve been working together since 2009. I trust her completely. I do not want anyone else to come in and replace her. We have a good system worked out, and I am able to keep living in my apartment with her help.
Rauner wants to take Georgie away from me and instead force me to allow strangers into my home. Thats what will happen if Im moved into his new program.
I wouldnt last long without Georgie; I know that in my heart. I refuse to go into a nursing home, and I fear that if the state moves me into this new program, thats exactly what will happen to me. I would rather go to sleep and never wake up than end up in a nursing home. That will cost our state a lot more anyways.
Please do not move me into a new program. Do not move any seniors into a new program. The Community Care Program is working for us. Leave it alone.
Robert Wright, Chicago
While it is great to see pangolins getting more public attention, I am shocked to hear that American zoos have acquired live pangolins under the guise of conservation. If they had talked to almost anyone involved on the ground in pangolin conservation, they would have gotten a very different opinion. As a matter of fact, a group of 20 pangolin experts, scientists and representatives of conservation groups gathered the week of May 15 in Washington and agreed that there is no conservation value to be gained from taking pangolins from the wild and bringing them to North American zoos.
As an African working in Africa on pangolin conservation, I believe it is irresponsible for zoos to claim to be furthering pangolin conservation in order to condone importing live pangolins. First, with very few exceptions, pangolins die quickly in captivity. Second, we know for every pangolin that is successfully shipped from Africa or Asia to the U.S., many others will have died during capture or on the long journey. And since pangolins have rarely been successfully bred in captivity, I assume that all these are wild-caught pangolins from Togo, thereby contributing to the trade that is wiping out the species.
There are legitimate conservationists right now in Africa and Asia working hard under duress rehabilitating and releasing pangolins rescued from trade as well as studying pangolins and building the knowledge needed to save them in the wild.
If American zoos holding pangolins want to help, they should support these meaningful conservation efforts on the ground and not add to the existing wildlife trade crisis pangolins are facing.
Rod Cassidy, Sangha Lodge, Dzanga Sangha , Central African Republic
Protecting wildlife
A recent news article revealed that Brookfield Zoo is home for 13 endangered tree pangolins. It's equally admirable and awesome that Chicago has two of the nation's most-respected zoos that are proactively providing safe havens for so many imperiled animals. The Shedd Aquarium is also renowned for protecting a vast array of threatened marine species. Many of the world's most majestic, exotic and exquisite creatures comfortably reside and thrive at the Brookfield and Lincoln Park zoos and the Shedd Aquarium. These three humane organizations merit accolades for their laudable wildlife conservation accomplishments.
Brien Comerford, Glenview
Retired Army Chief Warrant 4 officer Ty Simmons, of Aurora, left, and former Marine Richard Todas show the pins presented to Vietnam veterans Friday night during a 50th anniversary recognition event hosted by the Aurora Veterans Advisory Council. (David Sharos/ Beacon-News )
Aurora Army veteran Juan Reyna didn't fight in Vietnam, but he has family members who did. And like many veterans, Reyna believes recognition for the service they provided has been long overdue.
"I was in the Army from 1992 till 1997, and there a lot of guys I know, including family members, that were never treated well after the war. I'm glad this issue is now being re-examined," Reyna said. "People see today there are other conflicts, and all who have served or are serving now need to be recognized."
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The Aurora Veterans Advisory Council held a 50th-anniversary recognition event Friday night for Vietnam veterans at the Prisco Center.
"We had about 65 people who had registered to come to this, but on Thursday things were going crazy as there were calls pouring in from everywhere," council Chairman Joe Toma said. "This is a whole new program, so we have no history to gauge from, but it's been awesome hearing from some of those who are now asking to attend."
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The Illinois Department of Veteran Affairs put messages out on radio, television and Facebook, which helped bolster attendance, Toma said.
"Assistant Director of Veteran Affairs Harry Sawyer has really gotten behind this, and what's really awesome is that we have Gold Star families attending tonight in addition to others who served during the Vietnam era or those that fought in that actual war," he said.
All Vietnam veterans in attendance received a Department of Defense pin given to those who served during the era. Gold Starfamilies will receive similar pins after submitting an application, Toma said.
The program featured remarks from former Marine Richard Todas, who also retired from the Illinois Army National Guard with the rank of colonel, and retired Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 Ty Simmons, of Aurora, whose helicopter was fired upon in Vietnam.
Simmons spoke about "veterans not really being appreciated" and applauded Friday's event as one way to rectify that.
"Today we have the opportunity to recognize the service of vets, and what the Vietnam veterans did is not different than what has happened in Iraq," he said. "We've seen again and again when vets have come home from Iraq, it has always been the Vietnam vets that are front and center and leading the parades. They don't want anyone to be forgotten again."
Simmons added that regardless of whether someone enlisted or was drafted, "all went out and served their nation."
Todas shared that opinion, saying those who served, regardless of their circumstances, "did what was expected."
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"There is an oath of enlistment that includes saying those in service are willing to give their lives in defense of our country and way of life," he said. "All of us back then did what we had to do. Whether I was personally thanked or not is of no consequence."
Veterans' wives, such as Karen Owens, of West Chicago, were appreciative of the recognition. Her husband, Terry, served in the Marine Corps for 18 months.
"My husband was bitter about the lack of support for a long time and actually went into the counseling field to work with other soldiers," she said. "I'm grateful for this, and our kids are grateful."
U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Naperville, said Friday's event "means something personal to me as I missed the draft by one year" but many family members and friends didn't.
"We made a mistake as a country, confusing the uncertainty of war with the certainty of service that needed to be respected," Foster said. "As the years have gone by, we realized we didn't talk about the unusual conditions and things that resulted like PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). And I also think, as a country, we feel guilty about it."
Sawyer, who introduced the program Friday night, said those who served would not be forgotten.
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"We honor tonight those here and their families and the names of the over 58,000 that are on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall," Sawyer said. "We stand with their families and love them all."
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
Five finalists selected for Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity in recognition of their inspiring acts of compassion.
The Selection Committee for the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity has announced the names of the five 2017 finalists who have been chosen for their exceptional impact, courage and commitment to preserving human life and advancing humanitarian causes. They are:
Ms. Fartuun Adan and Ms. Ilwad Elman , Founders of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, Somalia Mother and daughter who are unwavering in their mission to protect human rights, womens rights, and facilitate peace building, development and the rehabilitation of child soldiers amidst insecure and dangerous conditions
, Founders of the Elman Peace and Human Rights Centre, Somalia Mother and daughter who are unwavering in their mission to protect human rights, womens rights, and facilitate peace building, development and the rehabilitation of child soldiers amidst insecure and dangerous conditions Ms. Jamila Afghani , Chairperson of the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization, Afghanistan a polio victim who accidentally received the gift of reading and has dedicated her life to bringing reading and education to girls and women, while enlisting the help of Muslim leaders of faith in her mission.
, Chairperson of the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organization, Afghanistan a polio victim who accidentally received the gift of reading and has dedicated her life to bringing reading and education to girls and women, while enlisting the help of Muslim leaders of faith in her mission. Dr. Tom Catena , Surgeon at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan A Catholic missionary and doctor who for nearly a decade remains the only permanent doctor to treat the remote and war-torn regions half-million population, performing more than 1,000 operations each year
, Surgeon at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in the Nuba Mountains, Sudan A Catholic missionary and doctor who for nearly a decade remains the only permanent doctor to treat the remote and war-torn regions half-million population, performing more than 1,000 operations each year Mr. Muhammad Darwish , Medical Doctor at the Madaya Field Hospital, Syria A student of dentistry returned to his hometown and took on the full responsibilities of a medical doctor, began to perform medical procedures, offered care and maintained meticulous documentation of the conditions of patients, many of them children, affected by persisting violence, thus bringing international attention to the besieged area
, Medical Doctor at the Madaya Field Hospital, Syria A student of dentistry returned to his hometown and took on the full responsibilities of a medical doctor, began to perform medical procedures, offered care and maintained meticulous documentation of the conditions of patients, many of them children, affected by persisting violence, thus bringing international attention to the besieged area Dr. Denis Mukwege, Gynecological Surgeon and Founder of the Panzi Hospital, The Democratic Republic of the Congo An obstetrician turned gynecological surgeon who is providing physical, psychological and legal support to more than 50,000 survivors of sexual violence in the war-torn country while fearlessly seeking to bring to justice those responsible
The finalists will be honored at the Aurora Prize Ceremony in Yerevan, Armenia on May 28, 2017 when one will be chosen as the 2017 Aurora Prize Laureate. The Aurora Prize Laureate will receive a grant of US$100,000 to support the continuation of their work, as well as a US$1,000,000 award, which will give them the unique ability to continue the cycle of giving by supporting organizations that have inspired their work.
The Selection Committee, co-chaired by Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George Clooney, includes Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former president of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights activist Hina Jilani; former Foreign Minister of Australia and President Emeritus of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; and former president of Mexico Ernesto Zedillo. The Committee shortlisted the five finalists from more than 550 nominations for 254 unique candidates submitted by the general public from 66 countries and in 13 languages.
Speaking on behalf of the Aurora Prize Selection Committee, Vartan Gregorian, Committee Member, President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York and co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative said, We are gratified by the enormous response generated by the call for nominations. It is an acknowledgment of our shared humanity and values. While geography and circumstances differ for each nominee, it is the similarities that unite them all. Individual human beings risk their own well-being and safety in order to rescue those in desperate need of help, and it is Auroras mission to support these saviors. We believe that those who are rescued will themselves continue the cycle of gratitude and giving. Marguerite Barankitse from Maison Shalom and REMA Hospital in Burundi was named the first Aurora Prize Laureate on April 24, 2016 in Yerevan, Armenia. Following the horrifying experience of being forced to witness the execution of 72 Hutu neighbors whom she tried to hide to keep safe from persecution, Ms. Barankitse, a Tutsi, has spent the last 20 years providing safe haven for orphans and refugees escaping violence and abuse during her countrys civil war. She has rescued and educated roughly 30,000 children, and the hospital she opened in 2008 has treated more than 80,000 patients to date.
Children from Brazil to Ethiopia to the many Burundian refugees in Rwanda are thriving today because they now have the love, education and support they need, thanks to the generous backing of the 2016 Aurora Prize, said Barankitse. The powerful work of the 2017 finalists is truly awe-inspiring. These individuals embody the spirit of gratitude in action by keeping hope alive for so many of our brothers and sisters around the world. Their work is destined to unleash the human potential for love.
The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity was established in 2015 by the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and in gratitude to their saviors. The Aurora Prize will honor an Aurora Laureate each year until 2023, in remembrance of the eight years of the Armenian Genocide (1915 -1923).
Rose Whiteside has been a riveter and a bookkeeper, an auto service manager and a waitress.
She also became a graduate of Waubonsee Community College where, at age 73, she walked across the stage at commencement this month. She completed an alcohol and drug abuse counseling program, and earned an associate's degree in human services.
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Whiteside, who now lives in Oswego, didn't always see herself attending school in her 70s, she said. Once at Waubonsee, she was faced with a breast cancer diagnosis and a stroke before she reached commencement.
She said she started out lacking confidence and didn't believe in herself. But writing research papers at Waubonsee helped her gain perspective, she said. And the more she learned about herself, the more she thought she would be a good drug and alcohol counselor.
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"I believed in myself," she said, and paused. "I grew so much."
Whiteside graduated high school in the 1960s and planned to go to college, she said. But a counselor at the time told her she would do well to get married and have children instead, she said.
She later made sure her kids went to college, so "they wouldn't end up with my type of life," she said.
She ended up in Washington with her children and then-husband. Later, no longer married, she worked nights as a waitress so she could remain home with her children during the day, she said. One day, she said she fell asleep standing, nursing an infant, and decided it was time for a job with daytime hours.
Her jobs have included work at Boeing, as a statistical typist and a hairdresser, she said. She lived in Washington and the Aurora area.
Once, when a car mechanic sought to charge her for repairs, she instead bought a book and taught herself how to fix her car, she said. Later, she worked as an auto service manager at Kmart in several states, where she trained other new managers, she said.
She hit her head during one training session, an injury that led to disrupted vision, coordination and memory, she said. She tried to regain her memory by taking line dancing classes, and her coordination by taking organ lessons. Several years later, she said she trusted her memory enough to begin working again.
Most recently, she had been a caregiver and cleaned houses, whatever it took to make her budget work, she said. But she found those jobs weren't sustainable in the long term, and she wanted a more traditional job.
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"I always tried to be somebody else, and didn't believe in myself," she said. "And so, with a broken spirit and scared to death, I enrolled at Waubonsee Community College."
She first enrolled in a computer class in 2014, but soon found that wasn't her strong suit. A counselor recommended she try the certified alcohol and drug counselor program instead.
She had a stroke while enrolled and was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2015, she said. Still, she said she continued to sign up for classes and studied abroad in Costa Rica for about four weeks in early summer 2016.
She interned at Serenity House, a substance abuse treatment center in Addison, where her supervisor, Jane Maty, said she was empathetic, compassionate and dedicated.
"She had a wonderful rapport with the clients," Maty said. "The clients really got a lot out of Rose."
She said though she had already earned one associate's degree in the 1970s, this month marked the first time she had ever walked in a commencement ceremony. She completed this degree in December, and was joined at her May 13 graduation ceremony by two daughters and a cousin.
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Now a grandmother and great-grandmother, her summer bucket list includes traveling to meet her great-grandson.
She must still pass a type of exam before she earns her counseling license. If she can't get a job with just the license, she said she plans to enroll at Aurora University to continue her education.
"I still haven't come down to earth," she said.
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Twitter @srfreish
Jermica Weatherspoon of Aurora filed a police report after finding out her son had to sit with wood chips in his underwear, put there by a classmate, during class. (Jermica Weatherspooon)
Who can blame Jermica Weatherspoon for being upset?
There's not a mom out there who wouldn't want answers after finding out her young son had to sit all afternoon in his classroom with wood chips inside his underwear.
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Nor would too many mothers be happy to learn the teacher was aware the chips had been placed there by a classmate during recess.
What made Weatherspoon even more frustrated is when she found out no one from the school bothered to tell her about the incident, even though the bully had been given an in-school suspension for his actions.
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Weatherspoon said she could forgive all the above, but it was when she finally demanded a meeting with school officials including the Hermes Elementary School principal, assistant principal and her son's teacher she grew so frustrated by what she saw as the teacher's defensive and unapologetic response, she got angry enough to go to the Aurora Police Station and file a report.
"I am concerned about the process," insisted Weatherspoon. "I wanted others higher up to know this cannot happen going forward that no other child should have to go through what my son experienced."
Nor does East Aurora School District 131, says a top official who admitted there "was a breakdown in communication" between the administration, teacher and parents.
And officials were also aware "there was not enough ownership from the teacher" in this situation when apologies should have been offered instead of excuses, said Beatrice Reyes Childress, assistant superintendent of educational services.
"We have spent a lot of time working on how we can prevent it from happening again," she said. "Every time we identify something as a weak link, not just for one particular building but for our entire staff, we try to learn from it and move forward.
"This has been a learning experience for the teacher and for administrators," she added. "If it happens there, it can happen anywhere."
Weatherspoon said her son came home May 10 verbally quiet and emotionally needy, eventually telling his dad he had something inside his underwear. When the family discovered what it was, their son, said Weatherspoon, "would not talk about it" and so she and her husband assumed he had been part of pranks and disciplined him.
It wasn't until about a week later when he came home with barbecue sauce smeared all over his pants, including inside the pockets, that Weatherspoon called the teacher, wondering what was going on. That's when the teacher told her about the classmate who was not only responsible for the sauce but also for the wood chips.
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While the bully's parents knew what was going on, she said, "we had no idea."
And that is not acceptable, agreed the district.
"We are mothers too," said Reyes Childress, referring to herself and other district officials. "If this happened to our child, we would want to be notified. In this case, while it was the assistant principal's role to contact the parents, the teacher should have circled back to make sure that notification did take place."
And, she added, while it is "rare" for a parent of a bullied child to take the additional step of filing a police report, this mother "has every right to do so."
Weatherspoon said she's appreciative of the district's response in the wake of her complaints the other child has been assigned a different lunch and recess but is still concerned about how the situation will affect her son long-term.
He's the kind of little boy who loved school so much he'd want to go on Saturday, she told me Friday. "But this morning he woke up begging me not to take him," she said.
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Weatherspoon said she plans on taking advantage of her employer's free counseling services for her child to help ensure a "smooth transition" going into second grade after summer vacation.
"Teachers need to be an advocate for their children," she said, "so they don't hate going to school."
DCrosby@tribpub.com
The trustee in Mack Industries bankruptcy case is seeking authority to issue subpoenas to the company, its subsidiaries and principals, including founder and CEO James K. Mack McClelland, shown. (David Pierini/Chicago Tribune )
The court-appointed trustee overseeing the bankruptcy of Tinley Park-based Mack Industries is asking the judge in the case to convert the matter to a Chapter 7 liquidation, indicating that it is unlikely the once high-flying real estate firm will get back on a solid financial footing.
The trustee, Ronald Peterson, is also preparing to investigate what he described in a court filing as the "complex history of opaque financial and business dealings" among Mack, its numerous subsidiaries and the company's principals, including founder and chief executive James K. "Mack" McClelland.
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Peterson is seeking authority to issue subpoenas to Mack, its subsidiaries and principals and to conduct other examinations, and wants to hire to help in the probe a former FBI special agent whose expertise involved investigating money laundering and fraud schemes.
Mack Industries essentially grew out of the recession and the waves of foreclosures that resulted by buying those properties and renting them out. The company, which has properties throughout the south and southwest suburbs, also expanded into other areas of real estate, including commercial development.
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The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization March 24, listing assets in the range of $1 million to $10 million, and liabilities of $10 million to $50 million.
In his May 25 filing seeking conversion to Chapter 7, Peterson said that based on his initial investigation of Mack and its subsidiaries, as well as allegations raised by other firms, he doesn't see a "reasonable likelihood" of restructuring the business.
American Residential Leasing, the largest unsecured creditor in the case, had asked the court to name a receiver a request approved by the judge earlier this month to oversee Mack's operations, alleging there have been "several million dollars' worth of potentially fraudulent" fund transfers and distributions by and among Mack insiders and affiliated companies.
Separately, lender Colony American Finance sued McClelland individually, alleging he owes more than $19 million to the company for defaulting on a December 2015 loan agreement, the proceeds of which were used to buy and rehab properties.
In its April 13 complaint, Colony American says $9.8 million was advanced to McClelland for rehab work and alleges that some of that money was "misappropriated, misapplied and converted" for other uses.
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The trustee's request for Chapter 7 conversion is expected to be aired at a hearing Thursday.
Peterson is also asking the court to grant the trustee authority to issue subpoenas and conduct examinations related to the case to study documents including tax returns and bank statements, with McClelland, his wife and their son on the list of people who could be subpoenaed, according to a court filing.
The trustee also wants to hire a forensic accountant, Theresa Mack, to assist in untangling the "byzantine organizational structure" of Mack and its affiliated businesses. In the filing seeking approval for the hire, the trustee notes that Mack, a senior manager at Cendrowski Corporate Advisors, was an FBI special agent for 22 years and specialized in investigations of money laundering and fraud schemes.
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The trustee is also seeking court approval to hire an information technology specialist to collect electronically stored information, such as emails, to assist in the investigation.
A representative with the company did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
mnolan@tribpub.com
Twitter @mnolan_j
Park Forest Police Officer Timothy Jones, shot in the line of duty in March 2016, is raised into a van after being released from Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton on Friday, May 26, 2017. (Zak Koeske / Daily Southtown)
Park Forest police officer Tim Jones, donning his dress blues and flashing a radiant smile, was wheeled out of Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital in Wheaton on Friday, 14 months after being shot twice in the head while responding to a break-in.
It's been a long, grueling journey for the 25-year-old rookie cop, who doctors did not initially expect to survive, his father, William Jones, said.
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"We stood there and day one the doctors did not give us one hour," William Jones said. "One hour turned into a day. A day to a month. A month to 14. And what's been done is nothing less than miraculous."
Park Forest Police Chief Peter Green said the progress his officer has made over the past 14 months both physically and cognitively is astounding.
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"To see him from the day of the incident to now, sitting with his family, joking, talking about childhood memories," he said. "At one point he couldn't open his eyes, couldn't speak, and now he's moving, he's pedaling the bicycle, who knows where the end of this journey is going to be."
Jones still has some substantial recovery ahead, but his family, colleagues and the hospital staff who treated him aren't counting anything out.
"I served in the Marine Corps and 17 years doing this job, and he's the bravest individual I've ever met," Park Forest Police Commander Lee Elliot said. "Every single day, seven days a week, 24 hours a day, he's been doing rehabilitation to work toward this day, and that's a testament to his dedication, to his strength."
Elliot was among a large contingent of Park Forest officers who made the hourlong trek to Wheaton Friday morning to see their brother in blue released from the hospital. The uniformed officers formed a line outside Marianjoy that stretched from the hospital entrance to a waiting medical transport van, and applauded as their wounded comrade was wheeled by and lifted into the vehicle.
Jones, flanked by his father and sister, did not speak publicly Friday, but maintained a mile-wide grin while being pushed to the van amidst the applause and a vociferous "TimStrong" cheer.
Now begins a "rigorous, continuous, nonstop" rehabilitation process, which Jones will embark on from his family's home in the south suburbs, his father said.
Jones' ultimate goal is to return to the Park Forest Police Department. If he does, the department will welcome him back with open arms. The station is plastered with posters of Jones, and officers wear a button with his picture on their uniform shirt.
Park Forest police officer Tim Jones, who was shot in the head in the line of duty last year and nearly died, will his continue his recovery at home after being released from the hospital May 26, 2017. (Chicago Tribune)
"He's still part of our police department," Green said. "He's still on the schedule, he's still got a locker, a mailbox. So, he's just an injured officer to us.
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"We're going to be with him until we get him back."
Jones had been on the force less then a year on the morning of March 19, 2016, when he responded to a break-in at a vacant home on the 300 block of Neola Street. Just as police were establishing a perimeter around the home, the armed suspect, 21-year-old Thurman Reynolds, exited.
It's at that point, Elliot said, that Jones bravely jumped into action tackling Reynolds to the ground in an attempt to apprehend him.
In the process, Reynolds opened fire, striking Jones twice in the head, before being shot and killed by police, said Elliot, who was on the scene that day and witnessed the shootout.
Critically injured, Jones was rushed to the hospital and placed in a medically induced coma to relieve swelling on his brain. William Jones has previously said that one doctor told him the odds of winning the Powerball were better than his son's chance of survival.
"We were told he wasn't going to make 24 hours after the incident," Green said. "And I remember telling his dad, 'Hey, we just passed 25 hours.'
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"And then they said these next 48 hours are going to be crucial. And after 48 hours, I told his dad, 'Hey, we're in the 49th hour,'" he continued. "Here we are, past 14 months, and he's still continuing to progress."
Despite his brush with death, Jones has no regrets, according to his father, who is the chief of police in Country Club Hills.
William Jones said his son told him he had no doubt that his father would have done the same thing if faced with the same situation, and that he'd do it all over again if he had to, despite the grave consequences.
"He said, 'In my mind, the most important thing was keeping my fellow officers safe,'" William Jones said. "And I'm just looking at him like, 'Kid, next time just don't go so big. You don't have to give me such a heart attack.'"
The ordeal has simultaneously devastated and galvanized the tight-knit Park Forest police force, Green said.
"We're a small department. Everybody knows everybody's kids, wives. We're like a family," he said. "It touched everybody different, but it brought everybody closer, a little tighter. It made everybody understand the reality of the job."
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Elliot said the incident has increased his own gratitude for all that he has and all the people in his life. He said seeing the dedication with which Jones and his supportive family have approached the rehabilitation process has made him a better officer and a better family man.
"We can all complain about certain things in life, but when you have something like this and see how much of a fighter he is, it really puts it in perspective as to, yeah, well you know what, my day is not that bad," Elliot said.
Eric Larson, the director of psychology at Marianjoy, called Jones a "tremendously resilient" and "incredible patient," who remained motivated to do his absolute best throughout the rehabilitation process.
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He said that while Jones still struggles with some things typical of traumatic brain injury patients, the officer has a clear understanding of the events that led up to his injury and the nature of the injury itself.
Given the complicated nature of brain injuries and their effects, doctors said it's hard to know whether Jones will suffer some degree of permanent impairment.
"There's always a potential," for full recovery, Dr. Steven Bou said, adding that the Marianjoy staff is looking forward to "hearing great things about [Jones'] continued recovery."
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Count Jones' father, who remains upbeat and optimistic about his son's chances, among the believers.
"Just because you see him leaving in a wheelchair, (doesn't) mean that he can't get out that wheelchair," William Jones said, smiling. "He does plan on going back to work, and we just have to see if that's God's plan."
zkoeske@tribpub.com
Twitter @ZakKoeske
The Memorial Day weekend is generally viewed as the official start of summer, and with the higher temperatures it also ushers in a new season of road construction in the region.
Some projects are relatively minor, as far as causing traffic issues, while others, such as the ongoing widening of 159th Street/Illinois Route 7/U.S. Route 6, are at the opposite end of the spectrum.
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Drivers have encountered lengthy delays along 159th/Route 6 as construction of two new eastbound lanes has been progressing.
The entire project extends from about Interstate 355 on the west to just west of LaGrange Road on the east, and is estimated to cost $105 million.
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The project will create two 12-foot-wide lanes in each direction separated by a raised and curbed median; intersection improvements at 104th and 108th avenues and Cedar, Parker, North Bell, South Bell, Will-Cook and Wolf roads; and a recreational path and sidewalk along that stretch, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
Utility line relocation and tree removal got underway two years ago, and the widening initially had been scheduled to wrap up by the end of this year.
IDOT expects the new eastbound lanes to be completed this fall, allowing the project to move to the second phase of building the two new westbound lanes.
The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways recently announced plans to improve roads in nearly 20 suburbs, including a number locally, at a cost of $23.2 million.
Among the projects is reconstruction of 156th Street between Halsted Street and Commercial Avenue in Harvey. The work will include rehabbing water mains and installing landscaping, with the project expected to be finished in the fall, according to the county.
In Riverdale, the intersection of Halsted and 144th streets will be improved, with work including sidewalk and pedestrian crossing upgrades and traffic signal modifications. The project is scheduled for completion this summer.
Some area roads and intersections will be resurfaced as part of the county's road program.
A section of Joe Orr Road between Cottage Grove Avenue and Stony Island Avenue, near Ford Heights and Lynwood, will be resurfaced.
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The intersections of Kedzie Avenue at 163rd Street in Markham, and Kedzie and Flossmoor Road in Flossmoor, will be rehabbed, as will the Kedzie frontage roads along the east and west sides of the street between 143rd and 141st streets in Blue Island and Robbins.
Also scheduled for resurfacing will be the intersection of Richton Square Road and Sauk Trail in Richton Park, and a little farther east, in Park Forest, the intersection of Sauk Trail and Lakewood Boulevard/Blackhawk Drive is in line for work.
In Will County, work continues on a widening of 135th Street between New Avenue and Smith Road, near Lockport and Romeoville, according to Jeff Ronaldson, the county's director of transportation. The project involves converting the two-lane road to four lanes, with an additional center turn lane.
The work is expected to cost about $8.7 million and will carry over into the 2018 construction season, he said.
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In June, the county expects work to start on improvements to the intersection of Laraway and Spencer roads in New Lenox Township. Work will include adding turn lanes and installing traffic signals and is scheduled to wrap up before the middle of August, Ronaldson said.
The timing and completion of the work is of concern to officials with New Lenox School District 122, which has three schools north of the intersection Spencer Crossing, Spencer Pointe and Spencer Trail. Ronaldson said that while the project won't be entirely completed by the time the new school year starts, the bulk of construction should be done by that time.
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Construction already has started on a new deck on the bridge carrying Will Road over the Kankakee River, near Wilmington, Ronaldson said.
The bridge is closed to traffic, and the $2.6 million project is expected to be completed in November, he said.
The county also is hoping to award a contract this summer for the redecking of the bridge carrying Channahon-Minooka Road over the I&M Canal, Ronaldson said. The county is awaiting final approval from IDOT for the project.
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Twitter @mnolan_j
The founders of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial are asking for help putting faces with the names of fallen veterans listed on the wall in Washington, D.C.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, which built the memorial, is creating a virtual Wall of Faces at a proposed $130 million Education Center at The Wall.
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"We are attempting to find a photograph for every one of the 58,318 names on the wall," said Tim Tetz, director of outreach for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund.
On Friday, Iowa was named the 23rd state to have found photos for all its residents listed on the wall, he said. Illinois, however, is among the states with the most photos still needed. That is largely due to the large quantity still needed in Cook County, he said. The Illinois Press Association is working to help find photos for the remaining names of soldiers in the state.
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About 52,000 photos already have been collected and are available to view online at https://www.vvmf.org. Tetz said this campaign is critical to preserving the legacy for these veterans, and translates the warrior from that era to modern day.
"The average age (of the people who served) was 20 years and nine months," Tetz said.
Most people in today's younger generation "don't realize (those who served during Vietnam) had lettermen's jacekts and drove fast cars and had girlfriends," he said.
The photos, especially those in yearbooks, drive home the personality of the people who served, and help "drive home the story," he said.
"Our mission now is to try to improve on the photos that we have," he said.
Approximately 21,000 of the photos collected are considered poor quality. People who know anyone killed during the Vietnam War are asked to search online and to submit better quality photos if they can, he said.
The Education Center at The Wall is in the fundraising stage, with renderings available online. It will be located directly across the street from the memorial, adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall.
There were 3 million Americans who served in Vietnam, with 9 million who served in the military during the era, according to the memorial's website. Approximately 5.6 million visitors come to the memorial each year having left behind more than 400,000 items.
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Erin Gallagher is a freelance reporter.
Although Cook County has too many names to list, here are the names of the suburban counties with missing photos of fallen veterans:
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Kane and DuPage counties
Stanley D. Montgomery (St. Charles), Larry D. Ehlers (Algonquin), Charles Johnson (Batavia), Stephen P. Mitchell (Carpentersville), Michael A. Young (Huntley), William W. Bishop (Montgomery)
Lake County
Jimmy C. Bower (Antioch), Martin P. Eastham (Fox Lake), Howard L. Flament (Wadsworth), Robert J. Hawks (Antioch), Jack P. Jones (Mundelein), Ronnie R. Landers (Mundelein), Erhardt W. Mathiesen (Waukegan), Terry A. Patterson (Waukegan), Bobby D. Seay (Waukegan)
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Will County
Glen A. Jackson III (Lockport), Ronald Johansen (Joliet), John A. La Bundy (Park Forest), William C. Moon (Joliet), Charles L. Morrison (Romeoville), Alvin L. Pemberton (Joliet), James A. Slagel (Joliet), Timothy J. Sweeney (Romeoville)
Anyone who has photos of these people, or who knows friends and family who may have photos are encouraged to contact the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. Photo submission can be done online or through the mail, with instructions available at https://www.vvmf.org, or by calling 202-393-0090. Names of veterans in other counties and states can be searched online.
After living in unincorporated New Lenox Township for only 14 months, Julian Rosario, 6, has been so sick with asthma and bronchitis, which his mother attributes to burning of leaves and branches, the family is moving to Indiana.
"For people like my son, who truly suffer from [the smoke], at least if it were regulated to two days, we'd have a heads-up, and could go somewhere else [on those days]," Shelly Rosario said. "But every day? His lungs have been jeopardized for the rest of his life."
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She had suggested to Will County board member Tom Weigel, R-New Lenox, that burning be limited to two days, and he is proposing amending an ordinance to do that.
Since moving to the township, Julian, who has had chronic asthma for the past three years, developed bronchitis every six or seven weeks, missed 40 days of school, has been to the emergency room or urgent care center a few times a month, and needs asthma treatments three times a day, his mother said.
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Smoke from neighboring yards gets trapped in the crawl space of their home, lingering for weeks, she said, forcing the family to stay with relatives, in hotels, use Family Medical Leave time to be with Julian, and fall behind on medical bills, despite having good insurance.
His pulmonologist at Lurie Children's Hospital says smoke is his No. 1 trigger, and could be "deadly" for him, and with neighbors legally burning yard waste throughout the week, their only option is to move, Rosario said.
Weigel is expected to propose limiting burning to Wednesdays and Sundays at a June 1 meeting of the county board's public health and safety committee. He has asked residents to attend the meeting and speak out on the issue, or email him their concerns at tweigel@willcountyillinois.com.
The meeting is at 9 a.m. at the county's administration building, 302 N. Chicago Street, Joliet, in the second floor committee room.
Burning has been a smoldering issue for county officials, who have tried to find a balance for those who live in rural areas and those who have health issues.
Weigel said most municipalities have banned burning, and some offer alternatives such as leaf vacuums. Still, he said, smoke from nearby unincorporated areas will travel beyond political borders.
Will County allows burning of dry leaves, branches or bushes that originate on the owner's property, but fires must be at least 50 feet from any structure, with adequate provisions made to prevent a fire from spreading. Burning in the right-of-way is prohibited.
Recreational fires should be located not less than 50 feet from any structure, which includes houses, garages, sheds and pole barns, according to the ordinance. It also allows fires in a "patio wood burning unit" but it must be at least 15 feet from any structure.
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The county prohibits burning of any waste materials without a permit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
Weigel requested a list of burning complaints from the Will County Sheriff's Department and the Land Use Department since 2014 the last time county officials reviewed the ordinance.
"County board members do not think there is an issue. Hopefully, this will convince them," he said.
According to that data, there were 482 complaints in roughly a 30-month period from November 5, 2014 to May 18, 2017. Of those, 138 were in Joliet, 73 in Homer Township, 70 in Lockport, 47 in Plainfield and 28 in New Lenox.
Deputies issued 20 citations in 2014, 13 each in 2015 and 2016 and 7 so far this year, according to the report.
Weigel said the land use department handled 199 complaints since 2014, many in the Joliet area, and several for burning illegal waste.
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Even though dozens of those were considered "unjustified" or no violation was found by inspectors, Weigel said "that does not mean that the fumes do not affect someone. If we can reduce the number of days, it will reduce the frequency of problems."
Weigel also received emails from other Will County residents, who concur with Rosario.
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"What gives people the right to make me breathe their polluted air?" wrote one Naperville woman.
A Mokena resident wrote that while he must pay to bag and bundle his yard waste, he is surrounded by homes in unincorporated areas where residents are allowed to burn. He said he does not like the "foul smell" and "air pollution."
A Wilmington resident with asthma urged Weigel and the county board to not just limit burning, but to eliminate it.
Rosario said she knows she is the "odd man out" in a neighborhood of leaf burners, but she hopes county officials will consider tighter regulations.
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"People should have the right to breathe in own back yard," she said.
slafferty@tribpub.com
Twitter @SusanLaff
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich arrives to the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on April 25, 2011. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)
SPRINGFIELD Pat Quinn's portrait was unveiled at the Illinois statehouse recently and I'm glad.
While I'm not a big fan of the former governor, he did some historic things and his legacy deserves to be honored with a painting. After all, the people of Illinois entrusted him with our state's highest office.
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His portrait belongs next to the other 39 portraits in the Hall of Governors at the Capitol.
Except there is a problem. Forty governors preceded Quinn, not 39.
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Quinn's old running mate is nowhere to be found.
Yes, Rod Blagojevich's picture is missing.
Most folks in the statehouse would just as soon forget about the impeached and now imprisoned former chief executive.
In fact, back in 2010, Quinn signed a measure into law that would ban tax dollars from being used to pay for Blagojevich's portrait. And to his credit, Quinn paid for his own portrait with private dollars.
Still, we have that big gap on the wall where a picture of G-Rod ought to be.
And, while politicians may think the Capitol is all about them, it's not. It's a shrine to living, albeit messy, democracy. It's also a temple of our state's heritage.
Like it or not, Blagojevich is part of that heritage.
To be honest, I have fonder memories of my last root canal than I do of the six years I covered Rod Blagojevich.
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But still he was the governor.
And the Hall of Governors is a regular rogue's gallery of the convicted and the indicted.
You have visages of criminals like George Ryan, Dan Walker and Otto Kerner staring down from the marble walls.
Taxpayers didn't paint over their flaws by not acknowledging their contributions as governors.
In fact, on the day he was sworn into office, a reporter asked Quinn if Blagojevich's portrait should hang in the building. And he said, "Yes." He was the governor, after all.
But a portrait was never hung.
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It's sort of like Pharaoh confronting Moses in the movie "The 10 Commandments."
"Let the name of Moses be stricken from every book and tablet. Stricken from every pylon and obelisk of Egypt. Let the name of Moses be unheard and unspoken, erased from the memory of man, for all time."
But the state's broke. Who would pay for a portrait of Blagojevich?
Perhaps aspiring art students at our state universities would tackle the project, just for the honor of having their work hang in the statehouse.
If they do, they will need plenty of black paint for that ebony helmet of hair, plenty of white for that anchorman-like smile and a whole bucket of orange for his prison jumpsuit.
After all, there is no need to whitewash history.
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Scott Reeder, a veteran statehouse journalist, works as a freelance reporter in the Springfield area and produces the podcast Suspect Convictions.
Flags decorating the grave of Jozef Slowik and others at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood are shown on Friday, May 26, 2017. (Ted Slowik / Daily Southtown)
If you're looking for something to do during the long holiday weekend, I suggest a trip to Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, just south of Joliet.
I visited the 982-acre cemetery Friday morning when hundreds of volunteers placed small American flags at each of the more than 47,000 graves in advance of a Memorial Day program on Monday.
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It's an impressive sight, the flags decorating rows of headstones laid out in perfect symmetry. Spending time in the peaceful surroundings is a chance to remember those who died in active military service, the true meaning of Memorial Day.
If you go, I encourage you to visit a memorial walk featuring 15 monuments commemorating people who served during 20th century wars. Veterans groups from the Southland are among those represented through donations of plaques, benches and statues.
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There's a bench donated by Veterans of Foreign Wars Patrick T. Hallinan Post 3580 of Blue Island. There's a granite marker provided by Bremen VFW Post 2791 in Tinley Park that is inscribed, "In memory of all the men and women who were the greatest of their generation."
Another granite marker, provided by Johnson-Phelps VFW Post 5220 of Oak Lawn, is inscribed, "We honor the dead by helping the living."
A recent addition is a life-sized bronze statue of Lincoln that was dedicated last September. It is the first statue of a president to be placed in any national cemetery, the cemetery says on its website. A plaque notes that Congress empowered Lincoln to authorize national cemeteries due to mounting casualties during the Civil War.
Congress, in 1862, directed Lincoln "to purchase cemetery grounds and cause them to be securely enclosed, to be used as a national cemetery for the soldiers who shall die in the service of the country."
The plaque goes on to say, "This small but significant new presidential power was given in 'an act to define the pay and emolument of certain officers of the Army, and for other purposes.'" During the Civil War, 14 national cemeteries were established around the country.
The statue of Lincoln stands in front of a memorial bench inscribed with the words, "to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan."
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery was dedicated in 1999 on land that was once part of the Joliet Army Ammunition Plant. It was dedicated as the 117th national cemetery within the Department of Veterans Affairs National Cemetery Administration.
My father, Jozef, who died in 2006, is buried at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery. He served as a captain in the U.S. Army Air Force during World War II and flew B-17s with a crew over Italy and other parts of Europe.
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In 2003, the cemetery inaugurated an all-volunteer memorial squad to assist during burials, which can number up to 25 a day. When my Dad was laid to rest there in 2006, I kept it together until volunteers performed a powerful 21-gun salute and a bugler played "Taps."
You don't need a personal connection, however, to appreciate the solemnity of the sacred grounds and the sacrifice of those buried there. The cemetery is public and open every day during daylight hours.
This weekend is an especially good time to visit because the thousands of American flags lend an extra sense of meaning.
For those who would like to plan their visit around an event, a Memorial Day ceremony will be held beginning at 11 a.m. Monday at the main flagpole at the cemetery, 20953 W. Hoff Road, Elwood.
The Joliet American Legion band is scheduled to perform at 11 a.m., followed by speakers and a formal program at 11:30 a.m. The event is set to feature a flyover by a World War II vintage plane.
Cemetery officials announced 2,200 chairs will be set up, but people are welcome to bring their own lawn chairs. An estimated 3,000 people attended last year's Memorial Day program.
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During my visit on Friday, I thought about the tragedy of war. An estimated 620,000 to 750,000 Americans died fighting the Civil War, more than the combined total of U.S. casualties during the two world wars.
I think our adversaries rejoice whenever Americans are divided. I think our adverseries misunderstand, however, that Americans are strongly united in our ability to express our differences.
In a national cemetery, Democrats and Republicans are buried next to one another. Political differences no longer matter. Everyone is equal.
"Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have served honorably and admirably in America's armed forces," reads a monument dedicated by the Chicago Chapter of American Veterans for Equal Rights, one those 15 featured along Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery's memorial walk.
Many of the cemetery's headstones are engraved with symbols showing a soldier's religious affiliation. Crosses are the most numerous, but there are some headstones decorated with the Jewish star or the star and crescent symbol of Islam.
People are different. The ability to express differences is one of the freedoms that make America great.
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On Friday, walking among the graves at the cemetery, I couldn't help thinking about political differences in America today. I thought about an exchange I read about a Thursday Senate Budget Committee hearing.
Bernie Sanders, the independent from Vermont who sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2016, was arguing over President Donald Trump's budget proposal with Mick Mulvaney, the White House budget chief.
Sanders and Mulvaney got into a heated back-and-forth. They bickered, argued and disagreed over Trump's proposal to repeal the estate tax, a move Sanders depicted as a massive tax break for the country's wealthiest families.
"In the end, as Sanders's time ran out, they were able to agree on one point regarding the estate tax: that everyone will eventually die," The Hill reported.
Regardless of differences, death unites everyone. On that point, we have no choice but to agree.
mailto: tslowik@tronc.com
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Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan
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Does anybody in Illinois know what the preamble was or is? It states, "We the people." It does not state, "We the politicians." How did House Speaker Michael Madigan walk in and how can he and others over 30 years walk in again? We the people should vote him out. He's done nothing for the state of Illinois. Can you imagine his pension when he retires? Senate President John Cullerton is right behind him and then Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. She's a disgrace to be in office. She has taxed the people to death.
RC, Oak Lawn
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I did not vote for President Donald Trump and I don't particularly like him. The only thing I like about him is he has all you phony media liberals all upset. Oh, isn't that terrible?
Pete, Chicago
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People were upset because the federal government wasn't getting anything done. They gave all three departments to Republicans who have frozen the government for the last 16 years. The U.S. House says no to everything. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell filibustered everything. Now they're getting a U.S. Supreme Court that'll rule in their favor. If they come out with a law saying you can't vote if you're going to vote Democrat, the court will say fine because they're happy with voter suppression. This is who we're putting in power. I blame Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for being such a bad candidate. She never should've run. Republicans will put our country's wealth in their pockets and walk off laughing.
Regarding people complaining about the Affordable Care Act and health care: The biggest problem is we have no control over what they charge us. Hospitals can charge anything they want, then claim they're nonprofit because they spread the money to administrators and doctors. Doctors complained they aren't making enough money so they raised prices. Pharmaceutical companies have no control so they charge whatever they want. The EpiPen went up to $700. This is the problem with health care. Unless we get a handle on it, it's not getting better. I've had to go pay for these things. Luckily I had good insurance. So, to the Palos Heights commenter and all these people against the ACA: They're beating the wrong horse.
What's Speak Out?
Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout @southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown.
If one of the local utilities wishes to get a rate increase they have to jump through every hoop imaginable to convince C.U.B. to grant that increase. Yet, local school districts grant themselves huge pay raises and pension perks accountable to no one.
J.K.
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Diana from Palos Heights seems to be accusing Gov. Bruce Rauner of being the only reason Illinois doesn't have a budget since he took office in 2015. I wonder if she's ever heard, "the height of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over, and constantly getting the same bad results." Our Illinois money problems don't stem from Rauner's agenda but rather from the Democrats [Madigan] obstinence to compromise. Diana, you have to concede that they've ruled our state for decades. "Stupidity" is to automatically continue to believe and vote Democratic, expecting things will change for the better. Get smart. It won't if we keep "the Machine" in a position to continue our downfall.
Bob, Oak Forest
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President Donald Trump's failed business history is one of bailouts and bankruptcies, and numerous failures to pay his own creditors for work done. So it was doubly ironic to hear Trump lecturing NATO members about the importance of paying one's debts and meeting obligations. Well done, well informed Trump voters. The man is a total disgrace.
William, Oak Lawn
Can you believe that Mayor Raham Emanuel and Mike Madigan blame Gov. Bruce Rauner for their brilliant budget failures throughout the last 20 years. The City of Chicago is now in a unrecoverable spin of debt again and again and again with these guys in office. Mayor Raham and Mike Madigan are the reason we need term limits because these two guys think they are doing an outstanding job for the people of Chicago. Why the people of Chicago keep voting for guys like this has me shaking my head. No good can occur in Chicago until they can get some new candidates with integrity elected so change can take place. Chicago has had a long list of corrupt politicians.
Monee
What's Speak Out?
Speak Out allows readers to comment on the issues of the day. Email Speak Out at speakout @southtownstar.com or call 312-222-2427. Please limit comments to 30 seconds or about 120 words and give your first name and your hometown.
Class speaker Joseph Balke gives his speech entitled "Superheroes" at the Deerfield High School Commencement ceremony at Ravinia in Highland Park. ( Rob Dicker/Pioneer Press )
A class of 396 students graduated from Deerfield High School May 25 at the Ravinia Festival grounds in Highland Park.
Some people might call the group graduating seniors, but to class speaker Joey Balke every one of his classmates is a superhero.
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"It's 2017 and the world that we live in is comical," said Balke. "I do not mean that the world right now is laugh-out-loud funny. I mean that it resembles a comic book. Fear not, the young men and women standing behind me today are its superheroes."
Balke got specific about the skills his classmates possess and told them they all possess a super power.
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"Whether you run, jump, swim, do math, write, act, twirl a baton, draw, make people laugh, make people cry, you are all extraordinary," Balke said. "Growing up, especially through high school, is a time for us to discover these abilities within ourselves and hone them."
Balke said people criticize his classmates' generation for spending all their time looking at a computer screen or their smart phone.
"We are excellent at communicating and I feel we can communicate better than any generation before us," Balke said before the ceremony began. "We can communicate to transform the world. We can show people in Israel and Palestine or Pakistan and India how to communicate."
Turning intellectually to those who he said call the generation of the Class of 2017 lazy because their lives are made easier by technology, Balke they will use their high tech skills to make the world better for all generations.
Balke set lofty goals for his classmates and their generation. He urged them to take their communications skills to college and gain the experience necessary to cure disease and attain social justice.
"Let's accept everyone, regardless of skin color, nationality, gender, or sexual identity. Let's be the generation that ends prejudice," Balke said. "Let's build nanobots to fight cancer. Let's be the generation that pushes the human race into the next frontier."
Balke said he will head to the University of Toronto next year to begin his superhero mission.
As the students lined up to walk into the ceremony, they were reflecting on their time at Deerfield. Micki Anderson, who will study at Texas Christian University, said the school was an environment where you can find your place.
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Sami Calistri, who will attend the University of Kentucky, she said she will treasure friendships with teachers who were always there when she wanted to talk. Ian Carniello, who will go to Bowling Green State University, and Kylie Busscher, who is headed to the University of Iowa, said friendship was key for them too.
Justin Bank, who will go to Oberlin College, said he got more out of his time at Deerfield than acquisition of facts and figures.
"Education is about learning a lot about yourself and what you need to be successful," Bank said. "It's about how to study and how to prepare."
For Sam Aronson "relishing the small details" is a lesson he will take from Deerfield to Northwestern University. Josh Columbus said he hopes to reconnect with Deerfield classmates in the professional world or as business partners after his studies at Illinois State University.
Lisa Cenek and Yuliya Bazavluk were the class valedictorians while the salutatorians were Brooke Buranosky, Ryan Kenyon, Amy Lopata, Matthew Miller, Sarah Simon, Jonah Sugarman and Robert Winter.
Earning the John F. Kennedy Medal of Honor this year was Sorrel Rosin. Principal Kathryn Anderson said the award is given to a person who demonstrates courage in the pursuit of excellence.
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Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Caruso Middle School seventh grader Ross Evans gets supplies together to paint with a patient named Walter at the Brentwood North Healthcare Center. (Steve Sadin / Pioneer Press)
A group of art students at Wilmot Elementary School in Deerfield are learning how to turn both the process of painting and the creation itself into a gift for others.
The students made their fourth trip of the year to the Brentwood North Healthcare Center in Riverwoods to paint with residents in the facility's dementia unit May 25.
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"When the kids walk into the room the patients light up," said Aida Beros, Brentwood's activities director. "It's a wonderful thing to watch. The children are already building relationships with the residents."
Susan Dubin, a Buffalo Grove resident who teaches art at Wilmot, said she wants her students to get involved with service and share their art with the community. She came up with the idea of taking a group of students to Brentwood to paint with the residents and cultivate relationships at the same time.
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"The children always brighten everyone's day," Dubin said. "They're really doing a good service."
When fifth grader Sarah Mae Levy went with the class in November she said people were thinking about Thanksgiving.
"I go into the room, look around, sit down and introduce myself," Levy said. "I ask them what they want to paint or if they want me to paint. At the end we let it dry and give it to them. (The patient) wanted us to paint a turkey."
Ruby Adler, a fourth grade student, said she felt she was able to brighten a resident's Valentine's Day during a trip to Brentwood in February.
"The guy wanted me to make a heart," Adler said. "I made one with some things in it. He was really nice so every time I go there I look for him."
Abby DiModica, a fifth grade student, has also developed a relationship with one of the patients
"He was a professor," DiModica said. "I talk to him and get to know him as a person."
Painting is something new for Walter, one of the Brentwood patients. He said he is thankful for both his new skill and the visits. He feels he is giving to the children just as they give to him.
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"I love it," Walter said. "I've never done it before and I wanted to try. I like the visits and I try to make them happy."
This time the Wilmot students had company from Caruso Middle School. Dubin said she wanted her charges to continue the effort once they reached sixth grade and beyond. She reached out to Debbie Cohen, a teacherat Caruso and the adviser to the school's philanthropy club.
"It's a great way to cheer people up and build relationships," Cohen said. "The students realize they can have a positive impact on people helping them in this way. Helping people like this is philanthropy because you are giving of yourself in some way."
Some of the Wilmot students who thought philanthropy was just about giving money are learning there other forms of generosity. After some of the students discussed giving of time as well as money, they concluded their efforts at Brentwood.
"It is philanthropy," fifth grader Ellie Gabel said. "Raising money is doing good. When you use the money to do good that's philanthropy too. This is pretty much the same thing you just don't need money."
Aviv Yoav, a Wilmot fourth grade student, said the time she spends at Brentwood is a two-way street.
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"Making people happy makes me happy," Yoav said. "When I come home my mother says 'you're doing a mitzvah,'" she added using a Hebrew word associated with performing good deeds.
For students like Wilmot fourth grader Rumi Weissman painting with the Brentwood residents took some adjusting but she said she started developing a comfort level as the spent time there.
"I felt uncomfortable at first," Weissman said. "I was afraid I was going to mess something up. Then I saw they enjoyed the picture."
Editor's note: Susan Dubin is a freelance columnist for the Buffalo Grove Countryside, a sister paper to the Deerfield Review.
Steve Sadin is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
A Bartlett man was charged with burglary Thursday, according to a news release from the Bartlett Police Department.
Dakota J. Graff, 18, of 1000 block of Churchill Road in Bartlett, was charged him with five class 2 felony counts of burglary, two class A misdemeanors for criminal damage to property and a class A misdemeanor for resisting or obstructing a peace officer.
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According to police, at 4:30 a.m., officers were called to the 1500 block of Southgate Road after a witness heard a loud noise outside and then observed a person with a flashlight and a backpack standing near the side of the home. The witness also discovered a purse and its contents scattered on the lawn after the person left the area, police said.
Officers found Graff in the 1500 block of Longmeadow Lane and took him into custody after he fled on foot, police said. Police recovered electronic items, currency and personal items that were stolen from locked and unlocked parked vehicles on Southgate Road, Old Barn Road and Churchill Road, police said.
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Graff was taken to the DuPage County Jail to await his bail bond hearing.
An Illinois Department of Human Services $225,000 grant will help Kane County's Health Department purchase more life-saving naloxone and launch an educational program on the dangers of heroin addiction, officials said.
The Health Department provides Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of a heroin overdose, to local police departments, but "providing medication alone is not enough," said Barbara Jeffers, executive director of the Kane County Public Health Department.
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Jeffers said the department will be able to hire an administrator, a Substance Abuse Specialist, for the naloxone program who will also help create educational programs about heroin addiction.
"It is the next step in fighting against the deaths in our community," Jeffers said.
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Kane County has seen a steady increase in overdose deaths, according to the coroner's office. Last year, there were 37 drug deaths with a majority due to heroin or a heroin derivative, officials said.
Other county departments, such as the State's Attorney's office and Court Services, have tackled the heroin epidemic through programs like the Drug Rehabilitation Court, Jeffers said. The Kane County Sheriff's office and Coroner Rob Russell have held forums on the issue.
Jeffers wants to see the Health Department work with those departments as well as programs in the community to push an educational campaign showing the effects of drug addiction, she said.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists heroin addiction as one of its top priorities, Jeffers said. It is classified as a public health issue, she said.
"This problem touches everyone, from urban America to rural America," Jeffers said. "Unfortunately, this is an epidemic," she said.
The Health Committee approved a resolution authorizing an agreement for the grant.
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
A St. Charles Township man faces a June arraignment hearing after being indicted on eights counts relating to a string of February robberies involving a knife in St. Charles, Elgin and South Elgin, according to court records.
Ronald Medlin, 46, remains in Kane County Jail on $1.1 million bail charged with armed robbery and aggravated robbery in connection to the hold ups that happened between Feb. 6-14. Prosecutors allege Medlin used a knife to take money and, in one instance, cigarettes during the robberies. He appeared in court last week and is scheduled to return to enter his formal plea to the charges on June 14 before Judge David Kliment.
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The allegations against Medlin came together after St. Charles police investigated a pair of incidents on Feb. 13 in which a man used a knife to take approximately $381 from the 7-Eleven store on East Main Street and, several hours later, the Clark Gas Station on West Main, record state. Around 3 a.m. on Feb. 14, Medlin had a knife when he took $400 from the register at the Shell Station on South State Street in Elgin, authorities said. The investigation turned up enough information to eventually identify Medlin as the suspect in a Feb. 6 knife-point robbery of a woman in South Elgin, court documents show.
Two months before the robbery spree, Medlin was paroled by the Illinois Department of Corrections where he served prison time for various convictions, records show. He previously was imprisoned on drug charges and once received an eight-year sentence for an aggravated robbery conviction in which he stole money and cigarettes from a St. Charles convenience store, records show.
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Dan Campana is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
Police say they have yet to make a connection between a slain Hinsdale woman and the University Park man who Saturday was ordered held without bail in her death.
Dominic J. Sanders, 30, was ordered held without bail and is facing three counts of first-degree murder of Andrea Urban, 51, an actress and medical marijuana advocate found beaten and stabbed to death in the kitchen of her home May 4. Police haven't made clear whether the crime was random, saying they won't rule out the possibility that Sanders and Urban knew one another.
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Sanders was arrested Thursday, officials said, and DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said investigators tied him to the crime through video from Hinsdale homes and businesses and a pawn shop where Sanders pawned a wedding ring and engagement ring taken from the home.
"This was good old-fashioned police work," Berlin said at a Saturday morning news conference that followed Sanders' appearance in bond court.
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Judge Mike Reidy denied bail for Sanders, who prosecutors said has a history of forgery convictions and failures to appear in court.
If convicted of the three counts, he could face a natural life sentence for what Assistant State's Attorney Cathy DeLaMar called a "brutal and vicious attack."
Police pieced together video surveillance that they say showed Sanders parking his car in downtown Hinsdale the morning of May 4 before donning a reflective vest and walking toward Urban's residence in the 700 block of Town Place. He was seen again on video walking quickly away from Urban's neighborhood about 11 a.m., DeLaMar said.
Witnesses saw Urban doing some gardening about 9:30 a.m., and she texted a friend shortly after 10 a.m. to make plans to meet several hours later. She never showed up.
Urban's 17-year-old son found her body on the kitchen floor, with some of her clothing removed and her throat slashed, prosecutors said. Police found a bloody kitchen knife in the sink that was broken in two. An upstairs bureau appeared to have been disturbed, and Urban's cellphone was found in an upstairs toilet.
About two hours later, the prosecutor said, Sanders hocked the rings at a Melrose Park pawn shop. The rings had inscriptions that Urban's family members were able to identify, Berlin said.
When questioned by police, DeLaMar said, Sanders initially feigned confusion about his name showing up in the pawn shop's records. He later said he stole the rings by reaching in the front door at Urban's home and taking them from a shelf, authorities said.
Sanders also told authorities that he used to sell candy in Hinsdale and was retracing his steps from those days, DeLaMar told the judge. Although Sanders' address is listed as University Park, he mostly lives out of his car and stays with a rotating cast of friends and relatives, she said.
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Berlin said the investigation is ongoing, but there appears to have been no connection between Urban and Sanders.
"This was a violent, horrific attack on a completely innocent victim who had every right to feel safe in her own home," Berlin said.
In the early days after the attack, Hinsdale police had said there were no indications that Urban's death was a random act.
"There were indications at the scene that we used to draw those conclusions," Hinsdale Director of Public Safety Brad Bloom said Saturday. He declined to elaborate, though, citing the ongoing investigation.
Many Hinsdale residents were unsettled by the slaying and wanted more details.
"I was glad they caught someone," said Nick Schmooz of Hinsdale. But he doubts her killer chose Urban randomly, "especially because she was in her home. It was not like she was out walking the streets at night," he said.
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Monica Pajak, who lives on Urban's block, said she was angry because "the Hinsdale police said it wasn't a random act, but it sounds like it was."
Thinking that Urban's killer was someone who knew Urban had made her feel safer, she said.
Hinsdale police officers investigate the scene where Andrea Urban was found dead in her home. (James C. Svehla / for the Chicago Tribune)
Her husband, Christopher Pajak, is not critical of the information from the police department.
"The police are allowed to mislead people because they want to get at the truth," he said. "If you say something like, 'It's not random,' it makes it more understandable and less threatening."
What puzzles Christopher Pajak is that the crime was committed on a relatively busy corner.
Urban's home is in a residential neighborhood, but it's on a corner across the street from a park and next to a house under construction.
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People walk to and from the park, and construction workers were coming and going, he said.
"From a criminal's standpoint, why would you pick a place like that?" Christopher Pajak said.
Mistie and Nathan Lucht said the amount of activity could have complicated the police's investigation.
Construction workers were parked up and down the street, Mistie Lucht said. Thursday was garbage day, too, with trucks going down the street.
They were not anxious that three weeks passed before the police made an arrest, they just wanted to know the investigation was done right.
"The police were there 24/7," Mistie Lucht said. "We were questioned multiple times," including twice on the day of the slaying, she said.
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She and her children were away from the house for a birthday party on May 4, so she did not see anything unusual until after the attack was discovered.
For a week after the crime, the police had the sidewalk cordoned off, and detectives still were walking around, chatting with neighbors, she said.
Urban's slaying was "very sad and tragic," said Mistie Lucht. "Finding out it was completely random and so violent makes it more shocking and disturbing."
Sanders is next due in court on June 19 for arraignment.
Berlin said the investigation is still ongoing and urged anyone with information to contact the Hinsdale police.
Urban, an actress who was battling leukemia, was a single mother with two children, a son who graduated from Hinsdale Central High School this week and a daughter in fifth grade at Monroe Elementary School.
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Urban also was an advocate for medical marijuana, which she used in coping with her cancer.
She grew up in Hinsdale and lived in New York and Russia before returning to the area to raise her children. Her funeral was held May 20 at the church she attended, Hinsdale Covenant Church.
Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter. Kimberly Fornek is a staff reporter for Pioneer Press.
kfornek@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @kfdoings
The College of Lake County's police department may be the first community college department in Illinois to earn law enforcement accreditation, something that wouldn't be possible without new offices, its chief said.
The ongoing work at the college's Grayslake campus includes about $1.6 million for renovations to the college's E building that include the build-out of space for the police department.
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Work on the police department started a couple weeks ago and is expected to be completed by September, Police Chief Tom Guenther said.
"It's certainly been a long time coming," he said.
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The renovations need to be complete before work on what is now the C wing, formerly the A wing, can be complete, said Mike Welch, the college's director of facilities. The dispatch center continues to operate out of the under-construction wing and can't be moved until the police department is done.
The new police department suite will occupy what used to be vacant space at the north end of the E building, which primarily had been used for storing obsolete furniture, Welch said. The E building also houses the College of Lake County Foundation and the Lake County Regional Office of Education and plans for 2018 include adding classrooms.
As the police department has grown over the years, it's been somewhat "sporadically placed around the college," something that was more workable when it was a campus safety department as opposed to a full-blown police department with sworn officers, Welch said.
The department worked out of "rather disjointed" quarters in what is now the D wing, formerly the A wing, where rooms were down the hall from each other and the lost-and-found and evidence inventory were kept in different places, Guenther said.
When officers have to record interrogations required by law in certain situations they have to go to another police department, Guenther said.
"It wasn't functional and didn't provide good customer service," he said.
The new space will allow them to conduct those interrogations in-house and will also have a squad room where officers can write their reports and hold roll calls; a temporary detention area; private areas where officers can meet with witnesses, victims and potential offenders; an evidence inventory area; administrative offices; and a dispatch center, he said.
The Lake County Major Crime Task Force's administrative offices also will be housed in the new department, he said.
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The renovations will ensure that the College of Lake County police department can meet all the state laws and best practices pertaining to prisoner processing, chain of evidence and detention, Guenther said.
The department's facilities at the Waukegan-based Lakeshore campus also saw a boost last year with the move to 128 Madison St., according to the department's 2016 annual report.
The new venue came with a "more professional working environment, safer working conditions for the officers and greater public visibility," Guenther wrote in the report.
The College of Lake County police department had 18 sworn officers and 10 civilian personnel at the end of 2016, according to the report.
They arrested 14 people that year, investigated 26 criminal damage reports and 52 thefts, responded to 96 crashes with either property damage or injuries, issued 644 parking tickets and 72 moving violation citations, and assisted 100 people in medical situations, according to the report.
In speaking about the importance of a professional campus police force, Guenther pointed to the requirements placed on college police departments with the Clery Act, which requires departments to keep and disclose information about crime on and near their campuses, and the "very violent acts" that are taking place on campuses across the country.
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"We're like a mini-city," Guenther said.
As many as 15,000 students and 2,000 faculty and staff members can be on CLC's three campuses at any one time and anytime that amount of people are in one place, there likely will be stolen property, disagreements, traffic violations and crashes, he said.
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Twitter @mekcoleman
The Naval Station Great Lakes honor guard stands at attention Friday while Holly Beemer of Warren Township High School sings the national anthem at the College of Lake County's Memorial Day ceremony. (Frank Abderholden/News-Sun )
In a steady cadence, Victor Somoza, a member of the College of Lake County's Students Veterans Club, read the names of soldiers with a connection to Lake County who died in service to their country.
"Army Sgt. John M. Penich, Marine Lance Cpl. Sean Maher, Army Sgt. James Ochsner, Marine Private First Class Geoffrey Morris," he began.
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Somoza read the toll Friday during the 10th annual Memorial Day ceremony held at CLC's Grayslake campus, a ceremony that also featured U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, student speaker Jessica Lopez and staff speaker Joe Bochantin.
"Army Major Paul Syverson III, Army Specialist Jaime Moreno, Army National Guard Specialist Robert Weinger, Army First Lt. David Giamo, Army Private First Class Anthony Alex Gaunky, Army Capt. Shane Mahaffee," Somoza continued.
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"This is not about drinking beers and barbeque," said John W. Davis Jr., of North Chicago, a veteran who attended the ceremony and said he served 22 years in the Navy. Davis is one of five American Legion commanders in the state, serving as commander for the second division.
"I try to make all the ceremonies I can," he said. "This is a celebration of the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice and those veterans still alive."
"Army Sgt. Terry Lisk, Army Cpl. Keith A. Nurnberg, Army Sgt. Donald Farmer, Marine Private Jonathan Gifford, Army Sgt. First Class Gary J. Vasquez," read Somoza.
Davis said he especially liked the remarks from Lopez, who serves as president of the Student Veterans Club of CLC.
Lopez said she was nervous about being a speaker, and then she realized she just had to stick with what she knows, which is about veterans especially considering her husband is active duty military and many of her friends are veterans. She volunteers at the Lake County Veteran and Family Service Foundation.
"Starting with a quote from President John F. Kennedy, 'A nation reveals itself not only by the men it produces, but also by the men it honors, the men it remembers,'" she said.
"Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew S. Medicott, Army Specialist Uday Singh, Army Second Lt. Matthew Coutu, Army Sgt. Jason Denfrund, Army Sgt. Jason John Hernandez, Army Staff Sgt. Richard Joseph Jordan," read Somoza.
Lopez met fellow veterans who remembered their friends going off and never coming back, such as Army Sgt. Kenneth Luttel, who was in Vietnam for just three weeks in 1970 when he volunteered for a dangerous mission.
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"Sgt. Luttel couldn't be persuaded or talked down," Lopez said. "His heart told him he had an obligation to serve others, and so he went on the mission.
"Fourteen hours later, they were hit in a mortar attack, and that's how Sgt. Luttel became one of the many names to appear on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington D.C.," she added. "He is remembered by Army Lt. Paul Baffico, who watched him leave and return as just a memory."
"Army Specialist Wesley Wells, Marine Sgt. Edward Davis III, Army Capt. Benjamin D. Jansky," read Somoza.
Lopez would go on to name Marine First Lt. Scott Flemming, remembered by Marine Cpl. Michael Hughes, who was almost on the same detail guarding an election process in Afghanistan in 2010 when they were attacked by the Taliban.
She also told the story of Army Sgt. First Class Jeanne Balcombe, who was part of the military police in Korea in 1999. When a gunman attacked her and three police officers, she instinctively shielded her fellow officers and was killed in the process.
"She is remembered by her husband, Harvey," she said. After each fallen soldier, she said their name, calling them heroes, and saying, "we remember."
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"Army Specialist Andrew P. Wade, Air Force Senior Airman Daniel J. Johnson, Army Specialist Joseph W. Dimcock II," read Somoza.
Schneider, who has attended the event in the past, started his remarks by paying tribute to the Gold Star families.
"On this day, we pay our respects to your families and your loved ones who made the ultimate sacrifice of their lives in service to our country." he said. "I cannot place myself in your shoes. I cannot imagine the pain of losing a child, a brother, a sister or a parent in war.
"Words are not sufficient to express our gratitude and compassion," added Schneider, saying that he also acknowledged the active duty and other veterans at the event, which drew about 50 people to the campus.
"At home, in Europe, on the Pacific, in Southeast Asia and most recently in the Middle East, American men and women have served and fought and died in service to our county," Schneider said. "Today, we stand in remembrance of their sacrifices."
Later in his keynote remarks, Schneider spoke of current veterans.
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"It is also our duty to ask ourselves, 'Are we doing right by the men and women who return from war, some damaged, some broken?'" he said. "We owe it to the brave men and women we honor on Memorial Day to better serve their comrades our veterans. We must dedicate ourselves to serving them even half as well as they've served us.
"We are here to remember; to give thanks for their bravery and sacrifice, and to support those left behind."
Army Col. Mike Peck, superintendent of the Lake County Veterans Assistance Commission, compiled the names of the fallen with Lake County ties, and at the end, Somoza added two more names that weren't in the program handed out to guests: "Army Ranger Sgt. Daniel Nerdtrom and Navy Corpsman Daniel Sisco."
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Twitter @abderholden
Business: Yoomna's Pakistani Couture and Bridal Boutique
Address: 2867 W. 95th Street, Naperville
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Phone/website: 630-717-1212, www.yoomnas.com
Owner: Sajida Inam
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Years in business: 8
What does this business sell? "We offer Pakistani and Indian bridal, formal and casual wear," said Yoomna Rahim, youngest daughter of owner Sajida Inam. "We offer something that is kind of unique to the demographics of the Indian and Pakistani community in the suburbs for all kinds of special events."
"It was a big breakthrough that we had all the designers Nickie Nina, Mehdi, Umsha and all the big names under one roof," Inam said. "People were flying in from D.C., Houston, New York, New Jersey to come shop."
What was the impetus for opening this store? "I was a business and economics major, but I stayed home to raise my four kids," Iman said. "Then I went for Haj (a Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca). I got some kind of intuition that I need to do something different. So when we came back, I signed the lease. In the beginning it was a gift store. It was great for two months but after that (business) went down. That made me think about what I should do that is different and nobody else is doing it. I used my marketing and business background, and I came up with this."
What is the best thing about being in Naperville? "Nice location. Very safe. Very close to my home. Great community."
What is the most popular service you provide? "I think the most popular service is the bridal consultation," Rahim said. "And for South Asian customers, a bride's outfit is a big deal. It takes months of planning, like any bride in any culture, but specifically in our culture. South Asian pieces require a lot of hand work, a lot of labor. So my mom is kind of the middle man between the designers and the brides."
What is the thing you most like to do as part of the business? "You feel nice when you've helped someone, dealing with customers, person-to-person," Rahim said. "I like interacting, and like to help them out. I have brides come in here with outfits, and I help them create something they can love."
What is your least favorite thing to do? "I don't like to disappoint my customers," Inam said. "I will do everything in my power to make them happy. ... And bargaining, believe it or not."
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What is the best thing about owning your own business? "You are your own boss," Inam said. "You enjoy your decisions, your creativity."
What is the biggest downside? "Oh, there are many tough things. Believe me," Inam said. "Because we are dealing with the other side of the world, their timing is different, shortage of electricity, workers aren't available, but you have the commitment here. I've had situations where I would drive to Minneapolis, the DHL hub, to pick up a delivery because the wedding was soon. Customs delays."
What is the biggest misconception about your business? "Maybe the time and effort that goes into everything," Rahim said. "Customers, they see a price, and immediately think we have come up with this and bumped it up for profit. But that price includes shipping, labor, and the whole circuit of workers depending on my mom and the business, the hand beading. The research, the consultations and the operating cost. These prices include so much. And we also have to make a profit."
How would you describe your business philosophy? "Customer service and commitment. I will always try to get it perfect. I want to see their smiling faces," Inam said.
"When my older sister got married two years ago we got to experience first hand how powerful it is for the bride to kind of feel happy with her special day," Rahim said.
When it comes time to retire, is there a family member who will be taking over for you? "I don't think we have the mentality or understanding to take over," said Rahim of herself and three older siblings.
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Do you have any future plans to expand? "Definitely," Inam said. "All the time we have people asking us to open a store in downtown (Chicago). Or (on the) North Side. Maybe even somewhere in another city, like L.A."
Daina Saleh is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Authorities investigate the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Damon Phillips in the 100 block of Madison Street in Oak Park on May 27, 2017. (Al Lagattolla / Pioneer Press )
A 16-year-old Chicago boy was shot and killed this morning after attempting to rob a 24-year-old man in the parking lot of a bank near Madison Street and Austin Boulevard in Oak Park, according to a news release from the Oak Park police department.
Police said that the 24-year-old man, who is from Chicago, has a valid conceal-carry permit.
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"The pair apparently exchanged gunfire before the alleged robber reportedly entered a waiting car and fled into Chicago," the release stated.
Police said the teen was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Oak Park spokesman David Powers said police are investigating how the teen got to Stroger Hospital.
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Police said an off-duty Chicago police officer detained the 24-year-old man, who was being questioned by Oak Park police investigators. Police said the investigation is continuing and "many details remain to be determined."
Anyone with information is urged to call 708-386-3800. Anonymous tips can be left at 708-434-1636 or online at www.oak-park.us/crimetip.
More than a century after Frank Lloyd Wright designed Oak Park's Unity Temple, a $25 million restoration project reconnects visitors and congregation members to the details of Wright's vision.
On Thursday, Unity Temple officials provided a look at the restoration. A public open house, set from 2 to 5 p.m. June 17, will take place at 875 Lake St.
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The Rev. Alan Taylor, Unity Temple's senior minister, said he welcomes guests to see the completed restoration.
"This is an opportunity for people to see, for the first time, the restoration of this historic building that has always been the congregational worship home, but also, in its design, a testament to the courage and creativity of the human spirit," Taylor said.
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Heather Hutchison, the executive director of the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation, says the building has global appeal.
"It's an internationally iconic Frank Lloyd Wright building. It's what he considered his modern masterpiece. We get international visitors and local visitors," Hutchison said.
Based in Chicago, Alphawood Foundation includes architecture among its funding priorities, according to its website, www.alphawoodfoundation.org. A $10 million grant in 2013 was the impetus needed to begin restoration. Daniel Crimmins, president of Unity Temple's board of trustees, said the congregation raised an additional $1.75 million.
With roughly half of the $25 million raised, Hutchison said she invites potential donors to visit the Restoration Foundation website, www.utrf.org, after visiting Unity Temple.
"We're hoping once people step inside this magnificent space that they'll be inspired to help us meet our goal," Hutchison said.
With more than 20 years of experience in carpentry, Terry Schaefer said he understands the importance of his work in Unity Temple's restoration.
"I'm very proud. I tell my kids about it when I get home; the historical value of what I do," Schaefer said, noting the contrast between Wright's straight lines and the curved woodwork of other architects such as Louis Sullivan.
Gunny Harboe, founder of architecture firm Harboe Architects, said he has worked to restore other Wright-designed buildings, including the Emil Bach House in Chicago and Taliesin West in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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"The more I work on Wright, the more I have insights into him as an architect and what he was trying to accomplish," Harboe said, adding, "he was amazing in his ability to preconceive of something in his head and have it executed as he intended."
Harboe said an art glass design, which subtly features the letters "U" and "T," are among details he noticed during the Unity Temple project.
Taylor described the art glass in the ceiling, through which natural light enters the worship space, reflecting the holy "among and within," as among design elements visually showing the congregation's core values of connection, transformation, justice and acceptance.
Crimmins said that some members were initially wary, not wanting preservation efforts to turn their "home" into "a museum."
Both the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation and Harboe Architects worked to allay concerns.
"It's definitely a balance between the congregation and the foundation. We're working very closely together on programs and rentals," Hutchison said.
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"We tried to accommodate all the desires and needs of the congregation in a way that didn't negatively impact the historic architecture," Harboe said.
With modern amenities such as air conditioning and a video screen that can project from behind the pulpit with the push of a button, "I can't wait for public events to come back. We have a more functional space," Crimmins said.
Hutchison said general tours will resume in July, with programs returning by early 2018.
Visitors on June 17 should arrive early to the first-come, first-served event. Many are expected, and the last walkthrough tour begins at 4:45 p.m., Hutchison said.
All are welcome.
"Just come in and love the space," Harboe said.
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Rachel K. Hindery is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Park Ridge Police Officer Ben Peterson, right, speaks to a group of Park Ridge residents and business owners during a May 23 town hall meeting at Prospect Park. (Jennifer Johnson/Pioneer Press )
Park Ridge police have confirmed that they will have an increased weekend presence in Uptown this summer in an effort to keep an eye on the behavior of those gathering in the area.
"We're adding extra officers over the summer, specifically for Uptown," Officer John Dorner told a group of residents and business owners attending a May 23 town hall meeting at Prospect Park. "We're going to have officers on bikes, in plain clothes and things of that nature."
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The increased presence, which Police Chief Frank Kaminski said will largely occur on Fridays and Saturdays, is in response to reports of behavioral issues involving teens.
Kaminski declined to say how much money is budgeted for the additional response.
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Dorner, who recently produced a short video for middle school age children about proper behavior in Uptown Park Ridge, stressed that it's not up to the police department alone to address behavioral problems in public. Instead, he said, police are trying to build a collaboration with residents and business owners, as well as young people and their parents.
"If you want to raise your kids in Park Ridge, teach them to act accordingly and be responsible," Dorner said.
His message to kids?
"There's that [motto], 'What would Jesus Do?' Well, what would you do if your parents were around?" Dorner said. "Act that way. It's simple. Act how you'd act if your parent was sitting right next to you."
About a dozen Park Ridge residents and business owners attended the May 23 town hall, where one Uptown building owner reported problems with teens climbing on the roof of his building and congregating in the rear alley at night. Dorner suggested that cameras could help deter incidents while also helping to solve crimes. A security camera at an Uptown store led police to identity and arrest a 14-year-old boy accused of a hate crime against the store's owner in February, Dorner said.
"Just the knowledge of a camera, hopefully that reduces a crime," he said.
Dorner, who is a beat team leader for Uptown and surrounding areas, also said he wants to get to know the area's young people and "try to get the parents on board and set some things in place so we can push [youth] in the right direction of [having] good moral character."
Police will also have an increased presence during Taste of Park Ridge, which runs July 13-15, Kaminski said.
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Twitter: @Jen_Tribune
Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson at the State of the City Address on Feb 24, 2017. (Jim Karczewski / Post-Tribune)
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb lauded the recently adjourned legislative session for its "historic" efforts, but local leaders had mixed reviews of the measures that passed.
The Indiana Legislature passed a bill to address the state's infrastructure and transportation development, but also moved on bills specific to Lake County communities to force precinct consolidation, aid the Gary schools and help East Chicago deal with its ongoing lead crisis.
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"No part of the state did better than the Region in 2017," Holcomb said.
Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson said she was generally pleased with the session and that it was one of the most bi-partisan and collaborative she's seen during her tenure as mayor.
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"All in all it was more good than bad," Freeman-Wilson said.
Valparaiso Mayor Jon Costas said the governor and Legislature took actions to support local communities and listened to local leaders, knowing that's where the most impact can be made on citizens.
"The cities and towns are the stallions of the state and you've got to let the stallions run," Costas said.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr., said while his city made it through the session relatively unscathed, the Legislature's actions could hurt Hoosiers.
"It was an interesting session," McDermott said.
McDermott has been quick to criticize the road funding package since it's taxing Hoosiers to pay for repair work.
The legislation included a gas tax increase and opened the ability to levy additional tolls on Indiana interstates. The proceeds from the gas tax increase will go into state funds for highways and into a local grant matching program.
The infrastructure plan, authored by Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso, aims to fund improvements by increasing the gas tax by 10 cents, which estimates would only increase consumer gas prices by $4 each month.
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Additionally, Soliday's plan would levy a $15 fee on vehicles and a $150 annual fee on electric vehicles, according to the House Republicans Office. That money would in turn go toward the state's Community Crossings program, which provides matching funds to local governments for infrastructure projects.
Costas said the state's plans to invest in local infrastructure and transportation was encouraging.
"It's sending a message we're going to invest in our cities and our roads," Costas said.
The state's roads plan gives cities and towns the ability to make investments that affect citizens, Costas said.
The Legislature's roads package creates sustainable funding mechanisms to invest in repairs.
"We always want to reach sustainable funding," Costas said.
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The state has more than $2 billion in the bank, McDermott said, but the Republican-led Legislature instead chose to increase taxes and fees on the state's residents. He said they had a lot of options on how to invest in infrastructure.
Between the gas tax, increased registration fees and inevitability of new tollways, McDermott said, Hoosiers are going to get hit.
"That's the biggest change of life we're going to feel as Hoosiers," McDermott said.
Aside from the infrastructure investment, Costas said the Legislature supported local transportation plans, notably the double tracking of the South Shore Line between Gary and Michigan City.
Given Northwest Indiana's proximity to Chicago, investing in commuter systems will give residents a chance to capitalize on the opportunities in the city but still reside in Indiana.
"We know in the long run that trains are the answer," Costas said.
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Coupled with the investment in the South Shore Line, the Legislature also passed a bill allowing for the establishment of economic districts around the stations.
That is a significant tool for growth and economic development, Freeman-Wilson said, but it's one the city can use, not one it has to use.
"That was, from my estimation, a significant win for us," Freeman-Wilson said.
Beyond legislative initiatives that will affect the whole state, several bills specifically addressed Lake County communities.
The governor signed legislation to force Lake County to consolidate small voting precincts a move that Republicans lauded to create budget savings for the county but Democrats denounced as one to make it more difficult for people to access polling locations.
Freeman-Wilson said that bill is a "direct affront on voting rights" and many people are unaware of the effects the legislation will have.
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"The results of that really remain to be heard," Freeman-Wilson said.
The legislation is pushing consolidation not because there are fewer people but because there are fewer voters, Freeman-Wilson said, and she thinks government is supposed to work on behalf of all people, not just voters.
McDermott said the forced precinct consolidation is special legislation specifically designed to hit Lake County.
"Yet that doesn't faze the super majority," McDermott said.
When nearly identical legislation passed in 2014, the Lake County Democratic Committee challenged the consolidation bill arguing it was special legislation, ultimately losing that effort when the Indiana Supreme Court found that position invalid.
Like the Lake County precinct bill, the Legislature passed a bill to create a new level of financial oversight for schools in Gary and Muncie.
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"It allows us to work together to get Gary schools where they need to be," Freeman-Wilson said.
McDermott credited the Legislature for taking action to aid East Chicago amid the lead and arsenic contamination issues in the Calumet neighborhood.
East Chicago Rep. Earl Harris' bill will compel the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to assist with clean up of the U.S.S. Lead Superfund site and test soil and water throughout the city; have the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority to work with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to relocate residents of West Calumet; and push IDEM to do more thorough testing of the city's water.
"It shows the humanitarian side you don't see very often from the super majority," McDermott said.
clyons@post-trib.com
Twitter @craigalyons
Lucas Oppelt returns to Northwest Indiana on the five year anniversary of his "Alive Day."
Lucas Oppelt felt pleasantly ambushed while staring out through a window of the corporate jet after it landed at the Gary/Chicago International Airport.
"I think he's going to blush," his wife Amy Oppelt joked.
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"We weren't told anything about this," Lucas Oppelt admitted.
Patiently waiting for him to depart the Hawker 700 aircraft were several decorated members of the Indiana Patriot Guard. Each of them stood quietly at attention in front of an airport hangar. Each of them clutched a large American flag, waving in the wind.
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Oppelt, a 35-year-old wounded warrior and Hoosier native, looked a bit embarrassed at all the commotion over his low-key homecoming Friday afternoon. He nervously stared out a window as the eight-passenger jet taxied to a stop.
His 4-year-old daughter Lily whispered to him, "It's OK, Daddy, I'll help you."
Lily's gentle words brought a calming smile to her father who, on that day, marked the milestone fifth anniversary of his "Alive Day."
His daughter was still in Amy's womb when, on May 26, 2012, he stepped on a pressure-plate improvised explosive device in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan.
The IED only partially detonated, yet it was enough to blow off his right leg below the knee, severely damage his left leg, shoot shrapnel into his arms, and cause a traumatic brain injury, among other wounds. If the IED detonated entirely, it likely would have killed Oppelt, who was rushed into emergency surgery.
Just a day earlier, one of Oppelt's fellow soldiers stepped on an IED in that same area, causing a similar amputation. Two days earlier, the same thing happened to another soldier. Oppelt, a U.S. Army sergeant who served as a senior line combat medic with the 82nd Airborne Division, treated their wounds before they were transported away.
Oppelt, who planned on serving in the Army's Special Forces for his career, was on his second deployment overseas, following a 15-month tour in Iraq from 2006 to 2007. His plan was to be a military "lifer," serving Uncle Sam until he got wrinkled and gray-haired.
His dream exploded on May 26, 2012. So did his wife's hope for their clear shot at the American dream "a happy marriage, two careers, 2.5 kids, a dog and a time share somewhere warm," as she puts it when her phone rang that unforgettable day.
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The women's voice on the other end asked if Amy had heard about her husband.
"No," Amy replied, knowing that precise moment would profoundly change her life.
The woman told her in a calm, professional manner, "At 10:02 a.m., Afghan time, while on a dismounted patrol, your husband Lucas Oppelt stepped on a pressure plate IED." She asked Amy if she had a pen and paper.
Amy, a licensed practical nurse at the time, began scribbling down every detail she was given. She ran out of paper.
"Stop talking, just stop," Amy told the woman before falling apart.
Amy, who was seven months pregnant with Lily, feared that Lucas would never live to hold Lily. For the first time in her life, since the couple met at boot camp in the Army, Amy feared for their future together.
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She released a painful, guttural scream. Her son Peyton, 5 years old at the time, heard her scream and knocked on the door. "Mommy, are you alright?"
"Mommy's fine baby," she said
"Is that Daddy? Is he okay?" Peyton asked.
"Yes, honey, Daddy's fine," she said.
His daddy wasn't fine.
After his condition stabled, he would be transported to another Forward Operating Base to undergo emergency amputation of his right leg below the knee and, in time, 15 surgeries to his left leg, among several attempts to put his body back together again.
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He was later transported from Germany to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland, where he and his family would live for nearly two years through his inpatient and outpatient recovery. Lucas needed to heal. Amy needed to heal. Their family slowly healed mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
It wasn't easy or pretty or tidy.
They relied on help from several aid organizations for wounded veterans, such as the Wounded Warrior Project, Yellow Ribbon Fund, Operation Second Chance, Operation Homefront and Veterans Airlift Command, or VAC.
Fast forward to this past Friday, Lucas' five-year "Alive Day" anniversary. To celebrate, they dreamed of reuniting with his mother and stepfather in Mishawaka, who they haven't seen in three years. But they couldn't afford a roundtrip flight for four from their home in Colorado Springs, Colo., where they started their new healed life.
The couple requested help from VAC, which provides free air transportation to post 9/11 combat wounded vets and their families for medical, and other compassionate purposes, through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots.
"Walt Fricke is the key," said Nick Popovich of Valparaiso, whose aviation firm Sage-Popovich, Inc. has facilitated 140 VAC flights since 2007. "VAC was Walt's brainchild and vision that he turned into an amazing organization."
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"He and his staff work hard to make sure our vets get to where they need to go," Popovich added.
Popovich invited me to fly Friday with his pilots, John Neidlinger of Plymouth and Kerry Eldridge of Madison, Wisconsin, to pick up the Oppelt family in Colorado Springs and transport them to Gary. Free of charge to the family, who was treated like royalty.
"We're so appreciative of everything," Amy told me while flying back at 38,000 feet.
Lucas stood behind the cockpit, sharing combat stories with Neidlinger, a U.S. Army veteran. Peyton, now 10, played a video game as Lily colored in a book. The family plans on staying with Lucas' parents for five days before returning home via another Popovich-assisted VAC flight.
"From start to finish, some 35 people have played a role in making today's flight work," Popovich said.
Post Tribune Twice-weekly News updates from Northwest Indiana delivered every Monday and Wednesday >
His staff (including 12 vets) comes in early, works late and tends to every detail for every VAC flight, with each call sign the same: Hero Flight 00NP.
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"It is an honor and privilege to fly these young men and women who have given so much," Popovich said.
On Friday afternoon at the Gary airport, those Indiana Patriotic Guard members waited until Oppelt exited the jet with his family. When he did, they began clapping, one after the other. Watch my video of the exchange and view more photos here: www.post-trib.com/opinion.
"Thank you very much," Oppelt told each of them with a handshake and a hug.
"No," they replied. "Thank you."
jdavich@post-trib.com
Twitter@jdavich
Ambassador Switalski: Anti-corruption body will be effective, if it is independent
An information fair was held at Northern Avenue in Yerevan on the final day of Europe Day celebrations n Armenia. EU Ambassador Piotr Switalski and Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan participated in the opening ceremony. Before the start of the event, Piotr Switalski answered the questions of journalists. When asked about the merger of National Assemblys Standing Committee on Human Rights and Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs, the diplomat said, On Monday, Brussels will host a dialogue on the situation of human rights in Armenia. We shall take the opportunity to raise our concerns about areas where more progress is needed. As for the merger of the two committees, I must say that the decision was made by the coalition. We shall encourage that human rights are always kept in the focus of attention in the National Assembly. I can only say that the issue was raised last week during the regional visit of a Foreign Affairs Committee delegation of the European Parliament. The Committee Chairman made specific recommendations related to human rights to the Parliament speaker, deputy speakers and heads of factions. A number of priorities became clear during the visit which are to be included in the parliament agenda. Speaking about the establishment of a new anti-corruption body in Armenia, Piotr Switalski said the creation of the body is a positive move which is encouraged by the European Union. Of course it is important that the body be independent. The experience of other countries shows that such bodies can be effective they are independent.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie has a stated mission of teaching and empowering visitors to be upstanders for social justice. (Heidi Stevens / Chicago Tribune)
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie has been named one of 10 recipients of the 2017 National Medal for Museum and Library Service, according to the organization that distributes the award.
The award was announced May 15, in a joint news release between the museum and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The accolade is regarded as "the nation's highest honor given to museums and libraries for service to the community," according to the release.
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"It is a privilege to be a National Medal recipient for our global leadership and innovation," said Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center CEO Susan Abrams. "This award not only recognizes our past impact on the community, but also our groundbreaking Take a Stand Center."
Abrams said the Take a Stand Center, scheduled to open in October, uses interactive holographic technology to enable visitors to have life-like conversations with recorded survivors for generations to come.
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"(It) will equip our visitors with tools to take action on social justice and civic issues important to them," according to Institute of Museum and Library Services officials.
The award is scheduled to be formally presented to the winners at a ceremony in Washington D.C. this summer. Abrams and a community member will attend the ceremony, officials said.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, called the honor "well-deserved." The museum, he said, plays a vital role in educating new generations of Americans about the Holocaust and the importance of guarding against the resurgence of anti-semitism and hate across the globe.
"I thank its curators, directors and staff for their dedication to ensuring we remember and learn from the past," Durbin said.
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, also released a statement congratulating the museum.
"The work the museum does to ensure we never forget the horrors of the Holocaust is essential," Duckworth said. "Educating the world about the past is the most important way we can prevent genocide and other atrocities from happening in the future."
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Illinois, whose 9th District is home to the museum, praised the Holocaust museum's exhibits for preserving information that younger generation may learn from.
"The museum's message against hatred and anti-semitism is more important today than ever," Schakowsky said. "It challenges us to stand up to hate and division in our world today."
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The 10 winners were selected from 30 national finalists announced in March.
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center becomes the second Skokie institution to win the distinguished award. The Skokie Public Library garned an award in 2008.
A psychiatric hospital is being proposed for a vacant office building at 300 North Milwaukee Avenue in Vernon Hills. Village officials say the exterior of the building would not change. (Rick Kambic / Pioneer Press)
The Village Board review of a proposed psychiatric hospital in Vernon Hills scheduled for June 6 has again being postponed, this time until July 18.
Proposed plans involve renovating a vacant office building at 300 N. Milwaukee Ave. into a new 100-bed psychiatric facility named the Vernon Hills Behavioral Hospital.
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After an unfavorable zoning hearing on April 19, representatives from US HealthVest asked for the May 2 Village Board review to be delayed until June 6.
Now, Vernon Hills employees have more questions about the hospital's potential operation and have recommended a delay until those answers arrive, according to Assistant Village Manager Joe Carey.
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The company in early May invited Vernon Hills trustees and employees to tour its Des Plaines facility. The Chicago Behavioral Hospital, located along Rand Road near Interstate 294, was formerly known as Maryville Academy and was about to close in 2014 when US HealthVest bought it.
In Vernon Hills, hospitals are not permitted to operate in business park districts. The hospital was seeking a zoning change that would allow facilities like it to open on a case-by-case basis, according to village documents.
Several of the commissioners on April 19 said US HealthVest talked about its proposed project instead of the overall philosophical discussion on land uses in Vernon Hills.
In case village trustees overturn the recommendation against allowing hospitals in business parks, the Plan and Zoning Commission chose to still review US HealthVest's proposed facility. Commissioners voted 4-0 in support of the project with two abstentions following a lengthy critique of the company's paperwork and unsuccessful attempt in Northbrook.
Prior to beginning the formal review process, US HealthVest held public forums earlier this year in response to a petition of opposition being circulated by a parent of a Vernon Hills High School student.
rkambic@pioneerlocal.com
Twitter @Rick_Kambic
Frisch maintains razor-thin lead in CD-3 after new data reported in Pueblo County
Frisch's lead over Boebert has been in decline as more counties in CD-3 continue to report results after election day
Jack Ma, the chairman and founder of Alibaba Group, speaks in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, May 26, 2017. [Photo/youth.cn]
Jack Ma, the chairman and founder of China's e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, took on Google's artificial intelligence AlphaGo at the Big Data Expo held in Guiyang, Guizhou Province, and urged Chinese enterprises not to develop such things as AlphaGo.
Chinese Go player Ke Jie, current world No. 1, has admitted defeats in his three duels against computer program AlphaGo in Wuzhen, Zhejiang Province, which ignited heavy online discussions regarding the future of mankind and AI.
But Ma weighed in and said: "Before the Go-match this time, many thought that the human will prevail over the machine; later when the human lost, they thought machines will prevail over man. But speaking for myself, I don't really care. I especially advised that many fellow enterprises should not develop such things as AlphaGo, it's meaningless, and we can do much more other useful things."
Ma also elaborated why he didn't like AlphaGo: "Go game is an interesting and fun thing, I can wait for my opponent to play wrong and I can win. But the machine never plays wrong and it can work out the next 300 steps while you can only think about the next three. It is not fun anymore, it deprives the biggest fun that makes us happy and then insults us."
"Machines must have its own special thinking and must do things human cannot do," Ma added, believing AI should work for humans to do useful things that human are unable to achieve, rather than just spoiling human's fun.
The Alibaba boss previously detested AlphaGo in April at the China IT Summit 2017 in Shenzhen, and said, "They all talked about how AlphaGo is terrific, but personally I felt, 'so what?' "
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A Chinese mainland spokesperson said Friday that Taiwan resident Lee Ming-che is under arrest on suspicions of "subverting the state power."
According to the country's security authorities, Lee has been arrested in accordance with the law by the Hunan provincial security organ, said An Fengshan, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
Investigation by security authorities found that Lee had frequently entered the mainland since 2012. He colluded with mainlanders, stipulated action guidelines, established illegal organizations, and plotted and carried out activities to subvert state power, An said.
On March 19, 2017, Lee, who was on the mainland to participate in illegal activities, was put under coercive measures by security authorities in line with the law, said An.
After interrogation, Lee and his group confessed to engaging in activities endangering national security, An said.
Judicial authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law, An added.
The central government of China will begin a program this year for medical colleges to educate a total of 5,810 students to work in central and western China, the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in a statement Saturday.
The program, which covers financial aid, education and guaranteed employment for participating students, will be open to those who take the college entrance exam, which is scheduled for early June.
Only students from rural areas may apply for the program, and the seven majors they may choose from include the traditional medicine of Chinese ethnic groups, according to the statement.
Those admitted by medical colleges will receive five years of free undergraduate education. After graduation they will be assigned to jobs at local medical institutions in villages and towns of central and western China.
Before receiving their letters of admission, the students will have to sign agreements with their local governments on their education and employment after graduation, the MOE said.
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An armed soldier stands guard at 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, on May 24, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the country's terror threat level has been raised from "severe" to "critical", its highest level, after the bombing attatck. [Photo/Xinhua]
A 44-year-old man has been arrested by British police on suspicion of terrorism offences in connection with the Manchester bombing attack, Sky News reported on Friday.
The suspect was arrested this evening in the Rusholme area of Manchester, according to a statement from the police.
So far nine people remain in custody for questioning, and police have released another two without charge.
This is a fast moving investigation and "we are keeping as open mind at this stage", the police said.
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A man follows the news of a deadly attack in Egypt's southern province of Minya in Cairo, May 26, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]
Gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians south of the Egyptian capital on Friday, killing 26 people and wounding 25, health ministry said.
Some ten unknown gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles, intercepted the victims' two buses, on the way to St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, about 220 kilometers south of Cairo, and opened fire randomly, a security source told Xinhua.
The attackers dressed in security uniform, said eyewitnesses.
"It was a religious trip," Xinhua reporter quoted a security source at the scene as saying.
Security checkpoints have been deployed after the incident and a manhunt operation has started, said the interior ministry.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi convened a security meeting to discuss the consequences of the shooting attack, a presidential press office said.
No group yet claimed responsibility for attack.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Those attacks were claimed by Islamic State (IS).
In an IS video released on May 19, the group renewed its pledges for targeting non-Muslims anywhere.
"The attack targets stability of Egypt," said Ahmad Al Tayyeb, sheikh Al-Azhar, the Sunni seat in Egypt, asking the Egyptians to unit to face the heinous terrorism.
Leaders of Saudi, UAE and Palestine condemned the attack strongly, saying they stand beside Egypt's people and government in combating terrorism.
Flash
A forum recently held in New York City has offered a platform for women to discuss how women are shaping China as a rising global power and opportunities for U.S. women leaders to communicate with their Chinese counterparts.
More than 300 women gathered at China Institute in New York on May 18 for the forum "Women and China: How Women Are Shaping the Rising Global Power" at which the speakers were women movers and shakers in industries such as finance, technology and culture. Xinhua reached out to the organizers and speakers via email to learn more about the event.
POSITIVE RESPONSE TO FORUM
Rebecca Liao, Asia head at Globality, a startup which focuses on international trade, moderated the forum's technology panel.
"I was absolutely honored to spend time with this group of highly accomplished, warm and dynamic women," she said. "I was especially inspired to see that a lot of young women came to the forum, and I hope we will have the opportunity to mentor more and form a community to help women grow."
Jeannette Wing, corporate vice president at Microsoft Research, was one of the speakers. She told Xinhua that she enjoyed the event because it gave her the opportunity to meet accomplished Asian women whom she would otherwise not encounter in her circle of colleagues.
"I talked primarily about how technology trends, especially in Artificial Intelligence, data science and cloud computing, are affecting all sectors and professions, not just the tech sector," Wing said.
"We are witnessing a rapid growth and adoption of technology where every company in every sector is undergoing a digital transformation.Participants learned about what these trends are and how they will affect people's lives at work and at home," she said.
Wing said China's rise had affected her career path in a positive way as it has opened up new opportunities for her to meet her Chinese counterparts in academia, government and industry.
"I have been asked to advise Chinese universities and Chinese funding agencies on strategic directions in research and education in computer science. I helped advocate the importance of basic research for industrial research labs and the importance of working closely with academic partners to elevate the overall quality of research in computer science in China," she said.
Virginia Kamsky, CEO of the strategic advisory firm Kamsky Associates, also had good memories of the forum. "It was exciting for me to meet other women who have been dedicated to working in China, both Chinese and Western, and in building constructive bridges between Chinese women and the rest of the world," she said.
"I spoke about my experience of working in China since 1978 at the beginning of the reform and opening-up and the changes between then and now," Kamsky said.
"I also discussed the fact that women in China at the leadership level have, throughout the years, had a passion to help and support other women, even those just starting out like myself in my twenties at the time," Kamsky said, adding that she mentioned two of her female mentors as examples: Wu Yi, former vice premier of China and health minister during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) crisis, and Xie Xide, former president of Fudan University.
"Female leaders in China have always provided guidance to women in the work force in China. I said that I thought working in China was an advantage because you were not limited in China as to how much you could accomplish based on your gender, as compared to both the United States and Japan and that there is still a 'glass ceiling' for women in America and that that does not exist in China. I encouraged the women in the audience to pursue careers in China," Kamsky said.
"The rise of China has affected my career path personally because in the early days, when China did not have reserves, I would need to structure transactions on a barter basis as compared with today where I have the opportunity to participate in China's outbound investment activity," Kamsky said, adding that now, there is both inbound and outbound work to be done, which she finds "exhilarating and very exciting."
"WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING"
Anla Cheng, a Wall Street veteran with banking and private equity experience, was the mastermind behind the event. After years of attending China-related events where the majority of panelists were men, she wondered why so many women in influential positions were underrepresented at such events, so she decided to organize a forum especially for women.
When asked what was the most rewarding part of organizing the forum, Cheng said: "Being able to bring such incredibly talented leaders and minds and accomplished women under one roof -- it was very inspirational. Their words of advice resonated with our future women leaders."
Cheng described the atmosphere at the forum as "upbeat, optimistic" and as creating a "feeling of empowerment for women." She cited one participant as saying, "Now I know, women can do anything."
Cheng said studies by Deloitte, MSCI, Credit Suisse and Catalyst (which cover up to 6,000 - 10,000 companies) found that women in the United States held 12 percent of board seats; but only 4 percent of board chair positions.
"That companies with more women on boards had better financial results from all over the world confirms the benefits of gender-balanced boards," she said, citing 16 percent higher Return on Sales and 26 percent higher Return on Invested Capital as numbers that support this. Cheng said that companies with fewer women on boards had more governance-related controversies.
"As we get more women in senior positions, women are making decisions, they are opinion-makers and leaders. With those positions, they are making decisions on how to treat others, what deals are to be made and are paving the way for future trends for both China and the United States."P In fact, she did see a new trend in China. "More women are in Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) in China and making acquisitions with better corporate governance, for instance," Cheng said, adding that more women in China are also becoming involved in the movie business and the Internet sector.
"Women understand on-line retailing and the consumer psyche very well as we transition away from shopping malls and stores. Women are more interested in impact investing and social means to make money and help society, is another example. Women are much more interested in the environment as they care more about health for their children and parents. They care more about food safety as well," Cheng said.
On whether women's influence will change if more countries turn toward protectionism and isolationism, she said so long as the economic divide exists, "we will have a society polarized which will favor protectionism." Cheng said it was important for world leaders to come up with solutions to the economic divide in different countries.
"We need to solve this widening gap in order to have a stable and robust middle class. I think women can help influence these changes and come up with solutions to bridge this gap," she said.
Flash
India on Saturday inked four pacts with Mauritius, including one on extending 500 million U.S. dollars credit line to the island nation, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth in Delhi.
The line of credit agreement was sealed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.
Among the other agreements signed between the two countries, one was on maritime security aimed at bolstering ties in the maritime domain.
The pacts were all inked at the iconic Hyderabad House in the heart of the national capital.
"A relationship marked by age-old ties of friendship and deep mutual respect. PM@narendramodi receives PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at Hyderabad House," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.
Later in a statement, the Indian prime minister said that a strong developmental partnership with Mauritius "is a hallmark of our engagement."
"India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius. The agreement today on a 500 million U.S. dollars Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects," Modi said.
He said that he and the visiting Mauritian prime minister concurred that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities.
Apart from bilateral issues, Modi said that he and Prime Minister Jugnauth also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues.
"We agreed to continue supporting each other in multilateral fora and cooperate closely on our common challenges and interests."
On his part, Jugnauth said: "The already excellent bonds between Mauritius and India have taken on a new dimension since I became prime minister."
Earlier in the day, the visiting Mauritian leader, who arrived in the Indian capital on Friday on a three-day state visit, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan (Indian president's official residence).
It is Jugnauth's first foreign visit as prime minister. Modi visited the island nation in March 2015 as chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
Mauritius is the largest source of foreign direct investment into India with an inflow of over 110 billion U.S. dollars. On the other hand, more than 100 Indian companies are doing business in the island nation.
Flash
The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Nyanduga, has called on the world to support the Horn of Africa nation to avert humanitarian crisis and its current state-building process.
Nyanduga called for unremitting support for Somalia's state-building process and improvement of the human rights situation in the country, saying Somalia is experiencing one of its worst humanitarian crises following three years of drought.
"This drought has come at a time Somalia has not recovered from the effects of the 2011 drought," he said in a statement issued at the end of his fourth mission to Somalia on Friday night.
"I call upon the international community to respond to the appeal for 4.4 billion U.S. dollars to assist Somalia to deal with its biggest humanitarian crisis in history," he added.
"The severe has affected more than half of Somalia's population, creating an acute food and water shortage, child malnutrition and mortality, and loss of livestock," said the human rights expert.
Nyanduga urged the international community to continue technical and financial support to Somalia towards the reform of the police, judiciary and other rule of law institutions, and ensure the establishment of the new justice model, which is the cornerstone of democratic governance.
"The justice sector should be provided with commensurate resources to those currently being directed towards the security sector," the human rights expert emphasized.
During his 11-day visit, the rights expert also inquired about the role of traditional elders in the Somalia justice system, where Traditional Dispute Resolution remains strong because of the institutional weakness of formal judicial institutions.
He recommended the Somalia government, the Federal Member States, and Somaliland "to undertake a comprehensive review of the traditional dispute resolution frameworks in order to ensure that traditional elders protect the rights of women, in particular from rape and other sexual and gender-based violence cases."
Nyanduga expressed concern regarding cases of detention without trial, police brutality, intimidation of journalists, and other violations of the right to freedom of expression and media rights across Somalia.
"I call on the authorities to continue their engagement with media owners and professionals in order to review existing media laws or adopt laws that respect freedom of expression and media rights," he said.
ChinaAid
(Washington, D.C.May 15, 2017) A ChinaAid delegation comprised of the wives of abused and tortured Chinese human rights advocates is traveling to the U.S. capitol to spotlight their husbands cases on Thursday.
Invited by U.S. Representative Ed Royce, the Chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Lee Ching-Yu, wife of jailed Taiwanese NGO leader Li Ming-Che; Dr. Chen Gloria Guiqiu, wife of human rights attorney Xie Yang; Jin Bianling, wife of lawyer Jiang Tianyong; and Wang Yanfang, wife of attorney Tang Jingling, will all testify regarding their husbands cases during a hearing before one of the committees branches, the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations. The hearing, which was organized by U.S. Representative Chris Smith, will be held in Room 2172 of the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, D.C., on May 18, 2017, at 2:00 p.m. EDT.
According to Royce, the purpose of this gathering is to examine the torture, disappearances, and detention of human rights lawyers and democracy advocates in China. As such, the witnesses will be presenting their husbands cases before the congressional audience.
The delegation will be in the capitol Tuesday-Thursday, and they will also be meeting with officials from the Trump Administration, members of Congress, and key NGO leaders.
In order to further spread awareness of abuses occurring in China, each of the witnesses and ChinaAid President Bob Fu, whose experience in a Chinese prison for preaching Christianity and connection to victims of similar atrocities led him to found the organization, will be available for interview. If you wish to arrange to speak with them, please contact Brynne Lawrence at (432) 553-1080 or [email protected].
ChinaAid hosts such delegations in order to expose Chinas human rights abuses to international leaders, which the Communist Party conceals, in hopes that those in the free world will act on behalf of those suffering for executing their right to freedom of belief and speech.
ChinaAid Media Team
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected]
For more information, click here
HONG KONGAlibaba Group Holding Ltd plans to lead an investment round of at least $1 billion in Ele.me, one of the largest players in China's food-delivery service sector.
People familiar with the deal said that funding from Alibaba and its financial arm, Ant Financial Services Group, will value Ele.me at between $5.5 billion and $6 billion.
The move will help Ele.me compete with a rival service backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd, people familiar with the deal said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private.
Once completed, the agreement would mark the country's second-largest startup fundraising effort so far this year.
It would be surpassed only by ride-sharing giant Didi Chuxing's $5.5 billion round of fundraising.
Alibaba is vying for supremacy with the Tencent-backed startup, Meituan Dianping, in a local services industry primed for growth.
This has come about as people turn to their smartphones or the web to order food, schedule beauty treatments and hire domestic helpers.
Sales of such services are expected to reach 7.28 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) this year.
Startup investments surged 40 percent to $6 billion in the first quarter, CB Insights, a research company, estimated.
While food-delivery businesses around the world have struggled to make profits, China's two largest internet companies see on-demand services as a way to promote their lucrative online payments services.
Growth in domestic food and restaurant transactions has also outstripped many other retail segments in the world's second-largest economy.
Alibaba is already the biggest shareholder of Ele.me, which it uses to complement a separate service called Koubei that provides restaurant bookings and spa treatments.
Now, Tencent intends to ramp up investment to catch up with its rival.
It holds only a minor stake in Ele.me after a $1.25 billion fundraising from Alibaba and Ant Financial in April 2016 diluted its holdings.
The company, valued at about $4.5 billion at the time, had discussed a merger with Meituan, one of Tencent's largest investments in the market.
But talks fell apart, people familiar with the matter said.
Tencent is now "putting up quite a big initiative around the restaurant vertical" to propel WeChat Pay, Martin Lau, the company's president, told analysts on a post-earnings conference call earlier this month.
The online giant had lost market share in restaurants but is "putting aside a pretty good budget to get back on the competition front", according to Lau.
BLOOMBERG
Package engineer Jonathon McWherter examines a mirror to see what damage it has suffered during rigorous package testing for a customer at a UPS testing lab in Addison, Illinois. [Photo/Agencies]
Courier major plans venture with UPS to forge link between the two logistics networks
SF Holding Ltd said on Friday it is speeding up its global expansion. It has firmed up plans to set up a joint venture with international delivery behemoth UPS Parcel Delivery Service Ltd.
The two parties said they are to establish Hong Kong-based Global Connect Holding Ltd, with each owning 50 percent of the equity. They said the total investment would be up to $10 million, with the deal subject to regulatory approval.
Starting from the China-United States route and then moving on to the global markets, the joint venture will combine SF's Chinese network of about 13,000 service points and UPS' global coverage of more than 220 countries and regions, the announcement said.
SF Vice-President Alan Wong said user demand for cross-border logistics services has become bigger and more varied as China's e-commerce market and mobile internet sector grew rapidly.
"To adapt to these new changes, it is imperative for logistics companies to collaboratively innovate new services," he said.
UPS Asia-Pacific President Ross McCullough said the two companies would launch new logistics products and services to simplify and accelerate B2B and B2C cross-border trade.
SF is one of the Chinese courier companies that have been vigorously exploring international markets. Shanghai-based YTO Express Group acquired a Hong Kong-listed logistics company this month, while major couriers STO Express Co and ZTO Express (Cayman) Inc also acquired US-based logistics service providers earlier.
Zhao Xiaomin, a logistics market consultant in Shanghai, said the SF-and-UPS combination would bring a new force to the industry and spur others to forge their own alliances, cross-shareholdings and acquisitions.
He predicted that SF's international business, which increased to record levels last year, would be the fastest-growing part of the business in the next three to five years.
However, Wang Guowen, director of the Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute, said it would be a challenge to expand in such a mature market globally, although Chinese delivery companies were making various attempts.
Wang said he expected the upcoming joint venture would mainly focus on "asset-light" cooperation, such as hub-to-hub connections and more choices of delivery time for clients, given that the investment size was not large.
By SHI JING in Shanghai and OUYANG SHIJIA in Guiyang | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-27 09:35
State-owned enterprises participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and with overseas operations need to enhance their cybersecurity immediately in the wake of mounting threats to online data, a report released by the 360 Threat Intelligence Center on Friday said.
The center, which was launched by technology major Qihoo 360 Technology Co in 2015, released the report on the opening day of the four-day International Big Data Expo 2017 in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province.
These days, many SOEs have operations across different economies and their information infrastructure level varies from market to market. Existing security programs will encounter new challenges and may prove inadequate, according to the report.
Such SOEs need to secure their confidential online communications and data pertaining to overseas project management and other such sensitive areas, the center said.
So, technologies like remote data transmission and cloud computing need to be integrated into companies' information technology systems, the center said.
Computer viruses, malware and other forms of threats like Trojans, phishing sites and unintended disclosure of confidential information are among the problems cited by the 14 SOEs surveyed for the report.
SOEs specializing in energy, infrastructure and transportation could face risks of attacks on their data in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, the report said.
Qi Xiangdong, chairman of 360 Business Security Group, an internet security company affiliated to Qihoo 360, stressed that cybersecurity is of utmost urgency, given recent episodes like that of ransomware virus WannaCry.
He said big data will likely be one of the major targets of high-tech criminals like hackers in the next decade or so.
"WannaCry virus signifies that hackers have outgrown defrauding individuals to extortion from governments and companies. I'm afraid such ransomware will become even more rampant in the future," he said.
"With the development of big data, cybersecurity has become as important as money and even life. So, cybersecurity systems of companies should be updated."
Qi suggested that an internet security awareness system should be set up in the first place. A centralized control system should then be established so that computer terminals can respond rapidly.
US-based investment company Vanguard Group Inc launched its wholly foreign-owned enterprise in the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Zone on Thursday.
The world's largest mutual fund firm in terms of assets under management is the latest entrant to China's capital market through the WFOE route. Its entry suggests measures to open up the market may be paying off.
The new entity enables Vanguard, which has assets worth $4.2 trillion under its management, to bring its investment philosophy to China's vast number of investors, the company said.
William McNabb, CEO of Vanguard, said the firm plans to triple its staff in Shanghai to 15 by the end of this year.
He said the decision to establish WFOE shows the firm's long-term commitment to the China market, despite short-term market volatility.
Charles Lin, managing director of Vanguard's China unit, said the firm believes that China's retail investment market will be a significant growth driver, given the fast-growing demand for retirement plans and pension funds.
According to Wang Zengwu, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chinese investable assets are estimated to be between 149 trillion yuan ($21.71 trillion) and 242 trillion yuan, and expected to grow to between 356 trillion yuan and 474 trillion yuan by 2020.
Currently, most of the assets are in the form of bank deposits and residential properties, while investments in funds and trusts constitute a minority.
"We believe that in China, mutual funds' market size will grow from $1.5 trillion now to $16 trillion in 2025," said Lin.
China's securities regulator and asset management regulator had jointly announced the WFOE policy to allow access to various Chinese investment segments to foreign businesses.
Since then, dozens of WFOEs have reportedly applied to establish private fund management firms in China.
A research note from China Merchants Securities Co said a higher number of WFOEs would mean that China's capital market will have more options, and a wider range of products, creating more opportunities for investors to own different kinds of assets.
WFOEs wanting to establish private fund management firms are going to be patient, said Lawrence Au, executive adviser for Asia-Pacific with BNP Parisbas Securities Services, in an interview earlier this month.
BEIJING - Chinese-developed aircraft have been in the global spotlight recently with a series of maiden flights of export-oriented models.
China's first export-oriented armed helicopter, the Z-15E, made its maiden flight on May 18 in Harbin, northeast China's Heilongjiang province.
It followed maiden flights by the Wing-Loong II Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) and the JF-17B dual-seat fighter earlier this year.
The raft of high-end, export-oriented aircraft highlighted the achievements of "Made in China" expertise, said a statement from the state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), China's leading aviation manufacturer and developer of the three aircraft models.
They were developed to meet China's strategic interests and the demand of the global market, especially from countries along the Belt and Road initiative, said AVIC.
Purpose-built
After more than six decades of efforts, China has created a comparatively complete aviation equipment manufacturing industry. Cost-effective products have also made China more active in the global arms market.
The Z-19E armed helicopter represents China's latest achievement in pursuing the military-civilian integration strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, said Zhang Jichao, chairman of AVIC Harbin Aircraft Industrial Group (HAIG), manufacturer of the Z-19E.
"Drawing on the best resources of state-owned and private enterprises, it is purpose-built for the global market," said Zhang.
One of China's first aviation exporters, HAIG has successfully marketed its Z-9 armed helicopter and Y-12 series small fixed-wing aircraft in the world market.
The Z-9 is China's most popular helicopter for export. To date, HAIG has exported 55 of them to 13 countries.
As China's leading helicopter manufacturer, HAIG has worked with clients to improve technologies and user functions, said Zhang.
"Now, we have the Z-19E, with significant capacities in environmental adaptation, maintainability and reliability. We are confident it will do well in the global market," said Zhang.
The narrow-body tandem-seat armed helicopter is also China' s first export-oriented helicopter made especially for attack.
Tailored products
"China's aviation products stand out in the global market with technology breakthroughs," said Li Shengwei, deputy chief designer of the Z-19E.
Value for money is another attraction. "We have comparative advantages in after-sales services," said Li.
Chinese-developed military aviation products are gaining in their global reputation.
The Wing-Loong II UAS successfully completed its maiden flight on Feb. 27.
With its integrated reconnaissance and strike capabilities, it won the biggest-ever export order for a Chinese UAS, even before its maiden flight.
Two months later, the JF-17B dual-seat fighter trainer made its maiden flight. And the aircraft for the maiden flight has already been ordered by Pakistan.
AVIC said it received export orders for the F-17B during its development stage, a sign of growing international confidence in China's aviation industry.
The JF-17B was targeted at the requirements of international customers and the global market.
China's aviation products still lag behind foreign peers in comprehensive competitive power and market share. "However, we have advantages in cost performance and trading modes," said Yang Ying, president of China National Aero-technology Import and Export Corporation.
"We have a better understanding of and adaptive solutions for our clients in developing countries. We can provide tailored products and after-sale services to them," Yang added.
"Alongside China's progress in the aviation industry and its global influence, Chinese aviation products are gaining a voice in the global market."
BERLIN - Combining German technology with Chinese efficiency, innovation is a keyword in Sino-German economic cooperation, say attendees at the Asia-Pacific Weeks (APW) event in Berlin.
The 12th APW, taking place from May 15 to 28, is a unique platform in Europe for interdisciplinary dialogue and cooperation between Asia and Europe.
The China Forum attracted more than 100 Chinese and German delegates from governments, enterprises, industry organizations and institutions to discuss innovation in the Sino-German economic and trade relationship.
Growing presence
Despite sluggish global growth, Sino-German cooperation remains strong and there are frequent high-ranking visits between the two sides, Zhang Junhui, minister of the Chinese embassy in Germany, said during the forum, adding that Chinese leaders are expected to visit Germany later this year.
Data show that the trade volume between the two countries reached 170 billion euros (about 190 billion U.S. dollars) last year and China surpassed the United States to become Germany's largest trading partner, Zhang said.
According to Zhang, there are currently some 8,200 German companies operating in China and over 2,000 Chinese companies in Germany.
According to Germany Trade and Invest (GTAI), a Berlin-based foreign trade and investment promotion agency, China invested in 281 projects last year in Germany, holding its position as the largest foreign direct investor nation in Germany for the third consecutive year.
"China has been the country with the largest number of investment projects in Germany for three consecutive years, which shows the trust of Chinese companies in Germany as an investment destination," said Benno Bunse, CEO of GTAI.
"Through investment in Germany, more and more Chinese enterprises are able to explore the international market and to enhance their own brands and technology," he added.
Best combination
China is one of the most important oversea markets for ALBA, said Zhang Pei, Berlin Representative ALBA China at ALBA Group, which focuses on waste disposal and resource regeneration.
She said during a discussion panel that German companies have good technology patents, but it would still be difficult for them to be successful when they go to China single-handedly.
The best way to success is to find a Chinese partner with an international perspective on the Chinese market, in order to adapt the German technology to actual practices in the Chinese market, she said.
Under the current situation, China urgently needs the world's leading solutions to solve its own problems related to urban waste. Meanwhile, German companies like ALBA also need broader markets after years of development in the German domestic market, according to Zhang.
"China's broad market and German technology is the best combination," she believed.
Zhang was echoed by Markus Gerlach, representative of German company CNP-Technology Water and Biosolids GmbH.
Gerlach told an audience that opportunities should be seized to deepen the cooperation between Sino-German enterprises in the field of water disposal.
The investment in water conservation infrastructure in China has bright prospects and the Chinese government is willing to invest in infrastructure and environmental protection to ensure the quality of economic development, Gerlach said.
China has developed a new type of ultrafast anti-missile interceptor capable of knocking down an incoming projectile that is flying 10 times faster than a bullet, according to the nation's largest missile maker.
China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp, one of the major defense contractors for the People's Liberation Army, recently revealed that its Second Academy in Beijing has made a "new-generation aerospace defense missile" that incorporates top space technologies, and which it describes as one of the cornerstones of a world power's strategic prowess.
The weapon is so difficult to design that only a handful of nations in the world are able to develop it, the State-owned company said, adding that its product is capable of bringing down targets tens of kilometers above the ground that fly 10 times faster than a bullet.
The CASIC Second Academy is the country's major developer of air defense systems.
The information of such a missile defense system, a cutting-edge weapon that only the United States and Russia were previously reported to have, was disclosed in an article released by CASIC earlier this month.
The article was about the contribution by control system researchers from the Zhang Yiqun Studio, a group named after a prominent scientist, at the academy.
Although the introduction did not specify the anti-missile interceptor's capabilities, experts said the descriptions "tens of kilometers" and "10 times faster than a bullet" indicate its range should be from 10 km to 100 km and its minimum velocity around 12,000 km/h a typical bullet used by a handgun, the slowest of all bullets, normally travels about 1,200 km/h.
The average age of the weapon's designers is 32, according to the article. They overcame numerous problems during research and development, including an explosion of one of the weapon's prototypes during a flight test, it said.
Wang Ya'nan, editor-in-chief of Aerospace Knowledge, said an advanced anti-missile interceptor requires cutting-edge technologies, superb manufacturing techniques and top materials and will only be successful after a great number of tests.
China successfully completed three land-based, midcourse missile interception tests in 2010, 2013 and 2014, according to the Defense Ministry. Whether the weapon mentioned by the CASIC Second Academy was the same used in these tests was not clear.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Foreign Minister Wang Yi during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday. WU ZHUANG/XINHUA
Beijing is ready to work with Moscow to prepare for high-level exchanges in the near future, as the two countries have always trusted and supported each other, no matter how the international situation changes, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.
Wang made the remark while meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday in the Russian capital.
As part of the good relationship between the two emerging markets, bilateral meetings of leaders have been frequent, including Putin's meeting with President Xi Jinping earlier this month during a trip to China to attend the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing.
Wang said Putin made an important contribution to the success of the forum.
Putin told Wang he expects that Xi could visit Russia at an early date, and the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination "is worthy of its name".
Beijing and Moscow have kept close contact on global issues. Their senior diplomats have met recently to discuss the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and the Syrian situation.
Wang said the two countries should also strengthen strategic cooperation on international affairs, firmly safeguard their strategic interests and jointly promote peaceful settlement of international and regional hot spot issues.
Putin said Russia and China should work closely together within multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the G20. He also said the two countries should strengthen international security cooperation, jointly tackle hot spot issues and maintain global strategic stability.
Regarding bilateral cooperation, Wang said both sides should act on the guidance of their respective leaders and push for new outcomes of bilateral cooperation on linking the Belt and Road Initiative with the Eurasian Economic Union.
Putin said the economic situation in Russia is improving, the departments of both governments should strengthen communication and consultation, and major cooperative projects should be implemented effectively.
Jiang Yi, an expert on Russian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the reinforced cooperation has laid a foundation for the lasting development of the bilateral partnership.
Progress in major projects will facilitate economic restructuring of both countries and boost their standing on the global stage, he said.
Chinese leaders' remarks on turning China into an agricultural powerhouse through science and innovations have greatly encouraged agricultural professionals and won widespread praise.
China is a big country with a rich and long history of agriculture, and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences has contributed greatly to the development of the sector, President Xi Jinping said in a letter of congratulations to the academy for its 60th anniversary on Friday.
"The key to modernizing agriculture lies in science and technology progress and innovation," he said.
The academy, China's leading agricultural institution, must adhere to China's needs and actual situation and accelerate innovation to become a world-class institution that can help transform China into an agricultural powerhouse, Xi said.
Premier Li Keqiang also said in a written instruction that the academy should speed up reform in production methods, as well as deepen institutional reforms in agricultural research to foster more scientific achievements and quality talent.
Li also urged scientists to improve Chinese agriculture's global competitiveness and to inject new energy into rural agriculture development to help farmers earn more money.
Agriculture Minister Han Changfu launched the CAAS Young Talent Program during the anniversary event. The program aims to create generations of young, talented and creative agricultural scientists, he said.
"The program not only boosts the academy's innovation capability, but also has great strategic importance in leading and supporting China's overall agricultural development," he said.
In the past six decades, the CAAS has generated more than 6,000 scientific achievements, and it has built the world's second-largest agricultural seed bank and the largest library on agricultural studies in Asia, said Tang Huajun, the academy's president.
From 2006 to 2016, the academy earned more than 2.2 billion yuan ($321 million) in revenue from scientific research alonedouble the amount from the previous 10 years, according to the academy's data book.
By the end of last year, the academy had established cooperation with institutions from 83 countries and 38 international organizations, and it participated in more than 1,700 overseas science projects.
China's population will reach its peak by 2030, and it will need to grow about 600 million metric tons of food per year, Tang said.
China's food security is also facing various challenges, from climate change to pollution, but "in the end, science and technology will be the primary solution", he added.
Xie Jinfang, vice-president of the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said it is encouraging to know that China's top leaders are thinking the same way.
"Both President Xi and Premier Li highlighted the importance of innovation in agriculture in their remarks. This renewed our confidence and pointed out the direction and future goals for us to tackle," he said.
Zhong Mingming, Party chief of the Hainan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said that to fully implement the instructions from the leaders, more structural reforms and incentives are necessary to unleash the full creative potential of scientists.
Thomas Lumpkin, a US researcher who has worked with the CAAS for more than 40 years, said more emphasis on tackling climate change would be welcome.
State security authorities in Hunan province have arrested Taiwan resident Lee Ming-che on suspicion of subversion, a mainland spokesman said on Friday.
An Fengshan, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said the arrest was approved by prosecutors, which is required by China's Criminal Procedure Law.
Probes by State security authorities show that Lee had frequently come to the Chinese mainland since 2012, and colluded with certain individuals in the mainland to make plans and establish illegal organizations aiming to subvert State power, An said.
On March 19, Lee was detained by State security authorities in the mainland. He confessed what he did to harm China's State security, and judicial authorities will handle the case in line with the law, An said. Lee had been reported missing while in Guangdong province in March, causing a stir in Taiwan.
The State Council Taiwan Affairs Office confirmed on March 29 that Lee had been detained on suspicion of harming national security. In April, the office also accused Taiwan of harming cross-Straits relations by playing up Lee's case.
Man sentenced to life in prison after four debt collectors attacked, one killed
A high court in Shandong province will rehear a high-profile controversial case on Saturday, in which a young man had been sentenced to life in jail for intentional injury.
Yu Huan, 22, was convicted on Feb 17 for stabbing four debt collectors who confronted him and his mother. One of the four later died.
Yu has appealed, and the Shandong High People's Court announced that the second trial will be publicly heard at 8:30 am on Saturday in courtroom No 22.
"More specifics about the trial will be posted via our micro blog," said Zheng Hongjun, the court's spokesman.
Yu, from Guanxian county of Liaocheng city in Shandong, said he and his mother Su Yinxia were confronted by debt collectors after they could not pay loans on April 14, 2016.
He claimed he stabbed the debt collectors with a knife because one of them insulted his mother by exposing himself to her.
The case quickly went viral on social media and aroused great sympathy from the public, with many saying Yu's penalty was too harsh and some criticizing how police officers handled the incident.
On March 26, the Supreme People's Procuratorate dispatched prosecutors to Shandong to oversee the case and investigate whether there was any dereliction of duty by police.
On Friday, the provincial prosecuting authority released a report saying that police involved in the case failed to control the scene effectively and failed to separate the debt collectors from Yu and his mother. But their behavior did not meet the standard for dereliction of duty.
Zhu Xiuming, 26, one of the police officers investigated, came to the scene with another two auxiliary officers after they received a call at around 10 pm on April 14, 2016, the report said.
"When Zhu arrived at the room where Yu and the debt collectors were, Zhu gave verbal warnings to the debt collectors," it said. "Considering that there were fewer police officers than debt collectors at the scene, Zhu left the room and called her police station to ask for more help."
However, Yu might have misunderstood that the police had left, so he lost control and stabbed the debt collectors, Chinese media reported.
On Friday, Guo Zengjin, deputy head of the police station, and the police officer Zhu were given a disciplinary warning by the Party and Zhu's administrative level was also lowered.
The Liaocheng public security bureau is also looking into accusations that Su, the mother, was illegally accessing public savings accounts, according to the bureau's official website.
The bureau is investigating claims that more than 50 residents provided savings to Su.
More than 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) is believed involved. The investigation is ongoing.
Related: Senior court official calls for more judicial fairness
Editor's note: In the run-up to the 19th Communist Party of China National Congress, China Daily sent six reporters to villages nationwide to live for a month and take a look at how people are working under China's poverty eradication plan.
Jin Xiuying verifies renovations to her house to qualify for a subsidy from the local government. ZHU LIXIN/CHINA DAILY
A group of village cadres paid a visit to Jin Xiuying last week to check on her new house.
Jin and her husband, a poverty-stricken couple from Guhe village in Anhui province's Linquan county, had lived in a mud-brick house for decades. But through a government subsidy they were able to hire some villagers to build a 60-square-meter house of brick, tile and cement.
"The previous house, which had a living room and bedroom, posed a safety risk," said Sun Fei, a Guhe village cadre.
A government subsidy of 500 yuan ($73) will be paid for each square meter, up to 30,000 yuan.
After completion of the new house, Jin, 73, will get 30,000 yuan from the government, after which, she said, "I will need to spend no more money."
When the village heads visited, the new doors had not been installed yet, and a bedsheet was pinned to the front door frame. Days later they were told that Jin's husband had died inside.
"The body was still in the house, that's why the bedsheet was there on the door frame," said Sun, who was also told that the husband, Fang Quanti, 78, was happy to see the new house in his last days.
The subsidy was part of a renovation program launched by the government, aiming to improve the living conditions of poverty-stricken families.
Among the village's 129 poverty-stricken households, 29 will benefit from the program this year.
"Twenty-five of the houses are under construction or have been completed, while construction of another four are yet to be started," said Li Zongyin, Party chief of Guhe.
Though it was welcomed by most of the poor villagers, there were a few bumps.
"Before getting the subsidy from the government, villagers have to cover the construction costs first," Li said. That was by designto ensure the people used the money to improve their residences, according to officials from Lyuzhai township, which administers Guhe.
As a result, almost all of the households borrow money from other people if they cannot find workers and suppliers who are willing provide labor and materials on credit.
"In such cases, we village heads should act as guarantors for the villagers," Li said.
He said the number of households included in the renovation program was submitted to the local government last year. "Some of the elderly villagers wanted to build new houses, but later didn't bother to follow through," said Li, adding that such people are often old or disabled. In such cases, the village officials should do everything they can for the households.
"We will finish the houses," he said.
Most of the rebuilt houses are made of brick and tile with triangular roofs. Such houses require almost no additional money from the villagers.
By contrast, other houses made of brick and concrete with flat roofs are a bit more costly. Though the structures are only one story, steel reinforcing bars can sometimes be seen sticking out of the concrete, so that another story may be added later, Li said.
"I will have enough money to build one more story onto the house in the future," said Li Yufu, a villager who will see completion of his new house soon.
Homes in the rural areas of Fuyang, Anhui province, can be deceptive.
About six months ago, I accompanied a foreign editor from China Daily's headquarters there to interview some children left behind when their parents migrated to cities for work. The editor wanted to see how such children, generally from poverty-stricken areas, had been doing.
On first sight, she didn't believe the places I brought her to had anything to do with poverty. Even after we drove for nearly two hours from the urban area, she still thought we were in the suburbs.
The problem lies in the rural residences. Large single family homes, often two to four stories tall, are everywhere in the villages. Many of the residences are bigger than 500 square meters.
Even in Guhe village, one of the poorest in Fuyang's Linquan countywhich has a population of more than 2.3 millionsuch residences are common.
I was told the houses were mostly built by migrant workers. A 500-square-meter, three-story house costs about 300,000 yuan ($43,700), excluding interior furnishings and decoration. Many villagers live in houses with a nice look on the outside but with unpainted interior walls.
I have talked to many villagers and found most of the big houses I randomly inquired about were acquired by draining all the family's savings, combined with money borrowed from relatives.
Fuyang has a population of more than 10 million people. Of those, nearly 3 million migrate to cities in other parts of the country for work. Only a fraction of them can afford an apartment in the cities where they work.
It seems they don't have many options for investing their money.
One of the homeowners told me his savings and the money he borrowed were still not enough to pay for his 510-square-meter house, which was still under construction. He had to buy the construction materials on credit.
I asked him: "Why do you want to build a house larger than necessary?"
He replied: "It will determine whether my children and grandchildren will live happily in the future."
A former senior official in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region was executed on Friday for murder.
Zhao Liping, former vice-chairman of the Inner Mongolia regional committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, was convicted of intentional homicide, taking bribes and possession of firearms, according to a statement from the Supreme People's Court.
Taiyuan Intermediate People's Court in Shanxi province sentenced Zhao to death for the homicide on Nov 11, 2016. He was executed on Friday after the death penalty was approved by the Supreme People's Court.
According to China's Criminal Procedure Law, any death penalty has to be submitted to the top court for final review.
Zhao was found guilty of having shot dead a 26-year-old woman, identified only by her surname, Li, in Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, on March 20, 2015, according to the verdict.
It said two guns and 49 bullets were found at the crime scene.
Zhao also took advantage of his post to secure business contracts and official positions for associates, and accepted bribes totaling 23.68 million yuan ($3.45 million) from 2008 to 2010, when he was the police chief of Inner Mongolia, the verdict said.
During the investigation, police located 91 detonators traced back to Zhao, which, together with the guns and bullets, constitute the crime of illegal possession of firearms and explosives.
Zhao committed crimes with serious consequences and vile social effects, according to the top court.
"The death penalty was given on the basis of clear facts and solid and sufficient evidence. In addition, all the procedures were pursuant to laws," the top court said in the statement. "Therefore, the court approved the death sentence that was decided by the Taiyuan Intermediate People's Court and upheld by the Shanxi High People's Court."
Zhao was allowed to see close family members before being executed on Friday, according to the statement.
The Chinese government launched on Friday a free database of poverty alleviation cases, aiming to share innovative and successful solutions from China and other developing countries and contribute to the global effort to reduce poverty.
The database, named the Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database, works as a portal for knowledge sharing among developing nations. It presents cases in a user-friendly way, while allowing users to upload their own cases, so as to create "a truly global poverty reduction database".
Guo Weimin, deputy director of the State Council Information Office, said at the 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum, where the database was released, that knowledge sharing is crucial to the global fight against poverty.
"There are still more than 700 million people living in poverty in the world today. Poverty reduction is a global strategy that calls for global action. Using information technology to enhance knowledge sharing is an important initiative to help reduce poverty and boost cooperation among developing nations." Guo said.
"We should make good use of the platform to collect new cases and good practices from across the world, and help developing countries find solutions to poverty," he added.
The database is part of the Global Poverty Reduction and Inclusive Growth Portal, an online platform for knowledge sharing initiated by the World Bank. Over 40 global think tanks and research institutions will contribute to the database.
Bert Hofman, World Bank director for China, Mongolia and the Republic of Korea, reviewed China's achievement in reducing poverty and acknowledged the value of the nation's approaches.
"China has achieved phenomenal success in reducing poverty, lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty between 1981 and 2015, the fastest rate of poverty reduction ever recorded in human history," Hofman said. "China's experience in poverty reduction can offer useful lessons to other developing countries."
Chen Zhigang, deputy director of the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, said China's progress in reducing poverty is made possible by a set of elements including the nation's strong leadership, comprehensive policies, targeted measures, increased investment and an incentive mechanism.
Vincent Martin, the Food and Agriculture Organization's representative in China and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, applauded the database's possible role in pushing forward the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
"Invaluable poverty reduction policies and know-how generated in China and elsewhere should be made available to the international community to help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals." Martin said. "In that regard, the launch of the online case database is a key step forward, and innovation should be embedded in the sharing of policies and best practices."
Artificial intelligence and big data technologies will provide strong support to China's efforts to upgrade manufacturing, according to the industrial regulator and technology tycoons.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will produce a white paper to promote the development of AI and its application in industries, a senior official said on the sideline of the Big Data Expo in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province. The conference runs through Sunday.
MIIT will ramp up efforts to integrate AI with the Made in China 2025 strategy, enhancing efficiency and sharpening the competitive edge of the country's manufacturing capability, said Li Guanyu, deputy director of the information and software service division at MIIT. He did not provide details.
As AI theoretical research and innovative applications blossom in China, the country hopes to leverage cutting-edge technology to help manufacturers restructure.
Terry Gou, founder and chairman of Foxconn Technology Group, said, "Though machines are not as flexible as human hands right now, totally automated factories are likely to become a reality when the industrial data pool becomes big enough," Gou said.
Foxconn, a contract manufacturer for Apple, employees 50,000 robots at assembly lines in five factories.
Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, said China has accumulated a huge amount of data, providing a sound foundation for the growth of AI.
"Without data, it is impossible for AI to make big leaps in voice and speech recognition. But more efforts are needed to train AI-savvy talent," Li said.
The total amount of data in China is growing at above 50 percent a year and it is forecast to account for 21 percent of global data by 2020, according to MIIT.
Hangzhou Robam Appliances, a kitchen appliance maker based in Zhejiang province, shows where things are heading. Its factory, powered by industrial robots, big data and the internet of things - devices connected by the internet - cost 750 million yuan ($109 million) but saves 35 million yuan annually in labor and improves productivity by 30 percent, said Wang Gang, vice-president of the company.
Xinhua contributed to this story.
BEIJING -- Reform, undoubtedly, is the major agenda of the Communist Party of China (CPC). Chinese President Xi Jinping has presided over all 35 meetings of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform over the past three years.
From those meetings, the reform methodology of Xi, who heads the leading group, can be summarized.
PILOT PROJECTS
At the 35th meeting of the leading group on Tuesday, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, reiterated the importance of pilot projects in generating experiences.
Pilot projects should be used as a tool for stress testing in revealing conflicts and problems, said Xi.
In previous meetings, pilot projects had been identified as the "scouts" for reforms, which are expected to help the authorities understand various situations.
With system innovation as the central task, dozens of pilot projects in various sectors and regions have been implemented in the past three years.
FOCUS ON PEOPLE
Xi told the 10th meeting of the leading group that concrete reforms were needed for people to have a stronger sense of benefit.
Reforms should focus on what people really care about, said Xi in the 11th meeting, in April 2015.
The leading group has urged local authorities to actively explore and carry out pilot reform programs in areas that are of vital interest to the people, such as education, employment, medical care, social management, innovation and entrepreneurship.
Authorities have also been mobilized to learn about appeals of the people and to respect grassroots practices.
IMPLEMENTATION
As new reforms roll out, Xi and the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform are paying great attention to their implementation.
At the first meeting of the leading group in January 2014, Xi said the responsibility of the leading group was to implement the CPC's key reforms.
At the group's 15th meeting, in 2015, Xi called for the setting of accurate targets and concrete implementation of reforms.
During the group's 35 meetings, "implementation" has been one of the most frequently used keywords.
Xi last month stressed that all departments and localities should attach greater importance to delivering reforms and examining the reform's effects.
The group called for timely corrections to problems uncovered during supervision, saying that those found making insufficient effort should be called to account.
Leading departments and local authorities should regularly track reform implementation and report the effects, it said.
KEY ROLE OF THE "KEY FEW"
On multiple occasions, Xi and members of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform stressed the key roles of the Party and governmental leading officials, also known as the "key few," in pushing forward reform.
At the group's 32nd meeting in February, group members noted that leading officials should promptly take the lead in advancing, delivering and implementing reform decisions by the CPC Central Committee.
A month later at the next meeting, several senior officials reported on the progress made in reforms in various fields, including environmental protection, the judicial system, poverty relief, rural affairs, the Shanghai FTZ, and state-owned enterprises.
COURAGE, COMMITMENT AND RULE OF LAW
"Reform is a revolution that aims to rectify the system and challenge vested interests. There is no way to do it other than using real swords and spears," said a statement after a meeting of the Central Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform last June.
Xi and the group members believe "reform will cause pain, but without reform the pain will be longer-lasting."
To advance the reforms, courage, commitment and perseverance are of great importance.
"Central departments responsible for policymaking and implementation, should have more confidence and composure in the face of difficulty and should unwaveringly push forward reform schemes," Xi said.
The group also required leading officials to be bold in making decisions if a reform is in line with the CPC Central Committee's requirement, the grassroots reality and the people's needs.
Moreover, Xi and the leading group have stressed the rule of law in reforms.
"Rule of law" must be followed and highlighted through the whole reform process and any major reforms must be legally grounded, Xi said at a meeting of the leading group in February 2014.
At another meeting, he said rational and logical legislation was important in the interplay between reform and rule of law.
BEIJING -- China's top legislature will hold a symposium Saturday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
The symposium will be held at the Great Hall of the People, the general office of the National People's Congress Standing Committee said Friday.
Communist Party of China and state leaders, central government officials, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, among others, will attend the event.
The symposium is held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland.
President Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolence to his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after Friday's terrorist attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt's southern province of Minya, which killed at least 28 people.
President Xi condemned the violence, saying China opposes all forms of terrorism. Beijing supports Egypt's anti-terrorism efforts to safeguard security and stability, he said.
Premier Li Keqiang also extended his condolences to Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, those injured in the attack and the families of victims.
Friday's attack saw gunmen attack a group of Coptic Christians traveling by bus to a monastery. Many of the 28 fatalities were children. Over 20 others were wounded.
Residents can have a bigger say in the development of more people-friendly cities in a UN smart city program in Guiyang, Guizhou province.
The United Nations Development Programme launched the Smart Cities and Social Governance: Guide to Participatory Indicator Development report on May 26, outlining how citizens can get involved in shaping the city.
"This project shows how community voices can be included in public decision-making while community goals can be tracked and progress assessed using high-tech platforms," Patrick Haverman, deputy country director of UNDP China, said.
Conducted in the Bihai and Huizhan neighborhoods in Guiyang, the project engaged community stakeholders to develop a set of social governance indicators to measure the local government's progress and increase transparency.
The indicators include housing affordability, transport availability, healthcare accessibility, and environment quality. Each community will be evaluated based on the indicators, providing local government possible suggestions on future improvement.
Different from "digital city" or "intelligent city", the concept of a smart city is that it must be oriented towards meeting human needs, collecting and sharing information with high-tech support and human interaction, and creating inclusive and livable cities as a result.
UND Senior Advisor Samantha Anderson said that building a smart city needs the support and effort from top to bottom, as well as, from bottom to top at the same time.
She explained that support from the top would promote the implementation of the policy. While, the information provided by the bottom could point decision-makers in the right direction.
In Guiyang, indicators set by 850 communities are being tracked and available online for public access.
"We have piloted a participatory methodology in Guiyang," said Haverman. "We hope it can be replicated in other neighborhoods and cities in China."
BEIJING -- Top legislator Zhang Dejiang has called for more efforts in raising public awareness of the policy of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to correct deliberate misinterpretation of the Basic Law.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks at a high-ranking symposium Saturday morning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the HKSAR Basic Law.
Noting that some people have developed misunderstanding of the policy of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law, Zhang called for unwavering confidence.
We should resolutely oppose statements and deeds that distort, challenge or even violate the Basic Law to uphold its unshakable authority, said Zhang.
Zhang also called for special attention on strengthening education of the young people in Hong Kong about China's national conditions and the rule of law to instill in them a strong sense of national identity, of being Chinese and the rule of law.
China's Minister of Environmental Protection Chen Jining was appointed acting mayor of Beijing Saturday.
The appointment was made at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress.
The meeting also accepted the resignation of Cai Qi as mayor of Beijing.
Cai was appointed to the post of the secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the CPC Central Committee announced on May 27.
Chen, 53, is an environmental scientist by training. He received his Ph.D degree from Imperial College London, where he worked as a research associate before returning to teach at his alma mater Tsinghua University in 1998.
Chen climbed the career ladder at Tsinghua, where he became president before being appointed to head the Ministry of Environmental Protection in 2015.
A New York reproduction health company opened a center in Beijing Saturday to help serve the growing number of infertile couples in China.
Global Fertility & Genetics of New York, built in 2014, opened its China headquarters at OASIS International Hospital.
The center will set up a pregnancy preparation department with Ciming Health Checkup Management Croup Co Ltd and OASIS, an international high-end general hospital, to establish international industry standards in fertility treatment in China.
Statistics show that the rate of infertility among people of reproductive age has climbed to 10 percent in recent years, so more and more Chinese families need assisted reproductive technology.
Since the United States' fertility technology is the most advanced in the world, setting up a pregnancy preparation department will make it possible for Chinese to access the services of an American expert and international technology without going aboard, said Annie Liu, co-founder and CEO of Global Fertility & Genetics of New York.
"At present, there are about 50 million infertile families in China, and more than 50,000 visitors go to the US to make test-tube babies each year," she said.
The move will allow people who have difficulty conceiving to get the medical help they need to do so in China.
"Although China's technologies in the industry are developing very fast, the service level has yet to be improved. There are many factors influencing pregnancy, and the department will give customers necessary instructions from the preparation period, increasing the chances of success," said Hu Bo, chairman of Ciming, a leading Chinese healthcare company.
Ciming has invested in Global Fertility & Genetics of New York. The reproductive endocrinology and infertility center specializes in customized fertility treatment.
"We plan to make Global Fertility & Genetics into a chain in the US, occupying the US market, for most of the assisted reproduction centers are a single unit. In the future, we will lay out the industry in the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, serving infertility patients in China and around the world," said Han Xiaohong, Ciming president.
BEIJING -- China honored a number of scientists and scientific groups Saturday ahead of the nation's first science and technology workers' day, which will fall on May 30.
Liu Yunshan, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, congratulated the award-winners and greeted some of the country's science and technology staff at a ceremony.
Ten groups, including the Daya Bay Reactor Neutrino Experiment team, and 28 people were given the "scientific innovation and advancement award."
The 28, including military researcher Wang Guozhong, were given badges, while another 254 people, including cancer treatment researcher Ding Lieming, were given certificates.
The award will be given once every three years.
In his speech, Liu said the CPC Central Committee highly valued scientific innovation and had led China to move towards becoming a world-leading science power.
"Science and technology workers should push supply-side structural reform, focus on the nation's major strategies and projects, and realize the deep integration of scientific innovation and social and economic development," Liu said.
Liu said they should be bold and challenge the most cutting-edge scientific subjects, striving to "put forward more original theories, make more original discoveries and make more scientific achievements that lead the world."
He asked them to follow the example of late Chinese geophysicist Huang Danian, learning from his dedication to science and the country.
Liu also asked Party and government authorities to pay more attention to scientific innovation, and to train and promote more talented people in the field.
"Scientific associations in China should also make efforts to create a sound social environment where people admire sciences and respect innovation" he said.
Zhang Haiyu, a 28-year-old actor who has quickly risen to fame as one of the freshest rising stars on screen.[Photo by Feng Yongbin/China Daily]
TV comic turns out to be full of surprises when you sit down for a real-life chat
Do you know Xue Buhui? The 28-year-old single woman has different occupations, such as flight attendant, a waitress of a hot pot restaurant, a taxi driver and an intern doctor. She wears a fringed chin-length bob haircut and chronically discombobulated in her way of solving problems. Like her name indicates, she never learns to do the right thing.
You may have met her through a variety show, Tonight Parliaments, which was hosted by Jin Xing, one of the country's most popular TV hostess and aired by Shanghai Dragon TV from September to December of 2016. If so, you will never forget her.
In each show broadcast on weekends, the woman appears in an eight-minute comic sketch and the character was vividly brought to life by a 28-year-old actor, Zhang Haiyu, a man, who has quickly risen to fame as one of the freshest rising stars on screen.
In person, he's a quiet, soft-spoken and serious young man, very unlike his screen images.
He is sensitive as an actor but he says that he has no big ambition.
Since Tonight Parliaments, Zhang says, he has received lots of invitations from TV stations, film and TV series producers. But he turned most of them down.
"It's not about money and I am not afraid of being forgotten in this fast-paced industry. I have my own tempo and I want to take it slow," Zhang says.
In fact, he is busy lately because he has just released a rap piece, called The Song of Belt and Road Initiative, his first song, which was a collaboration with People's Daily on the occasion of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing this month.
Also, Zhang has the lead role - a car washer named Shi Feilou, working in Thailand - in the fifth season of the popular internet comic drama Two Idiots, now being broadcast by China's online video giant iQiyi. Besides promotions for the internet drama, he is also preparing for a movie project, about which no details have been revealed yet.
"For audiences, it's an overnight thing. But for me, it's a long process," says Zhang, sitting in a gallery located in outskirt of Beijing, recalling his "instant" success with on Tonight Parliaments.
This is not a complaint. For one thing, he doesn't consider the wait for success to be painful. For another, what he has achieved is just the beginning.
Inspectors from government agencies ask about mooncake sales at a supermarket in Yongtai county, Fujian province, Sept 16. Local disciplinary watchdogs and other authorities launched the joint crackdown on government officials and carders who use public funds to buy mooncakes. [Photo/Xinhua]
The ongoing anti-corruption campaign, intensified after 2012, is aimed at deterring officials from using their power to make illicit gains, and the anti-corruption rules prohibit officials from using public funds to buy personal comforts.
But the rules have unwittingly deprived many grassroots civil servants, and employees of public institutions and State-owned enterprises of some benefits which they otherwise deserve, because some officials have exercised excessive caution in their implementation for fear of being accused of wasting public funds.
Mooncakes during Mid-Autumn Festival, zongzi, or glutinous rice dumplings during Dragon Boat Festival and tangyuan, or sweet rice dumplings during Lantern Festival, are traditional presents that cost little but carry deep cultural meaning. Yet they have disappeared from official procurement lists.
Perhaps some officials believe the less money they spend, the less likely they will be investigated for abuse of power.
The central authorities, responding to public complaints, said in a notice in July 2014 that employees should not be denied their regular festival welfare. The notice also listed the types of gifts and the amount of money an employee can get during different festivals.
But some departmental heads and senior officials still ignore the notice. They should realize that, as long as they follow the central authorities' rules and the instructions on festival welfare, they cannot be accused of misconduct. Instead, festival greetings and gifts can strengthen cohesion in their departments and instill in the staff members a sense of belonging.
A large number of officials at various levels have been sacked or investigated for graft over the past five years. Yet none of them have been charged for distributing regular festival gifts among employees.
It is time the discipline authorities treated the denial of regular festival gifts to grassroots civil servants and employees of public institutions and SOEs as a form of misuse of power by some officials.
Giving some traditional gifts to employees during festivals has been a tradition in China. And since Chinese festivals face increasing challenges from Western festivals, it is all the more necessary to promote our traditions. The symbolic meaning of gifts is worth a lot more than their costs, as they convey love and create a bond between the giver and receiver.
Some people have come to believe that it is the anti-corruption drive, not some officials' cynical approach to the rules, that has robbed them of their regular festival welfare. The central authorities need to take measures to clear such misunderstandings because the ultimate goal of the anti-corruption campaign is to better serve the people.
Grassroots civil servants and employees of public institutions, in many cases, lack the means to protect their rights and interests. For instance, few, if any, would bother to report to the labor department or discipline watchdogs that they have been deprived of minor benefits for fear of offending their superiors. And if the higher authorities don't take measures to correct the situation, some officials might take it for granted that they have the power to deny the employees the small gifts they deserve during festivals.
Therefore, the discipline authorities need to make sure the implementation of anti-corruption rules does not cause accidental harm to ordinary people.
The author is a writer with China Daily.
Splashing water may become a new mahjong strategy as it distract competitors -- some Chongqing residents play mahjong at a water park to have fun while cooling off, July 8, 2014.[Photo/Chinanews]
When does playing mahjong become gambling? Police in Wuhan, Hubei province, have an answer.
Wuhan police say relatives playing mahjong, no matter how high the stakes are, does not qualify as gambling. Similarly, if fewer than 10 people not related to each other play mahjong and if the average individual stake is less than 1,000 yuan ($145), it cannot be deemed gambling. Other than these, all other mahjong games will be considered gambling and the players will be duly punished.
Police officers dealing with gambling cases always cause controversy, because many people think they use weird rules to differentiate between recreation and gambling when it comes to playing mahjong.
In their judicial interpretation of the Criminal Law, the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate have laid emphasis on the relationship among the participants and the amount of stakes, which means gambling is not necessarily a criminal act on the Chinese mainland. The Wuhan police's explanation is based on this interpretation.
But gamblers and those people running gambling rackets could be imprisoned for up to three years. Most of the gamblers caught by police, however, are fined up to 3,000 yuan each and detained for 10 to 15 days.
Some form of gambling, be they bets between individuals or organized lotteries, exists in every society. That is why many countries have not banned gambling activities in general, and only prohibited commercial gambling.
On the other hand, some countries regard commercial gambling as a special industry that needs special administrative approvals and has to pay special taxes. But even these countries know people's gambling activities have to be regulated and the gambling industry supervised in a way that it can contribute to economic growth.
The Chinese government is not against gambling as long as it is for public benefit. For example, it allows the lottery industry to operate, in a bid to raise public welfare funds. So the law enforcement agencies need to emphasize that commercial gambling will be considered illegal if it is solely aimed at making profits, and if playing games or laying bets are not profit-oriented, the law enforcers will not intervene.
The question then is, how to tell the difference between commercial and non-commercial gambling, and when can commercial gambling be deemed illegal.
First, the law enforcers should determine whether the purpose of gambling is only to make money. If yes, it is illegal.
Second, if a large number of people gather to gamble and their common purpose is to just make money, their activity should be deemed illegal.
Third, if people make gambling and betting a means of livelihood, their behavior should be regarded as illegal.
And fourth, if those organizing an activity intentionally create an environment for many people to lay bets in any form, their act should be considered illegal.
So long as a gambling activity's aim is solely to make money, the law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities should not consider how much stake was involved to deem it illegal. In other words, the law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities can save a lot of time and energy if they focus on the purpose of gambling activities.
And playing mahjong or any other game with friends and/or relatives for recreation should not be considered illegal.
The author is a professor of law at Wuhan-based Zhongnan University of Economics and Law.
Premier Li Keqiang greets Federica Mogherini, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, before their meeting at the Zhongnanhai leadership compound in Beijing on April 18. Feng Yongbin / China Daily
Premier Li Keqiang will visit Germany and Belgium for the annual EU-China leaders' meeting from May 30 to June 2. It has been a hectic period of diplomatic activity for the European Union. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump visited the EU headquarters in Brussels and over the weekend EU leaders will take part in the G7 summit in Italy.
As Li will have experienced in his talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the EU is in a more confident mood than six months ago. The defeat of populist leaders in the French and Dutch elections, and the expected victory of Merkel in the German elections in September have changed the political outlook in the EU.
Brexit remains a problem but no other EU member state is talking about leaving the bloc. On the contrary, Brexit and Trump's election as US president seem to have brought the remaining 27 EU member states closer. And while Merkel and newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to agree policies later this year to deepen the integration process, the EU economy is recovering faster with growth expected to reach 1.5 percent this year.
Another byproduct of the changed international environment is a closer alignment between the EU and China on many issues. When senior officials from both sides recently reviewed progress toward the EU-China agenda 2030, there was a remarkable degree of progress to report.
Brussels and Beijing have emerged as the two most important defenders of the multilateral system, especially on free trade and the Paris climate agreement. At their meeting, EU and Chinese leaders will discuss how to deepen cooperation in the run-up to the G20 meeting in Germany in July. This will also be a major theme of the Li-Merkel talks in Germany.
The EU also looks forward to working with China on a growing Asia-Europe Meeting agenda.
On trade and investment there is a large measure of agreement but also some problem areas. But both sides are committed to concluding the negotiations on a bilateral investment treaty as soon as possible.
The EU remains supportive of the Belt and Road Initiative and will look to develop new projects through the connectivity platform. But as European Commission Vice-President Jyrki Katainen said in Beijing recently, EU support will depend on the initiative meeting the highest international standards in transparency, procurement and social and environmental sustainability.
The problem areas relate to market economy status for China and market access for EU enterprises in China. China believes the EU should recognize it as a market economy automatically as it was enshrined in its World Trade Organization accession protocol. And the EU argues China is still not a market economy as much of its industry and most banks are under State control.
Besides, Brussels is preparing new trade defense legislation which it claims is not targeted against any country.
And while Brussels complains that China does not offer a level playing field and that EU companies face unfair discrimination in trying to enter the Chinese market, Beijing points to the large profits European companies make in China. But these are unlikely to derail a meeting which seems destined to further boost EU-China relations.
The author is the director of the EU-Asia Centre in Brussels.
A worker at a steel company in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, in Jan 2015. [Photo/China Daily]
Moody's Investors Service has lowered China's sovereign credit rating from Aa3 to A1, and upgraded the country's outlook from "negative" to "stable". But the changes will not have as much impact on China as on other emerging markets that heavily rely on foreign debt for financing.
The international rating agency has erred on three fronts. First, Moody's has overestimated China's reliance on stimulating policies to stabilize its growth, and underestimated the country's resolve to restructure its economy.
The credit rating agency predicts that China will continue to implement stimulating policies to maintain its economic growth, which will aggravate the overall debt pressure. But the fact is, China has been making efforts to transform its economic development model and promote innovation to maintain steady growth. The fast rise of emerging industries and the economic data for this year show Moody's prediction is not based on facts.
Second, Moody's has overrated the Chinese government's liability level and faulted on the government debt stability.
Moody's analysis includes the unpaid debts and contingent debts of local governments' financing companies and other agencies such as State-owned enterprises in the central government debt. This method does not conform to the Guarantee Law or Budget Law of China, according to which the above mentioned agencies' debts are not part of the central government debt. The central government's assumed obligation to these agencies' debts is limited by its amount of contribution.
Therefore, even if some SOEs are unable to repay their debts, they can be reorganized. Such measures are necessary for the stability of the economy and the progress of the market. And the debts of SOEs cannot directly influence the government's fiscal and liability conditions.
In fact, the Chinese government made it clear way back in the late 1990s that it would not shoulder the responsibility of repaying non-sovereign debt of the bankrupt Guangdong International Trust Investment Corporation. Thanks to China's laws, more than 130 international creditors of the company and the entire international financial market knew at that time that the Chinese government cannot be made to pay SOEs' liabilities. Nearly 20 years on, Moody's forgot the case and China's laws.
Third, Moody's applies one set of standards to China and another to Western economies.
Although Moody's has admitted that the Chinese government's liability level is not rare among the "high-ranking" economies, it has also asserted that Western countries have higher per capita income, and more developed financial markets and institutions than China, which can help them improve their ability to repay their debts and lower the risks of spreading the shocks, if any.
The logic seems flawed. How many years passed between the subprime crisis and the sovereign debt crisis? And didn't the subprime crisis originate in the United States and the sovereign debt crisis in some European Union member states, which Moody's says are more capable than China of repaying their debts?
International rating agencies such as Moody's have often erred in their analyses because they rely on their subjective "institutional factors" and lack foresight.
The market need not overreact to the Moody's downgrading of China's rating, not least because 95 percent of China's liability is internal debt and Chinese households' savings rate is still about 50 percent. And given that China's foreign exchange reserve is more than $3 trillion, the government has huge amounts of liquid assets. As such, China's debt will not evolve into a debt crisis.
Moody's lowering of China's rating cannot be compared with the downgrading of ratings of other emerging economies that rely on foreign debt for financing. So there is no need to fuss over Moody's report.
The author is a researcher in trade with the Ministry of Commerce.
[Cai Meng/China Daily]
This is the age not only of the internet but of video, when it seems that many of those who produce online content feel their messages have little chance of being clicked on, and thus seen and heard, unless they are delivered as moving pictures.
But beyond watching videos, listening to podcasts or simply reading text, the internet offers at least one other way in which one can learn, and that is getting in touch directly with experts in various fields.
Of course, you will have to pay for that help, but in many cases you may consider it money well spent.
Have you ever dreamed of owning a cafe but have little clue about where to start? Join the club. So I booked a consultation of an hour for 199 yuan ($29) with Liu Yinqi on the app Zaihang.
Liu is an angel investor and the vice president of a startup incubator called Guo'an Maker in Beijing.
He was also the manager of 3W cafe, which Premier Li Keqiang visited in 2015.
"To form a community is the key to a successful themed cafe," Liu says when we meet in his office.
3W cafe became well known by marketing itself as a place in Beijing to hang out for the technically switched on.
"People go to cafes to meet and talk with others, not to drink coffee," Liu tells me. "Coffee is just a byproduct."
Tourists ride on scooters along the Erhai Lake. [Photo by Chen Liang/provided to China Daily]
Hundreds of restaurants and guesthouses around the Erhai Lake, a popular tourist spot in Yunnan province's Dali Bai autonomous prefecture have been asked to suspend business to protect the environment.
The food businesses around the lake, about 90 percent of which operated illegally, have been the main source of pollution in the lake.
The burst of blue-green algae in the lake in January, a sign of eutrophication, is cause for alarm, and if the authorities don't pay enough attention to the negative influence of tourism-related industries in the area, the lake will become a smelly pool, as it was about 20 years ago, when industrial waste and overuse of pesticides caused serious pollution.
CAIRO - Gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians south of the Egyptian capital on Friday, killing 26 people and wounding 25, health ministry said.
Some ten unknown gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles, intercepted the victims' two buses, on the way to St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, about 220 kilometers south of Cairo, and opened fire randomly, a security source told Xinhua.
The attackers dressed in security uniform, said eyewitnesses.
"It was a religious trip," Xinhua reporter quoted a security source at the scene as saying.
Security checkpoints have been deployed after the incident and a manhunt operation has started, said the interior ministry.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi convened a security meeting to discuss the consequences of the shooting attack, a presidential press office said.
No group yet claimed responsibility for attack.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Those attacks were claimed by Islamic State (IS).
In an IS video released on May 19, the group renewed its pledges for targeting non-Muslims anywhere.
"The attack targets stability of Egypt," said Ahmad Al Tayyeb, sheikh Al-Azhar, the Sunni seat in Egypt, asking the Egyptians to unit to face the heinous terrorism.
Leaders of Saudi, UAE and Palestine condemned the attack strongly, saying they stand beside Egypt's people and government in combating terrorism.
MANCHESTER, England - Police said they have resumed sharing intelligence about the Manchester bombing with US counterparts.
The United Kingdom had halted the exchange of information after details of the Manchester investigation, including forensic crime-scene photos, appeared in US media. The disclosure infuriated British officials, and Prime Minister Theresa May brought up the leaks with President Donald Trump at the NATO summit on Thursday.
Mark Rowley is Britain's top counterterrorism officer and announced the resumption of intelligence-sharing late on Thursday.
Rowley says that "having received fresh assurances, we are now working closely with our key partners around the world including all those in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance".
The Five Eyes is an intelligence-sharing group that includes the United States, the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Police arrested a man on Friday in the Manchester suburb of Moss Side, the tenth person to be taken into custody in connection with Monday night's attack.
Eight men are in custody now after a man and a woman were released without charge, Greater Manchester police said.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull warned on Friday that counterterror organizations must realize that children and places of mass gathering are becoming the target for modern terrorists.
In the fallout to the "despicable" attack, which left at least 22 people dead and 59 others injured, Turnbull said he had met with his counterterror coordinator and the federal police commissioner so counterterror bodies become more "alert" and "agile" in response to potential terror risks.
Speaking to Macquarie Radio, he said schools, sporting events and concerts were no longer off limits for terrorists, and that Australia's security organizations would review their processes to ensure Australians remain safe.
"We should not underestimate the length to which these killers will go," Turnbull said.
"They are utterly without any moral compass at all. These are the most cruel, cynical and cowardly killers. They are despicable and reprehensible."
Xinhua - Ap - Reuters
From right to left: US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and European Council President Donald Tusk arrive for a photocall at the G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy, on Friday.Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
Leaders braced for 'challenging' talks as Trump factor looms large
TAORMINA, Italy - A two-day summit of leaders from the G7 industrialized nations kicked off on Friday in the Italian town of Taormina.
The summit started with a ceremony at an ancient Greek theater perched on a cliff overlooking the sea where war ships patrolled the sparkling blue waters.
The heads of state from the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States, plus the EU were expected to talk about a common response to international terrorism.
The topic was pushed to the top of the agenda after a suicide bomber claimed at least 22 lives and wounded dozens in the British city of Manchester on Monday.
G7 host Italy was expected to table the issues of migration and the need for investments in Africa as one way to reverse the exodus of people fleeing war and destitution.
In terms of long-term policies, G7 leaders were also expected to talk about sustainable growth and development.
According to local media, US President Donald Trump, who attended his first G7 summit, was the unknown quantity due to his protectionist views on trade, his outspoken stance against immigration, and his avowed intention to invest in fossil fuels, thus rolling back the clock on climate change.
"No doubt, this will be the most challenging G7 summit in years," European Council President Donald Tusk said before the meeting.
The meeting was scheduled to end on Saturday, with leaders expected to come up with some kind of joint statement. It remains to be seen whether they will find consensus.
Taormina is in lockdown since Monday, and tough security measures and restrictions will remain in force until after the summit closure, with about 9,000 police and military officers deployed in the area.
It was the final leg of a nine-day tour for Trump which started in the Middle East.
On Thursday in Brussels, with NATO leaders standing alongside him, he accused members of the alliance of owing "massive amounts of money" to the US and NATO - even though allied contributions are voluntary.
Trump, who has often complained back home about other nations' NATO support, lectured the other leaders in person this time, declaring: "Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years."
Fellow leaders occasionally exchanged awkward looks with each other during the lecture. When Trump tried to lighten the mood with a joke about NATO's gleaming new home base, saying "I never asked once what the new NATO Headquarters cost", there was no laughter from his counterparts.
Xinhua - Reuters - Ap
SEOUL - The Republic of Korea on Friday approved the first civilian contact with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea under the new government of President Moon Jae-in, indicating a gradual resumption of inter-Korean exchanges.
Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Yoo-jin said the government gave a green light to the request by civic group Korean Sharing Movement for contact with the DPRK to tackle malaria in border areas.
It was the first such approval by the ROK government since the DPRK conducted its fourth nuclear test last year.
Lee reiterated the new government's position that Seoul will flexibly review civilian exchanges such as a humanitarian aid within the limits of undamaging the international sanctions on the DPRK while sternly dealing with any DPRK provocations.
Earlier this month, the Korean Sharing Movement requested a contact with Pyongyang to discuss the humanitarian assistance to the DPRK people. If discussions go smoothly, the civic group's visit to Pyongyang could be pushed in early June.
Lee said that if any request for its visit to the DPRK and the supply of relief goods is made, the ministry would decide on it due to the inter-Korean relations and the security of the visitors.
About 20 requests for contact with or visit to the DPRK have been made by ROK civic groups, media said.
Xinhua
An armored personnel carrier moves among vehicles of residents fleeing Marawi, Philippines, on Thursday.Ted Aljibe / Agence Francepresse
DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Indonesians and Malaysians were among foreign extremists fighting the army in Mindanao Island, the government said on Friday, in a rare admission that outsiders were collaborating with domestic militant groups.
Malaysians and Indonesians were among six killed on Thursday in battles that have raged for three days in Marawi City, where the army has been trying to flush out rebels of the Islamic State group-linked Maute group.
The Philippines has deployed attack helicopters and special forces to drive gunmen out of the besieged southern city of 200,000 people, with 11 soldiers and 31 militants killed.
"Before it was just a local terrorist group. But now they have subscribed to the ideology of IS," Solicitor General Jose Calida said.
"They want to make Mindanao part of the caliphate."
President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday delivered on his long-standing threat to impose martial law on Mindanao, the country's second-largest island, to stop the spread of extremism.
He recently warned that IS group was determined to establish a presence in the southern Philippines.
Calida said the Maute group and the IS group wanted to create an "IS province" in Mindanao and the government was not the only target of their aggression.
"People they consider as infidels, whether Christians or Muslims, are also targets of opportunity," he said.
"What it worrisome is that the IS has radicalized a number of Filipino Muslim youth."
His admission elevates the treat of what experts says are moves by the IS to exploit the poverty and lawlessness of the southern Philippines to establish a base for extremists from Southeast Asia and beyond.
Abu Sayyaf is notorious for piracy and kidnappings and beheading captives, among them Westerners.
The Maute is a little-known group that has been a tricky foe for the military, and was blamed for a bombing in Davao in September, which killed 14 people.
Reuters - Xinhua
Jared Kushner, White House advisor
WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is willing to cooperate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, his attorney said.
The statement from attorney Jamie Gorelick was issued on Thursday amid reports that the FBI was investigating meetings Kushner had in December with Russian officials.
"Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House oversight committee asked the FBI to turn over more documents about former director James Comey's interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration.
The FBI and the oversight committee as well as several other congressional panels are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump fired Comey on May 9 amid questions about the FBI's investigation, which is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.
NBC News and The Washington Post first reported that the FBI's ongoing investigation includes a look at Kushner, which would place the probe inside the White House.
Kushner, a key White House adviser, had meetings late last year with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov.
The Post story cited anonymous "people familiar with the investigation", who said the FBI investigation does not mean that Kushner is suspected of a crime.
Ap - Xinhua
BUWAIDER, Syria - Perched on his chestnut steed Shams, teenager Munzer triumphantly held up his first place trophy at a rare horse race staged in an opposition-held area of Syria.
Dozens of men and young children, their faces enveloped in red checkered kaffiyehs, looked on as about 20 horses raced each other in the northern Syrian desert this month.
The spectators broke out into a lively line-dance and shot celebratory gunfire into the air as each muscled creature blasted past the finish line, kicking up clouds of golden sand.
Munzer Jahjah, only 14, was one of the youngest jockeys in the race outside the village of Buwaider, in Aleppo province.
"This is the first time I'm participating in a horse race, and I won first place!" said Munzer, affectionately patting Shams, whose name means "sun" in Arabic.
His jet-black hair fell into his eyes, and instead of riding boots he wore a pair of sandals.
Forgoing the traditional saddle, Munzer had hung a colorful rug over the 6-year-old mare - an Arabian purebred.
Arabians are one of the oldest horse breeds in the world, known widely to be friendly, strong and excellent racers.
The horses are thought to originate from the Arabian Peninsula, but it was Bedouin tribes in the northern Syrian desert who became famous for maintaining their pure pedigree.
In 2010, Syria had nearly 750 breeding Arabian horses, according to the World Arabian Horse Organization, which aims to preserve Arabian purebreds around the globe.
But there have been no new WAHO reports on Syria's Arabian horses since 2011, when the country's devastating conflict broke out.
Since then, more than 320,000 people have been killed and half the country's population displaced.
War horses
The war has also taken a toll on Syria's Arabian horses, many of which have been killed or wounded in fighting.
In line with Islamic tradition and laws across the region, betting is not allowed at the horse races, which are split into two rounds: the first for purebreds, and the second for hybrids.
The hybrid round was won by the stallion Buraaq - whose Arabic name translates to "Shining" - and his grinning 34-year-old jockey Ramadan al-Issa.
"This is the third time I've won first place. I can't describe how happy I am," said Issa, who hails from neighboring Idlib province.
Mustapha, 33, traveled from Idlib to cheer on Buraaq, his favorite horse.
"Before the war, we would go to races each year. But now, they're about every two years," Issa said.
"You can feel people's joy all around you, and for a moment it makes you forget the atmosphere of war."
Agence France-presse
(China Daily 05/27/2017 page9)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi gives an address after the gunmen attack in Minya, accompanied by leaders of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and the Supreme Council for Police (unseen), at the Ittihadiya presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, May 26, 2017 in this handout picture courtesy of the Egyptian Presidency. [Photo/Agencies]
CAIRO - Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Friday that the Egyptian forces hit terrorist training camps after the shooting attack that killed 28 Copts in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate.
"Now, we have hit training camps used by those terrorists ... Egypt will not hesitate to target these terror camps anywhere," Sisi said in a televised speech aired by the state TV.
Sisi did not mention the place of the targeted camps, but Egypt's state TV have reported that the Egyptian jets have hit 6 terror bases in neighboring Libya.
Earlier on Friday, unknown gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians in Minya governorate, about 220 kilometers south of Cairo, killing 28 people and wounding 24.
Security sources told Xinhua that some ten gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles, intercepted the victims' two buses on the way to St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, and opened fire randomly at them.
The source added that the attackers were dressed in security uniforms.
No group yet claimed responsibility for attack that was carried one day ahead of the Muslims Holy fasting month of Ramadan.
"These countries that support terrorism and provide terrorists with training and weapons must be punished," Sisi stressed.
The Egyptian president revealed that the terrorists want to the break the strong Egyptian social fabric as well as the country itself.
"They want to send a message to the Christians that the government cannot protect you...we must be careful," he said.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Those attacks were claimed by Islamic State (IS) which pledged last week in a video to target non-Muslims everywhere.
REVENGE ATTACKS
Observers believe that the IS is targeting Christians in attempt to hit back after the Egyptian army has done great achievements against terrorists in Sinai.
Samir Ghatas, chairman of Middle East Forum for Strategic Studies, said the terrorists know that the Copts are a sensitive issue for the government and causes troubles internationally for Egypt. "So they keep attacking Copts to embarrass the regime inside and outside."
"By targeting Copts, the terrorists would show the state is very weak, and would affect Egypt reputation worldwide as a country that couldn't protect Copts," he told Xinhua.
Ghatas pointed out that it would also cause division among the Egyptians themselves, adding that the terrorists also wanted to punish the Copts for supporting Sisi against the Islamist leader Mohamed Morsi.
Additionally, he said, the terrorists have a religious aspect, because they are convinced to kill whoever is not a Muslim.
Former US National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski arrives to testify before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, in this February 1, 2007 file photo. [Photo/Xinhua]
WASHINGTON - Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to former US President Jimmy Carter, died at age 89 on Friday.
"My father passed away peacefully tonight," Brzezinski's daughter Mika announced late Friday. "He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life."
She called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1928, Brzezinski moved to Canada with his family in 1938. He moved to the United States and received a doctorate in government from Harvard in 1953.
Due to his books and articles on the Soviet Union in the 1950s, Brzezinski established his status as an expert on the Soviet Union and began to attract the attention of the White House.
He served as a counselor to former US President Lyndon Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was Carter's national security adviser from 1977 to 1981.
In May 1978, Brzezinski paid his first visit to China to lay the groundwork for the normalization of the relationship between China and the United States.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua in 2009, Brzezinski said that the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and China, of which he was a strong proponent, was "more than just normalizing relations."
"We gave it a strategic significance which I think contributed to greater international stability," he then said.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 for his role in the normalization of the US-China relationship and his contributions to US national security policies and human rights.
Also in 1978, Brzezinski helped Carter to attain the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
He was also a prime player behind the failed US mission in 1980 to rescue US hostages held in Iran after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran.
After the Carter presidency, Brzezinski became a professor of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
Despite his retirement from US politics into academia, Brzezinski remained a sharp-eyed observer of successive US administrations.
He was an outspoken critic of the 2003 US invasion of Iraq from the very beginning, and he was also a vocal critic of US President Donald Trump.
In an opinion piece written with Paul Wasserman for the New York Times in February, Brzezinski criticized the Trump administration for lacking coherence in its foreign policy.
"So far, President Trump has failed to formulate any significant, relevant statements about the global condition. Instead, the world has been left to interpret the sometimes irresponsible, uncoordinated and ignorant statements of his team," the opinion piece said.
TAORMINA -- Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations met with African heads of state and government on Saturday at the Italian town of Taormina, discussing issues like migration, development, among others.
Leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Niger and Tunisia were invited to join the talks, along with representatives from six African organizations, including the African Union (AU), as the G7 wrapped up its two-day annual summit.
The African leaders were welcomed with a ceremony at Taormina's ancient Greek theater in early morning, before meeting with their counterparts from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Holding the G7 rotating presidency in 2017, Italy wanted to have the related topics of Europe's migration crisis and African development on top of the agenda of the annual summit.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's government wanted G7 partners to provide substantial help to crucial African countries in terms of investments and development policies, as a way to stem the endless flows of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty, destitution, and war.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Union (EU) Council Donald Tusk also attended the meeting.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have been risking their life crossing the Mediterranean from African coasts to Europe in the past years, and 1,520 people were estimated to have drowned in the attempt as of May 24, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
Italy has registered over 50,400 new arrivals so far this year, and some 181,000 in 2016, which in both cases would represent the large portion of all arrivals to Europe.
The G7 summit kicked off on Friday morning, with a major focus on terrorism and security, as a terror attack on Monday evening in the British city of Manchester had claimed at least 22 lives, the deadliest attack occurred in Britain since July 2005.
The G7 leaders delivered a common declaration, vowing to increase their efforts in tackling extremism, and to strengthen their cooperation in several sectors of counter terrorism.
As the terror alert dominated the first day's talks, other issues in the official agenda were partly overshadowed. No agreement seemed in sight on climate change, for example, given the wide gap between the US administration and other partners.
Attending his first G7 summit since he was elected, US President Donald Trump on Friday told his counterparts he would postpone the decision on whether to uphold the commitment to the Paris Climate Deal to cut carbon emissions.
Trump had earlier suggested the United States might pull out of the agreement, which was sealed in December 2015, and entered into force in November 2016.
Anker is not a client of my law firm, so my gushing is not any sort of payback. But here goes.
I am a huge fan of Anker. Whenever I would talk about how I was not aware of any Chinese consumer goods company with a super high end stellar reputation in the United States, I would always qualify it by saying, except Anker. I would then usually say, and that is who other Chinese consumer goods companies need to follow. Then I learned that Anker is not really a Chinese company. Oh well.
But Anker still very much deserves to be followed (read follow and followed as a euphemism for copy and copied). So how convenient that the Verge just came out with an article, How Anker is Beating Apple and Samsung at Their Own Accessory Game, setting out the roadmap for doing exactly that.
But first, please allow me to gush a bit about Anker. Im not sure for how long Ive been buying Anker products, but I know my first buy was many years ago and I know the first product was a predecessor to the PowerCore Mini, a phone charger I first bought in 2013. I remember how my research revealed that product to be the best product like it on the market and one of the cheapest. It came, I loved it, and within weeks I had bought the same thing for everyone else in my family and I have probably bought at least a dozen additional Anker products since then.
I buy Anker/Eufy products because they work well and look good forever and because they virtually always cost less than anything comparable. There are few brands that combine all this and those that do win my admiration.
But of more relevance (probably) to most of our readers is how Anker managed to pull all this off, which is where the Verge article comes in. Two things struck me from the Verge article. One is how Anker has set up shop in Shenzhen. The interview with Ankers founder, Steven Yang, took place with Yang from his office in Shenzhen. The article explains how Yang and his core team set up shop in Shenzhen to find its manufacturers:
It was a long and painful process. After he quit his job at Google in July 2011, Anker took 12 months just to prototype its first laptop battery. That was even after Yang and the core team moved to Shenzhen to find reliable manufacturing partners. I knew that if I stayed in California and had people FedEx me prototypes in a week, it was just not going to work, he says.
Many hardware companies, especially crowdfunded ones in the US, learn that lesson the hard way, missing deadlines and hitting snags that lead to months-long delays. A solid supply chain is so crucial to a hardware companys survival that theres an entire consulting industry around helping startups find suppliers and set expectations.
Amen. If you want to get connected with the best Chinese manufacturers and you want those manufacturers to do their best work for you, the fastest and best way to accomplish this is to get on an airplane yourself and spend massive time meeting in person (multiple times) with a ton of Chinese manufacturers and then meet even more times in person with those you like the best. There is no substitute for you or someone important from your company having these in person meetings in China. And this is true pretty much no matter what you are looking to have made in China.
I am always saying the following to clients, potential clients, and even start-up companies that ask me for quick advice via email:
A day on the ground in China is worth a month in your office in ____________, USA/Canada/Latin America/Europe/Australia.
Just going and meeting with potential factories or with your existing factory will do wonders in terms of product quality and timeliness. I cannot back this up with hard facts, but I truly believe that those companies that meet with their Chinese suppliers in person in China at least once have 80 percent fewer problems than those who never do, and those who meet regularly with their Chinese suppliers have 95 percent fewer problems. Going to China for live meetings humanizes you, says that you care, and that you will be watching what the Chinese factory does and holding them accountable. This is hugely powerful.
And number two, be relentless yet patient with product quality:
The challenge wasnt selling products, Yang says. It was making products and making sure they were high-quality as well. Thats why we spent a majority of our effort on R&D and product development. The company does a majority of its sales directly to consumers over Amazon Marketplace, where a combination of strong reviews, low prices, and prominent placement in search rankings can turn a single product into a lucrative line.
I cannot tell you how many companies my firm has represented that never recovered from having rushed their first product to market (oftentimes to meet or even come close to meeting shipping dates they had promised on Kickstarter). These companies shipped a defective product and then could never recover from the expenses they had to incur in fixing or replacing or providing refunds for their one bad product. Not to mention the damage they suffered to their new brand.
Follow Anker. For further ensuring your China product success and for ensuring that once you get it, it will not be seized from you, be sure to check out Having Your Product Made In China: The Basics on Protecting It and You.
Oh, and one more plug/gush. If you are working on developing a hardware product you should be aware of a hardware accelerator in Shenzhen called HAX. Our China lawyers speak frequently there and our law firm has represented a good number of its participants. Its slogan is When building hardware all roads lead to Shenzhen and its pitch is Come and plug yourself up to our ecosystem, leverage our curriculum and build meaningful products. Very briefly, if you are working on a great product, HAX will help fund you and plug you into their ecosystem and by doing so, give you a chance to spend three months with them in Shenzhen and better learn the lay of that land. It is worthwhile. HAX cannot make your company into the next Anker, but it certainly can help.
(Photo : Covert Shores) Russia's winged submarine
(Photo : Russian Navy) Belgorod under constrction.
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Russia might deploy two fantastic nuclear submarines specifically built to survive the deadly cold of the Arctic Circle, and one of these submarines will be the first outfitted with "wings" like an aircraft, that is, if it's got the money to do so.
The advent of these boats specialized to reconnoiter the seafloor of the Arctic (and possibly to fight in it) supports Russia's push to claim the region and its vast and unexplored mineral wealth made more accessible by the impact of global warming and melting polar ice packs.
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One of these intriguing beasts is the RFS Belgorod (K-139), a one-off submarine that might one day be capable of launching one of Russia's newest weapons -- a huge nuclear torpedo with a 100 megaton warhead.
Belgorod will be the world's largest submarine when completed. Belgorod's length of 184 meters will be 11 meters longer than Russia's largest nuclear ballistic missile submarine belonging to the Akula-class (or Typhoon-class), of which only one is in active service with the Russian Navy.
Russian media claims Belgorod "is designed to carry out research missions. It will carry uninhabited deep-sea vehicles and bathyscaphes, as well as special scientific equipment. It will be engaged in studying the bottom of the Russian Arctic shelf, searching for minerals at great depths, and also laying underwater communications."
The other beast is a planned "winged submarine" called the "Seismic Survey Submarine for Arctic Operations." This sub is also referred to as the Arctic Research Submarine.
This weird submarine will displace 13,280 tons, making it the largest civilian research submarine ever built. The sub will be 442 feet long and will have a maximum speed of 12.6 knots.
The most remarkable aspect of the sub is the presence of two sets of wing-like sonar receivers that appear like aircraft wings. The wings retract into the hull and are designed to receive sonar signals emitted from the ship's hull.
The wing structures allow the winged submarine to image its surroundings in all directions as it cruises underwater at only three knots. They're close to 50 meters long, giving the sub a wingspan of about 100 meters.
"This is much greater than any aircraft that has ever flown," according to H.I. Sutton, a specialist on submarines and author of the Covert Shores website.
A graphic made by Sutton shows the submarine will have an even longer "wingspan" than an Airbus A380 jumbo jet.
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TagsBorussia Dortmund, nuclear submarines, Arctic Circle, Arctic, RFS Belgorod (K-139), world's largest submarine, Seismic Survey Submarine for Arctic Operations, Arctic Research Submarine, H.I. Sutton
(Photo : H&K) M27 IAR being fired.
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The need for the U.S. Army to field a new "battle rifle" firing the deadlier and longer ranged 7.62 mm cartridge received a boost when Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, testified that improved 5.56 mm rounds fired from Colt M4 carbines will not penetrate modern enemy body armor.
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Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Milley said that because of this failing, he plans to arm infantry units with rifles chambered for the more lethal 7.62mm cartridge.
Gen. Milley admitted the army's M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round (EPR) will not defeat enemy body armor plates similar to the U.S. military-issue armored plates such as the Enhanced Small Arms Protective Insert (ESAPI).
"The 5.56mm round, we recognize that there is a type of body armor out there, that it doesn't penetrate. We also have that body armor ourselves," he said.
Gen. Milley revealed scientists at the army's Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia have developed a new 7.62mm round to solve the problem.
"We have developed a pretty effective round down at Fort Benning," he said. "We know we have a bullet that can penetrate these new plates."
Gen. Milley, however, refused to confirm if the new 7.62 mm round will mean the army will have to develop a new battle rifle to fire this round. He also said not every soldier will need a 7.62mm rifle.
He noted there are battle rifles on the shelf today that can be adapted to meet the Army's needs with very minor modifications. A battle rifle is defined as a rifle that fires a full power cartridge such as the 7.62x51mm NATO round.
"I think there are weapons out there that we can get in the right caliber that can enhance the capability of the infantry soldier," said Gen. Milley.
"This idea that the entire Army needs the same thing all the time, it's not necessarily true. There are some infantry units that are much more highly likely to rapidly deploy than others and conduct close-quarters combat that we would probably want to field them with a better-grade weapon that can penetrate this body armor that we are talking about."
Gen, Milley pointed out the U.S. Marines are adopting the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR), a version of the Heckler & Koch HK416 assault rifle. The HK416 was recently adopted by the French Army as its new infantry rifle.
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TagsU.S. Army, battle rifle, 7.62 mm cartridge, Gen. Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, Colt M4 carbines, M855A1 Enhanced Performance Roun, M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle
(Photo : ROCAF) Tanks of the Republic of China Army in action at Han Kuang 2017.
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For the second time in only nine months, the Republic of China (Taiwan) conducted another massive live-fire military exercise along its western coast facing China depicting the defeat of an amphibious invasion by the People's Liberation Army (PLA).
The "Han Kuang 2017" exercise launched by the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF) and overseen by Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen took place May 24 on the Penghu Islands located off the western coast of Taiwan in the Taiwan Strait.
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The huge live-fire war games involved the major service branches of ROCAF. Infantry, tanks, warships helicopters, armored fighting vehicles and fighter jets from the Republic of China Army, Navy and Air Force working together repelled simulated amphibious attacks by the PLA across the 160 km-wide Taiwan Strait.
The major military drill, the 33rd of its kind, was held to improve coordination among combat units.
Tsai, who wore a camouflage helmet and a flak vest at the drill, said she's also keen on bolstering Taiwan's domestic defense sector and augmenting the number of fighter jets and military vessels. She's made it her priority to strengthen ROCAF so it can confidently repel a Chinese invasion, which Taiwan anticipates might occur before 2020.
"When Taiwan shows its determination to take the road of defensive autonomy, it is putting on a display to the world of our determination to protect our home and land," she said.
In August 2016, Taiwan held its largest military exercise ever in which it defeated a seaborne invasion and aerial assault on the island by Chinese infantry and Special Forces.
The multi-service maneuvers that saw live fire drills conducted at the Joint Operations Training Base Command at Pingtung County in southern Taiwan. The drills ended Aug. 26.
The massive five-day exercise is the largest ever in the ROC's history and also included cyberattack and asymmetric warfare drills. It came at a time of increasingly strained relations with mainland China that keeps piling the pressure on Tsai to take a more pro-Beijing stance, and acknowledge there is only "One China."
The maneuvers are the 32nd edition of the annual Han Kuang military drills that simulate different defense scenarios in the face of a massive Chinese cross-strait attack spearheaded by warships of the People's Liberation Army Navy protecting transports with thousands of invasion troops of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force.
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TagsRepublic of China, Taiwan, military exercise, Han Kuang 2017, Republic of China Armed Forces, Penghu Islands, Taiwan Strait, amphibious invasion, People's Liberation Army, Tsai Ing-wen
(Photo : Raytheon) EKV from Raytheon.
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The United States on May 30 will demonstrate its capability before the world to destroy an incoming intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a warning to North Korea, and also to Russia and China.
Military sources said the goal of the first test of its kind is to more closely simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the continental United States.
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The weapon to be used in this near space intercept will be the Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle or EKV.
An EKV is launched by a Ground-Based Interceptor (GBI) missile, the launch vehicle operated by the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GBAD) System. It's boosted to an intercept trajectory by the GBI missile.
It then separates from the missile and autonomously collides with an incoming warhead.
EKV, however, is saddled with accuracy problems and had a string of test failures in 2016. In all, the EKV has succeeded in destroying only nine of 17 targets since 1999, a success rate of only 53 percent.
This problem-plagued kill vehicle is due to be replaced by the new Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV). The U.S. plans to field the RKV around 2020 and conduct an intercept test for this kill vehicle in 2019.
A failure for the EKV on May 30 will embolden North Korea to continue work on developing its first ICBM capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to targets in the U.S. A success, however, just might give North Korea pause.
The U.S. is showing a combination of irritation and concern at North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's persistence in developing an ICBM capable of being armed with a nuclear warhead. Pentagon officials say Kim has ordered his scientists to accelerate the development of a nuclear-armed ICBM.
Kim will eventually succeed if "left unchecked," said U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA).
Both the RKV and EKV are ground-based interceptors for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency designed to defend the U.S. mainland against ICBM attacks.
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TagsUnited States, intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, North Korea, Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicl, EKV, Redesigned Kill Vehicle, RKV
Thirty-four refugees have drowned after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya. Most of the casualties are reportedly children.
The nearly 200 refugees had been attempting to escape their war-torn country and reach Europe to start new lives when their boat capsized, roughly 20 miles off the Libyan coast. The refugees were dumped into the Mediterranean Sea.
Although rescue ships from Italy, as well as several commercial ships that were in the area, rushed to their aid, it was too late for 34 of the migrants.
At least 20 dead bodies were spotted in the water," said Italian Coast Guard commander Cosimo Nicastro, according to NBC News.
Chris Catrambone, co-founder of Migrant Offshore Aid Station, added that, Most are toddlers.
Experts worry that more terrible accidents will occur as the weather is getting warmer and more refugees are sure to try the perilous journey. In fact, according to Relevant, an estimated 250,000 refugees are expected to attempt the voyage this year.
The statistics for survival on such a voyage are stark, however. Studies show that one out of every 39 refugees perish while making the voyage. Last year, more than 5,000 died, and this year, the number is already at 1,300.
Photo: Refugees and migrants are seen swimming and yelling for assitance from crewmembers from the Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) 'Phoenix' vessel after a wooden boat bound for Italy carrying more than 500 people capsized on May 24, 2017 off Lampedusa, Italy. The Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) 'Phoenix' vessel rescued 603 people after one of three wooden boats partially capsized leaving more than 30 people dead. Numbers of refugees and migrants attempting the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing from Libya to Italy has risen since the same time last year with more than 43,000 people recorded so far in 2017. In an attempt to slow the flow of migrants Italy recently signed a deal with Libya, Chad and Niger outlining a plan to increase border controls and add new reception centers in the African nations, which are key transit points for migrants heading to Italy. MOAS is a Malta based NGO dedicated to providing professional search-and-rescue assistance to refugees and migrants in distress at sea. Since the start of the year MOAS have rescued and assisted 3572 people and are currently patrolling and running rescue operations in international waters off the coast of Libya.
Photo courtesy: Chris McGrath
Publication date: May 26, 2017
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THE HAGUE - You might notice it from the highway, in the form of a high-rise sporting a colorful grid on its exterior, or perhaps next to the train station, where the Hampshire Hotel Babylon shows off a flashy facade. Look farther, and bits of bold red, yellow and blue can be found splashed around this button-down city known mostly for its dignified embassies and government buildings. The colorful geometric patterns celebrate the work of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian and the 100th anniversary of de Stijl (the Style), the modern art movement he and others launched.
While Mondrian is overshadowed by more-famous Dutch artists Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt van Rijn, he was considered a leader of modern art by the time he moved to New York City in 1940. (He died there in 1944, at age 71, and is buried at Cypress Hills Cemetery in New York City.) Using geometric shapes, flat planes of primary colors and horizontal and vertical lines, Mondrian and his cohorts, including famed architect Gerrit Rietveld, went on to influence architecture, furniture, fashion and advertising.
The Hague's Gemeentemuseum, which already holds the world's largest Mondrian collection, is the focus of a year-long national program, "Mondrian to Dutch Design: 100 years of de Stijl." Smaller shows and events are being held nationwide, including Rietveld exhibits in the architect's hometown of Utrecht.
This summer, the Gemeentemuseum, decked out in swatches of Mondrian hues, will display its cache for the first time, spotlighting more than 300 works representing every stage in the artist's extensive career. The "Discovery of Mondrian" retrospective runs from June 3 until Sept. 24. Earlier this year, the smaller, but insightful, show "Piet Mondrian and Bart van der Leck: Inventing a New Art,'' focused on the two painters whose friendship helped spark a movement.
Regardless of which special exhibits are running at the Gemeentemuseum, viewers can always see Mondrian's "Victory Boogie Woogie," a frolicking composition of colors and lines on a diamond-shaped canvas that is considered one of the 20th century's most important works. Mondrian died before he finished the piece - you can still see pieces of tape stuck to certain parts. For years, the painting, inspired by his passion for boogie-woogie music and dance, was in a private American collection. In 1998, it was bought by a Dutch art foundation for about $40 million and is in the Gemeentemuseum's permanent collection.
Mondrian's designs also have lived on in commercial uses, from L'Oreal hair products to an iconic 1966 Yves Saint Laurent cocktail dress. Hague-based designer Michael Barnaart van Bergen has spun his own version of the mod dress, which is on sale at the Gemeentemuseum gift shop for about $250 - a bargain compared with the original, which went for $47,000 at auction in 2011.
Venturing out from the museum into the city, visitors can find evidence of a Mondrian metamorphosis, especially at City Hall, home to the "world's largest Mondrian painting." The exterior of the gleaming, white complex, which was designed by American architect Richard Meier, has been adorned in red, yellow and blue strips of adhesive foil. In the same complex, the tourist information center is decked out in the same colors and sells Mondrian-themed gifts.
At the nearby Hofvijver, a small lake with a walking path in front of the Dutch parliament, 14 pontoon cubes of primary colors float in another tribute to the artist.
Several shopping streets have gotten in on the act, partly assisted by the city, which provided 850 "Mondrian toolkits" with signs and removable colored foil for window dressing. One of the most festive streets is Frederik Hendriklaan, near the Gemeentemuseum, where it seems that most of the stores are decorated.
One of the most lively - outside and in - is Kikke Spulle "Fred" (No. 198), a lifestyle and decor shop, which spelled out the store's name in Mondrian-like letters and has stocked its shelves with related products, such as place mats, salt-and-pepper shakers and purses.
"I can't believe how popular they are," owner Esther Cox said. "People keep asking me, 'Do you have this with Mondrian, do you have that with Mondrian?' It's crazy."
Cox enjoys seeing the city awash in color.
"I hear a lot about it from customers and am happy that the colors are not only in the centrum, but across the whole city," she said.
Another Mondrian site worth seeking out, some 90 minutes east of The Hague, is the Mondriaanhuis in the beautifully preserved city of Amersfoort. (The artist changed the spelling of his name after he left the Netherlands.)
The museum is located in the house where Mondrian was born and lived until he was 8 years old. It was a run-of-the-mill history museum until this year, when the staff transformed it into an innovative exhibition tracing the artist's development, as well as a repository for commercial products showcasing his grid design. A Mondrian-patterned toilet seat is among the kitschiest.
Original art is not the focus here; the museum has only a dozen early Mondrian landscapes on loan from a private U.S. collection. But the lack of paintings doesn't detract from the experience and perhaps even inspired the staff and its inventive production company, Tinker Imagineers, to be more creative.
The permanent multimedia exhibits focus on Mondrian's profound love of jazz and American boogie-woogie and how those influenced his art. (The Gemeentemuseum's summer show will include jazz influences as well.) The museum's use of video, audio and color helps viewers feel the energy that drove Mondrian.
Mondriaanhuis curator Marjory Degen said that it seemed natural to incorporate music in the makeover.
"I researched what he listened to in what year, and I realized that the changes in his music also affected his work," she said. "During his cubism work in Paris, he listened to ragtime. When he started using double black lines, his music was more up-tempo."
The final production, a joyous five-minute piece shown in a small, closed room, focuses on Mondrian's final years in New York, when he abandoned black lines and painted smaller dynamic color blocks.
Visitors sit around a 10-foot-high, semitransparent cube to watch scenes of Mondrian working interspersed with vignettes of 1940s New York City, to the background of the music he loved. Strips of color fill the cube, eventually flowing outside it and ultimately illuminating the walls and the audience - who find themselves inside a Mondrian painting in progress.
"We've noticed people staying to see it twice or even three times to let it sink in," Degen said. "It's quite an overwhelming show."
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IF YOU GO
What to do
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag
Stadhouderslaan 41, The Hague
011-31-703-381-111
gemeentemuseum.nl/en/home
The art museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission $15.60; students $11.80; children age 18 and younger free.
Mondriaanhuis (the Mondriaan House)
Kortegracht 11, Amersfoort
011-31-334-600-170
mondriaanhuis.nl/en
Dutch painter Piet Mondrian's former home (reflecting his name's former spelling, as well) is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. General admission $10.75; children ages 6 to 10, $8.60; younger free.
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Information
mondriaantodutchdesign.com
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Daniel is a writer based in the Netherlands. Her website is bydianedaniel.com.
On Saturday, President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump returned to Washington, D.C. after a nine-day international tour.
For the majority of the tour, First Daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband, White House Advisor Jared Kushner joined the president and the first lady in Saudi Arabia, Isreal, Italy, and Belgium.
IN THE DETAILS: Ivanka Trump's eyes change colors between brown, green and blue
With every new country they arrived in, the Trump women stunned in designer frocks with sky-high stilettos - turning every political appearance into a runway show. Story continues below.
The most notable outfits were the dresses and veils Ivanka and Melania wore to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis. Both women donned black, long-sleeved dresses with veil coverings over their heads while in the presence of the pope. Their outfits followed requirements for women meeting the pope set by the Vatican.
To see all of the women's outfits during their international meetings together, click through the gallery above.
After the meeting at the Vatican on Wednesday, Ivanka and her husband broke off from the president and enjoyed Italy on their own. Meanwhile, Melania went on with the tour with the president. They went to Brussels, Belgium to meet with NATO leaders on Thursday, then returned to Italy for the G7 Summit in Sicily, Italy on Friday.
BIG SPENDER: Melania Trump wears $51,000 Dolce & Gabbana jacket in Sicily
On Saturday, the last stop on the trip was at the Sigonella Naval Air Station in Sicily, Italy. Both the first lady and the president spoke to the welcoming military men and women and their families.
Melania took to the stage first to speak about her experience during the trip saying in part, "This trip for me has been very special and I will never forget the women and children I met." She also thanked the military personnel and their families for their service before introducing her husband to the stage.
Following the speeches by Melania and the president, the couple loaded up on Air Force One and flew back to the United States.
A benefit for Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle is being planned for Saturday, June 10, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Trinity Armory in Cleveland.
Carlisle is facing a six-week recovery related to injuries he suffered in a May 10 motorcycle accident.
"He's looking at some pretty substantial medical bills," said Carlisle's friend and colleague Splendora Police Chief Wally Wieghat, owner of Trinity Armory.
Carlisle broke seven ribs, punctured a lung and ruptured his spleen in the accident. Carlisle was en route to his home in the Houston area after a trip to El Paso, where he had visited with his military son before he flew out on a tour to the Middle East. Along the way, he encountered a storm and was in the process of pulling off the road to put on rain gear when a deer leaped out in front of him, grazing his motorcycle and causing Carlisle to lose control.
The impact caused the motorcycle to roll, injuring Carlisle.
"He's going to be off work for a month," Wieghat said. "A lot of folks will turn out for this thing. Chief Carlisle is well known and well respected in this area."
The city of Roman Forest is assisting Wieghat with the event, according to City Secretary Liz Mullane.
"We are thankful for Chief Wieghat for organizing the event. We are anxious to have our chief back and can't wait for him to get better," Mullane said.
The fundraiser will include the sale of barbecue sandwiches, a bounce house, snow cone vendor and a silent auction. In addition, half of the range fees at Trinity Armory on the day of the event will go toward Carlisle's fund.
Among the items to be auctioned are a custom-built AR 15 assault rifle with a value of $1,500, a Browning .22 pistol valued at $500 and an SCCY 9-mm handgun.
"There will be a whole lot of other things up for auction. We also plan to auction off a platinum membership to the range, valued at $1,300. This provides a person with a year's membership to shoot all they want at the range and also have simulator weapon time. It also includes a range bag," Wieghat said. "Anyone who supports law enforcement should be at this event."
Now recuperating at home, Carlisle said he was surprised and felt supported when he learned the fundraiser is being planned for him.
"I am the kind of person who is normally helping other people, so it's strange to be on the other side," Carlisle said. "We have medical insurance but it doesn't pay for everything and I know these medical bills are going to be excessive, which is why I am not opposed to the event."
Carlisle said he is anxious to be completely recovered and back at work.
"I know the department is in good hands. I have confidence in the people I work with," he said. "And I know I need to heal but there are things I just need to do. I do a lot of things in the community and I am ready to get back to it."
For more information about the event or to make a donation, call Trinity Armory at 281-659-2800.
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The South Texas Hunting Association shared a photo on Facebook this week of what looked like a mildly-monstrous bullfrog catch, but commenters arent so sure its real.
PREVIOUS: Nightmare-inducing Texas rattlesnake photo sending shivers across Facebook ... but it isn't what it seems
A man named Markcuz Rangel shared the photo with the website, stating that it was caught in a pond on a ranch near Batesville and weighed 13 pounds. It appears the creature had been shot and killed, judging by the rifle in the hand of Rangel.
Of course any photo on the internet should be viewed with suspicion. There are no videos of said bullfrog being caught or postmortem and the photos shown seem somewhat off.
Steve Lightfoot, spokesman for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, confirmed to Chron.com that the photo IS real, but that doesn't necessarily mean monster frogs are taking over South Texas.
"It's not as bigly as it appears," Lightfoot said video." [It's an] optical illusion created by extending frog toward the camera -- similar to what you see with fishermen holding up fish to make them appear larger. Still a big bullfrog, though."
OOOF: Fecal bacteria levels at Gulf beaches ahead of Memorial Day weekend
Back in 2015 the folks at Snopes debunked a supposedly 42-pound bullfrog catch by studying the viral photo that had been going around.
Chron.com reached out to Rangel on Friday afternoon to get more detail on his frog catches. Apparently he's been quite adept at finding the biggest ones in South Texas.
For now we will just have to imagine the all the ways that our foodie friends would cook those frog legs, which look like turkey legs at the rodeo carnival.
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A 5-year-old Oregon child recently underwent surgery to remove a fidget spinner piece he swallowed.
Prior to the incident, 23-year-old Johely Morelos warned her child of the danger associated with the small toy and showed him the story of a 10-year-old Texas girl who lodged a fidget spinner piece in her throat.
"I showed him pictures and said, 'Never put that in your mouth,'" Morelos told Buzzfeed News. "I guess he didn't listen that well."
TOO FAR: A fidget spinner app is now the top free app in the App Store
After an unsuccessful visit to their local Albany hospital where doctors were unable to remove the piece, Morelos and her son Cayden were rushed by ambulance to a Portland hospital.
"It was super scary," said Morelos. "When they were putting a tube down his throat, he was throwing up blood. It was really scary for me to see he was in pain."
Cayden underwent a two hour surgery and woke up with a swollen lip and sore throat, which he quickly recovered from by the next day.
FINE DINING: A fidget spinner was confiscated in the kitchen of one of New York's top restaurants
Now, Morelos is pushing for a choking hazard warning along with Kids in Danger, a child safety advocacy group.
"Don't let your kid get a fidget spinner unless you absolutely think that they are responsible enough," wrote Morelos in a Facebook post warning her friends.
Click through above to see the most popular toys of the past three decades.
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Memorial Day is supposed to be a solemn occasion, meant to reflect on those who gave their lives in the military. And it's the day that unofficially kicks off summer.
In the Houston area, there's some good news for activities, at least during the first part of this long weekend.
Weather forecasts call for an extended swath of thunderstorms, some severe, stretching from the middle of Texas to Maine by Saturday. But the map indicates Houston and the Gulf Coast should be spared, at least until Monday.
The Central Plains, Mississippi Valley and upper Midwest should bear the brunt through Saturday, with Dallas-Fort Worth likely to see storms by Sunday.
On Memorial Day itself, Monday, New England and the Eastern Seaboard should get rain, but meteorologists are expecting severe thunderstorms in a wide path from far West Texas to the Rio Grande Valley and up the Gulf Coast, stretching across lower Louisiana and through the Carolinas.
Yes, while Saturday and Sunday should be clear, Houston is expected to see thunderstorms by Monday.
(Story continues below ...)
That may disrupt the Houston National Cemetery Ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Monday, and similar events in the suburbs.
Here are a few local options to consider, if the weather cooperates:
Tomball hosts the Honkey Tonk Chili Challenge on Saturday. Admission is free, at the town's historic Depot, 201 S. Elm.
The Woodlands is holding Summer Daze Arts & Music Festival, another free event, on Saturday and Sunday. The community also has plans for a fireworks show 4-9 a.m. Sunday at Town Green Park.
Houston's Miller Outdoor Theatre is host for Dancin' in the Street Motown & More Revue at Miller Outdoor Theatre, at 8:15 p.m. through Sunday.
Conroe is planning to hold a ceremony starting at 9 a.m. Monday at the Montgomery County War Memorial Park.
Sugar Land plans to hold its ninth annual ceremony at 11 a.m. Monday.
The Houston Astros and Houston Dynamo also play in town this weekend.
If you're looking for something out of the ordinary to do for Memorial Day weekend, at least for Friday and Saturday, smaller towns around Texas offer alternatives ranging from art exhibits and rodeos to mud runs and mudbugs.
Many of the events and festivals are family friendly, while others are strictly for adults.
Click through the slides to see what's available within driving distance.
An evening of late-night carousing at a north Houston nightclub took a nasty turn early Saturday when one reveler stabbed another in the face.
Police said the incident took place at about 12:15 a.m. at the Red Foxx Lounge, when a patron of the lounge accused another of stealing his drink, then pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
Authorities are still are trying to identify and apprehend a man who shot at police officers earlier this month.
Crime Stoppers of Houston said Saturday they were offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest in the incident, which took place as officers were responding to a report of a suspicious person on Bentworth Drive in west Houston around 9 p.m. on May 6.
As officers approached the man, he fired several shots at them, then ran away. Police don't know where he headed.
MUSICAL THEFT: Violin worth thousands taken from Houston musician
Police said the man was about 5'9, had blond colored twists in his hair, and appeared to be in his late teens or early 20s.
Houston Police Officers Union Vice President Joe Gamaldi thanked Crime Stoppers for their efforts to help catch the man who had tried to kill his colleagues.
"Anytime we have an instance where suspects shoot at our officers, it is very jarring to our entire department to realize one of our officers might not be going home to their families," he said, promising that investigators would go to "any and all lengths" to track the shooter down.
"We're very supportive of Crime Stoppers and the lengths they go to to catch hardened criminals in our city," he said. "We certainly hope this reward will lead to the speedy capture of the coward who fired at our officers."
In a statement, authorities said they will pay up to $5,000 for information leading to the charging and/or arrest of the shooter. Anyone with information can call 713-222-8477 or visit www.crime-stoppers.org and report it there, or by texting tips to 274637.
All tipsters will remain anonymous, authorities said.
AUSTIN -- As the 85th Legislature draws to a close, hopes have been extinguished for major legislation that would have reversed the impact of two court decisions that limit open records access for Texans.
But proponents of more transparency in government already are working to bring the issue back into the spotlight in 2019, and the advocates said they did have some limited success in certain areas this year.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, last week had a late resolution approved 30-1 by the Senate calling for a joint Senate-House committee to study the open government issue and make recommendations for the next legislative session. Todd Hunter, R-Corpus Christi, has filed an identical measure in the House.
In 2015, two Texas Supreme Court decisions limited the availability of public records when the government engages outside parties. In Boeing v. Paxton, the court ruled that private businesses could keep their contracts secret because competitors might gain an advantage if they were made public.
In the other case, Greater Houston Partnership v. Paxton, the court reversed a longstanding precedent that required nonprofits that receive public money to open make financial information public. Now, even nonprofits that perform government services or otherwise act like government agencies are not required to disclose their records.
Those decisions have raised concerns over the government's interactions with both for-profit and nonprofit entities.
For example, the Boeing decision has been cited in the city of McAllen's refusal to disclose how much it paid Enrique Iglesias to sing at a holiday concert, and in Houston's withholding of information about how many driver permits the city issued to ride-hailing service Uber.
Meanwhile, the state government is moving to increase the use of nonprofits to provide more services that were previously handled by public entities, ranging from foster-care placement to the establishment of the Texas State Music Museum. Lawmakers have expressed worries over the creation of shell organizations that could operate essentially as shadow government agencies.
Watson introduced two bills this session to restore public access to these records, along with another bill aimed at ensuring that a separate attorney-client exemption to the public information law would not be extended to other areas. All three were passed by wide margins by the Senate by mid-session, only to get bottled up in the House Government Transparency and Operation Committee, chaired by Gary Elkins, R-Houston.
Identical House bills filed by Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, and Rep. Hunter also were left pending in the same committee.
"We came to a bipartisan and bicameral consensus and worked pretty hard to come up with the best way to fix what had been broken and to improve the public information act," said Watson, who led pre-session efforts to develop the legislation with a working group that included the attorney general's office, advocacy groups, and other stakeholders.
At a committee hearing on the House bills last month, Peyton McKnight, general counsel and legislative director for the American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas, testified that private businesses needed more protection from making records public. He said headhunters and competitors, and not ordinary citizens, are making many of the requests for information from companies that contract with government entities.
Watson said efforts to address concerns from some parties that initially opposed to the legislation had resulted in those groups ultimately taking a neutral position on the bills. These included some nonprofits such as economic development groups, Catholic charities, private schools, and electric utilities, according to Watson.
Faced with the stalled bills in the House committee, Watson engineered a last-ditch effort to tack the proposals onto another public records bill that had originated in the House. While the amended House Bill 2328 was approved by the Senate on a 30-1 vote, it was killed upon its return to the House.
"All of that work for open government died," said Watson, who has since turned his attention to preparing for 2019 by calling for the establishment of a joint committee to address the open government issue.
"I ain't done trying to fix what is broken. We'll hold public hearings, and people that are now opposed will have the opportunity in the light of day to help us craft legislation, as opposed to doing it in secret," Watson said.
"If a Texan pays a dollar in tax to any government entity, that Texan has the right to know how that dollar is spent and the government has the obligation to make sure that she knows," he said.
The state's Public Information Act dates back to 1973, and prior to the 2015 Supreme Court decisions was often described as one of the country's best open government laws.
"Government is the servant and not the master of the people," the law states in its preamble. "The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created."
But since 2015, the Attorney General's office has reported an increase in the use of the court decisions as the basis for the withholding of information that was once available to the public.
Justin Gordon, open records division chief for the Attorney General, said that in 2014, before the Boeing decision, the office had granted around 250 requests from private contractors who sought to avoid disclosing information that could put them at a competitive disadvantage, while in 2016, the number increased to 600 as a result of the court's broader standard for withholding information.
In the current session, freedom of information advocates also cited some success in preventing further erosion of rights to information access, as well incremental progress in other areas.
"Some of our biggest victories were on defense," said Kelley Shannon, executive director of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, such as one defeated proposal that would have allowed government entities to refuse information requests from out of state. "There were others where we worked with the authors of the bill to tweak language, and we feel like we did accomplish a lot by doing that."
"We'll see what we can achieve next time and what can we build on," said Shannon. "It may come down to whether get the same committee makeup or whether it changes in the next session."
AUSTIN - House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday that state representatives will not budge on negotiating a final deal on the so-called bathroom bill battle with the Senate.
Straus gave senators, whose leader Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has pushed for a far-reaching "bathroom bill," an ultimatum with three days left in the legislative session: take it or leave it on a scaled-back House version.
AUSTIN A key negotiator on Saturday rated the chances of a school finance bill being agreed to by Senate and House members before adjournment as "slim to none."
Legislative leaders in both chambers had declared the measure dead several days ago, but Senate Education Committee Chairman Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, said the Senate was leaving the door open until the last moment.
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.
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Mumbai: A few months ago, Tollywood actor Ram Charan met with co-director Mani Ratnam for a co-operation in Chennai. Now, things seem to move in a positive direction. In a recent development, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan said that it could be trick in Tamil-Telugu-Hindi for the same project
Recently, during the Face Time interview in Cannes, Ash took a five-month break for personal reasons. She revealed that she started listening to scripts, and both of them were almost dated. One of them, she loved so much, of Maniratnam. Though Mani and Ash have already negotiated a team for a film, it looks like the shape now.
AKRON, Ohio -- The Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank announced the expansion of its senior box program, which distributes boxes of food to low-income residents of Northeast Ohio who are 60 years old and older.
The program, also known as the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), will serve senior citizens in Medina, Wayne, Summit, Stark and Tuscarawas counties.
The Foodbank collaborated with 10 of its partner hunger-relief programs to distribute food during Older Americans Month in May and beyond. The goal is to use the senior box program to improve older low-income individuals' nutrition.
"The most vulnerable populations we see struggling with hunger, like senior citizens, are making decisions every day about paying for necessary medications or buying groceries," Dan Flowers, president and CEO of the Foodbank, said in a news release. "Seniors in particular are at increased risk for chronic health conditions, and it is our hope that this program will bring them the nutrients they need for a healthier life."
Each box contains an assortment of food including cereal, juice, canned fruits and vegetables, shelf-stable milk, pasta, cheese and proteins like meat and peanut butter.
Food for this program comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and is provided by Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
The Foodbank will seek continued support from Congress for the program as they begin preparation for the 2018 Farm Bill.
The Foodbank's network of hunger-relief partners participating in the program include: Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties, Open M, Sarah's House, Green Good Neighbors, Grace Fellowship, North Canton Church of Christ, Barberton Area Community Ministries, Lodi Family Center, Heart to Heart Ministries and Journey's End Ministries.
"This is an ideal way for Meals on Wheels to support the well-being of nutritionally at-risk individuals," Ted Watko, CEO of Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties, said in a news release. "We know the impact nutrition has on one's health, and for individuals to receive nutrition in the form of affordable, nonperishable and healthy foods is extremely beneficial."
To learn more about the senior box program, contact Erica Banks, program services connector, at ebanks@acrfb.org or 330-572-3101.
Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
PEPPER PIKE, Ohio -- Voluntary manslaughter, trafficking in drugs, involuntary manslaughter, aggravated robbery; Fairmount Boulevard: Three people have been charged in connection with the May 22 death of a Solon man, 24, in what was described as a robbery attempt during a marijuana deal outside a vacant house.
A Niles man, 40, is charged with voluntary manslaughter and trafficking in drugs; while an Orange man, 21, and a Cleveland man, 22, both face charges of involuntary manslaughter and aggravated robbery.
Investigators said the latter two men went with the victim to buy drugs, and were involved in the robbery attempt.
Officers found the victim just after 12:45 a.m. while investigating a report of shots fired at the vacant house. He died after paramedics took him to the hospital for treatment.
Car crash with injuries, I-271: Two passengers were taken to Hillcrest Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries following an early morning two-car crash on the Interstate May 21 that sent them head-on into a concrete barrier wall on the South Woodland Road bridge.
Their 2010 Toyota Corolla was headed north in the middle-right local lane when the driver, a Cleveland woman, 22, lost control and veered in front of a 1999 Jaguar XJ8 driven by a Mayfield Heights woman, 27, in the far-right lane.
The Jaguar sideswiped the rear of the Corolla as it crossed in front and then continued into the wall. The Cleveland woman was cited for failure to maintain reasonable control.
Fictitious plates, Cedar Road: An officer ran a license plate check on a passing maroon Nissan Sentra shortly before 9 p.m. on May 20 and found that the registration came back as expired on a white 1999 Mercedes Benz.
The car was pulled over on westbound Cedar at I-271 and found to contain four juveniles, with an unidentified female driver along with two passengers from Beachwood and one from Cleveland Heights. All were taken to the police station to be picked up by their parents and the car was towed.
Car crash with injuries, Brainard Road, Route 87: Both drivers in a two-car crash were taken to Hillcrest Hospital around 10 a.m. on May 21, when a Solon girl, 17, drove her 2001 Honda Civic through a red light while eastbound on South Woodland Road.
Her car struck the driver's side of a 2017 Volvo X60 driven by a Beachwood man, 58, who was northbound on Brainard.
Airbags were deployed in both cars, and the drivers were listed with possible injuries. The Solon driver was cited for running the light.
Animal at large, Cedarwood Drive: Police responded to an unspecified complaint from residents in the 2500 block of Cedarwood around 9:45 p.m. on May 21.
If you would like to discuss the police blotter, please visit our crime and courts comments page.
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cleveland.com is a partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Every dollar buys four meals for the hungry. Click here to donate.
EASTLAKE, Ohio -- Two men were taken to the hospital after the boat they were on capsized in Lake Erie Saturday afternoon.
The incident happened about 1:30 p.m. Crews responded to the lake near Stevens Boulevard, Eastlake Fire Chief Ted Whittington said.
One of the men was hypothermic but conscious and the other man was in "grave condition" when they were rescued, Whittington said. The men were not wearing life jackets.
The fire department received a call after residents in the area heard someone calling for help.
When firefighters responded, the two men were still in the water. Two firemen got into exposure suits and went into the water, Whittington said.
The men were taken to Lake Health after being rescued, he said.
The Eastlake Fire Department and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources are investigating the incident, but Whittington said it is being classified as an accident.
Those who head out on a boat need to make sure they are prepared to operate it, Whittington said.
"Make sure your boat is prepared to be launched," he said. "Make sure you have at least two or three means of communication like a marine radio, cell phone. If you're experiencing problems make sure you have them on."
Please take a moment and click here to help the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, a cleveland.com partner. Every dollar you give buys four meals for the hungry.
AKRON, Ohio - Fred's Diner has the feel of a roadside tavern. The down-home joint on Akron's north side offers generous portions at reasonable prices. Here's what to expect:
Where it is: 930 Home Ave., Akron. It's at Home and Blanding avenues. It's open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week and has been around almost 28 years. Plenty of parking. It's located south of Ohio 261 and is close to The Grape & Granary, a homebrewing- and winemaking-equipment store, and southeast of Chapel Hill Mall.
The most important meal: Yes, they serve lunch dishes, but it's breakfast that is served all day, and for good reason. Eleven main dishes are available, and you order by number. All are under $10. A dozen a la carte side options also are offered.
Portions: One of our orders was the No. 4 - three fluffy pancakes with choice of bacon, ham or sausage. We opted for ham. A half-inch thick slab came served on its own plate, and the leftovers alone were enough for two sandwiches for subsequent lunches. And bacon doesn't come as two or three skimpy pieces; it's more of a mound that covers your meal.
Ambiance: Pictures of assorted diners line the walls (kind of a diner hall of fame), hung atop what looks like dingy Civil War-era wallpaper that somehow feels like fitting decor. A dusty old jukebox sits in the back dining room, holding classics just waiting to be played. Anyone want to hear Bobby Vinton's "Santa Must be Polish"?
Service: Despite the abrupt "Eat - pay - get out" admonishment on staffers' shirts, servers are friendly and constantly hustling. Waitresses buzzed about with coffee refills throughout our visit.
Lining up: We waited on line on a Sunday morning, but it moves quickly.
Salute to veterans: The restaurant serves S.O.S. free for veterans on Veterans Day. For the uninitiated, that's military vernacular for creamed chipped beef.
Past brunches: Like heading out for brunch or breakfast? Here are other restaurants I have visited:
cleveland.com is a partner of the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Every dollar buys four meals for the hungry. Click here to donate.
Jared Kushner and the Russian ambassador to the U.S. reportedly discussed the potential to set up a "secret and secure communications channel" between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin, The Washington Post reported Friday.
Kushner President Donald Trump's son-in-law and now a top White House advisor proposed the channel at an early December meeting at Trump Tower, according to the Post, which cited U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports. Sergey Kislyak, the Russian ambassador to the U.S., reported that to his superiors.
Reuters, citing seven current and former U.S. officials, reported Friday that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak during and after the presidential campaign. Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November of 2016, two of the sources told Reuters.
By early 2017, Reuters added, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI probe into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, according to one current and one former law enforcement official.
Kushner first came to the attention of the FBI last year as investigators began scrutinizing former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn's connections with Russian officials, Reuters reported, citing two sources.
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told Reuters that Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November. "Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time
period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked [Reuters] for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she told the news service.
Kushner is "under FBI scrutiny" in the probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and any possible ties between the Trump campaign and Moscow, according to NBC News. It does not mean investigators suspect him of a crime or intend to charge him.
Flynn whom NBC reports is formally considered a subject of the investigation also attended the December meeting with Kushner and Kislyak, according to the Post.
Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney holds a briefing on President Trump's FY2018 proposed budget in the press briefing room at the White House in Washington, May 23, 2017. Jim Bourg | Reuters
When Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney unveiled the Trump administration's new budget, he used very important language although they were words we haven't heard it in many years.
To paraphrase Mulvaney, the measure of budget success for the President Donald Trump administration is not how much federal assistance is given out, but how many people leave government dependency and join the private labor force as fully-fledged workers.
The last time I heard a talk like this was over 20 years ago when former President Bill Clinton teamed with Speaker Newt Gingrich to pass welfare reform. They argued that tighter eligibility, time limits, work-search mandates, and better training programs would move people from welfare to workfare. Critics said 'wait, no tougher welfare requirements will throw millions onto the streets with no federal assistance.' As it turns out, they were wrong. Millions moved into the labor force to work productively, grow the economy, and provide themselves with new self-esteem and happiness.
This point on happiness is one of my favorites. I learned it from AEI (American Enterprise Institute) President Arthur Brooks, who has done a number of quantitative surveys that clearly show how people who work for a living are far happier than those who depend on government assistance.
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So now, over 20 years later, Mick Mulvaney is talking workfare over welfare. And, of course, the left-wing screaming has begun.
But something must be done. Almost eight years after the recession trough, government benefits for welfare, food stamps (44 million people receive food-stamp benefits today, compared with 14 million in December 2007), Medicaid, and Social Security Disability Insurance are still exploding.
So by tightening eligibility and putting back time limits and various work requirements, millions will return to the labor force just as they did in the mid-1990s.
University of Chicago economics professor Casey Mulligan calls this the redistribution recession. That is, the best of government intentions have actually backfired by reducing incentives to work and earn.
The expansion of food stamps, welfare, health-insurance subsidies, unemployment assistance, and disability assistance have led to unintended consequences and perverse after-tax incentives, such that it pays more to stay on assistance than to go to work. At the working-poor margin, taking a job may rob you of Obamacare subsidies. So, its almost better off not to work.
A couple of years ago, Mulligan estimated that the marginal tax rate the extra taxes paid and subsidies foregone as the result of working had increased from 40 percent to 48 percent. Progressives hate this viewpoint. But Mulligan summed it up this way: "Helping people is valuable but not free. The more you help low-income people, the more low-income people you have. The more you help unemployed people, the more unemployed people you'll have."
The Left is also up in arms because Trump is "slashing" the budget. He's taking food out of the mouths of babes! Killing people for lack of health insurance! Throwing granny in the wheelchair off the side of the cliff!
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But here's a big-picture point: In most cases, the new budget merely slows the rate of spending growth.
Manhattan Institute economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth argues that what the media calls "cuts" are really increases. She's right. The so-called current-services baseline goes up every year at 4, 5, 6, 7 percent or more. So any reduction in the rate of increase is not a cut from last year's spending level.
The Trump budget proposes to raise government spending from $4 trillion today to $5.7 trillion in 2027. That's not a cut. Furchtgott-Roth points out that the new budget proposes to increase federal Medicaid spending from $378 billion today to $524 billion in 2027. That ain't a cut either. It's an increase.
Furchtgott-Roth also notes that America has over 90 anti-poverty programs, 17 food-aid programs, and 22 housing-assistance programs. You think this has been a success? I don't.
Adding up each and every new year between now and 2027, the federal government will spend about $55 trillion. Do we think that's enough? And the Trump budget would curb that by about 7 percent, or roughly $4 trillion. That's all that's happening.
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President Donald Trump arrives at the ancient Greek Theater during the Summit of the Heads of State and of Government of the G7, the group of most industrialized economies, plus the European Union, on May 26, 2017 in Taormina, Sicily. Tiziana Fabi | AFP | Getty Images
U.S. President Donald Trump's first state visit to Brussels was certainly one to remember. From pushing aside a prime minister to criticizing his allies for being unfair to U.S. taxpayers, here are five takeaways from the trip.
1. Trump can follow the script
The expectations in Brussels were that Trump would avoid being indiscreet and follow protocol. Indeed, he deviated from his previous lines on the European Union and avoided making controversial comments, both to the media and on his Twitter page. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker even joked at the end of a press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron, saying "I hope he hasn't tweeted about me."
Nonetheless, this visit will be remembered by many for the moment when he pushed aside Montenegro Prime Minister Dusko Markovic at a NATO meeting. Tweet 1 A NATO official, who didn't want to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC "that pushing was awkward. Truly unnecessary."
2. Trump's comments on further NATO contributions were not a surprise
US President Donald Trump listens to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's speech during the unveiling ceremony of the Berlin Wall monument, during the NATO summit EMMANUEL DUNAND | AFP | Getty Images
One of the highlights of Trump's visit was his speech at the NATO headquarters. This was the first time he directly addressed his NATO allies after having made critical comments about the alliance during his presidential campaign. Trump has complained several times that other NATO countries, including Germany, are not respecting the agreement on financial contributions. "We should recognize that with these chronic underpayments and growing threats, even 2 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) is insufficient to close the gaps in modernizing, readiness and the size of forces. We have to make up for the many years lost," Trump said. A source at NATO told CNBC on Thursday night: "It was totally expected."
3. Brexit worries Trump
There might be some irony in the detail that emerged from the meeting between Trump and the presidents of the European Commission and European Council. Trump, who supported Britain's decision to leave the European Union, told European chiefs he is worried about the impact this might have on U.S. jobs.
4. The US and the EU do not see eye-to-eye on a number of issues
Trump and the EU have not been on the same page on a number of issues. And EU leaders didn't hide that this week. "My feeling is that we agreed on many areas But some issues remain open, like climate and trade," Donald Tusk, who represents the 28 leaders of the EU, told the meeting after meeting Trump. "And I'm not 100 percent sure that we can say today - we means President Trump and myself - that we have a common position, a common opinion about Russia although when it comes to the conflict in Ukraine it seems that we were on the same line," he added. The recently elected French President Emmanuel Macron also said: "In the center of the discussion was pragmatism. We don't necessarily interpret things in the same way, but we were able to speak very frankly."
5. Trump now definitely knows the difference between Tusk and Juncker
EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker (L) and EU Council President Donald Tusk. JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images
How Trump Thinks: His Tweets and the Birth of a New Political Language by Peter Oborne and Tom Roberts
This is the best thing I have read about Donald Trump not that I have read much about him, for this statesman who barges his way to the front of the Nato photo-call is such a tawdry oaf that even to read about him is to feel contaminated, though to hear his creepy, insinuating voice is worse.
But the question of how he got where he is today is clearly of considerable importance, and here Oborne and Roberts are very helpful.
At the start of their book, they quote a remark Trump made to Fox News in March 2017: I think that maybe I wouldnt be here if it wasnt for Twitter.
Trump cut out the middle man: something of which Douglas Carswell strongly approves, as I noted when I reviewed his new book for ConHome. For the idea of being able to get directly at the truth, without a lot of priests, mainstream media and other parasites getting in the way, exercises a strong appeal to the Protestant mind, and can easily be assumed to be an unmitigated good.
In Trumps hands, this new form of communication became, as Oborne and Roberts remark, a way, not of getting at the truth, but of getting round it:
He exploited Twitters ability to express raw sentiment instantly, without nuance or subtext, and its ability to blur, even extinguish, the boundary between sentiment and fact.
They point out that Trumps first Tweets, when he joined the medium in 2009, were quite dull, for his aim then was to puff his books and television programme, and he was part of the celebrity culture where one goes out of ones way to be nice about famous people, including the Clintons.
Only in 2011, when he was thinking about running for the presidency, did he find his voice on Twitter:
Trump started to use the exclamation marks, the capital letters and the staccato insults that have defined his Twitter discourse ever since. He made enemies, pursued feuds and communicated a sense of apocalyptic doom Trump told lies, smeared and fabricated in order to destroy opponents. If the facts proved what he was saying to be untrue, Trump didnt care He made assertions about his own honesty and the lies of his enemies in order to gain power and win arguments. According to the rules of conventional politics, this resort to deceit should have been the end of Trump. The media would duly have exposed him as a liar, and as a result he should have remained a fringe figure. Most informed people were certain he would be discredited. But his failure and disgrace never transpired, and he became President. What happened?
Good question, and the authors go on to supply two good answers. The first is that Trump became the latest in a long line of American populists who have raised the banner of revolt against the hated Washington elite.
In a dozen pages, this book gives an excellent short account of these populist insurgents, including Andrew Jackson, who became President in 1828 after a campaign disfigured by monstrous fake news stories on both sides, the Know-Nothings of the 1850s, the Populists of 1892, William Randolph Hearst with his anti-immigrant American First rhetoric in the early years of the 20th century, Huey Long and Father James Coughlin in the 1920s and 1930s, Joe McCarthy in the early 1950s, and Richard Nixon, who in November 1969 hit on the telling expression the silent majority to create a political coalition by negation:
Nixons short phrase gave a home to everyone who did not protest against the Vietnam War (or anything else), who did not criticise the police, who did not reject authority, religion and conventional mores and family life.
Trump learned much from these forerunners, and in July 2015 informed voters that the silent majority is back, which he followed up with a Tweet:
I truly LOVE all of the millions of people who are sticking with me despite so many media lies. There is a great SILENT MAJORITY looming!
There has always been a market in America for this kind of thing. One should note in passing that there has always been a market for it in Britain too, but insurgent populists have generally found it harder to get to the top, because to do that you have to command a majority in the Commons, which means you need, as a first step, to become an MP: a task which has so far proved beyond even so gifted a figure as Nigel Farage.
Why was Hillary Clinton unable to stop Trump? Because, these authors contend, she and the progressive elite who supported her were themselves hopelessly compromised:
The Clintons and their followers convinced themselves that their lies were virtuous. They saw truth telling, due process, and respect for the law as minor points, compared to the greater good they could achieve once in power.
This was the message of the liberal elites favourite television show, The West Wing. They thought of themselves as essentially noble people.
In my opinion, it is not so much the lies told by the Clintons, or by Tony Blair, which stuck in peoples throats. It was their nauseatingly self-righteous hypocrisy which rendered them vulnerable to a populist insurgency.
The more Hillary Clinton tried to condemn Trump as a liar who behaved abominably towards women, the more she opened herself to the counter-charge of hypocrisy. The election descended into a mud fight, and Trump was in his element.
Twitter enabled him to abuse Crooked Hillary, as he now termed her, as often and as shamelessly as he liked. His raucous bad taste is part of American life, and in his hands it became a brilliant way of baiting The New York Times, with its prosy, priggish, fact-checking mentality.
In the celebrity world from which Trump springs, one of the core fantasies is that you too can be a billionaire, you too can be a megastar, you too can sleep with supermodels. How delightful to believe this nonsense.
And there is the huckster Trump, whispering into your mobile phone that it is all true. Look at me, he says, Ive done it. Come and get a bit of the action. You too can be a pudgy, boorish, philistine braggart who never reads a book, but your natural cunning and unrecognised worth will take you past all those slim, well-mannered, civilised, educated, stuck-up types who have held you back, have let foreigners steal your jobs, and have hailed Barack Obama as the greatest man since Abraham Lincoln.
This book consists mainly of a generous selection of Trumps Tweets from May 2009 to March 2017. They constitute a kind of masterclass in his salesmanship.
Here is a man who is authentically shoddy. When placed in a tight spot, he escapes by launching an outrageous counter-attack. He lies, but as he punches the keys on his phone he appears to believe in his lies more devoutly than his opponents believe in their truths.
His indecency is part of his attraction. The more unworthy he shows himself of high office, the greater the satisfaction of placing him there. Have the American elite ever received a more humiliating rebuke?
The authors supply notes in which they identify some of Trumps worst falsehoods, without getting pompous or pedantic about these.
They expect Trump will most likely sooner than later collapse under the weight of his own contradictions. I think so too.
A common complaint about the way Britain handled its North Sea oil wealth is that it didnt use the profits to create a sovereign wealth fund basically a state-run investment vehicle.
The Conservatives seem to be intent on ensuring that we dont pass up the chance with the next energy revolution: shale gas. The manifesto is very supportive of this new energy source, particularly highlighting its potential to help with rebalancing our economy.
These funds, dubbed Future Britain Funds, will be used to make what the state deems strategic investments to support the economy over the long term. Heres the full extract:
People have long talked about the need to create UK sovereign wealth funds. We will now make this a central part of our long-term plan for Britain. We will create a number of such funds, known as Future Britain funds, which will hold in trust the investments of the British people, backing British infrastructure and the British economy. We anticipate early funds being created out of revenues from shale gas extraction, dormant assets, and the receipts of sale of some public assets. We will encourage pension funds with an interest in joining Future Britain funds to do so.
Nor are FBFs the only new funds available: theyll be joined by University investment funds, which will focus on increasing research and development capacity, and the National Productivity Investment Fund, which will pump 23 billion into trying to boost Britains low productivity.
Whether or not the managers of these funds will actually get the returns the manifesto anticipates is, of course, another question.
Deputy Secretary of the Tuyen Quang province Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thang (L)
presents a gift to Cuban Ambassador Herminio Lopez Diaz (Source: baotuyenquang.com.vn)
Addressing the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Nguyen Hai Anh highlighted the solidarity between Vietnamese and Cuba people during national liberation movements in each country in the past as well as their present cause of national construction.
Cuban peoples deep sentiment towards Vietnam has been demonstrated through Fidel Castros saying For Vietnam, Cuba is ready to shed its blood, he said.
Noting his pleasure at socio-economic achievements that the Cuban people have attained under the leadership of the Communist Party of Cuba in recent years, Anh said he believes Cuba will achieve socio-economic targets, protect national independence and territorial sovereignty and integrity, and materialise the socialist economic model the country is pursuing.
Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Herminio Lopez Diaz said Vietnams experience in reform will serve as reference helping Cuba carry forward its strength.
He pledged to serve as a bridge for the friendship between Cuba and Vietnam and Tuyen Quang province as well.
Within the framework of the exchange, the delegates offered incense at a temple dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh in Tuyen Quang and visited a number of national relic sites in the locality./.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (second, right)
chairs the Vietnam-Spain economic forum during his official visit to Spain (Photo: VNA)
The remark was made by Director of the Foreign Ministrys Europe Department Le Dung during an interview granted to Vietnam News Agency on the outcomes of the visit and the prospect of Vietnam-Spain relations.
According to the Director, Spain is an important European partner of Vietnam, with which Vietnam set up a strategic partnership in 2009.
The trip from May 23rd-25th was part of an action programme for implementing the strategic partnership, he noted, adding that the two sides have made big strides in all-round cooperation, from politics, diplomacy to trade, culture, education and defence.
Spain is currently the sixth biggest European trade partner of Vietnam. Their trade revenue has been surging, approximating EUR3 billion in 2016. Meanwhile, nearly 60,000 Spanish tourists came to Vietnam last year, doubling the figure in 2010.
The tour by Deputy PM and FM Minh reeled in very significant outcomes, including the enhancement of political trust, Dung said, noting that the King and other leaders of Spain emphasised that they attach importance to the development of ties with Vietnam.
Two important documents were signed during the visit, including the fifth financial programme, which will pave the way for cooperation projects until 2020. The other, an agreement on economic, trade and investment cooperation, is meant to prepare for the establishment of a Vietnam-Spain inter-governmental committee on economic, trade and investment cooperation.
The documents solidified the legal framework for bilateral connections in prioritised fields such as infrastructure, renewable energy, environment, and hi-tech agriculture, Dung added.
He said both sides affirmed that they will lift their cooperation at multilateral forums, especially the United Nations, ASEM and ASEAN-EU, to a new level. They vowed to support each other and coordinate their stance on regional and international issues of shared concern.
Vietnam and Spain have good conditions to strongly develop bilateral linkages in the time ahead, Dung said, stressing that both have very high political resolve to intensify their ties. They also inked a number of important documents serving as the legal framework for the two countries relations. In addition, the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is set to be signed and ratified in late 2017 or early next year.
The countries targeted USD5 billion in two-way trade by 2020, which is ambitious, but Spain affirmed that with their political resolve, favourable investment climate and commitments, along with the EVFTA, this target is achievable, Dung said.
He added thanks to the fifth financial programme, more and more Spanish investors will come to Vietnam, which in turn will provide the best possible conditions for them.
At a business forum held during the Deputy PMs visit, a number of Spanish investors showed their interest in the Vietnamese market in the spheres they have strength in like environment, infrastructure, renewable energy and, especially, tourism, Dung noted, adding that the EU nation pledged to share experience in tourism management and expressed its readiness to advise Vietnam about building a tourism development plan until 2030./.
A researcher by the name of George Madani found out the hard way that a loris bite is no joke after getting bitten by one in Borneo. According to Madani: "It was a very painful bite and the loris was reluctant to let go ... As a wildlife biologist I have inadvertently been bitten by a variety of species, but the loris took the cake when it came to being the most painful."
George Madani
But aww wook at those widdle teef marks!
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The bite sent him almost immediately into anaphylactic shock, which he survived only because he was fortunate enough to be near a medical facility that had shots of adrenaline on hand.
Female lorises are also known to douse their babies in the poison as a way to deter predators. Their surprise venom makes them deceptively dangerous, but even without poison, they can still be surprisingly vicious. Lorises have been observed taking out birds the old-fashioned way: sneaking up and strangling the shit out of them. They're basically poison-happy serial killers trapped in the bodies of stuffed animals.
2-in-1 Rivalry Heats Up
This week was a busy one in the 2-in-1 tablet space. Samsung's Galaxy Book -- the company's latest attempt to take on the popular Surface Pro series of tablet-keyboard combo devices -- went on sale this week (we got an early look at the CRN Test Center). Meanwhile, Microsoft unveiled a successor to the Surface Pro 4, simply called the Surface Pro. Which of the two devices is a better fit for you? In the following slides, we compare the new Microsoft Surface Pro vs. the Samsung Galaxy Book on specs and price.
Overview of the conference (Photo: VNA)
The conference was co-chaired by Lieutenant General Tran Van Ve, Acting Director of the General Police Department under Vietnams Ministry of Public Security, and Major General Thongleck Mangnomeck, Director of the General Department of Police of Laos Ministry of Security.
The two sides briefed each other on the crime and security situation in each country, assessing the outcomes of the implementation of agreements reached in the previous conference in 2016 in Nha Trang city, the central province of Khanh Hoa.
They agreed that in the past year, along with the political instability and economic structure changes in the globe, regional countries, including Vietnam and Laos, are facing many challenges from increased cross-border crime.
The two sides stressed the need to further foster their cooperation in sharing information and experience in order to effectively implement the plan on collaboration in combating crimes, thus safeguarding security and order in each country and the region as a whole.
Participants concurred that police forces of Vietnam and Laos must enhance partnership in crime information and investigation, and protecting security and order in localities along the shared border.
At the same time, they pointed to the importance of collaboration within the Interpol and ASEAN Pol.
The two sides will work closely in personnel training, and support each other in technique and other fields to ensure security and safety in border areas, contributing to building the Vietnam-Laos border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.
The same day, the General Police Department delegation led by Lieutenant General Tran Van Ve is scheduled to meet with Lao Minister of Security Somkeo Silavong./.
Those who have followed China's technology acquisition over the last 30-plus years will recognize the latest pilfering of high-tech trade secrets as par for the course. It all started with Project 863, which was the methodical acquisition of western technology.
The most recent incident, in support of China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (CMIIT), as well as China's National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), culminated in the arrest of six individuals of multiple nationalities and arrest warrants for seven (one individual, named but not arrested is currently in China).
Amazingly, and indicative of the brass of the Chinese, the China-based company that monetized the technology invited the company from which it was stolen to be their "exclusive" customer. This was not to be your ordinary trade secret theft. Old-fashioned human source acquisition methodologies were used to target, assess and ultimately acquire the services of key personnel and have these trusted insiders take the trade secrets of their employer and deliver these secrets to the Chinese.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced, "Seven People Charged With Conspiracy to Steal Trade Secrets For Benefit of Chinese Manufacturing Company (Case involves dual-use technology with military applications)." In their announcement of the arrests of the six individuals in various locales throughout the United States, the DOJ noted that for the past five years (2012 through May 2017), trade secrets were stolen from "Company A," a leader in marine technology. Houston ABC affiliate KTRK deduced that Company A was Trelleborg. A review of the arrested individual's bios and LinkedIn social network pages corroborate KTRK's assertion.
A review of the DOJ court documents reveal a substantial amount of information on the methodology used to target Trelleborg and their employees. The key individuals in this saga, Shan Shi and his co-conspirators, put together a game plan with the assistance of a China-based entity, an entity associated with both China the government and state-owned-enterprises (SOE) with ties to the People Liberation Army (PLA).
Targeting Trelleborg
Shi, in concert with Kui Bo (a Canadian citizen), put together a list of employees within Trelleborg who would have knowledge and expertise to spurt the newly formed Chinese entity, TAIZHOU CBM FUTURE NEW MATERIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD. (CBMF) located in Linhai City, Zhejiang Province.
Though the name of the head of CBMF is redacted in the court documents, CBMF's press releases of 2013 identify the chairman of CBMF as Qu Longkui. The company's website cbm-future.com is currently not responding; however, a peek via the "way-back-machine" showed the company to have made remarkable progress between May 2012 and May 2017.
All in, CBMF funded the establishment of multiple entities in Houston to the tune of multiple millions of dollars for the purpose of acquiring technology from U.S. companies, specifically Trelleborg. CBMF on their Chinese language website ironically highlights how CBMF would provide a "high-quality product quality, excellent service, original technology, completely independent intellectual property rights."
This effort ultimately resulted in the hire of Samueal Ogoe (his LinkedIn profile showed his employment with Trelleborg) and Gang Liu (a Chinese national, lawful permanent resident in the U.S.). Both brought with them their knowledge of a "syntactic foam," a light material used in both commercial and military uses to include marine and space. They both also spirited documents away from Trelleborg on their way out the door.
So complete was the theft of Trelleborg's technology that CBMF was able to build from scratch a competitive manufacturing facility, operationalizing the stolen intellectual property. Indeed, the test results from Trelleborg's R&D allowed CBMF to leapfrog ahead of Trelleborg in making additional advances.
Such was the success enjoyed by CBMF that the chairman of CBMF, Qu Longkui, directed Shi to engage Trelleborg, strengthen the ties to Trelleborg and offer them an exclusive opportunity to purchase CBMF's spheres at a price one-half of what Trelleborg was currently manufacturing their spheres. Trelleborg visited CBMF in China and noted their surprise at how CBMF had been able to develop quality products. They apparently were not yet aware they were now competing against their own technology.
FBI sting
In April 2017, two unidentified companies, acting on behalf of the FBI, contacted Shi and Bo and provided an opportunity to bid on a "next generation of commercial Remote Operated Vehicles." Shi and Bo jumped at the opportunity, and the hook was set. On May 23, 2017, the two made a presentation in Washington, D.C. During the presentation, Shi boasted about his company's advanced technology and the fact that the spheres that his company would produce in support of the opportunity would be prohibited for export. And with these two facts being presented, the FBI arrested Shi and Bo for violation of f 18 U.S.C. 1832 (Theft of Trade Secrets).
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HARTFORD Heads turned as Joe Ganim, charismatic mayor of Connecticuts largest city, patrolled the marble hallways of the state Capitol last week, schmoozing with an assortment of lawmakers and lobbyists.
Ganim was whipping votes for a bill to allow Bridgeport to bond its unfunded pension liabilities, which could save the city millions in debt service payments. But that was just the subplot.
There were bewildered whispers. Does Ganim friend of Donald Trump, a Bill Clinton moderate Democrat and convicted felon have the chutzpah to run for governor? The long and the short answer is, yes.
Do (I) care what other people think? said Ganim, who allowed a Hearst Connecticut Media reporter to ride along with him to Hartford. I have to think that theres always people, some are going to be foes and some are going to be fans just because of the way the world works. Theyve got to at least think theres something to the fact that a little over two years ago, I was able to do what they thought maybe and still probably cant understand how it happened.
The voters of Bridgeport pardoned Ganim for the corruption scandal that forced him to resign and sent him to prison for seven years, re-electing him as mayor in 2015. Now, Ganim, 57, a divorced father of three, has formed an exploratory committee for statewide office.
Your comeback reminds me of the old school days, Chris DePino, a former state GOP chairman and lobbyist, told Ganim.
Fellow Democrats George Jepsen and Joe Aresimowicz, the state attorney general and House Speaker, greeted Ganim during his two-hour visit to the Capitol. So did House Republican Leader Themis Klarides, R-Derby, whom Ganim gave a quick embrace and promised to send fresh pasta from his favorite Bridgeport Italian restaurant. That would be Testos, which is owned by Bridgeports Democratic Party boss and Ganim ally, Mario Testa.
I actually asked Mario, could you send some (pasta) up to the speaker, Ganim said, quickly correcting himself on Klarides title.
Question of money
Obstacles loom for Ganim, who was 32 when he was elected Bridgeport mayor for the first time and was the 1994 Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. Because he was convicted of accepting $500,000 in kickbacks from city contractors, he is not eligible for public campaign financing under the states decade-old clean elections program.
Ganim said he should not be denied participation in the program, which was borne out of the bribery scandal that cost Republican John Rowland the governorship and his freedom. Candidates for governor are eligible for $1.4 million for a primary and $6.5 million for the general election if they raise $250,000 in $100 increments or less.
Im preparing to go to court, Ganim said. Dont put me in a position where I have to run with my hands tied behind my back.
And then there is a likely political litmus test: does Ganim have the progressive credentials to win a Democratic primary traditionally dominated by the liberal base?
The problem with the Democratic Party is its so off-the-rails progressive, said Chris Healy, a former state GOP chairman and strategist for the Senate Republicans.
Healy shook hands with Ganim outside the Senate chamber.
I like the guy personally because hes got guts, Healy said. He made a horrible, horrible mistake.
At the urging of his political advisers, Ganim has recalibrated his liberal compass during his mayoral comeback. After balking at efforts to declare Bridgeport a sanctuary city, he signed a resolution Friday designating the city of 148,000 a welcoming city for documented and undocumented immigrants. He finally signed off on a municipal identification card program for undocumented immigrants that had also been delayed.
Ganims ties to Trump, with whom he tried to partner with on a failed waterfront casino development in the 1990s, have complicated things. Ganim was a guest at Trumps wedding to second wife Marla Maples.
Mobilizing urban voters
From the passenger seat of a black Ford Explorer on Interstate 91, Ganim said as a mayor he doesnt have the luxury that legislators have to veer far to the left. He must be pragmatic, he said.
Its real easy to stand up, Hey, Im for all this, lets take any title we want, Ganim said. But when I get a letter that says, Hey, by the way, your cops grant for 20 cops has been denied or were clawing back, which is the term they were using, you know that comes from...the Justice Department, that becomes my issue, not everybody who holds up a sign.
Ganims allies say the plucky mayor, and his ability to mobilize urban voters, shouldnt be underestimated.
Hes going to give people a run for their money, said state Rep. Christopher Rosario, D-Bridgeport, who huddled with Ganim outside the House chamber Thursday.
State Rep. Jack Hennessy, D-Bridgeport, didnt want to handicap Ganims chances.
Everybody has a right to follow their goals, their dream, Hennessy said.
Ganims bold political experiment comes at a tumultuous time for Bridgeport, with the May 9 fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jayson Negron by a police officer. Police say Negron led them on a brief chase in a stolen vehicle that he backed into an officer. Negrons family has disputed law enforcement accounts.
From my experience so far talking to the mayor about the situation, hes been open, honest and transparent, Rosario said.
Ganim said he hasnt thought about the political fallout.
I think its a terrible tragedy, he said. My condolences to the family. I made it a point to be present at both the wake and funeral.
Most days begin for Ganim at 4:30 a.m., when he visits his son in neighboring Easton, where his ex-wife resides. The two bond by lifting weights and working out at a home gym.
On Thursday, Ganim was buying, Starbucks, with the mayor sprinkling cinnamon on his skinny vanilla and buying a banana for the ride home to Bridgeport.
Whoever is the next governor will have a huge impact on Bridgeport. Ganim knows there's a fascination with his redemption tale, but hopes people hear his message of trying to revive Connecticut's cities.
I'm certainly not going to run away from questions about the past, nor should anybody, Ganim said.
nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436; http://twitter.com/gettinviggy
GREENWICH As the country prepares to honor those who died serving in the nations military, a group of Greenwich veterans got their own form of recognition recently with a trip to Washington, D.C.
Lou Caravella, Dr. Peter Arturi and Charles Marshall were greeted with fanfare on their trip, arranged by the Honor Flight Network. The non-profit organization is dedicated to providing recognition to aging members of the military, especially those from World War II, by trips to the nations capital.
The three Greenwich veterans Caravella and Arturi from World War II and Marshall from Korea and Vietnam left early from the Westchester County (N.Y.) Airport May 20.
An astounding sight greeted them as they drove up Anderson Hill Road to their airport: crowds of wellwishers.
These crowds, and little kids, at 7 oclock in the morning, and teenagers, all out waving the American flag. It was a sight to behold, said Caravella.
There were even more crowds and bands at the airport.
What a wonderful day, said Caravella, who joined the Army Air Corps as a teenager. The best day since my wedding.
The group that flew to the nations capital last week was comprised of 69 veterans, each of whom came with a companion.
They got a tremendous ovation at the Washington airport, said Caravella, a former tax collector. You cant imagine how well this was put together, he recalled.
The veterans took in the World War II Memorial in the capital among other landmarks.
One of the high points was a meeting with Bob Dole, a World War II vet and former U.S. Senator. Hes a tremendous supporter of veterans, said Caravella. He stood there like a good old soldier, which he is.
After a meal, it was back to New York and the end of a long day. It was a good tired, Caravella concluded.
The Honor Flight Network has proved immensely popular with the veteran community, but it has hit financial difficulties of late.
Beth Vought, executive director of Hudson Valley Honor Flight, has reported that the non-profit is looking for new sponsors to keep the program going.
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It seems like everyone is foraging this spring at Silver Sands State Park.
Along the estuaries, snowy egrets search for snails and worms while clam-diggers comb the shoreline with wide-toothed rakes.
Further inland, in Hartford, advocates for state parks seem to be foraging for funding.
The scrounging is even more important this year, as Gov. Dannel P. Malloy proposed to cut the state parks budget by one thirdaround $6.5 million.
Thats in addition to a proposed $1.5 million cut from other parts of the agency that runs parks, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. DEEP is already planning service cuts and workers layoffs.
Campgrounds will be closed after Labor Day, and layoffs have already been announced.
Four campgrounds shut down in the past year remain closed, and reductions in lifeguards and other services remain in affect.
We're opening our summer season in that mode, said DEEP spokesman Dennis Shain. A little trimmed around the edges.
Legislators last week proposed a $10 surcharge on vehicle registrations to raise money for the parks.
They have until July 1 to finalize a deal or risk cuts to core services.
For at least a decade, park advocates and DEEP staff have looked to money from outside of Hartford to fund programs that expand citizen access to mountains, forests and beaches.
Expanding services with outside money
To expand outside recreation, DEEP is tapping a $600,000 federal grant from the USDA to allow more hunting on private land.
The program would private landowners to lease to DEEP for a per-acre fee based on how many hunting seasons they can host, and other factors like land quality.
The (main) goal is to have as much land open to hunting as possible to do effective management, said DEEP wildlife biologist Laurie Fortin.
More hunting could prevent deer and other animals from overpopulating, Fortin said. .
Fortin is particularly eager to sign up landowners in Fairfield County, where hunting access is scarce.
She said that theres a big potential to expand bow hunting, which requires less acreage than rifle hunting.
Some organizations purchase passes for those in need.
The Connecticut Alliance of Foster & Adoptive Families buys park passes for around 700 clients, with some financial support from the Department of Children and Families.
That program started thanks to a one-time donation from the charity arm of Bank of America around 10 years ago.
Corporate money, however, doesnt always flow freely.
Connecticut businesses right now are starting to feel a bit of a pinch right now, said Pamela Adams, president of Friends of Connecticut State Parks and the former director of the state park system. Money is not as forthcoming as it once was.
The Friends groups act as state park booster clubs, raising millions of dollars for new facilities and extra programming staff as well as supplementing park staff with volunteers for special projects. According to Adams, the volunteer time alone is worth around $750,000 per year.
Breaking point?
However, volunteers cant compensate for severe cuts to core services, Adams warned.
DEEP staff has dwindled from over 1,000 in 2008 staff to 809 in 2016.
In May, DEEP sent an additional 22 layoff notices, to take effect July 1, unless theres a budget solution.
Twelve were in the parks, said Schain. That's a hit into our operations and we need to look at the resources we havehow do we deploy themhow much ground can they cover.
Last summer, at the start of the 2016-2017 fiscal year, DEEP closed campgrounds, cut maintenance staff, and reduced museum hours and lifeguard coverage.
Some parks operate fine for a while but then ... something goes wrong, said Adams, the former parks director. And you can say 'well, there was no money, there was no staff' and ... when it goes to court that doesn't make a difference.'"
Many non-profits rely on access to state parks as a venue for other services.
State Parks are always on the list of opportunities for our programs, said Tammy Papa, Director of the Bridgeport Department of Youth Services, because the are nice but not expensive ... They are an opportunity for our children to move outside the city and experience (more).
Some cutslike lifeguardingmake the parks nearly unusable for some of the programs that Papa oversees.
Park visitors are regularly faced with signs declaring that no lifeguards are on duty. Most can decide to stay safely on the beach. But not youth programs.
That would be a consideration for us because safety is key, Papa said.
The U.S. presidential administration in its draft budget for the 2018 fiscal year foresees providing Ukraine with $350 million in assistance to cover various programs.
The sum would fund programs in the defense and security sectors, as well as the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs.
The U.S. State Department and USAID assistance programs for 2018 account for almost $204 million. They are budgeted for health care, economic development and structural reform programs in Ukraine.
Some $150 million is earmarked for military and security programs under the U.S. Department of Defense program. The funds would be spent on military training, equipment, consulting Ukrainian military commanders, as well as strengthening the potential of Ukraine to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In addition, military supplies, including uniforms and other equipment, logistics gear and reconnaissance support for Ukraine's military would be provided. The draft budget also leaves open the possibility of supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine, an item missing from the past U.S. administration budget proposals.
The draft consolidated budget for 2018 proposes to increase Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for countries of Europe, Asia and Africa to $450 million. Ukraine would be eligible to receive some of that money.
In general, the U.S. presidential administration's budget expenditures for European and Asian countries would be cut by 60% compared to the 2017 fiscal year budget. Ukraine this year accounts for more than 45% of all countries in the region.
The U.S. fiscal years starts October 1, 2017 and runs through September 30, 2018.
Further the budget request must be studied and discussed in the U.S. Congress, where changes and supplements could be made. Thus, the real amount of aid to Ukraine will be known after the completion of the entire process of adopting the document, which is now at the initial stage.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Valeriy Chaly, commenting on the budget request, said it is important that the text of the document contains statements on providing lethal weapons to Ukraine.
"It should be emphasized the budget proposal of the presidential administration includes provisions on granting our country with lethal weapons, which compares favorably with the administration requests of the previous years," the ambassador said.
The Vatican portrait showing a smiling Donald Trump and dour-faced Pope Francis was so awkward and surreal that it's hardly surprising it launched a thousand memes.
But it was also misleading.
Many social media users focused on the supposed difference in the pope's mood when former President Barack Obama or other heads of state visited the pontiff. Photos showing the pope grinning and obviously enjoying himself with Obama or Angela Merkel were juxtaposed with the smiley Trump-frowny Francis picture.
In fact, the pope did not appear in a bad mood during the photo-op, according to the photographer, Evan Vucci of Associated Press.
"We were instructed to stay behind the gift table. It's packed and everyone is jostling for position," Vucci told Time. "They're shaking hands, [Trump's] introducing the delegation. Then they do this big group photo."
We don't know if the pope enjoyed Obama or Merkel's company more than Trump. He certainly may have. But it's impossible to discern the pontiff's emotions from this one photo snapped while other photographers were clicking away.
Pope Francis may simply be one of those people who look like they're depressed when they're merely trying to present a neutral expression.
Had someone yelled, "Sorridi!" (Say cheese!), and the pope cracked a smile, Trump critics might have ignored the photo altogether.
Over 410 thousand blood donations made in Cuba in 2017
Submitted by: Juana
Local
Health and Medicine
05 / 27 / 2017
In the first 4 months of 2017, the 330,000 Cuban voluntary blood donors, made over 410,000 donations that will contribute to save lives in Cuba and in other countries.
From June 6 through the 14, the Ministry of Public Health and the and Revolutionary Defense Committees (CDR) will pay homage to these volunteers whose altruistic and caring attitude help preserve human lives
In a meeting with the press in this capital it was known that, due to the systematic fulfillment of the Blood Donation Program, Pinar del Rio was selected as the best province and seat of the national celebrations.
Dr. Luis Enrique Perez Ulloa, Chief of Medical Specialties of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), commented that thanks to the joint work of several organizations, the people of Pinar del Rio managed to be the best in this activity.
He informed that Cienfuegos, Holguin and the Special Municipality of Isla de la Juventud are the most outstanding territories, while in Havana they will give special recognition to obtain 100 thousand donations in the year, which allows their hospitals to have the necessary bags of blood for medical procedures.
He also commended the participation of the other provinces, and urged to continue to perfect this humanitarian task.
Irina Serra Podio, an official in the ideological sphere of the National Directorate of CDR, told ACN that among the activities to be carried out to date are to publicly recognize donor families and work centers, as well as carry out municipal and provincial acts.
Cuba is the only country where a day dedicated to blood donors is held and, consequently, the only state in which this activity is carried out voluntarily or spontaneously.
Ukrainian Justice Minister Pavlo Petrenko hopes that Ukrainian citizens Stanyslav Klykh and Mykola Karpiuk imprisoned in Russia will return home as part of the ongoing process of prisoner swap, in particular, within the Trilateral Contact Group on the settlement of the situation in Donbas.
"Nevertheless, I'm still full of optimism that there is a chance that those guys will also be brought back as part of prisoner swap, which is currently discussed in the Minsk Group," the minister told reporters, asked whether Ukraine continues to take measures to return Ukrainians convicted in Russia, including Klykh and Karpiuk, home, in Kyiv.
As reported, on May 26, 2016 the Chechen Supreme Court sentenced Mykola Karpiuk and Stanyslav Klykh to 22.5 and 20 years of imprisonment respectively. According to the verdict, Karpiuk is to spend first ten years of his sentence in a jail, while Klykh will spend first nine years, and subsequently they will be transferred to a maximum-security penal colony.
On October 26, 2016 the Russian Supreme Court upheld the verdicts for the Ukrainian citizens, who were convicted of fighting against federal troops during the first Chechnya campaign as part of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNA-UNSO), which is banned in Russia.
On May 24, 2017 OSCE Special Envoy to the Trilateral Contact Group Martin Sajdik said that the parties to the Ukrainian conflict should update the lists of illegally detained persons during the week.
"We must update the lists during this week. It is a very difficult process, because there are various categories of detained persons," Sajdik told reporters following the Trilateral Contact Group's meeting in Minsk.
The Trilateral Contact Group is addressing these issues, he said.
"And, certainly, the rule of law [in Ukraine] needs to be respected. It is necessary that all procedures are implemented under such requirements," Sajdik said.
"We hope that the parties are indeed drawing nearer. I am proud to say that we're nearing the completion of the attestation [the verification of the lists of illegally detained persons] process," he said.
"I believe, it's quite a large number," Sajdik said, replying to a question as to what percentage of prisoners does not want to return to the territories beyond Kyiv's control.
PAUL SCHNEIDEREIT: Treatment centre for PTSD in first responders, military opens in Nova Scotia
Imagine its your job, every day, to be ready to rush to scenes where men, women or even children had been killed or badly injured, often in horrific circumstances. Really, consider what that might be like. If youre like most of us, the thought ...
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has congratulated his Georgian counterpart Giorgi Margvelashvili on the Independence Day of Georgia and expressed confidence that his forthcoming visit will intensify multifaceted interaction between the two states.
"Accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of the Independence Day of Georgia. Significant progress in reforming the country, consistent activities in the framework of European and Euro-Atlantic integration, as well as a steady development of friendly relations with the states of the world contribute to the growth of prestige of Georgia in the international arena," reads Poroshenko's letter to Margvelashvili, posted on the website of the Ukrainian president.
Poroshenko noted Ukrainians are grateful for the unswerving support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country and the contribution to the struggle of the Ukrainian people against Russian invasion.
"Ukraine, in turn, constantly stands on the side of Georgia in defending the independence and non-recognition of its occupied territories," he said.
Poroshenko stated both countries are united with friendly and strategically important partnership relations that have developed over the years of independence.
Georgia is ready to continue participating in the international missions of NATO and the European Union, Georgian Defense Minister Levan Izoria said.
A total of 871 Georgian servicemen are now participating in international missions, specifically, in Afghanistan, the Central African Republic and Mali, he said at a meeting of the Defense and Security Committee of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly on Saturday.
"Naturally, we will continue these policies. We have repeatedly stated our readiness to continue participating in international missions together with you in the amount in which we are represented now, especially in Afghanistan," Izoria said.
Nearly 80 PA people have been charged for Jan. 6 riot. Three are dead.
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The introduction of a visa-free regime with the European Union will increase the flow of Ukrainian tourists to Greece, Spain and Italy, the director general of TUI Ukraine tour operator has said.
"The demand for European countries is growing, the number of requests we receive has tripled or quadrupled, especially we feel it with regard to Spain, Greece, Italy," he said.
The expert noted the probability of a slight decrease in the flow of tourists from Ukraine to Turkey and also predicted that the cost of recreation in this country could increase by an average of 40% compared with 2016, which is also related to the abolition of prohibitions on charter flights to Turkey in Russia.
At the same time, the expert believes that despite the increase in the flow of Ukrainian tourists to the EU countries, Turkey will remain the leader. He also noted the company is ready to change charter programs and resolve the issues with an additional quota of seats in hotels.
Shortly after Theresa May conducted her rubber-scalding U-turn on social care, a regular follower of mine tweeted asking how I now intended to vote. When I replied I would still be voting Conservative, she responded: So youre going to vote for May just because you dont like how Jeremy Corbyn wears his tie.
On Friday morning, Corbyn was wearing a very smart, sober black tie as he entered the Institution of Civil Engineers to deliver his speech directly linking British foreign policy with the Manchester terror attack. Mourning black, rather than Islamic State black.
Political analysis is always hard in the wake of an atrocity like the concert bombing. But thankfully, Labours leader has made it easier. As Tory chiefs were debating the appropriate way to restart their stalled campaign, his own strategists had no qualms. They would attack Theresa May for being weak on terror.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn gives his speech at the Institution of Civil Engineers on Friday
They didnt set it out quite so blatantly, of course. Their analysis in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children, Corbyn said, smoothly ending the electoral truce, before adding: I do not want to make a narrow party political point. He then proceeded to make police cuts, overseas adventurism, crumbling prisons and draconian anti-terror laws complicit in Salman Abedis murderous rampage. And then he delivered the line that will come to define his speech: The blame is with the terrorists, but if we are to protect our people we must be honest about what threatens our security.
The blame is with the terrorists, but
This Election campaign has been conducted in a hall of mirrors. Issues have drifted into view, become distorted, then vanished. Brexit, the economy, the deficit, the NHS, pensions, social care. But finally there is clarity. Two people stand reflected Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May. Behind them, sinister figures are lurking. The 2017 Election has been redacted to this. Up until now its been crass to draw such a seemingly simplistic comparison as its a straight choice between May and Corbyn. What about the policies, what about their competing visions for Britain? It cant just be about his tie.
It was never about his tie. On Friday, my wife and son were due to attend an Ariana Grande concert at the O2 arena. When people target dont simply murder, but deliberately target children, I expect my Prime Minister to say the blame is with the terrorists, and then stop.
Jeremy Corbyn has never been able to stop. The IRA. Hamas. Presented with their crimes, the moral clarity with which he condemns racially motivated attacks on Muslims, or once condemned the perceived excesses of British troops in Northern Ireland, suddenly deserts him. Last Sunday, asked to unequivocally condemn the IRAs bombing campaign, his instinctive response was: No, I think what you have to say is all bombing has to be condemned and you have to bring about a peace process.
But again, until the barbaric events of last Monday night, this sophistry had been airily dismissed. Corbyns past relationships and his reluctance to disown them were an unfortunate but abstract presentational problem.
'To judge Corbyns willingness to keep us and our families safe, we need to look at other words and actions. The words he spoke and actions he took before the horrors of Manchester'
Not now. Not after he has looked the country in the eye and said: Do not doubt my determination to take whatever action is necessary to keep our country safe. The country does doubt it. And it should. To judge Corbyns willingness to keep us and our families safe, we need to look at other words and actions. The words he spoke and actions he took before the horrors of Manchester.
He voted against authorising RAF strikes against IS in Syria, and said attacks against them in Iraq should be reviewed. He said he would not support a shoot-to-kill policy to prevent a Bataclan-style massacre. He has said he opposes extending anti-terror legislation. And believes the Prevent initiative is counterproductive. Corbyn says that as Premier, he would take any action to protect the nation, but in practice he has opposed every action designed to protect the nation.
And now, thanks to Corbyn himself, the nation can see it. He could have restarted the campaign by pivoting back to the dementia tax, or the NHS. But spurred on by his Stop The War acolytes, he wrapped himself in the bloodied-shroud of the war on terror. And unwittingly framed the choice before the British people.
In the short term their reaction to his speech may actually be positive. The narrative that we should keep out of other peoples fights is seductive. But in two weeks time it will have been replaced by a simple question when the next Salman Abedi is in the RAFs sights, which of the two candidates for PM is most likely to pull the trigger?
Out beyond the liberal enclave of Islington, Labour MPs know the answer. As one told me: The British public will forgive Theresa May for U-turning on social care, or getting her sums wrong on school meals. But they wont forgive Jeremy Corbyn for giving comfort to Britains enemies at home and abroad, both historically and now amidst the carnage of Manchester.
Once such emotive language would have been effectively dismissed by Corbynites as a smear. But not today. Jeremy Corbyn has defined the choice on June 8. And it has nothing to do with his tie.
The MoS seat-o-meter
This has not been a good week for the Tories, as Theresa Mays hopes of coasting to a landslide victory seem dashed.
The rise in Labour support already evident the previous week picked up, and most polls now put the party well above the 31 per cent they won in 2015. Nevertheless, the Tories are still strong favourites, even if our latest estimate of a Tory majority of 84 is probably at the bottom of what Mrs May was hoping when she called the Election.
Even achieving that would depend on the polls being right in suggesting the swing to the Tories will be highest in Labours heartlands in the North and the Midlands. Without that, the Tory majority would be closer to 50.
Analysis by John Curtice, Professor of Politics, Strathclyde University
Campaign Camera - Sturgeon puts her foot in it
Nicola Sturgeon is helped down a slight embankment on the campaign trail
Politics can be a very mucky business, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has found.
Giving a new meaning to smear campaign, her pristine white shoes yesterday became soiled with mud or maybe something even more unpleasant as proof that there are hazards in connecting with the grassroots.
Good job this didnt happen to Theresa May, or it would have been several hundred pounds of designer leopard-print ruined.
'Giving a new meaning to smear campaign, her pristine white shoes yesterday became soiled with mud'
As Theresa Mays re-election parade begins to resemble that scene from The Emperors New Clothes, Ministers are becoming increasingly concerned at how the Tory campaign is being managed.
According to one: Its a shambles. No ones allowed to be seen, except for Theresa. Theres not even a campaign grid for other members of the Cabinet.
Another complained: Lynton Crosby wants to run an election, Fiona Hill wants to run a coronation. Its chaos.
Im told members of the Cabinet will bite their tongues for now. But according to one MP: After June 8 there will have to be changes inside No 10.
A woman who spent her days researching Somali piracy took a complete change of career direction when she launched the 'Uber for beauty' - and she now runs one of the most successful apps in the city.
Venetia Archer, 29, established Ruuby - a London-based digital beauty concierge that allows clients to order massages and manicures to their home within 60 minutes - two years ago.
The entrepreneur landed investment from the Virgin Start Up Loan - Richard Branson's start-up initiative fund - and her app has become so popular that she's since been listed on Forbes' 30 Under 30.
Venetia Archer, 29, from London, quit her high-flying city job to establish Ruuby - a London-based digital beauty concierge that works like Deliveroo and Uber and allows clients to order massages and manicures to their home within 60 minutes
Despite becoming one of the UK's most successful app developers, Venetia's career story started a little differently.
After graduating from Cambridge in 2009, Venetia began working as a political risk analyst. Her area of speciality was conflict in East Africa, and she spent time in Nairobi and Mogadishu researching Somali piracy, which she describes as a 'wonderfully exciting and interesting time'.
Speaking to FEMAIL about venturing into the beauty app business, she explained: 'In 2015, apps like Deliveroo and Uber had just launched in London, and they integrated into life so easily and quickly. It was clear to me that there was a great opportunity to launch something similar for on-demand beauty services.
'Like many of us, I was working long hours and didn't have the time to go to the salon, so I thought why not bring it home (at 7am!).'
Venetia's career story started a little differently and she worked researching Somali pirates before taking the leap into app developing. Her risky move paid off and she's now listed on Forbes 30 Under 30
The app allows users to book a manicure or blow dry at their home within 60 minutes in central London
Venetia said that like many people, she was working long hours and didn't have the time to go to the salon, so decided to bring it to people's home at whatever hour they wanted
Venetia decided to jump on the on-demand bandwagon and launched Ruuby with some private investment, which was then subsidised by a Virgin Start Up Loan. This allowed her to go to market with her first technology platform.
Since those early days and that initial prototype, she has done some additional investment rounds, and the company is now backed by a series of angel investors who act as mentors and advisors.
'The first fundraising round was hard,' she admits. 'It was challenging to attract support when Ruuby was purely a concept.
'Selling an idea is hard when you don't have any track record, and I find it more manageable now we have a tangible history of accomplishments - this offers a platform to discuss what we are capable of in the future.'
Venetia decided to jump on the on-demand bandwagon and launched Ruuby with some private investment; she has also launched popup salons (pictured)
Venetia admits that the first fundraising round was hard but she's secured investors ever since and now her app is booming
Sharing her advice for others, Venetia maintains that the times of high stress and high risk are the best times and teach you how to find solutions to problems
Venetia believes her concept is different because Ruuby allows you to book with the people your friends suggest and all of her therapists are 'the best quality'.
VENETIA'S TIMELINE TO SUCCESS Graduated from Cambridge in 2009 Worked as a political risk analyst, spending time in Nairobi and Mogadishu researching Somali piracy Noticed Uber and Deliveroo taking off in 2015 and wanted to try the same for beauty Launched Ruuby with private investment and a Virgin Start Up Loan Landed in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2017 Advertisement
She added: 'We're excited by what's happening in beauty - from treatments to tech. We're always introducing new treatments, from vitamin drips, b12 shots, bamboo massages and more, and our tech team is constantly innovating and working on new features which we are so excited by.'
The company also has a network of VIP therapists and makeup artists, who have worked with the likes of Anna Wintour, Suki Waterhouse and Cara Delevingne.
Whilst she won't disclose the value of her company, she reveals that the valuation has quadrupled in two years.
Sharing her advice for others, Venetia added: 'With retrospect, I have learnt that the times of high stress and high risk are the best times. They result in the best solutions and ideas, as there is no way out unless you think fast and wisely.
'When starting a business, it's important to own and understand every single aspect of it - from the accounting to the sales to the design and recruitment. Don't delegate in the early days, as you will not learn how to delegate wisely.'
When you think of beauty bloggers, the first thing to come to mind might not be medical experience.
But one Australian beauty vlogger defies all of the traditional industry stereotypes, having studied emergency medicine at university and worked as a paramedic for two years.
'I still get to help people, it's just in a totally different way,' the talented vlogger, Nikkia Joy, told Daily Mail Australia.
These days, you're more likely to find Ms Joy making beauty YouTube videos or collaborating on lipsticks with the global beauty brand, MAC.
Nikkia Joy (pictured) is an Australian paramedic turned beauty vlogger
She spoke to Daily Mail Australia about her two passions, and why she loves both of them (pictured)
'I still get to help people, it's just in a totally different way,' the talented vlogger (pictured with Chloe Morello) said
According to Ms Joy, she didn't initially set out to be a beauty personality:
'I had always dreamed of being a paramedic as I have such a passion for helping people,' Ms Joy told FEMAIL.
NIKKIA JOY'S TOP TIPS FOR VLOGGERS * Be genuine and don't worry too much about perfect editing. People will enjoy it more if they think it's real. * Make sure your lighting and sound qualities are up to scratch. Use information on the Internet to help you to achieve this. * Have fun with it - and if you make a mistake, laugh about it. * Remember that make up artistry is about passion and creativity more than qualifications. Advertisement
'I did nursing first and then progressed onto Emergency Medicine - this was a long six-year slog at university, but totally worth all the hard work.
'I worked full time as a paramedic for two years and started vlogging and doing social media in my spare time,' she added.
But as Ms Joy's following grew, so too did she gradually start to reduce her shifts on the ambulance:
'I didn't leave the job because I didn't love it - I left because I had no longer had enough hours in the day to get everything done,' she said.
The beauty blogger confessed to still doing the 'occasional shift here and there'.
'I think it's always smart to keep your foot in the door in case you ever want to go back,' she added.
Recently, Ms Joy has collaborated with MAC Cosmetics (pictured) to create her own shade of lipstick
'I had always dreamed of being a paramedic as I have such a passion for helping people,' Ms Joy told FEMAIL
However, alongside Ms Joy's passion for saving lives is another passion - for beauty:
'I've always been into beauty and make up - I used to work as a freelance make up artist while I was studying. One of my clients mentioned to me once that they would love to watch an instructional make up video to learn some of my tricks.
One of my clients mentioned to me once that they would love to watch an instructional make up video to learn some of my tricks
'The idea pretty much spawned from that conversation!'.
These days, the Australian-based blogger has more than 500,000 followers online.
She also recently collaborated with MAC after she was selected as one of their global beauty influencers to create their own lipstick for the brand.
'The collaboration with MAC Cosmetics is definitely my career highlight to date,' she said.
'I am beyond honoured to have had this opportunity and every second of it has been a dream come true. The MAC x Nikkia Joy lipstick is something I will cherish forever.'
But as she got into vlogging and social media, so too did she lessen the hours of work she was doing with the ambulance
'I've always been into beauty and make up - I used to work as a freelance make up artist while I was studying,' Ms Joy said
Ms Joy also shared her tips for aspiring vloggers and make up artists, which include being genuine and creative:
'You are unique for being you and people can see through when you are trying to act like something else,' she said.
'I prefer videos that are real and not perfectly edited, they are so much more fun for the audience to watch.'
Ms Joy also advocated making sure your lighting and sound qualities are up to scratch:
'There is plenty to help you with this on the Internet,' she said.
'Make up artistry is about creativity, passion and art more than anything else,' Ms Joy concluded.
'You don't actually need a qualification to be successful in the industry.'
To follow Nikkia Joy on Instagram, click here. To follow her YouTube channel, click here.
Theirs is the White House rivalry that dares not speak its name, but which, this week, was rather too glaring to ignore.
Donald Trump went on his first international trip as President and took with him his wife Melania, 47, and his daughter Ivanka, 35.
Normally, there is no confusion on the identity of America's First Lady it's the President's wife. Nowadays, however, it's not so clear.
For Ivanka Trump the President's daughter by his first marriage, to Czech model Ivana has taken an increasingly prominent White House role alongside her husband, Jared Kushner, now reportedly Mr Trump's closest adviser.
With the fragrant, ever-smiling Ivanka turning up at State dinners, world leader receptions and top-level government meetings, her stepmother Melania has remained in New York with her young son Barron. Melania has been far more out of the spotlight than Ivanka of late.
So, asks TOM LEONARD, who's the real First Lady?
Donald Trump went on his first international trip as President and took with him his wife Melania (left), 47, and his daughter Ivanka (right), 35
MELANIA'S STRICTLY HANDS-OFF APPROACH
The U.S. President has spent the week crossing the Middle East and Europe.
But much has been made of a clip purportedly showing Melania swatting her husband's hand away after he went to hold hands with her while on a red carpet in Israel on Monday.
She was reported to have done it again, two days later, in Italy.
Washington insiders say Melania is a reticent woman who reportedly never wanted her husband to run for president and now cannot hide her unhappiness. Anti-Trumpists have launched a 'FreeMelania' campaign and urged her to 'blink twice if you need help'. But the mockery is mixed with sympathy.
Who, after all, could adapt easily to having the eyes of the world on them?
Washington insiders say Melania is a reticent woman who reportedly never wanted her husband Trump (left) to run for president
DADDY'S SECRET WEAPON... HIS DARLING DAUGHTER
No Trump superlative is too great for Daddy's little darling. She's the apple of his eye, she can walk into the Oval Office without an appointment, and the woman whom he once queasily said he would probably be dating if she wasn't his daughter. She's 'got the best body', he boasted to a radio show when she was all of 21.
Now she's his White House 'assistant', an undefined, unpaid role, and has her own office in the West Wing and a front row seat in government.
So far, Ivanka has proved a political asset, turning on the charm with world leaders.
Just days after Mr Trump had an uncomfortable meeting with Angela Merkel, apparently failing to shake her hand, the German leader was welcoming his daughter to a conference on working women in Berlin. She managed it again this week with the Pope one minute he was standing glowering next to Donald Trump and the next he had a huge smile on his face as he shook Ivanka's hand.
The President can rely on his daughter to get opponents eating out of his hand.
THE BATTLE OF BRAND TRUMP
You can't call yourself a Trump and not make money off the family name. Melania and Ivanka have both had their own commercial product ranges.
Having launched a range of accessories for young urban women hardly natural Trump supporters Ivanka has seen retailers drop her products.
Conversely, when liberals called for a boycott of her products earlier this year, analysts reported her sales shot up by 347 per cent. Even so, her company which being private, doesn't release financial details is reported to have gone downmarket as it accepts the classic Ivanka customer isn't as rich as it assumed.
The company is ditching its high-end jewellery range, where a diamond-studded wrist cuff costs 36,500. Experts say the worry for 'Brand Ivanka' will be when her clothes and baubles become so cheap she won't be able to wear them.
As for 'Brand Melania', pre-election, she had several stabs at monetising her name but hardly set the retail world alight. They included Melania Timepieces & Jewellery and a 'caviar-based' anti-ageing cream.
First Lady of Business? Ivanka. Just like Daddy, she likes to make a buck.
STYLE QUEENS HOLDING COURT
Long legs, long hair, big chests and a penchant for figure-hugging clothing First Lady and First Daughter don't go far from the stereotype of the sort of woman the U.S. President appreciates.
Mr Trump is a man who has always relished the company of glamorous women and his wife and daughter certainly don't let him down.
It was hard to keep up with their costume changes this week, as a stream of expensive outfits passed in a blur. Neither women misses a chance to show off their figure, but Melania's wardrobe is nowadays more flashy and figure-hugging sexy power-outfits with 80s-style big shoulders, big hair and waists pulled in with big belts.
Her wardrobe is full of sheath dresses, belted raincoats and pencil skirt suits by designers such as Givenchy.
Mr Trump is a man who has always relished the company of glamorous women and his wife and daughter certainly don't let him down
Every occasion calls for a style statement, as when the Trump ladies insisted on wearing long-sleeved black dresses and veils to meet the Pope this week. The veils were unnecessary, as Pope Francis is trying to discourage such old-fashioned dress codes.
Ivanka also had critics sneering when she wore a 3,100 off-the-shoulder dress by French designer Rouland Mourret to the State of the Union Address in Congress, saying it would have been more appropriate at a cocktail party.
And in Trump tradition, she doesn't miss an opportunity to plug her own fashion ranges wearing a pair of Ivanka Trump heels in the knowledge they will be identified as hers and boost sales.
In some cases, as with a pink dress she wore during the election, she'll Tweet a link to a retailer selling it. But the style crown goes to Melania, who this week left even the chic French First Lady Brigitte Macron in the shade when the two met in Brussels. First Lady of Fashion? Melania. Melania makes sure every head turns.
HOME SWEET LUXURY HOME
Who but the Trumps and Russia's most tasteless oligarch would live in the First Family's 30,000sq ft triplex in Manhattan's Trump Tower?
The views from the 58th floor aren't bad, but nobody who has seen the pictures can forget the garish interior 53 rooms of marble and gold designed to evoke the grandiose Louis XIV's Palace of Versailles.
With its waterfalls, hall of mirrors and vast chandeliers, it's the opposite of cosy. And yet that's where Melania calls home, rattling around the place with Barron, while Donald is in Washington.
Ivanka and her husband moved into a 4.2 million, five-bedroom house in Washington while Melania lives in the White House. Neither live at Trump Tower in New York (pictured)
Ivanka and her husband, who are worth at least $740 million, moved into a 4.2 million, five-bedroom house in Washington earlier this year, which they are renting for 12,000 a month.
Living more like normal if very rich neighbours has its drawbacks. The locals, Democrats, have been complaining about the extra security and portable lavatory for Secret Service staff stationed outside the house.
First Lady of the White House? Ivanka. With complete access to the Oval Office, she's nearer the seat of power.
ONLY DONALD IN COMMON
The two main women in Mr Trump's life couldn't have less in common. Melania was born in Slovenia in what was then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The daughter of a car dealer, she grew up in a flat in a modest Communist-era apartment block. Her mother made patterns for a children's clothing manufacturer.
Melania started modelling aged six and moved to New York at 26 to build her career. She met her future husband at a party in 1998.
Ivanka grew up in billionaire affluence. She was educated at a string of private schools. She attended an exclusive business school and did some modelling before joining the family empire.
First Lady of Reinvention? Melania. Her ascent to prominence has been extraordinary.
Melania was born in Slovenia and grew up the daughter of a car dealer while Ivanka grew up in billionaire affluence
A CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK
For all her protestations that she wanted to just be a daughter to the President, nobody was surprised when Ivanka took a White House post which entails being one of his chief confidantes.
Insiders say she has more liberal views on issues such as abortion and gay rights, and doesn't hesitate to contradict her father.
Critics are not convinced, asking how can she really be the feminist progressive she claims to be when her father who boasted groping women was one of the perks of power is a misogynist dinosaur.
While Ivanka was a regular stand-in for her father on the campaign trail, Melania was a reluctant campaigner during the election.
When Melania did finally make a major speech, at the Republican National Convention, it emerged that bits of it had been cribbed from a speech by Michelle Obama.
First Lady of Politics? Ivanka. A chip off the old block in sharing her father's drive and ambition.
The glamorous Queen Letizia of Spain looked smart in a black and white floral gown today as she joined her husband King Felipe at the annual Armed Forces Day military parade.
King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia took in the military event in the city of Guadalajara, about an hour from the capital Madrid.
Letizia, 44, wore her hair in a neat plait behind her head and a pair of sparkling pearl earrings.
The glamorous Queen Letizia of Spain (right) looked smart in a black and white floral gown today as she joined her husband King Felipe (left) at the Armed Forces Day military parade
King Felipe VI of Spain and Queen Letizia took in the military event in Guadalajara, about an hour from the capital Madrid
Letizia, 44, wore her hair in a neat plait behind her head and a pair of sparkling pearl earrings
King Felipe VI is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces. He was pictured chatting with his wife during the ceremony
King Felipe VI, who is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Spanish Armed Forces, was dressed in full military uniform as he paid tribute to his country's fallen servicemen.
Letizia, a former journalist and mother-of-two, could be seen solemnly watching the parade with her hands folded in front of her.
At the event, she wore a Carolina Herrera sheath dress.
The Armed Forces Day has taken place on the nearest Saturday to May 30 every year since 1978.
Although it is not a public holiday, Armed Forces Day is widely celebrated across the country.
At the event, Letizia wore a Carolina Herrera sheath dress. She was seen bowing her head during the parade
King Felipe VI was dressed in full military uniform as he paid tribute to his country's fallen servicemen
The Armed Forces Day has taken place on the nearest Saturday to May 30 every year since 1978
Although it is not a public holiday, Armed Forces Day is widely celebrated across the country
Each year a different city is selected to host the annual military parade
Each year a different city is selected to host the annual military parade.
Just yesterday, Letizia gave a masterclass in summer dressing when she joined her husband King Felipe VI at a book fair in Madrid.
Dressed in a dazzling white ensemble for her trip to Retiro Park, the Queen consort appeared to be lapping up the warm weather in the Spanish capital at the annual Feria del Libro.
Temperatures reached 33 degrees in Madrid, and while her husband and companions sweltered in stuffy suits Letizia, 44, stayed cool in a pair of loose-fitting white trousers and matching vest with peplum detail.
The monarch was seen raising his hand to salute the passing military contingents on parade
The royal pair both looked smart as they took in the day's solemn events to remember the nation's war dead
Children are being led to believe they have mental health problems by mollycoddling schemes in school, it has been claimed.
Rising numbers of experts are questioning whether lessons in wellbeing intended to tackle anxiety are actually making pupils more unhappy.
Primary and secondary schools are increasingly offering programmes designed to make youngsters less stressed amid exam pressure.
But education specialists have called for closer scrutiny of such courses, raising fears they are making children think normal emotional reactions to stress are a sign of mental illness.
Children are being led to believe they have mental health problems by mollycoddling schemes in school, it has been claimed (file photo posed bv models)
Kathryn Ecclestone, visiting professor of education at the University of Sheffield, has researched how the preoccupation with wellbeing is transforming schools.
She said: Schools are spending so much on these things, and some of them are really, really spurious. People can just set themselves up as wellbeing consultants, and some of these are snake oil [peddlers].
Its a massive industry, and there are questions about evidence what methods and content are being used in these so-called courses?. She warned that negative emotions among students are increasingly being medicalised and referred for counselling without questioning.
This is recasting how mental illness is understood and could also be diverting resources from needy pupils. Professor Ecclestone told the Times Educational Supplement: Feeling stressed and anxious is being presented as a mental health problem, and the slip from Im stressed to I have a mental health problem is very easy now. Thats dangerous.
The Department for Education has said improving pupils wellbeing is a priority and wants to include it as a guide to school performance. In recent years thousands of teachers have been trained in mindfulness programmes, which were pioneered at the private Wellington College in Berkshire, to tackle childhood mental health.
Supporters say the techniques learned encourage positive thinking, lessen stress and improve pupil performance.
Rising numbers of experts are questioning whether lessons in wellbeing intended to tackle anxiety are actually making pupils more unhappy
But Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for Education and Employment at Buckingham University, called for the happiness programmes to be put under close scrutiny.
He said: The danger is we lead children to think that perfectly normal reactions are somehow an indication of mental illness. It doesnt do any favours for children to be wrapped in cotton wool.
Part of education is to learn to take the knocks and the good things that happen in life.
However Kevin Pace, who is piloting a wellbeing project in 31 schools in Wolverhampton, told the Times: Teachers are recognising the pressures that young people are now under. They say, We cant stop children from being tested. So what can we change?
What is your earliest memory?
My dad putting up gates outside our house in Colchester, Essex, on my fifth birthday party and me climbing through them. The party itself is just a blur of Victoria sponge, candles and being given a little toy garage.
What sort of child were you?
Easily distracted. If there were two kids talking in the corner of the classroom, Id have to find out what they were doing.
Have you ever cheated death?
When I was 19 I was on the beach with some mates and my friend Adam kicked a petrol can out of the campfire. It exploded into a fireball and hit my leg. We put it out before it did any serious damage but I didnt have any hair there for the rest of that summer.
'Who'd play me in the film of my life? Id bring Paul Newman back from the dead'
Whats the best kiss youve had?
Aside from my wife, I once had a kiss with Mel Giedroyc when we worked on Light Lunch together. We were a very tight team and at our wrap parties pretty much everybody got off with everyone. I definitely kissed other women that night too and men.
What is your most treasured possession?
The 1968 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia I bought when I started earning on TV.
Describe the best night of your life
I did a show with the wildlife film-maker Gordon Buchanan. We spent the night on a little island off Skye, around a campfire with a bottle of red, eating barbecued mackerel and instant couscous.
What is the worst job youve done?
Flipping burgers at Wembley stadium as a student. Id rolled my sleeves up because it was boiling hot but the manager insisted they went back down, despite me pointing out that it would allow sweat to drip from my arm on to the food.
What has been your most embarrassing moment?
On my first communion, my dad sent me up for seconds, Oliver Twist-style. When I got there, the priest looked at me as if to say: Youve just been up.
Have you ever had a nickname?
I was called Paddy at school. Being named Sean Dermot Fintan OLeary tends to single you out a bit.
Who would play you in the film of your life?
Id bring Paul Newman back from the dead.
When was the last time you cried?
At a film called A Dogs Purpose. I was hungover and had a really bad cold, which hopefully explains why I was making ungodly sounds when the dog died every 20 minutes.
What is the worst thing anyone has ever said to you?
When I was first starting out I did a show called Recovered. Id had a terrible first night and a cameraman said: Come on mate, do your homework. It absolutely crushed me. Simon Cowell is the opposite of that. Hes more Victorian father he does an Im not angry, Im disappointed face. That said, he did once give me Botox vouchers for Christmas 30 seconds before we were due on air. I politely declined.
Tell us a secret about yourself
I ride a motorbike but its far less glamorous than it sounds. The test is the most emasculating thing you can do. You have visions of looking like a hero on an old-school bike but youre wearing a high-vis jacket and riding a little 125cc around estates in north London.
FILMS, BOOKS, TV
Last film you saw? A documentary called Next Goal Wins. It follows the American Samoa football team but it deals with love, compassion, family and teamwork too. Last book you read? I try to get through a classic every year so Im reading Oliver Twist at the moment. Dickens is a brilliantly accessible writer. Last TV show you loved? Im on series three of Line Of Duty right now. Vicky McClure is such a good actress. Advertisement
Who would your dream dinner date be?
My Life In Space co-host Mike Massimino. Hes like the Bruce Springsteen of the astronaut world.
Whats the best piece of advice youve ever had?
My old boss on Big Brother used to say: Turn up on time and dont be a d***.
What song do you want at your funeral?
The Parting Glass by The Clancy Brothers, The Divine Comedys Tonight We Fly and the stripped-back version of Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen.
Interview by Gwendolyn Smith
The new 24hr Grooming For Men collection by Dermot OLeary launches on June 8 at M&S, marksandspencer.com
Overpriced, vile, dull and as appealing as pond water sieved through a nappy. All these are descriptions of English wine that have been thrown at me over the years, but it hasnt deterred me.
I started seriously collecting English in the late Nineties and the oldest English bottles in my cellar today are three magnums of Ridgeview fizz from the year 2000. One each for my daughters wedding days and one for a day of desperate need.
I love our home-grown wines and I couldnt be prouder this English Wine Week. With more than 500 vineyards to choose from and the UK set to plant over a million vines this year, theres almost enough wine for me to host one of my infamous Sunday drinks parties.
Quality is great and finally English wines are not perceived as novelties but recognised for cool climate elegance that are mainly worth their price tag. Would I plant a vineyard? Love to. Im besotted enough to stick a load of Gamay in the ground and in my dotage raise a glass to my old English vines gently seasoning out their pale red liquid gems.
Get in touch if you have limitless cash, a Sussex field and fancy joining forces with me.
Our reputation for fizz is establishing. Aromatic whites are following with Bacchus leading the charge (try London Cru Baker Street 2016, robersonwine.com, 15) and rose has potential if its taken seriously. But light reds too are destined for success in future Hush Heath sent me a Kentish bottle of Pinot Noir recommended below thats an absolute trailblazer.
As long as we keep planting vines with an open mind, the skys the limit for English vineyards. As for where to buy? Local if possible or try Waitrose and M&S, with English wines so tasty Im recommending two from their excellent range below. Go England.
Defense Minister of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak on Monday, May 29, will hold a meeting with Czech Defense Minister Martin Stropnicky in Kyiv.
According to the press service of the Defense Ministry, there will also be talks between the delegations of the defense ministries of the two countries, after which the heads of delegations will sign a joint statement.
The gruelling public scrutiny. The aching loss of her brother. The days she fears she just cant do it. And the humour thats helped her through it all. With Camilla preparing to turn 70, the Duchess and her inner circle talk with astonishing candour about her journey from public pariah to treasured consort
An exclusive portrait of the Duchess of Cornwall for YOU by Royal photographer Hugo Burnand
The rain is bucketing down in Aldershot as the Duchess of Cornwall inspects and greets soldiers for two hours at the grimmest of army barracks on a bleak February day. She is here as Royal Colonel of the 4th Battalion The Rifles, who have recently returned from Iraq. Speaking as an army officers daughter, may I say that I sometimes think the unsung heroes are the families?
There is warm applause as she speaks, reading glasses perched on her nose, at a parade ground created by her husbands great-great-great grandmother Queen Victoria. The unspoken question on many peoples lips is whether, as she nears her 70th birthday, the former Camilla Parker Bowles will one day follow in Victorias footsteps and also be titled Queen.
Today, however, monarchical matters are not on her mind. In fact, she cheerfully replies if asked that she merely takes each day as it comes and never thinks about such things. What she does think about a lot, she tells the troops, is family more so as she gets older. Family for her essentially means her children Laura and Tom, her five grandchildren, her sister Annabel and her husband of 12 years, the Prince of Wales and, of course, his side of the family, which is always more complicated. After all, like her, they work for The Firm. Towards the Queen she has total reverence and devotion.
Camilla visiting the 4th Battalion The Rifles in February
Although frightened of flying, she arrives in Aldershot by helicopter from her home in Wiltshire, but with no Prince Charles to hold her hand, as he often does when the ride gets bumpy. Their extraordinary love affair has propelled her to this extreme public position as the number two royal lady in the land; she has suffered more than a little turbulence since they first met almost half a century ago.
Since then she has endured the cruellest vilification when Princess Diana hysteria was at its highest, but is now firmly established in the publics affection. Tourist shops display Camilla thimbles, mugs and tea towels; her in-tray overflows with requests for public appearances. What has never wavered is the deep affection Prince Charles has towards the woman to whom he refers in public as my darling wife, and nor has her reciprocal love for him. It has at times been a traumatising process replacing Diana to become wife to the future king. All the more difficult as Diana died in tragic circumstances aged just 36, and remains forever young.
Yet this spring, as Camilla carried out a nine-day official tour of Europe with Prince Charles 20 years after Dianas death there were scenes of adulation day after day, with the crowd in Naples standing ten deep. Photographs show Camilla smiling warmly; the constantly used description for her is down to earth. Never has there been such a reversal of fortune for a royal paramour since Prince Albert went from being a despised German outsider to revered Prince Consort upon his marriage to Queen Victoria more than 150 years ago.
Camillas 70th birthday on 17 July will be a pivotal moment for the royal family. The Queen will be 91, the Duke of Edinburgh 96; the succession to King Charles III is no longer unimaginable. For Camilla, the days of duty stretch ahead not what most women imagine they will be taking on at 70 but it is a state of affairs she accepts with good humour and unassuming grace.
Camilla and Prince Charles on a tour of New Zealand, 2015
Her schedule is relentless for a senior royal, constantly on show beneath the watchful gaze of as many as 100 journalists not to mention the public. Every detail is scrutinised her outfit, her make-up, her jewellery, her small talk as well as the big gestures. Camilla conducts more than 200 engagements a year. Sometimes you get up in the morning and think you cant do it, and you just have to, she tells a friend. The minute you stop its like a balloon, you run out of puff you sort of collapse in a heap. A bit like being on the stage? Not exactly, she says wryly. I was the most ridiculous actor as a child and had a complete dread of school plays. Nightmare! she laughs.
From her earliest days, Camilla has been happy-go-lucky, with a keen sense of mischief. Her warmth is what everyone catches, says a former Diana courtier, completely won over; indeed, its hard now to recall the bitter national divide that once lay between Diana and Camilla.
Keeping it light is key, even when on parade, as she told a close friend; her saving grace is her sense of humour: Youve got to laugh through most things, and sometimes I do laugh a bit too much. There are situations where its very difficult not to lose it completely, especially, you know, if something goes terribly wrong and everybody sits there for a split second [not sure how to react]. You do have to swallow and pinch yourself very hard to not laugh.
Her daughter Laura, now 39, remembers how she and her brother Tom have always tried to stay sunny through good times and bad, even before Camilla rose to prominence, and fondly tells a story of a typical Camilla faux pas. Wed gone to Sainsburys in Chippenham. Most of the parking spaces were filled, but Mummy saw an empty one right outside the front door and nipped in there. The parking space was Reserved for the Mayor of Chippenham. When we came out a man stopped her and asked what she was doing in the mayors parking space? Mummy smiled and said, Im so sorry, Im the mayors wife and hurried me into the car. The man followed us and said, What a joy to meet you for the first time Im the mayor!
The young Camilla Shand never sought the limelight; that was more for her younger sister Annabel and her charismatic late brother Mark. Camilla tells friends: Annabel was a really good actor at school, so she usually had the leading role. I was always the maid who had to come in and say, Would you like a cup of tea? and I even got that upside down. Id drop the tray!
Camilla with daughter Laura and sister Annabel last year
The strange thing for Camilla is that as she reaches 70 and takes on a greater workload than ever, she knows its a time when most of her friends are taking a step back. Am I not young? Is that what you are saying? she joshes when a reporter asks about the stamina needed. Theyre going to have to invent a jab of some sort to keep me going, she jests. On her hectic European tour, she fulfilled engagements from morning till night. I think you live on adrenalin, she says.
And curiosity. At one official dinner she explained: I genuinely like people and Im so curious about them. Other peoples lives are so much more interesting than ones own. Its like going to a dinner where I almost feel like I am a psychiatrist.
When I sit down with my team before an engagement, sometimes they are horrified as I say I dont want to read the biographical brief because I prefer to prise information out of people. It becomes like a gamethe stories that come out, I could write a book about.
And it is the people she meets who motivate her. Such as Freddie Knoller, aged 96, to whom she and Prince Charles are introduced at the Jewish Museum in Vienna. Originally from an Austrian family, Knoller who now lives in Bexley was rescued from Bergen-Belsen concentration camp by British soldiers.
The Holocaust survivor the only member of his family to survive the death camps shows Camilla faded photos of himself, the distinctive striped prisoners uniform hanging off his skeletal frame. You are heroic, she tells him quietly as he beams.
Camilla with Holocaust survivor Freddie Knoller at the Jewish Museum in Vienna last month
In 24 hours she toured the museum, where she had this emotional meeting; she heard the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra rehearse Beethovens Ninth, tasted Austrias former imperial pastry chefs apple strudel and fed sugar lumps to white lipizzaner stallions at the famous Spanish Riding School all part of her royal tour to boost UK trade post-Brexit. If you are a positive person, you can do so much more. People are either glass half-empty or glass half-full. I always think hopefully. You just have to get on with it. Being British! The velvet charm along with her smoky voice hides a steely resolve, often employed to ensure her workaholic husbands programme is not too full. She is tiger-like in protecting him, which she does with the quiet suggestion that dictates everything.
By referring to family she is not sentimental or slushy in fact she and her brother and sister were noisy, robust and competitive. The Shands are talkative and warm, sometimes hot-headed, and they always say what they think.
A big gap in her life is her much-loved brother Mark, who died after a fall in New York in 2014, aged 62. She is touching and funny about him, telling friends, Mark always wanted something. When I heard his voice on the phone saying, Camillsy I knew immediately he wanted something. But God, I miss him. Her closest confidante remains Annabel, to whom she speaks every day.
Camilla with her late brother Mark Shand in 2002
Camilla has always kept her sense of being connected by stepping out of the royal bubble and maintaining her own private sanctuary, Ray Mill, a charming house in Wiltshire where she regularly retreats to recharge her batteries. In the kitchen hang portraits of Laura and Tom by Hattie Young, plus lots of pictures of chickens, and near the Aga is an assortment of dog baskets and toys for her two jack russells, Beth and Bluebell, who seem to rule the house. A friend explains: That house is where she can cook scrambled eggs in her dressing gown and be among those she loves with not a jot of ceremony or anyone looking at her. It is home.
And at times she has needed a secure bolthole more than most. At the height of her unpopularity she was chased and besieged by the press. While the more extreme stories such as bread rolls being thrown at her in Sainsburys are untrue, she was for a time a hate figure for Diana obsessives. Tatler magazine even had to call in the police as the hate letters were so cruel and deranged.
Tom Parker Bowles recalls, The paparazzi used to follow us everywhere and lurk around like spooks. We used to keep binoculars in my mothers bathroom [when the family were living in their previous home, Middlewick House], and one of us would look out every morning to see how many paparazzi were hiding in the bushes. We could tell by the flash of sun on their camera lenses. At the peak [of interest in Camilla], there would be half a dozen hiding outside. It seemed entirely normal.
Camilla with her children Tom and Laura at the Cheltenham Festival in 2015
And normal is what Camilla does best. She kicks off her shoes to watch Nordic TV series, such as The Killing; she reads Robert Harris and Susan Hill and all the Booker-nominated novels.
Home is where she potters about, goes on walks with her dogs, and watches a lot of TV. Time and again she emphasises how friends have been her life support. For about a year, when we lived at Middlewick, I couldnt really go anywhere. But the children came and went as normal they just got on with it and so did great friends.
I would pass the time by reading a lot more than Id ever have been able to in a normal life. I thought, well, if Im stuck here I might as well do something positive like read all the books I want to read, and try to learn to paint though that wasnt a huge success! and after a while, life sort of went on.
It has often been bruising. I dont think Im tough but I do think Im quite a strong character. You have to be, but I think it also comes from my upbringing. We were brought up in a very happy family and I cant whinge about my childhood because it was idyllic.
Our parents gave us a certain amount of freedom, and we had a really good time. Weve brought up our children in vaguely the same way. Theyre very rooted, but I think that we were much more respectful of our parents, certainly than Tom and Laura are of me, she explains to a friend with a laugh. The Parker Bowleses are tightly loyal but always abruptly candid.
She has been an exceptional mother, says Tom. Always. She never got cross about bad school reports, getting into trouble and so on. She would come to Eton and take me out to McDonalds.
Camilla has never complained about the difficult times when she was reviled by the press, only stating without a scintilla of self-pity what happened. It was horrid. It was a deeply unpleasant time and I wouldnt want to put my worst enemy through it. I couldnt have survived it without my family. Is she good at putting things that are difficult in a box and saying, Im moving on? Most definitely, yes, she replies.
Among her gifts is an extremely good emotional radar and intelligence. When pushed by friends to explain how she makes her role work, she says that staying grounded is the only way to remain sane on the royal circuit. And you also have to laugh at yourself because if you cant, you may as well give up. I sometimes think to myself, Who is this woman? It cant possibly be me. And thats really how you survive. Also, having so many friends who, if I ever even vaguely look like getting uppity, which touch wood I never have, they would just say, Look, come on, pull yourself together! Dont be so bloody grand!
Camilla with the Duchess of Cambridge at last years Trooping the Colour
She follows the example set by her father, the late Major Bruce Shand. He was so brilliant and he always came to the rescue. I remember once when he was staying with me at Middlewick and the press were outside. Every couple of minutes theyd be rattling the door, coming down the chimney, banging on the window; they were out of control in those days. Theyve changed a lot since.
After a while, my father calmly went to the front door and he summoned them all. They came clustering round thinking there was about to be some great statement about me, and he said, Gentlemen, in our family, we keep our traps shut, thank you very much, and walked in again. He closed the door with a smile and that was it. I dont think the press could believe what theyd heard but that was always how we were brought up: never complain and never explain. Dont whinge just get on with it.
Camillas nephew Ben Elliot admires in particular this quiet determination. As you know, shes witty; she doesnt suffer fools gladly. Camilla makes up her own mind about people. She and my mother [Annabel] are quite like their mother in that theyre very direct. They want to get to the heart of somebody and what that person cares about.
The Duchess of Cornwall in Florence in April
Camilla feels that her upbringing somehow prepared her for her royal duties alongside Prince Charles. Thank goodness I was brought up with the grounding of my parents, and taught manners. It sounds, especially in this day and age, sort of snobbish but we left school at 16, nobody went on to university unless you were a real brainbox. Instead, we went to Paris and Florence and learned about life and culture and how to behave with people, how to talk to people. This was very ingrained in my upbringing and if I hadnt had that, I would have found royal life much more difficult.
My mother could be quite fierce sometimes. I remember once there was a dinner party at home with some of the most boring neighbours in the world and we were dragged down to join them for dinner. We used to complain and say, Cant we stay here and watch the television over fish fingers? and shed sit us down at the dinner table, and the minute there was silence, she used to say, Talk! I dont care what you talk about, talk about your budgie or your pony but keep the conversation going And so Ive never been able not to talk. Its in the psyche, not to leave a silence.
The 70th birthday at Clarence House will be part duty and part gathering of those who have stood by her in the past 20 years, from charity workers to former policemen. There will be a quieter family celebration, too. Tom might cook her dinner as he often does, which she will enjoy with a glass of red. She always makes sure everyone has a good time. She embodies the perfect combination of sound judgment, strong duty, family loyalty, laughter and deep love for her husband. Not that different from the present Queen, in fact.
The houses of Dal Singh and Sompal are barely hundred metres away from each other in Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur.
Both used to live happily until caste-based violence hit their village recently. Today Dal Singh, a Dalit, and Sompal, a Thakur, rue as they look around their houses burnt in arson during the riots.
The local administration believes they have become victims of 'demonic powers'.
Saharanpurs Shabbirpur village has been torn apart by caste-based violence
Dal Singh, in his late fifties, is sitting on a charpoy (bed) smoking beedi at the entrance of his house, which now looks like ruins. He says: 'Everything is over'.
As you enter Sompal's house, hundred metres away, his elderly father greets with shivering folded hands; he says: 'Look what has happened, tears roll down his cheeks as he indicates towards fumes coming out of the burnt heap of cattle feed.
Both men share same feelings of anger but there is an underlying urge for peaceful co-existence.
A woman works at her house in the violence-hit Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur district
They blame police and administration for letting the situation go out of control.
The stench of burnt belongings including utensils in their houses is a clear indicator that it will take time for their hearts to meet again.
When you go around Shabbirpur village you will find so many such sad stories. Shabbirpur used to be an example for peaceful co-existence until 40 days ago when a series of events orchestrated by 'asuri shakti' descended upon the village.
Those events were so quick and powerful that they swept away ages of harmony in the village.
Shabbirpur is a small village having a population of around 4,500 people, with Thakurs in the majority, followed by Dalits, Kashyaps and Baniyas.
The setting of the village is such that both Dalits and Thakurs have to pass through each other's areas for their daily activities.
They are interdependent both socially and economically. UP home secretary, Mani Prasad Mishra, says: 'I do not see Shabbirpur in isolation.
If you look at the chain of events and reactions, it indicates there is something deeper happening in the region.'
Mishra indicates riots were not spontaneous but due to some conspiracy. Mishra has been recently appointed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath to control the situation after the senior-most district police and administrative officers were suspended for letting things go out of hand.
Surprisingly even children and 80-year-old elderly were booked for rioting by the old guard. Now Mishra and his team are busy rectifying the wrongs which have been done in the last 40 days.
If you look at the series of events, it all started with the clashes in Sadak Dudli village on April 20.
Three days later, when Dalits in Shabbirpur wanted to place Ambedkar's status in a temple premises, the local administration denied the permission to do so.
On May 5, a group of 30 boys from Thakur community were passing through the village playing music and raising slogans of Maharana Pratap.
BSP President Mayawati waves at supporters on her arrival in Meerut on Tuesday on her way to violence-hit Saharanpur
Bahujan Samaj Party Chief Mayawati is an influential figure in the region
They were heading to Simlana village for Maharana Pratap Jayanti celebration. Dalits in the region protested and claimed there was no permission to do so. This resulted in stone throwing and clashes. One of the local Thakur boys died in the ensuing violence.
On May 9 in Saharanpur, Bhim Army, a group established in 2015 by Chandrashekhar Azad with the aim of empowering Dalits through education held a Dalit sabha.
But since no permission was taken, the police dispersed the crowd, which then resorted to violence and attacked administrative officers, journalists and set several two-wheelers on fire.
Chandrashekhar, founder of Bhim Army, addressing the crowd during the protest against injustice towards Dalits in Saharanpur
Things worsened when Mayawati held a public meeting in Shabbirpur village on May 23. Though she asked people not to resort to violence, after the meeting got over, Bhim Army workers set some Thakur's house afire.
In retaliation the Thakurs ambushed and killed a Dalit youth. According to senior police officers, Chandrashekhar Azad, who leads the Bhim Army has emerged as an accused in the entire sequence of events.
He is a mysterious character, who surfaced one-and-a-half-years ago in Saharanpur-Haridwar region. His political affiliations are being probed.
The police have slapped more than 20 cases against him. Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order), Aditya Mishra, said: 'We are collecting evidence against him.'
However, Chandra Shekhar is on the run and police is trying to catch him. Interestingly, Chandra Shekhar has links in universities in Delhi.
On May 21 he also participated in a protest at Jantar Mantar. This man is being projected by some as the Hardik Patel of UP. Raghav Lakhanpal, the Saharanpur MP of BJP, said: 'It seems it's the doing of Chandra Shekhar.
'Some people are trying to glorify him.
'The police officers are openly accusing him. It's a political conspiracy, all about the vote bank.
'Some political parties are worried to see dalit vote bank shift towards the BJP.'
The police and administration are being criticised for letting things go out of hand. According to critics, on May 5 when the boys passed through the village playing music and raising slogans the Budgaon police reached the village without adequate force.
Had they been well equipped, the clashes could have been have been averted, they point out.
Locals also believe that some small time politicians must have stoked the fire. Meanwhile, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, who tried to visit Saharanpur on Saturday afternoon, was stopped from travelling to the riot-hit areas by the police.
Amid allegations of irregularities and scams in the health department, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has stepped into its day-to-day functioning, in an apparent damage-control measure.
The Delhi government maintains that the step was taken to ensure preparedness before the monsoon season to check the outbreak of diseases like last year.
The AAP has come under huge criticism on the health front despite allocating the largest share to the department.
Mosquitoes that carry dengue begin to breed after monsoon reason
Sources say the government is ill-prepared to tackle vector-borne diseases as it lacks medicines, doctors and medical equipment.
This at a time when monsoon is barely days away. They further say that no preventive measure has been taken to control an outbreak-like situation if it arises.
'The health department cannot work at its optimum till the Delhi government is unstable,' an official said.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has stepped into its day-to-day functioning, in an apparent damage-control measure
Sources say the heavy loss in MCD elections and the subsequent slew of controversies surrounding the health department has spurred Kejriwal into action.
From surprise visits to various hospitals and ordering medical superintendents to ensure full medicine stock at their hospitals, the chief minister has suddenly upped the ante on the health front.
Sources say Kejriwal is likely to make more such surprises checks at hospitals around the city.
Earlier in the day, sacked AAP minister Kapil Mishra alleged gross irregularities in the health department. He accused health minister Satyendar Jain of misusing health funds and 'revealed' one of the biggest scams involving Rs 300 crore in procurement of medicines by the department.
Mishra claimed that Jain did not allow hospitals to buy medicines and instead handed over the work to the Central Procurement Agency (CPA).
He said former health secretary Tarun Seem was involved in the irregularities and through a series of tweets, pointed out corruption in purchase of 100 ambulances, of which four caught fire before their launch.
He also accused Jain of illegal appointments of his OSD and 30 medical superintendents.
Most senior doctors pointed out that since the Delhi government tried to make medicine and equipment easily available to all hospitals, it took away power from medical superintendents on that front.
Doctors said that till the CPA is operationalised with full capacity, powers from medical superintendents should not be taken.
'Today, medical superintendents are toothless. So far, not a single medicine has been procured by the CPA, which was only meant for getting medicines and equipments.
The CPA has totally collapsed,' a senior doctor told Mail Today. The Delhi government recently operationalised 125 new ventilators at most of its hospitals, but lack of trained professionals to operate these have put authorities in a fix at a time when there is a huge demand from patients.
A senior doctor at Lok Nayak Hospital told Mail Today, 'Earlier, we were lacking ventilators at our hospital, but now when we have them, we are short of trained professionals to use it.'
Some 35 ventilators have been added to the total number of 45 in LNJP Hospital and they are lying used. The situation is similar in Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital.
Union minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi has slammed the media for reporting the Jewar incident in which a man was killed. Maneka Gandhi said media reports 'every rape case' that is why 'it is on top of the mind'.
'The press after the 2012 Nirbhaya incident has adopted a zero-tolerance policy. In other countries, press don't report rape and molestation anymore. Our press reports every incident. So it is on top of the mind', Maneka said.
Initial reports claimed that four women were gang-raped by a group of six men in Jewar.
Union minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi
A relative of the women was killed by the accused.
The incident reportedly took place early on Thursday morning, when eight members of a family were on their way from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr to meet an ailing relative.
Their vehicle hit axles and came to a halt around 1.30am on Thursday, when the accused allegedly assaulted the women travelling in the car.
Villagers look on as police investigates near the vehicle in which seven members of family along with a driver were travelling while being attacked by a group of at least five criminals on Jewar-Bulandshahr road
When a male relative objected, he was shot dead. The attackers fled with cash and valuables from the occupants of the car.
The deceased was identified as Shakeel Quraishi. The initial media report ruled out gang rape in the incident. Maneka has slammed the press for highlighting the Jewar incident, while speaking exclusively to India Today TV.
The Union minister also played down the crime rate against women in India saying, 'India is fourth from bottom when it comes to crime against women.'
French poet and modernist Charles Baudelaire once described the newspaper as a landscape of the city. As one traversed the columns and reached the suburb of supplements, one literally internalised the city's grammar.
Today, as I read the newspaper, one often feels that desire and violence have become hallmarks of the city. The advertisements and supplements enact out desire, while violence spreads like an epidemic across the city.
Gang rape, caste riot, communal atrocity or murder of a child they have become a part of the new normalcy in the city.
Pehlu Khan was beaten to death last week after allegedly being suspected of transporting cattle for slaughter
In fact, cities today are different repertoires of violence.
Barbaric
Even within the every-dayness of such violence, the incidents near Jamshedpur were startling.
As it was said, the violence startled us twice - once because of the way it was produced and once due to how it was narrated and consumed.
The incidents capture some of the most primordial fears and stereotypes of our time. In the first incident, a group of travellers suspected of being cattle lifters, were beaten up and murdered.
In the second, innocent people were lynched on the suspicion of being child lifters.
The parallelism with cattle lifting is startling, and both, as rumours, create an orgy of violence.
Both events are presented in a choreographed form with the video of the event.
When one watches violence today, it's brutal, barbaric and yet seems strangely choreographed for consumption.
Violence becomes a surreal ballet to be replayed perpetually. The event could have been in any century - a crowd surrounding a scapegoat pleading his innocence.
The ritual of the bleeding man begging for life is played out in full before the crowd beats him to death.
The unforgiving nature of the crowd which has taken over the law and order frightens and disturbs. There is a split level sequence in the before and aftermath of violence is clear.
The first is the India of today as a Hobbesian world of cattle lifters and child lifters, where the life of innocent people is, to quote Hobbes, 'nasty, shout and brutish'.
If the first emphasis is on the primordial Hobbesian state of nature where every man is enemy to every other man and the lynch squad is lynch pin and sovereign, the second is an Indian statist world where the state languorously consumes the violence.
An Indian Dalit man Mauasi Ram , 55, who was attacked by a group of people while returning from a rally (file pic)
The lethargy of police stations and their complicity in the violence is almost taken for granted.
The victims were Muslims and the second incident takes place where three people, all Hindus, who had gone to buy land, were lynched.
If one looks at it as a question of governance, the police as the state is a lazy witness.
Secondly, the government as CM takes over and the relevant minister issues a statement that an enquiry has been ordered and that the responsible people would be punished.
It's a stenciled, cliched response forcing temporary closure. It is almost as if the lynch squad and the police station have a tacit division of labour, a synergy of violence.
Rumour
The mob and the crowd have taken over and the brutalisation of the Indian society becomes acute.
Rumour is rife, the IT handles frame it better but the orgy of violence cannot be called either primitive or primordial. It's modern and contemporary.
In a few days, the incident will be forgotten and an anonymous arrest made to satiate the imaginary human rights worker or journalist. In stage III, the news spreads and the media takes over.
The first thing one notices is that there's no humanity or outrage. Like pathological social scientists, we condemn violence only after it has passed the political correctness text.
One has to find out who the victim was, his caste or religion, which party he was affiliated to. Only then does he begin to exist.
Indian Dalit man Sachin kumar, 21, who was attacked by a group of people while returning from a rally, recovers at a government hospital in Meerut
Ethics today seems to vary across caste and ethnic or religious affiliation. One refuses to mourn a human, one can only mourn a Hindu, Dalit or Muslim.
Without a name or identity tag, the human in him is erased Hysteria As one hears the bureaucrat and politician respond to the event, one senses a tired predictability.
The announcement sounds as if some clerical thermostat has been activated and the right words are ejected from a machine.
Then, the bureaucracy's indifference is replaced by the politician's hysteria. Each party acts as if there's a scorecard in each office to find out which party was responsible for the deaths.
These events almost seem like fables mourning the death of humanity. Life is either primordial or casteist in the new regimes of today.
The act or omission that puts a final seal is the Prime Minister's silence.
When an NRI dies in the US, Indians want Trump to respond immediately. But when an innocent man is lynched, the responsibility for response is the Block Development Officer, the commissioner or an indifferent response from the CM.
I know as one reads the news on violence one often develops a critical of indifference.
Yet, violence in India is deeply inventive as barbaric and the technical compete. Such fables of violence are early warning indicators that the body politic is ill and that a society that doesn't reflect, react or even philosophise about violence and ethics is doomed.
As a citizen and as a social scientist, I think it's time for the media and university to create an annual review of violence not as a passive archive but as a trigger for a new ethics, a new civics that can create mentalities to fight this group epidemic.
Violence cannot be a site for empty consternation and an emptier indifference as it is today.
'Why don't you change your name by deed poll?' My husband uttered these words through gritted teeth last Sunday.
This was after 25 minutes of patiently waiting at the easyJet check-in desk at Copenhagen airport returning to the UK after a brief visit to Denmark.
The counter staff had spotted that the name on my ticket did not fully match the one printed on my passport.
Named by my parents 'Sara', I have always been known as 'Sally' instead which on this occasion appeared on my boarding pass.
Life imitating TV: Sally Hamilton admits that her name has become a hindrance
The clerk clicked and clacked on the keyboard and phoned a supervisor before eventually agreeing to delete 'lly' and insert 'ra' and presenting me with a 50 bill for their efforts.
I admit the names should have matched. But the airline's website says you are allowed to change mistakes of up to three letters written incorrectly for free.
But when I queried this with the press office later, I was told this is only in obvious cases like Rebecca to Rebeka.
More significant changes (like they claimed mine was) mean a charge of up to 20 if made more than 60 days before departure, or 50 if left to the last minute at the airport.
For the record, BA would have let me do it for free at the counter and Flybe says it makes small changes for free as long as they consider it to be a clearly shortened nickname. I'm just thankful I wasn't travelling with Ryanair.
They would have slapped me with a 160 charge nearly double the price of my flight.
My name has become a hindrance in the financial world, too. Just last month I was unable to pay in a cheque made out to 'Sally Hamilton' at the bank I have been with for 30 years as it did not match the moniker on their files.
Back in the day, banks would have accepted a cheque made out to 'Mickey Mouse Hamilton' without the bat of an eye. But tough anti-money laundering rules do not allow for such larks these days.
Should I opt for a deed poll change? A quick internet search reveals certain pitfalls.
The first is having to navigate a sea of official-looking websites offering to do the work for a charge of 10 to 30 upwards.
That might not sound a lot but I discovered that this is an unnecessary expense. Anyone can create their own document for free.
Simply use the correct wording see gov.uk/change-name-deed-poll and have it witnessed by a friend.
Name changers might like to consider websites such as freedeedpoll.org.uk and freedeedpoll.co.uk or alternatively follow guidance at gorge.org where there is no charge.
If you want to use a new name for documents such as a passport this may involve first informing the Royal Courts of Justice and paying a 35 fee.
But for significantly less than the admin charge from easyJet I could make 'Sally' official. I could even opt for 'Lady Hamilton' instead.
Alarming pensions trend
An alarming report crossed my desk this week concerning the over-55s and their pension saving. Just when this group should arguably be redoubling efforts to build a pension pot, significant numbers are giving up free cash that could make them better off in retirement.
The survey, by provider NOW:Pensions, found that more than one in five over-55s are opting out of auto-enrolment, the national programme to encourage millions more workers to save for retirement through a workplace pension scheme.
The rules of auto-enrolment mean employers must contribute to an employee's pot through a workplace pension.
By opting out, workers are not only throwing away these contributions but also tax relief from the Government.
It seems many over-55s opt out because they think it is not worth having another pension scheme at this stage or consider they have saved enough or indeed say they cannot afford it.
NOW: Pensions policy director Adrian Boulding says that the new pension freedoms that allow people to access their pots from age 55 makes pension saving even more compelling.
For example, someone aged 57 on the average wage of 27,000 might save 169 a year by opting out of contributions.
Yet by putting this amount in an auto-enrolment scheme it would be worth 422 after a year. Under the pension freedom rules which allow people to tap in to their pension pot from age 55 they could then choose to withdraw that money.
A basic rate taxpayer, who is also eligible for a quarter of the pension tax free, could withdraw 359 after tax from the pension almost double the original contribution. No savings account offers that kind of return.
Banks would have once accepted a cheque for 'Mickey Mouse Hamilton'
Companies behind internet search engines are being urged to do more to end the misery of holidaymakers duped into paying thousands of pounds to bogus travel booking firms but there are steps you can take yourself to spot and avoid a scam.
Fake websites are sprouting up almost daily and appear on search engines like Google when unwary travellers tap in popular destinations in their hunt for a summer getaway.
Families looking for the perfect villa in the sun assume their search has produced listings of authentic lettings companies and often follow instructions to book directly with the owner of their chosen property.
Duped: Mark High, above, was taken in by a bogus website and lost 4,500
But on closer inspection an increasing number of these websites are fake.
Many are convincing copies of genuine websites, often put together by scammers using images and adapted wording culled from genuine travel firms' web pages.
These can be combined with photos of professional people from random websites around the world who are presented as holiday property owners or agents.
HOOKING HOLIDAYMAKERS
One way fraudsters can achieve immediate high positions on search engine listings is by taking part in 'pay per click' campaigns where the engine company makes a small charge to show adverts above the natural website searches.
Tap in 'villa holidays', for example, and many legitimate companies appear. But in among these lurk bogus websites that have also signed up.
Nick Cooper, co-founder of long-established villa rental firm VillaPlus, has made it his mission to unmask fraudsters.
He says: 'Fake villa holiday websites are being given a helping hand by multi-billion pound companies who should be doing more to help tackle fraud.'
He adds: 'Web hosting companies also refuse to close down fake websites, without an expensive court order or police intervention, despite being shown clear evidence of fraud.
'Meanwhile, these fake companies can run major ad campaigns, appearing high up on Google searches for months before finally being stopped.'
In a statement Google said: 'We have a set of policies which govern what ads we do and do not allow.
'These policies make it clear that we do not allow fraudulent or misrepresentative websites. If we discover websites that are breaking this policy, we quickly take appropriate action.'
Travellers also need to be wary that fake websites often hook them in with worthless booking guarantees promising refunds in the event someone chooses to cancel.
Feeling reassured, bookers pay the rental by bank transfer. But the cash is usually withdrawn as soon as it has landed in the fraudster's account which is usually based abroad.
HUNT FOR CLUES
The Mail on Sunday carried out a reverse image search on a picture of apparent property agent Alexios Panagakos featured on bogus website greekvillaescapes.com.
This is the website that tricked readers Julie and David (not their real names) out of 6,000 in a case featured last month.
The photo is in fact that of an executive from an insurance firm in the US, which appears on his LinkedIn profile.
To do a reverse image search, first click on the photo and then right click on the option 'search Google for image'.
Results will appear showing pictures that are visually similar as well as listings for pages that include the exact same photo.
Some fake websites flip the stolen photos of properties in a bid to prevent internet image searches exposing the fraud.
As this paper reported earlier this month the scourge of bogus websites is increasing as the summer holiday season looms closer.
A report by the City of London Police revealed a 20 per cent leap in reported holiday frauds in 2016 with more than 100 people a week losing on average in excess of 1,200 each.
The figure is likely to be far higher as victims are often too embarrassed to report they have been tricked.
After reading our reports, reader Mark High feared the worst for a booking he and his wife Kerry had made less than 36 hours previously.
Mark discovered to his horror that they had been scammed out of 4,532 after booking a villa in Tenerife through sham website Canaries Holiday Villas a website Nick Cooper warned Google about more than a month earlier.
The couple have arranged villas previously online without a problem and always paid by bank transfer rather than credit card so did not suspect crooks were at work.
He says: 'We discovered the villa was real but is only available through genuine agency James Villas that had already rented it for our dates. We realised then we had been conned.'
The Highs, from Lincolnshire, contacted their bank HSBC immediately. But the call centre told them there was nothing that could be done.
The Mail on Sunday intervened and HSBC took a fresh look. After contacting the receiving bank in Dublin the bank managed to retrieve the couple's money.
Gas engineer Mark says: 'We were disappointed with HSBC for fobbing us off and are sorry that it took The Mail on Sunday to make them act.
'But we are overjoyed they did the right thing and we can now take our children on holiday as planned.
'It was supposed to be a treat for us all after my wife's mother died and left us some money.
'The children were so upset when they thought it wouldn't happen.'
The couple came forward because they 'do not want this to happen to other families'.
MORE ACTION NEEDED
Critics believe both internet search engines and banks need to take more comprehensive action to protect customers.
Martyn James, of consumer complaints website Resolver, says: 'Fraud works because the fraudsters are clever, manipulative and convincing.'
Fight: Martyn James says banks must take action
He adds: 'While banks aren't responsible for the actions of fraudsters, they do have an obligation to their customers to do all they can to get their cash back the moment they are told there is a problem.
'Suspicious transfers should not take place immediately and warnings about transferring money to strangers could easily be given in person or online.'
Meanwhile, payments firms are debating how to combat bank transfer fraud and industry group The Payment Strategy Forum is proposing a 'confirmation of payee' system.
This aims to help people avoid sending payments to the wrong account, either by accident or being tricked into doing so by ensuring confirmation of the recipient is sent to the payer before funds leave the original account.
A spokesperson for Lloyds Bank says it will always try to retrieve the funds if asked in a process that can take 28 days.
She adds: 'Where customers are delayed in reporting, the chances of obtaining a full recovery are low.'
Julie and David heard last week that their quick action following reading our warnings meant the bank has managed to retrieve the majority of their lost 6,000.
HOW THE POLICE TARGET RIP-OFF SCHEMES
With fraudsters often based abroad to better evade detection it can be hard for police to track them down and take action.
So police tactics involve attempting to undermine the scammers' operations instead.
The City of London Police runs Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for all types of internet fraud.
Vigilant: City of London Police have a 'disruptions team' for fraud
It has a 'disruptions team' where officers work with banks, internet services and technology companies to tackle rip-off schemes.
A spokesman says: 'Last year, we requested 160,000 phone lines, websites (including travel websites) and bank accounts be closed in order to disrupt these fraudsters.'
Since hoaxers often set up new websites as quickly as the old ones are closed, detectives instead put emphasis on warning holidaymakers and making suggestions on how they can protect themselves.
British Airways said it would compensate passengers whose flights were delayed and cancelled, according to EU regulations, after an IT crash sparked chaos at airports over the bank holiday weekend.
The airline, which cancelled all flights from London Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday after its computer system crashed worldwide, faces paying out millions of pounds in compensation.
BA said flights were returning to normal today at Gatwick and Heathrow and it will operate a full flight schedule.
BA chaos: Travellers are advised to check the airlines website and twitter account for updates
It said in a statement today: 'As our IT systems move closer to full operational capacity, we will again run a full schedule at Gatwick and intend to operate a full long haul schedule and a high proportion of our short haul programme at Heathrow.
'Our terminals at Heathrow are still expected to be congested so we ask that you do not to come to the airport unless you have a confirmed booking for today and know that your flight is operating.'
Passengers due to fly out today but no longer wishing to travel can claim a full refund even if their flight is still operating or rebook to travel up to the end of November, BA said.
Experts predict BA is facing huge compensation costs, with reports suggesting the bill could top 100million.
What are you entitled to
Under EU Regulation 261/2004 holidaymakers have certain rights if their flight is cancelled or delayed.
The flight must have departed from an EU airport, operating by any airline, or it must be arriving into an EU airport and be operated by an EU airline. The 'EU airport' also includes the following countries; Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
Firstly airlines must offer an alternative flight or a full refund if your flight was cancelled.
You can also get a full refund if the flight wasn't cancelled but was delayed for more than five hours and you no longer wish to travel.
British Airways has said it will provide a full refund, or you can rebook your flight for a future date up until November 2017.
Airlines must also offer you meals, refreshments, and hotel accommodation as appropriate whilst you wait for a rearranged flight for both delays and cancellation.
They should also cover any transport costs between the hotel and the airport.
British Airways advised travellers to keep any food, transport or accommodation receipts to use when making a claim for compensation.
Under EU law you are also entitled to compensation for delays that mean you are at least three hours late arriving at your destination, but the amount depends on how far you are flying and how long the delay is.
P assengers are entitled to between 250 (212) and 600 (509) in compensation (see table below).
HOW MUCH YOU'RE ENTITLED TO IF YOUR FLIGHT IS DELAYED Delay to your arrival Flight distance Amount of compensation At least three hours Less than 1,500km 250
Between 1,500km and 3,500km 400 More than 1,500km and within the EU 400 Three to four hours More than 3,500km, between an EU and non-EU airport 300 At least four hours More than 3,500km, between an EU and non-EU airport 600
WHAT IF I BOOKED ALTERNATIVE TRAVEL? If you have rebooked alternative travel because you couldn't wait for a replacement flight with BA you may not automatically be given a refund. A spokesperson from British Airways says: 'We are encouraging customers to contact us and we will deal with individuals on a case by case basis.' Helen Dewdney, consumer champion and author of The Complaining Cow says: 'Strictly speaking the airline doesn't have to offer a flight from another airline. But given the circumstances and the number of flights cancelled it is completely understandable that people tried to find alternatives. 'If people have tried to get this agreement and not been able to use website or get hold of staff then they should keep all their evidence of how they tried and flight details and claim. 'If BA decline I would suggest using the ombudsman (Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution for BA) then if that doesn't work Small Claims Court. Would be a test case and I would be happy to help the first one prepared to do it! People should threaten ombudsman and court in their claim.'
If your flight has been delayed or cancelled you should be able to claim compensation
What if BA claims it was an extraordinary circumstance?
WHAT IF EXTRAORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES DO OCCUR? Airlines have a duty of care to look after stranded passengers, even if cancellations are due to extraordinary circumstances out of their control. If you have been left stuck and out of pocket by your airline, then you will need to keep a record of what you have spent, including receipts and try to reclaim from airline using the EU rule. You can find out more about how to claim under these circumstances and find our template letter here
Airlines don't always have to pay out and can avoid doing so if the delay is caused by an extraordinary circumstances, such as bad weather or crew strikes.
Previously, airlines routinely refused to pay out for delays caused by technical faults, claiming they counted as extraordinary events.
But in 2014 two landmark Supreme Court rulings declared that carriers should pay out when a delay was caused by a technical fault.
Experts have said this likely won't apply to anyone delayed by the BA technical issues.
When This is Money asked, a spokesperson for British Airways said: ' We are doing everything we can to help our customers. Our priority right now is to help as many customers as we can to get to their destinations. We have been providing customers with letters and information on how to apply for EU compensation and to claim for reasonable expenses. We will fully honour our obligations.'
How to claim compensation
Passengers can claim by telling the airline their flight number, names of passengers and the reason for the delay (we have included template letters at the end of this guide).
If you cant remember how long the delay was, the website Flightstats.com is free to use and will show you how long a flight has been delayed for, although it wont state what the delay was for.
If the claim is rejected, but you believe it's valid you can escalate it to the ombudsman or the relevant regulator (this will depend on the airline). If you still dont get the answer you believe is right it is possible to take the airline to the small claims court.
DID YOU BOOK BY CREDIT CARD OR DO YOU HAVE TRAVEL COVER? Most travel insurance policies should cover passengers for extra expenses incurred if they are stuck. Depending on the policy, this could cover the knock-on effects of not being able to fly. Cancelled hotels, trips and other expenses already paid out could be reclaimed under your travel insurance. It is important to check your policy carefully to see what is covered, any exclusions and the relevant excesses. Once again keep any extra spending to reasonable level, hold onto receipts and if in doubt, call your insurer before paying for anything. Travel insurance does not override airlines duty of care, but you cannot claim for the same thing twice. If you booked with a credit card you could also have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act that means you can reclaim expenses from your credit card provider if the airline won't cough up. To be able to do this you must have paid for at least part of the flight on your card and it must have cost more than 100 (less than 30,000).
The sample reclaim letter
We have provided a sample paragraph and letter for you to use. Either copy and paste the paragraph into your letter, or use the letter template and add your personal details into it.
Copy and paste the text, as needed, adding in your details. For more advice visit the Civil Aviation Authority website .
Delays or cancellations not classed as extraordinary circumstances
Dear Sir/Madam
I am writing regarding flight [flight number] on [date] from [departure airport] to [arrival airport] with the scheduled departure time of [scheduled departure time].
My booking reference is [booking or reservation reference if available]. This flight arrived [number of hours] hours late at [airport] (or) This flight was cancelled and I arrived late on [time and date of arrival].
The passengers in the party were [names of party].
The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Tui & others v CAA confirmed the applicability of compensation for delay as set out in the Sturgeon case. As such, I am seeking compensation under EC Regulation 261/2004 for this delayed flight.
My scheduled flight length was [number of kilometres see here if you need to check flight length http://gc.kls2.com /], therefore I am seeking [if less than 1500km: 250, if more than 1500km but less than 3500km: 400, if more than 3500km: 600) per delayed passenger in my party. The total compensation sought is ].
I look forward to hearing from you and would welcome a response in 14 days.,
Yours faithfully,
[passenger name]
Rules: You should be able to claim compensation for flight delays dating back six years.
What will happen when I ask for compensation?
If you are not given the assistance that you are due, you will need to make a claim against the airline.
You will need receipts and proof of expenses and they must be reasonable.
It is always unclear what airlines will do when faced with claims. Some may try and refuse to pay and stave off claims.
If this happens passengers need to use the courts to force payment.
The best way to do this is through the small claims track of the county court.
How to use the small claims court
You will not be able to claim compensation if you are delayed because of bad weather
What can't I claim?
Your expenses should be reasonable such as a hotel similar to the standard of the one you were staying in or a simple meal.
Living it large and then trying to charge it to the airline is unlikely to work.
You are also unlikely to find airlines paying for the expense of you abandoning your flight and navigating your way home yourself.
Although, if you have taken the simplest and best-value route you may be covered and if you had been advised to get yourself home and that you would be reimbursed by the airline, then you should state this and claim.
This is Money has heard a lot of reports of airlines trying to fob off passengers, deny they are issuing reimbursements or claim that this is not the law. That is untrue and while you may need to be persistent, you should get your money.
If your airline does claim extraordinary circumstances, they need not pay the compensation amounts above but still have a duty of care to look after you and get you where you are meant to be going.
You should tell them that under Regulation (EC) 261/2004 Article 5 you are entitled to be reimbursed or re-routed under Article 8 and also offered assistance, including accommodation, meals and transport under Article 9.
You do not have to be a Wolf of Wall Street to play the stock market.
Investment clubs are a great way to pool resources and knowledge and run a portfolio of shares.
Although no guarantee against share price falls, such clubs can be both rewarding and fun.
Friends: The ladies of Sunnyside plan theatre trips once they finish talking about shares
It is Friday afternoon in a leafy Hertfordshire cul-de-sac. In a bright, homely living room, over peppermint tea and sultana cookies, a heated discussion is erupting.
The share price of engineering group Costain is up 77 per cent since the Sunnyside Ladies Investment Club invested in March 2015, but Mary Mitchell, one of nine club members, is digging in her heels.
She says: 'We sold shares in funeral group Dignity because we thought they had gone up enough, and now they have tripled. I do not want to make that mistake again.'
Sunnyside is one of thousands of investment clubs across the country. The group meets once a month to discuss ideas and invest money collectively.
The club was formed when founding member Karen's husband was starting his own club and invited her to get involved.
Retired university lecturer Karen says: 'I said no thank you, I will start one of my own. I liked the idea of an all-ladies group. Now, there is a friendly rivalry between the two clubs.'
An investment club is any group of two or more people who pool their money to invest.
This can be done in the same way that an individual would invest through a broker such as Hargreaves Lansdown or The Share Centre.
Every group needs a chairman or chairwoman to oversee proceedings and to trade shares chosen by the group. A treasurer handles the money and oversees the progress of the investment portfolio.
There is also usually a secretary, who will write the minutes of each meeting and deal with any administration.
More than 2,000 clubs are registered with The Share Centre. The typical group has 14 members with an average age of 56 and each person invests 25 a month.
While the bursting of the dotcom bubble in 2000 saw many clubs disband, 42 per cent of the clubs now registered with The Share Centre were started since the 2008 financial crisis. The potential to make money is a bonus of this type of hobby, but such groups offer the chance to make long-term friendships too.
SUNNYSIDE SHARES
There are 21 shares in the Sunnyside investment portfolio and the ladies have seen their money grow 13 per cent since they last took profits.
Their best ever performer was a biotech company called Protherics whose shares they bought at just 16p.
It went on to be acquired by pharmaceutical giant BTG at 60p a share. But not all investments are so successful. Two of the shares have fallen around 90 per cent.
Hunger: Leonardo DiCaprio starring as an ambitious stockbroker
'We don't even bother looking at those now it would cost more in fees to sell the shares than they are worth so we just keep hold of them,' says Stella Mehew, who is taking minutes.
Some groups have something called a stop-loss in place, which means that if any share falls more than an agreed amount, say 20 per cent, it is automatically sold.
Others discuss each investment on a case-by-case basis.
Members get information and share tips from newspapers, magazines, online forums and specialist websites.
Many take newspaper cuttings to show the group while others send emails about possible investments between meetings.
But these groups are not just about investing. The ladies of Sunnyside plan meals out and theatre trips once the business part of the meeting is over.
A challenge for any group is to agree on what to do with the portfolio when it builds up. Most agree to take a slice of any profits.
One club registered with The Share Centre empties its account every few years to fund a trip to Las Vegas the group has been three times in its 12-year history.
Some clubs have had the same members since they started, others see individuals come and go.
The youngest member of Sunnyside is 63, while they are planning celebrations for the oldest member, who turns 90 next month.
Darren Cornish, head of customer experience at The Share Centre, says: 'There used to be a perception that investment clubs were just for retirees, but the average age of group members is coming down.
'We see groups of friends, mums and daughters, dads and sons, all getting together to do this. For most people it is social. It is a way to meet up once a month, have a drink and kick some investment ideas around.'
Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi (pictured, with an al-Qaeda flag in Melbourne) said Muslims felt 'oppressed and depressed' by recent statements by local preachers
Australia is awash with hardline Islamic preachers whose statements ordering Muslims how to live are increasingly oppressive, an outspoken imam says.
Daily Mail Australia has uncovered a series of extreme remarks in sermons by sheikhs and hardline groups across Sydney.
They include claims that Muslim women should not pluck their eyebrows, or reveal their necks and ears in public.
Or that men should not line up 'like animals' to use urinals in public toilets, or make friends with non-Muslims.
Sheikh Mohammad Tawhidi, whose calls for a 'reformation' of the Islamic faith have seen him ostracised by many Muslims, condemned such 'extreme, sharia' positions.
He said Muslims in Australia were being 'oppressed and depressed' by such comments which were preventing Muslims from 'actually (being) part of the world.'
Uthman Badar - a spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir - said in March 'apostates (people who leave the Islamic faith) attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that'
Abdulghani Albaf (pictured left) complained 'every public, every male public toilet now has urinals where they just stand up like animals and urinate in front of one another'. Pictured right is Sheikh Feiz Muhammad. He said it was a 'major sin' for Muslim to attend non-Muslim events, and a group associated with him expanded the warning to the Royal Easter Show
Sunni preacher Nassim Abdi said in a recent video that it is sinful for Muslim women to reveal their ears or neck
Several prominent Australian Muslim women, including academic Susan Carland (pictured) and TV host Yassmin Abdel-Magied, have worn clothes showing their ears
He argued some of the controversial positions, reported by Daily Mail Australia, were doing a disservice to the Islamic community. These included:
A Western Sydney preacher's claim it is sinful for women to reveal their ears or necks in public: 'Why are you wearing it like this? You show only your face and your hands. Not your neck and your ears'
A Sydney imam raging that Muslim men were peeing 'in public, without concealing, hiding themselves or hiding their private parts' at urinals - in a fiery sermon about death
Another western Sydney sheikh saying 'plucking your eyebrows' or making friends with non-Muslims will see you go to hell: 'Any friendship that is not built on the fear of Allah is going to lead to hell fire'
An Islamic Lectures Facebook page warned 'the Easter Show is on this week' and linked to a sheikh's warning that it was 'sinful' to take part in a festivity belonging to another faith
The spokesman for hardline pro-caliphate group Hizb ut-Tahrir saying Muslims who leave the religion should be put to death: 'The ruling for apostates as such in Islam is clear, that apostates attract capital punishment and we don't shy away from that'. An apostate is someone who leaves Islam
'These are all matters that form the extremist version of Islam,' Tawhidi said.
'These are all radical interpretations of Islam and Islamic teachings.'
'That just adds onto the depression that several Muslim and Muslim females live every single day.
'You have Muslims that are oppressed, and depressed, and these matters just add onto their depression.
'It doesn't give them an opportunity to actually be part of the world.'
Tawhidi - a Shia preacher from South Australia whose calls for a 'reformation of the religion has sen him and disowned by many Muslims - on Thursday made headlines for a fiery clash on national TV with Muslim GP Dr Jamal Rifi.
Tawhidi waved an al-Qaeda flag on Channel Seven's Sunrise program, which he claimed to have purchased from a Melbourne store, and said the religion was 'infested by extremism'.
His views were rejected by Muslim GP Dr Jamal Rifi, who pointed out local Islamic leaders had 'shouted from the rooftops' their condemnation of terrorist acts.
Asked to justify his previous, separate statement this week, Tawhidi pointed to Sydney's Hyde Park riots in 2012 - where signs said 'behead all those that insult the Prophet' and attendees included Australia's most infamous ISIS export, Khaled Sharrouf.
'Behead all those who insult the Prophet': Demonstrators are pictured protesting against an anti-Islam video in Sydney on September 15, 2012
'These radicals, when they finish from their protests, they go back to their workplaces within our society - which basically means that our society is infested by Muslim extremists,' he argued.
The Australian National Imams Council (ANIC), a Sunni group. has said Tawhidi is 'not recognised (by it) as an Imam, Sheikh or Muslim leader' in Australia.
And the Islamic OnePath Network has rejected him as 'bogus'. He refutes those claims.
Tawhidi is the son of an Iraqi-born ayatollah and has admitted he shares views with the conservative side of Australian politics.
He has been a guest on Andrew Bolt's Sky News program and frequently appears on radio station 2GB.
SOFIA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China's Yunnan province and Bulgaria hope to deepen agricultural cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative and the 16+1 mechanism, officials said here on Friday.
Zhang Zulin, visiting Vice Governor of the province in southwest China, said here in a keynote speech during a business forum that Bulgaria is one of the most important countries on the New Silk Road.
The cooperation with Bulgaria would be an important bridge to the other Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries within the 16+1 mechanism, Zhang said.
"We know that Bulgaria has extensive experience in all areas of agriculture, and therefore we will be pleased to cooperate (in this field)," Zhang said at the event dedicated to the Yunnan agricultural sector.
He said that in particular, Bulgaria could be attracted by Yunnan's coffee and Puer tea, while Yunnan province was most interested in Bulgaria's roses, rose oil and rose products.
Vasil Gelev, executive director of the Association for the Promotion of Agricultural Cooperation between China and the CEE countries, said that on Tuesday, China and Bulgaria signed a joint declaration on the establishment in Bulgaria of an Agricultural Cooperation Demonstration Zone between China and CEE countries.
"Yunnan province has more than 1,000 demonstration zones similar to what we are currently trying to build in Bulgaria," Gelev said.
Thanks to the exchange of experience with Yunnan province, the demonstration zone in Bulgaria could be built properly, Gelev added.
Chinese Ambassador to Bulgaria Zhang Haizhou, who also addressed the event, said that historically, Yunnan province is located in the south of the Silk Road and can be considered as a gateway for cooperation between China and the 16 CEE countries.
The visit by the Yunnan delegation and this event could be a good prerequisite for deepening the practical cooperation with Bulgaria, he said.
The 16+1 mechanism is a platform created in April 2012 by China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries in a bid to inject impetus to cooperation between them.
The case against Shapelle Corby essentially came down to one boogie board bag, more than 4kg of cannabis and one Australian woman's word against two Indonesian Customs officials.
Shortly before 3pm on Friday, October 8, 2004, a boogie board bag tagged QF884193 passed through a conveyor belt at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar.
The bag had come off Australian Airlines flight AO7829 from Sydney to Denpasar.
Schapelle Corby is escorted into Denpasar District Court to be sentenced for drug smuggling in 2005
Schapelle Corby spent nine years in prison before being released on parole three years ago
Schapelle Corby being handcuffed ahead of an appearance in Denpasar District Court
A suspicious Customs officer who X-rayed the bag thought something looked wrong about its shape, and perhaps its colour under the scanning process.
Instead of marking the baggage with an 'X' for officers further down the line to inspect, the official followed the bag through the airport, according to the Herald Sun.
At the baggage carousel was a small holidaying group: beauty therapist Schapelle Corby, 27, her half-brother James Kisina, 16, kindergarten teacher Katrina Richards, 17 and Corby's former flatmate Ally McComb, 25.
Mr Kisina picked up the boogie board bag for his sister. When the Customs official asked to check the bag, Schapelle said it was hers.
The Customs officer, Igusti Ngurah Nyoman Winata, later said as he attempted to open the bag Corby appeared nervous, tried to stop him, and said 'I have some...'
According to Mr Winata, Corby told him there was cannabis inside the bag. She knew that because she could smell it.
James Kisina, half-brother of Schapelle Corby, arriving at their mother's home on the day of her release three years ago
Customs officer Ngurah Winata knew something was wrong when he X-rayed Schapelle Corby's boogie board bag
Schapelle Corby in a holding cell at Denpasar District Court during her appeal in 2006
Inside the boogie board were two vacuum-sealed bags, one inside the other, holding 4.1g of high-quality cannabis. It was used against Corby that the bags appeared to have been shaped to fit next to the board.
The case against Corby was never really more complicated, or simple, than that. A second Customs official supported Mr Winata.
Mr Winata gave evidence in the Denpasar District Court that when he opened the bag he saw a pair of flippers, a boogie board the plastic bags holding the cannabis.
'I asked the suspect what was in the plastic bags,' Mr Winata told the court. 'She said it was marijuana. I asked her, "How do you know?" She said, "I smelled it when you opened the bag."'
Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby in Kerobokan prison in 2008 after a recommendation her term be cut by five years
Drug smuggler Schapelle Corby being escorted into a Balinese courtroom in 2005
Beauty therapist Schapelle Corby weeps during her trial for smuggling drugs into Bali
Corby told the same court: 'He's lying.'
'I opened the bag at the customs counter,' Corby said. 'He did not ask me. I opened it myself. I saw a plastic bag inside. It had been half opened. Oh! The smell!'"
Corby always denied the cannabis was hers, claiming it must have been placed there at her original departure port of Brisbane, or in Sydney.
The bag was not padlocked, which Corby later suggested provided the opportunity for someone else to have stashed the drugs in her bag. If she had padlocked the bag, there would have been no chance to make that claim.
It later emerged that Sydney baggage handlers were linked to a cocaine-smuggling ring operating the day Corby flew to Bali, but there has never been any evidence they trafficked cannabis.
Schapelle Corby's parents Rosleigh Rose and Mick Corby after visiting their daughter in 2005
Drug runner Schapelle Corby is escorted into a Denpasar Court near the end of her 2005 trial
Other issues raised shortly after Corby's arrest ultimately did not work in her favour. It was originally stated that Bali was awash with cannabis but most of it is not of the quality favoured by ex-pats and found in Corby's boogie board.
In the years following Corby's conviction, parts of her defence, including the baggage handler theory and her naivety about drugs, have been further eroded.
Corby's trial lawyer Robin Tampoe was struck off for admitting in 2005 he had invented the baggage handler defence based on media reports about lax airport security.
'We had very little time to do it,' Mr Tampoe told The Australian three years ago.
'I got back from Indonesia; I was talking to a friend of mine. He said, "switch on Triple J". Steve Cannane was doing his talkback and there was a lot people ringing in. A few had been ringing in saying, "baggage handlers had been doing this".
Lawyer Robin Tampoe admitted to inventing a defence that Schapelle Corby had been set up by baggage handlers
Schapelle Corby was released from prison three years ago after serving nine years behind bars
'And I said, "there you go. I'll use that". That's where it came from. It came from Steve Cannane on Triple J.'
Other factors have subsequently made Corby appear guilty by association. It emerged her later father Mick had links to drug dealers. Her half brother James Kisini has also had brushes with the law.
Mr Tampoe also confirmed he had overturned Corby's original lawyers request the seized cannabis pollen be tested because he was worried it could prove it was Australian.
'I knocked it back because it would have come out as (hydroponic) and you can't get hydro in Indonesia,' Mr Tampoe told The Australian. 'If we had had that tested it would have come back to Australia and they could have pinned it down as close to South Australia. That's reality.'
Schapelle Corby is led to the holding cells of Denpasar District Court ahead of sentencing submissions in 2005
Drug smuggler Schapelle Corby in tears during her defence submissions in 2005
Three years ago, convicted Bali 9 drug smuggler Renae Lawrence told Channel 10 that Corby had confessed to her guilty while they were serving sentences in Kerobokan prison.
'She said that she knew the marijuana was in the body (sic) bag but that the person who was supposed to be at the airport at that time didn't show up for work or couldn't be there for some strange reason, I don't know' she told Channel 10.
'And that's how she got caught.
'She told me and the other prisoner that she done it more than this time. She got away with it before and she said how she had to keep saying that she wasn't guilty because if she changed her mind she was scared she would lose all the Australian support.'
Bali 9 drug runner Renae Lawrence (centre) claimed Schapelle Corby confessed to her inside Kerobokan prison
Convicted drug smugglers Renae Lawrence (left) and Schapelle Corby (centre) together in Kerobokan jail in 2008
Schapelle Corby spent nine years behind bars before her parole three years ago
Corby had visited Bali four times before her 2004 arrest, three times in 1999 and once in 2000.
Philip Ruddock, who was attorney-general when Corby was arrested, told the ABC this week there was never evidence to support her claims she had been the victim of criminal baggage handlers.
'You know, these were claims. It's never been proven that drugs were planted on her,' Mr Ruddock told the ABC.
'I'm sure every endeavour was taken to establish what is the truth.
'Now some parties might not like the truth, but I am sure that has always been the approach that the Australian Federal Police has taken and I have no reason to believe that they weren't investigating these matters and willing to share with those abroad the outcome of their findings.'
Drug runner Schapelle Corby, pictured in jail in 2008, is finally coming home
'
Hackers used malware to steal customer payment data from most of Chipotle's restaurants over a span of three weeks, the company said on Friday.
The news added to woes at the chain that has just started recovering from a string of food safety lapses in 2015.
Chipotle said it did not know how many payment cards or customers were affected by the breach that struck most of its roughly 2,250 restaurants for varying amounts of time between March 24 and April 18, spokesman Chris Arnold.
Hackers used malware to steal customer payment data from most of Chipotle US and some Canada restaurants over a span of three weeks
Stolen data included account numbers and internal verification codes.
The malware has since been removed.
The information could be used to drain bank accounts, make 'clone' credit cards, or to buy things on certain less-secure online sites, said Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy at the non-profit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
An investigation into the breach found the malware searched for track data from the magnetic stripe of payment cards.
Chipotle is not offering credit monitoring or notifying affected customers directly, as many other chains have in the past. A handful of Canadian restaurants were also hit.
An investigation found the malware searched for track data from the magnetic stripe of payment cards
'Credit monitoring is only designed to let you know when someone is opening a new credit account using your information. Credit monitoring does not alert you when a fraudulent charge is made on a payment card,' Arnold said.
He also said that Chipotle could not alert customers directly as it did not collect their names and mailing addresses at the time of purchase.
The company said it had posted a notification on the Chipotle and Pizzeria Locale websites and issued a press release to make customers aware of the incident.
The breach follows a string of food safety issues that knocked the company's sales starting in 2015
Linn Freedman, an attorney at Robinson Cole, which specializes in data breaches, said Chipotle was putting the burden on the consumer to discover possible fraudulent transactions by notifying them through the websites.
'I don't think you will get to all of the customers who might have been affected,' she said.
Shares in Chipotle Mexican Grill ended marginally lower at $480.15 on Friday following the announcement.
A lawsuit was recently filed in Texas accusing a Chipotle manager of installing a hidden camera in the women's bathroom.
Youngest victim: Eight-year-old Saffie Rose Roussos
The appalling images of innocent children killed and injured in the Manchester terror atrocity united Britain in revulsion.
The families of the 22 killed have seen their worlds collapse. Dozens of victims remain in hospital with horrific injuries. Many survivors of the bombing have been left deeply traumatised.
That is why today the Daily Mail is launching our Mobiles for Manchester appeal to help those affected by the terror attack, by asking readers to donate their unwanted mobile phones to be re-used or recycled.
Many of us will have one old phone or several gathering dust in a drawer somewhere in our homes.
And they are almost all worth money, from a few pounds to hundreds for more up-to-date smartphones.
The bulk of the money raised by Mail readers will go to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, to support the injured and bereaved. We will also send some to inter-faith charities to help communities unite against terror.
Research has revealed that more than a third of UK households have at least one unwanted phone.
All those unused handsets could be worth almost 1 billion and even a fraction of that amount could make a huge difference to the victims of Mondays bombing.
The Mail has teamed up with Carphone Warehouse, which has agreed to accept your old mobiles in its 1,000 stores across the country.
6 steps to making a real difference If you would like to donate your unwanted phone to the Mobiles for Manchester appeal, please follow this step-by-step guide: 1. Find your local Carphone Warehouse at carphonewarehouse.com/store-locator. Any phone can be donated, no matter how old or damaged, although its value will vary considerably depending on age and condition. 2. Back up any personal data such as photos and social media accounts from your phone to your computer. 3. Unlink your phone from accounts such as iTunes and iCloud, or their Android equivalents, then erase all content from the phone if possible. Carphone Warehouse staff may be able to help you with this. 4. Remove any SIM or SD memory storage cards from the phone. 5. On arrival at the store, tell a Carphone Warehouse sales consultant you would like to donate a phone to Mobiles for Manchester, and they will process it on your behalf. 6. If your mobile phone still turns on, they may be able to delete any data from the phone for you. All phones that cannot be turned on will be destroyed so their components can be recycled. All the money generated from your phone will be donated to charity. Carphone Warehouse stores cannot accept cash donations but if you would like to send a cheque or donate by bank transfer, please see the How You Can Help box below. Advertisement
Anyone who wants to donate their mobile phone can take it to any branch of Carphone Warehouse from today onwards (you will find the web address of an online store-finder in the 'How You Can Help' box).
You should tell staff you want to donate it to the Mobiles for Manchester appeal.
They will accept your phone and, if you have not cleared the data from it at home (see '6 Steps To Making A Real Difference' box for an explanation), you should ask the staff to do so.
After that it will be valued, and Carphone Warehouse has agreed that all money raised from phone donations will go to the Mails appeal.
The company has also generously kick-started the appeal by donating 1,000 phones, with a value of 25,000.
Thanks to huge public support, in just four days more than 4 million has already been donated to the We Love Manchester fund, run by Manchester City Council in conjunction with the British Red Cross.
But the injured victims and bereaved families will need support for years to come, particularly those left with life-changing injuries.
Ian Hanson, chairman of the Greater Manchester branch of the Police Federation, said last night: Im sure that I speak for everybody in Greater Manchester Police in backing this great initiative, and I would encourage anyone with an old mobile phone to take part.
I know everybody in Manchester has been immensely touched by the way people across the country have rallied round in support and this is another example of that.
Greater Manchesters newly elected mayor Andy Burnham, a former Labour Cabinet minister, last night backed the Mails campaign and encouraged people to donate their old phones.
He said: Our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones, so I would encourage everyone to support this fund in any way they can.
Carphone Warehouse managing director Jeremy Fennell said: Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the events in Manchester on Monday.
Mobiles for Manchester is a great way of showing our solidarity and helping the families and community affected, so we are proud to be able to play our part.
Millions of people have old mobile phones.
Bring them in to our stores and we will turn them into cash to go directly to those affected by the bombing.
How you can help 1. Take any unwanted phone to your local Carphone Warehouse store. Locations can be found at www.carphonewarehouse.com/store-locator.html 2. If you would like to send a cheque, please make it payable to Mobiles for Manchester. Post it, together with a note of your name and address (or email) to: Mobiles for Manchester Appeal, Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT. (Please remember to write your name and address on the back of the cheque.) 3. Use online banking to make a transfer: Sort Code: 50-00-00 Account number: 20769512 Payee name: Mobiles for Manchester Please do not try to email us your credit card details as we cannot process them. Advertisement
Help communities unite against terror
The bulk of the money raised will go to support victims of the attack. But the Mail also believes that if the social dislocation which can lead to extremism is not tackled, the problem will never go away.
So we aim to give some of the money to local inter-faith youth initiatives.
Bishop Richard Atkinson and Jatinder Singh Birdi, co-chairs of the Inter Faith Network for the UK, said: Local inter-faith initiatives play a vital role in bringing people of different faith backgrounds together, tackling prejudice and hatred. Young people are a vital part of that.
The Inter Faith Youth Trust, a registered charity which provides small grants to local voluntary organisations, will receive some of the money.
Trust chairman Neil Martin said: We help bring young people together through community projects so they realise how much they have in common.
The notorious Beltway sniper Lee Boyd Malvo had four life sentences thrown out by a federal judge on Friday because they were retroactively deemed unconstitutional.
US District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk, Virginia, ruled that Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings after the US Supreme Court ruled mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.
Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed at least 10 people and wounded three others in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, causing widespread fear throughout the region.
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The notorious Beltway sniper Lee Boyd Malvo (above) had four life sentences thrown out by a federal judge on Friday because they were retroactively deemed unconstitutional
Malvo was just 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed at least 10 people and wounded three others. The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without parole are unconstitutional for juveniles
Malvo pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County and agreed to serve two life sentences without parole. He was also convicted and sentenced to two life sentences in Fairfax County.
But the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juveniles in 2012. Then, last year, the Supreme Court applied that case retroactively to sentences issued before 2012.
So Jackson vacated Malvo's four life sentences and ordered the courts in Fairfax and Spotsylvania to resentence Malvo, even though he could feasibly face life in prison again.
Jackson, in his ruling, wrote that Malvo was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the Supreme Court had granted new rights to juveniles that Malvo didn't know he had when he agreed to the plea bargain.
Malvo and his accomplice John Allen Muhammad were arrested in October, 2002 after police discovered the pair sleeping in the car at a rest stop in Maryland. Pictured, authorities pushing the car after it was transported from the rest stop
The car was modified so the snipers could shoot victims through a hole in the trunk
The snipers chose their victims at random, and many were killed going about their daily lives. Pictured, FBI surveying a crime scene in the case
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Morrogh, who helped prosecute Malvo in 2003, said the Virginia attorney general can appeal Jackson's ruling. If not, Morrogh said he would pursue another life sentence, saying he believes Malvo meets the criteria for a harsh sentence.
Michael Kelly, spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, said Friday evening that the office is 'reviewing the decision and will do everything possible, including a possible appeal, to make sure this convicted mass murderer serves the life sentences that were originally imposed.'
He also noted that the convictions themselves stand and emphasized that, even if Malvo gets a new sentencing hearing, he could still be resentenced to a life term.
The ruling doesn't apply to Malvo's six life sentences in Maryland for the murders that occurred there. But his lawyers have made an appeal on similar grounds in that state and a hearing is scheduled in June.
Pictured, John Allen Muhammad (above), in court in 2004. He was executed in 2009
In a 2012 interview with the Washington Post, Malvo (right) detailed being groomed to kill by Muhammad (left) and said: 'There is no rhyme or reason or sense'
Malvo was 17 when he and his accomplice, the 42-year-old John Allen Muhammad, began their crime spree, robbing and killing people across California, Arizona, Texas, Alabama, Louisiana, Maryland, DC and Virginia.
Police did not initially realize the killings, which often involved a single bullet from a distance, were connected.
But the shootings intensified over the course of three weeks in October 2002, and Malvo and Muhammad killed strangers in innocuous places like parking lots, gas stations, and outside schools.
The killings struck fear in Washington DC and surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland.
They were arrested in October, 2002 after police discovered the pair sleeping in the car at a rest stop in Maryland.
In the years following his conviction Malvo said he was sexually abused by Muhammad from the age of 15 until the time they embarked on the shooting spree from inside a blue Chevrolet Caprice.
In a 2012 interview with the Washington Post, three years after Muhammad was executed, Malvo detailed being groomed to kill by his accomplice and father figure.
He said: 'I was a monster. If you look up the definition, that's what a monster is. I was a ghoul.
'I was a thief. I stole people's lives. I did someone else's bidding just because they said so....There is no rhyme or reason or sense.'
Malvo, now 32, has been serving his sentence at Red Onion state prison in southwest Virginia.
Cleared killer Gable Tostee said he pushed his Tinder date Warriena Wright onto his balcony before she fell to her death because it was 'more responsible' than sending her out the front door where she could have annoyed his neighbours.
Mr Tostee - who now goes by the name Eric Thomas - said it didn't occur to him that Ms Wright may have climbed off the 14th floor of his Gold Coast apartment when he pushed her onto the balcony in 2014.
He said he pushed her outside to buy some time before deciding whether to call security to have her properly removed.
'I mean thats more responsible than just shoving a drunk person out the front door to make a ruckus to the neighbours or possibly get herself in trouble or injured,' he told news.com.au.
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Cleared killer Gable Tostee (pictured) has opened up in a tell-all interview, saying pushing his Tinder date onto the balcony was 'more responsible' than sending her out the front door where she could annoy his neighbours
Mr Tostee said it didn't occur to him that Warriena Wright (pictured) may have climbed off the 14th floor of his Gold Coast apartment when he pushed her onto the balcony in 2014
Tostee said he pushed Ms Wright outside to buy some time before deciding whether to call security to have her properly removed
Mr Tostee also said he thought he was doing the most sensible thing because he was being attacked by Ms Wright.
The 31-year-old said in a tell-all interview he wants to become an architect and he 'barely had a thumb left' when he used Tinder before he was charged with the murder of Ms Wright.
Mr Tostee said he has met a couple girls via the dating app but his experience differs greatly to what he was used to have before 'the apocalypse' - what he calls the period from when he was charged over Ms Wright's death until his acquittal.
He was found not guilty last year over the death of Ms Wright after she fell from his 14th floor Gold Coast apartment balcony.
Mr Tostee still has an account on the dating app, but said he doesn't use it as regularly as he used to.
'I've met a couple of girls since but it's not like the good old days - I barely had a thumb left,'
The 31-year-old also discussed his 'celebrity status' and revealed he is often asked to pose for photographs when he goes out.
'At least a couple of times people will come up and say "Can I get a pic?" or shake my hand or something,' he told the website.
Mr Tostee reacts as he leaves the Supreme Court after jurors found him not guilty of killing Ms Wright, whom he met via the dating app Tinder on the Gold Coast in 2014
Mr Tostee was tight-lipped over his new Tinder conquests when he appeared on KISS FM 's Kyle and Jackie O on Thursday, saying: 'I don't kiss and tell anymore'
Mr Tostee moved back into his parents' Gold Coast home after Ms Wright fell to her death while on a date with him, he revealed.
Tostee said he has hopes to become an architect after he began studying while on bail as a means of coping.
On Thursday he was tight-lipped over his new Tinder conquests when he appeared on KISS FM's Kyle and Jackie O, saying: 'I don't kiss and tell anymore.'
He was unusually reserved, replying 'no comment' to many of their questions.
Mr Tostee said on Thursday that he was popular since resurfacing on the dating app and has been approached by 'a lot of people' since his sensational rise to infamy.
When KIIS 1065 host Kyle Sandilands (left and Jackie O right) asked Tostee, 31, how many people he had sex with from the dating app, he said 'no comment'
He said 'a lot of people don't mention' the incident and wonders 'do they recognise me or know who I am?'
'Some might not bring it up out of politeness, sometimes it's an elephant in the room.'
Mr Tostee said he was approached by women on Tinder who had 'done their research on the case'.
'A lot of people who have approached me in a friendly way have done their research, they've read the transcripts, listened to the audio,' he said.
Mr Tostee said the audio recording he made the night of Ms Wright's death played a role in his acquittal.
An image of a photograph tendered to court of Gable Tostee's injuries take by police on August 8, 2014
Mr Tostee leaves the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Thursday, October 20
Mr Tostee also revealed that he moved back into his parents' Gold Coast home after Ms Wright fell to her death while on a date with him
He said everyone should secretly record their interactions.
'Some might not bring it up out of politeness, sometimes it's an elephant in the room.'
'It's good practice to cover yourself, it's so easy to hit record and leave your phone in your pocket, as I have in the past,' he said.
'Footage can save people.
'I recommend everyone does it.'
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This is the moment dozens of policemen prepared to raid the flat where the Manchester terrorist made his deadly nail bomb.
Salman Abedi, 22, rented a 12th floor council flat in Blackley, Manchester, where he practiced making explosives for seven weeks before Monday's attack.
Footage obtained by MailOnline shows officers preparing to storm the flat on Wednesday evening by using a drone to peek through the window to check if it was safe for officers to enter.
They were tipped off by the bomber's landlord who saw Abedi's name in the news and told them a strong smell of chemicals was left behind by his former tenant.
One officer in plain clothes with a police cap prepared the drone which would peek into Abedi's flat's window on Wednesday
Footage of the police raid shows the officers moving in several cars at around 7pm on Wednesday evening
Police raided after using a drone to peek through the window to check if it was safe for officers to enter
Footage shows dozens of police standing outside the block of council flats in Blackley, Manchester before the raid
A neighbour in a nearby tower block, who saw the raid, exclusively told MailOnline: 'The first thing I knew about it was when I heard a buzzing outside the window and I looked out and saw a drone flying past.
'It went over to the tower block and seemed to be looking through the window. Then I heard an explosion. The only way I can describe it is like a bang and a rumbling sound, like a load of boulders being thrown into a skip.
'After that, all hell broke loose. Sirens started going off and I saw loads of anti-terror police with masks over their faces going in.
'All I can say is that block there is the worst one on the estate. There are some nice people living there, don't get me wrong, but the council have been putting all sorts of people in there, drug addicts and dodgy people. There are a load of asylum seekers there as well.
'It's the one place we all avoid on the estate. The whole area was taped off by police for ages. They all left, but then they came back the next day during the daytime and cordoned it all off again.'
A man who lives opposite the flat that was raided has spoken of his terror when his flat was raided by armed police.
'Three or four' of the surrounding flats were searched by police in the operation, he said.
Residents of Somerton Court in Blackley, Manchester were seen watching the raids as they waited outside their homes
Commotion: The were several cars seen alongside the police vehicles outside the estate during the raid on Wednesday
This image shows the drone flying through the air as it makes its way to check the window of Abedi's former flat
Police believe suicide bomber Salman Abedi developed the device which killed 22 people in a 12th floor flat in Somerton Court in the Blackley area of Manchester
The flat was raided on Wednesday after landlord Aiman al-Wafi contacted police having seen Salman Abedi's name in the news following the Manchester Arena atrocity
The flat's landlord Amien Al-Wafi, pictured, has been arrested and is being held in police custody
Speaking to MailOnline, Omar said: 'The landlord of the flat, I know him. He's lived there for years. I was inside the landing. No-one else could get further. I just happened to live on the same floor. I live on that landing.
'They didn't blow open one door. They blew open two doors. The landlord himself was just a legit guy. I was not aware that anything was going on in there at all. I don't think anybody else was.
'Yeah course my flat was searched. Everywhere was. They searched the whole flipping floor. They didn't trash my flat. Like I said, we didn't do anything wrong.
'They might have used a sponge to scan for bombs. They might have gone through my drawers and cupboards.'
When Abedi moved out of the sub-let council flat last month, he left behind clues suggesting he had practiced making explosives at the address.
Landlord Aiman al-Wafi, who had advertised the flat on Gumtree, discovered fire alarms had been deactivated, the electricity was switched off and windows had not been opened for weeks.
He also found the property with children's stickers on the walls, a metal rod in the bath and cut-up material lying around.
Police put up a corden as they attend the scene of a raid in the Moss Side area
This the resident named Omar who saw the raid. He said: 'They didn't blow open one door. They blew open two doors. The landlord himself was just a legit guy.'
An area of Moss Side in Manchester was evacuated as police searched a property as part of ongoing investigation into the Manchester attack
Forensic officers were today pictured outside the flat in Cheetham Hill
They carried investigative tools as they walked into the property days after it was raided by police
Police officers outside an address in Cheetham Hill, Manchester, that has been raided and searched in connection with Monday night's terrorist attack
Officers stand guard as they make a police cordon outside a house in Cheetham Hill as the number of arrests reached 13
Five police officers were seen standing guard outside the house, situated next o a church in Cheetham Hill
A police officer carries a bag of clothes for evidence from the address which was raided in Moss Side on Saturday morning
Police were pictured going in and out of the property throughout the day on Saturday as other officers stood guard outside
The terrorist paid 700 to rent the 12th floor flat from divorced father of one Mr Wafi, 38, for seven weeks.
But the bomber suddenly rang him in mid April to say he needed to leave immediately to fly to Libya, leaving a key with the neighbours. Al-Wafi has been arrested and is being held in police custody.
His business partner Mohamed al-Hudarey, with whom he runs Lorenzo Pizza in St Helens, said he is sure Mr Wafi, who cried when he found out about his tenant, is innocent and hopes he will be released soon.
Police have sealed off the one-bed room flat as forensic teams look for further evidence. A police tactical team guarded the entrance to the block today with only residents being allowed in and out.
The 12th floor remains sealed off as an active crime scene with police having gained entry earlier this week by way of a controlled explosion.
Resident Dave Wilkie said he was stunned that the suicide bomber had been living among them for weeks leading up to the attack.
'I live on the 16th floor so the chances are I got in the lift with him at one stage,' said the 59 year old who works as a security steward at Old Trafford.
'It just really brings it home how close this really has been for all of us. It is just shocking what took place and my heart goes out to all those who lost loved ones.'
Barber Abdallah Forjani (left), a cousin of Salman Abedi (right) has been arrested in connection with Monday's terror attack
Police believe bomber Salman Abedi built the device at a 12th floor flat he rented in Somerton Court, before adding the finishing touches at a town centre property
Mohamed al-Hudarey said his landlord friend Aiman al-Wafi contacted police after seeing Abedi's face in the news, having 'put two and two together'
Fade'Away barber shop is rented by 24-year-old Abdallah Forjani (pictured) who is a cousin of the evil 22-year-old bomber
An officer was seen leaving the Fade'Away barber shop in Moss Side with a bag full of evidence (left and right) on Friday morning
A 70 year old man, who has lived in Somerton Court for the past 10 years, said he was woken in his 9th floor flat by the sound of police using a controlled explosion to gain entry.
'The doors are very secure so I was not surprised that was the only way to get in,' he said.
'It sounded like someone banging on a radiator and woke me up. The police have been here ever since and have been checking who goes in and out of the block.'
Abedi had rented the flat in Blackley for around seven weeks. Mr Wafi thought his tenant had been 'into black magic', his business partner said.
Mohamed al-Hudarey said Mr Wafi contacted police after seeing Abedi's face in the news, having 'put two and two together'.
He told ITV News: 'When we heard the news about the horrible thing that happened in Manchester (involving) a man named Salman, he started to make a link between the news and that man who rented the flat from him.
'What he found in the flat, he started to think... this is the man that made the bomb.'
Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley's statement on Saturday 'The high pace and rapid progress of this investigation is continuing. 'There were three more arrests overnight. We now have 11 men in custody. There are 17 searches either concluded or continuing on various addresses, largely in the north west of the country . 'We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb. There is still much more to do. There will be more arrests. 'There will be more searches but the greater clarity and progress has led JTAC, the independent body which assesses threat, to the judgement that an attack is no longer imminent. 'You would have heard consequently the Prime Minister's announcement that the threat level has moved from critical to severe which of course still means that an attack is highly likely. 'I think therefore this weekend members of the public will be wondering what that means in terms of the events they will be going to on a sunny Bank Holiday weekend. 'For practical reasons and precautionary reasons, we made the decision that the resources that we had planned for this weekends events will continue. 'They will still see that high level of policing presence - some armed, some unarmed.' 'Once we get past the weekend we are going to look forward to stepping down the extra resources we have put in place over the last week. 'The military support we have had over the last few days under Operation Temperer, (we) will start to phase that out as well. 'The last thing I would like to say to members of the public is there is still a severe threat level. If you see something you are worried about or know somebody you are worried about, please do not hesitate; please act and please call us on the anti-terrorism hotline 0800 789321.' Advertisement
A woman currently living in the flat where Abedi is thought to have built the bomb was arrested on Wednesday and subsequently released without charge
Men wearing body armour raided the flat in Blackley, Manchester, on Wednesday after being alerted to Abidi's activity by his former landlord
Armed police were seen outside the block of flats where, Abidi is believed to have built his bomb, on Wednesday
And Mr al-Hudarey continued: 'He found this stuff in the flat, he said to me that he thought he was making the bomb in the flat.'
He said there was a strong smell coming from the floor, curtains had been cut into small pieces, and a piece of metal was found in the bathroom.
'He told me: 'That man was doing something inside the flat but I don't know what it is,' Mr al-Hudarey said.
The day after Abedi left the flat in mid April, he travelled to Libya. A woman currently living at the flat was briefly arrested on Wednesday, but subsequently released.
Investigators believe the finishing touches to the bomb were carried at a flat in Granby Row, in the city centre. He rented this for four days before the atrocity.
There will be 'more arrests and more searches' linked to the Manchester bombing, the country's most senior counter-terror officer Mark Rowley has said.
At 2am on Saturday morning officers carried out a controlled explosion to break down the door of a house in Cheetham Hill, before bringing the number of arrests to 13. Neighbours say the two men arrested were Lybian brothers.
Neighbours described how up to 30 armed officers stormed an end terrace property. Val Jones, a 59-year-old grandmother-of-seven who lives on the same street, said she believed the occupants were Libyan refugees.
She said: 'Last night it woke me up at about 2.30am. I heard a loud bang and shouting. I looked out the window and there were a convoy of cars coming from the bottom right of the street.
'There were soldiers getting out in their combat gear with rifles. That's when I knew it was serious. I didn't think it was connected to terrorism, I thought it was a drugs raid.
'There was a real commotion. I didn't know what was happening. I thought it was a door getting kicked in. 'It's frightening. We're only round the corner from the Arena.
'I've seen some of the younger kids knocking about at the end of the street but I don't know the families. I believe they're refugees from Libya.'
Aftab Islam, a 30-year-old MOT tester who has lived in the street with his family for nearly two years, also witnessed the raid. He said: 'At about 2am there was a very loud bang. Everyone on the street came out.
'They said nobody was allowed to come out, everybody was watching from the window.
'There were about 12 or 15 vehicles. Police were everywhere, everywhere. I thought a car was going to explode or something like that. 'It was about 2am or 2.30am, there was bang and police were shouting 'go, go, go, go, go'.
The police were everywhere, everywhere. I didn't know what was going on. 'Everything is safe and calm here, just normal. Nothing like this has ever happened before.'
Police said they had carried out searches of four properties across the city overnight - two in Cheetham Hill, one in Longsight and one in Moss Side.
Police also raided a barber shop in Moss Side yesterday morning, where detectives believe Abedi may have been stockpiling peroxide used to make the deadly device.
Investigators believe the finishing touches to the bomb were carried at a flat in Granby Row, in the city centre. Abedi rented this for four days before the atrocity
The owner of the barber shop, Abedi's 24-year-old cousin Abdallah Forjani, was arrested on Wednesday and the business, on a parade of shops on a busy main road, immediately closed.
Reports surfaced yesterday claiming that Abedi opened a bank account a year ago that was unused until he used it to pay for the nuts, bolts, screws and nails he used in the explosive attack on the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
He is believed to have made two separate visits to B&Q and Screwfix in Manchester to buy materials for the bomb and 'stockpiled' them before leaving for Libya last month.
Armed police yesterday arrested a 44-year-old man on a bus bound for central Manchester in front of terrified passengers.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, another two men - aged 22 and 20 - were arrested. It brought the total number of people arrested in the investigation to 13.
Eleven are being questioned in custody.
Witnesses have said he was arrested on a bus bound for the city centre by plainclothed officers wearing bulletproof vests at around 7pm yesterday evening.
Terror arrests: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi's family tree shows his father Ramadan and two brothers Hashem and Ismail have all been arrested. The bomber's cousin Abdalla Forjani was held on Wednesday in Moss Side, Manchester
The landlord recounted seeing Abedi's brother Hashem, who has been arrested in Libya, at the flat in Blackley which he sub-let
Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed 22 concert-goers in an attack in Manchester, was arrested in Tripoli in the wake of Monday's suicide attack
Abedi has been linked to a group of disaffected young men who went to fight in Libya with their fathers before switching allegiance to ISIS, it has been revealed.
Salaman Abedi is understood to have been in Libya at the same time as some of the youths, all around the same age, who later faced terrorism charges.
The bomber travelled to fight on the frontline during the 2011 Arab Spring to topple dictator Muammar Gaddafi alongside his father Ramadan Abedi, a 51-year-old airport security guard with links to Al Qaeda.
Ramadan was one of the men from the North West in Libya who called themselves the 'Manchester Fighters'.
It is thought that one of the counter terrorism raids launched yesterday was connected to the gang of Libyan extremists after police received a tip-off.
Suicide bomber Abedi killed 22 people, including victims as young as eight, and injured dozens more after setting off a device in the foyer of Manchester Arena on Monday
Greater Manchester police have been told that Abedi was friends with at least two members of the group, who are all linked to Manchester.
The younger generation are understood to have switched allegiance to Isis after travelling to Libya with their fathers, all members of the militant Libyan Islamic Fighting Group [LIFG], which helped to overthrow the Gaddafi regime. The group is banned in Britain.
There is no suggestion that the Forjani family, relatives of the bomber's mother Samia Tabba, are part of the group being linked with ISIS.
One of the men, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was convicted three years ago of helping jihadist recruits to travel to Syria and Iraq to fight for the terrorists.
He had dropped out of college in Manchester and joined the western-backed uprising in Libya in 2011 at the age of 17.
The second man was charged with terrorism offences and spent time in prison on remand before the prosecution offered no evidence. His father was sanctioned by the US more than a decade ago for financing the LIFG.
The revelation provides a further insight into Abedi's path to radicalisation before he blew himself up on Monday night. Investigators are trying to discover what ties the bomber established with Isis extremists in Libya and Britain as he travelled between both countries.
A friend of Salman's father, Akram Ramadan, 49, said: 'A lot of dads went to fight Gaddafi in 2011.
'We went and fought together, we were really known, our unit fighting in the hills was called the Manchester Fighters.'
The parents of two-year-old Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes who tragically died after suffering severe burns in a hot bath have previously been charged for starving the child.
The toddler, from Northgate in Brisbane's north, suffered severe burns to her back, buttocks and legs for several days before she died - injuries her parents claim were the result of scalding hot bath water.
Now it has been revealed parents Shane David Stokes, 30, and Nicole Betty Moore, 23, were previously charged with child cruelty in 2015, which was downgraded to failing to provide the necessities of life and no conviction, according to The Courier Mail.
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The little girl who died after suffering severe burns in a hot bath has been named as two-year-old Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes (pictured)
Queensland police confirmed on Friday they were treating Maddilyn-Rose's (pictured) death as suspicious and her parents were persons of interest in the case
Father Shane David Stokes (pictured left) and mother Nicole Betty Moore (pictured right) are the parents of Maddilyn-Rose Stokes who died of a suspected cardiac arrest
The Department of Child Safety had intervened but handed the case over to Act for Kids - a child abuse prevention charity - more than a year ago.
Act for Kids visited the family only a week ago, the publication reported.
Queensland police confirmed on Friday they were treating the girl's death as suspicious and her parents were persons of interest in the case.
'Those injuries appear to be very severe burns to her back of her legs, her buttocks and lower back and going all the way down to her feet,' Detective Inspector Tim Tresize said.
'Their [parents] version is that it's a terrible accident and that a moment's inattention has led to this incident.
'However due to the serious nature of the burns and the fact that they were so serious they likely caused her death, we have an open mind in relation to other possibilities.'
Emergency services were called to the housing commission complex in Northgate at 4.30pm on Thursday when the two-year-old went into cardiac arrest.
Emergency services were called to the housing commission complex in Northgate at 4.30pm on Thursday when the two-year-old went into cardiac arrest.
Maddilyn-Rose Ava Stokes (pictured right), from Northgate, suffered severe burns to her back, buttocks and legs for several days before she died
Police were called to the Northgate home on Thursday afternoon when paramedics found significant injuries to the toddler's body
Ambulance paramedics alerted police to the girl's critical condition when they discovered the injuries - police launched an immediate investigation
Paramedics worked on the girl for 30 minutes before rushing her to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital, where she later died.
Paramedics alerted the police to the girl's critical condition when they discovered her severe injuries.
Detective Inspectore Trezise said the girl's medical care was a 'prominent part of the investigation'.
'We haven't been able to ascertain where there was any medical treatment [given to the girl], none that we're aware of.'
He said the cause of death could only be confirmed after a post mortem was done.
The parents reportedly said the girl's death was the result of 'a terrible accident'.
The girl's death sent shockwaves through the community.
Police were called to the Northgate home in Brisbane when paramedics discovered the girl's injuries
Police remain on the scene on Friday to investigate circumstances surrounding the toddler's death
Neighbour Rhonda Jones has lived in the complex for a decade and would enjoy hearing the sandy-haired little girl 'chattering up the driveway' most days.
'She was just like any other child - she was always laughing and sounded happy,' Mrs Jones told Daily Mail Australia.
'The last time I saw her was on Wednesday she was going up to look in the letterbox.'
Mrs Jones said she was shocked when she realised the Ambulances were for the 'quiet house down the back'.
'Everything was very quiet. I was quite amazing because there was no noise. All of a sudden, all these ambulances were everywhere,' a neighbour said
Police officers are working alongside child protection officers to establish what happened to the toddler
'I first thought it was for my neighbour who has a dodgy heart - then I heard about all this.
'I feel really sad because I didn't know what was going on down there, she was always so happy looking.'
The young girl's family have lived in the seven-apartment complex for 'a year or two' according to the worried neighbour.
Police arrived at the Northgate home on Thursday afternoon after paramedics found significant injuries on the young girl's body
The Queensland Child Protection unit is working alongside the police to investigate the toddler's death
Another neighbour told the Today Show on Friday there was no indication anything was wrong at the home until the street was inundated with emergency service workers.
'Everything was very quiet. I was quite amazed because there was no noise. All of a sudden, all these ambulances were everywhere,' she said.
'There's never any sound that comes from there, nothing that gave me any indication something was wrong yesterday.'
The Queensland Child Protection unit is working alongside police in the investigation.
An expert criminal profiler from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed a chilling new theory into the unsolved murder of Melbourne mother Karen Ristevski.
The body of Ms Ristevski, 47, was found wedged between logs in remote bushland eight months after she went missing in June 2016.
As the investigation into her mysterious death slowly turns cold, trained FBI profiler Kris Illingsworth claims it is likely Ms Ristevski's remains were dumped at Mount Macedon by two people, News Corp reports.
Karen Ristevski (pictured) was last seen on the morning of June 29, 2016 at her Avondale Heights home in Melbourne
The 47-year-old's decomposing body was discovered eight months last, 52km from her home
Initial investigations pointed to Ms Ristevski's (left) husband Borce (right) as 'number one suspect'
Ms Illingsworth - who has worked on high-profile murder cases such as Ivan Milat's backpacker killings and and the notorious 'Granny' murders - says the person responsible for disposing of Ms Ristevski's body would have been 'very strong' and had prior knowledge of the gravesite.
'While the murder may have been a spontaneous or pre-planned event, the body disposal site involved deliberate choices made by the offender,' Ms Illingsworth said.
Ms Ristevski's badly decomposed remains were discovered 52 kilometres away from her $1.1m Avondale Heights home on February 21.
Ms Illingsoworth claims the 47-year-old's remains would have been carried at least 50 metres on foot to the fallen logs where she was eventually discovered by a cyclist.
'Research has shown that when a body is transported to and deposited in a bushland setting, the furthest distance from the parked vehicle is about 30 metres through bushland if easy going, or less than 20 metres if difficult terrain,' she added.
The Melbourne mother's decomposing remains were found wedged between two logs in bushland at Mt Macedon inside Macedon Regional Park (pictured)
A cyclist (pictured) discovered Ms Ristevski's body after he followed a foul smell to her resting place
Borce Ristevski (right) the husband of Karen Ristevski and their daughter Sarah, 21
'If this distance is correct then it is significant as it would require a strong person to carry the body that far; or perhaps two people were involved in the disposal. More so if there was scrub or difficult terrain involved.'
Three months have passed since the grisly discovery of the mother's body and eight months since her disappearance.
Although police initially pointed to Ms Ristevski's husband Borce, 52, as the 'number one suspect' in the case, any leads into her murder eventually turned cold.
Former detective Charlie Bezzina told 7news last month the case 'may never be solved' as Ms Ristevski's cause of death is difficult to determine due to the length of time her body lay undiscovered.
Three months have passed since the grisly discovery of Ms Ristevski's (pictured right) body and eight months since her disappearance
Bankers in Britains financial centres had bought more EuroMillions lottery tickets than anybody else in the country ahead of last nights 112m jackpot draw, in the hope of getting lucky
Bankers in Britains financial centres had bought more EuroMillions lottery tickets than anybody else in the country ahead of last nights 112m jackpot draw, in the hope of getting lucky.
For the biggest jackpot of the year so far, city workers flocked to buy the 2.50 tickets in the hope of a quick return on their investment and caused sales in the City of London and Canary Wharf to rocket.
The draw, which currently stands at 112 million has grown over the course of six weeks from 14 million after the jackpot went unclaimed.
The last time a lottery prize exceeded 100 million was in October 2016.
But with odds of one in 139 million, city workers have resorted to buying multiple tickets to improve their chances of winning the vast sum of money.
In the past two weeks alone, sales of EuroMillions lottery tickets at the two postcodes corresponding to the City of London and Canary Wharf have grown by 48 per cent, twice the rate of the sales across the rest of the UK.
The lottery is also played in Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland as well as Britain.
And the trend over the last six weeks has seen an increase of 300 per cent in the same two areas, it has emerged.
Peter Wagg, the owner of the News of the Wharf shop at Canary Wharf, told the Financial Times: Whenever the jackpot gets above 70m to 80m, thats when we have to think about a range of additional staff [to] cover the store.
This is not the first mega lottery draw weve had. In the past, weve actually had to have security to organise a queuing system because the lines have gone out of the door.
The time it takes to get from the office to the beach this Memorial Day weekend may be particularly excruciating this year given the increase in travelers.
About 39.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this weekend making it the highest travel volume at this time of year since 2005, according to AAA.
More than 80 percent of the 39.3million people will be driving, with Orlando, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, and Honolulu among the most popular destinations in the US, based on travel bookings with AAA.
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The time it takes to get from the office to the beach this Memorial Day weekend may be particularly excruciating this year (pictured, I-20 in Georgia on Friday)
About 39.3 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home this weekend - 1 million more than last year. Pictured, drivers leaving Denver on Friday
More than 80 percent will be driving, with Orlando, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, and Honolulu among the most popular destinations in the US. Pictured, the Hudson Parkway on Friday
Despite the increase in gas prices, 34.6million people are expected to hit the roads, with automobile travel increasing 2.4percent compared to last year.
From Interstate 20 in Georgia, where cars were bumper to bumper on Friday, to crowds of travelers flooding major transportation hubs like Penn Station in New York, the gridlock is expected to be worse than previous years.
In some cases, travel is projected to take twice as long. A drive from Los Angeles to Palm Springs, for example, is expected to take up to three hours and 15 minutes, compared to the usual one hour and 35 minutes, according to data compiled by Inrix.
Similar figures were projected from New York to the Hamptons, which could take as long as three hours and 40 minutes on Friday.
At peak travel times, here's what to expect:
New York to Hampton Bays will be delayed by 2 hr 10 min
New York to the Jersey Shore will be delayed by 1 hr
Los Angeles to Las Vegas will be delayed by 40 mins
Los Angeles to Palm Springs will be delayed by 1 hr 40 mins
Washington DC to Virginia Beach will be delayed by 1 hr 15 min
Seattle to the Gorge will be delayed by 1 hr 10 min
Waze, a smartphone navigation app that uses crowd source data on traffic, said New York, Chicago and Los Angeles will be the busiest metropolitan areas. Pictured, Penn Station Friday
Flights have also increased 5.5 percent over last year. Pictured, Penn station on Friday
Travel by trains, buses and cruises have increased by 2.9 percent compared to last year. Pictured, Penn Station on Friday
Waze, a smartphone navigation app that uses crowd source data on traffic, said New York, Chicago and Los Angeles will be the busiest metropolitan areas in the country this weekend.
Drivers should also be vigilant, since the Memorial Day weekend is the deadliest time of the year to drive, with 312 fatal accidents each year.
Roads along the eastern seaboard from Washington DC to Philadelphia and New York typically see the most fatal accidents, according to Value Penguin.
Flights have also increased 5.5 percent over last year, while travel by trains, buses and cruises have increased by 2.9 percent, according to AAA.
(File photo)
KATHMANDU, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA) and China Chamber of Tourism (CCT) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Kathmandu to promote tourism between the two countries.
NATTA President Madhu Sudan Acharya and CCT Vice President Hao Xukuan signed the MoU on Thursday on the sidelines of the 14th meeting of Nepal-China Non-Governmental Cooperation Forum, a platform formed by apex private sector bodies of two countries.
According to a press statement of NATTA, following the signing of the MoU, the Chinese side pledged to help in making China Sales Mission, tourism promotional activities to be organized by NATTA, a success.
The NATTA is preparing to organize China Sales Mission in Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Beijing from June 7-17 in China in coordination with Nepal Tourism Board and Nepali embassy in Beijing.
During the meeting of Nepal-China Non-Governmental Cooperation Forum, entrepreneurs from the two countries had discussed on increasing joint investment in Nepal's tourism sector.
The Federation Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI), the apex private sector body of Nepal, and All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC) had formed the forum in 1996 to promote economic and business cooperation, joint ventures and cultural promotions mutually from the private sectors of two countries.
Theresa May vowed last night to wrest back the initiative in the battle for Downing Street after a poll showed her lead over Labour had shrunk to five points.
Resuming her election campaign after the Manchester bombing, Mrs May highlighted the stark choice voters face in deciding whether she or Jeremy Corbyn will lead Brexit talks.
A YouGov poll the first since Monday nights terror attack had put the Conservatives on 43 per cent, with Labour on 38. This compared with the firms survey last week, which gave the Tories a nine-point lead, and one held just after Mrs May called next months election, which gave her a 23-point advantage.
Theresa May vowed last night to wrest back the initiative in the battle for Downing Street after a poll showed her lead over Labour had shrunk to five points
The Conservatives lead was largely cut due to a dip in support among middle-class ABC1 voters suggesting the party has suffered after criticism of the so-called dementia tax.
The Tory manifesto, published last Thursday, originally said there would be no cap on social care costs but the Prime Minister reversed the unpopular policy just four days later, saying there would indeed be a ceiling for charges.
Speaking in Taormina, Sicily, where she is attending a G7 summit, Mrs May said the only poll that mattered was on June 8.
Repeating the warning she made in last weeks Mail, Mrs May stressed: If you look at the figures in the House of Commons before it was dissolved, the loss of just six seats would mean that my government would lose its majority.
So when people go to the polls, people have a stark choice between a strong and stable government and a government led by Jeremy Corbyn failing to protect our national security.
Resuming her election campaign after the Manchester bombing, Mrs May highlighted the stark choice voters face in deciding whether she or Jeremy Corbyn will lead Brexit talks
The only poll that counts when it comes to elections is the poll that takes place on election day ... and I will continue to be out campaigning across the country.
Obviously you will recognise that we suspended campaigning for a period following the terrible attack that took place in Manchester in respect for those who sadly lost their lives and those who were injured. I will be out for the rest of the campaign and pointing out several things to people.
The Prime Minister said: There is this clear choice between myself, the strong and stable government that we will show, working in the national interest and getting the best possible deal out of Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn and the coalition of chaos propped up by the Lib Dems and the SNP.
52% DON'T KNOW WHO FARRON IS More than half of voters do not know who Tim Farron is, it was revealed last night A poll found only 48 per cent knew the Liberal Democrat leader who replaced Nick Clegg two years ago. Mr Farron had been hoping to lead a revival of the party, which was reduced to eight MPs in 2015 after five years in the Coalition government. But his strong opposition to Brexit has so far failed to win over voters. The poll of 2,000 people, conducted by Opinium for the betting firm Sporting Index, found Mr Farron was the least well known of the three main political leaders. By comparison, 81 per cent knew Theresa May was the Tory leader and 79 per cent knew Jeremy Corbyn leads Labour. Ed Fulton, of Sporting Index, said: Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn and Tim Farron have spent big to make sure they are as recognisable as possible but a large percentage of the population still dont know who they are. He suggested this could indicate apathy to politics or that the party leaders simply arent charismatic enough. Advertisement
'This is why the Brexit negotiations matter, because the European Union wants them to start 11 days after the election. We have to have a government that knows what its approach will be, and that has the strong hand to take into that negotiation process.'
YouGov said the Tories had not necessarily lost support as a result of the Manchester attack. It pointed out that its previous survey was carried out last Thursday and Friday, just after the Tories launched their manifesto but before the U-turn on a care cap.
A spokesman for the polling firm said: While our results from last week showed a nine-point Conservative lead and our newly published poll for the Times shows a five-point Tory advantage, it is worth bearing in mind that a lot has happened in the past week, both in the world with the manifesto and Manchester and among voters.
There is no way of guessing what will happen in the two weeks to polling day but we will be able to be more confident about how voting intention settles down over the next few days.
The latest YouGov poll shows that Mrs Mays personal ratings have risen after the bombing, while Mr Corbyns have dipped.
The Prime Minister has a 45 to 28 per cent advantage over the Labour leader on who makes the best prime minister.
Mrs May is also far more trusted than Corbyn, by 55 to 33 per cent, to make decisions on terrorism.
A breakdown of voters by class shows that the dip in Conservative support has happened among middle-class ABC1 voters, where the Tories lead is down to three points. She retains an eight-point advantage among working-class C2DE voters.
President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Russias ambassador to the United States discussed establishing a secret back-channel in order to avoid having their communications detected by US authorities, according to a report on Friday.
The nature of the discussions between Kushner and the Kremlins envoy to Washington, Sergey Kislyak, were relayed by intelligence officials who spoke to The Washington Post.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak both during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.
Kislyak reported to his bosses in Moscow that Kushner proposed a direct back-channel connecting Trump's campaign and the Kremlin during a meeting at Trump Tower on or around December 1, the Post reported.
As per Kushner's suggestion, the communications between the Trump team and the Kremlin would be held inside Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, according to details of the discussions that were intercepted by intelligence officials.
President Donald Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner (left), and Russias ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak (right), discussed establishing a secret back-channel in order to avoid having their communications detected by US authorities
The meeting at Trump Tower between Kushner and Kislyak was also attended by retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn (above), according to The Washington Post
The New York Times also reported Friday on the Kushner-Kislyak talks of a back-channel, with three sources telling the newspaper that the two men discussed possible cooperation in Syria as well as other policy matters.
The meeting at Trump Tower between Kushner and Kislyak was also attended by retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, according to the Post.
Flynn was Trump's chief advisor on foreign policy and national security during his presidential campaign.
After Trump's inauguration, Flynn was named national security advisor.
But he lasted only 18 days in office. The White House fired Flynn after it was learned he had misled top officials, among them Vice President Mike Pence, about the nature of his talks with Kislyak.
According to the Times, the purpose of the meeting was to establish the back-channel so that Flynn would have a direct line of communication with a senior military official in Moscow.
This back-channel would then be used to coordinate policy on matters including the Syrian civil war.
But Kushner reportedly abandoned the idea of a secret back-channel when it was learned that Trump planned to appoint Rex Tillerson, who was then the CEO at ExxonMobil and who had amassed experience in dealing with the Russian government, as secretary of state.
The latest revelations will likely fuel further suspicions into the nature of the Trump campaign's contacts with Moscow. President Trump is seen above on Friday attending a G7 summit alongside newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron (left)
The White House disclosed the meeting between Kushner and Kislyak in March.
That meeting, though, is drawing scrutiny from the FBI, whose investigators believe that the matters discussed have relevance to the ongoing probe into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Kushner's meeting with a Russian banker is also a subject of interest in the eyes of investigators, according to the Post.
At the time of the meeting, Trump Tower was the unofficial White House, and every coming and going was in public - except those which the Trump transition team organized to keep under wraps.
Kislyak, regarded as one of Russia's most important spies, was therefore smuggled in by the Trump team for the meeting.
Kislyak was said to be taken aback by Kushner's suggestion, since it would have entailed allowing American officials access to Russian communications equipment at its diplomatic missions.
Such an unusual arrangement would have not only posed security risks for the Russians, but also for Kushner and the Trump team, according to the Post.
Officials told the Post that the meeting between Kushner and Kislyak was not under US surveillance.
The communications of American nationals were also not subject to intelligence surveillance, officials told the Post.
The White House, the Russian embassy, and Flynn's lawyer all declined to comment on the matter, according to the Post.
The latest revelations will likely fuel further suspicions into the nature of the Trump campaign's contacts with Moscow.
US officials note that in years past Russia has intentionally misled authorities by feeding information it knows to be false so as to sow disinformation and confuse American intelligence officials.
In this case, however, it is uncertain what Kislyak would have to gain by concocting details of a back-channel proposed by Kushner.
The Reuters news agency, which is citing seven current and former US officials, is reporting that Kushner and Kislyak held undisclosed contacts which included two phone calls between April and November last year.
Meanwhile, Reuters is reporting that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak both during and after the 2016 presidential campaign
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
'Mr. Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information,' she said.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office.
The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the November 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month.
Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone.
Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel.
It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
In April, The New York Times reported that Kushner failed to disclose his meeting with Kislyak when he filled out security clearance forms just before his father-in-law took office.
The forms are required of anyone looking to fill a senior position in the White House since it would entitle them to access to some of the country's most closely guarded secrets.
'If anyone on Obamas transition team had tried this we would have had them locked up long before January 20 '09,' tweeted Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer who served in the George W. Bush administration
Not only did Kushner omit mention of his meeting with Kislyak, but he also failed to cite a meeting he held with Sergey Gorkov, a suspected Russian spy who now heads Vnesheconombank, a state-owned bank.
The meeting between Kushner and Gorkov was reportedly arranged at Kislyak's behest, according to the Times.
Democrats are likely to amplify earlier calls for Kushner to have his security clearance revoked in the wake of the Kislyak revelations.
'If this Kushner story is true, then Kushner should be nowhere near the White House, ever again,' House Rep. Ted Lieu, a Democrat from California, tweeted on Friday.
'If anyone on Obamas transition team had tried this we would have had them locked up long before January 20 '09,' tweeted Richard Painter, an ethics lawyer who served in the George W. Bush administration.
'Pittance': Mr Justice Nicholas Mostyn criticised a multi-millionaire father who was paying just 7 a week in maintenance to his son
A High Court judge has called for an urgent change to the way child support is calculated after a multi-millionaire was allowed to pay a pitiful 7 a week in maintenance for his son.
The father has assets of more than 5million but is accused of using a clever accountant to hide his riches.
The 65-year-old has been able to get away with paying a mere pittance, Mr Justice Nicholas Mostyn said, due to changes in child support rules made five years ago that meant assets that did not earn money were not considered in assessments of ability to pay.
The judge, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court in London, made his comments in a ruling on the latest round of a money dispute between the separated parents of the unnamed teenager.
The couple, who were never married, have a 16-year-old son.
Mr Justice Mostyn said the father who has six properties and a pension fund worth a total of 5.2million was only required to pay the pitiful minimum sum of 7 a week because his sole source of income was a state pension. Since January this year, when the father turned 65, he has paid only 111.28 to support his son.
Mr Justice Mostyn said the case was an indictment of the child support system. Previously, a parents assets could be used to calculate how much they should pay in child support.
But in 2012, the system was changed amid fears parents were being penalised because they had assets that did not make them any money.
Now child support payments are calculated only on a parents taxable income. The wealthy Londoner would have paid more than 40,000 in support had his assets been taken into account.
Mr Justice Mostyn, who is based in the Family Division of the High Court in London (above), made his comments in a ruling on the latest round of a money dispute between the separated parents of the unnamed teenager
Mr Justice Mostyn said the evidence given by the estranged father who cannot be named for legal reasons had been highly evasive, and said he had used all-too-familiar manoeuvres to try to insulate his resources from his sons mother and the court.
He said the father had very substantial assets and his parsimonious approach to the support of his son is little short of scandalous.
While the boys mother earns 500 a month working part-time, the court heard his father spends most of his time with his parents, who pay for his day-to-day living costs in exchange for him taking care of them.
Mr Justice Mostyn said the Government urgently needed to consider reinstating old rules to take into account a parents assets.
David Burrowes, the mothers former Tory MP for Enfield Southgate, raised the matter in Parliament proposing a Bill to ensure parents could not hide wealth in assets to dodge payments.
He said the boy should not be made to pay the price of low child maintenance contributions simply because his father has a clever accountant who can help to hide his assets.
A Schapelle Corby tell-all interview may never come to fruition as television executives from major networks have become spooked by legal fears.
Corby will leave Bali on a Virgin flight to Brisbane on Saturday, ending a near 13-year saga that began when she was arrested for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana in 2004.
She will be leaving her Balinese paradise without many things - such as her beloved boyfriend Ben Panangian who she met inside Kerobokan Prison.
But surprisingly she will also be returning without a contract for an interview with a major network, according to news.com.au.
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A Schapelle Corby tell-all interview may never come to fruition as television executives from major networks become spooked by legal fears
A Current Affair was approached by Corby's sister Mercedes (pictured) two weeks ago to discuss a television deal, but the meeting was knocked back by Nine, according to reports
Corby will leave Bali on a Virgin flight to Brisbane on Saturday night, ending a near 13-year saga that began after her 2004 arrest
A Current Affair was approached by Corby's sister Mercedes two weeks ago to discuss a television deal, but the meeting was knocked back by Nine, according to reports.
Nine deputy director of news and current affairs Grant Williams said the network 'can live without' a Corby interview to avoid potentially violating proceeds of crime against the Commonwealth law.
'Everyone always eggs you on to throw the first punch but once you do, they're the first ones to run to the headmaster about it,' he told news.com.au.
Channel 7 is believed to be unnerved by a raid of their Sunday Night offices by the Australian Federal Police after they were suspected of paying Corby for an interview in 2014.
The Kyle and Jackie O on KIIS FM was thought to be trying to land a radio exclusive but has failed to come close with an offer, the website reported.
A close friend said no network had made a tempting offer to Corby or her family for an exclusive.
A close friend said no network has made a tempting offer to Corby or her family for an exclusive. Pictured: Corby's mother Roseleigh speaking to reporters outside her home before her daughter's return
Corby was seen for the first time in more than a week, hiding behind her brother on her final night in Bali on Friday
Mercedes Corby is seen at the door to her sister's home on her final night in Bali
'[Doing a media interview] is not what she wants ... nobody's been offering anything unbelievable anyway,' the source said, according to news.com.au.
Reports also suggest money splashed on interviews with family members of accused cocaine trafficker Cassie Sainsbury has also played a role in networks' hesitation to sit down with Corby.
Corby was caught on camera for the first time in more than a week on Friday, hiding behind her brother on her final night in Bali.
It came after her sister Mercedes screamed at reporters outside the convicted drug smuggler's home as the Kuta police chief briefed media outside.
Commissioner Wayan Sumara (pictured) spoke to reporters after visiting Corby on Friday
Corby was visited by a number of Bali officials at her home as authorities raised security concerns about the media attention she is receiving.
But while Commissioner Wayan Sumara, the police chief of Kuta precinct, spoke on camera, Mercedes was heard screaming: 'Get away from our fence!'
She also shouted: 'Get away from our house, get the camera down.'
Her 39-year-old sister remained holed up in the villa in the backstreets of the popular tourist spot, as increasing numbers of media from Australia arrived to cover her expected deportation on Saturday.
She will have a police convoy escort her to the airport when she leaves the country, 7News reported.
The head of Kuta police has confirmed Schapelle Corby will have a police escort consisting of more than 100 police officers as she makes her final movements in Bali before her deportation back to Australia.
Police had insisted Corby would not receive any special treatment, yet following a recent visit to her Bali home police chiefs have made the decision after showing concern regarding her situation.
'I have to do the security by increasing the police keeping guard on the streets around here,' Kuta police chief Wayan Sumara told ABC.
Following intense media coverage outside Schapelle Corby's Kuta home, police will deploy over 100 officers as she makes her final movements in Bali
Schapelle Corby will have a police escort consisting of more than 100 police officers as she makes her final movements in Bali before her deportation back to Australia
'I don't see a security threat for her [Corby] but we are responsible as police, whether there is a threat or not, the police have responsibility for security.'
The move follows intense media coverage of the Corby family and their Kuta residence, with Mercedes Corby continuously voicing her concern regarding the interest surrounding the family.
The family's worry has led to the hiring of bodyguard John McLeod, in an attempt to ensure a smooth exit from the country.
The escort will leave the Corby residence at 6.00pm AEST and will make its way to the parole office for her to complete her parole papers for one final time, Nine News Queensland reported.
The family's worry has led to the hiring of bodyguard John McLeod, in an attempt to ensure a smooth exit from the country
Kuta Head of Police, Wayan Sumara has confirmed the increase in security measures ahead of Corby's impending deportation from Bali
The convicted drug mule hasn't ventured from her home in nearly two weeks and chaotic scenes are predicted as media will attempt to gain their last shots of Corby in the country.
Once Corby has finished at the parole office, she will be then handed over to Immigration and the process of deportation will begin.
She will be transported to the airport from there, where she will catch a flight back to Queensland, 13 years since last stepping foot in Australia.
A member of Justice Ministry confirmed that Corby is banned from re-entering Bali for at least six months.
Corby is thought to be reluctant to leave Bali, and with no scheduled flight home announced, some officials have become skeptical she will leave today.
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Venezuelans protesting against President Nicolas Maduro's government pelted riot police with flaming Molotov cocktails as the unrest which has claimed 58 lives continues.
Officers retaliated by firing tear gas and water cannon to stop hundreds of anti-government protesters from marching on a key military installation in the capital Caracas.
Outrage against President Maduro, who critics blame for the country's crippling economy and dire food shortages, have ranged from peaceful marches to violent melees.
But both the Venezuelan government and the opposition admit that violent protests that have gripped the country for nearly two months are out of control.
Venezuelans protesting against President Nicolas Maduro's government pelted riot police (pictured) with flaming Molotov cocktails
Officers retaliated by firing tear gas and water cannon to stop hundreds of anti-government protesters (pictured)
President Maduro's critics blame the leader for both their country's crippling economy and dire food shortages
After two months of demonstrations and bloody violence, retired military personnel joined demonstrators who marched on the Los Proceres complex, which houses the defence ministry.
A 33-year-old man who was injured during a protest in the western city of Cabudare on Thursday died the following day, bringing the death toll from eight weeks of unrest to 58.
Several people were also injured in the capital on Friday, including opposition lawmaker Carlos Paparoni who was struck in the leg with a blunt object.
Attorney General Luisa Ortega has blamed military police for hundreds of injuries and at least one death.
Protesters brand the socialist president a dictator, blaming him for economic turmoil and food shortages.
Maduro is resisting their calls for early elections, saying the opposition and the United States are plotting a coup against him.
Despite the opposition's calls for the military to abandon Maduro, the high command has retained its public support for him so far.
Opposition activists clash with the riot police during a demonstration against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas
Both the Venezuelan government and the opposition admit that violent protests that have gripped the country for nearly two months are out of control
Now retired military personnel joined demonstrators (pictured) who marched on the Los Proceres complex, which houses the defence ministry
Riot police were set on fire during the latest violent protest to bring the capital city Caracas to a standstill after almost two months of violence
Several people were also injured in the capital on Friday (pictured), including opposition lawmaker Carlos Paparoni who was struck in the leg with a blunt object
A crowd of Maduro's supporters in red shirts started a counter-demonstration on Friday near the presidential palace in central Caracas.
The president has launched steps to reform the constitution in response to the crisis. His opponents say that is a bid to dodge elections and cling to power.
The National Electoral Council said those who wanted to stand for election to the constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution should sign up next Thursday and Friday.
The opposition urged demonstrators to rally again on Saturday, this time at the offices of the state media regulator.
Friday's protest was aimed at 'demanding the military lower their weapons' and drop their support of the dictatorship, said opposition leader Freddy Guevara.
He called on the military to reject a 'constituent assembly' to be elected in July and tasked with drafting a new constitution, saying Maduro's plans 'will liquidate Venezuelan democracy forever.'
A crowd of Maduro's supporters in red shirts started a counter-demonstration on Friday near the presidential palace in central Caracas. Pictured: Anti-Maduro protesters shield themselves from water canons
Maduro has launched steps to reform the constitution in response to the crisis but his opponents say it is a bid to dodge elections and cling to power
The opposition urged demonstrators to rally again on Saturday, this time at the offices of the state media regulator
Friday's protest was aimed at 'demanding the military lower their weapons' and drop their support of the dictatorship, said opposition leader Freddy Guevara
Guevera called on the military to reject a 'constituent assembly' to be elected in July and tasked with drafting a new constitution
Earlier this week, Venezuela's chief prosecutor accused security officers of excessive force and condemned the use of military tribunals to judge protesters.
In a speech on Wednesday, prosecutor Luisa Ortega said 55 people had been killed in unrest and around 1,000 others injured.
She said 346 properties has been burned or looted as chaos flared across the oil-rich country that is reeling from an economic crisis.
Earl Spencer, pictured, is demanding changes to a forthcoming TV documentary which claims he wanted to 'walk alone behind Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral'
Nearly 20 years have passed since Princess Dianas death in a car crash in Paris.
But that fateful week still stirs painful, passionate memories in the Spencer family.
A forthcoming TV documentary has prompted a furious response from Dianas brother, Earl Spencer, 53, who is demanding changes to the programme before it is broadcast.
As I revealed yesterday, next weeks Channel 5 show, Diana: 7 Days That Shook The Windsors, the commentary baldly states that Earl Spencer wanted to walk alone behind Dianas coffin, but royal advisers were not happy.
A spokesman for the Earl tells me: This is a fabrication. Earl Spencer had no wish to walk behind his sisters coffin, and only did so to support his young nephews when asked.
We will be contacting Channel 5 to stop them broadcasting something with no basis in fact.
A Palace committee, set up to organise the funeral in 1997, felt that Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, should be part of the procession. But William initially refused to join, wanting to grieve in private.
In the end, Downing Street spinners persuaded William to change his mind, much to the annoyance of Prince Philip who resented their meddling.
Its about the boys, Philip reproached them. Theyve lost their mother.
The Earl, centre, was joined by nephews Princes William, second left, and Harry, second right, as well as Prince Charles, far right, and Prince Philip, far left, for the procession
At the funeral, Earl Spencer stunned the congregation when he effectively condemned the royals by promising to protect and guide his nephews William and Harry as blood family.
In 2002, Earl Spencer gave an interview to U.S. network ABC in which he described the funeral as hell: It was unmitigated hell . . . the worst half-hour of my life.
Of the decision to join the funeral procession, he said: I was very against having to walk behind [the coffin], particularly for William and Harry, but thats the way things are done in this country, apparently, so we had to do it.
Running a red, Linley dashes to meet Queen
The late Earl of Snowdon called cyclists a menace and his son David Linley certainly seems to take a gung-ho approach to the Highway Code.
The Queens nephew shot through a red light while pedalling furiously through Chelsea this week, tucking his socks into the trousers of his tailored suit for extra speed.
David Linley, pictured, son of the late Earl of Snowden, cycled through a red light this week while running late for the opening of the Chelsea Flower Show
He is pictured here pedalling furiously through the red light in Chelsea this week
Despite his cavalier attitude to traffic rules, Linley, was late for the launch of his exhibit at the opening of the Chelsea Flower Show, and was initially refused entry because he didnt have a bike permit.
Im not happy, he told me. I know you have to have security, but why didnt they say I needed a pass for a bloody bike?
My ministerial career fell apart a bit earlier than Id expected, admits Nicky Morgan, the former Education Secretary who dared to question Theresa Mays choice in leather trousers.
There is nothing so ex as an ex-minister, she adds. As with any major change it takes time to adjust and to find the next goal in life.
Morgan is fighting her way back with a book on character education, touting the need to inculcate grit and resilience in schoolchildren.
Cherie's sister blasts Blair
Lauren Booth, Cherie Blairs Muslim convert half-sister, isnt keen to heal the familys political rift.
Blairites back on Newsnight trying to lose Labour an election they can and should win, she tweeted following an interview with a former Home Secretary in Tony Blairs government on Thursday.
Get back under your rock Charles Clarke.
Good news for Sir Bruce Forsyth as the entertainer continues his recovery from a chest infection.
A 1975 Top Of The Pops episode featuring the 89-year-old, lost from the BBC archive, has been discovered by the widow of a former BBC engineer.
A lost 1975 episode of Top of the Pops featuring Bruce Forsyth, pictured, has been discovered by the widow of a former BBC engineer
Brucie sings Sandra, which opens with the politically incorrect line: Shes a great little housewife, but sometimes she talks like a fool.
The BFI will screen the episode in July but without Forsyths introduction by sex offender presenter, DJ Dave Lee Travis.
Thats awkward! Actor Sir Tony Robinson, the hapless Baldrick in Blackadder, has been mistaken in real life for leader of the English Defence League, Tommy Robinson.
When the Lefty luvvie, 70, criticised Mrs May on social media, a follower jumped in to attack him, saying: Mate stick to running the EDL you racist ****-stirring b*****d.
Sir Tony replied: Erm! Possibly a tiny mistake.
Police say the father of a seven-month-old baby who died after being left trapped in a car on the hottest day of the year is unlikely to face criminal prosecution.
It is thought investigations will be dropped if it appears Paul Fogarty, of Dundrum, County Tipperary, was distracted by a phone call, on his way to drop off his daughter at a creche.
Officers are investigating the possibility that Paul Fogarty accidentally left daughter Chloe in the back seat of his car after forgetting to drop her off on the way to work.
She died of suspected heatstroke as temperatures rose to 25C (77F).
The seven-month-old girl, named locally as Chloe Fogarty, is believed to have been strapped into the back seat of her father's car when he forgot to drop her off at creche on his way to work. Pictured: Her parents, Paul and Louise)
Experts warn that cars can become dangerously hot very quickly. When its 22C (72F) outside, it can reach 47C (117F) in a car within an hour.
Police have said that Mr Fogarty is not currently under criminal investigation.
A senior police source said: This is not a criminal investigation. Tragedy doesnt come close to describing it.
As part of the investigation neglect will have to be examined. But from early on we established this was an accident. This is every parents worst nightmare.
When Mr Fogarty discovered her he could get no response so he called for help and a local family doctor raced to the scene
Police are said to be looking at the possibility that Mr Fogarty was distracted by a phone call as he was heading to drop Chloe off at a creche and instead drove straight to work, with the baby left in the car throughout the morning. It is thought she was in the car for four hours.
Chloe Mr Fogartys first child with wife Louise was found in an unresponsive state in the car at 1.45pm on Thursday.
Mr Fogarty, from Co Tipperary, Ireland, called for help and a local family doctor raced to the scene in the village of Dundrum.
An emergency air ambulance airlifted the baby to Limerick University Hospital emergency department. Surgeons fought to save her life but the baby was declared dead at 5pm the same day. Her parents are said to be inconsolable and are being comforted by family, friends and neighbours.
Parish priest Pat Coffey said the entire community wanted to support the family. Its just a case of shell-shock, he said. Everybody is feeling for them.
I know the extended family, its quite a big family. Everybody is feeling for them.
A resident in Dundrum, who asked not to be named, said: I understand from what I have heard that she was in the car for a number of hours, possibly four. They are a lovely family and would be very well known in the local area. This is just as devastating as you can imagine.
The baby was taken to Limerick University Hospital (pictured) but was declared dead
Local Sinn Fein councillor Martin Browne said that it had been the hottest day of the year so far in the area, which would have made conditions unbearable for the child in the car.
He said: They are a very nice, very respectable family and its just a complete tragedy. Im sure the whole community will rally around.
Mr Fogarty works in management at a steel cladding firm in Dundrum. Dozens of his colleagues yesterday held a vigil outside the offices. Some placed flowers, others lit candles. Among the bouquets left near the work premises was one with the message, Our thoughts are with you.
A post-mortem examination is expected to be carried out at University Hospital Limerick today before the body of the seven-month-old can be released to her family, allowing funeral arrangements to be made.
Its understood that family members have been travelling to Limerick to be with the grief-stricken parents.
The couple got married in 2015 and Chloe was born last October.
Britain's top-performing primary is threatening to report parents who pick their children up late to social services.
Fox School wrote a letter saying that if they still had not arrived by 4pm, it would notify its in-house child protection officer who may call in social workers.
The primary which is rated outstanding by Ofsted and lists ballerina Darcey Bussell and Tony Benns daughter Melissa as ex-pupils claimed the top spot in a Sunday newspapers guide in December.
It has the UKs smallest catchment area, with its 303 pupils required to live within 107 yards of the gates in Kensington, West London. Nearby three-bedroom terraced houses sell for more than 4million.
Fox School, in Kensington, west London, wrote a letter saying that if they still had not arrived by 4pm, it would notify its in-house child protection officer who may call in social workers
The letter to parents said: If your child has still not been collected by 4.00pm, the member of staff responsible will then notify the designated safeguarding lead/child protection officer. This may lead to social services involvement.
Schools are increasingly taking a tough line on parents who pick up children late as it can mean staff have to stay behind to look after them.
Many already use fines but it is rare for a school to call social services unless they fear there is a real risk to the childs safety.
Parents at Fox School said they did not know why the threat had been issued. One mother, who asked not to be named, said: Im guessing its because theyve had a problem with certain children.
The primary which is rated outstanding by Ofsted and lists ballerina Darcey Bussell (above) and Tony Benns daughter Melissa as ex-pupils claimed the top spot in a Sunday newspapers guide in December
Another said: It wont be a problem for me because I pick my son up on time.
A spokesman for the local council said: This is a school-led initiative to help ensure children are safe at all times.
The school has ample after-school provision and activities available for both working and non-working parents.
If a parent does not arrange for their child to be collected after school, it can put the school in a difficult position.
British gamblers lost a record 13.8billion in the last year, and the sum could see the Government crack down hard as it prepares to review the industry.
According to the Gambling Commission, the 13.8billion sum was lost by gamblers in the UK between October 2015 and September 2016, and it includes an all-time high on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs).
The machines have been a source of controversy and the government may take a harsher view of them following the annual figures.
In the last year, 1.8billion was spent on the roulette machines, which have popped up in high street betting shops up and down the country.
UK Gamblers lost a record 1.8billion on the 'crack cocaine' betting machines in the year October 2015-September 2016
The machines on which 100 can be wagered every 20 seconds have been linked to two suicides, gambling addiction, debt and money laundering.
The new figures come as the government reviews the industry, with two of the main parties preparing to impose caps on the amount of money that can be spent on the machines at once.
Last year, a review by the government proposed that stakes involved be reduced to as little as 2 a spin if the damage they are suspected of wreaking is confirmed.
The Liberal Democrats and Labour have promised to reduce the maximum amount to 2.
The Guardian reports that each machine brought in an average of 52,887 a year, about twice the national average wage.
Campaigners have labelled the machines the 'crack cocaine' of gambling.
A spokesman for the Campaign for Fairer Gambling told the paper: 'The bizarre experiment to allow high stakes, high speed roulette in betting shops is delivering huge profits for the bookmakers at the expense of an even greater cost to society and the economy.
British gamblers lost a huge 13.8billion in October 2015-September 2016 with a record level on fixed odd betting terminals
'More jobs would be created if money lost on FOBTs was spent elsewhere.'
The scale of the amount spent on the machines was revealed this week. On more than 650 occasions gamblers have blown more than 5,000 about a fifth of the average wage.
And players lost 1,000 on 233,071 occasions on the highly-addictive machines.
The total amount lost on FOBTs has soared by 73 per cent since 2009, despite the number of machines rising by only 9 per cent over the same period to 34,388.
Yesterday, Jim Shannon, who was a member of the all-party parliamentary group on FOBTs, told the Daily Mail: These figures are obscene.
They underline the need for the Government to urgently ensure action is taken to reduce the maximum amount people can stake.
(Photo/Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The current development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is facing new opportunities and challenges, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Friday.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the signing of the SCO Charter and the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation by SCO members, Wang said during a press conference following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
Under the collective efforts of all members, the SCO has grown into a new type of regional cooperative organization with advanced ideas on cooperation and significant international influence, which plays an important role in promoting regional peace and development, he said.
The minister pointed out that the organization is facing new opportunities and challenges in its development.
After India and Pakistan complete the process of joining the SCO during the upcoming Astana summit, the SCO will become the world's most populous and largest regional cooperative organization, which will bring unprecedented development capacity and cooperation potential, Wang said.
In the face of the rise of protectionism and regional security, Wang said, SCO should adhere to and be support of trade liberalization and facilitate and promote the process of economic integration.
Meanwhile, the SCO should promote security cooperation to combat the "three forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism in a more precise and efficient manner, so as to safeguard the sovereignty and homeland security of all members and maintain the regional peace and stability, Wang added.
Wang said that China will take over the SCO rotating presidency after the Astana summit, adding that Beijing is actively making a work plan that covers six major fields including politics, economy, security, humanities, foreign relations and mechanism building.
China is willing to work with Russia and other member countries to promote the SCO solidarity and make cooperations among SCO members more efficient and more effective, Wang said.
Traditionally, among Britains intelligence services, there was a clear hierarchy.
MI6, otherwise known as the Secret Intelligence Service, was foremost. Its staff mostly privately educated and considered charismatic yet smooth operators, were rated much higher than their socially inferior counterparts in MI5, the domestic intelligence service.
This categorisation was, of course, an over-simplification, and, thankfully, much has changed in the 25 years since I first began working as a political journalist at Westminster.
Inevitably, this weeks terrorist massacre in Manchester has put the spotlight on the work of both MI6 and MI5 in their role to protect the British people from those who wish to do us harm and who want to destroy our way of life.
The attack at Manchester Arena, pictured, has put the spotlight on the work of MI6 and MI5 in protecting the British people, writes Peter Oborne
Indeed, it is hard to praise too highly the work of MI5 in trying to keep the country safe particularly in the face of the current threat from Islamist terrorists.
But, on the other hand, I am deeply worried about the performance of MI6.
The organisations roots go back to the early 1900s when the government was increasingly concerned about the threat to the British Empire posed by Germany.
Its first chief, Sir Mansfield Cumming, was known as C because of the letter he used for initialling documents.
More recently, MI6 was led during the Blair years by Sir Richard Dearlove and his successor, Sir John Scarlett.
Notoriously, Scarlett compiled the dossier on Saddam Husseins so-called weapons of mass destruction which, though subsequently proved to be false, gave Blair the justification he wanted to persuade MPs that Britain should invade Iraq.
Under Scarlett, MI6 failed in its duty to warn the Government of the potential pitfalls of its foreign policy actions.
For his part, previously, Dearlove had been disgracefully suborned by Blair.
He let his and MI6s independence be fatally compromised and allowed his organisation to become a propaganda tool for the Labour PMs clique of war-mongerers.
Britain and the West have paid a huge price for the calamitous misjudgments of Scarlett and Dearlove.
Former MI6 head Sir John Scarlett, pictured, compiled the dossier on Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction' which proved to be false. Under his leadership, MI6 'failed in its duty to warn the Government of the potential pitfalls of its foreign policy actions'
The two spy agency bosses were both singled out for withering criticism in the Chilcot Report which investigated the circumstances of the run-up to the war and highlighted a litany of flawed information that MI6 had supplied.
Significantly, the then head of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, said the invasion of Iraq had substantially increased the terror threat to the UK.
I believe that MI6 has failed to learn the lessons from this debacle. Above all, it has made very serious mistakes that have endangered this countrys security.
Often with the connivance of MI6, during the early years of the Syrian War, hundreds of British citizens were allowed to travel abroad to join jihadist organisations.
The reason MI6 certainly approved such involvement was because spy chiefs had taken it upon themselves to meddle in the internal affairs of Middle East countries.
In the case of Syria, they wanted to get as much help as possible in their mission to topple the Syrian president Bashir al-Assad.
There was a similar policy towards Libya. British citizens it has been reported this week that among them was the father of the Manchester suicide-bomber were undoubtedly encouraged to travel to the north African country to fight in the civil war there to get rid of Gaddafi.
Indeed, research by the Middle East Eye website has revealed the extent to which the British authorities, I believe with the encouragement of MI6, released terror suspects in this country from control orders which had previously been imposed on them in order to restrain their movements and stop them from using the internet.
Duly, these people were free to join terror groups in the Middle East and North Africa organisations with links to Al Qaeda and other terror outfits.
Of course, as well as being enemies of al-Assad and Gaddafi, these groups were also enemies of the West.
So, while MI5 officers were working day and night to prevent Islamist terrorists inflicting carnage on British streets, MI6 officers were complicit in creating a generation of British-born jihadis who are prepared to do anything, and kill anyone even young children in their efforts to destroy this country.
This brings us directly to the Manchester suicide-bomber.
Along with his father and brother, Salman Abedi fought as a 16-year-old in the Libyan civil war. There have been reports, too, that he received military training in Syria.
There is every reason to speculate that his evil handiwork at the Manchester Arena on Monday night was in part a direct consequence of MI6s meddling.
There is every reason to speculate that Salman Abedi's (pictured) evil handiwork at the Manchester Arena on Monday night was in part a direct consequence of MI6s meddling in Middle Eastern and north African affairs
The organisation is open to the charge that it placed what it perceived to be British foreign policy objectives ahead of the safety of British citizens.
Meanwhile, others in government have serious questions to answer. For example, on whose advice was it that the Home Office lifted the control orders on suspected jihadists?
And why were repeated warnings about Abedi to the police via an anti-terrorist hotline ignored?
The official reason is that MI5 has been woefully overstretched, having to deal with managing 500 investigations into suspected terrorists, involving as many as 23,000 subjects of interest.
What is certainly true is that the police and MI5 have not been helped by the rogue activities of some of their foreign intelligence partners in MI6.
It is worth pointing out that Im not the only one perturbed by such behaviour within MI6, which has traditionally been licensed by the government to break the law and carry out illicit acts, on the assumption that it always acts in the British national interest.
Former MI6 officer Alastair Crooke, who worked for the service for 30 years and who has vast experience in the Middle East and Afghanistan, is concerned that some of its operators are not working in the national interest.
He told me: It is not right that, on one hand, domestic police services are straining every sinew to protect our societies by fighting terrorism, while, on the other hand, elements in our and Americas security services have been arming and training jihadists and colluding in terrorism.
The worry and it is a profound one is that if Britains two intelligence agencies are working at cross purposes, we will never be able to make our streets safe from terrorists.
Don't give greedy RBS chancers any more
Without doubt, it is right that disgraced former RBS boss Fred Goodwin should be grilled publicly in court as part of the case in which shareholders are claiming they were misled into investing 12 billion before the bank nearly collapsed and had to be bailed out with 45.5 billion of taxpayers money.
Goodwin still draws a 342,500-a-year RBS pension, and those shareholders are entitled to want to take every last penny off him.
But I am distressed by the greedy manner in which a small group of investors are refusing to accept a settlement in their 700 million legal claim against the bank.
They have already been bailed out with an offer of about 200 million, or 82p per share.
Philip Hammond should expose the Royal Bank of Scotland's shareholders for the 'chancers' they are
This compares with the 200p per share they paid originally, having foolishly made the investment during RBSs disastrous 12 billion rights issue just before it almost collapsed in 2008.
The truth is that shareholders ought to be grateful for what they have already been offered.
Dont forget that the RBS is still 73 per cent owned by the State, which means you.
Chancellor Philip Hammond, whom I believe was wrong to offer the extra money in the first place, should take the opportunity to expose these people for the avaricious chancers that they are.
Fans of the popular Arnott's Ginger Nut may be shocked to find out the recipe for the iconic biscuit differs in each state.
Arnott's revealed it makes four slightly different type of the iconic Ginger Nut for four Australian states - NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia and another for Queensland.
All versions of the Ginger Nut have the exact same ingredients, but the recipe for each slightly differs.
Arnott's makes its humble Ginger Nut biscuits (pictured) with four very different recipes
Lovers of Australia's favourite biscuit, Arnott's versatile Ginger Nut, were shocked to learn the recipe varies depending what state the product is bought in
According to a blog penned by a biscuit fanatic, the taste of each state's respective Ginger Nut are completely different too.
The Victorian ones are more gingery than the others, whilst the Queensland biscuits have more of a gingerbread taste, rather than a ginger biscuit flavour.
The extraordinary hardness of the NSW variety is also utterly unmatched by its SA and WA counterparts, which are very chewy in comparison.
Not only are the flavours and texture of each state's Ginger Nut different, but the amount of biscuits per packet also vary.
Not only are the flavours and texture of each state's Ginger Nut different, but the amount of biscuits per packet also vary
All Ginger Nut biscuits are manufactured in Virginia, Queensland (pictured) but are made to four different standards
Sunrise put the four different types of Arnott's Ginger Nut biscuits (pictured) to the test
GINGER NUT RECIPES AROUND AUSTRALIA NSW Light in colour, very hard, best structural integrity for tea VICTORIA/TAS Darker colour, more ginger flavour, easy to snap WA/SA Chewy, darker in colour, thicker QUEENSLAND Lightweight, wider, soggy in tea Advertisement
Fans of Ginger Nut biscuits in NSW can expect a hearty packet of 19, those in SA and WA will find 22 in their packets, Victorians are given 28 each and Queensland biscuit lovers are blessed with 30 in every box.
Australians moving interstate are often disillusioned to find their favourite Ginger Nut are not at all like they remember.
Arnott's chef Vanessa Horton told Sunrise the recipe varies around the country because in the 1960s, regional bakeries joined together under the single Arnott's banner - but every state had slightly different Ginger Nut palates.
'We get calls because people move interstate and ask if we have changed the recipe,' Ms Horton said.
'They are noticeably different in taste. The intensity of the ginger is very different,' Sunrise presenter Andrew O'Keefe said.
All biscuits are made in the same spot in Queensland, but to stay true to each state's unchanged Ginger Nut recipe they are each made slightly different and shipped off around the country.
Arnott's chef Vanessa Horton (far right) told Sunrise the recipe varies around the country because in the 1960s, regional bakeries joined together under the single Arnott's banner - but every state had slightly different Ginger Nut palates
Sex fiends are importing silicone child dolls that look as young as five-year-old girls into Australia as part of a sickening growing trend.
The Department of Immigration claims there are 11 open investigations into the importation of the items in Australia with buyers having easy access to the lifelike dolls on online retail service for businesses AliExpress, according to The Advertiser.
One item on AliExpress advertises a 'Head for Sex Dolls' with 'super real face with real hair' selling for $1,600.
Lifelike sex dolls looking as young as five-year-old girls are being imported into Australia with the police claiming it is a growing trend
The lifelike sex dolls can be customised with this head selling for up to $1600
The sex doll head here on AliExpress is selling for $1600
'This is a customized doll head with real human hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. The hair and eyes can be customized,' the advert reads.
The doll head advertised weighs up to 3kg, is designed for a 126cm tall doll with a metal skeleton.
ABF assistant commissioner Wayne Buchhorn told the publication the police are dealing with an 'increase in the attempted importation of childlike sex dolls'.
'We currently have 11 childlike sex doll import investigations under way across Australia,' he said.
Campaigners for child safety are calling the increasing trend 'horrific'
The head of the doll is advertised as having real eyebrows and eyelashes
Campaigner for child safety Hetty Johnston was disgusted and said the growing trend was 'horrific'.
Following The Saturday Telegraph contacting Alibaba and their branch AliExpress promptly acted and pulled down many of the sellers of the childlike dolls from its site.
The NSW Supreme Court recently sentenced a Chinese-born man to one-year in jail after police raided his home and found he imported a $4,000 child sex doll.
Japanese knotweeds stranglehold on the British countryside could soon be coming to an end.
Experts at the Chelsea Flower Show yesterday revealed that they believe they can cut the invasive plant down to size with two pieces of special weaponry an insect and a fungus.
In a sign of how pervasive Japanese knotweed is, yesterday it also emerged that the weed is even growing at the West London show site.
Japanese knotweeds stranglehold on the British countryside could soon be coming to an end
Scientists from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International are masterminding the two-pronged fightback against the invader.
They say the insect and the fungus, both native to Japan, attack and cause disease in the weed, which was first introduced here in the 19th century as an ornamental plant.
Knotweed has rampaged across Britains countryside, riverbanks and waste ground. However, it can also grow through concrete and undermine buildings.
Its cost to the British economy is an estimated 165million a year, so a method of controlling the weed is urgently needed.
The tiny insect that could be the answer to the problem is called a psyllid and it has already been released in the wild across the UK to test its effectiveness.
It only attacks knotweed and is harmless to native plants. CABI has also patented a spray which causes heavy damage to knotweed but has no effect on other species.
The spray contains a fungus which will greatly weaken the plant but does not attack native species.
The tiny insect that could be the answer to the problem is called a psyllid and it has already been released in the wild across the UK to test its effectiveness
THE 2MM HONKING SAVIOUR Psyllids are also known as Jumping Plant Louse
They communicate with a wide variety of songs, which include honks, croaks and burps
The variety that likes to munch on knotweed is just 2mm long, and lives beneath the slopes of a volcano in southern Japan
Millions have been released into the wild at secret UK locations
They only live a few weeks, but a female lays thousands of eggs
After they are born, the larvae suck the sap of knotweed through their sharp mouths Advertisement
Dick Shaw, CABIs UK director, said Japanese knotweeds infestation of the UK had come about because it has no natural enemies here.
He said: We have two irons in the fire. Weve found a fungus which attacks the knotweed we are considering using as a mycoherbicide. This is basically a fungus-based herbicide. The patent is in. The next step will be to develop the product. Thats a long term thing and it could take five to ten years.
The psyllids, meanwhile, suck the sap of the plant. Extensive tests on UK plant species show that the insect is highly plant specific it only likes to attack knotweed.
Dr Shaw said the psyllid was released across the UK under licence in 2010. We are doing an awful lot of safety work to make sure its not been misbehaving, he said. We now know the psyllid is safe.
He compared the insect to an aphid preying on roses. If you have got aphids on your roses, your roses dont do very well. While the psyllid will not destroy knotweed, it is hoped the bug will greatly weaken it, making it easier to kill and more susceptible to attack.
Dr Shaw said: We found 186 insects and 40 fungi that attack knotweed. There are an awful lot of things feeding on it in Japan.
Our job was to find something that was safe to release in Britain.
Current methods of killing knotweed involve repeated applications of a herbicide. A spokesman for Chelsea organisers, the Royal Horticultural Society, confirmed it was aware Japanese knotweed was infesting parts of the grounds but eradication methods so far had not worked.
The family of a 14-year-old girl who died in the Manchester suicide attack have said they are praying her best friend makes a full recovery.
Eilidh MacLeod was one of 22 people killed in the blast at Manchester Arena on Monday.
Her best friend, 15-year-old Laura MacIntyre, is fighting for her life after being injured.
Eilidh MacLeod (right) has become the latest teenage victim to be confirmed dead following the terror attack on Monday night. Her friend Laura MacIntyre (left) remains in hospital
Her parents today confirmed Eilidh (pictured) had died in the attack and said: 'Words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh'
The pair travelled from the island of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, for the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
Their families made desperate appeals when the girls failed to get in touch after the explosion at Manchester Arena which left 22 dead and dozens injured.
The friends were pupils at Castlebay Community School where pupils and staff have been left in shock.
In a statement, Roddy and Marion MacLeod said: 'Eilidh and Laura were so excited about going to the concert together but what should have been the perfect ending to a fantastic trip ended so tragically'
Pictures of Eilidh as a toddler have also been released as her family remember her
In a statement, Roddy and Marion MacLeod said: 'Eilidh and Laura were so excited about going to the concert together but what should have been the perfect ending to a fantastic trip ended so tragically.
'We continue to have Laura and her family in our thoughts and pray that she makes a full recovery.
'As a family, we would also like to offer our support and condolences to all the other innocent victims who have been needlessly killed in this attack; and to the survivors in hospitals around Manchester.'
Eilidh, pictured as a young child, was one of 22 people killed in the atrocity on Monday night
Eilidh and best friend Laura MacIntyre had travelled to Manchester from Barra for the concert on Monday night
Laura's family described the 15-year-old as 'strong-willed and a fighter' and say she is receiving the best care in hospital in Manchester.
In a police statement on Thursday, the MacIntyre family added: 'Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news.'
The MacLeods also thanked emergency services for their work at the scene and expressed their gratitude for the many messages of support they have had from around the world.
Pictures of Eilidh as a toddler and posing with a bagpiping award have also been released as her family remember her.
Eilidh received the tickets as a birthday present, but was killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi set off a device in the foyer
Her parents said: 'Eilidh MacLeod was our beautiful, intelligent, popular and talented daughter as well as a loving sister and we are at a loss without her.
'Eilidh loved nothing more than spending time with those she loved, both family and friends alike. She loved socialising whether through social media or spending time with them down on the beaches of both Barra and Vatersay.
'Her love of music was unsurpassed and she enjoyed her time playing, travelling and competing in the Pipe Bands immensely.
'We would like to thank the emergency services who did everything in their power to help following the explosion. Sincere thanks also go to all who have supported us through this terrible time including the people of Manchester, Scotland and well-wishers worldwide.'
The family paid a special thanks to people in their Western Isles community who have rallied round to help.
'Messages and tributes to our Eilidh by her friends have given us great comfort and we wish to thank you all," they said.
'The offers of help and support have been truly overwhelming and greatly appreciated.'
Eilidh received the tickets as a birthday present, but was killed when suicide bomber Salman Abedi set off a device in the foyer.
Laura's family revealed the 'funny and strong willed' teenager is still in intensive care.
In a statement released yesterday, parents Michael and Nan said: Our daughter Laura is a funny and witty young girl who excels at everything she does.
Laura and her friend Eilidh were so looking forward to the concert, but that night has now ended in a tragedy where Eilidh has lost her life and Laura is in a critical condition.
FINAL VICTIM NAMED The final victim of the Manchester Arena terror attack has been named as 15-year-old Megan Hurley, a 'gentle and unassuming girl' who loved music and animals. She had attended the concert with her older brother Brad, 20, who was seriously injured in the attack. Her parents, Michael and Joanne, run a sandwich shop in Hunts Cross, in Liverpool, and are understood to be at their son's bedside as he recovers from the blast. On Thursday pupils at Megan's school Halewood Academy, could be seen standing in silence, paying their respects at a tribute of pink balloons lined at the entrance to the school. She was confirmed dead by her aunt Maxine Benson who said she was 'heartbroken' by the devastating news. Advertisement
Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news. We want to thank everybody for their support including the emergency services for all that they have done and continue to do.
We know that Laura is in the best possible place and is receiving the best care that she can.
Laura is strong-willed and a fighter, and while she continues this battle we ask that all media respect our privacy at this extremely difficult time.
In a statement released earlier this week, Eilidh's parents said: 'Our family is devastated and words cannot express how we feel at losing our darling Eilidh.
'Eilidh was vivacious and full of fun. She loved all music whether it was listening to Ariana or playing the bagpipes with her pipe band.
'As a family we would like to express our thanks and gratitude for the support and kind messages we have received at this difficult time.'
Eilidh's mother Marion had travelled with the girls from the Isle of Barra and was due to meet them outside the arena.
When the show finished, Eilidh texted her mother to say they were ready to be collected. She was never heard from again.
Mrs Macleod and her husband Roddy mounted a frantic search of hotels and hospitals and was asked by police for detailed descriptions of the girls' clothing in a bid to help locate them.
Eilidhs great uncle, Donald Manford, had earlier described her as a vibrant young girl who took part in voluntary work on the island and was happy to give up her time to help the elderly.
The tiny island community of just 1,100 was gripped by grief as news of her death was announced. At Castlebay Community School, where Eilidh should have been sharing stories of her trip with classmates, the Saltire flew at half mast.
Pupils attended a special mass at Our Lady Star of the Sea church yesterday, and have been offered counselling.
The village of Castlebay ground to a halt when the church clock struck 11am as a minutes silence in remembrance of the victims was observed.
The community group Voluntary Action Barra and Vatersay had raised more than 28,000 last night from a fundraising page set up in the hours after Eilidhs death was announced.
It reads: The incident has left the communities of Barra and Vatersay deeply shocked, with heavy hearts. Show your support for the families and donate what you can.
Another fundraising page, set up on by family friend Alan Anderson, had raised more than 30,000.
Laura's father Michael said earlier that it was his daughter's first concert and a birthday present for Eilidh and the pair were 'big fans' of Ariana.
Britain's two biggest mobile phone networks have also been voted the worst by customers.
EE and Vodafone which have tens of millions of users received the lowest scores for service, value for money and customer incentives in a Which? survey.
The consumer group acknowledged that the companies both offer good geographical coverage and fast 4G connections.
EE and Vodafone which have tens of millions of users received the lowest scores for service, value for money and customer incentives in a Which? survey
But it found that just one in five customers with EE which was bought by BT last year for 12.5billion would definitely recommend them to a friend or family member.
The figure for Vodafone was little better, with just one in four prepared to recommend the network. Both EE and Vodafone received overall customer scores of just 50 per cent in a poll of more than 4,000 people.
Which? said: The performance of the poorest mobile providers is in stark contrast to those at the top of the table such as Giffgaff and Utility Warehouse with scores of 81 per cent and 76 per cent.
Seven in ten of Giffgaffs customers said theyd recommend the mobile provider to their family or friends.
EE was fined 2.7million by Ofcom in January for carelessness or negligence which led to them overcharging almost 40,000 customers.
Which? found that just one in five customers with EE which was bought by BT last year for 12.5billion would definitely recommend them to a friend or family member
Last year, Vodafone was fined 4.6million for inaccurate billing and poor complaints procedures.
EE said: Were working incredibly hard to provide the best mobile experience in the UK. Vodafone said: Improving service for our customers is our top priority.
The details come days after telecoms regulator Ofcom outlined plans to make it easier for people to change networks under a text to switch system.
Former FBI Director James Comey acted on Russian intelligence concerning the Hillary Clinton email scandal, even though he knew the information was false.
The reason Comey acted was because he worried the information would hurt the investigation and the Justice Department if it became public, CNN reports.
The Russian intelligence claimed there were emails that implied then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch would make the FBI's investigation of Clinton go away, according to the outlet.
The alleged emails were between then-Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and a political operative.
Former FBI Director James Comey knew that Russian intelligence concerning the Hillary Clinton email scandal was fake, but still acted on it by publicly announcing the end of the FBI investigation into the email scandal last summer without consulting then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch
The false Russian intelligence said there were emails between then-DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and a political operative that compromised Lynch, pictured left. The alleged emails implied Lynch would make the investigation into Clinton's emails go away
Comey acted because he worried that if the false information concerning the email scandal became public it would be impossible to prove false without burning other intelligence sources
Comey feared the Russians would release the information and it would be impossible to prove false without burning other intelligence methods, sources told the outlet.
So last summer, without consulting Lynch, Comey publicly announced the end of the investigation and said Clinton had been 'extremely careless'.
Sources told CNN there were other factors Comey considered before acting the way he did last summer, including that Lynch had already been compromised by having Bill Clinton board her plane and speak to her during the investigation.
This report comes at the same time as another, claiming President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergei Kislyak, discussed establishing a secret back-channel in order to avoid having their communications detected by US authorities, according to The Washington Post.
There have also been reports that President Donald Trump's son in law Jared Kushner, pictured, and Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak discussed creating a secret back-channel in order to avoid communications being detected by US authorities
Kislyak, pictured with Trump on May 10, reported to his bosses in Moscow that Kushner proposed a direct back-channel connecting Trump's campaign and the Kremlin during a meeting at Trump Tower on or around December 1
Kislyak reported to his bosses in Moscow that Kushner proposed a direct back-channel connecting Trump's campaign and the Kremlin during a meeting at Trump Tower on or around December 1, the Post reported.
As per Kushner's suggestion, the communications between the Trump team and the Kremlin would be held inside Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, according to details of the discussions that were intercepted by intelligence officials.
And as special counsel Robert Mueller is heading a new probe of the Russian election interference, along with multiple congressional probes, the White House is preparing for a multi-year battle to counter the constant barrage of information.
'We're getting street fighters ready to go,' one Trump ally told Axios.
'The White House is embracing the fight, which is going to last as long as Donald Trump is president,' said the ally.
Trump is already bringing on longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz, as part of a new personal legal team.
'He's the type of lawyer Trump likes - tough, litigious, threatens all the time,' one GOP official told DailyMail.com.
Trump's White House is also preparing 'street fighters' for a multi-year battle to counter the constant barrage of information as special counsel Robert Mueller is heading a new probe of the Russian election interference
Trump is already bringing on longtime attorney Marc Kasowitz, pictured, as part of a new personal legal team
New rapid response teams will fill an organizational structure meant to to counter the daily onslaught of bad headlines about burgeoning Russia probes.
The plan, according to the report, is to have dedicated staff handle the incoming information. With staff able to 'compartmentalize' the scandal pushback, other officials would be freed up to do their regular jobs.
Proposed new organizational charts have been prepared. The plan is for Trump to make final decisions when he returns from his international trip this weekend.
Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and advisor Stephen Bannon returned to the White House early during Trump's trip, in part to oversee the planning, according to the report.
The plan appears to have the hallmark of previous 'war rooms,' including one set up in the White House to counter daily disclosures during Bill Clinton's impeachment. It would consist of lawyers, PR professionals, and surrogates.
The current plan would be both to organize existing staff in the White House as well as outside supporters.
Three Muslim men were yesterday accused of plotting a deadly copycat terror attack on Westminster.
The trio were allegedly secretly recorded discussing using explosives, guns, knives and vehicles for mass murder.
They are suspected of targeting key sites across London including Parliament, City banks, Heathrow and the Queens Guard.
Vast quantities of extremist material were said to have been found stashed on some of their phones, computers and a USB storage device.
Four men have appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court on terror and firearms charges
Police believe the alleged terror cell was inspired by Khalid Masood, who left four dead on Westminster Bridge before fatally stabbing a police officer in March.
Islamic scholar Umar Ahmed Haque, 24, Muhammad Abid, 26, and 18-year-old Abuthaher Mamun were arrested in raids across east London last week.
They appeared before Westminster magistrates court charged with offences under the Terrorism Acts 2000 and 2006.
A fourth man, Nadeem Ilyas Patel, 25, appeared alongside them charged with attempting to supply them with a firearm.
Kashif Malik, prosecuting, told the court: The Crowns allegation is that Haque was planning a terrorism attack in the UK involving mass murder.
He intended to use a heavy vehicle laden with explosives, he certainly had the know-how, as documented in the instruction manuals which have been recovered from his address, on how to make explosives. Or he was going to use a knife and again manuals were recovered from his address on how to carry out knife attacks.
The four men were arrested in a series of raids by the Met Police's anti-terror unit this month
Or he was intending to use a firearm and we say he was trying to acquire one from Patel who was willing to provide one.
He shared his intentions with Abid in that conversation which was recorded, in which they glorified the attacks of Khalid Masood, the Westminster attacks and this demonstrates how their minds operate. They consider various other options and Abid said he would assist with the planning.
He also shared his intention with Mamun. In this conversation, which was also recorded, they talk about finances and what they would need to purchase a gun or heavy vehicle.
The mens lawyers did not apply for bail and chief magistrate Emma Arbuthnot remanded them in custody to next appear at the Old Bailey on June 9.
The court heard Haque is accused of possessing a handwritten list of possible targets including government buildings, foreign embassies and tourist attractions.
At Patels home, police allegedly found two guns, one in the style of a Walther P99 pistol capable of firing gas pellets and a .22 air pistol.
A high-profile advocate for child sex abuse victims, whose daughters were repeatedly raped by a Melbourne priest, has died after suffering a major stroke.
Anthony Foster, 64, became a relentless campaigner after his daughters Emma and Katie were sexually abused by priest Kevin O'Donnell at their Melbourne primary school between 1988 and 1993.
He is believed to have died on Friday evening after falling and hitting his head.
Anthony Foster (pictured), whose daughters were repeatedly raped by a Melbourne priest, has died after reportedly suffering a major stroke. Mr Foster and wife Chrissie (left) rose to prominence after a decade-long battle with the Catholic church for a compensation payout
Anthony Foster became a relentless campaigner after his daughters Emma (left) and Katie (right) were sexually abused by priest Kevin O'Donnell at their Melbourne primary school between 1988 and 1993.
Mr Foster rose to prominence after engaging in a decade-long battle with the Catholic church for a compensation payout.
The Fosters were offered a $50,000 payout from the church which they rejected - later taking them to court.
The church settled the Fosters in 2006 for $750,000.
Mr Foster publicly accused Cardinal George Pell - who was archbishop of Melbourne at the time - for stalling their compensation claim.
Mr Foster and his wife Chrissie shared their torment to the media and a royal commission into institutional responses to child sex abuse.
The chair of the child sex abuse royal commission said he is 'deeply saddened' Mr Foster's death.
Justice Peter McClellan extended his condolences to the Foster family and praised their dedication to achieving justice for survivors of child sexual abuse.
'They attended hundreds of days of public hearings and participated in many of our policy roundtables,' he said in a statement on Saturday.
Emma (right) took an overdose and died in 2008, while sister Katie (left) was hit by a car after a drinking binge and is now brain damaged and in a wheelchair
George Pell blessing Emma Foster at her confirmation in 1993, years after she was first raped by one of Pell's parish priests, Father Kevin O'Donnell
'With a dignity and grace, Anthony and Chrissie generously supported countless survivors and their families whilst also managing their own grief.'
Mr Foster and his wife Chrissie endured further tragedy after their daughters were abused as children.
Emma took an overdose of her medication and died in 2008, while Katie was hit by a car after a drinking binge and is now brain damaged and in a wheelchair.
Tributes poured in for Mr Foster on Saturday, with many describing the father as a voice for survivors who struggled to discuss their personal experiences.
'Anthony was the person that stood up and he spoke in quiet, but powerful words, and in many ways you know, he roared like a lion on this issue,' friend Paul Kennedy said.
Mr Foster (pictured with wife Chrissie) is believed to have died on Friday evening after falling and hitting his head
Mr Foster publicly accused Cardinal George Pell (pictured) - who was archbishop of Melbourne at the time - for stalling their compensation claim
Mr Kennedy co-authored a book, Hell on the Way to Heaven, with Mrs Foster in 2010.
Fellow victims advocate Manny Waks said he was devastated to hear of the death of his friend and colleague.
'Anthony, together with his dear wife Chrissie, has been one of my inspirations,' he wrote on Facebook.
'Despite all they endured, they maintained determination and dignity in their ongoing campaign for justice and reform within the Catholic Church - for them and for others.'
Mr Waks also voiced his anger with the Catholic Church for the 'ongoing pain and suffering they caused the Fosters'.
'At the very least, they should belatedly publicly acknowledge the incredible work by such an amazing family,' he said.
'Many of us are mourning with you. We will continue to support you in whatever way we can.'
Jeremy Joseph Christian has been charged with two counts of aggrated murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count each of aggravated murder and being a felon in possession of a restricted firearm
A Portland man known for hate speech is in custody in connection with the stabbings on a light-rail train that left two people dead and another injured after they tried to intervene as the suspect launched 'anti-Muslim' slurs at two young women on Friday night.
Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count each of aggravated murder and being a felon in possession of a restricted firearm, reported KOIN 6.
One of the two victims has been identified by his mother as Taliesin Namkai-Meche in a touching tribute posted to Facebook.
Asha Deliverance wrote: 'Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, My dear baby boy passed on yesterday while protecting two young Muslim girls from a racist man on the train in Portland.
'He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil. Shining bright star I love you forever.'
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One of the two victims has been identified by his mother as Taliesin Namkai-Meche in a touching tribute posted to Facebook
Christian is known for hate-speech, and is a self-identified white supremacist who was pictured on April 29, referring to himself as the 'Lizard King' and giving Nazi salutes at a free speech rally, with an American Revolutionary War flag tied like a cape around his shoulders.
He walked among fellow protesters holding American flags and signs that said 'Trump Makes America Great Again.'
Christian's Facebook site paints disturbing a picture of the suspect, and he describes himself by saying: 'I'm an Ex-Con. I Like Comix, Cannabis and Metal-In Any Combination. If you are an Employer, F*** Off.'
The suspect has been in jail previously for a string of charges including robbery, kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon, and he brags about being an ex-con on his Facebook page.
He has posted on his profile a number of times to say he supports the Nazis, and once even said he wants a job in Norway 'cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize (sic) Babies.'
The accused is also a white supremacist who was pictured giving Nazi salutes at a free speech rally in April with an American Revolutionary War flag tied like a cape around his shoulders
He has posted a number of times to say he supports the Nazis, and once even said he wants a job in Norway 'cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize (sic) Babies'
Additionally, Christian threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me'
Additionally, Christian has threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me,' in a comment thread on his Facebook profile.
On May 9, Christian wrote about a debate he challenged someone to: 'I will defend the Nazis and he will the defend the AshkeNAZIs.'
Before attending the April 29 rally where he was caught on camera giving the Nazi salute, Christian wrote: 'You should all attend the Free Speech Rally at Montanavilla if you value your rights. All Rights, I don't care if you like Antifa or Hate them. They are just an excuse for a showdown.
'I hope the Police Stand Down as in Berkeley. I will be there Demasking anyone with a mask. I will attend in Lizard King Regalia as a Political Nihilist to Provoke both Sides and attempt to engage anyone in a true Philosophy and Political Discussion.
'If you attended masked up and that mask comes off and I see a friend who sided with ANTIFA it will be merciless. Free speech or die!!! This is my land!!!'
Additionally, Christian threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me'
Christian has been in jail previously, for a string of charges including robbery, kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon, though he brags about being an ex-con on his Facebook page. He even posted his prior mugshots (above)
He also referred to President Trump the 'antichrist,' but in a way that turned it into a compliment.
'If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put and end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!'
Man engaging in hate speech and giving the Nazi salute at the end of the #Portland free speech march pic.twitter.com/8QRmmvTDAf Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) April 29, 2017
In a picture from his Facebook page, Christian posed with someone in a military hat at what appears to be a party
Before attending the free speech rally where he was caught on camera giving the Nazi salute, Christian wrote: 'If you attended masked up and that mask comes off and I see a friend who sided with ANTIFA it will be merciless. Free speech or die!!! This is my land!!!'
Christian was arrested after he ran off the train at the Hollywood transit station in Portland, Oregon, the Oregonian reported.
The attacker was 'yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs' before he turned his focus on the women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police Sgt. Pete Simpson said.
He is being held without bail in the Multnomah County Detention Center, and will appear in court on Tuesday, according to KOIN.
After the suspect attacked the victims, he reportedly said, 'This is free America, I can do whatever I want' one witness told KOMO news.
One victim was dead at the scene and while another died at a hospital, Simpson said. The third person was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A man who was yelling 'anti-Muslim' slurs at two young women on a light-rail train stabbed two men to death and injured a third person when they tried to intervene, police said
The attacker was 'yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs' before he turned his focus on the women
After the suspect attacked the victims, he reportedly said, 'This is free America, I can do whatever I want' one witness told KOMO news
Sgt. Pete Simpson told KATU the suspect slashed the Good Samaritans in the throat
The attack happened on a MAX train as it headed east on Friday around 4.30pm, and since then has triggered calls for President Donald Trump to speak out against Racism, according to the Telegraph.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations national executive director Nihad Awad said: 'President Trump must speak out personally against he rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation.
'Only a strong statement from the nation's leader will send a message to bigots that such acts of violence targeting racial, ethnic or religious minorities are unacceptable.'
Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old resident of Clackamas, Oregon, said she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the women.
'[He] said, "Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don't pay taxes here." [He said he] doesn't like Muslims, they're criminals,' Evelin Hernandez told KATU.
When the two men stepped in and tried to protect other passengers on the train, the suspect slashed their throats, Simpson told the news channel.
It wasn't clear why the man was yelling, but the Portland Police department characterized the rant as 'hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions'.
'He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim,' Simpson said.
After the stabbings, the suspect said he was free to do what he wanted in America, witnesses said. He also reportedly said he was getting off at the next stop and no one should follow him, KOIN reported.
Police don't know if Christian has mental health issues or whether was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
Simpson said the women understandably left the scene before police arrived, adding that authorities hoped to track them down to help fill in what happened.
The two women were described by police as 'possibly Muslim', although Simpson said: 'We have not been able to find those girls to verify that.'
The suspect was arrested after he ran from the Hollywood transit station in Portland, Oregon, around 4.30pm on Friday
'It's horrific,' Simpson said. 'There's no other word to describe what happened today.'
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wrote on Twitter: 'Terrible tragedy on Portland's Max Train. Champions of justice risked and lost their lives. Hate is evil.'
Portland's Commissioner Chloe Eudaly issued a statement saying: 'This is an especially sad and disturbing incident. People lost their lives or were injured because they stood up to hate.
'We need to offer our heartfelt support to the two women and others who were targeted. The courage of the people who stood up for them is a reminder that we as a city need to stand together to denounce hate.'
The FBI also offered their assistance in the investigation, saying: 'At the core of the FBI's mission is the belief that every person has the right to live, work and worship in this country without fear.
'Hate and bigotry have no place in our community, and we will not allow violence in the name of hate to go unanswered.'
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wrote on Twitter: 'Terrible tragedy on Portland's Max Train. Champions of justice risked and lost their lives. Hate is evil'
Millions of Muslims marked the start of Ramadan on Friday, a time of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.
'Our thoughts are with the Muslim community,' Simpson said. 'As something like this happens, this only instills fear in that community.
'We have already reached out previous to this incident to our Muslim community partners and the different imams about extra patrol during Ramadan. We want to reassure them that that will continue.'
MAX trains were halted for several hours after the incident, and an investigation is ongoing.
BEIJING, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong will attend a ceremony in Kenya to mark the completion of the railway linking Mombasa and Nairobi, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Friday.
At the invitation of the Kenyan government, Wang will be in Kenya from May 30 to June 1 as the special envoy of Chinese President Xi Jinping, spokesperson Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing.
The railway from Mombasa to Nairobi, the flagship project of China-Kenya practical cooperation, will be open to traffic on May 31, Lu said.
He said China is ready to work with Kenya to implement the outcomes of the Johannesburg summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, push forward the Belt and Road Initiative and capacity cooperation, strengthen friendly cooperation of mutual benefit in various fields, and bring bilateral ties to a new high.
Wang will also visit Niger, Angola and Zambia from June 1 to June 9 at the invitation of the three countries' governments, Lu said.
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Schapelle Corby switched flights at the last minute to travel home on budget airline Malindo Air, dodging the 40 reporters who had booked seats on the Virgin flight.
The convicted drug smuggler was escorted to Ngurah Rai International Airport in a police convoy after signing release papers signalling her freedom during the final visit to the parole office in Denpasar earlier on Saturday.
Just after 10pm local time on Saturday, she posted a photo on Instagram with just one word - 'boarded'.
And although her Virgin Australia boarding pass had been issued, showing she had a seat in business class, Corby's sister Mercedes revealed that the pair had instead opted to fly Malindo Air.
'And we are off, Aus early morning!' she wrote, along with a picture on Instagram showing two boarding passes for the budget airline.
And despite shielding her face from the cameras and citing security concerns because of the strong media presence throughout her journey home, Corby couldn't help updating her 65,000 new Instagram followers with pictures and videos from her journey home.
'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby,' Corby wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie with her sister Mercedes taken inside the car as she made her way to the airport in Denpasar.
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Schapelle Corby is seen in the immigration holding area before boarding her flight to Brisbane on Saturday night
Corby shared a picture of the view from her seat moments before taking off shortly after 10pm local time
Schapelle Corby's emergency passport is pictured as she boards a flight home almost 13 years after her 2004 arrest
Corby's boarding pass (pictured) for the 10.10pm Virgin flight from Denpasar to Brisbane shows she is sitting in 1A
Mercedes Corby shared a picture revealing she and her sister had switched flights last minute to fly using a budget airline
At her final stop, two vans filled with police with blue lights flashing turned up only to roll away with no Corby in tow, sending media scampering.
Soon after, section chief of Denpasar airport Hermansyah, confirmed Corby was already inside. 'She entered through an airport employee entrance,' he told AAP.
There were also chaotic scenes outside the parole office and earlier, outside Corby's Kuta home when she emerged without her bodyguard before quickly entering an official car along with her sister as her 13-year saga comes to a close.
She hid her eyes behind dark sunglasses and covered her hair with a patterned scarf, but brandished her handbag in the air - which featured a photograph of a missing Australian boy with the words 'Where's William Tyrrell?' written on it.
William was three when he disappeared from his grandmother's yard Kendall, NSW, on September 12, 2014.
Locals and tourists on the streets near Corby's Kuta home cheered and took photographs as police whisked the convicted drug smuggler to the corrections office in Denpasar ahead of her deportation.
During the journey, Corby posted a picture of her paperwork on Instagram, writing: 'Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time.'
Schapelle Corby and her sister Mercedes are seen going through a security screening at Denpasar Airport on Saturday
Schapelle Corby (left) shared a selfie with her sister Mercedes, writing: 'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby'
Schapelle Corby is escorted by Bali Police outside the parole office in Denpasar, where officials signed a release letter indicating she is now free to return to Australia
Convicted Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, seen with her face obscured with a shawl, is escorted by officials
Corby is free to return to Australia after being deported from Indonesia after serving nine years in prison for drug smuggling
Officials at the Correction Bureau in Denpasar escort Schapelle Corby ahead of her deportation from Bali to Brisbane
Schapelle Corby's sister Mecedes (far left) appeared to capture every moment of her sibling's deportation for posterity
Indonesian police officers stand guard near a car which carries drug smuggler Schapelle Corby at the parole office in Bali
Schapelle Corby shielded herself from the media using a scarf and sunglasses, but brandished her handbag in the air - which featured a photograph of missing Australian boy William Tyrrell
There, police pushed crowds of people out of the way and an Indonesian journalist was seen falling from a wall in his eagerness to catch a glimpse of Corby.
Around 100 police officers were deployed, from Denpasar and Kuta police, to ensure a smooth and secure journey on Saturday.
Just hours before her deportation, police executed a dry run with three armoured vehicles and guards lining the streets in preparation for Corby to run the media gauntlet.
A private car entered the 39-year-old's Kuta villa compound earlier to pick up Corby's family members and take them to the parole office.
Security vehicles were parked on the main street near the house, on Pudak Sari Street, including two armoured vehicles, two trucks and two patrol cars before Corby's departure.
Corby's bodyguard John McLeod, who's protected the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer, walks through the airport alone
Indonesian police escort the car which Schapelle Corby is in as she prepares for deportation from Indonesia on Saturday
Schapelle Corby is seen being hugged by her sister Mercedes, who appeared to be filming the media frenzy on her phone
Corby's sister Mercedes appeared to be filming the media scrum on her phone, while Corby's handbag can be seen bearing a photo of a missing Australian boy and the words 'Where's William Tyrrell?'
Corby posted a picture of her paperwork on Instagram, writing: 'Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time'
A Balinese official emerged from the parole office and showed reporters the release letter signalling Corby is free to leave
There were chaotic scenes as Schapelle Corby left her villa amid a media frenzy to go to the parole office for the last time
Schapelle Corby left her Kuta villa and is on her way to the parole office for the final time before leaving for Australia
Minutes before she left her Bali villa, Corby posted this picture on Instagram writing: 'Big thank you to my Bali family'
Corby joined Instagram just hours before she was picked up by a police convoy to begin her trip home.
Her first picture, a photo of her two dogs Luna and May, was posted from her Kuta home in the hours before she left on Saturday.
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' Corby wrote.
Her second post, which appeared moments after she was whisked away by police, shows her 'Bali family', including sister Mercedes and brother Michael Corby Jr.
'Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother in law Wayan,' she wrote.
Ketut Widiada, the head of the operational division of Denpasar Police, arrived at the home on Saturday morning to observe the situation.
'We're here to ensure the preparedness to pick up and guard Corby's transfer,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Bali officials said Corby's sister Mercedes was 'expecting a lot from security officials', citing concerns around the large media contingent on the Indonesian island and anyone else who 'objects to her release.'
Police guarded her Kuta home before her deportation to Australia as authorities try to deal with a situation they say is clearly 'not normal'.
After more than a week of being holed up in her villa, she is expected to fly from Denpasar to Brisbane aboard a 10pm flight on Saturday, authorities said.
Indonesia police prepare their security in Denpasar in preparation for Schapelle Corby to return back to Australia
Denpasar police executed the enactment in preparation for Schapelle's high-profile departure on Saturday night
Up to 200 police officers have been enlisted to ensure the 39-year-old Australian's journey to the airport is safe
A private car picked up the family to take to the parole office where they will meet Schapelle Corby before going to the airport
Schapelle Corby has spent nearly 13 years in Bali after her arrest for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana onto the Indonesian island
Joining her will be her sister Mercedes and her bodyguard, who has protected the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer, among others, and is tasked with trying to shield her from the media.
'Police are securing Corby's house because it's not normal, there are too many people,' the head of Bali's Law and Human Rights Office, Ida Bagus Ketut Adnyana, said on Friday.
He said authorities were also worried about her departure causing 'traffic disturbances' in the area.
Head of Bali's Law and Human Rights Office, Ida Bagus Ketut Adnyana said Corby was expected to emerge from her Kuta home at around 5pm local time.
Police gear up for the deportation of Corby, who has served nine years in prison and three years on parole for drug smuggling
Schapelle Corby will be deportated from Indonesia on Saturday following the end of a three year parole period
Hazard tape blocks the entrance to Schapelle Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose's house in Loganlea, south of Brisbane
A yellow ribbon, a symbol used in a campaign for Schapelle Corby's release, is tied around a tree outside her mother's house
At around 6.30pm, she will go to the airport where she is due to board a 10.10pm Virgin flight to Brisbane.
She is set be processed through airport security in a private area before travelling business class on the flight, where the entire section has been booked out for her and her entourage, the Sunday Mail reports.
Officials say they want to keep her time at the airport brief, citing 'security concerns.
They are expecting around a quarter of the passengers on the flight to be from the media.
Her sister Mercedes and her bodyguard, who has protected the likes of the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer, are expected to join her on the journey, as are correction officials.
Her departure marks the end of Corby's long battle with Indonesian officials which began when they uncovered 4.2kgs of marijuana in her bodyboard bag in Denpasar airport in October 2004.
A photo inside Corby's Kuta villa shows her brother Michael (left), Schapelle (centre) and her mother Rosleigh Rose (right)
Schapelle Corby has spent the last three years on parole and living in a Kuta villa (pictured) on the Indonesian island of Bali
It will also mark the end of a case that has put strain on the often tumultuous relationship between Indonesia and Australia.
'Not only was it a major political issue between our two countries, it defined the bilateral relationship for a number of years,' President of the Australian-based Indonesia Institute Ross Taylor told AAP.
It also revealed Australia's 'distorted perception' of Indonesia as a very 'narrow one' - with 'Schapelle Corby, Bintang Beer, Bali, terrorism and boat people' becoming synonymous with our neighbour, he added.
Police arrived at the Kuta villa where Schapelle Corby lives with a private car already picking up her family
Police officials arrive at the 39-year-old Australian's Kuta villa compound ahead of her departure
Indonesian officials have cleared Schapelle Corby to return home as she waits for one last trip to the parole office
Mathew Sterling, 29, pictured, brought four loaded guns, a knife, pepper spray and throwing stars to the Phoenix Comicon Thursday. He told police he was planning to kill bad police
A man who planned to kill 'bad' police at the Phoenix Comicon told officers he was a crime-fighting comic book character called 'The Punisher'.
Mathew Sterling, 29, was arrested Thursday after he brought weapons into the Arizona event and threatened to kill police officers and one of the performers at the event.
Police say Sterling appears to have mental issues.
Sterling, from Mesa, Arizona, was jailed on suspicion of attempted murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, wearing body armor during the commission of a felony, resisting arrest and carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
He did not have an attorney present when he appeared in court Friday and spoke only briefly, agreeing when a judge told him it might not be in his best interest to comment.
Sterling is being held on $1million cash bond, according to AZ Central.
Police were called to the Phoenix Convention Center when a woman who knows Sterling called and reported he was posting threats on Facebook about killing police officers and harming a performer at the Comicon event.
He was posting pictures of police officers at the event, saying he was going to kill them, according to 12 News.
Police also say Sterling 'set a calendar reminder in his phone to alert him to kill the victim at Comicon on May 25th,' according to AZ Central.
'The victim' refers to Jason David Frank, an actor known for his role as the original green Power Ranger.
Immediately after the incident, police did not name Sterling or his intended victim, Frank.
Police say Sterling also planned to kill a performer at the event, actor Jason David Frank, pictured
Frank is best known for his role as the original green Power Ranger, pictured
Police say Sterling appears to have mental issues. He told officers he was the crime fighting comic book character, the 'Punisher'. Sterling was arrested at the convention center after a brief struggle, pictured
Sterling was taken into custody after a brief struggle at the convention center Thursday.
He had been carrying four fully loaded guns: two 45-caliber handguns, a .454-caliber handgun and a 12-gauge shotgun, as well as a combat knife, pepper spray and throwing stars, according to AZ Central.
No one was hurt in the incident.
Prop weapons carried into the four-day Comicon event are supposed to be inspected by security staff.
However, Sergeant Mercedes Fortune revealed the Sterling's weapons weren't checked.
Police have now added extra security to the Comicon and banned all costume prop weapons, including swords sabers and fake guns.
'Keep in mind, this is for everyone's safety,' Sergeant Fortune said, adding that prop weapons should be left at home or in cars.
Fortune also said extra security would be put in place over the weekend and the number of entry and exit points would be cut down, which could lead to long lines.
'Expect some delays throughout the weekend,' she said.
The convention will run through Monday, May 29.
After the change Friday, Comicon fans were upset and frustrated by the drastic security measures.
Many fervently complained that the terms of the ban were not clear on whether other props wouldn't be permitted.
In response to the scare cause by Sterling's threats, police added extra security to the Comicon and banned all costume prop weapons, including swords sabers and fake guns. This visitor is turning in his plastic chains Friday
Deborah Crosby touched her father's flag-draped casket as her three brothers hugged her in a tearful embrace on the tarmac at the San Diego airport Friday - ending a more than half century search to find and bring home the remains of Lt Cmdr Frederick P Crosby, shot down as a Navy pilot in the Vietnam War.
Deborah Crosby, now 58, was only six when she was sent home from the first grade to learn her father was presumed dead, though his body had not been found during Operation Rolling Thunder.
Lt Cmdr Frederick P Crosby had been deployed on the Bon Homme Richard, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed off the Vietnam coast.
Lt Cmdr Frederick P Crosby had been deployed on the Bon Homme Richard, an Essex-class aircraft carrier stationed off the Vietnam coast. He died when his plane crashed in a fish pond in north Vietnam in 1965. It took more than 50 years to find his remains and bring them back to his family
Deborah Crosby hugs her brother John Crosby in front of her father's casket. They are surrounded by their brothers Douglas and Steven. Deborah played a crucial role in the investigative work in finding her father
Crosby was one of 14 planes that were shot during the ship's 1965 to 1966 cruise with nine of the pilots for those flights being killed and two being Prisoners of War.
Deborah's mother could never talk about that day, but she gave Crosby and her brothers a binder with articles about her father's plane zooming low through the clouds on a bomb damage assessment mission before it was gunned down by North Vietnamese ground forces in 1965. The 31-year-old pilot was armed only with cameras, his daughter said.
'They were coming in low and fast on an enemy who is already spun up because he's already been attacked,' said Karl Zingheim, historian at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego.
The pilots wedding ring and clothes along with his bones were found in the pond. Crosby was one of 14 planes that were shot during the ship's 1965 to 1966 cruise with nine of the pilots for those flights being killed and two being Prisoners of War
'They were bearing the full brunt of the attack so they could bring the intelligence to bring back to the (aircraft) carrier.'
Crosby and her grandmother made a pact to someday bring home her father's remains and bury him in his hometown of San Diego.
A year ago, military investigators found his remains in a fish pond in north Vietnam. On Friday, Deborah Crosby fulfilled her promise to her late grandmother.
Passengers watched through the windows of a Delta Air Lines jet as the flag-draped casket was removed from the hold by six sailors.
Deborah Crosby walked forward, touched the casket and embraced her three brothers. The aviator's elderly sister, Sharon, and brother, David, also hugged, and he wiped an eye.
'I'm just overwhelmed with seeing the plane drive up and all of the uniforms and all of the respect and the honors that he's receiving,' Deborah Crosby said.
The sailors saluted before the casket left in a hearse.
On Sunday, Frederick Crosby will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery with full military honors and a Navy flyover.
Navy sailors carry Lt Cmdr Frederick Crosby's casket after it arrives in the airport in San Diego, California
Deborah touches her father casket. 'I'm just overwhelmed with seeing the plane drive up and all of the uniforms and all of the respect and the honors that he's receiving,' Deborah said
'It's nice to be able to let out the tears and to have some relief in our hearts,' she said. 'And now we're able to talk about it. Before we didn't talk much about this and now we can talk proudly and we have you know a happier ending and we can visit my dad's gravesite'
Deborah Crosby never doubted the fact that her father was killed. But her grief seemed to linger in a deep space inside her until she received news that his remains had been recovered, finally giving her closure.
'It just changed my life in so many ways,' the energy consultant who lives in New York said earlier in an interview. 'It relieved a lot of sadness that I've been carrying around in my heart very quietly.'
The U.S. military actively searches for missing service members from conflicts worldwide. According to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, 969 missing service members have been accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, while the whereabouts of 1,611 remain a mystery.
The U.S. military actively searches for missing service members from conflicts worldwide. According to the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia, 969 missing service members have been accounted for since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, while the whereabouts of 1,611 remain a mystery
Deborah Crosby called to inquire regularly about the military's progress on her father's case starting in the 1990s.
Prior to then, the family hadn't done much research due to the heavy anti-war sentiment surrounding the conflict according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Almost 600 American prisoners returned from Vietnam in what was known as Operation Homecoming in 1973 and Deborah remembers checking a list to see if her father's name was on it to no avail.
When her grandmother suggested they begin the search, Deborah ran into a roadblock as the Navy's casualty office said that it would only give information to her father's next of kin - Deborah's mother.
Paratroopers drop during the Vietnam war. Almost 600 American prisoners returned from Vietnam in what was known as Operation Homecoming in 1973 and Deborah remembers checking a list to see if her father's name was on it to no avail
'They felt, don't get your hopes up. There are probably no remains to recover because of the way the crash happened,' Deborah Crosby told The San Diego Union-Tribune about mother Mary Crosby and her oldest brother Doug who had spoken to Frederick's wingman after the crash.
'I was never told that, so I guess I just wasn't limited by that statement.'
After contacting the Library of Congress, Deborah was given access to declassified information including the coordinates of the crash site which she logged into Google.
Reports from the area yielded hopeful news.
'They said something about the grass is not growing there because of the damage from the fuel from the aircraft crash,' she said.
After attending the annual meeting of the National League of POW/MIA Families, Deborah learned that Pentagon's recovery branch, now consolidated as the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, had been doing searches for her father as early as 1993.
Crosby's aircraft fell in front of Pham Van Truong's house in Thanh Hoa City, Vietnam and splashed the resident with mud and water
Decades passed and her mother and grandmother both died before investigators got a breakthrough on their third trip to the area when they met Pham Van Truong, a lifelong resident of Nam Ngan ward in Thanh Hoa City.
According to a 50-page report given to Deborah Crosby, the 89-year-old man told investigators he couldn't recall the month or year, but he remembered during the war that he was cooking limestone to reinforce his house when he heard gunfire and ran to the nearby levee to investigate. He saw two planes headed toward his house, and one was on fire as it glided toward the levee. He said he could see its wing and tail surfaces were missing. The aircraft rolled as it hit the fish pond in front of his house, splashing Van Truong with water and mud. The other aircraft kept flying toward the sea.
Based on the new information, U.S. military investigators decided to comb the bottom of the pond in 2015. When they emptied it bucket by bucket, they found bones, pieces of fabric from the pilot's uniform, his chrome lighter and wedding band.
Deborah Crosby felt she could finally shed the tears stored up inside of her.
'It's nice to be able to let out the tears and to have some relief in our hearts,' Crosby said. 'And now we're able to talk about it. Before we didn't talk much about this and now we can talk proudly and we have you know a happier ending and we can visit my dad's gravesite.'
Crosby said her brothers want to keep the fabric, lighter and wedding band.
She said she wants the flag draped over his coffin to be able to 'hold it close to my heart.'
The search is underway for two men who escaped from a Queensland prison on Saturday morning.
Police are searching for Ryan William Miller and Aaron Lee Woods after they escaped from Capricornia Correctional Centre farm complex, north of Rockhampton.
Woods is serving 13 years in prison while Miller is serving three and a half years after both men were convicted for assault.
The search is underway for two men who escaped from a Queensland prison on Saturday morning. Police are searching for Ryan William Miller (left) and Aaron Lee Woods (right) after they escaped from Capricornia Correctional Centre farm complex, north of Rockhampton
Police described Woods as about 183cm tall, with medium build, brown eyes, dark brown hair and facial hair.
He has tattoos on his chest, right arm, hand and both legs, police said.
Police said Miller is also about 183cm tall, with medium build, fair skin, blue eyes and a tribal design tattoo on his left forearm.
Anyone with information about the pair of prisoners have been urged to contact police.
U.S. President Donald Trump has called on the Australian Government to deploy more diggers to Afghanistan as part of a renewed NATO investment to combat a revitalised Taliban.
The US has urged Australia to send extra troops to the Taliban war zone as world leaders met for the The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, The Weekend Australian reported.
A senior Turnbull government source confirmed the US had 'in the past week' sought a guarantee from Australia to contribute, with a decision from the national security committee expected in the near future.
President Trump has urged the Turnbull government to deploy more diggers to war-torn Afghanistan
Malcolm Turnbull (pictured) is expected to make a decision whether to send more troops as part of the NATO push
Mr Trump's priority after NATO appears to be lining up western defence against Islamic State - a fight he inherited from the Obama administration and one he has called upon his Australian allies to reinforce.
There are currently less than 300 Australian Defence Force personnel left in Afghanistan, which stands as Australia's longest-running war.
It is believed the Trump administration is seeking support from its western allies as it looks to redeliver 5000 troops back to fight the Taliban stronghold.
The national security committee appears close to making a decision on the NATO request.
There are currently less than 300 Australian Defence Force personnel left in Afghanistan, which stands as Australia's longest-running war
It is believed the Trump administration is seeking support from its western allies as it looks to redeliver 5000 troops back to fight the Taliban stronghold
But former chief of army Peter Leahy says Australian forces should not be blindly committed to ground combat when supporting the beleaguered nation.
'The Afghan security forces are the ones who should be leading the fight for their country,' Mr Leahy said.
'This is a long term commitment, potentially more than a decade.'
NATO now has 13,000 troops on the ground in Afghanistan under US command, and mainly provide training, advising and assisting.
Trump's priority after NATO appears to be lining up western defence against the Islamic State - a fight he inherited from the Obama administration and one he has called upon his Australian allies to reinforce
This White House is considering hiring a legal team to vet President Donald Trump's (pictured in at G7 Summit on Friday) tweets
The White House is considering hiring a legal team to vet President Donald Trump's tweets, it was revealed on Friday.
Lawyers may now be scrutinizing the social media posts that have gotten the President into trouble in the past.
Insiders say it is to avoid unnecessary worries now that a special counsel has taken over the investigation over Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election.
Trump, a prolific Tweeter, suffered from some political damage due to his online antics, reported The Wall Street Journal.
This includes attacks on former FBI director James Comey and accusing former President Barack Obama of wiretapping Trump Tower, without evidence.
The report comes among speculations that the White House has major changes in store when Trump returns to Washington this weekend from his first trip abroad.
Rumors have circulated that the president may be looking to bring back former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and former deputy campaign manager David Bossie.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Lewandowski, Bossie and veteran GOP operative David Urban are being considered for as-of-yet unannounced positions.
Reuters reported on Friday that chief strategist Stephen Bannon and chief of staff Reince Priebus are setting up a 'war room' for rapid response to breaking news about the Russia investigation.
The President has gotten into political trouble in the past for attacks such as on former FBI Director James Comey (pictured in March 2017)
Trump also was in hot water when he made claims, without evidence, that former President Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower (pictured in March 2017)
Communications director Mike Dubke could potentially be on the chopping block as well as press secretary Sean Spicer.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the deputy press secretary who filled for Spicer as he caught up with military reserve duty, is rumored to be his replacement.
Taking over for Spicer, national security adviser HR McMaster became the administration's public face in dealing with a controversy over whether Trump had revealed classified information in a meeting with Russian diplomats, reported The Hill.
A man is claiming to have caught a 13 pound bull frog in Texas.
Marcuz Rangel shared photos of his monstrous catch in Batesville, Texas to the South Texas Hunting Association who posted the images on their Facebook page this week.
'Markcuz Rangel - Wanted to share a monster bull frog we got yesterday afternoon at one of our fishing ponds in South texas ranch located in Batesville tx 13lb monster frog!!! #stxha,' said the South Texas Hunting Association.
It's a monster! Marcuz Rangel shared photos of amonstrous 13lb bull frog he caught in Batesville, Texas to the South Texas Hunting Association who posted the images on their Facebook page this week
It seems the bulbous critter had been shot killed based off Marcuz holding a shotgun in his hand as he handles the frog.
Steve Lightfoot, a spokesman for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, told Chron that the photo is real.
'It's not as bigly as it appears,' Lightfoot said.
' [It's an] optical illusion created by extending frog toward the camera -- similar to what you see with fishermen holding up fish to make them appear larger. Still a big bullfrog, though.'
'Markcuz Rangel - Wanted to share a monster bull frog we got yesterday afternoon at one of our fishing ponds in South texas ranch located in Batesville tx 13lb monster frog!!! #stxha,' said the South Texas Hunting Association. Reactions were mixed on the post
Reactions on the post were varied with many in disbelief that a creature like that could exist.
Donna Wilder couldn't believe what she was seeing and said: 'That can't be real!!!'
She later added: 'Zoom in and can tell it ain't real!!!'
Another user, Melinda Dana Lewakowski, shared similar sentiments and said: 'That's a monster not a frog!!'
Matt Holmes shared he had another monster on his mind when he said: 'That's a baby predator fam.'
Donna Wilder couldn't believe what she was seeing and said: 'That can't be real!!!'
She later added: 'Zoom in and can tell it ain't real!!!'
Another user, Melinda Dana Lewakowski, shared similar sentiments and said: 'That's a monster not a frog!!'
A NSW police officer has been arrested and charged over allegations of domestic violence involving a teenage girl.
The 39-year-old senior constable was arrested by fellow officers after they were called to a Hassal Grove home in Sydney's west.
Police were called to the property about 4pm on Friday, and after speaking to the teenage girl they arrested the man and took him to the Mt Druitt Police Station.
The NSW police officer was arrested and charged with two counts of assault (stock image)
Police were called to the property about 4pm on Friday, and after speaking to the teenage girl they arrested the man and took him to the Mt Druitt Police Station (stock image)
He was charged with two counts of assault occasioning bodily harm and will appear in Mt Druitt Local Court on Monday, May 29.
The teenage girl is assisting police with their inquiries into the alleged domestic violence incident.
The officer is attached to a local area command in the South West Metropolitan Region, NSW police confirmed.
Valerie Smith, 53, is running for a spot on the Southampton Village Board in Suffolk County, New York
A white woman who is running for a seat on a local board in eastern Long Island says she is allowed to use the n-word to refer to blacks because she's a 'pioneer' who moved into a predominantly African American neighborhood, it was reported on Friday.
Valerie Smith, 53, is running for a spot on the Southampton Village Board in Suffolk County, New York.
Last year, she phoned police and used the n-word to refer to a group of black men she says were standing in front of her home.
Smith not only admitted to using the word but was unapologetic about using the racial slur.
Smith even repeated the term during an interview with The Southampton Press, which first obtained audio recording of the phone call to police last year.
On August 5, 2016, Smith phoned police to complain that 'a bunch of n*****s' were loitering near her home while drinking 'Hennessy.'
Smith asked the 911 dispatcher to send police to her home and remove the men.
When asked about the 911 call by a local reporter, Smith confirmed that she had used the n-word.
She then claimed that she is entitled to repeat the word because famed comedian Eddie Murphy used the term during his stand-up shows.
'Now, all of a sudden, I can't use it?' Smith said.
'Sorry - I live in a black neighborhood. I came here and didn't see color.'
Last year, she phoned police and used the n-word to refer to a group of black men she says were standing in front of her home
On August 5, 2016, Smith phoned police to complain that 'a bunch of n*****s' were loitering near her home while drinking 'Hennessy'
Smith said that she moved into a largely black neighborhood, Hillcrest, six years ago.
The home in which she lives was once a 'rodent-infested dump,' according to Smith.
'I came into this neighborhood colorblind,' she said.
'When you are a pioneer, like I am, it's not easy. I'm the only white person who owns and lives on this street.'
A police lieutenant told the newspaper that Smith has made between 100 and 200 911 calls to complain about litter, noise, illegal parking, and public drinking.
Smith confirmed making the calls.
She recalled one night during which she says she had trouble falling asleep because of noise coming from in front of her home.
Smith said that she put on her shoes and stepped outside.
'I said, "You f****g n*****s!" and they just dispersed,' Smith said.
The next night, a few of the men returned to the area in front of her home.
One of them told Smith that he heard her use the slur.
Smith said she told the man, who was in his 30s, that she referred to him as 'boy'.
She then told him: 'I know you're a good guy, but you don't behave like that If you want to behave like that, you're going to be a n****r.'
Smith said she occasionally faces harassment from people in her neighborhood.
When asked if she plans to drop out of the race in light of the revelations about her penchant for using the n-word, she replied: 'That's why I'm running for trustee. This neighborhood needs help.'
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon was left red-faced on live television when he slammed Boris Johnson's statement on terrorism thinking that the quote was made by Jeremy Corbyn.
The Tory Cabinet member began attacking the Labour leader on Channel 4 News last night in response to Mr Corbyn saying we have to admit that the 'war on terror is not working'.
Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy asked Mr Fallon to respond to another quote: 'Isn't it possible that things like the Iraq war did not create the problem of murderous Islamic fundamentalists, though the war has unquestionably sharpened the resentments felt by such people in this country and given them a new pretext?'
Thinking the quote had been made as part of the Labour leader's speech, Mr Fallon took the opportunity to dismiss and condemn the words.
He said: 'Well they are not entitled to excuses.'
But the words were actually said by Boris Johnson in response to the 7/7 bombings in London in 2005.
Mr Guru-Murthy said: 'What I just put to you was not Jeremy Corbyn, it was Boris Johnson.'
The presenter then read out more quotes from Boris Johnson that put a blushing Mr Fallon in even more of a pickle.
Mr Guru-Murthy said: 'He goes on to say, "The Iraq war did not introduce the poison into our bloodstream but, yes, the war did help to potentiate that poison".
"It is difficult to deny that they have a point, the 'told-you-so' brigade".'
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, pictured, was left red-faced on television when he slammed Boris Johnson's statement on terrorism thinking that the quote was made by Jeremy Corbyn
Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, pictured, asked Mr Fallon to respond to a quote made by Boris Johnson - and Mr Fallon slammed the words thinking they were Jeremy Corbyn's
The Defence Secretary then got his words jumbled as he tried to explain his way out of the blunder.
He said: 'Well I don't agree with that.'
Mr Guru-Murthy was quick to ensure Mr Fallon continued to enlarge the hole he had dug for himself.
The presenter said: 'So Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, is wrong?'
When Mr Fallon refused to agree, on the premise that he did not have the direct quote in front of him, Mr Guru-Murthy watched the politician squirm as he continued to press him.
Thinking the quote had been made as part of the speech the Labour leader Mr Corbyn (right) made yesterday, Mr Fallon took the opportunity to dismiss and condemn the words. But the words were actually said by Boris Johnson (left) in response to the 7/7 bombings in 2005
The presenter said he didn't understand how the politician could refrain from commenting on the words when he had just heard them read out.
Speaking in London yesterday Mr Corbyn, who opposed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as air strikes against terrorist targets in Syria, said Labour would 'change what we do abroad' if it won power.
He stressed that the link between foreign policy and terrorism 'in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children' and could not 'remotely excuse, or even adequately explain, outrages like this week's massacre'.
Terrorist Salman Abedi killed 22 people and injured 119 when he blew himself up at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena on Monday evening.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom (file photo)
GENEVA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Newly elected World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom on Friday reaffirmed the one-China principle.
Tedros told Xinhua that he would abide by the one-China principle as enshrined in the related UN General Assembly resolution and World Health Assembly resolution when handling issues in the WHO which are related to China's Taiwan.
During a meeting with Chinese Health Minister Li Bin on Wednesday, Tedros said the UN agency will properly handle the Taiwan-related issues based on the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the World Health Assembly, the WHO's decision-making body.
The WHO plenary on Monday rejected a proposal to discuss the invitation of China's Taiwan to the WHO's annual assembly.
Prior to this year's assembly, Li told a press conference in Geneva that from 2009 to 2016, the Chinese government made special arrangements for Taiwan to attend the WHO assembly as an observer in the name of "Chinese Taipei," in accordance with the "1992 Consensus" reached between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
However, Taiwan's current ruling Democratic Progressive Party has refused to recognize the one-China principle, thus undermining the political basis of Taiwan's participation in the WHO's annual conference.
The WHO is a UN specialized agency. UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 and World Health Assembly Resolution 25.1 provide the legal basis for the WHO to follow the one-China principle.
During the press conference, Li also noted that proper arrangements have been made for Taiwan to participate in global health affairs and to conduct exchanges on epidemics and other health issues with WHO medical and public health experts, thus the so-called "epidemic prevention gap" doesn't exist at all.
Tedros, 52, a former health minister and foreign minister of Ethiopia, was elected on Tuesday as new WHO director-general at the 70th World Health Assembly in Geneva. He will succeed Margaret Chan, whose tenure ends in June.
Schapelle Corby has created an Instagram account and posted an image of her beloved dogs only hours before she is due to be deported from Bali, where the convicted drug smuggler has lived for 13 years.
Corby will fly home to the Gold Coast, Australia on Saturday night and has broken her silence at the eleventh hour of her time on the island.
Her first post, uploaded to Instagram from the depths of her private Bali villa, pays tribute to her dogs Luna and May who she will be forced to leave behind as she returns home.
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' Corby wrote on Instagram, shared from an account that already has about almost 70,000 followers.
In a second post uploaded just minutes before she left her villa, Corby paid tribute to her 'Bali family.'
'Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother inlaw Wayan. #realtime #abouttoleavwmyhomeof3years.'
Her brother, sister Mercedes and bodyguard can be seen in the picture.
Schapelle (pictured) just created an Instagram account which has already attracted thousands of followers
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' Corby wrote on her Instagram
In a second post (pictured) uploaded just minutes before she left her villa, Corby paid tribute to her 'Bali family'
A picture of Corby with a flower crown and a beaming smile has also been uploaded to the social media account.
It is the first time Corby has spoken publicly in years after she was banned by banned by Indonesian authorities from speaking or doing media interviews for the entirety of her parole period.
Hundreds of Instagram users have quickly flooded her first post with messages of support as the convicted smuggler heads back to Australia.
'Good luck back in Australia. It'll be nuts for quite some time, so be prepared. Welcome home,' one wrote.
Corby posted a picture of her paperwork on Instagram, writing: 'Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time'
Three armoured guard vehicles and up to 200 police are ensuring Schapelle Corby has a safe trip to the airport
A family photo from inside Schapelle Corby's Kuta villa showing her brother Michael Corby (pictured left), Schapelle (pictured centre) and her mother Rosleigh Rose (pictured right)
'I really hope everyone leaves you alone and lets you get on with your life. I can't imagine how you must feel being harassed constantly,' another said.
One person said: 'Australians are happily waiting to welcome you home Schapelle. Safe travels and welcome back.'
Corby has made no mention of her Balinese boyfriend, Ben Panangian, who she will also be leaving behind in Indonesia.
Indonesian police are gearing up for Schapelle Corby's much-awaited return home after having spent almost 13 years in Bali.
Up to 200 police officers have been enlisted to ensure her journey to the airport is safe and just hours before the former beauticians departure Balinese officials carried out a dry run to ensure smooth sailing.
Denpasar police executed the enactment in preparation for Schapelle's high-profile departure with three heavily armoured vehicles and countless guards lining the narrow streets.
The convicted drug smuggler (pictured) has spent the last 13 years on the Indonesian island
A private car has entered the Kuta villa compound and will pick-up Shapelle Corby's family members and take them onto the parole office, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
Corby is still waiting be picked up by an official car from the parole office that will be heavily guarded.
Corby will be personally surrounded by four heavily armed patrol cars and 15 police when they pick her up from her Kuta villa and take her to the parole office and finally onto Ngurah Rai International Airport where she will be free to board.
Corby, 39, has been bunkered down in her Kuta villa over the last couple of days with the media presence eagerly anticipating her deportation back to Australia.
This week, Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose spoke about her daughter's mixed emotions about leaving her boyfriend Ben Panangian behind, but accepted it was in the authorities control.
Corby will be leaving under the same media frenzy she received following her arrest with 4.1kg of marijuana back 2004.
A couple have revealed how they cut their rent in half by moving from a Sydney apartment to a waterfront mansion on the Gold Coast.
Pam and Steve Brossman, who both work from home as marketing consultants, originally owned a house in Mosman, on Sydney's Lower North Shore, which they sold for $750,000 seven years ago, reported Newscorp.
Ms Brossman said they lived in a rented four-bedroom apartment on Balmoral's Spit Road for 12 months, before deciding to move to the Gold Coast.
Sydney couple Pam and Steve Brossman (pictured) say they have halved their rent by moving from an apartment in Balmoral to a waterfront mansion on the Gold Coast
The couple were living in a four-bedroom apartment (pictured) on Spit Road in Blamoral when their son was accepted into an academic excellence program and they made the decision to relocate to Queensland
By relocating, they cut their renting expenses in half.
The couple now live in a six-bedroom waterfront mansion in a gated community on the Sovereign Islands and pay $1,250 rent per week.
The couple made the move when their son, 13, was accepted into an academic excellence program on the Gold Coast.
Ms Brossman told Newscorp they hadn't looked back on their decision once.
The couple said relocating was the best decision they have ever made. They live in a six-bedroom mansion (pictured) in a gated community on Sovereign Island, about 30 minutes drive from the Gold Coast business district
'It's beautiful, there's cafes everywhere, I can walk everywhere, its a big community and theres a big pub and lots of restaurants, and people are really friendly. Its been the best decision,' she said.
The couple live half an hour's drive from the business district of the Gold Coast, but say they rarely go there as everything they need is close by.
'It wasnt a matter of wanting to leave Sydney, but when we came up here and saw what we got for what we were paying, we just had to do it,' Ms Brossman said.
The couple have a waterfront view (pictured) and Ms Brossman said her husband fishes off their jetty and she regularly sees dolphins swim past
A Scottish holidaymaker filmed the incredible moment a huge whirlpool was whipped up by strong winds on the Corfu coast just metres from the balcony of his getaway home.
Kieran Dickson had just arrived to the seaside village of Kassiopi, Corfu, when he saw the powerful winds causing the waves to spin around, creating a whirlpool several metres in diameter.
A short clip of the phenomenon, which Mr Dickson said lasted for five minutes, shows the dangerous spiral of water off the northeast point of the Greek island.
Although hoping for a holiday filled with sun, sea, and sand, the Scot soon realised he might have had better weather if he had stayed in the UK.
The rotating mass of water in the Adriatic Sea looked to be gaining speed as the wind picked up around the cameraman.
A towel left out on Mr Dickson's balcony flapped wildly in the breeze, while foliage to the left of the holiday home threatened to be uprooted by the turbulent weather.
Nice day for a dip? Kieran Dickson had just arrived to the seaside village of Kassiopi, Corfu, when he saw the powerful whirlpool several metres in diameter, pictured
Perfect summer break: Although hoping for a holiday filled with sun, sea, and sand, the Scot soon realised he might have had better weather if he had stayed in the UK
Mr Dickson shared the video on Facebook and said: 'Left the sunshine in Scotland and arrived to this weather in Corfu!'
Cables from a telegraph pole in front of the house swayed viciously backwards and forwards in the high winds.
Insects flitting in front of the camera made no headway at all as they tried to avoid being swept up in the whipping winds.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for shooting dead 29 Christians on a bus in central Egypt.
The attack prompted retaliatory air strikes on jihadists in neighbouring Libya, where ISIS is believe to have trained its fighters.
Despite losing territory in recent months the terrorist group has maintained a network of terrorist cells in the country.
The Egyptian Air Force claims the air strikes inflicted 'heavy casualties' to ISIS fighters
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi traveled to Libya multiple times, and is believed to have used terrorist networks in the country to help plan his attack in Manchester.
The latest ISIS attack took place in the Egyptian province of Minya on Friday.
Coptic Christians were travelling on a bus to a monastery 120 miles south of Cairo.
The jihadist group's Amaq news agency claimed in a statement that its fighters 'set up a checkpoint' for the Christians as they headed to the monastery, shooting at them and setting one of their vehicles on fire.
The strikes come after an attack on Coptic Christians on Friday, which killed 29
The Egyptian security forces have been alarmed at ISIS fighters slipping over the border from Libya
The attack prompted Egypt to unleash air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya.
The military published footage of the strikes but declined to say where they took place.
The air force loyal to Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is backed by Egypt, on Saturday said it had participated in the strikes, describing them as 'heavy in casualties'.
Egypt has repeatedly expressed concern over militants crossing from Libya to Egypt to conduct attacks.
In a speech on Friday, Sisi said setbacks to IS in Syria were driving its fighters to try to relocate to Libya and Egypt's Sinai.
Italian security services fear a number of Islamic State fighters have slipped into the country by pretending to be injured soldiers, according to the Guardian.
The bus was heading towards St Samuel the Confessor monastery in Maghagha (Amr Nabil)
Friday's attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.
IS claimed all the bombings and threatened more attacks on the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million.
It has also killed several Christians in North Sinai, forcing dozens of families to flee.
The latest attack drew global condemnation.
'Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil,' US President Donald Trump said in a statement.
Pope Francis, who had visited Egypt in April, sent a message to Sisi saying he was 'deeply saddened to learn of the barbaric attack'.
A picture of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell was seen on Schapelle Corby's handbag as she left her Bali villa to return to Australia.
'Where is William Tyrrell,' the bag read. Corby appeared to hold the bag up to her car window as to display it to the media surrounding her car.
Corby was seen holding the bag up over her head as she walked from her home of the last three years to a heavily guarded car that is whisking the convicted drug smuggler to the corrections office in Denpasar ahead of her deportation.
She has officially finished her sentence in Bali and she has been released. She is now on her way to the airport.
Dressed in his favourite Spiderman suit, William was last seen playing in his grandmother's yard on the Mid North Coast of NSW on September 12, 2014.
A picture of missing three-year-old William Tyrrell was seen on Schapelle Corby's handbag as she left her Bali villa to return to Australia on Saturday
Corby was seen holding the bag up over her head as she walked from her home of the last three years to a heavily guarded car that is whisking the convicted drug smuggler to the corrections office in Denpasar ahead of her deportation
Dressed in his favourite Spiderman suit, the three-year-old was last seen playing in his grandmother's yard of the Kendall property on September 12, 2014
Despite an extensive investigation, detectives found no traces of little William, who would have turned five this year.
The case has been referred to the NSW coroner but police say investigations continue with the hope the young boy is still alive.
Authorities have announced a record $1 million reward for anyone who could lead police to the recovery of the three-year-old boy.
Corby is returning to Australia for the first time in 13 years.
Around 100 police officers were deployed, from Denpasar and Kuta police, to ensure a smooth and secure journey for Corby on Saturday.
Corby is returning to Australia for the first time in 13 years
Corby is seen with a scarf over her head as she walks to the car
Her sister Mercedes is seen holding Corby as she hides behind the handbag
A private car entered the 39-year-old's Kuta villa compound earlier to pick up Corby's family members and take them to the parole office
Just hours before her deportation, police executed a dry run with three armoured vehicles and guards lining the streets in preparation for Corby to run the media gauntlet.
A private car entered the 39-year-old's Kuta villa compound earlier to pick up Corby's family members and take them to the parole office.
There was a frenzy around vehicles as they arrived on Pudak Sari Street, where her Kuta home is located, and security vehicles remain parked on the main street near the house, including two armoured vehicles, two trucks and two patrol cars.
A self-proclaimed 'minimalist' has revealed how he lives of just $2 a day.
D'Arcy Lunn, 38, grew up in South Australia, but today his simple lifestyle allows him to travel across the world with ease.
Lunn visited Japan when he was 15 and his eyes were opened to a completely different way of life.
D'Arcy Lunn (pictured), 38, grew up in South Australia, but today his simple lifestyle allows him to travel across the world with ease
His love of travel later found him in London, and there he was offered a volunteer position in Kyrgyzstan
When he finished school he decided to take a gap year and travelled to Japan to work in a French bakery.
'I was completely immersed in the culture, and in love with it,' Lunn told The Advertiser.
In the 1990s he took a teaching job in rural Australia, where he lived in a caravan.
His love of travel later found him in London, and there he was offered a volunteer position in Kyrgyzstan.
It was here he learnt to strip exec form his life, living among teachers earning just $40 a month.
'They (teachers) taught me a lot- how to look after things, how to be resilient, resourceful, help the community and receive help from the community,' he said.
His tips for living on pocket change are simple- strip excess form your life
As a human rights campaigner he later started an anti-polio campaign and rode a bike from Oregon in the US to Whistler in Canada living on $2 a day to show how poverty looked and felt.
Today Lunn continues to travel the world as a human rights campaigner. He has a strong family base in Adelaide.
His tips for living on pocket change are simple - strip excess from your life.
This mean skipping out on that morning coffee, taking the bus to work, and cooking at home instead of splurging on that fancy meal out.
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Smiling armed police have been out in force at major events across the UK today just days after one of the worst terror attacks in more than a decade.
Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions.
Security at more than 1,300 events this weekend including the FA Cup final, Premiership Rugby final and Radio 1's Big Weekend has been dramatically reviewed.
There have even been armed patrols at the Chelsea Flower Show today.
There was a large police presence outside Wembley Stadium this afternoon, where the FA Cup final kicked off at 5.30pm.
Armed officers were seen posing for pictures and smiling with supporters as they arrived at the match, arguably the biggest in the British football calendar.
Inside before kickoff, Prince William was joined by Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham for the wreath laying ceremony on the field and a minute's silence that was punctuated by brief chants of 'Manchester'.
The words 'We Stand Together' flashing on screens around the ground during the silence.
And Manchester is hosting its first major event since Monday's massacre, with 50,000 music fans packing into the Old Trafford Cricket ground for a concert headline by the Courteeners, supported by The Charlatans, Blossoms and Cabbage.
Visitors are having to walk through security gates, and armed police are patrolling at the event.
A group of Arsenal fans have their photo taken in front of two police officers ahead of this afternoon's FA Cup Final
A police officer is pictured taking a photo outside Wembley Stadium this afternoon, where Arsenal are playing Chelsea in the FA Cup final
A man has his photo taken with a group of four armed police outside Wembley Stadium this afternoon ahead of the FA Cup Final
FA Chairman Greg Clarke, Prince William and Manchester mayor Andy Burnham laid wreaths at Wembley and took part in a minute's silence ahead of kickoff this afternoon
Manchester's Mayor Andy Burnham (left), Prince William (centre) and FA chairman Greg Clarke lay wreaths before the match in tribute to those killed in Monday's attack
Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions
Groups of armed police outside Wembley Stadium, which is hosting the FA Cup Final between Arsenal and Chelsea this afternoon
On duty: Two officers were pictured patrolling Twickenham stadium for the Premiership final between Wasps and Exeter Chiefs
Radio 1's Big Weekend: Three young women petted a dog on their way in to the festival which is headlined by Biffy Clyro
This police officer was photographed blowing a kiss during a vigil in Manchester capturing the spirit of the city
Armed police outside Old Trafford cricket ground, where a concert headlined by the Courteeners is taking place this evening, attracting 50,000 music fans
These officers from Avon & Somerset police, both holding guns, were pictured smiling with a young boy in an image tweeted by the force
Meanwhile in Brighton & Hove these constables couldn't help but enjoy an ice cream in the sunny weather. The force tweeted: 'The sun's out, so are we. If you see us about, come and say hi, give us a wave and a smile'
Armed response police speaks to members of the public in central Manchester during the Manchester games
Queuing for the festival: Armed police were seen patrolling the queues for Radio 1's Big Weekend festival which starts today
Security and police officers attend Day 1 of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend 2017 at Burton Constable Hall
Concertgoers arriving at a Manchester show headlined by the Courteeners walked past armed police in order to reach Old Trafford cricket ground
Today concertgoers at Radio 1's Big Weekend music festival in Hull, the Mutiny Festival in Portsmouth, Luton International Carnival and at county shows in Shropshire and Northumberland were greeted with the sight of armed police amid heightened security.
English Heritage said there would be extra searches at some locations including Stonehenge and Dover Castle.
Next week's UEFA Champions League final between Juventus and Real Madrid in Cardiff will be played under a roof after fears were raised over a drone attack.
Police also posted firearms officers to beaches amid concerns that remote spots could be vulnerable.
Armed police were today pictured on patrol at the Chelsea Flower Show in London, which attracted thousands of gardening enthusiasts
This police community support officer got in to the weekend spirit in Worcester by trying on a headdress
Security at more than 1,300 events this weekend including the FA Cup final, Premiership Rugby final and Hay literary festival has been dramatically reviewed
The British police have showed that while the nation may be in a state of heightened alert, there is no reason not to keep the public happy - including this little baby in Worcester
Standing guard: Two police officers were keeping a close eye on the crowds as they patrolled a field at Radio 1's Big Weekend
Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, the country's top counter-terrorism officer, said: 'It is our determination that over the weekend regardless of what is going on people can enjoy these events that they have always planned to enjoy.
'We have looked at 1,300 events nationally, some were already getting significant policing, although there are other events that previously required no policing at all. But at a critical level we are changing our stance dramatically.
'I would strongly encourage people not to let terrorists win and to attend community events as they have supported events before, whatever they may be.
Officers from Avon and Somerset Police have posted pictures of themselves on the beach with a donkey, stating the public reaction to them had been 'fantastic'
On the move: Two armed police officers were seen walking around the outside of Twickenham stadium before the Premiership Rugby final
Police have also posted firearms officers to beaches amid concerns that remote spots could be vulnerable. Pictured are officers from Cumbria
These two officers in Norfolk posed for a selfie while keeping the country safe
'They will see more police officers, they will see more security. At events where they wouldn't normally see police officers in previous years you will see them.
'We are doubly determined to protect the country so people can carry on their normal business while we close down the remaining lines of inquiry in this terrorist investigation.'
Police marksmen will also be sent to theme parks, beaches and resorts.
Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said: 'It is our determination that over the weekend regardless of what is going on people can enjoy these events that they have always planned to enjoy.' Pictured are officers in Cumbria
This policeman looked delighted to be heading out on the beat as temperatures soared to 30C across the country
Police marksmen are being sent to crowded areas across the country, including shopping malls (pictured) as well as theme parks and beaches
Security has been stepped up at events this weekend including the 2017 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London
Armed police were seen outside of Wembley Stadium as fans streamed in for the FA Cup Final
Football supporters were searched as they entered the grounds for the Arsenal v Chelsea clash
Heavily armoured police vehicles were also spotted outside of the grounds in London
The vehicles - which appear to be reinforced against bomb blasts - were supporting armed officers outside Wembley Stadium
Keeping a lookout: Increased security amid fans arriving for the 2017 FA Cup Final which kicks of at 5.30pm today
A police officer showed a Chelsea fan how to walk to Wembley from Wembley Park Station as he arrived
Increased security amid fans arriving for the 2017 FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London
It comes as a ninth suspect was seized on a bus in Manchester in connection with the bombing of the city's concert arena. The 44-year-old was being questioned last night. As the national threat levelwas lowered from critical to severe:
Islamic State called for all-out war on the West during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins today;
Police found chemicals in properties used by 22-year-old suicide bomber Salman Abedi;
Theresa May said terrorism could never be excused after Jeremy Corbyn linked the Manchester attack with Britain's foreign policy in a speech in London;
World leaders declared war on social media giants over their failure to get tough on terror;
It emerged that up to 23,000 suspects have been investigated by counter-terrorist agencies.
Hundreds of officers were working around the clock to piece together the network supporting Abedi. They are sifting through 'vast' amounts of evidence after raiding 12 properties in Manchester, Wigan and Nuneaton.
Salman Abedi, who killed 22 people and left 119 injured when he detonated a bomb inside the Manchester Arena on Monday night
Officials believe they have an almost complete picture of how Abedi, a 22-year-old drop-out, staged the worst atrocity since the July 7 attacks.
Police commanders expect many of the nine men now in custody to go on trial for terrorist offences.
But there is concern that another terror network or 'lone wolf' could mount an attack to capitalise on the situation. In 2005, London was saved from a second wave of attacks on July 21 when rucksack devices failed to go off.
Soldiers have already been stationed at sites including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, as well as nuclear sites, to free up extra armed police. In Manchester, police are mounting substantial operations at the Manchester Games, the Great Manchester Run and a rock concert at Old Trafford.
Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, in Tripoli, Libya
Senior sources declined to say when the national threat level will be lowered from critical, meaning an attack remains imminent.
In an unusual move, the security services revealed that 23,000 potential jihadists are living in Britain. The figure laid bare the difficulties faced by agencies including MI5 and MI6. Questions have been asked over whether more could have been done to stop Abedi from claiming 22 lives at Monday's Ariana Grande concert.
More than 3,000 jihadists are being investigated as 'subjects of interest' or potential terrorists stretching the security services to breaking point.
And they are grappling with 500 active terror investigations.
One security insider said: 'It is difficult because becoming aware that someone is an extremist sympathiser does not make them a live and present danger.
'It is a balancing act is the intelligence sufficient to push them up the list of priorities or should the focus be on someone else given the finite resources available?'
Islamic State has called on its followers to rise up in an 'all-out war' against 'infidels' as Muslims around the world start a 30-day period of fasting and reflection.
NHS England has warned health organisations to 'ensure care is in place should it be needed'. Twenty-three people remain in critical care across eight hospitals in the North West. They include five youngsters at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: 'We have seized thousands of exhibits which are now being assessed. There has been enormous progress with the investigation, but still an awful lot of work to do.'
The 44-year-old suspect detained last night was taken off a bus travelling through Rusholme. Seven plain-clothed officers stormed the bus and told everyone to leave as they arrested the man, according to passengers.
Jeremy Corbyn has said the deployment of armed police to protect events over the bank holiday is 'disturbing' but stressed the need to protect people.
As the Government's Cobra emergency committee met, the Labour leader said he wanted to see the threat level reduced as quickly as possible as long as it is safe to do so.
Asked if he supported the deployment of more than 1,000 armed police at major events, including the FA Cup Final at Wembley, which he will attend, Mr Corbyn said: 'I find it disturbing, everybody finds it disturbing, but we have to make sure we're safe.
'I will obviously look into the situation and hope we can reduce the threat level as quickly as possible.
'We want people to be safe, we want people to enjoy a bank holiday, which is what a bank holiday is for, and we need to be secure and I think there's a balance to be drawn there.
'The balance has to be that it's police who do it rather than the Army but it's also about the strength of our communities. Let's come together in adversity, not divide ourselves.'
HOLD UK JIHADIS IN TURKEY, URGES PM British jihadis fleeing Syria could be detained and prosecuted in countries like Iraq and Turkey under plans set out by Theresa May yesterday. Speaking at the G7 summit in Sicily, the Prime Minister urged world leaders to provide cash and expertise to countries bordering Syria to enable them to deal with so-called 'foreign fighters' trying to get home. At least 1,000 British citizens are thought to have travelled to the region to join Islamic State, where they have been trained in terror techniques such as bomb-making. Returning jihadis are seen as one of the biggest terror threats faced by countries such as the UK and France.Some foreign fighters are already detained in countries such as Turkey. Mrs May said: 'It is vital we do more to cooperate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters. 'This means improving intelligence-sharing, evidence-gathering and bolstering countries' police and legal processes.' Advertisement
Corbyn savaged for 'sticking up to terrorists'
Theresa May last night declared there could never be an excuse for terrorism after Jeremy Corbyn linked the Manchester attacks with military operations by British troops.
The Prime Minister insisted the Labour leader was 'not up to the job' of running the country.
As he returned to the campaign trail yesterday, Mr Corbyn stepped up his criticism of UK foreign policy, saying he would deploy soldiers abroad only when there was a clear need and a plan to deliver lasting peace.
Mrs May said: 'There can never ever be an excuse for terrorism. There can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.'
Speaking at the G7 summit in Sicily last night, Mrs May said: 'I have been here working with other international leaders to fight terrorism, at the same time Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault and he has chosen to do that just a few days after one of the worst terrorist atrocities we have experienced.
'There can never ever be an excuse for terrorism. There can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.
'The choice people face at the election has just become starker it's a choice between me working constantly to protect the national interest and our security, and Jeremy Corbyn who is frankly not up to the job.'
Mr Corbyn had claimed that putting soldiers on British streets showed efforts to tackle terrorism were not working and that the Government 'must do better'.
He pledged to put more police on duty and give the security services extra resources to keep track of terror suspects.
'Protecting this country requires us to be both strong against terrorism and strong against the causes of terrorism,' he said. 'The blame is with the terrorists, but if we are to protect our people we must be honest about what threatens our security. We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working.
'We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists.'
Boris Johnson said Mr Corbyn was using the murder of 22 people in Manchester for political gain. 'It is absolutely extraordinary and inexplicable in this week of all weeks that there should be any attempt to justify or to legitimate the actions of terrorists in this way,' said the Foreign Secretary.
Mr Corbyn had claimed that putting soldiers on British streets showed efforts to tackle terrorism were not working and that the Government 'must do better'
He later accused Mr Corbyn of spending his political career 'sticking up for terrorists, sympathising with the IRA, with Hamas, with Hezbollah'.
'Mr Corbyn should be ashamed of himself,' he added.
Sir Michael Fallon warned that the speech showed Mr Corbyn was 'weak, weak, weak'.
The Defence Secretary said: 'Jeremy Corbyn could be prime minister of our country in less than two weeks' time yet he has said only days after one of the worst terrorist atrocities this country has ever known that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault.
'There can be no buts when it comes to condemning the unspeakable evil carried out by these extremists. There are no justifications, and there is never an excuse for terrorism.
'Let me spell something out for Mr Corbyn: There are no excuses for what was done in Manchester.' Sir Michael said the remarks were 'not some slip of the tongue' and showed how 'very dangerous' Mr Corbyn was.
'Jeremy Corbyn is a very consistent man, he has a very long track record of siding with people who want to damage and attack Britain,' he added. 'He and his team come from an extreme and ideological world that is too quick to make excuses for the actions of our enemies and too willing to oppose the measures and people that keep us safe.'
Labour's Manchester mayor Andy Burnham joined the condemnation of Mr Corbyn from across the political spectrum.
'I have a different view to Jeremy on this,' he told Talk Radio. '9/11 happened before any interventions overseas, and the ideology was in existence before that.
'It [radical Islam] has used things to add to its cause. But it was there, we didn't create it. [There's] a tendency to blame governments for everything, and I don't think we should.'
Donald Trump says he will announce his 'final decision' on whether or not the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week
Donald Trump says he will announce his 'final decision' on whether or not the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week despite coming under intense pressure from world leaders at the G7 in Sicily.
The president's surprise announcement came in the form of a tweet, which he sent on Saturday morning - the final day of his first international.
'I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!' Trump wrote.
The president earlier declined to comment about the accord, as he refused to give into intense international pressure.
Earlier Saturday, the other six members of the G7 voted to abide by the Paris climate agreement, according to a person familiar with the talks. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.
The leaders attempted to convince Trump for three days - first in Brussels at meetings of NATO and the European Union, then in Sicily for G7, but the former reality television host will leave Italy without making clear where he stands.
Under the G7 agreement, the Trump administration will be given more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Trump's campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they do not opt out entirely.
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Front row, L-R: Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, US President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron and Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou pose for a family photo with other participants of the G7 summit
Trump gestures while being flanked by Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi, left, and Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou
Donald Trump, fourth left, speaks during a round table meeting of G7 leaders and Outreach partners
Trump tweeted his plans to announce his decision regarding the agreement, which is designed to combat climate change, next week
Other G7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying 'we put forward very many arguments.'
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, was much stronger in his statement, saying the other six: 'won't change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasn't decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way.'
French President Emmanuel Macron told Trump it is 'indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed' to the Paris climate agreement.
However Trump on was said to be reluctant to compromise with European leaders over several key issues that prompted European council president, Donald Tusk, to admit that the meeting would be the most challenging in years on Friday.
A draft statement from the summit, seen by the Guardian, showed Trump wanted world leaders to make little mention of migration and that he wanted a plan by the Italian hosts for a comprehensive five-page statement that acknowledges migrants' rights to be thrown out.
The Italian plans one on human movement and another on food security were set to be the centerpiece of its summit diplomacy.
Italy had chosen Taormina in Sicily as the venue of the meeting to symbolize the world's concern over the plight of refugees coming from the Middle East and Africa.
Saturday marks the last leg of Trump's European tour. He is pictured with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi, second from left, and Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou
Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrive for a G7 family photo in the Sicilian town of Taormina, Italy, on Saturday, May 27
In addition to casting doubts on migrants, Trump told his fellow G7 leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan on Friday that he had not yet decided whether or not to endorse the Paris agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
'His basis for decision ultimately will be what's best for the United States,' top economic adviser Gary Cohn said at the annual talks in Sicily.
Cohn was referring to whether Trump will execute his threat to walk away from the Paris accord on combating climate change.
But his language also summarizes the 'America First' platform that dominated his election rhetoric.
The leaders had better luck finding agreement on the other problematic topic at the summit, trade. They restored a vow to fight protectionism - the use of import taxes and skewed regulations that favor domestic producers over their foreign competitors.
The no-protectionism pledge had been a part of previous G7 statements but was omitted after a meeting of the group's finance ministers' earlier this month in Bari, Italy.
This time the G7 leaders reiterated a 'commitment to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism.'
The Trump administration has argued that trade must be balanced and fair as well as free.
French President Emmanuel Macron, left, speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, and Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni (centre) with Lagarde and Trudeau as they attend a round table meeting of G7 leaders and Outreach partners at the Hotel San Domenico
French President Emmanuel Macron (right) speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (left) and Christine Lagarde (center)
WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF TRUMP BACKS OUT OF PARIS DEAL? Earth is likely to reach more dangerous levels of warming even sooner if the US retreats from its pledge to cut carbon dioxide pollution, scientists said. That's because America contributes so much to rising temperatures. More than two dozen climate scientists analyzed and studied a special computer model scenario designed to calculate the potential effects of Trump pulling out of Paris. Scientists said it would worsen an already bad problem and make it far more difficult to prevent crossing a dangerous global temperature threshold. Calculations suggest it could result in emissions of up to 3 billion tons of additional carbon dioxide in the air a year. When it adds up year after year, scientists said that is enough to melt ice sheets faster, raise seas higher and trigger more extreme weather. 'If we lag, the noose tightens,' Princeton University climate scientist and co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal, Climatic Change, Michael Oppenheimer said. One expert group ran a worst-case computer simulation of what would happen if the US does not curb emissions, but other nations do meet their targets. It found that America would add as much as half a degree of warming (0.3 degrees Celsius) to the globe by the end of century. Scientists are split on how reasonable and likely that scenario is. Many said because of cheap natural gas that displaces coal and growing adoption of renewable energy sources, it is unlikely the US would stop reducing its carbon pollution even if it abandoned the accord, so the effect would likely be smaller. Others say it could be worse because other countries might follow a US exit, leading to more emissions across the board. While scientists may disagree on the computer simulations they overwhelmingly agreed that the warming the planet is undergoing now would be faster and more intense. Advertisement
Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US reserves the right to be protectionist if trade arrangements are unfair to American companies and workers.
Trump's position appeared to be addressed by new language in the final G7 accord that said the member countries would be: 'standing firm against all unfair trade practices.'
It comes after he said in Brussels this week the Germans are 'bad, very bad' in their trade practices.
But the club of leading democracies also looks set to fall short of last year's declaration on refugees and migration - the sort of language that is anathema to a White House that wants to impose a ban on travelers from six Muslim-majority countries.
It is a measure of the gulf that this year's Italian hosts say they expect the final statement to come in at just six pages when it is released on Saturday afternoon - down from 32 pages last year.
The summit did find common ground on Friday in endorsing a British call urging internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on jihadist content online, after 22 people were killed in a Manchester concert bombing in northwest England this week.
The G7, urged on by Japan, will also adopt common language against North Korea after a series of missile tests by the nuclear-armed nation.
The leaders have been wrangling on the wording of a final communique since Friday with international trade and climate change the main stumbling blocks.
Donald Trump, left, shakes hands with the President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou as they attend a round table meeting of G7 leaders and Outreach partners
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British Airways has promised a vast improvement in service at Heathrow and Gatwick after a global computer meltdown left thousands of passengers stranded ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
BA said a 'power supply issue' was the reason why all flights from the two airports were cancelled for the rest of the day, leaving droves of frustrated passengers scrambling for somewhere to stay.
Now it says the 'majority of flights' from Heathrow will be running on Sunday, while Gatwick will be operating at 'near normal' service.
Chief executive Alex Cruz said the crash affected all check-in and operational systems, adding: 'We believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack.'
Earlier, the airline said flights would be running after 6pm - meaning passengers turning up for their evening journeys now face a mad scramble to book overnight hotel stays or organise transport back home.
Furious fliers around the world have been warned to expect days of chaos after enduring hours stuck in 'huge' check-in lines before being turned away.
BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day - and both are major hubs for worldwide travel.
British Airways computer systems have crashed across the world ahead of the busy Bank holiday weekend, sparking mayhem at airports
Thousands of British Airways passengers are now scrambling for somewhere to stay after a global computer system crash left them stranded
BA said a 'power supply issue' was the reason why all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick were cancelled for the rest of the day
Stranded travellers pass the time at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 after British Airways flights where cancelled at Heathrow Airport
BA said it was 'experiencing a global system outage' and told passengers not to travel to London airports on Saturday
Furious fliers across the UK, the US, Rome, Belfast and Lisbon - to name but a few - have been warned to expect days of chaos. Pictured: Stranded passengers waiting to
Many stranded passengers vented their fury online. Allison Sievers, from Colorado, wrote: Stuck on London tarmac for hours! Missed our connecting flight back home'
It is feared it could take days for services to return to normal and clear the backlog of passengers, many of whom have been demanding information on how to get reimbursed for flights, hotels and food.
Air industry consultant John Strickland said the crash would have a 'massive knock-on effect' for both customers and BA.
He said: 'From the airline's point of view, dealing with the backlog of aircraft out of position, parking spaces for the aircraft - it's a challenge and a choreographic nightmare.
He added that the problems with BA's IT systems last year were not on the scale of this issue, adding: 'They were bedding in a new check-in system last year and there were teething problem but not of the magnitude of this.
Parts of BA's website and app are not working and customers at Heathrow have been told it will take three hours to leave the airport - and they will not be able to get their bags today as the baggage system has broken down.
Several passengers reported that a captain and gate staff at Gatwick Airport said the airline could be under a cyber attack.
BA says it is working to restore services out of Heathrow and Gatwick by Sunday, though some disruptions are expected. It said London-bound long-haul flights are expected to land on schedule tomorrow.
Emily Wilson, an Australian student living in London who arrived at Heathrow at 11.30am to catch a 13.25pm flight to Stockholm, said passengers cannot get their baggage.
Air industry consultant John Strickland said the crash would have a 'massive knock-on effect' for both customers and BA
Several passengers reported that a captain and gate staff at Gatwick Airport said the airline could be under a cyber attack
Chief executive Alex Cruz said the crash affected all check-in and operational systems at BA terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick
Mr Cruz went on to say: 'We believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack'
BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day - and both are major hubs for worldwide travel
is feared it could take days for services to return to normal and clear the backlog of passengers, who are demanding answers from British Airways online
WHAT COMPENSATION ARE PASSENGERS DUE? In a letter to customers at Gatwick Airport the airline said it would be happy to 'consider' compensating passengers for meals, refreshments, hotels, and transport to and from their accommodation h'if an overnight stay is necessary'. They said the reimbursements would be as follows: - Hotel accommodation (200 per day per room - 2 people sharing). - Transport between the airport and your hotel (50 for the round trip). - Reasonable meal and refreshment expenses (25 per adult per day and 12.50 for children). - Two reasonable telephone calls per customer. BA said it would be happy to 'consider' compensating passengers for meals, refreshments, hotels, and transport to and from their accommodation h'if an overnight stay is necessary' Citizens Advice Bureau claims passengers can request the following levels of compensation for delayed flights: - 250 for flights delayed three hours or more, where the flying distance is less than 1,500km - 400 for flights delayed three hours or more, where the flying distance is between 1,500km and 3,500km - or more than 1,500km within the EU - 300 for flights delayed between three and four hours - 600 for flights delayed more than four hours where the flying distance is more than 3,500km - or between an EU and non-EU airport 600 If your flight is delayed five hours or more, the airline legally has to give you all of the following: - A full refund for the flight - A full refund for other flights from the airline that you won't use in the same booking, eg an onward or return flight if you're part-way through a journey - A flight back to the airport you originally departed from food and drink - Access to phone calls and emails - Accommodation if you're delayed overnight, as well as journeys between the airport and the hotel Advertisement
She told MailOnline: 'They have told us it will take three hours to get out of the airport, and that we won't be able to get bags today. Their baggage system has broken down and the airline can't retrieve them.
Passenger Rhi Doherty, from Essex, said she was 'trapped' in Heathrow where staff had 'disappeared'.
'We have been stuck for over four hours, queuing to try and get out, we have been sent to wrong queues,' she said in a furious Instagram post this evening.
Rhi went on: 'All the computer systems are down. It's a security risk, there are police but we need more. They should have let young families out first to get away from the amount of people and heat but they didn't.
She also claimed that BA put a cap on compensations, with officials telling them they can 'only get a certain amount' and if they do not get their bags, 'we lose all of it'.
'All the BA staff have disappeared!' Rhi went on. ' It's absolutely awful here they have more or less abandoned us.'
Emily del Pizzo's family were forced to spend 2,800 on a flight to Venice after the surprise trip they had planned for months was ruined.
Passenger Rhi Doherty, from Essex, said she was 'trapped' in Heathrow where staff had 'disappeared'
Rhi also claimed that BA put a cap on compensations, with officials telling them they can 'only get a certain amount' and if they do not get their bags, 'we lose all of it'
Emily del Pizzo's family were forced to spend 2,800 on a flight to Venice after the surprise trip they had planned for months was ruined. Pictured: Stranded passengers out side Heathrow Terminal 5
She was only told about the destination when she turned up at Gatwick Airport with her husband Michael and sons Stefano, 13, and Nicola, nine.
'My husband is asking for an explanation from BA but unfortunately we are not getting anywhere,' she said. 'They are only telling us to go home and look online.
The family may now have to cancel the holiday, which had included Venice, trips to the seaside and to see relatives.
Saying she will never fly with BA again, she said: 'I do not think it is the way you should treat your customers, whether you spend 1 or 4,000.
'We have seen loads of people coming here and getting upset, just like us. Some people have spent a lot of money - and it is not about the money, it is about how you treat people.'
Passengers who need hotel accommodation were told to use a 'Pay and Claim' letter to claim back 'reasonable expenses', the airline said in a letter.
Check-in lanes at Heathrow Airport were flooded with hundreds of disgruntled passengers unable to get through due to the outage
Furious passengers are complaining of 'huge queues' at check-in and added that they cannot use the website or the app, causing them to miss their flights. Pictured, Heathrow Airport
Gareth Wharton, at Heathrow Terminal 5, tweeted a picture of BA staff writing gate information on a whiteboard amid the systems outage. 'Gets worse, T5 staff having to put gate info up on a white board,' he tweeted
The airline had said earlier in the day that flights would be running after 6pm - meaning passengers turning up for their evening journeys now face a mad scramble to book overnight hotel stays or organise transport back home
BA added that they were 'unable to predict' when the computer systems would be 'fully operational' and asked customers to leave the airport.
'There are children crying everywhere and so many crowds. It is really frustrating having been here all day,' Emily added.
'It's crazy for this to happen on bank holiday weekend. Our flights are not being rescheduled- we have to re-book online if we want new flights.
It's crazy for this to happen on bank holiday weekend. Our flights are not being rescheduled- we have to re-book online if we want new flights Stranded passenger, Emily Wilson
'We have received so many mixed messages. At first we heard anyone who had not checked in could not fly. Then we were sent through, and once arriving in the lounge we were told there could be a possible delay.
'Then news came out about all flights being cancelled but the staff had not heard about it. The manager came up eventually to announce official cancellation and said that we should leave and collect our bags.'
'Afterwards they started boarding some flights so everyone is very confused,' she added.'
She added that boards in Terminal 5 said that flights will be delayed until a certain time - although staff refuted this and said 'everything is cancelled'.
'There are people everywhere and we have been told to line up if we want to exit, and then we will have to clear customs before picking up bags.'
Furious fliers vented on social media that they have been stuck on their plane for more than two hours.
All BA flights from Heathrow and Gatwick have been cancelled for the rest of the day because of a 'major IT system failure' that is causing 'severe disruption worldwide'
Student Emily Wilson said that there were 'crowds everywhere and children were crying' as they waited at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 (pictured)
The airline has apologised and said it was 'working to resolve the the problem as quickly as possible'
One passenger shared this photo from their delayed flight, adding they were 'not allowed to buy food or drink'
A flier shared this photo from Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport and wrote: 'Feel sorry for these guys, they've been on the plane for a couple of hours waiting to push back, due to the computer outage'
Passengers who need hotel accommodation were told to use a 'Pay and Claim' letter to claim back 'reasonable expenses', the airline said in a letter (left). A whiteboard (right) showed what gate passengers should head to
They spoke of 'disgraceful' customer service as staff gave out 'no information', while others said it was 'carnage' at Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 and warned travellers to stay away.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: 'We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide. We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack.'
Travellers have been told to check the airline website and Twitter account for updates about the situation.
Stuck in Gatwick departures. BA have just announced that it could be a cyber attack that has taken down their systems Stranded passenger on Twitter
Several passengers said staff told them the delays were due to a hack - which BA denies.
'Gate agent at gate A10b just called it a cyber attack...true?' Bryan Henson said, while Michele Andjel added: ''It appears it is a cyber attack' said @British_Airways captain @Gatwick_Airport.'
'Stuck in Gatwick departures. BA have just announced that it could be a cyber attack that has taken down their systems,' another flier wrote on Twitter.
Heathrow Airport said it was 'working closely' with BA to solve the issue.
'The terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick have become extremely congested and we have cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick before 6pm UK time today, so please do not come to the airports,' the airline said.
'We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.'
The glitch has resulted in a crowd of tourists queuing inside the terminal, before eventually being turned away from the main British Airways terminal
Hundreds of bags have been left unattended as frustrated passengers queue for hours to leave the airport
Online check-in machines failed to work - with the screen saying it was 'temporarily out of service'
Emily Wilson, an Australian student living in London, shared photos of catastrophic queues at Heathrow
She told MailOnline: 'There are children crying everywhere and so many crowds. It is really frustrating having been here all day'
She said they received 'mixed messages' from staff and were eventually told they could not fly
A video she shared shows endless queues of people trailing all the way past the duty-free shops
They advised passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.
Delays have also been reported in Rome, Prague, Cagliari in Italy, Stockholm and Malaga due to the technical failure and Gatwick Airport.
Several passengers at Heathrow said they had not been informed their flights had been cancelled until more than an hour after the airline put out a press statement announcing the decision.
Images posted to social media showed a group of people gathered around the customer services desk at Heathrow's Terminal 5 trying to get information.
Shortly after the statement was released, Terry Page, 28, from London, said: 'There's no such announcement here. The boards are showing 'Go to gate' and no mention of cancellations.'
More than an hour later, he said cancellations of individual flights were still being announced.
'They've announced them 30 minutes apart - I think to prevent panic and mass exit,' he suggested.
Mr Page, who was booked on a BA flight to Texas, was stuck in a queue in Terminal 5 for two hours.
He said: 'I tried to use their website to get a screenshot of my boarding pass - but the website isn't working either. (We) had to rely on the whisperings I could hear from staff talking,' he said.
One video posted by a traveller shows the captain (pictured) of flight BA553 from Rome to London addressing passengers about IT problems. He told the disgruntled crowds: 'There's just no way for anyone to depart a plane from anywhere in the world'
Fed up fliers flooded the terminals of Heathrow Airport as they waited in vain at their gate
One traveller said that it was 'carnage' at Heathrow Airport and warned others to stay away
Mr Page went on: 'We've tried all of the self check-in machines; none were working, apart from one. There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front.'
'Then we queued for about an hour and a half with lots of people pushing in front to catch earlier flights.'
One video posted by a traveller shows the captain of flight BA553 from Rome to London addressing passengers about IT problems.
He told the disgruntled crowds: 'There's just no way for anyone to depart a plane from anywhere in the world.
'Those people who have been on a plane already are stuck on a plane and those people who have landed at Heahtrow are unable to get off because they can't park.
'So to be honest this is the place for you at this time.'
One passenger said: 'Systems down. Huge queues at check in. No explanation. Not good #britishairways #heathrowterminal.'
Passengers were also hit by severe delays in September and July last year because of IT glitches.
BA flights were also delayed on boards at Tegel Airport in Berlin
Several outraged fliers have been referring to the British Airways website to get compensation over the enduring delays
Passengers took to social media to complain about massive queues, adding that there was 'no explanation' from staff
Long list of failures: BA's history of technical glitches In September 2016 angry travellers complained of hours of queuing at airports after an IT glitch hit check-in systems. Travellers across the UK and U.S. complained of lengthy queues due to the technical problem, and passengers were warned of heavy delays. It is the latest in a series of technical glitches with BA's new 'FLY' check-in system which was rolled out in June in a bid to speed-up passengers' journeys. However, the system has been besieged by problems with five serious malfunctions in just three months causing huge delays to thousands of passengers around the globe. British Airways began installing its new system at airports across the world in October 2015and the roll-out was completed around June. BA, which is run by parent company IAG after it merged with Spanish giant Iberia in 2011, is in the process of cutting costs, including across its IT department. However, the new IT system has caused a host of problems with workers complaining that it crashes 'all the time'. One source claimed earlier this year that check-in staff have even been reduced to tears by regular glitches.ok The latest computer glitch is the fifth BA systems failure in just over three months, with similar problems on June 19, July 7, July 13 and again on July 18. Advertisement
Another added: 'Hey @British_Airways, couldn't log in to the app with my boarding pass on because systems were down and I missed my flight. What can I do?'
Nadia Whittley, added: 'British airways computers down T5 and standstill, stranded on the plane and they make us pay for food!! Please retweet this indicency! (SIC)'
Julie Adie wrote: 'We are on the runway.. For hour now..no offer of drinks..and because ba only takes cards now, we only have cash...wat we supposed to do!? (sic)'
Mr Tail, a 27-year-old teacher from London, claimed he had missed his flight to Rome because of the technical problems.
'I checked in online using the BA app at 8.15 for my flight at 9.25, then went and had breakfast,' he said.
'At some point the app restarted and when I went to go through security I couldn't log in to my booking to get my QR code.'
One traveller shared a photo showing massive check-in queues trailing out of Heathrow Airport's entrance
Outraged fliers vented that they had been stuck trying to check in or for their flights to take off for hours
Cyber attack on the NHS: How hackers took over computers and demanded cash not to wipe out patient records The NHS was hit with a crippling cyber attack in May, which saw patients turned away and operations cancelled. Hackers took control of computers in at least 40 NHS Trusts across the country meaning doctors could not access patients' files which are stored online. Messages popped up on computers which said 'oops, your files have been encrypted' and demanded a ransom of 230 to regain access to the PC otherwise the files would be wiped forever. One doctor at Colchester General Hospital said screens were 'wiped out one by one' while another described a matron running around frantically yelling: 'Turn off your computers'. British computer security expert Marcus Hutchins, 22, became a hero when he discovered the WannaCry super-virus had a 'kill switch' and stopped it infecting 100,000 more PCs worldwide over the weekend. The cyber criminals, who hit more than 225,000 victims in 150 countries in the biggest hack ever launched, then re-wrote their malware to remove the flaw discovered by Mr Hutchins. Britain's FBI - the National Crime Agency (NCA) - said people must be prepared for a 'second surge' of malware - but it is yet to happen on the scale seen on Friday. Rob Holmes, an expert from cyber security company Proofpoint, told the BBC: 'We're already starting to see new versions of the ransomware without the master kill switch'. Analysis by Elliptic, who have been tracking the Bitcoin accounts linked to the hackers, says they have been paid around $54,000 (41,795) in ransom money since Friday. Advertisement
'This meant I couldn't go through security, and by the time I'd gone back and forth to various customer service desks the flight had closed,' he said.
'I've tried to call customer services but their systems are still down so they weren't able to help me, and they told me it was a worldwide issue,' he added.
Gareth Wharton, at Heathrow Terminal 5, tweeted a picture of BA staff writing gate information on a whiteboard amid the systems outage.
'Gets worse, T5 staff having to put gate info up on a white board,' he tweeted.
Melissa Davis, who runs MD Communications, a legal PR agency in London, was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow, on board a BA flight returning from Belfast.
Speaking from the plane, Miss Davis said the air conditioning had been off 'so I don't think we will be going anywhere any time soon', but added that the passengers had been kept informed by their pilot and given water while they remained seated.
She later said she and others were then told they could not transfer to other flights because 'they can't bring up our details'.
Earlier this month a 23-year-old appeared in court accused of costing BA 100,000 by taking its website offline for an hour.
Furious passengers are complaining of 'huge queues' at check-in and added that they cannot use the website or the app
Fliers stuck in the US, Rome, Belfast, Lisbon and from Heathrow Airport vented that they were had been waiting on their planes for more than two hours
Allegations of greed after BA outsourced IT jobs to India British Airways has outsourced IT jobs to India, leading to allegations of greed by unions. The GMB said the disruption could have been avoided if the airline had not cut 'hundreds of dedicated and loyal' IT staff and contracted the work to India in 2016. Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at the union, said: 'We can only feel genuinely sorry for the tens of thousands of passengers who are stranded at airports and face having their travel plans and holidays ruined. 'This could have all been avoided. In 2016 BA made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India. 'BA have made substantial profits for a number of years, and many viewed the company's actions as just plain greedy.' The move in 2016 sparked protests and outrage from members of the union. At the time, a BA spokesman said: 'A contract has been signed with TCS to be the supplier of some IT activities in British Airways, and British Airways has been in consultation with those IT staff affected, about 200. 'British Airways employs around 35,000 people in the UK, providing high-skilled and well-paid jobs. It hires 1,000 people a year and has a strong apprenticeship programme.' Advertisement
Paul Dixon, of County Durham, was arrested after a cyber crime investigation led by the North East Regional Special Operations Unit in October 2014.
Dixon appeared before South Tyneside Magistrates' Court charged with five counts of carrying out unauthorised acts to impair the operation or access to a computer.
It comes as thousands of families had to fly off for half term without their luggage after Gatwick's baggage sorting system broke down holding up 3,000 bags.
Their Bank Holiday weekend got off to a nightmare start as travellers encountered chaotic scenes and huge queues at Britain's second biggest airport.
The conveyor belt system that sorts bags before they arrive at the aircraft stopped working at around 5am yesterday, and was not fixed until around 9.15am.
Airline staff were forced to manually check each bag and put them on the right flight.Dozens of planes took off without all passengers' luggage on board.
Simon Priest, pictured, attacked PCs Karl Odger and Geoffrey Hill as they arrested him
A policeman has spoken out about how a vision he had of his son helped him to survive after a vicious thug stamped on his head 15 times.
PCs Karl Odger and Geoffrey Hill were brutally attacked after trying to handcuff 'vicious' Simon Priest for an alleged assault on his partner, Charlotte Loveday.
The 41-year-old told the officers they would need to get more support if they were going to arrest him before taking off his coat and knocking them both out in Aldershot, Hampshire.
Priest was given a life sentence at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, after shocking footage from the officers' bodycam was shown of the brutal assault.
Footage revealed the moment Priest repeatedly stamped on both officers' heads, leaving them both seriously injured.
PC Hill said: 'I remember seeing my son Cameron when he was baby, in my head, and I can remember him saying goodbye to me.
PCs Karl Odger (pictured) and Geoffrey Hill were brutally attacked after trying to handcuff 'vicious' Priest from Aldershot, Hampshire, for an alleged assault on his partner
Priest was given a life sentence at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, after shocking footage from the officers' bodycam was shown of the brutal assault. Pictured: Injuries sustained in the attack by PC Hill, left, and PC Odger, right
'(As) clear as I talk to you now, I could hear him saying "Goodbye, dad."
'I remember thinking I was dying, dead. And then I saw my son reappear and he was like "Dad, take a breath."'
PC Hill then described the moment he took a huge gasp and returned to consciousness.
Prosecutor Kerry Maylin told the court that PC Hill and PC Odger had been responding to a call about an assault when they found Priest standing on the top floor landing of a block of flats with all his possessions in plastic bags.
After informing him he was to be arrested for allegedly hitting his partner, who he had just broken up with, Priest flew into a rage as the lights, which were on a timer, went out.
Priest showed no emotion in court as he watched the clip of himself screaming loudly as he repeatedly stamped on the heads of the officers after punching them both to the ground.
PC Hill, pictured, said: 'I remember seeing my son Cameron when he was baby, in my head, and I can remember him saying goodbye to me'
Sentencing Judge Keith Cutler handed him a life sentence with a minimum of seven and a half years behind bars.
Ms Maylin told the court: 'The defendant told the officers 'I will f****** end you' as they informed him he was to be arrested.
'The lights in the block of flats were on a timer and it was after they went out that he attacked the officers.
'PC Odger was left unconscious after the first strike, but Priest continued to stamp on his head another 10 to 15 times.
'PC Hill was also knocked unconscious momentarily after being attacked by Priest.
'After finishing his attack, Priest then ran away, taking with him the handcuffs that were being used to arrest him and a live taser and two cartridges for the weapon.'
Both officers had to be rushed to hospital after the horrific attack, with the bodycam footage showing PC Odger left in a pool of his own blood.
PC Odger had to be placed into an induced coma on his arrival at hospital, and had further surgery to relieve a bleed on his brain.
Bodycam footage from PC Geoffrey Hill shows Simon Priest with his belongings and PC Carl Odger in the background as the pair tried to arrest him on suspicion of assaulting his partner
Priest, from Aldershot, was arrested half an hour after the attack outside a nearby kebab shop where he was taking a member of staff's bike.
The thug, who has two previous convictions for assaulting police officers, admitted one count of GBH with intent, one of attempted GBH, one of theft, one of escaping lawful custody and being in possession of a prohibited weapon.
Mitigating, Abigail Husbands told the court that Priest did not recall his attack on the two men, blacking out as they tried to arrest him.
She said: 'My client admits that he remembers telling officers that they would need to get help to arrest him and accepts that it was him that caused their injuries.
'He does however suffer with mixed personality disorder and does not remember carrying out the attacks.
'He did show remorse when interviewed and was so distressed that he did not wish to be shown the body cam footage at the time.'
Sentencing him to life in prison, with a minimum of seven and a half years before he can apply for parole, Judge Cutler said: 'This was a horrific attack.
Violent: Shocking film was shown to the court, revealing the moment Priest repeatedly stamped on both officers' heads, leaving them both seriously injured
The thug, pictured above raising a hand to PC Odger, has two previous convictions for assaulting police officers. He admitted one count of GBH with intent, one of attempted GBH, one of theft, one of escaping lawful custody and being in possession of a prohibited weapon
'These two police officers were replying to a report of a domestic incident. They did everything right.
'Police officers need to know that they will get the full protection of the courts in cases of assaults. Both men are lucky that they are able to be around today, and one in this courtroom, to see the result of this case.
'I am sure there have been many times when they may have felt they would not be here.'
John Apter, the chairman of the Hampshire Police Federation, said afterwards the attack was the worst he had seen in his entire career.
He said: 'This was a vicious and sustained attack on two police officers doing their duty on behalf of the public.
'The level of violence used was sickening and the worst I have seen in my 24 years of policing. It was only due to the swift medical care received that this horrendous attack did not result in the death of either officer.'
Olivia Pinkney, Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary, added: 'Each and every assault on an officer is unacceptable.
'Karl and Geoff were responding to a cry for help by a woman and her child, when they were attacked in the most appalling manner.
'Our job does come with an element of risk, but what happened that night was truly exceptional.'
(File photo)
State-owned enterprises participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and with overseas operations need to enhance their cybersecurity immediately in the wake of mounting threats to online data, a report released by the 360 Threat Intelligence Center on Friday said.
The center, which was launched by technology major Qihoo 360 Technology Co in 2015, released the report on the opening day of the four-day International Big Data Expo 2017 in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province.
These days, many SOEs have operations across different economies and their information infrastructure level varies from market to market. Existing security programs will encounter new challenges and may prove inadequate, according to the report.
Such SOEs need to secure their confidential online communications and data pertaining to overseas project management and other such sensitive areas, the center said.
So, technologies like remote data transmission and cloud computing need to be integrated into companies' information technology systems, the center said.
Computer viruses, malware and other forms of threats like Trojans, phishing sites and unintended disclosure of confidential information are among the problems cited by the 14 SOEs surveyed for the report.
SOEs specializing in energy, infrastructure and transportation could face risks of attacks on their data in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, the report said.
Qi Xiangdong, chairman of 360 Business Security Group, an internet security company affiliated to Qihoo 360, stressed that cybersecurity is of utmost urgency, given recent episodes like that of ransomware virus WannaCry.
He said big data will likely be one of the major targets of high-tech criminals like hackers in the next decade or so.
"WannaCry virus signifies that hackers have outgrown defrauding individuals to extortion from governments and companies. I'm afraid such ransomware will become even more rampant in the future," he said.
"With the development of big data, cybersecurity has become as important as money and even life. So, cybersecurity systems of companies should be updated."
Qi suggested that an internet security awareness system should be set up in the first place. A centralized control system should then be established so that computer terminals can respond rapidly.
A surfer has died after a freak accident with his own board at a surfing competition on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula Saturday morning.
The 65-year-old Armstrong Creek man was taking part in the kneeboard surfing competition at Gunnamatta Beach around 11am when he was hit in the head with his board, police say.
'A man surfing in that competition was pulled unconscious from the water, after reports he had been hit in the head in the head by a surfboard,' Senior Constable Tim Connor told 9News.
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A surfer has died after he was hit in the head with his surfboard at a beach on Victoria's Mornington Peninsula
The 65-year-old Armstrong Creek man was in a kneeboard surfing competition when he was pulled from the water unconscious by fellow surfers
Police say the surfers around him made a great effort in recovering the man.
'In a valiant effort by his fellow competitors, he was pulled to shore in fairly tough conditions where emergency services commenced CPR.'
He was pulled unconscious from the water and emergency services tried to revive him but he died at the scene.
Police say the fellow surfers around him made a great effort in recovering the man
The incident occurred around 11am Saturday morning at Gunnamatta Beach in Victoria. The man's death will now be investigated by a coroner
One surfer who was out at the beach later that day said there are many risks to be aware of.
'Accidents happen, you might get hit by the board, you might hit a rock, you might just get wrapped around your leg rope or something,you just never know,' he said.
Police will now prepare a report for the coroner.
The mother of Salman Abedi has claimed she had no idea about the Manchester suicide bomb plot and thought her son was thousands of miles away in Saudi Arabia, it has been revealed.
Samia, 50, was questioned along with the attacker's sister Jomana, 18, as well as a 14-year-old girl who is thought to be a younger sibling.
They were questioned for around two hours during which time they were visibly upset and crying, according to a spokesman for the force.
Abedi's mother was described as 'very upset' during the interview by Libyan security officials, who are also holding Abedi's younger brother and father.
Rada Special Deterrence Force spokesman Ahmed Bin Salem told Mailonline: 'Salman's mother and sister came in for questioning.
Five days before the attack, Abedi had asked his mother for his passport, saying he needed it to go on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, which is where they had believed him to be
Terror arrests: Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi's family tree shows his father Ramadan and two brothers Hashem and Ismail have all been arrested. The bomber's cousin Abdalla Forjani was held on Wednesday in Moss Side, Manchester
'They have not been arrested and were questioned for two hours, but they did not appear to know anything about the attack in Manchester.
'But the mother and sisters have to remain in Libya for the moment, under our control and observation.'
The three female members of the Abedi family appeared to be oblivious to Salman, 22, and younger brother Hashem's links to ISIS, which date back to 2015.
They told the Tripoli security force they did not even know he was in England.
Five days before the attack, Salman had asked his mother for his passport, saying he needed it to go on a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, which is where they had believed him to be.
A single phone call on the day of the attack was their first indication that something was not right.
Samia told the Rada security force that a photo of Hashem holding a gun, posted on his father's Facebook page - which has since been deactivated - was a posed picture from 2011
Abedi's brother Hashem, pictured, has been arrested in Libya
Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed 22 concert-goers in an attack in Manchester, was arrested in Tripoli in the wake of Monday's suicide attack
Bin Salem continued: 'Before the attack in Manchester, on Monday, Salman called Hashem and asked to speak to their mother.
'She told us Salman said "I'm sorry mum. You have to forgive me" before hanging up the phone.
'The mother said she was very surprised and confused by the phone call and didn't understand what was going on because he was supposed to be in Saudi Arabia on Ummrah [pilgrimage],' said Bin Salem.
But the news of the Manchester bombing came as little surprise to Salman's younger brother Hashem.
He confessed to investigators that in England he was involved with preparations for the fatal attack, which left 22 dead and 116 injured.
Mother Samia said Hashem's reaction to news of the attack made it obvious to her that he had some prior knowledge.
'His mother saw the news and, when Hashem returned home, she asked him if he had heard about what had happened, and he reacted strangely as if he knew about it and was not surprised.
'He did not cry and was not upset but just seemed to be a bit nervous and had nothing to say to his mother,' Bin Salem said.
The mother and two sisters were allowed to see Hashem and speak with him during a prison visit which lasted for about 15 minutes.
It is not known what they spoke about during the visit.
Ongoing questioning of Hashem, 19, after his confession this week has revealed further details about his involvement in preparations for the Manchester bombing as well as the brothers' descent into radicalism.
He revealed that the two brothers joined ISIS in 2015 after travelling to Saudi Arabia.
Bin Salem said: 'He said after they returned from Saudi the two brothers started researching extreme ideologies and ISIS on the internet.
'They did this thinking they were going the right way in Islam but unfortunately they went completely the wrong way, with these ideas about bombing people.'
He said it was not clear from what Hashem had told investigators so far where the pair were radicalised - whether in England or Libya - or by whom.
Hashem has insisted to Tripoli investigators that the brothers worked alone as so-called 'lone wolves' and were not colluding with other ISIS associates.
But Bin Salem said investigations were ongoing to establish whether the pair had links to extremist networks either in England or Libya.
Suicide bomber Abedi killed 22 people, including victims as young as eight, and injured dozens more after setting off a device in the foyer of Manchester Arena on Monday
'If Hashem admits that there was any other ISIS member in England they were involved with, we will inform the British government,' he said.
'I don't know if there has been any collaboration between our forces and the British government or police so far.
'I have no information about this, but we would welcome working with the British police on this case.'
According to Libyan investigators, Hashem was fully-aware of his brother plans to carry out a suicide bombing in Manchester and had helped him prepare for the attack.
'Hashem knew all about what his brother was planning to do in England and helped him make the preparations,' Bin Salem said.
'Before they went back to Libya, everything was in place, ready for the attack in Manchester.
'They came back to Libya with the family for Ramadan and then Salman went back to England alone without telling the family. But Hashem knew he had returned to England to carry out the terror attack.
'He said the only thing he did not know was exactly when and where Salman would carry out the bombing.'
Hashem insisted to Tripoli security forces that his older brother Ismail, 23, - arrested in Manchester earlier this week - was not involved with ISIS and knew nothing about the planned attack.
He said he was married and spent a lot of time at home with his family.
Hashem's father Ramadan, 51, remains under arrest amid ongoing investigation in Tripoli.
'We are still trying to find out whether the father was involved with, or knew about the Manchester attack or not,' said Bin Salem.
'He has not told us anything yet that we can share with the media, but he will remain under arrest until we are absolutely sure that he does not know anything.'
Mother Samia described Abedi as 'very clever', especially with computers and the internet. The security forces said that Hashem was not particularly bright.
Samia told the Rada security force that a photo of Hashem holding a gun, posted on his father's Facebook page - which has since been deactivated - was a posed picture from 2011 after the Libyan revolution.
She said he was 13 at the time and was too young to fight.
It has been reported that Salman participated in the Libyan revolution but Rada Special Deterrence Force said they were unable to confirm this.
Two RAF Typhoon jets were scrambled from the Lossiemouth base in Scotland this morning after Russian planes entered UK airspace.
An Airbus Voyager KC3 tanker was also dispatched from Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and was tracked heading north before going into a holding pattern off the Aberdeenshire coast.
They were responding on 'quick alert' to two Russian aircraft which had entered British airspace.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: 'Two Typhoons were scrambled from RAF Lossiemouth this morning as part of the RAF's Quick Reaction Alert in response to two Russian aircraft entering the UK's airspace.
'Both aircraft have now returned safely to RAF Lossiemouth.'
The Typhoon aircraft were dispatched on a 'quick alert' (stock photo)
An Airbus Voyager KC3 tanker, pictured right, was also scrambled from Brize Norton airbase and is heading north (stock photo)
This air navigation map shows the route taken by the tanker aircraft to the north
They were responding on 'quick alert' to two Russian aircraft which had entered British airspace
It comes amid a heightened state of security across the country just days after the worst terror attack on British soil in more than a decade happened in Manchester.
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RAF fighters have repeatedly been scrambled to the skies over Britain to ward off incursions from Russian jets, including in February when aircraft were sent to monitor two bombers which passed near UK airspace.
The Tupolev TU-160 Blackjacks were in the UK's 'area of interest' but did not enter British territory, the RAF said at the time.
The nuclear-capable Blackjack, the largest bomber aircraft in the world, were monitored coming from the north east and passed to the west of Ireland.
In January, Type 23 frigate HMS St Albans was deployed to 'man mark' the Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov and its battlegroup as the vessels sailed close to UK territorial waters, returning from operations supporting the offensive in Syria.
The Kuznetsov group had previously passed through the Channel last autumn on its way to the Mediterranean and was escorted by Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan and Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond.
It comes just days after the Russian president told Theresa May he is ready to forge closer security links with London after Monday's horrific carnage in Manchester in which 22 died.
Theresa May has reduced Britain's threat level from critical to severe and announced the end of Operation Temperer which saw armed troops flood the streets of Britain.
Her announcement means an attack is considered highly likely rather than imminent.
Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from midnight on Monday, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, the Prime Minister said.
Theresa May has reduced Britain's threat level from critical to severe
Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, she said the decision had been taken after 'a significant amount of police activity' over the last 24 hours.
She said: 'The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.'
Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.
She said: 'To provide maximum reassurance to the public Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.
'Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties.'
The Manchester massacre, which killed 22, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.
Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions
These officers from Avon & Somerset police were pictured smiling with a young boy
The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester's Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.
Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.
An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.
'I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out,' she said.
Meanwhile in Brighton & Hove these constables couldn't help but enjoy an ice cream in the sunny weather. The force tweeted: 'The sun's out, so are we. If you see us about, come and say hi, give us a wave and a smile'
Tourists watch the Changing the Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace in London on Friday, after the event was cancelled on Wednesday
Police have also posted firearms officers to beaches amid concerns that remote spots could be vulnerable. Pictured are officers from Cumbria
It comes after police arrested two 'Libyan brothers' aged 20 and 22 on suspicion of terror offences in the early hours of Saturday, bringing the total number of arrests in connection with the Manchester bombing to 13.
There is still a large armed police presence around Britain as smiling officers are reassuring thousands of people while the country gears up for a major Bank Holiday weekend just days after one of the worst terror attacks in more than a decade.
Hundreds of officers will patrol major sporting, cultural and even community occasions.
Security at more than 1,300 events this weekend including the FA cup final, premiership rugby final and Hay literary festival has been dramatically reviewed.
Police have located two bodies in bushland in the search for an elderly woman and her disabled daughter.
Isabel Stephens, 89, and Judy Stephens, 53, were last seen on Sunday at a pub lunch in Tatong, near their hometown of Benalla in Victoria.
A white Yaris was located by police on Saturday near Aquila Rise, two kilometres from where the pair were last seen.
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Victorian police have located two bodies in bushland in the search for Isabel Stephens, 89, (right) and Judy Stephens, 53 (left)
The women were believed to be travelling in a 2007 Toyota Yaris with the registration number WAB580.
Two bodies were then found a further one kilometre from the car.
'While the deceased are yet to be formally identified, they are believed to be missing mother and daughter Isabel and Judy Stephens,' Victoria police said in a statement o Saturday night.
'The exact circumstances of their deaths are yet to be determined, however at this time police do not do not believe it is suspicious.'
The women's family reported them missing on Tuesday and a search started that afternoon.
Search parties focused on water courses and water storage facilities north of Benalla, encompassing Lake Rowan and Lake Nillahcootie.
The women's family reported them missing on Tuesday and a search started that afternoon
Search parties focused on water courses and water storage facilities north of Benalla, encompassing Lake Rowan and Lake Nillahcootie
A white Yaris was located by police on Saturday near Aquila Rise, two kilometres from where the pair were last seen
'It was the fifth day of the search today (Friday) and obviously because of the age and fragility of the women we do have heightened concerns about their state,' Inspector Troy Hargadon said on Friday.
He said the community had rallied behind the family with numerous tips and sightings reported.
Police held concerns for the pair due to Ms Stephens' age, and because her daughter has a disability and a medical condition that requires regular medication.
Tatong Tavern owner Christopher McCabe said the pair had eaten a meal about 1pm on Sunday and then set off after saying they were visiting a relative for dinner that evening.
A Virginia State Police special agent died Saturday after being shot by a man sitting in a car, and a suspect has been arrested after a manhunt, police said.
Travis A. Ball, 27, of Richmond, Virginia was arrested on Saturday morning and is being held without bond on charges in the shooting Friday night of Special Agent Michael T. Walter.
Walter was shot around 7.30pm Friday evening while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer.
Walter was assigned to drug enforcement in Richmond and routinely partnered with the Richmond Police Department on investigations and patrols.
The officers observed a Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to a curb and park the wrong way on Redd Street and then pulled in behind the car in a marked police cruiser.
Special Agent Michael T. Walter (left) died after being shot Friday during a routine traffic stop. Travis A. Ball (right) was arrested on Saturday morning in the slaying
Crime Scene: Law enforcement investigates the scene of the shooting. Michael T. Walter, a Virginia State Police special agent, died after being shot by a man sitting in a car
Walter and a Richmond police officer approached a car that was parked the wrong way on Redd Street when shots rang out. The suspect fled on foot
Police recovered a handgun near the scene of the shooting. Walter was rushed to the hospital and died from his injuries early Saturday morning
The uniformed Richmond officer went to speak to the driver. Walter approached the passenger side of the car when a 'single shot rang out,' according to police.
The shooter then took off on foot, sparking an overnight manhunt by eight local, state, federal law enforcement agencies. He was described as a black male of medium build, 5'8" to 5'10", wearing a red button-up shirt and khaki cargo shorts.
The driver remained at the scene and was detained by Richmond Police, and police recovered the handgun near the Chevy Cobalt. The Richmond police officer was not injured.
Ball is seen being taken into custody on Saturday morning. US Marshals and Virginia State Police found him in a residence in Northumberland County, about 70 miles from the shooting
Walter was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries early Saturday morning, and was pronounced dead.
'Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice,' Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe said in a statement.
The suspected shooter Ball was found and arrested around 6am at a residence in Northumberland County, which is about 70 miles from Richmond.
Virginia State Police and US Marshals effected the arrest.
Ball is being held on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending.
There's been a media frenzy at every step of Schapelle Corby's homecoming and it appears even her siblings got in on the action.
The convicted drug smuggler's sister Mercedes accompanied her from her Kuta villa to the parole office in Denpasar, filming the chaos on her phone.
Later, as Corby shielded her face with a shawl and sunglasses as police escorted her into a van to go to the airport, Mercedes was spotted snapping away.
As journalists jostled with police, their brother Michael filmed the circus from atop of the villa's gate, sporting a mask of an old man with long grey curly locks and beard.
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Schapelle Corby shared footage of the chaotic scenes waiting for her at the Denpasar parole office as she arrived on her Instagram page
Mercedes Corby (far left) captured the chaos around her sister's deportation on her phone
Corby's brother Michael donned an old man mask to take pictures of the media frenzy outside the Kuta villa where his sister had been holed up ahead of her return to Australia
And despite a seemingly camera-shy Corby shielding her face from the crowds, she updated her new Instagram followers several times as she made her trip home to Australia.
She posted footage filmed from inside the van she was ferried in, showing the heavy police presence outside the parole office, as well as the scrum of reporters and photographers waiting for her.
The account, started shortly before she left her Kuta villa, amassed more than 60,000 followers in a matter of hours.
She bid farewell to Bali with a photo of her dogs Luna and May, posted from her Kuta home in the hours before she left.
Corby shared video of the frenzy outside the parole office as she arrived there for the last time
A seemingly camera-shy Corby shielded her face with a shawl as she left the parole office
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' she wrote.
Her second post, which appeared after she was whisked away by police, shows her 'Bali family', including sister Mercedes and brother Michael.
'Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother in law Wayan,' she wrote.
Then, as she made her way to Denpaser, she shared a picture of her parole papers, adding: Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time.'
But then, Corby (left) shared a selfie with her sister Mercedes, writing: 'Almost at the airport'
Another post, which appeared after she was whisked away by police, shows her 'Bali family'
After officially becoming a free woman, she shared a selfie with her sister taken from inside the van bound for the airport, both their faces obscured by a shawl and hair.
'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby,' she wrote.
Around 100 police officers were deployed, from Denpasar and Kuta police, to ensure Corby's departure went smoothly.
Hours before her deportation, police executed a dry run with three armoured vehicles and guards lining the streets in preparation.
Corby is set to land in Brisbane in the early hours of Sunday morning after boarding her business class Virgin flight, scheduled to depart from Denpasar Airport at 10.10pm local time.
She was reportedly going to be processed through security in a private area before being the last person to board the plane.
NSA Director Mike Rogers told his staff there is 'damning' evidence Donald Trump and his team colluded with the Russian government, a former agent claims.
The shocking information was allegedly relayed to all staff in an agency-wide meeting this week, ex-NSA agent John Schindler claimed Friday.
Schindler wrote in the New York Observer the security chief started the meeting by telling staff they were not going to like what he disclosed to them, but he had to: 'tell what (he) had seen'.
'Rogers then added that such SIGINT exists, and it is damning,' the ex-agent wrote.
NSA Director Mike Rogers (pictured) told his staff there is evidence Donald Trump and his campaign team colluded with the Russian government, a former agent claims
'He stated, "There is no question that we [meaning NSA] have evidence of election involvement and questionable contacts with the Russians."
'Although Rogers did not cite the specific intelligence he was referring to, agency officials with direct knowledge have informed me that DIRNSA was obviously referring to a series of SIGINT reports from 2016 based on intercepts of communications between known Russian intelligence officials and key members of Trumps campaign, in which they discussed methods of damaging Hillary Clinton.'
The security expert went on to support reports alleging the president asked Rogers - along with National Intelligence Director Dan Coats - to 'go public in denying that Team Trump had any ties to Russia during the 2016 election campaign'.
'Asking top intelligence officials to publicly attack the FBI and its director isnt just unusual - its unprecedented, he wrote in the Observer.
Rogers (pictured in April 2016) reportedly told NSA agents: 'There is no question that we [meaning NSA] have evidence of election involvement and questionable contacts with the Russians'
The new report claims Trump also asked the NSA boss to publicly deny Trump and his team has ties to Russia
'Even President Nixon, in the depths of the Watergate scandal, which ultimately unraveled his administration, never went quite so far as to drag NSA into his public mess.
'Admiral Rogers anecdotally flatly denied Trumps request, which - if true - was inappropriate, unethical and dubiously legal.'
Schindler then closed his statements by calling on the politicians to allow Rogers to share what he knows.
'Its therefore high time for the House and Senate intelligence committees to invite Admiral Rogers to talk to them about what transpired with the White House,' he said.
'Since Mike Rogers is said to have kept notes of the presidents effort to enlist him in Trumps personal war with the FBI, as any seasoned Beltway bureaucrat would do, his account ought to be impressively detailed.'
Four apple thieves who were caught in the act by police were lined up against a cliff face and pelted with the fruit they had stolen.
The five uniformed officers took turns grabbing handfuls of the stolen apples from their police pick-up truck, using the four thieves as live targets.
The crooks winced as they were battered by the fruit, but were ordered not to run away as the policemen in Theewaterskloof Municipality, in the Western Cape of South Africa, hurled the apples at them.
Now the police squad are being investigated by senior officers after a storm of criticism on social media slamming the officials for abusing their prisoners.
In footage of the punishment, the policemen giggle and egg each other on as they throw the apples as hard as they can, hitting the helpless men in the head, back and legs.
A colleague filmed the officers as they taunted the thieves with foul language before posting the video on Facebook.
Officers are said to have driven the four men to a deserted spot to face their punishment.
The men wince and shout in pain as the apples are thrown vigorously and strike home, causing deep bruising.
Core blimey: Five policemen in Theewaterskloof Municipality, in the Western Cape of South Africa, made the crooks face a rock wall as they hurled the fruit at them
Rotten luck: The uniformed officers took turns grabbing handfuls of the stolen apples from their police pick-up truck, using the four thieves as live targets
Kevi van Wyk, who posted a copy of the video to Facebook, told Times Live: 'The officers caught the men stealing apples in Villersdorp and took them out to the mountains and lined them up before throwing the apples at them.'
He said the woman who sent him the apple video had a second video which allegedly showed the officers strip one of the men naked and beat him up.
He said: 'I have the names of three of the men and they are all based in Villersdorp'.
Democratic Alliance mayor of Theewaterskloof Municipality Christelle Vosloo said an investigation has been launched into the conduct of the officers.
Police fruit-ality? Now the police squad are being investigated by senior officers after a storm of criticism on social media slamming the officials for abusing their prisoners
Sitting ducks: In footage of the punishment, the policemen giggle and egg each other on as they throw the apples as hard as they can, hitting the helpless men in the head, back and legs
She said: 'I regard this conduct as inhumane and a gross violation of the safety and dignity of the victims.
'I am devastated that the victims had to endure this trauma and I believe their constitutional rights not to be exposed to psychological, emotional and physical abuse had been violated.
'I will ensure an immediate investigation into the incident. If any personnel of the municipality are found guilty in regards to the incident they will face the strongest disciplinary actions possible.'
She added: 'I will meet with the victims and ensure that they receive all the support available to deal with the trauma they suffered.'
Mr van Wyk said: 'I was really upset by the footage. It is wrong to steal apples but I don't think this is the way to deal with it. It sends the wrong message'.
Most of the 200 comments on Mr van Wyk's Facebook page, where he posted a copy of the footage, slammed the police officers involved.
What you seed is what you get: Most of the 200 comments on Kevi van Wyk's Facebook page, where he posted a copy of the footage, slammed the police officers involved
But some said that the thieves deserved the pelting they got and suggested they should have been whipped as well.
Nathan Pillay said on the Facebook post: 'If these guys stole money, jewellery or raped, killed or robbed I would say well done.
'But to assault someone who stole food honestly do you feel this is fair? And you end up wasting this food throwing it at them and damaging it? Really disappointed'.
Tari Jacobs said: 'Only our law enforcers would do this'.
But Sindy van der Wal said she had heard the men had been throwing apples at passing motorists, so the law officers 'taught them a lesson'.
She added: 'These guys won't die from being thrown with apples, nobody is that soft. If they were just walking, doing nothing wrong, then that's another story altogether. Reserve judgment til all facts are presented.'
A spokesman for the police force was unavailable for comment.
A recent high school graduate from Memphis, Tennessee, is tasked with an unusually difficult decision, which college she should attend after being accepted to a whopping 149.
Shariah Edwards just graduated from Power Center Academy High School and now has offers from 149 different colleges and universities across the country.
She was also offered an astounding $7,620,548 in scholarship money from the different institutions.
Shariah Edwards just graduated from Power Center Academy High School and now has offers from 149 different colleges and universities across the country
She was also offered an astounding $7,620,548 in scholarship money from the different institutions
'She has totally blown us away,' the school's college counselor Tamara Woods-Wormley told CBS News.
Woods-Wormely said she gave Edwards a list of colleges without application fees, and every day the star-student would come in and ask to have her transcripts sent to a different school.
The straight-A student never expected such a momentous outcome, and was just attempting to maximize her options for higher education and relieve any of her family's financial burden that comes along with applying to colleges.
Edwards was hoping to become a 'Million Dollar Scholar', which her school uses to encourage more students to apply for scholarships. If a student earns $1million in scholarship offers, they are given a symbolic check during graduation, reported CBS.
After receiving all of the offers, Edwards provided her guidance counselor with proof, which was recorded into a spreadsheet.
The grand total of scholarship money earned by the 145 graduates at the charter school was over $30million
Out of 145 graduating students at PCAHS, Edwards earned the most in scholarship money. The school also offers a 'prize' of sorts, called the 'Million Dollar Scholar' which encourages students to
Out of 145 graduating students at PCAHS, Edwards earned the most in scholarship money, though the grand total was over $30million.
All of the schools she was accepted to are four-year institutions, Woods-Wormley told CBS, and are all over the country.
'I didn't want to limit myself, so I did research and applied to the ones I was interested in,' Edwards told CBS.
'I was amazed, because i didn't think I would get that many acceptances,' she explained.
She said she is still narrowing down her vast number of choices, but that Tennessee State University is at the top of the list.
Ceramics on display at an exhibition called Return - A Ceramic Catalog of the Silk Road, at the National Museum of China in Beijing.[Photos Provided to China Daily]
Exhibit focuses on pieces that traveled from Asia to Europe, mostly along the Maritime Silk Road
Some 300 years ago, ceramic artisans in Jingdezhen, in East China's Jiangxi province, received an order from Europe for a pair of plates as a marriage gift. So, the artisans crafted a round plate and an octagonal one, each fired with the armorial designs of the two families to be joined in matrimony. They also painted traditional Chinese patterns such as butterflies, rabbits and red candles on the plates.
The decorations on the plates were painted in rosy shades such as pink and carmine, known to people as colors of the famille rose (French for the "rose family"). The color combination was introduced to China by European missionaries around 1685.
Famille rose porcelain then became sought-after ceramics during the reign of Qing Emperor Yongzheng (1722-35).
A few years ago, the plates were acquired by a Beijing investment company at an auction.
They are now on show at an exhibition of Chinese ceramics, Return - A Ceramic Catalog of the Silk Road, at the National Museum of China in Beijing through June 9.
The exhibition showcases 300 pieces that were transported to different countries chiefly via the Maritime Silk Road and which have been bought by Chinese collectors over the past decade.
They date from the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) to the mid-19th century, when the trade in ceramics shrank following the Qing Dynasty's decline.
The objects include tea and coffee cups, dishes, ornaments and lamps. And they feature a variety of decorative and firing techniques, such as the blue-and-white and the doucai method in which colors and enamel were fired at different temperatures.
Wang Luxiang, a Beijing-based scholar and the exhibition curator, says extensive exploration during the Age of Discovery gave rise to global trade after the 16th century, and as a result, Chinese porcelain became "one of the first globalized commodities in human trade history".
Diane Abbott today admitted Jeremy Corbyn did meet convicted IRA bombers in her latest car crash interview.
The shadow Home Secretary claimed there was a difference between sharing a platform with terrorists and meeting them privately.
The claim will be met with incredulity by Labour's critics and came just hours after Mr Corbyn was left floundering in a TV grilling about his views on terrorism.
The Labour leader last night denied meeting with the IRA during the Troubles, despite inviting Sinn Fein chief Gerry Adams to Parliament and being arrested on a protest outside the trial of the Brighton Bomber.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today launching a football policy in Hackney) is facing claims he lied about meeting the IRA
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott insisted Mr Corbyn (pictured playing football with children today) was right to distinguish between appearing on a platform with someone and meeting them privately
Mr Corbyn and Ms Abbott (pictured yesterday at a campaign event in London) are the senior figures in Labour's general election campaign
Ms Abbott's latest interview disaster comes after the has repeatedly embarrassed her party during the campaign by failing to give accurate figures.
Grilled by Iain Dale on LBC, Ms Abbott said Mr Corbyn had met with Sinn Fein before adding: 'I think that his understanding is he met with someone in capacity as activist in Sinn Fein.'
Told there were records of meetings with bombers, Ms Abbott added: 'In 2005 he shared a platform with Raymond McCartney, McCartney was a member of the IRA, I could go on I've got a lot of these things here.'
CORBYN'S IRA MEETINGS In 1984, Corbyn hosted Linda Quigley and Gerard McLoughlin in Parliament. Both were convicted of IRA terrorism. In 1986, Corbyn was arrested as he took part in a protest outside an Old Bailey trial of the Brighton bomber Patrick Magee In 2000 Corbyn shared a platform with Brendan McKenna at an event commemorating Bloody Sunday. He was jailed for a bombing in Portadown. Advertisement
In last night's Andrew Neil interview on BBC One, Mr Corbyn admitted meeting with Sinn Fein activists during the Troubles but said: 'I never met with the IRA.'
Told Mr Corbyn had lied today, Ms Abbott insisted: 'I think we have to distinguish from being on a platform with people and conducting private meetings.'
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson today condemned the senior Labour figures, just 12 days before the general election.
He said: 'Jeremy Corbyn's lies have been exposed by his own shadow home secretary.
'Just hours after Corbyn claimed he had never met the IRA, Diane Abbott says he did and she disgracefully sought to defend it.
Boris Johnson (pictured yesterday outside his official London residence) claimed this afternoon Ms Abott's remarks proved Mr Corbyn was lying about his meetings with the IRA
Mr Johnson (pictured with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson yesterday) said the 'risks of Jeremy Corbyn becoming our Prime Minister are enormous)
'It is increasingly clear that Jeremy Corbyn will make up anything in an attempt to mislead voters. He's pretending he didn't support the IRA, just like he is pretending he won't raise taxes and pretending he will replace our Trident nuclear deterrent.
'The risks of Jeremy Corbyn becoming Prime Minister, in charge of our Brexit negotiations and our security, are enormous.
'And Jeremy Corbyn would make Diane Abbott Home Secretary putting a woman who refused to outlaw al-Qaeda and wants open door immigration in charge of our security and our borders. Only a vote for Theresa May and the Conservatives will stop this happening.'
Mr Corbyn struggled repeatedly during last night's interview with Neil.
The probing was dominated by national security just days after the Manchester bombing.
The Labour leader struggled to explain his soft stance towards the IRA in the 1980s and how he would tackle ISIS given that he has ruled out airstrikes and drone attacks against targets in Iraq and Syria.
The veteran left-winger also refused to commit to cutting immigration, and made clear he still regards Nato, the basis of Western security since the 1940s, as a 'Frankenstein' organisation.
The Labour leader and CND vice-chair floundered as he was pressed during a BBC interview tonight on how his views were compatible with his party's position
In an interview with the BBC's Andrew Neil, Mr Corbyn also struggled to explain his soft stance towards the IRA in the 1980s and how he would tackle ISIS
Mr Corbyn was challenged again and again to say he supported the renewal of Trident, but declined to do so. He has previously said there are no circumstances under which he would use nuclear weapons as PM.
'I voted against the renewal, everybody knows that, because I wanted to go in a different direction. That decision has been taken, I respect that decision,' said Mr Corbyn.
He added: 'It's there in the programme, it's there in the manifesto, it will be carried out... it's the position we are adopting as a party and we will take into government.'
Mr Corbyn said the 'role' of nuclear weapons would be included in a defence review if he wins power on June 8.
Asked whether that meant he could 'ditch' the nuclear deterrent, Mr Corbyn said: 'It will look at the role of nuclear weapons.'
Jeremy Corbyn, pictured with shadow home secretary Diane Abbott (right) and shadow attorney general Baroness Chakrabarti today, previously opposed moves to bar British jihadis from returning to the UK
Mr Corbyn was torn to pieces by Neil as he tried to justify his long history of support for the IRA's cause.
The presenter said: 'You say you didn't support the IRA. But you invited convicted IRA terrorists to tea in the Commons a few weeks after the Brighton bomb which tried to destroy our elected government.
'You stood for a minute's silence to honour your word, Mr Corbyn honour IRA terrorists killed by the British army.
LABOUR LEADER REFUSES TO BACK ISIS DRONE STRIKES Jeremy Corbyn today refused to back the use of drones to find and kill ISIS terrorists. The Labour leader, who has consistently voted against the use of military force and extra security measures, was asked what he would do to root out the terror group. Andrew Neil said: 'You've called for your phrase was 'smarter ways' today to deal with countries harbouring terrorists. 'But you wouldn't put boots on the ground, you wouldn't bomb the terrorists, you wouldn't use drones to take out the terrorist leaders, so what would you do? Would you talk to them?' Mr Corbyn replied: 'No, I wouldn't. Isis doesn't come from nowhere. Isis doesn't get its money from nowhere. 'Isis doesn't get its arms from nowhere. Isis does have a whole lot of connections around the world, financial and others, which I think need to be robustly chased and followed.' Advertisement
'Throughout the '80s and the '90s you spoke at scores of hard-line republican gatherings which backed the IRA and the armed struggle.
Mr Corbyn replied: 'I always wanted and always do want peace, always want a dialogue between people of vastly different backgrounds. And the minute's silence you referred to was in 1987 and it was for all who'd died in Northern Ireland.
Neil pointed out that the purpose of the meeting had in fact been to 'honour' the eight IRA terrorists that had been killed.
Mr Corbyn said: 'I said all those that have died in Northern Ireland. I made that very, very clear.'
Speaking in the Commons in 2014, Jeremy Corbyn (pictured giving a speech in London today) said the government should not be trying to make 'subjective' decisions about who were 'good fighters and bad fighters' in Syria
The presenter pushed Mr Corbyn to say whether at any point he had publicly urged the IRA to give up 'the bomb and the bullet'.
A spluttering Mr Corbyn replied: 'I always said the bombing process would never work - that there wasn't a military solution to be found in Northern Ireland.'
The Labour leader was asked how he would tackle the ISIS threat, given that he 'wouldn't put boots on the ground, you wouldn't bomb the terrorists, you wouldn't use drones to take out the terrorist leaders'.
Mr Corbyn did not dispute the premise of the question, answering: 'Isis doesn't come from nowhere. Isis doesn't get its money from nowhere.
'Isis doesn't get its arms from nowhere. Isis does have a whole lot of connections around the world, financial and others, which I think need to be robustly chased and followed.'
CORBYN HAS NOT CHANGED VIEWS ON 'FRANKENSTEIN' NATO Jeremy Corbyn today said he has not changed his views that Nato is 'a very dangerous Frankenstein of an organisation'. The Labour leader repeatedly refused to disown his previous comments that the military alliance is a 'danger to world peace' that should be 'wound up'. In the excruciating exchange, he refused to give clear backing to the military alliance - seen as the bedrock of Britain's security. Confronting the left-winger over his views on Nato, Andrew Neil said: 'But do you think it's a Frankenstein?' But Mr Corbyn tried to dodge the question, saying simply hat he believes 'all organisations need to be accountable'. Pressing the point, Mr Neil said: 'So have you changed your views on Nato?' But the Labour leader replied, 'what I've done no, no' before trying to duck the question by talking about the history of the military alliance. He was asked directly if he 'would be a committed supporter of Nato as every previous Prime Minister of this country has been?' Mr Corbyn said: 'I will be a committed member of that alliance in order to promote peace, justice, human rights and democracy. 'And I believe that we can make a positive contribution on that.' The Labour leader has previously suggested he would not send British troops to protect a Nato ally. Advertisement
An incredulous Neil said: 'That's it, that's the smarter way?'
Mr Corbyn said: 'Well, that's a good start for doing it.'
There was also a difficult time for Mr Corbyn when Neil raised the fact that 180 of his own MPs had voted no confidence in his leadership.
The presenter quoted MPs including John Woodcock, who previously said he would 'not not countenance ever voting to make Jeremy Corbyn Britain's Prime Minister'.
He also cited former Cabinet minister Alan Johnson's description of him as 'useless, incompetent and incapable'.
'That's the people that know you,' Neil said.
Mr Corbyn said: 'Listen, this Manifesto has been agreed by everyone in our party.'
Neil persisted: 'Why should the voters trust you when so many even of your own MPs don't trust you?'
'I BELIEVE IN A NUCLEAR FREE WORLD': JEREMY CORBYN FAILS TO BACK TRIDENT Jeremy Corbyn refused to back Trident - and said he wants to live in a 'nuclear free world'. The Labour leader, a long-time critic of nuclear and vice chairman of CND, was asked nine times if he does not support Trident - but refused to answer. And he hints that he could scrap Trident if he is voted into Number 10 as the nuclear deterrent will form part of of the party's strategic defence review. His comments will put him on a collision course with his own party who have voted to keep Trident. Challenging him on his position, Andrew Neil said: 'You cannot say you cannot say to the British people tonight that I, Jeremy Corbyn, will support the renewal of Trident, can you?' The Labour leader ducked the question, replying: 'It's there in the programme; it's there in the Manifesto. It will be carried out.' Asked if the defence review will include looking at Trident, he said: 'It will look at the role of nuclear weapons as it will look at everything.' Advertisement
The Labour leader said: 'Well, you could have quite easily got quotes from a number of people who would say positive things.'
Priti Patel, International Development Secretary, accused the Labour leader of trying to wriggle out of his past.
She said: 'Corbyn didn't answer a single question in that interview. He spent half an hour trying to escape from everything he had said and done in his 30 years in politics.
'The fact is he backed the IRA, doesn't support NATO, wouldn't renew Trident, wants to increase immigration and wants to massively increase taxes on working families.'
The exchanges came after Theresa May lashed out at Mr Corbyn for making 'excuses' for terrorists by linking UK foreign policy to the Manchester bombing.
Theresa May said while she had been working with G7 leaders at a summit in Sicily today, Mr Corbyn had shown he was 'not fit' to be in charge of the country
The Prime Minister accused the Labour leader of saying terror attacks are 'our own fault' and condemned him for delivering the controversial speech just four days after the atrocity.
Mrs May said while she had been working with G7 leaders at a summit in Sicily, Mr Corbyn had shown he was 'not fit' to be in charge of the country.
'I want to be very clear about what has been said today,' Mrs May told a press conference at the summit.
'I have been here at the G7 working with other international leaders to fight terrorism.
'At the same time Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks are our own fault.
'He has chosen to do that just a few days after one of the worst terror atrocities we have seen.'
She added: 'There can be no excuse for terrorism. There can be no excuse for what happened in Manchester.'
Star Wars actor John Boyega has been caught up in a bomb scare at London's Old Vic theatre where he is starring in Cold War play Woyzeck.
Stunned onlookers said the 25-year-old Hollywood star was ordered to leave the stage during the drama in Waterloo in the centre of the British capital.
He was spotted 'walking down the street' to an evacuation point with the 1,000-strong audience and other cast members after police rushed everyone out of the Grade II-listed theatre, which first opened in the 1800s.
Officers are said to have raised 'concerns' about an object found in the building with staff in fluorescent jackets flooding the auditorium and calling a halt to the performance 10 minutes in.
Roads were cordond off with emergency vehicles and fire engines in attendance at the scene while police dogs were spotted searching the area.
Boyega has won critical acclaim for his role in Woyzeck and has been described as 'compelling to watch' in the gritty play, which is set in 1980s Berlin.
The Old Vic theatre has been evacuated and police have cordoned off the surrounding roads
Star Wars actor John Boyega, pictured, is playing the lead role in Woyzeck - a play about 1980s Berlin during the Cold War. He was on stage when the bomb incident unfolded
Audience members were left waiting outside after the evacuation just 10 minutes into a production of Woyzeck
More than 1,000 people are thought to have been evacuated from the theatre which was reportedly at full capacity.
Liam Joseph, who was in the audience but is himself an usher, told MailOnline: 'I knew something was up.
'When that [an evacuation] happens it's either a fire drill or it might be a bomb.
'The company manager came on while John Boyega was on stage, asked the audience to remain calm and said the show was going to end. Then the duty manager said 'please evacuate'.
More than 1,000 people are thought to have been evacuated from the theatre which was reportedly at full capacity
The Grade II-listed theatre first opened in the 1800s (stock photo)
'The front of house staff in their fluorescent jackets evacuated everyone out safely and quickly in two or three minutes - it was incredible.
'As we were being evacuated police cordoned off the area.
He added: 'John Boyega was just with us walking down the street. It was all done very efficiently with a real sense of calm but your heart's in your mouth and not many people knew what was going to happen.'
The Old Vic said in a statement: 'We have been evacuated as a precaution; audience safety is our priority. We are liaising with the Met Police.'
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: 'Police were called at 14:38pm on Saturday, May 27, to The Cut, Waterloo, to a report of a security alert at a theatre.
'The theatre took the decision to evacuate the building. Road closures have been put in place. Specialist officers are on the scene.'
Thinking about buying a park home? There are so many operators in Britain that it is sometimes difficult to know where to start. So one way to sample what the industry has to offer is to attend one of the various park shows that are held around the country.
Next month the World of Park & Leisure Homes Show will be held at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire, while in September, the Holiday Park & Homes Show comes to beautiful Beaulieu in Hampshire.
At Stoneleigh Park from June 9 to 11, more than 50 homes from Britains leading manufacturers will be on display, so that visitors can inspect what they will be getting if they sign up to the park-home lifestyle.
Are you thinking of buying a Park Home? The reasonably-priced holiday home start from 75,000
One of the exhibitors will be Haulfryn, which has been selling homes in residential parks for more than 80 years. It now has 15 parks scattered across Kent, Surrey, Dorset, Hertfordshire, Hampshire and Berkshire.
Prices start at 175,000 for a two-bedroom home at Dewlands Park in Dorset. At the other end of the scale, 400,000 will get you a two-bedroom home at Surrey Hills.
Countrywide Park Homes, which will also be exhibiting at Stoneleigh, lives up to its name by having a larger spread of residential parks.
It has sites in Cheshire, Berkshire, the Isle of Wight, Cambridgeshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and Cumbria.
Prices start at 75,000 for a one-bedroom bungalow at Tollerton Park in Nottinghamshire, rising to 324,995 for a two-bedroom bungalow at its Harveys Nurseries park in Berkshire.
In addition to wandering around the various homes, visitors can also talk to exhibitors about park-home insurance and financing, and discuss details about deckings and coatings for your new home.
Park-home manufacturer Tingdene will be displaying at Stoneleigh Park. At the show the company will launch a new version of its Hayden Classic, a 40ft by 20ft home which has vaulted ceilings, a contemporary kitchen-diner, and a master bedroom that has a walk-in wardrobe and an en suite shower room. Tingdene will also be showcasing four of its other homes at the exhibition.
Different parks have different licences, which determine how long you can stay in your park home each year
Tingdene has 12 designs for residential homes which can be lived in all year round and ten for holiday homes. Some of these can be viewed at its visitor centre in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
The indoor showroom has a permanent display of park homes, and visitors can use Tingdenes locate-a-park service to find a site that best suits their needs.
Different parks have different licences, which determine how long you can stay in your park home each year. Residential parks have 12-month licences, so you can stay in your home all year if you wish. If it is your permanent address, you will be charged council tax.
Meanwhile, holiday parks have licences for a maximum of ten months because the homes have different construction standards the park will close at some point during the year for at least two months.
The homes at these sites are holiday or second homes only, and not liable for council tax. But some holiday parks now have 12-month licences, which means that you can stay in your home whenever you want, as long as youre not living there permanently.
Over this Bank Holiday weekend, three Hoburne sites Cotswold in Gloucestershire, and Naish and Bashley in Hampshire will be hosting open days to show off holiday homes in newly developed areas of the parks.
And Shorefield Holidays Merley Court Holiday Park in Dorset has just opened a brand-new spa, restaurant, bar and lounge, just in time for the holiday season.
Pope Francis earned a rapturous reception on a visit to a struggling steel factory in northern Italy on Saturday, where he denounced financial speculators and demanded dignity for working people.
The pontiff addressed several thousand uniformed and hard-hatted workers at the Ilva plant in the northwestern city of Genoa.
He said: 'Without work for all there will not be dignity for all.
The pope was greeted to a raucous reception as he addressed several thousand steel-workers near the city of Genoa
The pontiff denounced financial speculators and said that without work there was no dignity
'The progressive transformation of the entrepreneur into a speculator is an economic illness.
'The speculator is the same as a mercenary who has no company and sees workers only as a means to make profits.'
The assembled gathering responded with applause and cries of 'Francesco, Francesco' as the Argentinian pope blasted the 'faceless' nature of parts of today's economy.
He took questions from several of those gathered, including a CEO and an unemployed woman.
Francis praised the honour and dignity of 'the good worker' and the good boss who would share out the fruits of their respective labours.
He contrasted that with 'speculators' who chase maximum profits at the expense of workers left on the scrapheap, while adding that there were 'few greater joys than those experienced by working.'
In front of the assembled steelworkers the pope blasted the 'faceless' nature of the modern economic system
The Ilva company has been struggling and was nationalized by the Italian government in an attempt to stop job losses
For Francis, who said high joblessness among youth was 'mortgaging the future' of a generation, added: 'Without work one can survive - but to live you need work.'
At the same time, he criticised some sectors including the pornography and gambling industries.
Francis said he saw 'democracy in crisis' in a working environment where many felt in thrall to a society which 'sees only (the value of) consumption and does not understand the value of work and sweat.'
Francis said the high youth unemployment in Italy was 'mortgaging the future' of a generation
The pope also criticized the gambling and pornography industries
The heavily indebted Ilva group was brought under Italian state control two years ago, then nationalised it in an attempt to cut losses and prevent job losses.
Rome is now mulling selling Ilva to steel giant ArcelorMittal, owned by Indian billionaire Lakshmi Mittal.
Pope Francis's own family originate from northern Italy, and the Genoa region was where many Italians departed from as they emigrated to North and South America during the early 20th century.
The pope's family originated from Genoa, in northern Italy, where many Italians emigrated to North and South America from during the early 20th century
This is the painful moment paramedics dropped a pregnant teenager as they transferred her from an ambulance into hospital.
The 16-year-old patient was being lifted out of the ambulance on a stretcher on her way to intensive care in El Carmen hospital in Huancayo, central Peru.
It is unclear why she needed urgent medical attention, but she later gave birth by caesarean section.
Video footage captured at the scene shows a medic losing her grip on the stretcher as a team of four work together to lower the patient from the ambulance.
As the stretcher clattered to the ground the semi-conscious teenager smacked on to the tarmac.
The medics put up the stretcher's telescopic legs, turning it into a high trolley, and attempted to put their patient back on it.
But it seems they had put up the legs incorrectly as the gurney collapsed and the girl took another painful plunge.
Botched job: This is the painful moment paramedics dropped a pregnant teenager as they transferred her from an ambulance into hospital
Ouch: The 16-year-old patient was being lifted out of the ambulance on a stretcher on her way to intensive care in El Carmen hospital in Huancayo, central Peru
Amid much shouting, the medics eventually managed to erect the trolley properly and wheel the patient into the hospital.
Director of El Carmen hospital, Manuel Adrian Acosta, said that the patient, whose name was not revealed, is in the intensive care unit.
Her baby was born by C-section without problems.
The young mother had been waiting inside the ambulance for more than 40 minutes because medical staff had refused to attend her despite her serious condition, local media reported.
Mr Acosta denied these allegations and said that the patient was treated according to protocol.
Painful plunge: Video footage captured at the scene shows a medic losing her grip on the stretcher as a team of four work together to lower the patient from the ambulance
Neighbours have spoken of their fears after a man's body was found inside an abandoned wheelie bin on a nature strip in suburban Melbourne.
A garbage collector noticed the body when he emptied the bin, after collecting it at the intersection of Young and Butler streets in Preston, in Melbourne's north-east, shortly after 8am on Saturday.
Residents on Butler Street told 9 News the bin appeared on Thursday evening, four days before the scheduled rubbish pick up on Monday night.
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Neighbours have spoken of their fears after a man's body was found inside an abandoned wheelie bin on a nature strip in suburban Melbourne. Pictured is the garbage collector who discovered the body
The garbage collector noticed the body when he emptied the bin, after collecting it at the intersection of Young and Butler streets in Preston, in Melbourne 's north-east, shortly after 8am on Saturday
The residents reportedly lifted the lid but only saw the garbage on top and called the local council to have it removed.
Detective Sgt Mark Butterworth said: 'As the driver was emptying the wheelie bin into the truck he's observed what appeared to be a body.'
Det Sgt Butterworth said the bin wasn't from the immediate area where the rubbish pickup was made.
The garbage collector spoke with officers after finding the body and was reportedly 'quite distressed'.
Residents said the bin (pictured) appeared on Thursday evening, four days before the scheduled rubbish pick up on Monday night. They opened it but only saw rubbish on the top, before calling the council to collect it
One of the local residents, a young boy (pictured) told 9 News: 'It's really scary, it will be hard to sleep tonight'
The bin was not council-delegated and is not owned by any neighbouring properties.
One girl told 9 News: 'We drove past it (the bin) about 15 minutes before the police actually discovered it.'
Another boy said: 'It's really scary, it will be hard to sleep tonight.'
One neighbour admitted the suburb has an element of 'dubiousness' as it is full of housing commission properties, the Herald Sun reported.
Detective Sgt Mark Butterworth said: 'As the driver was emptying the wheelie bin into the truck he's observed what appeared to be a body'
Forensic police removed the man's body from the bin after eight hours at the scene.
Police are yet to determine the man's identity and would not comment on the condition of his body.
The cause of death is also yet to be determined.
Police are attempting to obtain CCTV footage from home owners on the street and have asked anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
The bin was not council-delegated and is not owned by any neighbouring properties
A Minnesota woman is speaking out against Delta Airlines and a Guatemalan airport and claiming her eight-month-old puppy was held captive for 33 hours because the airline lost her paperwork.
Mary Nguyen, a 25-year-old student living in Minneapolis, decided to relocate her German Shepherd named Bunny to Guatemala so he could live with her husband, Santi Sanchez, reported CBS News.
To make sure her pup would arrive safely, she went through the long and expensive process of getting the proper paperwork in order so he would arrive safely.
A Minnesota woman is speaking out against Delta Airlines and a Guatemalan airport and claiming her eight-month-old puppy was held captive for 33 hours because the airline lost her paperwork
The process included driving to Wisconsin to have the paperwork endorsed, and paying Pet Air Carrier $3,000 to transport her on the flight, according to MarketWatch.
However, after arriving in Guatemala, Nguyen claims Delta misplaced the hard copy of the paperwork, and would not release Bunny from custody until another copy was delivered to them.
'They have all the documents they need on their scratch pad to release her but refuse to do so without the hard copy that they lost,' she told CBS on Friday.
'The document has been in their possession the whole time since I've surrendered my dog over and now they won't release my dog due to documents that they lost,' she explained.
Bunny left Minneapolis at 5.25pm on May 24, and was finally released from custody into her owners' loving arms late Friday evening.
Nguyen told Marketwatch it took 33 hours for Bunny to finally be released, and alleges Delta agents said she had to pay an additional $3,000 before Sanchez could pick the dog up.
Once Bunny was back at home, her owner posted a photo to Instagram, saying: 'THANK YOU EVERYONE! Bunny has been released from @delta and we're just waiting to be given the okay to be able to take her home now. Bunny's got several open wounds on her, we will be taking her to a vet the minute we can'
Once Bunny was back at home, her owner posted a photo to Instagram, saying: 'THANK YOU EVERYONE! Bunny has been released from @delta and we're just waiting to be given the okay to be able to take her home now. Bunny's got several open wounds on her, we will be taking her to a vet the minute we can.'
According to MarketWatch, the reason moving Bunny to Guatemala was so complicated is because most countries require vaccination records and a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection.
Additionally, due to the fact Bunny weighs 72lbs, the dog required a specific type of crate which is only permitted on certain planes.
Donald Trump's chief economic and national security aides claimed Saturday that allegations of his administration's improper relationship with Russia did not follow him across the Atlantic ocean to Italy's G7 summit.
The president's son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak reportedly discussed establishing a secret communications backchannel so U.S. authorities couldn't monitor their conversations.
During a Saturday press briefing near the Sicilian town where the president has been participating in talks with other industrialized economic superpowers, DailyMail.com asked Gen. H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn whether Trump's fellow world leaders were concerned enough about the story's implications to ask him about it.
After exchanging glances with McMaster, Cohn strode to the microphone.
'No,' he said.
'Not even once?' DailyMail.com probed.
'It hasn't,' Cohn replied.
Chief economic adviser Gary Cohn (right) and National Security Advisor H.r. McMaster (left) briefed reporters Saturday in Italy but insisted no one at the G7 cared enough about Jared Kushner's newest Russia-link story to ask the preisdent about it
Kushner (center) is Trump's son-in-law and a trusted adviser. He's pictured last weekend in saudi Arabia with the president, Steve Bannon (right) and Cohn (2nd right)
The G7 leaders met for two days in the town of Taormina and addressed everything from global warming to terrorism
As Cohn and McMaster deflected incoming questions about Kushner on Saturday, a TV monitor to their left facing reporters played CNN stories about the controversy.
'KUSHNER SOUGHT "SECRET" LINE TO KREMLIN,' the program's on-screen chyron read.
DailyMail.com motioned to Cohn to look to the TV monitor, indicating that the story was evolving with or without him. He didn't shift his gaze.
Pressed further by a crush of other reporters, he threw up his hands and erected an impenetrable border wall between himself and further questions.
'We're not going to comment on Jared. We're just not going to comment,' Cohn insisted.
Cohn said he and McMaster have attended 'the vast majority' of the meetings Trump has held during the G7 summit.
Earlier in Saturday's press briefing, McMaster shut down another reporter's inquiry, saying: 'I'm not prepared to talk about it.'
The general referred the journalist to Sean Spicer, the president's press secretary, who indicated from 20 feet away that he wouldn't be fielding questions.
Kushner (left), and Russias ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak (right), discussed establishing a secret back-channel in order to avoid having their communications detected by U.S. authorities
Kushner, shown sitting between Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) and McMaster (right), is married to Trump's elder daughter Ivanka
Trump's communications retinue has sought to avoid questions outside the tightly circumscribed limits of his agenda in Italy economics, jobs, national security and counter terrorism.
But even as Moscow dismissed reports that Kislyak lured Kushner into an unaccountable, off-the-books diplomatic relationship, the subject has been the inescapable background radiation of the G7's universe since the president arrived Thursday night.
McMaster, who as National Security Advisor is closer to the heart of the continuing claims of illict Russia links, pleaded ignorance.
'It's not something that I've in any way been involved with,' he said of The Washington Post's report about Kushner, who is also reportedly under an FBI microscope.
But speaking generally, he said, the idea of a National Security Council aide seeking out a communications back-channel with Moscow wouldn't automatically concern him.
'No,' he said. 'I mean, we have back-channel communications with any number of governments.' McMaster said such arrangements allow for a 'discreet' back and forth.
Then he gamely offered: 'I'm happy to talk about anything on the trip.'
McMaster punted questions about Kushner to White House press secretary Sean Spicer (pictured with sunglasses), but Spicer indicated that he wouldn't be doing any Q&A
The meeting at Trump Tower between Kushner and Kislyak was also attended by retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn (above), according to The Washington Post and Flynn was later fired from the job McMaster holds now
Cohn said that 'Russia, as a country, came up a lot' in discussions with the other G7 powers, discussions that would be reflected in the official 'communique' that the nations will release collaboratively.
But Kushner?
'That never came up.'
'There's a section in the official communique talking about Russia,' he said, while declaring that 'Russia never came up in the bilats' the one-on-one 'bilateral' discussions between Trump and his six counterparts.
Cohn made clear that the tense subject, low on the list of items he and McMaster wanted to address, was never top-of-mind with the president as he swung through Saudi Arabia, Israel, Vatican City, Brussels and now southern Italy.
'The president since he left Washington has been dealing with foreign leaders, has been dealing with jobs, has been dealing with economic growth, has been dealing with diplomacy, has been dealing with unfair trade, has been dealing with Paris, has been dealing with China,' Cohn told reporters.
'His agenda has been overflowing. He has been fully consumed with what's going on here.'
'It's not like he's not involved with what's going on in the United States,' Cohn clarified. 'He is. But this issue that you're talking to the general about is not one that he's spending time with on this trip.'
First home buyers are starting to muscle their way into the property market in greater numbers.
Those wanting to get a foot on the property ladder in Sydney have been outbidding investors in recent weeks to snare their own piece of real estate.
In the city's western suburbs of Parramatta and Blacktown, first home buyer sales have jumped by up to 30 per cent in the past six months, realestate.com.au reported.
First home buyers are now making up a greater proportion of property purchasers in some suburbs of Sydney's west (stock image)
First home buyers have surged by 30 per cent in some Sydney suburbs, with investors no longer as prevalent as they were (stock image)
Agents are reporting investors are no longer as dominant in the market as they once were, with first-home buyers the beneficiaries.
'A year back investors were buying almost all of our stock, particularly homes with development potential,' First National Real Estate's Wayne Gay said.
'That's changed. Now we're finding only one in 10 of our sales are going to investors. Before it was seven in 10.'
Recent property sales in Sydney's west include a two-bed unit in Northmead which was purchased by a 24-year-old nurse, despite intense competition from investors.
Earlier this month, Treasurer Scott Morrison confirmed a salary sacrificing scheme for first home buyers in this year's Federal Budget.
'First home buyers will be able to save for a deposit by salary sacrificing into their superannuation account,' Mr Morrison said when handing down the Budget.
First home buyers can now save for a deposit for a property through salary sacrifice, under changes announced by the government in this year's Federal Budget (stock image)
The scheme will have the same tax advantages as superannuation and savers will not need to open a new account.
'They can just use their existing super account and decide how much of their income they want to put aside to save for their first home deposit,' he said.
The contributions will be limited to $30,000 per person.
Jeremy Corbyn called for cuts to the British Armed Forces while soldiers were fighting and dying in Afghanistan in 2010, new video has revealed.
The Labour leader made the extraordinary demand while he was an obscure backbencher speaking at a rally protesting cuts planned by the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition led by David Cameron.
Mr Corbyn, who led the Stop the War coalition, urged people at the rally to oppose all cuts to public spending - except those on the military, where he said there should be 'more cuts'.
The new revelations will fuel Tory warnings that Mr Corbyn cannot be trusted with Britain's national security if he wins power in 12 days time.
Mr Corbyn (pictured today taking his campaign to Hackney, London) has been dogged during the election campaign by claims he would weaken national security
Mr Corbyn has spent decades on the fringes of his party and internal division over the Armed Forces has fuelled some of the most furious opposition to his leadership.
Earlier in the campaign the Labour leader insisted he was not a pacifist but could only point to peacekeeping operations as British missions he had supported since 1945.
He opposed defending the Falklands in 1982, liberating Kuwait in 1990-1991, the British fight against genocide in Kosovo, as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The newly revealed remarks were made in October 2010, one of the bloodiest years for British soldiers in the battle against the Taliban.
While still an obscure backbencher, Mr Corbyn addressed the 'Stop the ConDem Cuts' rally and said: 'Join every campaign. Fight all the cuts.
'Except those in the Armed Forces. Where we want to see a few more cuts taking place.
'And no more nuclear weapons.'
Mr Corbyn has repeatedly been forced to defend himself against claims he is a threat to the Armed Forces and Britain's security.
A long time critic of the nuclear deterrent, he has suggested he could scrap Trident in a defence review if he wins on June 8.
And interviewed by the BBC's Andrew Neil last night he refused to back down from warnings that the Nato alliance, the bedrock of Britain's security for decades, is a threat to 'world peace'.
A Conservative source said: 'Yesterday Jeremy Corbyn was pretending he is on the side of our armed forces, but this video reveals the truth he would cut them to the bone and wants to scrap Trident if he becomes Prime Minister.
'As this video makes clear, our brave servicemen and women will be first in line for the axe to pay for Corbyn's obsession with reckless spending.'
A spokesman for Mr Corbyn said: 'As the Institute for Fiscal Studies has confirmed, the Conservative manifesto will ensure cuts to public services for years to come.
'In Government, Labour will spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence, renew Trident and end austerity to build a Britain for the many, not the few.'
Beijing will continue to increase the supply of rental housing in the next five years, during which 1,300 hectares of land will be supplied for 500,000 sets of rental housing.
The rental houses, which will be mostly built on collectively-owned land, will be rented in bulk at market price by the municipal government and then offered to low-income families at affordable housing prices with a term of ten years. The government will fill the gap in price.
On May 24, a total of 927 sets of rental housing in Tangjialing of Haidian District, which are of the first batch of pilot projects, was officially opened to low-income families in the district for on-site house selection and contract signing.
Since 2011, Beijing has rolled out pilot project of rental housing on five collectively-owned areas, providing 12,800 rental houses to staff working at nearby industrial parks, migrant workers and urban low-income families.
Schapelle Corby, her sister and bodyguard booked themselves on business class flights and were said to be travelling with electric wheelchairs, Daily Mail Australia can reveal.
But the convicted drug smuggler ended up switching flights at the last minute to travel home on budget airline Malindo Air, dodging the 40 reporters who had booked seats on the Virgin flight.
However, the booking details for Corby, her sister Mercedes and their bodyguard John McLeod's original flights reveal they cost $3,369.75.
The booking shows that all three were travelling with their own electric wheelchairs on board, although it is not clear why.
It also notes that the convicted drug smuggler requested a vegetarian or vegan meal and that is apparently vision-impaired.
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Schapelle Corby, her sister and bodyguard booked themselves on business class flights and were said to be travelling with electric wheelchairs
Corby shared a picture of the view from her seat on her flight moments before takeoff
Mercedes Corby shared a picture revealing she and her sister had switched flights last minute to fly using a budget airline
But neither Corby nor her sister travelled on the 10.10pm flight, opting instead to fly with Malindo Air, whose jet was departing from the gate next door.
Although her Virgin Australia boarding pass had already been issued, noting that she was in Seat 1A, Mercedes then revealed on her Instagram page that the pair were not on the flight.
'And we are off, Aus early morning!' she wrote, along with a picture showing two boarding passes for the budget airline.
And while the Corby family raised concerns about the media frenzy surrounding the convicted drug smuggler's deportation, her siblings were spotted filming the chaos.
Mercedes accompanied her from her Kuta villa to the parole office in Denpasar, filming the scrum as they left on her phone.
Schapelle Corby is seen in the immigration holding area before boarding her flight to Brisbane on Saturday night
Corby's boarding pass (pictured) for the 10.10pm Virgin flight from Denpasar to Brisbane shows she is sitting in 1A
Schapelle Corby's emergency passport is pictured as she boards a flight home almost 13 years after her 2004 arrest
Later, as Corby shielded her face with a shawl and sunglasses while police escorted her into a van to go to the airport, Mercedes was again spotted snapping away.
Meanwhile, their brother Michael donned a bizarre old man mask and climbed up on a ledge to take pictures of the crowds outside the villa compound before Corby's departure.
And while Corby hid her face from cameras, she couldn't help updating her new Instagram followers with pictures and videos from her journey home.
She shared footage of the heavy police presence and crowds of reporters as she arrived at the parole office for the final time.
Schapelle Corby and her sister Mercedes are seen going through a security screening at Denpasar Airport on Saturday
Schapelle Corby is escorted to her car by police officers outside the parole office in Denpasar
'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby,' Corby wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie with her sister Mercedes taken inside the van as she made her way to the airport in Denpasar.
She hid her face behind sunglasses and covered her hair with a shawl, but brandished her handbag in the air as she left her Bali home.
The handbag featured a photograph of a missing Australian boy with the words 'Where's William Tyrrell?' written on it.
He was three when he disappeared from his grandmother's yard Kendall, NSW, on September 12, 2014.
United Airlines has managed to make headlines again regarding their treatment of passengers.
The airline apologized to Henry Amador-Batten, a gay father, who was flying with his son to their North Carolina home last Saturday.
Flight attendants on the United flight from Newark to Raleigh-Durham accused Amador-Batten of inappropriately touching his son.
The attendants told police they saw a male passenger with his hands resting 'near the genitals' of a boy, according to CNN. The 53-year-old father was then questioned by police once the flight landed.
United Airlines apologized to Henry Amador-Batten (right), a gay father, who was flying with his son to North Carolina last Saturday. Flight attendants claimed the dad inappropriately touched his son (center). Also pictured is Amador-Batten's husband, Joel (left)
Flight attendants on the flight from Newark to Raleigh told police they saw a male passenger with his hands resting 'near the genitals' of a boy. The 53-year-old father (pictured) was then questioned by police once the flight landed
He told authorities that his son was afraid of flying and that he had his hand on the boy's lap to help him feel secure and go to sleep, according to CNN.
'This is not how anyone deserves to be treated,' Amador-Batten's husband, Joel, wrote in a Facebook post for their gay parenting blog DADsquared.
'This is not something that should have happened in front of my son. This is not something that anyone should have to worry about happening to them on a flight just because someone might not like the looks of them,' the post read.
Amador-Batten and his husband called the incident 'mean-spirited and completely unacceptable,' on Facebook.
Joel Amador-Batten wrote Thursday that the couple wanted to share their story so that people will refrain from making 'despicable allegations without regard for the potentially far-reaching legal ramifications of being accused of something so heinous as impropriety with one's own child'.
Florida-based attorney, Kenneth Padowitz, who is representing the Amador-Batten family, told CNN he was considering filing a lawsuit against United over their 'outrageous conduct', adding that the public is 'sick and tired of being treated like this by airlines'.
In a statement to CNN, United apologized for the incident calling it a 'misunderstanding'.
'In this instance, the crew believed it was appropriate to ask authorities to meet the plane and interview the customer.
He told authorities that his son was afraid of flying and that he had his hand on the boy's lap to help him feel secure and go to sleep. 'This is not how anyone deserves to be treated,' Amador-Batten's husband, Joel (left) wrote on Facebook
United Airlines (file) apologized for the 'misunderstanding'. 'Our customers should always be treated with the utmost respect and we have followed up with our customer to apologize for the misunderstanding'
'After speaking with the customer, authorities determined that no further action was necessary. Our customers should always be treated with the utmost respect and we have followed up with our customer to apologize for the misunderstanding,' the statement read.
In another Facebook post, Joel Amador-Batten wrote that they 'will not give anyone the benefit of the doubt when it comes to protecting our family from accusations of things as disgusting as pedophilia'.
In the last month, several incidents have been reported on United flights, the most notorious occurred when police violently drug Dr David Dao off a flight, leaving him with a concussion and broken nose, among other injuries.
Earlier this month, passengers reported being attacked by a scorpion that caused a flight to evacuate and another passenger received a five-figure compensation pay out after her giant bunny froze to death on its way to America while traveling with United.
Eighth grade students at Tomball High School in Texas have made a dying wish from their cancer-stricken teacher, Michelle Wistrand (pictured) a reality
Four eighth grade students have made a dying wish from their cancer-stricken teacher a reality.
The students at Tomball Junior High in Texas helped their teacher, Michelle Wistrand, who learned she has about two years to live, with a bucket list trip to California.
The children created a Gofundme page and held other fundraising events around the town, raising more than $3500 in one day and $11,000 in total.
'$11,000! Who does that for a teacher?'Wistrand told KHOU.
'The fact that 8th grade students would look beyond themselves these kids are awesome.'
In 2015, doctors told Wistrand she had a tumor in her back and was suffering from Leiomyosarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue. The teacher went through chemotherapy, missing a lot of her classes, but still making it a point to return once she had finished treatment.
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The students helped Wistrand, who learned she has about two years to live after her cancer diagnosis, with a bucket list trip to California by raising $11,000
Four of the students in her English Arts class raised the money through donations and selling T-shirts labelled, 'Together we can Wistrand Anything'. Wistrand (center) is pictured with the four students Colton Richard, Mickey Nolen, Amanda Skivington and Alana Lee (left to right)
In February, her doctors told her the cancer had now spread to her lungs and other parts of her body and she had between two and five years to live.
She broke the news to her students, including those in her English Arts class.
Upon realizing the topic had made them gloomy, she changed the subject and began talking of her bucket list instead.
'My goal is to end up in the redwoods and hug a tree,'said Wistrand.
'She started crying right then and were like, "Wow, this is something greater than us, Nolen told KHOU about Wistrand's reaction hearing the news about the trip. 'It feels really good'
'Thats what I want to do. I want to stand below a redwood and just think about how amazing things are.
' It just kind of puts it all in perspective: how little we are in comparison to the great works that God has created.'
Little did she know that four of her students, Mickey Nolen, Alana Lee, Amanda Skivington and Colton Richard, began planning to make her wish come true. After class, they huddled together to discuss how they could raise $7500 to help their teacher.
People bought their t-shirts, labelled 'Together We Can Wistrand Anything' and others gave through the Gofundme page they had created.
For the kids, their teacher's reaction was priceless.
'She started crying right then and were like, "Wow, this is something greater than us, Nolen told KHOU. 'It feels really good.'
Wistrand will retire in June, at the end of the academic year, and plans to travel to California, the Midwest and Florida, KHOU reported.
Jiguang Yang, 68, was arrested and charged with assault and battery on Friday
A chef caught on camera yanking the ponytail of a waitress who questioned him has been arrested.
Jiguang Yang, 68, was arrested and charged with third degree assault and battery on Friday in connection with the shocking incident, which happened last month at Red Bowl Asian Bistro in Columbia, South Carolina.
Yang, a Chinese citizen, is a chef at the Asian fusion restaurant, which his son owns.
'The food was burnt, it was a kids meal,' waitress Cristina Surina told WIS-TV, explaining how the dramatic incident began in the restaurant kitchen on April 19.
Yang was caught on tape yanking waitress Cristina Surina to the ground by her ponytail
''I didn't feel like I should take out a child burnt chicken nuggets and fried shrimp,' said waitress Cristina Surina, explaining how the incident unfolded
'I didn't feel like I should take out a child burnt chicken nuggets and fried shrimp. I asked the owner. He was in the kitchen at that time to remake it,' Surina said.
'I turned around to start pouring ketchup for the kids' meal and when I was pouring ketchup, his dad came behind me and snatched my head down and I don't know what happened after that.'
Surina said that she had worked at the restaurant for over five years, using the income to support her children and make house payments.
She is now unemployed after coming forward to police about the incident, she said.
Yang is currently free on a personal recognizance bond of $2,125.
The aging chef now fears deportation, his lawyer told WIS.
'This is a very serious charge,' attorney Victor Li said.
'What makes this worse is there is a lot at stake. His family has done very well in the community. We are very worried about deportation with the political climate.'
A Queensland miner who was found with 11.37g of pure meth during one of three police raids was so addicted he had to buy the substance in bulk.
On Thursday Dale Chris Bauer pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Rockhampton to a string of charges including drug possession, possessing weapons, drug utensils, property suspected to be used in the process of crime, explosives and restricted drugs, the Gladstone Observer reported.
Bauer, who had been made redundant from his job, is a father a five who had become a solo parent after his first partner died in a car accident in 1997.
Gladstone miner Chris Bauer was found with 11.37g of pure meth during one of three raids
Chris Bauer pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Rockhampton to a string of charges
His Gladstone home was raided three times in 2016, which led to the charges as well as the four breaches of bail.
Mobile phones, a pipe, scales, 10 diazepam tablets, $5,800 cash, a taser, a knuckle-duster and ammunition was found by police during these raids.
Defence barrister Stephen Kissick said his client worked for BHP for 11 years, but stopped when his partner died, along with his friend who was killed on a mine site and his granddad.
He went back to work three years later and left his daughter in the care of a grandparent.
Before he was made redundant in 2015 while working at Blackwater he had two more relationships which resulted in three more children. His current partner gave birth to his fifth child six months ago.
Bauer received a $110,000 redundancy package, as well as a $3,200 fortnightly income protection payout following a shoulder injury.
Bauer received a $110,000 redundancy package which he used to fund his meth habit
Mr Kissick said Bauer used the money to use meth in which he would smoke or inject 1g a day until he was incarcerated.
He also would sell boats and other items to fund his habit.
'You threw away lots of money,' Justice Duncan McMeekin said when handing down the sentence.
'To an extent, you threw away your life.'
The judge mentioned Bauer had not come to the attention of the courts for over 10 years although his criminal history began when he was 17.
He was handed a sentence of 18 months in prison with immediate parole and declared 82 days pre-sentence custody.
Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte has stepped up bombing raids on pro-ISIS militants in an attempt to end a siege that has raged for five days.
Armed forces helicopters fired guided rockets at Islamist militant positions on Saturday in the southern city of Marawi.
The use for the first time of the heavy firepower came amid growing confidence that the location of the man believed to be the leader of the Islamic State-inspired fighters, Isnilon Hapilon, has been pinpointed in the city.
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Smoke rises from houses following airstrikes by Philippine Air Force bombers on Islamist militant positions in the southern city of Marawi
It comes as peace talks between the Philippine government and communist insurgents have broken down after a dispute over the rebels' ordering their fighters to step up attacks.
Speaking about the Marawi conflict Major General Carlito Galvez, who heads the military command in the Western Mindanao region, said: 'We are trying to use our maximum force.
'The main purpose of the offensive is to suppress the lawlessness and to maintain normalcy in Marawi so that our people here, our countrymen, can return, especially by Ramadan.'
Ramadan, Islam's month of fasting and prayer, began on Saturday and has special significance in Marawi, which has a predominantly Muslim population in a largely Catholic country.
An OV-10 bomber flies to drop bombs during a continuous assault with insurgents
Duterte declared martial law over the southern third of the country on Tuesday to quell the fighting.
The Maute rebels' hold of Marawi City and the government's announcement that Indonesians and Malaysians were among the fighters has raised alarm about the prospect of Islamic State's radical ideology gaining traction Southeast Asia.
The Maute have emerged from the glut of bandit and separatist groups in the southern Philippines and are a tactically smart, social media savvy group eager to align with Islamic State militants.
A city of 200,000 people, Marawi is mostly deserted, with officials saying '80-90 per cent' of the population has been evacuated.
A city of 200,000 people, Marawi is mostly deserted, with officials saying '80-90 per cent' of the population has been evacuated
Islamic State's Amaq news agency claimed responsibility for the Marawi unrest, although that came more than a day after it started. The military says Maute has yet to be endorsed by Islamic State, or ISIS, as one of its affiliates.
The militants have control of some government buildings, including a jail, which was seized on Tuesday, leading to the escape of more than 100 prisoners, including some Maute members.
'I saw them near the highway. I saw ISIS there. I could tell because they wore black headbands with the ISIS signs,' said one man fleeing Marawi by foot, who identified himself as Musa.
'They were also riding around my area on motorcycles.'
Jo-Ar Herrera, a military spokesman, said 41 militants had been killed, with 10 more deaths after heavy fighting on Friday. Two more soldiers died, bringing the total of those killed in action to 13. Forty-five military personnel had been wounded.
Asked whether the military had located the whereabouts of Hapilon in Marawi, Herrera answered 'yes'.
The militants have control of some government buildings, including a jail
'They can run but they can't hide,' he said, adding that it was only a matter of time before Hapilon is captured or killed.'
Hapilon, a leader of another Mindanao-based rebel group Abu Sayyaf, pledged allegiance to Islamic State last year and has formed an alliance with Maute. The military says he is still wounded from a January air strike and the fierce Maute resistance is aimed at protecting him.
According to Philippines Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Hapilon received $2 million from Syria to fund his campaign in Mindanao.
Sidney Jones, a regional security expert, said it was not clear that Hapilon was calling the shots in Marawi. Abdullah Maute, one of two brothers that formed Maute, may be setting the overall strategy.
'He's smarter, and the fighters are on his territory. So no, Hapilon's death would not cripple the movement,' Jones said.
Meanwhile communist negotiators remained hopeful that discussions with the Philippines government being held at the Dutch seaside resort town of Noordwijk aan Zee would continue, despite a suspension announced by government negotiators.
Philippines Presidential Advisers on the Peace Process Jesus G. Dureza and Silvestre H. Bello III are pictured during peace talks with the NDF organised by the Dutch government in the Dutch town of Noordwijk aan Zee in April
The two sides had just opened formal talks when chief government negotiator Jesus Dureza objected to the communists' telling guerillas to intensify attacks in response to President Rodrigo Duterte's declaration of martial law in parts of the country.
'The government panel is now left without any other recourse but to announce... that it will not proceed to participate in the fifth round of peace negotiations,' he said.
He added that talks would not resume until there were indications of an 'environment conducive to achieving just and sustainable peace'.
The communist insurgency in the poverty-stricken Asian country which began in 1968 is one of the longest running in the world. It has claimed an estimated 30,000 lives, according to the military.
Peace talks have been conducted on and off for 30 years, and were revived after Duterte, a self-declared socialist, was elected president last year.
A list of prisoner's names found on he body of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis proves he could have been planning to get out of the Lindt cafe alive, a coroner said.
At the siege inquest Coroner Michael Barnes said the list, which contained names and identification numbers of prisoners at Long Bay Correctional Complex, suggested Monis had already made contact with prisoners in case he was arrested, reported the Daily Telegraph.
'Monis had established a connection with at least three of these men while he was remanded in custody in April-May 2014,' Coroner Barnes said.
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A list of prisoner's names found on he body of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis (pictured) proves he could have been planning to get out of the Lindt cafe alive, a coroner said
At the siege inquest Coroner Michael Barnes (pictured) said the list, which contained names and identification numbers of prisoners at Long Bay Correctional Complex, suggested Monis had already made contact with prisoners in case he was arrested
'Whether or not he intended to come out of the siege alive, it seems that Monis had prepared for the possibility of capture by compiling a list of prisoners he could contact if he ended up in jail.'
On Wednesday, Coroner Barnes handed down his inquest findings into the December 2014 siege and said the decision to only enter the cafe after a hostage had been shot was 'appropriate'.
But NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said after Tori Johnson was executed, police rushed in with 'no idea' where gunman Man Haron Monis was and had no 'control'.
'It would've been one of the most dangerous times to go in,' he told the ABC's Four Corners.
On Wednesday, coroner Michael Barnes handed down his inquest findings into the siege (pictured) and said the decision to only enter the cafe after a hostage had been shot was 'appropriate'
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said after Tori Johnson was shot, police rushed in with 'no idea' where gunman Man Haron Monis was and had no 'control'
'We need to have gone in at a time when there was some sense of control, rather than us going in having no idea where he possibly was, no idea where the other hostages were'.
Monis fired a shot into the air just after 2am on December 16 after he had forced Mr Johnson to his knees.
Commissioner Barnes said police should have been sent in after that first shot to try and save all the hostages.
Cafe manager Tori Johnson (right) and Sydney barrister Katrina Dawson (left) were killed as the Martin Place stand-off came to a horrific end in the early hours of December 16
Commissioner Barnes said police should have been sent in after that first shot to try and save all the hostages
Mr Johnson was shot in the back of the head and killed by Monis 13 minutes later.
'In hindsight with everything we know now, we certainly should have gone in earlier,' he told the program.
Mr Barnes told the inquest the police bravery during the siege 'inspired awe,' but called for NSW police to review its siege response training after failing to answer four phone calls made within 30 minutes because they were in a 'handover briefing'.
'This was a significant failure in basic siege management,' he said.
Katrina Dawson's parents, Alexander and Jane, are pictured arriving at court on Wednesday
In handing down his findings on police response, the magistrate said snipers positioned in Martin Place should not be criticised for failing to shoot Monis before he killed Mr Johnson.
'The snipers could not have safely resolved the siege,' he told the inquest.
He said police were wrongly under the impression Monis had a bomb inside the cafe.
After the siege, Monis was shot by specialist police who stormed the stronghold 17 hours after he walked into the building with a shotgun.
Mr Barnes said there was 'considerable controversy' over what made police decide to storm in, but confirmed the primary trigger was the death of a hostage.
'In my view, those triggers were appropriate,' he told the inquest.
Mr Barnes told the inquest the police bravery during the siege 'inspired awe,' but called for NSW police to review its siege response training after failing to answer four phone calls
Lindt cafe hostages Louisa Hope (left) and Paolo Vassallo (right) were both at the inquest to hear the findings
'I conclude that the commanders had insufficient guidance to help them assess whether the secondary intangible trigger, the imminent risk of Monis' killing or injuring a hostage, had escalated to a point where it outweighed the risk associated with a forced entry'.
Mr Barnes also found questionable advice from a psychiatrist caused police to underestimate the threat of Monis.
He described the unnamed consultant psychiatrist's role advising police on tactics during the December 2014 siege as 'suboptimal'.
'He made erroneous and unrealistic assessments of what was occurring in the stronghold,' Mr Barnes said.
'He gave ambiguous advice. And he was permitted to go beyond his area of expertise to give advice about Islamic terrorism'.
Mr Barnes called on the NSW Police to consider expanding the number of psychological advisers it uses as consultants and introduce clear policies for any that are called on to assist in future.
Having a diverse panel of experts available would help reduce the chances of any single psychological adviser going outside their area of expertise, he said, and provide siege responders access to more reliable information.
Ms Dawson's parents, Alexander and Jane, were seen clutching each other's hands as they arrived at the inquest on Wednesday morning to hear the findings
After the siege, gunman Man Haron Monis was shot by specialist police who stormed the stronghold 17 hours after he walked into the building with a shotgun
Hillary Clinton has claimed she defeated Donald Trump in last year's presidential election.
Clinton, who received almost three million more votes than her reality television host opponent, was denied the presidency because she lost the electoral college count 304 to 227.
But the 69-year-old made the claim in a New York Magazine piece in which she discussed everything from sexism and voter suppression to James Comey costing her the White House, the country 'stalling' under Trump, and Russia's 'attack' on American democracy.
Clinton started by dismissing the notion the election was won because of anger, which both Trump and Bernie Sanders, her opponent in the Democratic primary, tapped into.
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Hillary Clinton has claimed she defeated Donald Trump in last year's presidential election
'I beat both of them,' Clinton said, after saying anger is not 'a good strategy for most people'.
'You can't be angry for yourself. You just can't. You can be indignant, you can be annoyed, you can be frustrated, but you can't be angry I don't think anger's a strategy,' she told the magazine.
The former Secretary of State then turned her attention to Comey's ousting from the FBI by Trump.
'I am less surprised than I am worried,' she said.
'Not that he shouldn't have been disciplined. And certainly the Trump campaign relished everything that was done to me in July and then particularly in October.
'Having said that, I think what's going on now is an effort to derail and bury the Russia inquiry, and I think that's terrible for our country.'
Clinton received almost 2.9 million more votes than Trump, but was denied the presidency because she lost the electoral college count 304 to 227
'I beat both of them,' Clinton (pictured on November 9) said in reference to Trump and Bernie Sanders
Clinton then said the response from elected officials in Washington to Russia's efforts to impact the election and sway it in Trump's favor will be remembered for a long time.
'(History) will judge whoever's in Congress now as to how they respond to what was an attack on our country,' she told New York Magazine.
'It wasn't the kind of horrible, physical attack we saw on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor, but it was an attack by an aggressive adversary who had been probing for many years to figure out how to undermine our democracy, influence our politics, even our elections.
'Left unchecked this will not just bite Democrats, or me; this will undermine our electoral system.'
The 69-year-old also described to the magazine how she knew on November 8 the race with Trump was close, but she thought she would 'gut it out' and win.
'I was as surprised as anybody when I started getting returns, she said.
'Because thats not what anybody - with a couple of outliers - saw in the data. And the feel was good!
'We had good crowds, we had lots of energy and enthusiasm, and I thought we were going to pull it off.
'I am less surprised than I am worried,' Clinton said about Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey
'I think what's going on now is an effort to derail and bury the Russia inquiry, and I think that's terrible for our country,' Clinton (pictured in November 2015) said of Trump's decision to sack Comey
'And so did the other side, by the way. They did not believe they were going to win.'
When the issue of sexism was brought up by the magazine, Clinton explained how she hoped 'the rawness of being a woman competing for the presidency would have dissipated' would have gone away since she was defeated by President Obama eight years earlier.
But she found that while it had 'somewhat diminished', there was 'a lot of implicit bias was just raging below the surface'.
'There were still very deep, raw feelings about gender that had not been resolved,' she said.
'There is a stark difference between men and women when it comes to success and likability.
'So the more successful a man is, the more likable he is. The more successful a woman is, the less likable she is. And its across every sector of society.'
Clinton was then asked about those in the wake of her defeat who were attempting to pin the blame for the loss entirely on her.
'Theres always, whats that word Schadenfreude - "cut her down to size", "too big for her own britches" - I get all that,' she said.
'I take responsibility, I admit that I'm not a perfect candidate - and dont know anybody who was - but at the end of the day we did a lot of things right and we weathered enormous headwinds and we were on our way to winning.
'So that is never going to satisfy my detractors. And you know, thats their problem.'
The father of a schoolgirl left critically injured in the terror attack which killed her best friend has paid an emotional tribute to the medics that have fought to save his daughter's life.
Freya Lewis and Nell Jones, both 14, had been walking to meet Freya's dad Nick after the Ariana Grande concert when they were caught up in the devastating explosion.
Tragically Nell died at the scene, but Freya was rescued by a hero couple who took her outside the venue and cleared her airways.
Freya Lewis, 14, who attends Holmes Chapel Comprehensive and Sixth Form in Cheshire, was critically injured in the Manchester terror
Freya's friend Nell Jones, 14, became one of the 22 victims just hours after posting a selfie on Snapchat with the strapline: Ariana Grande now X'
A terrified Nick ran round desperately searching for the pair, and discovered his daughter on the ground being given CPR. The teenager was rushed to hospital and spent ten hours in surgery.
She has since undergone a second operation to remove shrapnel.
In a statement via Freya and Nell's school Holmes Chapel Comprehensive and Sixth Form in Cheshire, Nick praised the hospital staff for everything they had done: 'Words can not really describe our thoughts about the staff and the care Freya is receiving here.
'Awesome is as good as we can come up with, but that doesn't feel adequate.'We have nothing but the utmost respect for all of the professionals that have been caring for Freya and our family over the past few days.'
He added that Freya has been kept heavily sedated, but he was hopeful she would regain consciousness over the coming days.
'Then the real challenge starts as we discover how she is psychologically and we start to help her process what has happened over the past few days.'
This photo shows the aftermath of the suicide bomb which ripped through the foyer of the venue killing parents and children
Denis Oliver, headteacher at Nells school, said her family has been left devastated by her death
At Holmes Chapel Comprehensive and Sixth Form, tributes to Nell are continuing to pour in and her family have since visited to see them.
Ernie Jones, Nell's father said: 'We are overwhelmed by the support that people have been giving us over the past few days. Everyone has been truly wonderful.
'It was very difficult coming here to Nell's school but we are so glad that we did. We are deeply touched by what we have seen.
'The level of support and beautiful messages from Nell's friends and the community are beyond what we could have expected and it really has helped us. Thank you to everyone.
'Nell was a lovely girl, never any trouble to anyone. She loved life and was very close to her friends. She was so excited about going to the concert with her friend Freya.
'We just hope now that Freya will continue to get well and we are thinking about her family.'
A man who attempted to open a door onboard a Qantas flight high above the Pacific Ocean has appealed a jail sentence he was handed over the incident.
Manuel Victor Gonzalez was travelling on QF12 from Los Angeles to Sydney on January 17 when he tried to thrust open a cabin door about an hour before the Airbus A380 was due to land.
Gonzalez, 49, an American, switched the door lever from 'armed' to 'disarmed' before proceeding to try and push open one of the doors on the upper deck of the aircraft, The Daily Telegraph reported.
Manuel Victor Gonzalez was flying on a Qantas A380 in January when he tried to thrust open a cabin door mid-flight (stock image)
The A380 was about an hour away from landing in Sydney, from Los Angeles, when Gonzalez tried to open one of the doors on the upper deck of the aircraft (stock image)
Horrified fellow passengers frantically addressed Gonzalez about what he was doing, to which he replied: 'I just want to get out'.
Gonzalez later told cabin crew who had raced over to intervene, 'I'm just anxious, I'm anxious about life'.
He was moved to the lower deck of the aircraft and had the attention of four cabin crew who kept a close eye on him for the remainder of the flight.
Gonzalez was arrested when the plane touched down in Sydney after pilots notified police of what had happened.
Gonzalez was closely watched by four Qantas cabin crew until the flight landed at Sydney Airport, where he was then arrested by police (stock image)
He pleaded guilty over the incident in Sydney's Central Local Court on April 5 and was handed a sentence of 12 months imprisonment, to be served from the date of his arrest.
If he agrees to pay $5000 and be placed on a good behaviour bond, he can be eligible for parole after six months.
However, he has launched an appeal, with a hearing set-down for Sydney's District Court on May 30.
File Photo
Two Chinese J-10 fighter jets were accused by the U.S. Navy of conducting unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers while intercepting a U.S. surveillance aircraft near the South China Sea on May 24. This incident is the second close brush involving American and Chinese aircraft in the disputed region this month.
U.S. Navy Commander Gary Ross confirmed the incident to CNN on May 26, noting that the U.S. continues to review the facts of the incident and will convey its concerns through appropriate channels to the Chinese government.
Citing a U.S. official, the CNN reported that one Chinese fighter flew about 200 yards in front a U.S. P-3 spy plane and began conducting multiple turns.
The Chinese government has yet responded to the latest event.
This latest encounter comes on the heels of a U.S. military plane conducting reconnaissance activities in airspace over Chinese waters on May 17, according to the Chinese defense ministry.
The U.S. Air Force said that two Chinese SU-30 aircraft intercepted a U.S. Air Force radiation detection plane over the East China Sea on May 17, according to CNN. The U.S. crew aboard the aircraft characterized the move as "unprofessional.
However, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense responded that the U.S. military plane was conducting reconnaissance activities over the Yellow Sea, and the Chinese pilots behavior was both safe and professional.
"What the U.S. military said is not in accordance with the facts. On May 17, a U.S. military plane conducted reconnaissance activities in air space over Chinese waters of the Yellow Sea. Chinese military aircraft identified and verified the U.S. military plane in accordance with the law. Our actions were professional and safe," Colonel Ren Guoqiang, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular press conference on May 25.
The frequent close-in reconnaissance by U.S. military ships and planes is the root cause of maritime and air security problems between China and the U.S., Ren added. We hope the U.S. side can stop relevant close-in reconnaissance activities against China and prevent such events from happening again.
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Tensions between Chinese and American military planes have continued since Donald Trump became the U.S. president. Though Trump has yet to announce a clear policy on the Asia Pacific, the U.S. Department of Defense and the White House have reiterated a tough stance on maintaining a military presence in the South China Sea.
Many Chinese military experts hold a dim view on the possibility of the U.S. changing its South China Sea policy. Li Jie, a Beijing-based naval expert, told the Global Times after a U.S. nuclear-powered carrier entered the South China Sea in February that compared to his predecessor, Trump may increase tensions in the waters, and China should prepare both diplomatically and militarily.
Though the U.S. has been using freedom of navigation as an excuse to carry out reconnaissance activities against China, Beijing has expressed several times on different occasions that the South China Sea dispute should be dealt with only by countries that are directly involved. China believes outside interference will only increase tensions.
A mother who abandoned her children including a three-year-old for two weeks without hot water to go abroad has been jailed for six months.
The woman, a foreign national living in Liverpool, had returned to her home country to visit her mother.
The woman, who cannot be identified in order to protect her children, admitted four counts of neglect at Liverpool Crown Court today.
A mother who abandoned her children including a three-year-old for two weeks without hot water to go abroad has been jailed for six months (Stock image)
The mother, in her 30s, had lied to her children's teachers by claiming they were on the trip with her, according to the Liverpool Echo.
Merseyside Police received a tip-off that young children were home alone for around two weeks in April this year.
Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said officers attended the house but there was no answer at the front door.
They went around the back of the house where they looked through a window, and saw the children run upstairs.
The children were eventually persuaded to open the door and officers found the house was 'cold but tidy.'
The children at first claimed their mother had gone shopping but eventually one began to cry and revealed she had been gone for more than a week.
The woman, who cannot be identified in order to protect her children, admitted four counts of neglect at Liverpool Crown Court (pictured) today
The court heard the woman had left money in the house and food in the cupboards, but could not organise supervision before she left.
The children were taken into care and the woman was eventually arrested and interviewed when she returned.
Teresa Loftus, defending, said the defendant had been told by her brother that their mother was dying, although this turned out to be untrue.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer has dismissed claims Donald Trump refused to wear his translation headphones at a G-7 summit meeting in Italy.
Trump came under fire on Twitter early Saturday after footage of the meeting in Taormina, Sicily appeared to show the US President without the standard translation headsets that every other leader around the table was wearing.
As other leaders from the G-7 counties and African nations wore the same-style headphones as they listened to Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni speak, Trump sat with his hands folded as he stared down at the table.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer has dismissed claims Donald Trump refused to wear his translation headphones at a G-7 summit meeting in Italy, saying he wore a single ear piece in his right ear. An earpiece could be seen on the table in front of him on Saturday (above)
Sean Spicer quickly shot down claims Trump refused to wear a translation headset to hear Italian Premier Paolo Gentiloni speak
A BBC reporter shared footage of the meeting on Twitter, saying: 'A short clip that sums up this G7 summit: look who has chosen not to hear a translation of his Italian host's speech.'
Spicer quickly dismissed the claim when he took to Twitter himself.
'As usual @POTUS wears a single ear piece for translation in his right ear,' Spicer tweeted soon after.
While some of Twitter slammed Spicer for lying, footage of the meeting published by German outlet Ruptly did appear to show Trump with a black ear piece in his right ear.
Wires, presumably from the ear piece, could also be seen on the table in front of him at various stages of the meeting.
A BBC reporter shared footage of the meeting on Twitter, saying: 'A short clip that sums up this G7 summit: look who has chosen not to hear a translation of his Italian host's speech.'
Wires, presumably from the ear piece, could be seen on the table in front of Trump at various stages of the meeting. It is unclear why Trump was the only leader to use different translation headphones
It is unclear, however, why Trump was the only leader to not use the same translation headphones.
The G-7 meeting included the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Trump was seated between Tunisia president Beji Caid Essebsi and Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou.
He was also spotted chatting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the session began.
It came before Trump revealed on Twitter that he'll make a final decision next week on whether the US will stay in the Paris climate agreement.
Trump made the surprise announcement in a tweet after resisting pressure from European leaders to stay in the agreement. Nearly every nation that signed the 2015 agreement has agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
Trump was seated between Tunisia president Beji Caid Essebsi (left) and Niger president Mahamadou Issoufou (right). He was also spotted chatting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (far left)
A US soldier who died in Syria on Thursday has been identified.
Army Specialist Etienne J. Murphy, a 22-year-old Army Ranger from Loganville, Georgia, was the soldier who died Friday in a vehicle rollover incident in northern Syria, the Pentagon said.
Murphy was an infantryman assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, which is based out of Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia.
Murphy was posthumously awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Army Specialist Etienne J. Murphy, a 22-year-old Army Ranger from Loganville, Georgia, who died Friday in a vehicle rollover incident in northern Syria
The serviceman was fatally wounded when a vehicle rolled over in Al-Hasakah, Syria.
It was not immediately clear whether the incident was related to a combat situation. The Department of Defense says an investigation is ongoing.
The US has hundreds of troops and advisers in Syria in various roles, assisting local allies in the fight against the Islamic State group.
Soldiers from the 75th Ranger Regiment, to which Murphy was assigned, and Marine artillery units have been establishing firebases to attack Islamic State targets in and around Raqqa, the headquarters of the terror group's headquarters, the Army Times has reported.
US military vehicles travel in the northeastern city of Qamishli, Syria on April 29, 2017. It is not known whether the vehicle rollover incident that killed Murphy involved combat operations
Two other American service members have died in Syria since US troops arrived there in 2016.
Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, 42, was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria on November 24, 2016.
US Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin L. Bieren, 25, died from suspected natural causes while deployed to northern Syria on March 28.
A suit blaming Hillary Clinton for the deaths of two Americans during the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya has been thrown out.
A federal judge dismissed the claims leveled against Clinton by Patricia Smith - the mother of Sean Smith - and Charles Woods - father of Tyrone Woods on Friday.
Smith and Woods claimed the former Secretary of State's alleged lack of email security was directly responsible for the deaths of Sean Smith, a State Department communications specialist, and CIA contractor Tyrone Woods, two of four men who died on the night of September 11, 2012.
CIA operative Glen Doherty and Christopher Stevens, the American Ambassador to Libya, were the other two men killed.
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A suit blaming Hillary Clinton for the death of two Americans during the 2012 Benghazi attack in Libya has been thrown out. Clinton is pictured testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 2013 about the attack
Judge Amy Berman Jackson dismissed the wrongful death part of the suit after ruling Clinton's email use had been within the parameters of what would be expected of someone in her position.
'The Court finds that Secretary Clinton was acting in the scope of her employment when she transmitted the emails that are alleged to give rise to her liability,' Jackson wrote, court papers obtained by Politico state.
'The untimely death of plaintiffs sons is tragic, and the Court does not mean to minimize the unspeakable loss that plaintiffs have suffered in any way.
'But when one applies the appropriate legal standards, it is clear that plaintiffs have not alleged sufficient facts to rebut the presumption that Secretary Clinton was acting in her official capacity when she used her private email server.'
A federal judge dismissed the claims leveled against Clinton by Patricia Smith - the mother of Sean Smith (left) - and Charles Woods - father of Tyrone Woods (right)
Jackson, who was appointed by President Obama in 2010, added: 'It does not matter whether Secretary Clinton used a private email server lawfully or unlawfully.
'Instead, the relevant inquiry is whether Secretary Clintons electronic communications with State Department personnel about official business during her tenure were within the scope of her employment as the head of the State Department.
'Her actions communicating with other State Department personnel and advisors about the official business of the department fall squarely within the scope of her duty to run the Department and conduct the foreign affairs of the nation as Secretary of State.'
A defamation claim included in the suit, which was based around Smith and Woods' claim Clinton: 'directly called them liars, or strongly implied that they are liars'.
Patricia Smith - the mother of Sean Smith - was one of the two people who brought the suit against Clinton. Smith is pictured speaking in support of Donald Trump at the 2016 Republican Convention
Charles Woods - father of Tyrone Woods - also made the claims against Clinton. He is pictured speaking at a press conference with Republican Frank Wolf
'Secretary Clinton did not refer to plaintiffs as liars,' the ruling reads.
'And in each of the other responses cataloged in the complaint, Secretary Clinton expressed empathy and regret.
'Plaintiffs may find the candidates statements in her own defense to be "unpleasant or offensive," but Secretary Clinton did not portray plaintiffs as "odious, infamous, or ridiculous."
'To the contrary, the statements portray plaintiffs as normal parents, grieving over the tragic loss of their loved ones.'
A vehicle and the surrounding area are engulfed in flames after it was set on fire inside the US consulate compound in Benghazi late on September 11, 2012
Patricia Smith, mother of Benghazi victim Sean Smith (pictured at right), addresses the Republican National Convention on July 18, 2016
Both parents who filed the suit against Clinton are stringently against the former Secretary of State, with Smith even supporting Donald Trump by speaking at the Republican National Convention last year.
'For all of this loss, for all of this grief, for all of the cynicism the tragedy in Benghazi has wrought upon America, I blame Hillary Clinton,' she said at the convention.
'I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son.'
An 800-page report published last June, after a partisan investigation of more than two years by House Republicans, did not blame Clinton.
A man wrestled to the ground by cops in front of his four-year-old daughter is filing a federal civil rights suit against police officers for use of excessive force.
This video captured the moment a police officer, Sgt. Neal Nicholson, hurled Gregory Johnson, 41, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania onto the ground and punched him repeatedly in his face, breaking his jaw and rendering him bed-ridden.
While Johnson had been argumentative and drunk the night the incident occurred, he and his lawyers claim his actions did not warrant the police officer's reaction, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
'Greg Johnson does not deny that he was drunk that night and that his conduct was horrible,' Johnson's attorney, Steven Barth said on Friday.
'However, it does not justify the violence he received from the officers.
'Nowhere in the crimes code or statutes does acting drunk and disorderly justify a fractured jaw or physical violence. The Constitution protects all citizens of this country.'
The incident unfolded on June 17 at 4:45 am, at the police station in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania. Johnson was being held at the police department for allegedly intruding into his ex-girlfriend's home.
When his wife, Chavonne Newman, and his daughter arrive to pick him up, an argument ensued between the couple and Sgt Nichols attempted to come between the couple.
Gregory Johnson, 41 is filing a federal lawsuit because he claims officers used excessive force. This is the moment a police officer, Sgt. Neal Nichols, tries to break an argument between Johnson - pictured here in a dark blue shirt - and his girlfriend Chavonne Newman
During the heated exchange, Johnson places his hand on Nichols - the moment that triggers the exchange to turn from verbal to physical
The video appears to show Nichols grabbing Johnson by the neck, hurling him to the ground and kicking his face, before the other patrolmen come and help hold Johnson down
'Johnson came out of his cell clearly upset at Newman[...] began yelling at her for siding with the police and chest bumped her,' Nichols wrote in his report.
'At that time I stepped in between Johnson and his wife in an attempt to place him back into his cell and to protect Newman.'
The muted video - released by the District Attorney's office after mounting public pressure - shows Nichols with two hands on Johnson's shoulder, while the two have a heated exchange.
As soon as Johnson places his hand on the officer, the video shows Nichols grabbing his neck before kicking him to the ground and punching his jaw. The other two police officers, patrolmen James Cillo and Jonathan Cochran, then swarm in to handcuff Johnson, who now appears to have blood around his mouth while his frightened daughter looks on.
According to the Post-Gazette, Nichols stated in his report: 'Johnson then chest bumped me and took a fighting stance with a closed right fist.
The officers then managed to handcuff Johnson and escort him while his four year-old daughter looked on
Johnson looks as though his entire mouth is bloodied. The muted shows his wife talking to him while police take him to jail. Prosecutors eventually dropped the charges of aggravated assault against Johnson, who had plead guilty
'At that time I grabbed the combative Johnson around his upper torso area.
'Johnson and I then began to wrestle, we ended up on the ground with Johnson on top of me.
'I flipped Johnson off of me, I delivered two knee strikes and one elbow strike to Johnson.'
Beaver County District Attorney David J. Lozier , who released the video this week, said Newman's reaction was 'perfectly appropriate'.
'It was perfectly appropriate use of force based on what officers are taught,' Mr. Lozier said Friday.
'He made a move toward the officer, he made a move toward his wife, and the officer put his body between the guy and his wife. He was sort of shoving his wife.
'The individual then moved toward the officer, put hands on the officer.'
The federal lawsuit has been filed by both Johnson and his wife and lists Nichols, Cillo and Cochran as defendants.
Prosecutors dropped the charges of aggravated assault against Johnson, who had plead guilty.
A mother paid tribute to her Good Samaritan son who was one of two victims whose throats were cut after they tried to intervene when man launched an 'anti-Muslim' tirade at two young women on Friday night in Portland.
Taliesin Namkai-Meche was identified in a touching tribute that his mother posted to Facebook on Saturday.
Asha Deliverance wrote: 'Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, My dear baby boy passed on yesterday while protecting two young Muslim girls from a racist man on the train in Portland.
'He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil. Shining bright star I love you forever.'
Namkai-Meche was one of the two men stabbed on Friday night, and police have arrested Jeremy Joseph Christian in relation to the crime.
The 35-year-old white supremacist has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count each of aggravated murder and being a felon in possession of a restricted firearm, reported KOIN 6.
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One of the two victims has been identified by his mother as Taliesin Namkai-Meche in a touching tribute posted to Facebook
His sister, Aurora Dachen, also posted a tribute to her late brother, describing him as her hero. He is pictured in an undated Facebook photo
His sister, Aurora Dachen, also posted a tribute to her late brother, describing him as her hero, and writing: 'As I'm sure some of you may know, my dearest brother was one of the men who lost their lives on the MAX in Portland yesterday.
'My heart feels empty from the loss of my big brother, but also from the cruel awakening that hate & judgment can cause someone to do such a thing. I am so proud to be able to call someone so brave and strong my big brother.
'You have always and will always be my hero, Tilly. Although, you may not be here to hold and comfort me, I know you will always be apart of me. Thank you for teaching me everything you have. I will forever cherish every memory we have made these last 18 years. I will try my hardest to make you proud everyday, Til. #hateisevil'
Dachen also shared an event on her Facebook page called 'We stand up, we stand together' which will be a candlelight vigil to remember the two Good Samaritans who lost their lives Friday night.
His sister, Aurora Dachen, wrote: 'You have always and will always be my hero, Tilly. Although, you may not be here to hold and comfort me, I know you will always be apart of me. Thank you for teaching me everything you have. I will forever cherish every memory we have made these last 18 years. I will try my hardest to make you proud everyday, Til. #hateisevil'
Dachen also shared an event on her Facebook page called 'We stand up, we stand together' which will be a candlelight vigil to remember the two Good Samaritans who lost their lives Friday night
The event will remember both Namkai-Meche and the second victim who has yet to be named. Pictured is the victim in an undated Facebook photo
The suspected Murderer Jeremy Christian is known for hate-speech, and is a self-identified white supremacist who was pictured on April 29 referring to himself as the 'Lizard King' and giving Nazi salutes at a free speech rally with an American Revolutionary War flag tied around his shoulders like a cape.
Jeremy Joseph Christian has been charged with two counts of aggrated murder, two counts of second-degree intimidation and one count each of aggravated murder and being a felon in possession of a restricted firearm
He walked among fellow protesters holding American flags and signs that said 'Trump Makes America Great Again.'
Christian's Facebook site paints disturbing a picture of the suspect, and he describes himself by saying: 'I'm an Ex-Con. I Like Comix, Cannabis and Metal-In Any Combination. If you are an Employer, F*** Off.'
The suspect has been in jail previously for a string of charges including robbery, kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon, and he brags about being an ex-con on his Facebook page.
He has posted on his profile a number of times to say he supports the Nazis, and once even said he wants a job in Norway 'cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize (sic) Babies.'
The accused is also a white supremacist who was pictured giving Nazi salutes at a free speech rally in April with an American Revolutionary War flag tied like a cape around his shoulders
He has posted a number of times to say he supports the Nazis, and once even said he wants a job in Norway 'cutting off the heads of people that Circumcize (sic) Babies'
Additionally, Christian threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me'
Additionally, Christian has threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me,' in a comment thread on his Facebook profile.
On May 9, Christian wrote about a debate he challenged someone to: 'I will defend the Nazis and he will the defend the AshkeNAZIs.'
Before attending the April 29 rally where he was caught on camera giving the Nazi salute, Christian wrote: 'You should all attend the Free Speech Rally at Montanavilla if you value your rights. All Rights, I don't care if you like Antifa or Hate them. They are just an excuse for a showdown.
'I hope the Police Stand Down as in Berkeley. I will be there Demasking anyone with a mask. I will attend in Lizard King Regalia as a Political Nihilist to Provoke both Sides and attempt to engage anyone in a true Philosophy and Political Discussion.
'If you attended masked up and that mask comes off and I see a friend who sided with ANTIFA it will be merciless. Free speech or die!!! This is my land!!!'
Additionally, Christian threatened to 'stab some masked up b****** protesting Black Metal shows as soon as they touch me'
Christian has been in jail previously, for a string of charges including robbery, kidnapping and unlawful use of a weapon, though he brags about being an ex-con on his Facebook page. He even posted his prior mugshots (above)
He also referred to President Trump the 'antichrist,' but in a way that turned it into a compliment.
'If Donald Trump is the Next Hitler then I am joining his SS to put and end to Monotheist Question. All Zionist Jews, All Christians who do not follow Christ's teaching of Love, Charity, and Forgiveness And All Jihadi Muslims are going to Madagascar or the Ovens/FEMA Camps!!! Does this make me a fascist!!!'
Man engaging in hate speech and giving the Nazi salute at the end of the #Portland free speech march pic.twitter.com/8QRmmvTDAf Mike Bivins (@itsmikebivins) April 29, 2017
In a picture from his Facebook page, Christian posed with someone in a military hat at what appears to be a party
Before attending the free speech rally where he was caught on camera giving the Nazi salute, Christian wrote: 'If you attended masked up and that mask comes off and I see a friend who sided with ANTIFA it will be merciless. Free speech or die!!! This is my land!!!'
Christian was arrested after he ran off the train at the Hollywood transit station in Portland, Oregon, the Oregonian reported.
The attacker was 'yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs' before he turned his focus on the women, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police Sgt. Pete Simpson said.
He is being held without bail in the Multnomah County Detention Center, and will appear in court on Tuesday, according to KOIN.
After the suspect attacked the victims, he reportedly said, 'This is free America, I can do whatever I want' one witness told KOMO news.
One victim was dead at the scene and while another died at a hospital, Simpson said. The third person was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A man who was yelling 'anti-Muslim' slurs at two young women on a light-rail train stabbed two men to death and injured a third person when they tried to intervene, police said
The attacker was 'yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs' before he turned his focus on the women
After the suspect attacked the victims, he reportedly said, 'This is free America, I can do whatever I want' one witness told KOMO news
Sgt. Pete Simpson told KATU the suspect slashed the Good Samaritans in the throat
The attack happened on a MAX train as it headed east on Friday around 4.30pm, and since then has triggered calls for President Donald Trump to speak out against Racism, according to the Telegraph.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations national executive director Nihad Awad said: 'President Trump must speak out personally against he rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation.
'Only a strong statement from the nation's leader will send a message to bigots that such acts of violence targeting racial, ethnic or religious minorities are unacceptable.'
Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old resident of Clackamas, Oregon, said she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the women.
'[He] said, "Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don't pay taxes here." [He said he] doesn't like Muslims, they're criminals,' Evelin Hernandez told KATU.
When the two men stepped in and tried to protect other passengers on the train, the suspect slashed their throats, Simpson told the news channel.
It wasn't clear why the man was yelling, but the Portland Police department characterized the rant as 'hate speech toward a variety of ethnicities and religions'.
'He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim,' Simpson said.
After the stabbings, the suspect said he was free to do what he wanted in America, witnesses said. He also reportedly said he was getting off at the next stop and no one should follow him, KOIN reported.
Police don't know if Christian has mental health issues or whether was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
Simpson said the women understandably left the scene before police arrived, adding that authorities hoped to track them down to help fill in what happened.
The two women were described by police as 'possibly Muslim', although Simpson said: 'We have not been able to find those girls to verify that.'
The suspect was arrested after he ran from the Hollywood transit station in Portland, Oregon, around 4.30pm on Friday
'It's horrific,' Simpson said. 'There's no other word to describe what happened today.'
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wrote on Twitter: 'Terrible tragedy on Portland's Max Train. Champions of justice risked and lost their lives. Hate is evil.'
Portland's Commissioner Chloe Eudaly issued a statement saying: 'This is an especially sad and disturbing incident. People lost their lives or were injured because they stood up to hate.
'We need to offer our heartfelt support to the two women and others who were targeted. The courage of the people who stood up for them is a reminder that we as a city need to stand together to denounce hate.'
The FBI also offered their assistance in the investigation, saying: 'At the core of the FBI's mission is the belief that every person has the right to live, work and worship in this country without fear.
'Hate and bigotry have no place in our community, and we will not allow violence in the name of hate to go unanswered.'
Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley wrote on Twitter: 'Terrible tragedy on Portland's Max Train. Champions of justice risked and lost their lives. Hate is evil'
Millions of Muslims marked the start of Ramadan on Friday, a time of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.
'Our thoughts are with the Muslim community,' Simpson said. 'As something like this happens, this only instills fear in that community.
'We have already reached out previous to this incident to our Muslim community partners and the different imams about extra patrol during Ramadan. We want to reassure them that that will continue.'
MAX trains were halted for several hours after the incident, and an investigation is ongoing.
Nothing in his training could have prepared father-of-three Paddy Ennis (pictured) for the carnage he would witness as he reached the blast zone
The first paramedic to arrive at the Manchester Arena bombing recalled last night hearing screams from all directions as he entered a foyer full of the dead and dying, including children.
Nothing in his training could have prepared father-of-three Paddy Ennis for the carnage he would witness as he reached the blast zone.
But fighting his instincts, the paramedic had to ignore those casualties who were pleading for help because, however horrific their injuries, their airways were clear and they could breathe.
The quiet ones were my first priority, he said. Many others, tragically, were beyond any help.
Paddy, 38, an advanced paramedic with North West Ambulance Service, was racked with emotion as he spoke exclusively to The Mail on Sunday to give a moving account of the nights events.
He told how the devastating scale of the bloodshed slowly dawned on him with each step he took towards the arena foyer where crazed suicide bomber Salman Abedi blew himself up on Monday evening.
Because of fears of another device, Paddy and two colleagues who arrived later were the only paramedics allowed into the hot zone where the bomb was detonated.
As Paddy put it: It was worse than any of us could have imagined.
Paddy was on duty at Central Manchester Ambulance Station, near the citys Royal Infirmary, when the first calls came in shortly after 10.30pm.
He said: It was already a busy evening for us, with about 40 999 calls waiting to be answered. Then all of a sudden the screen displaying those calls just lit up with alerts all saying the same thing Manchester Arena. The only one I saw said, Explosion.
Paddy jumped in his ambulance car and, slipping behind a police car with its lights flashing, headed for the arena, just over a mile away.
All the way there I was trying to prepare myself mentally for what this could be, but as I got closer to the arena there were large crowds of people who seemed remarkably calm. When I saw their demeanour, I began to hope this was not going to be a serious incident after all.
However, any such optimism dissipated as he approached Victoria Station, which has a link to the arena: I could see the mood of the crowd was different, partly from the speed at which they were moving. There was a level of panic, but it still didnt alert me to how horrendous the scene was going to be.
Scene of devastation: The wounded are treated at Manchester Arena on Monday night after the explosion
As I approached the station I could see there was a group of people who looked as if they could be injured, so that seemed the right place to assess them. I got basic equipment out to be able to render aid to a small number of patients.
I was directed by police towards a group of four or five people who were clearly injured. They were saying they thought theyd been shot or there was an explosion, and their injuries were consistent with either scenario.
Then I could hear myself being shouted to by another group of people 20 or 30 yards closer to the station and the arena. The injuries were similar lacerations possibly from glass or shrapnel to arms or legs, but thankfully without massive haemorrhages or underlying fractures, chest or abdominal injuries.
It was a really rapid assessment: checking they were conscious, breathing and that their pulse rate was within an acceptable limit. But my brief assessment told me they were walking wounded.
Presumably thats why they were able to get so far away from the station in such a small amount of time about 50 yards from the foyer. At that point I realised there would be at least ten casualties so I radioed my control to say this was a potential major incident.
Paddy admits he had no idea what he was walking into.
Paddy, centre, and other NHS staff meeting the Queen on Thursday at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital
I reassured the people I saw that I would be back or my colleagues would be coming behind me, and as I made my way out further towards the building entrance, I was met by people sitting down.
They had more serious injuries but incredibly they had been able to make their way down there, presumably on pure adrenaline. People were helping them but everyone was conscious and stable.
But with each step forward it began to dawn on Paddy that the closer he got to the arena the more severe were the injuries he was encountering. As he feared, the worst was yet to come. The police officers I met told me there were multiple serious casualties upstairs in the foyer and confirmed it was an explosion of some sort, he said.
While all this was going on, people were running, screaming and terrified, and as I got closer the degree of fear from people was far more palpable.
I made my way up the stairs. I was still the only paramedic there but I knew my colleagues would be coming soon. At that stage, I still didnt have a handle on what had happened or where, or how many people were involved. Just outside the foyer there were some people with very, very serious injuries, consistent with a bomb severe impact and shrapnel wounds to multiple parts of their body.
Paddy told how the devastating scale of the bloodshed slowly dawned on him with each step he took towards the arena foyer where crazed suicide bomber Salman Abedi blew himself up on Monday evening. Pictured, an ambulance at Manchester arena
There were bystanders there helping them who were doing an incredible job. I learned later that these were ordinary people who had run into the scene to help straight afterwards.
I cant imagine how people could do that, but it was amazing to see and what they were doing was everything that could be done: stemming any blood loss, reassuring people and keeping airways open.
After a quick assessment of these patients I made my way in and thats when the scale of the incident really came home. It was surreal to walk into that scene.
Im an experienced paramedic and we have training for this kind of situation, but I dont think you could ever be prepared for seeing anything like that. I certainly didnt feel prepared for what I saw when I walked in there just the scale of it was overwhelming. Im sure there was a split-second when I took the scene in and froze, but there was no time for a thought process. I was just hit by a wave of devastation and then realised I was being shouted and screamed at. People had seen me and they obviously wanted help.
There were people screaming in pain and people terrified. But you have to ignore them because if theyre screaming the airways are open and you know they can breathe, so you are reassured by the fact they are relatively OK for now, although they had horrendous injuries.
'The first priority was the quiet patients and my initial assessment was there were around ten people who were not moving, but that changed as time went by. Unfortunately for some, my assessment was they were beyond any help we could provide. They were already dead.
Because of fears of another device, Paddy and two colleagues who arrived later were the only paramedics allowed into the hot zone where the bomb was detonated. Pictured, an ambulance at Manchester Royal Infirmary
In any other situation there would be a massive ambulance response for each individual person and we would do everything possible to get them to a trauma centre. I had to make the very, very difficult decision that we needed to concentrate on the people who were critically injured because they could still be helped the others could not.
There was a huge number of injured people, probably between 30 and 40 who were clearly injured or worse in that scene.
But there were also a lot of people who I could tell were professionals and I was incredibly reassured to see them a number of police officers, first-aid staff and medics who had been at the event, along with the event security staff. People had improvised tourniquets, in some cases using belts or T-shirts to stem the blood.
Its a big area and trying to prioritise was extremely difficult. I needed to gather information to pass back to my control because this was something far bigger than we could possibly have expected.
The next person on scene was my colleague, consultant paramedic Dan Smith, and there couldnt be anybody better to arrive at an incident like that.
But because the police feared other bombs or attackers, Dan and other paramedics who were arriving were not allowed into the hot zone where Paddy was.
Two paramedic colleagues from the specially trained Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) were allowed through after a time.
I cannot tell you how grateful I was to see them, Paddy said. This is what their unit was designed for, so they came in with the equipment for full major incident triage such as blast dressings.
The three paramedics then set about dividing a pack of triage cards marked in red, yellow and green for priorities one, two and three respectively, attaching them with elastic to the casualty to flag them up for colleagues outside at the clearing station.
It became apparent quite early on that were there were a lot of young people but it was a while after I arrived that I learned who had been playing at the concert I saw a T-shirt with Ariana Grandes name on it.
As Paddy put it: It was worse than any of us could have imagined. Pictured, armed police respond to the explosion at Manchester Arena
I have a nine-year-old who loves Ariana Grande and it just hit me that the people attending would have been very young.
I cant tell you how long it took for everyone to be moved but when they had been, there was just an eerie silence. It was a very strange and awful experience. Its really difficult to express how awful it must have been for everybody who was there and utterly terrifying for the people and the families.
Now back at home with his wife Lucy and three sons Sol, 15, Zac, nine, and five-year-old Sam Paddy has tried not to dwell on what he saw on Monday. Its clear that even this interview has been a harrowing experience for him.
Apart from being presented to the Queen when she visited Manchester, Paddy has tried to stay out of the limelight.
I have struggled the past few days, he added. The fact that people were so young and the attack was so senseless. Those are my abiding thoughts.
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The first footage of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby on board her flight from Bali to Australia has emerged.
Corby went to extreme lengths to avoid waiting reporters as she touched down in Brisbane on Sunday morning after spending nearly a decade in jail and three years on parole on the Indonesian island.
A brief clip shows the 39-year-old boarding her flight in the business class section of the Malindo Air aircraft on Saturday night.
Wearing a headscarf in an apparent attempt to hide her identity, Corby took her seat as her sister Mercedes and others shielded her from the camera.
Corby switched flights to travel home on the budget Malaysian airline, dodging the 40 reporters who had booked seats on the Virgin plane she was expected to board.
The first footage of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby on board her flight from Bali to Australia has emerged
Schapelle Corby is seen in the immigration holding area before boarding her flight to Brisbane on Saturday night
After Corby landed in Brisbane, at least 12 vehicles left the airport in two convoys - apparently designed to throw a media scrum her off her scent.
The convoys, followed by the media, left the airport, and took separate routes.
One ended at the Sofitel Hotel in the city, while the other stopped at the KFC store at Ormeau, en route to the Gold Coast. Corby was not seen in either.
Queensland Police said they had not provided an escort for the convoys.
Shortly after her departure, there were bizarre scenes at the airport as a small band of supporters started shouting that Corby had fooled the media 'twice in eight hours'.
Meanwhile, a passenger on her flight home claimed the convicted drug smuggler was given special treatment as the plane touched down.
Gabrielle Amies, who sat directly behind Corby and her sister, said the pair seemed 'very happy' when the flight landed on Sunday morning.
Gabrielle Amies, who sat directly behind Corby and her sister, said the pair seemed 'very happy' when the flight landed on Sunday morning
Corby made a dramatic return to Australia after spending nearly 10 years behind bars and three more on parole in Bali
It is believed the 39-yer-old left the airport in one of 12 black vehicles which left the international terminal in separate directions - sending media on a wild goose-chase through the streets of Brisbane
'They seemed very happy a bit teary, yes,' Ms Amies said, adding that Corby kept a low profile on the flight.
'She ate and slept a bit they were laughing, they looked very happy,' Ms Amies said.
But she said some passengers on the flight were frustrated when airline staff blocked the rest of the flight from disembarking.
'They stopped everyone getting off while Schapelle and her sister got off, and they blocked the toilets too, so that had some passengers pretty annoyed,' she said.
Ms Amies said Corby was not seen in the baggage hall, assuming she had been allowed through a VIP exit to avoid waiting media.
While she managed to sneak out of the airport unnoticed, a member of her security team read a statement on behalf of her family.
Shortly after her departure, there were bizarre scenes as a small band of supporters started shouting that Corby had fooled the media 'twice in eight hours'
Corby was expected to land in Brisbane at 5.50am on Sunday, but changed flights at the last minute to travel home on budget airline Malindo Air, dodging the 40 reporters who had booked seats on the Virgin flight
Corby shared a picture of the view from her seat moments before taking off shortly after 10pm local time
'It is with gratefulness and relief that we mark Schapelle Corby's return to Australia,' the security member said.
'We would like to say thank you to Schapelle's supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years.
'To all those in Australia and to all of those in Bali, who were there throughout the difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed.
'To each and every one of you, you are appreciated.'
The family then asked for privacy as the convicted drug smuggler tries to settle back into life in Queensland.
Her sister Mercedes is pictured arriving at their mother's Loganlea house shortly after their plane landed in Brisbane
There was still no sign of 39-year-old Schapelle as her sister Mercedes (pictured) arrived at the family home
Mercedes did not speak to the media when she arrived with a security guard at Rosleigh Rose's home just before 7.30am
Corby's sister Mercedes was seen entering their mother's Loganlea house shortly after their arrival, but there was still no sign of Schapelle.
Mercedes did not speak to the media when she arrived with a security guard at Rosleigh Rose's home just before 7.30am.
The RACQ was called to the fibro two-storey home at about 9.40am, after a male acquaintance of the family suffered a flat battery.
Once the car was revved up about 15 minutes later, four friends - seemingly amused by the media pack - drove off in the blue Ford Territory.
A man in a bizarre horror mask peeked his head out of the door as they left.
A man in a bizarre horror mask (pictured) peeked his head out of the door as the four friends left the house
The RACQ arrived at the fibro two-storey about 9.40am, after a male acquaintance of the family suffered a flat battery
Mercedes is seen arriving at her mother's home in Brisbane's south shortly after she and her sister returned from Indonesia
An unknown visitor at Corby's mother's home is seen bringing a bunch of flowers to the property in Brisbane's south
In what was perhaps another decoy tactic, a woman bearing a striking resemblance to Corby appeared at Mercedes' Gold Coast home just after 9am.
The woman wore a large black hooded jacket, smiling as she entered a car in the driveway - though it is not believed it was Corby.
Earlier, the 39-year-old was escorted to Ngurah Rai International Airport in a police convoy after signing release papers signalling her freedom during the final visit to the parole office in Denpasar earlier on Saturday.
Just after 10pm local time on Saturday, she posted a photo on Instagram with just one word - 'boarded'.
In what was perhaps another decoy tactic, a woman bearing a striking resemblance to Corby appeared at Mercedes' Gold Coast home just after 9am
Schapelle Corby's emergency passport is pictured as she boards a flight home almost 13 years after her 2004 arrest
Although her Virgin Australia boarding pass had been issued, showing she had a seat in business class, Corby's sister Mercedes later revealed that the pair had instead opted to fly Malindo Air.
'And we are off, Aus early morning!' she wrote, along with a picture on Instagram showing two boarding passes for the budget airline.
Despite shielding her face from the cameras and citing security concerns because of the strong media presence throughout her journey home, Corby couldn't help updating her 65,000 new Instagram followers with pictures and videos from her trip.
'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby,' Corby wrote on Instagram alongside a selfie with her sister Mercedes taken inside the car as she made her way to the airport in Denpasar.
Corby's boarding pass (pictured) for the 10.10pm Virgin flight from Denpasar to Brisbane showed she was booked to sit in seat in 1A
Mercedes Corby shared a picture revealing she and her sister had switched flights last minute to fly using a budget airline
Schapelle Corby and her sister Mercedes are seen going through a security screening at Denpasar Airport on Saturday
Schapelle Corby (left) shared a selfie with her sister Mercedes, writing: 'Almost at the airport.. with my @mercedescorby'
At her final stop in Bali, two vans filled with police turned up only to roll away with no Corby in tow, sending media scampering.
Soon after, section chief of Denpasar airport Hermansyah, confirmed Corby was already inside. 'She entered through an airport employee entrance,' he told AAP.
There were also chaotic scenes outside the parole office and earlier, outside Corby's Kuta home when she emerged without her bodyguard before quickly entering an official car along with her sister as her 13-year saga comes to a close.
She hid her eyes behind dark sunglasses and covered her hair with a patterned scarf, but brandished her handbag in the air - which featured a photograph of a missing Australian boy with the words 'Where's William Tyrrell?' written on it.
William was three when he disappeared from his grandmother's yard Kendall, NSW, on September 12, 2014.
Locals and tourists on the streets near Corby's Kuta home cheered and took photographs as police whisked the convicted drug smuggler to the corrections office in Denpasar ahead of her deportation.
During the journey, Corby posted a picture of her paperwork on Instagram, writing: 'Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time.'
Corby is escorted by Bali Police outside the parole office in Denpasar, where officials signed a release letter indicating she was free to return to Australia
Convicted Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, seen with her face obscured with a shawl, is escorted by officials
Corby has returned to Australia after being deported from Indonesia after serving nine years in prison for drug smuggling
Officials at the Correction Bureau in Denpasar escort Schapelle Corby ahead of her deportation from Bali to Brisbane
Schapelle Corby's sister Mecedes (far left) appeared to capture every moment of her sibling's deportation for posterity
Indonesian police officers stand guard near a car which carries drug smuggler Schapelle Corby at the parole office in Bali
Schapelle Corby shielded herself from the media using a scarf and sunglasses, but brandished her handbag in the air - which featured a photograph of missing Australian boy William Tyrrell
There, police pushed crowds of people out of the way and an Indonesian journalist was seen falling from a wall in his eagerness to catch a glimpse of Corby.
Around 100 police officers were deployed, from Denpasar and Kuta police, to ensure a smooth and secure journey on Saturday.
Just hours before her deportation, police executed a dry run with three armoured vehicles and guards lining the streets in preparation for Corby to run the media gauntlet.
A private car entered the 39-year-old's Kuta villa compound earlier to pick up Corby's family members and take them to the parole office.
Security vehicles were parked on the main street near the house, on Pudak Sari Street, including two armoured vehicles, two trucks and two patrol cars before Corby's departure.
Corby's bodyguard John McLeod, who's protected the Dalai Lama and Roger Federer, walks through the airport alone
Indonesian police escort the car which Schapelle Corby is in as she prepares for deportation from Indonesia on Saturday
Schapelle Corby is seen being hugged by her sister Mercedes, who appeared to be filming the media frenzy on her phone
Corby posted a picture of her paperwork on Instagram, writing: 'Good bye to this parole paper work. Approaching parole office for the last time'
A Balinese official emerged from the parole office and showed reporters the release letter signalling Corby is free to leave
There were chaotic scenes as Schapelle Corby left her villa amid a media frenzy to go to the parole office for the last time
Schapelle Corby left her Kuta villa and is on her way to the parole office for the final time before leaving for Australia
Minutes before she left her Bali villa, Corby posted this picture on Instagram writing: 'Big thank you to my Bali family'
Corby joined Instagram just hours before she was picked up by a police convoy to begin her trip home.
Her first picture, a photo of her two dogs Luna and May, was posted from her Kuta home in the hours before she left on Saturday.
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' Corby wrote.
Her second post, which appeared moments after she was whisked away by police, shows her 'Bali family', including sister Mercedes and brother Michael Corby Jr.
'Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother in law Wayan,' she wrote.
Ketut Widiada, the head of the operational division of Denpasar Police, arrived at the home on Saturday morning to observe the situation.
'We're here to ensure the preparedness to pick up and guard Corby's transfer,' he told Daily Mail Australia.
Bali officials said Corby's sister Mercedes was 'expecting a lot from security officials', citing concerns around the large media contingent on the Indonesian island and anyone else who 'objects to her release.'
Police guarded her Kuta home before her deportation to Australia as authorities tried to deal with a situation they say is clearly 'not normal'.
Indonesia police prepare their security in Denpasar in preparation for Schapelle Corby to return back to Australia
Denpasar police executed the enactment in preparation for Schapelle's high-profile departure on Saturday night
Up to 200 police officers were enlisted to ensure the 39-year-old Australian's journey to the airport is safe
A private car picked up the family to take to the parole office where they will meet Schapelle Corby before going to the airport
Schapelle Corby has spent nearly 13 years in Bali after her arrest for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana onto the Indonesian island
'Police are securing Corby's house because it's not normal, there are too many people,' the head of Bali's Law and Human Rights Office, Ida Bagus Ketut Adnyana, said on Friday.
He said authorities were also worried about her departure causing 'traffic disturbances' in the area.
Head of Bali's Law and Human Rights Office, Ida Bagus Ketut Adnyana said Corby was expected to emerge from her Kuta home at around 5pm local time.
Police gear up for the deportation of Corby, who has served nine years in prison and three years on parole for drug smuggling
Schapelle Corby was deportated from Indonesia on Saturday following the end of a three year parole period
Hazard tape blocks the entrance to Schapelle Corby's mother Rosleigh Rose's house in Loganlea, south of Brisbane
A yellow ribbon, a symbol used in a campaign for Schapelle Corby's release, is tied around a tree outside her mother's house
She was set be processed through airport security in a private area before travelling business class on the flight, where the entire section has been booked out for her and her entourage, the Sunday Mail reports.
Officials said they wanted to keep her time at the airport brief, citing 'security concerns'.
Her departure marked the end of Corby's long battle with Indonesian officials which began when they uncovered 4.2kgs of marijuana in her bodyboard bag in Denpasar airport in October 2004.
A photo inside Corby's Kuta villa shows her brother Michael (left), Schapelle (centre) and her mother Rosleigh Rose (right)
Schapelle Corby has spent the last three years on parole and living in a Kuta villa (pictured) on the Indonesian island of Bali
It also marked the end of a case that has put strain on the often tumultuous relationship between Indonesia and Australia.
'Not only was it a major political issue between our two countries, it defined the bilateral relationship for a number of years,' President of the Australian-based Indonesia Institute Ross Taylor told AAP.
It also revealed Australia's 'distorted perception' of Indonesia as a very 'narrow one' - with 'Schapelle Corby, Bintang Beer, Bali, terrorism and boat people' becoming synonymous with our neighbour, he added.
Police arrived at the Kuta villa where Schapelle Corby lived - with a private car already picking up her family
Police officials arrive at the 39-year-old Australian's Kuta villa compound ahead of her departure on Saturday
Indonesian officials cleared Schapelle Corby to return home as she waited for one last trip to the parole office
Linwood,' Woody' Kaine, 24 is facing charges for participating in a violent riot to disturb a pro-Trump rally
Tim Kaine's son is facing charges for participating in a violent riot, which involved smoke bombing, macing and fireworks, to disrupt a 400-person pro-Trump rally.
Linwood,' Woody' Kaine, 24, has been accused of running from police, hiding his identity in a public space, and obstructing legal process, the Pioneer Press reported.
Kaine - whose father was Hilary's running mate during the last election - was among the ten anti-Trump protesters who allegedly caused havoc outside the March 4 rally in St. Paul, Minnesota.
'When people seek to prevent others who are peacefully assembled from making their voices heard, it threatens the very foundation of our democracy,' Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said Friday.
Anti-Trump protesters were apparently demonstrating peacefully at the rally until a group of ten people started causing chaos, police say. Law enforcement say among the instigators were five people, including Kaine, who were dressed in black, had covered their faces and were wearing goggles.
A police officer say a man, who has now been identified as Anton William Bueckert, sprayed tear gas into the crowd and punched the protesters. Another demonstrator also hit a 61-year-old woman in the head, police say.
Anton William Bueckert (pictured) allegedly sprayed tear gas into the crowd and punched the protesters
Police officers then saw the five people dressed in black leaving the rally and chased after them.
According to the report they filed, Kaine attempted to flee by taking off his clothes. When he was caught, an officer pushed him against the wall and had to use a knee strike to hold him down.
Charges were not immediately filed until the police investigated further.
The spokesperson for the Virginia senator, Miryam Lipper, said in a statement: 'Todays announcement of misdemeanor charges against Sen. Kaines son contains no suggestion that he engaged in disruptive behavior while at the rally, but are instead focused on his actions as he was arrested after he left.
'Tim and Anne support their son and hope the matter is resolved soon.
A passenger on Schapelle Corby's flight home from Bali says the convicted drug smuggler was given special treatment as the plane touched down in Brisbane.
Gabrielle Amies, who sat directly behind Corby and her sister Mercedes in the business class section of the aircraft, said the two sisters seemed 'very happy' when the flight landed on Sunday morning.
'They seemed very happy a bit teary, yes,' Ms Amies said.
She said Corby kept a low profile on the flight, sleeping for part of it.
A passenger on Schapelle Corby's flight home from Bali says she was a 'special guest' of the airline as the convicted drug smuggler touched down in Brisbane
Schapelle Corby is seen in the immigration holding area before boarding her flight to Brisbane on Saturday night
'She ate and slept a bitthey were laughing, they looked very happy,' Ms Amies said.
But she said some passengers were frustrated when airline staff gave Corby special treatment and blocked the rest of the flight from disembarking.
'They stopped everyone getting off while Schapelle and her sister got off, and they blocked the toilets too, so that had some passengers pretty annoyed,' she said.
'When do you treat someone who has a drug conviction as a celebrity?'
'They stopped everyone getting off while Schapelle and her sister got off, and they blocked the toilets too, so that had some passengers pretty annoyed,' she said
Minutes before she left her Bali villa, Corby posted this picture on Instagram writing: 'Big thank you to my Bali family'
Corby was expected to land in Brisbane at 5.50am on Sunday, but changed flights at the last minute to travel home on budget airline Malindo Air, dodging the 40 reporters who had booked seats on the Virgin flight
'They said a ''special guest has to get off first'' and they blocked everyone in business class getting off,' she said.
'They blocked the bathrooms as well, so a few people wanting to go to the bathroom were annoyed, because we had to wait for her and her sister and her body guard to totally clear.'
'We had to wait a few minutes, which I don't think was totally necessary.'
Ms Amies said Corby was not seen in the baggage hall, assuming she had been allowed through a VIP exit to avoid waiting media.
It is believed the 39-year-old left the airport in one of 12 black vehicles which made a swift exit from the international terminal.
Shortly after her departure, there were bizarre scenes as a small band of supporters started shouting that Corby had fooled the media 'twice in eight hours'.
While she managed to sneak out of the airport unnoticed, a member of her security team read a statement to the media on behalf of her family.
It is believed the 39-yer-old left the airport in one of 12 black vehicles which left the international terminal in separate directions
Schapelle Corby has made a dramatic return to Australia after spending nearly 10 years behind bars and three more on parole in Bali
Shortly after her departure, there were bizarre scenes as a small band of supporters started shouting that Corby had fooled the media 'twice in eight hours'
'It is with gratefulness and relief that we mark Schapelle Corby's return to Australia,' the family statement read by a member of the security team said.
'We would like to say thank you to Schapelle's supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years.
'To all those in Australia and to all of those in Bali, who were there throughout the difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed.
'To each and every one of you, you are appreciated.'
Corby joined Instagram just hours before she was picked up by a police convoy to begin her trip home.
Corby shared a picture of the view from her seat moments before taking off shortly after 10pm local time
Schapelle Corby and her sister Mercedes are seen going through a security screening at Denpasar Airport on Saturday
Her first picture, a photo of her two dogs Luna and May, was posted from her Kuta home in the hours before she left on Saturday.
'Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May,' Corby wrote.
Her second post, which appeared moments after she was whisked away by police, shows her 'Bali family', including sister Mercedes and brother Michael Corby Jr.
'Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother in law Wayan,' she wrote.
Her dramatic homecoming brings an end to a saga that began nearly 13 years ago, when the then-beauty therapist landed in Bali for a holiday with family and friends.
Corby's life was forever changed the moment a customs officer lifted 4.2kg of top-quality marijuana from her boogie board bag the afternoon of October 8, 2004.
Corby will turn 40 in July, her youth having faded away behind bars at the notorious 'Hotel K', or Kerobokan Prison.
(Photo/CGTN)
Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent a message of condolence to his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah el-Sisi after Fridays terrorist attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt's southern province of Minya, which killed at least 28 people.
President Xi condemned the violence, saying China opposes all forms of terrorism. Beijing supports Egypts anti-terrorism efforts to safeguard security and stability, he said.
Premier Li Keqiang also extended his condolences to Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail, those injured in the attack and the families of victims.
Fridays attack saw gunmen attack a group of Coptic Christians traveling by bus to a monastery. Many of the 28 fatalities were children. Over 20 others were wounded.
A former CIA director has said that Jared Kushner's secret back channel to Russia would have been considered espionage if an intelligence officer had done the same thing - provided all the reported details about the president's son-in-law's activities are true.
George W. Bush's former CIA Director John McLaughlan gave his thoughts on the latest round of Kushner allegations.
'I dont want to overstate this because obviously there is a lot we dont know - we dont know the exact content of the conversation,' McLaughlan said on MSNBC's The Last Word on Friday night.
'We don't know the objective that was a part of the conversation - those things we don't know.
'But I can't keep out of my mind the thought that, if an American intelligence officer had done anything like this, we'd consider it espionage.'
The White House is said to have gone into crisis mode amid reports Jared Kushner is the focus of the FBI's Russia investigation.
The White House is said to have gone into crisis mode amid reports Jared Kushner (pictured) is the focus of the FBI's Russia investigation
President Trump will meet with his private legal team - led by New York lawyer Marc Kasowitz - after it was reported on Friday that Kushner had contact with Russia's US ambassador Sergei Kislyak about creating a secret back-channel in order to avoid having their communications detected by US authorities.
The New York Times reported Saturday Trump's aides have: 'recruited a series of prominent Washington lawyers with experience in political investigations for Mr. Trump to interview in hopes that they might join the legal team'.
Trump's camp is trying to create the 'powerhouse' legal team, according to the newspaper, with 'seasoned Washington lawyers of the stature of Paul D. Clement, Theodore Olson or Brendan Sullivan'.
Clement and Olson are former US solicitor generals, while Sullivan famously defended Oliver North after the Iran-Contra scandal.
But despite the reported plan to beef up his father-in-law's legal team, Kushner - along with his wife, Ivanka - are becoming upset at the investigation.
'Ms. Trump and Mr. Kushner have complained privately about what he views as an unfair level of scrutiny of his actions,' the newspaper wrote.
The report also states Kushner asked Donald McGahn, the White House counsel, to make a public show of denying he had been the topic of discussion after being contacted by federal investigators.
Donald Trump will meet with his private legal team - led by New York lawyer Marc Kasowitz (pictured) - as early as Sunday after the reports about Kushner
Donald Trump's team is reportedly trying to create a 'powerhouse' legal team - with figures such as Paul Clement (left) and Brendan Sullivan (right)
Another lawyer the Trump camp is reportedly trying to recruit to join the president's legal team is Theodore Olson (pictured in April 2014)
McGahn refused to do so.
Trump's top aides are also working to create a 'crisis-control communications operation center', according to the Times, which would be used to keep scandals away from Trump's 'day-to-day' operations.
And while the president's team was seemingly planning its defense,
The reports on Friday stated the nature of discussions between Kushner and Kislyak, were relayed by intelligence officials who spoke to The Washington Post.
Reuters also reported Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak both during and after the 2016 presidential campaign.
'If an American intelligence officer had done anything like this, we'd consider it espionage,' George W. Bush's former CIA Director John McLaughlan (pictured) gave his thoughts on the latest round of Kushner allegations said
Donald Trump (R) delivers remarks at the beginning of a meeting with his son-in-law and Senior Advisor Jared Kushner and government cyber security experts in the Roosevelt Room at the White House January 31
Kislyak reported to his bosses in Moscow that Kushner proposed a direct back-channel connecting Trump's campaign and the Kremlin during a meeting at Trump Tower on or around December 1, the Post reported.
As per Kushner's suggestion, the communications between the Trump team and the Kremlin would be held inside Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, according to details of the discussions that were intercepted by intelligence officials.
The meeting at Trump Tower between Kushner and Kislyak was also attended by retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, according to the Post.
Flynn was Trump's chief advisor on foreign policy and national security during his presidential campaign.
After Trump's inauguration, Flynn was named national security advisor.
But he lasted only 18 days in office. The White House fired Flynn after it was learned he had misled top officials, among them Vice President Mike Pence, about the nature of his talks with Kislyak.
Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office
Michael Flynn (L) and Jared Kushner, senior White House adviser, wait before a joint press conference at the White House on February 13
The White House disclosed the meeting between Kushner and Kislyak in March.
That meeting, though, is drawing scrutiny from the FBI, whose investigators believe that the matters discussed have relevance to the ongoing probe into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.
Kushner's meeting with a Russian banker is also a subject of interest in the eyes of investigators, according to the Post.
At the time of the meeting, Trump Tower was the unofficial White House, and every coming and going was in public - except those which the Trump transition team organized to keep under wraps.
Kislyak, regarded as one of Russia's most important spies, was therefore smuggled in by the Trump team for the meeting.
Kislyak was said to be taken aback by Kushner's suggestion, since it would have entailed allowing American officials access to Russian communications equipment at its diplomatic missions.
A dead, 79-foot blue whale washed ashore in northern California as experts try to determine why it died.
The whale, a sub-adult female, was discovered off Marin County's Agate Beach in Bolinas on Thursday.
The whale likely died from blunt force injury caused by a ship collision, according to Mary Jane Schramm, a spokeperson for the Greater Farrallones National Marine Sanctuary in San Francisco.
Scientists have already collected skin and blubber samples ahead of a full necropsy Saturday, KGO reported.
A dead, 79-foot blue whale washed ashore in northern California as experts try to determine why it died
The whale, a sub-adult female, was discovered off Marin County's Agate Beach in Bolinas on Thursday
The whale likely died from blunt force injury caused by a ship collision, according to spokeperson for the Greater Farrallones National Marine Sanctuary in San Francisco
Schramm told Mercury News: ''We can't say for certain it was a ship strike, but there was sign of blunt force injury. All the ribs they examine were broken and that is consistent with a ship strike.'
The whale's body is mostly intact. Researchers say it's rare to find a carcass in such good condition and that could help them learn more about the species.
'We rarely have the opportunity to examine blue whales due to their endangered status,' according to Barbie Halaska of The Marine Mammal Center.
'The opportunity to perform a necropsy on a carcass in this good of condition will help contribute to our baseline data on the species,' she added.
Based on fluke markings, this particular whale was first spotted in 1999. Over the course of nearly two decades, the whale was seen at least 11 times - mostly near the Santa Barbara Channel.
Blue whales are the world's largest animal and they're endangered. About 2,800 - roughly a third of the blue whales in the world - live off the California coast.
More than 100 ex-Special Forces troops were last night being rushed to Spain by tour operators as fears grew of an Islamic State terror attack on British holidaymakers.
The elite force will patrol beaches and hotel complexes disguised as tourists in a bid to prevent jihadis killing defenceless sun-seekers.
It is understood the dramatic move came after intelligence was received that the terror group intended to massacre UK tourists in a repeat of the 2015 attack in Tunisia, when 30 British holidaymakers died.
Rampage: ISIS killer Seifeddine Rezgui seen calmly walking on Sousse beach in Tunisia carrying his weapon
The Mail on Sunday understands that the threat is against tourists in mainland Spain, the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands.
The hand-picked British security teams all have expertise and Special Forces experience in covert surveillance. Their role is to mingle among holidaymakers and spot terrorists before they strike. They have been equipped with special hidden cameras and will liaise directly with Spanish police, according to a source.
MADONNA PLANS CHARITY CONCERT Madonna said she hopes to headline gig at the Manchester Arena Top pop stars have pledged to join Madonna for a Band Aid-style concert she is organising in the wake of the attack. The 58-year-old will headline a free healing gig and she hopes to stage it at the Manchester Arena the scene of Monday nights blast. Singer Ariana Grande, who was performing at the venue on Monday, has already pledged to return to the city for a benefit concert. Advertisement
Last night a security source told The Mail on Sunday: Spain has been singled out as a target by the jihadis, it is wide open to an attack now that security in the UK has been tightened.
This is a very secretive mission because tour operators dont want to spread panic and reduce their business. The ex-troops will be looking out for any suspicious activity which might indicate that terrorists are planning an attack.
You dont get a softer target than British tourists lying in the sun.
The Mail on Sunday understands that, following the Manchester Arena attack on Monday night, a leading British private security company was approached by tour operators who wanted to hire teams of surveillance experts.
The security company then selected former soldiers based on their experience of undercover operations. They were offered 500 per day to fly to some of the most popular destinations for British tourists. These hot spots are expected to be packed with thousands of British families over the bank holiday weekend and during this weeks school half-term break.
The security teams, who are watching major hotels and beaches, have been given strict rules of engagement. A source said: They must not intervene themselves. Instead they will be given points of contact in the Spanish police to report their findings to. Local police officers will make arrests.
The security teams wont be armed either but they will be equipped with hidden cameras to record suspects. Using footage it might be possible to identify terrorists using facial recognition technology.
The Mail on Sunday has been told that teams of up to 12 will watch three or four hotels and nearby beaches in a given area before moving to another location.
SUN, SEA AND GUNS IN BANK HOLIDAY BRITAIN YESTERDAY By Martin Beckford for the Mail on Sunday Armed police and soldiers were out in force across the UK again yesterday despite the terror level threat being downgraded from critical to severe. As the Bank Holiday weekend began, thousands of elite officers patrolled crowded places and iconic locations deemed to be the most likely targets for terrorists. Heavily armed firearms officers mixed with holidaymakers on Blackpool beach, while football fans arriving at Wembley for the FA Cup Final between Chelsea and Arsenal were greeted by the sight of police in armoured cars. People soaking in the sun in Blackpool were joined by armed officers yesterday Grenadier Guardsmen remained on duty in Downing Street so that armed police could be stationed elsewhere. Troops are being deployed under Operation Temperer, which is due to end tomorrow night. Theresa May announced that the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre had assessed that the terror threat was no longer at the highest level after a meeting of the Cobra emergency committee. Intelligence services do not now believe an attack is imminent, after police identified the key players in the Manchester atrocity. Security chiefs said they wanted the public to be reassured by the show of strength, not alarmed. Advertisement
Last night, British tourists in Benidorm had mixed feelings about the arrival of the elite surveillance teams. Martha Cowan, from Devon, said: We definitely feel more on edge right now. I would wholeheartedly welcome more security here.
But Jayne Dickinson, 37, from Sheffield, said: Extra security would actually make me really nervous because I would suddenly think they knew something was about to happen.
My friends son was at the Ariana Grande concert so to be honest its been playing on my mind all week.
Earlier this year, former Metropolitan Police counter-terror chief David Videcette warned that an attack on areas such as the Costa Brava and the Costa Del Sol was very possible. IS has also threatened to launch attacks in Spain in a series of propaganda videos.
Last night a Foreign Office spokesperson said: This is a decision for tour operators and hotel chains if they feel the need to improve their security. Terrorists are likely to try to carry out attacks in Spain.
It is not clear which tour operators are behind the operation.
Two of the UKs biggest, Thomas Cook and Thomson, told The Mail on Sunday they were not aware of the move.
Isolated communities cultivate extremism, writes Maajid Nawaz
The Manchester Islamic Centre frequented by suicide bomber Salman Abedi denounced last weeks attack, saying it has no place in Islam.
While these sentiments are hard to fault, a closer look at the Didsbury mosques past preaching reveals a different picture.
It has hosted speakers such as Abdullah Hakim Quick, Muhammad ibn Adam al-Kawthari, and Abu Eesa Niamatullah, all of whom hold anti-Semitic, homophobic and other worrying views.
Hardline preacher Niamatullah has questioned whether people should put their nation and fellow Britons above Islam.
He also exclaimed: They [Jews] blow up babies as if its a computer game.
They have no humanity, no morality, no ethics, no deen [religion], no guidance, no light, nothing.
He also insisted: Women should not be in the workplace whatsoever.
The effect this kind of messaging can have on disenfranchised, angry young Muslims can be devastating.
And I should know. After joining the Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir, I was imprisoned in Egypt for five years until 2006.
My change of heart, after reading and interacting with Amnesty International, was gradual but absolute.
I renounced my past to call for a secular Islam which also cost me my marriage. Ive also seen first-hand, in my teenage years as an Islamist recruiter, how damaging segregation can be.
Ive met Muslims who were born and raised in this country but for whom English is their second, barely literate, language.
News is gleaned mainly from the digital ghetto of Muslim community media. Why should this matter?
Because isolated communities like this are creating the conditions that cultivate extremism.
To understand how deep the rot has set, we need to look at the root of the problem in these groups and reserve our real vitriol for those who espouse extremist rhetoric.
Reporting individuals such as Salman Abedi is important, but how much praise does anyone really deserve for opposing an IS jihadi?
Even Al Qaeda fights IS. This sets a very low bar. Counter-terrorism must not be confused with countering the extremism that breeds it. And here is where the real work lies.
Jared Kushner proposed a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team during a December meeting with a leading Russian diplomat to 'discuss strategy in Syria', a new report claims.
Kushner spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December about creating the line of communication to discuss the incoming administration's options with Russia in regards to the Syrian conflict.
The intent was to connect Trump's chief national security adviser at the time, Michael Flynn, with Russian military leaders, a source who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed.
Russia, a pivotal player in Syria, has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, often at the expense of civilians during a long civil war.
Jared Kushner wanted to use a secret communication channel with Russia to allow Mike Flynn to speak to military officials about Syria, a new report claims
The White House did not acknowledge the meeting or Kushner's attendance until March. At the time, a White House official dismissed it as a brief courtesy meeting.
Kushner's involvement in the proposed back channel was first reported by The Washington Post, which said he proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities for the discussions, apparently to make them more difficult to monitor.
The newspaper cited anonymous US officials who were briefed on intelligence reports on intercepted Russian communications.
The Post wrote that Kislyak was reportedly taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate - a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Flynn served briefly as Trump's national security adviser before being fired in February
Kusher, pictured with his wife, Ivanka Trump, spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak in December about creating the line of communication to discuss the incoming administration's options with Russia
According to the person familiar with the Kushner meeting, the Trump team eventually felt there was no need for a back channel once Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state, and decided to communicate with Moscow through more official channels.
Tillerson was sworn in on February 1.
Flynn served briefly as Trump's national security adviser before being fired in February after officials said he misled Vice President Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had discussed US sanctions against Russia in a phone call.
Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, told Congress this month that that deception left Flynn vulnerable to being blackmailed by the Russians.
Flynn remains under federal investigation in Virginia over his foreign business ties and was interviewed by the FBI in January about his contacts with Kislyak.
Meeting with reporters in Sicily, two Trump advisers refused to address the contents of Kushner's December meeting with the Russian diplomat.
But they did not dismiss the idea that the administration would go outside normal US government and diplomatic channels for communications with other countries.
Speaking generally, national security adviser HR McMaster said: 'We have back channel communications with a number of countries.
Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Russian Ambassador to the United States Sergei Kislyak in the Oval Office
'It allows you to communicate in a discreet manner.'
In response to repeated questions from reporters, Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said: 'We're not going to comment on Jared. We're just not going to comment.'
Kushner was a trusted Trump adviser last year, overseeing the campaign's digital strategy, and remains an influential confidant within the White House as does his wife, Ivanka Trump.
Federal investigators and several congressional committees are looking into any connections between Russia and the Trump campaign, including allegations that there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
On Saturday, the AP confirmed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 US presidential election, has requested information and documents from Trump's campaign.
The request from the committee arrived last week at campaign headquarters in New York, according to person familiar with the request who wasn't authorized to discuss the developments publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
It was said to be the first time any investigators have made inquiries with Trump's campaign officials.
The Post first reported the request, which covers materials such as emails, phone records and documents dating to Trump's first days as a candidate in July 2015.
Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President-elect Donald Trump, leaves Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue, Sunday, November, 13, 2016
Those inquiries now include scrutiny of Kushner, according to the newspaper.
Obama administration officials have previously told the AP that the frequency of Flynn's discussions with Kislyak raised enough red flags that aides discussed the possibility Trump was trying to establish a one-to-one line of communication - a back channel - with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, Reuters reported that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak last year, including two phone calls between April and November.
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told Reuters that Kushner 'has no recollection of the calls as described.'
Defense attorneys and former FBI agents say that one likely area of interest for investigators would be Kushner's own meetings with Russians, given that such encounters with a variety of Trump associates are at the root of the sprawling probe, now overseen by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Regarding Kushner, former FBI agent Jim Treacy said Friday: 'If there is an investigation on anybody, would other folks around that person be of interest to the FBI as far as being interviewed? The answer to that is a big yes.' If the FBI wants to speak with someone, it's not necessarily an indication of involvement or complicity, said Treacy, who did two tours in Moscow as the FBI's legal attache.
'Really, being spoken to, does not confer a target status on the individual,' he said.
Investigators are also interested in a meeting Kushner had with the Russian banker, Sergey Gorkov, according to reports from The Post and NBC News.
'Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings,' Gorelick said in a statement Thursday. 'He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.'
Police chiefs have asked Ministers to stump up 1.2 million to cover the cost of the controversial investigation into Sir Edward Heath.
Wiltshire Police has spent nearly two years looking into allegations that the late Prime Minister was a paedophile, including claims he was part of a Satanic ritual abuse ring.
The cash-strapped force, which has lost one in six officers in budget cuts, has been accused of wasting money that could be better spent protecting the public.
Wiltshire Police have spent nearly two years looking into allegations that the late Prime Minister was a paedophile, including claims he was part of a Satanic ritual abuse ring. Pictured above, Sir Ted Heath
But now The Mail on Sunday can reveal Wiltshire Police hope they will be reimbursed for the spiralling cost of the Heath investigation, known as Operation Conifer.
The force has asked the Home Office to cover the costs, which stood at 1,228,112 on May 11, on the grounds that the inquiry has looked at allegations nationwide.
A police spokesman said: Operation Conifer is a national investigation that Wiltshire Police is leading on behalf of the Police Service. We have therefore made an application for funding to the Home Office under their special grant funding arrangements.
Critics say the move could set a dangerous precedent that would encourage police chiefs to continue fruitless investigations, knowing they would not damage their forces own budgets.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who was falsely accused of being part of a VIP paedophile ring, said: If this succeeds, chief constables will be at the mercy of every fantasist in the land. Any resources from the Home Office should be devoted to tracking down active terrorists, not historic, dead, alleged paedophiles.
The investigation is expected to end this summer. Whitehall sources said the request had been reviewed and a final decision would be made after the Election.
The Prime Ministers all-powerful chiefs of staff were last night at the centre of extraordinary claims of a blackmail plot by members of Theresa Mays Cabinet.
Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, who form Mrs Mays Praetorian Guard in Downing Street, were warned that notes were being kept by Ministers of their private exchanges with the implicit threat that they will be leaked if they are sacked.
Mr Timothy, 37, and Ms Hill, 43, who have been at Mrs Mays side since her time as Home Secretary, have a reputation for being ferociously protective of the Prime Minister, leading to bitter rows with Ministers or officials who cross her.
Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill (pictured) form Mrs Mays Praetorian Guard in Downing Street
Earlier this month, Chancellor Philip Hammond failed to deny claims that he had expletive-filled arguments with Mr Timothy over the Governments economic policy, while Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has been slapped down for exceeding his brief over the Governments policy on Syria.
Local Government Secretary Sajid Javid has also had run-ins with No 10 over plans to build on the Green Belt.
According to the reports, Mrs Mays team should expect more details to come to light about rows with unnamed Ministers if they are casualties of a post-Election reshuffle. It comes as last weeks shock slump in Mrs Mays poll ratings has blown the lid off simmering resentment in the party over the power which Mr Timothy and Ms Hill wield.
Mr Timothy, a bearded Brummie, is being described privately by leading Tories as the man who lost us the landslide for inserting the controversial dementia tax into the partys manifesto at the last minute over the heads of Ministers and Government policy experts. Under the original plan, all but the last 100,000 of a persons assets could potentially be gobbled up by the cost of social care.
But after proving hugely unpopular with Tory-inclined voters, Mrs May U-turned by promising that the charges would be capped.
One Tory, standing in a Home Counties seat, said: The policy went down like a cup of cold sick on the doorstep, and the U-turn went down like a second cup. My voters dont like weakness. You cant have a strong and stable U-turn.
According to the reports, Mrs Mays team should expect more details to come to light about rows with unnamed Ministers if they are casualties of a post-Election reshuffle
Mr Timothy argued to scrap the partys previous plan to cap care fees on the grounds that it benefited rich families the most. Cabinet Ministers were oblivious to his new proposal until hours before the manifesto launch, while objections raised by John Godfrey, the head of the No 10 policy unit, were ignored.
The fiercely intelligent Mr Timothy was born into a Labour-voting family in Birmingham but switched his allegiance to the Tories.
His background as the son of a steel worker informs his brand of Red Toryism a push for the party to do more to help the working poor.
One source said: He is outraged by inequities such as the overheated housing market: unless young people have a six-figure job in the City they will need a handout from the Bank of Mum and Dad to get on the London property ladder. Why should that depend on how rich your parents are?
But this led to criticism that he is deaf to the ambitions of Tories from other backgrounds. According to one former Government adviser: We would have tested this to destruction before launching. Nicks only focus group is himself.
Party strategists fear that the social care policy has already led to the party falling behind in marginal London seats such as Twickenham, where former Business Secretary Vince Cable is trying to seize back his old constituency from the Tories. One strategist said: 100,000 is chicken feed in areas like that. People like Nick dont understand areas like that.
A Conservative Party spokesman declined to comment.
Newark Liberty International Airport was given the all-clear after police found a pressure cooker and evacuated travelers from the scene, authorities said.
The suspicious package was found at Terminal A of the airport in Newark, New Jersey, at around 4.45pm, authorities said.
A bomb squad, along with detectives, K-9 units and firefighters arrived at the scene while travelers were evacuated from the airport, authorities said.
About an hour after the suspicious package was found, airport officials said it had been cleared.
Authorities evacuated part of Newark Liberty International Airport after police found a pressure cooker in a garbage can
More than an hour after the suspicious package was found, airport officials said it had been cleared
The suspicious package was found at Terminal A of the airport at around 4.45pm, authorities said (file photo, Newark Airport)
Police were alerted to a brown shopping bag left next to a garbage can outside the TSA screening area, with what 'looked like a pressure cooker' inside, a source told NBC.
Air travel is expected to spike this Memorial Day weekend, and airport officials warned of residual delays.
James Bond is famous for two things: saving the world and always getting the girl and none of the stars who have played him did it with more charm or style than Roger Moore.
The actor, who died last week at the age of 89, was adored by the string of glamorous actresses who played his on-screen love interests, and he remained close friends with many of them long after the cameras stopped rolling.
Here his Bond girls share their intimate, and often hilarious, anecdotes of a man they all regard as a perfect gentleman with a mischievous sense of humour always ready to defuse their love scenes with his impish wit.
He saved my life as my bikini began to burn
Britt Ekland: The Man With The Golden Gun (Mary Goodnight) 1974
There were many reasons to adore Roger. He was such fun; he was very tall and very handsome; he was a kind, class act who made filming a joy.
But more than that, he literally saved my life. We were shooting the scene where we were escaping from [the villain] Scaramangas island with a series of controlled explosions and pyrotechnics. It was a burning hell. We walked through the scene in rehearsal several times and each explosion was timed precisely.
Britt Ekland: The Man With The Golden Gun (Mary Goodnight) 1974. She said: 'There were many reasons to adore Roger'
I was in a bikini, of course, and wearing wedge heels which made it tough to run. When the cameras started rolling, I was too slow and one explosion went off right under my bottom and singed my bikini.
My instinct was to cover my face and roll down to the floor, and if you watch the movie you can see me start to go down. Roger grabbed my hand and pulled me up to safety and carried me along to finish the scene unscathed.
Another actor might have told me off or made some sort of comment, but Roger never mentioned it again. He was always ready with a hug and a kind word. We stayed good friends for more than four decades. The fact he was married to Kristina Tholstrup [fourth wife], a Swede like me, showed what taste he had.
We last met four years ago in Paris. It was raining like crazy. We went to a wonderful hotel off the Champs-Elysees, drank champagne and laughed.
He told the most wonderful jokes but they were never crude.
His friendship is one I shall always cherish.
He was my Bond but he was the worlds Bond.
He will for ever be remembered in the movies. And I will carry him in my heart for ever.
Im proud to be first conquest
Madeline Smith: Live And Let Die (Miss Caruso) 1973
Im honoured to have been Rogers first Bond girl and his first conquest. We filmed for three days in our underwear during a particularly cold January and he spent much of the time making me laugh.
I played an Italian villainess who was pushed out of his bed and into a cupboard when Miss Moneypenny knocked on his door. But I can reveal there was another man involved. When Roger used a magnetic watch to pull down the zip at the back of my dress, it was actually a special-effects guy crouched between my legs with a tiny wire attached to the zip.
Madeline Smith: Live And Let Die (Miss Caruso) 1973. She said: 'Im honoured to have been Rogers first Bond girl'
Roger joked that it was an awkward threesome. He had a lightness of touch in his acting and his dealing with people that immediately put one at ease. There was no ego or vanity about him.
Although my part lasted for only a few minutes before the opening credits, it was the role that defined me as an actress, and I have Roger to thank for that. It was his suggestion that I should be offered the role without an audition or even meeting the director though I only found this out years later. I had appeared with him in the TV series The Persuaders and wed hit it off straight away.
We remained great friends and I am close to his lovely daughter Deborah. The family told me a week before that he was dying, but he kept it quiet because he didnt want to create a huge fuss. Thats the sort of man he was.
Roger gave me licence to smell
Gloria Hendry: Live And Let Die (Rosie Carver) 1973
I was the first black Bond girl to kiss 007 but to Roger it didnt matter what colour I was. He just enjoyed delivering those deliciously risque double-entendres.
I play a double agent whos afraid shell be no help to Bond. He replied: Im sure well be able to lick you into shape.
Gloria Hendry: Live And Let Die (Rosie Carver) 1973. She said: 'I was the first black Bond girl to kiss 007 but to Roger it didnt matter what colour I was'
Theres another scene where Im in a bikini, but there was a setback: the night before Id eaten garlic. There we were, getting romantic, and I was breathing garlic all over him. After the take, he said: Youre lucky. My wifes Italian [third wife Luisa Mattioli] and Im used to that.
Sophisticated, fun and above all a gentleman
Tanya Roberts: A View To A Kill (Stacey Sutton) 1985
It was his seventh Bond movie and my first, but he showed me the ropes and told me how things were done.
Id been an Angel in the final season of Charlies Angels on TV, so a Bond movie was a major leap for me. I was nervous, but Roger did everything to make me feel like I belonged, an equal and not out of my depth.
Tanya Roberts: A View To A Kill (Stacey Sutton) 1985. She said: 'It was his seventh Bond movie and my first, but he showed me the ropes and told me how things were done'
We spent two long days filming a scene in an elevator shaft on fire, with flames coming up beneath us, stuck in a cramped, hot space together, but his sense of humour never left him.
He was very good-looking with beautiful features and a gorgeous low voice. All very appealing. But above all, he was a real gentleman sophisticated and fun, with a very positive energy. Ill miss him.
The day I floored Bond...
Maud Adams: The Man With The Golden Gun (Andrea Anders) 1974; Octopussy (she played Octopussy) 1983
007 may have saved the world but it was Roger who saved the Bond franchise, giving it a sense of humour.
Love scenes were never his favourite thing, so hed always turn them into a joke. In Octopussy, I had a love scene where Roger spins me around.
GOLDEN MOMENTS: Roger Moore with Maud Adams, left, and Britt Ekland in 1974s The Man With The Golden Gun
Unfortunately my leg caught him in a sensitive region. It floored him and stopped production until he recovered.
Roger always seemed baffled by the attention from fans, but he underestimated his talent.
He really was a bucket of laughs on set
Kristina Wayborn: Octopussy (Magda) 1983
Roger always loved a good joke, but there is a particular one that will always stay with me. We were filming a love scene on the set at Pinewood Studios, when he got out of bed, walked past the crew and closed a door behind him.
Then we all heard a sound like an elephant urinating. On and on it went. Finally, he came back in, adjusted his trousers, and said: Ah, I feel much better now.
Kristina Wayborn: Octopussy (Magda) 1983. She said: 'Roger always loved a good joke, but there is a particular one that will always stay with me'
In fact, hed found a bucket of water outside the door, and poured it into an empty bucket, making it sound like he was having the longest pee in history. Everyone fell about laughing.
On another occasion, we were on location in Udaipur, India. We were always very careful not to drink the water in India. But one night I wasnt thinking and began brushing my teeth with tap water.
Suddenly, I remembered and started screaming. Rogers hotel room was beneath mine and the walls were quite thin so he figured out what had happened. He came running up to my room with a bottle of Jack Daniels, saying: Take a swig, gargle and swallow. He said it worked for him!
Roger was surrounded by beautiful women while filming Octopussy but he was the perfect gentleman throughout. What a beautiful man, so drop-dead gorgeous.
He waited on his Bond girls like a teaboy
Mary Stavin: Octopussy (Octopussy girl) 1983; A View To A Kill (Kimberley Jones) 1985
Bond is remembered for his martinis shaken, not stirred but off camera, it was Roger who waited on us. Whenever he saw me sitting with other Bond girls Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn, all chatting away in Swedish, hed come up and ask if wed like coffee, milk, sugar, and hed bring the drinks to us.
There arent many stars willing to be a teaboy.
Mary Stavin: Octopussy (Octopussy girl) 1983; A View To A Kill (Kimberley Jones) 1985
Id won the Miss World contest and appeared in a couple of plays when the producers asked me to be in Octopussy, and naturally I was intimidated by the thought of acting opposite Roger Moore, but he immediately put me at ease.
He was such an amazing, sensitive man and the only person Ive ever known who Ive never heard anyone say a bad word about. I had no hesitation when they asked me to come back for A View To A Kill.
That was where I had my first screen kiss and it was with Roger Moore! In the scene, hes chased by gunmen on skis down a mountain into a lake where Im waiting in a submarine.
It was a very nice kiss, but we were both fully clothed in ski gear, so we werent exactly ripping our clothes off.
I have an Octopussy poster on my wall, and two years ago Roger signed it. He wrote: Dear Mary, why did I get bigger billing than the lovely Mary Stavin?
That was Roger. Modest to the end.
Suave and debonair (and thats off screen!)
Lois Chiles: Moonraker (Dr Holly Goodhead) 1979
The debonair, suave Bond you saw on screen was all Roger. Off screen, he was pretty much the same guy. He was elegant, kind and a very dear person, though I think that was partly a defence.
Bond had its critics, and many had questioned Rogers acting. But he would joke about that. When honoured by the Friars Club in New York, he told them: Say whatever you want about how bad my acting is, it wont hurt my feelings, because everybody else has said it before.
Lois Chiles: Moonraker (Dr Holly Goodhead) 1979. She said: 'The debonair, suave Bond you saw on screen was all Roger. Off screen, he was pretty much the same guy'
When I joined Moonraker, it was already Rogers fourth Bond film but he never acted the star. Hed always include me in dinners and drinks with his family after filming. We filmed in glorious locations, in Paris, Venice and Rio de Janeiro, and most of my scenes were with Roger, including a couple of love scenes. Even in those, Roger would be joking to keep the mood light.
It was never drudgery with Roger.
A man has been charged by police after a car was stolen with a six-year-old girl still strapped in the backseat.
Beatrice Felicia was sitting in the back of her father's car when a man pretending to be interested in buying the vehicle in Leyton, north east London, got behind the wheel and drove off.
The incident prompted a city-wide hunt by police which lasted nearly three hours. Beatrice was eventually found safe and well in the local area just after 9pm.
Police said Mozzam Ali, aged 32, was charged with theft of a motor vehicle in connection with the incident - and with a further seven vehicle thefts. He appeared at Thames Magistrates' Court today and was remanded in custody.
Beatrice Felicia, six, of Leyton, London, went missing after a car she was a passenger in was stolen from her father
He will next appear at Snaresbrook Crown Court on a date yet to be confirmed, The Sun reported.
It is thought the youngster, who is of Romanian origin, was abandoned when he realised she was there. Officers said she was found by her grandmother.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said at the time: At this stage it is not known how and where Beatrice got out of the car, nor the exact location where she was seen by her grandmother.
Neither Beatrice nor her grandmother speak English. They will be spoken to by police officers in due course.
Beatrices father arranged to meet the potential buyer near a Jet petrol station on Leyton High Road, around two miles north of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
A staff member at the garage said at the time: I remember the daddy was crying outside, but I didnt see the girl and I didnt see the kidnapper. He added that police officers were looking at CCTV footage captured on the premises.
The suspect was described as Asian and in his 30s, with short dark hair and a dark beard.
The six-year-old was in her father's brown Volkswagen Passat in Leyton High Road, pictured, when it was taken by an Asian man in his 30s
It took police some time to find the missing six-year-old brown Volkswagen Passat.
After Beatrice was taken it was spotted driving towards Chadwell Heath, in the London Borough of Redbridge.
Detectives issued an emergency appeal to find the youngster, who was wearing a pink flowery top and grey leggings. The post was widely shared on social media sites such as Facebook, where users were quick to offer their support.
One person wrote: How awful for that little girl who is in the stolen car!
Another user, on Twitter, added: Good lord. I hope shes found safe and unharmed.
I cant imagine the emotional mess and panic the parents must be experiencing. Officers last night logged the cars details with their automatic number plate recognition cameras meaning that if it is spotted police will be alerted. They can then move quickly to intercept the vehicle.'
Dominic Sanders, 30, has been charged in the murder of a Chicago area woman
A man is charged in the death of a mother of two and actress after surveillance video of him pawning pieces of her jewelry two hours after her murder surfaced.
Dominic Sanders, 30, of University Park, faces first-degree murder, home invasion and armed robbery charges in connection with the death of Andrea Urban, 51, according to CBS Chicago.
Urban was found by her son Sasha, 17, on the floor of her kitchen in her home on the 700 block of Town Place in the Hinsdale neighborhood of Chicago on May 4.
Andrea Urban, 51, was a mother of two, actress, and activist who had survived a 13 year bout with leukemia but advocated on behalf of medical marijuana to help with cancer pain
She'd had her neck and throat cut with a knife, according to police.
'This was a violent, horrific attack on a completely innocent victim who had every right to feel safe in her own home,' said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin.
Authorities say Sanders allegedly entered her home around 10am that morning and a struggle ensued and he stabbed her to death.
Sanders was seen on security cameras walking towards Urban's home with a reflective vest on and walking away around 11am. Urban had texted a friend about 10:00am but then failed to show up at a friend's house hours later, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Her body was found with her throat slit on her kitchen floor by her teenage son; police say a couple hours later, Sanders was in a pawn shop hawking her rings
Her body was found about 3:30pm by her teenage son. Her daughter, Daria, who also lived with her in the house, is in fifth grade. Both are reportedly being cared for by relatives.
About two hours after her death, Sanders was seen at a Melrose Park pawn shop selling rings that had inscriptions on them that Urban's family were able to identify.
At first, cops say Sanders told them he was not at the pawn shop, but later said he had stolen the rings by reaching into Urban's home through a front door and taking them from a shelf.
Sanders, above, initially told police he was not in the pawn shop but then said he had stolen Urban's rings by opening her front door and taking them from a shelf
Police do not know if the pair knew each other somehow but have not yet been able to make a connection between them, reported the outlet.
Sanders reportedly had no fixed address and lived with various friends and relatives.
In the days following the murder, Sanders was active on Facebook, posting pictures of a car he called his 'baby' and making plans with friends and family.
Urban was in her home in the Hinsdale neighborhood of Chicago when she was killed
Urban is described as an actress, leukemia survivor and medical marijuana advocate. She had lived in both New York and Russia before returning to her hometown of Hinsdale.
She was a local actress involved in theater groups, said a GoFundMe page. She would also read essays describing her 13-year battle dealing with chronic myeloid leukemia.
'She was a free spirit, an actress, an advocate, and a fighter,' said the page.
Sanders is being held without bail and his next arraignment is scheduled for June 19.
A couple enjoy food and have fun exchange with staff at Pepper Twins' River Oaks location. Soft Square Bacon is a popular dish with customers. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY
Pepper Twins offers a youthful take on traditional cuisine and a timeless love of food
I counted myself lucky when I finally found a parking spot at one of the popular Houston restaurants in Montrose area.
Pepper Twins (previously known as Cooking Girl), a restaurant serving authentic Sichuan cuisine that opened in 2015, is located amid the busy, assorted restaurants in the area west of downtown Houston.
A small group of young alumni of Rice University gathered around a table for their reunion. They came from Austin, San Antonio and Houston, respectively.
"I have been coming here ever since this was opened. When my friend from China took me here, she said it's exactly how it is in China, it's very like home-style cooking, and it reminded her of a restaurant in Chengdu," said Steven Sharifi, a data engineer at General Motors in Austin.
Sharifi said that prior to graduation, he and his friends often visited Pepper Twins. "We tried everything on the menu, and everything is delicious. Now this is where we go to eat every time we come to Houston," he said.
"The food is incredible. Honest to god, this is equal or greater to any food I had in China," said another member of the group who is half-Chinese and visited China a few times.
The group of young professionals ordered a variety of dishes: mapo tofu, pepper twins chicken, stewed fish in hot sauce, and Jumping on the Mountain in plain English, pig feet. In short time, all plates were picked clean as if storm had swept over.
At the table next to the Rice group, I found Max Levit and his wife enjoying a night out with a few dishes and a bottle of wine.
Levit, whose family-owned Grocers Supply is on the list of Forbes America's Largest Private Companies, said he is an avid food lover. He has dined at the best restaurants in New York, Chicago and San Francisco.
"I have been to places all over US. I don't know what they did here, but this is the best Chinese food I ever had. People here are wonderful, too," said Levit, who regularly dines at Pepper Twins and calls it the best restaurant in Houston.
British Airways warned families they face half-term travel chaos today after it cancelled scores of flights yesterday from Heathrow and Gatwick following a 'catastrophic' computer crash.
Families trying to get away for the Bank Holiday were caught up in the chaos, with the knock-on effect spreading mayhem around the globe.
Nearly 300 flights were cancelled worldwide, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
Furious passengers in the UK, United States, Rome, Lisbon, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga were among those forced to sit in aircraft stranded on the tarmac for hours.
British Airways warned families they face half-term travel chaos today after it cancelled scores of flights following a 'catastrophic' computer crash
Families trying to get away for the Bank Holiday were caught up in the chaos, with the knock-on effect spreading mayhem around the globe
Others told of confusion at Heathrow's Terminal 5 as they were stuck in massive queues after being unable to check in online with many missing those flights that did depart earlier in the day.
As the congestion grew, BA warned passengers to stay away from Heathrow and Gatwick, eventually having to cancel all flights until midnight last night.
BA apps and parts of its website were not working for several hours. Staff were forced to write the limited flight information they had on white boards after digital systems and tannoys failed.
Travel experts said BA had suffered a 'massive, unprecedented system outage' that would have 'a huge knock-on effect for passengers for days to come'.
The flag carrier apologised for the meltdown, though it denied speculation of a cyber attack, instead blaming a 'power supply issue'. However, IT experts criticised the airline's computer system, which has crashed worldwide several times since it was updated last year.
Brian Lord, a former GCHQ director and managing director of computer security firm PGI Cyber, said: 'This is the sixth time BA's systems have gone down and suggests they are vulnerable to hackers in a way similar to the NHS.
BA said it was 'experiencing a global system outage' and told passengers not to travel to London airports on Saturday
As the congestion grew, BA warned passengers to stay away from Heathrow and Gatwick, eventually having to cancel all flights until midnight last night
'It might be a computer glitch this time but you'd expect a multi-national operating a 24-hour service to be a lot more robust than this. People will be worried that if something like this can happen then what else is possible? Will planes start dropping out of the sky?'
By late afternoon yesterday, Terminal 5, one of BA's main hubs, was crowded with stranded passengers. Heathrow staff handed out bottles of water as travellers waited in vain for announcements from BA.
In one part of the huge terminal, hundreds of bags that could not be put on to planes were cordoned off and guarded by staff.
Nabil Assaf, 50, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, who was due to fly out with his wife and two small children for a holiday in Beirut, said: 'It's total chaos. We have been here for hours and there hasn't been a single announcement.
'We queued up for about two hours to sort out our bags and just before we got to the counter it closed. It's incredibly frustrating, especially for the kids as it's their big holiday and it's been ruined.
'We've been looking forward to it for ages. We've been planning it for six months'.
Another father, who did not want to be named, said he was due to fly from Heathrow to Krakow in Poland with his family for a four- night holiday.
Travel experts said BA had suffered a 'massive, unprecedented system outage' that would have 'a huge knock-on effect for passengers for days to come'
All BA flights from Heathrow and Gatwick have been cancelled for the rest of the day because of a 'major IT system failure' that is causing 'severe disruption worldwide'
He said: 'The first I head about the problems was when I got a phone call from our taxi driver in Krakow who said there were no flights leaving from Heathrow. We've been here for two hours and we still don't know what is going on.
'It wouldn't be that bad if we were told something, but no one had told us anything.
Phil Davies, who writes for Travel Weekly, spoke to The Mail on Sunday at Gatwick while held on the tarmac for five hours en-route to Barbados with his family. 'This is a logistical nightmare for BA,' he said. 'Not only has the airline got to deal with the people who can't fly today, but their planes will be in the wrong places all over the world for the next few days.
'The compensation bill for the airline will be huge they will have to pay each person on a long-haul flight 600 [525]. Plus, there will be bills to find accommodation.'
Yesterday evening, some passengers hoping to travel today were able to check in online. BA said: 'We're working hard to get anyone due to fly on Saturday on to the next available flights. Those unable to fly will be offered a full refund.'
My trainers scrunched on the sand of the most northerly beach in Britain. Surely I was, for a brief moment, further north than any other person in Britain.
I had arrived on the Shetland Islands at Sumburgh, via a flight from Glasgow, and had then driven a hired car the 25 miles or so to Lerwick, Britains most northerly town.
Later, two ferries (all for the princely sum of 13), plus a drive up along the A968, took me to our most northerly inhabited island, Unst. Here I found our most northerly settlement, Skaw, where I spoke to Alison, who was mowing the last lawn in the UK, a mere stones throw from the beach.
Shetland's Viking roots are evident in the names and ruins here, such as at Jarlshof (pictured), where Steve toured the remnants of a wheelhouse
The Shetlands comprise 100 scattered islands, 16 of which are inhabited the others are claimed by a motley assortment of wildlife, including puffins, seals and otters. I had time to visit only three of them, which gives me 97 reasons to return.
When I do come back, Ill make the trip in June it is still so light at midnight that it is possible to read a newspaper outside.
Lerwick, on the island of Mainland, is the only settlement of any real size and accounts for about a third of the total population of the Shetlands.
The islands have a Norse feel to them, which is probably not surprising when you consider that they are only 200 miles from Norway.
Those Viking roots are evident in names and ruins, such as at Jarlshof, where I plodded through the remnants of a wheelhouse, so-called because its rooms resemble the spokes of a wheel.
An otter spotted on the small island of Yall
During the Second World War The Shetland Bus, a secret special operations group, maintained a sea route between the islands and Nazi-occupied Norway.
This clandestine operation, initially using just fishing boats, conveyed agents, arms and supplies to the Norwegian coast.
There are many reminders of those courageous voyages, especially at the village of Scalloway, where the group was based from 1942.
The other island I visited was Yell, which I loved. Some people visit Yell on their way to Unst, but I loitered and managed to discover Britains most northerly pub.
My only regret was my total ineptitude when it came to spotting wildlife. Whales, porpoises, dolphins, merlins theyre all there, but I saw none.
Steve Roberts is the author of Lesser Known Christchurch
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Good on ya, mite! said the man in the airport security queue at Sydney, as I handed him the passport he had dropped without noticing. Where ya headed for?
When I told him I was going to the Queensland coast and the fabulous Whitsundays, he replied: Ah, beaut. Youll lav it. Wish I was. Im headed for the cold south. Be even colder than here.
Arriving Down Under in winter from the northern hemisphere, you have to make a few mental adjustments. The further south you go, of course, the cooler it gets.
Whitehaven Beach (pictured) is frequently cited as the most beautiful in the world. More than four miles of white sand stretch around Hill Inlet, where the currents continuously whirl the sand and the water around to create a dazzling spiral
Theres nothing cold about the welcome in Australia, though. Youll instantly feel at home.
Id caught a glimpse of Sydneys famous Harbour Bridge as we came in to land. Now, though, we were heading to Brisbane (or Brizzie as the man at the airport called it), then further north to the airfield at Proserpine.
It has recently been renamed Whitsunday Coast airport, to acknowledge the reason why most people use it.
Even though it was winter, the temperature was a pleasantly warm 20C when we reached Airlie Beach, a town on the mainland that is the usual starting point for trips out to the Whitsundays.
We were staying at the Mirage Whitsundays, a stunning collection of new, self-catering apartments and houses overlooking Pioneer Bay.
Mark Wyatt (pictured), an Englishman known affectionately around here as Dr Rum, owns Airlie Beachs Rum Bar, where he blends his own concoctions
Wealthier visitors to the Whitsundays used to fly to Hamilton Island, which has its own small airport, bypassing Airlie Beach altogether. Now the town is becoming more popular, thanks in part to the recent upgrade of the Proserpine airport.
Although this region was hit by Cyclone Debbie earlier this year, Airlie Beach and the Whitsundays escaped relatively lightly compared with other places along the Queensland coast. Holidaymakers have been urged by officials not to cancel their plans.
Those who do come here would be well advised to book one of Dan Moreiras Segway tours. After a few minutes of instruction, our group took off on these battery-powered scooters along the Bicentennial Walkway towards lovely Cannonvale Beach.
On the way, Dan regaled us with anecdotes about the area, such as how he built part of his kitchen out of teak salvaged from a local shipwreck, and how Angelina Jolie, who once filmed here, ordered chocolate brownies from the bakery in Airlie Beach and they quickly became her favourite. Youll see why if you try them, he said.
From the beach we could see the spectacular wreck where Dan found his kitchen worktops. The lovely three-masted schooner Whitsunday Magic was driven aground in a storm almost three years ago, and her owners were unable to afford the cost of salvaging her.
Malcolm's base was here at Mirage Whitsundays, a stunning collection of new, self-catering apartments and houses overlooking Pioneer Bay
Anne-Marie Oxley, manager of the Mirage, said: Its kind of sad to see her I had my wedding reception aboard her. Now she just sits there rotting.
The wreck has become something of a tourist attraction after being left to the mercy of the elements in Pioneer Bay.
After our Segway adventure, we wandered into Airlie Beachs Rum Bar.
Weve got 501 different varieties here, said owner Mark Wyatt, an Englishman known affectionately around here as Dr Rum. As we gazed at the bewildering array of bottles displayed behind the bar, he joked: Well get you through as many of them as we can!
Dr Rum is a mine of information on his favourite spirit, having travelled extensively around the Caribbean. Though not a distiller himself, he blends rums, and also has a collection of rare bottles, including a pre-Castro Cuban Bacardi.
We spent a convivial couple of hours being plied with rums before heading for a restaurant by the lagoon called Mr Bones, where we ate delicious lamb and baba ganoush pizza, washed down with yet more rum.
Taking a boat from Airlie Beach to see the Great Barrier Reef is a six-hour round trip, so if you havent got your sea legs, an Air Whitsundays seaplane flight is a better option.
In 1975, one of the airlines pilots, John Ramsden, was the first to notice a wonderful heart-shaped cluster of coral, measuring just 56ft across. Since then, Heart Reef has been the site of hundreds of declarations of love and marriage proposals, as couples fly over it.
Divers and snorkellers are banned from the area because of its protected status, so a flight is the only way to see it properly.
The three-masted schooner Whitsunday Magic (pictured) was driven aground in a storm almost three years ago, and her owners were unable to afford the cost of salvaging her
The underwater patterns formed by the vast areas of coral looked like a bright turquoise and blue abstract painting, as our pilot Mike went in search of Heart Reef. But even he, despite his expert knowledge of the area, sometimes finds it difficult to spot immediately. But suddenly there it was.
Thank goodness for that. I was beginning to think I might have missed it, said Mike. Beautiful, isnt it?
There are 74 islands in the Whitsundays, and most of them are uninhabited. Many are little more than rocky protrusions with a few trees growing on them. They took their name from a log in Captain Cooks journal, in which he wrote of Whitsundays passage on the day he sailed among them in 1770.
Its often jokingly claimed that they should be called the Whitmondays as Cook would have had to cross the international dateline (had it existed back then) on his voyage, and was therefore a day ahead of the time back in Britain.
Seven of the islands now have exclusive resorts on them, with Hayman Island featuring regularly in lists of the worlds most exclusive private getaways.
After the success of our flight, we decided it was time to discover the delights of Pioneer Bay on jet-skis.
Malcolm spotted a giant Napoleon wrasse during his snorkelling trip (stock image)
Our instructor, Captain Tony, of Ocean Dynamics, led us on a fast ride across the bay, culminating in a visit to the wreck of the Whitsunday Magic. Although the vessel had looked intact from a distance, the ship was a sad sight close up, her cabin curtains in tatters, and mud and silt covering her decks.
We also signed up for a trip to Whitsunday Island from Abell Point Marina, near Airlie Beach, in a rigid inflatable.
Hope youre ready for a fast ride! said Ross, our eco host, as we climbed aboard the vessel. Fast it certainly was and bumpy too and Ross handed out waterproofs to keep the spray off our clothes.
Whitsunday Island is the largest of the Whitsundays and is a national park. Our captain, Keith, dropped us off at the sandy bay of Cid Harbour.
It felt like being abandoned on a desert island, but Ross led us into the tropical undergrowth and up and over a wooded hill to a lookout spot on the other side of the island. From there we could see the entire sweep of Whitehaven Beach, frequently cited as the most beautiful in the world.
More than four miles of the whitest sand Ive ever seen stretched out below us. From the lookout we could also see Hill Inlet, where the currents continuously whirl the sand and the water around, to create a dazzling mix of blues, greens, whites and turquoises. There are strict conservation laws to preserve the sand.
The rule here is, Take only photos. Leave only footprints, said Ross.
After snorkelling over coral with a shoal of moon wrasse and a giant but gentle Napoleon wrasse (so-called because the bump on its head makes it look as if its wearing the little emperors hat), we headed back to harbour.
Hope youve enjoyed it, said Ross. Make sure you get yourself back again one day.
After our holiday of a lifetime, we reluctantly made our way back to Whitsunday Coast airport, where the Whisky Charlie Bar was doing a brisk trade though Im not sure whether punters were having a dram of whisky or a shot of Dr Rums favourite spirit.
All too soon our flight was called, so we did not have the opportunity to toast the people whod made our trip such a pleasure. Anyway, Im not sure what the traditional Australian toast is.
Possibly Good on ya, mite.
Looking for a teenage-friendly attraction in Orlando, Florida?
Or seeking an affordable break in Thailand?
Mail on Sunday's Travel Editor Frank Barrett answers your questions this week.
A new attraction inspired by the blockbuster film Avatar opened yesterday at Disneys Animal Kingdom park - Pandora, The World Of Avatar (pictured)
QUESTION: We are planning to take our two teenage grandchildren to Orlando this summer. Are there any new attractions to look out for? Barbara, by email
ANSWER: A new attraction inspired by the blockbuster film Avatar opened yesterday at Disneys Animal Kingdom park. Pandora, The World Of Avatar features massive mountains floating in the sky, rainforests pulsing light, and breathtaking flights for explorers soaring above an alien moon on the backs of great winged banshees.
Seven-night Orlando packages with Virgin Holidays (virginholidays.co.uk, 0344 739 0025) cost from 925 per person.
The price includes scheduled Virgin Atlantic flights, accommodation on a room-only basis at Disneys All Star Music Resort, and car hire.
QUESTION: MY elderly mother has always wanted to visit the Norwegian fjords and is keen to go this summer. Can you suggest a suitable trip? Mark, by email
ANSWER: P&O Cruises (pocruises.com, 0843 373 0111) is offering a seven-night cruise on Britannia from 849 per person for a inside cabin on a full-board basis.
If you can travel in October, Trailfinders is offering an eight-night package to Phuket in Thailand (pictured) from 649 per person
The ship departs Southampton on June 18, and ports of call are Stavanger, Olden, Alesund and Bergen.
QUESTION: Do you have any tips for an affordable break in Thailand? Steve, by email
ANSWER: If you can travel in October, Trailfinders (trailfinders.com, 020 7368 1200) is offering an eight-night package to Phuket from 649 per person.
The price includes return flights, eight nights at the three-star Best Western Premier Bangtao Beach with breakfast, and private transfers.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR FRANK BARRETT?
Contact him at askfrank@mailonsunday.co.uk or on Twitter: @FRANKBARRETTMOS
She's been in Melbourne for her defamation case against Woman's Day.
And on Thursday, Rebel Wilson revealed to the court that she believes her great-aunt Lilian Bounds was the wife of Walt Disney.
The 37-year-old said that she had private access to Disneyland as a child and is now a 'life member' of the extremely exclusive Club 33 at the Californian theme park.
Connections! Rebel Wilson (pictured with Hugh Sheridan) revealed that her great-aunt Lilian Bounds was the wife of Walt Disney
The exclusive club rumoured to have less than 500 members, is the only place in Disneyland where alcohol is served.
To join Club 33, members pay $25,000 USD as an initiation fee and then $10,000 USD each year to maintain their membership.
'Most people wouldn't even know it exists,' Rebel told the court according to The Sydney Morning Herald.
Perks: The 37-year-old said that she had private access to Disneyland as a child and is now a 'life member' of the extremely exclusive Club 33 at the Californian theme park
Exclusive: To join Club 33, members pay $25,000 USD as an initiation fee and then $10,000 USD each year to maintain their membership
It's a secret: 'Most people wouldn't even know it exists' Rebel said
The club features hidden secret door however members do not ring its bell, instead using an electronic VIP card.
Tapping the card on the front of the door automatically notifies staff and grants permitted visitors access.
Enjoying private entry as a child, Rebel used photos of her time at the park as evidence in court.
Advanced: The club features a hidden secret door accessed by a VIP card
Flashbacks: Enjoying private entry as a child, Rebel used photos of her time at the park as evidence in court
Evidence: Rebel enjoyed her visits at the park, sharing all her pictures with the court on Thursday
Previously talking about her secret membership on The Graham Norton Show alongside Friends actor, Matt Le Blanc, she shared the perks of her access.
On a recent visit with her family, Rebel revealed she bumped into Hollywood actor Bruce Willis before getting caught for trying to steal the free desserts.
'They had a buffet with all you can eat desserts and I actually got busted cause they caught me putting extra desserts in my bag,' she shared.
Perks: Previously talking about her secret membership on The Graham Norton Show Rebel shared the perks of her access
Busted! 'They had a buffet with all you can eat desserts and I actually got busted cause they caught me putting extra desserts in my bag'
The last time Rebel was spotted at the park was with fellow Australian actor, Hugh Sheridan just one month ago.
Dressed in a casual white shirts and jeans, the actors wore matching Disneyland hats.
'Happiest Place on Earth! #Club33 #Disneyland,' captioned Rebel.
Aussie friends: The last time Rebel was spotted at the park was with fellow Australian actor, Hugh Sheridan just one month ago
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She swapped her usual haunts on the plush Kings Road for the sunny Spanish resort.
And Lottie Moss looked smoking hot when she joined her Made In Chelsea companion Emily Blackwell as she hit the town in Marbella for a night out on Friday.
Channeling her older supermodel half-sister Kate, the 19-year-old cut her model-honed figure in the busty fitted off-the-shoulder white top.
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Made In Marbella! Lottie looked smoking hot in busty off-the-shoulder top on night out as she channels supermodel sister Kate on a night out on Friday
She teamed her evening attire with quirky flared trousers and towering metallic platform shoes.
Keeping her accessories to a minimum, she wore a simple necklace and carried only a small red clutch.
Accentuating her model beauty, Lottie touched up her features with deftly brushes of eyeliner and a slick of cherry blossom pink lipstick.
The beauty looked utterly relaxed following what appeared to be a stressful day when she discovered her luggage was lost in transit.
Keep it simple! Keeping her accessories to a minimum, she styled a simple necklace and carried only a small red clutch
Moss be in the genes! Lottie - the younger sister of supermodel Kate Moss - was spotted lighting a cigarette outside Malaga airport after an airline lost her luggage in transit on Friday
Earlier on in the day, Lottie had looked understandably forlorn as she sneaked off for a crafty cigarette outside Magala airport on Friday.
The younger half-sister of Kate travelled to the Spanish island for a weekend of partying.
The rising starlet wore a loose fitting grey t-shirt for her journey with pale blue mum-jeans.
Frustated: Lottie, a fledging model herself, wore a loose fitting grey t-shirt for her journey with pale blue mum-jeans.
In true Moss fashion, her blonde locks fell beyond her shoulders and Lottie matched the look with subtle silver jewellery.
After landing in the Spanish city, enraged Lottie took to Twitter to remonstrate against the blundering airline, writing: 'Just arrived in Marbella and no luggage, might not even arrive tomorrow and I'm only here for 3 days such poor service from Gatwick airport.'
It stuck a far angrier tone that Lottie's previous social media offerings.
Lighter: In true Moss fashion, her blonde locks fell beyond her shoulders and Lottie matched the look with subtle silver jewellery
Relations: Born to parents Peter Edward Moss and Inger Solnordal, Lottie is Kate Moss half-sister, with Kate being the offspring of Peter and his first wife Linda
Positive: Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 19-year-old model shared a sizzling bikini snap as she urged her fans to embrace their shape
Mingling: Lottie posed alongside a glam pal at the tropical-themed event
Taking to Instagram on Friday, the model shared a sizzling bikini snap as she urged her fans to embrace their shape.
She wrote: 'We may not all love our figure, we all have imperfections but I have learnt to love mine, I don't have a small bum or huge boobs but I'm happy that way.
'And for any girls out there that think they need to photoshop pictures or adjust things about themselves in an unsafe way need to know that nobody is perfect.
'And although you go on Instagram and see loads of pictures of models that look amazing, I can tell you now it takes a lot of pictures, nice lighting, a flattering outfit, hair and makeup, etc to do so! #loveyourself'.
Lottie is the half-sister of supermodel Kate and has followed in her sibling's footsteps with a number of high-profile campaigns - even landing her own Vogue cover.
Spotted! Mark Wright later joined Lottie Moss at the launch of Mahiki Beach in Marbella on Saturday
Pals! Callum Best was also seen having a good time at the event
Night out: Callum was earlier seen chatting to a female pal at a 'Starlight' bus stop
Im at my happiest when I model, so I figured I might as well do that,' she told The Telegraph.
'I could get a degree at any time. Theres no point doing one if you arent going to use it.'
Born to parents Peter Edward Moss and Inger Solnordal, Lottie is Kate Moss half-sister, with Kate being the offspring of Peter and his first wife Linda.
In good company! He enjoyed a drinking a bottle of beer as he chatted to pals
Stylish: He was wearing a pair of fitted chinos and a trendy bomber jacket
The Teen Moms have been together nine years but part of that shared history still haunts Catelynn Lowell Baltierra.
In a sneak peek of Mondays episode of OG, Catelynn and husband Tyler Baltierra, both 25, joined friends Maci Bookout and Amber Portwood, and their significant others, in Puerto Rico, according to People.com.
As they sat around a barbecue, Catelynn, shared: 'One day Ill have more kids.'
Their first little girl: Teen Moms OG star Catelynn Lowell Baltierra's husband Tyler revealed that his wife still feels extreme guilt for giving their daughter Carly up for adoption in 2009
Tyler reminded his wife about her struggle with postpartum depression, which has been an ongoing issue as they prepare to expand their family after the birth of their second daughter, Novalee, on January 1, 2015.
Catelynn admitted that she 'never even knew she had it' back in 2009 after she and Tyler put their first child, Carly, up for adoption.
Tyler recalled the strange mix of emotions the young parents felt at knowing they had a child but not being able to raise her.
Catelynn added: 'It couldve been really easy. I couldve been selfish and brought her home with me and not given a f*** about her future because I just wanted her.'
Visitation rights: Tyler with his daughter back in 2010. The couple that adopted Carly allowed the teen parents to visit the todler
At that point, she had to walk away from the group as she became very emotional.
'She gets bothered by Carly,' Tyler told Maci, who revealed she also suffered from postpartum depression after having her daughter, Jayde, with fiance Taylor McKinney in 2015
'She tries to be happy, but it bothers her bad. Shes got a lot of guilt.
Baby joy: Tyler and Catelynn welcomed their second daughter, Novalee, on January 1, 2015 and she was still losing the baby weight when they went to the MTV Movie Awards in LA in March
'When youre 16 and youre so scared and you place a child, then when youre 24 and you actually have one, youre like, "Wow, I could have, like, a seven-year-old, eight-year-old running around this could be something."
'It just makes you question everything, you know?'
Maci advised: 'You cant have regrets.' Tyler clarified: 'Not regrets, but lessons learned.'
Teen Mom OG airs Mondays on MTV.
She's been romantically linked with F1 racing star Lewis Hamilton.
But Canadian fashion model Winnie Harlow, 22, was more interested in spending time with her gal pal Martha Hunt as they celebrated the Monaco Grand Prix at the Martini Yacht Party on Friday.
Stunning Winnie, who has been featured in Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazine, let her hair down for with her pal enjoying the opulent surroundings.
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F1: Canadian fashion model Winnie Harlow, 22, put on a leggy display on the Martini Yacht in Monaco with model Martha Hunt celebrating the arrival of the F1 race over the weekend
The former America's Next Top Model contestant - who suffers with vitiligo - stepped out in in a see through flowing gown with split hems to reveal her elegant pins.
Never seen in anything other than sartorial perfection, Winnie's trademark short hair was swept neatly behind her ears into a pixie crop.
Next to her was Victoria Secret model Martha Hunt who wowed in a black leather biker jacket with flowing navy gown.
Stunning: Never seen in anything other than sartorial perfection, Winnie's trademark short hair was swept neatly behind her ears into a pixie crop
The North Carolina native, who has walked more than 180 shows, matched her look with subtle gold jewellery.
Guests enjoyed the best in Italian aperitivo created by renowned Williams Martini Racing chef Michael Caines and danced on the deck to the sounds of Becky Tong.
Swizz Beatz surprised guests with an exclusive DJ set enjoyed by guests on yachts on either side.
World famous fashion photographer Greg Williams decided to do an impromptu shoot of Winnie on the side of the yacht.
Star: Winnie shot to fame after being discovered by Tyra Banks on America's Next Top Model - but recently revealed she had never believed she would make it on the show
Winnie shot to fame after being discovered by Tyra Banks on America's Next Top Model - but recently revealed she had never believed she would make it on the show.
She said: 'When America's Next Top Model was casting for the new season I asked all my fans online to tag Tyra Banks so she could see my photos - and they did!'
'My little sister started a Facebook page for me and one of the producers from the show sent a message showing interest.
'Initially I didn't believe it but I followed through and ended up being on the show for season 21. After Tyra gave me that opportunity it was my time.'
Having been bullied at school for her vitiligo, Winnie added that she never expected to achieve such success in the fashion industry.
Overcoming: Having been bullied at school for her vitiligo, Winnie added that she never expected to achieve such success in the fashion industry
Solo: The catwalk beauty also recently admitted she is not a fan of being branded a 'role model' -as people shouldn't want to emulate others
Party time: Rapper Swizz Beatz and Jessica Pace also attended the Martini Yacht Party
Cheers: Actor Laurie Calvert celebrated the evening with a glass in hand
Star in stripes: Irish presenter Darren Kennedy wore a pair of striped trousers and short adorned with birds
Nautical naughtiness: Laurie and Danny looked fashion-forward in their stripy ensembles
However, the catwalk beauty also recently admitted she is not a fan of being branded a 'role model' -as people shouldn't want to emulate others.
She told Elle Canada: 'I feel like I am an inspiration. Thats the word I prefer.
'I dont believe that I have to be a role model, someone to be emulated. My mom inspires me, and I take great things from her, but there are things from my mom that I would never do.'
Boys will be boys: Tom Bull, Footballer James Mackie, and Azim Majid all scrubbed up well for the soiree
Lewis had denied that he was dating Winnie on The Ellen DeGeneres show last October, saying he was single and choosing to stay 'focused on my racing' instead.
He and the supermodel were first linked after they were seen leaving the GQ Men Of The Year Awards in London in carefully orchestrated way in September.
At the time The Sun reported that Winnie had struck up a bond with Lewis in July, but their relationship had recently 'stepped up a notch'.
Suited and booted: Cheryl's ex husband Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini wore a smart grey suit
Glam: Model Jessiqa Pace and Alessandro Roja kicked back and relaxed on the yacht
Music madness: Becky Tong DJ'd at the event, while Jessiqa went for nautical glamour in a pair of wide leg white trousers and striped Bardot top
Sultry: Model Martha Hunt wore a sexy navy blue silk dress
Stunning: Martha looked sensational in the dramatic gown
Racy in lace: Radio DJ Pips Taylor wore a satin finish lace dress that hinted at nudity underneath
Celebrations: Pips and Darren danced the night away
Mindy Kaling was spotted looking in high spirits as she stepped out with her close pal and former The Office co-star B. J. Novak for dinner at Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills on Thursday.
The 37-year-old The Mindy Project creator had slid into a colorful, horizontally striped half-sleeved top and a high-waisted pair of flowing navy slacks.
She and B. J., who's also 37, had played on-off love interests Kelly Kapoor and Ryan Howard on The Office, as well as dating in real life years ago, but are platonic now.
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Radiant: Mindy Kaling was spotted looking in high spirits as she stepped out with her close pal and former The Office co-star B. J. Novak on Thursday
Mindy had accented her Thursday night look with bracelets, gleaming hoop earrings and a large black leather purse that complemented her black shoes.
Meanwhile, B. J. went casual in a charcoal hoodie with the sleeves rolled up over his forearms, slipping on a blue pair of trousers and a watch at his left wrist.
On The Howard Stern Show in 2014, Mindy discussed B. J. when Howard asked: 'Have you had a great love in your life, where it just hurts that it didn't work out?'
The look: The 37-year-old The Mindy Project creator had slid into a colorful, horizontally striped half-sleeved top and a high-waisted pair of flowing navy slacks
Without initially giving the 'great love's name, she said she'd had one, and when Howard asked: 'Why did it not work out?' she offered a halting response.
'Because I this is lame. It sounds not its, again, not profound, but, like, people are so different, and you can overlap in certain ways, but - that are important, but not the ones that are the most important or something,' said she.
As they went on mulling Mindy's ex, Howard noted: 'You have that smile - why don't we set you back up with this guy? I think it could work. You look like you're in love.'
Background: She and B. J., who's also 37, had played on-off love interests Kelly Kapoor and Ryan Howard on The Office, as well as dating in real life years ago, but are platonic now
Mindy was reticent, calling B. J. 'my best friend,' but when Howard pressed: 'He broke up with you or you broke up with him?' she revealed B. J. had left her.
'Oh, so you want him back. You would take him back,' Howard theorized, but Mindy maintained: 'No, no, because it was - it was years, years ago that that breakup happened, like 10 years ago.'
In trademark Howard Stern fashion, he prodded: 'Best sex of your life was this guy?,' prompting Mindy to divulge that 'it was pretty d*mn good, yeah.'
Coordinated: Mindy had accented her Thursday night look with bracelets, gleaming hoop earrings and a large black leather purse that complemented her black shoes
Soon after, Howard asked: 'When he broke up with you, did you get angry?,' to which Mindy replied: 'Oh, so sad,' clarifying: 'Not angry. Sad. Sad, sad.'
Said she: 'Oh, that was the f*** - that was the hottest I have ever looked, cause I stopped eating,' and Howard vamped: 'Right. Good for you.'
Mindy explained: 'When I get depressed, I stop eating, so I was so miserable and I was so beautiful,' getting a laugh from Howard and his co-host Robin Quivers.
Keeping it simple: Meanwhile, B. J. went casual in a charcoal hoodie with the sleeves rolled up over his forearms, slipping on a blue pair of trousers and a watch at his left wrist
Mindy reminisced: 'I remember thinking, like, waking up, barely getting out of bed, and we worked together, but I didnt care. I had no makeup, and I was - I just - I could just - and all of my clothes fit so well. And - but I didnt - I was real miserable.'
Howard offered his theory that this man was, in fact, B. J., and Mindy conceded he was right, though she added that 'you're not Sherlock Holmes or anything, Howard.'
As the interview rolled along, Howard mused: 'If he asked you to marry him, you would've,' and she admitted that 'At the time' that they'd dated, that was true.
Throwback: On The Howard Stern Show in 2014, Mindy discussed B. J. when Howard asked: 'Have you had a great love in your life, where it just hurts that it didn't work out?'
The Massachusetts-born comedian did qualify, though, that 'I was 24,' noting 'for the record' that 'if anyone asked me to marry me, I would've said yes.'
Howard, not long thereafter, said to Mindy: 'let's hope he calls you tomorrow and asks you to marry him,' but she insisted that 'one thing about this is that I love him and I think he's a great person but we don't - I'm not holding a candle for B. J.'
Yet Howard still felt that 'if he called you tomorrow and said: "Listen, I made a terrible mistake. We must get back together and get married," you would do it.'
Mindy said: 'I don't know. I don't know,' and Howard pointed out: 'It's not a no,' in response to which his guest offered an unconvinced-sounding: ''Kay.'
Billionaire phone tycoon John Caudwell, 64, is a tough act to follow for his ex, Claire Johnson, 47.
Caudwell has a new girlfriend Modesta Vzesniaus-kaite, a Lithuanian cyclist half his age, but Johnson says its hard moving on from such a massive character.
Nobody can really live up to John, she told me at the tycoons charity Butterfly Ball.
Johnson, the mother of Caudwells youngest son Jacobi, greeted her rival with a kiss.
Modesta, 33, left little to the imagination in a floor-length diaphanous dress. You have to be very strong to wear something as revealing as this, she said.
Billionaire phone tycoon John Caudwell, far right, left and right, said his ex Claire Johnson, far left in the black dress, is a 'tough act to follow' for new girlfriend Modesta Vzesniauskaite, in the white dress. Despite the change in relationship, the women greeted each other with a kiss at the Butterfly Ball, right. Also pictured is his youngest son Jacobi
Colin comes over all continental in Cannes
Euro-Luvvie Colin Firth is already flirting with La Dolce Vita after applying for joint Italian-British citizenship in a fit of pique over Brexit.
The Mr Darcy actor flaunted his new status as an Italian heartthrob at a showbiz party in Cannes this week, flanked by Mexican-born star Salma Hayek, left, and French actress Juliette Binoche. Oh what a night! Hayek gushed.
Colin Firth, centre, has applied for joint Italian citizenship following Brexit and was using his continental charm on Salma Hayek, left, and Juliette Binoche, right at Cannes
Bridget Jones star Firth branded last Junes Brexit referendum result a disaster of epic proportions.
He says hes applying for dual citizenship to have the same passports as the rest of his family: Italian wife Livia Giuggioli and their sons Luca, 16, and Matteo, 13.
Lord Fellowes, Downton Abbey screenwriter, says we might have to wait some time for a film version of the costume drama .
I really hope that the Downton film happens, he says.
Its still up in the air but I think it must be reasonably likely, because we know theres such a big audience out there.
Earlier this week, Hugh Bonneville who played the Earl of Grantham in the series poured cold water on the idea.
Speaking at the Chelsea Flower Show, the actor said: There is no script that I have read, so I think it is hugely unlikely.
But of course I would love to do it.
Mariella solves beauty tangle for the over-50s
Her Nordic blonde bob is as distinctive as her husky voice and in broadcaster Mariella Frostrups book, good hair is the secret to looking fab over 50.
When I was younger, the fallen-out-of-bed look was quite sexy, says Mariella, 54.
Mariella Frostrup, pictured in 2008, said she 'cannot do anything on a professional level without knowing my hair is perfectly under control'
But now I cant do anything on a professional level without knowing my hair is perfectly under control.
Thats my piece of advice for today. Invest in keeping your hair looking great!
Silent Witness star Emilia Fox, who plays a forensic analyst in the BBC series, admits her real-life tech skills pale in comparison with her characters.
Confessing to a backlog of 19,000 emails, the 42-year-old daughter of actors Edward Fox and Joanna David says: Its terrible, I know. They go back years and I really should have a clear-out.
'Then something else happens and I never get around to it. Im sure that if it was something important, they would call.
The commencement ceremony of 16 high school graduates in the Red Ribbon School (photo/Xinhua)
On May 26, Red Ribbon School in Linfen, Shanxi province held a commencement ceremony for 16 high school graduates. It is the only school in China specifically set up for students with HIV/AIDS, enabling them to continue their studies and pursue their dreams.
Linfen Red Ribbon School, formerly known as the classroom of love at Linfen No. 3 Peoples Hospital, was officially founded in 2011. All the students who attend are legally registered with the state education system.
There are altogether 36 students and 18 faculty members. The school follows the national standard curriculum and also ensures that its pupils take their medicine .
Students hold their graduation certificates (photo/Xinhua)
The 16 graduating students all took the high school entrance examination in 2014 and were admitted by Linfen No. 3 High School. However, they decided to stay in the Red Ribbon School for their high school education.
Their headmaster, Guo Xiaoping, remarked, People have a better understanding of AIDS now. Children are delighted to meet volunteers and communicate with the outside world.
This year, 16 students are taking part in the college entrance examination, Guo added proudly. The children and I all believe tomorrow will be brighter.
Olivia Palermo sported a navy-blue monochromatic ensemble while strolling through Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood on Friday.
The 31-year-old fashion maven - who doesn't have a stylist - paired a brass-buttoned blazer with a midi-length skirt, sweater, black chain booties, and Tiffany-blue purse.
'Of course [I style myself]! That's the whole point of my brand!' the City alum said in the June edition of Cosmopolitan UK.
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Nautical-inspired: Olivia Palermo sported a navy-blue monochromatic ensemble while strolling through Manhattan's Tribeca neighborhood on Friday
'Mine is probably different than other people's - I don't have a seasonal wardrobe because I'm in different climates all year. But color-coordinating helps.'
In the same interview, Olivia - who boasts 5.3M social media followers - confessed to struggling with an unspecified learning disability.
'You know everything was a bit harder for me because I grew up with a learning disability,' Palermo lamented.
'I don't want to go into details, but what was wonderful is that people can be very creative in different ways. [I] really strived to be creative and that really evolved as [I] got older... and not necessarily in school.'
Chic: The 31-year-old fashion maven - who doesn't have a stylist - paired a brass-buttoned blazer with a midi-length skirt, sweater, black chain booties, and Tiffany-blue purse
The City alum said in the June edition of Cosmopolitan UK: 'Of course [I style myself]! That's the whole point of my brand! Mine is probably different than other people's - I don't have a seasonal wardrobe because I'm in different climates all year. But color-coordinating helps'
'Everything was a bit harder for me': In the same interview, Olivia - who boasts 5.3M social media followers - confessed to struggling with an unspecified learning disability
Next month, the Connecticut-born socialite will celebrate three years of marriage with her handsome husband Johannes Huebl.
The 39-year-old German model recently photographed the dimpled brunette for their second annual advertising campaign for Piaget's 19-piece range.
Olivia and her 6ft2in beau even share a marital kiss in the commercial for the Parisian jewelry brand.
The inseparable Brooklyn-based couple - who began their romance back in 2008 - have yet to start a family, but they dote on their dog Mr. Butler.
Still going strong! Next month, the Connecticut-born socialite will celebrate three years of marriage with her handsome husband Johannes Huebl (pictured Tuesday)
Parisian jewelry brand: The 39-year-old German model (L) recently photographed the dimpled brunette for their second annual advertising campaign for Piaget's 19-piece range
His show The Leftovers has ended production after three seasons on HBO.
And it looked like Justin Theroux has been enjoying his time off as he made his way through New York City on a gold bike Friday afternoon.
The 45-year-old actor wore a navy blue t-shirt with blue jeans and tan Chelsea boots for his casual outing.
Golden guy: Justin Theroux rode a gold bike through New York City on Friday afternoon
A backpack was seen on his shoulders as he rode through the Soho district.
His gold necklace, watch and bracelet all matched his bike, which was adorned with a sticker that read Supreme.
Wife Jennifer Aniston did not join him for the outdoor activity.
On the go: 45-year-old Theroux chose a navy outfit with trendy Chelsea boots for his bike ride
Flex: The actor's impressive muscles were on full display as he made his way through Soho
Recently, Aniston assisted in a prank on her husband that aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Theroux was told his Mercedes was recalled due to a mechanical problem, but once the car was sent in for repair, it was actually adorned with a body wrap campaigning for Emmy nominations for The Leftovers.
Kimmel informed Theroux that his wife was in on the stunt that found his car's medallion replaced with an Emmy statue.
Break time: He appears to be enjoying his time off from shooting The Leftovers, which will end after it's current season
Justin, who splits time between New York and Los Angeles with Aniston, is suing his NYC neighbor for $350,000 and punitive damages.
The actor took the action in response to what he sees as the neighbor's inappropriate response when the man was angered by the noise caused by renovations at Theroux's upstairs apartment.
Theroux has been having adjustments made to the Greenwich Village place, and his downstairs neighbor was allegedly infuriated by the noise this caused.
No stress: Justin appeared carefree despite recently filing a lawsuit against his NYC neighbor
In response the neighbor demanded that Justin provide funds of up to $30,000 for sound-proofing, according to TMZ,.
Theroux said that after he declined to shell out the funds, the neighbor set out to antagonize the construction workers making the renovations.
He claims he vowed a number of actions that would make life unpleasant for the actor, including saying he'd disconnect the water and electricity to the home.
She's been overseas and keeping a low profile after once commanding $7 million per film during her acting heyday in the early 2000s.
And Lindsay Lohan reflected on her time back in the spotlight in a new interview with E! News.
When asked by Jason Kennedy if she missed her Hollywood life, she replied, 'I miss it but at the same time, I'm creating a bunch of different things on my own so I want to focus on what I'm doing.'
Grace-ful: Lindsay Lohan rocked a chic white gown at the amfAR Gala in Cannes on Friday where she gave a rare interview, reflecting on her life out of the spotlight
She claimed she felt overwhelmed to be back on the red carpet, adding, 'I think there's a lot of noise that we deal with, so I found a kind of peace in life working with children and helping other people that really interest me.'
Lindsay left the United States after her 2014 OWN docu-series and has kept a relatively low profile in contrast to the years she spent being photographed night after night on the party scene in Los Angeles.
'I live in Dubai and London,' she told Kennedy on Friday at the event in France.
'I think its important for us to recognize that all of this stuff is fun, but you have to take time for you,' she said, referring to being at a large scale event.
'I miss it': Lohan told E! News host Jason Kennedy about her time in Hollywood before leaving in 2014
Abroad: She revealed she now splits her time between Dubai and London in the interview
She also revealed she's getting back to work in front of the camera, saying, 'I start filming a show called Sick Note in London with Rupert Grint and Nick Frost in two weeks.'
Lindsay started out as a child model, staring in ad campaigns and commercials before she played the role of twins in The Parent Trap at the age of 11.
She starred in Disney films like Freaky Friday and Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen before landing her breakout role in 2004's Mean Girls.
Her heyday: Lindsay's breakout role was in 2004's comedy Mean Girls, after the film became a hit, Lohan started commanding $7 million per movie
Soon after, she became a Hollywood 'it' girl and began to bring in $7 million dollars per movie and also launched a singing career with songs like Rumors and Confessions Of A Broken Heart.
During the 2006 filming of Georgia Rule with Jane Fonda and Felicity Huffman, Lindsay was publicly blasted by James G. Robinson, CEO of Morgan Creek Productions, who was producing the film.
After calling out of work due to 'dehydration,' Robinson wrote the actress a letter that was soon leaked to the press.
Party girl: Lohan was a fixture in the Los Angeles party scene, seen here leaving a 2009 event
'We are well aware that your ongoing all night heavy partying is the real reason for your so called 'exhaustion',' the letter read.
Lohan was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on May 26, 2007 after losing control of her Mercedes.
Two months later, she was arrested again for suspicion of a DUI after she was said to chase a woman she was having an argument with in her SUV.
Legal troubles: She was arrested for DUI's twice in 2007 and checked into rehab multiple times (pictured in Hollywood in 2007)
Years of probation violations and rehab stays followed, and Lindsay ended up in jail for skipping alcohol education classes and failing drug tests.
In 2012, she played Elizabeth Taylor in a Lifetime biopic on the British actress that was savaged by critics.
Her court troubles finally came to an end in 2013 and a year later, she left the United States for a life far away from Hollywood.
Courthouse fixture: By 2013, she was often made to appear in court for probation violations stemming from her 2007 arrests (pictured in 2013)
She conquered fears and famine om I'm Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!
But no matter how hard she tries, Tegan Martin, 24, can't change the weather.
The blonde bombshell was pining for warmer days on Instagram Saturday, sharing a throwback snap from when it was toasty enough to sport skimpy swimwear.
Pining: Tegan Martin was pining for warmer weather on Instagram Saturday, sharing a throwback snap from when it was warm enough to sport skimpy swimwear
Tegan wore a tiny teal one-piece as she laid on her back in a pool of crystal clear water in the image.
She exposed a hint of cleavage in the vibrant cobalt outfit, with enjoyment and relaxation painted across her trademark smile.
Her stunning blonde locks were worn down and off her face to highlight her glowing complexion.
Nostalgic: The 24-year-old model added the hashtag 'balimuatrip,' revealing the image was taken on her recent trip to Bali for a Miss Universe Australia event.
'I have 56 jumpers and a beanie on right now,' she captioned the snap, adding a frowny face emoji for extra impact.
'Take me back!!' Tegan continued, adding the hashtag 'balimuatrip,' revealing the image was taken on her recent trip to Bali for a Miss Universe Australia event.
A friend who appeared to have intimate knowledge of the beauty's living quarters commented: 'U beta have cleaned Ur room up teagues (sic).'
It was less than a week ago that he former pageant queen was in Bali, taking to Instagram Tuesday to flaunt a more natural, makeup free look.
'No makeup in Bali': The former pageant queen embraced a more natural look when she took to Instagram in the bare-faced selfie shared Tuesday
The blonde beauty was attending Miss Universe Australia 2017, finding time to upload a selfie with fellow beauty queen Nia Sanchez.
In the caption, Tegan praised Real Housewives Of Sydney star Matty Samei as the magician behind her spotless visage.
'No makeup in Bali made easy with my Jessner peel from @medispabymatty #ThanksMatty,' she wrote, prompting fans to send gushing messages about her natural beauty.
As a Victoria's Secret Angel, she's known for her incredible figure.
And Candice Swanepoel was showing off her generous cleavage in a plunging push-up bra in her latest Instagram Story this Friday.
The 28-year-old stunner teased her figure in the silk lingerie, before posing with her sweet seven-month-old son Anaca.
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Buxom beauty: Candice Swanepoel was showing off her generous cleavage in a plunging push-up bra in her latest Instagram Story this Friday
Candice has been with her baby's father, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, since 2005, having reportedly met him in Paris when she was all of 17 years old.
The star also posted a selfie video in which she held the camera with one hand and cradled her laughing infant son in the other, adding filters to both their faces.
Mother and son both had dog's snouts an ears animated onto their faces, and as Anaca chuckled, his mother made cooing noises, seemingly for his benefit.
Cute! Candice also posed with her sweet seven-month-old son Anaca, looking every inch the doting mother
Taking the plunge: The lingerie model displayed her famous curves in the silky push-up bra
Teasing her followers: Candice made a big impression with her cheeky Instagram video
By the next video, the dog filters had gone, but Candice was still holding her baby, who continued laughing, whereas Candice offered a soft: 'Hi.'
The model had slipped into a black tank top and jeans for a photo in which she was seen lifting her baby high in the air, both of them laughing.
Earlier in Candice's Instagram Story, she'd appeared in a black and white video that saw her ambling toward camera across a lavishly expansive rug-strewn hallway.
Duo: Candice has posted a selfie video in which she held the camera with one hand and cradled her laughing infant son in the other, adding filters to both their faces
Having a laugh: Mother and son both had dog's snouts an ears animated onto their faces, and as Anaca chuckled, his mother made cooing noises, seemingly for his benefit
Building a family: Candice has been with her baby's father, Brazilian model Hermann Nicoli, since 2005, having reportedly met him in Paris when she was all of 17 years old
Mother and child: The star delighted her followers with a host of cute snaps of her son
Showing off her chiseled legs and a bit of her derriere in black underwear, she'd clasped on a partially open sheer top, initially appearing in the video alone.
Yet as she got close to the camera, a claque of other people leaped into the frame, striking various extravagant poses alongside her and squealing joyously.
The approach: Earlier in Candice's Insagram Story, she'd appeared in a black and white video that saw her ambling toward camera across a lavishly expansive rug-strewn hallway
The look: Showing off her chiseled legs and a bit of her derriere in black underwear, she'd clasped on a partially open sheer top, initially appearing in the video alone
In comes company: Yet as she got close to the camera, a claque of other people leaped into the frame, striking various extravagant poses alongside her and squealing joyously
Large white text above the screen read: 'awesome crew for today!,' and in the video, Candice looked full of cheer as her co-stars burst into the shot around her.
Her Instagram Story's also played host to a photo of her in the black tank top and tiny frayed denim shorts, arcing her knockout pins as she sat on a set of steps.
A medallion necklace glinted as it dangled toward her cleavage, and she rested her chin on one hand, affecting a pensive pose and turning her gaze slightly upward.
Having a ball: Large white text above the screen read: 'awesome crew for today!,' and in the video, Candice looked full of cheer as her co-stars burst into the shot around her
Shia LaBeouf is being sued after he furiously ranted at a bartender back on April 6th.
David Bernstein, of Jerry's Famous Deli, has filed suit against the 30-year-old Fury star for assault and defamation, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The $5 million suit alleges that Bernstein 'experienced significant emotional distress, anxiety and fear,' after the interaction, in which he says he refused to serve Shia any more drinks because the actor appeared intoxicated.
Meltdown: Shia LaBeouf is apparently being sued after he furiously ranted at a bartender back in April (pictured)
'[LaBeouf] yelled at plaintiff and appeared ready to physically confront him after plaintiff refused to serve him a drink because [LaBeouf] appeared to be intoxicated,' said Bernstein's lawyer in a statement.
Back in April, Shia LaBeouf was thrown out of Jerry's in Los Angeles after launching into a furious rant at a bartender.
In a video captured by a fellow patron, the irate star can be seen being ushered out of the spot while screaming and calling the bartender a 'f***ing racist'.
He appeared furious that staff refused to serve him French Fries, but the full extent of the interaction with the employee is not clear.
Big trouble: The $5 million suit alleges that Bernstein 'experienced significant emotional distress, anxiety and fear,' after the interaction, in which he says he refused to serve Shia any more drinks because the actor appeared intoxicated (Shia pictured in November 2016)
The Even Stevens star had allegedly been drinking beers at the adjoining bowling alley for three hours before the incident, TMZ reports.
Although clearly upset, Shia left the establishment, only to return shortly after when he realized he was still wearing bowling shoes.
After fetching his street shoes, Shia ran out of the venue.
Shia's erratic behaviour dates back to 2009 when he was charged with a misdemeanor for criminal trespassing after his 21st birthday.
Making headlines: The actor has become known for his bizarre and erratic behavior in recent years
In 2013 he was accused of plagiarism after releasing a short film which was actually an enactment of a short story written by author Daniel Clowes. Shia credited the incident for introducing him to the world of performance art.
In February 2014 Shia appeared with a paper bag over his head at the Cannes Film Festival premiere for his movie Nymphomaniac. The bag read 'I am not famous anymore'
The same month he stormed out of a press conference after delivering the cryptic line: 'When the seagulls follow the trawler, it is because they think sardines will be thrown into the sea.'
The actor then launched the #IAMSORRY project where he invited guests to sit with him while he wore the paper bag over his head.
In June 2014, the star was escorted out of a Broadway performance of Cabaret for allegedly engaging in disruptive behavior and spent the night in jail. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct.
In October 2015 he was arrested for public intoxication while crossing the street in Austin, Texas and booked into jail for a night.
A month later he invited fans to join him as he watched all of his movies in chronological order in a New York movie theater. He also live-streamed the experience so viewers could watch his facial expressions during the viewings.
Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner arrived back to Los Angeles Friday after a trip to Cannes.
The half-sisters, famous for being on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, were spotted at LAX after their transatlantic flight looking rather subdued after days of living it up.
While they had flashed their flesh to great effect during their yachting vacation during the French city's famous film festival, they opted to cover up a bit for their journey.
Home again: Reality stars and half-sisters Kourtney Kardashian and Kendall Jenner were spotted at LAX looking rather subdued after days of living it up in Cannes
Kourtney, 38, went bra-less under a red satin jumpsuit that revealed a little cleavage.
She added a long black coat and black pumps and carried a large black holdall.
Kendall, 22, sported cropped white drawstring pants with a white sweatshirt and a cream woolen wrap.
She added brightly colored heeled ankle boots and carried a mustard yellow bag.
Travel gear: Kourtney, 38, went bra-less under a red satin jumpsuit that revealed a little cleavage. She added a long black coat and black pumps and carried a large black holdall
Bundled up: Kendall, 22, sported cropped white drawstring pants with a white sweatshirt and cream woolen wrap
Partied out: The eldest daughter of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner added brightly colored ankle boots and carried a mustard yellow bag
Both reality stars have been sharing pics of themselves in bikinis and lounging on the decks of yachts as they partied on the French Riviera.
And they were both joined by their rumored love interests.
Mom-of-three Kourtney packed on the PDA with boytoy Younes Bendjima, 24, while Kendall, the eldest of Kris and Caitlyn Jenner's two daughters, frolicked with rapper A$AP Rocky, 28.
The two men shared a private plane from France back to the U.S. with Kourtney and Kendall but were not seen with them at LAX.
Fun-filled vacay: Kourtney's boytoy Younes Bendjima, 24, and Kendall's beau A$AP Rocky, 28, had boarded a private jet with them in France but were not seen with them at LAX
New love: Kourtney and 14 years younger Younes couldn't have cared who was watching as they puckered up together while enjoying the French sunshine
A$AP wasn't present for many of Kendall's yacht days, as the bikini-clad model was seen in the company of her sister and pal Hailey Baldwin, 20, instead.
She and A$AP (real name Rakim Mayers) first went public with their relationship at the Met Gala in New York at the beginning of May, despite first being romantically linked after stepping out in Paris together last year.
Kourtney, meanwhile, only had eyes for her new squeeze, Younes.
They were first linked back in October, following the male model's split with his ex Jourdan Dunn, and the duo have been inseparable while holidaying together in Cannes.
After six months of treatment, Australian entertainer Maria Venuti is back in the comfort of her own home after suffering stroke last year.
The 75-year-old was released from rehabilitation on Thursday with the help of her 37-year-old daughter Bianca, The Daily Telegraph reported.
'She is happy to be home,' she told the publication.
'She is happy to be home': Australian entertainer Maria Venuti is back in the comfort of her own home after suffering stroke last year
'It is now about getting into a new normal,' Bianca added.
The vivacious cabaret performer and actor had a stroke after a 38-year-old man, allegedly convinced he was her husband, entered her Gladesville home and harassed her.
It's understood she was able to call the police before she collapsed in the house on in November 2016.
Mother-daughter duo: Her 37-year-old daughter Bianca said their focus is 'now about getting into a new normal'
Funny woman: Maria suffered a stroke after a 38-year-old man, allegedly convinced he was her husband, entered her Gladesville home and harassed her (pictured with John Boxer and Paul Fenech from Pizza)
Maria was admitted for treatment at Sydney's Royal North Shore hospital.
Speaking to the Herald Sun about her mother's recovery, Bianca said it has been a challenging journey to recovery following a 'massive bleed on the brain'.
She added that while there are times they were unsure she was going to make it through.
'Her spirit is still there, which is the important thing, but it's a challenge, because she loves to talk and sing, and these are things she can't do that well at the moment.'
Love and support: Bianca said 'Her spirit is still there, which is the important thing, but it's a challenge, because she loves to talk and sing, and these are things she can't do that well at the moment'
Bianca was recently named the ambassador for Australia's Biggest Blood Pressure Check, in conjunction with Priceline Pharmacy and the Stroke Foundation.
'She also has beautiful moments where she is laughing, and has lovely friends from all around the world visit, and overall she definitely has the same personality, and thank god for that,' she told the news website.
Maria is best known for her work on SBS comedies Fat Pizza, and Swift and Shift Couriers.
The Bachelor's Heather Maltman has been forced to defend a visit to Sea World after receiving death threats online.
The former reality TV star turned radio host has been hit with a barrage of abusive and expletive-laden criticism after posting photos on Instagram of her with dolphins at the theme park.
Heather fired back at disapproval of her visit to the controversial theme park on Saturday, telling detractors it was 'incredibly miseducated' to believe Sea World harmed animals.
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'Its incredibly miseducated to think Sea World is actually harming their animals': Heather Maltman hits back after receiving death threats for posing with dolphins at theme park
On Friday, Heather visited Sea World alongside her Sea FM colleagues Ben Hannant and Dan Anstey.
Gushing about the 'awesome experience', photos on Instagram showed her posing with a dolphin in the water and as it performed a dive behind her.
'Head to my Facebook for video of the dolphins. They followed me when I got out. Hehehe,' she wrote.
Controversial? On Friday, Heather visited Sea World alongside her Sea FM colleagues Ben Hannant and Dan Anstey
Threatened: 'I hope you die trapped in a tank like those dolphins will,' one abusive comment read
Heather told Daily Mail Australia the visit to Sea World was not sponsored and addressed the issue during her radio show on Monday.
Daily Mail Australia Sea World for comment and clarification on the matter.
Animal rights activists were swift to condemn Heather's visit, some lashing out with abusive and threatening comments.
Enjoyed: Gushing about the 'awesome experience', photos on Instagram showed her posing as as a dolphin performed a dive behind her
Criticised: 'How disappointing see you promoting this inhumane industry. Dolphins belong in the wild,' another person wrote
'I hope you die trapped in a tank like those dolphins will,' one comment read.
'How disappointing see you promoting this inhumane industry. Dolphins belong in the wild,' another person wrote.
Heather responded to the backlash on Saturday, posting a video on Instagram defending Sea World's treatment of animals.
Hitting back: Heather responded to the backlash on Saturday, posting a video on Instagram defending Sea World's treatment of animals
Radio host: Heather has since made the foray into radio, hosting Sea Fm's Gold Coast's breakfast show
'I just want to let you guys know its incredibly miseducated to think Sea World is actually harming their animals and doing something wrong by the community,' she said.
'In actual fact what theyre doing is helping marine life and teaching people in the community about marine life, which is phenomenal because no one is doing that.'
Animal theme parks have come under increasing criticism since the release of 2013 documentary Black Fish.
Reality TV star: Heather competing unsuccessfully for Sam Wood's affection on the 2015 season of The Bachelor
The film detailed the treatment and training of captive killer whales after an Orlando SeaWorld trainer was dragged underwater to her death by a whale in 2010.
Sea World Gold Coast is not associated with the US SeaWorld parks and is owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks.
Heather competing unsuccessfully for Sam Wood's affection on the 2015 season of The Bachelor, and has since made the foray into radio, hosting Sea Fm's Gold Coast's breakfast show.
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She stars in new movie title Based On A True Story that is currently competing at this year's 70th annual Film Festival.
And celebrating the fruits of her labour, Eva Green was in high spirits as she attended the film's photocall in Cannes on Saturday.
The actress, 36, cut a chic figure as she stepped out in wide-leg bandeau jumpsuit that she teamed with an incredibly sultry scarlet red lip.
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Stunning: Eva Green, 36, cut a chic figure as she stepped out in wide-leg bandeau jumpsuit that she teamed with an incredibly sultry scarlet red lip for the Based On A True Story photocall at Cannes Film Festival on Saturday
Eva looked simply stunning as she graced the red carpet at the famous Palais des Festivals.
Her stylish all-in-one was the perfect sartorial choice to flaunt her slender frame, thanks to its form-fitting bandeau bodice that then billowed out into a wide-leg trouser.
She added some height to her ensemble with a pair of cut-out stiletto heels and brightened up her otherwise dark-hued ensemble with a vibrant scarlet red lipstick across her lips.
Eva wore her raven-hued tresses down in a tousled curls that parted in the middle of her bonce and grazed her shoulders.
Pucker up! Eva put on a playful display with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, 50, as they puckered up in front of the cameras
Sartorial excellence: Her stylish all-in-one was the perfect sartorial choice to flaunt her slender frame, thanks to its form-fitting bandeau bodice that then billowed out into a wide-leg trouser
Beauty: Opting for a dramatic make-up look, she teamed her fiery lip shade with a smokey-eye and blusher tinted cheeks and dazzled on her arrival to the famous Palais des Festivals
Opting for a dramatic make-up look, she teamed her fiery lip shade with a smokey-eye and blusher tinted cheeks.
She was joined by her co-star's for the photocall and put on a playful display with French actress Emmanuelle Seigner, 50.
The pair were caught puckering up to each other in front of the cameras, no doubt after forming a close bond on set, and Emmanuelle made sure to plant a kiss on Eva's cheek too.
Based On A True Story is a French-language thriller starring Seigner as a Parisian author who meets a mysterious woman, played by Green, at a book signing.
The film is directed by controversial director Roman Polanski, 83.
Locking lips! The duo kissed in front of onlookers as they graced the red carpet on behalf of their new movie Based On A True Story
Co-stars: Based On A True Story is a French-language thriller starring Seigner as a Parisian author who meets a mysterious woman, played by Green, at a book signing
It's Polanski's first feature since 2013's Venus in Fur. Polanski had been set to preside over France's Cesar Awards in February, but withdrew after the protests of feminist groups.
A Los Angeles judge recently rejected Polanski's bid to end his long-running underage sex abuse case without the fugitive director appearing in court or being sentenced to more prison time.
The Rosemary's Baby helmer was forced to withdraw from the 'French Oscars', the Cesars, earlier this year after protests by feminists.
Polanski has been on the run for almost four decades for having unlawful sex with a teenager at film star Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles in 1977.
Polanski, 83, failed to negotiate a return to the US this month.
Controversial: The film is directed by Roman Polanski, 83 (pictured above with Eva) who has been embroiled in a long-running underage sex abuse case that has seen him serve time in prison
However, his victim Samantha Geimer - who wants the case dropped so she can get on with her life - lashed out Tuesday at prosecutors, claiming they were using the case to further their careers rather than resolve it.
'Celebrity cases should not be misused by those like yourselves for some limelight and career advancement,' Geimer wrote in a scathing letter to Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey and his deputy Michele Hanisee, who are handling Polanski's case.
The Franco-Polish director has been engaged in a decades-long cat-and-mouse game with US officials seeking his extradition, before a global audience split between continuing outrage and forgiveness for his acts.
Polanski admitted statutory rape after a number of more serious charges were dropped, and spent an initial 42 days in jail before being released.
But in 1978, convinced a judge was going to scrap his plea deal and send him to prison for decades, he fled to France and has been on the run ever since.
New release: The movie is Polanski's first feature since 2013's Venus in Fur. Polanski had been set to preside over France's Cesar Awards in February, but withdrew after the protests of feminist groups
Fleeing to France: Polanski has been on the run for almost four decades for having unlawful sex with a teenager at film star Jack Nicholson's house in Los Angeles in 1977 - he admitted to statutory rape after a number of more serious charges were dropped, and spent an initial 42 days in jail before being released
Eva, meanwhile, appeared in high spirits at the photocall as she posed up a storm for gathered photographers.
She flung out her arms while stopping for a snap next to a block that was emblazoned with '70 Festival International Du Film Cannes'.
And she appeared to delight photographers with her animated display as she commanded attention by making gestures with her arms, before leaning on the block with her head in hands.
The Casino Royale star would no doubt have enjoyed not having to watch herself back during the photo opportunity.
Strike a pose: Eva appeared in high spirits as she joined Polanski at the photo-call for their new movie
What's going on here? The Casino Royale star appeared to delight photographers with her animated display as she commanded attention by making gestures with her arms
Having second thoughts? She then appeared to hold her head in her hands, as gathered photographers chuckled in the background
Speaking in an interview last year, Eva confessed that she doesn't like seeing herself up on the big screen.
She confessed to VICE: 'I am not good at watching myself,' before recalling on time she had left a screening early, adding: 'I stayed for the first ten minutes, but then I had to leave.'
'I just can't, it's too weird,' she added. Eva claimed it's because she becomes too critical of herself, as she said: 'It's too subjective. It's negative narcissism.
'It's not good. I wish I could [watch myself back]. Some actors can [watch themselves and] improve. I can't.'
Just a quick snap: Eva would no doubt have enjoyed not having to watch herself back during the photo opportunity, as she has previously confessed that she doesn't like seeing herself up on the big screen
Eva (pictured above with Polanksi, Seigner and Vincent Perez said: 'It's not good. I wish I could [watch myself back]. Some actors can [watch themselves and] improve. I can't'
The cast: Based On A True Story is set to be released in France in November later this year
Meanwhile, Joaquin Phoenix arrived on the red carpet for the photocall of his latest film offering title You Were Never Really Here.
The brutal thriller sees Phoenix's character Joe - a war veteran - attempt to save a young girl from a sex trafficking ring, after being privately hired by the child's parents, but his plans to do so go horribly wrong.
The movie is directed by Lynne Ramsey - who previously directed 2011 release We Need To Talk About Kevin - and it's set to premiere at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival on Saturday - after being selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section.
The actor cut a casually smart figure for his appearance at the star-studded event that spans 11 days, choosing to sport dark jeans with a shirt and tie while wearing plimsoll trainers on his feet.
Next up: Joaquin Phoenix arrived on the red carpet for the photocall of his latest film offering title You Were Never Really Here
Laid-back look: The actor cut a casually smart figure for his appearance at the star-studded event that spans 11 days, choosing to sport dark jeans with a shirt and tie while wearing plimsoll trainers on his feet
Posing: Joaquin was joined by director Ramsey and his 14-year-old co-star Ekaterina Samsonov (L-R) who stars as Nina in the movie - the little girl his character is attempting to save.
Joaquin was joined by director Ramsey and his 14-year-old co-star Ekaterina Samsonov who stars as Nina in the movie - the little girl his character is attempting to save.
Posing on their arrival, the trio had looked in high spirits, but Ramsey appeared to come over a little camera shy as she hid behind a patterned scarf she had been wearing around her neck - much to the amusement of her colleagues.
Joaquin was seen showering the Scottish talent with affection as he wrapped his arms around her in front of the gathered crowds.
Coy: Ramsey appeared to come over a little camera shy as she hid behind a patterned scarf she had been wearing around her neck - much to the amusement of her colleagues.
Sweet display: Joaquin was seen showering the Scottish talent with affection as he wrapped his arms around her in front of the gathered crowds
Moody's Investors Service on May 24 downgraded China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings from Aa3 to A1, but changed the outlook from "negative" to "stable." Experts said the move showed the rater's lack of knowledge about Chinas policy arrangement for government debt.
Last March, the company lowered its outlook on China's sovereign credit rating from "stable" to "negative," a move then-Finance Minister Lou Jiwei dismissed, saying, "We don't much care about the ratings."
Last year, Chinas debt-to-GDP ratio stood at around 36.7 percent, far below the EUs warning line at 60 percent and lower than the level of major market economies and emerging economies. The risks were generally controllable.
According to Chinas Budget Law, the only legal way to raise funds for local governments is by issuing government bonds within a quota. Approved by the National Peoples Congress, this years quota for added local government bonds was 1.63 trillion RMB ($240 billion), only slightly higher than last year's 1.18 trillion RMB ($172 billion), indicating that there won't be big changes in the debt-to-GDP ratio this year.
For that reason, experts have disregarded Moody's prediction that the Chinese government's direct debt burden will rise to 40 percent of its GDP in 2018, and edge closer to 45 percent in 2022.
Moodys also turned a blind eye to advances in the country's supply-side structural reform. The agency stated that deleveraging measures didnt perform as expected, but didnt disclose specific figures for the core indicators. Therefore, the rationale behind the analysis should be reconsidered, said Chen Daidi, general manager of China Bond Rating Co.
The Chinese economy maintains stable and positive momentum in 2017, with the first quarter GDP up to 6.9 percent, further accelerating the growth rate by 0.2 percent year on year. Moodys rating was far too simplistic to reflect the real conditions of Chinas economic development and government credit, according to Zheng Chunrong of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.
Chinese government debts are largely allocated to infrastructure construction, which is fundamentally different from other world governments that use debts for consumptive purposes, Zheng added.
They're both known for their larger than life personalities.
So it's perhaps not surprising news that Danniella Westbrook, 43, and Lisa Appleton, 49, have formed a friendship, frolicking about on the beach in Benidorm, Spain together.
Troubled actress Danniella, who is fresh from her stint in rehab, appeared to have met her match in bubbly brunette Lisa, laughing and joking while turning heads in their colourful swimwear.
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Girls' getaway: Danniella Westbrook, 43, has teamed up with new friend Lisa Appleton, 49, for a beach holiday in Benidorm, Spain
The dynamic duo recreated the infamous Baywatch scene, running down the beach in slow motion, before taking to the shallows for an impromptu exercise session.
Danniella was showing off her figure in a salmon pink bikini with ruffle detailing on the top.
She looked happier and healthier than she has in recent weeks, displaying a glowing tan and a radiant smile.
Bold and bright: Danniella appeared to have met her match in bubbly brunette Lisa, laughing and joking while turning heads in their colourful swimwear
I'll be there! The dynamic duo recreated the infamous Baywatch scene, running down the beach in slow motion
Drop it like it's squat! Lisa and Danniella took to the shallows for an impromptu exercise session
Bubbly: They're both known for their TV appearances and larger than life personalities, so it's perhaps unsurprising the pair have become friends
The former EastEnders star wore her blonde extensions pulled into a high ponytail, with a white headband keeping her tresses off her face.
Lisa was hard to miss in a floral ruffled number, nearly spilling out of the tiny cups as she larked about on the shore.
Proudly displaying her curvy physique in her two-piece, Lisa enlisted Danniella's help to do some rather energetic squats in the water.
How low can you go! Former Big Brother star Lisa was showing off her athletic abilities
Three's a crowd? The pair have been holidaying with Danniella's 21-year-old son Kai, with Lisa alarmingly pictured packing on the PDA together earlier in the week
No harm done! Danniella is yet to break her silence on Kai - who is 28 years Lisa's junior - kissing her mate, but is no doubt unfazed since she has a penchant for toyboys herself
The pair have been holidaying with Danniella's 21-year-old son Kai, with Lisa alarmingly pictured packing on the PDA together earlier in the week.
Danniella is yet to break her silence on Kai - who is 28 years Lisa's junior - kissing her mate, but is no doubt unfazed since she has a penchant for toyboys herself.
Former Big Brother star Lisa took to Twitter to post: 'Fun holiday with @KJ_Artist @westbrookdanni @Ryan_Mira we jamming.
Think pink: Danniella was showing off her figure in a salmon pink bikini with ruffle detailing on the top
Looking good! She looked happier and healthier than she has in recent weeks, displaying a glowing tan and a radiant smile
Low maintenance look: The former EastEnders star wore her blonde extensions pulled into a high ponytail, with a white headband keeping her tresses off her face
It is not known how the pair met, but Lisa and Danniella were seen partying at Essex hotspot The Sugarhut in March.
It was recently reported that Danniella had been kicked off a flight to Malaga after clashing with a stag party on board.
And a friend of Daniella's revealed how she was the victim as she was taken off the EasyJet plane in tears.
Making a run for it: Danniella was spotted jogging along the water's edge
Cheeky: Lisa was hard to miss in a floral ruffled number, nearly spilling out of the tiny cups as she larked about on the shore
According to The Sun, the actress was mortified when she was escorted from the plane at London's Gatwick Airport following a row with the lads, who allegedly jeered at her on board.
A source told newspaper: 'There was a large group of men shouting remarks like get your gear out and get your t*** out for the stag.
'She felt absolutely mortified being frogmarched off the plane while others took photos of her in tears.
Out of rehab: Danniella spent time in a rehab clinic in Mijas last month, in order to 'beat her demons' once and for all
Moving on: After a month-long recovery in the centre, Danniella was then cleared to return home at the beginning of May
A fellow passenger claimed that Danniella had actually been the one to cause the drama - revealing she was 'suddenly removed' after allegedly protesting when she was asked to pack her handbag into her carry-on case.
The mother-of-two was heading back to Spain for a girls' holiday in Marbella - after spending time in a rehab clinic in Mijas last month, in order to 'beat her demons' once and for all.
After a month-long recovery in the centre, Danniella was then cleared to return home at the beginning of May.
Best of friends: It is not known how the pair met, but Lisa and Danniella were seen partying at Essex hotspot The Sugarhut in March
Clash: It was recently reported that Danniella had been kicked off a flight to Malaga after clashing with a stag party on board
However, the actress had immediately concerned fans upon her return to the UK, after admitting she had come off all of her medication.
Appearing on Loose Women last week, the blonde confessed that it 'is and isn't safe' to be off her pills - which she took for a number of mental health conditions, including borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and paranoid schizophrenia.
Speaking out: Appearing on Loose Women last week, the blonde confessed that it 'is and isn't safe' to be off her pills
Having a blast! Former Big Brother star Lisa took to Twitter to post: 'Fun holiday with @KJ_Artist @westbrookdanni @Ryan_Mira we jamming'
She recently went under the knife to get a Brazilian Butt Lift in Turkey.
And Jemma Lucy looked pleased as punch with the result of the surgery when she attended the European dating awards in Amsterdam, Netherlands on Friday.
The Ex On The Beach star, 28, flaunted her newly boosted asset in a daring sheer playsuit as she scooped the best new app of the year award for her app DatingInk.
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She's a winner! Ex On The Beach's Jemma Lucy showed off results of her Brazilian Butt Lift in sheer playsuit as she celebrated winning award for her new dating app in Amsterdam on Friday
Leaving little to the imagination, the transparent panels proved to be the perfect canvas for showcasing the reality star's extensive tattoos.
No doubt she caught the gaze of onlookers as she sparkled in the broad daylight in the dazzling ensemble.
The glamour model also showed off his eye-popping cleavage in a plunging neckline.
Busty! The glamour model also showed off his eye-popping cleavage in a plunging neckline
Her glistening attire was complete with bat-wing sleeves, which added to the striking appearance of the outfit.
Stepping out in towering perplex heels, the MTV personality was seen holding hands with a pal.
Earlier on, she had proudly accepted an award for her new dating app which will connect singletons with their tattoos embracing the motto 'link with ink'.
Raunchy! Jemma is no stranger to sharing racy snaps on her Instagram account as she proudly flaunts her sensational figure
Winner's pose! The girls celebrated her win with some cheeky photographs in the photobooth
Accepting the prize, she wrote on Instagram: 'Personally just won best influencer and new comer for @DatingInk at the dating awards!
'A lot of people sl*g me of daily sayin' I've got no talent blah blah and worse...well yeah, kicking off and being crazy on tv may not be a talent but the people that say thy s*** I just laugh at because u know NOTHING!
'Very proud moment for me and the creators of the app itself, Stuart and Ian.' (sic)
They have been dating for almost three years.
And Heidi Klum and beau Vito Schnabel appeared to be going strong as they arrived at Gare Du Nord station in Paris on Friday.
The German supermodel, 43, looked stunning as she went make-up free, accompanied by beau Vito Schnabel, 30.
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In the city of love: Heidi Klum and beau Vito Schnabel appeared to be going strong as they arrived at Gare Du Nord station in Paris on Friday
Dressed in a biker chic leather jacket, a loose t-shirt and combat trousers, Heidi put on a casual display in her all-black ensemble.
Covering her pretty face under oversized shades, she scraped her blonde hair into a high bun and balanced two holdall bags.
Her beau Vito walked ahead of her, looking dapper in a navy ensemble as he pulled a rather large suitcase.
Making the sidewalk her catwalk: The German supermodel, 43, looked stunning as she went make-up free, accompanied by beau Vito Schnabel, 30
Heidi recently revealed she feels more confident with her body than in her twenties.
Speaking at Naomi Campbells Fashion for Relief gala in Cannes, she told the Mail: I have posed naked before but I've just never showed it to everyone.
'I feel more confident now than when I was in my twenties.
I think when I was younger I was more shy and I've grown into myself.
Biker chic: Dressed in a leather jacket, a loose t-shirt and combat trousers, Heidi put on a casual display in her all-black ensemble
The model first married married stylist Ric Pipino in 1997 before they parted ways in 2002.
Then Heidi went onto marry Seal on a sun-soaked beach in Mexico in May 2005.
The couple announced their separation after almost seven years of marriage in January 2012, with the supermodel filing for divorce just three months later.
While it was finalised in October 2015, she has been enjoying dating the independent art curator since 2014.
She has four children, the eldest is 11-year-old Leni, whose birth father is former flame Flavio Briatore and later adopted by her second husband Seal.
The model shares three children (Henry, 11, and Johan, 10 and their daughter Lou, seven) with the musician.
American network Bravo recently passed on the chance to air The Real Housewives of Sydney after executives deemed it 'too extreme' for US audiences.
And now the cast of the show are starting to blame others for the controversial series, with RHOS villain Lisa Oldfield pointing the finger at the producers behind-the-scenes.
'We were sat down like errant schoolgirls: 'Youre not bringing it, theres not enough drama,' she told Stellar magazine.
'Youre not bringing it, theres not enough drama!' Lisa Oldfield claims producers pushed the cast to create conflict on The Real Housewives of Sydney
She continued: 'We had to figure out how to give Australia the show that they wanted to see. But you get to a point where you dont even know whats real and whats not anymore.'
The 42-year-old revealed that the cast were instructed by executive-producer Kylie Washington to bring the drama in order to outdo The Real Housewives of Melbourne.
'The pressure was on,' she said.
'We had to figure out how to give Australia the show that they wanted to see,' the 42-year-old told Stellar magazine
'The pressure was on': The 42-year-old revealed that the cast were instructed by executive-producer Kylie Washington to bring the drama to outdo The Real Housewives of Melbourne
Lisa isn't the only cast member to indicate that the show wasn't entirely authentic.
Athena X Levendi, the other villain of the series, called her on-screen self was a 'TV character' during an appearance on The Morning Show.
She also said that she was 'following producers and just doing what I was told.'
It wasn't me! Athena X Levendi, the other villain of the series, called her on-screen self was a 'TV character' during an appearance on The Morning Show
Puppet? Athena also said that she was 'following producers and just doing what I was told'
Foxtel's head of television Brian Walsh confirmed this week that the series will face a cast shake up for season two following the negative reception season one received.
Speaking with Kyle and Jackie O on their KIIS FM breakfast show on Friday, the head honcho admitted: 'As has been the history with the Real Housewives of Melbourne, we made changes after each season. The new series has some new faces.
'It wouldn't be a surprise to make changes to Sydney Housewives (but) we haven't had that discussion or made any decisions.'
Changes: Foxtel's head of television Brian Walsh has all but confirmed that The Real Housewives of Sydney will face a cast shake up for season two after the show was rejected as 'too extreme' by US networks
He went on to explain that the show's American edition has a 'magic' formula and that the Sydney installment has not nailed it.
'There's a magic formula and the US gets the balance right. A bit of warmth and humour. Sydney did go over the edge. Some of the behaviour did go over the edge.
He added, 'Some of the behaviour was unacceptable. Some of the women were being nasty just for the sake of being nasty and I don't know if that makes great television'.
No magic? 'There's a magic formula and the US gets the balance right. A bit of warmth and humour. Sydney did go over the edge. Some of the behaviour did go over the edge'
New faces: Brian said that the show had been critcised for it's lack of diversity and he may be looking to Sydney's western suburbs for new cast members
Brian also revealed that the show had been criticized for it's lack of diversity and he may be looking to Sydney's western suburbs for new faces.
Kyle Sandilands suggested casting housewives from Lakemba, a suburb south-western Sydney that is know for having a dense Muslim population.
The Foxtel boss said that the show was indeed considering providing, 'representation of other parts of Sydney' such as 'West of Sydney'.
Safe? The Foxtel boss hinted that key trouble maker Lisa Oldfield may be safe as she, 'Rated very well with audiences and was very popular, but the key is to get the balance right'
Panned: Brian went on to confirm that the show was rejected by the US network Bravo
He told the radio hosts: 'I met with the heads of the Bravo network in New York last week. They decided it was too intense, too left field... too nasty for american audiences'
Brian went on to confirm that the show was rejected by the US network Bravo as reported.
He told the radio hosts, 'I met with the heads of the Bravo network in New York last week. They decided it was too intense, too left field... too nasty for American audiences'.
The Foxtel boss hinted that key trouble maker Lisa Oldfield may be safe as she, 'Rated very well with audiences and was very popular, but the key is to get the balance right'.
She's taking on one of DC Comics' most iconic superheros.
And Gal Gadot has high hopes for her role as Wonder Woman, revealing she hopes it will lead to 'more strong female figures' in the media.
The Israeli beauty told News Corp that she took took the role to empower other women and her two young daughters.
'I am hoping that there will be more strong female figures': Gal Gadot took Wonder Woman role to empower her two young daughters
The 32-year-old actress plays the lead role of Diana Prince in Wonder Woman alongside Chris Pine.
Gal told the Herald Sun she was shocked when she learnt Wonder Woman's beginnings had never been explored.
The lack of a Wonder Woman origins narrative saw girls short changed, because they didn't have a superhero to look up to like men did, she argued.
Why not? Gal told the Herald Sun she was shocked when she learnt Wonder Woman's beginnings had never been explored
'Boys growing up had Superman, Batman and Spider-Man': The lack of a Wonder Woman origins narrative saw girls short changed, because they didn't have a superhero to look up to like men did
'Its crazy that this iconic character has been around for 75 years but we never got to see her origin story. Its weird. Boys growing up had Superman, Batman and Spider-Man and others to look up to but we didnt really have a strong female figure,' Gal said.
Gal hopes her incarnation of Wonder Woman would serve to inspire her daughters, six-year-old Alma and two-month-old Maya.
She thinks men can learn from seeing strong female characters on screen, explaining: 'You cant empower without educating.'
Setting an example: Gal hopes her incarnation of Wonder Woman would serve to inspire her daughters, six-year-old Alma and two-month-old Maya
'And personally, as a mother of two daughters, I am just thrilled that finally its happening. I am hoping that there will be more strong female figures,' Gal said.
The brunette beauty also revealed trying on the Wonder Woman costume for the first time was a 'out-of-body experience'.
'All of a sudden youre dressed like Wonder Woman and you become Wonder Woman. I was just Gal a minute before that,' Gal said.
Gal will also play Wonder Woman in forthcoming film Justice League, slated for release later this year.
On Friday she went all out in a semi-sheer gold gown at the Amant Double screening.
But Izabel Goulart proved she could work her dressed-down style just as well, as she was spotted leaving the Cannes Film Festival in France on Saturday.
The Brazilian model, 32, worked biker chic as she was seen getting into a waiting car with her suitcases.
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Farewell: Izabel Goulart proved she could work her dressed-down style just as well, as she was spotted leaving the Cannes Film Festival in France on Saturday
Covering her pretty face with a pair of oversized sunglasses, she smiled happily at cameras, flashing a hint of her mauve-covered lips.
Dressed in a leather jacket and black jeans despite the beaming sun, she added a pair of white trainers for comfort.
With her brunette tresses in a sleek ponytail, she was seen loading her suitcases into a nearby car.
Glam! The Brazilian model, 32, worked biker chic as she departed Cannes, having donned a gold semi-sheer dress at the Amant Double screening on Friday
The brunette beauty was discovered in a supermarket at the age of 14, and moved to France to pursue modelling.
Her career got off to a shaky start, after she suffered a wardrobe mishap during her first catwalk show, mistakenly flashing her bare chest.
However she soon overcame the blip, going on to model for Victoria's Secret and walking in eleven of their shows.
The Vogue model went on to model for the likes of Oscar de la Renta, Valentino and Balmain.
Izabel has now made the move from model to film star, and is set to play Amber in the upcoming Baywatch cult 1980s TV series reboot.
She will star as Amber alongside Zac Efron, Charlotte McKinney, Kelly Rohrbach and Priyanka Chopra, as well as iconic original cast member Pamela Anderson.
Will was also spotted leaving Cannes, throwing up a peace sign to camears as he departed.
Will joined Jessica Chastain, Maren Ade, Fan Bingbing, Agnes Jaoui, Park Chan-wook, Paolo Sorrentino and Gabriel Yared on this year's 70th Cannes Film Festival jury.
Every year the Festival's board of directors appoints the juries who hold sole responsibility for choosing which films will receive an award.
They are chosen from a wide range of international artists, based on their body of work and respect from their peers.
The jury president is an internationally recognized personality of cinema - this year it's Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar.
Since 1960, there has been only one personality to get the honor of being president of the jury twice: Jeanne Moreau in 1975 and 1995.
The last non-professional film personality to be president of the jury is the American writer William Styron in 1983.
Peace out! Will was also spotted leaving Cannes, throwing up a peace sign to camears as he departed
He's been busy promoting the latest Wolverine sequel, Logan, across the world.
But on Saturday, Hugh Jackman was back with his family in New York as the Jackman clan went for a run through the city.
The 48-year-old was joined by wife Deborra-Lee Furness and their daughter Ava.
Family fun! Hugh Jackman was back with his family in New York as the Jackman clan went for a run through the city
Also tagging along were the family's pet pooches.
The happy trio were seen running together like the picture perfect family unit.
The fun-filled moment comes after Hugh returned from Japan where he attended the Tokyo premiere of Logan.
All together: The 48-year-old was joined by wife Deborra-Lee Furness and their daughter Ava
Hugh cut a dashing figure as he turned out for a press conference for the film at Tokyo's Peninsula Hotel on Thursday.
The Australian star looked dapper in an ash-grey suit as he posed for photographers at the event.
Sporting a smattering of designer stubble, the actor matched his suit with a black T-shirt and a pair of black leather boots.
Popular: Hugh received a welcome fit for a superhero when he touched down at Narita airport, with hundreds of fans turning out to meet the star
Hugh looked excited to be giving back to his Japanese fans with the star offering a cool 'finger pointing' gesture at one point during the event.
Arriving in Japan on Tuesday, with wife Deborra-Lee Furness, to continue the global press tour for Logan, Hugh received a welcome fit for a superhero when he touched down at Narita International Airport, with hundreds of fans turning out to meet the star.
It was the same situation on Wednesday, when he was mobbed by a legion of fans at Logan's Tokyo premiere.
It's the high pressure cooking competition known for churning out some of Australia's top kitchen talent.
But celebrity chef David Thompson has slammed the way MasterChef judges give feedback, accusing them of being too nice to contestants in a way that is 'almost sickening'.
The restaurateur told News Corp that it was important for budding chefs to receive only bad feedback as it helps 'eradicate the negatives' in their cooking.
'It is almost sickening': Celebrity chef David Thompson accuses MasterChef judges of being too nice to contenders
David, who is a guest judge on Sunday's episode of MasterChef, argued judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston were doing more harm than good.
'Theyre invariably nice, it is almost sickening,' he said.
'While they want to be critical and appraise the dishes in a way that customers and professional restaurateurs might, they also want to do it in a way that is not disconcerting.'
Critical: David, who is a guest judge on Sunday's episode of MasterChef, argued judges Gary Mehigan, George Calombaris and Matt Preston were doing more harm than good
The celebrity chef said contestants would be better served by only hearing the things wrong with their dishes, as is common practice in the industry.
'They praise and highlight the good things about dishes rather than just focusing on the negative, which is in some ways a very different approach to a professional kitchen where you deal with the negatives, not because you are dismissing the positives but because you need to eradicate the negatives,' David said.
The criticism of the show's judges come after Benjamin Bullock was eliminated on Thursday night's episode after failing to impress with his dessert.
Do they need to be meaner? The celebrity chef said contestants would be better served by only hearing the things wrong with their dishes, as is common practice in the industry
Booted: Benjamin Bullock was eliminated on Thursday night's episode after failing to impress with his dessert
He was booted after burning his carmelised banana, the judges questioning why he hadn't gone for something less risky.
'If he just gave us that ice-cream and that chocolate sauce with fresh banana or just banana cooked with a bit of butter and lemon juice, amazing combination, but the starchiness of this banana throws the dish,' the judges said.
Meanwhile on Monday Bryan Zhu was kicked off after failing to get his floating ice cream recipe off the ground.
Grant Hackett has denied rumours that he is romantically linked to fellow Olympic swimmer Allison Schmitt.
The 37-year-old confirmed that the pair are nothing but friends this week, telling the Daily Telegraph, that while they have known each other 'for years', there is nothing romantic between the two.
'Allison has been a good friend of mine for years through swimming,' he told the publication. 'There is nothing else further there.'
Just friends: Australian Olympian Grant Hackett has denied that he is romantically linked to US swimmer Allison Schmitt (right)
The publication also reported that Grant is expected to be back in Australia next month.
It comes after Allison gushed about Grant in an interview with Woman's Day, revealing that the athlete had a 'special place in her heart.'
'I have loads of respect for him,' she revealed. 'I know he has a great future ahead.'
Long-term pals: 'Allison has been a good friend of mine for years through swimming,' he told the publication. 'There is nothing else further there,' he explained
Woman's Day also quoted a source close to the pair, saying: 'Their relationship just goes from strength to strength.'
Grant and Allison are both currently based in Arizona and have been pictured together on social media.
During his time in the US, where he is staying with pal Michael Phelps, Grant has been working on his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol issues.
Special bond: Allison, 26, recently spoke to Woman's Day when she revealed that the troubled athlete had a 'special place in her heart'
Grant made headlines in Australia in February when he was arrested after a disturbance at his parent's house.
The swimmer was later released without charge.
He was then hospitalised amid fears for his safety and has been based in the US for the past three months while working on his recovery.
Rumour mill: The publication quoted an unnamed source, close to the pair, that claimed 'their relationship just goes from strength to strength'
The first trailer for the upcoming thriller Wind River has been released.
The dark clip features Elizabeth Olsen as an FBI agent hot on the trail of a predator in the Wyoming wilderness with the help of local game tracker Jeremy Renner.
'You're looking for clues. But you're missing all the signs,' Renner asserts to Olsen as they investigate the murder of a local girl on a remote Native American reservation.
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First look: The first trailer for the upcoming thriller Wind River starring Jeremy Renner, 46, and Elizabeth Olsen, 28, was released on Thursday
Wind River follows Renner, 46, as US Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert as he works trapping game on the Wind River Indian Reservation.
He soon comes upon the body of a dead teenage girl that he recognizes as a local.
Olsen, 28, plays no-nonsense agent Jane Banner, who is called in to investigate what appears to be a homicide.
As the case seems to fall cold, Banner must turn to Lambert for help.
Killer job: Olsen plays no-nonsense agent Jane Banner, who is called in to investigate what appears to be a homicide
Trapper: Renner plays US Fish & Wildlife agent Cory Lambert who works trapping game on the Wind River Indian Reservation
A little helo: As the case seems to fall cold, Banner must turn to Lambert for help
When asked by Banner what he does for living, Lambert says, 'I hunt predators.'
'So why dont you come hunt one for me, then?' Banner replies.
While looking at files for the case, Banner muses: 'Why would a teenage girl be out here? What is she running from?'
As Lambert consoles the parents of the dead girl, he tells Banner: 'You're looking for clues. But you're missing all the signs.'
Straight talk: When asked by Banner what he does for living, Lambert says, 'I hunt predators.'
Soliciting: 'So why dont you come hunt one for me, then?' Banner replies
Dig deeper: Olsen inspects the dead teenage girl's body
During the investigation, Banner seeks help form the local law enforcement with little success as she states: 'There's only six officers for a land the size of Rhode Island.'
Banner becomes increasingly frustrated and asks the sheriff, 'Shouldn't we wait for back up?'
To which the wizened Native American lawman replies: 'This isn't the land of backup. This is the land of you're on your own.'
Skill set: Renner uses his tracking skills to help crack the case
Deep thought: Renner can't seem to make sense of the clues
10-4 good buddy: Renner calls on his walkie-talkie as he appears to be missing an arm
Banner and Lambert dig deeper as the come across a home with pictures of several teen girls that apparently have gone missing.
One possible suspect is a resident of the reservation who wears traditional blue and white face makeup.
Banner enters a house with her gun pulled while Lambert smashes a snow shovel into the face of an unknown man.
Local flavor: The residents all pitch in to help solve the mystery
Cold case: Olsen deals with the harsh weather as she deals with the harsh realities of the job
'You won't get the answers you're looking for, no matter what you find,' says a mysterious woman in a dark doorway.
Banner has to deal with her demons as she gets closer to breaking the case.
Meanwhile, Lambert has a haunted past as well that prevents him from concentrating on finding the killer.
Take that: Renner gives a stranger a face full of shovel
Freeze: Olsen pulls a gun on a suspect
Haunting: The police find a wall of pictures of the murdered girl
As the trailer comes to a epic conclusion of gunfire, windows breaking, and wolves circling, Lambert snarls: 'Luck don't live out here.'
The film was written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, who wrote the screenplays for the movies Sicario and Hell or High Water.
The movie also stars Jon Bernthal and Kelsey Asbille.
Chilling makeup: The local residents appear in traditional makeup
Freaky neighbor: The neighbor looks scary and is probably the killer
Mirror mirror: Olsen contemplates life as the investigation warms up
Originally, Chris Pine was slated to star as the reclusive Lambert, but dropped out for scheduling conflicts.
The film is produced Elizabeth A. Bell, Peter Berg, Matthew George, Basil Iwanyk, and Wayne Rogers.
The Weinstein Company acquired the distribution rights on May 13, 2016.
Wind River, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January and screened recently at Cannes, opens Aug. 4
Snow angel: Olsen is pushed to the ground by a wolf
Gurl please: Renner needs to have a serious talk with Olsen because things aren't working out
Civil servant jobs, while popular in China, are now facing new limitations in the area of resignation, as some worry that former government workers are leaving their posts with important and lucrative information.
A national guideline issued on May 26 stated that officials at the county level or higher cannot work in enterprises or institutes in the administrative region of their former posting in the first three years after resignation. They are also barred from for-profit activities related to their jobs in government.
Those working at a lower level face the same restrictions, but are only subject to these limitations for two years.
From what we know from previous corruption cases, we can see that some civil servants continued working in related areas after quitting their government jobs. They could then continue to wield their power for profit. This is corruption in another form and it affects fair competition in the market, Wang Yukai, a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance, told China News Service (CNS).
Departing civil servants are also required to submit a statement regarding their future jobs and promise to submit follow-up statements for the duration of their restriction periods. They additionally must brief the original government body on their future professional plans in a pre-departure meeting.
Authorities will supervise those who leave their government jobs and punish those who violate the guideline, together with their new employers. According to CNS, previous regulations on civil servants put similar restrictions on their resignation, but the latest guideline is the strictest and most detailed one yet.
The number of civil servants in China rose between 2008 and 2013, but it saw a slight decrease in 2014 and 2015. By 2015, China had a total of 7.16 million civil servants, with an annual resignation rate of 0.2 percent.
Zhu Lijia, another professor at the Chinese Academy of Governance, pointed out that civil servant used to be perceived as the most stable job in China, but more job opportunities are now opening up as society continues to develop. Job changes for government officials should also be supported as long as officials do not violate the stated rules.
Nyle DiMarco has taken aim at Jamie Foxx after he pretended to do sign language while appearing on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon.
The 28-year-old model and deaf activist - who just won Dancing With The Stars - took to Twitter to express his disgust at the Hollywood pair on Friday night.
Nyle, who is hearing impaired, blasted the actor for being disrespectful and demanded to know why the Tonight Show allowed the segment to air.
Upset:Nyle DiMarco has taken aim at Jamie Foxx after he pretended to do sign language while appearing on the Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon
Insensitive: The 28-year-old model and deaf activist took to Twitter to express his disgust at the Hollywood pair on Friday night
The America's Next Top Model Winner shared a clip from the show of the actor pretending to do sign language as Jimmy cut to an ad break.
While Jimmy was very expressive with his hands, the Oscar winner pretended he was signing what the host was saying.
Pretending to sign is unacceptable, Nyle said on Twitter: '@iamjamiefoxx, It is straight up disrespectful to make up sign language. Everything is in gibberish.'
He then added: 'Also- @jimmyfallon @FallonTonight how was this allowed? Where's the cultural sensitivity. Not comedy when you make fun of others.'
.@iamjamiefoxx, It is straight up disrespectful to make up sign language.
Everything is in gibberish. pic.twitter.com/X5AHkusq3o Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) May 27, 2017
Shamed on social media: The America's Next Top Model Winner shared a clip from the show of the actor pretending to do sign language as Jimmy cut to an ad break
'How was this allowed?' Nyle, who is hearing impaired, blasted the actor for being disrespectful and demanded to know why the Tonight Show allowed the segment to air
Many of his fans agreed, with some demanding the actor and the host apologize to the deaf community, comparing it to people making black jokes or wearying blackface.
However, some Twitter users fired back at Nyle telling him to take a joke.
Neither Jamie of Jimmy have responded to Nyle's calls for them to apologize.
It was just announced that Ben Stiller has split from his wife of 17 years, Christine Taylor.
And new pictures show the 51-year-old enjoying a pizza in Italy this week.
The actor posed for pictures at Gino Sorbillo's popular pizzeria in Naples.
Split slice: Ben Stiller got to enjoy pizza on a trip to Italy shortly before announcing his split from wife of 17 years Christine Taylor
He also stopped by a local art gallery, buying a terracotta statue of a clown, E! News reported..
Stiller had arrived there from Cannes, France, where he had attended the premiere of his latest movie, The Meyerowitz Stories: New and Selected.
On Friday the couple announced the shock news of their split in a joint statement.
'With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate,' Stiller and Taylor told ET.
The actor also enjoyed a visit to the Galleria Borbonica in Naples
It's over: On Friday the couple announced the shock news of their split in a joint statement (pictured at the Met Gala in May 2016)
'Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time.'
Ben, 51 and Christine, 45, first met on the set of Fox TV pilot Heat Vision and Jack in 1999.
They married in 2000 at an oceanfront ceremony in Kauai, Hawaii and share two children, daughter Ella Olivia, 15 and son Quinlin Dempsey, 12.
'When I met her, I pretty much thought, "That's the person,"' Ben told ET in a 2007 interview. 'It was like, "Wow, this is a great person. I love her."'
Over the years the couple starred in several comedies together, including Zoolander, Zoolander 2, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Tropic Thunder and Arrested Development.
On the promo trail: The 51-year-old actor was pictured in Cannes last week with Adam Sandler for the premiere of The Meyerowitz Stories
Family affair: The last time the duo posed on the red carpet together was April 17 with daughter Ella at the Broadway opening night of Groundhog Day
In October last year, Ben revealed he had privately endured a secret health battle after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2014.
The Zoolander actor admitted he was taken aback when doctors detected the life-threatening disease because it came 'out of the blue'.
Speaking on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show in October, he said: 'It came out of the blue for me. I had no idea.
'At first, I didn't know what was going to happen. I was scared. It just stopped everything in your life because you can't plan for a movie because you don't know what's going to happen.
'As I learned more about my disease (one of the key learnings is not to Google 'people who died of prostate cancer' immediately after being diagnosed with prostate cancer), I was able to wrap my head around the fact that I was incredibly fortunate,' he wrote in a blog post.
They married in 2000 and share two children, daughter Ella Olivia, 15 and son Quinlin Dempsey, 12
Comedy duo: Over the years the couple starred in several comedies together, including 2004's Dodgeball (pictured)
'Fortunate because my cancer was detected early enough to treat. And also because my internist gave me a test he didn't have to.'
In February 2016 the couple opened up about how working together affected their marriage while promoting Zoolander 2, which Christine also stars in.
'It's the best. I mean, I think that, you know, the reality is there's such an unspoken connection,' Christine explained.
'I feel like for us, when we first met, it was on set... He's amazing.'
Working together: The duo are seen on the set of Zoolander in 2000
'[Having a] sense of humor [is the secret to our marriage],' she added, 'I have to say, sense of humor is the greatest thing.'
Ben agreed, adding 'I say that's the secret to a happy marriage anywhere in any city, not just Hollywood,
'I think you got to laugh, because after a while, you know, life is life. We all have to deal with what life throws at us, so you got to have a sense of humor about it. If you can share that, at the end, it makes a huge difference.'
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Scott Disick has been pictured living it up with an array of beauties for the fifth day in a row, while his ex and baby mama Kourtney Kardashian has partied nearby with her new beau French model Younes Bendjima, 24.
The 34-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was seen at his luxurious Cannes villa on Sunday cosying up to one of his many bikini-clad holiday mates, this time UK model and blogger Maggie Petrova as he leaned in for a kiss with the brunette while puffing a cigarette and gathering around a dining table in the villa.
His birthday week in the south of France has been colourful to say the least after he arrived at Nice airport alongside actress Bella Thorne, who is 15 years his junior, and a day in the sun with her, he was spotted with his stylist ex-girlfriend Chloe Bartoli and on Friday he was joined by his other ex Ella Ross.
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Too close? Scott Disick has been pictured living it up with an array of beauties for the fifth day in a row
Scott's saucy week kicked off on Tuesday, when he touched down with Bella alongside her sister Dani shortly before the duo were seen getting hot-and-heavy in the pool where Scott appears to have taken permanent residence during the stay.
Days after her steamy pool session with Bella, during which he appeared to grapple her assets while also locking lips - in a display which turned heads - it was Bella's head that turned as she alluded to her dismay at Scott's later behaviour - as he cosied up to ex Chloe.
In Friday's sun-worshipping session, birthday boy Scott was joined by a bevy of pals as they celebrated his turning 34. They included bikini-clad Maggie, who is listed online as having made a one-time appearance in Made In Chelsea. Scott and the recent MSc graduate were spotted giggling and playfully flirting while he appreciatively took in her assets.
Later in the day, after their pool antics, Ella found her way on to Scott's lap as they happily relaxed together. Despite their sexy display in the pool, London-based Maggie, who was born in Bulgaria before growing up in the States, revealed exclusively to MailOnline: 'I'm good friends with Ella Ross, there is nothing going on with me and Scott, just friendship'.
Come here you! The 34-year-old Keeping Up With The Kardashians star was seen at his luxurious Cannes villa on Sunday cosying up to one of his many bikini-clad holiday mates as he leaned in for a kiss with the brunette while puffing a cigarette and gathering around a dining table in the villa
Oh Maggie! The London-based model and blogger shared a snap in the bikini she sported during her day with Scott - seemingly snapped in the party villa inhabited by the group
Deep in chat: The week appears to have been full of fun and frolics as they live it up in the sun
Number one: Scott's saucy week kicked off on Tuesday, when he touched down with Bella (pictured) alongside her sister Dani shortly before the duo were seen getting hot-and-heavy in the pool on Wednesday where Scott appears to have taken permanent residence during the stay
Number two: Chloe joined Scott on Thursday, where they were being super playful while becoming reacquainted
Moving on: Scott has been seen with his former flame Ella (left) while Kourtney is moving on with French model Younes Bendjima, 23.
While Maggie insisted the duo were simply pals, just hours later on Saturday they appeared to be super close as they enjoyed breakfast together before he swooped down to give her a kiss following their talk.
Wrapping a towel around herself, Maggie covered up her black bikini which she later posed in in a sexy snap on Instagram - with her dainty silver bracelet and volumunious curls making her instantly recognisable. The pretty image no doubt thrilled her 26,500 followers - with some users penning: 'Magssss you look bomb... Daaaamn'.
Scott looked low-key in a grey and white striped T-shirt with red shorts while he cradled a wine glass and held a cigarette. His superstar status was alluded to with his blingy watch and gold chain.
Pals? Bella was no doubtly dealt a further blow over the situation when Maggie shared a snap with the star just days before her own poolside fun with Scott, under which she wrote 'what a night', while some of her followers delightedly exclaimed: 'you met her!' At the time of posting, Bella liked the snap
Used? Shortly before Scott was seen, it was reported by TMZ that Bella feels 'used' by Scott after his many dates throughout Cannes. The American actress and singer claims she was courted by Scott in Los Angeles and now feels used after being fooled into thinking he wanted a serious relationship
Shortly before Scott was seen, it was reported by TMZ that Bella feels 'used' by Scott after his many dates throughout Cannes. The American actress and singer claims she was courted by Scott in Los Angeles and now feels used after being fooled into thinking he wanted a serious relationship.
Bella was no doubtly dealt a further blow over the situation when Maggie shared a snap with the star just days before her own poolside fun with Scott, under which she wrote 'what a night', while some of her followers delightedly exclaimed: 'you met her!' At the time of posting, Bella liked the snap.
Kourtney has spent much of this week on a yacht with her French beau who she's reportedly been dating for several months. And it's been rumored that Scott - who shares children Mason, seven, Reign, two and Penelope, four, with Kourtney - is on a mission to make his ex jealous.
Having a giggle: While Maggie insisted the duo were simply pals, just hours later on Saturday they appeared to be super close as they enjoyed breakfast together before he swooped down to give her a kiss following their talk
Handsome: Scott looked low-key in a grey and white striped T-shirt with red shorts while he cradled a wine glass and held a cigarette. His superstar status was alluded to with his blingy watch and gold chain
An insider revealed to E! News this week that Scott bringing Bella to Cannes 'is 100 percent to piss Kourtney off,' It's a very "Let's see how it makes you feel" kind of thing. It's immature, but that's Scott.' they added.
Aside from Kourtney's involvement in the saga, Bella has already been cast aside after Scott enjoyed some pool time. On Thursday evening Bella took to Twitter to post that she feels 'uncomfortable' in Cannes. She shared with her 6.59million fans: 'Yo this #cannes fancy life isn't for me.'
She later took to her Snapchat to share a selfie while posing with her index finger in her mouth and wrote the caption: 'Amfar ready in bed haha.' This all comes after a source told People Magazine that the Famous In Love actress 'really likes the attention' that comes with being seen with Kourtney Kardashian's ex.
Meanwhile, Scott was apparently devastated when he saw photos of Kourtney and new man Younes together last month. He also looked downcast at his birthday celebrations at 1Oak in Las Vegas over the weekend, just as photos of Kourtney and Younes in Cannes surfaced.
Happier days: Scott split with Kourtney, after nine years together, when photos emerged of Scott and Chloe canoodling in Monaco in 2015. Since then, as well as helping to co-parent their three children, Scott had been trying to prove to Kourtney he could stop his hard partying ways in an effort to win her back
Scott split with Kourtney, after nine years together, when photos emerged of Scott and Chloe canoodling in Monaco in 2015. Since then, as well as helping to co-parent their three children, Scott had been trying to prove to Kourtney he could stop his hard partying ways in an effort to win her back.
But Kourtney finally called an end to their longtime relationship with sources telling TMZ she was done with 'treating Scott like a baby' and 'worrying how he'll react to her every move'.
Chloe was an old flame that Scott dated years ago, before he got together with Kourtney, and it was reported at the time by UsWeekly that the KUWTK star hated Scott flirting with her.
And Scott's brief reunion with Chloe there's no doubt Kourtney will be getting some unpleasant feelings of deja vu once she sees the pictures.Chloe, along with her twin sister Marie-Lou Bartoli, run a joint business as stylists to the stars.
Among the clients of the Los Angeles-based sister act are Sofia Richie, Chrissy Teigen, Selena Gomez, Ashley Tisdale, Miranda Kerr, Nicole Richie and Poppy Delevingne.
She's recently touched down in Marbella to perform a DJ set at Playa Padre.
But former Made In Chelsea star Ashley James, 30, ran into a little trouble when the airline lost her luggage - and subsequently, her clothes.
Taking to Instagram to reveal her latest woes, the stunning blonde posted a rather cheeky snap of her in the bath naked with her friend.
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Oops: Made In Chelsea star Ashley James, 30, ran into a little trouble when the airline lost her luggage - and subsequently, her clothes
She captioned the raunchy photo: 'When your suitcases don't arrive and you have no clothes. Cheers Gatwick!'
She jokingly added: 'Very excited to DJ tomorrow, let's hope my luggage turns up before then!'
The gorgeous blonde then luckily salvaged her drama as she posted a sultry photo in a pineapple print bikini, explaining to her followers that she had managed to purchase the swimwear whilst in Marbella.
Phew: The gorgeous blonde then luckily salvaged her drama as she posted a sultry photo in a pineapple print bikini
Earlier this week, the siren sizzled in yet another snap.
In a scintillating Instagram holiday snap shared on Friday from Dorgali in Italy, Ashley spoke about feeling confident in her own skin.
The stunning blonde left little to the imagination in a black lace bodysuit with oblique detailing.
Stunning: Ashley sizzled in a scintillating Instagram holiday snap shared on Friday from Dorgali in Italy. The stunning blonde left little to the imagination in a black lace bodysuit
Holidaying in the picturesque Dorgali commune in Sardinia, Ashley posed seductively with her ample assets on display.
The radio host completed her look with subtle gold jewellery and shades of dark eye shadow.
Continuing to promote body confidence she wrote: '"Even the models we see in magazines wish they could look like their own images." Cheri K. Erdman Trust me. Wearing @bluebellaofficial #noretouchig [sic].'
Ashley James gave Pamela Anderson her run for her money in a modern take on that red one-piece
The seductive pics come a day after Ashley channeled Pamela Anderson in Baywatch with her very own red bikini snap.
The buxom blonde came close to popping out of the extremely plunging swimsuit as she walked sexily out of the sea.
Sharing the seductive footage online, she told fans: 'BAE WATCH! Found a red swimsuit so naturally I had to be really basic and give my best Pamela Anderson impression, especially as we're DJ'ing in Marbella this weekend at a beach party she's attending!'
Back home in London last week, the star was much more covered up than usual as she parted ways with her normal bikini-clad looks.
The former Made In Chelsea beauty, 30, has given the Baywatch slow-motion run her best go in a new video
The buxom blonde came close to popping out of the extremely plunging swimsuit as she walked sexily out of the sea
Sharing the seductive footage online, she told fans: 'BAE WATCH! Found a red swimsuit so naturally I had to be really basic and give my best Pamela Anderson impression
She looked super funky for her outing in the figure-hugging black top which was clad in the logo 'Goal Digger' in large green lettering.
The DJ teamed the look with a pair of high-waisted slim-leg blue denims, which were slightly rolled up underneath.
Strolling along in a pair of comfortable black trainers, Ashley looked very much trendy as she also sported a pair of rose gold headphones around her neck.
Taking into consideration the low-key aspect to the day, Ashley wore her blonde locks in a messy bun - complementing her bronzed make-up look.
Statement style: Back home in London last week, the star was much more covered up than usual as she parted ways with her normal bikini-clad looks
Trendy: The former Made In Chelsea star donned a figure-hugging black top which was clad in the logo 'Goal Digger' in large green lettering
Fashionista: The DJ teamed the look with a pair of high-waisted slim-leg blue denims, which were slightly rolled up underneath
Ashley regularly puts out unretouched images of her slim bikini body out on her social media as part of a fight against unrealistic body image.
But even she was shocked at her immediate reaction to the now-famous unairbrushed Kim Kardashian bikini photos which were taken during her recent trip to Mexico.
Posting a lengthy caption with a sexy shot of her in a revealing red swimming costume, Ashley admitted that she had to scold herself over judging Kim's 'cellulite'.
Wistfully penning a memory of her time on holiday in Holbox Island, Ashley turned her commentary to the subject of Kim's derriere.
Style star: Strolling along in a pair of comfortable black trainers, Ashley looked very much trendy as she also sported a pair of rose gold headphones around her neck
'To be honest, when I first saw the photos I thought two things. Firstly, I loved seeing cellulite because I thought it was great that she could of edited images and she didn't,' the model began.
'Secondly, my immediate subconscious reaction was to be judgmental of her body, and I had to stop myself because I realise - why do we do this or care about how another woman's body looks?'
Ashley's post then became philosophical in nature, and she proffered some advice for her fans that she follows herself.
'Does judging Kim Kardashian make me feel better about myself? I think judgement is natural, but I always to train myself not to think it and I never say it out loud to others.'
Having her say: Ashley regularly puts out unretouched images of her slim bikini body out on her social media as part of a fight against unrealistic body image
'I train myself to not think about it': Even she was shocked at her immediate reaction to the now-famous unairbrushed Kim Kardashian bikini photos which were taken during her recent trip to Mexico
Ashley is herself a victim of body shaming, claiming last month that a taxi driver 'slut-shamed' her for wearing a plunging black crop top.
Penning another commentary on an Instagram post about the incident, she revealed that she 'broke down in tears' and 'was made to feel like a cheap whore'.
Luckily, she decided to ignore the taxi driver, and bravely went on with her evening in the revealing top after deciding she shouldn't feel ashamed about her 'natural, God-given body'.
She adopted her two young children as a single mother.
But it's clear Sandra Bullock's boyfriend Bryan Randall, 50, was very much a part of the family, as the foursome enjoyed a day out on Saturday.
The photographer was at his famous girlfriend's side as they treated her six-year-old son Louis and four-year-old daughter Laila to a fun-filled trip to the iconic Santa Monica Pier.
Family affair: Sandra Bullock, 52, was seen with boyfriend Bryan Randall, 50, and her six-year-old son Louis and four-year-old daughter Laila at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday
Looking good: The Oscar winner was casual chic in a light brown hooded jacket
The two normally keep their relationship out of the spotlight, instead preferring to spend time at home with Sandra's young children and Randall's older daughter Skylar from a previous relationship.
However Sandra, 52, made an exception in order to support a charity fundraiser at the pier, in aid of Mattel Children's Hospital.
The outing gave an insight into the close bond between Randall and the Oscar winner's two children.
Secrets: One of her pals told E! News recently the star is head-over-heels in love and can't believe her good luck
Loved up: The Miss Congeniality actress has been dating photographer Bryan Randall since 2015, after a rough divorce from TV personality Jesse James in 2010
Megawatt smile: The actress looked happy as a clam as she held on to the arcade prize
Dressed down for the day out, he kept a close eye on the children, carrying little Laila on his shoulders as the family explored.
During a spin on a fairground ride it was Randall that Laila snuggled against, as Sandra smiled beside them.
Sandra announced on April 28, 2010 that she had proceeded with plans to adopt Louis in January 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Hold on: She wore a sporty black hoodie under the jacket and rocked distressed jeans
Laugh attack: The Blind Side star kept her brunette locks tied back in a ponytail and rocked retro shades that framed her youthful face
Big winner: Sandra won big with the Pokemon prizes
In December 2015, Bullock announced that she had adopted a second child, Laila, and appeared on the cover of People magazine with her.
The Miss Congeniality actress has been dating Randall since 2015, after a rough divorce from TV personality Jesse James in 2010.
All aboard: Bullock announced on April 28, 2010 that she had proceeded with plans to adopt Louis in January 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana
Motion sickness: In December 2015, Bullock announced that she had adopted a second child, Laila, and appeared on the cover of People magazine with her
Snack break: The two love birds enjoyed refreshments between rides
One of her pals recently told E! News recently the star is head-over-heels in love and can't believe her good luck.
'She is more in love now than she has ever been with Bryan,' the insider claimed.
'They are perfect. They have been both working so it was hard for them to see each other as often as they normally do, but while Sandra works Bryan helps out with the kids,' said the source.
Kids play: The happy couple took a whirl on the rides without the kids
Testimony: 'She is more in love now than she has ever been with Bryan,' the insider claimed
She has been parading along a number of top red carpets at The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival.
Yet Kimberley Garner opted to shed her ball gowns and stunning dresses in favour of a much scantier look as she stripped off for a super sexy new photoshoot to best show off every inch of her incredible frame.
The 28-year-old former Made In Chelsea star, who recently broke up with her mystery boyfriend, boosted her cleavage with a tiny triangle bikini with deeply low-cut bottoms which flashed her perky posterior.
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Blonde beauty: Kimberley Garner opted to shed her ball gowns and stunning dresses in favour of a much scantier look as she stripped off for a super sexy new photoshoot to best show off every inch of her incredible frame
Kimberley joined Made In Chelsea in March 2012 before departing the following November, as she featured in some extremely tumultuous storylines.
Having made the transition from reality star to swimwear designer, she has been making appearances at all the top parties alongside her super sexy beach shoots.
She was modelling her own swimwear designs during the shoot, where she was posing in a racy lilac number with bust boosting design.
Kimberley teased her blonde locks into a volumunious style with her highlights enhanced by the searing sun above.
Woah! The 28-year-old former Made In Chelsea star, who recently broke up with her mystery boyfriend, boosted her cleavage with a tiny triangle bikini with deeply low-cut bottoms which flashed her perky posterior
Sizzling: Kimberley joined Made In Chelsea in March 2012 before departing the following November, as she featured in some extremely tumultuous storylines
Glitzy: Having made the transition from reality star to swimwear designer, she has been making appearances at all the top parties alongside her super sexy beach shoots
All the pieces modelled by Kimberley boast her trademark 18 carat gold plated pendants and trims, which the London-born beauty has made in Paris to be heat-protected against the sand, heat and sea.
Last week, Kimberley revealed she has broken up with her unknown beau and is on the hunt for someone with a 'great personality'.
She told MailOnline: 'I ended the relationship recently. It was a really wonderful three years and we are still good friends today.'
Golden girl: All the pieces modelled by Kimberley boast her trademark 18 carat gold plated pendants and trims, which the London-born beauty has made in Paris to be heat-protected against the sand, heat and sea
The socialite has been notoriously tight-lipped about the identity of her long-term boyfriend, who was often seen with the personality in west London.
But while the split is still raw, she admits she's open to the prospect of dating - as long as her suitor meets the right criteria.
Speaking to The Sun during her appearance at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival, she said: 'It was a great relationship. Id love to meet someone with a great personality its all about the personality for me.'
Busty babe: The socialite has been notoriously tight-lipped about the identity of her long-term boyfriend, who was often seen with the personality in west London
Wow! Speaking to The Sun during her appearance at the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival, she said: 'It was a great relationship. Id love to meet someone with a great personality its all about the personality for me'
Kimberley hasn't appeared on MIC since its third season, where she was seen causing a stir amongst the likes of Spencer Matthews, Jamie Laing and Richard Dinan.
Eventually she and Richard became a couple, with the businessman whisking Kimberley off on romantic dates and eventually a holiday to Italy.
Ollie Locke, Binky Felstead and Cheska Hull ended up tagging along, which resulted in an almighty tiff between Cheska and Kimberley over Richard. Kimberley didn't return to the show for the fourth season and hasn't featured since.
Sexy lady: She has been parading along a number of top red carpets at The 70th Annual Cannes Film Festival
The sight of Captain Rosss toned torso made compulsive Sunday viewing for female fans of Poldark.
Unfortunately for them, actor Aidan Turner has decided to keep his rippling six-pack under wraps for the third series.
The good news, however, is that there are three other male characters who are planning to mimic the likes of Turners head-turning scything scene when the show returns to the BBC next month.
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A cut above: Aidan Turner's toned torso made for compelling viewing but fans will be disappointed to see his body kept under wraps for the third series
And judging by the photographs here, viewers will not be disappointed.
Model Josh Whitehouse, 27, will play aristocratic Hugh Armitage in the new series and has already had plenty of practice baring his enviable physique in British fashion house Burberrys 2016 Mr Burberry fragrance campaign.
As an actor, he has starred in the British movie Alleycats with his Poldark co-star Eleanor Tomlinson and in Northern Soul alongside Steve Coogan. Like Turner, Whitehouse also has two tattoos on his upper body that had to be covered with make-up for filming.
The cast will also be joined by Tom York, 24, who will play one of Demelzas dishy brothers, Sam.
Raw talent: Josh Whitehouse, pictured above starring in Northern Soul, will help fill the torso-totty quota
Tom revealed an impressive six-pack in the ITV series Endeavour, and is also known for playing Leo in BBC drama Death In Paradise.
Meanwhile, rising star Harry Richardson, who plays Demelzas other brother, Drake, in the new series, is preparing to expose his attributes for the first time.
According to sources on the show, he is very much ready for the attention and will engage in a Romeo and Juliet-style romance with new character Morwenna, played by Ellise Chappell.
Viewers will recognise the 24-year-old Australian from his role as Frank Gresham in Julian Fellowess adaptation of Anthony Trollopes Doctor Thorne, screened on ITV last year.
Brooding: Whitehouse, as Poldark character Hugh Armitage above, will set pulses racing
Dare to bare: Tom York, above, who stripped off in TV series Olympus, joins the next season of Poldark
New friends: The stars with Elise Chappell in Poldark, pictured together above
Sources on the show told The Mail on Sunday: This series definitely provides the most competition for Aidan Turner with these three rising stars.
It was a rather daunting experience when they joined the cast as they have incredibly big shoes to fill.
But we are fully confident that all are utterly ready for it.
Last week, Irishman Turner, 33, confessed he would no longer be stripping off on camera. I think the clothes stay on this year, he said.
There will be no more scything for me, but instead the other three.
Andrew O'Keefe displayed unusual behaviour during coverage of Schapelle Corby's return to Australia on Weekend Sunrise on Sunday.
The lawyer-turned-TV-personality, 45, looked rather tired during the live broadcast and, at times, his speech appeared to be slurred.
The father-of-three seemed to struggle to find the right words, slouched in his chair and occasionally burst into laughter.
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Late night? Andrew O'Keefe (right) displayed unusual behaviour during coverage of Schapelle Corby's return to Australia on Weekend Sunrise on Sunday
At one point, his co-anchor Angela Cox joked O'Keefe was 'confusing' her.
Later, he was caught checking his mobile phone during a live segment with a Weekend Sunrise reporter.
But it appears Andrew was just a little weary from his early start as he had clearly perked up by the end of the program.
At around 9.45am, he even made light of Daily Mail Australia's article while pulling animated facial expressions.
Distracted? At one point, O'Keefe was shown slouched and checking his mobile phone during a live segment with a Weekend Sunrise reporter
On Sunday morning, Australian media followed Schapelle Corby's return home after serving almost a decade in a Balinese jail three years on parole.
The convicted drug smuggler stepped off a Malindo Air flight in Brisbane early on Sunday morning, albeit after a last-minute switch to avoid dozens of media who had planned to join her on the Virgin flight to the city .
It is believed the 39-year-old left the airport in one of 12 black vehicles which made a swift exit from the international terminal - sending media on a wild goose chase through the streets of Brisbane.
Sleepy? The lawyer-turned-TV-personality, 45, looked rather tired during the live broadcast and, at times, his speech appeared to be slurred
'Confusing': At one point, co-host Angela Cox (left) joked O'Keefe was 'confusing' her
Her dramatic homecoming brings an end to a saga that began nearly 13 years ago, when the then-beauty therapist landed in Bali for a holiday with family and friends.
Corby's life was forever changed the moment a customs officer lifted 4.2kg of top-quality marijuana from her boogie board bag the afternoon of October 8, 2004.
Corby will turn 40 in July, her youth having faded away behind bars at the notorious 'Hotel K', or Kerobokan Prison.
Nothing to see here! But it appears Andrew was just a little weary from his early start as he had clearly perked up by the end of the program and made light of Daily Mail Australia's story
Kieran Hayler broke down in tears on Loose Women's Loved Ones special as he spoke for the first time about his infidelities to wife Katie Price.
The 30-year-old former stripper was caught having affairs with two of Katie's best friends, Jane Pountney, 52, and Chrissy Thomas, 44, leading to a very public outburst from Katie, although the model, 39, later revealed Kieran is a sex addict.
Appearing on the show alongside Katie's Loose Women colleagues and their partners, Kieran admitted he 'will never be cured' before tenderly kissing the forgiving in groundbreaking scenes for both TV and their marriage.
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I'll be there for you: Kieran Hayler broke down in tears on Loose Women's Loved Ones special as he spoke for the first time about his infidelities to wife Katie Price
Kieran and Katie joined the Loose Women panel, including Stacey Solomon, Ola Jordan and Ruth Langsford alongside their respective partners Joe Swash, James Jordan and Eamonn Holmes on the Bank Holiday special.
As the couple took the screen, Katie was clad in an unusually demure frothy skirt and cardigan combo while sporting one of her now-trademark pink wigs - in an ensemble it was revealed had been picked for Katie by Kieran.
Cheeky James also chose a very sex latex number for his dancer wife, which provided many giggles shortly before things grew serious as Kieran discussed the addiction that consumed him.
The embattled husband, announced that having sought therapy for his compulsions he now 'does not crave it', with Katie admitting it is now her 'on him' - although he admits he will never be cured.
It's ok now: The 30-year-old former stripper was caught having affairs with two of Katie's best friends, Jane Pountney, 52, and Chrissy Thomas, 44, leading to a very public outburst from Katie, although the model, 39, later revealed Kieran is a sex addict
Happy together: The duo were open and honest in the candid chat
Open and honest: Kieran and Katie joined the Loose Women panel, including Stacey Solomon, Ola Jordan and Ruth Langsford alongside their respective partners Joe Swash, James Jordan and Eamonn Holmes on the Bank Holiday special
Ready: He was finally ready to be honest about what happened
Open and honest: The show was dominated by the various couple's insight into life together
Pretty: Kieran chose a minimal floaty ensemble for the stunning star
Katie wed Kieran met online in in 2012 and married just two months later in the Bahamas before heading to Weston-Super-Mare in March to bless their wedding after which they welcomed son Jett, three and daughter Bunny, two.
The couple's seemingly sturdy marriage was rocked to its core in 2014 when Katie discovered Kieran and Jane becoming intimate on a sun-lounger during a group holiday to Cape Verde - after which she knocked out her rival's tooth.
Katie and Jane had known each other for 20 years when the affair came to light, and the latter was even maid of honour at Katie's weddings to Alex Reid and Kieran.
After vowing to stay with 'sex addict' Kieran following his 10 month affair, she has always been candid about the dalliances, admitting she sends her husband pictures of Jane 'constantly', yet Monday's Loose Women will see Kieran speak out.
Cheeky! Cheeky James also chose a very sex latex number for his dancer wife, which provided many giggles shortly before things grew serious as Kieran discussed the addiction that consumed him
Troubled: He roken his silence on the cheating scandal that rocked their marriage three years ago
Fun, fun, fun: Jane Pountney, 52, (pictured) was one of the women involved
Kiss, kiss: The couple have come up on top following their struggles
Loved-up: Appearing stronger than ever, the duo appeared at Capital's Celebrity Soccer match at Southampton Football Club on Friday
Snuggling up: In clips obtained by The Sun, Kieran spoke of his addictions and the group therapy he sought with Katie: '(The addiction) never be gone, its just how you deal with it'
Supportive wife: Katie has moved passed the cheating with time
Kieran spoke of his addictions and the group therapy he sought with Katie: '(The addiction) never be gone, its just how you deal with it.
'I broke down completely but the only way you can ever help yourself is that you have to want to help yourself. We had a guy come to the house for four days. By the end of the weekend he said, "Youre untreatable. I dont want to work with you".'
After finding another therapist the couple were banned from touching for two months, although he was sceptical as he said: ' I didnt believe what they were doing was working. We werent allowed to touch each other, only a kiss on the cheek.'
Despite his addiction, Kieran insists his desires have been truly quashed - with Katie desiring him more now that he has sought help.
Here come the girls! She cheered on her man with old pal Kerry Katone on the desk
Moving on: He said: 'I havent had a therapist session for just over a year. I dont crave for it at all. Its more the other way around, before Katie added: 'Im on him now'
Moving on: Katie and Kieran are on the up since their brief woes
Cheeky! Katie posed up a storm at the football match days before the big interview is set to air
He said: 'I havent had a therapist session for just over a year. I dont crave for it at all. Its more the other way around', before Katie added: 'Im on him now.'
Katie, who is also mother to Harvey, 14, with Dwight Yorke and Junior, 11 and Princess, nine, Peter Andre, emotionally revealed the addiction was so bad that he would cheat while she was bathing their kids.
Reflecting on the bad times, Kieran said: 'I think it was a cry for help and being caught was my way out. It took Kate to save me. Shes my guardian angel and the only person I am grateful for for the rest of my life.'
Referring to the candid interview, he said: 'If Id done this at the time, I would have been in pieces. So now being able to talk about it is a lot easier.'
Loose Women & Loved Ones bank holiday special airs Monday on ITV.
This Hollywood star should probably stick to her day job.
It is safe to say that Anna Faris would not make a great pizza delivery driver.
The 40-year-old needed a helping hand with a big red thermal pie carry bag on set in Vancouver, Canada, on Friday.
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Not for her: It is safe to say that Anna Faris would not make a great pizza delivery driver, with the star struggling on the set of the Overboard remake in Vancouver, Canada, on Friday
The star had to jump out of her car and run with the bag but it was almost as big as she was.
So as soon as the director yelled 'Cut!' an assistant stepped in to help her hold the pizza prop.
The actress was filming the pizza delivery scene for the second day in a row but still gave it her all.
As she ran she pulled a series of very funny facials, and really committed to spiriting with the pizzas.
Careful there: The star had to jump out of her car and run with the bag but it was almost as big as she was
A little help here! So as soon as the director yelled 'Cut!' an assistant stepped in to help her hold the pizza prop
For the scene, Anna was dressed in a pair of grey jeans, sneakers and a T-shirt from the fictitious pizza store, Village Pizza.
The star pulled up in a fittingly battered older model silver Hyundai with her co-star in the passenger seat.
Despite her funny woman status matching original star Goldie Hawn's, Anna is not taking over the same role that Goldie played in the 1987 film.
Gunning it: The star pulled up in a fittingly battered older model silver Hyundai with her co-star in the passenger seat
Instead Eugenio Derbez will be as the amnesia-based romp will see a role reversal.
The re-imagined Garry Marshall movie will see the Mexican star as a spoiled playboy - who falls from a yacht.
Anna plays a single mother who convinces him that they are married, similar to the character played by Kurt Russell in the original.
Co-star: Despite her funny woman status matching original star Goldie Hawn's, Anna is not taking over the same role that Goldie played in the 1987 film. Instead Eugenio Derbez will be as the amnesia-based romp will see a role reversal (pictured April)
Changing it up: The re-imagined Garry Marshall movie will see the Mexican star as a spoiled playboy - who falls from a yacht (pictured is Goldie in the role)
In a statement to E! News, MGM Motion Picture Group President Jonathan Glickman said: 'The original Overboard was beloved and the only way to bring it back is to reinvent the story in a whole new way.
'Anna and Eugenio are two of the most charismatic forces in comedy whose take on the material will modernize the story for a whole new generation of moviegoers.'
E! news also reports that Bob Fisher and Rob Greenberg co-wrote and are co-directing the comedy.
File Photo
The U.S. Navy accused China once again of conducting unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers near U.S. military aircraft sent to spy on China. Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a P-3 Orion surveillance plane over the South China Sea on Wednesday, according to reports. How ridiculous it is for the U.S. Navy to complain after jeopardizing Chinas security and interests. Such behavior makes one think of a Chinese idiom: the wicked are the first to complain.
While some might chalk the recent incidents up as just more examples of Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea, it was the U.S. military that challenged China by conducting reconnaissance activities in Chinas backyard. This would certainly force the Chinese to respond in a safe and professional manner.
If you come to Chinas door looking for trouble, then dont complain about it afterward. On the Peoples Daily official Twitter account, a follower, a little pink digital warrior as some media outlets like to call young patriotic Chinese, responded to the above mentioned news piece: Not only did the U.S. sneak into Chinese territory, it complained about it. She added that if China had acted unprofessionally, then the Chinese military would have shot down the surveillance plane instead of drive it away.
This is not the first time that the U.S. has provoked China. This incident comes on the heels of other recent military provocations from the U.S., including a U.S. Navy warship that sailed within 12 nautical miles of Meiji Reef, which is part of Chinas Nansha Islands in the South China Sea. In response to that incident, Chinas Ministry of National Defense said it had identified the American warship and warned it to leave.
The increasing frequency of American provocation is a troubling sign for the hard-won peace and stability of the region. As recent events show, the long-term goal of the U.S. remains unchanged: ensure that the U.S. military dominates the Asia-Pacific region in order to maximize relative power.
The frequent reconnaissance activities by U.S. military ships and aircraft is the root cause of security issues between the two countries, according to Chinas Ministry of National Defense, and China has urged the U.S. to put a stop to these activities.
China remains firmly committed to the path of peaceful development, and its defense policy is defensive in nature. Until recently, the situation in the South China Sea was cooling down, thanks to joint efforts made by China and other countries directly involved in the regions issues. China is willing to work with relevant parties to make the South China Sea into a sea of peace, friendship, and cooperation. But China is also firm in defending its security and interests.
If there is any message that the U.S. should take from this latest encounter, it is that the capability and determination of the Chinese military in protecting its sovereignty is growing stronger by the day. Disrupting joint efforts to promote peace and stability in the region serves no ones interests, and is not the best path forward. If the U.S. is truly committed to helping maintain peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region, then it should stop poking the peaceful panda.
>>RELATED READING
US Navy accuses Chinese fighter jets of conducting 'unsafe' maneuver, but China calls similar operations 'professional and safe'
Two Chinese J-10 fighter jets were accused by the U.S. Navy of conducting unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers while intercepting a U.S. surveillance aircraft near the South China Sea on May 24. This incident is the second close brush involving American and Chinese aircraft in the disputed region this month. [read full report]
Simon Cowell along with his fellow judges have announced the semi-finalists for Britain's Got Talent 2017.
Among the successful acts to go through are choir The Missing People Choir, who moved Amanda Holden and Alesha Dixon to tears during their audition.
However, some of the choices - like Jay Wynn, who auditioned singing Take On Me dressed up as a giant black robot - have left viewers perplexed, while a bigger bombshell was revealed on Britain's Got More Talent.
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Suspense: The Britain's Got Talent acts through to the semi-finals have been revealed
Confusing: Some of the choices - like Jay Wynn, who auditioned singing Take On Me dressed up as a giant black robot - have left viewers perplexed
It has been divulged that the judges - Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams - will have no say in who goes through to the final.
The twist will mean that the fates of the acts will rest entirely with audience members voting at home.
Stephen Mulhern announced the news on Saturday night's Britains Got More Talent.
Shock: Fans couldn't believe some of the judges' choices
Despite fans being confused by some of the choices, The Missing People Choir are a firm favourite.
Peter Lawrence the father of chef Claudia Lawrence, who went missing in York eight years ago appeared as part of the choir on the debut episode of this series of BGT.
The 70-year-old fronted TMPC, a group comprised of relatives of people whose loved ones disappeared and were never found.
Their rendition of self-penned song I Miss You moved the judges to tears.
Fan favourites: Despite fans being confused by some of the choices, The Missing People Choir are a firm favourite
Sad story: Peter Lawrence the father of chef Claudia Lawrence, who went missing in York eight years ago appeared as part of the choir on the debut episode of this series of BGT
Over next week the 40 semi-finalists will perform live, with two acts with the highest votes from each night going through to the live final.
However, the judges havent lost complete control over semi-finals week they will be given the opportunity to select one wildcard act to go through to the final.
Other acts that have successfully made it to next weeks live semi-finals include retired registrar-turned-DJ Dizzy Twilight along with The Next Generation, a troupe of clown-faced dancers.
Cheeky chappie: Also through is 8-year-old budding comedian Ned Woodman, who shocked the audience when he made a joke about Amanda Holden
Excitement: Also through were tap dancing group TapTastik
Also through is 8-year-old budding comedian Ned Woodman, who shocked the audience when he made a joke about Amanda Holden, which stated: 'Why were people so excited by that talking dog on Britain's Got Talent? Amanda Holden's been on it for years.'
They will also be joined by PC Dan Graham, a South London police officer who dances in his uniform.
There will also be a number of guest star performances throughout the week, including former Fifth Harmony member Camila Cabello, Alfie Boe and Vera Lynn as her very own hologram.
Success: The London School of Bollywood also had good news
What a treat! Miss Treat Vibe looked thrilled to be going through to the next round
The cast from Bat Out of Hell The Musical will also be gracing the stage, as will X Factor runners up 5 After Midnight and BGT reigning champion, magician Richard Jones.
The live final will see performances from Little Mix and legendary BGT winners Diversity.
The Britain's Got Talent Live Final will air on Sunday 4th June.
On top of the world: Grace and Ali made the cut
She's the former Home And Away star who left Australia to try her luck overseas.
But despite landing a role in US drama The 100, Rhiannon Fish has revealed the acting industry in Los Angeles can be brutal.
Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the 26-year-old claimed Hollywood almost destroyed some of her peers.
'I have seen LA break people': Despite landing a role in US drama The 100, Rhiannon Fish told The Sunday Telegraph the acting industry in Los Angeles can be brutal
'I have been very lucky': The former Home And Away star has found success in Hollywood
'I have seen LA break people. It is certainly not the place for everyone but I have been very lucky,' she told the publication.
It's a well-trodden path for Australian actors to have a crack at the notoriously difficult Hollywood scene, with the expats having varying degrees of success.
For every Chris Hemsworth and Nicole Kidman who manage to achieve A-List status, there is no shortage of actors who can't catch a break and eventually return home.
Lost loves: Rhiannon has had high-profile relationships with Lincoln Lewis (pictured left) and Reece Mastin (pictured right) in the past
Rhiannon, who has been romantically linked to Reece Mastin and Lincoln Lewis in the past, said it's important to not have an ego and continue believing in yourself.
Despite focusing her efforts in America, Rhiannon is still open to local projects.
She is currently on the Gold Coast filming new Australian movie Occupation alongside fellow Home And Away alum Dan Ewing.
Local project: The 26-year-old joined fellow Home And Away alum Dan Ewing (second from right) to film new Australian movie Occupation
Hot tips: Rhiannon said it's important to not have an ego and continue believing in yourself when trying to find success in Hollywood
Rhiannon also revealed she would be happy returning to Home And Away in the future.
'It is the best gig Ive ever had, honestly,' she said.
Rhiannon enjoyed a three-year stint on the Channel Seven series, playing April Scott from 2010 to 2013.
Tunisian businessman Chafik Jarraya, pictured in 2015, has had his assets frozen by Tunisian authorities
Tunisian authorities on Friday froze the assets of eight businessmen suspected of corruption, including some already under house arrest.
Graft was widespread under longtime president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in a 2011 uprising, and has remained endemic ever since.
The eight men allegedly profited from their ties to Ben Ali and members of his regime whose assets were confiscated in 2012.
A government agency charged with confiscating property said it had seized property and frozen the assets of the eight over "illegal" profits.
It came after an investigation showed their involvement in "relations that enabled them to illegally make huge profits", commission head Mounir Ferchichi said.
Tunisia declared a "war on corruption" this week after the arrest of three businessmen and a customs officer on suspicion of graft and financing protests in the North African country.
Those hit by the asset freeze include businessman Chafik Jarraya and former presidential candidate Yassine Chennoufi, who were among those detained earlier this week and are under house arrest.
They are also accused of "incitement and alleged financing of the protest movement" in the south, the scene of long-running demonstrations over unemployment.
Ferchichi called the timing of the asset freezes alongside the anti-graft probe "a coincidence".
Authorities have arrested 10 businessmen and suspected smugglers since Tuesday on suspicion of corruption and "conspiracy against the security of the state", a senior official said Friday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The arrests come after a young man died Monday after being run over by a national guard vehicle during clashes in the southern desert region of Tataouine.
The anti-corruption arrests, made possible by a state of emergency in force since November 2015, have been largely welcomed by politicians and the public.
But some say such measures do not go far enough, and that more is needed than the arrest of a few prominent figures.
Lee Boyd Malvo is seen here leaving a pre-trial hearing in 2002 after his arrest over a string of sniper attacks that left 10 dead and terrorized the Washington area
A judge Friday threw out the life terms for a man sentenced as a teenager for his role in a deadly three-week shooting spree in 2002 that terrorized the Washington area.
US District Judge Raymond Jackson in Virginia ruled that Lee Boyd Malvo deserved another sentencing hearing because the US Supreme Court has ruled that mandatory life sentences for minors are unconstitutional.
Malvo was serving two life sentences on two counts of capital murder in Virginia. They have now been vacated.
The series of sniper shootings in 2002 paralyzed the Washington area. Ten people were killed and three wounded in Virginia, Maryland and the US capital.
Malvo, who was 17 when he was arrested over the killings, was also sentenced to life in prison in Maryland.
Malvo's partner in the shooting spree, John Muhammad, was executed in 2009.
During the October 2-22, 2002 shooting spree, Muhammad, a skilled marksman, and Malvo picked off victims with a high-powered sniper rifle seemingly at will.
The random killings terrified an area still living in dread of a repeat of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks and deadly anthrax mailings a year earlier.
People would squat down by their cars as they pumped gas, run from their vehicles into work, or just stay home.
Muhammad, who was a father-like figure to Malvo, killed each of his victims with a single bullet fired from a distance, and was apprehended after an exhaustive manhunt by federal and local police.
Muhammad's motive was unclear, although his second ex-wife alleged he intended to shoot her and reclaim custody of their three children.
Former US National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski speaks at the Nobel Peace Prize Forum in Oslo, in December 2016
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the hawkish Polish-born Cold War strategist and former top aide to US president Jimmy Carter, has died, his family said. He was 89.
"My father passed away peacefully tonight," MSNBC journalist Mika Brzezinski said on Instagram late on Friday.
"He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life. I just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have," she wrote.
Born in Warsaw to a diplomat father, Brzezinski moved with his family to Canada in the late 1930s. He went on to attend McGill University in Montreal then earned a doctorate from Harvard, later becoming a US citizen.
After serving under president Lyndon Johnson, he went on to become Carter's national security adviser during the Iranian hostage crisis.
He was a driving force behind the failed US commando mission to rescue the hostages, after which he resigned. He believed Soviet influence would sweep through Iran if US strength did not prevail in the drama.
Nominally a Democrat, he leaned conservative on security matters. A tough critic of the Soviet Union, he also helped broker the Camp David accords and worked on normalizing relations with China.
Though a rigorous anti-communist, he held that US interests around the world should be addressed in terms of strategy and practicality, not ideology.
- 'Superb public servant' -
"He was an important part of our lives for more than four decades and was a superb public servant," Carter said in a statement.
He passed away in Falls Church, Virginia, his family said.
Brzezinski was an active professor and author well into his 80s.
He did not support President Donald Trump's election and criticized his foreign policy as vague.
"Does America have a foreign policy right now?" he tweeted in February.
"The President should outline why America is important to the world, but also why the world needs America."
In 2011, he penned "Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power," arguing that US strength abroad was key to global stability.
But it would depend on America's ability to foster "social consensus and democratic stability" at home, he said, referring to the need for less income inequality and a meaningful response to climate change.
He developed his ties to Carter on the Trilateral Commission, the group David Rockefeller created in 1973 as a forum for political and business leaders from North America, Western Europe and Japan.
Brzezinski was the commission's first director.
- 'Outstanding intellectual, proud Pole' -
Tributes in his native land were effusive.
"The world has lost an outstanding intellectual, an experienced and effective diplomat, as well as an honorable man and a proud Pole," Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in a statement.
"He never forgot about the country of his origin.
"Through his tough stance against the Soviet Union, Brzezinski played a key role in the process of the collapse of the totalitarian communist system, which had been imposed upon the countries of Central and Eastern Europe after World War II," Waszczykowski added.
Writing on Twitter, Polish President Andrzej Duda also paid tribute.
"Zbigniew Brzezinski is gone. He was once the voice of Poland in the White House. A free Poland. Because he tirelessly strove for our freedom.
"Thank you!"
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights has ruled the Kenyan government had violated the rights and freedoms of the Ogiek hunter-gatherer people by driving them out of their ancestral lands in the Mau forest
The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Friday ruled the Kenyan government had violated the rights and freedoms of the Ogiek hunter-gatherer people by driving them out of their ancestral lands.
The court ordered the government "to take all appropriate measures within a reasonable time frame to remedy all the violations established and to inform the court of the measures taken within six months from the date of this judgement".
The Ogiek, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer peoples of east Africa, live in the Mau forest complex in the Rift Valley. They alleged that the Kenyan government had violated their rights, including to property, natural resources, religion and culture.
In their decision, the nine judges also asked the representatives of the Ogiek to file their requests for reparations within two months.
Minority Rights Group International, one of the three complainants in the case, hailed the ruling after an eight-year legal battle as a huge victory for the Ogiek and other indigenous communities.
"Crucially the court has recognised that the Ogiek -- and therefore many other indigenous peoples in Africa -- have a leading role to play as guardians of local ecosystems, and in conserving and protecting land and natural resources, including the Mau Forest," Lucy Claridge, legal director of the London-based group, said in a statement.
"By ruling that through a persistent denial of Ogiek land rights, their religious and associated cultural and hunter-gatherer practices were also violated, the court has sent a crystal clear message to the Kenyan and other African governments that they must respect indigenous peoples' land rights in order to secure their livelihoods and cultures," she added.
Based in Arusha, northern Tanzania, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was established in 2006. The court has no criminal jurisdiction, but can order a state to pay damages. Its decisions are not subject to appeal.
So far 29 states, including Kenya, have ratified the protocol establishing the court.
Australian Schapelle Corby was jailed after being arrested in Bali in 2004 with marijuana stashed in her surfing gear
Australian Schapelle Corby returned home Sunday following her deportation from Bali 12 years after her conviction for drug trafficking, as she battled through a media storm in a dramatic end to a saga that captivated her homeland.
Corby and her sister Mercedes avoided cameras when she touched down in the eastern city of Brisbane early on Sunday morning, with live television broadcasts showing a convoy of vehicles believed to be carrying them leaving the airport.
"It is with gratefulness and relief that this morning we mark Schapelle Corby's return to Australia," a member of her security team said, reading out a family statement at Brisbane airport.
"We would like to say thank you to Schapelle's supporters for all the faith, love and support they have shown over the years... Priority of focus will now be on healing and moving forward."
Corby was led out of the Bali villa, hidden under a scarf and wearing a pair of sunglasses, before being whisked away in a convoy that included armoured vehicles.
The beauty school dropout hit the headlines in Australia when she was arrested in 2004 at Bali airport with several kilos of hashish stashed in her surfing gear, and was jailed the following year for 20 years.
Corby, now 39, maintained her innocence, insisting the drugs had been planted, and received much support back home where some believed she had been set up or was the victim of a supposedly corrupt justice system.
Her final day on the Indonesian resort island was a blaze of media attention, as she was hustled out of a villa with her face hidden under a scarf, and then chased by a huge pack of journalists before boarding a flight home.
In a final twist, she managed to outsmart the media by heading back to Brisbane on a different flight than had been widely expected, apparently to avoid travelling with a large contingent of reporters.
It was not clear if she was heading to her mother Rosleigh Rose's home in Loganlea, south of Brisbane, or to her sister's residence in the Gold Coast.
- Day of drama -
Her mother said this week she was worried about how Corby would adjust to living in Australia amid the media frenzy.
The family were also waiting for Corby to return home so she could help scatter her father's ashes at a secret location after his death nine years ago from cancer.
"Her dad and her were really close," Rose told the Gold Coast Bulletin on Friday.
"When we are all in touch, when it's the right time, we're going to put his ashes where he wanted... We can't do it without Schapelle."
The day of drama was a fitting finale to a story that has fascinated the Australian public like few others in recent times.
Unlike in Australia, Indonesia's press dubbed her "The Ganja Queen" and she received little sympathy from the public, who largely support the country's tough anti-drugs laws.
Corby's sentence was cut due to regular remissions and after an appeal to the president, and she served nine years behind bars. She was released early in 2014 but was required to remain on Bali for three years under the conditions of her parole.
Australian media descended on Bali en masse ahead of her homecoming, camping out outside her villa for several days as Corby did her best to stay hidden.
Hundreds of police were deployed to provide security on Saturday. Corby was led out of the villa in the afternoon, hidden under the scarf and wearing a pair of sunglasses, before being whisked away in a convoy that included armoured vehicles.
She headed first to government offices to fill out documents. "Good bye to this parole paperwork," she posted on her Instagram account, which already had over 67,000 followers just a few hours after being set up.
She later posted a photo of her looking out of a plane window, with the word "Boarded".
Corby then headed to the airport, boarding a flight on airline Malindo Air at 10:00 pm (1400 GMT). She had been widely expected to fly on a Virgin service leaving 10 minutes later. Australian journalists had been booked to travel on the Virgin flight, Australian media reported.
Despite the controversy surrounding her case, Indonesia has stepped up its campaign against drug use since she was jailed.
Authorities have embarked on a campaign of executions targeting drug smugglers, and in April 2015 put to death two Australians along with six other foreigners.
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A Kimbanguist choir in the Democratic Republic of Congo celebrate "true Christmas" in tribute to Simon Kimbangu Kiangani, held to be the second reincarnation of the Holy Spirit
A cow carried on a stretcher as an offering plus a choir chanting effervescent songs of praise while a brass band plays.
It could only be Christmas, Congolese style, as members of the Kimbanguist church mark their annual festival in flamboyant fashion with a massive ceremony.
Entering into the joyous spirit of things, some 4,000 people including elderly, women, teachers, rescue workers and scouts, made a pilgrimage Thursday to the holy hill of Nkamba, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Kinshasa.
For followers of the church, which is based in Democratic Republic of Congo, "true Christmas" falls on May 25.
This year, their chants of praise resounded for several hours at Nkamba's huge temple, where worshippers rejoiced both over the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago and for what they believe was the second birth of Christ on Congolese soil in the early 20th century.
Clad in crisp green and white uniforms, members of the Kimbanguist Social and Surveillance Movement (MSSK) paraded before their god, Simon Kimbangu Kiangani.
A stocky man in his 60s, wearing a dark blue suit, he is held to be the latest incarnation of God for a church whose origins are almost a century old and which lays claim to some five million members.
- Christ 'reborn in 1916' -
Nkamba is the birthplace of Simon Kimbangu, who launched his ministry in 1921 in an enormous territory which at the time was ruled by Belgium.
According to a church leader, he brought a message of divine revelation partly hidden by Jesus Christ, whom Kimbanguists see as the saviour of humanity.
Kimbanguist faithfuls try to lift a cow chosen as an offering to their leader during "true Christmas" celebrations
As founder of the church, Kimbangu was a self-styled healer and prophet who alarmed colonial powers to such an extent that he spent 30 years in prison until his death in 1951.
It was only in 1959 that the Belgian colonial authorities finally granted Kimbanguists the right to practise their faith.
Today, Kimbanguists worship their faith's founder as the original incarnation of the Holy Spirit -- and his three sons as the incarnation or reincarnation of the three aspects of the Holy Trinity.
It was in 2000 that they stopped celebrating Christmas on December 25 after a "revelation" they should instead mark the 1916 birth of Papa Salomon Dialungana Kiangani, Kimbangu's second son -- who is believed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
Their current leader, Simon Kimbangu Kiangani, is Kimbangu's grandson and believed to be the second reincarnation of the Holy Spirit.
For his followers, Nkamba is no less than the holy city, "the new Jerusalem".
- Everyone barefoot -
At this sacred site, everybody goes barefoot, apart from the Congolese soldiers assigned to watch over the living god and his family.
As part of the ceremony, some 30 elders -- or "papas" -- carried in the offering of a cow on a makeshift stretcher.
But the hobbled beast was too heavy for their weary arms and ended up on the ground, mute, as the joyous ceremony continued.
After the MSSK, other groups within the church made their entry, parading across the temple forecourt in warm sunshine to the sound of a brass fanfare then flutes.
Two iron basins were placed on stools to receive donations from the faithful. Most produced a banknote equivalent to one US dollar or less, a substantial sum for many Congolese.
Several contributed wads of chikwangue, a paste made from fermented cassava, and one family gave packets of spaghetti.
One man, who was apparently disturbed, appeared, raising his arm towards the shaded area where the "Holy Spirit" was seated, only to be swiftly led away by the guardians in green and white.
"It happens a lot," shrugged MSSK head Ruffin Asumbe who told AFP they were "isolated" for a while then released.
- 'Freeing Africans from the curse' -
Before the processions, there was a six-hour ceremony at which the "true date of birth of Jesus, Son of God," was impressed on the minds of the faithful.
The "Holy Spirit" however did not attend as he went to register at a local polling station.
Freddy-Mafu Kayita flew in from Belgium just a few hours before Thursday's celebration began.
Born and raised in a Catholic family in Germany, he began to convert a decade ago.
Speaking to AFP, he said he had spent years researching the suffering of "the black race" and had found his answer in Kimbanguism.
"Adam and Eve were black," he explained, saying Africans had borne the consequences of their fall and the divine anger provoked by their "sin towards God".
But the Kimbanguist church "wants to free the black race from this curse, to give it back its lost sovereignty," he said.
India's longest bridge -- to connect Assam state with Arunachal Pradesh -- was inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
India opened its longest bridge close to the border with China in a move seen as bolstering its defences in a sensitive region.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi marked the third anniversary of his rule by inaugurating the 9.1 kilometre (5.7 mile) long Dhola-Sadiya bridge over the Brahmaputra river that will link Assam and Arunachal Pradesh states.
Indian media Friday made much of the fact that the bridge has been built to support the weight of a 60 tonne tank.
Modi has launched a drive to improve infrastructure in the isolated region, which comprises seven states linked to mainland India by a sliver of land that arches over Bangladesh.
"This bridge will not only save time and money, but it will bring about a new economical revolution for the people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh," Modi said.
The structure in mountainous Arunachal Pradesh, he said, will help farmers transport crops and herbs to markets in Assam.
Experts say the $318 million project will consolidate New Delhi's defences in the region.
"The bridge is going to help our troops get to parts that were earlier difficult to reach in times of crises," Ajit Singh, a defence research fellow at New Delhi's Institute for Conflict Management, told AFP.
"It's a step in the right direction, a proactive step by India to counterbalance China."
The government is also constructing a 2,000-kilometre highway to connect the eastern part of Arunachal Pradesh to the western side at an estimated $6 billion cost. It is carrying out a study on a possible new railway network in the area.
Earlier governments refused to construct roads near the border, fearing they could be used by Chinese troops in a conflict.
But in 2014, Modi eased rules on building roads and army facilities near the 4,056 kilometre-long (2,520 mile) border in Arunachal Pradesh, signalling a shift in India's strategic policy.
Relations between India and China are dogged by mistrust stemming from a brief border war in 1962 over Arunachal Pradesh which has a large ethnic Tibetan population.
The two sides regularly accuse each other of border incursions.
China and India ties soured this month when India boycotted a Beijing summit in opposition to a Chinese-Pakistani economic corridor that runs through disputed Kashmir.
Last month, China protested after India let Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama visit Arunachal Pradesh.
Palestinian women hold portraits of relatives imprisoned in Israeli jails during a protest in front of the Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem, on May 25, 2017
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their protest, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Saturday.
Palestinian Prisoners Club chief Qaddura Fares said an agreement had been reached between the strikers and Israeli authorities on improving their conditions.
An Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman confirmed the hunger strike was over.
Israeli authorities conceded to one of the prisoners' main demands -- that they should have two family visits a month instead of the one they were entitled to before the strike, the spokeswoman said.
The resolution of the strike came hours before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A number of the strikers had been in sharply declining health.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had urged US counterpart Donald Trump to raise the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the region earlier this week.
Demonstrations in support of the prisoners had been held across the occupied West Bank leading to repeated bloody clashes with Israeli security forces.
Chinas most popular spirit brand, Moutai, will establish a college to teach wine-related science, in an effort to promote Chinas national liquor brand worldwide.
Already approved by the Ministry of Education, Moutai College will have five undergraduate programs, including brewing engineering, enological engineering and food quality & safety studies. The college aims to enroll 5,000 students and will place an emphasis on wine-related technologies, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
Similar to Russian vodka, Moutai is a distilled spirit made from sorghum, wheat or rice. With a history that dates back to the 1st century B.C., the brand first impressed foreigners with its mellow aroma and smooth taste at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It is also a popular drink at state functions.
Though the brand has a remarkable reputation both domestically and abroad, its sales have slumped in recent years, partly because of the Chinese governments crackdown on corruption, which has reduced the number of extravagant government receptions and gift exchanges. Facing this domestic downturn, the company has been exploring global cooperation with five overseas agencies in an attempt to become the worlds No. 1 liquor brand.
Some experts believe that the establishment of Moutai College will provide the company with a pool of professionals and a technological edge. It also could help Moutai to tap into the foreign market.
According to Xinhua, Moutai aims to expand its overseas market share by an annual rate of 15 percent, banking on the potential for overseas sales to make up 10 percent of its total sales volume.
Government troops patrol a deserted street near the position of Islamic militants in Marawi, on the southern island of Mindanao on May 27, 2017
Militants fighting under the black flag of the Islamic State group have turned a southern city into a battleground, and triggered warnings by President Rodrigo Duterte of a potential IS caliphate.
The violence is the latest in four decades of conflict across the southern third of the mostly Catholic Philippines, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has claimed more than 120,000 lives.
Here is what we know about the latest violence, the factors behind it and what will happen next:
- Who are the militants? -
They mostly belong to the Maute group, which the government estimates has about 260 armed followers. It is one of a number of hardline groups that split from the nation's biggest Muslim rebel organisation in anger at a planned peace accord.
The Maute gunmen were protecting Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of a kidnapping-for-ransom gang called the Abu Sayyaf that is also believed to have only a few hundred gunmen but is blamed for the nation's worst terrorist attacks.
The Maute and Hapilon's faction of the Abu Sayyaf have pledged allegiance to IS and want to establish a caliphate for it in the southern Philippines, according to Duterte and security analysts.
IS has named Hapilon, 51, its leader in the Philippines, according to security analysts.
- Why did the fighting erupt? -
After receiving intelligence reports that Hapilon was hiding in Marawi city, security forces went to arrest him on Tuesday but were taken by surprise when they met massive resistance from Maute gunmen protecting him.
The gunmen went on a rampage through Marawi, even though most of its 200,000 residents are Muslim, flying black IS flags partly to distract the troops but also to provide powerful propaganda images to highlight their cause.
- What was the response? -
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered a massive assault to kill the militants or drive them out of Marawi. The fighting has claimed the lives of at least 15 security forces and 31 militants, according to the military.
At least two civilians have also been killed, while local media have reported the murders of nine other people apparently caught at a militant checkpoint.
Duterte also imposed martial law across the entire southern region of Mindanao, which is home to 20 million people, to stop what he said was the rising threat of an IS caliphate being established.
- What's the background to the fighting? -
The Philippines' Muslim minority regard Mindanao as their ancestral homeland. Muslims arrived in the Philippines well before the Spanish landed in the 16th Century and imported Catholicism, and Islam was most firmly established in the south.
Heavy Catholic migration in recent decades has made Muslims a minority even in most Mindanao cities.
Muslim rebels launched their separatist rebellion in the 1970s. The two main rebel groups have signed peace accords with the government in exchange for autonomy, although this has yet to be finalised.
The Maute, Abu Sayyaf and other small hardline groups are not interested in negotiating peace and have in recent years looked to IS to help them.
Nevertheless, security analysts regard these groups as lacking the fundamentalist ideology of their IS superiors, and say they are more interested in criminal activities than implementing ultra-strict versions of Sharia law.
- What happens next? -
Both sides could emerge with victories from the fighting and martial law, according to Julkipli Wadi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of the Philippines.
Wadi said he expected the militants to scatter after suffering casualties but then regroup, winning from the experience a "badge of honour" that could draw IS fighters fleeing the Middle East battlefields.
Meanwhile, Duterte could claim an immediate victory in clearing Marawi, while using martial law and the security threat to muster support for some of his other political objectives that have lost some public support, according to Wadi.
He said these included amending the constitution to change the form of government.
There are few expectations that martial law could end the deep-rooted problems that have led to the Muslim conflict in the south.
But Wadi also said he did not believe the vast majority of local Muslims supported an IS caliphate, nor the group's brutal tactics that include mass beheadings of opponents.
Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of Sri Lanka and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water
Sri Lanka stepped up its military-led relief operations Saturday as nearly half a million people were displaced after a monsoon deluge killed at least 122 people and threatened more flooding.
Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of the island and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water, the authorities said.
The official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said a total of 122 people were confirmed dead while 97 remained missing. Another 49 injured in landslides were hospitalised.
"Most of the fatalities were due to landslides and only a very few drowned," said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne who is also the health minister.
He said nearly 500,000 people were forced from their homes and most of them had moved into temporary shelters.
Sri Lanka is experiencing its worst flooding in 14 years after a monsoon dumped heavy rainfall in many parts of the island
The military led search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road.
At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to higher ground for burial.
The military vehicles also ferried villagers along roads converted into riverways by the rainfall, passing submerged traffic signs and flooded houses.
There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the island's gem capital, which was also flooded. The authorities arranged funerals for dozens of victims.
The deluge caused the Nilwala river to burst its banks, threatening to submerge a large number of villages, the DMC said.
It warned thousands of villagers living near the Nilwala to evacuate to higher ground.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, travelled to Kalutara, one of the worst affected districts south of Colombo, to supervise relief operations.
"The government will give new houses to those who lost their houses," he tweeted.
The authorities dropped thousands of life jackets for marooned people in a bid to protect them until they could be moved to safer ground.
- International aid -
An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday and a second vessel was expected on Monday, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said.
The United Nations said it will give water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.
Save the Children warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the country.
The charity's Sri Lanka country director Chris McIvo said: "We're particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake."
Pakistan said it was in talks with Colombo to send relief supplies. Islamabad recently gave 10,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka to help drought victims.
The meterological department said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said.
Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing over 100 people.
The leader of hundreds of Palestinian hunger strikers in Israeli jails, Marwan Barghouti, who has received his first Red Cross visit since the strike began, flashes the victory sign after a court hearing in 2003
Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their mass protest after Israel agreed a deal following weeks of refusing to negotiate, sources on both sides said on Saturday.
Some 30 of the more than 800 hunger strikers had been hospitalised in recent days, raising fears of an escalation of clashes with Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians hailed the deal as a victory for the hunger strikers after Israeli authorities repeatedly vowed not to negotiate with convicted "terrorists".
Palestinian Authority prisoners' affair chief Issa Qaraqe said it had come after some 20 hours of talks between Israeli officials and strike leader Marwan Barghouti, a figure revered among Palestinians but reviled by many Israelis.
An Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman confirmed the hunger strike was over but said the deal had been reached not with prisoners' representatives but with the Palestinian Authority and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Israeli authorities conceded to one of the prisoners' main demands -- that they should have two family visits a month instead of the one they were entitled to before the strike, the spokeswoman said.
Palestinian Prisoners' Club chief Qaddura Fares said there had been a last-minute U-turn by the Israeli authorities who had finally approached Barghouti for talks.
"Right up to 8 am on Friday, the Israel Prisons Service insisted that no negotiations were possible," Fares told AFP.
"Then two hours later everything changed," he said, adding that Israeli negotiators had began talks with Barghouti.
"In his cell in Ashkelon prison, they held more than 20 hours of negotiations, Fares said.
"An agreement was finally reached with the prisons service."
- 'We won' -
Qaraqe said full details of the deal would be announced later but news of it prompted celebrations in the West Bank city of Ramallah where supporters have staffed a solidarity tent throughout the hunger strike.
Barghouti's wife Fadwa hailed a "victory for resistance and dignity" after the end of the 41-day hunger strike.
Amal Abu Dalal, a 50-year-old mother whose 33-year-old son has been in jail for 14 years, said: "The prisoner has defeated the jailer. We're so happy. We won."
The ICRC had warned on Thursday that its doctors who have been visiting the prisoners were concerned about "potential irreversible health consequences".
ICRC spokesman Jesus Serrano welcomed Saturday's end of the strike and said it would do all it could to facilitate the additional visits.
The resolution of the strike coincided with the start of the Muslim dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan.
A masked Palestinian throws a stone towards Israeli troops during a protest on May 22, 2017 in support of the hunger strikers
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had urged US counterpart Donald Trump to raise the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the region earlier this week.
He raised the issue again with Trump envoy Jason Greenblatt in a meeting at his headquarters in Ramallah on Thursday.
Demonstrations in support of the prisoners had been held across the West Bank, leading to repeated bloody clashes with Israeli security forces.
They come as the 50th anniversary nears of Israel's seizure of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War.
- 'Palestinian Mandela' -
The hunger strike was led by Barghouti, a prominent figure in his Fatah movement and revered by many Palestinians, in contrast to the increasingly unpopular president.
Dubbed the "Palestinian Mandela" by supporters, Barghouti is serving five life sentences on charges of involvement in murders committed during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, that have made him a hate figure for many on the Israeli right.
Barghouti had been moved to solitary confinement and received a single reported visit by the ICRC to check on his condition on May 11.
Palestinian protesters use slingshots to hurl stones towards Israeli security forces during clashes in the West Bank town of Bethlehem on April 21, 2017, in solidarity with the hunger striking prisoners
On May 7, the Israel's prison authority shared video of what it said was Barghouti eating biscuits in a break from the strike.
But his wife Fadwa dismissed the footage as a "fake... intended to break the morale of prisoners" and called on Pope Francis to intervene.
Palestinian analysts hailed the deal as a victory for the hunger strikers.
"It is very likely that the United States was directly involved in the discussions," said one analyst, Hani al-Masri.
Abdel Majid Sweenem welcomed the fact that the Israeli authorities had been forced to negotiate with prisoner representatives after trying to avoid doing so at all costs.
"But we still have to see if Israel will respect its commitments," he warned.
An Iraqi soldier helps a girl whose family has fled their home in the west of Mosul on May 26, 2017
Iraqi forces have launched a broad assault on parts of battleground second city Mosul still held by the Islamic State group, the military announced on Saturday.
The offensive is the latest push in the more than seven-month battle to retake Mosul, a linchpin in IS's now crumbling attempt to establish a cross-border jihadist "state".
Multiple security forces units are attacking "what remains of the unliberated areas" on the west bank of the River Tigris, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
"Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and Counter-Terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood," it said.
All three neighbourhoods are located north of the Old City, a warren of closely spaced buildings and narrow streets that has posed significant challenges to Iraqi forces seeking to oust IS.
The Joint Operations Command said later on Saturday that two colonels from the Iraqi army's 16th Division were killed in the Mosul area, but did not provide details about when or how they died.
On Friday, the federal police said they had bombarded IS positions with Grad rockets and field artillery in "preparation for attacking the Old City in the coming hours".
But the Joint Operations Command did not mention any attack on IS-held areas of the Old City on Saturday.
Iraqi women walk past destroyed buildings south of Mosul on May 26, 2017
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped "hundreds of thousands of leaflets" on IS-held areas of Mosul, urging "citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces".
- Dangers to civilians -
International aid group Save the Children expressed concern that the call for civilians to leave could expose them to additional danger.
"The Iraqi government must ensure all exit corridors are genuinely safe for people to flee," it said.
"The call for civilians to leave their homes is a U-turn on former directives that compelled civilians to stay and wait for the battle to pass" -- instructions that also raised concerns about the risks.
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained much of the territory they lost to the jihadists.
Iraqi forces launched a major operation to retake Mosul in October last year, fighting their way to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
The battle has taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee, while hundreds more have been killed or wounded.
On Thursday, the United States announced the results of an investigation into a deadly coalition air strike earlier this year.
The probe found that at least 105 civilians had been killed and 36 remained unaccounted for, but said most had been killed by the secondary explosion of IS munitions stored in a nearby house.
Civilian deaths in Mosul
There have also been reports that members of an Iraqi interior ministry special forces unit tortured and killed detainees during the Mosul operation.
Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady recounted witnessing the abuse, which he also filmed, in an article for German magazine Der Spiegel. US network ABC News also reported on Arkady's footage.
The interior ministry has launched an investigation into the allegations.
Abuses such as those described in the reports could sow the seeds of future conflict even as security forces near the end of the battle for Mosul, IS's most emblematic stronghold.
Lukla airport -- commonly nicknamed the most dangerous airport in the world -- in the main gateway to the Everest region and sees thousands of trekkers and climbers pass through it each year.
A cargo plane crashed Saturday as it was trying to land at a small airport near Mount Everest, killing the pilot and seriously injuring the two other crew members on board, officials said.
All three crew members were pulled alive from the wreckage of the plane, which broke into three pieces when it crashed as it was attempting to land at Lukla airport in heavy fog.
The pilot died shortly after reaching hospital, local police officer Madhav Budhathoki told AFP. The co-pilot and air hostess are currently undergoing treatment and are in a serious condition.
"A cargo plane has crashed in Lukla and we are trying to get more details. It crashed on approach to the airport," said Sagar Acharya of Summit Air, which operates the aircraft.
"We are not yet sure what caused the accident," he added.
Lukla airport -- commonly nicknamed the most dangerous airport in the world -- is the main gateway to the Everest region and sees thousands of trekkers and climbers pass through it each year.
Nepal has a poor air safety record, which is largely blamed on inadequate maintenance, inexperienced pilots and poor management.
Two deadly plane crashes last year claimed at least 25 lives, the first when a passenger plane slammed into a mountainside and the second when a small aircraft crash-landed killing the two pilots.
Despite the risks, air travel is popular in Nepal, which has a limited road network. Many communities, particularly in the mountains and hills, are accessible only by foot or by air.
All Nepal airlines are banned from flying to the European Union because their poor safety standards.
This file photo taken on October 30, 2016 shows protesters waving the Berber flag as they demonstrate in Morocco's northern city of Al-Hoceima
Moroccan authorities were engaged in a manhunt on Saturday for a protest leader in the neglected Rif region after his arrest was ordered for interrupting an imam's prayer sermon following more than six months of social unrest.
The king's prosecutor late Friday ordered "the opening of an investigation and the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi" after he "obstructed, in the company of a group of individuals, freedom of worship in the Mohammed V mosque in Al-Hoceima".
The northern port city has been rocked by protests since the death in October of a fishmonger crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.
Calls for justice for Mouhcine Fikri, 31, in the ethnically Berber Rif region soon evolved into a grassroots movement demanding jobs and economic development, with Zefzafi emerging as the leader of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement".
Zefzafi's whereabouts on Saturday were unclear.
According to the prosecutor, on Friday he stopped "the preacher from continuing his sermon, giving a provocative speech in which he insulted the imam and fomented disturbances that undermined the calm and sacredness of the place of worship".
Mobile phone footage shared on Facebook shows Zefzafi calling the imam a "liar", asking whether mosques were built for God or those in power, and slamming "those who want to make the Rif capitulate".
Zefzafi also criticised a recent music festival in the capital Rabat, and the "naked bodies we see live on the television of a state that calls itself Muslim".
A relative of Zefzafi said he had evaded arrest as he left the mosque on Friday.
- 'Let them come' -
Shortly afterwards, in footage broadcast on social media, he appeared on his rooftop in Al-Hoceima surrounded by supporters, saying: "I'm not scared. If they want to arrest me, let them come."
In a later video, he said he was "safe and sound" and called for peaceful demonstrations.
His supporters said on Facebook his home had been searched.
An interior ministry source said Zefzafi had not been arrested, adding that young protesters had thrown stones at security forces on Friday in the city of some 56,000 inhabitants.
Official news agency MAP said clashes between demonstrators and police injured several people, including three members of the security forces who were seriously hurt.
In a statement, Al-Hoceima's prosecutor said 20 people were detained on Friday and Saturday, including on suspicion of "harming the internal security of the state".
It accused them of "receiving money transfers and logistical support from abroad to carry out propaganda activities that could harm the integrity of the kingdom".
But the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH) said in a statement that at least 28 were detained for questioning, including several activists from Al-Hirak.
The NGO warned that "repression is not a solution", and urged authorities to release those detained, including Mohammed Jelloul, an activist freed recently from jail.
According to the group, the incident erupted when the imam of Al-Hoceima mosque pressed his congregation to "mobilise against the protesters" during his sermon.
This triggered the ire of Al-Hirak members present, including Zefzafi who felt "directly targeted" by the sermon, the AMDH said.
A local human rights activist, who asked to remain anonymous, said Jelloul was detained "violently next to his home and in front of his family".
Al-Hoceima was calm on Saturday, the first day of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.
Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit led a large government delegation to Al-Hoceima on Monday, the latest trip to the region to promise projects to boost the local economy.
Smoke rises in the centre of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after deadly clashes on May 26, 2017 between forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government and rival militiamen
Forces loyal to Libya's unity government said Saturday that 52 of its fighters were killed as they repelled rival militias in fierce clashes in the capital Tripoli.
Apart from sporadic gunfire in southern Tripoli, calm returned to the city on Saturday, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Among the 52 killed in Friday's clashes which centred on the southern district of Abu Slim, said Hashem Bichr, a security official of the Government of National Accord, were 17 members of pro-GNA forces who had been "executed".
There was no immediate confirmation from medical or other independent sources of the death toll, updated from Friday's health ministry figures of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded that did not give a breakdown of the casualties.
UN special envoy Martin Kobler condemned the fighting in which heavy artillery and tanks were used, urging restraint from all sides.
Forces of the UN-backed GNA announced on their Facebook page they had defeated rival militias and taken control of a prison holding key leaders of the ousted regime of Moamer Kadhafi including his last premier, Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, and former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.
Al-Hadhba jail had been under the control of the Fajr Libya militia coalition, which had seized Tripoli in 2014 and set up a government headed by Khalifa Ghweil.
The Libyan capital has been gripped by a power struggle ever since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Kadhafi in 2011.
The latest fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as headquarters of militias loyal to Ghweil, who was ousted when the GNA took office last year but refuses to recognise the new administration.
Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital.
Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate and several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.
Relying on militia support and pitted against a rival administration in eastern Libya, the GNA has struggled to assert its authority across the country.
In a statement on Friday, the GNA blamed Ghweil and Salah Badi, another leader of Fajr Libya, for Friday's violence.
"This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan," it said in a statement.
Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the main figure to benefit from the Tripoli clashes was military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who supports the eastern administration.
"The man standing to gain from these clashes is again Khalifa Haftar who benefits from the increasing sense of chaos in the capital," he told AFP.
Of the 3,400 migrants rescued on Friday, around a third were taken back to Libya while the rest went to Italy
More than 3,400 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Friday, bringing to about 10,000 the total number rescued over four days, according to Libyan and Italian officials.
At least 10 bodies were also found by the Italian coastguard, officials said. No vessels were reported in distress on Saturday.
On Friday, more than 1,200 migrants were rescued by Libyan ships and taken to Tripoli or Zawiya, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west, while the Italian coastguard and commercial boats rescued 2,200 others and took them to Italy.
Migrants were still disembarking in southern Italy on Saturday.
Another 6,400 were picked up between Tuesday and Thursday, but at least 35 people drowned on Wednesday when a powerful wave struck their vessel, pitching them into the sea as a rescue ship was distributing life jackets.
The unloading of passengers in Sicily was halted all week due to the G7 summit in the eastern hilltop town of Taormina, which lengthened rescue ships' journey by 24 hours and delayed their return to the seas.
In response, they called on commercial boats to help out.
More than 50,000 migrants have reached the Italian coast since the start of the year, not counting those rescued in recent days, while more than 1,400 have drowned or are missing, according to UN figures.
Of the 181,000 migrants who entered Italy last year, some 90 percent arrived via Libya.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Libya has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African, enter the country.
Indonesian Muslims pray during the start of the holy month of Ramadan. More than 1.5 billion Muslims around the world will mark the month, during which believers abstain from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn until sunset
The world's 1.5 billion Muslims began observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Saturday, blighted by conflict and bloodshed in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Libya.
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam during which Muslims are supposed to devote themselves to praying, giving to charity and fasting from dawn to dusk.
It is sacred because tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during that month.
Although for many Ramadan is a time for families to gather and break the fast with an iftar meal at sunset and socialise, this year it has been marked by violence.
In Afghanistan's eastern city of Khost, a Taliban car bomber killed 13 people in the first major attack at the start of the holy month targeting a CIA-funded militia group.
In the Philippines, security forces intensified a bombing campaign in one of the country's largest Muslim-majority cities where they have been battling Islamic militants.
The Islamic State group, which has been responsible for countless bloody attacks around the world, claimed responsibility for shooting dead 29 Christians on a bus in central Egypt.
Friday's assault on the most populous Arab state's Coptic Christian minority community prompted retaliatory air strikes on jihadists in neighbouring Libya and an outpouring of condemnation.
Afghan Muslim men sleep as they wait to break their fast at a mosque during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Jalalabad on May 27, 2017
"With a broken heart and tears in my eyes but after all I wish all my friends a great Happy Ramadan and may God accept all your prayers and fasting for the good of our beloved Egypt," Nabil Hakim, an Egyptian Copt who lives in the United States, posted on Facebook.
- Clashes and famine -
Libya has been gripped by chaos since the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival governments and militias vying for power and jihadists taking advantage of the mayhem.
Smoke rises in the center of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after clashes on May 26, 2017 beetween loyalist forces and rival militias that killed dozens
On Friday, forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government battled rival militias in the capital Tripoli.
The health ministry gave a provisional toll of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded, while loyalist forces said 52 of their fighters had been killed in the battles that rocked residential areas.
"This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan," a Government of National Accord statement said.
Residents of west Mosul in northern Iraq also did not expect a peaceful Ramadan, far from it as Iraqi forces pressed a broad assault on areas still held by IS jihadists.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped "hundreds of thousands of leaflets" on IS-held areas of Mosul, urging "citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces".
Ramadan is a month generally marked by piety and sacrifice, and during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
Civilians in impoverished Yemen, where Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels are battling government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition, have certainly become accustomed to sacrifice.
A Yemeni girl suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment at a makeshift hospital in Sanaa
The United Nations says the conflict there has killed more than 8,000 people, and has warned that 17 million Yemenis -- 62 percent of the population -- are unable to access food. A third of the country's provinces are on the brink of famine, and it is also facing a cholera epidemic.
- 'Reject violence' -
Several global leaders marked the start of Ramadan with messages urging a peaceful world.
"Islam is the religion of mercy, moderation and peaceful coexistence," King Salman of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump, winding up his first overseas trip in office that began in Saudi Arabia, wished Muslims a "joyful Ramadan", and urged them to use the holy month to reject extremist violence.
"At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict," Trump said.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, police used a steamroller to crush thousands of bottles of alcohol, banned under Islam, and torched a huge stash of seized drugs in the run-up to Ramadan.
Afghan men cool off on a hot day as temperatures reached around 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jalalabad on May 27, 2017
Soaring temperatures and long days are expected to test the will of those who are fasting in many countries.
Many Ramadan shoppers have complained that rising food prices meant they could not prepare lavish iftar meals as they once did, and would need to save some money to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival that follows at the end of the month.
burs/jri/hkb/srm
Egyptians attend mass at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Bani Mazar on May 27, 2017 a day after the bus massacre
The masked gunmen first ordered the Christians travelling to the Egyptian desert monastery to get down from the buses they were in -- and then to recant their faith.
The mix of faithful visiting the sanctuary along with monastery workers refused.
And one by one, the gunmen, who had lain in wait for the convoy to appear, shot them dead, killing 29 people.
Friday's horrific attack on Egypt's Coptic Christians, claimed by the Islamic State group, has further devastated this ancient community, coming on the heels of two church bombings in April that killed dozens.
IS had threatened further attacks, but while police boosted security around churches in the country, no one was prepared for a strike on the desert road leading to the Saint Samuel monastery in the southern province of Minya.
Egyptian mourners attend a memorial service at St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Bani Mazar on May 27, 2017, a day after the bus massacre for the 29 people gunned down by masked gunmen in a bus attack the day before
The jihadists appeared to be in no hurry as they perpetrated the massacre, according to a priest and a relative of one survivor.
"They told the men to disembark from the bus, took their identity cards and the gold they had on them, and asked them to the recite the Muslim profession of faith," said Maher Tawfik, whose niece survived.
"They took gold jewellery and money from the women, as the children hid under the seats," he said.
The victims, many of them found were sprawled dead in the sand, appeared to have been forced to kneel before being shot in the head, Coptic priest Hedra Rashid said.
"They asked them one by one to deny their Christian faith, but they all refused," said Hedra, who spoke to survivors.
In the small town of Bani Mazar, not far from the scene of the attack, grieving Christian women in black veils could not hold back their tears at a ceremony to mourn the dead in Saint Mark's Cathedral.
- 'No surprise' -
The minority, roughly 10 percent of Egypt's 90 million people, has been under assault for months.
Before the April bombings, an IS suicide bomber had attacked a Cairo church in December, killing 29 people.
In Sinai, where the jihadists' Egypt franchise is based, a wave of murders of Copts has forced dozens of Christian families to flee the peninsula.
The latest blow to the Copts, coming in Minya, was especially difficult.
The Christian minority is especially well established in the conservative province, and for decades tensions had occasionally flared with their Muslim neighbours.
In 2013, after a police crackdown killed hundreds of supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, Muslim mobs attacked several churches in the province.
Islamists accuse the Copts of supporting Morsi's overthrow by the military, although the Muslim religious establishment and opposition groups also backed his ouster.
"It is not new for us to be targeted by terrorism. We pay the price for supporting our army and state," said Mina al-Masri, who had come to attend the funeral of a friend's relatives killed in the attack.
"I expect a bloodbath against Christians in the coming period," he said.
Others shared his sense of foreboding.
"There's no surprise, just pain," said Mina Said, 35. "It hasn't even been 50 days since the (church) double bombing."
Hanan Fouad's neighbours, a family of six, were killed in the attack.
In the cathedral courtyard on Saturday, she simmered under her transparent black veil.
"It's going to happen again. Not a month goes by without them killing Christians," she thundered.
"Why the Christians? Because they say we are a minority, that we're infidels."
A former dean of Wuhan University in Hubei province has become an online celebrity after she used her resignation letter to highlight the problems in Chinese universities administration systems.
Xia Qiong, former dean of the School of Journalism and Communication at Wuhan University, posted her resignation letter on WeChat on May 25. In the letter, Xia suggested that the university remove her from the her position, as she had made barely any achievements over the past 12 years.
Xia revealed in her letter that the true reason for her resignation was that she was tired of the administration systems in Chinese universities.
Truth to be told, Ive been punching above my weight to fight against the university administrative system, which disrespects teachers honor and students' dignity. ... its so hard to be an earnest educator, Xia wrote.
Xias resignation letter soon went viral online. Many scholars have supported Xias opinion, criticizing universities for their outdated and suffocating administration systems. Others added that the system negatively influences scholars enthusiasm for education and research.
In response to the outpouring of public support, Xia told the Beijing Times that she is just an ordinary educator. She said that although she resigned from her position as dean, she plans to keep teaching for the foreseeable future.
Chinese authorities have been calling for the 'de-administration' of universities for years, but the truth is, schools don't pay much attention to teaching. For instance, due to the current evaluation standards for professors, published research papers is more important than teaching skills. [Universities] attach great importance to the application of research programs instead of valuing scientific merit and results, said Xia.
I just want to speak the truth and teach my students without disturbance, Xia added.
Forces loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, pictured earlier in May 2017, carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna
The air force loyal to Libya's strongman Khalifa Haftar said Saturday it took part in Egyptian air strikes on jihadist positions in the country after a deadly attack on Egypt's Copts.
Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna on Friday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of IS strikes that have killed more than 100 Copts in Egypt since December.
Haftar's forces carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt in Derna, the air force said in a statement carried by the LANA news agency loyal to Libya's eastern administration.
Egypt used French-built Rafale fighter jets to target military camps and the headquarters of the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city, it said.
"The operation was a success and the losses of the Al-Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment," the statement said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), opposed by Haftar, denounced the raids as a violation of its sovereignty.
"Whatever the pretext, we reject any action that undermines the sovereignty of our country. There is no justification for the violation of the territory of other countries," a GNA statement said.
Derna was known for being a bastion of extremists even before the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libya's longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Relatives of killed Coptic Christians grieve on May 26, 2017 during a funeral at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Maghagha, Egypt
After the revolt, the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia slowly spread its presence to Derna.
In 2014, some jihadists defected to join IS, which took control of Derna.
Pro-Al-Qaeda elements opposed to IS banded together to form Majlis Mujahedeen Derna to fight both the group and Haftar's forces, in 2015 expelling the jihadists from the city.
Haftar's forces regularly carry out air raids on positions of the pro-Al-Qaeda alliance.
Libya's Islamists accuse Haftar allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of taking part in these strikes.
While migration and the vast continent on Sicily's southern doorstep got a mention in the final statement of G7 leaders gathered in the hilltop town of Taormina, the summit itself was dominated by trade, climate change and security threats
It's a powerful symbol: Seven of the world's richest countries gathered in Sicily, a Mediterranean island on whose shores rickety migrant boats from northern Africa regularly wash up.
But while migration and the vast continent on Sicily's southern doorstep got a mention Saturday in the final statement of G7 leaders gathered in the hilltop town of Taormina, the summit itself was dominated by trade, climate change and security threats.
"Never before has a G7 been held so close to Africa, but never before has Africa been so far from G7 concerns," said Friederike Roder of the One poverty-focused NGO that has for years tracked G7 meetings.
As the leaders shook hands and chatted in the shadow of Mount Etna, or listened to a classical music concert in an ancient Greek theatre, migrants and refugees continued to make the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean.
On Friday, more than 3,400 were rescued.
But with drastic security measures to protect leaders such as US President Donald Trump, aid boats were banned from bringing them to safety in Sicily, taking them to the mainland instead.
- US 'killed the project' -
Summit host Italy had made Africa a priority for the gathering, picking Sicily as a venue as it was "at the heart of the Mediterranean" and a "bridge between Europe and Africa," according to Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Italy, which has seen more than 50,000 people land on its shores since the start of the year, wanted to craft an ambitious, end-of-summit declaration outlining a long-term vision for relations with Africa apart from the main statement, according to Italian diplomatic sources.
But "the Americans killed the project and made it known end of April that they refused to have any separate declaration," says Roder.
Italy, which has seen more than 50,000 people land on its shores since the start of the year, wanted to craft an ambitious, end-of-summit declaration outlining a long-term vision for relations with Africa, according to Italian diplomatic sources
Trump has made the fight against illegal immigration one of his priorities, promising to build a wall along the US-Mexico border to keep migrants out.
This week, he drew a parallel between terrorism and immigration in the wake of the deadly Manchester attack.
"Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever," he said in a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases, we have no idea who they are."
But for Roder, "the problem isn't Trump so much as the other countries who did nothing to save the Italian project."
- Help needed -
In the final G7 statement, the leaders recognised the need to support refugees while also emphasising "the sovereign rights of states, individually and collectively, to control their own borders."
They also reaffirmed a previously-made commitment to lift 500 million people in developing countries out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
The statement came just hours after the G7 partners sat down for talks with five African leaders -- or their deputies -- invited to the summit.
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou took the opportunity to point out that migration was the result of "the combination of terrorism, poverty, the effects of climate change and demographic pressure."
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou (R) took the opportunity to point out that migration was the result of "the combination of terrorism, poverty, the effects of climate change and demographic pressure"
He also called on his Western allies to consider a global approach to the issue mixing "security measures, and measures in the field of economic and social development."
"Niger is well placed to understand the challenges linked to terrorism and global warming. These are issues we experience on a daily basis," a source close to Issoufou said.
"We expect more solidarity on crucial issues, we have to find a solution in Libya ... and the Europeans must convince President Trump to stay in the Paris accord (on climate change)," the source added -- a decision Trump is due to make next week.
Samantha Stosur, pictured in March 2017, has held her top Australian ranking for 450 weeks
Samantha Stosur held her Australian number one ranking on Saturday by beating compatriot Daria Gavrilova 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to win the Strasbourg WTA title on Saturday.
Stosur, 33, has held the top ranking for 450 weeks and would have lost it if she fell to Moscow-born Gavrilova.
Stosur won the Strasbourg title for a second time after 2015 to clinch her ninth career crown and third on clay ahead of her French Open campaign which begins Monday against Slovak Kristina Kucova.
The 2011 US Open champion needed 2 hours 45 minutes to get past 23-year-old Gavrilova, her doubles partner at the 2016 Rio Games, who had been bidding for her maiden WTA title.
Gavrilova had been bidding to be the the first new Australian number one since Casey Dellacqua held the top spot in October, 2008.
Israeli left-wing supporters in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square demonstrate against 50 years of occupation of Palestinian land on May 27, 2017
Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday in Tel Aviv in support of a Palestinian state ahead of the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.
Banners bearing the slogan "Two states, One Hope" featured in the demonstration organised by supporters of a Palestinian state, including the Israeli NGO Peace Now.
An Israeli left-wing supporter holds a banner during a mass demonstration tagged Two States, One Hope on May 27, 2017 in Tel Aviv
NGO head Avi Buskila said the rally was a protest against "the lack of hope being offered by a government perpetuating occupation, violence and racism".
"The time has come to prove to the Israelis, the Palestinians and the entire world that an important segment of the Israeli population is opposed to occupation and wants a two-state solution," he added.
A message of support from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was read out at the rally.
"It is time to live together in harmony, security and stability," Abbas was quoted as saying.
"Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave."
Israeli opposition Labour party leader Isaac Herzog attended the rally and threw his support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan during the Six-Day War with neighbouring states.
It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.
Israel proclaims Jerusalem as its united capital, while the Palestinians claim the city's eastern part as the capital of their future state.
More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank which are considered illegal under international law and a major obstacle to Middle East peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is widely seen as the most right-wing administration in Israeli history and is pressing settlement expansion despite international concern.
Some government members have openly advocated annexing the West Bank.
White House special advisor Jared Kushner, son-in-law of President Donald Trump, boasts an enormous portfolio of domestic and international responsibilities despite having no experience in politics before the 2016 campaign
Donald Trump, just back from his first international trip as US president, geared up to combat concerns Sunday over aides' ties to Russia including explosive reports that his son-in-law sought a secret communications line with Moscow.
The latest furor was stirred up after The Washington Post reported late Friday that Jared Kushner -- arguably Trump's closest White House aide, and husband to the president's eldest daughter Ivanka -- made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof link with the Kremlin.
Kushner, 36, even suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States to protect such a channel from monitoring, The Post said, quoting US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The report, if confirmed, would raise new questions about the Trump team's relationship with the Russians, who US intelligence agencies say tried to sway the November election in Trump's favor.
News reports said the White House, reeling from the explosive developments in the long-running Russia saga, is creating a new rapid-fire communications unit to respond to the controversy, led by Kushner, senior presidential adviser Steve Bannon and White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus.
Though Kushner has appeared "subdued," he does not plan to step aside as Trump's senior adviser or reduce his responsibilities, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed people close to him.
- 'Naive' or 'Sinister' -
After some delay, a senior Trump administration official en route back to Washington briefed reporters for almost 25 minutes, on matters from anti-terror cooperation to the administration's view that the summit had been a smashing success -- despite huge differences on climate change.
Trump plans to make an announcement within the week on his climate position, the official said.
But the said official did not address the Kushner reports Saturday.
Trump then returned to Washington Saturday night from his first overseas trip, to the Middle East and Europe. Accompanied by first lady Melania, Trump waved to reporters as he made his way into the White House but made no comment.
National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster refused to talk about the allegations. But he said that in general, "We have backchannel communication with a number of countries. What that allows you to do is communicate in a discrete manner."
"I would not be concerned about it," he added.
But a former head of the US National Security Agency harshly condemned Kushner's alleged effort to set up a secret communications line, saying if it is true, it would reveal a dangerous degree of ignorance or naivete.
"What manner of ignorance, chaos, hubris, suspicion, contempt would you have to have to think that doing this with the Russian ambassador was a good or appropriate idea?" Michael Hayden said on CNN.
He said he leaned toward "naivete" as an explanation, though he did not find it comforting.
Malcolm Nance, a retired naval officer and expert on terrorism and intelligence, said: "This is now sinister. There is no way this can be explained, from the intelligence perspective."
"That is indicative of espionage activity of an American citizen that is working in league with a hostile government," he told MSNBC.
The Washington Post said Kushner's secret communications proposal was made December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower in New York, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by US officials.
Michael Flynn, who was Trump's national security adviser for just 24 days before being fired amid questions about meetings he held with the Russian ambassador, was also present, the newspaper reported.
The Post said the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, was surprised by the future White House aide's idea of a secret channel and passed it on to the Kremlin.
The New York Times said the channel was never established.
Trump returned to Washington to face a cascade of other worries related to the Russia probe in the coming days, including expected testimony by fired former FBI director James Comey before a Senate committee.
In another development, The New York Times reported Friday that Oleg Deripaska, a Russian once close to Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, has offered to cooperate with congressional bodies probing alleged Russian election meddling.
- Not yet a 'target' -
Kushner boasts an enormous portfolio of domestic and international responsibilities underscoring his importance as Trump's chief aide-de-camp, despite having no experience in politics before the 2016 White House race.
He is the only person currently in the White House known to be under investigation.
The Post and other media have been careful to note that their sources did not say Kushner was a "target" of the investigation, nor that he was accused of any wrongdoing. Labeling him a "target" would suggest Kushner was a main suspect of the investigation.
But there have been a number of as yet unexplained contacts -- during last year's presidential campaign against Democrat Hillary Clinton and afterward -- between other top Trump aides and senior Russian officials, including Flynn, US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Manafort and others.
Former US national security advisory Michael Flynn is a key figure of interest in several probes into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 election
The investigation is being led by Robert Mueller, a respected former FBI director who was given broad powers to pursue the case as a special counsel after Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9.
The Senate and House Intelligence committees also are investigating, but not with an eye to bringing criminal charges.
Former CIA director John Brennan revealed this week that intelligence chiefs had been looking into suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials since mid-2016.
Trump denies any collusion with Russia, calling the probe "the greatest witchhunt" in American political history.
bur-sg-bbk-dw/mdl/wdb
BEIJING (AP) - Chinese officials have told the U.S. that they've tightened inspections and policing along the border with North Korea as part of U.N. sanctions aimed at halting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile activities, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Friday.
Beijing's action reflects a growing awareness about the urgent need for China to pressure North Korea into halting its testing of missiles and nuclear bombs, Acting Assistant Secretary of State Susan Thornton told reporters in Beijing. President Donald Trump's administration has made a renewed push to enlist Beijing's help in those efforts following a meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping last month.
Touching on other areas of the relationship, Thornton said the new administration has not changed its commitment to greater engagement with countries in the Asia-Pacific region or its approach to naval operations in the disputed South China Sea.
In this Wednesday, May 3, 2017 photo, a North Korean soldier looks through a pair of binoculars as he stands at a guard tower on the border near Chongsu in North Korea's North Pyongan Province, as seen from across the border in Dandong in northeastern China's Liaoning Province. The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Friday, May 26, 2017, that Chinese officials have told Washington they have tightened border controls with North Korea as part of U.N. sanctions aimed at halting Pyongyang's nuclear and missile activities. (Chinatopix via AP)
On North Korea, the U.S. has seen a "shift in emphasis" in China's approach to its fellow communist neighbor, Thornton said.
"They've said that they have stepped up border inspections, beefed up sort of the policing function on the border, stepped up customs inspections," she said. Beijing has also done "a number of other things on companies" that have dealings with North Korea, Thornton said, without giving details.
The U.S. has been talking to Beijing about taking action against specific firms and is waiting to see what sort of action China will take, she said.
China has signed on to U.N. sanctions and suspended coal imports from North Korea through the rest of the year, but has been generally reticent about what other steps it may be taking to use its leverage as Pyongyang's most important trading and diplomatic partner.
Asked about Thornton's remarks, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said China remained committed to "strictly implementing" U.N. sanctions but offered no details or what other measures it might be taking.
Lu also reiterated China's call for a renewal of six-nation denuclearization talks that have been on ice since 2009, saying the parties should "be flexible, meet each other halfway, and return to the negotiating table as soon as possible."
Thornton said the U.S., China and others were also in talks on a future U.N. resolution on North Korea in order to cut the time needed to take action following another nuclear or missile test.
"So we're looking at trying to get going on the next set of major measures that would be taken in the wake of another provocation," Thornton said. Such measures could include ratcheting up economic pressure on the North by targeting trade in consumer goods, possibly including textiles, she said.
Despite Lu's comments later in the day, Thornton said Beijing officials now realize more pressure is needed before dialogue can be restored.
"And so they know now that they don't have, I think, as much time to try to bring the North Koreans to the table, get their calculus changed and get them to the negotiating table as they may have previously thought," she said.
Adding to that, Beijing also seems to have recognized that North Korea's actions were "undermining China's own security in pretty major ways," Thornton said.
"They do recognize that it's going to be pretty hard to have a dialogue while the North Koreans are shooting off missiles," she said.
North Korea exploded two nuclear devices last year, one of which it claimed was a hydrogen bomb. Satellite imagery suggests it could be ready to conduct its next test - its sixth - at any time.
On Monday, Pyongyang said it is ready to start mass-producing a new medium-range missile after a weekend test-launch confirmed its combat readiness. The regime's oft-stated goal is to perfect a nuclear warhead that it can put on a missile capable of hitting Washington or other U.S. cities.
Some outside the administration have been less sanguine about China's willingness to work with the U.S. on North Korea, while Beijing officials say their influence with Pyongyang has been exaggerated. China maintains that while it wants to neutralize North Korea as a threat, it opposes harsh sanctions or other measures that could bring down young leader Kim Jong Un's regime, leading to a potential outflow of refugees and South Korean and American troops on the Chinese border.
China continues to pay lip service to cracking down on North Korea but there's been "little evidence of actual pressure," said Dean Cheng of the Heritage Foundation think tank in Washington.
Cheng also criticized China for pressuring South Korea not to deploy a sophisticated U.S. anti-missile system aimed at countering North Korea. Beijing says the system threatens its own security with its ability to peer deep into northeastern China.
"In short, China has made clear that Seoul, even in the face of North Korean missile tests, should place Chinese concerns above the security of their own people," Cheng said.
While there have been reports that the Trump administration was reconsidering Barack Obama's "pivot" to Asia, Thornton said Washington has made no substantial changes.
That followed the U.S. Navy's sailing a destroyer near a Chinese man-made island in the South China Sea on Thursday in a "freedom of navigation" operation aimed at challenging what the U.S. considers excessive territorial claims in the strategic waterway that Beijing claims virtually in its entirety.
Washington's approach is "engagement with Asia to show that we're still present in the region, that we're going to keep our security commitments in the region, certainly support for our allies and with North Korea as a focal point on the security front," Thornton said.
ATLANTA (AP) - This much everyone can agree on: A small Civil War museum, nestled in an old farmhouse at the site of a purported battlefield, has closed its doors and boxed up its Confederate and Union artifacts.
The leaders of a volunteer group that runs the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum said they preferred to close rather than fight a county commissioner's request to remove all Confederate flags from the museum. But the commissioner says she never made such a request.
Whomever you believe, the closure has rankled residents as cities across the South - most recently New Orleans - wrestle with whether to remove Confederate symbols seen by some as vestiges of racism and others as icons of heritage. The issue has been especially sensitive since Dylann Roof, an avowed white supremacist who posed in photos with the Confederate flag, gunned down nine people at a South Carolina church in 2015.
A piece of Confederate memorabilia to General Robert E. Lee sits atop a box at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The museum sat on a 204-acre, county-owned park that's about 30 miles south of Atlanta in Hampton and is a popular spot for weddings and other events. The curator gave the final tour May 18, and nearly every artifact - most of them loaned by private owners - had been removed by Thursday.
"It was a wonderful museum and a great educational facility," Henry County historian Gene Morris said. "It's really a sad thing to see it gone."
No official county action led to the museum's closure, spokeswoman Melissa Robinson said. The county board of commissioners said in a statement Thursday that commissioners needed to explore the facts more thoroughly but that the closure has caused "much divisiveness and controversy."
The museum was open Fridays and Saturdays and saw visitors from all 50 states and 15 countries in its seven-year run, said volunteer curator Bill Dodd.
"I think kids ought to have the ability to touch and hold history," he said. "They learn more from touching it, feeling it, smelling it than they do from reading it in a book or looking at it on a stupid computer screen."
While some dispute the site's bona fides as a Civil War battlefield, archaeological excavation and extensive research have turned up convincing evidence it was part of a battle in August 1864, Morris said.
The park sits in the district of Commissioner Dee Clemmons, who was elected in November. Board members of the Friends of Nash Farm Battlefield Inc., the group that ran the museum, said she's been chipping away at the site since taking office.
First, Clemmons asked to remove an entrenchment replica built by a group that does re-enactments, said Jimmy Pettitt, president of the Nash Farm group. Then, in March, she had the county parks department remove a Confederate flag that flew on the parade field.
Earlier this month, while attending an event at the museum, Clemmons cornered board members and demanded all Confederate flags be removed from the museum, Pettitt said.
But that would have left only Union flags, Pettitt said: "How can you tell the story without both?"
In an emotional meeting that drew tears from just about everyone present, Pettitt said, the group's board decided to close the museum.
"You get tired of fighting with politics and you get tired of fighting with other people," he said.
The group has decided to focus on preserving the battlefield, Pettitt said.
Clemmons said she only asked to remove Confederate flags in the windows of the museum bookstore that could be seen from outside.
"I'm very surprised that they didn't come to me and sit down and talk to me because that's the relationship that I thought we had built," she said.
She declined in a phone conversation Thursday to answer further questions, saying the county attorney had told her to stop talking. She referred an Associated Press reporter to a video "showing the type of support that I have been trying to push for this park."
The video, which appears to be a fundraising pitch, suggests developing the Nash Farm park into an "agricultural green space for school field trips and family outings." The plans include educational programs, music and storytelling events, as well as hiking and horseback trails.
The video doesn't mention that the site is believed to be a Civil War battlefield. In a March 16 email obtained by the Henry Herald newspaper, Clemmons wrote to her fellow commissioners and said of the outdoor Confederate flag: "this flag has no historical relevance to the undocumented battlefield."
Peter Bonner, left, looks at a painting of Union soldiers as David Moody, right, tours what's left of the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Volunteer curator Bill Dodd is reflected in a portrait of a Union soldier on display at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum which is closing its doors in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A book about Confederate black soldiers sits atop a box at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
An American and Georgia state flag fly next to where a Confederate flag once flew outside the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A mannequin dressed as a Confederate soldier looks out from an upstairs bathroom at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A memorial to Confederate soldiers who died in a battle where the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum now sits, stands outside the museum in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. While some dispute the sites bona fides as a Civil War battlefield, archaeological excavation and extensive research have turned up convincing evidence that a battle happened there in August 1864, Henry County historian Gene Morris said. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Nash Farm Battlefield Museum volunteer curator Bill Dodd, right, returns a blanket from the Civil War that has been a family heirloom to Henry County historian Gene Morris, left, as the museum clears out its exhibits after closing its doors in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. "It was a wonderful museum and a great educational facility," Morris said. "It's really a sad thing to see it gone." (AP Photo/David Goldman)
The Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum, sits closed in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Mannequins sit in a carriage on display at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
David Moody looks at portraits of Union and Confederate soldiers on display at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Volunteer curator Bill Dodd, walks through the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum as he clears out exhibits after the small Civil War museum closed its doors in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
A poster of a Union drummer boy is displayed inside the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. The museum was located in an old farmhouse nestled in a 204-acre county-owned park in Hampton, about 30 miles south of Atlanta, that's a popular spot for weddings. The last tour at the museum was May 18 and nearly all the artifacts, mostly loaned by private owners, had been removed by Thursday. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Visitors look over a field outside the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum that is closing its doors in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. While some dispute the sites bona fides as a Civil War battlefield, archaeological excavation and extensive research have turned up convincing evidence that a battle happened there in August 1864, Henry County historian Gene Morris said. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
An American and Confederate 2nd National Flag stand in the window of an empty room at the Nash Farm Battlefield Museum, a small Civil War museum closing in Hampton, Ga., Thursday, May 25, 2017. Against the backdrop of the removal of Confederate symbols from public spaces around the South, the closure of the small Civil War museum in Georgia has stirred up strong emotions. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Trump's trip: Conventional images and unconventional talk
TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) - As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Donald Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar.
But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president.
On his first overseas tour, the new president made no attempt to publicly promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia, instead declaring that he wasn't there to lecture. In Israel and the West Bank, he pointedly did not back America's long-standing support for a two-state solution to the intractable peace process. And in the heart of Europe, Trump berated NATO allies over their financial commitments and would not explicitly endorse the "one for all, all for one" defense doctrine that has been the cornerstone of trans-Atlantic security for decades.
To the White House, Trump's first trip abroad was an embodiment of the promises he made as a candidate to put America's interests first and break through the guardrails that have long defined U.S. foreign policy. Trump advisers repeatedly described the trip as historic and groundbreaking, including one senior official who brashly said without evidence that Trump had "united the entire Muslim world."
Addressing U.S. troops Saturday at a Sicilian air base moments before departing for Washington, Trump himself declared: "I think we hit a home run."
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AP source: Kushner back channel with Russia involved Syria
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's son-in-law and now top White House adviser Jared Kushner proposed a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team during a December meeting with a leading Russian diplomat.
Kushner spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about creating that line of communication to facilitate sensitive discussions aimed at exploring the incoming administration's options with Russia as it was developing its Syria policy, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke with The Associated Press.
The intent was to connect Trump's chief national security adviser at the time, Michael Flynn, with Russian military leaders, said this person, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss private policy deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Russia, a pivotal player in Syria, has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, often at the expense of civilians during a long civil war.
The White House did not acknowledge the meeting or Kushner's attendance until March. At the time, a White House official dismissed it as a brief courtesy meeting.
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Rocker Gregg Allman dies at age 69; sang and lived the blues
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Gregg Allman, a survivor of tragedy, knew the blues musically and in a painfully personal way.
Raised by a single mother after his father was shot to death, he idolized his guitar-slinging older brother Duane and became his musical partner. They formed the nucleus of The Allman Brothers Band, which helped define the Southern rock sound of the 1970s.
Their songs such as "Whipping Post," ''Ramblin' Man" and "Midnight Rider" laid the foundation for the genre and opened the doors for groups like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.
Gregg Allman, whose bluesy vocals and soulful touch on the Hammond B-3 organ helped propel the Allman Brothers Band to superstardom, died Saturday. He was 69.
Allman died peacefully and surrounded by loved ones at his home near Savannah, Georgia, his manager, Michael Lehman, told The Associated Press. He blamed cancer for Allman's death.
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Mother of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick killed in boat accident
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - The mother of the CEO of the ride-hailing company Uber died in a boat accident Friday evening in Fresno County, the company said.
Bonnie Kalanick, 71, died after the boat she and her husband, Donald, 78, were riding hit a rock in Pine Flat Lake in the eastern part of the county, authorities said.
They are the parents of Travis Kalanick, 40, who founded Uber in 2009.
The couple have been longtime boaters. In a memo to Uber staff, Liane Hornsey, the chief human resources officer, called the incident an "unthinkable tragedy." She wrote that "everyone in the Uber family knows how incredibly close Travis is to his parents."
About 5 p.m. Friday, officers were called to the scene of the accident and found a man and woman on a shore of the lake, the Fresno County Sheriff's office said in a statement.
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UK police show photo of concert bomber, ask public for info
MANCHESTER, England (AP) - British police on Saturday released surveillance-camera images of the Manchester concert bomber on the night of the attack as they appealed for more information about his final days.
Authorities said they had made major progress in unravelling the plot behind the concert bombing but acknowledged there were still gaps in their knowledge.
Britain reduced its terrorism threat level a notch Saturday, from "critical" to "severe," yet security remained high as jittery residents tried to enjoy a long holiday weekend. Armed police officers and soldiers were deployed at soccer matches, concerts and other big events.
Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, died in Monday's explosion, which killed 22 others and wounded nearly 120 as crowds were leaving an Ariana Grande concert.
The photos released by police show attacker Salman Abedi on the night of the bombing, wearing sneakers, jeans, a dark jacket and a baseball cap. The straps of a knapsack are visible on his shoulders.
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Trump makes G-7 deal on trade, takes rain check on climate
TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) - Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming.
The final G-7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. "is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics."
Trump tweeted he would decide on Paris next week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. president's first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six "won't change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasn't decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way."
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Police: Suspect in Portland stabbings ranted about Muslims
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Police say they'll examine what appears to be the extremist ideology of an Oregon man suspected of fatally stabbing two men who tried to intervene when the suspect yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim on a Portland light-rail train.
Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was being held Saturday in the Multnomah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a weapon. He was arrested a short time after the attack on Friday.
He will make a first court appearance Tuesday, and it wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. A phone at his home in Portland rang unanswered early Saturday.
Police on Saturday identified the victims as 53-year-old Ricky John Best of Happy Valley, Oregon, and 23-year-old Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche of Portland. Best died at the scene, and Meche died at a hospital, police said.
Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, of Portland was also stabbed in the attack and is in serious condition at a Portland hospital, police said. His injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, police said.
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AP FACT CHECK: President Trump and his mistold NATO tales
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's been a muted week for the "real" Donald Trump, the Twitter account where the president normally says a lot of things that are unreal. That respite may have come to a close, though, as he wrapped up his foreign trip with yet another mistold tale about NATO.
In a tweet and a speech before leaving for home Saturday, he said that thanks to him, money is "starting to pour into NATO," which it isn't.
Besides going light on provocative tweets, Trump held no news conferences and gave no extended interviews abroad. Those venues are frequent sources of Trump's off-the-cuff misstatements. Even a more scripted Trump, though, does not always tell it straight, and the release of his proposed budget stirred a fresh round of questionable rhetoric from his stateside aides.
A look at some of the statements under scrutiny over the past week:
TRUMP: "I will tell you, a big difference over the last year, money is actually starting to pour into NATO from countries that would not have been doing what they're doing now had I not been elected, I can tell you that. Money is starting to pour in." - speech to U.S. troops in Sicily on Saturday
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BA outage creates London travel chaos; power issue blamed
LONDON (AP) - British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend.
The airline said it was suffering a "major IT systems failure" around the world. Chief executive Alex Cruz said "we believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyberattack."
He said the crash had affected "all of our check-in and operational systems."
BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day - and both are major hubs for worldwide travel.
Several hours after problems began cropping up Saturday morning, BA suspended flights up to 6 p.m. because the two airports had become severely congested. The airline later scrapped flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of the day.
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At JFK's centennial, book chronicles presidency, day-by-day
John F. Kennedy was born 100 years ago Monday, and a new book recounts his brief but eventful presidency - and the style and wit with which he shaped the hopes of a generation - through day-by-day reports drawn from coverage at the time, right up to his assassination in November 1963.
Kennedy's 1,036 days in office saw many crises, including the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, the Soviet Union's menace to West Berlin and, most dangerously, the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.
As former AP Washington Bureau Chief Walter Mears writes in the introduction to "JFK: A Daily Chronicle of the White House Years":
"It was a time of hope, youthful leadership - JFK's new generation in power - but with clouds. U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war was beginning. Kennedy sent an increasing number of military advisers there, and they were the first Americans involved in combat. The civil rights issue was a growing problem. Kennedy sought legislation, but it would not come on his watch."
Besides touching on reports from the fraught, history-making days of his presidency, the book includes lighter dispatches, including reports of the three birthdays Kennedy celebrated as president:
TAORMINA, Sicily (AP) - As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Donald Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar.
But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president.
On his first overseas tour, the new president made no attempt to publicly promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia, instead declaring that he wasn't there to lecture. In Israel and the West Bank, he pointedly did not back America's long-standing support for a two-state solution to the intractable peace process. And in the heart of Europe, Trump berated NATO allies over their financial commitments and would not explicitly endorse the "one for all, all for one" defense doctrine that has been the cornerstone of trans-Atlantic security for decades.
In this May 20, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump holds a sword and dances with traditional dancers during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace in Riyadh. As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
To the White House, Trump's first trip abroad was an embodiment of the promises he made as a candidate to put America's interests first and break through the guardrails that have long defined U.S. foreign policy. Trump advisers repeatedly described the trip as historic and groundbreaking, including one senior official who brashly said without evidence that Trump had "united the entire Muslim world."
Addressing U.S. troops Saturday at a Sicilian air base moments before departing for Washington, Trump himself declared: "I think we hit a home run."
Trump boarded Air Force One without having held a single news conference on the trip - a break in presidential precedent that allowed him to avoid facing tough questions about his foreign policy or the raging controversies involving the investigations into his campaign's possible ties to Russia. Instead, the White House hoped to let the images of Trump in statesman-like settings tell the story of his first trip abroad, and perhaps ease questions about his preparedness for the delicate world of international diplomacy.
Yet those questions are sure to persist, particularly given Trump's remarkable lashing of NATO allies in Brussels. Standing alongside his counterparts, the president effectively accused countries who do not meet NATO's goal of spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product of sponging off American taxpayers. He left some allies, already nervous about Russia's saber-rattling and Trump's public affection for Russian President Vladimir Putin, further flummoxed when he ended his remarks without making an explicit statement of support for Article 5, the common defense clause that underpins the 68-year-old military alliance.
"The mood of Article 5, the idea that we are all in this together, is not the mood he conveyed," said Jon Alterman, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. "The mood he conveyed is you guys are a bunch of freeloaders."
Some European leaders believe Trump can still be coaxed away from his controversial campaign positions. At the Group of 7 summit in the coastal town of Taormina, leaders launched an aggressive, behind-the-scenes campaign to get him to stay in the Paris climate accord.
While Trump emerged from the summit without a final decision on the Paris pact, he declared in a tweet Saturday that he will make a final decision next week.
Trump's return home Saturday night also shifts attention back to the storm clouds of scandal hovering over the White House. In a briefing with reporters Saturday, White House officials shifted uncomfortably and refused to comment when asked about reports that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, tried to set up secret communications with Russia after the election.
Trump's nine-day, five-stop international tour resulted in few tangible policy achievements. The U.S. inked a $110 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia and unveiled numerous business commitments in the region, though the White House never provided specific details about the scope of the agreements. At NATO, the White House touted the alliance's commitment to boosting defense spending, though the resolution was essentially a continuation of a pact agreed to two years earlier.
Still, the trip offered the clearest picture to date of how Trump plans to put his imprint on America's relationship with the world.
From the start, he set a new direction. Instead of following presidential tradition by making his international debut in a neighboring democracy like Canada or Mexico, Trump flew to Saudi Arabia, the repressive desert kingdom.
He appeared particularly comfortable in the setting. In Riyadh, he received a lavish, gold-plated welcome: His image was projected across the facade of the luxury hotel where he stayed, horses flanked his motorcade as it moved to one of the king's desert palaces and an extravagant celebration was held in his honor, complete with a traditional Saudi sword dance.
Trump betrayed no awkwardness at relishing the warm embrace of one of the world's most oppressive governments. Instead, he reciprocated with a pledge to not publicly chastise the ruling royal family for its crackdown on political dissent.
"We are not here to lecture - we are not here to tell other people how to live, what to do, who to be, or how to worship," Trump said.
Trump was lavishly feted in Israel as well, embraced by a prime minister who despised his predecessor and was eager to flatter the new president. Trump received multiple standing ovations - one of his favorite measures of success - during a speech on U.S. relations with Israel. The photo of his solemn visit to the Western Wall was splashed across the front pages of Israel's newspapers.
Like many of his predecessors, Trump made a personal appeal for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. But he never uttered the words "two-state solution," the longtime U.S. policy plan that would create a separate homeland for Palestinians. He also made no mention of new Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a major point of contention for the Palestinians.
The smaller moments of the president's trip were endlessly dissected as well, from first lady Melania Trump's apparent reluctance to hold her husband's hand on occasion to his shoving aside of Montenegro's prime minister to get to the front of a pack of leaders at a NATO photo opportunity. At the G-7, it was Trump's interactions with other leaders that commanded attention.
The six other heads of state took a short walk from one event to the next, chatting convivially as they strolled through the narrow Sicilian streets. Trump hung back, deciding against joining his peers.
Instead, he got in a golf cart and the American president's mini-motorcade drove the route alone, Trump once more having charted his own course.
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Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Jonathan Lemire at http://twitter.com/jonlemire
In this May 23, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump lay a wreath at Yad Vashem to honor the victims of the holocaust in Jerusalem. As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
In this May 24, 2017, photo President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican. As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)
In this May 24, 2017, photo, President Donald Trump and his wife Melania, left, listen to a guide as they look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican Museums, at the Vatican. As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
In this May 26, 2017, photo, leaders of the G7, from left, European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pose during a group photo for the G7 summit in the Ancient Theatre of Taormina ( 3rd century BC) in the Sicilian citadel of Taormina, Italy. As he dashed through the Middle East and Europe, Trump looked like a conventional American leader abroad. He solemnly laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican and stood center stage with Western allies at the annual summits that dominate the diplomatic calendar. But when Trump spoke, he sounded like anything but a typical U.S. president. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
President Donald Trump shakes hands as he arrives to speak to U.S. military troops and their families at Naval Air Station Sigonella, Saturday, May 27, 2017, in Sigonella, Italy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Cosmetics brand Smashbox, a subsidiary of Estee Lauder, has sparked online debate among Chinese netizens after posting a controversial message on Instagram.
CREATED AT SMASHBOX PHOTO STUDIO L.A.| Cruelty Free (We dont sell in China), the company captioned a photo on Instagram. Chinese netizens responded with indignance to the perceived dig.
Smashbox was founded in 1996. It is certified by animal protection organization PETA as cruelty-free, since it does not test its products on animals. However, the Chinese government requires foreign cosmetics brands to test products on animals before they enter the Chinese market, in order to ensure the safety of consumers.
Some foreigners strongly oppose the requirement, calling for a boycott of all brands that test their products on animals. A number of animal protection organizations in Europe have released lists of cruelty-free products; any time a company enters the Chinese market, its name is deleted from the list.
As a subsidiary of Estee Lauder, which does sell its products in China, Smashbox was likely looking prevent the misconception that it also tests on animals, as its parent company does. However, some believe that it is safest to test cosmetics on animals, and that the statement by Smashbox indicates prejudice against China. Others, meanwhile, say the company was just making an objective statement, and that critics are reading too much into it.
China is not the only country that requires animal testing for cosmetic products. Japan, Australia and South Korea also have similar rules. In addition, China recently released new guidelines that waive the animal-testing requirement for some domestically produced makeup.
All the comments under the original Instagram post have been deleted by the company.
JERUSALEM (AP) - Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on the first day of the month-long Muslim holiday of Ramadan, after reaching a compromise with Israel for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
Israel prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike Saturday morning. She said it came after a deal was reached with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second family visit each per month.
Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since Israel's 1967 capture of territories Palestinian seek for their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Englander said 1,578 prisoners participated in the hunger strike overall, some fasting intermediately, and 834 ended their fast Saturday. She said 18 were being treated in hospitals.
Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers in bombings, shootings and other violence.
Several hundred are being held without trial in so-called administrative detention. Israel has defended the practice as a necessary tool to stop militant activity, including preventing deadly attacks on civilians and security forces.
Critics condemn it because there are no charges and judges can extend the detentions. They add that the practice is overused.
Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas which runs Gaza and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a seemingly preoccupied international community as the Israeli occupation hits the 50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel since 1967.
Israel's public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas' Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organizer Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and promote his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghouti's family has denied such claims.
Qadoura Fares, who runs the Prisoners' Club advocacy group, said negotiations took place between Israel officials and a committee from the prisoners, which included Barghouti. He said negotiations began on Friday and were the first since the strike began. Fares said he had no details on the terms of the deal.
He said the agreement was reached at 4 a.m. coinciding with start of the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month where the devout pray intensely, observe dawn-to-dusk fasting and enjoy nightly feasts.
Barghouti is serving five life terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he never mounted a defense, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.
Earlier this month, Israel released footage it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast. Palestinians say the video is a fabrication.
Also Saturday, thousands of Israelis demonstrated in central Tel Aviv in the evening in support of establishing a Palestinian state alongside Israel to end the conflict.
Avi Buskila of Peace Now said in a statement the protest is "against the lack of hope offered to us by the right wing government."
He said "This is the time to illustrate to Israelis, to the Palestinians and to the world that a large portion of the Israeli public opposes the occupation and seeks to arrive at a two state solution."
President Donald Trump pushed for peace between Israel and the Palestinians when he visited the region this week but gave no details on how to achieve that.
DOVER, Del. (AP) - As Air Force officials investigate allegations that inspectors were invited to view the remains of astronaut and former U.S. Sen. John Glenn at Dover Air Force Base, a military mortuary chief said that Glenn's remains were treated with "impeccable care."
"He was not disrespected in any way, shape or form," William Zwicharowski told The Associated Press on Friday.
Zwicharowski said he's proud of the job he and his staff did in caring for Glenn's remains during the months between his death last December and his burial at Arlington National Cemetery in April.
FILE - In this Jan. 25, 2012, file photo, former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn poses for a photo during an interview at his office in Columbus, Ohio. William Zwicharowski said Friday, May 26, 2017, in a text message to The Associated Press that he's proud of the job he and his staff did in caring for Glenn's remains during the months between his death last December and his burial in April. Air Force officials are investigating concerns raised during a recent inspection at the Dover mortuary regarding management of the facility and allegations that inspectors were invited to look at Glenn's remains, which they declined to do. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
Air Force officials are investigating concerns raised about management of the mortuary and allegations that inspectors who visited the facility this spring were invited to look at Glenn's remains, which they declined to do.
Despite repeated requests, the Defense Department on Friday refused to release a memo describing the alleged incident.
Zwicharowski said he also hasn't seen the memo, or the final report on the inspection, which the mortuary passed with a score of 94 percent.
Zwicharowski also said he's had no access to the mortuary since Monday, when he was notified that he was under an inspector general's investigation.
"I was given no reason for the IG investigation," said Zwicharowski, who is currently reassigned to a community outreach position in the base's mission support group.
"I didn't know anything about John Glenn until last night at midnight," he added, recalling a text he received from a colleague.
Zwicharowski acknowledged asking inspectors if they wanted to view Glenn's body but said it was a purely professional query.
"It was an honest invitation to see the quality of our preparation of remains. It wasn't to see John Glenn. If it was John Smith, Private, it didn't matter ... It was to see the care that we had given and the preservation."
"They're inspecting the mortuary, and probably 80 or 90 percent of our mission is the preparation of remains," he added. "... If it was Private Smith, it would never have been an issue. We treat everyone the same in the mortuary. We pride ourselves on that. We don't care if you're a janitor or a general."
A message was left Friday with the Glenn family's secretary seeking comment.
In a May 11 memo obtained by the Military Times, Deborah Skillman, the Defense Department's director of casualty and mortuary affairs, described Zwicharowski's actions as "clearly inappropriate and personally shocking."
Zwicharowski said he does not recall any negative reaction from inspection team members.
"That's why I'm in awe. ... I didn't think there was anything wrong with that, obviously. They're in a mortuary, and they're inspecting a mortuary," he explained.
A few days after the inspection, however, Lt. Col. Chip Hollinger, deputy commander of Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations, told Zwicharowski the inspection team mentioned that they didn't think it was appropriate to invite them to see Glenn's body.
"It was brought up, and I explained to Col. Hollinger why, and it was solely professional. I saw nothing wrong with it and he never said anything else about it," Zwicharowski said.
Zwicharowski said he believes he is being targeted with retribution for blowing the whistle on the mishandling of remains at the mortuary several years ago.
"I think it's continued retribution," he said.
Zwicharowski and two colleagues received public servant awards from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in 2012 for pointing out problems at the mortuary.
But Zwicharowski said Friday that morale among mortuary staff was "horrific," and he described the work environment as "toxic."
"What we need is less management," he said. "I'm being micromanaged and told how to embalm bodies by someone who has never touched a body."
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Associated Press writers Lolita Baldor in Washington and Julie Carr Smyth in Columbus, Ohio, contributed to this report.
FILE - In this Nov. 11, 2011 file photo, Dover Air Force Base mortuary employee Bill Zwicharowski poses for a photo after an interview with The Associated Press about his whistleblower complaints that led to a Pentagon investigation of the nation's largest military mortuary in Wyoming, Del. Zwicharowski said in a text message to The Associated Press on Friday, May 26, 2017, that he is proud of the job he and his staff did in caring for astronaut John Glenn's remains during the months between his death last December and his burial in April. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
NAVAL AIR STATION SIGONELLA, Sicily (AP) - The Latest on President Donald Trump's visit to Europe (all times local):
10:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump looked like a conventional American leader during his first trip abroad. But he sounded anything but typical.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk from Marine One across the South Lawn to White House in Washington, Saturday, May 27, 2017, as they return from Sigonella, Italy. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Trump returned home Saturday night from the Middle East and Europe. He laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican, and stood alongside Western allies at two different summits.
When he spoke, Trump diverged from the norms that past presidents had followed.
He made no attempt to publicly promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia. In Israel and the West Bank, he pointedly did not back America's long-standing support for a two-state solution.
And in the heart of Europe, Trump berated NATO allies over their financial commitments - and wouldn't explicitly endorse the longstanding NATO defense doctrine.
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9 p.m.
President Donald Trump is back in the Washington area after a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.
Air Force One touched down shortly before 9 p.m. EDT at Joint Base Andrews in the Maryland suburbs.
Trump's first trip abroad as president took him to Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Vatican, and Belgium and Italy. He met with national leaders in all those places and attended gatherings of NATO leaders and members of the G-7 industrialized nations.
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6:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says G-7 allies are pushing to end "all trade-distorting practices."
The president tweeted as he departed Sicily for Washington, concluding his nine-day maiden overseas trip.
The president writes, "Just left the #G7Summit. Had great meetings on everything, especially on trade where... "we push for the removal of all trade-distorting practices....to foster a truly level playing field."
Trump discussed trade with the leaders of Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan during the summit, but it was not immediately clear what he meant by the tweet. Trump has advocated for fair trade, not free trade.
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5:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is recapping his first foreign trip and saluting U.S. military personnel at an event before he returns to Washington.
The nine-day trip - Trump's first as president - took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Belgium, along with a pair of stops in Italy.
Trump told U.S. military personnel in an address at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily that "you are protecting us and we will always remember that."
As their commander in chief, he noted his desire to boost military spending and promised them "my complete and unshakeable support."
Trump also previewed remarks he's scheduled to deliver at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day.
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5:05 p.m.
Melania Trump says she will never forget the women and children she met on her first trip abroad as first lady of the United States.
She has addressed U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Italy before she joins President Donald Trump for the flight back to Washington after nine days on the road. The trip took the Trumps to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium and Italy.
The first lady also thanked the service members for sacrificing on behalf of the U.S. She says it's because of their "selfless commitment" and the sacrifices their families make that Americans are able to enjoy many freedoms.
Mrs. Trump adds that she's very proud of how hard the president worked on the trip on behalf of the U.S.
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4:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is postponing a rally planned for next week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Trump's campaign team says the rally planned for Thursday has been postponed "due to an unforeseen change" in the president's schedule. They did not elaborate.
Trump is wrapping up his first trip abroad as president and returning to the U.S. on Saturday.
His most recent campaign-style event was in the end of April when he marked his first 100 days in office with a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to headline a fundraising "Roast and Ride" event in Iowa for Sen. Joni Ernst next Saturday.
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3:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump's top advisers are refusing to address reports that his son-in-law and a top Russian diplomat may have discussed setting up a secret communications channel.
In a press conference in Sicily, Saturday, advisers H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn declined to comment on new revelations about Jared Kushner's communications with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak (SER'-gay KISS-lee-yak).
The Washington Post reported Friday that Kislyak told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a back channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin.
The White House in March confirmed that Kushner and Kislyak met at Trump Tower in December for what one official called a brief courtesy meeting.
McMaster adds, "we have back channel communications with a number of countries."
He says, "it allows you to communicate in a discreet manner."
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3:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump's top national security adviser says it's a "matter of fact" that the United States stands behind NATO's common defense principle.
Trump notably did not explicitly endorse Article 5 of the NATO charter during his remarks in Brussels earlier this week. He used the remarks to blast NATO members who don't fulfill pledges to put 2 percent of their gross domestic product toward defense.
H.R. McMaster says Trump's support for Article 5 was "implicit in the speech." He says there was no conscious decision for the president to not specifically endorse the "one for all, all for one" principle, which underpins the military alliance.
Trump was sharply critical of NATO prior to his inauguration, calling the alliance "obsolete" but has since expressed support for it.
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3:15 p.m.
The White House says G-7 leaders had a "very robust" conversation before issuing a final statement giving President Donald Trump more time to decide whether to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate agreement.
Trump has resisted pressure from European leaders to stay in the landmark accord. But he said earlier Saturday in a tweet that he'll announce a final decision next week after he returns to the White House.
Nearly 200 nations, including the U.S., agreed in 2015 to voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn says statements issued after summits like the G-7 are always a "give and take." He says the final document reflects that other countries respect the U.S. decision to take more time before making a final decision.
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2:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he'll make a final decision next week on whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate agreement.
Trump made the surprise announcement in a tweet after resisting pressure from European leaders to stay in the agreement.
Nearly every nation that signed the 2015 agreement has agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The president tweeted Saturday, "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!"
Trump's pending review of U.S. climate policies has left environmentalists bracing for the possibility of bland G-7 promises that say little after years of increasingly stronger commitments to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Trump once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax.
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2 p.m.
President Donald Trump and Canada's prime minister met on the sidelines of the G-7 summit to discuss economic issues.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says they also addressed trade cooperation and efforts to boost job creation on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.
Tensions recently escalated between the two countries after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on softwood lumber from Canada and railed against its pricing of domestic milk to cover more dairy ingredients, which impacts U.S. dairy producers.
Trump and Trudeau also discussed "issues of global concern."
The White House did not disclose the meeting ahead of time, and officials offered no comment after it was announced by the Canadians.
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12:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says NATO will be stronger because member countries have increased payments "considerably."
Trump tweeted Saturday, "Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger."
NATO countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. They spend domestically on weapons or other defense-related needs.
The president supports ongoing efforts to push member countries to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. Only five members currently meet the target, but the other nations are committed to the goal by 2024.
Trump is meeting with leaders from the G-7 nations in Sicily.
He also tweeted, "Big G7 meetings today. Lots of very important matters under discussion. First on the list, of course, is terrorism."
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11:30 a.m.
Leaders of seven wealthy democracies have reached a deal to give the Trump administration more time to tell them whether the United States plans to stay in the Paris climate agreement.
A person familiar with the negotiations at the Group of Seven summit said that six members of the G-7 would stick with their endorsement of the Paris deal, and await a decision from the U.S.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.
The G-7 members were still wrestling over a statement on trade and whether it would condemn protectionism, as previous group statements have.
President Donald Trump has pushed back against earlier group statements opposing protectionism and has argued trade must be balanced and fair as well as free.
-By David McHugh
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9:47 a.m.
President Donald Trump is kicking off the final day of his first trip abroad with a meeting with Group of Seven and African nation leaders.
Trump is seated between Beji Caid Essebsi, president of Tunisia, and Mahamadou Issoufou, the president of Niger, for his first meeting of the day.
He was also spotted chatting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the session began.
It's the final day of the president's nine-day trip. He'll be returning to Washington, D.C. late Saturday.
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9:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump is in Taormina, Sicily for a second day of meetings with Group of Seven wealthy nation leaders.
Leaders from the G-7 countries were expected to gather at the San Domenico Palace Hotel on Saturday morning.
Trump is set to engage in discussions about the global economy and climate. He will also participate in a meeting with African nations, including Niger and Tunisia.
This is the final day of Trump's first official trip abroad.
After the G-7 summit of economically advanced countries, the president will address American troops on an Italian base before departing for home.
The G-7 includes the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
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7:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump will return to Washington having rattled some allies and reassured others, but his White House still sits under a cloud of scandal.
Trump will spend Saturday at the second day of the G-7 summit in Sicily, bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and Israel before moving on to Europe.
The trip has gone off without a major misstep, with the administration touting the president's efforts to create a new coalition to fight terrorism while admonishing partners in an old alliance to pay their fair share.
In Washington, though, a newly appointed special counsel is just beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Myanmar was supposed to turn away from China and toward the West after the U.S. helped it transition from five decades of military rule.
The opposite is happening as the Southeast Asian country's new civilian government fails to attract Western investment and Beijing goes on a charm offensive. China offers economic and political support and a relationship free of the human rights concerns.
Also known as Burma, Myanmar represented a foreign policy success for President Barack Obama. He coaxed its powerful generals into ceding power by normalizing diplomatic relations and rolling back sanctions. That paved the way for Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to take power after winning elections.
FILE - In this May 16, 2017 file-pool photo, Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi meets with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Myanmar was supposed to turn away from China and toward the West when the U.S. helped it transition from five decades of military rule. (Nicolas Asfouri/Pool Photo via AP, File)
But after 14 months in power, Suu Kyi is struggling to end ethnic conflict and bring economic growth.
WASHINGTON (AP) - A lawyer for Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner says Kushner stands ready to talk to federal investigators as well as Congress about his contacts and his role in Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Federal investigators and several congressional committees are looking into Russia-Trump campaign connections. Those investigations include allegations that there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The Washington Post reports that the Russian ambassador to the United States told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
Jared Kushner, senior advisor of President Donald Trump, shakes hands with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
And Reuters reports that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador last year, including two phone calls between April and November.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Warthog is sitting pretty.
Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.
In the 2018 Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposed to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future.
FILE - In this May 13, 2004 file photo, A-10's from the 111th Fighter Wing are seen in the foreground as a U.S. Navy C-130 takes off from N.A.S. J.R.B. Willow Grove in Willow Grove Pa. The Warthog is sitting pretty. Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets. (AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek, File)
Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated would be $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.
The following year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.
Last year, officials backed away a bit further, indicating retirement was still the best option but that it could be put off until 2022.
Now the retirement push is over, and the Warthog's future appears secure.
"The world has changed," said Maj. Gen. James F. Martin Jr., the Air Force budget deputy, in explaining decisions to keep aircraft once deemed expendable.
The Air Force has similarly dropped plans to retire the iconic U-2 spy plane amid prospects for bigger budgets under President Donald Trump. It also reflects the relentless pace of operations for combat aircraft and surveillance and reconnaissance planes that feed intelligence data to war commanders.
The service had complained for years that its inventory of aircraft was getting dangerously small and old. Gen. Mark Welsh, who retired as the top Air Force officer last year, was fond of describing the service as having 12 fleets of aircraft that qualify for antique license plates in the state of Virginia.
The A-10 is a special case. Rep. Martha McSally, a Republican from Arizona who flew the A-10 in combat and commanded a squadron in Afghanistan, speaks of it with obvious affection.
"The A-10 is this badass airplane with a big gun on it," she said she told Trump in a recent conversation, explaining why the Warthog is unlike any other attack aircraft.
The "big gun" to which she refers is a seven-barrel Gatling gun that is nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells at a rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. Also armed with Maverick missiles, the A-10 is effective not only in a conventional battle against tanks and other armored vehicles. It also provides close-air support for Iraqi and other U.S. partner forces taking on Islamic State fighters in the deserts of Iraq and Syria.
A number of A-10s fly missions in Syria from Incirlik air base in Turkey.
McSally is among members of Congress for whom elimination of the Warthog carried political risks back home. Sen. John McCain, a fellow Arizona Republican, joined her in strenuously arguing against the plane's early retirement.
Arizona's Davis-Monthan Air Force Base is home to an A-10 unit; retirement of the aircraft might have made Davis-Monthan more vulnerable to closure.
A veteran of combat in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and beyond, the plane entered service in 1976. It is among Cold War-era icons like the venerable B-52 bomber that have exceeded expected lifespans and are likely to remain central to U.S. air campaigns for years to come.
Specially designed for the Cold War mission of attacking armor on the front lines of a potential European war with the Soviet Union, the A-10's air crews considered it so ugly they called it the Warthog. Its official nickname is Thunderbolt II. The plane has been out of production since 1984 but has received many upgrades over the years, most recently with new electronics.
FILE - In this April 23, 2005 file photo, people stand in front of a A-10 Warthog at the Kentucky Air National Guard in Louisville, Ky. The Warthog is sitting pretty. Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administration's view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon, File)
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - South Korea's military dispatched a naval unit in waters off Somalia after pirates presumably hijacked a fishing vessel, officials said Saturday.
The 234-ton vessel, which had a crew of three South Koreans and 18 Indonesians catching squid, lost contact after relaying that it was being followed by a suspected pirate vessel, Seoul's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
South Korea's anti-piracy Cheonghae Unit was participating in international operations to combat piracy in nearby waters before responding to the situation, according to an official from the Defense Ministry. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules. Patrol aircraft from India, Germany and Japan were also searching the area, the Foreign Ministry said.
FILE - In this March 3, 2009 file photo, South Korean navy sailors salute in front of the destroyer "Great King Munmu," which will be sent to pirate-infested Somali water, during a launching ceremony to dispatch South Korean troops to Somali waters at a port in Busan, South Korea. South Korea's military has dispatched Saturday, May 27, 2017, a naval unit in waters off Somalia after pirates reportedly hijacked a South Korean fishing vessel. (Oh Soo-hee/Yonhap via AP, File)
South Korean President Moon Jae-in ordered related government agencies and the military to "invest full efforts into the rescue operations, while putting the protection of lives first," the ministry said.
The fishing vessel that went out of contact was registered in Mongolia and owned by an ethnic Korean businessman living in South Africa. The vessel's captain, chief engineer and boatswain were South Korean nationals, the Foreign Ministry said.
Crews from South Korean fishing vessels and cargo ships have often been targets of Somali pirates.
Recent weeks have seen a resurgence of piracy off Somalia's coast after five years of inactivity. The piracy was once a serious threat to the global shipping industry but lessened in recent years after an international effort to patrol off the coast.
Some Somali fishermen, including former pirates, say foreign ships illegally fishing in local waters are forcing them to return to piracy to make money.
The 300-member Cheonghae Unit, led by a 4,400-ton destroyer, has been taking part in anti-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa since 2009.
In 2011, sailors and marines from the same unit raided a South Korean-operated cargo ship that had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight pirates and capturing five others. The five captured pirates were taken to South Korea and received long prison terms.
MINYA, Egypt (AP) - The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus carrying Christians on their way to a remote desert monastery south of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, which killed 29.
Egypt responded to Friday's attack by launching a series of airstrikes that targeted what it said were militant bases in eastern Libya in which the assailants were trained. On Saturday, the military said on its official Facebook page that the airstrikes were continuing "day and night" and that they have "completely" destroyed their targets. It gave no details.
"What you've seen today will not go unpunished. An extremely painful strike has been dealt to the bases. Egypt will never hesitate to strike terror bases anywhere," President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in a televised address to the nation late Friday. He said the attacks on Christians aimed at driving a wedge between them and the country's Muslim majority.
A man covers the blood stains of victims on the road leads to St. Samuel, the Confessor monastery in Maghagha, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2017. Masked gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least 28 people, and Egypt responded by launching airstrikes against what it said were militant training bases in Libya. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
He also appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump to lead the global war against terror.
The claim, published by the group's Aamaq news agency, takes to four the number of deadly attacks targeting Christians since December that the extremist group says it's behind. It put the death toll at 32, but there was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.
In all, the four attacks - Friday's, two in April and one in December - killed at least 104 people, mostly Christians. El-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency following April's twin attacks, which fell on Palm Sunday.
The Egyptian Cabinet, meanwhile, said 13 victims of Friday's carnage remained hospitalized in Cairo and Minya province, where the attack took place. The bloodshed came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
El-Sissi told Pope Tawadros II, spiritual leader of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church, in a phone call late on Friday that his government would not rest until the perpetrators of the attack were punished.
Egypt's government has been struggling to contain an insurgency by Islamic militants led by an IS affiliate that is centered in the northern region of the Sinai peninsula, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
After a visit to Egypt last month by Pope Francis, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians and urged Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies.
A man takes pictures of the blood stains of victims on the road that leads to St. Samuel the Confessor monastery in Maghagha, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2017. Masked gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least 28 people, and Egypt responded by launching airstrikes against what it said were militant training bases in Libya. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
A priest walks in front of St. Samuel the Confessor monastery in Maghagha, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2017. Masked gunmen ambushed a bus carrying Coptic Christians to a monastery south of Cairo on Friday, killing at least 28 people, and Egypt responded by launching airstrikes against what it said were militant training bases in Libya. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christians who were killed during a bus attack, surround their coffins, during their funeral service, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Coptic Christians shout slogans during a funeral service for victims of a bus attack, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christians who were killed during a bus attack, mourn by their coffins during a funeral service, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christians killed during a bus attack react during their funeral service, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Coptic Christians shout slogans after the funeral service of some of the victims of a bus attack, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christians killed in a buss attack react during their funeral service, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. ?(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christians carry coffins of their relatives who were killed during a bus attack, following their funeral service, at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of Coptic Christian Ayied Ward, who was a victim of an attack on a bus, carry his coffin following his funeral service at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian security and medical officials say the death toll in the shooting by masked gunmen of a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, on their way to a remote desert monastery has risen to over 20. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Relatives of killed Coptic Christians grieve during their funeral at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Police gather as people wounded in an attack on Coptic Christians arrive at Nasser Institute Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people have been killed and wounded in an attack by masked gunmen on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo. The attack happened while the bus was on its way to a monastery. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State affiliate in Egypt. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abd El-Gwad)
A woman wounded in an attack on Coptic Christians arrives at Nasser Institute Hospital in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people have been killed and wounded in an attack by masked gunmen on a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo. The attack happened while the bus was on its way to a monastery. There has been no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State affiliate in Egypt. (AP Photo/Ahmed Abd El-Gwad)
A policeman stands alert near the site of the Cathedral road in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Policemen guards the entrance of the Cathedral road in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
Armored vehicle patrols as a policeman guards the entrance of the Cathederal road in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo.(AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
This image released by the Minya governorate media office shows blood after gunmen stormed a bus in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo. (Minya Governorate Media office via AP)
This image released by the Minya governorate media office shows the aftermath from when gunmen stormed a bus in Minya, Egypt, Friday, May 26, 2017. Egyptian officials say dozens of people were killed and wounded in an attack by masked militants on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, including children, south of Cairo. (Minya Governorate Media office via AP)
BAGHDAD (AP) - The Latest on developments in Iraq (all times local):
11:20 a.m.
An Iraqi official says a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has been killed in an explosion during clashes with the Islamic State group west of Mosul.
The Iraqi official says Gen. Shaaban Nasiiri was an adviser to Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force, who has acted as a key adviser to Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces - an umbrella group of Mostly Shiite militia forces sanctioned by the Iraqi government - in the fight against IS.
The Iraqi official. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said Nasiiri was killed Friday night.
While U.S.-backed forces have fought inside Mosul during the operation to retake it from IS, Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces have largely operated in the deserts to the west cutting supply lines and attempting to begin securing Iraq's border with Syria.
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10:10 a.m.
Aid groups say they are concerned for the safety of civilians following calls from Iraq's government for residents of the Islamic State group-held Old City to flee the area immediately.
The United Nations says in a statement Saturday that "as many as 200,000 additional people may try to leave in coming days" and that both Iraqi forces and IS fighters are obligated under international law to protect civilians.
Save the Children warned that fleeing civilians could be caught in the crossfire, leading to "deadly chaos."
Since the Mosul operation was launched, Iraqi forces have encouraged civilians to remain in their homes to avoid massive displacement and IS fighters have repeatedly targeted fleeing civilians with small arms and mortar fire.
More than 100,000 civilians are estimated to still be inside Mosul.
SYDNEY (AP) - Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, whose trial and imprisonment on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali mesmerized her country for more than a decade, returned home Sunday.
Corby landed in the Queensland capital of Brisbane early Sunday morning, after she was deported from Bali amid a frenzy of journalists. More than 200 police officers were deployed to secure her departure from Denpasar, Bali's capital, said Ida Bagus Adnyana, who heads Bali's Justice and Human Rights office.
"Corby signed a document to end her parole. She is completely free now," he said.
Back on Australian soil, she managed to evade the waiting media throng and slip out of the airport unseen. A member of Corby's security team, Eleanor Whitman, read a statement to journalists on behalf of the family.
"To all those in Australia and all those in Bali who have been there throughout this difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed," the statement said. "The priority of our focus will now be on healing and moving forward."
Corby was arrested in 2004 at the age of 27 after customs officers at Bali's airport found more than 4 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana inside her boogie board bag, sparking a media frenzy in Australia on par with America's O.J. Simpson trial.
Corby always insisted the drugs had been planted in her bag, and most Australians initially believed her story. Her courtroom battle was tailor-made for TV: a photogenic Australian beach girl who had apparently fallen victim to corrupt officials in an Asian country that had come to be viewed with fear and suspicion after dozens of Australians were killed in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Indonesians, who called Corby "Ganja Queen," were mystified by Australia's response. To them, the case was clear-cut, and the Australian outrage overly nationalistic.
Corby's insistence that the drugs were planted by baggage handlers was dismissed as lies by Balinese prosecutors. A court sentenced her to 20 years in prison, though that was later reduced.
In 2014, after nine years behind bars, she was released but had to stay in Bali until her parole expired on Saturday. In the lead-up to her deportation, she kept a low profile, living in a villa in Bali with her Indonesian boyfriend.
Australian media spent two weeks camped outside the villa, attempting to catch a glimpse of the elusive drug smuggler.
Hoping to fool reporters, friends and family members took to donning bizarre face masks as they went to and from the property.
Though proving Corby's innocence was once something of a national cause in Australia, unflattering reports about her family emerged over the years, sullying her image in many Australians' eyes. Today, few Australians still believe Corby's story but remain fascinated by the saga.
Under Australian law, she will not be able to directly profit from telling her story.
More and more Africans are falling in love with Chinese TV series and movies, as an increasing number of them are dubbed for broadcast into English, French, Swahili and Hausa.
Chinese TV series such as "Beautiful Daughter-in-Law," "The Young Doctor" and "The Ordinary World," along with movies such as "Love is Not Blind" and "Miss Granny and The Left Ear," are all hits among African viewers. The most popular TV series are family dramas that reflect modern urban life in China, according to Zhang Junqi, chief executive officer of the Kenyan branch of Startimes, a digital television programming provider.
Zhang made the remarks during the 7th Africa Digital TV Development Seminar, an event organized to explore and discuss the development of Africa's digital television industry. The seminar was held in Beijing from May 22 to 23. TV and radio broadcast managers from 42 African countries and four Asian countries attended the event.
Chinese digital television enterprises have worked hard to promote the development of digital TV in Africa, providing high-quality television programs to African subscribers for low prices. Since setting up shop in Africa in 2007, Startimes has broadcast to more than 30 African countries and collected nearly 10 million subscribers, Startimes President Pang Xinxing said.
A Tanzanian villager named Mohammed Shamali confirmed that without the help of Chinese enterprises, he and his fellow villagers couldn't afford to watch all the programs they enjoy.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - The Latest on the fatal shooting of a Virginia state police officer (all times local):
8:50 a.m.
Authorities say a suspect is in custody after the fatal shooting of a Virginia State Police special agent.
Virginia State Police said Saturday that Travis A. Ball of Richmond is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding.
Ball is charged in the shooting death of Special Agent Michael T. Walter, who died early Saturday.
Walter was shot Friday night while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer. The officers had approached a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street when Walter was shot.
Ball took off after the shooting, sparking an overnight manhunt.
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Virginia State Police say a manhunt continues following a shooting in Richmond that left a trooper seriously injured.
State Police officials say the trooper was shot shortly after 7:30 p.m. Friday while approaching a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street. Officials tell The Richmond Times-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/2qppQzl ) that the shooting happened after a state trooper special agent and Richmond police officer approached the car within a public housing development.
Police say a passenger in the vehicle fired a shot and ran. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was detained.
State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller says officers "were just having a conversation with the individuals when the state police special agent was shot."
In a tweet, Gov. Terry McAuliffe asked for prayers for the trooper.
GENOA, Italy (AP) - Pope Francis prayed Saturday for the Coptic Christians killed a day earlier in Egypt by Islamic extremists, saying that there are more Christian martyrs today than in ancient times.
During a meeting with clergy in the Italian port city of Genoa, Francis urged them to pray "for our brothers the Egyptian Copts, who were killed because they did not want to renounce their faith."
"Let's not forget that today there are more Christian martyrs than in ancient times, than in the early day times of the church," Francis told bishops, priests and nuns gathered in the Cathedral of San Lorenzo.
Pope Francis is greeted by faithful as he meets with bishops, priests and nuns at the Cathedral of San Lorenzo during his one day visit to Genoa, northern Italy, Saturday, May 27, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
Twenty-nine people died in the attack Friday on Christians traveling to a monastery south of Cairo. The attack, which took place on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, was the fourth to target Egypt's Christian minority since December.
The Egyptian Cabinet says 13 victims wounded in the attack remain hospitalized.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi blamed the attack on suspected Islamic State group extremists in Libya.
After Francis visited Egypt last month, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians and urged Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies.
Pope Francis delivers his message at the ILVA steel-making company in Genoa, Italy, Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pope Francis has begun a one-day visit to the northern Italian port city of Genoa to meet with workers, poor and homeless people, refugees and prisoners. His opened his visit at ILVA, a troubled steel-making company, where workers in hard hats awaited him. The visit puts a focus on the plight of workers whose lives have been made precarious by years of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
Pope Francis arrives at the ILVA steel-making company in Genoa, Italy, Saturday, May 27, 2017. Pope Francis has begun a one-day visit to the northern Italian port city of Genoa to meet with workers, poor and homeless people, refugees and prisoners. His opened his visit at ILVA, a troubled steel-making company, where workers in hard hats awaited him. The visit puts a focus on the plight of workers whose lives have been made precarious by years of economic crisis. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Well before he went to the White House in 1977, Jimmy Carter was impressed by the views of foreign policy expert Zbigniew Brzezinski. That Carter immediately liked the Polish-born academic advising his campaign was a plus.
"He was inquisitive, innovative and a natural choice as my national security adviser when I became president," Carter said in a statement following Brzezinski's death Friday.
"He helped me set vital foreign policy goals, was a source of stimulation for the departments of defense and state, and everyone valued his opinion," Carter said. "He played an essential role in all the key foreign policy events of my administration."
FILE - In this July 9, 2014 file photo, former National Security Adviser Zbigniew K. Brzezinski testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing to examine Russia and developments in Ukraine. Brzezinski, the national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, has died at age 89. His death was announced on social media Friday night, May 26, 2017, by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)
Earnest and ambitious, Brzezinski (ZBIG'-nyef breh-ZHIN'-skee) helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords in September 1978. Three months later, U.S.-China relations were normalized, a priority for Brzezinski.
He also had a hand in two other controversial agreements: the SALT II nuclear weapons treaty with the Soviet Union and the Panama Canal treaties ceding U.S. control of the waterway.
"He was brilliant, dedicated and loyal," said Carter, who awarded Brzezinski the Presidential Medal of Freedom days before leaving office in 1981.
Brzezinski's death at age 89 was announced on social media Friday night by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. She called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have." Also surviving Brzezinski were his wife, Emilie, and their sons Ian and Mark.
"His influence spanned several decades," former President Barack Obama said in a statement Saturday, "and I was one of several presidents who benefited from his wisdom and counsel. You always knew where Zbig stood, and his ideas and advocacy helped shape decades of American national security policy."
To former President George H.W. Bush, Brzezinski's "command of foreign affairs made him both an instrumental architect of key policies - and an influential voice in key policy debates."
In Poland, Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said the world "has lost an outstanding intellectual, an experienced and effective diplomat who was also a noble person and a proud Pole." He credited Brzezinski's "unyielding stance toward the Soviet Union" with playing a central role in "the demise of the totalitarian communist system."
Born in Warsaw and educated in Canada and the United States, Brzezinski was an acknowledged expert in Communism when he attracted the attention of U.S. policymakers. In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy, served in the Johnson administration and advised Hubert Humphrey's presidential campaign. He was the first director of the Trilateral Commission, an international discussion group, serving from 1973 to 1976.
In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser. Brzezinski had not wanted to be secretary of state because he felt he could be more effective working at Carter's side in the White House.
Brzezinski often found himself in clashes with colleagues such as Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. For the White House, the differences between Vance and Brzezinski became a major headache, confusing the American public about the administration's policy course and fueling a decline in confidence that Carter could keep his foreign policy team working in tandem.
The Iranian hostage crisis, which began in 1979, came to dramatize America's waning global power and influence and to symbolize the failures and frustrations of the Carter administration. Brzezinski, during the early months of 1980, became convinced that negotiations to free the kidnapped Americans were going nowhere. Supported by the Pentagon, he began to push for military action.
Carter was desperate to end the standoff and, over Vance's objections, agreed to a long-shot plan to rescue the hostages. The mission was a complete military and political humiliation and precipitated Vance's resignation. Carter lost his re-election bid against Ronald Reagan that November.
Brzezinski went on to ruffle the feathers of Washington's power elite with his 1983 book, "Power and Principle," which was hailed and reviled as a kiss-and-tell memoir.
"I have never believed in flattery or lying as a way of making it," he told The Washington Post that year. "I have made it on my own terms."
The oldest son of Polish diplomat Tadeus Brzezinski, Zbigniew was born on March 28, 1928. He attended Catholic schools during the time his father was posted in France and Germany.
The family went to Montreal in 1938 when the elder Brzezinski was appointed Polish consul general. When Communists took power in Poland six years later, he retired and moved his family to a farm in the Canadian countryside.
At his new home, the young Brzezinski began learning Russian from a nearby farmer and was soon bitten by the foreign policy bug.
Brzezinski's climb to the top of the foreign policy community began at Canada's McGill University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science. Later at Harvard, he received a doctorate in government, a fellowship and a publishing contract - for his thesis on Soviet purges as a permanent feature of totalitarianism.
He made frequent trips to Eastern Europe and wrote several books and articles on Communism in the 1950s. Throughout his career, he would be affiliated with moderate-to-liberal groups, including the Rand Corp., the Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty International and the NAACP.
Cautioning in lectures of fractures within the Communist movement, Brzezinski emerged in the mid-1960s as a defender of the American presence in Vietnam. Unless the United States put up an effective resistance there, he argued, communist nations such as China would be emboldened to engage the West by fomenting trouble in politically unstable regions.
Still, Brzezinski characterized himself as a "dawk," suggesting that he might have had reservations about other aspects of American policy in Southeast Asia.
Impressed nonetheless, the Johnson administration appointed him to the State Department's Policy Planning Council in 1966. Though he was low on the White House totem pole, the position gave Brzezinski entre to the highest circles of White House decision-making.
After Carter left office, Brzezinski returned to lecturing, writing and serving on commissions, boards and task forces. He took part in the long-awaited reunification of Europe as a delegate to proceedings designed to bring the former Soviet republics into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
It was a triumph for the allies, he said, over a brutal secret non-aggression deal hatched during World War II - "the final undoing in Europe of the legacies of the Stalin-Hitler pact."
He remained engaged and opinionated, tweeting for the last time early this month: "Sophisticated US leadership is the sine qua non of a stable world order. However, we lack the former while the latter is getting worse."
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Associated Press writer Monika Scislowska in Warsaw, Poland, contributed to this report.
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This story has been corrected to reflect that Carter was elected in 1977, not 1997.
FILE - In this Jan. 17, 1981 file photo, President Jimmy Carter shakes hands with his national security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, as he presents Brzezinski with the Medal of Freedom at a White House ceremony in Washington. Brzezinski, the national security adviser to President Carter, has died at age 89. His death was announced on social media Friday night, May 26, 2017, by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. (AP Photo, File)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) - With a shot to the chest, Alejandro Caro fell from his motorbike while on patrol in a small town in northern Colombia, another victim of criminal gangs who have killed 11 officers over the past month, mostly in gang-dominated regions.
Caro's mother, Consolacion Jabe, is still stunned by his death. She said the youth had always dreamed of being a policeman and even after being injured earlier, he "survived and kept fighting for his country. ... Now he is definitely gone."
Colombia's largest illegal organization, the Gulf Clan, has distributed leaflets that call for killing police, and police intelligence officials say the gang members are offering would-be assassins up to $600 per death - nearly triple the nation's monthly minimum wage.
Police put on bulletproof vests before leaving a police station to patrol the streets of Medellin, Colombia, Friday, May 26, 2017. In response to Colombia's largest illegal organization, the Gulf Clan, offering money for people to kill police, the military is sending troops to accompany police and officers are being encouraged to arrive to work in plainclothes, wear bulletproof vests and travel in pairs. (AP Photo/Luis Benavides)
Authorities compare the killings to Pablo Escobar's "pistol plan," a strategy the drug kingpin devised in his final years to target officers. Hundreds of policemen were killed in the city of Medellin alone before Escobar was gunned down there in 1993
Some see the killings as a response to a crackdown that has reduced the Gulf Clan's ranks to about 1,500 members - half the number it had in 2010, according to the Defense Ministry. Authorities say they have captured 500 Gulf Clan members this year alone, though the group's leader, Dairo Antonio Usuga, remains at large.
"In Colombia, every time a criminal group turns to killing police, they do it as a desperate measure," said Vice President Oscar Naranjo, who battled the nation's drug cartels as national police chief.
The rash of shootings has taken place in pockets around the nation but is concentrated largely in the north and along the border with Panama, a region with a long history of drug trafficking. Most of the 11 were shot while on patrol.
In response, the military is sending troops to accompany police. Officers are also being encouraged to arrive to work in plainclothes, wear bulletproof vests and travel in pairs.
The killings come at a time of flux in Colombia's drug war.
Coca production in the country surged 18 percent last year to levels unseen in nearly two decades of U.S. eradication efforts, according to a White House report. Authorities have set a goal of destroying 100,000 hectares of coca crops this year through a combination of manual eradication and voluntary crop substitution agreements with farmers.
Meanwhile, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the nation's largest rebel group, is abandoning territories it long controlled, a withdrawal that is part of a peace accord reached with the government last year.
Criminal gangs and some breakaway guerrillas are now battling for control over those territories and the drug routes they once dominated. The Gulf Clan has extended its reach into 70 towns previously controlled by the FARC, according to Jorge Restrepo, director of the Conflict Analysis Resource Center, a Bogota-based think tank.
Restrepo said the Gulf Clan may well be targeting officers to intimidate authorities, ensure the smooth passage of coca out of the country and create an escape route for drug kingpins.
"Unlike what we have seen in the past, these groups don't have defined political objectives," Restrepo said.
For the widows of officers, the campaign of death has wiped away any trace of benefits that the peace accord might bring. Jennifer Macias, 30, said her husband's boss came unexpectedly one morning this month to tell her Wilber Munoz had been shot and killed in the mining town of Segovia, weeks after celebrating his 35th birthday.
"Look how everything is," she said. "The peace is useless."
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Associated Press writer Cesar Garcia contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (AP) - It's been a muted week for the "real" Donald Trump, the Twitter account where the president normally says a lot of things that are unreal. Other frequent sources of free-range Trump - extended TV interviews, news conferences, speeches to supporters - were also missing on his first foreign trip since taking office.
Even a more cautious or scripted Trump, though, does not always tell it straight, and the release of his proposed budget stirred a fresh round of questionable rhetoric from his stateside aides.
A look at some of the statements under scrutiny over the past week:
In this May 25, 2017, photo, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg listens as President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony to unveil artifacts from the World Trade Center and Berlin Wall for the new NATO headquarters in Brussels. It's been a muted week for Trump when it comes to tweeting. But AP Fact Checks have spotted some tall tales in his rhetoric during his first foreign trip since taking office. For one, Trump claimed that fellow NATO members "owe massive amounts of money" to the common defense. They don't.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
TRUMP: "But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, and not paying in those past years." - remarks to NATO on Thursday
THE FACTS: This is a misleading depiction of NATO military spending. Members of the alliance are not in arrears in their military spending.
The issue is this: NATO members agreed in 2014 on a goal of spending 2 percent of their economy on their own military budgets by 2014, a development that would lighten the burden on the U.S. Most member nations are short of 2 percent. But the agreement was merely to move toward that goal over a decade.
Trump speaks as if NATO partners are failing to meet a current standard, and they're not. They are not in debt to the United States, and Washington is not trying to collect anything, despite the president's contention that they "owe massive amounts of money from past years. "
NATO members also agreed in 2014 to stop cutting military spending and have lived up to that commitment.
U.S. military spending amounted to 3.3 percent of its GDP in 2015, says the World Bank, compared with 1.5 percent for European Union members, 4.9 percent for Russia and 2.3 percent worldwide.
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TRUMP, in a telephone call to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte: "I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that." - Philippine government transcript of April 29 phone call, reported by The Washington Post.
THE FACTS: Trump's own State Department's human rights report, updated in March, described in harsh terms the more than 6,000 killings by police and vigilantes of suspected Philippine drug dealers and users. The killings, carried out without formal evidence or trials, were to fulfill a Duterte campaign promise to eliminate illegal drug activity in the country by the end of last year.
The report said Duterte released lists of suspected drug criminals on at least two occasions and some on those lists were killed in police or vigilante operations. It says "authorities made promises of immunity from investigation and prosecution for officers involved in drug killings."
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TRUMP, on his Oval Office meeting May 10 with Russia's foreign minister and ambassador: "Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name 'Israel,' never mentioned it in that conversation. And they're all saying I did. So you have another story wrong." - remarks at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
THE FACTS: Trump is denying saying something that he wasn't alleged to have said in the first place. His comment steers around the issue that emanated from that meeting - that he divulged classified information about an Islamic State threat in his conversation with the Russians, perhaps in a compromising way that would enable Russia to trace the source of the intelligence.
Trump is not alleged to have told the Russians specifically that the information came from the Israelis. Israel's link was established separately, in news reports.
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GARY COHN, Trump's economic adviser: "Coal doesn't even really make that much sense anymore." Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to Italy on Thursday night, he added that natural gas is "such a cleaner fuel" and the U.S. could become a "manufacturing powerhouse" by spending on wind and solar energy."
THE FACTS: That's an accurate assessment of the improbability of reviving the coal industry - and a statement at odds with his boss's vow to make coal king again. Trump and his team blame overregulation for the decline of coal but market forces are the larger problem. Natural gas supplies have surged with the advent of fracking, making coal increasingly uncompetitive as an energy source.
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MICK MULVANEY, Trump budget chief, on the president's proposed budget: "There are no Medicaid cuts in the terms of what ordinary human beings would refer to as a cut. We are not spending less money one year than we spent before." - briefing Tuesday.
THE FACTS: Mulvaney is being artfully evasive about the health care program for families and the poor. By any conventional measure of federal financing, the program is on the chopping block.
First, the Trump-supported rollback of President Barack Obama's health care law would reduce federal money that 31 states and the District of Columbia have relied on to extend coverage to low-income adults under Medicaid. The Republican health care bill passed by the House would cap the overall federal share of Medicaid spending, meaning it would no longer be an open-ended entitlement.
Second, the Trump budget could compound those restrictions by reducing the rate of growth in federal Medicaid money even more. Under the budget, Medicaid spending would fall from 2 percent of the economy to 1.7 percent in 2027 due to reductions in spending projections by Trump. That slight decrease adds up to more than $600 billion over 10 years.
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MULVANEY: "I went back and looked at some of the economic assumptions that the Obama administration made in its first couple of years. And I want to say on a couple of different occasions, their assumed growth rate was more than 4.5 percent. Come on, this is the first administration in history - OK? - it was the first decade, the first eight-year period in history not to have a 3 percent growth rate. Yet they were promising us 4.5 percent growth." - briefing Tuesday.
THE FACTS: Obama's expectations for growth were in line with accepted economic views at the time. That's because accelerated growth often follows a downturn. He took office in a deep recession, and his team figured the economy would naturally rebound at a stronger pace than its average growth rate.
Obama's first budget in 2009 estimated growth would be above 4 percent in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It would then settle into an average growth rate of 2.6 percent starting in 2015. That isn't that far from separate estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The economy expanded instead at a sluggish pace, closer to 2 percent a year. Trump's budget is more ambitious than Obama's, rosy but thin on rationale for the optimism. It anticipates shifting growth above 3 percent, much higher than Obama's long-term average.
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TRUMP, on why the U.S. under Obama should not have agreed to the Iran nuclear deal in 2015: "I think they would have failed, totally failed within six months. We gave them a lifeline and we not only gave them a lifeline, we gave them wealth and prosperity." - Statement in Jerusalem on Monday, standing with Netanyahu.
THE FACTS: What would have happened without the deal is impossible to say, but such an imminent collapse of Iran's economy was highly improbable.
International penalties on Iran in response to its nuclear program did drive its economy into crisis earlier this decade. But even before the nuclear deal, Iran had cut budget expenditures and fixed its balance of payments. It was still exporting oil and importing products from countries such as Japan and China.
The multinational deal froze Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to a variety of oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Iran also regained access to frozen assets held abroad. The deal was conceivably an economic "lifeline" for the state but Iran is not wealthy as a result; ordinary Iranians have seen limited benefits to date.
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TRUMP: "I don't know who the people are that would put us into a NAFTA, which was so one-sided. Both from the Canada standpoint and from the Mexico standpoint. So one-sided. Wilbur (U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross) will tell you that, you know, like, at the court in Canada, we always lose. Well, the judges are three Canadians and two Americans. We always lose." - Economist interview in May.
THE FACTS: Trump mischaracterizes the system for resolving trade disputes under the North American Free Trade Agreement. When the U.S. and Canada are at odds over trade, NAFTA calls for five-person panel to weigh in. Each country picks two panelists, drawn from a list that consists largely of trade lawyers, economists and retired judges. The fifth comes from one of the two countries and usually alternates between them.
The system "does treat all parties the same regardless of what Trump says," says Fred McMahon, a fellow at the Fraser Institute think-tank in Toronto.
Trump has a stronger case when he complains about America's losing record against Canada in NAFTA cases, though it's not true that the Americans "always lose." A 2007 study found that the NAFTA panels changed or overturned U.S. government decisions two-thirds of the time.
In those cases, the panels are supposed to base their decisions on U.S. law. But "there are a lot of folks in Washington who have felt that sometimes NAFTA panels overstep their bounds" and don't defer to American laws, says Dean Pinkert, a partner at the Hughes Hubbard & Reed law firm and former member of the U.S. International Trade Commission.
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TRUMP told Coast Guard cadets of his "historic investment in our military," adding: "I'm proud to say that under my administration, as you just heard, we will be building the first new heavy icebreakers the United States has seen in over 40 years." - speech to Coast Guard Academy May 17.
THE FACTS: Although his rousing words earned applause from the cadets, Trump's budget this past week excludes the Coast Guard from his planned expansion of military spending. He's proposing to cut the Coast Guard budget by more than $420 million, or 3.8 percent, while increasing military spending overall. The Coast Guard is under the Homeland Security Department, not the Pentagon.
The icebreaker project he boasts about started under the Obama administration and Trump's budget would advance it only incrementally, spending $19 million to continue efforts "toward awarding a contract" for design and construction in 2019. "We all know that doesn't get us an icebreaker," Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told a budget hearing, "but it gets us started."
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Associated Press writers Bradley Klapper, Paul Wiseman, Alicia A. Caldwell, Jim Drinkard, Robert Burns and Ricardo-Alonso Zaldivar contributed to this report.
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Find all AP Fact Checks at http://apne.ws/2kbx8bd
G7 leaders, from left, President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Junker, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Donald Trump, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, pose for a family photo at the Ancient Greek Theater of Taormina, Friday, May 26, 2017, in Taormina, Italy. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, May 24, 2017, before the House Budget Committee hearing on President Donald Trump's fiscal 2018 federal budget. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump's son-in-law and now top White House adviser Jared Kushner proposed a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team during a December meeting with a leading Russian diplomat.
Kushner spoke with Ambassador Sergey Kislyak about creating that line of communication to facilitate sensitive discussions aimed at exploring the incoming administration's options with Russia as it was developing its Syria policy, according to a person familiar with the discussions who spoke with The Associated Press.
The intent was to connect Trump's chief national security adviser at the time, Michael Flynn, with Russian military leaders, said this person, who wasn't authorized to publicly discuss private policy deliberations and spoke on condition of anonymity.
In this May 23, 2017, photo, White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, left, and his wife Ivanka Trump watch during a visit by President Donald Trump to Yad Vashem to honor the victims of the Holocaust in Jerusalem. The Washington Post is reporting that the FBI is investigating meetings that Trump's son-in-law, Kushner, had in December 2016, with Russian officials. Kushner, a key White House adviser, had meetings late last year with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Russia, a pivotal player in Syria, has backed Syrian President Bashar Assad, often at the expense of civilians during a long civil war.
The White House did not acknowledge the meeting or Kushner's attendance until March. At the time, a White House official dismissed it as a brief courtesy meeting.
Kushner's involvement in the proposed back channel was first reported by The Washington Post, which said he proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities for the discussions, apparently to make them more difficult to monitor.
The newspaper cited anonymous U.S. officials who were briefed on intelligence reports on intercepted Russian communications.
The Post wrote that Kislyak was reportedly taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate - a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
According to the person familiar with the Kushner meeting, the Trump team eventually felt there was no need for a back channel once Rex Tillerson was confirmed as secretary of state, and decided to communicate with Moscow through more official channels. Tillerson was sworn in on Feb. 1.
Flynn served briefly as Trump's national security adviser before being fired in February after officials said he misled Vice President Mike Pence about whether he and the ambassador had discussed U.S. sanctions against Russia in a phone call.
Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, told Congress this month that that deception left Flynn vulnerable to being blackmailed by the Russians. Flynn remains under federal investigation in Virginia over his foreign business ties and was interviewed by the FBI in January about his contacts with Kislyak.
The disclosure of the back channel put White House advisers on the defensive Saturday, as Trump wrapped up his first foreign trip as president, and led lawyers for Kushner to say he is willing to talk with federal and congressional investigators about his foreign contacts and his work on the Trump campaign.
Meeting with reporters in Sicily, two Trump advisers refused to address the contents of Kushner's December meeting with the Russian diplomat. But they did not dismiss the idea that the administration would go outside normal U.S. government and diplomatic channels for communications with other countries.
Speaking generally, national security adviser H.R. McMaster said "we have back channel communications with a number of countries." He added: "It allows you to communicate in a discreet manner."
In response to repeated questions from reporters, Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said, "We're not going to comment on Jared. We're just not going to comment."
Kushner was a trusted Trump adviser last year, overseeing the campaign's digital strategy, and remains an influential confidant within the White House as does his wife, Ivanka Trump.
Federal investigators and several congressional committees are looking into any connections between Russia and the Trump campaign, including allegations that there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
On Saturday, the AP confirmed that the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, has requested information and documents from Trump's campaign.
The request from the committee arrived last week at campaign headquarters in New York, according to person familiar with the request who wasn't authorized to discuss the developments publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It was said to be the first time any investigators have made inquiries with Trump's campaign officials.
The Post first reported the request, which covers materials such as emails, phone records and documents dating to Trump's first days as a candidate in July 2015.
Those inquiries now include scrutiny of Kushner, according to the newspaper.
Obama administration officials have previously told the AP that the frequency of Flynn's discussions with Kislyak raised enough red flags that aides discussed the possibility Trump was trying to establish a one-to-one line of communication - a back channel - with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In addition, Reuters reported that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak last year, including two phone calls between April and November. Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told Reuters that Kushner "has no recollection of the calls as described."
Defense attorneys and former FBI agents say that one likely area of interest for investigators would be Kushner's own meetings with Russians, given that such encounters with a variety of Trump associates are at the root of the sprawling probe, now overseen by former FBI Director Robert Mueller.
Regarding Kushner, former FBI agent Jim Treacy said Friday: "If there is an investigation on anybody, would other folks around that person be of interest to the FBI as far as being interviewed? The answer to that is a big yes." If the FBI wants to speak with someone, it's not necessarily an indication of involvement or complicity, said Treacy, who did two tours in Moscow as the FBI's legal attache.
"Really, being spoken to, does not confer a target status on the individual," he said.
Investigators are also interested in a meeting Kushner had with the Russian banker, Sergey Gorkov, according to reports from The Post and NBC News.
"Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings," Gorelick said in a statement Thursday. "He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry."
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Associated Press writers Eileen Sullivan, Julie Bykowicz, Chad Day and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
Jared Kushner, senior advisor of President Donald Trump, shakes hands with Pope Francis, at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
AUSTELL, Ga. (AP) - Authorities say a Georgia police officer shot and killed a man after they say he opened fire at an event center outside Atlanta.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a Saturday statement that a Cobb County police officer was responding to a fight in progress at the Elegant Point Event Hall in Austell around 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
State investigators say the police officer encountered a man with a gun who fired multiple times, and the officer then shot him. The wounded man was taken to an Atlanta hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No officers were injured.
The statement did not include details such as the identities or races of the officer and the man who was killed.
NEW YORK (AP) - Take a seat, "Thor."
Scattered plans among Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas to host women-only screenings of the upcoming "Wonder Woman" movie have produced both support and some grumbling about gender discrimination.
Various locations have taken to social media in response, including the operators of the Brooklyn theater promising on Twitter to funnel proceeds from women-only screenings in early June to Planned Parenthood. And by women only, they mean staff, too.
FILE - In this May 25, 2017 file photo, Gal Gadot arrives at the world premiere of "Wonder Woman" in Los Angeles. Scattered plans among Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas to host women-only screenings of the upcoming "Wonder Woman" movie have produced both support and some grumbling about gender discrimination. The movie opens June 2 based on the DC Comics character. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Some of the screenings were already selling out despite social media haters, many of whom are men, and several have been added.
The offer of special screenings began recently in Austin, Texas, where Alamo has held specialty screenings in the past for military veterans and others. As for "Wonder Woman," the Alamo in Brooklyn posted a statement online saying what better way to celebrate the most iconic superheroine than with "an all-female screening?"
"Apologies, gentlemen, but we're embracing our girl power and saying 'No Guys Allowed' for several special shows at the Alamo Downtown Brooklyn. And when we say 'Women (and people who identify as women)only,' we mean it. So lasso your geeky girlfriends together and grab your tickets to this celebration of one of the most enduring and inspiring characters ever created."
The movie opens June 2 based on the DC Comics character. It was directed by Patty Jenkins and stars Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince.
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - A Guatemalan judge has ruled the brother and son of President Jimmy Morales must stand trial in a case of alleged corruption.
The judge ruled late Friday the president's son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin and brother Samuel will stand trial for fraud.
They allegedly submitted about $23,000 worth of false receipts in an alleged tax fraud scheme that occurred in 2013, before Morales took office.
FILE - In this Jan. 18, 2017 photo, Samuel Everardo Morales, the brother of Guatemala's President Jimmy Morales, left center, and the president's son Jose Manuel Morales Marroquin, sit in a courtroom in Guatemala City. A judge ruled Friday, May 26, 2017, the president's son and his brother Samuel will stand trial for fraud. They allegedly submitted about $23,000 worth of false receipts in an alleged tax fraud scheme that occurred in 2013, before Morales took office. The two have said they are innocent. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)
The two have said they are innocent. Both spent about a month in jail before being released on a form of bail while the trial continues.
Guatemalan prosecutors backed by the U.N. commission have brought a string of anti-corruption cases, most notably against former President Otto Perez Molina.
Actor John Travolta will donate his 'beloved' Qantas Boeing 707 to the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society.
Travolta, an honourary pilot for Qantas, said it gave him 'great pleasure' to donate the aircraft to the Australian restoration society, which is based in Albion Park, south Sydney.
The aircraft, which the society hopes to keep in the air, was originally in the Qantas fleet, delivered in 1964 and later converted to private use.
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Hollywood actor and Qantas ambassador John Travolta pictured waving from the cockpit
John Travolta's Qantas Boeing 707 pictured on November 18, 2010 in Sydney, Australia
The famed American actor said the plane needed significant maintenance before it could make the trip from his Florida home to Australia.
Historical Aircraft Restoration Society president Bob De la Hunty told the Illawarra Mercury they planned to send an engineering team to Florida to restore it back to flying condition.
Travolta said he hoped to be on board the plane when it made the voyage to Australia.
He was unsure when it would be ready to make the flight.
Travolta said had fond memories of the plane and was excited it would continue to fly 'well into the future'.
Travolta said had fond memories of the plane and was excited it would continue to fly 'well into the future'
Inside John Travolta's vintage Qantas jet - shows a double size bed fitted with lavish detailings
John Travolta has donated his Boing 707 - decked out with dining rooms and leather chairs
On May 26, Chengdu and Paris signed an agreement of cooperation to become international friendly neighborhoods. The street signs of Chengdus Hongxing Road Section III and Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris will be presented together in Chengdu for a week. Hongxing Road Section III is the first street in central or western China to establish this strategic relationship.
According to the head of the 6th arrondissement in Paris, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, his city is striving for a friendly relationship with China. The 6th arrondissement has held Chinese New Year galas for years, and established an international friendly neighborhood relationship with Shanghais Huaihai Road in 2011.
I have always had a love for China and the Chinese people, and Im glad to carry out new cooperation with the pandas' hometown, Chengdu, Lecoq said.
Boulevard Saint-Germain is located on the left bank of the Seine River. In addition to a number of French boutiques, many historical cafes also populate the street.
Chengdu will invite French artists to create wall paintings along Hongxing Road Section III, and a famous jazz musician from France will hold concerts in Chengdu. In the future, Chengdu residents will be able to feel the fashion and romance of Paris in their own hometown, which will narrow the distance between the two cities.
ATLANTA (AP) - U.S. military officials say a soldier from Georgia has been killed in a vehicle crash in Syria.
The Department of Defense on Saturday said 22-year-old Spc. Etienne J. Murphy died of injuries sustained in a "vehicle rollover related incident" in Al-Hasakah, Syria, on Friday. No details were given.
The statement said Murphy was from Loganville, Georgia, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) east of Atlanta.
Murphy was assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield near the Georgia coast.
MADRID (AP) - Spanish authorities say five members of an ultra group that supports Barcelona have been arrested in Madrid hours before the Copa del Rey final.
The government's delegation in Madrid says police have arrested members of the "Boixos Nois" ("Crazy Boys" in Catalan) ultra group after they robbed and trashed a small store in the capital.
Police are also looking for another 13 group members they suspect participated in the incident.
Barcelona will play Alaves in the final of the Copa del Rey at Vicente Calderon Stadium later on Saturday.
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A recent fire has put a national laboratory's ability to operate safely into question.
The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board announced Friday that it will hold a hearing next month to discuss the future of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported (http://bit.ly/2qmP0CY). The board is an independent panel that advises the U.S. Department of Energy and the president.
A fire broke mid-April at the lab's PF-4 plutonium building where the plutonium cores of nuclear weapons are produced. Lab officials said that the fire was put out quickly and only caused minor injuries.
According to the report, the board is unsure if the lab is fit to continue to operate and handle increasing quantities of plutonium in coming years after a series of problems with management in the maintenance and cleanup of the dangerous materials.
The Department of Energy has announced plans to increase manufacturing of the plutonium pits at Los Alamos over the next decades. President Donald Trump's budget proposal will also increase funding for weapons work in the next fiscal year.
The moves make local nuclear watchdog groups uneasy.
"Fattening up our already bloated nuclear weapons stockpile is not going to improve our national security," said Jay Coghlan, the director of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, in a news release issued Friday. "New Mexicans desperately need better funded schools and health care, not expanded plutonium pit production that will cause more pollution and threaten our scarce water resources."
The board will have the chance to get the opinion of a number of experts on the matter at its June 7 hearing.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.sfnewmexican.com
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 35 years.
The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday at a California event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said.
The buyer was not disclosed in the sold note posted on the firm's website, and auctioneer Brigitte Kruse said she could not immediately release information about the buyer or the buyer's plans for the plane.
FILE - This undated file photo provided by GWS Auctions, Inc. shows a private jet once owned by Elvis Presley, on a runway in New Mexico. The plane has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 35 years. The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday, May 27, 2017, at an Agoura Hills, Calif., event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said. (GWS Auctions, Inc. via AP, File)
The auction house says Elvis designed the interior that has gold-tone woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit.
The jet was owned by Elvis and his father, Vernon Presley, Liveauctioneers.com says.
It has been privately owned for 35 years and sitting on a tarmac in Roswell, New Mexico.
Photos of the plane show the exterior in need of restoration and seats of the cockpit torn.
A previous owner disputed the auction house's claim the king of rock 'n' roll designed its red velvet interior.
Roy McKay told KOB-TV in Albuquerque (https://goo.gl/GpE3zV) he designed the interior himself. McKay said that when he purchased the jet, it had a two-toned gray interior and "kind of looked like a casket."
But then-GWS spokesman Carl Carter told The Associated Press the auction house is confident Elvis designed the interior, which photos show has red velvet seats and red shag carpet.
Federal Aviation Administration records show no interior changes were ever made to the jet, Carter said.
Presley was born in Tupelo on Jan. 8, 1935, and moved to Memphis with his parents at age 13. He became a leading figure in the fledgling rockabilly scene by covering songs originally performed by African-American artists like Big Mama Thornton ("Hound Dog") and Arthur Crudup ("That's All Right").
His provocative dancing and hit records turned him into one of the 20th century's most recognizable icons. Historians say his music also helped usher in the fall of racial segregation.
Elvis was 42 when he died on Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis.
FILE - This undated file photo provided by GWS Auctions, Inc. shows the interior of a private jet once owned by Elvis Presley on a runway in New Mexico. The plane has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 35 years. The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday, May 27, 2017, at an Agoura Hills, Calif., event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said. (GWS Auctions, Inc. via AP, File)
Five Ohio teachers have resigned after they slipped out of a sixth-grade camping trip for drinks and dinner.
The Washington Local Schools in Toledo, Ohio gave the teachers until Friday to quit after an investigation found they left the YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan during a five-day school trip earlier this month, reported the Toledo Blade.
Two tutors who accompanied the teachers on their dinner outings won't have their contracts renewed for next school year, officials said.
Shoreland Elementary School teachers Gregory Huebner, 37, is one of the teachers who resigned in Toledo after five left a camp to go grab drinks and dinner
Huebner worked at Shoreland School in Toledo, Ohio
The sixth graders were at YMCA Camp Copneconic in Fenton, Michigan
School board President David Hunter said a district investigation found that all the teachers and tutors drank alcohol.
The trip is supposed to be 'full-time, 24-hours' said Hunter and leaving for anything other than a short errand is forbidden.
The teachers who resigned were identified as Monac Elementary School teachers Ronald Bushrow, 46, Jamie Hesselbein, 32, Shoreland Elementary School teachers Gregory Huebner, 37, Megan Tuttle, 41, and Hiawatha Elementary teacher Lesley Snider, 39.
Two of the resigned teachers worked at Monac Elementary (above): Ronald Bushrow, 46, Jamie Hesselbein, 32
The tutors were identified as Gabrielle Hinshaw, 29, and Anna Szalkowski, 25.
District employees received additional pay to accompany students on the trip. All seven were placed on paid administrative leave May 17 as the district conducted its investigation.
Students remained supervised by parents, counselors and other teachers during the absences, school officials said.
The school district will hire teachers to replace those who resigned, Hunter said. The newspaper reported that a review of the teachers' and tutors' personnel files showed none had previously faced seriously discipline and all had received positive evaluations.
'Everything I've heard about the teachers we are losing is that they were excellent quality teachers,' Hunter said.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Police in Mexico's central state of Puebla say they rescued a marine patrol that had been surrounded by angry villagers in an area known for fuel thefts from government pipelines.
The Puebla state government said Saturday the standoff ended peacefully after military and state police went to the scene.
It did not say what caused the confrontation late Friday in the village of Cuacnopalan. Mexico has recently stepped up patrols in the area to deter thieves from drilling into pipelines.
Townspeople have sometimes sided with fuel thieves, and similar standoffs have ended violently in the past.
In early May, a confrontation between soldiers and suspected fuel thieves in a nearby town left 10 dead.
A video of that incident appeared to show a soldier executing a civilian lying face down.
Conservatives have launched a direct onslaught on Jeremy Corbyns fitness to be prime minister, as polls suggest Labour is eating deep into Theresa Mays lead as the June 8 General Election approaches.
The Tories released a video showing the Labour leader boasting about opposing anti-terror legislation and dodging questions over whether he would condemn the IRA.
And Home Secretary Amber Rudd suggested that victory for Mr Corbyn would absolutely increase the risk of future atrocities.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (Chris Radburn/PA)
The attacks came as Mr Corbyn made his strongest attempt yet to distance himself from the IRA, saying he was appalled by the terror gangs 1991 mortar attack on Downing Street and adding: The bombing campaign was completely wrong because it was taking civilian lives.
Ms Rudd told the Mail on Sunday that she spent much of her working life signing security warrants, while Mr Corbyn had spent his career opposing anti-terrorism measures.
He talks now as though he could defend the country, but for 30 years hes been against (anti-terrorism measures), she said.
I spend two hours every day signing security warrants. The only thing Corbyn would sign is our security away. Hed be a disaster.
This is the penultimate weekend of the #GE2017 campaign. We need you out talking to people for Labour. Get involved: https://t.co/f9IrKv5PrU pic.twitter.com/Nqm55rklYU Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) May 26, 2017
Asked if she was suggesting the prospect of Mr Corbyn in Downing Street meant an increased risk of atrocities, she stressed that she was not linking it to the Manchester bomb, but added: It absolutely does, yes.
Meanwhile, Mrs May revealed details of a new Commission for Countering Extremism which she will set up if she wins the election, with a remit to help government identify policies to defeat extremism and promote pluralistic values.
She revealed the Commission will be charged with clamping down on unacceptable cultural norms such as female genital mutilation, as well as acting to ensure that womens rights are upheld in all of Britains ethnic and religious communities.
Masters champion Sergio Garcia and Englands Paul Casey moved to within one shot of the leaders at the Dean & Deluca Invitational.
The pair each shot a four-under-par 66 to surge up the leaderboard in the second round in Texas.
Garcia had six birdies while Casey dropped just one shot as the duo ended day two on five under alongside Spaniard Jon Rahm and American Sean OHair.
Sergio Garcia (Peter Byrne/PA)
Four tied at the top, but the big names are lurking close behind.
The Upshot:https://t.co/VMxsq2yFAl pic.twitter.com/bfvcMQqOrU PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 27, 2017
The quartet trail major winner Web Simpson, his fellow Americans Scott Piercy and Kevin Kisner, and New Zealands Danny Lee, whose 64 was the lowest round of the week so far.
Simpson birdied the last three holes to take a share of the clubhouse lead as he searches for his first PGA Tour victory since 2013.
Jordan Spieth will return at the weekend after missing the cut in his last two tournaments. The defending champion recovered from dropping shots on three of his first five holes to shoot a 68, leaving him four shots off the lead.
Garcia and Casey started the day four shots back and each birdied their first two holes.
The Spaniard dropped a shot on the fourth but picked up back-to-back birdies on the sixth and seventh. A bogey on the 10th was followed by a 12-foot putt for birdie on the next hole and another gain on the par-three 16th left him four under for the day.
Casey, who started on the back nine, dropped his only shot on the 12th but bounced back with a gain on the 13th. He then birdied the first and, after saving par with a 25-foot putt on the fifth, gained another shot on the sixth.
Northern Irelands Graeme McDowell is two shots off the lead after a superb recovery on the back nine saw him follow up his first-round 66 with a level-par 70.
McDowell was three over at the turn, having three-putted for a double bogey at the third and then dropped further shots at the sixth and the eighth. But a stunning approach on the 10th gave him a short putt for birdie, and further gains followed on the 11th and 14th.
Philippines military jets fired rockets at militant positions on Saturday as soldiers fought to wrest control of a southern city from gunmen linked to the Islamic State group, witnesses said.
Civilians waved flags from their windows to show they are not combatants.
The city of Marawi, home to some 200,000 people, has been under siege by IS-linked militants since a failed raid on Tuesday night on a suspected hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washingtons list of most-wanted terrorists.
(Bullit Marquez/AP)
Hapilon got away and fighters loyal to him took over parts of the city, burning buildings and seizing about a dozen hostages, including a priest. Their condition was not known.
At least 44 people have died in the fighting, including 31 militants and 11 soldiers, officials said. It was not clear whether civilians were among the dead.
The violence prompted President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday to declare 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines, where a Muslim rebellion has raged for decades. But the recent violence has raised fears that extremism could be growing as smaller militant groups unify and align themselves with the ideology of IS.
Although Hapilon and other groups in the southern Philippines have pledged allegiance to IS, there is no clear sign of significant, material ties.
(Bullit Marquez/AP)
Thousands of civilians have been fleeing.
I saw two jets swoop down and fire at rebel positions repeatedly, security guard Alexander Mangundatu told the Associated Press in Marawi as a plume of black smoke billowed in the distance.
I pity the civilians and the women who were near the targeted area. Theyre getting caught in the conflict and I hope this ends soon.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Restituto Padilla said government forces are working to clear the city of all remnants of this group.
He said some civilians had refused to evacuate because they want to guard their homes, slowing down the government operations.
But thats fine as long as civilians are not hurt, he added.
On Friday, Mr Duterte ordered his troops to crush the militants, warning that the country is at a grave risk of contamination by IS.
He told soldiers in Iligan, a city near Marawi, that he had long feared that contamination by Isis loomed in the countrys future, using the acronym for IS.
You can say that Isis is here already, he said.
Giant panda populations have been on the rise in southwestern Chinas Sichuan province, as the region has taken effective measures to protect the rare species.
According to Sichuans fourth giant panda survey in 2015, the province was home to 1,387 wild giant pandas, accounting for almost 74.4 percent of the country's total. That number was a 15 percent increase compared with 15 years before.
The province had over 2 million hectares of natural habitat for giant pandas in 2015, 78.7 percent of the countrys total, the surveyed indicated. Giant pandas are mainly distributed across 37 counties in Sichuan, the provincial forestry department said. About 61.5 percent of wild giant pandas and 49.5 percent of their natural habitat are under effective protection, thanks to the creation of 46 natural reserves.
Shi Xiaogang, head of the Mujiangping protection area in Wolong National Nature Reserve, estimates the number of wild giant pandas living within the protection station to be around 70. Shi, 45, has been doing wild animal protection work for 25 years. The Mujiangping protection station, where he has worked for the past three years, covers a total area of 73,600 hectares. It has 18 employees responsible for the protection of its panda residents.
Shi said he and his coworkers station themselves in the wild every month except February, carrying out research on the distribution areas, growth and decline, habitat changes and conditions of giant panda corridors.
Great progress has been made in protection over over the past 25 years, Shi said. Now, GPS, infrared cameras, a giant panda DNA database and other advanced methods can provide more accurate information about the lives and status of giant pandas, he added.
By the end of 2016, Sichuan had trained 13 captive-bred pandas to survive in the wild, and released seven of them. In October of last year, Hua Yan and Zhang Meng, two female captive-bred giant pandas, were released into the wild, the first case of two such pandas being released at the same time.
Sichuan has taken effective measures to address the breeding and survival rates of giant panda cubs. Now the province is home to 407 captive-bred giant pandas, ranking first in the country. The China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda has 231 pandas in residence, while 176 live at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding.
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has been killed in an explosion during clashes with the Islamic State group west of Mosul, an Iraqi official said.
The news came as aid groups voiced concern for the safety of civilians after Iraqs government called for residents in militant-held neighbourhoods of the city to flee immediately.
General Shaaban Nasiiri was an adviser to Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds Force. Mr Soleimani has acted as a key adviser to Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces an umbrella group of mostly Shiite militia forces sanctioned by the Iraqi government in the fight against IS since 2014. The Iraqi official said Gen Nasiiri was killed on Friday and is the first senior Iranian commander to die in the Mosul fight.
Neighbours Manhal Samir and Abdulrahman Mohammed examine damage in western Mosul (Balint Szlanko/AP)
Inside Mosul, US-backed Iraqi forces began the push to retake the Old City on Saturday morning, moving in on the district from three directions, according to a statement from Nineveh operations command, the authority overseeing the Mosul fight.
The IS hold on Mosul has shrunk to just a handful of neighbourhoods in and around the Old City district where narrow streets and a dense civilian population is expected to complicate the fight there. Iraqi planes dropped leaflets over the area on Friday telling civilians to flee immediately to safe passages where they will be greeted by guides, protectors and (transportation) to reach safe places, according to a government statement.
However, it is unclear how the government intends to ensure safe passage for civilians as IS fighters have repeatedly targeted fleeing civilians with small arms and mortar fire.
Ruins of a house in western Mosul (Balint Szlanko/AP)
The move to clear the Old City marks a shift in approach. Since the Mosul operation was launched in October, Iraqi forces have encouraged civilians to remain in their homes to avoid massive displacement. However, more than 730,000 people have fled the fight to date, according to United Nations figures.
As many as 200,000 additional people may try to leave in coming days, the UN said in a statement on Saturday following the call for Old City civilians to leave. Save the Children warned on Friday that fleeing civilians could be caught in the crossfire, leading to deadly chaos. Both Iraqi forces and IS fighters are obligated under international law to protect civilians, the UN statement added.
More than 100,000 civilians are estimated to still be inside IS-held Mosul neighbourhoods.
While US-backed forces have fought inside Mosul during the operation to retake it from IS, Iraqs Popular Mobilisation Forces have largely operated in the deserts to the west ,cutting supply lines and attempting to begin securing Iraqs border with Syria.
While some Iraqi commanders said they hoped to retake the city before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which began on Friday night, gruelling urban combat has repeatedly slowed the pace of operations.
England left Chris Woakes out as a precaution for the second Royal London Series one-day international against South Africa, recalling Jake Ball in his place.
The switch of frontline seamers was the only change to a winning team, with all-rounder Ben Stokes declared fit after his knee injury scare as England sought an unassailable 2-0 series lead at the Ageas Bowl.
.@JakeBall replaces @chriswoakes, who is rested due to a tight quad muscle in his right leg. England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 27, 2017
Woakes has felt muscle tightness in his right leg and England decided to take no chances with him as the Champions Trophy looms next week.
England's Chris Woakes (Tim Goode/PA)
On a heavily overcast morning, South Africa unsurprisingly chose to bowl first having made three changes to the team which lost at Headingley on Wednesday.
Debutant spinner Keshav Maharaj, Farhaan Behardien and Dwaine Pretorius all came in as Imran Tahir, JP Duminy and Wayne Parnell made way.
Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the IRAs bombing campaign after coming under severe pressure to single out the terror group for criticism.
The Labour leader said the IRAs bombing campaign was completely wrong because it killed civilians.
Mr Corbyn has come under fire over his association with Irish republicans and for failing to single out the IRA for criticism and instead condemning all bombing during Northern Irelands Troubles.
A white van burns outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall after an attempted mortar attack in 1991 (PA)
But asked about his reaction when Downing Street and then-prime minister Sir John Major were targeted in an IRA mortar attack in 1991, Mr Corbyn told reporters in Hackney Marshes, east London: Obviously appalled. I was in Parliament at the time, I heard the attack go off.
And the bombing campaign was completely wrong because it was taking civilian lives and there had to be a process that dealt with the basis of it in Northern Ireland.
And fortunately politicians in Northern Ireland, firstly on the national(ist) side, Gerry Adams and John Hume, privately got together and brought about the Hume-Adams accord, that moved on to agreements between the nationalists and the unionist side, which eventually led to the peace process which was a recognition of the shared history of Ireland from extremely different cultural perspectives and that led to the Northern Ireland peace process, which I think was the great success of the 1997 (Labour) government.
Mr Corbyn, left, with Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams in 1996 (PA)
The Labour leader has faced repeated questions about his association with the IRA and its political wing Sinn Fein during the 1980s and 1990s.
On Monday he condemned all acts of violence from wherever they came during the Troubles, but declined to specifically denounce the IRA as terrorists.
On Friday, the BBCs Andrew Neil pointed out to him in an interview that the IRA had killed 1,800 people.
Mr Corbyn replied: Yes. And people were killed by Loyalist bombs as well. All deaths are appalling, all deaths are wrong. There isnt a military solution to a conflict between traditions and communities. There has to be a better way and a better process of doing it.
Despite Mr Corbyns insistence in Fridays interview that he had never met the IRA, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott suggested he may have met members of the terror group in their roles as Sinn Fein activists.
Diane Abbot defended Jeremy Corbyn (PA)
Confronted during an interview on LBC radio with reports that Mr Corbyn had shared platforms with convicted bomber Brendan McKenna and IRA member Raymond McCartney, Ms Abbott said: He met with Sinn Fein. I think his understanding is he met with them in a capacity as activists in Sinn Fein.
I think we have to distinguish between conducting private meetings and supporting violent attacks and actually being on a platform.
Ms Abbott declined to disown comments in a 1988 interview with a pro-Republican journal in which she reportedly said: Every defeat of the British state is a victory for all of us. A defeat in Northern Ireland would be a defeat indeed.
But she said the comment was made 34 years ago and that she had since moved on.
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said: Jeremy Corbyns lies have been exposed by his own shadow home secretary. Just hours after Corbyn claimed he had never met the IRA, Diane Abbott says he did and she disgracefully sought to defend it.
British environmentalists accused Donald Trump of treating the international community with utter contempt after he refused to sign up to global action on climate change at an international summit.
The US President told leaders of the G7 countries that they would have to wait until next week for his decision on whether America would honour its undertakings under the Paris Agreement to limit global warming.
Under pressure from other G7 states the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan Mr Trump put his name to commitments to avoid trade protectionism and preserve a rules-based trade system.
But he refused to join the consensus on climate change, sending a tweet to say: I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!
European leaders made little attempt to hide their frustration, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel describing discussions on climate change at the gathering in Sicily as very unsatisfying.
And the White House said G7 leaders had a very robust conversation before agreeing a final communique which stated the strong commitment of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the UK to the 2015 Agreement, but noted that the US was not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.
Friends of the Earth CEO Craig Bennett said Mr Trump who once dismissed man-made climate change as a Chinese-inspired hoax risked turning the US into a pariah state unless he finally came out in support of the Agreement, which aims to stop global temperatures from rising more than two degrees centigrade and was accepted by his predecessor Barack Obama last year.
Trumps unwillingness to support the Paris Agreement highlights his utter contempt towards science, the international community and welfare of millions of people across the globe, said Mr Bennett.
.@POTUS stands with fellow G7 leaders in #Italy for a group photo at the Greek Theater of Taormina. #POTUSAbroad #G7Taormina pic.twitter.com/j77gtKqUXD Department of State (@StateDept) May 26, 2017
The world will not stand idly by whilst Donald Trump takes a wrecking ball to global efforts to prevent catastrophic climate change one of the biggest challenges the world faces. Trumps short-sighted actions could make the US into a pariah state. We urge him to surprise us all next week and come out showing his support for Paris.
Mrs Merkel told reporters: The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very unsatisfying.
There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not.
Family video of the leaders of G7 and outreach countries and representatives of international organizations #G7Taormina pic.twitter.com/2jEWUrEcTK G7 GER (@G7) May 27, 2017
And the summits host, Italian PM Paolo Gentiloni, said the other six G7 states wont change our position on climate change one millimetre. The US hasnt decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way.
Gentiloni said climate was not a minor point and that he hoped the United States would decide soon and well because the Paris accords need the contribution of the United States.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised Mr Trumps capacity to listen and his intention to progress with us.
Mr Macron and Mr Trump embrace during a social evening at the G7 summit (Andrew Medichini/AP)
Mr Macron said he told the US President that it was indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris agreement.
The SNP manifesto will focus on opportunities and support for young people, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The party is to publish its proposals on Tuesday after delaying it in the wake of the Manchester bombing.
Visiting the East Dunbartonshire constituency on Saturday, the First Minister promised to put young people at the centre of the manifesto.
She said: Now more than ever, we need strong SNP voices at Westminster standing up for Scotlands young people.
Young people are our future the most valuable resource that we have and its important that we create the best opportunities for them to get ahead in life and to achieve their potential.
The Tories think they can get away with passing the burden of deeper cuts and further austerity on to families, which can often hit children the hardest. The SNP will never sit idly by and let them take those opportunities away.
Child poverty
Pensions cut
Family incomes squeezed
The real cost of voting Tory. #VoteSNP #GE17 https://t.co/pWrEivIOws The SNP (@theSNP) May 27, 2017
The SNPs manifesto will commit to investing in education, the removal of Child Tax Credits clauses, the restoration of housing support for 18 to 21-year-olds across the UK and lowering the voting age to 16 in all elections.
Ms Sturgeon said: We wont discriminate against third or subsequent children in families receiving Child Tax Credits and we wont make women prove they were raped to get the support theyre entitled to.
Well give housing benefit to those who need it, in spite of Tory cuts putting more young people at risk of homelessness.
Nicola Sturgeon (Jane Barlow/PA)
In Scotland, we already put our trust in 16 and 17-year-olds to play their part in building a better nation and having their voices heard in our democracy. We will put forward proposals at Westminster to give them that opportunity at all elections.
On June 8, young people have a huge amount at stake. The SNP will always stand up for them, for their future and for their right to have their voice heard.
Meanwhile, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie vowed to stand against the political dividers of our time, as he hit out at the SNP and the Conservatives.
We proudly stand against the dividers of our time by standing for the majority of people in Scotland. #GE2017 pic.twitter.com/ViiRQRZuP0 Scottish Lib Dems (@scotlibdems) May 27, 2017
On a visit to an alpaca farm on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Mr Rennie said: A majority of people in Scotland want to keep the United Kingdom but the SNP want to divide it. They do not speak for Scotland.
The SNP should cancel their plans for a divisive referendum on independence.
And a majority of people in Scotland want to keep the European Union but the Conservatives want to divide that. They do not speak for Scotland.
He added: No-one else stands with the majority of Scotland for the United Kingdom and for the European Union. Liberal Democrats do.
We are pro-UK, pro-Europe and progressive. And we will stand against the actions of the political dividers of our time.
It has been a muted week for the real Donald Trump, the Twitter account where the president normally says a lot of things that are unreal.
Other frequent sources of free-range Trump extended TV interviews, news conferences, speeches to supporters were also missing on his first foreign trip since taking office.
Even a more cautious or scripted Trump, though, does not always tell it straight, and the release of his proposed budget stirred a fresh round of questionable rhetoric from his stateside aides.
A look at some of the statements under scrutiny over the past week:
But 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they are supposed to be paying for their defence. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States and many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, and not paying in those past years. remarks to Nato on Thursday
This is a misleading depiction of Nato military spending. Members of the alliance are not in arrears in their military spending.
Nato members agreed in 2014 on a goal of spending 2% of their economy on their own military budgets by 2014, a development that would lighten the burden on the US Most member nations are short of 2%. But the agreement was merely to move toward that goal over a decade.
Trump speaks as if Nato partners are failing to meet a current standard, and they are not. They are not in debt to the United States, and Washington is not trying to collect anything, despite the presidents contention that they owe massive amounts of money from past years.
US military spending amounted to 3.3% of its GDP in 2015, says the World Bank, compared with 1.5% for European Union members, 4.9% for Russia and 2.3% worldwide.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte addresses troops on the outskirts of Iligan (Bullit Marquez/AP)
I just wanted to congratulate you because I am hearing of the unbelievable job on the drug problem. Many countries have the problem, we have a problem, but what a great job you are doing and I just wanted to call and tell you that. Philippine government transcript of April 29 phone call, reported by The Washington Post.
Trumps own State Departments human rights report, updated in March, described in harsh terms the more than 6,000 killings by police and vigilantes of suspected Philippine drug dealers and users. The killings, carried out without formal evidence or trials, were to fulfil a Duterte campaign promise to eliminate illegal drug activity in the country by the end of last year.
The report said Duterte released lists of suspected drug criminals on at least two occasions and some on those lists were killed in police or vigilante operations. It says authorities made promises of immunity from investigation and prosecution for officers involved in drug killings.
Mr. President, thank you for your historic visit, for your unbelievably moving gestures in a concentrated 36 hour period in Israel. pic.twitter.com/miYEsWiwTw Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) May 23, 2017
Just so you understand, I never mentioned the word or the name Israel, never mentioned it in that conversation. And theyre all saying I did. So you have another story wrong. remarks at a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Trump is denying saying something that he was not alleged to have said in the first place. His comment steers around the issue that emanated from that meeting that he divulged classified information about an Islamic State threat in his conversation with the Russians, perhaps in a compromising way that would enable Russia to trace the source of the intelligence.
Trump is not alleged to have told the Russians specifically that the information came from the Israelis. Israels link was established separately, in news reports.
Budget Director Mick Mulvaney testifies on Capitol Hill (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
There are no Medicaid cuts in the terms of what ordinary human beings would refer to as a cut. We are not spending less money one year than we spent before. at a briefing on Tuesday.
: Mulvaney is being artfully evasive about the health care programme for families and the poor. By any conventional measure of federal financing, the programme is on the chopping block.
First, the Trump-supported rollback of former president Barack Obamas health care law would reduce federal money that 31 states and the District of Columbia have relied on to extend coverage to low-income adults under Medicaid. The Republican health care bill passed by the House would cap the overall federal share of Medicaid spending, meaning it would no longer be an open-ended entitlement.
Second, the Trump budget could compound those restrictions by reducing the rate of growth in federal Medicaid money even more. Under the budget, Medicaid spending would fall from 2% of the economy to 1.7% in 2027 due to reductions in spending projections by Trump. That slight decrease adds up to more than 600 billion dollars (469 billion) over 10 years.
Obama's expectations for growth were in line with accepted economic views at the time (Andrew Milligan/PA)
: I went back and looked at some of the economic assumptions that the Obama administration made in its first couple of years. And I want to say on a couple of different occasions, their assumed growth rate was more than 4.5%. Come on, this is the first administration in history okay? it was the first decade, the first eight-year period in history not to have a 3% growth rate. Yet they were promising us 4.5% growth. at a briefing Tuesday.
: Obamas expectations for growth were in line with accepted economic views at the time. That is because accelerated growth often follows a downturn. He took office in a deep recession, and his team figured the economy would naturally rebound at a stronger pace than its average growth rate.
Obamas first budget in 2009 estimated growth would be above 4% in 2011, 2012 and 2013. It would then settle into an average growth rate of 2.6% starting in 2015. That is not that far from separate estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
The economy expanded instead at a sluggish pace, closer to 2% a year. Trumps budget is more ambitious than Obamas, rosy but thin on rationale for the optimism. It anticipates shifting growth above 3%, much higher than Obamas long-term average.
: I think they would have failed, totally failed within six months. We gave them a lifeline and we not only gave them a lifeline, we gave them wealth and prosperity. Statement in Jerusalem on Monday, standing with Benjamin Netanyahu.
: What would have happened without the deal is impossible to say, but such an imminent collapse of Irans economy was highly improbable.
International penalties on Iran in response to its nuclear programme did drive its economy into crisis earlier this decade. But even before the nuclear deal, Iran had cut budget expenditures and fixed its balance of payments. It was still exporting oil and importing products from countries such as Japan and China.
The multinational deal froze Irans nuclear programme in return for an end to a variety of oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran. Iran also regained access to frozen assets held abroad. The deal was conceivably an economic lifeline for the state but Iran is not wealthy as a result; ordinary Iranians have seen limited benefits to date.
Paul Casey holed a 23-foot putt on the 18th to leave himself within two shots of the lead at the Dean and Deluca Invitational.
Englands Casey, who is without a win on the PGA Tour since 2009, goes into the final day behind only leader Webb Simpson after recording a two-under-par 68 in the third round in Texas.
Casey is joined on seven under par by New Zealands Danny Lee, while American duo Stewart Cink and Kevin Kisner are both one shot further back.
Paul Casey
Defending champion Jordan Spieth is five shots off the lead on four under, as is Masters champion Sergio Garcia, who had three bogeys in a one-over 71.
Casey started the third round one shot behind four co-leaders.
He reached the turn in 36 following a dropped shot on the eighth but began the back nine with successive birdies.
Cumulative scoring average through 3 rounds @DeanDeLucaInv is 71.44, the highest at Colonial since 1991. @PGATOUR PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) May 27, 2017
Another bogey on the 12th threatened to stall his progress but he responded by sending his tee shot to within four feet at the par-three 13th for a birdie, before his superb putt on the last left him right in contention for a win on Sunday.
Simpson, the 2012 US Open champion, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth but birdies on the first, second, 10th and 11th saw him sign for a three-under 67.
Lee, who shot the weeks lowest score on Friday, kept in touch with a 69. He had three birdies and three bogeys in his first eight holes, before recording nine successive pars and then draining a 16-foot putt on the last for birdie.
The sweet swing of @dannygolf72.
Co-leader of the @DeanDeLucaInv. pic.twitter.com/R2FVPUelWe PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 27, 2017
Northern Irelands Graeme McDowell slipped back on day three, as a two-over 72 left him seven shots off the pace.
Casey believes the improvement in his putting this week will leave him in a good place for the rest of the season.
Ive been working really hard on (putting), he told pgatour.com. In weeks Ive putted well Ive always had a chance to win or Ive won golf tournaments.
I havent seen it yet but were seeing it this week. Theres one more round to go but its looking good.
Im looking forward to not only tomorrow but the rest of the season. Im very excited about how Ive been playing.
MEXICO CITY, May 26 (Reuters) - Mexican police found on Friday the decapitated bodies of five people with apparent signs of torture in the Gulf Coast state of Veracruz, which has long been ravaged by drug smugglers and human traffickers.
"The investigation shows that the victims are male and our work continues to identify them," the state attorney general's office said in a statement without providing further details.
A photo of the crime scene where the bodies were dumped in the township of Juan Rodriguez Clara in southern Veracruz, seen by Reuters, shows the bloodied bodies piled in an empty field. There was a letter next to the bodies, which local media said was authored by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel
Home to Mexico's main Atlantic port, Veracruz suffered a surge in violence in 2016, with murders leaping by 123 percent to 1,258 from the previous year, official data showed.
Veracruz former Governor Javier Duarte was arrested in Guatemala in April and faces prosecution for embezzlement and organized crime in Mexico. (Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
By Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials told Reuters.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official.
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the presidents inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Multiple attempts to obtain comment from Kushner or his representatives were unsuccessful.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish "a line of communication." Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.
BACK CHANNEL
Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving U.S.-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the Nov. 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the Nov. 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. . Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
HOW KUSHNER CAME UNDER SCRUTINY
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of U.S. citizens, whose names were redacted because of U.S. privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask U.S. intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current U.S. law enforcement official said.
Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current U.S. law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under U.S. sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of U.S. banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. (Reporting by Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by John Walcott, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ross Colvin)
JERUSALEM, May 27 (Reuters) - Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday ended a 40-day hunger strike over conditions in Israeli jails, the Israel Prison Service and a Palestinian official said.
About 1,100 inmates had initially taken part in one of the largest such hunger strikes, which began on April 17. It raised tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, with protests in support of the strikers spilling over into clashes in the West Bank and along the Israel-Gaza border.
More than 800 inmates, who had stuck with the hunger strike until Saturday, ended it after talks held with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Authority to change some of the prisoners' conditions, a Prison Service Statement said.
On Wednesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein urged Israel to improve conditions.
Neither the Prison Service nor the Palestinian Authority divulged the full details of the agreement. However, the Prison Service did say that a second monthly family visit would be reinstated after it had been cut in the past.
Qadoura Fares, head of the Palestinian Prisoners' Club, which works on behalf of inmates, said some points of the agreement would be discussed further.
"Issues that had been agreed upon were improving visits and prison conditions," Fares told Reuters.
The strike was called by Marwan Barghouti, the most high-profile Palestinian jailed in Israel, to protest against solitary confinement and detention without trial, which has been applied to thousands of prisoners since the 1980s. Israel says that measure is necessary to prevent attacks and protect security sources.
Barghouti, a leader in Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement, was convicted of murder over the killing of Israelis during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, and sentenced in 2004 to five life terms. Surveys show many Palestinians want him to be their next president.
Israeli Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan has said Barghouti started the strike in order to garner political support.
The Prison Service said that most of the inmates on strike were aligned with Fatah. Eighteen were being treated in hospital.
Hunger strikes are not uncommon among the 6,500 Palestinians held in Israeli jails, many of whom were convicted of attacks or planning attacks against Israelis. (Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta in Ramallah; Writing by Ori Lewis; Editing by Maayan Lubell and Andrew Bolton)
A group of senior college students from Yunnan Technology and Business University recently staged a photo shoot for their dorm mothers before graduation.
On May 20, after putting makeup on the women and dressing them in cheong-sam, the students began photographing their dorm mothers all around campus. The photos were later uploaded to Sina Weibo, earning widespread appreciation, especially from alumni of the university.
A total of eight images were uploaded, and each one contained two photos. One was of the dorm managers at work and the other was from the photo shoot. The oldest woman is about 50, while the youngest is 35. They look beautiful and resplendent in the photos, especially given the sharp contrast.
We did this to express our appreciation, and also in memory of our college life, said one of the students, surnamed Wei. Wei noted that students often forget about these women, who have worked so hard to take care of them. In addition, most of the dorm mothers never had the opportunity to take such photos when they were younger. As a result, Wei brainstormed the photo shoot as a way to say thank you and made it happen with the help of her classmates.
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27 (Reuters) - Group of Seven (G7) leaders have still not agreed to joint language on the issues of trade and Russia, a G7 source said, hours before their final communique is due to be published.
The source said diplomats had been unable to resolve whether the communique would include a pledge to fight against "protectionism" and a separate threat to take additional action against Russia, if warranted, for its intervention in Ukraine.
Language on climate change has been finalised, the source said. The communique will specify that six of the seven countries back the 2015 Paris Agreement and that the United States had been given more time to decide on its stance.
G7 leaders were due to finalise the language on trade and Russia on Saturday afternoon, the source said. (Reporting by Noah Barkin; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
By Maher Chmaytelli and Isabel Coles
BAGHDAD/MOSUL, Iraq, May 27 (Reuters) - Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.
The fall of the city would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" declared nearly three years ago by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.
The enclave includes the Old City centre and three adjacent districts along the western bank of the Tigris river.
The U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, now in its eighth month, has taken longer than planned as the militants are dug in among civilians.
"The joint forces have began liberating the remaining districts," an Iraqi military statement said.
Another military statement announced the death of two Iraqi colonels during the fighting on Saturday.
Desperate civilians trapped behind Islamic State lines now face a harrowing situation with little food and water, no electricity and limited access to hospitals.
The Iraqi air force dropped leaflets on Friday urging residents to flee but humanitarian groups say they fear for the safety of those trying to escape.
BLACK FLAG FLYING SINCE 2014
The push inside the Old City coincides with the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The offensive's prime target is the medieval al-Nuri mosque with its landmark leaning minaret, where Islamic State's black flag has been flying since mid-2014.
Iraqi armed forces hope to capture the mosque - where Baghdadi announced the "caliphate" - in the next few days.
Residents in the Old City sounded desperate in telephone interviews over the past few days.
"We're waiting for death at any moment, either by bombing or starving," one said, asking not to be identified. "Adults eat one meal a day, either flour or lentil soup."
The United Nations expressed deep concern for the hundreds of thousands of civilians behind Islamic State lines, in a statement on Saturday from the organisation's under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen O'Brien.
"Although the U.N. is not present in the areas where fighting is occurring, we have received very disturbing reports of families being shut inside booby-trapped homes and of children being deliberately targeted by snipers," he said.
Residents said millet, usually used as bird feed, is being cooked like rice as food prices increased ten-fold. People were seen collecting wild mallow plants in abandoned lots and also eating mulberry leaves and other plants.
About 700,000 people, about a third of the pre-war city's population, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps.
The insurgents are also retreating in Syria, mainly in the face of U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces.
The insurgency is expected to continue in the sparsely populated desert region along the Syrian border even if Mosul is fully captured.
Iranian-backed Shi'ite paramilitary forces are fighting Islamic State in that part of the country where Baghdadi is believed to be, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
On Saturday Iran announced for the first time the death of a senior commander during the operations launched in October to drive the Islamist militants out of Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province.
Shaaban Nassiri, a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed west of Mosul, near the border with Syria, according to Mashregh, an Iranian news website.
The IRGC is the main backer of the Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary force known as Popular Mobilisation. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is aiming to control the border in coordination with the Iranian-backed Syrian army..
Linking up the two sides would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a significant advantage in the six-year rebellion against his rule. (Additional reporting by Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad; Writing by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
BRATISLAVA, May 27 (Reuters) - Western nations should add sanctions against Russia as the current ones are not working well enough to resolve the Ukraine crisis, Lithuania's foreign minister said on Saturday.
The 28-nation European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The EU has so far kept a united front in keeping sanctions until a ceasefire agreement signed in Minsk in 2015 is implemented, despite criticism from some leaders of the bloc.
The United States' resolve, though, has sometimes come under doubt under new President Donald Trump.
Lithuania shares a border with Russia and the annexation of Crimea has raised worry in it and its Baltic neighbours over Russian aggression.
Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said sanctions remained the only leverage the West had to press Russia.
"If they are not working well, let's add sanctions," he said at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum when asked whether the current sanctions were working.
"I believe we should but it is not so easy," he added.
The diplomatic stand-off with Russia has dragged relations between Moscow and the West to a post-Cold War low.
European Council President Donald Tusk urged Group of Seven leaders on Friday to stick to the sanctions policy.
Tusk was responding to comments by White House economic adviser Gary Cohn on Thursday that appeared to differ to those from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has repeatedly said sanctions must remain until Minsk is put in place.
But speaking on Friday, Cohn said, "We're not lowering our sanctions on Russia. If anything we would look to get tougher on Russia. The president wants to keep the sanctions in place and I think the president has made it clear how the Russians could have the sanctions lifted."
Fighting between pro-Russian rebels and government forces first broke out in April 2014. About 10,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict and concerns are growing that the situation could once again rapidly deteriorate. (Reporting by Tatiana Jancarikova and Jason Hovet)
By Gul Yousufzai
QUETTA, Pakistan, May 27 (Reuters) - Iranian mortar fire on Saturday killed a Pakistani civilian in the western Baluchistan province that shares a long border with Iran, a regional Pakistani official said.
Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been at a low ebb since 10 Iranian border guards were killed by militants last month. Iran said that, in that incident, Jaish al Adl, a Sunni militant group, had opened fire from inside Pakistan.
Earlier this month the head of the Iranian armed forces warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government did not confront Sunni militants who carry out cross-border attacks.
Abdul Jabbar, deputy commissioner of the Panjgur district in Baluchistan, said Iranian border security forces had fired "many" mortar shells and rockets over the last two days.
"A Pakistani man was killed when a mortar shell hit his pickup while passing through the area," said Jabbar.
He added that Pakistani officials had lodged a protest with Iranian authorities and asked for a meeting on Sunday.
Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.
(Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
By John Irish and Crispian Balmer
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27 (Reuters) - Under pressure from Group of Seven allies, U.S. President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism on Saturday, but refused to endorse a global climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide.
The summit of G7 wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they had hoped were long settled.
However, diplomats stressed there was broad agreement on an array of foreign policy problems, including the renewal of a threat to slap further economic sanctions on Russia if its interference in neighbouring Ukraine demanded it.
"We are satisfied by how things went," said Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, while acknowledging splits with Washington in some areas. "We do not disguise this division. It emerged very clearly in our conversations."
Trump himself hailed what he called "a tremendously productive meeting", saying he had strengthened U.S. ties with longstanding partners.
The president, who has previously called global warming a hoax, came under concerted pressure from the other leaders to honour the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions.
Although he tweeted that he would make a decision next week, his apparent reluctance to embrace the first-ever legally binding global climate deal that was signed by 195 countries clearly annoyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," she told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."
Putting a positive spin on it, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure Trump, who he praised as "pragmatist", would back the deal having listened to his G7 counterparts.
"Only a few weeks ago, people thought that the United States would pull out and that no talks would be possible," said Macron, who, like Trump, was making his first G7 appearance.
Merkel, by contrast, was attending her 12th such gathering, and clearly believed she had overcome climate change scepticism at a 2007 summit, when she convinced the then U.S. President George W. Bush to pursue substantial cuts in greenhouse gases.
PROTECTIONISM
Disappointment over the Paris Agreement was countered by relief when Trump agreed on Saturday to language in the final G7 communique that pledged "to fight all forms of protectionism" and committed to a rules-based international trade system.
During his election campaign, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it was renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany "very bad" on trade because of its U.S. surplus.
In a tweet after his plane took off, Trump said he had had "great meetings on everything, especially on trade", highlighting the part of the communique which called "for the removal of all trade-distorting practices".
He made no mention of protectionism.
Meeting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of Africa.
The internal G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Britain on Monday, that killed 22, overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined the world leaders to discuss their continent's potential.
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the crisis in Libya - the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of migrants looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticised them for not honouring aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions.
"Be it Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through development that we will prevent illegal migration," Issoufou said.
The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider audience.
Security questions dominated discussions on Friday, with the leaders vowing to work harder to combat terrorism and calling on internet providers and social media firms to "substantially increase" efforts to rein in extremist content.
Speaking to U.S. servicemen and women at the end of the summit, Trump promised to defeat terrorism and said he had made "extraordinary gains to advance security".
The speech was the last engagement of his first foreign tour since taking office - a trip that took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Rome, Brussels and Sicily.
"I think we hit a home run no matter where we are," Trump said, before boarding his plane back to Washington. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Steve Scherer, Giselda Vagnoni, John Irish, Andrea Rinke and Noah Barkin; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
KABUL, May 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan announced it had reopened a major border crossing with Afghanistan on Saturday, more than three weeks after several people were killed when troops from both sides exchanged fire for several hours.
The Chaman crossing into Afghanistan's Kandahar province was reopened on "humanitarian grounds" after Afghan officials submitted a request, according to a statement by the Pakistani military.
"It has been agreed upon by Pakistan authorities that cease fire shall continue to be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable," the statement said, noting that Pakistani troops will maintain positions along the border.
Afghan officials were not immediately available for comment.
On May 5 Pakistan's military said a census team - guarded by troops from its Frontier Corps (FC) - that was collecting population data in a village near the border town of Chaman came under fire and at least one person was killed and 18 wounded.
At the time, Zia Durani, police spokesman for Afghanistan's Kandahar province, said Pakistani officials were using the census as a cover for "malicious activities and to provoke villagers against the government".
Afghan officials said dozens of Afghan and Pakistani troops were killed in the fighting.
Landlocked Afghanistan depends heavily on cross-border trade with Pakistan, not only for daily resources, but also international humanitarian aid for hundreds of thousands of people displaced by fighting and economic malaise.
Tension has been increasing in recent months with each side accusing the other of not doing enough to stop militants engaging in cross-border raids.
Last year, Pakistan started building a barrier at the main border crossing in the town of Torkham, near the Khyber Pass, angering Afghanistan which has never formally recognised the colonial-era Durand Line border drawn up in 1893. (Writing by Josh Smith; Editing by Toby Chopra)
PARIS, May 27 (Reuters) - Sam Stosur retained her Australian number one position as she claimed the Strasbourg International title with a 5-7 6-4 6-3 victory against compatriot Daria Gavrilova on Saturday.
On the eve of the French Open, Stosur, who has been the Australian number one since October 2008, recovered from a shaky start to boost her confidence ahead of the claycourt grand slam in Paris, where she reached the final in 2010.
Sixth seed Stosur, 33, made a slow start, falling 3-1 behind in the opening set, which Gavrilova, the seventh seed, claimed after another break in the 11th game.
Stosur's power was then too much to handle for 23-year-old Gavrilova, who offered some resistance in the second set but was completely outplayed in the decider. (Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ken Ferris)
DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Saturday for improved relations with Gulf Arab countries during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its Gulf neighbours over its relationship with Tehran.
Iran and the Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts. Relations were further hit last weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East.
Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia, its arch-foe, is the real source of funding for Islamist militants. Rouhani responded to Trump's criticism by saying stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Iran's help.
"We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," the state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as telling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim, IRNA added.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signalled exasperation this week after official Qatar media published purported remarks by Sheikh Tamim critical of Trump's foreign policy and of renewed tensions with Tehran.
Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Gareth Jones)
DUBAI, May 27 (Reuters) - Iran's hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday Saudi Arabia's rulers faced "certain downfall" for aligning themselves with the United States, hours after the country's pragmatist president called for improved ties with Gulf states.
"They (Saudi leaders) act cordially towards the enemies of Islam while having the opposite behaviour towards the Muslim people of Bahrain and Yemen," Khamenei told a religious gathering, according to his Twitter account.
"They will face certain downfall," he told a Koran reading event marking the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Iran and the Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen, and the unrest in Bahrain. Relations were further hit last weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East.
Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia, its arch-foe, is the real source of funding for Islamist militants.
Meanwhile President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who has significantly less power than the supreme leader, earlier called for improved relations with Gulf Arab states during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its Gulf neighbours over its relationship with Tehran.
"We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," the state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as telling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim, IRNA added.
Rouhani earlier responded to Trump's criticism by saying stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Iran's help.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates expressed exasperation this week after official Qatar media published remarks purported to have been made by Sheikh Tamim which were critical of Trump's foreign policy and of renewed tensions with Tehran.
Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The UN agencies including UNICEF, WHO and WFP are currently supporting Sri Lankan Governments relief efforts in coordination and mobilizing resources, the UN Sri Lanka said today.
The UN received an initial request from the Government on Friday related to search and rescue efforts.
Issuing a statement, it said the UNICEF will donate water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets to the Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
The WHO will be supporting the Ministry of Health to deploy medical teams to the affected districts.
The WFP and UNDP are supporting the DMC with information management.
The UN OCHA will provide additional human resources for coordination with Government and Humanitarian Partners.
Search and Rescue efforts are on standby from neighbouring countries and can be deployed if needed.
Heavy rain and strong winds is forecast to continue into the first week of June, raising the risk that current conditions may worsen with land access to many affected areas restricted due to water inundation and landslides.
The UN stressed the importance of following evacuation orders to minimize loss of human life.
QINGDAO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Airbus Group's helicopter manufacturing arm began construction of its first assembly line for commercial aircraft in China Saturday.
The plant, located in the city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province, will be jointly operated by Airbus Helicopters and Qingdao United General Aviation Company.
The plant will be completed in 2018 and is designed to produce 18 H135 helicopters a year, but capacity could be further raised according to demand, company sources said.
The first aircraft is likely to be rolled out in 2019.
Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury said the assembly line demonstrated a commitment to cooperation with China's rapidly growing aviation industry.
The H135 is a popular light helicopter in China, mainly used in medical aid, rescue, police surveillance, fire fighting and tourism.
In 2016, China emerged as the largest civil helicopter market for Airbus Helicopters, thanks to the opening of low-altitude airspace that stimulated a boom in demand.
According to estimates, China will require about 600 light helicopters in the next 20 years.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests on Thursday (May 25) notified new rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which bans sale of cattle for slaughter in open markets across the country.
A gazette notification Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change states that no one can bring cattle to an animal market unless he or she has furnished a written declaration that the animal will not be sold for the purpose of slaughter.
Further, upon sale of the cattle, the animal market committee will take an undertaking that the animals are for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter. Cattle buyers will now have to give an undertaking that the animals are not for slaughter and the market committees will have to check the buyers' bonafides and keep records of all sales.
The records should be preserved for six months, said the government notification which is effective from today (May 26). The new rule also says cattle buyers cannot sell the animals outside the state without permission.
This has every potential for the self-proclaimed protectors to unleash violence and it may pose a serious security threat to the farmers.
The notification is likely to have a major impact on cattle slaughter across the country even though it does not ban slaughter itself. It requires cattle trade at animal markets to take place for agricultural purposes only. And the definition of cattle includes bulls, bullocks, cows, buffaloes, steers, heifers, calves and camels.
Farmers unions see the new rules as an assault on agriculture because in times of distress, sale of cattle was one important option through which farmers could overcome financial difficulties. Enacting such stringent rules to regulate sale of cattle will push farmers further into debt.
The following are the provisions that govern the sale of cattle under the new rules:
1. No person shall bring to an animal market a young animal;
2. No person shall bring a cattle to an animal market unless upon arrival he has furnished a written declaration signed by the owner of the cattle or his duly authorised agent
i. stating the name and address of the owner of the cattle, with a copy of the photo identification proof;
ii. giving details of the identification of the cattle;
iii. stating that the cattle has not been brought to market for sale for slaughter;
3. Every declaration furnished to the Animal Market Committee shall be retained by it for a period of six months from the date on which it is furnished to them and the Animal Market Committee shall, on demand made by an inspector at any reasonable time during that period, produce such declaration and allow a copy of it or an extract from it to be taken;
4. where an animal has been sold and before its removal from the animal market, the Animal Market Committee shall
i. obtain the expenses incurred for each animal, as approved by the District Animal Market Monitoring Committee, so as to provide the basic facilities for animals and people;
ii. take an undertaking that the animals are bought for agriculture purposes and not for slaughter;
iii. keep a record of name and address of the purchaser and procure his identity proof;
iv. verify that the purchaser is an agriculturist by seeing the relevant revenue document;
v. ensure that the purchaser of the animal gives a declaration that he shall not sell the animal up to six months from the date of purchase and shall abide by the rules relating to transport of animals made under the Act or any other law for the time being in force;
vi. retain such record for a period of six months from the date of sale;
vii. produce such record before an Inspector on demand being made by him at any reasonable time during that period and allow a copy of it or an extract from it to be taken.
The rules are the result of a Supreme Court direction last year. The court, acting on petitions filed by animal rights activists, asked the Centre to regulate cattle trade.
The rules do not ban slaughter of all cattle per se. Rather, it only regulates the sale of cattle in markets. In case someone wants to sell the cattle for slaughter, he/she can do so legally outside the markets subject to slaughter rules implemented the respective states.
However, it is not clear what are the other locations where sales can take place outside animal markets.
According to a report by the now-dissolved Planning Commission for 2007-2012, there are about 3,900 licenced slaughterhouses in the country authorised by local bodies. In addition, there are around 26,000 unauthorised slaughterhouses.
As per the 2012 livestock census, the total cattle population in India is 190 million. Animal markets have traditionally acted as a channel between the farmers and the slaughterers.
Cow slaughter is banned in most states, except in the Northeast and Kerala, but the slaughter of other bovine animals such as buffaloes is much more common.
Ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre in May 2014, there have been several incidents of cow vigilantes indulging in violence against those suspected to be selling cows or eating beef.
The new rules notified by the central government have not gone down well with farmers unions, which feel that such tough regulations on sale of cattle will cripple the rural economy altogether.
In times of drought, selling of cattle was an important way through which the farmers could manage financial distress. While the government may say that sale of cattle for slaughter outside the markets are still legal, but in reality most such sale happen within the market places as farmers may not have the means to transport cattle over long distances.
The rule saying that one cannot sell the cattle for six months from the date of purchase or cannot sell infirm cattle could further aggravate the distress of farmers in drought-like situations.
In most of the states, restrictions on cow sale have forced farmers to abandon the animals as they could not afford fodder in times of distress. For instance, Tamil Nadu is facing severe drought. How can one expect farmers to feed old and infirm cattle when they find it difficult to feed themselves.
The best the Centre could have done if it wanted farmers not to sell their cattle is to make arrangements to procure (the cattle) and ensure their welfare.
The new notification also adds a large amount of paperwork for every transaction involving cattle at animal markets, expecting numerous records and five copies of the proof of sale, each of which is to be handed to various authorities. Authorities also have the powers to seize the animal and detain it in a separate enclosure if the animal is found to be unfit for sale by a veterinarian.
This has every potential for the self-proclaimed protectors to unleash violence and it may pose a serious security threat to the farmers.
Obliquely, the new rules could only lead to an unofficial ban on slaughter.
After the Yogi Adityanath government took over the reins in Uttar Pradesh in March, many slaughterhouses were temporarily shut for not following regulations.
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Governments at all levels should step up efforts to cut red tape for companies by integrating separate business licenses, according to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.
Integrating business certifications and licenses into one consolidated business license is a major task of business system reform and should be accomplished on schedule to reduce institutional costs for market entities and develop an international, law-based and accommodating business environment, Premier Li said in a note to a meeting held Friday.
China will also continue to promote mass entrepreneurship and innovation to develop new growth engines to power sustainable and healthy economic and social development, Li added.
SANSHA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's newest city, Sansha, in the South China Sea, has received remote diagnosis facilities, enabling fishermen and other locals to consult experienced doctors in distant better-equipped hospitals.
The facilities include a high-definition video conferencing system, a picture archiving and communications system, and portable electrocardiography monitors.
The equipment, donated by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, arrived at Sansha People's Hospital Friday.
"Sansha's health care system is starting from scratch. Internet technology brings high-quality health care in developed regions to us," said Zhuang Zhongjun, a Hainan Province health official.
Trials of long-distance diagnosis have been conducted, connecting a makeshift clinic on a boat with a doctors' office in the Zhejiang hospital. About 20 fishermen consulted doctors on their symptoms ranging from itching skin to a sore neck.
It has been well received, but the weak Internet connection sometimes causes disruptions.
Wang Jian'an, president of the Zhejiang hospital, said his hospital would regularly send doctors to Sansha to complement the distance medical service and to boost disease prevention.
China set up the Sansha municipality in 2012. The city government is located on Yongxing Island, the largest island of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has allocated more than 140 billion yuan (about 20.4 billion U.S. dollars) this year to keep pace with the needs of poverty relief, said the Ministry of Finance Saturday.
The central government has allocated over 86 billion yuan, up 30.3 percent from last year. A total of 28 provincial governments have allocated about 54 billion yuan.
At the end of last year, China still had more than 43 million impoverished rural residents.
The Chinese government has vowed to lift all the rural impoverished out of poverty by 2020 to build a moderately prosperous society.
Since China started the reform and opening-up drive more than 30 years ago, over 700 million Chinese have shaken off poverty, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction in the period.
CAIRO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) announced on Saturday that its fighters conducted a shooting that killed at least 29 Egyptian Christians on Friday, a statement of the group reported.
"A security detachment from Caliphate soldiers has killed dozens of Christians and burnt out their buses," said the statement posted on Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging system used by the IS to communicate with its followers.
The statement which has been published by the IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency said the attack left 32 killed.
On Friday, masked gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles attacked two buses and a truck carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 29 people, including children, according to the health ministry's latest update.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Those attacks were claimed by the IS.
Egyptian air forces carried out six air strikes against jihadist training camp on Friday in retaliation for the Minya bus attack.
In a televised address to Egypt's people, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said "Egypt will not hesitate in striking terror camps anywhere, either inside (the country) or outside it."
On Saturday, a statement of the armed forces said that the Egyptian military is continuing to carry out air strikes against militant training camps outside the country.
"The air forces completely destroyed the targeted training camps and bases of the terrorists who carried out the attack against the Christians in Minya," the statement added.
The air eagles returned home while the armed forces continue in their operation to maintain the security of the country, added the armed force spokesperson.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Anvar Mammadov Trend:
The delegation of Azerbaijans Parliament headed by Speaker Ogtay Asadov will pay an official visit to Latvia, Head of the press service of the Parliament Akif Tafakkuroglu said May 27 at a briefing in Baku.
He said that the delegation will include Azerbaijani MPs Kamran Bayramov, Ulviya Aghayeva, Rovshan Rzayev, Malik Hasanov, Chief of Azerbaijani parliaments apparatus Safa Mirzayev and other officials.
Within the framework of the visit to take place May 28-May 30, Asadov will meet with Speaker of the Latvian Parliament Inara Murniece, Tafakkuroglu said. Bilateral interparliamentary ties and the prospects for their development will be discussed at the meeting. In addition, Ogtay Asadov is scheduled to meet Latvian president, deputy minister, as well as ministers of foreign affairs and economy of the country, and the sides are expected to discuss issues of the Azerbaijani-Latvian bilateral relations, deepening of political and economic ties between the two countries, as well as settlement of regional conflicts.
He added that the delegation of Azerbaijans Parliament will participate in an event dedicated to the national holiday of Azerbaijan, the May 28 Republic Day.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
Trend:
BP Regional President for Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey Gary Jones has sent a congratulatory letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
It is my great pleasure to extend to you and the people of Azerbaijan my warmest congratulations on the occasion of the national holiday the Republic Day, Gary Jones said in his letter.
BP attaches great importance to the sustainable expansion of cooperation between Azerbaijan and BP and looks forward to its further development. I express my firm belief in the strengthening of friendly relations between BP and the Government of Azerbaijan, he said.
Your Excellency, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you good health, happiness and success, and further growth and prosperity to the people of Azerbaijan.
Yancey Elementary School students will have a chance to visit their new schools this week as the process of moving the students to Red Hill and Scottsville elementaries begins.
On May 25, the Albemarle County School Board voted 5-2 to close Yancey and move students to Red Hill and Scottsville after facing the potential loss of $395,000 in federal funding this year, and years of decreasing enrollment and low test scores.
The possibility that some Yancey students could be transitioned to Red Hill has been a consideration for the past few weeks, so last evenings decision by the School Board was not a surprise, Red Hill Principal Art Stow said Friday. We have had some preliminary discussions about how this process might unfold if that was the option that the school board selected for the students.
According to Albemarle County schools spokesman Phil Giaramita, the principals from all three schools met Friday to discuss the transition.
Yancey Principal Craig Dommer announced this month that he is transferring to Henley Middle School next school year to be an assistant principal. At the time, he told The Daily Progress that his leaving was unrelated to a decision a week prior by the school board to study closing Yancey.
Our attention and energies now must be focused on the future success of our students, Dommer said Friday in a message to parents. An important part of this process will be nurturing new friendships at Scottsville and Red Hill. I have talked with both principals and they are eager to welcome and support our families.
In a presentation to the board, staff noted that filling the principal position with a highly-qualified person is expected to be very difficult.
Dommer was not the only Yancey staffer to request a transfer, schools staff said.
A number of existing teaching staff are either moving out of the area or have requested transfers to other schools for the 2017-18 school year, the presentation notes said. If all transfers were approved, nearly half of the teaching staff will need to be replaced this spring/summer.
Giaramita said parents will be notified this coming week as to which school their child will attend in August.
Stow said he will be visiting Yancey on Wednesday.
There will be picnic for Yancey students on June 1 at the schools they will attend, either Red Hill or Scottsville, as an opportunity to begin building the personal relationships that are such an important part of our school communities, Stow said.
***
In 2014, Yancey was federally designated a Priority School because of low Standards of Learning test scores. In the 2015-16 school year, Yancey was restructured and new teaching staff was hired.
This school year, Yancey was denied accreditation as a result of three continuous years of failing to meet SOL assessment benchmarks.
According to a staff report, Yancey has had an enrollment of 118 students for the past three school years, but is expected to drop to 108 students for the 2017-2018 school year.
With the recommended reassignments which are based on minimum travel time and not splitting neighborhoods 44 Yancey students will transfer to Red Hill and 60 students will transfer to Scottsville.
Red Hill had 132 students this school year and staff originally had projected 129 students next year. Now, including pre-K and Yancey students, staff is expecting about 190 students at Red Hill next school year. The number of students that transfer to Red Hill and Scottsville from Yancey could be slightly higher, because of rising Kindergartners who would have attended Yancey next fall.
Scottsville had 181 students this year, and staff estimated 184 students next year. After adding Yancey students, the division projects about 260 students next year.
Red Hill has the capacity to add students without creating additional classes, according to the report.
Scottsville, on the other hand, will need two or three additional classrooms to add the Yancey students. According to the report, the school has one unassigned classroom, a new classroom is being built as part of the security addition and the pre-K class could be moved back to the trailer where it had previously occupied.
The average class size at Red Hill currently is 14.3 students, but with the new students it would be 19.2 students.
At Scottsville, the average is 18.4 and is expected to increase to 18.8 students.
***
School board Chairwoman Kate Acuff and other board members had expressed concern about the size of the school.
A study Acuff cited, which looked at school size and achievement on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills, recommended that each grade level should be limited to 100 students in elementary schools for optimal student achievement.
However, Yancey is too small to even be considered small, she said. At Yancey, the entire school, K-5, is just 116 students, which translates to an average of only 19 students per class.
She compared Yancey to Greer Elementary School, a school with a similar proportion of low-income students to Yancey, but enrolls 622 students.
At Yancey, 44 percent of students passed math SOLs, and 41 percent passed reading SOLs. At Greer, 63 percent of students passed both math and reading SOLs.
Greer students outperform Yancey students in spite of having higher levels of low-income children, higher percent of African American students and higher percent of students with limited English proficiency, Acuff said.
Size was only one of the important variables in Acuffs thinking about the school, she said. Acuff was one of the five votes to close the school.
It was also concerning that half of the teachers just recruited two years ago to be part of the turnaround team were either resigning or asking to be transferred to other schools, the principal also asked to be transferred, the loss of accreditation by [the Virginia Department of Education], and the loss of two sizable grants designed to help in that turnaround, she said.
At the Thursday night meeting, the board voted to have the school division report to the board the future SOL scores for all current Yancey students, until those students graduate from county schools or leave the district.
The board also requested staff give recommendations on alternate uses for the building. Possible uses include educational facilities or housing another county department.
Superintendent Pam Moran said she thinks the county needs to do something to document the history of the school.
Theres a legacy in this school that is historical and important and is a valuable history lesson for Albemarle County, and I want to make sure that we dont lose sight of and Ive heard some board members bring up that the legacy of the school, the history of the community is absolutely critical, she said.
I dont have any doubt that we have a community in which many members will be grieving the loss of this school, she said. I certainly think that we should go to the community and ask them what would be meaningful.
The next regular school board meeting is on June 8.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Leman Zeynalova Trend:
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) will hold a presentation for Azerbaijani entrepreneurs on June 13 at Baku Business Center, said the message on the website of Azerbaijan Export and Investments Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO).
The purpose of the event is to present the bank's strategy and products.
BSTDB offers a wide range of financial instruments and takes a flexible approach in structuring its financial products, implements investment programs through allocating loans to the private sector.
The principal forms of direct financing offered by the bank are loans, equity and guarantees. The financial products may be offered separately or in any combination.
The terms of the bank's products are tailored to meet the specific needs of each client. Adjustments may be made throughout the life of an operation, if so provided in the original documentation.
After the presentation, participants will be able to discuss business proposals with the representatives of the bank.
The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank is an international financial institution with headquarters in Thessaloniki, Greece, BSTDB started to operate in June 1999 and has authorized capital of 3.45 billion euros. The bank supports economic development and regional cooperation in the Black Sea Region through trade and project finance lending, guarantees, and equity participation in private enterprises and public entities in the member countries.
BSTDB is rated A-/A-2 by Standard & Poors, and A2/P1 by Moody's.
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Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 27
By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:
The 49th session of the Ad Hoc Working Group for development of a convention on the Caspian Seas legal status is scheduled to be held June 1-2 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the Turkmen government said in a message May 27.
The session will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian states.
Earlier, such important documents as the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea and the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea were signed.
The Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran signed the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to the agreement in May 2002.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
Will the Circle Be Unbroken? asks the traditional bluegrass gospel number. This simple song about the family circle and faith that keeps it together has been played so many times by so many artists that few folks know its origins these days.
The poignant words are those of English hymn writer Ada R. Habershon, who penned Circle 110 years ago. Its still a standard today at bluegrass and country shows, often serving as the finale that draws all the performers in the venue back to the stage. So yes, the musical circle remains intact.
That circle will ripple again through the foothills of Madison County next weekend for the 25th annual Graves Mountain Festival of Music. The sounds of distinctly American music will ring out June, 13 at Graves Mountain Lodge in Syria, just as they have since 1993. Thats quite a run for any type of festival. The Graves family teamed up with bluegrass performer Mark Newton, who has roots in the White Oak area of Stafford, and the late Sonny Ludlam, a player who hosted a bluegrass show for years on WFLS, to put on the multi-day show.
Though grounded in traditional bluegrass, the festival offers a mix of acts that reflect the talents and the mash-up of styles that the many generations of musicians bring to the stage. Newton explains the 2017 lineup featuring 20 acts this way: I try to be in tune with whats going on and have a balance with tradition and gospelmusicianship and vocal arrangement versus contemporary to old timeand Americana has come on to the scene. Its almost a constant change of musical genres.
On the contemporary side this year, there are bands such as The SteelDrivers, Barefoot Movement and Mountain Heart. On the more traditional side, there are Mitch Harrell and Don Wayne Reno, the sons of bluegrass legends Bill Harrell and Don Reno, and Ralph Stanley II & The Clinch Mountain Boys.
Then theres the Seldom Scene, which has long stretched the limits of bluegrass into the realm of jam grass, and theres country favorite Shenandoah, featuring Marty Raybon.
On Saturday, the festival will feature a reunion show by a Fredericksburg favorite, The Virginia Squires. The band was formed in the 1990s by Newton and bluegrass stars Sammy Shelor and Ricky and Ronnie Simpkins.
So the music comes full circle again, as Habershon wrote, by and by, Lord, by and by.Though grounded in bluegrass, the festival offers acts that reflect the talents and the mash up of styles that generations of musicians bring to the stage.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, May 27
By Huseyn Hasanov Trend:
Ashgabat will on June 5-8 host events dedicated to environmental protection and regulations on water use, the Neutral Turkmenistan newspaper reported May 27.
The events will be attended by representatives of regional and international organizations as well as ministries of Central Asian countries.
In particular, it is planned to hold the International Environmental Forum and a meeting of the Interstate Commission on Sustainable Development of the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea.
In addition, it is planned to hold a meeting of the governing council of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia and a meeting of the regional working committee, which includes water specialists of Central Asian states.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan, May 27
By Demir Azizov Trend:
The tenth session of the Senate (upper house) of the Uzbek Parliament has started its work in Tashkent city, Trends correspondent reported from the session.
The agenda of the meeting includes the laws On Amending Certain Articles of Constitution of Uzbekistan, On Constitutional Court of Uzbekistan, On Amendments and Additions to Regulations on Class Ranks of Court Workers and Research Center for Democratization and Liberalization of Judicial Legislation and Ensuring Independence of Judicial System under Supreme Court of Uzbekistan.
The senators will also consider laws on the ratification of a number of international treaties and conventions, including the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, signed March 6 in Ashgabat city.
It is also planned to consider other issues within the competence of the Senate at the plenary session.
New Delhi: Credit rating firm Fitch today affirmed Bharti Airtel's long-term foreign currency issuer default rating at 'BBB' with stable outlook, reflecting the firm's ability to repay debt.
"Fitch Ratings has affirmed Bharti Airtel's (Bharti) long-term foreign currency issuer default rating (IDR) and senior unsecured rating at 'BBB'. The outlook on the IDR is stable," Fitch said in a statement.
Credit ratings range from AAA, AA, A, BBB to D where the top rating includes high ability to replay debt and D indicates least. Fitch said Bharti's BBB rating reflects its established market leadership in the Indian wireless services industry
with about 35 per cent revenue market share, diversified operations and holding of large pool of spectrum.
"We believe that its established market position and diversified revenue base will help it withstand intense competition in the Indian mobile segment," Fitch said.
The rating agency, however, cautioned that Bharti Airtel's revenue to cash flow ratio may decline as growth in non-mobile segments in India and its African operations may not fully offset the fall in the Indian mobile segment's revenue.
"Competition is likely to remain intense as new entrant Reliance Jio will continue to offer cheaper tariffs to gain market share from incumbents. Blended average revenue per user (ARPU) could remain flat at around Rs 160 as Bharti is unlikely to be able to raise tariffs, given the price competition," Fitch said.
The rating agency has negative outlook on the Indian telecom market as it expects the credit profiles of the top four telcos to come under pressure from tougher competition and greater capex requirements.
According to Fitch, Jio may continue to disrupt the market by offering cheaper tariffs than the incumbents to gain market share.
"Ongoing industry consolidation will leave only five telcos in the market and bring back pricing power to incumbents only after one to two years. However, in the medium term, Jio could raise tariffs to start generating return on its massive investment of USD 27-30 billion," the statement said.
The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia and Ireland.
New Delhi: Metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta plans to raise up to Rs 350 crore through issuance of non-convertible debentures.
"Company proposes to offer rated, secured, redeemable, non cumulative, non-convertible debentures aggregating to Rs 350 crore," Vedanta Ltd said in a BSE filing.
In this regard, the company said that, it is holding a meeting of its duly constituted committee of the board next week.
Vedanta Ltd is a diversified natural resources company, whose business primarily involves producing oil and gas, zinc-lead-silver, copper, iron ore, aluminium and commercial power.
The company has a presence across India, South Africa, Namibia, Australia and Ireland.
Mumbai: Take home salary of an employee is set to increase as Employees Provident Fund Organisation has taken up a proposal that favours a 2 per cent cut in companies' or employers' contribution towards retirement corpus of their staff.
At present an employee forgoes 12 per cent of his or her basic salary towards their provident fund contributions. Similarly, companies or employers too make similar amount of contributions to PF corpus.
EPFO has on its table a proposal to slash employers' contribution to 10 per cent that will lead to employees getting more money on their hands when they receive their salaries.
Once the proposal is discussed and approved and gets government's go ahead, the take home salary of an employee will rise significantly as PF part in the salary will cut less money every month.
An employer contributes 8.33 per cent of employee's basic salary towards pension benefits and remaining 3.67 per cent towards provident fund scheme. "Employers also pay 0.5 per cent towards EDLI, 0.65 per cent as EPF administrative charges and 0.01 per cent as EDLI handling fee, taking the total contribution to 13.61 per cent," the FE report explained.
The proposal will be placed before the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), the highest decision-making body of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), at its meeting on Saturday," a report in The Financial Express said.
The news report quoted chief provident fund commissioner V P Joy who confirmed that the proposal was on agenda of CBT that was meeting in Pune on Saturday. "Opinion of the CBT members would be sought," Joy said.
However Joy denied the rumours that Naredra Modi-led government at the Centre was pressuring his organisation it to raise the issue with members of CBT, highest decision making body at EPFO.
Bhopal: Sonalika International Tractors today opposed the 28 per cent levy on tractor parts proposed under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) structure, saying it will hurt the sector and also farmers.
The tractor manufacturer said the tax on tractor parts should remain at the existing level of 14 per cent.
"The government has proposed to raise GST on tractor and car parts to 28 per cent while at present it is 14 per cent. This will result in an increase in cost of tractors and would adversely impact farmers in a major way," Sonalika International Tractors Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Munish Kumar told reporters.
"We, along with other tractor companies, are discussing the matter with the government and have demanded that GST remain at 14 per cent in the interest of farmers," Kumar said.
Rise in GST on tractor parts will also affect companies, he said. However, Kumar did not specify the expected increase in price of tractors post-GST (at 28 per cent levy).
The Centre is targeting a July 1 roll-out for the unified tax system. Kumar said in the fiscal 2016-17, the company sold 8,507 tractors, registering a growth of 22.6 per cent over FY 2015-16, when the figure stood at 6,841 units.
In April, the company sold 932 tractors while the figure was 683 in the same month last year, he said. Buoyed by sales in Madhya Pradesh, the company is planning to introduce more new products in the state to maintain its leading position, he added.
PM Narendra Modi had opened BSE INDIAINX at Gift City in Gandhinagar in January this year.
Gandhinagar: Gujarat International FinanceTec-City (GIFT City) has seen a sharp jump of 400 per cent in IFSC transactions to USD 4 billion covering banking, insurance, and capital market services in the last six months.
While International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) units of the banks have done business worth USD 3 billion, insurance companies have clocked in USD 1 billion worth of transactions.
BSE's international stock exchange within GIFT IFSC has seen a single day trading of around USD 100 million, GIFT IFSC said in a statement. Union Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal, who visited the GIFT IFSC, held discussions with 14 banking and insurance units and 15 capital market entities.
Meghwal discussed regulatory clarifications with all the units and promised to take up all the issues at the next IFSC Task Force meeting. The minister is also Chairman of the IFSC task force.
"My endeavour has been to oversee the operationalisation of regulations and policies in order to facilitate further growth of IFSCs in the country, particularly GIFT IFSC, Gandhinagar. In coming days, we want GIFT IFSC to emerge as a 'price setter' for various global financial products," Mehgwal said.
India International Exchange, along with its members, attended the meeting.
GIFT, the Gujarat government's project, in partnership with IL&FS is developing India's first global financial hub.
GIFT is India's first multi-service SEZ with IFSC status which is catering to the country's large financial services market by offering global firms world-class infrastructure and facilities.
Mumbai: Sridevis film 'Mom' has created quite a lot of buzz in the industry.
The film also stars Pakistani actors Sajal Ali and Adnan Siddiqui, but unfortunately, they wont be a part of the film promotions in the country, owing to the ban.
A source close to the film revealed, Although they have prominent roles in the film, they wont be coming to India to promote their film. They were cast for this film long back, before the Indias ban on Pakistani artistes, a source close to the film revealed.
Sridevi, last seen in Tamil film 'Puli,' is returning to the big screen with the woman-centric thriller, which also features Nawazuddin Siddiqui.
Sajal will be seen as Sridevis 18-year-old stepdaughter.
The makers are also trying their best to release the film in Pakistan.
Anjali Parvati Koda has directed a Telugu short film Abhi Abhi, will be released online soon.
Even as a child Anjali always had the privilege to dabble into movie production. The whole family would literally join in the production work of her father well known filmmaker Mohan Koda.
My brother Rahul Koda used to always enjoy shifting my presence, from department to department during the movie productions. And thus I started learning a little bit of everything. Today Rahul is a popular Telugu screenwriter, and has co-written Telugu movies such as Anaganaga O Dheerudu and Panjaa. He has also written the script translation and action sequences for the latest blockbuster Baahubali.
My father suggested that I work in theatre as it would help me learn the nuances of acting and understand the thought process of actors. When I was 18, I wrote my first play Purushotham He, the Victim of Spiders and Pressure Cookers. This play is included in the syllabus for BFA and MFA at Rutgers, State University of New Jersey. Although I have written many plays, many times I am not satisfied with the performance as something invariably changes on the stage.
Surprisingly, even stand-up comedy came into Anjalis life at a very young age. I won the title of Miss Fresher in my college and there was time to fill gaps in the programme with some comedy. I was helping my classmates who were doing stand-up comedy. I further developed interest in rap and parodies and later started doing stand-up comedy shows.
Anjali is positive about the challenges faced by newcomers in the film industry. Most of the times, actors are told how to act. However, for me, no film should be ever made for a particular audience. I am very keen on presenting the story to the audience through more visuals and fewer dialogues. Change is imminent and new storylines and ideas must constantly emerge. Many a time one can find that a combination of creative minds clicks in the industry. Its all about understanding each others capabilities and learning from each other. I always feel excited and inspired when I recall those moments when we would have personalities such as Goutam Ghose, B. Narsing Rao, Thota Vaikuntam, Ustad Bismillah Khan and many others, in what we used to call a durbar, going on till the wee hours of night.
As for the future, I have a production team in place and we have pitched for a full fledged Telugu movie to a few producers. In the meanwhile, a new web series of short films, based on the typical Dakhani language of Telangana region, is also on the cards, says a confident Anjali.
Jaywant Naidu Musician, Creator of Jaywant Guitar and a freelance photographer.
Tehran, Iran, May 27
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Iran plans to increase the amount of agricultural and food products to Russia by almost 100 percent in 2017 compared to last year, said Mehdi Tafreshi, head of Food Producers Cooperative and deputy head of Tehran House of Industry and Mine.
Irans food export to Russia stood at $2 billion in 2016 and the plan is to make it reach $4 billion this year, Tafreshi told Trend May 27.
Right now one of the biggest hurdles for Iranian exporters is the high tariffs. We are in talks with related officials to amend these tariffs so that our exporters would be able to compete with rivals in neighboring countries such as Turkey, he said.
One of our goals is to find our way to CIS countries such as the Republic of Azerbaijan. We are sure to increase our share of the food market in Azerbaijan, he added.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Tafreshi said the 2016 implementation of Irans nuclear deal_ aka Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)_ has positively influenced the food market.
During the sanctions time Iranian producers had a hard time procuring immediate goods which they had to import from abroad. But after the JCPOA, not only were these problems solved, the price and quality of such goods changed for us because the world market opened to us and we had a greater range to choose from. This improved our competitiveness.
The children, aged between 8 to 10, were promised jobs in Allahabad by a man in their village in Bihar's Begusarai district. (Representational Image)
Allahabad: Three children from Bihar, who were brought here on the pretext of jobs and rescued from the railway station, were kept in a shelter home with their limbs tied.
A video of the children in confinement also rocketed around the Internet and aired by TV news cahnnels.
The children, aged between 8 to 10, were promised jobs in Allahabad by a man in their village in Bihar's Begusarai district.
They were rescued from Allahabad junction by government-run Railway Childline and taken to a shelter home, where their limbs were tied after they tried to run away, senior officials said.
"The children in their statement to the magistrate concerned said Gulab Yadav had promised them jobs that could fetch them up to Rs 6,000 a month.
"On the magistrate's directions, they were taken to the Kalyan Seva Samiti shelter home in Phaphamau," Additional District Magistrate (City), Allahabad, Punit Shukla told PTI.
"They were ordered to be kept there till their family members arrived to take them back. However, the children got agitated and hit some staff members on being stopped from running away," Shukla said.
"The staff members of the shelter home have admitted to tying the children with pieces of cloth, but only for a few minutes and as a desperate measure.
"Nevertheless, it is an offence and those responsible are likely to face punishment. The district probation officer has also recommended the removal of the shelter home's
superintendent," the ADM said.
Shukla also took exception to an NGO having shot a video of the children, which was shared on social media and aired by a number of news channels.
"As per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, clicking photographs and shooting videos inside a shelter home is strictly prohibited.
"Even if the NGO had flouted the rules with a bona fide intention, it should have shared the video with the officials concerned only. The people involved in the exercise, too, may face punishment as per law," he said.
The juvenile court has sent the boy to the remand home after he was taken into custody by the HAL police two days ago. (Represntational Image)
Bengaluru: A 14-year-old boy, influenced by his conversations with his friends on sex and porn, preyed on and raped a three-year-old girl at his house on Wednesday evening.
In a classic case of negative peer influence, the 14-year-old boy, a class seven student, raped the girl child when no one was at home in Talacauvery Layout in the HAL police limits. The boy, the son of a daily wage worker who hails from Kalburgi, raped the girl when she had gone to his house to watch TV.
He told his interrogators, I dont know why I did it, but I wanted to experience what I heard from my friends about sex in school.
Two days ago, the victim, the daughter of a security guard who is from Nepal, as usual, went to the boys home to watch TV around 7.30 pm. While she sat watching a cartoon show, the boy who was alone at home, closed the door and grabbed her from behind. He convinced her to keep quiet, raped her and fled the spot, the police said.
The victim went home crying and a few neighbors noticed blood stains on her frock. They informed her parents and took her to a hospital where the doctors confirmed sexual assault. The victims parents then approached the police and filed a complaint against the boy.
It was a night when we went to search the boy. As he had no relatives nearby, we guessed he could be somewhere near his school which is close to his house. We went there and found him sitting near a shop, the police said.
The juvenile court has sent the boy to the remand home after he was taken into custody by the HAL police two days ago.
A behaviour psychologist said that teenagers are very likely to give into peer pressure and get influenced. This is the age when they need proper parental control and guidance, he said.
Hyderabad: The Malkajgiri Special Operations Team nabbed five sex business organisers under Pita (Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act) and rescued three victims.
The gang was organising brothels online. The police seized Rs 5,960, a bike, a Bangladesh passport, fake Aadhaar and election cards and seven phones from them. The suspects are Kammara Ramalinga, 50, the main organiser who is absconding, Akthar Shabana, 24, Kammara Madhu, 23, Pothuluri Ramesh, 27, and Bomma Munni, 27.
The main organiser, Ramalinga, belongs to Kurnool district and is staying at Kukatpally. He has contacts with sex business organisers in other states and procures girls. Ramalinga employed Ramesh and Munni, who transport the girls to the customers place, collects money and gives it to him. The woman organiser, Akthar Shabana, a Bangladesh national, came to India and is staying at Bhopal. She told the police that she regularly comes to India to organise brothels. She also had fake election and Aadhaar cards under the false name, Nandini Sekh. The organisers upload photos of girls on a porn website and give contact numbers, police said. The police conducted a decoy operation and apprehended the four organisers.
In another case, the police nabbed an organiser from Uppal. The suspect is Nigani Praveen Kumar. The absconding persons are Sanjay, a resident of Kolkata, the main organiser and Rahul alias Mohsin, a resident of Tolichowki. Sanjay is a sex biz organiser. He has contacts with sex racketeers of other states. He lures girls offering them Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh for 10 days and after clinching deals with organisers, he send them by flight or train. They arranged a deal with Mosin and Praveen and sent two girls about two days back to Hyderabad. Mosin took them to his house in Tolichowki and uploaded their photos on the porn website.
During the decoy operation, organiser Praveen Kumar brought both the girls to Uppal for 10,000 and they were apprehended.
After Swathi was found hanging in her house in suspicious circumstances on May 17, Srinivas Reddy gave contradictory statements to the police. (Representational image)
Hyderabad: With the Rachakonda police establishing the murder of Amboji Naresh, there is cloud of mystery over the death of his wife Swathi, which was reported as a suicide.
While Athmakur police had been allegedly going soft on her father T. Srinivas Reddy, who is the richest man in Lingarajpalli village, the findings of Rachakonda police on Naresh's murder has compelled Athmakur police to look at the case again. The investigating officials have been asked to investigate whether Swathi was a victim of honour killing.
After Swathi was found hanging in her house in suspicious circumstances on May 17, Srinivas Reddy gave contradictory statements to the police.
When Atmakur police talked to Reddy after the death of Swathi, he said she had not left any suicide note. But, when cops called him to the police station a few days later to question him in connection with the disappearance of Naresh, Reddy claimed that he got a suicide note, which said that Swathi was harassed by Nareshs relatives for dowry. Later, again he came up with a suspicious video in which Swathi talked about harassment. In the video, which was shot before her death, it looks like Swathi was being compelled to testify against Nareshs family, said a police source.
Nareshs father Venkataiah said that soon after their marriage on March 25 in Mumbai, Swathi had gone to Antop Hill police station and had lodged a complaint with the Station House Officer seeking protection. She feared a threat to her life from her father who was not ready to accept her marriage to a low caste man.
Reddy was a rich man with a lot of property and an influential person as a former mandal president of TD. Many villagers think that he had already decided to kill both Naresh and Swathi when he heard about their marriage, said one of Reddys neighbours from Lingarajpalli village.
Naresh fell in love with Swathi from the Reddy community while they were studying at a college at Valigonda in Nalgonda district. As she belonged to a upper caste her father did not accept the relationship. They eloped to Mumbai and got married there.
It also prohibited practices that are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them. (Representational Image)
Hyderabad: Hailing the Centre's move to ban sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, Telangana BJP on Friday said the decision would help agriculture sector and farmers as it would prevent distress sale of cattle.
"It will directly impact to reduce farmers' suicides as distress sale is prevented. If farmers sell off their cattle, they are disconnected from agriculture," Telangana BJP spokesperson Krishna Saagar Rao said here.
The government has banned the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, a move that is expected to hit export and trade of meat and leather.
It also prohibited practices that are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them.
The environment ministry has notified the stringent 'Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017' under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan said the new rules are very specific and aim to regulate animal markets and sale of cattle.
Srinagar: Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was on Saturday killed along with another militant in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests have started at several places in the Valley.
Director General of Police SP Vaid said that Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat is among the two militants killed in the encounter in Soimoh area of Tral this morning.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from here, following information about presence of some top Hizbul Mujahideen militants in the area, a police official said.
He said the operation was launched after militants opened firing on an army patrol in Tral area Friday night.
The official said as the security forces were closing on the building where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire.
Stone pelting incidents have been reported in some parts of south Kashmir including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anamtnag district, the official said.
He said the law enforcing agencies are on the job to chase away the protestors.
Burhan Wani was killed on July 8 last year in south Kashmir. His killing had sparked violence in the Kashmir Valley for months.
Clashes erupted in the Kashmir Valley after security forces gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat in Tral region. (Photo: DC)
Srinagar: One person was killed in Tral region of Jammu & Kashmir and several others were injured in clashes between civilians and the security forces after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat.
Burhan Wani's successor Bhat was killed along with his accomplice in a fierce gunfight with security forces on Saturday in Kashmirs southern Tral region.
Violence erupted in several parts of the valley as the news about Bhats killing spread. More than 50 people have been injured in clashes underway in different parts of south, central and north Kashmir, and Srinagar.
A total of 19 people were injured in Tral. While six of them received bullet injuries, others suffered pellet injuries. The civilian, who was killed in clashes in Tral, was caught in crossfire between militants and security forces.
Six policemen were also injured in stone-pelting.
In a separate incident, six infiltrating militants were killed in a clash with Army troops in Uri sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district. The incident comes a day after the Army had said it stopped an infiltration attempt backed by the Pakistan army along the de facto border by killing two intruders believed to be the members of a Pakistan armys Border Action Team (BAT).
The officials in Srinagar said that the fire fight began in Trals Saimu village after the security forces laid siege to it on learning about the presence of militants. Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Ved, confirmed that Bhat is among the two militants killed, so far.
The two other slain militants have been identified as Faizan Ahmed, a teenager who had joined the Hizb ranks only recently, and Aadil Ahmed.
Spontaneous clashes erupted in several parts of the Valley after the news of Bhats killing spread. Clashes between irate crowds of youth and the security forces have been reported also from encounter site in Trals Saimu village.
Five people were injured in security forces action against the protesters, the reports said. The areas elsewhere in the Valley that have witnessed protests and clashes fall in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and Kupwara.
At most places, the traders have brought their shutters down and vehicles are being withdrawn in a chaotic situation. Media persons have been denied access to the encounter site, reports said.
We were not allowed to go close to the encounter site by the security forces. Tral is very tense and people are out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Sabzar and for freedom, said Zubair Ahmed Dar, a reporter over the phone from Tral.
A report from Anantnag said that at least 35 injured persons were admitted to the district hospital following clashes occurred in different parts of Anantnag town and its neighbourhood.
One of the seriously injured persons has been referred to a Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment, doctors at the district hospital said.
Amid heightening tensions and clashes, the authorities have suspended Internet services partially to restrain the spread of rumours and use of social media to provoke violence.
The suspension of the Internet came a day after the State government lifted a month-long ban on, at least, 22 social networking websites.
The students of various educational institutions across the Valley left their classes midway and taken to the streets at many places yelling pro-freedom slogans. The police and the CRPF are facing tough time to deal with the situation at places, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Bhat had succeeded Burhan Wani, the popular Internet-savvy commander of Kashmirs frontline indigenous militant outfit, whose killing by security forces on July 8 last year had resulted in massive violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In the five-month long turbulence, more than 80 civilians and two policemen had died and thousands injured, mainly in security forces firings and other actions besides leaving behind trails of destruction of infrastructure.
Also, over 4,000 security personnel were injured in stone-pelting incidents and mob violence.
Dehradun: Accusing the Modi government of not fulfilling its promises, opposition Congress on Saturday said the Centre had failed on all fronts including employment generation, smart cities, internal security and Lokpal.
"Modi government had promised to give employment to two crore youths annually but actually it had been able to give jobs to only 1.35 lakh people in 2015 and in 2016 too it could give jobs to about as many people," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference here on the occasion of the BJP-led NDA government completing three years in office.
Raising the issue of farmers' suicides, Singhvi said instead of finding a solution to their problems, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ministers were calling such farmers cowards.
On corruption too, the Modi government has been making only hollow claims, he said adding that the non-constitution of a Lokpal only proves this.
Despite coming to power with an absolute majority, the prime minister has been silent on Lokpal, Singhvi said.
Making a mention of Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, he said around 50 people allegedly involved in the fraud were killed but the CBI was yet to submit a report on it.
He also alleged that a company in which former Gujarat CM Anandiben Patel's daughter had a stake was given 250 acres of land near Gir forest at a rate of Rs 15 per square metre.
Charging the government with failure on the internal security front, he said the situation in Jammu & Kashmir was never as bad as it is today.
Guwahati: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the demonetisation drive was a tough decision to take in view of the opposition parties' constant efforts to turn people against it.
In the end, however, the people stood by the decision of his government, he told a rally here on the occasion of the BJP-led NDA government's completion of three years in office.
"Demonetisation was a tough decision. Political leaders tried to create anger and provoke people," Modi said.
He said, "Demonetisation has brought 90 lakh people into the tax net. People stood by me shoulder to shoulder in this big decision".
Modi thanked the 1.25 crore people of the country for standing by him on every decision his government took. On black money, the prime minister said, "We decided to take strong steps against black money. I know that for this I will face problems, but I won't hesitate as I have promised this to the people".
Indirectly criticising the previous governments at the Centre, Modi said that an Act was passed against benami properties in 1988, but it was never notified.
"What kind of governance was this? For the first time in India, honesty is getting a chance. An honest person is thinking of living peacefully for the first time," he observed.
The prime minister said that because of his honest decisions, he had faced huge problems, but he would always stand by it as promised to the people.
"Once black money was everywhere, now it became 'Jan Dhan' everywhere. From now on, it should be 'Digi Dhan' everywhere," he said referring to his government's drive for a cashless economy.
Highlighting some of his government's achievements, Modi referred to the setting up of OBC Commission, Swachch Bharat campaign, surrender of LPG subsidy by people, spread of Internet to villages, transforming post offices into banks, irrigation system and providing LED bulbs to common people.
He took a dig at previous governments for slow speed of work, saying there was a big mismatch between people's expectations and implementation of schemes or projects.
He took credit for trying out new things, saying, "Everyday there is a new initiative. There is a change in the work culture. The country is feeling the change. In the last three years, there was not a single day when we did not take a step".
Talking of a new India he wants to see, Modi said, "We have to build a new, developed India. There should be respect for all work and workers. Women will travel equally. There will be no discrimination to anyone and all will be equal".
During his day-long tour of Assam, Modi said projects worth Rs 3,500 crore had been either conceived or commissioned in the state in a single day.
India also agreed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Mauritius for various projects. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
New Delhi: India and Mauritius on Saturday agreed to cooperate in stepping up vigil against conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean.
After holding discussions with visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a press conference, that as frontline states of the Indian Ocean, the two sides ensure collective maritime security around the coasts and in Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).
"We agree that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities. And, for this India-Mauritius cooperation is very important," said the Prime Minister.
He added that the two nations need to keep up vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities, said Prime Minister Modi.
"We have also agreed to further strengthen our wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain," he added.
India is supporting the National Coast Guard of Mauritius in augmenting its capacity through Project Trident and will renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, that was provided to Mauritius, under a grant assistance programme.
India also agreed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Mauritius for various projects.
"We applaud the leadership shown by Prime Minister Jugnauth in drawing attention to the importance of renewable energy. The signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance by Mauritius has opened up new vistas of regional partnership for both countries in this field," the Prime Minster concluded.
The Prime Minister also declared a special carve-out on OCI cards for Mauritius.
On his part, the Mauritian leader said, "We need to ensure that our sea links are safe and secure and our regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities."
He said that India and Mauritius have developed strong bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security.
"The acquisition of offshore patrol vessels and fast interceptable boats have enhanced the capacity of our police and national coast guards to patrol and protect our maritime zones. We also appreciate the training dispensed to our police personnel which have enhance their skills," he added.
Tehran, Iran, May 27
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The markets in Russia and other CIS members are hard to reach for Iranian food producers, said Mojtaba Safari, export manager at Taravat, a major Iranian food products company.
With Russia our trade is very limited. The reason is the problems in currency transfer, Safari told Trend May 27.
As for Azerbaijan, although Iranians and the people of Azerbaijan have similar tastes, we see the market saturated with Turkish-made products. The reason is that tariffs on Turkish products are as low as one third of tariffs on Iranian products, he further pointed out.
However, he said there are talks to change the situation. We have entered talks so that we can give more freedom to the traders in order to do marketing.
You can find Taravat products in places ranging from Vancouver and Toronto in Canada to Sidney, Melbourne, and Adelaide in Australia, Malaysia, Kuwait, and the UAE, he said, underlining quality as the companys winning card.
The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with Gemini crafts and helicopters to assist in relief operations at Colombo. (Photo: ANI/Twitter)
New Delhi/Colombo: India has sent navy ships with rescue and relief material to Sri Lanka, where torrential rains and landslides have resulted in several deaths and massive devastation over the last two days.
INS Kirch operating in South Bay of Bengal, has been diverted to Colombo in Sri Lanka to render immediate assistance in flood relief operations.
According to reports, the ship will enter Colombo anytime soon.
Additionally, INS Jalashwan shall sail out from Visakhapatnam on Saturday with HADR (Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief) stores which include victualling, clothing, medicines and water.
The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with Gemini crafts and helicopters to assist in relief operations at Colombo.
She is likely to reach late morning or by noon on Sunday.
On the other hand, INS Shardul with relief material medical and diving teams leaves Kochi at 7 AM.
It will arrive in Colombo on Saturday night. Other assets standing by at short notice to render assistance as required.
Heavy rains in the southern and western parts of the country have destroyed hundreds of homes and cut off several roads.
Landslides and floods killed at least 91 people in Sri Lanka on Friday, the Disaster Management Centre said.
Nearly 50,000 people across 13 districts in the southern parts of the island were affected and about 8,000 of them had to be evacuated from
Kalutara, a coastal city some 40 km south of Colombo, among the worst hit.
Last May, Sri Lanka experienced severe floods in which at least a 100 people died.
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday, congratulated the research team for conducting the successful test firing of torpedo missile from first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine.
Jaitley tweeted, "Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine."
Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 27, 2017
He further encouraged the development and said, "This indigenously built stealth Submarine will soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy."
This indigenously built stealth Submarine will soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy. Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 27, 2017
Earlier in January, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Submarines), Mohit Gupta said that the Indian Navy was also planning to induct two scorpene class submarines this year.
In this April 2, 2015 photo, traders buy and sell buffaloes at Ghazipur slaughterhouse complex in New Delhi, India. (Photo: AP/Representational)
New Delhi: Meat traders plan to take the government to court over new rules banning the trading of cattle including buffalo for slaughter, calling it a move by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration to hurt the business run mainly by Muslims.
The environment ministry said this week that animal markets will only be able to trade in cattle meant for agricultural purposes, the biggest blow yet for meat suppliers facing several reverses under Modi's three-year old Hindu nationalist government.
The slaughter of cows, considered holy in Hinduism, is banned in most states and laws on the issue have become more stringent over the past few years. Muslims, who make up 14 per cent of India's 1.3 billion people, dominate the meat industry.
India is the biggest seller of buffalo meat in the world, with exports of more than $4 billion a year to countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia and Egypt.
But that could change following the government's May 23 notification regarding changes to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, made public on Friday. It requires owners to declare that cattle have not "been brought to market for sale for slaughter" and for market committees to verify that the buyer is an "agriculturist by seeing the relevant revenue document".
The new rules define cattle as bulls, cows, buffalo, steers, heifers, calves and camels.
"The business is dead," said Aqil Qureshi, president of the Delhi Buffalo Traders' Welfare Association who runs a slaughterhouse outside the city and sells hides to leather companies. "We will take legal help, we will hit the streets. Who does not fight for their livelihood?"
The environment ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the regulation was to protect "animals from cruelty and not to regulate the existing trade in cattle for slaughter houses". Animals for slaughter will have to be bought from farmers directly, it said.
Abdul Faheem Qureshi, a lawyer in Hyderabad and head of the All India Jamiatul Quresh Action Committee, said direct buying was "not always practical" and that he was drafting a court appeal after meeting with many of his "shocked" trader clients.
Al Faheem Meatex, an exporter in Uttar Pradesh, said buying buffalo directly from farmers was likely to raise costs, given stringent norms on cattle transportation.
"It will raise costs for us but what else can we do?" the company said. "We will see if we can get some relief from the court."
Qureshi said the new law would only embolden cow vigilantism groups. Muslims have been assaulted by Hindu hardliners over the past few years on suspicion of eating beef or illegally transporting cattle.
GVL Narasimha Rao, a spokesman for Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party, had no immediate comment. Government spokesman Frank Noronha did not respond to requests for comment.
BJP President Amit Shah addressing a press confrence after completing 3 years of NDA government during the press preview in New Delhi on Friday. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: Noting that it was not possible to provide jobs to all in a country of 125 crore people, BJP president Amit Shah said on Saturday that the Narendra Modi government had tackled the problem of unemployment by promoting self-employment.
Taking a swipe at opposition parties over their charge of a jobless growth, Shah said that had they paid attention to such figures during the UPA government, they would not have suffered defeat in successive elections.
At present, there is no accurate mechanism to estimate unemployment figures, he said.
"We have tried to give new perspective to employment as it is not possible to provide employment to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. We are promoting self-employment and the government has made eight crore people self-employed," he told reporters.
He was addressing the media on the third anniversary of the Modi government.
The BJP chief said the Modi government had laid the foundation of a new India as he described it as a decisive and transparent dispensation which had achieved what past governments could not since Independence.
"In 2014, the BJP replaced a government suffering from policy paralysis and gave people a decisive and transparent government," Shah said.
The BJP-led government has finished politics of casteism, dynasty and appeasement and has raised the self-confidence and pride of the country on global level, he said.
Attacking the opposition, Shah said they were working to corner the government while it was working to develop the country.
On Kashmir, Shah said the government was monitoring the situation very closely.
"We will control and find a solution soon," he added.
Highlighting the Modi government's flagship schemes, Shah said in last three years scores of villages were provided electricity which had been in dark since Independence.
Toilets have been constructed in more than 4.5 crore houses, 'jan dhan' accounts opened with zero balance, gas connections provided in two crore households, he said.
Speaking at length about the government's schemes, Shah gave the slogan of sath hai, vishwas hai, ho raha vikas hai (with us, with trust, working for development).
Sharing the social initiatives of the government, the BJP president said the government had given constitutional status to the OBC commission for empowerment of backward classes and distributed various assistive devices for disabled persons across the country.
Speaking on the country's economy, Shah said India was today the fastest growing economy in the world.
On the demand of ex-servicemen for 'one rank, one pension' (OROP), he said, "The demand for 'one rank, one pension' fell on deaf ears (for years), but we fulfilled that promise."
Referring to the surgical strike on terror launchpads across the border with Pakistan, the BJP president said it showed the political will of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On demonetisation, Shah said it was a courageous step aimed at curbing black money.
Indian army soldiers take position near the house where two suspected militants were killed in a gunbattle at Saimoh village, in Tral. (Photo: PTI)
Srinagar: The security forces in Jammu & Kashmir have killed at least 10 militants in last 24 hours , including Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat. Eight of them were killed on Saturday.
The Indian Army on Saturday said that it killed six infiltrating militants in Rampur sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu & Kashmirs north-western Baramulla district.
Burhan Wanis successor Bhat was killed in a counter-terrorist operation that was carried out on the basis of specific intelligence generated from local sources in Tral, Armys Northern Command spokesman Colonel NN Joshi said. His accomplice Faizan Ahmed was also killed in the encounter.
The incident comes a day after the Army had said it stopped an infiltration attempt backed by the Pakistan army along the de facto border by killing two intruders believed to be the members of a Pakistan armys Border Action Team (BAT).
Since Friday, as many as ten heavily armed intruders and terrorists have been eliminated by Pakistan to boost terror activities from the LoC, Joshi said.
He said that a fierce fire fight is underway between militants and the Army troops in Rampur sector and so far six of them have been killed. In the ongoing counter-infiltration on the LoC, a group of six armed intruders was intercepted and eliminated, Joshi said.
Earlier on Friday, a BAT action attempted on Indian army post by a group of heavily armed intruders through an area under control of a Pak army post in the Uri sector, was successfully intercepted resulting in killing of two intruders who identifies are yet to be established, he added.
In all these operations, Indian troops have recovered large quantity of war-like stores. Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan, Joshi said.
Lucknow: The district administration of Saharanpur has denied permission to Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi to visit the violence hit villages of the district.
Rahul Gandhi, UPCC president Raj Babbar and Congress MP P L Punia were scheduled to visit Saharanpur on Saturday.
ADG Aditya Misra told reporters on Lucknow that no political leader would be permitted to visit the strife-torn area till the situation returns to normalcy."We request all political leaders not to visit the area till thing normalize", he said.
The state is apparently being cautious because after BSP president Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur on May 23, violence had erupted again which left three persons dead.
The Yogi Adityanath government has blamed Mayawati's visit and has called the continuing incidents of violence in the area a 'well-planned conspiracy'.
Mobile and internet services and social networking sites have also been blocked in the violence-hit areas that are being patrolled by paramilitary forces.
One person was killed and scores others were injured as civilians clashed with security forces after Sabzar Ahmed Bhat's encounter. (Photo: DC)
Srinagar: Authorities in Jammu & Kashmir have imposed indefinite curfew or curfew-like restrictions in major towns, including Srinagar, after civilians clashed with security forces over the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat on Saturday.
Bhat, Burhan Wani's successor, was killed along with an accomplice in a fierce fire fight with security forces in Kashmirs southern Tral region. Earlier on Saturday, six infiltrating militants were killed by the Army in an encounter raging in Rampur sector of the Line of Control (LoC), the officials said.
Also, at least, one person was killed and scores others were injured in clashes with security forces as many parts of the Valley following Bhats killing. In view of heightened tensions and widespread disturbances, the authorities have also suspended internet services in several parts of Kashmir.
The officials in Srinagar said that the fire fight began in Trals Soimoh village after the security forces launched an operation to flush out militants who had earlier on Friday evening targetted an Army patrol with gunfire in a neighbouring hamlet. Jammu and Kashmirs Director General of Police, Shesh Paul Ved, confirmed that Bhat is among the two militants killed.
The other slain militant has been identified as Faizan Muzaffar, a teenager who had joined the Hizb ranks only recently. A third militant said to be the Hizbs Aadil Ahmed was also reportedly with Bhat when the encounter started but his fate is not known, a local source said.
A statement issued by the J&K police here said that on Friday evening a patrol party of the Armys 42 Rashtriya Rifles came under militant fire at Hurdimir outside Soimoh village of Tral.
The fire was returned and the militants took shelter in the nearby houses, it said adding that subsequently a cordon-and-search operation was launched jointly by the J&K polices counterinsurgency Special Operations Group (SOG), the 42 Rashtriya Rifles and 180 Battalion of the CRPF. The militants hiding in the houses again opened fire on the joint team, triggering an encounter, the statement said.
Spontaneous clashes erupted in several parts of the Valley after the news of Bhats killing broke. Clashes between irate crowds of youth and the security forces were reported also from encounter site in Trals Soimoh village.
Reports from Tral said that one person identified as Moulvi Aaqib was killed and 19 others were injured in security forces firing on violent protesters near the encounter site. Hospital sources said that six persons were admitted with bullet and the rest with pellet injuries.
The police, however, said that the slain civilian was caught in crossfire between militants and security forces at Soimoh. During the cross firing one more person was injured who was rushed to the Tral hospital where he succumbed, a police spokesman said. The locals insisted on him being shot by security forces during protests. At least, six policemen were also injured in stone-pelting, the officials said
The protests later spread to all the districts of the Valley except Budgam. The areas elsewhere in the Valley which witnessed streets clashes and stone-pelting incidents fall in the districts of Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Srinagar, Baramulla and Kupwara. At most places, the traders brought their shutters down and vehicles were withdrawn in a chaotic situation. Media persons were denied access to the encounter site in Tral, reports said. We were not allowed to go close to the encounter site by the security forces. Tral is very tense and people are out on the streets chanting slogans in praise of Sabzar and for freedom, said Zubair Ahmed Dar, a reporter, over the phone from Tral.
A report from Anantnag said that at least 35 injured persons were admitted to the district hospital following clashes occurred in different parts of Anantnag town and its neighbourhood. One of the seriously injured persons has been referred to a Srinagar hospital for specialized treatment, doctors at the district hospital said.
Amid heightening tensions and clashes, the authorities announced imposition of restrictions in various parts of the Valley. Also mobile Internet and pre-paid mobile phone services have been suspended to restrain the spread of rumours and use of social media to provoke violence. The broadband services on fixed lines too have been affected in some Valley areas. The suspension of the Internet came a day after the State government lifted a month-long ban on, at least, 22 social networking websites.
On hearing the news about Bhats killing, the students of various educational institutions across the Valley left their classes midway and took to the streets at many places yelling pro-freedom slogans. The police and the CRPF faced tough time while dealing with the situation at places, said an official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The police statement said that stone-pelting incidents were reported from about two dozen places in the Valley including on police establishments and security forces camps. They also pelted stones on the moving vehicles on the busy roads and in the chowks (intersections), the statement said adding that the security forces rushed to control the situation also came under stone-pelting resulting into the injuries to 25 of them. The police and security forces personnel showed utmost restraint in tacking these unruly mobs, the statement added.
Latest reports from Tral said that the bodies of the slain militants have been handed over to the families for performing their last rites. In Srinagar, the alliance of key separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik, issued a call for two day shutdown from Sunday to mourn and protest the killing of Bhat and other militants and also Tral Chalo on May 30 to express solidarity with the bereaved families. Most separatist leaders and prominent activists have been placed under house arrest as a preventive measure. However, Malik reached Tral where he was addressing the protesters when reports last came in.
Separately, six infiltrating militants were killed in a clash with Army troops in Uri sector of the Line of Control (LoC) in Baramulla district. The incident comes a day after the Army had said it stopped an infiltration attempt backed by the Pakistan army along the de facto border by killing two intruders believed to be the members of a Pakistan army Border Action Team (BAT).
Bhat had succeeded Burhan Wani, the popular Internet-savvy commander of Kashmirs frontline indigenous militant outfit, whose killing by security forces on July 8 last year had resulted in massive violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In the five-month long turbulence, more than 80 civilians and two policemen had died and thousands injured, mainly in security forces firings and other actions besides leaving behind trails of destruction of infrastructure.
Also, over 4,000 security personnel were injured in stone-pelting incidents and mob violence.
Chennai: Expect the escalation of meat prices very soon, as the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has come up with the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, an amendment of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
The new set of the rules pertaining to four subjects cattle market, breeding of animals, aquarium fish market and illegal transportation of cattle is a welcome measure, as it restricts the exploitation of animals and ensures food safety.
Under the new law, Cattle cannot be brought to an animal market (or a fair) for sale for slaughter and the existing animal markets will have to be registered with the District Animal Market Monitoring Committee within three months. Explaining the provision, G Arun Prasanna, Founder of the People For Cattle in India (PFCI) said: "It is not a ban on cattle slaughter. It is a restriction of cattle slaughter from the shandies, to rule out health hazard. Most of the diseased cattle are brought to shandies for sale. By banning it, illegal transportation of animals would also drastically come down."
But how will the general public obtain meat now? The new rule ensures a transparency in the meat sale, as only the authorised slaughterhouses can purchase the animals from the permitted dairy farms. The prime aim of the dairy farms monitored by the veterinary officers is to ensure that only healthy meat goes into one's platter.
However, as a primary route of slaughter through shandies is blocked, there are chances for the shoot up of meat prices, opined Arun Prasanna, adding that the new rule would safeguard public health.
Explaining the malpractices in slaughterhouses, a retired official of the meat corporation said, "If not for our safe cooking practices, we would have been affected by many bacterial diseases, due to the consumption of meat from the untidy slaughter houses. The new rule is excellent, as it puts a check to the illegal slaughter."
The official, who worked in the meat corporation suggested ways of bringing down the meat price. "The sheep breeding cooperative societies and the government should regulate the price by reducing the number of middlemen from the producer to the consumer," said the official.
On May 24, the Gujarat government initiated its free Gujarat from Malaria by 2022 campaign in Ahmedabad designating instances of dengue, chikungunya and malaria as notifiable instead of all fever cases. (Photo: AFP/Representational)
Ahmedabad: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has verified Indias first three laboratory-tested cases of Zika virus in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, as reported by Indian health ministry. The patients include a pregnant lady, who was tested positive in the month of January 2017.
According to a report in The Indian Express, a statement by the Indian health ministry said, The routine laboratory surveillance detected a laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus disease through RT-PCR test at B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad, and Gujarat.
The etiology of this case has been further confirmed through a positive RT-PCR test and sequencing at the national reference laboratory, National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune on 4 January 2017.
I also read the report a few hours ago and am not equipped with information at the moment. All I can say is that we have to make sure that the surveillance is better and we work towards eradicating the mosquitoes. Ahmedabad has always been the first to report outbreaks .So either we have a lot of illnesses or we are reporting better than other states, Dr Vijay Kohli, an entomologist under the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, told the IE.
On May 24, the Gujarat government initiated its free Gujarat from Malaria by 2022 campaign in Ahmedabad designating instances of dengue, chikungunya and malaria as notifiable instead of all fever cases.
Additional Professor from the Indian Institute of Public Health (IIPH), Gandhinagar, Dr Deepak B Saxena said that the state has to be vigilant now. Since the Zika virus can spread easily, a surveillance system should be implemented to target all kinds of non-communicable diseases as well, the professor added.
In case of antenatal mothers, Zika can prove to be life-threatening as it causes microcepohaly in the newborn, Dr Saxena said. He further listed down threats the virus poses saying, the child could be born with a smaller and underdeveloped brain as compared to other babies of its age or sex.
Details of the 3 Zika positive cases:
The news report entailed the following three cases;
Case 1: A 64-year-old male diagnosed with febrile illness for a span of eight days was tested negative for dengue but positive for Zika between February 10 to 16, 2016 at BJMC, Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The case was recorded during the Acute Febrile Illness surveillance in the city in 2016.
Case 2: A 34-year-old female was clinically tested positive for Zika after she delivered her child at BJMC in Ahmedabad. However, the woman had no history of fever during pregnancy or that of travel in the last three months. Her blood sample was re-confirmed as Zika positive by RT-PCR and sequencing at NIV, Pune.
Case 3: Sample from a 22-year-old pregnant lady was tested positive for Zika virus between January 6 to 12 at BJMC while the Antenatal clinic surveillance was on. The lady was in the 37th week of her pregnancy.
Consensus is a word that it is used in several ways. But we will hold discussions with everybody, including opposition parties, Shah said. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday said his party would consult opposition parties, which have been working to forge unity over a joint presidential candidate, before deciding on the ruling alliance's pick for the top constitutional post.
He, however, parried a query on whether the BJP would seek to build a consensus with the opposition.
"Consensus is a word that it is used in several ways. But we will hold discussions with everybody, including opposition parties," he told PTI during an interaction.
Parties like the Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the Left have spoken about fielding a secular opposition candidate if the BJP-led NDA picks a nominee with Hindutva leanings.
However, the ruling block is unlikely to be perturbed with the stand of the opposition parties as numbers in the presidential electoral college favour it.
Shah declined to speak about likely names from the NDA for the president's post, claiming they have not decided on anyone yet. "We have not decided on any name yet. We will first talk to our NDA allies. Then we will talk to opposition parties," he said.
The electoral college for the presidential polls has a total of 11,04,546 votes with the BJP-led NDA's tally currently standing at about 5.38 lakh votes.
The NDA crossed the majority mark in the electoral college after the YSRCP, the Andhra Pradesh party headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, announced his outfit's support for the ruling combine and the TRS, which is in power in Telangana, indicated that it will follow suit.
The BJP is also hopeful of getting the support of both the factions of the AIADMK, which is in power in Tamil Nadu. The presidential election is due in July and the poll to the post of the vice president is scheduled for August.
The electoral college for picking the vice president is clearly in the BJP-led NDA's favour with the alliance having the support of 418 members out of 787, the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Baku, Azerbaijan, May 27
By Fatih Karimov Trend:
Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed regional issues in a phone talk with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.
The parties negotiated cooperation in safeguarding security in the region as well as fighting against terrorism, Hamid Abutalebi, political director of the Iranian presidential office, said on his Twitter account May 27.
The two presidents also discussed implementation of nuclear deal and underlined commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA aka nuclear deal) signed between Tehran and the six world powers in 2015.
Putin also called for boosting economic and political cooperation between Tehran and Moscow and congratulated Rouhani on his re-election.
Rouhani won the presidential elections held on May 19 by gathering over 23.4 million votes (57 percent).
New Delhi: The recent incident of a 26 year old woman dying during a botched termination of pregnancy has had Prime Minister Narendra Modi stepping in. Mr Modi has sought a report from the Centre on the matter with a mandate to the Union health ministry to strengthen the Pre Conception and Pre Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PC-PNDT) Act and Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act.
The police in March had arrested a homoeopath who ran an illicit abortion racket in the districts Mhaisal village, after the discovery of as many as 19 aborted female foetuses dumped in a sewer. The death of a 26-year-old Swati Jamdade on March 3 during a botched termination of her pregnancy, blew the lid off Dr Khidrapure's racket.
The four-member Central team that visited the district are finalising the report and are likely to send it to the PMO by next week. The team was mandated to ascertain the cause of death.
Some IAS officers took up the issue with Chief Secretary S.P. Singh and lodged their objection over IPS officers being given administrative posts in non-uniformed departments.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is keen on appointing IPS officers to head departments after seeing the performance of Mr C.V. Anand at the civil supplies department.
At the recent police conference, the CM appreciated Mr Anands efficiency and said he had saved Rs 850 crore for the government in one year by checking leakages in the public distribution system.
The CM had started a new practice by appointing Mr Anand to head the civil supplies department last year to the post which is traditionally held by IAS officers.
Mr Rao also lauded the efforts of IPS officer Praveen Kumar who brought international recognition as secretary to social welfare schools by encouraging Poorna Malavath, a tribal student, to climb Mount Everest.
The CM now wants to appoint IPS officers to head the Road Transport Authority, commercial taxes and Excise in the coming days. This has led to resentment among IAS officers who normally head all departments other than those like the police and fire.
Some IAS officers took up the issue with Chief Secretary S.P. Singh and lodged their objection over IPS officers being given administrative posts in non-uniformed departments. The IAS Officers Association discussed the issue recently, sources told this newspaper.
IAS officers have administrative experience while IPS officers have enforcement experience. If IPS officers are appointed to head general departments at the state-level, the IAS officers working in districts have to report to IPS officers, which is not correct as per cadre-level of all India officers, an IAS officer said.
Though the RTC also has had IPS officers as vice-chairman and managing director for long, it runs up huge losses every year.
The government justifies the losses on the ground that no public transport system in the world earns profits as they provide transport facility to common people at affordable fares.
The government does not allow the RTC to increase fares periodically since it involves political implications. The TSRTCs proposal to hike fares have been kept pending since the last two years, an official pointed out.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/THRISSUR/KOZHIKODE/MALAPPURAM: Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony has said that the central government order banning the market sale of cattle for slaughter should the shredded and thrown into the waste basket. His call to defy the order came on a day when the UDF strongly protested against the central order issued on Friday. The UDF also decided to observe black day on Monday in this connection. Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, former KPCC president K. Muraleedharan and Muslim League leader P. K. Kunhalikutty also condemned the central move.
Mr Antony, who was inaugurating the Jawaharlal Nehru memorial day programme at Indira Bhavan here, alleged that the BJP government was trying to execute the RSS agenda. The Opposition parties meeting on Friday was the first step towards fighting Modi. All parties should unite to protect peoples interest and secularism in the country, he said. Mr Chennithala said in Thrissur that the slaughter ban order will be resisted both politically and legally. He has also shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing the fronts anguish against the controversial decision. Modi government cant decide what the people should eat. The decision will have economic ramifications and affect 26 lakh farmers and cause a loss of Rs 26,685 crore, he said.
Congress MLA Muraleedharan said that the RSS agenda to sneak into the kitchen cannot be allowed. He told reporters in Kozhikode, it is up to the owners to sell an animal or not. If it is not for meat, who will buy an aged cow? he asked. Without considering the practical aspect, the RSS is carrying out its hidden agenda, he added. Indian Union Muslim League national general secretary P.K. Kunhalikkutty said in Malappuram that the Modi government was implementing its communal agenda through banning the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter. The people of India should unite against the ban. The one-sided ban without discussion shows the communal agenda. This is a challenge to the federal system and the farmers. It is fascism, he said.
Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): With the Centre banning the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter from animal markets through an environment ministry notification, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Saturday said that the decision was 'illogical' and the state would introspect what it could do legally.
"The government cannot decide the choice of our food. The decision seems illogical. The state government will look into it and see if anything can be done legally," Isaac told media in Thiruvananthapuram.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) led LDF government in Kerala and the Congress-led UDF attacked the Centre for the ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre's decision was surprising which was unsuitable for a democratic nation.
The Centre's notification has restricted the sale of animals for slaughter which were used for agricultural purposes.
The environment ministry this week notified a regulation under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 prohibiting sale of cattle through animal markets across the country.
Regulating animal trade is a state business but animal welfare is a central subject, thereby providing the window for the ministry to notify the rule.
Bengaluru: Will the strategy of state BJP president B.S.Yeddyurappa to visit Dalit colonies to have food with the oppressed classes and his move to invite Dalits to pankti bhojana benefit him politically in the 2018 Assembly elections?
In fact, visiting Dalit colonies and having food with the community members is not something new for the RSS, which initiated this idea to mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dalit icon Dr B.R. Ambedkar. It had even sent its cadre to invite Dalits for pankti bhojana. The BJP worked on this concept on similar lines but it became a controversy after the opposition alleged that saffron party leaders had brought food from outside (a hotel) and consumed it in a Dalit colony in Tumakuru.
Yeddyurappa is well aware of the fact that without drawing the SC/STs into the party fold, it would be well nigh impossible for him to seize power from the Congress and become CM in 2018.
Soon after he assumed charge as BJP state president, he started inviting SC/ST leaders to the party fold. He has also given chances to SC/ST leaders to sit on the dais at party programmes in a bid to shed the BJPs perceived preference for the upper castes and recently made it compulsory that SC/ST leaders should be present on the dais at any party programme.
The Nanjangud shock-where senior Dalit leader and BJP candidate Srinivasprasad was trounced by the Congress candidate in a reserved constituency, has only made the former CM speed up his efforts to get the Dalits on his side.
The new trend of having food with the Dalits in SC/ST colonies during his drought tour in the districts, is part of this tactic to woo the largest community in Karnataka with a population of over 1 crore.
The question however remains if his sudden love for the Dalits will annoy his biggest support base-the upper caste Lingayats-who have stood by the BJP all these years.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Yeddyurappa loyalist and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru BJP MP, Shobha Karandlaje said, inspite of government schemes and those meant for the SC/STs, the caste system still prevails in rural areas.
Dalits are not included in the mainstream because of the caste system. Consuming food in Dalit colonies is not new for Yeddyurappa, in fact, he has been visiting Dalit colonies and working with them for the last 40 years.
Now, the Bharatiya Janata Party has decided to celebrate the 125th birth anniversary of Dr Ambedkar by visiting Dalit colonies and taking food with them.
During our visit to these colonies in Bagalkot on Tuesday, the inhabitants were delighted and mingled with us consuming food with our leaders, she said.
The caste system had pretty strong roots in Bagalkot but after Yeddyurappa started visiting Dalit colonies in the district, the scenario has changed, Dalits have gained the confidence to interact with party leaders. Our initiative of visiting Dalit colonies will continue till April 14, 2018 (the birth anniversary of Ambedkar). With these visits, we can also get acquainted with the ground reality and the hardship facing by SC/STs, Ms Karandlaje explained.
The MP claimed that her party had given adequate representation to SC/STs. Both at the national and state level, the party has accommodated more SC/ST leaders in the organisation and has been able to reach out to Dalits, she added.
Bengaluru: The unequivocal support of the Janata Dal (Secular) for the non-NDA candidate in the Presidential elections due in July appears to be part of its long term strategy to bolster its poll prospects in the 2018 assembly elections in Karnataka.
The fact that Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda has already pledged his support to the UPA candidate in the Presidential polls when he could have taken a call on it sometime in June, shows this is a strategic move.
He will pull out many more such tricks from his bag to support the secular alliance at the national level till the assembly elections are held in the state and then will try to extract his pound of flesh said a senior party leader, pointing out that when it was payback time, JD(S) support for the non-NDA forces, could help it in the event of a hung assembly in the state.
Also, it could arrive at a tacit understanding with the Congress in a few constituencies to ensure the victory of its candidates before the polls and even use the goodwill earned to make sure that the rebels, who left the JD(S), did not succeed in joining the Congress or get tickets to contest the elections, he noted.
While state Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Kumaraswamy has in the past said that in the event of a hung assembly he would prefer fresh elections to helping any party form the government, sources say if such a situation were to arise post the election he could take a call on going with one of the two national parties rather than opting for another poll.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday said his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday should not be given any "political" interpretation.
"This has nothing to do with politics. In the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister, our prime minister invited me to the lunch. Everyone knows that Mauritius has close ties with India, especially Bihar as more than half of Mauritius people have their origins in Bihar. I came here to discuss about the problems faced by Bihar," Kumar told reporters outside Bihar Bhawan, in New Delhi.
He said he met the Prime Minister as Bihar's Chief Minister and not as a representative of political party, adding that the meeting pertained to floods that have been ravaging the state.
"I came here to discuss about one of the major problems Bihar has been facing. Every year our lands are ravaged by floods caused due to over flowing of Ganga River. Apart from that I have also requested for silt management policy and asked the Prime Minster to send a group of scientist to analyse the situation," Kumar said.
When asked about the reason for his absence on a lunch invitation by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Kumar said, "I had already met Sonia on April 20, she invited me and during that we disused about the Presidential polls. It was already decided that Sharad Yadav will be representing from our party."
"I did not skip the lunch. This is a mere misinterpretation," Nitish added.
On Friday, more than 17 political parties took part in Sonia Gandhi's luncheon to hold discussions on naming a candidate from the Opposition for presidential polls. But Kumar was absent from the event.
Kochi: Parliamentarians should volunteer to foster healthier and more constructive debates in the society by strongly correcting the pessimistic trends in our political system, Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam said in Chennai on Saturday.
Stating that a society holds different views about politics and Parliamentarians, he said,"People who are unaware of the procedures of Parliament, tend to criticise long discussions without realising that the Nation derives its policies through these deliberations."
"Though democracy allows a space of dissent, we have reached a stage where dissent is viewed as something unpardonable and even used against people," he added.
Referring to the recent comments by President Pranab Mukherjee on the need for an "argumentative Indian," Sathasivam said, "I feel that our parliamentarians should volunteer to foster healthier and more constructive debates in society by strongly correcting the pessimistic trends in our political system."
A parliamentarian fulfills the most significant duty of leading the nation building activity in any democracy, he noted.
The Governor also suggested that developmental activity of MPs give more impetus to projects that promote renewable energy.
"It would also be good if active attention of the members (of Parliament) turned to projects that benefit the transgenders, SCs and ST (communities)," he said.
Sathasivam was here to present the 8th edition of Sansad Ratna Awards 2017 to nine Members of Parliament for their outstanding performance during the 16th Lok Sabha in April this year.
The parliamentarians chosen for the award are, Shiv Sena MP from Mavel constituency in Maharashtra, Shrirang Appa Barve, Congress MP from Hingoli constituency in Maharashtra, Rajeev Shankar Rao Satav, and National Congress party MP from Kolhapur constituency in Maharashtra, Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadi.
Biju Janata Dal MP from Cuttack in Odisha, Bhatruhari Mahtab, Revolutionary Socialist Party MP from Kollam in Kerala, N K Premachandran, BJP's youngest MP from Nandurbar in Maharashtra, Heena Vijaykumar Gavit, CPI(M) MPs from Kerala, KN Balagopal and TN Seema were also selected.
However, Shiv Sena MP from Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut was not present.
New Delhi: A day after he skipped the Opposition unity lunch called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a luncheon meeting with visiting Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth, sparking off speculation about him gravitating towards the ruling NDA.
Mr Kumar, however, was quick to scotch the rumours, saying that too much was being read into the meeting which was a routine event. He said that he discussed issues related to his state with the PM, including desilting of the Ganga, and added that it was essential for him to be present at the meeting because Bihar has a deep connect with Mauritius.
New Delhi: With the Opposition putting the ball in the BJPs court as far as trying to forge a consensus on a presidential candidate is concerned, party president Amit Shah said on Saturday that his party would consult all Opposition parties before picking a candidate for the top post.
Mr Shah, however, did not elaborate on whether the ruling party would try and build a consensus on the candidates name. Consensus is a word that is used in several ways. But we will hold discussions with everybody, including Opposition parties, he said.
The BJP president, however, refused to discuss any likely names as candidates for the Presidents post. We have not decided on any name yet. We will first talk to our NDA allies. Then we will talk to Opposition parties.
The NDA seems to have the numbers in its favour as of now with the support of parties like the YSR Congress, TRS and both factions of the AIADMK.
On Friday, after a meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and attended by 17 Opposition parties, a joint statement was issued which said that in case the NDAs name for a presidential candidate was not acceptable to them or was not secular, then the parties would field a candidate of their own.
The Opposition parties have been holding parleys as well as trying to reach out to many fence sitters and NDA allies, like the Biju Janata Dal and the Shiv Sena, to garner their support for the presidential polls to be held in July when President Pranab Mukherjee remits office.
East Libyan forces said they participated on Friday in air strikes launched by Egypt on the Libyan city of Derna, following a deadly attack on Christians in central Egypt earlier in the day, Reuters reported.
The East Libyan air force's media office said in a statement that the strikes had targeted forces linked to al-Qaeda at a number of sites, and would be followed by a ground operation.
A resident in Derna told Reuters they had heard four powerful explosions, and that the strikes had targeted camps around Derna used by fighters belonging to the Majlis al-Shura militant group.
Derna is one of the cities where east Libyan forces led by Khalifa Haftar, a close ally of Egypt, has been trying to gain control from Islamists and other opponents.
Haftar's forces have besieged the city and launched occasional air strikes.
Derna has a history of Islamist militancy and is where Islamic State set up its first presence in Libya in 2014. However, the jihadist group was later chased from the city by local fighters and rival Islamists from the Majlis al-Shura group.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister and Janata Dal (United) chief Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a luncheon meeting with visiting Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth. Half of the population in Mauritius is of Bihari origin. The PM had invited me for the luncheon and, as the state CM, and I decided to accept it, he said.
On why he did not attend Mrs Gandhis lunch on Friday, he said that he had already met the Congress chief on May 20 and had deputed his senior party colleague, Sharad Yadav, to attend the meet.
Top leaders from 17 Opposition parties had come together on Friday to send across a message to the ruling BJP on its third anniversary.
He didnt only share the dais with Mr Modi in Bihar recently, but has also praised the PM saying that he (Modi) became PM candidate in 2014 as he was capable, and as per peoples wishes.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi meeting the victims of Saharanpur caste violence at Shahjahanpur Chowki in Saharanpur on Saturday. (Photo: PTI)
Lucknow: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, on Saturday, alleged that the Central government as spreading fear across the country and Dalits were being oppressed.
Mr Gandhi was prevented by the UP police at the Saharanpur border from entering the riot-hit district.
Accompanied by AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad and UPCC chief Raj Babbar, Mr Gandhi walked for a short distance on foot after which he was asked by senior officials not to proceed further.
Thousands of Congress workers who had gathered there to welcome their leader were also stopped form moving ahead.
The administration has requested me so I will be going back, but they have said they will take me to villages once the situation improves, he said.
He further said, The government has failed on law and order front in UP. Everybody in country who is not powerful is scared and this is not the way to run a country. The national government is spreading fear across the country. Dalits are being oppressed. This is not only in Saharanpur but all over India, Rohit Vemula was oppressed and everyday crores of people are being oppressed, he said.
He said that the government only listens to suit-boot type people and not the poor.
A dishonest judge perverts the course of justice a dishonest prosecutor ensures that the course of justice doesnt even begin. Recent events in the US, concerning the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel for the Russia investigation, holds lessons for every country governed by the rule of law. The situation could not be murkier. Respected by both Republicans and Democrats, the former FBI director was recently appointed by deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein after President Donald Trumps dismissal of James Comey as FBI director had created a deep, nation-wide crisis of confidence. Attorney general Jefferson Sessions had to hand the investigation over to his deputy after it was revealed that he had kept suspiciously silent about his meetings Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Mr Kislyak was also responsible for Michael Flynns short stint as national security adviser being terminated by Mr Trump after disclosures of secret conversations with the ambassador which he lied about were published by the press. In conversations with then director Comey, Mr Trump sought pledges of loyalty and assurances that he himself was not under investigation, and capped it with a word of advice on the investigation into Mr Flynns alleged misconduct. Mr Comeys refusal brought about his dismissal.
There is a long and instructive tradition of the special counsel in the US. After Watergate came the Iran-Contra and Whitewater probes. President James Carter, secured the enactment of the Ethics of Government Act, 1978. It envisaged the appointment of a special counsel by the court to which he reported. The act lapsed in 1999, but the Department of Justice issued internal regulations enabling the attorney general to appoint a special counsel. Robert Mueller has a wide remit and ample authority to fulfil his duties. He is specially authorised to investigate any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump. He can press criminal charges. Institutions and procedures may vary, but the fundamental principle remains unchanged political considerations must not be allowed to interfere with the course of justice. India adopted a legal system based on British law. Rulings of its Supreme Court affirm the independence of the prosecuting agency from governmental and political influence or consideration. But the reality is its direct opposite.
Prof D.H. Bayley, author of the definitive work The Police and Political Development in India, observed that a dual system of criminal justice emerged. The one of law, the other of politics the rule of law in modern India, the frame upon which justice hangs, has been undermined by the rule of politics. Supervision in the name of democracy has eroded the foundations upon which impartiality depends in a criminal justice system. The pogrom of Muslims in Gujarat in 2002 saw a near total collapse of the criminal justice system. Many a prosecutor turned defence counsel. After 2014, the National Investigation Agency under the Narendra Modi government has treated Hindus accused of terrorism with kid gloves. There is no danger of India having a Robert Mueller any time soon. In no case can one rely on executive restraint. Restraint must be imposed by law. If the Constitution can establish a comptroller and auditor general, why can it not establish the office of an independent director of public prosecutions?
By arrangement with Dawn
The notification of rules by the Centre on Friday banning the sale of cattle of all categories for slaughter is not just misconceived, its impact is likely to be extremely negative on the agricultural economy as well as on employment. The Union environment ministry notification is titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets), but it is hard to discern a bleeding hearts sentiment here. More likely, the chief effect of the notification will be to put millions of those in the slaughterhouse and animal skinning business out of work. These are principally from the minority and dalit communities. The ban has already drawn the criticism that it furthers the RSS agenda and hurts the economy. Ageing and dying cattle will also now have to be compulsorily fed by cattle farmers in this age of cow vigilantism.
Cow slaughter is banned in most states in India. But the notification will have an impact in Kerala, Bengal and some northeastern states and the beef trade will be hit as the consumption of cow meat is common. However, the main effect of the new rules is likely to be on the buffalo business which is crucial for meat exports, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and on supplies to hotel, restaurants and smaller eateries. Monitoring committees will now be swarming cattle markets to ensure that the regulations are being followed. This could give the cow-vigilante brigades a boost. As a nation we have far more urgent tasks at hand than to monitor what people eat, and whether their food traditions conform to the majority Hindu tradition or not.
Crediting Prime Minister Narendra Modi for restoring the dignity of the Prime Ministers Office and taking bold decisions like notebandi and surgical strikes, minority affairs minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, in an interview to Yojna Gusai on BJP-led NDA governments third anniversary said, the so-called Oppositions unity and its slogan Modi hatao Modi harao will fail in front of peoples growing faith in the Modi government.
How will you describe the Narendra Modi governments three years?
It is perhaps for the first time in the last 40 years that India is looking at the Prime Minister as an institution. The dignity of this institution has been restored as well as strengthened. Not just in India, the world over, Mr Modi is seen as a strong and an influential man, who has changed the way rest of the world used to see India. When the NDA came to power, corruption and scams were perhaps the biggest menace, and in these three years there is no corruption or scam. Earlier, power corridors in Delhi were infested with middlemen who used to rule and hobnob with the government and its officials. But things have changed since May 26, 2014. Everything is transparent in this government and there is no room for corruption or the corrupt.
Mr Modi has emerged as the most popular leader among the masses as all his governments policies and schemes are centred on the poor and marginalised. Be it poor, farmers, minorities, dalits or women, they feel a part of this government and its policies because the government keeps them in mind whenever it takes any policy decision. They all feel a part of the system now.
But the Opposition does not agree with what you are saying.
The problem with the Opposition is that they still have not digested the 2014 defeat or the many other defeats they have been facing since then. It will take them more than 20 years to accept that they have been rejected and India has changed. The Opposition has no serious issue to raise against the government. They try to create issues like faulty EVMs but cant even sustain their allegations because they have no fact to corroborate.
How do you see the coming together of Opposition parties for their joint presidential candidate?
Everyone knows that presidential election is a number game. Every party knows its strength. This Opposition partys exercise is just a symbolic exercise.
But dont you think that Oppositions unity against the Modi government could create problems for the NDA, if not on presidential candidate issue but may be on others?
If the Oppositions policy remains Modi hatao Modi harao, then it will never be successful. Mr Modi and his work is accepted by the people and when people have accepted something, the Opposition can do whatever it wants. Also, this Oppositions unity in itself is doubtful because there are so many contradictions within the Opposition. I think instead of a gathbandhan (alliance), it will soon turn into a latthbandhan (internal squabble).
The Opposition has also criticised the Modi government for politicising issues like triple talaq and a spurt in cow vigilantism.
First of all, triple talaq is a reform issue, so there cannot be any politics over it. There is a national debate going on and there are views both in favour and against it. The issue is before the Supreme Court and we are hopeful that iss manthan se amrit hi niklega.
But some Muslim organisations have also criticised the government for interfering in a religious issue.
This country runs as per the Constitution which guarantees equality to all, including women. You cannot use religion to side with an issue when it effects the very right of a woman of this country, no matter which religion she believes.
What about cow vigilantism?
A gau rakshak can never be a criminal. Unfortunately, some criminal forces are trying to give a bad name to gau rakshaks. But our government, even the Prime Minister, has made his stand clear on the issue. If you indulge in any criminal activity in the name of gau rakhsa, you will be dealt with just like a criminal.
What about a spurt in crime- related incidents in Uttar Pradesh, even after your party formed its government after 15 years under Yogi Adityanaths leadership?
All these years, criminals and their supporters were ruling UP. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath had given them warning, which some of them failed to take seriously. But the Yogi government has shown them that it meant what it had said by promptly acting and taking actions against them.
Kashmir has been witnessing unrest, every now and then, since the Modi government came to power and your party entered into an alliance with the PDP to form the government. Is there any solution to the growing unrest in the Valley?
It is wrong to say that entire Kashmir is facing unrest. There are 23 districts, which are facing unrest, but situation will become normal soon. People of Kashmir will themselves defeat separatists and terrorists, who are being guided and supported by our neighbour.
But Pakistan has made attempts to showcase the Kashmir situation on the international platform against India...
The entire international community knows how Pakistan is running a terrorism factory, whose pollution is polluting the world peace. Pakistan has been exposed.
Kashmir is ours and so are the Kashmiris.
Any major decisions of the government which you think were outstanding?
There are many, but notebandi, surgical strike and repealing of more than 1,000 obsolete laws were outstanding. I think notebandi and surgical strike were two decisions which no Prime Minister could have taken. The Opposition criticised but people supported. Only a Prime Minister whose motto is na khaoonga na khanedoonga could have taken the notebandi decision.
You are heading a ministry for minority affairs but both the Modi government and your party have faced criticism for being anti-minority.
The problem with the Opposition is that it sings its own song. They tried to create this perception but again the people supported Mr Modi and the BJP. You cannot fool minorities with appeasement politics. They need education, employment and empowerment and this government, including the minority affairs ministry, has initiated and implemented so many schemes for them, keeping all the three in mind.
A little under 30 years ago, after Vishwanath Pratap Singh became Prime Minister, he met with Sri Lankas President Ranasinghe Premadasa. Singh, a polite man, says he was surprised when the first thing Premadasa said to him was: When are you taking your Army back? The reference was to the Indian Peace Keeping Force, a group of soldiers from the Indian Army sent to Lanka to fight the Tamil Tigers. India had deployed tens of thousands of its jawans (over 1,000 of whom would die fighting the Tamilians), and we had thought of it as a sacrifice for the Lankans. However, the Lankans, according to Singh, saw it as interference after a point and wanted the Indians out of their country.
The civil war in Lanka ended with a victory of the Sinhalese nationalists, and today Lanka is no longer in the influence of India as it was 30 years ago. If there is a nation that many Lankans see as interfering, it is China. The giant ports being developed by the Chinese in Colombo and Hambantota are projects of a scale India cannot compete with. However, they come with a compromise, which the China model of development brings with it. There is no time here for details, but to some extent it means more or less like having Chinese colonies on your land. And to a larger extent, it means having to take on debt from the Chinese that you may or may not be able to afford. The Chinese are executing today the most important and largest infrastructure project of the world. It is called One Belt, One Road. The belt is a series of highways and the road is a network of ports and sea routes.
It held a meeting in May to show its vision and India boycotted it. However, all of Indias neighbours attended, except for one, Bhutan. Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal all attended, leading to fears of encirclement in the community that thinks about strategic affairs in India. India warned those attending that the partnership with the Chinese would come at a heavy price, but almost nobody heard us. The question is: Why not? The answer, to return to the original point of this article, is that almost all of Indias neighbours either dislike or suspect us. Even in Hindu Nepal, Indians are not particularly popular. We have no neighbour with whom we have a relationship like the United States has with Canada. All our borders seem to be like the US and Mexicos, or worse. Perhaps the fault is entirely that of our neighbours. Certainly the average Indian holds the impression that we are victims of other nations mischief. This is coupled with the prejudiced view many of us have of our neighbours. We believe Bangladeshis are illegal immigrants, Nepalis are watchmen and Pakistanis are terrorists.
Anti-India riots broke out in Nepal a few years ago in which people were killed and property was damaged. This came after a report that actor Hrithik Roshan said he hated Nepalis. Roshan had said no such thing, and the report was false, but the thing to ask is: Why did the Nepalis believe it immediately? Today Nepalis in the northern part of the country think India is playing games by dividing their country into hill-people and plains-people and instigating a long and painful blockade against the former (who are the elite). They also think India is interfering with their constitutional processes. It is possible that India has legitimate concerns and interests in Nepal. However, we must ask ourselves is why our relations with a Hindu country are in such tatters that we could not get them to side with us against the Chinese.
Even with Bhutan, our only friend against the Chinese, our relationship is not one of equals. Under Nehru India imposed on Bhutan something called a Friendship Treaty, which actually was nothing of the sort. The treaty gave India a veto on Bhutans foreign policy. The exact words are the Government of Bhutan agrees to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations. This was removed only a few years ago, I think under Atal Behari Vajpayee. Nehru inherited an aggressively expansionist imperial state which had tentative borders. Neighbouring states feared the India of the British Raj, and legitimately. Our failure has been that we have not been able to overcome that fear and distrust and build relationships that are meaningful and based on respect and mutual interest. That failure showed in our isolation at the belt and road summit. India will not be able to match for a long time Chinas economic influence on our neighbours. But that does not stop us from being real friends with them.
According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed. (Photo: AP)
Washington: Reports of civilian deaths from US-led air strikes in Iraq and Syria have soared in recent months, raising questions about whether President Donald Trump's order to "annihilate" the Islamic State group is fueling the increase.
The Pentagon vehemently denies this, and insists its targeting procedures and protocols to avoid civilian casualties have not changed.
Here is a look at what is going on.
How many are dying?
Since the campaign to defeat IS in Iraq and Syria began in August 2014, the coalition has conducted 21,663 strikes -- 12,740 Iraq in and 8,923 Syria.
According to an official tally at the end of April, the Pentagon confirmed at least 352 civilians had been killed.
That toll came before Thursday's announcement that at least 105 people were killed in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March. The official numbers are also dwarfed by claims from monitoring groups.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights this week reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition's operations in Syria.
It said between April 23 and May 23, coalition strikes killed 225 civilians in Syria, including dozens of children.
Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,681 people have died in coalition strikes -- between 283 and 366 of them in April alone.
What has changed?
Trump, who campaigned on a pledge to quickly defeat IS, ordered his generals to come up with a revised plan to defeat the jihadist group.
The review resulted in an "annihilation campaign" to kill all IS fighters, and saw commanders gain greater autonomy to make battlefield decisions.
Observers worry this is translating to a greater willingness to risk civilian life.
Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU National Security Project, voiced concerns the White House can't be trusted to provide accurate information about civilian deaths, and whether guidance has changed.
"Even in war, there are rules and those rules are aimed at protecting civilian life," she told AFP.
"It's not at all clear that all feasible precautions are being taken to protect civilian life."
What does the Pentagon say?
The Pentagon strongly disputes such assertions, and says that protecting civilians is a top priority in assessing targets.
"Throughout this fight, every target goes through our refined process to ensure it's not only a legitimate target under the law of armed conflict, but that it meets a threshold of proportionality and necessity," said Lieutenant General Jeffrey Harrigian, who heads US Air Forces Central Command.
Only 0.24 percent of engagements have resulted in a "credible" report of civilian casualties, according to the Pentagon.
So what is happening?
The battlefield is changing, and in some places very quickly.
Whereas at the start of the campaign, the coalition was primarily striking IS fighters as they moved across large areas of open terrain, the fight is now focused on predominantly urban areas.
In Iraq's second city Mosul, for instance, IS jihadists are operating from tightly populated areas. The March 17 strike that resulted in the death of at least 105 civilians came when IS snipers were spotted in a building.
The air strike on the snipers inadvertently caused a stash of IS munitions to blow up, triggering the building's collapse, according to the Pentagon.
Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon policy official at the end of the Obama administration, said the increasing civilian toll is due to fighting in a city, rather than any policy change under Trump.
"They are trying very hard to avoid civilian casualties," he said.
"It's what the law tells them, and they want to avoid handing ISIS propaganda victories. But the risk of making mistakes is going to go up when you are operating in an urban environment."
Oregon: Two people died on Friday and another was hurt in a stabbing on a Portland light-rail train after a man yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim, one of whom was wearing a hijab, police said.
Officers arrested a man on Friday afternoon who ran from the train, The Oregonian/OregonLive reported. Police were still working on Friday night to identify the man and the people who were attacked.
Before the stabbing, the assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using hate speech or biased language, and then turned his focus on the women, police Sgt. Pete Simpson said.
In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behaviour and some of the people that he was yelling at, Simpson told The Oregonian.
They were attacked viciously, he said.
One person was dead at the scene and another died at a hospital, Simpson said. The third person was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries. It wasnt clear why the man was yelling, Simpson said.
He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim, Simpson said. Police dont know if the man has mental health issues or if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
The attack happened on a MAX train as it headed east. A train remained stopped on the tracks at a transit center which was closed while police investigated.
Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old resident of Clackamas, Oregon, told the newspaper she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the women. A group of men tried to quiet him and he stabbed them, she said.
Simpson said the women understandably left the scene before police were able to talk with them but that they would like to hear from them to help fill in what happened.
Its horrific, Simpson said. Theres no other word to describe what happened today.
Millions of Muslims marked the start of Ramadan Friday, a time of intense prayer, dawn-to-dusk fasting and nightly feasts.
London: British police said they arrested two more people during raids Saturday in connection with the suicide bombing at a Manchester concert, with a "large part" of the network behind the attack now being held.
The two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested in north Manchester early Saturday after police gained entry to an address using a controlled explosion.
The arrests bring to 11 the number of suspects held in Britain over Monday's blast, in which 116 people were also injured, and for which the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.
Police in Libya have detained the father and brother of 22-year-old bomber Salman Abedi.
Mark Rowley, head of Britain's counter-terrorism police, said on Friday that police had captured "a large part of the network" linked to the atrocity in which seven children aged under 18 were among the 22 dead.
"We are very happy we've got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about but there's still a little bit more to do," he said.
The bombing at a concert by US pop idol Ariana Grande was the latest in a series of IS-claimed attacks in Europe that have coincided with an offensive on the jihadist group in Syria and Iraq by US, British and other Western forces.
Britain's terror threat assessment has been raised to "critical", the highest level, meaning an attack is considered imminent.
Security to the fore
The bombing at a concert by US pop idol Ariana Grande was the latest in a series of IS-claimed attacks in Europe that have coincided with an offensive on the jihadist group in Syria and Iraq by US, British and other Western forces.
Dozens of IS fighters were killed in US strikes in Syria on Friday, while masked gunmen killed at least 28 people in an attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt.
But as campaigning resumed in Britain for a snap June 8 election following a halt called after Monday's attack, the issue of security, which had not been widely discussed before the attack, was poised to feature highly.
Opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said it was the "responsibility" of governments to minimise the risk of terror by giving police the funding they need, after cuts made while Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May served as interior minister.
The number of police officers fell by 14 percent, or almost 20,000, from 2009 to 2016, according to the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank.
Focus on internet
At the G7 summit meeting in Sicily on Friday, May faced questions from journalists over the police funding cuts during her six years as the interior minister.
"We have protected counter-terrorism police funding, we've increased the funding for our security and intelligence agencies and we continue to provide them with the support they need," May said.
She also urged the G7 leaders to demand action from internet providers and social media companies to keep extremist content from getting online. "The fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet," she said.
A YouGov poll in The Times newspaper put the Conservatives at 43 percent compared with Labour at 38 percent, far better for Labour than the double-digit margin that had previously separated it from the governing party.
But the poll also suggested that 41 percent of respondents believe the Conservatives would handle defence and security best, while just 18 percent said the same of Labour. YouGov polled 2,052 people on Wednesday and Thursday.
Armed police respond after reports of an explosion at Manchester Arena during an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. (Photo: AP)
London: A total of 11 people are in detention in Britain and Libya over Monday's suicide bombing on a pop concert in the northwestern English city of Manchester by a British-born man of Libyan origin.
A teenage boy and a woman arrested by British police this week have since been released without charge, leaving nine in custody on UK soil who were arrested "on suspicion of offences contrary to the terrorism act".
In Libya, killer Salman Abedi's father and brother are in detention.
Abedi reportedly returned from Libya only a few days before the attack which killed 22 people, including seven children aged under 18, but police are still trying to pin down his movements as well as determine whether he was part of a wider network.
Here are the details of the arrests so far:
Tuesday, May 23
Masked police arrest a 24-year-old man in the Chorlton area of south Manchester near where Abedi is believed to have lived. Police had earlier given the man's age as 23.
An eyewitness told AFP that police shouted at the man to lie on the ground before taking him away. British media indicated that this man is highly likely to be Abedi's older brother Ismael.
The brother was described in media reports as "outgoing" compared to Salman, who was "very quiet."
Wednesday, May 24
Police arrest three more men in south Manchester aged 18, 21 and 24, a short walk from the house where Abedi lived.
Omar Alfaqhuri, a neighbour who lives just in front of a house that was raided, said he saw "a massive deployment of police forces" during the arrest in the night and a man he named as "Adel" taken away.
"They blocked the whole street," he said, adding that he saw the man handcuffed and taken away in a car.
He said his neighbours were a "nice quiet family".
An 18-year-old man, who police said was carrying a suspect package, is arrested in Wigan, a town near Manchester. No further details were given about him.
Another man, 22, is arrested in the town of Nuneaton in central England, widening the British police probe beyond areas in and around Manchester.
Libya's Deterrence Force, which acts as the police of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, arrests Abedi's father Ramadan, saying it had already arrested his brother Hashem on Tuesday.
A spokesman said the brother was aware of Abedi's attack plan and both belonged to the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
Abedi's father reportedly protested his son's innocence in the hours before his arrest.
In Manchester, a 34-year-old woman is arrested in an apartment block in Blackley, an area north of the city centre by armed police. She is later released without charge.
Thursday, May 25
A 16-year-old boy is arrested in Withington, a suburb of south Manchester. The boy is later released without charge.
A 38-year-old man is arrested in Blackley, north of Manchester.
Friday, May 26
A 30-year-old man is arrested in Moss Side, an area of Manchester which has been associated with social deprivation and gangs.
A 44-year-old man is arrested in Rusholme, in the south of the city.
The Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed some 120 Daesh (banned in Russia) militants trying to escape the violent group's self-proclaimed capital city of Raqqa in Syria, Sputnik reported.
The radicals were eliminated by Russian airstrikes on May 25, while fleeing from Syria's Raqqa for Palmyra, according to a source in the Russian Defense Ministry. The source revealed that the convoy of 39 pick-up trucks armed with large-caliber machine-guns was heading out of the city.
"As a result of these strikes, 32 pick-up trucks were destroyed and some 120 terrorists were killed," the source said, explaining that the Russian military in Syria received several confirmed reports that Daesh terrorists made a deal the units of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) operating near Raqqa, allowing them to leave the embattled city without obstacles.
"Upon receiving this information, the command of the Russian contingent in Syria has taken measures to prevent the exodus of Daesh terrorists in the southern direction," the source said.
The source went on by saying that Russian drones have been deployed around the clock to track the possible routes that the terrorists could use to escape the city and move toward Palmyra. Russian combat aircraft and special forces units were engaged to prevent the militants from fleeing Raqqa.
"Any attempts by Daesh militants to move toward Palmyra and to build up their forces there will be squashed," the source stressed.
Palestinians protestors hold national flags during protest in solidarity with Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails. (Photo: AP)
Ramallah (Palestine): Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their protest, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Saturday.
Palestinian Prisoners Club chief Qaddura Fares said an agreement had been reached between the strikers and Israeli authorities on improving their conditions.
An Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman confirmed the hunger strike was over.
Israeli authorities conceded to one of the prisoners' main demands -- that they should have two family visits a month instead of the one they were entitled to before the strike, the spokeswoman said.
The resolution of the strike came hours before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
A number of the strikers had been in sharply declining health.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had urged US counterpart Donald Trump to raise the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the region earlier this week.
Demonstrations in support of the prisoners had been held across the occupied West Bank leading to repeated bloody clashes with Israeli security forces.
Islamabad: Pakistan today proposed to hike its defence budget by nearly seven per cent to Rs 920 billion amid growing tension with India along the Line of Control.
"We have increased the defence budget to Rs 920 billion (from Rs 860 billion)," Finance Minister Ishaq Dar said as he presented the federal budget for 2017-18 fiscal in the National Assembly.
Dar also announced a 10 per cent increase of "special allowance" to the armed forces for their contribution in defeating militants throughout operation 'Zarb-e-Azb' launched three years ago.
Pakistan's proposed increase in the defence outlay and for its armed forces came as tension with India soared over a host of contentious issues.
Tensions have run high between India and Pakistan over a host of issues, including the status of Kashmir.
India has accused Pakistan of supporting militants, who infiltrate from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir into the Valley and target Indian security forces. One such attack in
September last year killed 18 Indian soldiers and India retaliated with "surgical strikes" on terrorist launchpads in PoK.
Most recently, the Pakistan Army sentenced Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav on charges of espionage after a secret trial. India had demanded consular access to Jadhav,
which Pakistan repeatedly denied, claiming the man was an Indian spy.
India took Pakistan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague over the matter, which in an interim order stopped Pakistan from executing Jadhav, and said India should have been given consular access as per the Vienna Convention.
India and Pakistan are also at loggerheads over a China-backed economic corridor that runs through PoK. China says it is a developmental project and will aid Pakistan's economy.
Last year, Pakistan recorded a 5.28 per cent GDP growth - the highest in 10 years and the volume of its economy crossed USD 300 billion.
The total estimated outlay of the budget presented on Friday will be 4.75 trillion rupees, according to minister Dar.
The government proposed a 6 per cent GDP growth for 2017-18 fiscal and the development expenditure for next year will be 1.001 trillion rupees, Dar said.
Infrastructure would get maximum allocation in the development sector, according to Dar.
He said the minimum wage will be set at 15,000 rupees, while announcing a 10 per cent increase in the basic salary of government employees and pensioners.
It was the fifth and last budget of the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz government which came to power in May 2013.
Pakistani paramilitary soldiers stand guard while people wait for the opening of the border crossing in Chaman, Pakistan. (Photo: AP)
Quetta: Pakistan's military says authorities have reopened the main Chaman border crossing at Afghanistan's request after shutting it down earlier this month when the two sides traded fire there, killing 15 people on both sides.
The move comes on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadhan. In a statement, the military said the border was reopened Saturday on "humanitarian grounds."
The statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghan were killed on May 5.
Pakistan says the violence began when Afghan forces opened fire on census workers and troops escorting them. Kabul blames Pakistan for initiating the fire.
Pakistan shares a 2,200-kilometer- (1,375 mile-) long porous border with Afghanistan.
Demands for a Bihar-model grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh with arch rivals Samajwadi Party and BSP coming together to tackle BJP resonated at an Opposition meeting here on Friday.
At the first meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to forge unity among the opposition, leaders like RJD president Lalu Prasad and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee harped on the unity theme among UP parties as chiefs of SP and BSP Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati sat across the table.
Sources said BSP chief Mayawati set the tone at the meeting called to strategise on Presidential polls and a united fight against BJP, saying she was "all for opposition unity". Canards are spreading that she would not join the opposition, she said.
"I am with you. I am not outside (the opposition camp)," a senior leader, who attended the meeting, quoted Mayawati as saying. She also referred to the plight of farmers and spread of communalist forces in the country.
While the SP chief did not speak, sources said, senior party leader Ramgopal Yadav endorsed the concerns raised by Mayawati and said all secular parties should come together.
SP-Congress alliance and BSP were decimated in the recent UP polls with opposition viewing that if there was a Bihar-model alliance, in which JD(U)-RJD-Congress combine trounced BJP, they could have trounced the saffron party.
Sources said Prasad was very vocal that SP and BSP should come together. If SP, BSP and Congress come together in UP, BJP will be decimated in UP, Prasad was quoted as saying.
Banerjee also echoed Prasad and said that BJP was using investigating agencies to trouble her party, Prasad and Mayawati.
Both the UP parties did not object to remarks for the adoption of Bihar-model in their state. Sources said Mayawati's presence itself showed her seriousness about opposition unity.
The meeting also saw ruling and opposition parties from Kerala and West Bengal CPI(M)-led Left Front, Congress and Trinamool -- sitting across the table.
Sources said CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury wanted the ideological battle against RSS-BJP to continue while his CPI counterpart S Sudhakar Reddy wanted a concerted campaign on price rise.
At the meeting, several other issues like Kashmir, the plight of farmers, Dalits and adivasis were also raised.
While Banerjee also mentioned demonetisation during her intervention, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who demanded a sub-committee to be set up to coordinate efforts on Presidential polls, raised the issue of farmers' plight. SP's Yadav also echoed Pawar's concerns.
JMM leader Hemant Soren highlighted the issues faced by adivasis and wanted the opposition parties to make it one of the important planks of the campaign.
Senior National Conference leader Omar Abdullah demanded frequent meetings of the opposition leaders. Referring to the Kashmir issue, he said the government was scared of the Hurriyat Conference.
The CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala and the Congress-led UDF today attacked the Centre for the ban on the sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Centre's decision was "surprising" which was unsuitable for a democratic nation.
"It is not right that a government decides the choice of food of the people. With this decision, the Centre is destroying a sector which employees thousands of people," Vijayan said in a strong reaction to the Union government's decision.
The notification was part of Centre's attempt to implement "RSS agenda". The Centre should have consulted with the states and sought their opinion before coming with the notification, Vijayan said in a statement here.
While state Finance Minister Thomas Isaac said the decision was 'illogical' and the state would introspect what it could do legally, Local Administration Minister K T Jaleel and Agriculture Minister V S Sunil Kumar felt it was an infringement on the powers of the state and the decision cannot be accepted.
"This was a state subject and the Centre cannot infringe on the state's rights", Jaleel told reporters here.
Sunil Kumar said the notification was a challenge to the country's federal system. India is a democratic nation and the centre's decision to impose the ban without consulting the states amounted to violation of the federal system, he said.
Animal Husbandry Minister K Raju opined that the decision will destroy the federal structure and will have far reaching consequences.
CPI(M) state secretary, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said in his Facebook post that the government led by Narendra Modi, who was an RSS Pracharak, has come out with the notification at a time when the country was all set to celebrate Ramzan.
Echoing similar sentiments, Opposition leader in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala said the ban was an attempt to usurp the human rights of citizens.
"The Modi Government's effort from the beginning was to curb the constitutional rights and the ban was the latest example of the alleged fascist moves of the government," he said.
KPCC President M M Hassan also criticised the decision saying it was against the Constitution and encroachment on the fundamental rights of the citizens.
The notification banning cattle trade for meat was unconstitutional and violation of federal principles, Dr Varughese George, National General Secretary of Janata Dal(U).
However, Justifying the Centre's decision, BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan, blamed the media for "distorting" the notification.
The notification had only restricted the sale of animals for slaughter which were used for agricultural purposes, he said attributing "political motives" on the part of media in hiding.
Jammu and Kashmir government Friday evening lifted a month-long ban on 22 social media sites and applications, including Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, in the Valley.
We have not extended the ban, which has expired (on April 26). We are not issuing any order for it and social media networks will function as they used to work in the past, Principal Secretary Home RK Goyal said.
The State government, while invoking powers conferred on it under Indian Telegraph Act and Information Technology Act, had on April 26 banned 22 social networking sites, in an attempt to curb the street protests in the Valley.
The State Home Department in its order had stated that these social networking sites were being misused by anti-national and anti-social elements to create law and order disturbances in Kashmir.
However, the ban had little meaning as users accessed the banned sites through virtual private networks. The VPN masks a users location, letting them access websites banned in a particular area. "People were using VPNs and at one time it will become difficult for us to control the internet misuse," a senior police official said.
The Internet is often suspended or restricted in Kashmir to quell violent protests.According to a report by the Software Freedom Law Centre, the internet has been blocked in Kashmir at least 31 times between 2012 to 2016.
However, this was for the first time that the authorities placed a complete ban on social networking sites. The ban had evoked widespread criticism with UN experts on May 11 urging the government of India to withdraw the ban on internet services in J&K and reinstate freedom of speech.
Terming the ban "archaic", the main opposition National Conference had accused the government of meting out "collective punishment to the people of Kashmir for expressing their political aspiration and raising voice against gross human rights excesses."
Eight militants, including Sabzar Bhat, believed to be the successor to Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, and a civilian were killed in separate encounters across the Kashmir Valley on Saturday.
Sabzar was among two militants killed in an encounter in Tral area of south Kashmirs Pulwama district on Saturday morning. Sources said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from here, on Friday night after militants opened fire at a patrol party of the 42-Rashtriya Rifles.
As the search party was closing in on the house where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire, triggering an encounter, they said.
Reinforcements were rushed to the area to ensure that the militants dont escape under the cover of darkness, sources said and added early in the morning the gun battle resumed and after heavy exchange of fire between the two sides, Sabzar and one of his associate were killed.
Sabzar reportedly made one last phone call to his family members when he got injured and asked for forgiveness. Forgive me if I'm wrong. We have been cordoned," the report quoted him as saying. He was a close aide of slain Hizb-ul-Mujhaideen commander Burhan Wani who was killed in an encounter on July 8 last year. At least 100 civilians have been killed in protests and clashes with security forces since Burhan died.
The other slain militant has been identified as Faizan, a teenager who had reportedly joined militant ranks recently. Sources said that the third militant, a foreigner, escaped from the cordon. As soon as news about the gunfight spread to neighbouring villages, dozens of protesters marched to the site and pelted stones at the security forces.
A civilian was killed while more than 30 protesters were injured during the subsequent clashes, reports said. Inspector General Police, Kashmir Muneer Khan said the civilian died in cross-firing between the holed up militants and the security forces.
While terming the killing of Sabzar as a major success, police said it is the biggest setback to the Hizbul since unrest began last year after the killing of Wani.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in all districts and major towns of the Valley and protests started across Kashmir as soon the news about Sabzars killing spread. Authorities suspended mobile Internet services to contain the spread of rumours. The Hurriyat Conference called for a two-day valley wide shutdown against the killing of Sabzar.
Earlier, six militants were killed by the army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rampur sector of Uri in Baramulla after they tried to infiltrate into the Indian side. Sources said troops noticed the movement of a heavily armed group of militants along the LoC, who were trying to infiltrate into Indian side on Friday night.
"As the troops challenged the infiltrators, they opened fire and in the retaliatory action, six of them were neutralized," they said.
According to an Army statement, forces laid an ambush for the militants at around 7.30 pm on Friday after receiving specific input about their movements inside Indian territory.
Confirming the killing of six infiltrators, Defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said a search operation was underway to determine no other militants were hiding in the area. The identity of the slain militants was not known immediately as the bodies were yet to be recovered by the army.
The encounter comes a day after Army foiled Border Action Team (BAT) strike along the LoC in Uri sector, killing two militants and recovering war like stores.
"Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan, said the defence spokesman of the Northern Command said.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark Islam's holy month of Ramadan, two U.S. officials said, apparently breaking with a bipartisan tradition in place with few exceptions for nearly 20 years, Reuters reported.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either an iftar dinner to break the day's fast during Ramadan or a reception marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, at the State Department.
Tillerson turned down a request from the State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host an Eid al-Fitr reception as part of Ramadan celebrations, said two U.S. officials who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
According to an April 6 memo seen by Reuters, the office - which typically initiates such events - recommended that Tillerson hold an Eid al-Fitr reception.
His rejection of the request suggests there are no plans this year for any high-profile Ramadan function at the State Department. The month of fasting and prayer for Muslims gets under way in many countries on Saturday.
When asked by Reuters to comment on Tillerson declining a request to host an Eid al-Fitr event in July for Ramadan, a State Department spokesperson said:
"We are still exploring possible options for observance of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan. U.S. ambassadors are encouraged to celebrate Ramadan through a variety of activities, which are held annually at missions around the world."
Muslim activists have accused President Donald Trump's administration of having an unfriendly attitude toward Islam, encapsulated by its attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The administration says that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam. Aides point to Trump's visit this month to Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries, as evidence of that.
Members of Congress, Muslim civil society and community leaders, diplomats from Muslim countries and senior U.S. officials usually attend the State Department Ramadan event, a symbol of the U.S. government's diplomatic efforts with Muslim countries and people.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today left for strife-torn Saharanpur, but district authorities said he would be stopped at the border.
Party sources said Rahul left for Shabbirpur village, the centre of the caste-based violence in the district, by road this morning after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Misra, who is camping in Saharanpur in view of the tense situation there, said the police have requested Gandhi to cancel his visit as it wanted to avoid any "confusion and provocation".
If he still comes to the town, he will be stopped at the border and requested to return. But if he does not, legal action under Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits an assembly of more than four people in an area, will be taken.
If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, Congress sources said.
The ADG said the situation is now returning to normal and things are improving fast.
Senior Congress leader P L Punia said on the phone that party men were awaiting Gandhi in the district.
"We want the administration to allow him to meet the victims of the violence," he said.
Gandhi is being accompanied by AICC general secretary in charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar.
"They cannot suppress the voice of the poor, Dalits and Adivasis of this country. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party will continue to speak," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"Nobody will be able to stop Rahul from reaching out to the victims of the violence which have been perpetrated at the instance of BJP gundas," he added.
Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes his month.
Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.
On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian Army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip, which also included footages of Army aircraft taking off, on his official Facebook and Twitter pages yesterday.
The army operation is still going on, he said in a statement.
The airstrikes came after the army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen yesterday attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo, the Ministry of Interior said.
The gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles, it said.
Reports said there had been between eight and 10 attackers who were wearing military uniforms.
Prior to the army's announcement, Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained on attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the earlier attack in Menya governorate.
The president did not give other details on the strikes or the location, however, the local media then quoted official sources who confirmed that Egypt launched airstrikes on camps belonging to terrorists in Derna city in Libya.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 28 people were killed and dozens other injured in the attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three- month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
There have been a number of attacks on Copts in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypt's Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint George's Cathedral in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
The Egyptian Army has launched intensive airstrikes on terrorist groups in Libya in response to the attack by suspected Islamic State militants that killed 28 Christians south of Cairo, the army spokesperson said.
A spontaneous shutdown was today observed in the Kashmir Valley following violent protests in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, even as a person was injured in Anantnag during clashes with security forces.
Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests started at around 50 places, including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag in south Kashmir, the police said.
A person in Mattan area in the district was injured during clashes with security forces, they said.
The situation across the Valley is tense. Unnerved people rushed to their homes, leading to traffic snarls on certain routes. The schools closed three hours early.
Inability to investigate around 30% of the FIRs registered in a year and declining proportion in filing charge sheets have prompted the Centre to ask states to tweak responsibilities of policemen. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has now asked the states to establish dedicated investigation cells in all districts and entrust all new cases to this unit.
It also wants a separate road map to separate law and order duty from investigation in a time bound manner, a communique sent by MHA to states said.
The suggestion is part of the actionable points on separation of law and order duty from an investigation, identified by the MHA from the recommendations made at the Directors General of Police Conference held in Hyderabad last November.
According to the MHA, the states have certainly made sincere attempts to improve the criminal justice system and it is evident from the rise in the number of filing of FIRs.
The letter comes at a time when there is considerable improvement in the filing of FIRs but a large proportion of the cases remain uninvestigated.
The percentage of IPC cases investigated stands at 68.4%, 71.8% and 71.5% for 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. For the crime against women alone is just 61.8%. 68.4% and 66.5% respectively.
Data also indicates that there is a backlog of cases taken up for investigation and over the period, there is a declining trend in cases in which charge sheets are submitted compared to total cases in which investigations have been completed by police, the letter noted.
It said the states have set up units like Crime Branch to deal with specific cases of grave offences but all other cases continue to be handled by the local police.
The MHA, which argues that entrusting investigation duty to local police would have an adverse impact on investigation as well as maintenance of peace, wants the states to take immediate steps to separate these functions.
The proposed cell at districts could be led by a Superintendent of Police, the MHA said adding an investigation monitoring cell could be established at state-level headed by an Additional Director General-rank officer to supervise these units.
Reminding that time-bound completion of investigations is essential to ensure speedy justice, the MHA said amending Police Acts would take time and they should take these steps immediately to separate law and order duty from investigation.
BOX: Centre's Prescription for States
** Establish investigation cells in all districts
** All new cases should go to this unit, earlier ones should continue with local policemen
** Roadmap needed to separate law and order duty from investigations
** Set up Investigation Monitoring Cell at state-level
** Ensure charge sheets filed soon after concluding probe
** Regular training for Investigating Officers
** Fill all vacancies in a time-bound manner
** Consider outsourcing non-core police functions
Suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Naseer Ahmed was today remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court here.
The CJM court sent Naseer, arrested by the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) from Sonauli on India-Nepal border earlier this month, to judicial remand, government counsel Raghuvansh Shukla said.
The court had earlier remanded Naseer in 12-day police custody as the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad wanted to question him. The Jammu and Kashmir Police had also sought his remand citing cases lodged against him there but the court disallowed it.
Naseer Ahmed alias Sadiq (34), hailing from Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, was held on May 13 from Sonauli border post in Mahrajganj. He was trying to sneak into India from Nepal in the guise of a carpet vendor, and was nabbed by the SSB, which guards the 1,751-km-long open border.
Naseer was carrying a Pakistani passport and an identity card showing that he was a resident of Lala Musa village in Punjab province of Pakistan.He was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh ATS for further investigation.
Naseer had joined Hizbul Muzahideen in 2002-03 and moved to Pakistan. He was allegedly involved in a number of terrorist activities. In 2002, he sustained bullet injuries during an encounter with the Army in Banihal.
Naseer was residing in Pakistan since September, 2003, and was allegedly involved in many attacks against civilians and security forces including an attack on an STF camp in India in 2003. He was sent to India by his handler for a specific mission, according to an SSB spokesperson had said.
The paramilitary, based on initial interrogation of the terrorist, said he and his accomplice Mohd Shafi landed in Kathmandu on May 10 from Faisalabad in Pakistan via Sharjah.
The SSB said Naseer reached the Indo-Nepal border in a bus with an intention to sneak into Indian territory and carry out terror activities in India.
"He was in touch with a handler from India, who used to deposit money, in his account, off and on. On his instructions, he came to India for undertaking terrorist activities but was apprehended by the SSB," the SSB said.
India on Saturday announced a $ 500 million fresh Line of Credit to Mauritius as the two nations agreed to take the bilateral relations forward with renewed focus on maritime cooperation.
In addition, the two nations signed four agreements including one on improving the maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, which has emerged as the world's most important economic route.
The agreement today on a $ 500 million Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting his counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is in Delhi on his first foreign tour after assuming the office in January 2017.
The maritime security cooperation agreement would focus on securing the high seas from piracy threats as well as to prevent trafficking of drugs and humans besides stopping illegal fishing. Modi said India would also renew the life of the Mauritian Coast Guard ship Guardian that was provided by India.
The cooperation and support of island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives and Sri Lanka are essential for India to have an edge in the Indian Ocean region, where New Delhi is vying for supremacy with the growing Chinese naval power.
Jugnauth, son of former Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth, said the two countries enjoyed a strong bilateral cooperation between in defence and security matters.
With Mauritius being a popular tourist destination, the flag carrier airlines from the two sides have agreed to enhance their code sharing arrangement to new destinations. This too is expected to lead to greater tourism and people-to-people contacts between the two nations.
Six daily wage earners working in an illegal quarry near Phirangipuram under Narsarao Assembly segment of Andhra Pradesh died on the spot on Saturday when huge boulders fell on them following a blast triggered on the top of a hillock.
According to the Phirangipuram Police, all the six workers belonged to Ibrahimpatnam of Krishna District, who ekes a living by loading boulders on trucks. The tragedy occurred as the blast was trigged by some workers without alerting the workers who were working down the hill. China Balaswamy, Nageswara Rao, Rayappa, Durganjaneyulu, Sravan and Venkaiah were crushed under the boulders. Several others who were injured have been rushed to Guntur hospital.
Guntur District collector Kona Sasidhar, Superintendent of Police Narayan Naik rushed to the spot. Kin of the deceased workers held a dharna at the spot demanding compensation. They held the owners of the quarry responsible for the death of their kin. Local MLA of YSRC, Gopireddy Srinivasa Reddy demanded an exgratia of Rs 10 lakh for the kin of the workers.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu who was attending TDP Mahanadu in Visakhapatnam has asked cabinet ministers Devineni Umamaheswara Rao, Prathipati Pullarao and MLA Sravan Kumar rush to Guntur. He asked the district administration to provide all required help to the affected families.
Kumar said "too much was being read into" the meeting, which was just a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister.
"I did not meet him in the capacity of the JD(U) chief but as the state chief minister. It was not a political meeting. Why is the media reading too much into it?" he said.
He also said he had met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in April and it was already decided that former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav would attend the lunch hosted by her. The meeting was touted as the coming together of opposition parties to take on the BJP.
"I had already met Sonia on April 20, she invited me and during that we disused about the Presidential polls, he said.
Kumar sought to explain his presence at the lunch, saying, "Bihar has an emotional connect with Mauritius as half of the population there is of Bihari origin. PM had invited me to the luncheon as the state CM and I decided to accept it."
Some opposition leaders felt that the messaging of skipping one and attending another was wrong though they did not feel that Kumar is jumping the ship.
After skipping a luncheon meeting hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi a day before, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar lunched with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday but the JD(U) chief dismissed suggestions of the political significance of his choice.Kumar, who is considered a prominent Opposition voice, decided against attending Friday's opposition meet but chose to attend the lunch hosted by Modi in in honour of visiting Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind K Jugnauth.The Chief Minister's choice evoked interest as there was increased speculation that Kumar was moving farther from the opposition.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met the victims of Saharanpur violence and blamed the BJP government in the state for the situation in the district.
Rahul, who was denied entry into Saharanpur by the administration, met the victims at a roadside eatery on the border of UP and Haryana and assured them all possible help.
Accompanied by a large number of Congress workers, Rahul tried to enter the district and proceed toward Shabbirpur village, where clashes had occurred between dalits and thakurs a few days back, but was refused entry by the officials citing law and order situation.
An angry Rahul was seen arguing with the officials. ''Under which law are you denying me entry?'' he asked.
Police officials said that no politician was being allowed to visit the strife-torn district.
''The state government is responsible for the violence....the law and order situation in UP has deteriorated under the BJP rule...people are scared,'' he said.
Two persons were killed and over a dozen others injured in clashes between the two communities in the past few days.
A woman spent three days with the corpse of her husband in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah town, about 250 kilometres from here.
According to the police sources here, the matter came to light, when the neighbours, unable to bear the stench emanating from the house, broke open the doors and went inside on Friday night.
The woman was found sitting beside the rotting body of her husband.
Sources said that couple, who had a house at Ashok Nagar locality in the town, lived mostly alone and not many people visited them.
The couple had no issue, sources said.
The owner of the house, 75- year old Rajendra Kumar Verma had retired as a government employee. He had not been keeping well for the past few months, the police said.
Verma, the police, said had died on Wednesday night. ''The wife did not inform anyone....we also did not hear any sound in the house...since they mostly kept to themselves, no one found it abnormal,'' said a neighbour.
The neighbours decided to inquire when stench started emanating from the rotting body. The body has been sent for postmortem examination. ''Prima facie it seems that Verma died of natural causes,'' said a police official.
Police said that they would get the woman medically examined to ascertain if she was mentally unstable. ''She seems to be normal...the death of her husband may have had an emotional impact on her,'' the official said.
Earlier also there have been cases, where people spent several days with the bodies of their loved ones.
Two PKK terrorists were killed during clashes between security forces and PKK terrorists in Turkey's southeastern provinces on Friday, according to the Turkish military.
The Turkish General Staff announced on Saturday that the two terrorists were killed in two separate incidents that occurred in the Hakkari and Bitlis provinces on Friday, Anadolu reported.
The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.
Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of some 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, including a number of women and children.
G7 countries will today recognise the deadlock about taking collective action on climate change as US President Donald Trump mulls his position, officials said.
"The United States is evaluating its policy with regard to the climate, so the six other G7 countries will reaffirm their commitment (to the global Paris accord) while taking note" of the US position, a French official said at the G7 summit in Sicily.
Other delegates concurred that it was "six against one" at the gathering of leading democracies spanning North America, Europe and Japan.
Under Trump, who once called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China, Washington has resisted intense pressure from its partners to commit to respecting the 2015 global accord on curbing carbon emissions.
But Gary Cohn, Trump's economic advisor, on Friday said the president had told his G7 colleagues that he regarded the environment as important. "His views are evolving, he came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision ultimately will be what's best for the United States."
The United States is the world's biggest carbon emitter after China.
Trump has yet to act on his campaign threat to ditch the Paris accord, having said he would listen to what US partners have to say before making a decision on how to proceed after the G7.
Abandoning the Paris agreement would carry a high political cost in Europe and China, where the deal is considered a bedrock for action on climate change, analysts say. It would also be fiercely opposed at home by the US environment lobby and by American corporations that are now investing heavily in cleaner technology.
The stalemate on climate change was mirrored by divisions between the US and the other G7 countries over trade and migration at the annual summit, described by officials as the toughest in years.
Delegates worked long into the night in an attempt to reach a compromise on the closing statement which will be issued later today. But while officials signalled some progress on bridging differences about trade with the protectionist Trump, differences on the climate issue remained irreconcilable.
Chinese consul-general Ma Zhanwu here today expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi not attending the recently concluded OBOR meet in Beijing and hoped that Indian leadership would attend the next meeting in 2019 at the same venue.
"China had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers to the One Belt One Road (OBOR) meet in Beijing. However, they did not find it convenient to attend the meet. Some Indian scholars had attended," Ma Zhanwu said at a Calcutta Chamber of Commerce session on Indo-China relationship.
He said that representatives from 130 countries had attended the OBOR meet.
Zhanwu said the idea behind OBOR was not to form a small bloc against any country, but to explore the possibilities of working together.
China's foreign policy was guided by the five principles of 'Panchsheel', Zhanwu said, adding his country always believed in non-aggression and peaceful co-existence with the neighbours.
The Chinese consul-general said the two countries have differences which could not be solved in the short term but were kept within control through negotiations. Zhanwu said, "Some see China as a security threat."
"We have great respect for India. Still, there have been apprehensions when China builds spaceships, re-positions its aircraft carrier," he said.
An atmosphere for bilateral relationship is important for proper economic cooperation between the two countries.
"I am dismayed over the slow progress of economic cooperations between India and China in terms of trade and investment. In the next five years, China will invest USD 750 billion globally and import USD eight trillion of commodities and services," he said. Zhanwu hoped that India would be able get a big chunk of those investment and import orders.
Separatists in Kashmir Valley have called for a two-day shutdown from tomorrow over the "use of force" against the protesters following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat today in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama district.
The separatists also called for a march to Tral, in south Kashmir's Pulwama district, on May 30 to pay tributes to Bhat and seven other militants killed in two separate encounters in the Valley today.
While Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant in Soimoh village of Tral, the security forces foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Rampur sector in north Kashmir's Uri, killing six militants today.
A civilian was killed allegedly in cross-firing between militants and security forces during the encounter in Tral area. At least 30 people have been injured in the clashes between protesters and security forces in different parts of the Valley.
"We condemn the use of brute force against the unarmed civilians, injuring hundreds of them and call for a strike on Sunday and Monday," a joint statement from separatists -- chairmen of both factions of Hurriyat Conference, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and JKLF chief Yasin Malik, said here.
The separatists asked people in the valley to turn up in large numbers in Tral on Tuesday to pay tributes to the slain militants. They said that calling for a strike has become necessary to protest the "state terrorism" unleashed by the forces on the civilian protesters.
Pakistan today called on the UN and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In a statement, Foreign Office said the Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at Line of Control.
Aziz accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistans unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
Terming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as a "tragedy tourist", Uttar Pradesh minister Shrikant Sharma today said that wherever tragedy takes place, he reaches there.
"Rahul Gandhi is a tragedy tourist. Rahul and company are in frustration. Wherever any tragic incident takes place, he goes there. People of the country had given him 10 years, but he proved to be a flop. People have rejected him. He and leaders of other political parties should co-operate in ensuring peace in the region," Sharma told reporters in Mathura.
Reacting to Rahul's visit to Saharanpur, minister of state (for independent charge) for Cane Development and Sugar Mills Suresh Rana said that he should not see the feud between two families as a political opportunity.
"Situation was not conducive when we assumed power in UP. Things will improve, and we will work for the betterment of each and every section of the society," he said.
Urging the rival political parties to leave politics of negativity, Rana said, "I urge the other political parties to shun politics of negativity, and start politics of positivism as a habit. The people of UP have shunned the politics of caste and religion in the 2017 UP Assembly polls. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi should not see the feud between two families in a village as a political opportunity."
UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, "After the 2017 UP Assembly elections, the Congress, the SP and the BSP are desperately searching for issues, so that they could survive politically. In fact they do not hesitate in taking advantage of even the slightest opportunity."
Meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Dwijendra Tripathi questioned the UP government's stand in denying permission to Rahul to visit the clash affected village.
He said, "The UP government wants to conceal something. Hence, the district authorities denied permission to Congress vice-president to visit the strife-torn area."
A major global computer failure today forced British Airways to cancel all its flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London, leaving thousands of travellers stranded as a workers' union blamed outsourcing to India for the "meltdown".
The carrier had earlier said flights will be cancelled until 1800 local time but has now confirmed all its flights will remain grounded at both airports throughout the day.
The GMB union said the "meltdown" could have been avoided if BA hadn't made hundreds of IT staff redundant and outsourced their jobs to India at the end of last year.
"This could have all been avoided. In 2016 BA made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India," said Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at GMB.
"BA have made substantial profits for a number of years, and many viewed the company's actions as just plain greedy," he said. The move in 2016 had sparked protests and outrage from members of the union.
At the time, a BA spokesperson had said: "A contract has been signed with the TCS to be the supplier of some IT activities in British Airways, and British Airways has been in consultation with those IT staff affected, about 200.
"British Airways employs around 35,000 people in the UK, providing high-skilled and well-paid jobs. It hires 1,000 people a year and has a strong apprenticeship programme.
The TCS is yet to comment on the matter. Earlier today, BA apologised for the "global system outage" and said it was "working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible".
"A major IT system failure is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide," the airline said.
The chaos comes on what is a Bank Holiday weekend in the UK, involving thousands of additional journeys as people make use of the long weekend due to an annual holiday on Monday.
Heathrow Airport said it was "working closely" with BA to solve the issue. There is nothing to suggest the problems are a result of a cyber attack at this stage.
It is not known how many flights are affected but passengers have reported issues with flights to and from Heathrow, Gatwick and Belfast.
BA aircraft landing at Heathrow are unable to park up as outbound aircraft cannot vacate the gates, which has resulted in passengers being stuck on aircraft.
Heathrow has advised passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport. All affected passengers will be offered the option of rescheduling or a refund.
Rain continued to wreak havoc in the city on Saturday. Complaints of waterlogging and tree falls flooded Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palikes control rooms.
Tree were uprooted at Bellandur, Bytarayanapura, Madiwala, Banashankari BDA Complex, Jayanagar 9th Block, BTM Layout and at JP Nagar. At JP Nagar, near Ragi Gudda, three people were injured in a tree fall.
Waterlogging was reported at Vijaya Bank Layout, Bilekahalli due to which people were unable to go out. Residents said rain water and sewage gushed into their homes and the whole neighbourhood was stinking.
Amrutha R, a resident of Vijaya Bank Layout said, "The drinking water in my house is contaminated. We faced the same problem last year too. Drains are blocked and sewage lines have not been laid properly. We hope the BBMP fixes this problem at the earliest."
Water gushed into houses at Kumaraswamy Layout, Vasanthpura, HSR Layout Sector 2, Nanjundeshwara Layout at Begur, Anugraha Layout, and Akshaya Nagar, all in Bommanahalli zone. The control room staff said they received 13 complaints of waterlogging from Bommanahalli.
Residents of BTM Layout I Stage complained of stench due to sewerage lines getting blocked on 8th Main Road. At Vijaya Bank Layout and surrounding areas, roads were submerged. Mayor G Padmavathi visited the control room around 8 pm on Saturday to keep tabs of the situation. She said the Palike was trying its best to attend to tree falls and waterlogging complaints.
Traffic jams were witnessed at Begur road stretch, HRBR Layout 1st Block, BTM Layout 1st Stage, Anil Kumble Circle, Tannery Road, Fraser Town, Corporation Circle, Mehkri Circle, Nrupatunga Road and at Bannerghatta Road near Fortis Hospital.
Over 2,000 students took part in Eduverse Jnana Degula 2017, the premier education expo organised by DH and Prajavani. On the first day of the two-day event, students learned about career opportunities in new and emerging fields, and attended pre-counselling sessions by officials of Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) and Comed-K.
Parents and students got an opportunity to interact with representatives of participating institutions at the 65 stalls. M N Vidyashankar, former additional chief secretary, department of commerce and industries, and president of India Electronics and Semiconductor Association, delivered the inaugural address.
He enlightened parents and students about relatively new fields which will gain relevance in the near future.
Besides conventional choices like computer science and information technology, students can opt for new specialisations such as data analytics and cyber security. Known fields like civil engineering are also back in demand, he said.
There was a time when demand for civil engineering had declined and colleges even stopped offering the course. Today, there is a shortage of qualified civil engineers and the demand is back, he said.
Vidyashankar told students about the need to update their skills in a job landscape which is constantly changing.
Streams like medicine and commerce are as relevant as always because of shortage of manpower, he said, and pointed out that the paramedical field, too, has a lot of potential. Vidyashankar explained the opportunities that open up to students with a law degree. India is becoming a hub for knowledge process outsourcing. The legal work behind many international cases, be it in North America or Europe, is done by experts in India. Environmental law is also a growing field, he said.
In the next few years, India will have a huge demand for data scientists to make sense of data generated on a day-to-day basis. Cyber security, information security, ethical hacking and robotics are also areas of expertise which the country will need in the next few years, he said.
Vidyashankar said humanities was an under-explored field. For example, if you are an expert in foreign languages, you can have a rewarding career as a translator. When delegates from foreign countries like China come to India, it is crucial to have someone who can understand their language, for communication and negotiation.
The number of Christians killed in an armed attack on buses carrying pilgrims in Upper Egypts Minya governorate has risen to 28, with 23 injured, the governor announced on Friday afternoon.
In a phone call interview with local satellite channel ONTV live on Friday afternoon, Minya's governor, Essam El-Bedewy, announced the new death toll, adding that seven of the victims were from El-Minya while the other 21 were from Beni Suef governroate.
Shortly after, Egypt's health ministry confirmed that the death toll had risen to 28.
The interior ministry said in an official statement that unknown assailants driving three 4x4 wheelers attacked by "firing randomly" at the bus carrying Coptic citizens.
The ministry added that an official count of the final death and injuries toll was underway.
A cordon was imposed around the site of the attack, with security forces intensifying efforts to catch the culprits, according to the statement.
The ages of the victims ranged from children to over 60, the bishop of Minya told Egyptian privately owned TV Channel DMC. Many victims were children, and only three children survived the attack, a source from the church told Al-Ahram.
The bishop added that the vehicles attacked included a minibus and two cars.
Fifteen of the injured were transferred from Maghagha Central Hospital in Minya to Maahad Nasser Hospital in Cairo, sources at Minya's ambulance service told MENA.
The bishop of Maghagha and Adwa in Minya, Bishop Agathon, said that the funeral service for the victims of the attack will be held tonight at the Monastery of Garmous in Maghagha.
"We are in pain over violence and evil, Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church said in a statement on Friday afternoon, adding that it was suffering "with the whole nation over the violence and evil that targets the heart of Egypt and our national unity.
While we appreciate the fast response by officials in dealing with the event, we hope that necessary procedures are undertaken to avoid such attacks, which damage Egypts image and cause Egyptians a great deal of pain, the statement added.
President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called for an emergency security meeting to follow up on the attacks.
In a statement from the presidency, El-Sisi also instructed authorities to take all necessary measures to attend to the injured and arrest the assailants.
Egypt's Prosecutor-General Nabil Sadek has ordered an extensive investigation to arrest the attackers, Al-Ahram Arabic website reported.
The prime minister and the ministers of health and social solidarity are heading to the attack scene in Minya.
Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed El-Tayyeb condemned the attack while on a visit to Berlin, saying that "such attacks can never satisfy a Muslim or a Christian."
Arab and western countries have denounced the attack, expressing their solidarity with Egypt against terrorism.
No group has yet claimed the Minya attack, which is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians.
On 9 April, two suicide bombers targeted St George's Church in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
Egyptian authorities said they have identified the two suicide bombers and the terrorist cells responsible for the attacks.
Cairo imposed a nationwide three-month state of emergency after the bombings, with the option to extend for another three months dependent on a parliament vote.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million.
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Namma Metro had to run additional trips on the East-West corridor to cater to the sudden increase in demand following heavy rain in the city on Saturday.
Hundreds of passengers were stuck in the Kempegowda Metro Station after the last trains left around 10.15 pm. The sudden rush of passengers led to long queues at the token counters. The last trains on both directions towards Mysuru Road and Baiyappanahalli left the station even as many waited in line.
Some of the commuters started arguing with the Metro staff to extend the deadline.
The staff communicated the issue to the Bangalore Metro Railway Corporation Limited officials following which a decision was taken to run additional trips.
We had to run a couple of trips to clear the people who had already entered the station. We took the decision considering the convenience of the people, a senior BMRCL official said.
Stations to be shut
Namma Metro services between Sampige Road and Rajajinagar will be shut for three days from Monday to Wednesday.
The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd said the disruption of service was due to inspection of Metros Yelachenahalli-Sampige Road stretch by the Commissioner of Railway Safety. Accordingly, Sampige Road, Srirampuram and Kuvempu Road Metro stations will remain closed from May 29 to 31.
Regular Metro services will, however, continue between Rajajinagar and Nagasandra.
Inability to investigate around 30% of the FIRs registered in a year and the declining number of charge sheets have prompted the Centre to ask states to tweak the responsibilities of the police.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked states to establish dedicated investigation cells in all districts and entrust all new cases to this unit. It also wants a separate roadmap to separate law and order duty from investigation in a time-bound manner, a communique sent by the MHA to states stated.
The suggestion is part of the actionable points on separation of law and order duty from investigation identified by the MHA from the recommendations made at the Directors General of Police Conference held in Hyderabad in November.
According to the MHA, the states have certainly made sincere attempts to improve the criminal justice system and this is evident from the rise in number of FIRs. The letter comes at a time when there is considerable improvement in the filing of FIRs, but a large number of cases are not investigated. The percentage of IPC cases investigated stands at 68.4%, 71.8% and 71.5% for 2013, 2014 and 2015, respectively. For crimes against women, it is 61.8%. 68.4% and 66.5%.
Data also indicates that there is a backlog of cases taken up for investigation and over the period, there is a declining trend in cases in which charge sheets are submitted, compared to the total cases in which investigations have been completed by the police, the communique noted.
It said that the states have set up units like the Crime Branch to deal with specific cases of grave offences but all other cases continue to be handled by the local police. The MHA, which argues that entrusting investigation duty to the police would have an adverse impact on investigation as well as maintenance of peace, wants the states to take immediate steps.
At least six militants were killed as the army foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in the Uri sector of north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Saturday.
A source said troops noticed the movement of a heavily armed group of militants along the LoC, who were trying to infiltrate on Friday night. When the troops challenged the infiltrators, they opened fire and in the retaliatory action, six of them were neutralised, the source said.
According to the army, the forces laid an ambush around 7.30 pm on Friday after receiving specific inputs about the movement of infiltrators. Defence spokesperson Col Rajesh Kalia said a search operation was underway to ascertain if other militants were hiding in the area.
The identity of the slain militants was not known immediately as the bodies were yet to be recovered by the army. The encounter comes a day after the army foiled strikes by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) along the LoC in Uri sector, killing two militants and recovering war-like stores.
On May 21, four militants and three soldiers were killed in a fierce encounter along the LoC in the Nowgam sector of Kupwara district in north Kashmir.
Onset of summer
With the onset of summer, infiltration attempts have increased in the past few weeks.
With the mercury rising and snow melting in the Valley, the chances of infiltration will increase from the Pakistani side. The army is geared up to counter such threats, Maj Gen Ashok Narula had said earlier this week. The army also said it recently launched punitive fire assaults on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting damage.
Another source said several new launch pads have been activated by Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) across the LoC and they are making all-out efforts to push militants into India.
Well aware of the new strategy put in place by the LeT and HM, troops have strengthened the anti-infiltration grid. There is a possibility of more encounters along the LoC in the coming weeks, the source said.
Top Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and seven militants were killed in separate encounters across Kashmir on Saturday.
Sabzar was a close associate of slain Hizb commander Burhan Wani, and was named his successor.
Sabzar and his associate, Faizan, were killed in an encounter in Tral area of south Kashmirs Pulwama district on Saturday morning. A source said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village, 36 km from here, on Friday night after militants opened fire at a patrol party of the 42 Rashtriya Rifles.
As the search party was closing in on the house where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire, triggering an encounter, a source said.
Reinforcements were rushed to the area to ensure the militants dont escape under the cover of darkness, the source added. The gunbattle resumed early in the morning and following a heavy exchange of fire between the two sides, Sabzar and Faizan were killed.
Sabzar made a phone call to his family when he got injured and asked for forgiveness. Forgive me if Im wrong. We have been cordoned, the report quoted him as saying.
Faizan was a teenager and had joined the outfit recently. Another source said that a third militant, a foreigner, escaped.
As soon as the news spread to neighbouring villages, several people marched to the site and threw stones at the security forces. A civilian was killed and more than 30 others were injured in the subsequent clashes, reports said.
Inspector General Police (Kashmir) Muneer Khan said the civilian died in the crossfire between the militants and security forces.
While describing Sabzars encounter as a major success, the police said it is the biggest setback to the Hizbul Mujahideen since the unrest began last year. At least 100 civilians were killed in protests and clashes with security forces after Wani was killed in an encounter on July 8.
A shutdown was observed in all districts and major towns of the Valley and protests erupted across Kashmir as soon the news about Sabzars killing spread. Authorities suspended mobile Internet services to contain rumours. The Hurriyat Conference called for a two-day bandh.
Earlier, six militants were killed by the army along the Line of Control (LoC) in Rampur sector of Uri in Baramulla after they tried to infiltrate into India.
Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan, said the defence spokesperson of the Northern Command.
The Supreme Court has warned against the indiscriminate use of the law against bootleggers, dacoits and goondas to push people into preventive custody.
A bench comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao and Justice Navin Sinha strongly disapproved of the decision of the Telangana government to describe a seller of spurious seeds as a goonda to keep him behind bars.
To classify the detenu as a goonda affecting public order, because of inadequate yield from the chilli seeds sold by him, and prevent him from moving for bail even, is a gross abuse of the statutory power of preventive detention, the bench said.
The court set aside the Telangana authorities decision to issue a detention order for one year against the husband of appellant Shantha, calling it unsustainable. The court said the order was affecting the life and liberty of citizens.
The government invoked the stringent provisions of the Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Bootleggers, Dacoits, Drug Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Land Grabbers Act of 1986 against owner of Laxmi Bhargavi Seeds, district distributor of Jeeva Agri Genetic Seeds.
Three FIRs were lodged against him for cheating and other offences under the Indian Penal Code and under different provisions of the Seeds Act.
In an order dated October 17, 2016, the Telangana government said it had no option, but to invoke the law on preventive detention to insulate society from his evil deeds.
The authorities had said the trader was harming poor, small farmers and jeopardising their safety and financial well-being.
Recourse to normal legal procedure would be time consuming, and would not be an effective deterrent to prevent the detenu from indulging in further prejudicial activities in the business of spurious seeds, affecting maintenance of public order, the government had argued.
The appellant, on the other hand, contended an order of preventive detention was serious and would affect the citizens liberty. The man in question was already under arrest in two cases and there was no question of bail, as he had not applied for it.
Concurring with the appellants plea, the bench said, An order of preventive detention, though based on the subjective satisfaction of the detaining authority, is nonetheless a serious matter, affecting the life and liberty of the citizen under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution.
If the power is misused or abused, it will stand vitiated as being in colourable exercise of power, the bench cautioned.
A student from Delhi Public School (South) in Bengaluru has secured the first rank in the Under Graduate Entrance Test 2017 (UGET) conducted by Comed-K.
The test is written by candidates seeking entrance to private engineering colleges in Karnataka. Mayank Baranwal of DPS (South) has emerged first, with a score of 165 out of 180.
Vishwajit Prakash Hegde from Sirsi, a student of Deeksha PU College, Bengaluru, came second, with a score of 164. Rudrapatna Vallabh Ramakanth, student of Sri Kumaran Pre-University College, Bengaluru, emerged third, with 163 marks.
The top 10 candidates are from Karnataka, nine of them from Bengaluru. The results were expected on May 29, but were declared two days early.
Conducted by the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental Colleges of Karnataka (Comed-K), the test was held at 290 centres in 132 cities across the country on May 14.
Of the top 100 rank holders, 70 are from Karnataka. Of the top 1,000 rank holders, 398 are from Karnataka.
Of the top 2,000 rank holders, 1,423 candidates have secured more than 70%, 577 between 67% and 70%, and 7,427 between 50% and 60%. The number of seats available, tuition fees and counselling dates will be announced in due course.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met the victims of the Saharanpur violence, and blamed the BJP government in the state for the situation.
Rahul, who was denied entry into Saharanpur by the district administration, met the victims at a roadside eatery along the Uttar Pradesh and Haryana border, and promised them all possible assistance.
Accompanied by a large number of Congress workers, Rahul tried to enter the district and proceed towards Shabbirpur village, where clashes had occurred between the Dalits and upper caste Thakurs a few days ago. However, officials denied him entry, citing law and order situation.
An angry Rahul was seen arguing with the officials. Under which law are you denying me entry? he said.
Police officials said no politician was allowed to visit the strife-torn district. The state government is responsible for the violence. The law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh has deteriorated under the BJP rule. People are scared, Rahul said.
India on Saturday announced a $500 million fresh Line of Credit to Mauritius as the two nations agreed to take the bilateral relations forward with renewed focus on maritime cooperation.
In addition, the two nations signed four agreements, including one on improving the maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, which has emerged as the worlds most important economic route.
The agreement on a $500 million Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is in Delhi on his first foreign tour after assuming the office in January 2017.
The maritime security cooperation agreement would focus on securing the high seas from piracy threats as well as preventing drug and human trafficking, besides stopping illegal fishing. Modi said India would also renew the life of the Mauritian Coast Guard ship, Guardian, that was provided by India.
The cooperation and support of island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives and Sri Lanka are essential for India to have an edge in the Indian Ocean region, where New Delhi is vying for supremacy with the growing Chinese naval power.
Jugnauth said the two countries enjoyed a strong bilateral cooperation in defence and security matters. With Mauritius being a popular tourist destination, the flag carrier airlines of the two sides agreed to enhance their code sharing arrangement to new destinations. This, too, is expected to lead to greater tourism and people-to-people contacts between the two nations.
We appreciate the fast response by officials in dealing with the event, we hope that necessary procedures are undertaken to avoid such attacks, said a statement by the church
Egypts Coptic Orthodox Church said on Friday it was in pain over violence and evil, hours following an attack in Upper Egypt's Minya on a bus carrying Coptic Christians, which killed 26 people and injured others.
In an official statement, the church expressed its consolations to the families of the victims, adding that it was suffering "with the whole nation over the violence and evil that targets the heart of Egypt and our national unity, which is precious and which we strive to preserve and protect.
While we appreciate the fast response by officials in dealing with the event, we hope that necessary procedures are undertaken to avoid such attacks, which damage Egypts image and cause Egyptians a great deal of pain, the statement added.
This is the first official response by the Coptic Orthodox Church after unknown assailants on three 4x4 vehicles attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on the way to Saint Samuel Monastery in the east of Minya governorate.
Egypts interior ministry released details on the attack, saying in an official statement that the assailants attacked by "randomly shooting" the bus.
The ministry added that an official count of the final deaths and injuries was underway.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings last April and a St Peter Church bombing in Cairo last December.
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The Eiffel Tower turned its light off Saturday at 12:45 at the request of Pariss mayor in tribute to 28 Egyptian Coptic Christians who lost their lives in an armed attack on buses carrying pilgrims in Upper Egypts Minya governorate.
All the staff of the Eiffel Tower operating company fully support this initiative of the City of Paris and their thoughts will go to the families of victims, an Eiffel Tower statement read.
The attack also left 23 injured.
Following the Friday attack, the Egyptian air force carried out a strike against terrorist encampments in Libya, an official army statement read, after "confirming their involvement in planning and committing the terrorist attack in Minya governorate on Friday."
No group has yet claimed the Minya attack, which is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians.
On 9 April, suicide bombers targeted St George's Church in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
Cairo imposed a nationwide three-month state of emergency after the bombings, with the option to extend for another three months dependent on a parliament vote.
Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million.
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Daesh has claimed responsibility for an attack on Coptic Christians on Friday in Minya that left 29 dead, propaganda agency Amaq reported.
On Friday, assailants driving three 4x4 wheelers attacked by "firing randomly" at buses carrying Christians in Egypts Minya governorate. At least 22 others were injured in the attack.
Egypts armed forces carried out intensive air strikes by night and day on militant camps in Libya which it said planned and executed the attack, a Saturday army spokesman statement read .
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Pope Francis has expressed condolences to Egypt and the Coptic Orthodox Church following a deadly attack on Egyptian Christians on Friday, according to an Egyptian foreign ministry statement.
The statement on Saturday said that Francis office had called Egypts ambassador to the Holy See, Hatem Seif El-Nasr, the previous day to communicate the popes message.
Twenty-nine Christians were killed and at least 22 injured when armed assailants fired at buses transporting the group of Christians to St Samuels Monastery in Minya on Friday morning.
In his message to El-Nasr, the head of the Roman Catholic Church said he was offering prayers for the victims and their families and prayers "to give Egypt strength and success in confronting black terrorism, to end the bloodshed, and to eliminate these extremist ideas," according to the statement.
Arab and Western countries have denounced the attack, which Egypts interior ministry said was carried out by unknown assailants driving four-by-four trucks who fired at random at a bus carrying the Copts to the monastery.
On Saturday Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the latest in a series of deadly assaults on Egypts Christians, including deadly bombings of churches in Tanta and Alexandria in April that were also claimed by the group.
Pope Francis visited Cairo last month, the first such papal trip to the country since Pope John Paul II visited in 2000.
Francis met with Pope Tawadros, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, as well as President El-Sisi, and addressed a conference on peace for religious leaders being held at Al-Azhar.
During his meeting with El-Sisi, Pope Francis expressed his sympathy with the loss of lives of Egyptian Copts and said he was reassured by the clear language of the Egyptian president on the states commitment to protect all its citizens, including Copts, and to secure their freedom of faith and freedom of worship, despite some issues that President El-Sisi did say still require sensitive treatment.
During his statement before the closing session of the international conference on peace at the headquarters of Al-Azhar, Pope Francis underlined the need to respect the religious rights and freedoms of the other and to pursue the call of tolerance in full awareness that no act of violence can be committed in the name of God.
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The country's largest power producer NTPC, long associated with coal-fired power generation, is now all set to lead the country's charge for renewable energy production. With NTPC accounting for a major chunk of renewabale power projects coming up across the country, state-owned NTPC Ltd is poised to facilitate India's bid to achieve its ambitious national renewable energy targets, says a report. By facilitating the India's drive toward ambitious national renewable energy targets NTPC is also leading the global energy transition, a report published by US-based Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). "Despite its deep historical connection to coal-fired electricity generation technology, NTPC has recently moved to the forefront of India's energy transition and stands to be the country's key new energy enabler" said co-author of the report Tim Buckley, director of energy finance studies, IEEFA. ''The role NTPC is now playing in transforming the Indian energy sector in its ongoing shift away from the increasingly stranded assets of the fossil fuel industry cannot be underestimated,'' said Buckley. The report, however, notes that NTPC's entry in the country's renewable energy market comes at a time when overseas investors are seeking more opportunities in the country's renewable projects. The 44-page report titled ''NTPC as a Force in India's Electricity Transition'' showcases how the Narendra Modi government is shifting rapidly towards a low-carbon economy - a step towards achieving the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement aim of cutting greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation as was earlier called), which accounts for a quarter of India's electricity and is among the top 10 coal-fired power generators in the world, is now playing in transformational role in the energy sector as it shifts away from fossil fuel-based power generation, reports quoted Tim Buckley, IEEFA director of energy finance studies for Australasia as saying. While NTPC's priority is to underpin growth in power generation, it would now increasingly turn to renewable sources like solar power where costs have fallen below that of coal-fired power. ''With the average new solar tariff in 2017 below NTPC's coal-fired power tariff for its existing fleet, it is clear that renewable energy offers a cheaper way to provide power,'' report co-author Buckley said. Solar prices hit a record low twice this month. On 10 May, India finalised a new auction at the Bhadla solar park in Rajasthan with the award of a power tariff at a record low Rs2.62/kWh ($0.040/kWh), 12 per cent below the previous record low Rewa solar tariff awarded only just three months ago in Madhya Pradesh. Two days later, the auction for the remaining 500MW solar capacity came in at Rs2.44/kWh ($0.038/kWh), down yet another seven per cent. This tender was also for projects at the Bhadla Phase IV solar park. ''The ongoing Indian electricity transformation, which can be increasingly spearheaded by NTPC, will have global ramifications not least for the thermal coal sector which faces a technology driven structural decline,'' Buckley said. Energy minister Piyush Goyal's plan to cease thermal coal imports by the end of this decade is being led by NTPC which has already stopped them this past fiscal year. ''Coal exporters that are looking to India to prop up volumes as China continues to reduce coal consumption are going to be disappointed,'' he said. India's renewables boom is attracting the attention of a diverse range of leading overseas investors, including banks, utilities, pension funds and asset managers. They include Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, the Macquarie Group, Sembcorp, Enel, EDF, Engie, SoftBank and Brookfield.
Egyptian Solidarity Minister Ghada Wali decided on Saturday to issue compensation to the families of the victims of the deadly shooting attack on Christians in Minya a day earlier, state-owned agency MENA reported.
According to the agency, the families of those who were killed in the attack will receive EGP100,000, while those injured will receive EGP40,000 if they were hospitalised for more than 72 hours.
Wali has also decided that all the injured be treated at Cairos Nasser Institute Hospital.
The ministers decision comes one day after 29 Coptic Christians were killed in an attack by armed men on buses carrying worshippers to a monastery in Upper Egypts Minya governorate.
In response to the attack, which was claimed by Daesh on Saturday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered airstrikes on militant camps in Libya; a later military statement said those who had planned and executed the attack had come from these camps.
Fridays attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians by Islamist militants, including twin suicide bombings in churches in Tanta and Alexandria last month, which killed dozens.
Egypt imposed a state of emergency nationwide after the April bombings. It will last for three months but may be extended.
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Kushner had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy: report
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and close adviser Jared Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, reports Reuters citing seven current and former US officials.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. Early this year, Kushner became a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official.
Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the 8 November election, Kushner also discussed with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinising former national security adviser Michael Flynn's connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushner's contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
It was reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the president's inner circle. (See: FBI probing Trump son-in-law Kushner's Russian links)
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was its policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kushner's attorney Jamie Gorelick said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current US law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under US sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of US banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers told Reuters that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what US intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trump's chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
IT Sligo student Sinead ODonnell-Carey from Donegal town has secured the prestigious Yeats Design Residency for 2017 with the world famous Abbey Theatre in Dublin.
The 35-year-old mother of two is just completing her four-year Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Performing Arts at IT Sligo.
Now into its sixth year, the Yeats Design Residency is a collaboration between the Abbey and IT Sligo, and aims to nurture the talent of young Theatre Design students in the Institutes Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Performing Arts.
Students learn how world-class theatre directors, designers, technical and production staff at the Abbey Theatre collaborate.
They acquire at first hand an understanding of how set design is incorporated into the process of realising a production.
I was utterly shocked, said Sinead after she was announced as the 2017 Yeats Design Residency recipient at a special event in the Abbey last week.
I was actually making plans to begin an MA in Film & Television Studies this September. But this is a wonderful opportunity. Set and Costume Design is something I am very passionate about and the reputation of the Abbey Theatre is truly global.
Candidates for the 2017 residency was asked to produce a set design adaptation of the Dermot Healy play Blood Wedding using a scaled model of the Abbey Theatre stage.
The play tells the story of an arranged marriage in 1930s rural Ireland, which goes wrong, explains Sinead.
My stage design dealt with this and the issues of land ownership of that time. I used the idea of flying furniture as a metaphor to reflect the instability of an arranged marriage during this period in Irish history.
Sinead has had a long-standing interest in costume and set design, having done some work for various theatrical companies in the North West during her spare time.
However, she says the broad appeal of the BA ( hons ) in Performing Arts degree course has been one of the most enjoyable aspects of her studies at IT Sligo.
Ive gotten a great kick out it the course is broad, so it gives you the opportunity to delve into areas beyond acting and design, such as directing and film.
Thats been the real bonus of the course over the past four year , she says.
Congratulating Sinead on receiving the Yeats Design Residency for 2017, Dr Brendan McCormack, President of IT Sligo said: We are very proud of our collaboration with the Abbey Theatre. Not only does this award continue to add a new dimension to the links that W.B. Yeats had with both the Abbey and Sligo, it also provides an unrivaled opportunity for contemporary hands-on learning with a theatre that is respected the world over.
Sinead is scheduled to begin her residency with the Abbey Theatre in June.
A new report has found that the Donegal hospitality and drinks businesses employ 7,443 people and generate 168 million in revenue for local tourism economy.
Reacting to the report findings, Paul Diver, of the Sandhouse Hotel said the findings underline the huge importance of the sector to Donegal's economy: This DIGI report clearly shows the huge importance of the hospitality and drinks sector to Donegals economy. It supports thousands of jobs and generates millions of euros in revenue for local tourism and suppliers.
Irelands hospitality is a huge draw for tourists. But, with the recent reduction in the value of sterling, we must take action to support the sector and avoid job losses. This requires a reduction in excise tax to make Ireland a better value holiday destination, he said.
The figures are part of a new report, Irelands Hospitality and Drinks Sector and Your Constituency, commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) and authored by Dublin City University economist Anthony Foley.
The report outlines the importance of the drinks and hospitality sector to the overall national economy, and to local economies across the country, particularly in rural Ireland.
However, Irelands high alcohol excise taxthe second highest in the EUis jeopardising the future growth of hospitality and drinks businesses, including those in Donegal, as tourists seek more affordable holiday destinations.
This is particularly the case for British tourists. 40 percent of all visitors to Ireland originate from the UK, but a slump in sterling value following the Brexit referendum has already had a significant impact. Between January and March 2017, 55,300 fewer British tourists travelled to Ireland compared to the same period last year.
The report was launched on Friday to mark the beginning of Support Your Local 2017, a DIGI campaign that seeks to highlight the economic, cultural and social contributions of local pubs, and calls for a reduction in Irelands alcohol excise tax.
For Aleah Brown, one of the most important lessons she learned in the Dothan Area Chamber Foundations Youth Leadership program came on its last day.
We were blindfolded and all held on to a string, she said. We were in a circle, but had to become a square. I learned that if everyone is talking, no one is listening.
Brown said knowing when to listen is just as important in leadership than stepping forward and taking charge.
Brown, an Emmanuel Christian School student, was among 25 students who participated in the annual program, which takes local high school students to tour local businesses and organizations. The idea is to let the students see local leaders in action. Linda Kelley, director of community development for the chamber, said the program has produced many local leaders in a variety of industries, including medicine and education.
We strive for diversity, she said. We believe you learn best when you think outside of your comfort zone. We bring together people who think differently.
Hunter Weeks, a junior at Wicksburg High, said he was surprised by the opportunities available in Dothan.
ACOM was amazing, he said. Its insane to think that people can go in there and graduate medical school here in Dothan.
Hannah Streitman, a Houston Academy student, said the most important lesson she learned from the program was the importance of good communication between leaders and the people theyre responsible for.
Its not about you. Its about the other people. You have to realize that and act upon it, she said.
Samantha Jeter, a Providence Christian Academy student, said she was most impressed by educators and administrators at Dothans HeadStart program.
Every person there wanted to help each child, she said. It made me think about how our futures will affect those of the people coming up behind us.
Germanys ambassador to Egypt, Julius Georg Luy, condemned on Saturday the deadly attack on a group of Egyptian Coptic Christians in Minya on Friday which killed 29 people, saying his country supports Egypt in combating terrorism.
Luy said that whoever kills people in cold blood, including children due to their faith, is one that is a dissident from the values of the standards of any humanitarian society.
The Friday attack that took place on a bus transporting Coptic citizens in Minya governorate is a repulsive crime. We express our condolences to the families of the victims and hope a speedy recovery for the injured, the statement by the German embassy said.
Many states have condemned the attack on Friday, including the US, a number of European countries, and a number of Arab nations.
There is nothing that would justify such terror acts, as well as incitement against minorities, the German statement read.
Germany stands in solidarity in such stressful times with Egyptian Copts, as well as its Muslims in the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, the statement added.
The ambassador expressed hope that Egypt will be successful in fighting terror as well as its supporters using its legal framework.
On Saturday Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack, which is the latest in a series of recent deadly assaults by the group on Egypts Christians. Daesh had also claimed responsibility for two deadly bombings of churches in Tanta and Alexandria in April, which left dozens dead and injured.
The ambassador said that combating intolerance and providing protection to Egyptians of different faiths should be a top priority, adding that extremists should not be allowed to divide the Egyptian society.
Hours after Friday's attack President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi ordered airstrikes on Islamist militant camps in Libya as Egypt's military said those who had planned and executed the attack had come from these camps.
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Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has told his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that Egyptian air strikes on terrorist strongholds in eastern Libya came in the framework of legitimate self-defence.
In an official statement, foreign ministry spokesperson Ahmed Abu Zeid said Shoukry stressed during a phone call with Tillerson that intelligence and evidence regarding the training of terrorist elements, that he said were behind a deadly attack on Copts in Upper Egypt on Friday, were available.
Egypts armed forces carried out intensive air strikes on Friday night and on Saturday, targeting militants in Libya they said were responsible for planning and executing a Friday deadly attack which killed 29 Egyptian Christians who had been travelling to a monastery in the governorate of Minya in Upper Egypt.
On Saturday the Islamist militant group Daesh claimed responsibility for the deadly attack.
The militant group has launched several recent deadly attacks on Coptic Christians, including twin bombings in churches in April which killed dozens of worshippers.
According to the Egyptian army, the airstrikes resulted in the complete destruction of the targets, which included areas where terrorist elements were gathering and training.
Tillerson expressed his countrys support for Egyptian efforts in combating terrorism, the statement read, adding that the US is ready to cooperate with Egypt in the anti-terrorism field, in terms of intelligence and military efforts.
The US secretary of states call to the Egyptian foreign minister comes a few hours after President Donald Trump responded to a direct address by Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi on Friday. Trump affirmed in an official statement that the US stood with Egypt against "the common enemy" of terrorism.
In a Friday evening speech following the Minya attack, El-Sisi said that he trusts the US presidents ability to wage war on terrorism as his first priority.
The Egyptian president also said that Egypt will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorist elements, whether inside the country or abroad.
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Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners suspended their 40-day hunger strike after reaching an agreement with Israeli authorities.
More than 1,300 Palestinian prisoners began a hunger strike 17 April in response to a call by Marwan Barghouti the prominent Palestinian political figure in the Fatah movement who has been jailed since 2002 to protest poor prison conditions and the detention of thousands of Palestinians by Israeli authorities without trial since the 1980s.
The hunger-striking prisoners held talks with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Palestinian Authority, reaching an agreement on changes to some of the prisoners' conditions, Palestinian groups and an Israeli Prison Service statement said.
In a joint statement, the Palestinian Committee of Prisoners Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) said that the prisoners suspended the "Freedom and Dignity" strike after reaching a deal following more than 20 hours of negotiations between Barghouthi and other prison leaders with Israeli occupation forces in Ashkelon Prison, the Palestinian Maan news agency reported.
Neither party released full details of the agreement, only that the second monthly family visit would be granted after Israeli forces cut it earlier.
The prisoners main demands included an end to solitary confinement, to be moved to prisons in the occupied territories as per the Fourth Geneva Convention, an improvement in access to medical care; increasing visit durations from 45 to 90 minutes; an improvement in detention conditions, and others changes.
In a press statement later Saturday, Fatah movement expressed its pride in the resistance and triumph of the prisoners, saying that they recorded "the highest of level of pride and dignity for the entire Palestinian people.
During the hunger strike, prisoners said they were facing a harsh crackdown from Israeli prison authorities, as their medical conditions continued to decline.
On Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al-Hussein urged Israel to improve conditions.
A number of activities in the Palestinian terriritories were held in support of the prisoners, such as popular rallies and general strikes.
The number of Palestinians detained in Israeli prisons are estimated at over 6,000 including 29 imprisoned before the Oslo Accords in 1993, according to the official Palestinian news agency Wafa.
Israel occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 1967 and later annexed the latter in a move never recognised as legitimate by the international community.
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Republican Congressman and multi-millionaire David Trott from Michigans 11th Congressional District is arguably one of the most ethically-challenged members of the U.S. House of Representatives. He made millions of dollars building a vertically-integrated foreclosure business that drew national attention when he threw a 101-year old Detroit woman out of her home tossing her life-saving medications into a dumpster.
His foreclosure empire was described by Michigan State Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr. as a machine that was made to feed off of human misery. Heres David Dayen on All In with Chris Hayes, talking about the machine Trott built:
CHRIS HAYES: What money is there to be made the process of [foreclosure]? DAVID DAYEN: Theres not a whole lot of money to be made if youre just doing the legal work. But Trott & Trott had a unique business strategy where they bought up practically every company down the line that gets a little bit of money out of the foreclosure process. Theres a requirement in Michigan that you have to put legal notices out in the newspaper. They bought the newspaper that did that. Theres a requirement that you have to do a title search. They bought the company that does the title searches and they get money off of that. They bought a real estate agency that then sells the houses after they go into foreclosure. So they kind of made money at every step down line and once you add that up, its lucrative. HAYES: Yeah, they created, its sort of a turnkey foreclosure operation for the banks where theyre, basically, at every step in the line, they own it.
During the height of the foreclosure crisis, Trott went on the record as a proponent of the subprime mortgages that created the financial meltdown in the first place, causing a global catastrophe that led to the foreclosure crisis he capitalized on and massively profited from:
Host Henry Baskin: David, let me ask you this: Everybody who ever bought a home in the history of our country would say, Hey, this is a great investment. Price always goes up. They never make new land and you cant lose money on real estate. But how does this affect their inability to pay? I dont understand. Say the home is worth exactly what they paid for it, $250,000. Its not worth less. Its still worth $250,000. Whats happened? David Trott: Well, if the person bought that house, perhaps on a subprime mortgage product, which I agree with Nina, I think is a perfectly appropriate product and a lot of borrowers are real successful in subprime products so across the board theyre not bad. But if they went to subprime and they based that subprime loan app on overtime with General Motors and General Motors cuts back on the overtime, even though that property is still worth $250,000 they dont have the wherewithal to make the monthly payments.
Once Trott bought his way into office, he introduced a bill that would help increase his profits as a foreclosure vulture:
[N]ow that hes in office, Trott is working to enrich himself through his foreclosure business even more. This week he introduce H.R. 1849 the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017. This is a bill that, if signed into law, would exempt law firms and licensed attorneys (like Trotts business Trott & Trott) who are engaged in debt collection from consumer protection regulations and oversight. Heres the description of what the bill does: To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and licensed attorneys who are engaged in activities related to legal proceedings from the definition of a debt collector, to amend the Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 to prevent the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection from exercising supervisory or enforcement authority with respect to attorneys when undertaking certain actions related to legal proceedings, and for other purposes. In other words, Trotts firm could go about its shady business of capitalizing off the financial hardship of families and turn a tidy profit without the nuisance of oversight from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau getting in the way.
He also has no problem using tax dollars to promote his campaign, using them to pay for a video and mailings.
Since the November 2016 election, Trott has been facing fierce opposition from his constituents, led mainly by the 11th District Indivisible group. At one of his town halls, one of his team was heard calling his constituents un-American in a hot mic moment that went viral nationally. Given the pushback, Trott has apparently decided to try to soften his image by introducing ethics legislation that would compel all members of the U.S. House of Represenatives to take ethics training:
Members of the House don't have to take annual ethics training by law? Yeah @RepCicilline & I are fixing that. https://t.co/FtAbVteCb0 Dave Trott (@repdavetrott) May 25, 2017
From his press release about the bill which is titled the Ensuring Trust and Honorability in Congressional Standards (ETHICS) Act:
Time and time again, one of the biggest concerns I hear from my constituents is the federal governments willingness to put itself above the law a feeling that has greatly contributed to the lack of trust many Americans have in Congress. No one is above the law, and Members of Congress must live by the laws they create, said Rep. Trott. In an effort to restore confidence in the peoples elected officials, I am working with my Democratic colleague in introducing this commonsense legislation that requires Members of the House of Representatives to take annual ethics training, ensuring representatives remain accountable to the people they represent.
We can only hope that his Democratic co-sponsor David Cicilline of Rhode Island includes a clause in the bill that puts David Trott himself at the front of the line for that training. Based on everything we know about him and his unethical behavior before and after becoming a member of Congress, nobody needs it more.
And, by the way, why honorability? Why wouldnt you just go with honor? Perhaps its because the hypocritical Trott has none.
Internet security at Mar-a-Lago the private club President Trump owns and has dubbed the Southern White House is weak, ProPublica and Gizmodo reported Wednesday, based on their recent joint investigation.
Trump has used the resort, as well as other properties he owns, to meet with staffers and foreign heads of state on official business.
Among the security holes the publications identified at Mar-a-Lago:
a WiFi-enabled printer/scanner that is publicly accessible;
a misconfigured and unencrypted router;
use of the weak and outmoded WEP encryption for three of the clubs wireless networks, which makes them vulnerable to hacking in less than five minutes; and
a database with an insecure login page on the clubs website, which is not protected by standard Internet encryption.
Mar-a-Lago guests only have to produce a photo ID when they enter through the facilitys main door. Also, the club serves as a venue for ticketed public events.
The president has hosted foreign leaders and politicians at his properties. In February, he took a call about a North Korean ballistic missile launch in Mar-a-Lagos dining room, with members and waiters present and able to overhear the conversation. In April, he tracked the first attack he ordered on Syria from what the White House described as a makeshift situation room at Mar-a-Lago.
Any presidential retreat or home is a target for foreign and domestic surveillance, said James Scott, a senior fellow at the Institute for Critical Infrastructure.
A spy could attempt to capture audio, video, or images of classified information, meetings, conversations and documents, he told TechNewsWorld.
A Security Nightmare
Despite millions of dollars spent annually on cybersecurity to protect White House communications, they fell victim to hack attacks in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Mar-a-Lago reportedly spent just $443,000 on cybersecurity.
The United States Government Accountability Office has launched an investigation into security at Mar-a-Lago.
Other Trump Properties
The Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the president often dines with son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, has two WiFi networks that can be accessed simply by typing in a room number.
Hotels have long been a more than attractive target for cyberattackers, noted independent cybersecurity analyst Randy Abrams.
To conduct a meeting with a national security import in a location surrounded by vulnerable systems if of great concern, he told TechNewsWorld. Considering the target value, it is incomprehensible.
A Trump club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where the president interviewed candidates for top administration positions, has two open WiFi networks that dont require a password to join, the ProPublica and Gizmodo reported.
Trump club websites are hosted by Clubessential, which has an incorrectly configured Internet-accessible backend server. Clubessential also puts many of the default settings and usernames for its software online without password protection.
The president and his staff should use two separate and secure networks for all other personal and professional traffic while on the premises of any property like Mar-a-Lago, ICIs Scott said.
Maintenance of the [presidential business] network would be funded by taxpayers, ICIs Scott suggested, but the cybersecurity of Mar-a-Lago guests would be the responsibility of the club.
The majority of breaches are the result of poor cybersecurity practices, said Adam Meyer, chief security strategist at SurfWatch Labs.
Turning a blind eye to these cyber-risks could have great consequences, he told TechNewsWorld.
Tightening Security
Securing networks is a basic step which is required, observed John Maring, managing partner at Optimal IdM.
Its important for organizations to implement secure practices as part of the corporate culture, he told TechNewsWorld.
The fact that Trump properties dont even use well-known, basic, security controls seen at most of our homes is alarming, said James Carder, CISO of LogRhythm.
If Mar-a-Lago is the White House in the South, he told TechNewsWorld, it should have the same cybersecurity precautions in place as the real White House in Washington, D.C.
Related Iraq forces launch broad attack on IS holdouts in Mosul
A senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) was killed fighting Islamic State (IS) group west of the Iraqi city of Mosul, the Tehran-based Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday.
It is the first time Iran has announced the death of a senior commander during the operations launched in October to drive the Islamist militants out of Mosul.
"Commander Shaaban Nassiri was martyred in operations to free the area west of Mosul," the Tasnim news agency quoted the Revolutionary Guards as saying.
The IRGC is the main backer of the Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary force known as Popular Mobilisation, fighting Islamic State west of Mosul.
Nassiri was killed near Baaj, one of the last cities which remain under Islamic State control, near the Syrian border, according to Mashregh, an Iranian news website.
Baghdadi is believed to be hiding in this region, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
Nassiri fought in the Iran-Iran war of 1980-1988 and has been involved in the six-year war in Syria, backing President Bashar al-Assad, according to Mashregh.
A general from the Revolutionary Guards assumed the post of Iran's ambassador to Iraq in April, in a sign of the key role the military force is playing in its neighboring country.
Popular Mobilisation on Friday announced the capture of the Sinjar military base, near Baaj, moving its presence closer to the Syrian border.
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is aiming to control the border in coordination with the Iranian-backed army of Assad.
Linking up the two sides would give Assad a significant advantage in fighting the six-year rebellion against his rule.
Iran has provided military support to Assad since at least 2012, but initially did not comment publicly on its role. But as the military support increased and Iranian casualties rose, officials began to speak more openly.
An Iranian official said late last year that more than 1,000 Iranians had been killed in the Syrian civil war. These include a handful of senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards, according to Iranian media reports.
Iran has helped to train and organize thousands of Shi'ite militia fighters from Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Syrian conflict. Fighters from Lebanon's Hezbollah are also working closely with Iranian military commanders in Syria.
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To build the largest and most complete Amateur Radio community site on the Internet - a "portal" that hams think of as the first place to go for information, to exchange ideas, and be part of whats happening with ham radio on the Internet. eHam.net provides recognition and enjoyment to the people who use, contribute, and build the site. This project involves a management team of volunteers who each take a topic of interest and manage it with passion. The site will stand above all other ham radio sites by employing the latest technology and professional design/programming standards, developed by a team of community programmers who contribute their skills to the effort. The site will be something of which everyone involved can be proud to say they were a part. We welcome your comments. The eHam.net Team, Revision 07/2020.
G7 nations including France and Britain came under pressure Saturday from Libya's neighbours to help put out the fires of a conflict that is already causing trouble further afield.
The world's most powerful democracies, at annual summit talks, called in a statement for "inclusive political dialogue and national reconciliation" in Libya -- but stopped short of any detailed pledges of collective help.
They had been joined at the summit by African leaders whose countries are all implicated in the migration crisis affecting Europe.
Lawlessness in Libya has facilitated the transit of hundreds of thousands of African migrants embarking on perilous voyages across the Mediterranean.
And it is now directly implicated in European terrorism after a Briton of Libyan descent blew himself up at a Manchester concert, killing 22 people including several children.
"The fight against terrorism (in North Africa) demands that urgent measures be taken to extinguish the Libyan cauldron," Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou told the G7 countries.
Niger lies to Libya's south and Issoufou said a holistic approach was needed to deal with issues surrounding security, economy and extremist ideology.
He urged both the G7 and the United Nations to "devote the means necessary" to set up a rapid reaction force against regional jihadists sought by Niger and other countries in the Sahel region.
France and Britain, two of the G7's top military powers alongside the United States, face particular criticism for helping to topple the Libyan regime of Moamer Kadhafi in 2011 without planning sufficiently for the power vacuum that ensued as the country plunged into chaos.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, at the G7, said the Manchester suicide bomber's links to Libya "undoubtedly shine a spotlight on this largely ungoverned space on the edge of Europe".
"So we must redouble our support for a UN-led effort that brings all the parties to the negotiating table and reduces the threat of terror from that region," she said Friday.
In a meeting Saturday on the G7 margins with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi underlined the need for collective action on Libya.
The security challenge, in particular dealing with the proliferation of armed groups, would take "long months to stabilise", Essebsi said, according to a French official.
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Zbigniew Brzezinski, the hawkish Polish-born Cold War strategist and former top aide to US president Jimmy Carter who influenced key policy decisions on Afghanistan, China and the Middle East, has died, his family said. He was 89.
His death in a Virginia hospital was announced late Friday by his daughter, Mika Brzezinski, an MSNBC journalist. She said he died "peacefully" but did not give a cause.
Former president Barack Obama called Brzezinski "a powerful intellect and a passionate advocate for American leadership," adding in a statement that "his ideas and advocacy helped shape decades of American national security policy."
In his own statement, Carter paid tribute to someone who "was an important part of our lives for more than four decades and was a superb public servant."
The Polish-born Brzezinski became Carter's national security adviser at a time of exceptional international turmoil that included the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iranian hostage crisis.
He was a driving force behind the failed US commando mission to rescue the hostages, after which he resigned. He believed Soviet influence would sweep through Iran if US strength did not prevail in the drama.
Nominally a Democrat, he leaned conservative on security matters. A tough critic of the Soviet Union, he also helped broker the Camp David accords and worked on normalizing relations with China.
But some critics say he helped spawn al-Qaeda by working through the CIA to arm and support anti-Soviet jihadists in Afghanistan.
Though a rigorous anti-communist, he held that US interests around the world should be addressed in terms of strategy and practicality, not ideology.
Born in Warsaw to a diplomat father, Brzezinski moved with his family to Canada in the late 1930s. He attended McGill University in Montreal then earned a doctorate from Harvard, later becoming a US citizen.
He served under president Lyndon Johnson before becoming Carter's national security adviser.
He had developed his ties to Carter on the Trilateral Commission, the group created by the banker David Rockefeller in 1973 as a forum for political and business leaders from North America, Western Europe and Japan. Brzezinski was the commission's first director.
Brzezinski, an active professor and author well into his 80s, did not support President Donald Trump's election and criticized his foreign policy as vague.
"Does America have a foreign policy right now?" he tweeted in February.
"The President should outline why America is important to the world, but also why the world needs America."
In 2011, he penned "Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power," arguing that US strength abroad was key to global stability.
But it would depend on America's ability to foster "social consensus and democratic stability" at home, he said, referring to the need for less income inequality and a meaningful response to climate change.
An array of politicians and commentators at home and abroad expressed their respect for Brzezinski.
The conservative author and military historian Max Boot tweeted: "I didn't always agree with him, but #Brzezinski was a foreign policy giant who confronted Soviet aggression & helped win the Cold War. RIP."
Brzezinski was an outspoken supporter of the Solidarity movement in Poland led by Lech Walesa, once calling it "the beginning of a political tsunami that swept away the Soviet bloc, then the Soviet Union itself."
Tributes in his native land were effusive.
"The world has lost an outstanding intellectual, an experienced and effective diplomat, as well as an honorable man and a proud Pole," Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said in a statement.
"He never forgot about the country of his origin.
"Through his tough stance against the Soviet Union, Brzezinski played a key role in the process of the collapse of the totalitarian communist system, which had been imposed upon the countries of Central and Eastern Europe after World War II," Waszczykowski added.
Writing on Twitter, Polish President Andrzej Duda also paid tribute.
"Zbigniew Brzezinski is gone. He was once the voice of Poland in the White House. A free Poland. Because he tirelessly strove for our freedom. Thank you!"
In a tribute on Instagram, Mika Brzezinski wrote: "He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life.
"I just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."
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Canada firmed their case for promotion to Division Two by bouncing back from Friday's shock loss to Malaysia to thump USA by 96 runs firmed their case for promotion to Division Two by bouncing back from Friday's shock loss to Malaysia to thumpby 96 runs at Kyambogo Oval
USA opted to put Canada in, persuaded by overcast conditions but by the time the first ball was bowled the sun had come out and the seamers found little assistance from the pitch. Batsman Dhanuka Pathirana made the most of favourable conditions, top-scoring with 87 off 94 balls, a remarkable innings in which he took 21 balls to get off the mark.
Pathirana's innings pushed Canada to 256 for 8. The foundation for that total was built by captain Nitish Kumar and 17-year old Bhavindu Adhihetty , who added 74 for the first wicket. But USA left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige broke the stand, having Kumar caught at backward point for 30 in the 16th over and then bowled Navneet Dhaliwal for 3 in the 18th to wrap up a wicket-maiden.
Pathirana and Adhihetty - who made his first half-century for Canada - took the team past the wobble but their partnership - 64 runs in 14.4 overs - was broken by left-arm spinning allrounder Mrunal Patel . It was the first of his three wickets, the third of particular importance since he toppled the explosive Rizwan Cheema for a second-ball duck. Canada were 157 for 5 with the best part of 12 overs left.
USA had the momentum, but they let it slip as a result of a rather poor fielding effort. They leaked 97 runs in the last 11 overs including two missed chances off Pathirana. The first, to long-off on 71, resulted in a four when Akeem Dodson came in off the rope only to have the ball go over his head and bounce over the rope. Pathirana was eventually dismissed lbw attempting a switch hit in the 46th over but not before he was gifted a six the previous ball when Nicholas Standford fumbled a catch over the boundary at deep extra cover.
USA's chase was doomed from the start when captain Steven Taylor fell on the third ball, beaten for pace attempting an expansive drive against Satsimranjit Dhindsa. Fellow opener Akeem Dodson ran himself out for 5 in the next over, looking for a risky single to mid-off that was denied by a direct hit from Jimmy Hansra, to make it 6 for 2.
Ibrahim Khaleel and Camilus Alexander kept USA afloat with a half-century stand but Cheema made up for his first-innings duck with three wickets in eight balls to reduce USA to 61 for 5 and they never recovered, eventually being bowled out for 160. Canada now have a 3-1 record in the tournament and its best net run-rate as well. A return to Division Two beckons.
File photo - Bilal Khan finished with figures of 5 for 19 as Singapore were bundled out for 100 against Oman in Entebbe Getty Images
Oman moved one step closer to their third consecutive promotion with a dominant Singapore in Entebbe. After Singapore were sent in to bat on a sticky wicket, left-arm pacer moved one step closer to their third consecutive promotion with a dominant five-wicket win overin Entebbe. After Singapore were sent in to bat on a sticky wicket, left-arm pacer Bilal Khan took two wickets with the new ball, before returning to clean up the tail and finish with 5 for 19 as Singapore were bowled out for 100 in 37.1 overs.
After Bilal's opening burst, Ajay Lalcheta struck a key blow when he had Arjun Mutreja stumped for 4, a day after the Singapore batsman had scored a match-winning century against USA. Singapore recovered briefly through their captain Chetan Suryawanshi's 30, and his 48-run fourth-wicket stand with Anish Paraam, who top-scored with 34. But Paraam's dismissal to medium pacer Mohammad Nadeem triggered a collapse as Singapore lost their last seven wickets for 17 runs.
Oman stumbled out of the gate in reply, with both openers dismissed without scoring. But Lalcheta's 37, and his 63-run partnership with his captain Sultan Ahmed (32) got Oman back on course. Aqib Ilyas then struck five boundaries in a rapid 22 not out, off 15 balls, to record victory with 25.4 overs to spare, giving Oman a dramatic net run rate boost.
Uganda kept their slim promotion hopes alive with a Malaysia at Lugogo Stadium. Offspinning allrounder kept their slim promotion hopes alive with a four-wicket win overat Lugogo Stadium. Offspinning allrounder Mohammed Irfan (108*) blazed a century off 67 balls to speed Uganda past the target of 190 in 36.2 overs. Irfan, whose nickname is "Afridi" in local circles and is a nephew of the former Pakistan captain, impersonated his uncle by striking seven fours and 10 sixes in his knock.
Veteran offspinner Frank Nsubuga helped set up a chaseable total by claiming 4 for 43 after taking the new ball. Left-arm spinner Henry Ssenyondo provided good support with 3 for 30.
Promotion and relegation standings
The final day of round-robin matches begins on Monday. Canada play Singapore at Kyambogo while Oman play Malaysia at Lugogo. Wins for Canada and Oman will guarantee promotion while they can still advance in spite of losses depending on each team's net run-rate. Singapore would need a sizable win over Canada, to move into one of the top two slots via net run-rate. A loss would not only cost them a shot at promotion but could also see them relegated depending on other results.
Tunisian security forces on Saturday rescued 126 sub-Saharan migrants including seven pregnant women who had been trying to reach Europe from Libya, a Red Crescent official said.
Fishermen had alerted the authorities to the presence of a vessel in distress off Ben Guerdane in southern Tunisia near the border with Libya, Dr Mongi Slim told AFP.
Among the migrants were 48 women, seven of them pregnant, and three children.
Those rescued were mainly from Nigeria, Mali and Gambia, and had set off from Libya, he added.
They were taken to the Tunisian port of Zarzis to be given first aid before later being transferred to nearby Medenine, he said.
People traffickers have exploited the chaos that has ravaged Libya since the 2011 revolution that toppled and killed Moamer Kadhafi to expand their lucrative trade.
Each year they send desperate migrants seeking a better life in Europe on the dangerous voyage to Italy, often aboard boats in too poor a condition to complete the trip.
On Friday, more than 3,400 migrants were rescued off Libya, bringing to about 10,000 the total number rescued over four days, Libyan and Italian officials said.
At least 10 bodies were also found by the Italian coastguard.
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To reach me for collaborations, sponsorships, and event invitations, I am contactable at
the-ice-angel@hotmail.com
Written by ACM
*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- The main Problem about Mass Immigration through Turkey is to Distinguish between Real Refugees and Economic irregular Immigrants or even Criminals, stressed Greek President, Prokopis Pavlopoulos, at CoE's PanEuropean Parliamentary Assembly's Plenary, earlier Today in Strasbourg, Replyig to relevant Questions by representatives of MEPs' Groups.
- Mainstream Austrian MEP Schenach, speaking on behalf of the Socialist Group, asked President Pavlopoulos (a former ChristianDemocrat/EPP Minister) what kind of European or International "Support" would Need Greece in order to Help the Country cope with the Massive Influx of Asylum Seekers coming via Turkey .
- Pavlopoulos, after Reminding the Fact that much more than 1 Million of Asylum Seekers suddebly crossed through Turkey into EU and Shenghen area Member Greece, last year, and still Today, Each Day, at least 20 to 60 such Migrants arrive to Greece, where about 60.000 are Enclaved nowadays, gave a Surprising Reply :
He didnt' ask neither for EU Funds, despite the Hard Financial situation of the Country, nor for urgent EU ReLocation of the Mass Migrans still remaining in Greece. He only asked for a specific Know-How :
- The main "Problem is that it's Not Only real Refugees who arrive" in Europe through Turkey.- "They are Easy to Integrate", he Optimisticaly stressed.
+ But, there are also a lot of Irregular (Economic) Migrants, and even "many who are Criminals !", President Pavlopoulos went on to denounce, (reminding that he had a particularly extensive Personal Experience of that matter, since he had already served, in the recent Past, as former Minister of Interior, in a different, 2004-2009 Government, before being elected President on 2015).
=> Therefore, "Greece must Select" those who are accepted. But, the Country "has Not Sufficient means" to do so yet just by itself alone.
>>> So that, Nowadays, "the EU and NATO need to Help Better Control" the relevant choices that have to be made each time on the spot. That's the "Solidarity" which is "necessary", President Pavlopoulos pointed out.
+ As for "Turkey", (from where suddenly came all that unprecedented 2015-2016 "Tsunami" of Mass Irregular Migration), Ankara's Government should, at least, "Arrest those (mainly Turkis) Smugglers of illegal immigrants", he added.
German mainstream Medias have already reported, recently, that a secret EU Enquiry Revealed that the Turkish Authorities are, in Fact, ...Selecting Who they'd send to Europe, inter alia, also by ...Excluding Qualified People among Syrian Refugees, and sending Only very Low-Education level, and/or quite Sick, irregular immigrants, Difficult or Impossible to socio-culturaly Integrate.
Already, most, if not all, Christian Refugees (particularly Targetted by ISIL's Terrorists, etc), notoriously try to Avoid Turkey, (allegedly because of a "Heavy Islamic" Control on both "Camps" and/or Mass Migrants' Flows towards Europe monitored by Ankara's regime, Prefering to go Elsewhere : F.e. in Lebanon, (where most live Out of Camps, but welcomed inside Host Family Homes), or even as far as ... Armenia, etc.
Thus, recently, even when Pope Francis made an Official Visit at the Greek Islands receiving the greatest number of Mass Asylum Seekers since 2015, in order also to take 3 Families with him, Back to Italy, to Host them in the Vatican, he was, Surprizingly, Hindered to Find at least 1 Christian out of 3 Migrant Families there, (Despite having Previously Informed the current Government of Greece for his intentions, since several Weeks), being Finaly Obliged to take All 3 of them 100% Muslim !, (with the Obvious Risk to provoke Incomprehension among the Christian Catholic Community in Europe and Worldwide)...
In addition, several ISIL's Deadly Islamist Terrorists were notoriously Hidden among Fake Mass "Refugees" infiltrating the EU through Turkey and via EU + Shenghen Member Greece, as, f.ex. many among those who cowardly Targetted and killed a lot of innocent Civilian People, in a Series of Terror Attacks in Paris the 13th of November 2015, (etc).
Even that individual who notoriously Raped and Killed the Young German Girl Maria Landberger at nearby Fribourg on 2016, had been initially presented and welcomed as a ..."Child Refugee", in Fact, was an Adult Persistent Offender (Multi-Recidivist) Brutal Criminal, who had already Violently Attacked other innocent Victims f.ex. in Greece etc. and Condemned in the Past...
The Real political Refugees would be naturaly Appalled by such scandalously Irresponsible and even Deadly, but repeated "Blunders", which obviously risk to Soil and Discredit in the Public Opinion the Noble Word of real "Refugee", (by a "Coincidence", to the undeniable Political Interest of those who massively Smuggled such Thugs and/or Criminals in Europe, as the notoriously Big and Dramatic Number of Armenian Refugees, Cypriot Refugees, Kurdish Refugees, Greek Refugees, various Dissident Turkish Refugees, etc, obliged to Flee Massive Human Rights Violations from Turkey's Regime and/or Military prove)...
(../..)
Statutory Declaration for name change query.
Dear Friends,
I am in the process of creating my AMC Candidate Online Account and I have done EPIC verification step. Now I need to know that as my name on MBBS degree was the name before marriage and therefore has been changed after marriage. As per the guidelines of AMC, I need to provide them an Statutory Declaration for name change. I want to understand that can I get this statutory declaration from Pakistan and is it different from an affidavit of declaration? I plan to submit it once I am in Australia as I have PR status. Hence, please advice that is it wise to get the statutory declaration done in Pakistan or I get it when I am in Australia?
I will be extremely thankful if somebody can give me a comprehensive response to my above query.
Thank you in advance.
Regards.
In my passport my last name is given in two words , ex : Denmark john ie ancestors origin place followed by Father's name. My express entry profile is being rejected and i suspect it is because of this family name format that i am giving. Should the family name be one word ? Could someone elaborate more on this.
Thousands of Israelis rallied Saturday in Tel Aviv in support of a Palestinian state ahead of the 50th anniversary of Israel's occupation of Palestinian land.
Banners bearing the slogan "Two states, One Hope" featured in the demonstration organised by supporters of a Palestinian state, including the Israeli NGO Peace Now.
NGO head Avi Buskila said the rally was a protest against "the lack of hope being offered by a government perpetuating occupation, violence and racism".
"The time has come to prove to the Israelis, the Palestinians and the entire world that an important segment of the Israeli population is opposed to occupation and wants a two-state solution," he added.
A message of support from Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was read out at the rally.
"It is time to live together in harmony, security and stability," Abbas was quoted as saying.
"Our duty towards future generations is to conclude a peace of the brave."
Israeli opposition Labour party leader Isaac Herzog attended the rally and threw his support behind a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
In 1967, Israel seized the West Bank and east Jerusalem from Jordan during its Six-Day War against neighbouring states.
It later annexed east Jerusalem in a move never recognised by the international community.
Israel proclaims Jerusalem as its "united capital," while the Palestinians claim the city's eastern part as the capital of their future state.
More than 400,000 Israelis live in settlements on the West Bank which are considered illegal under international law and a major obstacle to Middle East peace.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is widely seen as the most right-wing administration in Israeli history and is pressing settlement expansion despite international concern.
Some government members have openly advocated annexing the West Bank.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online
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Hi every1, I want to ask about the % of possibilities to get my work permit and how long does it take to get after submitted my signed letter to MOL in UAE? Thanks guyz as i'm waiting for ur xperienced response.
Hi allI had bought a Toyota sedan in 2015 and now I am planning on selling it as I'm not using it much. Can anyone guide me on how to go about with selling my car as the car is less than 1000 kms used, in a great condition, and I would like a good price for it, rather than going to dealers and getting a price less than what its actual worth is.Has anyone had any experience with selling their car on dubizzle before? How was it and did you get a good price for your car?Also any other suggestions as to how I can sell my car here would be most welcomeThanks for all your help!
Good news is I finalized my employment agreement back in December.
The US company ended up hiring a professional employer organization in France which takes care of my payroll, expenses and vacation. Essentially they are my employer of record.
Does that mean in the case of a dispute that I only could take legal action against the French PEO and the US company would be considered free of any obligations?
Does anyone know how this works in French labor law?
Thank you.
Hi all guys of the forum,First thing, thank you so much anticipatedSo, I've a lot of questions that I need to clarify, but first I need to make a quick explanation of my situation:I come from Italy and I started on 1st of May a PhD (Doktorand) at Uni of Braunschweig (Niedersachsen) and I don't know the German. I have been hired with contract formula (TVL-13 50%). Today I received a letter from NLBV, ie the Institute for the payment of the employees in Lower-Saxony.In this letter there is written Absclagszahlung/en and an amount of money that I will earn (but I don't know when this will be, because is not totally clear in the letter). Now I tried to search on the web the meaning of Absclagszahlung.Searching on the web for the meaning of this word, I found "down payment". Now I don't know how work in Germany, but if the meaning of this word is really down payment , I don't understand why will I earn a down payment if I've worked from the beginning of the month?And especially, why will not I earn an entire salary?I really hope that someone can explain me the situation because at the moment I'm really worried...
Does anyone know if certified copies that go into your application need to be ones that are no older than 6 months -- or can you submit certified copies that were certified more than 6 months ago?
My husband misplaced his ID and we haven't found it yet - though we have an older certified copy. Would a passport and certified copy of passport be accepted as a substitute in case we don't find his ID in time?
Associated Press file photo
RadioShack once the go-to chain for consumer electronics will shutter 1,000 stores during the Memorial Day weekend as it undergoes its second round of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, the company announced Friday.
RadioShack will continue to operate 70 brick-and-mortar stores across the U.S. as the retailer migrates most of its sales operations to its website, RadioShack said in a news release Friday. This round of closures does not affect the companys 500 dealers or franchisee-run stores.
G7 leaders on Saturday wrapped up their annual summit with an unprecedented display of division over climate change as US President Donald Trump rebuffed pressure to toe the collective line in the club of powerful democracies.
Trump tweeted that he would reveal his hand only next week as to whether he will keep the United States in the Paris accord, a global pact on curbing carbon emissions that he vowed to jettison when campaigning for the White House.
The Group of Seven leading economies, in an extraordinary summit statement, acknowledged that six members were committed to upholding the 2015 accord while the United States stood apart.
"The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," the statement said in highly-unusual language.
Despite the discord, Trump concluded his first overseas trip on a typically bullish note, telling US service families at the Sigonella base in Sicily he had "hit a home run" shortly before taking off to fly back home.
Condemning this week's deadly terror attacks in Manchester and Egypt, Trump said such atrocities "steel our resolve".
"Together civilised nations will crush the terrorists, block their funding, strip them of their territory and drive them out of this earth," he said.
A short time later, scuffles broke out among protesters near the ancient hilltop town of Taormina where the summit had taken place under high security.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also crossed swords with Trump on free trade at the G7, complained that the US president was keeping his colleagues in the dark.
"The whole discussion on the topic of climate was very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory," she told reporters, labelling the G7 deadlock as "six against one".
On trade, the G7 vowed "to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism", but also to combat "unfair trade practices" and help those left behind by globalisation, after Trump came to power vowing "America First".
On other fronts, the G7:
- Noted that the global economy remains patchy with downside risks, pledging "to use all policy tools" to sustain growth;
- Threatened stronger sanctions against Russia over its annexation of Crimea if Moscow's actions warrant it;
- Condemned nuclear-armed North Korea's recent missile tests and said they were ready to take new measures as necessary after various rounds of UN sanctions;
- Demanded support from Russia and Iran for a peace process in Syria, and similarly called for an inclusive dialogue in Libya.
After starting his first presidential trip abroad wreathed in smiles, Trump ended it with rebukes, upbraiding America's European partners over military spending, trade and global warming.
An enduring motif of the G7, which represents the lion's share of global economic output, has been to champion free trade.
At last year's summit in Japan, leaders issued a lengthy communique in support of resisting protectionism, as well as helping refugees and fighting climate change.
But that was then, when Barack Obama still occupied the White House. Today, his successor is defiant about defying the G7 line after accusing China, Germany and others of cheating in international trade.
Trump reportedly described the Germans as "bad, very bad" in their trade practices while visiting Brussels this past week.
"We had very hard deliberations and discussions about trade but we found a reasonable solution," Merkel said, stressing the G7 statement's commitment to open markets.
The G7's Italian presidency held this year's summit in the Mediterranean island of Sicily to underline the proximity of the migrant crisis.
But even that prompted discord among participants as Trump resisted the hosts' desire to issue a declaration underlining the benefits as well as pitfalls of migration.
That sort of language is anathema to a White House that wants to impose a ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority countries.
The G7 statement recognised the human rights of migrants and refugees.
But with Trump promising to build a "beautiful" wall on the US-Mexico border, it also said: "we reaffirm the sovereign rights of states, individually and collectively, to control their own borders".
In a telling sign of the divisions now plaguing the G7, this year's statement came in at a meagre six pages -- down from 32 pages last year.
The summit did find common ground on Friday in endorsing a British call urging internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on jihadist content online after 22 people were killed by a suicide bomber in the northwestern English city of Manchester this week.
But while Trump did battle on an array of summit fronts, he also found himself dogged by new allegations as investigations proceed in Washington into whether Russian meddling helped his election victory last year.
The Washington Post reported that Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof communications line with the Kremlin.
There was no immediate comment from the White House, but Trump has angrily rejected allegations of such collusion.
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The once-thought-futile murder indictment this week of convicted child killer Genene Jones came about through a cold case obsession of a tight group of law enforcement and parents that could not bear the thought of the former San Antonio nurse leaving prison alive.
We are absolutely ecstatic, said Andy Kahan, a victims advocate for 25 years with the Houston Police Department who has worked closely with two parents whose children were treated by Jones, termed by some as a serial killer of as many as 40 infants dating back to 1981.But you have to give all the credit to the Bexar County District Attorneys office. They took this case on and made it personal.
Jones, 66, who is serving a 99-year sentence for the 1982 killing of Chelsea McClellan, a 15-month-old Kerrville girl, is scheduled to be released from prison in March 2018 by virtue of prison over-crowding legislation that affected all defendants convicted between 1977 and 1987.
But, as reported in a recent Texas Monthly and ProPublica article by investigative reporter Peter Elkind, whose book, The Death Shift, recounted the original Jones investigation, the case was revived by Bexar County DA Nico LaHood, prosecutor, Jason Goss, two dedicated mothers, and Larry DeHaven, a veteran SAPD and DAs investigator soon facing retirement.
Collectively, they believed that despite the absence of some medical records and the persuasive-but-circumstantial nature of many of the infant deaths, they could nonetheless make a new indictment stick. On Thursday, they succeeded in getting the Bexar County grand jury to indict Jones in the death of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer on Dec. 12, 1981, allegedly with a massive dose of anti-convulsant.
LaHood and Goss did not return Express-News requests for an interview.
Jones has always maintained that she was innocent and has not testified in court. She has instructed Texas prison officials that she doesnt want to be interviewed. In 1983, she told Elkind: Im sick and tired of being crucified alive and having people think Im a baby killer. I havent killed a damn soul.
The case drew international attention.
During a 15-month period between April 1981 and June 1982, the pediatric ICU at what was then called Bexar County Hospital (now University) witnessed 42 children die. Even more alarming than that unusually high number was that 34 of them died during the 3-11 p.m. shift, and Jones had cared for 20 of them.
The groundwork for this weeks indictment was somewhat laid by former Bexar County DA Sam Millsap, now in local private practice, whose 20-month pursuit of Jones resulted in a injury to a child conviction in 1984, involving a 1-month-old Rolando Santos, that got Jones a 60-year sentence. She served that concurrently with the longer term.
Though more indictments were sought, Millsap decided in October 1984, that there would be none. For nearly 30 years, little else happened in the case.
But in 2013, as family members began to realize that Jones could be released in March 2018, they formed a Facebook support group called Victims of Genene Anne Jones and renewed efforts to get the Bexar County DAs office to develop a new murder charge. Kahan, the Houston Police victims advocate, started an informal media campaign.
His entree was Petti McClellan, a Houston resident until last year, whose child, Chelsea, died under Jones care in 1982, when Jones had left San Antonio and went to work at a clinic in Kerrville.
Kahan, a former parole and probation officer, has championed similar cases serial killer Carl Eugene Watts is another - of convicted murderers whose cases came between 1977 and 1987 and would qualify for early release if they had earned good behavior reductions.
I would accompany Petti to parole board hearings for Jones, Kahan said Thursday , and sometimes wed be the only ones there.
McClellan, who became a nurse after Chelseas death, told the Express-News: Ive been fighting this case literally half of my life, but this really isnt about revenge. Yes, my daughter was murdered, but Ive had a great life and I have a great family. What Ive struggled with is that (almost 34) years (Jones time in prison) is not enough for Chelseas death and none of the babies in San Antonio ever got justice.
As time passed, and now under a new DA, Susan Reed, the Jones case became the project of former San Antonio detective, Larry DeHaven, now 70, according to Elkind. He assembled all the files he could find but many of the old medical files were missing, witness memories had lapsed and what was always a difficult prosecution seemed a longshot.
Then luck happened.
Connie Weeks, mother of Joshua Sawyer, revealed that she had kept for three decades a 3-inch thick medical file on her sons death. Goss and DeHaven found more witnesses, and soon they persuaded LaHood to seek a new indictment, the ProPublica story stated. If Jones goes to trial it could be 2 to 3 years before she sits in a courtroom.
When the Atlanta-based federal Centers for Disease Control later investigated the Jones case, its staff found that during a shift Jones worked a child was 25.5 times as likely to suffer a medical emergency and 10.7 times as likely to die.
For Elkind, the lesson of the Jones case is more than that of a deeply disturbed nurse killing children.
It is about the people who enabled her, he said this week. It is about the people who knew the threat she posed and did nothing to stop her and were never criminally prosecuted.
In almost every big scandal, he continued, there is usually a central figure doing bad things and then a lot of people allowing it to happen who are morally culpable and never held to account.
bselcraig@express-news.net
WASHINGTON U.S. Sen. Ted Cruzs 2012 campaign improperly reported loans he received from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup, according to a preliminary Federal Election Commission audit.
The audit, approved unanimously by the commission, found that the campaign failed to disclose to voters some $1.1 million Cruz had received in personal bank loans.
Cruz campaign spokesman Catherine Frazier issued a statement Friday calling it the same inadvertent reporting error that was widely reported during the presidential campaign, and that the campaign has long been working with the FEC to rectify the matter.
Cruz, running for re-election next year, said in 2012 and in a subsequent autobiography for his 2016 presidential run that he and his wife, Heidi Cruz, a Goldman Sachs executive, had financed his Senate bid largely by liquidating their family assets.
In fact, FEC auditors found that he made five loans to his campaign during 2011 and 2012 totaling $1.4 million. They said that $800,000 of that total came from Goldman Sachs and $264,000 came from Citigroup, with the rest coming from Cruzs personal funds.
Questions about the loans first came to light in the early stages of his presidential bid in January, 2016, when the New York Times questioned Cruzs public accounts of his long-shot Senate race against a better funded establishment favorite, then Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
Thursdays unusual unanimous vote by the FEC leaves open whether Cruz could face penalties. The vote, which was procedural in nature, now triggers a final audit report, expected in the coming months.
The Senate campaign for El Paso U.S. Rep. Beto ORourke, who is running against Cruz next year, seized on the FEC report Friday, sending out a fundraising email saying, If we cant trust Ted Cruz to disclose whos funding him, why should we trust him with representing Texans in the U.S. Senate?
Federal law allows candidates to take out commercial bank loans so long as they disclose them.
Cruz argued that the loans were reported in personal financial disclosure reports filed with the Senate. But the campaign has acknowledged that it erred in not reporting the loans to the FEC and has offered to amend their filings.
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The families of seven missing World War II soldiers, including the wars first Medal of Honor recipient, filed suit Thursday in federal court here to seek the return of their remains.
In their complaint, the families stated their loved ones remains had been found shortly after the war, and then buried as unknown soldiers in the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.
Their lawsuit seeks court intervention to reform in the agency responsible for identifying and recovering POW/MIA soldiers.
The suit follows a similar case, also filed in the federal court in San Antonio, pursued by John Eakin, 69, of Helotes in 2012.
Eakins cousin, Army Pvt. Arthur H. Bud Kelder, died at age 26 on Nov. 19, 1942, at a Japanese prison camp in the Philippines. Eakin embarked on a long journey to find his cousin, eventually determining that Kelder had been buried as an unknown in the Manila cemetery.
He sued for the return of his cousins remains in 2012. In the course of this lawsuit, he requested documents related to the burial of unknown soldiers and realized other soldiers had been found but then buried in unknown graves.
He said he looked through the burial records of 1st Lt. Alexander R. Sandy Nininger, the first Medal of Honor recipient of WWII. Eakin said records showed researchers after the war suspected Nininger was buried in a plot at the Manila cemetery, but did not identify him because to a discrepancy in height.
It was so obvious that he was in this grave, Eakin said. Five times the people in the field recommended those remains be identified as Alex Nininger, and five times Washington rejected the recommendation.
Eakin said he also looked through the files of Army Col. Loren P. Stewart, the commander of the 51st Infantry Regiment who died in the Philippines in January 1942.
When you read on through the file, theres a note in there saying they tried to find his dental records, but they misspelled his name, Eakin said.
Because the request was spelled Stuart, his remains were interred at the Manila cemetery instead of being returned to his family, Eakin said.
A total of seven families, three of which have Texas ties, filed in the suit.
In addition to a request to return the bodies, the suit asks that the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to change how it identifies bodies. The suit requests a court order mandating the agency use DNA analysis as their primary method of identifying bodies.
Calls to federal agencies named in the suit were not returned.
I have some heartburn about this, Eakin said. He recalled asking a relatives who never learned where Kelders remains rested. These people were denied closure just because the military didnt want to do their job.
jlawrence@express-news.net
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WASHINGTON The FBIs wide-ranging criminal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election may include scrutiny of the Trump campaigns San Antonio-based digital operation overseen by senior White House adviser Jared Kushner.
CNN reported that along with Kushners contacts with Russians and his relationship with fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, the FBI is looking at the campaigns 2016 data analytics programs conducted largely out of San Antonio under the direction of local digital advertising executive Brad Parscale.
In looking at possible ties with Russia, the FBI has collected data on computer bots software that runs automated scripts over the internet that pushed negative information on Hillary Clinton and positive information on Trump, the cable network reported.
An FBI spokesman declined comment Friday, and the White House did not respond to messages.
Parscale did not respond to phone messages left at Giles-Parscale, the San Antonio web design and digital marketing company that he co-owns.
Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, has not been accused of wrongdoing. His lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, said he will cooperate with the FBI if asked.
Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings, she said in a statement, referring to reports of meetings with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and with a Russian banker. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry.
Parscale, 41, became heavily involved in the Trump campaign after designing a website for the campaign exploratory committee and carrying out other tasks for the Trump family. He worked under Kushner. By the campaigns end, Parscale ran Trumps digital operation, media buys and overall advertising, an exceptionally large role for someone with little experience in political campaigns.
It was a data-driven campaign, so I was in the middle of it all, Parscale said in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News after the election.
Federal Election Commission reports showed that Giles-Parscale received over $91 million from the Trump campaign and an allied super PAC over an 18-month period.
Parscale noted that while his company ended in a healthy situation, much of that money was paid for advertising and vendors.
Parscale remained on the campaign payroll through January and is associated with Trumps re-election committee. FEC records show that his company received an additional $1.6 million through March for what was described as digital consultation and online advertising.
In the Project Alamo operation, Parscale had over 100 people employed on Trumps behalf last year in San Antonio, many of them digital and media experts.
They worked closely with the Republican National Committee, which invested heavily in data and digital technology after losing the previous two presidential elections. The RNC provided the Trump campaign with a massive database that included details on millions of voters attitudes, buying habits and personal information available from public and private sources, combined with information the party had gleaned from contacts over the years.
The Parscale-run operation relied heavily on Facebook both for targeting voters and fundraising, Parscale has said, noting that Facebook helped the campaign raise more than
$260 million.
Along with RNC operatives dispatched to San Antonio, the operation employed staff from Cambridge Analytica, the U.S.-based offshoot of a British company that deploys what it calls psychographics, research using personality, values and other voter traits for targeting.
Cambridge was paid $6 million for its work, which Republican operatives described as voter persuasion.
BusinessWeek quoted an unnamed member of the Trump campaign staff late in the campaign as saying that their digital operation used Facebook ads and other means to suppress Clintons vote totals with negative messages aimed at African-Americans, young women and segments of liberals.
Parscale said in an earlier interview with the Express-News that his operations ability to identify 14.4 million persuadable voters in several swing states just prior to the election was a key to Trumps victory.
Thats why we won. We knew just the voters we needed to turn out, and we turned them out in big numbers, he said.
Parscales success earned him the Digital Strategist of the Year Award, presented in March by the American Association of Political Consultants.
While not commenting on the report about FBI scrutiny of Kushner, Parscale has used his Twitter account in recent days to step up attacks on CNN and other news outlets with more than a dozen posts since last weekend.
SO fake news, Parscale tweeted May 20 in response to a CNN report that a former Trump staffer wants the president to set up a fund to help associates caught in the Russia investigation pay their legal bills. Lets fight back against @CNN.
In another tweet that day, he wrote: #1 lesson Ive learned. Media is the enemy of this country.
blambrecht@express-news.net
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District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick acknowledged late Friday that hed passed out and subsequently woke up on a park bench near City Halls west steps early that morning.
He said that hed been at a downtown basement bar at Commerce and Soledad streets but checked with a friend who was with him and had only had three cocktails.
He insinuated late Friday that dirty tricks might be at play, that someone who wants to harm him politically may have drugged him and taken him to City Hall, where hed ultimately be discovered by a security guard at 6 a.m. Friday.
But the timing and the location, out of a thousand places to sleep downtown that wouldnt have caused any (publicity) there was no reason for me to go to City Hall, Warrick said. My vehicle wasnt at City Hall. It just doesnt make any sense.
Warrick said he had his city-issued identification badge that would have allowed him 24-hour access to the building, and asked rhetorically why he wouldnt have gone up to his fourth floor office and slept on the sofa there.
I think its crazy, but Im not crazy, he said. And theres no way that I should have its just a little scary.
Warrick is in the midst of a runoff against challenger William Cruz Shaw, a lawyer.
For the sake of both Councilman Warrick and District 2 residents, he should withdraw from this race and seek the help he clearly needs, Shaw said.
Meanwhile, outgoing Councilman Joe Krier said he was surprised to hear about what had happened. Krier has served with Warrick for the District 2 councilmans entire tenure and said he knows him to be committed to doing good work for his area.
No one has ever suggested to me that he has a problem of any kind in the three and a half years hes been over there, Krier said. Ive never seen in Alan Warrick anything other than a dedicated, hardworking council member.
Warrick said he went on Thursday night to On The Rocks, a bar beneath a McDonalds in the heart of downtown. He said he had no recollection of what happened at the bar but suggested that something might have been slipped into one of his drinks. The councilman said he didnt drive to City Hall, and when he awoke Friday morning, his cell phone was dead. So, after a brief exchange with the City Hall security guard, Warrick said he walked to the Grand Hyatt, where he caught a cab to his East Side home.
The councilman showered and dressed for the funeral of San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem, who died in the line of duty last week.
Warrick said he did not go to the doctor and has not sought a blood test to determine whether he was drugged.
I had the funeral this morning and a couple other things happening. It was very bizarre, he said. My phone was dead, so I had to walk to the cab stand at the Grand Hyatt and catch a cab, and then I started my day went home, took a shower. But yeah, it was very bizarre.
The bench he found himself on is positioned directly in front of his City Hall parking space, Warrick said.
Its weird. Im not hungover. I dont think I had a lot to drink, he said. I really dont know what happened. I know my car wasnt there.
The councilman has had previous alcohol-related troubles. He pleaded guilty twice to driving while intoxicated once in 2002 and again two years later, when he was living in Tallahassee, Florida. In the latter incident, Warrick fled the scene of a crash, according to a police report.
In 2007, he was found not guilty in a DWI case in Bexar County. Warrick has previously told the Express-News that hes been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, exacerbated by alcohol, which causes him to fall asleep while driving.
On Friday, he said, hes been known to sleep walk, or sleep stand.
I really dont know what happened. I dont remember anything, he said. I dont know how I got to City Hall. I didnt drive. I dont know why I would have gone to City Hall and slept on a park bench. That just doesnt make any sense.
jbaugh@express-news.net
Twitter: @jbaugh
As the mayoral race has shifted to a runoff, Mayor Ivy Taylor has resisted appearing alongside her opponent, Councilman Ron Nirenberg, in forums and debates.
On Thursday, for instance, the San Antonio Bar Association had scheduled the candidates to appear onstage together in a forum. Less than 24 hours before the luncheon, the mayors campaign insisted that she and Nirenberg appear separately, according to a source familiar with the incident. (After a council meeting ran late, only Nirenberg showed up to greet people as they left the event.)
Next week, the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce had planned to record the mayoral candidates conversing with a moderator for a Facebook Live video, as it did on Friday with candidates in the other six council runoffs. The mayor, however, has balked at the forum, according to Stephanie Reyes, vice president of public relations for the chamber.
What we heard back from the (Taylor) campaign is its more of a scheduling conflict, Reyes told me, adding that the chamber is still trying to schedule the event.
The League of Women Voters simply gave up, canceling its plans for a forum.
Shortly after the May 6 election, Phyllis Ingram, the leagues director of voter services at the time, reached out to both campaigns to schedule a forum at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
I heard immediately from Ron Nirenberg that they were happy to participate, Ingram said.
Taylors campaign, though, called shortly before the deadline for responding to the invitation and tried to negotiate conditions of the nearly two-hour forum.
She wanted it to be just a half an hour and she wanted to give a rebuttal, Ingram told me. And finally, I just said, The mayor does not get to dictate how the League of Women Voters does a forum. I just felt they wanted to control how the forum went, and we cant allow that.
Taylor also dodged a debate with Nirenberg on WOAI-TV, according to Keith McMahan, assistant news director for the station.
I cant measure their intent, but they were very unbending in their scheduling, McMahan told me. We were prepared to do one on-air and they wouldnt go for it. They said they had scheduled events that they could not move.
Taylor participated in dozens of forums and debates with Nirenberg before the May 6 election. And she joined in a heated debate with him Wednesday night, sparring with the councilman on KTSA, a local conservative talk radio station.
If the mayor is reluctant to debate her opponent in other venues, its not necessarily surprising. Her campaign consultant, Colin Strother (whom Taylor hired this month after she underperformed in the election) said as much to the San Antonio Current on May 9.
Debates and forums dont tend to impact the electorate, Strother told the Current. Ive encouraged her to get back to her roots, to spend time talking directly to voters one-on-one.
Strother did not return a call on Friday.
In a statement Friday, Taylor campaign spokesman Greg Jefferson said, Mayor Taylor has debated Ron more than thirty times, including a one-hour forum on KTSA this week. There are more scheduled.
Its been challenging for the mayor since Ron flip-flops on the issues from one debate to another, Jefferson continued. Shes also busy keeping our city moving forward as mayor. Nevertheless, she has won every debate with Ron, and looks forward to continuing to compare her record with his.
The mayors increasing aloofness is consistent with how she has conducted herself in the past. In 2015, she refused to shake the hand of her then-runoff opponent, former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, after a debate on Texas Public Radio.
Taylor is the incumbent. Its a position that could afford her the luxury of appearing above her opponents attacks, one that could justify her keeping her distance.
Unfortunately, the mayor already has chosen to jump into the mud. On LiberalRon.com, a parody website launched this month by Taylors campaign, the mayor ridicules Nirenberg, pretending to sell Liberal Ron flip flops to highlight his inconsistency on policy positions.
If Taylor is dodging joint appearances while strafing her opponent online, thats the political equivalent of throwing a bomb and running for cover.
British Airways cancelled all its flights out of major London airports Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday after an IT systems failure, leaving hundreds stranded on a busy holiday weekend.
"We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide," BA said in an early afternoon statement.
BA flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick were initially cancelled until 6.00 pm UK time (1700 GMT) but the airline later said there would be no flights for the rest of the day.
It said it had found "no evidence that it's a cyberattack", with Britain still recovering from a ransomware attack that crippled key infrastructure earlier this month.
"We are working hard to get our customers who were due to fly today onto the next available flights over the course of the rest of the weekend," BA said, adding that its call centres and website were also affected.
The outage comes on a busy holiday weekend in Britain, where Monday is a public holiday and many schoolchildren are beginning their half-term break.
BA warned people not to come to the "extremely congested" airports, but an AFP photographer at Heathrow's Terminal 5 said many travellers were waiting outside the departure area with their luggage in "chaotic" scenes.
They were not being allowed inside the terminal for health and safety reasons, prompting some of them to take taxis away from the transport hub.
Travellers wrote on Twitter that they were unable to check in or use the airline's app, while others said they had been left stranded on the tarmac.
"None of your staff know what the heck is going on. Nor do your passengers. Can we have some info please? Chaos here," tweeted Chris Ship, Royal Editor for ITV News, to BA.
One passenger, Julie Adie, wrote that she had been stuck on the runway for an hour without an offer of drinks.
Another Twitter user called Jo called it a "terrorist's dream", writing that "people getting off plane with/without luggage. Some staying on".
BA said that those unable to fly would be offered a full refund, warning that some delays and disruption could continue into Sunday.
"Most long-haul flights due to land in London tomorrow are expected to arrive as normal, and we are working to restore our services from tomorrow," the company said.
Delays were reported in other European cities including Rome, Prague, Milan, Stockholm and Malaga.
Inside Heathrow's Terminal 5, Luke Hallard wrote that "everyone remarkably calm despite British Airways chaos, but wait until the lounge runs out of booze".
Alma Saffari told the BBC that her flight from Marseille to London had been grounded.
"When we finally boarded the captain came out and told us their computer systems were down worldwide," she said.
"Eventually after sitting on the tarmac for one and a half hours we disembarked the plane.
"Now we are sitting in the departure area outside the gate."
The company said it was "extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers during this busy holiday period".
The airline has suffered other IT glitches recently, leading to severe delays for passengers in July and September last year.
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In terms of the buying support it was widespread with buyers from as far away as the Northern Territory and Tasmania through to Albany and across the Nullarbor, showing the strength of the Monterey brand.
The rare offering of stud heifers from the heart of the Yost familys Liberty herd attracted strong interest from WA Charolais stud and nucleus breeders but it came down to two producers that were prepared to go the extra yard for the special offering.
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Armie Hammer says Johnny Depp "lives on an entirely different planet".
Johnny Depp
The 30-year-old actor co-starred with Johnny, 53, in 2013 movie 'The Lone Ranger' and admitted that he finds it hard to process Johnny's level of fame.
Speaking on 'Watch What Happens Live', he said: "So here's the deal: Yes, the guy lives an extravagant lifestyle. There's no way around it.
"But he also lives on like an entirely other planet, something I have no idea about. Nobody here has any idea the planet this guy lives on."
Revealing that excited fans would try to pull out Johnny's hair, he added: "It was just a crazy world, so when you go to a restaurant, they have to close down part of the restaurant. It sounds extravagant but it's also... super intense."
Meanwhile, Javier Barden, 48, who co-stars with Johnny in 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales', recently praised him for being "a joy to work with".
He explained: "He's playing this character he knows so well that sometimes, the difficult part is to not be a spectator.
"Sometimes I was shooting with him and I was watching how he became Sparrow and it was a delight. And then it's like, 'S**t! I have to say my line.'"
Javier's wife Penelope Cruz starred opposite the Hollywood icon in the fourth 'Pirates' instalment, and she offered her husband some advice about working with Johnny.
He added: "[Her] advice for working with Johnny is very simple, it's 'have fun. When I was on the 'Pirates' set, while Penelope was shooting, I saw how amazing the team was [that] Jerry Bruckheimer and Disney put together to make this kind of movie. I knew from the very beginning it was going to be an easy and exciting process."
Patty Jenkins wants the "world to wrap their arms around" Zack Snyder and his wife Deborah.
Zack Snyder
The 51-year-old filmmaker recently stepped down from 'Justice League' to grieve for his late daughter Autumn, who died by suicide in March, and 'Wonder Woman' director Patty has urged everyone to send love to Zach and producer Deborah.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, she said: "It touches my heart. It's been difficult, all of us knowing this news for a long time and knowing that the world didn't. Zack is one of the nicest people you will ever meet in your life. I want the world to wrap their arms around him and embrace him, he and Debbie."
Producer Charles Roven added: "He's a great guy. The events were very sad and obviously we all understand the choice he needed to make. It was great that the response from the fans was very warm."
'Justice League' is currently in post-production and while Zack and Deborah initially thought returning to work was a good idea, they have now decided they both need to take time off.
Zack previously explained: "In my mind, I thought it was a cathartic thing to go back to work, to just bury myself and see if that was the way through it. The demands of this job are pretty intense. It is all-consuming. And in the last two months, I've come to the realisation ... I've decided to take a step back from the movie to be with my family, be with my kids, who really need me. They are all having a hard time. I'm having a hard time ...
"Here's the thing, I never planned to make this public. I thought it would just be in the family, a private matter, our private sorrow that we would deal with. When it became obvious that I need to take a break, I knew there would be narratives created on the internet. They'll do what they do. The truth is ... I'm past caring about that kind of thing now."
Snyder - who directed the flick - has now handed the reigns over to Joss Whedon, who will "adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set".
Warner Bros. Pictures president Toby Emmerich added: "What they are going through is unimaginable, and my heart - our hearts - go out to them ...
"The directing is minimal and it has to adhere to the style and tone and the template that Zack set. We're not introducing any new characters. It's the same characters in some new scenes. He's handing the baton to Joss, but the course has really been set by Zack. I still believe that despite this tragedy, we'll still end up with a great movie."
Apparel exports from Kenya to the US decreased by 2 per cent to Sh 34.4 billion in 2016 from Sh 35.2 billion in 2015, mainly owing to uncertainty around general election held in the US. The number of apparel pieces exported by Kenya in 2016 reduced to 74 million from 84.6 million in 2015, says the annual performance report for the Export Processing Zones (EPZ).
The EPZ Authority (EPZA) also experienced market diversification for apparel exports by increasing the export volume to Europe and Canada. These alternative markets are evolving as Kenya exported apparel worth Sh 2.4 billion in 2016 to them, up from exports worth Sh 2.2 billion in 2015.
Direct employment also increased by 2.2 per cent to 42,496, said African media reports quoting EPZA.
Apparel exports from Kenya to the US decreased by 2 per cent to Sh 34.4 billion in 2016 from Sh 35.2 billion in 2015, mainly due to uncertainty around US general election. The number of apparel pieces exported by Kenya in 2016 reduced to 74 million from 84.6 million in 2015, says the annual performance report for the Export Processing Zones (EPZ).#
Investments in Kenya also increased by 3.1 per cent to Sh 16.1 billion in 2016 from Sh 15.7 billion in 2015, said EPZA. (KD)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk India
About 6-7.5 million retail jobs in the US are likely to be automated out of existence in the coming years, leaving a large portion of the retail workforce, mostly women and working poor, at risk of becoming 'stranded workers', says a recent report. Retail cashiers are at highest risk for automation technologies, and women hold 73 per cent of these positions.
Some 16 million Americans are employed in retail, which represents 10 per cent of the nations working population and generates 6 per cent of US gross domestic product (GDP). A lack of disclosure on key labour metrics by retailers put investors in the dark on how these companies are responding and what the fate of their workers could be.
The findings are contained in a new study, Retail Automation: Stranded Workers? Opportunities and Risks for Labor and Automation, conducted by Cornerstone Capital Group and commissioned by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi). The report identifies the structural factors catalysing change in the retail industry and is authored by Sebastian Vanderzeil and Michael Shavel of Cornerstone.
About 6-7.5 million retail jobs in the US are likely to be automated out of existence in the coming years, leaving a large portion of the retail workforce, mostly women and working poor, at risk of becoming 'stranded workers', says a recent report. Retail cashiers are at highest risk for automation technologies, and women hold 73 per cent of these positions.#
The report examines current and potential automation initiatives across 30 retail companies, chosen based on market capitalisation and comparability and provides analysis of the characteristics of current retail workers, including gender and location, and assesses stakeholder groups that may be impacted by changes to retail labour. It also uncovers how large, publicly-listed retail companies are positioned to manage automation and labour through the industrys transition.
Some 36 per cent of retail workers currently receive some form of public assistance and the average retail worker age is 38. Contrary to perceptions, 71 per cent of retail workers are full-time employees, says the report. Of the 30 companies analysed in this report, most are considering the use of in-store technology such as mobile devices, self-checkout, digital kiosks and proximity beacons. In addition, sensor-based checkouts and smart shelves are a growing technology, as found in Amazon Go stores.
The report also indicates that Walmart and other large retailers have greater market share in communities with less than 500,000 people. If employment trends correlate to market share location, retail automation by retailers could disproportionately impact these smaller communities.
"This in-depth examination of retail automation gives investors insights as they consider investment risks and opportunities. While the findings are important to investors, they should sound the alarm for economists and political leaders. The shrinking of retail jobs in many ways threatens to mirror the decline in manufacturing in the US. Moreover, in this case, workers at risk are already disproportionately working poor, so any disruption may cause strains in the social safety net and stresses on local tax revenues," said Jon Lukomnik, IRRCi executive director.
"The retail landscape is changing rapidly and investors need to understand the social and governance issues impacting valuations for public companies in this sector. Retailers are facing a perfect storm: they need to balance demand for wage increases with the negative optics of future job losses. The winners in retail will be companies that provide recruitment, retention and training for workers and innovate with forward-thinking future store strategies," said Erika Karp, Cornerstone founder and chief executive officer. (KD)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk India
To support the textile sector in Pakistan, finance minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has proposed four new measures in his 2017-18 Budget speech. In view of the importance of the textile sector in Pakistans economy, all the measures announced in FY2016-17 like duty-free import of textile machinery will continue in FY2017-18, the minister said.
The new measures proposed in the FY 2017-18 the begins on July 1 are: (1) To stabilise cotton prices in the country, a system of cotton hedge trading for the domestic cotton will be initiated in consultation with stakeholders; (2) In consultation with public and private stakeholders, the government will launch Brand Development fund for textile sector; (3) The approval process of establishment of 1,000 stitching units has been completed and its implementation will start during FY 2017-18 and shall be completed in three years; (4) Textile Ministry will launch the first ever online textile business/trade portal for textiles using B2B (business to business) and B2C (business to consumer) mode. This will bring Pakistan textiles value chain in line with global marketing practices.
The minister further proposed reducing import duty on nonwoven fabric (used in the pharmaceutical sector for manufacturing of bandages, surgical gowns, wound dressings, etc) from existing 16 per cent to 5 per cent.
To support the textile sector in Pakistan, finance minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar has proposed four new measures in his 2017-18 Budget speech. In view of the importance of the textile sector in Pakistan's economy, all the measures announced in FY2016-17 like duty-free import of textile machinery will continue in FY2017-18, the minister said.#
Commenting on the Budget 2017-18 proposals, The All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) said that the Budget has disappointed the textile industry as the proposals given by the industry have not been announced. (RKS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk India
What Had Happened..
According to Asian Age, 'Ranveer Singh was in Mumbai to attend an event where huge crowd of his fans gathered to catch a glimpse of the actor.''
When A Fan Took Deepika's Name
''At an event that the actor attended recently in Mumbai, a fan in the crowd tried to heckle him by screaming out Deepika Padukone's name.''
Deepika Ki Jai Ho
''The fan yelled out Deepika ki jai ho' when Ranveer made his entry.''
The Actor Ignored It
''Despite hearing his girlfriend's name being shouted at his entry, the actor politely brushed it across.''
But He Wasn't Pleased
''However, his expressions showed that didn't seem too pleased with the situation.''
Ranveer Looked Really Upset
''As he passed the crowd by, Ranveer, known for his boisterous behaviour, kept relatively mum, and looked upset.''
Fans Go Overboard
"Fans at times go overboard, but Ranveer handled the situation pretty well.''
Ranveer Was Upset But...
''Ranveer Singh was certainly upset about the episode, but he chose not to react."
On A Related Note
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are said to be living together. Reportedly, Deepika has shifted to Ranveer's apartment.
The Real Reason Behind It
The reason why Deepika is staying with Ranveer Singh is because his house is near to Padmavati sets.
The central government has come up with a notice issuing a ban on cattle slaughter, prohibiting the sale of cattles for slaughter. The new ban hasn't gone down well with the people in Kerala and has opened routes for big debates.
Well, Mollywood celebrities have always made it a point to make their stands clear on such issues. Here also we got to see some of the Mollywood celebrities taking to their respective Facebook pages to react to the new ban on cattle slaughter.
Here is how some of the prominent Mollywood celebrities reacted to the latest developments on cattle slaughter..
Vineeth Sreenivasan Vineeth Sreenivasan, the all-rounder of Malayalam cinema posted a few questions on his Facebook post. He has started off his Facebook post by asking "What all can I eat from which all states"? Aju Varghese Aju Varghese is one of the most active Mollywood celebrities on Facebook. He is one such person, who makes use of his social media page most wisely. The actor, while reacting to the beef ban, posted a photo of him having a beef biriyani of one of famous hotels in Calicut. Roopesh Peethambaran Roopesh Peethambaran, popular film-maker and actor, gave a clear cut opinion on the recent developments. Here is what the film-maker had to say.. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan Sanal Kumar Sasidharan, the film-maker who has given us some strong content-driven movies like Ozhivudivasathe Kali, Oralpokkam etc., was another prominent celebrity who voiced his opinion on the ban on cow slaughter.
Interestingly, the makers of the most recently released movie Godha had released one of the most appreciated scenes of the film on the day when the ban on cattle slaughter was issued. The scene has the film's lead actor Tovino Thomas talking about the most loved food combos of Keralites, Porotta and Beef Curry.
Siddique - Fukri
Film-maker Siddique who had given us some movies to treasure in the past, came up with the much-awaited movie Fukri, which marked his first association with actor Jayasurya.
Disappointingly, the film was a poor show filled with whole load of cliche elements. Even the comedy sequences, the stronghold of Siddique movies, failed to make any impact. Altogether, Fukri turned out to be a forgettable venture from the man with the Midas touch. We definitely hope that he will make it up for all with his next directorial venture.
Ranjith - Puthan Panam
Ranjith, the man who has given the industry some gems like Paleri Manikyam, Pranchiyettan & The Saint and many more, started off the year with Puthan Panam, which was one among the major releases of the Vishu season.
Much was expected from this film, which had taken up one of the most recent economic development as its core theme. But, Ranjith faltered to hit the right chords and came up with a film which looked nothing more than a confused attempt.
Major Ravi 1971 Beyond Borders
Major Ravi, the film-maker started off his career in the early 2000's. The director in him has gained reputation by making some well-crafted army based movies. And in 2017, he reunited with Mohanlal to bring back the iconic character Major Mahadevan, with the film 1971 Beyond Borders.
Despite getting a good theme, the film-maker in him failed to make any impact with this half-baked attempt. The film was nothing more than a mix of his previous ventures and the viewers who were eager to watch something new were left largely disappointed.
The Saving Grace
While some of the senior most film-makers disappointed, certain others did hit the right chords, as well. For e.g. Sathyan Anthikkad continued his fine run with Jomonte Suviseshangal, which emerged as a big success. We saw the film-maker in him changing gears according to the need of the time.
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / May 26, 2017 / Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against KBR, Inc. ("KBR" or the "Company") (NYSE: KBR) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, and docketed under 17-cv-01375, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired KBR securities, seeking to recover compensable damages caused by defendants' violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
If you are a shareholder who purchased KBR securities between February 26, 2016 and April 27, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until July 3, 2017 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll free, ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and number of shares purchased.
[Click here to join this class action]
KBR provides professional services and technologies across the asset and program life-cycle within the government services and hydrocarbons industries worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Government Services, Technology & Consulting, and Engineering & Construction.
Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) the Company's United Kingdom ("UK") subsidiaries had violated applicable bribery and corruption laws; and (ii) as a result of the foregoing, KBR's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On April 28, 2017, the United Kingdom's Serious Fraud Office confirmed that it had opened an investigation into "the activities of KBR's UK subsidiaries, their officers, employees and agents for suspected offences of bribery and corruption."
On this news, KBR's share price fell $1.43, or 9.24%, to close at $14.05 on April 28, 2017.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
SOURCE: Pomerantz LLP
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Former Secretary Of state Hillary Clinton unleashed a veiled attack on President Donald Trump comparing him to former President Richard Nixon. Clinton, a 1969 graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts, was delivering commencement address at her alma mater Friday. Clinton, who lost to Trump in the presidential election, implicitly compared him to Nixon, who was forced to resign before the vote of the full House for impeachment over the Watergate scandal. Clinton said she and her classmates at Wellesley College were 'furious' 48 years ago about the election 'of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice.' 'You are graduating at a time when there is a full- fledged assault on truth and reason. Just log on to social media for 10 seconds it will hit you right in the face,' Clinton said in an apparent reference to Trump's frequent comments on Twitter, many of which turned controversial. 'When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society,' said Clinton as she remembered her time at Wellesley College. 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.
QINGDAO, China, May 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- May 22, 2017 witnessed the launching ceremony in Australia for the International Center for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research (CSHOR), co-established by Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (QNLM) and the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO). The center was jointly unveiled by Dr. Wu Lixin, Director of QNLM, and Dr. Larry Marshall, CEO of CSIRO in Hobart, Tasmania. Arthur Sinodinos, Australian Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, sent acongratulatory message by video. Lu Ping, Counselor for Science and Technology of Consulate General of PRC in Sydney, delivered a speech. A congratulatory message was also given by the representative of the Governing Council of QNLM, Ji Peiwen, Assistant to the President of QNLM. Participants also included Pan Kehou, Secretary-General of QNLM Academic Committee, and the delegates from University of New South Wales and University of Tasmania. The ceremonyshows thesubstantial progress of QNLM's internationalization strategy of constructing the global collaborative innovation network.
Meanwhile, an international workshop on The Role of The Southern Hemisphere Oceans in Global and Regional Climate was held on the latest results and the future trend of observation and research on the Southern Hemisphere Oceans and the global climate change so that ideas and proposals could be solicited for making the five-year plan (2017-2021) of CSHOR.
Under joint construction for international forefront
Covering 71% of the earth area as an integral part of the global climate system, oceans supplya majority of theheat to the atmosphere and take in 40% ofthe CO2 of the atmosphere, one of the greenhouse gases considered to cause climate change. Scientists have been working hard to find out how oceans affect climate change. The Southern Hemisphere Ocean is the only one that surrounds the whole earth and connects the oceans. As one of the two poles of the global thermohaline circulation, it has a significant impact on the global oceans and climate change by driving and regulating the thermal, carbon and biogeochemical circulations of the earth. Given that the marine data currently available is mostly from the Northern Hemisphere, where most marine research institutions are concentrated, the international community has been making great effort in recent years to strengthen the research capacity for the Southern Hemisphere Oceans.
Responsive and responsible, QNLM initiated the cooperation with CSIRO by jointly setting up CSHOR in Hobart, capital of Tasmania in Australia. The Center promised that 10 million AUD will be invested in five years of 2017-2021 for the observation and research of the Southern Hemisphere Oceans (Southern Ocean and Antarctic), as well as for education, training and management of information and data. The Center is under international operation, with the key issues decided by its 5-member Steering Committee, 2 from QNLM and 2 from CSIRO, under the chairmanship of Dr. Susan Avery, Honorary Director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the United States. The Director of the Center is globally recruited, responsible for its routine operation.
In the beginning, the Center will focus on observations and researches of water mass, ice-ocean interaction in relation to sea level rise, tropical temperature variations, Indonesian Throughflow in relation to ocean basin exchange, marine life of the Southern Ocean in relation to biogeochemical process, and Southern Ocean data assimilation. At present, the University of New South Wales and University of Tasmania have joined the Center.
More consensus and cooperation to better cope with climate change
With the whole world subjected to climate change, no single country can fulfill the mission of finding out how the global climate changes. It is inevitable for all the countries involved to be united in the face of the challenge, and contribute to the international exchange and cooperation of the related marine research institutions, as seen from QNLM's effort in hosting CLIVAR 2016 Open Science Conference, known as the Climate Olympics. Over 600 marine and atmospheric scientists from more than 250 research institutions in 50 countries and regions participated in it, including the US, UK, France and Germany, as well as representatives from the related international organizations like World Meteorological Organization and UNESCO/IOC.
QNLM Director Wu Lixin shared what President Xi said in the recent Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. No country can remain not affected, noris able to solve the world's problems by itself in this interdependent times of global challenges. Director Wu said that for the purpose of common progress and development of science, there was no choice but to work hand in hand for innovative synergy to tackle the major issues especially the climate research that concerns humankind.
CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall also said, "This is an important turning point in our approach to climate science, recognising that this is a global challenge that requires a global approach. That we need to deepen our networks and strengthen our armoury to not only prepare for what lies ahead, but respond today to what is already a stark reality all around us."
Civilization progresses in opening and science advances in exchange. It is in the perspective of solving the problems challenginghumankind that QNLM deploys the global innovation network with the world, leading the research institutions for a new mode of the global governance.
Mutual learning for mutual benefit
Larry Marshall said, "CSIRO has been performing world-class climate science here in Tasmania for decades - but we can't do this alone." This comprehensive and collaborative new initiative gives critical new support to CSIRO, and offers real value and differentiation to the global effort to take action against climate change."We are delighted to bring the full resources of Australia's national science agency, as well as the critical role we play in global climate measurement, to this new collaboration." The Southern Hemisphere ocean has a crucial influence on the global climate, CSHOR will effectively tackle global climate change by scientific research, which will be not only beneficial to the two countries, but also to the whole world.
Ji Peiwen, Assistant to the President of QNLM Council, said to the media that "Under the internationalization strategy, QNLM is on the way to be a world-class marine research institution by building the global network for collaborative innovation, of which CSHOR is a key component. CSIRO is a leading research and development organization for marine sciences in Australia, providing new approaches for Australian Government for the benefit of Australian society and economy. CSHOR will complement each other and promote resource sharing and innovative capacity for a win-win outcome." Ji also showed that "QNLM plans to set up more joint research centers in the future."
Every corner of the world taken into account for innovative cooperation
In a number of fields such as environmental sciences, China and Australia agreed and issued the Statement on Jointly Building Research Centers before 2017, the 45th anniversary of the founding of China-Australia diplomatic relations. Marine science and engineering was even more prioritized as one of the four key areas covered by Sino-Australian science and research fund in 2016. As Chinese President Xi pointed out in the Belt and Road Forum, China is willing to start innovative cooperation with all the countries by launching the action plan of Belt and Road science and technology innovation for humanity exchange, joint laboratories, hi-tech park and technology transfer.
For cooperation and upgrading of the world marine research, the joint center is set up in Australia, a long-term partner of China. It further materialized the previous Sino-Australian agreement on joint center and well responded to the Belt and Road Initiative.
According to President Xi, it is up to all the participants to plan the Belt and Road construction and share its results. Based in Qingdao and with a global vision, QNLM upholds the principles of Openness, Mobility, Cooperation and Sharing in its internationalization strategy to boost the marine science and technology and share its research results, backed by the big science platform and in accordance with national strategic tasks.
Counselor Lu Ping said, "QNLM is the first national laboratory in pilot operation in China and also the only one for marine sciences at the national level. Similarly, CSIRO is the largest and the most important research organization in Australia. As an alliance between giants and considered a model of Sino-Australian innovative cooperation, CSHOR will remarkably contribute to research on ocean, climate and the environment of the Southern Ocean areas."
Larry Marshall said to the media, that the launching of CSHOR is very significant as it is the first one of its kind on the Southern Ocean, on which the current research is far from enough in the whole world. It can be referred to when the similar centers are under planning in the world.
CSHOR has been put into operation as the first overseas joint research center of QNLM - the first step of QNLM to develop the collaborative research and set up the global marine innovation network. By setting up more research centers in countries like the United States, Germany and Russia, QNLM will become a world-class research center for marine science and technology and an open platform for global collaborative innovation. Continuous and sincere efforts will be made to achieve that goal.
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hujiang EdTech ("Hujiang"), China's leading online education company, through its interactive online teaching platform CCtalk, launched the Cultural Exchange - "Aim at the World" Museum Children's Education Project ("the project") at the Frederiksborg Castle Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. This live interactive broadcast is one of Hujiang EdTech's initiatives to link China and the rest of the world. The company intends to introduce exhibits and other content from world class museums to children worldwide through Virtual Reality (VR) technology.
Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516862/Hujiang_EdTech.jpg
Nearly 10,000 students from China's rural villages took a virtual tour of the Fredeiksborg Castle Museum, which was led by Ms. Mette Skouggard, the museum's curator, Chinese representative Gao Yimeng and CCtalk contract teacher Dr. Henry Guo graduated from Oxford University who translated all of the content. "Our Danish partners understand the great importance of this event. They closed the renowned Treasure House for 3 hours just for us to do the live broadcast," said Guo.
The live event not only linked curious children to the far-away land, but also interconnected their experiences among distant Chinese provinces. Student representatives from two schools in Gansu (northwestern province of China), and Henan (middle eastern province of China) could raise questions in response to each other using CCtalk's two-way video tool.
Most of the children who participated in the live broadcast have never taken a step out of their hometowns. After the event, Sun Dongqiang, principle of Lianzhuang Primary School in Hebei Province, said, "Children in the village really need courses like this, not only to broaden their horizons, but to help increase knowledge as well."
Ms. Mette Skougaard said in a prior interview with China Central Television, "It is very important to promote cultural blending, but it is not easy to organize Danish students to go to China." But soon, Danish students will also be able to virtually travel to China and "walk inside" places such as Prince Kung's Mansion in Beijing as a part of the "Aim at the World" Museum Children's Education Project, which was initiated by China's National Culture and Arts Foundation, the Prince Kung's Mansion Management Center of the Ministry of Culture, the Frederiksborg Castle Museum and Hujiang EdTech.
With the use of panoramic live-broadcasting, two-way video, VR and other technologies, children in classrooms worldwide can learn world history, experience foreign cultures and gain a better understanding of other civilizations.
"Through the combination of high technology including VR, AI and big data and education, we hope to facilitate learning and make knowledge more available to a wider range of audience and build a bridge for cultural exchange worldwide," said Arnold (Cairui) Fu, Founder & CEO of Hujiang EdTech.
According to the Prince Kung's Mansion Management Center of China's Ministry of Culture, besides the Frederiksborg Castle Museum in Copenhagen, it is very likely that in the future, more and more world-class museums will offer similar experiences in collaboration with CCtalk. Courses covering the arts, nature, history, and technology will be available soon. This project will enhance the educational resources available to local schools.
To guarantee successful communication and interaction between students and foreign experts, multi-lingual simultaneous interpretation will be provided during the live streaming.
About Hujiang EdTech
Founded in 2001, Hujiang EdTech stands out from the booms and busts of the tech scene inChinaby offering solid answers to two questions: How can technology change the education industry? What is an educational technology platform, really? Started as an online BBS community offering online courses and nowChina's leading online education company, Hujiang EdTech strives to make high-quality education more accessible and enjoyable through mobile learning applications, online courses, and its interactive online teaching platform. Serving over 140 million users (including 110 million mobile users) inChina, Hujiang EdTech offers a wide range of online educational programs, including international & domestic examination preparation, foreign language learning, professional skills training, and more.
Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQfNwBdlbQI
Behen Hogi Teri, which stars Shruti Haasan and Rajkummar Rao in leading roles, has landed in legal trouble.
According to Indian Express, director of the film Ajay Pannalal and producer Tony D'Souza were arrested for hurting sentiments of certain religious groups.
The first poster of the film shows Rajkummar Rao dressed up as Shiva, which is said to be the cause of the uproar of the religious group. The director and producer are refraining from commenting because they do not wish anything more severe to transpire, states the report.
According to Times of India, the director and producer have been granted bail and are out now. Nitin Upadhyaya, one of the producers said that situation was stressful, but it was all part of their job. He also mentioned that Pannalal and D'Souza had a court hearing in Jalandhar and leading lawyer Darshan Singh Dyal will be fighting their case.
The poster, which has been the topic of contention here, shows Rao in Shiva's getup, sitting on a silver bike which is what the religious groups seem to have an issues with. The poster was originally tweeted by Amul Mohan, one of the producers.
Behen Hogi Teri releases on 9 June.
A misbehaving giant poodle scooped top prize for a canine performance at the Cannes film festival Friday, despite what organisers lamented as a "pawcity of dog roles" this year. Critics said canine movie roles had been thin on the ground at this year's Cannes festival Bruno the white standard poodle, who does serious injury to Dustin Hoffman's character in the new Netflix movie The Meyerowitz Stories, was awarded the Palm Dog prize the spoof answer to Cannes' most coveted award for humans, the Palme d'Or. Bruno was not present for the ceremony in the glitzy French resort. His prize was collected by Cosmo, a fellow standard poodle and Cannes resident, who wagged his tail enthusiastically but declined to comment.
Organiser Toby Rose noted it had been a strong year for other species at the world's biggest film festival, notably the giant genetically-modified pig that plays a central role in Okja, the other Netflix movie in the competition which stars Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Doggy roles were thinner on the ground, however.
But "as ever, man's best friend came through and the dog star-turns abounded," the British writer told the audience at a pun-laden ceremony in Cannes.
British film critic Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian newspaper praised the independent spirit that poodles like Bruno can display despite the breed's reputation for being overly obedient.
Dog's biting performance
"Dogs were capable this year of going over to the dark side," said Bradshaw, who noted that along with the ill consequences of Bruno's antics in The Meyerowitz Stories, Alsatians also provide "a dark and brooding presence in Michael Haneke's Happy End, having taken a bite out of someone's leg."
Runner-up prize went to Lupo, a large black dog who features in French film Ava, in which he enjoys a scene riding happily on the back of a motorbike between two humans.
Police dogs protecting the festival, which attracts tens of thousands of people including the world's A-listers, also got a special mention at the ceremony. This year's festival is taking place under unprecedented tight security, 10 months after a truck attack in nearby Nice that killed 86 people.
Three sniffer dogs were brought out for a round of applause and a box of treats after their comrades helped search a theatre at the main Palais des Festivals venue over the weekend during a security alert.
The Palm Dog awards have been running for 17 years or 119 years in dog terms.
Australian writer-director David Michod, who has previously helmed two features films the Oscar nominated Animal Kingdom and Rover, was recently in India to talk about his latest feature. Battle movie War Machine, starring Brad Pitt in the role of a delusional American army general stationed in Afghanistan, premiered on Netflix May 26.
Excerpts from an interview with Michod during his recent visit to Mumbai:
What drew you to the book The Operators and how challenging was it adapting it to film?
I had wanted to make a film set in one of these modern day theatres of American war. I am drawn to the experiences of people who voluntarily put themselves in harrowing situations. I was drawn to a story about men in the battlefield and the horror of conflict. But I couldnt find the story to tell.
It felt to me like in cinema the conversation we were having about war was very small. It was almost always only about the experience of troops and no cinema was asking larger questions of the larger machine and the philosophy if there even is one behind its functioning. So when Plan B brought me Michael Hastings book I could see what I could make. More than a movie about the battlefield, it was also a movie about the machine a very tonally strange movie about the disconnection of the upper levels of the machine from its ground floor.
This is what drew me to it. It was difficult to adapt and the challenge of writing the screenplay was the balancing of the tones.
Did you see Brad Pitt as Gen Glen McMahon from the outset?
I loved the idea of writing a character of this size for him because some of my favourite performances of his are his comedic ones. He only does them in small, supporting roles and I loved the idea of writing one big, broad character for him to play.
I was very struck that the there were only three female characters in War Machine out of which two really popped Meg Tilly as the Generals wife and Tilda Swinton as the German politician.
I am never unaware of the fact that my movies are very male. Yes, there were just three women. My girlfriend was in the movie for a little while but then I cut her out and not because there was anything wrong with her performance.
But seriously speaking, while I am drawn to these almost delusional men of these worlds I find myself wanting to know where women fit into these worlds.
And how would their presence be felt. Meg and Tilda kind of represent voices of reason in a delusionally self-perpetuating world of men stroking each others egos or butting heads like bulls. Meg as the wife is the one who can see beneath his hubris most clearly and its almost the first time you start to see cracks in his veneer. And Tilda is basically me, editorialising.
There has been this debate raging this year about whether movies made for streaming services should compete with other features films on competitive platforms like Cannes. What are your thoughts on this?
What makes a movie a movie is not the screen that it is appears on; it is the form of the content itself. I am drawn to feature films rather than television because there is something about the two-hour form that I just love and I think there is something glorious about sitting in a room with hundreds of people having a shared experience. But there has to be a business model that works and the fact is that bold, interesting movies are struggling to survive in the current distribution and exhibition landscape.
My first movies were made for the theatre, but 95% of those who saw my movies saw them at home. Part of the reason movies are struggling is because peoples televisions are so great and its possible to have those movies instantly at a fraction of the cost. Movies have very, very small lives on theatre screens. I love going to the movies but I dont do it very often. At so many levels the internet has just made being at home so much easier. And thats how I consume movies now too.
Is this your first visit to India?
No, its my third actually. When I was studying in Melbourne, I wrote my university honours thesis on Indian politics. I was obsessed with India when I was young and then as soon as I graduated, I came here for a few months and travelled. Then I came back a few years after that and spent a month in Mumbai, and now this visit.
Actor Saqib Saleem, who has made a mark of his own with successful and niche films like Mujhse Fraaandship Karoge (2011), Mere Dad ki Maruti (2013) and Hawa Hawaai (2014) is all set to mark his debut in the horror genre with his sibling Huma Qureshi in the film Dobaara: See Your Evil.
The film is an official remake of the Hollywood supernatural horror thriller Oculus which released back in 2013. In the film, Saleem plays the role of a guy who speaks very little and is more of a laconic person. He has been incriminated in a juvenile prison for around 12 odd years for no fault of his. This has resulted to his quiet and reticent behaviour.
Saleem, who otherwise is known for his affable and fun-loving roles, had to prepare a lot for this role to understand the nuances of his character.
Mid-day reports that to justify his performance, Saleem visited Prayas Juvenile Aid Centre Society in Delhi before shooting for the film.
He said in a statement that "there were boys from 5 to 21 years old. It was an eye opener for me to see what exactly goes through their mind that gets them to commit crimes at such a young age."
He added, "Just to understand my character better, I performed an activity wherein I locked myself in a room with no connectivity whatsoever with the outside world, to observe and understand what can one do when he's isolated this way. Honestly, being a person that I am, it was quite frightening to be in this space."
But actors do take that extra leap to polish their performances; they have their own ways and rationale of doing so. Elaborating on that, he spoke to DNA and said, "Empathy is important when you are an actor..empathy for the character you're playing. The experience helped me be true to Kabir, the character. But also it scared me at a human level that it's so difficult to just be comfortable with ones self. It helped me understand myself also better."
Dobaara: See Your Evil also stars Adil Hussain, Lisa Ray, Madalina Bellariu Ion and Rhea Chakraborty apart from the siblings. The film is slated to release on 2 June.
Guitar legend Eric Clapton has been honoured by France for his services to music, the French embassy in London on 26 May.
Clapton was made a commander in the Order of Arts and Letters (l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) on 26 May by French ambassador Sylvie Bermann, who called him an "ambassador of the blues in France".
The investiture took place at the Royal Albert Hall concert venue in London, where the 72-year-old bluesman is playing a run of nights.
The French embassy tweeted a picture of Bermann placing the honour around Clapton's neck.
Clapton brought out his 23rd studio album "I Still Do" last year.
He regularly features right at the top in polls of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Day 3 of Kashish was filled with intrigue and glamour. The day started off with a special reception which was organised to honour Mona Belleau, a celebrated Canadian activist who was visiting from Canada in a reception organised by the Canadian consulate.
I had the opportunity to interact with her personally at the private party of Kashish, and she came across as someone really down to earth and devoted to the cause of equality. Many parents of LGBTIQ persons in Mumbai, including my mom, had been invited to this very personal tete-a-tete with Mona.
This day of Kashish also marked the beginning of something really remarkable, for Gazal Dhaliwal joined the Vagina Monologues as one of the readers.
While Vagina Monologues is an ode to feminism and femininity, why confine femininity only to those who are women as per their gender assigned at birth?
Gazal Dhaliwal is a woman, and a woman of substance. She doesn't shy from admitting that she was a boy at one point of her life. It is time that we also open our minds and raise our rainbows to acknowledge and accept people as per the gender that they wish to be referred to as.
Day 3 of Kashish 2017 is truly historic as it marks the entry of the first Indian womans voice to its list of celebrated voices, who is a complete woman irrespective of whether she was a she when she was born.
Gazal is special because she doesnt shun her past, or look at her days of boyhood as a bad dream. Gazal spoke with eloquence; she is a badass actor, a great voice artist, a super duper screenwriter and one of most beautiful women I know. She has the best diction, the best voice no wonder she shined in Vagina Monologues.
She was supported by the Mona of our world, Mona Ambegaonkar. Mona Ambegaonkar is a part of the Vagina Monologues cast, a single mother, a warrior for civil rights and one of the most vociferous voices for LGBTIQ rights. Vagina Monologues with these two people who have a strong personal story on and off stage, a real-life hero like persona, is bound to leave the audience spellbound.
Day 3 of Kashish also saw Onir, whose film I Am, which was partly inspired by my life, win a Kashish award some moons back. His series Diary of a Cigarette Butt highlighted seven poems with reference to the seven wonders of the world.
On the films front, the film Physicality was widely attended. It is worth a mention, because just last year, the film makers of Physicality won a QDrishti cash prize for their film, with which they produced this film, which is back at Kashish. Thats how the cycle runs. Nurturing young film makers is a way to breed new thoughts of equality through stories of love beyond gender and sexuality. Kashish made the start. The winners carry the legacy on.
Faraz Arif Ansari, the maker of Sisak, which is being touted as India's first silent LGBTQ film, says though presently people are trying to bring the conversation about the community in the mainstream space, it is mostly misrepresented and misinterpreted among a majority of the people.
"I think mostly, they (filmmakers) have never shown us (LGBTQ Community) as human beings. Keeping the orientation aside, we are normal. I mean just because I am gay, that doesn't make me less of a filmmaker or writer.
"How does my (sexual) orientation have anything to do with the normalcy of life? I think that thought needs to be brought into the mainstream cinema. LGBTQ community is misinterpreted in mainstream cinema," Ansari told IANS.
The filmmaker started writing the project in 2013 after the Supreme Court criminalised homosexuality.
"I started to write the story.... Expressed my thoughts pages after pages and once I finished writing, I realised there are no dialogues in it. I had so much to say about those characters. I did not write anything a single dialogue on them... They are silent, therefore I decided to make it a silent film. However, it took me three years to make the film completely," he added of the short movie.
Sisak features Jitin Gulati and Dhruv Singhal as two men who meet in a local train compartment in Mumbai.
The film premiered at the Wicked Queer, a LGBTQ Film Festival in Boston, on April 6.
"It is the first Indian film of last 33 years, that won the Audience Choice Best Film Award there and I think it is a moment of pride and honour for all of us," Ansari said Faraz.
"We have the screening of the film in various other international film festivals in New York, Brazil and Mexico among others," he said ahead of the movie's showcase at the Kashish LGBTQ Mumbai Film Festival 2017 here on Sunday.
Having grown up in a middle class background, it is a constant struggle that Ansari went through because of his sexual orientation. He faced the same when he planned to make Sisak.
Being a creative person, he feels that the more challenges he faced in life, he came out with flying colours creatively.
"Look at those great films from Iran, South America where people are living in poverty, a conservative society and filmmakers face challenge on censorship... The more we get narrowed as a creative person, we come out with creative explosion," said the director.
Sharing his struggle of making the film, Ansari said: "I struggled so much to make the film, went to people for support as I wanted the story to come on mainstream space, and no one supported financially. So I put all my money that I saved, but the post-production was left.
"We went for crowd funding. Thankfully, Wishberry supported us, we raised the money and finished the film."
Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor had launched the trailer of the film in January this year.
Overwhelmed by her support, Ansari said, "She is very very supportive. She is such a huge star who has millions of followers on social media. She put the trailer out and so many people got to know about our film. I lovingly call her Godmother... Such kind of support from mainstream people (from cinema) is always needed for the right reason."
You know what is the most unlikely friendship?
George W. Bush and Bono have developed a bond over their shared mission to fight the global HIV epidemic and save lives in Africa.
On Friday, 26 May, Bono shared a photo of himself with Bush taken at the former president's ranch in Crawford, Texas, applauding his work and warning against the current president's proposed budget.
"More than 11 million people are alive today thanks to this man's creation of PEPFAR, the U.S. AIDS program that has been saving lives and preventing new HIV infections for over 10 years, with strong support from political leaders right, left, and center."
"That progress is all at risk now with President Trump's budget cuts, which will mean needless infections and lives lost," Bono wrote on the Instagram page of his ONE campaign non-profit, which works to fight extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.
Bush replied with a post of his own, sharing the same photo and saying, "Bono is the real deal. He has a huge heart and a selfless soul, not to mention a decent voice."
The former president went on to say that his wife Laura Bush and he were grateful for Bono's visit and the opportunity to discuss the work of The Bush Center, ONE, the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which Bush launched during his presidency in 2003.
Bono is the real deal. He has a huge heart and a selfless soul, not to mention a decent voice. @laurawbush and I are grateful he came to the ranch to talk about the work of @thebushcenter, @onecampaign, @PEPFAR, and our shared commitment to saving lives in Africa. A post shared by George W. Bush (@georgewbush) on May 26, 2017 at 1:22pm PDT
We wonder if Trump will take to social media, as always, to address Bono's comments?
Srinagar: Massive anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday after government forces killed a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gunbattle in the disputed region.
Rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that rebels were hiding there, police said.
The gunbattle ended later Saturday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching in the area for at least one more body, police said.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape.
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
As the news of the rebel leader's killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom."
Traders shuttered shops and businesses across the Kashmir Valley, including in the region's main city of Srinagar. Officials said clashes were reported from over four dozen places in the region.
Many civilians were reported injured in the clashes.
Authorities suspended most internet services in the region a day after they lifted a month-long ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The social media ban on 26 April came after videos depicting the alleged abuse of Kashmiris' by Indian forces fueled widespread protests.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep among the region's mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels' cause against Indian rule despite a decades-long military crackdown to fight the armed rebellion.
Last year, similar massive protests followed by clashes roiled Kashmir following the killing of charismatic rebel leader Burhan Wani. His death led to months of protests and a security lockdown during which at least 90 people were killed and thousands injured. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by the firing of government forces.
Earlier on Saturday, Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels along the highly militarized border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the army said.
The gunbattle erupted after a group of heavily armed militants crossed from the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir into the Indian-held portion in western Rampur sector, said army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia.
On Friday, the army said soldiers killed two suspected militants in the same area after they crossed into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir from the Pakistani-held part.
There was no independent confirmation of the latest incidents.
India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over their rival claims to the territory.
Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir's independence or merger with neighboring Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting and the ensuing Indian crackdown. India has accused Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.
Rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian forces in recent years. However, public opposition to Indian rule remains deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces.
New Delhi: The indigenous Scorpene class submarine has successfully test-fired a torpedo, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, congratulating the scientists and engineers for it.
The minister said in a series of tweets that the test was done by the first Scorpene class submarine Kalvari, but did not say which torpedo was tested.
"Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine.
"This indigenously built stealth Submarine will soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy," he said.
This indigenously built stealth Submarine will soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy. Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 27, 2017
On 2 March, the Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene submarines being built in India, had test fired an anti-ship missile for the first time.
The Scorpenes submarines are being built by Mazagaon Dockyard Limited under Project 75 with transfer of technology from the collaborator, DCNS of France. Two of the submarines are ready, and rest four are under construction.
Kalvari is undergoing sea trials and expected to be commissioned in mid-2017. The second submarine Khanderi was launched on 12 January this year, and will undergo rigorous tests and trials in the harbour and at sea, on surface and underwater till December this year, and will be commissioned in the Navy after that.
The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpenes include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons.
The attacks could be carried out with torpedoes, tube-launched anti-ship missiles both while underwater or on surface in all theatres, including the tropics, giving it invulnerability unmatched by many other submarines.
India's longest bridge over a water body, the Bhupen Hazarika Bridge, was inaugurated on Friday with much fanfare by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And rightfully so you don't build such engineering marvels and not thump your own chest with pride. Given how ferocious the Brahmaputra is, and given the size and location of the structure, even the time overrun has been negligible.
Having said that, however, media reports have spoken of unpleasant fall-outs of the bridge, like 2,000 people in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh being rendered jobless, chiefly boatmen who won't get to ferry passengers across the river. The last boat has done the last trip; people have already walked on the bride to connect.
While this is not to be a sourpuss response to what is admittedly and admirably a major infrastructural project in the remote but often neglected region of the country, it is meant to highlight how the country goes about building projects as part of its development process. This bridge's adverse impact may fall on a small number of people, but to each of those affected, it can be a crushing blow.
"I don't know what I will do now. In fact, nobody among us knows," Lalit Kachari, a boat owner at Sadiya, was quoted as saying in The Economic Times report.
Assam chief minister Sarabananda Sonowal was quoted as saying that he would be "initiating" some kind of rehabilitation. But boat owners have only heard about this, not seen anything yet. That's the snag.
It cannot be that details of rehabilitation following a big-ticket project, six years in the making, are still unknown to the victims of the infrastructure development. This only underlines how people in India can be and often are treated as a mere statistic.
Imagine the joblessness or loss of businesses in remote regions where mere migration to a city nearby may not be a solution. The economy of the Northeast isn't thriving enough for it to absorb 2,000 job losses in one go. The government's project planners had ample time to have rehabilitated them.
It's not just in this case, but practically every other project in India, that project-affected people are seen as a hurdle, meant to be treated casually. The Narmada river project had perhaps seen the most carefully designed relief and rehabilitation effort, but the victims had to depend on Medha Patkar to secure a better deal for themselves. Try imagining their fate if they had had no champion.
For securing the Srisailam project's submersion area from populations living in the zone, all of 100 villages in Kurnool and Mahbubnagar districts, one in AP and the other in Telangana were bulldozed and people shifted over almost overnight in the early 1980s. The sedate hurry to build a project did not show adequate concern or speed in dealing with the issues of the affected communities.
This litany can be long, but the substantive point is that longer the time taken by a big-ticket project, the longer the authorities have to deal with the project affected people. We often hear the government speaking about the benefits of a project, but never about the people who had to give it up to make it possible.
Isn't it an irony that the people losing out on everything they own is hardly a matter of concern when potential benefits are being talked about? The tiny size of PAPs of the the Bhupen Hazarika Setu should have been the initial, not the incidental, concern. There was enough time, but it was wasted. Sadly.
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's successor, 21-year-old Sabzar Bhat, was gunned down in an encounter in his hometown of Tral, Kashmir on Saturday. In the encounter, a total of two militants, including Bhat, have been killed. Immediately after the encounter, stone-pelting protests began in the valley.
Wani was killed in an encounter in 2016, following which Sabzar Ahmad Bhat alias Mehmood Gaznavi has been heading the organisation, according to a report in News 18. The report added that Bhat and Wani were childhood friends and was seen in many of Wani's early photographs. Bhat was reportedly the operations chief especially after Zakir Musa left the group a few days back. He had a hefty reward of Rs 10 lakh on him, and is believed to be "trained" on Indian soil. News 18 added that Bhat was also known as Sab Don, and he has been largely featured in videos and photos that have been circulated by Hizbul. Other than attacking panchs, sarpanchs, and security forces, Bhat has been known to have killed civilians who were alleged informers of the Indian armed forces, reports News 18.
In a photo that went viral, Sabzar was found wearing battle fatigues and carrying an AK-47 rifle in a forest. A security official stated, Out of the 11 militants who featured in the photo that went viral on social networking sites, only five including Sabzar are active now. Banners with the images of Burhan Wani and Sabzar Bhat have been lined up along the roads in south Kashmir. The banners can also be found near the graveyards in which previous militants have been buried.
Bhat was previously known to be in a fierce encounter where he was trapped in heavy gunfire with a Pakistani militant. An operative who preferred to remain away from the limelight, Bhat never took too much to social media like Wani. The militant was known to partake in several protests. Later, he left for Chandigarh to pursue his engineering. Bhat then returned to his hometown of Tral, and felt the need to fight for Kashmir. He turned to militancy after the family of a girl he loved spurned his marriage proposal and ended the relationship, reported News 18.
During the protests that erupted after the death of Wani, according to News 18, Bhat snatched a rifle from an armed forces officer. This incident made Bhat a prominent member in the Hizbul Mujahideen. Bhat was known to be responsible for all the recent recruitments of youths in Hizbul Mujahideen.
According to police officials, Wani was a 'A++ listed' militant, while Sabzar was an 'A category' militant. Officials have stated that Bhat has been part of a rally at Kareemabad area of Pulwama and developed an over ground workers (OGWs) network.
Lucknow: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is expediting its probe in the illegal mining cases in Uttar Pradesh, with several senior IAS officials being questioned.
The probe has gathered momentum after the BJP government came to power.
The CBI has been mandated by the Allahabad High Court to look into the allegations of multi-crore illegal mining, done with the patronage of bureaucrats and politicians.
According to sources, former principal secretary of the mining department, Gurdeep Singh, has been grilled by the premier investigating agency over the past two days.
It is planning to probe five other IAS officials who have been in districts where illegal mining has taken place.
District magistrates of Banda, Kaushambi, Shamli and Hamirpur are being investigated for their roles in the illegal mining.
The points of reference during the investigations revolve around allotment of wrong permits, undue extensions, contracts for mining given to the same family time and again, among others, an official told IANS.
Senior IAS officials who have been with the mining department or have been district magistrates in mining districts are being questioned.
All mining contracts and leases issued after 2013 are being probed.
The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists Association will be holding a nationwide strike on 30 May, according to media reports.
The strike has been called to address issues such as the online sale of medicine, the government's e-portal plan and the quality of the DPharma course, which will now be considered a must for wholesale chemists to get a license and the renewal of licences, reports The Indian Express.
According to a report in the The Times of India, the retailers will be on strike for one day and also hold a demonstration at the Jantar Mantar. The All India Organisation of Chemists and Druggists Association (AIOCD) represents nine lakh chemists across the country. The organisation told The Times of India that it has made several appeals to the government over the recent changes in regulations as well as the issues of viability of their businesses, but since there was no response to the grievances, the pharmacists say that they were compelled to observe a strike.
The organisation had served advance notices to the Prime Minister's Office, the health ministry, the home ministry and the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, the report adds.
AN Mohanan, national vice-president of AIOCD and state president of the All-Kerala Chemists and Druggists Association, told The Hindu that they were agitating against the Union Health Ministry's e-pharmacy initiative, which would make it possible for anyone to purchase medicines online.
"This is an absolutely wrong idea in a country like India where it will have long-term repercussions. Though online purchase of medicine is legal in advanced countries, in our country with low computer literacy and extremely weak regulation of the drug industry, the initiative will have serious consequences for public health, he told The Hindu. Over 15,000 chemists and druggists will go on strike in Kerala.
Chemists insist that the implementation of e-portal will also put into question the veracity of the medicines requested by the consumers, and it will also create further logistical issues.
Vijay Anand, president of the Chandigarh Chemists Association, told The Indian Express, "The online service, which the government wishes to provide to patients and consumers, shall not only result in storage problems but may also affect the quality of drugs being supplied. Further, it shall be difficult to ascertain the credibility of the drug supplied online and the time involved in the supply, especially in case of life-threatening emergencies." The report adds that all 600 medical stores in Chandigarh will remain closed in support of the strike.
Another report by The Hindu states that as per the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) system, pharmacists and vendors are expected to upload their data on the government website within a stipulated time. This will prove to be expensive and cumbersome, AIOCD insists. Anand Chandigarh Chemists Association adds that if this e-portal is imposed upon chemists, they will end up uploading bills and prescriptions all the day rather than selling medicines, which would compromise sales.
There have been a slew of protests against the online sale of medicines. According to the Hindustan Times, over 40,000 medicine shops in Bihar shut shop on 12 April. A similar all-India pharmacy strike was held on 23 November, reports Deccan Chronicle.
Chemists insist that online pharmacies don't just jeopardise their business, they also aggravate the sale of counterfeits drug and improper use of medicine.
Girish Visvanathan is a deceptively mild young man. He also says he dislikes sitting in air-conditioned rooms, preferring the heat outside. And truth be told, his work depends on it.
Visvanathan and his firm Ecologikol, a consulting firm on green buildings, have taken up a new project purely out of passion. They have been recording temperatures both recorded and "real feel" figures in various parts of Chennai. And they have come up with some eye openers.
On 18 May, between 12:50 pm and 01:30 pm, Visvanathan and Co. found a big difference in actual recorded temperatures and the heat experienced by people. This was one of the hottest days of the month the peak of "agni nakshatram" or katthiri veyyil, as Tamilians call the dog days.
In Chennai's Mylapore suburb, the temperature recorded was 42 degrees Celsius. The area had a low tree cover with a gentle wind on the day and 60 percent humidity. The real heat felt by residents, however, was closer to 49 degrees Celsius.
Not far from Mylapore, about seven kilometres away, is the IIT Madras campus in Guindy. Temperature recorded here was also 42 degrees Celsius. But the "real heat" felt here was the same: 42 degrees. Humidity also remained at a constant 60 percent.
Thirteen kilometres from IIT Madras is the Old Mahabalipuram Road (OMR), home to Chennai's IT corridor. This concrete jungle, which has barely any tree cover, recorded a temperature of 43 degrees Celsius, and a real feel of a sizzling 51 degrees.
Vellore city's recorded temperature on the same day was 43 degrees with real feel at 52 degrees, and Tiruvannamalai's recorded temperature was 47 degrees, while real feel was 50 degrees.
So what exactly is the inference?
Visvanathan says that the entire issue is linked to urbanisation and the indiscriminate concretisation of our cities.
"Compare all the data to the recording in IIT Madras," he began. "IIT Madras has a lot of tree cover and this prevents the sun's rays from hitting buildings and black asphalt roads in the campus. Trees provide a natural cover against the harsh sunlight and heat."
Visvanathan explained that when the sun's rays hit tar roads and concrete buildings, they absorb the heat, and after a point, begin to radiate it right back at us. The situation quickly turns into a double whammy between the heat of the sun along with the reflected heat of black-topped roads, buildings around us turn cities into ovens.
"What has made things worse is that in December 2016, we had Cyclone Vardah which took away a large chunk of Chennai's tree cover, leaving the roads and buildings exposed. That has made this summer a lot worse," said Visvanathan.
A study conducted by Japan's Kyoto University with the Chennai Corporation and published in 2010, assessed the Climate Disaster Resilience Index of a few zones in the city. This study corroborates Visvanathan's findings.
Mylapore was one of the areas profiled in terms of its resilience to climate change and natural disasters. While the economic and social parameters were high, due to the area being a relatively affluent neighbourhood, the study found that it had lost a large amount of its natural green cover. "The loss of urban green space due to development activities is considerable (up to 40 percent) and less than 10 percent of zone's green space remains," said the report.
Speaking at a seminar on disaster risk mitigation in early April, one of the authors of this study, RR Krishnamurthi, said, "Areas with higher economic development, lower population density and better environmental conditions have better resilience."
At the same event, conservationist Jayshree Vencatesan, managing trustee of the non-profit Care Earth group agreed. "Some areas need to be totally inviolate zones within cities," she said.
While the state does face an excruciating and seemingly never ending summer, the government, in anticipation of heat strokes, issued advisories to people to stay indoors during the afternoons, and if forced to be outside, to find some shade. "Luckily, there have been no deaths so far but it (the summer) is still not over," said a senior health department official, who did not wish to be named.
"Three weeks ago, we issued advisories that people should not go outside and told them to hydrate themselves properly. We have also given ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution) packets to Primary Health Centres," he said.
The Met Department had on 15 April warned of two-three days of blistering heat. Three days later, on 18 April, a heat wave alert was issued across the state and people were asked to stay indoors.
This summer too shall pass. Another monsoon will arrive and then another summer. With temperatures increasing every year, experts warn that quick action needs to be taken to mitigate the human-made heat wave originating from the concretisation and removal of green cover in our cities. For that, state governments and people need to come together with one vision, so that our future does not go up in flames.
Otherwise known for its deftness in handling polls, the Election Commission of India has been in the eye of a storm of late with 16 political parties having questioned the veracity of the entire voting mechanism in the five state assembly elections held recently. Despite the EC's assurances that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are secure, the alleging political parties were in no mood to listen forcing the poll panel to announce a 'hackathon' on the coming 3 June to find out if the voting machines can actually be tampered with.
The man who is in charge of looking after the affairs of voting in the country Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi, speaking exclusively to Firstpost, clarifies that the EVM is tamper proof and that the AAPs demand for a 'hackathon' of these machines is not workable at all. Edited excerpts:
The EC gave an opportunity to all the political parties to prove that EVMs could be tampered with. Registration for political parties was fixed for 26 May. I cannot comment on why only two parties have responded to this challenge and why the other political parties have chosen not to respond. This was an opportunity for all political parties to come forward and dispel their doubts.
In all 16 political parties were vocal in their criticism against EVMs following the recent five state elections especially the Uttar Pradesh state elections. The Congress, the RJD, the Trinamool Congress had all expressed their apprehensions about the EVMs?
The whole attempt on the part of the EC has been to clear doubts, suspicions and aspersions that were being cast on the EC. The 12 May meeting, to which all political parties were invited, was an attempt on our part to show that our EVMs are tamper-proof. We provided full details about how the EVMs work. We invited nominees of recognised state and national parties which had participated in the recently held assembly elections in the five states to an EVM challenge on 3 June. Their first challenge is to prove that EVMs can be tampered with while polling and second that tampering can take place while the machine is kept in the EC's custody.
The most notable absentee is AAP which had led a veritable campaign against the EVMs. AAP did not attend the meeting because they did not like the terms you had laid down. They felt you should have allowed for an open hackathon?
I must clarify that the EC has never used this word hackathon. Only the IITs can explain the meaning of this term hackathon. If the reference is to a computer being hacked or else to ransomware or other forms of hacking, let me emphasise that out EVMs are stand alone machines. They are not connected to the internet. From where has this term appeared is something I do not understand. We have never used this word. Our machines are not connected with any network. I have clarified that we are not an IT company.
We have offered the political parties a demonstration challenge. If they can prove otherwise, we will stand corrected. Our machines remain 24x7 in our custody. They are kept in strong rooms and are guarded by the police. They never leave our custody and the annual maintenance is also conducted under our custody.
How many EVMs do you have in all?
In all, we have 1.5 million machines that have been manufactured by Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL) and the Electronic Corporation of India (ECI). During election time, the machines are moved around in a random manner, no one knows which machine will go where. How can somebody say which machine will go where.
Even hypothetically, if we wanted to favour someone, how do we know in which polling booth a machine will go where. The candidate can use two methods to tamper with EVMs first, a combination of keys on the control unit or ballot unit or both and second, the challenger can use external wireless, bluetooth, mobile phones device to tamper with the machines. But if the EVM becomes non-functional then a challenger will fail in his attempt. This is because our EVMs are devised to self-destruct if tampered with and will stop working. That is why the EC insists, our machines are tamper proof.
That may well be but EVMs have come in for strong criticism in countries such as Netherlands, Ireland and Germany?
The EVMs used in Netherlands, Ireland and Germany were privately manufactured and had no independent certification system unlike the very robust verification and certification system used in India. Our machines are stand alone and direct recording whereas in Netherlands data was transferred through CDs. Our EVMs store data internally. They are manufactured by leading PSUs (ECIL and BEL) with no third party involved.
In 2006, the government ordered an independent test of the machines. Two independent commissions were also asked to review the security and reliability features.
Several political parties insist we need to go back to the days of the ballot box?
We have travelled a long distance from then. The ballot papers suffered from many malpractices. Pharzi ballot papers were known to be printed and the counting was also found to be wrong in many cases. There were a lot of malpractices with that system. By contrast, the software program of EVMS cannot be read or modified as these are stand alone machines which cannot be connected to any other network, system or the internet. I would also like to emphasise that in order to ensure 100 percent reliability we conduct multiple layers of testing the software and hardware before and during the manufacturing of EVMs.
As a further attempt to dispel all criticisms and doubts, the EC is planning to buy paper audit trails?
Yes, all elections from this August onwards will use the paper audit trail. We are planning to buy over 1.6 million voter verifiable paper audit trail units for the EVMs keeping in mind the 2019 general election. After voting, the voter verifiable paper audit trail machine dispenses a paper slip with the name, serial number and symbol of the candidate voted for. The voter can see this paper being collected in the box and will be used for all future elections.
In 2013, the EC had taken a decision to start these verifiable paper audit trails but the funds took time in coming. The funds of Rs 3,200 crore has been released and the money has been transferred to both the Electronic Corporation of India and Bharat Electronics to start manufacturing them.
The killing of militant 'commander Sabzar Bhat has changed the situation in Kashmir in several ways, although it is by no means the sort of game-changer that the killing of Burhan Wani was last July. That sort of quantum change may still be a few weeks away.
At one level, the army is bucked up after this outstanding success. "We are going after the leaders," said Major General BS Raju, who heads the army's Victor Force, which is in charge of south Kashmir.
That was the strategy of then BSF IG Ashok Patel, who handled militancy at its worst, between 1990 and 1993. Patel targeted commanders based on specific intelligence. He laid cordons at specific locations on the basis of that information.
The strategy worked well. The heads of major militant organisations, including Muslim Janbaz Force, Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, Students Liberation Front, Al Umar and Hizbullah were all rounded up (arrested) by April 1992.
That only left the largely rural-based Hizb in the field. It was in December 1992 that Pakistan allowed the Lashkar-e-Toiba and the Afghan-based Harkat-ul Mujahideen to Kashmir. They dominated from then until that round of militancy ended around a decade ago. The new militancy emerged over the past five years.
Though it is very encouraged by the Sabzar killing, the army is not resting on its laurels, though. Raju held that the end of June and the first week of July would be critical.
Leadership vacuum
Stones were pelted at various places across the Kashmir Valley when news of Sabzars death spread, and forces fired at least pellets and tear gas shells at several places. Some observers expected vigorous protests over the next couple of days.
The most obvious effect of Sabzars killing is that it opens a vacuum at the top in Hizb - at least in the pulsating battlefields of south Kashmir. Until just a couple of weeks ago, there were two top 'commanders' in place of Burhan. Now, Sabzar has been killed very soon after Zakir Musa was eased out after making an announcement that he stood for an essentially pan-Islamic agenda.
Lashkar coordination
This makes Abu Dujana, the Lashkar-e-Toiba chief in the Valley, even more central to the militancy than he already was. Since late last year, this Pakistani 'commander had emerged as the leading light of the post-Burhan militancy.
One of the consequences of Burhans death was even closer coordination between Hizb, Laskhar and other groups than there already had been. Former Laskhar 'commander Abu Qasim, who was killed by security forces in November 2015, had played a seminal role in bringing this coordination into play over a previous couple of years in the south Kashmir region.
Dujana is already a more iconic figure than either Musa or Sabzar. Although he is a Pakistani, Dujana commands great affection and respect among teenagers in south Kashmir - more than any other since Burhan.
In fact, so many young people rallied to combat the forces with stones during a cordon in the Pulwama region last week that Dujana was able to escape. The cordon had been set in order to get Dujana.
Fortunes reversed
The army is confident that the successful operation at Tral has reversed its fortunes. It has been a great morale booster.
The army has been on the backfoot over the past few months, at least since the ambush of a convoy in February. Several soldiers, including two officers, were killed. The vehicles were returning from an operation which had been mobilised on the basis of false information.
More recently, a massive cordon and search operation by more than 3,000 soldiers in the Shopian region failed to catch any militants. Instead, a convoy of army vehicles was ambushed on their return.
Just last week, an operation to nab Abu Dujana, the most outstanding militant of this post-Burhan phase, also did not succeed. Dujana, a Pakistani, leads the Lashkar-e-Toiba.
Since the strategy now is to kill top militants, Dujana is likely to remain in the armys sights.
Eleven months after Burhan Wani was killed, the Hizbul Mujahideen has suffered another major setback, with his successor, Sabzar Ahmed Bhat being gunned down in Pulwama on Saturday. Bhat's killing will be seen as a big feat for counter-insurgency forces in the Kashmir Valley.
Friday evening onwards, security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in a cluster of villages around Tral, when a patrolling party came under fire near Saimu village around 9.15 pm. The army, along with the Kashmir police, laid siege around the village and cordoned off the entire stretch. However, there wasn't any exchange of fire.
But on Saturday morning, plumes of smoke blew from two houses, amid heavy gunfire, as three militants remained trapped inside a two-storied mud and brick house in Saimu. The militants, according to police sources, had entered the house after firing at the patrolling party.
The search and combing operations were going on at the time of writing this report, and the two houses where the trio was putting up one last battle had been reduced to rubble. Desperate attempts were made by the villagers to save the militants, and police had to throw teargas shells to disperse the crowd before dusk.
As gunfire raged, dozens of villagers tried to march towards the encounter site, but forces fired teargas shells and pellets to break up the protests in Rathsun village, a few hundred metres from the site of the gunfight. Dozens of civilians were injured.
Senior police officials told Firstpost that it was a "great achievement". "His death will break the back of the insurgency in south Kashmir. Zakir Musa is a paper tiger; he (Sabzar) was a real threat and an important target," a senior police official told Firstpost near the encounter site.
The security forces pointed out that 26-year-old Ahmad, a resident of Ruthsana village in Tral, was the brain behind utilising social media as a tool to attract young boys towards militancy. He was marked as an 'A-category' militant.
Tral is a bowl of small hamlets on the foothills of the vast terraneous mountains, 11 kilometers from National Highway 1A, which connects Srinagar with the rest of India. It is a picturesque village known for breathtaking green mountains and lush green forests, and its freshwater streams are a perfect attraction for tourists. But in recent years, it has achieved notoriety for being a hotbed of the renewed face of insurgency in the state, although sparse but deadly.
Ahmad, who succeeded Burhan Wani, was given charge of Hizbul Mujahideen's south Kashmir wing in July 2017.
Teenager Faizan Bhat, who was also killed in Saturday's encounter, was a resident of the main town of Tral, and had joined militancy in March 2017.
As the encounter raged on, dozen of villagers dozens tried to march towards the site, but forces fired teargas shells and pellets to break up the protests in Rathsun village of Tral, in south Kashmir's Pulwama, hundreds of meters ahead of the site of the gun battle. Dozens of civilians were injured.
As news of the Sabzar's death spread, clashes were reported from many parts of the Kashmir Valley, in which dozens of people were injured. According to hospital authorities, the entire Kashmir Valley has been shut. Protests were reported also from north Kashmir.
Police is yet to retrieve the dead body of the third militant, which could be buried under the rubble of the two houses, which were destroyed in the fight.
Six terrorists were killed on Saturday by the Indian Army in the Rampur sector of Jammu and Kashmirs Baramulla district as yet another infiltration bid was thwarted, PTI reported.
The troops had noticed suspicious movement in the early hours and a firefight broke out between the infiltrators and the Army, resulting in elimination of six ultras.
A tweet by Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid on Friday said that the encounter started in the Saimu Tral sector and three terrorists were reportedly trapped.
India Today reported an army statement which said that the army had received specific input about the movement of the terrorists after which they set up an ambush at around 7.30 pm on Friday.
Deccan Chronicle said that the area was cordoned off and search operations were underway to flush out any remaining terrorists.
Earlier this week, Major General Ashok Narula had said that due to the increase in the regions temperature, the snow-blocked mountain passes have become easier to navigate. This has led to an increase in the infiltration attempts from the Pakistani side. He further said that the army was ready to counter such threats.
The army had also said that punitive fire assaults had been launched recently along the LoC. These assaults were a part of a plan to proactively dominate the LoC and counter-terrorism operations to curb infiltration, Major Narula said.
The army had earlier foiled an attack by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) in the Uri sector. Two members of the BAT were killed in the attack on Friday.
With inputs from PTI
21:19 (ist)
Eliminate militant leaders, army's new way to regain ground
The killing of militant 'commander Sabzar Bhat has changed the situation in Kashmir in several ways, although it is by no means the sort of game-changer that the killing of Burhan Wani was last July. That sort of quantum change may still be a few weeks away.
At one level, the army is bucked up after this outstanding success. "We are going after the leaders," said Major General BS Raju, who heads the army's Victor Force, which is in charge of south Kashmir.
Read full analysis here.
The details of the suicide note, said to be written by Naval cadet Gudeppa Sooraj who was found dead inside the Indian Naval Academy (INA) in Kannur, Kerala is now being revealed for the first time by his brother Gudeppa Sanoj.
Sanoj told Firstpost that Sooraj had named two senior cadets as directly responsible for pushing him to take his life.
Though the suicide note has not been made public, Sanoj alleged that Squadron Cadet Captain Piyush Chowdhary and Divisional Cadet Captain Vishal Pandey are the two whose names had been mentioned by Sooraj before he took his life by jumping from the fifth floor of the Academy.
Sanoj claims he had the chance to read the suicide note which is now in possession of the local police at Payannur who are investigating the case.
Payannur Police has, meanwhile, confirmed to Firstpost the existence of these two names in the note and that an investigation against them is on.
I am ready to appear before any court, before anyone to say that my brother has named these two people Piyush Chowdhary and Vishal Pandey as those who have been harassing him continuously that he had no option but to take his life. Its been eight days since the suicide note has come out. But the police have not done anything. Not even an abetment for suicide has been filed, Sanoj told Firstpost from his home at Tirur.
Though the Indian Navys spokesperson was approached by Firstpost to confirm the names of the two senior cadets, he refrained from commenting on it claiming that an internal investigation ordered by the Southern Naval Command is on parallel to the police probe.
Sooraj's family has meanwhile approached the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) and the offices of the Prime Minister of India and the chief minister of Kerala demanding justice for their bereaved son.
Ramanna Gudeppa, the father of Sooraj Gudeppa, had been an officer in Indian Navy for 23 years till he retired in December 2016 as Chief Petty Officer (JCO). Today, he is a broken man but the resolve to get to the bottom of the matter is very much alive.
We will not rest until we know what happened to our son. I have given 32 years of my life for the Indian Navy and this just cannot happen to me. He took his life because of the torture that he faced at the hands of the senior cadets and officers. It is clear from his suicide note. Family will not rest till we get justice, Gudeppa told Firstpost.
Twenty-three year-old Sanoj is close to tears when he reminisces about his elder brother. While Sooraj always wanted to be in the services, Sanoj was in the midst of his preparations for civil services examination when the tragedy struck the family.
Here is a first person account of the suicide note that Sanoj had read and as told to this reporter: My Last Note is how my brother started writing it which was addressed to the family. We were planning to buy a house and he wanted to contribute to it. So he started off with his ATM details and then said that once he dies, the money that the family gets should be used for buying a new house in mothers name. He also said that he is dying because he is unable to take the harassment by the two senior cadets. Both Chowdhary and Pandeys names are clearly mentioned in it. He said that a few officers were using the cadets to harass him. They would just not allow me to study at all and have made my life a hell in the last five months. He also said that he was not weak but they forced him to fail the exams, Sanoj told Firstpost.
The note, according to Sanoj, ends with these words, I wasnt weak, this world is cruel and the Navy is responsible for my death. Jumping from this height is not easy. But I am a brave boy.
Gudeppa Sooraj passed away in the early hours of 18 May after having jumped from the fifth floor of the Academy.
A History Of Harassment?
Sanoj says that it is not just the suicide note that stands testimony to what his brother underwent inside the Naval Academy. He goes on to talk about the weekend phone calls from Sooraj that always worried his family.
He used to call and tell (us about) what he had to put up with and our mother used to get so worried. Once instance, he said that those two senior cadets locked him up in a cupboard. Another time, he said, since his power was cut in the room, he had to sit in the toilet and study there at night under the dim light with mosquito coils for company. They will punish me continuously, abuse me and throw my books around, all to ensure that I do not pass the exams, he used to say, alleged Sanoj.
Sanoj also said that he told him not to tell their parents all this as it would scare them. He also told his younger brother that if something happens to him, the family should be aware of what he had gone through. Perhaps, he knew what was coming and he was just preparing us for it, said Sanoj.
The family's claims
In 2010, Sooraj joined the Indian Navy as a sailor at INS Chilka. But didn't want only to be sailor. His ambitions were bigger. In 2014, he cleared the Commission Worthy Examination undertaken by the UPSC and got recommended for a BTech course at the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala in Keralas Kannur district.
He was allegedly caught cheating in the second semester and was thrown out of the academy. Sooraj went to the Chennai bench of the Armed Forces Tribunal and as the family claims revoked his rustication from the Academy and rejoined.
In January 2017, Sooraj returned to the INA and started his course from the scratch. It was his first examination on 17 May and Sooraj was once again reported for cheating by the invigilators.
On the same evening, the young cadet allegedly committed suicide. Though he was rushed to the Naval hospital first and then to the Pariyaram Medical College, he breathed his last at 2.30 am on 18 May.
The family claims that Sooraj was the victim of a section of the officers deep-rooted grouse against him for having returned with an order of the tribunal to retake him into the academy?
Or as the family also says, is there a culture among at least a few officers inside the academy who could not stand the very sight of a sailor in an officers uniform in their midst, especially when it is someone who has fought and won a case against you?
There are plenty of such questions that need answers. But more than a week has passed and neither the state police nor the internal investigation undertaken by the Navy has broken any ice. Sanoj says the family has lost hope in the way the police is conducting the investigation.
They have a suicide note which clearly names people. Why have they not done anything till now? Apart from one or two visits to the Naval Academy, they have not done anything. Why is a case not filed for abetment of suicide? We have no option but to go to the Human Rights Commission, added Sanoj.
The Navys Stand
Though no senior officer of the Indian Navy was ready to come forth with a comment on the issue, the Public Relations Officer (PRO), Lieutenant Commander, RG Ajith told this reporter that the Southern Naval Command has ordered a complete inquiry into the incident and the board of investigation has commenced its job.
Ajith goes on to say that there has been an effort to project this as a sailor versus officer issue which is completely baseless because there are many cadets who have graduated from the sailors entry to the officers entry and a number of officers posted at the INA are from such entry.
We are a military force where there is a lot of bonding between our men and the superiors. Just to say that since this cadet has come from a sailors entry we would look at him as an alien is completely baseless and it really hits at the ethos of the military establishment of this country, Ajith told Firstpost.
While the Navy is not ready to jump into conclusions that Sooraj might have taken his life out of shame for being caught cheating, the spokesperson minced no words when he said that Sooraj was indeed caught cheating a second time on 17 May.
It was not even a Navy invigilator who caught him this time round. It was a civilian, one of the professors who was overseeing the examination and we reported the matter immediately, added Ajith.
Ajith goes on to say that while in 2014 too there was no doubt that Sooraj had cheated which became the reason for him to be thrown out, the tribunal had never given him a clean chit even though the academy was asked to take him back.
The PRO says that in the verdict, the tribunal had agreed to the fact that he had committed malpractice beyond doubt but considering his age and that otherwise he had a good record, the tribunal was of the opinion that he should be given a chance to reform.
Though Firstpost could not independently verify this claim, this is something which the family and Soorajs advocate refutes. If the tribunal is convinced that he had committed a malpractice will it ask for his reinstatement? Here the tribunal was convinced that the Navy had not followed the correct procedures while indicting Sooraj. He was coerced into giving in writing that he had cheated. The boy was not even given a chance to explain his case and the tribunal was convinced of this anomaly, Advocate Sathyanathan VK, who fought the case for Sooraj at the tribunal told Firstpost from Kochi.
The Navy, however, remained tight-lipped about the suicide note and its contents. It also said that though it was aware that a note was recovered from Sooraj, that no officer at the Academy had access to it as it remained with the police.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to send a team of experts to the eastern state before 10 June to assess the situation of silting in Ganga, as it was "causing ill-effects on the river."
Kumar raised the issue during his meeting with Modi here, wherein he impressed upon the prime minister that before formulating any silt management policy, a holistic view of the issue was needed.
"When I was coming here (Delhi), I was thinking of the pressing issues facing Bihar. And, silting in Ganga is a major issue, which is causing ill-effects on the river. This issue is very serious for us," he said.
"There is a threat of flood this time. So, I have requested the prime minister to send a team of experts to the state before 10 June to assess the situation of silting in Ganga. Experts must assess practically by making field visits of the river stretch from Buxar to Farakka.
"And, I thanked the prime minister as he said that it will be done before 3 June," the chief minister said.
The JD(U) leader said he has been "constantly raising" this question even during the UPA rule.
"I had brought it up during the Inter State Council meet as well. The issue is getting serious. Two conferences on silting were held, one in Patna in February and the other in Delhi recently, in May.
"The Patna declaration and the Delhi declaration were made after the conferences. I apprised him of both the declarations and also submitted all necessary documents today," he said.
Kumar reiterated that the severity of the silting condition cannot be acknowledged without visiting its stretch in Bihar.
"And, silt management does not mean just removing silt. It should also ensure the free flow of the river so that silt can go with the current," he said.
"We will have talks with shipping and transport ministry officials (under which the Inland Waterways Authority of India falls) and water resources ministry officials. And, the chief secretary is here, he will also take up the issue," Kumar added.
The chief minister cautioned that removing silt aside just for waterway transportation was "not a very wise idea".
"The silt should flow with the river," he said.
Kumar also raised the special package and special status for Bihar with the prime minister.
New Delhi: India and Mauritius on Saturday signed an agreement for maritime security as New Delhi extended a $500-million credit line to the Indian Ocean island nation following delegation level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
"As frontline states of the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Jugnauth and I agree that it is our responsibility to ensure collective maritime security around our coasts and in our EEZs (exclusive economic zones)," Modi said while jointly addressing the media with the visiting dignitary following the talks.
"We agree that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities, protect the livelihood of our communities and provide security to our people," he said.
He said that both countries must be vigilant against piracy that impacted trade and tourism, drugs and human trafficking, illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
"The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities," Modi said.
"We have also agreed to further strengthen our wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain."
Modi also said that India would support the National Coast Guard (NCG) of Mauritius in augmenting its capacity through Project Trident, an integrated development project of the NCG.
"We have also taken a decision to renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, that was provided to Mauritius, under a grant assistance programme," he stated.
The Indian Prime Minister said that the agreement on a $500-million LoC from India to Mauritius was "a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius".
"It will also help in the implementation of priority projects," he said. "Prime Minister Jugnauth and I welcome the progress in ongoing projects."
Apart from the agreements on maritime security and the LoC, two memorandums of understanding were signed on research and education in marine sciences and technology and setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius.
Mauritius also submitted its instrument of ratification of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance, conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.
"The signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance by Mauritius has opened up new vistas of regional partnership for both countries in this field," Modi said.
The Indian prime minister also expressed pride in the contribution of the people of Indian origin to the national life of Mauritius. Jugnauth is one among this huge number of people in Mauritius who are descendants of indentured Indian labour brought in the 19th century to work in sugarcane plantations.
On his part, Jugnauth said that both Mauritius and India agreed that there can be no compromise when it came to sovereignty and territorial integrity
"We have developed a strong bilateral cooperation between Mauritius and India in the field of defence and security," he said.
Jugnauth also expressed Mauritius' "unwavering support" to India's bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
Apart from this, he said he discussed with Modi the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between the two countries.
Earlier on Saturday, Jugnauth was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan following which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on him.
Jugnauth arrived on Friday on a three-day state visit to India. This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad since assuming office this January.
Srinagar: A curfew will be imposed in seven police station areas of Srinagar on Sunday as a pre-emptive measure to prevent spread of violent protests which took place on Saturday, following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama.
"Curfew will be imposed on Sunday in seven police station areas of Srinagar as a precautionary measure," Farooq Lone, district magistrate, Srinagar told PTI. He said the curfew will be imposed in Khanyar, Kralkhud, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Safakadal.
Lone also said that educational institutions in the city will remain close on Monday. "The admit cards of students appearing in CET and other competitive examinations will be treated as curfew passes. The staff posted as invigilators can use their identity cards for reaching the centres and back home," he added.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Ganderbal district have imposed restrictions on movement of people under Section 144 (Power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance of apprehended danger) of CrPC.
"In view of the prevailing law and order situation and to avoid any damage to public and private properties, Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed within the territorial jurisdiction of Ganderbal district with immediate effect till further orders," Tariq Hussain Ganai, district magistrate, Ganderbal said.
Abid Rashid, DM, Anantnag said that strict restrictions would be in place in the district tomorrow to prevent breach of peace or loss of life in view of the prevailing situation.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday condemned the killing of top Hizbul commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and other militants in Jammu and Kashmir, and called upon the international community, including the UN and human rights organisations, to intervene in the matter.
Accusing India of carrying out "extra-judicial killings", Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said India killed "12 Kashmiri youths in Kashmir since yesterday (Friday) in Pulwama and Baramulla. Three of them were martyred extra-judicially as has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past."
He urged the international community to call upon India to immediately stop the "ruthless killing of defenceless Kashmiris".
Sabzar, 28, was killed along with his two accomplices in a four-hour-long gunfight in a village in Tral town of Pulwama district. He was named as the successor of Burhan Wani who was killed last year on 8 July.
In another incident, six militants were killed by the army, when an infiltration bid was foiled on Saturday in Rampur sector of the Line of Control in Baramulla district.
Srinagar: Mobile internet services were suspended in Kashmir Valley on Saturday as a precautionary measure in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter with security forces in Tral.
Security forces had launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 km from Srinagar, following information about presence of some top Hizbul Mujahideen militants to the security officers.
Mobile internet services have been snapped across the Valley since the afternoon, officials said.
However, BSNL broadband service was functioning normally, they said.
Security forces had earlier launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 km from Srinagar, killing Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Bhatt.
The officials said the services were suspended as a precautionary measure to check rumour-mongering following protests at various places against Bhat's killing at Tral this morning. The mobile internet suspension comes hours after the government lifted a month-long ban on 22 social networking websites and apps in the Valley.
Stone pelting incidents have been reported in some parts of south Kashmir including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anamtnag district
Coimbatore: Five persons, including two women, have been killed and 28 injured when their van turned upside down near Kothagiri in Nilgiris District, police said on Saturday.
All of them were returning to their village in Vellore district after a sight-seeing trip to Udhagamandalam late Friday night when the van skidded off the road, dashed against a roadside wall and turned upside down resulting in the death of five persons, police said.
The deceased have been identified as Shankar (50), Mallika (69), Bhaskaran (45) Paneerselvam (43) and Saroja (44).
The injured, including three children, have been admitted to the Government hospitals, police said.
Bundi (Rajasthan): At least 32 calves were rescued from a truck passing through Bundi tunnel here this morning and three persons were arrested for allegedly smuggling the bovine animals, police said.
Acting on a tip-off, the truck was intercepted this morning and 32 calves were rescued from the vehicle, the SHO of Sadar police station, Abhishake Pareek, said.
Three persons, all residents of Tonk district, were arrested. During interrogation they admitted to smuggling the calves for sale in Madhya Pradesh, the officer said.
A case has been registered against the accused and the calves have been sent to a cow shelter, the SHO said.
In a circular issued to students of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on 25 May (Thursday), the registrar CP Mohan Kumar said that all students under its masters programmes had to provide their submit their Aadhaar card details for the third semester in 8 June, failing which they would "be deemed to have discontinued from the programme of study at TISS".
The post below shows a glimpse of the contentious circular in question.
The circular deems that, "Biometric attendance is an institutional norm and all students are required to follow it." This would mean that students would have to furnish their Aadhaar details and as well as their fingerprints for biometric attendance and fellowships, DNA reports. According to Scroll, students joining the third semester will be required to finish their biometric registration and fingerprint recording within 48 hours of returning to the campus.
TISS director S Parasuraman told The Indian Express that the decision to make Aadhaar registration compulsory was undertaken to keep an eye on the scholarships received by students directly from the government, as well as keep a tab on the fund transfers that occur for the scholarships. Sometimes the government transfers scholarship funds directly to the accounts of the students, who do not inform us of the same. The students continue to get funds from the Institute, said Parasuraman. The report adds that he is yet to receive a copy of the circular. The circular also states that "the manual attendance system will cease to exist from the academic year 2017-2018", leaving no option for students who do not have or do not want to provide their biometric details.
Furthermore, TISS has decided to discontinue financial aid provided to students belonging to the backward classes. Mumbai Mirror reveals that TISS has alleged in the circular that the government has failed to reimburse the institute to fund the students in question. It states that these cost borne by the institute have not been reimbursed by central ministries like the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment and Ministry of Tribal Affairs and state governments despite repeated requests. This has resulted in TISS facing a deficit of over Rs 20 crores, the circular adds.
What makes things murkier is that this circular comes at a time the student union are not active. As the initial years representatives have graduated, students are yet to elect a new set of representatives, as The Indian Express points out. The decision also comes during summer vacation, which, along with the absence of student unions, is making it tough for students to mobilise protests.
Shambuk Uday, vicepresident for All India Students Federation (Maharashtra) and a TISS alumnus told Mumbai Mirror that this was, "a deliberate attempt to keep marginalised sections away from higher education, adding that it was a brahminical step and an extension of the policy of the government to oppress the oppressed peoples further. Regarding the biometric debate, a PhD student from the institute told DNA that, "How can the institute take such a drastic step without consulting students? Why should there be a mandate on compulsory Aadhaar and biometric?" According to The New Indian Express, an internal survey revealed that as many as 66 percent of the students have opposed the announcements.
Chennai: Denying media reports, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister E Palaniswami, on Saturday, ruled out any reshuffle in the state cabinet.
"It is only the newspapers that are publishing news about a ministry change. There will be no change in the ministry," he told the media at Yercaud, about 370 km from Chennai.
As for meetings with AIADMK legislators, Palaniswami said they discussed issues related to their respective constituencies.
The chief minister said he will respond to the Centre's move to prevent sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter when the order is received. "One cannot say anything on the basis of newspaper reports."
The environment ministry on Friday notified Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, with the aim of regulating the animal market and prevent animal cruelty.
Anuja Chauhan, who is best known for writing Those Pricey Thakur Girls and Battle for Bittora, wanted to write her latest Baaz for many years now. Chauhan is familiar with the theme of Baaz, which is centered on Indian Air Force pilot Ishaan Faujdaar and how he goes from being a boy who grew up in a Haryana village to fighting for India in the war against Pakistan. She spent her childhood in a cantonment and her father was in the army.
It is a premise that she is both familiar with and fond of, but she realised that most of her cantonment memories were essentially a child's memories. She says that she wanted to hone her craft and do her homework, some of which was quite technical, before she could begin writing Baaz. "I knew that I had to write this book, but it was at the back of my head because I knew Id have to take a deep-dive into military aspects. I had no notion of what it is like to actually be a serving officer," Chauhan explains.
The author also chose to write this book now because she felt she was ready to deal with the conflict that the subject of war brings with it. "When I write a book, the search is always for conflict of some sort, which Im not trying to resolve, but rather explore. And this is a big one; its valid in our country, in every country, every age the moral ambiguities that go with war, what goes on in soldiers heads its a conflict I always wanted to write about," Chauhan says. She adds that after writing Those Pricey Thakur Girls and The Battle of Bittora, she felt that she needed to get into a more 'macho' space.
The book's title, which means eagle in Hindi, is a reference to the name that Ishaan's friends Maddy and Raka call him, and much of the book expectedly revolves around his frame of mind and life. "Ishaan refused to be contained in a box. He just took over the book, and it became his story. I think that happens because the character that goes through several changes in their character graph is essentially the person whose book it is. He experiences new ways of thinking, and his mind widens in certain ways," Chauhan says.
She attributes Ishaan's charm to the fact that he sees people as people, and does not change how behaves with them based on their gender. "He is very comfortable around women, because he grew up with many younger sisters. He has no issues talking to women, which is why he can chat so happily with people he meets for the first time," Chauhan says.
Ishaan's love interest in the book is Tehmina 'Tinka' Dadyseth, who abhors war. Her own father is an army officer. What makes Tinka's character interesting is the conflict within her own head about the decisions that she takes for herself. She takes up a project where she is supposed to be a still photographer for an ad where a bikini-clad model must stand under a waterfall, but due to a change in circumstances, she ends up featuring in the ad. For this decision, she is chastised by people who know her, while scores of men tease her and hit on her after watching it. As a result, Tinka, who calls herself a feminist, oscillates between questioning her decision and taking pride in it because she feels she should be liberated and proud of her body.
"I find that with feminism, everything is a constant debate. Tinka is as confused as anybody else would be, especially in the Seventies, when society was very patriarchal and people internalised the male gaze. She's also very young; she's younger than 22 when she meets Ishaan. Which one of us has our ideologies completely figured out, especially at that age? You may have a rough notion, but on many subjects, were all quite confused," Chauhan says. She adds that Ishaan is quite indulgent towards her and cuts her slack because he realises she is a child. "Theres a line where she says that she wants to end war and he doesnt laugh. In fact, he also points out her own confusions to her," she says.
In Baaz, there is more than one instance where Ishaan quite literally saves Tinka's life, but Chauhan's book is not about a damsel in distress who needs saving, because at several points in the book, Tinka saves Ishaan too, in the emotional sense. She does this by constantly asking him questions that force him to think more deeply about war and his role in it. "I think in the books that I write, people save each other. When people get together for the long term, you end up becoming the other persons hero and bodyguard and cheerleader all at the same time," she explains.
Ishaan and Tinka have starkly contrasting ways of looking at war; while he calls her a pacifist, she accuses him of "enjoying" the war, and their debates about it are what form the heart of Baaz. When asked what her own stance on this subject is, Chauhan says, "Speak softly and carry a big stick." The 'speak softly' aspect is similar to how Tinka views the situation, while the latter part of the phrase refers to Ishaan's perspective. "Armies should always be well-prepared and ready, but we should always work in a very constructive way with our neighbours," Chauhan opines.
"The joy of writing romance is that you take two people who you think are wildly dissimilar and then you write their conversations, and you realise that they are meant to be. They balance each other out," Chauhan says, with reference to the Ishaan-Tinka equation. While Ishaan has physical courage, Tehmina shows moral courage, and this is why he finds her very brave during their first interaction. She says that it is these two different types of courage that leads to the building of their chemistry. "Chemistry doesnt come from the sex scenes; it comes from these kind of encounters. Its a kind of emotional strip poker, where you are revealing yourself to someone. Thats far sexier," she adds.
Anuja Chauhan says that there are many instances from her own life that find a place in Baaz. For example, she has been to flower shows where the wives of army men present flower arrangements, and she has seen the 'War Widow', a white rose covered with thorns, being exhibited. "Its such a standard thing that people do, such a cheat card. It happens repeatedly," she says with a laugh. In the book, Ishaan's step-father is disgusted when he finds that his son is flying such a small plane. Chauhan's own uncle had a similar experience, and his father-in-law, who was not aware of planes at all, wondered why he married off his daughter to this pilot. Similarly, the character of Dingoo, who tells unbelievable stories, such as the one where a severed hand landed into a punch bowl during a game of mahjong, is completely based on a real person she met.
One of the romances in the book, the equation between Ishaan's friend Raka and Juhi, is based on her own parents' marriage. "My mother and father eloped and got married at a really young age; he was 21 and she was 20. And all of the other boys were bachelors, so she was kind of like their little mum. They would come to her house to eat because she would cook non-mess food and they used to really tease her a lot. Theyd try to keep my dad away from her and try to convince him to stay with them and have a drink. They still tease my parents about their honeymoon days because they were all very excited when she showed up to live with them," Chauhan says.
But Chauhan doesn't just borrow characters and plot twists from her own experiences; the belief that pilots must strap the planes onto themselves rather than the other way round is also one she has frequently heard pilots talk about. She has also included such raw, first-hand conversations into the book to give a glimpse into the thoughts that Ishaan is thinking.
One chapter into Baaz, you realise that Chauhan has peppered her book with colloquialisms and certain turns of phrase, which add a distinctly Indian flavour to it. Ishaan often uses 'tell-me-na' as a way to persuade people to reveal secrets and sound smart, while 'baaz-ke-maafik' is his superior Carvalho's favourite way to describe how the young pilots should fly their planes. She also spells certain words the way they would be pronounced, such as 'cun-seet' for conceit. "People pronounce words in exactly this way, and how we pronounce words is a big part of who we are and where we come from, and I like that the lilts and cadences of different languages. Very often, during the proofreading process, my editor would send it back corrected, and then I have to un-correct it," she explains.
Speaking about characterisation, Chauhan says that dialogues are easy to write when the author knows their characters and the way they think. "And you should sympathise with everybody, even your most sleazy and evil character. You should be able to empathise and say that from their perspective, their way of looking at the world makes total sense. I can sympathise even with poor Chaudhari, Ishaan's step-father, who was reluctantly married off to Ishaans widowed mother. When you look at it from his point of view, he got a very bad deal," she says. Still, she does have her favourites. "I like Ishaan, Kainaz and Juhi. Sneha too! They're fun to write," she says.
She was just a few hours old. I allowed them to feed her the juice of a poisonous plant. They ground the leaves on that grinding stone in the corner. That is how girls have always been sent to their maker in our family.
I took a deep breath and looked at the verdant green fields around me. The year was 1993. I couldnt believe that this was happening in 20th century India. The woman in front of me was an agricultural labourer in Madurai and she was telling me about her new born daughter who was killed a couple of weeks ago. She had died within a few hours after she was born.
We are very poor, she said defensively, justifying her action. We cannot afford another daughter. We cannot afford streedhanam (dowry) and seere varasai (the household goods and other gifts given to the bride by her family). Better to send her to heaven than let her suffer.
She really could not see anything wrong with what she had done. She believed that death was an answer to the miseries life inflicts upon women. No one had ever told her anything different.
Traditionally, death has often been touted as a means of protecting women. In Punjab, infant girls were buried alive in mud pots, in Gujarat they were drowned in milk, in Tamil Nadu they were fed poison. Whole communities believed that killing was a means of protecting women because they symbolised family honour which was more important than life itself.
The director of an NGO fighting female infanticide in Punjab told me: There is evidence of this even in our Puranas. Remember, even Sita was found buried in a pot by King Janaka.
Many reasons were given for killing women to save them from a fate worse than death. In the violent past, women were pushed into funeral pyres to save them from being raped by marauding armies. Similar justifications were given for female infanticide. Whole villages in Rajasthan and Haryana actually boasted of having no girls in their families over generations.
Today the killing of women for their own protection is not overtly visible. Murderous traditions like sati and female infanticide are banned by law. But society still covertly believes that women need to be kept within bounds for their own protection and that they should be punished if they cross that other mythological symbol of male control: the Lakshman Rekha.
Take for instance honour killings. Some families actually believe that they are protecting their daughter from a fate worse than death by killing her or the person she has chosen to marry.
What fate can be worse than death? Marrying out of gotra or religion or caste or social stature? Young people have always been falling in love across cultures, religions and ethnicity. Who gives society the right to lynch them or families the right to kill them?
In 2007, Manoj and Babli who were neighbours fell in love while still in school. They belonged to the local Jat community and though they were in no way related to each other, the local khaap panchayat headed by Bablis grandfather declared they were siblings and could not marry because they belonged to the same gotra. When they defied this decree and got married, the khaap ordered they should be killed. They were hounded by Bablis brother, cousins and uncles, abducted and killed in a gruesome manner.
Manojs mother went to court. Three years and 50 hearings later, a Karnal district court gave death sentences to the five people involved in the actual murder and killing of the young couple. Bablis grandfather, who ordered the killing but was not on the scene when it happened, was found guilty of criminal conspiracy and given a life sentence. This was a watershed judgement because the court recognised honour killing as murder for the first ever time.
But have things changed? According to an NGO which has been tracking honour killings in Tamil Nadu over the past three years, there have been 81 incidents of such deaths across the state. Many of them have been passed off as suicide.
In 2016, Shankar a Dalit youth who was about to graduate from engineering college was hacked to death in broad daylight next to a busy bus stand in Tamil Nadu. His crime? He had married his upper caste college mate Kausalya against her parents wishes. He was attacked with machetes and sickles by a gang of five men sent by her father. The hacking happened in full public view before the very eyes of his traumatised 19-year-old wife.
Subsequently Kausalya has spoken out several times about the events leading to the death of her husband.
She was the pampered daughter of a well-to-do family. More loved even than her younger brother. Her parents were very protective and never denied her anything. That was until she fell in love with an unsuitable boy.
She fell in love with Shankar when she was 17. He was her senior in engineering college. When her parents found out about it, all hell broke loose. She eloped with him as soon as she turned 18. For one more year, she was hounded by her parents and relatives who even abducted her twice. She was beaten and fed 'magic potions' to make her forget Shankar. When nothing worked, they were forced to let her go back to him.
But they never gave up. Goaded on by the taunts of their community members who said such disobedient daughters should be killed, they sent a gang of five men to hack Shankar to death. Kausalya too was badly injured. She says that everyone in her extended family was involved in the conspiracy her uncles and aunts and cousins and even perhaps her grandparents who pretended to be on her side.
Kausalya, now 20, has one major aim in life: She wants to see her parents and all those who conspired to kill Shankar hanged. Only that, she says, will send a message to parents that they cannot kill their own children for falling in love.
Maybe she will get justice, but the reality is that such cases rarely end in conviction as close family members are involved. The emotionally and physically traumatised young women are mostly blackmailed or threatened into withdrawing their complaints. That is if they survive the murderous assault. If they die, the death could be passed off as suicide.
Ironically, honour killing was being touted as a traditional protection mechanism for women. Just like triple talaq.
A victim of triple talaq told me recently that her former husband said talaq thrice in quick succession in the middle of the night and before she knew it, she was standing on the street and he had locked the door in her face.
I was alone on a dark street in the middle of the night, she said. Is this what the elders call protection? She was 20. She got her instant divorce two years ago, but the memory still haunts her of that night she spent alone on a dangerous city street, shivering in the cold and knocking fruitlessly on the door which would not open.
Life has not been kind to her after that. She is now married to a man much older than her. She is his second wife and is often beaten by the senior wife for minor mistakes. She is bitter. Her parents are old. She is uneducated. Staying married is her only means of protection.
Archaic traditional methods of protection are no longer valid in vibrant 21st century India where women are free and equal in the eyes of law. In fact they need to be protected from unjust social practices which often stem from outmoded social mores.
In todays world, protection for a woman does not come from elders who prohibit her from using a cell phone. Or from lynching mobs who hurt and kill in the name of religion. Or from lecherous godmen who exploit in the name of God. Or the moral police who have neither moral nor legal authority.
It can come from the most untraditional sources. For her the much maligned cell phone is her means of protection. A device which can help her communicate with friends, family and the enforcers of law. Protection can come from friends at college or colleagues in the office who actually care for her safety. It can come from her own street smartness and ability to fend for herself. It can come from supportive families and partners.
And most importantly, it can come from the makers and enforcers of the law who are ultimately responsible for ensuring that all citizens are protected and that gender justice always prevails.
New Delhi: BJP president Amit Shah on Saturday said his party would consult opposition parties, which have been working to forge unity over a joint presidential candidate, before deciding on the ruling alliance's pick for the top constitutional post.
He, however, parried a query on whether the BJP would seek to build a consensus with the Opposition.
"Consensus is a word that it is used in several ways. But we will hold discussions with everybody, including opposition parties," he told PTI during an interaction.
Parties like the Congress, Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the Left have spoken about fielding a "secular" opposition candidate if the BJP-led NDA picks a nominee with Hindutva leanings.
However, the ruling block is unlikely to be perturbed with the stand of the opposition parties as numbers in the presidential electoral college favour it.
Shah declined to speak about likely names from the NDA for the president's post, claiming they have not decided on anyone yet.
"We have not decided on any name yet. We will first talk to our NDA allies. Then we will talk to opposition parties," he said.
The electoral college for the presidential polls has a total of 11,04,546 votes with the BJP-led NDA's tally currently standing at about 5.38 lakh votes.
The NDA crossed the majority mark in the electoral college after the YSRCP, the Andhra Pradesh party headed by Jagan Mohan Reddy, announced his outfit's support for the ruling combine and the TRS, which is in power in Telangana, indicated that it will follow suit.
The BJP is also hopeful of getting the support of both the factions of the AIADMK, which is in power in Tamil Nadu.
The presidential election is due in July and the poll to the post of the vice president is scheduled for August.
The electoral college for picking the vice president is clearly in the BJP-led NDA's favour with the alliance having the support of 418 members out of 787, the combined strength of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Mumbai: Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar made a veiled attack on ally Shiv Sena in the backdrop of poll results of the three municipal corporations announced on Friday.
He said BJP has won an absolute majority in Panvel and increased its strength in Malegaon and Bhiwandi civic bodies.
The two parties, allies at the state level and also at the Centre, fought these elections separately.
During the campaigning, Sena mouthpiece `Saamana' was critical of BJP over a host of issues, ranging from non-
procurement of tur dal in the state to the Maharashtra-Karnataka border dispute.
"It is sad to see that the ink of editorials from a Prabhadevi lane (where the `Saamana' office is located) has gone waste. People still choose (PM Narendra) Modi. You (Sena) keep up playing up with new words. what (those who are) disconnected from the society else can do?" Shelar tweeted.
The Sena could not win a single seat in Panvel in adjoining Navi Mumbai. In the 90-member Bhiwandi Nizampur City Municipal Corporation, Sena won 12 while BJP bagged 19. In the 84-member Malegaon civic body, Sena bagged 13, while BJP won nine.
Shelar also hit out at Shiv Sena over the BMC's plans to increase entry fee for Jijamata Udyaan (zoo) at Byculla to Rs 100 per person from Rs 5 now.
The Mumbai civic body, which runs the zoo, is controlled by Shiv Sena.
Last week's incident of Karnataka BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa having breakfast and lunch in Dalit party workers homes during their ongoing month-long tour of the state to gauge the severity of the drought, gave the Congress an opportunity, however meagre to criticise the BJP. They have dubbed the party "anti-Dalit" as Yeddyurappa had food brought from a hotel instead of lunch prepared by the Dalit workers family at Tumkur.
Since the tour began last week, BJP leaders have made it a point to have breakfast and lunch in the homes of BJP Dalit workers in the respective towns and villages they visit, obviously with an intention of garnering Dalit support. Yeddyurappa, in Tumkur, reportedly rejected the pulao cooked by the Dalit workers family and partook of idlis and vadas brought from a hotel. The video clippings of this episode went viral when local Kannada channels telecast it.
Congress leaders who were taken aback by the BJPs sudden visits to Dalit homes, smelt politics in it and started attacking the BJP and its leaders. Congress party leader in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge led the verbal attack against BJP leaders on the issue, stating that Yeddyurappa and the BJP had insulted the oppressed classes. Kharge invoked the name of 12th century saint philosopher Basavanna. By refusing to eat food cooked by a Dalit, Yeddyurappa has insulted the great philosopher Basavanna who, 800 years ago, conducted the marriage of a Brahmin boy with a Dalit girl, he said.
Kharge was followed by other state leaders of the Congress. Even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said he wondered what the reason was for the sudden exhibition of sympathy for Dalits by a party which never fought for the oppressed in the society. People are intelligent enough to judge the difference between anti-Dalit and pro-Dalit parties, he said. This kind of political gimmicks will not yield any results in the elections for BJP.
Rajya Sabha member and former All India Congress Committee general secretary BK Hariprasad said the Congress would not allow the BJP to ward off the black mark on it.
"People know Saharanpur and Una killings where Dalits were lynched by upper caste people and who ruled these states. We are going to tell people in the elections about all these incidents against Dalits," Hariprasad said claiming that this would be one of the major issues in the 2018 elections. Even Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy did not lag behind in this war of words and taunted Yeddyurappa on this score.
However, the BJP defended its leader and took on the Congress fiercely.
"Congress leaders seem to be unaware of the facts related to this issue. When a leader visits a house of a BJP worker, hundreds follow him and in this case also, more than a hundred workers accompanied Yeddyurappa, said state party spokesperson and former minister S Sureshkumar. Naturally the poor Dalit BJP worker who hosted breakfast for Yeddyurappa was unable to serve the food to all and arranged for food from a nearby hotel. I think Congress leaders have not come across such situations as they seldom visit Dalits or poor peoples houses in Karnataka, he said.
BJP leaders including Sureshkumar termed the criticism of Congress leaders as a panic reaction to the Congress partys declining support base amongst Dalits in the state. Nobody can stop the BJP juggernaut under Yeddyurappas leadership from winning power in Karnataka, Sureshkumar said.
In the absence of a mass leader within the Congress, the party appears to be worried about the Lingayat strongman Yeddyurappas popularity in the community rather than how big the issue is or how it relates to the people. What has left the Congress leaders peeved is BJPs efforts to woo Dalits who form the traditional vote bank of the Congress.
Congress as a party and its leaders are well aware of the fact that any dent by the BJP into their Dalit support base will harm the partys poll prospects in next years Assembly elections. They feel the BJP may run away with the majority of the Assembly seats reserved for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe groups.
In the 2008 Assembly elections when the BJP emerged as the single largest party in Karnataka by winning 110 seats of the 224 Assembly seats (only three short to cross the halfway mark), BJP candidates scored in the majority of the seats reserved for SCs and STs. In 2008, more than ideology and principle, simple arithmetic worked for the BJP. In its gamble to win more seats reserved for SC and ST, the BJP fielded candidates belonging to what politicians call touchable Scheduled Caste groups such as Lambani and Bovi.
In some segments, candidates belonging to Yedagai (left-hand sect of Dalits among the untouchables) who are known for their sober outlook, wooed voters of other communities and upper caste groups, including Lingayats. The upper castes too supported the party and voted for the SC candidates. This experiment worked out well for the BJP and its candidates not only won 36 of the 51 seats reserved for SC and ST groups, it also helped the BJP to make inroads into the traditional vote bank of the Congress in other constituencies by sending a subtle message across to the people that they are in favour of all Dalit sects and groups unlike the Congress which only encourages the Balagai (right-hand sect of Dalits among the untouchables).
However, as the battle for power in 2018 begins, pulao takes centrestage over policy and governance of political parties. Though the victory of Congress candidates from Nanjangud and Gundlupet Assembly seats last month has boosted the morale of party leaders to an extent, internal discontent and the alleged autocratic behaviour of Siddaramaiah continues to top the mind. Congress leaders themselves say that victory in the by-elections will not be a yardstick to gauge the peoples mood in the 2018 Assembly elections.
In this scenario, the battle can only get more bitter and murkier as the months fly by.
New Delhi: Only the corrupt, communal and casteist people are upset with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu said on Saturday as he attacked the "opportunistic" meeting of opposition parties.
Naidu told reporters in New Delhi that the "unprincipled" alliance of opposition parties will not last longer for want of an ideology and an "able and stable" leadership, which he said is only with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
The Union information and broadcasting minister also hit out at Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi over his visit to Saharanpur and termed it as "just another photo opportunity" for the latter.
He also suggested that "not much" should be read out of "shrewd politician" Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar's meeting with the prime minister on Saturday.
The JD(U) chief on Friday had skipped the luncheon meeting hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. However, Sharad Yadav and KC Tyagi were in attendance there.
"There are three categories of people who are upset with Modi: the corrupt, communal and casteist. They are unhappy because Modi has weeded them out.
"Opposition parties are trying to come together. This is an opportunistic, unprincipled alliance which will not last long," Naidu said when asked about Friday's luncheon meet.
Asked if Kumar and Modi's meet hinted at a reunion of the JD(U) and the BJP, the Union minister said,"These are speculations".
The JD(U) in 2013 had broken its 17-year alliance with the BJP after Modi was declared the prime ministerial candidate.
"Nothing will be kept secret. Kumar is a shrewd politician. A chief minister coming to meet the prime minister is a natural thing. The PM wants to work with the states. I do not think there is anything political in it," he said.
To a query on the ban on the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter, Naidu appealed to all not to give a communal colour to "the decision made in line with a Supreme Court directive".
He also hailed the Modi government for working strictly on the "development agenda" during the three years and said 75 central ministers will travel to all parts of the country to inform people about its achievements and initiatives.
Naidu also released CDs/DVDs on short films made by public broadcaster Doordarshan on the "success" of the Centre's schemes.
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday left for strife-torn Saharanpur, but district authorities said he would be stopped at the border.
Party sources said Rahul left for Shabbirpur village, the centre of the caste-based violence in the district, by road this morning after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra, who is camping in Saharanpur in view of the tense situation there, said the police have requested Gandhi to cancel his visit as it wanted to avoid any "confusion and provocation".
If he still comes to the town, he will be stopped at the border and requested to return. But if he does not, legal action under Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits an assembly of more than four people in an area, will be taken.
If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, Congress sources said.
The ADG said the situation is now returning to normal and things are improving fast.
Senior Congress leader P L Punia said on the phone that party men were awaiting Gandhi in the district.
"We want the administration to allow him to meet the victims of the violence," he said.
Gandhi is being accompanied by AICC general secretary in charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar.
"They cannot suppress the voice of the poor, Dalits and Adivasis of this country. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party will continue to speak," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"Nobody will be able to stop Rahul from reaching out to the victims of the violence which have been perpetrated at the instance of BJP gundas," he added.
Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes his month. Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On 5 May, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on 9 May.
On 23 May, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
Lucknow: Terming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as a "tragedy tourist", Uttar Pradesh minister Shrikant Sharma said that wherever tragedy takes place, Gandhi reaches there.
"Rahul Gandhi is a tragedy tourist. Rahul and company are in frustration. Wherever any tragic incident takes place, he goes there. People of the country had given him 10 years, but he proved to be a flop. People have rejected him. He and leaders of other political parties should co-operate in ensuring peace in the region," Sharma told reporters in Mathura.
Reacting to Rahul's visit to Saharanpur, minister of state (for independent charge) for Cane Development and Sugar Mills Suresh Rana said that he should not see the feud between two families as a political opportunity.
"Situation was not conducive when we assumed power in Uttar Pradesh. Things will improve, and we will work for the betterment of each and every section of the society," he said.
Urging the rival political parties to leave politics of negativity, Rana said, "I urge the other political parties to shun politics of negativity, and start politics of positivism as a habit. The people of Uttar Pradesh have shunned the politics of caste and religion in the 2017 Assembly polls. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi should not see the feud between two families in a village as a political opportunity."
Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, "After the 2017 Assembly elections, the Congress, the SP and the BSP are desperately searching for issues, so that they could survive politically. In fact they do not hesitate in taking advantage of even the slightest opportunity."
Meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Dwijendra Tripathi questioned the Uttar Pradesh government's stand in denying permission to Rahul to visit the clash affected village.
He said, "The Uttar Pradesh government wants to conceal something. Hence, the district authorities denied permission to Congress vice-president to visit the strife-torn area."
New Delhi: Despite being denied permission for a visit, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday left for Uttar Pradesh's violence-hit Saharanpur district where caste conflict has left two dead and scores injured.
Gandhi left from Delhi with senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar.
He is travelling by road after his chopper was denied landing permission by the state administration following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's order to not allow political leaders from visiting Saharanpur.
On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government denied permission to Gandhi to visit the violence-hit villages of Saharanpur district.
The permission was denied based on the state policy of keeping the region out of bounds for leaders until the situation returns to normal
The state government's move comes after the violence in Saharanpur raised with the visit of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati earlier this week.
Former union minister Kumar Shailja and senior Congress leader P.L Punia were denied permission to visit Saharanpur.
With inputs from Agencies
Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday held the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh responsible for caste violence in Saharanpur district and said the clashes escalated due to its "prejudiced action".
There is no town or city in Uttar Pradesh where crime is not soaring after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Yogi Adityanath has been sworn in, the Congress leader said.
He also targeted the Centre, saying both the state and central government have "miserably failed on all fronts".
Gandhi made the comments after meeting persons affected by the Saharanpur violence at a roadside eatery in Sarsawa on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border.
He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kashmir violence and said Pakistan had benefitted due to the situation in the Valley.
On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission to Gandhi to visit the villages where caste conflicts since 5 May have left at least two dead and over two dozen others injured.
Clashes between the Dalits and Rajputs erupted on 5 May in Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur after objections were raised over the playing of loud music in connection with the celebration of the birth anniversary of warrior king Maharana Pratap.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi reached Saharanpur around 3.30 pm along with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar before walking for about half a kilometre to meet the violence affected.
Earlier, a major crisis was averted when district administration and police officials succeeded in convincing the Congress leaders not to enter Saharanpur district, where heavy police force was deployed and its borders sealed.
Lucknow: Samajwadi Party will stage a state-wide protest over the "deteriorating" law-and-order situation in Uttar Pradesh, on 29 May.
Announcing the protest, Samajwadi Party's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary on Saturday said that his party will protest against the BJP-led Uttar Pradesh government, which was trying to "terrorise" different sections of the society.
"The BJP is trying to terrorise different sections of the society. All the office bearers and party workers of the Samajwadi Party will register their protest in every district of the state on 29 May to protest against the deteriorating law and order situation in the state," said Chaudhary.
He said that they would also hand over a memorandum to Governor Ram Naik to bring to his attention to the "anti-people policies" of the BJP government.
Chaudhary also targeted the central government and said it had "scaled the summit of failure" in the last three years.
"In the last three years, the central government has scaled the summit of failure, while in the 70 days of the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh, the law and order situation in the state appears to be rather grim," he said.
During the three years of his dispensation, Narendra Modi didnt set the Ganges on fire, as his admirers would tell you. Forget the song and dance by Modis ardent admirers about his three-year rule, and forget the venom and vitriol his detractors spit out on a daily basis.
But there is plenty to write about what he has done since May 2014 when he took oath as India's 14th prime minister.
If you believe Modi-baiters who largely, if not wholly, consist of Leftists and worshippers of the Gandhi dynasty, Modi did nothing in the last three years other than dragging India back into medieval times by dividing the country on communal lines and hypnotising people into supporting him with sham promises.
And Modis ardent admirers would like you to believe that he brought Indias economy back on track from the verge of bankruptcy, mitigated the miseries of most of the countrys poor people and will take good care of the rest of them soon, and generally metamorphosed India into an absolute heaven on earth.
The truth may lie somewhere between the two. That only means he hasnt done too badly in three years, despite dark spots like burning Kashmir and debt-ridden public sector banks. Its downright petty and mean to claim that Modi has whiled away the last 36 months, basking in the glory of his election victories or trotting the globe and shaking hands with different heads of state or dividing society or enjoying his own voice.
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah sums it up nicely when he says:
PM Modi has many achievements to boast of after 3 years & it would be petty to deny them but J&K remains a dark blot that's getting darker. Omar Abdullah (@abdullah_omar) May 26, 2017
Modi himself is asking for feedback on his report card, though his enemies will tear to pieces any praise that he may receive from people.
What do you feel about the Govt? Where have we done well & where can we do even better. Join this survey on NM App. https://t.co/TYuxNNJfIf Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2017
Modis most visible achievement there are as yet invisible ones is that he presides over a Central government unsullied with scams, the first one in Independent India. He has replaced a morally bankrupt regime of UPA which had a prime minister who maintained a sphinx-like, scary silence and had a Congress president pulling strings from behind him. Worse, a scam a day was what politics was all about for UPA.
A scam-less government makes a splendid difference for the average voter who sees an average politician as a charlatan who uses politics as a platform to milk high returns of slush money on relatively low investments. For the citizen, a clean NDA government is a vast improvement over UPAs scam-ridden puppet show.
Even Modis best friends do not dare suggest that his advent to power has marked the disappearance of corruption from the face of India. Far from it. Corruption is so rampant and deep-rooted in India that rooting it out is not as easy as taking out treacherous weeds from paddy fields.
Its just that India now has a prime minister and a team of his ministers who are not caught in quid pro quo deals, at least till now. When Modi talks about fighting corruption, his claims have a ring of credibility. When such talk comes from other leaders whose names figure in one scam or another it cuts little ice. Thats what makes Modi different.
But wait a second.
A prime minister is legally and morally expected to be clean, right? So, is being corruption-mukt such a wonderful virtue or a singular achievement that should be trumpeted about from rooftops? One should think not. But Modi has other achievements up his sleeve whose impact is not visible yet to urban middle classes and column-writing Modi-haters.
Fourth year more important than first three
Modi knows his electoral onions. He knows that the effects of the plethora of his schemes with fancy names and acronyms that he launched in the last three years must begin to be felt by the common man latest by mid-2018, a year before he goes back to people to seek a second term. A year from now, you can be sure of an eardrum-shattering campaign by his election managers on what he has done. For now, a perception of what he is doing will do for him.
The schemes that Modi is talking about cant be figments of his imagination. Nor are they plans jotted down on bond paper, pinned on a velvet cloth and gold-framed on the walls of his South Block office to show off. These are moves to usher in reforms or plans to bring succour to those who need it. Achievements may have fallen short of ambitious targets, and Modis claims may be exaggerated and hyped-up. But there are indeed things that have been either done or are in the works.
Some of these are:
Disbursal of direct cash transfers to beneficiaries in sundry government schemes;
a crop insurance scheme and a plan to double farm incomes by 2022;
a variety of social security measures to help the working class;
expansion of railway networks and development of inland waterways;
regional air connectivity plan called UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) with fares beginning Rs 2,500;
a series of reformist legislations to raise foreign investments in sectors ranging from defence to e-commerce;
de-monopolisation of coal sector;
and attempts to revive the power sector.
It may be worth the medias attention to examine and evaluate each of his schemes but continuing to parrot the Modi-has-done-nothing theme will lack credibility with people.
The demonetisation scrapping of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 notes last November may not have achieved its objectives of eradicating black money and corruption to the extent that the government boasts of, but nobody denies that it speeded up digitisation of economy and forced more people into the tax net, developments that can only do plenty of good to the country in the long run.
And even the worst critics of Modi must admit that the passing of the Goods and Services Tax Act will soon begin to dramatically alter Indias business environment.
All this has convinced large sections of people that Modi is a trier and a doer. Modi-baiters refuse to accept the fact that a good majority of his supporters do not see him just as a Hindutva icon who grabs votes by stoking communal fires. They look on him as a man they can trust and as a leader who can change their lives for the better.
But being a trier and a doer may not be enough for Modi to return to power in 2019. He must be seen as a deliverer as well by the end of his fourth year. He may not have the whole of the fifth year to prove himself, since governance is bound to be restricted in the last six months of the final year, first on account of preoccupation with cobbling together poll alliances and then election model code of conduct.
Judging Modis three years by the insufferable conduct of the screaming and yelling Hindutva hooligansbe it protecting cows or banning beefalone is not only grossly unfair but a travesty of ground realities in a new political landscape which Modis detractors refuse to see through their blinkered eyes.
As Rajya Sabha member and writer Swapan Dasgupta writes in the Hindustan Times:
"His governance is still a work in progress and it will take a longer time frame to comprehend its full impact."
The writer tweets @sprasadindia.
Rome: More than 3,400 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Saturday, bringing to about 10,000 the total number rescued over four days, according to Libyan and Italian officials.
At least 10 bodies were also found by the Italian coastguard, officials said. No vessels were reported in distress on Saturday.
On Friday, more than 1,200 migrants were rescued by Libyan ships and taken to Tripoli or Zawiya, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west, while the Italian coastguard and commercial boats rescued 2,200 others and took them to Italy.
Migrants were still disembarking in southern Italy on Saturday.
Another 6,400 were picked up between Tuesday and Thursday, but at least 35 people drowned on Wednesday when a powerful wave struck their vessel, pitching them into the sea as a rescue ship was distributing life jackets.
The unloading of passengers in Sicily was halted all week due to the G7 summit in the eastern hilltop town of Taormina, which lengthened rescue ships' journey by 24 hours and delayed their return to the seas.
In response, they called on commercial boats to help out.
More than 50,000 migrants have reached the Italian coast since the start of the year, not counting those rescued in recent days, while more than 1,400 have drowned or are missing, according to UN figures.
Of the 181,000 migrants who entered Italy in 2016, some 90 percent arrived via Libya.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Libya has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African, enter the country.
London: German leader Angela Merkel said Saturday that US president Donald Trump's G7 partners remained in the dark about his intentions on climate change, calling the debate at a summit in Sicily "very unsatisfactory".
"The whole discussion on the topic of climate was very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory" Merkel said.
"Here we have a situation of six against one, meaning there is still no sign of whether the US will remain in the Paris accord or not," she added.
London: British Airways faced global computer system failure on Saturday causing major delays for holiday makers at the start of the bank holiday weekend.
It came as many Britons headed overseas for the long weekend and half-term school holidays.
The carrier apologised for the "global system outage" and said it was "working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible", the Guardian reported.
British Airways (BA) website was unavailable and some travellers claimed they could not check in on the mobile app, with many venting their frustration on the social media.
Others said they had been delayed at the airport or on runways before take off.
There were reports that hundreds of bags were left unattended as BA staff tried to control the situation.
One passenger tweeted: "Stuck on a British Airways plane at Belfast, going nowhere. BA computers down worldwide', whatever that means!"
Another posted: "British airways computers down T5 and standstill, stranded on the plane and they make us pay for food!! Please retweet this indicency!"
A passenger claimed that BA "made no announcements at all" about the delays.
A spokeswoman for the airline confirmed the computer system outage and said: "We apologise to customers who are facing some delays following an IT outage this morning."
"We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."
It came a day after passengers at Gatwick airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem, said the report.
Those taking flights on Friday were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
Cairo: The Egyptian military on Saturday launched several airstrikes on militant training camps in Libya in response to an Islamic State attack that killed 29 Coptic Christians,
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi vowed that he would not hesitate in hitting camps that harbour or train terrorists.
"The eagles of our nation returned following the successful execution of their tasks," the army said in a statement, referring to the Egyptian air force pilots who carried out the air strikes on militant training camps in the neighbouring country.
The Egyptian army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip on his official Facebook and Twitter pages which included footage of fighter aircraft taking off.
The statement did not specify precisely where the airstrikes were conducted but a state-run television channel said the jihadist training camps were hit in the eastern Libyan city of Derna.
Six air strikes against "terror camps in Libya" were reported by the state-run television.
"The attack resulted in the complete destruction of the targets which included training and concentration areas of terrorist elements that participated in the planning and execution of the Minya attack," the statement said.
It said the attack was carried upon the directions of the president and after "coordination and full examination of the information."
The airstrikes came after the Army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen attacked the bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo, killing 29 people and injuring more than 20 others.
The ISIS terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack the Coptic Christians, the second major attack on Egypt's minority community in nearly two months.
In an address to the nation after the attack, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorist elements whether inside Egypt or outside Egypt.
He said the attack will not pass easily.
Fattah al-Sisi also directly addressed US President Donald Trump, saying, "Your Excellency, I trust your ability to wage war on terrorism as your first priority, with the cooperation of the whole international community, that should unite against terrorism."
He said that "all countries that support terrorism, should be punished, without any courtesy or conciliation."
His remarks came as Trump denounced the attack as "merciless slaughter".
Trump said the US "makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected."
"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement.
Also in his address, the president asserted that "if Egypt falls, the whole world will be in chaos."
"We are waging a war on behalf of the world," he said.
Fattah al-Sisi said that recent attacks were aimed at making people believe that Christians are not secure in Egypt, and that the government is not protecting them.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three-month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by Islamic State.
There have been a number of attacks on Coptic Christians in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypt's Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On 9 April, two suicide bombers hit Saint George's Cathedral in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, who make-up about 10 percent of Egypt's 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
Cairo: The Islamic State group today claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians that left 29 people dead in Egypt, the second major attack on the country's minority community in two months.
In a statement posted on its propaganda news agency, Aamaq, the terror group, on Saturday, said one of its unit targeted the bus the previous day and put the death toll at 32.
At least eight to 10 attackers wearing military uniforms and masks attacked the bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Menya governorate, 250km south of Cairo.
The victims had been on a pilgrimage to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery when the attack took place.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Interior, the gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles when they opened fire on the bus.
The ages of the victims ranged from children to over 60, the bishop of El-Minya told private-owned TV Channel DMC. Many victims were children, only three kids survived the attack.
The Egyptian army later launched intensive airstrikes, targeting terrorist hideouts in Libya.
The airstrikes came after the army gathered information that confirmed the terrorists' participation in the attack. Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained for carrying out attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the earlier attack in Menya governorate.
By Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay
| WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON U.S. President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials told Reuters. Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official. Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said. While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged. NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the presidents inner circle. The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November. "Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish a line of communication. Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.BACK CHANNEL
Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving U.S.-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.After the Nov. 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the Nov. 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. . Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides. HOW KUSHNER CAME UNDER SCRUTINY
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of U.S. citizens, whose names were redacted because of U.S. privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask U.S. intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current U.S. law enforcement official said.
Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians. FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current U.S. law enforcement official. The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under U.S. sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed. The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of U.S. banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy. Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts. There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed. Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election.The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. (Reporting by Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay; Additional reporting by John Walcott, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Kevin Krolicki and Ross Colvin)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Ahmed Elumami
| TRIPOLI
TRIPOLI Heavy clashes erupted in the Libyan capital Tripoli on Friday, as armed groups aligned with the U.N.-backed government fought to fend off a major offensive by rival Islamist-leaning forces and militia fighters.Loud explosions and heavy artillery fire could be heard across Tripoli from early morning. At least 28 people were killed in the violence and more than 120 wounded, according to health officials.The U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) issued a statement blaming the attack on Khalifa Ghwell, the head of a self-declared, Islamist-leaning "national salvation government" that was set up in 2014, and Salah Badi, an allied militia leader.It was unclear how much territory either side had gained. But late on Friday a spokesman for the judicial police said a GNA-aligned faction had gained control of the Al-Hadba prison, which holds several high profile inmates including one of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's sons and his military intelligence chief."Tomorrow we're going to move them to a safer place," said the spokesman, Ahmed Abu Kraa. Ghwell's government has been largely displaced by the GNA, which arrived in Tripoli last year, but it continues draw on armed support, especially from the western city of Misrata.
The GNA has struggled to exert its authority in Tripoli and beyond, or rein in the militias that have held power on the ground in Libya since the country's 2011 uprising that toppled Gaddafi. A third government based in eastern Libya and aligned with military commander Khalifa Haftar has rejected the GNA."We call on the people of Tripoli to stand hand in hand with the Government of National Accord and its security apparatus to defeat the saboteurs," the GNA said. The clashes follow a period of relative calm in Tripoli since March, when GNA-aligned groups pushed rival factions back from central neighbourhoods.
There have been rumours for weeks that a counter-attack was being planned under the name "Libya Pride", which in Arabic is a play on "Libya Dawn", the coalition of militias that brought the salvation government to power in Tripoli three years ago.A Libya Pride Facebook page with 17,000 followers carried a post overnight announcing: "With Allah, we officially launch the operation of southern Tripoli."One GNA-aligned faction said "ideological gangs" had begun an attack "aiming to control the capital and put the country into a storm of violation and destabilisation, in addition to increasing the suffering of citizens in the holy month of Ramadan".
The fighting was concentrated in the Abu Salim, Salahedeen and Qasr Bin Ghashir districts. Large plumes of black smoke could be seen billowing above the city's skyline. Shooting continued throughout Friday prayers."We have received calls from families who want to get out but unfortunately we can't reach them because of the clashes," one aid worker told Reuters. A Reuters reporter saw tanks, armoured vehicles and pickups mounted with anti-aircraft guns driving towards the battle from the north of the city.Pictures posted on the internet also showed firemen trying to extinguish a blaze in an office building in central Tripoli belonging to Mellitah Oil and Gas, a joint venture between Libya's National Oil Corporation and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI). United Nations Libya envoy Martin Kobler condemned the violence in a statement and called for an immediate restoration of calm. (Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Tom Heneghan and Tom Brown)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Tripoli: Forces loyal to Libya's unity government said that 52 of its fighters were killed as they repelled rival militias in fierce clashes in the capital Tripoli.
Apart from sporadic gunfire in southern Tripoli, calm returned to the city, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Among the 52 killed in Friday's clashes which centered on the southern district of Abu Slim, said Hashem Bichr, a security official of the Government of National Accord, were 17 members of pro-GNA forces who had been "executed".
There was no immediate confirmation from medical or other independent sources of the death toll, updated from Friday's health ministry figures of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded that did not give a breakdown of the casualties.
UN special envoy Martin Kobler condemned the fighting in which heavy artillery and tanks were used, urging restraint from all sides.
Forces of the UN-backed GNA announced on their Facebook page they had defeated rival militias and taken control of a prison holding key leaders of the ousted regime of Moamer Kadhafi including his last premier, Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, and former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.
Al-Hadhba jail had been under the control of the Fajr Libya militia coalition, which had seized Tripoli in 2014 and set up a government headed by Khalifa Ghweil.
The Libyan capital has been gripped by a power struggle ever since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Kadhafi in 2011.
The latest fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as headquarters of militias loyal to Ghweil, who was ousted when the GNA took office last year but refuses to recognise the new administration.
Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital. Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate and several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.
Relying on militia support and pitted against a rival administration in eastern Libya, the GNA has struggled to assert its authority.
In a statement on Friday, the GNA blamed Ghweil and Salah Badi, another leader of Fajr Libya, for Friday's violence. "This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan," it said in a statement.
New York: Hillary Clinton launched a stinging attack on fake news and delivered veiled barbs against President Donald Trump on Friday, returning to her alma mater to give graduates a rallying call for action.
"You are graduating at a time when there is a full-fledged assault on truth and reason. Just log on to social media for 10 seconds it will hit you right in the face," she said in a commencement address at Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
"Some are even denying things we see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds," she said alluding to but not naming Trump, who falsely accused the media in January 2017 of misrepresenting the size of his inauguration crowds.
"Then defending themselves by talking about quote unquote alternative facts," she added. "When people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society."
The former Democratic nominee, the only woman in US history to win a major party nomination for president, graduated from the liberal women's arts college in 1969.
She lost the election to Republican billionaire Trump in November 2016.
Clinton implicitly compared Trump to Richard Nixon, saying that she and her classmates were "furious" 48 years ago about the election "of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice."
She called Trump's proposed budget "an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable" which she said "grossly underfunds" public education, mental health, efforts to combat America's opioid epidemic and threatens to worsen climate change.
But the bulk of her speech was a rallying cry for graduates to get politically involved and engaged with their communities.
"The future of America, indeed the future of the world, depends on brave, thoughtful people like you insisting on truth and integrity," she said.
"In the years to come, there will trolls galore, online and in-person, eager to tell you that you don't have anything worthwhile to say or anything meaningful to contribute, they may even call you a nasty woman," she said.
"You don't have to do everything, but don't sit on the sidelines."
By Jeff Mason, Richard Cowan and James Oliphant
| BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency.Trump's advisers are planning to establish a "war room" to combat mounting questions about communication between Russia and his presidential campaign before and after November's presidential election, while bringing new aides into the White House, administration officials and persons close to Trump told Reuters.The strategic shake-up comes as Republicans in Washington increasingly have fretted that the probe, continued chaos in the West Wing and Trump's steady slide in opinion polls will derail the president's drive to reform healthcare, cut taxes and rebuild the nations infrastructure.Upon Trumps return, the administration will add experienced political professionals, including Trump's former campaign manager, and possibly more lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head the investigation, the sources said.Beyond pushing back at suggestions that Moscow is unduly influencing Trumps administration, the messaging effort will also focus on advancing Trumps stalled policy agenda and likely involve more trips out of Washington that will feature the kind of raucous rallies that were the hallmark of Trumps campaign.A person in regular touch with the White House said it needed a different structure to focus on the new reality that there would be continued leaks to the media from the law enforcement and intelligence communities, leaks that have increased in frequency since Trump fired former Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey on May 9.Since the firing of Comey, that really exposed the fact that the White House in its current structure ... is not prepared for really a one-front war, let alone a two-front war, the person said. They need to have a structure in place that allows them to stay focussed while also truly fighting back on these attacks and these leaks.The White House declined to comment on plans for a "war room" but said Trump will be looking to expand on momentum it believes it has built up during the presidents trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe. A White House official confirmed plans to hold more rallies.Trump returns to Washington on Saturday from his first trip abroad as president.The president has had an incredibly successful trip overseas and the White House looks forward to continuing an aggressive messaging strategy to highlight his agenda when we return to D.C., said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
KUSHNER, BANNON INVOLVED IN 'WAR ROOM'
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, will be involved in the new strategic messaging operation, as will Steve Bannon, another top adviser who specializes in managing Trumps populist appeal and shaping his political image, the sources said. Bannon and Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, have been laying the groundwork for the plan this week, they added.On Thursday, NBC News and the Washington Post reported that Kushner, who held several meetings with Russian officials following the election, is a focus of the probe, making him the first current White House official to be caught up in it, although Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.Corey Lewandowski, Trumps former campaign manager, is also expected to be part of the effort. Lewandowski, who has been seen in the White House recently, could join the administration as early as next week, a source close to him said.Lewandowski was fired by Trump in June 2016 over concerns that he was not experienced enough to oversee the general election fight against Democrat Hillary Clinton, but has remained a trusted adviser to Trump and a steadfast defender of the president on news programs.
This month, the Justice Department named Robert Mueller, a former FBI director, as an independent special counsel in the probe.REPUBLICANS WORRY ABOUT AGENDA
Trump has been frustrated of late that his communications team hasnt done a more effective job at making the case that he isnt implicated in the Russia probe and highlighting his administration's successes, sources close to the president said.The White House declined to comment on the president's frustrations.Another Republican close to the White House said the new team is taking a page out of former President Bill Clintons playbook. When Clinton faced impeachment in the late 1990s, he assembled a crisis-management operation that dealt with fallout from his affair with Monica Lewinsky while allowing the rest of the White House to deal with day-to-day policy matters.
The goal of the White House is to try and contain the crisis and media coverage of the special counsel, the Republican said.Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a Trump friend, said he expects the president will travel more when he returns from overseas and encouraged the White House to focus on issues that pump up his base voters.From my perspective, I think the president should be doing the stuff that he does best, which is talking about his agenda: jobs, trade and security, Ruddy said. Trump has scheduled a political rally for next week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The White House said other similar events are in the planning stages.Republicans in Congress are aching for Trump to leave the distraction of the Russia probe aside and focus on legislation and nominating officials to fill the hundreds of vacant slots across the administration. What we really want to be able to do is tend to our business, Mike Rounds, a Republican Senator from South Dakota, told Reuters. "We've got a healthcare bill we're working on. We've got tax reform that we think is important.Some of Trumps donors, too, say they are concerned. Stanley Hubbard, a billionaire radio mogul from Minnesota, said he worries that the White House continues to be distracted by the Russia scandal, but laid some of the blame on Trump himself. He talks when he shouldnt," he said.Former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said this week that Trump's time in office has been a "complete disaster" aside from foreign affairs. Boehner, a fellow Republican, told an energy conference he supported efforts to "get to the bottom" of any potential interactions between Trump associates and the Russian government but described any calls to impeach Trump as the purview of "the crazy left-wing Democratic colleagues of mine." (Additional reporting by Ginger Gibson and Roberta Rampton in Washington; Writing by James Oliphant; editing by Jason Szep and James Dalgleish)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
New Delhi: A $500-million line of credit (LoC) from India to Mauritius is among four agreements signed by the two countries following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth here on Saturday.
Listing out agreements, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted:
#IndiaMauritius - New Vistas for a Futuristic Partnership pic.twitter.com/Bx5ewSDTfj Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) May 27, 2017
The LOC agreement was signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.
Another agreement was signed on cooperation on maritime security between the two countries.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two sides for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius.
Another MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India and Mauritius Oceanography Institute for research and education in marine sciences and technology.
Mauritius also submitted its instrument of ratification of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA).
The ISA, launched at the UN Conference of Parties (CoP) climate summit in Paris on 30 November, 2015, by Prime Minister Modi and then French President Francois Hollande, is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.
It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
Earlier on Saturday, Jugnauth was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here following which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on him.
Jugnauth arrived here on Friday on a three-day state visit to India. This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad since assuming office this January.
DUBAI Iran's President Hassan Rouhani called on Saturday for improved relations with Gulf Arab countries during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its Gulf neighbours over its relationship with Tehran.Iran and the Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the Syrian and Yemen conflicts. Relations were further hit last weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East.
Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia, its arch-foe, is the real source of funding for Islamist militants. Rouhani responded to Trump's criticism by saying stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Iran's help."We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," the state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as telling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
"The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim, IRNA added.
Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates signalled exasperation this week after official Qatar media published purported remarks by Sheikh Tamim critical of Trump's foreign policy and of renewed tensions with Tehran.Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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Washington: Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly wanted to have a secret communication channel with the Russians weeks after the United States presidential polls in 2016, according to a media report.
Kushner, in a meeting with the Russian envoy to the United States Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between the then transition team and the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States, The Washington Post reported.
The information, which Kislyak relayed to Moscow after their meeting on 1 or 2 December, was intercepted by the American intelligence agencies, the daily said quoting an unnamed official briefed on intelligence reports.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, the daily said.
"The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest," the daily reported.
The opposition Democratic party urged Trump to fire Kushner.
"Trump has no choice but to immediately fire Kushner, whose failure to report this episode on his security clearance is reason enough for a criminal investigation," the deputy communications director Adrienne Watson demanded in a statement.
"The next question is whether the President authorised this, because no one stands between Trump and Kushner on the chain of command," Watson asked.
Democratic Congressman Nanette Diaz Barragan from California tweeted, "The Kremlin and Kushner/ #Trump ties become more & more disturbing as we learn more facts w each passing day."
According to The Washington Post, the Russian Ambassador was alarmed by such a proposal from Kushner, who is now the senior most advisor to president Trump and has played a key role in his trips to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Palestine.
The daily alleged that the discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trump's closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts.
"A liberal fantasy dream sequence", "a bromance," "insanely romantic". The Internet was abuzz on Friday with pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau schmoozing at the G7 summit in Sicily, strolling through flowered walkways and chatting against the backdrop of a sparkling blue Mediterranean sea.
"Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot," netizen @sherlockify joked on Twitter.
Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot. pic.twitter.com/7trjOsXlfi tessa (@sherlockify) May 26, 2017
The reaction to the telegenic pair's encounter in the picturesque, hillside town of Taormina, immortalised by Macron himself who tweeted a video of their meeting, provided some light relief from a summit otherwise devoted to thorny issues such as climate change and the threat of extremism.
L'amitie franco-canadienne a un nouveau visage. @JustinTrudeau, a nous de relever les defis de notre generation ! #G7Taormina pic.twitter.com/8EdQopviov Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 26, 2017
"The Franco-Canadian friendship has a new face," Macron tweeted after sitting down for talks with Trudeau and taking the now famous stroll.
"@JustinTrudeau, it's up to us to take on the challenges of our generation!"
Ensemble, autour de valeurs communes, pour repondre aux enjeux lies au terrorisme, au climat et aux cooperations economiques. #G7Taormina pic.twitter.com/hU9S5gkaAd Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 26, 2017
"Sitting down with @EmmanuelMacron for the first time, talking jobs, security & climate looking forward to more conversations, my friend," Trudeau responded on Twitter, posting pictures of both smiling, shaking hands, and looking out over the Mediterranean, their dapper suit jackets billowing in the breeze.
Sitting down with @EmmanuelMacron for the first time, talking jobs, security & climate looking forward to more conversations, my friend. pic.twitter.com/8ih8iEZ4aw Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 26, 2017
Trudeau, 45, is popular with liberals worldwide for his commitment to fighting climate change and easing the refugee crisis in stark contrast to the United States, Canada's powerful neighbour.
Macron, 39, has only been in power for 12 days but enjoys similar kudos, particularly abroad where he has been compared to Trudeau.
"This image of Trudeau and Macron in Sicily is right out of a liberal fantasy dream sequence," tweeted Dhruva Jaishankar, an expert on foreign policy at the India section of the Brookings Institution think tank.
This image of Trudeau and Macron in Sicily is right out of a liberal fantasy dream sequence. pic.twitter.com/3ayVQmMyrK Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) May 26, 2017
Others were even more explicit. "Le swoon, le sigh," tweeted netizen MissMary, above a photo of both leaders in apparent earnest chat.
The bromance between Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron has begun Le swoon. Le sigh. https://t.co/DOSfOOZZDr MissMary (@LibraryMary1209) May 26, 2017
"Is there a budding bromance between Macron and Trudeau? Two hunks!" added @MaureenRamsden.
Is there a budding bromance between Macron and Trudeau? Two hunks! https://t.co/kAEWYgxFLK Maureen Ramsden (@MaureenRamsden) May 26, 2017
When Macron won the French presidential elections, Trudeau gave the President warm congratulation via a phone call. "I look forward to working closely with President-elect Macron in the years ahead as we work together on a progressive agenda to promote international security, increase collaboration in science and technology, and create good, middle class jobs on both sides of the Atlantic," he added in a statement. "This also includes implementing the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement."
With regards to the G7 summit, leaders held annual summit talks on Friday, where they discussed trade and climate change. The summit this year was a show of unity against jihadist terrorism, despite the friction surrounding Donald Trump. Enough about Trump, there's clearly a new power couple dynamic in town now!
With inputs from AFP.
London: The number of hate crime incidents reported to police in Manchester has doubled in the wake of the suicide bombing at the Ariana Grande concert which claimed 22 lives this week.
From a daily average of 28, the number shot up to 56 by the middle of this week, Greater Manchester Police said.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said that while the force could not make a "direct link" to the bombing on Monday in which 22 people died, it is "monitoring" the situation.
"Sadly we've seen an increase in hate incidents since the bomb from 28 on Monday, which is our normal average a day, through to 56 on Wednesday," he said.
The kind of incidents reported include a bomb threat received by a Muslim school, racist graffiti and a niqab-clad woman being told she should not be wearing the Islamic outfit.
Hopkins said the city had largely pulled together in the aftermath and urged the community to come together.
"We've seen compassion but it is important that we continue to stand together here in Greater Manchester, particularly standing together against some of the hate-filled views that we have seen from a very small minority of the community that have no place here," he said.
"I have sent a personal message out to all the faith leaders and places of worship and have thanked them for the support they have shown and stressed that hate crime will not be tolerated," Hopkins said.
Police believe the bombing was carried out by Salman Abedi, a Manchester-born Libyan origin 22-year-old. His being a Mancunian, as people from Manchester are known, has sent shockwaves in the city. Of the 119 injured in Monday's attack, 66 remain in hospital and 23 of them are said to be in critical care.
TRIPOLI Nearly 80 migrants were rescued off Libya's coast after clinging to their sinking boat for two days, though the bodies of seven people who did not survive were also recovered, officials said. The 77 migrants, including a woman and one child, were rescued on Thursday off the coastal city of Zawiya in western Libya, Libyan coastguard and International Organization for Migration (IOM) officials said.The boat became unseaworthy due to overloading, said Tripoli coast guard spokesman Ayoub Qassem.
"Some of them are suffering from burns as a result of remaining in the sea and under the sun for a long time," Qassem said. They were given a medical treatment after they were taken on board a coast guard boat."The Libyan coastguard on Friday intercepted a further 562 sub-Saharan African migrants in a wooden boat off the coast of Sabratha, to the west of Zawiya. Some 2,300 migrants were pulled from rubber and wooden boats in international waters between Libya and Italy on Thursday, the Italian coastguard said.
The vast majority of migrants attempting to reach Europe by boat try to cross from Libya to Italy. Smugglers send them out in flimsy boats with little fuel, and most are picked up by international vessels after leaving Libyan waters. More than 50,000 have made it to Italy so far this year, and numbers have surged over the past 10 days. Nearly 6,350 have been intercepted and turned back by the Libyan coastguard in 2017, and over 1,440 have died trying to cross, according to the IOM. At least 34 migrants, many of them young children, drowned on Wednesday.
As non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have boosted rescue operations in the Mediterranean they have repeatedly clashed with Libya's coastguard. On Tuesday, several NGOs said the Libyan coastguard had boarded a migrant boat, robbing the migrants and firing shots into the air. More than 60 people fell into the water in the ensuing panic, though no one was hurt, they said.Qassem denied that the coastguard had fired at or over the migrants, or put them in danger. (Reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Islamabad: Pakistan announced it was reopening its volatile southwestern border with Afghanistan at the start of the holy month of Ramadan on Saturday, weeks after bloody clashes broke out between the two countries' militaries in the area.
Islamabad decided to close the major crossing at Chaman in early May after Afghan troops opened fire on a Pakistani census team, sparking a deadly firefight across the frontier, leaving at least eight civilians dead and an unconfirmed number of military casualties on both sides.
Afghanistan had viewed some of the villages visited by the Pakistani census takers as within their territory, but the two countries later agreed to use Google Maps to help settle the dispute.
After weeks with traffic between the neighbours choked off at the border, the Pakistani military on Saturday said it would reopen the crossing "on humanitarian grounds".
In a statement the army said it had the area on its side of the frontier under control, "having pushed back Afghan Border police troops", adding that "no border violation will be acceptable".
The so-called "Durand Line", a 2,400-kilometre frontier drawn by the British in 1896 and disputed by Kabul, has witnessed increased tension since Pakistan began trenching along it last year.
Ethnic Pashtuns living in the remote region have traditionally paid little heed to the frontier and villages straddling it have mosques and houses with one door in Pakistan and another in Afghanistan.
The border is not the only area of dispute between the neighbours, Afghanistan has long accused Pakistan of sponsoring the Afghan Taliban, though Islamabad says it provides the militants with safe haven as a "lever" to bring them to peace talks.
The announcement of the border opening comes as officials in another part of Balochistan said Iranian forces had fired across the border at a convoy of traders in Panjgur district, killing one man.
Relations between the neighbouring countries have been tense since April when eight Iranian border guards were killed in clashes with armed rebels in Sistan-Baluchistan province. Iranian authorities alleged the attack was carried out by militants hiding in Pakistan.
By Gul Yousufzai
| QUETTA, Pakistan
QUETTA, Pakistan Iranian mortar fire on Saturday killed a Pakistani civilian in the western Baluchistan province that shares a long border with Iran, a regional Pakistani official said.Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been at a low ebb since 10 Iranian border guards were killed by militants last month. Iran said that, in that incident, Jaish al Adl, a Sunni militant group, had opened fire from inside Pakistan.Earlier this month the head of the Iranian armed forces warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government did not confront Sunni militants who carry out cross-border attacks.
Abdul Jabbar, deputy commissioner of the Panjgur district in Baluchistan, said Iranian border security forces had fired "many" mortar shells and rockets over the last two days.
"A Pakistani man was killed when a mortar shell hit his pickup while passing through the area," said Jabbar.He added that Pakistani officials had lodged a protest with Iranian authorities and asked for a meeting on Sunday.
Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment. (Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
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Marawi: Philippines security forces dropped more bombs on Saturday on a southern city where they have been battling Islamist militants for five days, vowing no let up despite the start of Ramadan.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the southern third of the Philippines in response to the clashes, which have claimed at least 48 lives and he has said are part of a campaign by the Islamic State (IS) to establish a local caliphate.
"We have identified where they are consolidating so we are doing surgical air strikes to destroy the local terrorist group," local military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera told AFP.
Truckloads of extra marines were also seen driving into Marawi, one of the biggest Muslim-populated cities in the mainly Catholic Philippines with about 2,00,000 residents.
The fighting erupted on Tuesday when dozens of gunmen went on a rampage throughout Marawi in response to an attempt by security forces to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran Filipino militant regarded as the local leader of IS.
They planted black IS flags, took a priest and up to 14 other people hostage from a church, and set fire to buildings.
Thirteen soldiers, two policemen and 31 militants have died in the fighting, according to authorities.
Two civilians were also confirmed killed inside a hospital that the gunmen had occupied on Tuesday, and the military has said it investigating reports that nine people were murdered at a checkpoint the militants had set up.
Duterte has vowed to extinguish the threat of the militants, whom he has said belong to the local Maute terrorist group but are being backed by criminals in the area.
Nevertheless, Duterte also said on Friday that he was prepared to talk with the group's leaders.
His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said this was partly an offer made in the spirit of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in the Philippines on Saturday.
"Together we pray for an end to terrorism that falsely claims to advance Islam and seeks to subjugate our land to the brutal IS," Abella said in a statement.
"In this spirit of Muslim peace, the president has offered the hand of peaceful dialogue to terrorist groups, to avoid bloodshed in this time of prayer, fasting and mercy."
However there appear to be an extremely small chance of talks, unless they are to negotiate the release of the hostages.
Military spokesman Herrera said the security operations to rid Marawi of the gunmen would continue despite the start of Ramadan.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte sought to reassure soldiers who might be accused of committing abuses under martial law, and jokingly said that if any of them were to rape three women, he would personally claim responsibility for it.
Duterte is notorious for comments often deemed offensive and made the remark as a joke, reiterating that only he would be liable for any backlash over military rule on southern Mindanao island. He has, however, said he would not tolerate abuses.
"If you go down, I go down. But for this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible, just do your job I will take care of the rest," Duterte said on Friday, according to a president's office transcript.
"I'll imprison you myself," he said, referring to any soldiers who commit violations, then he joked: "If you had raped three, I will admit it, that's on me."
Duterte made the remark in a speech to soldiers on Mindanao island, where he imposed martial law on Tuesday to try to crush Islamic State-linked rebels, who have been battling the military after laying siege to a southern city.
It was not the first time Duterte has made a joke about rape. He caused outrage in the lead-up to his presidential election win last year when he recalled a 1989 prison riot in which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined up to rape her.
In what was intended as a joke, Duterte said the victim was "beautiful" and as mayor of Davao city where the riot took place, he should have been first in line. He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women or rape victims.
Duterte is known for his informal, no-nonsense style and his speeches are often loaded with profanity, threats and jokes about taboo subjects, which offend some, but are taken lightly by many Filipinos.
The president's spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Duterte's latest remarks about rape.
Duterte's pledge of support for troops comes as human rights groups and some lawmakers criticise his decision to declare martial law as excessive, and say it could lead to abuses by security forces. He also joked that he would join soldiers in the fight against extremists if he could, but he had arthritis.
He urged rebels to disarm and hold talks and said anyone not authorised to carry guns would be killed. "My order to the troops is all people who are not authorised by government to carry arms and they resist, kill them, wipe them out," he said.
SEOUL: South Korea's military dispatched a naval unit in waters off Somalia after pirates presumably hijacked a fishing vessel, officials said on Saturday.
The 234-ton vessel, had a crew of three South Koreans and 18 Indonesians who were catching squid. They lost contact after relaying that it was being followed by a suspected pirate vessel, Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement.
South Korea's anti-piracy Cheonghae unit was participating in international operations to combat piracy in nearby waters before responding to the situation, according to an official from the Defense Ministry.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules. Patrol aircraft from India, Germany and Japan were also searching the area, the Foreign Ministry said.
President Moon Jae-in ordered related government agencies and the military to "invest full efforts into the rescue operations, while putting the protection of lives first," the ministry said.
The fishing vessel that went out of contact was registered in Mongolia and owned by an ethnic Korean businessman living in South Africa. The vessel's captain, chief engineer and boatswain were South Korean nationals, they added.
Crews from South Korean fishing vessels and cargo ships have often been targets of Somali pirates.
Recent weeks have seen a resurgence of piracy off Somalia's coast after five years of inactivity. The piracy was once a serious threat to the global shipping industry but lessened in recent years after an international effort to patrol off the coast.
Some Somali fishermen, including former pirates, say foreign ships illegally fishing in local waters are forcing them to return to piracy to make money.
The 300-member Cheonghae Unit, led by a 4,400-ton destroyer, has been taking part in anti-piracy operations in the Horn of Africa since 2009.
In 2011, sailors and marines from the same unit raided a South Korean-operated cargo ship that had been hijacked by Somali pirates in the Arabian Sea, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight pirates and capturing five others. The five captured pirates were taken to South Korea and received long prison terms.
Washington: The Pentagon on Friday said it was concerned by an "unsafe and unprofessional" encounter between two Chinese fighters and a United States surveillance plane over the South China Sea.
The Chinese J-10 warplanes intercepted a US Navy P-3 that was operating in international airspace on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Commander Gary Ross said.
"The aircrew deemed the intercept unsafe and unprofessional. Operations were able to continue unimpeded," he said.
"We continue to review the facts of this incident and will convey our concerns through appropriate channels with the Chinese government."
On Thursday, a United States destroyer sailed in the disputed South China Sea waters near a reef claimed by Beijing in the first "freedom of navigation" exercise under president Donald Trump.
The maneuvers come ahead of a major regional security summit in Singapore next week.
Afghanistan: A suicide car bomber killed 18 people in the eastern Afghan city of Khost on Saturday, the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the interior ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Najib Danish told AFP that a public bus station was hit by the bombing, but local police said the target were Afghan security forces working with American troops in the province.
"A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 18 people and wounded six others, including two children," Danish said.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the Kandahar attack, but it comes as Taliban insurgents step up their annual spring offensive.
The attack comes a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major insurgent assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The attacks mark another stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces.
The battlefield losses have raised concerns about the capacity of Afghan forces, beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks.
The Taliban launched their annual "spring offensive" in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan.
The United States and several NATO allies are considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has denounced as "merciless slaughter" the attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt that left at least 28 dead, urging the nations to defeat "terrorists engaged in a war against civilizations".
Trump said that the United States "makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian Communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected." "The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement.
On Friday masked gunmen in military fatigues opened indiscriminate fire on a bus and other vehicles carrying a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250 km south of Cairo.
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilization, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil," Trump said in a statement after the attack in Egypt.
Furthermore, Trump added that the bloodshed of the innocent "inflicts a wound upon humanity". "This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls. Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity," he said.
Trump, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a summit in Riyadh last week, called for a greater resolve to bring nations together to "crush" the common enemy "the evil organisations of terror".
"But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organisations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology," he said.
"America stands with President Al Sisi and all the Egyptian people today, and always, as we fight to defeat this common enemy," he added.
Trump said that America will take every step to protect its people as he made an appeal to protect all faiths and religions. "Civilisation is at a precipice and whether we climb or fall will be decided by our ability to join together to protect all faiths, all religions, and all innocent life. No matter what, America will do what it must to protect its people," he said.
LONDON British police on Friday arrested a man in connection with this week's suicide attack on a concert in Manchester, taking the total number of arrests since the bombing to 11.
Manchester police said in a statement the 44-year-old man had been arrested in the city as part of their inquiry into Monday's attack, "but this is a fast-moving investigation and we are keeping an open mind at this stage".
Of the 11 people arrested, two have been released without charge while nine men remain in custody for questioning. (Writing by William Schomberg; editing by Mark Heinrich)
This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Caracas: Riot police in Venezuela fired tear gas and water cannon to stop anti-government protesters from marching on a key military installation during the latest violence in nearly two months of unrest.
The Opposition is trying to sway the support of the armed forces, a key pillar of the government of Socialist President Nicolas Maduro, who is resisting Opposition calls for early elections.
Retired military personnel joined demonstrators who tried to march to the Los Proceres complex, which houses the defense ministry and lies close to a major military base in Caracas.
Friday's protest was aimed at "demanding that the armed forces lower their weapons and not be complicit in the dictatorship," said Freddy Guevara, an Opposition leader who is vice president of Parliament, the only branch of government the Opposition controls.
He called on the military to reject a "constituent assembly" to be elected in July and tasked with drafting a new constitution, saying Maduro's plans "will liquidate Venezuelan democracy forever."
Masked protesters threw Molotov cocktails at riot police in scenes familiar after nearly two months of unrest.
A 33-year-old man who was injured Thursday night during a protest in the western city of Cabudare died on Friday, bringing the death toll from eight weeks of unrest to 58. Several people were also injured in the capital on Friday, including Opposition lawmaker Carlos Paparoni, who was struck in the leg with a blunt object.
Attorney General Luisa Ortega blamed military police for hundreds of injuries and at least one death.
Protesters brand the Socialist president a dictator, blaming him for economic turmoil and food shortages.
Maduro is resisting their calls for early elections, saying the Opposition and the United States are plotting a coup against him. Despite the Opposition's calls for the military to abandon Maduro, the high command has retained its public support for him so far.
A crowd of Maduro's supporters in red shirts started a counter-demonstration on Friday near the presidential palace in central Caracas.
The president has launched steps to reform the constitution in response to the crisis. His opponents say that is a bid to dodge elections and cling to power.
The National Electoral Council said those who wanted to stand for election to the constituent assembly to rewrite the constitution should sign up next Thursday and Friday. The opposition urged demonstrators to rally again on Saturday, this time at the offices of the state media regulator.
Back in November, I warned investors that Square (NYSE: SQ) stock may be too risky for most considering the price it was trading at. Since then, the stock has gone on to outperform the S&P 500 by nearly 21 percentage points.
Square released an encouraging set of fourth-quarter earnings and a 2018 outlook that made me a bit more confident in the company's future. But considering the stock's continued price increase, that doesn't necessarily make it a buy.
Let's review what has and what hasn't changed for Square since November.
2018 could be Square's best year yet
Square's fourth-quarter results showed continued strength in its subscription and services products -- i.e., products that aren't based on transaction volume. Revenue from those products not only grew 96% year over year in the fourth quarter, but growth also accelerated.
The growth implies higher attach rates for Square's services, which is essential to its continued growth. Square's entire strategy for winning and keeping customers is to develop an ecosystem around payments. Merchants using multiple Square products will experience higher switching costs compared to those that only use it to process card payments. That's important in a market with fierce competition from other fintech companies like PayPal and Intuit, as well as old-school payment processing companies like Worldpay and Global Payments.
Last month, Square started working on ways to encourage more customers to use multiple products.
Square also provided guidance that indicated that it has solid plans to continue investing for growth. The company expects adjusted revenue growth of 34%, a modest slowdown from the 43% increase the company posted last year.
Importantly, it guided for adjusted EBITDA margin expansion of 5 percentage points for the full year, which is in line with CFO Sarah Friar's previous comments about balancing growth with profitability. Too much margin expansion is a sign that Square is becoming inefficient with its revenue growth. The company has plenty to invest in, and it should be funneling a lot of money back into growing the business.
Finally, Square shared an update on the progress of Cash App, which now has 7 million active users. Cash App presents a ton of untapped potential, and its ability to grow despite competition from PayPal's Venmo is quite impressive.
Square's results in the last half of 2017 and its 2018 guidance are very encouraging. The company is coming into 2018 with a lot of momentum and a solid plan to continue winning market share and increasing attach rates for its other products and services.
Some things still haven't changed
Square still doesn't have much of a competitive advantage. As mentioned above, its main strategy to win and retain customers is to get them to use multiple Square products, increasing switching costs. The company has shown progress on that front, but it's still not at the point where a large portion of its customers are deeply entrenched in the Square ecosystem.
Square's management refused to provide details on attach rates for its software and services business when asked on the fourth-quarter earnings call.
Meanwhile, Square's gross margin indicates that it doesn't have very much pricing power. Square posted a gross margin of 37.9% in 2017. In comparison, Intuit's gross margin was 80.7% during the same period, as it's able to lock customers in into its software ecosystem.
Even a deeply entrenched customer isn't guaranteed to stay. Just look at what happened to PayPal recently.
The valuation remains high
Even after a couple quarters of better-than-expected results, Square remains richly valued compared to its peers.
Square's valuation has come down slightly since November, but so has PayPal's. Analysts are expecting Square to grow revenue much faster than either PayPal or Intuit, so perhaps it deserves a premium multiple.
But consider the fact that Square has yet to prove that it can be profitable, whereas Intuit and PayPal have produced GAAP net income for shareholders and are showing steady growth. That concern is eased by Square's adjusted EBITDA margin expansion, but it's still tough to put aside considering it doesn't have a moat and hasn't exhibited pricing power.
At a lower valuation than November and a stronger outlook for the future, Square is more appealing than it was a few months ago. But it still seems very risky and most investors interested in the fintech space might do well to invest in PayPal instead.
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A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in New Mexico for 35 years.
The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday at a California event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said.
The buyer was not disclosed in the sold note posted on the firm's website, and auctioneer Brigitte Kruse said she could not immediately release information about the buyer or the buyer's plans for the plane.
The auction house says Elvis designed the interior that has gold-tone woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit.
The jet was owned by Elvis and his father, Vernon Presley, Liveauctioneers.com says.
It has been privately owned for 35 years and sitting on a tarmac in Roswell, New Mexico.
Photos of the plane show the exterior in need of restoration and seats of the cockpit torn.
A previous owner disputed the auction house's claim the king of rock 'n' roll designed its red velvet interior.
Roy McKay told KOB-TV in Albuquerque he designed the interior himself. McKay said that when he purchased the jet, it had a two-toned gray interior and "kind of looked like a casket."
But then-GWS spokesman Carl Carter told The Associated Press the auction house is confident Elvis designed the interior, which photos show has red velvet seats and red shag carpet.
Federal Aviation Administration records show no interior changes were ever made to the jet, Carter said.
Presley was born in Tupelo on Jan. 8, 1935, and moved to Memphis with his parents at age 13. He became a leading figure in the fledgling rockabilly scene by covering songs originally performed by African-American artists like Big Mama Thornton ("Hound Dog") and Arthur Crudup ("That's All Right").
His provocative dancing and hit records turned him into one of the 20th century's most recognizable icons. Historians say his music also helped usher in the fall of racial segregation.
Elvis was 42 when he died on Aug. 16, 1977, in Memphis.
The Latest on the death of the mother of the CEO of ride-hailing company Uber (all times local):
2:30 p.m.
Authorities say that the parents of ride-hailing company Uber's CEO were riding a boat on Pine Flat Lake when it hit a rock and sank.
The Fresno County Sheriff's office says in a statement that about 5 p.m. Friday, officers were called to the scene of the accident and found a man and woman on a shore of the lake.
The sheriff's office says the woman died at the scene, and the man suffered moderate injuries. He told officers the boat had sunk.
The sheriff's office says an autopsy of the woman is planned.
Uber identified the couple as Bonnie and Donald Kalanick, the parents of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick. Bonnie Kalanick was 71.
The sheriff's office says crews will try to remove the boat from the lake Saturday.
___
2:05 p.m.
Bonnie Kalanick, the mother of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has died in a boating accident. Kalanick's father, Donald, was injured and is in serious condition.
The ride-hailing company says Saturday that the accident took place Friday night in Fresno, California.
The couple, in their early 70s, have been longtime boaters. In a memo to Uber staff, Liane Hornsey, the chief human resources officer, called the incident an "unthinkable tragedy." She wrote that "everyone in the Uber family knows how incredibly close Travis is to his parents."
Travis Kalanick, 40, founded Uber in 2009.
Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back on Friday against renewed criticism of Germany's trade surplus from U.S. President Donald Trump, who told EU officials Germany was "very bad" on trade and suggested it was selling too many cars in the United States.
Merkel told reporters she had explained to Trump during a G7 summit in Sicily that the surplus was due in part to factors out of Germany's control and had also highlighted the extent of job-creating German direct investment in the United States.
The two agreed to set up a working group that will exchange information on bilateral economic ties, a step German officials said was designed to forestall any punitive measures from Washington based on an incomplete picture of the relationship.
The exchange between the leaders came after German media reported on Friday that Trump had sharply criticized Germany in a private meeting on Thursday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk.
Spiegel reported that Trump had told Juncker and Tusk: "Look at the millions of cars that they are selling in the United States. It's horrible. We'll stop it."
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn confirmed some details from the reports, but played them down. "He said they're very bad on trade, but he doesn't have a problem with Germany," Cohn told reporters in the resort town of Taormina.
Cohn said Trump had pointed out during the meeting with Juncker and Tusk that his father had German roots in order to underscore the message that he had nothing against the German people.
Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump had "tremendous respect" for Germany and had only complained about unfair trade practices in the meeting.
UNSETTLING
Earlier, Juncker called the reports "exaggerated."
"The record has to be set straight," Juncker said. "It's not true that the president took an aggressive approach when it came to the German trade surplus."
But the persistent focus on Germany's surplus has unsettled Merkel's government.
Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser, has repeatedly criticized Germany and suggested it is deliberately pushing down the value of the euro, an argument the Germans reject, noting that the currency's strength is largely determined by policies of the independent European Central Bank.
The German trade surplus, which reached a record 253 billion euros ($283 billion) in 2016, has also been a source of contention within Europe, with Berlin's partners encouraging it to do more to promote domestic demand.
The United States had a $64.9 billion trade deficit with Germany in 2016, according to U.S. government data, down from a $74.8 billion deficit the year before.
Trump's attack on German automakers has raised eyebrows, in part because firms like BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen - like their Japanese and Korean rivals - build many of their cars in the United States.
Together, the three big German automakers employ tens of thousands of people at U.S. factories and dealerships, and operate large vehicle assembly factories in several states that voted for Trump in the 2016 election, including South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee.
U.S. consumers bought about 846,000 German-made cars and light trucks assembled in 2016, according to data compiled by Autodata, which tracks vehicle sales. That represented about 4.8 percent of total U.S. vehicle sales last year. ($1 = 0.8949 euros)
(Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Joe White; Writing by Noah Barkin, editing by Crispian Balmer)
British actor Roger Moore, who played spy James Bond in seven films, died in Switzerland Tuesday after a short battle with cancer. He was 89.
"We know our own love and admiration will be magnified many times over, across the world, by people who knew him for his films, his television shows and his passionate work for UNICEF, which he considered to be his greatest achievement," Moore's family stated in a post to his official Twitter account.
Here's are some of Moore's top roles:
EARLY CAREER
"Ivanhoe", 1958 - 1959
Moore starred as Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe in the U.K. television adventure series.
"The Alaskans," 1959-1960
Moore played the role of Silky Harris in this Western television series set in the 1800s.
"Maverick", 1960-1961
Moore appeared on the U.S. television series, which ran in the 1950s and 1960s, as Beauregarde Maverick, the English cousin of the Wild West's Maverick brothers, Bret and Bart.
"The Saint," 1962 - 1969
Moore played Simon Templar, the enigmatic action hero who helps put wealthy crooks in jail while making off with their fortunes.
"The Persusaders!," 1971
Moore played the role of Lord Brett Sinclair for British television, with American actor Tony Curtis as his co-star.
ROGER MOORE DEAD: 'JAMES BOND' ACTOR WAS 89
JAMES BOND
"Bond. James Bond."
Moore came to the role in 1973 after original Bond actor Sean Connery tired of it, albeit with mixed success.
Moore's relaxed style and sense of whimsy seemed a commentary on the essential ridiculousness of the Bond films - in which the secret agent was as adept at mixing martinis, bedding beautiful women and ordering gourmet meals as he was at disposing of super-villains trying to take over the world.
He starred as Bond in "Live and Let Die" (1973), "The Man with The Golden Gun" (1974), "The Spy Who Loved Me," (1977), "Moonraker" (1979), "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Octopussy" (1983), and "A View to A Kill" (1985).
"The Wild Geese," 1978
Moore played Lieutenant Shawn Flynn in the Africa-set feature.
"The Cannonball Run," 1981
Moore played heir Seymour Goldfarb, Jr., in the racing comedy which also starred Burt Reynolds.
POST-BOND CAREER
Moore continued to work regularly in films after handing over Bond to Timothy Dalton, but never with the same success.
"The Quest," 1996
Moore took on the role of Lord Edgar Hobbs in the Jean Claude Van Damme film.
"Spice World," 1997
He played "The Chief" in the Spice Girls comedy. Moore's character communicates in the film with the girl group's manager.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Actor Jamie Foxx is under fire for mocking sign language during his recent appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
The Oscar winner was a guest on Thursday nights show to promote the premiere of his new FOX game show Beat Shazam.
At point, while Fallon was throwing to a commercial, Foxx sat making gestures with his hands, like if he was speaking in sign language. However they made no sense as the actor was faking it.
Fellow Oscar winner Marlee Matlin slammed Foxx on Twitter for his actions.
Mr. @iamjamiefoxx. Id be happy to give you sign language lessons so you could be funnier.
Nyle DiMarco, a deaf model who won Dancing with the Stars and Americas Next Top Model, called Foxxs actions disrespectful.
@iamjamiefoxx, It is straight up disrespectful to make up sign language. Everything is in gibberish, he tweeted on Friday.
DiMarco followed it up with another tweet on Saturday calling out Fallon.
Also- @jimmyfallon @FallonTonight how was this allowed? Wheres the cultural sensitivity. Not comedy when you make fun of others.
Neither Fallon nor Foxx have responded.
Getting tough on serious crime was a central focus of the Trump campaign, and so far Jeff Sessions, the new Attorney General, has not disappointed. His latest action, a memorandum to all federal prosecutors amending the Obama policy of going easy on serious offenders, orders federal prosecutors to charge criminals with the most serious offense that is readily provable that is, charge with the crime that carries the most severe sentence -- including a mandatory minimum sentence.
In practical terms, the memo to prosecutors reverses the Obama policy of looking the other way at serious crimes and, where a criminal was arrested for multiple crimes, charging him with one of the lesser ones in order to lock him up for a shorter sentence, or not lock him up at all. The memo also restores the law to the way Congress wrote it in the first place.
By directing federal prosecutors to charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense in felony cases, as Attorney General Jeff Sessions did last week, he is fulfilling the governments primary responsibility: protect American citizens from harm, and provide them with a safe environment.
Sessions new policy is aimed at serious habitual offenders not first offenders, casual marijuana users or shoplifters.
Sessions new policy is aimed at serious habitual offenders not first offenders, casual marijuana users or shoplifters. Only the most serious crimes are brought before the federal courts, illegal drug cases being the most common there were over 22,000 drug prosecutions in federal court during 2015, one-third of all federal prosecutions. Just under 90 percent of those cases, according to the US Sentencing Commission, involved drug trafficking, usually involving interstate transport of drugs, and more often than not using firearms. Knowing what we do about drug traffickers, those who were caught were career criminals people who trafficked in drugs dozens, hundreds, even thousands of times for each arrest.
By the time a drug dealer gets convicted for the third time in federal court, you can bet that he has done many more drug deals than three: there is about a 90 percent certainty that he has actually committed thirty or more felonies, he just didnt get caught. If, as the law calls for, he is sentenced for a minimum of fifteen years for that third conviction, the sentencing judge has likely just prevented dozens, if not hundreds more people from being his victims.
Restrictions on the use of mandatory minimum sentences remove one of the most effective tools prosecutors have to lock up major dealers. Drug traffickers rarely work alone, it takes an elaborate hierarchy to transport and distribute large quantities of narcotics and manage the resulting large amounts of cash, collect their debts and protect their territory. When an arrest is made of a pusher lower on the totem pole, prosecutors will use the threat of a severe sentence as a bargaining chip to work up the chain to nab the kingpin and those just under him. Charging one of the lowly ones with a 15 year mandatory minimum can be a very effective way of getting the fellow to rat on his colleagues in return for a deal on the sentence.
The policies Sessions is re-instituting were enacted by Congress in the mid-1980s when violent crime rates were going through the roof and crack-cocaine dealers ruled the streets of many American cities. Those laws were designed to lock up armed drug traffickers and violent criminals. The good news is, they worked. Over the next two decades, as the prison population swelled, crime went down, and by 2014 violent crime rates had been cut in half.
The reason? Because serious and violent criminals dont just commit an offense now and then. It is their career, can be very lucrative, with the result that they commit crime after crime. For every arrest, criminologists estimate that an offender may commit dozens, if not hundreds of offenses. So locking the right guy up for a long time simply prevents hundreds of crimes from being committed.
The Obama-Holder-Lynch Justice Department, in response to pressure from the left, changed those policies, abandoning mandatory minimum sentences where they could, letting serious offenders out of prison early, and softening the entire approach to incarceration of criminals. And surprise: crime rates have started going up again. Over 50,000 people died in 2016 from drug overdoses; more deaths from heroin overdoses than from guns, the opioid epidemic is killing more people than crack cocaine did at the height of that epidemic. The murder rate in big cities like Chicago and Baltimore is up by double digits just in the past couple of years.
And the criminals responsible for all of this? The people that the new Justice Department policy says should be charged with the most serious offense possible.
As Jeff Sessions said in one of his first memos to officials working for him after becoming the Attorney General, the Justice Departments mission is to ensure public safety, to provide federal leadership in preventing and controlling crime, and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans.
His new directive on sentencing is a fine first step.
Weeks ago, I wrote the first installment of TRUMPING YOUR LIFE, delivering three ways you can change your life by following the example of President Trump.
This is the second of five installments I plan to share. If you take this Trump-inspired self-help advice seriously, I believe it will significantly improve your existence.
As a reminder, these were the first three ways to begin TRUMPING YOUR LIFE:
1) Dont let anyone tell you youre not good enough to work toward any goal. Just dont forget the work.
2) Dont mimic your competitors. Have the courage to be authentic.
3) Let yourself be righteously angry when people take you for a weakling, a fool or a fraud.
Now, onward . . .
4. Assume you will encounter increasing resistance as you pursue big and worthy goals.
Small minds, intent on stalling or frustrating real change, become increasingly obstructive in the face of bold momentum. Unfortunately, people who dont know how to achieve great things often derive feelings of power by standing in the way of them. Rather than being disheartened by this opposition, you should do what I believe Donald Trump does: Interpret resistance to your loftiest goals as a sign that you are truly on a road to something genuine and important. Turn the friction you feel from small minds into fuel for your intentions. Double down.
5. Dont be afraid to speak about things like friendship and love. Among strong people, connections of the heart are very powerful.
President Trump is known for pointing out friends in big crowds. He talks openly about loving places and people and projects. He is clearly pained by cruelty to children. After receiving a long round of applause during a recent speech in Israel, he paused to say, I like you, too. Being powerful doesnt mean you need to be austere. Creativity is enhanced by a willingness not to be so intent on appearing courageous that you cant be very powerfully moved by emotion. Sure, Trump is tough and can be moved to anger. But he also seems able to laugh and to love.
You should feel free to speak from your heart, not just your head. People will hear you even better.
6. After hard-fought battles, whether you win or lose, dont assume your competitors cant become your partners.
President Trump reached out to candidates he fiercely debated during the Republican primaries and turned more than one into an ally. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Dr. Ben Carson comes to mind. So does Gov. Chris Christie. Burning bridges may feel satisfying when you do it, but you can easily find yourself alone, on an island. The truth is that most people are pretty forgiving and can set aside some hurt feelings or even very bruised egos to pursue worthy goals with former adversaries.
You have to ask to mend fences, of course. You have to be willing to extend an olive branch or two or three even after wielding a bat. And that takes some kindness and courage and faith. But you will be repaid through synergies that might never have developed had you let your ego interfere with the greater good.
So, there you have it: A total of 6 ways to start TRUMPING YOUR LIFE. Stay tuned for the next three . . .
Sen. Tim Kaine's youngest son was one of eight people charged in Minnesota Friday in relation to their alleged disruption of a rally supporting President Trump.
Linwood Kaine, 24, was charged with one gross misdemeanor count of obstructing the legal process and misdemeanor counts of fleeing on foot and concealing his identity in public.
A criminal complaint says Kaine and others changed into black clothing during the March 4 rally and entered the state Capitol. One group member threw a smoke bomb inside. The complaint says the 24-year-old Kaine was among those who ran away, and he initially resisted arrest.
Two of Kaine's seven alleged accomplices, 29-year-old Francis Sagermerek of St. Paul and 26-year-old Anton William Bueckert of Ontario, Canada, were charged with felonies.
Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat, was Hillary Clinton's running mate in last year's presidential election.
"Today's announcement of misdemeanor charges against Senator Kaine's son contains no suggestion that he engaged in disruptive behavior while at the rally, but are instead focused on his actions as he was arrested after he left," a spokesperson for Kaine said Friday. "Tim and Anne support their son and hope the matter is resolved soon."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A series of rituals usually unfold on Capitol Hill when a candidate wins a special election and joins the House in the middle of a Congress.
At that moment, theyre just a face in the crowd. But soon theyll be a member of Congress.
The rookies show up on Capitol Hill wide-eyed, not knowing their way to the restrooms let alone the path to the House floor. Theres usually a small reception for supporters and family members, featuring punch and finger foods in the bare-bones, stripped-down Capitol Hill office that belonged to their predecessor. Then the victor heads across the street from the House office buildings to the Capitol for a mock swearing-in with the speaker of the House.
Family members clamor around the congressman-elect for the photo-op. An official photographer snaps photos of the speaker posing with the family. The speaker usually jokes around and makes light conversation. The lawmaker-elect fumbles with the family Bible and inevitably raises the wrong hand before the speaker corrects them. Finally everyone stands up straight and smiles for the money shot.
A few local reporters sometimes fly in from the politicians home state. They furiously scribble down color in their notebooks for their pieces about the lawmaker-elects day.
P. Ryan taller in person jotted down an out-of-town, female correspondent at one recent ceremony. Sometimes a camera crew or two shoots a few frames of video. The networks may show up. Maybe not. Then the speakers staff escorts the newbie to the House floor for the official swearing-in.
Thats where the real thing happens. The House is almost always in the middle of a vote series. The swearing-in comes between the first and second roll call tally. The speaker climbs to the dais to preside. Bipartisan members from the congressman-elects state squeeze into the well of the chamber. Sometimes the states senators walk across the Capitol to observe.
The most-senior member of the delegation usually makes a few glowing remarks about the latest addition to the House. The speaker then asks the member-elect to present himself or herself in the well and raise their right hand. The speaker administers the oath of office. Everyone cheers. The speaker then asks the now congressman or congresswoman to deliver a short speech.
The most-junior member of the House thanks a lot of people. They hope they can work with members from both sides of the aisle to get things done. They discuss what an honor it is to become a House member.
They acknowledge their family members sitting in the gallery above the floor. Then its over. The speaker announces the updated membership of the House and the body returns to voting. Someone has to instruct the new representative how to use the voting machine because, well, theyre now a member of Congress and voting is kind of important around here.
This ritual plays out multiple times each Congress following a special election victory. Some newly-minted lawmakers arrive on Capitol Hill with celebrity status. That may command a few more reporters and cameras if someone emerges victorious from a high-pitched special election. Their win could represent a political bellwether or forecast a trend for the next election.
The formalities to swear-in Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, received sizable attention in June of last year. Davidson won a special election to take the Ohio House seat vacated by former GOP House Speaker John Boehner.
Not as many reporters and cameras materialized in November of last year to swear-in Reps. James Comer, R-N.Y., Dwight Evans, D-Pa., and Colleen Hanabusa, D-Hawaii.
That trio was elected to fill out terms of members who either resigned due to scandal or died. Comer and Evans were brand-new to the Capitol. Hanabusa returned to the House after an unsuccessful Senate bid.
But these customs usually dont garner much attention amid the daily political maelstroms that consume Capitol Hill. The new members usually fade into congressional oblivion unless theyre a known figure. A case in point was the 2013 return to elected office by Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C.
The South Carolina legislature censured Sanford after lying about his affair and covert trip to Argentina to visit his paramour, Maria Belen Chapur while he was governor. Sanford then succeeded now-Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., in the House -- a position he held previously for six years.
There was a little bit of press for the ersatz swearing-in of Rep. Ron Estes, R-Kansas, this spring to succeed CIA Director and former Rep. Mike Pompeo, R-Kansas. Thats because Democrats made the right-leaning district somewhat competitive in hopes of stealing the seat.
But brace yourself for what will unfold when Rep.-elect Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., arrives on Capitol Hill to be sworn-in come early June.
The speakers office hasnt yet set the date to swear-in Gianforte. Its likely to be June 6 or 7. But reporters may well be staking out suite 1419 Longworth vacated by Interior Secretary and former Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., now just to holler a few questions at Gianforte.
One can only imagine how many cameras will cram into the speakers ceremonial office for the mock swearing-in, to say nothing of those rubbering into the press gallery for the real thing.
How will lawmakers interact with Gianforte? Will Republicans shun him? How jocular will House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., be with Gianforte compared to other special election winners? What will Gianforte say to the House? Will a din of applause and cheering swell in the House chamber once Gianforte takes the oath?
Will Montanas two senators, Sens. Jon Tester, a Democrat, and Steve Daines, Republican, appear for the ceremony? The absence of either or both would be noticeable.
Montana sends but a three-person delegation to Washington, and Gianforte will be the only House member. How does Gianforte comport himself after hes here? Does he deliberately fade from the public view? Its hard to become a member of the Invisible Caucus on Capitol Hill when youve done something as visible as Gianforte.
Gianforte is expected in court sometime in the next few days after the Gallatin County, Montana Sheriffs Department issued a misdemeanor citation for body-slamming reporter Ben Jacobs of The Guardian. Dont think that Democrats -- who are trying to put the House into play in 2018 -- wont notice with whom Gianforte associates.
He's going to learn very quickly that once youre a member, it is a lot harder to run away from your party or a tough vote, said a senior House Democratic aide.
How will Gianfortes relations with the press play out? In 2014, then-Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., threatened to throw a New York TV reporter off a ledge in the Cannon House Office Building. Ill break you in half like a boy, boasted Grimm. Grimm later resigned and did time, convicted of corruption charges.
Gianforte never issued a threat. He just upended Jacobs.
Ryan declared he wouldnt stand in the way of seating Gianforte.
Im going to let them decide who they want, he said. Its not our choice.
But it is.
Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants both the House and Senate the right to be the Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members.
There hasnt been a big brouhaha over seating a House member since 1984-85. Democrats ignored the Indiana election certification of Republican Rick McIntyre over Rep. Frank McCloskey, D-Ind., in 1984.
Democrats refused to seat either candidate until a bipartisan task force investigated the matter. Months later, the Democrat-controlled House decided McCloskey won the race by four votes. GOPers cried foul. The House voted along party lines to seat McCloskey.
Theres no active effort to oppose seating Gianforte.
The Houses Code of Conduct requires lawmakers to behave at all times in a manner that shall reflect creditably on the House.
Moreover, the bylaws of the House Ethics Committee allows that panel to undertake an inquiry or investigation to probe a members conduct. The incident with Jacobs unfolded prior to Gianfortes membership in the House.
House rules and precedents limit the scope of a possible investigation to only when someone is a member. The House has rules about barring members from sitting on committees or voting if theyve been convicted of a felony. So far, Gianforte hasnt been convicted of anything and the charge is just a misdemeanor.
Its possible the quasi-governmental Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) could receive a complaint from a member of the public to probe Gianforte. But the OCE may encounter the same problems as the formal Ethics Committee since Gianfortes alleged transgression happened prior to his Congressional service.
Freshmen House members always face the challenge of standing out from their colleagues. Its even tougher for special election winners. Its hard enough to distinguish yourself from a pack of 434 other people. Gianforte wont suffer from that problem. And hell be a lot more than just a face in the crowd.
President Trump on Saturday at the G-7 Summit in Italy declined to join six other leading nations in their pledge to uphold the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Trump posting on Twitter earlier in the day that he would make a final decision next week about whether the United States would remain in the deal, in which the major countries agreed to cut back on the emission of greenhouse gases and pollutants believed to be increasing the earth's temperature and harming the environment.
The other six members of the G- 7 -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom -- reaffirmed their commitment to the agreement, signed by former President Barack Obama.
The group also said the U.S. is "not in a position to join consensus" on climate change.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump on Saturday concluded his international trip with a speech that saluted overseas U.S. troops and expressed tones of optimism and success about working with America's oldest and newest friends to bring about Middle East peace and solve such pressing concerns as NATO and radical Islamic terrorism.
I think we hit a homerun no matter where we are, Trump told civilians, service members and their families at Air Station Sigonella, in Sicily, Italy, before boarding Air Force One for Washington. We will always support you. And we will never, ever forget you. You are the metal spine forged out of fires of American strength.
The president made no comment about his move hours early at the G-7 summit, in Taormina, Italy, to postpone a decision on whether the United States would reaffirm its commitment to the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement, as the six other nations confirmed their commitment.
Trumps roughly 20-minutes speech essentially hit on the policy issues that he adopted during his 2016 presidential campaign and brought to his first overseas presidential trip.
Terrorism is a threat -- a bad threat -- to all of humanity, and together we will overcome this threat, said Trump, who at the start of the trip, in Saudi Arabia, made a dramatic appeal to roughly 50 Persian Gulf leaders to stop radical Islamic terrorism.
On Saturday, Trump said he ends his trip hopeful that Americas oldest and newest friends can eradicating the terrorism that plagues humanity.
I was deeply encouraged to hear from many Muslim nations they are ready to take on the role of combatting terrorism, he also said.
Trump was introduces by first lady Melania Trump, who praised her husbands efforts during the nine-day trip and revealed that the highlights included visiting a childrens hospital in Israel and a sought-after private audience with Pope Francis.
This has been an incredible trip, and we have made great strides, she said. I am proud of him.
Trump, who during his presidential campaign once called climate change a hoax, made the announcement on Twitter about delaying his decision on the Paris accord.
He was under heavy international pressure during the trip to affirm the United States commitment under the agreement to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants believed to be warming the earth to harmful levels.
The presidential trip started in Saudi Arabia, then proceeded to Israel, the Vatican, Brussels and Italy.
On Saturday, Trump repeated an earlier argument that he was instrumental in getting a renewed commitment by NATO's member to spend more on defense.
The money is pouring in, said Trump, arguing the influx would not have happened had I not been elected."
Trump was referring to a vow by NATO countries to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024.
Only five of NATO's 28 members meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.
However, there is no evidence that money has begun to "pour in" -- and countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. Germany, for instance, has been increasing its defense spending with the goal of reaching the 2 percent target by 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
President Trump on Saturday in Italy thanked overseas U.S. troops, in concluding his trip through the Middle East and Europe in which NATO, radical Islamic terrorism and climate change emerged as key issues.
I think we hit a homerun no matter where we are, Trump said at Naval Air Station Sigonella, in Sicily. And now were getting on that very big plane and heading back to Washington. I can think of no better way to conclude our first foreign trip than to spend time with you. We will always support you. And we will never, ever forget you.
Trump also said he leaves amid new hope among nations on eradicating the terrorism that plagues humanity.
Earlier in the day, Trump declined to join six other world powers Italy in affirming the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement.
Trump, who during his presidential campaign once called climate change a hoax, made the announcement on Twitter ahead of the other nations pledging their commitment to the deal at the G-7 Summit in Taormina, Italy.
The president was under heavy international pressure during the trip to affirm the United States commitment under the Paris agreement to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and other pollutants believed to be warming the earth to harmful levels.
While at the Vatican, Trump received from Pope Francis a copy of his 2015 papal treatise that links fossil fuels to global warming.
And he was pressured about the climate deal after leaving the Vatican, when attending NATO and European Union meetings in Brussels with other world leaders.
Trump began his trip Saturday in Saudi Arabia before going to Israel and three European countries.
He was welcomed at the Saudi airport by King Salman in a royal, red carpet ceremony.
The trip has since gone off without a major misstep, as Trump tries to build and strengthen international alliances to fight radical Islamic terrorism and the threat of Iran and North Korea building a nuclear weapon.
Prior to Trump's arrival, the pope had publically disagreed with some of the president's plans and policies, including ones to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border and to impose a temporary travel ban on several mostly-Muslim nations.
I wont forget what you said, Trump told the pope at the end of their roughly 30-minute private meeting Wednesday, in the Vatican, in Rome, the second stop of the presidential trip.
Trumps speech Sunday in Saudi Arabia came one day before a bomb outside an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, killed 22 people. The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack that also injured dozens of others.
This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between good and evil, Trump said in the speech to leaders of Arab nations, the cradle of the Muslim religion.
Trump returns to the White House under continuing investigations into whether his inner circle colluded with Russia to influence his winning 2016 presidential campaign or before he took office in January.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Trump's campaign, and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they don't opt out entirely.
Among the G-7 leaders who leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the climate deal was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said: "We put forward very many arguments."
During his trip, Trump also touted a renewed commitment by NATO's member to spend more on defense.
"Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger," he said.
Trump was referring to a vow by NATO countries to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Only five of NATO's 28 members meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.
There is no evidence that money has begun to "pour in" -- and countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. But Germany, for instance, has been increasing its defense spending with the goal of reaching the 2 percent target by 2024.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The White House declined to comment Saturday on a news report that top President Trump adviser Jared Kushner had at least three undisclosed conversations last year with Russian ambassador Sergei Kislyak.
"We're not going to comment on Jared, Trump economic aide Gary Cohen said at a press conference in Italy, the last stop on the presidents nine-day overseas trip.
The story about the alleged phone calls was reported by Reuters, the day after reports about Kushner, Trumps son-in-law, now being part of a federal investigation into Trump associates allegedly colluding with Russia to win the 2016 White House race.
The story also appeared the same day The Washington Post reported that Kislyak told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.
At the press conference with Cohen on Saturday, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster declined to talk directly about Kushner. But he acknowledged that the United States has back-channel communications with a number of countries that allow officials to communicate in a discreet manner."
An attorney for Kushner responded late Friday about the alleged conversations with Kislyak, saying his client participated in myriad calls during that time and doesnt recall those being alleged.
Mr. Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period, attorney Jamie Gorelick said. He has no recollection of the calls as described.
Two of the alleged calls took place between April and November of last year.
Gorelick also said hes asked Reuters for more specific dates so that he can review the information and respond.
Kushners legal counsel said after the reports that Kushner was part of the federal investigation, but not a target, his client will talk to federal investigators and Congress about his contacts and his role in the Trump campaign.
Sources have told Fox News that any discussions about back channels likely would have been about facilitating one between then-NSA Director Michael Flynn and Russian generals to discuss the Syrian conflict and possible co-operation in the war against ISIS because Russian generals would likely not be inclined to speak over an unsecure line about anything substantive.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
If only Courtney Donlon could be a passenger on all JetBlue flights.
Donlon, a 22-year-old from New Jersey, has only been working as a nurse for nine months, but shes already being credited with saving the life of an airline passenger who experienced a cardiac event mid-flight.
Donlon was en route from Las Vegas to Newark, N.J. (via a connecting flight in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) when a fellow JetBlue passenger began experiencing shooting pain in her arm, neck and shoulder. The flight crew asked via loudspeaker if anyone aboard the plane was a medical professional at which point Donlon awoke from her nap and immediately began to assist.
ALASKA AIRLINES FLIGHT ATTENDANT PRAISED FOR REPORTEDLY SAVING HUMAN-TRAFFICKING VICTIM
"I stood up and went over to the flight attendant. As soon as I identified myself as a nurse, they let me start assessing the woman in distress," Conlon told MyCentralJersey.com.
"I introduced myself told her I was Courtney and I worked at Robert Wood Johnson [University Hospital, in New Brunswick] and what kind of floor I worked on so she would start to trust me a little bit. I told her she was in good hands. From there, I assessed her pain."
Donlon said the womans symptoms seemed indicative of a heart attack, so she began treating the 57-year-old passenger the best she could.
"For a heart attack, there is a common acronym called MONA and it stands for Morphine, Oxygen, Nitroglycerine and Aspirin. What they had available to me was a small tank of oxygen with a mask and I was pretty sure I could get aspirin from someone on the plane, said Donlon.
THE WEEK IN PICTURES
Donlon said she also tried her best to keep the woman calm, asking her about her medical history (the woman had never had a heart attack before) while assessing her condition.
After giving the woman an aspirin, Donlon informed the pilot that she was potentially dealing with a life-threatening situation. In a subsequent interview with WABC, Donlon recounted their conversation.
"'I've seen this before,'" Donlon remembered telling the pilot. "'It's a heart attack. She needs more medical attention than I can give her.'
"He says, 'What do I do?' I said, 'Land the plane.' He said, 'OK.'"
The plane touched down in Charleston, S.C., within 20 minutes. Donlon said she also stayed with the woman and held her hand as they were escorted onto the tarmac.
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According to USA Today, JetBlue confirmed that the customer was transported to a local hospital, and the flight continued on to Newark arriving at approximately 12:00 p.m. EDT."
Donlon is unsure of the woman's condition but hopes she will reach out when the situation calms down.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal prosecutors have added a hate crime charge against a Pennsylvania man already awaiting trial on state charges he used anti-Muslim slurs and physically attacked another man while drunk at a restaurant.
Fifty-four-year-old Jeffrey Burgess, of Bethel Heights, would face up to 10 years in prison if convicted of targeting someone with violence based on their ethnicity or perceived ethnicity.
He told WTAE-TV before his arraignment Thursday that "it was the alcohol" and said he feels remorse for what happened.
Authorities say Burgess was at a Red Robin restaurant in November when he began insulting a man sitting next to him. Authorities say Burgess repeatedly elbowed Ankur Mehta in the head. Mehta is not Muslim.
Burgess faces state charges including ethnic intimidation and simple assault.
California officials said at least 19 people were injured Friday in Oakland after a building where they were working partially collapsed.
It happened as employees were pouring wet concrete from the second floor of the building, KTVU reported. The workers were briefly trapped in the wet concrete and some were left dangling off the scaffolding.
Emergency crews transported the injured from the site to Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and two other hospitals, a hospital spokesman said.
CALIFORNIA CLOWN HOLDING BLOODY MACHETE SPOOKS HIGHWAY DRIVERS
No deaths or serious injuries were reported, Oakland Fire Battalion Chief Ian McWhorter said. The workers suffered from minor injuries, including scrapes and bruises.
The cause of the collapse is being investigated.
"We don't know exactly what caused this incident to occur," McWhorter said.
Click for more from Fox 2.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A man who police say hurled anti-Islamic slurs at two teenage girls on a rush-hour train in Oregon and fatally stabbed two men who tried to calm him down has been charged with murder, police said Saturday.
Jeremy Joseph Christian was being held in the Multnomah County Jail Saturday, a day after the attack. The 35 year-old man spent time in prison for robbery and kidnapping charges years ago.
Christian is also charged with stabbing a third man. That victim also tried to settle him down. He survived the attack which took place on a light rail train as it made stops in downtown Portland.
Christian was arrested as he tried to flee through a downtown neighborhood.
"He was saying that Muslims should die," Dyjuana Hudson, the mother of one of the girls told the Oregonian. "That they've been killing Christians for years."
She said her daughter Destinee Hudson, 16, is black, and her daughter's friend, 17, is Muslim. The friend was wearing a hijab.
"He had been acting up the whole ride, pretty much from the time he got on till 42nd," Hudson told the paper.
She quoted one of the men who was stabbed as saying, "You can't get at them like that they're little girls."
The names of the victims have not been released.
"In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behavior and some of the people that he was yelling at," police Sgt. Pete Simpson told the Oregonian.
Friday was the beginning of Ramadan, the holiest time of the year for Muslims, and the attack prompted soul-searching in Portland, a city that prides itself on its tolerance and liberal views, according to the Associated Press. A memorial of flowers and signs quickly grew at the scene by a transit station.
In 2002, Christian, then 20, was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree kidnapping after he rode to a convenience store on his bike and held up employees there with a gun, according to court records and his court-appointed defense attorney at the time, Matthew Kaplan.
When police caught up with him, Christian aimed the gun at himself in a suicide attempt before he was shot and injured by police, Kaplan said.
Christian was sentenced to more than seven years in prison after striking a plea deal that eliminated coercion and weapons charges.
Kaplan said he remembers the case vividly because Christian was so young, so earnest and had never been in trouble before. At the time, the attorney suspected the onset of mental illness to explain his actions and worried about how he would deal with a long prison sentence.
"It was so random, the event in his life. It made no sense that he did this at his age. He had no background like this, no history of violence and then he goes and gets a gun and robs a store," Kaplan told The AP.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A massive manhunt continued Saturday as the suspect who is accused of shooting and wounding two Georgia police officers was not barricaded in an apartment that was surrounded by authorities.
Kendarrious Chester is accused of shooting two College Park police officers at a Red Snapper. Authorities believed Chester was holed up in an apartment in Clayton County, but as SWAT team members made their way into the building, they did not find anyone, Fox 5 Atlanta reported.
Two College Park officers were wounded in the shooting, but were expected to recover, 11 Alive reported. One police officer was shot twice, once in the abdomen and once in his ballistic vest, while the second officers radio was struck by a bullet.
The Clayton County Sheriffs Office issued an alert to find Chester, who they believe was involved in the shooting.
Chester was described as a light-skin black male with dreads and was wearing a dirty white shirt and black shorts with white stars. He is approximately 5-feet 10 inches and weighs about 150 pounds.
Police said they were originally pursuing Chester for an alleged domestic violence incident and stealing his girlfriends car.
The Pentagon is planning its first test of a system for shooting down an intercontinental-range missile.
Officials say the goal is to more closely simulate a North Korean ICBM aimed at the U.S.
The American interceptor has a spotty track record, succeeding in nine of 17 attempts against missiles of less-than-intercontinental range since 1999.
The most recent test, in June 2014, was a success, but that followed three straight failures.
The system has evolved from the multibillion-dollar effort triggered by President Ronald Reagan's 1983 push for a solution to ballistic missile threats. That was during the Cold War when the Soviet Union was the only major worry.
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong Un, has vowed to field a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching American territory.
A Utah woman was arrested Thursday after she allegedly locked her two young children in her cars trunk while she shopped at Walmart.
Riverdale police said witnesses heard the children, ages 2 and 5, making noise and saw the car shaking. The older child was able to pull the emergency latch in the trunk and called 911 for help.
Tori Lee Castillo remained in jail on suspicion of child abuse. She was arrested when she returned to her car.
Police Lt. Casey Warren said the state child welfare was contacted and the children were turned over to a responsible party.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A convicted felon was taken into custody Saturday following a massive overnight search in the fatal shooting of a veteran Virginia state trooper.
Virginia State Police said Travis Ball, 27, was arrested at a residence in Heathsville in Northumberland County just after daybreak.
Ball was wanted in the shooting death of Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, in Richmond. The trooper, an ex-Marine and an 18-year veteran of the state police, died early Saturday. Tips led police to Heathsville, a town 70 miles from Richmond.
Ball faces multiple charges including malicious wounding, use of a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Hes being held without bond.
Police said Walter was shot Friday evening while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer.
They said Walter and the officer approached a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street in the Mosby Court housing project. They said the passenger, later identified as Ball, shot Walter and fled on foot.
The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene. He was detained.
The Richmond officer was not injured, according to police. A handgun was recovered at the scene near the vehicle, a Chevrolet Cobalt.
Police said Ball was a Mosby Court resident.
Walter was assigned to the Virginia State Police BCI Richmond Field Office's Drug Enforcement Section and routinely partnered with the Richmond Police Department on investigative and patrol operatives, the statement said.
He had a wife and three children.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Kuwaiti customs officials caught a pigeon carrying 178 pills in a tiny backpack into the country.
The officials seized the pigeon close to the customs building in Abdali near the countrys border with Iraq, according to al-Rai.
The drugs were apparently a type of ketamine, a drug used to prevent pain but is also known as an illegal party drug, according to the BBC.
KUWAITS MOST PROMINENT OPPOSITION FIGURE FREED FROM PRISON
Customs officials were reportedly aware that pigeons were being used as drug smugglers, but this is the first time a bird was caught.
This is not the first time pigeons have been used to carry in paraphernalia. In Costa Rica, prison guards captured a pigeon carrying cocaine and cannabis in 2015.
Scores of blackened homes dot this town where more than 41,000 people have fled for their lives.
Deadly sectarian violence that has gripped Central African Republic since 2013 is surging again, even spreading to parts of the country that once had been spared. The number of people displaced could reach half a million by month's end, the United Nations says, a level not seen in more than three years.
Some people have had little time to escape.
"I have nothing. No sheets, no covers. I have nothing," says 50-year-old Marie Edith Mambleka.
She sits on the ground in a squalid camp for the displaced, surrounded by people constructing makeshift shelters. Her son was killed when the clashes erupted in Bria last week. Her house was destroyed.
She has yet to bury her son. "We suffer a lot," she says. "We don't even have the ability to recover our dead."
The United Nations says about 300 people have been killed and 200 wounded in the past two weeks alone in Bria and a handful of other towns.
The upsurge in violence in Central African Republic began late last year. The government, with the support of a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission, has been trying to calm the country that descended into sectarian fighting in 2013 when Muslim rebels overthrew the Christian president.
But large parts of one of the world's poorest countries remain unstable, and the U.N. mission has said it doesn't have enough troops to protect civilians.
In Bria, more than 20 people were killed in the recent fighting between armed groups, likely elements of a mostly Muslim Seleka faction clashing with elements of Christian anti-Balaka rebels. Dozens were wounded.
The U.N. humanitarian agency said the unprecedented violence emptied Bria of its population, sending an "uninterrupted stream" of residents toward makeshift camps.
The largest has been set up near the local U.N. base, swelling to over 25,000 people in just two days.
Elsewhere, hundreds of people are staying in the courtyard of the local hospital, seeking respite from the blazing sun under a large tree. Small cooking fires fill the air with smoke.
Scores of other people fled to a local church.
"Christians thought God would protect us," says 61-year-old Matthias Mackayendji, gesturing at the scene around him. Children are everywhere. Women chop wood and rinse beef next to a crude fire.
As Mackayendji speaks, torrential rain begins to fall. Water soaks the mats and housewares strewn on the ground. The deluge drives everyone, sweating, into the darkened church, where the pastor quietly chimes in.
"They didn't attack another armed group. They attacked the population. Civilians," Pastor Andre Sandje laments.
He says his focus has been on offering moral and spiritual support to those seeking shelter.
Mackayendji says he is too scared to return home until the fighters have been disarmed or driven out of town.
"They are cruel. They don't have pity," he says. "They kill people without cause."
Even though the armed groups are divided along religious lines, both Muslims and Christians alike are huddled in the camps. Several Christians shared stories of how their Muslim neighbors saved them or hid them.
They are now united in misery. "There's been too much loss," says 49-year-old Galbert Ndemaba, who is too scared to return home and doesn't know if his home is still standing. He pleads for help from Europe and the United States. "Please, think of us."
The humanitarian appeal for aid for Central African Republic is only 16 percent funded. The U.N. humanitarian agency warns that aid stocks have quickly diminished and there is a food emergency.
Now the rainy season's downpours are turning the camps for the displaced into pits of mud, which means the risk of epidemics is strong, says Oxfam's field manager in Bria, Noel Zigani.
"The living conditions are very hard for the displaced," Zigani says, "even unhuman."
Ten of the 29 victims killed in Fridays ambush attack on a bus transporting Christians to a monastery south of Cairo were identified as children, a top bishop told The Wall Street Journal.
As many as 10 masked attackers in three SUVs stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and demanded that the passengers recite the Muslim profession of faith, witnesses said. Then, the gunmen opened fire.
The children were traveling with their parents to pray at an ancient monastery in central Egypt. Many suffered gunshot wounds to the head and chest, Bishop Makarios, a Coptic clergyman in Minya Province, told The Journal. Three children on board the bus reportedly survived.
Survivors claimed the killers left behind flyers about the holy Muslim month of Ramadan, which begins Friday evening. Local media also reported that the attackers were recording video themselves.
The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month. It was the fourth attack targeting the country's Christian minority since December, and it came on the same week of the suicide bombing in Manchester, where children were believed to be the target.
Egypts President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi on Friday ordered retaliatory military strikes in Libya in response to the ambush. Sisi said that suspected ISIS militants attacked the bus.
"I direct my appeal to President Trump: I trust you, your word and your ability to make fighting global terror your primary task," el-Sisi said.
Trump reportedly affirmed U.S. support in a White House statement. America stands with President Al Sisi and all the Egyptian people today, and always, as we fight to defeat this common enemy."
The airstrikes hit bases in Libya where the attackers had trained, the country's military said.
Egypt's Copts, the Middle East's largest Christian community, repeatedly have cried out for help from discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at the hands of the country's majority Muslim population. Coptic Christians account for about 10 percent of Egypt's 93 million people.
Ayman Ezzat, a rickshaw driver, told The Journal that blamed the massacre on el-Sisi, saying the president hadnt done enough to protect the Christians.
Our lives have turned into hell, he said. Im a Copt and I curse myself everyday for bringing [Mr. Sisi] to power. He failed us. He sold us.
The Islamic State terrorist group claimed responsibility for the attack on a bus outside of Cairo that killed at least 29 Coptic Christians including 10 children.
The group's news agency, Aamaq, said Saturday morning, its soldiers carried out the attack early Friday as a group of Coptic Christians who were reportedly on their way to a monastery south of Cairo. Group said put the death toll at 32.
The discrepancy in casualty figures is not uncommon in the aftermath of major attacks by the militants, who have been waging an insurgency centered at northern Sinai, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in a news release that 13 victims of Fridays attack remained hospitalized in Cairo and the southern province of Minya where the attack to place.
The attack was the fourth to target Egypts Christian community since December. The bloodshed came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
As many as 10 masked attackers in three SUVs stormed the bus dressed in military uniforms and demanded that the passengers recite the Muslim profession of faith, witnesses said, according the Wall Street Journal. Then, the gunmen opened fire.
Three children on board the bus reportedly survived.
Hours after Friday's attack, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced that Egypt had launched airstrikes against militant training bases in Libya.
Senior Egyptian officials said fighter jets targeted bases in eastern Libya of the Shura Council, an Islamist militia known to be linked to al-Qaida, not the Islamic State grop. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.
El-Sissi told Pope Towadros II, the pope of the Coptic church in Egypt, in a phone call on Friday that the state would not rest easy until the perpetrators of the attack were punished.
El-Sissi declared a three-month state of emergency following the targeting of two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday. In December, a suicide bomber targeted a Cairo church. The three attacks, for which the Islamic State group claimed responsibility, left at least 75 people dead.
On Friday, President Donald Trump vowed to crush evil organizations of terror.
In a sharply worded statement, Trump condemned terrorists who were "engaged in a war against civilization" and decried the "merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt."
El-Sissi, in his televised address, said of the U.S. president: "I direct my appeal to President Trump: I trust you, your word and your ability to make fighting global terror your primary task."
He said the attack on a bus carrying Christians, many of them children, would steal the nation's resolve to destroy terrorist organizations and expose "their depraved, twisted and thuggish ideology."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Australian drug smuggler Schapelle Corby, whose trial and imprisonment on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali mesmerized her country for more than a decade, returned home Sunday.
Corby landed in the Queensland capital of Brisbane early Sunday morning, after she was deported from Bali amid a frenzy of journalists. More than 200 police officers were deployed to secure her departure from Denpasar, Bali's capital, said Ida Bagus Adnyana, who heads Bali's Justice and Human Rights office.
"Corby signed a document to end her parole. She is completely free now," he said.
Back on Australian soil, she managed to evade the waiting media throng and slip out of the airport unseen. A member of Corby's security team, Eleanor Whitman, read a statement to journalists on behalf of the family.
"To all those in Australia and all those in Bali who have been there throughout this difficult journey, your support has not gone unnoticed," the statement said. "The priority of our focus will now be on healing and moving forward."
Corby was arrested in 2004 at the age of 27 after customs officers at Bali's airport found more than 4 kilograms (9 pounds) of marijuana inside her boogie board bag, sparking a media frenzy in Australia on par with America's O.J. Simpson trial.
Corby always insisted the drugs had been planted in her bag, and most Australians initially believed her story. Her courtroom battle was tailor-made for TV: a photogenic Australian beach girl who had apparently fallen victim to corrupt officials in an Asian country that had come to be viewed with fear and suspicion after dozens of Australians were killed in the 2002 Bali bombings.
Indonesians, who called Corby "Ganja Queen," were mystified by Australia's response. To them, the case was clear-cut, and the Australian outrage overly nationalistic.
Corby's insistence that the drugs were planted by baggage handlers was dismissed as lies by Balinese prosecutors. A court sentenced her to 20 years in prison, though that was later reduced.
In 2014, after nine years behind bars, she was released but had to stay in Bali until her parole expired on Saturday. In the lead-up to her deportation, she kept a low profile, living in a villa in Bali with her Indonesian boyfriend.
Australian media spent two weeks camped outside the villa, attempting to catch a glimpse of the elusive drug smuggler.
Hoping to fool reporters, friends and family members took to donning bizarre face masks as they went to and from the property.
Though proving Corby's innocence was once something of a national cause in Australia, unflattering reports about her family emerged over the years, sullying her image in many Australians' eyes. Today, few Australians still believe Corby's story but remain fascinated by the saga.
Under Australian law, she will not be able to directly profit from telling her story.
Irans Supreme Leader said Saturday that Saudi Arabia is a cow being milked by the U.S.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking at an event marking the first day of Ramadan, accused Saudi Arabia of trading its wealth with pagans and enemies, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.
"The stupid Saudi government thinks it can attract the friendship of enemies by giving them money," he said.
Khamenei added that Saudi Arabias rulers faced certain downfall for aligning itself with the U.S, Reuters reported.
"They act cordially towards the enemies of Islam while having the opposite behavior towards the Muslim people of Bahrain and Yemen," he said. "They will face certain downfall.
The Supreme Leaders comments come a week after President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia during his visit to the kingdom.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier called for improved relations with Gulf nations during a phone call with the emir of Qatr, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.
We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," Rouhani was quoted as saying. "The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Latest on developments in Egypt (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
Scandinavian leaders have joined the chorus of world leaders condemning the attack on Coptic Christians traveling to a remote desert monastery south of Cairo that killed 29.
Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen says "we are united in fighting terrorism" and added Saturday that those behind it were "primitive terrorist criminals."
Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende tweeted that he was "appalled by yet another deadly attack on #CopticChristians in #Egypt. Rel. minorities must be protected in Egypt and across the world."
His Swedish counterpart, Margot Wallstrom, said Sweden strongly condemns the attack, adding "our thoughts go to the victims' families & all affected."
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1:50 p.m.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on Coptic Christians traveling to a remote desert monastery south of Cairo that killed 29.
The group's news agency, Aamaq, said on Saturday that an IS unit targeted the bus the previous day and put the death toll at 32.
The discrepancy in casualty figures is not uncommon in the aftermath of major attacks by the militants, who have been waging an insurgency centered at northern Sinai, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
Egypt responded to the attack, the fourth since December by IS to target Christians, with airstrikes against what the military says are bases in eastern Libya in which the militants have been trained.
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10:10 a.m.
Egyptian authorities say the death toll in the ambush attack on a bus transporting Christians to a monastery south of Cairo has risen to 29.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in a news release that 13 victims of Friday's attack remain hospitalized in Cairo and the southern city of Minya where the attack took place. Authorities had previously said 28 were killed.
The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. It was the fourth to target the country's Christian minority since December.
Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said that suspected Islamic State group militants attacked the bus and that Egypt had launched airstrikes against what he said were militant training bases in Libya.
The Latest on President Donald Trump's visit to Europe (all times local):
10:55 p.m.
President Donald Trump looked like a conventional American leader during his first trip abroad. But he sounded anything but typical.
Trump returned home Saturday night from the Middle East and Europe. He laid a wreath at a Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem, had an audience with the pope at the Vatican, and stood alongside Western allies at two different summits.
When he spoke, Trump diverged from the norms that past presidents had followed.
He made no attempt to publicly promote democracy and human rights in Saudi Arabia. In Israel and the West Bank, he pointedly did not back America's long-standing support for a two-state solution.
And in the heart of Europe, Trump berated NATO allies over their financial commitments and wouldn't explicitly endorse the longstanding NATO defense doctrine.
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9 p.m.
President Donald Trump is back in the Washington area after a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe.
Air Force One touched down shortly before 9 p.m. EDT at Joint Base Andrews in the Maryland suburbs.
Trump's first trip abroad as president took him to Saudi Arabia and Israel, the Vatican, and Belgium and Italy. He met with national leaders in all those places and attended gatherings of NATO leaders and members of the G-7 industrialized nations.
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6:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says G-7 allies are pushing to end "all trade-distorting practices."
The president tweeted as he departed Sicily for Washington, concluding his nine-day maiden overseas trip.
The president writes, "Just left the #G7Summit. Had great meetings on everything, especially on trade where... "we push for the removal of all trade-distorting practices....to foster a truly level playing field."
Trump discussed trade with the leaders of Italy, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan during the summit, but it was not immediately clear what he meant by the tweet. Trump has advocated for fair trade, not free trade.
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5:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump is recapping his first foreign trip and saluting U.S. military personnel at an event before he returns to Washington.
The nine-day trip Trump's first as president took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Belgium, along with a pair of stops in Italy.
Trump told U.S. military personnel in an address at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Sicily that "you are protecting us and we will always remember that."
As their commander in chief, he noted his desire to boost military spending and promised them "my complete and unshakeable support."
Trump also previewed remarks he's scheduled to deliver at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on Memorial Day.
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5:05 p.m.
Melania Trump says she will never forget the women and children she met on her first trip abroad as first lady of the United States.
She has addressed U.S. military personnel at a naval base in Italy before she joins President Donald Trump for the flight back to Washington after nine days on the road. The trip took the Trumps to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Belgium and Italy.
The first lady also thanked the service members for sacrificing on behalf of the U.S. She says it's because of their "selfless commitment" and the sacrifices their families make that Americans are able to enjoy many freedoms.
Mrs. Trump adds that she's very proud of how hard the president worked on the trip on behalf of the U.S.
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4:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump is postponing a rally planned for next week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Trump's campaign team says the rally planned for Thursday has been postponed "due to an unforeseen change" in the president's schedule. They did not elaborate.
Trump is wrapping up his first trip abroad as president and returning to the U.S. on Saturday.
His most recent campaign-style event was in the end of April when he marked his first 100 days in office with a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to headline a fundraising "Roast and Ride" event in Iowa for Sen. Joni Ernst next Saturday.
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3:35 p.m.
President Donald Trump's top advisers are refusing to address reports that his son-in-law and a top Russian diplomat may have discussed setting up a secret communications channel.
In a press conference in Sicily, Saturday, advisers H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn declined to comment on new revelations about Jared Kushner's communications with Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak (SER'-gay KISS-lee-yak).
The Washington Post reported Friday that Kislyak told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a back channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin.
The White House in March confirmed that Kushner and Kislyak met at Trump Tower in December for what one official called a brief courtesy meeting.
McMaster adds, "we have back channel communications with a number of countries."
He says, "it allows you to communicate in a discreet manner."
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3:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump's top national security adviser says it's a "matter of fact" that the United States stands behind NATO's common defense principle.
Trump notably did not explicitly endorse Article 5 of the NATO charter during his remarks in Brussels earlier this week. He used the remarks to blast NATO members who don't fulfill pledges to put 2 percent of their gross domestic product toward defense.
H.R. McMaster says Trump's support for Article 5 was "implicit in the speech." He says there was no conscious decision for the president to not specifically endorse the "one for all, all for one" principle, which underpins the military alliance.
Trump was sharply critical of NATO prior to his inauguration, calling the alliance "obsolete" but has since expressed support for it.
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3:15 p.m.
The White House says G-7 leaders had a "very robust" conversation before issuing a final statement giving President Donald Trump more time to decide whether to keep the U.S. in the Paris climate agreement.
Trump has resisted pressure from European leaders to stay in the landmark accord. But he said earlier Saturday in a tweet that he'll announce a final decision next week after he returns to the White House.
Nearly 200 nations, including the U.S., agreed in 2015 to voluntarily reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn says statements issued after summits like the G-7 are always a "give and take." He says the final document reflects that other countries respect the U.S. decision to take more time before making a final decision.
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2:30 p.m.
President Donald Trump says he'll make a final decision next week on whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate agreement.
Trump made the surprise announcement in a tweet after resisting pressure from European leaders to stay in the agreement.
Nearly every nation that signed the 2015 agreement has agreed to curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The president tweeted Saturday, "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!"
Trump's pending review of U.S. climate policies has left environmentalists bracing for the possibility of bland G-7 promises that say little after years of increasingly stronger commitments to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Trump once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax.
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2 p.m.
President Donald Trump and Canada's prime minister met on the sidelines of the G-7 summit to discuss economic issues.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office says they also addressed trade cooperation and efforts to boost job creation on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.
Tensions recently escalated between the two countries after the Trump administration imposed new tariffs on softwood lumber from Canada and railed against its pricing of domestic milk to cover more dairy ingredients, which impacts U.S. dairy producers.
Trump and Trudeau also discussed "issues of global concern."
The White House did not disclose the meeting ahead of time, and officials offered no comment after it was announced by the Canadians.
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12:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says NATO will be stronger because member countries have increased payments "considerably."
Trump tweeted Saturday, "Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger."
NATO countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. They spend domestically on weapons or other defense-related needs.
The president supports ongoing efforts to push member countries to spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. Only five members currently meet the target, but the other nations are committed to the goal by 2024.
Trump is meeting with leaders from the G-7 nations in Sicily.
He also tweeted, "Big G7 meetings today. Lots of very important matters under discussion. First on the list, of course, is terrorism."
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11:30 a.m.
Leaders of seven wealthy democracies have reached a deal to give the Trump administration more time to tell them whether the United States plans to stay in the Paris climate agreement.
A person familiar with the negotiations at the Group of Seven summit said that six members of the G-7 would stick with their endorsement of the Paris deal, and await a decision from the U.S.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.
The G-7 members were still wrestling over a statement on trade and whether it would condemn protectionism, as previous group statements have.
President Donald Trump has pushed back against earlier group statements opposing protectionism and has argued trade must be balanced and fair as well as free.
-By David McHugh
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9:47 a.m.
President Donald Trump is kicking off the final day of his first trip abroad with a meeting with Group of Seven and African nation leaders.
Trump is seated between Beji Caid Essebsi, president of Tunisia, and Mahamadou Issoufou, the president of Niger, for his first meeting of the day.
He was also spotted chatting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel before the session began.
It's the final day of the president's nine-day trip. He'll be returning to Washington, D.C. late Saturday.
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9:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump is in Taormina, Sicily for a second day of meetings with Group of Seven wealthy nation leaders.
Leaders from the G-7 countries were expected to gather at the San Domenico Palace Hotel on Saturday morning.
Trump is set to engage in discussions about the global economy and climate. He will also participate in a meeting with African nations, including Niger and Tunisia.
This is the final day of Trump's first official trip abroad.
After the G-7 summit of economically advanced countries, the president will address American troops on an Italian base before departing for home.
The G-7 includes the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
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7:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump will return to Washington having rattled some allies and reassured others, but his White House still sits under a cloud of scandal.
Trump will spend Saturday at the second day of the G-7 summit in Sicily, bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and Israel before moving on to Europe.
The trip has gone off without a major misstep, with the administration touting the president's efforts to create a new coalition to fight terrorism while admonishing partners in an old alliance to pay their fair share.
In Washington, though, a newly appointed special counsel is just beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.
Pope Francis highlighted the struggles that workers face in a globalized economy with a visit Saturday to a troubled steel factory in Genoa, where he stressed how jobs give people a sense of human dignity and denounced those who exploit workers.
The visit put a focus on the plight of those whose lives have been made precarious by years of economic crisis, including in Italy where a high jobless rate, especially among young adults, has driven many to leave the country.
Speaking to 3,500 industrial workers, many in uniforms or hard hats, Francis distinguished what he called the "real entrepreneur," a person who "shares the labors of workers and shares the joys of work" to create something together, from speculators who are not bothered when they fire workers in search of profits.
"One sickness of the economy is the gradual transformation of entrepreneurs into speculators," the pontiff said. "The speculator doesn't love his business, doesn't love the workers, but only sees the business and workers as the means to make profit."
He decried a political system that "sometimes seems to encourage" speculators, "not those who invest and believe in work."
Francis also denounced those who claim that workers do their jobs only for the money, saying that "denies the dignity of work."
It is by working that "our humanity flourishes," he argued.
He listened to workers express their fears, including about technological transformations that threaten to leave many more without work in the future. He told them people must not resign themselves to "an ideology taking root everywhere that images a world where only half or maybe two-thirds of the workers will work and the others will be maintained by a social check."
"Without work for everyone, there will not be dignity for everyone," Francis said.
Francis, an Argentine whose parents left Italy in the early 20th century, also referred to his personal feelings aroused by visiting the port city, the departure point in the past for Italians seeking new lives in North and South America.
"It's the first time I come to Genoa. And being so close to the port reminds me of where my father departed from," he said. "This gives me a great emotion."
The pontiff's day also include lunch with homeless people, refugees and prisoners and a Mass before a crowd estimated at 80,000 people.
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Gera reported from Rome.
An effort to greatly weaken the case against a man accused of shooting a police dog last year failed Friday in Spotsylvania County Circuit Court.
Wendy Harris, an attorney for 35-year-old Joseph E. Conway of King George County, argued that the traffic stop that spurred the incident was improper and the subsequent pat down of Conway was unconstitutional.
Conway was a passenger in a car that was stopped Oct. 2 in the area of the Sheetz off Lafayette Boulevard in Spotsylvania. Deputy Matt Jones stopped the vehicle for what he believed was a defective tail light.
After learned that the driver was wanted in Fredericksburg, deputies later got Conway out of the car and patted him down. After Deputy Chris Lee felt what he believed to be a gun, court records state, Conway punched the deputy in the side of the face and took off running.
Lee, Deputy Kori Kelly and police dog Dux pursued the fleeing Conway. Police said the Conway opened fire on his pursuers and hit the dog. Conway was also struck by return fire, but got away that night.
Harris argued that there was nothing illegal about the tail light, thereby making the traffic stop improper. She said that all the evidence stemming from the stop should be suppressed, which would in effect leave Commonwealths Attorney Travis Bird and prosecutor Jeff Adams without much of a case.
Bird said that even if the stop had not been appropriate, it didnt give Conway the right to react violently.
Judge Ricardo Rigual ruled that the stop was reasonable and denied the motion. A bench trial is scheduled for June 9 and Conway is facing 11 charges, including two counts of attempted capital murder, maliciously injuring a law-enforcement animal and multiple firearms and drug charges.
In court filings, prosecutors claim that before Conway took off, Lee asked if he could pat Conway down for the safety of both of them. He said Conway replied, no problem.
Authorities allege that Conway discarded multiple drugs during his flight, including heroin and cocaine. When he was arrested at a Motel 6 near the Richmond airport two days later, court records state, Conway told police he was shooting at the man hed been with, thinking he had set him up for the police. The man had not set up Conway, prosecutors wrote.
Harris did get two other gun charges Conway had been facing dropped Friday.
Children exhibit a natural curiosity about airplanes. Many will stop in their tracks as soon as they hear the buzz of a plane overhead.
It wont be long before Stafford County residents and visitors can explore that interest in airplanes at an aviation-themed playground coming to Stafford Regional Airport.
Virginia Paving completed the miniature runway and taxiway paths last Friday morning. Children will soon be able to ride pedal planes down the runway, or take their own bikes and trikes for a spin.
The finished product will look like a miniature airport. In addition to the tiny runway, there will be a picnic pavilion and play equipment that includes a control tower with scopes to look at the planes and technology that will allow the children to hear actual pilot radio transmissions.
The engines propelling the creation of the playground forward are two nonprofits: EAA Chapter 1099 and Rappahannock Aviation Outreach. The organizations have been working tirelessly since 2015 to get the approvals and funding necessary to make the playground a reality.
Stephanie Johnson, president of Rappahannock Aviation Outreach, said the organization held several fundraising events over the past couple of years, including the Stafford Runway Runaway 5k runs and the Wings & Swing benefit dances. These efforts led to enough funding to move forward with construction of the picnic pavilion, runway and fencing.
Once the paths and picnic shelter are complete, the next step will be installation of the play equipment. Johnson said the groups plan to raise money for the play structures through a campaign involving bricks that will line the path to the play area. Donors can purchase bricks and have their names inscribed on them.
It is a nice way to contribute to the community, Johnson said.
The final phase of the project will be putting up educational signs. Johnson said these are an integral part of the park, since the goal of the playground is to introduce youth to the aviation and aerospace industry.
Aviation is looking at an upcoming pilot shortagenot as many people are engaged, she explained.
Johnson said airport playgrounds are becoming popular. The inspiration came from an aviation-themed playground in Greenville, S.C., which draws visitors from all over.
People used to visit airports oftenjust to watch the airplanes come and go, Johnson explained. However, 9/11 and the security measures put in place in the aftermath made that impossible.
Over the years, people have stopped coming to airports, Johnson said. We are trying to turn that around.
The completion date for the project is dependent on funding. However, visitors will likely be able to use the runway and picnic pavilion by the end of the year.
Now that we are breaking ground, I think we will start building enthusiasm and the project will go faster, Johnson said.
The United States takes "full responsibility" for the leaking of sensitive information in the aftermath of the suicide bombing in Manchester Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.
On his first official trip to London Friday, Tillerson said the U.S. "regrets" that information was leaked after British officials complained about it appearing in various U.S. publications.
"The president has been very strong in his condemnation and has called for an immediate investigation and prosecution of those who are found to have been responsible for leaking any of this information to the public," Tillerson said.
The leaks led Britain to briefly stop sharing intelligence with the U.S. about the bombing. But the information sharing resumed quickly after U.S. President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May spoke and Trump promised future information would be protected.
Trump, in a statement released Thursday, vowed to "get to the bottom" of the information leaks and asked the Department of Justice to launch a complete review of the matter.
Aaron Carter, the singer-rapper who began performing as a child and had hit albums starting in his teen years, was found dead at his home in Southern California. He was 34. Representatives for Carters family confirmed the singers death Saturday. They did not provide any immediate further comment. A sheriff's official says deputies responding to reports of a medical emergency found a person deceased at the home in Lancaster. Aaron Carter, the younger brother of Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brothers boy band, and appeared on the familys reality series, House of Carters.
SOME news stories go straight to the heart. One such piece this week was reporter Amanda Vicinanzos article about Julia Jarman and her grandson Stephen Vigil, a junior at Stafford High School.
Last Saturday, on the eve of Jarmans 92nd birthday, Stephen, 17, escorted his grandmotherwho didnt attend her own promto his high school prom at Riverside Center. It was his idea, the most elaborate in a string of fun get-togethers he and Jarman have had. And not a minute too soon, for she has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, with not long to go.
Stephen stays upbeat, spends every minute he can with her, tracks her medication, and keeps a blanket handy in case she gets cold. Clearly, he has a much keener appreciation of loves meaning and lifes fleeting nature than most people his age. When he was 8, he lost his father to a stroke.
So when word came of Jarmans condition, he and his family resolved to make the most of their remaining months. They took a weeklong trip to Florida, courtesy of the Dream Foundation, which grants dreams for terminally-ill U.S. adults. On Mothers Day weekend, Stephen took her out to lunch and to Arlington National Cemetery to pay respects to several family members interred there.
And then he invited her to the prom, after asking his school principal for an OK.
Jarman was thrilled. She bought a blue dress to match her grandsons pale blue vest and bow-tie, and wore a red-rose wrist corsage.
To get ready, they got their hair cut and styled. The salon, to his surprise, said it was on the house. Ditto when they had dinner at Spencer Devon Brewing; the manager picked up the tab. And when they entered Riverside, silence shrouded the lobby, where Principal Joe Lewis met them with a sash and a silver crown for Jarman, having saved a special table for them. People cried, including Stephen.
Were heartened by Jarmans pluck, Stephens maturity and peoples generosity. Their example should instruct the rest of us to be kind, savor life and beware its fleeting nature: Waste not a moment!
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University and museum link up to protect heritage
From:Shanghai Daily | 2017-05-26 12:21
Shanghai Jiao Tong University signed an agreement yesterday with the Palace Museum to carry out cooperation in cultural heritage protection.
The agreement also covered cultural transmission and innovation, as well as the cultivation of specialist talent.
The historical architecture department of the museum and Jiao Tongs International Research Center for Architectural Heritage Conservation will lead the two parties in cooperating in protecting cultural relics and historical buildings at the two institutions.
The two bodies will also establish a think tank for protection of architectural heritage and a platform for scientific innovation of materials for cultural relics, focusing on talent cultivation, scientific research and technology application.
The Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry, jointly established by Jiao Tong and the University of Southern California, will also link up with the cultural service department of the Palace Museum to develop brands and create more cultural creative products, as well as promoting Chinese culture overseas.
Jiao Tong has set up a lecture series to invite curators of museums and artistic scholars from all over the world to give lectures. The aim is to better connect universities and social museums.
Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, was the first speaker in the series when he gave a talk on the protection of cultural relics last night.
As a historical palace with rich cultural resources, the Palace Museum will shoulder more social responsibilities, such as cultural transmission and education, Shan said.
A beef producer, who farms in Wales Intensive Action Area (IAA) and has lost 20 cattle to bovine TB in the past 12 months, says he is unconvinced by evidence pointing to a 35% fall in disease incidence in that area.
Berwyn Lloyds herd of 140 Continental-cross cows is under severe interpretation for TB test results rather than the standard interpretation and he said several of his neighbours are in a similar position.
On Thursday (May 25), the Welsh government published a report suggesting bovine TB incidence in that area had fallen.
It claimed numbers were down by more than a third in that area since the IAA was established in North Pembrokeshire in 2010 with its stricter cattle controls, improved biosecurity, badger vaccination and testing of all goats and camelids.
See also: Photos: How to badger-proof your farm
The proportion of herds under restriction for bovine TB in the IAA has also fallen to 14.3%, compared with 22.3% in 2010, the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) report stated.
We were clear of TB when the IAA was established but it has been a cloud over us ever since. Most of our neighbours are in and out of TB too, I dont feel we are better off, we are worse off Beef producer Berwyn Lloyd
Worse off
But Mr Lloyd, of Pencwm Farm, Moylegrove, near Cardigan, who doesnt buy in stock and whose cattle have no nose-to-nose contact with other herds, said the situation on his farm has deteriorated considerably during that period.
We were clear of TB when the IAA was established but it has been a cloud over us ever since. Most of our neighbours are in and out of TB too, I dont feel we are better off, we are worse off.
Badgers were trapped and vaccinated on his land for four years but he believes it was futile because there are so many on his farm.
I cant remember how many they caught but so much of this area is wooded and inaccessible. They grossly under-estimated the number of badgers in this area, said Mr Lloyd.
He breeds his own replacements and said losses to TB mean his numbers will be down for the next two years and, consequently, farm productivity will fall.
Mr Lloyds herd was tested two weeks ago and, as a result of that test, four of the animals needed to be blood tested. He has been told it will be three weeks before that test can be carried out.
The government said they have tightened up on things but a three-week delay before that blood test might suggest otherwise, he said.
NFU Cymru president Stephen James welcomed the figures in the APHA report but said any improvement needed to be put in context against the number of herd incidents and level of disease in the area at least double of that in the comparison area.
Positive impact
In a statement, the Cabinet secretary for Environment and Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths, insisted all the measures used in the IAA had had a positive impact on bovine TB.
This is further evidence our approach to reducing the incidence of TB is working, with numbers of new incidents now at their lowest in 12 years.
The government also believes the report reinforced the fact a recent increase in the number of cattle slaughtered across Wales because of bovine TB did not reflect a worsening situation.
Instead, it said the rise is largely due to an increase in the use of the more sensitive gamma interferon blood test and more severe interpretation of the skin test.
Fresh measures
The government is considering ways of refreshing its approach to TB eradication and will announce those measures next month.
Dairy farmer and Farmers Union of Wales member Andrew Griffiths, who has land both in and out of the IAA and has lost 50 of his 130 pedigree milking cows to TB since October, appealed to the Welsh government to implement a badger cull in the worst affected areas of Wales.
Unless they start culling the diseased wildlife in these areas we are never going to be rid of TB.
Premier Li Keqiang announced three measures to further facilitate foreign trade and improve the business environment at the State Council executive meeting on May 24.
Port single-window system to spread nationwide
A senior official from the General Administration of Customs reported that the single-window system for cargo clearance, a trade facilitation policy, was adopted by 17 provinces and municipalities.
The Premier urged the administration to support local governments to ensure the policy will be adopted in all ports nationwide by the end of the year.
Promote cross-department joint inspection in ports
Premier Li asked different departments, including customs, quarantine and border defense, to strengthen coordination, and create a joint team to conduct one-time inspection for cargo in ports.
He also urged the strengthening of supervision and risk control in cargo clearance.
Reduce enterprise-related fees more
To relieve corporate burdens, its not enough to only cut unreasonable port fees, the Premier said.
He urged the General Administration of Customs to join with related departments to streamline and cut unreasonable charges. Enterprise-related charges should be cut further to reduce the burden on imports and exports, and improve their international competitiveness, said the Premier.
According to the World Trade Statistical Review 2016 issued by the World Trade Organization (WTO), China maintained its position as the worlds largest goods exporter in 2016, with its export volume accounting for over 10 percent of the worlds total.
As trade protectionism is on the rise and uncertainties in global trade are growing, we should take reform measures to effectively reduce institutional transaction costs, and build a more open and convenient business environment, the Premier said.
Those who struggled to get over the Van Buren Bridge Friday afternoon to get out of town for the Memorial Day weekend may not know it yet, but help might be on the way.
Emphasis on the might.
The Oregon Department of Transportation has received approval to spend $1.9 million to study replacing the 1913 span over the Willamette River, but no money has yet been earmarked to pay for a replacement.
Savannah Crawford, ODOT project manager for Region 2, which includes Clatsop, Tillamook, Columbia, western Washington, southwestern Clackamas, Lincoln, Yamhill, Polk, Marion, Benton, Linn and Lane counties, said that a combination of good bids and engineer estimates have freed up some funds to allocate to new projects.
Starting this summer and continuing for as many as 24 to 36 months, ODOT will review previous studies and determine a path forward, Crawford said. The agency will work with the city of Corvallis on the project, which likely will include meetings with individual property owners and open house-style events.
Its interesting how all of this might play out, said state Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany, who is on one of workgroups that is battling to get a transportation bill through this legislative session. Olson noted that although the current $8 billion measure is tilted heavily toward projects on Interstate 5, Interstate 205 and Highway 217 in the Portland metro area, once those major pieces are funded, a secondary list of improvements, including the Van Buren Bridge, would move up a notch.
And, Olson said, the need is clear.
That bridge is at full capacity, the highest level of congestion ranked by the state, and people in Corvallis know how hard it is to get out of Dodge using that bridge to get out of Dodge.
And as a practical matter, Olson said, if we dont start planning today, then when do we start planning?
According to a rather clinical report from ODOT, the problem with the bridge lies with the fact that the reduction in traffic lanes from three to one as motorists approach the span reduces vehicle flow causing mobility deficiencies downstream at other downtown intersections. Bingo!
The ODOT report notes that if the current full capacity is 1.00, then by 2040 traffic at Second Street and Van Buren Avenue would rise to 1.58 during peak times, with the average weekday load at 1.31. And closing the bridge without replacing it would push those traffic levels to an ungodly 1.70 on the bypass, even if a new ramp is added to close the loop from southbound Highway 99W to eastbound Highway 20/34. ODOT also says the new ramps likely would cost more than replacing the bridge.
Olson and Crawford both noted that the historic value of the bridge means it almost assuredly will not wind up in a landfill. It could either remain in place, perhaps for bicycles and pedestrians, or be moved to another location.
So when might a replacement be up and running?
Corvallis Public Works Director Mary Steckel, who briefed the City Council on ODOTs plan at a May 15 work session, noted that the $1.9 million is step one in a 20-step process.
Even the ever-optimistic Olson hedged on a timeline, indicating it was just too soon to establish one.
Olson also noted that there is a second mid-valley project that also could have a big impact, widening Interstate 5 to three lanes on each side between Highway 20 (Exit 233) and Kuebler Boulevard in South Salem (Exit 252). The mid-valley work would be part of a three-phase effort to make I-5 at least a six-lane freeway from Coburg, just north of Eugene, all the way to Portland.
The pricetag for the Coburg-to-Salem work is approximately $1.5 billion.
Olson added that it is not just freeway widening that is being discussed. He briefed a Gazette-Times reporter on an Ontario project that would establish an intermodal freight depot. In short, the project would make it easier to bring the trucks with their container loads to waiting freight trains.
If you move freight that way, it helps with the climate, it saves money and moves freight more economically, Olson said. And I thought, Why dont we have something like that on the west side?
Now they do. One of the projects Olson is working to get funding for would produce just such a truck/rail depot in the Millersburg area just north of Albany.
Here is a look at public meetings set for the coming days.
Tuesday
The Philomath Budget Committee has set a 7 p.m. meeting at City Hall, 980 Applegate St. to discuss reducing service or eliminating the Philomath Connection transit service. The city of Philomath has contracted with Corvallis Transit System to operate the Philomath Connection, which provides weekday service in and between the cities of Philomath and Corvallis, with stops at Oregon State University. The Urban Renewal Agency Budget Committee also will meet to adopt a budget.
Thursday
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees Academic Strategies Committee meets from 8 to 10:45 a.m. in the Horizon Room of the Memorial Union, 2501 SW Jefferson Way in Corvallis.
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees Finance & Administration Committee meets from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Horizon Room of the Memorial Union, 2501 SW Jefferson Way in Corvallis.
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees will meet with members of the OSU Foundation Board of Trustees from 2:45 to 5:25 p.m. in the ballroom of the CH2M Hill Alumni Center, 725 SW 26th St. in Corvallis.
The Corvallis City Council will interview candidates for the Planning Commission and the Historic Resources Commission at 6 p.m. at the Madison Avenue Meeting Room, 500 SW Madison Ave. There are five applicants for three Planning Commission spots and 2 candidates for the three Historic Resources Commission slots.
Friday
The Corvallis Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Board meets at 7 a.m. at the Madison room.
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees will meet from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday in the Horizon Room of the Memorial Union, 2501 SW Jefferson Way in Corvallis. The board will discuss operating and capital budgets for the 2018 fiscal year, elect a new chair and handle other business.
Saturday
Ward 5 Corvallis Councilor Charlyn Ellis will be the 10 a.m. to noon government comment corner guest at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library, 645 NW Monroe Ave.
On the run since Thursday : Escaped convict arrested in Bonn
Bonn A certifiably insane and dangerous man was on the run since Thursday when he managed to make his way out of the locked ward of a clinic in Bedburg-Hau.
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A 35-year-old man who broke out of the locked ward of the LVR clmic in Bedburg-Hau has been arrested on Saturday morning. Prior to his arrest there were warnings issued that could be certifiably insane and dangerous and may have had connections to Bonn.
The Man was seen around 9.30am in the area around the Venusbergweg. A short time later he was arrested by the police near the Reuterstrae. The 35-year-old made no resistance.
After a violent hostage-taking in the psychiatry in the Niederrhein city of Bedburg-Hau, the convict had managed to escape. He was thought to be armed with a self made, knife-resembling object, the police disclosed on Friday. The clinic describes him as certifiably insane and dangerous, said a spokesperson.
The police were searching for the man with the aid of helicopters. A male nurse was injured and was brought to a hospital for treatment. The prosecution in Kleve had taken over the investigation.
Initial findings of the police lead to the insight that the 35-year-old had connections to Bonn and Siegburg, which led to his arrest on Saturday morning. According to General-Anzeiger information, Fischer used to have a residence in the Bonn police district.
The 35-year-old escaped on Thursday evening from the locked ward of the clinic in Bedburg-Hau. According to the prosecution, he held a male nurse hostage, aided by another inmate. They threatened him with a self made, knife-resembling object and forced him into a kitchen, where they armed themselves with more knives, said to senior prosecutor Gunter Neifer. According to him, the two men managed to get into the yard with the hostage and demanded the warden to open the gate. Because he refused the men injured the male nurse by cutting his face and cutting of parts of his earlobe.
When the warden still did not open the gate, the 35-year-old escaped by climbing an approximately four-metre wall surrounding the grounds. His accomplice failed to follow across the wall, which is secured with barbed wire. He was arrested and was brought before an investigating judge on Friday. The charges: hostage-taking.
According to senior prosecutor Neifer, both men were in the clinic following a court order for drug detox. The 35-year-old was convicted of committing a burglary and resistance against executory officers.
Text: Michael Wrobel
Risk of forest fires : No smoking in the woods
Bonn Due to dry grounds and high temperatures the danger of fires is rising.
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The regional forestry district has issued warnings of higher fire risks in the Kottenforst. The dryness of the forest grounds and the high temperatures are demand the highest attentiveness by all forest users, explained Uwe Scholmerich, head of the regional forestry district, on Friday.
The forest fire risk index of the German weather service is an indication for the individual authorities to judge the potential danger and issue warnings accordingly. At the moment, the danger is considered to be at a medium level, but could be higher in forest areas with mainly conifers, dry wood and remaining foliage from last year.
If the sun shines as nicely as it does at the moment, many people might consider having a barbecue in the great outdoors. A lovely idea - but sun and wind dry out wood and leaves. It doesnt necessarily needs a bonfire to cause a forest fire. Sparks from a barbecue grill or a cigarette butt, thrown away carelessly, could be enough if the wind then fans the fire. Forest fires mostly start as ground fires, Scholmerich stressed.
Asked how to behave in a forest, the head of the regional forestry district replied: Between March 1 and October 31 one should not smoke, light a fire or a barbecue in a forest or at the edge of a forest, or throw cigarette butts out of a car. Should a walker notice a forest fire, he or she is requested to call 112.
Violations of the regulations mentioned above can be fined. Causing a forest fire leads to personal liability including payment for the occurring damage as well as firefighting operations and a prosecution for arson.
Original text: Holger Willcke
Bonn A man has caused a call out of the fire brigade while paddling across the Rhine.
The fire brigade fished a paddler out of the Rhine near Niederdollendorf, who was en route to the Rheinaue in an inflatable chair. Pedestrians had called the emergency services around 5pm on Friday, who then launched a life boat. The seated paddler was very calm though and just told the firemen where he was headed. They warned him not to try to cross the Rhine again in a vehicle like this again.
If you ever fly from L.A. to San Francisco, California, you may notice the Gabilan Mesa off to the east as you begin your descent into San Francisco International Airport. If you look carefully, you might notice two strange things: a series of bleach-white scars, where rock outcrops disrupt the smooth, grassy hillslopes, and a strong asymmetry in the orientation of tributaries, with many flowing south and few flowing north.
What you cant see is the few feet of soil that would lie beneath your feet if you were standing on the surface but it turns out that soil column may have a lot to do with shaping your 10,000-foot view.
Over long time scales, the transition from hillslopes to channels is controlled by the relative efficiencies of soil transport and channel erosion. This transition usually remains stable when erosion rates change, because increases in erosion rate would typically expose rocks that are stronger than the overlying weathered soils, thereby slowing any further increase in erosion rate. But what would happen if the opposite were true, if increases in erosion rates exposed highly vulnerable rocks, causing an unstable increase in erosion rate?
In this scenario, the shape of the landscape would be fragile susceptible to major reconfigurations in the face of small changes in erosion rate. In their paper for the Geological Society of America Bulletin, Samuel Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that this may be the case in landscapes developed in rock types that are susceptible to slaking, a process that pervasively fractures these rocks when they are exposed to wetting and drying cycles.
Using laboratory measures of rock strength, Johnstone and colleagues demonstrate that soils in the Gabilan Mesa, California, are actually stronger than the rocks from which they were derived, once those parent rocks have been exposed to a single wetting and drying cycle.
Within the Gabilan Mesa, these rocks are typically covered in soil, but can be exposed in dramatic erosional channel features called arroyos. The morphology of arroyos and their position in the landscape suggests that they form by aggressively cutting uphill into the soil mantled hillslopes. Theory predicts that this behavior would be expected in an unstable erosion scenario.
What is perhaps most interesting is how climate influences the fragile landscape response recorded by arroyos. Arroyos are exclusively found within south-flowing catchments, and Johnstone and colleagues reason that this is the consequence of the thinner layer of soil that forms on these sunnier, drier, more poorly vegetated slopes. These thin soils allow highly erodible bedrock to be more readily accessed by erosive processes, and arroyos to be triggered more easily. This asymmetric triggering of headward (upslope) channel growth appears to drive profound topographic asymmetry, in which drainages are densely packed on south-facing slopes and nearly absent on north-facing slopes. This pattern is observable at the scale of entire drainage basins. The teams observations suggest that this large-scale reorganization of the Gabilan Mesa landscape starts with the soils, and the unusual combination of relatively strong soils forming from easily weakened rocks.
Note: The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Geological Society of America.
How to install Android O beta on your Pixel and Nexus phones Tips Tricks lekhaka -Gizbot Bureau Install Android O beta on You Pixel and Nexus Phones with These Simple Steps
At the I/O conference, Google announced the roll out of Android O beta version to the selected devices. If you're looking to install it on your phone, you can opt-in to the first public beta, which is also available as the second Developer Preview.
Supported devices
This update is around 919 MB in size, and you can download over a WiFi and the preview is supported on
Pixel
Pixel XL
Pixel C
Nexus 6P
Nexus 5X
Nexus Player
How to install
If you have any of these devices, head on to Googles Android Beta Program website. Once you log in with your Google account, it will take you to the page and explains what the program is all about. It also has a usual disclaimer and warning saying may contain errors and defects that can affect the normal functioning of your device.
Now tap on the enroll button right next to your device and check the box, select Join beta, and you will be in. Once you get a beta for your device, you will get a notification of any other updates. Head on to Settings -> About phone -> System updates.
SEE ALSO: How to set up speech-to-text in Android
Once you select it, the update will install over-the-air normally, with a reboot, and whenever another update comes, youll go through the same process.
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Samsungs Stretchable Display will be shown today at SID 2017 News oi -Shilpa Finally, the company will showcase this latest innovation.
From a long time, we are hearing about Samsung's stretchable 9.1-inch OLED panel. This technology has given birth to so many rumors and leaks online. They have also made other smartphone manufacturers to adopt this technology in their to-be-launched phones.
Finally, the big day has come. Just yesterday, the South Korean giant made an announcement that it will showcase this World's first stretchable display at SID 2107 international event which will be hosted by Society for Information Display US tech fair. This event is meant for electronic display industry and will be held in Los Angeles from May 23 to 25.
According to the reports from Yonhap news agency, this new stretchable OLED technology is unique because it is capable of bending in both the directions, whereas the previous panels were designed to bend in only one direction.
Alleged Samsung Galaxy S8 Active image leaked: Launch imminent
Regarding this display technology, Samsung spokesperson says, "while current flexible OLED is able to be transformed in only one side, this stretchable OLED can be transformed - whether curved, bent or rolled - on both sides, above and below".
This can be considered as a best flexible technology and also a complicated one. Samsung says that display maintains a high degree of resolution even when one stretches it as much as 12mm or 1.2cm by pressing.
This much-hyped 9.1-inch OLED panel is said to be used on Internet of Things (IoT) devices, wearable devices, automobile displays, or Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. Still, this technology is in the early stage, so we can not expect it to hit the market soon.
Along with this, the company is all set to showcase its other products including 5.09-inch 3D OLED screen and a 1.96-inch UHD 4K panel having a pixel density of 2250 ppi.
Source
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Xiaomi Mi Max 2, Mi 6 might be launched in India in July News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Xiaomi is likely to announce something big in July.
The Xiaomi Mi Max 2 was officially announced just two days ago. So soon it looks like the company is planning to launch the smartphone in India.
Xiaomi India's head, Manu Kumar Jain, has revealed the big plans that they have for the Mi fans in the country in July. On his official Twitter handle, he tweeted that the Xiaomi sold 250,000 units of the Redmi Note 4 on January 23, 250,000 units of the Redmi 4A on March 23, and 250,000 units of the Redmi 4 on May 23. The first flash sales of these phones were on the 23rd of the month. He then leaves a question of what they should do on July 23.
Xiaomi Mi Max 2 with massive 6.44-inch display and 5300mAh battery launched
This simple implies that Xiaomi is in plans to launch another smartphone in India and its first flash sale might happen on July 23. He did not reveal the name of the device that will be launched in the country, but we expect it to be the Mi Max 2 or the flagship Mi 6.
23 Jan: 250K+ #RedmiNote4. 23 Mar: 250K+ #Redmi4A. 23 May: 250K+ #Redmi4 Any suggestions on what we should do on 23rd July? @XiaomiIndia Manu Kumar Jain (@manukumarjain) May 24, 2017 The hint This is the tweet made by Manu Kumar Jain to hint at the upcoming launch. Could it be the Xiaomi Mi 6? The Xiaomi Mi 6 was launched in April. Soon after its launch, it was made clear that the Mi 6 will not be launched in India just like the Mi Mix as it could be expensive for the market. Maybe, the company is planning to bring their flagship to India in July. Also read: Xiaomi Mi 6 is not coming to India Mi Max 2 might be the one Last year, Xiaomi released the Mi Max in the country in July. Eventually, there is a possibility for the Mi Max 2 to also be launched in the country around the same time.
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Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
Egypt Hits Militant Bases in Libya After Attack on Copts
By VOA News May 26, 2017
Egypt answered a bloody machine-gun attack that killed dozens of Coptic Christians Friday with airstrikes on "terror bases" in Libya where the militant Islamist gunmen were believed to have trained.
President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced the retaliatory action in a televised address hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians across the desert to a monastery. Egyptian officials said at least 28 people died at the hands of the gunmen.
"An extremely painful strike has been dealt to the bases," el-Sissi said, referring to the targets in Libya.
"Egypt will never hesitate to strike terror bases anywhere," he added. Military officials said camps targeted in Libya had been firmly linked to the men involved in the bus attack, who were widely suspected to be sympathizers of the Islamic State group.
Authorities said up to 10 assailants in three pickup trucks attacked about 320 kilometers (200 miles) from Cairo, training machine-gun fire on a bus carrying pilgrims to a remote monastery in Minya state honoring St. Samuel the Confessor, a 7th-century priest. In addition to the 28 people killed, 25 others were wounded.
No claim of responsibility
"They used automatic weapons," state governor Essam el-Bedawi said. Egyptian television viewers saw images of the bus, its windows shattered, surrounded by police and ambulances.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, although it bore the hallmarks of Egypt's Islamic State affiliate, which has carried out four attacks on Copts since December. The worst came on April 10, Palm Sunday in the Coptic church calendar, when bombs exploded at two churches, killing 44 worshipers and wounding more than 100.
Egypt's Copts are the largest Christian community in the Middle East. They have long been a target of Islamist extremism, as well as discrimination by the country's Muslim-majority population.
Trump reacts to 'merciless slaughter'
World leaders quickly condemned Friday's attack.
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls," according to a statement from President Donald Trump released at the White House in Washington. " But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organizations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted and thuggish ideology."
UN Security Council condemns attack
The United Nations Security Council condemned "in the strongest terms" what it called a "heinous and cowardly terrorist attack."
Security Council members said "terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security."
A statement called on authorities to bring to justice everyone involved in the attack organizers, perpetrators, financiers and sponsors.
"Any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation," the Security Council said.
Pope deeply saddened
From the Vatican, Pope Francis said he was deeply saddened to learn of "the barbaric attack in central Egypt and of the tragic loss of life and injury caused by this senseless act of hatred."
Egypt's Coptic Christians are among the Catholic communities worldwide led by the pope. The pontiff visited Egypt last month, refusing to postpone his travel despite security concerns arising from the series of attacks carried out against Copts since December.
Francis instead visited one of the bombed churches to denounce violence carried out in the name of God.
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Report: Russian Ambassador Told Moscow Kushner Wanted a Private Channel to Kremlin
By VOA News May 26, 2017
The Washington Post is reporting that Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed with Russia's ambassador to Washington the possibility of setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
The Post quoted U.S. officials Friday as saying that the move was meant to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from scrutiny.
The Post's sources said Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner made the proposal during an early-December meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. The sources said the information was detected through intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials.
On Thursday, U.S. news outlets reported that Kushner is being investigated by the FBI in its probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Post reported last week that a senior White House official close to the president was a significant focus of the high stakes investigation, although it did not name Kushner then.
The FBI's focus on Kushner does not necessarily mean he is suspected of a crime, nor is he considered a subject of the bureau's wider probe of Russia.
This latest revelation comes two weeks after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, who was responsible for overseeing the probe.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last week appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation. Separately, at least four congressional committees are conducting their own probes into the matter.
Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin, amid accusations from U.S. intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin orchestrated a sweeping campaign to tilt the vote in the Republican's favor.
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Budget Request Seeks Greater Missile Defense Capabilities
By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2017 The Missile Defense Agency's priority in the president's fiscal year 2018 budget request is to deliver greater missile defense capability for the warfighter and to invest in advanced technology and future capabilities, MDA's director of operations said here this week.
Briefing reporters at the Pentagon, Gary Pennett noted that the agency is requesting $7.9 billion in 2018 to continue to develop reliable, increasingly capable and state-of-the-art defenses against ballistic missile threats for the nation, deployed forces, allies and international partners.
"MDA remains committed to delivering, expanding and sustaining our nation's homeland missile defenses," Pennett said, "and requests $1.5 billion in [fiscal] 2018 for the ground-based midcourse defense program, or GMD." Thirty-six ground-based interceptors, or GBIs, are in place today, and the agency is on track to expand the fleet to 44 by the end of 2017, he added.
The 2018 budget request also would fund flight and system ground testing of homeland defenses, continue developing the redesigned kill vehicle, enhance the nuclear stockpile reliability program and expand the GBI battle space, Pennett said.
The operations director said the agency would continue to develop GMD ground-system hardware and software upgrades and fire-control and kill-vehicle software to improve discrimination capabilities -- the ability to differentiate between incoming missiles and decoys.
Regional Defense
Regional defense uses Aegis ballistic missile defense, the naval component of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. Aegis BMD builds on the existing Aegis weapon system, the standard missile and Navy control-and-communication systems. It targets short- to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats above the atmosphere using the Standard Missile-3, and targets short-range ballistic missiles inside the atmosphere with versions of SM-2 and SM-6. And an initiative called Aegis Ashore adapts Aegis weapon system capabilities to land locations.
Pennett said the 2018 request for Aegis BMD is $1.7 billion and that this includes sustaining the deployed SM-3 fleet.
MDA will buy 34 SM-3 Block IB missiles for deployment on land at the Aegis Ashore site in Romania and later in Poland, and at sea on Aegis BMD ships. This will bring the total number of SM-3 Block IB missiles to 287 by the end of 2018, he said.
THAAD and More
The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, element gives the Ballistic Missile Defense System a globally transportable, rapidly deployable ability to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles inside or outside the atmosphere during their final, or terminal, phase of flight, keeping enemy weapons from reaching the ground. ]media:2:medium:right]
A THAAD battery consists of a truck-mounted launcher, eight interceptors per launcher, the world's largest air-transportable X-band radar, and fire control.
Pennett said the THAAD budget request is $797 million and that in 2018 MDA will support seven THAAD batteries.
"This budget procures 34 THAAD interceptors in [fiscal] 2017, bringing the total to 349 by the end of [fiscal] 2018," he added.
The budget request of $147 million in fiscal 2018 for Israeli programs continues MDA's longstanding support of U.S.-Israeli cooperative BMD programs, Pennett said, including procurement of the Iron Dome weapon system and the co-development of the David's Sling upper-tier interceptor and Arrow weapon system improvements.
Defeating Future Threats
MDA also is developing advanced BMD technology for integration into the Ballistic Missile Defense System fleet to defeat future threats, Pennett said. "The investment strategy for these technologies balances the need to address the most dangerous current threats with a need to position the U.S. to respond to threats developing in the future," he explained.
MDA is requesting $259 million for the multi-object kill vehicle, and has accelerated its risk-reduction and product-development phases to achieve a demonstrated capability in 2025, the operations director said.
For hypersonic defense, MDA requests $75 million, he added, noting that the fiscal 2017 National Defense Authorization Act directed that a program be established in 2018. "The fiscal '18 plan will begin a software modification to current BMDS assets and define requirements and architecture for future demonstrations," Pennett said.
A $54-million directed-energy request will let MDA continue developing and scaling a low-power laser demonstrator, he said, and a $52-million request for space efforts will fund space tracking and surveillance system, or STSS, satellite operations and sustainment.
"STSS consists of two satellites operating in low-earth orbit and provides risk-reduction data for a potential operational BMDS tracking and surveillance constellation," Pennett said. "This FY '18 request will also complete on-orbit deployment of the space-based kill assessment sensor network."
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Trump administration approves 4-point plan regarding N.Korea
Updated: 2017-05-26 20:00:18 KST
The U.S. State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Korea and Japan Joseph Yun notified South Korean lawmakers visiting Washington of a "4-point policy plan" that was approved by President Trump.
The plan was seemingly also insinuated by Trump himself who is in Italy for the G7 summit,and where he reportedly met with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and expressed confidence that the North Korea problem will be "solved".
The 4-point plan includes the following: not recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state; imposing every possible sanction and pressure; not seeking regime change; and resolving the conflict with dialogue in the end.
Yun also explained to the South Korean delegation that the plan also reflected opinions of not only South Korea but also China and Japan.
The newest plan is seen by many as a timely and welcome de-escalation of tensions between Washington and Pyongyang.
North Korea has test-fired two ballistic missiles in as many weeks, while the U.S. conducted ICBM test-launches of its own in late April and early May.
Meanwhile, South Korean experts also seem to agree that Washington's broadly defined 4-point plan aligns nicely with Seoul's own North Korea policy, which is to use both sanctions and dialogue with the regime.
But there is growing speculation about the differences that could arise in terms of how to deal with the North's ongoing nuclear program.
There is a difference in methodology South Korea is closer to China in terms of trying to make North Korea 'suspend' its nuclear program first before inducing a complete denuclearization. But the Trump administration has said before that North Korea must completely dismantle its nuclear program."
And although the 4-point plan does not explicitly mention the use of military force, some experts believe that's still on the table for Washington.
"The plan does say it will impose every possible pressure on North korea, so I think there's still a chance of some kind of military action from the U.S."
It's believed that Seoul will be able to learn more about the four-point plan at the South Korea- U.S. summit set to take place in June.
Kim Jung-soo, Arirang News.
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It was on August 8, when MT Heroic Idun was anchored on the international maritime border of Nigeria after experiencing technical issues, that the vessel was detained by Guinea Navy.
Photo courtesy of Idaho State Police
Idaho State Police (ISP) hosted a demonstration of its new drone program this week. The agency's Small Unmanned Aerial System program includes six DJI Phantom 4 Quadcopters, which have been in operation for nearly a year and cost approximately $1,500 per unit.
The drones are used to expedite crash scene investigations and get traffic flowing more quickly; to conduct surveillance in crime scene investigations; to assist officers during search and rescues; and to mitigate the risk to officer safety in hazardous materials situations. The drones will also provide support to other agencies.
Thirteen ISP troopers all over the state are licensed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to operate the drones, and operating the drones is subject to legal contraints and ISP procedures for obtaining a search warrant and handling evidence.
Contra Costa County, Calif., hasnt found a resolution yet to the workweek gridlock that snarls highway traffic across the Bay Area, but one of its public agencies is in the early stages of another pilot aimed at convincing commuters to become part of a potential solution.On Monday, May 22, the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) began a new partnership with San Francisco-based Scoop Technologies Inc. , during which it will spend $2 per ride to incentivize residents to use the carpooling application during weekday drive times.CCTA, a stand-alone district, is the county's designated Congestion Management Agency and is tasked with maintaining and improving its transportation system.Scoop, which was founded in 2015 and centers its ride-finding efforts on major job sites, isnt yet working with any major Contra Costa employers, so CCTA is backing outward-originating trips for residents, but not inbound trips for non-residents.Through 511 Contra Costa , CCTA's transportation demand management program, the agency will cover a portion of Scoop users costs. The agency will pay $2 per ride each way for Contra Costa commuters who leave their vehicles at home and, instead, ride with a stranger.The effort is funded by $30,000 from Measure J, the countys half-cent sales tax for transportation, and the Bay Area Air Quality Management Districts Transportation Fund for Clean Air, and will last until those monies run out. Riders in Seattle, The Seattle Times reported in April, pay $2 to $10 depending upon the distance.This isnt CCTAs first time partnering with an app. Peter Engel, Contra Costa Transportation Authority director of programs, said the agency worked with carpooling app Carma, formerly Avego, but was unable to stimulate shared commuting.When Scoop reached out about a collaboration, Engel said officials were impressed with its consistent growth, uniform product and membership. Since 2015, commuters using the companys app have taken more than 650,000 trips, eliminating nearly 1.8 million travel miles and lowering carbon emissions by 1.3 million pounds.Were looking for any solution we can find to get people out of their single-occupant cars and take advantage of some of these extra seats in peoples cars, Engel told. With this technology, we feel like we can get away from the promises and surveys and provide incentives based on actual trips that are saved by carpooling.Scoop, which focuses its efforts in Northern California and the Seattle area, offers morning and evening commute ride-sourcing in more than 15 cities and has partnered with Foster City, Pleasanton and San Mateo on pilots similar to Contra Costa. In 2016, Santa Clara County and Palo Alto also subsidized carpooling through Scoop.For drivers, Scoop conducts vehicle history checks through Checkr, the online background check service used by ride-share service Uber. It connects passengers based on destination, chiefly their workplaces, and location with matches typically including neighbors and co-workers.The app separates morning and evening trips the former booked the night before, the latter booked up to an hour before the departure time and features a so-called guaranteed ride home. Payment, directions and contact details are also handled in the app.Data on Contra Costa County users wont be available for weeks, but David Clavens, Scoops director of marketing, said ridership tends to rise when agencies provide a subsidy. The reason people use Scoop most times is the time savings and the social benefit. This is modernized carpooling. Our most popular routes are 15 to 20 miles where folks get into the car, meet somebody new and take the stress off, Clavenssaid.The agreement between Scoop and CCTA comes as officials are realizing that carpool lanes designed to encourage ridesharing are often underutilized. They hope the app may help reverse that trend, motivating riders to do a better job of filling empty seats in high-occupancy vehicle lanes on interstates 80 and 680, and Highway 4, and, when it opens in the next year, in the new express lane on Interstate 680, which will feature tiered pricing by number of passengers.Corinne Dutra-Roberts, program manager at 511 Contra Costa, said her agency already offers financial incentives to drivers who agree to try alternate means of transportation, but many in the past were honor-based. She would like the partnership to generate lasting commitments to keeping vehicles off county highways during peak driving periods and yield verifiable results.So far, we only deal in carrots. We dont deal in sticks. The carrot is Try something else, drive less, Dutra-Roberts said, referring to previous incentives. But we would look at how ride-sourcing can basically change the landscape and the mechanics of offering carrots.Like modes of transportation, Engel acknowledged some subsidies and online apps will make a stronger connection with commuters than others; but the county, he emphasized, will continue evaluating solutions to find the ones that work best.The incentive is the same, to get people out of their cars, so were going to be agnostic to the software, Engel said. We wont just do the same thing. Unless it works. Well keep that and maybe try something else."
Louisville, Ky., has launched a new public workspace one that combines free loaner laptops and fiber Internet connection with modern design aesthetics, the sort more closely associated with trendy coffee shops than government facilities. And its done so in an economically challenged neighborhood where people often lack access to tech.
A central aim of this space is to help foster entrepreneurial partnerships and economic growth in a section of the city facing significant obstacles. The workspace, dubbed the PNC Gigabit Experience Center, is located in the Louisville Central Community Centers' (LCCC) Old Walnut Street development, which is in the Russell neighborhood on the citys west side.
The growth of Louisvilles digital economy must be inclusive of all residents no matter their ZIP code for the budding entrepreneurs and innovators of today and for the families of tomorrow, said Mayor Greg Fischer in a release . The PNC Gigabit Experience Center allows residents of Russell and the entire city [to] realize the potential that technology has for the future of our community and economy.
Grace Simrall, Louisvilles chief of civic innovation , said some of the decisions that gave rise to this came after the president of the LCCC, Sam Watkins, bought the building and sought to turn it into an economic hub where a major company could locate a call center. Watkins' plans, however, were derailed by insufficient access to high-speed internet.
What weve discovered is that the west end of Louisville really is a network connectivity desert, Simrall said.
In fact, the neighborhood didnt even have a place where residents could grab a coffee and hop onto Wi-Fi, whether it be to discuss potential business collaborations, apply for jobs or simply browse the Web. The PNC Gigabyte Experience Center seeks to rectify this dearth by providing higher connection speeds and loaner tech, in a space that feels both vibrant and productive.
The center, which opened May 10, currently has laptops available for free use and super-fast fiber Internet speeds. It opens at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and stays open through the evening, except on Saturday, when it closes at 2 p.m.
The center also has three distinct areas for visitors to hang out, all replete with rented furniture. One is a living room-esque lounge, one has high-top tables with stools and the third features a casual cafe setup. Simrall said officials are collecting feedback on the aesthetic of each section as they prepare to build out the most popular choice with a significant investment in permanent furniture.
A local coffee shop, Heine Brothers', has volunteered to provide coffee every weekday morning through the end of May, and plans are in the works for a local catering company to move in and build the facilities needed to provide cafe offerings long term, an effort slated to be complete by December.
The entire initiative is a product of a collaboration between local government, the LCCC and community partners such as the centers namesake, the philanthropic PNC Foundation . Its happening in coordination with Vision Russell, a neighborhood redevelopment project, funded through a $29.5 million federal Choice Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The PNC Gigabit Experience Center is part of Louisvilles recently announced digital inclusion strategy , the city's plan to remove technological barriers so that all citizens have the digital access, skills and hardware to get jobs, degrees and other services. Digital inclusion and equity is an increasingly prevalent concern for local governments, as this year cities across the country, including Louisville, recently participated in the first-ever Digital Inclusion Week
The concept of combining trendy design for a government facility that gives citizens free access to tech and high-speed Internet, however, is one seemingly unique to Louisville. Many cities have shared workspace areas, both public and private-owned, but something that seeks to so closely re-create the experience of meeting a business partner in a hip coffee joint is a new one.
Simrall calls the sort of interactions that take place in these environments engineered serendipity.
A lot of times when government gets involved, its very utilitarian, Simrall said. It was very important for us to design this space so it was beautiful and welcoming.
Kevin Magnussen sounds unconcerned about the prospect of heading to court next week.
Recently, we reported that the Haas driver's ousted former manager Dorte Riis Madsen is pursuing a claim against Magnussen for current and future earnings.
The Copenhagen proceedings are set to begin next week.
"I'm not thinking about it right now and I have nothing to say at this time," Magnussen told Ekstra Bladet newspaper in Monaco.
"I don't know much about the case but I will get more insight in the coming week. At the moment I don't even know if I have to show up," the 24-year-old said.
In the paddock itself, the Danish driver is quite popular.
"I'm a big fan of Kevin's," F1 veteran David Coulthard told the Danish broadcaster TV2.
"So far he's just found it difficult to show his talent, as he has either not been at the right team or not been with a team for long enough."
The small American team Haas appears happy with former McLaren driver Magnussen, who switched from Renault for 2017 and beyond.
"We are a small team and he is a driver that fits well with that," owner Gene Haas said in Monaco. "It seems that we are a good match.
"But I think both drivers are equal," the American billionaire added.
"Romain Grosjean has a very different driving style, but over a full season I think they are very evenly matched."
(GMM)
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If you dont want to help others, you have two choices.
You either accept the fact that you can be judged as a bad person for not wanting to help, or you make the person who needs help look bad to convince others they dont deserve help.
It is discouraging to see our elected leaders consistently choosing the latter.
Victim-blaming is a convenient fiction.
If the victim is at fault for his or her situation, it absolves others of the responsibility and obligation to help them.
Consider last weeks remarks by Ben Carson, former brain surgeon, GOP presidential candidate and current secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. He said, in essence, that poverty is determined by attitude.
You take somebody that has the right mindset, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while theyll be right back up there, Carson said.
You take somebody with the wrong mindset, you can give them everything in the world theyll work their way right back down to the bottom, Carson said.
He offered no evidence to back this up, other than his own experience as the son of a mother who worked her way out of poverty and gave him the opportunity to become a brain surgeon.
If everybody had a mother like mine, nobody would be in poverty, Carson said. She was a person who absolutely would not accept the status of victim.
Though he didnt say it outright, this amounts to a convenient justification for not giving aid to the poor.
Carsons remarks reflect a view of America as a meritocracy a society in which the most talented people rise to the top. This mindset, particularly popular among those who do make it big, encourages the belief that the people who achieve wealth and success deserve those rewards, while those who fail do not.
Everyone wants to believe they succeed solely on their own merits not because they may have had advantages that others did not, including inheritance, education, family support, geography, class, contacts and even sheer luck. But without equality of opportunity, meritocracy is a myth.
Meritocracy can, in fact, be used to promote policies that increase inequality. If success is a matter of sheer will, talent or, as Carson said, attitude, why do people at the bottom need help? Help, they argue, actually holds back the poor and disadvantaged by making them adopt the mindset of victims.
Make the homeless too comfortable, Carson has said, and they may want to stay where they are.
Similarly, Republican politicians who are championing Trumpcare are increasingly pushing the idea that if people are sick, its their own fault. When you have a health care plan that severely disadvantages people with pre-existing conditions, blaming people for their own sickness is the only way to keep from looking like a heartless cretin.
U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks, an Alabama Republican, explained that requiring people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool was fair because it reduced the cost to those people who lead good lives. Theyre healthy, theyve done the things to keep their bodies healthy.
Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the high-risk pools in the American Health Care Act ensured that if you get cancer, you dont end up broke, but added, That doesnt mean we should take care of the person who sits at home, eats poorly and gets diabetes.
This statement ignores the fact that heredity plays a huge role in who gets diabetes, as the American Diabetes Association was quick to point out. Heredity is also a large determinant of high blood pressure and many other common, pre-existing conditions. Education and income also have a major impact on health, according to research sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Its very easy for those who arent sick or homeless or poor to see those conditions in others as the result of poor choices, character flaws or lack of effort.
Can you find people who fit that description? Certainly. Can you find people who dont fit that description? Absolutely.
You can find an anecdote to prove anything, just as you can find another anecdote to disprove it.
Which is the exception, and which is the rule, or are the causes far more complicated?
Do we care enough to find out, or would we rather believe what is convenient in furthering or explaining our own success?
More than anything these days, I fear that we are becoming a society incapable of compassion and indifferent to anyones suffering but our own.
If we allow that kind of thinking to shape our laws and policies, we are truly lost.
May 27, 1941
The British Royal Navy sank the German battleship Bismarck off France with a loss of some 2,000 lives, three days after the Bismarck sank the HMS Hood with the loss of more than 1,400 lives. Amid rising world tensions, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed an unlimited national emergency during a radio address from the White House. History.com says that Nazi leader Adolf Hitler hoped that the state-of-the-art battleship would herald the rebirth of the German surface battle fleet. However, after the outbreak of war, Britain closely guarded ocean routes from Germany to the Atlantic Ocean, and only U-boats moved freely through the war zone. In May 1941, the order was given for the Bismarck to break out into the Atlantic. ...Learning of its movement, Britain sent almost the entire British Home Fleet in pursuit. On May 24, the British battle cruiser Hood and battleship Prince of Wales intercepted it near Iceland. In a ferocious battle, the Hood exploded and sank, and all but three of the 1,421 crewmen were killed. The Bismarck escaped, but because it was leaking fuel it fled for occupied France. On May 26, it was sighted and crippled by British aircraft, and on May 27 three British warships descended on the Bismarck and finished it off.
One of our best-known and most polarizing local politicians, Melvin Skip Alston, pledged he would put duty above self as he returned to elective office this spring as a county commissioner.
He was humble, soft-spoken, almost contrite.
He even said he would not run for re-election to the post when the current terms expires. Well, probably not run, he said.
Then came the news that Alston had violated protocol by contacting members of the Greensboro Transit Authority board on behalf of a contractor during a bidding process.
Alston is a paid consultant for the French company that runs GTAs bus service, Transdev. Transdev is seeking a $55 million contract extension with the Transit Authority. A rival contractor complained that Alston and a local attorney, Nathan Duggins, violated a rule against contact with board members during bidding. So the contract Transdev won has been voided and the process, rightly, will start all over again.
To be clear, all of this happened late last fall while Alston was a private citizen, months before Alston narrowly won a Democratic Party special election to fill the seat left vacant by former Commissioner Ray Trapp.
Alston contends he did nothing inappropriate.
I know the dos and donts of the contract process, he told the News & Records Margaret Moffett. And I didnt do any donts.
You dont say?
But this episode fits a pattern of lobbying by Alston that has repeatedly skirted the edges of ethical boundaries, if not the law.
In previous years as a county commissioner he was paid a lobbyist for the billboard industry. North Carolinas lax conflict-of-interest laws didnt forbid it (they should). But even whats lawful isnt always right. An elected official shouldnt be a paid lobbyist for anybody.
Then there was the time Greensboro City Council members (including then-Mayor Bill Knight and Nancy Vaughan, who is now mayor) complained in 2010 that Alston had threatened them with political reprisals if they didnt support a downtown hotel project he was associated with. Alston, who was a commissioner at the time, apologized.
But members the GTA board also share responsibility for the contract fiasco. They should have declined meetings with Alston to begin with.
The parties explained that they thought a no-contact rule during the bidding process didnt really mean no contact.
Alston and another representative of Transdev said they were only meeting individually with some GTA board members and seeking meetings with others to ask their opinions about the quality of Transdevs service. (Wink, wink.)
Thats a stretch. Why would they be asking about the quality of service if it wasnt germane to the contract renewal?
Could the rival company simply be miffed that it didnt land the bid? Certainly.
But it doesnt matter. These conversations should not have occurred.
In the end, the GTA board correctly wiped the slate clean and starting the bidding from scratch. Even the appearance of wrongdoing jeopardizes the integrity of the process and the integrity of the board.
Do it again. And get it right this time.
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Scene
Renowned saxophonist Mark Rivera, whose career playing with Billy Joel and his band spans more than 30 years, was seen having dinner at Gabrieles Italian Steakhouse in Greenwich on Tuesday night. Rivera has worked the likes of Simon and Garfunkel, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band, Hall and Oates and Peter Gabriel, to name a few.
Out there
Bethel AME Church in Greenwich is celebrating its 135th Anniversary with a luncheon at 2 p.m. June 10 at the First Presbyterian Church, 1 West Putnam Ave., in Greenwich. The celebration will feature photographer, Greenwich native and GHS graduate Fred Watkins and a collection of his work. Watkins has photographed the likes of presidents Donald Trump, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush and Barack Obama; Nelson Mandela, Michael Jackson, Christy Brinkley, Prince, Muhammad Ali, Elizabeth Taylor, Tom Cruise and Bob Dylan, to name a few. The celebration is open to the public. A $20 donation is appreciated. For more info, call Winston Robinson at 203-522-2315.
Scene.
The Greenwich International Film Festival takes place Thursday through June 4 with venues in Greenwich and Stamford throughout the weekend. Programs include film screenings and documentaries, Q&As and panels. Venues include the Changemaker Cocktail Party at Betteridge in Greenwich on Thursday followed by the Changemaker Honoree Gala at LEscale Restaurant and Bar on Steamboat Road in Greenwich, and an Opening Night Party on June 2 at the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich with rapper and best-selling artist Flo Rida and actress and GIFF award presenter Sophia Bush. For more info and tickets, visit www.greenwichfilm.org.
Scene
Greenwich residents Judy Sheindlin and Judge Jerry Sheindlin were seen having dinner at Pasta Vera restaurant on Greenwich Avenue on Saturday night. Americas favorite Judge had just returned from giving the commencement address to the graduating class at South Charleston High School in West Virginia. In her speech, she told the class of 2017 that they only have one chance to make a first impression.
Scene
Broadways Book of Mormon star and Stamford High School graduate Chris O'Neill served as Emcee at Curtain Calls Dancing with the Stars fundraiser at UConn Stamford and the Palace Theater last week. The Stamford native, who received his early theatrical experiences at Curtain Call, where he performed his first role in a production of Bye Bye Birdie, told the crowd All of my roots are in Curtain Call.
Out there
The Second Congregational Church on Maple Avenue in Greenwich will celebrate its annual Tent Weekend on June 2 on the Mead House Lawn featuring a performance by the Greenwich High School Jazz Band at 6 p.m. The event is open to the public and picnic dinners are encouraged.
America is hope. It is compassion. It is excellence. It is valor.
-Paul Tsongas
And thats all for now.
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UKIP supporters have outlined why they feel Paul Nuttall is the best man to lead Britain out of the EU as the party leader visited Grimsby.
Mr Nuttall met with supporters outside Freshney Place Shopping Centre after spending yesterday morning touring Grimsby Fish Market and the port's famous dock.
Both he and the UK Independence Party candidate for Grimsby, Mike Hookem, resumed campaigning yesterday ahead of the general election following a three day pause as a mark of respect to those who tragically lost their lives in Manchester's terrorist attack.
(Image: Jon Corken)
A key battleground for UKIP in the 2015 election, when the party won four million votes, Mr Nuttall explained how they are being "selective" with where they focus their campaign trail, with polls now suggesting support for UKIP may be as low as just four per cent, compared to 43 per cent for the Conservatives.
As reported, earlier in the day, Mr Nuttall described radical Islam as a "cancer" that needs to be "cut out of society", and once again reiterated those remarks as he met with Ukip supporters in Grimsby town centre.
(Image: Jon Corken)
One of those who turned out in glorious May sunshine to show his support for Ukip, was Robert Frendt, who has travelled the country canvassing with the party, to places like Stoke and the Lake District.
He says he agrees with Mr Nuttall's remarks comparing radical Islam to a "cancer".
He said: "All you have to do is look at Monday as an example. I can't understand why people go to Syria to do utmost to destroy our way of life.
"If they leave the country to go to these sorts of places. they should not be allowed back in at all.
"I strongly believe in the party. Only Ukip speak the language I want to hear.
"I'm not a racist but there are too many EU citizens coming here for benefits. We need an Australian style points system."
Grimsby man Patrick Green and Cleethorpes resident Clive Colom were also proudly waving Ukip support banners as Mr Nuttall made his visit to the area.
(Image: Jon Corken)
Patrick believes Ukip are the party of "common sense". He said: "I think the government need Ukip to guide us out of the EU. We need a hard Brexit.
"The EU needs us more than we need them. We need to show the rest of them what we can do and get our jobs back."
Clive, added: "I want the country to have laws made by us not by someone in Europe telling me what to do in my country.
"It's a case of taking control.
"Ukip will absolutely deliver the best Brexit for Britain."
Meanwhile, Vicki Mutton, who stood as Ukip candidate for Cleethorpes last year, believes that Mike Hookem is the "right man for the job" in Grimsby.
(Image: Jon Corken)
She said: "I think he would sort out our fishing rights. He has been fighting for that for a long time.
"We need someone who can regenerate Grimsby's housing and employment problems.
"I think we need to stop giving so much to foreign aid and deport people who have got proven links to radicalism."
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Haiti - Politics : Follow-up visit of the Hospital's work for the police
Friday morning, Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant undertook an assessment visit to the redevelopment and modernization of the Hospital Center located in Bon Repos, which will be used to provide care to agents of the Haitian National Police (PNH).
This facility will offer, among other things, trauma services and will be equipped with medical and surgical emergencies. The Prime Minister announced a substantial envelope dedicated to the acquisition of medical equipment to meet the health care needs of the police.
The Bon-Repos Hospital, whose work is 80% complete, will begin its partial operations by the end of this year, confirmed Prime Minister Lafontant during his visit.
See also :
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20500-haiti-health-moise-on-tour-in-several-hospitals.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20492-haiti-security-moise-to-the-27th-pnh-promotion.html
HL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - Geneva : The state of health of the Haitian population remains worrying
Marie Greta Roy Clement, Minister of Public Health, representing Haiti in Geneva https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-21013-icihaiti-geneva-haiti-at-the-70th-session-of-the-who-general-assembly.html during the 70th session of the General Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) (22 to 31 May 2017) on the theme "Building Better Systems for Health in the Age of Sustainable" intervened this week in the context of the general debates, underlining that "[...] despite the great advances in technology, the good faith and the manifest desire of the different actors to change the health situation, the results remain below expectations. The state of health of the Haitian population remains worrying [...]"
Extract from the statement by the Minister of Health :
"[...] I pay tribute to the contribution of the technical and financial partners of Haiti for their presence alongside us in the implementation of national health policies.
However, despite the great technological advances, good faith and the obvious desire of the various actors to change the health situation, the results obtained are still below expectations. The state of health of the Haitian population remains worrying and challenges us all. There will need to be greater involvement in the harmonization of interventions and the use of all available resources for genuine reform of our health system.
[...]
It is also important to remember that health systems in all countries need to be strong and resilient to ensure international health security. The situation in Haiti is far from being mastered, because with the rainy season of cholera outbreaks are revived all over the country. The unfulfilled promises of some partners put us under the obligation to deal with them but with limited means. Our country will not be able to stem this scourge if the promises are not honored.
The Republic of Haiti, with the establishment of a legitimate Government, is resolutely committed to sustainable human development. This civic commitment will be made with the contribution of everyone, but also with the support of the friendly countries that are members of WHO who have always supported us in this relentless quest for 'physical, mental, economic and social well-being' as the slogan of the WHO says so well. This is a challenge that must be within our reach and we will surely succeed in raising it thanks to your support [...]"
HL/ S/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - Economy : Laying the foundation stone of the extension of the Free Zone Lafito
Friday, President Jovenel Moise, accompanied by Pierre Marie Du Meny, Minister of Trade and Industry, took part in the ceremony of laying of the foundation stone of the extension works of the Lafito Industrial Free Zone, Located in Cabaret, in the presence of, among others, the President of the Senate, Youri Latortue, representatives of the Bigio Group, representatives of the Reliable Source Industrial Company, Limited, a sportswear company based in Taipei (Taiwan), which finalizes the construction of 6 buildings of 10,000 m2 each which will create 8,000 jobs by the end of this year.
"I am here, because the State alone can not hire the millions of unemployed in the cities and rural sections of the country. The path to better living conditions for our people requires a combination of public and private sector efforts," said President Jovenel Moise. "I am here because I believe the private sector has an important role to play in the production of goods, services and above all in the creation of jobs."
Reuven Bigio, Executive Director of Bigio Group (GB Group), welcomed the willingness and determination of the Head of State to facilitate investment in Haiti. He also took the opportunity to recall that the Lafito Platform is open to all, entrepreneurs and institutions that have the will to invest and contribute to the sustainable development of Haiti.
Recall that the Lafito project which has been in operation for 2 years now, besides its world class port https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-16612-icihaiti-economy-1-boat-arrives-every-2-days-in-port-lafito.html , the site of more than 400 hectares includes its own power station, a free zone and will include in the extension phase a commercial space, a medical clinic and a residential area. The Lafito project provides for the creation of 25,000 jobs during its first five years of operation.
Learn more about GB Group :
GB Group is a leading, diversified group of industrial and trading companies in the Caribbean, with operations concentrated in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica and St. Maarten and offices in the United States. Comprised of 21 companies from seven different divisions including agriculture, construction, consumer goods, infrastructure, energy, logistics and trading, GB Group collaborates with more than 4,000 employees and embraces managers from more than 15 countries companywide. GB Group and its operating companies have strategic alliances and/or partnerships with some the worlds top business organizations. The companys current endeavors include the $80 million Lafito Global project, which includes Port Lafito, Haitis first Panamax port.
Located in Haiti since 1896, the GB Group is one of the largest private industrial groups in the Caribbean, with
concentrated operations in Haiti and offices in Miami, Santo Domingo and Port au Prince. With over 2,000 employees, the GB Group includes many companies [Acierie d'Haiti (ADH), les Huileries Haitiennes (HUHSA), Sodigaz, Gentel, Metalec Prometal etc...], divisions and affiliates and joint ventures operating in the 9 following industries: Agriculture (Soon) Building Materials, Consumer, Energy / Fuel Distribution, Environmental Services, Infrastructure, Telecommunications, Trade, Transport.
See also :
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20810-haiti-economy-creation-of-8-000-new-jobs-in-the-textile-sector.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-16317-haiti-economy-seaboard-marine-a-prestigious-client-for-port-lafito.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-14398-haiti-economy-inauguration-of-the-new-world-class-port-lafito.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13535-haiti-economy-lafito-industrial-free-zone-and-port-lafito-joined-adih.html
https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-13310-haiti-news-some-news-here-and-there.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-13242-haiti-economy-port-lafito-a-historic-first.html
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-11066-haiti-economy-port-lafito-sa-announces-strategic-alliance-with-ssa-marine.html
HL/ SL/ HaitiLibre
Haiti - News : Zapping...
4 prisoners escape
In the night from Wednesday to Thursday 25 May, 4 prisoners escaped from the custody at the Miragoane police station (Nippes department). A police operation allowed to caught 3 of them. According to the police authorities, this escape is due to the oxidation of the gates that are in front of the sea. The officials call the Nippes population to collaborate, if someone discovers an unknown in his zone, he must call the police at 509 38 04 1010.
Bosses of the textile sector go on the offensive
Bosses of the textile companies are on the offensive. Several employees were dismissed and 42 members of the GOSSTTRA-CTSP trade union were banned from entering the workplace. Union officials and employees affected by these measures announce that mobilization will continue until their demands have been met, including a daily minimum wage of 800 Gourdes.
"Haiti the land of opportunities" dixit Moise
On Friday, President Jovenel Moses, during the laying of the foundation stone for the extension of the Lafito Free Zone, said "I encourage and applaud all investors for this act of faith in Haiti, thee land of opportunities, the diamond in its raw state. This investment will create thousands of jobs for young people."
See also :
https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21063-haiti-economy-laying-the-foundation-stone-of-the-extension-of-the-free-zone-lafito.html
Diaspora : "Konsila Mobil" schedules
The Consulate of the Republic of Haiti in Orlando informs the Haitian Community of Central Florida that the next "Konsila Mobil" will take place on Wednesday June 7, 2017 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Haitian Evangelical Church in Jacksonville located at 507 Cassat Ave Jacksonville, FL 32254.
A second "Konsila Mobil" will be held at Fort Pierce on Thursday, June 15, 2017 from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm at the Philadelphia Church of the Nazarene at 820 Soltman Ave Fort Pierce, Florida 34950.
For further information, contact the Consular Office at : (407) 897-1262
Security : Ronsard St Cyr action plan
On Thursday, Ronsard St Cyr, Secretary of State for Public Security, unveiled at a press conference, the main lines of his action plan which he intends to implement within his mandate among others : the fight against banditry, the strengthening of the National Police of Haiti (PNH), better management of public transport, strict control of night clubs, discotheques and the sale of alcohol, and respect for human rights...
The Lamothe Foundation with farmers
The Louis G. Lamothe Foundation has distributed sweet potato cuttings, cassava and agricultural tools to several farmers in the locality of Kotdefe, in the commune of Bonbon, in the department of Grand'Anse.
HL/ HaitiLibre
By Lily Lee | Published on 2017/05/26
.Who are you? I'm not kidding, the first time I saw this movie poster, I did not recognize my favorite actor at all. I even thought this was actor Ryoo Seung-bum.
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Lieutenant Park Hae-young?? (From "Signal") Is that really you?
Yes, everyone. It is Lee Je-hoon. (Stop with the eyebrows, bro.)
You all are probably as surprised as I am right now. Apparently this is his new look in the upcoming movie "Anarchist from Colony". He plays Park Yeol, the historical figure known as a Korean patriot.
So, here he is!
I sure miss my big puppy Lee Je-hoon..
But this new style on him is an exciting change too. I have a feeling this role will be a good image changer for him. Not sure if I like the whole beard look but I'm sure it will grow on me.
So far, just with couple revealed pictures for the posters and from the scene, he is already being praised. It is being said that there's no actor Lee Je-hoon seen in Park Yeol, which is quite a great compliment when you think about it. It means that he was able to portray the character Park Yeol perfectly to the point of erasing the actor Lee Je-hoon from the sight while he plays Park Yeol. Hopefully that statement is true not just in the pictures that were released but also in the movies.
The movie will be released next month in June! Tune in! (: Also, just in case you are about to forget his beardless, smooth face, here's a picture! haha
By. Lily Lee
Published on 2017/05/26 | Source
Added episode 15 captures for the Korean drama "Queen of Mystery" (2017)
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Directed by Kim Jin-woo-II, Yoo Yeong-eun-I
Written by Lee Seong-min-II
Network : KBS
With Choi Kang-hee, Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Won-keun, Shin Hyun-bin, Kim Hyun-sook, Yoon Hee-seok,...
16 episodes - Wed, Thu 22:00
Synopsis
"Queen of Mystery" tells the story of a prosecutor's wife who's always dreamed of being a detective. After actually solving a case, she ends up in an unlikely crime-fighting duo with a young police captain.
Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2017/04/05
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By Lily Lee | Published on 2017/05/26
On May 3rd, Baeksang Arts Awards was held, where numerous stars walked on the red carpet in luxurious tux and dresses. Out of all the beautiful dresses though, actress Kim Yoo-jung's dress was the most impressive of them all.
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The reason being, compared to other expensive dresses costing thousands of dollars, Kim Yoo-jung's dress was only about $290. When the netizens heard about the news, they all praised highly on this young actress. Of course, a famous actress like her wearing a comparably cheap dress on the red carpet under all the spotlight is quite admirable and refreshing. However, the reason why we are cheering is not just the price of the dress. The dress she wore is a dress from the Swedish fashion brand, H&M and it is a recycled polyester dress.
This gracefully-flowy dress in gentle pink was a perfect choice for Kim Yoo-jung, who is finally getting out of her image as a child actress and becoming a young lady, building her career to become a top actress of South Korea (If anything, I'd say she is already walking the path of a top actress.).
Now, this perfect choice was even more enhanced in its beauty when we learned that every piece of the dress is made from sustainable materials, including a special material a polyester made of plastics recycled from shoreline waste.
This dress was released in last April by H&M, surprising the world with the designer's creativity and sincerity as they stand as an eco-friendly brand. This fashion brand has been actively searching for and support the ways of being eco-friendly and by Kim Yoo-jung choosing to wear this special dress at such a big award ceremony, she added her support to the cause.
Actress Kim Yoo-jung is truly a beautiful woman, both inside and outside. Even in young age, her thoughtful gesture impressed and inspired many.
By. Lily Lee
Proposed revisions to Central Oahu Plan available for review
News Release from City and County of Honolulu, May 23, 2017
The Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) has completed its comprehensive review of the revised Central Oahu Sustainable Communities Plan (SCP) and it is now available to the public for review.
The plan will be presented at the Waipahu Neighborhood Board meeting on Thursday, May 25, at 7 p.m. in the Filipino Community Center, 94-428 Mokuola Street. The DPP has already made presentations to the Wahiawa/Whitmore Village Neighborhood Board and the Mililani Mauka/Launani Valley Board.
The revised document is an update of the 2002 Central Oahu SCP, which is the citys guide for the future of the region that includes Wahiawa, Mililani, Mililani Mauka, Waipio, Kunia, Waikele and Waipahu.
Central Oahu is expected to experience moderate growth between now and 2040, with the addition of 12,600 new housing units to accommodate projected population increases. The plan provides capacity for residential development while protecting 10,350 acres of high-quality agricultural land. The updated plan also addresses the need for affordable housing in Central Oahu, revitalization of Waipahu and Wahiawa, and the protection and conservation of natural resources.
The plan has been submitted to the Planning Commission, which is expected to hold a public hearing on Wednesday, July 19, 2017. The commission will make a recommendation to the City Council for further review and action.
For those unable to attend this weeks board meeting, copies of the plan are available on the DPP website, http://www.honoluludpp.org/Planning. The plan also is available at the DPP, 650 South King Street, 7th Floor; Kapolei Hale, 1000 Uluohia Street; and the Mililani, Wahiawa, Waipahu, and Pearl City libraries, as well as the main Hawaii State Library at 478 South King Street.
-END-
A woman who claims she was raped by a man she met on the dating app Tinder said the accused sent her a "smiley face" text message after the alleged attack, a court heard yesterday.
The Louth man (36) has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape at Kilmashogue Lane on September 11, 2014.
Both the accused and the complainant are entitled to anonymity throughout the trial.
The alleged victim told Alexander Owens, prosecuting, that, after matching on Tinder, the pair exchanged messages on WhatsApp, with the accused sending up to 20 messages to her within a 24-hour period.
The 31-year-old woman, who was a university student at the time, said that the accused "sounded cross" when she cancelled their first arranged meeting at short notice.
However, a subsequent date was arranged for September 11 and an arrangement was made to go for "a spin and a coffee".
She said he told her they would take the "long way back" to the city and he drove down a rural road.
He stopped the car and said: "I wouldn't abandon you in the mountains."
She said that, after a brief kissing session, she asked him to "take it easy". He said to her: "What the f**k do you think we're here for?"
She said she did not want a "one-night stand" and left the car after he told her to "get the f**k out".
She got out and he drove off. She took out her phone to ring a friend but there was no signal.
The car disappeared from sight but returned a few minutes later and stopped by her.
The man told her "it's grand, get in" and she got in because she felt like she did not have a choice.
Terrified
He drove the car back to where they had been and he stopped and began kissing her.
He pulled a lever to drop her seat back and moved quickly to get on top of her. She said she was terrified and said no to him.
The alleged victim said that she asked him to stop but, when he began to remove her clothes, she stopped resisting him. She said he then raped her.
Afterwards, he dropped her home and she said the accused sent her a WhatsApp message with a smiley face, which she deleted.
When the trial opened on Thursday, Mr Owens told the jury at the Central Criminal Court that the alleged victim downloaded Tinder in September 2014 and began exchanging messages with the accused.
Mr Owens said that, three days after their first online meeting, the pair arranged a date. The accused collected the alleged victim outside her home and drove her to a McDonald's, where they bought ice cream and coffee, he said.
Mr Owens said the jury would hear evidence that they then went for a drive and the accused became "extremely angry" when the woman rebuffed his sexual advances.
Mr Owens said the accused angrily ordered his date out of his car and drove away.
"It was after 10pm. This woman was stuck out there in the mountains and had no phone communication," he said.
It is alleged the accused then drove back and said to the complainant: "Get back into the car."
The woman did as she was asked, Mr Owens said.
The trial continues.
A Dublin man has been accused of having 98,000 worth of heroin and cocaine after gardai made a drugs seizure from a car he was passenger in.
Darren Delacey (35) was refused bail when he appeared in Dublin District Court.
Mr Delacey, with an address at Cremona Road, Ballyfermot is charged with two counts of possession of drugs with intent to sell or supply. Judge Alan Mitchell remanded him in custody, to appear in Cloverhill District Court next week.
The court heard the offences were alleged to have happened at Junction 5 on the M7 Motorway on Monday.
The prosecuting garda said he was objecting to bail based on the nature and seriousness of the allegations.
He said gardai stopped a Volkswagen Passat at 5.25pm on May 22. The accused was sitting in a passenger seat and gardai searched the car under the Misuse of Drugs Act, the garda said.
Detained
Heroin with a value of 94,500 and another 3,500 worth of cocaine was found in the back seat footwell where the accused was sitting, it was alleged.
The defendant was arrested and brought to Crumlin Garda Station, where he was detained and later charged. The garda said he believed the accused would commit offences if granted bail.
Applying for bail on the accused's behalf, defence solicitor Michael Kelleher said Mr Delacey had family support and his sister and niece were in court.
The accused enjoys a presumption of innocence, Mr Kelleher said.
Judge Mitchell said he was satisfied that a case had been made out by the prosecution for the refusal of bail.
He remanded the defendant in custody to appear in court again on May 30, for the directions of the DPP.
He granted free legal aid after a statement of the defendant's financial means was handed in to the court.
Mr Delacey has not yet indicated how he intends to plead to the charges.
Barnel Muntean has "turned over a new leaf"
A motorist was caught driving the wrong way down a main road while under the influence of cannabis.
Barnel Muntean (21) was jailed for three months for dangerous and drug driving.
A court heard that he had suffered addiction issues but had since detoxed and "turned over a new leaf".
Sentencing him, Judge David McHugh said Muntean still had to pay for the danger he put people in on the day.
The accused - from Alderwood Park, Tallaght - admitted dangerous driving and driving while under the influence of an intoxicant.
Blanchardstown District Court heard the incident happened on the Naas Road at Newlands Cross on April 2, 2015. Garda Declan Bambrick said he was on duty at 12.20am when he saw the accused driving the wrong way.
He was stopped, arrested and taken to Blanchardstown Garda Station.
A breath sample he provided was negative for alcohol but positive for cannabis.
Muntean had previous convictions for motoring offences and had since been banned from driving for having no insurance and another count of dangerous driving.
Addicted
The defendant was originally from Romania and had been in Ireland since 2000, his barrister Ciaran MacLoughlin said.
He had become addicted to illicit narcotics and his father took him back to Romania for a detox programme.
He had been clean for almost two years and was on Jobseeker's Allowance.
Judge McHugh asked what the problem had been in bringing the prosecution given that the offence happened in 2015.
Gda Bambrick said there had been bench warrants in relation to the case.
Muntean was in a "very different place now," Mr Mac Loughlin said. He had taken steps to right the problems in his life.
The previous conviction for dangerous driving was also as a result of addiction issues at the time, he added.
Notwithstanding the fact that Muntean had turned over a new leaf, he had taken bench warrants and evaded justice, the judge said during sentencing.
"He still has to pay for the danger he put himself and other people in on that date in 2015," the judge added.
He had been minded to jail the accused for six months but said he was lowering the sentence by 50pc.
Solidarity TD Paul Murphy and Councillor Michael Murphy are "intelligent men" who "should have walked away" from the Jobstown anti-water charges protest, a garda said.
On Day 21 of the trial of Mr Murphy, Cllr Murphy and five other men, the jury was shown footage where a vote was taken among protesters on whether to "keep" former Tanaiste Joan Burton, or march the garda car carrying the minister out of the area.
The seven men deny falsely imprisoning Ms Burton and her aide Karen O'Connell by restricting their personal liberty without their consent at Fortunestown Road, Jobstown, Tallaght, on November 15, 2014.
Crowd
The two women were allegedly trapped in the car outside a church and later hemmed in by protestors for up to three hours as they sat in a garda Jeep. They had been attending a graduation ceremony.
Yesterday in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, Detective Garda Richard Hansen was shown video of Paul Murphy asking the crowd to vote on whether to keep Ms Burton or march her out of the area.
Michael Murphy told the crowd there was "potential for argy-bargy and that's not what we really came here for".
Another man in the crowd responded, "That's what we came here for", Seoirse O'Dunlaing, representing Michael Murphy, told the court.
The two men voted to escort Ms Burton's car down Fortunestown Road, but the majority wanted to hold her back.
Det Gda Hansen said he thought the footage "clearly demonstrates that both Paul Murphy and Michael Murphy were in control of the crowd". He said the men had the loud-hailer and were "putting options to the crowd".
"This had become more than a protest. It was a violent situation. It was nearly a riot in my opinion," he said.
"They're both intelligent men. They had the option to walk away. They should have just walked away at that point. People were being assaulted.
"Guards were being assaulted. We had two women trapped in the car."
Mr O'Dunlaing put it to the detective that he made no mention of Michael Murphy in his notebook.
He also suggested to the officer that he studied the CCTV while making his statement and that, whenever Cllr Murphy's name cropped up in his evidence, it was "predated with you viewing footage".
Det Gda Hansen said he referred to the video "to ensure I was identifying the correct person".
The trial continues before Judge Greally and the jury.
A Virginia State Police special agent has died after he was shot Friday evening after approaching a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street in Mosby Court.
The office, Michael T. Walter, succumbed to his injuries shortly after 5 a.m. today at VCU Medical Center.
State police said a Richmond man, Travis A. Ball, 27, is in custody after an overnight search by local, state and federal law enforcement agents.
Ball was apprehended at a home in Northumberland County shortly after 6 a.m. and is being held without bond. He was charged on warrants obtained Friday on one count of malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police said additional charges are pending.
A multi-agency investigative effort involving eight law enforcement agencies and tips from the public led to Ball's apprehension in the Northern Neck, police said. It wasn't immediately clear why Ball traveled to that area.
The shooting happened just after Walter and a Richmond police officer approached the car shortly after 7:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Redd Street, in the heart of the public housing development. A passenger in the vehicle fired a shot and ran, police said. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was detained. The suspect is described as a black male in his mid-20s with a medium build, short cropped hair and wearing a red or plaid button-down shirt and khaki cargo long shorts or pants.
It was not an actual traffic stop. They just approached the vehicle," State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. "They were just having a conversation with the individuals when the state police special agent was shot.
In an update Saturday morning, Geller said Walter was riding with a Richmond police officer as part of the ongoing city-state partnership between the two agencies. She said a handgun was recovered near the car occupied by Ball.
Walter was assigned to the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation field office's Drug Enforcement Section and had routinely partnered with Richmond police on investigative and patrol operations, Geller said.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe identified the trooper as Walter in a tweet at about 10:20 p.m. Friday evening in which he asked for prayers for the trooper and said Walter is fighting for his life.
But state police would not confirm the name in a news conference last night.
We are not going to release his name at this time, as we still have not had a chance to get in touch with all of his family, Geller said.
In a statement just before 10 a.m. today, the governor issued his condolences.
Dorothy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter, and we are heartbroken for his wife and children," McAuliffe said. "Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice.
As the community grieves, I ask my fellow Virginians to join me in praying for Mike's family, friends, and fellow troopers who are suffering from this sudden loss," the governor added. "No words can heal their pain, but we can all honor Mike's memory by showing gratitude to those who protect and serve every day.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also offered condolences.
I am heartbroken over the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter in a senseless act of violence here in our city last night," Stoney said in a statement.
"Richmond joins the entire law enforcement community in mourning the loss of this fallen hero and brave public servant, who worked every day to keep the rest of us safe.
"I ask my fellow citizens to keep Special Agent Walter's wife and children in their thoughts and prayers in the difficult days ahead, and to honor his service with a renewed commitment to a safer, more peaceful city."
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The most shameful thing about the disastrous budget passed by the Senate two weeks ago is not the vindictive 3:00 a.m. budget cuts to education programs in Democrats districts.
Its not the paltry raise given to state workers after years of neglect or the cruel refusal to give state retirees any cost of living increase at all.
Its not the dozens of controversial policy provisions snuck into the 362-page budget bill with no debate or discussion that cuts food benefits to 133,000 people, bans new wind farms, ends the certificate of need process for health care facilities, creates education savings accounts, and more.
Its not even the latest installment of the Senates Robin Hood in reverse tax scheme that cuts taxes again on the wealthy and corporations, costing the state more than $850 million that the General Assemblys own staff says will lead to a significant budget shortfall in a few years.
It is the decision in a year of a large budget surplus to make it more likely that thousands of at-risk children in North Carolina will struggle in their lifetimes.
Senate leaders chose to increase the number of slots in NC PreK by 2,350, which most media accounts will tell you is roughly half of the waiting list.
That means that almost 3,000 at-risk four-year-olds whose parents signed them up for the program will be unable to enroll.
But there really is no waiting list. Its a figure of speech.
When a four-year-old from a low-income family is not allowed to enroll, they dont get another chance next year. Its too late. They are already in school without the additional skills and head start that the program provides.
And the mythological waiting list is not even the whole story. There are roughly 67,000 at-risk children eligible for NC PreK and less than half are served every year.
There is no debate any longer that the program makes it far more likely that the children will succeed in school. There is a study every year that confirms it.
Even conservative legislators are part of that consensus. We know for a fact that giving at-risk kids extra preparation before they start school vastly increases the odds that they will overcome the hurdles they face and do well.
Studies also show that NC PreK saves the state money in the long run, but it would be the right thing to do even it didnt.
And yet the Senate budget only finds the money to pay for the half of four-year-olds on the so-called waiting list this year. That cost $18 million.
For an investment of twice that then, Senate leaders could have made sure that at least every child who signed up for the program had the chance to benefit from it and not start school behind.
That wouldnt be enough but it would be a start. Governor Roy Coopers budget calls for eliminating the waiting list but the Senate had other priorities.
The tax cuts that flows primarily to corporations and the wealthiest 20 percent of the people costs $325 million next year and more than $800 million when fully in place.
Even a slight reduction in the unwise tax break would make sure that several thousand children have a brighter future.
Senate leaders keep boasting about their decision to put another $363 million in the states savings account, bring the total in savings to more than $1.5 billion.
They could have decided to put $345 million in savings instead and used $18 million to make sure 3,000 children started school with a far better chance to succeed.
But saving $363 million was more important than saving the future of thousands of kids.
A state budget is at its core simply a list of priorities. Senate leaders, to their great shame, made it clear again this year that children in North Carolina are not at the top of their listnot even close.
Chris Fitzsimon is the founder and executive director of N.C. Policy Watch.
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It is easy to frame rules banning the slaughter of the cow, its progeny, its distant cousin the water buffalo, and its passing acquaintance the camel. It is much harder to think of life without buttons, soap, toothpaste, paint brushes and surgical stitches.
Only 30% of cattle slaughtered in India is used for meat either local consumption or export while 70% of the carcass is traded for industries that deal in the aforementioned products, along with about three-dozen other items of daily use. Most of the 30% cattle slaughtered, of course, is the water buffalo because the culling of cows for meat is either totally banned or allowed with strict riders in all but five states. Whats more: eating, selling, transporting or exporting meat of the cow genus is a non-bailable offence, punishable with up to 10 years in jail in all of northern, central and western India.
So, when the Government of India issued an extraordinary notification on Tuesday, restricting the sale of cattle for slaughter in animal markets and imposing rules that put a majority of the countrys animal markets in danger, it willy-nilly hit much more than the meat industry. Sources say the meat industry relies on animal markets for 90% of its supply. The impact on allied industries is unclear.
The government may think the decision is politically rewarding at a time of easy vigilantism. But there are economic implications across the board on exports, the environment, the rural economy -- issues that should have been addressed before taking a hard line.
According to the 2012 Livestock Census, India has a total of 191 million cows and bulls, and 109 million water buffaloes. These are together roughly 25 per cent of Indias human population. Most of these end up on the streets at strays, spewing methane in this age of global warming. With culling a bad word now, the number, according to experts, will rise, perhaps exponentially.
India exported 2.4 million tonnes of buffalo meat to 65 countries in 2014-15, or 23.5% of global beef exports according to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy. It was worth Rs 30,000 crore, accounting for 1% of Indias total exports, part of the Pink Revolution that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had so derisively talked about during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign.
As far as the bovine economy goes, however, it was only a tiny sliver.
The biggest impact of the government notification will be on Indias largely non-mechanized rural economy, in which the life cycle of bulls and bullocks provides farmers with a sustainable economic model. A couple of former colleagues and I had worked out the math in an article for India Today magazine a couple of years ago.
If a farmer buys a bullock for Rs 25,000, it remains sellable at the same price for about two years. Once it becomes unproductive due to injury or illness, the farmer sells it for culling for about Rs 10,000. This 40% return on investment then allows the farmer to raise capital for a replacement animal. If this replacement cost is taken away from the farmer, it not only makes it harder to procure a new set of healthy bullocks for ploughing, it adds the additional burden of paying for the animals upkeep.
In 2014, the used-cattle market in Maharashtra, for example, yielded an annual turnover of Rs 1,180 crore. When the state government banned the culling of cow and its progeny in 2015, a farmer with an unproductive bull suddenly had nowhere to go. Since the average bovine consumes about 65 litres of water and 40 kg of fodder a day, estimates put the cost of taking care of a bull at nearly Rs 40,000 per year at 2015 prices. With an estimated 1.18 million unproductive bulls in Maharashtra alone, feeding them costs about Rs 4,700 crore per year.
The ban in Maharashtra did not include buffaloes, making the new government notification all the more unpalatable.
So, when anti-culling supporters celebrate taking away the most delicious item on the menu in Lucknows Tunday kababs or in a Goan shack, they should consider exactly what theyre losing, and ask themselves: Is depriving other people their meat really worth the cost?
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Actor Anand Tiwari was lauded for his performance in Sushant Singh Rajput-starrer Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! in 2015. But after that, he hasnt featured in a film. Reason? He says he got busy with his directorial debut and production work.
I wanted to take a small sabbatical to concentrate on my directorial debut. Its my first film and I didnt want to compromise. Also, there are other things that I have been producing, says Anand, who has worked in films such as The President Is Coming (2009), Udaan (2010), Go Goa Gone (2012).
Anands directorial debut is a romantic comedy, which he has co-written with actor Sumeet Vyas of Permanent Roommates fame. Ask him what sets his film apart, considering there are so many romcoms made in Bollywood, and Anand says, I dont know if my film is different or not but it is not a typical romcom. The film revolves around the issue of finding a space in Mumbai. It also deals with the idea of how love doesnt happen at first [sight], rather it happens by chance and makes the relationship complicated. Love here is an afterthought.
So, when will fans see him back on-screen? The actor says he might take up a few acting projects once he is done with his film, and thereafter, he would want to balance both acting and direction. Anand also points out that currently, he feels drawn towards working behind the camera. So, what does he plan to direct next? I believe in content beyond the genre. My next film can be yet another romcom or an action film, I am not sure. But what I know is that I want to tell stories that come directly from my heart and reach the masses. I want to make sure that the story appeals to everyone. I am not here to make niche films, says the 34-year-old.
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Rumoured couple Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh are shooting for Sanjay Leela Bhansalis Padmavati, and while there are reports that the two dont have scenes together, they are preparing for their roles in the film with each other. A set for the film has been set up at a studio at Dahisar, in the outskirts of Mumbai. Ranveer owns a house there and moves in when he is preparing for his roles. According to reports, Deepika is also living there with him for sometime.
They have decided to stay close to the sets so they can avoid wasting time travelling. There are also reports that the two are using this time to prepare for their roles together.
Actor Ranveer Singh injured himself on the sets of the film, but continued to shoot. (Yogen Shah)
The team has been shooting at Dahisar for two days now and there are still a few days left for the shoot to conclude. The film, which also stars actor Shahid Kapoor, is slated to release in November this year. Padmavati, that revolves around the 1303 siege of the Chittor fort in Rajasthan, has been in news for a while now because of the repeated disruption on the sets of the film. In February this year, the shoot was stopped by activists of a Rajput group, who tried to vandalise the sets at the Jaigarh Fort in Jaipur. The activists accused Bhansali of distorting facts. In March, the sets caught fire in Kolhapur.
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Actor Kunal Kemmu likes to keep his personal life guarded and doesnt like to talk much about it. The actor, however, says that there is not much that can be kept under wraps as the limelight comes with being a celebrity. The 34-year-old says he has come to terms with the fact that many parts of his life will be made public.
Ups and downs are a part of life in general, but being in the limelight has its own share of pros and cons. Sometimes, we cant choose what we want to share or discuss [in public]. Its an ever evolving process and one needs to keep learning and adapting. There are times when you get irked by intrusive questions or get misquoted. But its a symbiotic relationship that needs to be managed. I personally have always kept a low profile, as Im a private person, he says.
Hipster and @khemster2 #londondiaries A post shared by Soha (@sakpataudi) on May 24, 2017 at 10:30pm PDT
So, its no surprise that the 34-year-old actor, who is expecting his first child with wife, Soha Ali Khan, doesnt want to discuss it much. Im very happy and feel blessed. We still have a long way to go and we just need everyones good wishes for the road ahead, he says. The couple was recently spotted in London and Soha even posted pictures, flaunting her baby bump on Instagram.
The couple is also working on a project together. Soha and I are co-producing a biopic on the iconic criminal lawyer Mr Ram Jethmalani with Ronnie Screwvalas company. Besides this, there is Golmaal Again that releases this Diwali. There is Go Goa Gone 2 and another project, which will be announced later this year, says Kunal.
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Filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia has announced the release date for his upcoming movie Raagdesh featuring Kunal Kapoor, Amit Sadh and Mohit Marwah in the lead roles.
The film based on the famous Indian National Army (INA) trials in Second World War era, is slated to release on July 28.
Kunal Kapoor on the sets of Raagdesh.
The movie is produced by Rajya Sabha TV (RSTV) and is one of the most anticipated films this year.
UFO Moviez, Indias largest digital cinema distribution network and in-cinema advertising platform, has partnered with RSTV to handle the movies promotional activities through its In-Cinema Promotion capabilities. UFO Moviez will be also be handling PAN India distribution of Raag Desh in this strategic partnership and manage its media promotions.
Raag Desh is a cinematic representation of the glorious but forgotten chapter of Indias contemporary history. It is a story of Indian National Army (INA) of Subhash Chandra Bose. It captures the euphoria of INA, its travails and struggles and brings on the cinema screens an untold story of the Indian freedom struggle.
Raag Desh is the story of three leading officers of the INA namely Colonel Prem Sehgal, Colonel Gurbaksh Singh Dhillon, and Major General Shah Nawaz Khan, who were captured and imprisoned at the Lal Quila (Red Fort).
The film is gripping account of their trial by the British government which is famously known as The Red Fort Trials the trials that finally established that the British would have to quit India.
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It is a story that has been told a million times before. Two people meet, fall in love, and before you know it, they cant live without each other. But not all love stories have happy endings. Some are ugly, full of pain, but just as powerful. And every relationship comes with a memento of its own. Sometimes all it takes is a photograph or a ticket stub, and the memories of a romance from long ago come flooding back.
For some, it may be impossible to throw away such a memento. An inanimate object for one can signify the good phase of a bad relationship for the other. A museum in Zagreb, Croatia, has come up with the perfect solution for tokens that symbolise certain indescribable phases of your life. Dedicated to anger, nostalgia, affection and guilt, the Museum of Broken Relationships is a repository of mementos of passions that have now fizzled out.
Olinka Vistica and Drazen Grubisic founded the museum after accepting the end of their relationship. (Getty Images)
Once upon a time
Designer Drazen Grubisic and film producer Olinka Vistica first came up with the idea when they tried to save, transform and ultimately overcome the breakdown of their own relationship. Like every couple, they sat down to divide their possessions after their relationship was beyond the point of salvage. They came up with the idea behind the museum as they joked about finding a place to store the tokens of love both material and immaterial theyd collected during their time together.
Grubisic and Vistica held their first exhibition in Zagreb in 2006, using a shipping container to display objects donated by friends and acquaintances. And just like that, the Museum of Broken Relationships was born. Today, the once travelling exhibition has a permanent home in Zagrebs Old City area. So far, the museum has travelled to 44 cities in 28 countries, and boasts a footfall of over a million people. In 2016, it opened a branch in Los Angeles.
People can contribute in three ways during a donation call in their city, by mailing it to the museum, or by uploading virtual content pertaining to their break-ups on the museums website. All donations are anonymous. The collection is always changing and evolving. The museum has over 2,200 mementos. However, only five objects are from India, so far.
This postcard was submitted by an Armenian woman, who received it from an old flame (Museum of Broken Relationships)
Love anyway
At any time, the museum exhibits around 100 tokens, each with a little write-up explaining why it was precious to the contributor.
One such token was by a 70-year-old woman from Yerevan, Armenia, who donated a postcard she received as a youth from a neighbour who was in love with her. Following Armenian tradition, his parents asked the womans parents for her hand, but were turned down. Mad with grief, that boy then drove his car off a cliff. Another was a photo of a square where a young couple met every day. The contributor said that was the spot where their relationship began, and that was where his girlfriend broke up with him, saying that she was sick of his jokes.
Not all tokens are about romantic relationships though. One contributor donated a toy given to her by her mother before she was abandoned as a three-year-old. Another contributor, who was raped as an eight-year-old, donated the police report her parents filed.
The stories behind each object is different some make you laugh, some make you cry. Each object is a little piece of life, preserved and presented as a means of catharsis.
And before you ask, yes, I too donated something to the museum. A hotel bill, from a holiday I took with my then girlfriend. She told me she loved me, and broke up with me a week later.
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From HT Brunch, May 28, 2017
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I felt like I was staring at Houdini emerge from an escape act. Here is an IIM-Calcutta MBA, a star banker for 14 years. And yet, I see a free man, dressed for the weather, minus the golden handcuffs of corporate India. For the ones left behind, those who want their own shot at redemption, I must ask what is the password.
Swadharma is the clue he offers. There is a difference between changing a job and changing a career, and changing a career should never be driven by push factors but by pull factors. The change has to fit your overall pull, your overall purpose in life your swadharma and only you can discover it.
My swadharma is my belief that modern India needs liberal modern messages
How did Amish, grandson of a Benares pandit-turned-atheist, turned bestselling Hindu mythologist, discover his purpose? I felt it had to be a combination of three things something that the world needs, something that I am good at, something that I enjoy doing. Without the first, its just a hobby; without the last, its just a job. My swadharma is my belief that modern India needs liberal modern messages. After a few centuries of decline, this great land of ours is rediscovering its greatness. This is a time of change and we need to manage this change and the challenges we are facing. Fortunately, many of these answers are present in our ancient culture. I am driven to discover and mine these messages from the past, and communicate them in a modern way through good stories.
Amish, an IIM-Calcutta MBA, was a star banker for 14 years before becoming a writer (Exclusively shot for HT BRUNCH by Prabhat Shetty)
All sides of the story
I pause on his allusion to national pride a post truth hot potato. Has there been a single country in the world that has achieved large scale uplift without national pride Japan, US, now China? Amish nods in agreement, pointing out how the British, in fact, appropriated the legends of the Greeks and those who defeated and conquered them the Romans into their own narratives! On the other hand, our ancestors were really solid achievers through most of human history and we can build our pride on solid fact and truth.
I feel a tinge of worry for the man. After all, even sworn enemies the left liberals and the right could make common cause against him. Can the left liberals digest his idea of Hindu mythology as a source of contemporary morality, and can the right tolerate his alleged blasphemy of divine plots?
Amish is assured. Three-and-a-half million copies of my book sold, without controversy. This is because our ancient texts have answers for both sides. If someone wants to argue for liberalism, our ancient culture and texts are their biggest allies. It is unfortunate that the liberal elite of the last 70 years have not realised this. I am not saying there werent things that you could object to, but that is the point you could object without being killed. That is why we were the most successful country in the world economically, spiritually, culturally, scientifically through most of recorded history. And for those on the right, what greater pride can there be than seeing this wisdom in our ancestors and making it our task to be worthy of them? We were seriously kickass guys!
Amish strikes a solemn pose for HT Brunch (Prbhat Shetty)
Fine dine vs fast food
I retort, But isnt this how Indian mythology is meant to be done slow-cooked, fine dine? Is your speed and styling turning it into fast food, home delivered? Amish points to Ved Vyasa, the compiler of the Vedas and author of the Mahabharata. Ved Vyasa realised that the Vedas and Upanishads were very complex to understand, and therefore wrote the Mahabharata a rocking story to make that ancient wisdom accessible. The concept of communicating philosophies through stories and multiple interpretations, localisation, modernisation is as traditional as the stories themselves. For example, the concept of a Lakshman rekha did not exist in the original Valmiki Ramayana it was popularised by the TV series which drew it from an alternate version of the Ramayana!
I get it, but still have to ask: So you see this as a vast open source system of several millennia, with writers like you building their own modern, user-friendly apps on it? Is the Ramchandra series the latest app on this platform? A philosophical work, but with the garnishing of a plot as a user-friendly feature?
Amish nods. All my books have a core philosophy that I want to convey. At the heart of the Shiva trilogy is an attempt to answer the question, what is evil? At the heart of the Ramachandra series is, what is an ideal society? We dont debate enough as a society on this.
I push back. Isnt our modern education system giving us these life skills? Arent the best products of this system executives and professionals better skilled for ethics and emotional health? Why should they rely on mythology as a tool for life skilling? Really?
Amish comes back strong. We have two problems in our education system from colonial times. One is lack of respect or connection with our own roots. The more educated you become, the more disconnected you are. For example, most kids are still being taught we have four seasons! That is what I want to change through my books. Second, there are no philosophical teachings in our education. In ancient India, the subjects that everyone had to study were usually mathematics and philosophy. These days, sadly, philosophy has been reduced to a subject in the humanities stream for those who could not get into the so-called high IQ streams. But philosophy is the art of learning how to live who doesnt need to learn how to live? In ancient India, there was no concept of pure evil there is no Vedic Sanskrit translation for the term. This meant that there was nuance and maturity in looking at the world. Women were treated as equals, the caste system was not rigid or birth based. But my idea is to educate the youth on these ideas through engaging stories rather than a satsang.
Amish knows how to switch between eras and symbols rather smoothly (Prabhat Shetty)
Plotting and planning
I bring Amishs attention to the young man at the table across from us. See the guys Batman T-shirt? You think he would find wearing an Indian superhero, say Shiva or Hanuman, just as cool? You see them pinned up across rest of India with pride trucks, dhabas, kirana stores, homes but will they ever be with it for the young elite?
Of course, thats happening most of my readers are the youth, says Amish. Our original superheroes are super cool and deserve to be presented and understood. One of my young readers describes Shiva as the dude of the Gods he dances brilliantly, sings brilliantly, is obsessively in love with his wife, and so much more. Sita ma in Sita Warrior of Mithila is very different from what you may have been used to seeing, since here she is based on the Adbhut Ramayana and Gond Ramayani. She shines in a positive feminist light an adopted child who rises to become a warrior, the prime minister of her kingdom and then eventually a goddess. She an alpha female who fights 100 warriors at once.
I throw him a googly. And do you believe these original superheroes really existed? Amish plays it off the front foot. Yes, I believe they are our ancestors and their blood flows in our veins. Can I prove it? No. But I am not trying to force that on anyone else. It inspires me that their blood flows in my veins, I need to step up and deserve it. You need to get into proof only if you want someone else to believe it. Anyway, the only thing you know for sure is that you and your consciousness exist.
One of my fears is that I will die before I finish all the stories that are in my head.
I nod appreciatively. After all, my one-month-old daughter probably believes that the universe is 2,000 square feet, and proves it to herself by rotating her head in all directions. How much more omniscopic are we anyway?
So whats the end game, Amish?
I have a 20-25 year content plan. (You can take a man out of banking, but). It started with the Shiva trilogy and now is on the Ramchandra series. Even the books I will write after the Ramchandra series my version of the Mahabharata, Lord Rudra-Lady Mohini story, Lord Brahma story, Lord Parashurama story have clues in my current books and they are all linked to each other. Its one complete universe. And when a universe gets created, many minor characters develop stories of their own too. I dont have the bandwidth to write those stories, so I am planning to hire writers who I will tell the stories to and they will write those stories. Over a period of time, maybe I will establish a company, develop them into movies or other formats.
And what after death? Where would you like to be reborn? I ask, teasingly underlining the scale of his vision.
Right here! No other country I would rather live in or die in.
Doing what?
Writing, hopefully. One of my fears is that I will die before I finish all the stories that are in my head! So it would be nice to get another shot!
Amish has explained the his interpretations of the Indus Valley script.
The author is a venture capitalist and Indic philosophy enthusiast
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From HT Brunch, May 28, 2017
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I am not sure how many people realised this but when Marriott took over Starwood a few months ago, something historic happened to the Indian hotel industry. For the first time ever, a foreign hotel chain became Indias largest operator of hotels with 84 hotels and over 18,000 rooms.
The Taj, which used to be number one is now second with around 11,000 rooms. It is just behind in the number of hotels too: 83 to Marriotts 84, but by the end of the year, Marriott will have widened the gap further.
I imagine that most people knew what Marriott is (Marriott, Courtyard by Marriott, JW Marriott, Fairfield by Marriott, Renaissance, Ritz-Carlton and Marriott Executive Apartments amongst many others) but Starwood is a collection of hotel brands that are probably better known than the conglomerate which owned (having usually acquired them from others) the hotel chains. It includes some of the best-known names in the global hotel business: Sheraton, Le Meridien, Westin, St. Regis, W, Four Points, Aloft and many others.
Together, the new merged entity (largely run by Marriott) is a global giant, possibly the biggest chain in the world with a staggering 6,000 or so properties in 122 countries.
Unusually for a foreign company, Marriotts South Asia operation is run by an Indian (Neeraj Govil) and within the industry, Marriotts success in our market is often explained by its enthusiasm for hiring Indians (or people of Indian origin) for key posts. There are few expatriate executive chefs at Marriott in India and fewer and fewer expat general managers.
Partly, this comes from a sense that Indian professionals understand the Indian market best. But it is also a recognition that Indians are some of the worlds best hoteliers. Hyatt came to this conclusion some years ago when Rakesh Sarna rose to top positions within the company. (He was head of Hyatt in the US before he left to become Chief Executive of Taj).
With Sarna back in the country where he was born, the most successful Indian in the global hotel business is a guy who is so obsessively low-profile that hardly anybody outside of the hotel business has heard of him. And even within the hospitality industry, most people would not recognise him if they bumped into him in the street.
Unusually for a foreign company, Marriotts South Asia operation is run by an Indian. This proves that Indian professionals understand the Indian market best.
But Rajeev Menon is a huge player in the global hotel world. He looks after all of Marriott-Starwoods hotels in Asia-Pacific (including Australia but excluding China). That means that his portfolio includes 280 hotels across 20 countries, more than double the size of the Taj group and far, far bigger than any other Indian hotel chain. In the luxury segment alone (defined as JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, W, Bvlgari, Edition, Luxury Collection, St. Regis and Ritz Carlton Reserve), Menons APEC portfolio includes a staggering 68 hotels.
So how does a quiet Punjabi boy end up being the most successful Indian in the global hotel industry?
Sheer merit would be my guess. It is not as though Menon had any special privileges or lucky breaks. His father worked for the railways. Rajeev grew up in Delhi, living in railway accommodation (around the area where the Leela Palace is now) and went to the Pusa Catering College. He joined ITC as a trainee and worked at the chains F&B outlets, seemingly headed for a solid ITC-type career.
Then, the Sea Rock hotel in Bombay (run by ITC) went on strike and Menon, along with other ITC trainees, was despatched to run the hotel. As the employees demonstrated outside, the hotel remained open for business, manned entirely by managers and trainees. It was not considered safe to cross the picket lines (there were knifings and guns were fired) so the trainees lived in the hotel, three for four to a room and handled everything from answering the phones to cleaning the rooms to cooking at the restaurants.
Rajeev Menon is the most successful Indian in the global hotel business, a title hes achieved without anyones notice.
The strike went on for weeks and though he was bunkered down in the hotel, working non-stop from breakfast to late in the night, Menon says that the experience of working in the Sea Rock during the siege was probably the most formative moment of his career in India. It sharpened his skills, taught him how to cope with pressure and made him understand what it took to actually run a hotel.
Menon had an uncle in Australia who had been urging him to move there and he finally took the plunge (at the time he was Banquet Manager at the Maurya) thinking it would be easy. Assuming that his ITC experience would help, he applied for jobs at many top Australian hotels.
All of them turned him down. After 25 rejections, Menon realised that Australians really did not give much credence to the Indian experience he regarded as so valuable. So he scaled down his ambitions and began applying for entry-level jobs.
He did get one such job even though the managers who interviewed him told him that he was overqualified. But Menon was so desperate by then that he was willing to take anything he was offered.
As usually happens in a just and fair system, even if the entry into the company is difficult, merit always rises to the top and Menon quickly earned a series of promotions. But this brought its own challenges. Appointed Banquet Manager, he met the Banquet Steward and asked if he could speak to the Banquets team.
We are the team, he was told.
In Australia (as in the West), hotels are run with small service teams (the opposite of India) and rely on casual staff when more servers are needed. This means that managers are required to do much more themselves and have fewer people to depend on.
Menon quickly came to terms with the non-Indian way of doing things. And then his rise was startling. He was poached by the Stamford Hotel group, run by a Singapore-Chinese millionaire. He managed and opened several hotels for Stamford before Marriott began talking to him. The group had run a hotel in Panjim in Goa for years. Now, it was ready to explore the rapidly developing India market. Would Menon be willing to go back?
Menon agreed and moved to Mumbai to open the Renaissance Hotel in the then distant suburb of Powai in Mumbai. It was an uphill task, made even more difficult by the global slump in travel following the 9/11 attacks. Somehow, Menon made it work and Marriott was impressed enough to transfer him back to Sydney in 2004 as Country General Manager for all of Australia.
He performed so well in Australia that they promoted him and sent him to India to oversee Marriotts development in 2007. At that stage, the group had six hotels. That number increased to 27 and should go up to nearly 50+ in the next three years, even without the Starwood properties. (Add the Starwood hotels and the figures are startling: there will be around 100 openings in the next few years and the chain will be present in 33 cities in India.)
By the time he was given charge of the APEC (Asia Pacific excluding China) region in 2015, Menon was that rarity in the global hotel business, a hugely successful Indian executive who had come up via the hotel operations route. (Finance is the usual route to success for Indians in hospitality abroad) Moreover, much of his experience had been earned in the Indian market. That alone says something about Indian hoteliers and how they are finally beginning to be respected around the world.
Now that Menon is the big boss for the region, Marriott is posed to grow dramatically in India. But I suspect that Menons real challenges will be the same as those faced by his Marriott colleagues around the world: how do you align the Starwood brands with Marriotts?
The companys line, echoed by Menon, is that the French luxury conglomerate Louis Vuitton-Moet Hennessy (LVMH) has 70 brands, most of them in the same upmarket space, and still has no difficulty in giving each of them its own identity.
It is a valid parallel but Marriott has inherited Starwoods global branding problems. What, for instance, is the difference between Sheraton and Westin, which operate at roughly the same price points? What does Le Meridien represent? And Starwoods bread-and-butter brand, the once great Sheraton has now ossified. Sheraton hotels seem dull, characterless and boring, selling only on the basis of location or rate advantage.
No doubt Marriott will sort out those problems. Till then we have a reason to be proud. An Indian has risen to the first division of global hoteliering.
And hes done it so quietly and so modestly that many of us did not even notice!
From HT Brunch, May 28, 2017
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Google has refused to share salary information requested by the US Labour Department, saying that it would cost too much to retrieve the data.
According to a report in ReCode on Friday, the US Labour Department has sued Google for salary records, arguing it is legally entitled to on grounds that Google is a government contractor.
Google has been accused of systemic compensation disparities against women pretty much across the entire workforce.
The search engine giant argued in a US court that it would take 500 hours and $100,000 to fulfil the Labour Departments request.
According to Google, the requests from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), a section of the Labour Department, were overbroad in scope or reveal confidential data.
Weve worked hard to comply with the OFCCPs current audit and have provided hundreds of thousands of records over the last year, including those related to compensation, the report quoted a Google spokesperson as saying.
However, the handful of OFCCP requests that are the subject of the complaint are overbroad in scope, or reveal confidential data, and weve made this clear to the OFCCP, to no avail.
The spokesperson added that these requests include thousands of employees private contract information which they safeguard rigorously.
Refuting the claims of the Labour Department, Google claimed that its own analysis of its data showed no gender pay gap, and that its pay model prevented such discrimination.
However, not all former employees agreed on this.
The alleged gang rape, robbery and murder case reported from Greater Noidas Jewar early on Thursday has brought the polices focus back on the Bawariyas and other tribal gangs operating in the area.
Sources said that the Uttar Pradesh special task force were working on multiple inputs, which were being developed. The language used by the robbers, as stated by the victims, suggests that the accused men may be from the Bawariya gang, police said.
STF sources also said that there are five particular words that were repeatedly used by the six robbers in their conversation and none of victims could understand what they meant
The language and accent described to us by the victims is used in Bharatpur and in areas of Rajasthan. It gives us a reason to suspect the Bawariya gangs involvement in this crime. Moreover, phones that were snatched from the victim have not been used. We mounted technical surveillance, but it has not provided us with any location, said an investigating officer.
The officer also said that the Bawariya gang members followed rituals and customs and were not tech-savvy. They did not use phones for communication and moved from one place to another very quickly after committing a crime.
Had this been the handiwork of a local gang operating in in areas of Jewar and Rabupura, we would have known. Our personnel are conducting raids continuously and so far we have found not found any evidence to suggest that a local gang may be involved in this crime, investigation officer added.
Investigators said that the incident of rape too was confusing the personnel from special operation group (SOG) and special task force (STF). Officials said that among the Bawariyas, there were only few gangs which commited rape and it was a challenge to track them.
Another reason for suspecting the Bawariyas was the particular dress code that the victims said the robbers were wearing.
Earlier on Saturday, a team from National Commission for Women visited the spot and then met the victims. They separately interacted with the four gang rape victims after their statement was recorded by a magistrate under section 164 Cr.p.c.
A senior police official said, the victims were brought in for recording the statement at 3pm.
Gautam Budh Nagar MP and union culture minister Mahesh Sharma also visited the house of the victims along with Jewar MLA Dhirendra Singh.
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LUCKNOW Thousands of Class 12 students of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) board have welcomed the boards decision to continue with the moderation policy after the high court order.
The move will pave way for students to avail the option of choosing the college of their choice in the country for higher studies.
I cant thank God enough for the grace marks that I will get thanks to the moderation policy, said Komal Gandhi, a student of Study Hall.
She adds, I am not saying that students should be handed out marks like any goodies but the timing of taking back the privilege was bad. They should have told us before the exams but I am glad it is all over now.
Her friend Kuhu Srivastava from the same school said, Im glad theyre continuing with it this year so that they have more time to plan better for next years moderation policy.
Students are equally happy with the fact that the CBSE will also not delay their results.
We feel thankful to the CBSE for deciding to obey the HC order and not going to the Supreme Court, said Ujasha Tripathi, a Class 12 student pursuing Humanities from Manipal public school.
Students of GD Goenka School too are relaxed. Varuni Rai, a student said The news has been a great reliever. My plans of studying abroad will not get affected as Ivy League Universities consider the percentages of students.
Abhijeet Chaurasia, another student said, Since several boards have already declared the result, CBSE students would have suffered if the moderation policy had been discontinued at this juncture.
Ashok Yadav, of Class 12 Science of St Anjanis Public School, Rajajipuram Lucknow plans to join the Armed Forces. He has heaved a sigh of relief now that moderation policy is in force. Very strict marking could have jeopardized his ranking in entrance test.
Other students from the same school, Indra Bhaskar and Ujjawal Baudh, Science stream, are targeting IIT. They feel it will not have much bearing as it is the entrance test which will unlock the gates for them and not percentage of Board, beyond a point. Danish Sheikh, Abdul Ahad and Avinash Verma are happy that their grades will improve. They rue not being serious enough for studies in Commerce stream. But moderation policy will help them sail through.
Principalspeak
Students are happy with the CBSE decision of not approaching the Supreme Court to challenge the recent Delhi High Court verdict on moderation policy. Further delay would have led to more anxiety amongst students since they have been waiting to take admission in various colleges. I wish all the students best of luck for their result. They must remember that there is more to life than just percentage.
Anupama Shukla, principal, Manipal Public School
Students were left in a lurch because of the recent developments in CBSE. The cut-offs would have certainly gone down but also the percentages scored by the students. Such news before the declaration of results created a lot of panic among students. Since some other boards have already declared the result, CBSE students would have suffered if the moderation policy had been discontinued at this juncture.
Raveen Pande, principal, GD Goenka Public School
There should be uniformity in allocation of marks across all boards. Such last minute changes create unnecessary chaos and confusion
Nishi Mathur, principal, St Anjanis Public School, Rajajipuram
Which is the best-known newspaper in the country? Stand-up comedian and social-satirist Sanjay Rajoura of Aisi Taisi Democracy (ATD) asked the audience at Kamani Auditorium during a recent sell-out show. The audience laughed lightly, expecting a bazooka of an answer from the three-member ATD team.
You dont know! Rajoura challenged us again. And added in the same breath: Its WhatsApp!
A roar of laughter swept through the auditorium. The ATD team went on to give examples of the kind of news that goes viral on messaging and social media platforms. While some were hilarious, others were capable of inciting trouble. This increasing popularity of messaging and social media platforms is a double-edged sword. While on one hand, these platforms work wonderfully as positive pressure groups, on the other, unverified news that travels seamlessly through its sinews has led to violence on the web (trolling) and on the streets.
Recently, seven men were lynched by a mob in Jharkhand on the suspicion that they were child kidnappers. The message, written in Hindi and circulated on WhatsApp, said: Suspected child lifters are carrying sedatives, injections, spray, cotton and small towels. They speak Hindi, Bangla and Malyali. If you happen to see any stranger near your house immediately inform local police as he could be a member of the child lifting gang. This news rather this rumour provoked villagers of three districts to take the law into own hands.
This is not the first time that rumours masquerading as news have led to such a heinous reaction. Even the humble, old world SMS has a history of creating law and order problems. In 2012, scores of people from the Northeast fled the technology hub of Bangalore, driven by online rumour-mongering of violence against them, without a single incident being reported in the city. Then in 2013, a video clip showing a Muslim mob lynching two boys led to riots in Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. The video was later found to be fake it showed an incident in Pakistan but the riots that resulted killed over 60 people and displaced 50,000.
In many cases, the States reaction to such social media-influenced violence has been blanket bans on these popular platforms. But such actions are useless. Look at Kashmir. Every time there is violence in the Valley, the first reaction of the state government has been to clampdown on social media. Yet, people find out ways to circumvent such bans, thanks to virtual private networks (VPNs). A recent story in Hindustan Times said despite the ban on Internet in the state, the whos who of Kashmir were continuing to post on Facebook and Twitter. Besides, by banning social media the State is also blocking a channel of quick communication with the people for itself.
What passes as social media news is many a time are actually rumours. The technology-based medium can be new but this social phenomenon of rumour being taken as truth is hardly new. In Rumors That Changed the World: A History of Violence and Discrimination Eugen O. Chirovici, member of the Romanian Academy of Sciences, writes in antiquity, the Romans and Greeks believed that the gates of Hell were to be found on Cape Tenara, and Europeans of the Middle Ages were convinced that the entrance to the underworld was via the yawning crater of Mount Etna in Sicily and when the first travellers returned from the New World, they tried to convince their contemporaries that the natives they had seen there had eyes in their chests or walked around holding their heads under their arms. For reasons that still puzzle scientists, the human psychical world still includes what is known as magical thinking, and this type of thought is the perfect ecosystem in which rumours can evolve and multiply, he writes.
So for the State, the real test is now to not just quell rumours but do it quickly so that it does not further amplify through social media. And to beat the furious pace of the social media, the administration and police have to be incredibly proactive and nimble, almost like a tech start-up.
An interesting study by Onook Oh of Warwick Business School and two others on the use of social media in three major incidents, including the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, shows that authorities or organisations involved in a disaster or terrorist attack, need to set up an emergency communication centre to provide speedy, relevant information on the unfolding crisis and to confirm or dispel misinformation circulating on social media. .
Jharkhand obviously fell short on that count. And why blame Jharkhand? Most police and administrative set-ups in India are in the same boat. But the demands of the times are such steep rise in crimes in India and information explosion that it needs new-age policing and administration: Transparent with information but also has to have the structure to counter flare-ups on a real time basis. Some have proactively engaged with the public to ensure that rumours are nipped in the bud.
Take for example the Bangalore Police. It has adopted tech policing and is using social media in a big way to interact with people.
A NITI Aayog paper talks about ways in which policing needs to be reformed: First improvement in capacity and infrastructure of police forces, second revisiting the constitution of police forces through legislative/ administrative changes, and third technological scaling-up.
Technological reforms includes modernisation of the control room, fast tracking the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System pushing for NATGRID and pushing for incorporation of new technology into policing. To enable police stations to exchange information, they need to be connected through a seamless network. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has often spoken about SMART Policing, which means S for strict but sensitive, M for modern and mobile, A for alert and accountable, R for reliable and responsive and T for techno-savvy and trained. The task reforming the police force is not easy but has to be done to stop Jharkhand-type savagery.
@chanakya
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Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled states are spending Rs 2000 crore of taxpayers money to trumpet the completion of the third anniversary of the NDA government at the centre, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on Saturday. The BJP denied the allegations.
We found from our own sources that Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated by BJP-ruled states from their budgets. This is being spent on advertisements in newspapers, channels and social networks to announce the completion of three years of the union government, said Sisodia.
He said the Aam Admi Party would move the Comptroller and Auditor General and the committee that has been set up to monitor the AAP governments spending on advertisements.
We would urge the CAG and the committee to perform an audit of the money spent on advertisements and recover the amount from the BJP. The money could then be spent to build hospitals and schools in the respective states, the deputy chief minister said.
GVL Narsimha Rao, BJP spokesman, said:These are blatant lies and concoctions by the Aam Aadmi Party. This has become a signature of the AAP style of politics. The shoot and scoot politics may have served them well in the past, but with their credibility gone, no one is taking them seriously now
On March 29, Lt Governor Anil Baijal had directed that Rs 97 crore spent on advertisements violating Supreme Courts guidelines be recovered from AAP.
Baijals order had come after a Centre-appointed panel found the Delhi government guilty of misusing taxpayers money on advertisements.
The Supreme Court on May 13, 2015 ruled that government ads would only carry photographs of the president, the prime minister and the chief justice of India. It barred ruling parties from putting pictures of their leaders in ads publicising welfare schemes.
The CAG had pulled up the Kejriwal government for spending Rs 29 crore in advertisements outside Delhi, which it said was beyond its responsibility.
We would urge the CAG and the committee to do a comparative audit. They should look into the contents and intent of the advertisements of the AAP government and those given by the BJP ruled states, Sisodia added.
When Jaideep Sharmas friend went missing last September from his hometown in Rajasthans Sikar, the 24-year-old MBA student had inkling that it had something to do with a kidney racket.
For days before his disappearance, Rajesh Mehla had been telling him about his plans to donate his kidney for Rs 10 lakh that would help improve his familys financial condition.
Without informing his family, Sharma embarked on a dangerous mission to trace his friend. He posed as a donor and went through the entire drill before actual donation, conducted sting operations on the illegal kidney racketeers and stayed in Delhi for 40 days to expose the interstate racket.
On Thursday, he was minutes away from having his kidney removed when a Delhi Police team that had been shadowing him all through, raided Batra Hospital in South Delhi and rescued him. I have heard that four racketeers have been arrested but my friend remains missing, Sharma told HT on Friday.
Pursuing his MBA degree from Symbiosis University in Pune, Sharma had been told by Mehla about how he had been contacted by some kidney agents. So when Mehla disappeared, Sharma decided to pursue the same agents. He reached out to them through email and soon received a response.
But the racketeers had multiple layers of screening to ensure that Sharma was a genuine donor and not a policeman laying a trap. Once they agreed to buy his kidney for Rs 4 lakh, he contacted me and requested me to conduct a sting operation, said Sukesh Ranjan, input editor of News24 channel.
Sharma knew the risks involved in what he was doing but he is fearless. Once we were sure of his confidence, we contacted senior Delhi Police officers who approved our operation and confirmed that they would be with us throughout, said Ranjan.
Over the next 40 days, Sharma played to the tunes of the racketeers to avoid any suspicion and at the same kept updated the police and the TV team about every move. News24 reporter, Rahul Prakash, posed as Sharmas friend in the operation.
Sharma would also conduct sting operations on the racketeers when it was not possible for us to step into the scene, said Prakash. By the end, the police had 200 hours of video evidence that is expected to go a long way in nailing the accused.
As the time the sting was about to end on Thursday afternoon, Sharma was in the operation theatre at Batra Hospital in Delhi. I was confident that the police would rescue me before the doctors would take out my kidney, said Sharma.
After rescuing Sharma, the police arrested four middlemen involved in the racket and are set to question some doctors and staffers from Batra Hospital.
Meanwhile, the hospital said: Batra Hospital conducts all renal transplants fairly and under strict supervision. All related and unrelated transplants are vetted by a committee.All the transplant act guidelines are followed. All documents are checked and the proceedings of the committee are recorded. There is no involvement of the hospital in any wrongdoing. The hospital has and will fully co operate with the police and earnestly assist in finding out the culprit.
After weeks of protests by students, Delhi University went back on its decision to hold online entrance exams for its postgraduate seats.
The university had earlier this month said it would hold online entrance tests for its M Phil, PhD and PG programmes and nine undergraduate programmes, after the standing committee cleared both online and offline tests for these programmes.
The university now says conducting both online and offline tests would not be feasible and withdrew its earlier directive.
The decision comes in the wake of protests by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which culminated with a hunger strike by its members, including Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) president Amit Tanwar, vice president Priyanka Chhawri and secretary Ankit Sangwan in the past few days.
ABVP members had maintained that an online test format would be unfair for those from rural backgrounds.
We decided to conduct only offline entrance test for postgraduate courses at six centres. These six are the same centres as last year. There will be no online entrance test for PG courses, said a member of the admission committee.
Members of the committee said conducting offline and online tests were unfeasible due to logistical reasons.
The six centres for the offline tests are in Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Guwahati and Nagpur. In South India, the centre would either be in Bangalore or Chennai.
However, a member of the committee maintained that entrance tests for nine undergraduate programmes will continue to be online, and there would be no offline test centres.
Students can register for the entrance-based undergraduate programmes, and post graduate, M Phil, and PhD programmes starting May 31.
A group of Delhi University students have alleged that they have seen ISIS slogans on a wall in a Delhi University institute.
A Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) member also filed a complaint with the police though no FIR was registered yet.
Ankit Sangwan, DUSU secretary and a member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), approached the police after a few students allegedly informed him about the writing on the wall.
(On reaching the spot) I found that I am SYN ISIS was written on the wall, which means that an organisation like ISIS is to be supported, wrote Sangwan in his complaint received at the Maurice Nagar Police station on Saturday.
Strangely though, the words I am were written in pink and SYN ISIS was written in blue.
Sangwan alleged that other slogans such as Justice for Naxals, AFSPA and Azadi were also seen smeared on the walls.
The alleged ISIS slogan was seen on a wall of Delhi School of Economics. The other slogans were reportedly written on the walls of the department of social work.
It is unclear who wrote the messages. But ABVP members said that they would stage a protest if the matter was not investigated properly.
With CCTV cameras around, it should not be very difficult to figure out who wrote the message. We will also speak to the university authorities and department heads about this on Monday. It is not right that somebody tarnish the name of a reputed department such as the department of social work, Sangwan told HT.
I request you to not only take strict action against those responsible, but also paint these walls, said Sangwan in his written complaint.
The Delhi police acknowledged getting the complaint.
We have received the complaint, and we will look into the matter, said North DCP, Jatin Narwal. Till late Saturday night, no FIR was filed in the case.
HT tried calling and texting the vice-chancellor of Delhi University but he was unavailable for comment.
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The illegal kidney donation racket busted by a Delhi police team was a well-organised one. The strength of the racketeers lay in their ability to convincingly pass off donors as close relatives of the organ recipients, investigators said.
How the quest began
*A 24-year-old MBA student at Punes Symbiosis Institute risked his safety and played along with illegal kidney donation agents for several weeks to expose a well-organised racket operating in Delhi, top police officials said.
* MBA student Jaideep Sharmas quest began last September when one of his friends suddenly went missing. Since the friend had spoken about selling his kidney for a handsome price, Jaideep believed that his disappearance had something to do with a racket. He, therefore, made a conscious effort to contact the kidney racketeers and offer himself as a donor.
* The racketeers fell into the trap and offered him Rs 4 lakh for donating his kidney.
How the donor was prepared
*Sharma contacted a reporter from News 24 channel. Prepared to conduct a sting operation, the news team informed the crime branch and sought backup.
* Sharma played along with the racketeers for several weeks, allowing the police to gather evidence. His kidney was to be donated to a patient from Andhra Pradesh.
* In the meantime, the racketeers made Sharma assume the identity of an Andhra Pradesh man by arranging fake documents and working on his looks.
* The racketeers first prepared his fake aadhaar card, voter ID card, matriculation certificate and date of birth certificates, all of which showed him to be the recipients son.
* In all the forged documents, Sharma was given a new name, Polepeddy Snayna Podma Phanikumar, and made to repeatedly recite it so that he could confidently spell the name.
* To pass him off as the recipients son who could be legally allowed to donate his kidney to him, they ensured Sharma spent considerable time with the family and trained him in Telugu accent.
Read | Fallout of kidney scam: Live donations in Mumbai hit
*Sharmas photographs were superimposed even in the recipients family portraits so that any cross-checking would not reveal that he did not belong to the family. The racketeers wanted everything to be foolproof. So, they even photo-shopped the photos of the recipients real son so that the donor resembled him, said the investigator
*This was necessary as the law allows only close family members to donate kidneys to the patients. The man who was to receive Sharmas kidney is a native of Andhra Pradesh.
The endgame
*On Thursday, just an hour before Sharma was to be operated upon, the police raided the hospital.
* The police had by then gathered total of 200 hours of video recordings.
*The police claimed to have seized several incriminating documents from the hospital premises. Arrests so far have been limited to the middlemen
*Police say the role of Batra Hospitals doctors and staffers and a city-based diagnostic centre is also under the scanner.
*Investigators said this was an interstate racket that had been operating for a long time. The racketeers used to charge Rs 30-40 lakh from each kidney recipient.
Hospital denies any role
*When contacted, Batra Hospital denied any role in the racket, saying, Batra Hospital conducts all renal transplants fairly and under strict supervision. All related and unrelated transplants are vetted by a committee. All the transplant act guidelines are followed. All documents are checked and the proceedings of the committee are
Crime branch officers probing Delhis kidney racket has found that many donors were flown to Sri Lanka by the accused and operated in a Colombo hospital.
Sources said the syndicate had links outside India. During interrogation of four arrested suspects Jayant Sahoo, Sulekha Panda, Anoj Patra and Birju Paswan it was found that many donors were especially flown to a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, two years ago for an operation. A few were also taken through the sea route, sources said.
The gang sent the patients to Colombo as they could not arrange a hospital here. This shows that they were operating internationally. The men revealed that they have a strong network across continents and in the past have used several hospitals for the donors, a police source said.
Read: Cat-and-mouse chase on Delhis roads between woman cop and kidney racket mastermind
Police suspect that the syndicate may have got kidney transplants in hospitals in Thailand, Singapore and Dubai as well. We will now write to the hospital in Sri Lanka to get details of the donors and details of more cases of organ donation at the hospital in the last few years, an officer said.
One of the accused, Sulekha Panda, herself had got operated in Western hospital in Colombo and had sold her kidney for Rs 25 lakh.
Police on Friday had also rescued two men who were going to donate their kidneys. Rajendren from Orissa and Shehzad from Bihar had reached Delhi and were waiting for their operation when they were rescued. While Rajendren was to get Rs 4.5 lakh for his kidney, Shehzad was promised Rs 3.5 lakh.
Rajendren was rescued from a guest house in Hauz Rani and Shehzad from a Paharganj hotel. Rajendren told police that he had agreed to sell his kidney to arrange money for his sisters wedding, Shehzad, who is unemployed, had a debt.
Rajendren claimed he was convinced because the accused men said they themselves had got similar operations done and that they were living a healthy lifestyle.
Shehzad on the other hand told police that he was contacted by a middlemen of the gang and he immediately agreed to sell the kidney as he was in dire need of money.
Sources said that the two men were ready for the operation and their fake documents had been prepared. Shehzad was to get operated in Batra hospital while Rajendren was not allotted a hospital yet. Their documents were all ready. They racketeers again had managed to pass off these donors as close relatives of the organ recipients, after making their fake profiles and ID cards, a senior police officer said.,
The police also found that the gang members used to give advertisements for organ donation in local newspapers and that is how they got in touch with their donors.
Police have seized several documents from Batra hospital premises and have also asked for details of previous organ transplant cases done at the hospital. Police said they would send a notice to Batra hospital to ask doctors and staffers to join the probe. When contacted, Batra Hospital denied any role in the racket, saying, Batra Hospital conducts all renal transplants fairly and under strict supervision. All related and unrelated transplants are vetted by a committee. All the transplant act guidelines are followed. All documents checked.
While the donors got between Rs 2 and Rs 5 lakh, the racketeers used to charge Rs 30-40 lakh from each kidney from the recipient.
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Rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Kapil Mishra made new allegations of corruption against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and his cabinet colleague Satyendar Jain on Saturday.
Mishra said Kejriwal and Jain, the Delhi health minister, are misappropriating funds from the health department.
There are three big scams related to the health sector which is headed by Satyendar Jain, he said.
The first scam, he said, was in procuring medicines and was worth more Rs 300 crore.
The government bought medicines worth crores of rupees six months in advance even when hospitals said they dont need them. Three godowns were built to store the medicines which are now going waste as there are no takers.
Mishra said former health secretary Tarun Seem was involved in the irregularities.
The second case of corruption, he said, was in the purchase of 100 ambulances. Immediately after procurement, four of these 100 ambulances caught fire. How could the government go ahead with more such vehicles without getting their fitness checked thoroughly? Mishra, Delhis former water minister, said.
In his third allegation, Mishra said Jain had appointed at least 30 medical superintendents in hospitals such as Aruna Asaf Ali without following due process. No rule was followed in appointment of 30 MS. This case is exactly the same as the appointment of Nikunj Aggarwal as the OSD of Satyendar Jain the case which is already being probed by the CBI, he said.
Mishra, the MLA from Karawal Nagar, also said he would meet Lieutenant-Governor (L-G) Anil Baijal to discuss the matter and register an FIR.
I have sought time from the L-G. The matter is serious and needs immediate intervention of the L-G. I will also go to ACB (anti-corruption branch of the government) for this, he said.
The Aam Aadmi Party was expected to make a statement in response to his allegations later on Saturday.
Mishra fell out with the party early this month when he was removed as the water minister. Days after, he accused the Delhi chief minister and his former cabinet colleagues of corruption.
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She did not remember the face of the man who allegedly raped her. All she had was his name and a faint memory of his built. Her three friends who left the room before Singh entered and assaulted her, dissuaded her from filing a complaint. But, the woman was sharp enough to access Singhs Facebook account to save his photograph that she later passed on to the police and eventually led to his identification and arrest.
Speaking to HT, the womans lawyer, Surender Singh Hooda, said that if not for her presence of mind, Singh would have not been arrested.
After the incident, the three men whom she addressed as friends told her that it was Jaswant Singh raped her and that he was not a nice man. They told her they were sorry for what happened and that it was not worth going to the police, Hooda, a Supreme Court advocate on record, said.
Despite being dissuaded to pursue a police case, she instantly searched Singh on Facebook, sent him a friend request and then saved his picture for record. She then passed on that photo to the police, which led to his arrest. If she did not have a photo, the police would not have been able to put a face to this person, the lawyer said.
Hooda said that when her client went to the police station to file a complaint, the investigating officer, also a woman, refused to take her complaint in English. The IO insisted that the victim gives her complaint in Hindi as she did not understand English. The victim told her that she was not comfortable in Hindi and will not be able to state the facts correctly, but the IO still insisted, he said.
It is only after we intervened and told them that we will take the matter to higher authorities that she consulted her SHO and he directed that the complaint be taken in English, Hooda said. The police, however, denied this claim.
The 22-year-old woman was allegedly made to consume alcohol by three menVirender, Mukesh and Sanju- whom she had befriended during her stay in Paharganj. The woman was supposed to leave for Patiala on May 16, but the men reportedly insisted that she accompanies them to their village in Jind, Haryana.
In her statement, the woman said that the men told her that they were nice people and that she should trust them. After the woman got drunk, the men left the room and a third manJaswant Singh, entered the room who allegedly raped her. When the woman resisted the assault, Singh reportedly told the woman that it was ok
I told him over and over again and tried to push him but could not, the woman said in her complaint. She further stated that she was in a state of shock and did not get any support from her friends who constantly tried to make it seem as if nothing had happened, she told the police.
They (friends), never called it rape. They said it was a dhoka with me. They told me that the courts would take too long and will keep me in India for months. They said I should not involve the police and that they will take revenge on the accused. They insisted that I should forget about it all and spend time with them in their village, she said in her complaint.
Though the three men have not been made co-accused in the case, Hooda said that they too should be booked in the case. The men first left the room unattended making way for Jaswant to enter. Then they returned immediately after Jaswant left. How did they leave the room and then returned immediately after the rape. It shows they were a party to the entire plan. They clearly helped Jaswant. Also, they then told the victim to not file a complaint. Why did the police not book them?, Hooda said.
The police, however, said that they are yet to probe the role of the three men as the woman had just accused Singh in the case.
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The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has called for a medical bandh on June 6 against the rising number of attacks on doctors.
As part of the bandh, the DMA has urged its members and owners of hospitals, nursing homes and health facilities in the city to keep their establishments closed till 2 pm. However, emergency services will remain open.
The decision was taken in the DMAs state executive committee held on Friday, a statement said, adding the body also called for a stringent Central act to stop the violence against doctors.
The members of DMA further said that if their concerns were not looked into, they would call for a nation-wide indefinite strike.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is organising Dilli Chalo Movement on the same day against the atrocities faced by the medical fraternity.
More than one lakh doctors are expected to take part in the protest march, which would start from Rajghat and end at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
A pen-down satyagraha would also be observed by all doctors across India as no doctor would give any prescriptions for one hour i.e. between 10 am to 11 am on June 6, the statement added.
Sabika Syed, a Class 12 student of Summer Fields School in Delhis Kailash Colony sums it up neatly: Someone once said, Delays are just the beginning of grand adventures. I am sure that person did not have to deal with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
CBSE, which has received much flack for delaying the Class 12 results, which are usually out by May 21 to 24, announced on Saturday that it will release the scores on Sunday. Since then, students and parents in Capital Delhi, have been experiencing a mixed bag of emotions - annoyance and relief.
Vibha Anand, parent of a student in GD Goenka Vasant Kunj doesnt mince her words, terming the delay as callous. CBSE has taken decisions (on moderation of marks) without consensus and has definitely managed to keep students on their toes, she says.
Devender Verma, who has a son in Don Bosco School, Alaknanda, feels CBSE has not done the right thing. I think its silly that CBSE should do such a thing the decision of scrapping the moderation policy without any prior planning of intimation only to be eventually forced to take back the decision. All they (CBSE) did was worry the students more and delay their plans relating to admission in colleges etc.
Though one parent who did not wish to be named said parents and children were tense because of the delayed results, another one was quite happy about the continuation of the moderation policy Earlier they were not giving standardised marks, but they are giving them now. Maharashtra and Bihar have special seats for people of their state. DU does not do that and it would have created problems for students from Delhi as our students results would not have been good (without moderation). So its good that the results were delayed (because of the moderation issue).
Sabika Syed from Summer Fields School and Remya Nair of Holy Child Auxilium Schoo say they wake up each moring dreading the calls from distant relatives, asking probing questions about our future plans. We actually face the horror of sitting before the CBSE website, holding our breaths, while murmuring prayers to every god, ever known, only to find out that the results have been delayed yet again. Enduring this excruciating pain for the next 20 to 25 hours, when hopefully the results would be out, is not exactly what goes in our dictionary as an adventure, they say.
Syed and Nair, who are also HTs Campus Journalists, spoke to a number of students and found some were actually enjoying the lull before the storm of the results while for others it was sheer agony.
Megha from Amity International, Noida, feels that the delay carries a large burden of worries, anxiety and stress. It is a menace, she says.
On the other hand, Mohika from Lotus Valley, Gurgaon, isnt worried at all because there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
Ashly Johnson from Holy Child Auxilium School, says the time students get before the results should be used to alleviate stress. Those who feel they are living in a dungeon with their parents behaving like trolls, should get out of that mindset.
Esha Mishra, also from Holy Child Auxilium School, has a grouse against CBSE, Weve all had that one friend who says hes going to reach in five minutes and ends up reaching an hour later. CBSE happens to be that mundane friend who never changes.
Parents are also reportedly acting strange. According to Syed and Vrinda Saxena (from Holy Child Auxilium School ) parents who used to get paranoid every time we checked our phones are busy on theirs, first thing in the morning every day, to find out when the results will be out. Every time Saxena sits in front of the laptop to check on the news of the results my mother is found sitting right beside me, chanting the Gayatri Mantra without fail, she says.
Surprisingly, in the midst of all this madness, some parents are quite chilled out.
My parents dont care about the results - either they know Im capable or they have no expectations. However, despite my parents cool response, my brother is eagerly waiting for my result. Siblings have the competitive spirit I believe, says Madhav Sethi of Summer Fields School.
New research has found that while grey matter volume generally decreases with age, its density actually increases during adolescence.
Grey matter is found in regions of the brain responsible for muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making and self-control.
For years, the common narrative in human developmental neuroimaging has been that grey matter in the brain declines in adolescence, a finding derived mainly from studies of grey matter volume and cortical thickness the thickness of the outer layers of brain that contain grey matter.
Grey matter density, a measure often assumed to be highly related to volume, has not been systematically investigated in development. The new study published in the Journal of Neuroscience revealed that while volume indeed decreases from childhood to young adulthood, grey matter density actually increases.
Grey matter is found in regions of the brain responsible for muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making and self-control. (Shutterstock)
We now have a richer, fuller concept of what happens during brain development, said Ruben Gur, professor at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, US.
Since it has been well-established that larger brain volume is associated with better cognitive performance, it was puzzling that cognitive performance shows a dramatic improvement from childhood to young adulthood at the same time that brain volume and cortical thickness decline.
The new findings can help solve this puzzle. The study also showed that while females have lower brain volume, proportionate to their smaller size, they have higher grey matter density than males, which could explain why their cognitive performance is comparable despite having lower brain volume.
Thus, while adolescents lose brain volume, and females have lower brain volume than males, this is compensated for by increased density of grey matter.
In the study, the researchers evaluated 1,189 youth between the ages of 8 and 23 who completed magnetic resonance imaging as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a community-based study of brain development.
The study includes rich neuroimaging and cognitive data, to look at age-related effects on multiple measures of regional grey matter, including gray matter volume, gray matter density and cortical thickness.
Neuroimaging allowed the researchers to derive several measures of human brain structure in a non-invasive way. Observing such measures during development allowed the researchers to study the brain at different ages to characterise how a childs brain differs from an adults.
The study may better explain the extent and intensity of changes in mental life and behaviour that occur during the transition from childhood to young adulthood.
If we are puzzled by the behaviour of adolescents, it may help to know that they need to adjust to a brain that is changing in its size and composition at the same time that demands on performance and acceptable behaviour keep scaling up, Gur added.
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A fake oversees employment racket was busted and one of the accused was arrested by the city police from Sector 18 Noida on May 24.
Sachin Saini, a resident of Rajiv Nagar, Gurgaon, had complained to the police on March 25 that a person promised him of job abroad and duped him of Rs 2,25,618.
The cyber cell of the Gurgaon police, led by inspector Anand Kumar, investigated the case and found that the accused, identified as Suraj Pratap Rai, was operating an employment racket.
It appears that Rai has duped several people and taken lakhs from them. He acted on behalf of prominent job sites but had no connection with them, said Sumit Kuhar, DCP, Crime.
The accused had multiple bank accounts, Aadhaar cards, debit and credit cards that were used to dupe people, the police said.
According to the police, Saini had received a call from a job site about a vacancy with a firm in Dubai.
As directed, Saini uploaded his profile on the job portal, the police said. The accused, who identified himself as Anil Chopra, asked Saini to also deposit money in two bank accounts for visa and air fare and processing fee.
Later, when Saini called the accused and tried to find the whereabouts of the firm that was purportedly going to employ him, he failed to get any update. When everything else failed, he approached the police and filed a complaint.
Read I Gurgaon: In underbelly of Millennium City, gangsters battle it out for supremacy
The cyber crime unit investigated the case and an FIR was lodged in Sector 14 police station in May 11 in the incident.
The two bank accounts that were provided to the victim were found to be opened under the mane of one Ronit Rai of Sector 18, Noida. Police found that the account was opened on the basis of forged documents.
On May 24, the police arrested Suraj Pratap Rai, alias Rohit Rai. He has been remanded in police custody till May 30. The search for other accused in the case is still on and police are investigating the case.
With snatching incidents and molestation cases on the rise in Gurgaon, parks and open spaces in Gurgaon are increasingly becoming unsafe for women.
Residents claim that the few private guards deployed by Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) and other authorities are inadequate and they dont have the equipment and skills to keep a check on miscreants.
One of the oldest parks in Sector 14, the only large park in Gurgaon between Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway and Old Delhi Gurgaon Road, has little security and safety.
Despite repeated attempts by the residents welfare association (RWA) members, security for women and children remains a concern there.
The residents said they spent money from their pockets to maintain the park and hire security guards.
Dr. Kanhaiya Lal Garg, RWA member Sector 14, said, The families cannot visit the park after 7pm as miscreants roam about freely. The park has become a hub for gambling and other anti-social activities.
Lack of proper lights, security guards, police presence, and CCTV cameras is a major problem for visitors.
Bimla Yadav (65), a resident of Sector 14, said, We feel bad seeing the younger generation using the park for illegal activities. The residents of nearby sectors hesitate to go there said Yadav.
Even parks such as biodiversity park which are considered to be safe have had their share of untoward incidents.
Narrating one such incident, Kusum Taneja, a resident of Sector 56, said, Some men dont come to the park for exercising. They sit there and stare at women and pass lewd remarks.
Even Leisure Valley Park in Sector 29, which gets hundreds of daily visitors, does not make women feel safe.
Residents highlight the lack of security guards as one of the biggest concerns, apart from poor lighting. Since most parks are huge, there are secluded corners, which continue to remain unsafe.
Read I Gurgaon: Residents happy as MCG revises park maintenance rate
I used to go to Sector 14 park very often, but I dont feel safe there. I have seen men openly urinating. When I tried to raise a concern, he replied with a cheap comment. Now I walk only in my colony, said Mona Joshi, a resident of Sector 17.
The government authorities said they are upgrading the security as well as other infrastructure in parks to ensure people enjoy their visits.
The municipal Corporation of Gurgaon will set up open gyms in 70 parks and tenders for the same have been released. These facilities will be created in places where the RWAs are keen on having them. More security and better infrastructure are on the anvil, said Ajay Nirala, executive engineer, horticulture, MCG.
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While actor Brad Pitt is busy promoting his new Netflix film War Machine, his estranged wife Angelina Jolie made sure their daughter Shilohs 11th birthday was memorable with a trip to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.
She turns a year older on Saturday, and days before her special day, she was able to enjoy a trip to Disneyland Resort, reported eonline.com.
#AngelinaJolie and her children visit #Disneyland on May 25, 2017. The family are joined by friends they met in #Cambodia during the filming of 'First They Killed My Father' . There are more pics on my #Facebook page - link in bio A post shared by Angelina Jolie / Angie (@angelinaj1975) on May 26, 2017 at 7:29pm PDT
Angelina Jolie is back at family's Disneyland trip. pic.twitter.com/hiFwVxRtHr Angelina Jolie (@joliestweet) May 26, 2017
Angelia, JP kids& her friend,Loung Ung (Author of FTKMF)& Srey Moch (mini Loung Ung) one of the casts in FTKMF were spotted in Disneyland pic.twitter.com/hz7xjdFeYK AngelinaJoliePH (@ajolieph) May 26, 2017
Shiloh was accompanied by family and friends while exploring the theme park and surrounding attractions on Thursday. Social media users spotted the group enjoying rides like Alice in Wonderland, Roger Rabbits Cartoon Spin and Tarzans Tree House. They also enjoyed a bit of shopping.
The store clerk was showing her kids the remote control cars that they offer, an eyewitness told eonline.com, adding that Jolie was in a good mood and was asking the kids if they liked any of the cars.
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Zoolander actor Ben Stiller and his wife Christine Taylor said on Friday they had decided to separate after 18 years together.
With tremendous love and respect for each other, and the 18 years we spent together as a couple, we have made the decision to separate. Our priority will continue to be raising our children as devoted parents and the closest of friends. We kindly ask that the media respect our privacy at this time, the couple said in a joint statement.
Actors Ben Stiller and Christine Taylor arrive at the 26th Annual American Cinematheque Award presentation honouring Ben Stiller in Beverly Hills,
Stiller and Taylor, best known for playing teenage daughter Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie in 1995, have appeared together in many films, including Tropic Thunder and Meet the Parents.
They married in 2000 and have two children.
Plans by a Texas theatre to host women-only screenings of the action movie Wonder Woman unleashed an outpouring of complaints on social media of discrimination and sexism on Friday.
The superhero movie opens in theatres nationwide next week, and the Alamo Drafthouse Ritz in Austin, Texas scheduled two female-only nights for a few days later.
When your screenings of #WonderWoman just for women sell out in an hour pic.twitter.com/rH7Mdim8fI Alamo Drafthouse NYC (@AlamoNYC) May 26, 2017
We heard your complaints have taken swift & decisive action. Another women-only #WonderWoman show on sale now! https://t.co/ILueTsJH6R pic.twitter.com/6HAuYi6fQG Alamo Drafthouse NYC (@AlamoNYC) May 26, 2017
Apologies, gentlemen, but were embracing our girl power and saying No Guys Allowed, the cinema wrote on its website.
The movie, starring Israeli actor Gal Gadot, is based on a comic book character introduced in 1941, fighting villains, rescuing victims and unearthing evil plots.
How about a mens only showing of a movie or is that not how equality works? someone wrote on the cinema chains Austin Facebook page, where more than 1,000 people left comments.
The popularity of the women-only shows, which quickly sold out, prompted the chain to add similar screenings in New York.
This has zip to do with equality. This is a celebration of a character thats meant a great deal to many women, the theatre said on Facebook.
The movie already triggered controversy last year when the character of Wonder Woman was chosen as an honorary UN ambassador to fight for gender equality.
Tens of thousands of people signed an online petition, saying the fictional character was an inappropriate choice and that its evolution into a scantily clad and curvaceous heroine did not represent gender empowerment.
The United Nations abruptly ended the characters role two months into her appointment.
The men who call us snowflakes are currently on day 3 of crying about not being invited to one all-female screening of Wonder Woman Erika Heidewald (@erikaheidewald) May 27, 2017
The problem with a women-only "Wonder Woman" screening is they might enjoy it too much and forget that men decide what movies are good. Louis Virtel (@louisvirtel) May 27, 2017
I asked my mom what she thought about the Wonder Woman no-dudes showings.
She dropped some . pic.twitter.com/FcuMsrQsjU Mr. Pete (@petebasgen) May 26, 2017
Theaters:Come see Ghostbusters reboot!
Men: FUCK ACTION MOVIES W/ GIRLS
Theaters: K, you're not invited to Wonder Woman
Men: BUT MY RIGHTS! Alana Massey (@AlanaMassey) May 26, 2017
I am going to the Wonder Woman screening for Bavarian auteur directors only. Werner Twertzog (@WernerTwertzog) May 27, 2017
Shout out all of the men who are SO MAD about not being able to get into a screening of Wonder Woman that's 6 days after opening. pic.twitter.com/3x3iDWOyYp Geek Girl Diva (@geekgirldiva) May 27, 2017
Only thing sadder than people getting upset about women only screenings of Wonder Woman is the me only screening of Elektra that took place Mike Lawrence (@TheMikeLawrence) May 26, 2017
I've made a lot of GIFs, but this one is my fave. Tonight it goes out to the guys who are mad about the @drafthouse Wonder Woman screening. pic.twitter.com/QnUJAazJyO Swear Trek (@swear_trek) May 27, 2017
Hey @AlamoNYC - if you add another Women Only showing of #WonderWoman ,I'll buy 10 tickets to give away to peeps who cant afford it. ;) Cher (@thecherness) May 27, 2017
"Only women are allowed in these screenings for #WonderWoman? What next, Black people only for screenings of #BlackPanther?"
Me: pic.twitter.com/Hq16ju8Ixx hellresidentNY (@hellresidentNY) May 26, 2017
All I can think about when I read comments from dudes complaining about ladies-only #WonderWoman screenings: pic.twitter.com/66rv4rYD7m Amy Ratcliffe (@amy_geek) May 26, 2017
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Actor Gal Gadot is super excited for her upcoming film Wonder Woman. The 32-year-old Israeli actor will be reprising the role of the superhero based on DC comics in the film after she played the role of Diane in Zack Snyders Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice. In an interview, the Israeli actor opened up about her excitement to do a stand alone film on a female superhero, the exhaustive physical training session and sharing the screen with actors such as Chris Pine. Excerpts:
What was your first memory of Wonder Woman?
When I was growing up, Wonder Woman was a household name, so I always knew of her, even though I wasnt a big comic book fan at the time.
Audiences loved your scenes as Wonder Woman in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Did those positive reactions impact your work in Wonder Woman?
At the end of the day, I felt really lucky. I was really, really grateful and happy that the audience enjoyed my Wonder Woman in such a beautiful way. But then, going onto the next movie to Wonder Woman I was very focused on making the character the best she could be. Because when you try to please the audience, when you try to please everyone, you leave your own truth. And you can never please everyone. So, for me, its better to stick to my truth and work toward what I think is best for the character, the same way I did on Batman v Superman.
What was the most challenging part of your physical training?
The most difficult aspect of the physical training was the accumulated volume of all of it. It wasnt just going to the gym; each day, I was training in the gym for two hours, then Id do horseback riding for a few hours, and then return to the gym for another two hours of martial arts training. I would do that six days a week. Honestly, it was exhausting! But after two and a half months, I really started to enjoy it. But kick-starting that level of training, it was tough.
How do those action scenes help shape the character of Wonder Woman?
We always wanted to find the right emotional tone for each action scene. Our director, Patty Jenkins, and I really enjoyed doing that, because every action comes from within, and every action actually has emotion, whether its excitement, stress or nervousness. It was very important to fine-tune the underlying emotional tone of each action scene.
What does Chris Pine, who portrays Steve Trevor, bring to the dynamic between you character, Diana, and Steve?
Chris brings the best thing humour. We had great chemistry and made each other laugh the entire production. He is just a fun guy to work with and to be around. His sense of humour is a big part of Diana and Steves relationship.
You also filmed in the UK, where it was sometimes freezing cold. What was it like shooting scenes in your Wonder Woman costume there?
I was cold the entire time, but fortunately I was surrounded with people whose job it was to make sure to keep me warm as much as possible. When we were shooting in the trenches, outside, in the winter, people brought heaters to keep me warm. But many times I forgot how cold I was because I was so focused on my performance and the scene.
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Sixteen thousand police personnel have donated blood over the past one week to overcome the blood crisis in West Bengal during the ongoing summer, chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Saturday.
The Chief Minister had earlier urged police personnel and her party Trinamool Congress workers to organise voluntary blood donation camps in the city and across districts to meet the shortage of blood in hospitals and blood banks as part of the celebrations to mark the sixth anniversary of her government. Besides, the Banerjee government on Saturday completed its first year in office in its second term.
Till yesterday (Friday), 16,000 police personnel have donated blood, Banerjee said while addressing a function at the state secretariat, Nabanna.
She said the Trinamool workers and the state government employees had also started holding blood donation camps from Saturday.
There will be nearly 50,000 bottles by June 10, Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister said the total collection of around 66,000 bottles would mitigate the blood shortage in the state.
The state government, together with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, also started an ambulance service during the day. The 53 air-conditioned ambulances would be used both in the city and the districts.
Banerjee also launched an air-conditioned fast bus service from Kolkata to Bolpur and Suri in Birbhum district.
In an oblique reference to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which is celebrating the completion of its third year in office on a grand scale, Banerjee said: We could also have celebrated the sixth year of our government with fanfare. But we are not doing so.
Instead, we are organising blood donation camps and starting ambulance services, besides taking up other social programmes for benefit of the public.
On the occasion, the state government also published a booklet and released a compact disc highlighting its successes over the years.
There have been 42% more terrorism-related deaths in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) since the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party government (BJP) came to power in May 2014, compared with the last three years of the second term of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II).
The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence has increased 72% from 111 in the last three years of UPA-II to 191 in the BJPs first three years, an IndiaSpend analysis of data compiled by the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), run by New Delhi-based non-profit Institute for Conflict Management, shows. The SATP compiles data on fatalities from terrorism from media reports. The data are provisional and compiled as on May 24, 2017.
As the BJP government completes three years in office this week, IndiaSpend is analysing five of its key electoral promiseson employment, Swachh Bharat, roads, access to electricity and terrorism. In the concluding part today, we examine the BJP governments performance on tackling terrorism.
Terrorism claims more lives in J-K
The BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections on May 16, 2014, and Narendra Modi was sworn in as Indias Prime Minister on May 26, 2014. This analysis takes into account the roughly 36-month period from June 1, 2014, to May 21, 2017, during which the BJP has been in power, and the last three years of the UPA-II government from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2014.
The BJP had vowed to adopt a zero tolerance policy on terrorism in its election manifesto released on April 7, 2014.
The period under BJP rule has witnessed 42% more terrorism-related deaths in J&Kamong civilians, security personnel and terroristscompared with the last three years of UPA-II.
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
Note: *Data for 2017 up until May 21. One year is counted from June 1 until May 31 of the subsequent year.
The number of security personnel killed in terrorist violence in the state has increased 72%from 111 in the last three years of UPA-II to 191 in the BJPs first three years.
The number of civilian deaths in J&K has also increased by 37%, while terrorist deaths have risen 32%.
Most of the terrorism-related deaths have taken place over the past year, especially after July 8, 2016, when the security forces gunned down terrorist leader Burhan Wani. His death led to violent protests, several months of curfew and an overall deterioration in the states security situation, IndiaSpend reported on December 16, 2016.
The BJPs third year witnessed 293 terrorism-related deaths in J&K, 53% more than the 191 recorded during the second year of its term. This period saw a corresponding increase of 61% in the number of security personnel killed98 killed during the BJPs third year, including the 18 soldiers killed in a terrorist attack on an army garrison in the Kashmir town of Uri on September 18, 2016.
On September 19, 2016, India responded to the Uri attack by mounting surgical strikes on terrorist bases in Pakistan, which it blamed for the attacks.
Fewer civilians, more security forces personnel killed in the Northeast
The total number of deaths from terrorist violence in the north-east of the country has declined by 12% to 765 during the first three years of the BJP, as compared with 874 during the UPA-IIs last three years. The data indicate an overall improvement in the security situation.
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
Note: *Data for 2017 up until May 21. One year is counted from June 1 until May 31 of the subsequent year.
The region has, however, become more unsafe for Indias security forces, who recorded 62% more casualties among their ranks89 under the BJP as against 55 under UPA-II.
Civilian deaths have declined by 15% to 287 under the BJPs rule while terrorist deaths in security operations have gone down by 19% to 389.
Organized militancy in the region is on the decline in the Northeast, home minister Rajnath Singh noted at a northeast review meeting on May 16, 2016. Singh said the central governments initiatives to boost infrastructure in the region and increase security cooperation with neighbouring countries have helped improve the security situation.
Fewer deaths due to Maoist violence
The total number of deaths due to Maoist terrorism across India declined by 9% to 1,016 under the BJP, from 1,112 in the UPA-IIs last three years.
Source: South Asia Terrorism Portal
Note: *Data for 2017 up until May 21. One year is counted from June 1 until May 31 of the subsequent year.
Deaths of security personnel have decreased by 43% under the BJP to 216, as compared with 380 under UPA-II.
Civilian deaths have also declined 27% to 328 while the deaths of Maoists in security operations have increased 34% to 472.
However, overall deaths from Maoist violence have increased 60% from 259 in 2014-15 to 414 in 2016-17. The April 24, 2017, ambush by Maoists that killed 26 Central Reserve Paramilitary Force (CRPF) jawans in Chhattisgarhs Sukma district made 2017 the deadliest year for Indian security forces in the past seven years, IndiaSpend reported on April 24, 2017.
This increasing number of casualties, and attacks such as the one in Sukma, indicate a worsening security situation in Indias Maoism-affected areas, especially over the past 12 months.
(Sethi is a Mumbai-based freelance writer and defence analyst.)
Indiaspend.org is a data-driven, public-interest journalism non-profit
Come July 16, six inmates of Beur Model Central Jail, on the outskirts of Patna, are likely to venture out of their cells for a few hours, don convocation gowns and receive post-graduate degrees of Nalanda Open University (NOU).
NOU vice chancellor (VC) RK Sinha said the Beur jail inmates, who appeared for masters of arts (MA) examination in sociology and geography and masters of journalism and mass communication from the prison in 2016, were among 22,000 candidates eligible to receive degrees at the convocation.
Bihar governor Ram Nath Kovind, who is also the chancellor of universities in the state, had consented to attend the convocation function to be held at SK Memorial Hall in Patna, Sinha said.
READ| In Beur jail, murder convicts bank on tulsi leaves for atonement
We were in contact with some renowned scientists and scholars for their participation as special guests, but their confirmation is still awaited, added the VC.
Altogether 28 gold medals, each weighing 10 grams, will be awarded with purity certificates to toppers of graduate and post-graduate programmes in different streams. Separate letters have also been sent to eligible candidates for participating in the convocation, the VC said.
Sinha said a letter had also been sent to Beur jail superintendent, informing him that six inmates had cleared post-graduate examination.
READ| Limcas oldest MA student is 97 and studying economics to understand why Indias poor
The NOU administration has written to the Beur jail superintendent for completing necessary formalities to bring the inmates to the convocation venue and take them back after the event, said registrar SP Sinha.
The NOU administration had also been exploring a new design, that would be in conformity with the Indian culture, for the convocation attire, the registrar said.
We are in contact with gown designers in Kolkata, Agra and Delhi, he said.
As many of the candidates eligible for degrees are employed outside Bihar, or busy in their own vocations, the university is expecting physical presence of at least 2000, he said.
NOU is the only university in Bihar that imparts learning exclusively through the system of distance education. Named after the famous Nalanda University of ancient India, NOU was established in March, 1987 by an ordinance. Later, Nalanda Open University Act, 1995 was passed by the Bihar legislature, replacing the ordinance.
A 7-year-old girl was allegedly gang-raped in a remote village in Allahabad district, police said on Friday, adding four persons were arrested in this regard.
The incident took place in Ghurpur police station area of the districts trans-Yamuna region, about 40 kms from the city, on Thursday morning.
The girl was picked up from her house in Amreha Budawan village while she was asleep beside her mother. She was brought back home by villagers who found her lying in a pool of blood in the nearby fields, where the assailants appear to have dumped her after the sexual assault, Sandeep Tiwari, public relations officer of the senior superintendent of police of Allahabad, said.
He said the girl has been admitted to a hospital where her condition was stated to be critical. Medical examinations have confirmed that she had been sexually assaulted.
A case has been registered against unknown persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Four suspects have also been arrested for interrogation, Tiwari said.
SSP Anand Kulkarni also visited the site of the crime on Friday, he added.
The Left-ruled Kerala is exploring legal options to tide over the Centres new regulation on cattle trade even as several youth outfits organised beef festivals at many places on Saturday in protest.
The new rule, among others, bans trade of cattle for slaughter through animal markets besides restricting their sale for agricultural purposes and taking the animals out of the state without proper approval.
The rule will hurt millions of poor farmers and squeeze supplies to the countrys Rs 1 lakh-crore meat industry besides affecting sectors which derive products from cattle carcass.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan shot off a letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the Centre cannot prepare the menu and change the food habits of the people.
Today it is saying you cant eat beef, tomorrow it can say no to fish also. We will not allow this to happen in our state, the chief minister said, warning that the move will render many jobless.
The state government has approached legal experts to explore ways to check the new notification.
Many youth organisations, including Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) and the Youth Congress organised beef festivals at many places.
The government is enforcing the agenda of RSS. It is out to vitiate the secular fabric of the country, said DYFI all-India president Mohamed Riaz while inaugurating a beef festival outside the state secretariat.
The Congress will observe a black day on Monday.
Cows are considered holy by many Hindus, and have gained in importance since Prime Minister Narendra Modi stormed to power in 2014 as several BJP-ruled states enacted strict laws to punish cow slaughter.
Meat traders now fear that the new notification will embolden Hindu fringe outfits in neighbouring states and they will disrupt transportation of animals to the state. There are 44 cattle markets across the state and hundreds of truck loads reach these markets from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Many truck drivers now refuse to carry cattle fearing attack. The state will face a big shortage if transportation is disrupted in neighbouring states, said Kerala Cattle Merchants Association president K H Kamaluddin.
In Kerala, the annual demand of red meat is 2.3 lakh metric tonne. Since cattle are not reared in a big way in the state, animals are ferried from other states regularly.
According to an estimate of the state animal husbandry department, Kerala requires 500 tonnes of animals and poultry a day, with about 70% of the 3.25 crore population being non-vegetarian.At least 11.7 lakh adult cattle and 70,000 young cattle were slaughtered in the state last year where beef accounts for 60 per cent of the total meat consumed.
At least five lakh people in the state are directly or indirectly involved in cattle trade, slaughter houses and allied areas.
Most of the employees have been engaged in the trade for many generations. The government cant make them jobless on one fine morning, a spokesman of the State Meat Dealers Association said, hoping that the state government will come out with a legislation to help us.
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The Army on Saturday said its operations in Kashmir resulted in the deaths of ten militants since Friday.
Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan, the defence spokesman of the Northern Command said.
In the last 24 hours, ten heavily armed intruders and terrorists have been successfully eliminated, he said.
In the ongoing counter-infiltration operations along the LoC in Rampur sector, six armed intruders have been intercepted and eliminated, he said.
Another counter-terror operation which was based on specific information from a local source in Tral in South Kashmir has so far resulted in deaths of two terrorists, he said.
Army troops on Friday foiled an attack by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) on a patrol party along the LoC in Uri sector, killing two militants.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi blamed the Union government on Saturday for the violence in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur but was blocked from entering the town torn apart by caste clashes that has killed three people and injured scores.
Gandhi was speaking at the border of the western UP district rocked by clashes between Dalit and Thakur communities that has also seen more than 50 houses of Scheduled Caste families burnt down.
Dalits are being crushed not only in Saharanpur but all over the country and the BJP-led Centre is responsible, he said after interacting with Dalit families who had come from Shabbirpur, the epicentre of the current caste clashes in the communally-sensitive Sahranpur district.
Gandhi met two Dalit brothers, Badal and Sawan, whose hut was attacked in the violence on May 9 and ensured them a fair probe into the incident.
I asked him (Gandhi) to ensure that cases against Dalits and the Bhim Army are withdrawn, said seven-year-old Badal after meeting Gandhi.
The Bhim Army is a group of youths that claims to fight for Dalit rights and is also accused of inciting the violence.
Rahul Gandhi met Badal, the young boy, whose family was attacked in the Saharanpur violence against Dalits. #RGinSaharanpur pic.twitter.com/blgoia4tos INC India (@INCIndia) May 27, 2017
Gandhi also blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party for stoking anti-national forces and unrest in Kashmir.
Whenever Kashmir is peaceful, India is happy. When Kashmir is restive, Pakistan is happy.
Govt has failed on law & order in UP. Everybody in country who is not powerful is scared & this is not the way to run a country: R Gandhi pic.twitter.com/hteeJFqcsn ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 27, 2017
Gandhi was denied permission to visit the affected villages as the district administration feared deterioration in the law and order situation. Senior state government officials gathered at the district border, around 30 km from the epicentre, Shabbirpur, to stop Gandhi.
Congress district chief Sashi Wali had sought permission for Gandhi to meet the victims. The administration prohibited visit of political leaders on May 23, when violence erupted after BSP chief Mayawati s visit to Shabbirpur. District magistrate Pramod Singh, who denied the permission, said political leaders would be allowed to visit the affected areas only after normalcy returns.
Since Saturday afternoon, policemen in riot-gear, and senior government officials assisted by contingents of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and Provincial Armed Constabulary guarded the Sarsawa check post -- Saharanpurs border with Haryana -- to stop Gandhi from reaching Shabbirpur.
I wanted to go to Saharanpur but was told law and order could deteriorate. I have been assured that when the situation normalises, I will be allowed to visit them, said Gandhi, who was accompanied by senior party leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar.
UP , , pic.twitter.com/qXZq2DBjPz Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) May 27, 2017
Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9. On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
Union minister for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) Kalraj Mishra said on Saturday that Gandhi should have cancelled his visit so as to avoid further communal clashes.
Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur has become a sensitive area now and social harmony is being attacked. At this moment, his visit will make things more worse. It will hamper on a social level. His visit may entice another such communal clash which will affect the country, Mishra told ANI.
Mishra said that just because BSP chief Mayawati visited the region, that does not mean Gandhi should also do so.
It will be like playing with the publics feelings, he added.
On the law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh, Mishra said the Yogi Adityanath government has completed just two months and it was definitely trying hard to control the ongoing situation.
The Opposition leaders are trying to deteriorate the situation. I will say these unfortunate incidents are being created intentionally as they want to spoil Yogi Adityanaths name. But this will not continue now. Law and order will prevail in the state, he added.
(With agency inputs)
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Muzaffarpur A bride and three members of her family were arrested from the mandap (a makeshift canopy where marriage rituals are performed) for allegedly trying to solemnise a pakaduwa shaadi in Bihars Muzaffarpur district, 71 km north of Patna, on Friday.
Pakaduwa shaadi (marriage by abduction) is a practice in parts of Bihar where men are abducted and forced to marriage, which they may not want.
Police said Julie, then dressed in bridal attire, and her family members attacked the police when they reached the wedding venue to rescue the groom at Gaighat, a block in Muzaffarpur district.
Deputy superintendent of police (Muzaffarpur east) Muttafique Ahmad said Julie, her brother, sister and another relative, had been arrested on the charge of kidnapping a man and creating obstruction to government officials charged with the duty to rescue him.
The news of the arrests sparked protest from locals, who attacked the Gaighat police to free Julie and her family members. Their efforts were, however, foiled as personnel from three nearby police stations reached there in time and brought the situation under control, Ahmad said.
The arrested persons were later produced in the court of chief judicial magistrate, who sent them to Shahid Khudi Ram Bose Central Jail here under judicial custody, the deputy superintendent of police (DSP) added.
The police had received a complaint that Abhinay Kumar of Maithi village in Gaighat police station area had been kidnapped by some relatives of Nand Kishore Singh, also of Gaighat, and was being forced to marry his daughter Julie. A police team raided Singhs house and recovered Kumar from there. However, the bride and some of her family members attacked the police team. So, we arrested them, said Ahmad.
Stating that they were innocent and the marriage rituals were being performed with mutual consent, Julie and her sister have alleged police highhandedness.
Refuting the charge, Ahmad said no member of Kumars family was present at the venue when police reached the place. An arranged marriage is attended by family and friends of the bride and the groom. But, not a single person from the grooms side was there. Even Kumar has asserted that he was kidnapped and was being forced to marry the girl, the DSP said.
Pramod Kumar, a person known to the brides family, said the marriage of Julie and Kumar had earlier been fixed and the ring ceremony was to be held on Friday. But, the wedding ran into trouble due to dowry demand. Meanwhile, a close relative of Kumar coaxed him into visiting Gaighat, where the marriage ceremony was hurriedly arranged, he added.
BLURB
Police said Julie, then dressed in bridal attire, and her family members attacked the police when they reached the wedding venue to rescue the groom at Gaighat, a block in Muzaffarpur district
Even as the Centre has introduced stringent rules regarding cattle slaughter, it was business as usual for beef sellers across Kerala on Saturday, with people queuing up to buy one of their favourite food items.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who condemned this new rule as nothing but a ploy to go forward with the RSS agenda, will write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the rule is not practical.
According to sources close to the chief minister, Vijayan will write that it will be difficult to implement the rule in Kerala and things will remain the same till the Centre replies to the letter.
Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala told the media in Thrissur that the party will deal with this issue both legally and politically. The Centre cannot infringe the rights of people who have the freedom to decide on what they want to eat and what they do not. We will take up this issue very strongly, he said.
Meanwhile, things remained as usual on Saturday morning as hundreds of bovines were traded at Keralas biggest cattle market in Kuzhalmandam, Palakkad district.
The only thing we are worried about is what will happen if the state government implements the rule. We doubt this is going to be practical. Anyway we will wait, a group of cattle traders told the media.
We came as usual and started doing the same thing as we have been doing for years. Our customers are also here waiting to collect their packets of beef, said a butcher in the busy Kozhikode market.
Meanwhile, with all the political parties dismissing the new rule as foolish, the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in Kerala blamed the media for twisting the facts to rake up unnecessary issues.
State BJP general secretary MT Ramesh said it was most unfortunate that top leaders from various leading political parties linked the Friday order with Ramadan.
Its meant to whip up passion as both the media and all political parties twisting the gist of the order. If anyone has any doubt on the order, the best way out is to seek legal help. The order is very clear and many are feigning ignorance for taking this politically, said Ramesh.
To protest the new order, the student and youth wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) will hold beef festivals across Kerala, where beef curry will be given along with chapatti and other food items.
The price of beef stands at Rs 300 per kg here, and it costs around Rs 280 in towns and smaller cities.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi set off for the caste clash-affected areas of Saharanpur on Saturday but authorities say they will stop him from entering the district.
Sate home secretary Mani Prasad Mishra said the district administration will not allow Rahul into the district.
The 45-year-old Congress leader is expected to reach Saharanpur in the afternoon and head towards the affected villages. We are going ahead as planned, said Sashi Wali, Saharanpur district Congress chief.
The Congress vice president is planning to visit Shabbirpur village in the district and meet the Dalit families whose houses had been burnt allegedly by upper caste Thakur men. Rahul is also scheduled to visit a hospital to meet the injured villagers.
The state government rushed senior officials to a checkpost at Saharanpur district border to prevent Gandhi from entering the region .State home secretary Mani Shankar Mishra, additional director general Aditya Mishra and Saharanpur district magistrate PK Pandey were present at the barricade.
Gandhi will not be allowed to enter Saharanpur. Section 144 is in place in the district. We will request him to not go ahead, said Mishra
The district administration is not taking any chances. Four companies of Rapid Action Force have been deployed by the Centre, apart from hundreds of state police personnel.
The administration fears the law and order situation will worsen if high-profile politicians are allowed to visit the areas. A Dalit man was killed and eight injured in clashes after a rally by Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati last Tuesday.
Congresss Rajya Sabha MP PL Punia was denied permission to visit the affected areas on Thursday.
District magistrate Pramod Singh said political visits will be allowed only after normalcy is restored.
In what is seen as the first big challenge for chief minister Yogi Adityanath, clashes between Dalits and Thakurs have left three dead and many injured over the past two weeks as the administration struggles to control the situation. Improving law and order in the state was one of BJPs poll -poll promises.
Caste and communal lines run deep across the sensitive region in western UP where a mahapanchayat in 2013 led to Hindu-Muslim clashes in Muzaffarnagar, leaving more than 60 people dead and thousands displaced.
In north Rajasthans Bikaner, several schoolboys have a new pastime this vacation: to work as delivery boys for liquor vends.
Most of them minors, they carry alcohol bottles on bicycles to remote villages.
On Friday, HT spotted a 14-year-old at 17 KYD village of Khajuwala sub-division carrying bottles of beer on front and rear carriers of his bicycle.
I use my sisters bicycle to deliver liquor and earn some money, he said.
The bicycle is a government gift to his sister.
Rajasthan government distributes bicycles, orange in colour, to schoolgirls who live within five kilometers of the school to encourage enrolment and prevent them from dropping out. The state education department plans to distribute 2.95 lakh bicycles. One bicycle costs 2,937 to the government, and 50,000 have been distributed in 16 districts.
Locals said several such minor boys were engaged by liquor vends for delivery in remote areas.
There are 22 liquor shops in Khajuwala and most of them have branches in small hamlets.
Bikaners district supply officer OP Panwar said sale of liquor by children was a crime and he will take action if such instances are brought to his notice. We will look into the employment of children by liquor vends, he told HT.
Locals, however, allege that police and excise officials are well aware of the practice but seldom take action.
Purshottam Sarswat, vice president of Seemajan Kalyan Samiti told HT that there are many schoolchildren involved in liquor distribution.
We have raised this issue at different levels and recently through a written representation to the district collector in Ratri Choupal, he said.
The Chinese consul-general in Kolkata, Ma Zhanwu, expressed disappointment over Prime Minister Narendra Modi not attending the recently concluded Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing and hoped that Indian leadership would attend the next meeting in 2019 at the same venue.
China had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other ministers to the One Belt One Road (OBOR) meet in Beijing. However, they did not find it convenient to attend the meet. Some Indian scholars had attended, Ma Zhanwu said on Saturday at a Calcutta Chamber of Commerce session on Indo-China relationship.
He said that representatives from 130 countries had attended the OBOR meet.
Zhanwu said the idea behind OBOR was not to form a small bloc against any country, but to explore the possibilities of working together.
Chinas foreign policy was guided by the five principles of Panchsheel, Zhanwu said, adding his country always believed in non-aggression and peaceful co-existence with the neighbours.
The Chinese consul-general said the two countries have differences which could not be solved in the short term but were kept within control through negotiations.
Zhanwu said, Some see China as a security threat.
We have great respect for India. Still, there have been apprehensions when China builds spaceships, re-positions its aircraft carrier, he said.
An atmosphere for bilateral relationship is important for proper economic cooperation between the two countries.
I am dismayed over the slow progress of economic cooperations between India and China in terms of trade and investment. In the next five years, China will invest $750 billion globally and import $8 trillion of commodities and services, he said.
Zhanwu hoped that India would be able get a big chunk of those investment and import orders.
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, believed to be the successor Burhan Wani whose killing last year plunged Kashmir into one of its worst episodes of violence in Valley, was among eight militants killed in two encounters on Saturday.
An Indian army soldier stands next to a burning house where militants were killed during a gunfight in the Tral area south of Srinagar on May 27. (Waseem Andrabi / HT Photo)
The news of his death triggered violent protests in which one civilian died and dozen others were injured. Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Srinagar, Sopore and Kupwara, and several parts of the Valley were shut down.
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
The damaged house, where militants had taken refuge during a gunbattle at Saimoh village, in Tral area, about 45 Kilometres south of Srinagar on May 27. (Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times)
Speaking about the encounter, a police official said security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from Srinagar, following information about presence of some top Hizbul Mujahideen militants in the area.
He said the operation was launched after militants opened firing on an army patrol in Tral area last night.
Army soldiers outside a damaged house, where militant commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant had taken refuge. (Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times)
The official said as the security forces were closing on the building where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire.
Army soldiers and policemen patrol after a gunbattle ends at Saimoh village, in Tral area. (Waseem Andrabi / Hindustan Times)
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, head of the Hizbul Mujahideen militant group, was killed in an overnight gunfight in Kashmirs Tral. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
Army soldiers patrol following a gun battle at Saimoh village, in Tral area. (Waseem Andrabi/ HT Photo)
Last year, similar massive protests followed by clashes roiled Kashmir following the killing of charismatic rebel leader Burhan Wani. His death led to months of protests and a security lockdown during which at least 90 people were killed and thousands injured. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by the firing of government forces.
(with agencies inputs)
It briefly rained this Wednesday morning, clearing the air in the small, dusty town of Churachandpur. Someone mentioned that if it rains on a burial day, God doesnt want the funeral to happen; if there is no rain, he is all right with it. But what if it rains and it is sunny throughout? On such an ominous day, people had begun gathering around the towns morgue in the district hospital from the morning itself. They had come to pay their respects to the nine young men who had died almost two years ago.
It was the 632nd day since Manipurs Churachandpur Lamka for locals a small town located 65km south of the state capital Imphal, witnessed the killing of eight young men and an 11-year-old boy during protests that turned violent. On August 31, 2015, protesters had taken to the streets of the town, against three bills passed by the Manipur government, which were considered to be anti-tribal by the locals. Manipurs hill areas, which includes Churachandpur, are home to the several tribes, including Thadou, Paite, Naga, Kuki, Hmar and Mizo. People who died were mostly Paite (the tribe dominates the town).
The bills Protection of Manipur People Bill, Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms (7th Amendment) Bill and the Manipur Shops and Establishments (2nd Amendment) Bill were seen as an act of aggression by the valley people, the Meiteis, on the living and land rights of the states tribals. This is especially true of the first bill, which was considered as an attack on the identity of the tribals.
Read more:Manipur: 4 killed, 13 hurt, curfew in Churachandpur after mob fury
The Meitei people are the ethnic majority in Manipur and live in the valley, which houses 60 per cent of the states population, though it comprises only 10 per cent of the states area. The Meiteis had campaigned for a change in land laws because of the pressure of resources in the valley. In 2015, the state government took a similar view. But the hill tribes saw the land reforms and protection of Manipur people as a ploy to take away their lands and livelihood.
In protest, after the violence and the killing, the town refused to bury its dead, in an attempt to force the government to agree to their demands. A first in the history of the Indian republic. The initial demands by the tribes included quashing of the bills, justice for the dead and a separate administration for the hill areas. After the killing of the nine men, women took over the protests, fearing that more men would be killed if the latter continued to lead the movement. Hindustan Times had reported on the issue earlier in February 2016.
Read more: A Manipur town refuses to bury its dead, demanding tribal rights
On May 10 this year, an agreement was reached between the tribal leaders and the Manipur government in the form of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on condition that the dead should be buried by May 25.Though the first bill was withheld by the President last year, future action on the other two bills, the MoU said, would be taken in consultation with the stakeholders.
The Political Drama
The morgue is a dark and dingy hall housed a large cold storage, where the bodies have been lying for months. In the initial days, due to the lack of a cold storage, the bodies had already decomposed.
On the 24th of this month, the stench of decomposed human flesh filled the room as the bodies were taken out and placed inside fresh coffins covered in white with red crosses. There was this emptiness inside me. I was shocked [when the body was finally kept in the coffin], Chiinneihching (who uses only one name), mother of a victim, told us later.
The photos of the victims martyrs for the locals were pasted on each coffin along with their names. Each coffin was placed on the back of a truck surrounded by family members and friends. The final journey had begun.
But before the trucks reached the burial ground, the coffins made a stopover at the Lamka public ground for a ceremony for people to pay their respects. The entire town turned up. The grand ceremony, complete with gun salute, and attended by the local political elite and tribal leaders, was symbolic of the political drama that had unfolded over the months.
The issue of non-burial was a sore point with the Centre. An elaborate political theatre was on show featuring angry tribals, politicians, the armed forces, militants and the inter-tribe conflicts. The issue dragged on while the peoples movement crumbled. Many locals feel that the tribals have received a bad deal with the MoU agreement.
There has been no justice for what he [Robert] laid down his life, said Biak Valte, brother of a victim. If you look at the video, he was still breathing but the police didnt do anything. They just watched him die. The video shot by the police, on the day of protests, show a bloodied Robert lying on the ground gasping for breath.
Chinneihching (who uses only one name) and Biak Valte, mother and elder brother of one of the victims, Robert V Jamminthang, outside their house in Churachandpur, Manipur. The family believes that justice has been denied to them (who demanded a CBI inquiry) even though the MoU talks about an investigation of the killings. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)
Soon after the protests, a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was formed in September 2015 by the tribal bodies Paite Tribe Council, Hmar Inpui, Kuki Inpui, Zoumi Council to name a few. It had the blessings of two militant groups (or Undergrounds/UGs as they are known locally) Kuki National Organisation and United Peoples' Front (a conglomerate of eight militant groups).
The two groups have been under Suspension of Operations (SoO) or ceasefire since 2005 and 2008 respectively. The second point of the MoU mentions all possible help and cooperation in the tripartite talks with the SoO groups. The groups are also demanding a separate administration for the hill areas.
The inter-tribe conflicts came out in the open this year. In late 2015 itself, the UGs had asked for the burial of the dead, after initially supporting the no-burial stand. Months later, several tribal bodies started pulling out as well.
On a December night in 2016, one of the coffins was stolen from the morgue. The body was of the 11-year-old Khaizamang, the youngest of the victims, who was a Kuki. He was buried by the Kukis in another part of town. The JAC blames the government for using militants to steal Khaizamangs body.
We stood for justice for the martyrs and immediate extension of sixth schedule [Constitutional provisions for the administration of the tribal dominated areas]. We even resolved not to take any ex gratia as the state forces killed our sons. But our leaders keep changing their stand, says Nianglian Naulak, a member of All Manipur Tribal Women Unon that spearheaded the protests. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)
Broken promises
Today, the women leaders feel cheated and sidelined by male leaders with their political and electoral ambitions. They allege that the MOU was signed without consulting them or the people who were protesting in Delhi. The women leaders or the mothers group carried the movement almost entirely on their shoulders. They took out torch marches and attended the protest site every single day .
Our leaders had promised a political solution but what solution is there in the MoU? asks Nianglian, one of the women leaders. Now, all of a sudden they are in a hurry to bury the bodies. We stood for justice for the martyrs and immediate extension of sixth schedule [Constitutional provisions for the administration of the tribal dominated areas]. We even resolved not to take any ex gratia as the state forces killed our sons. But our leaders keep changing their stand.
Read more: Manipur election 2017: Eight bodies and a stolen corpse may dictate outcome
On March 2, the Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on his election campaign had promised a CBI investigation and an honourable solution, if the party was voted to power. Soon after, BJP won in Manipur and formed the government. The party even won seats in the Christian-dominated hill areas for the first time. The BJP swooped in to solve the deadlock, despite the fact that for two years it was in power in the centre.
The promises by the home minister were not even included in the MoU, said Romeo Hmar, president of the Manipur Tribals Forum, Delhi, that has opposed the MoU agreement. There is no talk of justice for the martyrs, separate administration and political solution, nothing exists in this agreement.
Cornered on all fronts, the JAC signed an agreement almost similar to the one offered by the Congress government. The deal was a face saver, some said.
As the sun set behind the hills, people laid flowers on the freshly-covered grave. Tribal leaders say that the movement will continue, but many saw it as a conclusion. With the families of the victims, the peoples movement perhaps found a closure too. (Ravi Choudhary/HT Photo)
The Conclusion
The burial ground was on a hill across the Khuga dam just outside the town. It overlooked the valley and a lake. (The MoU promises a memorial park on the site.) The burial service started in the afternoon, as scheduled.
Emotions ran high as the coffins arrived, led by a row of bikers with black flags, followed by a convoy of cars, buses and tempos. The coffins were in decorated trucks that also carried family members.
A common grave had been dug the same morning. Slowly, the coffins were placed on the side of the grave. Pastors from each familys church said prayers while holding on to the crosses that had each victims name on it. Amid much commotion, the coffins were lowered and laid down next to each other.
As the sun set behind the hills, people laid flowers on the freshly-covered grave. Tribal leaders say that the movement will continue, but many saw the act of burial as a conclusion. With the families of the victims, the peoples movement perhaps found a closure too.
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At a time when Bihar is celebrating the centenary of Gandhis Champaran satyagrah of 1917, a family belonging to the scheduled caste category, to which the mahatma referred as Harijans, or Gods chosen ones, is struggling to register a police case against those subjecting it to atrocities.
A member of the victim Dalit family has told HT its bid to register a case against a tormenting co-villager, enjoying money and muscle power, has brought it untold hardship, allegedly because of the police bias in favour of the opposite party in the dispute.
In a complaint filed in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) of Motihari, Vinod Ram of Chargaha village under Turkaulia police station of East Champaran district in north Bihar, has alleged he and his family members have not been able to register a police case for torture and molestation from the aggressor party.
Ram has claimed persons owing allegiance to the village strongman molested and thrashed his minor sister, on May 8, and threatened to release video clips of her on the social media, to pressure him to withdraw a complaint he had filed earlier at the SC/ST police station at Motihari, under the SC & ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
To make things worse, the Turkaulia police did not register a case filed on the statement of the minor victim.
The Turkaulia police refused to accept the statement of the victim, recorded by police at the Motihari sadar hospital where the minor was being treated (moved to Patna medical college hospital since then), after being referred there from the Turkaulia primary health center, on May 8, Ram said in his complaint.
Ram told media persons on Saturday that the police had also overlooked the order of Motihari CJM, who, on May 16, asked the Turkaulia SHO to submit to the court the records concerned to know under what circumstances the complaint of the minor victim was not registered.
Ram claimed that on May 17, after the instruction of CJM reached in Turkaulia police station, SHO Dharmendra Kumar, picked up his septuagenarian grand father, suffering from chronic disease of kidney, his father and mother, around 12 noon and tortured them to get their thumb impression on blank paper, in lock up.
They were let off around 10 pm with a warning that the case(s) be withdrawn, he added.
Ram , who, like his sister, was also under treatment at PMCH, said his family had left the village out of fear, as both, the aggressor party and the police, were threatening them to reach a compromise.
Reached for his comment, SHO Dharmendra Kumar disconnected the line saying he was on leave.
However, the investigating officer of the case, Arun Kumar Chaudhary, admitted that the FIR of the minor victim had not been registered. This is because the accused persons have assured us that they are about to reach a compromise with the complainants, he told HT.
Officials of India, Nepal and Bangladesh will meet in June to finalise a truncated sub-regional connectivity plan after Bhutan retreated.
Bhutan backed off from the BBIN (Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal) connectivity plan this year after the proposal failed to sail through in its parliament.
Unlike in India, parliamentary ratification is necessary for Bhutan to enter international agreements. Indian government sources said the plan now is to roll out connectivity agreements among India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The meeting in June will plan for this at an early date.
The door will be open for Bhutan as and when they are ready for it, said an official. But Bhutan backing off from the initial plan calls for changing of routes and other procedures.
An Indian Navy ship with relief materials reached Colombo on Saturday as the death toll from floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka crossed 100 and authorities warned of more rains.
The Disaster Management Centre issued an urgent evacuation warning for residents living along the Kelani River and within the Divisional Secretariats of Kollonnawa, Kaduwela, Wellampitiya, Kelaniya, Biyagama, Sedawatte, Dompe, Hanwella, Padukka and Avissawella.
At least 200,382 people belonging to 52,603 families were affected in 14 districts. Further, 12,007 people belonging to 2,937 families were relocated to 69 safe locations as of Saturday morning, it said.
India in response dispatched three Navy ships with emergency supplies to help Sri Lanka in the rescue and relief operations.
The fist Indian navy ship with rescue and relief materials arrived Saturday morning at the Port of Colombo.
Sri Lankas tri-forces personnel including more than 1,000 Army troops were engaged in the rescue and relief operations.
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) airman died after falling from a helicopter during a flood rescue operation in Neluwa area in Galle.
Officials said the death toll from floods crossed 100 while 99 others were missing but did not provide the exact numbers.
The Meteorology Department said that rain and windy conditions are expected to continue.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North-western provinces, it said.
Sri Lankas ministry of foreign affairs in coordination with the ministry of Disaster Management appealed to the UN, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighbouring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially in the areas of search and rescue operations.
Sri Lankan foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake, who was present to receive the ship, said: We are grateful to India for sending relief at such a short notice so quickly.
He said Indias move to send relief materials demonstrated the Indo-Lanka relations which are at an excellent level.
INS Kirch diverted to Colombo to render immediate assistance in flood relief operations, arrived in Colombo Port today. Indian high commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the relief items brought by INS Kirch to foreign minister Ravi Karunanayake.
Two more Indian Navy ships -- INS Shardul and INS Jalashwa -- have also left for Sri Lanka with relief materials including food medicines and water.
Medical and diving teams along with boats and helicopters are also being sent on board INS Jalashwa to assist Sri Lanka in rescuing people from flood-hit area, Indian Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful Southwest monsoon, officials said.
Sri Lankas ministry of foreign affairs said it had activated the Emergency Response Unit to coordinate rescue and relief measures related to the flood situation.
Sri Lanka, which has been heavily deforested for cash crops, often witnesses landslides during the monsoon season.
Last year, more than 100 people were killed in a massive landslide in the country.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who reportedly succeeded Burhan Wani as the Hizbul Mujahideen commander, was killed on Saturday with another militant in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmirs Pulwama district.
Six suspected militants were also killed in Kashmirs Rampur along the Line of Control on Saturday, the army said.
One civilian was also killed and several others were injured in Kashmir on Saturday after the killing of Bhat sparked protests across the valley, officials said.
Burhan Wani was killed on July 8 last year in south Kashmir. His killing sparked violent protests in the Kashmir Valley for months.
Live updates:
6:42pm: Joint Hurriyat leadership Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhamad Yaseen Malik calls for complete shutdown in the Valley on Sunday against the killing of Hizb Commander Sabzar Ahmad during an encounter in Tral.
6:30pm: Infiltration bid at LoC foiled and all six militants were killed last evening: Army spokesperson at a press conference.
WATCH LIVE: Army's press conference in Uri (J&K) over present situation in Kashmir. https://t.co/uhKrNGLE1d ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
6: 00 pm: A spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the Valley as violence erupted at more than 50 places in the wake of killing of Bhat, a police official said.
4:35pm: One person killed in Tral where protesters clashed with security forces after the killing of militant Sabzar Bhat, says a senior medical official.
2:30pm: Jammu and Kashmir Police (JKP) tweets, Major success for JKP and security forces. Two terrorists including Sabzar killed in Tral encounter.
Meanwhile, security forces launch a major operation to find the remaining terrorist from his hideout in Tral.
2:10pm:
Relentless operations thwart desperate attempts by Pakistan to boost terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Statement attached. @adgpi pic.twitter.com/TShVCxlTmU NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) May 27, 2017
2pm: Mobile internet services, including 2G, 3G and 4G, have been suspended in Kashmir after violent protests. It has not even been 24 hours since services were restored in the Valley: ANI
1:50pm: Shut down in many parts of Kashmir after violent protests in the wake of killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat.
1pm: J-K government could suspend mobile internet services in Kashmir fearing law and order problems, says ANI. Services had been restored in the Valley just a day before.
12:30pm: Bhats death sparks stone-pelting protests at several places in Kashmir, reports PTI.
The central governments ban on sale of cows and buffaloes in livestock markets for slaughter has raised the hackles of non-BJP state governments and meat traders alike.
The CPI(M)-led government is Kerala is exploring legal options to sidestep the ban while traders claim the move will reduce meat supply during the Islamic holy month of Ramzan starting from Sunday and will impact lives of millions of Muslims and Dalits.
The Union environment and forest ministry on Friday banned sale of cattle for slaughter in livestock markets, whose definition includes liarage adjoining a market or a slaughter house.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday saying the Centre cant prepare menu and change the food habits of the people.
Today it is saying you cant eat beef tomorrow it can say no to fish also. We will not allow this to happen in our state, the CM said, as his government approaches legal experts to explore ways to overcome the new notification.
Read more: Centre bans sale of cows for slaughter at animal markets, restricts cattle trade
Meat traders are equally indignant.
Its a clear interference in natures food cycle and nobody has right to do so, not even the Modi government, said Mohammed Shabuddin Quraishi, president of Quraish welfare foundation that represents around 50,000 meat traders of Lucknow.
Vijayan said the rule will lead to loss of jobs in Kerala where at least five lakh people are directly or indirectly involved in cattle trade, slaughter houses and allied areas. Around 70% of Keralas 3.25 crore population is non-vegetarian.
In the north-east, where sale of beef is allowed, traders say it could lead to loss of job for many.
Millions of poor will lose their livelihood source if the environment ministrys new rule is enforced, said S N Sabbarwal, director general of all India meat exporters association.
In a first protest against the ban, youth organisations in Kerala including Democratic Youth Federation of India (DFYI) and Youth Congress organised beef festivals at many places.
The government is enforcing the agenda of RSS. It is out to vitiate the secular fabric of the country, said DFYI all-India president Mohamed Riaz while inaugurating a beef festival outside the state secretariat. The Congress will observe a black day on Monday.
In Lucknow and Kanpur, traders say they will start protest as they have been left with no option. Haji Dilshad Ahmed, president of Jamiat-ul-Quraishi Gareeb Nawaaz - the meat traders representative body in Kanpur, said the new rule will reduce meat production during Ramzan in Uttar Pradesh, which accounted for highest beef export in 2016-17.
Meat traders in Kerala fear that the new notification will embolden Hindu fringe outfits in neighbouring states and they will disrupt transportation of animals. There are 44 cattle markets across the state and hundreds of truck loads reach these markets from Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Many truck drivers will now refuse to carry cattle fearing attacks. The state will face a big shortage if transportation is disrupted in neighbouring states, said Kerala cattle merchants association president K H Kamaluddin.
(With inputs from Rahul Karmakar in Guwahati)
In 2013, KPS Gill turned back the pages of history to the 1979-1985 Assam Agitation and revived sentiments when he said Khargeshwar Talukdar, revered as the first of 855 martyrs of the agitation against illegal immigrants from 1979 to 1985, did not die of police action but had drowned in a pond.
The tough cop, credited with erasing militancy in Punjab, erased whatever goodwill he had when he served his first stint as an IPS officer in Assam till 1984.
As an officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, Gill had a reputation of being a tough, efficient police officer. He was also known for inviting student leaders over for drinking sessions despite ideological differences.
Gills popularity as a no-nonsense officer nosedived after 22-year-old Talukdar, a Barpeta district leader of All Assam Students Union (AASU), died on December 10, 1979.
Protesters had tried to prevent Begum Abida Ahmed, wife of former President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, from filing her nomination papers from the Barpeta Lok Sabha seat.
Gill, who led the police force in escorting Begum Abida, cracked down on the protesters. Talukdars body was found in a ditch by the roadside after brutal cane-charge, which participants of the agitation recalled, left many seriously injured.
Protesters carried Talukdars body throughout Barpeta town and in Guwahati to fuel the agitation against which Gill stood firm.
As Gill took his tough cop reputation to Punjab and Kashmir, people in Assam almost forgot him until Prafulla Kumar Mahantas Asom Gana Parishad-led coalition government (1997-2001) requested him to be the states security adviser.
Few missed the irony of inviting the very police officer who was the enemy number one during the Assam Agitation that Mahanta had led.
Many in Assam seemed to have forgiven Gill as he began to be invited to functions. But his trip to Tezpur in 2013, where he belittled Talukdars martyrdom, brought back memories of the fearsome police officer, often on horseback, cracking down on protesters.
We burnt his effigies to protest his blatant lie. It was Gill who had beaten Khargeshwar black and blue, leading to his death, Shankar Prasad Rai, then-president of AASU, said.
In his early career, he came across as the ideal police officer strong, courageous, efficient, and incorrigible, political commentator Haider Hussain told HT. But Assam Agitation changed all that. He played a role that suited the government of the day but to the people, it was against the interests of the state.
But Gill had a way of being critical of the government too. Two decades ago, he had blamed the Nellie communal violence of February 1983 on a deliberately understaffed civil administration that led to a few policemen being killed. More than 3,000 people, mostly migrant Muslims, were massacred that year.
He was also critical of the Golap Borbora government, the first non-Congress one in Assam after Emergency, for using students to create a communal divide that defined Assam Agitation.
He was critical too, of the Assam Accord of 1985 that put an end to the agitation.
In an interview to The Hindu a few years ago, he said: The Hiteswar Saikia (Congress) government was in place in Assam. The Army was back to the barracks after six months of the assembly elections; there was peace.
The Centre, instead of consolidating that peace and fostering development, handed over the governance to Asom Gana Parishad, who themselves didnt know where they were going.
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The ritual to conceive a male child and how the caste system protects Hindu culture are lessons from a history textbook listed as reference material by the Sant Gadge Baba Amravati University for its BA students.
The Marathi book, Bhartacha Itihas (Indian History), describes the conceiving ritual in a chapter on social development or Samajik Vikas, under the subhead Sanskar or values.
That the book had such a passage was revealed after Suresh Borhade, an Ahmednagar activist, lodged a complaint with the additional director of health services, saying the passage violated the Pre-Conception and Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PCPNDT) Act, 1994, that states female foeticide and prenatal sex determination are crimes.
Dr Archana Patil, the additional director of health services at the state family welfare office in Pune, has now asked the Amravati district surgeon to act against the universitys registrar. Describing the ritual, publishing it and then making it available for public, prima facie, seems to be a violation of the Act, said the letter signed by Dr Patil.
In another chapter on the caste system, titled Varnayavastha, the book talks about how the system protected Hindu culture from foreign invaders and contributed to the development of skills. It said the absence of intercaste marriages has helped preserve the purity of blood.
A few weeks earlier, a third-year Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine, and Surgery (BAMS) textbook was also flagged for teaching techniques to conceive a boy. Dr Asaram Khade, the Maharashtra PCPNDT Act consultant, had written to the joint secretary, public health, Government of India, regarding the supposed violation of the PCPNDT Act in the syllabus. Although the history book wasnt published by the University, it is listed as a reference book. Its unsettling to know that a university named after a great social reformer is endorsing such a text, said Borhade. The university is yet to pull the book out from the list.
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Union minister Maneka Gandhi on Saturday lauded the governments move to ban sale of cattle for slaughter at animal markets.
Animal markets were started for farmers so that they could sell their cattle to other farmers. So if I have a cow and a calf and I dont want to keep the calf, then I can sell it in the market, Gandhi, who is also an animal rights activist, said.
This mechanism was only for farmers. Since last 15 years it has been used only for butchers who pretend to be farmers and purchase cattle from the market. They buy 80 to 90 heads of cattle and carry it in their trucks and eventually slaughter the animals, she said.
The women and child development minister said ailing and unhealthy cattle also reach the markets but the new rule will ensure that such things dont happen
The ministry of environment and forests notified the stringent Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 on May 25, banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.
Sources in the ministry of environment and forests said it was Gandhis People for Animals which urged the former environment minister Anil Madhav Dave to sign the notification.
Gandhi said strict monitoring would ensure that no animals were bought for slaughter through livestock markets, but were sourced directly from farms, so that its provenance can be traced and safety can be ensured.
The government has reinforced an already existing law and it is for the betterment of the farmers, she said, referring to the PCA Act which ensures protection for all animals.
Mobile internet services were suspended as protesters took to the streets of the Kashmir Valley soon after news broke that Hizbul militant Sabzar Bhat was killed in an encounter on Saturday morning.
The suspension of mobile internet services came hours after the month-long ban on 22 social media and messaging platforms in Kashmir was revoked.
Bhat was gunned down in south Kashmirs Tral where forces raided a militant hideout on Friday evening. The encounter continued into Saturday, with Bhat and another militant Faizan confirmed dead.
The ban, ordered on April 26, clamped down on popular sites including Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram, QQ, WeChat, Ozone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit, Snapfish, YouTube, Vine, Buzznet, Xanga, and Flickr.
Only by late Friday night, people said they could access social media sites without any hassle on most networks, but were left dejected by Saturday noon as mobile internet services were snapped.
The governments ban order said the step was being taken because ... it has been felt that continued misuse of social networking sites and instant messaging services is likely to be detrimental to the interest of peace and tranquillity of the state.
Even as the ban was implemented, Kashmiris turned to freely available technology like Virtual Private Network (VPN) and encrypted messenger services such as Signal.
During the ban, what came as a surprise for many was that the whos who of Kashmir continued to post on Facebook and Twitter. Political leaders of the ruling PDP, leaders of opposition parties, government officials and even top police officials were found circumventing the ban.
The news of Bhats death triggered protests in many parts of the Valley. Pellet injuries were also reported from some parts of south Kashmir.
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Janata Dal (United) stalwart and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar will attend a lunch to be hosted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is scheduled to be to held on Saturday in the national capital in honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. He is on a two-day visit to India.
Interestingly, Kumar on Friday missed the lunch organised by Congress president Sonia Gandhi. He later clarified that his absence was being misinterpreted as JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav had represented his party in the meeting.
I had met Sonia ji in April and already discussed the issues which were discussed this time. This time she invited all the parties for lunch. Former national president of our party Sharad Yadav went for the lunch on behalf of JD (U). There is no such thing that I skipped the lunch. This is mere misinterpretation, Nitish told the media.
Forging a common stance on the upcoming presidential polls, a united opposition that included the Congress and some arch rivals on Friday decided to field its candidate if the NDA government fails to come up with an acceptable consensual nominee. Leaders of 17 parties came together at a luncheon hosted by Sonia Gandhi on a day when the Modi government celebrated its third anniversary on May 26 but the absence of Nitish Kumar set off speculation, being seen as a setback to non-BJP parties to field a common candidate.
Bitter contenders in Uttar Pradesh -- the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party -- and hostile rivals in West Bengal -- the Trinamool Congress and the Left -- were all present at the luncheon at the Parliament House library.
Apart from West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and CPI-Ms Sitaram Yechury, BSPs Mayawati and SPs Akhilesh Yadav, sat under one platform and attended the lunch together with other opposition leaders - NCPs Sharad Pawar, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and DMKs Kanimozhi. Other Left leaders CPIs S Sudhakar Reddy and D Raja and CPI-Ms P Karunakaran were also present, apart from SPs Naresh Agarwal and Ram Gopal Yadav and BSPs Satish Mishra.
Sharad Yadav and KC Tyagi represented JD(U) at the lunch while Prem Chan Gupta represented RJD.
Incumbent Pranab Mukherjee demits office on July 25.
A few days ago, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar indicated his support in favour of Pranab Mukherjee if he secured a second term as the President. However, the Congress so far has been non-committal on a second term for him.
There has been speculation about a tie-up between JD(U) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), something Kumar has repeatedly refuted. JD(U) had broken its 17-year alliance with BJP in 2013 after Narendra Modi was declared the saffron partys prime ministerial candidate.
Such conjecture has grown following the Supreme Courts decision to try RJD chief Lalu Prasad in four fodder scam cases and fresh allegations of corruption against him and his family members.
On Saturday, the BJP on Saturday welcomed the meeting of the duo, but refrained from commenting on speculations revolving around the same. BJP leader Shaina NC said there could be any kind of talk, either developmental or a generic one. Nitish Kumar is the Bihar Chief Minister and obviously he is entitled to meet the Prime Minister because this the Prime Minister of the nation, and not a particular party. I think there could be a lot of development talk taking place or even a general talk. Why should we speculate on it? Shaina told ANI.
Expressing similar sentiments, BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma said the meeting was only over a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it. It is a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it. As far as we are concerned, our agenda is sabka sath, sabka vikas, so every person who believes in the same will always be welcomed by us, Verma told ANI.
(With agency inputs)
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday, a day after he skipped a meeting of opposition parties convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
After the meeting, Kumar rejected suggestions of growing bonhomie between him and Modi.
There is a grand alliance between RJD, JD(U) and Congress. We are running a government there (Bihar), Kumar said, stressing it was his duty to raise Bihars problems with the central government.
He said it was unfair to compare the luncheon meeting organised by Gandhi on Friday with that hosted by Modi. He added that it was always clear that JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav would go for the opposition meeting .
What is the link between the two (meeting with Modi and Sonias luncheon)? One was a political meeting and Ive already met Soniaji on April 20. She called me and...discussion happened over unity of opposition parties.
Opposition is united on the issue of presidential election, Kumar told reporters.
The JD-U president was in the capital to attend a lunch hosted by Modi in honour of visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
Half of the population in Mauritius is of Bihari origin. We have an emotional connect with Mauritius so I thought it is appropriate to accept the invitation, Kumar said.
There has been intense speculation about a tie-up between the JD(U) and the Centres ruling BJP, something Kumar has repeatedly refuted. The JD(U) had broken its 17-year alliance with the BJP in 2013 after Modi was declared the saffron partys prime ministerial candidate.
Such conjecture has grown following the Supreme Courts decision to try RJD chief Lalu Prasad in four fodder scam cases and fresh allegations of corruption against him and his family members.
Chief minister Kumar has maintained a silence on the allegations against the RJD supremo and his kin, merely saying it was for the central government to look into them.
Kumar, who heads the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition government in Bihar, did not attend Fridays opposition meeting that was attended by several top leaders to discuss a consensus presidential candidate. He later blamed the political speculation on misinterpretation.
In Saturdays meeting, Kumar urged the Prime Minister to send a team of experts before the arrival of monsoon to study the situation of flooding in his state. He handed over a letter to PM Modi, demanding special grants for Bihar.
One civilian was killed and several others were injured in Kashmir on Saturday after the killing of a top rebel commander sparked protests across the valley, officials said.
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, believed to be the successor of the slain militant Burhan Wani, and one of his associate were killed in an overnight raid at a hideout in Tral.
The government cut off mobile internet as a precautionary measure as the protests spread to capital Srinagar where people rushed to stock fuel fearing prolonged violence, similar to the months-long protests that followed the killing Wani last year.
Bhats death was confirmed hours after the army killed six suspected militants who were allegedly trying to infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The news of his death triggered violent protests in Pulwama, Shopian, Anantnag, Sopore, Kupwara and Srinagar, and large of the valley shut down.
Witnesses said a young man was killed and several other people were injured after forces fired on protesters near the site where Bhat was killed. Police chief SP Vaid said the man was killed in crossfire.
Reporters saw smoke billowing from a burnt out, two-storyed house where the two militants were killed. One jawan was seen carrying what appeared to be two assault rifles of the slain militants.
Security forces were searching the area for at least one more body, police said.
A statement from the armys Northern Command said the encounters were a result of operations by security forces to defeat desperate attempts by Pak and Pak-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan.
The army said in the past 24 hours at least 10 militants have been killed including two members of Pakistans rogue border action team (BAT) gunned down.
Authorities suspended mobile internet services on Saturday afternoon, just a day after lifting a monthlong ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter.
The social media ban on April 26 came after videos depicting the alleged abuse of Kashmiris by Indian forces fueled widespread protests.
Kashmir has been on the boil since the killing of Wani, a poster-boy of homegrown militancy in the valley, deepened anti-India sentiments. Nearly 100 people were killed in the street protests in the months of protests. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by pellets fired by forces.
After Wanis death, the Hizbul Mujahideen named one Mehmood Gaznavi as the new commander in Kashmir. While there was no information available on Ghaznavi, it was believed his real name was Sabzar Ahmed Bhat.
(With agency inputs)
The UP police say they could have reached the victims of the highway robbery near Greater Noida within minutes if they had called 100 instead of their relatives back home, an official in the department said.
A family of eight was attacked by robbers at around 1.30am on Thursday when they were on their way to Bulandshahr from Jewar on a desolate stretch close to the Yamuna Expressway. One of the men in the group was shot dead and the women said they had been raped. The case triggered fresh criticism of law and order in the countrys most populous state.
Officials said the victims first called a relative in Jewar, who made the call to police.
A police response vehicle (PRV) located the relative in minutes, but since he had no idea where the victims were, we had to start canvassing the highway, said additional director general (ADG) Anil Agarwal, in-charge of the UP-100 programme.
PRVs, Agarwal explained, are equipped with devices that can relay the approximate location from where an emergency call was made to 100.
The call lands at a centre in Lucknow, which gets the approximate location of the caller based on the mobile network towers from where he or she was connected. This information is passed on to screens in the PRVs, which are supposed to reach a victim with 30 minutes in rural areas and 15 in cities, the ADG said.
In Thursdays incident, the victims relative in Jewar was far from the crime scene.
The mobile phone of the victims was switched off, making it difficult for the UP-100 team to locate them, said Agarwal.
In the region, each PRV patrols a 30-km area and several were deployed to look for the family.
When a team found the victims, the suspects had fled leaving one person dead and the others tied up.
UP-100, an integrated emergency service, was launched by the previous government headed by the Samajwadi Party in November.
The project began with 1,500 squad cars deployed across the state, managed from a control room in Lucknow that receives all calls made to 100 from within the state.
Agarwal said that since its launch, UP-100 teams have rescued and attended to scores of people involved in accidents and crimes on highways.
Highways are typically a blind spot for local police in India, and emergency response is complicated by matters of jurisdiction.
The UP programme earned praise from the Union governments Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), which urged governments in other states to replicate the model.
During a presentation by police and home department in April, UPs new chief minister Yogi Adityanath too stressed on the strengthening the UP-100 service.
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The trade union arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) has trained its guns on the government for pursuing disinvestment and acting on the advice of policy think-tank Niti Aayog, which has been dubbed as an expensive exercise with lopsided intellectuals.
The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), which represents over 5,000 affiliate unions, asked the government to revisit the composition of Niti Aayog to include representatives of women groups, labourers, farmers and those from the medium and small-scale sectors. It also wants the disinvestment policy revisited because many decisions on this front have been influenced by land sharks.
As of now, Niti Aayog only represents corporates; it does not represent India. It has taken on board people who have probably not even visited a village, but are making decisions for those who live in villages, Pawan Kumar, the zonal organising secretary of the BMS, said on Saturday.
The BMS, at its annual two-day meeting in Kanpur last week, passed a resolution demanding reorganisation of the government think-tank, and demanded that it should remove the entire anti-worker proposals and action plan document on Labour and Employment from its website.
This is not the first time NITI Aayog has been criticised by an RSS offshoot. Earlier, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch held a two-day brainstorming on the utility of the government think-tank, and said it has failed to incorporate peoples aspirations in the field of policy-making.
The BMS, which has often been accused of going soft on the government by backing out of trade union protests at the eleventh hour, has threatened to take to the streets on June 22-23 to protest against the Centres alleged anti-labour policies. This would be followed by a demonstration outside Parliament in November, Kumar said.
Last weeks cabinet decision to disinvest Janpath Hotel in the Capital has further aggravated the trade bodys disenchantment with the governments policies. If the government is unable to manage the administration, it should give us the enterprise. We will run it and make profits, said Kumar.
The union leader said the hotel was deliberately mismanaged, with no efforts being made to even claim rent from offices that occupied its space for the past few years. Disinvestment is being orchestrated under the influence of the land sharks, he added.
Besides this, the BMS vetoed a proposal to merge various employee provident fund entities into one, investing the money from these into the stock market, and raising a corpus for senior citizens. It has also called for constituting the third press commission as labour laws are being flouted, and replacing the press council with a media council to ensure that electronic and digital media enterprises are included in its ambit.
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Three deaths, more than a dozen injured and 71 arrests later, a tenuous calm has fallen across Shabbirpur village in Uttar Pradeshs Saharanpur district
After caste violence rocks the area for over 20 days, the local BJP MLA from Deoband, Kunwar Brijesh Singh. is on his first visit to the locality on Thursday. Clad in an orange hued kurta, Singh sits surrounded by the Thakurs of the village.
He is quick to blame Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawatis visit on the latest round of violence on May 23. One Dalit man was killed and 13 injured in attacks on those returning from Mayawatis public meeting.
Dismissing it, he fuels the conspiracy theory mentioned by upper caste villagers of masked men (not Thakurs) having attacked the Dalits.
His sympathies become clearer when questioned about the Dalit houses torched by the Thakurs. Several people loudly say the Dalits burnt their own houses to blame the Thakurs. Singh nods in agreement, A reporter trying to shoot this was manhandled as well. He is quickly checked by a man sitting next to him who says, I am saying this, not the MLA ji.
Singh retracts, I wasnt here that day. People are saying that, I cannot say authentically.
That does not stop him from pinning the blame on his political rivals. This is a fight between Bhim Army and BSP. Both worry the other will take over and thats why this happened, he says. We asked if he would visit the affected Dalits in the village as well, but he leaves soon after despite telling us he would.
The caste faultlines exposed by the Shabbirpur incident may not be new but have now been bared as politics takes centrestage.
Locals point to the municipal elections to be held in Saharanpur this year as one of the causes of the unrest. This is the first time that elections for the local body will be held. While such local polls never resonated nationally, the BJPs aggressive campaign in the Delhi municipal elections have brought such contests into sharp focus.
The BJP holds the Saharanpur Lok Sabha seat but it lost 3 of the 5 assembly seats even though it swept most of the Western UP region in the 2017 state elections. It lost the Saharanpur city and rural seats which are due to vote in the municipal polls but managed to pull in a chunk of Dalit votes.
Saharanpur has traditionally been a BSP bastion but the party failed to win even a single assembly seat this year. With a 40 percent Muslim population in the district, the Dalits which constitute 21 percent are key to the fortunes of both parties.
The two parties have taken to accusing each other for instigating the violence for political gain.
Caught in this political vortex are the constituents and a fledgling Dalit youth organisation, the Bhim Army.
15 days before the Shabbirpur incident, Saharanpur BJP MP, Raghav Lakhanpals Ambedkar Shobha Yatra, in Sadak Dudhli village through a Muslim area, without police permission had triggered a round of violence. The unrest fueled as the MP openly issued a threat to the then SSP Luv Kumar while BJP workers attacked the officers house. The SSP was transferred out of the district soon after. Lakhanpals actions were seen as an attempt to drive a wedge between the Dalits and Muslims.
While there maybe no ostensible connection to Sadak Dudhli and Shabbirpur incidents, a video of Chandrashekhar, the firebrand leader of the Bhim Army had surfaced online in its wake, addressing Dalits and Muslims. He warns them against the BJP saying, it only wants to incite communal violence for electoral gains.
Lakhanpal is quick to dismiss this. Lets not make this a Dalit-BJP issue. This issue is about a handful of people who are trying to mislead the community, trying to show a different picture.
The BJP has been caught in a bind in trying to assuage their core Thakur base without alienating the Dalits. Lakhanpals doublespeak doesnt last long as a group of incensed Thakurs from Ambetta village arrive. Their children have been arrested for attacking Dalits after Mayawatis public meeting on May 23. Lakhanpal assures them, anyay nahi hone denge. (We wont let injustice happen.)
Police in action after violence broke out during an Ambedkar Jayanti Shobhayatra in Saharanpur carried out by BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal. (PTI)
We meet more Thakur families outside the district jail. Saroj Pundhir, is waiting with a plastic bag of clothes and a box of puri-sabzi for her son, Rohit, one of those arrested. She says that their village is 10 km away from Shabbirpur and none of the boys were involved in the attacks on Dalits. The anger against the administration soon turns into anger against the BJP government. Vote toh BJP ko kiya tha par agar hamare begunah bacchon ko pakdenge toh inko dobara kyun vote denge. (We voted for the BJP but if they jail our innocent kids, we wont vote for them again).
Not too far away, in the Civil Hospital trauma centre are another set of BJP voters the Dalits who were attacked by the Thakurs. A frail Inderpal, 50, has his head and both hands bandaged. When I was crossing the Rajput houses, about 10-15 men with swords and axes attacked me. I pleaded saying, whats my mistake but they called me gittal (a local castiest slur) and kept beating me, he says.
Another man cuts in, This is the result of having voted for the BJP. They dont care for chamars, only the cow. A third says, Caste oppression is not new but now its their (upper caste) government so they can do what they want. The only difference is that this time we will raise our voice.
This wave of Dalit assertion has been fired by the Bhim Army, a two-year-old organisation founded in nearby Chutmalpur, in response to caste oppression of Dalit children at school. The national convenor of the organisation, Vinay Ratan Singh, a strapping young man with a handlebar moustache says it is easy for parties to pin the blame on them.
Chandrashekhar, founder of Bhim Army, during a protest at Jantar-Mantar in New Delhi on Sunday. (Ravi Choudhary/HT PHOTO)
Our only clash was with the administration on May 9, nothing else. Every little accident is now being blamed on us. We are being called so many names but they can go see our work on ground, he says referring to the after school program run by them for Dalit students.
Targeting them has also led to a surge of mass support for them. At a protest called by them on May 21, thousands descended onto Delhi. Chandrashekhar made a quick appearance despite the looming threat of arrest. Local police sources say that arresting more Bhim Army members at this point could further worsen the situation.
Jab bhi SC ke sath anyay hoga Bhim Army puri takat ke saath khadi hogi, pure disesh or videsh mein bhi. (The Bhim Army will stand in full strength every time there will be injustice with Scheduled Castes, nationally and even internationally). Vinay says while they will continue their fight they have told their cadre to not break the law.
But the simmering anger of the cadre is clear when we met a few of the young men of Bhim Army checking on the injured Dalits being treated at the Civil Hospital. Pointing to Inderpal one says, Inhi ke bache andar hain, aur yahi aspatal mein. Ladai toh ab dikhayenge kaisi hoti hai. Kaise sadkon pe aate hain log. (His sons have been arrested and he is the one injured too. Well show how to fight by taking to the streets).
Another young man from Chhutmalpur village, the birthplace of Bhim Army loudly says, Abhi to ek Chandrashekhar hai, jab 100 Chandrashekhar ho jayenge na, phir dekhiyega. (Right now, there is one Chandrashekhar, when there will be 100, you will see).
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The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Saturday claimed that he was not in the race for the post of President but was hopeful that the ruling BJP takes the Opposition into confidence and finds consensus to select a candidate.
Pawar, who was in Nagpur to attend the birthday celebration of union minister for Transport and Shipping, Nitin Gadkari, pointed out that elections of posts like the President should be avoided. It is for the ruling party to facilitate the common candidate, he said.
While he evaded comment on reports suggesting he could be the united candidate, the pitch for consensus may keep his chances alive since it is well known that Pawar has a good rapport with PM Narendra Modi and has friends in all parties.
The NCP chief admitted that the Opposition had failed to inspire people and said this is why the BJP was doing better.
People want a better alternative and it is a fact that the name projected by the Congress is no match to Modi, said Pawar.
However, he was hopeful that simmering public anger over unfulfilled promises by the Modi government may snowball soon leading to change of rulers.
In another question, he expressed concern over the Kashmir situation since the causalities of security personnel as well as civilians was raising rapidly. He also criticised the union government for the new rule to regulate cattle sale. The new rule would be more burden on crisis ridden farmers in the country, he said
Six workers were crushed to death under boulders following a landslide in a quarry at Phirangipuram in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh on Saturday.
Another worker was seriously injured in the incident and taken to the Government General Hospital in Guntur, an official said.
The state government has announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh each to the kin of the deceased, said Guntur District Collector Kona Sasidhar.
The accident occurred this afternoon when the workers were attending to their regular duties. A landslide caused the boulders to roll over the workers, killing six persons and injuring another, he said.
Among the deceased, three workers belonged to Phirangipuram area, while the others hailed from Donabanda in Krishna district, the official said.
Sasidhar, who visited the scene of the mishap, said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident and the mining department directed to verify if the quarry had a valid licence.
We have retrieved five bodies so far and we are bringing in additional equipment to remove the debris and retrieve the sixth body, the Collector said.
He said all quarrying activity in Phirangipuram area was being temporarily suspended and the mining department has been asked to verify if the quarries had valid licences.
We will take stern action if there are any violations, the collector warned.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over the accident.
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed developmental projects in Prime Minister Narendra Modis constituency Varanasi on Saturday, and directed officials to speed up the work.
Adityanath, who is on a two-day visit to the temple town, offered prayers at the Kaal Bhairav and Kashi Vishwanath temples on Saturday morning.
The chief minister also inspected the government divisional hospital, and instructed officials and doctors to provide best care to patients.
UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath talks to patients during his visit to Kabir Chaura Hospital in Varanasi on Saturday. (PTI)
He also inspected the Manduadeeh bridge and the under-construction Samneghat-Ramnagar bridge over the Ganga.
Though the foundation of the 922-metre Samneghat bridge was laid in 2005 by then chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, work has remained incomplete.
Adityanath also went to Sankuldhara, a pond that is being rejuvenated.
Yogi Adityanath briefed by officials about a bridge on the Ganga in Varanasi on Saturday. (PTI)
People from across Varanasi lined up the roads and chanted Yogi, Yogi on getting a glimpse of the chief minister.
Adityanath also visited Prime Minister Modis local public relations office at Ravindrapuri where he listened to grievances of the people.
If you spot a boy or girl, college going or professionals wearing T-shirts that read the most commonly heard Bihari quotes like Le Lota, Latakla Ta Gayila, Bakaiti, Bak Lol, Garda Uda Diye, Gayle Bhais Paani Mein or Bindaas Biharan, dont get confused. Its a fad that seems to have taken the city youngsters by storm.
The T-shirts are courtesy Patna Beats, a web portal launched by Bihar youth, which feels this is one way to reinforce the Bihari identity and be bold and brash about everything Bihar.
We want to revamp the image of Bihar and use popular satire in a trendy way, say the sponsorers of the movement.
Well, the move has clearly succeeded for it has shaken up students, businessmen, shopkeepers, celebrities and professionals - all of whom have embraced the quirky idea, which is actually all sold.
Despite Bihars stepping on the gas to turn into one of the fastest developing states of India with a growth rate of around 11% annually, people continue to carry the mindset that it is an underdeveloped state of illiterates. The height of misconception was portrayed when a website named youswear.com, popular for slang/ swear words laden shirts, displayed the meaning of Bihari as a loser, said Bashshar Habibullah.
Did that make your blood boil? he asks. Mine did, he adds. This Patna boy who looked up the website to find something positive about Bihar found only negatives, which is when he decided to get Bihar on to a positive recall. Thats how the idea of Bihar merchandise was born and outrolled the T-shirts, mugs, badges and hoodies.
My main purpose is to educate people about the rich culture of the state and provide the residents with something which would make them feel proud of their identity. So we mixed fashion with ethnicity, Habibullah said.
The first launch was a success and sold like hot cakes in December 2016. Over 100 T-shirts, 12 hoodies and over 200 badges were sold out within two months. The shop and items were relaunched in May and have sold over 105 T-shirts within a week. Among them, the bestseller was Bindaas Biharan and I am Brand Bihar T-shirt while the ones with Hum Dil Nahi Stereotypes Todte Hai is also doing well.
The interesting thing is that more than Patna, we received orders from Delhi and Bengaluru. The Biharis living out of their state are more proudly ordering and wearing the Bihari swag T-shirts. When people see them wearing the T-shirt or the badges, they too ask for it with pride. We have also received orders from London, he added.
The team comprising three friends, including Syed Ashar Ali and Sidharth Shankar, besides some freelancers work day and night together for this cause. They do not even have an office and work from their bedrooms.
Since the launch of Patna Beats, we have not kept a single penny of the profit for our personal use. We invest the earning from our website in the shop and its income in manufacturing. The T-shirt is manufactured in Delhi and designed in Patna. Many times, we deliver the products in Patna ourselves to cut the cost of courier. But we feel that money comes and goes, but the image stays forever, he said.
This initiative has proven to be one of the trendiest one. So, what are you waiting for?
Bihari swag T-shirts are available in all sizes and cost Rs 495 while the badges Rs 49. You can even order coffee mugs saying 100% Bihari, O Womaniya and many interesting quotes for Rs 245. Go flaunt the Bihariness in You!
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A virulent version of the Zika virus that swept the globe has reached India, where an older, more benign strain is likely to be quietly residing within some Indians, possibly preparing genetic ground for a quick, new second-coming, experts have warned.
In India, the Zika viruswhich has no cure or vaccinewas first found in Pune 64 years ago, as part of a survey that was testing immunity to Japanese and Russian varieties of a virus-borne brain infection called encephalitis, according to a forthcoming paper authored by World Health Organization (WHO) scientists.
The paper comes soon after this study in the Lancet, a medical journal, which used travel patterns to predict that Indiawhere more than 67,000 air travellers arrive every yearand four other countries (China, Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand) were most at risk for year-round transmission of the Zika virus. China has more people, but more people are at risk in India.
A virus that hasnt been particularly dangerous since it was first discovered in a rhesus monkey in Ugandas Zika forest in 1947 (the first human case was reported in Nigeria seven years later), Zika has grabbed global attention because the virulent formmore than a million infections have been reported from Brazilis linked to microcephaly, abnormally small heads and brains in foetuses.
Timeline of the march of Zika virus- 1 1947: Scientists conducting routine surveillance for yellow fever in the Zika forest of Uganda isolate the Zika virus in samples taken from a captive, sentinel rhesus monkey. 1948: The virus is recovered from the mosquito Aedes africanus, caught on a tree platform in the Zika forest. 1952: The first human cases are detected in Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania in a study demonstrating the presence of neutralizing antibodies to Zika virus in sera.
After first emerging on a remote Pacific island in 2007, the new strain, borne by the female Aedes mosquitoes and air travel, and detected in Brazil in May 2015, has swept through 26 countries in the Americas, Cape Verde in Africa and Singapore, where 200 infections were reported within eight days. Currently, 58 countries and territories are affected by the Zika virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American national health agency.
On September 5, 2016, the Philippines confirmed its first Zika infection.
The original African strain went to Asia between 1954 and 2000, that did not cause microcephaly,Peter Hotez, the dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, USA, told IndiaSpend via email, explaining Zikas march.
The shift to the pandemic strain happened in 2007 to Micronesia and in 2013 to French Polynesia. This is sometimes called the Asian strain, which went Eastward into the New World. Now the Asian strain is headed to Africa continuing East back to India.
Despite email requests over a week, the National Centre for Disease Control, the National Institute of Virology (NIV), and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) did not respond to requests for comment on the possible entry of Zika into India.
As we shall see later, India does not know if the strain detected in Pune in 1952 has spread and if it has made Indians more susceptible.
The mutations that have made Zika dangerous
Zika could complete its trip around the planet by spreading to vulnerable areas of the Old WorldEurope, the Middle East, and AfricaHotez said in a commentary Will Zika return to the Old World?, published in May, 2016, in Microbes and Infection, a scientific journal.
Timeline of the march of Zika virus- 2 19691983: The known geographical distribution of Zika expands to equatorial Asia, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan, where the virus is detected in mosquitos. As in Africa, sporadic human cases occur but no outbreaks are detected and the disease in humans continues to be regarded as rare, with mild symptoms. 2007: Zika spreads from Africa and Asia to cause the first large outbreak in humans on the Pacific island of Yap, in the Federated States of Micronesia. Prior to this event, no outbreaks and only 14 cases of human Zika virus disease had been documented worldwide. 20132014: The virus causes outbreaks in four other groups of Pacific islands: French Polynesia, Easter Island, the Cook Islands, and New Caledonia. The outbreak in French Polynesia, generating thousands of suspected infections, is intensively investigated. The results of retrospective investigations are reported to WHO on 24 November 2015 and 27 January 2016.
Along the way, Zika changed its character, from a relatively benign virus causing fever, malaise, skin rash, conjunctivitis (red eye), muscle and joint pain and headache, according to this review paper published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, to one that causes neurological disorders such as microcephaly and the Guillain Barre syndrome (GBS), a temporary paralysis that can sometimes result in choking and death.
Zika appears to have undergone significant number of mutations, possibly in its NS1 gene, to make it more neurotropic (affecting nervous system) and better adapted to grow in humans and mosquitoes. It has become a pandemic strain, said Hotez.
The NS1 gene helps the Zika virusfrom a family called flaviruses, the largest about 120 times smaller than a human red-blood cellreplicate and evade a response from the human immune system.
Flaviviruses are adapted to their carriers, usually the female Aedes aegypti mosquito. As mosquitoes emerged from forest habitats and adapted to human blood meals, flaviviruses followed, which explains the spread of yellow fever, dengue, chikungunya, West Nile fever and now Zika.
The scary part about the new Zika strain, Prof Hotez said, is its ability to infect pregnant women and the unborn foetus to cause microcephaly, which leaves infants with not just distorted features but stops the growth of the brain.
How Zika marched across the world
After Zika was detected in humans in 1954 in Nigeria, serologic evidenceevidence from blood serumof human infection was reported from at least seven African countries and parts of Asia, including India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia, between 1951 and 1981.
Between 2007 and 2014, it caused, as Prof Hotez put it, explosive outbreaks in Micronesia, French Polynesia, and Easter Island-South Pacific.
Then, in May 2015, a Brazilian national laboratory reported a nativeor localcase of transmission.
A new mosquito-borne disease had indeed arrived in the Americas, though no one knew what that might mean, said this WHO May 2016 report: One year into the Zika outbreak: How an obscure disease became a global health emergency.
By mid-July, 2015, Brazil notified WHO of a spike in neurological disordersswelling of brain and spinal cord, GBS and microcephaly.
Since its entry into Brazil, according to the review paper, Zika cut a swath through 26 countries in the Americas.
On February 1, 2016, WHO declared Zika a public health emergency of international concern, requiring a coordinated international response.
Zika continues its globe-girdling march
In February, 2016, China reported its first cases (probably imported from the Americas); in March, Bangladesh confirmed its first case; in late July, mainland US declared its first locally-acquired case, although its first travel-related case was in 2007.
On August 27, Singaporea global travel hubannounced its first, with the city state reporting its first pregnant woman with Zika, on August 31, 2016. Local officials suggested a potential cluster of pregnant women with Zika. By September 8, 2016, within 13 days of the outbreak, 292 cases were reported, and genetic sequencing revealed that the viral strain was not a Brazilian import but came from within Asia.
In most of the 69 years that Zika has swept through the world, from Africa to Asia to the Americas, it was regarded as benign, with no deaths and hospitalisations reported.
But the virusas viruses often dowas quietly changing.
Timeline of the march of Zika virus- 3 2 March 2015: Brazil notifies WHO of reports of an illness characterized by skin rash in northeastern states. From February 2015 to 29 April 2015, nearly 7000 cases of illness with skin rash are reported in these states. All cases are mild, with no reported deaths. Zika was not suspected at this stage, and no tests for Zika were carried out. 1 February 2016: WHO declares that the recent association of Zika infection with clusters of microcephaly and other neurological disorders constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Since the older strain led to few ill effects, people travelled and spread the virus, which also jumped continents with its primary carrier, the Aedes aegypti mosquito species, but also through another called Aedes albopictus. Wherever the mosquitowhich itself emerged from forests and adapted to human habitationhas gone, the virus has followed.
The mosquitoes do not travel very far, but infected people do, Thomas Yuill, emeritus professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, and viral diseases moderator at ProMed, a global reporting system for infectious-disease outbreaks, told IndiaSpend.
The appearance of Zika virus in Micronesia, French Polynesia and Easter Island was surprising because these were the first outbreaks outside of the virus usual area of Africa and Asia. These outbreaks, followed by the one in Brazil, illustrate how the virus can be moved over long distances and initiate epidemics in new places, said Yuill.
How Zika spreads: Through the female mosquitos blood meal
The primary transmission route of Zika, according to this 2016 review paper, is the bite of the female Aedes mosquito when it has a human blood meal. Other modes of transmission include sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and perinatal transmission from mother to foetus during gestation or at the time of delivery.
Transmission begins from humans. When the mosquito has its meal of blood, the virus infects the insect, spreading to its salivary glands, from where it passes into the blood of the next human bitten.
Then there is vertical transmissionthe virus can be passed on from the Aedes aegypti mosquito to its offspringaccording to a study published in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, a scientific journal.
The virus incubation period is between three and 12 days after the mosquitos blood meal, after whichin most casesthere are no discernible effects for a week.
In one in five cases, the symptoms overlap with diseases caused by other Zika-like viruses, such as dengue and chikungunya, both of which are currently killing and disabling patients in Indian cities and villages.
The common symptoms, which last for two days to a week, include fever, malaise, skin rash, conjunctivitis (red eye), muscle and joint pain, and headache.
Why India is at risk
India contains Zikas disease ecologyAedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes, crowding, poverty, lack of sanitation and hygiene, travellers and visitors and warming that prolongs mosquito season. It will only take an infected person to travel to India and then be bitten by the tiger mosquito.
Aedes aegypti is now found mainly in homes and other buildings, protected from monsoon winds and other factors that slowed its spread when it was a forest-dwelling creature. It is active during the day, and it is a master of evolution.
Between 5% and 20% of a mosquito populations collective genomethe collection of their genesis responding to evolutionary pressure at any given time, according to this June 2015 study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a scientific journal.
For India to be affected by the virus, Yuill explained, it would need large populations of susceptible people living in close proximity to large populations of Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitoes.
Aedes aegypti and dengue are prevalent wherever there has been a Zika outbreak in the Western hemisphere. Indonesia and India are currently experiencing the worst dengue problems in the world, said Hotez.
Based on that assumption, India is at risk, he said. In Indias case, though, there are some big unknowns.
First, how widespread was the earlier African strain reported in India during the 1950s, and how exposed was Indias population to that first wave?
That earlier strain does not cause microcephaly but could possibly induce immunity to this new more concerning virus strain, said Hotez. India needs more studies to find out.
Second, could the new pandemic Zika strain affect India, as it is currently Singapore?
We have seen that wherever dengue occurs in Western Hemisphere, we can find Zika as well, said Hotez. But we dont know if thats just because both viruses are transmitted by Aedes aegypti, or if previous dengue infections can also promote increased susceptibility to Zika.
Since the symptoms of dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus infections are similar, and only laboratory tests can distinguish one from the other, it is possible that cases clinically diagnosed as dengue or chikungunya fevers could be Zika infections.
This may be the case in India, but until prospective surveillance with good laboratory support is in place, nobody knows, said Yuill.
The question, as Yuill put it, is this: Has Zika not been present in India or has no one looked over the past 40 years?
Chinkungunya wasnt supposed to be in India; then it showed up
Zikas cousin, chikungunya, first had a major outbreak across Indiabarring Kerala which had no Aedes aegypti mosquitoes thenbetween 1964 and 1967.
Chikungunya faded from public and scientific memory, and when it returned in 2002, we were caught with our collective pants down, said T Jacob John, a retired virologist who, along with two colleagues, documented Indias first HIV infection in 1986, and designed a national response.
The second coming of chikungunya in India came through a mutated and more virulent virus, John noted. We missed a golden opportunity to document all that.
Referring to Zika, John described the feeling as deja vu chikungunya.
Asked if previous dengue infection makes people more susceptible to Zika, John, drawing on a lifetime of field work and research, said: My knowledge is that previous dengue makes Zika infection worse.
John said the ministry of health is not designed to anticipate virus outbreaks and conduct precautionary investigations. The second entry of chikungunya was documented by the National Institute of Virology but not by the ministry.
To brace for the eventuality, Hotez said, India needs to start seroprevalence studies, which will determine how widespread past Zika infections were in India over previous decades and whether or not India remains susceptible to the new avataar of Zika.
Biological events are unpredictable, but government responses should not be.
However, said John, civilized countries would err on the precautionary side rather than relying on luck as we Indians often do.
(This story first appeared on IndiaSpend on September 10, 2016)
As many as 150 Dalits have reportedly converted to Buddhism here on the occasion of Buddha Purnima earlier this month, though the district administration has denied it.
As many as 150 Dalits have converted to Buddhism here during the Buddha Purnima celebrations on May 10, Gyanendra Maurya, president of the Bharatiya Baudh Dhamm Darshansar Society and Research Centre, told PTI on Saturday.
The Dalits decided to embrace Buddhism to safeguard their dignity and honour, he claimed, adding that hundreds of members of the community had been expressing their desire to convert, but his society did not want to publicise the issue.
District Magistrate Pinki Jowal, however, said that following reports of conversion, an inquiry was conducted by officials which revealed that no such deeksha programme was held.
The officials also visited Mauryas society, spoke to Buddhist religious leaders as well as Dalit leaders and their report clearly stated that no conversion took place, she added.
An Islamic State (IS) sympathiser, deported by Saudi Arabian authorities in April, married a medical student from Uttar Pradesh over mobile phone in 2016, his interrogation has revealed.
The wedding was conducted as per proper Islamic rituals even though the two had never met, Amzad Khan (37) told the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
They could have met in Saudi Arabia where the woman was preparing to go after completing her studies, but Khan, who worked at a grocery store there, was arrested before this.
The interrogation report accessed by HT says Khan had married before and had two children when he started chatting with the 24-year-old student on Facebook and web application Nimbuzz in 2011-12.
Initially they discussed about Ahl-e-Hadith (an Islamic school of thought) and Islam as she was inclined towards Hadith. She was impressed with his knowledge and fell in love, states the report.
Khan motivated the student to join IS and live an Islamic life in Syria as he assured that one can live in Syria with family without going to battlefield.
In early 2015, he had a change of heart and decided not to travel to Syria to join IS. He asked her to travel to Saudi Arabia to live with him. They married the next year over phone.
Due to contacts Khan had maintained with IS recruiters before he abandoned the idea, two of his brothers working in Saudi were held. They were later released but Khan was arrested on September 26, 2016. On April 4 this year, he was deported.
The Shift
The son of an Indian Railways technician, Amzad Khan had to drop out after matriculation owing to economic hardships. In Rajasthans Nagaur, he opened a public call office (PCO) but due to his fathers debts, his family sold their house in Ratangarh and move to Bikaner. In 2005, Khan travelled to UAE and worked at his uncles company from where he moved to Saudi Arabia in 2014.
Initially, Khan viewed the IS with suspicion but when the terror group released 46 nurses stuck in Tirkit, he was impressed. He started listening to radical preachers, including UK-based Anjem Chaudhary, and soon found himself in Telegram chat rooms with IS sympathisers. He then established contact with Yusuf-al-Hindi and expressed his wish to join IS.
The interrogation report reveals that Khans relations with Yusuf were shaky from the beginning. Matters worsened when the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia and other Islamic preachers issued fatwas against IS.
Yusuf had also told Khan that he had joined Taliban after migrating to Afghanistan but left it after he and his brother had a dispute with them. The brothers then shifted their base to Raqqa in Syria, where Yusuf joined the IS.
After NIA began arresting Indian youths for their links to IS, Amzad Khan at that time in Saudi changed his mind about ISIS and severed his contact with every IS sympathiser, including Yusuf. However, it was too late for him.
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More on cow slaughter ban, Jared Kushner wanted secret communication channel with Moscow, AAP and Congress stay away from ECs EVM challenge, Nitish Kumar clears up why he was away from Opposition meet, terrorists kill 26 Coptic Christians, 91 die in flooding in Sri Lanka.
Top stories to bring you up to date:
Centre bans sale of cows for slaughter at animal markets, restricts cattle trade
The government has banned the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter through animal markets, rules that will hurt millions of poor farmers and squeeze supplies to the countrys meat industry. The new rules do not amount to a blanket ban on cattle trade or their slaughter, and license breeding remains legal. But the move will crimp supplies to the countrys Rs 1-lakh crore meat and allied industries which sources about 90% of their requirements from animal markets. The worst hit, however, will be the mostly Muslim meat and leather traders who face mounting violence by increasingly assertive cow vigilante groups.
Read the story here.
Jared Kushner wanted secret communications channel with the Kremlin
The Washington Post has reported that Donald Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in order to shield their discussions from monitoring. The Post gleaned this from US officials who reviewed intelligence that drew on Kislyaks communications with Moscow. Kushner reportedly made the proposal during a meeting on December 1 or 2, which was attended by sacked former national security adviser Michael Flynn. According to the Post, Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
How this 24-year-old MBA student risked his life to bust a kidney racket in Delhi
A 24-year-old MBA student risked his safety and played along with illegal kidney donation agents for several weeks to expose a well-organised racket operating in Delhi, top police officials said. The youth who helped bust the racket is Jaideep Sharma, an MBA student at Punes Symbiosis Institute. His quest for the racketeers began last September when one of his friends suddenly went missing. Since the friend had spoken about selling his kidney for a handsome price, Jaideep believed that his disappearance had something to do with a racket. He, therefore, made a conscious effort to contact the kidney racketeers and offer himself as a donor.
Read the story here.
Only CPM, NCP accept Election Commissions EVM challenge, AAP and Cong stay away
The Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the CPM are the only parties to accept the Election Commissions challenge to prove that electronic voting machines (EVMs) can be tampered with, officials said after the deadline for registration ended on Friday. The most notable absentee, when the challenge opens on June 3, will be the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that led a campaign over the vulnerability of EVMs. The AAP did not agree with the conditions laid down by the poll panel and accused the EC of running away from a no-holds-barred hackathon.
Read the story here.
Opposition to form panel for selection of presidential candidate but will await govt proposal
The Congress-led Opposition parties decided on Friday to form a panel to pick their presidential candidate but insisted that they will first wait for the government to propose the name of a suitable and consensus candidate. At a luncheon hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, leaders of 17 parties including some traditional arch-rivals Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party in Uttar Pradesh and Trinamool Congress and Left in West Bengal broke bread while attacking the NDA governments policies. In a joint statement, the parties said, If acceptable, consensual candidates do not emerge, then we shall decide to field such persons who shall steadfastly defend the constitutional values of our Republic.
Read the story here.
Nitish says didnt snub Sonia, attended Modis lunch because of Mauritius PM
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who was at the receiving end on Friday for not attending an Opposition meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi but accepting Prime Minister Narendra Modis invite for lunch on Friday, blamed the political speculation on misinterpretation. She (Sonia Gandhi) had already invited me in April and I had a talk with her on the (presidential election) issue then, he said. As for accepting PM Modis invite, Kumar said it is being hosted in the honour of the Mauritian Prime Minister (Pravind Jugnauth). We share a sentimental and close association with the people of Mauritius, 52% of them have roots in Bihar. I accepted the invite as the chief minister of that state.
Read the story here.
CBSE says Class 12 exam results will be declared on Sunday
The Class 12 examination results of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will be released on Sunday. CBSE chairman RK Chaturvedi declared this on Friday, adding that the board will follow the moderation policy, as enshrined in rule number 59 of the examination bylaws. However, conditions apply. We have decided to abide by the Delhi high court directive, but there will be no artificial spiking of marks as was decided in an April board meeting, a board official said, adding that this could result in a slight dip in scores.
Read the story here.
Gunmen attack Coptic Christians in Egypt, 26 killed, several wounded
Masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians in southern Egypt on Friday, killing 26 people and wounding 26 others as they were driving to a monastery, eyewitnesses said. The group was travelling in two buses and a small truck in Minya province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority. Masked men reportedly stopped the vehicles on a road leading to the monastery and opened fire. Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypts population of 92 million, have been the subject of a series of deadly attacks in recent months.
Read the story here.
91 killed after monsoon rains trigger floods, mudslides in Sri Lanka
Floods and mudslides triggered by heavy monsoon rains in western and southern Sri Lanka left at least 91 dead, the government said on Friday. The Disaster Management Centre said that more than 7,800 persons are affected by the calamity. Heavy rains have lashed several parts of the country since Thursday, inundating roads and houses. Government workers have had their leaves cancelled, rescue and aid organizations have been asked to be on alert for the next 72 hours and the countrys armed forces have been deployed for relief operations.
Read the story here.
Far-right UK party wants to ban burqa as it stops vitamin D intake from sunlight
The far-right UK Independence Party (UKIP) has pledged in its general election manifesto to ban the burqas or the full face veils in public places, citing among others the reason that they prevent intake of essential vitamin D from sunlight. Clothing that hides identity, puts up barriers to communication, limits employment opportunities, hides evidence of domestic abuse, and prevents intake of essential vitamin D from sunlight, is not liberating, the UKIP election manifesto says.
Read the story here.
Kazi Nazrul Islam, the latest icon that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is highlighting as a model of an ideal Indian Muslim, was ironically one of the earliest faces of the communist movement in the country. The communist ideology is seen as the Sanghs biggest opponent.
Islam (1889-1976) translated the Internationale, the communist anthem worldwide. He preached communism through his poems and the some of the titles, Samyabadi (Communist), Sarbahara (Proletariat) and Bidrohi (Rebel), left no room for doubt.
In 1926, he became a founder-member of the Workers and Peasants Party of Bengal, one of the earliest Left outfits in India. During the early 1920s he shared a room in Kolkatas Taltola Lane with Muzaffar Ahmed (1889-1973), one of the founders of the Communist Party of India.
Ahmed was also the first to whom Islam recited Bidrohi, his most famous poem, which he wrote during this time. They were joint editors of a daily, Nabajug (New Age), and worked together for two other publications, Langol (Plough) and Dhumketu (Comet), edited by the poet.
But RSS, the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) ideological fount, insists there is more to Islam. Nazrul Islam had definite leanings towards communist ideology but that does not negate his nationalism, Jisnu Basu, RSSs south Bengal general secretary, told HT on Friday. He represents the true nationalist, the real Hindu, as Hinduism is not merely a religion but actually a way of life, Basu added.
Between May and October, swayamsevaks (volunteers) at the RSS daily sakhas (daily meetings) will sing three songs Islam composed. These are: Hey Parthasarathi, Bajao Panchajanya Shankha (devoted to Lord Krishna), Tomar Hate Rakhi Khani Bandho Amar Dokhin Haate (celebrating Raksha Bandhan) and O Maa Donuj-Dalani Mahashakti Namoh (praising Devi Durga).
RSS will also get select works of Islam translated into Hindi to circulate them across the country.
Read: RSS to eulogise Bangladeshs national poet Kazi Nazrul Islam as good Hindu
A staunch atheist, Islam turned spiritual during his later days. He composed several Islamic songs, and bhajans, love songs and devotional songs addressed to Hindu gods and goddesses. Fiery language marked his compositions.
Due to his nationalist activities, the British imprisoned him several times. After Independence, he focused on composing music.
Both CPI(M) and Trinamool Congress have mocked the RSS move to highlight Islam, who is Bangladeshs national poet.
The Sangh Parivars main icons, Shyama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, have no appeal in Bengal, therefore, they are trying to look for icons with whom Bengalis can connect, said CPI(M) Politburo member and Lok Sabha MP Md Salim. I think their enthusiasm with Islam is born out of incomplete reading of his works. Once they read him in totality, they will drop him like a hot potato.
Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Sougata Roy said, Its heartening to hear they are planning to highlight Nazrul Islam. They should. The more Nazrul Islam is read, the more people will unite to defeat RSSs divisive politics.
For decades, the Left has celebrated Islams birthday in neighbourhoods across Bengal. Trinamool founder and chief minister Mamata Banerjee, too, is fond of quoting him to counter the Sangh.
RSS, however, has a different view. According to Biplab Roy, spokesperson for RSS south Bengal chapter, the Left and the Trinamool only highlight those parts of Islams writings which make Hindus feel inferior.
They have been highlighting only a part of Islams life, whereas well highlight him as a whole a true Hindu and nationalist representing Bharatiyatva (Indian-ness). He represents an ideal Indian Muslim, Roy said.
Born at Churulia village in Bengals Burdwan district, Islam served as a muezzin as a youngster. During World War I, he served in the British army abroad. However, in the early 1920s, when he focused on journalism, he got deeply involved in anti-British activities and turned towards the Left.
By his own admission, Islam wrote to express the dominant feelings of his time and did not seek immortality.
Read: How RSS plans to take over West Bengal: Social media campaign to new members
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Sunita (not her real name), a gang rape survivor, was 12 weeks pregnant on May 10 when she approached Dholpurs principal medical officer (PMO) for terminating her pregnancy.
But the government doctor refused to take action even though law allows a registered medical practitioner to terminate a pregnancy that is less than 12-weeks old.
What the law says According to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act, pregnancy of more than 12 weeks but less than 20 weeks can be terminated if two or more registered medical practitioners are of the opinion that the continuance of the pregnancy would involve a risk to the life of the pregnant woman or cause grave injury to physical or mental health. The law explains that anguish caused by a pregnancy caused by rape is presumed to constitute a grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman.
The 16-year-old then knocked the door of a local court in the districts Badi town and was again refused permission.
On May 18, she petitioned the Rajasthan high court. On May 25, the HC asked the Dholpur PMO to constitute a medical board within three days of receipt of its order to end the pregnancy.
Sunitas pregnancy is 14 weeks now, but she has to wait longer as the Dholpur PMO said he is yet to receive the court order. He said he will set up the board the moment he gets the order.
The girl, who will turn 17 in August this year, was raped by a boy of her village on February 1, Dinesh Kumar Garg, the rape survivors counsel in the high court said.
His friend filmed the act, and the two then sexually exploited her for two months, threatening to put the video of the act on social media, Garg said.
Only after her family found out about her pregnancy did Sunita tell them about the sexual assault, following which a complaint was lodged against Durg Kushwaha and Babloo Kushwaha on April 17 for gang-raping her repeatedly.
The two were arrested and are in judicial custody now, Kanchanpur police station SHO, Shaitan Singh said.
Sunitas father said they wrote to the district collector and superintendent of police on May 1 for permission to terminate the pregnancy.
Dholpur collector Shuchi Tyagi said she did not receive the application and added that she was not authorised to give permission. Only courts can permit this.
After they turned down the request, the family approached the court of additional chief judicial magistrate No. 2 in Badi. The court rejected the permission on May 12.
Sunitas family depends on agriculture for livelihood. She has five brothers and a sister. She dropped out of school after Class 6.
Charity is a coat you wear twice a year, says the lyrics of Praying for Time, a famous 1990 song written and performed by George Michael.
But for Nirmal Singh, once was enough. The 54-year-olds only tryst with charity ended in such a nightmarish way that he feels that he will never try to help anyone in the rest of his life.
We begged and pleaded but they continued to thrash us mercilessly. We simply couldnt understand why the villagers were assaulting us, though we had gone there to collect alms for a charitable organization, Singh Told HT.
Singh was one of the four Sikh men who were assaulted by a mob at Chainpura village in Ajmer district of Rajasthan on April 24. The matter came to light when a video of the act went viral on the social media, causing national outrage.
An electronic equipment repairman and a father of four children, Singh had gone to the village to collect donations.
Two of my acquaintances, Harpal and Kuldip Singh, are engaged in charitable work for an organisation called Annakshetra. We went to the village to collect rice from households for being served to the poor. As a general rule, we didnt ask for money, he said.
Singh still cant grasp how the behaviour of the villagers changed drastically.
During the first few days, the villagers were very helpful and we collected a substantial amount of rice. But suddenly on day 3, we noticed that the general mood was different after going to Chainpura, said Singh.
The men were waylaid by the mob that started abusing them before they were thrashed.
We heard one of the policemen telling the mob not to hit us on the face and asked them to hit us elsewhere in the body. By the time the cops came and took us to the police station, we were severely injured, said Singh.
He says his faith in charity has faltered after the incident.
I will never ever try to do charity again. We went to do good to people but what has come out of it? Scriptures tell us to help people; the reality is contrastingly different, Singh said.
Singhs family members say they feared the worst when they came to know about the incident.
We wont let my father go for charitable work anymore. Once he came back from Ajmer, we were shocked to see his injuries and still fail to understand why would someone try to assault an elderly person trying to help people, said Goldy Singh, his son.
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As many as 62 corporators who emerged victorious in the recently held civic polls at Panvel, Bhiwandi-Nizampur and Malegaon have declared criminal cases against them in their affidavits, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) reveals.
Of them, 42 face grave charges, including kidnapping, murder and rape.
The ADR has released the report after analysing affidavits of 245 of the 252 winners in the three civic elections.
The rest of the affidavits could not be analysed as they were not available or uploaded at the time of preparing the report.
The Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation has the maximum number of corporators (27) with criminal background, followed by Malegaon (18) and Panvel (17).
According to the report, 119 of the 245 winners across the three corporations are also crorepatis and 52 of them are from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While the average asset per winner is Rs3.61 crore, just 24 newly elected corporators have declared assets below Rs3 lakh.
The elections to the three corporations were held on Wednesday. The results were announced on Friday.
While the BJP recorded a landslide in Panvel, the Congress bagged the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation. The BJP won 51 of the 78 seats in Pavel.
In Bhiwandi-Nizampur, the Congress won the Bhiwandi civic polls. It crossed the magic figure of 45, winning 47 seats to form the majority. The BJPwas the second largest party with 19 seats there.
In Malegaon, however, no party received a clear majority. The Congress emerged the single largest party and won 28 of the 84 seats, followed by the the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 20.
The report further reveals that 18 of the 245 winners are illiterate. Only 3% of the total corporators are graduates. Sharad Kumar, Maharashtra state co-ordinator for ADR, said it had almost become a routine to elect people with criminal charges.
With fewer people voting in local elections, the chances of criminals getting elected to power are increasing. The only silver lining here is that the number of people with serious criminal charges is reducing, Kumar said.
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Days before the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam results are announced, the Maharashtra state board issued show cause notices to several Mumbai colleges, threatening to hold back the results of 299 students.
The notice said these students had written the mathematics paper in their Class 12 exams, even though they had studied the easier version general maths in Class 10.
The notice said these students will get their mark sheets only if write the Class 10 regular maths exam again in July.
General maths, also called easy maths, was introduced by the Maharashtra state board in 2011 as an alternative for students who wanted an easier version of the subject.
The subject teaches basic concepts and applications and avoids tricky ones such as trigonometry.
The state board, however, said students passing the SSC exams with general maths cannot study regular maths in Class 11 and Class 12.
READ: Rumours about HSC exam result dates add to Mumbai students stress
The notice to colleges said the errant students will get their mark sheets only after they appear for the regular maths paper during the re-exams in July.
The board also said those students who do not do this will not get their HSC results unless colleges can come up with a satisfactory explanation.
The colleges should not have allowed students to opt for these subjects. We
have informed the Pune board about the violation of rules, said Duttatray Jagtap, divisional director of the state board.
City teachers, however, have appealed to the state board authorities not to hold back the students results.
If the students were breaking rules, the colleges should have stopped them from doing so. Why did colleges allow them to take up these subjects? said Anil Bornare, a teacher at the Swami Muktananda School in Chembur.
Bornare, who is also a member of the state teachers association, said he also wrote to the board authorities, saying that holding back the results will jeopardise the future of the students.
The students are not to be blamed in this case, it is not their fault. Action should be taken against the colleges alone, said Bornare.
Last month, the state government announced the easy math subject will be scrapped for Class 9 students from the upcoming academic session, and thereafter for class 10 as well, as there are few takers for the subject.
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Two years after 15,088 hectares of mangroves along the Maharashtra coastline were notified as reserved forest by the state government, apart from the entire mangrove cover in Mumbai, the revenue department has not yet handed over 9,600 hectares to the state mangrove cell.
The mangrove cell came into being in 2013 as the states nodal agency to protect mangroves and take action against those destroying them. However, with only the mangroves in Mumbai under its jurisdiction, officials say many mangrove destruction cases are going unchecked across the state.
Mangroves are salt-tolerant plants, trees, shrubs or ground fern of tropical and subtropical intertidal regions of the world. Such areas are highly productive, but extremely sensitive and fragile. Besides mangroves, the ecosystem also harbours other plant and animal species.
Between August 2015 and January 2016, the Konkan divisional commissioners office sanctioned and handed 5,471 ha of mangrove forests from Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane all under the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. However, till date, the remaining 9,617 ha from Raigad, remaining parts of Thane, Palghar, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg continue to remain under the jurisdiction of the revenue officials from each district.
According to the Konkan divisional commissioners office, there have been 233 mangrove destruction cases between April 2016 and May 2017, of which, inquiry is pending in 21 cases, mostly from Thane, Mira-Bhayander, Raigad and Sindhudurg districts.
While there is a dedicated cell to probe mangrove destruction cases, sub-divisional officers from each district are not well versed with the Environment Protection Act, 1986 as opposed to the Indian Forest Act (IFA), 1927. Therefore, in situations where mangroves have been destroyed, a complete follow-up investigation is currently missing. It is the need of the hour to hand over the remaining mangrove area to the cell, said a senior state official.
Meanwhile, officials from the Konkan divisional commissioners office said that the entire 9,617 ha is likely to be handed over in the next three months. The entire process of handing over these forests is extremely tedious, said Bhausaheb Dangade, Konkan deputy commissioner (revenue).
First, the sub-divisional officer needs to send out a notice for the notification under IFA, 1927 through vernacular newspapers. Then citizens will submit their objections followed by public hearing. Once the process is resolved, the entire process happens at the district collectors level, followed by the Konkan commissioner and then the state government. While the process has been completed in a number of districts, only a few remain and by August we will be handing over the area to the cell.
The revenue department is deliberately keeping the mangroves in the state out of the purview of the forest department so that it can be made available for construction and various other projects. This is a deliberate attempt and defiance of the Bombay high court (HC) orders from 2005, said Stalin D, project director, NGO Vanashakti.
Read
More than 1,000 illegal structures on mangrove area in Mumbai razed
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The 21-year-old son of a police officer, who was arrested on Thursday for murdering his mother, wanted to kill himself first, but changed his mind and stabbed his mother instead, police said.
Siddhant, 21, son of police inspector Dnyaneshwar Ganore, decided to kill himself in the familys Santacruz (East) flat, but he changed his mind when his mother began screaming, police said. In a fit of rage, he stabbed his mother 12 times on her neck, chest and hand, the police said.
Siddhant told the police that after he passed out of school, he lost interest in studies because his parents were not getting along. His mother, who has a law degree from a UK-based college, wanted her son to be highly educated and would pressurise Siddhant to focus on his studies, police said. Police said Siddhant did not appear for his first-year BSC exams and had not informed his parents about it. The results were out a few days ago and he had been giving his mother excuses about his report card. On Wednesday, around 1pm, mother and son got into an argument over the issue and Siddhant decided to kill himself, police said.
He went into the kitchen and picked up a knife to kill himself, but he changed his mind after hearing his mother scream. He thought why should I kill myself, she is the problem so I will kill her, said a police officer privy to the investigation.
The police said after stabbing her, he took a bath and changed his clothes and left home around 2pm, throwing the house key in the shoe rack. He left his phone behind and took around Rs2 lakh in cash from the house. He went to Santacruz railway station, which is a few minutes away from his residence, police said. He then took a local train to Borivli and took the first train out, which was heading towards Gujarat and got off at Surat. He then took another train from Surat heading towards Jaipur, police said.
Siddhant told the police he bought a new phone and called up a few people to tell them that he had killed his mother. The police were alerted about his call and they began tracing his mobile phone, said the officer. A police team from Vakola police station immediately took a flight to Jaipur on Wednesday night.
But Siddhant got off at Jodhpur on Thursday morning. He said in his statement he was feeling tired so he decided to take some rest and checked into Dhoom Hotel at Jodhpur, said the officer. The police traced his mobile phone in Jodhpur and alerted the local police. They also sent them Siddhants photograph. The police searched for him in all the hotels in the vicinity, eventually finding him at Dhoom hotel.
Siddhant told the police during interrogation he felt relieved after the incident . He said he slipped into depression after seeing his parents fight on a regular basis. Also, he did not like his mothers constant interference in his decisions like making friends or using WhatsApp, the police said. He was also getting angry with his mother for trying to choose his career path and constantly monitoring his performance, Siddhant told the police.
Fed up of having the police constantly visit her home, the wife of a repeat offender helped the police in nabbing him on Saturday. The 24-year-old was arrested from Mira Road after his wife told the police where he was hiding.
Samunnaem Ansari, a resident of Malad, has several cases of robbery and house breaking registered against him because of which the police would visit his place frequently.
On Saturday, the police had gone to check on Ansari regarding a house break-in in Tardeo.
They had strong evidence against him, claimed the police.
An officer from Tardeo police station said, Ansari was involved in the criminal activities which his wife did not approve of. She also wanted to have a baby but did not want the child to be affected by Ansaris criminal activities. So she got him arrested to make him give up his bad ways.
He added, She called her husband and asked him to meet her at Mira Road and then gave us details of the location. We laid a trap and nabbed him.
Ansari has been booked for trespassing and breaking and entering, and stealing from houses. He was produced at a Girgaum court and remanded in judicial custody.
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Pune police on Friday arrested an IT engineer accused of sexually abusing his niece. The incident came to light after the eight-year-old girl told her mother that her uncle would play dirty games with her.
The girls father died three years ago. Her mother is an IT engineer. The woman had asked her husbands brother to look after the girl on Thursday as her office did not give her a weekly off. The girl said she did not want to stay with her uncle as he would abuse her.
The woman took her daughter to a counsellor, where she narrated her ordeal once more. The woman then called her in-laws and her parents and told them about her brother-in-laws actions. The womans family tried to persuade her not to go to the police as their reputation would be tarnished.
However, she approached the Pune cops on Friday morning and the accused was nabbed that night. Police said the man was on a two-month break from work. He would misbehave with his niece whenever she was alone at home.
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The Thane police on Saturday handed over the custody of Kishoresingh Bhavsingh Rathod, 42, the prime accused in the Rs2,000-crore drug haul case, to the Gujarat police.
This occurred after a court in Gujarat sent a notice to the Thane police asking for his custody.
Rathod, son of a Gujarat MLA, was arrested in January and was in the custody of the Thane police. Officials from the Gujarat police said that the city police were supposed to give them Rathods custody after they were done questioning and filing a chargesheet against him.
We had told the Thane police that they need to handover Rathod to us once they finished interrogating him and filed the chargesheet. It had been two months since the police completed investigating him but they did not give us his custody. So we had to approach a court, said an officer from the Gujarat police who did not wish to be named.
He added, After they received the courts notice, they contacted us on Friday and said that they would hand Rathod over to us on Saturday. The alleged kingpin is currently lodged in Gujarats Sabarmati jail.
A police officer from Thane commissionerate said, We handed Rathod over to the Gujarat police but the investigation is still underway. We have gathered a lot of information against him. Also, since he is the prime accused, he is linked to several others accused in the case. While he has confessed to his role in the crime we are on the look out for others who are on the run.
The officer added, During investigation, we also found out that he was tipped off about the raid at The Solapur factory and so he went absconding. Rathod also told us how bhabhi actor Mamta Kulkarni and her husband Vicky Goswami were involved in the drug trade. He claimed that he was present at several meetings held by the couple outside India.
The Thane police also approached a court and issued a transfer order against Rathod so that they can claim his custody if needed during investigation.
On April 13, 2016, the police arrested two people with ephedrine worth Rs12 lakh and later seized drugs worth Rs2,000 crore at a Avon Pharma Life Sciences Private Limited factory in Solapur. So far, 14 people have been arrested and five accused including Kulkarni are on the run.
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After Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) scrapped financial aid to students from backward categories, its director S Parasuraman said the decision was taken as the Centre had not reimbursed the money.
In a circular issued on Thursday, the institute had said that it would no longer provide financial aid to students from scheduled caste (SC), scheduled tribe (ST) and other backward categories (OBC). This was because, according to the circular, the central government had not reimbursed the cost borne by the institute despite repeated requests.
The circular confused students, leaving them unsure of the extent of the rollback. The circular doesnt specify which of the scholarships are being scrapped. We will soon meet the authorities for clarification, said a student.
Speaking to HT, TISS director S Parasuraman said, We have not cancelled any scholarships. If the government doesnt provide us with the money how can we provide assistance to students? We will soon issue a clarification on the matter.
This isnt the first rollback of financial aid at the institute. At the start of the academic year, it announced that it would no longer provide non-NET fellowships to researchers owing to a freeze in funding from the central government.
In the absence of UGC funds, the institute has been paying around Rs3,000 a month to both MPhil and PhD students.
The circular also said that the institute was moving to an Aadhar-linked biometric attendance system.
Students are also opposing the institutes decision to make it mandatory for them to furnish Aadhar cards.
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The Ghaziabad police on Saturday evening detained a security guard of a private hospitals nursing hostel for inappropriately touching an eight-year-old boy. The boys mother, a non-medical staffer of the hospital, has filed a complaint at the Kavi Nagar police station.
In her complaint, she said that with summer vacations going on, she had been dropping her son off at the hospitals nursing hostel nearby when she was at work. There, the accused guard, Gyan Chand (58), was entrusted to look after the boy. However, on Saturday the boy said that the guard had been touching him inappropriately.
For the past three days, my son did not tell me anything out of shame. On Saturday, when I was preparing to drop him off at the hostel, he told me that the guard puts his hands in his undergarments and tries to touch his private parts. He told me everything that had happened, stated the boys mother in her complaint. She has sought strict action against the guard.
Following the complaint, the police said they registered an FIR against the guard under provisions of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) and also under sections of sexual harassment of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
We have detained the guard for questioning and he will be arrested soon. He has denied the allegations and said that he had slapped the boy once. He also said that he suffers from a heart problem, said Hemant Rai, station house officer (SHO), Kavi Nagar police station.
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The four women, who were allegedly gang raped by highway robbers in a field off the Yamuna Expressway while travelling from Jewar to Bulandshahr, recorded their statement before the magistrate on Saturday.
The womens statement was recorded on Saturday afternoon in Greater Noida under Section 164 of the CrPC and a copy of the statements will be given to the investigation officer.
Later, after giving the statements, the family members expressed dissatisfaction with the initial medical reports that did not confirm rape.
The victims also narrated their statement of rape, which they had already made to the police in a written complaint. Family members said they have no reason to change their statements and expressed hope that swift action will be taken against the culprits.
They said they maintain what they had said before the police that the women were taken one by one to the fields by the robbers and raped after the men were tied up with duppattas.
The women said that they do not accept in the initial medical reports and said the forensic laboratory in Lucknow, where further tests are underway, will confirm rape.
We have no reason to lie about the rape and it is disgusting that the officials made the primary report public. They should have waited for the final findings to be given by the forensic science laboratory, one of the women said.
They also said the highway robbers were not known to them and they could not recognise them. They also said they were gang raped and jewellery stolen from them.
The women also narrated their ordeal to a member from the National Commission for Women (NCW) who visited Jewar on Saturday.
Meanwhile, a police officer said they are awaiting the final statements to take the investigation forward. One of the four women had earlier given a statement that the three of the six suspects could be her neighbours. On Friday morning, she retracted this statement.
The alleged gang rape of four Jewar women has turned the town into a circus, with the secrecy regarding the identity of the victims to be protected under law thrown out of the window by police, politicians and the press.
The scenario is similar to the scenes of the 2010 Hindi film Peepli Live that criticised the sensationalism of the press in dealing with human tragedy.
NO SECRET THIS Revealing the identity of the victim in a rape case is punishable under section 228A of the IPC. Usually in a rape case, the onus falls on the police and the media to ensure that the identity of the victim remains anonymous in order to save her from humiliation and stigma.
The incident pertains to the alleged gang rape of four women by a gang of highway robbers in Uttar Pradeshs Gautam Budh Nagar in the wee hours of Thursday. A male relative was shot dead when he tried to save them.
Since morning that day, a horde of TV channels Outside Broadcast (OB) vans and government vehicles were stationed outside the lane of the victims house near a private school in Jewar.
Such was the hullaballoo over the incident that when looking for the house of the victims, the standard response was: Are you looking for the house of that gang raped family? It is just round the corner.
On reaching the house of the victims, HT found a tent erected outside the building. A dozen plastic chairs were laid out neatly in the narrow lane for visitors.
Owners of nearby grocery shops treated police officers to cold drinks and snacks while crowd gathered outside the house through the day.
The grand arrangement leaves no space for imagination and it is a childs play for any Jewar resident to guess the identity of the victims.
From morning to evening, the victims were questioned by the women police and press, and administrative officials such as additional district magistrate and sub divisional magistrate visited their house to comfort them.
But more than the officials, police or media, it was the local leaders who grabbed the opportunity to gain some limelight.
There have been other rape cases in Jewar as well, but this is the first time that we asked the sisters to muster courage and register a complaint. We will make sure that the culprits pay, said Riyaz Qureshi, who identified himself as a local activist.
Other activists and Muslim Ulema who had arrived from nearby Aligarh, Palwal and Bulandshahr also thronged the lane.
The youngest brother of the four in the victims family admitted that he was tired of giving bytes to mediapersons and receiving sympathy notes from politicians.
I dont want anything (compensation) from the government or the media. I have lost my elder brother in the robbery and the modesty of our women has been outraged. We have had enough of this drama, and now we just want justice, he said.
The incident gained national spotlight as criticism rained in against the police and state machinery for their failure to curb sexual violence against women.
A preliminary medical examination has ruled out rape of four women. Gautam Budh Nagars chief medical officer Anurag Bhargav, however, said the final opinion will depend on a Lucknow laboratorys forensic tests on the clothes and tissue samples of the women. The results will take three to four weeks.
SSP Love Kumar said the gang rape charge in the FIR will remain till the final forensic results are out and added that cops from neighbouring states have been roped in to nab the culprits.
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A 25-year-old man succumbed to his injuries after he was allegedly beaten up by a 36-year-old woman at her house in Ghaziabad. The woman, who has been absconding since the mans death, claimed that he used to make obscene phone calls to her. A video of the incident was also circulated on social media.
The alleged incident took place on May 16 when the woman, Ragini, called the victim, Padam Singh, to her Lal Kuan residence where she badly beat him up with a stick in front of her family members. The video shows her forcing the man on the floor and jumping on his chest several times. Singh is from Badalpur in Gautam Budh Nagar and had got in touch with the woman through his friend. After sustaining severe injuries, the man succumbed at a hospital on May 21.
After the incident on May 16, both parties signed a compromise letter before the police. However, the victims family lodged an FIR when he did not show signs of recovery, said Hemant Rai, station house officer (SHO), Kavi Nagar.
She called the man to her house as he had allegedly been making obscene phone calls to her. However, the claim is yet to be verified as the woman is absconding, Rai added.
The police had initially booked Ragini, her husband Dharmendra and his friend Arvind Giri for attempt to culpable homicide. After Singhs death, they added sections of murder and also levied provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Satish Kumar, the victims brother, said, After beating him up at her house, she called us up from my brothers mobile phone and told me to take him away. We arrived and got him admitted to a local hospital and later got him referred to a different hospital where he died. He told us that he used to speak to the woman as she had promised him a job. We dont know what transpired later.
According to the police, Raginis husband Dharmendra is under arrest but she and Giri are absconding.
We have obtained non-bailable warrants against them. We are also awaiting the post-mortem report as it was conducted in Noida. The video was shot by someone present at Raginis house. It will now be a part of the investigation, said Rai.
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The Punjab and Haryana high court has invoked its suo motu powers on the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) turning its back on treatment of a nine-month-old obese girl (she weighs 20-kg) from Amritsar, Chahat.
The infants family had returned to Amritsar on May 16 from the PGI, as her family was unable to afford Rs 2 lakh for initial tests.
The required weight of a 9-month infant should be between 6.6-10.4 kg.
20-KG AT NINE MONTHS The baby was born on July 24, 2016 via normal delivery. Her weight was normal, but she started gaining it when she was 4-months Reports had claimed that she could be cured, provided doctors conducted diagnostic tests In the absence of any treatment, there was likely to be additional weight gain and further abnormalities in child growth The weight of Chahats parents is normal. But the family has a history of serious obesity.
The Punjab government and the PGI have been put on notice seeking their response on the issue.
These reports trace the journey of the helpless and bewildered parents taking their child from one hospital to another from Amritsar to Chandigarh and returning to Amritsar dejected and resigned to their fate as they were unable to afford the cost of the treatment, justice HS Sidhu in his note to the chief justice, requesting for suo motu cognizance of news reports, many of them published in Hindustan Times.
In his note, the judge raised questions over the PGIs dealing with the case and the mechanism at the institute to help poor patients.
Justice Sidhus note added that while there was no doubting the sincerity, commitment and dedication of PGI staff and doctors, but the incident had raised questions on the fate of poor patients referred to the institute, who may remain untreated, unable to bear the cost.
The baby was born on July 24, 2016 via normal delivery.
Her weight was normal, but she started gaining it when she was four-months.
Reports had claimed that she could be cured.
She was referred to the PGI from Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar.
QUESTIONS RAISED BY COURT:
How PGI, which is a premier institute does not have the wherewithal to get to the bottom of this medical situation
Would the PGI not be required to have its own in-house testing facility in furtherance of its research
What avenues were explored by PGIMER in seeking a waiver of charges from the institute at Bangalore for carrying out the tests.
Did PGI call upon the Amritsar hospital to sponsor the cost of charges, considering the public statement of the hospital that it would bear the cost of childs treatment.
Can a welfare fund for poor patients or a mechanism of such sort be instituted for such contingencies
Are the poor patients made aware of the existence of such fund
In case of no funds, can the PGI not explore the possibility of funding through an appeal to citizens especially in such cases raising funds through crowd funding or any other means through social media
Why can PGIMER not maintain a list of donors (individuals, NGOs etc who can be reached for assistance)
Would the safeguard under Article under 21 of the Constitution (No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty) not extend to free treatment in the given fact and circumstances
Does the state not have an obligation to protect and treat its citizens, in such medical conditions, at subsidised rates
The announcement of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) advisory for bachelor of medicine, bachelor of surgery entrance exam to allow usage of extra sheet for rough work has brought smiles on the faces of AIIMS aspirants.
AIIMS exam is scheduled on May 28. The advisory has advised students to relax and put up their best effort during the paper.
The advisory said, Those who unfortunately will not be selected does not mean that they are incapable of pursuing a career in medicine. Student should relax and give their best on the day of exam.
DOs Carry the original print out of Admit card, ID proof original and one photograph Make sure the location of the centre before the day of exam Reach at the centre half an hour ago the starting time. Have a sound sleep for at least eight hours Have a healthy breakfast as brain requires energy during exam Keep on assessing your speed after every 15 minutes Ask the invigilator for extra rough sheet Read the option sequence of A, B,C, D for the assertion reason questions carefully. The sequence may be jumbled, be very careful while choosing the answer
EXPERT SPEAKS
Dr Arvind Goyal city based AIIMS Entrance Exam Trainer advising the students said, In the last hours, it is important that the students should not loose their nerves. Try to revise difficult points from Biology NCERT as students ignore this subject.
He added, Few questions should be marked for review as in the end it causes confusion and no marks are given if they are not answered. Try to crack the question during the first attempt. Do not try to do so if you are not sure as 1/3rd negative marking affect your final score.
STUDENTS SPEAK
Sushobhit Garg, an AIIMS aspirant said, Panic ends with the National Eligibility cum Entrance Exam (NEET). AIIMS exam is more of a revision with extra emphasis on reasoning and current affairs, which cannot be covered through a single book for revision or practice.
Another medical aspirant Gurasis Singh Sodhi said, I am spending equal amount of time on each of the three subjects along with extra one hour on current affairs and reasoning questions.
DONTs Do not panic if you encounter difficult questions in starting of the exam Do not carry any of the items which are not allowed as per prospectus and advisory, eg ornaments, big-buttoned dress, thick-soled shoes, watch etc Do not leave questions marked as review. Marks for same will not be given.
HOW IS AIIMS EXAM DIFFERENT FROM NEET
AIIMS is a computer based test, NEET a pen and paper test.
AIIMS has 200 questions in 3.5 hours; NEET has 180 questions in 3 hours AIIMS has 60 questions each from biology, physics and chemistry and additional 10 questions of GK and 10 of aptitude and reasoning.
NEET has 90 questions from biology; 45 questions each from physics and chemistry, no GK or mental ability section.
AIIMS has 20 question each out of the 60 questions in each subject, ie biology, physics and chemistry, which are of assertion-reason type. No such pattern in NEET.
1/3rd negative marking in AIIMS, in NEET, it is 1/4th. I
n AIIMS exam, there is no display of responses marked, no display of answer key, no provision to challenge the answer key. All these provisions are in NEET.
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The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday issued notices to the Centre and Punjab government on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of a legislation that barred sehajdhari (non-baptised) Sikhs from voting in polls to the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex Sikh religious body.
The high court bench of justice Mahesh Grover and justice Shekher Dhawan has sought the response by August 10 on the public interest litigation (PIL) filed by the Sehajdhari Sikh Party challenging the Sikh Gurdwara Amendment Act, 2016.
The legislation was enacted by Parliament, which barred 70 lakh sehajdhari Sikhs from voting in the SGPC elections.
It was argued that neither proper facts nor any figures were placed before the home minister to take such a drastic step just to further political cause of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Shiromani Akali Dal led by Parkash Singh Badal.
The public interest litigation contended that it was not borne in mind that by amending the Act, more than 70 lakh sehajdhari Sikhs were being deprived of their voting rights. In the amendment bill, the objects were given but no reasons were forthcoming which were mandatory for the bill. It should have been mentioned why the exemption given to sehajdhari Sikhs was being removed, especially when this right was conferred on them by competent legislature after due deliberations in 1944 by amending the Gurdwara Act, the petition further states.
The Sehajdhari Sikh Party demanded quashing of the amendment by which the provision of Section 49 and 92 of the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925, has been changed retrospectively from October 8, 2003, by removing the exemption given to the sehajdhari Sikhs.
There ought to have been some material or cogent reasons or change in circumstance before the NDA government to undertake this action. It was a clear case of political expediency and appeasement, the petitioner stated.
The petitioner party also sought direction for update of the voters list of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee by including the sehajdhari Sikhs and to hold fresh elections for constitution of the SGPC.
Peers and subordinate officers of super cop KPS Gill remember him as an officer ahead of times and the terrorists he was brought in to fight.
Former Punjab DGP KK Attari, who had worked with Gill in various capacities, shared with HT how the latter trained them to think big, plan for it and get it.
He was totally a targeted person. He taught us to think big, set bigger targets and achieve it. He was ahead of his generation and taught us how to fight AK-47 with .303 rifles. He trained us in such a way that he could even ask us to bring moon, said Attari.
His demise is a big loss for the state. He was and will remain an icon for the police forces across the nations. Suresh Arora, state DGP
He also shared how the super cop used to assert his pro-police approach with the government.
Just before the Beant Singh government took over, Gill asked the police to have light commercial vehicles and procured 1,100 such vehicles to ensure safety of officers. When the government asked him to provide a gypsy from those vehicles to each MLA, he said nothing doing. I will not withdraw vehicles from the police, said Attari.
It was only because of his approach that when the rest of the India had 15 bullet proof operational vehicles, Punjab Police had 615, said Attari.
Former DGP PC Dogra, who worked with Gill as (ADGP-operations) credited Gill with the greatest contribution in bringing back normalcy in Punjab.
He was the greatest leader of Punjab Police force. He could take decision independently and effectively. He was so clear in his approach that he wont bother about the nitty-gritty, he said.
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Five people died and at least 20 others were injured when an illegal coal mine in Girdih district caved in early on Saturday morning.
The deceased were identified as Mohammed Kurban (35), Mohammed Shamim (50), Mohammed Jahid (23), Mohammed Enamul (23) and Mohammed Chhote (24) all local residents. The injured were being treated at various nursing homes in the city.
The illegal mine was located next to the Central Coalfields Limiteds Kabribad opencast mine, barely four kilometres from the district headquarters. Sources said the incident occurred around 12.30 am, after which the police were informed. A rescue operation was launched with the help of local residents.
Some villagers were operating an illegal mine with scant regard for safety norms. Appropriate legal action will be taken against the people who employed the deceased and injured. The bodies have been sent to the Sadar Hospital for an autopsy, after which they would be handed over to their family members, said sub-divisional police officer Manish Toppo.
Illegal mining is done through openings created into already existing mines, he said. The illegal operation had been on for several years now. The coal mined from here was sent to various steel re-rolling mills and hard coke units, among other industries, in the district.
Police said illegal mines continue to proliferate in the region, despite several steps taken to shut them down.
RK Mishra, a local leader of the Indian National Trade Union Congress, held the Central Coalfields Limited responsible for the incident. He said the management ignored his demand that the illegal openings be filled despite being aware of the frequent deaths.
Two major accidents have occurred at these illegal mines in as many months, but the management remains a mute spectator, Mishra added.
On May 24, a 40-year-old mechanic and his teenage son died after the ground under their feet gave away in neighbouring Jharia. A raging underground coal fire was responsible for the incident.
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People engage in online infidelity due to psychological distress in primary relationships, a study revealed. An empirical study on Internet Infidelity: Victims of Digital Age revealed that the people indulged in online infidelity due to peer influence, social isolation or psychological distress in primary relationships.
The study was presented by Garima Jain, an Assistant Director with the Centre for Victimology and Psychological Studies of Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences (JIBS), at the 26th session of Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) held in Vienna recently.
The CCPCJ conducted thematic debates examining crime prevention strategies and public participation, social policies and education in support of the rule of law.
It included health and justice, migrant smuggling, fostering peaceful and inclusive societies, cybercrime, the sustainable development goals, urban crime prevention, prisons, container control and femicide.
Over 1,000 participants from 32 countries representing member states, civil society, academia and international organizations participated in the 26th session of the CCPCJ which functions as a governing body of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Principal Director of JIBS Sanjeev P Sahni highlighted the complexities surrounding the act of digital piracy and the underscored need for extensive research and training to understand the nuances of digital piracy.
Peer influence and social isolation also play a part. (Shutterstock)
Associate Professor at Jindal Global Law School Indranath Gupta suggested creating general awareness amongst citizens alongside strong enforcement as the ways to deal with the problem of digital piracy.
The CCPCJ was established by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) resolution 1992/1. The Commission acts as the principal policy-making body of the United Nations in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice.
JGU was the only university participant at the international convention organised in collaboration with World Society of Victimology and Centro Nationale de Prevenzione e DifesaSociale.
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Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya, who tied the knot with actor Vivek Dahiya in July last year, believes that its her good karma that she has got someone like him, in her life. The Banoo Main Teri Dulhann actor also says that Vivek has been a constant support for her. Ill always be thankful to God for what I have in life. Its your good karma that comes back to you. I must have done something good to have Vivek in my life. He is loving, innocent and so humble. He understands me inside out. He is my strength, someone I know who is always there for me, says Divyanka.
The actor feels that Viveks good qualities stem from a good upbringing. He has studied in UK and lived there for quite some time. Yet when you meet him, he is still a true blue Indian. The best thing about him is that he has imbibed the best from both the worlds. He respects women and is loving towards everyone. So, you know how a person is, depends on how he has been brought up, she says.
From #GreekYogurt to #GreekSalads to #GreekFashion... I'm loving it all #Greek it seems! Shouldn't we have a #GreekHoliday next?! A post shared by Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya (@divyankatripathidahiya) on May 18, 2017 at 3:28am PDT
Divyanka and Vivek are currently part of the dance reality show Nach Baliye. Asked how it felt to work with him, she replies, Its easier to work with him given the comfort level and understanding we both share. Also, given our hectic schedules, we dont get to spend much time alone. So, working on the same shows helps us to spend more time together and we love it.
Medicine for a #Prankster! @vivekdahiya A post shared by Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya (@divyankatripathidahiya) on Apr 1, 2017 at 10:58am PDT
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Turkish moviemaker Fatih Akin, who lives in Germany, was back at the Cannes Film Festival with his latest outing, In the Fade. His last Croisette visit was as long ago as 2007, when he brought his The Edge of Heaven to clinch the best screenplay award. A story about loneliness, desperation and a sense of hope and hopelessness, The Edge Of Heaven was a great hit in Cannes.
But unfortunately, not In the Fade. Which seems to have divided opinion. An Indian journalist, revered and reviled for his right-wing extremism, saw Akins work as one propagating and promoting suicide bombing. This writer did not. Nor did a French lady, who works in one of the countrys government departments. She felt that it was a beautiful story of a German mothers angst at having lost her six-year-old son and her Turkish husband in a Neo-Nazi attack.
In Germany and in some other places in Europe, radical Nazi tendencies are on the rise. There was a time when one saw posters proclaiming this political ideology even in Cannes - and cities like Paris.
So, Akins movie - if at all it has to be read as a political comment - must be viewed as one that underlines the futility of killing. Revolving around the actual events involving the neo-Nazi National Social Underground (NSU) - which has been targeting immigrants, especially Muslims, In the Fade draws us into a compelling, deeply disturbing drama about a mother (played with a touch of brilliance by Diane Krugger) -- who fails to get justice in Germanys legal system when her little son and husband of Turkish origin are killed in a blast set off by a bomb outside his shop. The culprits are a young German couple. And after the courts falter and sets the couple free, the mother seeks revenge, planting a bomb under a caravan that the two use. She also kills herself.
In the Fade is the story of a German mother who seeks revenge for the killing of her son and husband of Turkish origin.
Akin, whose parents came to Hamburg in the 1960s, says he is very angry with that notorious group which perpetrated a series of murders in Germany between 2000 and 2007. He told the media here the other day: The NSU scandals were huge in Germany in 2011. I was very angry when I heard what happened and that anger drove me to write this. As I started writing, other layers and characters were created to make the story believable. So its a character-driven movie more than a revenge or political thriller. Its more about the evolution of grief, and what happens to a mother when you take her kids away from her. How does she continue to live?
It disturbs me to be an enemy, just because I am who I am: the son of Turkish parents with brown hair and brown eyes. Or that you live in the West, and that you could be a target simply because of where you are from. We do not defend a political ideology but somehow we are targets. The only thing I can do is strike back with a film. My movie is a strike-back.
The film revolves around the actual events involving the neo-Nazi National Social Underground.
In the Fade is narrated in three chapters. The first one is all about Katja (Krugger), who marries Nuri (Numan Acar), in prison. He is serving time for a drug-related offence. But he is soon out, and the couple live a happy life with their six-year-old son. The second chapter is all about the horrific nail-bomb attack in which the father and son are killed. The third segment takes us into revenge and retribution.
Akins work, competing for the Palm dOr, is well shot, neatly executed and had the ability to keep this critic glued to his seat. Intelligently conceived, Akins In the Fade has the same power and punch that we saw in his earlier The Cut - a bold plot about the 1915 Armenian genocide in which 1.5 million people were butchered.
The question now is, as we go closer to the Palm dOr, whether Akins vengeful tale will shake the Pedro Almodovar jury to give it a prize. There are of course other equally strong contenders like Redoubtable (a lovely take on Jean-Luc Godard), the American Civil War drama, The Beguiled, and Francois Ozons Amant Double about a torrid love affair between a psycho-analyst and his young patient.
(Gautaman Bhaskaran has covered the Cannes Film Festival for 28 years.)
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The Japanese director, Naomi Kawase, is a Cannes Film Festival veteran, and has had several of her movies play here. She has also been on Cinefondation and Short Film Jury in 2016. Her 2015 Sweet Bean (An in Japanese) - which was part of the festivals A Certain Regard -- was a extraordinarily touching story of an old woman who helps a dorayaki shop to become popular with her yummy bean paste.
Equally moving is Kawases latest, Radiance (Hikari in Japanese), where the auteur takes us into the world of the blind and partially-sighted -- tracing the relationship between a photographer whose vision is fading and a woman who pens movie audio descriptions.
Kawase uses disability most artfully to weave a love story between Misako (Misaki Ayame) - who is writing a description for the visually challenged -- and Nakamori (Nagase Masatoshi), a celebrated photographer. He is one of Misakos listeners. On the verge of blindness, he is caustic and angry. Misako has her own tragedies to grapple with: a father who mysteriously disappeared several years ago and a mother sinking into dementia. Perhaps these misfortunes push her to understand Nakamoris frustration.
Radiance is a strong contender for this years Palm dOr.
Radiance -- Kawases fifth work to debut in the festivals Competition and a strong contender for this years Palm dOr -- draws us softly into Nakamoris and Misakos world that sees disillusionment, rage and arguments till a chance meeting pulls them towards each other. An emotionally charged scene in which he feels her face is far more erotic than a kiss they share later.
Brilliantly photographed in soft light, Radiance is a work that haunts us with its delicate treatment and subtle messages. Something that is a typical Kawase, whose Radiance loyally follows in the path of her many films in the past, particular Sweet Bean.
(Gautaman Bhaskaran is covering the 70th Cannes Film Festival.)
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At least 28 people were killed and nearly 130 wounded in fierce clashes in the Libyan capital Friday between forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government and rival militiamen, the health ministry said.
Tripoli has been gripped by a power struggle between dozens of militias since a Nato-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moamer Gaddafi in 2011.
Health ministry spokesperson Anwar Frajallah gave a provisional toll of 28 dead and 128 wounded but could not say if they included any civilians.
Hashem Bishr, a security official for the Government of National Accord (GNA), separately gave a toll of 23 loyalist forces killed and more than 29 wounded.
Medical sources were not immediately available to confirm the figures.
In the south of Tripoli, an armed group loyal to the GNA seized a prison holding senior officials of the Kadhafi regime, a judicial source said.
Guards at Al-Hadhba jail were forced to withdraw after the attack, said the source who requested anonymity, adding that two guards were killed.
By late Friday, the GNA interior and justice ministries said in a joint statement that all the prisoners had been handed over to them and were in good health.
More than 30 senior figures of the toppled regime were held in the prison, including Gaddafis last prime minister Baghdadi al-Mahmudi and his former intelligence chief, Abdullah Senussi. Both were condemned to death in 2015.
Civilians must be protected
Fridays fighting broke out in residential neighbourhoods. AFP journalists heard explosions and artillery fire rock the Abu Slim, Al-Hadhba and Salaheddin districts in the south of the city.
UN Libya envoy Martin Kobler appealed for a halt to the fighting.
Voices of reason should prevail for the benefit of the country, he said. Political aims must not be pursued through violence. Civilians must be protected.
Witnesses said tanks had been deployed in the fighting.
British ambassador Peter Millett tweeted that he could hear explosions and artillery in south Tripoli.
He condemned action by these militias who threaten security ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which begins on Saturday in Libya.
Groups hostile to the GNA said they had attacked loyalist forces.
By late afternoon the fighting had subsided, but intermittent gunfire could still be heard in several areas of the capital.
Nothing stops them
The fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March had served as the headquarters of militias loyal to former prime minister Khalifa Ghweil.
Ghweil was ousted from power when the GNA took office in March 2016, and has refused to recognise the new administration.
Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital.
Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate there -- including several that support Ghweil.
The GNA has won the support of various militias since it took office in March last year, but several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.
Relying on militia support and pitted against a rival administration in the east, the GNA has struggled to assert its authority.
In a statement on Friday, the GNA blamed Ghweil and Salah Badi, both leaders of the Fajr Libya coalition of militias which took power in Tripoli in 2014, and vowed to retaliate mercilessly.
They have exceeded all limits... Nothing stops them, not faith, not law, not custom and not morals, it said.
This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan, the statement said.
British Airways cancelled all flights from Londons Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy UK holiday weekend.
The airline said it was suffering a major IT systems failure around the world. It didnt say what was causing the problem but said there was no evidence of a cyberattack.
A union official accused BA of cutting costs by laying off IT staff last year and outsourcing the work to India.
This could have all been avoided, said Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at the GMB union. We can only feel genuinely sorry for the tens of thousands of passengers who are stranded at airports and face having their travel plans and holidays ruined.
In 2016 BA made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India.
BA have made substantial profits for a number of years, and many viewed the companys actions as just plain greedy, he said, pointing to the 2016 move that sparked protests and outrage from members of the union.
British Airways said a power supply issue was to blame for the global system failure which sowed confusion and chaos at Londons two biggest airports.
We believe the root cause was a power supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyber attack, Alex Cruz, chairman and CEO of British Airways, said in a video message on Twitter.
Travellers wait stranded at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 after British Airways flights where cancelled at Heathrow Airport in west London. (AFP)
BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day and both are major hubs for worldwide travel.
Several hours after problems began cropping up Saturday morning, BA suspended flights up to 6pm (1700GMT) because the two airports had become severely congested. The airline later scrapped flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of the day.
Passengers at Heathrow reported long lines at check-in counters and the failure of the airlines website and its mobile app. BA said the crash also affected call centers.
The airline said it was working to restore services out of Heathrow and Gatwick beginning Sunday, although there will still be some disruptions. It said it expected that London-bound long-haul flights would land on schedule Sunday.
One person posted a picture on Twitter of BA staff writing gate numbers on a white board.
Weve tried all of the self-check-in machines. None were working, apart from one, said Terry Page, booked on a flight to Texas. There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didnt actually work, but you didnt discover that until you got to the front.
Travellers stranded outside the entrances of Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 after British Airways flights where cancelled are seen at Heathrow Airport in west London on May 27, 2017. (AFP photo)
Another traveler, PR executive Melissa Davis, said her BA plane was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow on a flight arriving from Belfast.
She said passengers had been told they could not transfer to other flights because they cant bring up our details.
Passenger Phillip Norton tweeted video of an announcement from a pilot to passengers at Romes Fiumicino airport, saying the problem affects the system that regulates what passengers and baggage go on which aircraft. The pilot said passengers on planes that have landed at Heathrow were unable to get off because there was nowhere to park.
Some BA flights were still arriving at Heathrow on Saturday, although with delays.
The problem comes on a bank holiday weekend, when tens of thousands of Britons and their families are travelling.
American Airlines, which operates code-share flights with BA, said it was unaffected.
All of our flights are on time, said spokesman Ross Feinstein.
BA passengers were hit with severe delays in July and September 2016 because of problems with the airlines online check-in systems.
An interior ministry official says at least 18 people were killed when a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of provincial security forces in eastern Afghanistan.
Najib Danish, the ministrys deputy spokesperson, says the target was a group of guards providing security for US forces in Khost province but most of the victims in Saturdays attack were civilians. No group immediately claimed responsibility.
The convoy of Khost provincial forces was targeted near the provinces main bus station, said Danish.
The attack comes on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Forces loyal to Libyas unity government said today that 52 of its fighters were killed as they repelled rival militias in fierce clashes in the capital Tripoli.
Apart from sporadic gunfire in southern Tripoli, calm returned to the city today, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Among the 52 killed yesterdays clashes which centred on the southern district of Abu Slim, said Hashem Bichr, a security official of the Government of National Accord, were 17 members of pro-GNA forces who had been executed.
There was no immediate confirmation from medical or other independent sources of the death toll, updated from Fridays health ministry figures of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded that did not give a breakdown of the casualties.
UN special envoy Martin Kobler condemned the fighting in which heavy artillery and tanks were used, urging restraint from all sides.
Forces of the UN-backed GNA announced on their Facebook page they had defeated rival militias and taken control of a prison holding key leaders of the ousted regime of Moamer Kadhafi including his last premier, Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, and former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.
Al-Hadhba jail had been under the control of the Fajr Libya militia coalition, which had seized Tripoli in 2014 and set up a government headed by Khalifa Ghweil.
The Libyan capital has been gripped by a power struggle ever since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Kadhafi in 2011.
The latest fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as headquarters of militias loyal to Ghweil, who was ousted when the GNA took office last year but refuses to recognise the new administration.
Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital.
Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate and several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.
Relying on militia support and pitted against a rival administration in eastern Libya, the GNA has struggled to assert its authority.
In a statement on Friday, the GNA blamed Ghweil and Salah Badi, another leader of Fajr Libya, for Fridays violence.
This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan, it said in a statement.
A bill has been re-introduced in the US House of Representatives that seeks exemption for foreign- born persons with an American PhD in science, technology, engineering or mathematics from the limits on the number of employment-based green cards and H-1B visas awarded annually.
Introduced by Congressmen Erik Paulsen and Mike Quigley, the Stopping Trained in America PhDs from Leaving the Economy (STAPLE) Act, is likely to benefit Indians given that they constitute the largest number of students doing PhD in the US.
It is no surprise that the brightest minds from around the world come to the United States to pursue their advanced degrees, and we should be doing all we can to ensure students we educate and train here use what theyve learned to contribute to the American economy, said Congressman Erik Paulsen.
With thousands of high-skilled jobs going unfilled, the STAPLE Act makes sure American companies are getting the talent they need. By stapling a green card or (a) visa to their diplomas, these professionals can invent and innovate new discoveries that grow our economy, Paulsen said.
Quigley, in his remarks, said if the US was serious about fostering innovation, spurring economic activity, and staying competitive in the global marketplace, it must encourage the brightest minds in the world to study, work, and stay in its communities.
We cannot advance our technology or research if we continue sending foreign-born, but US educated, students with advanced degrees away, he said.
Noting that the H-1B visas are subject to annual caps that are woefully short of the number necessary to fill high- skilled jobs, the two lawmakers in a statement said numerous studies have found that H-1B visas correspond with an increase in jobs for native citizens.
For example, a 2011 American Enterprise Institute study found that an additional 100 foreign-born workers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, or mathematics) fields with advanced degrees from US universities is associated with an additional 262 jobs among US natives, they said.
Last month, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order for tightening the rules of the H-1B visa programme to stop visa abuses.
Trump said his administration is going to enforce Hire American rules that are designed to protect jobs and wages of workers in the US.
The executive order also called upon the Departments of Labour, Justice, Homeland Security, and State to take action against fraud and abuse of our visa programmes.
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came under fire on Saturday for making a second joke about rape, with Chelsea Clinton leading online outrage and a rights group branding his sense of humour sickening.
In a speech at a military camp on Friday aimed at lifting troops spirits after he imposed martial law across the southern Philippines, Duterte told them they were allowed to rape up to three women.
I will be imprisoned for you. If you rape three (women), I will say that I did it. But if you marry four, son of a whore you will be beaten up, he said.
Duterte, who uses profanities regularly, also attracted controversy last year when during an election campaign speech he joked that he had wanted to rape a beautiful Australian missionary who had been murdered in a Philippine prison riot.
Clinton joined many people on social media on Saturday to criticise Duterte, who has also carried out a war on drugs that has left thousands of people dead and rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.
Not funny. Ever, wrote the daughter of ex-US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on her verified Twitter account.
In a second post she wrote: Duterte is a murderous thug with no regard for human rights. Its important to keep pointing that out & that rape is never a joke.
Phelim Kine, a deputy director with Human Rights Watchs Asian division, described the joke as a sickening attempt at humour.
He and Filipino rights activists warned it sent the wrong signal to soldiers that they could commit rights abuses as they enforced martial law in the southern region of Mindanao, which Duterte imposed to quell what he says is a major Islamist terrorist threat.
Dutertes pro-rape comments only confirm some of the worst fears of human rights activists that the Duterte government will not just turn a blind eye to possible military abuses in Mindanao, but may actively encourage them, Kine said.
Gabriela, a womens political party in the Philippines, also expressed outrage.
Rape is not a joke. Martial law and the heightened vulnerability to military abuse that it brings to women and children are not a joke either, it said in a statement.
Dutertes aides frequently explain away his most controversial comments as being merely rhetoric or an exaggeration or comments only ordinary Filipinos would appreciate.
His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, released such a statement on Saturday explaining that Duterte was using heightened bravado when trying to raise the morale of the troops.
He gave his full support to the men and women in uniform, taking complete responsibility for their actions, even exaggeratedly describing crimes like taking a fourth wife, Abella said, while ignoring Dutertes preceding rape remark.
Irans President Hassan Rouhani has told the Qatari Emir that Tehran is ready for talks with Arab nations to reach a real agreement toward peace and brotherhood.
Rouhanis website quoted him as saying in a phone conversation with Qatars ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, that the Muslim world is beset by divisions and should take steps toward peace and brotherhood.
In this direction we are ready for talks aimed at reaching a real agreement, Rouhani was quoted as saying.
The report added that the Qatari Emir said in response that talks between Iran and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf should continue.
Majority Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia and the UAE supporting opposite sites in the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iraqi forces have launched a broad assault on parts of battleground second city Mosul still held by the Islamic State group, the military announced on Saturday.
The offensive is the latest push in the more than seven- month battle to retake Mosul, a linchpin in ISs now crumbling bid to establish a cross-border jihadist state.
Multiple security forces units are attacking what remains of the unliberated areas on the west bank of the River Tigris, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and Counter-Terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood, it said.
All three neighbourhoods are located north of the Old City, a warren of closely spaced buildings and narrow streets that has posed significant challenges to Iraqi forces seeking to oust IS.
On Friday, the federal police said they had bombarded IS positions with Grad rockets and field artillery in preparation for attacking the Old City in the coming hours.
But the Joint Operations Command did not mention any attack on IS-held areas of the Old City on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets on IS-held areas of Mosul urging citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces.
International aid group Save the Children expressed concern that the call for civilians to leave could expose them to additional danger.
The Iraqi government must ensure all exit corridors are genuinely safe for people to flee, it said.
The call for civilians to leave their homes is a U-turn on former directives that compelled civilians to stay and wait for the battle to pass -- instructions that also raised concerns about the risks.
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained much of the territory they lost to the jihadists.
Iraqi forces launched a major operation to retake Mosul in October last year, fighting their way to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
The battle has taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee, while hundreds more have been killed or wounded.
On Thursday, the United States announced the results of an investigation into a deadly coalition air strike earlier this year.
The probe found that at least 105 civilians had been killed and 36 remained unaccounted for, but said most had been killed by the secondary explosion of IS munitions stored in a nearby house.
There have also been reports that members of an Iraqi interior ministry special forces unit tortured and killed detainees during the Mosul operation.
Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady recounted witnessing the abuse, which he also filmed, in an article for German magazine Der Spiegel. US network ABC News too reported on Arkadys footage.
The interior ministry has launched an investigation into the allegations.
Abuses such as those described in the reports could sow the seeds of future conflict even as security forces near the end of the battle for Mosul, ISs most emblematic stronghold.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for shooting dead 29 Christians on a bus in central Egypt, an attack that prompted retaliatory air strikes on jihadists in neighbouring Libya.
The shooting in the province of Minya on Friday, as the Coptic Christians were travelling on a bus to a monastery, was the latest in a series of attacks by IS that have killed more than 100 Copts since December.
A security detachment from the Islamic State carried out an attack yesterday in Minya, the groups self styled Amaq news agency reported.
Masked gunmen in three pick-up trucks had attacked the bus as it was heading for Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Cairo, before fleeing, according to the interior ministry.
Egypts government said the shooting killed 29 people, and it responded by conducting air strikes on jihadist camps in the eastern Libyan city of Derna later on Friday.
The bus attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.
IS claimed all the bombings and threatened more attacks on the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypts 90-million population.
Tanzanian police said on Saturday they have arrested two morgue employees in Dar es Salaam after they admitted to cutting open a dead mans corpse and stealing the drugs hidden in his stomach.
The two morgue workers admitted to cutting open the body a week ago to take the drugs, local police official Simon Sirro said in a statement, adding that the man had died of an overdose.
Drug traffickers regularly employ drug mules to transport merchandise by stuffing the drugs in small airtight bags which are then swallowed or inserted in someones stomach.
But the technique is hardly foolproof as the bags can be eaten away by stomach acid and cause an overdose -- which is what may have happened to the dead man.
The man, a Ghanaian national, was found dead in a hotel room in Dar es Salaam, Tanzanias economic capital, and transported to the morgue at Mwananyamala hospital, where the two employees worked, Sirro said.
According to police, the workers said they then sold the 32 drug capsules to an unidentified businessman, who in turn sold the merchandise to Ally Nyundo, a suspected drug trafficker.
Those two men were also arrested, police said, without identifying the drugs.
Africas east coast has long been used as a transit point for drugs bound for Asia and Europe.
The so-called Smack Track -- leading from Afghanistan to the Makran Coast of Iran and Pakistan and then across the Indian Ocean to East Africa -- is an alternative to the traditional opium trail via Central Asia and the Balkans.
The path was revealed in 2010 when police busted four Tanzanians and two Iranians with 95 kilogrammes (210 pounds) of heroin in Tanga, northern Tanzania.
In May, Tanzanian drug baron Ali Khatib Haji Hassan, who has been accused by the United States of being at the head of a global cocaine and heroin trafficking network, was extradited to the US.
The CPN (Maoist Centre) and Nepali Congress, the ruling parties of the Himalayan nation, have decided to withdraw an impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Sushila Karki after coming under pressure both nationally and internationally.
The decision was taken at a Saturday meeting between CPN (Maoist Centre) and Nepali Congress and the main opposition party, the CPN-UML.
The impeachment motion registered against Chief Justice Karki will be withdrawn by this evening, and latest by Sunday morning, CPN-UMLs parliamentary party leader Subash Nembang said, quoting Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. Prachanda is currently leading a caretaker government till Sher Bahadur Deuba gets parliament approval to form the new administration.
Lawmakers had registered an impeachment motion against Karki at the Parliament Secretariat on April 30 after the Supreme Court annulled the governments decision to appoint the countrys police chief. Immediately after the motion was registered, Karki Nepals first female chief justice was suspended, but she was reinstated by another courts verdict.
The move is expected to end a long-standing row between the executive and the judiciary in the country. It is also expected to allow the House to conduct business obstructed by an alliance of opposition parties crucial for holding the second phase of local polls on June 14 as well as approving the Constitutional amendment to address the grievances of Madhes-based parties.
The government has also assured that it will announce the countrys budget on May 29, as provisioned by the Constitution.
Pakistan condemned the killing of top Hizbul commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and other militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, and called upon the international community, including the UN and human rights organisations, to intervene in the matter.
A report by IANS said Sartaj Aziz, the Prime Ministers adviser on foreign affairs, accused India of carrying out extra-judicial killings and said the country killed 12 Kashmiri youth in Kashmir since yesterday (Friday) in Pulwama and Baramulla. Three of them were martyred extra-judicially as has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past.
The adviser urged the international community to call upon India to immediately stop the ruthless killing of defenceless Kashmiris.
Sabzar, 28, was killed along with his two accomplices in a four-hour-long gunfight in a village in Tral town of Pulwama district. He was named as the successor of Burhan Wani -- who was killed last year on July 8.
In another incident, six militants were killed by the army, when an infiltration bid was foiled on Saturday in Rampur sector of the Line of Control in Baramulla district.
A report by PTI said Pakistan also called on the UN and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at the LoC, and accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement.
He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistans unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
Sri Lanka stepped up its military-led relief operations on Saturday as nearly half a million people were displaced after a monsoon deluge killed at least 122 people and threatened more flooding.
Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of the island and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water, the authorities said.
The official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said a total of 122 people were confirmed dead while 97 remained missing. Another 49 injured in landslides were hospitalised.
Most of the fatalities were due to landslides and only a very few drowned, said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne who is also the health minister.
He said nearly 500,000 people were forced from their homes and most of them had moved into temporary shelters.
The military led search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road.
At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to higher ground for burial.
The military vehicles also ferried villagers along roads converted into riverways by the rainfall, passing submerged traffic signs and flooded houses.
Sri Lankan villagers load coffins of landslide victims onto an army armoured personnel carrier being used in rescue operations during major flooding in Bulathsinhala in Kalutara district on May 27, 2017. (AFP)
There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the islands gem capital, which was also flooded. The authorities arranged funerals for dozens of victims.
The deluge caused the Nilwala river to burst its banks, threatening to submerge a large number of villages, the DMC said.
It warned thousands of villagers living near the Nilwala to evacuate to higher ground.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, travelled to Kalutara, one of the worst affected districts south of Colombo, to supervise relief operations.
The government will give new houses to those who lost their houses, he tweeted.
The authorities dropped thousands of life jackets for marooned people in a bid to protect them until they could be moved to safer ground.
Floodwaters surround a temple in Bulathsinhala in Sri Lanka's Kalutara district on May 27, 2017. (AFP)
International aid
An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday and a second vessel was expected on Monday, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said.
The United Nations said it will give water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.
Save the Children warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the country.
The charitys Sri Lanka country director Chris McIvo said: Were particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake.
Indian Navy troops offload emergency supplies from the Indian ship Kirch at Colombo harbour in Colombo on May 27, 2017. Indian medical teams and emergency relief arrived in Sri Lanka on May 27 as the monsoon-related death toll crossed 100 and authorities warned of more flooding in low-lying areas. (AFP)
Pakistan said it was in talks with Colombo to send relief supplies. Islamabad recently gave 10,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka to help drought victims.
The meterological department said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said.
Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing over 100 people.
US secretary of state Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark Islams holy month of Ramzan, two US officials said, apparently breaking with a bipartisan tradition in place with few exceptions for nearly 20 years.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either an iftar dinner to break the days fast during Ramadan or a reception marking the Eid ul-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, at the State Department.
Tillerson turned down a request from the State Departments Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host an Eid ul-Fitr reception as part of Ramzan celebrations, said two US officials who declined to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
According to an April 6 memo seen by Reuters, the office - which typically initiates such events - recommended that Tillerson hold an Eid ul-Fitr reception.
His rejection of the request suggests there are no plans this year for any high-profile Ramzan function at the State Department. The month of fasting and prayer for Muslims gets under way in many countries on Saturday.
When asked by Reuters to comment on Tillerson declining a request to host an Eid al-Fitr event in July for Ramzan, a State Department spokesperson said:
We are still exploring possible options for observance of Eid ul-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan. US ambassadors are encouraged to celebrate Ramadan through a variety of activities, which are held annually at missions around the world.
Muslim activists have accused President Donald Trumps administration of having an unfriendly attitude towards Islam, encapsulated by its attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The administration says that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam. Aides point to Trumps visit this month to Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries, as evidence of that.
Members of Congress, Muslim civil society and community leaders, diplomats from Muslim countries and senior US officials usually attend the State Department Ramzan event, a symbol of the US governments diplomatic efforts with Muslim countries and people.
If Tillerson avoids hosting one this year, that could send a message that it is not as important to this administration to engage with Muslims, said former US diplomat Farah Pandith, who served in the Bush and Obama administrations and helped plan Ramzan events at the White House and State Department.
Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan, which he called a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection.
Most importantly, it is a cherished time for family and friends to gather and give charity to those who are less fortunate, he said.
Past Ramzans
Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright started the tradition 18 years ago of Americas top diplomat hosting a public event for Ramadan, a lunar month.
The secretary of state of the time usually gives remarks there on the meaning of Ramzan.
In April, the State Departments Office of Religion and Global Affairs made a request to Tillersons office that he deliver remarks at an Eid ul-Fitr reception this year, and suggested a two-week range of dates in July. The event would serve to highlight State Department initiatives and the importance of Muslim engagement, the memo said.
It noted that by hosting a reception just after Ramzan, rather than an iftar - an often sumptuous dinner at sunset - a State Department event could be held any time of the day, thus preventing a very late evening for the Secretary.
Several weeks later, that office and other offices at the State Department were alerted that Tillerson declined the request, the officials said.
Reuters was told of the request being declined but did not see Tillersons reply. An official with the Office of Religion and Global Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
Several prominent Muslim-American groups in the Washington area who are normally invited to the Ramzan event told Reuters this week that they had yet to receive an invitation from the State Department, which they said was unusual.
If theyre having one, we havent been invited, said Rabiah Ahmed, spokesperson for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington. A representative for her group has been invited to the State Department event in the past, she said.
Fraught relationship
Trumps administration has had a fraught relationship with Muslims. As a presidential candidate, the Republican urged a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, called for more surveillance of mosques and warned that radical Muslims were trying to take over our children.
Trump has since toned down his rhetoric and courts have halted his temporary travel ban on people from six mostly Muslim countries.
White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on whether they would continue the tradition this year of hosting a Ramadan-related event at the White House.
The State Department celebrates other religious traditions though some of those commemorations are not as well-established as the State Departments Ramadan event. In 2014, then-secretary of state John Kerry hosted the first ever celebration at the State Department marking Diwali, the Hindu festival.
The White House also traditionally hosts annual Christmas and Easter events as well as a Seder dinner to mark the Jewish Passover.
The top US diplomat has personally hosted a Ramadan event every year since 1999, often in the State Departments grand Benjamin Franklin room, apart from three years.
In 2006 and 2015, deputies of the secretary of state at the time hosted either an iftar dinner or an Eid ul-Fitr reception. In 2014, Kerry hosted a reception for Eid ul-Adha, another important Muslim holiday.
US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former US officials told Reuters.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources -- one current and one former law enforcement official.
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinising former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the Presidents inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kushners attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information, she said.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish a line of communication. Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.
Back channel
Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving US-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the November 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
How Kushner came under scrutiny
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of US citizens, whose names were redacted because of US privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask US intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current US law enforcement official said.
Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current US law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under US sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of US banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorised, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what US intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Jared Kushner, US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and his most trusted adviser, is reported to have asked the Russians to set up a secret back-channel communication system between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin last December in order to circumvent American monitoring.
Kushner, who emerged as a key figure in the ongoing investigations into Russian interference in the 2016 elections and alleged collusion by Trump campaign aides, is also reported to have had more contacts with Russians than previously disclosed.
There was no response from the White House or Kushners lawyer for hours significantly after the reporting of these new revelations inevitably branded bombshells by some commentators and TV news anchors adding to an expanding body of juicy details that dont add up to a case yet.
His request for a back channel communication system was caught by US authorities in intercepted communications between Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak and Moscow. The entire Russian diplomatic mission is under constant US surveillance, including and specially its communication system.
In the intercept, Kislyak told Moscow that Kushner had made the request in a meeting at Trump Tower on December 1 or 2 less than three weeks after the election and asked specifically for the system to be housed in Russian diplomatic facilities. Trumps first national security adviser Michael Flynn was present at this meeting.
The Russian ambassador was surprised by the request, according to reports citing unidentified US officials. And, it was a move fraught with risks for the Russians as well why allow an American access their sophisticated equipment?
That request never led to anything more consequential and legal experts said that despite its obvious peculiarity, it did not amount to criminal act. To some, it reflected naivete of someone new to all this, but to others, such as Evan McMullin, former CIA operative who ran for the White House in 2016, it was (if true) treasonous activity.
Kushner is a compelling figure in this administration. He has the presidents ear and has such broad authorities from running ties with China and Mexico, to exploring peace in West Asia, to upgrading federal government infrastructure that he has been dubbed the secretary of everything.
Though he has not been charged with any crime or been accused of any wrongdoing and has not even been described as a target, his emergence as a key figure in the investigation puts the spotlight on the First Family.
The Washington Post, which first reported Kushners unusual request, also pointed to an alternate scenario based on Russian practice of feeding false information into the communication channel they know to be under surveillance to mislead Americans. Kislyak did not have to use that channel for communicating the pitch from Kushner.
But, as some experts have argued, why would Kislyak, an acclaimed spymaster himself, knowingly jeopardise the opportunity to own a source like Kushner whose proximity to the president would have afforded Moscow the kind of access to the White House fantasized by writers of spy thrillers?
But Kushner appears to have known what he was doing. This Trump Tower meeting was not his first interaction with the Russian ambassador. Reuters reported at least two more previously undisclosed contacts both phone calls between April and December.
Kushners attorney, Jamie Gorelick, told Reuters that her client did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November. Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information, she said.
President Donald Trump says hell make a final decision on whether the U.S. will stay in the Paris climate agreement next week.
Trumps surprise announcement, in the form of a tweet on the final day of his lengthy international trip, comes after Trump declined to commit to staying in a sweeping climate deal, refusing to give into intense international pressure.
Earlier Saturday, the other six members of the G-7, a group of some of the worlds wealthiest nations, voted to abide by the Paris climate agreement, according to a person familiar with the talks said Saturday. Trump was cajoled for three days first in Brussels at meetings of NATO and the European Union, then in Sicily for G-7 but he has to make a decision.
Under the deal, the Trump administration will be given more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter before the formal announcement.
Backing out of the deal had been a central plank of Trumps campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they dont opt out entirely. Other G-7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying we put forward very many arguments.
His views are evolving, he came here to learn and get smarter, Gary Cohn, national economic council director, said Friday of the presidents thinking.
Trump, who will return to the White House under a cloud of scandal, started Saturday at the second day of the G-7 summit in Sicily, bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and Israel before moving on to three European stops.
The trip has largely gone off without a major misstep, with the administration touting the presidents efforts to birth a new coalition to fight terrorism, while admonishing partners in an old alliance to pay their fair share.
Big G7 meetings today. Lots of very important matters under discussion, Trump tweeted between events. First on the list, of course, is terrorism. #G7Taormina.
Trump also touted a renewed commitment by NATOs member to spend more on defense.
Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in- NATO will be much stronger, he said. Trump was referring to a vow by NATO countries to move toward spending 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Only five of NATOs 28 members meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defense than all the other allies combined.
There is no evidence that money has begun to pour in and countries do not pay the U.S. or NATO directly. But Germany, for instance, has been increasing its defense spending with the goal of reaching the 2 percent target by 2024.
But after the pomp of presidential travel overseas, Trump will return to Washington to find the same problems that have dogged him.
As a newly-appointed special counsel is beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, Jared Kushner, the presidents son-in-law and close adviser, has become a focus of the probe, according to The Washington Post. His lawyer said Kushner will cooperate with investigators.
James Comey, the former FBI director leading the Russian probe until Trump abruptly fired him, is still expected to testify before Congress about the memos he kept on conversations with the president that involved the investigation.
The search for a new FBI director continues.
And Trumps policy agenda has run into problems. The GOP health care bill that passed the House faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, after a Congressional Budget Office analysis that it would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured by 2026. The presidents budget was widely criticized for deep cuts to safety net programs. And some are starting to question the chances for tax reform.
But first Trump has to finish the day in Sicily, which includes a meeting with small African nations and a G-7 leader lunch. After the summit, the president will address American troops on an Italian base before departing for home.
Not yet on the agenda: a news conference.
If that holds, Trump will break with presidential precedent by not holding at least one lengthy question-and-answer session with the press while abroad. Anxious about Trumps tendency to make things worse for himself with unscripted remarks, the White House staff has kept the president a safe distance from journalists for most of the trip.
Trump was warmly welcomed in the Middle East, but in Europe hes faced a far cooler reception. Hes been willing to risk disapproval, engaging in an extraordinary scolding of close allies over their responsibility to pay for mutual defense.
Trump took part in the ceremonial spectacle of the summit over the two days, this time at a picturesque Sicilian town above the Mediterranean Sea. But he also held one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Japan, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany. The meeting with Merkel came just a day after Trump reportedly called Germans bad. Cohn stressed Friday that the president was simply being critical of the U.S. trade imbalance with Germany.
Trump also understands that Germany is bound by the rules of the European Union and could not unilaterally change its trade policies, Cohn said. Trade was a big topic, with Cohn saying the United States guiding principle will be we will treat you the way you treat us, suggesting that retaliatory tariffs could be imposed.
A liberal fantasy dream sequence, a bromance, insanely romantic.
The internet was abuzz Friday with pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau schmoozing at the G7 summit in Sicily, strolling through flowered walkways and chatting against the backdrop of a sparkling blue Mediterranean sea.
Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot, netizen @sherlockify joked on Twitter.
The reaction to the telegenic pairs encounter in the picturesque, hillside town of Taormina, immortalised by Macron himself who tweeted a video of their meeting, provided some light relief from a summit otherwise devoted to thorny issues such as climate change and the threat of extremism.
Trudeau (left) shakes hands with French President Emmanuel Macron. (AFP Photo)
The Franco-Canadian friendship has a new face, Macron tweeted after sitting down for talks with Trudeau and taking the now famous stroll.
@JustinTrudeau, its up to us to take on the challenges of our generation!
Macron and Trudeau's summery stroll in Sicily looks insanely romantic pic.twitter.com/9RZsi7OIJM Tara Mulholland (@tara_mulholland) May 26, 2017
Sitting down with @EmmanuelMacron for the first time, talking jobs, security & climate -- looking forward to more conversations, my friend, Trudeau responded on Twitter, posting pictures of both smiling, shaking hands, and looking out over the Mediterranean, their dapper suit jackets billowing in the breeze.
Trudeau, 45, is popular with liberals worldwide for his commitment to fighting climate change and easing the refugee crisis -- in stark contrast to the United States, Canadas powerful neighbour.
Macron, 39, has only been in power for 12 days but enjoys similar kudos, particularly abroad where he has been compared to Trudeau.
The leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the US and Italy were joined by representatives of the European Union and IMF. (AFP Photo)
This image of Trudeau and Macron in Sicily is right out of a liberal fantasy dream sequence, tweeted Dhruva Jaishankar, an expert on foreign policy at the India section of the Brookings Institution think tank.
Others were even more explicit.
Not even Emmanuel Macron can stop himself from gazing adoringly at Justin Trudeau. pic.twitter.com/GB9Jd10gG7 Oonagh (@Okeating) May 26, 2017
Le swoon, le sigh, tweeted netizen MissMary, above a photo of both leaders in apparent earnest chat.
Is there a budding bromance between Macron and Trudeau? Two hunks! added @MaureenRamsden.
(From left) Emmanuel Macron, Donald Trump, EU Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Theresa May, Angela Merkel, Paolo Gentiloni and Justin Trudeau watch the Frecce Tricolori Italian Air Force acrobatic squadron performing. (AP Photo)
Justin Trudeau (right) and French President Emmanuel Macron talk as they attend the G7 summit. (AFP Photo)
Justin Trudeau looks like The Bachelor and Macron has just stolen him away for a second. pic.twitter.com/tXLdSrD02j Hanna Flint (@HannaFlint) May 26, 2017
The first American company to develop a jet engine, General Electric went on to produce the best-selling turbojet ever.
For a company whose engineers had helped develop the United States first jet-powered fighter during World War II, General Electric found itself facing an uncertain future in jet engine manufacturing at wars end.
GEs engineering whiz kids had taken a revolutionary turbojet conceived by Royal Air Force officer Frank Whittle and developed their own version in six months. Yet with victory finally in hand, U.S. military contracting officials transferred GEs jet engine designs to competitorsleaving GEs aviation engine division virtually empty-handed and facing a possible shutdown.
How could that happen? And how did that division succeed, despite the federal snub and a near-rebellion by many of its most loyal employees, to rebound with the best-selling jet engine of all time?
GE executives had readily accepted Maj. Gen. Henry H. Hap Arnolds challenge to adapt Whittles engine to counter jet aircraft being rushed ahead by Germanys Luftwaffe. Arnold, the Armys deputy chief of staff for air in 1941, chose GE for the project instead of Pratt & Whitney or Wright Aeronautical, both of which were busy producing piston engines for the nations fighters and bombers. He believed that GE was better positioned to give priority to the project, and that it had relevant experience manufacturing superchargers for high-altitude flight. He also suspected GE might be more receptive to a radically new power plant than companies already prospering by turning out piston engines.
Gentlemen, I give you the Whittle engine, Arnold told GE executives at a top-level briefing on September 4, 1941, as he handed them a confidential sheaf of plans and specifications. Consult all you wish and arrive at any decision you pleasejust so long as General Electric accepts a contract to build 15 of them.
GEs leaders signed the contract in October, only weeks before the Pearl Harbor attack. Whittle, flown in secretly from England to join the American team, was on hand a year later to watch as Bell Aircrafts XP-59A Airacomet, powered by two GE-modified Whittle engines, blasted into the air from Muroc Dry Lake in California for a successful test flight in October 1942. The Airacomet achieved flight despite a thrust of only 1,250 pounds per engine, modest by later standards.
While the Americans worked to improve the Airacomets performance, Allied intelligence reported in 1943 that the Luftwaffe had already test-flown two jet aircraft. GE rushed work on a new engine designed to leapfrog German aviation technology, but the U.S.unlike Germanywouldnt get a jet fighter into combat before the war ended.
Within a month after GE began testing that new engine, later designated the J33, it exceeded its contracted 4,000 pounds of thrust (eventually reaching 5,200 pounds). By June 1944, it powered the Lockheed XP-80 Shooting Star, the Army Air Forces first operational jet fighter. (A later version would establish a world speed record of 623 mph in 1947.) Although the Germans surrendered before the P-80 could be tested in combat, GE emerged from the war with a formidable reputation.
Despite the companys accomplishments, GE struggled to meet all its military commitments in the postwar market. It was unable to test its improved J35 in a Republic XP-84 Thunderjet until February 1946. By then the Army Air Forces had pressured GE to license production of its J33 to General Motors Allison Motor Division and the more advanced J35 to GMs Chevrolet Motor Division. After Chevrolet bowed out to concentrate on automobiles, Allison was licensed to mass-produce both engines and would emerge as a major competitor for GE.
The militarys licensing decision, which closed GEs Syracuse, N.Y., plant and idled many employees, could have stripped GE of its future in aviation. Fortunately for the company, Harold D. Kelsey, who had overseen its supercharger production during the war, became managing engineer of the newly named Aircraft Gas Turbine Division in January 1946. Kelsey figured that although the military could farm out GEs two major engine projects, it couldnt take away the know-how his engineers gained in creating them.
Focusing on the advances achieved in developing the J35, Kelsey and his team were by early 1948 hurrying to create an improved turbojet. Like the J35, it would be built around an axial-flow compressor instead of the centrifugal-flow compressors on which GE had focused after inheriting the Whittle engine project.
Centrifugal-flow compressors spin the incoming air in a circular casing, increasing pressure by forcing the air against the outer casing wall, a process not unlike swinging a bucket of water rapidly in circles without spilling. The axial-flow concept, on the other hand, uses a series of blades mounted on a rotating shaft combined with stationary blades mounted in the casing to compress air as it moves straight through an enclosed tube.
My biggest contribution was to get General Electric into engine production, Kelsey said in the GE history Eight Decades of Progress. I made the decision to drop centrifugal engines and concentrate on the axial-flow type. Yet critics inside and outside the company, who resisted Kelseys initiative throughout his three years leading the division, questioned his decision. They pointed out that centrifugal designs were much simpler, used fewer parts and cost less to manufacture than axial-flow engines.
Kelseys team countered that axial-flow engines offered almost unlimited growth potential, since they allowed higher pressure ratios promising greater future power. They were also much more streamlined than centrifugal engines saddled with a large frontal surface. Drag would only increase as military planners inevitably demanded greater thrust from centrifugal power plants, requiring larger intakes.
German companies working for the Luftwaffe had focused on axial-flow technology since the mid-1930s, with Junkers and BMW producing axial turbojets late in the war. Only Junkers Jumo 004 achieved mass production, powering the Messerschmitt Me-262As that attacked Allied bomber formations from late summer 1944 onward. The Me-262s proved to be lethal weapons, but arrived too late to affect the wars outcome.
Committed to the axial-flow approach, the GE team forged ahead. They persuaded Army Air Forces planners that they could produce a jet engine incorporating the worlds first electronically controlled afterburner to help generate in excess of 25 percent more thrust than the J35. Whats more, they promised to match Allisons commitment for delivering the licensed J33s and J35s with an equal number of the new engines. It was an offer the Army Air Forces couldnt refuse.
First, though, Kelsey and his staff had to persuade their management to keep GE in the aviation engine business and fund the new project. They assured top executives that the jet engine business would produce $35 million a year by 1950, an estimate that would prove to be one-tenth of the actual figure. Convinced that Kelseys team could deliver, management backed them with a massive investment in personnel and facilities. The costly gamble would assure development of an even more advanced engine, the J47. Its introduction in 1948 reestablished GE as a frontrunner in the aviation industry.
J47 engines were in growing demand by the spring of 1948, as the Cold War heated up after the Soviet Union sealed off its sector of occupied Berlin. But GE officials faced a frustrating dilemma: The J47s couldnt be delivered because they were flunking a critical test at the companys plant in Lynn, Mass. Thirty of the urgently needed engines sat in sealed containers behind the plant. Tests indicated they were exceeding GEs promised fuel consumption, and nobody could figure out why.
Fortunately for GE, it had recently hired a talented engineer with a keen eye and an unusual background story. During WWII, German-born Gerhard Neumann had provided valuable wartime support to U.S. forces in China. No friend of his countrys Nazi leadership, he had fled Germany and accepted a job as a mechanic with the American Volunteer Group, the famed Flying Tigers. His work for the AVG included rebuilding a downed Japanese Zero and delivering it to American investigators eager to learn its secrets. He also served as a spy behind Japanese lines to bring back airpower intelligence. Those actions helped the enemy alien win both U.S. Army master sergeants stripes and, through congressional action, U.S. citizenship.
As a newly minted citizen in China, Neumann concluded that his future lay in the United States, half a globe away. He and his American wife, Clarice, made their move the hard wayin a war-surplus jeep, traveling 10,000 miles across Asia and the Mideast. Intrigued by the possibility of joining GE, he sent a letter from Iran to the companys plant in Lynn. Company managers found Neumanns battlefield engineering experience and ability to improvise an attractive combination.
On his lunch break at the new job, Neumann sat down behind the Lynn plant to observe the shack and standpipes where GE calibrated its engines fuel consumption. The electric timers that measured fuel flow into the engines were accurate to within one one-hundredth of a second. Yet he suddenly realized that, depending on the ambient temperature, some of the fuel remaining after an engine test lingered in the unprotected standpipes and wasnt being measured. He hurried to share the good news with his supervisor.
The fuel-flow instrument calibration was in error, Neumann later explained in his autobiography, Herman the German. The 30 held-up engines were permitted to be shipped because they were indeed all right. The logjam had been broken by a man who would break many more in a noteworthy career with GE.
The demand for J47s grew so fast that not even an expanded Massachusetts plant could cope with it. And GEs leadership knew the company couldnt afford to surrender its lead to competitors once again.
A search team located an unused government-owned plant in Lockland, Ohio, where Wright Aeronautical had manufactured engines during WWII. The complex included a building once considered the worlds largest under a single roof. It was so sprawling that Orville Wright, guest of honor at the dedication ceremonies, had wandered off to inspect the cavernous structure and had to be tracked down before the festivities could begin.
GE transferred 150 engineers from Lynn to update the aged facilities, which had been idle for three years, to begin producing J47s. One of their first major challenges was to transform the plants 40 piston-engine test cells into 14 larger and more sophisticated cells for jet engines.
The new plant officially opened on February 28, 1949, as the first Ohio-built J47 engine was delivered to the now-independent U.S. Air Force. By the end of the year, the plant was turning out 200 engines a month, soon to bypass the Lynn plant as the Korean War pushed its workforce from 1,200 to 12,000. Known as the Evendale plant, the facility would eventually be designated to build all of GEs large jet engines and serve as headquarters for its Aviation Division.
In June 1950, Communist North Korean troops poured across the 38th Parallel to invade South Korea. As U.S. forces were rushed to Korea to help stem the tide, the demand for J47 engines skyrocketed. Soon, J47s powered virtually all the militarys frontline aircraft, including the North American F-86 Sabre interceptor and six-engine Boeing B-47 Stratojet. The F-86 saw extensive combat against Soviet-built MiG-15s, chalking up an impressive kill record, while the B-47 would serve as the Air Forces dominant medium bomber for years after the war.
GE delivered more than 35,000 J47s by the end of the 1950s, making it the worlds most produced gas turbine. But if the J47 virtually owned the military aircraft engine market during the late 1940s and early 1950s, a competitor beat it to the punch with a follow-up design. Pratt & Whitney, which had dominated piston-engine development during WWII, blindsided GE with its J57. The new engine was touted as offering better performance, increased reliability and greater fuel efficiency. Military purchasers agreed. The Air Force promptly bought the J57twice as powerful as the J47, with 10,000 pounds of thrustfor aircraft ranging from the F-100 Super Sabre, the first Air Force jet capable of routinely exceeding the speed of sound, to the huge, eight-jet Boeing B-52 strategic bomber that remains in the military fleet to this day.
Furthermore, both Boeing and Douglas selected Pratt & Whitneys civilian variant for their first generation of commercial jetliners, a market GE had yet to penetrate. Pratt & Whitney opened a new facility in Palm Beach County, Fla., billing it as the worlds most advanced for designing and testing jet engines.
By 1952, GE Aviation executives found themselves on the defensive, hurrying to replace the J47. One promising concept, for an engine that could propel aircraft at twice the speed of sound, was plagued by a tendency of its compressor to stall, sometimes violently, during testing. Frustrated GE executives turned to Gerhard Neumann to lead a team in building a full-scale version of a design he had proposed featuring variable stator blades that helped the compressor cope with the huge internal variations in airflow experienced from takeoff to supersonic speeds.
Air Force officials were so impressed with the resulting J79 that they began ordering the engine to power such pace-setting aircraft as the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, McDonnell F-4 Phantom II and Convair B-58 Hustler. According to Fortune magazine, the J79 engine probably saved GEs big jet-engine business from collapse. It also helped win a 1955 promotion for Neumann to manage GEs Jet Engine Department at Evendale.
For their leadership in developing the J79, Neumann and Neil Burgess won a prized Collier Trophy in 1958, and Lockheeds Clarence Kelly Johnson won for the F-104 that it powered. It was a sweet victory, for the 1952 Collier Trophy had been awarded to Pratt & Whitneys corporate parent, United Aircraft Technologies, for the J57 and the Vought F8U Crusader that it powered.
Over a 30-year period, more than 17,000 J79s would be built. GE Aviation was back on track in the continuing battle to propel the aircraft industry into the next generation of flight.
Meanwhile, the famed J47 ended its record production run in 1956 after a decade of pioneering advances critical to turbojet technology. Ironically, the engines reliability helped limit its production. The Air Force had contracted for many additional J47s, but improvements made through the years stretched out the engines operational life and saved the government $200 million. Given the turbojets many achievements, it seemed appropriate that the J47 would end production on a positive note. J
Veteran journalist and aviation writer Don Bedwell is the author of Silverbird: The American Airlines Story. He thanks GE retiree Robert D. Johnson for providing perspective on GE during the J47 era. Further reading: GEs Eight Decades of Progress: A Heritage of Aircraft Turbine Technology; and Herman the German, by Gerhard Neumann.
This feature originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Aviation History Magazine. Subscribe today!
These days people dont bat an eye (although they might grimace slightly) when Jordan unveils yet another hybrid Jordan that combines elements from its flagship shoes. Once upon a time, these hybrids were a novelty, and none was more coveted than the Jordan Spizike. A decade ago, Jordan Brand unveiled the first Spizike, and on that anniversary they are bringing back one of the OG colorways: the White Cement Spizikes.
Combining the forefoot and heel cup of the Air Jordan 3, caging of the Air Jordan 4, the ankle design of the Air Jordan 5 and the tongue design of the Air Jordan 6, the Spizike manages to fit elements from four of the most popular Jordans of all time into the shoe. The name itself pays homage to Spike Lee, who was integral in Jordans early advertising, making these his de facto signature shoes.
The Jordan Spizike White Cement releases on June 20 and will retail for $160. Will you be copping?
Spizike
The Anne, the first Very Large Crude Carrier to dock at a Gulf Coast port, loaded Friday at the Occidental Petroleum terminal in Ingleside, near Corpus Christi.
Houston-based Occidental is testing the 1,000-foot-long vessel, one of the largest on the seas. The Corpus ship channel is 46 feet deep, which isn't enough to allow the ship to leave fully loaded.
Alexander Wild is a bug photographer, selling his images of fire ants, bed bugs and other critters to pest control companies, board game developers and publications ranging from Nature to National Geographic. But Wild also has to deal with his own pests: Companies, government agencies and others that use his photos in their own advertising without permission and without paying a fee.
Wild, an entomologist, owns the copyright to his images. Each picture costs him an average of $50 to make when he figures in travel expenses and equipment. So it annoys him when he sees people assume his photos are free for the taking since they're on the internet.
Wild sued Cypress Creek Pest Control of Houston for alleged copyright infringement earlier this month in federal court in Houston, alleging the company used one of his photos of rover ants, the 2 mm bugs that swept through Texas about a decade ago from Argentina and are keeping pest control companies busy. He is seeking damages up to $150,000, according to the complaint.
RELATED: Photo sparks intellectual property battle with University of Houston
Cypress Creek is just the latest company to face legal action for using someone else's creative work in its marketing materials. A whole industry has sprung up that searches online for violators and then demands money, usually in the form of speedy settlements.
Wild hires a third-party company that scours the internet for images used without permission and then asks the offenders to pay licensing fees for the photos they're using. Most of the time the images are removed or the license fee is paid. But when companies don't respond, the copyright cops take legal action. At any given time, Wild has dozens of pending cases. Wild said he can't comment on this lawsuit because he isn't familiar with it.
Zach Ivey, president of Cypress Creek Pest Control, described the situation as a learning experience, albeit an expensive one. He said he didn't realize the company he hired to design his website didn't have rights to use Wild's photo of rover ants. Then on his lawyer's advice, Ivey ignored offers to settle the dispute for more than a year on the assumption he wouldn't face financial penalties since he took down the photo immediately after hearing of the copyright protection.
"I didn't intend to steal property," said Ivey, who is the third generation of the family-owned pest control business that started in 1968 on a dining room table. Ivey recently settled the lawsuit for a confidential sum. He is expecting it to be dismissed soon.
Intellectual property experts say that business owners often find themselves faced with big penalties if they don't settle. A cottage industry has popped up to represent photographers and other artists who discover their work is being used without a licensing agreement.
"It's a bit of a vigilante thing," said Steve Levine, intellectual property lawyer with Carrington, Coleman, Sloman & Blumenthal in Dallas. "But they are enforcing the legitimate rights of the author."
RELATED: Outhouse trademark dispute hits the fan
Where it gets murky, he said, is when some representatives become overly aggressive, demanding, for example, a $30,000 fee when the photo would never have sold for that kind of money. Since most disputes are settled long before they reach the courthouse, artist representatives often have the upper hand in negotiations, he said.
Wild, an ant specialist with a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of California, Davis, began taking photos of insects 15 years ago to complement his scientific work. Along the way, his photographs become popular, with some images generating tens of thousands of dollars for books, magazines, board games and museums.
But he also began to notice his photos showing up in places that didn't pay for them. Ant photos are especially popular to purloin, especially fire ants. So are termites and bed bugs, said Wild, who travels to bed bug labs, including one at the University of Kentucky, to get those pictures.
Popularity of an image affects value, said Wild. The more common an image, the less it's worth. Buyers often ask for unpublished photos, said Wild, who is also curator of entomology at the University of Texas at Austin.
Wild said he wished there was an easier way to fight copyright infringement. He used to do the copyright sleuthing himself but it took hours each week tracking down the scofflaws. A while back, Wild hired a third-party company that does it for him, Boston-based Image-Rights International.
Joe Naylor, CEO of ImageRights, said he launched the company in 2008 after one of his friends complained he was trying to launch his career as an photographer but his images were being taken from his website without compensation. Naylor, an engineering graduate from the University of Texas working in Silicon Valley, did some research and found photographers had little recourse because it would cost more to hire a lawyer for one hour than they'd get for one photo.
To boost efficiency, Naylor built a platform to continually search websites for photos by his clients that were uploaded. When violations are found, the company can take legal action.
ImageRights seeks fees that are commensurate to what the photographer charges for the images, he said. "It's their livelihood," said Naylor, who represents 8,000 photographers.
Chris Schwegmann, intellectual property lawyer with Lynn Pinker Cox & Hurst in Dallas, said he's never seen a copyright claim involving bugs. It's much more common with real estate.
Real estate companies put together marketing materials but instead of hiring their own photographers, they use photos shot by previous owners they find online. Another common problem is when on-line travel sites use photos of hotels and restaurants without buying the image rights.
"It happens more than you think," Schwegmann said. "It's people being sloppy and looking for images to suit their purpose."
Wild pursues companies and government agencies that use his work, but the one group he can't do anything about are the online websites operated by robots that steal popular stories and photos. They're typically based offshore, don't respond to take-down requests and are impossible to trace, he said.
"It's maddening," Wild said.
Andrew Harrer
WASHINGTON - The president's chief economic adviser is casting doubt on the future of U.S. coal, saying it "doesn't really make that much sense anymore as a feedstock," directly contradicting President Donald Trump's repeated promises to revive the struggling coal industry.
Briefing reporters Thursday night, Gary Cohn singled out natural gas as "such a cleaner fuel." By exporting more natural gas and investing in wind and solar energy, the U.S. "can be a manufacturing powerhouse and still be environmentally friendly," Cohn said.
Even after making two documentaries about Israel, the head of the Christian Broadcasting Network felt another one, on the 50th anniversary of the Israeli capture of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War, was necessary.
"As you read today's news headlines, as you see what the U.N. is trying to do, as you see what is being proposed in U.S. foreign policy with Israel, the current conflicts that continue to erupt throughout the Middle East, you'll be better informed," CBN CEO Gordon Robertson said. "That's the goal."
"In Our Hands: The Battle for Jerusalem," recounts how Israeli troops overcame a Jordanian fortification and took Jerusalem's Old City, including the Western Wall. It appeared in select movie theaters Tuesday, as Israel observes Jerusalem Day to celebrate the restoration of Jewish control over Jerusalem after two millennia.
The docudrama follows "Made in Israel," a film about Israel's technological innovations produced for the CBN show "The 700 Club," and "The Hope," which delved into the biographies of individuals who formed the modern state of Israel.
Robertson talked to RNS about the film, the connection he feels to the Jewish state as an evangelical Christian and the spotlight the Trump White House has put on CBN News.
Q: You run the Christian Broadcasting Network. Why make these films about the Jewish state?
A: That's a personal story to me, and my interest goes back to 1969. I was just 11 years old, and I went on a trip to Israel with my father (Pat Robertson). It was the first trip for both of us. I went to the Western Wall to pray, and there I saw scenes I had not seen growing up in southeastern Virginia and the sheer joy of men dancing with Torah scrolls. It's hard to explain, but a connection was created, and a very spiritual connection. I felt I was able to join in with their joy.
And then I decided with my children, when they turned 12 years old, I would do this sort of bizarre Christian bar mitzvah where I would take them to Israel and we would pray together at the Western Wall and it would just be us two. I would take them on this journey and end the journey with a baptism in the Jordan.
My father loves Israel and has been a strong support of Israel, and CBN has been a strong support of Israel since those early days, since that first trip. There's just a connection. The amazing thing - it's there generationally.
Q: Do you think your Christian faith plays a role in that?
A: I like to remind Christians that Christianity is a Jewish religion. All the books of the New Testament were written by Jews.
I joke with rabbis about this. I say, "It's easier for me to go back to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) than it is for you to go forward to the Gospel of John." I don't think they like the joke.
I find a whole lot of depth in Judaism that I encourage Christians to look very carefully at - particularly the festivals. Paul said we're grafted in, and to be grafted in, there's a lot of sap down in those roots. The more you look at them, the more you study them, the more you understand Christianity.
Q: Do you think the Trump administration will be good for the United States' relationship with Israel?
A: I'm hopeful it will be good for our relationship with Israel. I sort of always hope that for all administrations. We'll see. I think there's certainly a conflict of views within our State Department on how to treat Israel and how to treat her Arab neighbors. There's a natural human tendency to avoid conflict, and so if you're trying to have peace between two archenemies, it's really tough, and you don't want the perception that somehow or other you're taking sides.
All that said, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel is certainly a strong supporter of Israel, and the new president's daughter is an Orthodox Jew - a Shabbat-observing Orthodox Jew - so I don't think he's going to have much trouble just being naturally inclined to support Israel.
Q: RNS had a story earlier this year about the administration turning the spotlight on CBN News. Has that continued, and what do you think that means?
A: For the individual reporters involved David Brody, Jennifer Wishon - it's been certainly a nice pat on the back for them individually and professionally to have that kind of recognition. On the other side of that coin, they're fast learning that the press pool can also be a shark tank. When you get that kind of favor from the administration and you get called on in specific in the White House press briefings and they're not, suddenly things get very chilly for you in the press pool and what used to be your fellow journalists are now turning a cold shoulder. It's been an interesting season, and we'll see how it goes.
Certainly, for Jennifer and for David, I'm very proud of them. They've worked very hard for many years covering the Capitol, covering the White House, and I think it's well-deserved recognition.
Q: Does your dad have any plans to slow down or retire?
A: My nickname for him is the Iron Horse. Here he is, 87 years old and still wants to do daily television, and not just any kind of daily television, he wants to do live television, where I like to joke there's the show we plan, the show we do and then the show we wish we had done. With live TV what comes out is what comes out, and you've got to live with it.
He's got a lot of gas left in the tank. He still likes to ride a horse every single day. He is an example for us all with what can happen with your life and how productive your life can be at 87 if you take good care of your body and you eat right and you exercise regularly. He does it all. I'm very proud of him.
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May 19 was an exciting day for many Atascocita High School students. For some, they were eager to receive their yearbooks highlighting all they've accomplished that year. For others, the yearbook stood as their final memories of high school.
But the feeling of excitement quickly deflated as their parents became outraged at Editor-in-Chief Kyle Armour's decision to create an LGBT spread.
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Much of the drama unfolded on the forum Atascocita.com, where parents expressed their distaste that the LGBT spread included in the yearbook and aimed negative remarks at Kyle. This is the first time Atascocita High has published an LGBT spread in its yearbook.
Kimberly Hicks Armour said her son wanted to highlight the diversity of the school to make each student feel welcomed and accepted.
"His goal was to be as inclusive as possible for the entire student and to make everyone feel important in the book," Kimberly Hicks Armour said.
She said some people posting on the thread were attacking her son directly.
"People were saying he was dumb, not smart, that I should not be proud of who he is. I'm very proud of who he is. He did take a stand and make something diverse for the community and to our school," Kimberly Hicks Armour said.
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Senior Natalie Mendoza identifies as gay and Catholic and was amongst the students given a spot on the LGBT spread. Her senior quote, "I can turn your girl," was noted as offensive. Mendoza said her quote was a joke, but it received negative remarks focused on her sexual orientation from parents.
Under the name 'SteelerNation' on Atascocita.com, one user wrote about the spread, "That's jamming their crap down our throats!"
Another user posted under the name 'lynnsgirl', "We can't pray in school but now we have a section strictly dedicated to the gay community explaining how, when and why the came 'out'. I'm honestly disgusted and embarrassed."
Mendoza said reading comments like that made her feel ashamed of who she is, not knowing her quote and the spread would cause all this uproar.
"My friends know my sexual orientation and love and respect me regardless," Mendoza said. "There was many immature and ridiculous jokes, but mine, in specific, stood out due to my sexual orientation."
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Mendoza said another student wrote "Viva Mexico" and was also targeted for his quote.
The same user name 'SteelerNation' wrote in response to that quote, "hope they self-deport, that crap does not belong in a USA yearbook."
Several students took to Twitter to express their frustration with the forum, stating the parents should stop acting like high school students and let their children express themselves.
Yearbook advisor Kevin Tatum did not have permission to speak to the media.
Jamie Mount, Humble Independent School District spokeswoman, said the district will take the necessary steps to ensure quotes deemed inappropriate are not published in the future, but has not detailed what steps will be put in place or the threshold as to what will be deemed inappropriate.
For a brief period, the district halted distribution of yearbooks and ordered yearbook staff to mark over the offensive quotes with a Sharpie. That decision was later reversed and the school Tweeted it would release the yearbooks in their original form.
"The yearbooks should have been more thoroughly vetted prior to publication," Mount said. "The issue has been addressed with staff. It will not happen again."
Also, amongst that turmoil, some senior quotes published in the yearbooks caused some parents to call for legal action or censure.
Student Matthew Rinn posted a photo of a Sharpie marking through a senior quote stating, "'I start the Lamborghini with a screwdriver.' - Riff Raff."
"So happy to be apart of a journalism program that serves the parents of Atascocita, not the students! Our innocent little minds!" Rinn captioned the photo.
Another senior quote included an arrow to the left and the words "dis man is ugly," pointing to Darlene Savoie Seal's son.
"The yearbook has already been published and released. Other people (have) seen the quote, took pictures with their phone and passed it around on Snapchat," Seal said.
She contacted her lawyer and the school.
"The school, after I contacted my lawyer, has given my son an apology and (is) saying they are taking steps so this does not happen again," Seal said.
Area students are among the beneficiaries of scholarships handed out by the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Wednesday, May 24.
In total, 423 Texas high school graduates received $8.4 million in scholarships from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. These college-bound seniors are slated to attend 39 different Texas universities and colleges and will major in 151 different fields of study.
"The students recognized tonight are the leaders of tomorrow," said Joel Cowley, Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo president and CEO. "With the support of more than 33,000 volunteers, our generous donors and those in the community who attend our Show, we are proud to contribute to the education of these very deserving individuals."
In 2017, Show scholarships were increased from $18,000 to $20,000 for students pursuing a four-year, undergraduate degree. On Wednesday, students received $8,405,000 in funds from the following Show scholarship programs: Metropolitan, Opportunity, Exhibitor, Hildebrand, School Art, Technical and Military. Each recipient received a $20,000 scholarship, payable over four years, with the exception of Technical recipients who received a $9,000 scholarship to apply toward a two-year degree.
Among the 423 scholars, 23 percent are first generation high school graduates. In addition, a majority of students - 238 Metropolitan and 114 Opportunity recipients - were selected from Houston-area high schools in Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery and Waller counties.
In the second, and largest, of four scholarship presentations this summer, the students will attend college in the fall alongside their fellow Area Go Texan and Texas 4-H and FFA scholarship recipients for a total scholarship commitment of $14.3 million in 2017. Currently, more than 2,000 scholars currently attending 80-plus Texas colleges and universities on Show scholarships.
These scholarships represent a portion of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's annual commitment of more than $26 million to scholarships, research, endowments, calf scramble participants, junior show exhibitors, School Art participants and other educational programs. For more information on the Show's educational support, visit rodeohouston.com/Educational-Support/Commitment.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is a Section 501(c)(3) charity that benefits youth, supports education, and facilitates better agricultural practices through exhibitions and presentation. Since its beginning in 1932, the Show has committed more than $430 million to the youth of Texas. For more information, visit rodeohouston.com and connect with
#RODEOHOUSTON online via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for all of the latest news. The 2018 Show is scheduled for Feb. 27-March 18.
Scholarship winners
M - denotes Metropolitan; O - denotes Opportunity
FORT BEND ISD
Dulles
Rushil Dandamudi (M)
Elkins
Anu Thomas (M)
George Bush
Camille Barrientos (M)
Sufyan Farooq (M)
Hilary Joachim (M)
Mehar Khan (M)
Jenifer Ogu (M)
Hightower
Christine Amaefule (M)
Halimat Aroyehun (O)
Antonia Bravo (O)
Kempner
Serena Cheng (O)
Meet Patel (M)
Jennifer Thai (H)
Ridge Point
Sydney McCoy (M)
Stephen F. Austin
Parth Upadhyay (M)
Thurgood Marshall
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Houstonians might be pleasantly surprised to see a plump, sparrow-size, reddish-headed bird with dense brown streaking at their backyards bird feeder, singing a raspy yet bubbling melody.
This is a male house finch, whose stubby, conical beak provides superior seed-cracking abilities.
While female house finches elicit less attention, with brown plumage marked by blurry brown streaks over a dull gray-white belly, the male has a red headband like a bandana, a red chin and throat like a bib, and a red swatch on its rump. Occasionally, they will sport yellow in place of red.
The male's coloration derives from seed carotenoids that are metabolized as feather pigments that range from reds to yellows, which in turn vary from a vibrant hue to a sapless shade. Causes of color variation, though not fully understood, are related to genetics. Color saturation during breeding in spring and summer is obviously richer than during nonbreeding in fall and winter.
Although house finches now commonly occupy Houston's backyard bird feeders, they haven't always done so. Prior to 1988 I remember spotting them in the Texas Hill Country, but not here. The story of the bird's range expansion is fascinating.
More Information About house finches Home: Historically native to Mexico and the American Southwest, they now occupy most of the U.S. and southern Canada. Spread: Introduced to Hawaii in 1870, occupying all major Hawaiian islands by 1901. Habitat: Adapt to varied habitats, from deserts to woodlands, urban and suburban neighborhoods. Diet: Seeds, flower parts and insects. They feed individually or in small groups. Disease: A highly contagious eye disease causing swelling and crustiness around the eye can weaken these birds and lead to starvation. It is not contagious to people but spreads to birds through dirty bird feeders or rancid bird seed. See More Collapse
The birds originally occupied Mexico and eventually moved into America's Southwest, places like Arizona, New Mexico and Southern California.
Prior to the 1940s, unscrupulous caged-bird traders captured a group of house finches in California and sent them to pet stores in New York City to be sold as "Hollywood Finches."
Knowing they could face criminal liability for illegal bird trade, New York pet stores set the finches free around 1939. The freed birds survived and produced offspring whose progeny spread from the eastern United States to the Midwest, where they met up with southwestern house finches that had begun pushing eastward.
Houston's house finches are descendants of the New York "Hollywood Finches" that moved westward and ultimately met their southwestern kin moving eastward into Central Texas. Both groups of finches now occupy the entire state, except for South Texas past Corpus Christi.
A friend of mind introduced me the other day to the story of Staff Sgt. Reckless, whose brave and loyal service during the Korean conflict is remembered to this day. Reckless was a Mongolian mare, purchased by U.S. Marines from a Korean stable boy who needed money to buy an artificial leg for his sister.
Day after day during that brutal war, the Marines, members of a recoilless rifle platoon, depended on Reckless to plod up rugged mountain trails carrying ammunition and down those same trails with wounded soldiers on her sturdy back. Wounded twice, she was promoted to sergeant and received nine medals before retiring to a comfortable stall at Camp Pendleton. A plaque at Pendleton and a statue at Quantico, Va., commemorate her service.
Marshall native John B. Jackson served in Korea, as well, although his homecoming wasn't as auspicious as that of the heroic horse. As an African American growing up in East Texas, his service with an Army mortar company was the first time in his life "where race had nothing to do with it," but when he got back to Texas after his discharge, it didn't take him long to realize that race still had everything to do with it. He rode the train from Washington State to Houston and then caught the bus to Angleton - relegated to the back, of course - on his way home to Freeport, where wife Georgia anxiously awaited. Angleton was the last stop, so Jackson's plan was to hitchhike the final 15 miles.
Soft-spoken and unfailingly courteous to this day, the son of a Baptist minister had walked about a block, Army duffel bag in hand, when the Brazoria County sheriff drove up beside him. "Where you going, boy?" the sheriff wanted to know.
Although they wouldn't meet until years later, Korean War vet Max Johnson grew up not far from Jackson's home town, in Shreveport, La. An LSU engineering graduate who received his commission through the university's ROTC program, Johnson built airstrips in Korea. Growing up in Louisiana, his contact with African Americans was minimal, but in Korea 94 percent of the troops under his command were African American.
"The guys who taught me how to run the equipment, all of them were black, from all over the United States," he recalled earlier this week. The young segregation-era southerner saw the world differently after that.
Defining moments
Unlike Reckless, neither Jackson nor Johnson received a hero's welcome. Few, if any, Korean War veterans did. The fighting came to a sputtering end on July 27, 1953, with nothing like the ceremony aboard the battleship Missouri that had marked the end of the war in the Pacific eight years earlier. Back home, there was no raucous celebration in Times Square, no jubilant sailor photographed kissing a young woman amid joyous crowds.
"Washington greeted news of the Korean truce yesterday with a matter-of-fact attitude - quietly, without evident jubilation," the Washington Post reported. In a 2013 Atlantic magazine article, historian and former Marine James Wright wrote that the men who fought in Korea were not honored with a victory parade until New York City held one - in 1991.
Like most veterans of "America's forgotten war," the two men I talked to this week came home, put the war behind them and got on with their lives - Jackson with the Veterans Administration and the U.S. Postal Service, Johnson as an engineer with Mobil and later owner of an insurance agency. Their war - their "police action," officially - was a long time ago, and yet both men agree that those few years represent defining moments in their lives - a defining moment, they believe, in the history of this country. So does historian Wright, who contends that the strong democratic government in South Korea today is evidence that Jackson and Johnson and their fellow veterans accomplished what they were sent to do.
"It was the first time that we stepped up and stopped communism. That's where we stopped it," Johnson said. "I think that's a story that ought to be told."
Ought to be, but isn't. Johnson said that he's spoken to school groups about the war, and often the young people listening have never heard of it.
Johnson knows that nearly 1.8 million Americans served and sacrificed in Korea from 1950 to 1953, including 289,000 Texans. On this Memorial Day weekend, he knows that 36,574 died.
Like their World War II brothers-in-arms, the Korean War veterans didn't talk much about their experiences. "We know people who didn't even know J.B. had been in the Army," said Georgia Jackson. She herself knew little about her husband's combat experience, although she knew a sadness lingered that he rarely acknowledged. (The Jacksons have been married 64 years.)
Many did not care
Jackson's reticence began to thaw in the early 1990s, when he got involved with helping organize a Texas chapter of the national Korean War Veterans Association in Houston. (He would later serve as president.) "I was happy when he started opening up," Georgia Jackson said. "He used to be sad. Now you see him with his chest out."
In 1990, the Chronicle reported, it was hard to round up enough Korean War veterans to march in that year's Memorial Day parade, much less from a veterans' group. Nat Young, one of the organizers and the group's first president, echoed Jackson and Johnson.
"We came home, and we melted back into society," Young told the Chronicle. "Neither my friends nor neighbors cared, or gave a damn that we had served. And we were anxious to make up the time we had lost, and get on with college or business. Only thing is, we left behind a lot of guys who would never get the chance."
These days the Texas Lone Star Chapter/Korean War Veterans, founded in 1991, has about 200 members. They're proud of several accomplishments, including the placement of a memorial in the Houston Veterans Cemetery and a Korean War Memorial on the Capitol grounds in Austin. They're also proud that in 1997 state Highway 6 from the Red River in Hardeman County to its intersection with I-45 in Galveston County was officially named the Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, although Jackson is a bit miffed that no one ever calls it that. "It's the forgotten highway for the forgotten war," he says.
Dwindling numbers
Chapter members volunteer at the DeBakey VA Medical Center, participate in parades and Memorial Day ceremonies and on June 17 will be guests of honor at a Houston dinner sponsored by a 40,000-member Presbyterian church in Seoul, Korea. They also ponder their organization's future, its near future.
Johnson is 88; Jackson, 86. Almost every time their group meets, they see dwindling numbers. What happens when they're all gone? Will family members soldier on? They don't know.
I've never seen the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C., but I intend to. I'd like to see the Reckless statue too. And I'll remember what Max Johnson told me about his long-ago war.
"We need to get the story out," he said. "We need to keep it alive."
AUSTIN - It started as a simple photo opportunity with Gov. Greg Abbott at a bill signing at a shooting range Friday, but turned into a firestorm on social media after he popped off with a joke about reporters.
"'I'm gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters,'" the Texas Tribune's Patrick Svitek quoted Abbott as saying in a tweet.
Abbott made the remark while posing with his target, after he and his daughter shot pistols at the range.
The Twittersphere went wild with criticism of the governor for his remarks that came just two days after Montana Republican Greg Gianforte was charged with assault after allegedly body-slamming a reporter for The Guardian on Wednesday. He was elected to Congress the next day.
Gianforte did apologize to reporter Ben Jacobs in remarks after Thursday's election, saying, "Last night, I made a mistake. I took an action I can't take back and I am not proud of what happened."
Abbott's remark also came less than two weeks after Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly was caught on a hot microphone jokingly suggesting to President Donald Trump that he use a ceremonial saber "on the press."
The comment about the sword came at a commencement ceremony at the United States Coast Guard Academy. Trump's response was, "Yeah, that's right," according to multiple media reports.
After Friday's incident in Austin, "Shoot for brains!," the HuffPost headlined online. "Texas governor jokes about gunning down reporters."
Within hours, the controversy grew as handgun critics blasted the comment as insensitive and tin-eared, considering recent news events about reporters who have been threatened and killed. They also criticized Texas for its strong Second Amendment support. Few paid any attention to the remark until it became an online sensation.
An Abbott spokesman had no immediate comment about all the attention the governor stirred up.
Abbott was at the shooting range to sign into law Senate Bill 16 that reduces the fee for a first-time license to carry a handgun from $140 to $40, and the renewal fee from $70 to $40. The law takes effect Sept. 1. The National Rifle Association says Texas' fees will then be the lowest in the nation.
"The right to bear arms is something that is synonymous with the state of Texas. We are proud to expand the right to bear arms by lowering the cost of what you have to pay in order to get a license to carry," Abbott said.
"It's unbelievable [that] Texas is one of the most costly states in the United States of America to get a license to carry," Abbott said Friday. "No Texan should be priced out of their way to defend themselves."
Abbott made the remark while posing with his target, after he and his daughter shot pistols at the range. There was some laughter at his remark, but hundreds of people took to Twitter to blast it.
"This isn't funny; this is a threat, and it is dangerous," tweeted Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. "These words from a public official should disgust us all."
The Brady Campaign for more gun laws condemned the attack on social media, calling it "dangerous and out of line."
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AUSTIN - House Speaker Joe Straus said Friday that state representatives will not budge on negotiating a final deal on the so-called bathroom bill battle with the Senate.
Straus gave senators, whose leader, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, has pushed for a far-reaching bathroom bill, an ultimatum with three days left in the legislative session: Take it or leave it on a scaled-back House version of the measure.
Patrick responded that he and the Senate aren't budging, either, and Gov. Greg Abbott has said failure to reach a compromise could prompt him to call a special session on the contentious issue. But Abbott told reporters Friday he still holds out hope for a deal. Patrick has made it clear he wants a special session on the issue unless there's a tougher bill than the House passed.
So be it, Straus said Friday as he told reporters: "If the Senate wants to pass a bathroom bill, they can concur with the bill we passed earlier this week. The House has compromised enough on this issue."
Calling it "absurd," Straus said the Senate prioritized a "bathroom bill" targeting transgender people over reforming the state's beleaguered school finance system.
"The House tried to start fixing school finance, but the Senate chose not even to appoint a conference committee," Straus said, referring to a panel of negotiators appointed by both chambers to hammer out compromises on issues where they disagree. "On the issue of bathrooms, the House is availing itself of the same option."
Last week, the House voted to require schools districts to provide private accommodations to students who request them, a major departure from a more aggressive Senate-backed measure that would have forced Texans to use bathrooms in government buildings that correspond to the sex listed on their birth certificate.
LGBT activists blasted both proposals as discriminatory toward transgender people, but the Senate version drew the most ire.
"The bill gave educators room to handle these issues," Straus said. "Especially for me, this was a compromise. As far as I'm concerned, it was enough. We will go no further."
Added Straus: "In a year when we've done so much to improve mental health care, to protect children in the fight against bullying, there's no reason to make a tragic and a costly mistake."
Special session threatened
Patrick accused Straus of "not letting the House be the House," insisting that the stronger version that the Senate would accept is supported by 80 House members - enough to pass it. He insisted that a majority of Texans support privacy legislation.
"He says he has compromised, but he has not compromised at all," Patrick said. "It's Joe Straus who's causing the special session. He laid down the gauntlet tonight."
Patrick reiterated that there are two must-pass bills for the Senate that still need to be acted upon: The "bathroom bill" and property tax reform.
"If not, we will be in a special session caused by Joe Straus," he said, adding later, "Now is the time to get this done."
Patrick said the House could still bring up the "bathroom bill," though he did not give specifics about how it could happen. Several House members in attendance at Patrick's news conference said they were unsure how that could happen.
"Despite tensions, the session is not yet over. The taxpayers deserve to have the Legislature finish their work on time. Only the governor can determine when or if there is a special session, and if so, what issues are addressed," Abbott's press secretary, John Wittman, said.
House and Senate members are expected to continue trying to hammer out an agreement on property tax reform Saturday. Patrick has also said he will urge Abbott to call a special session on that issue if a deal is not reached.
Abortion legislation
Earlier Friday, the chambers did find something to agree on as the Senate concurred with House amendments to sweeping abortion legislation that bans the most common procedure and prohibits the use of fetal tissue in medical research.
Approved 22-9, the final version of Senate Bill 8 also requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated and makes two procedures already banned by federal law - partial-birth abortions and the sale of fetal body parts - a crime.
The House added amendments including one that outlaws dismemberment abortions in Texas.
Critics of the bill predicted that Texas will once again be sued. Almost a year ago the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion regulations in Texas that would have left only nine abortion clinics open.
"This imposes more barriers to women who are trying to get treated or are seeking safe abortions, and it's unfortunate that in this state we are seemingly interminably pursuing these measures that inevitably are going to lead to challenges in the federal courts," said Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso.
Supporters in the Republican-controlled Senate disagreed. Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown - a Senate author of the bill - said the measure contains wording that allows sections of the new law that are not overturned by the courts to remain in effect.
"We should not be afraid to pass laws that are necessary, proper and right," he said.
GOP TwoPack, Donald Trump and Greg Gianforte symbolize today's populist, tribal shift of the Republican party. They have an authoritarian attitude, and if you question them, you're an enemy of the people (and you should be dealt with accordingly). The party has become thuggish in it's attitudes about dissent. Texas governor, Gregg Abbott joined the party today by making a joke about shooting reporters. Hilarious. And the usual suspects in the poisonous conservative media are attacking the reporter. Some conservatives are objecting. From the National Rreview:
"But the age of Trump has corrupted a great many people and shattered norms. Those whose moral compass has long since been stashed in the bottom drawer defending the indefensible piled on to applaud Gianforte's thuggishness. The Media Research Center's Brent Bozell tweeted, 'Jacobs is an obnoxious, dishonest first class jerk. I'm not surprised he got smacked.' "
Psychiatric facility
Regarding "Years of troubles spur hospital's closure" (Page A1, Friday), I am sorry to see the sad news about the closing of HopeBridge Hospital, a mental health facility in southwest Houston.
One of the things 100 percent all of us agree is that the violent crime in our society, whether terrorism or other violent crime, often is committed by individuals with mental health issues. Will we now see an uptick in crime in our area?
Linda Maitland, Houston
Linking with the Saudi
Regarding "Trump gives $110B arms deal to Saudis amid a warm embrace" (Page A1, May 21), it is discouraging to see us slithering up to the dictators in Saudi Arabia. They maintain their money and position there by blessing the Wahabbi Islamic sect with special dispensation from their state apparatus and oil money. It is the Wahabbi sect that is the genesis of "radical Islamic terrorists" that President Trump railed against in 2015-16, beat up President Obama for not cozying up to the dictatorship that is the Saudi Royal Family and now has made it his signature foreign policy initiative to so pursue.
Trump obviously likes billionaire dictators and power broker/oligarchs, especially when they show him public deference to feed his ego.
Since every Saudi royal Trump met could buy and sell him 10 times over I suspect they had some private joke sessions at Trump's expense at how easy it was to get him to sell out America's principles.
Walt Lind, Nassau
Kindness offsets hostility
Regarding "Green threatened with lynching after impeachment call" (Page A3, May 21), I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to the many people who have approached me, called and left positive messages with my office, as well as supportive sentiments on social media. While many of these communications were received from Americans who do not support the impeachment of the president, they also do not support threatening anyone with lynching.
I sincerely thank everyone for the kindness that they have shown. I express my deepest, most heartfelt appreciation to those who have the courage to stand up to hatred and bigotry.
Since I have called for the impeachment of President Trump, some ugly things have been said. However, those horrible things that were said are not comparable to all of the kinds words that were expressed.
U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Houston
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TORONTO It was billed as a last-ditch effort to shore up support, but many of the 13 candidates who took the stage Friday at the Conservative leadership convention in Toronto seemed to acknowledge that they had little chance of winning and instead used the opportunity to tell voters why they ran.
Quebec candidate Steven Blaney, who campaigned fervently against perceived front-runner Maxime Berniers plan to abolish supply management but consistently ranked in the bottom third of candidates, conceded that his competitor had won.
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Maxime, I must say you were my favourite target. I am proud to have defended my ideas respectfully and like you, Im proud to be Conservative, and as we have done for 10 years, we will continue to work together for a stronger, richer and more prosperous Canada, Blaney declared from the stage.
Calgary MP Deepak Obhrai told HuffPost Canada he expects to be in last place when the ballots are counted Saturday.
In an interview with HuffPost earlier this week, Saskatchewan MP Andrew Scheer lamented the fact that few contestants had bowed out of the contest.
I would have liked for there to have been fewer candidates this late into the race, he said.
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Scheer, whom polls place in second place behind Bernier, said a field of 13 meant less scrutiny given to the perceived front-runners and less opportunity to provide that contrast, because the debates didnt allow for substantive exchanges.
Scheer had hoped some candidates many of whom share very similar platforms would have withdrawn, endorsed him and created a sense of momentum around his candidacy.
But Obhrai saw no issues with a large field of contestants. Its not up to leadership candidates to say who has the right to be in the race, he said, the decision lies with the membership.
Every one of us who came on the stage came for a reason, Obhrai said. We came with a constituency that wanted a voice. I was speaking for diversity, inclusiveness.
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In late April, celebrity businessman Kevin OLeary bowed out of the contest and endorsed Bernier. Manitoba physician Daniel Lindsay quit in December and endorsed Ontario MP Erin OToole. In October, Ontario MP Tony Clement told reporters he had no pathway to victory and endorsed Bernier.
Yet, even with OLeary, Lindsay and Clement out, 13 candidates remain.
So, why didnt more withdraw?
Its a question many members, journalists, leadership campaigns and even party organizers have been asking themselves for months.
Back in February, when there were 14 candidates in the race, Ontario MP Lisa Raitt said seven contestants needed to take a hard look at themselves and their campaigns and consider who could realistically lead the Conservatives to victory in 2019.
It is time to put aside our arrogance it could be time to put aside our desire to continuously be on the stage and think about what is best for the party, and we are getting very close to the end of this, she said.
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Raitt refused to identify the seven she was referring to but said she was one of them. I am one of them that has to have these serious conversations, without a question.
But Raitt didnt pull out. Neither did any of the bottom tier of candidates, who barely register in public opinion polling, namely Obhrai, Blaney, Andrew Saxton, Rick Peterson, and Chris Alexander.
On Friday, Alexander insisted that he can still win the race.
I dont believe the polls, he said.
The combination and permutations are unpredictable because of the complexity of this preferential ballot, he said. The Tories have a 10-slot ranked ballot that is also weighed to ensure that all ridings across the country carry the same influence, regardless of membership size.
Alexander said he stayed in because he believes neither Scheer nor Bernier should become the party leader.
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Berniers policies are a high-grade, high-octane libertarian program. Canadians are not going to buy it, he said. Scheer, he added, just wants to rekindle the flame of the Harper era. Its not going to work. We have to turn the page.
Peterson, a Vancouver venture capitalist, said he also believes there is a chance I can win.
Nobody pulled out of the contest because every one of us is competitive, every one of us raised the money, and had the support to go all the way. Why would you not go all the way and do the best you can?
Saskatchewan MP Brad Trosts campaign manager, Joseph Ben-Ami, told HuffPost that the contests rules were set up in such a way that there was really no encouragement for anyone to drop out.
There was no incentive. Once a candidate paid their entrance fees [$50,000] and their refundable deposit [$50,000], the deposit was a compliance deposit so as long as all the candidates and campaigns followed all the rules, they get their deposit back.
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Normally, their deposit is a performance bond, so its based on a minimum amount of support. If a candidate believes they wont get enough support to meet the minimum threshold, Ben-Ami said, normally candidates will drop out because they don't want to forfeit their refundable deposit.
Without that incentive, he asked, why would someone drop out? You get to raise your national profile and whatever.
Trost, a proud social conservative, thanked his team and volunteers for pushing a cause we believed in.
Some in our party believe that we who believe in the culture of life, traditional marriage, and the natural family are old-fashioned. They say we should be quiet. Maybe drop out altogether. I say they are wrong, Trost told the audience to warm applause.
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Although they are unlikely to win, Trost and fellow social conservative, Pierre Lemieux, may have influenced other candidates policies by signing up thousands of members whose second- and third-ballot support was courted by other contestants. Bernier, OToole and Chong, for example, all pledged that as leader they would allow social conservatives to table any bills or motions they desired something prime minister Stephen Harper was loath to do.
For the price you had to pay, it gives you a pretty excellent platform, Chisholm Pothier, Michael Chongs director of communications, said to HuffPost about the partys $100,000 entrance fee.
Clearly, [the barriers of entry] werent high enough, because there are probably three tiers of candidates, and the bottom tier, in my opinion, is kind of forming an obstacle to this process, he said, speaking on his own behalf. Like, there [were] 13 speeches tonight. The debates were painful to watch because there was 13, 14 candidates on stage. There are candidates in this race who didnt win their seats as MPs last time, he said. I think the party is probably going to have a look at that.
In February, the Conservative party tried to coax candidates to drop out by telling them that if they bowed out before March 31 they could immediately get their $50,000 deposit back, rather than having to wait until June, party spokesman Cory Hall said.
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Clement, who now serves as a senior adviser to Bernier, said that wasnt enough motivation for anyone to leave the race. There was zero cost to keep sending out emails of your policy position.
Next time, weve got to look at a primary system where you can whittle down people over a series of primaries in provinces or ridings over a series of successive days or weeks, he said. That is something that I proposed to the party already.
Clements suggestion would see voting happen in the same fashion but in different regions at different times. Ontario and Prince Edward Island might vote one month, and the next, Saskatchewan and Quebec. That would automatically whittle down the race to a few contenders, he said.
As for Raitt, who mused about quitting, campaign adviser Darell Fowlie said she remains in the race because she is a voice for important constituencies where the Conservatives need to do better in 2019: the East Coast, urban areas and among women. Lisa represents all three, he said, of the Milton, Ont., MP who was born and raised in Cape Breton.
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Fowlie also noted that Raitt had made the call for candidates to drop out when OLeary whom she strongly opposed was still in the race. Raitt, he said, would be equally comfortable with Bernier or Scheer as a leader. Shes been impressed with Andrew and she has great relationships with Max.
Lisa said she could work for whomever, he said.
On Friday, Raitt made an eloquent call for party unity.
No matter who prevails this weekend, it is our responsibility as Conservatives to rally behind the new leader. Much like our previous generation of Reformers and Tories, the East and the West, rallied behind Stephen Harper, she said, to applause from the crowd. When we are united, we win; when we are divided, we dont.
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Boring.
Drab, dull, flat, insipid, uninspiring, monotonous, prosaic, tedious, interminable.
The leadership race of the Conservative Party of Canada has been all these things, and so many more.
If you consult your nearest thesaurus for things that are synonymous with "boring," like I did, you will find no shortage of words that fit. You might even see the shiny faces of the assembled 13 candidates, smiling up at you.
Assorted nobodies and Kellie Leitch -- She-wolf of the Clueless -- raised the temperature, somewhat, with their braying and screeching about refugees and immigrants.
Oh, sure, the American citizen Kevin O'Leary was an unmitigated clown show, and clown shows are usually pretty entertaining.
And, yes, assorted nobodies and Kellie Leitch -- She-wolf of the Clueless -- raised the temperature, somewhat, with their braying and screeching about refugees and immigrants. But it isn't ever hard to raise the temperature at, say, a cross-burning.
Apart from the O'Leary interregnum, and the unabashed channeling of Donald Trump, it's been a pretty dreary affair. Joe Clark would have felt right at home.
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And, by the time you read this, Joe Clark may be what they ended up with.
Erin O'Toole and Andrew Scheer have been the Joe Whos of this race. Bland works, per the Muse of Bill Davis, and Messrs. O'Toole and Scheer have been doing their utmost to be toast. As in, as exciting as. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't.
Me, I feel a nap coming on.
The Conservative multitudes, after all, rarely miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Kellie Leitch, who ran the sort of winning campaign that would win bigly in rural Alabama -- but not in urban, urbane Canada -- has been, no joke, an utter disgrace. She has been the all-white face of a campaign that has brought out the very worst in Conservatives.
And she has single-handedly undone all that Stephen Harper and Jason Kenney did for a decade, working to bring new Canadians into the conservative mainstream.
She should be ashamed of herself. Instead, she'll likely keep making videos with the production values of a Fourteenth Century woodcut. You make the zombies on "The Walking Dead" look like they're doing the jitterbug, Kel.
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Mad Max Bernier, meanwhile, has been precisely the sort of candidate the Conservatives need to offset Justin Trudeau's strengths: he's telegenic, he's charismatic, he's youthful, he's unconventional, and he likes ideas. All of those things made him the frontrunner.
And, natch, all of which means there is an excellent chance his party will reject him. The Conservative multitudes, after all, rarely miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
Justin Trudeau, as he giddily photobombs high schoolers across the hinterland, must be therefore having a good laugh.
Another victory lap in 2019, he must be thinking, is in the proverbial bag. "Gerry, notify the photographers! I'm going canoeing again, shirtless!"
But not so fast, Selfieman. You have vulnerabilities, too. And the Conservatives -- led by a credible leader -- could exploit same, if they're smart. Which, on the available evidence, they aren't.
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Justin Trudeau, as he giddily photobombs high schoolers across the hinterland, must be therefore having a good laugh.
Anyway. Trudeau's vulnerabilities, in no particular order:
Indigenous people: As the father of Trudeau's Minister of Justice said -- and, as a respected Chief, he would certainly know -- the much-trumpeted Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women inquiry has become "a bloody farce," quote unquote.
Worse than that: it has become an actual scandal, spending millions to achieve precisely nothing. If the Tories had any strategic sense, they'd be demanding ministerial resignations over this mess. But they haven't, and they won't.
Economy: Finance Minister Bill Morneau, rookie he may be, has evolved into a very capable communicator, and a steady hand on the fiscal ship of state. Notwithstanding that, conservative political options -- including even conservative bottom-feeders like Donald Trump -- are always seen by voters as better on the economy.
So, will the CPC get back to hammering away on ballooning deficits and fiscal uncertainty? Not on your life. They'll keep yammering about the hijab, like they did during the 2015 campaign. And they'll get the same result.
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Trump: Trudeau, and his most senior staff, rolled the dice on Agent Orange, hugely. By playing nice with the Unpresident -- by refusing to utter a single word that was critical of the racist, sexist, addled Groper-in-Chief -- Trudeau et al. reckoned they could avoid his Sauron-like gaze. They were wrong.
Softwood lumber; NAFTA; repeatedly calling Canadians names (eg., "a disgrace" and "unfair," and "a disaster"): all of those things weren't supposed to happen because the Prime Minister pretended to be interested in Ivanka Trump's handbag designs. So, do you think the Conservatives could be bothered to chip away at any of this? Not on your life. They like Donald Trump.
They'll keep yammering about the hijab, like they did during the 2015 campaign. And they'll get the same result.
Promises, promises: I'm a Jean Chretien guy. We did okay, and we lived our lives according to two immutable principles: one, don't try and get in the papers all the time. Voters don't like it. And, two, underpromise and overdeliver. The Trudeau guys have done neither, and it has left them vulnerable. A smart political opponent would exploit that. The Conservatives haven't.
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Rookie mistakes: There are newbies aplenty in Trudeau's caucus and cabinet, and many of them are pretty impressive (cf. Philpott, Wilson-Raybould, the aforementioned Morneau). But others have perhaps been elevated to lofty heights too soon (cf. Monsef, Tootoo, Sajjan).
At this point in Brian Mulroney's first majority, we Liberals had hastened the resignations of Andre Bissonette, Jean Charest, Robert Coates, John Fraser, Roch LaSalle, Marcel Masse and Sinclair Stevens. Have the 100-strong Conservative MPs taken out one (1) cabinet minister? Nope.
The Conservatives, however, may have a new leader by the time you read this.
Feeling sleepy yet?
Zzzzz.
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Wicked stepmother Jennifer Harrison was more concerned about the fate of her pets than the young girl whose life she nearly ended.
She and the girl's mother, Deborah Harrison, first starved then attacked their victim with a hammer in a "punishment beating" for stealing food.
She was struck 34 times on the head and one blow for each food wrapper they found.
In a statement read to Hull Crown Court , the girl said: "Many a time I was told to stand up and take my punishment like a woman, and as a consequence I never felt so much like a child or an animal."
Mother Deborah Harrison betrayed not a flicker of emotion when the guilty verdicts were delivered. She was cold to the bitter end.
Yet like so many bullies, when it was her time to face the music, Jennifer Harrison could not follow her own advice.
Instead of attending court for sentencing, after both women were convicted by a jury of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, the manipulative coward was trying to get herself admitted to hospital, as she had during her trial.
Judge Simon Jack declined a defence request to adjourn sentencing.
Ahead of the prison sentence she was about to get, Miss Holmes said Jennifer Harrison's mother would have to move into her home and bring her dogs.
She said her client was concerned "first about what will happen to her five dogs and a cat she has".
Jailing the pair for four years, beyond the sentencing guidelines for the offence, Judge Jack said: "The assault was an horrific one. It's perhaps the worst case of assault occasioning actual bodily harm that I have ever had to deal with."
The victim, who was 16 at the time of the attack on July 10, 2013, endured years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of the two women who were supposed to love and protect her.
She was beaten with household items, had a knife pressed into her skin by her mother and was made to cut the lawn at night with scissors part of a series of "sanctions" and "punishments" for failing to complete household chores on time.
She once tried to take her own life by swallowing tablets after realising she would not finish a "long list" of tasks before the women returned to Railway Cottages in Bempton.
She said: "I decided I wanted to kill myself because I thought it would be less painful than what I thought they would do to me."
She had also tried to run away three days before the hammer attack, but was found by Jennifer Harrison and brought back to the house.
Police were called after the girl reported the hammer attack to her employers at the Viking Hotel guest house in Bridlington.
She had previously been out looking for work "extremely thin" and in clothes that "weren't even fit for dusters", and was often sent on a six-mile walk to Bridlington and back for shopping.
One of the unanswered questions of the trial was why nobody in her community, or the agencies in her life, had noticed, or raised concerns about her welfare.
In a statement after the hearing, a spokeswoman for the NSPCC said: "The Harrisons' long campaign of physical and mental harm will have had a devastating effect on their young victim.
"She suffered unimaginable cruelty at the hands of her own mother and stepmother, but her bravery in speaking out has helped to ensure they're brought to justice.
"We all share a responsibility to look out for children and it's important that we report our concerns if we have worries for a child's welfare."
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It has been a day filled with music, fun, beer and food.
The first day of Radio 1 Big Weekend has come to an end. More than 25,000 people have enjoyed live music from superstars like Katy Perry as Hull hosts Europe's biggest free music festival.
And while music was at the centre of the event, there was loads more going on from fairground rides to mystery cream telephone boxes, celebrity encounters and armed police guards.
Here, we have a look at the top pictures from a day in Hull few will forget in a hurry unless they overdid it at the bar of course.
Armed police mingle with the crowd
They might look serious with their guns and dogs in tow but armed police outside the gates to Burton Constable Hall was a welcome comfort for festival goers and they were friendly too!
After the atrocity suffered at Manchester Arena on Monday, it was only right that security was ramped up for Big Weekend. Well done to our boys and girls in blue.
Shuttle bus madness
There was never not going to be queues. The keenest festival goers arrived at Paragon Station in Hull at 5am, determined to get the best spot at the festival.
On the whole, the bus system worked pretty well, although there were groups of disappointed people who were stuck waiting for hours at Walton Street pick-up point, with some giving up and going home.
Minute's silence for the victims of Manchester
This was a moment which sent shivers down the spines of many. Silence fell over the 25,000 music fans by the main stage in a show of unity with the people of Manchester following the terror attack.
Noise, laughter and music stopped for one minute as crowds bowed their heads and shed a tear for the 22 victims killed in the explosion at the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena.
Mystery of the cream telephone box
It wouldn't be a festival for Hull without our iconic cream telephone boxes making an appearance.
And waiting at the end of a call picked up by lucky mum Linda Cook and her children Harrison and Aiden were presenters Greg James and Matt Edmondson, who promised them a backstage tour.
Rag'N'Bone man moves fans to tears
Perhaps the most popular act of the day, thousands piled into the Where it Begins tent to watch newcomer to the charts, Rag'N'Bone Man.
The powerful performance by the man who has brought us hits like Human and Skin didn't leave a dry eye in the house. So packed was the tent, many were turned away and told to listen from outside.
Beer flows all day long
While music was at the centre of the event, it wouldn't be the same without a healthy dose of beers, cider and other alcoholic beverages.
Pints flowed throughout the day but for those heading over on Sunday, be warned they don't come cheap. Pints of Heineken cost 5, while a glass of wine will set you back 5.50. If you are feeling really flush, you can get a bottle of champers for a staggering 59.
Fans look festival fantastic!
Any event this big is a good excuse to dress up in your finest festival gear. While wellies weren't needed given the scorching temperatures, headbands, hair dye and hot pants were a feature of many outfits.
Emily Sande chills out in HUGE deckchair
While the acts were working hard entertaining the crowds, some took some well-deserved time off to chill out and explore Burton Constable Hall. Emily Sande looks dinky as she relaxes in this HUGE Hull City of Culture deckchair.
Food for thought
This pair enjoy an energy boost from one of the many food stalls available at the festival. From cheeseburgers to pizza, Mexican to Chinese, there was something for everyone.
These two look the festival part, proudly wearing their headbands, pints in hand and a box of food to keep them going.
Kasabian pulls out some absolute bangers
If any band was going to get the crowd riled up in Hull it was going to be Kasabian. The Leicester boys belted out the best from Underdog to Club Foot, getting Kasabian die-hards moshing their heads off.
Superstar Katy Perry shows how it's done
There is a reason we call her a superstar. American pop diva Katy Perry was the finishing act of day one and wow, did she put on a show. She performed all her hits, as well as paying a moving tribute to the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing.
Finishing with popular hit Roar, it didn't matter if you were a die hard fan or someone who only knows that song, she rocked the stage and showed everyone how it is done.
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We won't be forgetting that performance in a hurry!
Feeling the love
Hardworking police officers embraced music fans during a touching moment when Katy Perry paid tribute to the fallen victims of the Manchester bombing
In uniform or not, bobbies and festival goers put aside any barriers and hugged each other during the poignant moment when Katy Perry told the crowd: "We are all here together. We will still dance, we will still sing, we will still make music. This is a part of us they will never take away. Rest in peace Manchester".
Fantastic fireworks
Like all good things, they have to come to an end (unless you have a Sunday ticket as well) and what better way to mark the occasion than a huge firework display?
Bursting from behind the Main Stage as Katy Perry finished off her show-stopping set, the sky lit up in pink, red and gold. It makes you wonder what is coming tomorrow night!
Jason Bean valued being able to become bowl eligible with Kansas
For most people, its like asking, calories aside, would you rather eat a bushel of kale or big bowl of ice cream. And yet, due to the American governments recent decision to step away from internet governance, the rest of the world feels emboldened to pursue its internet regulatory agenda.The internet flourished for years under a governance structure known as a multi-stakeholder model, whereby private sector companies, academia and users form solutions to internet technical issues and policies. This also included the U.S. government having a very limited oversight role via a contractual relationship with the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN,) the group that hands out domain names.Notwithstanding the amazing innovation and capabilities brought forth during this arrangement, it was routinely criticized by so-called experts who argued that even a minimalist U.S. government role, designed to preserve internet freedom, was upsetting to foreign nations, and therefore no longer sustainable in the global community.Instead, they said that if the U.S. terminated involvement in ICANN and ceded our sound principles a bit, authoritarian governments would back off their continued push for more internet government regulation and control. These views eventually won the day, leading to the U.S. government terminating its ICANN relationship in October 2016.At the time, those who challenged the ICANN deal of which I was one were in favor of a true multi-stakeholder approach, not the questionable one being adopted. We argued that there were insufficient mechanisms to prevent authoritarian governments from filling the void in ICANN when the U.S. relinquished its former role.Equally important, every indication cried out that the transition was being rushed, and highly unlikely to dissuade the efforts of other governments seeking more control over the internet in other settings.Since a reconstituted ICANN was approved, it only seems appropriate to assess whether the appeasement strategy worked. Not shockingly, it doesnt seem to have done so. Foreign governments have, in fact, renewed their disturbing calls for government control of the internet via a number of forums, such as the United Nations.Consider just three recent instances:At the end of October, member states at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-16) in Tunisia, held by the UNs International Telecommunication Union (ITU), took the unnecessary and inappropriate step of seeking to set technical standards for the Internet of Things. Not only did this inject foreign governments where they didnt belong (i.e., key internet standards and governance matters,) but some members decided to promote a specific technology Digital Object Architecture that could be used to register devices and users in centralized databases, thereby making fees and taxes and even government surveillance much easier.In early March, China released a paper with much fanfare titled International Strategy of Cooperation on Cyberspace that includes its detailed road map for internet rules and principles within the framework of the United Nations. This is the same government that limits the rights of its citizens on the internet, such that they cannot discuss anything that would be considered subverting state power and jeopardizing national unification; damaging state honor and interests, among others. Its also the place mandating every internet activity be availed for review by thousands of human fact checkers.Finally, at ITU study meetings in April, Russia and some African countries put forth a recommendation to define and potentially regulate over-the-top (OTT) content providers. Presented as a means to encourage competition, innovation and investment, it really was a veiled attempt to expand ITU jurisdiction to the internet, as well as to get its grips into popular consumer uses, such as Netflix, Skype, and WhatsApp.In the short time since ICANN was transitioned to its new structure, there have been multiple plans and proposals by governments to directly involve UN entities in internet governance. It is fair to say that we got the short end of the stick, as our fancy strategy didnt appease anyone.Going forward, the United States should learn from the ICANN aftermath and redouble our efforts to quash continuous and systemic assaults on the internet by foreign governments, using all appropriate means.Michael ORielly is a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission. Source: http://www.unionleader.com/Another-View/Michael-ORielly-Foreign-governments-want-control-over-the-internet-05252017
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Plans for renovation and addition to Clarksburg School
Information Sessions Begin for Clarksburg School Project
CLARKSBURG, Mass. School officials are pushing for a vote on school construction project for September that, if successful, means a projected opening in fall 2019.
The timeline was explained on Wednesday during the first public information session on the proposed $17.5 million school construction project. The entire presentation can be seen below.
The plans, "Scheme E," is available on Clarksburg School's website and includes a renovation of the so-called 1960s wing, and addition on that wing in the back, and the tear down and reconstruction of the 1970s wing.
Christian Whitsett, of Jones Whitsett Architects, said the building has numerous issues regarding accessibility and state guidelines.
"It's below state standards throughout," he said, with only a couple exception. "More than 70 percent is below state guidelines."
During planning and meetings with the School Building Committee, four priorities emerged: preschool and updated classroom space, replacing the undersized and inefficient cafeteria/gym/auditorium, renovating or replacing the 1970s wing that has outlived its 20-year lifespan, and the cost.
The lowest estimate at $11 million would have renovated the existing building but not address space issues, the preschool or gym. Building a brand-new school that addressed everything came in at $23.5 million.
Scheme E appears to solve the most pressing issues and comes in at $17.5 million, of which $8.8 million is projected to come from the state.
Superintendent Jonathan Lev said state reimbursement for eligible costs is currently at 62 percent but that may increase if the state finds the town's overall wealth has gone down.
"Clarksburg is coming out at a higher poverty level so we may go down a little [on the town's share]," he said. "We're hoping that when the schematic design comes out it will look more favorable in our direction."
The new plans recommended by the School Building Committee and approved by the Massachusetts School Building Authority resolves accessibility issues throughout, and addresses security, new building envelope and heating system, sprinkler system, gymnasium, lack of instructional and flexible space, and early education needs.
"We worked with the district to really get an understanding of what was needed and what spaces work well," Whitsett said. "We're proposing to add on 10,000 sqare feet from what you have today ... We're about halfway through schematic design."
The state Department of Environmental Protection is allowing the school to maintain its well, Whitsett said, but a tank would have to be put in place to cover the sprinkler system. The location of the well, near the front of the L-shaped building, also limits making any disturbance in that area.
The front section connected to the town library will be torn down and rebuilt on the original foundation so the footprint won't change. A wider hallway, rather than the current "labrynthine" one, will better connect the wing to the rest of the school. It will continue to be connected to the library with the appropriate security measures.
The new with will contain prekindergarten through Grade 1 with two smaller rooms for speech and Title 1.
The main entrance will stay where it is but be reconfigured for larger administration space, the nurse and security. The plans envision a "window wall" on the north side inspired by old plans for the building.
The main wing will be renovated with several specialized classrooms and storage and access to the addition that will have a sicence room and other workspace. An elevator will replace the current lift and allow access to all three levels.
The mezzanine area -- the stairways going down the back way to the gym -- will have storage space and the new wing will hold a new kitchen, cafeteria, art and music, storage and a 4,000 square-foot middle-school sized gym that would be a pre-engineered structure to save costs.
The building will have brand-new energy efficient windows, fixtures, doors, boiler system and finishes to bring the school up to 21st century standards. Air conditioning would be limited to a few areas.
Principal Tara Barnes said it is getting more difficult to keep the obsolete boilers operating; fixtures are so outdated they can no longer be fixed.
To address bubble years, when two classes are required for a grade, four or five flexible spaces are built into the plans to accommodate expansions.
Next fall, for example, there will be two kindergarten classes because of the number of children enrolled -- a situation that could continue through Grade 8. That's put "art on a cart" because a room had to be turned into another classroom.
Whitsett said the music and art rooms on the lower level of the new building will have an accordian door between them that can be rolled back to create an 1,800 square foot room or closed to create two 900 square-foot rooms. Several support rooms will have semi-permanent walls that can be removed to create larger spaces and there are two special education rooms that while small, could be used.
"We went back to these plans so many times because of this bubble question," Barnes said. "So to have four different options to accommodate this bubble class ... this team has done a remarkable job ... I think we've gotten to a really good point with the bubble class."
There were also questioned asked about where the students would go during construction if the project is approved. Lev said Sullivan School in North Adams was an option, and that recent fires set in the vacant building were primarily caused smoke damage that is covered by insurance.
Clarksburg would not have to pay rent but would be responsible for any operational costs. Sullivan is for sale but, Lev said, the mayor would be able to say whether they could use it during the 2018-19 year once they get closer to the date.
Another option is Cheshire Elementary, slated to close this spring, but it is farther away and the town's plans for it are unknown yet.
"There are a couple other possibilities but that would cost more," he said. "If they worked here while the kids were here, it would cost a lot more because it would take longer to do it."
The MSBA does not reimburse for rentals or relocations so Lev anticipated and preparation or moving costs to come out of school choice funds.
Final schematics and a project cost reconciled from two two independent estimators are due to the MSBA by June 29. MSBA approval is expected by Aug. 23 and a vote on a debt exclusion to fund the project is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 27.
"We plan to have a lot more of these informational sessions," Lev said. "We want to be as open and transparent and as honest as we can."
Tom Matusko of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission updates the Board of Selectmen on the completion of the Master Plan.
Cheshire Master Plan Complete
CHESHIRE, Mass. The town's master plan is largely complete and the town will soon start the implementation process.
"The master plan is pretty much wrapped up and finalized and we just have to make the final document and presentable," Tom Matusko of the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission said Tuesday.
Over the past few years, the Master Plan Committee has been developing the plan with the help of BRPC. The town allocated $25,000 for the creation of the plan in 2015.
The Planning Board approved it earlier this week.
Matusko lauded the committee and its vision and said it was a pleasure working with the town.
"It was a very good process working with the committee I think you selected some great people to work on it," he said. "It was a very strong committee with great vision. It was a lot of work but there were some great ideas."
Matusko said now the hard part starts implementation.
"I look forward to working with you on the implementation of the items going forwards," he said. "There is a lot of potential in this town to make some noticeable changes."
The Selectmen also voted to begin the process of applying for Green Community Designation.
Matusko said the state program would allow the town to use and apply for grants to make it more energy efficient.
"This is a program that provides funding to municipalities to reduce overall energy costs in the town," he said. "So in town buildings and your fleet and those types of activities."
If designated, the town would probably receive $135,000 to fund efficiency projects but also be able to apply for more through competitive grants.
Matusko said the town would have to meet five standards many of which it already meets.
It would have to pledge to reduce its energy baseline by 20 percent over five years and adopt the stretch building code.
"It's a little more stringent than the current building code," he said. "But this program has been around for quite a few years now and when they first started the stretch code was a big leap but the state building code has gotten tighter so now so it's not a really much of a burden for the towns."
Matusko said the application would be due in the fall and town meeting would have to adopt the stretch code.
In other business, officials finally received a legal opinion on a fence viewing issue: it isn't their problem.
"I'll make it short and sweet for everybody," special legal counsel Jeff Grandchamp said. "At the end of the day at this point, the town of Cheshire does not have to do anything when it comes to those fences except send a viewer up when there is a claim."
Last year, the board was charged with settling a shared fence dispute between Edward Clairmont, owner of Gulf Farm on Savoy Road, and neighbor Bertram Beisiegel. Clairmont felt the fence viewers overstepped their purview and mandated that Clairmont make repairs to his fence so his animals would stop wandering on to Beisiegel's property.
Clairomont felt parts of Beisiegel's fence were also in disrepair and he should be forced to make repairs.
Beisiegel does not have any animals that need to be contained.
Grandchamp said the fence viewers ultimately decide where the fence needs to be repaired, how it is to be repaired and a time frame in which it can be repaired.
The attorney also felt the fence viewers have the right to revisit a fence and amend their original decision. He said circumstances change and someone may decide to stop farming and lay all fence expenses on their neighbor.
"I think that is quite frankly illogical, everything with real estate at some point can be altered or amended," he said. "I think there are circumstances when they can come back with a different decision."
Grandchamp said it is incredibly difficult to research fence viewing law and cases because it is such an old law.
"The cases and the law of fence viewers are every bit of 200 years old I think the most recent case was in 1956 and it said the statute didn't apply," he said. "I think in this day and age the fence viewers should be able to take into account change in circumstances."
He said some cases suggest that only the parties can agree to change the partition but he thought that was in a time when people either farmed their land or did not.
He added that the fence viewers have the right to look at the entire fence and an individual cannot complain about their neighbor's fence if their own is in disrepair.
The Selectmen said they would forward Grandchamp's memo to the fence viewers and Grandchamp said he would be willing to help them sort out any issues.
"They are old statutes and they are complicated ... they are not easy to follow and there are no meaningful cases that happened in anyone's living lifetime," he said. "When you start reading cases and laws that are that old, they can be largely incomprehensible to the modern reader."
Town Administrator Mark Webber said the Sand Mill Road Bridge should be complete by June 9.
iciHaiti - Culture : 4th Edition of the Latin America and Caribbean Week
For the fourth consecutive year, from May 27 to June 9, 2017, the Latin America and Caribbean Week (SALC) will be honored in Paris and throughout France.
Following the success of previous editions, the SALC 2017 will be presenting more than 200 events this year, organized with the support of the Latin American embassies, in nearly 100 places and 20 cities in France, Paris and all over the country.
On the program: music, dance, plastic arts, literature, gastronomy, cinema, debate of ideas...
In Haiti, the French Embassy and the French Institute are organizing a number of screenings, debates with representatives of the Latin American embassies in Port-au-Prince and a concert in partnership with the Brazil-Haiti Cultural Center.
Calendar of activities in Haiti :
Calendrier de la SALC en France : www.semaineameriquelatinecaraibes.fr/-Le-calendrier-
IH/ iciHaiti
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Ariana Grande has promised that she will return to Manchester following the terror attack there to spend time with her fans and to "have a benefit concert in honour of and to raise money for the victims and their family."
Grande announced her intentions in an uplifting letter posted online that called on her fans to have courage following the attacks, and expressed a deep sense of sorrow for those lost and the families who are mourning their loved ones following the "heinous" attack.
"I don't want to go the rest of the year without being able to see and hold and uplift my fans," she wrote, "the same way they continue to uplift me."
In the letter, Grande said that the spirit of music and her fans runs contrary to the intentions and hatred that would have motivated someone to initiate the attack outside of her concert in Manchester earlier this week. She vowed that the attack would not change that.
"When you look into the audience at my shows, you see a beautiful, diverse, pure, happy crowd. Thousands of people, incredibly different, all there for the same reason, music," she wrote. "Music is something that everyone on Earth can share. Music is meant to heal us, to bring us together, to make us happy. So that is what it will continue to do for us."
Soon after tweeting the letter, she sent out a link to a local fundraiser established by the Manchester Evening News. That effort had already raised nearly 1.7 million.
Twenty-two people, including children, were killed Monday when a suicide bomber detonated a bomb just outside of a concert Grande had just finished in Manchester Monday. Several dozen were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Grande did not say when she would return for the benefit concert, but said that she would give her fans all of the details as soon as she has them.
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Along the jungle-covered mountains of Laos, squads of Chinese engineers are drilling hundreds of tunnels and bridges to support a 260-mile railway, a $6bn (4.7bn) project that will eventually connect eight Asian countries.
Chinese money is building power plants in Pakistan to address chronic electricity shortages, part of an expected $46bn worth of investment.
Chinese planners are mapping out train lines from Budapest to Belgrade, Serbia, providing another artery for Chinese goods flowing into Europe through a Chinese-owned port in Greece.
The massive infrastructure projects, along with hundreds of others across Asia, Africa and Europe, form the backbone of Chinas ambitious economic and geopolitical agenda. President Xi Jinping of China is literally and figuratively forging ties, creating new markets for the countrys construction companies and exporting its model of state-led development in a quest to create deep economic connections and strong diplomatic relationships.
The initiative, called One Belt, One Road, looms on a scope and scale with little precedent in modern history, promising more than $1 trillion in infrastructure and spanning more than 60 countries. To celebrate Chinas new global influence, Xi is gathering dozens of state leaders, including President Vladimir Putin of Russia, in Beijing on Sunday.
It is global commerce on Chinas terms. Xi is aiming to use Chinas wealth and industrial know-how to create a new kind of globalisation that will dispense with the rules of the ageing Western-dominated institutions. The goal is to refashion the global economic order, drawing countries and companies more tightly into Chinas orbit.
The projects inherently serve Chinas economic interests. With growth slowing at home, China is producing more steel, cement and machinery than the country needs. So Xi is looking to the rest of the world, particularly developing countries, to keep its economic engine going.
Trucks transport timber toward the China/Loas border on a road at Bopiat village (Getty)
President Xi believes this is a long-term plan that will involve the current and future generations to propel Chinese and global economic growth, says Cao Wenlian, director general of the International Cooperation Centre of the National Development and Reform Commission, a group dedicated to the initiative. The plan is to lead the news globalisation 2.0.
Xi is rolling out a more audacious version of the Marshall Plan, Americas postwar reconstruction effort. Back then, the United States extended vast amounts of aid to secure alliances in Europe. China is deploying hundreds of billions of dollars of state-backed loans in the hope of winning new friends around the world, this time without requiring military obligations.
Xis plan stands in stark contrast to President Trump and his America First mantra. The Trump administration walked away from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the American-led trade pact that was envisioned as a buttress against Chinas growing influence.
Pursuing protectionism is just like locking oneself in a dark room, Xi told business leaders at the World Economic Forum in January.
As head of the Communist Party, Xi is promoting global leadership in Chinas own image, emphasising economic efficiency and government intervention. And China is corralling all manner of infrastructure projects under the plans broad umbrella, without necessarily ponying up the funds.
China is moving so fast and thinking so big that it is willing to make short-term missteps for what it calculates to be long-term gains. Even financially dubious projects in corruption-ridden countries like Pakistan and Kenya make sense for military and diplomatic reasons.
The United States and many of its major European and Asian allies have taken a cautious approach to the project, leery of bending to Chinas strategic goals. Some, like Australia, have rebuffed Beijings requests to sign up for the plan. Despite projects on its turf, India is uneasy because Chinese-built roads will run through disputed territory in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Laoss President Bounnhang Vorachith (left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping before a bilateral meeting at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse earlier this month (Reuters)
But it is impossible for any foreign leader, multinational executive or international banker to ignore Chinas push to remake global trade.
Germanys minister of economics and energy, Brigitte Zypries, plans to attend the meeting in Beijing. Western industrial giants like General Electric and Siemens are coming, as they look for lucrative contracts and try to stay in Chinas good graces.
The Trump administration just upgraded its participation.
Originally, it planned to send a Commerce Department official, Eric Branstad, the son of the incoming American ambassador to Beijing, Terry Branstad. Now, Matthew Pottinger, senior director for Asia at the National Security Council, will attend instead a signal that the White House is enhancing its warm relationship with Xi by honouring his favourite endeavour with the presence of a top official.
Influence via infrastructure
As the sun beat down on Chinese workers driving bulldozers, four huge tractor-trailers rolled into a storage area here in Vang Vieng, a difficult three-hour drive over potholed roads from the capital, Vientiane. They each carried massive coils of steel wire.
Half a mile away, a Chinese cement mixing plant with four bays glistened in the sun. Nearby, along a newly laid road, another Chinese factory was providing cement for tunnel construction.
Nearly everything for the Laos project is made in China. Almost all the labour force is Chinese. At the peak of construction, there will be an estimated 100,000 Chinese workers.
When Xi announced the One Belt, One Road plan in September 2013, it was clear that Beijing needed to do something for the industries that had succeeded in building Chinas new cities, railways and roads state-led investment that turned it into an economic powerhouse. China did not have a lot left to build, and growth started to sputter.
Along with the economic boost, tiny Laos, a landlocked country with six million people, is a linchpin in Beijings strategy to chip away at American power in Southeast Asia. After Trump abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January, American influence in the region is seen to be waning. The rail line through Laos would provide a link to countries that China wants to bring firmly into its fold.
Chinese workers drill for soil analyses at Bopiat village in the Northern province of Louang Namtha (Reuters)
Each nation in Xis plan brings its own strategic advantages.
The power plants in Pakistan, as well as upgrades to a major highway and a $1bn port expansion, are a political bulwark. By prompting growth in Pakistan, China wants to blunt the spread of Pakistans terrorists across the border into the Xinjiang region, where a restive Muslim population of Uighurs resides. It has military benefits, providing Chinas navy future access to a remote port at Gwadar managed by a state-backed Chinese company with a 40-year contract.
Many countries in the program have serious needs. The Asian Development Bank estimated that emerging Asian economies need $1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure to maintain growth, tackle poverty and respond to climate change.
In Kenya, China is upgrading a railway from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi that will make it easier to get Chinese goods into the country. The Kenyan government had been unable to persuade others to do the job, whereas China has been transforming crumbling infrastructure in Africa for more than a decade.
The rail line, which is set to start running next month, is the first to be built to Chinese standards outside China. The country will benefit for years from maintenance contracts.
Chinas Belt and Road initiative is starting to deliver useful infrastructure, bringing new trade routes and better connectivity to Asia and Europe, says Tom Miller, author of Chinas Asian Dream: Empire Building Along the New Silk Road. But Xi will struggle to persuade skeptical countries that the initiative is not a smokescreen for strategic control.
Calculating the risks
Although Chinese engineers just started arriving in this tourist town several months ago, they have started punching three tunnels into mountains that slope down to roiling river water. They are in a race to get as much done as possible before the monsoon rains next month slow down work.
It is a fast start to a much-delayed program that may bring only limited benefits to the agrarian country.
For years, Laos and China sparred over financing. With the cost running at nearly $6bn, officials in Laos wondered how they would afford their share. The countrys output is just $12bn annually. A feasibility study by a Chinese company said the railway would lose money for the first 11 years.
Such friction is characteristic.
In Indonesia, construction of a high-speed railway between Jakarta and Bandung finally began last month after arguments over land acquisition. In Thailand, the government is demanding better terms for a vital railway.
Chinas outlays for the plan so far have been modest: Only $50bn has been spent, an extremely small amount relative to Chinas domestic investment program, says Nicholas R Lardy, a China specialist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
Even Chinas good friends so far are left wanting. Xi attended a groundbreaking ceremony in 2014 in Tajikistan for a gas pipeline, but the project stalled after Beijings demand waned.
Putin will be at the centre of the Beijing conference. While two companies owned by one of his closest friends, Gennady Timchenko, have benefited from projects, there has not been much else for Russia.
Around a thousand local people have been told to move because their homes lie in the path of the planned high-speed railway line (Getty)
Russias elites high expectations regarding Belt and Road have gone through a severe reality check, and now oligarchs and officials are skeptical about practical results, says Alexander Gabuev, senior associate at the Carnegie Centre in Moscow.
China is making calculations that the benefits will outweigh the risks.
The investments could complicate Beijings effort to stem the exodus of capital outflow that have been weighing on the economy. The cost could also come back to haunt China, whose banks are being pressed to lend to projects that they find less than desirable. By some estimates, over half the countries that have accepted Belt and Road projects have credit ratings below investment grade.
A major constraint in investor enthusiasm, says Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University, is that many countries in the Central Asian region, where the initial thrust of the initiative is focused, suffer from weak and unstable economies, poor public governance, political stability and corruption.
Laos is one of the risky partners. The Communist government is a longstanding friend of China. But fearing Chinas domination, Laos is casting around for other friends as well, including Chinas regional rivals Japan and Vietnam.
After five years of negotiations over the rail line, Laos finally got a better deal. Laos has an $800m loan from Chinas Export-Import Bank and agreed to form a joint venture with China that will borrow much of the rest.
Still, Laos faces a huge debt burden. The International Monetary Fund warned this year that the countrys reserves stood at two months of prospective imports of goods and services. It also expressed concerns that public debt could rise to around 70 per cent of the economy.
As construction gathers steam, nearby communities are starting to rumble.
Farmers are balking at giving up their land. Some members of the national assembly have raised questions about property rights.
At Miss Mais Noodle Shop here, a customer, Mr Sipaseuth, pondered the project over a glass of icy Beer Lao.
In the past, he says, the government had promised $10 for an acre of land worth about $100. But then they never paid it, he says.
Was the rail project good for Laos?
We need civilisation. Laos is very poor, very underdeveloped, he says. But how many Chinese will come here? Too many is not a good idea.
New York Times
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Just over six months ago, Mangash was forced to look on through the chaos as the place he had called home for the past two years, the Jungle refugee camp in Calais, was violently razed to the ground by bulldozers and explosive fire. The 33-year-old, who is Pashtun and from Pakistan, has been in Europe for seven years but came to Calais on his planned journey to the UK as a refugee fleeing fierce conflict. He admits that conditions in the Jungle were never perfect but he now sleeps with only a blanket no tent wherever he can, in spots that are concealed enough to get some rest before the police come to forcefully move him on. He now says he is ready to go back to Pakistan if he cannot make it to the UK because he cannot withstand the conditions in Calais any longer.
It was bad in the Jungle but now it is much worse, he tells The Independent. There is no help. It would be better if I go to Pakistan. There is more danger in France with the police. I sleep in the forest with a small blanket then the police come to get me out. They come anytime, sometimes morning, sometimes afternoon, sometimes night. We just have to get up and go. People look at us like animals. Were treated worse than dogs. Dogs are allowed in cars here, but refugees not. Were here because of Western intervention yet people think we are bad. Im here receiving shoes from other countries, the same countries that started wars in my home.
Mangash is just one of the more than 8,000 refugees who were evacuated from the Jungle when it was closed by French authorities in October last year. While some entered state-run accommodation centres across the country, a large number of displaced people, including hundreds of unaccompanied children, sleep rough without tents in nearby woods or behind huge mounds of rocks in a quarry-type part of an industrial estate. It is widely accepted that the situation is wholly unsustainable among both charities and refugees, but many destitute refugees feel that this is their only option if they want to make the journey to the UK, where they believe they will be able to live a better life.
Many refugees are fearful of the local police (Emily Goddard)
The threat of police brutality in Calais is palpable there are multiple reports of beatings and the uninhibited use of tear gas, as is the risk of compromised health, exploitation, abuse and violence. Ill health, in particular, is a sizeable problem. More than 55 per cent of respondents to the latest Refugee Rights Data Project study, which was published last month, said they had experienced a health concern while in the Calais area, and only 50 per cent of those said they had received medical help. Almost half also believe their health issue was the result of violence or exposure to tear gas. One 23-year-old Sudanese man was left permanently blind in his left eye after waiting for five weeks for treatment to have a glass splinter removed from his eye following an attack with bottles by a group of local citizens.
Recommended Child refugee dies of heart attack in French accommodation centre
Other health complaints have been caused by the poor and unsanitary living conditions. A report released by Care4Calais last month highlighted that scabies, fungal infections and gum infections are at an all time high. Thomas Chambon, a volunteer with French refugee charity Utopia56, says a shortage of suitable footwear and wet weather has further exacerbated the situation in recent months. There are big skin problems, he says. They have wet feet for weeks and they walk so much every day. Their feet are very, very, very bad and they have mushrooms, fungus and infections. The skin problems also spread easily so it is a growing problem.
Young families are among the destitute refugees in Calais and Dunkirk (Emily Goddard)
Beyond the physical disorders, the impact of the crisis is increasingly taking its toll psychologically. This is becoming especially apparent in the numerous, already vulnerable, unaccompanied children desperate to get to the UK. The Refugee Youth Service (RYS) says poor communication and misinformation surrounding the complex family reunification procedures and registration for the Dublin III process causes refugee childrens hopes to be raised and dashed almost instantaneously. The effects have been devastating and the organisation has been providing continued support for minors. It regularly receives calls from children in distress and images of self-harm. The most recent case of self-harm resulted in an ambulance being called for a 17-year-old refugee, who received hospital treatment for his injuries.
This case of cutting was particularly violent, explains Sabriya Guivy, a legal worker for the RYS, but it was not the first kid I have seen like this. The travel, the living, it is hard and even when they have legal routes [to the UK] things are not happening soon enough. They feel like they dont have a solution. It is traumatic too seeing your home [the camp] being burned down. That has not helped anything.
The refugees utter desperation is also extremely obvious in the way they try to find means to travel to the UK. Near to where refugees sleep in the woods, a passing lorry suddenly stops and the driver gets out to inspect the underside of his truck. He opens the back and pulls four teenage refugees from inside. Immigrants! the driver yells, gesticulating frantically. The refugees walk off, defeated. It is apparent that this is not the first time they have failed to hide in a lorry that is possibly headed for the border. Further down the same road, another driver is putting fuel in his lorry. Walking past, five teenagers become visible at the rear of the vehicle. They can be seen trying to get in the back.
There is a still a large refugee population in Dunkirk most sleep rough in the woods after a fire devastated the Grande-Synthe camp last month (Emily Goddard)
The UK said last month that it will take in an extra 130 unaccompanied refugee children from Europe after it admitted an administrative error caused some of the places being offered by local councils not to be considered as part of the Dubs Amendment scheme. The issue attracted widespread criticism but a statement from Robert Goodwill, the immigration minister, insisted no eligible child has been refused transfer to the UK as a result of this error. He added: The Government remains fully committed to the implementation of our commitment under section 67 [of the Immigration Act 2016 also known as the Dubs amendment] to transfer unaccompanied children to the UK from Europe.
However, the situation is getting progressively worse for all refugees, particularly since the catastrophic fire that last month overwhelmed the Grande-Synthe camp, Frances first ever internationally recognised refugee shelter that housed 1,500 people near Dunkirk. Perhaps most noticeable is the swelling volume of refugees arriving in Calais. Volunteers who have been away for only a day or two gasp at the numbers during a scheduled aid distribution, coordinated by charities including Help Refugees, Utopia56 and the Refugee Community Kitchen, on a derelict field next to the woods where many of the refugees sleep.
Utopia56 also delivers aid throughout the night to various locations in Calais. It has seen a marked surge in the demand in recent weeks. In January we were doing outreach work with two of us in one car with 20 bento boxes of food, Chambon says. Now each night we make more than 300 bento boxes and there is a bigger distribution run. Two days ago the kitchen made 11 gastro of rice [each contains enough for 60 portions] and all of it is gone.
And aid groups warn that the closure of the notorious Jungle is creating another problem as it gives rise to the inaccurate notion that because the camp has gone, the refugee crisis has also gone. The result is a huge decline in the donations being received, making it tougher to deliver vital support to a growing number of vulnerable people. Volunteer organisations keep trying to provide some stability, some trust and safety especially for the younger ones, but our resources are running out almost daily, Annie Gavrilescu, regional manager at Help Refugees, tells The Independent. We can no longer meet basic needs like we used to because the refugees here have become invisible to the public in the UK, the support is dwindling.
Aid organisations frequently run out of supplies, leaving many including this young refugee mother without footwear or suitable clothing (Emily Goddard)
Maya Konforti, of local charity LAuberge des Migrants, lives just 15 minutes from the distribution site and has also witnessed the rapid influx of refugees to Calais in recent weeks, as well as a shift in the nationalities of people arriving. Since the fire in Dunkirk the numbers have more than doubled, she says. Before the fire we had a good 100 hundred people but the fire has brought about another 200 to 250 Afghans most of the Kurdish stayed in Dunkirk. But here we have also Eritrean, Ethiopian too, and a few Sudanese and Pakistani. They [the Afghans] are now outnumbering the Africans here. Its changed the chemistry of the whole place, but so far so good among everyone. The numbers are growing fast and by the day. And I think the numbers will keep on increasing.
Calais refugee camp evacuation Show all 15 1 /15 Calais refugee camp evacuation Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees run past a fire in the makeshift migrant camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French authorities say the closure of the slum-like camp in Calais will last approximately a week in what they describe as a "humanitarian" operation, October 2016 AP Calais refugee camp evacuation A painted message saying 'Bye Jungle' on a tent in the camp in Calais, October 2016 Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees set rubbish bins alight as a protest in the makeshift camp 'the Jungle' in Calais, France, October 2016 EPA Calais refugee camp evacuation French riot police advance through tear gas and smoke from a fire to disperse refugees throwing stones and lighting fires at the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in France Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Journalists run away from smoke during clashes near a makeshift refugee camp known as 'the jungle' in Calais AP Calais refugee camp evacuation French CRS riot police secure an area on the eve of the evacuation and transfer of refugees to reception centers in Franc Reuters Calais refugee camp evacuation Migrants queue for transportation by bus to reception centres across France, from the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees line-up to register at a processing centre in the 'jungle' near Calais, northern France, as the mass exodus from the migrant camp begins PA wire Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees with luggage walk past a graffiti on a wall as they leave the 'Jungle' migrant camp, as part of a major three-day operation planned to clear the camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation French far-right Front National (FN) party's member of parliament Marion Marechal-Le Pen (L) delivers a speech next to a banner reading "They arrive in Vaucluse, no migrants in our place" as she attends a rally against the hosting of refugees in La Tour d'Aigues Getty Images Calais refugee camp evacuation French police forces secure the area near the 'Jungle' refugee camp in Calais Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees leave messages on their tents in the Jungle migrant camp Getty Calais refugee camp evacuation Refugees carry their belongings and transfer to reception centers in France
As well as her work with LAuberge, Konforti is one of a small number of local residents that have been opening their doors to the refugees for a short, restorative stay. She runs a rota system, jotting down names in a notebook as refugees flock around her to get on the list. They all hug her and one fondly puts his hand on her shoulder and calls her mother. Hes wearing a hospital bracelet and they talk about how he has just been released from hospital after a four-day stay with kidney stones. Like a mother figure, she tells him he needs to be careful about what he eats.
Konforti feels that any support she can offer is vital for the refugees, who she says are suffering tremendously in what she describes as a horrendously difficult situation. The situation is really, really dark, she explains. There are no tents, no toilets, there havent been any showers in the last three weeks since the eight temporary ones set up locally were dismantled. I take in four or five people each day. I pick them up in my car, we wash all their clothes, they have a good nights sleep in a real bed, make some food and bring them back here [at the distribution site] at about noon. They get to have a real rest. Theyre like new people after this. Its amazing.
Although the refugee population is decreasing in Dunkirk, as more people make their way to Calais, there are still many, including young families, sleeping in the woods near to where the Grande-Synthe camp once stood. Volunteers hear that a rumour is being spread about the possibility of a new Jungle there and the fear is that this likely false hope is what is keeping them from entering state-run accommodation centres for more appropriate shelter and protection. There are people here who have even come out of state-provided accommodation to sleep in the woods as they are hoping a new Jungle will be here soon, says Niamh Quille, of the Dunkirk Legal Support Team. Its not the conditions that are drawing them back.
The number of refugees arriving at scheduled aid distributions is growing by the day (Emily Goddard)
Among the homeless refugees in this northern port town is Abdul, 30, who fled from Pakistan in 2009, leaving behind his wife and grocery business. He spent nine months in the Jungle and then stayed in the Grande-Synthe camp until it was destroyed. He has a brother living in the Birmingham and still hopes to get to the UK. He insists he will not give up despite struggling with the challenging conditions. It is very bad condition in the woods, he says. Its so very cold and wet and in the night the police come. They beat us and spray us with tear gas, it hurts. But I want to go to the UK because it is a very good life there. My family and friends live there and the British people have very good hearts but it is very difficult to get to the UK now.
An overwhelming number of refugees believe they will find a better life in the UK (Emily Goddard)
Meanwhile, Karim, 32, an Iraqi Kurdish, travelled back to Dunkirk only days ago after being stopped trying to cross the border into the UK illegally following his arrival in France just three weeks ago. He gets out the paperwork he has been given by the Border Force and asks for advice to make sense of it. He says he will live destitute in the forest again until he can get to the UK. My mum keeps telling me to come back to Iraq, she is missing me, but Im going to go to the UK, he explains. There are some people here, we paid some money and he will take me somewhere and put me inside the car and in the truck. Then well try to get to England that way.
Aid organisations warn that the lack of refugee support from authorities is fuelling fears and creating a progressively perilous situation. Gavrilescu of Help Refugees says: What were seeing on the ground is the opposite of the authorities rhetoric. The obstructed legal routes, the instability that creates, the threat of violence they face every night and day, and the inhumane conditions in which refugees in the region are living in is creating fertile ground for smugglers and traffickers to take advantage of people, particularly children.
A Prefecture du Pas-de-Calais spokesperson told The Independent: Associations have the possibility to come to the aid of the refugees present in Calais.
Responding to allegations of police violence against migrants, the spokesperson added: Fabien Sudry, Prefect of the Pas-de-Calais, wishes to make it clear that the accusations of violence against migrants, which the national police are regularly subjected to, are based on no foundation. There have been no recent complaints or referrals to the General Inspectorate of the National Police. The Prefect reaffirms his support for the internal security forces present in the Calais region.
But as the dust settles on Frances most extraordinary battle for the Elysee Palace in recent history, is the election of Emmanuel Macron a source of fresh hope for refugees in the north of the country? Guivy of the RYS is reservedly optimistic. After the election there is hope among the refugees, she says. Kids have been saying to me, I dont need to go to the accommodation centre because theres a new president and theres going to be a new Jungle. I say, no, you calm down. They hope for a new place to stay where they have showers and wont be kicked out by the police. Im not too optimistic but we can think that maybe he [Macron] will be more of a Merkel character so we can hope for more decent living for refugees, she says. Also there is the talk about reshaping the UK agreement so that could change the landscape too.
But until any change results in a more positive environment for refugees, scores of vulnerable people fleeing unthinkable violence and unrest will continue to try to make the journey to the UK through various routes. The draw of what they believe is a better, safer life is too strong to suppress. Adam, 17, from Eritrea arrived in Calais yesterday and is not yet ready to give up on his dream of continuing his education. Its bad here but I feel safer here than I did in Eritrea. Ive come from a bad life. I came by car and by boat. At home I was in the second year of college studying computer science. After I finish studying I will find a job in software development. Ill go to the UK. Everybody here plans to go to the UK. My father is there. I just want to meet my father.
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The family of Manchester bomb victim Eilidh MacLeod have said they are praying that her injured friend makes a full recovery.
The 14-year-old schoolgirl from the island of Barra, in the Outer Hebrides, travelled with friend Laura MacIntyre for the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.
Their families made desperate appeals when the girls failed to get in touch after the explosion at Manchester Arena which left 22 dead and dozens injured.
Laura, 15, was found in hospital with serious injuries while it was confirmed on Thursday that Eilidh was among the dead.
The friends were pupils at Castlebay Community School where pupils and staff have been left in shock.
In a statement, Roddy and Marion MacLeod said: "Eilidh and Laura were so excited about going to the concert together but what should have been the perfect ending to a fantastic trip ended so tragically.
"We continue to have Laura and her family in our thoughts and pray that she makes a full recovery.
Eilidh MacLeod (Facebook)
"As a family, we would also like to offer our support and condolences to all the other innocent victims who have been needlessly killed in this attack; and to the survivors in hospitals around Manchester."
Laura's family described the 15-year-old as "strong-willed and a fighter" and say she is receiving the best care in hospital in Manchester.
In a police statement on Thursday, the MacIntyre family added: "Our hearts and minds have been with Eilidh's family since we heard their news."
The MacLeods also thanked emergency services for their work at the scene and expressed their gratitude for the many messages of support they have had from around the world.
Pictures of Eilidh as a toddler and posing with a bagpiping award have also been released as her family remember her.
Her parents said: "Eilidh MacLeod was our beautiful, intelligent, popular and talented daughter as well as a loving sister and we are at a loss without her.
"Eilidh loved nothing more than spending time with those she loved, both family and friends alike. She loved socialising whether through social media or spending time with them down on the beaches of both Barra and Vatersay.
"Her love of music was unsurpassed and she enjoyed her time playing, travelling and competing in the Pipe Bands immensely.
Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images
"We would like to thank the emergency services who did everything in their power to help following the explosion. Sincere thanks also go to all who have supported us through this terrible time including the people of Manchester, Scotland and well-wishers worldwide."
The family paid a special thanks to people in their Western Isles community who have rallied round to help.
"Messages and tributes to our Eilidh by her friends have given us great comfort and we wish to thank you all," they said.
"The offers of help and support have been truly overwhelming and greatly appreciated."
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Thousands of British Airways passengers who have had their flights cancelled face waits of up to three hours just to leave the airport due to severe overcrowding at Heathrow and Gatwick.
The airline has cancelled all flights from the two London airports for the rest of Saturday following a global IT crash although some flights are still leaving other airports.
BA staff have told stranded passengers they cannot rebook them on later flights because the system remains down. Those in transit have been told they cannot collect their bags.
Passengers told to evacuate terminal after system failure
Video footage shows chaotic scenes at Heathrow as frustrated passengers demand to know what is going on and when they will be able to take alternative flights.
Recommended BA cancels all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick on Saturday
An announcement from BA at the west London airport informed passengers: We need you to leave the terminal and the way to leave the terminal is through gate number A12.
There is a queue at the moment to get through to A12 because (we) cant let you into the arrivals hall because that it too busy too, but you will have to leave through gate A12.
You will have to try and re-book online or with another airline. Our systems are not open and we are not able to re-book any of you."
The announcement continues: "There will be no availability to pick up baggage today. Unfortunately our baggage system has failed too and we are not able to retrieve any bags."
In pictures: British Airways disruptions Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: British Airways disruptions In pictures: British Airways disruptions A passenger looks at a British Airway plane at John F. Kennedy (JFK) international airport in New York Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions British Airways planes are seen at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions Passengers stand at the British Airways check-in desk after the London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports suffered an IT systems failure, at the 'Leonardo da Vinci' airport in Fiumicino, near Rome, Italy EPA In pictures: British Airways disruptions Arrivals notice boards are displayed at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at the British Airways check in desks at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions A woman covered in a blanket sleeps in Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep next to their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep at Heathrow Terminal 5 in London Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions A woman sleeps on a luggage trolley at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue to enter the terminal at Gatwick Airport Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty In pictures: British Airways disruptions Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue with their luggage outside Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue for check-in at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep next to their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters
A number of planes are stuck on the tarmac at Heathrow with passengers unable to get off because all the terminal gates are currently full.
Passengers have been told not to travel to the London airports because of the "extreme congestion".
Hundreds of frustrated passengers bombarded the airline with tweets after finding they would be unable to get their flights today.
Some tried to remain positive, with one woman tweeting that she was supposed to be flying to Estonia's capital city for her hen do.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
There was speculation on social media that the airline might have fallen victim to hackers, but BA insisted: "We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack."
Air travel experts said BA is likely to be hit with massive costs in lost revenue and compensation pay-outs.
Delayed travellers are able to claim compensation under EU law, unless the disruption has been caused by factors outside the airline's control.
Malcolm Ginsberg, editor in chief at Business Travel News, said: "There is no question - the EU denied-boarding regulations will have to apply.
"They have broken all the rules and they will have to deal with it - it's going to be a very expensive situation for BA."
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All British Airways flights from Heathrow and Gatwick have been cancelled for the remainder of Saturday, the airline has announced.
BA had earlier said no planes would take off from the two airports before 6.00pm but has now extended this.
It comes after a huge IT failure led to chaos and confusion at airports across the world, with 'wall to wall' queues reported at Heathrow's Terminal 5.
Recommended British Airways tells angry passengers they must leave without luggage
Passengers have been ordered to exit airport terminals without their baggage, with some travellers claiming they had been told it could take a week for them to be given their bags back.
Some travellers are stranded at airports around the world, with BA staff unable to rebook them on to other flights because the company's IT system remains down.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
"We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack", the airline added.
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British Airways (BA) has said it hopes to run a "near normal schedule" at Gatwick and most services at Heathrow after a catastrophic IT failure caused all its flights from the busy airports to be cancelled.
Furious passengers told of chaotic scenes at airports around the world after the crash on Saturday, which BA said it thought was caused by a "power supply issue".
BA said on Saturday night that most long-haul flights into London on Sunday were expected to arrive as normal, but admitted some delays and disruption might continue for a second day over the bank holiday weekend.
The airline had announced an initial cancellation of flights until at least 6pm early on Saturday afternoon but airport staff had not been informed of the situation, and initially told passengers the information was false. BA later said all flights from the two airports had been cancelled for the remainder of the day.
Passengers at Heathrow were ordered to leave the terminal and told they would not be able to access their luggage for the rest of the day because the baggage system was down. One traveller claimed they had been told it could take a week for their bags to be returned, while another said she had been warned it could take three hours to exit the airport.
Recommended BA cancels all flights from London airports after computer meltdown
BA had been unable to update its website or make announcements at some airports because both rely on the system that has crashed. Staff resorted to writing on whiteboards in an attempt to keep passengers updated.
A spokeswoman for the airline said: We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
BA added: We've found no evidence that it's a cyber attack.
The company's chief executive, Alex Cruz, later added in a video statement: Our IT teams are working tirelessly to fix the problems. We believe the root cause was a power supply issue.
I am really sorry we don't have better news as yet, but I can assure you our teams are working as hard as they can to resolve these issues."
Customers have been left in the dark, with staff giving conflicting information or admitting they did not know what was going on. Customer service representatives are unable to tell passengers with flights booked later on Saturday whether it is likely they will be able to fly.
In pictures: British Airways disruptions Show all 17 1 /17 In pictures: British Airways disruptions In pictures: British Airways disruptions A passenger looks at a British Airway plane at John F. Kennedy (JFK) international airport in New York Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions British Airways planes are seen at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions Passengers stand at the British Airways check-in desk after the London's Gatwick and Heathrow airports suffered an IT systems failure, at the 'Leonardo da Vinci' airport in Fiumicino, near Rome, Italy EPA In pictures: British Airways disruptions Arrivals notice boards are displayed at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at the British Airways check in desks at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions A woman covered in a blanket sleeps in Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep next to their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep at Heathrow Terminal 5 in London Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions A woman sleeps on a luggage trolley at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue to enter the terminal at Gatwick Airport Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty In pictures: British Airways disruptions Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue with their luggage outside Heathrow Airport Terminal 5 Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People queue for check-in at Heathrow Airport Terminal 5. Thousands of passengers face a second day of travel disruption after a British Airways IT failure caused the airline to cancel most of its services Getty Images In pictures: British Airways disruptions People sleep next to their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters In pictures: British Airways disruptions People wait with their luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5 Reuters
Emily Wilson, who was due to be flying from Heathrow Terminal 5 to Swedish capital Stockholm, told The Independent the airport was in chaos.
The information kept changing at first they said anyone who hadnt checked in would be unable to fly today, she said. The staff were confused and were giving mixed messages to everyone.
Then the news broke on Sky that said all flights before six would be cancelled and a lot of the staff were saying that wasnt true, that wasnt genuine information and they hadnt been informed.
Theres been a lot of tears from children and families. There are massive queues throughout T5 to try to get out of the airport.
There have been so many mixed messages. There are people everywhere just sitting around because nobody knows what to do. The whole airport is in chaos.
Airport chaos as BA cancels all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick
As the chaos unfolded, the GMB union, which represents many airline employees, claimed the failure could have been prevented.
Mick Rix, the union's national officer for aviation, said: "We can only feel genuinely sorry for the tens of thousands of passengers who are stranded at airports and face having their travel plans and holidays ruined.
"This could have all been avoided. In 2016 BA made hundreds of dedicated and loyal IT staff redundant and outsourced the work to India.
"BA have made substantial profits for a number of years, and many viewed the companys actions as just plain greedy."
Passengers were told it could take them three hours to leave the airport (Emily Wilson)
The company refuted the claim, saying: We would never compromise the integrity and security of our IT systems.
The failure occurred as tens of thousands of holidaymakers sought to leave the UK for the bank holiday weekend.
BA staff have told stranded passengers they cannot rebook them on later flights because the IT system remains down. A number of planes are stuck on the tarmac at Heathrow with passengers aboard because all the terminal gates are currently full.
A letter released by BA apologised for the disruption and said: We recognise that this has impacted your travel plans. The airline said it would be reimbursing "reasonable expenses" for meals and hotels, defined as 200 per day for two people sharing a room, and 50 for transport to the hotel. Food and refreshment costs would be covered up to 25 per day for adults and 12.50 for children.
Experts said the airline could face a huge compensation bill because the thousands of stranded passengers are entitled to compensation under EU law unless BA can prove that the disruption was caused by factors outside its control.
Malcolm Ginsberg, editor in chief at Business Travel News, said: "There is no question: the EU denied-boarding regulations will have to apply.
They have broken all the rules and they will have to deal with it its going to be a very expensive situation for BA.
At Heathrow, a BA announcement informed passengers: We need you to leave the terminal and the way to leave the terminal is through gate number A12.
There is a queue at the moment to get through to A12 because (we) cant let you into the arrivals hall because that it too busy too, but you will have to leave through gate A12.
You will have to try and rebook online or with another airline. Our systems are not open and we are not able to rebook any of you."
The announcement continued: There will be no availability to pick up baggage today. Unfortunately our baggage system has failed too and we are not able to retrieve any bags.
Passengers took to social media to seek information and express their frustration.
Stranded in Vienna for three hours already and no indication as to whether we will even get back to Heathrow. Major lack of info, one wrote.
Can you at least tell people here stranded at Heathrow [what is happening] instead of [them] hearing about it on media, another urged the airline.
Another passenger also requested information on what is going on, saying there had been no info as to what is happening or how long the delay will be.
A fourth described the situation at Heathrow as chaos and wall to wall queues.
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Policing is England and Wales is in intensive care and there should no longer be any debate about protecting its funding, the chair of the Police Federation has warned the future government.
It comes amid concerns that cuts to the service are stretching officers to breaking point and negatively impacting their mental health. Figures from the charity Mind suggest one in 20 emergency service workers have made an attempt to take their own life due to stress and other factors.
The Police Federation has outlined wide-ranging protection and support issues that officers currently face as it explores the need to change its approach and funding to protect its staff.
If change isnt imminent, the public can expect both a less experienced workforce, as officers reach the end of their tether and choose to leave, and one that can no longer do all that is asked of it," Steve White, the chair of the federation, said.
Mr White also stressed the need for the police to be well-resourced in the light of an increased terror threat.
It used to be not if, but when, and now we are going to have to say not when, but where next? The Westminster attack really brought it home [to politicians], it was up close and personal.
Now Manchester. Is the next one going to be Birmingham or Leeds? If people witnessed what we do I don't think we would be having debates around resources for the police service, he told the Times.
Increased stress levels may be impacting the health of workers. Mind, a mental health charity, conducted a poll in 2016 which found that one in four emergency service workers had considered ending their lives and 41 per cent had been prescribed medication to deal with work-related issues.
More than 1,600 staff and volunteers from police, fire, ambulance and search and rescue services participated in the online survey, which also showed that 92 per cent of respondents experienced stress, low mood and poor mental health.
Despite the problems, less than half of respondents in Minds poll had taken time off work due to stress or mental health issues.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 4 November 2022 A peacock is seen in the early winter sunshine in the Dutch Gardens in Holland Park AFP via Getty Images UK news in pictures 3 November 2022 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty UK news in pictures 2 November 2022 A red squirrel gathers nuts in Pitlochry, Scotland Reuters UK news in pictures 1 November 2022 Englands Tara-Jane Stanley scores their sides seventh try against Brazil during the Womens Rugby League World Cup group A match at Headingley Stadium, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 31 October 2022 GBs James Hall competes during the mens parallel bars qualification at the World Gymnastics Championships in Liverpool AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 30 October 2022 People dressed in Halloween costumes paddle board along the river Avon in Christchurch, Dorset PA UK news in pictures 29 October 2022 Members of the public take pictures as police officers remove activists from a road during a Just Stop Oil protest, in London Reuters 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 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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
Faye McGuinness, manager of the Blue Light Programme, which provides support for emergency services staff and volunteers, said it was important to continue to make strides in tackling stigma.
The challenging nature of the job with its unique pressures can put staff and volunteers at greater risk of developing a mental health problem, Ms McGuinness said.
Thats why its so important support is made available to ensure dedicated workers are at their best and ready to carry out these incredibly difficult and life-saving roles we often take for granted.
Anyone who feels they make be at risk of suicide can contact The Samaritans for free on 116 123 or at samaritans.org
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JustGiving has placed more than 200 fundraising pages in "quarantine" over fears fraudsters are looking to exploit the Manchester bombing with fake appeals.
The charity donations website has suspended withdrawals from accounts set up in response to the suicide attack and said no money would be released to pages founders unless it was satisfied they were legitimate.
The Charity Commission took the unusual step of directing the public towards a specific appeal, the We Love Manchester Fund, which has raised more than 5m since being launched on Tuesday.
David Holdsworth, the commissions chief operating officer, said: The British public are incredibly generous, especially in response to supporting those at times of suffering and need.
Sadly, during such periods of especially generous giving, there are a small minority of those who seek to exploit that goodwill for fraudulent, selfish purposes.
JustGiving emailed fundraisers this week to inform them pages had been placed in quarantine while it sought to ensure the people behind them were not linked to fraud.
We will start speaking to the individuals who have set up pages for specific victims about whether they have personal links with the families, a JustGiving spokesman told the Guardian.
We are working with Greater Manchester police and we think in the vast majority of cases the page owner will say can you pass the money on.
None of this money will be released until we are satisfied and if someone refused to allow us to pass money on to the families ourselves then obviously that would raise concerns with us.
JustGiving is investigating more than 30 concerns raised by members of the public about the legitimacy of pages.
Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Show all 4 1 /4 Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity A Jewish woman named Renee Rachel Black and a Muslim man named Sadiq Patel react next to floral tributes in Albert Square REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS Muslim man comforts elderly Jewish woman in symbol of Manchester unity REUTERS
More than 200 members of the public have set up appeals dedicated to the victims on Monday nights atrocity, which killed 22 people and injured 66 at Manchester Arena.
The UK's Fundraising Regulator, which sets an industry code of practice, has recommended well-wishers donate to the We Love Manchester Fund or directly to registered charities.
Chief executive Stephen Dunmore said: It is vital that the public has confidence their money is going where its intended.
The We Love Manchester Fund was launched British Red Cross and Manchester City Council and has been backed by celebrities including Liam Gallagher and Tom Hardy.
It later merged with an appeal set up by the Manchester Evening News, which has raised more than 1.7m.
All money donated will go directly to help the families and dependents of those killed and injured in the attack.
Although distribution details are still being finalised, Lord Mayor of Manchester Eddy Newman said donations would help ease families suffering and ensure the bereaved and those having to care for the seriously injured would not face short-term financial difficulties.
He added: I have been overwhelmed by all the support coming from across the world to help those affected by this terrible tragedy. People across the globe have been struck by our citys defiance and resilience and want to help. It will make a real difference to those affected.
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Members of the terrorist network which carried out the Manchester atrocity may have fled to elsewhere in Britain and could have access to bomb-making material, according to security sources. Smaller towns which may not have a large armed police presence are places of particular concern.
The police and security agencies had attempted, with a large measure of success, to uncover the cell which helped Salman Abedi carry out the mass murder.
In the early hours of Saturday morning, Greater Manchester Police officers arrested two more men, aged 20 and 22, and carried out a controlled explosion during a series of raids in the Cheetham Hill area of the city. In the Moss Side area, residents were evacuated as police carried out a major search linked to the investigation. Eleven suspects are now in custody in all and evidence, including components of explosive devices, has been recovered.
But the apprehension that a few of Abedis accomplices have managed to escape the net and may attempt to strike in another part of the country lies behind the deployment of troops across the country. The threat level being kept at its highest classification, critical, and members of the SAS being used to carry out raids in case of resistance using firearms. Special operational measures are in place to take action if necessary away from large metropolitan centres, as was seen in the arrest of one of a suspect at Nuneaton, in Warwickshire.
A senior counter-terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, stated that the police have got hold of a large part of the terror network. Security has been reviewed at 1,300 events across the country, he said, and urged the public to go out as you planned and enjoy yourself over the Bank Holiday weekend. Events such as Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull got under way on Saturday with the visible presence of armed police officers at entrance points.
But, Mr Rowley added that there still important lines of inquiry to pursue, more arrests were likely, and acknowledged that security status needs to remain at critical, for possibly as long as few more weeks.
The Independent revealed two days ago that a quantity of bomb-making material, including explosives, known to have been in possession of 22-year-old Abedi, of Libyan background, and others in the group is missing and not all of it has been found despite extensive searches.
Armed police officers patrol outside Burton Constable Hall in Hull on Saturday ahead of BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend (PA)
The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester, Ian Hopkins, said: It has been an extremely challenging week, and we are still in the middle of the investigation. We have seized thousands of exhibits which are now being assessed. I think it is fair to say there have been enormous progress with the investigation, but there is still an awful lot of work to do.
One of the raids today took place at a barber shop in Moss Side which is believed to be owned by a cousin of Abedi, believed to be called Abdallah Forjani. A 38-year-old man who rented a flat to Abedi in the Blackley area is being held.
Abedi left the flat in March to travel to Libya. His father, Ramadan Abedi, also known as Abu-Ismail al-Obedei, is a former member of the Libyan Islamist Fighting Group ( LIFG) an extremist organisation which was banned by the UN for its links to al-Qaeda after the 9/11 attacks in New York. Ramadan Abedi and a son, Hashem, 20, have been arrested in Tripoli by a militia affiliated to the countrys UN backed government. Another son, Ismail, 24, was arrested and remains in custody in England.
Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images
The security agencies are investigating whether Salman Abedi was indoctrinated during various visits to Libya. However there are suggestions that he had become radicalised in Manchester over a prolonged period. A mosque in Didsbury where Ramadan Abedi used to lead the call to prayers and Salman Abedi attended, has become a focus of attention.
Members of the mosques congregation and its trustees have denied any extremist link and have condemned the Manchester attack. But there is evidence that hardline Islamists, including members of militia in Libya, have attended the mosque. A speaker featured on the mosque's official YouTube channel described martyrdom as virtuous.
There had been suggestions that Salman Abedi had also travelled to Syria. The French foreign minister, Gerard Collomb, claimed that the British security agencies believe he went on to Syria from Libya. But a senior security source said: We think he got a few things garbled there, we know that Abedi had gone to Libya, whether he went to Syria or not remains a line of inquiry.
Abedi had travelled from Tripoli, where he was visiting his parents, to Istanbul, from there to Dusseldorf and then back to the UK before he carried out his attack. Turkish security sources said there is no evidence that he had crossed from Turkey into Syria and all the indications were that he did not leave the airport either in Turkey or Germany.
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Three Muslim men have described how they rushed to help the victims of the Manchester terror attack on a Monday night which saw terror return to British streets.
Salman Abedi killed 22 people, including children as young as eight, and seriously injured 64 others when he blew himself up in the foyer of Manchester Arena as people were leaving an Ariana Grande concert last week.
The attack prompted a fresh wave of anxiety about Islamist extremism in the UK after reports emerged that Abedi may have been radicalised in Manchester.
But many others have praised the actions of ordinary Mancunians who rushed to help the victims, with many pulling extra shifts at local hospitals and others offering lifts and spare rooms to those stranded by the road closures.
Tawqeer Rashid, a vascular surgeon who works at Manchester Royal Infirmary, was called into Salford Royal Hospital as it has no surgeons with his specialty, arriving at 1am and working until 3pm.
He told the Evening Standard he had operated on a woman with multiple injuries who had a problem with blood flow to her legs which carried on throughout the night and treated another patient with spinal injuries and damaged blood vessels.
Dr Rashid described the injuries he saw as horrific. He said: It hit home when I was removing the bolts from people. They were bigger than a 50p piece, not little bolts you use in your home enormous ones.
This is a level of depravity I cannot understand: how a human being would be capable of planning this if they knew what it would do to another human being.
These bolts ripped through bodies, into the stomach, the legs, severing arteries, severing nerves, smashing bones and damaging spinal cords.
Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images
Meanwhile in another part of the city, Sam Arshad who owns the Street Cars taxi firm gave free rides to people stranded at the arena.
He said he had been driving past when a police officer told him there had been an explosion and he had decided to double back.
Then the phones started going crazy with parents and children trying to escape. He called his drivers and they agreed to take people from the arena free of charge.
The news had started coming in that there had been fatalities, so we got the gist of what was happening. We said we needed to pull together for the people of Manchester, he said.
A woman passes a street-art graffiti mural, created following the May 22 terror attack at the Manchester Arena, featuring bees, which are synonymous with Manchester as a symbol of the city's industrial heritage, in Stevenson Square, Manchester (Getty Images)
Zaffer Khan also participated in that community spirit by handing out free food and water to victims and emergency workers from their restaurant, Bukhara, which is just half a mile from the arena.
They said they had been alerted to the attack when two women had come in, in distress, and asked for water.
"Were part of this community, he told the Standard. Were Muslim, but whether we were Muslim or non-Muslim, we would have done this. We wanted to give something back.
It is not just Muslims in Manchester who have asked the call to help.
Human Appeal, a Muslim charity, has so far raised nearly 15,000 for the victims and their families.
Othman Moqbel, its chief executive, said: You cannot blame a religion for crazy people who do this.
We are all praying for the victims and their families.
He said the people who carried out these attacks were not real Muslims.
Its been the same thing throughout the ages if people have a political agenda they will slap religion on it to justify their ends, he added.
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A mother and daughter were tricked into licking the feet of members of staff at a Poundworld store in a prank by an anonymous caller.
A man claiming to be from a charity in Ireland called and told staff to close the store for a training exercise and that two customers could win 3,000 if they participated.
Naomi Desmond, 24, and her mother Pamela, 55, were the only shoppers left in the store in Devon and agreed to participate.
They were made to endure a series of humiliating tasks, which included having their faces drawn on, having string tied around their ears, and water poured on them.
Staff were also ordered to ride the two customers down the aisles in a human horse race.
Pamela, who is disabled, was apparently made to lick the feet of a staff member and the two women were referred to as ugly and beast throughout the two-hour ordeal.
In return they had to refer to the manager of the store as beautiful lady and were told they would receive 50 each time they complied.
At first it was funny like a game show. It all happened on the shop floor. They were asked to get on to our backs and they rode us up and down the aisle like a horse race, she told the Metro.
But afterwards we felt embarrassed. We genuinely thought it was head office.
The pair claimed they wanted to sue Poundworld after the store offered them a 200 voucher and an apology, the site reported.
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A Poundworld spokesperson said: We apologise unreservedly to our customers for their experience at our Barnstaple store, which our team also fell victim of.
The incident has been referred to the police and we are assisting them with their enquiries.
We have conducted our own investigation and re-issued guidance to our stores around the verification of telephone calls to help ensure something such as this does not happen again in the future.
"Our CEO has spoken with the customers and made a personal apology on behalf of the company.
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New details have emerged about the Manchester flat in which the 22-year-old terrorist Salman Abedi carefully constructed his bomb.
The device, which killed 22 people and injured 64 when it was detonated at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, is believed to have been made in a tower block flat rented by Abedi in Blackley, a suburb in north Manchester.
The landlord of the property is said to have told friends that the flat smelled of chemicals and contained what he now believes were pieces of bomb-making equipment.
Abedi is also said to have used a pen to cross out childrens stickers that had been stuck to the wall, believing they were not compatible with the teachings of Islam.
Bed clothes for more than one person were found at the flat, and a younger man is said to have been with Abedi when the rental was agreed.
Landlord Aimen Elwafi was in tears when he realised his tenant had carried out the deadly attack, a friend, Mohammed El-Hudarey, told the BBC.
He was shocked and in a bad situation he said . Very upset. There were tears coming from his eyes."
Mr Elwafi is said to have informed police immediately after realising the connection, despite having breached the terms of his own tenancy by subletting the flat to Abedi.
Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images
Mr El-Hudarey said Abedi had responded to an advert in early March, saying he wanted to rent the property for two months. The terrorist told the landlord he was a student and worked as a delivery driver at night.
Mr Elwafi is said to have received a late-night call from Abedi around six weeks ago, saying he would be flying abroad and no longer needed the flat. It is believed the 22-year-old flew to Libya, where his parents and two of his three siblings live.
Security officials are said to be investigating whether he also travelled on to Syria, possibly to meet with a handler or attend a training camp.
Manchester terror attack: What we know so far
Mr Elwafi headed straight to the flat after receiving the call but said Abedi had already left.
At the property, the landlord discovered squares of cut up curtain-like material, a metal rod in the bath and a chemical smell. The electricity had been turned off and a smoke alarm disconnected, Mr El-Hudarey claimed.
Mr Elwafi did not report it to police because it did not occur to him that it could have been related to terrorism.
The Granby Row flat in central Manchester where Salman Abedi reportedly spent his last hours
"We didn't even think 1 per cent he was a terrorist or a bomb-maker, Mr El-Hudarey said. We thought he must have been a drug dealer or doing witchcraft."
There are now three properties believed to have been used by Abedi to make his bomb. In addition to the Blackley flat, police are also reported to have discovered extensive bomb-making materials at the Abedi home in Fallowfield, south Manchester, prompting fears that other explosive devices could have been made.
ABC News reported that investigators had found a huge load of unused chemicals at the house.
A rented flat in Granby Row, central Manchester, was also raided earlier in the week and is believed to be where Abedi assembled his device and spent the last few hours before the bombing.
The flat is less than two miles from Manchester Arena and can be rented on a short-term basis for 75 a night or 350 a week.
Neighbours reported a large number of packages being delivered to the Granby Row flat in recent weeks, while others are said to have noticed a strong smell of explosives coming from behind the door in the days prior to the attack.
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Under Britains antiquated first-past-the-post voting system, your vote doesnt always count. As a result, people sometimes turn to tactical voting.
In 2017, the concept seems to be more in vogue than ever before. Chatter of a progressive alliance on the left has reached fever pitch and some local parties have stood down in certain seats to give their allies a better chance of winning. On the right, too, Ukip has stood down against strongly pro-Brexit, mostly Tory, candidates so as not to split the Eurosceptic vote.
Such alliances are temporary solutions that would be unnecessary were Britain to overhaul its voting system to get rid of wasted votes. But the current setup mostly benefits the largest parties, and change is unlikely after voters rejected the Alternative Vote in a referendum in 2011.
Recommended Theresa May retains lead in new poll after Manchester bombing
But what happens if theres no alliance in your seat and you still want your single vote to count? Tom de Grunwald, a producer based in Cambridge, is taking electoral reform into his own hands to solve that problem.
Before the last election in 2015 Mr De Grunwald set up a website called Swap My Vote, a hack to create electoral reform two votes at a time. The idea is to match up people to swap their votes between constituencies, to bypass the problems with first-past-the-post. Personally I would rather it not be necessary and there be a proportional system. I think its really important for democracy, he told The Independent. But in the meanwhile, Swap My Vote fills a niche. Its essentially about making peoples votes count for more by minimising wasted votes. Strategically its about creating electoral reform if we cant have it in law, then at least we can create it ourselves.
The service asks people what party theyd ideally like to vote for, and then the parties theyd be happy to vote for tactically in a trade. It then matches them with other voters who they can swap with. Someone who lives in a constituency where Labour cannot win but wants to vote Labour can, for example, get someone else to vote Labour for them in a marginal seat where they have a chance; they in turn cast their own ballot for another party specified by the person they swapped with.
Importantly, the site isnt aimed at supporters of particular party, its simply an exchange service where voters who feel disenfranchised can meet. Thats what differentiates Swap My Vote from VoteSwap 2015, a similar service that operated at the last election on a specifically partisan basis to swap Green and Labour voters.
The non-partisan approach leads Mr De Grunwald to see Swap My Vote as one example of a wider family of digital democracy tools websites and services built to use technology to enhance politics.
UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images
Some of these online tools have proved revolutionary that we can already scarcely imagine life without them. Until the advent of the internet it was surprisingly difficult to find out how your own MP had voted on any given issue, with the division lists only available in physical printed form from Parliament. Now, websites such as Public Whip and TheyWorkForYou bring information that is still difficult to find on Parliaments own official sites to interested voters at the touch of a smartphone screen.
One possible dark side to this increased transparency and access is that the ability to scrutinise an MPs personal record has grown hand-in-hand with increased abuse of elected representatives on social media, with Parliaments head of security warning earlier this year that ethnic minority and women MPs were most regularly targeted online. But these tools nevertheless empower voters and improve democracy.
Election choice 'starker' after Corbyn said Manchester bombing 'our own fault', claims Theresa May
Democracy Club CVs, which launched at the 2015 election, collects online versions of the CVs of parliamentary candidates who voters might otherwise know little about. Another service, called Members Interests, provides a browser plug-in that highlights MPs names in any news articles that a user reads. Clicking on an MPs name reveals who has given them money or gifts, as recorded in Parliaments records. This can provide useful context when reading, say, an article where an MP is quoted talking about a country to which hes already visited on an all expenses paid junket.
Swap My Vote isnt yet as influential as some of these other systems. But at the last election 10,000 votes were swapped between registered voters potentially enough to swing a key marginal or two.
A set of programming standards known as an API is being drawn up by Mr De Grunwald and his coder co-founder, which would allow other sites to integrate with Swap My Vote. So a person might take a policy quiz on one website, be told party whose policies best matched up with their opinions, and then be directed to Swap My Vote if it was the most sensible way to vote for that party in their constituency.
It all sounds interesting, but could it be open to abuse? Couldnt someone say theyd vote one way on your behalf, and then not do it? Ultimately, people casting their vote, its up to them to cast it and you cant check up on that in any way, Mr De Grunwald admits. But he says there are some safeguards built into the swapping system.
People tend to swap votes within the parties of the left or within the parties of the right, so the danger of outright fraud is reduced. The site also uses a bit of psychology, putting users in touch with each other on social media to personalise the experience and help voters to sniff out fakes. And, of course, these votes werent likely to count towards the final result anyway without the swap so the danger of exploitation is minimal.
Whether Swap My Vote changes the result in any constituency is almost missing the point. The fact that such a service is necessary is a depressing commentary on the effectiveness of Britains old fashioned voting system.
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Taipei, May 27 (CNA) Cathay Financial Holding Co. (), one of the largest financial holding firms in Taiwan, has agreed to acquire the Canada-based Bank of Nova Scotia's banking assets in Malaysia as part of the Taiwanese banking group's efforts to extend its reach in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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The Prime Minister has set out her plans for a "Commission for Countering Extremism" in the wake of the Manchester terror attack.
Theresa May said that, as well as governments intervening to tackle extremism if it turns criminal, people can do more to stand up for British values, where Islamist extremism undermines them.
"Britain is one of the worlds most successful multiracial, multireligious and multicultural societies. But our enjoyment of Britains diversity must not prevent us from confronting the menace of extremism, even if that is sometimes embarrassing or difficult to do," Ms May said.
"Extremism, especially Islamist extremism, strips some people of the freedoms they should enjoy, undermines the cohesion of our society, and can fuel violence. And it can be especially bad for women."
The Commission for Countering Extremism is mentioned in the Conservatives election manifesto, which was launched four days before the attack in Manchester on Monday night.
The commission would be established as a statutory body, legally compelled to identify extremism in communities where it threatens to undermine British values.
Its role would be to encourage people and employers to recognise and challenge extremism, and seek to stamp it out in the same way there has been a marked shift in public attitudes to racism in recent years.
The commission would also advise the Government on what new laws might be required to assert British, pluralistic values over extremist Islamic ones, particularly with regard to womens rights.
The Prime Minister added: There is clearly a role for government in tackling extremism where it involves behaviour that is or ought to be criminal. But there is also a role for government to help people and build up organisations in society to promote and defend Britains pluralistic values, and stand up to the extremists who want to undermine our values and impose their twisted beliefs onto the rest of us. That is what this plan is all about."
On Saturday afternoon, the Government's independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre downgraded the threat level from critical to severe, and the Prime Minister said the withdrawal of troops from the streets would begin on Monday.
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Theresa May retains a 12-point lead in a ComRes opinion poll for The Independent a finding that will steady Conservative nerves after a YouGov poll on Friday showed the lead narrowing to just five points.
Despite growing support for Labour and Jeremy Corbyn, notably over social care, the Conservatives are on 46 per cent and Labour on 34 per cent. Labour is up four points from the last ComRes poll two weeks ago, and the Conservatives down two, but the figures suggest Ms May is still heading for a majority of about 110.
The poll was taken between Wednesday and Friday this week, a day later than the YouGov poll, but mostly before the resumption of election campaigning on Friday. The Liberal Democrats have been squeezed down two to 8 per cent the same share of the vote as in the 2015 election with only half of those who voted for them last time saying they will do so again. Ukip is unchanged on 5 per cent and the Greens down one to 2 per cent.
Labour leads the Tories by 17 points among voters younger than 45, but the Tories have a huge 27-point lead among older voters.
ComRes find that Ms Mays rating on keeping Britain safe from terrorism has fallen by five points in the wake of the Manchester bombing on Monday, although more voters, 42 per cent, choose her rather than Mr Corbyn, 16 per cent (up two points). Voters are also more likely to agree Amber Rudd would make a better Home Secretary than Diane Abbott (43 per cent) than the opposite (12 per cent), although 45 per cent say they dont know.
The Prime Ministers ratings have fallen on everything except being best to represent Britain on the world stage, unchanged on 49 per cent, while Mr Corbyns ratings have risen since two weeks ago on all statements tested, including representing Britain, on 21 per cent, up four. Mr Corbyn now holds a 13-point lead, up 10 points, over Ms May on being best to look after the interests of hard-working families, and has drawn level on most likely to raise school standards.
In a straight choice (below) Mr Corbyn and Labour are seen by 42 per cent to have the best policies for people like me and my family, just five points ahead of Ms May and the Conservatives on 37 per cent.
UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images
Strikingly, Mr Corbyn holds the biggest lead on being most likely to protect the interests of older people who are becoming more dependent on the social care system. This is a new question asked after the row over the Tory manifesto pledge to withdraw free care visits to pensioners who own their own homes. Mr Corbyn is seen as most likely to protect older people by 43 per cent, and Ms May by 20 per cent.
The other policy on which Mr Corbyn is favoured is that 41 per cent say he is most likely to deliver improvements to the NHS, against 25 per cent for Ms May. Ms May is also considered best to lead Britains negotiations over Brexit by 48 per cent to 18 per cent for Mr Corbyn, and most likely to reduce net migration to the UK by 33 per cent to 11 per cent for Mr Corbyn and 21 per cent for Paul Nuttall, leader of Ukip.
ComRes has changed its methods since the last election, when all the pollsters underestimated the Tory vote and overestimated Labour, to adjust turnout by age and social grade. Many analysts also thought that leader perceptions were not fully accounted for last time, and ComRes now finds a big gap on the question of who would be the better prime minister between Ms May (51 per cent) and Mr Corbyn (30 per cent).
So the company has run a second set of voting intention figures by reallocating undecideds who say they will vote, according to who they think would make the best prime minister. With this adjustment the Conservative vote share rises to 48 per cent and Labour falls to 33 per cent, a Conservative lead of 15 points.
That said, 65 per cent of voters tell ComRes, I will decide my vote more on the basis of a political partys policies than its leadership, against 20 per cent who say leadership is more important.
ComRes interviewed 2,024 GB adults online 24-26 May 2017. Data were weighted to be demographically representative of all GB adults. Data were also weighted by past vote recall. Voting intention figures are calculated using the ComRes Voter Turnout Model. ComRes is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules. Full tables on the ComRes website.
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In Middlesbrough, voting Tory is the anti-establishment choice. The older generation here get angry if you say youre not going to vote Labour, says 30-year-old Claire Bligh, while cutting someones hair in the back room of a beauty salon.
Claire owns a section of the salon and operates her own hairdressing business out of it: its a modest space, with room for two chairs, a row of coat hooks and a small bin. Under the single halogen light, a smattering of posters advertising styles decorate the walls and Claire, who has vibrant pink hair herself, tidies and trims the hair of a customer while offering up her views about the election.
Theyll tell you off if you say youre thinking of voting Tory. Its not the done thing round here. And I dont know much about politics, but Theresa May seems to have a positive message and I feel like we need positivity. All my friends say good things about her.
Claire repeatedly remarks that she doesnt think she knows enough about politics to vote, but she has strong views about building a society that her 10-year-old disabled son can thrive in. Shes a single parent and she lives on the sprawling South Middlesbrough estate which the beauty salon backs onto. The only thing Im working for is to provide my little one with a good role model, so he grows up seeing his mum with a job, she says. And for my own sanity. I couldnt stand being at home. But I think Id probably make more on benefits.
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Claire is tired of negativity, and desperately wants someone to offer her a positive vision for the future: thats where Theresa May and her strong and stable Britain comes in. But when I ask her what she thinks about the policies intended to connect with carers in full-time work like herself, shes incredulous.
A year off work to care for my son? That wouldnt do me any good at all. I dont have the money to take a year off unpaid, and I dont want to be out of work for that time it would drive me mad. What I want is the support to stay in work. Its the lack of financial backing for people like me in work which takes its toll.
Claire Bligh, 30, set up her salon with the help of Labour candidate Tracy Harvey
Claire set up her salon with the help of Labour candidate Tracy Harvey, a powerhouse of a local activist and councillor who has lived in Middlesbrough all her life. Tracy stepped in to become the Labour candidate after former MP Tom Blenkinsop stood down, citing dissatisfaction with Jeremy Corbyns leadership. I meet her in a cafe between her appointment at a local school and her next session of door-knocking, accompanied by campaigners Alma Hellaoui and John Taylor. Have they seen people turning to the Tories?
Some, they concede. I met one guy who said to me that Labour had brought in all these cuts to local services so he wouldnt be voting for them again, says Hellaoui. I said, do you not think that actually has to do with Tory austerity cuts coming from the Government? Then he went quiet Later on, I met someone and I asked them what they thought of the Tories. They said, Whats a Tory? The level of political education round here can be quite low.
General Election round-up: May 26
Tracy Harvey says she worries about the right-wing tabloids constantly attacking Corbyn. The press is all Tory now, she says. And they dont like him because hes not a member of the elite. Youve got a different kind of leader in Jeremy. They say he hasnt got leadership skills, but I say he has because hes not afraid to negotiate and change his mind. And for me thats a good leader; that is leadership. Hes got the heart of a lion and hes been on the right side of history again and again.
Hellaoui agrees. You read these papers, and you think, wheres the truth? The papers told us all this stuff before, 350m for the NHS and so on, and now, oh sorry, its wrong. What are we supposed to believe?
In a place like Middlesbrough, where 66 per cent of the population voted for Brexit, those broken funding promises have a particular sting. Middlesbrough has the highest proportion of asylum seekers of anywhere in the UK, yet its services have continued to be cut: people are waiting for those extra schools and hospitals to pop up after Britain formally leaves the EU, but the austerity measures visited upon the council mean this injection of wealth is unlikely.
I meet the Conservative candidate standing against Tracy Harvey at a cafe in Middlesbrough train station. His name is Simon Clarke, hes just come from an apprenticeship event and he is about to hop on a train to go on dad duty. Hes at least 30 years younger than Harvey, smartly dressed in an expensive suit and well-spoken to the point of suspicion, deploying the languid southern vowels of glahss rather than the sharp northern glass. Are you really local? I ask, and he bristles. I am what I am. I mean, I cant change my accent. Did Tony Blair sound like he was from here? Did Peter Mandelson? Whats more important is what youre going to do.
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To be clear, Clarke is local, though not perhaps representative of most Middlesbrough residents. He grew up in Marton one of the affluent villages just outside Middlesbrough proper and covered by the constituency hes standing in was privately educated and read Modern History at Oxford. His grandfather was a surgeon at Middlesbrough General Hospital and his father a solicitor; indeed, he trained as a solicitor himself at Magical Circle law firm Slaughter and May in London before going into politics. When you look at him and Tracy Harvey, its difficult not to see a couple of political caricatures.
We need to end the negativity about Middlesbrough, he says, going on to claim that the local Labour council has betrayed and failed the people of the town by maintaining the narrative that its a left-behind place. If we could all just be a little more upbeat, then things might get better. Its a line that perfectly mirrors what Theresa May has been saying about Brexit (Clarke is a dedicated Brexiteer who agrees that no deal with the EU is better than a bad deal), and clearly it resonates with some.
Ordinary working people have real concerns about globalisation, he says. Its our Prime Ministers wise decision that we must respond to and reflect that or truly extreme forces [such as extreme right groups] will move in. And why might people move away from Labour in his constituency? Jeremy Corbyn. People look at Jeremy Corbyn and they dont like what they see They think the values hes espousing will wreck this country.
I ask, which values?
Hes unqualified, hes weak on terror hes a joke figure at one level, theres a certain amount of pure scorn
But the actual values he holds?
Look, people in Middlesbrough and Cleveland want a leader to be hard-working, decent, patriotic individuals and Jeremy Corbyn is none of those things.
Not even hard-working? I ask.
No, hes not even hard-working.
I ask whether Clarke has ever met Corbyn. He responds: No. But weve all got the measure of him.
Labour candidate Tracy Harvey (right) is a councillor and local activist who has lived in Middlesbrough all her life
Conservatives in the North-east whether Darlington, Newcastle, Bishop Auckland or Middlesbrough are keen to push this message: that its Corbyn whos the problem on the doorstep, and Corbyn who residents dislike. But the reality when you walk around the estates of Middlesbrough or the town centre of Darlington seems different.
I talk to Andy Preston, a Middlesbrough businessman who stood for mayor in 2015 and was a staunch Labour supporter until recently (he now backs the Conservative candidate). He echoes what Claire Bligh told me in her hair salon: Round here, voting Tory is rebellion If youre a typical Middlesbrough person and you put a pro-Tory article on Facebook, people will attack you and unfriend you. I know people who its happening to. Labour is the establishment. As in the referendum, it feels like people are desperate for change above anything else.
Preston, who has set up a number of charitable initiatives in the community, meets me at the Fork in the Road, a high-end cafe he established which provides hospitality work to ex-offenders, recovering addicts and the long term unemployed. Inside the front window are two life-size cardboard cut-outs of Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May; we take them outside for a photo.
My political views havent changed the party positions have changed, he says, and it would be wrong to say its do with Jeremy Corbyn. Labour has been drifting to the left since Gordon Brown. He resents the ideological tribalism of Labour and says that he wants pragmatic solutions to poverty and underemployment. Theres no use believing that everyone wants to work, everyone wants to share and contribute because the truth is much more complicated than that.
UK General Election 2017 Show all 47 1 /47 UK General Election 2017 UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street for the 1922 committee on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 DUP leader Arlene Foster stands alongside deputy leader Nigel Dodds as they hold a press conference at Stormont Castle as the Stormont assembly power sharing negotiations reconvene following the general election on June 12, 2017 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Discussions between the DUP and the Conservative party are also continuing in the wake of the UK general election as Prime Minister Theresa May looks to form a government with the help of the Democratic Unionist parties ten Westminster seats. Stormont and the political situation in Northern Ireland has been in limbo following the collapse of the power sharing executive due to the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme scandal which implicated the DUP Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Priti Patel, International Development Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Larry the Downing Street cat runs ahead of Michael Fallon Britain's Secretary of State for Defence as he arrives for a cabinet meeting at Downing Street in London, Britain, June 12, 2017. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth REUTERS UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Michael Gove, Environment Secretary leaves 10 Downing Street on June 12, 2017 in London, England. British Prime Minister Theresa May held her first cabinet meeting with her re-shuffled team today Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 Scottish National Party Leader Nicola Sturgeon (C) leaves after speaking to the media in Parliament Square. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 12 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C, L) holds the first Cabinet meeting of her new team. Getty UK General Election 2017 11 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May attends church in her constituency with her husband Philip May, a few days after disappointing results in a general election. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn leaves Labour Party HQ this morning, following a general election yesterday. Parliament is hung, with no individual party gaining an overall majority. Post general election reaction. Rex UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - JUNE 09: DUP leader and Northern Ireland former First Minister Arlene Foster (C) holds a brief press conference with the DUP's newly elected Westminster candidates who stood in the general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A " Get May Out" demo took place opposite the gates of Downing Street, calling for May to resign, after the shock election results and Mays coalition with the DUP. Rex Features UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A demonstrator wears a mask depicting Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May, poses with a mock gravestone bearing the words "Hard Brexit, RIP", during a protest photocall near the entrance 10 Downing Street in central London AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters in London Reuters UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May flanked by her husband Philip delivers a statement outside 10 Downing Street in central Londo Getty UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party Theresa May leaves Buckingham Palace in London the day after a general election in which the Conservatives lost their majority Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 A TV cameraman watches the door of 10 Downing Street in London Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is greeted by his Office Director Karie Murphy as he arrives at Labour Party HQ in Westminster, London, after he called on the Prime Minister to resign, saying she should 'go and make way for a government that is truly representative of this country' Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May arrives at the Conservative Party's headquarters with her husband Philip in London REUTERS/Peter Nicholls UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ukip leader Paul Nuttall speaks during a press conference at Boston West Golf Club where he announced that he is standing down as party leader Joe Giddens/PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, leaves the counting centre for Britain's general election with her partner Jen Wilson in Edinburgh, Scotland REUTERS/Russell Cheyne UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale celebrates with candidate for Edinburgh South Ian Murray as he retains his seat at the Meadowbank Sports Centre counting centre in Edinburgh, Scotland Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the media at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, as counting is under way for the General Election Andrew Milligan/PA Wire UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson at Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, as counting is under way for the General Election PA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Scottish National Party (SNP) leader Nicola Sturgeon reacts at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, Scotland EPA UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 Jeremy Corbyn, leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, arrives at the Labour Party's Headquarters in London REUTERS/Marko Djurica UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 UKIP Leader Paul Nuttall leaves in a car following the vote count for the constituency of Boston and Skegness in Boston, England Anthony Devlin/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 9 June 2017 British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader Theresa May speaks at the declaration at the election count at the Magnet Leisure Centre in Maidenhead, England. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A policer officer enters a polling station in London AP UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A woman leaves after casting her vote at the Hove Museum and Art Gallery near Brighton, in southern England Getty UK General Election 2017 8 June 2017 A polling station sign is seen on a telephone box outside the polling station at Rotherwick Hall, west of London Getty UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 A woman walks past a general election display in the window of a betting shop in Camden on June 7, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow, Getty Images UK General Election 2017 7 June 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits Atherley Bowling Club during an election campaign visit on June 7, 2017 in Southampton, England. Britain goes to the polls tomorrow June 8 to vote in a general election. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A supporter wears a pair of Jeremy Corbyn decorated tights at a general election campaign event in Birmingham, central England, on June 6, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another deadly terror attack in the nation's captial. AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 A picture taken in London, shows election leaflets from various parties displayed ahead of the United Kingdom's general elections. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 Election workers, George Gaunt and Luca Tragid deliver the first ballot boxes, on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh AFP UK General Election 2017 6 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May meets with Conservative party supporters during an election campaign visit to a bakery during an election campaign visit on June 6, 2017 in Fleetwood, north-west England. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to vote in a general election only days after another terrorist attack on the nation's capital Getty Images UK General Election 2017 5 June 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May speaks during a general election campaign visit to a removals depot in Edinburgh AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Pro-Independence supporters hold a march through Glasgow AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigns for the upcoming general election in Beeston, Nottinghamshire AFP/Getty Images UK General Election 2017 3 June 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn reacts to supporters after a rally at Beeston Youth and Community Centre as he visits the East Midlands during the final weekend of the General Election campaign on June 3, 2017 in Nottingham, England. If elected in next week's general election Mr Corbyn is pledging to create a million new jobs and to scrap zero-hours contracts Getty Images UK General Election 2017 1 June 2017 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party leader Ruth Davidson joins a selection of Scottish Conservative election candidates and activists during campaigning on May 1, 2017 in South Queensferry, Scotland. With only seven days to go until the general election on June 8th, polls are showing the SNP out in front and the Conservatives set to close in on Labour. Getty Images UK General Election 2017 29 May 2017 Prime Minister Theresa May canvasses in Richmond with Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith on May 29, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. After suffering defeat in the London Mayoral election Zac Goldsmith resigned over the Government's position on Heathrow expansion. He stood as an Independent but lost in a by-election to the Liberal Democrats. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron poses for a selfie taken by carer April Preston during a General Election campaign visit to the Barlow Medical Centre, in Didsbury, Manchester Yui Mok/PA UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at an election campaign event in Wrexham, Wales Reuters UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, and Labour's former deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, exit the party's general election campaign 'battle' bus as they arrive at an event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 Britain's main opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn walks with supporters between venues, before speaking again at another general election campaign event in Kingston upon Hull, northern England Getty Images UK General Election 2017 22 May 2017 An anti-fox hunting protester is taken away and arrested by police outside the venue where Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May was due to launch the Welsh Conservative general election manifesto at Gresford Memorial Hall in the village of Gresford, near Wrexham, North Wales, on May 22, 2017. Britain goes to the polls on June 8 to elect a new parliament in a general election AFP/Getty Images
Twenty minutes down the road, inside Easterside Community Centre in the middle of an estate, David Bell a council worker in his twenties whos decided to campaign for Labour this election disagrees. The effect of Tory cuts has turned him political, he says. He works on the front line with people who are having their benefits cut: You get teenage mums, old people, coming to you, crying and saying they have no money to live on. After a while, you feel like you have to do something.
As soon as his shift ends, hes going door-knocking with Tracy Harvey. Their biggest problem as they see it is voter apathy: Middlesbrough can feel like its own island, where Labour never loses and everything stays the same regardless of whichever Prime Minister has the keys to Downing Street. No wonder the younger generation is starting to explore alternatives.
A half-hour drive from Middlesbrough is another Tory target marginal in the form of the market town of Darlington, where I shelter from the torrential rain in a nail bar off the main promenade. The owner and her three employees are all first generation Vietnamese immigrants; they speak broken English so its hard to delve into the reasons behind their decision, but tell me that they intend to vote because we like Theresa.
The woman having her nails done beside me joins the conversation: shes pregnant, and has a five-year-old son with special educational needs. I like the idea of Theresa May because shes a woman, she says, to the vociferous agreement of the nail technicians. Men are all warmongers, and male politicians have all been liars for years. A strong woman could sort us out. She comes across that way.
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Although she likes the idea of voting for Theresa May as a person, she says that Tory cuts have hit her family hard: What the cuts have done to my sons school its terrible. They had a school with four classes of 30, and they sent a letter out this week saying its now going to be three classes of 40. Plus theyre cutting Friday down to a half day. They dont have the funding they cant afford to pay the teachers. Once I saw that letter I thought I should probably actually vote Labour. The Tory brand may be toxic, but Brand Theresa clearly still has traction.
Nevertheless, the Labour vote feels strong here: two elderly men act as though Id suggested slaughtering their first-born children when I ask if theyd ever consider voting Conservative. Equally, a group of young women in their twenties tell me theyre definitely Labour: Theresa May is a lizard woman, says one, who doesnt want to give her name. The medias always saying Corbyn wouldnt be effective in a war but I like him. I find Theresa May really scary.
Labour canvassers get ready to hit the streets in Newcastle
Inside the towns main marketplace, most vendors tell me theyve given up voting Theyre all the same: liars. Theres no point voting for any of them but at the back, selling back copies of Marvel comics, I find June and Stephen Lock at a stall theyve named The Darl Knight. Theyve recently returned from France, they say, after raising their daughters there (Its a much better society our kids didnt pay any tuition fees for university; they got given huge maintenance grants and the education is top-notch.)
They like Corbyn but they intend to vote Lib Dem, partly as a protest vote against Brexit and partly because their local Labour MP has been vocal in speaking out against Corbyn and why should we support someone who openly criticises the leader and damages the party? They say that most local people they know are disillusioned with politics, because of all the career politicians, and say that they wish they had their own version of Nicola Sturgeon for the North.
Later, back in my hometown of Newcastle, I join the popular Labour candidate Chi Onwurah for a door-knocking session round an estate in the west end of the city during a cold and drizzly evening. Shes joined by a number of local activists, and as they tick off whos voting what on the form theyre compiling, a sense of optimism prevails.
At first, I saw the headlines and thought we were going to get wiped out during this election, says Onwurah. I was really worried. I felt like we needed to concentrate on galvanising the Labour voters we already have in the area to actually go out and vote, mitigate the damage. But after going round the city, the outcome feels a lot more positive. We feel like we can spare some activists in Newcastle now, so weve got a few car-loads of people organised to go out and campaign in Bishop Auckland on Sunday instead.
Alongside Middlesbrough and Darlington, Bishop Auckland is a main Tory target constituency in the North-east a few weeks ago, commentators were saying that Conservative candidates would sweep to victory across all three, and Labour campaigners were talking of damage control. Now, however, it feels like the tide might be turning. And if it does, then Theresa May will end up looking very foolish indeed.
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Isis has claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians which left 29 people, including children, dead.
Egyptian authorities said the victims were travelling through the Minya region towards Maghagha in the north west of the country when they were surrounded by eight to 10 attackers wearing military uniforms and masks who then opened fire, on Friday.
The Christians had been on a pilgrimage to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery when the attack took place.
Television footage at the scene showed a bus raked with bullets and windows smashed and surrounded by bodies covered in black plastic sheets.
A further 24 people were also wounded in the spree. Local media reported that only three children survived the attack.
The Egyptian military launched several air strikes on suspected militant training camps in Libya in response to the atrocities.
A statement from a military spokesperson did not specify precisely where the strikes were conducted but state television said on Friday that operations were focused on the eastern Libyan city of Derna.
The spokesperson said: The air force has conducted several intensive day and night-time strikes. They targeted several gatherings of terrorist elements within Libyan territory after coordinating and fully verifying all information.
In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Show all 15 1 /15 In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Egyptian Coptics mourn for the 21 men murdered by Isis AP In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt A man is comforted by others as he mourns over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, outside of the Virgin Mary church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of Cairo In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Women mourn over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by Isis militants In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt A relative of one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly murdered by Isis reacts after hearing the news in the village of Al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Relatives of Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly murdered by Isis militants in Libya react after hearing the news in the village of al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi offers his condolences to some of the Coptic families AFP In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb (R) offers his condolences to Egypt's Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Saint-Mark's Coptic Cathedral in Cairo's al-Abbassiya district In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt A Coptic clergyman shows a picture of a man whom he says is one of the Egyptian Coptic Christians purportedly murdered by Isis militants in Libya, during a memorial ceremony in the village of al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Relatives of Egyptian Coptic Christians murdered by Isis militants in Libya wlak through the village of Al-Awar in Egypt's southern province of Minya In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt A family relative of abducted Coptic Christian weeps AP In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Men mourn over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, inside of the Virgin Mary Church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of Cairo In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Men mourn over Egyptian Coptic Christians who were captured in Libya and killed by militants affiliated with the Islamic State group, inside the Virgin Mary Church in the village of el-Aour, near Minya, 220 kilometers (135 miles) south of Cairo In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Protesters hold placards during a demonstration against the killing of Egyptian Coptic Christians by militants of the Islamic State in Libya, in Cairo In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt Egyptians protest what they characterise as Government inaction in reaction to the kidnapping of Copts in Libya, Cairo EPA In pictures: Coptic Christians mourn victims of Isis beheadings Egypt A Coptic Christian woman prays for the release of 21 Coptic Egyptian men AP
The strikes led to the destruction of the planned targets, which included concentrated areas for the training of terrorist elements that participated in the planning and implementation of the Minya attack, he added.
In an address to the nation on Friday following the Minya shooting, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said Egypt would not hesitate to carry out further strikes against camps that trained people to carry out operations against Egypt, whether those camps were inside or outside the country.
Muslim leaders, including the Grand Mufti of Egypt and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Egypts 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning condemned what they called an act of brutal terrorism.
The Coptic church said it had received news of the killing of its martyrs with pain and sorrow.
The attack is the second time Isis has targeted the beleaguered Christian minority in Egypt in recent months following twin bombings that killed at least 44 people in churches in Tanta and Alexandria on Palm Sunday last month.
Isis has targeted numerous religious minorities including Coptic Christians who have been beheaded in Libya and Sufi and Shia Muslims, who have been massacred across the Middle East.
It has also particularly persecuted the Yazidi communities in Iraq men were murdered and women were sold into sex slavery when the group declared its caliphate in 2014.
Additional reporting by agencies
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Thousands of Christians, weeping and praying, gathered at a church in this small southern Egyptian village to mourn seven of their community who were among the more than two dozen Christians shot dead by unidentified gunmen earlier on Friday.
Their grief quickly turned to anger as funeral prayers at the Church of the Sacred Family in the village of Dayr Jarnous became a protest march with young men chanting as they carried a large wooden cross.
"With blood and soul, we will defend you, oh cross!" they yelled. "We will avenge them or die like them," they said. "There is no god but God and the Messiah is God!"
Gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians travelling to a monastery in central Egypt on Friday, killing at least 29 people and wounding 24, with many children among the victims.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against Copts.
Eyewitnesses said three vehicles were attacked. A bus and a car transporting children and families to the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor were the initial targets.
The gunmen fired at the windows then boarded the vehicles, shooting dead all the men and firing at the feet of the women and children. They also took all the gold the women were carrying, eyewitnesses said. Some children were killed.
When one of the gunmen's vehicles had a flat tyre, they stopped a truck carrying Christian workers, shot them and took their truck.
One of the gunmen had a camera, eyewitnesses said, indicating that the group behind the shootings might release footage of the attack in the future.
Safwat Bushra, an eyewitness from Edwa - a small town which like Dayr Jarnous lies in the province of Minya that is home to a sizable Christian minority - said he saw the shooting from the road where he was driving that morning.
He told Reuters that police at a checkpoint near the incident did not rush in to fight the gunmen and also did not allow an ambulance past the checkpoint.
"The officers and policemen at the checkpoints are known to have Islamist sympathies. Or at least they hate Copts," he said inside the church. Bushra was so enraged he had to be told by priests to calm down or leave.
A three-year-old and a four-year-old were killed, Bushra added.
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
Seven of the 29 Christians killed came from Dayr Jarnous. Bishop Agathon, Bishop of the Maghagha and Edwa Diocese, led the funeral prayers which were spoken in Coptic, the last living descendant of the ancient Egyptian language.
Women dressed in black wept and wailed, some even slapped themselves on the face. One woman whose father was killed had a nervous breakdown and had to be carried away from the church by others.
Even the boy and girl scouts charged with organising the prayers and responsible for internal security in the church were crying.
"Did they deserve this? They were just going to work and then were killed," said one crying woman, who did not give her name, referring to the Christian workers.
"God will avenge us. We will not do anything violent because we are Christians and love is in our hearts. It is enough that they will go to hell," she said.
Reuters
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Black Lives Matter, the movement for racial equality that swept the globe after starting out as a hashtag, has been awarded a major peace prize.
The campaign will receive this year's Sydney Peace Prize, whose judges chose it for "courageously reigniting a global conversation around state violence and racism" and inspiring "a bold movement for change".
It is the first time organisers have given the award to a movement rather than an individual. Previous recipients include Desmond Tutu and Noam Chomsky.
Black Lives Matter first emerged in the aftermath of the acquittal of George Zimmerman, who shot dead unarmed Florida 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2013.
The hashtag "BlackLivesMatter" was first used in a Facebook post by activist Alicia Garza, and gained prominence as protests erupted the next year after two unarmed black men - Michael Brown in Ferguson and Eric Garner in New York - died at the hands of police.
The phrase later became the name of a human rights campaign group founded by Ms Garza and fellow black female activists Patrisse Cullors and Opal Tometi.
Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Show all 15 1 /15 Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Kandy Freeman participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Hawk Newsome, a Black Lives Matter activist, leads a protest outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Hawk Newsome (C) leads a chant during a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, US. January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower An NYPD officer speaks with a Black Lives Matter leaders during a protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Kandy Freeman participates in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower An NYPD officer speaks with a Black Lives Matter leaders during a protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Carol Garza, a Black Lives Matter supporter, protests outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower People participate in a Black Lives Matter protest in front of Trump Tower in New York City, U.S. January 14, 2017. Stephanie Keith/Reuters Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower A Black Lives Matter supporter protests in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Black Lives Matter activists march in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Black Lives Matter supporters protest in the snow outside Trump Tower in New York City on January 14, 2017. Dominick Reuter/AFP/Getty Images Black Lives Matter organises march to Trump Tower Black Lives Matter Kandy Freeman marches in front of Trump Tower on January 14, 2017 in New York City. Kevin Hagen/Getty
Ms Cullors said: "Black Lives Matter is our call to action. It is about replacing narratives of black criminality with black humanity. It is a tool to reimagine a world where black people are free to exist, free to live, and a tool for our allies to show up for us."
The three founders will collect the award in November on behalf of the movement, which grew steadily into a nationwide and then international political network and now has 39 chapters across the globe.
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The Sydney Peace Foundation, which awards the prize, said the global phenomenon had been chosen "for building a powerful movement for racial equality, courageously reigniting a global conversation around state violence and racism. And for harnessing the potential of new platforms and power of people to inspire a bold movement for change at a time when peace is threatened by growing inequality and injustice."
Ms Tometti, who is also an executive director of Black Alliance for Just Immigration, said the award "is an affirmation and reminds us that we are on a righteous path".
She added: "Accepting this award is about our people on the ground striving for justice every single day. Its truly meaningful to be recognised in this way. Well continue to push forward until structural racism is dismantled and every black life matters."
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A lawyer for Trump adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner says Kushner stands ready to talk to federal investigators as well as Congress about his contacts and his role in Donald Trump's 2016 campaign.
Federal investigators and several congressional committees are looking into Russia-Trump campaign connections. Those investigations include allegations that there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
The Washington Post reports that the Russian ambassador to the United States told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
And Reuters reports that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador last year, including two phone calls between April and November.
Associated Press
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Witnesses who saw a triple stabbing on a train in Oregon say it may have been racially motivated, after a man who launched into a racist rant against two Muslim women then attacked passengers when they tried to intervene.
The attacker slashed the throats of three people as the Metro Area Express (MAX) train was pulling into a station in the north east corner of Portland leaving two dead and one injured.
The man was seen hurling racist abuse at two young women one of whom was wearing a hijab and then attacked the men when they came to their defence.
One man was pronounced dead at the scene while another died in hospital. The third man was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Police arrested a suspect on Friday afternoon who, they alleged, was seen running from the train, local newspaper The Oregonian reported.
Officers were still working on Friday night to identify those who were attacked.
Before the stabbing, the assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using "hate speech or biased language," and then turned his focus on the women, Police Sergeant Pete Simpson said.
"In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behaviour and some of the people that he was yelling at," Sgt Simpson told The Oregonian. "They were attacked viciously."
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
One witness, Evelin Hernandez,said the man had called Muslim people criminals and had said: Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you don't pay taxes here before he began his attack.
Police said they were still trying to establish whether the man had mental health issues or if he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time.
According to police, the two women left the scene before the police arrived and officers are now asking for them or anyone else who may have seen something to come forward.
Sgt Simpson did not give the ages of the pair but described them as "young girls".
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In a statement responding to Friday's attack, the Council on American-Islamic Relations said that anti-Muslim incidents increased by more than 50 per cent in the United States from 2015 to 2016 due in part to President Donald Trump's focus on militant Islamist groups and anti-immigrant rhetoric.
"President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad.
The administration says that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam.
It comes as millions of Muslims mark the beginning of Ramadan an Islamic holy month which involves dawn-to-dusk fasting.
Additional reporting by agencies
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Earth is likely to hit more dangerous levels of warming even sooner if the US pulls back from its pledge to cut carbon dioxide pollution, scientists said. That's because America contributes so much to rising temperatures.
President Donald Trump, who once proclaimed global warming a Chinese hoax, will soon decide whether the United States stays in or leaves a 2015 Paris climate change accord in which nearly every nation agreed to curb its greenhouse gas emissions.
Other global leaders have been urging him to stay during high level security and economic meetings in Italy that began Friday. Pope Francis already made the case with a gift of his papal encyclical on the environment when Trump visited the Vatican earlier this week.
In an attempt to understand what could happen to the planet if the U.S. pulls out of Paris, The Associated Press consulted with more than two dozen climate scientists and analysed a special computer model scenario designed to calculate potential effects.
Scientists said it would worsen an already bad problem, and make it far more difficult to prevent crossing a dangerous global temperature threshold.
Calculations suggest it could result in emissions of up to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon dioxide in the air a year. When it adds up year after year, scientists said that is enough to melt ice sheets faster, raise seas higher and trigger more extreme weather.
"If we lag, the noose tightens," said Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer, co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change.
Mr Trump has said he needs more to time to decide whether to pull out of the Paris climate change agreement (Evan Vucci/AP)
One expert group ran a worst-case computer simulation of what would happen if the U.S. does not curb emissions, but other nations do meet their targets. It found that America would add as much as half a degree of warming (0.3 degrees Celsius) to the globe by the end of century.
Scientists are split on how reasonable and likely that scenario is.
Many said because of cheap natural gas that displaces coal and growing adoption of renewable energy sources, it is unlikely that the U.S. would stop reducing its carbon pollution even if it abandoned the accord, so the effect would likely be smaller.
But others say it could be worse because other countries might follow a U.S. exit, leading to more emissions from both the U.S. and the rest.
10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Show all 10 1 /10 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A group of emperor penguins face a crack in the sea ice, near McMurdo Station, Antarctica Kira Morris 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Floods destroyed eight bridges and ruined crops such as wheat, maize and peas in the Karimabad valley in northern Pakistan, a mountainous region with many glaciers. In many parts of the world, glaciers have been in retreat, creating dangerously large lakes that can cause devastating flooding when the banks break. Climate change can also increase rainfall in some areas, while bringing drought to others. Hira Ali 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Smoke filled with the carbon that is driving climate change drifts across a field in Colombia. Sandra Rondon 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Amid a flood in Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, a woman on a raft searches for somewhere dry to take shelter. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable places in the world to sea level rise, which is expected to make tens of millions of people homeless by 2050. Probal Rashid 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Sindh province in Pakistan has experienced a grim mix of two consequences of climate change. Because of climate change either we have floods or not enough water to irrigate our crop and feed our animals, says the photographer. Picture clearly indicates that the extreme drought makes wide cracks in clay. Crops are very difficult to grow. Rizwan Dharejo 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Hanna Petursdottir examines a cave inside the Svinafellsjokull glacier in Iceland, which she said had been growing rapidly. Since 2000, the size of glaciers on Iceland has reduced by 12 per cent. Tom Schifanella 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A river once flowed along the depression in the dry earth of this part of Bangladesh, but it has disappeared amid rising temperatures. Abrar Hossain 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A shepherd moves his herd as he looks for green pasture near the village of Sirohi in Rajasthan, northern India. The region has been badly affected by heatwaves and drought, making local people nervous about further predicted increases in temperature. Riddhima Singh Bhati 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change A factory in China is shrouded by a haze of air pollution. The World Health Organisation has warned such pollution, much of which is from the fossil fuels that cause climate change, is a public health emergency. Leung Ka Wa 10 photographs to show to anyone who doesn't believe in climate change Water levels in reservoirs, like this one in Gers, France, have been getting perilously low in areas across the world affected by drought, forcing authorities to introduce water restrictions. Mahtuf Ikhsan
Another computer simulation team put the effect of the U.S. pulling out somewhere between 0.1 to 0.2 degrees Celsius (.18 to .36 degrees Fahrenheit).
While scientists may disagree on the computer simulations they overwhelmingly agreed that the warming the planet is undergoing now would be faster and more intense.
The world without U.S. efforts would have a far more difficult time avoiding a dangerous threshold: keeping the planet from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
The world has already warmed by just over half that amount with about one-fifth of the past heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions coming from the United States, usually from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
So the efforts are really about preventing another 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) from now.
"Developed nations particularly the U.S. and Europe are responsible for the lion's share of past emissions, with China now playing a major role," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis. "This means Americans have caused a large fraction of the warming."
Even with the U.S. doing what it promised under the Paris agreement, the world is likely to pass that 2 degree mark, many scientists said.
But the fractions of additional degrees that the U.S. would contribute could mean passing the threshold faster, which could in turn mean "ecosystems being out of whack with the climate, trouble farming current crops and increasing shortages of food and water," said National Center for Atmospheric Research's Kevin Trenberth.
Climate Interactive, a team of scientists and computer modellers who track global emissions and pledges, simulated global emissions if every country but the U.S. reaches their individualised goals to curb carbon pollution. And then they calculated what that would mean in global temperature, sea level rise and ocean acidification using scientifically-accepted computer models.
By the year 2030, it would mean an extra 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the air a year, according to the Climate Interactive models, and by the end of the century 0.3 degrees Celsius of warming.
"The U.S. matters a great deal," said Climate Interactive co-director Andrew Jones. "That amount could make the difference between meeting the Paris limit of two degrees and missing it."
Climate Action Tracker, a competing computer simulation team, put the effect of the U.S. pulling out somewhere between 0.1 to 0.2 degrees Celsius (.18 to .36 Fahrenheit) by 2100. It uses a scenario where U.S. emissions flatten through the century, while Climate Interactive has them rising.
One of the few scientists who downplay the harm of the U.S. possibly leaving the agreement is John Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the scientist credited with coming up with the 2 degree goal.
"Ten years ago (a U.S. exit) would have shocked the planet," Schellnhuber said. "Today if the U.S. really chooses to leave the Paris agreement, the world will move on with building a clean and secure future."
Not so, said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe: "There will be ripple effects from the United States' choices across the world."
Associated Press
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Down to the final day of his lengthy first international trip, President Donald Trump will lift off for Washington having rattled some allies and reassured others, returning to a White House that sits under a cloud of scandal.
Trump arrived Saturday for the second day of the G-7 summit in Sicily, bringing to an end a nine-day trip that started in Saudi Arabia and Israel before moving on to three European stops. The trip has largely gone off without a major misstep, with the administration touting the president's efforts to birth a new coalition to fight terrorism, while admonishing partners in an old alliance to pay their fair share.
After the pomp of presidential travel overseas, Trump will return to Washington to find the same problems that have dogged him.
As a newly appointed special counsel is beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and close adviser, has become a focus of the probe, according to The Washington Post. His lawyer said Kushner will cooperate with investigators.
James Comey, the former FBI director leading the Russian probe until Trump abruptly fired him, is still expected to testify before Congress about the memos he kept on conversations with the president that involved the investigation.
The search for a new FBI director continues.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
And Trump's policy agenda has run into problems. The GOP health care bill that passed the House faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, after a Congressional Budget Office analysis that it would leave 23 million more Americans uninsured by 2026. The president's budget was widely criticised for deep cuts to safety net programmes. And some are starting to question the chances for tax reform.
Trump will break with presidential precedent by not holding at least one lengthy question-and-answer session with the press while abroad. Anxious about Trump's tendency to make things worse for himself with unscripted remarks, the White House staff has kept the president a safe distance from journalists for most of the trip.
First Lady Melania and President Donald Trump arrive in Brussels
Trump was warmly welcomed in the Middle East, but in Europe he's faced a far cooler reception. He's been willing to risk disapproval, engaging in an extraordinary scolding of close allies over their responsibility to pay for mutual defense. But true to form, on Friday Trump also showed that he might be willing to deal.
While Trump is demanding that the world's wealthiest nations to do more to fight terror, he's also listening to their urgings about the need for the U.S. to remain in the sweeping Paris climate agreement. As a candidate Trump denounced the deal, but has since said he's waiting to make a final decision.
"His views are evolving, he came here to learn and get smarter," said Gary Cohn, national economic council director, when asked about the president's views on the climate agreement. Cohn would not commit to a timetable for a decision. National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, who appeared with Cohn at a briefing late Friday, quickly jumped in to reiterate that Trump would make a decision based "on what's best for the American people."
Other G-7 nations leaned heavily on Trump to stay in the deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many arguments."
Trump took part in the ceremonial spectacle of the summit, this time at a picturesque Sicilian town above the Mediterranean Sea. But he also held one-on-one meetings with the leaders of Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany. The meeting with Merkel came just a day after Trump reportedly called Germans "bad." Cohn stressed Friday that the president was simply being critical of the U.S. trade deal with Germany.
Trump also understands that Germany is bound by the rules of the European Union and could not unilaterally change its trade policies, Cohn said. Trade was a big topic, with Cohn saying the United States' guiding principle will be "we will treat you the way you treat us," suggesting that retaliatory tariffs could be imposed.
Trump's meeting with British Prime Minister Theresa May, meanwhile, came just a day after he vowed to investigate a leak of intelligence to the American media about this week's deadly bombing at a concert in England. The leak prompted Manchester police to stop sharing intelligence with the United States.
The G-7 summit began in the shadow of Trump's remarkable appearance at NATO, in which he chastised some of the most loyal U.S. allies for not paying their fair share to the alliance. He also refused to explicitly endorse the mutual defence agreement that has been activated only once, during the terrorist attacks of September, 2001.
While hectoring NATO, Trump tried to foster a better bond with Israel, a longtime ally, and with Saudi Arabia, a repressive regime that has a problematic record on human rights.
Associated Press
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Donald Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former US officials said.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Mr Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official.
Mr Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinising former national security adviser Michael Flynn's connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Mr Kushner's contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Mr Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Mr Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the President's inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Multiple attempts to obtain comment from Mr Kushner or his representatives were unsuccessful.
In March, the White House said that Mr Kushner and Mr Flynn had met Mr Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish 'a line of communication.' Mr Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Mr Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Mr Kushner and Russian officials.
Before the election, Mr Kislyak's undisclosed discussions with Mr Kushner and Mr Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving US-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the 8 November election, Mr Kushner and Mr Flynn also discussed with Mr Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Mr Flynn and Mr Kislyak as Mr Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Mr Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the 8 November presidential election, including six calls with Mr Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynn's involvement in those discussions.
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. 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Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. 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Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Mr Kushner and Mr Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Mr Kushner engaged with Mr Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
FBI scrutiny of Mr Kushner began when intelligence reports of Mr Flynn's contacts with Russians included mentions of US citizens, whose names were redacted because of US privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask US intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current US law enforcement official said.
Mr Kushner's was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the President's son-in-law's dealings with Mr Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Mr Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Mr Trump, said the current US law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Mr Putin appointed, met Mr Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under US sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Mr Kushner along with other representatives of US banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Mr Trump authorised, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Mr Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russia's attempts to interfere in last year's election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what US intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Mr Trump's chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Reuters
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In an unusual admission, Group of Seven (G7) leaders have said in their final communique from a summit in Italy that they had failed to bridge differences over climate change with US President Donald Trump - and America was unable to join other countries in committing to the Paris Agreement.
The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics, the communique read.
Understanding this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement, it added.
Donald Trump says Nato member states need to 'pay up'
Under pressure from allies, Mr Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism, but refused to endorse the global Paris climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they hoped were long settled.
Mr Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, tweeted that he would make a decision next week on whether to back the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions following lengthy discussions with G7 partners.
Recommended Trump plays up his boorish side abroad as his support at home dwindles
The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not.
Climate action groups were quick to condemn Mr Trumps actions.
Roberto Barbieri, Executive Director of Oxfam Italy, said: President Trump, more than anyone else, has assumed the role of spoiler-in-chief - blocking agreement on many of these key concerns that affect millions of the worlds poorest people.
It is courageous that six of the G7 countries stood up to him and reaffirmed their commitment to deliver on the climate deal made in 2015, he added.
Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) said that Mr Trump waffling on the issue of whether to stay in or leave the accord was deeply damaging.
President Trumps climate inaction plan is a threat to every Americans health and future prosperity, he said.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
Some were more optimistic than Ms Merkel. French President Emmanuel Macron praised Mr Trump's capacity to listen and said I found someone who is open and willing to deal well with us.
The new French president, said that I saw a leader with strong opinions on a number of subjects, which I share in part the fight against terrorism, the willingness to keep our place in the family of nations and with whom I have disagreements that we spoke about very calmly. I saw someone who listens and who is willing to work.
Mr Macron said he told Trump that is indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris agreement.
There was also relief that Mr Trump agreed to language in the final G7 communique that pledged to fight protectionism and commits to a rules-based international trade system.
During his election campaign last year, Mr Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it is renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany very bad on trade because of its surplus with the United States.
In the end we convinced them to include the fight against protectionism in the final communique, so that was a step forward, said one European diplomat, who declined to be named.
Thousands march against Trump in Belgium
Meeting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of neighbouring Africa.
The internal G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Manchester on Monday, that killed 22, overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined the world power leaders to discuss their continent's potential.
Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the crisis in Libya the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of refugees migrants looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticised them for not honouring aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions.
Be it Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through development that we will prevent illegal migration, Mr Issoufou said.
Italy was disappointed not to receive more backing for its call to open up more legal channels for immigration to try to slow the flow of people risking their lives to reach Europe on flimsy boats from Libya.
There was very strong opposition by the Americans and British who wanted to refocus on security and water down the expansive language on freedom of movement, said a European diplomat, who declined to be named.
The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider audience.
After lengthy deliberation, the document included a separate threat, that was inserted into the 2016 G7 statement, to take additional action against Russia, if warranted, for its intervention in Ukraine.
The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pledged to up the penalties if Russian interference in Ukraine intensified. Mr Trump's promise of warmer ties with Moscow had called into question the US commitment to sanctions.
Diplomats said that on other key international issues, such as Syria and North Korea, there was broad G7 agreement.
Security questions dominated initial G7 discussion on Friday and the leaders called on internet service providers and social media firms to substantially increase their efforts to rein in extremist content.
Mr Trump is due to return to Washington later on Saturday at the end of a nine-day tour of the Middle East and Europe his first foreign trip since taking office. Unlike other G7 leaders, he is not due to give a press conference before flying out. US officials said he had enjoyed robust conversations with his allies in Sicily and had also learnt a lot especially in the debate on climate change.
Reuters
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It is a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire for US President Donald Trump having returned to Washington from his first foreign trip - thanks to the latest revelations surrounding his team and Russia.
Following on from a difficult meeting with world leaders at a summit in Italy, Mr Trump and his team face reports that Mr Trumps son-on-law - and top White House adviser - Jared Kushner had looked to set up a secret back channel between the Kremlin and the Trump transition team.
It was meeting in December with Sergei Kislyak the Russian ambassador to the United States where Mr Kushner - who was a private citizen but involved in the transition to the White House -proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities for back-channel discussions.
Recommended Jared Kushner was right to seek private channels with Russia
Mr Kislyak was said to have told his superiors that he was taken aback by the suggestion of using Russian facilities - the aim being making the conversations more difficult to monitor - for the line that was meant to be used to be to discuss Syria and other policy issues.
The White House did not acknowledge Mr Kushner attending the meeting - which also reportedly included than National security Adviser Michael Flynn - until March and called it a brief courtesy meeting.
The proposal was never acted upon, according to the Washington Post that first reported the story, but the actions of Mr Kusher are coming under increasing scrutiny as part of the FBI investigation into Russias alleged meddling in last years Presidential election.
The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images
That investigation, and those in both the House of Representatives and the Senate into the election and potential ties between Mr Trumps team and Moscow, have dogged Mr Trump and his team for months and have led to a number of negative headlines. These only increased after the firing earlier this month of FBI Director James Comey.
It is clear that Mr Trump and his team are looking to control the damage from such revelations and contain the crisis that is threatening to consume his presidency. Mr Trump and his advisers are believed to be looking at ways to change the way the White House communicates with the public - with more campaign-style rallies one of the apparent alterations being considered.
There were elements of such a strategy on display during his foreign trip to the Middle East and Europe over the last week - with Mr Trump the only world leader at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy not to give a press conference, while also then heading out to give a campaign-like speech to US soldiers based in the country.
Former CIA chief says intelligence showed links between Russians and Trump campaign members
Officials in the White House have also believed to have held discussions about setting up a War Room to shield the day-to-day running of the presidency from the various investigations underway. Those discussions are said to have been led - at least in part - by Mr Trumps chief strategist Stephen Bannon, with Mr Trump also expected to hold discussions with his legal team and other advisers, with the New York Times reporting this could begin as early as Sunday.
One Saturday, Mr Trump also cancelled a rally in Iowa next week due to an unforeseen change in the Presidents schedule, but there was no further elaboration.
It is clear that the Trump team are not looking to add to the reports over the actions of Mr Kushner, with top Trump aides making clear on Saturday that they would not address the contents of Mr Kushner's December meeting with the Russian diplomat. But they did not dismiss the idea that the administration would go outside normal US government and diplomatic channels for communications with other countries.
Speaking generally, national security adviser HR McMaster said we have back channel communications with a number of countries It allows you to communicate in a discreet manner.
So it doesn't pre-expose you to any sort of content or any kind of conversation or anything. So we're not concerned about it, he added.
In response to repeated questions from reporters, Trump economic adviser Gary Cohn said, We're not going to comment on Jared. We're just not going to comment.
As for Mr Kushner, he is apparently not looking to reduce his role as part of Mr Trumps team but he is said to have become increasingly weary of the scrutiny he has been placed under.
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Donald Trump has said that terror attacks such as those seen in Manchester and Egypt "steel our resolve" to "crush the terrorists and drive them out of this Earth".
With trouble facing him back home, Mr Trump ended his nine-day overseas journey - including trips to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Europe - in dramatic fashion on Saturday, addressing US troops at a campaign-style rally.
"We travelled the worldto form a new partnership among nations devoted to the task of eradicating the terrorism that plagues our planet," Mr Trump said.
Read more G7 leaders blame Trump for failure to reach climate change agreement "The barbaric attack in Manchester and the massacre of innocent young lives underscores the depth of the evil we face and the urgent need for us to join forces to absolutely and totally defeat it," he added. He then moved onto the attack in Egypt on Friday, claimed by Isis, where more than 20 Coptic Christians were killed. "These murderous attacks steel our resolve. Together civilised nations will crush the terrorists, block their funding, strip them of their territory and drive them out of this Earth," he said.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
Mr Trump flipped traditional U.S. foreign policy upside down on his tour through the Middle East and Europe, coddling Middle Eastern leaders with questionable human rights records while demanding traditional European allies pay more for their defence.
Mr Trump said he had helped forge more international cooperation in the fight against Islamist militants, a threat he said was underscored by a suicide bomber in Manchester, England, and the killing of Coptic Christians in Egypt.
In the hangar at Naval Air Station Sigonella, which is also on Sicily, Trump was introduced by his wife Melania, who has raised eyebrows during the trip by twice flicking away her husband's hand when he tried to hold hers.
My husband worked very hard on this trip and I am very proud of him, she said.
Mr Trump called his first foreign trip a "home run"
It was a tremendously productive meeting where I strengthen American bonds, he said. We have great bonds with other countries and, with some of our closest allies, we concluded a truly historic week.
Reuters
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Donald Trumps Secretary of State has refused to host an event to mark Islams holy month of Ramadan, seemingly breaking with a long bipartisan tradition.
Rex Tillerson turned down a request to hold a reception to coincide with the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month of fasting, according to officials.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either the reception or an iftar dinner to break the days fast during Ramadan.
Mr Tillerson turned down a request from the State Departments Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host the Eid reception, two unnamed US officials said.
The Office of Religion and Global Affairs requested in April that the Secretary of State delivered remarks at an Eid reception this year, and suggested a two-week range of dates in July.
The event would serve to highlight State Department initiatives and the importance of Muslim engagement, its memo said.
Several weeks later, the office was alerted that Mr Tillerson had declined the request. His rejection of the request suggests there are no plans this year for any high-profile Ramadan events at the State Department.
Members of Congress, Muslim community leaders, diplomats from Islamic countries and senior US officials usually attend the State Departments Ramadan event, a symbol of the US governments diplomatic efforts with Muslim countries and people.
Muslim activists have previously accused President Donald Trumps administration of a hostile attitude toward Islam, encapsulated by its attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Mr Trump referenced terrorism repeatedly in his statement issued this week commemorating Ramadan. The Trump administration has said it opposes only Islamist militants, rather than Islam itself.
Ramadan 2017 began on the evening of Friday 26 May, with the month of fasting and prayer for Muslims truly getting underway on Saturday.
Asked to comment on Mr Tillerson declining to host an Eid reception in June, a State Department spokesman said: We are still exploring possible options for observance of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan.
US ambassadors are encouraged to celebrate Ramadan through a variety of activities, which are held annually at missions around the world.
Aides pointed to Mr Trumps visit this month to Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
Former US diplomat Farah Pandith, who helped plan Ramadan events at the White House and State Department during the Bush and Obama administrations, said breaking with tradition could send a signal that it is not as important to this administration to engage with Muslims.
Mr Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan, which he called a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection.
Several prominent Muslim-American groups in the Washington area who are normally invited to the Ramadan event told Reuters they had yet to receive an invitation from the State Department, which they said was unusual.
If theyre having one, we havent been invited, said Rabiah Ahmed of the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington. A representative for her group has been invited to the State Department event in the past, she added.
Mr Trumps administration has had a fraught relationship with Muslims. As a presidential candidate, the Republican urged a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US, called for more surveillance of mosques and warned that radical Muslims were trying to take over our children.
The President has since toned down his rhetoric and courts have halted his temporary travel ban on people from six Muslim majority countries.
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright started the tradition of Americas top diplomat hosting a public event for Ramadan 18 years ago. The sitting secretary of state usually gives remarks on the meaning of the holy month.
White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on whether they would continue the tradition this year of hosting a Ramadan-related event at the White House.
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I have lost my family, my family are pieces in the street, just take my children.
Those were Abids first words to Iraqi soldiers as he fell across their frontline holding his injured son and daughter, having been shot five times as the family attempted to flee Mosul.
He survived the horrific ordeal but his wife and 11-year-old son died before his eyes as an Isis car bomb exploded in the street they were running down.
When the air strikes and shooting started, I took shelter between the wall and the cars, and suddenly there was an explosion, Abid recalls in an interview with Save the Children.
A car bomb exploded next to my family, and I was a bit ahead of them, so the explosion pushed me forward.
I looked behind and all I saw was fire and smoke, I passed out for few minutes, then I woke up to the screams of my children.
I looked at my daughter, she was covered in blood, from head to toe, her clothes were torn off, my son was the same, it was horrifying.
I looked back to discover my wife cut into two pieces, and my elder sons belly was open, his intestines hanging out. My other daughters leg was burning and she was lying on the ground.
Abid, 45, saw his wife and son killed in an explosion as they tried to flee Mosul (Simona Sikimic/Save the Children)
Abid swept up his nine-year-old son, Bashir, and seven-year-old daughter, Yasmina, and started running but got caught in the crossfire between Iraqi forces and Isis.
With three bullet wounds to his legs and two in his back, he ran until he met the army, handing over his children for medical help.
They came to me but I told them I was dead, so to just take my children, Abid said.
I was totally shocked and couldnt understand what just happened, I thought I lost the rest of my family as I saw them lying on the ground drowning in their blood.
Then they took us to the hospital, we spent maybe ten days there until I regained consciousness properly.
The father woke to be told his wife and eldest son were dead, while his daughter had been found but had to have her leg amputated and nine-year-old Bashir was badly injured by shrapnel that hit his face and eyes.
Amina, 13, was injured by an explosion as she fled Mosul with her father Abid and had to have her leg amputated (Simona Sikimic/Save the Children)
Yasmina survived with minor injuries, as did his four-year-old son, Khaled.
The nightmare had started in 2014 when Isis took control of Mosul where Abid owned a small restaurant, using the citys mosque to declare the formation of the Islamic State.
When life in the city became unbearable under a lack of jobs, food and the constant pressure exerted by Isis brutal interpretation of Sharia law, the family moved to a nearby village.
Life was also terrible as the family waited for a miracle to happen. When the offensive to retake Mosul started last year, they thought it had come.
But the relief was short-lived when Abid, his wife and their five young children were rounded up and forced back into Mosul to be used as human shields.
It was the worst of war, intensive bombing and clashes day and night, the shells were falling like rain, and the air strikes were targeting everything, even the houses, Abid says.
It was crazy to try and leave your place because Isis fighters would shoot you if they saw you in the street and the airplanes would target anything that was moving.
We were literally starving, so I decided that we must find our way out, otherwise I knew we would die here for sure.
I couldnt take it any longer I took my family and started moving outand I wish I hadnt.
In pictures: Mosul offensive Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Mosul offensive In pictures: Mosul offensive A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory" AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. AFP In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya) Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah In pictures: Mosul offensive A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty
Abid waited until he heard the army had advanced to just a few streets away, sneaking his family alongside others out of a house and through the ruined streets.
While attempting to avoid Isis notorious booby traps and mines, the families were showered with shrapnel from a nearby air strike. They ran for shelter but seconds later, the car bomb hit.
He, Bashir and Yasmina were evacuated by the Iraqi military to Erbil emergency hospital, later being reunited with Khaled and Amina.
Amina, 13, is now recovering and hopes to one day become a doctor like those who saved her life.
I want to go back to school, Amina told aid workers from her hospital bed. War is bombing, people die in the streetpeople turn into pieces, this is war, missiles, bombsthis is what happened to us. The war must stop.
The increasing intensity of civilian casualties in Mosul caused Iraqi forces to temporarily pause their advance earlier this year.
Amina (centre) with her brother and sister after the operation (Simona Sikimic/Save the Children)
The Old City is densely populated Save the Children says overcrowded residential areas are being hit by US-led coalition air strikes, artillery, rockets, mortars and makeshift explosives and that an estimated 90 per cent of those killed or injured in residential areas are civilians, with children being the most likely to die.
Bombing densely populated civilian areas in Mosul and destroying its infrastructure will make it harder to rebuild the city and restore hope, says Kevin Watkins, CEO of Save the Children, adding that Iraqi forces and their coalition allies should take every precaution to protect civilian lives.
Recommended Iraq investigating claims of civilian abuse by soldiers in Mosul
According to the latest figures released by the Iraqi government, more than 400,000 people have been displaced from west Mosul in the past two months alone, bringing the total number of people displaced by the offensive to 700,000, including hundreds of thousands of children.
Many of those who survived are deeply traumatised by the conflict and Isis brutality after witnessing beheadings, shootings and crucifixions and being forced to undergo an extremist education or enter camps training child soldiers.
The Iraqi army initially urged civilians to stay inside their homes during battles, but leaflets dropped on Isis last remaining strongholds on Thursday urged them to flee using new exit corridors.
But charities are concerned the call to leave will see them caught in the crossfire, with significant doubts that any route will be genuinely safe for the 200,000 people still trapped in Mosul.
The warnings come as the UN says civilians are increasingly paying the price as air strikes on Isis escalate in neighbouring Syria and terrorists seek bloody retribution.
Displaced Iraqis flee their homes in west Mosul on 17 May as security forces advance during the ongoing offensive against Isis (AFP/Getty Images) (Getty)
We fear civilians are in an increasingly dangerous situation as the air strikes and ground conflict intensify, possibly resulting in many more casualties, as well as retaliatory assaults by Isis against densely populated civilian areas, says the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Prince Zeid bin Raad.
There is little doubt that Isis continues constantly to kill and endanger civilians, committing war crimes without any compunction whatsoever.
However, it is also far from clear that the fundamental principles of international law are being properly adhered to by all the various air forces engaged in the fight against Isis.
There was news of more deaths on Friday, as at least 35 people were reportedly killed when bombing destroyed a market and a four-storey building in the Isis-held town of Mayadeen.
US Central Command has also confirmed the deaths of more than 100 civilians, including children, in an air strike on the al-Jadida district of Mosul in March.
They were sheltering in buildings targeted because of the presence of Isis snipers on the roof, bombed on the instruction of Iraqi forces who were apparently unaware of the families inside.
Investigators said a single guided bomb hit the top floor but ignited a large amount of explosive material placed inside by Isis fighters, destroying the building.
World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. 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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
Catastrophic rates of civilian casualties caused the Mosul offensive to be temporarily paused following the incident, which has been contested by local residents claiming there were no additional explosives inside the building.
The bombing is the largest single instance of civilian deaths confirmed by the coalition in the nearly three-year-long campaign against Isis, and brought the total number of civilians confirmed killed by the Pentagon to 457.
Independent monitoring groups put the total number of civilian deaths as much higher, estimating that thousands have been killed in Iraq and Syria since 2014.
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Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on Saturday after reaching a compromise with Israel for additional family visits, Israeli and Palestinian officials said.
Israeli prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike on Saturday morning. She said it came after Israel reached a deal with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second family visit each per month.
Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since Israels 1967 capture of territories that Palestinians seek for their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Englander said 1,578 prisoners participated in the hunger strike overall and 834 ended their fast on Saturday. She added that 18 prisoners were being treated in hospitals.
Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas, which runs Gaza and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a seemingly distracted international community as the Israeli occupation hits the 50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel at one time or another since 1967.
Israels public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas' Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organiser Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and secure his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghouti's family has denied such claims.
Qadoura Fares, who runs the Palestinian Prisoners Club advocacy group, said negotiations took place between Israel officials and a committee from the prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti. He said negotiations began on Friday and were the first since the strike began.
Mr Barghouti is serving five life terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he never mounted a defence, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.
Earlier this month, Israel released footage it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast. Palestinians say the video is a fabrication.
AP
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A court in Saudi Arabia has upheld a death sentence for a disabled man who was arrested after he attended a protest, campaigners have said.
Munir al-Adam, 23, was beaten so badly he lost hearing in one ear during demonstrations in the Shia dominated east of the country in 2012.
Human rights campaigners have slammed the decision, calling it shocking and demanding the White House intervenes.
Trump commerce secretary praises lack of protest in Saudi Arabia, where it is punishable by death
Mr Adam was sentenced to death in a secretive trial in the countrys Specialised Criminal Court last year. Now, an appellate court has decided the sentence should be carried out, despite international criticism.
Mr Adam only has the opportunity to appeal the decision once more before King Salman signs his death warrant.
Munirs case is utterly shocking the White House should be appalled that our Saudi allies tortured a disabled protester until he lost his hearing then sentenced him to death on the basis of a forced confession, said Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve, a legal justice charity.
Mr Adam was tortured by police, despite his medical records detailing his disabilities, and forced to sign a false confession, campaigners said. He already suffered impaired vision and hearing, which stem from a skull fracture after a a childhood accident.
He was charged with violent acts at a protest, a Reprieve spokesman told The Independent, but no evidence was produced at his trial other than the signed confession made under duress, activists say.
The authorities accused Mr Adam of sending texts but the manual worker was apparently too poor to own a phone.
The decision comes after a recent visit by President Trump to the Gulf state, which is one of the worlds most prolific executioners and notorious for its human rights abuses. Previous administrations have raised the issue of rights with Saudi leaders, but campaigners believe Mr Trumps failure to do so may have emboldened the state to proceed with controversial decisions.
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
Ms Foa said: Todays judgment shows that, by failing to raise human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia, President Trump has emboldened the Kingdom to continue the torture and execution of protesters.
The Trump administration must now urgently stand up for American values. They must call for the release of Munir, and all others who face execution for simply exercising freedom of expression.
After Mr Trumps trip to Saudi Arabia, Wilbur Ross, the US treasury secretary, said there was not a single hint of a protester in the country. The remark which was widely condemned because of Saudi Arabias severe restrictions on freedom of expression.
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The campaign against Brexit has been one of the most unsuccessful political movements in the world. It all started when David Cameron had a bright idea. I thought it right to hold the referendum because this issue had been poisoning British politics for years, he said recently. The referendum would get rid of the irritation that had been yapping at his ankles ever since he became Conservative leader.
Indeed, he became leader by shrewdly appeasing the Eurosceptics in his party. He promised to pull out of the European Peoples Party Angela Merkels outfit in the European Parliament. In return, he expected the Tories to stop banging on about Europe.
They didnt. They demanded a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which was what the EU Constitution became after it was defeated in referendums in France and the Netherlands. When the treaty was ratified by the British Parliament in 2008, Cameron dropped his demand for a referendum on it because it was too late. And his party did stop banging on for a bit, because there was an election on.
But then, after he became Prime Minister, they started up again: huge backbench rebellions on demands for a referendum; the rise of Ukip. So he decided, in 2012, to drain the poison by promising a national vote on Brexit, a term first used by Peter Wilding in a blog in May that year.
Theresa May grimaces after being told she admitted Brexit was to blame for people's problems
Ed Miliband resisted the pressure from Ed Balls, his shadow Chancellor, to match the promise of an EU referendum and so the 2015 election became, in part, a choice between affirming Britains membership of the EU and taking a risk with it. We know how that worked out.
The campaign against Brexit then mobilised everyone from Barack Obama to the Pope to argue for staying in, and we know how that worked out too.
Remainers sometimes say that the result was close, which it was. There was just 1.8 per cent in it, which meant that if one Leave voter in 50 had voted Remain it would have gone the other way. On the other hand, when you consider that not just Obama and the Pope but the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, three-quarters of all MPs, the Governor of the Bank of England, the CBI, TUC and JK Rowling all said leaving the EU was a bad idea, the 52 per cent Leave vote was pretty emphatic.
After the referendum, the rearguard action to try to reverse it, reconsider it or at the least to keep options open about it turned out to be just as counter-productive. An expensive court case to force new Prime Minister Theresa May to put the invoking of Article 50, the formal process of leaving, to votes in Parliament was successful. Both Houses of Parliament then voted by large majorities to do so. In the Commons the vote was 80 per cent. In the Lords it was 70 per cent.
In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Show all 12 1 /12 In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier listens at the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker speaking at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Frank-Walter Steinmeier, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, delivers his speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Michel Barnier, European Chief Negotiator for Brexit reacts during a meeting at the European Parliament in Strasbourg EPA In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Member of the European Parliament and former leader of the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Nigel Farage wears socks with Union Jack flag at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty Images In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Nigel Farage, United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) member and MEP, addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcoming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier gestures during speeches at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker (L) speaks with European commission member in charge of Brexit negotiations with Britain, French Michel Barnier at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt, President of the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), addresses the European Parliament during a debate on Brexit priorities and the upcomming talks on the UK's withdrawal from the EU Reuters In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier delivers a speech during a plenary session at the European Parliament in Strasbourg Getty In pictures: European parliament Brexit discussions The European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France Getty Images
Any doubts about the legitimacy of the referendum should have been quashed by those votes. If the referendum were merely advisory, as some of the rearguard pointed out, then Parliament had considered that advice and acted on it.
Yet the campaign against Brexit continued. Tony Blair found an audience for his analogy about agreeing a house swap without seeing the other house and reserving the right to a change of mind on viewing or, in this case, after the terms of Brexit had been negotiated. Tim Farron demanded a second referendum, although that would require the EU 27 to accept that Article 50 was reversible, and it would guarantee that they would offer us nothing in the Brexit negotiations, in order to try to change our minds.
But it was Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit Secretary, and Jeremy Corbyn who took the next counter-productive step. They refused to say that Labour MPs would vote in the final vote that May had promised Parliament to endorse whatever Brexit deal she came back with. Naturally enough, they did not want to support in advance a no deal outcome of the Brexit talks.
That apparently sensible bit of constructive opposition blew up in their faces when May stepped out of No 10 to announce, at the uncrested lectern, that she was calling an election because in recent weeks Labour has threatened to vote against the deal we reach with the EU. No doubt she would have found another reason to go to the country if Labour hadnt given her that opening, but it is remarkable how every attempt to keep open the option of a second thought about Brexit has resulted in its being more firmly closed.
We expected what followed to be the Brexit election, devoted mostly to the question, Who do you trust to negotiate our departure from the EU? It hasnt turned out like that, although it is likely to return to that question in the final 11 days. But it remains true that this election is, in effect, a second referendum on the Brexit question. Those who dont accept the result of the referendum, despite the Article 50 votes in Parliament, will have lost their last line of defence if Theresa May wins a parliamentary majority on an explicit manifesto promise to leave the EU.
And, if she wins, she will have a free hand (with the possible exception of the undemocratic House of Lords) to negotiate Brexit as she sees fit.
What a paradox for those Remainers who argue that the decision to leave the EU was a capricious one, the product of a momentary, precarious majority on 23 June, that every attempt to frustrate Brexit has ended up making our departure from the EU more certain.
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The more things go kaflooey for Donald Trump at home, the trickier and less malleable he becomes for the rest of the world. This equation was surely apparent to anyone in his path in Brussels and Taormina last week including the Prime Minister of Montenegro, who was physically repositioned by Trump at his most oafish as he barged to the front for a family photo at Nato.
Had anyone been hoping for a less testy Trump they were surely disappointed. At Nato, he might have recognised the sacrifices of nations much smaller than his fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan instead of delivering a scolding to virtually every other member nation allegedly for stiffing the American taxpayer in their contributions to the Alliance. He might also have refrained from calling the Germans very bad for being very good at selling their cars in America.
Euro Trashed, blared the front page of the Daily News in New York the following day: Don shoves a Prime Minister, Insults Germany.
But for Trump to be in a better mood, we need be nicer to him. Melania could start by not snatching her hand away from his. There were moments during his trip when it seemed as if the other leaders had stage-managed events to make him look foolish on tape. I am suspicious of Emmanuel Macron, the President of France; the way he walked straight for Trump at Nato and swerved at the last minute to greet Angela Merkel instead: not subtle.
With his shoulder pads and cockatiel hair, Trump does not look short on confidence. He is the leader of the most powerful nation on Earth. But we all see signs of a man chronically uncertain of how the rest of us perceive him. A confident Trump wouldnt obsess over every cruel joke about him on Saturday Night Live. A confident Trump wouldnt feel compelled to snipe petulantly at his every foe on Twitter. A confident Trump wouldnt Sellotape his tie to his shirt.
He wouldnt want our pity that would negate the very essence of his political brand, Trump the Strong. But he shouldnt worry: if Americans are generally protective of their presidents in rough times, I hazard that may not apply to him. Those who did not vote for him thats most of them only get more disdainful. His supporters wont pity him either because they are too busy spitting at those they think are out to hurt him: reporters, especially, and now German car makers too. Now even they may be having second thoughts.
Melania made the headlines last week after swatting her husband's hand away when he reached for hers (AFP/Getty Images)
Nate Silver of the the fivethirtyeight website gives us a clue as to why the Presidents state of mind might be more fragile than ever. He queries the conventional wisdom that, whatever hits the fan in Washington, his core level of support remains unaffected.
To the contrary, Trumps base seems to be eroding, Mr Silver reveals. Theres been a considerable decline in the number of Americans who strongly approve of Trump, from a peak of around 30 per cent in February to just 21 or 22 per cent of the electorate now.
He adds: Far from having unconditional love from his base, Trump has already lost almost a third of his strong support.
The loss stands to reason when you consider the progress Trumps been making on things he promised voters. Everywhere he tries to go, he ends up hitting a wall and not the one he wanted us to talk about, either. The most recent exhibit: federal judges again blocking his attempts to impose even a watered-down version of his ban on Muslims and Syrian refugees entering the country. The Supreme Court may have to deal with it, but that would be months away.
Macron grimaces as Donald Trump attacks Nato during 9/11 memorial speech
The pledge to repeal Obamacare is hardly in any less trouble after the Congressional Budget Office declared last week that even the new and improved version of its replacement, passed by the House, would mean 23 million more Americans losing their health insurance over ten years and premiums rising sharply for the elderly and the sick. Now the Senate must pass its own version of the bill: but dont hold your breath. The Republicans have the slimmest majority in the upper chamber and are are deeply divided on the issue.
In the meantime, the White House has just sent a budget blueprint to the Hill that includes draconian cuts to all manner of programmes, including foreign aid, that stand no chance of getting congressional approval. By most accounts, it is a document that was dead on arrival.
To get things done in Washington, presidents need to have political strength, even when their party controls both chambers of Congress. Trump has less and less of that vital commodity. And part of the reason, of course, is the swiftly expanding investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election and what collusion there may have been between Moscow and his campaign. Add to that concern that Trump himself may have crossed a legal line asking heads of investigative agencies, including James Comey, the now sacked FBI director, to slow-march their probes.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
We have no idea what either special counsel Robert Mueller or the various investigating committees on the Hill will find when all is said and done. But even if it is nothing of any real legal significance, it will have damaged Trump and his administration by compounding the paralysis of his agenda. Paralysis, not impeachment, may end up being his final downfall.
This is the Trump who came to Belgium and Italy. Were things going better at home, he might not have felt compelled to stand outside Nato and speak not really to the leaders around him or the world at large but rather to his base at home. The verbal beating he gave the allies was for their benefit, never mind statesmanship. If he is still refusing to commit to the Paris Treaty on climate change it is because he has to be more worried about his base than about the planet.
On Friday John Boehner, a former House speaker and once the most powerful Republican in town, averred that Trump had had some success on foreign affairs but that everything else hes done has been a complete disaster. Few would disagree with the second part of that statement.
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Just as the Russia fracas in Washington seems to be dying down, Donald Trumps critics have found a new Russia-related stick to beat him with. His son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is accused of meeting Moscows man in DC (yes, that would be Ambassador Sergey Kislyak again), to explore setting up a confidential communications channel between the Trump team and the Kremlin.
Why, Trumps enemies ask, would any loyal citizen possibly want a channel closed to the prying eyes and ears of US officials and its agencies, unless for some treasonous purpose?
Given the latest leaks to the US media of sensitive shared UK intelligence, part of the answer to that question should be obvious. Most of the leaking against Trump from the presidential transition to this day has come from one branch or other of the US agencies (the FBI or the various intelligence-gathering branches).
How did anyone other than the participants know there had been a Trump Tower meeting between Kushner and Kislyak and this is what was discussed? Because Kislyak was being taped. Taping an American requires special clearance, but, of course, you cant tape just one half of a conversation.
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Such legal and practical considerations aside which pose real questions which largely remain unaddressed I find it hard to understand what is actually wrong with Kushner and Kislyak sounding out the possibility of what is customarily called a backchannel. This is a time-honoured way of trying to end a persistent, maybe dangerous, stalemate.
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Last year, many seasoned diplomats and military men were concerned that the lack of formal contacts between Russia and the West (after Crimea) was creating a situation perhaps more dangerous than the perpetual stand-off during the Cold War.
The convention during a US transition is that the outgoing president does nothing that creates new diplomatic liabilities for his successor. Before inauguration, the President-elect rightly has no power, so there can be a risky stasis if international events are moving fast. But it is irresponsible to argue as Trumps opponents have that there should be no communications whatsoever between the incoming team and representatives of other countries. Or, as they have also argued, that a private citizen who meets a foreign ambassador is negotiating with a foreign power and committing a crime.
In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour Show all 39 1 /39 In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud arriving for a reception ahead of a banquet at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud being welcomed at Murabba Palace in Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump with King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud during a welcome ceremony with traditional sword dancers at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud with US President Donald J. Trump and wife Melania during a welcome ceremony at Murabba Palace, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 US President Donald Trump adjusts the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal, after it was bestowed upon him by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 20 May 2017 Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud presents U.S. President Donald Trump with the Collar of Abdulaziz Al Saud Medal at the Royal Court in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 Palestinians print posters depicting US President Donald Trump in preparations for his planned visit, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump accompanied by first lady Melania Trump, his daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband White House senior advisor Jared Kushner, before delivering his remarks to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef exchange a memorandum of understanding Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump shares a laugh with a child during a visit to the American International School in the Saudi capital Riyadh Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 21 May 2017 US President Donald Trump holds a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers rest during preparations ahead of President Trump's landing in Tel Aviv, Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 First Lady Melania Trump makes her way to board Air Force One in Riyadh as she heads with her husband the US President to Israel Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump board Air Force One for Israel, the next stop in Trump's international tour, at King Khalid International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Israeli soldiers wait for the arrival ceremony of US President Donald Trump at Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv, Israel AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrive aboard Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod near Tel Aviv, Israel Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One on arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump and his wife, US First Lady Melania Trump are welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu upon arrival at Ben Gurion Airport, in Lod outside Tel Aviv, Israel EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sit during welcome ceremony in Tel Aviv AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump chats wife Sara Netanyahu as US President Donald Trump chats to Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a welcoming ceremony to welcome Trump at Ben Gurion International Airport Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump delivers a speech upon his arrival at Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump gestures during a press conference with Israel's President at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump watches as First Lady Melania Trump signs the guest book at the President's Residence in Jerusalem Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump walks with first lady Melania Trump in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall, the holiest site where Jews can pray, in Jerusalems Old City Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US President Donald Trump stands next to Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz at the plaza in front of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and White House senior advisor Jared Kushner leave notes at the Western Wall in Jerusalem Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 US First Lady Melania Trump touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 Ivanka Trump, assistant and daughter of US President Donald J. Trump, touches the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 22 May 2017 President Donald Trump visits the Western Wall AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald J. Trump arrives in a vehicle to Saint Damaso's Court for a private audience with Pope Francis in Vatican City EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis walks past Ivanka Trump and First Lady Melania Trump on the occasion of the private audience with President Donald Trump, at the Vatican AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis exchanges gifts with US President Donald Trump during a private audience at the Vatican Getty Images In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis meets US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania during a private audience at the Vatican Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis with US President Donald J. Trump EPA In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 Pope Francis gets into is car after meeting with US President Donald Trump AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 President Donald Trump and his wife Melania look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump security vehicles are seen in front of Air Force One before take off from Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome, Italy Reuters In pictures: President Donald Trump on tour 24 May 2017 US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump wave to reporters before boarding the Air Force One to Brussels, at the end of a 2-day visit to Italy including a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, at Rome's Fiumicino international airport AP
Creating a backchannel is a highly sensitive and difficult business one leak, and its whole utility is gone. Those who use it must command the complete trust of their sponsors and, if possible, be sufficiently removed from government to make official involvement deniable. If those conditions are met, it can be a highly effective indeed the only way of breaking an impasse, when the positions of either side are entrenched and any concession entails loss of face.
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The purpose is to find out where the other side actually stands as opposed to where it publicly says it stands and where the real red lines are. Look at almost any seemingly intractable dispute, from the Cuban missile crisis, through the start of the Helsinki process that initiated East-West detente (and arguably led to the end of the division of Europe), to the Oslo talks that almost brought peace in the Middle East, the start of the successful Northern Ireland talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement and most recently the truce between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Government. Not only will you find one or more backchannels, but the case for creating them should be made.
In the end, for whatever reason, it appears that a Trump-Kremlin backchannel was not created. It might have been better for US-Russia relations if it had.
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The massacre in Manchester is a horrific event born out of the violence raging in a vast area stretching from Pakistan to Nigeria and Syria to South Sudan. Britain is on the outer periphery of this cauldron of war, but it would be surprising if we were not hit by sparks thrown up by these savage conflicts. They have been going on so long that they are scarcely reported, and the rest of the world behaves as if perpetual warfare was the natural state of Libya, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Yemen, South Sudan, North-east Nigeria and Afghanistan.
It is inevitable that, in the wake of the slaughter in Manchester, popular attention in Britain should be focussed on the circumstances of the mass killing and on what can be done to stop it happening again. But explanations for what happened and plans to detect and neutralise a very small number of Salafi-jihadi fanatics in UK, will always lack realism unless they are devised and implemented with a broad understanding of the context in which they occur.
It is necessary at this point to emphasise once again that explanation is not justification. It is, on the contrary, an acknowledgement that no battle certainly not a battle to defeat al-Qaeda and Isis can be fought and won without knowing the political, religious and military ingredients that come together to produce Salman Abedi and the shadowy Salafi-jihadi network around him.
The anarchic violence in the Middle East and North Africa is underreported and often never mentioned at all in the Western media. Butchery of civilians in Baghdad and Mogadishu has come to seem as normal and inevitable as hurricanes in the Caribbean or avalanches in the Himalayas. Over the last week, for instance, an attack by one of the militias in the Libyan capital Tripoli killed at least 28 people and wounded 130. The number is more than died in Manchester, but there were very few accounts of it. The Libyan warlords, who pay their fighters from the countrys diminished oil revenues, are thoroughly criminalised and heavily engaged in racket from kidnapping to sending sub-Saharan migrants to sea in sinking boats. But their activities are commonly ignored, as if they were operating on a separate planet.
Manchester explosion in pictures Show all 37 1 /37 Manchester explosion in pictures Manchester explosion in pictures People running down stairs as they attempt to exit the Manchester Arena after a blast, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Twitter/@ZACH_BRUCE/ via REUTERS Manchester explosion in pictures Helpers attend to people inside the Manchester Arena after a suspected suicide bomber detonated an explosive device at the end of an Ariana Grande concert, killing 22 people PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Armed officers guard outside a hotel near the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers are seen outside the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester, northern England Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police and fans close to the Manchester Arena, after reports of an explosion Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England, at a concert in Manchester Arena AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police stand by a cordoned off street close to the Manchester Arena Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of explosion in Manchester, England AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police deploy at scene of a reported explosion during a concert in Manchester, England, on May 23, 2017. British police said early May 23 there were "a number of confirmed fatalities" after reports of at least one explosion during a pop concert by US singer Ariana Grande. Ambulances were seen rushing to the Manchester Arena venue and police added in a statement that people should avoid the area AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An ambulance drives away from the Manchester Arena, where U.S. singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures Police escort members of the public from the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman sits in the street in a blanket near the Manchester Arena as police guard the area following reports of an explosion, in Manchester, Britain EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Two women wrapped in thermal blankets stand near the Manchester Arena, where US singer Ariana Grande had been performing, in Manchester Reuters Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester. At least 19 people have been confirmed dead and others 50 were injured, authorities said. It is being treated as a terrorist incident until police know otherwise EPA Manchester explosion in pictures A Royal Logistic Corps (RLC) bomb disposal robot is unloaded outside the Manchester Arena following reports of an explosion, in Manchester EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Members of the public receive treatment from emergency service staff at Victoria Railway Station close to the Manchester Arena on May 23, 2017 in Manchester, England. There have been reports of explosions at Manchester Arena where Ariana Grande had performed this evening. Greater Manchester Police have have confirmed there are fatalities and warned people to stay away from the area Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police after a suspected terrorist attack at the Manchester Arena at the end of a concert by US star Ariana Grande left 19 dead PA wire Manchester explosion in pictures Emergency services arrive close to the Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures An amoured police vehicle patrols near Manchester Arena in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A man carries a young girl on his shoulders near Victoria station in Manchester AFP/Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police officers stand at the Miller Street and Corporation Street Crossroads, in front of the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police block a road near to the Manchester Arena in central Manchester, England AP Manchester explosion in pictures Armed police patrol near Victoria station in Manchester, northwest England. Twenty two people have been killed and dozens injured after a suspected suicide bomber targeted fans leaving a concert of US singer Ariana Grande in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Police forensic officers leave the Manchester Arena as they investigate the scene of an explosion in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A forensic officer collects evidence on a walkway between Victoria station and Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures A woman and a young girl wearing a t-shirt of US singer Ariana Grande talks to police near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack in Manchester, Getty Manchester explosion in pictures EPA Manchester explosion in pictures Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese speak to the media outside Manchester Town Hall after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Dave Higgens/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures The media gather behind a police cordon in Manchester Getty Images Manchester explosion in pictures Flowers left close to the Manchester Arena, the morning after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, as an explosion tore through fans leaving a pop concert in Manchester Danny Lawson/PA Wire Manchester explosion in pictures Ariana Grande concert attendees Karen Moore and her daughter Molly Steed, aged 14, from Derby, leave the Park Inn where they were given refuge after last night's explosion at Manchester Arena Getty Manchester explosion in pictures Signs saying 'We love Manchester' are displayed in a window in Manchester, England Getty Images
Britain played a central role in overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 without considering that there was nothing but such warlords remaining to replace his regime. I was in Benghazi and Tripoli at that time and could see that the rebel bands, financed by Gulf oil states and victorious only because of Nato airstrikes, would be incapable of filling the vacuum. It was also clear from an early stage that among those taking advantage of this void would be al-Qaeda and its clones.
But it is only since last Monday that people in Britain have come to realise that what happened in Libya in 2011 dramatically affects life in Britain today.
British Libyans and Libyan exiles in Britain, who saw their control orders lifted and their passports returned by MI5 six years ago so they could go and fight Gaddafi were never going to turn into sober citizens the day after his fall. Just as the link is undeniable between the perpetrators of 9/11 and the US and Saudi backing for Jihadis fighting the Communists in Afghanistan in the 1980s, so too is the connection between the Manchester bombing and the British Government using Salafi-jihadis from the UK to get rid of Gaddafi.
The British Government pretends that anybody making this obvious point is seeking to limit the responsibility of the killers of 9/11 and the Manchester attack. The Conservative response to Jeremy Corbyns common sense statement that there is an obvious link between a British foreign policy that has sought regime change in Iraq, Syria and Libya and the empowerment of al-Qaeda and Isis in these places has been dismissive and demagogic. The venom and hysteria with which Mr Corbyn is accused of letting the bombers morally off the hook has much to do with the General Election, but may also suggest a well-concealed suspicion that what he says is true.
The Manchester bombing is part of the legacy of failed British military interventions abroad, but is this history useful in preventing such calamities as Manchester happening again? Analysis of these past mistakes is important to explain that terrorists cannot be fought and defeated while they have safe havens in countries that have no governments or central authority. Everything should be done to fill these vacuums, which means that effective counter-terrorism requires a sane foreign policy devoted to that end.
There should be nothing mysterious about the cause and effect which led to the Manchester bombing. Yet the same mistakes have been made by Britain in Iraq in 2003, Afghanistan in 2006, Libya in 2011 and in Syria over the same period.
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It is no advertisement for President Bashar al-Assad to say that any well-informed assessment of the balance of forces in Syria from 2012 onwards and the powerful foreign allies supporting each side showed that Assad was likely to stay in power. Fuelling the war with the expectation that he would go was unrealistic and much to the advantage of al-Qaeda, Isis and those who might target Britain.
Eliminating the bombers' safe havens is a necessity if the threat of further attacks is to be lifted. Security measures within Britain are never going to be enough because the al-Qaeda or Isis targets are the entire British population. They cannot all be protected, particularly as the means of murdering them may be car or a kitchen knife. In this sense, the bomber will always get through, though it can be made more difficult for him or her to do so.
Better news is that the number of Salafi-jihadi networks is probably pretty small, though Isis and al-Qaeda will want to give the impression that their tentacles are everywhere. The purpose of terrorism is, after all, to create pervasive fear. Experience in Europe over the last three years suggests that the number of cells are limited but that committed Jihadis can be sent from Libya, Iraq or Syria to energise and organise local sympathisers to commit outrages.
Another purpose of terrorism is to provoke an overreaction, in this case the communal persecution or punishment of all Muslims in Britain. The trap here is that the state becomes the recruiting sergeant for the very organisations it is trying to suppress, The Prevent programme may be doing just this. Such an approach is also counter-effective because so many people are regarded as suspicious that there are too little resources to focus on the far smaller number who are really dangerous.
Atrocities such as Manchester will inevitably lead to friction between Muslims and non-Muslims and, if there are more attacks, sectarian and ethnic antipathies will increase. Downplaying the religious motivation and saying the killers have nothing to do with real Islam may have benign intentions, but has the disadvantage of being glaringly untrue. All the killers have been Muslim religious fanatics.
It might be more useful to say that their vicious beliefs have their roots in Wahhabism, a very small portion of the Muslim world population living in Saudi Arabia. Of course, this would have the disadvantage of annoying Saudi Arabia, whose rulers Britain and much of the rest of the world are so keen to cultivate.
The cost of Ireland remaining in the EU post Brexit could be very heavy if Europe insists on a "one size fits all" approach to the bloc's future, the head of the country's biggest business body has warned.
Ibec boss Danny McCoy warned Ireland could be ultimately hurtling towards an Irish EU exit unless it gets flexibility on issues like the fiscal rules, a common consolidated corporate tax base and state aid.
Ibec has been calling for Europe to ease fiscal rules to allow Ireland to spend more on capital infrastructure. Its food and drink wing has also called for a series of exceptions from EU state aid rules for the Irish agri-food and drink sector.
"We want to stay in the EU 27, but the costs of us staying in the EU 27 could be very heavy if the EU 26 don't allow us the capacity to stay in and compete," Mr McCoy told the Irish Independent on the margins of a Brexit conference organised by the Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) and law firm McCann FitzGerald.
He warned of the potential for the EU to insist on a "one size fits all" approach to fiscal rules, to a common consolidated corporate tax base and state aid rules.
He earlier suggested to the conference that the EU immigration issues felt in Britain could be replicated here unless the Government is able to spend more to deal with the state's infrastructural deficit.
Mr McCoy said Britain and Ireland have disproportionately experienced EU migration, which, he noted, had been great for business.
But he added: "If the infrastructure isn't building fast enough, people will feel crowded out in the playground, or from the school, and that's what led to the [UK] referendum.
"If the fiscal rules are the things that stops you from taking the resources you have and building that infrastructure fast enough, we're hurtling down for exactly the same kind of referendum decision here if we don't wake up.
"If we don't appeal to that force majeure issue and get this one size does not fit all, then I think we're in a conflict with the other EU 26."
John McGrane, head of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, said: "We need to have a conversation about where is the European Union taking us.
"We have to feel completely secure in our ability to have a conversation that appreciates absolutely what EU membership has given us, and yet be able to say ... is the EU as strong as it needs to be, and delivers in this context a competitive platform for businesses to prosper globally, but also to take care of Ireland's utter connectivity to the UK."
Kilcastle Limousin bloodlines continue to create waves on the market with pedigree bulls that stand apart making headlines for the herd of Alan and Paul Kelly, Maymount Farm, Moate, Co Westmeath.
They bred Kilcastle Julius, which 18 months ago sold for 12,000 to become the first Irish-bred bull to be exported to Spain.
And they produced another price topper for the breed, when their Junior Champion of the Limousin Show and Sale at Roscrea, Kilcastle Lenn, sold for 12,600 to cross the Irish sea, to the renowned Brontemoor herd of Richard Priestley based in Cracrop Farm, Brampton, Cumbria.
The 14-month old, son of Haltcliffe Dancer (HCF) and the Wilodge Tonka dam Killcastle Gem has five star ratings in terminal index, docility, carcass weight and carcass conformation.
The well bred young bull not only won the admiration of show judge, Richard Priestley - who described him as "as an outstanding young bull - to be awarded Junior Champion of Show.
He also showed enough for Mr Priestly to take out cheque book in the sales ring and outbid the competition to secure the bull for his own herd.
The Brontemoor herd consisting of 90 pedigree and 20 commercial Limousin cows, has enjoyed much success - most recently at the BLCS sale in Carlisle where a homebred bull Brontemoor Laidlaw sold for 11,000gns.
Next in line was the Reserve Senior Champion Clonbonny Legend, winner of the All Ireland Junior Champion and Overall All Ireland Male Champion at Tullamore Show as an eight-month-old bull last August, bred by Tony Hartnett, Athlone and purchased by Peter McKay Newtownards, Co Down for 6,900.
A milk-based gin made on a farm in Co Cork has won the top prize in the biggest competition for alcoholic spirits in the world.
Berthas Revenge, which is distilled in a cattle shed in east Cork trumped over 2,200 competitors in the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, taking home the gold medal after a panel of judges blind-tasted the drink.
Produced on the grounds of Ballyvolane House by friends Justin Green and Anthony Jackson, the gin is based on whey alcohol that comes from a local dairy farm in Carberry.
The whey, which is generally regarded as a waste product from cheese production, is fermented to form alcohol in Carberry and then transported to Ballyvolane House, a guesthouse run by Mr Green and his wife. There it is distilled and infused with 18 foraged and grown botanicals.
Speaking to Independent.ie, Mr Green said a commitment to producing fully Irish gin drove the decision to use milk-based alcohol.
He said: At Ballyvolane we have a farm to fork mentality. We wanted to employ that ethos with Berthas Revenge as well.
Most gins are made from grain spirits, which are produced in mainland Europe. We were having problems sourcing Irish grain spirit when a distillery in London recommended whey to us. We tried it and loved it.
According to Mr Green, the whey alcohol has a very different mouth texture and feel, separating it from other spirits in the over-saturated craft gin market.
Noticing the growing popularity of gin, Mr Green said Berthas Revenge entered the market just in time, noting when we began there were five craft gins in Ireland and now there are over 30.
Named after the countrys oldest cow Big Bertha, who lived to 49-years-old and died in 1993, Berthas Revenge currently ships to eight countries around the world. Between 500 and 700 bottles are produced each week, all distilled, bottled and packaged on the Ballyvolane farm.
While some part-time staff assist with the gins production, the brunt of the work is carried out by Mr Green and Mr Jackson, who hope to expand the business in the coming months.
Berthas Revenge will be available in the US from August, with plans in place to export to Scandinavia by the end of the year.
Enjoying the unusual products surge in popularity, Mr Green said:
Its hard work but were having a huge amount of fun. The business is taking us places youd never have on your holiday plan and you get to meet new, like minded people from all around the world.
Were very lucky.
Berthas Revenge was also awarded the prestigious Irish Drink Award earlier this year and is available through selected retailers in Ireland, as well as stocked in a growing number of bars throughout the country.
Last week's call-out to the public to report sightings of the metre-long rodent-like coypu - after one was spotted in Cork - was a refreshingly frank act at a time when politically correct procrastination is so common.
The coypu is a native of South America and it's believed that they escaped into the wild, having been brought to Ireland as an attraction on a pet farm.
The National Parks & Wildlife Service (NPWS) has trapped 10 coypus in the Cork area in the past two years while one was previously found swimming in a Tipperary river.
NPWS conservation ranger Danny O'Keeffe says the coypu can cause "a lot of damage". Their burrowing can cause extensive harm to river banks and flood defences. They also destroy root crops and eat bird eggs.
The NPWS is acting to prevent the problem become a major one.
There was no talk about captured animals being rehomed; they are going to be euthanased.
This triggered a now-common emotional and uninformed response on social media along the lines of 'how could eating a few roots be harmful to the environment?' and that no one should grass on such adorable little creatures.
The NPWS is obviously anxious to avoid a repeat of the scenario in Britain, where the coypu was introduced in 1929 to be farmed for their fur.
Having subsequently made their way into wild, total eradication took 11 years of concerted effort costing millions.
A cute breeding couple can quickly produce a damaging population.
A chilling example of the environmental damage caused by a foreign species is the cane toad in Australia, the subject of a recently shown TV documentary.
The cane toad was brought in from Hawaii in the 1930s in an attempt to biologically control the native grey-backed cane beetle, which damages sugar cane crops, a major enterprise in northwest Australia.
The cane toads bred rapidly and now number over 200 million.
They have had a variety of long-term damaging effects on the environment.
Cane toads' skin is toxic. This has led to the depletion of native species that tried to eat them, while pets and even humans have been poisoned.
They have a voracious appetite. So native fauna that they prey on have been depleted and they have reduced prey populations for native insectivores. They also spread disease.
It turns out that the cane toads haven't even done the job they were brought in to do, as cane beetle populations are unchanged!
Conservation doesn't mean leaving things to their own devices. Intervention is often required.
So, if you see a coypu, contact Danny O'Keeffe on 087 247 2264 or email danny.okeeffe@ahg.gov.ie.
This is National Biodiversity Week, with over 50 events (most free) across the country. One that caught my eye is an urban beekeepers' workshop in Mount Merrion Community Centre tomorrow afternoon.
There will be a great buzz in this locality on Thursday when President Michael D. Higgins is the guest of honour at an event in Abbeyleix to highlight society's dependence on the natural environment for our food, health and wealth.
The President, an avid supporter of conservation, will also visit Abbeyleix Bog, a fine example of a landscape being restored through active management.
Harvey Norman returned to profit last year after breaking several sales records during Christmas 2015. Photo: Ian Waldie/Bloomberg News.
Two of the best-known brands here, Harvey Norman and O'Donoghue's pub, recorded strong performances last year, according to new accounts.
Australian-owned Harvey Norman returned to profit last year after breaking several sales records during Christmas 2015.
New accounts filed for the year to the end of last June show that Harvey Norman Trading (Ireland) Ltd recorded an operating profit of 203,799.
This followed operating losses of 5.7m in 2015; 6.9m in 2014; and 5.18m in 2013.
The retailer recorded the return to operating profit after revenues increased by 13pc, from 158m to 178m.
The business recorded a pre-tax loss of 1.2m as a result of interest charges of 1.4m.
According to the directors' report, "the growth in sales and market share in 2016 has not come through discounting or at the expense of margins".
The report states that "post year end, the group acquired a site for a new store at Tallaght". The new store will be its fifth in Dublin.
Numbers employed last year rose from 757 to 860.
O'Donoghue's in Dublin is one of Ireland's best-known and storied pubs, and accounts just filed by O'Donoghues (Merrion Row) Ltd show that accumulated profits last year rose from 537,952 to 705,450. The firm's cash pile stood at 1.49m.
The pub is owned by the Barden family and Carol Barden said yesterday: "We were happy to record steady growth last year and with visitor numbers looking strong for this year, we are hopeful we can maintain this.
"Despite the many new attractions Dublin has to offer, the appeal of the traditional Irish bar is still as strong as ever."
Ryanair will join the DAA in fighting High Court battles against locals and environmentalists opposed to a 320m third runway at Dublin Airport, according to Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary.
The airline boss said he believes that it is "imperative" that Dublin Airport has another runway.
"We will be enjoining that process with the DAA," he said, adding that the new runway would give Dublin "enormous advantages" over airports in the UK and Europe.
Aer Lingus has not yet decided whether to row in behind the airport operator.
"We are evaluating our position on the matter," said a spokesman for the airline.
The runway - work on which has already commenced - is due to be completed and operational by 2021.
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But the DAA, whose head is Kevin Toland, inset, needs to have two conditions attached to the current planning permission reversed in order to make the new runway viable.
One planning condition prohibits the new runway's use between 11pm and 7am - a period that includes the airport's extremely busy morning operations. Many flights from North America arrive at Dublin Airport before 7am, for instance.
The second condition caps the number of total flights at the airport between 11pm and 7am to 65.
The airport currently handles about 100 flights during that time. Last year, Dublin Airport handled almost 28 million passengers - a figure set to hit almost 30 million this year.
Local residents have taken an action against Fingal County Council and the State challenging the decision by the council earlier this year to extend planning permission for the runway.
The DAA is a notice party in that action.
A second action by residents against the DAA is seeking an injunction against the project, related to concerns about waste management procedures connected to the runway's construction. The Commercial Court will hear the cases in October.
It's understood that Ryanair will have to apply to the High Court to be enjoined in the cases.
Recently, the Friends of the Irish Environment also sought a judicial review of the council's decision to extend planning permission for the runway. It claims that the runway will result in additional emissions that contrive a climate action act. That case is against the council and the State and the DAA is a notice party.
While Ryanair and Mr O'Leary have been generally supportive of the new runway plans, they have raised concerns regarding the cost of the project.
The various legal actions arise from Fingal County Council's decision of March 7 last to extend a planning permission for development of the new 3,110 metre runway, a 320m infrastructural development of national importance.
Any bid to remove the Government's Help-to-Buy scheme would cause a surge in demand during the summer and then depress prices, a leading economist said.
Already one in every four first-time buyers is availing of the scheme, which provides a tax refund if they purchase a new home.
Economist with Davy Stockbrokers Conall Mac Coille said removing the scheme would cause a spike in demand from new buyers up to the point when it goes.
"Prices will likely be depressed for a period when it is taken away," he said.
Mr Mac Coille said there was evidence the scheme was encouraging more building.
"Statistics show that the Help-to-Buy scheme has had a significant impact on Ireland's illiquid housing market."
The scheme is proving to be hugely popular.
New figures show that more than 6,300 first-time buyers have either applied for it or had a tax rebate already paid.
Comments by Fine Gael leadership contender Leo Varadkar, that he may abolish the scheme if he wins, are set to prompt a rush to buy this summer.
Mr Varadkar said if a review of the rebate shows it is pushing up prices to unsustainable levels then he will scrap it. The scheme is not due to end until the end of 2019.
The Department of Finance has commissioned Indecon Economic Consultants to review it, with this due to be published in August.
Estate agents have claimed that prices could further rise in the short-term as first-time buyers scramble to buy properties amid fears the grant will be abolished.
Chief executive of the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers Pat Davitt said the threat to the scheme would cause a scramble to buy.
"The one thing the Irish property market does not need right now is more uncertainty, it is far too delicate," he said.
Rather than curtail it, Mr Davitt said there was a need to extend the scheme's life.
The scheme became operational in January.
It offers a tax rebate of up to 20,000 to first-time buyers who purchase a new home.
The property must be occupied by a first-time buyer or at least one first-time buyer when a couple are buying.
Of the 6,300 applicants, some 2,500 have been finalised, according to the figures from Revenue, seen by the Irish Independent.
Close to another 4,000 applications have been made. Some of these may not end up resulting in tax rebates as the applicants may not be able to find a home to buy.
So far, almost 19m has been paid out.
The popularity of the scheme so far this year means it is likely to cost far more than the 50m suggested by Finance Minister Michael Noonan when it was introduced in Budget 2017.
The Revenue figures show that more than a third of people who had a successful claim got a tax rebate of between 10,000 and 15,000.
The largest percentage of properties where successful claims were made were for those in the 226,000 to 300,000 price range.
More than a third, the largest percentage, had deposits of between 10pc and 15pc.
Buyers use the rebate from the Help-to-Buy scheme as part of the deposit.
The rebate scheme, combined with a lack of supply, and changes to mortgage lending rules, have been blamed for overheating the property market.
The notoriously late Guns n Roses frontman will be on stage at 7pm sharp, the heir of Slane Castle has pledged.
Alex Conyngham, son of Lord Henry Mount Charles said that the band are pumped to perform at the Meath venue this evening.
Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close Guns N' Roses fans at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at the concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at the concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses fans at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at the concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at the concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses on stage at the concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses fans make their way to the pit in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Guns N' Roses takes a picture of at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Fans in the pit at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Mary McGeoghan and Polina Duginova Dundalk at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Tamara Conyngham (centre) with friends in the castle courtyard at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Michelle Ruske and Frances Ruske from Longford at the at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Suzanne Tierney and Collette Byrne Skyrne at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Fans in the pit at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Dawn Hagan Louise Smith and Claire Bailly from Newtownards at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Nicola Lowey and Exter Barnes from Belfast at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Shauna Moran, Sharon Tyndal from Dublin and Caoimhe Tyndal from Swords at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Elouise Kennedy Anita McDonnell from Wexford at the Guns N' Roses gig at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Otherkin on stage at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Otherkin on stage at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Otherkin on stage at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Blood Royal on stage at the Guns N' Roses gig at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey A new bottle of Slane Whiskey makes it for the Guns N' Roses gig at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Royal Blood on stage at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Fans in the pit at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Royal Blood on stage at the Guns N' Roses gig at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Royal Blood on stage at the at the Guns N' Roses gig at Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey Royal Blood on stage at the Guns N' Roses concert in Slane Castle, Slane, Co Meath. Picture Newsfile | Fran Caffrey / Facebook
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"Guns n Roses were here 25 years ago, I was 17. I was speaking to them yesterday, they were here during rehearsals and they are putting a lot of effort into this gig as it's the first one of the European tour," he said.
"The last time we had a bit of a wait for Axl to come on stage but this time they will be on fairly promptly at 7pm.
"So get ready to loosen those muscles and do some moshing."
Alex, speaking inside the castle, said that his father is feeling much better, but has been ordered by doctors to stay away as he is recovering from a chest infection.
"Dad sadly is not here today as he's in hospital but he's getting better," he told independent.ie. " It's the first gig he's ever missed but he's here in spirit...but these guys (my children) are making up for it."
The first gig held at Slane was in 1981 with Thin Lizzy headlining as Lord Henry looked for ways to fund the upkeep of the castle.
The family have now moved into whiskey production with Slane Irish Whiskey distillery open to the public in August. They anticipate having 1.2m litres of alcohol output per year.
"Whiskey and rock n roll are a good fit for us," Alex said.
"So rock n roll saved this place and whiskey is it's future."
Businesswoman Norah Casey has shared her story of domestic violence at the hands of an ex- partner.
The former Dragons Den star spoke openly for the first time about the years of abuse she suffered in a previous relationship.
An emotional Ms Casey - speaking on Friday night's Late Late Show - revealed that she met this man while working as a nurse in London when she was in her twenties.
"We were a very unlikely match. I came to London with a friend of mine who was a midwife," she told presenter Ryan Tubridy.
"One night we went to a very posh wine bar and at the time we had no money. He came in splashing the cash, bought me a drink and asked me out on a date".
Ms Casey said he drove a Porsche and owned his own business, "miles apart" from where she was at in that time of her life. The "charming, fun" guy she met began to show his colours on the third date that they had.
"We'd only had a couple of dates but he was already teaching me which glass to use and how to use the cutlery. On the third date, I mentioned that the chap I was going out with before also had the same name.
"He slammed his wine glass down and said 'this is not a joke, you're my woman now and I'm not going to share you with anyone," she said.
Ms Casey went to the bathroom shocked at the outburst but by the time she returned to the table, her former partner was apologising and had left a gold bracelet under her napkin. That date set the precedent for the next nine years that she spent with the man.
"I know now that the gut feeling then was something I should have stuck with," she said.
Although Ms Casey was loath to say that her former partner was a monster, she spoke about a number of violent incidents at his hands - including one instance after going out for dinner.
"After dinner, I didn't want to get in the car because he was drinking. I refused to get into the car and he left angry and drove off. I followed him but I had no keys to the house and, for 30 minutes, I was trying to get into the house.
"Eventually he pulled me into the house and battered me senseless... When I was on the ground on the floor in the hall I could hardly see but I could see him going for a knife in the kitchen.
"I don't know how I did it but I pulled myself up and I barricaded myself into the sitting room. I was winded and couldn't breath very well."
Ms Casey eventually fell asleep but when she woke up about 4am and her former partner was standing over her with the knife, crying and apologising, promising that he would attend AA.
"He wouldn't take me to the doctors for three days. I was incapable of walking... I broke three ribs and my cheekbone was broken."
About six months after this incident, Ms Casey found the courage to leave him.
Ryan Tubridy praised the businesswoman for being brave enough for speaking about the abuse for the first time.
Ms Casey has since rebuilt her life, her career and later found love with her beloved second husband, Richard Hannaford, who passed away some years ago.
Women's Aid can be reached on a Freephone Helpline on 1800 341 900 24 hours a day.
Fair City Actor Amilia Stewart who plays Katy O Brien pictured on the Fair City Set at RTE Studios in Donnybrook ,Dublin. Picture: Rte
Fair City Actors Amilia Stewart who plays Katy O'Brien and Johnny Ward who plays Ciaran Holloway pictured on the Fair City Set at RTE Studios
The actress who plays Fair City's Katy has revealed that the parents of missing children and adults contacted her about her kidnap storyline.
Katy, played by Amilia Stuart Clarke, was kidnapped by Ciaran (played by Johnny Ward) over a year ago and Amilia filmed many scenes within the confines of a box.
She researched similar real life stories by watching documentaries and although she did not speak to anyone who had been through a kidnapping ordeal, she revealed that she was contacted by parents of children and adults who went missing.
"When [Katy] went missing and was in the room at the very start I had a lot of people mail me on social media saying, 'I had a son that went missing and I've never found him. I hope he has a life in Australia but I don't know where he is. Thank you for trying to play this as true as you see fit.'" she says.
"Or [they wrote], 'My son committed suicide but we never found him.' So many dark stories. I just thought this [storyline] does affect people. This is really important.
"Now hopefully those people aren't in a room somewhere but I think reality is so much scarier than soap. So to highlight this was a brave decision [by RTE] and I'm really, really happy I got the chance to do it."
However, the storyline proved a challenge for Amilia.
"It was really draining, especially all those scenes in the same clothes, in that box."
She adds, "I kind of stopped wearing make-up [in her own life] because I was just so tired. I stopped going to the gym because I didn't feel very 'Katy in the box' after Zumba so I just stopped going.
"You want to switch off so bopping around to Ed Sheeran is not ideal."
A massive search for a missing crewman after his fishing boat capsized and sank just metres off the coast of Skerries has recovered a body.
The skipper of the boat was rescued and rushed to Beaumont Hospital following the shocking incident off the coast of north Co Dublin yesterday, but another man had been missing.
He was named locally as Jamie McAlister (28), from Mourne View in Skerries.
The skipper of the boat was named as Keith McAlister, also of Mourne View, who is believed to be Jamie's uncle.
The search, involving the Coast Guard, Defence Forces, gardai and local fishermen and pleasure boats, was wound down at 9.30pm last night but resumed at first light today.
RTE News reported that the man's remains were found around 500m from the pier at Skerries after the Marine Institute vessel the Kirby reported a contact on its sonar. Garda divers went to the location and found the body.
Yesterday, the rescued fisherman was taken to hospital and was reported to be "doing well".
The fishermen were aboard their small razor fishing boat when it sank about 300ft from shore in an area known locally as the Perch rock at around 2pm.
The two men had been fishing for clams since early yesterday morning.
Onlookers who were enjoying the fine weather in the popular seaside town watched in horror as the boat capsized and went under the water just metres from the RNLI lifeboat station beside the harbour. However, they were able to raise the alarm immediately, which aided in the rescue efforts, an RNLI spokeswoman said.
"The alarm was raised so early thanks to the fine weather," she said.
The Irish naval ships the LE Orla and LE Niamh led the extensive search and rescue operation.
The Air Corps Casa 253 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft was also deployed.
It has sophisticated search equipment on board, including forward-looking infrared and high-powered camera system. It too was patrolling the coastline off Skerries as the Dublin Coast Guard rescue helicopter did regular circuits of the bay and shoreline. A research vessel from the Geological Institute of Ireland, which was conducting a sonar search for an unrelated wreck, also assisted in the search.
The Garda sub-aqua unit was dispatched to search the water for the missing crewman. Volunteers from the RNLI from Skerries, Clogherhead and Howth were also on the water in a bid to find Mr McAlister.
More than a dozen local fishermen and pleasure boats were patrolling the area last night.
A large crowd of local residents was involved in the search from the shore, scanning the water for the missing crewman using binoculars.
As the tragedy unfolded yesterday, family members, many in tears, embraced each other.
The silence on the harbour was broken only by the whirr of a rescue helicopter and the Air Corps plane as it swooped overhead.
Onlookers were stunned at how close the boat was to shore when it sank.
"It's so close, you could swim out to it," one woman remarked.
The sea appeared to be calm, however, it's understood there were strong currents at the time of the incident. Rescue personnel searched a wide perimeter around the bay while a Garda diving team could be seen carrying out searches in the area where the boat capsized.
The high temperatures attracted scores of people to the seafront yesterday. "The area is known for fishing. I'm sure with the day that's in it, the lads decided to head out," said a local man. "It's just awful."
An electrical engineer has expressed his relief after being allowed to remain living in his boat after a seven-year legal battle.
Shane Kennedy (58), a father of one, said it was a good day after the Supreme Court ruled Fingal County Council had no jurisdiction over the sea.
The council had been fighting to kick him out of his boat, Portisham, a former Nato mine-sweeper, and have it destroyed.
The vessel is docked at Balbriggan Harbour, in north Dublin.
"I'm relieved, I think, more than delighted. It means that I can feel secure enough that I can put what little money I have into the boat, to get her better rigged," he said.
But the legal battle, which began almost immediately after he moved to the harbour in October 2010, has taken a toll. "It has been absolutely draining. As I'm sure you can imagine with anybody whose home is threatened, [the strain] is there 24/7.
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"I've had maybe a dozen good nights' sleep in the last six years," he said. "On the flip side of that, I got an award for helping to save two people's lives on the pier."
He paid 37,000 for the boat in 2007, when he bought it in Essex, England.
He said he liked the freedom of being able to live on a boat, and his parents had been involved in seafaring. He also spoke proudly about his 20-year-old daughter, who has secured a first-class honours degree in marine biology.
One allegation made by the council was that Mr Kennedy was dumping raw sewage into the harbour, but he said that wasn't true.
"I use the toilets here at the top of the harbour, or the hotel up the road if it is late at night," he explained.
He said he plans to rig the boat as a schooner and hopes to sail it to the Indian Ocean.
The council had sought High Court orders allowing it to remove the vessel to Howth where it could be broken up. In 2013, a High Court judge had granted permission to the council to tow the boat to Howth.
After a long legal battle, this week Mr Kennedy won his right to remain living on the boat at the Supreme Court. The three-judge court stressed it was allowing Mr Kennedy's appeal only because Fingal County Council had failed to establish the necessary "technical proof" the Portisham is located on the foreshore within the council's functional area.
Nothing in the judgment should be taken as establishing that the vessel's location, and use as a habitation, is lawful, whether as a matter of planning law or any other basis, Mr Justice Frank Clarke stressed.
A woman who alleges she was raped by a man she met on the dating app Tinder said she was terrified he was going to beat her up.
The Louth man (36) has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape at Kilmashogue Lane on September 11, 2014. Both the accused and the complainant are entitled to anonymity throughout the trial.
The alleged victim told Alexander Owens SC, prosecuting, that after matching on Tinder the pair exchanged messages on Whats App, with the accused sending up to 20 messages to her within a 24 hour period.
The 31-year-old woman, who was a university student at the time, said that the accused "sounded cross" when she cancelled their first arranged meeting at short notice. A subsequent date was arranged to go for "a spin and a coffee."
She said he told her they would take the "long way back" to the city and he drove down a rural road. He stopped the car and said: "I wouldn't abandon you in the mountains."
She said that after a brief kissing session, she asked him to "take it easy" but he said to her then: "What the f*** do you think we're here for?"
She said she didn't want a "one night stand" and he told her to "get the f*** out".
The car returned a few minutes later, the court heard. The man told her "it's grand, get in" - she said she felt like she didn't have a choice.
He drove the car back to where they had been. The woman said she asked him to stop, but when he began to remove her clothes she stopped resisting. She said he then raped her.
During cross examination, defending counsel Michael Bowman SC put it to the complainant that while the date did not go as anticipated, she "willingly undressed herself" and had sex with the accused.
"It was a consensual sexual encounter between two young people who met on the internet," he said. The woman rejected that this was what took place.
The court also heard from the complainant's friend and housemate who said she was "shaking, very, very pale, in desperate shock and hunched over" when she arrived back to their home.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Butler and a jury.
PHOTOGRAPHS have emerged of party-goers dancing with a dead mammal at a student accommodation complex in Cork.
Independent.ie is also aware of a video which shows the mammal being thrown out a window of the apartment.
It is understood the dead mammal was brought into the complex to a party on Wednesday night.
Animal welfare officials initially believed the animal was a small dolphin, however it is now believed it is a harbour porpoise, a small marine mammal similar to a dolphin.
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Photographs have emerged of the mammal lying on its side next to a wall, with others showing two young males dancing with the carcass in the kitchen area of an apartment.
One young man is holding the mammal over his shoulder, while the other young man can be seen photographing the incident on his phone.
The images appeared on the social media app Snapchat, where photos only appear for a maximum of 24 hours.
The incident occurred at the Parchment Square Student Accommodation complex on the Model Farm Road, Cork.
The accommodation is the closest complex to CIT and each apartment can house up to five people.
It is understood the two young men involved in the incident are not students at CIT.
A source told Independent.ie the two young men travelled from west Cork to the party near the CIT campus, and brought the mammal's carcass into the student accommodation complex. It is not known how they came to be in possession of the carcass.
An employee at the complex discovered the carcass on the grass outside one of the apartments the morning after the party. The mammal was removed and brought to UCC for a post-mortem.
CIT Students Union President Shane Falvey said he was unaware of the incident, but confirmed that the student accommodation was not officially part of the college and is completely independent.
A spokesperson for the Cork Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals condemned the actions of the young men and described them as "idiots".
"The mind boggles with people's stupidity," the spokesperson said.
"Anybody with any level of cop-on would know it's not right.
"They'll think twice before they do something like this again."
Gardai confirmed to Independent.ie that they were not aware of the situation.
Meanwhile, Parchment Square Student Accommodation refused to comment on the situation, despite being given multiple opportunities by phone and email from Independent.ie.
Anti-terror gardai are now closely examining any known links between jihadi sympathisers here and suspects operating in the Manchester area.
Officers are focusing in particular on sympathisers with Libyan connections in an effort to establish if there had been contacts between those here and suspected members of the Manchester terror cell.
They are probing whether contact was made either directly or through social media.
Gardai from the crime and security branch, as well as military intelligence, are monitoring the activities of a small group of sympathisers believed to be providing logistical support to terror groups - these included a handful of Libyans.
Libya has become the key focus of investigators in the UK who are looking for clues to the background and accomplices of Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed 22 at a concert in Manchester last week.
He spent several weeks in Libya and returned to Manchester just days before he carried out the atrocity at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. His brother, Hashem, was arrested in the capital, Tripoli, on Tuesday on suspicion of having ties to Isil which claimed responsibility for the bomb attack.
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The security authorities here are keeping in daily contact with their counterparts in the UK, where police and MI5 are convinced that an active terror cell has been based in the Manchester area for some time and is ready to strike again.
This led the British government to raise the threat level from severe to critical, which means that another attack could be imminent.
Britain's top counter terrorism officer, Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said yesterday they had "got hold of a large part" of the terror network believed to have included the suicide bomber.
The Garda is one of a number of outside police forces liaising closely with the British and sharing any intelligence that might be used to the massive investigation.
Tanaiste Frances Fitzgerald told the Irish Independent that the Manchester attack shows "no one can be immune from this threat".
"The expert advice is that while an attack here is possible, it is unlikely," she said.
The Justice Minister said that gardai, and where necessary the Defence Forces, will take "all possible steps to deal with any threat to this country".
"We can never afford to be complacent. Terrorism respects no boundaries."
Mrs Fitzgerald confirmed there are a "small number of people here whose activities are a cause for concern in terms of supporting terrorism".
"They will continue to be monitored by the authorities, and where evidence is available, they will face the full rigours of the law."
Mrs Fitzgerald said gardai are working "very closely" with their international security and intelligence counterparts in the EU - but that there is "a particularly close operational relationship with the authorities in Britain and Northern Ireland, especially in respect of ensuring the security of the Common Travel Area".
"Terrorism cannot and should not be associated with any one religion or race; the only people responsible for acts of terrorism are the evil people who carry them out," Mrs Fitzgerald said.
She described the Manchester attack as a "cowardly and evil act that has taken the lives of many innocent and defenceless people who were simply going about their daily lives, enjoying a concert".
"Whatever has motivated this terrorist outrage, there can simply never, ever by any justification for such inhumanity."
Gardai are planning to expand their liaison network, which will boost security co-operation overseas, and at the same time improve the sharing of information here, in the fight against terror and, particularly, organised crime.
Officers are also taking a second look at existing security precautions for big public events and concerts planned for the summer.
Gardai are working closely with event organisers to ensure that appropriate safety and security measures are in place for the events.
Talks are also being regularly held with the Defence Forces and other emergency services and aviation, shipping, transport and communications authorities aimed at preventing any attack taking place and detailed preparations had been made if an attack was carried out.
Last month, the Irish Independent disclosed that temporary barriers were being erected on crowded pedestrianised streets to prevent attacks using trucks or other vehicles.
The use of special barriers and bollards, capable of withstanding direct impacts and preventing a vehicle from hitting its intended target, will become more commonplace in the coming months.
People lay tributes to the victims of the attack on the Manchester Arena in central Manchester. Photo: Kyran OBrien
The concert ended on a breathless high, the young clear voices of the crowd lifted in song to 'One Last Time', glowsticks held aloft.
They had come from all over the UK for this most special of events - little girls attending their first concert.
There were teenagers still young enough to need their parents to collect them.
And also fun-loving older people who liked Ariana Grande's brand of carefree bubblegum pop which is a million miles away from the edgy, cool music that has been Manchester's calling card for the last 60 years.
This was the last place anyone might have expected danger to be lurking, in a 21,000 capacity arena at 10.30 pm on a Monday night.
The boom sounded like a couch falling down stairs, a muffled bang loud enough and long enough for two girls watching TV in their apartment across the road from the Manchester Arena to look at one another and ask: "What was that?"
Laura O'Connor from Clarinbridge, Co Galway - who plans to study theatre in London in October - moved to Manchester to study three years ago.
It's a city she enjoys for its diversity and its openness to other cultures. "It's like a bigger Dublin," she explained. "It has the same vibe."
After hearing the bang, she looked out the window but saw nothing because the Arena is at the opposite side of the building.
However soon after, the traffic was 'bumper to bumper', sirens wailing and a helicopter was overhead.
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Social media began to warn of fatalities.
It was at that stage, Laura realised a bomb had gone off.
Ambulance after ambulance streamed to the Manchester Arena as the Greater Manchester Police confirmed they were dealing with "confirmed fatalities".
Caught in the blast were those who were first to exit the concert towards Manchester's Victoria train station.
The first victim to be named was student Georgina Callander.
The 18-year-old "Arianator" was from Lancashire and was studying Health and Social Care.
Her friends described her as the "kindest soul" who would "light up a room".
The youngest, was little Saffie Roussos (8) from Lancashire.
Media reports claim she had been conscious when taken by an ambulance from the Arena and had asked for her mother.
She was described by the headteacher at her school in Preston as a "beautiful little girl in every aspect of the wordquiet and unassuming with a creative flair".
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As pandemonium took hold of the city, the extraordinary community spirit of Mancunians came to the fore.
By midnight, the #RoomforManchester was trending on Twitter and Laura O'Connell offered her own spare bedroom to anyone who might be alone, bewildered or seeking loved ones following the horrifying blast.
"I'm 3 Minutes From Victoria Station With A Comfy Sofa, Wifi, Chargers & Teabags. DM Me If You're Nearby & Stranded," she tweeted.
"There were no one in need but it was widely shared, even by TV anchors in the United States," she revealed.
"It just felt like the right thing to do," she said of her offer.
She was not the only one to give help as taxi drivers also came forward to offer lifts to people who had no other form of transport.
In all, 22 people were killed, among them seven children, and 120 injured - with 20 people remaining in "critical care" and suffering from "horrific injuries".
The litany of injuries included major organ damage and potential loss of limbs as a result of a large and sophisticated bomb which had been packed with nuts, bolts and nails designed to inflict maximum damage on as many people as possible. A surgeon working on the victims confirmed he treated injuries similar to those he has operated on during his time as a volunteer in Syria. As the city of Manchester awoke to the news of the worst terror attack since the London bombings of 2005, it was swept with a sense of loss and mourning. Two shrines sprang up, at Albert Square, its heart and at the smaller St Ann's square, constantly replenished with fresh flowers laid upon the old.
Amongst the heartbreaking tributes left were teddy bears, balloons, dolls and picture books.
Even young men in their late teens and twenties came unashamedly with flowers in their arms to lay at this makeshift focal point for people's grief. People just stood in silent reflection, tears rolling down their faces as the realisation of what had occurred slowly began to sink in.
Ambulance worker Paddy Ennis, a third generation Irish man, was caught up in the horror and came to lay a sheaf of white roses at St Ann's square. "It's just nice to be able to pay our respects and to see this outpouring of emotion," he said.
"It was a very, very difficult night for all the emergency services of Manchester," he said.
Tuesday night saw an estimated 25,000 people stand at Albert Square in silence in a moving vigil of solidarity and strength.
A minute's silence on Thursday attended by around 10,000 people again saw Manchester standing as one, the famous spirit very much on show.
The 10K run will continue as planned tomorrow in a show of spirited defiance.
Meanwhile amid the continuing 'critical' level of threat, the net continues to tighten around the network of suspected Libyan terrorists who aided and abetted suicide bomber Salman Abedi, the 22-year-old college drop-out who told his parents he was going to Mecca on pilgrimage.
"What is 22?" questioned Imam Muhammad Khurshid of the Darul Amaan Mosque in Manchester. "You are only starting off in life. You know nothing." He claimed that many of those who carry out suicide bombings are high on steroids and therefore "act like robots".
"In Islam we say that if you take the life of one person it is like you kill the whole of mankind," he said.
"Anyone who does this is not a true Muslim."
A high-flying businessman who chairs the board of the Mater Hospital hosted a secret fundraising supper for Leo Varadkar this week, the Irish Independent can reveal.
The frontrunner to be the next taoiseach has held a number of fundraising events in recent months, including one on Tuesday night at an exclusive private members' club in Dublin city centre. The event was hosted by Thomas Lynch who is believed to have made a small fortune through his involvement in the pharma sector.
Mr Lynch is currently chairperson of the Dublin East Hospital Group whose remit includes St Vincent's University Hospital and the National Maternity Hospital.
He is also chair of Icon plc, one of the world's largest clinical research organisations and has a colourful CV including a period as chief financial officer at drugs firm Elan.
The Irish Independent understands the Belfast native invited a select group of business people to a 'meet and greet' with Mr Varadkar at the plush Stephen's Green Hibernian Club.
The venue is for members only and their guests, boasting it has "the comfort and privacy you would expect of Ireland's premier private members club".
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Individuals were invited directly by Mr Lynch over email to what was described as "drinks and supper with Leo Varadkar".
"I would be very pleased if you can come to a small group event to meet Minister Varadkar," the invitation said.
It added the venue would only be revealed after the invitee sent their RSVP. Among the political figures to take part were Junior Ministers Eoghan Murphy and Helen McEntee and Senator Frank Feighan.
Forty donors attended the event which took place around the same time that a pre-recorded television interview with Mr Varadkar was being aired on RTE's 'Prime Time'.
Wexford TD Michael D'Arcy told the Irish Independent he organised the evening and that all donations were within the Standards in Public Office rules.
In the build-up to the leadership battle supporters of Mr Varadkar expressed concern that Simon Coveney, who comes from a wealthy family background, would be in a position to heavily outspend them.
Speaking to the Irish Independent after Mr Varadkar held a dinner in Dublin's Medley Restaurant last February, one of his Leinster House supporters said: "Coveney doesn't need to fundraise. He has access to money. Simon Coveney is basically Enda Kenny on a yacht."
An estimated 250 tickets are understood to have been sold for that dinner at a cost of 150 each. Mr Varadkar wanted Fine Gael headquarters to put spending restrictions in place but the idea was ruled out as it would be "impossible" to implement.
Neither side was willing to reveal their budget for the contest or the full extent of their fundraising efforts.
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Both told the Irish Independent the biggest spend to date has been postage costs for sending election literature to the party's 21,000 members. This is estimated to have cost in the region of 15,000 each.
They have also produced branded t-shirts, stickers and backdrops for media events.
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Sources in the Coveney camp said they have "no major overheads", although they have brought in outside expertise to help with the campaign.
Mr Lynch was recently involved in the controversy over the ownership of the new National Maternity Hospital on the grounds of St Vincent's.
It was claimed he had written a letter warning the Department of Health about potential religious interference in the hospital - but no such letter existed. It later emerged that he had raised concerns at a formal meeting with officials in May 2016.
He was appointed to chair the hospital group by former health minister James Reilly in 2013.
Fine Gael parliamentary party endorsements for leader
The Fine Gael parliamentary party makes up 65pc of the total electorate.
That makes each of the 73 members' votes worth 0.9pc of the total ballot.
Of the remaining electorate, 230 party councillors account for 10pc, while the remaining 25pc is rank and file members.
Leo Varadkar Simon Coveney Total: 45 Total: 19 Ministers: 17 Ministers: 5 TDs: 16 TDs: 5 Senators: 11 Senators: 8 MEPs: 1 MEPs: 1 Richard Bruton -Minister Simon Harris - Minister Frances Fitzgerald - Minister Damien English - Minister Michael Ring - Minister Dara Murphy - Minister Eoghan Murphy - Minister David Stanton - Minister Sean Kyne - Minister Marcella Corcoran Kennedy - Minister Joe McHugh - Minister Kate O'Connell - TD Helen McEntee - Minister Maria Bailey - TD Charlie Flanagan - Minister Sean Barrett TD Paul Kehoe -Minister Hildegard Naughton - TD Patrick O'Donovan - Minister Peter Fitzpatrick - TD Regina Doherty - Minister Tim Lombard - Senator Mary Mitchell O'Connor - Minister Jerry Buttimer - Senator Paschal Donohoe - Minister Paudie Coffey - Senator Heather Humphreys - Minister James Reilly - Senator Pat Breen - Minister Colm Burke - Senator Catherine Byrne - Minister John O'Mahony - Senator Andrew Doyle - Minister Paul Coghlan - Senator John Paul Phelan - TD Gabrielle McFadden - Senator Noel Rock - TD Deirdre Clune - MEP Tony McLoughlin - TD Alan Farrell - TD Michael D'Arcy - TD Tom Neville - TD Josepha Madigan - TD Pat Deering - TD Jim Daly - TD Brendan Griffin - TD Ciaran Cannon - TD Colm Brophy - TD Peter Burke - TD Fergus O'Dowd - TD John Deasy - TD Joe Carey - TD Neale Richmond - Senator Catherine Noone - Senator Paddy Burke - Senator Martin Conway - Senator Michelle Mulherin - Senator Maura Hopkins - Senator Ray Butler - Senator Frank Feighan - Senator Maria Byrne - Senator Joe O'Reilly - Senator Kieran O'Donnell - Senator Brian Hayes - MEP
Undeclared Enda Kenny - Outgoing Party Leader * Martin Heydon - Party Chairman * Michael Noonan - Minister Michael Creed - Minister Bernard Durkan - TD Sean Kelly - MEP Mairead McGuinness MEP
* Outgoing leader Enda Kenny and party chairman Martin Heydon will not make an endorsement
The interiors event of the year, House 2017, kicks off in Dublin's RDS this weekend, and there's never going to be a better opportunity to gather ideas, information and inspiration.
Showcasing leading Irish and international designers, the second annual event is sure to provide an abundance of interior inspiration for those aspiring to create their dream space.
Top designers, architects, artists, craftsmen, trend professionals, furniture and home improvement geniuses will gather under one roof this weekend, but of course there were some that caught our wandering eye more than others.
Five of the most aspirational stalls at this years House 2017
Zelouf and Bell
What? Studio furniture makers
Where? Stall - C2
Studio furniture makers Zelouf and Bell have brought a heavy dose of inspiration to the RDS this year. The National Museum of Ireland has recently acquired three of their pieces for its permanent collection. The pair have been creating furniture to commission since 1992 in their Irish workshop and are currently involved in the redesign of Michelin-starred Restaurant Patrick Guilbaud.
Orla Walsh
What? Artist
Where? Stall F17
Orla was first discovered selling her 'ketchup' paintings in Dublin's St Stephen's Green, when a corporate lawyer for Heinz purchased six for the company's global headquarters in the US. Since then, the artist has become famous for her iconic pop art images of Irish brands including Tayto, Guinness and Jacobs and is also selling marvellous prints at her stand in the art loft.
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Ceadogan
What? Rugmakers
Where? Stall D19
For 25 years Denis Kenny, owner of and maker of Ceadogan, has been committed to the craft of rug-making and brings his team's stunning pieces to this year's House 2017. The business has been collaboration with leading Irish artists and textile designers and their stunning stand is certainly worth a look.
Shane Holland Designs
What: Lighting
Where: Stall A2
Based in Co. Meath, Shane Holland Designs is one of the country's most aspirational lighting creators. The pieces are inspired by nature and unusual materials are often used to create timeless but functional collections. Holland manages to effortlessly pair the traditional values of craftsmanship with contemporary design.
Smeg
What: Premium domestic appliances
Where: Stall C2
Always a favourite, the Smeg UK stall is worth a visit at this year's House 2017.
Established in 1989, the has been supplying premium domestic appliances for over 20 years.
Check out a wide range of innovative appliances includes ovens, hobs, range cookers and extractor hoods as well as an expanding range of small appliances, refrigerators, washing machines and dishwashers.
For tickets, visit www.house-event.ie
Fionnan Sheahan
Ireland Editor at Mediahuis. Fionnan writes news, analysis and comment on current affairs and politics for the Irish Independent and Independent.ie. He is a weekly columnist with the Irish Independent and a presenter of InFocus, the current affairs podcast from Independent.ie. A native of Thurles, Co Tipperary, Fionnan has won several awards for print and digital journalism from Newsbrands Ireland, the Law Society and the National Newspapers of Ireland, including National Journalist of the Year. Prior to his current role, Fionnans positions included Editor and Political Editor of the Irish Independent. He is a regular commentator on TV and radio.
'Her friend, Liz Gaffney [pictured], read out a statement on behalf of the family, saying the case was a lesson to be vigilant.' Photo: Collins
Sonia Blount was brutally murdered by her ex-boyfriend Eric Locke. Locke assumed a fake identity on Facebook and lured her to a hotel bedroom where he strangled and suffocated her to death.
The mother-of-one was found in a room in the Plaza Hotel in Tallaght, Dublin, on February 16, 2014.
Locke was unanimously found guilty of her murder at the Central Criminal Court earlier this week and sentenced to life imprisonment by a judge.
She leaves behind a loving family and a young son, Jake, who talks about his mother every day.
The Blount family and friends responsibly used the public attention on the case to issue a timely warning to other women about using social media sites.
Her friend, Liz Gaffney, read out a statement on behalf of the family, saying the case was a lesson to be vigilant.
"A special word of warning to everyone using social media sites, we urge you to please be cautious and be aware," Ms Gaffney said.
"It is so easy to set up false profiles. Sonia made an error of judgment and paid for this with her life.
"We would also like to thank the jury for the unanimous, timely decision and for seeing her murderer as the lying, manipulative person that he is.
"Sonia was an innocent, beautiful, kind, caring person and mother who is sadly missed by all of us who knew her and loved her," she added.
Nothing will bring Sonia Blount back but her awful death is a stark reminder of the need to be cautious in dealing with strangers in any circumstances online.
The connectivity of the internet shouldn't create a blind spot to the caution exercised in every other aspect of life.
FG candidates must be transparent on funding
Fine Gaels leadership contenders arent holding back with the spending on their campaigns.
In full presidential election mode, spindoctors are being hired, policy documents published, posters printed, press events pitched and letters posted.
Although the electorate is only the 20,000 people who are members of the party, the candidates are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for the job.
And all this costs money.
Where is the funding coming from?
Now it has emerged a prominent businessman who chairs the board of the Mater Hospital hosted a secret fundraising supper for Leo Varadkar this week
The frontrunner to be the next taoiseach has held a number of fundraising events in recent months, including one on Tuesday night at an exclusive private members club in Dublin city centre.
A select group of business people were invited to a meet and greet with Mr Varadkar at the plush St Stephens Green Hibernian Club.
All above board, but theres a bad smell off political fundraising in this country as a result of the activities of senior political figures in the 1980s and 1990s.
It is incumbent on both candidates not just Mr Varadkar, but Simon Coveney too to state how much they are spending on their campaigns and where the money is coming from to pay for it.
Dundalk student Ciara McCooey is set to perfect her 'plie' when she takes her place at London's Royal Academy of Dance this autumn.
Ciara, a sixth year at Dun Lughaidh, has been accepted at the prestigious dance school, which specialises in classical ballet and boasts celebrity ballerina Darcy Bussell as its patron.
The Knockbridge teenager has been dancing since she started in the school and her dream was always to pursue a career in ballet. Last year she felt that it wasn't going to happen but she decided to give it a shot anyway and was delighted to be accepted by the Royal Academy of Dance, starting in September.
'I went for an audition in London during the mid-term early this year. I was hopeful, but there are only around 30 places, so it is competitive,' Ciara told the Argus.
The academy has a distinguished history, founded in 1920, and with one of the world's greatest ballet dancers, Margot Fonteyn, as a former president.
The budding ballerina says she has been dancing 'for as long as I can remember', but began ballet classes when she was eight, and soon found a real passion for it. 'It is a dance that is tough on your body, but I think the more you practice, the more used to that you get.'
Currently a member of Coastal Dance school in Drogheda, Ciara also travels to Dublin every Sunday to take part in the Dublin Youth Dance Company, experience which she says has been invaluable. And all of this while she is studying for her Leaving Cert!
'Yes I am trying to juggle the two at the moment, but I've gotten quite used to managing both. Ballet is actually a relaxing break from study, to be honest, so I haven't scale back the practice.'
Taking her place at the London dance academy will see the Dundalk student qualify with a degree in dance, specialising in ballet, and will enable her to teach.
Before that though, she wants to develop her talent and dance around the world
'I'd actually really love to be a member of a contemporary dance company when I'm finished my degree, but we'll see what happens.'
Supported in her dreams by her family and friends, Ciara has already done more than her fair share of travelling, having gone to Haiti with her sister and her dad last year with the charity Haven.
The life and work of Jim Kinch were celebrated when an exhibition of his paintings took place in his alma mater, Colaiste Ris Secondary School, recently. Jim's wife Marie (nee Clarke) and many members of the Kinch and Clarke families gathered in the school's Board Room. The recently refurbished Board Room has a beautiful painting by Jim as its focal point and that evening was the first time for many of the extended family to view the work.
The group was welcomed by school Principal, Padraig Hamill, who explained how the painting came about. Friends of the school, Celli O'Donoghue and Fergus McArdle, had asked Australia based, Jim, to do the painting to mark 150 years since the Christian Brothers came to town.
Jim's willingness to do the work is all the more poignant as it was the last painting he completed before his untimely death in October 2016. Jim had also agreed to have an exhibition of his work in the school and Marie travelled home from Australia to fulfil Jim's wish to hold the exhibition.
The exhibition of 35 paintings which was displayed in the school gym, was opened by Fr Michael Murtagh PP Dunleer. Fr Murtagh had been Chairman of the Board of management of Dundalk CBS/ Colaiste Ris for 27 years and has only recently stepped down from the role. He had taken a keen interest in seeing the Board Room revamp completed. In welcoming Marie Kinch and her extended family he referred to Jim and Marie's move to Australia in the early 1970s and the celebration now of his fabulous art work back in Dundalk CBS where his education began.
All of the paintings were sold and this was due in no small part to the organisation of the display of work by Celli's son, Niall O Donoghue. The Colaiste Ris TY Junk Kouture entry which won the Ireland East award at the National Finals and a selection of Leaving Cert work were also displayed.
The large group of St. Vincent's students who enjoyed a trip to southern Italy recently.
A group of St. Vincent's Home Economics students certainly enjoyed 'la dolce vita' on a sun soaked trip to Southern Italy, where they experienced the food and culture of the beautiful Mediterranean country.
Fifth year student Aoife McGeough said it was a trip like no other for the excited Dundalk students. 'Our first stop in Rome was as exciting as we expected; old buildings, great food and lively atmosphere.
'Like the tourists we were, we posed beside the immense Colosseum, sampled the local pizza and threw coins into the Trevi fountain,' said Aoife.
On a trip to Sorrento they enjoyed the idyllic beauty of the Italian coast and three days of a 'wonderful feast for any food-lover', with pastry classes where students tasted the traditional rum-soaked bread Baba, the coffee-roasting factory Torrefazione Maresca, and sampled rich Italian espresso and honey farms with delectable homemade honey.
At 'Mama's cooking school we expertly cooked and ate mouth-watering gnocchi and pizza.'
'And we walked in the footsteps of generations of Italian poets and scholars who found solace in the dazzling Amalfi city, preceded by its famous panoramic coastline. '
They were stunned too by a visit to Pompeii, and the 'solemn air that surrounded the town was striking, even 2000 years later.'
Overall, the first encounter with ancient Italy was unforgettable. It seemed that everything we undertook was even better than the last.'
The man whom Gardai believe murdered Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe is set to arrive back in Ireland this week, after he was arrested in the United States for immigration offences.
The South Armagh native, who is aged in his mid twenties, was arrested by Homeland Security officials early last Thursday morning and is being held until he is deported as early as this week, according to the Irish Daily Star newspaper.
He was arrested because, crime correspondent Michael O'Toole reported, he has been living illegally in New York for more than two years.
Sources revealed that as soon as he lands back in Ireland, the suspect is expected to have bench warrants, issued for alleged traffic offences, executed before a court.
And they said that a new investigations team, led by Detective Inspector Pat Marry at Dundalk Garda station, has made major progress in the case in the last four months.
News of the man's arrest in the United States comes just months after he became a dad for the first time - while on the run over the brutal murder of Det. Garda Donohoe at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, on January 25, 2013.
The suspect, whom gardai believe pulled the trigger, was living and working in New York and was building a new life there.
The former South Armagh resident was working in construction in the New York area - and had recently found new love. He became a father earlier this year, the Star reported.
Sources also say, however, that the woman's family have no idea her new partner is a criminal - and don't even know he is from Co Armagh. Instead they have been told he is from another part of the North.
The criminal - whom gardai are determined to bring to justice - is one of three members of the five-strong gang involved in the murder believed to be hiding out in the United States.
The two other suspects, who are brothers, are living and working in another part of the east coast of America.
They are all suspected of being in the gang that carried out the robbery but Gardai are satisfied the man arrested by Homeland Security was the gunman.
He fled to America shortly after the murder and has now built a new life there. His then girlfriend moved to America to be with him after he fled Ireland - but the strain of being with him proved too much and she broke off the relationship.
Sources say that although the criminal is enjoying his life abroad, detectives in Dundalk probing the shocking murder of the father of two colleague (41) are increasingly confident that he and the other four suspects will be brought to justice.
Two other suspects in the case have started new lives on the American east coast - as the Irish Daily Star published pictures of them blasting semi-automatic pistols and M16 rifles at a firing range there, as well enjoying a ski holiday on the third anniversary of the murder that shocked the nation.
Gardai believe both men were part of the five-strong gang involved in the robbery and were at the scene at the time of the murder - but did not fire the fatal shot. However, that means they can still be charged with murder as they were centrally involved in the incident.
Detectives have already amassed a large amount of circumstantial evidence against the five suspects - as well as thousands of hours of CCTV footage from the area and across the border into the North, where the gang fled in their stolen VW Passat following the killing. The thugs got away with just 4,000 when they targeted a credit union worker as she left the office to head to nearby Dundalk to lodge the day's takings.
Just as she was setting off on the journey, the gang's Passat blocked the exit of the building and D/Gda. Donohoe and his colleague, Detective Joe Ryan went to investigate.
Det Garda Donohoe, who was the passenger in the patrol car, got out of the vehicle to approach the Passat, but was shot once in the head just as he placed one foot on the ground.
The masked attackers then pointed the shotgun at Det Garda Ryan - and warned him they would shoot him if he moved.
The killers then escaped in the Passat, driving at high speed across the border, before abandoning the car and burning it out in a forest near Keady in south Armagh.
A complaint has been lodged with the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) on behalf of Anne Delcassian, sister of murdered Dundalk woman, Irene White.
Belfast based solicitor Kevin Winters, representing Ms. Delcassian, confirmed that the complaint had been lodged on her behalf.
Speaking to the Argus yesterday (Monday) he said that there had been no formal notification given to Ms. Delcassian as 'a next of kin' that a bail application was made by the person arrested and charged with the murder of Irene White.
'There should have been notification given, and especially as there was not going to be any objection to bail made,' said Mr. Winters.
'We are saying that this is a breach of the Victims Charter that Anne was not given notification.'
A spokesman for the GSOC said they could not confirm if a complaint had been made as 'all complaints received are treated with the utmost confidentiality.'
Anthony Lambe, (34), from Annadrumman, Castleblayney, was granted bail in early March subject to a number of conditions.
The Monaghan man is charged with the murder of Ms White (43), on April 6 2005 in the kitchen of her home at the Ice House, Demesne Road, Dundalk.
As part of his bail conditions, Lambe has to reside at a specified address in County Monaghan and observe a curfew from 10pm to 6am and be available to Gardai during those times.
In addition, he is to have no contact, directly or indirectly, with any witnesses or people involved in the prosecution of the case and any change of address, curfew conditions, reporting Garda station has to be applied for in writing and approval sought in writing from the prosecuting Garda or the Member in Charge of the station he reports to.
The conditions further state thatLambe must also stay out of Dundalk, surrender his passport and cannot apply for travel documents, as part of his bail conditions.
He must appear in court for each and every remand hearing until the case is completed.
Lambe was first charged before Dundalk District Court on Saturday January 21 and was remanded in custody.
He appeared in court in Cloverhill in February and was granted bail on March 7. An undisclosed surety was to be approved as part of his bail.
He appeared before Dundalk District Court again last month, where Judge John Coughlan formally sent him forward to the next sitting of the Central Criminal Court at the CCJ in Dublin on the same bail terms fixed by the High Court.
The leadership race has divided Louth Fine Gael with the party's top two local politicians each backing a different candidate.
Dundalk TD Peter Fitzpatrick declared his support for Simon Coveney, while Drogheda TD Fergus O'Dowd confirmed he is backing Leo Varakar.
Speaking to the Argus, Deputy Fitzpatrick said 'I have known both Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney for many years, and they are both ambitious men who worked very hard. But I have gone with my heart, and I will be voting for Simon Coveney.'
He added his admiration for the Cork TD, who he said was 'the full package.'
'Simon has a great range of experience, from his work as an MEP to being elected five times as a TD. He is an excellent communicator.'
And despite the polls indicating Varakar has an early lead in the race, Deputy Fitzpatrick said he knew Simon Coveney was 'upbeat and ready for the job.'
The Dundalk TD also praised outgoing leader Enda Kenny, saying that he was able to 'turn around a country that was facing bankruptcy. I think he did a good job.'
He admitted that austerity did lead to the government 'coming across as not compassionate enough.'
Meanwhile, Fergus O'Dowd publicly declared his support of Leo Varadkar on Friday last, saying: 'I'm confident that Leo Varadkar is the right person who can lead Fine Gael and Ireland into the next generation of politics. Leo is a person whom I hold in the highest regard, I believe he has the experience, skill and integrity to provide the leadership our country needs and deserves.'
He added: 'This is a massive opportunity for us to capture the hearts and minds of the younger generation who have become disenfranchised by the last decade of politics.'
Fine Gael councillors have also been making their preference for the next party leader known.
Paying tribute to the outgoing Taoiseach Cllr. Maria Doyle told the Argus:
'While not unexpected, Enda's departure was quite swift in the end. He served our country well and as a Fine Gael councillor, I'm very proud of what he achieved during his time as Taoiseach. That's not to deny that there weren't difficulties since the economic crash, but I feel both he and Michael Noonan helped turn the country away from the brink. With regards his successor, while I have great respect for both Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney, I have decided to vote for Leo.'
Fellow Louth County Councillor, John McGahon also added his support for Leo Varadkar, saying: 'I have been a long term supporter of Leo and I am delighted to confirm that he is my choice for the next leader of the Fine Gael party and Taoiseach of this country.
Ireland is constantly changing, society is constantly changing, politics is constantly changing. Leo is the epitome of that change. He represents a generational shift within Fine Gael and I believe he will be able to lead our party with strength, courage and conviction.
Leo is a social and economic liberal who has achieved a lot in his six years as a Minister, spanning three different departments. He is a powerful communicator, he transcends the traditional lines of party politics and is a leader whom I firmly believe in and am thrilled to be able to support.'
The most high profile of local politicans who has yet to declare who they will back is Louth MEP Mairead McGuinness
In a statement reflecting on Enda Kenny's time in office she said: 'There are few Taoisigh or Prime Ministers who can leave behind a legacy of turning an economy from deep recession into a recovery outperforming the Euro zone as a whole. There are few who have given public service to the extent that Enda Kenny has done.
His whole adult life has been devoted to public service and his personal integrity has never been questioned, even by his most ardent opponents,' she said.
Other local TD's gave a mixed reaction to the former Taosieach's six years at the helm.
Louth TD Declan Breathnach recalled: 'My first encounter with Enda Kenny was around 1995 when he was Minister responsible for Tourism. He attended at Muldoon's in Ardee to launch the Louth Tourism Plan and only recently, by coincidence, the Louth Economic Forum launched it's new Tourism and Heritage Action Plan. Like him or dislike him he is a hard worker. I spoke to him recently at the All Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit where I remarked that politics nowadays is too focussed on image, spin and perception and that I could see in him someone who has always wanted to do his best by our people and our country and he agreed with these sentiments.'
Meanwhile Gerry Adams described Kenny's reign as Taoiseach has been dominated by 'crisis, chaos, and chronic lack of accountability.'
The Sinn Fein president said the Government led by Mr Kenny had a 'deeply flawed' strategy for dealing with the challenge of Brexit and a 'clear lack of affinity' with Northern Ireland.
He said that while he accepted that Mr Kenny did his best, he said ongoing issues 'such as the housing crisis and homelessness and problems with the health service and policing were signs it was not good enough.'
Speaking as Mr Kenny said he was stepping down last week, Deputy Adams added: 'He and I disagree on many political issues, but I acknowledge that he did his best from his perspective.'
'From Sinn Fein's perspective, this was not good enough. In 2011, Mr Kenny came to power with the largest majority in the history of the state. He promised a democratic revolution.
Six years on and his political legacy is dominated by crisis, chaos, and chronic lack of accountability.'
A women's charity collective called '100 Women North Wicklow/South Dublin' is meeting this month for their second of three meetings in 2017.
The gathering will take place on Tuesday, May 30 at 8 p.m. at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney.
They are a growing group of dedicated women who join together to make a significant impact in the lives of those in need.
At tri-annual meetings, they pool their donations and choose a sigle recognised Irish charity or non-profit in their local community to benefit.
WH Five Loaves, Open Door, the Lucena Clinic and Team 21 Tots (Down Syndrome Centre) have been the beneficiaries of this group's collective donations thus far.
'With four meetings now under our belts, I'm feeling like I've got the hang of this! Who knew that a video I saw on Facebook would inspire this lovely and diverse group of women to give with their hearts (and their purses!) it's truly an accomplishment, I'm proud of all of us,' said Nancy Falkow, founder of the collective. 'The simple idea, for us to join forces and create a large donation, has made such a difference already in so many lives. At the meetings, the amazing feeling in the room is palpable. We have proven that this women's giving circle works and we can do so much to help our local community.'
100 Women North Wicklow/South Dublin works simply. They gather three times a year and commit to giving a donation three times a year, whether they can be at the meeting or not. Individual members nominate the charities. Three names are picked out of a fancy and ridiculous hat, and they pitch their charity. After hearing the pitches the group votes there and then. They hand over the cheque or postal money orders made out in the name of the charity chosen that evening (so there are no administrative fees for the group.) Then high fives are given and backs are patted all around.
'The message I'd like to convey right now is we need women! We hope that people continue to spread the word and our chapter will grow exponentially,' said Nancy.
'We will always need new members to make our group stronger and our impact bigger. We are a dynamic group of amazing women from all walks of life with one goal, to make big differences in our communities.' For more information go to 100WomenNWSD.org.
The A.O.I.F.A. (Association of Irish Floral Artists) National Flower Festival will be hosted by Ardee Floral Art Club from the 9th - 11th June. A.O.I.F.A. has 84 clubs countrywide so they expect to attract 3,000 to 4,000 additional visitors to the town of Ardee. The title of the festival is 'Celtic Way ' and exhibitors will come from all over the country to interpret this title in Floral Art.
The Festival will be opened on June 9th at 7.30pm by Mary Kennedy and Nationwide camera crew will film on Saturday.
The exhibits will be in the following venues: The Church of the Nativity of our Lady, John Street, Ardee and St Mary's Church of Ireland, Market Street, Ardee as well as The Parish Centre, Hale Street Ardee. The displays will run from 11am to 6pm on the Saturday and 1-6pm on the Sunday.
The nominated charity this year is Irish Cancer Research Association which will benefit from all the funds raised.
Further details can be had from Candy Holten, Townspark, Ardee Chairperson 0879931274 and Josie Callan, Riverstown, Ardee, Treasurer 0876411834.
The recent Census data released confirms again that Drogheda has retained its position as Ireland's largest town and it continues to grow faster than most of its peers, accelerating its claim to become Ireland's next city.
"What the Census data fails to acknowledge is that Drogheda and its immediate suburbs with a population of 52,828 is now as large as Waterford City (pop. 53,504)," said Anna McKenna, Secretary of the Drogheda City Status Group, adding "in fact, when the natural catchment of the Greater Drogheda Area is factored in, the population rises to circa 80,000."
Drogheda's population figures are understated as the Louth/Meath county boundary slices through the south side of the town and according to the City Status group, by omitting that substantial area, including the large Grange Rath development and the agglomeration of the natural suburbs of Donacarney; Laytown; Mornington and Bettystown just south of the town in County Meath, the town's true population is vastly understated and as a result, is overlooked by Government Departments and agencies making key investment decisions regarding jobs and infrastructure.
The Drogheda group claim the outcome of the recent Boundary Review was a "backward step," when it recommended that the status quo be managed jointly by both Louth and Meath Co. Councils, thus maintaining the divide.
The group state that to date, the two local authorities have competed rather than co-operated in seeing the orderly growth and transition of Drogheda from Ireland's largest town to becoming Ireland's sixth city. One of their priorities is the restoration of Drogheda Borough Council, and they have called on all local and national political representatives in County Louth and East Meath to get more engaged in the need for Drogheda to transition to a City for the benefit of all residents in Drogheda, South Louth and East Meath.
"As the Minister endorsing the Boundary Review, can Simon Coveney imagine Cork City, South of the river Lee being managed by Kerry County Council? Well, that's effectively what being foisted on Drogheda, but we hope the latest Cenus data will overturn that.
' It is now clear from the data that, in Ireland, there are now two groups each of three cities - Dublin, Cork and Limerick being one, with Galway and Waterford about to be joined by Drogheda in the other.
'With a recent planning application being proposed for 1,000 new houses and forecasts of a population of 250,000 by mid-century, Drogheda's progress to becoming Ireland's next city is unstoppable." concluded Ms McKenna.
McElearney's Londis, Drogheda will join over 165 other Londis retailers and their friends and take part in Climb for Joy, which involves scaling Ireland's highest mountain, Carrauntoohil in Co Kerry.
The climb will take place on Saturday, May 27th to raise money and awareness for mental health charity, Pieta House.
Paul McGrath was on hand recently to lend his support for the launch of Climb for Joy and acknowleges the vital work Pieta House carries out each day in local communities across Ireland.
The charity provides free and therapuetic care for people who are in suicidal distress and those with mental health issues.
Cathal McElearney, McElearney's Londis Drogheda said: 'We are really looking forward to the climb next week.
'Pieta House is a very worthy charity and it's important to have this type of support in our community. Anyone who wishes to sponsor us and donate to Pieta House can do so in store.'
A man who participated in the tiger kidnap of a postal worker and his family has been sentenced to nine years in prison.
The court heard that Mark McCarthy (32) was acting under duress when he held the family hostage prior to the An Post employee being forced to hand over 661,125 from Drogheda Post Office where he worked.
McCarthy of Elm Dale Crescent, Ballyfermot pleaded guilty to the false imprisonment of Warren and Jean Marie Nawn and their ten week old baby between August 1st and 2nd 2011.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that the family were held in their home by the raiders before being driven to a rural location where they were kept captive overnight.
During this time they were repeatedly threatened, sometimes at gunpoint. One of the men told Mr Nawn "there's a mad bastard on the way and he'll have no problem raping your wife."
Mrs Nawn was told to "shut the baby up" when it cried and was told by one raider that if her husband did not comply they would have to "try for another baby".
She said another man told her not to worry.
Mr Nawn was threatened that his wife would be killed if he did not comply. He said it was hard to hear what the men were telling him as his eyes, mouth and ears were covered with duct tape.
The following day Mr Nawn was instructed to drive to his work place as normal and inform his supervisor what was happening.
A large cash delivery went ahead as normal before Mr Nawn took the money and dropped it to a location where it was recovered by the gang.
Ms Nawn who had been cable tied to a bed with her baby, managed to free herself after the raiders left and was found in a very distressed state. Her ten week old baby, who had not been fed for 19 hours, was highly dehydrated.
The court heard that investigating gardai "struck it lucky" after being alerted to a partially burnt out car which contained McCarthy's finger prints on a pizza box and his DNA on cigarette butts.
In sentencing, Judge Patricia Ryan said that the crime was one "of a very serious nature."
"It was a violent crime which was pre-planned and premeditated and one during which weapons were used."
She acknowledged McCarthy's early guilty plea, his efforts at rehabilitation while in prison and the fact that he made no financial gain from the crime as he was taking part in it in order to discharge a drug debt.
Judge Ryan backdated his sentence to November 2013, when he was taken into custody.
Wexford County Council are preparing plans in order to reduce leakages in the Enniscorthy water-main network, reported Senior Executive Engineer Tadhg O'Corcora.
Funding has been approved by Irish Water for the replacement of all backyard services in Redmond Street, Drumgold Villas, UDC Range, Pearce Road, Bellefield Road and St Aidan's Villas with works commencing late May on six houses in St John's Villas.
Mr O'Corcora said: 'The work in St John's are required due to a back yard service leak under an extension of one of the block of six houses. It is envisaged that the other work will be carried out in late 2017 as part of the Water Network Management Framework.'
The 1.4km extension of the water supply truck main from Beech Park on Bellefield Road out the Milehouse Road has also been granted by Irish Water, with works currently being designed by Wexford County Council.
The work will be mostly done along with the construction of the R702 between Duffry Gate and the M11 site (Milehouse Road) which commences late May.
The works on the R702 between Duffry Gate and the M11 site (Milehouse Road) are expected to commence late May, reported Executive Engineer Joanne Kehoe.
'The design is currently being undertaken for the resurfacing of the N11 south of Oylegate and surveying works have commenced and works will be carried out later this year,' said Ms Kehoe.
Doran's Bridge, Clone Road is currently under survey work after Cllr Barbara-Anne Murphy requested for speeding signs to be placed along there.
Ms Kehoe also reported to the counsellors that there has been a traffic counter put up on the R746 and will be there for the next two weeks to help provide information on the volume of traffic by hour of day and vehicle class.
'Can I request that the Ballycarney and Clohamon junction be reviewed and looked at? It deserves some work on it to make it safer,' said Cllr Kathleen-Codd Nolan.
Ms Kehoe said she would ask Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) about the lethal junctions to see if they can do anything about them.
A wealth of Irish literary talent was to the fore at the Wexford Literary Festival on Saturday at the Church Institute as authors of the calibre of Louise Hall, Andrea Hayes and Shane Dunphy shared their experiences and advice as non-fiction writers with moderator Sheila Forsey.
All three of them felt that honesty and confidentiality are the key ingredients in non-fiction writing, and the very clear message from each was: 'Write because you want to write, not because you want to be published'.
The Crime Writers Panel was moderated by new author and Festival Committee member Adele O'Neill, who spoke with two of Ireland's leading crime writers, Alex Barclay and Michael O'Higgins. The topics of killer first lines and harrowing research were discussed with both authors saying that killer first lines are not their main focus but rather characters and place. Michael O'Higgins says that he is immersed in his research all day everyday being a practising Barrister. Alex said that because her books are set in the USA she goes to the head of the Violent Crime Squad at the Denver Office of the FBI. Nothing like going straight to the top, she laughed.
Vice Chair Caroline Busher did a Publisher Q&A session with Lisa Coen and Sarah Davis Goff of Tramp Press who are welcoming submissions from everyone.
At the Bailey, readers and writers sat side by side and enjoyed delicious repast with renowned authors - another feature of the festival which is proving to me a huge attraction. The programme for the afternoon was a masterclass with Sue Leonard in ghostwriting where she explained that a good ghostwriter needed was good writing skills, good clarity and a huge amount of confidence. They will also need the ability to structure their writing, they need to be curious people, they need to have passion and good people skills and as Sue Leonard said, 'you have to be good sometimes with grumpy old men'. And lastly she said to be a ghostwriter you must bury your ego - none if any of the credit for the book will go to the ghostwriter.
The afternoon concluded with Gaby Smyth who dealt specifically with the business of being an artist - author, painter and sculptor.
Spanish writer-director Nacho Vigalondo plays with madness in his brilliantly bonkers homage to Godzilla, which projects the monster-mashing mayhem through the lens of an offbeat indie romantic comedy.
Thematically, there are faint echoes of M. Night Shyamalan's unconventional superhero film Unbreakable, but Colossal is very much its own beast, anchored by an eye-catching performance from Anne Hathaway as a struggling alcoholic, whose recovery coincides with the emergence of a towering creature on the other side of the world.
Jason Sudeikis also plays against type to delicious effect as a bar owner, whose jealousy conjures something scarier and far more destructive than a green-eyed behemoth.
The leads enjoy simmering on-screen chemistry that lights the touchpaper on cataclysmic events on two continents, positing tantalising questions about the thin line separating unlikely heroes from villains.
Predictability has been largely eradicated from the picture's warped DNA and we take great delight from the twists and turns in Vigalondo's fantastical narrative, augmented with impressive digital effects that never threaten to overwhelm the emotional components.
New York City party girl Gloria (Hathaway) fails to get a grip on her hard-drinking ways and her straight-laced boyfriend Tim (Dan Stevens) throws her out of his apartment.
Gloria returns in shame to her sleepy upstate home town to crash in her parents' old house, which has been vacant since they retired to sunnier climes.
By chance, she crosses paths with childhood friend Oscar (Sudeikis) and makes insensitive small talk about the health of his mother.
'Don't you remember? You were still living here. You went to the funeral,' he responds with bemusement.
Regardless, nice guy Oscar donates unwanted furniture to help Gloria get back on her feet and offers her a job at his bar, which he inherited from his father.
'It's like a Wes Anderson movie in here,' she coos, surveying a western-themed area untouched by refurbishment.
Gloria begins to turn her life around and she forges friendships with Oscar's buddies Garth (Tim Blake Nelson) and Joel (Austin Stowell).
Breaking news about the sudden appearance of a giant creature in Seoul sends shockwaves around the world, and a dumbfounded Gloria discovers she is connected to this horned harbinger of doom.
Flashbacks to a traumatic childhood incident reveal the catalyst for this incredible meeting of human and monster minds.
Colossal is an engrossing and intimate character study with grand ambitions, realised in broad strokes by Vigalondo and his special effects team.
Hathaway welcomes us into her character's delirium, compelling us to root for her as she confronts her addiction head-on and demons closer to home.
Sudeikis is a wonderful foil and there is solid support from Stevens, Nelson and Stowell as the unsuspecting men caught in the crossfire of a truly epic battle of the sexes.
Artist Kevin Freeney has returned triumphant from the 'Couleurs de Bretagne' outdoor painting festival in Wexford's twin town of France, having won the Professional Oil Painters section of the competition for a picture entitled 'La Fenetre d'Audubon' (Audubon's Window), depicting the home of the famous 19th century bird painter, who was raised in Nantes and emigrated to the US at the age of 18.
The event organisers held onto the winning painting which will be displayed at the regional final of the competition next October. Kevin who works from a studio in Mayglass, travelled to Coueron with fellow artists Jim Doolan and David Goldberg for a weekend of Plein Air painting around Coeuron. The trio who are members of the South East Plein Air Association were among the guests of honour at a civic reception in the French twin town where Wexford native Jackie Menard Byrne's husband is a council official.
Speculation is rife as to who is sitting on a cool quarter of a million euro after a player who bought their ticket in the Gawlia Stores, Gorey, matched five numbers and a lucky star in Friday night's Euro Millions draw.
A spokesperson for the National Lottery confirmed to this newspaper yesterday evening, Monday, that the winning ticket holder was in touch with the headquarters in Dublin earlier in the day, and that arrangements were being made for them to travel up to collect the prize.
No further details on the identity of the winner were available, apart from the fact that it was a player from Co Wexford.
'I have absolutely no idea who it was,' said Maureen Breen, proprietor of The Gwalia Stores where the lucky ticket was purchased last Friday.
'We had a queue of people in buying tickets on Friday,' she said. 'When the jackpot is big, it is always busy.'
She doesn't even know if it was herself or one of the other staff members in the shop who sold the ticket, and has no idea if the winner was local, as the shop also does a busy trade with commuters travelling on the bus to Dublin.
The lucky player was just one number away from winning Friday's huge jackpot of over 109 million. The mystery Gorey player was the biggest Irish winner in Friday's draw as they matched the five + Lucky Star prize of 269,554.
The Quick Pick ticket was sold on the day of the draw. The winning numbers were: 9, 11, 12, 19, 30 Lucky Stars: 4, 9.
Maureen was contacted by people from the National Lottery on Saturday morning, and was overjoyed to hear the news that one of her customers was a big winner. 'We are in complete shock,' she said. 'We are a small local shop in a small hard-working community and this will bring a huge boost to all in the town'.
Recalling the queue for tickets on Friday, she said that knowing that one of those lucky players had won over a quarter of a million in her shop was so satisfying. 'Whoever won it, fair play to them,' she said.
As the jackpot wasn't won on Friday, tonight Tuesday's Euro Millions jackpot is a mammoth 120 million.
Members of Buffers Alley GAA club who took part in the run.
Runners take shelter under an umbrella before the start of the race
There was a great turnout at the AirconMech charity 5k Walk/Jog/Run in Enniscorthy recently.
Hundreds of people took to the streets to raise money for the purchase of an MRI scanner for Wexford General Hospital.
The run was organised by AirconMech as part of their step in the right direction for its positive wellbeing and mindfulness in the workplace programme.
The race attracted people from all walks of life and ages with some serious runners hoping for a personal best while other people were just happy to walk the course.
The event was MC'ed by former Wexford hurler Tom Dempsey who was a member of the 1996 winning team and he proved a big hit entertaining the crowds before, during and after the event.
A spokesperson for AirconMech said the event 'wouldn't have been possible without the generous support of all our sponsors and the help of our local community. Donations are still arriving and we will have the final tally early next week'.
Many of the Fine Gael councillors in Wexford are still unsure as to who they will vote for in the Fine Gael leadership race although Leo Varadkar is emerging as the clear favourite.
Chairman of Wexford County Council Paddy Kavanagh refused to pin his colours to the mast in the Fine Gael leadership race, saying he wanted to hear more from both Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney before making up his mind.
'I haven't made up my mind yet to be honest. I see pluses and minuses for both candidates. I'm waiting to hear a bit more debate between the two of them before I make up my mind. I just think that different policy issues needed to be fleshed out a bit more.'
However, despite the fact that the leadership race is a two-horse race, Cllr Kavanagh said he would have like to see another candidate enter the fray.
'I always liked Paschal Donohoe. I think he's very gutsy and I would have liked to have seen him in the race. But even if he had entered the race I still wouldn't have made up my mind yet.
'I want to see where they [the candidates] see the county going to and be absolutely sure about my choice.
'I'm sure we will meet either on a one on one basis or as the Wexford Fine Gael group with the two candidates and I will be putting forward what we want for our own county.
'I want to see where they see not only where the country is going but also their vision for Wexford and what we want to see happening in the county.
'I wouldn't like to be pinning my colours to the mast just yet until I see what is in it for the councillor on the ground.
Mayor of Wexford Borough District Frank Staples said that while his mind isn't made up, he was leaning towards supporting Minister Leo Varadkar.
'It's a tough one at the minute and I haven't made up my mind, but I'm probably leaning towards Leo. I was talking to him two weeks ago at the Brexit meeting in Enniscorthy and he said that he would be back down to Wexford once the gun was fired in the race so to speak.
'I haven't spoken to Simon Coveney but I presume he will be down to Wexford. Maybe when I speak to him I'll change my mind or know exactly who I would be voting for. It will be interesting to see what he [Coveney] has to say. He comes from a real Fine Gael family so his background is a bit different to Leo's. I'll wait and see what both of them have to say before I make up my mind.'
Mayor Staples is relieved to see that is a two-man race, saying: 'It's a bit cleaner when they are only two candidates. It is good that it will be as clean as possible. The last thing we need is dissension within the party when we are in a minority government. You would be hoping for a quick, clean race.'
Mayor Staples said that he was glad to see Enda Kenny being afforded a graceful exit.
'It's good that it happened the way it did, on his own terms. If there had been a vote of no confidence in him it would have been a terrible thing. I know a lot of people give out but in fairness he did a good job. You don't stay in the Dail that long if you aren't doing something right.
'Unemployment is now below seven per cent and that's a great achievement. He did a lot of good. I know there are things that we'd like to be better but overall he did a good job. I have talked to people who would have liked to see him stay on as Taoiseach and leader until after Brexit had been sorted out and I think he would have been very good at that because he knows the EU leaders and gets on with them but how long is a piece of string.'
Minister Simon Coveney might be seen as a safe pair of hands for the party according to Cllr Oliver Walsh, chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, but he said he is keeping his options open.
'I honestly haven't made up my mind yet. I don't know what I'm going to do but I'm say I'm leaning towards Leo. I think he has better qualities overall and I feel he might attract more people to Fine Gael which we need. Coveney would be a very safe pair of hands alright but I think Leo might attract more people.
'I haven't been speaking to Simon yet and until I do that I'll be keeping my options open.'
Like his colleagues Cllr Walsh said that in the long run it's probably better for the party that there are only two candidates fighting it out for the leadership. 'It's probably just as well that it's a two horse race although I'm a bit surprised that Richard Bruton has ruled himself out completely.
Cllr Walsh said he believes that Enda will be remembered favourably by the history books. 'He did a great job in the circumstances for the party and the country. He did a great job as leader of the party and as Taoiseach.'
Leo Varadkar has also made a positive impact on Cllr John Hegarty, although he too was reluctant to commit to either candidate at this stage of the race.
'To be honest I haven't spoken to Simon yet so I don't think it would be fair to decide until I do. I've spoken to Leo recently but it wouldn't be fair to Simon to decide until I talk to both of them. I know it sounds like I'm sitting on the fence but I think we have two good candidates in the race.
'I do think that it will lead to a generational shift for the party which is welcome as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully the disaffection that young people are feeling regarding politics will be improved up.'
While he hasn't made up his mind regarding the vote, Cllr Hegarty said: 'I've had more dealings with Leo and found him to be a very positive person and that's what the party needs.'
Cllr Anthony Donoghue was the only councillor to step up to the plate and nail his colours to the mast.
When asked who he was supporting, he said without hesitation: 'Leo Varadkar. I think he's the better candidate to lead the party into the future and would be a better taoiseach.'
Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan is very undecided when it comes to picking her man: 'To be dead honest I haven't made up my mind at all. I haven't been talking to Simon yet. We have two really good candidates and it is hard to put one over the other. Simon comes from a traditional background and that appeals to a lot of people.
'But Leo is looking towards the future for Ireland. They are both completely different characters. I've always found Leo to be a really good listener and a good problem solver and that's what I like about him. Simon is a real grafter but I think Leo can see his way through problems quicker.
'At the moment I can't put one over the other and I need to see what Simon has to offer and what his vision is. We need to know what he has in store for Ireland. The country has changed so much over the past 10 or 20 years so I'd like to see what his vision is.'
Cllr Larry O'Brien from New Ross District said that he had yet to met with Simon Coveney but expected to do so this evening, Tuesday, with the rest of the Wexford Fine Gael party: 'We haven't met Simon Coveney yet so I want to hear what he has to say before I make up my mind fully.
'However, I would be favouring Leo at the moment. I met him recently and found him to be up-front and honest. I think he would be good for the Fine Gael party and that's why I'm leaning towards him at the moment.'
* It is expected that four party hustings will take place around the country probably in Dublin, Cork, the midlands and the west in advance of the leadership vote. Members and councillors will be the first to vote; members of the parliamentary party will cast their ballots last. The leadership will be decided by an electoral college that gives the parliamentary party TDs, senators and MEPs 65 per cent of the vote. Rank-and-file members are allocated 25 per cent and councillors 10 per cent.
A book about the Norman landing at Baginbun in 1170, which changed the course of Irish history, is being released in June.
The historical fiction book is entitled Lord of the Sea Castle and charts the story of Raymond (Le Gros) Fitzgerald, who went on to consolidate Norman rule over Ireland before he retired to his estates in Waterford where he died.
Written by Tyrone author Ruadh Butler, the story revolves around the writings of a Welsh monk in the 12th century.
'I was trying to get a real feel for the period and the book gives the idea of what it was like for people living in Ireland, which was very forested and people were ruled by Brehon law,' Butler said.
Describing the Normans as an extremely complicated race, Butler said the Norman invasion sparked a tumultuous time in Irish political life.
In his first book, Swordland, Butler wrote about Robert Fitzstephen who became Lord of Wexford, having settled in the county.
Describing Le Gros as a happy-go-lucky character, Butler said he was also very ambitious and not as fat as his name suggests.
The book delves into the political world of the day, the intrigue, betrayals, murders and mysteries.
'The book charts one of the most turbulent and long-lasting events in Irish history - the Norman invasion. It concerns one of the county's most important historic sites - Baginbun Point out on the Hook Peninsula.'
The second half of the book is set entirely in the Fethard-on-Sea area, specifically at Baginbun.
'It's a place that could be a huge draw for tourists if it was developed. All that's there now to mark it's amazing Norman history is a plaque. You can still see the actual battlements of the castle, which was a Gaelic fort. It was ideal site for a fortification or a castle. Strongbow arrived on August 23, 1170 and they began stealing cattle from local tribes rather than barter for supplies.'
Running to just over 400 pages, Lord of the Sea Castle, is available from all good book shops.
A Cork man has pleaded guilty to two charges arising from an outbreak of violence in Rath Cemetery in Tralee in 2014.
31-year-old Wayne McCarthy of Double Cottage, Lower Killeens, Cork appeared before Judge John Hannon at Tralee Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday.
Mr McCarthy pleaded guilty to engaging in violent disorder and threatening to use unlawful violence at Rath Cemetery in Tralee on November 11, 2014.
He also pleaded guilty to possession of a slash hook with intent to injure or incapacitate on the same date.
Judge Hannon heard that Mr McCarthy has a history of addiction problems and that he is one of four men who are currently before the courts in relation to the incident.
Sentencing in the case was adjourned until July 20 and Mr McCarthy was also referred to the probation services.
The incident occurred during the funeral of a settled member of the Kerry Traveller community.
Fine Gael are making "a bloody jamboree" out of its leadership contest according to Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan who expressed anger at the way FG is courting the media since Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney officially declared interest in leading the party a week ago.
"Look, I don't agree with what's going on. I don't think anyone should be declaring without a vote beforehand like is happening now. I'll be voting Simon Coveney, but there should be changes in the future. The fact people can declare at the start makes a joke of it as it militates against people. I think it's the wrong approach," Sen Coghlan added.
MEP Sean Kelly said he is waiting until after the hustings before declaring as he wants to hear what the candidates have to offer the membership. Mr Kelly also defended the perceived runaway actions of some members of the party's executive who have come out in support of the candidates saying 'it was understandable' given they are in closer contact with them through their daily work in the Dail.
"Yes, it is understandable. But for the likes of me who is away in Europe most weeks, and for local councillors, it will be good to hear what they have to say which is why I'm waiting until after the hustings. It's all part and parcel of the democratic process," said Mr Kelly who added that he was not overly worried about the result as they "are both excellent candidates".
Simon Coveney holds a slight advantage among FG politicians surveyed in Kerry; however, the Housing Minister still faces an uphill task if he's to overturn Varadkar's lead among the parliamentary party.
Coveney's focus now switches to the party's membership and county councillors who between them make up around 35 percent of the vote. The rural versus urban divide was also scotched by TD Brendan Griffin who cited the Wild Atlantic Way, Tralee Bypass, Kerry-Dublin flights, and the nine percent rate of VAT for tourism, as examples of Leo Varadkar's contribution to rural Kerry.
"I just think Leo is the better candidate, but whoever wins I'll be rowing 100 percent in behind him. Leo's influence as Minister has already benefited Kerry and he would make a great leader for all of Ireland," the Deputy said.
Cllr Patrick O'Connor Scarteen also pitched for Varadkar saying that on a personal level he had known Leo since they started together in Young Fine Gael.
"I don't buy into this rural/urban divide at all and it's a very simplistic view. I'm backing Leo for the leadership as he is one of the most capable politicians to come through in recent years and he's got a great intellect," Cllr O'Connor Scarteen said.
Simon Coveney also enjoys strong support among Fine Gael Councillors. "I'll be voting for Simon Coveney. No disrespect to anyone else, but I think Simon would be better for the whole of the country. I just think he would be better," declared Cllr Pat McCarthy.
West Kerry based Councillor Seamus Cosai Fitzgerald is also supporting Coveney. "First of all I find him a very genuine individual and he has a very good grasp of the issues. He has experience serving as a Minister for the departments of Marine and Defence and also has European experience as an MEP for Munster.
"He's a good listener, very decisive and has a cool head," said Cllr Fitzgerald.
Cllr Bobby O'Connell could not express a preference as he said he will be "dealing with both men during their campaigns" in his capacity as secretary of the party. Cllr Aoife Thornton, meanwhile, said she remains undecided, welcoming Coveney's continued fight in the interests of fully sounding out what the new party leader will represent. Councillor John Sheahan could not be contacted for a comment.
* In advance of the leadership vote four party hustings will take place in Dublin, Cork, Ballinasloe and Carlow.
Members and councillors will vote at 26 polling stations around the country between May 29 and June 1. The parliamentary party - TDs, senators and MEPs - will vote in Dublin on Friday, June 2. All votes will be counted and the result announced that day in Dublin.
The electoral college gives the parliamentary party 65% of the vote; rank-and-file members 25% and councillors 10%.
A regional Greenway office manned by up to three people is being opened in New Ross as New Ross and Piltown councils prepare to progress the initiative.
Director of Services with Kilkenny County Council, Mary Mulholland said the office has opened and a senior engineer has been appointed to oversee the project.
Ms Mulholland said planning is being advanced for the 24km Waterford to New Ross route, which is expected to connect with a 5km looped route taking in the Red Bridge and Mount Elliott.
'We are looking at resourcing that office as soon as possible with engineers from Kilkenny County Council and Wexford County Council as a regional office that will take the project forward to deal with its design and finances.'
Mr Hore said as many as three people will be based in the office. He said: 'It demonstrates the seriousness of what we propose to put in place,' adding that the government has yet to put in place a national greenway strategy, and until that time funding for the project will not be advanced.
A feasibility study is being carried out on a greenway route from New Ross to St Mullins. Mr Hore said the plan is to have a greenway from Dungarvan to Dublin, from where a greenway will stretch to the west coast. He said funding of 100m is planned to be allocated to this.
A Part 8 planning process has been approved for the Wexford part of the greenway and similar planning will be sought this summer or in the early autumn for the Kilkenny part.
Ms Mulholland said there were around 80 submissions concerning the greenway from residents living near the planned route, (which is on the old rail line), in south Kilkenny, adding that a report on these should be available in September.
Ms Mulholland said: 'We are working through them. The majority of the route lies in Kilkenny, about 22 km.'
Issues raised include access at Ferrybank, Waterford, agricultural access and parking at access points.
'Some issues were raised about the route selection so we need to get an engineer's report. Some of them are significant issues for people who took the time to make the submissions. It's in everyone's interest that we deal with everyone's concerns as quickly as we can.'
She said the greenway would bring huge positives to the area.
Cllr Patrick Dunphy said it is important to keep the momentum going following the recent opening of the highly successful Dungarvan to Waterford greenway.
Ms Mulholland said that greenway took many years to open. 'I think we have been very thorough. We're going through the planning phases and that should make the detailed designs for the greenway run as easy as possible for landowners and for everyone involved. Wexford will be taking the lead on submissions for funding but we do need to have a well planned project before we can stand it up with funding proposals.'
Mr Hore said he is hopeful of a funding announcement for the greenway in late 2017 or early next year. 'A lot of the Part 8 process is in place so that won't take too much longer. We made an application to Failte Ireland for the entire greenway for around 6m. If anyone here has any influence (with government) they might light a fire under it.'
Cllr Oisin O'Connell lamented the erection of posters attracting tourists to the Wild Atlantic Way on the N25, adding that he hopes posters championing the sunny south east are being put up on the west coast. He said the greenway has enormous tourism potential for the region.
Ms Mulholland said many people across the country want to see the next phase of the greenway, coming through New Ross, opened as quickly as possible. Cllr Tomas Breathnach said a combined funding application could be made from all counties in the south east considering the greenway's tourism potential. Mr Hore agreed that this was a good idea and 'would be a big help'
How the new bridge will look
Over the summer people will be able to send in their suggestions for the new name for the country's longest bridge, which will span the River Barrow.
New Ross Municipal District Director Eamonn Hore said the naming of infrastucture like bridges has always been the reserve function of councillors. He said New Ross councillors unanimously agreed on the name the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Bridge last year.
Mr Hore said: 'The bypass will have a significant affect on New Ross,' adding that it comes out at Dunganstown, where the Kennedy family hail from and arising from all of the connections the town has with the family that produced a US president.
'Subsequently things went a little bit off the rails so we are coming to you to look for your support.'
He suggested letting people make submissions via letters and emails of what name they would like the bridge to be called and for the submissions to be whittled down to a shortlist, before the final name is chosen.
A steering committee of three people from Wexford County Council and three people from Kilkenny County Council will oversee the project.
'That may satisify everybody,' Mr Hore said.
New Ross Municipal District Cathaoirleach said it was unfortunate that there was so much 'totally unwarranted' vitriol online over councillors' decision to go with the Kennedy name.
Mr Hore said: 'The councillors did nothing wrong. They made a decision like members in other local authorities do all the time.'
Director of Services with Kilkenny County Council, Mary Mulholland said the matter should be dealt with by Piltown Municipal District councillors.
Mr Hore said it was a unique situation in that the bridge straddles two counties, so two councils have to get involved in the decision making process.
The meeting heard that a panel can take submissions on the name over the course of a month and afterwards a recommended name or names can be brought to New Ross councillors for consideration.
Cllr John Fleming said the Kennedy name is part of the area's past, present and future.
He said: 'Joe Kennedy is knowledgable about his roots and about where he is from. Hopefully he will be a future presidnt. Imagine the impact of having a president coming to New Ross again. I can't think of another name that will have a similar impact from a tourism and an economic point of view.'
He said the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy name will make international headlines as it will be the longest bridge in Ireland and because of its Kennedy connections.
Cllr Fidelis Doherty said there are other names other than the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy name which can be used for the bridge. 'Another name is possible and other names should be looked at,' she said.
Chairman Cllr Ger Frisby said steering committees will be established for Piltown and New Ross municipal district.
Director of Services with Kilkenny County Council Mary Mulholland said the Heritage Officer from that local authority could be asked to get involved, adding that bridge names should derive from names which have a long significance in an area.
Mr Hore said: 'Some of the other names chosen are very deserving of recognition.'
Cllr Tomas Breathnach asked what happens if Kilkenny County Council decides to reject a name approved by the two municipal councils.
Ms Mulholland said a protocol group needs to be set up.
Cllr Frisby said: 'The group will work through these issues and have a protocol in place for any conflict.'
'The DJ Carey bridge won't be satisfactory,' one New Ross councillor said.
Ms Mulholland said: 'It will be the bridge of the Pink Rock for many people for a long time.'
Mr Hore said he would like the name to be decided on over the coming months.
'I don't want it pushed out too long. It's a matter of getting the submission form online and in the council office. We can't have a Boaty McBoat Face name on it! Suitable names will be brought before ourselves.'
Ms Mulholland agreed, saying the sooner the bridge is named the sooner it can get publicity across the world.
Many of the Fine Gael councillors in Wexford are still unsure as to who they will vote for in the Fine Gael leadership race although Leo Varadkar is emerging as the clear favourite.
Chairman of Wexford County Council Paddy Kavanagh refused to pin his colours to the mast in the Fine Gael leadership race, saying he wanted to hear more from both Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney before making up his mind.
'I haven't made up my mind yet to be honest. I see pluses and minuses for both candidates. I'm waiting to hear a bit more debate between the two of them before I make up my mind. I just think that different policy issues needed to be fleshed out a bit more.'
However, despite the fact that the leadership race is a two-horse race, Cllr Kavanagh said he would have like to see another candidate enter the fray.
'I always liked Paschal Donohoe. I think he's very gutsy and I would have liked to have seen him in the race. But even if he had entered the race I still wouldn't have made up my mind yet.
'I want to see where they [the candidates] see the county going to and be absolutely sure about my choice.
'I'm sure we will meet either on a one on one basis or as the Wexford Fine Gael group with the two candidates and I will be putting forward what we want for our own county.
'I want to see where they see not only where the country is going but also their vision for Wexford and what we want to see happening in the county.
'I wouldn't like to be pinning my colours to the mast just yet until I see what is in it for the councillor on the ground.
Mayor of Wexford Borough District Frank Staples said that while his mind isn't made up, he was leaning towards supporting Minister Leo Varadkar.
'It's a tough one at the minute and I haven't made up my mind, but I'm probably leaning towards Leo. I was talking to him two weeks ago at the Brexit meeting in Enniscorthy and he said that he would be back down to Wexford once the gun was fired in the race so to speak.
'I haven't spoken to Simon Coveney but I presume he will be down to Wexford. Maybe when I speak to him I'll change my mind or know exactly who I would be voting for. It will be interesting to see what he [Coveney] has to say. He comes from a real Fine Gael family so his background is a bit different to Leo's. I'll wait and see what both of them have to say before I make up my mind.'
Mayor Staples is relieved to see that is a two-man race, saying: 'It's a bit cleaner when they are only two candidates. It is good that it will be as clean as possible. The last thing we need is dissension within the party when we are in a minority government. You would be hoping for a quick, clean race.'
Mayor Staples said that he was glad to see Enda Kenny being afforded a graceful exit.
'It's good that it happened the way it did, on his own terms. If there had been a vote of no confidence in him it would have been a terrible thing. I know a lot of people give out but in fairness he did a good job. You don't stay in the Dail that long if you aren't doing something right.
'Unemployment is now below seven per cent and that's a great achievement. He did a lot of good. I know there are things that we'd like to be better but overall he did a good job. I have talked to people who would have liked to see him stay on as Taoiseach and leader until after Brexit had been sorted out and I think he would have been very good at that because he knows the EU leaders and gets on with them but how long is a piece of string.'
Minister Simon Coveney might be seen as a safe pair of hands for the party according to Cllr Oliver Walsh, chairman of Enniscorthy Municipal District, but he said he is keeping his options open.
'I honestly haven't made up my mind yet. I don't know what I'm going to do but I'm say I'm leaning towards Leo. I think he has better qualities overall and I feel he might attract more people to Fine Gael which we need. Coveney would be a very safe pair of hands alright but I think Leo might attract more people.
'I haven't been speaking to Simon yet and until I do that I'll be keeping my options open.'
Like his colleagues Cllr Walsh said that in the long run it's probably better for the party that there are only two candidates fighting it out for the leadership. 'It's probably just as well that it's a two horse race although I'm a bit surprised that Richard Bruton has ruled himself out completely.
Cllr Walsh said he believes that Enda will be remembered favourably by the history books. 'He did a great job in the circumstances for the party and the country. He did a great job as leader of the party and as Taoiseach.'
Leo Varadkar has also made a positive impact on Cllr John Hegarty, although he too was reluctant to commit to either candidate at this stage of the race.
'To be honest I haven't spoken to Simon yet so I don't think it would be fair to decide until I do. I've spoken to Leo recently but it wouldn't be fair to Simon to decide until I talk to both of them. I know it sounds like I'm sitting on the fence but I think we have two good candidates in the race.
'I do think that it will lead to a generational shift for the party which is welcome as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully the disaffection that young people are feeling regarding politics will be improved up.'
While he hasn't made up his mind regarding the vote, Cllr Hegarty said: 'I've had more dealings with Leo and found him to be a very positive person and that's what the party needs.'
Cllr Anthony Donoghue was the only councillor to step up to the plate and nail his colours to the mast.
When asked who he was supporting, he said without hesitation: 'Leo Varadkar. I think he's the better candidate to lead the party into the future and would be a better taoiseach.'
Cllr Kathleen Codd-Nolan is very undecided when it comes to picking her man: 'To be dead honest I haven't made up my mind at all. I haven't been talking to Simon yet. We have two really good candidates and it is hard to put one over the other. Simon comes from a traditional background and that appeals to a lot of people.
'But Leo is looking towards the future for Ireland. They are both completely different characters. I've always found Leo to be a really good listener and a good problem solver and that's what I like about him. Simon is a real grafter but I think Leo can see his way through problems quicker.
'At the moment I can't put one over the other and I need to see what Simon has to offer and what his vision is. We need to know what he has in store for Ireland. The country has changed so much over the past 10 or 20 years so I'd like to see what his vision is.'
Cllr Larry O'Brien from New Ross District said that he had yet to met with Simon Coveney but expected to do so this evening, Tuesday, with the rest of the Wexford Fine Gael party: 'We haven't met Simon Coveney yet so I want to hear what he has to say before I make up my mind fully.
'However, I would be favouring Leo at the moment. I met him recently and found him to be up-front and honest. I think he would be good for the Fine Gael party and that's why I'm leaning towards him at the moment.'
The poster for The Lodgers has been released
A spine-tingling gothic horror set in large part at Loftus Hall, is nearing release.
Epic Pictures Group and Tailored Films have released the first poster for Brian O'Malley's new gothic horror.
The film, which is scripted by David Turpin, is a ghost story of orphaned twins Rachel and Edward who share their crumbling stately home with unseen sinister forces - known as 'The Lodgers'. The story follows a sister and brother haunted by a secret curse that forces them to remain in the large estate home left to them by their dead parents, but when a young man who falls in love with the sister tries to free her, his attempt sets off a deadly chain reaction.
Bill Milner (X-Men: First Class) and Charlotte Vega (REC3) play the lead roles, supported by a strong cast which includes Patrick's Day lead Moe Dunford, Game of Thrones actors David Bradley and Eugene Simon, Noble star Deirdre O'Kane, and Roisin Murphy (What Richard Did). Shooting for the film took place in Loftus Hall in Wexford, known as Ireland's most haunted house.
The house, which celebrated its 666th anniversary last year when shooting for The Lodgers took place, is said to be haunted by the devil and the ghost of a young woman.
The Lodgers is being produced by Julianne Forde and Ruth Treacy for Tailored Films. Epic Pictures Group is also handling worldwide sales and distribution outside of Ireland. The film received backing from Bord Scannan na hEireann/the Irish Film Board.
Taking to the open road has taken on a whole new level of fulfilment for an ever-growing number of people in the North West.
They're vintage car fans. And they're raising thousands for local charities.
What started five years ago as little more than a dozen vintage car lovers in 2009 has swelled to over 204 members today, from as young as 3 years of age to 70's and beyond.
The appeal of the vintage car has always been obvious - who doesn't stop and wave at a cavalcade of beautifully restored vintage cars tootling along on a sunny Sunday afternoon?
Chairman of Northwest Vintage & Heritage Club Tommy Flynn agrees and knew he was on to a winner. The club organises 'runs', inviting club members and people from all over Ireland to join them with all proceeds going to charity.
"We have grown steadily. We had 15 members then, 204 today. We're growing every year," says Tommy.
"There's huge interest in classic cars," he said.
Members come from across the North Western counties and Fermanagh and Tyrone.
The club nominates two charities each November. This year it's Chernobyl Children's charity and Crumlin Children's Hospital.
On June 11th they're holding a local scenic run and raffle in aid of Crumlin.
The club keeps nothing and have raised over 63,000 since 2012. "We should have over 4,500 for each charity this year," says Tommy.
"We're a small club but we're up there with the biggest in the country in Dublin and Cork," he adds. The Belmullet native is a retired Garda whose love for vintage cars stems from his own father.
"He got me hooked with his Wolsleys 1500. He'd bring me for a spin in it around Belmullet," he recalls.
That was when vintage car clubs were back in their infancy.
He drives a 1978 model MG Roadster himself and had a 1971 Rover 3.5 V8 and 1980 Mark 1 Fiesta before that. "I restore them myself. I'm into vintage cars all my life. I've been buying car magazines and classic car magazines like a fool," he smiles.
"There's a great social scene with the club. We all share the same interest. We meet on the first Thursday of every month in Manorhamilton at 9pm," says Tommy.
It's not just 'vintage' fans either - many teenagers are involved and the club fosters an appreciation of motor cars in them.
"They learn how to service and maintain them later in life. It's about respecting cars and what they can do and knowing your own limitations," adds Tommy.
They're now planning a 'Ball Bearing' Run (a smaller version of the Cannonball run) on July 15th across nine counties.
The name which sprang to many Club member's lips as the person who got them hooked on vintage cars was poignantly the late Eugene Gillespie and his brother Brian.
67-year-old Eugene died from injuries sustained in an assault at his home on Old Market Street, during what Gardai believe was an aggravated burglary.
"Eugene Gillespie introduced me to vintage cars," said Sean Gilligan who drives a 1962 Ford Anglia.
"I first met him in 1970 and I used to go in to him every Wednesday night," said the retired welder.
Chris Cunningham from Calry was also introduced to the wonders of vintage cars by Eugene and Brian Gillespie.
"They got me into them with the cars they had. Just being over with Eugene and seeing his car," said Chris, who drives a red Ford Classic 315 from 1963 - the same model he drove his new wife off on honeymoon in when he got married in 1974.
Chris likes the "strangeness" of vintage cars compared to 21st century cars, the way the door handles are under the door and the petrol lids can be hidden behind the registration plate.
"A lot of different things young fellas wouldn't have any clue about," he adds.
Chris' car is a show winning car, having won Best Car of the Show in the Streete village vintage car show in Longford in 2013. He also won a similar prize in the Breffni show in Cavan a year later.
"It's a nice car to drive, very comfortable. You'd get to 60kph but I normally do 40-50kph," he says.
The Ford Classic 315 was only manufactured for two years, being on the expensive side at the time, they didn't take off. As a result, the cars are scarce.
"You get brides calling you looking for it for weddings but I don't do it," he says.
He loves the beeping and waving that goes with a spin in the Ford and the fact that every event is for a good cause.
Last year they supported Acquired Brain Injury (which has a Sligo unit near the Racecourse) , Epilepsy Ireland and St Vincent de Paul.
Over 10,000 was fundraised for those charities last year.
Norman Gribbons gave 42 years to the motor trade in Sligo. Now retired, he enjoys taking his 1980 Ford Escort out for a spin: "There's only 21,000 miles on it from brand new. I bought it in Galway in 2009. An old couple had it originally. I keep her in the garage. She's lovely to drive," he told this newspaper.
What does he get out of it? "I love raising money for charity, there's a real buzz. You meet up with great friends and you make good friends," he adds.
Each member is caught by the nostalgia and magic that driving in a vintage car inspires.
For Club Treasurer Frank McGowan, it brings him back to his boyhood days.
"We used to have them when we were young, my Dad used to have one. That's why I like it,"he beams beside his 1969 Wolseley 1660.
Now retired from a career in Finance, he's somewhat of a collector - the pale green Wolseley sits next to a black model at his home in Manorhamilton.
Like others, he's an avid interest in cars and does the maintenance on them himself.
The social side is important to all - they regularly go on weekends away and hold an annual Christmas dinner dance, the proceeds of which go towards St Vincent De Paul.
On their runs, club members bring spot prizes and they raffle them off for charity. In Manorhamilton they attend the Agricultural Show and sell tea, again all proceeds going to St Vincent de Paul.
Club Secretary Tommy McPartlan has been involved in vintage cars for the last 15 years.
"I've always had an interest in it. I'd always pull up beside one and look at them. I always wanted one before I retired so I got one and I'm still working," he smiles.
He drives a 1964 white and blue Anglia Ford Super 1200.
"I love the old cars. There's something about them when you're out in them," he adds.
"I've a fascination with the nostalgia," chips in Sean Farrell who drives a 1977 Triumph 2000 TC.
"It was the fourth last off the assembly line," he says.
John Clancy of Rathcormac likes the reliability of his 1978 Ford Escort Ghia: "You could head to Cork in that no problem."
Liam McBride drives the oldest car in the parking lot - his beloved 1954 Austin A30 which he bought 20 years ago.
"The insurance is reasonable and I pay 56 Tax a year. I love the comradeship at the events, the club atmosphere," he says.
Joe Dolan loves meeting people from "all walks of life" in his 1975 MG Midget. He's been involved in cars since he was young with Liam and his brother. "It's a great social outlet. Everybody likes the old cars. People remember when they had one themselves way back," he adds.
Irish MEPs are to be called on to make representations to the EU Environment Commission to allow Irish Water build an upgraded water treatment plant at Lough Talt.
Councillor Margaret Gormley's motion was supported by all members.
"I have contacted Marian Harkin and she tells me she has set up a meeting with IRish Water and the EU Environment Commission," said Cllr Gormley.
"The health of people is more important than snails," she added.
It was reported that Irish Water were considering piping water from Lough Conn in Mayo, an idea which was dismissed as "lunacy" by Cllr Jerry Lundy.
"Whoever came up with that idea wants to go back to the drawing board," he said.
"Lough Conn is 26 miles away. A Treatment plant is vital for the 13,000 people, it's only going to improve the area," he added.
Cllr Lundy pointed out that the Arctic Charr fish was present in Lough Talt, which has survived from the Ice Age, some 18,000 years ago.
"My understanding is that there's no snail there, it may come. Now, it may rain tomorrow," said Cllr Gormley.
Cllr Keith Henry fully agreed: "It's a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing - both EU Directives are in conflict with each other."
Cllr Dara Mulvey said Irish Water wanted to put a solution in place and really needed the buy-in of all the stakeholders.
"This so-called snail - Irish Water said it wasn't even there. You have two conflicting resolutions and that's the problem," he said.
He said Irish Water were considering a temporary solution in the short term.
Director of Services Tom Kilfeather said the matter had "left the jurisdiction" and would now be resolved at EU level.
"Everyone is on the same page on this. Cllr Gormley said a long term solution could take seven years - that's a long time away," he said.
A man who entered a Sligo hostel in the dead of night and stole from two sleeping female tourists has been convicted and fined at the District Court.
22 year old Warren Fenelon, originally from Wexford, was captured going through the women's trousers on CCTV footage in the hostel at 5 Union Place, Sligo on April 16th last.
Inspector Paul Kilcoyne told Judge Kevin Kilrane that Fenelon was seen stealing while the women slept. He stole jewellery and 35 cash.
All items except the cash was recovered.
Fenelon's defence solicitor Mr Fergal Kelly told the court that he was "not your typical thief" and the incident was "out of character" for him.
He argued that a conviction would have a serious effect on Fenelon's livelihood.
"He came to Sligo for a fresh start in February," said Mr Kelly. He said Fenelon "literally stumbled into the hostel as he lived next door."
"I was drunk that night. I had been drinking from 12 that day. I just came upon an unlocked door," Fenelon told the judge in the witness box.
"How could he stumble into the hostel bedroom?" Asked Judge Kilrane.
"I went up to the room," he said.
"Did you notice people sleeping?" asked the judge. "I took the trousers out and searched them on the landing," said Fenelon.
Mr Kelly interjected that Fenelon had family living in Australia and hoped to travel there to look for work.
Judge Kilrane said it was "a premeditated larceny" whereupon Fenelon went through an open hostel door and up the stairs into one of the bedrooms in a "very premediated way."
"He mustn't have been that drunk because he didn't wake them. But it's an absolutely frightful sight if anyone was to wake up and see a robber in their room," said Judge Kilrane.
He said robbers when confronted and felt cornered sometimes resorted to violence but thankfully that hadn't happened in this case.
He said that in mitigation, Fenelon had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to the offence. Mr Kelly asked the judge if he would leave the matter hanging over Fenelon's head for a time.
"No, this is extremely serious," replied Judge Kilrane. "It's happening all over the country. The facts speak for themselves," he added.
He convicted Fenelon and fined him 400.
A meeting in Carrick-on-Shannon will outline how the Citizens Information Service and Money Advice and Budgeting Service are going to be restructured.
MABS and CIS has offices in Sligo while there are also outreach services operated by CIS in Ballymote and Tubbercurry.
Staff have already voiced concern about how the services will be affected.
The Citizens Information Board has statutory responsibility for both bodies.
In a statement the board said that in line with best governance practice and for improved services to citizens, MABS and CIS will revise operational structures at board level by moving from the current 93 boards model to a 16 board structure, comprising eight CIS Boards and eight MABS Boards.
The citizen services provided by CIS and MABS services locally will continue to be available to the general public via online, face-to-face and telephone services.
The statement said that local employment would remain unaffected under the new model, and all service locations will remain fully operational.
Angela Black, CEO, Citizens Information Board said: "I look forward to leading the CIS and MABS network as a twenty-first century service, fostering its excellent reputation as one of the most successful State-funded citizen services available to the people of Ireland."
The consultations, will examine key aspects of implementing the new sixteen board model. All of the consultation events will feature discussions chaired by an independent facilitator, with Angela Black, CEO, CIB in attendance as well as invited management representatives from local MABS and CIS services, their staff, volunteers and boards.
The event for the Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Monaghan and Sligo region will take place at the Bush Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon on May 26th.
The statement said that since MABS was established 24 years ago and the Citizens Information centres first opened their doors in 1975, the way in which people access information, do business, and communicate with each other has changed considerably.
"The new operational model at MABS and CIS will reflect this progress by providing a more responsive, modern, accessible service.
"The consultation into how to adapt the MABS and CIS involved extensive research including a review of the organisational structures and a feasibility study regarding the consolidation of both services.
"The decision to reorganise and modernise the service took place in November 2014.
"The Citizens Information board acknowledges the work and efforts of members of local boards who have worked to progress CIS and MABS services to what they are today.
"The Citizens Information Board encourages the voluntary Board members of local services to continue their involvement by applying to serve on one of the new sixteen Boards to be established or by serving on one of the new Local Advisory Committees that will be set up under the revised structure.
"The reorganisation will ensure good governance resulting primarily in an improved use of the most important resource of CIS and MABS - its people.
"The reduction in the current costs associated with maintaining 93 individual boards across the country will be redirected into making MABS and CIS capable of delivering more services to a greater number of citizens," the statement concluded.
Sligo University Hospital says it hopes to restore normal service for cancer patients this week after disruption caused a deferral of treatment for 17 patients.
A spokesperson for the hospital said: "Due to a drug supply issue, the hospital had to defer treatment for 17 patients.
"Sligo University Hospital regrets the inconvenience and distress caused to patients."
The situation has been exacerbated by the closing of a drug compounding facility at the hospital.
"The hospital has its own internal drug compounding facility but this is closed until (Today) Tuesday for essential maintenance," said the spokesperson.
Sligo University Hospital says it hopes to restore normal service later this week.
Baxter Healthcare, the monopoly supplier of compounded chemotherapy drugs to Irish hospitals, has said it is experiencing a "temporary supply constraint".
It has been unable to provide full supplies over the last two weeks.
"We are doing all we can to restore production capacity as quickly as possible and minimise the impact," a spokeswoman said.
She apologised to patients and doctors and said production was expected to resume this week.
"We are working with other Baxter compounding units in the UK to identify if any extra capacity can be utilised, advising hospitals to identify alternative supply arrangements and working diligently to revalidate equipment, which is necessary to resume production."
It means that oncologists in several hospitals are having to readjust the treatment they are giving to patients by giving them a lower dose of the drug or to administer it orally rather than intravenously.
Three-quarters of chemotherapy products are made at compounding units within hospitals. The rest are largely manufactured by Baxter, a US multinational that took over the only other supplier, the Irish-owned Fannin Compounding, in 2015.
Many people are being forced into homelessness as a result of high prices in the private rental sector and lack of supply.
That's according to North West Simon which is running a two week national awareness campaign that runs to 26th May and which is focusing on the rental market and the impact that the lack of certainty and permanence is having on people
A spokesperson said: "Ireland's private rented market is not working. People who rent have very little security and can face increases in rent that they cannot meet.
"They have lost their home and cannot afford to put a roof over their heads. Some stay with extended family and, when that fails, they enter homelessness.
"Nearly 7,500 people are trapped in emergency accommodation; they are locked out of the private rented market because the prices are too high and supply is too low. It is often their only option of finding a home. The gap between housing benefit payments and market rents is too wide and has been for far too long. If we do not move quickly, more and more people will be locked out of the market.
"That means that more people will have no choice but to enter emergency accommodation that is already over-flowing. More people will be doubling up and sharing crowded accommodation. More will be on the social housing waiting lists. People renting do not have the security of a place to call home, somewhere they can get and remain involved with their local community, a place where they can live and work and know that they will not have to move their child from their local school, from their friends and from their familiar surroundings.
"The Government's plan for Rebuilding Ireland is welcome but moving far too slowly. In the absence of sufficient supply of social housing, the private rented sector is not capable of delivering the housing needed to respond given the sheer scale of the problem. Housing should not be a commodity. Everyone is entitled to a safe, secure and affordable home and renting should not be a barrier to this."
Local TD, Tony McLoughlin has backed favourite Leo Varadkar in the Fine Gael leadership contest.
Deputy McLoughlin has rowed in behind the Minister for Social Protection, Varadkar and has cited local initiatives he has supported in the past as some of the reasons for his backing him.
McLoughlin, the party's Assistant Whip said it had been a difficult decision.
"After discussing the leadership race with my team, my family and my close party members over the past number of months, I believe that supporting Leo Varadkar for leader is in the best interests of the Fine Gael Party, the best interests of the people of the Sligo - Leitrim Constituency and the best interests of the country.
"For me personally, I have always found Leo to be a very approachable Minister, whatever the localised issue I contacted him about.
"This goes as far back as when he was appointed Minister for Transport in 2011, where he introduced the 9% Vat Rate for the Tourism sector which has led to the creation of jobs in Sligo Leitrim.
"He was instrumental in delivering the 'Wild Atlantic Way Project and he personally agreed to begin heavily funding the N4 Collooney-Castlebaldwin road upgrade in Sligo.
"Then as soon as he was appointed as Minister for Health, I met with him to discuss two urgent issues in my office. After years of being personally let down by the Department of Health, he agreed to oversee the delivery of both a vital 'GP 24 Hour Service' for the region along with the return of a follow up mammography service in Sligo University Hospital.
"As Minister for Social Protection, he has visited me in Sligo and ensured the future viability of the large Social Protection office in Sligo along with setting out exciting new plans for the self-employed here.
"He has also introduced a new paternity benefit for new fathers and overseen the first increase in the State pension in almost a decade.
"I am pledging to vote for Leo Varadkar, as I firmly believe that he possesses great ability, charisma and vision to go along with having the important ability of being able to remain in touch with the working people of Ireland," concluded Deputy McLoughlin.
Local councillors Dara Mulvey and County Council chairman, Hubert Keaney also came out in support last Friday of Varadkar.
Dublin-Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team members at a training exercise at the Glencree Centre of Peace and Reconciliation last month
Wicklow's two mountain rescue teams were the most called out services in the country last year according to figures released by Mountain Rescue Ireland.
The Mountain Rescue Ireland Annual Report 2016 reveals that, with 66 call-outs each, the Glen of Imaal Mountain Rescue Team and Dublin and Wicklow Mountain Rescue Team (DWMRT) were the busiest in the country in the past year. Mayo Mountain Rescue Team were the next busiest with 52 call-outs, while the Mourne Mountain Rescue Team had 44 shouts and the Kerry Mountain Rescue Team responded to 41 calls for help.
In fact, the report highlights that 2016 was another busy year for the 384 volunteers that make up the 12 mountain rescue teams in Ireland, as they responded to 405 call-outs as a result of over 300 separate incidents. More than half of these incidents required helicopter assistance.
The report references some of the training carried out by both Co Wicklow rescue teams last year, including joint training days, excercises with a Swiftwater Technician Panel and talks with An Garda Siochana about important topics such as crime scene awareness.
In the past year, the Glen Team opened a second base at the old Donard Garda Station, which has provided them with a dedicated base when dealing with callouts in that area. The team also noted that Glendalough is the busiest area for rescue call-outs.
Fundraising, for both teams, is a key consideration each year. The DWMRT has three main fundraisers - the Art O'Neill Challenge in January, Walk the Line in March and Run the Line in November - while the chief fundraiser for the Glen Team is the Moonlight Challenge.
Last year, the Glen Team adopted a constitution for Friends of the Glen (FOG) so that FOG members can assist them in fundraising matters.
In 2016, the DWMRT expanded their experience of technology when they carried out their first training sessions with drones and the teams acknowledges the potention of this technology in assisting them to search large areas and deploy team members on the ground more efficiently.
Both teams enjoy good working relationships with An Garda Siochana, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, Wicklow County Council, the Defence Forces, Air Corps and Coast Guard, all of which they work hand-in-hand with on a regular basis.
In its round-up of the past year featured in the report, the Search and Rescue Dog Association thanked all the farmers who let the group use their land and work around their stock and gave particular mention to Sean Nolan in Co Wicklow.
Nationally, the highest frequency of incidents occurred in the summer months, according to the Mountain Rescue Ireland report. The highest number of incidents were reported in August (52), followed by July (50), May (46), September (39) and June (36). By far, Sunday was the busiest day for incidents, followed closely by Saturday.
'Mum, there's been a shooting, if I don't make it home I love you'.
This was the chilling text that Adrienne Lester (nee Cullen) received from her 16-year-old daughter Saskia at 10.37 p.m. on Monday night, minutes after a bomb exploded at an Ariana Grande concert in the Manchester Arena.
Adrienne, the daughter of Kathleen and the late Jimmy Cullen, is originally from South Green in Arklow but has been living in Mossley just outside Manchester for the past 15 years.
On Monday at around 3 p.m. her youngest daughter Saskia, who is a massive Ariana Grande fan, received a call from her friend saying that she had a spare ticket for the concert if she wanted it. A delighted Saskia snapped it up little realising the horror that was to unfold.
'Saskia is just totally traumatised', said Adrienne. 'We all are really. She didn't sleep at all on Monday night after it happened. She was just leaving the concert when she heard an almighty bang and she thought there had been a shooting. At 10.37 p.m. she sent me a text which read: 'Mum, there's been a shooting, if I don't make it home I love you.'
'I was on the verge of collapse after reading it and then three minutes later she rang me to say there were dead bodies everywhere she looked. There was one person lying in a pool of blood with her eyes open and her friend was shouting at her to get up and move.
'She saw a small child with a hole in the side of his cheek in his father's arms and his father was just screaming hysterically. Everyone was running around in a panic.
'Saskia lost the girl she was with at one stage and had to go back for her. Saskia was on the phone to her sister Yasmine (19) who kept telling them to just get out of the arena. Nobody knew what was going on.
'At first they thought the noise had come from the speakers, then they thought there had been a shooting. The security staff directed them out of the building and the police just told them to run for their lives.'
Sasika and her friend managed to flee the area without injury and went to the Deansgate area where they were collected. 'I left work to be with her. To say she was and still is traumatised is just the understatement of the century. It's one thing watching these atrocities on the television but it's another to see them happen before your eyes.
'She (Saskia) didn't know if she was going to make it out alive. She's currently in the middle of her GCSE's but the school rang to say they would postpone them. She couldn't possibly sit exams at the moment, the state she's in. I've been advised to get her counselling for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
'She's an absolute mess at the moment. She can't get her head around it.
'When she got home after the concert she was talking about what happened non stop saying how she could have died. Everywhere she looked there was blood and dead bodies. When she got outside there were people just holding their arms or legs and gushing blood. People were doing everything they could to stop the bleeding.
'But she has plenty of support and we're a strong family so we will help her through this.'
Adrienne said that Manchester is reeling from the bombing.
'It's a scene of pure devastation over here at the moment. There are children who can't find their parents, parents who can't find children, an eight-year-old child is among the dead, there's children in the Etihad Stadium who haven't been collected yet. It's chaos.'
Adrienne said that the guy who is alleged to have set off the bomb is among the dead while police have also arrested a 23-year-old man.
'They are not sure if he was working on his own or he was part of a terrorist cell. Yesterday (Tuesday) the Arndale Shopping Centre was evacuated because of reports of a suspicious package in the food court. Several businesses are closed. Nobody knows if we will be hit again.
'On social media the Islamic State (IS) are supposedly threatening to hit Disneyland in Paris and other places. Yasmine and I have tickets to go see Robbie Williams in two weeks time but we won't be going. For one thing, Saskia is petrified that she would be on her own if something happened to us.'
Adrienne said she has been inundated with texts from friends and family with offers of help and messages of support.
'On Monday night my sister was texting me to make sure we were ok. She was too upset to even talk on the phone because she is very fond of the girls, naturally. My sister-in-law in Waterford was in contact too to make sure we were all OK because they saw it on the news.'
Adrienne said that the community of Manchester has really rallied around to help those affected by the bombing.
'The mood here at the moment is very, very sad. There's a sense of absolute shock and horror. The Manchester people are very friendly. They are very like the Irish and they have a big community spirit. People have come out en masse to support each other. There's taxi drivers offering free trips to people as far away as Scotland, hotels offering rooms and beds, people donating phones, food and all sorts.
'The emergency services are out on their own as well. They have been fantastic. People have been just brilliant and the sense of community spirit is amazing despite the fact that people are scared.
'Manchester is very sad at the moment and people feel that nowhere is safe.'
Wicklow Sailing Club has been named as Mitsubishi Motors Club of the Year 2017.
The prestigious award was presented to the club for its promoting of the sport of sailing and is a huge achievement for the small community-based club.
Accepting the award from Billy O'Riordan, CEO of Frank Keane Holdings, the parent company for Mitsubishi Motors Ireland, Wicklow Sailing Club Commodore Denise Cummins said the award reflects and acknowledges the commitment of the volunteers who run the club.
She also said award reflects the support the club receives from the local community.
'It is a very appropriate award for that particular week which was National Volunteer Week,' said Ms Cummins.
Also present for the awards ceremony was Frank Keane, Chairman of Frank Keane Holdings, Jack Roy, President of the Irish Sailing Association, while MC for the evening was WM Nixon, the 2017 winner of the Royal Irish Yacht Club's Maritime Journalism Award.
The very weekend before the awards ceremony, Wicklow Sailing Club hosted the International Topper Class Association Ireland Branch 3rd Traveller series where 38 boats from all over Ireland joined the ten Wicklow Toppers for some very competitive sailing with 48 boats on the water. The overall winner in this event was Dan McGaughey from Donaghadee Sailing Club, with the local Wicklow sailors best result coming from James Beattie Doyle who came in 11th in the 27 boat strong 5.3 sail fleet.
Wicklow Sailing Club also organises the international Volvo Round Ireland Yacht Race every two years and each summer hosts junior and adult sail training courses which are open to all.
Helen Steele's slightly fitted SOF/SOS dress, 650. Helen's range is available from helensteele.com and Costume, Dublin 2, costumedublin.ie
Irish designer Helen Steele is keeping fashion in the family by featuring her teenage daughter in her latest campaign.
The leading designer, whose pieces are popular with stars like Amy Huberman, Ali Hewson and Saoirse Ronan, was inspired by her daughter Hallie to include her as the star of her Spring/Summer '17 campaign.
But she won't be signing to an agency anytime soon as the mother-of-three wants her eldest to focus on finishing school first.
"She is 15 and I'm only letting her model for me, she's still very young," Steele told Independent.ie
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"I featured her and another girl in my campaign. A lot of my clients come in all shapes and sizes and it's important [to represent them].
Hallie, a transition year student, was bitten by the fashion bug when she travelled with her mother to London Fashion Week earlier this year.
"That was amazing, she came to work with me at LFW, I had an intern who was sick and she came over. Shes helped on fashion shows and stuff with me. I wanted to show her a world that isn't all academic.
"She met Louise O'Reilly, who was so lovely to her - it was really nice for Hallie to see that no matter what shape you are, once you work hard and youre healthy, thats all that matters.
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"Helen Cody introduced her to Thalia Heffernan. Both girls were so gorgeous and lovely to her and told her the importance of finishing school but telling her, 'youre beautiful'."
Steele is busy as ever as she prepares to show a small collection of rugs at House in the RDS this weekend with Ceadogan Rugs.
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Zainab Yakubu (40), a woman in Bulunkutu Village, a district in Maiduguri in Nigeria who has been internally displaced because of Boko Haram. Pic Steve Humphreys
Fatima Muhamed (25), a young woman in Bulunkutu, a district in Maiduguri in Nigeria who has been internally displaced because of Boko Haram. Pic Steve Humphreys
Fatima Mohamed and her family were sleeping when Boko Haram attacked their village in North East Nigeria.
The 25-year-old and her husband heard the blood curdling screams as the insurgents rampaged through the village of Domboa, and they knew they had to get their family to safety.
I put my youngest child on my back and ran with my other children into the bush.
I didnt know where my husband ran, he went in a different direction. We were all very scared and when I stopped running, I threw up I was so scared.
Fatima walked for two days with her four children, stopping only for a short time to rest from the sun.
She recalled: We didnt even know if we were walking in the right direction, I just knew we had to keep going to safety."
Eventually she arrived in her parents' house in the the community of Bulunkutu in the city of Maiduguri. The impoverished city is where Boko Haram began in 2002 and has been a flashpoint for attacks since the insurgency kicked off in 2009.
However locals have fought back and today it plays host to approximately one million people like Fatima who have been internally displaced by the fighting.
The young mother explained that she was eventually joined here by her husband. And although her parents could barely afford to have her stay with them in their small home, they agreed because Fatimas husband was earning some money so could contribute to the household.
But disaster struck shortly after they arrived to safety - Fatimas husband was a victim of a Boko Haram bomb attack in Maiduguri. The Islamists have used young children to carry out suicide bombs in crowded areas.
My husband went to fetch us some food in the local market when Boko Haram attacked the village. There was a bomb explosion and my husband was helping those who were injured. They attacked the village for a second time shortly after and my husband was killed.
The death of her husband meant that Fatima and her children were now a problem for her parents. They told her she was no longer welcome in their home as she could not provide for her children.
They told me I had to remarry. I didnt want to but my children needed to eat so I got married a second time.
However Fatimas second husband would not accept her children from her previous marriage, and after just 18 months he divorced her, while she was six months pregnant.
Now I live alone with my children. I make hats to sell so I can pay my rent but I cannot afford to send my children to school. I do not know how I will feed my other child when I give birth. I am grateful I am still alive, and my children are still alive but I miss my husband. My younger children do not know their father. He should not have died.
In the same urban community Zainab Yakubu (40) is also struggling to survive as a widow in the male dominated society.
Expand Close Zainab Yakubu (40), a woman in Bulunkutu Village, a district in Maiduguri in Nigeria who has been internally displaced because of Boko Haram. Pic Steve Humphreys / Facebook
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She was travelling home with her husband Idirisa Shehu to the village of Kiranawa after a day selling fish when they saw Boko Haram arrived on motorcycles. They hid for several hours but were eventually caught by the insurgents.
Boko Haram, which loosely translated means 'Western Education is forbidden', were founded in 2002 and have staged a series of attacks in North Eastern Nigeria and around the Lake Chad region since 2009.
In 2014 they were catapulted to global infamy when they kidnapped 276 schoolgirls from a boarding school in the Borno state town of Chibok. However countless other women have also been kidnapped, forced to marry Boko Haram fighters and kept as slaves by the group.
Because Zainab was already married and had borne nine children she was not considered "useful" by Boko Haram.
They made us lie down, there were three women including me, among them. They left the women go. They said they wanted us to bring the message back to the village.
But all the men, they asked them to lie down. They shot them, including my husband, dead. I did not see this but we we were told this afterwards
Fearing for her own safety Zainab left Kiranawa with her nine children aged from three to 18 - and joined the hundreds of thousands flooding into Maiduguri.
She is living in Bulunkutu where she plans to stay, despite having a home and land in Kiranawa.
I need education of my children. All of my children are in school with the exception of two.
Zainab has not remarried. She admits she is still traumatised by the death of her husband.
Up to now I am still disturbed, I am not settled. Also I have children to take care of so I am not thinking of marrying again.
Paul O'Brien, CEO of Plan International Ireland, said communities like Bulunkutu have opened their doors and homes to many internally displaced people but this is putting huge pressure on basic services like water and electricity.
He explained that through cash transfers, livelihoods and child safe space projects the Non Government Organisation (NGO) is helping women like Fatima and Zainab survive in the difficult environment.
Plan International Ireland is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children's rights and equality for girls. If you would like to find out more or support Plan International see plan.ie.
A Houston-area school district has disciplined several teachers after a student received a mock award naming her most likely to become a terrorist.
Certificates given to the 13-year-old girl and other students were supposed to be lighthearted, but the Channelview Independent School District issued a statement apologising for the insensitive and offensive fake mock awards.
The girls mother, Ena Hernandez, says she was upset by the certificate given to her daughter, particularly in light of the recent attack in Manchester.
Channelview spokesman Mark Kramer told KPRC-TV in Houston that the certificates were a poor attempt to poke fun. The news has been widely met with shock and outrage.
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The district declined to disclose the punishment the teachers received.
An SUV smashed into a home in the US, slamming through the living room wall.
The driver told police she blacked out prior to the crash that sent her SUV straight through a brick wall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Thursday morning.
Although he wasnt at home during the crash, the homeowner said he was stunned to find the car lodged through his wall.
According to ABC News, city inspectors still need to determine if the place is safe to live in.
Milwaukee Police said no-one was injured in the crash.
As Donald Trump has reached the final day of his first international trip, he will be returning home to a White House that sits under a cloud of scandal.
Trumps son-in-law Jared Kushner has hit headlines recently as a newly appointed special council is beginning its investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, with Kushner a focus of the probe according to the Washington Post.
Heres a reminder of Kushners role in the administration and everything you need to know about the probe.
What role does Kushner hold in the Trump administration?
Kushner is senior adviser to the president.
His initial appointment was questioned due to speculation that it was potentially down to nepotism. He is married to Trumps daughter Ivanka, but the Department of Justice approved his role in the White House.
Why is he set to talk to federal investigators and Congress?
Kushner will be questioned about his contacts and his role in Trumps presidential campaign.
This comes as part of the investigations into Russia-Trump campaign connections. Those investigations include allegations that there may have been collaboration to help Trump and harm Hillary Clinton.
What allegations are being made against Kushner?
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The Washington Post reports that the Russian ambassador to the United States told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
And Reuters reports that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador last year, including two phone calls between April and November.
What happens next?
Kushner has already volunteered to speak to Congress about those meetings, and his attorney says hes willing to cooperate with any additional investigations.
The interest in Kushner would move the wider investigation into the White House, although there is no indication that Kushner is accused of wrongdoing or that he is a target.
A FLAT used by Manchester bomber Salman Abedi was found by its landlord with a stench of chemicals and disabled smoke alarms, a friend said.
The 22-year-old mass murderer was thought to have stayed in the flat in Blackley, north of Manchester city centre, until around six weeks before his attack.
Landlord Aimen Elwafi found the property with children's stickers on the walls, a metal rod in the bath, material cut up and the electricity turned off, friend Mohammed El-Hudarey told the BBC.
A window in the flat appeared not to have been opened for two months, he added.
It fuelled speculation Abedi used the tower block property, which the landlord allegedly sublet despite it breaching his tenancy agreement, to build the device which slaughtered crowds on Monday.
But the discovery did not provoke alarm at the time, with the landlord suspecting Abedi might have been practising black magic.
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"We didn't even think 1% he was a terrorist or a bomb-maker. We thought he must have been a drug dealer or doing witchcraft," Mr El-Hudarey told the broadcaster.
Abedi moved into the address around three-and-a-half months ago, he added, later claiming in a late-night call he was "flying abroad" and would be moving out.
Mr Elwafi was said to have only realised his tenant's true intentions when his identity was published in the wake of the atrocity.
He went to police with his information, having reportedly been misled by the British-born bomber, who claimed he was a student and delivery driver.
"He was shocked and in a bad situation. Very upset. There were tears coming from his eyes," the friend said.
Meanwhile, the terror threat level has been reduced as fresh arrests and raids have been carried out linked to bombing.
Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from Monday onwards, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, Prime Minister Theresa May said.
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the terror threat level to "critical" - its highest level - meaning a further terror attack was considered "imminent".
It has now been reduced to "severe", meaning an attack is "highly likely".
Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, Mrs May said the decision had been taken after "a significant amount of police activity" over the last 24 hours.
She said: "The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant."
The massacre at the Manchester Arena carried out by Salman Abedi, in which 22 people were killed, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.
The terror threat had been at critical for the first time in a decade.
Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.
She said: "To provide maximum reassurance to the public Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.
"Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties."
The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester's Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.
Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.
An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Abedi.
Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.
"I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out," she told the Press Association.
Detectives have made "immense" progress in the investigation into the Manchester bombing and are confident they have arrested some "key players", Britain's top counter-terror officer has said.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley said police have made "significant" arrests and "finds" and have got hold of a "large part" of the suspected network being sought over the atrocity.
He said: "We are very happy we've got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about but there's still a little bit more to do."
The senior officer also issued a defiant message as he urged people to go about their business as normal over the bank holiday weekend.
"Enjoy yourselves and be reassured by the greater policing presence you will see," he said.
"We can't let the terrorists win by dissuading us from going about our normal business."
A huge security operation is planned with 1,100 armed officers on hand to protect major events, including the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Great Manchester Run.
It was revealed that specialist teams have carried out a review of security for more than 1,300 events with Britain remaining at the highest threat level of critical while the investigation into the bombing continues.
Attack
Twenty-two victims, including children, were killed when Salman Abedi (22) launched a suicide attack at an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena on Monday night.
Since Tuesday a total of 10 people have been arrested, with eight men aged between 18 and 38 remaining in custody.
Two of those held, a 16-year-old boy and a woman aged 34, have been released without charge.
Yesterday evening officers were still carrying out searches at 12 locations, with activity expected to continue throughout the weekend.
Providing an update on the probe into the atrocity, Mr Rowley said it was likely further arrests would follow in the course of the weekend.
"Having made enormous progress and made some significant arrests and had some significant finds, there still remain important lines of inquiry for us to pursue," he said.
"We've got to try to understand everything we can about the dead terrorist, his associates.We need to understand the whole network and how they acquired and built the bomb that exploded on Monday night.
"It's going to take a little more time to close down those gaps in our understanding. We are working as fast as we can do because everyone wants answers to this."
British Prime Minister Theresa May won support from the world's major industrialised nations yesterday for measures to tackle terrorism such as pushing technology companies on internet controls and for the better tracking of militants.
At her first G7 meeting since becoming prime minister, Mrs May was keen to avoid Britain's soon-to-be-launched talks to leave the European Union and focused instead on the fight against terrorism, days after a suicide bomber killed 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester, the worst attack on Britain since 2005.
Mrs May, who on Thursday raised concerns over intelligence leaks in the United States, met President Donald Trump between sessions at the G7, which host Italy hoped would concentrate minds on Europe's migrant crisis.
A spokesperson for Mrs May said she and Mr Trump reaffirmed their commitment to a post-Brexit trade deal, and agreed the G7 should do more to tackle terrorism, a view shared by other leaders at the summit in Italy.
Mrs May had called on leading powers to do more to ensure foreign fighters who travel to join Isil in Syria and Iraq are brought to justice.
Leading a session on counter-terrorism at the G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily, the prime minister said they needed to be prepared to share their expertise with the countries the fighters travel to and fight in.
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A senior British government source said she has made the point that it was important to ensure those countries had the legal means to prosecute, deport or extradite suspects as appropriate.
Mrs May warned that as the fighters returned to their home countries, they posed a new terrorist threat.
She called on the G7 members to provide legal and policing support to countries such as Iraq, to help them prosecute any foreign fighters they capture.
French President Emmanuel Macron was the first leader to offer to help Mrs May marshal support, drawing on his own country's experience of several jihadist attacks that have killed more than 230 people since 2015.
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"We know this kind of attack," the newly elected president of France told Mrs May at the San Domenico Palace Hotel, a former monastery in Taormina, Sicily.
"We will ... do everything we can in order to increase this co-operation at the European level, in order to do more from a bilateral point of view against terrorism. We will do that during the whole day, because that's the common challenge."
Mrs May also told one session at the G7 that countries should work with Britain on a series of steps to allow foreign fighters to be detained and brought to justice close to the countries where they had been operating.
The Manchester suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British-born man with Libyan parents, is suspected by the police and security services to have been working with a network of people who were inspired by extreme Islamist ideology.
They are also investigating his movements, aware that he had visited Libya, where some of his family live.
"It is vital we do more to co-operate with our partners in the region to step up returns and prosecutions of foreign fighters," Mrs May said.
"This means improving intelligence-sharing, evidence-gathering and bolstering countries' police and legal processes."
But in the background, Britain's vote to leave the European Union lingered. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said he had described it in a meeting on Thursday with Mr Trump as "a real tragedy".
Brexit has raised fears about future security co-operation with the bloc, with both sides drawing up the battle lines for at least two years of talks that could quickly sour.
A French source said France and Britain had agreed to maintain close economic, security and diplomatic ties, despite Brexit.
Mrs May again underlined the need for co-operation, telling the leaders of the United States, Japan, France, Italy, Germany and Canada that technology companies should be encouraged to develop better tools that can automatically identify and remove harmful material and block users who post extremist content. Mrs May, herself a former interior minister, reiterated that companies should "tell the authorities when they identify harmful material so action can be taken".
"Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet," she said.
"In the UK, we are already working with social media companies to halt the spread of extremist material and hateful propaganda that is warping young minds. But I am clear that corporations can do more."
This would include sharing the identities of foreign fighters who may try to pass through third countries on the way back home.
Kenya's President Uhuru Kenyatta, Guinea's President Alpha Conde, U.S. President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou pose for a family photo with other participants of the G7 summit
Under pressure from Group of Seven allies, U.S. President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism on Saturday, but refused to endorse a global climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide.
The summit of G7 wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they had hoped were long settled.
However, diplomats stressed there was broad agreement on an array of foreign policy problems, including the renewal of a threat to slap further economic sanctions on Russia if its interference in neighboring Ukraine demanded it.
"We are satisfied by how things went," said Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, while acknowledging splits with Washington in some areas. "We do not disguise this division. It emerged very clearly in our conversations."
Trump himself hailed what he called "a tremendously productive meeting", saying he had strengthened U.S. ties with longstanding partners.
The president, who has previously called global warming a hoax, came under concerted pressure from the other leaders to honor the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions.
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Although he tweeted that he would make a decision next week, his apparent reluctance to embrace the first-ever legally binding global climate deal that was signed by 195 countries clearly annoyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
"The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," she told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."
Putting a positive spin on it, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure Trump, who he praised as "pragmatist", would back the deal having listened to his G7 counterparts.
"Only a few weeks ago, people thought that the United States would pull out and that no talks would be possible," said Macron, who, like Trump, was making his first G7 appearance.
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Merkel, by contrast, was attending her 12th such gathering, and clearly believed she had overcome climate change scepticism at a 2007 summit, when she convinced the then U.S. President George W. Bush to pursue substantial cuts in greenhouse gases.
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PROTECTIONISM
Disappointment over the Paris Agreement was countered by relief when Trump agreed on Saturday to language in the final G7 communique that pledged "to fight all forms of protectionism" and committed to a rules-based international trade system.
During his election campaign, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it was renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany "very bad" on trade because of its U.S. surplus.
In a tweet after his plane took off, Trump said he had had "great meetings on everything, especially on trade", highlighting the part of the communique which called "for the removal of all trade-distorting practices".
He made no mention of protectionism.
Meeting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of Africa.
The internal G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Britain on Monday, that killed 22, overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined the world leaders to discuss their continent's potential.
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Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the crisis in Libya - the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of migrants looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticized them for not honoring aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions.
"Be it Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through development that we will prevent illegal migration," Issoufou said.
The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider audience.
Security questions dominated discussions on Friday, with the leaders vowing to work harder to combat terrorism and calling on internet providers and social media firms to "substantially increase" efforts to rein in extremist content.
Speaking to U.S. servicemen and women at the end of the summit, Trump promised to defeat terrorism and said he had made "extraordinary gains to advance security".
The speech was the last engagement of his first foreign tour since taking office - a trip that took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Rome, Brussels and Sicily.
"I think we hit a home run no matter where we are," Trump said, before boarding his plane back to Washington.
Anti-terror gardai are now closely examining any known links between jihadi sympathisers here and suspects operating in the Manchester area.
Officers are focusing in particular on sympathisers with Libyan connections in an effort to establish if there had been contacts between those here and suspected members of the Manchester terror cell. They are probing whether contact was made either directly or through social media.
Gardai from the crime and security branch as well as military intelligence are monitoring the activities of a group of sympathisers believed to be providing logistical support to terror groups - these include a handful of Libyans.
Libya has become the key focus of investigators in the UK who are looking into the background and accomplices of Salman Abedi, the bomber who killed 22 at a concert in Manchester. He spent weeks in Libya and returned to Manchester just days before he carried out the atrocity at an Ariana Grande show.
The security authorities here are in daily contact with their UK counterparts - where police and MI5 believe that an active terror cell has been based in the Manchester area for some time and are ready to strike again.
Sri Lankans watch military rescue efforts at the site of a landslide at Bellana village in Kalutara district (AP)
Sri Lanka's military has said it is doubtful any missing people will be found alive two days after torrents of mud triggered by heavy rain covered homes in southern and western parts of the country, killing 100 people and leaving 99 others missing.
The Disaster Management Centre said more than 27,000 people have been displaced by the landslides.
"I have my doubts" that any survivors will be found, said army Major General Sudantha Ranasinghe, who is heading the search and rescue mission.
He said mounds of earth and rocks crashed down in such a way that people were unlikely to survive, and that most of the affected places were still inundated.
"In landslides, it's difficult to find survivors after two days, and today is the second day," he said.
The army, navy and air force were continuing to try to reach stranded villagers and evacuate those living in areas prone to mudslides, he added.
There were still difficulties in reaching some areas to deliver emergency aid and the air force has been lowering supplies from the air.
An airman died after falling while trying to get a villager into a helicopter, Maj Gen Ranasinghe said.
The military used large armoured vehicles and boats to transport people to safety. But some remained trapped in interior villages that boats have been unable to reach.
At an intersection close to Agalawatte, 60 miles (98km) south of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital, four bodies in coffins were kept in a house, awaiting boats to be taken to a temple where displaced people have taken refuge.
Five members of the same family who were buried in a mudslide - a husband and wife and their three teenage daughters - were buried in a common grave on Saturday afternoon. The family's eldest son was the only survivor because he was not at home when the disaster occurred.
Residents of Wehangalla village near Agalawatte were marooned as floodwater swamped most of the buildings up to the roof. They had fled to higher terrain, but four people among them died in a mudslide and three others were missing. They complained that government aid had still not reached the area and they were surviving on food provided by those in nearby villa gers.
Muslim fishermen from the nearby coastal town of Beruwala took their boats to help evacuate those stranded while observing the Ramadan fast.
Sri Lanka's government appealed to the United Nations as well as other countries for help with rescue and relief measures.
Mudslides have become common during the monsoon season in Sri Lanka, a tropical Indian Ocean island nation, as land has been heavily deforested to grow export crops such as tea and rubber. Last May, a massive landslide killed more than 100 people in central Sri Lanka.
AP
Smoke rises during heavy fighting between IS militants and Iraqi special forces in the industrial area of west Mosul (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander has been killed in an explosion during clashes with the Islamic State group west of Mosul, an Iraqi official said.
The news came as aid groups voiced concern for the safety of civilians after Iraq's government called for residents in militant-held neighbourhoods of the city to flee immediately.
General Shaaban Nasiiri was an adviser to Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds Force. Mr Soleimani has acted as a key adviser to Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces - an umbrella group of mostly Shiite militia forces sanctioned by the Iraqi government - in the fight against IS since 2014.
The Iraqi official said Gen Nasiiri was killed on Friday and is the first senior Iranian commander to die in the Mosul fight.
Inside Mosul, US-backed Iraqi forces began the push to retake the Old City on Saturday morning, moving in on the district from three directions, according to a statement from Nineveh operations command, the authority overseeing the Mosul fight.
The IS hold on Mosul has shrunk to just a handful of neighbourhoods in and around the Old City district where narrow streets and a dense civilian population is expected to complicate the fight there.
Iraqi planes dropped leaflets over the area on Friday telling civilians to flee "immediately" to "safe passages" where they will be greeted by "guides, protectors and (transportation) to reach safe places", according to a government statement.
However, it is unclear how the government intends to ensure safe passage for civilians as IS fighters have repeatedly targeted fleeing civilians with small arms and mortar fire.
The move to clear the Old City marks a shift in approach. Since the Mosul operation was launched in October, Iraqi forces have encouraged civilians to remain in their homes to avoid massive displacement. However, more than 730,000 people have fled the fight to date, according to United Nations figures.
"As many as 200,000 additional people may try to leave in coming days," the UN said in a statement on Saturday following the call for Old City civilians to leave. Save the Children warned on Friday that fleeing civilians could be caught in the crossfire, leading to "deadly chaos".
Both Iraqi forces and IS fighters are obligated under international law to protect civilians, the UN statement added.
More than 100,000 civilians are estimated to still be inside IS-held Mosul neighborhoods.
While US-backed forces have fought inside Mosul during the operation to retake it from IS, Iraq's Popular Mobilisation Forces have largely operated in the deserts to the west ,cutting supply lines and attempting to begin securing Iraq's border with Syria.
The Popular Mobilisation Forces are largely supported by Tehran, a key Iraqi ally in the fight against IS. Iran has provided weapons, training and advisers credited with important early victories against the extremists in 2014 before the US began a campaign of air strikes targeting the group.
Mosul's eastern half was declared liberated in January and the push for the city's west began the following month.
While some Iraqi commanders said they hoped to retake the city before Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which began on Friday night, gruelling urban combat has repeatedly slowed the pace of operations.
AP
Coptic Christians shout slogans after the funeral service of some of the victims of a bus attack in Minya, Egypt (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
The Islamic State terror group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt in which 29 people were killed.
The group's news agency, Aamaq, said on Saturday that an IS unit targeted the bus as it travelled to a remote desert monastery south of Cairo on Friday, and put the death toll at 32.
The discrepancy in casualty figures is not uncommon in the aftermath of major attacks by the militants, who have been waging an insurgency centred on northern Sinai, though attacks on the mainland have recently increased.
Egypt responded to the attack, the fourth by IS targeting the country's Christian minority since December with air strikes against what the military says are bases in eastern Libya where the militants have been trained.
The Egyptian Cabinet said in a news release on Saturday that 13 victims of the ambush remain in hospital in the capital and the southern city of Minya where the attack took place. Authorities had previously said 28 people were killed.
The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Hours afterwards, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi announced that Egypt had launched air strikes against militant training bases in Libya.
Senior Egyptian officials said fighter jets targeted bases in eastern Libya of the Shura Council, an Islamist militia known to be linked to al Qaida, not IS. There was no immediate word on damage or casualties.
Mr El-Sissi told Pope Towadros II, the pope of the Coptic Church in Egypt, in a phone call on Friday that the state would not rest easy until the perpetrators of the attack were punished.
The president declared a three-month state of emergency following the targeting of two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday. In December, a suicide bomber targeted a Cairo church. The three attacks, for which IS claimed responsibility, left at least 75 people dead.
Egypt's government has been struggling for the last three years to deter militants led by an Islamic State group affiliate and centred on the Sinai peninsula.
After a visit to Egypt last month by Pope Francis, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians and urged Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies.
AP
Genene Jones has been due to be freed next March under a mandatory release law (Texas Department of Criminal Justice/AP)
A former nurse who is in prison for the killing of a toddler in 1982 has been charged with murder over the death of an infant a year earlier, and authorities said she may have killed up to 60 young children around that time.
Genene Jones, 66, is serving concurrent 99-year and 60-year sentences at a prison in Gatesville, Texas, for the 1982 killing of 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan and an incident involving a four-week-old boy who survived.
The girl was given a fatal injection of a muscle relaxant and the boy received a large injection of a blood thinner.
Jones had been due to be freed next March under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted, but Bexar County district attorney's office has announced she has been charged over the 1981 death of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer, who investigators say died of a fatal overdose of an anti-seizure drug, Dilantin.
During Jones's time working in hospitals and clinics in San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas, children died of unexplained seizures and other complications.
At a news conference in San Antonio, district attorney Nico LaHood said investigators believe Jones may have killed some or all of those children because they died under unusual circumstances during or shortly after her shifts.
"She's been suspected in dozens of infant deaths and she's only been held accountable in one," he said.
It is not clear why Jones's actions, involving so many suspected victims, were not detected earlier, but Sam Millsap, a previous district attorney in Bexar County, said in 2013 that medical records at the San Antonio hospital at one point were accidentally destroyed, hampering efforts by investigators.
Chelsea died after receiving an injection at a clinic in Kerrville, north west of San Antonio, and prosecutors at Jones's 1984 murder trial said the nurse lethally injected children there to demonstrate the need for a paediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital.
Other prosecutors theorised that Jones's tactic was to take swift medical action and save some of her victims, making herself appear to be a sort of miracle worker.
Mr LaHood said the new murder charge is based on fresh evidence that came to light and a review of old evidence. He also said the deaths of some of the other children are being re-examined and that additional charges could be coming.
Jones has been consistently denied parole over the years. She was due to be released next March after serving a third of her sentence under a mandatory release law adopted in 1977 to help alleviate prison overcrowding.
The law was overhauled 10 years later.
Jones, whose case has been chronicled in two books, a TV movie and numerous articles, was "emotional" when she was served an arrest warrant on Thursday, Mr LaHood said.
"We have every reason to believe that she fully expected to get out next year," he said.
Because of the new charge, Jones will be transferred to Bexar County jail while the case is prosecuted. A murder conviction brings a maximum sentence of 99 years.
Mr LaHood said Jones is not eligible for the death penalty because Texas did not have such a sentence at the time of the 1981 death.
"We will do our best to ensure that Genene Jones takes her very last breath behind bars," he said.
AP
Jared Kushner is Donald Trump's son-in-law and a trusted adviser to the president (AP)
US President Donald Trump faced new controversies over his team's possible ties to Russia as he ended his first foreign trip on Saturday.
The five-stop sprint ended with the promise of an imminent decision on the much-discussed Paris climate accord.
Mr Trump tweeted that he would make a final decision next week on whether to withdraw from the pact.
European leaders have been pressuring Mr Trump to stay in the accord during their meetings with him this week, arguing that America's leadership on climate is crucial.
Following a second day of meetings at the G7 summit in Sicily and remarks to US troops stationed at a nearby air base, Mr Trump was returning to Washington and a new crush of Russia-related controversies.
On Friday, the Washington Post reported that Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner spoke to Russia's ambassador to the US about setting up secret communications with Moscow.
Mr Trump has held no news conferences during the nine-day trip, allowing him to avoid questions about the Russia investigations.
His top economic and national security advisers refused to answer questions during a press briefing on Saturday.
The White House had hoped to use Mr Trump's trip as a moment to reset. The president was warmly received on his opening stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, though he has come under more pressure in Europe, particularly over the Paris accord.
Mr Trump was cajoled for three days, first in Brussels at meetings of Nato and the European Union, then in Sicily for G7, but will leave Italy without making clear where he stands.
As the G7 summit came to a close on Saturday, the six other members - Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan - renewed their commitment to the accord.
The summit's communique noted that the Trump administration would take more time to consider whether it will remain committed to the 2015 Paris deal to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
Backing out of the climate accord had been a central plank of Mr Trump's campaign and aides have been exploring whether they can adjust the framework of the deal even if they do not opt out entirely.
Other G7 nations leaned heavily on Mr Trump to stay in the climate deal, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying "we put forward very many arguments".
The president's trip has largely gone off without a major misstep, with the administration touting the president's efforts to birth a new coalition to fight terrorism, while admonishing partners in an old alliance to pay their fair share.
"Big G7 meetings today. Lots of very important matters under discussion," Mr Trump tweeted between events. "First on the list, of course, is terrorism. #G7Taormina."
Mr Trump also touted a renewed commitment by Nato members to spend more on defence.
"Many Nato countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in - Nato will be much stronger," he said.
Mr Trump was referring to a vow by Nato countries to move toward spending 2% of their gross domestic product on defence by 2024.
Only five of Nato's 28 members meet the target: Britain, Estonia, debt-laden Greece, Poland and the United States, which spends more on defence than all the other allies combined.
There is no evidence that money has begun to "pour in" - and countries do not pay the US or Nato directly. But Germany, for instance, has been increasing its defence spending with the goal of reaching the 2% target by 2024.
But after the pomp of presidential travel overseas, Mr Trump will return to Washington to find the same problems that have dogged him.
As a newly-appointed special counsel is beginning his investigation into links between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, Mr Kushner has become a focus of the probe.
His lawyer said Mr Kushner will co-operate with investigators.
James Comey, the former FBI director leading the Russian probe until Mr Trump abruptly fired him, is still expected to testify before Congress about memos he kept on conversations with the president that involved the investigation.
AP
Childrens Physicians, the primary care network of Childrens Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha, will be opening a new office in Fremont later this summer.
Pediatrician Terry Wooldridge, M.D., who currently practices under the name Kid Care, located at 220 E. 22nd Street, will transition his office into Childrens Physicians, Fremont.
We are going to stay in the current location, and we plan to be there for the immediate future and for the next couple years, Steve Burnham, senior vice president of Physician networks and president of Childrens Physicians and Childrens Specialty Physicians, said. We will upgrade the facility to a little more of what a Childrens Physicians standard office looks like.
The Fremont office will be the 14th Childrens Physicians location in the Omaha metro area, and will have a targeted opening date of August 1st.
Dr. Wooldridge has been practicing as a pediatrician in the area for over 20 years and received his medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed his residency through the Creighton-Nebraska Universities Health Foundation Pediatrics Residency Program.
Dr. Wooldridge trained at UNMC and did a lot of his hands on training at Childrens so we were aware of him in that regard, and then he approached us a while ago about cultivating some sort of relationship with Childrens and that is when we got serious and decided to look and see if his office would be a good fit.
According to Burnham, the affiliation with Childrens will allow Dr. Wooldridge to expand services and will provide better access to the hospitals network of specialists.
It does provide better access and availability to Childrens Hospital & Medical Center and the specialists we have down there, Burnham said. Even if that relationship exists today, it will be stronger with the affiliations with Childrens Physicians.
Along with the additional access to Childrens network of doctors and specialty services, the affiliation also means the office will get upgrades to medical record keeping and the opportunity to recruit additional providers.
It also allows us to bring state of the art electronic medical records that will be hooked up to the whole Childrens enterprise which will make him more effective, Burnham said. We will also be able help and hopefully recruit better, because there are some unique things in Fremont that can make recruiting little challenging. So we will be able to bring our breadth, knowledge, and name to the recruitment process with him.
The current office will undergo a few cosmetic changes, with new Childrens Physicians signage and interior design changes consistent with the 13 other locations in Omaha.
We want all of our locations to have a bright, kid friendly atmosphere, Burnham said. As far as what we have done in Omaha when we have opened a new location, is utilize the patients in that area to help us design the art that goes up on the wall, so those are some of the things that we will be doing physically to the office in Fremont.
As a new provider coming into a community with an array of existing health care providers, Childrens is focused on creating a collaborative environment, according to Burnham.
Our intent is to collaborate with the other pediatric office in town, family practitioners, as well as the hospital, he said. We want to work with them not against them. There is plenty of business for everybody and we think if we work together it is better for the kids and their families.
Childrens Physicians will be communicating more details with Dr. Wooldridges patient families as the opening date nears and more information is available.
For more information and pediatric resources for families, visit Childrens Physicians at childrensphysiciansomaha.org.
Childrens Physicians is the areas largest practice of board certified pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners and pediatric physician assistants. The practice includes 48 pediatricians in 13 locations, and served 81,000 children in 2016 according to released information.
Lee Boyd Malvo has been serving his sentence at Red Onion state prison in south-west Virginia
A federal judge has thrown out two life sentences for one of the country's most notorious criminals, sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, and ordered courts to hold new sentencing hearings.
US District Judge Raymond Jackson, in Norfolk, Virginia, said Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings after the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.
Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three over a three-week span in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, causing widespread fear throughout the region.
His accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, was executed in 2009.
Malvo was also sentenced to life in prison in Maryland for the murders that occurred there, and his lawyers have made an appeal on similar grounds in that state. A hearing is scheduled in June.
Fairfax County commonwealth's attorney Ray Morrogh, who helped prosecute Malvo in 2003, said the Virginia attorney general can appeal against Judge Jackson's ruling.
I f not, Mr Morrogh said he would pursue another life sentence, saying he believes Malvo meets the criteria for a harsh sentence.
Michael Kelly, spokesman for Virginia attorney general Mark Herring, said the office is "reviewing the decision and will do everything possible, including a possible appeal, to make sure this convicted mass murderer serves the life sentences that were originally imposed".
He noted that the convictions stand and emphasised that, even if Malvo gets a new sentencing hearing, he could still be sentenced to a life term.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional, and last year the court applied that case retroactively to sentences issued before 2012.
Malvo's first trial took place in Chesapeake after a judge agreed to move it from Fairfax because of pre-trial publicity.
A jury convicted Malvo of capital murder for the killing of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, who was shot in the head outside a Home Depot store.
Under Virginia law, a capital murder conviction requires either a death sentence or life without parole. Prosecutors sought a death sentence, but a jury opted for life in prison.
Malvo then negotiated a plea bargain in Spotsylvania County and agreed to a life sentence and waived his appeal rights.
The attorney general's office argued unsuccessfully that the Supreme Court rulings should not apply to Malvo.
To begin with, while the jury in Chesapeake had only the option of a death penalty or life without parole, the capital murder statute required them to make specific findings about Malvo, including a conclusion that he posed a future danger.
The state argued that the jury's findings provide the kind of individualised assessment that the Supreme Court requires to sentence a juvenile to life in prison.
The state also argued that Malvo knowingly waived his appeal rights when he struck the plea bargain in Spotsylvania County.
Judge Jackson wrote that Malvo was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the Supreme Court's ruling grants new rights to juveniles that Malvo did not know he had when he agreed to the plea bargain.
Malvo has been serving his sentence at Red Onion state prison in south-west Virginia.
AP
Palestinians protest in solidarity with prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails (AP)
Hundreds of Palestinian inmates have ended a 40-day hunger strike after reaching a compromise over better conditions, Israel's prison service has said.
Prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the fast on Saturday morning.
She said it came after Israel reached a compromise with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second family visit each per month.
Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike which they said was aimed at improving jail conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests involving so many participants since Israel's 1967 capture of territories Palestinians seek for their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. More than 1,000 prisoners began the hunger strike and 834 ended their fast on Saturday.
Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands.
More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups - the Islamic militant group Hamas which runs Gaza, and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who administers autonomous enclaves in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Palestinians hoped the protest would draw the attention of a seemingly distracted international community as the Israeli occupation hits the 50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel at one time or another since 1967.
Israel's public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Mr Abbas's Fatah movement.
He claimed that jailed strike organiser Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and secure his position as a possible successor to Mr Abbas. Barghouti's family has denied such claims.
Barghouti is serving five life terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he has never mounted a defence, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.
Earlier this month, Israel released footage it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast. Palestinians say the video is a fabrication.
AP
A fresh wave of airstrikes in eastern Syria killed at least 35 civilians including women and children. Photo: PA
A fresh wave of airstrikes in eastern Syria killed at least 35 civilians including women and children, state media and a monitoring group reported, as the UN human rights chief said civilians are increasingly paying the price of escalating attacks against Isil in the country.
Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein's comments came hours after airstrikes on the Isil-held eastern Syrian town of Mayadeen, where airstrikes on Thursday night killed dozens, many of them family members of Isil fighters.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the airstrikes were conducted by the US-led coalition fighting Isil.
It added that the airstrikes began around sunset on Thursday as people were heading to mosques for evening prayers and continued until the early hours of yesterday.
"The same civilians who are suffering indiscriminate shelling and summary executions by Isil, are also falling victim to the escalating airstrikes, particularly in the northeastern governorates of Raqqa and Deir el-Zour," Mr al-Hussein said in a statement from Geneva.
"Unfortunately, scant attention is being paid by the outside world to the appalling predicament of the civilians trapped in these areas."
The airstrikes came as the US military said it killed three Isil fighters in attacks in Syria and Iraq over the past month.
The observatory monitoring group later said a total of 106 people have been killed in Mayadeen since Thursday evening, including Isil fighters and 42 children.
The group said among the 106 were 80 people who perished when a four-storey building housing families of Isil fighters from Syria and north Africa was destroyed in an airstrike. More than 20, including 10 Isil fighters, were killed in other airstrikes that hit the municipality building among other places.
Fighting
Syria's state news agency Sana also said 35 civilians, most of them women and children, were killed in the airstrikes, also blaming the coalition.
There was no immediate comment from the coalition. It is not unusual to have conflicting casualty figures in the immediate aftermath of airstrikes in Syria.
Reports of deaths among civilians have been on the rise as the fighting against Isil intensifies in northern and eastern Syria.
US President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is willing to co-operate with federal investigators looking into ties between Russia and the Trump campaign, his attorney said.
The statement from attorney Jamie Gorelick was issued amid reports the FBI was investigating meetings Mr Kushner had in December with Russian officials.
"Mr Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry," the statement said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the House oversight committee asked the FBI to turn over more documents about former director James Comey's interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration.
The FBI and the oversight committee - as well as other congressional panels - are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Mr Trump fired Mr Comey on May 9 amid questions about the FBI's investigation, now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, a former FBI director.
'NBC News' and 'The Washington Post' first reported the FBI's ongoing investigation includes a look at Mr Kushner, which would place the probe inside the White House.
Mr Kushner, a key White House advisor, had meetings late last year with Russia's ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov.
The 'Post' story cited anonymous "people familiar with the investigation," who said the FBI probe does not mean that Mr Kushner is suspected of a crime.
Earlier yesterday, House oversight committee chairman Jason Chaffetz told acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe that he wants records of Mr Comey's contacts with the White House and Justice Department dating to September 2013, when Mr Comey was sworn in as FBI director under former president Barack Obama.
In a letter to Mr McCabe, Mr Chaffetz said he is seeking to review Mr Comey's memos and other written materials so he can "better understand" Mr Comey's communications with the White House and attorney general's office.
Mr Chaffetz previously requested Mr Comey's recent memos about his private contacts with Mr Trump. But the bureau told him it could not yet turn them over because of Mr Mueller's probe.
Mr Chaffetz, who said last week he has his "subpoena pen" ready to force Mr Comey or the FBI to turn over the documents, told Mr McCabe that "Congress and the American public have a right and a duty to examine this issue independently of the special counsel's investigation".
He added, in a thinly veiled threat, "I trust and hope you understand this and make the right decision." He cancelled a hearing scheduled for Wednesday after Mr Comey declined to testify.
US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials told Reuters.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official.
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the presidents inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish a line of communication. Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.
BACK CHANNEL
Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving U.S.-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the Nov. 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the Nov. 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. . Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
HOW KUSHNER CAME UNDER SCRUTINY
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of U.S. citizens, whose names were redacted because of U.S. privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask U.S. intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current U.S. law enforcement official said.
Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current U.S. law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under U.S. sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of U.S. banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Kabul, May 27 (IBNS): A 10-day operation by the Afghan anti-terrorism squad has killed at least 59 ISIS militants in Nangarhar province of the country, the local Khaama Press reported.
The aforementioned operation has also injured 39 militants, belonging to the terrorist organisation. The Afghan anti-terrorism squad targeted militants in Chaparhar district of the province.
Today
HomeStore, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 701 E. Dodge St., Fremont. The HomeStore sells donated items at discounted prices. Proceeds support the mission of Fremont Area Habitat for Humanity.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, 136 N. Main St., Fremont.
Storytime, 11-11:30 a.m., Keene Memorial Library auditorium, 1030 N. Broad St., Fremont.
Alcoholics Anonymous womens heart to heart group, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 7:30 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley.
Narcotics Anonymous Lie Is Dead Group, 8 p.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Sunday
Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast to benefit Camp Quality Heartland, 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Delaney Hall, St. Patricks Catholic Church, Fremont. Camp Quality Heartland is a camp for children with cancer and their siblings. The cost is $5 for adults and $2 for children. The Catholic Daughters will have a bake sale and a raffle will be held at the breakfast. The public is invited.
Alcoholics Anonymous Happy Sober Sunday Group, 9 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Narcotics Anonymous Seekers of Serenity Group, 10:30 a.m., Care Corps, 723 N. Broad St., Fremont.
Storytime yoga, 1-1:30 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys large meeting room, Fremont. This free class is for all ages. Pre-registration is encouraged as there is a limit of 15 participants. Call 402-727-2694 to pre-register.
FreedomFest, Scribner. A 5K race will begin at 3 p.m. on Scribners Main Street. Following the race, attendees will get the chance to check out all of the veteran organization booths. There also will be food vendors. Doors for the concert open at 6 p.m. and the show kicks off at 7 p.m., starting with the Dylan Bloom Band and leading into Aaron Copeland and Shooter Jennings as the headliner. The cost of the race is $35. A run and concert ticket package is $50. To register, visit www.active.com and search FreedomFest. To buy tickets for the concert, visit www.outhousetickets.com and search FreedomFest.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Narcotics Anonymous Point of Freedom Group, 7 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.
Alcoholics Anonymous Sunday speaker, 7:30 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Monday
TOPS Club (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), 9 a.m., First United Methodist Church, 850 N. Broad St., Fremont. Weigh-ins begin at 8 a.m. Visitors (preteens, teens and adults male and female) are welcome. The first meeting is free. For more information, call Janet Bloemker at 402-721-8952.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Memorial Day service, 10:30 a.m., Cedar Bluffs Auditorium. The guest speaker will be Col. Reye Colon, U.S. Strategic Command, Offutt Air Force Base.
American Legion Post 20 Auxiliarys Memorial Day lunch, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fremont Eagles Club 200. Tastee sandwiches, potato salad and chips will be served for a freewill donation. The bar also will be open.
Memorial Day service, 11 a.m., Eternal Flame, Sidner Ice Arenas south parking lot, Fremont. This service is conducted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 854 of Fremont.
Opening day of Splash Station, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., 3809 E. Fremont Drive, Fremont. Admission is $6.50 for adults (18-54), $5 for senior adults (55+) and youth (5-17) and free for children 4 and under.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Opening day of Ronin Pool, noon to 7 p.m., 17th Street and Somers Avenue, Fremont. Free swimming will be offered on both Monday and Tuesday.
Memorial Day service, 2 p.m., Logan Cemetery, north of Winslow. The David Hargens VFW Post 10535 of Hooper along with the Fremont Cadet Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol will present and retire the colors. The Logan Cemetery Board will serve refreshments following the service. In case of inclement weather, the service will be held at Winslow Auditorium.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Narcotics Anonymous basic text study, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.
Celebrate Recovery, 7-9 p.m., Sanctuary Church, 1640 W. Military Ave., Fremont. Childcare is available.
Celebrate Recovery, 7 p.m., Fremont Church of the Nazarene, 960 Johnson Road.
Alcoholics Anonymous 12x12 meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Tuesday
American Red Cross blood drive, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Fremont Family YMCA. Make an appointment to donate blood by downloading the free Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting www.redcrossblood.org or calling 800-733-2767.
Fremont Friendship Center garage sale, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Christensen Field, 1730 W. 16th St.
U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberrys office open, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 641 N. Broad St., Fremont.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 10 a.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, noon, Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
After School Chess, 4 p.m., Keene Memorial Librarys large meeting room, Fremont. Kids of all ages are invited to the library to learn how to play chess.
Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, 5:15 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont.
TOPS 58, 6-7 p.m., St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Fremont. Weigh-ins are from 5:30-6 p.m. For more information, contact Nancy Wit at 402-727-6745.
Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 6:30 p.m., Bethlehem Lutheran Church, 540 W. Eighth St., Wahoo.
Narcotics Anonymous It Works Group, 6:30 p.m., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Education Building, west of the church, 1440 E. Military Ave., Fremont. Enter through the rear door.
Fremont City Council meeting, 7 p.m., Municipal Building, 400 E. Military Ave. A study session will begin at 6:45 p.m. The meeting is open to the public.
Al-Anon meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club front room, Fremont. This support group is for families and friends of alcoholics.
Alateen meeting, 8 p.m., Chapter 5 Club, Fremont. The meeting is for ages 10-17 who are affected by a friend or relatives drinking.
Narcotics Anonymous open meeting, 8 p.m., United Faith Church, 218 W. Gardiner St., Valley.
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For local farmers, growing winter wheat can provide several advantages to their operations.
Managing manure, controlling tough weeds, and improving soil health are just some of the benefits of planting the crop in fields throughout Dodge and Washington counties.
In an effort to explain how winter wheat can play an important role in farm operations throughout the area, Nebraska Extension is hosting a Winter Wheat Field Day on Tuesday, June 6th.
The University of Nebraska has not had a winter wheat variety trial and field day north of the Platte River in 35 years, Nathan Mueller, Extension Educator, said. It is time to bring winter wheat back into the spotlight and explain again how it can play an important role on your farm in Dodge, Washington, and surrounding counties.
The Winter Wheat Field Day will be held at 6 p.m. east of Winslow in northwest Washington County at the winter wheat variety field trial site located 4 miles east of Winslow on paved County Road J/12, 1 mile north on County Road 3 from the Immanuel Lutheran Church corner, and then mile east on County Road 10.
At the event, University of Nebraska-Lincoln speakers will discuss a variety of topics concerning winter wheat including variety trials and selection, management of diseases, and the value of wheat in manure management plants.
Research assistant professor Teshome Regassa will be covering winter wheat variety trials and Stephen Baenziger, Professor and Nebraska Wheat Growers Presidential Chair, will be leading a variety tour and discussing variety selection.
Stephen Wegulo, Extension Plant Pathologist, will be discussing the management of diseases in wheat and Rick Koelsch, Extension Livestock and Bio Environmental Engineer, will be discussing the value of adding wheat into manure management plans.
Including one or two fields of winter wheat on the farm can allow growers more flexibility in their manure management plan, including new poultry growers, by providing summer months to apply manure, Mueller said. A combination for a wet fall and spring can limit the number of potential number of days to haul and apply manure with risk of excessive soil compaction.
Current livestock producers and future poultry growers are encouraged to attend the event to understand the potential value of adding winter wheat to their farming operation and to learn local agronomic fundamentals of growing the crop.
Cattle producers short on pasture can reap additional benefits by planting a cover crop after wheat harvest in July for grazing late summer and early fall. The wheat straw itself can be baled and used on the farm prior to planting the cover crop, Mueller said. Winter wheat in the rotation can help us manage tough herbicide resistant weeds in the corn-soybean rotation such as marestail, waterhemp, and Palmer amaranth. This can result in less total herbicide cost and less yield loss from these problematic weeds.
Mueller will also be speaking at the event and will cover other key fundamentals of growing wheat in Dodge and Washington counties.
Research has shown that winter wheat improves soil physical health over time through improved soil aggregation. Our wettest months of the year in May and June are also when our corn and soybean fields are the most susceptible to soil erosion from extreme rainfall events, Mueller said. Winter wheat provides a green canopy and extensive fibrous root system to protect fields from erosion during these months.
The field day is free and pre-registration is highly encouraged to ensure all attendees have a meal provided. For more information visit the website at croptechcafe.org/winterwheat and pre-register online at croptechcafe.org/registration or by calling the Dodge County Extension Office at 402-727-2775.
The event is sponsored by University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Wheat Board, and Greg and Gerald Hoegermeyer of Hoegermeyer Farms. Continuing education units for certified crop advisers will be available for the event.
As of July 1, all Indiana high schools will be required to offer ethnic and racial studies as an elective course at least once every school year under Senate Enrolled Act 337. Act 337, a bill authored by Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, was signed into law last week by Gov. Eric Holcomb during a private signing ceremony.
The bills passage in Indiana comes at a time when many states are rethinking the significance of this sort of curriculum. In 2010, though Republican legislators in Arizona authored a bill (that later became law) banning Mexican-American studies courses from the classroom, other states, like Oregon and California, have begun working on legislation that would bring this curriculum to students.
Chrystal Ratcliffe, NAACPs Indianapolis chapter president, said the initial focus was on Black history, but the group expanded its approach.
It started with the idea of requiring teaching of African-American history in Indiana schools and became a multi-cultural education requirement with the support of IUPUI professors and a diverse coalition, said Ratcliffe. We are grateful to Senator Taylor for his persistence and leadership on this issue.
Garry Holland, the chapters interim education chair, Ratcliffe and others in the organization worked with African-American, Native American, Latino and Asian cultural education experts to successfully push for passage of the law, the result of four years of advocacy in the Indiana General Assembly.
A study released last year by the Stanford Graduate School of Education, which focused on students in an ethnic studies pilot program in San Francisco, revealed that students who participated in the course had higher attendance, better grades and earned more credits toward graduation than their peers who didnt participate.
The positive emotional development that this course can lead will help create more well-rounded students, said Holland. Being well-rounded is the foundation for being productive citizens in the state of Indiana, the nation and the global community.
Various educators and community leaders lent their voices to the cause.
The perseverance of the NAACP and its supporters will result in the implementation of much-needed ethnic studies in Indiana high schools, said David Suzuki, an Asian studies professor at IUPUI. For students who are often marginalized in our textbooks, it is important that they are provided a depth of understanding of the contributions to human endeavors that were and are made by people with whom they can identify.
Rosa Tezanos-Pinto, director of the Spanish program at IUPUI, said, High school students will now learn about the history and accomplishments of the various cultures living in Indiana. This instruction will be pivotal in creating awareness of other cultures interests and contributions a knowledge essential to prepare our students for a global era.
Charmayne Champion-Shaw, a member of the Cheyenne tribal group and director of Native American and indigenous studies at IUPUI, said advocates must pay attention to the new laws implementation.
It is critical to consider our next steps, she said. We must invest and engage in important conversations about authentic and diverse curriculum development so that we dont enforce existing and problematic stereotypes by our well-meaning, but culturally homogenous, educational system.
The director and producer of the film 'Behen Hogi Teri', who were arrested for 'hurting religious sentiments' for showing Rajkummar Rao dressed as Shiva sitting on a bike, were finally released on bail on Friday evening.
screen grab/youtube
Lucknow resident Nitin Upadhyaya, one of the three producers of the film, says, "We are under stress, but it's part of the job. The director, Ajay K Pannalal, and my co-producer Tony D'Souza, are in Jalandhar. They had a court hearing for their bail at 4.30pm and have been granted bail. One of Jalandhar's leading lawyers, Darshan Singh Dyal, has agreed to fight our case. Let's see what happens next."
Trouble brewing
In April, Amul Mohan, a co-producer of the Rajkummar Rao and Shruti Haasan-starrer 'Behen Hogi Teri', tweeted a teaser poster of the film which had Rao in a Lord Shiva get-up sitting atop a motorcycle. Many had wondered at the time if it would unwittingly invite outrage from religious groups.
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Now, over a month later, it has come to light that a Jalandhar resident, taking offence at the poster, filed a private criminal complaint against the makers of the rom-com at Jalandhar Magistrate Court. The officer investigating the case, ADCP-II D Sudarvizhi from Jalandhar, confirms, "A case has been registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a local Hindu group, complaining how the deity's commercialisation in the film has hurt their religious sentiments."
Acting on the complaint, perhaps rather too promptly, the police arrested the director of the film, Ajay K Pannalal, and producer Tony D'Souza. Jalandhar Commissioner of Police PK Sinha, told us on Friday, says, "two persons have been booked for hurting religious sentiments and have been arrested from Mumbai."
screen grab/youtube
Kailash Chander, ACP (West) Jalandhar, who is probing the case, said on Friday that they had been following the matter for some time. He tells us, "We began investigating the matter after we received the complaint in April. Apart from connecting with the party in question over telephone, we also served them notices to join the investigation. The procedure went on for more than a month. However, the producer-director seldom responded to our queries and would switch off their mobiles. Then, we moved court and had arrest warrants issued against them."
Sentiments being frequently 'hurt'
This isn't the first time that someone from showbiz has been arrested on a complaint of 'hurting religious sentiments'. Last year, comedian Kiku Sharda was arrested by the Haryana Police after he spoofed Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh of the Dera Sacha Sauda sect.
screen grab/youtube
He was arrested and taken from Mumbai to Haryana, but was granted bail. As Kiku was on his way to Delhi after his release, another team of the Haryana Police arrested him again at Fatehabad. At the time too, the Haryana Police were criticised for their heavy-handedness.
The film 'Behen Hogi Teri' was shot in Lucknow from start to finish earlier this year at several places in the city including Narhi, Gomti Riverfront, Havelock Road and Golaganj.
With stardom and popularity comes the pressure of being up-to-date with the fashion and style trends for the celebrities. They have the pressure of following up with the latest trends. Be it their airport appearances or international red carpets, they don't have the luxury of making any fashion faux pas.
People expect nothing but perfection. Bollywood's 'Khiladi Kumar' has always kept a safe distance from the constant scrutiny of the fashion critics but that in no way means that he is any less stylish.
Swag is for boys, class is for men A post shared by Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) on Mar 15, 2017 at 3:15am PDT
He isn't a style icon but he for sure is fashionable. Akshay spoke to media before he walked the ramp for a fashion week in Bangalore. He said,
BCCL
"If they don't, I would like to believe so anyway."
Crediting his wife Twinkle Khanna for his evolved sartorial sense, Akshay said,
Star India
"My mother-in-law [veteran actress Dimple Kapadia] is a style icon and wouldn't have me any other way. I have no option but match up to the ladies in the family. When my house was being made, my only contribution was to say nothing. And it looks pretty damn good. The same way, when she tells me what to wear, whether it's bullying or not, I just follow her instructions."
They are surely the most cutest and the most adorable Bollywood couple!
Our planet is home to some incredibly beautiful sights. However, climate change is threatening these travel destinations around the world. In fact, some of these are on the verge of disappearing in the next 100 years.
So, sooner than later, we must update our travel bucket list and pay these regions a visit.
1. New Orleans
Reports suggest that New Orleans faces a terrible future and could be wiped off the map by the turn of this century. This cultural abode that's home to 400,000 people is already below sea level. Flood risks and the sinking coastline are the two most serious dangers to this beautiful city.
thrillist
2. Seychelles
Located in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Madagascar, Seychelles is a favourite among favourites for tourists and honeymooners. But the beautiful islands are slowly disappearing due to beach erosion and stand as a risk of completely vanishing in the next 50 to 100 years.
ap
3. Honolulu
This pristine destination is one of the most travelled regions in the world. However, rising temperatures and dwindling rainfalls can bring an era of droughts and floods that will completely destroy this island in Hawaii.
paradiseintheworld
4. The Sundarbans
The Sundarbans that are home to the largest mangrove forests in the world, are now facing the threats of pollution, deforestation, and dependence on fossil fuels. These combined factors are making sea levels rise that are eroding the precious coastline of this forest that also houses several endangered species of animals.
india heritage sites
5. Swiss Alps
Experts believe that the Alps will completely disappear between 2030 and 2050. The average temperature is rising and glaciers are slowly melting. This change in climate has led to lesser snowfall in the region and an increase in the number of summer days.
Peter Yee
6. Madagascar
Due to climate change, experts now believe that the forests of Madagascar will disappear in the next 35 years. The region, that is dependent on small-scale farming and fishing, has already witnessed severe droughts and floods that are taking a toll on the rural folk.
Constance Hotels and Resorts
7. New York
The Eastern seaboard will be hit with severer storms in future, like the superstorm and hurricane, Sandy. If this happens, the city's subways will give away and life - which never stands still in New York - will be disrupted once and for all.
timeout
8. The Maldives
The Maldives is the lowest-lying country on the planet. Rising sea levels threaten to wipe away everything that makes Maldives, Maldives - stunning beaches, colourful coral, deep blue seas, and gorgeous landscapes.
kuoni
9. Miami
The hustle and bustle of Miami will soon disappear as experts suggest more frequent and stronger hurricanes to hit the place in near future. As the sea level rises, Miami's sewage system will go for a toss and South Beach will find itself underwater.
trip advisor
10. Virginia Beach
After New Orleans, it is the stunning coastline of Virginia Beach that may disappear in the next 50 years. It is, in fact, the most susceptible region to rising sea levels in the United States. Retreating shorelines will threaten oceanfront resorts and restaurants and neighbourhoods will permanently end up underwater.
virginiasbeach
11. Venice
Venice has already been sinking for a few years now and before it disappears forever, one must get that gondola ride checked off the list. The floods have become more severe and there is no stopping the rate at which this beautiful city is sinking.
Azamara Club Cruises
12. Machu Picchu
This wonder of the world attracts millions of tourists every year where the permissible limit - as set by UNESCO and Peru - is 2,500 visitors only. Unless more regulations are put in place and this influx is controlled, Machu Pichu will fall under the burdens of landslides and erosion.
Kondor Path Tours
13. The Galapagos Island
The global climate is expected to warm further by 2 to 6 degrees Celsius in the next century. This will adversely impact the Galapagos Island that will experience stronger and more frequent El Nino phenomena. This, in turn, will threaten the region's marine and terrestrial biodiversity, ecosystems, and the human settlements.
ROW adventures
14. The Dead Sea
In the last 40 years, the Dead Sea has shrunk by 80 feet and reduced in size by one-third. The sea faces the threat of vanishing into oblivion, in the next 50 years, if the surrounding countries do not stop sourcing water from River Jordan.
trip advisor
15. The Taj Mahal
One of the most breathtaking wonders of the world, the Taj Mahal faces a frightening future due to rising temperatures and excessive pollution. Experts believe that the Taj could collapse in the coming years if these threats are not combated soon.
tajmahal.org.uk
We, as the people of this planet, have to fight climate change together. It's the sort of terrorism that will destroy all that we have built and worked for. It is slowly destroying our present and will completely ruin our children's future. We can't and shouldn't let that happen.
The Army on Saturday killed four terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, thus foiling yet another infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC), in the Rampur sector.
PTI/ Representational Image
Troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in the early hours, an army official told PTI. He added that a firefight broke out between the infiltrators and the Army.
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The operation is ongoing in the area. The infiltration attempt has been foiled, an army source told IANS news agency.
Rampur sector is adjacent to the Uri sector where the Army on Friday foiled an attack by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) and killed two intruders.
PTI/ Representational Image
There are also reports that at least three Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists are trapped Pulwama district's Tral area, where an encounter is still on.
According to some reports one of the terrorists is Sabzar Ahmed a top commander of Hizbul.
AFP/ Representational Image
Infiltration attempts have increased in the past few weeks, no thanks to the onset of summer, which has led to snow-blocked mountain passes opening up making them easier to traverse, the Army said recently.
BCCL
"With the mercury rising and snow-melting in the valley, the chances of infiltration increase from the Pakistani side. The Army is all geared up to counter such threats," said Major General Ashok Narula earlier in the week.
India has sent Navy ships with relief material to Sri Lanka, where torrential rains and landslides have resulted in several deaths and massive devastation over the last two days.
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INS Kirch operating in South Bay of Bengal, has been diverted to Colombo in Sri Lanka to render immediate assistance to help deal with the worst flooding in the island's western and southern regions in 14 years after record rainfall.
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Additionally, INS Jalashwan shall sail out from Visakhapatnam on Saturday with HADR (Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief) stores which include victualling, clothing, medicines and water.
The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with Gemini crafts and helicopters to assist in relief operations at Colombo.
afp
On the other hand, INS Shardul with relief material medical and diving teams has also left for Sri Lanka. It will arrive in Colombo on Saturday night. Other assets standing by at short notice to render assistance as required.
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Heavy rains in the southern and western parts of the country have destroyed hundreds of homes and cut off several roads. Landslides and floods killed at least 100 people in Sri Lanka on Friday, the Disaster Management Centre said.
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Nearly 50,000 people across 13 districts in the southern parts of the island were affected and about 8,000 of them had to be evacuated from Kalutara, a coastal city some 40 km south of Colombo, among the worst hit.
IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has convened a meeting of top IT companies next month to dispel the talk about massive job losses in the sector and brainstorm with the CEO's for the next phase of growth.
Reuters/Representational Image
"The Indian IT ecosystem is very robust and promising," Prasad told TOI in an interview, adding that it may create over 4 million jobs in the next few years. CEOs from Infosys, Wipro, TCS, HCL and other IT companies are expected to take part in the meeting which is scheduled for the first week of June.
ALSO READ: UK's New Visa Restrictions On Non-EU Nationals To Hit Indian IT Professionals
"Where is this talk coming about job losses? I am a little surprised myself," he said. "Companies have added jobs," Prasad said.
AFP/representational image
Industry group NASSCOM has estimated that there will be 2.5-3 million new jobs by 2025. It said reports about mass layoffs by IT companies were incorrect. "It may even cross 4 million. If I am talking about the promising sector of India's digital economy there is a basis for this. All this is part of the Digital India economy," Prasad said.
ALSO READ: Indian IT Companies Get A Temporary Relief As US Will Take Time To Make New H-1B Visa Rules
He cited data from staffing companies which expect to hire to increase in the sector in the current year. "Ultimately technology creates opportunity. The Internet and other advancements are only going to create more opportunities. Don't underestimate the power of innovation," he said.
Reuters/representational image
The government has hired McKinsey & Co to prepare a strategy roadmap for digital services in the country as it expects the turnover of digital, communications and IT industry to grow nearly four-fold to $1 trillion by 2022 against $280 billion currently.
ALSO READ: Here Is Everything You Need To Know About The H1-B Visa And How The New Regulation Could Devastate The Indian IT Sector
A Google-BCG study showed that digital payments industry alone is expected to grow to $500 billion by 2020, contributing 15% of GDP. Asked whether Indian IT companies will be able to scale up their operations, the minister said: "They will do it on their own. I am sure that the innovative spirit of the IT companies will inspire them to look inwards towards India now."
BCCL/representational image
The minister said the government will resolve the issue of visas for the IT sector after the clampdown unveiled by the US, Australia and Singapore. "Surely by dialogue, we will be able to find a way out," he said. Jobs are also expected to be added from the government initiative to start back office operations in small towns across the country, the minister said.
Also Read: Infosys' Plan To Give 10,000 Jobs To Americans Will Lead To Job Cuts In India, Say, Recruiters
The government hopes to have around 48,000 seats in this BPOs in towns such as Siliguri, Varanasi, Amravati, Patna and others. The government will provide a subsidy of Rs 1 lakh per seat and preference would be given to local entrepreneurs, women and disabled.
The growth and development of Mumbai as a metropolitan city has been remarkable in the last two decades. The flare of urbanization has never stopped here. However, that has come with a heavy price - the destruction of a significant amount of flora and fauna inside the city as well as on the shoreline.
In what looks like the absolute sabotage of all the natural resources in the city, on 25 May, trees were chopped off for Metro Line 3 to be formed in Mumbai. Five activists were detained by cops, trying to imitate the remarkable Chipko movement.
A significant number of citizens have been raising their voice against the chopping down on trees, calling for numerous marches that have proven to be nothing but futile. In a recent RTI report, it was revealed that 13 per cent of citys trees has been chopped off only to create the Metro Line.
The activists are against the Supreme Courts decision to have directly given Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation (MMRCL) the permission to conduct the chopping down of trees. At the same time permission was given to citizens to approach a Committee set up by the Bombay High Court with their grievances.
BCCL
An alternate route
Activist Vidya has been fighting to save the mangroves and natural heritage of the city for a long time now. Being one of the people who has tried hard to reduce the amount of pollution in the city, she has been trying to spread awareness about this amongst the citizens. About the works of the Metro Lines across the city, she is of the opinion that if the Metro can decrease the number of cars and pollution across the city, trees can be chopped off.
But, new trees need to be planted that would replace each one that has been chopped in the city. I am hoping that the Metros will majorly bring down the pollution that we live in, she said.
According to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) and Preservation of Trees Act, 1975, three new saplings must be planted within 30 days of every single tree being cut, or tree trees can be transplanted in another spot.
She has been spreading awareness about planting new trees, especially the ones that grow in the western region of India.
Trees can be planted again, but the mangroves cannot. That is one problem we need to tackle and the government has to understand that mangroves have been protecting the city. So relaxing the CRZ is not the potential solution to save the city, and there has to be an alternate route to save the ecology, she said.
BCCL
Civil society groups allege scam
Stalin D, from the environmental NGO Vanashakti, has vehemently opposed the developing Metro Lines across Mumbai, especially the felling of trees in Aarey colony and also the annihilation of the shoreline by the development of the coastal road. In an RTI filed by him it was revealed that in last 5 years MMRDA, for the number of trees cut down for the monorail construction, 700 not planted. Almost 80 per cent of the trees that were transplanted from one place to another were dead, therefore, nullifying any positive effect of re-plantation of trees.
BCCL
The MMRC should have waited for the High Court Committees account of public grievances until they began cutting down the trees. The public consultation is only a formality by the government and nothing more. A similar thing happened about the Colaba Seepz metro as well. Out of more than one thousand trees, approximately 140 have already been chopped off but not a single one has been replaced, he said.
The greenery of the city depleting by the day. Only time will tell where it will stop.
Tourists have crossed into the perimeters of Aleppo, Syria for the first time in years since the civil war began in 2012. According to reports, local travel agencies organised a tour for more than 300 school children, students and pensioners who came to the ancient city from different parts of the country to immerse themselves in the citys culture.
They visited the Umayyad Mosque, the Citadel as well as the amphitheatre.
Daily mail
Samer Al-Shayah, owner of a travel agency, said, On the way to the old part of the city, food joints and souvenir shops have opened for business. Currently the applications for excursions are arriving via domestic tourism.
Aleppo got more than seven million tourists a year before the war began, he also said. However, Syrias civil war has caused a lot of damage to the ancient city and countrys heritage and architecture.
fox news
The Umayyad mosque, which was build in 8th century AD, was particularly affected terrorists blew up its southern wall, destroyed its columns and 147- feet minaret.
bbc
The tour ended with a musical performance in the ancient amphitheatre. Organisers said that hotels are under repair, and Aleppos local tourist industry hopes to welcome back tourists from abroad as soon as possible as well.
America's withdrawal from the climate change pledge could prove to be disastrous for the environment. Since the US is one of the highest contributors to the world's carbon emissions, the Earth is likely to hit more dangerous levels of warming if its pulls out, scientists have said.
ap
US President Donald Trump will soon decide whether the United States stays in or leaves a 2015 Paris climate change accord in which nearly every nation agreed to curb its greenhouse gas emissions.
Other global leaders have been urging him to stay during high-level security and economic meetings in Italy that began Friday. Pope Francis already made the case with a gift of his papal encyclical on the environment when Trump visited the Vatican earlier this week.
In an attempt to understand what could happen to the planet if the US pulls out of Paris, The Associated Press consulted with more than two dozen climate scientists and analyzed a special computer model scenario designed to calculate potential effects.
afp/representational image
Scientists said it would worsen an already bad problem, and make it far more difficult to prevent crossing a dangerous global temperature threshold. Calculations suggest it could result in emissions of up to 3 billion tons of additional carbon dioxide in the air a year. When it adds up year after year, scientists said that is enough to melt ice sheets faster, raise seas higher and trigger more extreme weather.
"If we lag, the noose tightens," said Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer, co-editor of the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change.
afp/representational image
One expert group ran a worst-case computer simulation of what would happen if the US does not curb emissions, but other nations do meet their targets. It found that America would add as much as half a degree of warming (0.3 degrees Celsius) to the globe by the end of the century.
Scientists are split on how reasonable and likely that scenario is.
Many said because of cheap natural gas that displaces coal and growing adoption of renewable energy sources, it is unlikely that the US would stop reducing its carbon pollution even if it abandoned the accord, so the effect would likely be smaller.
But others say it could be worse because other countries might follow a US exit, leading to more emissions from both the US and the rest.
afp/representational image
Another computer simulation team put the effect of the US pulling out somewhere between 0.1 to 0.2 degrees Celsius (.18 to .36 degrees Fahrenheit).
While scientists may disagree on the computer simulations they overwhelmingly agreed that the warming the planet is undergoing now would be faster and more intense.
The world without US efforts would have a far more difficult time avoiding a dangerous threshold: keeping the planet from warming more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels.
The world has already warmed by just over half that amount - with about one-fifth of the past heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions coming from the United States, usually from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
So the efforts are really about preventing another 1.6 degrees Fahrenheit (0.9 degrees Celsius) from now.
afp/representational image
"Developed nations - particularly the US and Europe - are responsible for the lion's share of past emissions, with China now playing a major role," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis. "This means Americans have caused a large fraction of the warming."
Even with the US doing what it promised under the Paris agreement, the world is likely to pass that 2 degree mark, many scientists said.
But the fractions of additional degrees that the US would contribute could mean passing the threshold faster, which could in turn mean "ecosystems being out of whack with the climate, trouble farming current crops and increasing shortages of food and water," said National Center for Atmospheric Research's Kevin Trenberth.
reuters/representational image
Climate Interactive, a team of scientists and computer modelers who track global emissions and pledges, simulated global emissions if every country but the US reaches their individualized goals to curb carbon pollution. And then they calculated what that would mean in global temperature, sea level rise and ocean acidification using scientifically-accepted computer models.
By the year 2030, it would mean an extra 3 billion tons of carbon dioxide in the air a year, according to the Climate Interactive models, and by the end of the century 0.3 degrees Celsius of warming.
"The US matters a great deal," said Climate Interactive co-director Andrew Jones. "That amount could make the difference between meeting the Paris limit of two degrees and missing it."
reuters/representational image
Climate Action Tracker, a competing computer simulation team, put the effect of the US pulling out somewhere between 0.1 to 0.2 degrees Celsius (.18 to .36 Fahrenheit) by 2100. It uses a scenario where US emissions flatten through the century, while Climate Interactive has them rising.
One of the few scientists who downplay the harm of the US possibly leaving the agreement is John Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the scientist credited with coming up with the 2-degree goal.
"Ten years ago (a US exit) would have shocked the planet," Schellnhuber said. "Today if the US really chooses to leave the Paris agreement, the world will move on with building a clean and secure future."
Not so, said Texas Tech climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe: "There will be ripple effects from the United States' choices across the world."
At Northern Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) summit in Brussels, world leaders were all inclusive of one another, which was visible in a group photograph.
AFP
The first wives and husband of leaders from around the world came together for a photograph including First Lady of The United States, Melania Trump, and that of France, Brigitte Macron. However, what made the photograph particularly special and inclusive because also present was the first gentleman of Luxembourg, Gauthier Destenay.
afp
He is the partner of the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel and the two married in 2015, after gay marriage was legalised in the country.
Also present in the photograph are the First Wives of Turkey, Bulgaria and Queen of Belgium, among others.
World leaders are presently in attendance at the G7 summit in Sicily but one particular partnership grabbed a lot of attention yesterday - Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President of France Emmanuel Macron.
twitter
The netizens erupted after photographs of the two taking a stroll against the beautiful backdrop of Taormina, Sicily, made their way on Twitter.
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People completely flipped over the apparent 'bromance' they witnessed and created memes befitting the meeting set in a romantic environment.
So who is gonna write the first bromance fanfic between Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron #AskingForAFriend pic.twitter.com/lGjggbWYic T a z e e n (@tazeen) May 7, 2017
Macron and Trudeau's summery stroll in Sicily looks insanely romantic pic.twitter.com/9RZsi7OIJM Tara Mulholland (@tara_mulholland) May 26, 2017
can't believe Justin has proposed already pic.twitter.com/r1kovkdeV5 Marie Le Conte (@youngvulgarian) May 26, 2017
Justin always had a sweet tooth. He had a thing for French desserts. Finally. He found the one dessert he couldn't pass up -- Macron corey kindberg (@coreykindberg) May 7, 2017
Many were, in fact, waiting for this moment to happen. After Macron won the French presidential elections, a significant number of global fans began comparing him to Trudeau and sent out their prayers into the universe, hoping that the two will one day meet and become the best of friends.
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Actor Sanjay Dutt will be the chief guest at the forthcoming 15th Bollywood Festival Norway.
Sanjay will be the star attraction of the event, which will be held in Oslo and Lorenskog from September 8 to 14, read a statement.
The actor will attend the festival on September 8.
Nasrullah Qureshi, festival director, said: "We are very excited to have Sanjay Dutt on the opening day of the event. Cinema lovers of Norway would be very delighted to see Bollywood star in Norway. There has been a lot of excitement within the team after Sanjay Dutt sir's confirmation to the festival. The team has been working hard to give everyone the best seven days to make memories."
There would be other guests present at the event whose names would be disclosed soon.
Apart from screening of films, a Bollywood musical evening, dance performances and a segment on awareness about fitness and health will also take place at the event.
The case against an alleged corrupt justice in Nigeria has taken a fresh twist in the court of law following a new revelation.
The corruption trial of Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia, a suspended Federal High Court judge, on Friday took an a new turn when Dr Gregory Ero, a former employer of the judge, testified that she was owing him N18m.
Ero said the judge took the loan five years ago. Ero, the Chief Executive Officer of Arkleen Oil and Gas Ltd., testified after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission linked a credit of N18m from his company into the bank account of the embattled judge.
While being led in evidence by Mr Rotimi Oyedepo, the EFCC counsel, Ero said, I treated the loan given to her in May 2012 as an advance which was repayable by her as she promised to repay.
She assured me that she had properties and that rent was generated by those properties and that she will give me a repayment plan.
The money has not been paid back. I called her numerous times on the phone and she was initially answering my calls but about a year ago, she refused to pick up my calls.
I decided to visit her home many times and I was told that she was not in. In addition to sending her text messages, I wrote notes on more than 20 occasions.
The notes were given to my driver to give her but were returned to me, I was told that notes are not received on her behalf.
I was disappointed regarding the transaction because I was betrayed, he said.
Narrating how the judge came to be in his employ, Ero said When we first started business, we employed a Company Secretary, Mrs Philo Igho-Osagie, she lived at Ijesha-tedo.
Igho-Osagie had to stop working in 2002 because of the distance between our office located in Victoria Island and her home.
We employed Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia as our Company Secretary, her office was at Onikan and she was an outsourced secretary. The reason we hired her was because her office was close to us.
Because we were a new company at the time, we paid her some ad-hoc fees and there was no regular payment structure for her.
She provided services to us for about two years before she had to leave because she was appointed as a judge of the Federal High Court.
On May 5, 2012, Ofili-Ajumogobia paid us a surprise visit and I introduced her around the office as a former employee who is now a judge of the Federal High Court.
She sought private audience with me in office, telling me privately that she needed financial assistance to complete a property transaction in the United Kingdom before a deadline.
We had just gotten a very huge payment from Pan Ocean Oil and Gas Ltd. and we had enough funds to accommodate her requests, he said.
Ofili-Ajumogobias counsel, Mr Olawale Akoni (SAN),while cross-examining Ero, enquired if his company had any case before Ofili-Ajumogobia at the Federal High Court when the loan was given and if the loan is now considered a bad debt by his company.
Ero said The N18m was not given in relation to her duties as a judge, it was a personal loan.
When I was summoned by the EFCC, I thought that they wanted to give me the N18m but that wasnt the case.
It is not a bad debt, it is not written off, I still need my money.
Another witness, Mr Musa Tahir, a Customs Officer, narrated to the court, how the Nigerian Customs Service paid N12m into a company account linked to the judge.
Tahir was corroborating the April 28 testimony of Mr Musa Omale, a Nigerian Customs Officer that the NCS paid N12m sourced from 12 Area Commands into the bank account of the judge.
While being led in evidence by Oyedepo, Tahir said, Sometime in 2014, when I was a Deputy Comptroller General, I was working at the NCS headquarters Wuse, Abuja I was in the office of the Comptroller General of Customs (CGC), Mr Abdullahi Dikko, my immediate boss.
Dikko handed a paper and the name and bank account details of a company called Nigel and Colive was written on it.
I was told to hand over the piece of paper to one Musa Omale, who worked in my office and I was told by Dikko to liase with Area Comptrollers of 12 commands who will send some money to Omale who will in turn transfer the money into the account.
The twelve commands are; Tin Can Island, Lilibong Area, Kirikiri Larger Terminal, Abraka, Seme Area Command, Muritala Area Command, Area Command Field Operations Zone A and Area Command Field Operations Zone B.
Kaduna Area Command, Katsina Area Command, Federal Operations Zone C Ares Command, Ooni Ares Command and Ogun Area Command.
When I got to my office, I summoned Omale and I related all the directions of the CGC to him which he subsequently carried out.
There were no services between the NCS and Nigel and Colive Ltd, that I know of, he said.
Ofili-Ajumogobia, is standing trial alongside Mr Godwin Obla, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a former prosecutor of the EFCC.
The duo are jointly charged on two-counts of perverting the course of justice while Obla is facing an additional two counts of offering gratification in the sum of N5m to Ofili-Ajumogobia, a public official, while serving as a judge.
Ofili-Ajumogobia faces a 26-count bordering on unlawful enrichment, taking property by a public officer, corruption by a public officer, forgery and giving false information to an official of the EFCC.
Both denied all the charges.
Eight witnesses including bankers and custom officers, have so far testified for the EFCC at ongoing proceedings about how the judge allegedly laundered funds illegally into various bank accounts.
During Fridays proceedings, Akoni and Oblas counsel, Mr Ferdinard Oby (SAN) in separate applications requested for the release of the defendants international passports by the court to enable them seek medical treatment overseas.
Oyedepo, however, objected to the prosecutions request on the grounds that there was no evidence of their health status before the court, noting that it was a ploy by the prosecution to delay the trial.
Justice Hakeem Oshodi adjourned the case until June 1 for ruling on the applications and continuation of trial.
The remains of the late wife of a former Peoples Democratic Party Board of Trustees Chairman, Dame Patricia Anenih, has been buried.
Her body was interred at about 2:35pm on Saturday at the family compound in Uzenema-Arue, Uromi, Esan North-East Local Government Area of Edo State.
Patricia died on April 16, 2017, in London at the age of 76.
She is survived by her husband, Chief Tony Anenih, children, including the late Eugene who passed on in May, and grandchildren.
Earlier, several dignitaries joined the family of the deceased at St. Anthony Catholic Cathedral, Mission Road, Uromi, where a funeral service was held in her honour.
Among those present at the service were former President Goodluck Jonathan; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State; and his Gombe State counterpart, Ibrahim Dankwambo.
Also present were the immediate past Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole; a former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; and his predecessor, Chief James Ibori.
Others include serving members of the National Assembly from Edo, former ministers, top government functionaries, and chieftains from the PDP, including the PDP State Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih; a leader of the party, Chief Tom Ikimi, and members of the All Progressives Congress.
Among the NASS members present were the senator representing Edo Central where the PDP national leader comes from, Mr. Clifford Ordia, and that of Edo South, Mr. Matthew Uroghide.
The event also attracted captains of industry, like the Chairman of the Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Chief Gabriel Igbinedion; and Capt. Hosa Okunbor.
In his tribute, Anenih described his late wife as a treasure of inestimable value, who had shown him, undiluted love, since he married her 53 years ago.
He said, Patricia showed an undiluted love, constancy, and steadfastness through all the changing phases and scenes of my life even under very trying situations, such that she became a marvel and model of exemplary womanhood.
She had a well-marked attitude of reliability and dependability and I came to rely on her in all my plans and endeavours. Her gentility, calmness and amiable disposition constituted the springboard and a necessary take-off point for all my achievements.
Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode has given stern warning to security agencies in the state to begin to rescue six students of Model College, Igbonla who were abducted by gunmen on Thursday.
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Dr Idiat Oluranti Adebule, who visited the school on Friday in Epe, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria said the governor had directed security agencies to take immediate action to rescue the victims.
The Deputy Governor, who went directly to the school on arrival from an official assignment in Abuja, assured parents of the kidnapped children that security efforts have been initiated by the State government to ensure that the kidnapped children are rescued safely and unhurt.
We are on top of the situation and the Governor has directed all security operatives to step up action on rescuing the students, details of which l cannot disclose in order not to undermine their operation, she stated.
Adebule in an emotion-laden voice urged parents of the affected children to be calm as the government would stop at nothing to ensure safe return of their children.
While condemning this act of anti-social behavior, Adebule appealed to the conscience of the kidnappers to release the children and allow them to reunite with their families.
She commended the management of the school for being proactive in mobilising security operatives who engaged the gunmen before they escaped and urged residents of the area and environs to support government efforts in beefing up security around the school.
A notorious oil thief has pleaded with men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps to allow him attend his own wedding.
A suspected oil thief, Ikechukwu Onyenze, who is currently in the custody of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, Rivers State Command, has begged the security outfit to release him so that he can attend his traditional wedding, according to a report by the Punch.
Onyenze made the plea while speaking with with newsmen in Port Harcourt, lamented that his absence at his marriage ceremony would negatively affect his person, even as he added that he would appreciate a temporary freedom by the NSCDC.
According to the 35-year-old heavy duty vehicle mechanic from Abia State, the marriage ceremony was to hold on Saturday (today). He denied allegations that he was into oil theft. Onyenze explained that he was inside a petrol tanker before being arrested because the driver called him to come and carry out some repairs on the vehicle.
It was a friend of mine who was driving the tanker. He called me that he had problem with the Civil Defence. He also said the vehicle was having break problem. So, it was when I came to help him that I was arrested. Thats how I know about this truck.
As of the time of arrest, we were inside the truck, including the driver of the truck. I am a heavy duty mechanic. During the time of the arrest, the driver and the two conductors escaped.
I am about to marry. My traditional marriage is on Saturday; this coming Saturday. My shop is at Obigbo; by Health Centre in Iriebe. If they (NSCDC) can permit me to go and be part of my marriage ceremony, I will be happy.
I have left everything in the hand of God; He knows the best. I feel so bad that I will not be able to be present at my marriage ceremony. My advice to people is to avoid this kind of situation, Onyenze said.
Speaking on the arrest of the suspect, the Rivers State Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr. Mohammed Haruna, described him as a notorious oil bunkerer, who once escaped from operatives of the corps.
Haruna also dismissed Onyenzes plea to be freed so that he (suspect) would be able to attend his traditional marriage ceremony as a ploy to whip up sympathy.
The man had been arrested before and he escaped. He is a notorious oil bunkerer. We were able to arrest him again. He escaped and went back to the crime of oil theft, but we have got hold of him. This time around, he will face the law.
On his claim about marriage, it is false. We have not been able to verify his claim. He is just trying to whip up sympathy. Even the address he gave as a place he operates a shop is false. Our investigation is still ongoing and he would be charged to court at the end of investigation, the state NSCDC commandant said.
Haruna, however, disclosed that operatives of the security outfit impounded a barge loaded with petroleum product suspected to have been stolen.
According to him, The heavy equipment you see here is one of the barges seized by the NSCDC. We arrested this barge very close to NLNG jetty. We suspected it to be carrying illegally refined or adulterated AGO.
Four compartments of the barge are filled up while four other compartments are empty. Those operating the barge are currently on the run and we are still looking for the suspects.
Also, the trucks we impounded recently were carrying illegally refined products worth about N32 million. We are going to prosecute those arrested in connection with the three trucks laden with stolen petroleum products as soon as we end our investigation.
Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, yesterday described Osun state governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola as a great descendant of Oduduwa, who has dedicated his life to emancipation of the oppressed.
The monarch, in a congratulatory message signed by Comrade Moses Olafare, the Director of Media and Public Affairs, Ooni Palace, copies of which were obtain by newsmen in Osogbo, chronicled Aregbesolas involvements in several struggles, right from his days as student.
Ooni subsequently concluded that the governor has been an Omoluwabi per excellence, an exceptionally virtuous personality characterized by exemplary leadership that has colossally become a blessing to the mankind especially in our dear State of Osun and Nigeria in general.
The statement reads: In his school days, he stood firmly with the students against all oppressions as a student union activist.As a worker and employee, he stood solidly behind the Nigerian workers as a labour activist.
As a lover of the masses he through the civil society partook in various struggles for the socioeconomic emancipation of the Nigerian people.
When the Nigerias democracy was in bondage, he was one of the pro-democracy activists across the country whose dogged and relentless efforts eventually led to the termination of the military rule in 1999.
As a Commissioner in charge of the Ministry of Works & Infrastructures in Lagos between 1999 and 2007, the achievements of his smart ministry hugely contributed to the widely acknowledged success recorded by the then administration of his political leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Ooni said
On his achievements as governor, Oba Ogunwusi said since taking over the reigns of government, Governor Aregbesola has been breaking barriers unimaginably, as the state has not only witnessed massive road constructions both in urban and rural areas, but has also turned Osun to flyovers state with five newly constructed flyover bridges.
Governor Aregbesolas swift response to security challenges, according to the monarch has not gone unnoticed, and commendable him for providing Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) permanently stationed in all local government areas of the state as part of measures to ensure security.
The structures and facilities of the schools built across the State by his administration can strongly rival the facilities of any world standard school and even some higher institutions in Nigeria.
As a great descendant of Oduduwa, he has always loved, respected and promoted Yoruba culture and traditions with an incorruptible conscience.
The spirit of Oranmiyanism that has been driving his political movement, leadership sagacity and public administration acumen has truly been instrumental to his success for Oranmiyan never failed in any of his endeavors while on earth, the monarch concluded.
Source: Naijaloaded
The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Lagos, Mr Segun Adewale, has expressed confidence that the party will do well in July 22 council poll.
Adewale of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff-led PDP acknowledged that internal problems within the party had caused some setbacks, but said the party would rise above its challenges for a strong showing.
The PDP is a strong party in the state. Agreed there are some problems here and there caused by some people for their personal interests, but the party will overcome all that and do well at the poll, he said.
Adewale said he had made overtures to the faction led by Moshood Salvador on the need to have a united party but that his efforts were not appreciated.
He said the disagreement would not deter his faction from preparing well for the poll even as he said the door of peace was still open to the Salvador camp.
Adewale said his faction conducted its primary in all the 20 local government area and 37 local council development areas on Friday and that it was largely peaceful.
We had our primary election on Friday and I can tell you that it was largely peaceful and successful.
Apart from Agege, Ikeja and Amuwo where we recorded some problems, the primaries went well and candidates emerged for the chairmanship and councillorship seats.
The successful conduct of our primary is a reflection of our determination and resolve to do well at the poll despite the odds. he said.
Adewale condemned the alleged holding of primary by some groups under the name of PDP, saying it was illegal.
He said he was the authentic chairman of the state based on the Appeal Court judgement affirming Sherrif as national chairman, adding that any other primary outside his own was illegal.
I am the authentic Chairman of PDP in Lagos. If any group is holding any primary in the state under the name of the party, it is null and void as it is illegal, he said.
Meanwhile, the Salvador faction of Sen Ahmed Makarfi Caretaker Committee has directed its aspirants to seek any other political platform apart from the PDP to contest the forthcoming poll.
The Publicity Secretary of the faction, Mr Taofik Gani, said that the faction took the decision as reconciliation with Adewale faction was not yielding results.
Yes, we have directed our aspirants to seek any political parties of their choice for the election.
They are using parties temporarily for the election pending the resolution of Makarfi /Sheriff at the Supreme Court, Gani said.
Gani, however, said the faction would monitor and guide their aspirants while they contest on the platform of different political parties.
LASIEC has fixed July 22 as the date of the council poll and July 29 for the run-off.
Source: (NAN)
Wife of the founder and pastor of a local church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, decided to create a scence at the church premises on Wednesday, when she openly informed worshippers that her husband was not just living an adulterous life but had impregnated a female member of the church.
The pastors wife, Idongesit Ese, was prevented from entering the auditorium of Kairos Rhema Embassy. But she defiantly stood at the church premises to tell her story.
I want every man and woman who has conscience in this church to ask my husband why he is doing this to me, why would he be sleeping with a young girl who came to seek counseling and prayers from him, Mrs. Ese said with teary eyes to a handful of churchgoers who gathered around her.
I caught my husband in a hotel having sex with Evelyn Etim, a member of our church. As I speak to you, Evelyn has given birth to a baby boy and she is living in Eket with my husband.
Ms. Etim, accused of having an affair with the pastor, could not be reached.
Nsikanabasi Ese, the pastor of Kairos, may have had a hint of the wifes intention, it seemed. As soon as the wife stepped out of the car and walked up to the front of the church, a dozen of young men said to be hired thugs accosted her and told her that she did not have the pastors permission to attend the church service.
The incident occurred around 12 noon at Bassey Esau Street, off Aka Itiam, where the church is located.
Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that they saw one of the thugs slap the pastors wife.
Mr. Ese is the same pastor who, some weeks ago, knocked down a customs officer on a highway in Akwa Ibom while trying to evade duties check, as reported by this newspaper.
Journalists who went to cover Wednesdays incident in Mr. Nsikanabasis church, were violently attacked by the thugs, despite the fact that they were driving in a bus that had the name and logo of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, on it. One journalist had his shirt torn. Another was beaten with a club.
The situation became a bit calm when policemen arrived.
The pastors wife, Mrs. Ese, now being more relaxed, brought out photos from her handbag and showed them around to buttress her points. She showed people a photo of herself with a bloodied face.
Thats when my husband, so called man of God, beat me and hit me with his car and ran away with Evelyn Etim when I caught them in the hotel, she explained.
She also displayed a photo of a young woman whom she said was that of the alleged intruder, Evelyn Etim.
I want members of the church to know why I havent been attending programmes in the church, Mrs. Ese said. Many people have been calling my telephone line to inform me that my husband lied to the congregation that I traveled out of the country.
This is the moment of truth. Let the people know what has been going on in my marriage and in the church. I believed and trusted this man with my whole life. I am still asking myself one question, is this the same man who once woke me up late in the night, stood stark naked before me, poured anointing all on his head and swore that God should destroy him and his ministry the day he sleeps with any woman other than his wife!
Mrs. Ese said she was pregnant for the pastor but that the baby died mysteriously in her womb two days to delivery some three years ago.
The programme that was going on in Kairos on the day of the incident was a special emergency deliverance service with the theme One of Us Is in Trouble.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr. Ese sneaked out of the pulpit through the backdoor to an unknown destination when the commotion outside became intense. The congregation became uneasy, but the guest minister, Rufus Willie, senior pastor, Living Fire Ministries, Eket, who was delivering the sermon persuaded them to remain calm.
God should be feared. When this programme was fixed and a theme was given for it, nobody knew what would happen today .. Truly, one of us is in trouble, a woman who was in the congregation quoted Mr. Willie as saying during the service.
Mr. Ese did not respond to requests from reporters for comment on the issue.
An assistant pastor of the Church, Timaro Christo, told a reporter that he was going to make available to journalists a telephone contact of the church spokesperson. But he did not as at the time of filing this report.
According to some persons who claimed to have spoken with Mr. Ese, the pastor was accusing the wife of having lied to him about her age and her level of education.
The pastor has filed for divorce in a customary court in the state, PREMIUM TIMES learned.
A clergyman, identified as Moses, who stood in as Mr. Eses father during his traditional marriage, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was disappointed with what was happening in the pastors five-year-old marriage.
He (Mr. Ese) didnt give me any vital reason why he should divorce the wife, he just said the woman is harsh, the woman is this. I said to him, have you reported to me since I came and signed as a father to you (during the marriage ceremony), have you brought the woman to say this is what the woman did?
I told him since youve never brought the woman to tell me this is what she has done wrong, I am not in support of your divorce, Mr. Moses said.
I dont believe that Nsikanabasi is called by God. I have told him and his mother not to come to my house anymore, he said.
The founder and pastor of Kairos Rhema Embassy, a local church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom was disgraced on Wednesday after his wife stormed the church premises and openly informed worshipers that her husband was not just living an adulterous life but had impregnated a female member of the church.
The pastors wife, Idongesit Ese, was prevented from entering the auditorium of Kairos Rhema Embassy. But she defiantly stood at the church premises to tell her story.
PremiumTimes reports the heartbroken woman cried out:
I want every man and woman who has conscience in this church to ask my husband why he is doing this to me, why would he be sleeping with a young girl who came to seek counseling and prayers from him, Mrs. Ese said with teary eyes to a handful of churchgoers who gathered around her. I caught my husband in a hotel having sex with Evelyn Etim, a member of our church. As I speak to you, Evelyn has given birth to a baby boy and she is living in Eket with my husband.
Ms. Etim, accused of having an affair with the pastor, could not be reached.
NSikanabasi Ese, the pastor of Kairos, may have had a hint of the wifes intention, it seemed. As soon as the wife stepped out of the car and walked up to the front of the church, a dozen of young men said to be hired thugs accosted her and told her that she did not have the pastors permission to attend the church service.
The incident occurred around 12 noon at Bassey Esau Street, off Aka Itiam, where the church is located.
Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that they saw one of the thugs slap the pastors wife.
Mr. Ese is the same pastor who, some weeks ago, knocked down a customs officer on a highway in Akwa Ibom while trying to evade duties check.
Journalists who went to cover Wednesdays incident in Mr. Nsikanabasis church, were violently attacked by the thugs, despite the fact that they were driving in a bus that had the name and logo of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, on it. One journalist had his shirt torn. Another was beaten with a club.
The situation became a bit calm when policemen arrived.
The pastors wife, Mrs. Ese, now being more relaxed, brought out photos from her handbag and showed them around to buttress her points. She showed people a photo of herself with a bloodied face.
Thats when my husband, so called man of God, beat me and hit me with his car and ran away with Evelyn Etim when I caught them in the hotel, she explained
She also displayed a photo of a young woman whom she said was that of the alleged intruder, Evelyn Etim.
I want members of the church to know why I havent been attending programmes in the church, Mrs. Ese said. Many people have been calling my telephone line to inform me that my husband lied to the congregation that I traveled out of the country. This is the moment of truth. Let the people know what has been going on in my marriage and in the church. I believed and trusted this man with my whole life. I am still asking myself one question, is this the same man who once woke me up late in the night, stood stark naked before me, poured anointing all on his head and swore that God should destroy him and his ministry the day he sleeps with any woman other than his wife!
Mrs. Ese said she was pregnant for the pastor but that the baby died mysteriously in her womb two days to delivery some three years ago.
The programme that was going on in Kairos on the day of the incident was a special emergency deliverance service with the theme One of Us Is in Trouble.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr. Ese sneaked out of the pulpit through the backdoor to an unknown destination when the commotion outside became intense.
The congregation became uneasy, but the guest minister, Rufus Willie, senior pastor, Living Fire Ministries, Eket, who was delivering the sermon persuaded them to remain calm.
God should be feared. When this programme was fixed and a theme was given for it, nobody knew what would happen today .. Truly, one of us is in trouble, a woman who was in the congregation quoted Mr. Willie as saying during the service.
Mr. Ese did not respond to requests from reporters for comment on the issue, PremiumTimes reports.
According to some persons who claimed to have spoken with Mr. Ese, the pastor was accusing the wife of having lied to him about her age and her level of education.
The pastor has filed for divorce in a customary court in the state, PREMIUM TIMES learned.
A clergyman, identified as Moses, who stood in as Mr. Eses father during his traditional marriage, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was disappointed with what was happening in the pastors five-year-old marriage.
He (Mr. Ese) didnt give me any vital reason why he should divorce the wife, he just said the woman is harsh, the woman is this. I said to him, have you reported to me since I came and signed as a father to you (during the marriage ceremony), have you brought the woman to say this is what the woman did? I told him since youve never brought the woman to tell me this is what she has done wrong, I am not in support of your divorce, Mr. Moses said. I dont believe that Nsikanabasi is called by God. I have told him and his mother not to come to my house anymore, he said.
Source: Yabaleftonline
Childrens day celebrations kicks off in Abuja with Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo yesterday receiving pupils selected from different public schools in Abuja at the state house to commemorate this years childrens day celebration.
This is coming after Yemi gave some glimpses into the personal and official relationships he has shared with President Muhammadu Buhari of recent.
On a visit to Katsina to launch the states Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Clinic, Prof. Osinbajo disclosed that the President had been treating him as a brother and son.
He stated that the responsibilities Buhari gave him are proofs that he seriously believes that we can live as brothers in this country.
One of the reasons why I feel very much at home in Katsina State is because this is the State of our President, President Muhammadu Buhari, who has taken me more like a brother; in fact sometimes more like a son than a Vice President. See photos below, and a video after; Flags waving, Acting President @ProfOsinbajo takes photographs with the visiting FCT schoolchildren and their teachers. #ChildrensDay2017 pic.twitter.com/3AK8U8OmhH Presidency Nigeria (@NGRPresident) May 26, 2017
Source: Yabaleftonline
Chief financial officer sheds light on the trading results
To lock in prices for future crude sales, Iraq is mulling an oil hedging program. The country is though at very early to stage to explore a hedge, as noted by Falah Al-Amri, the head of Iraqs state oil-marketing company, known as SOMO.
He stated, "We will not rush. This is a long process." He also noted, "We must make sure we do not lose money. You know the Iraqi parliament, it would not accept that."
According to experts, if Iraq goes ahead with its plan, it would require to make contracts for price protection to about 400 million barrels a year of crude. This will be the large hedge than Mexico, which currently uses contracts to cover about 250 million barrels a year. Petroleos Mexicanos, the state-owned oil producer also known as Pemex, this year also hedged its output, an additional 100 million barrels.
Although oil hedging is common in the private sector, for example by U.S. shale producers to lock-in revenues and airlines to guarantee a maximum price for their jet-fuel, they are rare among oil-producing countries. Apart from this, only a few nations have publicly disclosed hedge programs. Ecuador and Ghana are in that list along with Mexico.
Oil-producing countries face a number of obstacles to hedge. Mexico has spent on average $1 billion a year buying options contracts that give it the right, but not the obligation, to sell at a predetermined price. The size of the transaction could roil the market, sending prices lower. Any losses could carry a heavy political price.
Oil traders and bankers who monitor the Mexican oil hedge have said in the past the program contributed to push oil prices lower at least in 2008 and 2014.
However, Al-Amri has not explained the type of hedge that would be adopted by Iraq. He just noted that Iraq is in a learning process.
He said, "We are sending people for training with international companies and they will learn about hedging and how we can do it. We will study and make a proposal to the government."
The hedging program would be a departure from usual business practices in the Middle East, where producers sell crude largely under long-term contracts with refiners. Iraq is already testing out new ways of selling oil, for example auctioning crude cargoes on the short-term market.
Al-Amri concluded that transformation of SOMO is unstoppable.
| Soruce: Bloomberg | By S.Seal
Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Ibrahim Saif discussed with Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Al Luaibi on a project for constructing an oil pipeline between Iraq and Jordan to export Iraqi crude oil via Jordan and provide the Kingdom with its oil needs.
Saif said that a Jordanian technical team will hold meetings on June 7-8 to finalize the project's agreements. The project will provide Jordan with 150,000 barrels of oil per day, out of 1 million barrels that will be exported through Aqaba.
Jordan, Iraq and Egypt signed in November 2015 a memorandum on the $5.6 billion project.
| Soruce: Amman News | By S.Seal
The head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency said that an Iraqi Kurdish push for independence from Baghdad appears likely to be a question of "not if but when," in a significant challenge to Iraq's stability.
In the month of April, Iraq's main Kurdish parties announced a plan to hold a referendum on independence this year, after the defeat of Islamic State militants.
The DIA's director, Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart, told a Senate hearing that the ability of Iraq's Kurds to reach an understanding with the Shi'ite-dominated government in Baghdad would be essential to avoid renewed conflict.
Stewart, whose role is to provide intelligence assessments and not to craft U.S. policy, said, "Kurdish independence is on a trajectory where it is probably not if but when. And it will complicate the situation unless there's an agreement in Baghdad."
"So this a significant referendum that comes up in October this year."
The Kurds have played a major role in the U.S.-backed campaign to defeat Islamic State, the ultra-hard-line Sunni Muslim group that overran about a third of Iraq nearly three years ago. The militants are now fighting off Iraqi forces in Mosul, their last major urban stronghold in Iraq from where they declared a "caliphate" that also includes parts of Syria.
While the fall of Mosul would effectively end the "caliphate," it will not solve deep divisions over power, land and resources between Iraq's Shi'ite Arab majority and the important Sunni Arab and Kurdish communities.
Stewart mentioned, "Once ISIS is defeated in Mosul, the greatest challenge to the Iraqi government is to reconcile the differences between the Shia-dominated government, the Sunnis out west and the Kurds to the north."
The Iraqi Kurds have their own armed forces, the Peshmerga, which in 2014 prevented Islamic State from capturing the oil region of Kirkuk, after the Iraqi army fled in the face of the militants.
The Kurds have historical claims over Kirkuk, which is also inhabited by Turkmen and Arabs. Hard-line Iranian-backed Iraqi Shi'ite militias have threatened to expel the Kurds by force from this region and other disputed areas.
Stewart said, "Resolving the Kirkuk oil field and the revenues associated with the oil fields, resolving the ownership of the city of Kirkuk, will be significant political challenges for the Iraqi government."
He warned of dire consequences should Baghdad be unable or unwilling to reach an understanding with the Kurds or the Sunnis.
He also mentioned, "Failure to address those challenges, coming up with a political solution, will ultimately result in conflict among all of the parties to resolve this and going back to what could devolve into a civil strife in Iraq."
Iraqi Kurdish independence has been historically opposed by Iraq and its neighbors, Iran, Turkey and Syria, which fear similar aspirations by their own Kurdish populations.
| Soruce: Business Insider | By S.Seal
In a new report on the last Thursday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that the Pentagon could not prove $2 billion of Iraq Train-and-Equip Fund (ITEF) materials were delivered.
The GAOs findings contradicted an Amnesty International report, released on Wednesday, which claimed only $1 billion of equipment was improperly tracked.
Waste and fraud are some of the endemic "costs of doing business" in dangerous spots around the globe, Steinberg cautioned, and this scandal simply reflects the systematic shortcomings in the US military.
He further explained, In some cases, systems are left behind to be used by host countries unofficially, or off the books.
Helena Cobban, historian and Middle East analyst, said that the situation sounds like the abuses reported by special inspectors general for Iraq and Afghanistan.
Cobban said the failures exposed in those reports echoed the new revelations of widespread corruption in the US Fifth Fleet operating off Southeast Asia, such as the "Fat Leonard" scandal. Leonard Glenn Francis of Singapore, owner of contractor Glenn Defense Marine Asia (GDMA), recently pleaded guilty to a series of federal charges.
Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahon stated that the Defense Department denied Wednesdays Amnesty International report claiming the US Army failed to maintain accurate records on over $1 billion in weapons transfers in Iraq and Kuwait.
| Soruce: Sputnik News | By S.Seal
A group of European democrats are meeting in Ireland today to discuss how to improve the European Union.
DiEM25 - which was founded by former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis (pictured) - will launch its Irish branch in the Tivoli theatre in Dublin this evening.
Desmond Coyle, originally from Garryowen, of 10 Davis St, Limerick, has been charged with the murder of Calo Carpaci , 58, at Roches Row, Limerick, on May 24.
The accused was arrested, charged and cautioned by Detective Sergeant Arthur Ryan on Thursday night.
The country has reacted with shock and sympathy to the death of Chloe Fogarty who was the only child of Louise and Paul Fogarty from west Tipperary.
A post-mortem is expected to be carried out at University Hospital Limerick today before the body of the seven-month-old can be released to her family.
The baby will repose at her home in Tipperary town on Sunday evening and Mass of the Angels will take place at St Nicholass Church in Solohead on Monday, followed by a private burial.
A coroners inquest will be held, probably next year, into all of the circumstances surrounding the death.
Louise Fogarty, originally McInerney, is from Tipperary town and Paul is from Kilfeacle which is in the parish of Golden-Kilfeacle. The couple got married in 2015 and Chloe was born last October.
Paul Fogartys parents are Joe and Mae and the entire family have been deeply involved in the GAA for many years. Joe, who is also involved in horseracing, played hurling with the Tipperary intermediate team in the 1960s and 1970s.
The Fogarty family recently bought some land in Kilfeacle and its understood Paul and Louise were planning to build a house. They currently live in a rented house in Tipperary town.
Paul plays football and hurling with the Golden-Kilfeacle GAA club, as have his brothers over the years.
He works in management at ODwyer Steel in Dundrum, about 12km from Tipperary town. It is understood that he headed off in his car to work at about 8am on Thursday and was due to drop Chloe off at a nearby creche, but got distracted possibly by a phone call and instead drove straight to work, with the baby girl left in the car throughout the morning.
He realised what had happened shortly after 1pm and emergency services were called, along with a local GP who attended the scene in Dundrum. Chloe was in an unresponsive state by then, according to gardai, and she was brought to the nearby GAA field which is used by the Knockavilla-Dundrum-Donaskeigh club.
A helicopter was dispatched and airlifted the little girl to University Hospital Limerick but attempts to save her proved fruitless and she was pronounced dead later on Thursday afternoon.
Gardai are investigating all of the circumstances surrounding the death but have described what happened as a personal tragedy and a very sensitive case.
Because of the grief caused to the little girls parents, it is likely to be some time before full statements can be taken for a coroners inquiry. Meanwhile, it can take up to four months before a post-mortem report is sent to a coroner to be used at an inquest.
Parish priest in Golden-Kilfeacle, Fr Pat Coffey, said the entire community wants to support the family.
Its just a case of shell-shock, he said of the local reaction to the tragedy.
I know the extended family, its quite a big family. Everybody is feeling for them.
Both ODwyer Steel and Golden-Kilfeacle GAA Club declined to comment yesterday on the tragedy.
Local man Joe Murphy, who knows Paul Fogarty through his GAA involvement, said it is a shocking tragedy and that people are reacting with disbelief: The priority for everyone in the community is to support the family at this difficult time.
Local councillor Michael Fitzgerald, who knows the family, said there is absolute devastation in the community.
Its very, very hard. Its at times like these that a community kicks in and you would see how people support people, without interfering. People like to be able to do whatever can be done.
Once upon a time in Bethel, New York, 400,000 people gathered over four days on a local dairy farm to celebrate peace, love and music.
Billed as An Aquarian Exposition, the festival now known as Woodstock came to symbolise the 1960s counterculture movement; its hippie adherents setting the dress code for a new revolution.
Bell bottom jeans, dashikis, tie dye tops and Native American jewellery became a statement of intent a way of asserting ones tribal allegiances in the face of social unrest.
Ironically, what started as a sartorial two finger salute to the establishment has since been mainstreamed into the fabric of the global music event scene.
From Glastonbury to Stradbally, the muddy fields synonymous with bands has shifted to incorporate brands with high street and high end retailers curating style stories for the 2.0 festival goer.
Online retailer www.Boohoo.com sponsored the celebrity-soaked Desert Oasis party at this years Coachella with H&M and Forever 21 dedicating capsule collections to the popular Californian Valley output.
Even Wellie kings Hunter, a staple on Somersets Worthy Farm, have launched a digital festival hub including weather-specific field essentials from branded sliders to rubberised phone pouches.
Arguably, such commodification may fly in the face of iconoclastic Woodstock values but stylish self-expression (and flashing a peace sign) remains unerringly steadfast.
Even if the spirit of non-conformity has been diluted by a more clannish sensibility, its the visual spectacle of the spectators that adds to the performance value of the events.
So, grab your VIP pass as we unveil festival fashions biggest headline acts to date.
ROCK CHIC
There was a day when wearing a bin liner-rain jacket and grandads woolly jumper qualified as suitable garb for dancing around in a metric tonne of mud.
Then something changed. In 2005, Kate Moss showed up to Glastonbury, sporting hotpants, a waistcoat, bedhead hair and Hunter wellies.
ROCK CHIC: Supermodel Kate Moss seen at the first day of the Glastonbury Music Festival 2005.
The bar was officially raised and, thus, a trend was born.
Wellies suddenly became a status symbol and not just any old gum boots.
Once the preserve of World War One soldiers and countryphiles, Hunter rapidly became the preferred brand of the British festival scene with styles ranging from the rebellious yet practical vulcanised biker boots to the luxe Jimmy Choo, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton collaborations a favourite with supermodels and socialites.
Monogrammed pairs were even issued to select celebrities such as designer Stella McCartney, musician Mark Ronson and style star Alexa Chung.
Want to rock the look? Pair an Im with the band T-shirt and neck-tie bandana with denim shorts, aviator sunnies and a leather or surplus military jacket. Prescriptive, perhaps?
Classic? Oh, yeah.
HAUTE HIPPIE
The free-spirited romanticism of the Woodstock era translated from thrift shop to catwalk with the vision of designers such as Bill Gibb whose handknits and handicraft boasted Eastern, folkloric and pre-Raphaelite references.
HAUTE HIPPIE: Etro nails the look at at Milan Fashion Week.
Diaphanous printed fabrics, billowing sleeves and homespun embroidery once the preserve of the humble flower child have, over the years, become part and parcel of the well-heeled style set.
Luxury e-tailer Net-a-Porter.coms spring/summer 17 edit celebrates the bougie bohemian thanks to the eclectic affluence of labels like Valentino, Chloe and Etro; not to mention Gucci whose creative director Alessandro Michele kitted out ethereal chanteuse Florence Welch for her 2016 How Beautiful tour.
After all, every haute hippie knows that layered plisse-silk organza dresses and cashmere ponchos make the perfect trousseau for helicopter transfers to Kazakh-style yurts.
Attending the Veuve Clicquot masquerade ball at Body and Soul this year? Take this seasons style cues from paisley silk robes, embroidered caftans and tribal jewellery.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN
The searing heat at desert festivals like Californias Coachella has espoused a more youthful vibe with crochet vests, flares, sequined kimonos and fringe details figuring highly.
CALIFORNIA DREAMIN: TOMS embroidered dress, 69; TOMS tassel shoes, 60, & Other Stories
Sure, it may be 40 degrees in the shade but that doesnt stop the fashion pack from packing on the glamour.
Rachel Zoe L.A-based stylist-turned-designer and pioneer of Hollywood boho-chic; and Israeli actress-turned-designer Dorit Dodo Bar Or both lead the charge with their eponymous lines offering off-the-shoulder embroidered playsuits, cotton-gauze tassel-clad gypsy dresses and smock tops that look equally at home hanging out at the main stage or Venice Beach.
Stalwart festival favourite Etoile Isabel Marant embodies a similar laidback brio with cotton-voile ra-ra skirts and mini dresses, broderie anglaise tops and suede Dicker boots part of its cool girl style staples.
The label has retained its credible festival kudos, in part, due to acolytes like actress Chloe Sevigny, Kirsten Dunst and model mum Miranda Kerr all of whom embody the labels effortless spirit.
Keen on recreating some West Coast style? Asos.com and Miss Selfridge pull rank on sparkle with Zara stitching up the competition on embroidered tunics and gypsy tops.
RAVE ON
Kitsch, colourful and pastiche, the EDM (electronic dance music) scene brings its own brand of bricolage to the stage.
This is one tribe that has no official leader.
RAVE ON: The latest look from Coachella.
Hip hop, surf, Goth, psychedelia and kandi culture all mix and match, making it the evanescent shapeshifter of trends.
A far cry from its 90s heyday (think, phat pants, bucket hats, boilersuits, smiley face T-shirts, hydration packs and adult soothers), the nu-look leans more towards that of Ibiza club kids with floral crowns, tutus, bumster shorts and LED gloves part of its day glow glory.
While rave fashion may have become more risque, the trend for bodies with sheer overlays or crop tops over T-shirts creates a different dynamic for the less daring dance devotees.
More dash than cash? PrettyLittleThing.com leads the charge in psychedelic garb and notice-me accessories (crystal-embellished goggles, anyone?) perfect for radical rituals at Burning Man.goggles, anyone?) perfect for radical rituals at Burning Man.
That is the only conclusion that can be reached from what the judge in Fitzpatricks trial described as a biased and partisan approach to the investigation of the former banker. On Wednesday, Judge John Aylmer instructed the jury in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to find Fitzpatrick not guilty of 27 charges related to breaches of company law. The judge said the prosecution case was too dangerously flawed to allow the evidence go before the jury.
Fitzpatrick walked from the court to a cacophony of anger. For many, he was the chief culprit in the economic collapse that led to a deep recession, out of which the country has emerged with a whole new set of serious social ills.
Retribution demanded that Fitzpatrick be hauled before the stocks, his reputation pummelled and he then be carted off to prison. The only problem is that we live in a democracy, which is governed by the rule of law and Mr Fitzpatrick is adjudged to have broken no laws.
Despite the emotionally-charged reaction to the verdict, Wednesday was a good day for the criminal justice system. Many factors contributed to the shambles of a prosecution, but the seriously flawed efforts to build a case against Fitzpatrick must surely have been informed by his stock among the public for the last decade. There was a general consensus that this pied piper of the Celtic Tiger must be offered up to satiate societal anger.
In reality, the charges which he faced had practically nothing to do with the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank, or the economy. Fitzpatrick was accused of hiding loans for a few weeks a year when the bank was audited. This was done by transferring the loans to another bank in an operation known as bed-and-breakfasting. This is an offence of which he was found not guilty but one unconnected to the collapse of the bank.
Fitzpatrick is a wholly unsympathetic character. The anger directed towards him is entirely reasonable. But its also a dangerous starting point for a prosecution, which if successful would almost definitely have deprived him of his liberty. History is littered with examples of miscarriages of justice which were rooted in a societys thirst for retribution in the wake of an outrage.
We only have to look across the Irish Sea to observe how waves of anger wash through prosecutions that put innocent people in prison. The issue, context and circumstances between the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four and others are worlds away from Seanie Fitz, but the principle is the same. Widespread thirst for retribution is a shaky foundation for any criminal prosecution, and when one does go ahead forensic vigilance is required. There was no such vigilance in the prosecution of Fitzpatrick.
While innocent in the eyes of the law, Fitzpatrick is guilty of plenty else. He was the creator of the reckless lending practices that did for his bank, and in turn dragged down the economy and society.
He is guilty of a wanton disregard for the centrality of his role in engineering the direction of the national economy. While he was spreading his entrepreneurial wings, dispersing money like confetti, he obviously thought nothing of the potential downside for the country.
He was guilty of an unbridled arrogance peculiar to his caste. They thought they had it all sussed. They knew how the world worked, and how it could be bent to their will. They, this caste of what Morgan Kelly once described as faintly dim former rugby players, led the country down the road to economic Armageddon.
Typical of this was a speech Fitzpatrick gave in 2007, lashing out at those who would stifle the titans of high finance with cumbersome laws and inconvenient regulation.
It is time to shout stop, he told a gathering of businesspeople who had come to hear the Messiah.
We should be proud of our success, not suspicious of it. Our wealth creators should be rewarded and admired not subjected to levels of scrutiny which convicted criminals would rightly find intrusive.
This is the kind of thing that put pressure on politicians to back off, to allow these geniuses continue to shape the world in their likeness because the results trickle down all the way to voters. And the politicians in turn nodded and said Yes Seanie, yes Seanie, three bags full, Seanie.
So the record will show that Fitzpatrick did stay on the right side of the law, even if the law was shaped during his time and for decades before that to facilitate that which would be clearly regarded as serious crime in other jurisdictions.
Contrary to popular opinion, he has paid a price. He has seen his fortune disappear and he has been put through the ignominy of bankruptcy. For the last five years, he has been under the stress of pending and continuing trials. This must take a toll on health, but there will be no sympathy for him on that score.
In this age of click-on-a-conspiracy some see the outcome of the trial as a set-up. In the Dail on Thursday, People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd-Barrett voiced his theory: This stinks to high heaven, he said, adding that the establishment had contrived and conspired to ensure Fitzpatrick walked free.
The irony is that it was most likely the pressure to stick it to Fitzpatrick from the so-called establishment that contaminated the prosecutions duty to approach the case in a neutral manner. Richards quaint notion that politicians in the main parties wanted to protect a beaten docket banker is great knockabout politics, but lacks any grounding in the real world.
And so ends the trials of Sean Fitzpatrick. One more postscript to the economic collapse can now be written. A depressing aspect of the whole affair is that it has done little to further the cause of any real analysis of what actually happened.
Fitzpatrick continues to fit the role of chief villain, a one-man-show whose rise benefited only his buddies in the establishment.
The late Brian Lenihans crass comment that we all partied was misplaced. But there remains no stomach to admit that we all benefited. Peter Nyberg, who wrote a report on the banking collapse, was asked about this at the Oireachtas banking inquiry when it opened in December 2014.
I still think its true that a lot of people in many different ways enjoyed the benefits of the bubble, he said.
Employment, public expenditure, prices and the extent of public servicesLow-cost loans and access to investment property. That doesnt necessarily mean that they partied but it does mean that in the boom or the bubble their lives fared much better than otherwise would have.
Maybe now that the pied piper of the Celtic Tiger has walked free we can properly reflect on the reality of those times in order to eliminate the possibility of history repeating itself.
A group of hackers said that the iris scanner of the Galaxy S8 can be bypassed and even made a video to back their claim. Samsung would not have any of that. The tech giant responded to the supposed hack and said that it was "unrealistic."
Samsung insisted that to hack a Galaxy S8, one needs to get their hands on a camera that can capture infrared light which is what the Chaos Computer Club (CCC) used in the video. This kind of camera is no longer being sold anywhere so it is rather difficult to get one for the purpose of hacking Galaxy S8 handsets. Additionally, a potential hacker needs to get near the Galaxy S8 owner enough to get a photo of his or her iris which is unlikely unless the would-be hacker is someone really, really close to the owner. CCC spokesperson Dirk Engling told BGR that "iris recognition may protect a phone against complete strangers unlocking it, but whoever has a photo of the legitimate owner can trivially unlock the phone."
However, Samsung only said that the chances of the "whole scenario to happen in reality" are quite slim. The company did not disprove the hack which means it can actually happen. CNET tried the hack and, fortunately for Samsung and Galaxy S8 owners, it did not work. Their experiment failed even after using a life-sized colored image of the owner's face.
The Germany-based CCC was able to pull off the hack by simply taking a photo of the Galaxy S8 owner from medium range using a camera with infrared light capture capability. They then cropped the photo to enlarge the face before printing the image on paper. The hackers the placed a contact lens on the eye on the print-out before using it to unlock the Galaxy S8.
Despite Samsung's feeble attempt to appease the public, the fact remains that the iris scanner of the Galaxy S8 is indeed hackable. Engling stressed that the safest way to protect one's personal information and data is to use the traditional PIN. Wearing dark sunglasses every second that you're out may help, too, but that would make you look silly at night.
The highly-anticipated flagship smartphone by Nokia, the Nokia 9 is nearing its release date. A recent report says that Nokia's flagship phone is said to come with as much as 8GB of RAM on board, or the amount of memory you'd usually find on a decent-to-pro laptop. The leak comes from Geekbench, which registered benchmark scores for a device labeled as Unknown Heart.
According to the new benchmark listing, the Nokia 9 will also come with a SoC that packs an octa-core processor with a clock speed of 1.90GHz. The processor carries an ID that reads "ARM implementer 81 architecture 8 variant 10 part 2048 revision 1", that is similar to Qualcomm's powerful SoC SnapDragon 835. The device was listed as HMD Global TA-1004 on the Geekbench website, noting that the new Nokia device will pack a massive of 8GB RAM.
Interestingly, the Nokia 9 will feature 13-megapixel cameras and a 12-megapixel front-facing camera with Carl Zeiss optics and a dual-LED flash support. The phone is said to support Qualcomm Quick Charge 4.0 thanks to the Snapdragon 835 processor. No official battery capacity yet has been announced. Moreover, the home button of the Nokia 9 will have a fingerprint sensor embedded in it. The leaked photos also feature a USB Type-C charging port and a 3.5 mm jack.
Meanwhile, the upcoming Nokia 9 had a decent score of 7770 in the multi-core performance test set by Geekbench 3, it lagged far behind Apple's iPhone 7 Plus in a single core performance. It will certainly prove the $699 price tag which HMD Global is reported to charge. Furthermore, it'll be exciting to see whether this particular device will be tested at its maximum capabilities, as it might be more powerful than any flagship we've seen to date.
With bookings doubling over 2016, Airbnb projects that this summer will be the biggest travel season yet on Airbnb by a wide margin. Its no surprise that summer travel is synonymous with beach time for many travelers and thats reflected in trending destinations this year, with high growth in seaside enclaves.
Based on growth in Memorial Day weekend bookings over this time last year, here are some of the destinations that have doubled or more in bookings:
Havana, Cuba 940%
La Ciotat, France 675%
Salou, Spain 463%
Tainan, Taiwan 424%
Levanto, Italy 313%
Hanoi, Vietnam 261%
Scarborough, England 258%
Prince Edward, Canada 243%
Destin, Florida 232%
Rosarito, Mexico 231%
Top Overall Destinations
Despite the beach weekend or two (or four), cities are still the most popular overall destinations even in summer. Below are the most-booked destinations for this weekend.
London
Paris
Barcelona
Rome
Tokyo
Madrid
Osaka
Lisbon
Prague
Amsterdam
See the infographic below for more details
While corporate IT departments are focusing on a new wave of data security threats, including WannaCry, an even bigger threat looms and nobody is addressing it.
I'm talking about the rules around laptops, tablets and smartphones during business travel.
The new risk of air travel data exposure is coming in two forms. First is a laptop ban. The other is a policy of smartphone data extraction.
The looming laptop ban
The likelihood of a catastrophic, draconian laptop ban is higher than you think -- and the security risks, graver. Let's first dig into where this threat is coming from.
I'm writing this column from Morocco, one of the countries targeted in a laptop ban instituted by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in March. Laptops are banned in carry-on bags on U.S.-bound flights originating from 10 major airports in Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. (The UK implemented a similar, but more limited, ban.)
Laptop bombs in the cabin are considered far more dangerous than those in the baggage compartment. If laptop bombs are designed to be detonated manually, they can be mass-produced and built in a way that more easily evades security detection.
Laptop bombs to be detonated remotely in the cargo hold are harder to build and easier to detect with security X-ray machines because they need timer or remote-detonation wiring and other components, which can be seen.
The current ban is minor. It's just a few airports. And business travelers can still bring their laptops, albeit in checked bags. But the data-exposure risks associated with future bans are very high.
[ To comment on this story, visit Computerworld's Facebook page. ]
Earlier this month, U.S. officials held urgent meetings with European counterparts to discuss a wider ban of laptops on flights originating in Europe because of reportedly solid intelligence that ISIS is building laptop bombs that can evade airport security.
President Trump even controversially "held talks" on the risks posed by laptop bombs with the Russian foreign minister and Russian ambassador to the U.S.
Under a broader ban, it's possible that (as with the current ban) travelers would be allowed to pack laptops and tablets into checked luggage. This is problematic because knowledge that checked bags probably contain laptops would spawn a new criminal industry to steal bags, or steal laptops from bags.
(On a business trip to Mumbai India, the airline "lost" my checked bag. When it was eventually found and delivered to my hotel room, it was "locked" with plastic cable ties and wrapped in plastic wrap. When I opened it, there was a camera-shaped hole in my clothing where I had packed my camera. Checked-luggage theft happens.)
Here's the graver issue for business travelers that nobody is talking about: The more likely outcome is that in the near future laptops and tablets will be banned from both carrying on and checked luggage.
The reason is that accidental lithium-ion battery fires are statistically probable when lots of passengers are carrying multiple devices.
In the past, these have mostly occurred in passenger cabins and been contained by fast-acting flight crews with fire extinguishers. The FAA reported 33 cabin fires caused by personal electronic devices last year. (Some were in use, others were not.)
Had such fires broken out in a baggage compartment instead, they might not have been extinguishable -- causing damage (and potential crashes) for 33 aircraft.
Passenger-plane cargo holds do have fire suppression systems that use halon gas fire extinguishers. But these are no match for a process called thermal-runaway, which can happen with battery fires that result in temperatures exceeding 1,400 degrees fahrenheit.
An FAA report published two years ago said that "the uncontrollability of lithium battery fires can ultimately negate the capability of current aircraft cargo fire suppression systems, and can lead to a catastrophic failure of the airframe."
That's why U.S. airline passengers are required to carry loose batteries in carry-on bags, and why last year the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) banned shipments of lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger flights.
Carrying lots of battery-powered devices in the baggage compartment is extremely dangerous. And since the widespread conveyance of laptops and tablets in checked bags would lead to near-certain aircraft destruction, it will not be allowed.
What we're actually facing is a total ban on traveling with laptops and tablets. And it could happen with little warning.
For the current ban, the government gave airlines 96 hours notice. The next ban could be immediate if it's based on intelligence of an imminent threat -- or actual events.
Four months ago, a laptop bomb on a flight from Mogadishu to Djibouti that passed successfully through airport security was detonated in flight. It blew a hole in the plane, and the bomber was sucked out. Pilots were able to land the plane safely. Had the explosion happened at cruising altitude, rather than during ascent, it would likely have killed all on board.
A more successful attack, especially one involving say, a flight from Europe to America, would likely trigger such a ban immediately and globally. In other words, we may be one explosion away from a complete ban on laptops on airplanes.
Enterprises are totally unprepared.
The coming smartphone crisis
Even fewer people are talking about what's possible with smartphones and business travel.
Smartphone-using business travelers learned about the longstanding legal right by U.S. customs officials to search smartphones earlier this year. In February, news reports circulated that a U.S.-born NASA scientist named Sidd Bikkannavar returning home from a trip to South America was forced to unlock his phone by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents.
(Technically, passengers can refuse to provide PIN codes or passwords, but agents are authorized to detain them if they do so.)
The phone was government-issued and may have contained NASA secrets or even national security secrets. NASA specifically instructed Bikkannavar to never share the phone's passcode. He did share it, and agents took it away for 30 minutes, but Bikkannavar doesn't know what information was extracted -- or what agents did with that information.
DHS secretary John Kelly has since said that he's interested in foreign visitors being forced to give up not only passcodes to unlock phones but also passwords to social media accounts. That way, agents can check not only public posts, but private ones and who someone is following as well.
Some blame the Trump administration for the aggressive stance on smartphone unlocking, but this position has been evolving for two years. Homeland security experts realized that the terror watch list wasn't working, and needed a better way to identify bad guys. They believe extracting data from smartphones is the key, and the department has been amassing technical tools for quickly extracting data at borders and airports.
As with the laptop ban, the policies and practices of border agents around extracting data and forcing passwords on smartphones could change overnight, given an imminent threat.
Understanding the implications
The way for responsible corporations to think about business travel with mobile devices is twofold.
First, Constitutional (Fourth Amendment) protections against searches and seizures are suspended at the border. Each border crossing or customs passing-through represents the exposure of whatever company data is accessible on smartphones to government searches without a warrant or probable cause. No criminal charges, no active investigation, no suspicion is required for U.S. border authorities to extract any and all data from smartphones. The protection of that data in the hands of DHS is also unknown. Multiple government agencies have been hacked and data stolen over the past few years.
Second, anything the U.S. does, other countries can do, too. For example, the tools used to extract data from mobile devices are available on the open market and can be used to steal company secrets in countries with state-sponsored corporate espionage under the ruse of counterterrorism.
Most of the reports about laptop bans and smartphone access focuses on airline chaos, cancelled trips and the violation of personal privacy. But these problems pale in comparison to the risk to company data.
In the absence of a solid plan, employees and executives will craft their own solutions, which are likely to be insecure. They'll carry easily compromised thumb drives and hard drives. They'll leave laptops at home and use insecure public terminals abroad. Or they'll cooperate at airports for personal expedience, handing over laptops and voluntarily unlocking smartphones and providing passwords.
Urgent action needed
If you take away anything from this column, it's this: Immediate action is needed to address the risk to company data posed by fast-changing rules and norms around air travel.
The issues to be addressed are:
A plan if emergency bans are placed on traveling with laptops. (This solution may include shipping cloud-based Chromebook-type laptops to travelers abroad, along with secure access to company data in a way that is not stored on the device.) This is a good policy even before any ban is implemented.
An immediate policy for removing the ability for anyone, including the user, to access key data or compromising information from all devices, especially smartphones. (Get used to the phrases "border mode" and "travel mode." The ability to suspend access to or remove data from a device may be built into phones like "airplane mode" is, or provided as a third-party product or service -- in fact, such products are just now beginning to emerge. For now, you'll have to roll your own solution. People can be detained indefinitely for not providing passwords and PIN codes, but they cannot be held if they themselves have no possible access.)
These issues will likely involve purchasing, software development and additional training. You don't have much time. When the rules change, they'll change fast. And they'll put data at risk.
Be ready.
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Uzbekistans national flag carrier, Uzbekistan Airways is launching new non-stop flights to New York. From 27 July to 27 October this year, Uzbekistan Airways introduces non-stop flights on the route Tashkent-New York-Tashkent.
The national carrier announced that the flights will be operated on Thursdays on comfortable aircraft Boeing-787 Dreamliner.
The flight schedule as in local time is as follows:
Y 101 Tashkent- 08:40New York - 12:30
Y 102 New York - 15:00 Tashkent - 11:35 +1(Friday).
Uzbekistan Airways performs scheduled flights to more than 40 cities of the world to the countries of Europe and Asia, to America and Japan. Representative offices of the national carrier are working in 25 countries of the world.
As summer officially arrives, Turkish Airlines launched a number of new flights connecting various cities in the Middle East and Germany to key Turkish touristic destinations.
Turkeys national flag carrier will launch direct flights between some of the most attractive cities of Turkey such as Bodrum, Antalya and Trabzon and the Middle East, beginning from June 2017. Turkish Airlines will continue to offer alternative routes to cater to the permanently increasing passenger traffic in this region as it launches direct flights between Kuwait, Riyadh, Dammam, Al Qassim, Baghdad, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Amman and some domestic destinations of Turkey.
In this context, Turkish Airlines will be providing a total of 16 weekly flights between Jeddah, Kuwait, Riyadh, Al Qassim, Yanbu, Medina and Trabzon. Furthermore, the global carrier will also be providing 13 weekly flights between Jeddah, Baghdad, Erbil, Riyadh, Amman, Kuwait, Sulaymaniyah and Antalya during this summer.
Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Stuttgart are other cities benefitting from the new direct flights, connecting travelers from Germany to Izmir. Additionally, passengers from Kuwait will also be able to travel directly to Izmir.
Commenting these direct flights, Turkish Airlines Deputy Chairman and CEO, Bilal Eksi, said; We are always looking to provide our passengers with the most convenient and time-efficient way of travel. Tourists worldwide have been continuously increasing due to the fantastic attractions and features provided by all our Turkish cities. As we move forward, our goal will be to create these direct flights from all the markets, we operate globally so that travelers can now fly directly to their destination of choice.
Turkey as a country is well-known for its exquisite scenery, attractions and features, as well as its fascinating history. By visiting globally popular touristic destinations, such as Istanbul, Trabzon, Antalya, Izmir, Bodrum among others, tourists from all over the world can enjoy the countrys beautiful weather and nature, while also exploring the countrys bazaars, mosques, and museums.
Travelers can now enjoy a broad choice of modern vehicles in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka thanks to the launch of Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty, following the signing of a multi-brand partnership agreement with local franchise partner Andrew The Car Rental Company (Pvt) Ltd. In addition, a Hertz chauffeur-drive service is also available.
Michel Taride, Group President, Hertz International, said: "It is a pleasure to welcome Andrew The Car Rental Company to The Hertz Corporation as our multi-brand franchisee in Sri Lanka. Andrew's local expertise and excellent customer service will help ensure the brands' success in the country, where tourism is growing at a rapid rate. We continue to strengthen Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty operations in Asia, offering international travellers and locals alike high quality car rental options suitable for different budgets and needs."
Mahen Kariyawasan, Managing Director, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty Sri Lanka, said: "We are delighted to operate Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty in Sri Lanka. We are fully committed to providing a high quality service to different customer segments, delivering the high global standards these brands are well known for.
"We intend to expand to the Colombo international airport and another downtown location by early 2018," Mr Kariyawasan continued. "Given that our country is experiencing booming tourism, growth in expatriate relocations and an increase in international investments, we truly believe that this new agreement will be exciting and rewarding for our customers and employees."
The Sri Lanka rental options include short term, long term and chauffer-drive car rental solutions as well as a wide selection of brand-new vehicles, including compact, wagon/state, luxury cars, SUV and minibuses. The Hertz fleet caters for customers who desire to travel in premium comfort and style. Thrifty provides vehicles appealing to adventure seekers, and Dollar offers convenient, no-frills options. The Hertz chauffeur-drive service is provided by highly experienced and professionally trained English-speaking drivers.
All international customers renting with Hertz in Sri Lanka will receive a free SIM card as a welcome present, as well as gift coupons from leading shopping malls, while supplies last.
To celebrate the launch, Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty Sri Lanka will make an important donation to the "Sinha Salsewana" girls orphanage.
The most shameful thing about the disastrous budget passed by the Senate two weeks ago is not the vindictive 3 a.m. budget cuts to education programs in Democrats districts.
Its not the paltry raise given to state workers after years of neglect or the cruel refusal to give state retirees any cost of living increase at all.
Its not the dozens of controversial policy provisions snuck into the 362-page budget bill with no debate or discussion that cuts food benefits to 133,000 people, bans new wind farms, ends the certificate-of-need process for health-care facilities, creates education savings accounts and more.
Its not even the latest installment of the Senates Robin Hood-in-reverse tax scheme that cuts taxes again on the wealthy and corporations, costing the state more than $850 million that the General Assemblys own staff says will lead to a significant budget shortfall in a few years.
The most shameful thing is the decision in a year of a large budget surplus to make it more likely that thousands of at-risk children in North Carolina will struggle in their lifetimes.
Senate leaders chose to increase the number of slots in NC PreK by 2,350, which most media accounts will tell you is roughly half of the waiting list.
That means that almost 3,000 at-risk 4-year-olds whose parents signed them up for the program will be unable to enroll.
But there really is no waiting list. Its a figure of speech.
When a 4-year-old from a low-income family is not allowed to enroll, they dont get another chance next year. Its too late. They are already in school without the additional skills and head start that the program provides.
And the mythological waiting list is not even the whole story. There are roughly 67,000 at-risk children eligible for NC PreK and less than half are served every year.
There is no debate any longer that the program makes it far more likely that the children will succeed in school. There is a study every year that confirms it.
Even conservative legislators are part of that consensus. We know for a fact that giving at-risk kids extra preparation before they start school vastly increases the odds that they will overcome the hurdles they face and do well.
Studies also show that NC PreK saves the state money in the long run, but it would be the right thing to do even it didnt.
And yet the Senate budget only finds the money to pay for the half of 4-year-olds on the so-called waiting list this year. That cost $18 million.
For an investment of twice that then, Senate leaders could have made sure that at least every child who signed up for the program had the chance to benefit from it and not start school behind.
That wouldnt be enough but it would be a start. Gov. Roy Coopers budget calls for eliminating the waiting list, but the Senate had other priorities.
The tax cuts that flow primarily to corporations and the wealthiest 20 percent of the people costs $325 million next year and more than $800 million when fully in place.
Even a slight reduction in the unwise tax break would make sure that several thousand children have a brighter future.
Senate leaders keep boasting about their decision to put another $363 million in the states savings account, bringing the total in savings to more than $1.5 billion.
They could have decided to put $345 million in savings instead, and used $18 million to make sure 3,000 children started school with a far better chance to succeed.
But saving $363 million was more important than saving the future of thousands of children.
A state budget is at its core simply a list of priorities. Senate leaders, to their great shame, made it clear again this year that children in North Carolina are not at the top of their list not even close.
This weeks event: President Trumps overseas trip.
Jim Monroe: 10. The president is showing great leadership on the world stage. He is trying to bring the Israelis and the Palestinians together and he is discussing terrorism with key players (and possibly funders) of much of this activity. Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel pointed out that President Trump is the first United States president whose first international trip included a stop in Israel. His speeches have shown great foresight and he is trying to rally the world against terrorism. While many have labeled President Trump as a protectionist, he is doing a great job of bringing these disparate international factions together.
Charles E. Wilson: Trump may actually learn something from the trip. For example, he may change his plans that will result in 23 million Americans losing their health care. Belgium, Israel and Italy, three of the countries on Trumps itinerary, have universal health care and the result is lower maternal mortality, lower infant mortality, and better life expectancy at birth. According to the Central Intelligence Agency Factbook, The US is number 41 for life expectancy. Based on my wishful thinking, the trip rates 5.
Linda Petrou: President Trump's overseas trip has been a major success. He has conducted himself with grace, honor, dignity and been presidential. He is the first sitting president to go to the capitals of the world's three major religions, meeting with the Saudis, the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Pope in Rome. And also the first sitting president to go to the Western (or Wailing) Wall. The president has not bowed to anyone nor apologized to anyone but has stood up as a proud American. He has impressed all he has met by his willingness to listen to them and not dictate to them. He has shown that America is leading again. It is also worth noting that our first lady has accompanied him and it has been great seeing her do so. She has been a very classy representative for our country, quietly going her own way at times to meet with children. I am proud of the job they both are doing and of the way they are representing this county abroad.
Hayes McNeill: 2. Weve seen this show before: A president, in deep trouble at home, travels abroad to change the subject, to bask in our nations historic, residual goodwill. But the problems -- from which hes trying to divert our attention --remain, persist, worsen. Its like getting back from a beach trip to find you left the hose on.
JoAnn Dunn: 10. In each country President Trump has visited so far, both the foreign press and the leaders with whom he met have indicated that they are pleased with the greater strength of our foreign policy now as opposed to the weak leadership of the past eight years.
Suzanne Carroll: 5. Honestly, Im surprised the trip has gone as smoothly as it has thus far. Personally, I was most interested in his meeting with Pope Francis. I wonder what God thought of the most pompous man in the world meeting with the most humble man in the world.
Anne Wilson: 0. I have zero confidence in this administration, but, for the sake of our country, I hope the presidents trip goes well.
When he, Melania, the Kushners and his entourage return, it would be fantastic if he would have magically matured enough to begin functioning as a bona fide president.
Much continues to be at stake, including the survival of our nation and its people.
Pat Blankenship: This is a 10 for America. The Arab nations, as well as Israel, appear to have much more respect for President Trump than they had for Barack Obama.
Obama felt it necessary to apologize to Arab nations for U.S. behavior, whereas Trump portrays strength and leadership. Even NBCs Andrea Mitchell, no conservative she, has called Trumps trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel a success.
Clint Johnson: 8. I think President Trump's overseas trip has been downplayed as much as possible by the national news media. President Trump addressed radical Islam in the very country where Mecca is located -- something no other American president has had the courage to do. He should be given credit for that in his own country, but it seems that only moderate Islamic leaders are willing to complement him on his boldness.
I just don't understand the relentless attacks on a legally-elected president by the Democrats and the press. The man never even held a city councilman's job, so it stands to reason he is not going to understand everything about the red tape of government from the inside. Is he inarticulate when not reading a teleprompter like the last president? Yes. Does he make amateur mistakes in following arcane rules that bureaucrats steeped in years of the process know by heart? Yes. Is he thin-skinned when criticized -- like the last president? Yes.
He is trying to save the nation from sinking under its own weight in debt and needless regulations that stifle economic growth. Unless the United States becomes great again with new jobs employing Americans, we won't survive into the next century. President Trump knows that. I do too.
Carroll Leggett: Nine for the excellent speech to the amazing assembly in Saudi Arabia. Well written and Trump restrained himself and kept to the script. He even stopped the weird finger circle thing shortly after he got into his delivery.
Representatives of human rights organizations have their noses out of joint because he did not lecture attendees. In my opinion, it was neither the time nor the place for finger shaking. Fight that battle another day.
Steve Lawson: 2. At the time of this writing he had just arrived in Rome. At first glance one might be expected to admire him for striving for global peace via this trip. But based on his temperament and past performance, I am sure he is more interested in being in the spotlight and delivering pomp rather than substance.
Three interesting notes: 1) After repeatedly using the phrase, "radical Islamic terrorism" at home and criticizing President Obama for not doing the same, he did not once use the term during his Saudi Arabia speech; 2) Although he once declared, "I think Islam hates us," in Saudi Arabia, he stated, "Islam is one of the world's great faiths;" 3) He made no reference to his Muslim ban in a roomful of Muslim leaders.
Tony Gagliardi: 10. Looks like he is doing a great job.
John Harrison: 6. So far a well-choreographed journey, no egregious gaffes, though hard to prevent the president's asides and keep him on script. Amazing really that, after all Trump's Islamophobia and Muslim bans, he has been so well-accepted. So far so good.
Even so, the Middle East is a minefield. While the Saudi arms deal will no doubt be presented as a triumph, the identification with Sunnis, the backers of al-Qaida and ISIS, is a little strange, especially in light of the US/Israel bonds. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we face a draconian budget for 2018.
John Wayne Lambeth: 10. Trump spoke to many of the leaders from across the Muslim world in Saudi Arabia, telling them that we wanted peace, but they had to take a stand against Islamic extremism. He was firm and, yes, presidential. He was well-received by Saudi officials.
Trump and the Pope disagree on several issues, but they share in demanding that Muslim leaders take a greater stand against extremists in their mosques and communities.
In Israel and Palestine, Trump has called for peace. I think our president has represented the United States very well.
Derrick G. Hinson Sr: 10. President Trump's first foreign trip as president seems a successful start to new foreign relationships. Trade deals were signed with the Saudis that were good for business and the military industrial complex. Perhaps the Saudis are be-ginning to see the dangers they instigated with their encouragement of Wahabbism, a radical form of Islam.
ISIS is a Sunni-based radical organization. Furthermore, the Saudis and Israel have a common enemy in Iran.
The Shiite Crescent building across Syria and Lebanon threatens both Israel and the Sunni Arab states. Prime Minister Netanyahu and Trump already have a relationship and it was merely strengthened now that the Obama administration is over.
The president, after taking his message to Muslim Saudi Arabia and Jewish Israel, stopped in the Vatican City for a short meeting with the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Trump's message is radical Islamist terrorism is not a Jewish problem, nor a Christian problem, nor a Muslim problem; it is a world problem that civilized nations must come together over to deal with. The trip marked a good start.
Linda Hill: 10. President Trump promised during his campaign to help bring about peace in the Middle East and by visiting those countries, I think that he is taking the first step in achieving that goal. According to an anonymous U.S. official, President Trump is doing a lot of listening, and is working on building relationships with all the people.
President Trump is creating momentum for the prospect of peace in the Middle East.
While he wanted to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Netanyahu together, President Trump had to settle for separate meetings. Each of these leaders were cordial as well as respectful of our President Trump.
Israel and Palestine have been at war/fighting for as long as anyone cares to remember over their separate states and the rights to the Gaza strip. Could it be that President Trump might prevail in reaching a peace deal? After all, he is a real estate deal-maker!
Is this battle another real-estate deal? I think that there is quite a bit more than just real-estate involved, but I am pinning my hope on our president to bring about peace in the Middle East.
For now, at the very least, President Trump is being honored and respected by the leaders of these countries. The U.S. should take note and respond in kind. Give the man a chance!
DR. SIMIN HALL, Kernersville
A tax break for the wealthy
Nine out of 10 U.S. House Republicans from North Carolina voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and replace it with the American Health Care Act (AHCA) on May 4.
N.C. Rep. Virginia Foxx and eight others (Reps. George Holding, Mark Walker, David Rouzer, Richard Hudson, Robert Pittenger, Patrick McHenry, Mark Meadows, Ted Budd) voted to repeal the ACA without reading its replacement or understanding its consequences to the people of North Carolina.
The new bill would allow insurance companies to increase premiums for people with pre-existing conditions and possibly place their coverage out of reach. It would slash Medicaid funding by 25 percent. It would drastically increase prescription-drug costs. It would deny maternity care for the people who most need it.
If this new bill passes the Senate, it is estimated that more than a million North Carolinians will lose their coverage, while millions more will face increased costs due to pre-existing conditions. That includes over 77,000 people whod lose their care and almost 300,000 more with pre-existing conditions in just Rep. Ted Budds district alone.
Free health care is a right in all advanced nations, not a costly privilege.
All reports indicate that this repeal is simply a tax break for the super-wealthy at the expense of the middle class and the poor.
Constituents should contact their representatives to find out how the AHCA will affect them.
***
RON CARROLL, King
Forced out
Donald Trump does not want to be president. And never did. The appeal of a presidential campaign was the journey, not the destination.
Having reached the (undesired) destination, Trump must now confront his subconscious awareness that he is not up to the job, something he will never admit to anyone. Experi-ence as a corporate dictator does not prepare any person to lead a democratic society.
But Trump cannot just resign and walk away from the job. That would be an admission of failure. And Donald Trump never fails. He is psychologically incapable of taking responsibility for his mistakes. In Trumpworld, whenever anything goes wrong, it is always someone elses fault.
So Donald Trump wants to be forced out of the presidency. That way he can forever boast that he was a Great President, doing Great Things for the country, but was ousted in an American coup detat, victim of the alligators threatened by his efforts to drain the swamp.
No one will be spared in his subsequent phony crusade to target those who deprived this country of its Greatest President. He will look everywhere for the scoundrels who did him in, everywhere except the one place with the definitive answer a mirror.
I sincerely hope Trump gets what he subconsciously wants: to be ex-president Trump, his place in history secure, albeit as the only president ever removed from office. Once unburdened of the presidency, he can focus on his first love (himself) and his second love (wealth).
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The Supreme Court of Kosovo [official website] rejected an appeal on Thursday against the acquittal of 10 Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) members, including former commander and politician Fatmir Limaj, who were charged with war crimes in the so-called Klecka case. The former KLA members were accused [Balkan Insight report] of abusing Albanian and Serbian civilians and prisoners at the Klecka detention center during the conflict in Kosovo in 1999. In March 2012 five of the defendants were acquitted [Balkan Insight report]. Limaj and the remaining three members were cleared the following May. The Supreme Court of Kosovo accepted an appeal from the Special Prosecutions (SPRK) and detained Limaj after ordering a re-trial. The following December Limaj was acquitted again. The rejection of this final appeal certifies the verdict.
In January a special court being was set up in The Hague to investigate and try alleged war crimes committed during 1998-99 [JURIST report]. In July 2015 11 Kosovo Albanian men were sentenced [JURIST report] to prison for war crimes. In February 2014 Serbias war crimes court convicted [JURIST report] nine former paramilitaries for their involvement in the genocide of ethnic Albanians in Kosovo in 1999. Two former Serbian secret service officials were arrested [JURIST report] under suspicion that they planned the 1999 killing of an anti-government journalist. In 2013 Amnesty International accused [JURIST report] the UN Mission in Kosovo of failing to adequately investigate war crimes committed during the conflict. Kosovo held its first local elections [JURIST report] in November 2013 since it seceded from Serbia in 2008. Serbia still does not recognize the secession.
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan [official website] vetoed [WP report] a bill on Friday that would have barred colleges from inquiring about applicants criminal history. Senate Bill 543 [text, PDF], also called the Maryland Fair Access to Education Act, prohibited colleges from using applicants criminal history to automatically restricting their admission or limit certain collegiate activities. In his veto letter [text, PDF], Hogan stated that the bill limits the ability of colleges to provide a safe campus environment for its students by dictating how and when schools can ask about an applicants criminal history. Stating that laws must balance the opportunity for second chances with our most important duty ensuring public safety, Hogan concluded that the bill does not adhere to this balancing need because it does not consider the difference between violent felonies and nonviolent misdemeanors. Hogan further expressed his belief that it was important that colleges retain the ability to know who they are accepting onto their campuses. Maggie McIntosh, the House sponsor for the bill, expressed her intention to move for a veto override. McIntosh criticized Hogans veto stating that the bill does not prohibit colleges from using third-party forms, which ask about an applicants criminal history, provided that the colleges include a statement on their websites to the effect that answering yes does not disqualify an applicant.
The US education system has been undergoing numerous changes amid massive litigation and a wave of new laws and regulations in the area. In April the US Department of Education [official website] opened a civil rights investigation [JURIST report] into Richmond Public Schools at the request of advocacy groups who argued their policies discriminated against black students and students with disabilities. In March ACLU reached a settlement [JURIST report] with a Pennsylvania school district over the placement and education of refugee students. In February Trump administration revoked [JURIST report] guidelines regarding transgender students, which required federally funded schools to treat a students gender identity as the students sex. A few days after that revocation, the US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in favor of three transgender students ordering the school district to allow students to use the bathroom of their choice.
The Philippines (winter 2014)Western US (fall 2011/2012/2013/2014)Turkey (fall 2010)France/Germany/Denmark/Hollan (summer 2010)Uganda/Tanzania/Kenya (winter 2010)China (fall 2009)France/Italy (summer 2009)South Africa/Lesotho/Mozambique (winter 2009)Southern U.S. (fall 2008/fall 2010/spring 2011)Spain and the Camino de Compostela (summer of 2008)Israel (winter 2008)Eastern U.S. (fall 2007)Great Britain (summer 2007)Venezuela (winter 2007)Japan (fall 2006)Croatia, Serbia, Czech Republic, Poland (summer 2006)Western US (fall 2005)Ecuador (winter 2005)Italy (spring 2004/summer 2009)France (summer 2004/2005/2006/2007/2008/2009/2010/2011/2012/2013/2014/2015/2016/2017/2018/2019)Iceland (summer 2003)Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia (Fall 2002)Minneapolis to Chicago (summer 2002)Bolivia (spring 2002)Scandinavia--Finland, Norway, Sweden (summer 2001)Hes followed the Tour de France seventeen times beginning in 2004 , riding much of each year's route, fully loaded, before or after the peloton and sent out regular reports during the race, also posted here.He has a long-running email list that he sends updates to every few days when he's on tour.You can write him at: george6567@yahoo.com. If you like, he'll add you to his e-list.He spends the rest of the year also on a bike, working as a messenger in Chicago.He's also an independent film enthusiast, attending or working at several major film festivals annually, including Telluride and Cannes. His coverage of Cannes is also included here in May of 2004-2015.For a "Chicago Tribune" article on George see the January 17, 2002 entry of the blog. There is also a "Hollywood Reporter" article posted October 25, 2005, and a "Streetwise" cover story posted on April 17, 2010 and stories in French newspapers the past few summers.(I'm Jeff Potter and I helped George get his blog going. I run OutYourBackDoor.com , where I report on a wide range of everyday, affordable, healthy outdoor action. I also sell some hard-to-find indy culture media and other goodies. Lotsa bike stuff!)
The International Center for Transitional Justice [advocacy website] released a 50-page report [text, PDF] Thursday addressing the reluctance of politicians and security forces to bring justice to tens of thousands of families who were gravely affected by the countrys decade-long civil war. During the conflict [Reuters report] more than 17,000 people were killed and more than 1,300 went missing. Although the war ended over 10 years ago, families of the victims are still waiting for answers and for those who are responsible to be held accountable. According the ICTJ report,
victims and their families place special importance on having their experiences recognized in an official way, through memorials, ceremonies, activities, and commemorative days. For victims, many of whom come from marginalized groups such as Dalits or indigenous and ethnic groups, being acknowledged in a such a way would mean finally gaining some respect, a sense of dignity, and self-worth.
Survivors and families of the victims want to see legislation that currently allows perpetrators to be granted amnesty quickly amended but they fear politicians, many of which are among those accused of war crimes, have no intention on following through. Nepals Law Minister, Shankar Nayak, has attributed the delay to political instability. Nepals decade-long civil war [JURIST report] led to the abolition of the Nepali monarchy in 2006 with the government and Maoists signing a peace agreement. Since then, the government has been fluid with drastic changes occurring every nine to ten months.
Earlier this year Nepal extended [JURIST report] the mandates of two separate commissions tasked with investigating crimes from the countrys civil war. This extension came hours before the mandates were set to expire without any cases actually having been investigated in the two-year period. In May 2012 the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered [JURIST report] the government to complete the final draft of the nations new constitution by the following week. When that deadline was not met, then-prime minister Baburam Bhattarai announced [JURIST report] the 2008 parliament would be dissolved and new elections would be held later that year. In January 2014 the Supreme Court ruled [JURIST report] that the selection of a new president was not an immediate need and should be postponed until the adoption of a new constitution. When officials met in January to draft the constitution, the meeting ended in violence [JURIST report], but officials have stated that the April earthquake, which killed more than 8,700 people, drove the leaders to work together and resolve the disputed issues. In June leaders of the four major political parties in Nepal reached an agreement [JURIST report] on key issues for the new constitution and settled on dividing the country into eight federal states.
ORLEANS It took only some come boss hollers and a few shakes of a feed pellet bag to catch the attention of the Barwick Gelbvieh cows and calves that jogged up a grassy hill north of Orleans and toward the pasture gate.
Jacob Barwick, 18, and a 2017 Alma High School graduate, distributed pellets by hand as the small herd gathered around him. He quickly identified the ear tag of a particularly friendly cow that seemed to smile as he scratched her back.
This is the life Jacob has loved since he bought his first bred heifer at age 10.
I traded my work hours with my uncle for my half (of the cost), he said.
And I donated my half, his dad Rodney added with a laugh.
Then, Ive been slowly working my way up, retaining heifers and buying heifers at elite shows, Jacob said. Those shows include the Nebraska Cattlemans Classic in Kearney and Pick of the Herd Sale in Salina, Kan.
He now has 30 cow-calf pairs and is part owner of some bulls in the family herd.
Colored ear tags identify ownership within the Barwick herd: yellow for Jacob; orange for his brother Alex, 15; green for Rodney; and red for Rodneys brother Brad.
Jacob will attend the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for the fall semester as an agribusiness major and will use a $9,600 Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation Scholarship.
When asked about who will care for his cattle while hes in Lincoln, Jacob nodded toward Rodney and said, Dad is going to have to get out and work. Alex also will be asked to help.
Jacob said he wants to continue raising cattle and to develop a business doing artificial insemination and embryo transfers for other cattle businesses. He already is A.I. certified, having completed a class in March at Curtis to be certified by the American Breeders Service and will take a special course for embryo transfers at some point.
Rodney said he started his herd in 1992 with commercial cows while working at Harlan Feeders. Thats where he learned about the Gelbvieh breed from J.J. Boehler of Orleans.
There are just a ton of us. Even if you go out 50 miles, Rodney said about the popularity of Gelbvieh and Balancer cattle in the region. Balancers are 25 percent to 75 percent Gelbvieh and the balance is Angus or Red Angus.
He said the majority of Barwick cattle are Balancers, but hed like to move to more purebred Gelbviehs.
The family has 120 cow-calf pairs. They sell about 30 bulls each year, retain the best heifers and sell others as show heifers at elite sales.
The Barwicks have partnered with Rick and Karri Lammers of Lexington the past three years for a joint winter production sale. It was Feb. 27 at the Kearney Livestock Market this year.
We didnt quite have enough (bulls) to pull in buyers on our own, Rodney said, adding that they also do some private treaty sales.
When asked about the bull sale bill listings of cell phone numbers for both father and son, Jacob turned to Rodney and said, I know them just about as well as you do. I know all the backgrounds.
Jacob shows Barwick cattle at events such as the Cattlemens Classic and Nebraska State Fair.
State fair awards have included the grand champion Gelbvieh bull in 2015 and premier breeder award in 2016. We usually have a pretty big string there, Jacob said.
I dont even have to show cattle anymore. He shows them better than I do, Rodney said.
Although Rodney helps a neighbor at harvest time, the Barwicks dont farm. They have pastures for cattle grazing and rent cornstalks in the winter.
Jacob said hes never thought about any other career. I just really enjoy it, he said.
Some of that probably rubbed off from Rodney, who talks enthusiastically about working with a cow, deciding on the genetics to use for artificial insemination and then seeing what you get.
Jacob said his after-college goals including starting his A.I. and embryo transfer business. Doubling the herd would be nice, but youd have to get the grass (more pasture) to do it, he added.
His optimism comes from his love of the cattle business.
Its the excitement of seeing new calves and taking them out to shows, Jacob said. And seeing what you can do the next year to make it better.
KEARNEY The Buffalo County Sheriffs Office is warning about a telephone arrest warrant scam.
The scam has been around for some time, according to a sheriffs office press release, but the purpose is to illegally scam and solicit money from the unsuspecting victims.
The scam is usually perpetrated with a telephone call to an unsuspecting victim. The caller will identify themselves as a law enforcement official and often use the name of a local law enforcement agency and/or local law enforcement officer. The calls may also be left on telephone answering machines or voice mailboxes.
The caller will inform the victim that they have an open or active arrest warrant or bench warrant for their arrest. They will further inform the person that in order to satisfy the warrant or have the warrant withdrawn that a monetary payment must be made by some sort of money gram or pre-paid financial device.
Legitimate law enforcement agencies and officers do not operate in this manner for serving arrest warrants, said the press release. People who receive a suspected telephone arrest warrant scam or any other type of scam are encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency or the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office.
HOLDREGE Eighteen new townhomes are to be constructed this year on the former Washington Elementary School property in Holdrege thanks to an agreement signed this week.
The Phelps County Development Corp., which purchased the property from the city of Holdrege in February, reached an agreement with Flat River Enterprises, which plans a $2.25 million residential development as the first step of a three-phase project on the property.
Flat River Enterprises includes members of an investment group that also owns the Holdrege VA Clinic and has invested in office buildings, residential units and other projects in south-central Nebraska.
A good number of people that are already employed here are having difficulty finding places to live. This provides an option to them, PCDC Executive Director Ron Tillery said.
The townhomes are expected to fill a need for housing for professionals such as teachers, nurses or hospital professionals.
We think this will be attractive to commuters as well as new residents, Tillery said.
A study conducted last year for PCDC indicated that of the 4,590 jobs in Phelps County, nearly half, or 2,177 jobs, are filled by workers who live outside of the county.
PCDC is providing assistance to the project through LB840 sales-tax funds as it works to create housing to help area employers find and retain employees.
Tillery said he anticipates opportunities for local banks to finance the project and for local contractors and suppliers to work on the project.
Construction could begin as early as June on the new townhomes, which will be called Washington Square Apartments, and Tillery hopes residents will be able to occupy the homes by this time next year.
The project will occupy one-third of the Washington school property leaving the other two-thirds for future business developments.
We have plans for all three parcels, but the first one we are announcing is the 18-unit townhome-style apartments, Tillery said.
The units will be built as single-story sixplexes. Each single-story unit will be about 1,100 square feet with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Our desire was to see something that blended into the existing neighborhood well. We thought that a single-story, well-landscaped, lower density kind of development was more appropriate there. That just seemed to fit with the existing single-family residences better, Tillery said. I think these are town homes that the community is going to be very proud of.
PCDC is actively working to bring more housing into Phelps County with the launch of Go! Home programs in June. The program will provide sales tax rebates for new developments and construction, encourage the revitalization of dilapidated properties and aims to convert commuting employees into full-time Phelps County residents.
Weve developed incentive programs that address or attack different segments of the marketplace, Tillery said.
LEXINGTON The Orthman Community YMCA in Lexington was recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the Union Pacific Railroad.
According to a YMCA press release, the UP grant and additional community support will help the Y continue to offer valuable programs to all children in area communities.
This summer, the Orthman Community YMCA will keep kids active and engaged with programs such as Nerf Wars, summer camp, Silver Dragon martial arts, youth weight training, a new track and field program, pinewood derby race car day, and youth art.
KEARNEY The infants tiny headstone sits placidly in the sun at Kearney Cemetery. No relatives ever come by.
But on Memorial Day, Chuck and Mary Prochaska will come to honor a baby they never met, whose family they never knew, but for whom they provided the headstone.
The story begins on Nov. 21, 1891, when a son was born to Judge Thomas Cornett and his wife Mary. The infant lived for three days. He was buried at Kearney Cemetery without a marker. Three years later, the Cornetts and their two children returned home in West Virginia and never came back to Kearney.
For 124 years, their sons unmarked grave languished. Nobody came to visit.
It might have stayed unmarked forever had the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce not had a Business After Hours at the former McDermott & Miller on E. 25th Street five or six years ago. Prochaska, now vice president of Holmes Supply Co., attended that event and saw an 1889 map of Kearney on the wall. Studying it, Prochaska noticed that his house at Fifth Avenue and W. 15th Street was on that map.
I was intrigued, he said. The builder of that house was a judge. I knew it had a history.
Curious, Prochaska went to the county assessors office, leafed through leather-bound books in the basement and found a deed to the house proving that it was built by the Cornetts in 1887. Mary was listed as the owner. Prochaska posted his research on Facebook.
Not long after that, a friend who sat on the cemetery board told Prochaska about an infants unmarked grave at the cemetery. Prochaskas sixth sense kicked in. Could it be the plot of the Cornetts infant son, he wondered? It was as if the Cornetts were speaking to me from their graves, he said.
Rolling up his sleeves, he examined everything he could county records, state records, records from the Buffalo County Deeds and Abstracts office and the state historical society, but came up empty. The state didnt record death certificates until 1904, he said.
Then he called Steve Baye, supervisor at the Kearney Cemetery.
At first, Baye was reluctant to provide information because Prochaska was not related to the deceased, but he finally said that 125 years later, what harm is there? Prochaska said.
Baye suggested that Prochaska examine issues of the Kearney Hub dating back 125 years. Prochaska did, and at last, he found what he sought: a simple 10-word sentence published on Nov. 24 or 25, 1891: Judge Cornetts baby boy, hardly a week old, died today.
Prochaska returned to the cemetery. Baye took him to the infants unmarked grave. Baye also confirmed that the Cornetts had bought the grave and seven others for a total of $21 when the baby died in 1891.
Prochaska wasnt finished. He was determined to buy a stone for the infants grave. No one should ever go unrecognized, Prochaska said.
Initially, friends who run a private foundation offered to pay the $600 cost of a new stone, but legal entanglements interfered because Prochaska and his wife were not a non-profit organization. Prochaska was disappointed, but undeterred. Somehow, God will provide, he thought.
Sure enough, strangers soon knocked on their door and donated the $600. Prochaska and his wife ordered a simple stone. Two months later, in April 2016, the stone was placed on the grave. At last, 125 years after he died, the nameless infant had a headstone.
According to Baye, two percent of people buried in Kearney Cemetery have no headstone. And while the Cornetts paid a total of $21 for eight cemetery plots, The cost is now $550 for a single site, but that includes perpetual care fees, Baye said. Back in 1891, perpetual care for eight grave sites cost a one-time fee of $65. The Cornetts had not paid that fee, so the Prochaskas did.
Meanwhile, Prochaska hungers to learn more. Hes researching Cornett family baptismal records, church records and more, fattening his 3-inch-thick folder on them. I still havent had time to do all the research, he said.
He still wonders how, at the tender age of 26, Thomas Cornett came to Kearney to become a judge after graduating from law school at what is now Georgetown University in Washington, D,C. As a judge, he did everything from performing marriages to sentencing horse thieves, Prochaska said.
Mary Cornett taught vocal music in the Kearney schools. Among other things, she led a brass band called the Boy Band and used the money from its Christmas concerts to feed needy families for the holidays. The Cornetts had two surviving children before losing their infant son, whom Prochaska theorizes was born prematurely.
Even the Proschaskas century house has meaning.
Prochaska, a native of David City, married Mary in 1979. Now parents of four and grandparents of six, they first lived in a two-bedroom house across the street but bought the spacious old Cornett house because we needed a bigger house, he said. They were its 11th owners since it was built 98 years earlier.
Three years later, as Prochaska remodeled the bathroom, he stripped the baseboard off a wall and found an empty envelope belonging to G. E. Haas, dated 1904. He learned that Haas owned the house for 31 years, from 1889 to 1931, until it was sold in a sheriffs sale during the Great Depression.
Prochaska and Mary, who works in special education for the Kearney Public Schools, worry about what might happen to it when they can no longer keep it up. He has been in contact with the Buffalo County Historical Society.
Still, their proudest achievement is the marker on the grave of the Cornetts infant son.
I honestly think, Prochaska said. that the Cornetts are looking down and saying, Thank you.
KEARNEY The new Agricultural Economic & Technology Summit will be June 13-14 at the Kearney Holiday Inn and will be provided by Nebraska Farm Bureau, KRVN Rural Radio Network, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Agricultural Economics and Biological Systems Engineering Department.
Featured speakers will include:
n Michael Swanson, ag economist and consultant for Wells Fargo.
n Paul Genho, independent consultant and visiting professor for the University of Florida.
n Kent Bacus, National Cattlemens Beef Association.
n Al Dutcher, Nebraska Extension agricultural climatologist.
n Jim Pollock, partner with the Denver-based independent consulting firm Prassack Advisors.
n Mary Kay Thatcher, American Farm Bureau senior director of congressional relations.
There also will be breakout sessions on topics such as commodity marketing strategies, livestock production technology, nitrogen management, livestock market drivers, drones and financial strategies in times of falling income.
The full agenda and a registration form are at https://www.nefb.org/agecontech, or contact Whittney Kelley at 402-421-4760 or whittneyk@nefb.org for more information.
The cost is $75 for both days or $40 for Tuesday or Wednesday only.
Pre-registration is requested, but attendees also may register at the door.
RAVENNA Help celebrate the American Red Cross century of service in Nebraska by donating blood at the Ravenna community blood drive from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 9 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
The first Nebraska Red Cross chapter was established in Omaha in 1917.
All who donate at the Ravenna centennial blood drive will receive a Red Cross stadium cushion and refreshments, while supplies last.
To make an appointment, access the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
Bills being floated in Congress by a handful of Republicans would impose taxes on remittances money U.S. residents send abroad, usually to relatives to pay for President Donald Trumps proposed border wall. The idea is as flawed as Trumps own ridiculous assertion that Mexico must and will eventually pay for the wall.
Mexico ranks first among nations that receive remittance money, usually by wire transfer, from U.S. residents. In 2015, Mexicans received $24.32 billion in such funds, more than Mexico earned from oil exports. Like almost all U.S. companies, wire transfer services such as Western Union or Moneygram typically do not require proof of legal immigration status before accepting customers business.
Its unknown how much of the remittances come from undocumented migrants, but they are hardly the only residents sending money abroad. Under the Border Wall Funding Act of 2017, a bill proposed by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., remittance senders would have to pay a 2 percent tax, regardless of the senders legal status or whether the sender has already paid federal taxes on that income.
The idea is to make countries that benefit from our porous borders and illegal immigration pay for the wall.
Although an estimated 30 percent of the U.S. undocumented population comes from Asia, Africa and Europe, Rogers tax would apply only to money sent to Latin America or the Caribbean. Another bill proposed in the Senate would impose an additional fee of 7 percent on anyone making wire transfers who cannot prove legal immigration status. Neither bill limits the definition of remittance to personal money transfers. That could mean that the fees and penalties would apply to bank wire transfers made by companies including those owned by Trump himself. Trump owns properties in Latin American countries covered under Rogers bill, as do many billionaires.
Most Capitol Hill Republicans and Democrats have, so far, shown little patience for gimmicks designed to help Trump fulfill his more outlandish campaign promises.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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So tell me why you think you youre having a stroke?
The nice lady, mid 40s, sat on the ER exam table in work-clothes, an anxious look on her face. Well, I was working the cattle up in the timber, and when I got back to my 4-wheeler my heart was racing, and I was short of breath. My arms were tingling, and so was my face. Im concerned it might have been the start of a stroke. Before I could go much further, her sister chimed in: tell the doctor what else happened, go ahead!
My eyes went from sister back to the patient as I waited for the tale to unfold. The thing is, a black bear sow chased me when I got between her and her cub. Do you think that could have made me feel badly?
Yes maam! Maybe you were just hyperventilating. (I certainly would have.)
It was the sort of situation that isnt really surprising in rural emergency departments across America. Although I saw my bear-chasing victim in Colorado, most of my practice has been in South Appalachia. Rural Southerners have the same standard health issues as all Americans. However, while their assorted afflictions are often the same as those suffered by urban or suburban dwellers, there are unique problems, often involving nature, that bring patients to the rural ER. Hardly a summer goes by that Im not giving someone anti-venin for a snake-bite from a copperhead. The last person I gave it to was a seven-year-old boy who was bit walking along a river with his family.
When physicians work in rural areas, we become comfortable with certain behaviors and patterns of injury. When a man walks in with dozens of tiny holes in his back, in April, the standard question is, Did you get a turkey?
Falls from tree stands elicit appropriate queries like, Were you knocked out, does your neck or back hurt? and the slightly accusing, Were you wearing a safety harness?
I have spent a lot of time suturing lacerations from chainsaws, machetes and pocket knives. I have treated patients whose hands were crushed in log splitters. I have removed fish-hooks from assorted body parts (including the eyelid of a two-year-old) and seen innumerable bites from insects and other creatures. I have also had to reassure frantic, visiting urbanites that all those red marks probably dont reflect Lyme disease but more likely come from mosquitos. I have cared for more than my share of hypothermia, hyperthermia and no small number of drownings and near-drownings.
Thanks to rural life and work, I know what a log-skidder is, and what it means to hear that a tree or saw kicked back. I know to be very worried when I hear that the local rodeo is sending someone kicked in the face by a horse, and I was not surprised to see a man who shot himself in the leg while re-holstering his .44 Magnum after killing a wild hog.
The challenges of the rural ER, however, extend beyond pathology and into problems with resources. We have few specialists. A rural hospital with a decent ER, some family physicians, an obstetrician and a general surgeon, is rich indeed. Typically there is no cardiologist, no neurologist, no pediatrician, no trauma team; no heart center, no stroke center.
But it gets more challenging. To many Americans, the answer would simply be, Well, if theyre very sick, just call the helicopter! But rain, wind, fog, snow, ice and smoke from wildfires often keep us helicopter free. Even ambulance transfers are challenging, as most counties have only two ambulances and only one can be away at any time.
In addition, transfers to big centers can be confusing when physicians on the other end, in the big hospital, simply cant fathom the fact that the small town doesnt have things they take for granted, like an intensive care unit, a neurosurgeon or even an MRI.
The reality of medicine in rural America is often very different from the way the profession looks on medical dramas, which are usually set in well-stocked, well-staffed urban centers. Rural hospitals have plenty of struggles, and those troubles are growing. But what we lack in money, equipment and personnel we more than makeup for in rewarding work, challenging situations, grateful patients, and awesome stories.
City or country, a doctor cant ask for much more than that.
Edwin Leap is an emergency physician who blogs at edwinleap.com and is the author of the Practice Test and Life in Emergistan. This article originally appeared in the Daily Yonder.
Image credit: Shutterstock.com
Following gold prices hitting a low of $1215 per ounce during the week of May 8th, market participants have witnessed gold prices moving steadily higher, week in and week out. Although gold prices stagnated at the beginning of this week, todays dramatic $12 upside move resulted in another week of higher gold prices for the third consecutive week.
On a technical basis, the writing has been on the walls predicting higher pricing if you know how to read to signs. Considering gold prices were trading just above $1040 per ounce at the beginning of 2016, we have seen gold values increase by about 17%, a very respectable gain. More importantly, we have seen a pattern of gold prices trading to higher highs and higher lows throughout the last two years, at least up until now.
This year began with gold trading just above $1120 per ounce, and moving to the highest value this year at $1297 in April. So, the lows achieved this year are above the lows of 2016. At the same time, last years highs of 1380 have yet to be taken out. However, that might change in the near future.
Recently, longer term technical indicators have pointed to the high probability of a major price advance. Of these technical indicators, it is the golden cross that was identified at the end of last weeks trading and confirmed on Monday of this week that has attracted the greatest attention for market technicians.
A golden cross occurs when a shorter-term moving average crosses above a longer-term moving average. In the case of gold, its shorter term 50-day moving average has now crossed above its 200-day moving average. Because these averages contain such a large data set, they tend to reveal information about long-term trends in the market. This was one of the patterns we spoke about last Friday.
Another bullish indicator we discussed last week was a pattern derived from Japanese Candlesticks called a Three River Morning Star, which was identified on a weekly candlestick chart. The pivot candle for this pattern was the star created from the lows achieved during the week of May 8th. The strong recovery and upside move that immediately followed this low the following week completed the pattern.
Fundamental factors and events are the underlying reasons that we see the price change in any stock or commodity. However, technical indicators allow one to distil these events in a quantifiable manner.
Recent events that fueled the most recent price advances in gold are based upon an increased level of global uncertainty. In an interview with MarketWatch, Colin Cieszynski, Chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said, At the moment its increasing political uncertainty that is driving the gains rather than [Federal Reserve] speculation Between [Thursdays] contentious NATO summit and the potential for fireworks at this weekends G-7 Summit, plus a tightening U.K. election race, capital has been moving back in to defensive havens like gold.
It seems, at least for now, that as far as gold traders are concerned, defense is the best offense.
For those who would like a deeper analysis, I invite you to watch the Weekend Review, our video newsletter. This video will be available for viewing by 7 PM EST today. Simply use this link to view, or to sign up for a free trial.
Wishing you as always, good trading,
BEIJING, May 27 (Reuters) - The outstanding amount of China's dollar-denominated Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) programme rose to $92.72 billion as of May 26, from $90.76 billion at the end of April, the foreign exchange regulator said on Saturday. The QFII scheme was created by China to allow foreigners to invest in Chinese capital markets.
(Reporting by Sue-Lin Wong and Jenny Su; Editing by Michael Perry)
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 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.
A guest post by Grant F, Board Member of the Council of Licensed Firearms Owners:
The Arms Act 1983 controls the ownership of firearms and some types of airguns in New Zealand. It is a world leading piece of legislation as it focuses on the firearms user as opposed to the firearm itself. Essentially, to legally possess a firearm a person must be fit and proper, have appropriate security, and have attended a training course. Firearms that are considered requiring extra control are stored to higher levels of security and are registered, and may have an additional requirement such as a pistol owner must be a member of a bona fide pistol club. This system has worked very well for many years and must be considered a success. Despite the very high firearms ownership rate in New Zealand the rate of misuse of firearms is low. Sporting rifles and shotguns do not need to be registered as this is demonstrably costly and ineffective- with Canada having abandoned their long gun registry due to unprecedented cost blow outs which ate into the Police budget. Until recently, the relationship between firearms groups and the Police has been harmonious. In the past few years, however, this relationship has begun to fray quite badly (as was shown by a North Island Gun Club halting the Police from using their range) and a number of legal challenges through the Court system. Firearms owners are reporting to COLFO ( The Council of Licensed Firearms Owners) an increasing number of worrying issues with the Police administration of the Arms Act. Just this week firearms users spotted a serious problem with the Arms Code 2017. The Arms Code is the primary safety handbook for safe firearms usage. The online version contained a number of errors and when this was pointed out to Police it was swiftly taken down. Police advised in a statement that this was only an IT error and regretted. It was then pointed out that a printed hard copy with the same errors was also available at Police stations and then the thousands that have been printed were withdrawn. The cost to the taxpayer of withdrawing this is unknown but must run into the thousands of dollars.
DPF: These errors were not an accident. They were the Police asserting the law as being what they thought it should be, rather than what it was. There are parallels to their activism on alcohol issues where they are trying to impose their view of what the law should be on license holders.
Firearms licences are renewed every ten years. COLFO is aware that people have applied for a renewal of a licence and this process can take up to 9 months. This means that a person is no longer licenced and cannot legally possess firearms that they could the day before. Dealers are reporting serious business flow on effects for the failure of police to action requests for import permits for stock for their businesses. When security is inspected license holders are reporting unlawful requests by Arms Officers regarding justifications for firearms and ammunition lawfully held, which are not in the Act or regulations. Unfortunately, these are not one offs. COLFO is aware of: Inconsistent interpretation of the Arms Act across districts and individuals,
Police publically stating that they were using licence photographs for purposes which they were not taken for (this was stopped after a threatened reference to the privacy commissioner);
Poor investment, accountability and transparency on administration of Arms Act, record keeping, funding, actual manning versus paper manning of positions;
No regular oversight or audit of performance;
Long list of underfunding that has now resulted in issues for operation, however the blame has been placed on the door of compliant firearm owners;
Low priority on administration of Arms Act due to operational conflicts;
Political positioning within Police to use marginal services as a lever for careers;
Disingenuous engagement with the community;
Sloth in renewing arms licences (up to 9 months reportedly);
Revisions to storage requirements for all categories of licence holders; and
Changes in Arms Code without legal backing of Act or Regulations. The position has now been reached that the many shooters do not believe the Police can administer the Arms Act, and that this is now rapidly becoming a political issue for many shooters. Many law abiding shooters feel that they are low hanging fruit and are being made accountable for the actions of the criminals who wont bother with a firearms licence anyway. New Zealand First has positioned itself as being very pro-lawful firearms users and it remains to see what this will mean in terms of votes. If social media is anything to go by, they may well have just snagged many tens of thousands on this one issue.
The job of the Police is to enforce the laws passed by Parliament, not to enforce their view of what the law should be.
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Confiscated gold bars are displayed at the Incheon main customs centre on Tuesday. / Yonhap
By Eom Da-sol
Dozens of Korean citizens were caught smuggling 2,348 kilograms of gold hidden in their "private parts," the Korea Customs Service (KCS) said on Tuesday. It was the nation's biggest smuggling bust.
Fifty-one people, including several housewives, were apprehended at Incheon International Airport early last month. The smuggling had been happening for about two years.
Male smugglers were hiding five or six gold bars (3cm x 3cm), each weighting 200 grams, in their rectums while the women hid the gold in their rectums or vaginas.
The value of the gold was about 113.5 billion won ($100 million) the highest value of gold confiscated in a single smuggling case.
The smuggling happened from March 2015 and the gold came from Tokyo and China's Yantai.
Korea's gold price is usually higher than many countries because of a 15 percent additional tax imposed on gold products, according to the KCS.
"Gold smuggling is a business people can make money easily from because of the price gap," a KCS official said. "As our crackdown gets tougher, smugglers are also getting more sophisticated in hiding gold or other jewelry products they want to bring in."
The official said the KCS will soon launch a special task force to implement a sweeping crackdown on gold smugglers.
PRESS RELEASE
New Report from China Commerce Ministry on China-U.S. Huge Potential for Economic Cooperation, Including Infrastructure
May 26, 2017 (EIRNS)The Chinese Minister of Commerce yesterday released the "Research Report on China-U.S. Economic and Trade Relations." Among the many areas covered in the 117-page, comprehensive review of imports, exports, and two-way investment, one that stands out is the re-statement of Chinas willingness to help in construction in states and localities, to start to close the infrastructure gap.
In the report section titled, "Enhancing Infrastructure Construction Cooperation," it states:
"According to ASCE [American Society of Civil Engineers] reports, the US infrastructure investment demand from 2016 to 2025 is about US $3.3 trillion and the infrastructure funding gap in the coming 10 years is nearly U.S. $1.44 trillion. China is willing to enhance cooperation in infrastructure construction projects at the state and city level through the Joint Working Group on Trade and Investment Cooperation between Chinese Provinces and US States.... China hopes that the U.S. side can create favorable conditions for Chinese enterprises to work in the US infrastructure market."
The Joint Working Group citation refers to the organizations that have been coming into being over the past few years, between U.S. states and cities, and certain Chinese provinces. Among those in place, and their date of establishment: California (2012), Texas (2014), Washington (2015), New York State (2016), Michigan, and Iowa, plus the city of Chicago. For example, as of April 2016, the New York State "Joint Working Group" with China had 95 Chinese projects in the state, and relationships with Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Yunnan.
The new report concludes its opening "Summary" section:
PRESS RELEASE
EU and U.S. Disagree on Russia, Free Trade, Climate
May 26, 2017 (EIRNS)After the meeting with Donald Trump yesterday evening, EU Council President Donald Tusk said at a short press briefing that
"it is not hundred percent sure that wethat is, the President and myselfcan say today that we have a common position, a common opinion on Russia."
This was, according to all observers, a way of stating that there is profound disagreement between the EU and Trump on the Russia issue. Remarks by Trumps chief economic advisor Gary Cohn on the flight to Brussels, that the United States is looking into the sanctions problem, while he said at the same time that there is no definite position yet, is read as yet another hint that Trump has different views on Putin than the Europeans. Climate change and trade are the two other points where no common position between the EU and the U.S.A. exists.
With that, and with Trumps unexpected critique of many countries in NATO that owe the U.S.A. a lot of money for defense, since the Americans defend Europe without the Europeans ever paying appropriately, the EU leaders that went to the G7 Summit in Taormina, Italy today, knew they had to expect the most difficult summit ever. The fact that Trump met Japans Abe separately shortly before the G7 Summit began this noon, has not even been reported by European mainstream media, although it indicates that Trump also has a Japan agenda which Europe seems not to notice.
PRESS RELEASE
Zepp-LaRouche Addresses Forum at Largest Publishing House in China
May 26, 2017 (EIRNS)In a major address to an audience of between 100 and 200 people at the Phoenix Press Publishing Group at their headquarters in Nanjing, China, Helga Zepp-LaRouche, the president of the Schiller Institute, gave a report-back from her attendance at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing.
"The Belt and Road has injected optimism into many countries," Zepp-LaRouche said, "and the momentum is unstoppable," but bringing it fully to fruition "will not be easy." Immediately after the summit, she continued, the attacks against the Belt and Road escalated, combined with attacks against President Trump, who had sent a high-level delegation to the BRI Summit. "The attacks were based on the absurd charges of collusion with Russia in the election," she said.
"After the Cold War, the British and their American allies wanted to create a unipolar world," she said. "And in doing so they have destroyed the Middle East and left it in a shambles." And this precipitated the refugee crisis, the general reaction against "globalization," and the rise of right-wing movements. "The Belt and Road," she said,
"will bring about the creation of the World Land-Bridge, which will connect all continents. And this is something we have been fighting for, for over 40 years,"
she said.
She then described the fight of her and her husband, Lyndon H. LaRouche, Jr., to build a new world economic order: LaRouches call for an International Development Bank, the fight for the African development plan, and the Ibero-American initiative in the same direction in collaboration with Mexican President Jose Lopez Portillo, and the hundreds of seminars on five continents held by the Schiller Institute calling for a Belt and Road development.
"Transforming the Belt and Road to a World Land-Bridge will realize politically for the first time a real future for all the people living on this planet and will establish forms of governance for the world."
But to fully realize this, she said, "you must also study the ideas of my husband on the question of economics."
Zepp-LaRouche then went through the all-important cultural aspects of the Belt and Road and the need for all of the different cultures involved to bring out their finest achievements, in order to use these to create a dialogue of cultures among the nations on the Belt and Road. She then went through the importance of Friedrich Schiller in German and Western culture and the importance of Confucius in Chinese culture, making a concrete comparison of the works of Schiller and Confucius and showing the close similarity in the ideas of these two great thinkers which were separated in time by almost 2000 years .
Zepp-LaRouche was followed by Bill Jones, the Washington Bureau Chief of EIR, who showed a power point presentation describing the struggle of the LaRouche organization from the time of Nixons abandonment of the Bretton Woods system. He described the 1970s attack of the Club of Rome and the publication of "Limits to Growth," which was intended to transform the culture of progress into the culture of death with the international push for Zero Economic Growth and Zero Population Growth. He outlined the reaction of Lyndon LaRouche and the LaRouche organization to the Zero Growth movement, LaRouches call for the International Development Bank (IDB), and the subsequent call for the IDB and a New World Economic Order at the Colombo meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1976, and by Guyanas Foreign Minister, Fred Wills, at the U.N. General Assembly.
Jones described the struggle waged by LaRouche to bring President Ronald Reagan, who had adopted LaRouches concept of the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) as a peace proposal with the Soviet Union, into a working relationship with the progressive leaders in the developing sector, such as Mexican President Lopez Portillo and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. These efforts then led to a reaction by the people around Vice President George H.W. Bush, who connived to have LaRouche and several of his associates incarcerated on trumped-up charge. The election of President William Clinton brought LaRouche out of prison and back into an advisory role, with President Clintons attempts, albeit unsuccessful, to move in the direction of a new financial architecture. The creation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) represent, therefore, the type of structures that LaRouche and his movement have been trying to bring about for over four decades, Jones explained.
This was followed by Professor Bao Shixiu, a professor of military science, who outlined the strategic importance of the Belt and Road for China, showing how it will allow the country to overcome the traditional difficulties it has had with other countries, including India and Japan. Professor Bao underlined the seminal role of the LaRouches in bringing this initiative to the forefront, and the ongoing struggle of Lyndon and Helga LaRouche to overcome the opposition to it from the London-New York financial elites. Professor Bao also laid out both the economic and strategic implications of the Belt and Road for China, which would help ensure a harmonious climate in the region and in the world, which would allow it and all other countries to continue to develop.
There was a great deal of interest exhibited by the audience, particularly in Helga Zepp-LaRouches call for the dialogue of cultures and a heightened degree of interest in the work of Friedrich Schiller among the Phoenix staff, some of whom seemed to have had a rather extensive exposure to the works of German culture.
Denis Johnson ought to have had a free pass. Denis Johnson ought to have been exempt. To write as he did, in this crucible of a world, it ought to be worth more than to die on Wednesday at 67, or perhaps to die at all. Think of the transcendent power of his sentences, the ruthless honesty, the unexpected turns.
Down the hall came the wife, he tells us late in his short story Car Crash While Hitchhiking, which opens his remarkable 1992 collection of linked stories, Jesus Son, by presenting the aftermath of a fatal accident. She was glorious, burning. She didnt know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. Thats what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some stupendous process, diamonds were being incinerated in there. What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! Ive gone looking for that feeling everywhere.
A slab of brilliance, incinerated diamonds: Could there be a better description of what Johnson could do on the page? So raw, so honest metaphysical and at the same time rooted in the world. He wasnt afraid to make mistakes, to fail in public; all but a handful of his books have their problems, yet in the end these fade away like smoke. In any case, we dont come to Johnson for perfection; we come to experience how he works with, or exposes, the ineffable. God is a universe and a wall, he argues in his 1991 novel, Resuscitation of a Hanged Man. But there is a pattern, a web of coincidence. God is the chief conspirator. And this: There are no coincidences to a faithful person, a person of faith, a knight of faith. [T]he mystery is the Mystery.
As a storyteller Im drawn to realistic, contemporary situations and to figures caught up in danger and chaos. Denis Johnson
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Resuscitation of a Hanged Man is a strange book, which could, of course, be said of much of Johnsons work. It tells the story of Leonard English, a 33-year-old (yes, we recognize the symbolism), who in the wake of a failed suicide attempt has come to Provincetown to reorient himself. That this doesnt happen goes without saying; like Jesus, Johnsons heroes, or antiheroes, often wrestle with the sense of a cloud between [themselves] and God. Still, to label him a religious writer is to miss the point. English, like so many of his characters, is looking for meaning, but he has no idea of how to find it or even where to look. Out of the million little things happening on this beach, he reflects, you can only be aware of seven things at once, seven things at any given time. We never get the whole picture. Our delusions are just as likely to be real as our most careful scientific observations.
This is a key passage, the articulation of a principle, or an aesthetic, so subjective that our common, reassuring pieties are rendered moot. Instead, Johnson is insisting, we exist in the presence of a brutal sort of wonder, temporary residents of a universe that is indifferent but offers glimpses of the miraculous if we are willing to open our eyes. Im living in the Bibles world right now, he writes in An Anarchists Guide to Somalia, one of 11 dispatches in his nonfiction collection Seek (2001), the world of cripples and monsters and desperate hope in a mad God, world of exile and impotence and the waiting, the waiting, the waiting. A world of miracles and deliverance, too.
I dont mean to keep quoting Johnsons writing, but I dont know what else to do. If youre looking for a traditional appreciation, I dont have one; Im bereft, and mostly what I can offer are the passages that see me through. Take Jesus Son, which, 25 years after publication, remains his best-known work. It is a book that sits at the very top of the pantheon, widely considered to be an American masterpiece. It is a book Ive read so many times I feel as if I know it by heart. Here, we see the clearest expression of Johnsons double vision, his gritty mysticism. Revolving around a recovering addict, it distills some piece of the authors experience (I never quite became a hippie, he wrote, revealingly, in an essay about the Rainbow Gathering. And Ill never stop being a junkie) into an act of expression so visionary, so stark in its clarity and its confusion, that it cannot help but become our own.
Here he is in Beverly Home, describing a patient on a rehab ward who suffers from something like multiple sclerosis: No more pretending for him! He was completely and openly a mess. Meanwhile the rest of us go on trying to fool each other. Here he is from Out on Bail: We lived in a tiny, dirty apartment. When I realized how long Id been out and how close Id come to leaving it forever, our little home seemed to glitter like cheap jewelry. I was overjoyed not to be dead. This is writing that devours its own illusions, that requires us to stare eternity, with its sharp incisors, in the face. Generally, Johnsons narrator continues, the closest I ever came to wondering about the meaning of it all was to consider that I must be the victim of a joke.
By framing himself, or his alter ego, in such terms, Johnson is not making the case that nothing matters. Nor is he suggesting that we retreat from the world. Quite the contrary: Much of his fiction takes on big-bore issues, politics and history. In The Name of the World (2000), a college professor turns away from tragedy by becoming a war correspondent in the Middle East; 2007s National Book Award-winning Tree of Smoke, meanwhile, zeroes in on Vietnam. His most recent novel, The Laughing Monsters (2014), involves a scheme to sell uranium (or maybe not) in Africa, set against the long reach of the American security state. As a storyteller, Johnson told me in an email exchange about the book, Im drawn to realistic, contemporary situations and to figures caught up in danger and chaos. Indeed. Chaos, we might say, was his metier.
At the end of his novella Train Dreams, which was a finalist for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize, he describes a carny act featuring a wolf-boy a contrivance, yes, although once he starts to howl, he taps into something more visceral or authentic, our longing to connect. He laid his head back, Johnson writes, until his scalp contacted his spine, that far back, and opened his throat, and a sound rose in the auditorium like a wind coming from all four directions, low and terrifying, rumbling up from the ground beneath the floor, and it gathered into a road that sucked at the hearing itself, and coalesced into a voice that penetrated into the sinuses and finally into the very minds of those hearing it, taking itself higher and higher, more and more awful and beautiful, the originating ideal of all such sounds ever made, of the foghorn and of the ships horn, the locomotives lonesome whistle, of opera singing and the music of flutes and the continuous moan-music of bagpipes. Thats a single sentence, and it works like a piece of music, making its meaning clear through sound. At the same time, Johnson reminds us, this is fleeting; And suddenly it all went black, he concludes. And that time was gone forever.
What does that mean, that question of the finite, in regard to Johnson and his work? Its tempting to define him as a mystic or a recluse, which he was and also wasnt, but its more accurate to remember him for his engagement, his restlessness. Over nearly half a century his debut, the poetry chapbook The Man Among the Seals, was published in 1969 when he was 19 he wrote plays and verse, stories, novels and essays; he reported, for venues such as Harpers and Esquire, from Liberia and Kabul. He wrote presciently, and counter-intuitively, about American politics, especially of the libertarian strain.
Perhaps my favorite of all his essays is The Militia in Me, published just months after Oklahoma City, in which he stares into the mirror and finds not complicity or judgment but an unlikely common ground. This is a free country, he insists. I just want to be left alone. Even this idea, however, comes to us supercharged, both by the threat of government intrusion and by Johnsons deeply moral point of view. I believe the State should be resisted whenever it encroaches, he acknowledges. But the bombers of that building will demonstrate for us something we dont want demonstrated: Theres no trick to starting a revolution. Simply open fire on the State; the State will oblige by firing back. Whats harder is to win a revolution, and the only victory worthy of the name will be a peaceable one.
Ultimately, what this indicates is an uncommon openness: not empathy, exactly, but something deeper and more profound. As a writer, as a thinker, as an observer, Johnson was, not unlike Orwell, relentless in exposing petty pieties, turning our assumptions inside out. Ive never read another writer like him, and now I never will.
And yet, free pass or exemption? The burning heart of Johnsons achievement is that he understood exemptions are not just impossible but also unnecessary, that transcendence can always find us, even in the final moments of our lives. He was in the middle of taking the last breath of his life before he realized he was taking it, he writes at the end of his first novel, Angels (1983), imagining the execution of his protagonist. But it was all right. Boom! Unbelievable! And another coming? How many of these things do you mean to give away? He got right in the dark between heartbeats, and rested there. And then he saw that another one wasnt going to come. Thats it. Thats the last. He looked at the dark. I would like to take this opportunity, he said, to pray for another human being.
I dont pray, so Ill leave that for another reader, another human being. When all is said and done, though and whatever else he may have gone through in his time of dying I hope that this is how his final breaths played out.
Ulin is the author of Sidewalking: Coming to Terms with Los Angeles. A 2015 Guggenheim fellow, he is the former book editor and book critic of The Times.
John Burns is chief executive of John Burns Real Estate Consulting, an Irvine company that provides research and business advice to home builders across the country. The firm has hundreds of clients nationwide.
Burns describes his job as running around and talking to a lot of insanely smart people all the time. The 54-year-old then takes knowledge gleaned from industry leaders, small contractors and economic data and figures out where the housing market is headed.
Burns makes his money by selling that knowledge to clients. Those whove signed up for the research include major home builders like Lennar Corp. and single-family rental companies like Invitation Homes.
A failed start
Burns originally had no desire to go into real estate. Instead, he wanted to build a business in the late 1980s based on fantasy baseball or, as it was then called, rotisserie baseball after a restaurant where its founders came up with the idea.
Today, fantasy sports are multibillion-dollar industry. But before the Internet became widely available, players tracked down stats from the newspaper and manually calculated how well their roster did each week.
Burns thought he could improve on that system, using his computer knowledge to download stats and craft formulas that would automatically churn out results.
But it failed spectacularly. The main mistake? Marketing the product to fellow students at UCLA and others across the country, Burns says.
I just didnt know what I was doing, Burns says. I learned the hard way students dont have a lot of money and they also dont trust a company they never heard of."
An accident
With the fantasy baseball business in ruins, Burns finished business school at UCLA and got a job as a consultant at KPMG. Then what Burns calls an accident changed his career trajectory.
I am there three months and they reorganize the company by industry and my boss picks real estate. So I ended up in real estate.
Though Burns says he had no passion for real estate, he quickly found one. He says he found it fascinating how companies, particularly home builders, made big investments while doing little research to back up those bets.
In 1997, he left KPMG to join a local real estate data company where he did consulting for home builders. In 2001, he struck off on his own, hoping for better result than his first time as an entrepreneur.
I got a bad taste in my mouth after doing it one time, he says. But I wanted to come back and do it again.
Los Angeles County median home price ties record high
My wife says,'When are you going to retire or sell the company?' and I say, 'You are crazy. Why would I do that?' John Burns
Building a business
At first, John Burns Real Estate Consulting was just that, me, myself and I for 12 months, he says. Working from an Irvine executive suite, Burns took on his first assignment a forecast of home price appreciation on the Irvine Ranch.
From there, he built his business slowly, adding one or two people per year. Today the firm employs about 65 people and has 17 offices in 12 states.
The key to his success, Burns says, was hiring and retaining great people.
But he also learned something from his previous failed attempt at entrepreneurship: the importance of sales. So to properly market himself, Burns has joined industry associations, signed up for the speaker circuit and sends out frequent email newsletters, with both industry insight and his picture.
Previously, I thought if you had the technology and a good product, the revenue would come and thats not really the case.
Bubble burst
Burns says he knew last decades housing boom was over the day after the 2006 Super Bowl. He recalls seeing an ad from national home builder Centex that offered $100,000 off a $500,000 home in Sacramento.
Surprised, he called the companys chief executive, Tim Eller who was also a client. He said, John, I have seen many of these cycles and they are always worse than everyone thinks they are, and the first guy to drop price sells homes.
Knowing that Eller was reacting as if things would be really bad, Burns started advising clients to stop buying land and focus on shoring up their balance sheets something he says gave him the reputation of being overly negative.
Burns said he became increasingly negative following conversations with two other clients: hedge fund manager John Paulson and investor Steve Eisman, who both made a fortune betting against the housing market. (In the movie The Big Short, Steve Carell played a character based on Eisman.)
Burns says he would tell Paulson and Eisman how bad the housing market was while they explained complicated financial products that had spread the risk of bad mortgages throughout much of the financial system.
It made me convinced that this was going to be far worse than I thought it was going to be, Burns says.
Such conversations, he says, are key to his job in some ways more so than data.
I get out there talking to people and thats when I learn whats really going on, he says.
Homes under construction in Santa Clarita. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)
The market today
In coastal California, home values have become overpriced based on income, Burns says. As a result, hes recommending that clients be cautious when making big investments, especially since some analysts think a recession could be likely in the years ahead.
2017 looks great because the economies are strong. But this would not be a time to really grow your business dramatically in those markets and borrow a lot of money and take a lot of risk. he says. As soon as we have a recession if you dont have a strong balance sheet you are done.
12 13 14 15 16 17 260 320 380 440 $500 thousand 260 320 380 440 Southern California median home prices on the rise Data: abcdefg hijkl mnop qrstu vwxyz 1234 56789 Andrew Khouri / @latimesgraphics Source: CoreLogic
Values
Burns says he takes great strides to produce unbiased reports and run his businesses ethically.
On feasibility studies you get pushed to achieve certain pricing, because a guy needs it for his deal. If we catch anybody doing that we will let them go, Burns says. We would much rather [anger] our client and not do business with them again as long as we feel like we are doing the right thing.
Burns says he learned to do the right thing from his father, John, whom he called my biggest role model. In 2015, Burns established a scholarship at the high school both he and his father attended, St. Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco.
I will never forget he called his mother every night, Burns says.
And so, Burns says, he makes sure his dad gets a call too if not every night, nearly every night.
Time off
When hes not working, Burns runs in the foothills near his Irvine home and spends time with his wife and two children. But he still works around 55 hours a week and doesnt plan to stop.
My wife says, When are you going to retire or sell the company? and I say, You are crazy. Why would I do that?
In particular, he likes the learning aspect of his job.
What I love doing is communicating our knowledge to our clients and then getting good questions from them that I dont know how to answer or good insight that I have never thought of.
Storied homes are legion in the Hollywood Hills, but one just north of Sunset Boulevard arguably boasts the lions share of tales, along with a larger-than-life owner.
Producer Chet Sampson bought the Marmont Lane house in 1969 for $69,000 packing the two-bedroom home with a string of high-profile celebrity renters while he traveled the world as a lecturer on cruise ships starting in 1976.
After Sampsons death seven years ago, his longtime partner, Kjell Ostensen, continued to live in the 1946 property. He sold it in January for $2.15 million, turning over the venerable, history-filled home nearly five decades after Sampson purchased it.
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I heard a lot of the renter stories from the tabloids friends would mail them to us, said Ostensen, 66, who now lives in Palm Springs.
The actors and musicians who passed through the house were usually in town on gigs (most rented for a few months) and favored the homes privacy and backyard.
Peter Falk was Sampsons first renter. There was also Liza Minnelli, Louie Anderson (known for restyling the house at will), Jack Warden, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason (the band used the house during rehearsals for The Wall tour), Peter Boyle, Jocko Marcellino (founder of Sha Na Na), director Gene Saks, Laura Branigan (1980s hit Gloria) and Frank Langella.
John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd rehearsed their just-formed Blues Brothers band in the garage. Belushi rented the house for several months in 1978-1979, according to Annie Constantinesco, the homes longtime rental agent.
The final renter was 90210 actress Shannen Doherty, who had the longest lease at nearly five years, then priced at $5,000 per month.
Ostensen, a retired engineer, said he was unfazed by the Hollywood tumult. He moved from Norway to Los Angeles in 1980 to study engineering at USC and began living with Sampson, whom he met in 1975 while working as a mechanic on a cruise ship.
It was Sampson, however, who reveled in orbiting Hollywoods star-studded galaxy.
The Grosse Pointe, Mich., native (a former high school math and science teacher) met nearly 300 celebrities, as cited in Sampsons unpublished memoir, many becoming friends who frequented his Marmont Lane dinner parties where guest lists topped 100. He moved to Hollywood in 1963.
The associations began during Sampsons stint as a World War II naval officer in charge of organizing thousands of events, including large-scale variety shows, often for scores of ships anchored in the Philippines and Australia.
Sampsons celebrity connections were cemented during cross-country national parks tours in the 1940s through the 1960s in which he ferried 6,000 teenagers packed in station wagon caravans, according to Michigan news accounts.
The trips tour de force: a four-day stop in Hollywood that brimmed with studio tours, and meetings and lunches with stars (totaling 200 over the years, by Sampsons account): Rock Hudson, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Ronald Reagan, Burt Lancaster, Shirley Temple, Charlton Heston and Bob Hope, among others.
The highlight for the Midwest teens (besides swimming with Debbie Reynolds in her pool) were singalong campfires with Bing Crosby and his four teenage sons at his ranch in Elko, Nev.
It was like an out-of-body experience, said 1957 participant Barbara Faubert, 75, a resident of Wellesley Hills, Mass.
The indefatigable Sampson met many of the stars simply by knocking on their doors (Debbie Reynolds), writing them a letter (Marlon Brando) or tapping them on the shoulder (Cary Grant).
He loved bringing people together, Ostensen said. We had a very good life together.
hotproperty@latimes.com
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One of the most talked-about films at this years Cannes Film Festival has been Sofia Coppolas Beguiled. The positive reception to the film at Cannes has brought back memories of the 2006 edition of the festival, when Coppolas Marie Antoinette was famously booed. But as Kenneth Turan wrote in this essay first published on Oct. 13, 2006, the reason behind the boos wasnt purely about the filmmaking.
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WHO OWNS HISTORY? And, more to the point, who owns Marie Antoinette?
Though theyre not usually phrased that way, those questions have swirled around Sofia Coppolas quietly exuberant new film about the doomed young French queen (only 18 when she ascended the throne, 37 when she was executed) since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year to some scattered and widely misunderstood boos.
For the displeasure came not, as might be expected, from the French critics whod already seen the film and whose generally positive notices were already on record in Le Film Francais, the French trade paper but from political types who had an ax to grind about the films portrait of the woman in question.
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Hard as it is to believe in the U.S., a country whose citizens have a hard time getting upset about what happened last week, much less centuries ago, the French take their history very seriously. And the films undeniably sympathetic look at Marie Antoinette goes contrary to a fierce cultural bias against the queen that, according to the excellent recent PBS documentary, also called Marie Antoinette, made her the most hated woman in France and may even have been one of the factors that led to the French Revolution.
In English-speaking countries, Coppolas film has to some extent had to face a related bias, unhappiness that it doesnt conform to a tyranny of expectations and preconceptions that the film isnt weighty or serious enough in tone to take on such a fraught historical situation. Which was exactly the point.
Speaking in Cannes before the films premiere, Coppola emphasized her determination to do a historical movie in my style, to make it my own film, something I wanted to see. That was the most important thing, not to fall into the habits of generic period movies, not to get pushed into This is how you should do it.
That attitude resulted in a seductive pastel palette inspired by the sherberty colors of the celebrated macaroons of Paris confectioner Laduree. And Coppola never thought twice about her decision to use modern pop music on a soundtrack that eventually included Bow Wow Wows I Want Candy and songs by New Order, the Strokes and the Cure. I wanted atmospheric, dreamy contemporary music, that kind of teenage girl spirit. By playing a rousing Gang of Four anthem over the opening credits, the film effectively announces that this is going to be a historical drama unlike those weve seen before.
The reason for that is that Coppola, though inspired by Antonia Frasers magisterial biography, had her own particular take on the Marie Antoinette story, her very specific tone The O.C. set in Versailles to impart to the proceedings.
Intrigued by the fact that Marie and her husband, Louis XVI, were young people, ages 18 and 20, when he became king and they entered historys stage, Coppola says she liked the idea that she was a real girl, someone who didnt like to do schoolwork; that there were all these teenagers running around in Versailles being in charge.
In fact, according to that PBS documentary (now available on DVD), much of the way Coppola depicts Marie Antoinette is quite in line with the facts. Simon Schama, a noted British historian and authority on the French Revolution, says the queens mother, the Austrian Empress Maria Teresa, thought of her child as my airhead daughter, the shopaholic, and that once Marie Antoinette became queen, she collected a group of cheeky Valley girlfriends around her.
Though it sometimes surprises nonprofessionals, historians know that varying attitudes toward and interpretations of history are the very heart of a discipline that values theory and point of view as much as facts.
In truth, the argument swirling around a new book about the Founding Fathers and the writing of the U.S. Constitution, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, by Gordon S. Wood, makes just this point.
Setting the ship of American history off on a whole new course was Charles Beards Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States, published in 1913, a book that argued that the Constitution was, as one reviewer explains, a counterrevolutionary document, drafted by aristocrats who wanted a strong national government to protect their investments. Wood, by contrast, argues that this is all wrong, that the Founders, in another reviewers words, were a selfless, heroic elite that acted with nobility and self-sacrifice. You pays your money and you takes your choice.
Similarly, the arguments about the appropriate way to view Marie Antoinette have been going on for hundreds of years. As historian Schama vividly put it on PBS, is she a cutie pie or a monster; is she a virgin or is she a whore; is she a dimwit or a Machiavellian desperado? Like the battle over the Founding Fathers, its an argument that shows no sign of going away, an argument to which Coppola has added an entertaining and accomplished point of view.
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour
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kenneth.turan@latimes.com
Twitter: @KennethTuran
Call it Woke Cinema, Cannes-style.
Class issues have roiled European and American public life for several years now, so its no surprise that the artists steeped in that life or even some intent on breaking from it are pouring those concerns into their work.
But at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, that Brexitian interest may be reaching new heights. Or, at least, breadth. A number of trends are apparent at this years edition of the movie worlds most prestigious gathering, which comes to a close this weekend. None are as prominent as the abundance of works about privilege and upper-class disconnection.
As many of these kinds of films have screened at this years Cannes than at any edition I can recall over the last decade and in as many different ways, too. Genre exercises, moral parables, inter-generational dramas, naturalist kid movies all have had as their theme the gap between working and upper classes, the benefits of opportunity and the toll of its absence. As the Cannes director Michael Haneke told The Times, succinctly, What else is there to talk about in the world today?
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But there are fundamentally different angles from which these have-and-have-not questions can be approached. And Cannes, inasmuch as it offers a weather vane for where film is going, points to one very fresh and one very chestnut-y tack.
Youll be seeing some of these movies in the coming months, so just a quick run-down on some of the most high-profile.
See the most-read stories in Entertainment this hour
In Hanekes formally rigorous, narratively minimalist Happy End, multiple generations of a French industrialist family have almost become blind to the working man, a malaise that the two-time Palme dOr winner suggests creates disconnection not only toward the North African immigrants and other working-class people who wait on them but among each other.
In Ruben Ostlunds The Square one of the most talked-about films of the festival (and, as of Sunday night, its big winner) an upper-crust curator finds himself confronted with the limitations of his own compassion when he is forced to look at the disadvantaged all around him in bifurcated Stockholm; the themes reach their most explicit (and surreal) apex when a group of black-tie types fail to do anything to stop an injustice playing out brutally before them. (This is not-so-subtly also aimed at Cannes well-heeled audience I love thinking that people in a screening sitting silent in tuxedos are watching people on-screen sitting silent in tuxedos, Ostlund said in an interview.)
Andrey Zvyagintsevs Loveless, meanwhile, examines an estranged Russian couple whose pursuit of their own desires and comforts has led to them neglecting their son, with disastrous consequences. Tellingly, Zvyagintsev last took on the topic of government corruption with his Cannes hit Leviathan, heres its the delusions brought on by materialism that are on his mind.
And Yorgos Lanthimos horror-inflected The Killing of a Sacred Deer finds a perfectly coiffed American suburban couple (Colin Farrell and Nicole Kidman) stricken with a terrible plight because of an act of negligence an act that stands in as a symbol for their general upper-class complacency. The entire film is articulated in a detached tone, form mirroring content.
But for all the merits of these movies (and Ill admit in particular to being seduced by the baroque genre charms of Sacred Deer and the second-person confrontation of The Squares moral puzzles) there is one element lacking in all these movies: members of the underclass themselves.
Its not that there arent any such people in these movies; theyre there, in some more than others. Its just that, from a character-depth and screen-time perspective, the underprivileged are strangely scarce. You could almost start to think theyre suffering the same neglect that the movies are ostensibly here to condemn. As your Mom always reminded you, its much easier to point out a problem than it is do anything about it, and the idea of privileged filmmakers (lets face it, nearly all at Cannes are) making movies primarily about the stratum from which they come seems to be doing just that merely pointing out the problem.
Taking a view from the bottom, on the other hand, is much trickier. Fortunately at least three Cannes filmmakers have done that. All three, Id argue, have come up with better works than their eagle-view counterparts, at least on the basic metric of the class themes theyre here to explore.
In Sergei Loznitsas weighty social comment A Gentle Creature, a woman in the Russian countryside quietly sets out to deliver a care package to her (presumably wrongfully) imprisoned husband and encounters such heavy obstacles that would play as satire if they werent so dramatic.
Her fight against the bureaucracy is part Kafka, part Frantic. But the indomitability of her spirit is not sentimentalized. Nor are the procedural hurdles shes up against dissected or politicized or even explained; as one of the many apparatchiks she comes upon tells her, Im not an information bureau. In fact we almost never see anything in the movie that the main character isnt seeing, which lends an intimacy to a disadvantaged character rarely found in any movie, East or West.
Good Time, Josh and Benny Safdies look at a desperate New York mans attempt to break his brother out of jail, is a propulsive chase movie taking place mostly over one night. The movie has (rightly) drawn acclaim for its performance by Robert Pattinson as the hustling protagonist.
But for all its fugitive conventions, the film is at heart a social-realist tale about the toil of the working man. Pattinsons character is a bright but oppressed sort who has been given a raw deal, charged with taking care of his mentally handicapped brother with no easy economic way out of his predicament. Again, social forces arent identified, not explicitly. And the heros struggle isnt presented for our easy sympathy; even phrases like dignity connote a patronizing quality never in evidence here. The Safdies are keen to make a movie, as Benny told The Times in an interview, that isnt about left or right but about the people caught in the middle.
Finally, in one of the most lived-in works at the festival so authentic it feels almost documentary-like Sean Bakers The Florida Project examines a single mother and her young daughter living hand-to-mouth at a rundown motel with other similar incomplete families. Baker chooses not to indict the forces that brought these people here he assumes the audience will make their own moral accounting and instead thinks the best remedy, or at least story, is a simple human portrait.
The funny thing is this latter approach is at times favored even by those not taking it. Asked about the dichotomy between these two tacks, Haneke said, Personally I find a movie from the so-called third world more interesting than the ones about our own [European] countries. He added, with a note of self-chastisement, The first world engages in navel-gazing and the rest of the world licks its wounds.
Or as an executive at another major festival said in response to this Cannes glut: Im much more interested in seeing the view from the bottom up than the top.
Many of these films will come out in the months ahead. Even more of them will influence a future wave of filmmakers; these Cannes titles have a way of getting into the water and changing how everyone thinks.
You can expect a lot of these movies to take on the subject of the underclass. Heres hoping we actually get to see some of its members on screen.
steve.zeitchik@latimes.com
Twitter: @ZeitchikLAT
Homeowner Susan Harbert takes in the view from the newly remodeled backyard of her home in Pacific Palisades. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A home on the mountains with a commanding view of the Pacific Ocean is a shame to waste, which is why architect Takashi Yanai took on the remaking of Susan Harberts Pacific Palisades home.
Yanai, a partner of Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, said his firm doesnt normally accept renovation projects, but they dont make any more Pacific Ocean view properties.
Built in a traditional style, the Pacific Palisades home failed to take advantage of its great location. When you walk in, you wouldnt even know the ocean was there, Harbert says of her homes former configuration. French doors and segmented windows all along the ocean-facing side obscured the beauty outdoors. She bought the home in July 2014 knowing she would make major changes.
Now, the home is a three-bedroom, three-and-a-half bathroom picture of subtle modernity. Yanai dispensed with a pitched roof and trellises, replacing them with elongated boxes. Rheinzink, a 100% recyclable zinc material, defines the roofline of the home.
MORE: Before and after ocean-view renovation photos
Inside, what started out as separate family, living, dining, kitchen, study and laundry rooms were all combined into a single 40-foot-wide space. A 40-foot wide motorized sliding glass door that pockets completely away also was installed, welcoming the outdoor views with wide-open arms, as it were.
When youre inside, you still feel like youre outdoors, says Harbert, who usually keeps the doors secreted away.
I wanted to create an open, light-filled space that maximized the connection to the outdoors and the view, Yanai says.
Rather than an old school grass lawn, the new entry sequence designed by EYRC Architects in collaboration with landscape firm Terremoto retained Harberts privacy. Board-formed concrete walls created an internal courtyard off the front door, accessed by an ipe boardwalk, echoing the beach vibe of many seaside neighborhoods. Within that internal courtyard, landscaper David Godshall of Terremoto installed an oak tree, whose striking silhouette can be viewed from inside the home.
When youre inside, you still feel like youre outdoors Susan Harbert
Homeowner Susan Harbert takes in the view with her dog Nala, from the newly remodeled backyard of her home. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
A plant palette with silvery gray and blue tones, plus flecks of seasonal color, inspired by the Santa Monica Mountains, now grace Harberts lawn. The plants have low water needs. The decomposed granite in warm tan complements the homes cool gray, giving it a dune-inspired feeling, Godshall says.
But grandeur wasnt just the goal, so was comfort. Only Harbert lives in the home full-time, but her children and their friends would often stay a few nights. So Yanai also designed the home to be comfortable in many situations for two people, for a family when children were over, and for hundreds of people during a party.
Takashi Yanai, FAIA design director of the residential studio at the firm Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects, sits for a portrait inside his recent remodel. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
EYRC Architects kept the ceiling heights below 10 feet, creating a more intimate atmosphere for such a large open room. Rather than going for height, Yanai went horizontal, drawing the eye outward. Full-height teak frames at the sitting area, fireplace and the portal to the hallway leading to the bedrooms done by Martin and Carter Woodworking also add warmth to the space.
Yanai was so successful that Harbert says, Nobody feels left out [in the house]. Someone at the kitchen inside can easily converse with those swimming outside or those lounging in the family room.
MORE: Before and after ocean-view renovation photos
Yanai says, Its a backdrop for Susan and the different aspects of her life and lifestyle.
Harbert is a single professional with two grown children. She volunteers her services at Center for Juvenile Law and Policy at Loyola Law School, which seeks justice for those who are wrongly incarcerated.
Climate appropriate landscape design by Terremoto and board-formed concrete walls frame the entry sequence to this Pacific Palisades home. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Before the remodel done by architect Takashi Yanai. (Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects) (Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects) Front of the house before the remodel done by architect Takashi Yanai. (Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects) (Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects) Climate appropriate landscape design by Terremoto, top, and before photos of back yard and front of the house. (Bottom photos: Ehrlich Yanai Rhee Chaney Architects)
The interior design by Debbie Minchenberg also reflects the homes minimalist leanings. Only four materials are repeated throughout the house: teak wood, concrete, Calcutta stone and white glass. I didnt want to fight with the scenery, says Minchenberg, I didn't want the house to look overly designed. The fabric selections for the furniture that I designed are quiet sand tones and blue like the sea. I selected chairs, tables and bar stools as sculptural elements.
The only exception to the homes color scheme would be a decadent oversized sofa/lounge bed designed by Minchenberg, which sits in the guest room. Its super fun, says the designer. I kind of want one. (The memorable piece was inspired by a 1970s design by Terrance Conran called the Sexy Bed.)
Now far from its humble and unpromising beginnings, the home is an oasis for Harbert, who says, I feel so lucky to come home to a house this peaceful and calm every day.
home@latimes.com
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Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on a bus loaded with Coptic Christians the day before near the southern city of Minya, which officials said killed 29 people.
A security team of caliphate soldiers set up an ambush for dozens of Christians as they headed to the church of St. Samuel, the militant group said Saturday through Amaq, its media arm.
The bus passengers were gunned down on their way to volunteer at a monastery. Another 25 Coptic Christians were wounded.
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Fridays attack, on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan, led Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, to launch airstrikes on what officials said were militant training camps in the northeastern Libyan city of Derna. Sisi, a former general, said the gunmen had trained and planned the attack in Libyan camps, although Islamic State has not held sway in Derna for two years.
In a Saturday phone call, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that officials found information and evidence that terrorist elements involved in the Minya incident trained in these camps, according to a statement. Tillerson conveyed condolences for the victims, and said the U.S. stands ready to cooperate with Egypt in the fight against terrorism, according to the statement.
The military strikes did little to reassure Coptic Christians in Minya, a city on the banks of the Nile about 140 miles south of Cairo where about 40% of the population is Christian four times the percentage of the Muslim countrys population of 92 million. They have watched with dread this year as Islamic State militants advanced from strongholds in northern Sinai south beyond the capital.
This is not an isolated incident, its an evolution of a problem, said Bishop Anba Makarios, the leader of Coptic Christians in Minya. It is difficult to target Copts in churches because they have security and cameras. And in their homes, they live next to Muslims. So the new method is a way to get them alone: They pick a desert road in the heart of the mountain with no checkpoints or rest stops or anything on it so they can target only Copts.
Many of Minyas 2 million Christians have felt threatened by local Muslim extremists for years. The Egyptian government historically provided security for the Christian minority, but that dwindled in the final years of longtime president Hosni Mubaraks rule and seemed to disappear after he was replaced in 2012 by Islamist President Mohamed Morsi. Attacks on churches, led by groups of Islamist extremists, surged.
When Sisi ousted Morsi the following year, Coptic Christians were among his staunchest supporters. Sisi became the first Egyptian leader to attend Coptic Christmas services in Cairo two years ago, and was cheered by the crowd. He returned to comfort victims of an Islamic State suicide bombing that killed 29 people in a chapel beside St. Marks Cathedral in December. Islamic State declared a campaign against the countrys Christians soon after, and when twin church bombings killed 47 on Palm Sunday, Sisi declared a three-month state of emergency, vowing to protect them.
This is not an isolated incident, its an evolution of a problem. Bishop Anba Makarios, the leader of Coptic Christians in Minya, Egypt
But in Minya, residents said their compact with Sisi has failed as they face repeated attacks on the streets, their houses burned and hate graffiti scrawled on the walls of their churches.
More than a hundred Christians have been killed in the Minya area during the last year, Bishop Makarios said. A year ago this month, an elderly Christian woman was stripped by an angry Muslim mob that believed her son was having an affair with a Muslim woman. The following July, another Christian was stabbed to death by a mob. Tensions increased so much that before Easter, Coptic leaders announced they would curtail celebrations to avoid further clashes.
Makarios blames groups like the Family House. Formed to resolve conflicts through tribal negotiations, he said they usually allow Muslim extremists to avoid criminal prosecution by intimidating Coptic minorities into accepting settlements instead.
The Family House concept needs to be reviewed, he said. It needs to have a clear role and a clear separation from other authorities Reconciliation committees are fine only after the law has been enforced.
He noted that the government has also been unwilling to allow Copts to open new churches, often on security grounds. In the Minya bishopric, which has a hundred churches, 150 villages have no church, and few new churches have opened, residents said.
Yacoub Malak, a local Coptic priest who helped with funeral services Saturday at Virgin Mary Church, said they have been trying to open another house of worship in a nearby village for 15 years. The day it was due to open in 2002, worshipers were attacked by extremists, who broke the door and windows and ripped up the holy books.
From this time until now we cant pray in the church. They prevent us, he said. Its an Islamic country.
Another priest at the church, Elishaa Lewis, said he tried to open a church in another nearby village, but was initially told it could not be more than a single story, feature minarets or a cross. Worshipers agreed, but two months ago, the local governor still refused them. Its unfair. We need to pray. We need a church, Lewis said, adding that the federal government offers limited protection.
Sisi cant do everything, he said.
Bishop Makarios said the state needs to crack down on Muslim religious edicts, or fatwas, that incite violence against Christians.
They should also focus on intelligence work to prevent these things from happening. The security apparatuses job is not just to investigate after the crime is committed, but also to preemptively stop it from happening. Finally, if there are extremist factions within security apparatuses, these must be looked into as well because they hold significant authority.
Aied Wanget, a Coptic bookstore owner in Minya, said Copts were instrumental is helping oust the Muslim Brotherhood, and he still supports Sisis fight against terrorism as part of an international coalition.
Muslims kill not only Copts but also police and soldiers, noted Wanget, 45.
Neighbor Hanaa Yusuf Mikhael also supported Sisi until Fridays attack.
She had just spoken to her husband, a chicken farmer, on his cellphone Friday before he and her 14-year-old son Mark Habib headed down a remote desert road toward St. Samuel monastery. Moments later, they encountered the bus that had been stopped by gunmen in black masks and Egyptian military uniforms.
The next call that Mikhael, 40, received was from her son, frantic and fleeing with another youth in his fathers truck. Her husband, Aiad Habib, 45, had been gunned down by the Muslim extremists as he embraced his son, shielding him from harm, having refused to recite the Shahada, a Muslim profession of faith.
Mikhael rushed to the scene, but found police and ambulances blocking her way. Officials cautioned her to stay back. She went anyway, and found her husbands bloodied body in the sand.
The police were afraid to go in the desert and protect the people because they thought the terrorists were still there, she said Saturday, as she sat at home with her son.
She vowed to never support Sisi again.
Strict Muslims attack us and claim we are supporting Sisi and the regime. I need rights. I need justice. Copts have no rights in Egypt, she said.
Special correspondents Omar Medhat contributed reporting from Cairo, Makarios Nassar from Minya.
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Many presidential trips, both within the U.S. and abroad, have provided standout moments.
Sometimes theyve been of historic significance: John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan at the Berlin Wall, Richard M. Nixon at Chinas Great Wall.
Occasionally theyve been embarrassing: George H.W. Bush getting sick at a banquet in Japan. Gerald Ford falling down the steps of Air Force One in Austria.
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Donald Trump, of course, has made no secret that he believes in going big. And his first trip abroad has not disappointed, inspiring a stream of memes and late-night punchlines.
Some exchanges were merely awkward. In other cases, theres more than meets the eye.
See for yourself.
First lady swats away her husbands hand
Thanks to the magic of slow-motion, eagle-eyed tweeters noticed what many perceived as First Lady Melania Trump swatting away her husbands hand when he reached for hers. They were walking with non-hand-holders Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, in Tel Aviv. When the first couple landed in Rome, she seemed to reject her husbands hand again, going for a sweep of her hair instead.
Later in the trip, the Trumps were photographed lacing fingers while viewing a 16th century Michelangelo fresco in Rome.
Damage control or unguarded affection? You decide.
The Trumps meet a grimacing pope
Trumps critics were quick to point out Pope Francis downtrodden face during his meeting with Ivanka, Melania and President Trump. But was he truly grimacing?
Not necessarily. As some noted, that was just his resting pope face an expression that we saw during his meeting with President Obama in 2014.
Regardless, Francis wasnt all grimaces. See below for some smiling proof.
The bigger buzz out of the visit with Francis might have been about who was left out. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, a Catholic, was told there was no room for him to meet the pontiff. Many interpreted it as a slight, and Spicer reportedly fumed to colleagues.
Trump and Macrons long handshake
Remember when Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shook hands for 19 seconds? Well, Trumps meeting with new French President Emmanuel Macron came close to breaking that white-knuckled record. The two shook hands for the cameras, and looked to be playing a game of handshake chicken.
Trump wasnt always a fan of those tight grips. Once upon a time, he hated handshakes, calling them barbaic. In his 1997 book, The Art of the Comeback, he wrote about wanting to take out a newspaper ad calling for the end of handshakes.
Trump puts his hands on a glowing orb
When Trump, Egypts Abdel Fattah Sisi and Saudi Arabias King Salman placed their hands on a glowing orb for a photo-op in the Saudi capital, the scene sparked a myriad of online jokes invoking Lord of the Rings and Hocus Pocus.
Why did the theatrical moment take place? The reasoning behind the orbs appearance was more serious than the jokes it sparked. It was there in celebration of the opening of Saudi Arabias Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology.
Trump criticizes NATO while NATO leaders listen
This is the definition of an awkward situation. Trump, who during the campaign had called NATO obsolete, once again criticized alliance members for not spending enough on defense. This time, leaders of member nations were standing right behind him. As they quietly listened, their faces morphed from contentment to confusion.
Trump shoves aside the prime minister of Montenegro
As Trump and his fellow NATO leaders walked to a photo op, Trump reached across with his right arm to move Montenegros Prime Minister Dusko Markovic out of the way. Then he walked past Markovic, straightened his own blazer and stood at the front of the pack.
But all was well. Markovic afterward called it an inoffensive situation. And video showed him continuing to smile and carry on a conversation.
That didnt stop others from noticing Trumps America First ways and chiding the president for what looked like bad manners.
Trump partakes in a sword dance
In the words of Confucius (really, he said it), Never give a sword to a man who cant dance.
Trump seemed to enjoy the traditional sword dance alongside Saudi men in Riyadh. Well leave it to you to decide how his performance fared.
Questions? Comments? Email colleen.shalby@latimes.com or tweet @cshalby.
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Students at Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts walked out of classes Thursday to protest the schools handling of one students charge that another student raped her on campus.
Some students and parents are concerned that they were not told anything about the alleged incident. Some also were upset over what they saw as inaction on the part of the school district.
The campus, on the north edge of downtown L.A., is the flagship arts high school for the Los Angeles Unified School District.
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I dont know the whole story, and when I called the school, I was told it was under investigation. No other information was given, said parent Sibylla Nash on Thursday afternoon. I dont know what happened, but something happened, and parents should be notified when these allegations are brought against students.
After the walkout, a school district spokeswoman said privacy restrictions limited the release of information.
The school is working with law enforcement while ensuring that district policies regarding student administrative due process are followed, Shannon Haber said. In addition, counselors and other staff are available to provide support, as needed. We remain committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone at the school.
Principal Ken Martinez sent an automated phone message to parents Thursday evening.
Several of our students gathered on campus today to express their thoughts about an ongoing investigation into allegations involving two students, it began.
I also want to remind everyone that finals are fast approaching, Martinez said later in the message. We want our students to remain in class so they may be better prepared for these important tests.
Martinez conveyed a similar message to students in a Friday morning announcement, senior Molly Kleinman said.
Kleinman also said school administrators Thursday postponed several events that would have brought large gatherings of students.
The names of the two students at the center of the storm are widely known around the campus and through social media postings, including ones from the young woman who said she was raped.
The story circulating on campus is that she reported the alleged attack to the administration but that the administration took no action.
What may have sparked Thursdays protest is that administrators would not allow the young woman to enter campus wearing a T-shirt that read, I was raped twice and the school did nothing.
The district did not comment on this account by parents and students late Friday. But photos on social media show the student wearing the shirt and a video of students standing with her outside the school office, chanting, Let her in.
She had on a different shirt by then, but her supporters say the school would not let her back on campus at least at that moment.
The protest occurred early in the school day. Dozens of students perhaps more than 100 marched through the halls of several buildings and then gathered on the steps in front of the school, according to witnesses, parents and cellphone video.
On another video, students can be heard angrily chanting a question followed by a response that included profanity: Who are you protecting? A ... rapist.
The protest broke up at lunch.
To read the article in Spanish, click here
howard.blume@latimes.com
Twitter: @howardblume
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A Laguna Beach woman has pleaded guilty to animal cruelty after kicking a 9-month-old German shepherd.
Amber Castillo, 39, pleaded guilty May 16 in Orange County Superior Court to two counts of animal cruelty and was sentenced to 34 days in jail and three years probation, according to Laguna Beach police.
As part of her probation, Castillo is prohibited from owning, possessing, caring for or living with live animals.
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According to police, authorities in March began investigating Castillo in connection with reports that she kicked the dog, named Sarge, near the citys Alternative Sleeping Location.
Castillo told police she owned a dog training business called Customized Dog Training and Service Animals. Police said she was prohibited from doing so in connection with a 2013 animal-cruelty case.
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Los Angeles City Council aide Karo Torossian conceded Friday in the San Fernando Valleys District 7 race and congratulated his one-time rival, Monica Rodriguez, after final results showed him losing the May 16 election.
Certified numbers released by the citys Election Division show Rodriguez, a former L.A. Board of Public Works commissioner, won with 53.6% of the vote in the district, which covers Pacoima, Sylmar and Sunland-Tujunga.
Torossian trailed by more than 800 votes on election night, but hoped uncounted ballots would push him over the edge, a tough challenge given the gap.
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Final results show Rodriguezs margin of victory widened to 1,301 votes after provisional ballots and all votes by mail were tallied.
In an email to supporters Friday, Torossian said his campaign helped raise awareness about important public issues, including the high-speed train route, parks and overdevelopment.
I believe our district came out ahead in this election, and I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to Monica Rodriguez on her victory, said Torossian, a planning and environmental deputy to Councilman Paul Krekorian.
Rodriguez raised nearly twice as much money as Torossian, and had the backing of Mayor Eric Garcetti and City Council President Herb Wesson.
The District 7 seat is being temporarily overseen by Wesson after City Councilman Felipe Fuentes resigned last year.
Wesson is expected next week to appoint Rodriguez as the District 7 caretaker, a non-voting position that allows her to work with residents ahead of her official swearing-in on July 1.
The outcomes of the other races also remain unchanged by Fridays final count.
Councilman Gil Cedillo beat challenger Joe Bray-Ali in District 1, which stretches from Highland Park to Pico-Union, winning with 71.6% of the vote.
In the Los Angeles Board of Education District 4 race, Nick Melvoin defeated Steve Zimmer with 57% of the vote. The district stretches from the Westside to the west San Fernando Valley.
In District 6, in the east San Fernando Valley, teacher Kelly Gonez won with 51.4%, beating Imelda Padilla, a community activist and labor organizer.
Charter Amendment C, which changes the disciplinary process for police officers, passed with 57%, according to certified results.
dakota.smith@latimes.com
Twitter: @dakotacdsmith
The editor of a Sunland-Tujunga community newspaper has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms after advertising a Guns for Haiti Quake Relief drive, according to the U.S attorneys office.
David Doc DeMulle, 75, editor in chief of The Foothills Paper, possessed 25 firearms and hundreds of pounds of ammunition he was forbidden to have because of previous criminal convictions for perjury and welfare fraud in 1990, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty last year to a charge of illegally possessing firearms and was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Otis D. Wright III.
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DeMulle remains free on bond while he appeals the denial of two pretrial motions, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.
What do you want to know other than I was railroaded by a biased judge and a corrupt prosecutor, DeMulle wrote in response to an email seeking comment.
His lawyer, Adam Braun, did not respond to telephone and email messages.
DeMulle was arrested in 2015 after he came to the attention of Los Angeles police and agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when he advertised the earthquake relief effort in his newspaper. The ad sought donations of firearms, which were then to be sold with the proceeds sent to the relief effort.
DeMulle said he never sent money to Haiti and he denied receiving firearms as a result of the ad, which he called a joke.
We received about $50,000 in expendable medical supplies from USC Medical Center and shipped them to a relief agency, he said in an email.
After DeMulle illegally accepted two firearms from undercover police officers who had seen the ad, searches of his home and business turned up 23 additional guns and hundreds of pounds of ammunition, prosecutors said.
The investigation also revealed that DeMulle had previously placed classified ads in The Foothills Paper soliciting firearms, which resulted in him purchasing several firearms from a private citizen while falsely claiming that he possessed a federal firearms dealers license and would handle the firearms transfer paperwork, the U.S. attorneys office said in a press release.
kim.christensen@latimes.com
Twitter: @kchristensenLAT
In the end, the announcement was too good to be true. L.A. was going to get a generous gift a bridge across the Los Angeles River, constructed with private money.
Six years later, city leaders are ready to build the project. But its definitely not free. Instead, the council voted Friday to move forward with a $16.1-million cable-stayed steel bridge connecting Griffith Park and Atwater Village, with taxpayers shouldering about three-fourths of the cost.
The cost of the roughly 325-foot span has gone up repeatedly in the intervening years, despite nearly $3.9 million in construction funding donated by a local businessman.
Omar Brownson, executive director of the nonprofit group River LA, which raised public and private funding for the project, said construction costs went up as the economy improved. The project, which will serve pedestrians, bicyclists and horseback riders, had to be designed in a way that would not increase the flood risk, which also increased the cost, he said.
I think that if we were just building the project for one community of folks just for equestrians, for example you could have built a simpler bridge, Brownson said. But the idea of the L.A. River is that we are trying to move away from single-purpose, single-benefit infrastructure.
Supporters say the iconic 35-foot-wide span, which is backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti , will provide a showcase for the rivers rebirth, attracting more Angelenos to the channel while reducing the number of traffic injuries and deaths. A route over the river away from cars, they say, will fit in with the citys Vision Zero initiative, which seeks to end L.A. traffic deaths by 2025.
Morton La Kretz, the philanthropist who donated $4.75 million for the projects research, design and construction, said in a statement to The Times that the bridge will be an asset to our city, a way to connect communities, and a symbol of river revitalization.
Still, one city lawmaker expressed mixed feelings in recent weeks about building such an expensive project.
Councilman Mitch OFarrell, who represents the Atwater side of the bridge, said the project began as a way of trying to help the areas horse riders cross the river safely. The end product, he said, turned out to be somewhat more opulent than many in the neighborhood expected.
So here we are, at this 11th hour, with a $16.12-million bridge that the community didnt really ask for, OFarrell said at a hearing on the project this month.
OFarrell voted with his colleagues to endorse the bridge-building strategy.
Word that the neighborhood was getting a new river bridge first became public in 2011. Then-Councilman Tom LaBonge , who represented the west side of the river, and then-Councilman Garcetti, who represented the east, signed a council motion calling for the city to accept the generous gift by a private donor of a multi-modal bridge across the Los Angeles River.
The proposal called for River LA, then known as the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corp., to design and build the structure using the money from La Kretz, whose family has been looking at developing property near the bridge site in recent years.
Permitting, inspections and other fees resulting from the project would be absorbed by the city, according to the Garcetti-LaBonge proposal. Once built, the bridge named after La Kretz or someone chosen by him would be turned over to the city to operate in perpetuity, according to the plan.
In January 2012, city budget analysts estimated the project would cost $4.67 million. Their report emphasized the bridge was not a city project and would be a donation to the city from River LA. At that time, the project was fully funded, with LaBonges office securing $300,000 to offset the cost of fees and other city permitting costs, the report said.
As the years passed, the price tag went up, reaching $13 million last summer. By then, River LA had brought in additional funding, including nearly $3.7 million from the California Department of Transportation. But that funding posed new challenges.
Caltrans officials concluded that River LA had followed inadequate procurement procedures, according to an update on the project prepared last year. To ensure the state funding would be preserved, Caltrans recommended that River LA turn construction over to the city.
By then, the citys objective obtaining a gift of a completed bridge had changed. The Department of Water and Power contributed funding, as did Los Angeles County and the citys Department of Public Works, among others.
Throughout the process, Garcetti, LaBonge and various nonprofit groups remained ardent supporters. To start over, and build a less expensive, prefabricated bridge, would jeopardize both the state funding and the donation from La Kretz, supporters argued. Such a scenario would send a chilling effect through the philanthropic community, one bridge advocate said.
After Fridays vote, Garcetti spokesman George Kivork said the bridges costs went up, in part, as designers worked to meet the safety standards set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has responsibility for the rivers flood control channel.
Kivork said the bridge project, part of the citys long-range plan for the river since 2007, shows how public-private partnerships can accelerate infrastructure development in Los Angeles.
The private donation from Morton La Kretz laid the groundwork to begin building a crossing for pedestrians, cyclists, and equestrians that will be safer for people and animals than crossing through the rivers channel or across major intersections near Griffith Park, he said in a statement.
Hazel Krane, who rides horses in Atwater Village, offered a similar view on the bridge. Just last week, she broke her elbow after her horse fell in a shallow section of the riverbed.
Having a bridge would give riders a new way of reaching Griffith Parks horse trails, she said, without riding through a contaminated, super slippery river.
Carrie Sutkin, who serves on the Elysian Valley Riverside Neighborhood Council, said she too welcomes the completion of the span. But she questioned whether the final cost will make it more difficult for the city to pay for riverfront projects in other neighborhoods.
Just keep these simple, she said. Because we need more bridges, not less.
david.zahniser@latimes.com
Twitter: @DavidZahniser
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Santa Monica police took a barricaded suspect into custody after cornering him in a backyard Friday night following a nearby home invasion robbery that left two people hospitalized, one of them with serious stab wounds.
The robbery occurred about 6:20 p.m. in the 200 block of 19th Street in a residential neighborhood near Riviera Country Club, police said.
Police responding to a report of shots fired encountered one suspect, who fled into the backyard of a home in the 200 block of 20th Street and was immediately surrounded by officers. The man barricaded himself at the rear of the home but had no hostages, said Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez.
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We are actively in negotiations with the suspect to try to call him out, Rodriguez said at about 8:45 p.m., shortly before the arrest. We are trying to get the guy into custody as quickly and safely as possible.
Police were investigating the possibility that a second suspect fled in a vehicle, Rodriguez said. No shots were fired in the incident, he said.
The stabbing victim suffered significant injuries, he said, while the other victim, who was struck with a blunt object, sustained minor injuries. Police did not identity either victim.
During the incident, residents near the 200 block of 19th Street were warned by police to stay indoors and to keep their windows and doors locked as SWAT officers engaged in a standoff with the man.
Some residents posted pictures on social media showing heavily armed officers in the area.
Police cars lined 19th Street and Georgina Avenue as neighbors came out to see what happened.
Julian Davis said he was driving near the area about 5 p.m. when he noticed police cars. He said he approached the scene and saw someone on a stretcher covered in blood. He heard a woman shouting, My son has been stabbed, stabbed in the neck and the face!
SWAT team is actively working with a barricaded suspect incident
please continue to avoid the area Santa Monica Police (@SantaMonicaPD) May 27, 2017
Guns drawn. Canine out of car. Pretty tense. Victim at hospital. Active shooter 19th & Georgina in Santa Monica. pic.twitter.com/g2I29Nufqa Rick Giolito (@RickGiolito) May 27, 2017
kim.christensen@latimes.com
melissa.etehad@latimes.com
For more Southern California news, follow us on Twitter: @kchristensenLAT and @melissaetehad
UPDATES:
9:25 p.m.: This article was updated with news that police took a man into custody after the standoff.
9:00 p.m.: This article was updated with the account of Julian Davis who saw someone who was wounded.
8:35 p.m.: This article was updated with details about SWAT officers in a standoff with a barricaded suspect.
This story was originally published at 7:55 p.m.
Two U.S. Navy planes came in fast over a bridge in Dong Phong Thuong, North Vietnam. It was June 1965.
Cloud cover forced them to descend. The enemy was waiting.
Heavy ground fire erupted and the plane of Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Crosby was on fire as it plummeted toward a fish pond.
A 31-year-old father of four, Crosby was listed as killed in action, although his body was not found.
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Deborah Crosby, 6 years old at the time, said she has always felt the void especially each Memorial Day, when people mourn at the graves of the fallen.
It wasnt something we talked about, she said recently. My dads plane was shot down, and thats the end of the story. That always hurt me.
On Friday, Frederick Crosbys remains finally came home to San Diego. The decorated pilot will be buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Sunday, near the Point Loma house where his children grew up.
His headstone will read He is home.
On the back of it, the name of his widow, Mary, will be etched. She died in 2002.
In 1973, nearly 600 American prisoners of war returned from Vietnam in airlifts called Operation Homecoming. Deborah Crosby remembers looking at the list of names.
Her fathers wasnt on it.
And the antiwar sentiment in the country at that time, Crosby said, was one reason that her family didnt push for answers.
It wasnt until decades later, at her paternal grandmothers urging, that Crosby started inquiring about her fathers remains.
She contacted the Library of Congress for the declassified files on her fathers mission and learned where the Navy thought the RF-8A went down.
Crosby also learned that after relations between the U.S. and Vietnamese governments began to normalize, the Pentagons recovery branch had conducted investigations and interviews as early as 1993 in search of her fathers remains.
Vietnam villagers said the aircraft had crashed in a different spot than Navy records indicated. Investigators found an 89-year-old who had witnessed the plane going down.
The man said he was close enough to be splashed with mud upon impact. He even had a piece of the RF-8As broken glass in his home.
But it wasnt until the fall of 2015, armed with a mitochondrial DNA sample Crosby got from her fathers sister, that a Defense Department team excavated the fish pond, emptying it and using buckets to sift through the mud.
After five decades, they were still there: Frederick Crosbys wedding ring, his lighter, pieces of his uniform and some bone fragments.
Three days before Memorial Day last year, his daughter got the call.
At a defense lab in Hawaii, the DNA was a match.
My heart is so much lighter, Deborah Crosby said recently. I feel a tremendous amount of relief that hes been returned.
More than 1,600 Americans who served in the Vietnam War are still missing or unaccounted for. Pilots and Navy and Air Force air crews make up a large portion of that population.
The vast majority of these men were lost in very traumatic incidents shot out of the sky at high rates of speed. And then, being exposed to the elements in a tropical environment for going on 50 years now, said Michael Allen, a professor of modern U.S. history at Northwestern University.
In most cases there are very, very little remains left to recover. Absent DNA, you are essentially making a circumstantial case, he said.
The Defense Department long has spent more than $100 million a year on recovery efforts for its missing troops. In 2016, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency had a $115-million budget and more than 600 employees.
Lt. Cmdr. Frederick Crosby and the men he flew with knew they faced losses.
It was 1965, the early part of the air war in Vietnam, called Operation Rolling Thunder.
Thats where you see some of the most intense air-to-air combat of the war, said Hill Goodspeed, historian at the National Naval Aviation Museum.
Crosby was deployed on the Bon Homme Richard, an aircraft carrier operating off the coast of Vietnam. His mission by its very design was dangerous.
His unarmed reconnaissance plane had to fly low enough for its cameras to capture evidence of damage caused by bombs dropped from other U.S. planes. The RF-8A pilots had speed on their side, but timing was against them.
They were coming in low and fast on an enemy who is already spun up because hes already been attacked, said Karl Zingheim, historian at the USS Midway Museum in San Diego. They were bearing the full brunt of the attack so they could bring the intelligence to bring back to the carrier.
The North Vietnamese were prepared with their ground fire.
There was no gravestone at a national cemetery for Frederick Crosby. No military honors. Mary Crosby accepted her husbands posthumous Distinguished Flying Cross medal with little fanfare.
Now that will be partially rectified.
It means a lot to my family for my dad to get the military honors that he deserves. Hes truly an American hero, Deborah Crosby said.
And its just so wonderful that hes going to be home, at last.
jen.steele@sduniontribune.com
Steele writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune
Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas and other officials interfered in multiple investigations and covered up criminal conduct by police, according to claims filed Friday by two investigators with the district attorneys office.
In their filings, Tom Conklin and Abraham Santos cited three high-profile cases that they said officials had suppressed.
One involved a former Cypress Police Department investigator accused of committing perjury during a capital murder trial. Another case revolved around the alleged cover-up by Fullerton police of a former city managers drunk driving. Conklin and Santos said they were removed from the investigation into a third case, involving a man who they believed was planning a Sandy Hook-level mass shooting.
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The whistle-blower claims are precursors to a lawsuit. Conklin, who has worked at the district attorneys office since 2008, and Santos, who has been there since 2015, assert that they have been targeted for termination because they spoke out about Rackauckas and his office. Santos said he also became the subject of false rumors that he had sexually harassed another employee.
The culture in the OCDA office is one of punishing disloyalty, Conklins claim stated. DA Rackauckas transparently rewards his friends and punishes his enemies.
The district attorneys office did not respond to a request for comment Saturday. Spokeswoman Michelle Van Der Linden declined to comment Friday to the Orange County Register and the Voice of OC, saying the claims were personnel matters.
The claims by Conklin and Santos represent the second time in two weeks that Rackauckas has been accused by one of his investigators of using his position to help political allies and retaliating against employees who express opposition.
Craig Hunter, former chief investigator for the office, filed a claim alleging that Rackauckas had interfered in political corruption investigations involving his supporters. Hunter also is one of the officials Conklin and Santos accused of misconduct.
The investigators named 14 members of the district attorneys office in their claims, including Rackauckas and several of his assistants, as well as other investigators.
andrea.castillo@latimes.com
@andreamcastillo
Welcome to the last weekend in May, the final few days of our month-long food festival, the Memorial Day holiday and the unofficial start of summer. If youre traveling, well, at least you have something else to read that will make you hungry. If youre in L.A. and have some extra time, we have a few suggestions for you.
For starters, there are a few more days of Food Bowl and thus a few more things to do and eat around town, including a fried chicken pop-up, a farmer-and-chef mini-festival, a pastrami panel, a Sichuan dinner and more. You can check out Jonathan Golds catalog of what hes been eating for incentive, if you needed it. Or you could go on a chile verde crawl before it gets too hot outside.
If youre staying home and cooking, we have this weeks farmers market report (cucumbers!), plus a list of 29 great burger recipes (it is a long weekend, after all), a dozen brownie recipes and, if youre feeling a little more ambitious, a whole catalog of dumpling recipes. Need a few bottles of wine to pair with all that? Weve got that too. Have a terrific weekend.
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Amy Scattergood
BOWLED OVER
This week, Jonathan considers not one restaurant so much as many of them, specifically many of the favorite dishes hes had over the last few weeks of Food Bowl. He has, he writes, eaten really well. Whats on the list? A suckling pig dish from British chef Fergus Henderson; lamb a la ficelle from Spotted Pig chef April Bloomfield; a dish of veal that resembles a Damien Hirst painting more than dinner; and not a few others.
IN PRAISE OF CHILE VERDE
Chile verde dish at Tamayo Restaurant and Art Gallery in Los Angeles. (Jenna Schoenefeld / For The Times)
Food writer Barbara Hansen scouts out five chile verde specialists, spanning many styles and neighborhoods, including South Bay, Pico Rivera and East L.A. It may be homey, but the addictive pork and green chile stew has plenty of worshipers in the American Southwest, northern Mexico and here in L.A.
SYRAHS OF THE WEEK
If you havent tried a glass, or a bottle, of Syrah lately, you might want to consider the three wine writer Patrick Comiskey highlights this week. These are California wines, all from cool-climate vineyards, Syrahs where he finds that the fruit isnt too ripe at harvest, that the flavors will be generous but thrilling and that the textures will have some snap and tension, and be as uplifting as any red wine in California.
QUESTIONS FOR A FRENCH CHEF
Jean-Georges Vongerichten is among the best-known of French chefs, with Michelin stars, over 30 restaurants (including that famous one in New Yorks Trump Hotel) and a stack of cookbooks. Hes also about to open his first restaurant in L.A. Deputy Food Editor Jenn Harris catches up to him in the unfinished dining room at his new Beverly Hills restaurant, where the chef talks about his new place, his frequent-flier miles and his love of In-N-Out.
TALKING TO JACQUES PEPIN
Long before the Food Network and Netflix chef series, there was Jacques Pepin, the legendary French chef who pioneered food TV with Julia Child. Food writer Hillary Eaton talks to Pepin, now 81, on the occasion of PBS newest culinary edition of the America Masters, which aired a show about the chef Friday. Pepin discusses his life in France and opportunities for immigrants in the American kitchen today.
MORE FILIPINO FOOD
Husband and wife chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke, seen at their Republique restaurant, plan to open a Filipino food stall at Grand Central Market. (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
In her weekly Restaurant News column, Jenn gets details on a new Grand Central Market stall, where Republique chef Walter Manzke and his wife and Republiques pastry chef Margarita plan to open a Filipino food stall called Sari Sari Store. Actor Danny Trejo has also opened Trejos Coffee and Donuts in Hollywood, adding doughnuts to his growing taco empire.
The Los Angeles Times Food Bowl: Want to spend the rest of the month exploring the food of this city through a Night Market, forums, dinners, films, pop-ups and more dining and drinking? Our month-long food festival runs through May 31. Whats up next? The Farmer and the Chef Festival, a festival-within-a-festival on Sunday at Manuela restaurant in DTLA, with 10 chefs and 10 farmers, plus bartenders, whole pigs and live music. And on May 30 at noon, a Pastrami Panel, with Jonathan Gold, Norm Langer and Matt Giamela, at Langers (where else?).
Goldbot: You can now talk to Jonathan Gold any time you want or at least the robot version of him that now lives on Facebook Messenger. You can ask Goldbot for a personal restaurant recommendation based on location, type of food or price. The bot will also deliver Jonathan Golds latest reviews straight to your device.
The Daily Meal, the food and drink website under the editorial direction of Colman Andrews, is now one of our partners. Check out their 101 best pizzas in America and other stories, recipes and videos.
Jonathan Golds 101 Best Restaurants, the authoritative annual guide to local dining, is online for subscribers and now features his 2016 Best Restaurants. If you didnt get a copy of the booklet, you can order one online here.
Check us out on Instagram @latimesfood
Check out the thousands of recipes in our Recipe Database.
Feedback? Wed love to hear from you. Email us at food@latimes.com.
Twelve years ago, then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger learned a painful lesson about the might of the California Teachers Assn. when he pushed a ballot measure to lengthen the time it takes for teachers to get tenure. Not only did that proposal go down, but the revved-up union energy contributed to the defeat of the entire slate of Schwarzenegger-backed proposals, putting a serious dent in his image as the guy who could slide into Sacramento from Hollywood and sell anything to voters.
The issue didnt die when Proposition 74 was defeated, however. There has been an unending debate about the value and effects of tenure, several bills to weaken tenure laws, and one big lawsuit: the Vergara complaint, which claimed that teacher-protection laws unconstitutionally deprived California students of a decent education. The assertion was off base, and the lawsuit was rejected on appeal last year. But the Vergara plaintiffs critique of the system was valid: The laws go too far in placing the right of teachers to job protections over the right of students to reasonably good teachers. Even if theyre not unconstitutional, the laws are bad policy. But the majority of legislators cant seem to muster the moxie to do what they clearly know is in the students best interests, not with so much CTA campaign money floating around Sacramento.
Twelve years after Schwarzeneggers failed try, this is precisely how far weve come: Nowhere.
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Firing obviously bad or uncaring classroom instructors shouldnt be as long or hard a procedure as it is.
Still, another year, another effort: AB 1220 by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber (D-San Diego) would enact the mildest sort of tenure reform, addressing only the situation that Schwarzenegger tried to tackle with Proposition 74. Its expected to reach the Assembly floor for a vote in early June.
Under current law, a school district has to decide whether to permanently hire a probationary teacher after two years on the job, which, given requirements for notice, actually means after 18 months. Considering that firing a permanent teacher is a long, expensive procedure that is stacked against the school district, 18 months to make such a decision is utterly inadequate. It takes most new teachers four years to reach their peak performance, numerous studies have found. In fact, the short timeline is, if anything, unfair to new instructors. A teacher who looks like an iffy prospect at 18 months might be rejected under the current do-or-die law; that same teacher might improve by leaps and bounds over the next year if he or she is retained.
Assembly Bill 1220 would extend the probationary period by one more year, placing California in the same ballpark as almost every other state. And if a teachers skills still look wobbly in the middle of that third year, the school could extend probationary status by up to two more years, but would have to invest in considerable training to help the teacher improve.
This isnt all the reform that California needs in the laws governing public school teachers. Firing obviously bad or uncaring classroom instructors shouldnt be as long or hard a procedure as it is. Seniority protections go too far in keeping more seasoned teachers in their jobs, even when they are drastically underperforming compared with less experienced colleagues.
The trouble lies in finding the right middle ground. Its important for the state to maintain protective laws for teachers, whose jobs could otherwise be at risk for reasons having nothing to do with their skill or dedication. A teacher revered by one principal might be picked on by the next one, and cash-strapped schools might have an incentive to fire experienced, but higher paid, faculty. California wont improve its schools by making teachers feel theyre under attack.
Proposed legislation last year made a good attempt to reach that solid middle ground on tenure, giving principals a measured bit of additional power to delay judgments and to fire poorly performing teachers. Predictably, the Legislature, which has a long record of acceding to the wishes of the teachers union, rejected it.
The CTA opposes AB 1220 too, although its hard to imagine why it would balk at even this modest, narrowly targeted bill. The unions argument that the measure would discourage people from entering teaching rings false. There is no evidence that weaker tenure protections in other states have turned off prospective teachers, or that Californias stronger law has encouraged them, considering that the state faces a severe shortage of qualified teachers in math, science and other fields. AB 1220 is entirely reasonable, and lawmakers should be willing to part company with the CTA enough to pass it.
Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook.
On Wednesday, the eve of a Montana special election, Republican House candidate Greg Gianforte was seen body-slamming and punching a reporter who dared to ask him about the GOP healthcare bill. An audio recording seemed to back up witness accounts, and Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault.
The next day, Montana voters sent Gianforte to Congress.
Perhaps theres a disconnect between how people react in public to such a stunning development and how they vote in private, but if it had been up to The Times letter writers, the only thing Gianforte would have been delivering on Thursday was an apology, not a victory speech.
Encino resident Branden Frankel doesnt like where this is headed:
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Sometimes it feels to me as if Im living in a Looney Tunes version of American democracy. Joe Elliott, Asheville, N.C.
One can draw a direct line from President Trumps grotesque declaration that journalists are the enemies of the American people to the actions of now Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte. And one can draw a direct line from the hateful, paranoid garbage peddled by Fox News and other right-wing news outlets to the election of Donald Trump. Trump himself is without equal when it comes to peddling conspiracy theories.
One need only look at recent history for example when a man showed up with a gun at a Washington pizza parlor in response to an outlandish conspiracy theory about a child sex ring run by Hillary Clinton to see where we are headed. If politicians, who were once upon a time supposed to be role models, start assaulting journalists, its only a matter of time before an armed, brainwashed lunatic kills one.
Robin Weitz of Los Angeles similarly fingers Trump:
Gianforte body-slams a journalist to the ground and breaks his glasses, and this is fine to the citizens in Montana, who go on to elect him to Congress. Bully culture reins supreme in the era of Trump. No one is going to tell the people of Montana how to vote, and they are going to elect a despicable Neanderthal if they want.
But should I be surprised? When the president of the United States shoves aside a prime minister from another country apparently because he wants to be in the front of the pack, then straightens his suit to look good for the photographers, this is just the new standard of political behavior.
How low can we sink? Truly, how low?
Joe Elliott of Asheville, N.C. imagines Gianforte as an Old West hero:
As I listened to the recording of the attack on the reporter, the image of a 1950s movie hero flashed across my mind. Gianforte (played by Gary Cooper) is in the role of the iconic western figure standing up for his rights, versus the city slicker reporter:
Sheriff, I reckon I got a little riled when he said them things. Im sorry.
No need, Greg. Lets just say he slipped and fell, and leave it at that, shall we?
Less amusingly, I thought of the assault on Sen. Charles Sumner by Rep. Preston Brooks in 1856. Sometimes it feels to me as if Im living in a Looney Tunes version of American democracy.
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Sen. Kamala Harris says she hasnt considered running for president By Phil Willon U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Despite swirling speculation, Californias U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris said shes not giving any consideration to running for president in 2020. Harris was appearing at the annual Code Conference hosted by the tech news site Recode in Rancho Palos Verdes on Wednesday night when site co-founder Kara Swisher asked if she had eyes on the White House. Im not giving that any consideration. Ive got to stay focused, said Harris, a Democrat who was elected to the Senate in November after serving as Californias attorney general. After she won the seat vacated by former Sen. Barbara Boxer, Harris quickly gained a reputation as a potential presidential candidate in 2020. Harris took questions from Swisher alongside Laurene Powell Jobs, a philanthropist and the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs. Though she brushed off the presidential rumors, Harris urged Democrats to try harder to make convincing arguments on issues such as climate change instead of just criticizing those who disagree with them. She told the audience at the posh Terranea Resort where the conference is being held that it would be a mistake to dismiss the concerns of Americans who supported Trump in the November election. She said the issues that concern them good jobs and the future of their families are the concerns of all working-class Americans. There is a healthy number of people in our country who are feeling displaced, rightly, Harris said. I think we have to deal with that. Still, Harris dished out plenty of jabs at the Trump administration. She criticized Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions for resuscitating the war on drugs and told him to leave Grandmas medical marijuana alone. Harris also criticized the Trump administrations more hard-line immigration policies, and said she was concerned about allegations of collusion between Trumps campaign and the Russian government. These are serious times. These are not issues we can just sit around with a glass of Chardonnay debating and philosophizing about, Harris said. The decisions that are being made right now are impacting real human beings. Watch the entire interview: Facebook
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Trump wouldnt release his tax returns, so lawmakers move to make it mandatory for Californias primary By John Myers (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) Legislation to require presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to gain a spot on Californias presidential primary ballot won passage in the state Senate on Wednesday, but only after a tense debate that largely centered on President Trump. Senate Bill 149 was approved on a strict party-line vote, 27-13. The bill now moves to the state Assembly, and was one of the last bills debated during a marathon session at the state Capitol to consider bills before a Friday deadline for action. The bill would require presidential candidates to file copies of their income tax returns with state elections officials for the five most recent taxable years. Failure to do so would mean their name wouldnt appear on Californias presidential primary ballot. The legislation was introduced in December, in the wake of Trumps refusal to disclose his tax returns during the 2016 campaign. The president has continued to reject calls for the information. Hes shaping international policy which could enrich himself, and the American public has no way to know, state Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) said of Trump during Wednesday nights floor debate. This legislation will help make transparency great again. Republicans denounced the bill as another in a long line of efforts by Democrats in the Legislature to lash out at the election of Trump and the defeat of Hillary Clinton. I get it that some people hate Trump, state Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) said. Weve got to move ahead. Weve got to get over it. Tensions flared after Anderson tried to amend the bill on the floor first, to require statewide and legislative candidates to also release their tax returns, and then to require a birth certificate from candidates who want access to the states primary ballot. Both were rejected by Democrats. A legislative analysis of SB 149 said some legal scholars believe the plan, which would be the first of its kind in the nation, would pass muster with the U.S. Constitution. Nonetheless, the analysis concluded that it would probably be challenged in court if signed into law. Facebook
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California Senate moves forward with bill that would overhaul Los Angeles County MTA By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) proposed to revamp the Los Angeles County MTA. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) The state Senate on Wednesday approved a bill that would expand and reshape the agency that oversees mass transit in Los Angeles County. Opponents of the measure include Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, the city and county of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce. The bill by Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia) was sent to the Assembly for consideration after squeaking by with a 22-11 vote in the Senate. The measure would expand the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board from 12 to 15 members. It would also reduce the number of county supervisors on the board from five to two, remove the appointment of two public members and increase Los Angeles City Council member appointments by the mayor from two to five. This will allow for proportional and fair representation, Mendoza told his colleagues, adding that the board currently is made up of haves and have-nots fighting to get their share. Sen. John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) opposed the measure because he said he saw it as Sacramento meddling in local policymaking. But Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Palmdale) supported SB 268. Too much power is concentrated in too few people, he said of the current board. Facebook
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Single-payer healthcare is popular with Californians unless it raises their taxes By John Myers (Rich Pedoncelli / Associated Press) Almost two of every three Californians in a new statewide poll said they like the idea of a single-payer, government healthcare system, but far fewer support the idea if it includes a tax increase. The poll released Wednesday night by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California found that 65% of adults surveyed support the creation of a single-payer state healthcare program to cover all of the states residents, and 56% of likely voters approved of the idea. Opinion was sharply divided between Democrats (75% support) and Republicans (66% oppose) who were surveyed. The single-payer proposal under consideration in the state Capitol, Senate Bill 562, assumes at least $50 billion in new taxes to fund the healthcare system. Asked about taxes, support drops to 42% of the adults surveyed and 43% of likely voters. While a majority of Democrats in the PPIC poll continued to support the idea if it means more taxes, support drops substantially among unaffiliated independent voters. The state Senate is expected to consider the single-payer bill before the end of the week. A legislative analysis put the estimated total cost of a new healthcare system that covers all Californians at $400 billion, while an analysis released on Wednesday by supporters provided a $331-billion estimate. The pending legislation by state Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens) does not identify what taxes would be raised but makes the enactment of the plan contingent on a full funding proposal. Facebook
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Knowingly exposing others to HIV should no longer be a felony, state Senate says By Patrick McGreevy The Senate voted to no longer make it a felony for HIV-positive people to donate blood or semen without telling the blood bank they are infected. ( (Toby Talbot / Associated Press)) The state Senate on Wednesday voted to no longer make it a felony for someone infected with HIV to knowingly expose others to the disease by having unprotected sex without telling his or her partner about the infection. The crime would be downgraded to a misdemeanor, and the bill would also apply to people who donate blood or semen without telling the blood or semen bank that they have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, or have tested positive for human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, the precursor to AIDS. The measure, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration, was introduced by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who said it is unfair to make HIV/AIDS the only communicable disease given such harsh treatment by prosecutors. These laws are irrational and discriminatory, Wiener told the Senate, adding that the current felony status is creating an incentive not to be tested, because if you dont know your status you cant be guilty of a felony. The measure was widely opposed by Republican lawmakers including Sen. Joel Anderson of San Diego. If you intentionally transmit something that is fundamentally life-threatening to the victim, you should be charged and go to jail, he said. Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Murrieta) said, My friends, its not a gay issue. Its a public health issue. We shouldnt allow someone to play Russian roulette with other peoples lives. Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), a physician, voted for the bill and argued that it undermines public health to imprison those with HIV under the current law. Facebook
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Hillary Clinton: I was the victim of a very broad assumption I was going to win By Seema Mehta Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that she has no plans to run for office again, but she plans to remain involved in civic life, particularly helping the Democrats efforts to regain control of the House in 2018. Im not going anywhere, Clinton said at the annual Code Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes. I have a big stake in what happens in this country. I am very unbowed and unbroken about what happened because I dont want it to happen to anybody else. I dont want it to happen to the values and the institutions I care about in America. And I think were at a really pivotal point, she said. And therefore Im going to keep writing and keep talking and keep supporting people who are on the front lines of the resistance. The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said she woke up on election day expecting to win. Clinton told the gathering that she was responsible for every decision the campaign made, though she did not believe they caused her surprise loss. She attributed that to several things, including alleged Russian interference in the election and weaponizing stolen information and fake news. She also pointed a finger at the Democrats for falling behind the GOP in using technology and data to target voters, the media for covering her e-mail controversy like it was Pearl Harbor, misogyny and the high expectations many had for her candidacy. I was the victim of a very broad assumption I was going to win, she said, adding that she always expected the race to be close. Trump responded on Twitter, saying that Clinton still refused to accept that she lost because she was a terrible candidate. Crooked Hillary Clinton now blames everybody but herself, refuses to say she was a terrible candidate. Hits Facebook & even Dems & DNC. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 1, 2017 Clinton, who has increasingly jabbed President Trump, including at last weeks commencement address at Wellesley College, blasted his reported plan to pull out of the Paris climate accord as really stupid because of the economic implications. She described his personality as impulsive and reactive. And she joked about his peculiar overnight tweet about constant negative press covfefe, saying she thought it was a hidden message to the Russians to laughter from the audience. Going forward, Clinton said that she believes that it was realistic for Democrats to retake the House in 2018, notably by focusing on Republican congressional districts she won including seven in California. She sounded less optimistic about the Senate. Updated at 6:06 p.m.: This post was updated to add President Trumps response to Clintons remarks. This post was first published at 5:41 p.m. Facebook
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California lawmakers take aim again at establishing statewide rules for drones By Jazmine Ulloa A state senator from Santa Barbara is taking another shot at establishing statewide regulations for the use of drones after the budding industry thwarted her efforts to pass similar legislation last year. Senate Bill 347, introduced by Democratic Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, would limit disruptive drone use near private property and prohibit the weaponization and reckless operation of the unmanned aerial vehicles. It also would require pilots to obtain insurance and to license, register and mark the aircrafts per federal regulations. The bill moved out of the Senate on Wednesday with a 26-13 vote. It heads to the Assembly for consideration. Speaking on the Senate floor, Jackson urged support for what she called comprehensive drone legislation, saying California needs common-sense rules that provide certainty for everyone and keep the public safe. Washington is not going to be acting on this issue very soon, she said, citing a federal appeals court decision that this month found the Federal Aviation Administration doesnt have the authority to regulate the use of drones by hobbyists. Debate has raged in recent years over just where federal authority begins and ends. And Jacksons attempts at drone legislation last year were blocked amid opposition from lobbyists who argued against creating a patchwork of laws that varied by state. Under Jacksons new proposal, violations would be punishable by a fine of up to $250 or a misdemeanor, and the California Department of Transportation would be tasked with developing liability insurance requirements. It has the support of the California State Assn. of Counties, the League of California Cities and the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Assn, but it once again faces tough industry opposition. Facebook
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School districts would be prohibited from shaming students whose parents havent paid for school lunches By Patrick McGreevy Students eat lunch at Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School in Los Angeles. (Christina House / For the Los Angeles Times) Students whose parents have not kept their school lunch bills current would no longer go through shaming that includes marking their hand so they cannot be served, under legislation approved Wednesday by the state Senate. The measure by Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) would require school districts to ensure that any student whose parent has unpaid school meal fees is not treated differently, or delayed or denied a nutritiously adequate meal. Hertzberg introduced the legislation after hearing of school districts taking lunch trays from students whose accounts were not current and throwing the food in the trash, embarrassing the students in front of their friends. No more shaming, Herzberg told his colleagues. Dont visit the failures of the parents on their kids. The measure passed on a 39-0 vote and was sent to the Assembly for consideration. Facebook
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Emilio Huerta, undaunted by 2016 loss, is back to challenge Rep. David Valadao By Sarah D. Wire (Sarah D. Wire / Los Angeles Times) Bakersfield lawyer Emilio Huerta came more than 13 percentage points short of winning Californias 21st Congressional District seat in 2016, but he plans to try again in 2018. Huerta, 59, blames his loss to Rep. David Valadao (R-Hanford) on inexperience and a rash of negative ads at the end of the campaign. We learned a lot in the last campaign. As a first-time candidate there was certainly a lot to learn and I think we did a good job, Huerta said Wednesday. The son of labor icon Dolores Huerta, he has worked for the United Farm Workers union which his mother co-founded throughout the Central Valley district. Huerta said Valadaos vote for the Republican healthcare plan shows hes ignoring Valley residents needs because it would end the expansion of the MediCal program, which many of the districts residents use for healthcare. Its going to be a pretty significant issue, he said. He is the first Democrat to announce a bid for the seat. Democrats are heartened by the fact that, while Valadao won the seat with 56.74% of the vote, the district has continued to trend Democratic in voter registration and chose Hillary Clinton for president with 54.72% of the vote. That tells me that there were die-hard Democrats, committed Democrats that vote, Democrats that were not convinced that my campaign should be supported and I think a lot of that has to do with me being a first-time candidate, Huerta said. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has made the seat a target for 2018. The majority-Latino district includes parts of Fresno, Kern, Kings and Tulare counties. Facebook
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Gov. Jerry Brown and Democrats say Trump is going backwards if he pulls out of Paris climate pact By John Myers Gov. Jerry Brown warned Wednesday that a decision by President Trump to withdraw the United States from a 2015 global climate change agreement could be tragic, and vowed to keep Californias ambitious efforts in place and on track. Here we are, in 2017, going backwards, Brown said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. It cannot stand, its not right and California will do everything it can to not only stay the course, but to build more support in other states, in other provinces, in other countries. The governor also criticized efforts to the president to dismantle climate change initiatives launched by former President Barack Obama. Trump is going against science. Hes going against reality, the governor said. We cant stand by and give aid and comfort to that. News that the president had either made the decision to pull the country out of the Paris Accord on climate change or was on the verge of doing so drew swift condemnation from California leaders. Brown and other top lawmakers attended the talks in late 2015 that resulted in the international agreement, and insisted on Wednesday that it would not hurt the states own efforts to sharply curtail greenhouse gas emissions. As with so many other matters, from human rights to healthcare, the Trump administration has continued to surrender our nations longstanding role as a global leader, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said. Others pointed out that a decision to remove the United States from the agreement would leave it in rare company among other nations. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that such a decision by Trump would be more than just dumb + destructive. Brown, who leaves Friday for a weeklong visit to China to encourage more climate-change cooperation, predicted any decision to step away would suggest the countrys priorities arent clear. It sends a very muddled message, the governor said during an interview in his state Capitol office. Is the message [that] we like dirty cars and gas guzzlers? And were going to have a coal future? That cant happen. And Brown again suggested that Californias experience on the issue offers a road map for others. If we want to retain and enhance manufacturing, we have to do what California is doing, in clean energy and clean technology, he said. Thats the future of jobs, the future of sustainability. And we better get on board. And California will be right there with the best of them. Facebook
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This Orange County congressmans immigration town hall turned chaotic and led to three arrests By Sarah D. Wire The majority of calls into Rep. Lou Correas Orange County congressional office are about immigration worries and what the Trump administrations enforcement policies mean for Correas many Latino constituents. Theres a lot of fear in my district, he said. So the freshman Democrat has held seven town halls, all focused on immigration and explaining immigrants rights. Theyve been peaceful, with representatives from groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and the Mexican Consulate invited to help Correa answer questions. But as the crowd of about 100 people gathered at Santa Anas Delhi Center on Tuesday evening, Correa knew this time would be different. We had some people there, probably a dozen of them, that immediately had signs that were not complimentary to yours truly, he said. Two women arguing about immigration issues had already gotten into an altercation outside the town hall. They were cited for assault and battery, and barred by police from going inside. Correa told the crowd inside he would give a short presentation about immigration policy coming out of Washington and then have a question-and-answer session. About a dozen people were having none of it. Some of the most tense moments came when Correa started talking about green card holders who served in the U.S. military and have since been deported. Maam, Im trying to be courteous here, he said as a woman kept speaking over him. As soon as I started speaking, it became very clear they were not going to let me speak, Correa said Wednesday. They just got louder and louder. Video of the town hall posted on social media shows people in the crowd yelling Americans first and Illegals have no rights. Correa repeatedly asks them to let him speak. Are you guys going to cooperate, or am I going to have to ask you to leave? he said. About 15 minutes in, as some in the crowd continued to shout and their attention turned to berating a group of counter-protesters, Correa declared the meeting over. A handful of people circled around Correa as he tried to leave, yelling Shame, shame and You guys all want welfare. One womans voice can be heard repeatedly yelling Coward! Police emptied the room amid chants of USA. The crowd streamed into the parking lot, where confrontations quickly started between supporters of President Trump and others who appeared to be focused on Native American rights. Videos posted on social media show men shouting at one another, their faces so close their noses are practically touching. Police officers kept trying to separate the groups. (Warning: The video below includes language that some readers might find offensive.) Santa Ana Police Department spokesman Anthony Bertagna said a man struck a Trump supporter on the head with a pole bearing an anti-fascism flag. He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Bertagna said. The man was brought to police headquarters, and a group of about 10 people followed along to protest, he said. Shortly after, the town hall peacefully resumed in a different room with a much smaller crowd, Correa said. Several California members of Congress have held similar immigration-specific town halls or workshops in the last few months as questions swirl about changes to federal immigration policies and enforcement. The purpose of the town halls is to let people know how to follow the law, let them know their legal rights and responsibilities, Correa said. Protesters have characterized it as teaching people who are in the country illegally how to avoid deportation and get federal benefits. Facebook
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California plan for 100% renewable energy by 2045 clears key hurdle By Liam Dillon California will receive all of its power from renewable energy, such as solar and wind power, by 2045 under legislation that passed the state Senate on Wednesday. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) touted his bill, Senate Bill 100, as the most ambitious program in the world. Clean energy is the future, De Leon said. SB 100 ensures that California leads into the future. The measure would also speed up the states goal of reaching 50% renewable energy, changing the deadline from 2030 to 2026. SB 100 passed over objections from Republican senators. Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Temecula) criticized the measure as government getting ahead of technological capacity. What if we cant make that mandate that were putting into law today? Stone said. What its going to do is drive up electricity bills for our businesses. De Leons bill now moves to the Assembly. Facebook
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A new proposal on Californias cap-and-trade program emerges as vote is delayed By Chris Megerian Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced), left. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A coalition of business-friendly Democrats is detailing their own ideas for cap and trade, a centerpiece of Californias fight against global warming, the latest bid in a crowded field of efforts to extend the program. Cap and trade requires polluting companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions, and lawmakers have been considering a push from Gov. Jerry Brown to extend the program beyond 2020. The new plan would force the program to sunset in 2025, earlier than previous proposals from other lawmakers. It would also direct revenue from the program toward improving air quality and helping agricultural and trucking companies lower their emissions by replacing aging equipment. The plan is also aimed at keeping costs down for industries regulated by cap and trade, allowing them to support green projects known as offsets instead of reducing their own emissions. California must continue to lead the world by implementing a strong climate policy that ensures both a healthy environment for future Californians and growth in all sectors of our economy, Assemblyman Adam Gray (D-Merced) said in a statement. The pro-business Democrats plan is the fourth such effort announced by various factions within the states ruling Democratic Party this year with two others emerging from the Assembly and one from the Senate. The plans offer varying degrees of changes to the existing program, either to prioritize pollution reductions in disadvantaged communities or eliminate offsets. Republican lawmakers also have said they want to be part of the cap-and-trade debate. Brown has pushed for a two-thirds supermajority vote of the Legislature to extend the program by the state budget deadline next month. But Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) said at a Wednesday news conference that that wasnt going to happen. Cap-and-trade is a very complex issue, De Leon said. Its very arcane. We want to make sure we get it right. De Leon said he hoped for a deal by the end of the year. Read More Facebook
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Senate fails to back bill to delay the Aliso Canyon reopening, but lawmaker will try again Facebook
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California state Senate advances bill to ban smoking and use of e-cigarettes in government housing By Patrick McGreevy Californians would no longer be able to use tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, in public housing and within 25 of those buildings under a measure approved Tuesday by the state Assembly. Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg) said the measure builds on a smoking ban approved last year for federal public housing projects by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In addition to applying the smoking ban to state housing, expansion to include e-cigarettes makes sure the law cover new technology in tobacco use. The bill takes effect by July 30, 2018. Wood said tobacco-related diseases cost taxpayers significant funds each year. This bill will save money but will more importantly save lives, Wood told his colleagues before the vote. The measure is opposed by the Western Center on Law and Poverty, which worries it will lead to more evictions. Facebook
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Californians would not be able to buy more than one rifle a month under bill approved by state senators By Patrick McGreevy Terry McGuire, owner of Get Loaded in Grand Terrace, shows a customer a Cobalt Kinetics BAMF rifle about a week after the 2015 shooting rampage in nearby San Bernardino. (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times) Californians would be prohibited from buying more than one firearm in any 30-day period under a measure approved Tuesday by the Senate to reduce straw purchasing and circumvention of gun laws. California already bars people from buying more than one handgun a month. The bill by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) expands the limit to also cover long guns, including rifles and shotguns. The measure, which next goes to the Assembly for consideration, seeks to address concerns that some people buy large quantities of guns and then sell them on the underground market to criminals and others not eligible to own guns. There is no need or reason why a person would need to purchase more than one gun a month, Portantino said during the floor debate. Republicans, including Jeff Stone of Murrieta, opposed the legislation. This is yet another example of the government trying to infringe on the 2nd Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, Stone said. Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Chico) said he has seen no proof that past gun-control measures approved by the state have made the state safer. Its more of the same that will not decrease violent crime, Nielsen said. Facebook
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California state senators want to stop the public from smoking at California beaches and parks By Patrick McGreevy Californians would be barred from smoking or using electronic cigarettes in state parks and at beaches under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Concord) said his bill would address the health problems caused by smoking but also the harm done to the environment by discarded cigarette butts and the fire danger posed by the practice. Cigarette butts contain more than 150 toxic chemicals and although small in size, have a huge negative impact on the environment and the animals that live in them, Glazer told his colleagues. A legislative analysis said the bill does not address the concerns raised by Gov. Jerry Brown when he vetoed a similar bill last year. The veto message read, in part, The complete prohibition in all parks and beaches is too broad. A more measured and less punitive approach might be warranted. Facebook
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School day wouldnt begin before 8:30 a.m. in California under bill that clears the state Senate By John Myers (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) California teenagers wouldnt be required to start their school day before 8:30 am under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate. The legislation by Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Canada Flintridge) would not fully take effect until 2020, and sparked a lively floor debate over the science on the sleep patterns of middle and high school students, and whether they simply need to go to bed earlier. I expect this would only dispose them to stay up later, said state Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Gerber). Another Republican lawmaker, Sen. Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield), said students need to learn what its like in the workforce. Job preparation is what schooling is all about, Fuller said. Unless youre a musician or someone who works nights, you probably did not start in the later morning. Opponents also said the later start time could affect collective bargaining agreements with teachers and other school employees. Supporters, however, pointed to a recommendation for later start times from the American Academy of Pediatrics. A University of Minnesota study linked school start times to sleep deprivation and the rate of car crashes among teenage drivers. The morning sleep time is the most valuable for student health, said Portantino. Their test scores go up, their attendance goes up, their graduation rates go up. The bill would allow rural school districts to obtain a waiver if they couldnt make the change. Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) ended the debate with a simple request of the senators on behalf of teenage students. "Lets just let them sleep in a little bit, he said with a smile. Facebook
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More transparency proposed for prescription drug price increases under bill passed by California Senate By Patrick McGreevy Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), shown speaking in March, won Senate approval Tuesday on a bill that would require more transparency on drug prices. (Melanie Mason / Los Angeles Times) Alarmed by skyrocketing prices for some prescription drugs, the California Senate on Tuesday approved a measure aimed at increasing pressure to hold down costs to consumers by requiring more public reporting of price hikes. The lawmakers approved a bill that would require drug manufacturers to notify health plans and state purchasers such as the prison department of increases in the wholesale cost of drugs in writing at least 90 days before the new costs were to take effect. The measure also requires that health plans and insurers notify state regulators of pricing information for the most costly drugs. Were not saying that they cant raise the price. Were just saying notify us, Hernandez said during the floor debate. And if [the price] goes up a significant amount, we should be able to question why. The measure passed by a 26-10 vote with some Republicans, including Sen. Ted Gaines of El Dorado Hills, opposed. Gaines said the pharmaceutical industrys pricing of drugs helps it pay for development of new medications. It funds their research, Gaines said during the debate. The measure next goes to the Assembly, where a similar bill last year failed to win passage. Hernandez said more opponents are talking to him this year about possible compromises, although the bill is opposed by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Hernandez said the bill is needed, adding that current regulations allow pharmaceutical companies to reap obscene profits at the expense of the entire healthcare system. Facebook
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California Senate advances bill to make pot use in cars an infraction By Patrick McGreevy San Bruno police officers stop cars at a DUI checkpoint. State officials are proposing to make it an infraction to use marijuana in motor vehicles. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Just months after state voters legalized the recreational use of marijuana, the state Senate on Tuesday voted to prohibit its use in automobiles because of concerns over drugged driving. A bill by Sen. Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) makes it an infraction for drivers and passengers to use marijuana in motor vehicles. Stiffer penalties already exist for motorists found to be driving while impaired by drugs. California voters legalized recreational use of marijuana in November although the state does not plan to begin issuing licenses for its legal sale until January. In Washington state, which previously legalized pot, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that the number of drivers who had recently used marijuana before fatal accidents doubled from 2013 to 2014, Hill told his colleagues. Washington serves as an eye-opening case study for what other states may experience with road safety after legalizing the drug, Hill told his colleagues before the unanimous vote to approve the measure and send it to the Assembly for consideration. Facebook
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California lawmakers want to give parents at smaller companies 12 weeks of protected family leave By Jazmine Ulloa State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California lawmakers are once again seeking to expand the states paid family leave program to smaller businesses after Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar measure last year. SB 63, authored by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), on Tuesday moved out of the state Senate with a 25-13 vote. It now heads to the Assembly for consideration. The legislation, a priority bill for the California Legislative Womens Caucus, would allow parents at companies with 20 to 49 employees to take 12 weeks of leave to care for a newborn or newly adopted child without fear of losing their jobs. Under the current state law, only workers at businesses with 50 or more workers can take advantage of program. On the Senate floor Tuesday, the debate on the issue echoed that of last year. Republican lawmakers argued the bill would kill jobs and hurt small businesses already struggling in California. Those in favor argued progressive family leave policies attracted a strong and healthy workforce. Jackson said her bill would impact only 6.3% of California companies, while helping 16% of its workforce, a population of 2.7 million residents across the state. With so many women in the workforce than ever before, and with so many struggling, two-income families, this is a critical moment in time, she said. Facebook
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Kimberly Ellis files formal challenge over result of state Democratic Party chairperson election By Seema Mehta (Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) The candidate who narrowly lost the race to be the next leader of the California Democratic Party on Tuesday filed a formal challenge of the election result. Kimberly Ellis campaign, which was already in the process of reviewing the ballots cast during the state partys convention two weekends ago, said they were filing the challenge to meet a requirement in the party bylaws that such an action must be taken within seven days of the contested act. Our review process is ongoing. Its critical that all formal processes outlined by the CDPs bylaws are followed at this time so that there can be no concern about raising issues in the manner prescribed by our party, said Hilary Crosby, immediate past controller for the state party and an Ellis supporter. Ellis campaign said challenges were also being filed in races for a vice chair, secretary and multiple regional directors. Chris Masami Myers, state party executive director, acknowledged receiving the challenges and said in a statement that they would be reviewed in accordance with the standard practices described in the bylaws. The partys compliance review commission, made up of six members who were appointed during former Chairman John Burtons tenure, will review the evidence and take oral or written testimony before issuing a ruling in mid- to late June. The state party chair race was the most heated and contentious. Longtime party leader Eric Bauman entered the race with advantages, but Ellis made the contest competitive. In the election, held this month at the state party convention in Sacramento, Bauman beat Ellis by just over 60 votes. But amid allegations levied by her supporters of ballot-box stuffing and ripped-up ballots, she refused to concede the race. Her campaign has been reviewing individual ballots for a week. Bauman did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Updated at 4:57 p.m.: This post was updated to add additional information about how the review will be conducted. Updated at 3:35 p.m.: This post was updated to add a comment from a state party official. This post was originally published at 2:37 p.m. Facebook
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Darrell Issa gets on his office roof to take a picture of protesters. A mild hubbub ensues By Sarah D. Wire Yes, this is really @DarrellIssa on the roof of his district office building. Too afraid to come speak with assembled constituents below. pic.twitter.com/wCYRjO8Ev8 Mike Levin (@MikeLevinCA) May 30, 2017 It began when one of Rep. Darrell Issas 2018 opponents, Mike Levin, posted an image on Twitter, saying the Vista congressman was hiding on his office roof from hundreds of protesters on the street below. The photo of Issa standing on the roof ricocheted around Twitter, with many comparing it to a scene from the popular television show The Office, and left-leaning media outlets quickly publishing headlines like Darrell Issa Appears to Flee to Building Roof to Avoid Protesters. Like most things, what happened at Issas office appears to have been a bit more nuanced. Issa soon tweeted that he had spent the morning talking with constituents gathered outside the office today, then popped upstairs to take a quick pic!. Multiple images, including one from Levins account and from Issas account, show the congressman on the street with protesters. Spent the morning talking with constituents gathered outside the office today, then popped upstairs to take a quick pic! pic.twitter.com/K2CFdenOIj Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) May 30, 2017 I just received an unprompted call from @DarrellIssa who said he tried, unsuccessfully to speak with protesters outside his district office. Joshua Stewart (@jptstewart) May 30, 2017 .@DarrellIssa said the protesters wouldnt' speak with him, so he went up to the roof and took pictures. Joshua Stewart (@jptstewart) May 30, 2017 The protests occur weekly outside Issas Vista district office, and the congressman has come out to speak with the group at least twice since President Trumps inauguration. Issa narrowly won reelection in 2016 over a novice opponent, and Democrats are targeting his seat in 2018. Issas staff said he tried to speak with all the protesters using their sound system, but was rebuffed. Rally organizer Ellen Montanari said she decided not to hand over the protesters microphone so Issa could take questions from the crowd because he refused to shake her hand before the protest began. He refused to do that, and he said, Step away, you are a protester. And I said I am a constituent, Montanari said. She said he also made disparaging remarks about the protesters and the signs they carry. Issas spokesman, Calvin Moore, said Montanari cant simultaneously organize people to stand outside our office with Where is Darrell? signs and feign outrage how he wont answer her questions and then deny him the ability to answer his constituents questions, he said. Facebook
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State Senate Democrats pass bills designed to protect against Trumps possible changes Facebook
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Rep. Adam Schiff says alleged Russian meddling in election was an effort to destroy American democracy By Seema Mehta U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff, left, discusses Russias threat to liberal democracies around the world at discussion discussion hosted by Erwin Chemerinsky at UCI. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said Tuesday that the alleged Russian meddling in last years presidential election was about far more than favoring one candidate over another. He said it was an effort to undermine the foundation of American democracy in order to prop up an authoritarian regime in Moscow. Now if you look at this as just a one-off intervention, you might be inclined to dismiss the greater significance of it, or if you listen to the president, you might be inclined to dismiss this as simply efforts to relitigate a lost election, Schiff told several hundred people at UC Irvine. But the significance is really far greater. Quite separate and apart from the desire of the Russians to help Donald Trump and hurt Hillary Clinton was a more fundamental objective, and that was really to tear down at our democracy. Schiff is the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating allegations of Russian intervention in the presidential election, including the leaking of hacked Democratic emails and contacts between Trump associates and Russians. Trump has declared the investigation the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history on Twitter. Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), the former chairman of the committee, recently told hundreds of Republicans at a fundraiser that the investigation is about nothing more than Democrats trying to justify Clintons loss. Nunes stepped down from his position after allegations arose that he mishandled classified information. Schiff said Russian President Vladimir Putin would have reasons for wanting to see Clinton fail and Trump succeed he believed that the CIA and Clinton were secretly behind mass demonstrations in Russia in 2011, and because Trumps positions on issues such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization were more favorable to Russia than Clintons. But Schiff argued the larger point was sowing discord in the U.S., so Putin could argue that American democracy is no better than his government. Talk of rigged elections and surveillance, questioning the independence of the judiciary and freedom of the press as Trump has done boost Putins message, Schiff said. And the efforts are not limited to the United States, he added, pointing to allegations that the Russians made an effort to interfere in Frances recent election. The reality is there is new ideological struggle. Its not communism versus capitalism anymore. It is authoritarian versus democracy, he said. This is the broader challenge we are facing. Schiff also warned that there is no way to prevent Russian cyber-spying and that future attempts to interfere with American elections will only be more sophisticated, so voters must be educated. One of the most important conclusions the intelligence agencies have reached is the Russians will do this again, he said. The only real defense is to inoculate ourselves, to educate ourselves about what the Russians have done, why they are doing [it and] what they may do in the future and somehow we have to develop a consensus regardless of which party it helps and which party it hurts that we will reject it. Facebook
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Rep. Devin Nunes: Democrats are using Russia investigation to justify Clintons loss By Sarah D. Wire (Jim Lo Scalzo / EPA) House Select Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes told hundreds of local Republicans at a recent private fundraiser that congressional investigations into Russias interference in the 2016 election are about Democrats trying to justify Hillary Clintons loss. The Democrats dont want an investigation on Russia. They want an independent commission. Why do they want an independent commission? Because they want to continue the narrative that Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump are best friends, and thats the reason that he won, because Hillary Clinton would have never lost on her own; it had to be someone elses fault, Nunes told Republicans the day after he stepped away from leading the House investigation. His remarks were recorded on video and provided to The Times. Read More Facebook
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Californias embattled tax board would lose power over staff and funding under lawmakers plan By John Myers Following months of accusations about mistakes and improper use of power by its elected members, the state Board of Equalization could lose substantial power and gain an independent overseer under legislation introduced in the state Assembly. The bill by Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) would shift much of the power over staff and spending authority away from the independent tax board and create a new inspector general to watch over its actions. What were trying to do is make sure that the reform is transparent, Ridley-Thomas said. Thats what I think the moment demands. The plan, introduced as an amended bill just before the Memorial Day holiday, comes in the wake of audits alleging the tax agency made multimillion dollar miscalculations on revenue allocations and that some of its elected members improperly used staff members who were supposed to be focused on tax collection. Earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown called the situation a mess and in April asked for an investigation by the state Department of Justice. Four members of the Board of Equalization are directly elected by voters. The fifth, state Controller Betty Yee, serves in an ex officio capacity. The Assembly bill would transfer significant staff decisions to the agencys executive director and would require the Board of Equalizations members to have their operations funded in detailed line items included in the state budget. It would also create an inspector general office and would require the boards members to disclose all ex parte communications with those seeking action by the agency. I think that these issues can be addressed if we keep them in the sunlight, said Ridley-Thomas. Facebook
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New advertising campaign targets lawmakers over votes for climate change policies By Chris Megerian A coalition of California businesses launched a new advertising campaign on Saturday to pressure lawmakers against enacting tighter policies on climate change and air pollution. The campaign includes online videos and television advertising that warn of higher costs for business and residents. It arrives as Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers are debating whether to extend the cap-and-trade program, which requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gases, and how restrictive the system should be. The first lawmaker being targeted is Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), accusing him of allowing unelected state employees to raise hidden taxes on gasoline and electricity because he voted last year for a tougher target to reduce emissions by 2030. Other lawmakers could face similar advertisements. Were locked, loaded and ready to go statewide, said Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, which is funding the campaign through an advocacy group called Californians for Affordable and Reliable Energy. The roundtable represents the states largest corporations, including oil refineries and manufacturers who have been critical of climate policies. A dollar figure was not disclosed for the advertising campaign, which will represent a balancing act for the roundtable. It supports the cap-and-trade program as an alternative to more restrictive regulations, but it opposes some of the current proposals to extend it. One measure would tie the program to air quality, targeting a wider range of pollutants than just greenhouse gases, and another would make it function more like a tax and charge higher prices for emission permits. Were at a tipping point here, Lapsley said. We need to get this information out into the public in order to try and create balanced policies. Although polls show broad support for fighting global warming in California, concerns about higher costs for constituents could be influential with some lawmakers who recently passed legislation to raise gas taxes to fund road repairs. Sen. Josh Newman (D-Fullerton) is facing a recall campaign over his vote. Nonpartisan legislative analysts have said cap and trade could boost the price of gasoline by 24 cents to 73 cents by 2030. Environmentalists have said its inaccurate to tie any single policy to fluctuations in gas prices. Facebook
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California Politics Podcast: The debate among Democrats didnt end at their convention By John Myers The official gathering of California Democrats lasted only three days, but the lingering debate and simmering tensions could keep going well into next years elections. On this weeks California Politics Podcast episode, we look back at the line in the sand drawn at last weeks California Democratic Party convention by some of the partys most passionate progressive activists -- including the blunt speech delivered by an influential labor union leader last weekend. We also discuss big new developments this week on the topic that energized those Democratic activists: a single-payer healthcare system for California. On Monday, a fiscal analysis put a large price tag on legislation to enact that sweeping healthcare change. Im joined this week by Times staff writer Melanie Mason. Facebook
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California lawmakers quietly refuse to stop unlimited cash flowing from political parties to their campaigns By John Myers (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) An ambitious effort to close a widely used loophole that allows large donations from political parties to be funneled into California races was rejected on Friday. The bill by Assemblyman Marc Levine (D-San Rafael) would have made political party money donated to statewide and legislative candidates subject to the same contribution limits as individuals. Under the language of a voter-approved initiative, Proposition 34, money from political parties is exempt from those existing limits. Its a money-laundering scheme that has completely duped voters, Levine said last fall when he first promised to introduce the bill. The proposal was quietly killed, without a formal vote, by the Assembly Appropriations Committee during its biannual session to act on bills placed on the so-called suspense file due to their estimated costs. Committee staff estimated that Levines AB 1234 would have six-figure costs both for enforcement and for placing the issue before voters in 2018. Facebook
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Veteran Democratic operative criticizes Kimberly Ellis for refusing to concede party chair race By Seema Mehta Supporters of Kimberly Ellis make signs, refusing to accept her loss to Eric Bauman for the California Democratic chair post. (Jay Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Veteran Democratic operative Bob Mulholland slammed infighting among California Democrats, and urged Kimberly Ellis, who came up short in a nasty party chair election, to work to unify the party. I and others did not understand some of your supporters attacks on those of us who have spent decades or years building the Democrats in California as the most successful political Party in the country, he wrote in an open letter to Ellis on Thursday. He sent the email in the aftermath of the partys rancorous convention last weekend that featured a bitter leadership battle between Ellis, a favorite of newer members including the backers of Bernie Sanders failed presidential bid, and longtime party leader Eric Bauman. After Bauman was declared the winner by a razor-thin margin of just over 60 votes, Ellis refused to concede and demanded an audit of the vote as some of her backers floated rumors of ballot-box stuffing and discarded ballots. Ellis demurred when asked about Mulhollands scathing letter. While our review continues, we are refraining from making any statement that might cause further division, Ellis said. If we hope to truly unify this party, it will require patience by all. Officials with the Ellis campaign have been reviewing ballots this week. A spokesman said they had looked at about two-thirds by the end of Friday and hope to be done by the middle of next week. Joe Macaluso, Ellis strategist, declined to discuss the results and said her team needed to review additional documentation beyond the ballots. Were trying to stay true to our process and not release anything, but were in it, he said. Its an extensive process. Mulholland argued in his public letter that the convention should have showcased the partys message, not intraparty spats. Our annual Conventions should take care of internal business (Platforms, election of Officers, Resolutions, etc.), but more importantly a communication to voters, especially moderate Democrats and Independents about their concerns and issues, Mulholland wrote. If such busy people had a minute to read some news about our Convention, they saw Democrats yelling and arguing about ballots being stuffed, sounding like a Trump event. This Convention failed them. Mulholland listed the partys successes in the state, including Democrats lopsided voter registration edge, its nearly three-decade record of supporting Democratic presidential candidates, its election of female senators since 1992 and its hold of every statewide office, supermajorities in both chambers of the Legislature and nearly three-quarters of the congressional delegation. Over the last 29 years, thats a [1.000] batting record, he wrote. Mulholland called on Ellis to hold a news conference with Bauman once she is satisfied with her audit of the vote. Then, he wrote, lets move on. Facebook
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California lawmakers block proposals meant to make it easier to track and report hate crimes By Jazmine Ulloa Graffiti mars the steeple on the Greater Holy Faith Missionary Baptist Church in Compton in January. Cases of vandalism make up close to one-third of reported hate crimes, according to a new report. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times) California lawmakers Friday stalled measures meant to help report and track hate crimes across the state, proposals filed amid a wave of incidents reported after the 2016 presidential election. The state Assembly Appropriations Committee shelved bills that would have created new hate-crime reporting requirements for police and a hotline under the attorney generals office for victims wishing to report an attack. Of those bills, a proposal filed by Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra (D-Pacoima) initially sought to develop a state government database with the names of felons convicted of hate crimes related to race, religion and sexual orientation. That proposal was amended to instead require every law enforcement agency to forward a summary of a reported hate crime, upon conclusion of an investigation, to the human relations commission within its jurisdiction. But a committee analysis found it could cost the state more than $150,000 to help agencies redact personal information from their records. The committee also shut down bills that would have required police to update policies to address hate crimes and include a checkbox on the front pages of reports that would prominently provide an option to indicate whether a crime was bias-related. Local law enforcement officials have reported a recent rise in reported hate crime incidents. Existing state laws require local and state law enforcement officials to compile hate crime information. California jurisdictions reported a 10.4% statewide increase in those incidents last year. Facebook
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Here were the top six moments from last nights L.A. congressional race debate By Christine Mai-Duc Robert Lee Ahn, left, and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez sparred in a debate Thursday night ahead of the runoff for the 34th Congressional District seat. (Michael Owen Baker / For The Times) Attorney Robert Lee Ahn and Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez sparred Thursday night at the first and only debate in the runoff race for the 34th Congressional District seat. The candidates, both Democrats, offered little in the way of policy differences. Both agreed President Trump has racist tendencies, that keeping the Affordable Care Act is a top priority, and that they would fight to protect immigrants rights. Ahn came out swinging, repeatedly calling Gomez an insider whos sponsored by special interests, while Gomez pointed to his work supporting progressive policies in the Legislature and endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. Here are the top six exchanges: The numbers problem: Gomez again criticized Ahn for a response he gave in an L.A. Times questionnaire that suggested he would negotiate with Republicans to protect parts of Obamacare. Gomez said Democrats need to take a hard line and that Ahn was too soft on support for Medicaid. In case you havent noticed, we have a numbers problem in Congress, Ahn shot back. Until were able to take back the House, were going to have to talk to the other side.
Gomez again criticized Ahn for a response he gave in an L.A. Times questionnaire that suggested he would negotiate with Republicans to protect parts of Obamacare. Gomez said Democrats need to take a hard line and that Ahn was too soft on support for Medicaid. In case you havent noticed, we have a numbers problem in Congress, Ahn shot back. Until were able to take back the House, were going to have to talk to the other side. Gomez fact-checks Ahns name-check: Ahn made the case that voters should send an attorney to Congress to help in the legal battles against the Trump presidency. I will join fellow attorneys and Congress members Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff in the fight, Ahn said to the crowd. Gomez, who spent much of the evening bringing up his legislative experience and vast array of endorsements, responded: I hate to mention it, but, you know, Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu have endorsed me.
Ahn made the case that voters should send an attorney to Congress to help in the legal battles against the Trump presidency. I will join fellow attorneys and Congress members Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff in the fight, Ahn said to the crowd. Gomez, who spent much of the evening bringing up his legislative experience and vast array of endorsements, responded: I hate to mention it, but, you know, Adam Schiff and Ted Lieu have endorsed me. Getting more personal: In discussions about immigration and healthcare, Gomez and Ahn delved a little deeper into their backgrounds. Gomez talked about his young nephew who feared that his mother, a permanent resident, might be deported after Trump was elected. Ahn told the story of how his parents came to the United States with $700 each and cobbled together enough money to open a hamburger stand, eventually building their piece of the American Dream.
In discussions about immigration and healthcare, Gomez and Ahn delved a little deeper into their backgrounds. Gomez talked about his young nephew who feared that his mother, a permanent resident, might be deported after Trump was elected. Ahn told the story of how his parents came to the United States with $700 each and cobbled together enough money to open a hamburger stand, eventually building their piece of the American Dream. Ahn on the attack: Ahn repeatedly criticized Gomez for taking money from corporate interests. Special interests, big pharma, big bankers. ... Its all payback time [for Gomez donors] on Day One, Ahn said. On Day One, I owe the people of the 34th District and thats it. Ahn pitched himself as an outsider who understands the district and whose small-business experience will help him relate to the problems facing everyday residents.
Ahn repeatedly criticized Gomez for taking money from corporate interests. Special interests, big pharma, big bankers. ... Its all payback time [for Gomez donors] on Day One, Ahn said. On Day One, I owe the people of the 34th District and thats it. Ahn pitched himself as an outsider who understands the district and whose small-business experience will help him relate to the problems facing everyday residents. A litmus test: Gomez fought back against the idea that hes a corporate Democrat, primarily by pointing to several endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. If I was so establishment, I dont think Our Revolution ... would actually endorse me, Gomez said of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated group. If you want a litmus test, thats a litmus test if youre a progressive ... if youre actually able to take on the status quo.
Gomez fought back against the idea that hes a corporate Democrat, primarily by pointing to several endorsements hes received from left-leaning groups. If I was so establishment, I dont think Our Revolution ... would actually endorse me, Gomez said of the Bernie Sanders-affiliated group. If you want a litmus test, thats a litmus test if youre a progressive ... if youre actually able to take on the status quo. Gomez gets skewered on gas tax: As part of his argument that he has fought for the little guy, Ahn expressed outrage that Californias gas taxes will increase July 1, saying theres nothing progressive about the gas tax hike Gomez voted for. We already paid 38 cents per gallon. Where is that money going? Ahn said, echoing a line many legislative Republicans have used. Sacramento politicians, this is what they do, they take our money and they spend it and theres no accountability. Gomez responded by saying public safety was at stake and that fixing roads was the responsible thing to do. If you missed it, you can watch the entire thing here. The election is set for June 6. Facebook
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Rob Reiner, Hollywood bigwigs and Netflix co-founder team up to give Villaraigosas campaign a major cash boost By Seema Mehta (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) Hollywood heavyweights are set to host a major fundraiser for Antonio Villaraigosas gubernatorial campaign on June 15, ensuring an infusion of large contributions shortly before a key fundraising deadline. Donors are being asked to contribute up to $29,200 to attend a summer reception at the home of media executive Peter Chernin and his wife Megan, the site of a celebrity-studded fundraiser for President Obama in 2013. Co-hosts include Paramount Pictures chief Jim Gianopulos, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, video game honcho Robert Kotick, comedian George Lopez, Sony chief Michael Lynton, NBCUniversal vice chairman Ron Meyer, producer Rob Reiner, super-agent Rick Rosen, producer Orly Adelson, former U.S. Ambassador to Spain James Costos, former White House decorator Michael Smith and attorney Michael Tuchin. Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles, entered the governors race in November. Through the end of 2016, he raised $2.7 million, a respectable haul in a short time period when Democratic donors were reeling from the presidential election and distracted by the holidays. But his fundraising lags behind that of his top rivals, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang. So political observers will be scrutinizing his next financial disclosure report, which will cover the first six months of 2017. The fundraiser occurs 15 days before the fundraising period closes on June 30. Read More Facebook
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A delay on cap-and-trade vote would be a victory for Donald Trump, Gov. Jerry Browns office says By Chris Megerian (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Despite hesitance and resistance from state lawmakers, Gov. Jerry Brown is refusing to budge from his goal of reaching a deal next month to extend Californias cap-and-trade program. The latest tug-of-war on the issue came this week in an email exchange circulated among Capitol staff members and advocates working on climate change policies. Kip Lipper, an environmental advisor for Senate leadership, wrote in a Thursday email that there were no plans to take up a cap and trade reauthorization bill anytime soon. Echoing concerns that have percolated among lawmakers, Lipper said senators were gas tax weary about the possibility of another difficult vote after deciding to raise gas taxes to pay for road repairs earlier this year. The cap-and-trade program, which is a cornerstone of Californias fight against global warming, requires companies to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions and could boost the price of gasoline. With votes hard to come by, Lipper wrote, the issue should not be rushed. Camille Wagner, Browns legislative secretary, responded on Friday saying there was no reason to delay. Weve all been meeting for months on this issue, she wrote. We know the areas of agreement and disagreement now is the time to work through those. She added that NOTHING is more important than getting a deal as soon as possible. This is not a time for retreat or a time to give aid and comfort to Donald Trump by undermining a pillar of Californias bold program to arrest climate change, Wagner wrote. If Californias Cap and Trade falls because we fail to act, climate denial wins. Brown had already faced resistance to his push to reach a deal on cap and trade in June, when the state budget is due. Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) previously said we dont have to extend it this year. The disagreement over the timeline for reaching a deal is only one of the disputes surrounding cap and trade. Assembly leaders have raised the possibility of pushing legislation with only a majority vote, an idea the governors office rejected. Brown wants a two-thirds vote to insulate cap and trade from legal challenges. There are also varied ideas about how the program should function in the future. Assembly legislation would modify cap and trade so it also targets local pollution, rather than just greenhouse gases. Senate legislation would make the program function more like a carbon tax. Facebook
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The effort to make tampons tax free in California has been delayed until 2018 By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Legislation to eliminate California sales taxes on the purchase of tampons was delayed Friday by the Assemblys fiscal committee until 2018, a blow to advocates who say the tax is an unfair burden on low-income women and families. The delay imposed on AB 9 is the second setback this month for efforts to eliminate taxes on products for women and children. A separate bill that included a tax-free provision for diapers was killed in a legislative committee on May 8. The bill that was held back on Friday, written by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), would have excluded tampons, sanitary napkins and other menstrual products from sales taxes. A legislative committee analysis estimated the proposal would reduce state general fund revenues by $10.5 million a year. Dozens of other bills with a cost to state government were killed by the Assembly Appropriations Committee, while AB 9 was instead reclassified as a two-year bill, meaning it is eligible to be heard again in the second year of the legislative session. Gov. Jerry Brown last year rejected a similar measure that sought to make tampons tax-free, writing in his veto message that tax breaks are the same as new spending they both cost the general fund money. Facebook
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Outside money spills into L.A. congressional race as election day nears By Christine Mai-Duc Spending by outside groups hoping to influence Los Angeles congressional race is picking up, with less than two weeks to go before the runoff for the 34th Congressional District. Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez and attorney Robert Lee Ahn, both Democrats, are competing to fill the former seat of Xavier Becerra in the June 6 election. Becerra stepped down months ago to become the states attorney general. Spending separate from the candidates campaigns is reaching into the six-figure range, with most of the outside money going to support Gomez, the heavy favorite of establishment Democrats. One group funded primarily by an Ahn donor, Citizens for a Better Government, has spent $40,264 on data, printing and postage for mailers, and $8,000 on treasury services to support Ahns bid. The Latino Victory Fund, which has endorsed Gomez, recently spent $29,640 on direct mail and $30,000 on phone banking and voter canvassing for the candidate. Billboard company Outfront Media LLC has spent $1,973 on billboards for him. Also backing Gomez is a group called Middle Class Values PAC. The group spent $19,653 on mailers supporting Gomez despite not having reported receiving any major contributions so far this year. The groups biggest donors last year were a handful of Nevada casino owners and developers, but most of that money appears to have been spent on Democrats running for Congress in Pennsylvania and Nevada. Outside spending in the 34th Congressional District race has been dwarfed by candidate spending. As of March 31, Gomez had spent $446,455 and Ahn had dropped about $767,315 on his run. New campaign finance figures from both candidates are due at midnight Friday. Facebook
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Gov. Jerry Browns budget team drops its hotly debated plans to redefine the states spending limit By John Myers (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) With questions mounting about the legal justification for omitting some $22 billion in expenses from Californias long-standing spending cap, Gov. Jerry Browns administration dropped the plan Thursday while promising to work on the issue again later this year. Browns advisors told the Assembly Budget Committee that this could include some changes in state law to clarify the rules surrounding whats known as the Gann limit, a cap on state spending growth imposed by voters in 1979. The cap has rarely come into play in state budgeting in recent years, as it was loosened by a subsequent ballot measure in 1990. The governors administration said it continues to worry about how the law interacts with other mandates related to school funding. School financing has changed significantly since the limit was first established in 1979, said H.D. Palmer, Browns budget spokesman. Because of that, we continue to believe we need statutory clarifications related to these school funding changes. Legislative analysts warned lawmakers in April that the governor may have been overestimating how much room for spending was left under the cap, a dispute that continued for weeks while lawmakers began drafting plans for formal budget negotiations next month. Earlier this week, state senators again raised concerns about the complex estimates used to determine how much spending the Gann law would allow in the budget year that begins July 1. And they provided an analysis by the Legislatures lawyers that suggested Browns proposal could be unconstitutional. The spending limit is enforced over two fiscal years, which means Brown and lawmakers have time to reconcile different estimates. But absent changes similar to those advocated by the governor, a portion of future tax revenues would have to be split between schools and rebates to taxpayers. Facebook
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California Senate, Assembly advance their own plans on how to spend tobacco tax revenue By Melanie Mason (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Perhaps the biggest budget skirmish that remains unsolved this year is how California should spend revenue from the tobacco tax voters approved last fall. Gov. Jerry Brown wants to put that money to expand overall spending on Medi-Cal, which provides subsidized healthcare for the poor. But the some of initiatives backers, namely doctor and dental groups, have cried foul, arguing that money is meant to go to increasing payments for providers. Now, the Senate and Assembly are weighing in. In plans approved in their respective budget committees this week, both houses stray from Browns proposal to put the money toward general Medi-Cal costs and lay out their own ideas on how to divvy up the revenue. But while both houses reject Browns approach, there are key differences between their proposals. Most significantly, the Assembly would allocate all $1.1 billion in projected tax revenue in the next budget year. The Senate, meanwhile, would spend just under $350 million next year, gradually ramping up spending to $1.1 billion by fiscal year 2020-21. Both houses also would increase provider payments, but in different ways. The Assembly would put around $857 million toward once-yearly incentive payments to physicians and dentists that would be tied to their Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal caseloads. The Senate proposed putting $150 million next year to physician rate increases that would be targeted for those working in high-need areas and specialties. That number would increase in successive years, topping out at $700 million by 2020. The Senate also would put $130 million toward higher rates for dentists. The California Medical Assn., which has been pushing for higher reimbursement rates, praised both houses for including the higher rates, but group spokeswoman Joanne Adams noted that the current Legislature cannot tie the hands of a future governor or Legislature, indicating a preference toward the Assembly approach. Each house would allocate $50 million for reimbursement rates for family planning providers, a priority of Planned Parenthood. And both houses put money toward expanding Medi-Cal to cover young adults up to age 26 who are in the country illegally. The proposal builds on Californias policy of making children without legal status younger than 19 eligible for Medi-Cal, which went into effect last year. Anthony Wright, of the advocacy group Health Access, noted that by expanding coverage for those up to age 26, it would align with Obamacares policy of letting children stay on their parents health insurance until that age. This is a concrete and tangible way to show we are actually taking steps forward in expanding coverage, Wright said. The Brown administration estimates that around 130,000 people would be eligible for Medi-Cal under such a proposal, and such an expansion would cost the state just under $230 million. The Senate proposal would put around $63 million toward that expansion in the upcoming budget year and around $85 million in subsequent years. The Assembly would put $54 million toward the plan. The Brown administration did not take a position on the Medi-Cal expansion proposal, but H.D. Palmer, spokesman for Browns Department of Finance, noted that the Senate was using higher revenue projections than Browns plan, which allows legislators to propose more funding. Palmer said the administration was sticking with its original proposal to use tobacco tax dollars for general Medi-Cal spending. The budgets proposal for Prop. 56 will provide increased funding for healthcare programs and services in a way thats consistent with the measure that voters approved last fall, Palmer said. ------------ FOR THE RECORD May 25, 2017, 4:58 p.m.: A previous version of this article reported that both houses were using higher revenue projections than Gov. Browns budget proposal. The Senate is using higher projections; the Assembly is using the same estimates as the Brown administration. Facebook
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California chief justice says she stands by her decision to speak out against Trumps immigration actions By Jazmine Ulloa California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye on Thursday said she stands by her position that courthouses should be areas where immigration arrests should not occur. Cantil-Sakauye, a former prosecutor who rose through the judicial ranks as an appointee of Republican governors, drew national attention in March after she blasted the federal governments expanded immigration actions, among which she said included stalking immigrants at courthouses. Speaking at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon on Thursday, she said the Supreme Court chambers fielded an outpouring of calls and letters after her comments. Some were profane and angry, from residents living outside the state. Others came from supporters. At Sac Press Club luncheon, Chief Justice Cantil-Sakauye said she fielded lots of anger, support after courthouse enforcement remarks. pic.twitter.com/6OBrZOfI45 Jazmine Ulloa (@jazmineulloa) May 25, 2017 Many said that as a judge, she should not wade into politics. U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly admonished her in a letter, spurring California state leaders to respond in defense of state policies. On Thursday, Cantil-Sakauye stood by her decision to denounce the actions, saying, If I couldnt speak out as chief justice, I dont know who could. Courthouses in California have numerous programs to encourage people to come forward and ask questions, seek services and mediate issues, Cantil-Sakauye said. If we have a segment [of the population] that is afraid to come, then we are looking at no access to justice, [and] potentially public safety issues, which is antithetical to what the justice system exists for, she said. To me, it is a safe zone, and I ask that courthouses be placed on par with school districts and hospitals and churches. Facebook
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Rep. Darrell Issa says the federal employee insurance program should be expanded to all Americans By Sarah D. Wire Though it wasnt included in the House Republicans healthcare bill, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) still believes Americans should have access to the same insurance plans federal employees pick from, and hes hoping the Senate will embrace the idea. In a letter Thursday, Issa asked the Senate Health Care Working Group to consider opening the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program to more, or all, Americans. Its a national insurance idea thats persisted since the program began in 1960, and a proposal Issa has pitched before. The program allows more than 8 million current and retired federal employees across the country to shop among hundreds of health insurance plans and then apply their employer contribution to whatever plan they choose. Private insurance companies have pulled out of several state insurance marketplaces, where people whose employers dont offer insurance can purchase insurance using a federal subsidy. That leaves people with fewer health insurance choices, a common complaint cited by Republicans as a reason to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Its choice. If the government can maximize choice to you and then subsidize where appropriate based on need, then weve met the two bases for government involvement, Issa said. Issa voted for the American Health Care Act, the GOP bill to roll back much of Obamacare that passed May 4 without Democratic support, but he stresses that he did so just to keep momentum. One of the reasons I voted for this in the House was to keep the process alive so we could do reform, Issa said. Leveraging business models that work is the goal that somebody like me wants to do. Find out what works and invest in it, find out what doesnt work and fix it or abandon it. On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office said the bill as passed by the House would cause 23 million fewer people to have health insurance by 2026. The budget office, which Congress relies on to analyze the complex legislation, projected that many additional consumers would see skimpier health coverage and higher deductibles. The Senate has essentially said it will write its own version of the bill. Issas letter to his Senate colleagues also urges members to protect people with preexisting conditions, safeguard coverage for people with mental illnesses and protect people near retirement age from a spike in their premiums. Theres still more to be done. This bill is going to be about compromise, and a down payment on change, Issa said. Facebook
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Senate President Kevin de Leon is busy raising campaign funds but for what office? By Phil Willon Senate President pro Tem Kevin de Leon. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles) stirred up speculation about a possible run for governor or U.S. Senate when he released a slickly produced video just before the California Democratic Partys convention last weekend, but he has remained coy about his future political plans. That doesnt mean he isnt padding his campaign war chest, though. De Leon has two fundraisers lined up in Los Angeles in June, presumably for his 2018 campaign for California lieutenant governor. The question is whether De Leon actually will run for lieutenant governor. In the past, he has said he hasnt made a decision. He has also given his supporters the go-ahead to endorse state Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-Azusa), a longtime political ally, in the race. De Leons campaign account for lieutenant governor had $1.7 million in the bank at the end of last year. He raised close to a half-million this year, according to state political financial disclosure reports. The first fundraiser in June is being hosted by veteran Hollywood executive Peter Guber and his wife, Tara, in Bel Air on June 8, with suggested contributions ranging from $500 to $2,500. The second is in late June at the Palm in Los Angeles. The fundraiser is hosted by Craig Darian, CEO of the Occidental Entertainment Group, and his wife, Kimberly, as well as Albert Sweet, the founder of the company. The suggested donations are the same as for the earlier fundraiser. De Leon made history in 2014 when he was selected by his colleagues as the first Latino to lead the California Senate. The tenure has been marked by significant action on climate change, immigration and gun control. Facebook
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Volkswagens clean car plan falls short in low-income neighborhoods, California regulators say By Chris Megerian (Markus Schreiber / Associated Press) State regulators have asked Volkswagen to revise its plan to invest in zero emission technology in California, a victory for critics who said the automaker wasnt doing enough in disadvantaged communities. The investment plan, which will total $800 million over 10 years, is part of Volkswagens obligation under a multi-billion settlement for evading pollution rules. California, which is struggling to get enough zero emission vehicles on the road to meet its goals, is eager to move forward, wrote Air Resources Board Executive Officer Richard Corey in a Wednesday letter to Electrify America, a Volkswagen subsidiary. However, Corey wrote, we need more information on how the company will meet its target of spending 35% of its investment in disadvantaged communities, a target set by state regulators in hopes of broadening the adoption of electric vehicles. Corey also asked Electrify America to consider supporting hydrogen fueling stations, rather than just electric chargers. Once the company submits an updated version of its plan, state regulators will consider whether to approve it. Electrify America said it is reviewing the letter. Dean Florez, a member of the Air Resources Board, said the original investment plan had significant holes and included no real investment in disadvantaged communities. He praised the decision to request revisions and said the board should hold VWs feet to the fire. This story has been updated with additional comments. Facebook
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Lawmakers scrap effort to make it easier to pass local transportation taxes By John Myers An effort to boost the chances of local ballot measures raising taxes for transportation needs was quietly killed Thursday in the state Capitol. The proposal, which would have ultimately required changing the California Constitution through a statewide vote, was in response to the high hurdle set decades ago for local taxes earmarked for specific projects. Those kinds of taxes in cities and counties require two-thirds of the vote. The constitutional amendment by state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) would have lowered the vote threshold to 55% of ballots cast for any transportation proposal. Wiener argued the long list of local transportation projects lacking funds wont completely be erased by the $52-billion transportation plan signed into law last month. And he pointed specifically to examples like a transportation tax plan in the Bay Area last year that garnered 62% of the vote still slightly shy of the two-thirds mandate. While the effort can be brought back before lawmakers adjourn the current session in the summer of 2018, Thursdays action represented a major setback for transportation groups and labor unions that supported it. The measure was opposed by business and anti-tax advocates. Wiener said he intends to re-introduce the measure in the coming weeks. We must improve and expand transportation throughout our state, which has suffered from decades of underfunding, he said in a written statement. Update 1:29 p.m. This story was modified with additional information regarding constitutional amendments and the legislative process. Update 4:10 p.m. This story was updated with comment from Sen. Wiener. Facebook
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Sex offenders will not be banned without exception from school grounds after state bill is shelved By Jazmine Ulloa State Sen. Connie M. Leyva, right. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) The state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday shelved a bill that would have banned all registered sex offenders from school campuses without exception. Senate Bill 26 by Sen. Connie M. Leyva (D-Chino) would have made it a misdemeanor for a registered sex offender to enter any school building or grounds without lawful business. State laws keep registered sex offenders from living near schools. But those who have not been convicted of having sex with a minor under age 16 can visit or volunteer with groups or organizations that work with children if they give proper notice, and are granted permission. They cannot work directly with children. The committee advanced another bill by Leyva that would extend benefits under the Safe at Home initiative to former victims of forced prostitution or labor. Senate Bill 597, introduced with Secretary of State Alex Padilla, passed with a unanimous 7-0 vote. Read More Facebook
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Measure to help California students refinance private loans is shelved By Melanie Mason State Treasurer John Chiang, a candidate for governor, is behind a new effort to help people with student debt refinance their loans. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) A measure to help Californians saddled with student debt refinance their student loans was shelved in a key fiscal committee on Thursday. The measure by state Sen. Benjamin Allen (D-Santa Monica) was touted as a way for the state to coax private lenders to offer more favorable interest. The proposal would have carried a $25-million price tag. We will continue to push for sensible solutions to the student loan crisis that provide real relief to the millions of Californians saddled with too much debt, Allen said in a statement. State Treasurer John Chiang, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate, had championed the bill, SB 674, as a way to try to get [Californians] out of debt as quickly as possible. College graduation is supposed to be synonymous with opportunity and prosperity and not a detour into a modern-day debtors prison, Chiang said in a statement. Although I am disappointed SB 674 will not be moving forward, I will continue to use my position as the states banker to invest in Californias young people and its future with innovative solutions that will make it more financially feasible to obtain a higher education, he added. 3:58 p.m.: This article was updated to add comments from Sen. Benjamin Allen and Treasurer John Chiang. This article was originally published at 11:17 a.m. Read More Facebook
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Where bills go to die: Lawmakers begin clearing the suspense file with hundreds of measures in limbo By John Myers (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) From a sales tax exemption on tampons to healthcare rules and marijuana regulation, a massive stack of proposed laws faces a major deadline Friday morning at the state Capitol. To survive, they must clear whats known as the suspense file -- the place where bills that would cost taxpayers money are held in legislative limbo. By law, bills with a fiscal impact must be sent to the floor of the Assembly and Senate by the close of business on Friday. That means its decision time for more than 800 pieces of legislation. The Senates fiscal committee will decide the fate of bills on Thursday; the Assembly will do so on Friday. Bills are generally sent to the suspense file if their projected cost to the state is $150,000 or more. The procedural move was widely used during Californias deficit years as a way for lawmakers to weigh the pros and cons of proposals in light of limited resources. But government watchdog groups have long pointed out that the clearing of the suspense file ends up hiding some of the legislative sausage-making from public view. Thats because bills that dont clear Fridays hurdle are essentially killed without a recorded vote. And neither chamber offers any explanation for why those bills were killed. Decisions on the fate of the suspense file are made in private, hours or days before the public hearing. In the Assembly, the appropriations committee chairperson will simply tell the public that a decision has been made to hold the bill. In the Senate committee, killed legislation wont even be mentioned during Thursdays hearing. That means that no one will know for sure whether a bill is really killed because of its price tag or its politics. Facebook
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Formal apology sought after U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters was cut off during state convention speech By Jazmine Ulloa (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times) In my 20 years as a Democratic Party leader, I have never experienced such the type of behavior as I did at the Sacramento Convention hall on Saturday evening. Darren Parker, longtime chairman of the African American Caucus The California Democratic Party African American Caucus is asking the state party for a formal apology to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters and its members for what it called disrespect by a private subcontractor at its weekend state convention. Waters, a Los Angeles Democrat known for her comments on President Trump, had been speaking at a caucus meeting during the event Saturday night when the sound to her microphone was cut off. SEE THE VIDEO OF WATERS SPEECH> Read More Facebook
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California sees a rebound in cap-and-trade auction, bolstering key climate change program By Chris Megerian (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times) State regulators announced strong results from Californias cap-and-trade program on Wednesday, spurring analysts and supporters to say the system remains solid despite questions about its political future. The program requires oil refineries, food processors, power plants and other facilities to buy permits to release greenhouse gas emissions. Nearly all of the permits offered by the state in its latest auction were purchased, generating an estimated $500 million in revenue. Thats a shift from other recent auctions, where most of the permits went unsold, reducing revenue that state leaders have counted on for
Donald Trump made no secret during the presidential campaign of his disdain for Americas trading partners, his skepticism of longtime alliances and his eagerness to refocus U.S. foreign policy on the single-minded pursuit of American security.
That was largely the president the world got as Trump made his way through the Middle East and Western Europe over the last nine days.
Trumps first foreign trip may have produced memorable, and at times cringe-inducing, images of the new president, whether grasping a glowing orb in Saudi Arabia or shoving the prime minister of Montenegro at a NATO meeting in Brussels. But perhaps most profoundly, the trip underscored what America first, as Trump has branded his governing philosophy, looks like on the world stage.
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In Saudi Arabia, Trump reassured Saudi and Egyptian leaders, whom he identified as key partners in fighting terrorism, that he wouldnt lecture them about human rights and civil liberties, despite their governments troubled records.
He celebrated a multibillion-dollar arms deal with Saudi Arabia that the White House said would produce American jobs.
In Europe, he harangued NATO leaders for not paying their fair share to support the 68-year-old military alliance and pointedly did not publicly recommit to NATOs Article 5, which requires members to come to the defense of any member state that is attacked.
And Trump took a new swipe at Germany, reportedly telling other European leaders that the countrys trade practices were bad, an account that has been both confirmed and denied by administration officials.
Trump finally left Europe on Saturday without committing to remaining in the Paris climate accord, despite efforts by European leaders to impress on him that pulling out of the agreement would be a major mistake.
The embrace of Middle Eastern autocrats and criticism of longtime European allies have drawn strong criticism from foreign policy leaders of both parties, to say nothing of the reception Trump received in the European media.
When the United States acts in the world, everybodys watching us, not just the leaders that were talking to across the table, said Jeffrey Prescott, who oversaw matters dealing with Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Persian Gulf states on President Obamas National Security Council.
Prescott was particularly critical of Trumps refusal to raise human rights issues in the Middle East. For someone who wants to be a deal-maker, it is surprising to see us unilaterally disarm when it comes to expressing support for our values around the world, he said. Its not clear that were getting anything for that.
R. Nicholas Burns, who was ambassador to NATO under President George W. Bush and now teaches at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government, told CNN that Trumps NATO visit was the least effective presidential performance in the alliances history.
Trump also has made a clear break from his Democratic predecessor, who during his final trip abroad called the U.S. an indispensable nation in our world order.
If were not on the side of whats right, if were not making the argument and fighting for it, even if sometimes were not able to deliver at 100% everywhere, then it collapses, President Obama warned in November.
But White House officials repeatedly defended Trumps approach, noting the presidents responsibility to protect American interests.
His basis for a decision is ultimately what is going to be best for the United States, National Economic Council director Gary Cohn told reporters Saturday in Italy.
Trump underscored the message, telling the Saudis, for example, that Americas first priority is always the safety and security of our citizens.
Just before heading home Saturday, Trump drove it home, insisting again that fellow members contribute more to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. We want to be treated fairly, the president said at a rally with U.S. service members at Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy.
Trumps emphasis on security and domestic economic concerns largely reflects the priorities of the voters who elected him. And they, arguably, remain his most important audience.
For example, just 1 in 3 Americans who are Republican or lean Republican say they believe that free trade agreements have been good for the U.S., according to a poll last month by the Pew Research Center.
By contrast, two-thirds of Americans who identify as Democrats or who lean Democratic say such agreements have been positive, the poll found.
But despite the presidents rhetoric, the Trump administration has emphasized that the U.S. would not pull back from the world stage.
To the contrary, prioritizing American interests means strengthening alliances and partnerships that help us extend our influence and improve the security of the American people, national security advisor H.R. McMaster told reporters before the trip.
Arab nations meeting in the Saudi kingdom signed an agreement to crack down on the financing of terrorism, and U.S. and Saudi officials signed a new economic-investment and arms agreement.
In Israel, Trump paid a culturally and geopolitically significant visit to the Western Wall while privately and publicly prodding Israeli and Palestinian leaders to restart serious peace discussions.
And for all the focus on the awkward body language between Trump and European leaders, the Group of 7 and NATO summits ended with fresh commitments to enhance mutual efforts to fight terrorist networks and confront radicalization.
I think we hit a home run no matter where we were, Trump said in Italy before boarding Air Force One for Washington.
But as Trump headed home, many in Europe remained concerned about the future of U.S. leadership.
Most immediately, many global leaders are anxiously awaiting the presidents decision about whether to pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris accord to combat climate change.
A communique issued at the conclusion of the G-7 summit in Sicily noted that the U.S. is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement, but that the other six G-7 nations nonetheless reaffirmed their commitment to the deal. Trump on Saturday tweeted that he would announce a final decision in the coming week.
A senior official in one European delegation, speaking on condition of anonymity to preserve the confidential nature of the discussions, said European leaders had emphasized to Trump that though all nations must safeguard their own national interests, the United States bears a special burden.
And if the U.S. pulls out of the Paris accord, the official said, it risks ceding a leadership role to other nations.
Itll give the Chinese an opportunity to fill that political gap left by the United States, the official warned.
michael.memoli@latimes.com
Twitter: @mikememoli
ALSO
As Trump wavers over Paris climate accord, European leaders give him an earful
Trump favors personal connections in his foreign policy
A glowing orb and a not-so-glowing review of the GOP healthcare bill: Trumps week was filled with events he didnt control
Get live updates on our Essential Washington news feed
Boy Scouts: Top leaders didnt call Trump to praise speech as the president said By Associated Press The Boy Scouts denied Wednesday that the head of the youth organization called President Donald Trump to praise his recent politically aggressive speech to its national jamboree. Trump told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published Wednesday, I got a call from the head of the Boy Scouts saying it was the greatest speech that was ever made to them, and they were very thankful. Politico published the transcript of the interview. We are unaware of any such call, the Boy Scouts responded in a statement. It specified that neither of the organizations two top leaders President Randall Stephenson and Chief Scout Executive Mike Surbaugh had placed such a call. The White House had no immediate response to the Boy Scouts denial. Surbaugh apologized last week to members of the scouting community who were offended by the political rhetoric in Trumps July 24 speech in West Virginia. Other U.S. presidents have delivered nonpolitical speeches at past jamborees. To the dismay of many parents and former scouts, Trump promoted his political agenda and derided his rivals, inducing some of the scouts in attendance to boo at the mention of former President Obama. I want to extend my sincere apologies to those in our Scouting family who were offended by the political rhetoric that was inserted into the jamboree, Surbaugh said. That was never our intent. Surbaugh noted that every sitting president since 1937 has been invited to visit the jamboree. Stephenson told the Associated Press two days after the speech that Boy Scout leaders anticipated Trump would spark controversy with politically tinged remarks, yet felt obliged to invite him out of respect for his office. Hoping to minimize friction, the Boy Scouts issued guidelines to adult staff members for how the audience should react to the speech. Any type of political chanting was specifically discouraged. Stephenson, who did not attend Trumps speech, said the guidance wasnt followed impeccably. Facebook
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Mayor of London again calls on Trump to cancel state visit By Christina Boyle (AFP/Getty Images) The mayor of London has reiterated his calls for President Trumps state visit to Britain to be canceled in the wake of the citys terrorist incident, saying his policies go against everything we stand for. The war of words between the two leaders intensified further Monday evening after Trump criticized Mayor Sadiq Khans response to the London Bridge terrorist attack in two tweets, and the mayor said Trump should not be welcomed in the capital. Since Saturday Ive been working with the police, with the emergency services, with the government and others to deal with the horrific attack on Saturday, Khan said Monday evening. I just havent got the time to deal with tweets from Donald Trump. But when pressed on whether he thinks a state visit for later this year should go ahead as planned, Khan was unequivocal. My position remains the same. I dont think we should be rolling out the carpet to the president of the United States in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for, Khan told Channel 4 news. When you have a special relationship, it is no different to when you have a close mate: You stand with them in times of adversity, but you call them out when theyre wrong. And there are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong. Trump initially criticized Khan hours after the London attack posting on Twitter: At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is no reason to be alarmed! Khans office soon pointed out that the president had, in fact, misquoted Khan, who actually said that Londoners should not be alarmed by the increased armed police presence on the streets. Trump took to Twitter again on Monday to slam the London mayor once more. Pathetic excuse by London mayor Sadiq Khan, who had to think fast on his no reason to be alarmed statement. MSM [Mainstream media] is working hard to sell it! the president wrote. This is not the first time Khan, the first Muslim mayor of a major Western capital city, has called for Trumps state visit to be banned. He previously branded Trumps policies on immigration and proposed travel ban on people entering the U.S. from predominantly Muslim countries cruel. An online government petition calling for the invitation to be withdrawn also gathered more than 1.8 million votes. The visit was first announced during Prime Minister Theresa Mays trip to Washington, where she became the first foreign leader to meet the newly-inaugurated president. State visits are personal invites from the British monarch and involve a significant amount of pomp and ceremony, and usually a state banquet. Facebook
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He helped bring down President Nixon. He thinks President Trump is even worse. By Mark Z. Barabak (Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times) John Dean is a connoisseur of coverups, a savant of scandal, so he can more than imagine what its like inside the Trump White House right now. Its a nightmare, he said, presiding in a high-backed leather wing chair off the lobby of the Beverly Hills Hotel. Not just for those in the headlines political strategist Steve Bannon, jack-of-many-duties Jared Kushner but for their unsung assistants and secretaries as well. They dont know what their jeopardy is. They dont know what theyre looking at. They dont know if theyre a part of a conspiracy that might unfold. They dont know whether to hire lawyers or not, how theyre going to pay for them if they do, Dean said in a crisp law-counsel cadence. Its an unpleasant place. Dean was a central figure in Watergate, the 1970s political scandal against which all others are measured, serving at the tender age of 32 as President Nixons White House attorney. In that capacity Dean worked to thwart investigators after the clumsy break-in at Democratic Party headquarters, then flipped and helped sink Nixon by revealing the presidents involvement in the coverup. Read More Facebook
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Two decades ago, Washington state Republicans repealed and replaced a healthcare overhaul there. It didnt end well By Noam N. Levey Republicans in the state of Washington didnt wait long in the spring of 1995 to fulfill their pledge to roll back a sweeping law expanding health coverage in the state. Coming off historic electoral gains, the GOP legislators scrapped much of the law while pledging to make health insurance affordable and to free state residents from onerous government mandates. It didnt work out that way: The repeal left the states insurance market in shambles, sent premiums skyrocketing and drove health insurers from the state. It took nearly five years to repair the damage. Two decades later, the ill-fated experiment, largely relegated to academic journals, offers a caution to lawmakers at the national level as Republicans in the U.S. Senate race to write a bill to repeal and replace the federal Affordable Care Act. Its much easier to break something, said Pam MacEwan, who led a Washington state commission charged with implementing the law in the mid-1990s and now oversees the state insurance market there. Its more difficult to put Humpty Dumpty back together again. And thats when people get hurt. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office echoed that warning last week, when it concluded that the healthcare bill passed by the House last month would destabilize insurance markets in a sixth of the country and nearly double the number of people without health insurance over the next decade. Read More Facebook
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Companies accelerate hiring, adding a robust 253,000 net new jobs, ADP says By Jim Puzzanghera A now hiring sign is seen in Baton Rouge, La., on May 5. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) Companies accelerated their hiring last month, adding a robust 253,000 net new jobs in a sign the labor market remains healthy and the economy is strengthening after a weak winter. The private-sector job creation figures reported Thursday by payroll firm Automatic Data Processing far exceeded analyst expectations and was well above the downwardly revised 174,000 net new positions added in April. Job growth is rip-roaring, declared Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics, which assists ADP in preparing its report. Read More Facebook
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All jokes aside, Trumps covfefe tweet sparks questions too By Brian Bennett President Trump sparked a global kerfuffle over covfefe with his bizarrely truncated tweet just minutes into Wednesday, spawning countless jokes across Twitter but also more serious questions for which the White House gave no answers. Press Secretary Sean Spicer, during an unusually short 11-minute briefing in which he insisted he not be on camera, declined to give any explanation for Trumps tweet posted just after midnight. Nor would he translate what the president was trying to say in the garbled message that broke off midsentence. But Spicer told reporters that the public should not be concerned that the president sent what the questioner called somewhat of an incoherent tweet. The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant, Spicer said. Read More Facebook
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Biden launches new PAC, keeping the 2020 door open By David Lauter (Steven Senne / Associated Press) Former Vice President Joe Biden is launching a new political action committee, a platform that will allow him to provide help to favored candidates and, inevitably, boost speculation about a possible run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. The organization, which Biden is calling American Possibilities, will be staffed by a former top political aide to the vice president, Greg Schultz, who is also a veteran of President Obamas reelection campaign. The PAC will allow Biden to raise money that he can use to travel the country, contribute to candidates in governors races this year and congressional and state races in 2018 and generally do the sorts of things that aspiring politicians do to keep their names in the headlines. All that cant help but nurture questions about whether Biden, 74, will try yet again to attain the office he first started running for in 1987. In public appearances, which have taken him to electorally important states, and interviews since the 2016 election, Biden has been sharply critical of the Trump administration, but has also pointed to flaws in his own party. In one interview, he pointed to a bit of elitism thats crept in to the partys approach to working-class voters. At the same time, he has given carefully ambiguous answers when asked about his plans. At a conference in Las Vegas earlier this month, he responded to the question about a presidential run by saying: Could I? Yes. Would I? Probably not. In the announcement for the new group, Biden said that the negativity, the pettiness, the small-mindedness of our politics drives me crazy. Its not who we are. Its time for big dreams and American possibilities, he said. Facebook
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U.S., regions foreign ministers debate Venezuela By Tracy Wilkinson (AFP / Getty Images) The United States and foreign ministers from across the hemisphere met in Washington on Wednesday to attempt to force Venezuelas leftist government and its angry opposition into talks. Hunger and violence have pushed Venezuela to the brink of humanitarian disaster, diplomats say. But Wednesdays meeting of the Organization of American States faced unlikely prospects for success: Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro does not trust the organization and has said his nation will withdraw its membership. Some OAS nations, including several U.S. allies in the Caribbean, have criticized the regional bodys efforts as intervention promoted by Washington. But U.S. officials are hoping the sheer weight of the crisis will unite the region to put pressure on Venezuela. Theres more and more concern about what were seeing, and so more and more countries have gotten over their reluctance to question or go against the wishes of the Venezuelan government, a senior State Department official said in a briefing for reporters. Its really hard to stand by and do nothing in the face of the kinds of institutional steps weve seen in Venezuela, and the increasing humanitarian suffering, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, in keeping with frequent administration practice. Although the OAS periodically brings its members foreign ministers together, this is the first time a meeting has been convened to deal with a single topic, U.S. officials said. At the conclusion of Wednesdays session, diplomats said they had discussed two resolutions. One, promoted by Caribbean nations, called on Venezuela to reconsider withdrawing from the OAS. A second more pointed resolution authored by the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama and Peru urged the Maduro administration not to go ahead with a constituent assembly that would rewrite the Venezuelan constitution. Many fear it would dissolve the few democratic institutions that remain and favor the ruling Socialist Party. Separately, the Venezuela opposition, emboldened by a string of increasingly massive street demonstrations, sharply criticized Wall Street for extending what it called a lifeline to the Maduro government. At issue is the purchase by Goldman Sachs of Venezuelan government bonds for a reported $865 million, a major discount for paper originally worth $2.8 billion. Goldman Sachs confirmed the purchase of the bonds, issued in 2014 by the state oil company PDVSA, after it was reported in the Wall Street Journal. We are invested in PDVSA bonds because, like many in the asset management industry, we believe the situation in the country must improve over time, Goldman said in a statement. The firm added that it made the purchase through a secondary dealer to avoid direct interaction with the Venezuelan government. That distinction meant nothing to the Venezuelan opposition, which accused Goldman of making a buck off the suffering of the Venezuelan people. The Trump administration previously has targeted the Maduro government, slapping economic sanctions on its vice president and pro-Maduro Supreme Court justices. Facebook
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Former FBI director spoke with new special counsel and is cleared to testify before Senate panel By Joseph Tanfani The special counsel investigating possible links between Russia and the Trump presidential campaign has cleared former FBI Director James Comey to testify before a congressional committee about his contacts with President Trump, according to an associate close to Comey. Comey met with Robert S. Mueller III, whom the Justice Department appointed on May 17 to investigate any Russian ties to the Trump campaign, and Mueller said he had no problems with Comeys testifying, the associate said. Trump abruptly fired Comey as head of the FBI on May 9. The president later said in an interview on NBC News that he was concerned about the FBI investigation into what he called the Russia thing. Comey reportedly wrote internal memos after his meetings with Trump. In one, he wrote that the president had requested he ease up on the FBI probe of Michael Flynn, who served as Trumps national security advisor until he was ousted in February for lying about his contacts with Russian officials. The Senate Intelligence Committee announced on May 19 that Comey had agreed to testify after the Memorial Day holiday. The hearing has not been scheduled. The FBI separately declined a request from the House Oversight Committee to turn over Comeys memos. The bureau said it would need to consult with Mueller before making any decisions. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the committee chairman, said in response that he would not push the matter. The focus of the committees investigation is the independence of the FBI and the events leading to Comeys firing, he wrote. In a separate development, a senior Justice Department lawyer with experience in complex financial fraud investigations has agreed to join Muellers investigation. Andrew Weissman has led the fraud section at Justice, where he oversaw probes into corporate wrongdoing at Volkswagen and Takata. Weissman also is a veteran of the FBI. Weissman is the highest-ranking Justice Department official to join the special counsel office being set up a few blocks from the main Justice building in downtown Washington. Mueller also hired two colleagues from the WilmerHale law firm, where he worked, and brought on a former Justice Department spokesman, Peter Carr, to handle media inquiries. Facebook
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Analysis: In President Trumps wake, divisions mark both Democratic and Republican parties By Cathleen Decker Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez address a crowd at the California party convention in May. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Six months after President Trump breached long-standing political boundaries to win the White House, the nations major political parties still muddle in his wake. On the sun-swept lawn of the Hotel del Coronado two weeks ago, national Republican leaders sipped cocktails and listened to San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer, one of the partys brightest lights in the most populous state, praise a brand of moderate Republicanism that looks nothing like the versions coming out of Washington either the populism of the president or the more orthodox conservatism of congressional leaders. A week later, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez talked in a Sacramento interview of the remarkably constructive debate underway in his party, characterizing its divisions as largely in the past. Within hours, he and other party leaders were booed as they welcomed delegates to a state convention that would be filled with persistent internal warfare on healthcare and other issues. No political party is immune to disagreement; indeed the path to power often relies on combustible ideological diversity. But Democrats and Republicans alike seem particularly adrift and quarrelsome these days. Read More Facebook
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Trump preparing to pull U.S. from Paris climate accord, amid last-minute lobbying By Evan Halper President Trump hasnt made a final decision on whether the U.S. will quit the Paris Accord on climate change, but White House officials indicated Wednesday that he was headed in that direction, setting off a worldwide reaction. A flurry of leaks, counter-leaks and public statements thrust back into the spotlight a decision that has been agonized and untidy even by the standards of a White House known for internal drama. Wednesday morning, when officials told some news organizations that Trump had settled on pulling out of the climate agreement, seemingly everyone in the world jumped in to try to influence or spin his decision, from the Chinese government to the coal industry to the state of California. That offered a foretaste of the reaction Trump likely will receive if he does follow through on his vow to pull the United States out of the 195-nation pact, which President Obama hailed in 2015 as one of his major achievements. Other nations have swiftly moved to take over the leadership role on climate that the United States would be abandoning. Some states have followed suit, promising they would break with Washington to work with other countries in their efforts to contain global warming. During Trumps recent overseas trip, U.S. allies warned him that Americas broader diplomatic influence would be undercut if the administration gave up its seat at the climate negotiating table. All the public lobbying on Wednesday moved Trump to weigh in himself. He knocked down reports that he had decided to withdraw with a tweet announcing that he was still making up his mind. The mixed messages coming out of the White House left open the possibility that the original news reports reflected the views of officials who were aiming to steer the final outcome by presenting withdrawal as a done deal. Trumps schedule for the day includes meetings with advisors hoping to talk him into staying in the agreement, at least to some extent. If Trump does withdraw the U.S. fully from the Paris pact, scientists warn it will be a tremendous setback to the worldwide effort to contain temperatures from rising an average of 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The consequences for the United States would extend beyond global warming. It will be a very big deal all over the world, said Todd Stern, the lead U.S. climate negotiator during the Obama administration. There will be consequential blowback with respect to our diplomatic position across the board. UPDATES 9:27 a.m.: This post was updated throughout with staff reporting and additional details. 6:23 a.m.: This post was updated with Trumps tweet. 6:04 a.m.: This post was updated throughout with additional details. Facebook
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U.S. Supreme Court makes it harder to sue police for barging into homes By David Savage The U.S. Supreme Court made it harder to sue police for barging into a home and provoking a shooting, setting aside a $4-million verdict against two Los Angeles County deputies on Tuesday. The money was awarded to a homeless couple who were startled and then shot when the two sheriffs deputies entered the shack where they were sleeping. The unanimous ruling rejected the so-called provocation rule that some lower courts have used. Under that rule, police can be sued for violating a victims constitutional rights against unreasonable searches if they provoked a confrontation that resulted in violence. Read More Facebook
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Trump lashes out at Germany over NATO spending and trade after Merkel questions the U.S. commitment to its allies By Brian Bennett (Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images) President Trump took aim at German trade practices and defense spending Tuesday following pointed criticism from Chancellor Angela Merkel that Germany may not be able to rely on its allies. We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change, Trump wrote in a tweet. Last week, White House spokespeople had denied that Trump criticized German trade practices after the German newspaper Der Spiegel quoted him as having done so. Trump unsettled Merkel and other allies during the recent NATO summit when, during his remarks, he did not mention the central commitment members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization make to defend each other. We have a MASSIVE trade deficit with Germany, plus they pay FAR LESS than they should on NATO & military. Very bad for U.S. This will change Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017 Trumps policy toward climate change is another point of contention with many European countries. Trump promised during the election to tear up the landmark Paris climate accord. Merkel said the conversation with the U.S. on climate change last week during the G-7 meetings in Sicily, which followed the NATO summit, was extremely difficult. During a campaign speech in Munich on Sunday, Merkel said Germany must rethink how much it can rely on its allies. The era in which we could rely completely on others is gone, at least partially, Merkel said. I have experienced that over the last several days. In a 2014 meeting, NATO defense ministers agreed that each state would move toward a goal of raising military spending to 2% of its annual economic output by the year 2024. German defense spending is below that goal. The U.S. trade deficit with Germany shrank to $65 billion in 2016 from $75 billion the year before. Facebook
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Consumers spend at fastest pace in four months in a sign of spring economic rebound By Jim Puzzanghera (Wilfredo Lee / Associated Press) Americans ratcheted up their spending in April at the fastest pace in four months, in a sign the economy has rebounded this spring after a lackluster winter. The new data also could help push Federal Reserve officials to hike a key interest rate again when they meet in two weeks. Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.4% in April, up from 0.3% the previous month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Americans had more money to spend, with personal incomes also rising 0.4% twice the pace of growth in March. Read More Facebook
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White House communications director Michael Dubke resigns By Associated Press White House Communications Director Mike Dubke listens as a reporter asks a question during a press conference in the East Room of the White House on April 20. (Shawn Thew / EPA) White House communications director Michael Dubke has resigned. Kellyanne Conway, White House counselor, told The Associated Press that Dubke handed in his resignation before President Donald Trump left for his international trip earlier this month. In an interview on Fox News on Tuesday, Conway said Dubke made very clear that he would see through the presidents international trip, and come to work every day and work hard even through that trip because there was much to do here back at the White House. Dubke issued a statement Tuesday morning: It has been my great honor to serve President Trump and this administration. It has also been my distinct pleasure to work side-by-side, day-by-day with the staff of the communications and press departments. A Republican consultant, Dubke joined the White House team in February after campaign aide Jason Miller Trumps original choice for communications director withdrew from consideration. Dubke founded Crossroads Media, a GOP firm that specializes in political advertising. -- 6:03 a.m.: Updated with Dubkes statement Facebook
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Should Jared Kushner keep his security clearance? Adam Schiff isnt sure By Laura King The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), says hes not sure that President Trumps son-in-law and advisor, Jared Kushner, should retain his security clearance. The California Democrat, who has been a sharp critic of Trump, also said in an interview aired Sunday that national security advisor H.R. McMaster, a highly respected military officer, had been tarnished by his association with the White House. Schiffs comments, on ABCs This Week, came amid growing questions about Kushners contacts with Russian officials before Trump took office. Trump has denounced the latest round of news reports, saying that some of them could be based on fabricated sources. Top Trump aides, including John F. Kelly, the secretary of Homeland Security, pushed back Sunday against the suggestion that there was anything untoward about establishing back channel communications with the Russians during the presidential transition. Schiff said he regretted that McMaster had done so as well, saying he believed the White House used the solid reputations of people like him to back up dubious actions. Sadly, I think this is an administration that takes in people with good credibility and chews them out and spits out their credibility at the same time, said Schiff, who acknowledged that what McMaster said about back channel communications was true in the abstract. I think anyone within the Trump orbit is at risk of being used, he said. Kelly, in separate talk-show appearances on Sunday, said there was nothing untoward about an incoming administration establishing communications with a foreign power in order to lay the groundwork for better relations. Schiff declined to discuss the substance of the allegations regarding Kushners contact with Russian officials during the transition and whether Kushner had been forthcoming about them, but said enough questions had been raised that his access to top-secret intelligence should be scrutinized. I think we need to get to the bottom of these allegations, Schiff said. But I do think there ought to be a review of his security clearance to find out whether he was truthful, whether he was candid. If not, then theres no way he can maintain that kind of a clearance. Schiff was also critical of continuing involvement in aspects of the Russia probe by fellow Californian Devin Nunes (R-Tulare), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who stepped aside from the probe earlier this year after the House Ethics Committee began investigating whether he had improperly revealed classified information. Nunes remains involved in decision-making about the issuance of subpoenas, Schiff said, adding: I dont think that he should, given that he has stepped aside or recused himself. The committee is investigating Russian entanglements by figures in Trumps circle, including fired national security advisor Michael Flynn, who has been the target of multiple subpoenas. Facebook
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Trump still wide open on climate change, Pentagon chief says By Laura King With President Trump set to make a decision this week about whether the U.S. should remain part of the landmark Paris climate accord, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Trump remains wide open on the issue. During a visit to Europe that ended Saturday, Trump dismayed European allies by refusing to commit to remaining in the 2015 accord during talks with European Union officials in Brussels and at the Group of Seven gathering in Sicily. The president said in a tweet that he will make a decision this week. Mattis, who was present at some of the Brussels talks, said that Trump is still making up his mind, and that he has been inquisitive about other leaders opinions. The president was open he was curious about why others were in the position they were in, his counterparts in other nations, the Defense secretary said in an interview aired Sunday on CBS Face the Nation. And Im quite certain the president is wide open on this issue as he takes in the pros and cons of that accord. During his European trip, Trump met privately at the Vatican with Pope Francis, who presented him with a copy of his papal encyclical on environment and climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with Trump in Brussels, also said he had pressed the issue with the U.S. president, though the White House did not mention that appeal in a summary of their meeting. Facebook
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Homeland Security secretary defends Jared Kushner, blasts Manchester intelligence leaks By Laura King There is nothing inherently wrong with an incoming presidential administration establishing back channel communications with a foreign power such as Russia, Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly said Sunday. Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Kelly was asked about reports by the Washington Post and other outlets that President Trumps son-in-law and close advisor, Jared Kushner, sought to set up secret lines of communication with Russian officials prior to Trump being sworn in. The retired general did not confirm the reports, but said the principle of establishing secretive contacts during a presidential transition doesnt bother me and is a legitimate means of building relationships. I think that any channel of communication, back or otherwise, with a country like Russia is a good thing, he said. Kelly did not address a central element of the reports that Kushner discussed the possibility of using Russian communications channels from a Russia diplomatic outpost to shield from U.S. intelligence surveillance whatever discussions Trump transition officials wanted to have with Moscow. The FBI, a special counsel and multiple congressional committees are probing Russian interference in the presidential campaign and whether the Trump camp colluded in it. The U.S. intelligence community says Russian cyberattacks were meant to boost Trump and harm his opponent, Hillary Clinton. In a separate interview on NBCs Meet the Press, Kelly defended the integrity of Kushner, whose involvement in communications with Russia has brought the investigation closer to Trump personally than has previous scrutiny of others in his campaign circle or the White House. Calling Kushner a great guy, a decent guy, the Homeland Security secretary said the presidents son-in-laws No. 1 interest, really, is the nation. Also in the NBC interview, Kelly excoriated intelligence leaks in the wake of last weeks deadly bombing in Manchester, England. British officials including Prime Minister Theresa May were angered by disclosures about details of the investigation, including the release of the dead attackers name and detailed photos from the bomb scene that were published by the New York Times. Several outlets cited unnamed U.S. officials as the source of the information including the bombers identity. The Times did not say how it obtained the photos. Britain routinely shares intelligence with close allies like the United States with the expectation that it will be kept confidential. Kelly said that failing to keep such secrets could seriously damage intelligence-sharing arrangements with other nations. I believe when you leak the kind of information that seems to be routinely leaked - high, high level of classification I think its darn close to treason, Kelly said. It is not clear what level of classification, if any, the information about the British investigation would have had. Trump himself, who recently caused controversy when he passed sensitive intelligence on Islamic State to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed the location of U.S. nuclear submarines with the president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, has denounced the Manchester leaks and vowed to track down the source or sources. Facebook
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In tweets, Trump says stories based on White House leaks are fabricated By Laura King President Trump is back and tweeting. In a Sunday morning series of posts on Twitter, the president repeated his denunciations of the fake media, celebrated the Republican victory in a Montana special election and declared his overseas trip a success. Trump returned to the White House late Saturday after a swing through the Middle East and Europe, the first foreign trip of his presidency. During it, he tweeted only sparingly. While Trump was away, controversy continued to swirl around his White House, with media reports focusing on son-in-law Jared Kushners role in Trump campaign contacts with Russian officials. The GOP healthcare plan and Trumps budget also came under withering scrutiny during the presidents absence. In Sundays tweets, Trump said cascading leaks from within his administration were in fact fabricated lies by news organizations based on sources that did not exist. One tweet was corrected to fix the spelling of exist. It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media. Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017 Trump also complained that the special congressional election in Montana, called to fill the seat vacated when Ryan Zinke became his Interior secretary, was such a big deal to Dems & Fake News until the Republican won. The V was poorly covered, he said, referring to the Republican victory. The victory by Republican candidate Greg Gianforte received extensive coverage. It was widely expected, given Montanas significant Republican edge, but made more suspenseful on the eve of the election when Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault for an incident in which he struck a reporter who had asked him a question. The president received mixed reviews for his inaugural overseas venture. He was praised by some for his outreach to Sunni Arab allies in the Persian Gulf, but continued his administrations practice of making no public criticism of serious human rights violations. In Europe, he rattled allies by declining to explicitly endorse the NATO alliances bedrock common defense pledge or pledge to adhere to the Paris climate accord. Whatever the commentary surrounding the trip, Trump counted it a success. Hard work but big results, he wrote. Facebook
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Trumps international trip underscored what America First looks like on the world stage By Michael Memoli Donald Trump made no secret during the presidential campaign of his disdain for Americas trading partners, his skepticism of longtime alliances and his eagerness to refocus U.S. foreign policy on the single-minded pursuit of American security. That was the largely the president the world got as Trump made his way through the Middle East and Western Europe over the last nine days, Trumps first foreign trip may have produced memorable, and at time cringe-inducing, images of the new president, whether grasping a glowing orb in Saudi Arabia or shoving the prime minister of Montenegro at a NATO meeting in Brussels. But perhaps most profoundly, the trip underscored what America First, as Trump has branded his governing philosophy, looks like on the world stage. Read More Facebook
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Trump says hell decide on Paris climate deal next week By Associated Press Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming. The final G-7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics. Trump tweeted he would decide his stance on the Paris agreement next week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. presidents first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit. I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 27, 2017 Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six wont change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasnt decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way. Gentiloni said climate was not a minor point and that he hoped the United States would decide soon and well because the Paris accords need the contribution of the United States. French President Emmanuel Macron also chimed in on the climate issue, praising Trumps capacity to listen. Macron said he told Trump it is indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris climate agreement. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more downbeat, calling the G-7 climate talks very unsatisfactory. Facebook
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Everyones a winner! Or what to take away from that special congressional race in Montana By Mark Z. Barabak Republicans were celebrating Friday, and relieved, and it was easy to see why: The party hung on to Montanas sole congressional seat even though its candidate faced a freshly lodged criminal charge for physically assaulting a reporter on election eve. Though they fell short in yet another special election Greg Gianforte won handily, 50% to 44% Democrats also found reason to be pleased: Their candidate, flawed as he was, continued a pattern of polling better than might be expected over-performing, to use the political parlance, and that could hold future promise. Its possible, as elections analyst Nathan Gonzales put it, to lose and still have momentum. Read More Facebook
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In commencement address, Hillary Clinton remembers fallout from Nixon, makes subtle jab at President Trump By Kurtis Lee Hillary Clinton delivers the commencement address at Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass., on Friday. (Josh Reynolds / Associated Press) Hillary Clinton delivered a subtle dig at President Trump on Friday, offering some parallels between his presidency and that of former President Nixon. While delivering a commencement address at her alma mater, Wellesley College, a private womens liberal arts school in Massachusetts, Clinton, without naming Trump, recalled how many young people in the 1970s reacted to Nixons reelection and later battles with the Justice Department. We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice, she said, pausing to note she was referring to Nixon. Actually, Nixon was not impeached, though many in Congress, including members of his own party, called for it. Clinton said Nixons resignation came after he fired the person heading the investigation into him at the Department of Justice. In 1973, Nixon ordered Justice Department officials to fire a special prosecutor who was looking into taped conversations recorded in the Oval Office as part of the Watergate investigation. A year later, in August 1974, Nixon resigned. Some political observers mostly Democrats -- have compared Trumps recent firing of FBI Director James B. Comey, who was overseeing an investigation of possible collusion between Russians and Trumps campaign, to Nixons actions. Last week, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) called for Trump to be impeached. Clinton, who has made few public appearances since Trump defeated her in last years presidential election, also assailed the Republicans new budget proposal. She called the budget, which proposes cuts to education and Medicaid, an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us the youngest, the oldest, the poorest and hard-working people who need a little help to gain or hang on to a decent, middle-class life. In a statement, the Republican National Committee said Clinton was lashing out after her election loss. Clinton graduated from Wellesley in 1969 and last delivered a commencement address at the school in 1992. Facebook
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At G-7 Summit, a day of clarification for the White House By Michael A. Memoli (Sean Gallup / Getty Images) As President Trump met with leaders of the worlds leading economies here Friday within miles of an active volcano, the White House was working to ease a pair of diplomatic eruptions. Trump was due to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May on the sidelines of the G-7 Summit in this coastal Sicilian resort town, amid tensions between their countries, longtime allies, following leaks to U.S. media outlets involving Britains investigation of the Manchester terrorist bombing. Separately, a top White House adviser partially confirmed reports that Trump had said Germany is very bad during Thursdays NATO meetings in Brussels, but clarified that the president was referring only to German trade policies. Trump said, according to the German magazine Der Spiegel, See the millions of cars they are selling to the U.S.? Terrible. We will stop this. Gary Cohn, director of the National Economic Council, acknowledged that Trump made the remark but added that the president doesnt have a problem with Germany. He said his dad is from Germany. He said I dont have a problem with Germany, I have a problem with German trade, Cohn said. Press access to the G-7 meetings has been extremely limited, though the surrounding setting has produced abundant compelling visuals. Editorial press access extremely limited for G7 meetings. But man, pretty pictures & good times for Taormina Chamber of Commerce (via AP) pic.twitter.com/WT2EdKrwJ5 Mike Memoli (@mikememoli) May 26, 2017 Trump tweeted that he expected to spend the day focused on economic growth, terrorism and security. The summit, and Trumps eight-day inaugural foreign trip, ends Saturday. Other allies here were likely to press Trump on another issue: climate change, specifically whether Trump will carry out his campaign promise to pull the United States out of the landmark Paris climate deal. Trump was hoping to better understand the European position, Cohn said. White House officials have said the president will make a decision once he is back in the United States. He knows that in the U.S. theres very strong opinions on both sides but he also knows that Paris has important meaning to many of the European leaders. And he wants to clearly hear what the European leaders have to say, Cohn said. Facebook
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As Trump wavers over Paris climate accord, European leaders give him an earful By Evan Halper Mining operation near Grevenbroich, Germany. (Martin Meissner / Associated Press) With President Trump balking on his vow to shred the Obama-negotiated Paris agreement on climate change, the last place the pacts staunch opponents wanted to see the president is where he will be this weekend meeting other world leaders unanimous in their warnings that withdrawal from the accord would seriously damage Americas economy and world stature. Trump has repeatedly delayed fulfilling his campaign pledge to move against the agreement. The longer the White House deliberates over Paris, the more Trump seems to be searching for a face-saving excuse to walk back his previous position. The White House indecision over the climate accord which has the support of every nation except Syria and Nicaragua reflects a deeply divided worldview in a Trump inner circle now packed with establishment Republicans. The issue also presents yet another policy reckoning for Trump. On the campaign trail, he vowed to strike blows against the existing world order. But on the Paris agreement, as on other matters, he is finding that political backup for such pledges can fade quickly when the moves lack robust support from major U.S. companies or majority voting blocs. Read More Facebook
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Overcoming assault charge, Republican Greg Gianforte wins Montana congressional seat By Mark Z. Barabak Republican Greg Gianforte overcame a last-minute assault charge to win Montanas special congressional election Thursday, keeping its lone House seat in GOP hands and dealing Democrats a setback in their bid to gain a red-state toehold ahead of the 2018 midterm election. Gianforte, 56, a wealthy businessman who ran unsuccessfully for governor in November, had long been the front-runner against Democrat Rob Quist, a professional bluegrass musician making his first run for public office. With more than 90% of the votes counted, Gianforte was holding a healthy lead with just over 50% support. Appearing at an exuberant victory rally in Bozeman, the congressman-elect hushed the crowd and apologized to the reporter with whom he tangled on election eve, reversing his campaigns initial assertion that the journalist was to blame. Read More Facebook
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FBI investigating Kushner meetings, report says; House leader seeks more Comey documents By Associated Press (Andrew Harrer / Getty Images) The chairman of the House Oversight Committee asked the FBI on Thursday to turn over more documents about former FBI Director James B. Comeys interactions with the White House and Justice Department, including materials dating back nearly four years to the Obama administration. Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that the FBI is investigating meetings that President Trumps son-in-law, Jared Kushner, had in December with Russian officials. The FBI and the Oversight Committee as well as several other congressional panels are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections between Russia and the Trump campaign. Trump fired Comey on May 9 amid questions about the FBIs investigation, which is now being led by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, a former FBI director. Kushner, a key White House advisor, had meetings late last year with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, and Russian banker Sergey Gorkov. The Post story cited anonymous people familiar with the investigation, who said the FBI investigation does not mean that Kushner is suspected of a crime. Kushners attorney, Jamie Gorelick, released a statement saying: Mr. Kushner previously volunteered to share with Congress what he knows about these meetings. He will do the same if he is contacted in connection with any other inquiry. Earlier Thursday, House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz told acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe that he wants records of Comeys contacts with the White House and Justice Department dating to September 2013, when Comey was sworn in as FBI director under President Obama. In a letter to McCabe, Chaffetz said he is seeking to review Comeys memos and other written materials so he can better understand Comeys communications with the White House and attorney generals office. Facebook
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Banks want higher debit-card swipe fees, but an effort to allow them has crumbled By Jim Puzzanghera Banks had hoped Congress would let them charge merchants higher fees to process debit card purchases, but an effort to allow that has crumbled a victory for retailers and, possibly, shoppers who might have had to shoulder those costs. In the latest chapter of a long-running fight, a repeal of federal limits on so-called swipe fees no longer will be part of a House financial regulation bill, said the legislations author, Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas). Hensarling, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said he decided to strip the provision from the bill because many lawmakers are balking at removing the limits. Read More Facebook
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Appeals court rules against Trump travel ban By David Lauter A federal appeals court has ruled against President Trumps travel ban, upholding a nationwide injunction barring the administration from enforcing the executive order. The ruling is the latest legal setback for Trump on the travel issue and, like several previous court rulings, the outcome rested heavily on his own words. Trumps order restricting travel from six majority-Muslim countries speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination, Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in his ruling. Read the 4th Circuits decision to uphold the block on Trumps travel ban The 10-3 ruling included numerous citations to campaign statements in which Trump called for a ban on Muslims immigrating to the United States. The plaintiffs who have challenged the travel order have argued that it is a disguised version of the Muslim ban that he called for during the campaign. Trumps statements provide direct, specific evidence of what motivated both EO-1 and EO-2, the court said, referring to ther first and second versions of the travel order: President Trumps desire to exclude Muslims from the United States. The 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Va., is one of two appeals courts that have recently heard arguments on the travel ban. A similar case is pending before the 9th Circuit, based in San Francisco. Read More Facebook
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Obama, in Berlin with Merkel, says world cant hide behind a wall By Erik Kirschbaum Hours before German Chancellor Angela Merkel flew to Brussels to meet with President Trump and other NATO heads of state, she rekindled an old acquaintance with Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama. About 70,000 people packed an avenue by Berlins landmark Brandenburg Gate on Thursday to hear the two leaders speak, with cheers and chants of Barack, Barack! breaking out when the former president took the stage. Without mentioning Trump by name, Obama spoke of the need for universal healthcare and a nuanced approach to immigration in response to security threats. This is a new world we live in we cant isolate ourselves, the former president declared, with Merkel looking on. We cant hide behind a wall. Obama spoke of this weeks deadly bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, England, saying leaders had to find ways to balance security fears and fundamental rights. One of the biggest challenges is how do you protect your country and your citizens from the kinds of things that we just saw in Manchester, he said. And how do you do it in a way that is consistent with your values and your ideals? Making his first European speech since his presidential term ended, Obama told the crowd he had spent the last four months trying to catch up with my sleep and devoting more time to his family. Im very proud of the work I did as president, he said to more cheers, adding that he considered healthcare reform a signature achievement. Republicans are now in the midst of trying to dismantle his Affordable Care Act. My hope was to get 100% of people healthcare, he said. We didnt quite achieve that, but we were able to get 20 million people healthcare who didnt have it before. Obamas speech was not timed to coincide with Trumps first visit to Europe as president, aides said. The invitation was extended before Trumps trip to Brussels the fourth leg on multi-stop tour was scheduled. Facebook
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Macron says he pressed Trump on climate accord By Catherine Stupp French President Emmanuel Macron, who met President Trump for the first time on Thursday, said he urged the U.S. leader to respect the Paris climate accord. The White House, however, did not mention the issue in its readout on Trumps working lunch in Brussels with the newly elected French president. Macron told reporters as he headed into the meeting that climate change would be one of the issues he raised, along with concerns about terrorism and the economy. Afterward, at a news conference, the French president said that in his talk with Trump, he reiterated the importance of the landmark climate accord. No hasty decision on this subject should be taken by the U.S., Macron said. Our collective responsibility is to make sure this commitment remains a global commitment. Referring to the agreement, he added: Its one of a kind. In its readout, the White House said Trump urged Macron to meet NATO commitments on French defense spending and help ensure that the alliance is focused on counter-terrorism. It also said the two leaders talked about the importance of defeating Islamic State and other vital issues. Facebook
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Trump lawyers ask Supreme Court to reject 2nd Amendment claim by men who lost gun rights over nonviolent crimes By David Savage President Trump speaks at an NRA event in Atlanta in April. ( Scott Olson / Getty Images) Trump administration lawyers are urging the Supreme Court to reject a 2nd Amendment claim that would restore the right to own a gun for two Pennsylvania men who were convicted more than 20 years ago of nonviolent crimes. The case of Sessions vs. Binderup puts the new administration in a potentially awkward spot, considering President Trumps repeated assurances during the campaign that he would protect gun ownership rights under the 2nd Amendment. But the Justice Department under Trump has embraced the same position in this case that was adopted under President Obama: to defend strict enforcement of a long-standing federal law that bars convicted criminals from ever owning a gun, even when their crimes did not involve violence. Read More Facebook
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Former Sen. Joe Lieberman withdraws from FBI director search By Associated Press (AFP/Getty Images) Former Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut has withdrawn his name from consideration for the role of FBI director. Lieberman interviewed last week with President Trump, who publicly identified him as a leading candidate. But in a letter sent to the White House, Lieberman says hes pulling out. He says he wants to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest, given Trumps hiring of one of Liebermans law partners to represent him in the investigation of ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. The White House declined to comment. Several other people interviewed for the job have also withdrawn from consideration. Trump fired former FBI Director James B. Comey earlier this month. Facebook
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At NATO celebration, Trump tells allies to spend more on defense By Michael A. Memoli (Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images) President Trump used his first NATO meeting to rebuke member nations who fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliances defense spending target, saying American taxpayers unfairly are left to pick up the slack. Speaking at dedication ceremonies for NATOs new headquarters, Trump noted that the defense budgets of 23 of the 28 members dont meet a target equal to 2% of each respective nations economic output, while the United States has spent more on defense in eight years than the other 27 combined. Many of these nations owe massive amounts of money from past years, he said. We have to make up for the many years lost. By his scolding, Trump was directly delivering to NATO allies the criticism that was a staple of his nationalist campaign for president. But his lecture came at an event intended to be celebratory, showcasing unity and resolve for the nearly 70-year-old alliance: the dedication of its shining, glass-enclosed new headquarters in Belgiums capital. The ceremony also was meant to call attention to the fact that the only time NATO has invoked its collective defense agreement was on behalf of the United States, after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. Trump stood beside a section of wrenched steel from the downed World Trade Center Towers, a relic NATO calls the Article V artifact, to signify that post-9/11 invocation of the NATO charters article holding that an attack on any one member would be considered an attack on all. Speaking to reporters before the president arrived, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged that the alliance had a long way to go to meet its goals. But its much better than it was just two years ago, he said. The reality is that when we decrease defense spending when tensions are going down, as we did after the end of the Cold War, we have to be able to increase defense spending when tensions are going up. And now we see that tensions are going up. Facebook
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Watch: Trump lectures NATO leaders on defense spending By L.A. Times staff As NATO leaders looked on, President Trump told NATO members that they must finally contribute their fair share of defense payments. President Trump lectured members of the NATO alliance on Thursday, urging them to pay their fair share on defense. As NATO leaders looked on during a ceremony at the alliances new headquarters, Trump said that member nations must finally contribute their fair share and meet their obligations. The president has been urging NATO leaders to live up to a 2011 decision to increase spending on defense to 2% of GDP by 2024. Trump said 23 of the 28 member nations are not paying what they should and that the situation is not fair to the people of the United States. Facebook
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President Trump promises to review Manchester investigation leaks after anger from Britain By Noah Bierman Trying to head off a diplomatic rift with Britain, President Trump on Thursday issued a statement promising a complete review of possible intelligence leaks related to this weeks deadly terrorist attack at a Manchester concert. Some British officials have suggested that U.S. officials are leaking sensitive information to American media outlets about the investigation into the attack. The New York Times posted forensic photographs collected from the scene of the Manchester concert bombing, which upset British officials. Whether the photographs were provided by U.S. officials or came from some other source is not publicly known. Trump avoided questions earlier Thursday about the possible leaks. His statement came just before he was set to address NATO at its new headquarters in a speech considered pivotal to his first trip abroad as president. British Prime Minister Theresa May was expected to confront Trump over the issue when they meet later in the day. May told reporters as she entered the NATO gathering that she would make clear to Trump that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure. We have a special relationship with the USA. Its our deepest defense and security partnership that we have, she said. Of course that partnership is built on trust, and part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently, and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence shared between law enforcement agencies must remain secure. In his statement, Trump said that the alleged leaks coming out of government agencies are deeply troubling. These leaks have been going on for a long time, and my Administration will get to the bottom of this. The leaks of sensitive information pose a grave threat to our national security. The statement continued with a promise to request the Department of Justice and other relevant agencies to
launch a complete review of this matter, and if appropriate, the
culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Trump also reiterated said there is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the two countries. Separate leaks within his own administration and related to investigations of his campaign ties to Russia have also been a source of anger to Trump. Facebook
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Montanas congressional election: that assault charge, the Trump factor, and why is it on a weird day (Thursday)? By Mark Z. Barabak Its election day in Montana after a wild 24 hours, with voters deciding who will fill the House seat vacated when Republican Ryan Zinke left to head the Interior Department under President Trump. The contest Thursday has drawn nationwide attention and an extraordinary amount of money and that was before the GOP front-runner was accused of attacking a national political reporter. The events have turned the contest into one of the strangest in memory. Read More Facebook
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Trump ignores questions about intelligence sharing ahead of NATO meeting By Michael A. Memoli (Peter Dejoing / Associated Press) President Trump refused to answer questions Thursday about concerns among key allies on intelligence sharing with the United States, just as he prepares to join many of them here to inaugurate the new NATO headquarters. During a brief photo opportunity at his first meeting with Emmanuel Macron, Frances newly elected president, Trump for a second time remained silent as a reporter asked about a potential breakdown in the U.S.-United Kingdom intelligence-sharing relationship. British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to press Trump on the issue when they meet later Thursday, after the New York Times posted forensic photographs collected from the scene of the Manchester concert bombing. The acting U.S. ambassador to Britain told the BBC that the leaks were deeply distressing. Speaking to reporters at the site of a NATO leaders meeting, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also deflected questions about whether the incident has led him to reevaluate his nations intelligence-sharing arrangements. We will continue to work with all our allies to keep Canadians and all citizens around the world safe, he said. Ahead of a working lunch with Macron, Trump said terrorism was at the top of the agenda, while also offering his congratulations to the 39-year-old for his tremendous victory. All over the world, theyre talking about it, he said. In addition to terrorism and the economy, Macron said he planned to discuss climate change and energy. His nation hosted the climate summit that produced the agreement under which countries pledged to reduce their carbon emissions, of which the Trump administration is considering dropping out. Trump also ignored a question about whether former national security advisor Michael Flynn should cooperate with the investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Trump has no news conference scheduled with reporters for the entirety of his eight-day foreign trip, which ends Saturday. Facebook
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Trump visits European Union headquarters; EU leaders cite some differences By Catherine Stupp Donald Tusk, the president of the European Council, said Thursday that differences remain between the Trump administration and the European Union on Russia, energy and trade. I am not 100 percent sure that we can say today that we have a common opinion about Russia, Tusk, a former Polish prime minister who is sometimes called the other Donald, said after a meeting with President Trump at EU headquarters. Tusk added that while some issues remain open, like climate and trade, the leaders agreed first and foremost on the need to combat terrorism. EU officials were skeptical in advance of Trumps visit. Their concerns were driven in part by the U.S. leaders positive stance on Britains vote last year to leave the bloc. Trump at the time called it a great idea. However, he has since spoken of the importance of European unity. European officials are also concerned that the Trump administration might withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate agreement to limit global warming, and turn away from trade arrangements with the EU. Trumps visit to Brussels marked the fourth leg of his first overseas trip. Before heading into the talks with Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, he spoke enthusiastically about his earlier stops in Saudi Arabia and at the Vatican. His ceremonial welcome last week in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, Trump told the European officials, was beyond anything anyones seen. The Saudis staged elaborate festivities including a traditional sword dance. And the president called his private encounter with Pope Francis on Wednesday very impressive. The president and the pontiff met privately for half an hour, and Francis presented Trump with gifts including a copy of a papal encyclical on climate change. The pope was terrific, Trump said. After the visit to the EUs sprawling new headquarters, Trump headed to a luncheon with the newly elected French president, Emmanuel Macron. The two men were meeting for the first time. During the French presidential campaign, Trump had praised Macrons far-right opponent Marine Le Pen for her tough positions on immigration and borders, but he had stopped short of endorsing her. Facebook
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Manchester attack makes terrorism the focus of Trumps NATO meeting By Michael A. Memoli (Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images) The deadly suicide bombing in Britain and threats of more attacks thrust counter-terrorism to the top of President Trumps agenda for talks with NATO leaders here on Thursday, buttressing his bid to enlist the alliance he had called obsolete to join the fight against Islamic State. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, anticipating the alliance meetings, told reporters flying with the president to Brussels from Rome, where Trump met Pope Francis earlier Wednesday, that Mondays attack in Britain is going to strengthen the resolve in this fight against terrorism. Tillerson stopped short of predicting that NATO would agree to formally join the U.S.-led coalition fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, but said it would be a really important step if the alliance did so. The attack, which killed 22 people at a pop concert and was said to be the work of a 22-year-old British man whose family is from Libya, also figured in Trumps brief meeting with the pope at the Vatican. Read More Facebook
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Analysis says 23 million more people would be uninsured by 2026 under GOP healthcare bill By Noam N. Levey (Evan Vucci / Associated Press) An analysis released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office finds that the Republican healthcare bill that passed the House earlier this month would nearly double the number of Americans without health insurance over the next decade. The report likely will complicate Republican efforts to get the controversial bill through the Senate. Read More Facebook
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By throwing Americas lot in with Sunni Arabs, does Trump miss opportunities with Iran? By Tracy Wilkinson On his first official trip to the Middle East, President Trump has resoundingly thrown Americas lot in with Sunni Arab states and cast Shiite Iran as a global pariah, even as Iranians reelected a president who has offered to work with the West. During his two days in Riyadh, Trumps full-throated support for the autocratic monarchies in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, as well as his fierce denunciation of Iran, allowed him to claim an historic new coalition of interests. In the next two days, in Jerusalem, he doubled down and argued that Israel and the Arabs should join forces against Iran and along the way, resolve Israels conflict with Palestinians in a grand bargain that has eluded diplomats for decades. But as he departed for Rome on Tuesday, Trump had little to show beyond lofty rhetoric, symbolic visits and a shower of flattery from kings, potentates and a prime minister. Read More Facebook
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Fed officials appear ready for another interest rate hike and are considering how to reduce assets By Jim Puzzanghera Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet L. Yellen (Michael Dwyer / Associated Press) Most Federal Reserve monetary policymakers indicated they were ready for another small interest rate hike -- perhaps as soon as next month -- if economic data strengthened as expected following a weak winter, according to an account released Wednesday of their most recent meeting. Fed officials also considered a plan to start reducing the $4.5 trillion in Treasury and mortgage securities and other assets the central bank has purchased since 2008 in an attempt to stimulate the economy. The plan, which they said likely would begin later this year, would involve slowly allowing some of the maturing securities to be cashed in instead of reinvesting the money in new securities, the meeting minutes showed. The goal would be to avoid roiling financial markets and causing interest rates to jump. Read More Facebook
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So whats with the president and Melania Trump holding, or not holding, hands? By Tom Kington First Lady Melania Trump does not say much in public, but her actions seemed to speak louder than words or at least sent tongues wagging when she appeared to rebuff the presidents proffered hand as the couple descended from their plane in Rome late Tuesday. As President Trump looked to take her hand on the steps of Air Force One, Melania Trump quickly moved it out of reach, raising it to her head to adjust her hair. That made for two such episodes in two days. She had appeared to brush Trumps hand away at the airport in Tel Aviv during the previous stop in the presidents foreign tour. Video of that scene, often accompanied by snarky commentary, quickly went viral. Compare that to Melania Trumps positively hands-on visit on Wednesday to a Rome childrens hospital, Bambino Gesu, following the couples visit with Pope Francis. After praying to a statue of the Madonna at the entrance to the hospital, the Catholic first lady smiled cheerfully and chatted to children, posing for selfies and providing a very happy, maternal presence, according to one onlooker. Great visiting you! Stay strong and positive! Much love, Melania Trump, she wrote in the visitors book. Staff at the hospital said Melania Trump had been buoyed by her meeting with Pope Francis, and further proof came when photos emerged of the Trumps quick visit to the Sistine Chapel on Wednesday. As the president and first lady stood together to admire Michelangelos 16th century fresco, the Last Judgment, they held hands. Facebook
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House Intelligence Committee will subpoena Michael Flynn, Schiff says By Sarah D. Wire The House Intelligence Committee is preparing to issue subpoenas to President Trumps former national security advisor, Michael Flynn, according to the committees ranking Democrat, following the lead of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) said the House subpoenas will be designed to maximize our chance of getting the information we need for the committees investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign. I think we need to use whatever compulsory [processes] necessary to get the information that he possesses, Schiff said. Earlier this week, Flynns lawyers said he would refuse separate Senate subpoenas for any records about his former business dealings with Russia, citing his constitutional right to avoid self-incrimination. The Senate committee then issued separate subpoenas to two of Flynns businesses, which the panel said were not entitled to 5th Amendment protections. A federal grand jury in Virginia also has issued subpoenas regarding Flynns business dealings with Turkey and Russia, and the newly appointed special counsel investigating the Russia matter, Robert Mueller III, is expected to focus on Flynns role as well. Given the criminal investigations, Schiff said the House panel is highly unlikely to grant Flynns earlier request, through his lawyers, for immunity in exchange for his testimony. He said the panel would need more information about what Flynn would say and whether the testimony would be truthful. It also would need to ensure that granting immunity wouldnt affect the special counsels ongoing investigation, he said. Thats not somthinge I think we would entertain until far later, if at all, said Schiff, a former prosecutor. Certainly count me as very skeptical that we would get to that point. Trump forced Flynn to resign as national security advisor in February after news accounts revealed Flynn had misled White House officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, about his contacts with Russian officials. Schiff spoke to reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. Facebook
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Watch live: Education Secretary Betsy DeVos testifies on Trumps budget Follow live coverage from Times education reporter Joy Resmovits: Facebook
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Israel acknowledges pinpoint change needed after Trump intelligence disclosure By Joshua Mitnick After a week of silence, Israel publicly acknowledged for the first time, though in oblique terms, that it was the source of sensitive intelligence that President Trump shared with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov last week in a White House meeting. Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israels army radio on Wednesday that Israeli officials had carried out an internal pinpoint correction after discussing and reviewing the episode. Lieberman did not elaborate, and declined to confirm or deny whether Trumps remarks had endangered an agent of Israel. But he said his government considered the matter resolved. Everything that needed to be clarified with the friends in the U.S. was done, he said. All of the conclusions we had to draw it was all done. The Israeli defense ministers comments came the day after Trump wrapped up a two-day visit to Israel and the West Bank. When word of Trumps disclosure to Lavrov emerged in U.S. news reports last week, the defense minister and other Israeli leaders confined themselves to expressing public confidence in the two countries intelligence cooperation. Israel did not comment more directly, presumably to avoid embarrassing the U.S. president just before his visit. But Trump himself mentioned the controversy anyway, in an awkward on-camera moment during the trip. With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu biting his lip alongside, Trump volunteered to reporters being hustled out of a news appearance: Just so you know, I never mentioned the word or name Israel. Never mentioned it during the conversation. News reports, however, had not said the president mentioned Israel in connection with the intelligence, only that the specificity of his remarks to Lavrov would in all likelihood have allowed the Russians to determine the source. The White House at first denied Trumps disclosure to Lavrov had occurred as reported, but then the president himself tweeted about it, saying he had the right to share information as he deemed fit. Facebook
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Trump calls meeting with Pope Francis an honor By Michael A. Memoli "A very great honor," Trump says to the pope when they began their meeting in the pope's private study pic.twitter.com/NGsbsahAyT Carol Lee (@carolelee) May 24, 2017 President Trump held a half-hour private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, declaring it a great honor despite their past public dissension. The unconventional Republican and the first Jesuit pontiff made for an unlikely pair in the Vaticans Apostolic Palace, where Catholic leaders have presided or centuries and American presidents have come or decades. Francis was silent as the two sat across one another at the popes wooden desk to begin the audience at approximately 8:30 a.m. local time. Exactly a half-hour later, the ringing of a bell signified the end of the private encounter. For the White House, the Vatican stop caps a tour through key sites of the worlds three major religions, following stops in Saudi Arabia and Israel, designed to promote tolerance and a united approach to terrorism. When you put it all together, youre really showing that this problem of radical extremism is one of the great problems of our time, a senior Trump aide told reporters Tuesday en route from Israel to Rome, briefing anonymously as is common White House practice. By putting everybody together you can really build a coalition and show that its not a Muslim problem, its not a Jewish problem, its not a Catholic problem, its not a Christian problem, it really is a world problem. In an exchange of gifts after their private meeting, Francis offered the president a medal by a Roman artist of an olive, a symbol of peace. We can use peace, Trump responded. Where Trumps and Francis interests may align on peace and combating terrorism, they disagree sharply on issues like immigration and poverty. Like Trump, the Argentine pope has shown a predilection for unscripted comments that have shaken the staid Vatican bureaucracy, as when he criticized candidate Trumps proposed stricter immigration policies including a border wall as not Christian. Trump fired back, calling the popes remarks disgraceful. Any animosity was not apparent Wednesday, as a meeting between Francis and a larger U.S. delegation ended. Thank you. I wont forget what you said, Trump said. Facebook
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Proposed budget would deeply cut State Department and its programs By Tracy Wilkinson (AFP / Getty Images) The State Department leadership voiced support for President Trumps proposed budget, which would impose deep cuts on spending for diplomacy and foreign aid, but critics vowed to fight to restore the funds in Congress. In a statement, the department said the presidents $37.6-billion request for it and for the U.S. Agency for International Development would support a leaner, more efficient government in line with Trumps America first mantra. If approved by Congress, that would represent a reduction of roughly 30% from the current fiscal year. Nongovernmental agencies that receive State Department support to carry out humanitarian and other work around the globe expressed deep alarm. The State Department statement said its new priorities would include efforts to counter terrorism, support Israel, promote border security and battle transnational crime and the spread of infectious diseases. The statement makes no mention of women-empowerment programs or efforts to fight climate change, issues that rose to prominence under the Obama administration. The proposed budget would allow the United States to remain engaged in the United Nations, but officials would seek a more fair distribution of the funding burden, the statement said. And it would eliminate direct funding for quasi- and non-governmental organizations that serve niche missions. The American Jewish World Service, which fights poverty all over the world through 450 local organizations, said much of its work would be jeopardized. At a time when poverty, human rights abuses, famines and conflicts are wreaking havoc globally, said the groups president, Robert Bank, the United States must not abdicate its long bipartisan tradition of providing development assistance and diplomatic support to the most vulnerable people around the world. Mercy Corps, a U.S.-based development and advocacy organization that works in 40 countries, said gutting development programs was short-sighted and absolutely shameful and could put millions of lives at risk. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called the budget cruel and mean-spirited and said it would force the United States to abandon our global role as a champion for freedom, democracy and the rule of law. If President Trump thinks the United States can shrink into a defensive crouch without long-term repercussions, hes sorely mistaken, Engel said. Facebook
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Sessions first proposed budget: A crackdown on immigration and violent crime By Joseph Tanfani Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) In the first budget proposal under President Trump and Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions, the Justice Department is seeking hundreds of millions in new funding to pay for an immigration crackdown on the border and a surge in resources to fight violent crime. Like the Department of Homeland Security budget, which includes billions for expanded immigration detention, more border agents and technology to catch those crossing the border illegally, the Justice Department budget is a reflection of the new get-tough policies promised by Sessions. The budget asks for another 300 federal prosecutors 230 to focus on violent criminals and gangs, and another 70 to concentrate on filing criminal charges on those crossing the border illegally. The shift in the spending priorities are in line with other policy changes ordered by Sessions, including a renewed focus on seeking stiff mandatory minimum sentences for drugs and other crimes. The $27.7-billion budget seeks 450 new attorneys and support workers for the immigration courts, which are now clogged with a backlog of 560,000 cases. There would also be another $50 million for increased immigration detention, plus 40 new U.S. marshal jobs to help take care of the expected increase in immigrants heading to federal court. With Trumps immigration initiatives tied up in federal court, the budget seeks another 15 lawyers to handle that litigation, plus 12 more to help handle property acquisition needed for Trumps promised Southwestern border wall. Violent-crime enforcement would get another $198 million, with the largest amount, $70 million, going toward setting up more anti-violence and gang task forces. Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod J. Rosenstein said more resources are needed because of what he called an alarming increase in the rates of murder and other violent crimes. The department is also asking for another $40 million for more drug enforcement to combat the opioid epidemic, which he said is spreading havoc throughout the United States. Sessions new policies should lead to an increase in prison population, so the budget contains funding to fully open a new supermax prison in Thomson, Ill., with room for 1,500 to 2,000 inmates. The department also wants to put more resources behind the FBIs efforts to counter cyber attacks and to figure out ways around encryption technology, along with another 50 agents to counter foreign intelligence and threats from homegrown terrorists. Facebook
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Economists say Trumps budget proposal doesnt add up By Don Lee President Trumps inaugural budget proposal claims to eliminate the nations deficit in 10 years, thanks largely to faster economic growth that it projects will come from the presidents sweeping tax cuts. Never mind the overly optimistic projections on economic growth. Or that Trumps tax overhaul has not happened yet. Even allowing for both, economists say Trumps budget still does not add up. The administration is counting on generating $2.1 trillion in additional revenue over 10 years from better economic growth. But Trumps budget proposal leaves out the cost, or the revenue lost, from the massive tax cuts. In other words, the economic gains that the administration has said it would use to pay for tax reform is apparently also being counted on to pay for deficit reduction. Some people call that double-counting. You cant use the same money twice, said Marc Goldwein, a senior vice president for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that advocates keeping government budgets under control. Lawrence Summers, former Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration and top economic advisor to President Obama, called it an elementary but egregious accounting error. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the right-leaning American Action Forum and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said the proposal did not necessarily mean there was an outright omission or a double-counting. Its possible that the administration is looking for such strong economic growth to drive significantly extra revenue from payroll taxes, he said, or it could be that Trump officials were using different base lines from which they were drawing their results. But on the face of it, he said, the budget and tax-plan numbers dont seem to match. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget has estimated that Trumps plan to cut corporate and individual taxes would cost the federal government about $5.5 trillion over 10 years, adding more than $6 trillion to the national debt. Details of Trumps tax overhaul, however, are still being developed, and its possible that the administration is assuming a revenue-neutral tax plan although experts say big tax cuts never pay for themselves. On Tuesday, Mick Mulvaney, Trumps budget chief, did not provide a direct answer or explanation to questions about double-counting. Instead, he told reporters that you have to make assumptions about a budget. He went on to say that one of the assumptions that was not made was to take into account the uncollected taxes every year, which he said amounted to $486 billion last year. And we dont assume an additional penny of that being closed as part of our tax reform, said Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Of the 3% annual economic growth assumption, Mulvaney responded that the Obama administration in its first couple of years had based its budget on growth of 4.5%. In fact, Obamas first budget proposal as president, in May 2009, assumed economic growth of between 4% and 4.6% for the budget years 2011 to 2013. Since the Great Recession ended in mid-2009, the U.S. economy has been growing on average about 2% a year, and the Congressional Budget Office, the Federal Reserve and most private economists see the economy advancing at about 2% annually over the next 10 years. Alice Rivlin, a former Fed vice chair and director of the Office of Management and Budget under Clinton, said its true that the Obama administrations growth assumptions proved too optimistic. But she noted that those projections were not unreasonable for that time and period in the economic cycle. Then, there was greater potential for growth with unemployment high and many more people than today available for work. Today, the economy is nearing its eighth year of expansion, and the jobless rate is 4.4%, at or near full employment. With the aging of baby boomers, labor force growth slowing, and lackluster productivity gains, economists see the current moderate growth persisting for the foreseeable future. This has been a very long period of growth and were at the high end already, Rivlin said. If we are so lucky to have continuous, steady growth, its not likely to be at 3% or 4% or 5%. Facebook
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Who wins and who loses in Trumps budget The White House Office of Management and Budget sent Congress the presidents inaugural budget today, projecting spending and revenues over the next 10 years. The fiscal package, which include a partial skinny budget from March, reflects President Trumps priorities for the nation, but lawmakers are sure to reject many of the deep cuts in domestic and foreign affairs programs. The departments of State, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, Education and Housing, as well as the Environmental Protection Agency, are the biggest losers. The winners are the Pentagon and Homeland Security programs. Even with the increases in defense spending and large tax cuts, the administration projects that economic growth spurred by tax cuts will erase annual deficits by 2027. Take a look at some of the numbers released today. Read More Facebook
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What that Montana special congressional race will and wont tell us about Trump and his political problems By Mark Z. Barabak Democrat Rob Quist is a quintessential cowboy who doesnt seem to relish campaigning in Montanas special congressional election. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) On Thursday, the political world will eagerly look to Montana and a closely fought congressional race for the latest test of Democratic strength and Republican resilience in the turbulent age of Trump. The major candidates and outside groups have sunk more than $8 million into the contest, a huge sum in a state where $250,000 pays for a robust week of television advertising. But for all that money and all the outside interest, the election will turn less on national trends than circumstances close to home: on the personalities and histories of the main contestants, their different campaign styles and, perhaps most of all, on who is regarded as the more authentic Montanan. Read More Facebook
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Terrorist attack in England has conservative media focused on safety of allies By Kurtis Lee (Dave Thompson/Getty images ) Its a sight witnessed all too often: an explosion, screams, people sprinting to safety. Late Monday night, this was the scene at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, after a man with possible ties to Islamic State militants set off a suicide bomb, killing 22 people and, once again, setting in motion a global discourse on how to fight terrorism. President Trump, while visiting Bethlehem, said the attack was committed by evil losers in life. Throughout the campaign and early in his presidency, Trump has said defeating the Islamic State is a top priority. (He reiterated that point in a speech Sunday in Saudi Arabia, urging Muslim leaders to plot their own course in combating terrorism.) In recent months, with attacks in Berlin, Paris and London, conservative media have questioned the safety of Europe and warned that the United States could face similar attacks. With the latest attack, some on the right are again homing in on the safety of our allies. Here are some of todays headlines: 2017 has seen a terror attack attempted in Europe every nine days (Breitbart) The attack in Manchester blankets the home page of the right-wing website. Europe has indeed been the location of high-profile attacks this year. In Paris last month, Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack on the Champs-Elysees in which a man fired an automatic weapon, killing a police officer. And in March, a man plowed his car into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, near the British Parliament in London, and then fatally stabbed a police officer. In all, four people were killed and dozens injured in what police called a terrorist attack. The Breitbart piece is an analysis of different terrorist attacks attempted and carried out in Europe since January. Attacks and attempted attacks have taken place in Austria, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Sweden, Norway, and Germany, on average every nine days, the piece says. Pences message of civility and open debate lost on those who most needed to hear it (Weekly Standard) The debate over free speech on colleges campuses continues. In recent months, conservative speakers have canceled speeches on college campuses in the face of anticipated protests. And others, who have opted to speak, have faced vocal backlash. On Sunday, as Vice President Mike Pence began to address students at the University of Notre Dame commencement, several dozen stood and walked out of the ceremony. In his speech, Pence talked about civility and open debate, and this piece argues that the m
The developer of a mixed-used development called First Street Village in downtown Burbank will have to wait several more days to learn the fate of his proposed project.
After about six hours of public comments and questions from council members, the City Council decided on Tuesday to table its deliberations regarding the proposed development on the southwest side of First Street between Magnolia Boulevard and Orange Grove Avenue.
For the record: A previous version of this story misstated the number of apartments in the proposed First Street Village project. The development is slated to have 261 units, not 241.
The proposed project would have three five-story buildings with a total of 261 apartments and 18,976 square feet of commercial space on the ground levels.
Council members are expected to continue their discussion on the matter at their meeting on June 6. A meeting will not be held on Tuesday in observance of Memorial Day.
Fred Ramirez, the citys assistant community development director, explained at length the parameters of the project, which is proposed to be built in three phases over a four-year period. The properties, which are owned by Tim Behunin, are sectioned off in three segments a 147.5-foot-wide building at the corner of Magnolia and First, with an adjacent 152.5-foot-wide structure and another 152.5-foot-wide building at First and Palm Avenue.
Behunin is also the developer of the project.
The first phase will focus on the middle property, where 6,388 square feet of commercial space would be constructed on the ground level with 87 apartments on the upper floors.
The second phase would move to the First and Palm plot, where the developer proposes to build 6,436 square feet of commercial use on the first floor and 93 apartments above.
The last phase, which involves the smallest piece of property of the three, would have 81 apartments on the upper levels and 6,152 square feet of commercial space at the bottom.
In total, the development as proposed would include 112 one-bedroom units, 142 two-bedroom units and seven three-bedroom units. Under the proposed development agreement, staff is asking to dedicate 5% of the apartments to be deed-restricted as affordable units.
Ramirez said that each building will have similar amenities, such as a common open space, fitness center, rooftop terrace and lap pool. Additionally, there will be a pocket park and more than 80 trees and plants in and around each building.
The proposal includes 673 on-site parking spaces, with the majority of them located underground. Thirty-three bicycles spaces are also planned.
The proposed development agreement between the city and Behunin also proposes having three alcohol licenses for the project two on-sale licenses for restaurants and one off-sale license for a possible grocery store.
Dozens of residents and business owners spoke during the council meeting, with most of them in favor of the project. Also, many of them said the First Street Village project is something Burbank has needed to offer those who work but do not live in the city as a housing alternative.
If we want people to serve the community, we have to welcome them to join the community, said Lee Wochner, chairman of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce. We have to provide a place for them to live, and currently, theres no place for our expanding workforce to live here in Burbank.
However, there were some concerns expressed about the projects proximity to the Golden State (5) Freeway, which is about 50 feet away. Resident Oscar Merlo cited a recent Los Angeles Times article that stated air-quality officials have warned against building homes near freeways due to possible health risks.
If were [going to allow the construction of this project], make sure that we protect ourselves, Merlo said. Make sure that we install the air filters that are best needed for this project.
anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com
Twitter: @acocarpio
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As a Malibu law firm threatens to sue over Huntington Beachs council election system, alleging that it disenfranchises local Latino voters, the city isnt backing down.
City Attorney Michael Gates sent a letter last week to the firm, Shenkman and Hughes, stating the city is ready, willing and able to fight any such lawsuit.
Shenkman and Hughes sent city officials a letter in early April claiming that Huntington Beachs use of an at-large election system dilutes the ability of Latinos to elect candidates of their choice and thus violates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001.
In at-large elections, winners are chosen by voters throughout the city. Many opponents of that practice believe it enables white voters to overwhelm the choices of minorities.
The law firm, led by Kevin Shenkman and his law partner and wife, Mary Hughes, wants council members elected by districts. In that system, voters in each area would elect one council member to represent them.
Shenkman did not respond to a Daily Pilot request for comment Friday, but his letter to the city says Huntington Beach appears to have not had even a single Latino council member in recent history.
To support his claim of disenfranchisement, Shenkman cited Latino Huntington Beach council candidates Hector Valdez, who lost in 2014, and Jim Moreno, who lost in 2002 and 2004.
According to Shenkman, each had significant support from Latino voters but couldnt win a seat because of the at-large voting system.
Shenkman, 38, is known for suing or threatening to sue cities and other local governments throughout Southern California to get them to move from at-large to district elections. Of Californias 482 cities, 59 have district elections, the Los Angeles Times reported this month.
Shenkman has used the California Voting Rights Act several times as a basis to sue. The law doesnt require minority groups in California to demonstrate a geographic district where a minority is concentrated enough to establish a majority. That makes it easier for them to sue on the allegation that their votes are being diluted by at-large elections.
Gates, however, said in his letter to Shenkman that the law would be unconstitutional if applied to Huntington Beach.
The citys website says Latinos make up 19% of the population, and Gates said they account for 13% of the citys eligible voters.
However, he said, Latinos in Huntington Beach can be adequately represented in an at-large system, partly because the vast majority of Latino residents are not concentrated in certain areas of the city.
At most, Gates said, a district system would grant Latinos 23% influence over a single council candidate, as opposed to 13% influence over the entire pool of candidates in an at-large election.
Many in [the] Latino community may decide for themselves that they would rather influence all seven elections of council members over having a 23% influence over a single member, Gates said.
Furthermore, he said, the Voting Rights Act improperly placed with the judiciary the legislative process of redistricting.
Huntington Beach City Attorney Michael Gates says hes ready to take on a Malibu law firm threatening to sue the city alleging violation of the California Voting Rights Act. (File photo / Daily Pilot)
I believe that as long as the mayor and members of the City Council are willing to defend the city against such a lawsuit, by your lawsuit you may chart a course to set new, uninvited legal precedent that finds the [California Voting Rights Act], or portions of it, unconstitutional, which will allow the city of Huntington Beach and other cities like it to conduct elections as they have been, Gates wrote in his letter.
However, according to the League of California Cities, no local government that holds citywide elections has ever won a lawsuit based on the California Voting Rights Act, the Times reported.
And Shenkman has had successes.
For example, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District announced in March that it will change to a district-based voting system in 2018 and that it had reached a legal settlement in which it would pay more than $100,000 in attorneys fees and court costs for Shenkmans client, Costa Mesa resident Eloisa Rangel, who alleged the districts at-large election system diluted the voting power of Latino residents.
In 2012, Shenkmans firm sued the city of Palmdale and ultimately won. In a settlement, the city agreed to pay $4.5 million for plaintiffs legal costs and to change to district elections.
Some local governments have turned to district-based elections just on the threat of a lawsuit from Shenkmans firm.
Costa Mesa, for example, will hold its first district elections in 2018. The city also agreed last year to pay $55,000 in attorneys fees to settle a legal claim by Rangel and the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project. The claimants were represented by Shenkman.
benjamin.brazil@latimes.com
Twitter:@benbrazilpilot
A five-day operation conducted by immigration officials this week resulted in almost 200 arrests in the Los Angeles area, with two in Glendale, according to authorities.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 188 people in an operation targeting at-large criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants and immigration fugitives, the agency said in a statement on Thursday. The crackdown took place in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Roughly 90% of them 169 had prior criminal convictions, including 43 for drug offenses, 27 for domestic violence and seven for weapons violations.
The immigration agency said 146 of those arrested were Mexican nationals, while the rest hailed from El Salvador, Guatemala, Armenia, Honduras, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Yugoslavia and Cambodia.
In Glendale, a 44-year-old woman from Thailand and a 38-year-old man from Mexico were picked up by federal agents, according to ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice.
The man had a prior conviction for driving while under the influence, while the woman was previously convicted of marijuana smuggling.
Neither had been previously deported or received deportation orders in the past, Kice said.
Itll be up to a judge to decide whether or not theyll be allowed to remain in the U.S., she said.
In addition to the two in Glendale, others arrested included a 29-year-old Salvadoran national who was previously deported in 2014 after serving a nine-year prison sentence for rape. Another was a previously deported 51-year-old Mexican national who served a three-year sentence for trafficking cocaine.
Immigration arrests since the beginning of the year have risen almost 40% nationwide compared to the same period in 2016.
While immigration laws have not changed, Kice said President Donald Trumps executive order on immigration enforcement, which was signed in January, has broadened the way federal officials can enforce the law.
She also said enforcement operations such as this weeks arrests are fairly routine and that ICE conducts two to three of them a year.
andy.nguyen@latimes.com
Twitter: @Andy_Truc
Neighborhood schools arent what they once were. In past generations, nearly all public school students went to school close to home. Then school choice happened.
Broadly defined as the freedom for students to attend publicly-funded schools outside their attendance zones, school choice first appeared in the form of magnet schools designed to encourage racial and socio-economic integration.
As school accountability measures focused more attention on student achievement, school choice came to be seen more as a market force to encourage innovation and investment.
Schools of choice currently range from district-run magnet schools and specialized programs to district or corporate-run charter schools, and even, in some states, vouchers for private schools. Online learning options appear in a variety of settings.
Glendales own history with schools of choice began with Clark Magnet High School in the late 1990s, followed by its first Spanish language dual-immersion program at Edison Elementary in 2003.
Today, while balancing the simultaneous successes and budgetary challenges of three magnet schools and dual-immersion programs in seven languages, the district must also wrestle with both corporate charter advocates seeking a foothold in the district and the charter-friendly state and federal departments of education.
So, as budgetary anxiety builds and the district is forced to respond to interests from outside its borders, it might be helpful to reflect on the local history of school-choice programs. What choices has the district made and offered to families, and why?
Glendale opened Clark Magnet in 1998, at the height of a student population boom that had already resulted in nearly half of its elementary schools transitioning to year-round education.
For years, the district had engaged parents and community members in discussions about educational reform opportunities.
Finally, with Hoover and Glendale high schools filled beyond capacity, and with the urging of Supt. Jim Brown, voters approved a bond measure that allowed for the transformation of the long-shuttered Clark Junior High into a high school technology magnet.
As reflected by the schools popularity and its collection of awards over the last 20 years, Clark has been a resounding success, thanks in large part to Browns choice of the founding principal, Doug Dall.
Dall was committed to the school-reform principles outlined in the California Department of Educations 1992 blueprint, Second to None, and was able to hire teachers who shared that commitment.
However, though Clark was designed in accordance with educational research to improve student achievement, the motivating force behind the creation of Clark was more basic. The district needed more space for students.
Glendales next venture into school choice was a similar mix of financial necessity informed by educational research on English language instruction.
Following the passage of Proposition 227 in 1998, which eliminated most bilingual education in California, a group of teachers at Edison Elementary began working with district administrators to develop a voluntary dual-language-immersion program.
Led by Joanna Junge and Cristina Allen, the team developed a program they thought would best serve English-language learners as well as the children whose parents understood the value of language acquisition in a global society.
With the school boards approval, Edisons Spanish-immersion program opened with 18 students in 2003. Helped by a modified inter-district permit policy, Edison began attracting families from outside the district just as school enrollment in Glendale and elsewhere started to plummet because of high housing costs and low birth rates.
With school funding directly tied to school enrollment, Supt. Mike Escalante soon recognized the financial benefits of expanding dual-immersion programs.
Determined to prevent the likely closure of Franklin Elementary because of low enrollment, Escalante and staff presented the board with a proposal that became the Foreign Language Academies of Glendale, known as FLAG.
Soon FLAG programs were growing not just at Edison and Franklin, but eventually at eight other elementaries in one of seven languages Spanish, Armenian, French, German, Italian, Korean and Japanese.
Dual-language immersion not only saved Franklin and supported the districts budget through some of its leanest years, it has also improved learning, engaged parents and served as a model of language instruction for schools across the country and in neighboring districts.
Glendales successful choice experiments have grown out of the combined interests of passionate educators informed by sound educational research, the financial needs of the district, and the interests of students and their families.
The purposes and interests of corporate charter advocates are harder to understand, especially in the context of Glendales success.
JOYLENE WAGNER is a past member of the Glendale Unified school board, from 2005 to 2013, and currently serves on the boards of Glendale Educational Foundation and other nonprofit organizations. Email her at jkate4400@aol.com.
This stand-alone photo appeared in the Jan. 13, 1954 Los Angeles Times. The caption reported, Children of Harpo, the silent Marx brother, don wigs and demonstrate that they too have the happy gift of pantomime. From laugh to riot are Alec, Jimmy (who couldnt help peeking), Minnie and father Harpo himself.
Two days later, another Bruce Cox photo of Harpo Marx, shown below, appeared promoting a youth concert by the comedian.
The accompanying story began:
Children in the third through eighth grades in the San Gabriel Valley area have a treat in store Jan. 24 when the second in the series of youth concerts will be presented at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium at 3 p.m.
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Harpo Marx, a comedian who is also a harpist, will be guest artist playing with the Pasadena Civic Symphony Orchestra -- replete with his famed wig, his humorous antics combined with his superb playing, to assure an amusing and instructive afternoon for the young audience. ...
My educated guess would be that these two images came from the same photo shoot.
This post originally appeared on Jan. 13, 2011.
See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here
At least 18 people were killed Saturday when a suicide car bomber targeted a convoy of provincial security forces in eastern Afghanistan, an Interior Ministry official said.
Najib Danish, the ministrys deputy spokesman, said the target of the bomber was a group of guards providing security for U.S. forces in Khost province, but most of the victims were civilians.
Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack in a media statement. Taliban insurgents have increased their attacks against Afghan security forces since announcing their spring offensive last month.
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The security forces were attacked near the provinces main bus station, Danish said. Six other civilians including two small children were wounded in the attack, he said.
The attack, which took place on a road between the bus station and the provincial football stadium, damaged or destroyed about a dozen shops and several vehicles.
The attack came on the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Mubariz Zadran, spokesman for the provincial governor, said the casualty number could rise as some of the wounded were listed in critical condition.
Meanwhile, at least six civilians and 15 fighters from an Islamic State group affiliate were killed in eastern Nangarhar province, said Attullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.
Separately, two police officers were shot and killed in Kandahar by unknown gunmen late Friday, said Samim Khpolwak, spokesman for the provincial governor. He said another policeman was wounded in the shooting and that an investigation was underway.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
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UPDATES:
3:15 a.m.: This article was updated with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the Khost attack and with reports of violence elsewhere in Afghanistan.
12:45 a.m.: This was updated with comments from an Afghanistan Interior Ministry offiicial.
This article was originally published at 12:01 a.m.
Stone-throwing protesters clashed with security forces across the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir on Saturday after Indian soldiers killed eight suspected militants as part of a months-long crackdown in the disputed Himalayan territory.
At least one civilian was killed as police forces tried to subdue the protesters, and dozens of others were injured, according to medical officials.
For the record: An earlier version of this article said that Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, formed a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir with a political adversary, the Peoples Democratic Party, in 2014. The coalition was formed in 2015.
Anti-Indian protests in Kashmir have grown in size and intensity in the year since the Indian army killed a charismatic young militant, Burhan Wani, in a targeted operation in July.
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Scores of civilians have been killed and thousands injured, many blinded by pellets fired by Indian police and paramilitary forces struggling to maintain order in a territory that India and Pakistan have fought over for 70 years.
Indian officials said that Wanis successor, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, was among two suspected militants killed when Indian forces surrounded a house in Tral, in the Kashmir Valley, after gunmen opened fire on an army patrol late Friday.
Security officials described Bhat, 26, as a leader of Hizbul Mujahideen, a Kashmiri separatist group supported by Pakistan, and part of a generation of young militants like Wani who employed social media to recruit followers and rouse anti-Indian sentiment.
A 17-year-old aide to Bhat was also killed in the incident, officials said.
Six other militants were killed early Saturday attempting to cross the Line of Control, the boundary between India and Pakistan in Kashmir, army officials told Indian news media.
As news of the deaths spread, students and other separatist sympathizers poured into the streets in towns across Kashmir. Some residents tried to storm the site of Bhats killing, where the army was still searching for another suspect, prompting security forces to fire pellets and tear gas to disperse them.
If the third militant was killed, there will be another Sabzar tomorrow, said Abdul Rashid Akhoon, a protester in Rathsuna village, Bhats former home. They wont stop until and unless Kashmir is given freedom and we wont stop until they get us that.
The government in Indias Jammu and Kashmir state declared a curfew Sunday across most of Srinagar, the states summer capital, and reimposed a ban on mobile Internet service in an attempt to keep protesters from organizing.
Shakeel Ahmad, a medical officer in Pulwama district, which includes Tral, said that one protester died of a bullet wound to the head while four others were seriously injured and being treated at a hospital in Srinagar.
The All Parties Hurriyat Conference, a separatist political organization in Kashmir, called for a statewide shutdown Sunday and Monday to protest what it termed brute force by Indian forces against civilians.
As unrest grows in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, many analysts accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modis government of failing to pursue a political dialogue with Kashmiri groups that have long agitated for self-determination.
In 2015, Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, a Hindu nationalist organization, formed a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir with a political adversary, the Peoples Democratic Party, which advocates for Kashmiri self-rule. The controversial pairing left many Kashmiris in the majority-Muslim territory alienated, and the coalition has failed to fulfill any of its pledges to start political talks on Kashmirs status.
Modis government then took steps to curtail the states constitutional autonomy and enforced restrictions on beef and other measures seen as hostile to Muslims.
There was huge trepidation when the coalition was agreed to and the Modi governments subsequent actions just made anger and cynicism grow exponentially, said Radha Kumar, a writer and policy analyst.
Anti-Indian sentiment rose even higher after an incident last month in which a young Indian army officer ordered a civilian to be tied to the hood of a military vehicle and paraded him through several Kashmiri villages to intimidate stone-throwers.
Many Indian politicians praised the move, saying the unruly mobs in Kashmir needed to be taught a lesson. But after the army this week gave an award to the officer, Maj. Nitin Leetul Gogoi, an outcry ensued among critics of Indias heavy-handed security tactics in Kashmir.
I dont blame the young officer, who had to make a decision at a very critical moment, Kumar said. I think the people most to blame are the politicians who went to town justifying it. The real issue is you should not be putting your security forces in circumstances where they make and justify such decisions.
shashank.bengali@latimes.com
Follow @SBengali on Twitter for more news from South Asia
Hundreds of Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons ended a 6-week-old hunger strike Saturday that raised tensions with Israel while marking the reemergence of a popular Palestinian politician serving multiple life terms for murder.
Led by Marwan Barghouti, a militant from the ruling Fatah party and a political rival to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the strike included nearly 1,600 prisoners during the last month, making it the largest such prisoner demonstration in recent memory.
The hunger strike stirred grass-roots solidarity demonstrations throughout the West Bank and even garnered expressions of support from the rival Islamic faction Hamas. It ratcheted up popular pressure on Abbas during the visit of President Trump to the West Bank city of Bethlehem on May 23.
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The end of the hunger strike comes on the eve of the Muslim observance of the holy month of Ramadan, a period of daily fasting which could have further endangered the health of the participants. A death among the protesting prisoners was likely to have fanned demonstrations and risked turmoil with Israeli forces in the West Bank.
Hundreds of Palestinians clapped and danced to festive music in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Saturday as leaders of the prisoners campaign declared that the striking inmates had prevailed over Israel by forcing the prison authorities to negotiate on the conditions for some 6,300 Palestinians in Israeli jails.
Following talks between Israel, the prisoner leadership and the International Red Cross, the sides agreed to increase the frequency of family visits for the inmates.
This is an important step towards full respect of the rights of Palestinian prisoners under international law, the Free Marwan Barghouti campaign said in a released statement.
The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, welcomed the agreement, and, in a statement, urged the sides to avoid similar heightened tensions in the future.
A spokeswoman for the Israel Prison Service confirmed the agreement, but denied the strike had forced the authorities to negotiate over conditions in the jails with the prisoner representatives.
According to the prison service, nearly 1,600 Palestinians prisoners participated at one time or another during the strike. By the end of strike, some 850 were still participating.
Palestinian political analysts said the strike was a boost for Barghouti, who is seen as leading candidate to succeed Abbas at a time of widespread speculation about who will come after the 82-year old Palestinian president.
The strike began in mid-April, with an op-ed in the New York Times penned by Barghouti, who protested ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners. Midway through the hunger strike, Israeli authorities made public a video purporting to show Barghouti in his prison cell eating a candy bar. Palestinians challenged the authenticity of the video, which actually helped boost support for Barghouti and the hunger strikers.
Barghouti, who was jailed by Israel in 2002 at the height of a campaign of Palestinian suicide bombings and shooting attacks in Israeli cities, is seen by some as a potential peacemaker because of grassroots appeal among Palestinians and his support for negotiations with Israel. In 2004, he was convicted by a Tel Aviv district court of murder in three attacks that left five dead. He was also convicted of being a member of a terrorist group. Years of opinion polls show him as the most popular Palestinian politician.
Though the Palestinian Authority backed the strike, the prisoners demonstration put Abbas in an awkward position among Palestinians, many of whom believed that his government didnt do enough to support the strike.
As Abbas met with Trump, Palestinians observed a commercial strike and held public demonstrations in solidarity with the prisoners.
According to a May public opinion survey by the Arab World for Research and Development group, some two-thirds of respondents said they were dissatisfied with the response of Abbas to the strike.
There is a narrative being drawn up that this is a victory, so it is a victory, said Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian political analyst based in Amman. There is a perception this is a victory for the prisoners, and for Marwan [Barghouti], because he embarked on a strike the Palestinian Authority wasnt that excited about.
Mitnick is a special correspondent.
@joshmitnick
After the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had some waffles at an Ann Arbor's restaurant in Michigan, they raided the kitchen looking for undocumented immigrants.
Maybe ICE agents didn't enjoy the breakfast at Sava's Restaurant, or maybe they did. Nevertheless, right after their meal on Wednesday, May 24 at 11:30 a.m. agents raided the kitchen for suspected undocumented immigrant that was off that day.
"They came in looking for one person, who was not on duty," said restaurant owner Sava Lelcaj.
Once the agents realized the suspect was not at work they quickly turned their attention to the employees that were there. Agents demanded to see the documentation of the employees that were in the kitchen, claimed Sava's representative Bree Stillwell to Eater.com. They apprehended three people and took them to ICE's Detroit office, said Lelcaj.
Sava's is amazing. This is a first generation Albanian American whose business is booming. She has a hospitality co too, over 250 employees https://t.co/fF6x4ZdPr6 Laura Ivezaj (@LauraIvezaj1) May 24, 2017
"It's a very sad day here at Sava's," said Lelcaj to news publication MLive. "These things really shake people up. We have a lot of people who have family roots here."
According to some reports, ICE released all three employees.
However, one of the restaurant workers, Carlos Rivera-Ochoa, who had his permanent resident card was still handcuffed and detained in a government vehicle parked outside the restaurant.
"They just slapped some handcuffs on him," said Rivera's wife, Nicki Sanchez. "Not only is that offensive, he was embarrassed in front of the whole restaurant. Why didn't they ask him before they detained him?"
Rivera was able to return to work and Lelcaj and her employees had to continue running the restaurant with a smaller crew.
Lelcaj said that her company, Savco Hospitality, has a process of vetting immigrants to ensure they are legal.
WASHINGTON, D.C. | U.S. Army Capt. Jonathon Gambrell, 30, of Washington, D.C., has spent almost nine years serving his country as a member of the U.S. military.
Serving in the military is a family tradition for Gambrell.
It started with his great-grandfathers, Roy Groff, of Orchard, U.S. Army, and Hugh Leslie Buck Delaney, of Osage, an Army combat medic. They both served their country in World War I. In addition, Gambrells grandfather; mother, Mary Groff Gambrell, who lives in Mason City; father; and half-brother have all served in the U.S. Army. His mother served in the Army Reserves during the Cold War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Gambrell is a graduate of Iowa State University with a degree in business. He also has a degree in operations supply chain management. He is married and has a daughter, 4, and a son, 2.
The service of my great-grandparents influenced my grandparents, who influenced my parents to serve, Gambrell said. It was my parents service that brought them together.
His mother served in the Army Reserves out of Fort Des Moines. His father also served on active duty as an infantry non-commissioned officer.
My familys service gave me both a respect for those who serve, as well as an appreciation for the hardships military families endure, he said.
Gambrell said it was his mothers membership in the Tama-Toledo Chapter of the VFW that ultimately led him down the road of joining the military.
Gambrell grew up in the Tama-Toledo area, attending South Tama High School. During his junior year of high school, his mother told him he needed to attend Hawkeye Boys State, because the VFW chapter needed a couple more to attend.
I really didnt know what I was signing up for, Gambrell said.
During the career day at Boys State, he heard presentations from colleges, programs and other educational services.
Gambrell said this was his first exposure to the question, What I going to do when I graduate? and How and I going to get there? He got an informational pamphlet on Army Reserve Officers Training Corps programs and the rest is history, Gambrell said.
My experience at the Iowa State ROTC program shaped my life into what it is today, he said. It was the first time I was exposed to the military lifestyle and the professionalism that is expected of officers.
Gambrell said he enjoyed being around other people with the same work ethic, passion and drive he had. He admitted there were some college experiences he missed due to his ROTC schedule.
But, looking back, I cannot see how those events or experiences could have shaped my professional life as profoundly as the ROTC program. It was that environment that challenged me and gave me a sense of purpose in everything I do.
In reflecting on his familys involvement in the military, Gambrell said as a kid, it was all about the uniform and the equipment, but as a teenager and adult, it is about the camaraderie and skill sets.
He said seeing his familys service pictures have always given him a sense of pride to follow in their footsteps.
If you would have approached me in my sophomore year of high school and said In seven years, you will be jumping out of planes onto Italian drop zones, I would have never believed you. I hope some of my experiences can help to inform and shape a young persons decision on the possibilities of an Army career.
He was a Quartermaster and then became a parachute rigger platoon leader with the famed 173rd Airborne Brigade based in Vicenza, Italy. Everyone in Brigade is Airborne.
In short, I really happen to like both taking off and landing in planes, Gambrell said, and jumping out wasnt really in the picture, but how can you say no to living in Italy?
He currently has 34 jumps.
Gambrell said he his first jump was a mixture of horror, humor and disbelief my life had led up to this which was only partially masked by pride and a half-hearted attempt at convincing myself this was safe or the Army wouldnt let me do it. In short, it was terrifying.
He added although he has 34 jumps, It does not make me impervious to the anxiety of jumping out of planes. That never goes away, Gambrell said.
In 2009, he was deployed to Afghanistan for 12 months during Operation Enduring Freedom. He was based in eastern Afghanistan at Forward Operating Base Shank where rocket and military fires were common.
Gambrell received a Combat in Action Badge after coming under attack from Taliban rocket fire.
All in all, my time in Afghanistan was a test of my physical, emotional and professional limits, he said. I worked 18 to 20 hours a day, doing a job where known threats were a daily occurrence.
Gambrell was the base defense officer, in charge of a base of military, civilian, third-country national contractors and host nation civilians. The base was larger in both size and population than the city of Osage.
We happened to be in an area which was known for the enemy firing artillery rounds indiscriminately towards the base, he said.
During his 12-month deployment, the base took more than 350 rounds of ordinance.
It was taxing, because there was no downtime, Gambrell said. It was only how are you going to make this place better, react to incidents and keep guys doing missions going.
It was hard and thankless work for which I have the utmost respect and gratitude toward my soldiers who performed that mission.
He said the other thing about his time in Afghanistan were the people, who were just trying to live their lives, fulfill their dreams and overcome daily hardships.
Gambrell was later deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, where he worked with the civil affairs unit of ARCENT, providing humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees arriving in Jordan during the initial states of the Syrian refugee crisis.
While performing the job of the commanding officers logistical officer, he was able to use his expertise to help to the fullest extent we could.
This typically included providing small amounts of basic need items but exposed him to working with the State Department, United States Embassy in Kuwait and the United Nations High Counsel on Refugees. He coordinated with nonprofits in the U.S. as well as with Army agencies to collect, package and deliver this aid in support of Jordanian effects to house the victims of the Syrian civil war.
Gambrell currently serves at the Pentagon, where he is assigned to the Headquarters Department of the Army. He is a staff synchronization officer, assisting in building and defending the Armys budget.
In reflecting back in his time in the military so far, Gambrell said, The past drove me to want to make my own mark and legacy for my children and grandchildren to follow.
The call to service led me to the Army. The Army has provided me with a lifetime worth of experiences both good and bad. I believe that because of these experiences, I am a better soldier, a more loving member of my family and a more informed citizen.
He concluded by saying, I ultimately feel I am making a difference, however slight, in the world around me, which is all we can hope for during our time on Earth.
May 26, 2017, 4:05pm ET
Bosch common link in Daimler, FCA, GM, VW emissions allegations
German prosecutors are currently investigating \'individuals\' that work for Bosch.
Bosch is facing additional scrutiny for its alleged role in diesel emissions cheats implemented by a handful of automakers.
The company already agreed to pay nearly $328 million USD to settle a lawsuit related to Volkswagen's illegal TDI vehicles, which used Bosch engine control units. Plaintiffs argue the supplier directly assisted in implementing algorithms that allowed the vehicles to cheat emissions tests.
"They provided the software in a format where manufacturers and Bosch could work together to calibrate their engines to cheat emissions tests," says Steve Berman, an attorney involved in similar emissions lawsuits against VW, Daimler, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors, as quoted by Bloomberg.
Aside from civil litigation, Bosch apparently faces a deeper investigation in Germany as prosecutors explore the supplier's potential role in suspected emissions fraud at Daimler.
"There is an investigation into aiding and abetting fraud," a Stuttgart prosecutor's office spokesperson said in a statement published by Reuters.
"As a matter of policy, and due to the sensitive legal nature of these matters, Bosch will not comment further concerning matters under investigation and in litigation," Bosh said in a statement.
German authorities are said to be pursuing a separate investigation into Bosch's involvement in developing VW's non-compliant software. The concurrent inquiries are said to be exploring the actions of individual employees.
Bosch last year set aside the equivalent of $747 million USD to cover potential costs related to the VW fiasco.
Faraday Future raising $1 billion
May 27, 2017, 3:50am ET
The startup is meeting with potential investors.
Faraday Future's endeavor to beat Tesla and dominate the premium electric car segment has hit a snag, according to a recent report.
LeEco, the company's main financial backer, is in dire financial straits. Bloomberg reports the Chinese tech giant tried expanding too fast into too many industries. In addition to Faraday Future, it funds a second electric car startup named LeSEE that's focused exclusively on the Chinese market, a ride-hailing service, and a Netflix-like streaming service. It also builds smartphones and televisions.
The group was founded by billionaire Jia Yueting. He recently stepped down from his role as CEO, and he announced he will no longer invest his own money into Faraday Future.
They're a fixture of the Slate Belt's identity.
But how can the region repurpose its abandoned quarries? And what other natural assets could be enhanced to bring in more money?
Those are some of the questions that graduate students from the University of Pennsylvania's landscape architecture program pondered over the last two years.
PennDesign adjunct professor Ellen Neises led the project that began in 2015. Ninety students participated in gathering information, speaking with Slate Belt leaders and ultimately presenting design ideas on a variety of regionwide topics.
"When we began to look at the slate quarries and cement quarries, it became clear to me that there was more to find out about the area," Neises said.
Over the last two years, students toured the Slate Belt several times and met with representatives from local communities, the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, the Slate Belt Council of Governments, Northampton County and the Slate Belt Heritage Center.
The goal was to listen to the ideas and concerns of local folks and create landscape-based design ideas from their input.
"Landscape architects in training are generally good at thinking about what the essence of a place is," Neises said. "What makes a place unique and different?"
The students' designs were revealed in an exhibit on May 12 at Tolino Vineyards in Washington Township, Northampton County. The exhibit will be on display at the Slate Belt Heritage Center at 30 N. First St. in Bangor through June.
Dealing with the many abandoned quarries that dot the Slate Belt's landscape was a frequent focal point for students.
Rather than fill the quarries, the students often found ways to incorporate the open pits into livable landscapes, Neises said.
Several designs imagined converting quarries into parks and campgrounds. Instead of fencing off quarries and dealing with trespassers, who have often gotten injured, students created designs that embraced the recreational aspects of the currently off-limits swimming holes, Neises said.
One student suggested using former rail lines to create walking and bicycle trails to connect quarries and other Slate Belt features.
Other designs suggested building housing around the quarries and letting the natural beauty of the slate and water become a selling point.
Some designs focused on regional flooding. Diverting water into quarries or creating rural wetlands could potentially slow water enough to prevent it from rising above the banks of local creeks, Neises said.
Other landscape designs looked at ways to convert the many corn and hay farms in the region into more profitable foods that could be sold at restaurants and markets.
After June, the heritage center will offer the exhibits and information to the relevant municipalities, heritage center member Marc Blau said.
Blau said the students produced imaginative efforts and he hopes the municipalities take a serious look at the design ideas.
"Anything that can help the Slate Belt revitalize itself is a good thing," Blau said.
John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive on Facebook.
#BARE17 orgainsers say there are a number of ways to recoup costs of three-day and daily tickets
The organisers of the BARE in the Woods Festival on the Laois Offaly border have announced ways to get refunds for tickets for this year's festival.
The organisers say tickets will be valid for the next BARE in the Woods festival or alternatively people can request a refund from Monday 29th of May from the original point of purchase as follows:
Ticketleap customers You can claim a refund by emailing refunds@barefestival.com with the email address you originally purchased the tickets with.
Ticketmaster customers Point of purchase.
Anyone who purchased tickets from the BARE in the Woods Christmas Information Shop will be able return them to the Pop up shop which will be open in Portarlington on Saturday 3rd of June and Saturday 17th of June from 11am until 6pm on both days.
Any other refund questions can be addressed by emailing refunds@barefestival.com
BARE in the Woods was due to take place at Garryhinch Woods near Portarlington on the Laois Offaly border from June 9-11. Headlined by Irish - American rappers House of Pain, a host of international acts had been lined up. However it was called off last week after the organisers said the would not be able to comply with the licence granted by Offaly County Council.
Early bird tickets went on sale late last year at 100 for a three-day camping ticket, before rising to 150 thereafter. Day tickets also be on sale for Saturday and Sunday at an early bird price of 40. Tickets sales were described by the organisers as 'healthy'.
The Leinster Express understands it was hoped to attract a crowd of 10,000 people. It is understood 127 conditions were placed on the licence. Concerns had been raised with the organisers in advance about security, traffic, sanitation and other issues.
One of Kildares most prolific and best respected writers, Martin Malone is set to release his latest book in the coming weeks.
Called This Cruel Station, and published by Doire Press, it is the former soldiers 11th book.
Martin told the Leinster Leader last week that the book of short stories explores, what its like to be Irish and newirish in todays life.
Theres a story about four old dears heading off to Portugal on holiday and only three come back, he said.
And then theres one about a black protestant and an Irish Catholic missionary who meet in Ecuador and develop a harmonious relationship.
The title of the book is taken from one of the stories, which he described as an irreverent take on 1916, by an oldish guy looking back celebrating the 1966 anniversary.
Its a comedy, tongue in cheek, said Martin.
Isiahs Reach is about a guy coming from Iraq, with a dubious history and somebody recognises him as one of Saddams sons accomplices, which has far reaching affects.
This story in particular recalled Martins time working with the UN on peacekeeping missions, including a stint in Iraq.
The writer Patrick McCabe was very complimentary, describing it as a compellingly acute chronicle of historys sly, inexorable requisitions Martin will be launching the book in the Kildare Town Library on June 22 at 7pm.
The Naas Access Group has highlighted a number of problems encountered by people with disabilities along Basin Street.
The group is voluntary and is made up of people with disabilities or serious illness.
They work with Kildare County Council as well as local businesses and groups to make public areas safer for everybody.
Group member Majella OKeefe said it has a good relationship with Kildare County Council and many businesses and organisations have responded to requests for improvements to be carried out at various premises.
They have welcomed plans to upgrade Dublin Road and Poplar Square. These will embrace new footpaths and a crossing from Chapel Lane to Lawlors Hotel.
The group is working with KCC to repaint and repair disabled parking bays at Basin Street and Sarto Road.
It is very difficult to push a buggy or wheelchair down Basin Street, said Ms OKeefe,
She added that the number of electricity poles positioned in the centre of the footpath makes it impossible to navigate a wheelchair on one side of the street.
Ms OKeefe also claimed that the disability parking place is sometimes used by non-permit holders.
There is also the problem of no proper footpath as you come nearer the main street, she said.
A large pole obstructs anyone passing on one side of the road while the flagstones are uneven on the other side, making it difficult to push anything on the surface, thus endangering young children, parents using buggies as well as wheelchair users.
IT Sligo is offering a new range of free college places on courses funded by Springboard for the 2017/18 academic year.
The programmes have a particular focus on the Science, Technology and Engineering disciplines, and are being offered as part of Springboard+ 2017 initiative, which was launched on Wednesday, May 24.
The courses are tailored to meet key growth areas such as Biopharmaceutical Science, Information Technology, Lean Sigma, Quality and Polymer Technologies.
Springboard is a Government-funded initiative, which aims to help participants upskill to enhance or kickstart their career prospects. It offers free courses at certificate, degree and masters level leading to qualifications in areas where there are employment opportunities in the Irish economy.
"These courses are free, part-time, online and completed within one year," explains Jean Gilligan, IT Sligos Springboard Co-ordinator.
"The free courses are open to applicants whether they are currently working or are looking to upskill to return to employment."
This years Springboard course offering at IT Sligo includes:
Level 6 Cert. in Biopharmaceutical Processing
Level 6 Cert. in Cleanroom Manufacturing
Level 6 Cert. in Process Technology
Level 7 Cert. Lean Sigma Quality
Level 7 Cert. in BioProcess Engineering
Level 7 Cert. in Biopharmaceutical Processing
Level 8 Higher Diploma in Science in Computing
Level 9 Cert. in Quality Analytics for Biopharma
Level 9 Cert. in Biopharmaceutical Science.
Online learning programmes at IT Sligo are designed for students who want to study part-time at a pace that matches their work life balance. Through a combination of online delivery technologies comprising the web- casting of live lectures over the internet as well as access to high quality recordings, IT Sligo is to the forefront of emerging breakthroughs in the delivery and assessment of online students.
Applications can be made using the Springboard website.
For queries about IT Sligo Springboard courses, please contact: Jean Gilligan, Springboard coordinator at IT Sligo. Email gilligan.jean@itsligo.ie Telephone: 071 9305835.
Like all of us I have spent the last few days deeply impacted by the events in Manchester.
As a mother who has, like so many of us, lain awake waiting for the turn of the key in the lock to know, however old your kids are, they are home, I grieve for every young life that has been taken from us. Their loss is not just to their families, or communities, but to us all. John Donne puts it so beautifully ask not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee.
Youth should be a time of such optimism, such promise, such dreams, such fun, such excitement. Death is something that happens to old people, not you, you are invincible. Yet now, for so many children and young people no bright new dawn.
So as shock turns to anger, grief to the need to understand why, the narrative changes accordingly.
But what is often missing in debates which feature the great and the good, as this Independent article highlights is the voice of the very young people we are concerned about.
An exception was the interview (47:30 in) on Radio 4s PM programme with a young Libyan who expressed the kind of views I have heard so many times over the years working with Muslim young people. I was also struck by this analysis from Nafees Ahmed.
It is clear that the Prevent programme is failing and just throwing money at it wont help our party has it right in focusing on community engagement. But many of us are very disappointed that there is no mention of our policy on Youth Services in our manifesto.
As Children and Young People Now report, it was a youth and community worker who first warned the authorities about Salman Abedi, to quote NYA CEO Paul Miller
Youth workers are skilled at understanding young peoples vulnerabilities and are often well placed to gauge challenges and threats like radicalisation, and to escalate safeguarding issues where thats needed, youth workers need to play a regular and stable role in young peoples lives for this to happen and we need to see investment in youth work as an investment in the future of our young people.
Mathew Hulbert, Chair of Lib Dem Friends of Youth Services (Twitter: @LDFOYS), said
Our youth policy-including the need for the statutory funding of Council-run, all-year-round, youth services-was backed unanimously by party Conference, yet it gets no mention in the manifesto. That is a crying shame given that, we know, quality youth work can, does and would make all the difference to so many young people, especially many of those who are most vulnerable. We should tell the Government to stop ploughing money into NCS (National Citizens Service)-which only runs for a few weeks each Summer-and, instead, refund and revitalize the Youth Service.
My motivation throughout my career has always been to support our young people, especially our most vulnerable, to realise that bright new dawn. So in my view, our response to Manchester has to include beefing up security services, police, reviewing foreign policy, etc. but please please, let us not forget investing those that have the skills and attitudes to reach into those places others cannot.
* Linda Jack is a former youth worker and member of the party's Federal Policy Committee.
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A FATHER-of-three young children who failed to supply a tracksuit to a woman after selling it to her online has been sentenced to two months imprisonment.
Kevin Power, aged 29, who has an address at Aos Cluain, Clarina was convicted of deception relating to a transaction in February 2016.
During a contested hearing at Limerick District Court, the injured party said she responded to an advertisement posted by the defendant on adverts.ie.
She said after agreeing to buy the tracksuit, she transferred 45 into Mr Powers bank account and gave him her details.
The woman said the tracksuit never arrived and that she contacted gardai a number of weeks later.
Cross-examining the witness, solicitor Darach McCarthy put it to her that his client had posted the tracksuit and that it was possible she had given him the incorrect address.
While, the woman said she had sent her details via a smartphone app, the messages were not produced in court.
In his evidence the defendant, who has 51 previous convictions, insisted he posted the tracksuit at Mungret Post Office.
He told Mr McCarthy he had placed it in a black plastic bag which he had taped and that the postage had cost 7.20.
However, he was unable to provide a receipt (for postage) or proof of the address which he posted the tracksuit to.
I withdrew the money, I posted the tracksuit a couple of days later, he insisted.
After noting the 45 was withdrawn by the defendant on the same day it was lodged to his account, Judge Marian OLeary said she accepted the evidence of the injured party.
After being informed that Mr Power is not in a position to pay compensation, she imposed a two month prison sentence.
A CASE of a Limerick man charged in connection with the discovery of a sawn-off shotgun in a car which was involved in a road accident has been sent forward for trial.
Brian Healy, aged 51, who has an address at Sexton Street North, Thomondgate in the city is accused of possession of the firearm at Cregane, Bruree, on February 3, last.
A file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) by investigating gardai and last month it was confirmed that the matter is to proceed on indictment at the Circuit Court.
Yesterday, at Limerick District Court, Judge Marian OLeary was told the book of evidence had been completed and a copy served on the defendant.
Sergeant Donal Cronin, prosecuting, said the DPP consented to the matter being send forward for trial to the current sittings of Limerick Circuit Court.
Judge OLeary noted this and after issuing the Alibi Warning, she remanded the defendant in continuing custody pending his appearance before Judge Tom ODonnell next week.
Mr Healy was previously refused bail after gardai opposed his application saying they were greatly concerned for public safety as they believe the sawn-off shotgun, was to be sold on the black market.
Detective Garda David Gee said while gardai do not believe the defendant procured the weapon, it will be alleged that he allowed himself to become a willing participant in the potential sale of a firearm for financial gain.
Given the current trial lists, it is unlikely that the matter will be heard before the summer vacation.
MICHAEL ODwyer, who chaired the Fine Gael Limerick City constituency when Michael Noonan was first elected to the Dail could tell he was a natural politician and a future leader from very early on.
As the Finance Minister prepares to step out of public life, Mr ODwyer and the two other Fine Gael officers, Eddie Butler and Tony Brazil, who were instrumental in his first three Dail elections in 1981 and 1982 have shared their memories of the Loughill-born politician.
The trios mission was to secure Fine Gael two Dail seats in the old Limerick East constituency, which they duly did, with Mr Noonan joining Tom ODonnell in the Oireachtas.
We were left in no uncertain terms by [then FG leader, and later Taoiseach] Garrett FitzGerald that he wanted two seats here, he said.
Mr ODwyer had met Mr Noonan at an ASTI meeting in the former Glentworth Hotel in the mid-1970s. Even then, Mr Noonan had a remarkable achievement under his belt, being part of a Fine Gael ticket which helped secure the party two seats in a Fianna Fail stronghold in the local elections in county Limerick.
Something that struck me even back then was how articulate and professional he was, the former constituency chair said, I was reminded about that this week. His exit statement, in terms of not going forward as the Minister for Finance and TD was dealt very professionally.
Eddie Butler was the constituency organiser first met Mr Noonan in the Stella Ballroom in Shannon Street.
He seemed to be very assertive and astute. Very much with it, he said.
Businessman Tony Brazil was the last of the trio to lay eyes on Mr Noonan in the early 1980s and even then, he could see he was something special.
He said: Michael was always the man passing the finishing post when the others were only jumping the last hurdle. He has a great strategic mind and he is able to see down the track as to whats coming.
Recalling an exchange Mr Noonan had with a supporter in 2011, Mr Brazil said: When he got the job as Minister for Finance, someone went up to commiserate him, and said God, youve got a terrible job. Michaels response was Not at all, Ive the best job in Ireland. Im going to turn the economy around. And he did.
In his senior political career, spanning almost 40 years, it is very easy to focus on these latter years in the finance ministry.
But Messrs Brazil, Butler and ODwyer say there is merit in going further back than this.
I remember when I came to town in the 1970s, we had very run down garda stations. Michael became the Justice Minister in 1982, and very rapidly, he initiated a great programme of building garda stations. Henry Street had just been opened. He commissioned the work at Roxboro Road, and the updating of Mayorstone garda station. It was greatly appreciated at the time, Mr ODwyer recalled.
A personal strength of the Minister, Mr Brazil adds, is an unwavering ability to manage stressful affairs.
We bought John Cushnahan to a function of the party in 1985 to talk about Northern Ireland. At the time, Michael was Minister for Justice, and he hosted the function. Only three days later, it emerged [Noonan] was dealing with a major money laundering crisis. He always had this great capacity to attend to his constituency duties despite the fact he was always under immense pressure at ministerial level, Mr ODwyer adds.
Interjecting, Mr Brazil added: A lot of people wouldnt have appreciated at the time as Minister for Justice, his own personal freedom was curtailed.
Michaels chance to lead his party came in 2001 when he succeeded John Bruton but following a disastrous general election the following year, he stepped down.
This, the three men believe, must rank as a major regret.
He didnt get a decent enough period to stamp his mark on it. If he were doing it again, he would be doing things a lot differently, Mr Brazil said.
Mr ODwyer added: Very early on, I travelled to a by-election with him in 1980. I had hours in the car with him. In those days, going to Donegal was a days work. That night I dropped him home, and I thought This is a future leader. I felt he always wanted to be leader. But he was very unfortunate when he got the leadership that there was an internal feud. And a lot of people are reminiscing on that now as theyre worried the current campaign could lead to division.
Despite this setback, and an initially icy relationship with his successor, Enda Kenny, the pair formed a strong bond which maintains to this day.
And the former party chairman Mr ODwyer says it is through this relationship the pair have been able to exploit the strong relationship Fine Gael had with the European Peoples Party at a time when Ireland needed it the most.
A lot of people in Limerick dont know that Michael Noonan is a fluent French speaker, which was a huge asset when going to Europe and talking to the likes of Christine Lagarde. When he worked in Justice, he used to always take the month of August off and went to France, and during these months, he picked up the French. Twenty years later it came of enormous benefit to us in the country, Mr ODwyer exclaimed.
Privately, Mr Noonan carried many great stresses which only came to light in the later stages of his career.
The most heartbreaking of these, no doubt, was being his late wife Florences battle with Alzheimers disease.
While those close to him knew of his struggle, it was only in an interview with RTE in 2010 it fully came to light.
Mr ODwyer recalled how the Finance Minister would race home from meetings to be by his wifes side.
He would be in Brussels or Paris, or wherever. He would arrive into Baldonnel on the aircorps jet and he would get off at 10pm or 11pm and drive back down to the Regional Hospital, spending hours holding her hand, and going straight back to Dublin and carrying on with work, he said.
Mr Butler adding: Nobody knew how difficult it was. He kept it all to himself. How he endured it is hard to understand.
Going back to his days as a secondary school teacher at the Crescent, Mr Noonan was always a fan of swimming with the three men recalling his running a very successful club among his students.
To get away from the pressures of professional life, the Finance Minister still returns to his family home in Loughill, and swims in the bay, Mr Brazil said.
Summing him up, Mr ODwyer said: He was the first truly professional politician I met.
Mr Butler added: He was very honest. He had great integrity, very organised, and he would tell you the truth.
Mr Brazil concluded with the words honesty and integrity.
At a time when politics and politicians have a very low rating, he would stand head and shoulders above the field. There is no back story behind Michael. What you see is what you get.
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The stars of the Lincoln Knights' Trail are working their magic and going down a storm with locals and visitors eager to track down the 36 characterful sculptures dotted around the city.
During the 800th anniversaries of the Battle of Lincoln and the sealing of the Charter of the Forest on Saturday, May 20, Lincoln BIG's staff and city businesses gave away more than 10,000 trail brochures to people keen to track down each knight's location.
Since then, hundreds more trail guides have been picked-up at the Visitor Information Centre and business premises across the city by leisure seekers keen to get busy with their cameras and eager to snap fun smartphone selfies with the knights.
Lincoln Knights' Trail map View fullscreen
Quick off the mark youngsters have also been busy visiting all of the knights, eager to complete a special quest and claim a certificate and a badge.
Those who rise to the challenge also have the chance to buy a new children's book commissioned by Lincoln BIG 2017 the Battle of Lincoln, by Erik Grigg for just 1.50.
It was launched at the city's Children's Library, where families got to meet the author and children also had a great time working on a colourful mural.
Eight hundred years ago, the Battle of Lincoln was a turning point in the city's history, when the famed knight William Marshal led an army from Newark to Lincoln to face French invaders who had laid siege to Lincoln Castle, which was under the command of lady Constable Nichola de la Haye.
Despite being outnumbered Marshal, celebrated victory
Mr Grigg said: "It was great fun writing the book. I had read all the medieval chronicles and thought this was such a great story it needed to be widely shared.
"I love the fact that the events happened here in this city and we can stroll through the actual streets where the action happened.
"The book looks brilliant and I am so proud to have been part of it. Let's hope it inspires families with children to read together the story then explore the battlefield together."
Last Saturday, crowds descended on Lincoln soaking-up the unique atmosphere created by the Medieval Farmers' Market in Castle Hill, ahead of a re-enactment of the Battle of Lincoln at the West Front of Lincoln Cathedral, which was also attended by young 'soldiers' who had made shields and flags in workshops earlier in the day.
Another Battle of Lincoln is being re-enacted at Lincoln Castle on Saturday, May 27.
Lincoln BIG Chief Executive Matt Corrigan said: "It was clear that the intense marketing activity by ourselves and Visit Lincoln who took five Knights to Kings Cross to raise awareness of the city and its summer events along with the efforts of our Lincoln BIG levy payers and the generous sponsors of the Lincoln Knights' Trail, has paid off.
"Last Saturday was a brilliant day. There was an amazing atmosphere and we are sure it will be remembered by everyone for many years to come.
"But that is only the start of a superb programme of summertime events of more than 70 events taking place locally. There's more excitement this weekend, when Lincoln Castle stages its own battle re-enactment.
"It is also fantastic that Lincoln has been entrusted to display the famous Domesday Book (loaned to Lincoln Castle by The National Archives) and that it can be seen on display, alongside Magna Carta and The Charter of The Forest in the David P J Ross Magna Carta Vault in the Castle."
The Knights' Trail runs until September 3. At the end of the event, all the life-sized knights will be auctioned to raise money for the Nomad Trust.
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A popular arts and culture festival entertaining the east of the county has announced its full programme.
The annual SO Festival will be performing in Spilsby, Horncastle, Alford and Mablethorpe before coming together in a spectacular two-day finale weekend in Skegness.
People can enjoy six day of thrills, spills and skills from first class performers from home and abroad - and it's all FREE.
What's happening where and when
27 June: Spilsby 6pm 7.45pm
28 June: Horncastle 6pm 7.45pm
29 June: Alford 6pm 7.45pm
30 June: Mablethorpe 6pm 8.45pm
1 July: Skegness 1pm 11pm
2 July: Skegness 12pm 6pm
What you can expect to see
Once again, festival organisers have scoured the globe to find acts to entertain all the family and lots of it includes local people.
Southpaw Dance have been working with groups from across East Lincolnshire to create a new show especially for SO Festival.
Some of the UK's best break-dancers combine the vocabulary of breaking and contemporary dance seamlessly alongside a range of dance styles to create powerful, joyous performances.
You can meet Betty Brawn, The Strong Lady, who can perform feats of amazing strength and carry the weight of two gigantic men, and the Urban Astronaut who has travelled back from the future to find out why the earth was destroyed.
He will walk around as if without gravity, spinning, turning and flying.
Cake Fest by Simon Preston will see a giant edible map of East Lindsey on display in Skegness.
Local people and community groups will be recreating their favourite landmark, building or place out of cake and putting them on the map to create a true visual feast.
The Lincolnshire coast is a traditional seaside holiday destination for families from the Midlands and Black Country Touring, in collaboration with SO Festival, premier their new show Life's a Beach, inspired by stories captured from holidaymakers and daytrippers from the Black Country and residents of Skegness.
Each story will be presented in different short performances in three specially converted caravans to transport audiences to the wonderful and eccentric world of our British seaside towns.
One of SO Festival's highlights for 2017 is a spectacular high-energy Saturday evening performance where sparks will fly.
France's Les Commandos Percu (France) and Deabru Beltak (Spain) have travelled the world with their amazing drum and fireworks shows.
Danbor Talka (Clash of Drums) is an explosive promenade performance combining their talents and know-how with a clear objective - to reclaim the streets. They performed at the 2012 Olympics and now you can see them in Skegness.
Lorna Fulton, SO Festival Director said: "SO Festival is a brilliant event for the whole family; it's free, accessible and all the acts are innovative, interesting and entertaining there really is something for everyone.
"There's a fantastic family feel about the festival and lots of opportunities for local people to get involved. I will look forward to seeing you all in 2017."
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The weather is heating up and more people will be heading to the Lincolnshire to soak up the sun this weekend.
But RNLI has issued a warning to people if they find themselves struggling in cold waters to fight their instincts and float.
Many people my feel the need to panic and start swimming straight away, but officials say this puts you at risk of drowning.
Sudden immersion in water any temperature below 15C puts people at severe risk of cold water shock.
This triggers the instinctive but life-threatening reaction to gasp uncontrollably, thrash about and try to swim hard.
Officials say this reaction is the worst thing to do and can quickly lead to drowning as it increases the chance of water entering the lungs, increases strain on the heart, cools the skin and reduces buoyancy by letting air escape from clothing.
The RNLI's advice is to float for around 60-to-90 seconds the time it takes for the effects of the cold shock to pass and for you to regain control of your breathing.
The recommended floating position is to lean back in the water and keep your airway clear while keeping calm to maintain breathing levels.
You should then be in a better position to attempt to swim to safety or call for help.
Last year, four people died after getting into trouble in Lincolnshire waters, RNLI research has revealed.
New figures from the charity reveal that just three per cent of Brits know how to react if they unexpectedly fall into cold water and 40 per cent would follow a potentially life-threatening instinct of immediately trying to swim.
Coastal fatality figures recently released show that 162 people lost their lives on UK coasts in 2016 - with four of those being in Lincolnshire.
Two per cent of people said they would panic. Others said they would remove clothing (4%); do nothing (3%); hold their breath (1%), and four per cent said they would not know what to do.
Of the 162 lives lost at the UK coast in the last year alone, adult men accounted for 74 per cent of deaths and 77 per cent over the past five years.
With the charity's national drowning campaign Respect the Water now entering its fourth year, this year, the RNLI are calling on the public to fight their instincts.
RNLI Coastal Safety Manager, Ross Macleod, said: "Through our Respect the Water campaign, we want to start a national conversation about water safety.
"We're asking the public to remember this lifesaving advice, share with others and practice the survival skill of floating it could be the difference between life and death."
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Temperatures have reached highs of 25 degrees in Lincolnshire in the past few days, with some folk deeming the weather even too hot to wear a swimsuit.
If you want to strip down to enjoy the warmer weather then there are a number of nudist and clothes-optional destinations across the UK - but Lincolnshire is home to only a couple.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the law says: "In the absence of any sexual context and in relation to nudity where the person has no intention to cause alarm or distress it will normally be appropriate to take no action unless members of the public were actually caused harassment, alarm or distress (as opposed to considering the likelihood of this)."
However, it does become an offence if it can be proved the person had intent to upset and shock.
The nearest official nudist beach to Lincoln is 87 miles away in Norfolk. Holkham Beach has seen some controversy over recent years, with there being a ban on nudity a while ago that has recently been lifted to allow visitors to wear as little as they like.
But if you're looking for somewhere slightly closer to home, try these within a two hour drive of Lincoln.
Fraisethorpe
Fraisethorpe Beach, Bridlington, is 69.5 miles away from Lincoln, and is an unofficial nudist beach but with a history of council disputes.
Fraisethorpe used to be an official naturist beach, with nude bathing on the sands for thirty years or more. However, in the 1990s there was controversy that led to the official designation being taken away.
Despite this, naturists still continue to use the beach.
The stretch of the clothes-optional beach starts from Earl's Dyke - a stream south of the carpark - and extends for two hundred and fifty meters.
The nearby town of Bridlington is just a short walk away, with many restaurants and cafes on the harbour to enjoy.
North Cotes Point
There is only one Lincolnshire beach known to naturists: North Cotes Point, which is 38 miles away from Lincoln.
The location traditionally used by naturists is difficult to locate, with some people suggesting that going far enough from the nearest car park, about half a mile, to a remote enough spot is all that is required to find visitors sunbathing nude.
However; the tides on this beach can be quite dangerous so it's wise to check tide times and do not enter the sea when the tide is rising as you can very easily get cut off.
Spilsby
If you prefer something slightly more private then there is a naturist caravan site in Lincolnshire, only 34 miles away from the city of Lincoln.
Featured in numerous naturist magazines, Lakeside Farm welcomes anyone no matter how little you decide to wear.
Lakeside Farm does not have its own beach, it is an entirely clothes optional site, and is located only 11 miles from the more popular tourist destination of Skegness.
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A war veteran has been presented with his medals 70 years after he earned them.
William "Les" Anderson did not claim the medals he should have been presented with after the Second World War but has now received them decades later.
The medals include the 1939/45 Star, the France and Germany Star, and the 1939/45 Medal.
The 92-year-old was presented with his accolades at Sleaford Camaraderie club.
Les took his first flight on April 13, 1944, in a Halifax Bomber and then went on to become a flight engineer on a Lancaster.
A statement on the Camaraderie Club's Facebook page said: "Les's first operational mission was on D Day. He completed a full tour of duty (30 sorties), which included raids over Germany, France, Poland and Belgium.
"To this day it still saddens Les greatly that many of his comrades did not make it back to the UK and 166 Squadron like so many others, lost many aircraft and heroic young men.
"After Les finished his tour he went on to the Heavy Conversion Unit, training other air crew. At this point Les became an instructor and was commissioned to Flt Lt."
Les was demobbed in 1947.
Some of the missions that he flew in include travelling to Singapore, India and Libya. He also helped supply humanitarian aid to German occupied Holland.
After the war Les became a teacher and was requested by the government to spend years in Uganda.
He eventually returned to the UK where he taught maths in a comprehensive school.
Another post on the Camaraderie Club's Facebook page said: "Our wonderful Les being officially presented with his medals some 72 years on!
"We truly were all honoured to be part of this memorable occasion today."
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The missing orphaned lamb and dog whose disappearance sparked a nationwide appeal may still be near the family home, the owner believes.
The pair, five-week-old Bella and border collie Blake, went missing on May 8 from a Perlethorpe farm on the Thoresby Estate.
Owner Natlie Haywood was overwhelmed by the response, with volunteers combing nearby woodland and a 1,000 reward offered live on air when she appeared on This Morning with Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
Footprints were found almost two weeks ago, indicating the duo are still together. But a camp-out and a drone search proved unsuccessful.
The heartbroken family have not had a fresh lead since.
But Natalie, her partner Jordan and their two young children, Olivia-May, four, and one-year-old Jensen, are refusing to give up hope.
Cameras have been set up in the dense, surrounding woodland, and the family hope they will catch a glimpse of the unlikely duo soon.
"We've got cameras set up all over the Thoresby estate so it's just a case of waiting to get a photo of them," said Natalie.
"We're hoping that they are still out there. Odds on they are both still out there somewhere."
And though it's been almost three weeks since the pair vanished, Natalie thinks they will still be alive.
"Bella was eating food as well - grass and hay - before she left and as long as Blake has led her to water, which I'm sure he will have done, then I'm sure they will be fine.
"It's just a case of waiting now - a hard case of waiting."
The duo are described as inseparable and are so much a part of the Haywood's family, they even had their own 'bedroom' in the front porch.
Blake is black and white with blue and brown eyes and Bella, who was rejected by her mother and formed an unlikely bond with the border collie, is white with brown facial features.
Newark and Sherwood District Council have helped with the appeal and are asking for any sightings of the pair to be reported to 01636 650000. Alternatively anyone who thinks they may have spotted them can contact Natalie on 07712433249.
In the path of totality: where and when the Total Solar Eclipse stamp will debut
May 27, 2017, 3 AM
Numerous stamps from countries around the world celebrate solar eclipses. In 2001, Zimbabwe issued this $28 stamp, one of a set of three, showing phases of a solar eclipse.
The top stamp in the Exploring the Solar System pane issued July 17, 2000, shows a solar eclipse.
The color first-day postmark for the Total Solar Eclipse stamp features phases of the event.
The Total Solar Eclipse forever stamps will be issued in a pane of 16 that will include a map on the reverse showing the path of totality, where the sun will be completely blocked by the moon for a time during the Aug. 21 eclipse.
The U.S. Postal Service has prepared two pictorial first-day cancels for the Total Solar Eclipse issue. The black postmark shows stars and an arc that represents an eclipse in progress.
A new United States forever stamp will commemorate the total eclipse of the sun that will be visible Aug. 21 in a path that traverses the United States. The stamp is pictured at left as it will appear normally; when warmed, an image of the moon will appea
By Michael Baadke
A total solar eclipse will be visible within a 70-mile-wide path across the United States Aug. 21, and the U.S. Postal Service is issuing an innovative new stamp in advance of the event.
Part of the new nondenominated (49) Total Solar Eclipse forever stamp is printed with a thermochromic material that will normally appear as a black disk on the stamp, representing the moon blocking the sun, as viewed from Earth.
When the thermochromic element is warmed slightly, by a human hand lightly rubbing the design, for example, an image of the moon will appear. It will revert to blackness once the stamp cools.
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This is the first U.S. stamp to feature a thermochromic element. As Linns editorial director Donna Houseman noted in her June 5 Editors Insights column, other countries have used similar material on their stamps, including Great Britain.
Thermochromic inks are vulnerable to UV light and should be kept out of direct sunlight as much as possible to preserve this special effect, the Postal Service has stated. To help ensure longevity, the Postal Service will be offering a special envelope to hold and protect the stamp pane for a nominal fee.
The protective sleeve will be available from USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services as item No. 475329 for 25.
The Total Solar Eclipse forever stamp will be issued June 20 in a pane of 16. A first-day ceremony will take place at 1:30 p.m. at the University of Wyoming Art Museum in Laramie, in association with the universitys celebration of the summer solstice.
Shortly before the ceremony, at noon on the summer solstice, visitors should be able to view an unusual event when a single beam of sunlight shines on a silver dollar embedded in the floor of the museums Rotunda Gallery.
The photographs on the new stamp were created by astrophysicist Fred Espenak. The eclipse photo was captured March 29, 2006, in Jalu, Libya.
Espenak describes the image as a High Dynamic Range composite made from 22 separate exposures.
Espenak also took the moon photograph that is revealed when the stamp is warmed.
Known as Mr. Eclipse, Espenak maintains the website MrEclipse.com, which is filled with details and photographs about eclipses in general, including information about the upcoming 2017 total solar eclipse.
His website offers predictions for solar and lunar eclipses, and also provides helpful data.
Espenak is coauthor, with Mark Littmann and Ken Willcox, of Totality Eclipses of the Sun, published by Oxford University Press, and he also writes an online astronomy blog titled Portal to the Universe.
Espenak retired in 2009 after working for more than 30 years at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center.
Printed on the back of the Total Solar Eclipse stamp pane is a map of the United States showing the path of totality: those locations where the sun will be completely blocked as the moon passes between it and Earth.
According to the Postal Service: The 70-mile-wide shadow path of the eclipse, known as the path of totality, will traverse the country diagonally, appearing first in Oregon (mid-morning local time) and exiting some 2,500 miles east and 90 minutes later off the coast of South Carolina (mid-afternoon local time).
Major cities in the path of totality that are identified on the map are (from west to east) Salem, Ore.; Idaho Falls, Idaho; Casper, Wyo.; Lincoln, Neb.; Kansas City, Kan.; St. Louis, Mo.; Nashville, Tenn.; and Charleston, S.C.
Along with the 16-stamp pane sold at post offices, the Postal Service plans to offer an undisclosed quantity of press sheets of the Total Solar Eclipse forever stamp that each consist of eight unsevered panes and sell at face value for $62.72.
The Postal Service has announced that mint Total Solar Eclipse stamps will not be offered for sale in quantities smaller than the 16-stamp pane.
Two uncacheted first-day covers for the new stamp will be offered by the Postal Service.
One is struck with a black postmark depicting fanciful stars around a black arc resembling a segment of an eclipse as it reaches near totality.
The other has a multicolor pictorial postmark showing an array of sun images during the phases of an eclipse.
Stamp collectors might recall that a total solar eclipse has been pictured previously on a United States stamp.
As part of a series of stamps issued over several days during World Stamp Expo 2000, a pane of five $1 pentagonal stamps was issued with the title Exploring the Solar System.
Each stamp on the pane shows different views of the sun, including one photographed from a satellite that pictures the sun during a total solar eclipse (Scott 3410a).
Many other countries around the world also have featured eclipses on issued postage stamps.
One of the earliest is a 5-centavo blue and indigo photogravure stamp issued by Mexico Feb. 17, 1942 (Scott 775).
The stamps design displays the spectacular solar corona at the moment of totality.
Zimbabwe issued three stamps on April 24, 2001 (Scott 882-884), in advance of the total solar eclipse visible June 21, 2001, in the northern reaches of that African nation.
The $8 stamp features solar prominences, the $21 stamp shows the eclipse path over Africa, and the $28 stamp depicts phases of a solar eclipse.
Technical details and first-day cancel ordering information for the new Total Solar Eclipse forever stamp are given below.
First-day cancel ordering information
Standard ordering instructions apply. Collectors requesting first-day cancels are encouraged to purchase their own stamps and affix them to envelopes. The first-day cover envelopes should be addressed for return (a removable label may be used), and mailed in a larger envelope addressed to FDOI-Total Eclipse of the Sun, USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services, Cancellation Services, 8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300, Kansas City, MO 64144-9900.
Requests for first-day cancels must be postmarked by Aug. 20.
The Postal Services uncacheted first-day cover for the Total Solar Eclipse stamp is item 475316 at 93.
Nondenominated (49) Total Solar Eclipse forever stamps
FIRST DAY June 20, 2017; city Laramie, Wyo., and nationwide.
DESIGN: photographer Fred Espenak; designer, typographer and art director Antonio Alcala, Alexandria, Va.; modelers Sandra Lane and Michelle Finn.
PRINTING: process offset with microprinting; printer and processor Banknote Corporation of America, Browns Summit, N.C.; press Alprinta 74, ABG Digicon Series 2; inks cyan, magenta, yellow, black, thermochromic black; paper phosphor tagged, overall; gum self-adhesive; issue quantity 60 million stamps; format pane of 16, from 128-subject cylinders; size 1.085 inches by 1.085 inches (image); 1.225 inches by 1.225 inches (overall); 6 inches by 6 inches (full pane); 12 inches by 24.50 inches (press sheet); plate numbers B followed by five single digits; marginal markings Total Solar Eclipse, plate numbers in two corners (front); Track of the Total Solar Eclipe Across the United States, Aug. 21, 2017, map, pane position diagram, USPS logo, bar code in upper right and lower right corners, promotional text, 2017 USPS (reverse); USPS item No. 475300.
May 2, 2021, 3 PM
The cartoon caption contest for June features the 24 stamp picturing Washingtons crossing of the Delaware from a 1976 Bicenntennial souvenir sheet based on the famous painting. Put yourself in the generals cloak, and tell me what he might be thinking o
The Washington Crossing the Delaware souvenir sheet of five se-tenant (side-by-side) 24 stamps was issued in 1976 for the United States Bicentennial.
U.S. Stamp Notes By John M. Hotchner
As spring turns to summer, picturing oneself in a cooler situation can be pleasant. For the June cartoon caption contest this month, we promote this preoccupation by using a stamp picturing Gen. George Washington crossing the ice-clogged Delaware River in late December 1776, on his way to a surprise attack on the Hessian forces in Trenton, N.J.
This 24 stamp (Scott 1688b) is the second stamp of five in the 1976 Bicentennial souvenir sheet based on the painting Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze.
This painting supports Washingtons reputation for being bold, in charge, and the leader upon whom the success of the American Revolution depended.
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So, your challenge for this months cartoon caption contest is to put yourself in General Washingtons cloak, and to feel the cold, and the pressure of the need for military successes to drive the British forces out of the American Colonies.
As you chill out, tell me what you might be saying or thinking about the coming battle. Of course, you can also reflect on anything else that occurs to you: the ice floes; Washingtons constant petitioning of the Congress for the money, men, and supplies that he needed for military campaigns; or comments on philately, politics, or the military arts of the present day.
There will be two prizes given: one for the best philatelic line, and one for the best nonphilatelic line.
The important thing is to use your sense of humor, because entries with a humorous twist have the best chance of winning a prize.
Put your entry (or entries) on a postcard if possible and send it to me, John Hotchner, Cartoon Contest, Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email it to me. If you send an email, be sure to include your mailing address.
For each winner, the prize will be the book Linns Stamp Identifier, published by Linns (a retail value of $12.99), or a 13-week subscription to Linns (a new subscription or an extension).
To be considered for the prizes, entries must reach me no later than June 23.
Why not enter now, while youre thinking about it?
King Harald stamp tops Norwegian poll for the most beautiful stamp of 2016
May 26, 2017, 1 PM
A photograph of a thunderstorm was the basis for this stamp honoring the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The stamp placed third in Norways 2016 stamp poll.
Second place in Norways 2016 stamp poll went to a commemorative marking the 200th anniversary of the central bank, Norges Bank.
A stamp commemorating the 25th anniversary of King Haralds accession to the throne was voted as Norways most beautiful stamp of 2016.
By Denise McCarty
A stamp honoring King Harald was voted as Norways most beautiful stamp of 2016.
Norway Post, the Norwegian Philatelic Federation, and dealer and auctioneer Skanfil for Samlere conducted the poll.
The 17-krone stamp was issued Jan. 11 to mark the 25th anniversary of the kings accession to the throne. The design depicts the king kneeling with Queen Sonja standing behind him. The the hand of Bishop Finn Wagle is on the kings head.
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Bjorn Sigurdson designed the stamp, using a photograph by Jorn O. Jontvedt.
Coming in second place in the poll was the 21kr stamp commemorating the 200th anniversary of the central bank, Norges Bank.
Designed and engraved by Sverre Morken, the stamp pictures a 19th-century Norwegian coin and 20th-century banknotes.
The stamp was issued Oct. 1. A 50kr stamp also marking the banks bicentennial was issued at the same time.
Coming in third place was one of two stamps issued June 10 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. This 17kr denomination shows lightning and clouds during a thunderstorm.
Stamp designer Bruno Oldani based the design on his own photograph.
Norway Post announced the results of the stamp poll in the second 2017 issue of its publication for collectors, Frimerke posten.
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NEW YORK The As got their first look at Aaron Judge in a Yankees uniform Friday night, but theyve seen the exciting rookie outfielder plenty before: Oakland selected Judge in the 31st round of the 2010 draft out of Linden High School in San Joaquin County.
That leads to a fun what if line of thought: Judge, 25, is tied for the major-league lead with 15 homers. How might that look in a lineup with Khris Davis (14 homers) and Yonder Alonso (13)?
Well, it was never to be, Judge said. Its not a case of the As failing to offer him enough or anything negative. He just never really contemplated signing out of high school he was set on going to college.
I was pretty determined to go to college, said Judge, who attended Fresno State. Both my parents are educators and my brother is a teacher, so I was leaning toward that. ... I knew kind of right away that I wanted to go to school.
Judge has had some fondness for the As ever since, though.
The As were the first ones to introduce me to pro ball, Judge said. I didnt sign, but they were the first ones to give me a shot, basically. I didnt take it, I decided to go to college, but Ill always feel a connection to the Oakland As.
Judge has good memories of Jermaine Clark, the Oakland scout who attended his games and recommend Judge to the As front office. He was always supportive, a guy who was easy to talk to, Judge said. I felt like he wanted to get to know me as a person, not just as a player. That really stuck out to me.
The As brought Judge in to work out before the draft, another positive experience. It was kind of a blur, he said. First time on an MLB field, I was soaking it in, like, Wow, the grass is perfect, the infield is perfect, the stadium is pretty big. ... I dont remember much. I was nervous, my heart was racing. I wanted to make a good impression.
Judge grew up a Giants fan in Linden. The 6-foot-7, 282-pound outfielder had a favorite player: 170-pound shortstop Rich Aurilia.
Banged up: Adam Rosales had an eventful trip around the bases in the eighth inning. The As shortstop went from first to third on Tyler Clippards errant pickoff throw needlessly sliding headfirst into third and slamming his face on the ground in the process then dashed toward home on Rajai Davis tapper to third and was thrown out after another unsightly slide.
Its just sticky out there, he said. The dirt doesnt have too much slide to it, like in Oakland, where you can slide easily. I just got stuck.
Rosales had a large red welt under his right eye. Its probably going to bruise up, he said en route to icing his face.
Streaks: Second baseman Jed Lowrie has a seven-game hitting streak during which he is 16-for-29. Somebodys got to hit .300, Khris Davis said when asked about Lowrie. All year hes been our best hitter. ... First baseman Ryon Healys 11-game hitting streak ended.
Susan Slusser is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
On deck
Saturday
at Yankees
10:05 a.m. NBCSCA
Cotton (3-4)
vs. Sabathia (4-2)
Sunday
at Yankees
10:05 a.m. NBCSCA
Triggs (5-3)
vs. Pineda (5-2)
Monday
at Indians
1:10 p.m. NBCSCA
TBA
vs. TBA
Leading off
Hits galore: With a double and a single in his first two at-bats, Jed Lowrie extended his consecutive-hits streak to seven, one shy of the Oakland record shared by Josh Reddick, Dave Magadan and Brent Gates.
Susan Slusser
Volunteers at the Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville placed flags Saturday morning on each of the more than 15,000 graves for Memorial Day weekend, the seventh time the ceremony has taken place. Volunteers began their task at the main flag pole at 8 a.m. Among groups participating are Operation Adopt A Soldier, Blue Star Mothers, Patriot Guard Riders.
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The prosecution rested their case against a man standing trial for the death and burial of a 3-year-old girl Tuesday morning in the 406th District Court.
Cristian Yepez faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the slaying of his girlfriends daughter, Jasleen Valdez, on Aug. 16, 2014.
Family members of Yepez, 27, including his wife and sister-in-law, testified about his character Tuesday, saying he was never violent toward children.
Mario Salgado, Yepezs stepfather, provided testimony regarding what occurred after Yepez and his girlfriend, Janette Pantoja, returned to Chicago after Valdezs death.
READ MORE: Mother of unarmed man shot by Laredo police officer says authorities are lying
Pantoja, 23, and Yepez returned to Chicago shortly after their daughters death and burial before traveling by bus to Houston.
Salgado suggested the couple travel to Texas to escape the threats of Pantojas father and the father of Valdez, according to his testimony.
These threats allegedly came after Pantojas parents were told by the couple that Valdez had been kidnapped in Laredo.
I know very little (of the situation), but from what they told me I know they were afraid, Salgado said.
He said he drove Yepez and Pantoja, whom he had never met before, to the Chicago bus station for their return to Texas.
Weeks later, on Sept. 10, 2014, Pantoja told Houston police that she had been held captive by Yepez and that he had killed and buried her daughter.
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On Sept. 11, 2014, Laredo police, with assistance from Pantoja and Houston Police Department detectives, discovered the child's body buried in a shallow grave in the 7300 block of Springfield Avenue.
Pantoja, a co-defendant in the case, also faces charges of murder and tampering with evidence.
Pantojas and Yepezs cases are being tried separately, meaning the jury is solely focusing on charges against Yepez.
After hearing testimony from Yepezs family, 406th District Court Judge Oscar J. Hale Jr. released the jury for the day as the defense awaits the arrival of an expert witness from out of town. Trial is scheduled to resume today.
1 Uber CEOs mother dies: Bonnie Kalanick, 71, the mother of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, has died in a boating accident. Kalanicks father, Donald, 78, was injured. The ride-hailing company said Saturday that the accident took place Friday when they hit a rock in Pine Flat Lake in Fresno County. The couple have been longtime boaters. Liane Hornsey, the chief human resources officer, called the incident an unthinkable tragedy. Everyone in the Uber family knows how incredibly close Travis is to his parents, she said. Travis Kalanick, 40, founded Uber in 2009.
2 Presley plane: A private jet once owned by Elvis Presley has been auctioned after sitting on a runway in Roswell, N.M., for 30 years. The plane sold for $430,000 on Saturday at an Agoura Hills (Los Angeles County) event featuring celebrity memorabilia, GWS Auctions Inc. said. The buyer was not disclosed. The auction house said Elvis designed the interior, which has gold-tone woodwork, red velvet seats and red shag carpet. But the red 1962 Lockheed Jetstar has no engine and needs a restoration of its cockpit. The aircraft was owned by Elvis and his father, Vernon Presley. It has been privately owned for 35 years and sitting on a tarmac in Roswell.
TAORMINA, Sicily - Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called on the international community to reinforce its coalition against North Korea over the nation's development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles on the opening day of the Group of Seven summit meeting on Friday.
"It is the time for the international community to jointly pile pressure" on North Korea, Abe said.
But as North Korea continues launching missiles and taking other provocative actions despite warnings from the nations concerned, there are signs that Japan and the United States - the two nations that are taking the lead on this issue among the G-7 - are feeling a sense of stagnation.
At the meeting, Abe referred to North Korea, saying, "We have taken measures for peace, and provided various support in exchange for denuclearization, but the result has been a continued breach of promises with the democratic community."
The prime minister emphasized the importance of pressure over dialogue, saying, "I am resolved to seek cooperation with the G-7 against further provocative actions including nuclear weapons tests and missile launches for the rapid adoption of a new U.N. Security Council resolution that includes strict sanctions."
The world leaders agreed with Abe's remarks, and shared a view that the North Korean threat should be regarded as the highest priority among the problems the world is facing. They also agreed that the problem has entered a new stage. These views are expected to be reflected in a joint statement on the summit meeting to be released Saturday.
Abe met with U.S. President Donald Trump for about 55 minutes Friday before the summit began. More than half this time was spent discussing the situation in North Korea, and they confirmed they would seek to increase the pressure, sources said.
However, it is unclear whether the reinforcement of pressure by the G-7 will actually hinder North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs. The United States has since April increased military pressure, including dispatching aircraft carriers to the sea near the Korean Peninsula.
Nonetheless, North Korea on May 21 launched a ballistic missile for the second week in a row.
Even if G-7 nations demand additional sanctions at the U.N. Security Council, they will be rejected if China and Russia, which hold veto power, oppose.
How China acts is key, since it has significant influence over North Korea.
"China's role is huge. I want to urge the nation to assume wider roles," Abe said at the summit.
China is said to be urging North Korea to exercise restraint, but has been reluctant to adopt strong sanctions that could lead to the collapse of the Kim Jong Un regime.
Using the success of achieving a consensus at the G-7 to increase pressure on North Korea as a springboard, Abe will likely urge China to once again exercise its influence over the reclusive nation.
TAORMINA, Italy - As more recent stops on his nine-day overseas journey yielded less love, President Donald Trump continued to bask in the glow from his earlier visit to Saudi Arabia - the site of what he has called his "historic" and "unprecedented" meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders.
"People have said there has really never been anything even close in history," Trump said days later on the West Bank. In Israel, he talked up the Saudi stop as a harbinger of victory over terrorism and of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
In an otherwise grating speech Thursday in Brussels - where he chastised NATO leaders for skimping on defense spending - Trump recalled his "historic" Riyadh meeting, and spoke movingly of Saudi King Salman as "a wise man."
The contrast between Trump's respectful and smiling demeanor during two days in Riyadh, where he danced a traditional sword dance and was served endless cups of cardamom-laced coffee, and his solitary scowls during several hours spent in Brussels among America's traditionally closest allies, was striking. During his last stop before returning home late Saturday, here in Sicily for a meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven world economic powers, he has also been gently lectured on climate change.
But how history ultimately remembers the Saudi event may depend on the extent to which deals struck and promises made are kept. An announced $110 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia would be the largest U.S. weapons sale ever, but many of its components were negotiated by previous administrations, Congress may balk at the transfers and the Saudis are currently operating on an unusually tight budget.
Additional Saudi investments - totaling $270 billion or more than $300 billion, according to various administration pronouncements - so far amount largely to statements of intent that remain to be negotiated, despite Trump's claim that "thousands" of U.S. jobs were won.
Although more than 40 leaders of Muslim-majority countries attended a Sunday meeting with Trump, the focus in Riyadh was on the Persian Gulf's importance as a U.S. partner and bulwark against terrorism during two days of bilateral negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. The council also includes the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
A GCC communique signed with the United States on Sunday was similar to accords in recent years signed by the Barack Obama administration, one at a U.S.-GCC summit at Camp David in 2015 and another a year later in Riyadh. They pledged to intensify efforts against terrorism and terror financing, reviewed the activities of working groups established in years past, agreed to help achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace and condemned Iran for both terrorism and interference in other nations.
"The first part entirely builds on the Obama initiatives, very explicitly," said a former senior U.S. diplomat with long experience in the region under both Republican and Democratic administrations. "The new part is the bashing of Iran over Bahrain" and its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Obama had put weapons shipments to Bahrain on hold, charging the ruling monarchy with oppression against political opponents that it says are instigated by Iran. Trump has lifted the hold. This week, days after he left Riyadh, Bahraini security forces clashed with what they said was a violent protest march - opponents said it was a peaceful prayer group - killing five demonstrators. Opposition leaders charged that Trump had given the government a "green light."
The Trump administration has also given full support to Saudi insistence that the rebellion in neighboring Yemen is an Iranian operation. Obama had raised questions about the extent of Iranian support and withheld the shipment of precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia, which it charged with indiscriminate bombing of civilians as part of a two-year-old intervention in Yemen. Trump has said he would lift the ban on the missiles, the price of which is included in the new arms deal.
The communique also voices support for an Islamic military alliance force announced by Saudi Arabia several years ago that has gained little traction since then. There was no public announcement of a new "Arab NATO," that some administration officials had said was in the works.
Senior administration officials, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity, said the communique also includes a new commitment by the gulf states to charge and prosecute individuals in their countries who finance terrorists, although the document itself does not specify that.
Asked about the discrepancy, one senior official later said in an email that the document was "an umbrella statement that allowed flexibility to hold nations accountable for the financing [from] any institutions or individuals from within who fund terrorist groups in any way."
In exchange, Trump abandoned what the Arabs considered Obama's hectoring over human rights and democracy and perceived tilt toward Iran. Speaking to the group, Trump denounced Tehran as the cause of virtually all the region's ills. After denouncing the terrorism of the Sunni groups Islamic State and al-Qaida - in many respects based on an extreme version of Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Islam - he segued smoothly to Shiite Iran, "a regime that is responsible for so much instability in the region."
"What's different, and certainly from a Saudi perspective what's very welcome, is an American attitude that's very open and not condescending. A meeting of equals," said Karen Young, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. "That's what the Gulf states really crave - recognition as equals on the international stage and that their governments are legitimate. Trump gave them that, and that makes it historic in terms of American recognition."
"We get very little," added Young, a specialist in political economy in the region. "Contracts, which in the defense field were moving forward anyway."
In an article on the website "War on the Rocks," David Des Roches, who served in various White House and Pentagon positions from 1996 to 2010, called the defense sales "more the 'art of the packaging' than the 'art of the deal.'"
Congressional approval was already given during the Obama administration for $23.7 billion of the reported $110 billion sale, wrote Des Roches, now an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University.
"The rest of the equipment Trump has offered," as much as $86 billion, "could be denied by Congress," he wrote. He noted in particular the most expensive item on the list: the Theater High Altitude Air Defense system (THAAD), which costs $13 billion for seven batteries and about $3.5 billion for upgraded and new Bradley fighting vehicles.
"In my experience, working on the [previous] $60 billion Saudi F-15 and Saudi National Guard aviation sales, qualitative military edge was the most frequently raised congressional concern," Des Roches wrote, referring to guarantees to Israel - repeated by Trump during his visit there - that its military edge will be preserved.
"Atmospherically, the visit to Saudi Arabia was very positive," said Gerald Feierstein, a retired Foreign Service officer who is Director for Gulf Affairs at Washington's Middle East Institute. Gulf and Arab leaders, he said, "appreciated the effort," particularly in light of Trump's anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric. "The strong language on Iran was welcome and reassuring."
"In terms of specifics, do we see the outline of a new policy? I don't," he said. "In terms of understanding more today about where this administration intends to go on some of these issues, I don't think you know anything more."
"A lot of this stuff is ephemeral," Feierstein said. "Who knows if it's ever going to happen or not?"
CARO A woman was critically injured during a home invasion Friday afternoon.
Michigan State Police from the Caro Post were dispatched to 1850 Mertz Road, Caro at 5:15 p.m. to investigate a home invasion with serious injury, according to Tuscola County Prosecutor Mark Reene.
The 57-year-old woman, a resident of the home, had suffered life-threatening injuries and remained in critical condition, Reene said in a news release issued Friday night.
"(She) was transported by ambulance for emergency treatment that she is continuing to receive at the present time," he continued.
Anyone who may have observed anything suspicious at or near the location of the incident on Friday is asked to contact Detective Sgt. Jeff Hook at the Michigan State Police Caro Post at 989-673-2156.
Enes Kanter is reportedly the subject of an arrest warrant issued Friday by Turkey, his home nation. The Oklahoma City Thunder center has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and he recently expressed gratitude at being back in the U.S., after he was detained on an overseas trip when the country revoked his passport.
According to AFP, Sabah Daily, a Turkish newspaper described as "pro-government," reported that Kanter is being accused of membership in a "terror group." Kanter, 25, has expressed support for Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish cleric who is living in exile in Pennsylvania and who Erdogan blamed for a failed coup attempt last year.
In the aftermath of that attempt in July, with which Gulen denied any involvement and condemned, Erdogan's regime swiftly carried out a violent crackdown. Hundreds of Turks were killed, and thousands more were rounded up on suspicions of having links to the coup attempt. Kanter, among others, has alleged it was really a plot by Erdogan to enable him to strike at his political enemies and establish a more authoritarian rule over Turkey.
"You guys need to know what is going on in Turkey right now. I hope people around the world will open their eyes to the human rights abuses," Kanter wrote this week in an essay for The Players' Tribune. "Things have gotten very bad over the last year. This is not my opinion. We don't know everything that is happening inside Turkey, but we do know some facts. Newspapers and media have been restricted. Academics have been fired. Peaceful protesting is not allowed. Many people have been imprisoned without any real charges. There are reports of torture and rape and worse."
On Friday, Kanter posted to Twitter an image of the Sabah story, adding a caption in Turkish that said (per AFP's translation), "You cannot catch me. Hahaha. Don't waste your energy.
"I am already going to come to (Turkey) to spit on all of your ugly, hate-filled faces."
From the AFP report:
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A judge issued the arrest warrant after an Istanbul prosecutor opened an investigation into Kanter's alleged "membership of an armed terrorist organization," Sabah Daily reported. The arrest warrant refers to Kanter's alleged use of an encrypted messaging application called Bylock, Sabah said, which Turkey claims was especially created for Gulen supporters. It also referred to Kanter's "praise for a terror organization" in messages via his social media accounts, the daily reported.
The arrest warrant refers to Kanter's alleged use of an encrypted messaging application called Bylock, Sabah said, which Turkey claims was especially created for Gulen supporters.
It also referred to Kanter's "praise for a terror organization" in messages via his social media accounts, the daily reported.
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Sabah also reported that the prosecutor had applied for an Interpol notice, one that would alert the 190 countries with membership in the global policing organization that Turkey was seeking Kanter's deportation.
On Saturday, Kanter posted a video from the Romanian airport, claiming he was unable to travel any further because of his "political views" and calling Erdogan "the Hitler of our century." With help from the Thunder, the Department of Homeland Security and both Oklahoma senators, he was able to travel to London and then on to New York, where he held a news conference Monday detailing his "scary" experience.
"It was scary because there was a chance they might send me back to Turkey," Kanter told reporters. "And if they send me back to Turkey, probably you guys wouldn't hear a word from me the second day. It would have definitely gotten really ugly."
Kanter has a green card for the United States, but he said Monday that he was "country-less" and "open to adoption" by the nation where he first arrived in 2009 to play one year at a prep school. Kanter committed to Kentucky but was ruled ineligible by the NCAA because he had previously been paid to play for a top Turkish squad; he was drafted by the Jazz in 2011 and traded to the Thunder in 2015.
"I want you guys to think about what the Turkish government means when they say that I am a 'dangerous' man," Kanter said in his essay. "I've never broken any laws. No speeding tickets, nothing. But I'm dangerous? Why?"
"I speak my mind about things that I believe in," he wrote. "I always have. I share my thoughts on Twitter and Facebook about the terrible things that are being done to people in Turkey. I want the whole world to know about the human rights abuses that are going on there.
"To the Erdogan government, this makes me a dangerous man."
During his three decades in the United States, Jose Ortiz Morales' alarming past in Guatemala never caught up to him.
For 11 of those years, he toiled in a mailroom at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in the middle of Washington, District of Columbia.
What few, if any, knew was that Morales had served in a special forces unit known as the "Kaibiles" that in 1982 descended on the small village of Dos Erres. They raped women and children, bashed their heads with hammers, shot others, threw bodies down a 40-foot well and then threw a grenade into the well. By time the soldiers left, they'd killed more than 200 villagers.
That past was laid bare this week in U.S. District Court in Maryland, where Morales, 55, pleaded guilty to fraudulently trying to gain U.S. citizenship.
He also is wanted by Guatemalan officials on criminal charges of murder, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in the Dos Erres massacre, according to federal officials.
"Those who would evade charges for atrocities committed abroad will not find safe haven in the United States," Andre Watson, a special agent at Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said earlier after Morales' arrest.
Morales was born in 1962, served in the Guatemalan Army for eight years and migrated north in 1988, court records show. After unlawfully crossing into the United States, the records show, he made his way to Maryland.
In 1990, he applied for and was granted lawful permanent residency status in the United States. He was hired by Hopkins in 1995, worked in the Advanced International Studies mailroom and left in 2006, said Dennis O'Shea, a Hopkins spokesman. O'Shea declined to comment further.
According to online Maryland court records, Morales has never been arrested in the state and appears to have kept a low profile. Nor was there any reason to know his connection to the Kaibiles.
"Hopkins didn't do anything wrong," Stephen Schenning, the acting U.S. attorney in Maryland, said Friday.
His office said that Morales had "legally worked for many years," including at Hopkins.
Morales' troubles here appear rooted in actions he took in 2006 when he applied to become a U.S. citizen.
He falsely claimed that he hadn't been part of any group the government needed to know about and "did not list his membership in the Kaibiles," court records state.
On forms, Morales "marked that he had never participated in any crimes for which he had not been convicted," the records state.
He repeated the falsehoods during a citizenship interview.
It is unclear how immigration investigators caught up with him. And it couldn't be learned Friday where Morales worked after he left Hopkins.
But on Jan. 6, 2017, agents from ICE arrested Morales, who lived in Hyattsville, Maryland. Immigration officials said he was the fifth participant in the Dos Erres massacre living in the United States "to be targeted by ICE for enforcement action."
One of those men, Pedro Pimental Rios, was deported to Guatemala, convicted there for his role in the massacre and sentenced to 6,060 years in prison, according to ICE. The other three are either serving time in the United States, after which ICE will move to deport them, or had been deported to Guatemala.
In court papers this week, Morales admitted to trying to conceal his role with the Kaibiles.
"He also knew the wrongfulness of the actions of his military unit at Dos Erres," according to a statement of facts he signed in the case. In the court papers, Morales did not admit to any specific acts in the village.
Desiree Lassiter, an attorney for Morales, declined to comment. Morales has a sentencing hearing scheduled for September on his immigration plea and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years, federal prosecutors said.
In concealing being in the Kaibiles, Morales was hiding the fact that he had been part of the special forces unit that "indiscriminately killed innocent men, women and over 100 children," according to federal court papers.
"Many of the women were raped by the soldiers before they were forced to walk at gun point to a well in the center of the village, where they were bludgeoned in the head with a hammer, and their bodies were then thrown into the well," the federal court records state. "Those villagers who did not die of the blow to their head were killed when a soldier fired a weapon and threw a grenade into the well."
In about 1996, according to ICE officials, an Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team exhumed the village's well and recovered 162 skeletons, including those of young children.
Other villagers' bodies, according to ICE, had been thrown into nearby woods.
Two of Donald Trump's top advisers said he achieved his major goals on his first overseas trip but declined to answer questions on the topic dominating headlines back home: the FBI's interest in presidential son-in-law Jared Kushner.
"We're not going to comment on Jared. We're just not going to," Trump's top economic adviser Gary Cohn said of Kushner, who'd been on the trip but returned home as planned after participating in Trump's visit to the Vatican.
Kushner, who serves as senior adviser to Trump, has drawn the attention of the FBI because he considered setting up a secret line of communications between the incoming administration and the Russian government, primarily to discuss a resolution to the crisis in Syria, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Cohn said allies at the Group of Seven meeting in Sicily asked questions about U.S. relations with Russia but not about Kushner.
"The president since he left Washington has been dealing with foreign leaders, has been dealing with jobs, has been dealing with economic growth. He's been dealing with diplomacy. He's been dealing with unfair trade. He's been dealing with Paris. He's been dealing with China. His agenda has been overflowing," Cohn said. The issue of Kushner "is not one that he's spending time with on this trip."
H.R. McMaster, Trump's national security adviser, also declined to talk about Kushner and said he had no knowledge of any effort to set up a line of communications to the Russians. Generally speaking, he said, such back-channels can have value in diplomacy.
"We have back-channel communications with a number of countries, and so generally speaking about backchannel communications, what that allows you to do is to communicate in a discreet manner," McMaster said.
As for the trip, the two aides said, Trump succeeded in pressing NATO to do more to fight terrorism, bringing home billions in business deals, and calling on European allies to drop trade restrictions.
"The president delivered," McMaster said. "This trip was mainly about the high principles we all stand for."
The two U.S. officials sought to accentuate areas of agreement amid the many differences between Trump and European allies.
On climate, Trump stood alone in effectively abstaining from the final communique expressing strong support for Paris Agreement. Cohn said the European leaders understood that Trump needed more time to decide whether to stay in the pact. Trump said on Twitter that he'll announce his decision next week.
"In these communiques it's always a give and take," Cohn said. "We're all trying to get to the right place and be respectful" of one another.
"It does say the other countries respect the United States' decision to take time" to make the decision, he added.
Cohn said Trump also pressed the issue of unfair practices that Trump believes contribute to trade deficits in the United States. Trump raised the issue of dumping cheaper steel and other products, non-tariff barriers and subsidies, he said.
"The president does not like having large trade deficits" and wants and needs to bring jobs back to the U.S., Cohn said. "He was fixated" on getting "American workers back to work."
Cohn said Trump and his team talked to G-7 leaders about how he was going to get tax reform, deregulation and an infrastructure plan passed in the U.S.
McMaster also said the suggestion Trump wasn't firmly behind the Article 5 doctrine of mutual defense at NATO was "baseless."
"It is a matter of fact" that the United States and Trump stands "firmly behind" the doctrine, McMaster said.
- With assistance from Shannon Pettypiece
ISTANBUL - In a speech intended to galvanize Arab and Muslim leaders against threats from extremists and Iran, President Donald Trump demanded unity from his audience in Saudi Arabia, and focus.
"One goal transcends every other consideration," he said to the assembled leaders in the Saudi capital, in an address that shifted between stark realism and startling optimism. "We pray this special gathering may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East," he said.
But instead of peace, the Middle East was battered by a wave of conflict in the days that followed, awash with recriminations and repression that suggested that, far from uniting the region, Trump's words had only aggravated its divides.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia launched a bizarre and unexpected war of words that highlighted their longtime competition for regional influence and their often sharply contrasting visions.
As that dispute raged last week, the leaders of Bahrain and Egypt embarked on unusually vicious crackdowns on political opponents at home, killing five people and arresting hundreds.
And leaders in Iran, Saudi Arabia's principal rival, where voters earlier this month reelected a reformist president, went on the offensive, condemning Trump's announcement of billions of dollars in weapons sales to the Saudis while revealing the existence of an underground ballistic missile facility.
Analysts said the tensions were almost surely a consequence of Trump's visit to Riyadh: a forceful American endorsement of Saudi leadership in the Arab world, punctuated by the weapons sales, which had stirred panic and anxiety among the kingdom's competitors and enemies while emboldening its loyal and authoritarian allies.
And Trump's appeal for a common stand against terrorism was unlikely to heal the rifts, analyst said: it was delivered to an audience of Arab leaders who have applied the term so broadly and casually - to violent militants as well as anti-government bloggers - as to render the word almost meaningless.
"Donald Trump now accepts the view of Saudi Arabia as a strategic bastion in the Arab and Islamic World," said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics. And his visit was "related" to the tumult that ensued, Gerges said.
"What you are seeing now is that the Saudi-led coalition feels empowered. They are on the offensive. It's a new era. Everyone has to toe the line and join this alliance," he said.
The consequences of the shift could trouble the region for years, he said, by intensifying proxy wars in Yemen or Syria, where Saudi Arabia and Iran have supported opposing sides, Gerges said.
New fronts also could ignite - between Israel and Hezbollah, Iran's ally, in places like southern Lebanon.
"All sides are preparing for the next round," he said.
Iranian officials initially shrugged off Trump's vociferous anti-Iran comments in Riyadh, dismissing the summit as spectacle. Iran's internet-savvy foreign minister, Javad Zarif, ridiculed the U.S.-Saudi arms deal on Twitter.
But in the days since, the Iranian government has adopted a more defiant tone, denouncing the raid in Bahrain against Shiite-led opposition activists as a direct consequence of President Trump's visit.
On Thursday, Iran unveiled the country's third underground ballistic missile facility. Its ongoing missile production has been a source of contention between Iran and the United States.
"U.S. officials should know that whenever we need a missile test for technical reasons, we will test it, and we will not wait for their permission," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
It was a departure from the conciliatory tone he took on the campaign trail, and came as a senior military aide to Iran's supreme leader also condemned the weapons deal as an attempt to destabilize the region.
As the Arab world braced for an escalating confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, another fight broke out last week between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose long-standing rivalry has flared repeatedly since the Arab uprisings in 2011.
The genesis of the feud was a report published on the website of Qatar's state news agency on Wednesday. It quoted Qatar's emir as criticizing the messages that had emerged from the Riyadh conference, including the attacks by Trump and others on Iran and condemnations of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
Qatar later said that the emir had never spoken and that the state news agency had been hacked.
That did not prevent Saudi Arabia from launching days of scathing attacks on Qatar through Saudi media channels, which suggested it would not tolerate any divergence from the Saudi-led position.
In a column titled, "Who runs Qatar," a Saudi columnist, Said al-Suraihi, writing on the al-Arabiya news site, said Qatar had "disengaged itself from the consensus on issues that represent a common danger to the entire region."
Trump's visit - which included what was widely seen as a pledge not to lecture the region on human rights abuses - also raised fears about stepped-up domestic repression in Saudi Arabia and the countries in its orbit, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Violence last week in Bahrain highlighted those concerns. The tiny island nation - a Saudi ally and a close partner of the United States - has faced criticism for the government's repression of dissent and accusations of systemic discrimination against Bahrain's Shiite majority.
Trump met with Bahrain's king in Riyadh last week, and promised their relationship would be free of the "strain" of previous years - a reference to the Obama Administration's periodic scolding of Bahrain for rights abuses.
On Tuesday, two days after the meeting, forces in Bahrain raided an opposition sit-in outside the house of Bahrain's most revered Shiite cleric, killing five people in the deadliest confrontation with its opponents since a pro-democracy uprising on the island in 2011.
On the same day, in Egypt, the government of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi arrested one of the country's most prominent opposition lawyers and a likely challenger to Sissi in elections that will be held next year.
Sissi - who had appeared in a widely circulated picture alongside Trump and the Saudi king during the meeting in Riyadh, palming a glowing orb in a newly minted counterterrorism center - has received political support as well as billions of dollars in aid from the Saudis over the last few years.
Khalid Ali, the lawyer who was arrested, had played a prominent role in the legal effort to block a plan by the government to transfer sovereignty of two islands in the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.
It was not clear whether the arrest was related to the Saudi conference. Dozens of people have been detained in Egypt in recent weeks, including leftist and liberal government opponents as well as workers and trade unionists, according to Gamal Eid, an Egyptian human rights advocate.
The authorities also blocked at least 21 news websites this week, including Qatar-based outlets as well as Mada Masr, a news portal that it is widely seen as Egypt's last remaining independent publication.
The crackdown was not new, Eid said, but after the meeting in Riyadh - and Trump's "green light"- the campaign of arrests and censorship was "growing fast," he said.
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Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo contributed to this report.
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AUSTIN House Speaker Joe Straus issued a take-it-or-leave-it proclamation to Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on transgender access to public restrooms Friday, saying his chamber has compromised enough on the issue.
Patrick said he would leave it, blaming Straus for the prospect of a special session on an issue that the lieutenant governor has made a dominant one in this regular session. Only Gov. Greg Abbott can call a special session.
If the Senate wants to pass a bathroom bill, it can concur with the bill that we passed earlier this week, Straus, R-San Antonio, said at a hastily called news conference. Its absurd that bathroom bills have taken on greater urgency than fixing our school finance system.
Patrick, responding to Straus at his own news conference, said he wouldnt back down, and he accused Straus of siding with former President Barack Obama on the issue.
The people dont want us to come home with the job unfinished. They want us to stay here and get the job done. And so thanks to Joe Straus, were going to have a special session that he created, said Patrick, an array of Republican senators behind him.
Emmett Schelling, president of the San Antonio Gender Association, said he was blown away by Patricks comments, adding that they amounted to little more than political posturing. While Patrick says the legislation is about privacy and public safety, not discrimination, Schelling said the bathroom bills clearly target transgender Texans.
The Senate has passed a bill that would specify that people use restrooms, dressing rooms and locker rooms in government buildings, schools and universities that align with the sex on their birth certificates.
Straus has opposed that bill, expressing concern that enactment of a law viewed as discriminatory could hurt Texas economy by leading to boycotts potentially affecting San Antonios hosting of the NCAA Final Four next year.
A House-approved proposal says students who dont want to use the restroom associated with their biological sex would have to be given access to a single-occupancy facility. That could include a multi-occupancy restroom that no one else is using. It also would apply to locker rooms and changing facilities.
Patrick and others have called the House plan ambiguous, and the Senate has called for a conference committee to negotiate the issue. Straus said the House wont appoint negotiators.
Using the language of left-wing Democrats who oppose this legislation, whose economic arguments have been disproven again and again he is simply trying to take the ball and go home, Patrick said.
Schelling said Patrick, not Straus, is the one who has been holding the Legislature hostage with this vendetta about discrimination.
The association president noted that the number of people who voiced their opposition to Senate Bill 6 demonstrate that the majority of Texans do not think its an issue worth spending time on.
Overwhelmingly, people see this as a waste of money, as a waste of time, Schelling said. We really havent fixed anything when it comes to protecting kids. We havent really fixed anything when it comes to protecting women.
Patrick earlier promised to force a special session if the bathroom bill and another proposal on property tax reform arent passed. He could do so by stalling other key legislation.
Abbott has said he wants the House and Senate to work things out before the regular session ends Monday.
Tonight, Im making it very clear, Governor. I want you to call us back to address the issues if they remain unresolved, Patrick said.
But Abbott spokesman John Wittman said there is still time in the regular session for lawmakers to act.
Despite tensions, the session is not yet over. The taxpayers deserve to have the Legislature finish their work on time, Wittman said. Only the governor can determine when or if there is a special session, and if so, what issues are addressed.
Straus said he sees no reason for a special session if lawmakers approve must-pass bills including the state budget, which he said the House intends to do.
The bathroom proposal approved by the House gave local educators room to handle these issues. For many of us, and especially for me, this was a compromise, Straus said.
This is the right thing to do in order to protect our economy from billions of dollars of losses, and more importantly, to protect the safety of some very vulnerable young Texans, he said. In a year that we have done so much to improve mental health care, to protect children and to fight against bullying, there is no reason to make a tragic and a costly mistake.
Straus also pointed out that the Senate had refused to negotiate on a school finance bill after the House balked at a Patrick-pushed school voucher proposal that was added. That proposal would have limited state funds for private school tuition to children with disabilities. The House called for a conference committee but instructed its side not to approve a voucher plan.
The House tried to start fixing school finance, but the Senate chose not to even appoint a conference committee, Straus said. On the issue of bathrooms, the House is availing itself of the same option.
pfikac@express-news.net
LAREDO It will be many weeks or longer before operations at the World Trade Bridge are back to normal, federal officials said this week.
The administrative offices at the bridges secondary inspection facility took the brunt of the damage from the major storm last weekend. Electricity has been restored and water and debris had been cleared as of Thursday, but only 3 of 13 air conditioning units are still functional, a crucial loss in a city that saw a heat advisory Friday with predicted heat indices of up to 114.
AUSTIN -- The Texas Legislature gave it's final OK to a $216.8 billion spending plan for the next two years Saturday, including more money for children in crisis and mental health services, holds steady on border security funding and closes four prisons.
The House voted 135-14 for the budget which is $352 million more than the current spending plan. The Senate voted 30-1.
"We started with a sizable shortfall, but we are ending this session with a balanced budget that invests in some very important priorities," said House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio. "We're keeping overall spending low while improving child protection and mental health care."
Both chambers began debating the final version of the spending plan Saturday afternoon as the chambers attempt to finish the last of their business in their 140-day legislative session. The budget is the only bill the Legislature is required to pass, and the Senate is expected to approve the bill Saturday afternoon.
In the Senate, chief budget-writer Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, touted the two-year spending plan as a successful compromise in a year that began with a multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall and public disagreement between legislative leaders over how to pay for the state's growing needs.
"This budget is smart. This budget is compassionate. And it keeps Texas on a successful path to the future," she said. "It is fiscally responsible. It is essentially flat with the current one, even though it adds significant funds to a number of important programs like education."
The approved budget is $352 million more than the current state budget.
The budget includes drawing $990 million out of the so-called Rainy Day Fund, the state's savings account that holds about $10 billion, to pay for an array of one-time projects including $300 million to upgrade state psychiatric hospitals and a $75 million allocation for preservation of the iconic Alamo in San Antonio.
The spending plan allocates $800 million for border-security spending, about the same as the current budget and the most of any state. That amount includes hiring an additional 250 state troopers.
Legislative leaders have said their hope is that the Trump administration will increase federal border policing in a move that could cut the state's cost over the next two years.
But until that happens, Nelson and Huffman said the state will maintain its current operations to thwart border crime, from drug and gun smuggling to human trafficking to cross-border crime syndicates that have reached into Houston and other urban areas.
In the state that operates the largest state prison system in the United States, where just three prisons have been closed in state history, the budget closes four: the Ware Unit in Colorado City, the Bridgeport Pre-Parole Transfer Facility north of Fort Worth, the West Texas Intermediate Sanction Facility in Brownfield and the Bartlett State Jail in Central Texas.
The 2,000 convicts housed there will be moved to other state lockups, at a time when the Texas Department of Criminal Justice has lots of empty bunks due to a downturn in crime in recent years.
"I don't think we will jeopardize anything about how our prisons are run," said Sen. Joan Huffman,a Houston Republican who led the budget team on criminal justice and public safety agencies.
The budget also adds $63 million to eliminate waiting lists at community mental-health clinics, $67.5 million for new diversion programs aimed at keeping the mentally ill out of prisons and jails, $30 million for additional community mental-health beds and $10 million to increase the maximum-security capacity at state psychiatric hospitals. Those aging hospitals will get $300 million for infrastructure upgrades.
While the spending plan holds education funding levels steady this biennium at a basic allotment of $5,140 per student, the budget adds almost $2.7 billion to cover student enrollment growth as the state expects some 80,000 more students each school year. Texas is currently responsible for teaching 5.3 million public school children.
The budget also allocates $350 million to the financially strained Teachers Retirement System to continue healthcare benefits for retirees.
Additional funding will go to state colleges and universities, but so-called "special items" -- tens of millions of dollars that were allocated for specific programs and projects -- will be phased out in coming years, and some of those that are left in place will be cut by half.
The Texas Grant student loan program is allocated $71 million, $44 million will go to expand the state's medical residency program and funding to community colleges will be increased by $19 million.
Lawmakers also OK'd spending more than $508.5 million more for nearly 600 new Child Protective Services caseworkers and additional services. The boost in spending comes as the state wrangles with how to better meet the needs of children in crisis amid reports that some children went weeks before state officials could check on them due to caseworker workloads and turnover. Prevention services get another $33 million.
Children's advocates cheered the Legislature for spending more on children in CPS care, but lamented that lawmakers decided to restore 25 percent cuts to therapy for children with disabilities made during the last session instead of fully reversing the reductions.
"For two years, parents have been pleading with legislators to ensure that their kids with Down syndrome, speech delays, or autism can get the therapies they need, but legislators largely failed to reverse the cuts. It's devastating," said Stephanie Rubin, CEO of Texans Care for Children, an advocacy group.
The budget also includes $40 million in funding for infrastructure project to increase capacity at Texas ports, including the Port of Houston; $4.2 million to eliminate a backlog of processing rape kits used as evidence in criminal cases, $25 million to purchase bullet-proof vests for Texas police officers, and $12 million for ramped-up prosecution of border crimes.
The method of finance for the new budget generally adopted the Senate plan of briefly delaying a $1.8 billion transfer of funds to a highway fund, a plan that House leaders once blasted as Enron-like, a reference to the Houston energy firm that collapsed in a huge financial scandal in 2001. Attorney General Ken Paxton later approved the accounting maneuver as legal.
Mike Ward and Bobby Cervantes contributed to this report.
Throughout my eight-year tenure on the San Antonio City Council, Ive frequently heard from constituents about worsening traffic congestion. Ive had plenty of opportunity to see it firsthand as Ive traveled throughout District 6, San Antonio and our larger region as councilman.
Ive also learned about the technical aspects of our transportation challenges and the solutions to them from my work as chairman of the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, or AAMPO, as chair of the citys Transportation, Technology and Utilities Committee, and through my work with the San Antonio Mobility Coalition, or SAMCo, as its chair-elect.
From that experience, Ive learned that as bad as the gridlock is now, the worst is yet to come. Thats why I have worked so diligently to find mobility options for the greater San Antonio region and will continue to do so even after my term on the council draws to a close.
In Bexar County, nearly 100 new cars were added to our regions transportation network every single day in 2016. This trend continues in 2017 and is on track to grow even more well into the future.
To no ones surprise, more vehicles translate into more congestion. According to the Urban Mobility Study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute, drivers in our region spent about 44 hours delayed in traffic in 2015. These delays are projected to triple by 2035, when studies estimate local commuters will sit in traffic for 130 hours. Thats like spending more than a three-week vacation sitting in traffic.
San Antonio continues to thrive and grow, as new residents choose it as home. In fact, by 2040, our city is expected to add more than 1 million new residents, with even greater growth 1.6 million new residents occurring in the region.
As chairman of AAMPO, it is my charge to identify multimodal options that address our regions transportation needs. The mobility of our region is important. Its a quality of life issue as well as a jobs and economic development issue. And as we continue to experience explosive growth, we must explore every option to keep people, goods and services moving.
VIAs Vision 2040 plan complements AAMPOs Mobility 2040 plan, and both offer multimodal solutions to ease growing gridlock and help our region remain economically competitive. The priorities shared by the community are also reflected in these plans, including a greater emphasis on transportation options, community connections and access to economic opportunity.
VIAs Vision 2040 plan offers a blueprint for the future of transit in the region and provides a path forward to meet the needs of our growing population. And thats good, because adding roadway capacity will not solve our mobility problems. In fact, as San Antonio grows, the decreasing availability of rights of way makes adding lanes to already built-out roadways more expensive and less practical. Instead, we should focus on introducing more transportation options, like the multimodal alternatives VIA can provide.
With more than 1,200 square miles, VIAs service area is as large as Houston METROs service area, yet Houston METRO receives about three times the funding. Public transportation in Dallas and Austin also receives significantly more funding than VIA. Of the four largest metropolitan transit authorities in Texas, VIA is the lone entity to operate on just a half-cent sales tax. Dallas, Houston and Austin all receive a full-cent funding.
In addition, increased local dollars can also leverage more federal funding a fact illustrated by DART in Dallas receiving multiple federal discretionary grants in the past 10 years alone.
Our region continues to grow, and we cannot afford to wait any longer. San Antonio must continue to work to find funding solutions for public transportation. One viable option would be to allocate funds from the citys general fund. While it might be a difficult choice to move funding from other areas, we must prioritize enhanced public transportation for our community.
VIA is looking to the future and is ready to partner in providing a multimodal approach to transportation options for current and future residents something that we have yet to realize for our community given our half-cent, inadequate funding of public transit.
We cannot build our way out of what is coming. Adding a population the size of Austin to our region requires us to think, plan and ultimately move people in different ways.
Councilman Ray Lopez has represented District 6 since 2009, and is chairman of the Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization.
The U.S. Supreme Courts recent refusal to hear an appeal of North Carolinas voter ID law was a clear victory for voting rights. It left standing a lower courts ruling that the states law is unconstitutional because, with almost surgical precision, it attempted to suppress African-American votes.
But this doesnt mean that voting rights are out of the woods. They arent. This is important for Texans to understand, because a challenge to this states voter ID law could still reach the high court.
Two developments prompt unease in this regard.
First, Chief Justice John Robert in an accompanying statement explained that this refusal to hear the appeal did not mean the court was saying anything on the merits of the case. The court generally doesnt explain the reasons for refusal, and Roberts wasnt offering a reason here, either. He was serving up a caution on what the refusal didnt necessarily mean.
Heres why Roberts statement might be a bit unnerving. Last summer, the four conservatives on the court said they would have allowed the North Carolina law to be used in the 2016 election. But they lacked a fifth vote from among the four more liberal justices to make that happen. Arguably, they have that fifth justice in Neil Gorsuch, President Donald Trumps confirmed nominee, for future cases involving voter rights.
Second, there is the matter of the presidents recently announced commission to look into election integrity. There is ample cause to believe that this is a commission that will conjure a problem where one substantially does not exist.
Trump has alleged massive voting irregularities to explain how he lost the national popular vote to Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million, though winning the presidency through the Electoral College. Most voting experts threw cold water on the claim. Voting irregularities particularly the virtually non-existent in-person voter fraud are exceptions.
What is clear is that restrictions on voting in GOP-controlled states are designed to suppress minority voting because these tilt heavily toward Democrats. Rather than woo these voters, Republicans have opted to attempt to quell any possible clout they have at the ballot box. This is also illustrated by the gerrymandering er, redistricting occurring in Texas and other states.
And there is the matter of who the president selected to head this commission. Such commissions, were they honestly conceived, would be bipartisan. But Vice President Mike Pence, most recently Indianas GOPs governor, will chair the commission. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, also a Republican, will be the vice chair. Both these states and both men have histories of favoring voter restrictions. Moreover, Kobach was among the very few who defended Trumps bogus claims of massive voter fraud.
Courts have determined that Texas voter ID law discriminated against the states minorities, with some 600,000 Texans lacking the forms of photo ID required. And a federal district court ruled recently that this discrimination was intentional.
Setting the stage for all of this was a 2013 Supreme Court ruling 5-4 that gutted a key portion of the Voting Rights Act. It removed, at least temporarily, a requirement for certain states with histories of voter discrimination to get changes to their voting laws precleared by the Justice Department. So an onslaught of such laws ensued.
The Obama Justice Department took its mission of protecting civil rights seriously. But, tellingly, Trumps Justice Department has withdrawn its challenge to Texas voter ID law and has told U.S. attorneys nationwide to resume pursuing mandatory minimum sentences, which have disproportionately affected minority defendants, many of them involved in nonviolent drug crimes.
The landscape is changing, and not in a way beneficial to preserving minority voting or other rights.
We applaud the North Carolina decision, but fear, with the addition of Gorsuch, what kind of reception a Texas case will receive at the court. We fear also the potential that this commission on election integrity will not stand for integrity at all, but will instead embolden states to be even more restrictive.
Wed love to be wrong on both counts.
A north Longford businessman has vowed to shut the doors on his family run enterprise if a break-in similar to the one perpetrated at his premises last week happens again.
Sean Whitney of Whitney's Emo Filling Station in Drumlish was speaking after burglars carried out a daring raid last week by smashing their way through part of the buildings roof armed with a sledgehammer, pick-axe and nail bar.
Extensive damage was caused to the propertys interior as the thieves clambered down inside in the desperate hunt for cash and cigarettes.
In the end it was the latter thieves made off with, much to the angst of Mr Whitney who is still counting the cost of last Tuesday mornings break in.
They got away with a lot of cigarettes so they did, said a clearly despondent Mr Whitney.
A lot of damage was caused to the roof and with the rain we were flooded out of it. They broke the alarm too.
The incident, which took place directly across from Drumlish Garda Station, looks set to throw the spotlight once more on repeated calls for additional garda resources.
Its not the first time Mr Whitney has been faced with having to deal with unwelcome visitors targeting a business which has remained a family stronghold for over a century.
However, he said the after effects of what he was confronted with during the early hours of last Tuesday morning had left emotionally and physically drained.
It won't close us, we will keep things going but if this kind of thing happens again we will close the doors, confided Sean.
I can't sleep at night after what happened. I saw them (raiders) pulling out from the house and the mental effect it has on you would set you mad.
Local Councillor Paraic Brady said there were plenty of lessons to be gleaned from the events of last week, most notably from a law enforcement perspective.
I was very disappointed that the Garda helicopter was not released from Dublin because if it was I have no doubt that these two individuals would have been apprehended, he said.
Cllr Brady, who is a member of Longford County Council's Joint Policing Committee (JPC) and chairman of Drumlish Community Text Alert, said the fact the break-in occurred directly across from Drumlish garda station was equally disconcerting.
That's the embarrassing thing, he added, as he called for the station to be manned on a 24 hour basis going forward.
What this also does is it reinforces the call for CCTV cameras to be installed in the village (of Drumlish), he said.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a massacre that was carried out yesterday in Minya, south of Cairo, Egypt. Masked gunman opened fire on a bus filled with Coptic Christians who were traveling to the St. Samuel Coptic Orthodox Monastery. At least 28 people were killed.
The Islamic States arms in the Sinai and mainland Egypt have repeatedly attacked Coptic Christians. The group has also targeted Copts in neighboring Libya. In early 2015, the so-called caliphates men released a video documenting the beheadings of 21 Copts on Libyas shores.
The jihadists have stepped up their operations targeting Copts in more recent months. It is an explicit part of their strategy to terrorize and polarize the Egyptian population. However, in early May, the unnamed leader of the Islamic States branch in the heart of Egypt conceded in an interview published in Rumiyah (Rome) magazine that the attacks are widely unpopular. He also admitted that the overwhelming majority of Egyptian Muslims do not approve of the Islamic States ideology.
Still, the organization presses forward, openly marketing its atrocities against Copts.
On Apr. 18, jihadists opened fire at the Saint Catherines Monastery, a UNESCO-designated world heritage site in the southern Sinai. At least one policeman was killed, but the Islamic State loyalists were forced to flee after they failed to do more damage.
The hit-and-run ambush near the monastery came just over one week after the organizations Egyptian arm bombed two Coptic churches on Palm Sunday (Apr. 9). More than 40 people were killed and dozens more wounded in the twin bombings. The first bomb was detonated at Saint Georges Church in Tanta and the second at Saint Marks Cathedral in Alexandria. Pope Tawadros II, who heads the Coptic Orthodox Church, was reportedly in attendance at Saint Marks either shortly before or after the jihadists struck.
The Islamic States men bombed another Coptic church in Cairo on Dec. 11, 2016, killing at least 25 people.
On June 30, 2016, Amaq reported that Islamic State fighters had assassinate[d] the priest of the Saint George church in the city of Arish due to him waging war against Islam. Arish is a city in the Sinai. The Coptic Orthodox Church confirmed that the priest was shot dead as he was making his way home after performing mass.
While the jihadists have deliberately targeted Copts in the Sinai, most of their operations are focused on Egyptian security forces.
In retaliation for the attack in Minya, the Egyptian government has bombed training camps in eastern Libya. Some of the camps are reportedly located in Derna, a city in eastern Libya. The Islamic State was forced out of Derna in early 2016, after rival jihadists ejected them. It is possible that the caliphates men returned to the area after retreating from their stronghold in Sirte late last year. But other al Qaeda-linked groups operate in the city as well.
For more on the Islamic States attacks on Coptic Christians, see FDDs Long War Journal reports:
May 4: Islamic State leader in Egypt says church bombings arent popular
Apr. 19: Islamic State fighters fire at Egyptian policemen near Saint Catherines Monastery
Apr. 9: Islamic State claims church bombings in Egypt
Dec. 13: Islamic State claims Cairo church bombing part of its war on polytheism
Feb. 15, 2015: 21 Egyptian Christians executed in Islamic State video
Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's Long War Journal.
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Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Jawaharlal Nehru and the Strength of our Secular Democracy
by Sukumaran C. V.
Nehru Dead! Nehru Dead!! Nehru Dead!!! The teleprinter message was hammering away in my brain. At 2 pm on Wednesday, May 27, 1964, each one of us, four hundred and fifty million Indians, died, as the great-hearted Jawaharlal Nehru, who was the heart of the nation, breathed his last. A solemn hush of silence descended on the nation. The farmer in the field, the worker in the factory, the clerk in the office, the housewives at their hearths, the children in schoolseach and everyone felt the sudden chilly spasm of death. "Who Lives If Nehru Dies? Khwaja Ahmad Abbas.
The Hindutva politics has successfully appro-priated Sardar Patel, Gandhiji and even Ambedkar who had nothing in common with the divisive politics the Hindutva forces subscribe to. There is only one man whose image cant be saffronised by the Hindutva forcesJawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was unequivocal in his stand against communalism of all the hues including the saffron one. At a time when Indian secular democracy virtually faces a grave existential threat, it is pertinent to remember and draw inspiration from Nehrus uncompromising stand against the communal forces vis-a-vis secular democracy.
Hardly four months after Independence, on December 7, 1947, Nehru wrote to the provincial governments: Reports have reached me of big demonstrations organised by the RSS in some provinces. Often these demonstrations have been held in spite of prohibitory orders like Section 144. Some provincial authorities have taken no action in this matter and apparently accepted this defiance of orders. I dont wish to interfere with your discretion in this matter. But I would like to draw your attention to the fact that this acquiescence in defiance is likely to have grave consequences.
We have a great deal of evidence to show that the RSS is an organisation which is in the nature of a private army and which is definitely proceeding on the strictest Nazi lines, even following the technique of organisation. It is not our desire to interfere with civil liberties. But training in arms of large numbers of persons with the obvious intention of using them is not something that can be encouraged. The fact that the RSS is definitely and deliberately against the central and provincial governments need not be taken against them and any legitimate propaganda might certainly be allowed. But their activity more and more goes beyond these limits and it is desirable for provincial govern-ments to keep a watchful eye and to take such action as they may deem necessary.
Some provincial governments have taken action against periodicals for promoting hatred between communities. Probably the newspapers of the RSS are more to blame in this matter than any other newspapers or periodicals outside Pakistan. It is amazing how they carry on this communal propaganda in its extremist form.
I have some knowledge of the way the Nazi movement developed in Germany. It attracted by its superficial trappings and strict discipline considerable numbers of lower middle class young men and women who are normally not too intelligent and for whom life appeared to offer little to attract them. And so they drifted towards the Nazi party because its policy and programme, such as they were, were simple, negative and did not require active effort of the mind. The Nazi party brought Germany to ruin and I have little doubt that if these tendencies are allowed to spread and increase in India, they would do enormous injury to India. No doubt India will survive. But the country would be grievously wounded and would take a long time to recover. (Letters for a Nation from Jawaharlal Nehru to his Chief Ministers 1947-1963, edited by Madhav Khosla)
I have quoted in detail to show that we can see today how prophetic Nehrus words turned out to be. If India still survives as the largest democracy in the world, it is because of the inherent strength of our democracy and for that strength we owe greatly to Jawaharlal Nehru. But we have never been able to fully understand our first and only visionary PM and therefore we failed to emulate and strengthen the secular democracy we have inherited from him. India seemed a strange and bewildering land to Nehru. And if he happens to see the India today, it will seem to him a stranger and more bewildering land with his secularism falling apart and democracy controlled by the corporate giants. Nehru wrote in An Autobiography:
I felt lonely and homeless, and India, to whom I had given my love and for whom I had laboured, seemed a strange and bewildering land to me. Even with my closest associates I felt that an invisible barrier came between us. The old world seemed to envelop them, the old world of past ideologies, hopes and desires. India is supposed to be a religious country above everything else, and Hindu and Moslem and Sikh and others take pride in their faiths and testify to their truth by breaking heads. The spectacle of what is called religion, or at any rate organised religion, in India and elsewhere has filled me with horror, and I have frequently condemned it and wished to make a clean sweep of it. Almost always it seems to stand for blind belief and reaction, dogma and bigotry, superstition and exploitation, and the preservation of vested interests. (Chapter 47, What is Religion)
Nehru knew full well that nationalism covers many sins and includes many conflicting elements and believed that nothing is more absurd than to imagine that all the interests in the nation can be fitted in (it) without injury to any. He saw the vital conflict between the possessing classes as a whole and the others; between the haves and have-nots and his sympathies were always with the have-nots. He wrote in his Autobiography (first published in 1936): Our final aim can only be a classless society with equal economic justice and oppor-tunity for all, a society organised on a planned basis for the raising of mankind to higher material and cultured levels, to a cultivation of spiritual values, of co-operation, unselfishness, the spirit of service, the desire to do right, good-will and loveultimately a world order. Everything that comes in the way will have to be removed, gently if possible, forcibly if necessary. (Chapter 63, Conversion or Compulsion)
What we have to stress in our collective consciousness is the fact that Islam came to India not as a religious force but as a political power. As Jawaharlal Nehru says in TheDiscovery of India, it is wrong and misleading to talk of a Moslem invasion of India or of the Moslem period in India, just as it would be wrong to refer to the coming of the British to India as a Christian invasion, or to call the British period in India a Christian period. Islam did not invade India.
In his small book titled The Historical Role of Islam, M.N. Roy, another great secular democrat who has been forgotten by the Indians, says: As regards the spread of Islam in India, an ardent admirer of ancient Hindu culture like Havell, who cannot be suspected of any sympathy or even fairness to the Muslims, gives the following testimony: Those who embraced Islam acquired all the rights of a Mussalman citizen in the law courts. This method of proselytism was very effective among the lower castes of Hindus, especially among those who suffered from the severity of Brahminical law with regard to the impure classes. Havell is a famous eulogist of Indo-European culture which he considers to be the noblest product of the creative genius of man. On the other hand, he has bitter antipathy for the Muslims. So, if even a historian like him found distasteful things happening in India in the past, conditions were very deplorable indeed. He writes: But the victorious progress of Islam in India is not to be accounted for by external reasons. It was mainly due to the political degeneration of Aryavarta ...The social programme of the Prophet gave every true believer an equal spiritual status...made Islam a political and social synthesis and gave it an imperial mission. Islam was a rule of life sufficient for the happiness of average humanity content to take the world as it is...Islam reached the zenith of its political strength at the critical period when the conflict between Buddhist philosophy and that of orthodox Brahminism was a potent cause of political dissension in northern India.
I think that both the Hindu and Muslim fundamentalists and fanatics in India should read The Historical Role of Islam which may help them to discard their narrow-mindedness that destroys the secular culture, and disrupts the social peace and harmony, of the nation. It seems that the concluding paragraph of the book is more relevant today than when it was published in 1939: In view of this realistic reading of history, Hindu superciliousness towards the religion and culture of Muslims is absurd. It insults history and injures the political future of our country. Learning from the Muslims, Europe became the leader of modern civilisation. ...Unfortunately, India could not fully benefit by the heritage of Islamic culture...Knowledge of Islams contribution to human culture and proper appreciation of the historical value of that contribution would shock the Hindus out of their arrogant self-satisfaction, and cure the narrow-mindedness of the Muslims of our day by bringing them face to face with the true spirit of the faith they profess.
I have started the article by quoting Khwaja Ahmad Abbas from his autobiography, I Am Not An Island: An Experiment in Autobiography. To remind those who have been trying to make India an intolerant nation of bigots and vigilantes, what Nehru meant to India and what Nehru means to India, let me quote the succeeding three more paragraphs too from the same chapter:
When Nehru died, we diedfor Nehru was us, the soul and spirit of India. If it was Gandhiji who raised us out of dust, it was Jawaharlal Nehru who gave us life, who gave us courage and the will to struggle for a better tomorrow. And when Nehru died, we diedeach one of us felt the fatal breath of death. Life came to a stop at 2 pm on Wednesday, May 27, 1964.
And it was literally so for the sixty-year-old film director and producer, Mehboob Khan, whose devotion to Nehru and his ideals was so great that as he heard the fatal news he felt a stab of pain in his already diseased heart and saying, Ab is mulk mein rahney se faida? He collapsed never to rise again.
But the late Mehboob Khan did not know the miracle of resurrection. Nehru is not dead. Nehru Lives. (Chapter 38, My Long Love Affair)
The author is a former JNU student now working as a clerk in the Kerala State Government service.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Secularism and the State: Categorising the Nehru Model
I. The Nehru Models: The Historical Nehru Model and the Posthumous Nehru Model
In most circles where opinion-making on behalf of minorities takes place, one of the reasons for appreciation of Jawaharlal Nehrus approach towards the minorities generally is his statement that majority communalism, that is, sectarianism, is more dangerous than minority communalism. He said that the communalism of a majority community must of necessity bear a closer resemblance to nationalism than the communalism of a minority group. (The Tribune, November 30, 1933) This statement must, however, be understood along with his insight expressed on the same occasion that majority and minority communalisms feed off each other. (Idem) His approach is not therefore a blank cheque to minority communities to nurture and nurse their own respective communalisms as some of his majoritarian detractors allege.
One consequence of the focus on this aspect of Nehrus approach has been that other features of the Nehruvian secular state have not received as much analysis as these deserved. It was hardly ever noticed therefore that there are in fact at least two models that contend for recognition as the Nehru model.
The notion of the secular state that was implemented after independence emerged from the Congress-led freedom struggle. Nehru invariably emphasised the connection between the establishment of a secular state and the whole growth of our national movement. (The Statesman, Delhi, July 8, 1951) It is intrinsic to the Gandhi-Nehru framework. It is a model of equality and equal citizenship.
A secular state was thus established and it went beyond the usual European notion of a denominational state whose secularism consisted merely in the separation from the very church to which that state was simultaneously committed. We understood, and rightly understood, a secular state to be a non-denominational state and a state, that was religiously neutral as specified in the Karachi Resolution of 1931. Gandhi, in speaking of a secular state, had also defined it in clear terms in what would now be depicted as a Nehruvian manner, that is, in terms of separation of the state from denominational religion (May 6, 1933; January 27, 1935; January 20, 1942; September 1946; August 16, 1947; August 17, 1947; August 22, 1947; November 15, 1947; November 28, 1947; all cited in my article Gandhi on Secular law and State in The Hindu, October 22, 2003)1
Similarly, when it came to society, as distinct from the state, both Gandhi and Nehru emphasised the concept of equal respect and protection of all religions, thus reconciling the concept of a religiously neutral state with a concept of equal respect for the humanist values that may be located in each religion. For Nehru, A secular state means a state in which the State protects all religions, but does not favour one at the expense of others and does not itself adopt any religion as State religion. (The Statesman, July 7, 1951)
And then there is a constructed Nehru model or a quasi-Nehruvian model which is actually a posthumous Nehru model constructed largely after the split in the Congress in 1969. This model resembled but was somewhat different from the actual Nehruvian model. It could not last for more than six or seven years and ended dramatically with the firing at Turkman Gate, Delhi during the tenure of the Emergency regime in 1976.
Let me begin to speak about the first Nehru model.
II. Has the Nehru Model failed?
It would be fallacious to say so.
It will be my contention that the actual Nehru model in fact succeeded. It contained and managed a very serious situation that had developed after the partition of India. It built a state based on equal rights for the citizen and a consensus behind such a state. It provided for regional expressions of linguistic aspirations as well.
The problem was essentially not here but with what emerged as a posthumous Nehru model.There was, I would say, a cut-off point in 1969. After 1969 what might be called a gloss on secularism came to be projected upon the New Congress. The post-1969 Left-of-Centre circle around the then Prime Minister was well-intentioned in wishing to initiate a break from the old guard in the Indian National Congress which, it believed, was holding up further economic reform. In the process the 1969 split in the Congress which this group helped bring about also, however, cut the Congress off from its roots.2
In fact, the quasi-Nehru model became more contentious in public discourse when it began to be presented as cut-off from the countrys struggle for freedom and as a sort of immaculate conception. More than the model itself, it is this projection that not only became problematic but actually helped the forces of majority communalism in particular to present the Nehruvian vision as an artificial imposition upon Indian society rather than as a natural culmination from its social character and political struggle.
As I have said, the quasi-Nehruvian, or posthumous Nehruvian, model was different essentially in the historical provenance that it sought to project. It sought to delink Nehru from the mainstream national struggle, pluck him out of the Gandhi-Nehru framework and to establish an isolated posthumous quasi-Nehru model whose definition could be subsumed under what currently passed for academically acceptable progressive ideas. This happened in the context of the Indira GandhiCPI alliance post-1969. The alliance itself was unexceptionable; the problem arose in the unhistorical attempt to extrapolate it backwards and seek to diminish or exclude the Congress own struggles, as it were, from its own history.3
Perhaps because the post-1969 model did not have a strong foundation in historical fact and was an unhistorical attempt to extrapolate backward the post-1969 alliance between Indira Gandhis Congress and the CPI, it was easily toppled first by a callow youth and his organised hoodlums, and then after 1980 by a succession of Non-Resident Indian lobbies.
The posthumous Nehruvian model could hegemonise the state but could not take the society with it. This quasi-Nehruvian model lacked Nehrus democratic temper.
It disregarded society though claiming to speak in the name of the people
In the end in the 1990s, remnants of this model, far from defending themselves against the onslaught from Hindutva, could not defend even the gains from the Gandhi-Nehru frame-work.
III. Why did this projection become problematic?
The answer to this is a complex one.
To some extent an essential and necessary accompaniment had been absent even in the years of the actual Nehru model but this feature came more prominently to the fore after the 1969 events.
K.R. Narayanan (1920-2005), who would serve as the President of India between 1997 and 2002, saw the point perspicaciously as early as in 1970. In a paper, presented at a seminar on Nehru and Nation-building (December 21-23, 1970) at the University of Rajasthan in Jaipur, K.R. Narayanan observed: In his passion for legislative revolution Nehru and the Indian National Congress did not, after independence, place sufficient emphasis on the aspect of a social reform movement in the country. (K.R. Narayanan, Nehru and His Vision, DC Books, Kottayam, 1999, p. 34)
This defect or shortcoming came to the fore especially after 1969 because the split in the Congress and the lines on which it occurred had the effect of cutting the Congress off from the constructive work movements, that is, the very civil society organisations which were its roots and which had provided it sustenance.
It is necessary to dwell on this point a little further. In the 1930s the Frontier Gandhi, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, made a tour of Bengal. On coming back he spoke at the Bombay session of the AICC in 1934. And the point that he made was to underline the link between the constructive work programmes of the Congress and its political programmes. He said he noticed in the course of his tour that people were willing to come forward and listen to the Congress wherever the constructive work programme had reached. For example, he noticed, that where the khadi (handspun and handwoven cloth) programme had reached and had been able to help generate some income, people would flock to the Congress meetings to hear their message.
The vital link that the Frontier Gandhi observed in 1934 was over time lost sight of in independent India and especially in the post-1969 phase of the Congress and Indian politics. The flaw which K.R. Narayanan noticed in 1970 was over-reliance, or rather near-exclusive reliance, on state action, legislation and state policies. The prevailing logic appeared to be : Now that we are in power we do not need to build up civil society institutions for social reform and action because we have the state to do this for us.
The wages of this neglect were not immediately obvious because, for one thing, the Congress was historically associated with a network of ground level constructive work institutions on whose support it could implicitly rely in the first 22 years after independence. The 1969 split in the Congress gave a rude shock to this arrangement. The implications were not immediately obvious in the short term. This was for other reasons, primarily the short term electoral victories that the posthumous Nehru model secured in the General Elections of 1971 and the nationwide elections to the state assemblies which followed in 1972. In the General Elections of 1971 it was the freshness of Indira Gandhis faction, which had emerged from the Congress split of 1969, that swayed the electorate. In the State Assembly elections in the following year there was the added factor of victory in the Bangladesh War.
Yet the overall impact of the 1969 split in the Congress did not take long to make itself felt and it was soon obvious that the Congress, or what remained of it, was on a declining curve.
Meanwhile, the Hindutva organisations, on the other hand, had been working ceaselessly in society and the rise of these organisations was, in this scenario, like a time-bomb waiting to explode.
A more recent recognition, especially in the wake of the findings of the Sachar Committee, has been that neither the Nehru model nor the posthumous Nehru model, nor indeed the models of development in force in other Opposition-ruled States in their action on the ground placed adequate special emphasis on policies to ensure the welfare and human development of the minority communities. [This was although Nehru himself recognised as early as in 1951 that such special emphasis would be required especially in the case of Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and others. (See The Statesman, Delhi, July 8, 1951)] And that more specific steps are required for their education and development.4
IV. What Now?
The shortcoming or defect, to which K.R. Narayanan drew attention in 1970, remains. Until this is remedied, the outlook would remain grim. Even if the present ruling dispensation returns to power and confines its focus to re-adjustment of state policies, it is unlikely to remedy the flaw that K.R. Narayanan under-lined. Similarly, whatever combination of political parties comes to power in the near future, it is unlikely to be able to provide the durable alternative that is required if it merely follows a statist approach. A long-term alter-native can come about only with the emergence of a secular party which has the backing of grassroots civil society organisations with roots in the community life of the Indian people.
Merely taking control of the state will not suffice.
[Lecture delivered at the Dr K.R. Narayanan Centre for Dalit and Minorities Studies and Centre for Zakir Husain Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia on March 3, 2009. The endnotes are subsequent additions.]
Endnotes
1. https://www.academia.edu/19387056/Gandhi_on_Secular_law_and_State
2. For a development of this point see my article 1969 in Retrospect, The Hindu, March 17, 2000.
3. That is, for example, the extensive pre-freedom struggles conducted by the Congress and such peasant organisations as were non-antagonistically associated with it, the various Congress-associated institutions constructive work programmes, and their strivings for the social rights of the underprivileged and for a linguistically accommodative and non-sectarian understanding of nationalism inclusive of the minorities.
4. Whether this should be achieved through programmes directed at minorities specifically or through programmes aimed at the underprivileged irrespective of religion, caste and creed is a matter for consideration. In my opinion, a mix of the two approaches would be more likely to succeed than the one or the other.
The author is a writer and lawyer in the Supreme Court. For some time he was a Senior Fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, New Delhi.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Secular Outlook
by Rafiq Zakaria
The following is a tribute to Nehru offered by the author as a member of the Nationl Committee set up for Nehrus birth centenary. This contribution was included in a book published on November 14, 1989 following yearlong commemoration of Nehrus birth centenary.
Jawaharlal Nehru while in power, it must be conceded, could not implement many of his ideas which he so passionately advocated when fighting against the British during our freedom struggle. He himself admitted: Some years earlier I would not have been so hesitant. There was a definiteness about my thinking and objectives then, which has faded away since and events of the past few years in India, China, Europe and all over the world have been confusing, upsetting and distressing, and the future has become vague and shadowy and has lost its clearness of outline which it once possessed in my mind.
Though power made him circumspect and cautious, on principles Nehru stood firm; one of the fundamental articles of his faith was secularism. Today, if India is not a Hindu state, it is mainly due to the efforts of her first Prime Minister. Today, if Muslims and other minorities have a certain sense of security in this Republic, it is mainly due to his approach. During the seventeen years that he ruled this country, he never wavered in his antagonism against the dark forces of communalism. Nothing ever shook him, neither attacks nor abuse. In fact, there are few instances in history where a prophet, in the face of heavy odds, remained so loyal to his creed. Secularism was not only the sheet-anchor of Nehrus politics; it was in a sense the life-blood of his patriotism.
The severest test that Nehru faced was soon after the partition of the subcontinent when communal fury on either side of the border resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Hindus and Muslims and the worst migration in recent times. Enough has been written and said about it, but the role of Nehru in safeguarding the values of secularism can never be forgotton. Some instances come to my mind to show the agony he felt and the manner in which he met the most unexpected challenges. For instance, in Bihar, when Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in the wake of Partition he rushed like a wounded tiger to the rescue of the unfortunate victims; unguarded, he went to the scene of rioting and told the mob in Patna: Kill me before you kill a Muslim. It was not an empty declaration; he meant it. It had the desired effect on the rioters and the situation soon came under control. His action in other riot-stricken areas was as effective as in Bihar. In Delhi, he gave refuge to hundreds of Muslims in the Prime Ministers house; dozens of them he saved just by sheer personal intervention.
Those who had seen Nehru during those grim days, just after August 15, 1947, still worship him; according to them, they had not come across a better human being. One instance is worth mentioning; it was so typical of the man.
One night after a strenuous tour of the riot-stricken areas, the Prime Minister returned home. It was pretty late. However, just as he was sitting for his dinner, he was informed that the rioters had decided to burn the whole of the Jamia Milliathe National Muslim University, founded in 1920 by the Ali Brothers and the Mahatma, as counterpoise to the Aligarh Muslim University, and then presided over by the famous educationist, Dr. Zakir Hussain, who later became the President of India. Nehru could not bear the thought of any damage to such an institution, which symbolised so much of good in our anti-British nationalism; he, therefore, rushed to the spot, again unaided and un-guarded, and without any warning to the security staff. The moment the rioters saw him with anger writ large on his face, they became calm. The Prime Minister squatted on the ground, opposite the Jamia Millia and remained there for hours lecturing to them on the values of communal harmony and non-violence. Finally, the crowd dispersed peacefully.
Then there was a Muslim restaurant-keeper in Delhi who saw a fellow Muslim being slaughtered in front of his shop. Agitated, he took the phone and rang up the Prime Minister. Is that so? cried Nehru, I will come there right away. Within minutes he arrived on the scene with the police. Standing in the middle of the street, he directed the clean-up operations.
His action in the Punjab, then the most violently and badly affected province during the communal disturbances, was no less heroic. He toured the bloody areas in a jeep, sometimes at considerable risk to his life. In one town he was told that the Sikhs were plotting a wholesale massacre of the Muslims. Without fear he went to the Sikh quarters, rounded up their leaders and warned them: If you harm one single hair of a Muslim, I will send in a tank and blast you to bits.
However, Nehrus anti-communalism was not one-sided, as the Hindu communalists, especially the RSS, would like us to believe; he had fought Muslim communalism no less valiantly in the past. Mr Jinnah had no greater opponent, his politics, no greater enemy. It is not true that Nehru had any particular preference for the Muslims; but he believed that majority commu-nalism was another form of fascism which breeds hatred and violence. In one of his letters to the Chief Ministers he told them that there are some among the Hindus who rather foolishly think in terms of having communal riots and thus gaining two objectives. The first is to frighten and drive away the Muslims and the second is to make Hindus anti-government. Though more than two decades have passed since Nehrus passing away, the situation does not seem to have changed.
Partition made many Hindus bitter; but it only saddened Nehru. To him, India represented an amalgam of the best in every community; but he was proud of his Hindu heritage. He was fond of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata epics and went into ecstasy while visiting the Ajanta and Ellora caves. He once said: Those Indians, who have not visited the Ellora and Ajanta caves, are, to my mind, not civilised.
To Nehru, India was as much the centre of Hinduism as an unique expression of a cultural multiplicity which lasted for thousands of years. In a reminiscent mood he wrote: Hundreds of vivid pictures of this past filled my mind, and they would stand out as soon as I visited a particular place associated with them. At Sarnath, near Benaras, I would almost see the Buddha preaching his first sermon, and some of his recorded words would come like a distant echo to me through two thousand five hundred years. Ashokas pillars of stone with their inscriptions would speak to me in their magnificient language and tell me of a man, who though an emperor, was greater than any king or emperor. At Fatehpur Sikri, Akbar, forgetful of his empire, was seated holding converse and debate with the learned of all faiths, curious to learn something new and seeking an answer to the eternal problem of man.
That is the India he discovered and loved; it was the same India he tried to rebuild on modern lines with the aid of all that science could offer. In that India, non-Hindus were to have the same rights and privileges as the Hindus; religious affiliations made no difference. This was in accordance with the Indian traditions. As Nehru told Norman Cousins, The whole conception of India was built up, if you look at Indian history, on the conception of non-proselytisation. Our religion is so based. We do not go out of the way to ask anybody to change his religion and belong to us. Nor did Nehru accept that political or economic rights should depend on the membership of a religious group or community. He explained to the teachers and students of the Aligarh Muslim University on January 24, 1948: For my part I wish to say that in spite of everything, I have a firm faith in Indias future. Indeed, if I did not have it, it would not have been possible for me to work effectively. Although many of my old dreams have been shattered by recent events, yet the basic objective still holds and I see no reason to change it. That objective is to build up a free India of high ideals, and noble endea-vours where there is equality of opportunity for all and where many variegated steams of thought and culture meet together to form a mighty river of progress and advancement for her people.
Elaborating it, he declared: You are Muslims and I am a Hindu. We may adhere to different religious faiths or even to none, but that does not take away from that cultural inheritance that is yours as well as mine. The past holds us together; why should the present or the future divide us in spirit?
It is in that spirit that Nehru worked all through his public life; he had to encounter innumerable difficulties, but he never gave up. Sometimes he compromised; but he never lost sight of the goal. He chided those who wondered what would happen to India with the sceptre of communalism haunting it:
Whatever confusion the present may contain, in the future India will be a land, as in the past, of many faiths, equally honoured and respected, but of one national outlook, not, I hope, a narrow nationalism living in its own shell, but rather the tolerant creative nationalism, which believing in itself and the genius of its people, takes full part in the establishment of an international order.
I have quoted Nehru at length in order to show the depth of his convictions about secularism. Sometimes he adjusted to political pressures but his basic approach remained unalterable. He abhorred the whole concept of a religious or theocratic state and said it has no place in the mind of the modern man. India, he repeatedly emphasised, had always been a secular state: the more recent change in the thinking of some Indians was a reversal of the historic process; or rather a perversion of the course of history. He opposed separate electo-rates for Muslims because he felt that this weakened the groups that were already weak or backward and encouraged ghetto tendencies among them and prevented the growth of national unity. He always looked upon such measures as a negation of democracy which created vested interests of the most reactionary kind, thus diverting the peoples attention from the real economic problems which were common to all. Possibly, he remarked, they may have done some good but undoubtedly the injury they have caused to every department of life has been prodigious. He encouraged their abolition, even the reservation of seats for minorities.
He had, however, no answer on how to provide the minorities their legitimate, propor-tionate share of representation under an electo-rate that continued to respond to communal appeal and wherever the government itself was unable to shed its religious prejudices, especially against the Muslims. He often felt helpless; he wanted Azad to be the first President but was unable to make it happen. He tried to push Muslims into important positions; but his colleagues often thwarted his moves. He openly admitted that even the Congress was not free of communal elements, who came in the way of building a proper secular base. He chided them: Even in the past those of us who accepted any measure of communalism erred and acted unwisely and we have suffered greatly for our unwisdom. He, therefore, warned them that in all our future conduct we must have it clearly in our minds and in the mind of the country that the alliance of religion and politics in the shape of communalism is a most dangerous alliance and it yields the most abnormal kind of illegitimate brood. And still he was not able to prevent the alliance of the Congress with the Muslim League in Kerala, which even the Comm-unists unashamedly copied.
In his anti-communalism, Nehru had been considerably influenced by Gandhi on the one hand and Azad on the other. The Mahatma taught him to place politics on an ethical level; to preserve the spiritual unity of the people which was based on broad humanism; to live by truth; and to practise cleanliness in public life. From the Maulana he learnt that there was no conflict between Islam and Indian nationa-lism; that the two were complementary to each other; and should help to bring about an amalgam, which could prove of lasting benefit to all. From these two giants Nehru received all the confirmation that he needed of the fact. Indian culture, to quote Gandhijis words, is neither Hindu, nor Islamic, nor any other wholly. It is a fusion of all. He asked Muslims not to despair and be despondent; they must learn to be sharers, in common with others, in the triumphs and setbacks alike that may come our way. The present with all its unhappiness and misery will pass. It is the future that counts...
That was said more than thirty years ago. How long will the deprived and the neglected have to wait for that unhappiness and misery to pass and when will India of Nehrus dream, of a genuine secular state, where the followers of each religion will get what they must in every walk of life, be realised!
(Mainstream, May 25, 2013)
The author, a leading figure in the Congress and reputed Islamic scholar, was a renowned parliamentarian.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Nehru and Minorities
by S. Gopal
The following contribution from Nehrus biographer, Dr S. Gopal, was published in Mainstream (November 12, 1988). It was based on the Ansari Memorial Lecture which he delivered at the Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi on February 22, 1988. It is now being reproduced here because of its relevance in the present scenario.
When Jawaharlal Nehru came to active politics in the early twenties, he had not yet moved to the personal position of religious agnosticism which was to mark him in later years. His conventional Hindu theism helped to block his mind from questioning Gandhis effort to strengthen the national identity by drawing up a programme which took for granted the divergence between the Hindu and Muslim communities but was acceptable to both.
Nehru was not comfortable with the Khilafat movement but justified it at a political rather than a religious level by arguing that it was an effort to thwart the division of Turkey and a part of the struggle for the freedom of India. This enabled him to square the Khilafat movement with the assertion that the Congress should not identify itself with controversial religious issues. But his position was not always logical. It is odd, for example, to find him saying that it was the duty of Hindus to help the Muslims at this time for if the British succeeded in destroying Islam they would then try to destroy the Hindu religion.1 Again, as the Mayor of Allahabad in 1923 he guided the Board to reject unanimously the suggestion to prohibit the slaughter of cattle; but his attitude was based not so much on any principle as on a feeling that this was not a matter calling for administrative intervention, for he had earlier suggested to the Hindus that they should request Muslims to stop cow-killing rather than fight them about it.
The spread across the face of India in the mid-twenties of rioting involving sections of the Hindu and Muslim communities compelled Nehru to take a more clear-cut position on the question of religion in politics. It now became obvious to him that India, caught in the whirlpool of mutual antagonism, would be dragged down into the abyss unless this so-called religion was scotched and the intelligentsia at least was secularised. Nehru used this word in 1926, not in the accepted sense of the separation of church and statethis had no immediate relevance in India if only because the state was in alien handsbut to mean the toleration of all faiths and beliefs and permissible religious practices, leading to a separation of religion from politics. For such tolerance to be not emotional generosity but coldly reasoned, Nehru looked to both industria-lisation and mass education of the type that would dissolve dogma and the dogmatic mentality. Nehru had begun to discern the mesh of political reaction, economic stagnation and religious superstition; and he himself shed the vestiges of conventional religious belief. The less, he told Indians on his return from Europe in December 1927, we talk of and worry about the next world, the more good we are likely to do to our fellow countrymen and country.
To Nehru now religion was the fountain-head of authoritarianism and the method used at all times to secure the submission of the oppressed. But getting rid of religion altogether was a long-term objective; the immediate problem was dealing with the growing communal animosity. Nehru was clearsighted about the reasons for this. The social disharmony between Hindus and Muslims had spread to other spheres with the regional imbalance in development under the East India Company, leading to the classes who gained most from British rule being predominantly Hindu. By the time the interior areas of India caught up with the rest, national awareness expressed itself increasingly in a Hindu idiom. The process of divergence between the religious communities was further aggra-vated by official policy symbolised by the establishment of separate electorates; and as the franchise was broadened periodically on this basis, the communal elements grew corres-pondingly stronger.
From this analysis Nehru drew the conclusion that the communal problem was a wasteful diversion from the main campaign against the British. The communal parties, both Hindu and Muslim, derived their support from the feudal and upper classes, defensive of vested interests, seeking office and employment from the British and pandering to myth and passion in their attempts to secure a base among the people.
So to Nehru these communal parties were giants with feet of clay, who would fade into nothingness in the light of reason once the British were pushed out. He, therefore, in accordance with his favourite strategy of indirect approach, ignored the communal problem and concentrated his energies on the national movement against foreign rule and on the need to give that movement an economic slant. The vast majority of the Indian people, whatever their religion, bore the common burdens of hunger and poverty, and when these burdens were lightened, the curse of religion in politics would be lifted. Religious minorities should be of no political significance; the minority that mattered and which had to be resisted was that of the rich exploiters.
Nehru, therefore, regarded as a waste of time all attempts at a political settlement of the communal problem. Ansari pinned his faith on mutual adjustments through formal and informal conversations with communal parties, but to Nehru this was a futile endeavour. These parties had no wish to see unity conferencs succeed; nor had the British, who could always outbid the Congress. So the Congress Muslims were always on the retreat, continuously offering concessions to which there could be no end; and Nehru, despite his personal affinity with Ansari and many other Muslims in the Congress, could not conceal his contempt for their attitude.
Even Nehru, however, especially in the years when he was the President of the Congress, could not completely turn away from trying to eliminate the communal menace. Till the time came when class conflicts set aside religious clashes, he wished the Hindus, as the majority community, to show the generosity which would remove fear and suspicion. The minorities should be given the fullest assurance, not of jobs and of seats in Assemblies, but that their culture and traditions would be safe. Provision to foster languages and education would help to nourish the rich, varied, larger, common culture of India. The existence of such a culture was also one of the points he sought to establish in his historical writings.
Nehru had not the training of a professional historian but he had the instincts of a good one. He rejected, even in the early thirties, the standard periodisation of Indian history into Hindu, Muslim and British; and he stressed on his readers that Islam did not believe in religious persecution and a man like Mahmud of Ghazni, who was generally regarded as an iconoclast, was in fact no more than a successful soldier who would have looted to whichever religion he had belonged. The best of Indian culture was to Nehru a synthesis; this had badly frayed in recent times and should be rebuilt on the secular foundations of freedom and social equality and in consonance with a better world order.
To ensure that civil disobedience in 1930 was not weakened by communal forces, Nehru reasserted the commitment of the Congress to religious, cultural, linguistic and educational freedom, and promised that on communal issues the Congress would not favour any side but hold the centre impartially.2 In the resolution on Fundamental Rights at the Karachi Congress in 1931, looking forward to a free India, he incorporated clauses providing that every citizen should enjoy freedom of conscience and the right freely to profess and practise any religion, subject to public order and morality, that all citizens were equal before the law, irrespective of religion, creed, caste or sex, that no disability attached to citizens for these reasons in regard to public employment and in the exercise of any trade or calling, and that the state should observe neutrality in regard to all religions.
This was the first breakdown, in concrete terms, of the concept of secularism in the Indian context and formed the basis of the Articles in the Constitution many years later. Once the Congress, the leading political party in the country, had committed itself to these provisions, Nehru expected the ground to be removed from under communalism, for there was no logical justification left for communal demands. On the political plane, the only solution was the nationalist one, with no room for special representation.
Life, however, as Nehru himself often said, is different from and larger than logic. He might assert that communalism was a ghost but the ghost refused to vanish and continued to drink blood. So, tacitly shedding the view that the Hindu-Muslim problem did not exist because it had nothing to do with the masses, Nehru decided, during the few months at the end of 1933 when he was out of prison, to face the issue. He was still of opinion that the communal parties were basically props of political reaction, and he continued to urge the Hindus, as the majority community, to take the initiative in generosity. But he shifted from the position that communal feeling was always the artificial creation of political groups. To the extent that it existed among the Hindus and was able to disguise itself as nationalism, it was the Indian version of fascism and deserving of the severest condemnation. Muslim communal groups seemed to him at least middle class and representative in some degree of the Muslim viewpoint, while its leaders behaved with greater dignity than those of the Hindu Mahasabha, who spoke only for capitalism, landlords, and a few princes and their hangers-on.
Nehru also now conceded that it was under-standable that the Muslims, as an economically and educationally backward community, might be apprehensive about the future. Honest communalism is fear; false communalism is political reaction.3 To distinguish between shades of communalism and to contend that it could sometimes be honest and, therefore, presumably legitimate, was to embark on a dangerous course. It at once jeopardised the position of the many Muslims in the Congress who had not hesitated to participate in the civil disobedience movement; and Nehru made this worse by stating that no other organisation could successfully challenge the claim of the communalists to speak for the Muslims and that their aggressively communal character gave them an advantage over the Muslims in the Congress.
Having yielded so much ground in argument to Muslim communalists, Nehru sought to defeat them in practice by contending that the way to deal with communal parties was not to barter with them but to appeal over their heads to the masses. Their cultural unity was enduring, the demand for political and economic freedom was the reality and the communal myth would cease to exist when put to the test of mass opinion. A Constituent Assembly elected by adult franchise, even on the basis of separate electorates, would dispose of the communal problem readily enough.
All this seemed very remote as the Congress developed no clear objectives or ideology, the government with the Communal Award divided the people into numerous religious compartments and Nehru, sitting in prison, heard of persistent communal violence. What a disgusting savage people we are? Politics, progress, socialism, communism, sciencewhere are they before this black religious savagery?4
But the election campaign of 1936, with a wider franchise than before, gave Nehru his chance. He played down the communal issue, held up independence and better economic conditions as the first priorities and centred his fire on the alien rulers, the capitalists and the landlords. In the United Provinces, a clash with the Muslim League was avoided. Speaking on the same platform as Jinnah, Nehru referred to communalism as no more than a nuisance which made people petty-minded and hid from view the major problems. In his presidential address at the Faizpur Congress in December 1936 he did not refer to communalism at all.
The results of the elections confirmed Nehru in his view, gained during his tours, that the Congress had never been stronger. But it had contested few Muslim seats and of these lost most. Even so, Nehru felt that the Congress should have fielded more Muslim candidates. The Muslim masses had been too long doped with communal poision and were suspicious of the Congress; but there was a ferment among the younger Muslims and the masses and the Congress should reach out to them. The Muslim rank-and-file had a greater potentiality, perhaps because of more freedom in soical relations, than the Hindu counterpart and, if convinced of a new thought, would accept it.
So, smothering Jinnahs hopes of a resurrection of the atmosphere of the Lucknow Pact and the reaching of a political agreement at the leadership level, Nehru in 1937 initiated a Muslim mass contact campaign. This was a chance for implementing his theory that the masses had no communal problem and could be led to forget this side-issue by offering them political action and placing before them an economic programme; but the opportunity was squandered.5 In fact, it was Jinnah who, accepting what he regarded as a challenge, strengthened the position of the League among the Muslim masses by appealing to God and Koran and alleging that Islam was being threatened. Taking advantage of the acceptance of office by the Congress, he slid easily from attacking the Congress, representing majority opinion, to denouncing it as representing Hindu opinion and complained of general harassment of Muslims without specifying his charges.
Nehru had gradually and reluctantly to change his opinion that there was no real strength behind the League. Jinnahs demand that his party be recognised as the authoritative and representative organisation of the Muslims was unacceptable; but it was no longer enough merely to go half-way to meet the minorities and allay their fears in matters of culture, language and religious observances. Nehru was willing to consider, in any scheme of provincial redistribution, the grant, to important groups and minorities, of territories within which they would have full opportunities for self-development, but the League, not being serious about non-political matters, paid no attention.
By the beginning of 1939 Nehru was forced to acknowledge that the communal problem had acquired a new and serious aspect. The fear of the Muslims that they might be swamped by the Hindu majority had widened considerably; there was, particularly in the United Provinces, more general ill-will among the Muslim masses towards the Congress than at any time before, and fascist elements were becoming stronger in both the communal parties. Even now, Nehru was hopeful that the economic issue would wither the communal problem if the provincial governments gave priority to such measures as the wiping out of old debts and the arrears of rent; but the Congress Ministries were too conservative to move in these matters. By the time war broke out and these Ministries resigned, Nehru had to accept defeat: there is no doubt that we have been unable to check the growth of communalism and anti-Congress feeling among the Muslim masses.6 Even civil war now seemed to him possible.
His buoyant optimism, however, soon returned to the surface. He placed hopes in the Leagues commitment to independence; and even its attainment of a mass base might be helpful in bringing pressure to bear on its feudal leadership. If the Congress and the League could work together in dealing with the government in the war crisis, the communal grievances would fall into perspective. So the Congress was willing to accept the League, if not as the sole Muslim organisation, at least as an important and influential party. But joint action with the Congress had now no interest for Jinnah and he would not go beyond seeking statutory provision for coalition Ministries. With the celebration of the Day of Deliverance and the passing of the Pakistan resolution by the Muslim League, there was no scope for negotiations with it, and Nehru became more concerned with giving assurances to the Christians and Sikhs that the Congress was committed to secularism and legitimate minority interests could be protected by a Constituent Assembly, in which such questions would be settled not by a majority vote but by common consent and differences referred, if necessary, to arbitration not by the British but preferably by the League of Nations. But during the war years such matters were not in Nehrus hands. The League, with active British support, expanded its popular backing and moved to the climax of partition.
Nehrus policy towards the minorities before 1947, therefore, had not been a success. He had been convinced that the communal problem was not a matter for solution by the communalists. These were political reactionaries converting religious matters into a political problem to promote their own narrow interests; and the best answer to them was religions toleration, safe-guarding of culture and languages and emphasis on political independence and economic better-ment, both of which cut across religious differences. But the British Government gave Nehru no chance to translate this flawless thesis into practice. A dissolution of the communal problem was not possible in a colonial setting.
The day on which, Nehru had written as far back as 1936, India achieves her freedom, communal differences and jealousies will get solved of themselves. Far from being this the case, in August 1947 such differences assumed national and even international proportions. The refusal to synchronise acceptance of Pakistan with recog-nition of the two-nation theory and the presence of large religious minorities in India made secularism the only possible basis of a uniform and durable national identity. Rational thinking and a civilised outlook meant the insistence on religion as a private matter for the individual with no bearing on civic rights and duties; and in a multi-religious society the state had to stay aloof from all faiths and permit diverse forms of worship provided they did not conflict with other religions.
But to provide in the Constitution for secular behaviour was only the beginning of the struggle. The circumstances of 1947 had intensified the communal mood and even the most senior of Nehrus colleagues were not always careful in maintaining that the state should not promote any particular religion. It was suggested that secularism was a Western concept unsuited to India, where the large majority practised Hinduism as a social religion. To counter this, Nehru had, long before independence, defined secularism not according to any dictionary or historical tradition but in a way adapted to conditions in this country. The future Indian state would not be hostile to religion but would not represent any one religion and would provide freedom of conscience to all.
As before 1947, Nehru as the Prime Minister was more concerned with Hindu than with Muslim communalism. The Hindu faith, preaching hospitality to all forms of belief, was ideal on paper; but the practice was rigid and narrow. The Muslim outlook might often be worse, but it could not make much difference to the future of India. So the destruction of Hindu communalism was indispensable for Indias survival. But just as Hindu revivalism was the greatest danger, so also it was the prime responsibility of the Hindus to provide the religious minorities with a sense of security. The test of success was not what the Hindus thought but how the Muslims and other minorities felt. It was only if the Hindus were secular that the non-Hindus could become secular. They should not gain the impression that they were being treated as second-class citizens.
So Nehru assured the Christians of full freedom for evangelical work so long as it did not impinge on politics and, giving the Muslims special attention, encouraged their recruitment to the armed and civil services, particularly the police, and their employment in the private sector. Recognising that Urdu, while spoken by both Hindus and Muslims, had become a symbol of Islamic culture, he provided that its use and teaching were given priority, especially in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
Yet, just as to distinguish between Hindu and Muslim communalism was to falter in logic, so too to seem to favour the majority or to provide special treatment to minorities is to weaken secularism as the foundation of equality and democracy. The pressure of circumstances sometimes led Nehru to hesitate and not to throw his full weight on the side of secularism. In 1948 he committed the support of the government to the banning of communal political parties but did not implement the resolution. He agreed with Gandhi that the compulsory stoppage of cow-slaughter, taken as an isolated decision, would appear as a concession to Hindu bigotry and therefore to be avoided; yet he did not oppose the listing of the banning of cow-slaugher as one of the Directive Principles of State policy in the Constitution and was content to see that nothing came of it in practice. An even greater deficiency in his policy of merging religious communities in a general citizenship was the restriction of the insistence on monogamy to Hindu men and the grant of the rights of divorce and inheritance only to Hindu women. In his keenness to win the confidence of the Muslim community, he failed to ensure the equality before the law of all Indians and enact a common civil code. Religion can be separated from politics more easily if it is also separated from the law. There is no room in a secular society for differences in personal law which claim religious sanction. To deny rights to Muslim women which are available to women of other faiths is a violation of the provision in the Constitution that the state shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds of religion.
As Nehru had realised from the very start, the real answer to the mixing of religion with politics is mass education. An educated society, forward-looking and striving for development, will, even without knowing it, liquidate communalism, both of reaction and of fear. Nehru was always aware that the problem of minorities was best handled not in itself but as a part of wider issues. But he could not achieve what he hoped for during the freedom movement and he did not do what he knew should be done in an independent India. He himself suggested that the problems of the minorities were not suited to his temperament and cast of mind. I must confess to you, he wrote to Jinnah after some talks with him soon after the outbreak of war, that in this matter I have lost confidence in myself, though I am not usually given that way. But the last two or three years have had a powerful effect on me. My own mind moves on a different plane and most of my interests lie in other directions. And so, though I have given much thought to the problem and understand most of its implications, I feel as if I was an outsider and alien in spirit.7
But if Nehru did not come up with appro-priate and effective actions in different contexts, he at least left us with the right answers and the correct approaches.
Footnotes
1. Presidential address at the Bundelkhand Conference, June 13, 1921, Selected Works, Vol. 1, p. 177 ff.
2. The Problem of Minorities, March 14, 1930, Selected Works, Vol. 4, pp. 259-261.
3. Interview, November 29, 1933, The Bombay Chronicle (December 2, 1933).
4. Diary entry, April 17, 1935.
5. Mushirul Hasan, The Muslim Mass Contact Campaign, Economic and Political Weekly, December 27, 1986.
6. Nehru to Rajendra Prasad, October 18, 1939.
7. October 18, 1939.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > The If-ing of Nehru
by M. Chalapathi Rau
The following article appeared in Mainstream on November 10, 1962, to mark Jawaharlal Nehrus 73rd birth anniversary on November 14 that year. This took place during the Chinese aggression in India which began on October 20, 1962.
If only Jawaharlal Nehru had insisted on Tibets independence in 1950; if he had only propounded no Panchsheel with the Chinese; if only he had aligned India with the Westthese are the irritant ifs bandied about in coffee houses by people who read little history and have not written any. Far more imponderable ifs have been sufficiently canvassedif Don John of Austria had lost at Lepanto; if Napoleon had own at Waterloo; if Kerensky had shown an ounce of courage; if Lenin had not arrived in time at Finland Station. The whole of history can be re-written at this rate and made more happy or more readable, and while history does not repeat itself as much as historians repeat themselves, it is a good pastime to think of might-have-been-possible. The Indian ifs, unfortunately, are only wishful thinking; they are unhistorical, luxurious surmises, attempts at reversals of contemporary history and, therefore, counter-revolutionary.
The if-ing pastime in India concerns only Jawaharlal Nehru. Nobody asks what would have happened if the Communists had supported the Quit India movement in 1942, or if the Socialists had not left the Congress in 1948, or if the British had quit in 1920 or 1930. If only Jawaharlal Nehru could do this or do that, there would have been no attack by China, we would have been breathing softly behind the back of a buffer state, and we would have got the Marines among us; or the Indian Revolution would have been complete, revolutionaries would have been in the Cabinet, and socialism could have come overnight. Either Krishna Menon or Morarji Desai would be nominated his political heir and all the rest would be in their places. If only he had built up somebody, built you or built me up!
Secretive Critics
Jawaharlal Nehru is secure in the love of the millions of India and millions abroad, and they have again shown how they love him by rising like a genie from the magic lamp at his bidding. He has, of course, his critics, who are not candid but very secretive. There is something ludicrous about the attitude of most admirers and critics; they want him, even in the midst of a crisis when the nation has to fight aggression, to be something different from what he is and blame him for being Jawaharlal Nehru. There is much confusion about this self-contradictory attitude of loving him for what he is and of asking him to be anything but himself. It is not a simple situation. There are also some determined critics who dislike him for what he is and do not want him to be anything else.
Political parties too have all these years been helpless. They have revealed both their frustration and bankruptcy by coming to the conclusion that Jawaharlal Nehru must do this and do that, including the strengthening of the parties opposed to the Congress, while he has found the Congress to be a useful instrument of his purposes. As they never asked themselves whether they were equally reliable instruments, it was like asking him to set up an opposition to himself. The manly course was not to go on nagging him and criticising him, while professing to admire him, but to provide an alternative to his leadership. The Opposition parties failed in this task and developed the habit of asking him, practically, to lead them. If he was good enough to do that and still lead the country, he was doing nothing less through the instrumentality of the Congress. It was not consistent to look up to him as the leader of the nation and criticise him for not being leader of parties which were not willing to be led by him.
Rare Combination
For some years, parties and persons were blaming him for not doing what they wanted and for not being what they wanted him to be. If they had their way, he would be Napoleon, Peter the Great, Lenin, Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Patel, even President Ayub Khan, anybody but himself. Even the Brechers and other ununder-standing, if sympathetic, biographers of him adopted this attitude, forgetting that historically, and personally, Jawaharlal Nehru could not be somebody else and need not be.
Jawaharlal Nehru is, like human beings, composite in his nature, a combination of qualities, moulded by will and circumstances. He is one of the bravest of men but he would not say he is the bravest man in the world. He is one of the healthiest men but he is not necessarily the healthiest man. He is one of the honest men but he probably is not the most honest man in the world. He is a man with vision, but there are other men with vision. He is a man of idealism among other men of idealism. His energy is terrific but there are other energetic men. He loves his country; others too are patriots. But he is a man outstanding for his bravery, honesty, idealism, energy, patriotism and vision, and that is a rare combination at any time in history. The people have known him as a combination of outstanding qualities and loved him for what he is. They loved him forty years ago, thirty, twenty or ten years ago; they still love him for these qualities. They cannot want him to be somebody else. He would not then be Jawaharlal Nehru.
Jawaharlal Nehru will continue to baffle McGill professors, Boston publishers, and Indian publicists, and Brecher made the usual mistake of saying everything possible about him in his biography without saying anything worthwhile in the process. Brecher, for instance, was keen on stressing Jawaharlal Nehrus changing moods, forgetting the clarity of his vision, on stressing his vacillation, forgetting his moments of decisiveness, on stressing his temper, forgetting his self-knowledge and self-discipline. If Jawaharlal Nehru had tried to be Lenin in the conditions of the Indian Revolution as it emerged in 1947, he would at best have been Sardar Patel; if he had tried to be Sardar Patel, he would at best have been Morarji Desai; if he had tried to be Gandhi, he would at best have been Vinoba Bhave; if he had tried to be President Ayub Khan, he would at best have been General Cariappa. Even now, to some, he is a dictator when he should be a democrat; to others, he is a democrat, when he should be a dictator.
Myth and Reality
It is surprising that people forget the hard nature of historical forces. Jawaharlal Nehru is a product of historical forces as much as anybody else, and he has had to measure his opportunities not according to his desires, which are imperious enough, or his ambition for shaping the destiny of his country, but according to the forces at his command. In the Russian conditions of 1917, he would have been delighted to be Lenin; in China, he might have been a poet revolutionary like Mao. His humanism may have undergone mutation; he could have become ruthless. For, he would not have given up high ambition for his country, his earnestness of purpose, or his sense of history. In this country, in these years, he could do at his best what the Congress would allow him to do and other parties were missing so many opportunities that they were not in a position to force him or permit him to do anything. His leadership itself was muffled in myths both by the people and the political classes. He did not arrive at it by being Motilal Nehrus son or through any nomination by Gandhi. Those who have known of the struggles in the UP Congress know of the hard struggle he had to wage at every step. If the single largest slice of opportunities came in 1947, it has to be remembered that while the situation was revolutionary, the people were in no revolutionary mood, and the leadership at large was not. The perplexities of Partition made many opportunities wither away.
There has not been a more question-begging and futile attitude in recent history than this if-ing of Jawaharlal Nehru. For him to be somebody else is a difficult, un-historic propo-sition; if he were somebody else, he would not be Jawaharlal Nehru. He is content to be Jawaharlal Nehru; even if he is not, he cannot be anybody else. The more straightforward course was to reject him. Yet, nobody has rejected him. This has been the pathetic part of Indian politics. And Jawaharlal Nehru, in boredom, could say, like Sir Thomas More, to admirers and critics: Thou servest me, I wene, with iffes and with andes.
For a Better Life
Now many ifs have become blurred, the people feel like one nation, and the political parties seem to have come together. What will Jawaharlal Nehru do with his opportunities? He has to lead the resistance to aggression; he has to organise the social and economic conditions which will result in the best possible resistance. The people, among the humblest and the lowliest, who are making sacrifices for the country, are fighting not only for pieces of territory but for freedom, for dignity, for social equality and justice. They know the China that they have to fight; they know the India for which they are fighting. But they are also fighting for the India of their dreams. To Jawaharlal Nehru, this is not a mere war of resistance, and not certainly a profiteers or blackmarketeers war, but a war for a better life. The tasks of planned development are as urgent for peace and for war. From the war effort, in which sacrifice has to be equally distributed among the different sections of the people, must result a better world. The need to fight the Chinese does not affect the need for socialism.
Neither admirers nor critics have understood Jawaharlal Nehrus capacity to keep growing. At sixty, he was still a man of promise: the Plans were to come. At seventy, he was taking steps to make the foundation safe for socialism. At present, he is fighting for the security and peace that are necessary for our social and economic revolution, untrammelled by outside interference. A great country like India cannot be anybodys satellite, and Jawaharlal Nehru finds that the basic principles of policy, non-alignment and all that, remain unaffected by war, the more so because China seems to want a completely divided world. He is fighting for true independence of spirit. He is a war leader who is keen that a secure peace shall emerge. Churchill was a great war leader but he had not the social vision to plan for the social reconstruction that must follow war.
Jawaharlal Nehru knows and comprehends the situation more completely than anyone else. But even he can do only what the people will help him to do. It is the duty of all those who are fighting for a free, independent, socialist India to help him against external aggression and internal sabotage. It is a fight for the principles and politics he has represented, and it will also be a long fight. The instruments of war are also the instruments of peace. As we shape the means, we shall be able to shape the ends of war.
(Mainstream, November 10, 1962)
The author was one of the most distinguished journalists and editors this country has produced.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Excerpts from Nehrus writings and interviews
May 27 this year marks the fiftythird death anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. On this occasion we are reproducing the following excerpts from Nehrus writings and interviews that are of exceptional relevance even today.
Words that Endure
The want of clear ideals and objectives in our struggle for freedom undoubtedly helped the spread of communalism. The masses saw no clear connection between their day-to-day sufferings and the fight for swaraj. They fought well enough at times by instinct, but that was a feeble weapon which could be easily blunted or even turned aside for other purposes. There was no reason behind it, and in periods of reaction it was not difficult for the communalists to play upon this feeling and exploit it in the name of religion. It is nevertheless extraordinary how the bourgeois classes, both among the Hindus and the Muslims, succeeded, in the sacred name of religion, in getting a measure of mass sympathy and support for programmes and demands which had absolutely nothing to do with the masses, or even the lower middle class. Every one of the communal demands put forward by any communal group is, in the final analysis, a demand for jobs, and these jobs coud only go to a handful of the upper middle class. There is also, of course, the demand for special and additional seats in the legislatures, as symbolising political power, but this too is looked upon chiefly as the power to exercise patronage. These narrow political demands, benefiting at the most a small number of the upper middle classes, and often creating barriers in the way of national unity and progress, were cleverly made to appear the demands of the masses of that particular religious group. Religious passion was hitched on to them in order to hide their barrenness.
In this way political reactionaries came back to the political field in the guise of communal leaders, and the real explanation of the various steps they took was not so much their communal bias as their desire to obstruct political advance. We could only expect opposition from them politically, but still it was a peculiarly distressing feature of an unsavoury situation to find to what lengths they would go in this respect. Muslim communal leaders said the most amazing things and seemed to care not at all for Indian nationalism or Indian freedom; Hindu communal leaders, though always speaking apparently in the name of nationalism, had little to do with it in practice and, incapable of any real action, sought to humble themselves before the government, and did that too in vain. Both agreed in condemning socialistic and suchlike subversive movements; there was a touching unanimity in regard to any proposal affecting vested interests. Muslim communal leaders said and did many things harmful to political and economic freedom, but as a group and individually they conducted themselves before the government and the public with some dignity. That could hardly be said of the Hindu communal leaders.
[From An Autobiography (1936), pp. 137-8]
I do not think we can ignore the political aspect. India, in spite of its overwhelming Hindu population, is a composite country from the religious and other points of view. It is a vital problem for us to solve as to whether we are to function fundamentally in regard to our general policy as such a composite country, or to function as a Hindu country rather ignoring the viewpoints of other groups. It is inevitable that the majority Hindu sentiment will affect our activities in a hundred ways. Nevertheless it does make a difference whether we try to think of India as a composite country or as a Hindu country. It should be remembered that the stoppage of cow-slaugher means stopping non-Hindus from doing something which they might do. For economic reasons steps can always be taken because they are justified on economic grounds. But if any such step is taken purely on grounds of Hindu sentiment, it means that the governance of India is going to be carried on in a particular way, which thus far we have not done....
This question, therefore, raises rather vital issues in regard to our approach to almost all our problems. As you know, there is a very strong Hindu revivalist feeling in the country at the present moment. I am greatly distressed by it because it represents the narrowest communalism. It is the exact replica of the narrow Muslim comunalism which we have tried to combat for so long. I fear that this narrow sectarian outlook will do grave injury not only to nationalism as such but also to the high ideals for which Indian and Hindu culture has stood through the ages. We are facing a crisis of the spirit in India today and a false step may have far-reaching consequences.
[A Letter to Rajendra Prasad, August 7, 1947]
I look back on the recrod of the Congress, with its ups and downs, and its successes and failures. It is a proud record in spite of our failings. But such a record brings with it tremendous responsibility. Even today the responsibility of the Congress all over India is very great. The governments that the Congress runs are important. But behind the governments is public opinion, the opinion of millions of people. It is the function of the Congress to guide, mould and to be guided by this public opinion, to discipline it and help it to work in right channels. That is the real strength of the country and of the government. If any people in government imagine that they are above this public opinion or above the Congress, then they are greatly mistaken and the very foundations that they stand on might be swept away.
I have been convinced of the high importance of the Congress functioning today, carrying on its work of unifying and integrating India, laying stress on peaceful and co-operative methods, and carrying our people along the line of progress. We are not a sectarian body consisting of the elect. We are fellow-travellers with the people of India. That means sometimes that our pace may be a little slower than we would like it to be. It is easy for a group to lay down fine policies, but such policies should bear relation to the multitude of facts that surround and confront us. At the same time the need for rapid progress is evident. The greatest danger to India and to the Congress is a feeling of complacency that all is well. All is not well in the world or in India today.
... For any organisation to be effective, it must have discipline and effective work to its credit. That discipline need not be the narrow discipline of a sect, but it has to be an effective discipline; otherwise, the organisation becomes just a loose collection of human beings with no clear purpose or will to work. I have noticed with deep regret conflicts among Congressmen in some States. Where such conflicts occur, regardless of the merits of the question, there is narrowmindedness and lack of vision, and sometimes there are group loyalities or caste considerations. Both have no place in a great movement, both are disruptive. Ours is a work of construction, not disruption.
We have always to remember that our great country exhibits a wonderful variety not only in physical features and geography and climate, but also in human beings, their languaes, customs, backgrounds and urges. We have to keep this broad picture in view and not seek to impose something on one part of the country which may not suit it and which may create a feeling of suppression. Freedom functions in a different way. While disciplineis essential and a certain uniformity necessarily follows, the rich variety of India has always to be understood and maintained. Only in this way does disciplined freedom flourish. We are a vast community of free individuals joining together in great national tasks, restricting that individual freedom only when it comes up against the larger freedom that we cherish.
There are many religions in this country, several of hoary antiquity, each has an honoured place in this country and each must have a sensation of freedom. That is why the Congress has always been opposed to what we have called communalism which is the narrow and bigoted villagers outlook mixing with politics to the detriment of both religion and politics. In particular, the great majority of the people of India, who are Hindus, must always remember that the interest and the well-being of the minorities are their sacred trust. If they fail in that trust, then they injure not only the country, but themselves. They go against the past tradition of India and, more especially, that great tradition which Gandhiji has bequeathed to us. Therefore, we have to take particular care that in the various activities of the nation, whether it is in the working of government and its services or in our elections or in the organisation of the Congress, the minorities have an adequate and respected place.
In particular, we must fight wholeheartedly against those narrow divisions which have grown up in our country in the name of caste, and which weaken the unity, solidarity and progress of the country. Gandhiji gave first place to the uplift of the Harijans. That is essential, but that is only a symbol for the equality of all our people and for the elimination of the pride and privilege of caste.
...Our basic questions are after all economic and the land question is the most important of all. We have gone a good way in the direction of putting an end to zamindaris,jagirdaris and the like. Yet, even this step has not been completed in some States. But that step itself is not the final step and others have to follow. Ultimately, as the Congress has often said, there should be no intermediaries, of any kind, between the state and the cultivator. Also, we move progressively towards limiting the extent of a holding. Any hard and fast rule is difficult to make because of the difference in conditions in various parts of the country. Also we have always to bear in mind that production must not suffer.
[A Circular to the Presidents of the Pradesh Congress Committees, May 26, 1954]
Michael Brecher: Well, aside from the fact that Kashmir has legally acceded to India, what makes Kashmir so important to India? Does it have any implications for Indias efforts to establish a secular state and to maintain communal harmony in this country?
Jawaharlal Nehru: Yes, that is probably the most important aspect of it. There is a sentimental aspect, not so important. Kashmir has been intimately connected with India, culturally and otherwise, for 2000 or 3000 years. It has been a great centre of Indian culture, it has been a great centre of Buddhist culture, it has been a great centre of Islamic culture. Probably in Kashmir more than anywhere else in India there has been less of what is called communal feeling, and Hindus and Muslims and others have very rarely quarrelled. And even if they have quarrelled, it has been of short duration. Their lives are generally more or less alike. Their culture is alike. And they have lived happily together even if there has been trouble in India. Now, we have never accepted, even when partition came to India, the two-nation theory, that is, that the Hindus are one nation and the Muslims are another. If Muslims want to go out of India, that is a different matter, that is, a certain area of India votes itself out. But we did not accept it and, even if every Muslim says soevery Muslim did not say soI say we cannot accept that because once we accept that nationality goes by religion, we break up our whole conception of India. India is a country with many religions. Maybe one is larger than the others, but there are fairly big religions here, any number of them. And, as in any other country, nationality has to be based on other factors, not on religion, of course giving freedom to various religions to function. Pakistan came into existence and a large number of Muslims decided that way when we accepted it. Many went there, and many Hindus came here. Nevertheless, 35 million Muslims remained in India. Today there are more Muslims in India than there are in West Pakistan.
MB: A fact that is generally unknown.
JN: Unknown, because Pakistan is in two bits. In Kashmir, even before the partition, there was, as you must know, a struggle for the mind and heart of Kashmir between the Muslim League and the national movement of Kashmir. We did not come into the picture then. Later, we came in, and the national movement of Kashmir deliberately rejected the Muslim League idea of the two-nation theory. That was before partition and, naturally, we welcomed it and we co-operated with them in the larger national movement. Then came the partition and the struggles in India. There were no troubles in Kashmir. And, when Kashmir joined India, both in the constitutional sense, through the Maharaja who had the right to do so, and in a popular sense through the organisation, well, apart from political and other aspects, it was very important for us because it helped our thesis of nationalism not related to religion. If the contrary thesis were proved in Kashmir, it would affect somewhatI dont say it would break up Indiabut it would have a powerful effect on the communal elements in India, both Hindu and Muslim. That is of extreme importance to usthat we dont, by taking some wrong step in Kashmir, create these terribly disruptive tendencies within India....
MB: In view of the tragic aftermath of partition, Mr Prime Minister, in the form of communal riots, the Kashmir problem and other unresolved issues between India and Pakistan, is it visionary, do you think, to expect a genuine rapprochement between the two countries in the forseeable future?
JN: Before I answer that question I shall say something about a related matter. Many people think and say that the Kashmir problem is a major problem which comes in the way of good relations between India and Pakistan. That is true, in a sense, but not basically true. What I mean is this: the Kashmir problem is a result of other conflicts between India and Pakistan, and even if the Kashmir problem were solved, well, not in a very friendly way, those basic conflicts would continue. If it were solved in a really friendly way, then, of course, it would help. But it is a friendly approach to the problem that is important, not a forcible solution, which gives rise to other problems.
MB: Yes, I think most people would agree but what are these basic conflicts?
JN: I should say, basically, they are ideological. And we go back again to what I was just talking about, this business of the two-nation theory, what is nationalism and all that. Also, I am sorry to refer to it, there is an unfortunate tendencynot of Muslims as suchbut of some people, saying: We were the rulers of India before the British came, why shouldnt we again be rulers over India? We shall capture Delhi, we shall do this! Of course, it is rather fantastic and nonsensical but this kind of thing produces action and reaction. I would also say that so far as the people of Pakistan and the people of India are concerned, they are in a much better and more friendly frame of mind today than they were some years ago at partition time. Conditions have improved very greatly. There really is hardly any prejudice against each other qua individuals or qua groups. As a nation the political issue may come up or some other issue, or they may be excited about some religious story. But when Indians go to Pakistan in groups, they are welcomed and embraced. When the Pakistanis come here they are welcomed and embraced too. You see, we have the same language, so many things in common.
MB: What effect, if any, Sir, does the current political crisis in Pakisan have on the establishment of more friendly relations between the two countries?
JN: It is difficult to answer. When a country is afraid, it is afraid of taking any step forward...
MB: Because it doesnt feel that its own foundations are secure?
JN: Yes, it is afraid and they have fed them-selves on fear of India. This is totally unjustified because under no circumstances whatever, even from the view of the narrowest national interests, do we wish to interfere in Pakistan. We want them to be an independent country and a flourishing country. It is not good for us to have a country that is not flourishing because that leads to political crisis, conflicts and all kinds of things. And when Pakistan, either politically or economically, grows weak, the fear element increases and is played upon deliberately, so as to divert peoples attention. And one is always afraid of adventurist action, that kind of thing. It stops a natural developmentit has taken place in the pastof more friendly relations between India and Pakistan.
[National Herald (August 2, 1956)]
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Hindu Rashtra: Is it Good for Hindus?
by Ram Puniyani
Hindu Rashtra is the goal of Hindu nationalist politics, which is also called Hindutva. In contrast to Hinduism, Hindutva is politics in the name of Hinduism with Brahmanism as the core of the same. In a nutshell, Hindutva is politics based on the Brahmanical values of caste and gender hierarchy. The concept of Hindutva-Hindu nation is a modern one, which developed as a parallel to Islamic nationalism, and in opposition to the concept of Indian nationalism. Indian nationalism developed during the colonial period as the inclusive nationalism of people of all religions, different castes, languages and regions based on the values of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
Hindu nationalism developed from a section of Hindu landlords and kings with the associated clergy on their side. As Indian nationalism was arguing for equality of all the people, the previous ruling classes felt threatened socially. Now their social privileges were under threat and so they gave a war cry of Hinduism in danger. This was a cry which was similar to the slogan of Muslim landlords and nawabs who, when their social status started declining, shouted: Islam in danger.
Hindu nationalism harped on the ancient glory of the times of Manusmriti and the Vedas when the caste system was deeply entrenched in society. While the national movement was articulating the need for land reforms, though they could never be properly implemented, Hindu nationalism harped on the earlier systems and was hiding its agenda of social inequality. It called for revival of a glorious period, despite the fact that the conditions of women and Dalits in those times were abysmal.
The needs of a majority of Hindus were expressed in the national movement, which strove for democratic norms and its values got enshrined in the Indian Constitution in the form of Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. The Hindu nationalists were opposed to these values and also the drafting of the Indian Constitution, which not only stands for liberation of all people from feudal bondages, but is a path of liberation of large sections of Hindus barring, of course, the upper castes, who stand to lose their primacy. Most of the Hindus participated in the freedom struggle while a handful of them, wedded to the ideology of Hindu Rashtra, kept aloof from this massive process which was to pave the path of liberation of all the people including a majority of Hindus.
Those standing for the cause of a majority of Hindus opposed the idea of Hindu Rashtra. Ambedkar points out: It is a pity that Mr Jinnah should have become a votary and champion of Muslim Nationalism at a time when the whole world is decrying against the evils of nationalism... But isnt there enough that is common to both Hindus and Musalmans, which, if developed, is capable of moulding them into one people?... If Hindu Raj does become a fact, it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country... Compare the Sangh Parivars view of nationalism with these two conceptions and draw your own conclusions. (https://www.kractivist.org/tag/history/)
Gandhi, the greatest Hindu of his times, pointed out: In India, for whose fashioning I have worked all my life, every man enjoys equality of status, whatever his religion is. The state is bound to be wholly secular, and, religion is not the test of nationality but is a personal matter between man and God, and, religion is a personal affair of each individual, it must not be mixed up with politics or national affairs. (Harijan, August 31, 1947)
After independence, the followers of Hindu nationalism were very small and they kept on working for breaking the core pillar of Indian nationalism, Fraternity. They kept spreading hatred against the religious minorities. This hatred became the foundation of communal violence in times to come. While the majority of Hindus were going along with the national policies for building modern India through modern education and modern industries, the Hindu nationalists were criticising and opposing these policies all through. While the majority of Hindus are faced with the problems of bread, butter, shelter, employment and dignity, Hindu nationalists have been raising the emotive issues to divide the society along religious lines. The result is that in the din of hysteria, in the name of Hinduism and Hindus, they have been sidetracking the real issues of Hindus and substituting them with identity issues.
When the BJP-led NDA came to power, it opened the path of restoring blind faith by introducing courses like Paurohitya (priesthood) and Karmakand (ritualism). Hindus need to be liberated from the clutches of blind faith while these policies are intensifying the retrograde, obscurantist values and undermining the real needs of average Hindus as well.
In the last three years (since 2014) the Modi-BJP-RSS Government has come to power. In this period the identity issues have been hiked up. Attempts have been made to undermine and bypass the issues related to rights for food, education and health. The attempt was made to grab the farmers land in the name of land reforms; somehow they could not succeed in that. The attempt to bring in the land reform legislation was against the interests of the Hindus, so to say. The labour reforms brought by the Hindu nationalists have ruined the lives of workers at large. Demonetisation was propa-gated as a blow to black money-holders, but its real victims have been the average Hindus, who have suffered in silence. A series of emotive issues are dominating the social scene, Ram Temple, Bharat mata ki jai, Vande matram, cow protection, Love Jihad and ghar wapsi among others. The vigilante culture is getting promoted due to the Hindu nationalist agenda. The benefi-ciaries of these policies have been the affluent corporate sector, a section of upper and middle classes while the average Hindus are suffering the pain and anguish.
The society is suffering as age-old values of love and amity are being demolished; the issues of poverty, illiteracy, hunger and health are being relegated to the margins of policy-making. All this is against the interests of Hindus at large. Average Hindus are a big victim of this agenda.
The author, a retired Professor at the IIT-Bombay, is currently associated with the Centre for the Study of Secularism and Society, Mumbai.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Tagore and the October Revolution
by Jayanta Kumar Ghosal
The 156th birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore was observed this month on May 9. This year will also mark the centenary of the Great October Revolution. The following article is being pubished against the backdrop of these two events.
The history of mankind is replete with great events. One of the great events that stirred the socio-economic and political structure of the world was the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917. The centenary of this epoch-making Ten Days That Shook The World is being observed all over the planet this year by the oppressed humanity. In this period of a hundred years, the global scenario has changed a lot. But the struggle of the poor and oppressed is on, drawing inspiration from the teachings of the October Revolution.
Like all other revolutions, the October Revo-lution, which in many respects is unique in the history of mankind, has also left a great impact upon the sensitive and creative minds throughout the world. It has entered into the history of world culture of all times. The Indian writers, devoted to the cause of liberation and mans emancipation from exploitation and above all for humanity, had been greatly inspired by the ideals of the October Revolution.
The Revolution had a great impact upon Bengali creative minds. It was first confined to social and political essays and to journalism. Bengali literature from the twenties of the last century found a ready soil and the impact of the Revolution began to reflect in literary activities.
Rabindranath Tagore was also greatly impressed by the message of the Revolution. With his most creative and sensitive mind he first hailed the Great October Revolution as the greatest sacrificial fire in history. In the Prabasi (March-April 1918) number edited by Rama-nanda Chatterjee, Tagore wrote Bijoyi (The Conqueror) where he greeted the Revolution only after six months of the incident. Again, in an essay titled, At The Crossroads, published in the Modern Review of July 1918, just after a few months of the Revolution in Russia, Tagore wrote: This is an age of transition. The Dawn of a great Tomorrow is breaking through... and the call of New Life comes with its message... We know very little of the history of present revolution in Russia... We cannot be certain if she in her tribulations is giving expression to mans indomitable soul against prosperity built upon moral nihilism,.. it is not unlikely that as a nation she will fail, if she fails with the flag of true ideals in her hands, then her failure will fade like the morning star only to usher in the sunrise of the New Age. Later he pins his faith on the toiling masses and through the maze of many contradictions and confusions stretches out an unfaltering hand towards the future of the mankind and declares like a saintOver the ruins and ashes of hundreds of empires they go on workingthe people.
In the early twenties, seven years before visiting the Soviet Union, Tagore wrote his famous play Mukta Dhara where the entire villagers are being starved and fleeced, to raise the edifice of a man-made dam where the technocrat Bibhuti cares only for the glory of the mechanical construction and has little time to think about the fate of millions of human beings. But, Abhijit, the kings adopted son, is a profound humanist and ulti-mately he lays down his life to give to millions of villagers the much-needed life-giving water.
He wrote his even more famous Rakta Karabi (The Red Oleanders) in 1928a symbolic drama expressing the Yaksha Puri, the kingdom where gold is the god: where workmen have been reduced to mere numbers; but through Nandini, the eternal spirit of humanity survives. Finally, after the death of Ranjan, as the king and Nandini break down the barriers and go forward, the workmen, with bent backs, stand up erect and led by Bishu, an admirer of Nandini, thunder forth, like the revolutionary proletariat.
Tagores own knowledge of socialism and the Soviet experience was not sufficient up to this time. He was yet to make his famous pilgrimage to Russia.
In 1930, thirteen years after the Revolution Tagore visited Russia and penned his experiences in Russiar Chithi (Letters from Russia). His first impression was one of profound revelation. Tagore wrote: This is not like any other country at all. It is fundamentally different. They have roused the entire humanity equally, all along the line. Deeply stirred, he said that his lifes pilgrimage would not have been complete without the visit to Russia. With deep foresight, he wrote: Their message of the Revolution is true for all the world. Here is a people on earth today who put the interest of all mankind above their own.
It was in the course of the 1930s that Tagore changed the course of his thoughts and creation. It was during this period the poet firmly stood by the Spanish Republic, denounced the Munich Betrayal and condemned Japans scheme as a gregarious demand for the exclusive enjoyment for all the good things of earth. He also stood by the initiatives taken by the League Against Fascism condemning the Fascist aggression, the greatest evil for human civilisation.
In 1938 came out Naba Jatak (The New Born), a new book of poems, where in one of the poems he wrote: On the sky above/plays the lightning /Down below/ In the dark savage pit/there in the bottomless night/The deepest struggle of the faminished and the well fed,/spreading the poison of vice/all over the Earth. The poet, then rapidly approaching eighty, wrote with the vigour of youth, where the change of image and language was marked. From this time the language of his writings became terse and direct. The clarion call he gaveCome, Young nations/proclaim the fight for freedom,/... march forward.
Saluting the Unborn poet who would sing for those who had no expression to speak for them, Tagore wroteCome, poet of the multitudes,/sing the song of the obscure man...
In spite of many odds, the contemporary world was facing, the poet did never lose faith upon man and humanity. So in his essay Crisis of Civilisation he wrote: It is a crime to lose faith in man. And he looked hopefully towards his last place of PilgrimageSoviet Russia.
The oppressed mankind struggling for emanci-pation from exploitation all over the world still get inspiration from the teachings of the October Revolution and the creations of Tagore are another major source to inspire them parti-cularly at this very moment when The serpents are breathing out poison everywhere/The soft words of peace will now sound hollow and futile/So on the eve of my farewell/I give my call to them/ Who are getting ready to fight the Devil/In each and every home.
The author is a social activist associated with the literary movement.
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > A Jallianwala Bagh-like Situation
Hashimpura is as deep a tragedy as the anti-Sikh riots in 1984. Both minorities have not allowed the wounds to heal because they go on reminding them of the killings at that time. The perpetrators, the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) from the UP Police, are hoping that the dust would settle down sooner or later and the nation would consider the tragedy as part of ugly history to move on.
I remember the whole thing vividly. It was sometime towards the end of May when I went to Meerut in 1987 because of the killings. On my return some people stopped me on the outskirts of the city and pointed towards Hashimpura mohalla which they said was the scene of delibe-rate, blatant killing of 42 Muslims by the PAC. To my horror, I found some bodies floating in canals, including in River Hindon. This, I was told, was a premeditated murder.
The story goes that a group of men were rounded up by the Army and the police from the largely Muslim Hashimpura mohalla in Meerut and handed over to the PAC. One such truck of men was taken to the banks of a canal, and shot at close range. Fortytwo died, in perhaps the single largest custodial killing in the history of independent India. But a closer look at the events on that tense afternoon in Meerut 30 years ago offers a glimpse into a largely unreported dimension of the motives behind the massacre.
The most commonly accepted motive, mentioned in the charge-sheet filed by the CID of the UP Police, is the alleged assault on the PAC the same day and loot of two rifles belonging to the force. Upon that, on 22.05.1987, a search for illegal arms in Mohalla Hashim Pura, Meerut was launched, the charge-sheet said. But a less explored dimension, also mentioned in the charge-sheet, was the death of a young man named Prabhat Kaushik, who was killed by a stray bullet as he stood on the terrace of a building abutting Hashimpura.
Experts, including some police personnel, described the killings as among Indias worst incidents of custodian violence. The trial began only in 1996 and a couple of years ago all the accused were cleared of all charges by a trial court in what activists have called a grave miscarriage of justice.
Naturally, the reaction from the survivors or, for that matter, the relatives of those killed was along expected lines because it had taken 28 years for a judgment with all the accused going scot-free. Many families are not hopeful of a breakthrough and say that the investigation was shoddy.
In fact, the then Meerut Superintendent of Police, Vibhuti Narain Raio, who has written a book on the incident says: It took me nearly five to six years to realise that my belief that the killers would receive exemplary punishment for such a heinous act would remain just that a mere belief. As time flew by, it became evident that the Indian state was just not interested in penalising the guilty. All the stakeholders of the state kept playing hide but not seek with their responsibilities and many shielded themselves behind criminal negligence. And it worked for them.
Even today, according to reports, the Hashimpura locals are traumatised by that days incident and say that the PAC attack was organised and planned. The locality is almost U-shaped, making it difficult for people to flee, and the constant hum of handloom machines is their daily companion. Most houses are rundown with flaking paint, as if locals have given up the hope of a better life.
This should remind us of the Jallianwala Bagh tragedy where over 1500 innocents were killed in walled boundary. (Prince Phillip, accompanying his wife, the Queen, to Jallianwala Bagh after the tragedy, remarked that the number was exaggerated!) Subsequently when I met General ODyer and mentioned about the killings, he did not show even an iota of remorse.
The description of events by the survivors at Hashimpura is heart-rending. According to one account, hundreds of men were sent to prison for weeks where they were interrogated and beaten up because they were Muslims. Some people were dragged out of their houses and taken to the police station. According to eye-witness accounts, the killings happened in two phasesthe first at Gang Canal of Muradnagar and the second at Hindon.
During the anti-Sikh riots in 1984 in the wake of Mrs Indira Gandhis assassination, Delhi witnessed the killing of over 3000 Sikhs as officially announced. The number could be more. The perpetrators included the top Congress bigwigs. Even a finger was pointed at Rajiv Gandhi at whose behest the deployment of the Army was delayed to allow the rioters a free-hand. The cases, which were closed, are being reopened. But no one has been punished so far. The connivance of the authorities at the time has allowed the evidence to be rubbed off.
Many victims of the 1984 riots are still seeking rehabilitation. There is no difference in the case of Hashimpura either. The survivors are still struggling for normalisation, hoping against hope that the Delhi High Court, where an appeal is pending, would get them justice sooner than later.
My experience is that the tragedy is before the public for some time but then it recedes into the background. The past gets revived when another tragedy takes place. There doesnt seem to be any permanent solution. I have been a mute witness to innumerable riots where the complicity of the police is apparent.
Hashimpuras can be stopped only when the two communities come to realise that their animosity led to the partition of the country. This cannot be repeated but continued enmity will lead from one thing to another and put in peril the ethos of the country: democracy and secularism. Efforts should be made whereby the minority communities in the country feel as equal partners and enjoy what the Constitution guarantees to all Indian citizens.
The author is a veteran journalist renowned not only in this country but also in our neighbouring states of Pakistan and Bangladesh where his columns are widely read. His website is www.kuldipnayar.com
Home > Archives (2006 on) > 2017 > Dalit Mobilisation, Indo-Pak Tension, J & K
EDITORIAL
In recent times one special feature of the Indian political situation is the fact that Dalits are asserting themselves across the country. This has been the result of persisting attacks on Dalits in different areas, the most recent Dalit mobilisation in the Capital on May 21 having been triggered by the anti-Dalit violence in UPs Saharanpur and the response to it from the Yogi Adityanath Government there.
Such a Dalit protest, as underlined in The Indian Express, has been remarkable for rising above the immediate contexts to highlight broader issues of discrimination, from basic safety to right for political expression to landlessness among Dalits.
Taking a broader view of current developments one observes that while suicide bombing at a concert in Manchester (UK) led to the killing of 22 persons earlier this week thus revealing once again the face of terror in Europe (this was the worst terror attack on British soil since 2005), the India-Pakistan border is hotting up once again. Last Tuesday (May 23) the Indian Army released a short video clip of a punitive assault by the Indian side on Pakistani Army posts and terror launch-pads in J&Ks Nowshera sector on May 9 in retaliation to the beheading of two Indian soldiers in the Krishna Ghati sector on May 1. This was followed by the Pakistani Army spokesman releasing a video clip the next day to substantiate Islamabads claim that it had destroyed Indian posts across the LoC (a claim described by India as false).
There is no doubt that tension along the border has risen enormously in the last few days. And simultaneously the language used by the military on both side has deteriorated in large measure adding to the tension.
Meanwhile Army Chief General Bipin Rawat has decided to honour Major Nitin Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a man to the bonnet of his vehicle in J&Ks Budgam last month as a shield to prevent mobs from pelting stones, on the ground that by doing so he had prevented collateral damage on any side. This has evoked varied reactions. The man, tied to the vehicle, a shawl embroidery artisan, Farooq Ahmad Dar, when he heard of the decision to present an award to Major Gogoi, said: They just murdered justice by supporting abuse and oppression.
The Congress, the main Opposition party at the Centre, stands divided on this issue. Captain Amarinder Singh, who heads the Congress-run Punjab State Government, supports the step and affirms: ...brutality and barbarism need to be tackled with an iron fist.
Thankfully not everyone in the Congress endorses this view. Congress leader Digvijay Singh has no hesitation in saying: I dont think human shield is either ethical or correct.
Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah has been scathing in his opposition. He writes:
....the Army Chief has announced a commendation for Major Gogoi while we still await the verdict of the Armys court of inquiry into the Budgam incident. The message... is loud and clear: the Army Chiefs commendation is the state thumbing its nose at the inquiry, making a grand mockery of the investigation. The officer has not only been exonerated in advance but also rewarded for an act that warranted penalisation and disciplinary action.
He is not alone. A reputed TV anchorperson Karan Thapar quotes Lt General H.S. Panag, a former Northern Army commander: Whatever the provocation, the Indian Army cannot take recourse to illegal acts. The Lt General further maintains: (The) image of a stone-pelter, tied in front of a jeep as a human shield, will forever haunt the Indian Army and the nation!
And noted defence analyst Parveen Swamy warns: Amarinder Singhs iron fist might desolate Kashmir, but it will also lead India to certain defeat.
The moot question is: are the authorities, and members of the ruling dispensation in particular, in any frame of mind to listen to such notes of caution? Jawaharlal Nehru, whose fiftythird death anniversary we shall observe this week, would have definitely done so since for that intrepid democrat the interest, welfare and well-being of his people stood above everything else.
May 25 s.c.
A South Carolina real estate agent accused of killing seven people over 13 years -- four in 2003 and three found last year on his property -- pleaded guilty Friday to seven counts of murder.
Todd Kohlhepp, who was arrested in November after police rescued a woman found inside a shipping container at his farm near Woodruff, also pleaded guilty in the Spartanburg County courthouse to two counts of kidnapping and one count of criminal sexual assault.
In a plea deal reached with prosecutors, Kohlhepp would avoid the death penalty and instead receive seven consecutive life sentences, plus 30 years for the sexual assault charge and 30 years for kidnapping.
The deal was read in court, where the defendant was sentenced.
Authorities say they believe Kohlhepp is responsible for the long-unsolved killings of four people at a Chesnee motorcycle shop and three other killings that they discovered only last year as they rescued the woman.
Missing woman found alive, 3 bodies found on farm
The case came together in November when authorities searched for Kala Brown, then 30, and her boyfriend Charles Carver, 32. They had been missing since August.
On November 3, investigators checking a lead that she might have visited Kohlhepp found the woman inside a shipping container on Kohlhepp's 95-acre farm, chained by the ankle and screaming for help.
Kohlhepp wasn't there at the time -- he lived in a separate Spartanburg-area home -- but eventually was arrested.
Police at the farm said they found three bodies: Carver's, as well as those of Johnny Joe Coxie, 29, and his wife, Meagan Leigh McCraw Coxie, 25.
2003 killings at a motorcycle shop
After his arrest, Kohlhepp told investigators he had killed four people in 2003 at a motorcycle shop in Chesnee, about 15 miles north of Spartanburg, authorities said.
Owner Scott Ponder; his mother, Beverly Guy; service manager Brian Lucas; and employee Chris Sherbert were found fatally shot inside the shop back then, but the killings were unsolved until Kohlhepp's confession, authorities said.
Kohlhepp is a registered sex offender. As a teenager living in Tempe, Arizona, he was accused of holding a 14-year-old girl at gunpoint and sexually assaulting her in 1987.
Originally, he was charged with kidnapping, sexual assault and committing a dangerous crime against children. The other charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to kidnapping and was sentenced to 15 years in prison, according to court records obtained by CNN affiliates KPHO and KTVK.
He was released in 2001, KTVK reported.
Victim: He shot my boyfriend in the chest
Kala Brown, three months after her rescue, told TV's "Dr. Phil" that she had cleaned houses for Kohlhepp's real estate listings, so she had no reason to fear him when she and Carver visited him at his invitation.
When they arrived on August 31, Kohlhepp asked the couple to help him clear some underbrush, and he went into a garage, ostensibly to retrieve something, Brown said.
As she and Carver waited for Kohlhepp, holding hands, Kohlhepp emerged from the garage and shot Carver three times in the chest, she said.
She tearfully recounted how Kohlhepp bound her and gagged her. She said he kept her chained in the dark container for two months.
Kohlhepp took her out of the container twice a day for about 30 to 45 minutes, Brown said. He kept her in an apartment above the garage, where she was allowed to change clothes he brought her and bathe with a bucket of water, she said.
She said he talked about building a life with her.
"He was going to build a house on the property, and I was going to have a soundproof room," she said.
CNN does not normally identify sexual assault victims, but Brown has spoken to the media about her ordeal. She told "Dr. Phil" that she was raped.
CNN's Darran Simon contributed to this report.
The Delhi Police have been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that a group of 20-21 Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists has entered the country to carry out attacks. The Delhi Police Special Cell has issued an advisory alerting its district, metro police and railway police units, asking them to step up security in market areas, religious places, malls and metro and railway stations.
The advisory has asked various police units to maintain utmost vigil and keep a "sharp eye for suspected persons/articles and vehicles" and conduct proper frisking and checking of vehicles and persons. This advisory comes close on the heels of terror attacks in Manchester in the UK and several other places across the world. Police sources say it is suspected that the group members might be putting up in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan or Punjab. Officials have also been asked to carry out mock drills to check preparedness of the their staff.
In a recent interview to PTI, Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik had said that they needed to make extra efforts in maintaining vigil since the national capital was a favourite target of terror outfits. Ten PCR vans manned by National Security Guard-trained drivers and commandos have been deployed at vulnerable spots. The 'Parakram' vans will be stationed at Vijay Chowk, Palika Bazar, IP Marg, Select Citywalk Mall in Saket, Vasant Kunj Mall, Pacific Mall in Subhash Nagar, Netaji Subhash Place market and mall complex, Akshardham Temple, Lotus Temple and Jhandewalan. PTI
New Delhi : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who skipped a luncheon meet of opposition parties today, is likely to be present at the lunch Prime Minister Narendra Modi is hosting tomorrow for visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Sharad Yadav and K C Tyagi represented JD(U) at the lunch hosted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi where Kumar, who is the party president, was conspicuous by his absence.
There has been speculation about a tie-up between JD(U) and the BJP, something Kumar has repeatedly refuted. JD(U) had broken its 17-year alliance with BJP in 2013 after Narendra Modi was declared the saffron party's prime ministerial candidate. Such conjecture has grown following the Supreme Court's decision to try RJD chief Lalu Prasad in four fodder scam cases and fresh allegations of corruption against him and his family members.
Kumar heads the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition government in Bihar. The chief minister has maintained a silence on the allegations against the RJD supremo and his kin, merely saying it was for the central government to look into them. During a recent visit to Delhi he had reportedly stressed on a larger opposition unity against the BJP-led NDA. He had also met Gandhi. PTI
RIDGEWAY-The headliners are set for this years Celebration event. The carnival rides and fireworks show have also been organized. Now, event officials just need a bit more help from local sponsors.
This marks the 19th year the speedway has held Celebration, the annual Independence Day event. Speedway president Clay Campbell said he appreciated the support community sponsors have provided.
When we say Celebration is a community event, thats not just because the community is invited, Campbell said in a statement. Jeb Bassett and his team are out looking for sponsors months ahead of time, to make sure we can hold the event. Without the sponsors support, the event simply doesnt happen. Ive always felt strongly that it should be a free event for the people in our community and we need the sponsors to do that.
So far this year, 85 percent of the fundraising goal has been met. Bassett said he and his group, including Eddie White, Tom Prato and Carter Underwood, are working to add a few more sponsors to meet the goal.
We all agree with (Martinsville Speedway President) Clay Campbell that this should remain a free event, Bassett said in a statement. One of the strengths of Martinsville Speedways Celebration events is that they include the entire community.
That community feeling, Bassett said, is due to the wide sponsorship base, which allows businesses to come together for Independence Day festivities instead of hosting many independent events.
Other communities, particularly other communities our size, are envious of what we are able to offer in this event, Bassett said.
This years Celebration will feature the band the Ohio Players, who are best known for the 1975 hit song Love Rollercoaster. The family-friendly event is alcohol free, with carnival rides starting at 3 p.m. and a fireworks show starting when the Players finish their set.
Celebration is something that families from all across Martinsville and Henry County look forward to each year, Campbell said. People are always coming up to me asking if we are doing it again, who the band will be, telling me how much they enjoy it.
Its a fun, safe, free family environment for families to not only celebrate our freedom and our country, but our community, as well, he said.
For information on becoming a sponsor for Celebration 2017, contact Jeb Bassett at Bassett Furniture.
Jeremy Joseph Christian
Update: Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center on suspicion of aggravated murder and attempted murder early Saturday morning, records show. He's being held without bail.
A Portland police spokesman didn't immediately return an email seeking information about whether Christian is the suspect in the fatal MAX stabbing.
Christian was also arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor charges, according to records.
His criminal record includes felony robbery, kidnapping and weapon convictions, records show.
***
Two men were killed in a stabbing on a MAX train Friday when they tried to intervene as another man yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim, including one wearing a hijab, police said.
A third passenger who tried to help was also stabbed, but is expected to survive, said Portland police spokesman Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Officers arrested the suspect as he ran from the Hollywood transit station into the neighborhood near Providence Portland Medical Center in Northeast Portland, Simpson said. Police are still working to identify him and the three men stabbed.
The suspect was ranting about many things, using "hate speech or biased language," and at one point focused on the young women, Simpson said.
The suspect then turned on the passengers who tried to help, Simpson said.
"In the midst of his ranting and raving, some people approached him and appeared to try to intervene with his behavior and some of the people that he was yelling at," Simpson said. "They were attacked viciously."
One good Samaritan died at the scene and another at the hospital, he said. The third victim was undergoing evaluation, but didn't suffer life-threatening wounds, he said.
"These were folks just riding the train and unfortunately got caught up in this," he said.
It's not clear why the man was yelling, Simpson said.
"He was talking about a lot of different things, not just specifically anti-Muslim," Simpson said.
"We don't know if he's got mental health issues," Simpson said. "We don't know if he's under the influence of drugs or alcohol or all of the above."
The FBI said it's "offering any resource that may assist Portland Police in their investigation" and will "determine whether there is any potential federal violation."
Evelin Hernandez, a 38-year-old Clackamas resident, said she was on the train when the man began making racist remarks to the young women. Some men tried to quiet him, she said, and he stabbed them.
The attack occurred about 4:30 p.m. on a MAX Green Line train as it was heading east. A train remained stopped on the tracks at the Hollywood/N.E. 42nd Avenue Transit Center as police investigated.
Simpson said police want to talk to the young women and other witnesses to the rampage. They understandably left the scene, but can help fill in what happened, he said.
"It's horrific," he said. "There's no other word to describe what happened today. For the victims, our thoughts and prayers are with their families. ... For the witnesses, there is no other word."
Friday marks the start of Ramadan, a monthlong fast observed by most of the world's 1.6 billion Muslims.
"Our thoughts are with the Muslim community," Simpson said. "As something like this happens, this only instills fear in that community. We have already reached out previous to this incident to our Muslim community partners and the different imams about extra patrol during Ramadan. We want to reassure them that that will continue."
Portland is home to a rough estimate of about 50,000 Muslims of different ethnicities.
"This appears at least to be an isolated incident based on what we know at this point," Simpson said.
Officers tried to save the man who died on the train, he said. Police have recovered the knife, he said.
Simpson thanked witnesses who called 911 and reported where the suspect went and what he was wearing.
"It was really critical to us taking this man into custody. (He was) obviously very dangerous based on his actions," he said.
Help is available
mental health professionals are available around the clock for anyone who needs help. People can call 503-988-4888 or toll-free number 800-716-9769 to reach operators. Hearing-impaired people can dial 711 to reach the call center.
Source: Multnomah County
TriMet said the Blue, Green and Red MAX lines were resuming normal service late Friday night and that the transit center was still closed.
"We are deeply saddened," the agency said on Twitter. "Our thoughts & prayers are with loved ones of those lost & with person injured."
"Every person has a right to live in this country without fear," TriMet said in an ensuing tweet.
Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly, who's standing in for Mayor Ted Wheeler, who was flying to London on Friday night, called the attack "especially sad and disturbing."
"People lost their lives or were injured because they stood up to hate," she said in a statement on behalf of the City Council.
"These are troubling times across our city, our country and the world. We cannot let this divide us," Eudaly said. "We need to unite against all forms of violence and hate. Our differences should be a cause for celebration, not something that foments hate."
The FBI said that, "At the core of the FBI's mission is the belief that every person has the right to live, work and worship in this country without fear."
"Hate and bigotry have no place in our community, and we will not allow violence in the name of hate to go unanswered," the agency said in a statement.
Police ask anyone who has information about the stabbing to call a non-emergency line, 503-823-3333. A vigil is planned for Saturday night at the transit center.
-- Jim Ryan
jryan@oregonian.com
503-221-8005; @Jimryan015
WASHINGTON -- The life sentences that Lee Boyd Malvo received for his role in the D.C.-area sniper shootings that occurred in Virginia in 2002 were thrown out Friday by a federal judge, because he was 17 at the time of the attacks.
The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juveniles, and in 2016 the court decided that ruling should be applied retroactively.
And so even though Malvo pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County and agreed to serve two life sentences without parole, in addition to being convicted by a jury and sentenced to two life sentences in Fairfax County, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Jackson vacated the four sentences and ordered re-hearings for Malvo.
The ruling does not apply to the six life sentences Malvo received in Maryland after he pleaded guilty to six murder charges there. His Maryland lawyers are appealing in both state and federal court on the same grounds, and those cases are pending.
The ruling also does not vacate Malvo's convictions. Instead, the courts in Fairfax and Spotsylvania must resentence Malvo, on the new standards devised by the Supreme Court in 2012, and he could still receive life sentences again in those proceedings.
Malvo, now 32, and John Allen Muhammad were both convicted of 10 murders in a three-week period in the Washington area, beginning with trials in Virginia in 2003. Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying in Prince William County of Dean Meyers, and he was executed in 2009.
Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Malvo as well, for the slaying in Fairfax of Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot in the Falls Church area.
But a jury in Chesapeake, Virginia, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity, chose a life sentence for Malvo, and Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush imposed that sentence in March 2004.
WAKEFIELD - After allegedly killing his two roommates, 18-year-old Florida native Devon Arthurs made the two minute walk from the condo where the murders had occurred to the Green Planet Smoke Shop, a bong-filled smoke accessory store located right across the street, on Amberly Drive in Tampa.
"Do me a favor and get the f-ck on the ground!" Arthurs allegedly yelled as he entered the shop, drawing a black semiautomatic pistol from his waistband and pointing it at a woman employee.
"Why shouldn't I kill you?" Arthurs allegedly asked a male customer as the man laid on the ground in accordance with the gunman's demands.
The details of the lurid incident would later be spelled out in a Tampa Police Department arrest affidavit, filed Friday, May 19, when the events occurred.
The affidavit reveals a confession by Arthurs to police that he had, prior to the incident at Green Planet, killed two Massachusetts men--18-year-old Andrew Oneschuk, of Wakefield, and 22-year-old Jeremy Himmelmen, of Walpole; their bodies were later found by federal and state law officials inside the nearby "The Hamptons at Tampa Palms," the suburban condominium where Arthurs had lived with the two men for the past two weeks.
Why did they die? In a bizarre statement, Arthurs, a self-professed former white supremacist who had recently become a Muslim, later told police that he killed his new roommates because they had "disrespected" Islam.
The deaths of Oneschuk and Himmelman have now become a national news story with ties to the Bay State; both Massachusetts men were friends, both had recently decided to leave the state to try out new paths in life, and both were killed in a bizarre incident that hasn't yet been entirely explained.
Night of Terror
The night that Oneschuk and Himmelman died, Devon Arthurs freely admitted to murder, telling the people in the Green Planet Smoke Shop that he had "just killed somebody," according to Tampa police.
Shortly after the gunman entered the store, Tampa police responded to the area and surrounded the premises.
Through negotiation, police were able to persuade Arthurs to let the hostages in the smoke store go; surveillance video from the store shows the two customers and the employee dashing for the back door after the gunman agreed to free them, police said.
After the hostages had escaped, negotiations with police eventually convinced Arthurs to surrender, as well.
As he was being taken into custody, Arthurs allegedly made references to "Allah Mohammad!" and told police, "I had to do it. This wouldn't have had to happen if your country didn't bomb my country."
During the arrest, a Tampa police officer asked Arthurs if anyone else was hurt, to which he allegedly replied: "The people in the apartment, but they aren't hurt, they're dead."
When an officer followed up with Arthurs, querying as to whether paramedics would be able to help the victims, Arthurs assured her: "Oh no, they are definitely dead."
According to an FBI criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Arthurs would go on to openly admit to killing both Oneschuk and Himmelman after being read his Miranda rights--candidly providing details as to the "weapon he used, the sequence of the targeting, the exact location of the shooting, and the shot placement on each victim."
Arthurs, a self-admitted neo-Nazi who had recently converted to Islam, reportedly told Tampa police that he killed the two Massachusetts men because they had "disrespected" his religion.
How or why Arthurs had recently made such drastic and apparently contradictory ideological shifts--as well as the "disrespect" he felt Oneschuk and Himmelman paid him--has not been made clear at this time.
Police were directed by Arthurs to the apartment, where they found the bodies of Oneschuk and Himmelman. They had been shot in the head and upper body, according to the FBI complaint.
Arthurs, who is now being held without bail for the murders at the Hillsborough County Jail, faces two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault and three counts of armed kidnapping, in relation to the murders.
He has not yet entered a plea in the case.
Two Young Men from Massachusetts
The obituaries for Oneschuk and Himmelman were published this week, and funeral services for Oneschuk are scheduled to take place Saturday, while Himmelman's have not been made public.
So who were these young men?
In his family's remembrance, Oneschuk is described as an animal lover, and as an outdoorsman with a "tremendous thirst for life." He apparently loved camping and fishing, and his family describes his time at an outdoor leadership school in Alaska as the "highlight of his life."
"He was a very lovable, sweet, polite guy who just wanted to make everyone laugh," said Walter Oneschuk, Andrew's father, a retired Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy, in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times.
Andrew had plans to follow in his father's footsteps, and had visited a Navy recruiter on his 18th birthday to take the first steps towards enlisting, according to his obituary.
Jeremy was also described as a lover of animals, and a person who enjoyed making people laugh with his "crazy antics and outlandish acts."
He grew up in Walpole, attending Walpole High School.
The two moved into the apartment at Amberly Drive approximately two weeks before the murders took place; they had decided to try living with Arthurs and another man, 21-year-old Brandon Russell.
On the night of the murders, police first spotted Russell standing outside the Amberly Drive condo; he was dressed in full U.S. Army camouflage, and he was openly crying, police said.
"That's my roommate," Arthurs allegedly told police, as they approached. "He doesn't know what's going on and just found them like you guys did."
The reason Russell was dressed in military garb is that he is a Florida National Guardsman. He is also, apparently, a white supremacist.
Living with Extremists
The question as to whether Oneschuk and Himmelman had a darker side has been brought up since their deaths. If the men were not, themselves, extremists, they certainly were in the company of two self-admittedly radicalized young men.
On the night of the murders, both Russell and Arthurs openly told law enforcement that they subscribed to or had recently subscribed to neo-Nazi beliefs.
A framed picture of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh was found sitting on Brandon Russell's bedroom dresser, according to the FBI criminal complaint. Often heralded as an icon to the U.S. militia and anti-government movements, McVeigh's photo was one item amidst a collection of "Nazi/white supremacist propaganda" discovered in Russell's room when federal agents raided the Amberly Drive condo late Friday night.
Russell freely told police that he self-identified as a "national socialist," admitting that he held neo-Nazi beliefs and that he was a member of a group called the "Atom Waffen," German for "atom weapon"--which the Southern Poverty Law Center has identified as a "active hate group."
During interviews with Tampa police, Arthurs allegedly told officers that he had known Russell to participate in online chat rooms where he "threatened to kill people and bomb infrastructure," according to the FBI.
Arthurs also told police that all four men at the apartment had shared a "common neo-Nazi belief" until he decided to convert to Islam. The murders of the two Massachusetts men came about as the result of Oneschuk and Himmelman "disrespecting Arthurs' Muslim faith," according to the police report from that night.
Since converting to Islam, Arthurs' told police that he had been "angered by the world's anti-Muslim sentiment" and had wanted to "bring attention" to his "cause."
In addition to finding firearms and ammunition in Russell's bedroom, federal agents also searched the Amberly Drive apartment's garage, only to discover a cooler containing a "white cake-like substance" that was immediately identified as HMTD, or Hexamethylene triperoxide diamine; an explosive compound that has a history of being used in domestic terror attacks.
Based on their training and experience, agents ultimately determined that the HMTD, combined with other chemicals found in the garage--such as ammonium nitrate and nitro methane--would constitute a "bomb."
Russell was arrested in Key Largo on Sunday, May 21, in connection with the explosive materials; he now faces the federal charges of possession of an unregistered destructive device and unlawful storage of explosive material.
Allegations against Oneschuk and Himmelman
In the wake of Arthurs' claims that all four men had been involved in neo-Nazism, questions have arisen as to whether Oneschuk and Himmelmen were legitimately interested in white supremacy.
Oneschuk's father recently denied allegations that his son was involved in neo-Nazism. "You're quoting a lunatic who shot my son in the head," said Walter Oneschuk, in an interview with The Boston Globe.
Oneschuk told reporters that his son had been uncomfortable with his living situation and had planned to return to Massachusetts on Monday.
"All I know is that Andrew had planned on coming home Monday, and he was very disturbed by the environment. He had altercations with folks, disagreements with their values, and I'm not sure how they met," the teen's father said.
Oneschuk further called allegations of his son's ties to extremism false, saying that they were "very hurtful to the family, very hurtful to the community, and worse off, giving some of these organizations fuel for their vile, bigoted forums."
Himmelman's sister, Lyssa, has also denied that her brother shared in Arthurs and Russell white supremacist views--describing Jeremy as a "sweet, funny, amazing loving brother who would never hurt a fly" during an interview with the Tampa Bay Times.
A service for Andrew Oneschuk will be held at St. Florence Church, located at 47 Butler Avenue, in Wakefield, beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday; service details for Jeremy Himmelman have not been publicly listed.
WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Police are searching for a male suspect involved in a reported early morning stabbing at a Riverdale Street hotel, according to West Springfield Detective Captain Paul Connor.
Police responded to reports of a stabbing at the Clarion Hotel, located at 1080 Riverdale St. in West Springfield, around 5:30 a.m., Connor told the Republican.
Officers found a male victim with an apparent stab wound in one of the rooms, according to police. He was transported to Baystate Medical Center and immediately taken into surgery.
The extent of victim's injuries and the weapon involved in the reported stabbing remain unclear, said Connor. The victim is not believed to be a local resident.
Police have issued a "be on the lookout" alert for a white male in his mid-30s wearing a gray sweatshirt and tan pants.
No arrests had been made in connection with the reported incident as of 9:30 a.m.
State Police attached to the District Attorney's office are also reportedly involved in the investigation.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated are more information becomes available.
The Republican's Dave Canton contributed to this report.
SPRINGFIELD -- Mayor Domenic Sarno sat down with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray Saturday to discuss mental health-related policies and Springfield's alternative high school program, city officials announced.
Sarno, who had been in contact with McCray -- a Springfield native -- on her work through Cities Thrive Coalition to tackle mental health issues, had breakfast with the New York City leaders at Russ's Breakfast and Lunch.
The Springfield Democrat said it was a "great pleasure" to host De Blasio and McCray, who were reportedly in the area visiting family.
"It was a great pleasure to have the mayor of New York City and the first lady here...I will be continuing to work with First Lady McCray in Cities Thrive, not only on mental health issues, but she is also very interested in our progressive sober alternative high school program," he said in a statement.
Sarno joined the Cities Thrive Coalition earlier this year in speaking out against congressional efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.
McCray, who grew up in Springfield and Longmeadow, formed the coalition in late 2016 after bringing together mayors, public health advocates and mental health professionals from across the country to discuss the best programs, policies and practices to combat mental health challenges.
Cities Thrive seeks to spark a national dialog and push federal partners to make addressing mental health and substance abuse issues a top priority.
Boston Red Sox infielder Marco Hernandez underwent a season-ending left shoulder open stabilization (Latarjet) procedure Friday at Mass. General Hospital.
Dr. Tom Holovacs performed the surgery.
Hernandez is expected to be ready for the 2018 season, per a Red Sox release.
The 24-year-old appeared in 21 games for Boston during 2017. He batted .276 with a .300 on-base percentage, .328 slugging percentage, three doubles and two RBIs in 60 plate appearances. He has a .284/.328/.349/.676 line in 61 major league games over two seasons.
He made nine starts at third base, four starts at second base and four starts at shortstop.
U.S. Senator Jon Tester secured over $6.7 million to help Montanas first generation college students earn their degrees.
"When we talk about being fiscally responsible and making good investments, Upward Bound is exactly what were talking about," said Tester, a former teacher and School Board member. "These programs put taxpayer money to its best use, preparing the next generation to be productive, contributing members of the Montana community."
The U.S. Department of Education just announced five years worth of funding for four Upward Bound programs across the state. Upward Bound is a program that provides low-income, first generation college students with the support, resources, and guidance they need to graduate from high school, enroll in college, and earn their degree. As the co-chair of the TRiO Caucus, Tester has played a pivotal role in making sure Upward Bound programs across the state have the resources they need to train Montanas next generation of leaders.
The following Montana institutions were awarded five-year Upward Bound grants:
Salish Kootenai College, $1.86 million
The Upward Bound Program on the Flathead Indian Reservation helps 87 local high school students ascend to college each year and eventually earn their degrees.
Fort Belknap Indian Community, $1.67 million
The North Central Montana Upward Bound Program will continue helping 77 students from across Hill, Phillips and Blaine Counties complete high school each year and earn college degrees.
Montana Tech, $1.48 million
This Upward Bound program will help 69 low-income, first generation college students throughout Anaconda, Deer Lodge, Butte and Helena successfully complete high school and earn post-secondary degrees.
Montana State University Billings, $1.69 million
Montana State University-Billings will use this funding to continue its highly successful Upward Bound Program, which serves 77 students each year from across Yellowstone and Big Horn Counties.
This week Tester also convinced the Department of Education to reconsider the University of Montanas Upward Bound grant application https://www.tester.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=5277 , which was rejected earlier this year because of a minor formatting issue.
Montana West is looking for a marketing and communication talent with an interest in economic development, community development and entrepreneurship.
The position is full-time and the salary range is $30,000-$35,000 DOE.
Full Opportunity: http://mailchi.mp/1e82da774096/job-opening-marketing-communication-manager?e=a3d12a888b
Every conversation about education in the U.S. takes place in a minefield.
Unless youre a billionaire who bought the job of Secretary of Education, youd better be prepared to answer questions about racial and economic equity, disability issues, protections for LGBTQ students, teacher pay and unions, religious charter schools, and many other pressing concerns.
These issues are not mutually exclusive, nor are they distinct from questions of curriculum, testing, or achievement. The terrain is littered with possible explosive conflicts between educators, parents, administrators, legislators, activists, and profiteers.
Full Story: http://www.openculture.com/2017/05/how-finland-created-one-of-the-best-educational-systems-in-the-world-by-doing-the-opposite-of-u-s.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OpenCulture+%28Open+Culture%29
What makes for successful smaller cities?
Much of the U.S. media tends to see smaller cities as backwaters, inevitably left behind as the "best and brightest" head to the countrys mega-regions. The new economy, insists the Washington Post, favors large cities for start-ups and new businesses. Richard Florida has posited the emergence of a "winner take all urbanism" that tends to favor the richest cities, such as New York and San Francisco.
by Joel Kotkin and Michael Shires
Full Story: http://www.newgeography.com/content/005633-the-best-small-and-medium-size-cities-for-jobs-2017?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Newgeography+%28Newgeography.com+-+Economic%2C+demographic%2C+and+political+commentary+about+places%29
The majority of Gallatin County voters did not agree with the rest of the states decision Thursday to elect Republican candidate Greg Gianforte to the lone congressional seat, according to election results on the secretary of states website.
Final results show the county was in favor of Cut Bank Democratic candidate Rob Quist, who earned a 14-point win in the Republican candidates backyard. Libertarian candidate Mark Wicks had 4 percent of the vote in Gallatin County.
By Freddy Monares Chronicle Staff Writer
Full Story: http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/politics/most-montanans-had-voted-before-gianforte-incident-with-reporter/article_802d1efb-bac6-5506-943f-70486b25b235.html
"If you look at it, if everyone did just 10,000 steps a day in America we would probably decrease healthcare budget by $500 billion a year and that shows how few people actually do it, and two how big a reduction in chronic disease wed have if more did," according to Roizen, who is also author of Age Proof: Living longer without running out of money or breaking a hip.
USA Today Network Mary Bowerman , USA TODAY Network
Full Story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2017/04/14/what-happens-to-your-body-when-you-walk-10000-steps-health-fitness/99681306/
The challenge of thalassemia
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A final cure on the horizon - Gene therapy
He has aThis means he has to be on lifelong transfusions, simply to survive.This is then removed with the help of nocturnal iron chelator infusions. A person with thalassemia has to cope with this throughout his or her life. Thalassemias in a broad sense are inheritedcharacterized by abnormalproduction. There is no known cure for thalassemia exceptBMT has to be done in childhood (not above the age of 12) to prevent rejection and death. BMT requires either aThe search for a bone marrow is a challenge in itself. Besides, the thalassemia population in India now accounts for more than 60% adults who cannot be considered for BMT.We have the highest number of carriers in the world amounting to a whopping 40 million of the total 1.2 billion population. We have more than 100,000 thalassemia majors in India dependent on blood transfusions. India's blood requirement is almost 2 lakh units per month because of transfusion-dependent thalassemia patients. Yet, we lack a national thalassemia on policy that could serve to put in place a robust prevention and control program. Neither the national government nor its health agencies have paid heed to the growing epidemic and the huge health and financial burden of thalassemia.The disease takes a considerable financial toll on patients and families who have no other alternative but to pay out of their own pockets for treatment and other related expenses. On an average, a child with thalassemia requires nearly INR 10,000 per month on drugs and treatment notwithstanding sudden expenses due to hospitalization and other complications. While many of the local thalassemia associations and societies try to support patients with free blood transfusions and certain medications, a sustained effort must come from the national government in the form of a directive that would make blood transfusion and related drugs and treatment free or low cost for all patients in government hospitals and health centers. Until such a measure comes about, a lot of lives will be lost unnecessarily because patients could not afford treatment.for curing thalassemia, by introducing a healthy globin gene through a viral vector, has seen a good bit of success in the US and Europe. Dr. Srivastava and Dr. Shaji report (in the journal Haematologica) the first successful gene therapy for thalassemia in 2007 with a E/0-thalassemia patient. Bluebird Bio, the company developing the LentiGlobin gene therapy for thalassemia cure, has been granted "breakthrough therapy" designation by the FDA. Its clinical trials are currently in phase 3 which is indeed very promising. This status will enable the company to further develop and review the drug/therapy candidate as a thalassemia cure.While there are such progressive, futuristic developments in the US and Europe, India which has the world's highest population of thalassemia minors has seen little clinical research on gene therapy curatives. It is for this reason that Gagandeep started a petition on change.org requesting the ministry of health and family affairs, Government of India, and its health agencies to look into the possibility of investing in clinical research for gene therapy cure. Clearly, such a huge project requires the intervention of the government and its health agencies to provide financial investment and ensure safe clinical research. Such an investment in gene therapy has immense cost-benefit advantages as potential curatives outstrip the cost involved. Such a move will improve the population health of India and drastically bring down the health and economic burden due to transfusion-dependent thalassemia. Like BMT, gene therapy involves a one-time cost for the patient and provides a full and final cure. A cured, healthy citizen is an asset to the nation and can in turn contribute positively to the economy and state.At this point in time, it is imperative for the national government and the ministry of health and family welfare to do the needful, to develop and accelerate curatives not just for thalassemia but for other rare genetic disorders which can be cured. India has a strong ecosystem of health, medicine and biotech, and these resources can be tapped into to ensure curatives for at least the most prevalent genetic disorders, which are taking a toll not just on individual patients and families but also on the nation.Source: Medindia
After killing our ears in cold blood recently, Dhinchak Pooja is now a nation-wide sensation. Allegedly, she doesn't even stop her Riyaz for a single minute. But on the brightest sidewhile Apple Music is on the verge of including 'Selfie Maine Leli Aaj' to their global playlist, Justin Bieber too, regrets not singing a cover of the track at his recent concert in the country. Internationallycopyright clown, Taylor Swift is already in talks with her producers to copy Ms. Pooja's highly-intellectual track for her next big release. Jk! This isn't a song about boys or break ups, why the hell would she be interested? Moving on, the most crucial matter here is that living legend, Nana Patekar doesn't approve of Pooja's caliber!
Instagram/Nana Patekar Fans
At an event recently, that was playing Dhinchak Pooja's 'Selfie Maine Leli Aaj', Nana caused a major flare up, by giving the nightingale a piece of his mind. But here's the ultimatehe soon fired bullets out of rage, causing damage to property and bringing the event to a close.
Instagram/Nana Patekar Fans
Eventually, things got out of hand and Manisha Koirala turned into a mother to calm her teenager, Nana down. Don't believe us? Watch AIB's hilarious video here!
Samsung has been an innovator and at the forefront of display technology for many years now and theres no stopping them. As a company, Samsung has a firm grip on the technology that even Apple is using in their displays for the upcoming iPhone.
Samsung
There is no doubt that the Galaxy S8/S8+ has one of the best displays weve ever seen on a smartphone and theres no smartphone that even comes close to it. The story remains the same for their latest QLED televisions which are a sight to see, if you havent already. Samsung has been pushing the envelope when it comes display technology and this time they might have just outdone themselves.
Samsung
At a conference dubbed as Display Week 2017, Samsung officially showed off their latest technology in the flexible screen category. They made it into a reality and demonstrated the first stretchable, colour OLED display. The display shown off at the conference was 9.1-inches in size diagonally and when pressed from the corner, the display flexes like a deflated balloon. The screen then recovers to the original state no matter how much pressure is applied. These screens can be flexed only in one direction and can be bent or folded.
Reuters
While being bent or stretched, the screen is able to maintain the image quality, however, there is a catch. The quality can only be maintained if the screen is stretched to a depth of up to 12 mm. Samsung working on such screens can only mean one thing, the company is looking to implement these screen on consumer products such as IoT devices, wearables, automotive and smartphones. Samsung has not disclosed when these stretchable OLED displays will make an appearance in final products as it is difficult to mass produce them at the time.
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UNIONVILLE Amanda Roggenbuck, of Amanda Roggenbuck, attorney at law, PLLC recently completed the necessary update training to continue her probate and estate planning certificate.
She recently attended a three-day seminar with educational opportunities that included case law updates, joint trust education, education on farms and small business, and special needs education, as they pertain to probate and estate planning.
CASS CITY The Thumb Area MEA Retired will meet June 13 at the Charmont Restaurant in Cass City.
There is a social hour at noon, where members may purchase their lunch. At 1 p.m., MEA Retired President Judy Foster will discuss retiree issues, including current pension bills. President Penny Letts will announce the recipients of the chapters annual donation to organizations in Huron, Sanilac and Tuscola counties.
TUSCOLA COUNTY The rationale for building the proposed new state hospital in Tuscola County was outlined to Department of Health and Human Services Director Nick Lyons this week by seven representatives from the county.
We made our pitch why we feel the new facility should be built in the county, said Tuscola County Mike Hoagland. We provided him with data and a list of what we feel are compelling reasons to do so. He listened, but didnt say anything conclusive, which we didnt really expect him to.
Hoagland went to Lansing with a contingent of different representatives to provide a variety of information. Besides Hoagland, others who met with Lyon were Tuscola Intermediate School District Superintendent Gene Pierce, Caro City Manager Ryan Piche, Tuscola County Economic Development Corporation Director Steve Erickson, County Commissioners Craig Kirkpatrick, Matthew Bierlein, and Chair Thom Bardwell.
This could all play out in the next few days, said Hoagland, explaining the state has had the next years budget, which starts Oct. 1, in place in June.
Pierce talked about steady student enrollment decline the county is all ready facing because of lack of jobs. Between 2006 and 2016, the U.S. Census shows a 4,000 person decline, which is 7.1 percent of the population.
Erickson explained the devastating impact the Caro Center would have if its replacement is not in the county. The center with its 349 employees is the second largest employer, and 398 other jobs indirectly benefit from the center. The center provides an economic impact of over $54 million in benefits from its operation.
Tuscola Countys current unemployment rate is 7.9 percent and it is estimated it would go to 14.7 percent if the center is located elsewhere. In 2009, there were 12,237 residents receiving public assistance. In 2016, there were 15,462 on assistance.
According to Piche, Caro officials are willing to extend the sewer line, which ends less than two miles away and other municipal utilities if necessary.
We did our best to show why building the new hospital in the county is an economic benefit to us and especially that state because they have a trained workforce in the area, said Hoagland, noting they are continuing to gather information to present to the state.
Caro Community Hospital will be putting together information on the services it provides, and a list of services from MichiganWorks is being compiled.
We are doing everything we can to provide information to the state and to show we are willing to work with them, he said.
The state owns 650 acres around the Caro Center, so there is room to build a replacement hospital for the 104-year-old Caro Center.
More information can be found online at www.tuscolacounty.org.
May is a difficult month for me.
My oldest son was born May 15, 1977, and was killed May 24, 2005. He would have been 40 years old this month.
I was at work when the undersheriff and a U.S. Army officer informed me that my son, Sgt. Charles Drier, 28, was killed by an improvised explosive device (IED) when it detonated beside his humvee near Baghdad.
At first, I was excited to see them because I thought they were going to tell me exactly when Chuck would be coming home. They werent there for that.
He was due to get out of the service in January 2005. During his leaves at home, he stayed in constant touch with those he served with. They would call each other several times during the day and throughout the night even one guy who was on his honeymoon. I could not understand their constant need to stay in touch, but then I was never put in a life-and-death situation. Chuck was killed while doing a second tour and serving as a sniper. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 76th Field Artillery, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. Also killed in the explosion were Spc. Dustin C. Fisher and Pfc. Jeffrey R. Wallace.
At that time, Chuck was the 52nd member of the U.S. Armed Forces with known Michigan ties to be killed in Iraq. This list of those killed as steadily grown.
Chuck was scheduled to come home to Michigan on leave sometime the first part of June. He was going to take his girlfriend on a romantic getaway to propose to her, and he was going to give me away at my wedding. None of that happened.
On May 24, 2005, my life was changed forever. I never married the man I was engaged to at that time, and I havent dated much since. The young woman Chuck had hoped to marry eventually married someone else and had a child. It took awhile for her to move on, and I wish her the best.
While I have always honored and respected veterans, my sons death just before Memorial Day gave me an even deeper understanding of what the day is about. It is to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.
It was a couple of weeks after his funeral when some of the guys he served with came to visit me. They had only just heard of Chucks passing. We went to his grave site. They each gave me a different colored rose, and played the song Free Bird.
In 2015, on the 10th anniversary of his death, they returned again at his grave site. Some of those he served with had gotten married and had children, but they still took the time to honor him. They shared stories of their escapades with Chuck and how he touched their lives.
Although my youngest son, Jason, is Chucks only brother, there is a special bond between a band of brothers who face combat together that even death does not break.
Remember the fallen.
The two-million-member American Legion joined other veterans service organizations Friday in ripping a proposed Veterans Affairs Department benefit cut in the budget proposed by the White House.
"The administration's budget for the VA would effectively lower the earnings of our most vulnerable veterans by reducing or eliminating disability payments for veterans who are the most in need," Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt said in a statement.
"This is absolutely unacceptable to us," he added.
The Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Disabled American Veterans, the Military Order of the Purple Heart and the Vietnam Veterans of America generally welcomed proposed increase in the budgets for the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.
The VA's budget would be increased by 6 percent to $186.5 billion.
However, they were all vehemently opposed to the plan to end the Individual Unemployability (IU) benefit at the VA for disabled vets when they turn 62 and become eligible for Social Security.
Savings from the IU cuts would be used to pay in part for a $2.9 billion expansion of the Choice Program, which allows veterans to seek health care in the private sector, according to VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin.
The IU benefit now applies to veterans who have a 60 to 100 percent disability rating through the VA and are unable to work because of their disability. The IU benefit allows them to receive the highest compensation rate. For 2017, the monthly rate for a veteran living alone is $2,915.
The VSOs have expressed concerns that the expansion of the Choice Program could come at the expense of health care at VA facilities, and they called on the VA to rule out cutting the IU to pay for Choice.
The DAV was opposed to "arbitrarily cutting off eligibility for IU for veterans who turn 62, an age at which millions of Americans continue working and saving money for their retirements, a luxury that many disabled veterans do not have. Congress must reject any proposals that seek to shift the cost of VA health care or benefits onto the backs of disabled veterans."
"We are alarmed by the cannibalization of services needed for the Choice Program," Schmidt said in his statement. "It is a 'stealth' privatization attempt which The American Legion fully opposes."
VFW National Commander Brian Duffy backed efforts to boost access to care but said, "We are absolutely against forcing wounded, ill and injured veterans to pay for improvements elsewhere within the VA."
At a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing Wednesday, Shulkin said the VA is "sensitive to the issue" on Individual Unemployability, but the VA must find savings.
The change would save an estimated $3.2 billion in fiscal 2018, which begins Oct. 1, and $40.8 billion over 10 years, he said.
"This is a way we think of appropriately utilizing the mandatory funds and looking at where we can make the [IU] program more responsible," Shulkin said.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
One hundred years ago, President Woodrow Wilson went to Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day to explain to a still unsure nation why he had signed a declaration of war against Germany weeks before.
Wilson's backers in his successful 1916 re-election campaign used the slogan "he kept us out of war," but it was a different Wilson who appeared before the white crosses of Arlington on May 28, 1917. It was 52 years after Appomattox, and the honored guests at the event were veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic.
In asking Congress to declare war on April 6, 1917, Wilson said, "The world must be made safe for democracy." He cited Germany's declaration of unrestricted submarine warfare. At Arlington, he said the "call for liberty" was ringing out from the trenches in Europe and "the time for action has come."
"There are times when words seem empty and only actions seem great. Such a time has come, and in the providence of God, America will once more have an opportunity to show the world that she was born to serve mankind," Wilson said.
At his "Sagamore Hill" home in Oyster Bay, Long Island, former President Theodore Roosevelt also spoke of war on that same Memorial Day. A crowd of about 5,000 had gathered to hear the thoughts of Roosevelt, Wilson's great antagonist and an early proponent of having the U.S. join the war on the side of Britain and France.
Lifting his hat and pointing to an American flag, Roosevelt said that U.S. troops -- who would come to be known as "doughboys" -- would fight for "the one flag that floats over us, the flag which holds in its folds the future glory of mankind." Lt. Quentin Roosevelt of the 95th Aero Squadron, Teddy Roosevelt's youngest son, was killed over France in 1918.
On that Memorial Day in 1917, the songwriters and music publishers of "Tin Pan Alley," a section of West 28th St. between 5th and 6th Avenues in Manhattan, were already churning out the tunes meant to inspire support for the war and to encourage young men to enlist.
One that turned out to be wildly popular was "America, Here's my Boy," lyrics by Andrew B. Sterling and music by Arthur Lange:
"America, I raised a boy for you. America, you'll find him staunch and true, Place a gun up on his shoulder, He is ready to die or do. America, he is my only one; My hope, my pride and joy, But if I had another, He would march beside his brother; America, here's my boy."
The song was seen as a response to the also popular anti-war lament, "I Didn't Raise My Boy To Be a Soldier," lyrics by Alfred Bryan and music by Al Piantadosi:
"I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier, I brought him up to be my pride and joy. Who dares to place a musket on his shoulder, To shoot some other mother's darling boy? Let nations arbitrate their future troubles, It's time to lay the sword and gun away. There'd be no war today, If mothers all would say, "I didn't raise my boy to be a soldier."
Both songs were played last month for events marking the centennial of the declaration of war at the National World War I Museum and Memorial in Kansas City.
Attending the ceremonies were Helen Patton, whose grandfather George S. Patton led a tank squadron through France in World War I; family members of Gen. John "Black Jack" Pershing, who commanded the American Expeditionary Force in France; descendants of Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Alvin York; and descendants of the bilingual Signal Corps switchboard operators known as the "Hello Girls."
"Today, we honor a generation of Americans no longer among us physically, but we can all sense their presence a century later," said Charles E. Schmidt, national commander of the American Legion. "Their success in the Great War laid a foundation not only for the American military, but for America itself."
More than 200,000 Americans were killed in the war, part of an estimated 17 million civilians and combatants who died.
The war ended on the "11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918. On Memorial Day 1919, Wilson walked among the graves of American soldiers in Suresnes, France, near Paris.
He said, "It is delightful to learn from those who saw these men fight, and saw them waiting in the trenches for the summons for the fight, that they had a touch of the high spirit of religion. We all believe, I hope, that the spirits of these men are not buried with their bones. Their spirits live!"
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.
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Estimados amigos,
Les doy cordialmente la bienvenida a este Blog informativo con articulos, analisis y comentarios de publicaciones especializadas y especialmente seleccionadas, principalmente sobre temas economicos, financieros y politicos de actualidad, que esperamos y deseamos, sean de su maximo interes, utilidad y conveniencia.
Pensamos que solo comprendiendo cabalmente el presente, es que podemos proyectarnos acertadamente hacia el futuro.
Las convicciones son mas peligrosos enemigos de la verdad que las mentiras.
There are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks when decades happen.
You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.
No soy alguien que sabe, sino alguien que busca.
Only Gold is money. Everything else is debt.
Las grandes almas tienen voluntades; las debiles tan solo deseos.
Quien no lo ha dado todo no ha dado nada.
History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.
If you know the other and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share.This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.
It's usually not until the annual Slice Out Hunger event that New Yorkers are treated to many excellent pizzas from around the city under one roof, but starting next week there's a mini version going down in NoHo.
Vic's on Great Jones Street begins a series of love letter-type collaborations between chef Hillary Sterling and some titans of NYC pizza. The likes of Dom De Marco of Di Fara's fame, Paul Giannone of Paulie Gee's, pizza expert Adam Kuban and his pop-up Margot's, and Bobby Hellen of GG's have all contributed signature pizzas that Sterling and her team will execute at Vic's for the month of June.
In addition to some fantastic pies, there's a wonderful charitable angle as well. A portion of the pizza sales will benefit Share Our Strength's No Kid Hungry initiative, which is dedicated to ending child hunger in the United States. Pies are priced between $18 and $22; see below for the descriptions and tenures of each pizza.
EATON COUNTY, MI -- Over four days in May, the Eaton County Sheriff's Office and eight other local law enforcement agencies arrested 62 people in a fugitive sweep across two counties, the sheriff's office announced Friday.
Police searched for about 80 fugitives with outstanding warrants in Eaton and Ingham counties.
They ultimately cleared 104 warrants on crimes including rape, assault, drug offenses and at least one homicide.
"The teams of specially trained members targeted violent offenders and violent warrants," the sheriff's office announced in a news release.
"Four teams were sent throughout Eaton and Ingham County because people who commit crimes often don't just stick to one area or commit the crimes in the area they live."
Elizabeth Eikenberry, 23, of Haslett was arrested May 18 on charges of delivery of controlled substance causing death, and retail fraud.
John Eager, 43, and Earl Schnepp, 55, both of Eaton Rapids, were each arrested May 24, charged with operating a meth lab. Schnepp faces an additional charge of maintaining a drug house.
Police also seized heroin and crack cocaine and discovered several methamphetamine labs during the sweeps, resulting in an additional nine felony warrants.
"The results of this operation were tremendous and clearly demonstrate how efficient and effective a well organized multi-agency approach is to bring fugitives to justice and fight crime in our neighborhoods," the sheriff's office said.
Other agencies involved in the sweep included Michigan State Police, Grand Ledge police, Potterville police, Charlotte police, Eaton Rapids police, the Lansing Police Department Violent Crimes Initiative, Michigan Department of Corrections Absconder Recovery Unit and the Lansing Area Fugitive Task Force.
YPSILANTI, MI - On a hillside at Riverside Park in Ypsilanti, there's been an unusual sight and sound: sheep.
They are a part of Project Mow, a business Yuko Frazier of Superior Township started last fall. The sheep are mowing the grass and foliage where it's hard for machines to reach, and they have the advantage of being much cuter.
The colorful Katahdin ewes and lambs are mowing parks in Ypsilanti after the city awarded Project Mow with a contract in November.
The idea didn't start as a business. Frazier bought the sheep from farms in Chelsea and Milan a year ago just because she wanted to have sheep.
"I had chickens. That's a gateway," she said.
Because she doesn't have space at home, she keeps them at the Dawn Farm co-op in Ypsilanti Township, where clients help look after them.
With a dry season last summer, she often needed to move the sheep to better grazing areas, and that's where she got the idea to have them go beyond the property at Dawn Farm.
Project Mow started last fall.
Frazier has a portable electric fence that she sets up and moves to keep the sheep, who stay at the site night and day until it's finished.
The cost of Project Mow is comparable to a traditional lawn service, but has the benefit of being eco-friendly and adorable.
Sheep will eat plants humans avoid such as poison ivy, Frazier said, and they produce manure that can be used as fertilizer.
The sheep will take about five days, eating throughout the day and night, to clear the hillsides on the Riverside Park of most of the brush and grass. After they finish at Riverside Park, they'll go to Frog Island Park.
While Frazier came out to tend the sheep on Saturday, May 27, people stopped during their walks and runs to take photos of the sheep and lambs.
That happens often, Frazier said.
"I enjoy talking to people about them," she said. "In the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area, people see and get it. They think it's a great idea."
Katadhin sheep, a hardy American breed that originated in Maine, are a particularly good breed for mowing. They are hairless sheep rather than wool sheep, meaning Frazier doesn't need to shear them.
The sheep are also friendly. The ram will occasionally head butt people, but Frazier said he's OK as long as she watches where he is as she tends to him.
Frazier's ewes birthed 12 lambs this spring. She plans to sell the males and keep the ewes. With another ram, she could grow the herd and have sheep to mow multiple areas.
She's had some interest from prospective clients in both commercial and residential areas.
"I don't have to market them," she said. "They do a good job of that themselves."
digops_Hicks610.jpg
Desmond Ricks, Michigan Department of Corrections mugshot (MDOC)
After spending 25 years in prison for murder, 51-year-old Desmond Hicks of Detroit walked out of a Michigan prison a free man Friday.
Ricks was convicted in 1992 and ordered to serve a minimum of 32 years in prison, but The Innocence Clinic at University of Michigan law school raised questions about ballistics evidence presented by Detroit police and used by prosecutors at trial, the Associated Press reports.
Ricks thinks he was framed.
His attorneys requested a new trial in 2015 and received photos of the bullets removed from the victim's body, the A.P. reports. The photos revealed mangled bullets, and were not the same ones presented at trial as bullets fired from a gun owned by Ricks' mother.
David Townshend, the ballistics expert who testified at the 1992 trial, told the Detroit News the bullets in the photos were not the same bullets he reviewed at and testified about at trial.
"Ricks was a great advocate for his own cause," Innocence Clinic director David Moran told the AP. "What he was saying seemed to be outlandish: The Detroit police crime lab would not only make mistakes but switch bullets. It wasn't outlandish -- it was true. This outlandish conduct cost Desmond Ricks 25 years."
At a post-conviction hearing Friday, Wayne Circuit Judge Richard Skutt ordered a new trial and released Ricks on bond. It was unclear whether Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy intends to follow through with another trial or move to dismiss the charges.
"In 1992 the police firearms expert and the defense firearms expert both testified at the trial and both agreed that the fired evidence came from the same gun," assistant prosecutor and Worthy spokeswoman Maria Miller said in a statement.
"Many years later, the defense expert for the first time said the bullets he examined could not have been from the morgue. This circumstance is something that has required serious review.
"We will be back in court on June 1 to put our position on the record in court."
From over 10,000 untested rape kits to unreliable ballistics analyses, the Detroit Police Department has an ugly history when it comes to past handling of evidence.
City officials shut down the Detroit Police Department Crime Lab, based largely on problems with its ballistics analysis, in 2008.
A state police audit at the time looked at a sampling of ballistics cases and found that 10 percent had "serious errors."
"If this 10 percent error rate holds," the report said, "the negative impact on the judicial system would be substantial, with a strong likelihood of wrongful convictions and a valid concern about numerous appeals."
DETROIT -- Police released a composite sketch Friday evening of a person of interest in the investigation of an assault with a brick that left a 2-year-old girl in critical condition.
The child was in the rear seat of her grandmother's vehicle about 10:10 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24, when the car drove past two men standing at a corner on Detroit's east side, according to police.
The grandmother told police she heard something break through her rear, passenger-side window, and soon discovered that the toddler had been struck by a brick.
Police said the girl was left in critical condition at an area hospital.
The person of interest was described as a light-complexioned black male, about 17 years old, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 with a low-cut hairstyle and a thin, oddly cut mustache, last seen wearing a red, hooded sweatshirt over a white T-shirt and white pants.
Anyone with information is asked to call police. Tips can also be left anonymously through CrimeStoppers at 1-800-speakup.
WALKER, MI -- For animal shelters, warm weather means an influx of lots of furry friends, especially kittens.
During this time, lots of unowned cats in the community are breeding, said Carly Luttmann, program supervisor at the Kent County Animal Shelter
It's important that all cats -- whether house cats or unowned cats in the community -- get spayed and neutered, Luttmann said.
Because of the uptick in the feline population during summer months, shelters often get overrun with cats.
The Kent County Animal Shelter generally has the capacity to hold about 100 cats before resorting to euthanasia. Because of an increased effort in educating people about spaying and neutering, they haven't had to euthanize because of overcrowding for the past couple years, Luttmann said.
The Humane Society of West Michigan is currently housing about 50 cats, said Trudy Jeffers, executive director of the shelter.
They don't euthanize animals due to overcrowding, but she predicts the humane society will reach their capacity -- 100 cats -- sometime this summer. They counteract overcrowding at the shelter with volunteers who "foster" cats and by scheduling people to drop off cats at the shelter when there is an opening.
Jeffers said the humane society is very proud of their non-euthanasia policy, but stressed that they rely more heavily on donations, shelter volunteers and those who volunteers to foster cats in their homes.
A common misconception with spaying and neutering in cats is how quickly they can breed.
Luttmann suggested kitten owners make sure their feline is spayed and neutered at least before they turn four months old.
Jeffers agreed, saying the failure to spay and neuter cats can result in a snowball effect.
"A couple of cats not spayed can grow litter upon litter and can be this continuing cycle that can only be stopped by spay and neutering," Jeffers said.
Jeffers and Luttmann both encourage people to spay and neuter cats without owners they encounter in the community, to decrease overpopulation of feral cats.
Especially now, during "kitten season," the two shelter employees stressed the importance of a practice they call "trap, neuter, return." It requires someone to humanely trap a community cat, bring it to a veterinarian to be spayed or neutered, vaccinated, eartipped and then return the animal to its outdoor home.
During times of high cat populations in shelters and communities, this practice humanely keeps the population at a stable level, Luttman said.
Pet owners seeking spay and neuter services can take their furry friend to their local veterinarian's office, or to Community Spay Neuter Initiative Partnership, C-SNIP, located at 1675 Viewpond SE in Kentwood. The nonprofit provides services at a low cost to pet owners who can't afford to spay or neuter pets at a full clinic.
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Pearl Global Industries Ltd has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company in its meeting held on May 26, 2017, recommended a dividend of Rs. 3.00 per equity share of nominal value of Rs. 10 each for the financial year 2016-17 aggregating to Rs. 6,49,91,811/- (excluding Dividend Tax), subject to the declaration by shareholders of the Company in the ensuing Annual General Meeting.Source : BSE
BARCELONA, SPAIN - MAY 09: The Terminator robot is seen in the paddock following qualifying for the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya on May 9, 2009 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
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Bots are actually replacing humans at Wipro. Indias third largest IT services company, which is in the process of downsizing 10 percent of its workforce this year, kicked off Project NextGen in 2015 to improve productivity and automate processes. While the company denied plans to downsize, it said it achieved productivity worth 12,000 people over 140 customer engagements in 1,800 HOLMES bots in IT services.
Automation is, in fact, a reality now and progressively more jobs could become redundant as the pace of deployment increases.
In computer programming lingo, a bot, which is short for robot, is a program that operates as an agent for a user or another program or simulates a human activity. Wipros HOLMES bot uses a natural language processing (NLP)-based chat interface.
Wipro kicked off its transformative programme Project NextGen in 2015, in consultation with McKinsey, to improve productivity of teams and automate processes. Senior managers claim teams were asked to execute the same projects with 10-15 percent less manpower, as McKinsey outlined several levers to improve productivity. Insiders claim that this was a dry run for this years downsizing, as teams were asked to function without 10-15 percent of the existing manpower.
The move to make do with fewer people was part of suggestions made by McKinsey to enhance productivity and help automate processes.
A very senior manager at Wipro says: Project NextGen began very well and a few hundred senior managers were appointed as change leaders who would implement McKinseys recommendations. But what we did not realize was that it was a simulation of sorts to downsize later.
From slashing coffee breaks and taking away mobile phones of employees during Silent Hours to real-time monitoring progress of tickets (problems raised by clients) on White Boards to Huddle Meetings, McKinsey came up with an exhaustive list of levers Wipros managers could use to enhance productivity of teams and cut down on waste.
But the net outcome of these initiatives was to reduce the strength of every team by 10-15 percent. Automation was supposed to be a big piece of this initiative and managers were assured that there would be no retrenchment at the end of the exercise.
In response to a questionnaire sent by Moneycontrol on gains from Project NextGen automation initiatives and consequent impact on jobs, Wipro said: In FY17, Wipro generated productivity worth over 12,000 persons across 140+ customer engagements in over 1,800 cumulative instances of HOLMES bots in IT services, in the areas of application development, application support & maintenance and infrastructure services. Employees who are involved in such projects are then retrained and upskilled to be redeployed to handle higher value tasks.
However, some of the change leaders that Moneycontrol spoke to said that the level of automation achieved was no more than 2-3 percent of the target, as India either lacked the requisite talent pool or that customers were not always ready for it. In many cases, privacy laws of other countries also came into play for automation.
Wipro is not looking just at automation to cut costs. It is also lowering the Bulge Mix average work experience of a team. Managers have been told to lower the Bulge Mix of teams to less than 4 years. So, if a team has 40 people and the average work experience of individuals is between 0-3 years and the manager has little less than ten years, then the bulge mix will come down to less than 4 years.
Wipro, however, said: There is no plan to change the bulge mix. We will continue to hire skilled resources at the middle and senior levels from the market.
This also indicates that Wipro is planning to weed out more senior and experienced people who are managing the junior employees with less than 3-years experience. This is a big lever to cut costs but it also puts at risk managers with more than 10-years experience.
The existing IT services companies have so far leveraged upon the wage arbitrage that existed between the developed world and India. But the sector did little to prepare for a wave of disruptive technologies like cloud computing, which is making data centres and the support functions around it redundant.
With clients pressurizing companies to automate repetitive processes, Wipro roped in McKinsey to help it migrate from the existing model to stage where it could morph into a digital services company.
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State owned Vijaya Bank will raise Rs 1,000 crore within a year to create buffer as per global capital adequacy norms, Basel III, and to fund business expansion.
The board of directors of the bank will put up the matter before shareholders at the annual general meeting (AGM) on June 23.
Consent will be sought from shareholders to create, offer and issue equity shares to qualified institutional buyers (QIP) through one or more placements, Vijaya Bank said in a regulatory filing.
"The bank proposes for issue of up to Rs 1,000 crore equity capital on preferential/QIP basis at a price of to be determined," it said.
The money, the lender said can also be raised by ways such as rights issue or follow-on public offer.
"In order to meet the growing capital requirement of funds in terms of Basel III capital regulation and consequent capital charge and for general lending purposes, the bank proposes to raise funds," it said.
The bank will also declare dividend for 2016-17.
The board of the bank has recommended a dividend of Rs 1.5 per share (0.15 percent) for the last fiscal.
Vijaya Bank stock closed 1.33 percent up at Rs 79.75 on BSE.
People walk into the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building in New Delhi, India. Picture taken March 2, 2016. REUTERS/Anindito Mukherjee - RTS92NA
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This week in the banking sector saw some new strategies and announcements related to bad loans and some capital-raising plans by banks to step up efforts to revive banks financial strength.
The highlight, however, was the 64 percent increase in payout for FY17 received by Chanda Kochhar, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, which is also the countrys biggest private bank.
The RBI or the Reserve Bank of India, also invited applications for the Deputy Governor post, which may be the a first hire from the private sector
RBI also laid out action plan to implement the Banking Ordinance in order to provide better resolution of NPAs.
On forward-looking plans, IDBI Banks new CEO and MD has deliberated upon a strategy to revive the bank which is now troubled financially with spike in bad loans and weak capital base. This comes after backlash from RBI and rating agencies.
On the other hand, Government-owned Punjab National Bank has resorted to continue its Gandhigiri efforts to recover the bad loans that have strained the banks profitability.
In some bad news for Videocon Industries, which is one of the defaulters among large corporates, has seen a breakdown in its market capitalization which plunged over 50 percent during the week after Dena Bank declared it as an NPA in the March quarter, while Central Bank of India classified it as NPA in this quarter.
Read More: Videocon saga continues and Videocon continues to bleed
As public sector banks continue to bleed and RBI starts to take action, they are taking efforts to raise capital to meet the Basel III requirements along with credit growth.
http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/companies/psu-banks-on-brink-of-ticking-off-rbi-find-out-which-one-needs-corrective-action-2286877.html
Many banks including IDBI Bank stepped up efforts to sell their non-core assets.
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Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized illegal drugs worth Rs 40 lakh during raids at premises of Pioma Chemicals in Mumbai and Thane.
The raids were carried out at the company premises in Vile Parle (East) and at their godowns at Prerana Complex, Anjur Road, Bhiwandi, in Thane district after a tip-off, FDA Commissioner Dr. Harshadeep Kamble, told PTI.
"Pioma Chemicals imported Lactitol Monohydrate USP / EP, a drug illegally without registration and import license, as required under provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 and rules," Kamble said.
"Acting on this information the premises were raided and stock of 12,730 kg of Lactitol Monohydrate USP / EP which is prohibited and worth Rs 40 lakh, was seized," the senior IAS officer said.
"Primary investigation has revealed that Pioma Chemicals gave an undertaking to the Centre about the import of this dual use drug for the purpose of 'not for medicinal use'", he said.
Though this raw material can be used as bulk sweetener for manufacture of low calorie food products, it is also used as an active ingredient in drug manufacturing, he added.
This drug is used for treatment of constipation, prevention of encephalopathy, fissures, hemorrhoids, hyper cholestrolaemia, anorectal disease, etc, said Kamble.
Pioma Chemicals also gave an undertaking to the Central Government agency, CDSCO, that the said material will not be used or sold for medicinal purpose and that they will take similar undertaking about 'not for medicinal use' from the purchaser on said product, he said.
The drug is imported from Shandong Lujian Biological Technical Co. Ltd., China and is sold to various pharma companies like Sun Pharma, Medley Pharma Ltd., Tirupati Medicare, Akums Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ltd., he said.
Investigation has also revealed that Pioma chemicals have imported more than 3 lakh kilograms of the drug worth Rs 10 crore, he said.
According to the IAS officer, as per provisions of Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, import of drug requires registration of the manufacturer.
In this case since the manufacturer is based in China, registration for import will make their manufacturing facility available for audit and inspection by the Indian authorities, he added.
It also requires import license for import of drug to be issued by licensing authority of the Centre. The import of drugs without license is prohibited as per provision of sec 10 (c) read with rule 23, 25, 25 (b), 26 of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act and Rules, informed Kamble.
As the drug has been supplied to the manufacturers located in various states of the country, I have informed the concerned State Drug Controllers to verify and investigate the matter with respect to stock received by manufacturer located in their jurisdiction, said Kamble.
He also said that notices were issued to the users/ manufacturers of Lactitol Monohydrate USP/EP, namely Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Medley Pharma Ltd., Tirupati Medicare, Akums Drugs and Pharmaceutical Ltd.
Sample of the drug has been drawn for test and analysis to ascertain the quality of the drug imported illegally, he added.
The Drugs Controller General of India, New Delhi has been informed about the issue to conduct further enquiry, if necessary separately, and for reviewing the policy of issuing no objection certificate for import of dual use drugs, particularly for Lactitol Monohydrate USP / EP by Pioma Chemicals, Mumbai, said the officer.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attends the launch of the Jan Dhan Yojana, or the Scheme for People's Wealth, in New Delhi August 28, 2014.
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan today accused the Centre of compromising the security of the country and questioned the foreign and internal security policy of the BJP-led NDA government.
He also said that the country was facing worst ever crisis after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.
"You are aware of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Manipur is facing the same situation and Naxal attacks have increased manifold. There is tension with Pakistan and China, ties with Nepal and Russia have been hit, compromise is being made with security of the country," he told reporters here.
Holding Modi responsible for the prevailing situation in the country, he said prime minister wants to run the government single handedly even as he lacks the talent.
"He is not allowing anybody to work freely. Modi talked about new direction during his oath taking ceremony and invited prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif," he said.
He made a sudden stop-over at that country, sari-shawl diplomacy started and he was of the thought that everything will be alright as he had developed a personal relation with Sharif, Chavan said, adding "but he forgot that Pakistan Army and its ISI decides its relation with India and not its premier".
Referring to India's relation with Nepal, he said never in the history such deterioration had happened in the ties between the two countries.
"China is brow beating us every time. China and Pakistan relation is developing CPEC and 'One Road One Belt' initiative is being talked about. Everyone else is becoming part of it and the BJP is rubbing its hands," he said, adding Russia is coming closer to Pakistan and conducted military exercise there.
He said that we are unable to understand where we are going. "I feel the entire failure is because of the PM as he had taken the whole work of external affairs in his own hands sidelining Sushma swaraj," he said.
Continuing his attack on the BJP-led Centre on its third anniversary, he said BJP had failed on every front and failed to fulfill its poll promises.
"Nowadays, you are not hearing the prime minister talking about fighting corruption in his public addresses. It is because his government got exposed due to various scandals in BJP-led states. The height of the affairs is that there is no inquiry or progress in any of these cases," he alleged.
Speaking about Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, dam construction scandal in Arunachal Pradesh, petroleum corporation scam in Gujarat, mining scam in Rajasthan and money laundering in Chattisgarh, he said these exposed the BJP government at the Centre which had promised to fight corruption and black money.
He said the UPA government received names of 1,400 people who have offshore accounts through Germany.
"After the change of government, BJP got the files, but there is no progress. 500 names of Indian nationals surfaced in Panama papers but not a single case was registered, leave aside making some arrests."
He said it is on record who facilitated safe passage to former IPL chief Lalit Modi and business tycoon Vijay Mallya out of the country.
Terming demonetisation as a biggest scam, Chavan said the government claimed having taken the step to end fake currency, terrorism and black money.
"There is no end to corruption, black money was deposited in banks and made white. Money was spent in huge amounts in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections recently. From where money has come?" he asked and said RBI is not revealing how many notes have been printed and how many notes were returned.
He said fake currency notes, printed in Pakistan, have been seized in large numbers after demonetisation.
"Will Modi again go for demonetisation of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes? " the Congress leader said.
He said USD 753 million income was generated through export from agriculture sector in 2003-04 which was enhanced to USD 3,295 million during the UPA government but the NDA government has brought down the export to USD 1,338 million.
Chavan also questioned the government for its failure to generate jobs and taking industrial sector to new heights.
"Modi had promised to generate 2 crore jobs each year. Where are the 6 crore jobs? If you view government figures, only 1.35 crore jobs were created in 2015," he said, adding demonetisation has dealt a severe below to the unorganised sector.
He claimed that the youth of the country is frightened as to see his future bleak.
"Youth are feeling directionless. Chavan also lashed out at the BJP government for its failure to provide relief to the people as falling oil prices resulted benefit to the tune of USD 40 million to the government.
The wait for Rajini-fans might finally be over. Even as rumours have been flying around that the Tamil Nadu superstar might take a plunge into politics, his older brother, in what could be affirming the buzz, has said that Rajinikanth might enter politics by July end.
"It's people's wish that Rajinikanth should enter politics. He has just ended the first round of consultation with his fans and well-wishers who were urging him to take the plunge," said Rajinikanth's brother Satyanarayana Rao Gaikwad in an interview to Times of India.
There has been much speculation on whether or not Rajinikanth will launch his own party or join hands with others. However, there has been no confirmation till now.
Earlier this week, in an interview to CNN-News18, BJP leader and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said if Rajinikanth was joining politics, he should think about BJP as there was an "appropriate place" for him there. He underlined Rajinikanth's importance in Tamil Nadu politics because of the popularity he has among Tamil people.
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Pouring cold water over BJP's hopes that Rajnikanth might join them, Satyanarayana told TOI that the superstar would launch his own party whose name and structure are being decided upon.
On May 17, during an interaction with his fans, Rajinikanth said, If God decides that I join politics, then I will do so.
He was meeting fans in 15 TN districts from May 15 to May 19 for consultation regarding his political course. It was stalled due to the recent launch of his film Kaala Karikalaan.
With the death of Chief Minister J Jayalalitha last year, Tamil Nadu has resembled a battlefield with two warring factions of AIADMK bickering over the corner seat. Other national parties have been quietly working to make inroads into the state which has been mostly ruled by its stronger local parties, either by DMK or AIADMK.
Rahul Nahar
The richest 1 percent now have more wealth than the rest of the world combined. According to the World Economic Forum, rising income inequality now threatens continued economic growth and social cohesion across the globe. We need to address the reality that our global economic system, while generating immense wealth for the fortunate few, has excluded too many for too long.
The unequal nature of the global economy must be countered by innovative policies and approaches that create stable, and inclusive, economic development - and this effort must start with housing. Ensuring economic growth benefits everyone - the concept of inclusive development - has rapidly risen up the international development agenda as politicians and policymakers alike are recognising its win-win allure: increased equity generates increased prosperity.
While attempts to operationalise this aspiration have typically focused on issues such as employment and tax, the centrality of housing to promote inclusive development has been overlooked. Globally, housing is fastly becoming a larger proportion of individual's income expenditure.
In London, for example, tenants typically spend 72 percent of their earnings on rent, while the average European now spends the equivalent of around 17 minutes out of every hour working to pay for their rent. While housing costs make up an increasing proportion of our household spending for the general population, it is low income households who are hit the worst. In many cases, high housing costs act as a barrier to individuals moving to locations where there are better employment prospects, causing housing to perpetuate social and financial inequalities.
Equally, an absence of skilled workers in a location due to high housing costs is likely to deter continued investment. In some countries, inadequate housing not only threatens livelihoods, but can pose significant risks to health and lives. As people flock to urban centres out of necessity, unmanaged urbanisation can lead to overcrowding, poor sanitation, unsafe water supplies and a lack of public services. All these factors contribute to the rapid spread of serious health problems including tuberculosis, malaria and typhoid.
The average life expectancy in Indian slums is just 49 years, for example, twenty years below the countrys national average. Successful cities invest effort into designing policies that improve quality of life alongside economic prospects, and for this reason affordable housing for low income groups has become an important consideration across the globe. South Africa, for example, provides free land for houses for its poorest income groups, while Singapore provides public housing for more than 80% of its population through a dedicated Housing Development Board.
The centrality of decent housing to inclusive development is even reflected in the Sustainable Development Goals, which have set out to ensure access to all to adequate, safe and affordable housing by 2030. Achieving this goal will present a significant challenge for India, where it is predicted that 590 million people will live in cities by 2030- nearly twice the population of the United States today. While this trend is most likely unstoppable - 70 percent of net new employment will be generated in cities by 2030 - the current situation in which luxury apartments sit empty alongside sprawling slums must be addressed.
Prime Minister Modis recent commitment to build housing for all by 2022 demonstrates a realisation that housing is a key driver of equitable development, and the granting of infrastructure status to affordable housing developments is a promising first step.
While the government can create an enabling environment to increase the supply of affordable housing, the scale of the issue at hand - $2.1 trillion capital investment is needed to meet the projected demand in Indias cities - cannot be addressed by the private sector alone. Xrbia, as Indias affordable housing leader, is committed to increasing the supply of efficient, affordable housing for the next generation of homeowners.
The route to inclusive growth is not one where we can or should expect the central government to lead the way. A truly inclusive development process is one where individuals, businesses and governments all contribute to creating a society that benefits everyone.
Author is Chairman at XRBIA Developers
The camera system aboard NASA's Moon orbiting spacecraft survived a hit by a tiny meteoroid in 2014 which was travelling much faster than a speeding bullet, the US space agency said today.
On October 13, 2014, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC), which normally produces beautifully clear images of the lunar surface, captured an image that was wild and jittery.
From the sudden and jagged pattern of the image, the LROC team determined that the camera must have been hit by a tiny meteoroid, a small natural object in space.
LROC is a system of three cameras mounted on the LRO spacecraft. Two Narrow Angle Cameras (NACs) capture high resolution black and white images.
The third Wide Angle Camera captures moderate resolution images using filters to provide information about the properties and colour of the lunar surface.
According to Mark Robinson, principal investigator of LROC at Arizona State University (ASU) in the US, the jittery appearance of the image captured is the result of a sudden and extreme cross-track oscillation of the camera.
LROC researchers concluded that there must have been a brief violent movement of the left Narrow Angle Camera.
There were no spacecraft events like solar panel movements or antenna tracking that might have caused spacecraft jitter during this period.
"Even if there had been, the resulting jitter would have affected both cameras identically. The only logical explanation is that the NAC was hit by a meteoroid," said Robinson.
The LROC team ran simulations to see if they could reproduce the distortions seen on the October 13 image and determine the size of the meteoroid that hit the camera.
They estimate the impacting meteoroid would have been about half the size of a pinhead (0.8 millimetre), assuming a velocity of about seven kilometres per second and a density of an ordinary chondrite meteorite (2.7 grammes per cubic centimetre).
"The meteoroid was travelling much faster than a speeding bullet. In this case, LROC did not dodge a speeding bullet, but rather survived a speeding bullet!" said Robinson.
Launched on June 18, 2009, LRO has collected a treasure trove of data with its seven powerful instruments, making an invaluable contribution to our knowledge about the Moon.
It is very rare that the effects of an event like this are captured on camera, according to Robinson.
LROC typically only captures images during daylight and then only about 10 per cent of the day, so for the camera to be hit by a meteor during the time that it was also capturing images is statistically unlikely.
"LROC was struck and survived to keep exploring the Moon, thanks to robust camera design," said Robinson.
"Since the impact presented no technical problems for the health and safety of the instrument, the team is only now announcing this event as a fascinating example of how engineering data can be used, in ways not previously anticipated, to understand what is happing to the spacecraft over 380,000 kilometres from the Earth," said John Keller, LRO project scientist from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. PTI SAR .
Education
Montgomery County Community College will present the spring installment of the interview/talk show program Issues and Insights April 20 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in Science Center room 214, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The programs will be simulcast to the Colleges West Campus in South Hall room 216, 101 College Drive, Pottstown. Dr. Kolsky will offer a humorous presentation, Carrots, Sticks and Politics: A State of the Nation and the World Message. In this speech, he will provide his interpretation of domestic and international politics and then welcome questions from the audience for discussion. Issues and Insights, is free and open to the public. For information, contact Dr. Thomas Kolsky, professor of political science, at 215-641-6380 or tkolsky@mc3.edu.
Montgomery County Community Colleges STEM Scholars Program will host a STEM Jam! open house April 25 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the Advanced Technology Center at the Colleges Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The drop-in event is designed for students interested in learning more about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities will include STEM program information and career advising, STEM speakers throughout the day from industry and academia, micro-helicopter and robotics competitive obstacle courses and demonstrations and static models of STEM student and faculty work. For more information about STEM Jam! or STEM programs at MCCC, contact William Brownlowe at wbrownlowe@mc3.edu or 215-641-6644, or Robin Zuhlke at 215-619-7440 or rzuhlke@mc3.edu.
Temple Ambler, located at 580 Meetinghouse Road, presents the following events:
International Club Global Bazaar April 15 from 5 to 8 p.m. The Ambler Campus International Club invites all students, faculty, staff and the community to celebrate a multitude of diverse cultures, which will be showcased at the organizations Global Bazaar. This family friendly event will highlight cultural traditions and celebrations in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, South American, North America and Africa through music, entertainment, food and informative displays developed and presented by students at the Ambler Campus. Young visitors will be provided with passports, which they may get stamped at each country they visit. Prizes will be awarded to world travelers who talk to cultural representatives, answer questions about the countries theyve visited and take part in fun-filled activities designed to help them learn about the rich diversity of cultures found throughout the world. Refreshments will be served. The event is free. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail tuc36466@temple.edu.
EarthFest 2011 April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. More than 75 exhibitors, including the Philadelphia Zoo, The Franklin Institute, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Elmwood Park Zoo and the Insectarium, will take part in EarthFest 2011. School students of all ages are invited to attend and develop displays of their own. EarthFest partner the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society also offers its Kids Grow Expo, featuring the Junior Flower Show, as part of the event. For more information, call 267-468-8108 or e-mail duffyj@temple.edu.
Annual Spring Plant Sale May 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The plant sale an Ambler Campus tradition dating back to the early 1900s will feature woody plants and perennials in portable sizes, hardy trees, shrubs, and vines, native plants that are attractive to wildlife, herbs, and hanging baskets. There will also be numerous special plants for sale to highlight Amblers special anniversary year. Garden books and garden tools will also be available for sale. Students, staff, and volunteers from the Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture and the Ambler Arboretum Advisory Committee will be available to answer questions. All proceeds from the Spring Plant Sale will support the Ambler Arboretum Fund and the Pi Alpha Xi National Honor Society. Information: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
June Homecoming/Louise Bush-Brown Garden Dedication June 5 from 12:30 to 2 p.m. (June Homecoming), Bright Hall Lounge; 2 p.m. (Garden Dedication), Ambler Campus Formal Perennial Gardens. Tickets June Homecoming: Participant $18 per person; Sustainer $25 per person; Benefactor $40 per person. The 2011 June Homecoming, sponsored by the School of Environmental Design Alumni Association, will include the Alumni Association annual meeting and luncheon. June Homecoming will be followed by the formal dedication of Temple University Amblers Formal Perennial Gardens as the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Gardens. During this 100th anniversary of the campus, Temple University Ambler and the Ambler Arboretum of the Temple University is honoring Louise Bush-Browns many contributions to the history of the campus by formally dedicating the gardens in her honor. During the program, campus Executive William Parshall will welcome guests, Ambler Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey will speak about the Bush-Browns and the history of the garden, and an official ribbon cutting will be held for the Louise Bush-Brown Formal Garden. Following the ribbon cutting, guests are invited to take a tour of the gardens, which will wend their way to the Campus Greenhouse for the School of Environmental Designs annual Plant Auction. Information (Garden Dedication): 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Information (June Homecoming): 215-482-0722. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
Northview Garden Tour and Fundraiser for the Ambler Arboretum June 12 from noon to 5 p.m. Call for reservations. Tickets: $15 per person or $20 at the door. In addition to the gardens of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University, Arboretum Director Jenny Rose Carey has a garden oasis all her own right in Ambler Northview. Visitors will have the opportunity to take self-guided tours throughout the many gardens, where garden experts will be available to answer questions about the various designs. The Ambler Keystone Chapter of the Womans National Farm and Garden Association will also provide tea and refreshments. All proceeds from the tours will support the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. Information or to register: 267-468-8001 or judy.shatz@temple.edu. Learn more at www.ambler.temple.edu/anniversary.
The Senior Adult Activities Center of Montgomery County, 536 George Street, Norristown, will hold the following events:
SAAC Adult Day Care, an alternative to Nursing Home Care is available for information call 610-275-1960
Volunteers are needed for Meals on Wheels Program (call the number above)
SAACs Fifth Avenue Boutique opens Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Exercise with Theresa will be held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 1 p.m.
Dance class is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Tai Chi is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Yoga is held every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
Line Dancing is held every Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Dancing with Joan is held every Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.
Sculpture Class is held Wednesdays from 2 to 3:30 p.m.
Why Should I Learn Spanish? will be held Wednesdays at 10:30 a.m.
Generations On-Line computer classes for seniors will be held Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. 4 p.m. computers are available during those hours.
Health Living will be held every Tuesday at 1 p.m.
Boomer U will hold the following events. Boomer U is located at 45 Forest Avenue, Ambler. Registration & payment is required for all events: 215-619-8863.
Pilates Class is held Wednesdays and Fridays at 9:30 a.m. First class is free; please bring a mat. For information call 610-291-5376.
Blue Bell School of Dance, 921 Penllyn Blue Bell Pike, Blue Bell, hosts Argentine Tango Classes and a Milonga dance party every Friday evening. Lessons start at 8:30 p.m. followed by dancing at 9:30 p.m. Andrew Conway, master Argentine Tango dancer, instructor and performer and his partner Linda Chase will instruct. All levels welcome and no partner is needed. Refreshments will be served. Fee is $12 per person and includes lesson and dancing. Information: 215-634-1101 or www.amoretango.com.
The Montgomery Hospital Medical Center will offer the following classes:
Childbirth Education Class- all parents are invited to participate, including those who are delivering at
other hospitals. For more information on maternity services or classes, call 610-270-2020.
CPR and First Aid Courses are offered for beginners to experiences health care providers. Call 610-270-2313.
The Ambler SAAC (Senior Adult Activities Center), located at 45 Forest Ave in Ambler will hold the following events:
Tai Chi every Monday and Thursday at 11 a.m.
Yoga is every Tuesday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 10:30 a.m.
Strength and balance training every Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Armchair Aerobics is held every Monday at 10 a.m.
Gourmet Weight Wise every Thursday at 12:30.
Fitness Center and Pool Room open daily 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
The Diabetes Education Center will offer day and evening classes each month. Health insurance pays for diabetes education classes. Preregistration is required. Call 610-270-2301.
For Kids & Families
The Ambler Kiwanis Club will host its annual Easter Egg Hunt April 26 at 10 a.m. in Ambler Borough Park, located just off of the intersection of Hendricks Street and Valley Brook Road. Members of the Wissahickon Key Club will assist Kiwanians in hiding thousands of wrapped chocolate eggs in a designated area of the park. Also hidden will be plastic colored eggs, which are redeemed for prizes. Elementary school children are separated by age.
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation will hold its 21st annual Storybook Egg-Stravaganza April 15 fom 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Upper Dublin Township Building. Toddlers and preschoolers love this annual event where photo opportunities with favorite friends abound! Treasures are collected from UDP&Rs assortment of lifesize cutouts of favorite cartoon characters from Disney, Sesame Street, Nickelodeon and other well-known animation. Children can have their picture taken with Bugsy OHare; bring your own camera. And dont forget a basket for goodies! $7 for UD residents; $12 for non-residents. Pre-register at 215-643-1600 ext. 3443.
Splash Week is a free week-long program that teaches children and families basic swimming skills and water safety practices. All YMCA branches will host multiple classes each day from April 11 to 15. For more information, contact the Ambler Area YMCA at 215-628-9950.
Healthy Kids Day is April 16 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The day is filled with fun, engaging and artistic activities that cultivate healthy living as part of the YMCAs larger efforts to help more kids and families become physically active. All activities are free and open to the community. For more information, contact the Ambler YMCA at 215-628-9950. No reservation is required.
The Ambler Area YMCA has added several new programs for area youngsters. Classes are held late afternoons or evenings on various weekdays. For more information, visit philaymca.org or call 215-628-9950.
Basic Beading: Ages: 10+. Wednesdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. This class will teach you the fundamentals of wiring and stringing along with how color can be used to create unique and vibrant beadwork design. You will create various jewelry including earrings, bracelets, charm pendants and much more! Supplies will be provided. Bringing your own jewelry pliers or tools would be a plus.
Messin with the Masters: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 7 to 7:45 p.m. Learn about some of the worlds greatest artists. You will be inspired to create your own Starry Night with oil pastels and tempera paints, a tissue paper painted Monet garden, a Picasso head using scraps of paper, a Georgia OKeeffe clay flower bowl and a Rousseau jungle collage.
Super Scientist: Ages: 5-7. Mondays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Well be concocting chemistry experiments such as making slime, mixing potions and having fun with magnet magic. Your budding little scientist will enhance his/her creative thinking and motor skills and to top it off will learn that science can be serious fun.
Wacky Junk Art: Ages: 8-12. Thursdays 6 to 6:45 p.m. Why throw it away! Instead join us to make household junk into aliens from outer space, wacky specs, crazy hats, body masks or a recycled train.
Globe Trotters: Ages: 4-6. Tuesdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Youre never too young to start thinking globally. Each week, we explore a new country through crafts, games, music, stories and even some taste-testing. A perfect introduction to our great big world!
Crazy about Crafts: Ages: 5-7, Thursdays 4:30 to 5:15 p.m. Let your childs creative juices flow with our fun arts and crafts projects each week. Fine motor skills and creative thinking skills will be enhanced with this crafty class.
Come out and join the Ambler Area YMCAs Teen and Junior Leaders Club. Participants are given the freedom to plan community service projects year round and truly make a difference in the lives of people in need. Those in Teen and Junior Leaders also attend leadership retreats all along the East Coast three times a year and meet other leaders who are doing the same great work in their respective areas. Dont miss out on this inspiring opportunity. Teen Leaders, ages 13-17, meet every Wednesday from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Junior Leaders, ages 10-12, will begin in the spring and will meet every Monday. For more information, contact Mike Miles, Teen Director, 215- 628-9950 x 1540 or mmiles@philaymca.org.
Did you know that the new Ambler Area YMCA holds childrens birthday parties at its site for members and non members as well. The Ambler Y does all the work from start to finish and birthday parties include a personalized cake, ice cream, beverage and paper products. Parties are held on Saturday and Sunday afternoons and include two party hosts to lead activities, set-up, clean-up and assist with serving. You can have a Splash Party for children ages six to 12 in the new zero depth entry pool with water slide and spray fountains. Up to 25 children have exclusive use of the pool area with 30 minutes in the party room. Sports Parties are offered for kids ages four to 12 with age appropriate activities and games, and sports such as floor hockey, soccer, basketball or dodge ball. Children ages three to five years of age will enjoy parties in the Family Active Center with use of the Moon Bounce and organized activities, such as parachute play and songs. For information, 215-628-9950 ext. 1583.
Community Events at the Ambler Y:
-YAchievers YMCA Achievers is a developmentally based, extracurricular, educational and team mentoring program designed to help students in grades five through 12 prepare for fulfilled livelihoods in college and beyond. Participation is free and all students in this program receive a free YMCA membership. Registration for the 2009 program begins now. You do not need to be a YMCA member to utilize these special services. Call 215-628-9950 to register.
Greater Norristown Art Leagues Childrens Weeklong Summer Art Camps will be held at 800 West Germantown Pike in East Norriton, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday throughout the summer. The cost per session is $125 per student for ages 6 and up. Jo Ann Cooksey Bono teaches an introduction to basic drawing skills and techniques from 10 a.m. until the lunch break each day. In the afternoon sessions, Mary Vogel Lozinak involves the students in hands on projects such as collage, papermaking, T-shirt printing, 3D design and sculpy clay. Fridays Graduation Day includes an art show, awards ceremony and reception for parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. All supplies are included. Students provide their own lunch. A refrigerator is available and the building is air-conditioned. This is the 15th year to run this successful program. Both instructors are professional artists with State Police and Child Abuse Clearances. To register, call Jo Ann at 610-279-1008, or register on-line at www.gnal.org.
Health
Dresher Physical Therapy is hosting an interactive seminar discussing its Golf Assessment Progam April 30 from 10 a.m. to noon at Dresher Physical Therapy, 1075 Virginia Drive, Suite 200, Fort Washington. Physical therapist Chris Miller, certified through the Titleist Performance Institute, will discuss why your body may be the most important piece of golf equipment you invest in and how this can drastically improve your game. $10 in advance; $15 at the door. Call 215-619-4545 to reserve your spot.
The Chestnut Hill Center for Enrichment, Center on the Hill and Chestnut Hill Hospital will host a Senior Health and Resource Fair April 14 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Chestnut Hill Presbyterian Church, 8855 Germantown Ave. The event is free. For more information, call 215-248-0180 or e-mail chseniors@cavtel.net.
The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is hosting Help Yourself to Health, a new six-week workshop for older adults with ongoing health conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, anxiety, heart disease and others. The free workshop will take place at the Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center, 45 Forest Ave. on six Thursdays, May 12 through June 16 from 9:30 a.m. to noon. Although there is no charge to participate, registration is required. To register, call 215-619-8863.
The Ambler Senior Adult Activities Center is sponsoring an eight-week program called A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Presented by the Montgomery County Health Department, this workshop will be held on Tuesdays, May 3 to June 21 from 10 a.m. to noon at the Ambler Center, 45 Forest Ave. If you pre-register by April 27, the fee is only $5! Registration at the first class is $10. (Checks should be payable to SAAC and will benefit our Meals on Wheels program that serves homebound seniors.) A workbook will be provided and refreshments will be served. Call 215-619-8863 to register or for more information.
Fort Washington Wellness Center classes are ongoing. There are several offered during lunch or right after work, for your convenience: Boot Camp from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday; Zumba is MWF from 11 a.m. to noon and Friday at 4 p.m.; there are 25 cycling classes; Ashtanga and Vinyasana Yoga and Pilates; and a group Womens Strength Training class M-F from 10 to 11 a.m. Questions, call Cathy DeMarco at 215-641-1245.
Following the success of other local area programs, Impact Sports and Upper Dublin Parks and Recreation are delighted to team up again to offer a spring program for the 2011 season! Upper Dublin area children ages 3-5 years old can attend a Sports Program featuring their favorite sports games; soccer, rugby, hockey, track and field, basketball, and more. The program will start on April 27 and run through June 1. Cost for the program is $85 for the six weeks. The classes will be running 12- 1 p.m.; 1- 2 p.m.; 2- 3 p.m. For more info or to register, call Upper Dublin Township on 215 643 1600 or visit their website a http://www.upperdublin.net.
Spring Aquatic Programs UDHS Pool:
-Summer is just around the corner Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool can help get you into shape! Programs begin in March; preregistration is required.
Shallow Water Aerobics Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 8-8:45 p.m., $40R/$50NR.
Adult Swim Instructions Two 5-week programs, Wednesday nights, 7-8 p.m., $50R/$60NR
-Open Rec Swims are fun for the whole family! Come out on Fridays from 7-9 p.m. or Saturdays from 1-4 p.m. and enjoy use of the pool and diving area. Fridays are offered through June 17; Saturdays are offered March 12-May 21.
-Join a growing group of adult lap swimmers and water walkers. Lanes are set aside evenings and weekends for use; lanes are shared. Monday Thursday from 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Fridays from 7-9 p.m. and Saturdays (March 12-May 21) from 1-4 p.m.
-Private Swimming & Diving Lessons for ages 3-adult are offered at the UDHS Pool through a partnership with the Upper Dublin Aquatic Club (UDAC). Visit the UDAC website for more information, www.udac.us, and click the link to UDHS Private Lessons.
-Looking for local programs for US Masters Swimming (adults) or Water Polo (all ages)? UDAC and UDSD are working together to develop programs that will be offered at the UDHS Pool. Add your name to Interest Lists by emailing slohoefer@upperdublin.net. emails will be sent about clinics and program start dates.
Questions about Community Aquatic Programs at the UDHS Pool, group use of the pool or pool rental? Contact Susan Lohoefer, Facility & Community Affairs Manager at slohoefer@upperdublin.net or call 215-643-8800 x8994.
SilverSneakers Fitness Program. The Healthyways SilverSneakers Fitness Program is a result-oriented program that enables older adults to take charge of their health. The program is an innovative blend of physical activity, healthy lifestyle and socially oriented programing. Members of the program are eligible for a free YMCA membership, with use of the pool and exercise equipment, along with customized classes designed for older adults who want to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance. If you are a subscriber to Independence Blue Cross (Personal Choice 65 PPO) or Keystone 65 HMO, Bravo Health, or Health Options Programs (HOP), call the Ambler Area YMCA, 215-628-9950 or Hatboro Area YMCA, 215-674-4545. You can also visit www.silversneakers.com.
Zumba Fitness offers Zumba dance/fitness classes at Academy of Dance and Music/BBAD Studio located at 1524 DeKalb Pike in Blue Bell (behind Sherwin Williams). Classes are offered three times a week: Tuesdays at 6 p.m., Thursdays at 6:30 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 a.m. For a free trial pass for your first class, email us at info@danceandmusic.biz or call 610-277-2557. For more info, visit our site at www.academyofdanceandmusic.org.
Chestnut Hill Health Systems presents the following Health Education Programs:
FITNESS CLASSES
Golden Yoga: A Breathing, Stretching and Relaxation Class. Fridays, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Lea Auditorium, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. Registration for four classes at a time required. Golden Yoga is Classical Yoga, adapted by the SKY Foundation, to accommodate those who have difficulty getting up and down from the floor. The program includes postures, breathing, relaxation and meditation techniques, all performed while sitting in a chair and standing. Registration required. Call 215-247-3029. Cost: $20 for 4 classes per month.
Tai Chi: Tuesdays & Thursdays, 8:30 9:30 a.m. Springfield Residence, 8601 Stenton Ave. Classes, for the novice or beginner/intermediate student, are designed to improve balance, power, posture, coordination, flexibility and mental focus. Slow, gentle movements are modified to most everyones abilities. For more information or to sign up for a free introductory class, call 215-882-2804. Cost: $8 per class/paid monthly.
SUPPORT GROUPS
Weight Loss Surgery Support Group: Fourth Wednesday of the month, 7-8 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. Join us for a monthly get-together where well share information for those interested in weight loss surgery, learn from guest speakers discussing current news on issues including lifestyle modification, nutrition and exercise and provide ongoing support for those who have completed surgery. Registration required. Call 215-753-2000.
Breast Cancer Networking Group: Fourth Tuesday of the month 5:30 7 p.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia. A free, confidential support group for women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer designed to provide a forum for sharing information, feelings and concerns associated with breast cancer. Facilitated by Tish Wakefield, LCSW, Oncology Social Worker. Registration required. To register or for more information, call 215-248-8047.
New Moms Support Groups Tuesdays 10:30 a.m. 12 p.m.; contact Jeanine ORourke, MSW or 2:30 4 p.m.; contact Susan Schack, Ph.D Volunteer Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. The Center for Postpartum Depression at Chestnut Hill Hospital is pleased to offer two new support groups to support new moms. Both groups will be run by experienced mental health professionals who really get it when it comes to new motherhood and juggling relationships, extended family, work/family balance and self-care. If you are experiencing new mom challenges that often heighten anxiety and involve hormonally driven depression, join us for an informative and supportive forum to connect with other moms. Infants are welcome. $30 per session (flexible based on need). Registration is required. Call Dr. Schack, 646-265-2484, or Ms. ORourke, 215-206-2931.
Man to Man Prostate Cancer Support Group Third Thursday of the month 8-9 a.m. Williams Conference Room, Chestnut Hill Hospital, 8835 Germantown Ave. A networking group for men diagnosed with prostate cancer designed to provide education, support and encouragement. Spouses and partners welcome. Harry M. Baer, MD, Chief, Urology Division, will host Ask the Doctor. Registration required. Call 215-248-8325.
Contact the Senior Center by phone 215-248-0180 or email (chseniors@cavtel.net) with your questions about these programs or any of our on-going activities and classes.
Holy Redeemer HomeCare and Hospice seeks compassionate and emotionally mature volunteers to provide support to local hospice patients and their families in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. Volunteers may also assist with pet therapy and administrative work within the hospice department and are requested to have daytime availability. Hospice patient care volunteers visit with patients in their homes or nursing facilities once a week for two to three hours. They provide emotional support and companionship to patients and family members, assist with errands or provide respite for caregivers. Bereavement volunteers support the families of hospice patients following the loss of a loved one, while administrative volunteers assist with typing, mailings and/or filing. Hospice care workers provide a great service to families and loved ones of hospice patients. Many volunteers also report a great deal of personal satisfaction as a result of their services. Patient care and bereavement volunteers complete an application and attend an 18-hour volunteer training program that covers the medical, psychological and spiritual aspects of hospice volunteering. Day and evening training programs are offered. To sign up for volunteer opportunities in Pennsylvania, contact Holy Redeemer Volunteer Coordinator Jean Francis at 215-698-3737 or email jfrancis@holyredeemer.com.
Librarytalk
Upper Dublin Public Library, 805 Loch Alsh Avenue, Ft. Washington, 215-628-8744
www.upperdublinlibrary.org
APRIL CHILDRENS PROGRAMS:
Storytimes: Please register in the library.
o Wee Ones: 0 to 23 months Thursdays and Fridays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m.
o Tiny Tots: age 2. Wednesdays 10:30 to 10:50 a.m. and Fridays 11 to 11:20 a.m.
o Jr. Book Lovers: ages 3 to 6. Tuesdays 10:30 to 11 a.m.
o Bedtime Storytimes: 7 to 7:30 p.m. April 20 and 27. Wear your jammies, bring your teddy & hear Miss Barbara read bedtime stories! For ages 3 to 6.
APRIL TEEN PROGRAMS:
North Hills Library Teens April 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. Movie Matinee
APRIL UDPL ADULT PROGRAMS:
NEW! ESL Conversation Group. Tuesdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Interested in practicing your English in a safe and caring environment? Come to our conversation group and improve your skills! Please register with Kay Klocko at 215-628-8744 or kklocko@mclinc.org.
One-on-One Computer Mentoring. Get personalized assistance from experienced computer volunteers! Sign-up for a one-hour session. Limit one session per month. Please register contact info above.
Book Groups Please register with Kay Klocko 215-628-8744.
o Daytimers: April 21 at 1:30 p.m. Tired of book groups where you all read the same book? Read any fiction or non-fiction book on this months theme: Explorers. Please register.
Meetings:
Annual Meeting of the Friends of UDPL: April 14 at 1 p.m.
Board of Directors: April 20 at 7 p.m.
Blue Bell Library www.wvpl.org Upcoming Events: The Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 650 Skippack Pike (Route 73) in Blue Bell, is diagonally across from the Blue Bell Inn. Call 215-643-1320 or visit their website at www.wvpl.org.
For children and teens at Blue Bell:
* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.
* Mondays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Wednesdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.
* Fridays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Family Movies, new releases, second Saturdays of the month at 1:30 p.m.
* May 14 Despicable Me
* June 11 Alpha and Omega
* Special Events
* April watch for date of spring/Easter events
* April 14 at 4:30 p.m. Junior Lego Club for children ages 3 through 5. Parents and caregivers need to stay with children.
* April 14 at 7 p.m. Jeopardy for ages 11 to 18. Test your book and library knowledge for prizes. Sign up to be a contestant. No sign up to be in the audience. Snacks provided.
* April 16 at 1 p.m. Adult Mystery Book Group discussing The Beekeepers Apprentice by Laurie King.
* April 16 at 1:30 p.m. Childrens event for One Book, Every Young Child celebration. Story and craft for book Whose Shoes?
* April 19 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 1:30 p.m.- Adult book group discusses The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester. Group led by Adam Button.
* April 30 through May 3 Friends book sale with about 10,000 items for sale for children, teens and adults.
* May sign up for Science in the Summer
* June sign up for Enrichment Programs for Elementary-Age children
* June sign up for Summer Reading, all ages
For adults at Blue Bell:
* Daytime Book Discussion Group fourth Tuesday, Jan April at 1:30 p.m.
* April 26 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
* Night-time Book Discussion Group third Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m.
o April 19 The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
* Art Series with Dr. Sheldon Weintraub, docent at The Barnes and speaker at local colleges
o April 27 at 2 p.m. The Art of Looking at Art-Is She Nude or Is She Naked?
*Mystery Book Discussion Group, third Saturday of the month at 1 p.m.; new mystery theme each month; www.wvpl.org/programs
* Yoga on Mondays at 1:30 p.m. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop-in class.
* Tai Chi on Mondays at 3 p.m. with Dr. Kurt Findeisen. $20 for eight classes; $5 per drop in class.
* Philadelphia Museum of Art presents class on their Marc Chagall exhibit, April 13 at 2 p.m.
* Giant Book Sale, April 29 May 3
o Starts with almost 10,000 items for children and adults!
o Held during library hours.
o Preview for members of the Friends of the Library, April 28 at 7 p.m.
o Join the Friends and attend the preview sale. Modest fee to join.
* Blooms at Blue Bell Gardening Series
o May 11 at 1 p.m. Summer Bulbs by PA Horticultural Society
* Knitting group Mondays and Wednesdays at 10 a.m. Work on your project or observe and learn. The groups continue year-round in the community room.
* Socrates Cafe discussion group every Monday at 7 p.m. You pick the topic to discuss each week. No sign-up, nothing to read.
* Bridge every Friday at 12:30 p.m. New players welcome.
* Mah Jong every Wednesday at 1 p.m. New players welcome.
*Chess every Wednesday at 7p.m. for adults and teens 14 and older.
* Movie Matinee showing recent releases every Thursday at 2 p.m. April 14: Maos Last Dancer; April 21: Welcome to the Rileys; April 28: Conviction; May 5: Inception; May 12: Inside Job; May 19 The Kings Speech; May 26 The Fighter; June 2 Rabbit Hole; June 9 Black Swan; June 16 127 Hours
* Ongoing like-new, year-round book sale for adults & children during library hours
* Library opening at 10 a.m. Monday through Saturday!
Ambler Library, a branch of the Wissahickon Valley Public Library, 209 Race St., 215-646-1072. www.wvpl.org. All the following events occur at the Ambler Library.
* Story times with guitar music by Miss Michelle, the singing librarian.
* Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m. for all ages.
* Thursdays at 4:30 p.m. for all ages.
* For adults:
* Beading Group meets the first and third Monday of every month at 1 p.m. Work on your own projects or come to watch and learn.
* Free Family History Lookup with Connie Briggs. Email Connie for an appointment at the Ambler Library. conniebriggs@comcast.net
* Special Events:
* April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Book Group discusses Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian.
* April 19 at 7 p.m. Travel to Paris with world traveler Harry Balin. Tea and scones at 6:30 p.m.
* April 21 at 7 p.m. Art with Sara for children in fourth through seventh grades.
*May 2 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Lone Star with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.
*May 10 Robert Capucci discusses Art into Fashion. Tea and scones served at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.
*May 12 at 1:30p.m. Book Group discusses The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman.
*May 17 Tour the gardens of Devon and Southwest England with Lois McMullen. Tea and Scones at 6:30 p.m. Program at 7 p.m.
*June 13 at 6:30 p.m. Discuss the movie Blade Runner with Temple Professor Lisa Hawkins. Watch the movie ahead of time.
Meetings and Lectures
The Unisys Blue Bell Retiree Group will meet in the Church on the Mall in the Plymouth Meeting Mall April 14 at 1:30 p.m. Kathy Sacket Young, director/trainer with the North Penn YMCA, will speak on Keeping Fit in Retirement. For more information, contact Membership Committee Chairperson Jerry Feldscher at 610-275-3538 or President Al Rollin at 215-368-4833.
The next FWBA meeting will be April 28 at the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Networking begins at 11:30 a.m.; meeting from noon to 1 p.m. Leon Singletary, Principal, First Contact HR and FWBA Executive Board, will present: Social Media: How to Use It To Get More Business. Lunch is provided courtesy of the Hilton Garden Inn Fort Washington. Members are welcome to bring a guest. An RSVP is requested by return email or 215-628-0313.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Southeastern PA is hosting a information sessions over the next few weeks on how to become a Big Brother. The information sessions will take place: April 16 at noon, April 19 at 8 a.m. and April 28 at 6 p.m. All sessions will be held at the groups Norristown Office,t 530 DeKalb St., Norristown. For more information, call 610-277-2200.
The North Penn Chapter of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) normally meets on the third Tuesday of each month from now until May. Meetings are held at the William Penn Inn on Route 202 and Sumneytown Pike, Upper Gwynedd, PA. Social hour starts at 5:30 p.m., dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., and the technical program begins at 7 p.m. Cost with reservation is $28 for members. Members without reservations and guests pay $30. Students with reservations pay $15. Reservations may be made by noon on the Monday preceding the meeting by phoning 215-371-1854 or emailing the reservation to northpennima@yahoo.com northpennima@yahoo.com. Information about the North Penn Chapter is available at http://northpenn.imanet.org/.
LeTip, a professional organization of men and women who are dedicated to the highest standards of competence and service meets every Tuesday at Cedar Brook Country Club, 180 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell at 7 a.m. -meeting officially starts at 7:16 a.m. and ends at 8:31 a.m. Our purpose is the exchange of business tips, leads, and referrals. Each business category is represented by one member and conflicts of interest are disallowed. Guests are welcome to visit any of our breakfast meetings.
Every third Thursday of month, Sunrise Assisted Living of Blue Bell (795 Penllyn Pike, Blue Bell, PA 19422, 215-619-2777) serves as a satellite site to 148th Legislative district PA congressman Mike Gerber from 10 a.m. to noon. Stop by for help needed with things such as disability placards and license plates, vehicle registration, utilities issues, birth/death certificates,property tax/rent rebates, etc. Notary services arranged by appointment.
The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce is an action-oriented organization dedicated to promoting its members and the economic health of eastern Montgomery county. The Chamber is committed to serving as a catalyst by uniting business, community agencies, government and education to make our county a great place to live and work. For information, call 215-887-5122 or visit www.emccc.org.
Do you have a fear of public speaking? Blue Bell Toastmasters Club can help. We meet from 7 to 9 p.m., on the second and fourth Tuesday at the Marriott Courtyard, located on Route 202, directly across from the Montgomeryville Mall. Learn how to improve communication and leadership skills in a friendly and supportive environment. Guests are welcome. Admission fee: $5. For more info, visit www.bbtoast.org.
The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will hold the following meetings (for reservations to any of the following, email info@PennSuburban.org)
-Breakfast News Network, 7:30-8:45 a.m. at Normandy Farm Hotel (1401 Morris Road, Blue Bell, PA 19422) $15 members, includes full buffet breakfast. Join us for a networking program at Normandy Farm Hotel every Thursday morning for breakfast, business news, informative speakers, and plenty of networking. The cost includes a full breakfast buffet. Copies of the business cards will be made available to those who would like them.
The BNI, Fort Washington Chapter meets every Monday at The Hilton Garden Inn, 520 Pennsylvania Ave., Fort Washington for a networking meeting. Meetings are from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Visitors are welcome. The only cost to attend is the cost of your meal. For information or a reservation to attend, please call Luanne Cram at 215-947-7784, or visit our Internet site at: http://www.BNIDVR.Com and click on the menu item Find a Chapter.
For the past seven years, people have enjoyed participating in WVWAs Adopt-a-Tree program. Individuals can support the Association in its reforestation efforts by purchasing native trees to be planted. Supporters can plant their adopted tree or have WVWA volunteers will plant it. Trees cost $30 each. If you would like to volunteer or purchase a tree(s), please contact: Bob Adams at Bob@wvwa.org or call: 215-646-8866 for more information. Check www.WVWA.org for directions and maps.
Sustainable Upper Dublin, http://sustainableupperdublin.org, meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m., at the Upper Dublin Township Building, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Please send any questions to suec@sustainableupperdublin.org or call 610-996-6316. To learn more about Sustainable Upper Dublin, view or join the discussion at http://googlegroups.com/group/sustainableupperdublin.
Special Events
The Mattie N. Dixon Community Cupboard will hold its first nutrition class April 19 at 10 a.m. at the Community Cupboard, 150 N. Main St., Ambler. Lynne Sinclair, a nutritionist from Abington Memorial Hospital specializing in diabetic nutrition, will conduct the class. Topics will include healthy eating, beneficial foods, recipes, making meals with every day foods, and how to use unfamiliar produce. A healthy snack will be provided.The class is is open to all residents in Montgomery County.
The Historical Society of Fort Washington presents The History of Conshohocken April 19 at 8 p.m. at the Clifton House, 473 Bethlehem Pike, Fort Washington. Jack Coll will present an illustrated program on the history of the Borough of Conshohocken. Coll is a longtime resident of Conshohocken and a member of the Conshohocken Historical Society. He is co-author with his son, Brian, of the Arcadia Then and Now Series book Conshohocken. He has also done books Conshohocken and West Conshohocken Sports and Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Italian Feast. He has taken many photos for the Conshohocken Record and the Norristown Times Herald. This program is free. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, call 215-646-6065.
Taste of the White House Soiree featuring former White House Chef Walter Scheib will take place April 29 at 6 p.m. at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club in Fort Washington to celebrate HealthLinks 10th anniversary and honor its founders, the Eugene Jackson Family. The evening will heat up with a Chef Meet & Greet, followed by a specially selected presidential menu. Gala tickets are $150 per person. Proceeds benefit HealthLink, a free clinic providing compassionate, quality medical and dental care to uninsured, working adults in Bucks and Montgomery counties who fall in between the health care cracks. Go to http://tasteofthewhitehouse.charityhappenings.org to make reservations online or lend support through sponsorship. For event information, call 267-699-0124 or email jmarushak@healthlinkmedical.org.
The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association will hold an open house at the Evans-Mumbower Mill April 17 from 1 to 4 p.m. The Mill is at the corner of Swedesford and Township Line Roads in Upper Gwynedd. The open house is free but donations are welcome. For more information, call 215-646-8866 o email info@wvwa.org.
The Eastern Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce will host Breakfast With Your County Commissioners and State Representatives April 21 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the Holiday Inn Fort Washington, 432 W. Pennasylvania Ave. Commissioners: James R. Matthews (Chairman), Joseph M. Hoeffel (Vice Chair), State Representatives: Todd Stephens (District 151) and Josh Shapiro (District 153). Register onlineat www.emccc.org. $10 for EMCCC member; $20 for non-members.
Upper Dublins Districtwide Allied Art Show will be held April 27 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the Upper Dublin High School Athletic Complex.
The Rev. Alfred Muli, chaplain at Fort Washington Estates, will be the featured speaker at the Kiwanis sponsored breakfast observing the National Day of Prayer May 5 at 7 a.m. at the William Penn Inn. The breakfast is open to the public ($15). Reservations can be made by calling 215-646-4356 or by emailing georgesaurman@Juno.com.
The Upper Dublin Shade Tree Commission invites people to participate in its spring bare root planting events, sponsored in part by Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Friends of Robbins Park. On April 9, zix trees will be planted at the Evelyn B. Wright Park & Community Pool, 401 Logan Ave., North Hills, at 9 a.m., followed by the planting of 10 trees at Sheeleigh Park, Loch Alsh Avenue and Douglas Street, Ambler, at 10:15 a.m. On April 29, students from Upper Dublin High School will join the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society to plant 16 trees in Robbins Park, Butler Pike and Meetinghouse Road, Ambler, to help launch the societys Million Trees campaign. This event will occur in conjunction with Temple Amblers EarthFest. Experienced tree-tenders are sought to assist the students. For more information,contact Ron Ayres at 215-653-0421 or 215-483-4348.
The Friends of the Wissahickon and the Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association are teaming up once again to clean the Wissahickon Creek from top to bottom April 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. This spring marks the 41st anniversary of Wissahickon Valley Watershed Associations annual Creek Clean Up, and the second year that FOW has teamed up with WVWA. Volunteers of all ages will clean the creek, the surrounding trails and the many tributaries of the Wissahickon Creek. Armed with bags, volunteers will be assigned to sections of the creek. Following the clean up, all volunteers are invited to WVWAs Talkin Trash picnic in Fort Washington State Park, with food provided by Whole Foods Market of North Wales. The pavilion is located on Mill Road in Flourtown. To help out in Montgomery County, all volunteers must be pre-assigned a section of the Wissahickon Creek to clean. Please contact Bob Adams, WVWA director of stewardship, at 215-646-8866 ext. 14 or bob@wvwa.org. To work with the Friends of the Wissahickon in Philadelphia, meet at the pavilion along Forbidden Drive, a short distance south of the intersection of Forbidden Drive and Northwestern Avenue. Limited parking is available along Northwestern Avenue and other nearby streets. Volunteers are encouraged to bike or carpool to the event. To participate, register at www.fow.org. Contact Kevin Groves with questions at 215-247-0417 ext. 105 or groves@fow.org.
Montgomery County Community Colleges International Club invites the community to the second annual International Festival April 20 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The rain date is April 26. The International Club will transform the outside quad area into multicultural celebration with various performances by dancers, singers and musicians. Artists will share their artwork at various display tables. Activities include games, raffles, Easter egg decorating and henna tattoos. Students will have samples of international cuisine at tables representing different countries and will serve food from various local ethnic restaurants. Throughout the evening, volunteers will accept donations and will raffle gift baskets and prizes to raise funds for Habitat for Humanity. Donations of food, international clothes and prizes are needed. Volunteers, including artists and performers, are welcome. For more information or to sponsor an activity, contact Gillian Nel, International Club president, at gnel9277@students.mc3.edu or 267-974-0163.
The Arts and Humanities Division at Montgomery County Community College is partnering with the Philadelphia Writers Conference to host Memoirs Matter: How Life Stories (Including Yours) Can Transform Your Relationship to Literature April 23 from 1 to 3 p.m. in Advanced Technology Center room 101, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The event is free and open to the public. In the first part of this two-hour seminar, professor and author Robert Waxler will explain how writing his two memoirs affected his life as well as his relationship to literature. In the second part, blogger and workshop leader Jerry Waxler will present a sequence of steps to help writers find their own story. For information, contact Dana Resente at dresente@mc3.edu.
The Maple Glen Garden Club will hold its fourth annual Plant Sale on May 7 from 8 to 11 a.m. Perennials, shrubs, vegetables and native plants grown by the club members will be sold. The club uses the plant sale proceeds to fund community projects, a college scholarship and community plantings. The sale will be held in the 500 block of Coach Road, Horsham, as part of a neighborhood garage sale. Plants will be sold at bargain prices. For more information, email MapleGlenGardenClub@gmail.com.
The Relay for Life Craft Show is looking for local crafters to participate in show, which will be May 21 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Wissahickon High School track, 521 Houston Road, Ambler. There is a $10 entry fee, and 20 percent of sales are donated to the American Cancer Society. Participants will receive a 6-foot table under a tent. For information, contact Joanne at joannescoles@comcast.net or Mindy at mcamsilver@comcast.net.
Spring House Estates is hosting its annual book fair on April 18 from 4 to 7 p.m. and April 9 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Included will be hardback and paperback used books. Spring House Estates is located at 728 Norristown Road, Lower Gwynedd.
The PennSuburban Chamber of Commerce will present the Penn Suburban/Hatfield Joint Business Card Exchange April 20 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Univest Bank Lansdale Area Financial Service Center, 120 Forty Foot Road, Hatfield. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. Join Univest National Bank and Trust Co. for a spring-inspired Business Card Exchange at its newest office in the Hatfield Pointe Shopping Center. Come out and meet members of Univests executive management team while enjoying fine food and beverages.
13th Annual Community Reading Day Kick-off Breakfast Get Together April 26 from 8 to 9:30 a.m. at the North Wales Area Library, 233 Swartley St., North Wales. The event is free. To make reservations, visit PennSuburban.org/Events. For more information, contact the chamber office at 215-362-9200 or info@pennsuburban.org. Join presenting sponsor Verizon, chamber staff and fellow members for the Community Reading Day volunteer get together. The Community Reading Day program allows volunteers to read a designated book to second-grade students throughout 38 area public and private schools and present the book as a gift to each class. Even if you are not a volunteer, you are cordially invited to stop by to network, enjoy coffee and pastries.
Ambler Mennonite Church is hosting a Spring Craft Show and Flea Market May 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Rain date will be May 28. The community is invited to shop the great craft booths, find some gifts and deals, as well as enjoy home baked goods and tasty lunch specials. Childrens activities are planned. All vendors are encouraged to contact the church at 215-643-4876 or AmblerMennonite@verizon.net. Advertising, signage, customer parking and a shuttle to auxiliary parking at nearby lots for vendors will be provided. 10 foot by 10 foot spaces can be rented for $5 each and tables for an additional $5 each. All proceeds from space and table rentals go toward school kits for children around the world. The church is located at the corner of East Mt. Pleasant Avenue and North Spring Garden Street, Ambler.
The Wissahickon Valley Watershed Association presents The Life & Times of Aquatic Insects in the Wissahickon Creek April 16 from 1 to 3 p.m. Join WVWA for a hands-on program. RSVP required: www.wvwa.org or 215-646-8866. WVWA member fee: $5 per person / $15 per family. Non-WVWA member fee: $10 per person / $20 per family.
The photography exhibition Natures Palette by photo-artist Judy Miller will run March 18 to May 19 at the Art in the Storefront gallery, 41 E. Butler Pike, Ambler.
JPRN Networking For People in Transition & People Who Can Help Them Unemployment remains high. JPRN, the Jarrettown Professional Relationship Network can help. Are you trying to network your way to a new job? Do you have expertise or contacts that can help people in transition? Is your company or organization looking for people in the area? This is a free outreach program to support those seeking work, involve people with contacts and networking know how, and involve local companies. Meetings held monthly at Jarrettown United Methodist Church, Limekiln Pike.
Pennsylvanias Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP) grant program is now open for the 2010-11 heating season. Grants are based on income, family size, type of heating fuel and region. Additional information, such as specific income limits, and applications for LIHEAP grants are available online via the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Access to Social Services (COMPASS) website at www.compass.state.pa.us. Applications are available at most public officals district offices, county assistance offices, local utility companies and community service agencies, such as Area Agencies on Aging or community action agencies.
Begin your holiday shopping at Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation! Entertainment books for 2011, Philadelphia North, are now on sale at $30 each. Regal/United Artists movie tickets are on sale for just $7.50 each, and tickets to the Adventure Aquarium, Baltimore Aquarium, and the Philadelphia Zoo are also available. Discounted ski vouchers to area mountains will be arriving in December; call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information. Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
RSVP of Montgomery County and the Wissahickon Valley Public Library have partnered again to offer the public their popular free mock interview sessions. The mock interviews are conducted by RSVP volunteers who are retired professionals, some of whom were in hiring positions themselves. Packets of information which include a sample employment application and interviewing tips with mock interview questions are available at the library to pick up prior to a scheduled mock interview or will be sent via email once the interview is scheduled. To schedule your interview, please contact Janis Glusman at RSVP 610-834-1040, ext. 16. The library is also offering a free resume review service. Bring in your current resume and the professional reference staff will assist you with hints and tips on capturing your work history accurately.
Registration for Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation summer playgrounds, Camp B.I.G. and Small Folks, X-Zone, and sports camps has began. Register online at www.upperdublin.net/store, or at the UDP&R office, 801 Loch Alsh Avenue, Fort Washington. Call 215-643-1600 x3443 for more information.
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation and Danielles Espresso Cafe presents Mornings at Mondaug Bark Park April 16 and May 21 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Meet fellow dog lovers. These events include complimentary coffee, treats for people and pups and raffles/giveaways.
Upper Dublins Annual Spring Flea Market will be held June 4 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Reserve a table, or come and shop. Tables are $15 for UD residents, $20 for non-residents. This successful event occurs rain or shine. Refreshments available. Call 215-643-1600 ext. 3443 to register for a table.
Regal movie tickets available for purchase at Upper Dublin Township Parks & Recreation. Reduced rate: $7.50 per ticket. Some restrictions apply. Call 215-643-1600 x3443.
Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation movie tickets $7.50 Regal Cinemas, United Artist & Edwards Cinemas on sale throughout the year Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m.
Whitpain Township Parks & Recreation Camp Sign-ups for Stony Creek Day Camp Stony Creek Tracers and Park n Tots. Register on-line at www.whitpaintownship.org OrCome to Township Building with check or Visa MasterCard Monday Friday from 9 a.m. 4 p.m. For additional information call 610.277-2400 ext. 374
Upper Dublin Parks & Recreation offers exciting new programs for the fall:
-Returning favorites include UK Elite Petite Soccer, Tiny Dancers, Kiddie Tennis, Fun-nastics, Messy Playtime, Little Chefs, and more. Babysitters Training will be offered in November and December. Continuing Adult Fitness Classes include Cardio Circuit, Core & More, Yoga, Boxing, and Adult G.Y.M. For more information call 215-643-1600 x3443. Register for programs online at www.upperdublin.net/store.
Music and Theater
The community is invited to a Cantors Concert April 16 at 8 p.m. Congregation Beth Or, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen. Listen and hum-along to the Yiddish, pop tunes and classical music performed by Congregation Beth Ors own Cantor David Green and his special guest, Cantor Irvin Bell, from Temple Beth Israel in Deerfield Beach, Fla. The cantors will be accompanied by Mark Sobol and his Klezmer musicians. Tickets are $18 in advance and $25 at the door. RSVP with payment to Barb Murtha, 239 Welsh Road, Maple Glen, PA 19002, or call 215-646-5806 ext. 220.
Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse will host the Jameson Sisters May 14. Doors open at 7:30 pm, performance at 8:00 pm. Gwynedd Friends Coffeehouse is located at the corner of Rte. 202 & Sumneytown Pike, Gwynedd. $5 suggested donation. Light refreshment available at a modest cost. For further information, call 215-393-9576 or visit gwyneddmeeting.org/coffeehouse.html.
Celebrate patriotism through song with Gwynedd-Mercy Colleges choir, the Voices of Gwynedd, as it presents Hear America Singing April 15 at 8 p.m. The choir will perform song selections from all over the country, including Georgia on My Mind, New York State of Mind, and a medley including Philadelphia Freedom and Allentown. The performance will end with When the Saints Go Marching In to acknowledge the choirs upcoming tour in New Orleans. Hear America Singing will take place in the Julia Ball Auditorium, located in St. Bernard Hall. Parking is available in lots A, C and D. Admission is free.
The Choristers will present Anton Dvoraks Stabat Mater April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at Upper Dublin Lutheran Church in Ambler. The choir will be accompanied by a 41-piece orchestra. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for senior citizens, $10 for students and children are free. Tickets will be sold in advance or at the door. For more information, call 215-542-7871 or visit TheChoristers.org
Religious News
The Staircase Gallery at Or Hadash: A Reconstructionist Congregation in Fort Washington will feature the work of Emily Ennuat-Lustine. The artist will be showing paintings and graphics inspired by her own personal spiritual journey and quest for meaning. Some of the works to be shown have been inspired by Biblical Psalms and writings. Her work has been shown at Abington Art Center, Cheltenham Arts Center and Old City Gallery of Jewish Art among others. The exhibition is open Friday evenings starting Feb. 18 after Shabbat services. Gallery hours are: Mondays through Thursdays 10-4:30, Fridays 10-3 and following Shabbat Services and Sundays 10-1. The synagogue is located at 190 Camp Hill Road in Fort Washington. For additional information contact the synagogue office at 215-283-0276.
Reunions
St. Matthews High School Conshohocken Class of 1961 is looking for classmates. For details, contact Greg Marincola at 215-646-2239, 215-740-1296 or gregcola@comcast.net.
Olney High School Class of 1971 is Lloking for classmates for a 40th reunion Oct. 28. For details, contact Judy at ohsclassof71@yahoo.com or 215-870-7572.
Abington High School Class of 1961 is seeking classmates for a 50-year reunion to be held Oct. 14-15, 2011.Visit the website, www.abington61.com, for details or call 215-947-1779.
Overbrook High School class of January 1956 is having a 55 year reunion on May 22, 2011 at the Bala Golf Club in Philadelphia. For information please contact overbrookreunion56@comcast.net
Germantown High School Class Of January 1961 is looking for classmates for 50th year reunion to take place in May of 2011. Please contact: 215-362-9148, 856-577-0659 or samdelcomo@comcast.net
The June 1961 class of Germantown High School is holding their 50th reunion on May 15, which will be a brunch. For further details please contact Linda Dorfman Alten at lindaalten@yahoo.com or call 215-441-8411.
Support
New Life Presbyterian Church in Dresher, will host GriefShare, a special seminar and support group which will run on Monday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., from March 7 through June 6. At each meeting there will be a DVD about the grief process, discussion and reference to a grief workbook. Preregistration is required to secure a place in the group and to purchase a GriefShare notebook (for a one-time fee of $15). The notebook goes along with the 13-week schedule covering such topics as: living with grief, the effects of grief, and stuck in grief. For more information or to register, call: Sandy Elder at 215-884-5149.
PUPS (People Understanding Parkinsons) A self-help group for those adjusting to a new diagnosis or dealing with the early stages of Parkinsons Disease. Meets fourth Tuesday of the month from 1 to 2:30 p.m., at Abington Health Center, Schilling Campus, Willowood Building, 2510 Maryland Road, Suite 251, Willow Grove. For more information or to RSVP, contact Lorna at 215-542-2931.
The North Penn Visiting Nurse Associations Meals on Wheels program is looking for volunteers to pack or deliver meals to the elderly and infirmed. Meals are packed and delivered mornings, Monday through Friday. You can volunteer for as many days per week or month as you would like. Packaging meals requires approximately 2-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves making sandwiches, packaging food into individual serving containers and packing coolers with the meals. Delivering meals requires approximately 1-1/2 hours of your time each day and involves loading coolers into your car and delivering a route of approximately 10 to 15 stops. The Meals on Wheels program is also in need of emergency, winter-weather volunteers to pack and deliver meals in bad weather. North Penn VNA is located at 51 Medical Campus Drive in Lansdale and delivers meals in the Lansdale, North Wales and Blue Bell areas. For more information or to volunteer, please call Bridget, North Penn VNA Meals on Wheels coordinator at 215-855-8296.
Elkins Park Area CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder) meets the first Tuesday of every month, 7- 8:30 p.m., at Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital in Elkins Park. For information on CHADD or ADHD, please see our website www.chadd.net/249 or call Claire Noyes at: 215-779-6656.
Center for Loss and Bereavement, 3847 Skippack Pike, Skippack (610-222-4110) www.bereavementcenter.org Offers professional counseling for individuals, couples, children and families dealing with issues of loss and bereavement. Six-week adult support groups: Newly forming young adult grief support group every other Wednesday, 7 8:15 p.m. (free of charge); Monthly loss of child support second Mondays, 7-8:15 p.m.; Six-week young loss of spouse/partner Thursdays, 10-11:15 a.m.; Other groups scheduled as interest is shown for suicide loss support, adult loss of parent, motherless daughters, adult loss of sibling, coping with chronic illness and disability and mens loss of spouse. Nellos Corner Family Bereavement program offers peer grief support groups for ages 4 through teen and their caregivers Every other Tuesday or Wednesday (free of charge) Local chapter of Parents of Murdered Children also meets at the Center. Registration required. Call for further information.
CHADD is a national organization for children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder, providing education, advocacy and support for individuals and their families with AD/HD. Einstein at Elkins Park Hospital, 60 Township Line Road, Elkins Park, PA 19027, will host children & adults with Attention-Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder on the First Tuesday of each month 7 8:30 p.m. Free, no childcare provided.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphias Kehillah of Old York Road is sponsoring a free Caregiver Support Group for individuals who care for an elderly person with cognitive and/or physical impairments. The group meets at SarahCare Adult Day Care Center, 101 Washington Lane, Suite G-6, Jenkintown, Pa., on the first Wednesday of each month. Patty Rich,
"I wasn't for the sale of it in the beginning, we voted against it, and raised our voices and made the calls. It's like anything else, I'm tired of everything going up: heating oil, fuel, food, and now the sewer," said voter Lowell Delp.
Rabbis installation at Keneseth Israel will get a boost of student creativity
Morganton Public Safety had to say goodbye to one of the finest four-legged cops" in the history of their K-9 program.
K-9 Shrek, a 7-and-a-half-year-old German Shepherd, was relieved of his duties due to a series of debilitating issues with his hips and lower back. Shrek put up a valiant fight for several weeks to enjoy retirement, but his condition was determined to be terminal. To avoid any further suffering, he was put to rest on Thursday, said information from MDPS.
K-9 Shrek, thank you my loyal partner and faithful friend, you will be greatly missed, said PSO Stacey Huffman, who was Shreks K-9 Handler for three and a half years. I couldn't have asked for a better first partner, even though we were both stubborn, we deserved each other. Some may never understand the bond we have, so I'll explain it like this: That one person that has your back no matter the situation, that's Shrek to me and what I was to him.
He, up until his last days, even though his back and hips were giving out on him to where he couldn't stand, he did everything to please me, Huffman said.
Shrek was taken to a local veterinary office to be euthanized and, as he was laying on an examination table, a last call was given across the police scanner as Huffman laid her head on her partner.
Burke to K-9 Shrek Burke to K-9 Shrek Burke County to K-9 Shrek, said a voice over the emergency communications police radio. Burke, to all units be advised K-9 Shrek of Morganton Department of Public Safety is clear from his final tour of duty. K-9 Shrek served faithfully the Morganton Department of Public Safety for six years and was 7 years old. Shrek, this is your final call on this 25th day of May 2017. Our deepest sympathy to his handler, Morganton Department of Public Safety Officer Stacey Huffman, and his fellow Morganton Department of Public Safety officers. Rest easy, Shrek, we will take the watch from here. Burke clear on May 25th, 2017 at 16:20 hours.
Shrek started his career with MDPS in 2011 and was a full-service Police K-9, trained in drug detection, tracking and apprehension. He had a busy and productive six-year career at Public Safety, producing some very impressive statistics, the information said.
Shrek excelled in drug detection and is responsible for more than 400 drug arrests that resulted in the seizure of 3.76 kilos (8.29 pounds) of marijuana, 1.29 kilos (2.84 pounds) of methamphetamine, 271.87 grams (9.59 ounces) of crack cocaine, 32 grams (1.13 ounces) of powder cocaine, 1.86 grams of heroin and more than 500 dosage units of illegally used prescription medication, the information said.
During these narcotics seizures, Shrek helped get $72,498 in cash and 36 guns directly associated with narcotics use and sales off the streets. His largest single find of 2 pounds of methamphetamine stands out as one the largest in Morganton Public Safety history.
I met K-9 Shrek for the first time when his first handler, Johnny Cooper, got him in 2011 and brought him back to the city to train, Huffman said. I helped Cooper train with Shrek and I will never forget the first training bite I ever took from him.
As she was helping with K-9 Shrek's training, she knew that her future would be as a K-9 Handler.
Little did I know, three years later, I would get the opportunity and K-9 Shrek (would) be my first K-9 partner, she said.
She knew Shrek to be a very determined K-9 partner and says there was never one moment that he did not want to please her.
He not only was determined, but taught me so much about life and how you live each day to fullest and get every opportunity you can, Huffman said.
She and many others have fond memories of Shrek throughout his time at MDPS.
One particular time, a gentleman had been tracked down by K-9 Shrek after he ran from a vehicle chase on foot and (he) gave up once found, she said. The same guy, almost a year later, came through a checking station and did not have his license.
Due to some suspicious activity, K-9 Shrek was brought to the vehicle to conduct a K-9 sniff, she said.
The look on this guys face was priceless as his eyes nearly popped out of his head and he quickly stated something along the lines of Do not worry, I am not running from him again, Huffman said.
After the man said this, K-9 Shrek found one of his largest seizures of methamphetamines, she said.
Shrek also tracked and located several missing children and criminals throughout Burke County. His bark and size caused more than 50 criminals to turn themselves over to officers without even being released to apprehend them, the information said.
Shrek also loved opening up presents on Christmas and on his birthday and playing with his fur brothers and sister.
When K-9 Shrek was not busy catching criminals, he was involved in conducting several school, civic and other public demonstrations of his abilities. Shrek will be deeply missed by his prior and current handler and their families, Morganton Public Safety and by many others who came in contact with him, the information said.
I couldn't ask for a better work family to have supported us as a team, Huffman said in a Facebook post. We got many criminals off the streets with their help. We also met several children in a variety of situations and had some fun. Thank you for being there, not just for me, but giving Shrek one last 'atta boy.'
Staff Writer Jonelle Bobak can be reached at jbobak@morganton.com or 828-432-8907.
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A convicted child killer who is scheduled for release next year was indicted on a new murder charge Thursday by a Bexar County grand jury in the death of an infant in 1981.
Genene Jones, a former nurse at hospitals in San Antonio and Kerrville, is serving a 99-year sentence for killing Chelsea McClellan, who was 15 months old when she was given a fatal overdose of muscle relaxers in 1982.
Jones also was convicted in Bexar County of injury to a child/serious bodily injury and sentenced to 60 years in prison for giving an overdose to Rolando Santos in 1982. The infant, who was 4 weeks old, survived. The sentences are being served at the same time.
RELATED: Warrantless blood draw scuttles San Antonio man's conviction in fatal crash
In the new indictment, Jones is accused of giving a fatal dose of Dilantin, also known as phenytoin, to 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer on Dec. 12, 1981.
Jones, 66, is serving out her sentence at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Murray Unit in Gatesville. Because of a mandatory release law designed to prevent prison overcrowding, she is due for release in March, according to TDCJ.
In light of that, the grand jury went an extra step Thursday and issued an order setting bond at $1 million should she be released. Under the conditions, she would be under GPS monitoring with full house arrest and is ordered to have no contact with children under the age of 18, with any medical facility of any kind unless it is for her own care and with any child care facility.
Jones, dubbed the Angel of Death, has been eligible for parole before and was last denied in August 2014.
She worked in San Antonio at University Hospital, formerly Medical Center Hospital, in 1981 and 1982. Jones is suspected in the killings of at least 40 to 60 infants.
RELATED: 'It broke us': Father of accused sex offender fled S.A. after sexual abuse conviction
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Thousands gathered Friday afternoon at Community Bible Church to pay homage to fallen firefighter Scott Deem, who was was remembered as a dedicated first responder, a Dallas Cowboys devotee, and most of all, a family man.
The Catholic Mass culminated with the ringing of the bell and the sounding of the final alarm, a time-honored firefighting tradition. The call was broadcast over the radio system for all of Deem's brothers to hear.
RELATED: 'Heroic' firefighter killed in Thursday night blaze was father of 2, had baby on the way
"This is the final alarm for Scott Patrick Deem," the dispatcher said. "He faithfully served the city of San Antonio for six years. ... Although you are gone, you will never be forgotten. Rest in power, Scott."
After the service ended, a vintage firetruck bearing his casket, which was draped with an American flag, departed the church, traveling to the cemetery where he will be buried.
The funeral began with a rendition of "Amazing Grace" as hundreds of first responders, forming a sea of navy blue, flooded into the church. Officials said the church, which holds 3,600 people, filled completely.
READ MORE: S.A. honors, prays for firefighters killed, injured in 4-alarm blaze on Northwest Side
Robert Emmitt, pastor emeritus at Community Bible Church and San Antonio Fire Department chaplain, began the funeral with a prayer for Deem's widow, Jennifer, two children, 13-year-old Dakota and 7-year-old Tyler, and their unborn daughter.
"You all have made the ultimate sacrifice," Emmitt told them. "I thank you, on behalf of the church, on behalf of the whole city, for the price you have paid."
Deem, 31, joined the San Antonio Fire Department six years ago. He was killed in a Northwest Side fire on May 18 while searching for potential victims. Two other firefighters, Brad Phipps and Robert Vasquez, were also injured in the blaze.
The day's commemorations began with an apparatus procession that departed from the Alamodome comprised of 120 firetrucks and fire vehicles, 100 motorcycles and 500 firefighters from various jurisdictions, a reminder of the brotherhood that abides in the first responder community.
From the Alamodome, the procession made its way north to U.S. 281. A firetruck and the public witnessed the procession at every overpass on the way to the church.
UPDATE: Firefighter in critical condition after Northwest Side blaze that killed one first responder
At 11 a.m., a second motorcade including a vintage firetruck carrying Deem's casket departed the Porter Loring Funeral Home.
Mourners came from near and far to honor Deem, including New York Fire Department firefighter Frank Busener, with Ladder 136, and five of his colleagues.
"This is not an easy event for us to attend," Busener said. "We felt a need to come down and show our respect, honor someone else who does the same job."
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It is an exciting day for theme park enthusiasts as Pandora The World of Avatar at Disneys Animal Kingdom officially opens.
Visitors to the theme park were faced with long lines to get into the new land and onto the new attractions.
At one point, the line to get into Pandora reached a four-hour wait. Once inside, there was a 250-minute wait for Flight of Passage and a 195-minute wait for Na'vi River Journey.
There was also a line to get into Windtraders, Pandora's gift shop.
The new land is based on the James Cameron's 2009 film "Avatar."
Not only is Pandora officially opening, but it is the first weekend that Volcano Bay, Universals new water park, is open to the public.
Even if you are not going to brave the massive crowds this Memorial Day Weekend, this is going to have a big impact on the Central Florida economy.
Orlando is the number one destination for tourists in the U.S. Visit Orlando said 68 million people visited the City Beautiful last year, topping 2015's record visitation numbers.
With Pandora opening, Animal Kingdom will stay open later--11 p.m. on some nights. The park usually closes between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., so this now gives visitors more time to explore.
Guests want to come and see Pandora, they want to fly on the back of a banshee, they want to meet a Na'vi, and want to walk through a bioluminescent forest. Those were the guest experiences that we wanted our guests to have," said Matt Beiler, a Walt Disney World show producer.
Both Universal and Disney World hope these two new attractions bring more visitors to their parks.
With more visitors, hotels and local businesses should see more money too.
Steve Patti was a mechanic in the Civil Air Patrol during WWII. He was stationed at Brownsville, Texas, where he operated with CAP for about three months before moving 15 miles northeast to San Benito.
He explained that there were three types of missions flown by CAP out of Brownsville and San Benito: submarine patrol, beach patrol and convoy escort.
He flew as an observer out of Brownsville and later on convoy escort out of San Benito.
I flew as an observer. I only flew one mission out of Brownsville as an observer and that was on submarine patrol.
More Information This is the 58th article in a series on Clent Breedlove's Plainview Pre-Glider School at Finney Field to train combat glider pilots during World War II. The series is researched and written by John W. McCullough, a graduate student in history at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. See More Collapse
On convoy, we had two aircraft that would fly out together and pick up the convoy and it would be anywhere from 30 to 60 miles out at sea going south always. The ones I was on were always going south towards Mexico and wed pick up the convoy. The convoys varied in size and quantity of ships and escort ships. Sometimes there were like two or three ships at the time or there might have been 10 or 15 ships escorted by a navy ship, a small coast guard type ship.
Patti explained that when the CAP aircraft would approach the convoy that they were to escort they had to follow special rules as a precaution to avoid being fired upon by friendly ships.
When we approached the convoy, we would approach at about a 45-degree angle and then fly parallel.
During the time that we were approaching, I was looking at these ships and I could see the men go to General Quarters as we approached and we were about 300 to 500 feet above the ocean.
The merchant ships had guns on their fantail.
Theyd go to General Quarters and theyd aim those deck guns at us and when they indicated that they saw who we were then we would turn and fly parallel to the convoy, the direction they were traveling.
We were out maybe a quarter of a mile or less from the convoy.
The other airplane would fly up about 6 to 8 miles ahead of the convoy and look for submarines waiting for the convoy.
When asked if there were warships escorting these convoys, which provided anti-aircraft fire, or if the convoys just relied upon their own anti-aircraft fire from the fantails of their armed merchant ships, Patti replied, Both. The smaller convoy, they would be armed merchant ships. If they were a large convoy, they would have a navy escort.
When we approached the convoy, the convoy would vary by the number of ships and the escorts they had. Usually some of them were oil tankers. They picked up fuel there in Texas someplace either Houston or Galveston or one of those places. I dont know where they came from. All I know is that we escorted them and the furthest we (meaning the CAP aircraft) could go south was Tampico in our fuel range; and we never used the Stinson for convoy escort because their fuel range and bomb load wasnt adequate. All the other larger aircraft could carry a depth charge or two bombs. The Stinson could carry only one bomb.
They were 100-lb bombs on the other planes or a 325-lb depth charge. So they would carry either two 100-lb bombs or one 325-lb depth charge on the planes used for convoy escort duty.
When asked what other types of aircraft CAP flew out of San Benito, Patti replied,
It varied depending on who was going out. Some of the owners used their own aircraft. There was the biplane WACO [UPF-7], and then there was the Fairchild 24 would carry two bombs.
The WACO carried two bombs; the stagger-wing Beech would carry a depth charge or two 100-lb bombs but usually a depth charge.
Patti explained that CAPs mission at San Benito began by going out on observation missions with unarmed aircraft. However, they then began arming their patrol aircraft with bombs.
As the war progressed the USAAF and U.S. Navy began providing more armed military aircraft for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) patrols in the Gulf of Mexico. Patti said that CAP then reverted back to sending out their aircraft unarmed and would just observe and report any suspicious activity to the military.
We didnt have bombs to start with initially until we moved to San Benito and then it got to the point where we were loading the bombs; but then we found out that the Navy and the Air Corps had PBYs available and B-25s available so that we would go out without carrying any bombs.
We could contact our home base or we could contact the nearest military base about the convoy. So they would send out a military aircraft so we didnt have to carry the bombs anymore. That was towards the end of our time there at San Benito.
Emmett Douglas Doug Anderson was one of the aircrew members on a PBX Catalina flying boat on ASW patrols south of the border. He learned to fly in the Civilian Pilot Training (CPT) program at Texas Tech in the spring and summer of 1942, first in M.F. Dagleys primary CPT and then Clent Breedloves secondary CTP course.
The secondary course also had ground school but the flying was done in Waco UPF-7 biplanes and at Clent Breedloves private airport located on East 50th Street just southeast of Lubbock.
Anderson said that Breedlove had six Taylorcrafts and some Waco UPF-7s at his airport. Anderson spent three months of secondary training in a Waco UPF-7 at Breedlove Airport.
When he finished secondary CPT, he waited for orders from the navy and eventually reported to Dallas. He then shipped to navy pre-flight school in Athens, Georgia, on Oct. 14, 1942.
He was later assigned to a PBX Catalina flying boat as a gunner. He was on ASW patrols on the Pacific side of the Panama Canal Zone and later in the Atlantic Ocean flying off of Bermuda Island.
More about the history of Finney Field and the CAP will be discussed in the next article.
Readers are asked to visit the Breedlove-CPTP website at www.breedlove-cptp.com for more details about the glider program of WWII. Anyone with information about the Plainview Pre-Glider School at Finney Field should contact John McCullough at 806-793-4448 or email johnmc@breedlove-cptp.org.
Plainview/Hale County Crime Stoppers Committee will pay a reward of up to $350 to anyone with information that will lead to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the following crimes:
On May 23, someone entered 1112 Baltimore and took an undisclosed amount of money.
On May 20, someone entered 1011 Raleigh and took several Craftsman power tools.
On May 17, someone entered 1406 Portland and took several food items, a handgun, jewelry, a 7-inch tablet, and several collector coins.
On May 5, someone robbed the Allsups at 801 Columbia. He fled the scene with and undisclosed amount of money. He was described as a black male, approximately 5-foot-10, bald with no facial hair and an open cut on the left side of his nose.
Fugitives: Crime Stoppers will pay a reward of up to $250 for information that leads to the arrest of the following persons. Warrants have been issued for their arrest. Callers can contact the Hale County Sheriffs Office Warrants Division at 296-2724 or contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline.
Randall Keith Alexander, 26, black male is wanted for sexual assault.
Erin Thompson, 34, white female is wanted possession of controlled substance.
Robert Berlin Santiago, 20, Hispanic male is wanted for possession of controlled substance.
Lucy Nicole Cortez, 28, Hispanic female is wanted for credit card abuse.
Luis Gerardo Reyes Fuentes, 26, Hispanic male is wanted for sex abuse of a child continuous under 14.
Ramon Esqueda Gonzales, 44, Hispanic male is wanted for indecency with a child sexual contact.
Lorenzo Pineda Alvarez, 62, Hispanic male is wanted for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Manuel David Cervantes, 33, Hispanic male is wanted for motion to revoke probation possession controlled substance.
Pierre Chico Hawkins, 41, black male is wanted for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.
Arthur Larry Lewis Jr., 51, white male is wanted for aggravated sexual assault.
Anyone having information on the above crimes or any other crimes occurring in Plainview or Hale County can contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 293-8477 (293-TIPS). All calls will be confidential.
Border patrol agents on Thursday discovered over 44 pounds of cocaine hidden inside the toilet of a commercial passenger bus in South Texas.
According to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the bus was stopped at the Sarita checkpoint in Kingsville, Texas, where a K-9 unit alerted agents to possible narcotics on the bus.
Plainview police are investigating a report involving improper photography or visual recording. That incident, where images were taken without the consent of the victims consent and with the intent to invade the victims privacy, reportedly occurred between 2-3 p.m. Thursday at a business in the 700 block of West Sixth Street.
--A 39-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Friday on charges of driving while intoxicated with child under age 15 as a passenger (bond not set), terroristic treat ($1,500 bond) and resisting arrest, search or transport (bond $2,500). He was arrested about 1 p.m. Thursday in the 500 block of North Date in connection with a terroristic threat call.
--A shoplifting incident reportedly occurred about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 3400 block of Olton Road.
--A 39-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Friday for fraudulent use/possession of identifying information (bond not set). He was arrested about 3 p.m. Thursday in the 3400 block of Olton Road after reportedly attempting to use another individuals identification card.
--A 36-year-old man was arrested about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday at 11th and Columbia for driving while license invalid with previous convictions and without financial responsibility.
--A 39-year-old woman was held in Hale County jail on $1,500 bond for an outstanding warrant for harassment. She was arrested about 4:30 p.m. Thursday in the 3300 block of West 16th Street by officers responding to a disturbance.
--A 29-year-old woman was held in Hale County jail without bond on an outstanding warrant for theft by check. She was arrested about 2 a.m. Thursday in the 1600 block of North Date by officers responding to a disturbance.
--A 25-year-old man was held in Hale County jail Friday on bonds totaling $800 for outstanding warrants for no drivers license, speeding and two for failure to appear. He was arrested about 11:30 a.m. Thursday in the 1100 block of Independence.
--An assault causing bodily injury/family violence occurred between 2-4 p.m. Thursday in the 2600 block of Dimmitt Road.
--The unauthorized use of a vehicle occurred between Monday and Thursday in the 1000 block of Denver.
--A 30-year-old woman was held in Hale County jail Friday on bonds totaling $5,000 for assault causing bodily injury/family violence and resisting arrest. She was arrested about 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the 800 block of Denver.
(Anyone with information on crime in Plainview and Hale County may contact the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 293-8477 or 293-TIPS.)
The American Legion Auxiliary Unit 260, in conjunction with the City of Plainview, will host the Memorial Day ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, May 29, at the gazebo in Plainview Cemetery.
Master of ceremonies is Municipal Judge Pat Hernandez.
The observance will include the traditional placing of wreaths by various veterans and service organizations, the playing of Taps and a 21-gun salute.
The auxiliary will serve refreshments after the ceremony. That group is conducting a major fundraiser, and tickets available Monday.
Kress also will host a Memorial Day service to honor all veterans at 10 a.m. Monday at the Kress Cemetery, weather permitting. The alternate location is the First Baptist Church.
Chris Collier will be featured speaker at 10 a.m. Monday at the annual Memorial Day Service at Center Plains Cemetery near Cotton Center. A cemetery business meeting will follow the service. That cemetery is located west of Hale Center along FM-194, between Mayfield and Cotton Center.
On Thursday, the Keep Plainview Beautiful Committee, Hale Country 4-H and Dulaney's offered a community service opportunity to place flags on veterans graves at Plainview Cemetery and Plainview Memorial Park. The public is invited to help retrieve the flags beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday.
A roundup of upcoming events:
Thursday
Elizabeth Warren event: A conversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and MSNBC host Joy-Ann Reid at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St. in San Francisco. The discussion is part of an all-day event organized around opposition to President Trump. Tickets cost $100 and can be purchased at www.joyouspersistence.com.
Friday
Gun violence: For National Gun Violence Awareness Day, activists are asking people to wear orange to stand against gun violence. For more information: https://wearorange.org.
Saturday
Gun violence march: A march across the Golden Gate Bridge to mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day and to stand against gun violence. Participants are asked to wear orange. The event begins at 9:30 a.m. at the Golden Gate Bridge plaza. For information: www.facebook.com/events/1324576680972179.
LGBT rally: As part of Sonoma County Pride weekend, a rally to support LGBT rights, womens rights, immigration rights and other causes. The rally is from 1 to 4 p.m. at Guerneville Lodge, 15905 River Road in Guerneville. For information: www.facebook.com/events/1420477121307743.
Peace and Freedom: The Peace and Freedom Party is hosting a forum, Peace and Freedom: Fifty Years of Struggle, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the party. The free event will be from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Starry Plough Pub, 3101 Shattuck Ave. in Berkeley. For information, contact (510) 332-3865 or cuyleruyle@mac.com.
Anti-Trump marches: Marchers are demanding an independent investigation into Trumps Russia connections in a March for Truth. In San Jose, the march will begin at 11 a.m. at City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St. For information: www.indivisibleeastsanjose.org/march-for-truth. In San Francisco, a march will begin at 2 p.m. at Justin Herman Plaza. For information: www.facebook.com/events/1978572495762727.
June 11
Sierra Club: The Sierra Club is seeking volunteers to recruit new members and educate people on environmental issues at Sunday Streets, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Golden Gate Park. The exact location is to be determined. For information, contact Katherine Howard at sfoceanedge@earthlink.net.
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A slew of flight delays hit San Francisco International Airport Saturday as runway construction resumed this holiday weekend, officials said.
As of 7 p.m. Saturday, 12 departing flights and nine arriving flights were canceled. Delays of up to an hour hit 125 departures and 189 arrivals, according to airport duty manager Maria Buyco.
The weekend construction was part of a project to pave SFOs second-longest runway with a new asphalt surface.
Its unclear, said airport duty manager Shawn Miyaki, whether the delays were a direct result of the construction though the runway repairs did play a role.
In the meantime, travelers headed to the airport were advised to stay in contact with their airline.
We always recommend contacting the airline prior to coming to the airport, Miyaki said.
Hamed Aleaziz and Kimberly Veklerov are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com and kveklerov@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz and @kveklerov
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GREENWICH Continuing a tradition that dates back decades, a crowd of close to 40 gathered on Saturday morning for a Memorial Day salute by the Cos Cob VFW Post 10112.
Veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam were in the crowd by the posts memorial plaque on Strickland Road as the sacrifices of veterans, particularly those who lost their lives in service of their country, were remembered.
Bill Cameron, recruitment officer for the post and a Navy veteran, spoke of VE Day and VJ Day as well as key battles in Korea and Vietnam and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Those are memories of times and places that no one is liable to forget, Cameron said. They are memories of heroes, and one of my earliest memories takes place in 1946 when I was five years old and my father introduced me to a man who had been severely wounded in World War II. My father respectfully called him GI Joe. Even at five years old it was an honor to shake the hand of this decorated veteran.
Cameron urged everyone to express the respect they feel for veterans.
We only tend to acknowledge veterans if we see them wearing a cap or a jacket, but they are all around us, Cameron said. Please spend a moment to remember and say a prayer for those who fell and those who survived and most of all those who today wear the uniform of our country and constantly advance into danger.
New Post 10112 commander Joseph Musich, who served in the Army in Vietnam, also implored attendees to thank veterans for their service.
Were happy to shake hands, Musich said. We veterans have proudly served in the U.S. military.
The event was capped off by the playing of Taps by George Bennett, a Marine veteran from Vietnam.
The crowd included First Selectman Peter Tesei, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th, Selectman John Toner, state Sen. L. Scott Frantz, R-36th, state Reps. Livvy Floren, R-149th, and Fred Camillo, R-151st, and town Tax Collector Tod Laudonia.
VFW member Anthony Marzullo returned to a tradition dating back to World War I at Saturdays ceremony by selling poppies to raise money for the post and its services for veterans. Cameron explained how in the closing days of World War I in France and Belgium the ravaged battlefields and newly created cemeteries suddenly sprung millions of poppies that had been dormant in the ground.
The ceremony was opened and closed by Lou Caravella, a World War II Army veteran, who serves as the posts chaplain.
We are mindful of the fact that many of our comrades sacrificed their very lives on the field, in the air and on the sea where the battles of war were fought, Caravella said. We remember them today with great reverence and thanksgiving.
kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
MCSO
Sheriff's investigators in Spring are trying to find the person or people who splattered white paint all over a bunch of cars.
Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies told KPRC-TV they have no idea what motivated someone to commit the act of vandalism on at least two cars in recent weeks.
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NORWALK Curt Mertin, who came to the United States from Germany in the 1950s and sold homemade sausages from Ludlow Plaza in East Norwalk for two decades, died May 12 in Litchfield. He was 97.
From 1964 to 1984, Mertin and business partner Walter Pudill ran Norwalk Beef & Pork Store, leaving a lasting impression on customers taste buds and memories.
He said he always wanted to be a sausage maker and thats what he became, said his daughter, Cordula Corey Weber. Thats what he wanted to do and he was always extremely proud of what he did. He was an outgoing type of person, very personable, and liked people. (My parents) would go some place and people would say, Oh, youre the butcher from Norwalk!
Mertins impressions on people carried as far as Florida and Hawaii where while vacationing he would run into customers I met a customer who knew me from Norwalk! said Weber, recalling her fathers stories.
The strongest impressions were made in the store itself, where bologna, bratwurst, weisswurst, wieners, hot dogs and hand-made sausages hung from behind the counter.
He built the smoker, he brought in all the equipment, everything was done on premises, said grandson Christoper Weber. My grandfather did all the smoking, all the sausage-making.
Weber said his grandfather relished his role in the community. He did his most-brisk business during holidays such as the Fourth of July when a line formed outside the door. And, of course, Mertins accent prompted people to ask about his origin.
Mertin was born Oct. 5, 1919, in Liegnitz, Silesia. Once part of Germany, the region became part of Poland when borders were redrawn at the end of World War II. Mertin and his wife settled in Dresden and later Kiel.
On his 90th birthday, Mertin recalled his service in the German Navy during the war and his familys move to the United States afterward.
In 1945, the war was over, and Germany was in turmoil no future for the coming years, Mertin wrote in the birthday address kept by his daughter. In 1956, we had the chance to immigrate to the USA. We didnt think twice about the good news, and we took the chance it was the best move of my life.
Mertin and his wife, Eva (Neumann) Mertin, and their two daughters, Cordula and Sibylle, left the port of Bremerhaven, Germany on June 8 and entered New York harbor on June 17, 1956. With help from a Lutheran charity, they began their new life in the Bronx, where Mertin worked as butcher for meat-and-sausage manufacture Schaller & Weber. Eight years later, he brought his family and skills to Norwalk.
He always dreamed of owning his own shop and made that happen in the early 60s when he moved to Norwalk, Christopher Weber said.
Norwalk Beef & Pork was popular especially in the northern European community for its homemade sausages and cold cuts and German specialties. The store drew faithful customers from across Fairfield County and New York State, according to the family.
Mertin retired in 1984. Norwalk Beef & Pork continued to operate for several years after he left.
He is survived by his daughters Corey (Ridgefield) and Sibylle (Bantam), and grandchildren Christopher Weber, Gregory Weber, Kevin McGarry and Denise McGarry. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday, June 3, at 11 a.m., at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Norwalk.
rkoch@hearstmediact.com
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The cat-and-mouse game lasted 13 years.
From the day 29-year-old Jesus Hilario Jimenez died on March 29, 2004, Cameron County Sheriff's investigators set out to find Ciro Cantu Munoz.
Munoz managed to avoid arrest, investigators told KVEO-TV, by slipping into Mexico to avoid charges stemming from a lovers quarrel.
VANDALS SOUGHT: Sheriff hunting for person who tossed white paint on cars in Spring
Witnesses told deputies that Jimenez and Munoz were in a fight outside the home of Munoz's ex-wife when gunfire erupted. Jimenez, who was the ex-wife's new partner, was shot in the head and died at the scene. Story continues below.
Detectives received tips that Munoz would cross back to the U.S. through ports of entry. After chasing the fugitive for more than a decade, deputies finally snagged the 42-year-old fugitive at the B&M Bridge in Brownsville on Friday.
Munoz is being held without bond.
Scroll through the gallery above to see details of unsolved murder cases in Texas.
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District 2 Councilman Alan Warrick acknowledged late Friday that hed passed out and subsequently woke up on a park bench near City Halls west steps early that morning.
He said that hed been at a downtown basement bar at Commerce and Soledad streets but checked with a friend who was with him and had only had three cocktails.
He insinuated late Friday that dirty tricks might be at play, that someone who wants to harm him politically may have drugged him and taken him to City Hall, where hed ultimately be discovered by a security guard at 6 a.m. Friday.
But the timing and the location, out of a thousand places to sleep downtown that wouldnt have caused any (publicity) there was no reason for me to go to City Hall, Warrick said. My vehicle wasnt at City Hall. It just doesnt make any sense.
Justin Vitek, the owner of the bar, On The Rocks, disputed Warricks account, saying the councilman appeared drunk. He said he would release the bars surveillance tapes.
We offered him a ride home at the end of the night and an Uber, he said.
Warrick, 36, said he had his city-issued identification badge that would have allowed him 24-hour access to City Hall, and asked rhetorically why he wouldnt have gone up to his fourth-floor office and slept on the sofa there.
I think its crazy, but Im not crazy, he said. And theres no way that I should have its just a little scary.
Warrick is in the midst of a runoff against challenger William "Cruz" Shaw, a lawyer.
"For the sake of both Councilman Warrick and District 2 residents, he should withdraw from this race and seek the help he clearly needs," Shaw said.
Warrick said he went on Thursday night to On The Rocks, a bar beneath a McDonald's in the heart of downtown. He said he had no recollection of what happened at the bar but suggested that something might have been slipped into one of his drinks.
When reached Friday night, owner Vitek said the establishment will make video surveillance tapes available, and that one of their 16 cameras inside the bar will show whether Warrick's drink was spiked.
He added that Warrick, who was there with a woman, appeared intoxicated and that there were multiple witnesses to the scene.
The councilman said he didn't drive to City Hall, and when he awoke Friday morning, his cellphone was dead. So, after a brief exchange with the City Hall security guard, Warrick said he walked to the Grand Hyatt, where he caught a cab to his East Side home.
The councilman showered and dressed for the funeral of San Antonio firefighter Scott Deem, who died in the line of duty last week.
The bench he found himself on is positioned directly in front of his City Hall parking space, Warrick said.
"It's weird. I'm not hungover. I don't think I had a lot to drink," he said. "I really don't know what happened. I know my car wasn't there."
He later found his car, but it wasn't known where he had found it.
The councilman has had previous alcohol-related troubles. He pleaded guilty twice to driving while intoxicated once in 2002 and again two years later, when he was living in Tallahassee, Florida. In the latter incident, Warrick fled the scene of a crash, according to a police report.
In 2007, he was found not guilty in a DWI case in Bexar County. Warrick has previously told the Express-News that hes been diagnosed with a sleep disorder, exacerbated by alcohol, which causes him to fall asleep while driving.
On Friday, he said, he has been known to sleep walk, or sleep stand.
I really dont know what happened. I dont remember anything, he said. I dont know how I got to City Hall. I didnt drive. I dont know why I would have gone to City Hall and slept on a park bench. That just doesnt make any sense.
jbaugh@express-news.net
Twitter: @jbaugh
Following months of public comment, hours of testimony Friday, accusations of conflicts of interest and rebuttals, and deciding against pushing the decision, the Montana Fish, and Wildlife Commission voted down a controversial petition to limit motorized watercraft on multiple rivers and tributaries.
A year ago, the state chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers brought the Quiet Waters Initiative to the commission. The organization contended that new water use regulations would prevent conflicts between recreationists, improve safety and maintain traditional use. Despite Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks recommendation that the initiative be denied, the commission agreed a proactive approach was a discussion worth having, and put the petition into rule-making to seek public input.
The initiative proposes various seasonal and horsepower restrictions as well as the closure of some small tributaries for motorized use. Regulation changes were sought on the Yellowstone, Flathead, Marias, Stillwater, Sun, Teton, Bitterroot, Missouri, Swan and Whitefish rivers, with additional changes for multiple tributaries.
Public comment both written and through hearings revealed majority opposition to Quiet Waters. FWP recorded nearly 1,200 comments opposing all or part of the petition and about 450 in support.
Many opponents argued that the petition set a precedent of excluding motorized users to the benefit of non-motorized recreationists. Others went a step further, saying the petition overly favored trout outfitters using drift boats.
At Fridays hearing the commission welcomed three new members: attorney and former commission chairman Shane Colton from Billings, retired Forest Service employee Tim Aldrich of Missoula and school teacher Logan Brower of Scobey. Both Colton and Aldrich only received their appointments a little over a week ago.
Colton offered an initial motion to extend public comment to allow the new commission time to better understand the complexities of Quiet Waters, which included a revamped proposal from Chairman Dan Vermillion of Livingston.
The commission then took more than four hours of testimony with the message and breakdown of support and opposition largely similar to the year-long debate.
We see this as taking away the rights of the citizens of Montana, said Bob Gilbert, executive director of Walleyes Unlimited of Montana, adding that rules in area already in place to deal with conflicts.
Everyone enjoys Montana in different ways, and to limit that is wrong, Doug Hunt testified from Kalispell.
Several commenters referred to Backcountry Hunters and Anglers as a special interest group, while others suggested certain members of the commission had conflicts of interest and should abstain from voting. Vermillion is a fishing outfitter and Aldrich a member of BHA.
Others testified that new regulations will hurt businesses and that the petitioners had failed to prove through data that conflicts and safety concerns were valid. Many opponents implored the commission to render a decision rather than extend comment again.
Two attorneys also testified that the petition and amendments could invite litigation, as recreation planning would require FWP to first complete environmental analysis.
Quiet waters drew its share of support as well.
Jeff Lukas with BHA responded to the special interest group label, noting that multiple groups were represented at the hearing. The initiative was not about jet boats versus drift boats, he said.
I believe all of those user groups have a place on this river, he said, adding that opponents were conflating access with opportunity. Quiet Waters does not prohibit access, he said, but rather puts reasonable restrictions in place.
Other supporters testified to the importance of quiet recreation, while some warned about the dangers of doing nothing.
In discussing the motion to extend comment, Vermillion first addressed the conflict of interest accusations. While he does outfit the Yellowstone, he sees the conflicts and risks to public safety, he said. He did not believe his vote fell within conflict of interest rules and had not received any indication from FWP that he was in conflict, saying he would recuse if the department told him he should.
Its unfortunate to me and really sad that this discussion has created so much animosity between groups, he said. Montanans and the commission must face the fact that the state and waters will only become increasingly crowded, he added.
Commissioner Richard Stuker of Chinook said he recognized the overwhelming opposition, but felt some aspects of the petition had merit, particularly on extremely small streams. A rule making process through the department was the way to proceed in his mind.
Aldrich mentioned his BHA membership and said he believed he would benefit from more time but noting that he did not think the additional input would be much different.
Colton came to Vermillions defense, saying that the previous makeup of the commission could have passed the initiative, but Vermillion had not pushed it. Colton said he was concerned by his perception that the department often defers to avoiding conflict when it comes to setting regulations.
Brower agreed that additional time and public comment would likely bring much of the same.
The commission voted down the motion to extend comment on a 3-2 vote.
That left the commission with a decision on the petition. After additional public comment and commissioner statements that the discussion would move forward through the typical rulemaking process, they unanimously voted to deny the petition.
AUSTIN -- Opponents of legislation that would regulate which bathrooms transgender people can use in Texas attempted to deliver petitions to the governor's office Saturday, encouraging him to oppose the lieutenant governor's call for a special session.
The coalition delivered a box of materials showing 33,000 phone calls, text messages, visits to the Texas Capitol and other actions were made this year to fight the so-called "bathroom bill." The materials were compiled by the Texas Freedom Network, ACLU of Texas, Equality Texas and the Human Rights Campaign.
Denise Darshella Hill, an artist with a chemistry degree, had compassion for all living things.
When she passed away, she had four goldfish, a dog (Brook) and two gerbils, one of which is very bossy, said Grace E. Hill, her mother.
Hill died from diabetes and heart complications May 20. She was 44.
She was our miracle, Grace Hill said of her only child. Hills father, Staff Sgt. Douglas Hill died when she was 2 years old. With it being just the two of them, mother and daughter became best friends.
I think more parents need to speak to their children and listen to them, the mother said. I learned from my daughter to not be judgmental of anyone. She accepted everybody.
Although she was a baptized Baptist, Denise Hill went to Catholic school all her life, and she loved it, her mother said.
A 1991 graduate of Providence High School, Hill had numerous scholarship offers. One came from Cornell University, an Ivy League school in Ithaca, New York.
She went on to earn a bachelors degree in chemistry from St. Marys University. With an interest in the military she was part of her high schools ROTC and also took military science at St. Marys she joined the U.S. Army Reserves as a second lieutenant.
Hill served in the active Reserves for five years, working in the communications field, her mother said.
More Information Denise Darshella Hill Born: May 2, 1973, San Antonio Died: May 20, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Father Staff Sgt. Douglas Hill Survived by: Mother Grace E. Hill and numerous family friends Services: Funeral 11 a.m. Saturday at New Covenant Missionary Baptist Church, 1607 SE Loop 410. See More Collapse
After leaving the military, she taught chemistry in the Devine and Northside independent school districts.
Hill was also an artist. She expressed herself through painting, drawing, writing poetry and entertaining.
She had a stylistic thing going on and could transform an antique into something beautiful, Pat Whitfield said about her close friend.
Hill had even decorated a collection of leashes for Brook, her terrier mix. The dogs everyday look was a purple lead with rhinestones, Whitfield recollected.
Hills kindness flowed into her neighborhood. For example, she was known to make her signature lasagna dish for friends and neighbors, her mother said.
She shared other things as well. She had all these wisdoms, Whitfield said. She told me Dont be afraid, take a chance. She was always rooting for me, the independent filmmaker said.
iwilgen@express-news.net
Dallas Stoudenmire resigned under pressure as city marshal of El Paso on May 27, 1882 and promised to get help for his drinking problem.
After his recovery from four near-fatal Civil War wounds, the Alabaman emigrated to Texas and gave farming a half-hearted try. Deciding sod-busting was not for him, he rode with the Rangers for several months before moving onto the Panhandle. But wherever he went, gunplay was not far behind.
In April 1881, Stoudenmire followed Doc Cummings, his brother-in-law and best friend, to El Paso. Hearing the job of marshal was open, he immediately applied. Since his reputation more than satisfied their requirements, city fathers hired him on the spot.
Although he had only briefly worn a badge in his 35 years, Stoudenmire's very presence was sure to make the respectable residents of Texas' westernmost town feel a whole lot safer. With Bill Longley hanged and John Wesley Hardin behind bars, most folks rated the dead-eye from Dixie the fastest gun in the Lone Star State.
Stoudenmire went straight to the jail and demanded the keys from the acting marshal. Riled at being passed over for the permanent post, Bill Johnson refused until the stranger bounced him around the office. Staggering into the street, he vowed to get even.
To the uninformed, Marshal Stoudenmire looked to be unarmed when, in fact, he was a walking arsenal. A coat he wore year-round concealed two six-shooters in leather-lined hip pockets and a snub-nosed pistol tucked in his belt.
Stoudenmire was ready for trouble, and trouble was not long in coming. His first weekend in El Paso, he had to go for his guns not once but twice.
On Friday afternoon, a crowd of angry Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande from Juarez to retrieve the bodies of two murdered countrymen. An obliging constable, who offered assistance, was confronted by a pair of troublemakers, John Hale and George Campbell. Cursing the lawman for helping the foreigners, Hale shoved a gun in his ribs and pulled the trigger sending a slug through both lungs.
At that instant, Stoudenmire cut loose. He first shot went wild striking an innocent bystander, a Mexican that died the next day. Hale caught the second bullet squarely in the forehead, when he peeked around a pillar. The third finished off Campbell, already wounded twice by the dying constable.
By Sunday night, ex-marshal Johnson had mustered the courage to make good on his threat. He hid behind a pile of bricks and emptied a shotgun at Stoudenmire and his pal Cummings. Incredibly Johnson missed both men, who calmly gunned him down.
Following the back-to-back bloodlettings, hard-cases left town in droves. El Pasoans enjoyed months of law and order, a rare commodity in the frontier community, but just beneath the tranquil surface a volatile feud was brewing.
The Manning brothers held a grudge against the quick-draw marshal for killing Hale, longtime foreman of their family ranch. Stoudenmire, on the other hand, suspected the Mannings of encouraging his dead predecessor's clumsy ambush.
Spoiled by his initial success, the marshal went into a tailspin that alienated his many admirers. Drinking himself into a sullen stupor most nights, Stoudenmire roamed the streets shooting at anything that moved. And, as if his binges were not bad enough, he openly cheated on his long suffering wife, a detestable habit condemned by the townspeople.
In February 1882, Stoudenmire's sidekick Cummings was shot to death in a saloon owned by the Mannings. After weeks of worrying that a private war might erupt at any moment, a group of private citizens begged the antagonists to bury the hatchet. Stoudenmire and the Manning clan reluctantly signed a truce that only postponed the inevitable.
Meanwhile, Stoudenmire was forced to resign as marshal because of his drinking. He checked into a New Mexico sanitarium to dry out, but his hand shook so badly he could not write his name. A companion had to sign the register for him.
Not long after Stoudenmire returned to El Paso, the feud heated up again. Third parties arranged another peace talk, but a fight broke out before the meeting even started.
Beating the over-the-hill gunslinger to the draw, Doc Manning fired first and the slug ripped through Stoudenmire's right arm and into his chest. Manning shot a second time, but papers in a shirt pocket deflected the bullet.
A dazed Stoudenmire pulled his snub-nosed pistol and wounded Doc in the arm. Manning grabbed him in a bear hug just as brother Jim arrived six-gun in hand. Two shots rang out, and Dallas Stoudenmire collapsed with a fatal wound to the back of the head.
In his murderous frenzy, Doc Manning did not realize his opponent was dead. Grabbing Stoudenmire's own gun, he pistol-whipped the corpse until restrained by the new marshal. He stood there wishing Stoudenmire would come back to life so he could kill him all over again.
Read all about Spindletop, Mexia, Roarin' Ranger and Bloody Borger in "Texas Boomtowns: A History of Blood and Oil." Order autographed copies from the author for $28.80 at barteehaile.com or P.O. Box 130011, Spring, TX 77393.
Congress has long supported small voluntary national service programs such as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.
The voluntary service programs, operated under the umbrella of the Corporation for National and Community Service, assist Teach For America, disaster recovery and many other efforts that improve individual lives and American communities.
Congress approved $1 billion in funding for the CNCS in fiscal 2017, but President Donald J. Trump recommended eliminating funding for the service corporation in 2018. The agency was an initiative of President Bill Clintons administration.
Now, a battle over the fate of the national service agency, which has enjoyed bipartisan support, lies ahead. Trumps proposed cuts are the type of shortsighted government reduction that will result in costs and damages that surface on local government turf.
Notably, San Antonio Democratic Reps. Joaquin Castro and Lloyd Doggett are members of the bipartisan National Service Congressional Caucus.
National service is a powerful institution that unites Americans and restores important values of patriotism and civic duty, said AnnMaura Connolly, president of Voices for National Service, when Trump released his budget blueprint.
Connolly added, The elimination of the Corporation for National and Community Service, AmeriCorps and Senior Corps would be a devastating blow to the tens of thousands of young Americans who gain valuable job experience and training while providing essential service to their communities, and to the hundreds of thousands of seniors who serve their neighbors and communities.
And it would hurt our nations veterans. AmeriCorps and Senior Corps serve more than 750,000 veterans and military families, and 23,000 veterans serve in these programs, applying the skills they gained in the military to tackle problems here at home, Connolly said.
The budget discussion forces supporters of national service to play defense when, frankly, the time has come for a serious debate about universal national service instead of the small volunteer service programs that exist today.
The military draft was halted in 1973. Today, more than 90 percent of Americans have never served in the military, and many of those have never been involved with public service in any form.
A universal national service program would require additional government investment as well as sacrifice by Americans, but the nation would reap huge benefits.
In 2009, Carol Amistead Grigsby, a former State Department official who holds a masters degree from the National War College, wrote an essay arguing that universal national service has potential to forge a new sense of national community, rebuild the connection between the rights and responsibilities of citizenship, and re-establish a sound civil-military relationship.
Grigsby added, The opportunity for all men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 to dedicate a year and a half to national service could have a transformative impact on the fabric of the nation. It could change the way individuals view their responsibilities as citizens, create stronger ties across divisions of class and culture, and instill a deeper understanding of the sacrifices required in the defense of the nation.
Almost a decade after Grigsbys observations, many Americans are alarmed by low voter turnout, decreasing civic involvement and growing alienation from our institutions. Technology is accelerating a national slide into individual isolation and virtual community involvement. The hostility of the nations partisan division is alarming.
Americans need to nurture their republic and increase individual investment in the processes that maintain our freedom.
Universal national service would require experience that creates a bond with others from different walks of life and enriches the lives of those who benefit from the programs operated through a national service program.
If Congress isnt ready to take the bold step required to enact universal national service, lawmakers should maintain or expand funding for the limited volunteer service programs that are operating today. But universal national service should on the table.
bwdavidson75@gmail.com
Re: Sen. Uresti is indicted in Four Winds scandal, front page, May 17:
The whole story of Carlos Uresti, Four Winds CEO Stanley Bates and consultant Gary L. Cain doesnt pass the smell test.
Neither does the story of Carlos Uresti, businessman Vernon C. Farthing III and Reeves County Judge Jimmy Galindo.
These men need to answer for their alleged misdeeds.
Doris Kinsey
Hypocrisy in action
I couldnt believe my eyes while reading Gilbert Garcias recent column Taylor plays the Liberal Ron card against Nirenberg (May 19).
While throwing mud at Ron Nirenberg and Julian Castro, Colin Strother must have forgotten about the endorsement of former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a liberal, of Ivy Taylor in the last mayoral runoff. And after the endorsement, Van de Putte stated Taylor was even more generous with taxpayer money when negotiating the police union contract than she herself wouldve been.
And if we want to define hypocrisy, heres a great example: During the mayoral campaign, Taylor refused to shake Van de Puttes hand, but then accepted her endorsement a few weeks later because it was the politically expedient thing to do. Hypocrisy at its finest!
Travis Cox
Suspicious calls
I got a telephone call recently for a poll about the runoff in the mayoral election.
It started off like a neutral political poll, but by the end it seemed to be marketing research for one of the candidates, if not a push poll. Three hours later, I got another call from the same phone number.
A political poll or a marketing survey only needs to contact several hundred people. A push poll, hoping to help one candidate, will try to contact as many voters as possible.
Whats the chance that of at least a million phone numbers in the 210 area code, Id get called twice? Something else suspicious at the end, they asked my name.
David Grant
Preserve the chapel
Re: City Council approves Alamo Plaza plan for renovation, front page, May 17:
The plans for revamping Alamo Plaza are far worse than I could ever reimagine.
The planners may have good intentions and share the belief that something should improve the setting, but many of us stop short of wanting to close off the area.
While I do not pretend to speak for any influential organization or economic interest, I can speak for myself and many fellow residents. We want:
The Alamo chapel facade to continue being visible to motorists. The closing of Alamo and Houston streets will make it visible only to pedestrians.
The plaza to remain accessible for brief ceremonies, especially promotion or re-enlistment ceremonies by small military units, along with peaceful assemblies or demonstrations.
Parades, such as the Battle of Flowers, to be allowed to proceed with the chapel serving as a backdrop.
Instead of spending millions to make part of downtown less accessible, we would prefer our taxes be spent on preserving the chapel itself.
Gregg Ripps
Tourist detraction
I know a lot of people have weighed in on the Alamo Plaza plan proposed by the East Coast architects hired by our city, but I cannot resist one more comment.
The Alamo is one of the top attractions in the state and country because it is unique and charming. If our city officials decide to turn the plaza into the kind of standard cement-and-glass plaza found in any big city, why would people travel here to see it?
Nancy Strehlow
Reckless disclosure
President Donald Trump disclosed classified information to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador Sergey Kislyak. The code-word information was known, previous to disclosure, only to a small group of cleared American citizens and selected allies.
Are there agreements in place so that American citizens can be assured that Lavrov and Kislyak will preserve the information in a manner that is mutually agreed upon?
Foreign operatives on the ground intelligence were likely involved in gaining this data. These persons may be in serious jeopardy due to the impromptu manner of this disclosure and the subsequent leaks.
I am further concerned that this disclosure will result in increased internal terror events and events in other settings since a new technology has been discussed.
I urge the administration to be far more careful with respect to handling classified information.
Richard A. Albanese
Who speaks for us?
Re: Trump paints investigation as witch hunt, front page, May 19:
When asked about his campaigns alarmingly close and secretive relationship with the Russians, President Donald Trump replied, I can only speak for myself and the Russians.
That sums up the fundamental problem. We need a president who wants to speak for 320 million Americans.
John Fehlauer
Enablers in GOP
The definition of an enabler is one who empowers another to achieve an end. This is especially problematic when one enables self-destructive behavior by providing excuses or helping that individual avoid the consequences of such behavior. The definition is applicable in politics as well.
While enablers may not be guilty of the wrongdoing they enable, they are accountable for the consequences of that wrongdoing. After all, if the enablers fail to use their power and authority to stop the person of wrongdoing, they are culpable and must take at least partial responsibility for the consequences.
Republican members of Congress are acting as enablers, making possible and empowering President Donald Trumps egregious behavior. They could stop Trump but have chosen not to, elevating party over country. The public must hold these enablers accountable, removing them from political office.
Richard Cherwitz
Health care matters
In a state where the mantra of repeal-n-replace Obamacare got a gang of right-wing, conservative politicians elected, it was so refreshing to read Ramzi Dakour's guest column last Sunday about the new GOP health bill. For those who missed it, he basically complains about GOP politicians using this bill to take protections away from millions of "vulnerable Americans."
And the guy should know. He's a doctor!
Dr. Dakour singles out our U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (Republican, District 14) as one of those politicians spearheading the destruction of Obamacare.
I went to Weber's webpage to see if he had written anything in his defense. He did. In a statement, Weber writes that he voted yes for his party's health bill even though he did not believe "the language went far enough to reduce premiums and ensure patient choice." He also claims that he worked "tirelessly" with his colleagues "to negotiate language for a bill that is best for you, your family and fellow Texans."
Really?
Back to Dr. Dakour. He wraps up his column by saying that we Americans "need to start coming around the idea that health care is a human right, not a commodity or a political poker chip." Yes! He then closes with a call to arms: "We can start the process by kicking out our oblivious representatives from the halls of Congress." Bravo!
Wouldn't it be great to see Weber debate the good doctor in a town hall meeting? No, wait! Weber doesn't do town halls.
Luis G. Blanco, Nederland
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Use smoke detectors
Recently three children in the Houston area, ages 5-13, died in a house fire and several adults were injured trying to save them. What a terrible loss for the families and community.
The initial report stated that fire fighters found no evidence that the home was protected by smoke detectors.
We all need to be sure there are working smoke detectors in our homes and homes of our children, grandchildren, parents and grandparents. They should be installed on the ceilings in the bedrooms above the door. Be the one in your family to be sure these households are protected.
Most hardware stores sell smoke detectors and your local fire department can always help with installation instructions.
John Raney Jr., Beaumont
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Focus on real speeders
Why are the police giving tickets for going 37 mph on Plant Road when people are getting killed because drivers are going 65 mph and 70 mph on the surface road on Eastex Freeway one-half mile away?
Sorry, I don't understand. Two kids killed?
Jerry Stevens, Beaumont
P.S. There have been numerous accidents there. Check it out.
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Trump: one and done
First of all, I did vote in the November 2016 election. I did not vote for the presidential position. I would not vote for a person who uses the language that Donald Trump uses, nor the way he treats women.
But last Sunday's column by Editorial Page Editor Thomas Taschinger was spot on, except Trump making a second term.
Not gonna happen. If someone does not take that Tweeter phone away from him, he will not make a first term.
Do I believe Trump or former FBI Director James Comey? I believe Comey.
Danny Byrom, Beaumont
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Appraisals are too high
With apologies to the Kingston Trio:
"Oh, you citizens of JeffCo, don't you think it's a scandal how the people have to pay and pay? Fight the fare increases, call your county commissioners, get the '17 appraisals thrown away."
If Jefferson County wants more money, how about being upfront with us, the property owners, and just raise our rates? You just received your 2017 property appraisal. I disagree with what seems to be a very arbitrary and unsupported system of increasing appraisals. Mine went up 4.3 percent with no evident change in current market value. Do a Home Value or Zillow search to get an idea of where your values stand.
I have tried protesting my appraisal. This is a waste of time. The Appraisal Board dances to its masters, the county commissioners, and you are predestined to fail if you file a protest. My home value is not going up, certainly not to the county's appraised value, and there is no data or analysis to support the change in appraisal from the county.
Yes, I am going to file a protest, but only because I am a glutton for punishment. You, too, need to file a protest, unless you like paying higher taxes.
David L. Hartman, Beaumont
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In Our Care
TODAY
COOK, John Henry, age 80, of Helena, passed away on May 23, 2017. A celebration of John Henrys life will take place at 12:30 p.m. today, May 27th in the barn at the Kleffner Ranch, 305 Highway 518, East Helena. A private family burial will be held at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery, Fort Harrison. In lieu of flowers memorials in honor of John are suggested to Compassion Tanzania, P.O. Box 239, Helena, MT 59624. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer the family a condolence or to share a memory of John.
TUESDAY
DUNWELL, Don F., age 82 of Helena passed away Saturday, April 29, 2017. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30th at Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church, 1502 Shirley Road. A luncheon reception will follow the Mass in the fellowship hall of the church. Burial with military honors will follow the reception at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery at Fort Harrison. Memorials in Dons name may be made to the Montana Historical Society, PO Box 201201, Helena, MT 59626, to any Veterans charity or to an organization of your choosing. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Don.
HEANEY, Katherine H., age 92 of Helena passed away Wednesday, May 17, 2017.A viewing at the church will begin at 11:00 am. A funeral service will be at 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 30th at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 1260 Otter Road. Burial will follow the service at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery, Fort Harrison. A reception will follow the burial back at the Churchs Relief Society Room. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Katherine.
WEDNESDAY (May 31st)
GUIPRE, John F. Jack, age 76, of Helena passed away Saturday, May 20, 2017. A Memorial Service will be held Wednesday, May 31st at 12 noon at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 1610 East 6th Avenue, Helena, MT. A viewing for immediate family and guests will be held in the Relief Society room starting at 11:00 a.m. Interment with Military Honors will follow the service at the Montana State Veterans Cemetery, Ft. Harrison. In lieu of flowers please make donations in Jacks name to Lewis & Clark Humane Society, P.O. Box 4455, Helena, MT 5960 or volunteer or donate to the Department of Veteran Affairs Montana Health Care System. Please visit www.aswfuneralhome.com to offer a condolence to the family or to share a memory of Jack.
1 Flights canceled: British Airways canceled all flights from Londons Heathrow and Gatwick airports Saturday as a global computer failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy holiday weekend. The airline said it was suffering a major IT systems failure tied to a power supply problem. It said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. British Airways operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical day. Several hours after problems began cropping up Saturday morning, it suspended flights up to 6 p.m. because the two airports had become severely congested. The airline later scrapped flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for the full day. The airline said it was working to restore services beginning Sunday, although there will still be disruptions. It said it expected that London-bound long-haul flights would land on schedule Sunday.
2 Syria fighting: Government troops and allied militia have pushed back Islamic State militants and U.S-backed opposition fighters, gaining control of a large swath of territory in the countrys strategic southern desert, the government-controlled media and a war monitor said Saturday. With the advances, the government and allied troops secured an area nearly half the size of neighboring Lebanon. The strategic juncture in the Syrian desert also restores government control over mineral and oil resources. The gains aid government plans to go after Islamic State fighters in Deir el-Zour, one of the militants last major strongholds in Syria.
MDC-T leader Morgan Tsvangirais quest to run for the presidency for the fourth time might hit a brick wall, amid revelations there are renewed efforts to force him to make way for a new leader before the polls.
A faction loyal to vice-president Thokozani Khupe is said to be pushing for a special congress aimed at retiring Tsvangirai on health grounds.
If the faction succeeds, Khupe would take over, but the move is being resisted by a group that is backing Tsvangirais third deputy, Nelson Chamisa, sources have revealed.
Tsvangirai, who has been battling cancer of the colon since last year, is reportedly back in South Africa for another round of treatment.
He is expected back in the country tomorrow.
MDC-T sources said the infighting in the party had spiralled out of control after the military forced former president Robert Mugabe to resign last month and Zanu PF replaced him with President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
According to the sources, Khupes faction is already mobilising provinces to support the idea to retire Tsvangirai, arguing MDC-T needs a fit leader to face Zanu PF in next years general elections.
The MDC-T had hoped to be part of Mnangagwas government in a transitional arrangement, but the deal collapsed, spinning the party into chaos.
Khupe is believed to have the backing of five provinces, Bulawayo, Matabeleland South, Manicaland, Matabeleland North and part of Harare. She is also supported by external branches in the United Kingdom, South Africa and United States.
However, MDC-T spokesperson Obert Gutu yesterday rubbished the claim, maintaining the partys next congress would only be in 2019.
This is a total fabrication. There is absolutely nothing like that, he said.
Our next congress is due to be held in 2019. President Morgan Tsvangirai is our leader and he is also the MDC Alliance presidential candidate for the 2018 elections.
Khupe also told The Standard on Friday in a separate interview that she remained loyal to Tsvangirai and was working well with Chamisa.
But sources within the party said Khupe had covered ground in mobilising some provinces to support the idea of a special congress that would see the reconfiguration of Tsvangirais 18-year-old party.
As we speak, a lot of jostling is taking place across the country. The same people who were opposed to the MDC Alliance are telling people that the only way the MDC can win against Mnangagwa and Zanu PF is for the party to have a new candidate, a well-placed source said.
They say our president is sick and has been in hospital for the last six months, hence the calls by the provinces to call for an extraordinary congress to select a new leader.
According to the source, the issue of the special congress is likely to be resolved at the partys next national council meeting.
The issue will be tabled at the next national council meeting and we hope it will be debated without emotions.
The majority of the provinces are ready to support this motion.
There will also be a push for the council to reject the MDC Alliance agreement on claims that it was not properly discussed and adopted as the Khupe faction has told provinces that the MDC-T does not need an alliance to win an election, but a new presidential candidate and a new vision.
Khupes decision to suspend Matabeleland South provincial chairperson Solani Moyo on allegations that he intended to assault her in the full glare of party members who included national chairman Lovemore Moyo, was an indication that the infighting was getting out of control.
The decision to suspend Moyo was on the grounds that he refused to support the idea of a special congress to remove Tsvangirai. Matabeleland South province is backing Tsvangirai, together with the Mashonaland provinces as well as Masvingo, said the source.
As it stands, its a 50-50 war and things can move either way. Tsvangirai is willing to hand over power to Chamisa, but Khupe is making inroads in mobilising provinces for her candidature since talks for a transitional government collapsed.
Both Khupe and Chamisa were not picking calls yesterday.
Breaking News via Email
Exclusive: Trump son-in-law had undisclosed contacts with Russian envoy sources Reuters (furzy). Way way WAY down in the story:
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Russian ambassador told Moscow that Kushner wanted secret communications channel with Kremlin Washington Post
Jared Kushners Russia Problems New Yorker (furzy)
Dem: Kushner should be prosecuted for lying on security form The Hill
Lambert helpfully sent this:
Ryan Lizza seems to be the source. The form is SF-86. May 26:
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-worried-should-jared-kushner-be
He concludes:
We still dont have a crime in this case, but there is an awful lot of coverup.
The illegality claim Lizza cites comes from several Democrats in a letter on April 13:
Gorelicks case for the defense, April 6 [i.e., Kushners attorney at Wilmer Hale]:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/06/us/politics/jared-kushner-russians-security-clearance.html
While officials can lose access to intelligence, or worse, for failing to disclose foreign contacts, the forms are often amended to address lapses. Jamie Gorelick, Mr. Kushners lawyer, said that the questionnaire was submitted prematurely on Jan. 18, and that the next day, Mr. Kushners office told the F.B.I. that he would provide supplemental information. This is not just bureaucratic paperwork. The form warns that withholding, misrepresenting, or falsifying information could result in loss of access to classified information, denial of eligibility for a sensitive job and even prosecution; knowingly falsifying or concealing material facts is a federal felony that may result in fines or up to five years imprisonment. Clearance holders are often allowed to amend disclosure forms and avoid punishment if omissions are deemed oversights rather than deliberate falsifications, and prosecutions are rare.
So it looks to me like Gorelick got the toothpaste back in the tube on April 6, as she would try to do, the Democrats tried to stamp on the tube April 13, as they would try to do, and The New Yorker is stamping on the tube to get the toothpaste out again, as they would try to do. I did a brief search for SF-86 prosecutions, but all I can find is this podcast, which I dont have time to listen to:
https://www.lawfareblog.com/rational-security-sf-86ed-edition
Presumably, if there were a history of SF-86 prosecutions with any big fish, we would already have seen timelines in sidebars. So I think its safe to assume they dont exist. I mean, Sandy Berger wasnt prosecuted for stealing classified documents from the National Archives by stuffing them into his pants and walking out with them.
By Thomas Fricke, Columnist & Head, WirtschaftsWunder-Website. Originally published as the lead article of the mid-May print version Der Spiegel; English translation published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website
The spell worked its magic for three decades. For three decades humanity believed in the blessings that globalization would bring in its wake. It was assumed that in the end everyone involved will benefit when we remove regulations, when corporations become ubiquitous throughout the world, when the banks have lots of money, when tax havens exist, and of course when government stays out of our hair. What prevailed was the primacy of the economy, whether in Herne, New York or Shenyang. It was as simple as that.
But times have changed. Once considered to be the High Temple of market dogma, the mighty financial world was about to collapse ten years ago, before it had to be rescued by surprise the rest of us.
What also collapsed was the myth that markets can regulate themselves. Simmering unrest emerged, borne by diffuse fears, half-knowledge and justifiable rejection of what has gone wrong with globalization. It became an opportune time for con men and authoritarians.
We now see a void that cannot be remedied by trying to fix details. What the world needs instead is a new leitmotif, a new guiding concept. We indeed need it before populists of all stripes fill this void by inciting people against each other. Time is of the essence.
The tremendous power and impact inherent in such a myth was exemplified when Ronald Reagan relaxed banking regulations in 1982. All of a sudden, the Chicago Boys were considered hip. Supply and demand, so they believed, was the key to resolving anything and everything whether it concerned a shortage of screws, demand for loans, or the desire to get married. Soon the apostles of the free market ruled everywhere, even in France. Mighty authorities such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) preached the Washington Consensus; i.e. strict market orientation as a new world religion.
For more than a quarter of a century there was no doubt about what is right: The market trumps the state [no pun intended]. What to do with State-owned enterprises? Privatize them. Your pension? Self-provision through the free market. Unemployment benefits? Curtailments. Opening borders for Eastern Europeans? Certainly. And the next free trade round? Of course. And so forth. In the end, even Social Democrats contributed to lowering top tax rates and making hedge funds happy.
In these times a lot of prosperity was generated throughout the world. The Asians were able to sell off their cheap goods everywhere. And the West benefited from cheap clothing from Vietnam and toys from China. Germany enjoyed an export miracle because everyone needed machines made in Germany.
And yet something seems to have gone awry. There is this unease. There is this resentment. There are these downsides.
The reason why world inequality has fallen is due mainly to the fact that so many Chinese and Indians have experienced a rise in income, as was demonstrated by the former World Bank economist Branko Milanovic.
The results elsewhere are less evident. Neither have Americans, Britons and Germans experienced faster growth in their economies compared to the decades prior to 1982. Nor were there fewer crises. On the contrary, the IMF has identified more than 120 banking crises and 200 currency crises since then a dramatic increase.
True, companies make more profits today, but they invest a lower proportion in machinery and jobs than before. This is in part because in a financialized global economy it is more lucrative to speculate. In part because it is more chic to make a quick buck than to think long-term. To sum this up we see $200 trillion in debt generated in the old system.
More importantly, however, the greatest promise has remained unfulfilled: Half of the Americans today have seen stagnating or even significantly lower real incomes since 1989. In Germany, there are 40 percent who are less well-off in real terms, and half of Germans possess practically no wealth. And nearly one in four Germans works for little pay. Such enormous wealth gaps between the rich and the poor existed in the nineteenth century as well.
Depending on the calculation, progress has thus by-passed a third to half of the population. The Americans and Britons were the first to be jolted by this development through the election victories of Trump and Brexit. Ironically it is those very countries who most eagerly followed the mantra of the free markets that are now confronted with Industry 0.0 and social division. Meanwhile, IMF experts are having to concede that capital markets are probably not so efficient after all. And the once orthodox-liberal OECD is only defining growth these days as good growth if it benefits the poor.
The myth of the past has become passe. What is missing is the new, powerful concept.
Economists have begun to understand what went wrong in recent years. Kenneth Rogoff and Thomas Piketty evaluated enormous sets of data pertaining to financial crises and assets. Nobel laureate Angus Deaton reveals in a new study that in the US, the life expectancy of white men is on the decline in precisely those areas where local companies have been displaced. Robert Shiller and George Akerlof have found main reasons that explain why financial bubbles come about systematically in markets.
There is a growing suspicion that it was perilous to allow the economies to be determined by financial wizards who are incapable of foreseeing their own debacles, who follow every fad, who then in times of crises drive governments on before them.
Could this become the core of a new mantra one that refrains from turning to financial magic for solutions? Possibly. Bonus calculations for managers should no longer be based on share prices, says Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz. Investors should be rewarded when they invest in the long term, says Andrew Haldane, chief economist of the Bank of England. And managers should have to pay back bonuses when it turns out that they made a mess of things. In other words, all incentives investing in human resources and machinery.
Many reasons point to the assumption that we would face fewer debts if, for instance, banks were required to provide more funds especially when it comes to pure financial transactions as well as in times of distorted lending. The Bonn-based economic historian Moritz Schularick found that in the run-up to nearly all financial crises too many loans had been taken out on real estate. This problem could be solved if the loan portion for the purchase of a house was limited to around, lets say, 50 percent.
And what about the pitfalls of free trade? According to Harvard professor Dani Rodrik, trade agreements in the future will have to be equipped with explicit clauses to enable import restrictions, if necessary. This would be the case, for example, when cost benefits are attributable solely to disregard for human rights in the countries of origin, however, not when the productivity is lower. When it is foreseeable that low-cost competition threatens to devastate entire industries. Thus, far more free trade could be rescued than through Trumpian protectionism, which comes with a high risk of escalation.
Moreover, it would be advisable to clarify what issues in a better world actually demand regulations on a global scale climate protection would be an example. And in which cases, beyond the crude good vs. evil dichotomy, state government is actually useful. Experts today can determine with much more clarity which investments are worthwhile and which are not. And which expenditures on railroads, schools or research will ultimately bring the finance minister greater return on initial investment because they initiate growth and generate more tax revenues. Such projects could, under strict supervision, be exempted from rules limiting fiscal deficits. This would be a more farsighted approach than formally striving to balanced budgets every year. The innovation researcher, Mariana Mazzucato, has demonstrated how strongly government agencies have enhanced the development of technologies without which devices like the iPhone would not exist: A good reason to start making those dull authorities more attractive to top researchers.
Some of these ideas have already matured, others are still in their inception stage. What we need to find is a unifying formula to define the new paradigm: the leitmotif.
Finding it is a tremendous challenge. It cannot be as simple as the market-works-wonders formula. Yet it must be simple enough to make it plausible to everyone. The solution probably lies somewhere in the middle: in a better controlled, enlightened globalization that can do without the compulsion to standardize everything throughout the world. What is needed is a new balance of liberties with built-in safeguards against excesses. And an environment in which politicians can again shape and decide on policies instead of rescuing banks or states without having much choice in the matter.
This requires an economy that is more dynamic and innovative than in the imposter years for the very reason that more money will flow into real projects and that higher incomes will increase sales. A good 80 years ago one myth already had to be replaced in the wake of a crash and a failed attempt at globalization. This brought populists to power, nourished nationalism and ended in a trade war and ultimately a world war.
At those times it was US President Franklin Roosevelt who coined a new slogan: the phenomenal New Deal, which embraced the losers of the economic crisis, placed bounds on the financial world, ensured investments in the future, and demonstrated political control: A model for the post-war world, during which almost everyone benefited for decades.
High time to draw our lessons from this.
The extended Devitt family of Cashel recently commemorated the hundredth anniversity of the death of their ancestor Michael Devitt at his resting place on the famous Rock.
To mark the occassion Cllr Tom Wood unearthed interesting information about the man referred to in The Nationalist of Wednesday, May 9th 1917 as, a fine type of Tipperary man and one of Cashels worthiest sons.
A resident of Lowergate Street and a renouned cattle dealer by profession, he was the first Chairman of the newly formed Urban Council in 1899 and held that post until his death in his seventieth year on May 4th 1917.
In 1896 his wife Catherine, nee Duggan, whose family hailed from the Commons, Cashel, predeceased him at the age of 43 years, leaving behind at their Lowergate Street residence seven children ranging in ages from between 23 and three years.
Michael, a Home Rule supporter, contributed greatly to the civic life of his beloved Cashel. He also served on South Tipperary County Council for 16 years and was actively involved in many committees including the County Agricultural Committee, Race Committee, Asylum Committee, Loan Fund Committee, the County Tipperary Infirmary Committee and the Town Tenants League.
Cllr Wood also discovered that, prior to chairing the Town Council from its ground floor office in Cashel's City Hall, Michael Devitt had served with his own grandfather, Dr. Thomas Wood, on the Town Commissioners, when, in recognising that the town was suffering from competition from nearby towns due to the lack of rail transport, they both engaged themselves with other concerned citizens in trying to secure rail transport from Cashel.
A highlight of Michael Devitts Chairmanship of the Town Council would have been the unveiling of the Fountain on Lowergate Square in 1904. Erected by the citizens of Cashel in recognition of the service given by Dean Kinane, 1887-1913, it marked the opening of the Goolds Cross to Cashel Branch Rail Line that same year.
Among other developments of significance during his political career was the introduction of a safe, clean supply of drinking water for the citizens and the construction of some of the first local authority housing at Upper Green and Lowergate Square. Along with being one of the best known southern cattle dealers, his involvement with the South of Ireland Cattle Trade Association brought him into direct contact with hundreds of oppressed tenant farmers and as one of the first members of the Cashel Branch of the Land League he was among their stalwart supporters.
On hearing of his death and in honour of a much respected and trusted citizen, shutters were closed and blinds pulled on premises and homes throughout the town for the three days prior to his burial on the Rock when hundreds turned out from all over the county and country making his funeral one of the biggest in memory.
In a final tribute to a worthy Cashel man, The Nationalist correspondent wrote, He was a fine type of Tipperary man, one of Cashels worthiest sons and most sterling banner bearer. Deceased was as popular in the County Cork as he was at home. The most affective part of the vast assemblage that foregathered to do honour was the large place occupied by the very poorer elements. They were doing their quota of justice to the memory of one who ever rallied to their support and who never failed to succour them in their darkest hour.
NATO leaders wrapped up a meeting at the new NATO Headquarters in Brussels on Thursday (25 May 2017). This meeting was a strong demonstration of transatlantic unity and resolve, with Allies taking important decisions to do more in the fight against terrorism and to ensure fairer burden sharing across NATO.
The Alliance agreed an action plan to do more in the fight against terrorism. NATO will become a full member of the Global Coalition, in which all 28 Allies already take part, said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. He noted that this will enable NATO to take part in political deliberations, including on the coordination of training and capacity building.
The Alliance will increase its support to the Coalition, with NATO AWACS surveillance planes helping to improve airspace management. We also decided to establish a terrorism intelligence cell within our new Intelligence Division. This will improve the sharing of information among Allies, including on the threat of foreign fighters, said Mr. Stoltenberg.
NATO leaders also agreed to do more to ensure fairer burden sharing across the Alliance. Today, we decided to develop annual national plans, setting out how Allies intend to meet the defence investment pledge we made together in 2014. The national plans will cover three major areas: cash, capabilities, and contributions, said the Secretary General.
NATO leaders were joined by Prime Minister Markovic of Montenegro. Montenegro will soon become the twenty-ninth member of the NATO Alliance in a clear sign that the door to NATO membership remains open.
(Natural News) When activist Carlita Shaw first headed to Ecuador six years ago, she had no idea what was in store for her. She went to the South American country to work on biodiversity conservation projects in conjunction with Amazon indigenous groups, and while she accomplished a great deal, her stay there has recently been marred with harassment, torture, and kidnappings. [Note: Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.]
When Ecuador recognized the rights of nature in its constitution in 2008, it became the first Latin American country to do so. However, the same respect has not been shown to the indigenous people that live there and their desire to see an end to the rampant exploitation of the natural resources found in the rainforest, which is their ancestral land. Since then, the government has approved countless mega-projects, mostly for Chinese businesses, that include hydroelectric dams and large-scale mines.
Things have been getting progressively worse for the indigenous people there because of the mining and oil extraction. Shaw has written numerous works on these problems, one of which is a piece called Ecocide in Ecuador that was published in The Ecologist. In the article, she draws attention to the exploitation of the rainforest in the name of oil drilling and how it is affecting the thousands of species that live there. She has also addressed these matters in her book, Silent Ecocide.
Going into Hiding
In November 2014, indigenous activist Jose Isidro Tendetza was murdered ahead of a trip to the Peru climate talks, where he was planning to denounce the actions of the Chinese mining companies that were ravaging his ancestral home. He was an outspoken critic of the government of President Rafael Correa, accusing government agents of going back on their promise to respect indigenous lands and nature. He started receiving threats against his home and his life. Eventually, his crops and home were set on fire. His family last saw him boarding a bus for the protest meeting. His body was found in a river with signs of being tortured and tied up. Many believe the mining company he spoke out against so vocally was behind his murder, but little was done by officials to investigate his death.
This incident prompted Shaw to go into hiding, spending a year in voluntary solitude in the coastal jungle. She eventually decided to take a step back from writing about the petrochemical and mining companies there, and its hard to blame her given the horrific crimes they are all too willing to carry out to protect their interests.
When she took a job at an English school, she met her partner, Andre Piedro Leone, a like-minded activist who was also looking for a quieter life. He had worked with Newman, a South African professor who had been raising awareness about vaccines. He served as Newmans interpreter, giving high-profile interviews warning the public about vaccines on Ecuadorian TV, particularly the H1N1 vaccine.
Early last month, Andre failed to return home one day after work. Shaw found him unconscious and drugged in the school where he worked. Blood tests showed he had been drugged with the mind control substance scopolamine. Also known as Devils Breath, this dangerous drug is derived from the pollen of the Datura tree and is known for wiping its victims memories and making them compliant. The pollen can be blown into victims faces, rendering them completely programmable.
A week later, Andre was kidnapped again. After the police proved unhelpful, he eventually showed up on Shaws doorstep four days later early in the morning donning hospital clothes, covered in torture marks and signs of electric shock. He said he managed to escape captors who he believes targeted him because of his anti-vaccine work.
Trying to Escape
Now, Shaw is seeking help for her and her partner to get out of Ecuador as the situation has become untenable. Everywhere they go, they are followed by military and police, who threaten and film them. The embassies dont want to get involved. Andre is having trouble obtaining a passport, which they believe is another attempt by the Ecuadoran government to keep him under control. Past attempts to help him reach a safe house across the border proved to be unsuccessful, and the couple is now destitute.
She is seeking donations on GoGetFunding.com to help them fly out of the country to safety in an unspecified European Union location. Complicating matters is the fact that she also wants to bring her pets along. A self-proclaimed animal lover, Shaw says she has helped to rescue, rehabilitate and rehome nearly 30 dogs and cats during her six years in Ecuador. The only airline that will accommodate her two dogs and two cats on a flight from Ecuador to the EU is expensive, and shell also need to cover expenses related to their travel, such as blood tests, health certificates, and crates.
In the meantime, they are trying to stay safe and get all their paperwork in order as they wait for all the pieces to fall into place. In addition to financial help, they are also seeking assistance from lawyers and therapists who specialize in trauma.
Sources:
GoGetFunding.com
TheGuardian.com
NaturalNews.com
TheEcologist.org
MISSOULA -- Greg Gianforte's physical attack on a reporter on the eve of his election as Montana's sole U.S. House member thrust both him and the state into the bright glare of the national spotlight, and it could have lasting repercussions.
Longtime election analyst Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan campaign news site Inside Elections, said he believes that Gianforte will of course get more attention from the press when he arrives in Washington.
He didnt just poke the bear, he body slammed the bear, Gonzales said, referring to a criminal assault charge after Gianforte threw Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses at a campaign event on Wednesday night when Jacobs began asking questions about the Republican health care plan.
Gianforte is scheduled to appear in court in Gallatin County before June 7.
Hes going to come to Washington and have to deal with the consequences, more consequences I guess, Gonzales said. To put it another way, the D.C. press corps is going to treat him differently than Ron Estes, who won the special election (for Congress) in Kansas. Theres going to be more attention on Gianforte because of the last 48 hours of the campaign.
Gonzales said that the fact that Gianforte hails from a rural state with a relatively low population will not allow him to keep a low profile.
His constituency and his geographic location will have no bearing on the scrutiny hell receive at all, Gonzales said. It will all have to do with his interaction with that reporter.
"Time could heal some wounds, but theres no going back with the reporters. Hell get an extra level of scrutiny that most members of Congress dont have. Hes not going to be able to sneak through the hallways of the Capitol. Hes going to attract attention.
***
At least one longtime D.C. political analyst believes that Gianforte may also be shunned by the Republican leadership and given less important committee assignments in an effort to avoid tying the Republican party to his personal controversy.
James A. Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had call on Gianforte to apologize was telling.
For the Speaker to publicly say, 'The gentleman should apologize, something generally doesnt get to this, said Thurber, who has written 12 books on American politics. Therefore, the party leadership may take him aside and say, 'You've got to be a little more civilized in terms of the way you interact with the press.''
Thurber said the controversy could affect Gianforte's stature in Congress.
"People that have been around a long time, when theyre judging who should get certain committee assignments, this doesnt help (Gianforte). There are things that are unsaid that happen. There will be opportunities that dont come about (for Gianforte) because of things like this, but hell never know it.
He added said that normally, not many people even know who freshmen members of Congress are.
To pop out like this among freshmen, especially in a special election, is rare, Thurber said. To be a showboat this early is not good. Usually, nobody even knows who they are. They co-sponsor a few bills, do constituent work and vote with the party.
Thurber also predicted that Gianforte would suffer politically if he becomes a national punchline, especially if his interaction with Jacobs is parodied by Saturday Night Live, which Thurber said on Friday afternoon would probably happen.
If he turns into a joke, thats deadly for a public official, Thurber said.
***
Jeff Ballou, president of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., said that national journalists are very busy and also very professional.
If people are thinking were going to be somehow waiting outside his door with pitchforks and torches, we frankly have better things to do, he said. And there are a cacophony of issues to cover in the nations capitol. Gianforte will be one of a crowd, low in seniority and high in profile.
Ballou said that Gianforte does come in under unique circumstances.
Like any high profile for very different reasons in this case member of Congress-elect, therell be a lot of attention, if for nothing else but a curiosity factor, Ballou said. Everybody knows what hes done. Hes apologized for it. He will be given the same respect as any member-elect of Congress.
Ballou said that the job of elected officials in a democracy, where the First Amendment prevents Congress from abridging the freedom of speech or the press, is to talk to the media.
For any member of Congress, he or she will be expected to perform his or her duties and part of that is to take questions from members of the press, Ballou said. Our job is constitutional just like his.
"It is one thing to serve, but part of that service is being accountable for your service and to taking questions on votes youve taken or positions you take.
Its not the job or imperative of the D.C. press corps to mount a campaign against Gianforte to try to get him ousted, Ballou explained.
Our gig is to treat him simply like the other 434 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate and call the balls and strikes as he delivers them,'' he said. "Its not the job of the D.C. press corps to fan those flames.
Ballou said that the people of Montana deserve to know more about Gianfortes actions in Washington above and beyond just his roll call voting record.
All his statements, all his movements, all the things that people expect to know about a member of Congress, Ballou said. Hes going to get some white hot spotlight, Im sure, when he first arrives and at some point the press corps will move on.
Ballou added that since the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, recently joked about shooting reporters at a gun event, he believes there is a concerning trend happening in the coverage of politics in America.
Its not funny when collectively there is this atmosphere of incivility and rhetorically undermining the Constitution, he said. That serves no one. It doesnt serve the people of Montana or, in Gov. Abbotts case, Texas."
The most important thing, he said, is to not let the controversy overshadow how Gianforte does his job.
"It just gets in the way of being able to see what (Gianforte) is actually doing for his new day job," Ballou said. "Thats all we want to do. If he starts slamming doors and hiding, the people of Montana are going to go what gives? We wish him respectfully well to have a successful term in Congress, and we hope he doesnt duck our questions.
"All we ask is for elected officials to respect the whole document (the Constitution) that they were elected to uphold and protect.
***
Lesley Clark, who has worked as a journalist in D.C. for a decade and is now a national correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers D.C. Bureau, said no reporter wants to become the story.
Reporters first instinct is to treat all members of Congress with respect and dignity, she said. However, we all want to get answers to questions.
Clark and other D.C. journalists told the Missoulian that since President Donald Trump was elected, there have been more reporters on Capitol Hill.
She thinks it will be a little awkward when journalists interact with Gianforte for the first time.
(Gianforte) will find himself with a recorder in his face pretty much all the time, walking through the hallway or coming in for votes, she said. He cant really expect to not see reporters unless hes in is own office or sitting on the House floor.
"But most members know that and are pretty good about it. Theyll come out and answer questions, and if they dont want to, theyll walk away. We will pester them a little and say things like, Oh, come on, you can answer that.' So hes going to have to get used to that. Theres no way to serve in Congress without that.
Clark also said that at least initially, Gianforte will face greater scrutiny from the media than other low-profile members of Congress.
People in the news get greater scrutiny'' she said. "All eyes are going to be on him when he first gets up here.
David Lightman, a veteran national political correspondent for McClatchy, had a different opinion.
Hell get the same scrutiny anybody else does, the only difference is hes better known because of the incident, Lightman said. Hell get the same scrutiny we give anybody else.
Gianforte is not the first member of Congress to serve while facing a criminal charge.
On Thursday, the news site Vox published an article explaining how elected officials continue to serve after committing offenses. For example, author Jeff Stein wrote that Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted on federal corruption charges two years ago, but is still serving in the Senate.
Rep Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was indicted on federal racketeering charges in July of 2015 and continued to serve for more than a year. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was indicted in 2008 on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts and served in Congress for five more months.
Gianforte is also not the first to threaten a reporter. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., threatened to break a reporter in half and throw him off a balcony while on camera. Grimm was facing tax evasion charges at the time, and then-Speaker of the House John Boehner privately asked him to resign. Grimm later apologized and resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion.
More than a dozen students at San Ramon's California High School were punished for a senior prank that ended up killing a mouse.
Some students in response said the school's reaction was too harsh.
Students at California High shared cell phone video to NBC Bay Area of what they call an impromptu dance party on campus.
Student Andrew Desoto said the party was a great time until he noticed a handful of mice running around the crowd that soon turned into a small mosh pit in the quad.
"Mice are getting stepped on," Desoto said. "I threw away a dead mouse and I picked up a mice and put it in a cup and handed it to someone to get it away. I felt bad for the mice."
Three mice were rescued, but one was killed by someone in the crowd.
Desoto was in the quad when it happened and received a two-day suspension, including Friday's senior trip to Great America.
"Some of them had been warned related to previous incidents, so it was a cumulative repercussion," San Ramon Valley Unified School District spokesperson Elizabeth Graswich said.
A total of 15 students were punished for the incident and the student who brought the mice was punished more severely, Graswich said.
"All I did was run up, saw some friends and start dancing," student Spencer Keller said.
Keller said school officials have canceled his scheduled guitar performance on graduation day as punishment for dancing in the mosh pit. He believes his actions should not be compared to the student who brought the mice and put them in danger.
"The consequences, this severity doesn't match what I did," Keller said.
School district officials did not elaborate on how many students were suspended, but said that all of the students involved will be allowed to attend graduation.
President Donald Trump has criticized Germany's trade surplus with the United States, drawing attention to a contentious issue at a summit of world leaders where trade is already a sticking point.
As the leaders of seven wealthy democracies gathered for difficult talks on trade and climate change, Germany's Der Spiegel reported that Trump had told EU leaders the day before that the Germans were "bad, very bad" when it came to trade.
White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said the president's comments focused on the surplus and not the country: "He said they're very bad on trade, but he doesn't have a problem with Germany."
Cohn noted that "his dad is from Germany" and that he had said: "'I don't have a problem with Germany. I have a problem with German trade."
The president of the European Union's executive commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Trump was "not aggressive" in his comments about the surplus and called the report "exaggerated."
It's not the first time Trump has taken aim at Germany's trade success. In January, he said that German car manufacturers like BMW could face U.S. tariffs of up to 35 percent if they set up plants in Mexico instead of in the U.S. and try to export the cars to the U.S.
Trump has said he wants trade to be balanced, fair and free so it benefits U.S. workers and companies. He has focused on relationships in which the U.S. buys more than it sells in partners' markets as is the case with Germany and China.
Trump also has pushed back against earlier G-7 agreements to "fight all forms of protectionism." G-7 finance ministers meeting in Bari, Italy, earlier this month agreed only to say they are "working to strengthen the contribution of trade to our economies."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she spoke to Trump about the matter.
Merkel said Friday at the summit that it's well known that Germany sells more to the U.S. than it buys from America, "which on the one hand has to do with the quality of our goods," but noted that there is also a lot of German direct investment in the U.S.
"In my opinion, one has to see these things together," Merkel said.
She also noted that Germany should not be singled out. German news agency dpa reported that she said: "We have a currency union. We are practically a common market. To pick out one country is, I think, not so appropriate."
Trump is not the only leader to criticize Germany's trade surplus. Then-Prime Minister Matteo Renzi of Italy said last year that it wasn't good for the eurozone economy.
Germany's trade surplus with the United States is part of its large overall surplus with the rest of the world. Last year, Germany ran a current account surplus the broadest measure of trade and investment flows of 8.7 percent of annual economic output.
The country benefits from producing competitive goods such as luxury autos and industrial machinery that are in demand in the rest of the world. A weaker euro has helped the export performance.
Germany, however, can't do much about the euro: its exchange rate has been driven down by troubles like the debt woes in Greece, and the policies of the European Central Bank.
Further complicating the picture, some large German companies also invest, hire and produce in the United States.
BMW, for instance, makes sport-utility vehicles in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and last year exported 70 percent of them or 288,000 vehicles to the rest of the world.
Daimler AG makes Mercedes-Benz cars in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, while Volkswagen has a plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
A family of bears set to be euthanized by the state in New Hampshires Upper Valley region, saved by a passionate group of community members.
The bears have been living in a neighborhood less than a mile from busy downtown streets since last summer. Their lives were about to be cut short, until thousands of people stepped up to protect them.
Its amazing that people not just in the Upper Valley, but in the country want to help these bears, said Nicole Cantlin of Enfield.
When a momma bear and her three cubs broke into a Hanover home over the weekend, they just about sealed their fate - the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department has a strict policy that when a bear enters a home, they must be destroyed.
I dont think bears should suffer and be euthanized because of peoples actions, Cantlin said.
So she intervened and started a petition to save the bears.
Its been 48 hours and we have almost 10,000 signatures, she said Friday.
Even Governor Chris Sununu promised to work with the fish and game department to find a humane alternative to euthanization.
Late Friday they made a decision to relocate the bears to northern New Hampshire.
There is no one in the Fish and Game Department that relishes putting bears down in these situations, said Dr. Ben Kilham of Lyme, NH
Kilham is New Hampshires only bear rehabilitator and he works closely with Fish and Game officials. Although glad the bears lives are spared, hes not convinced that relocation is an effective solution.
Within a weeks time, regardless of where you put her in New Hampshire, shes going to be back in Hanover, he said.
Kilham makes it clear, the problem in Hanover is not the bears, its the people.
They only come for food, they come for bird feeders, they come for dumpsters, they come for unsecured garbage, he said.
Kilham says if residents dont start changing their ways, the next family of bears might not be so lucky as to have Cantlin and thousands of others of its side.
We hope this will raise awareness and people will leave the wildlife alone, Cantlin said.
Kilham and many others are calling for an ordinance in Hanover that would fine residents for actions that attract bears.
Chicago police say they've arrested 30 people in a series of raids aimed at curbing shootings during the traditionally violent Memorial Day weekend.
Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said at a news conference Saturday the raids would continue over the weekend.
During the Memorial Day weekend last year, six people killed were and another 63 were wounded by gunfire across the city.
The raids targeted people on the department's Strategic Subject List, a formula-driven register of people deemed most likely to be involved in gun violence, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The raids conducted primarily on the city's South and West Sides also resulted in the confiscation of hundreds of pounds of narcotics.
"Last night, in addition to the pre-emptive raids conducted by organized crime officers, CPD gun and saturation teams made 53 arrests as part of the anti-violence surge on the south and west sides," police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement.
Four illegal guns were recovered and more than 70 traffic citations were issued, Guglielmi said, noting holiday deployment will continue Saturday night.
Additional patrols will be stationed along major streets and CTA stations, as well as "a heavy deployment of traffic safety initiatives on Lake Shore Drive to correspond with fireworks at Navy Pier."
Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said that narcotics and weapons charges will be filed against all those arrested.
On Friday, police announced dozens of members of the Gangster Two-Six Nation street gang were arrested Thursday following allegations of gun and drug deals on the city's South Side.
The arrests follow a years-long investigation dubbed Operation Bunny Trap, which resulted in the seizures of roughly 118 firearms, including several assault rifles and shotguns, 25 rounds of ammunition, more than 800 grams of cocaine, more than 250 grams of fentanyl, and more than 280 grams of crystal meth, officials announced Friday.
More than 45 members or associates of the gang are now facing federal or state charges, authorities said.
Federal and local law enforcement agencies said they have been investigating the alleged criminal activities involving the gang since late-2014.
The gang is national in scope but particularly prevalent on the South Side of Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, as well as Indiana, Wisconsin, Texas, Georgia and Kansas, according to a release from the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Illinois.
Eduardo Castro, accused of selling three handguns to a confidential source in the parking lot of a South Loop grocery store, was charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a felon and dealing firearms without a license, according to a criminal complaint.
Anthony Lopez is accused of selling cocaine and a handgun to a confidential source in the bathroom of a pizza parlor in the citys Brighton Park neighborhood. He was charged with illegal possession of a firearm by a felon.
The charges also describe illegal firearm transactions in several other Chicago neighborhoods, including Chicago Lawn, Clearing, Chatham and Englewood, as well as the suburbs of Berwyn, Homewood and Alsip.
At least 17 others in addition to Lopez and Castro face federal charges, including Julian Alejandro, Vincent Avila, Heriberto Balderas, Joseph Bustos, Joseph Cardenas, Francisco Cardoze, James Cortez, James Kachiroubas, Juan Ochoa, James Pelikan, Rey Benitez, John Repel, Alexander Rivera, Tara Zambrano, Jose Cortez and Francisco Sanchez.
Richard Gacho and David Santiago, who were both previously indicted in federal court in Chicago as part of the investigation, were also charged, officials said.
A man who was being questioned by police for nearly 24 hours was charged with murder Friday in the death of a single mother in her west suburban home earlier this month.
Dominic Sanders will appear in bond court Saturday morning, according to the DuPage County State's Attorney. A mugshot of Sanders will be made available after the hearing.
Andrea Urban died of blunt force trauma earlier this month, according to preliminary autopsy results.
State's Attorney Robert Berlin and Hinsdale's Police Chief Kevin Simpson will hold a press conference Saturday morning after the bond hearing, according to a press release.
A man who identified himself as Sanders' cousin showed up at the Hinsdale police station, visibly upset, with attorney.
The attorney, Steve Goodman, told reporters Sanders was picked up by police at 3:30 a.m. Thursday and questioned by police at the Burr Ridge police station.
Officers responded to a home in the 700 block of Town Place about 3:37 p.m. after a 911 call was made from the residence earlier this month, police said. The woman was later identified as Urban, a resident with two children who attend local schools, Hinsdale police Chief Kevin Simpson said at a press conference Thursday.
Sources tell NBC 5 a person of interest police had been speaking to had shown up near the crime scene on multiple home surveillance cameras.
Mike Mier was friends with Urban for 30 years. He was questioned the day her body was found.
I just was in her phone and they went through everybody in her telephone, Mier said last week. Two weeks, not a clue, we have no idea why this occurred and there needs to be resolution.
[[421401573, C]]
Police say the crime scene had been fully processed and evidence from the scene was being secured, catalogued and analyzed.
Simpson continued to urge residents and potential witnesses to come forward with any information.
This case cannot be solved too soon. But its very important that we are being thorough, deliberate and thoughtful in everything we do on this case," he said. "As we complete our first full day of this investigation, our efforts are being guided by our desire to bring justice to Ms. Urbans family, friends and our community.
According to a November article in The Hinsdalean, one of the town's local newspapers, Urban was a cancer survivor and advocate for the use of medical marijuana. The newspaper reports that she made her own cannaboid oil in her kitchen. She also reportedly worked as a caterer in New York City in 2001 and fed emergency workers during 9/11.
An actress, the newspaper reports she "landed small roles" on "Chicago P.D." and "Chicago Fire" and aspired to open a medical marijuana dispensary in Michigan.
During the conference Simpson declined to elaborate on multiple points of the investigation, including who found Urban's body, citing the "very early stages of this investigation."
I understand that because this is such a rare occurrence in our town and in Hinsdale that many residents are rightfully asking questions and wondering what they can do, Simpson said.
He urged residents to come forward if they have any information that might be related to the investigation. He also said police are canvasing the neighborhood and asking for neighbor who have surveillance footage or cameras in the area. The department also asked for help from the public on Facebook, calling the incident a "tragic homicide."
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The DuPage County state's attorney's office and Felony Investigative Assistance Team Major Crimes Unit were assisting Hinsdale police, according to a news release from the department.
We recognize the magnitude of something like this in Hinsdale, Simpson said at the time. Id have to check records to see how far back when weve had an incident like thisbut were not taking it lightly obviouslyand well try to provide as much information as we can as quickly as we can.
Nothing at this point leads police to think the killing was a random act, Simpson said.
The Hinsdalean article says Urban was born and raised in Hinsdale and her parents and brother lived in the town as well.
Police vehicles could be seen near Town Place and Quincy roads and crime scene tape was surrounding the area around 4:40 p.m. A playground on the tree-lined street could be seen near the area cordoned off by yellow police tape.
Police ask that if anyone has information regarding the woman's death that they call the Hinsdale Police Department at 630-789-7070.
A tornado watch was issued Friday afternoon for counties in Illinois and Indiana ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend.
Kankakee County in Illinois and Newton and Jasper counties in Indiana remain under the watch until 8 p.m., the National Weather Service announced. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Porter County in Indiana until 7:30 p.m.
Power was knocked out at 2,954 locations in Cook County, according to ComEd.
The National Weather Service also issued a Tornado Warning for three Illinois counties, including southeastern Livingston County, Ford County, and southwestern Iroquois County. The warning lasted until 5:15 p.m., and was allowed to expire.
A severe thunderstorm warning was also issued for Livingston County and Ford County until 4:45 p.m. According to the NWS, the storm is moving east at 35 MPH, with wind gusts up to 60 MPH and half dollar-size hail.
Though a bulk of the potential severe weather is forecast to stay south of I-80, the Chicago-area also likely will be impacted by the weather.
The Chicago White Sox on Friday afternoon postponed the first game of a scheduled doubleheader on Friday evening, but their second game, which starts at 7:10 p.m., is still scheduled to be played.
Early predictions show Saturday looks to be partly sunny and mild with a chance for showers and storms during the evening hours. Sunday, conditions turn cloudy with showers and storms possible in the morning hours and a breezy and mild afternoon.
Temperatures for both days look to stay in the low- to mid-70s.
Monday will see partly sunny skies with some scattered showers and isolated storms possible. Temperatures highs are expected to sit in the upper-60s and low-70s.
Aetna has called Hartford home for more than 160 years, dating back to the years before the Civil War.
Its office along Interstate 84 a stones throw from the State Capitol, is a part of the citys corporate and professional fabric.
For the better part of a year, Aetna executives havent denied that the companys CEO and executives have been looking at a possible new location for its corporate headquarters, and with that information in hand, Shirley Leung, Business Editor and Columnist at the Boston Globe, pounced.
She wrote her Friday column in the form of a letter to Aetna executives and said bluntly, It has been the worst kept secret in New England. You want to get the hell out of Hartford.
Leung goes on to cite all of the reasons Aetna would find a great fit not just in Boston, but in Massachusetts as a whole: access to graduates and researchers at institutions like MIT and Harvard, being surrounded by established and emerging tech firms, a younger workforce, and the list goes on and on.
Leung describes Boston as the capital of healthcare, saying, We discover drugs. We cure cancer. We incubate health care reform.
But Leungs column didnt go unanswered. Dan Haar with the Hartford Courant penned his own letter, telling CEO Mark Bertolini and President Karen Lynch that Hartford is a good long-term bet. He acknowledges the states and citys financial struggles, but maintains that in the end, Hartford isnt a bad place to be.
This area has always been a fantastic place to live and raise a family, and as Connecticut economist Patrick Flaherty likes to say, today's millennials are tomorrow's thirty-somethings, Haar writes.
Haar points out Aetnas commitment to provide the city of Hartford with funds to help it out of its fiscal malaise, how it has so much in common with UConn Health and Jackson Labs that are nearby, and how the tax climate in Massachusetts isnt much better than the one in Connecticut.
The General Electric comparison is an apt one, because that companys executives directly cited exactly what Leung points out in her column, as the rationale for leaving scenic Fairfield for the urban Boston. Jeff Immelt wanted talent, and a vibrant ecosystem for conducting business and research. Even Haar acknowledged that much in an interview with NBC Connecticut.
Haar said, I think right now what these companies are looking at is what GE was looking at. Where are we going to get the hot college graduates, where do they want to be now? And right now thats Brooklyn, thats Boston, thats Seattle, thats Washington DC, thats San Francisco, Hartford is starting is starting to get some of that, but its a long way to go.
Joe Brennan, with the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, says the talk about General Electric leaving Connecticut is salt in the wound for the states economy.
You still hear conversations about GE, why they left, even though GE still has thousands of employees here, but the fact that the headquarters left gets so much attention, but yeah, the more attention it gets the bigger they become sometimes, Brennan said.
He thinks the state can get on a path where such columns dont even get written.
Were trying to fight against that by making the hard choices we need to make in Connecticut so companies want to be here so when you get recruited by another state you say, not interested.
The two Democrats that represent the state of Connecticut in the US Senate said the healthcare reform is as bad for Connecticut as they thought it would be, after the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office's report revealed that 23 million could lose coverage under the proposal.
In the Nutmeg State, that figure includes hundreds of thousands of residents.
"It's like the dog caught the car, and they don't know what to do," said Sen. Chris Murphy.
One of those people who could see spikes in the costs of her coverage and prescription drugs is Pamela Johnson from Ellington. She and her son both live with hereditary angioedema, a condition that leads to serious bouts with swelling.
She said without access to affordable drug and health coverage, she would be crippled financially.
The medicine that Im on is so expensive that a one month supply currently costs my insurance approximately $70,000 a month. I cant afford that without access to affordable care," Johnson said during a press conference at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said it's stories like Johnson's, and other similar ones, as to why he said the Republican healthcare plan won't muster enough votes for even consideration.
They are skyrocketing financial costs, catastrophic human costs, and unconscionable moral costs," Blumenthal said. "Thats the CBO score."
Murphy added that he anticipates the Senate GOP caucus to craft its own measure, but will use the House version as its template.
Our Senate Republican colleagues are writing their own bill behind closed doors and let me guarantee you that they are using the House bill as the foundation for their discussions. Senate Republicans are not going to write a radically different bill," Murphy said.
The process could be a long one for any health reform to pass. If the Senate makes substantial changes to the House bill and it passes, it would then have to return for a House vote, and then it would need to pass the Senate again before reaching the president's desk.
Murphy said the Senate is still a long way from those discussions even starting.
"There aren't fifty votes for any healthcare bill," Murphy said.
Slow down and move over.
Connecticut State Police are yet again putting that message out to drivers after arresting a driver accused of striking a state police cruiser on Interstate 395 south early Saturday morning.
State police said a state trooper was pulled over in the left of three lanes on I-395 at exit 43 in Killingly to help the Department of Transportation with traffic service.
Police said the cruiser did have its emergency lights activated when a Dodge Caravan, driven by Stephanie Credit of Plainfield, struck the cruiser. There was heavy damage to the cruiser and to the Dodge.
Credit and the trooper in the cruiser were taken to Day Kimball Hospital with minor injuries.
Credit was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol/drugs, operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance, and following too close. She was released on a promise to appear and is due on court on June 13.
Connecticut State Police remind drivers that Connecticut has a Move Over Law, which states any operator of a motor vehicle on a highway when approaching one or more stationary emergency vehicles located on the shoulder, lane or breakdown lane of such highway shall (1) immediately reduce speed to a reasonable level below the posted speed limit, and (2) if traveling in the lane adjacent to the shoulder, lane or breakdown lane containing such emergency vehicle, move such motor vehicle over one lane, unless such movement would be unreasonable or unsafe.
Members of the military and veterans already get discounts at stores, but as we pay respect to their service on Memorial Day, there are even more (to go along with all the other sales you'll find in stores).
Check out some of what's out there in Connecticut and beyond below:
Hooters: All members of the military, current and former, can get a free entree on Monday at the chain restaurant if they present their military ID. Read more.
General Motors: Eligible service members can get $500 in a purchase bonus when they buy new Chevrolet vehicles, the 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 or the 2017 Buick Encore.
McCormick and Schmick's Seafood & Steakhouse: Members of the military and National Guard, veterans and Gold Star honorees can get a free entree from the high-end chain's Memorial Day menu, with military ID. Read more.
Outback Steakhouse: Military personnel and their families can get 15 percent off their meal, excluding alcohol, through July 4 if they present military ID, wear their uniform or otherwise identify themselves. Find locations here.
Walgreens: The drug store chain is offering a 20 percent discount on eligible items to veterans and active-duty military personnel and their families who have a Walgreens Balance Rewards card and military ID or proof of service. "Memorial Day is an opportunity to pay tribute in this small way to their service, commitment and sacrifice, for which we at Walgreens are deeply grateful," Walgreens executive Richard Ashworth said in a statement.
Wethersfield Dental Group: Wethersfield Dental Group will offer free teeth cleanings to veterans on Tuesday, May 30, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Read more.
Several members of the United States military were granted citizenship in Groton at the Submarine Force Museum on Friday.
The 16 people granted American citizenship were either active duty, a member of the reserves, retired or have a family member who serves or has served.
The group represented Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jamaica, Phillippines, Poland, Russia and Trinidad and Tobago.
"As a U.S. citizen, I can truly feel those words (of the Pledge of Allegiance) and what they actually mean," said Rudra Mootoor, who became a U.S. citizen Friday and then led the room in the Pledge.
Mootoor is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and said ever since he was a kid, he wanted to be a sailor.
"Its the worlds greatest Navy! Who doesnt want to be a part of that?" Mootoor said.
Robert Ouellette, of Canada, served in the U.S. Army for a couple of years in the early 1950s. He wanted to be an American citizen for decades and now at 87 years old, he is one.
"Its unbelievable," Ouellette said while fighting back tears. "I cant express myself to the extent that I really appreciate it."
Rep. Joe Courtney was the keynote speaker for the ceremony.
"We are a nation of immigrants and thats one of the real strengths of our country," Courtney said.
Some of the new citizens at Fridays ceremony represented the Marines, Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Army National Guard, according to Wayne Seagrave, an immigration services officer with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Depending on the roll, it is possible to be part of the United States military without being a citizen.
"Im just thanking God for it. Im feeling so good," said Johnoi Mitchell, a Jamacian native, whos part of the Connecticut Army National Guard.
"In my opinion, its truly the home of the brave, its the land of the free and thats what we want," Mootoor said.
The Texas Attorney General's Office has informed Dallas County Schools it will not be allowed to restructure its bond debt.
Without that restructuring deal the troubled school bus agency could default on its debt payments by June 1 less than a week away.
In a statement released Friday evening to NBC 5 Investigates, the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton said:
"Our office conducted a thorough legal review to determine if Dallas County Schools has stable revenues to cover operating expenses while using its maintenance tax to issue additional tax debt. We concluded there is reasonable doubt as to the legality of the proposed tax obligations. Aside from its financial instability, Dallas County Schools could be abolished under a bill passed by the Legislature. Given this instability, we cannot approve Dallas County Schools' proposed debt restructure."
For months, NBC 5 Investigates has been reporting on the serious financial trouble at DCS. The DCS board just approved the restructuring deal last week that would have given the agency cash to continue operating.
But government bond deals must be approved by the Attorney General's Office in Texas.
DCS owes more than $10 million in debt payments next week. Without the money from the restructuring deal the agency may default on those payments. That puts the entire future of DCS in doubt.
DCS can appeal this ruling from the AG's office.
A bill currently before lawmakers in Austin would put the future of DCS in the hands of Dallas County voters in November
The author of the bill State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas said Friday he's confident it will make its way to the governor's desk for his signature.
"This is an important decision that the Attorney General has issued, this letter, this ruling, and it's important for Dallas County, and it's important for taxpayer,s and it's imperative that we shine more light on this rogue bureaucracy," Huffines said.
DCS Interim Superintendent Leatha Mullins released a statement Friday evening, saying:
"We are baffled by the decision, because it (the restructuring deal) met every requirement from the Legislature and the bond holders. Tonight, we have been contacting the decision makers to challenge this. We continue to fight to serve the children we take to and from school every day. I'm not sure Dallas County cities and school districts understand the results of a decision to dissolve DCS."
NBC 5 produced a special in-depth investigative report revealing the latest developments in the ongoing investigation into Dallas County Schools, the taxpayer-funded agency responsible for the daily transportation of 75,000 North Texas students. NBC 5 anchors Brian Curtis and Meredith Land and Senior Investigative Reporter Scott Friedman explain the latest findings in the NBC 5 Investigates' special report, "Big Buses, Bigger Problems: The $25 Million DCS Land Deal," on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on NBC 5.
The Texas Legislature has passed a bill that would allow Dallas County voters to decide whether to close school bus agency Dallas County Schools.
The bill now moves on to Governor Greg Abbot's desk.
If signed by Governor Abbott, voters would make the final decision in November.
NBC 5 reached out to DCS but they did not immediately respond to today's developments.
The author of the bill State Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas released a statement on Saturday after passage of the bill.
"The Texas Legislature has acted to give voters the opportunity they deserve: the chance to abolish Dallas corrupt and dangerous bus bureaucracy. Having worked on this issue for more than two years, Im greatly appreciative of the Dallas delegation and all of my colleagues in the Legislature for understanding the risk to Dallas students, schools, and taxpayers, and for acting on my solution. Im confident that Dallas voters are fed up with the corrupt, self-serving politicians who have ripped-off taxpayers and threatened our students."
For months, NBC 5 Investigates has been reporting on the serious financial trouble at DCS.
The DCS board just approved the restructuring deal last week that would have given the agency cash to continue operating.
But government bond deals must be approved by the Attorney General's Office in Texas.
On Friday, the Texas Attorney General's Office informed Dallas County Schools it will not be allowed to restructure its bond debt.
Without that restructuring deal the troubled school bus agency could default on its debt payments by June 1 less than a week away.
DCS owes more than $10 million in debt payments next week. Without the money from the restructuring deal the agency may default on those payments. That puts the entire future of DCS in doubt.
DCS can appeal this ruling from the AG's office.
NBC 5 produced a special in-depth investigative report revealing the latest developments in the ongoing investigation into Dallas County Schools, the taxpayer-funded agency responsible for the daily transportation of 75,000 North Texas students. NBC 5 anchors Brian Curtis and Meredith Land and Senior Investigative Reporter Scott Friedman explain the latest findings in the NBC 5 Investigates' special report, "Big Buses, Bigger Problems: The $25 Million DCS Land Deal," on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. on NBC 5.
Every single day more than 200 people are moving to Dallas-Fort Worth. That accounts for 6,000 new residents each month.
They're all looking for that perfect place to live, and even though more homes and apartments are being built all over the area, inventory is low. People like Shauna Ziemba are having a hard time finding a place to live.
"My husband and I, when we got to Texas, we were staying with some friends and looking for a rental," Ziemba said.
One home in Mansfield finally popped up on her online search. It was still available, listed for a good price and fit what they were looking for.
"The person says, 'I'm not available to show you to the property, but if you want to drive over I'll give you the code to go and get into the rental,'" Ziemba said.
Ziemba was able to let herself into the home with that code, fell in love with the place, and filled out an application online.
She then wired the money.
"We did an auto transfer from my bank in Massachusetts direct into Chase," Ziemba said.
She paid her deposit the first three months' rent wiring it to the landlord. She asked if she was good to move in and never got an answer.
That's when panic soon set in. Ziemba raced back to the bank.
"I met with the manager and said, 'Can you at least look at the account?' He said, 'You've been scammed. This is a fraudulent account,'" Ziemba said.
She called the police in Mansfield who tried to work with the bank to track the money. Ziemba said the bank manager told her she'd get a refund.
"It hadn't been transferred. It was set up to do a transfer to another account in New York, actually. He told me the money was still there," Ziemba said.
But spokespeople for Chase Bank tell NBC 5 Responds it was too late.
"The money had been transferred out of the account first thing in the morning. We hope Ms. Ziemba can work with police to find the thieves," the bank said in a statement.
"It's a lot of money. It changed the dynamics of our whole living situation moving cross country. I get wicked emotional when it comes to this part, because it has affected us $4,500 is a lot of money just to be stolen," Ziemba said.
Police are still working with the bank to try to track down the money, but that's often difficult to do. When Ziemba realized what went wrong it was too late.
There's several things you should know from her situation:
First, meet with a landlord face to face before you sign a deal on a house. At least know where they live or work and how to get a hold of them. Police are still trying to figure out how this person obtained a lock box code to so Ziemba could go inside that house. But codes are given to contractors and real estate agents and can sometimes can be sold or passed along to a scammer.
Also, if you're doing a wire transfer, the bank is not responsible for knowing that the account is valid. People can open bank accounts online with fake information, receive money and then close the account. Sometimes they never leave a trace of their true identity.
Lastly, having a real estate agent or apartment hunter does help protect you. You don't pay for their services, and it's yet another layer of protection if something were to go wrong.
Police said Saturday they'll examine what appears to be the extremist ideology of an Oregon man accused of fatally stabbing two men who tried to intervene when the suspect yelled racial slurs at two young women who appeared to be Muslim on a Portland light-rail train.
The attack Friday happened on the first day of Ramadan, the holiest time of the year for Muslims, and it sent shockwaves through a city that prides itself on its tolerance and liberal views. A memorial where the stabbing occurred grew steadily Saturday, and a vigil was planned.
"That people feel emboldened to come out and show their racism and bigotry in that way is horrifying to me. It's a gut check for everywhere and absolutely for Portland," said Christopher Douglas, who stopped at the memorial. "Portland ... floats in a little bit of a bubble of its own liberal comfort and I think the reality is sinking in."
Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was being held in the Multnomah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a weapon. He was arrested a short time after the attack on Friday.
He will make a first court appearance Tuesday, and it wasn't clear if he had an attorney. A phone at his home in Portland rang unanswered Saturday, and no one came to the door at his parents' home.
Police identified the victims as Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, Oregon, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Portland. Police say Best died at the scene and that Meche died at a hospital.
Meche's mother, Asha Deliverance of Ashland, Oregon, confirmed on Facebook that her son had been killed. She did not immediately return a call to her business phone listing or a message sent through social media.
"He was a hero and will remain a hero on the other side of the veil. Shining bright star I love you forever," she wrote.
Meche graduated last year from Reed College in Portland with a bachelor's degree in economics, the college said on its website. Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a news conference that Best was an Army veteran and a city employee.
"These two men died heroes as a result of a horrific act of racist violence."
Police say Micah David-Cole Fletcher, 21, of Portland was also stabbed in the attack and is in serious condition at a Portland hospital. Police say his injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
"Their actions were brave and selfless and should serve as an example, an inspiration to us all. They are heroes," Wheeler said.
Police said one of the two young women on the train was wearing a hijab. The assailant was ranting on many topics, using "hate speech or biased language," police Sgt. Pete Simpson said.
Christian has a history of hate speech. At a right-wing "March for Free Speech" event in April, he made racially-charged comments and apparently gave Nazi salutes, video from the Portland Mercury shows.
Dyjuana Hudson, a mother of one of the girls, told The Oregonian/OregonLive that the man began a racial tirade as soon as he spotted the girls. Her daughter is African-American and was with a friend who was wearing a hijab, she said.
"He was saying that Muslims should die," Hudson said. "That they've been killing Christians for years."
The FBI and U.S. Attorney for Oregon are working with Portland police. The FBI says it's too early to say whether the slayings qualify as a federal hate crime however Christian faces intimidation charges, the state equivalent of a hate crime.
Wheeler decried the charged national political environment surrounding immigration.
"Violent words can lead to violent acts," Wheeler said. "All elected leaders in America...must work deliberately to change our political dialogue."
Court records show Christian served prison time for first-degree robbery and second-degree kidnapping after a crime committed 15 years ago and theft and weapons charges were dismissed in 2010.
The Portland Mercury, one of the city's alternative weeklies, posted an article on its website saying Christian showed up at a free speech march in late April with a baseball bat to confront protesters and the bat was confiscated by police.
The article included video clips of a man wearing a metal chain around his neck and draped in an American flag shouting "I'm a nihilist! This is my safe place!" as protesters crowd around him.
Simpson confirmed the man in the videos was Christian and said investigators were aware of them. He declined to comment further.
Neighbors who live next to Christian's parents' house which was also his last listed address in court records said the family was quiet and they often saw Christian's two adult brothers but never him.
One neighbor, Kenny Jenkins, said he occasionally saw Christian riding his bike around the neighborhood.
The neighborhood is on the northern outskirts of Portland, an area that has been rapidly gentrifying in recent years because it remains one of the last affordable sections of the city. The homes immediately surrounding the Christian residence now hold biracial families and same-sex couples, Jenkins said.
"The parents are very quiet. The dad was always helpful," he said. "Good people."
Christian has had several encounters with the law, and spent time in prison for robbery and kidnapping charges years ago, according to court records and a defense attorney.
In 2002, he was arrested and charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree kidnapping after he rode to a convenience store on his bike and held up employees there with a gun, according to court records and his court-appointed defense attorney at the time, Matthew Kaplan.
When police caught up with him, Christian aimed the gun at himself before he was shot and injured by police, Kaplan said.
He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Kaplan said he remembers the case vividly because Christian was so young, so earnest and had never been in trouble before. At the time, the attorney suspected the onset of mental health problems.
"I'll remember this case forever because it made no sense," he told The AP in a phone interview.
At the memorial to the stabbing victims 8-yearold Coco Douglas left a sign and some rocks she had painted with rainbow colors
Her stepmother, Angel Sauls, said the attack had been particularly hard on their family because Sauls is black and Coco and her father are white.
"I had hoped that it was Portland, Maine, and not Portland, Oregon," Sauls said, after choking back tears. "I'm scared that this is going to make people afraid to stand up for other people. ... I'm just really sorry that their acts of kindness were repaid in such a horrible way."
Associated Press reporter Keith Ridler contributed from Boise, Idaho.
A man who was walking on the Van Wyck Expressway early Saturday was struck and killed by a yellow taxi, then hit again by another vehicle, police said.
The man, whose identity wasn't released, was walking on the southbound lanes of the Van Wyck between Jamaica and Atlantic avenues when was struck by the taxi, the NYPD said.
The taxi flipped but the driver wasn't hurt, police said.
The pedestrian was also hit by a blue Lexus, police said. Both drivers remained at the scene.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.
No one has been arrested and the investigation was ongoing.
What to Know Oscar Lopez was sentenced to 55 years in prison in 1981 after he was found guilty of seditious conspiracy
Lopez was considered a top leader of FALN, an ultranationalist Puerto Rican group that claimed responsibility for more than 100 bombings
President Barack Obama commuted his sentence in January
NBC 4 New York and Telemundo 47 will not participate in the 2017 Puerto Rican Day Parade, amid controversy over organizers' decision to honor a Puerto Rican nationalist linked to deadly bombings in New York and other cities.
WNBC and WNJU announced their decision Friday.
"Both WNBC and WNJU hold a long-standing commitment to the Tri-States Puerto Rican community, a fact exemplified through our continued support for the National Puerto Rican Day Parades scholarship program. Our stations have decided to limit this years support to the Parades scholarship program, and have respectfully informed the committee that we will not be participating in the 2017 Parade," they said in a statement.
The stations join a host of other partners who have pulled back from the Fifth Avenue event in the wake of the parade committee's decision to recognize Oscar Lopez Rivera, who was freed from prison this month after spending more than 35 years in federal custody.
The Yankees, JetBlue, FDNY, AT&T, Goya, the Daily News and Univision have all cut ties in recent days. NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill has said he will not march in the parade, though Mayor de Blasio said as recently as Tuesday that he still planned to participate.
Rivera was connected to a series of bombings across the country in the 1970s and 1980s, including an attack at Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan that killed four people. Rivera was never charged in the tavern bombing -- no one was -- but he was convicted of sedition and transporting firearms and explosives.
President Obama commuted Rivera's sentence in January, shortly before he left office.
Parade organizers announced a few weeks back that Rivera would march at the forefront of the June 11 spectacle. They also said Rivera would be named a National Freedom Hero, an honor never before bestowed by the parade.
Earlier this month, parade organizers pledged the event would "create awareness on issues, even if controversial, that affect us as a Puerto Rican community."
About 25 disabled people and advocates for independent living didn't get a chance to speak with Sen. Pat Toomey when they showed up Friday at his office in Center City.
It's not the first time members of ADAPT, a national activist group for the disabled, have tried -- and failed -- to get a meeting with Toomey, according to Nancy Salandra, one of the group's leaders.
The group also showed up at his Capitol Hill office last Wednesday, Salandra said. Alas, Toomey wasn't available then either.
A spokeswoman for the senator said Toomey has "personally spoken with members of the group" while his staff has met with ADAPT both times members visited his Washington, D.C. office.
"I can confirm that NationalADAPT showed up at the Senators Capitol Hill office twice for unscheduled visits this year and the group twice met with the Senators Chief of Staff, Legislative Director, and Communications Director," Kasia Mulligan, the communications director, wrote in an email.
Salandra said the group wants to talk to Toomey about Medicaid as Republicans in the Senate debate making reforms to the Affordable Care Act. Toomey favors reducing federal funding for the Medicaid expansion that occurred under the ACA, as well as implementing an annual cap on the amount that Medicaid can increase year-to-year.
"Its endlessly frustrating with him," Salandra said. "Weve been trying to meet with him for two years."
On Friday, that frustration boiled over into action, sort of. The group staged a "die-in" inside the building where Toomey's Philadelphia office is on Chestnut Street.
Advocates fell to the ground and laid there for several minutes.
In the end, faux-dying didn't work either. Toomey did not appear.
A fender-bender involving two cars in unincorporated El Cajon Friday morning led to an argument in a restaurant parking lot that quickly escalated into a stabbing.
San Diego County Sheriffs Department (SDSO) Sgt. Kristin Brayman told NBC 7 that deputies were called to the parking lot of a McDonalds and Dennys at 13574 Camino Canada just after 6 a.m. to investigate a report of assault with a deadly weapon.
When investigators arrived, they discovered that a fight had stemmed from a minor crash involving a black pickup truck that had entered the McDonald's parking lot and collided with a parked white Saturn.
The collision caused minor scratches to the Saturn and led to an argument.
Brayman said the pickup truck was carrying three men, all in their 20s. The Saturn was carrying three people too, a female driver and two men.
After the crash, the driver of the truck got out and spoke with the woman in the Saturn. At this point, one of the passengers in the truck got out and got into an argument with one of the men inside the Saturn.
That's when things got heated.
A knife ended up coming out, Brayman said.
The passenger of the truck put a knife up to the stomach of the passenger of the Saturn, but did not stab him.
Brayman said the suspect holding the knife then chased the other passenger of the Saturn in the parking lot, stabbing him in the neck.
The stabbing victim was taken to Sharp Grossmont Hospital with non-life threatening wounds. No one else was hurt.
By the time deputies arrived, the men in the black pickup truck were gone. Brayman said that, at this point, there are no detailed descriptions of the suspects.
Deputies cordoned a large section of the parking lot in front of the eateries where they began collecting evidence.
Brayman said the businesses near the scene of the stabbing would likely operate as usual through the day. At 7:15 a.m., customers could be seen going through the McDonald's drive-thru, getting their food as usual.
The investigation is ongoing; the sergeant said detectives will be looking at surveillance videos to gather more information on the suspects, their pickup truck and the crime.
As of 11 a.m., the suspects were still at large. Anyone with information on this case can call Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.
More than half a century later, a local family is finally getting closure over the death of a beloved Navy pilot who served in the Vietnam war.
They will get to properly bury Lt. Commander Frederick Crosby in San Diego on Sunday. And his daughter Deborah is finally getting a chance to make good on a promise to her grandmother.
I was sitting on the sofa with my grandmother and she said, They know where your dad's plane went down and I don't know why we don't have his remains. I would like him buried here, Deborah Crosby said.
That's what essentially sparked this search. Lt. Commander Frederick Crosby was a Navy pilot during the Vietnam war. In June of 1965, he went on a bomb assessment mission. He was never seen again. Deborah, was only six at the time. She says she never doubted the fact that her father was killed, but she and her brothers always wanted closure and to bring him home.
Crosby called to inquire regularly about the military's progress on her father's case. She attended meetings of the National League, and analyzed where the crash occurred in Thanh Hoa province on Google Earth. She poured over news reels and reports at the Library of Congress and provided a sample of her aunt's blood to the military to have a DNA match on file in case his remains were ever found.
Decades passed and her mother and grandmother both died before investigators got a breakthrough on their third trip to the area when they met Pham Van Truong, a lifelong resident of Nam Ngan ward in Thanh Hoa City.
According to a 50-page report given to Crosby, the 89-year-old man told investigators he couldn't recall the month or year, but he remembered during the war that he was cooking limestone to reinforce his house when he heard gunfire and ran to the nearby levee to investigate.
He saw two planes headed toward his house and one was on fire as it glided toward the levee. He said he could see its wing and tail surfaces were missing. The aircraft rolled as it hit the fish pond in front of his house, splashing Van Truong with water and mud. The other aircraft kept flying toward the sea.
Van Truong told investigators that shortly after it crashed, a Vietnamese salvage team had pulled some parts of the plane, including the engine, from the pond and hauled it away. Van Truong, who had helped the salvage team, kept a piece of the plane to use for making a cooking utensil. He also used a piece of its glass to repair a clock.
Based on the new information, U.S. military investigators decided to comb the bottom of the pond in 2015. When they emptied it bucket by bucket, they found bones, pieces of fabric from Crosby's uniform, his chrome lighter and wedding band.
Friday those remains made it stateside, a caravan of children and grandchildren and loved ones awaiting them. Deborah will get a chance to make good on a promise to her grandmother, just in time for Memorial Day. The Crosby family will spend Friday evening meeting with Navy pilots practicing a flyover for the funeral.
Lt. Commander Crosby will be buried Sunday at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
Volunteers came to Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery on Saturday to place American flags at the gravesites of fallen U.S. servicemen and women as a way to honor them and their ultimate sacrifice.
The solemn tradition takes place every Memorial Day Weekend at Fort Rosecrans in San Diego.
For Philip Roberts, who volunteered with his family, placing the flags is an opportunity to show his children the significance of honoring and remembering the lives lost in protecting our freedom.
Its important that they understand the importance of the day [Memorial Day]. Its more than just a mattress sale or something. Its honoring so many men and women from the past and today that have given the ultimate sacrifice for the country.
Heidi Taylor also volunteered with her children to make them aware that the men and women laid to rest at Fort Rosecrans fought hard for our country.
Freedom is not free," she said. "People have given their lives and fought hard for our country and every American needs to celebrate that and remember that.
Harvey Semler is a veteran visiting his daughter in San Diego from Washington state. He decided to extend his trip a little longer to volunteer on Saturday morning.
I had never been to one of these since I left the military, Semler said.
Graham Wright, the Assistant Cemetery Director at Fort Rosecrans, was moved to see so many kids, parents and grandparents paying their respects.
It brings great joy to my heart to see so many people out here, Wright told NBC 7.
In all, 86,000 gravesites were decorated with an American flag, in addition to a flag being placed at each columbarium wall.
On Monday,a Memorial Day ceremony at Fort Rosecrans will take place at 10 a.m. at the Rostrum.
There are several ceremonies and events being held in San Diego this Memorial Day Weekend to honor lives and the sacrifices made of our countrys military men and women.
A Virginia community is raising money to repair almost 100 gravestones at an historic cemetery and searching for the vandals who damaged them.
Caution tape marks the spots where gravestones were smashed or toppled at Warrenton Cemetery.
"Well, I'm sad to say we don't know much, Warrenton Police Chief Louis Battle said. We know that there were 93 gravestones vandalized. We know that it happened overnight between April 12 and April 13. That's about the extent of the information that we have."
He said hes never seen anything like it in his 40 years in law enforcement.
"It's very disturbing, but more than that, it's just sad, he said. I feel for the families; I feel for the community. It's a loss and it strikes at the heart of what this small town is about."
Given the extent of the damage, the chief thinks several people were involved.
"I mean, there's better things to do in life. How did you ever think to do this? Fauquier Historical Society Treasurer Laura Kelsey wondered. And why did you do this? That would be my question."
The Fauquier Historical Society is collecting the money to help make the repairs, especially for the graves with no one to care for them.
"There are some of these they call orphan graves that don't have any descendants in the area," Kelsey said.
Solving the case will bring healing, Battle said.
"We can put the headstones back up and we can restore the older ones that are damaged, but it's an open wound right now, and I think solving this is going to close that wound," he said.
As the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, a national Muslim civil rights organization is advising mosques to be aware of potential arson and vandalism.
The alert stems from concerns that recent world events, like the terror attack Monday in Manchester, could embolden individuals or groups with anti-Muslim intentions to act on them.
"It's really disheartening to have to do that, but at the same time we have to do what we have to do in order to protect ourselves and the people around us," said Hurnessa Fariad of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society, aka ADAMS Center, in Loudoun County.
The group Muslim Advocates issued the warning after finding that in 2017 alone, fires at mosques have either been ruled as arson or are being investigated as arson in Austin, Texas; Victoria, Texas; Bellevue, Washington; Tampa, Florida and Pittsfield Township, Michigan.
Mosque members face other attacks as well, Muslim Advocates' policy director, Scott Simpson, said.
"We've seen mosques be vandalized with graffiti, we've seen broken windows, we've seen pork wrapped around door handles," he said.
Most mosques in the D.C. area already have increased their security with surveillance cameras and other measures.
Rizwan Jaka said a spate of vandalism at the ADAMS Center stopped after extensive and ongoing interfaith outreach efforts.
"We must stand shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand," he said.
Maryland's Office of the State Fire Marshall issued these warnings to houses of worship earlier this month on the risk of arson:
Security -
1. Restricted entry - It is often the case that when the church is unoccupied the door is locked. Where it is required to keep the place of worship open it is recommended that someone is on the premises. This may be achieved by having a roster of members willing to give up an hour or so of their time to act as "caretaker". Arrangements have to be made for passing on the key and for return of the key at the end of the day to the person in charge. Never hide keys or leave keys on the premises.
2. Doors and windows should of good repair and locked when not in use.
3. Walls, gates and fences should be of good repair.
Halls, Community Centers -
1. These areas tend to be targets for thieves and vandals. Ensure that doors and windows are securely locked after use, keys returned to the person in charge and provide a general inspection before the last person leaves.
2. Valuables, as much as possible, should be securely locked away.
3. Worship offices when not in use must be kept locked. These are areas where many arson fires occur.
4. If appropriate enlist the help of neighbors in keeping an eye open for suspicious behavior.
5. Sheds/outbuildings may contain tools, (which help intruders to break into places of worship) or flammable liquids to help an intruder start a fire. Keep outbuildings securely locked.
Good housekeeping -
1. Vandals or thieves (to cover their tracks) will use any "fuel" available to light fires.
2. Try to ensure there is no combustible material lying around for an arsonist. This is particularly important where churches are used for recreational and educational uses and in church halls.
3. Don't let trash or dry vegetation accumulate - inside or outside the church.
4. Matches, candles, and fuels can all be used to start a fire and help it spread. Keep all such materials locked away.
Equipment -
1. Intruder alarm which will sound an audible warning and which should preferably be linked via a supervised central alarm.
2. Fire extinguishers for use by people on the spot who are trained in their use.
3. Security lighting - Intruders like to work in the dark. Security lighting of areas adjacent to doors or windows can be a powerful deterrent.
4. CCTV Installation of one or more closed-circuit-television cameras well act as a deterrent to intruders.
A federal judge ordered convicted D.C. sniper Lee Boyd Malvo be resentenced, NBC News correspondent Pete Williams said.
Malvo is one of two men convicted for a string of shootings that terrorized the Washington, D.C., area in the fall of 2002, when Malvo was 17. Ten people died and three were wounded.
Malvo is serving life without parole. Public defender James Johnston argued the sentence is illegal because the U.S. Supreme Court determined such sentences are unconstitutional for juveniles. In 2012, the Supreme Court struck down life sentences without parole for juveniles. In 2016, it said that holding applied retroactively to cases on appeal.
As WTOP was first to report, federal district court judge Raymond Jackson ruled Friday that because of those two Supreme Court decisions, Malvo must be resentenced, Williams reported.
"We are reviewing the decision and will do everything possible, including a possible appeal, to make sure this convicted mass murderer serves the life sentences that were originally imposed," said Michael K. Kelly of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.
John Allen Muhammad, the other man convicted in the sniper shootings, was executed in Virginia in 2009.
Malvo was first put on trial in Chesapeake, Virginia, in 2003, in a trial that was moved from Fairfax County. He was convicted of capital murder. The jury only had the option of a death penalty or life in prison without parole and opted for a life sentence.
Subsequently, Malvo struck plea bargains in Maryland and Spotsylvania County, Virginia, in which he agreed to accept a life sentence.
He also admitted to shootings in other states.
What to Know Virginians will vote in primary elections for both Democrats and Republicans on June 13.
The nominees for each party will vie to replace Democrat Terry McAuliffe.
The Virginia governor's race is one of only two in the country in 2017; the other is in New Jersey.
Two Democrats and three Republicans are vying to be Virginia's next governor in the state's primary June 13.
So where do they stand on the issues most important in the Old Dominion?
We asked Republicans Ed Gillespie, Corey Stewart and Frank Wagner, as well as Democrats Ralph Northam and Tom Perriello, to make their positions clear.
See what they said below.
Jump straight to the issue that you care about most: economy, education, transportation, the Dominion pipeline, abortion and their views on President Trump.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on the economy.
ECONOMY
Perriello suggested cutting spending, closing tax loopholes used by large companies, and raising taxes on those earning more than $1 million each year (his personal income tax hike would actually start with those making $500,000 per year). By investing in the middle class, everybody wins, he said. Hed also raise taxes on some corporations.
Northam proposed training rural Virginians in science, technology, arts and math (STEAM) because the economy isnt working for everyone, he said.
Gillespie recommended decreasing individual income tax rates by 10 percent across the board. Hed grow small businesses by lowering tax rates responsibly over three years, he said.
Stewart suggested cutting overall spending in Virginia by 3.8 percent in the first year, which he said would enable Virginia to reduce the top marginal income tax rate to 4.75 percent. You have to cut spending, he said.
Wagner emphasized the need for skilled candidates to fill modern job openings. Career and technical education, not liberal arts programs, will help businesses fill the jobs we have today, he said.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on education.
EDUCATION
Gillespie favors more options for parents with students in secondary schools, including education savings accounts and more public charter schools. As for higher education, Gillespie would give strict instructions to each universitys board of visitors to hold down costs, he said.
Schools need more local control, Stewart said. Higher education should center on career and technical training where there are actually jobs, he said. Weve got to get away from this idea that every child has to go out and get a four year degree from a college, he said.
Wagner pitched providing a technical education path in K-12 schools. As for higher education, hed sign a letter to each university president saying hes going to cap tuition, he said.
Northams priority at the K-12 level would be raising teacher wages. At the college level, he proposed offering Virginians two free years of community college with the understanding they will give one year back to public service.
Perriello proposed reshaping K-12 into P-14, adding one year of universal pre-K on the front end and two years of career and technical training or a pathway into community college on the back end. The goal: move more people into the middle class.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on transportation.
TRANSPORTATION
The economy wont grow without a bigger investment in transportation, Wagner said. His focus would be putting more money into transportation. Lawmakers must look at further increasing the gas tax, he said.
Gillespie said congestion relief and Northern Virginia should be the main priorities. He advised mimicking Florida Gov. Rick Scotts plan to separate federal and state dollars into separate accounts for state spending in a more timely manner, he said.
Tax increases and additional tolling dont work, Stewart said. He recommended widening I-95, I-66 and Route 1 and spending less on heavy rail.
Perriello proposed bringing the parties together and investing in infrastructure in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Richmond. A permanent change in infrastructure spending will create real job growth, he said.
Northern Virginia hasnt received as much tax revenue since gas prices have dropped. Since the tax is tied to gas prices, implementing a floor on the regional gas tax needs to be done, Northam said. Tolls also must be minimized so everyone can use public transit, roads and interstates, he said.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on the proposed Dominion pipeline.
DOMINION PIPELINE
Northam approves of the pipeline as long as it is constructed with the environment in mind and accounts for the property owners rights.
The jobs of the future are in distributed energy Perriello said, and Virginians are being choked out of those jobs because of energy monopolies. He firmly opposes the construction of the pipeline.
Stewart said the pipeline gives Dominion Energy too much power. They are trampling on property rights of Virginians across the state, he said.
Wagner is absolutely supportive of it it because its a cheap source of natural gas, which is a critical component of manufacturing processes.
Gillespie backs the construction of the Dominion Pipeline because affordable and reliable energy will foster greater economic growth.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on abortion.
ABORTION
Northam describes himself as a longtime supporter of NARAL during his decade in public office and says its essential to have a Democrat as governor to fight for women access to reproductive health care in an unwavering manner.
Perriello would fight for a womans right to choose, he said, and cited universal contraception access as a potential opportunity for bipartisan common ground.
Stewart believes life begins at conception and would sign a bill banning abortion after 20 weeks without exception, he said.
Gillespie said we need to protect innocent human life, and is opposed to abortion with the exception of danger to life of the mother, rape or incest.
Wagner feels fairly strongly about fetal pain and wants legislation to block abortion once a fetus feels pain.
The candidates for Virginia governor, in their own words, on President Trump.
TRUMP
Wagner agrees with the presidents foreign policy, specifically his response to a recent chemical attack in Syria.
Stewart thinks hes been doing great despite the obstacles placed in his way deliberately, he said.
President Trumps commitment to stopping the federal governments long standing assault on our coal sector will be helpful to Virginia workers, Gillespie said. He also says Trumps policies will mean more shipbuilding, which will help the Hampton Roads area.
Perriello called the presidents blase attitude toward national security scary in a state where many individuals serve in uniform, intelligence or diplomacy.
The president is a dangerous man, whose policies threaten health care, environmental issues and affordable housing, Northam said.
A Virginia State Police special agent fatally shot by a convicted felon in a Richmond public housing complex was a father of three and former Marine who founded a youth wrestling club and mentored disadvantaged kids, authorities said.
Special Agent Michael T. Walter, 45, died early Saturday after being shot Friday evening by Travis Ball in a neighborhood in Virginia's capital city that has been plagued by gun violence, police said.
Richmond City Jail/Sheriffs Office
Walter, who was white, was an 18-year veteran of Virginia State Police who previously served in the Marine Corps, State Police Superintendent Col. Steven Flaherty said.
The Philadelphia native was promoted to special agent in 2010 and was working in drug enforcement in the state police's Bureau of Criminal Investigation's Richmond field office.
Walter is survived by a wife and two sons ages 14 and 9 and a 6-year-old daughter, Flaherty said. He was well-known in the suburban Richmond community where he lived and started a nonprofit wrestling organization for kids, police said.
"It was all about making a difference to disadvantaged youth: mentoring them and fostering their talents through physical fitness and sportsmanship," Flaherty told reporters Saturday in Mosby Court near the spot where Walter was shot.
The shooting rattled residents of the public housing community, which has seen six homicides and 19 people injured in shootings this year.
"I just shook my head and said 'not again'," said Darlene Crutchfield, who saw Walter's body lying on the ground near where her 34-year-old son was killed in Mosby Court in 2015.
Walter was shot Friday night while on patrol with a City of Richmond police officer, police said. The officers observed a Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to a curb on Redd Street and then pulled in behind the car.
The Richmond officer went to speak to the driver. Walter approached the passenger side of the car when a single shot rang out, police said. Ball then took off after the shooting, sparking an overnight manhunt by eight local, state, federal law enforcement agencies.
Ball, who's black, was arrested Saturday in Virginia's Northern Neck about an hour after Walter's death.
The 27-year-old is being held without bond on charges that include malicious wounding and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending.
Ball has a lengthy criminal record, including convictions for assault and battery and cruelty to animals, court records show. He was convicted of a felony in 2014 for unauthorized use of a vehicle and was charged last year with violating his probation, according to online court records.
The Richmond officer was not injured, police said. The driver of the vehicle remained at the scene and was detained. A handgun was recovered at the scene near the Chevrolet Cobalt.
Keonna Williams lives in Mosby Court a few doors down from where she said Ball lived with his girlfriend. Williams said he seemed like a "decent person," but she didn't know him well.
He was known in the community as "Wiz," she said. She would occasionally see him outside playing with children and said he would sometimes buy snacks for local kids at the store.
"He didn't seem like a ruthless person we see a lot of ruthless people around here but he didn't seem like that type," Williams said.
Crutchfield said she was sitting on her porch in Mosby Court Friday night when she heard what she thought was a firecracker.
She came back outside when police arrived and saw Walter's body on the ground, she said. The image brought a flood of painful memories of her son, who was slain just steps away from where Walter was shot, she said.
"Why do they think they have the right to take someone's life?" Crutchfield said. "They start doing that to the police officers, you know they don't care about no one else," she said.
Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said police need the community's help to bring change.
"At some point, we have to get it together as a people, as a community, as a city and say we're not going to tolerate this no more," Durham told reporters.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he and the first lady are heartbroken for Walter's wife and children.
"Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice," McAuliffe said in a statement.
Walter is the 63rd member of Virginia State Police to be killed since 1928 and the 11th is the last 11 years, the police superintendent said.
The last Virginia trooper killed in the line of duty was Chad Dermyer, who was shot in March 2016 by a gunman at a Greyhound bus station while police were holding a counterterrorism training exercise. The gunman was killed by two other state troopers after he opened fire.
A New Hampshire man who police say fatally shot a delivery driver and raped a convenience store clerk before robbing the store has been indicted.
The Eagle-Tribune reports that 21-year-old Brian Brito, of Manchester, N.H., is charged with several offenses including first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated rape.
Police say Brito shot 24-year-old Mohammedreza Sina Zangiband after a road rage incident March 27 in Lynn. Authorities say later that day, Brito robbed a North Andover convenience store after forcing a clerk into a storeroom and sexually assaulting her.
State police arrested Brito later that night. A not guilty plea was entered on Brito's behalf after his arrest. An arraignment in Salem Superior Court hasn't been scheduled.
About the project
Norfolk Feeds 5000 is a research project which aims to establish the extent to which the Christian community across Norfolk is meeting the simple command of Jesus to "feed the hungry".
Christian churches, groups and individuals across Norfolk meet the needs of the hungry and the thirsty every day of the year through foodbanks, free community meals, homeless projects, soup runs, Messy Church and other activities.
A simple survey has been conducted to attempt to quantify the extent to which this is happening and the findings of the survey will be published here, including many of the stories about the projects which feed people throughout Norfolk.
The project is supported by Celebrate Norfolk, Network Norfolk, Christian Aid, the Diocese of Norwich, Good News for Norwich & Norfolk and Bright Map and is named after the Bible story of the Feeding of The 5000.
If your Christian food-related project is not featured in our case studies and you would like us to include you, please send details, a fact file, a picture and web links to us by clicking here .
The research and reporting team behind NorfolkFeeds5000 is from Network Norwich & Norfolk
Share our stories
Please share our stories about Norfolk Feeds 5000 on social media using the hashtag #Norfolkfeeds5000. Tell your friends and feel free to use any of the stories in your own newsletters and communications.
DECATUR Mary King was present when Our Lady of Lourdes School first opened its doors.
I went to public school for first grade, said King, who is retiring from teaching at the end of the school year, after 41 years. I started here in second grade. When we first moved out to this area, we belonged to St. Pat's (Catholic Church) uptown and the school hadn't been built yet. It was just being built.
She's also an alumna of St. Teresa High School, and when she finished college, she began teaching at Our Lady of Lourdes.
At that time, we had Dominican sisters teaching here, she said. I did hear that there was going to be an opening partway through the 1976-77 school year. The teacher that was teaching there was getting married and moving, so I was able to get the third-fourth grade split as my classroom.
King finished her career at Lourdes teaching sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade religion and while Catholic schools don't require special training for teachers to do that, she took it on herself to seek out extra training. She holds an advanced certificate for Catholic school religion teachers.
Her students have asked her about that, and asked how long she's taught religion. Not only is religion part of the curriculum in every grade, but a parochial school teacher brings the faith into all the subjects.
I said to the kids, 'I've taught religion from day one,' King said. She taught all the grades at one time or another, but most of her career has been spent with second-graders. My whole time here I've taught religion because religion is taught in the younger grades.
In Catholicism, children take part in their first confession and first Communion in second grade. Part of her job was to prepare them for those sacraments. She also worked with the public school religion classes to prepare those children. When the sister who was the junior high religion teacher was leaving due to the Dominican sisters' departure from teaching at Lourdes, King applied for that position, where she's been since 2000.
Catholic students are confirmed made adult members of the congregation in seventh and eighth grades. The confirmation is performed by the bishop every other year, so some students are confirmed as seventh graders and some as eighth graders. King prepared her students for that sacrament with the help of the Rev. Rick Weltin, pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
Their religion becomes much more specific with the older kids, King said. We study the New Testament, the sacraments of the church, and the real important one for the eighth-graders is, there's a morality course that we do with them before they go off to other schools. It just becomes a little more specific to their age and where they're heading and how long we have them.
Her husband has been retired for several years, and though she has no specific plans for retirement, it was a difficult decision. Even when school is out for the summer, in past years she's been busy taking classes and wasn't free to travel as she will be now.
I thought about it at the end of last year, and I thought no, I want to work for at least another year, maybe two, she said. I started this year and just for some reason, I started thinking maybe it's time. My husband and I want to spend some quality time together and that way I would be able to travel with him and just do different things I'm not able to do during the school year.
The biggest change she's seen in her years of teaching has been the shift from the lecture format to collaborative learning. She said she thinks kids have changed and group projects and technology work better for them.
Principal Chris Uptmor said King will be sorely missed.
She's dedicated her life to this school, Uptmor said. She only lives kind of across the street and she walks to school every day. To be a teacher for an extended amount of time in one place is quite an accomplishment. To be a teacher in a Catholic school this many years shows she's dedicated to her faith. It's one thing I can say about Mrs. King is, her faith comes first. She gets to share her faith with the kids of this school and they respect that. She's somebody that's going to be very difficult to replace.
King's sister, Melinda O'Brien, also works at the school and is moving to a junior high position after King's departure.
People at Lourdes found former colleagues and students and current ones and asked them to write notes to King to tell her how much she's meant to them. They combined them all into a book that they presented to her and even talking about it makes her choke up.
It really hit home then, she said. I have this wonderful book that I will treasure always.
By Express News Service
HYDERABAD: Honda Cars India (HCIL) president and CEO Yoichiro Ueno on Friday expressed confidence about strong growth in FY18, riding on the encouraging response for Honda WR-V and Honda City models. While Honda WR-V has received 16,000 bookings since its launch in March, Honda City received 30,000 bookings since its launch in February, promising a robust year for the Japanese car maker in India in FY18.
New models Honda City and Honda WR-V have contributed significantly to the sales growth this year. While Honda City received 30,000 bookings, Honda WR-V got 16,000 bookings since launch. As a result, we have registered a growth of 38 per cent in April 2017. Overall, sales grew nine per cent during January-April, compared to the same period last year, owing to strong growth in sales, said Ueno.
Sales growth of overall industry in 2017-18 is expected to be 8-9 per cent in FY18 and we are confident of clocking growth in our sales more than the industry growth rate. Honda, will now focus on the mass segment to drive growth in India. It is also exploring options to launch the updated version of Civic, Honda CR-V and others.
Ueno also hinted at passing on the benefits of GST to buyers. We are analysing the impact of GST. If it decreases the tax burden for us, well pass on the benefits to our customers by cutting prices, he said.
HYDERABAD: Honda Cars India (HCIL) president and CEO Yoichiro Ueno on Friday expressed confidence about strong growth in FY18, riding on the encouraging response for Honda WR-V and Honda City models. While Honda WR-V has received 16,000 bookings since its launch in March, Honda City received 30,000 bookings since its launch in February, promising a robust year for the Japanese car maker in India in FY18. New models Honda City and Honda WR-V have contributed significantly to the sales growth this year. While Honda City received 30,000 bookings, Honda WR-V got 16,000 bookings since launch. As a result, we have registered a growth of 38 per cent in April 2017. Overall, sales grew nine per cent during January-April, compared to the same period last year, owing to strong growth in sales, said Ueno. Sales growth of overall industry in 2017-18 is expected to be 8-9 per cent in FY18 and we are confident of clocking growth in our sales more than the industry growth rate. Honda, will now focus on the mass segment to drive growth in India. It is also exploring options to launch the updated version of Civic, Honda CR-V and others. Ueno also hinted at passing on the benefits of GST to buyers. We are analysing the impact of GST. If it decreases the tax burden for us, well pass on the benefits to our customers by cutting prices, he said.
By Express News Service
BENGALURU: There could be some initial hiccups in the onset of monsoon in Karnataka. It may arrive in the state on May 31, two days later than forecast earlier, as a depression being formed in the Bay of Bengal is likely to delay it, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre.
We had earlier predicted that the monsoon would arrive on May 29, but now it may arrive on May 31, KSNDMC director Srinivas Reddy said on Friday.
If the depression intensifies, it will affect the monsoon arrival as clouds tend to move towards Sri Lanka, Reddy said. The depression has to weaken for the south-westerly winds to bring rainfall, he said.
However, the state received good pre-monsoon rains this year, compared to last time. Between January 1 and May 26, the state should receive 113 mm rainfall. We have received 108 mm which is considered normal, Reddy said.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted a 96 per cent rainfall this year which is normal, its regional director Sundar Metri said.
BENGALURU: There could be some initial hiccups in the onset of monsoon in Karnataka. It may arrive in the state on May 31, two days later than forecast earlier, as a depression being formed in the Bay of Bengal is likely to delay it, according to Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre. We had earlier predicted that the monsoon would arrive on May 29, but now it may arrive on May 31, KSNDMC director Srinivas Reddy said on Friday. If the depression intensifies, it will affect the monsoon arrival as clouds tend to move towards Sri Lanka, Reddy said. The depression has to weaken for the south-westerly winds to bring rainfall, he said. However, the state received good pre-monsoon rains this year, compared to last time. Between January 1 and May 26, the state should receive 113 mm rainfall. We have received 108 mm which is considered normal, Reddy said. The India Meteorological Department has predicted a 96 per cent rainfall this year which is normal, its regional director Sundar Metri said.
By Express News Service
CHENNAI: BJP national president Amit Shah is likely to visit Tamil Nadu for three days in September. Prior to Chennai visit, Shah would be visiting Puducherry on June 13.
Party sources said that according to the tentative schedule, Shah will visit Chennai, Coimbatore and a couple of other places on September 26, 27 and 28. He was scheduled to be in Tamil Nadu for three days from May 10, as part of his national programme covering many States. The visit was cancelled in the last minute.
At a time the BJP is trying its best to gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu using the prevailing uncertain political atmosphere, Shahs visit is expected to serve as a morale booster to party cadre and functionaries. He will review organisational works in Tamil Nadu. He will also meet the rank and file of the State unit of the party in different meetings.
CHENNAI: BJP national president Amit Shah is likely to visit Tamil Nadu for three days in September. Prior to Chennai visit, Shah would be visiting Puducherry on June 13. Party sources said that according to the tentative schedule, Shah will visit Chennai, Coimbatore and a couple of other places on September 26, 27 and 28. He was scheduled to be in Tamil Nadu for three days from May 10, as part of his national programme covering many States. The visit was cancelled in the last minute. At a time the BJP is trying its best to gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu using the prevailing uncertain political atmosphere, Shahs visit is expected to serve as a morale booster to party cadre and functionaries. He will review organisational works in Tamil Nadu. He will also meet the rank and file of the State unit of the party in different meetings.
Namita Bajpai By
Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Not very long ago Saharanpur was known for Darul Uloom Deoband, the world-renowned centre for Islamic learning. Or Shakumbri Devi, the seat of goddess Durga. These identities have now been nudged to the background.
What the world knows of Saharanpur in the past two months, through TV channels and social media, is rampaging mobs, burning vehicles, houses in flames and marching security forces. Just two months after coming to power, the BJP government is facing an arduous task to douse the flames of caste conflict in its gateway to Uttarakhand and Haryana, which, ironically, is also its Lok Sabha constituency number 1.
With nearly 42% Muslim population, Saharanpur was always considered communally sensitive, but any violent manifestation was not witnessed until the entire western Uttar Pradesh became a laboratory of communal politics after 2010.
In 2014, the district was under curfew for quite some time after interfaith violent clashes between Sikhs and Muslims over a piece of religious land.
According to local intelligence sources, the following year saw over 150 cases of communal flare-ups which, though didnt make it to the mainstream media, kept the administration on toes.
The present caste conflicts between Thakurs and Dalits, however, has its origin in the demographic nature of the district and blatant caste-based electoral politics. Saharanpur has Dalit population of over 22% which gave BSP founder Kanshi Ram the confidence to contest from there in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections.
Although Kanshi Ram lost, Saharanpur has always been a happy hunting ground for the BSP.
In 2007, BSP swept five out of six seats of the district and in 2012, despite a Samaj Wadi (SP) wave, managed to win four, thus giving adequate representation to Dalits in governance, even if it was largely symbolic. But this time, BSP was wiped out in the district and failed to open even the account.
The sole dalit MLA from the district belongs to the BJP. A total lack of representation has made Dalits of the district restless. Due to high literacy rate among Dalits of Saharanpur, as compared to the rest of the state, their aspirations are soaring. They are not ready to accept traditional caste injustices, says a political analyst.
Besides, their quest to recover the lost ground in the urban bodies elections, to be held in October, has made them more aggressive, he adds.
Chandra Shekhar Azad, the convener of the Bhim Army that is taking on the upper caste Thakurs and challenging the administration through its violent protests and road show, is giving voice to Dalit aspirations, he says. It is now famously recounted everywhere how, in 2009, he protested against two taps - one for Dalits and the other for upper castes - in an inter college and prevailed upon the administration to end this discrimination. Since then, he has been working relentlessly for the Dalit cause and cultivated a considerable following, mainly among the youth.
It is believed that the Bhim Army has no reservations about ways and means to promote the Dalit cause and fight for their rights.
Thakurs, on the other hand, are emboldened after Yogi Adityanath, also a Thakur became the chief minister. Although this is symbolic, it always happens like an automated phenomenon. A CM from ones own caste doesnt give direct benefit, but boosts sections psychologically, says Sudhir Panwar, an activist, and professor at Lucknow University.
Dalits of Saharanpur were not happy with the way local BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal tried to give a communal colour to the Ambedkar Jayanti procession on April 20. They allege that not only did the MP insist on taking the procession through a Dalit locality, but also that the upper caste participants were shouting the slogan Jai Shriram instead of Jai Bhim, says Neeraj, a Dalit activist from Saharanpur.
Twenty days later when Thakurs were taking out a procession on the occasion of Maharana Pratap Jayanti in Shabbirpur village, Dalits objected to the blaring sound of the accompanying DJ, claiming that it was not permitted. What followed was incidents of caste violence.
Further, the appointment of a Thakur district magistrate, CO and other senior officers enraged the Dalit community.
So far the conflagration has witnessed two killings, dozens of injuries, destruction of property and over 50 arrests for indulging in mindless violence and arson. Above all, four senior administrative officers including the DM, SSP, SP (city) and SP (Rural) have faced suspension.
Huge contingents of police, PAC and RAF have been deployed for intense patrolling and a high level special team of senior officials, sent from Lucknow, is still camping in the city.
Saharanpur Timeline
April 20: BJP supporters and Muslims clash over a Dalit rally: BJP activists led by local MP Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma organised a march in Sadak Dudhali, a Muslim dominated village to mark Ambedkars Jayanti, without the administrations permission. Muslims reportedly objected to the march. The dispute turned violent and injured 15 people, before the police stepped in and stopped the procession for being organised without permission. Hours later, members of the BJP - including MP Raghav Lakhanpal, his MLA brother Rahul Lakhanpal - barged into the SSPs house and allegedly vandalised the premises.
May 5: Dalits objected to the procession being taken out by upper caste Thakurs in Shabbirpur village of the district for Maharana Prataps rally. Violence erupted and Sumit Rajput (35) from the Thakur community of a nearby village was killed. In retaliation, Thakurs vandalised Dalit properties, leaving over a dozen injured.
May 9: Dalits and the police clash over a Dalit mahapanchayat. Dalits organised a mahapanchayat in Gandhi Park against the administrations inaction against Thakurs for perpetrating atrocities on May 5. Police believably thrashed protestors and fired rubber bullets and also arrested 6 persons.
May 21: Massive protest at Delhis Jantar-Mantar with student wings of Left parties joining in against the Uttar Pradesh government's alleged inaction on the Saharanpur caste-based riots.
May 23: Fresh bout of violence after Mayawati's visit to Shabbirpur village leaving a person dead and half a dozen injured. As per reports, a group of Dalits allegedly threw stones at a few Rajpur houses in Shabbirpur which led to a clash-like situation. In retaliation, Thakurs ambushed a vehicle of BSP supporters while they were returning from Mayawatis meeting, leading to 24 arrests.
May 24: Another bout of violence occurred in village near Shabbirpur in which a person was killed but police denied it to be related with caste violence.
Subsequently, Saharanpur DM NP Singh, SSP SC Dubey were suspended and transferred.
May 25: The situation remained volatile and Section 144 of the CrPC was invoked to control law and order. Internet, mobile and SMS service suspended. Political visits restricted.
LUCKNOW: Not very long ago Saharanpur was known for Darul Uloom Deoband, the world-renowned centre for Islamic learning. Or Shakumbri Devi, the seat of goddess Durga. These identities have now been nudged to the background. What the world knows of Saharanpur in the past two months, through TV channels and social media, is rampaging mobs, burning vehicles, houses in flames and marching security forces. Just two months after coming to power, the BJP government is facing an arduous task to douse the flames of caste conflict in its gateway to Uttarakhand and Haryana, which, ironically, is also its Lok Sabha constituency number 1. With nearly 42% Muslim population, Saharanpur was always considered communally sensitive, but any violent manifestation was not witnessed until the entire western Uttar Pradesh became a laboratory of communal politics after 2010. In 2014, the district was under curfew for quite some time after interfaith violent clashes between Sikhs and Muslims over a piece of religious land. According to local intelligence sources, the following year saw over 150 cases of communal flare-ups which, though didnt make it to the mainstream media, kept the administration on toes. The present caste conflicts between Thakurs and Dalits, however, has its origin in the demographic nature of the district and blatant caste-based electoral politics. Saharanpur has Dalit population of over 22% which gave BSP founder Kanshi Ram the confidence to contest from there in the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Although Kanshi Ram lost, Saharanpur has always been a happy hunting ground for the BSP. In 2007, BSP swept five out of six seats of the district and in 2012, despite a Samaj Wadi (SP) wave, managed to win four, thus giving adequate representation to Dalits in governance, even if it was largely symbolic. But this time, BSP was wiped out in the district and failed to open even the account. The sole dalit MLA from the district belongs to the BJP. A total lack of representation has made Dalits of the district restless. Due to high literacy rate among Dalits of Saharanpur, as compared to the rest of the state, their aspirations are soaring. They are not ready to accept traditional caste injustices, says a political analyst. Besides, their quest to recover the lost ground in the urban bodies elections, to be held in October, has made them more aggressive, he adds. Chandra Shekhar Azad, the convener of the Bhim Army that is taking on the upper caste Thakurs and challenging the administration through its violent protests and road show, is giving voice to Dalit aspirations, he says. It is now famously recounted everywhere how, in 2009, he protested against two taps - one for Dalits and the other for upper castes - in an inter college and prevailed upon the administration to end this discrimination. Since then, he has been working relentlessly for the Dalit cause and cultivated a considerable following, mainly among the youth. It is believed that the Bhim Army has no reservations about ways and means to promote the Dalit cause and fight for their rights. Thakurs, on the other hand, are emboldened after Yogi Adityanath, also a Thakur became the chief minister. Although this is symbolic, it always happens like an automated phenomenon. A CM from ones own caste doesnt give direct benefit, but boosts sections psychologically, says Sudhir Panwar, an activist, and professor at Lucknow University. Dalits of Saharanpur were not happy with the way local BJP MP Raghav Lakhanpal tried to give a communal colour to the Ambedkar Jayanti procession on April 20. They allege that not only did the MP insist on taking the procession through a Dalit locality, but also that the upper caste participants were shouting the slogan Jai Shriram instead of Jai Bhim, says Neeraj, a Dalit activist from Saharanpur. Twenty days later when Thakurs were taking out a procession on the occasion of Maharana Pratap Jayanti in Shabbirpur village, Dalits objected to the blaring sound of the accompanying DJ, claiming that it was not permitted. What followed was incidents of caste violence. Further, the appointment of a Thakur district magistrate, CO and other senior officers enraged the Dalit community. So far the conflagration has witnessed two killings, dozens of injuries, destruction of property and over 50 arrests for indulging in mindless violence and arson. Above all, four senior administrative officers including the DM, SSP, SP (city) and SP (Rural) have faced suspension. Huge contingents of police, PAC and RAF have been deployed for intense patrolling and a high level special team of senior officials, sent from Lucknow, is still camping in the city. Saharanpur Timeline April 20: BJP supporters and Muslims clash over a Dalit rally: BJP activists led by local MP Raghav Lakhanpal Sharma organised a march in Sadak Dudhali, a Muslim dominated village to mark Ambedkars Jayanti, without the administrations permission. Muslims reportedly objected to the march. The dispute turned violent and injured 15 people, before the police stepped in and stopped the procession for being organised without permission. Hours later, members of the BJP - including MP Raghav Lakhanpal, his MLA brother Rahul Lakhanpal - barged into the SSPs house and allegedly vandalised the premises. May 5: Dalits objected to the procession being taken out by upper caste Thakurs in Shabbirpur village of the district for Maharana Prataps rally. Violence erupted and Sumit Rajput (35) from the Thakur community of a nearby village was killed. In retaliation, Thakurs vandalised Dalit properties, leaving over a dozen injured. May 9: Dalits and the police clash over a Dalit mahapanchayat. Dalits organised a mahapanchayat in Gandhi Park against the administrations inaction against Thakurs for perpetrating atrocities on May 5. Police believably thrashed protestors and fired rubber bullets and also arrested 6 persons. May 21: Massive protest at Delhis Jantar-Mantar with student wings of Left parties joining in against the Uttar Pradesh government's alleged inaction on the Saharanpur caste-based riots. May 23: Fresh bout of violence after Mayawati's visit to Shabbirpur village leaving a person dead and half a dozen injured. As per reports, a group of Dalits allegedly threw stones at a few Rajpur houses in Shabbirpur which led to a clash-like situation. In retaliation, Thakurs ambushed a vehicle of BSP supporters while they were returning from Mayawatis meeting, leading to 24 arrests. May 24: Another bout of violence occurred in village near Shabbirpur in which a person was killed but police denied it to be related with caste violence. Subsequently, Saharanpur DM NP Singh, SSP SC Dubey were suspended and transferred. May 25: The situation remained volatile and Section 144 of the CrPC was invoked to control law and order. Internet, mobile and SMS service suspended. Political visits restricted.
Prasanta Mazumdar By
Express News Service
GUWAHATI: Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday demanded a CBI probe against a BJP minister in the state for his alleged involvement in a bribery scam.
The BJP government claims it has launched a drive against corruption but we have our doubts. Let it recommend a CBI probe against (irrigation minister) Ranjit Dutta and another into the cash-for-jobs scam in Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). We also demand a probe against (BJP leader) Tuliram Ronghang, Gogoi said.
The name of the minister cropped up in the bribery scam following the arrest of irrigation secretary, Kujendra Doley, in March. There are allegations that the government was shielding the minister.
Doley was caught by an anti-corruption cell accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a contractor to clear a pending bill for payment. Later, the cell seized Rs 45 lakh in cash from his office chamber and another Rs 11 lakh from his residence. He allegedly used to demand bribes from contractors to clear files for payment at the behest of the minister.
In the cash-for-jobs scam, APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and several others, including two members and an assistant controller of examinations, were arrested by the police. All of them are now in judicial custody.
The Congress alleged that former minister Sumitra Patir defected to the BJP from the Congress recently to evade conviction in the scam. She had allegedly secured plum jobs for her son and some others through the APSC by using her influence. Tuliram Ronghang, against whom Gogoi demanded a probe, is the chief of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. Earlier, a peasants body had moved the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accusing Ronghang of siphoning off funds to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore.
GUWAHATI: Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday demanded a CBI probe against a BJP minister in the state for his alleged involvement in a bribery scam. The BJP government claims it has launched a drive against corruption but we have our doubts. Let it recommend a CBI probe against (irrigation minister) Ranjit Dutta and another into the cash-for-jobs scam in Assam Public Service Commission (APSC). We also demand a probe against (BJP leader) Tuliram Ronghang, Gogoi said. The name of the minister cropped up in the bribery scam following the arrest of irrigation secretary, Kujendra Doley, in March. There are allegations that the government was shielding the minister. Doley was caught by an anti-corruption cell accepting a bribe of Rs 15,000 from a contractor to clear a pending bill for payment. Later, the cell seized Rs 45 lakh in cash from his office chamber and another Rs 11 lakh from his residence. He allegedly used to demand bribes from contractors to clear files for payment at the behest of the minister. In the cash-for-jobs scam, APSC chairman Rakesh Kumar Paul and several others, including two members and an assistant controller of examinations, were arrested by the police. All of them are now in judicial custody. The Congress alleged that former minister Sumitra Patir defected to the BJP from the Congress recently to evade conviction in the scam. She had allegedly secured plum jobs for her son and some others through the APSC by using her influence. Tuliram Ronghang, against whom Gogoi demanded a probe, is the chief of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council. Earlier, a peasants body had moved the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) accusing Ronghang of siphoning off funds to the tune of Rs 4.5 crore.
Anand ST Das By
Express News Service
PATNA: A group of Maoists dragged a schoolteacher from his house and shot him dead outside his village in Jharkhands Bokaro district on Friday night.
The left wing rebels also set afire a mobile phone tower.
The victim, Kalicharan Mahto, in his late 40s, was killed apparently because the Maoists suspected him of being a police informer. The incident took place in Tiskopi village under Chatrochatti police station area in Gomia block, said police.
Nearly 50 armed Maoists reached Mahtos house and interrogated him, his wife and their teenage son for about an hour. They wanted to take Mahto and his son with them, but took only Mahto as his wife asked them to spare their son, said a police official. Half an hour after Mahto left with the rebels, the sound of gunshots was heard. Villagers gathered the site an hour later and saw a profusely bleeding Mahto lying dead.
Before leaving the village, the Maoists set afire a mobile phone tower and threw several handbills in the area. The handwritten pamphlets warned the state government of severe consequences unless the recent MoUs signed with multinational corporations are cancelled, said police.
Hariaudh Karmali, the SHO of Chatrochatti police station, said raids were being conducted in nearby villages to nab the Maoists who murdered the schoolteacher.
The Maoists are currently observing a protest week (from May 25 to 31) in Jharkhand and have called for a daylong statewide shutdown in protest against what they call the state governments pro-capitalist, anti-poor activities.
The schoolteachers murder is the third violent incident perpetrated by the leftwing rebels in Gomia block in the past three days. The rebels had set afire the Dumri Bihar railway station and the engine of a goods train there on Thursday night.
In a separate incident, three Maoists belonging to the Janmukti Morcha outfit were arrested at McCluskieganj in Jharkhands Ranchi district on Saturday. Police raided a hideout of the Maoists after getting a tip-off and managed to arrest three of the six who had assembled there, said Ranchi SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi. The arrested Maoists were identified as Ritesh Kumar Thapa, Sunil Turi and Mohammad Zulfikar. A country-made gun, three live cartridges and pamphlets of the Maoist outfit were recovered from the arrested rebels, said police.
PATNA: A group of Maoists dragged a schoolteacher from his house and shot him dead outside his village in Jharkhands Bokaro district on Friday night. The left wing rebels also set afire a mobile phone tower. The victim, Kalicharan Mahto, in his late 40s, was killed apparently because the Maoists suspected him of being a police informer. The incident took place in Tiskopi village under Chatrochatti police station area in Gomia block, said police. Nearly 50 armed Maoists reached Mahtos house and interrogated him, his wife and their teenage son for about an hour. They wanted to take Mahto and his son with them, but took only Mahto as his wife asked them to spare their son, said a police official. Half an hour after Mahto left with the rebels, the sound of gunshots was heard. Villagers gathered the site an hour later and saw a profusely bleeding Mahto lying dead. Before leaving the village, the Maoists set afire a mobile phone tower and threw several handbills in the area. The handwritten pamphlets warned the state government of severe consequences unless the recent MoUs signed with multinational corporations are cancelled, said police. Hariaudh Karmali, the SHO of Chatrochatti police station, said raids were being conducted in nearby villages to nab the Maoists who murdered the schoolteacher. The Maoists are currently observing a protest week (from May 25 to 31) in Jharkhand and have called for a daylong statewide shutdown in protest against what they call the state governments pro-capitalist, anti-poor activities. The schoolteachers murder is the third violent incident perpetrated by the leftwing rebels in Gomia block in the past three days. The rebels had set afire the Dumri Bihar railway station and the engine of a goods train there on Thursday night. In a separate incident, three Maoists belonging to the Janmukti Morcha outfit were arrested at McCluskieganj in Jharkhands Ranchi district on Saturday. Police raided a hideout of the Maoists after getting a tip-off and managed to arrest three of the six who had assembled there, said Ranchi SSP Kuldeep Dwivedi. The arrested Maoists were identified as Ritesh Kumar Thapa, Sunil Turi and Mohammad Zulfikar. A country-made gun, three live cartridges and pamphlets of the Maoist outfit were recovered from the arrested rebels, said police.
Manish Anand By
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar captured by shutter-boxes on Saturday at Hyderabad House may HAVE caused heart-burn amongst the votaries of the Opposition unit against the rampaging BJP. That Kumar chose to give a miss to the first meeting of the jamboree of 17 Opposition parties hosted by the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday, but held 30-minute long parleys with the Prime Minister on Saturday forced the chief minister to fiercely deny the political meanings being drawn by the media.
For the record, Kumar said that he attended the lunch hosted by Modi in honour of the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, because half the population of the island country speak Bhojpuri. Afterwards, the PM and CM met to discuss the issue of silting of the river Ganga in Bihar, added Kumar. He reiterated that nothing political should be read into his meeting with the Prime Minister.
But the Bihar chief minister did not defend the beleaguered sons of the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, who are facing allegations of financial irregularity, besides being the target of income tax departmental raids at various locations. Kumar had just to say that there are allegations and counter allegations, while he speaks only for the facts.
But the political observers did not miss out from the fact that the Bihar chief minister could well have come to the national capital and attended the luncheon meeting hosted by Gandhi to give the much needed credibility to the Opposition jamboree.
The ongoing investigations by income tax department against the family members of the RJD chief have put Kumar in a spot, as it casts shadow on his penchant for a clean image. Hes an astute politician, who reads the writing on the wall well, and is well aware that the Congress is still on decline to anchor a united Opposition block to counter the BJP in the 2019 polls. He will open his cards at opportune time, said a senior JD (U) functionary.
The BJP, however, has been taking extra care to dismiss any suggestions of the Ghar wapsi (home coming) of the JD (U) in the NDA fold. The BJP chief Amit Shah dismissed such suggestions on Friday, while the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu did the same on Saturday.
However, the Presidential election in July is likely to shed more light on Kumars political directions, with sources saying that the BJP is counting on him to help the NDA anoint its nominee in the Raisina Hills convincingly.
NEW DELHI: The bonhomie between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar captured by shutter-boxes on Saturday at Hyderabad House may HAVE caused heart-burn amongst the votaries of the Opposition unit against the rampaging BJP. That Kumar chose to give a miss to the first meeting of the jamboree of 17 Opposition parties hosted by the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Friday, but held 30-minute long parleys with the Prime Minister on Saturday forced the chief minister to fiercely deny the political meanings being drawn by the media. For the record, Kumar said that he attended the lunch hosted by Modi in honour of the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, because half the population of the island country speak Bhojpuri. Afterwards, the PM and CM met to discuss the issue of silting of the river Ganga in Bihar, added Kumar. He reiterated that nothing political should be read into his meeting with the Prime Minister. But the Bihar chief minister did not defend the beleaguered sons of the RJD chief Lalu Prasad Tejaswi Yadav and Tej Pratap Yadav, who are facing allegations of financial irregularity, besides being the target of income tax departmental raids at various locations. Kumar had just to say that there are allegations and counter allegations, while he speaks only for the facts. But the political observers did not miss out from the fact that the Bihar chief minister could well have come to the national capital and attended the luncheon meeting hosted by Gandhi to give the much needed credibility to the Opposition jamboree. The ongoing investigations by income tax department against the family members of the RJD chief have put Kumar in a spot, as it casts shadow on his penchant for a clean image. Hes an astute politician, who reads the writing on the wall well, and is well aware that the Congress is still on decline to anchor a united Opposition block to counter the BJP in the 2019 polls. He will open his cards at opportune time, said a senior JD (U) functionary. The BJP, however, has been taking extra care to dismiss any suggestions of the Ghar wapsi (home coming) of the JD (U) in the NDA fold. The BJP chief Amit Shah dismissed such suggestions on Friday, while the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu did the same on Saturday. However, the Presidential election in July is likely to shed more light on Kumars political directions, with sources saying that the BJP is counting on him to help the NDA anoint its nominee in the Raisina Hills convincingly.
Anand ST Das By
Express News Service
PATNA: A day after skipping a luncheon meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar attended a similar high-profile meeting over lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. While this apparent see-saw move by Kumar reopened plausible speculations about a political realignment taking shape, those close to the Bihar satrap saw nothing amiss in the developments.
As always, Kumar kept his cards close to his chest. A well-known stickler for rules, the ambitious politicians latest move displayed how he remains a politician who plays by all the rules, and yet builds a momentum towards attaining his desired long-term goal. For at least the past five years, becoming the Prime Minister has been Kumars most important goal and remains so despite his surprising statement that he is not in the race for the top post in 2019.
Although he skipped the luncheon meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi, he deputed Sharad Yadav, one of JD(U)s senior-most leaders, to attend it. That meeting had top Opposition leaders discussing a candidate for the presidential polls and it was important for Kumar as Sharad Yadavs name is doing the rounds among probable Opposition candidates. On skipping the meeting, Kumar also clarified that he had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi on the issue on April 24.
JD(U) insiders, however, said Kumar did not want to be seen with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav who was present at Sonia Gandhis meeting. Although Yadavs RJD is the biggest party in Bihars three-party coalition government, Kumar has been doing his best to maintain a distance from his ally because of allegations of corruption against Lalus family.
By meeting Modi, Kumar also sought to keep the domineering RJD in check in Bihar. The meeting sent a message that Kumar shares a good personal rapport with the BJP leader despite the previous bitterness between them, and that Kumar has not burnt the bridges with BJP.
For an increasingly weakened Lalu, the biggest fear is Kumar allying with BJP and forming a government in Bihar. That would lead to a split in RJD and destroy the party Lalu has been lording over, said a JD(U) leader close to Kumar.
PATNA: A day after skipping a luncheon meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) national president Nitish Kumar attended a similar high-profile meeting over lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. While this apparent see-saw move by Kumar reopened plausible speculations about a political realignment taking shape, those close to the Bihar satrap saw nothing amiss in the developments. As always, Kumar kept his cards close to his chest. A well-known stickler for rules, the ambitious politicians latest move displayed how he remains a politician who plays by all the rules, and yet builds a momentum towards attaining his desired long-term goal. For at least the past five years, becoming the Prime Minister has been Kumars most important goal and remains so despite his surprising statement that he is not in the race for the top post in 2019. Although he skipped the luncheon meeting convened by Sonia Gandhi, he deputed Sharad Yadav, one of JD(U)s senior-most leaders, to attend it. That meeting had top Opposition leaders discussing a candidate for the presidential polls and it was important for Kumar as Sharad Yadavs name is doing the rounds among probable Opposition candidates. On skipping the meeting, Kumar also clarified that he had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi on the issue on April 24. JD(U) insiders, however, said Kumar did not want to be seen with RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav who was present at Sonia Gandhis meeting. Although Yadavs RJD is the biggest party in Bihars three-party coalition government, Kumar has been doing his best to maintain a distance from his ally because of allegations of corruption against Lalus family. By meeting Modi, Kumar also sought to keep the domineering RJD in check in Bihar. The meeting sent a message that Kumar shares a good personal rapport with the BJP leader despite the previous bitterness between them, and that Kumar has not burnt the bridges with BJP. For an increasingly weakened Lalu, the biggest fear is Kumar allying with BJP and forming a government in Bihar. That would lead to a split in RJD and destroy the party Lalu has been lording over, said a JD(U) leader close to Kumar.
Santwana Bhattacharya By
Not alls well in Bihar. Even before Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharati and her husband Shailesh Kumar Yadav got embroiled in a property scam and her CA Rajesh Agrawal landed in the ED net or the Lalu-Shahabuddin tapes surfaced, the strains in the Lalu-Nitish grand alliance were apparent. A former JD-U Rajya Sabha member well-known in Delhi's power circles invited some people over to praise UP CM Yogi Adityanath 'sgood work'. The tenor of the praise --'decisive corruption-free leadership' gave away the change in thinking. But the tensions are likely to persist without a rapture in the alliance any time soon, one of Nitish's apolitical advisors claimed, with the quip that the 'Bihar CM likes to maintain a unique identity'. A bit of it also has to do with who should be the opposition's presidential candidate.
NCP springs a surprise on EVM hackathon
Nirvachan Sadan was giving hourly updates on the EVM contest in the last few days. Just as it was preparing to declare a walkover in the hackathon, it was flooded with applications from contestants. The most surprising of them was from the NCP. Though the Maharashtra lobby has been carrying out a sustained anti-EVM campaign, it took care not create a 'tamasha' like AAP. The NCP offensive is being spearheaded by Vandana Chauhan.The MP convinced Sharad Pawar that something was amiss. Apparently, in the Mumbai municipal polls, in over a dozen booths, the numbers of votes polled did not match the number of votes counted. That's the basis of her doubt.
Opposition conclave
No names for the presidential race were discussed, was the official line after the meeting but a political heavyweight who had lined up an interview after the deliberations cancelled it. The meet itself was quite pathbreaking, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati sat next to one another. Mamata Banerjee and Sitaram Yechury took part in the discussions in full measure though Mamata skipped lunch. And Sharad Pawar suggested Sonia Gandhi should find a suitable opposition candidate, or if need be form a committee. Well, Gopal Gandhi does not seem to stand a chance. A Left leader vehemently denied he could be the pick.
Amater of hilsa and mango
Despite the slugfest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee met the PM with a litany of woes and demands for more funds. However, when the Teesta accord came up, Mamata is said to have countered it with a lament that Bangladesh has stopped sending hilsa to her state. Worse still, Bangladesh has increased the tax on mangoes three-fold, making it impossible for rare Bengal varieties from reaching Dhaka. Last heard, the Bangladesh High Commissioner is sending a fact-finding team to check Didi's complaint.
Guv has the say in Delhi
Ever since Amit Shah declared that the BJP is ready to win a majority in the next Telangana Assembly, there's been severe anxiety in the TRS camp. K Chandrasekhar Rao and family are not in the best of moods, much to Chandrababu Naidu's pleasure. Till now, Governor E S L Narasimhanhas managed the two rival CMs remarkably well. The former top sleuth has New Delhi's ears on administrative issues, but for the political management Shah's the last word.
Not alls well in Bihar. Even before Lalu Prasad's daughter Misa Bharati and her husband Shailesh Kumar Yadav got embroiled in a property scam and her CA Rajesh Agrawal landed in the ED net or the Lalu-Shahabuddin tapes surfaced, the strains in the Lalu-Nitish grand alliance were apparent. A former JD-U Rajya Sabha member well-known in Delhi's power circles invited some people over to praise UP CM Yogi Adityanath 'sgood work'. The tenor of the praise --'decisive corruption-free leadership' gave away the change in thinking. But the tensions are likely to persist without a rapture in the alliance any time soon, one of Nitish's apolitical advisors claimed, with the quip that the 'Bihar CM likes to maintain a unique identity'. A bit of it also has to do with who should be the opposition's presidential candidate. NCP springs a surprise on EVM hackathon Nirvachan Sadan was giving hourly updates on the EVM contest in the last few days. Just as it was preparing to declare a walkover in the hackathon, it was flooded with applications from contestants. The most surprising of them was from the NCP. Though the Maharashtra lobby has been carrying out a sustained anti-EVM campaign, it took care not create a 'tamasha' like AAP. The NCP offensive is being spearheaded by Vandana Chauhan.The MP convinced Sharad Pawar that something was amiss. Apparently, in the Mumbai municipal polls, in over a dozen booths, the numbers of votes polled did not match the number of votes counted. That's the basis of her doubt. Opposition conclave No names for the presidential race were discussed, was the official line after the meeting but a political heavyweight who had lined up an interview after the deliberations cancelled it. The meet itself was quite pathbreaking, Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati sat next to one another. Mamata Banerjee and Sitaram Yechury took part in the discussions in full measure though Mamata skipped lunch. And Sharad Pawar suggested Sonia Gandhi should find a suitable opposition candidate, or if need be form a committee. Well, Gopal Gandhi does not seem to stand a chance. A Left leader vehemently denied he could be the pick. Amater of hilsa and mango Despite the slugfest between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee met the PM with a litany of woes and demands for more funds. However, when the Teesta accord came up, Mamata is said to have countered it with a lament that Bangladesh has stopped sending hilsa to her state. Worse still, Bangladesh has increased the tax on mangoes three-fold, making it impossible for rare Bengal varieties from reaching Dhaka. Last heard, the Bangladesh High Commissioner is sending a fact-finding team to check Didi's complaint. Guv has the say in Delhi Ever since Amit Shah declared that the BJP is ready to win a majority in the next Telangana Assembly, there's been severe anxiety in the TRS camp. K Chandrasekhar Rao and family are not in the best of moods, much to Chandrababu Naidu's pleasure. Till now, Governor E S L Narasimhanhas managed the two rival CMs remarkably well. The former top sleuth has New Delhi's ears on administrative issues, but for the political management Shah's the last word.
DECATUR At Garfield Montessori School in Decatur, a group of children sits on a carpeted classroom floor, raising hands to speak. The tone is calm and focused.
They're taking part in a "Restorative Justice Circle," a kind of group mediation exercise that seeks to tackle one of the most stubborn and sometimes frightening issues of adolescent life bullying.
It calls for pupils to work together and address unkind words or misbehavior, then figure out ways to resolve conflict. The school district started using the model even before the state put new student discipline rules in place. Before, expulsion of a bully was sometimes seen as the only option. Under legislation passed in March 2015, Illinois districts could no longer have so-called "zero tolerance" policies, which have been widely criticized for putting at-risk youth on a path to future disciplinary and criminal issues. Instead, every effort has to be made to help bullies stop being disruptive and keep them in the school system.
The new rules started in the fall and mark a radical shift in how educators handle chronic teasing and fights, which long had been considered a "rite of passage" for young people. For districts, gone are suspending or expelling options in most cases, replaced by exercises like group dialogue and staff watching for warning signs.
We talk to the person accused and try to find out what's going on and the history we don't know about, said Warrensburg-Latham Superintendent Kristen Kendrick-Weikle, which also has taken a new approach. From there we have to make a determination, if we think it's bullying, and work with the parent and the student at school, the social worker, a referral to an outside agency or school counselor, check-ins with the teacher and principal. It depends on what's occurred."
It's a key change, with a focus more on inclusion and trust. At Garfield, students talk about things that concern them in a supportive atmosphere meant to encourage empathy and caring. Trained adults ask questions designed to get the kids to open up, yet keep conversation on topic and focused on kindness to all.
The idea is to encourage children to learn how to talk honestly about interpersonal issues and treat each other with respect.
There are positive results.
Decatur last academic year had just five cases that met the district standard of bullying, or severe or pervasive physical or verbal act or conduct, including communications made in writing or electronically." Lawrence Trimble, who runs the Student Services office that tracks the issue, said there could be cases of bullying that went unreported, but suggested that the number might also be lower than one might think because of how bullying is defined by most school district conduct codes. According to them, bullying isn't one incident or the occasional disagreements and harsh words between students, even if the confrontation becomes physical.
The actions must be repeated, promote fear and represent an imbalance of power. Most Macon County schools define it similarly. Students are encouraged to report bullying immediately and acts of reprisal against someone who reports bullying is prohibited.
Districts across the country have grappled with policies and approaches as social media and text messaging have complicated the bullying issue. Districts can come under fire for not doing enough when tragedy occurs.
Last week in Maine, family and friends said 13-year-old Anie Graham was harassed and bullied before taking her life on Tuesday. The next day, dozens of students walked out Lewiston Middle School in an anti-bullying protest, and students and parents returned that evening for a candlelight vigil. In January, an 8-year-old Cincinnati Public Schools student whose mother said was bullied and tormented committed suicide.
Nationally, 1 in every 5 middle and high school students has complained of being bullied, a number that is declining but still a worry, according to a National Center for Education Statistics and the Justice Department study released Tuesday.
A separate study this year measured 13 indicators of bullying among fourth- through 12th-graders over a 10-year period and found that bullying incidents have declined nationwide. The study looked at more than 200,000 Maryland students in those grade levels and relied on the students' own reporting of incidents.
"Bullying is a public health issue because it really affects the mental wellness and health of students and as we know at the extreme end it can lead to everything from suicide to reactive violence," said David Osher, vice president at the American Institutes for Research and an expert on violence prevention. "Because it happens, it doesn't mean it has to happen."
Impact of bullying can last
One of the biggest issues with bullying is the long-lasting impact on victims, and the National Institutes of Health in a 2015 report identified risks to health, schooling, employment and social relationships.
When Zack Wolf was in first and second grade, he and the boy he said bullies him were friends. Then one day, everything drastically changed, and Zack doesn't know why.
It was name-calling, taunting, gossiping, lying,said Zack, 14, an eighth-grader at Maroa-Forsyth Middle School. He said the boy threw things at him and threatened him with serious harm.
Zack's definition of bullying is when someone says or does something hurtful unintentionally, that's rude; when they say or do something hurtful intentionally, that's mean. But when they do it intentionally and they keep doing it in spite of you telling or showing them that you're upset, that's bullying.
The toll can be felt years later. Steve Zarndt, of Decatur, said he was picked on 50 years ago and still has the emotional scars.
Zarndt said he was smaller than the other kids and they exploited that. He was adopted, and when the other kids found out, they made fun of him. Now, as an adult, he thinks that kids who bully are trying to define themselves and choose wielding power over someone weaker as a way to feel more in control, but it makes life pretty miserable for their victims.
You learn to exist with it, said Zarndt, of Decatur. What happens to people as kids, you always remember it. How you deal with it is maturing but you always remember it.
Words can wound as much, and sometimes more, than blows, said Cody Sloan, a seventh-grader at Central A&M Middle School. In an anti-bullying presentation he gave at school with eighth-grader Nick Collins, Cody urged other students to weigh their words before they say them and think about how those words would affect them, if another student said it to them. That also applies to social media and texts, which can travel much further than the one person they're directed to. Everyone deserves respect, Nick said, and that includes what you say as well as how you act.
A good rule my mom always told me is, if you wouldn't say it in front of your grandma or your preacher, don't say it, Cody said.
The new state rule is rooted in concern that suspensions from school cause bigger problems with truancy and contribute to higher rates of minority students being kicked out of school for minor issues . According to the U.S. Department of Education, Illinois has one of the largest disparities in the nation between suspended black students and white classmates.
The bill was a sweeping reform of school discipline policies that requires schools to exhaust all other means of intervention before expulsion or suspensions that last longer than three days. Students who have been suspended must be allowed to make up missed work, and those suspended for four days or longer must be given access to services like counseling.
When introducing the legislation, chief sponsor Sen. Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, described it as a way to combat the "school-to-prison pipeline" and cease excessive use of punitive discipline practices. The effort was led by Voice of Youth in Chicago Education, a group largely made up of high school students, but initially faced opposition from the Illinois Association of School Administrators, which raised concerns it was not flexible enough for school staff to remove students causing significant disruptions.
Trimble said simply suspending or expelling a bully isn't the best way to address the issue because it doesn't change the behavior. Eventually, the student returns to school and could well pick up where he left off, she said.
Just excluding the kid from school doesn't change the behavior, Trimble said. A lot of times, when the public says 'You don't do anything about bullying,' that's why we do more restorative practices. We get good feedback on those. You talk about the incident, you sit down with everyone that's impacted and go through talking points about how it happened, how they're impacted and what can be done to make it better.
Group therapy or effective technique?
There's also the "restorative justice model," which is based on a theory that crime victims and community members should play a role in mediating solutions.
Kevin Jones, who works with the regional alternative education program for the McLean County Regional Office of Education, holds a master's degree from the International Institute of Restorative Practices and describes the process as how we engage with each other to create an environment of community.
If we have an issue, we actually use restorative questions, talk about what happened, what both parties think and feel, and fix it together, Jones said. We create an environment so that when you have an issue, whether it's bullying or classroom issues, you have established an environment where you can have those conversations.
Critics say the approach borders on group therapy and isn't effective.
But Jones said regular use of the method teaches empathy, and while some students learn it right away, for others it takes time. Students who have troubled lives find it difficult to let their barriers down and care about others, but over time, he has seen this work. For young people who continue the bullying behavior in spite of these efforts, there are consequences, but for those who are willing to make amends and change their ways, it can result in new and better relationships. Jones said efforts are underway to expand the use of restorative practices throughout the region.
The first thing I would do (in a bullying situation) is talk to both kids separately, and talk to the parents separately, the goal being 'We need to resolve this,' Jones said. And when I talk to them separately, use those restorative questions. What happened? What were you thinking and feeling? How has this impacted you? What do you need to make this right? Once everybody has agreed, get them in the same room and go through the same questions. Give everybody a voice and what we would take away is, we all want people not to mess with us.
Kendrick-Weikle, the Warrensburg-Latham superintendent, said open and transparent dialogue is key.
"If we can get to the heart of why they're doing this, and help intervene and find out what need are they trying to have fulfilled, then the student (victim) isn't being picked on and they're safe and happy and healthy.
Usually that works, but sometimes it doesn't, and the solution might be finding a way to keep the students apart.
They're still young people," she said, "and we're trying to help them figure out how to be kind."
Zarndt said everyone should remember bullying sticks with victims long after adolescence ends. As a parent, he made sure to underscore that to his kids, who are now grown adults.
I wouldn't want my kids to pick on someone. I would talk with them, have a bigger discussion," he said. "If I didn't like this, somebody else isn't going to like it, either.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
By Express News Service
VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM: The annual three-day event of the Telugu Desam Party Mahanadu will begin at Visakhapatnam on Saturday amidst talk of early polls in alliance with the BJP. Having obtained a promise that the BJP would stand by him from party chief Amit Shah in his one-on-one on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is now in an upbeat mood.
Naidu utilised the occasion to seek from Shah action for increasing the number of assembly constituencies from 175 to 225 as he had to accommodate quite a number of leaders who had defected to the Telugu Desam Party from YSRC. Now that the clouds of uncertainty have cleared to some extent on the future of the alliance with the BJP, the party is now getting back to business preparing for the elections.
Naidu needs continuance of the alliance since most of the promises made for AP in the State Reorganisation Act have not yet been fulfilled. If he is friends with the BJP, it would become easy for him to leverage on it in seeking early clearance for projects and funds for the state.
Already, the party machinery is in election mode as hardly two years are left for facing the polls. The party workers have been sensitised to move forward consolidating the gains that have already been made by the state government with its initiatives in various sectors. They are being asked to fan out into the villages and explain to the people the commitment with which Chandrababu Naidu is working in completing the first phase of the Polavaram project and Amaravati.
For the first time, the Telugu Desam Party is holding two Mahanadus - one each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The one in Telangana was over on May 24 while the one for AP, the main event, will begin on Saturday. The second day of Mahanadu coincides with the birth anniversary of party founder late NT Rama Rao on May 28.
Plea dismissed against TDPs event at AU
In a relief to the Telugu Desam, the High Court on Friday dismissed the plea of a research scholar from Andhra University seeking direction to the university authorities not to permit the TDP to hold a three-day party meeting, Mahanadu, on the AU premises in Visakhapatnam from May 27 to 29.
Vacation judge Justice A Shankar Narayana dismissed the miscellaneous petition filed by R Janaki Rao, a research scholar of AU, with a request for preventing the TDP from holding its Mahanadu on the university premises.
Petitioners counsel P Sudhakar Reddy cited a circular issued by the AP State Council for Higher Education in 2015 that banned all political meetings within the campuses of all the universities in the state. The decision of the authorities to permit the TDP to hold its meeting in the AU campus is contrary to the provisions of the AP Council for Higher Education Act, 1988, he said. The judge said the matter would be decided in the final hearing.
VIJAYAWADA/VISAKHAPATNAM: The annual three-day event of the Telugu Desam Party Mahanadu will begin at Visakhapatnam on Saturday amidst talk of early polls in alliance with the BJP. Having obtained a promise that the BJP would stand by him from party chief Amit Shah in his one-on-one on Thursday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is now in an upbeat mood. Naidu utilised the occasion to seek from Shah action for increasing the number of assembly constituencies from 175 to 225 as he had to accommodate quite a number of leaders who had defected to the Telugu Desam Party from YSRC. Now that the clouds of uncertainty have cleared to some extent on the future of the alliance with the BJP, the party is now getting back to business preparing for the elections. Naidu needs continuance of the alliance since most of the promises made for AP in the State Reorganisation Act have not yet been fulfilled. If he is friends with the BJP, it would become easy for him to leverage on it in seeking early clearance for projects and funds for the state. Already, the party machinery is in election mode as hardly two years are left for facing the polls. The party workers have been sensitised to move forward consolidating the gains that have already been made by the state government with its initiatives in various sectors. They are being asked to fan out into the villages and explain to the people the commitment with which Chandrababu Naidu is working in completing the first phase of the Polavaram project and Amaravati. For the first time, the Telugu Desam Party is holding two Mahanadus - one each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The one in Telangana was over on May 24 while the one for AP, the main event, will begin on Saturday. The second day of Mahanadu coincides with the birth anniversary of party founder late NT Rama Rao on May 28. Plea dismissed against TDPs event at AU In a relief to the Telugu Desam, the High Court on Friday dismissed the plea of a research scholar from Andhra University seeking direction to the university authorities not to permit the TDP to hold a three-day party meeting, Mahanadu, on the AU premises in Visakhapatnam from May 27 to 29. Vacation judge Justice A Shankar Narayana dismissed the miscellaneous petition filed by R Janaki Rao, a research scholar of AU, with a request for preventing the TDP from holding its Mahanadu on the university premises. Petitioners counsel P Sudhakar Reddy cited a circular issued by the AP State Council for Higher Education in 2015 that banned all political meetings within the campuses of all the universities in the state. The decision of the authorities to permit the TDP to hold its meeting in the AU campus is contrary to the provisions of the AP Council for Higher Education Act, 1988, he said. The judge said the matter would be decided in the final hearing.
By Express News Service
VISAKHAPATNAM: Former Karnataka chief minister and current Lok Sabha member Veerappa Moily said that the Modi-led Central government has failed to develop the country on all fronts. It is unable to stop the farmer suicides, eradicate corruption in governance and mitigate unemployment problem.
As they proved themselves incapable to run a progressive government, next elections should be in favour of Congress, Moily, exuding confidence, told newsmen here on Friday.
In the last three years in power, Narendra Modi and his team did not take up even a single genuine welfare programme for the poor. They are just continuing with our welfare programmes like MGNREGS and claimed that they were their schemes. In fact, those programmes were opposed by the present NDA leaders including PM Narendra Modi at that time, Moily commented.
The NDA came to power by making several false promises like eradication of corruption and bring back all the wealth stashed in foreign banks. GDP has increased only in the corporate sector but all the sectors are in losses. The BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisghar are mired in scams, he said.
Now the administration has totally gone into the Sangh Parivar hands. Indias oldest friends like Nepal and Bhutan are keeping distance from India. The demonetization has led to financial crisis and created panic among the general public. With ineffective governance, banks registered lowest turnover in 60 years, Moily explained.
On the AP bifurcation, Veerappa Moily stated that Congress was committed to respect the peoples feelings and made all arrangements to protect the interests of the residual Andhra Pradesh. But the BJP-led government spoiled all the efforts.
Special category status with special package, special railway zone and the Polavaram project were included in the Bifurcation Act, he said. Congress leaders KVP Ramachandra Rao, Vatti Vasanta Kumar, Dronamraju Srinivas and others were present.
VISAKHAPATNAM: Former Karnataka chief minister and current Lok Sabha member Veerappa Moily said that the Modi-led Central government has failed to develop the country on all fronts. It is unable to stop the farmer suicides, eradicate corruption in governance and mitigate unemployment problem. As they proved themselves incapable to run a progressive government, next elections should be in favour of Congress, Moily, exuding confidence, told newsmen here on Friday. In the last three years in power, Narendra Modi and his team did not take up even a single genuine welfare programme for the poor. They are just continuing with our welfare programmes like MGNREGS and claimed that they were their schemes. In fact, those programmes were opposed by the present NDA leaders including PM Narendra Modi at that time, Moily commented. The NDA came to power by making several false promises like eradication of corruption and bring back all the wealth stashed in foreign banks. GDP has increased only in the corporate sector but all the sectors are in losses. The BJP-ruled states like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh and Chhattisghar are mired in scams, he said. Now the administration has totally gone into the Sangh Parivar hands. Indias oldest friends like Nepal and Bhutan are keeping distance from India. The demonetization has led to financial crisis and created panic among the general public. With ineffective governance, banks registered lowest turnover in 60 years, Moily explained. On the AP bifurcation, Veerappa Moily stated that Congress was committed to respect the peoples feelings and made all arrangements to protect the interests of the residual Andhra Pradesh. But the BJP-led government spoiled all the efforts. Special category status with special package, special railway zone and the Polavaram project were included in the Bifurcation Act, he said. Congress leaders KVP Ramachandra Rao, Vatti Vasanta Kumar, Dronamraju Srinivas and others were present.
By Express News Service
SRIKAKULAM: In yet another incident of agents defrauding job seekers, a local agent duped 17 fishermen from Manchineellapeta village of Vajrapukotturu mandal by promising jobs in Kuwait.
After collecting `40,000 from each fisherman, the job agent arranged tourist visas instead of work permits for them. However, the fishermen came to knew about it before their scheduled departure to Kuwait. But, the job agent had fled.
According to victims, one Murali from Pundi is a job agent working for manpower consultancies in abroad. I gave the agent `35,000 at his house in Pundi in March after he told me that my visa to Kuwait had been confirmed. I got into his trap when he demanded only `35,000, promising me a job in Kuwait, while the other agents are charging `60,000 for the same.
I borrowed the money from my friends, said said Komara Joga Rao, a victim from Manchineellapeta, adding that the job agent promised him a labourers job saying that it would fetch not less than `30,000 thousand a month.
After validating the documents in the websites, the fishermen came to know that the document arranged for them were tourist visas. They went to Pundi seeking return of their money from Murali. But, the job agent promised them to set things right in a week and believing him, the victims returned.
Recently, the victims came to know that Murali, along with his family members, have already fled. The fishermen alleged that Murali have collected money from many people from Gurandhi, Gusani, Mechumara, Manchineellapeta, Humumpeta, Nowpada, Kotabommali, Ichchpauram, Kanchili and a few villages in Odisha.
I gave Murali `35,000 in March prior to getting my visa. He collected out resumes and passports in February. Our travel to Kuwait was scheduled for March 17, said Ch Papa Rao, another victim.
As the news spread, many victims gathered and brought the issue to the notice of police just three days ago.
Murali has trapped 17 fishermen from this village. But, people say that he lured more than 100 people from Srikakulam district and the bordering villages in Odisha, said Manchineellapeta sarpanch Chinna Rao.
Vajrapukotturu sub-inspector CH Prasad confirmed that the police compalints were lodged three days ago and they have launched a manhunt to nab Murali.
TTD Kalyana mandap manager in ACB net
Srikakulam: The Anti-corruption Bureau sleuths conducted raids on a TTD Kalyana Mandap office in Srikakulam on Friday and seized unaccounted cash of J50,000 from the managers table. ACB DSP K Rajendra said TTD Srikakulam branch manager Pandiri Kurmeswara Rao, who supervises the functioning of eight TTD Kalyna Mandaps in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts allegedly have collected bribes from flower decorators, electricians and suppliers.
He used to collect J5,000 from each electrician, J2,000 from flower decorators and J1,000 from suppliers of chairs and utensils for each marriage being organised at the Kalyana Mandaps. DSP also said that the manager used to collect the amounts in advance from contractors.
An electrical contractor for Rajam Kalyana Mandapa, Gouri Naidu came to the TTD office at Srikakulam on Friday and offered J50,000 to the manager prior to the ACB conducted the raids at around 2 pm. Gouri Naidu told police that that he gave J60,000 in February and another J25,000 in March to the manager. The manager will be produced before the ACB court, the DSP said.
Woman run over by lorry, locals blame it on cop
Visakhapatnam: A 48-year old woman died on the spot after she was ran over by a lorry laden with gas cylinders, after she fell off a bike being driven by her husband in Gajuwaka area on Friday morning. However, the locals claimed that the accident happened after a traffic constable allegedly removed the motorcycle key before it stopped, which led to the skidding of the bike. The woman was identified as Padma (48), a resident of Malkapuram.
According to sources, Anand Rao and his wife Padma were going to Pendurthi to a temple. A traffic constable, identified as P Naidu, stopped the regular traffic to allow the industrial vehicle to pass. However, a 16-tyre industrial heavy vehicle collided with the bike and Anand Rao fell to his left side, while Padma fell before tyres and was run over.
Eyewitness claimed that the traffic constable, pulled out the key of the slow bike all of a sudden. The locals came in huge number and thrashed the traffic constable. Senior officials reached the spot and controlled the situation. Senior police officials said they would investigate and take action on the traffic constable, if he was at fault. Naidu was shifted to a hospital.
SRIKAKULAM: In yet another incident of agents defrauding job seekers, a local agent duped 17 fishermen from Manchineellapeta village of Vajrapukotturu mandal by promising jobs in Kuwait. After collecting `40,000 from each fisherman, the job agent arranged tourist visas instead of work permits for them. However, the fishermen came to knew about it before their scheduled departure to Kuwait. But, the job agent had fled. According to victims, one Murali from Pundi is a job agent working for manpower consultancies in abroad. I gave the agent `35,000 at his house in Pundi in March after he told me that my visa to Kuwait had been confirmed. I got into his trap when he demanded only `35,000, promising me a job in Kuwait, while the other agents are charging `60,000 for the same. I borrowed the money from my friends, said said Komara Joga Rao, a victim from Manchineellapeta, adding that the job agent promised him a labourers job saying that it would fetch not less than `30,000 thousand a month. After validating the documents in the websites, the fishermen came to know that the document arranged for them were tourist visas. They went to Pundi seeking return of their money from Murali. But, the job agent promised them to set things right in a week and believing him, the victims returned. Recently, the victims came to know that Murali, along with his family members, have already fled. The fishermen alleged that Murali have collected money from many people from Gurandhi, Gusani, Mechumara, Manchineellapeta, Humumpeta, Nowpada, Kotabommali, Ichchpauram, Kanchili and a few villages in Odisha. I gave Murali `35,000 in March prior to getting my visa. He collected out resumes and passports in February. Our travel to Kuwait was scheduled for March 17, said Ch Papa Rao, another victim. As the news spread, many victims gathered and brought the issue to the notice of police just three days ago. Murali has trapped 17 fishermen from this village. But, people say that he lured more than 100 people from Srikakulam district and the bordering villages in Odisha, said Manchineellapeta sarpanch Chinna Rao. Vajrapukotturu sub-inspector CH Prasad confirmed that the police compalints were lodged three days ago and they have launched a manhunt to nab Murali. TTD Kalyana mandap manager in ACB net Srikakulam: The Anti-corruption Bureau sleuths conducted raids on a TTD Kalyana Mandap office in Srikakulam on Friday and seized unaccounted cash of J50,000 from the managers table. ACB DSP K Rajendra said TTD Srikakulam branch manager Pandiri Kurmeswara Rao, who supervises the functioning of eight TTD Kalyna Mandaps in Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam districts allegedly have collected bribes from flower decorators, electricians and suppliers. He used to collect J5,000 from each electrician, J2,000 from flower decorators and J1,000 from suppliers of chairs and utensils for each marriage being organised at the Kalyana Mandaps. DSP also said that the manager used to collect the amounts in advance from contractors. An electrical contractor for Rajam Kalyana Mandapa, Gouri Naidu came to the TTD office at Srikakulam on Friday and offered J50,000 to the manager prior to the ACB conducted the raids at around 2 pm. Gouri Naidu told police that that he gave J60,000 in February and another J25,000 in March to the manager. The manager will be produced before the ACB court, the DSP said. Woman run over by lorry, locals blame it on cop Visakhapatnam: A 48-year old woman died on the spot after she was ran over by a lorry laden with gas cylinders, after she fell off a bike being driven by her husband in Gajuwaka area on Friday morning. However, the locals claimed that the accident happened after a traffic constable allegedly removed the motorcycle key before it stopped, which led to the skidding of the bike. The woman was identified as Padma (48), a resident of Malkapuram. According to sources, Anand Rao and his wife Padma were going to Pendurthi to a temple. A traffic constable, identified as P Naidu, stopped the regular traffic to allow the industrial vehicle to pass. However, a 16-tyre industrial heavy vehicle collided with the bike and Anand Rao fell to his left side, while Padma fell before tyres and was run over. Eyewitness claimed that the traffic constable, pulled out the key of the slow bike all of a sudden. The locals came in huge number and thrashed the traffic constable. Senior officials reached the spot and controlled the situation. Senior police officials said they would investigate and take action on the traffic constable, if he was at fault. Naidu was shifted to a hospital.
By Express News Service
MYSURU: The death of an inmate of Maharanis Girls Hostel due to suspected dengue sparked protests by students on Friday. The protesters alleged that Sanchitha M Aradha (20) of Periyapatna taluk, who was suffering from high fever, was not allowed to go home by the hostel warden until she paid the fees. After the second year BSc student returned to her native place, her parents took her to JSS Hospital where she battled for life for a week. She died on Friday noon. The hostel inmates pay `7,500 during admission and a monthly mess charge of `1,500.
Though Sanchitha was suffering from high fever, the warden did not allow her to go home until she paid the hostel fees. Sanchitha could not arrange the money on time. A week ago her parents sent the money. After clearing the hostel dues, she went to her village, said her roommates.
A professor of Maharanis College said Sanchitha was suffering from light fever when she returned to her native.
District Vector Borne Diseases Control Officer Dr S Chidambar said the girl might have died due to viral encephalitis. Dengue tests were negative on Tuesday. When we visited the hospital her condition was very critical. Only after going through the reports, it can be confirmed whether it was a dengue death he added.
As the news of her death spread, inmates staged protests against the warden highlighting the bad conditions of the hostel. The hostel girls said five more girls are undergoing treatment at private hospitals and more than 15 others are suffering from high fever for the last two weeks.
Since April we have been facing severe shortage of water. The tanks are not cleaned and weeds are not removed on the premises. We are fed up with the mosquito menace, they said.
MYSURU: The death of an inmate of Maharanis Girls Hostel due to suspected dengue sparked protests by students on Friday. The protesters alleged that Sanchitha M Aradha (20) of Periyapatna taluk, who was suffering from high fever, was not allowed to go home by the hostel warden until she paid the fees. After the second year BSc student returned to her native place, her parents took her to JSS Hospital where she battled for life for a week. She died on Friday noon. The hostel inmates pay `7,500 during admission and a monthly mess charge of `1,500. Though Sanchitha was suffering from high fever, the warden did not allow her to go home until she paid the hostel fees. Sanchitha could not arrange the money on time. A week ago her parents sent the money. After clearing the hostel dues, she went to her village, said her roommates. A professor of Maharanis College said Sanchitha was suffering from light fever when she returned to her native. District Vector Borne Diseases Control Officer Dr S Chidambar said the girl might have died due to viral encephalitis. Dengue tests were negative on Tuesday. When we visited the hospital her condition was very critical. Only after going through the reports, it can be confirmed whether it was a dengue death he added. As the news of her death spread, inmates staged protests against the warden highlighting the bad conditions of the hostel. The hostel girls said five more girls are undergoing treatment at private hospitals and more than 15 others are suffering from high fever for the last two weeks. Since April we have been facing severe shortage of water. The tanks are not cleaned and weeds are not removed on the premises. We are fed up with the mosquito menace, they said.
By Express News Service
KANNUR: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has courted a major controversy after levelling kidnap and rape charges on the Army.
Speaking at a function here the other day, Kodiyeri said the imposition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) on Kannur would result in clashes between the people and the Army. If they are given extreme powers, the Army can do anything to anybody.
If they see more than four people standing together, they can shoot them. They can even take away a woman and rape her. Nobody has the right to question them. This is the situation wherever the Army has been deployed, Kodiyeri said.
BJP blasts Kodiyeri
By making a controversial statement against the Army, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was trying to destroy the morale of the Armed Forces, said BJP district president P Sathyaprakash. In a statement here on Friday, he alleged the CPM was speaking for pro-Pakistan terrorists.
Amit Shah demands action
TPuram: BJP national president Amit Shah has demanded action against CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan for his alleged derogatory remarks against the Army. Kodiyeris remarks were condemnable, Amit Shah told reporters in New Delhi.
KANNUR: CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has courted a major controversy after levelling kidnap and rape charges on the Army. Speaking at a function here the other day, Kodiyeri said the imposition of Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) on Kannur would result in clashes between the people and the Army. If they are given extreme powers, the Army can do anything to anybody. If they see more than four people standing together, they can shoot them. They can even take away a woman and rape her. Nobody has the right to question them. This is the situation wherever the Army has been deployed, Kodiyeri said. BJP blasts Kodiyeri By making a controversial statement against the Army, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was trying to destroy the morale of the Armed Forces, said BJP district president P Sathyaprakash. In a statement here on Friday, he alleged the CPM was speaking for pro-Pakistan terrorists. Amit Shah demands action TPuram: BJP national president Amit Shah has demanded action against CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan for his alleged derogatory remarks against the Army. Kodiyeris remarks were condemnable, Amit Shah told reporters in New Delhi.
By IANS
KABUL: At least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed and five others wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, official sources said.
A group of insurgents on Thursday night attacked a military base in the Shah Wali Kot district, killing at least 15 soldiers, defense ministry spokesperson Dawlat Waziri told Efe news on Friday.
Waziri added that the Taliban insurgents also suffered casualties, but did not provide precise figures.
This is the second attack in Shah Wali Kot within the last three days, as 10 soldiers and 12 insurgents were killed in another Taliban attack on the base and a check post early Tuesday morning.
Despite this, Waziri said "now the security situation of district is good and the district is under control of our security forces."
On the night of May 20, a total of 20 policemen were killed and about a dozen more wounded in attacks by the Taliban on several check posts in the neighbouring Zabul province.
The attacks are part of the so-called spring offensive launched by the Taliban in late April.
Since the NATO combat mission ended in January 2015, the insurgents have been gaining ground in various parts of Afghanistan and currently control, influence or are fighting the government in least 43 percent of the country, according to data from Washington.
KABUL: At least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed and five others wounded in a Taliban attack on a military base in Afghanistan's Kandahar province, official sources said. A group of insurgents on Thursday night attacked a military base in the Shah Wali Kot district, killing at least 15 soldiers, defense ministry spokesperson Dawlat Waziri told Efe news on Friday. Waziri added that the Taliban insurgents also suffered casualties, but did not provide precise figures. This is the second attack in Shah Wali Kot within the last three days, as 10 soldiers and 12 insurgents were killed in another Taliban attack on the base and a check post early Tuesday morning. Despite this, Waziri said "now the security situation of district is good and the district is under control of our security forces." On the night of May 20, a total of 20 policemen were killed and about a dozen more wounded in attacks by the Taliban on several check posts in the neighbouring Zabul province. The attacks are part of the so-called spring offensive launched by the Taliban in late April. Since the NATO combat mission ended in January 2015, the insurgents have been gaining ground in various parts of Afghanistan and currently control, influence or are fighting the government in least 43 percent of the country, according to data from Washington.
By PTI
ISLAMABAD: A mortar fired by Iranian forces today killed a man in Panjgur district of Pakistan's south- western Balochistan province.
Commissioner Makran, Bashir Bangulzai, said that the mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk, and causing extensive damage nearby.
Jan was travelling in the vehicle. His body was shifted to a local hospital.
"We have informed provincial and federal governments about the Iranian violation," Bangulzai said. Security forces reached the site of the attack and cordon off the area. They have started a probe into the incident.
The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory.
There is tension between the two countries since April 26 when 10 Iranian border guards were killed in a militant attack near the border.
Iran accused that militants hiding in Pakistan were involved in the attack.
ISLAMABAD: A mortar fired by Iranian forces today killed a man in Panjgur district of Pakistan's south- western Balochistan province. Commissioner Makran, Bashir Bangulzai, said that the mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk, and causing extensive damage nearby. Jan was travelling in the vehicle. His body was shifted to a local hospital. "We have informed provincial and federal governments about the Iranian violation," Bangulzai said. Security forces reached the site of the attack and cordon off the area. They have started a probe into the incident. The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory. There is tension between the two countries since April 26 when 10 Iranian border guards were killed in a militant attack near the border. Iran accused that militants hiding in Pakistan were involved in the attack.
Daniel Thimmayya By
Express News Service
KANSAS CITY: It is the Memorial Day weekend and Olathe, Kansas is living up to its reputation of being a quiet mid-western US town where little happens and everybody is exceedingly polite.
Hundred days later, the town is doing its best to move on despite the Trump administration's moves on immigration, visa control and other policies fuelling resentment in some pockets across the US.
It's not until you bring up the 'incident' and people do use a whole set of adjectives to describe it, be it horrific, terrible or embarrassing, with an appropriate amount of hush in their voices that you're reminded that this was the site of one of the most disturbing racially motivated attacks against Indians in recent history.
Going back isn't the tough part, reliving that night is
Alok Madasani was there. And in some ways, the events of February 22 will probably live with him, especially considering he's decided to continue in Olathe. "Initially, people back home made a few statements (about how they were scared for my safety in the US) but they understand I am an adult and I had to take a call and I am back (at work)," he said, when we visited him at Garmin, the tech giant where he and his friend Srinivas Kuchibotla worked.
Srinivas and Alok, who had met in 2008 after they finished their Masters degree in the US, had been friends and colleagues until the shooting cut the story tragically short. The duo had been hanging out at Austins Bar and Grill, which looked like a hundred other strip malls that we had seen across America, when a man named Adam Purinton accosted them, accused them of being illegal immigrants and after a brief exchange of words where Srinivas insisted they were there on H1B visas, he left only to return with a firearm blazing. Srinivas never made it out alive, while Alok and another American Ian Grillot who tried to intervene, got shot in their hands and feet.
It's the kind of thing that can make you want to throw in the towel and head back home where gun violence is nearly non-existent and you are less likely to be called an Iranian. Despite all that, Alok decided he needed to get back to work, because his American dream and lure of a better life trumped those concerns.
"There has never been a doubt that I don't belong here. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here and continue to do the same. Being back at work at Garmin has helped me transition back to, I won't say normal yet, but I'm getting back to work and talking about it has helped me move away from that," added the Hyderabad-born, Warangal-raised techie. "One incident shouldn't mar the great opportunities that this country has," he said.
'I am staying away from Srinivas' family because they're in a lot of pain'
He's not the only one who's back after the tragedy. Sunayana Dumala, Srinivas' widow, has also returned. "I have been in touch with Sunayana and his family and it's not something that I can do freely now because I was there that day and the more I try to talk to them the more I feel like I'm invoking memories of that day. I can't fathom the pain they're going through even now. It won't go any time soon. I'm still trying to maintain some distance from them," he said. "Sunayana is a very strong woman and she is spreading the message that everyone should live without fear," he said.
Though the Indian community at large has been shouting about how they find acts of discrimination rising in the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency, Alok indicates how things are very 'friendly' in the mid-west. "To be honest, my perception about America hasn't changed. We came here to study and we had this great opportunity to work here and the political environment is not something we think about. During, before and after the shooting, neither my family nor my friends have considered us as outsiders in America," said the 32-year-old who is going to become a father soon.
In Kansas, random people want to know if he's okay
One of the upsides of the shooting is the way the people of Oletha and Kansas have really stood up and shown their support. "When I go to Target to get groceries, random people recognise me and ask me how I am doing now. They don't ask me about that night but they ask about whether we're OK and then they let me go. That's the best thing about Kansas," he explained, adding how relatives and friends whom he hadn't spoken to in years had now reconnected and have been constantly in touch over the past three months, "because they know I went through something that nobody should have to go through".
Governor Brownback's glad someone stood up to discrimination and took a bullet for it the Kansas way
The Kansas community is a huge talking point for Governor Sam Brownback, a career Republican, who was most recently billed as someone that President Trump was considering for Ambassadorial position. Admitting that the whole shooting has left him 'embarrassed', he said he was glad that Srinivas and Alok stood up for themselves in the face of adversity. "It doesn't reflect who we are as Kansans. I was glad that somebody stood up and said 'No, this is wrong' and took a bullet for it. That's why we have honoured him. It was a tragedy and it shouldn't have happened," he said. Brownback, who is pro-immigration and is against abortion, also added that they would be throwing the book at the shooter. "As a government, we will be prosecuting the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law. It is wrong and we're not going to stand for it. Period!"
Though he is somebody whose views are strongly aligned with the White House, Brownback conceded that the Trump campaign has created a climate of divisiveness. "I can say that there been a divisiveness that's grown since this election cycle. There seems to be heightened anger and vitriol that I think is not good. Social media also feeds these camps and it just gets shriller and shriller and that's lamentable," he said with a shrug, seated in his decadent Capitol Building office in Topeka, Kansas.
'We need more Indians and immigrants in Kansas'
Reflecting on immigration, he said that he was a big fan of the H1B visa. "I have supported H1B visas and we should do more of them. In Kansas we need people. We got just under three million people in a large State. We have jobs. We need people. So we're constantly trolling for good people," he said. Pressed to talk about whether Trump's van would hit states like his, he merely retorted, "It's been a tough debate on immigration debate. We're all immigrants other than the native Indians. My family is German eight generations ago." Enough said.
KANSAS CITY: It is the Memorial Day weekend and Olathe, Kansas is living up to its reputation of being a quiet mid-western US town where little happens and everybody is exceedingly polite. Hundred days later, the town is doing its best to move on despite the Trump administration's moves on immigration, visa control and other policies fuelling resentment in some pockets across the US. It's not until you bring up the 'incident' and people do use a whole set of adjectives to describe it, be it horrific, terrible or embarrassing, with an appropriate amount of hush in their voices that you're reminded that this was the site of one of the most disturbing racially motivated attacks against Indians in recent history. Going back isn't the tough part, reliving that night is Alok Madasani was there. And in some ways, the events of February 22 will probably live with him, especially considering he's decided to continue in Olathe. "Initially, people back home made a few statements (about how they were scared for my safety in the US) but they understand I am an adult and I had to take a call and I am back (at work)," he said, when we visited him at Garmin, the tech giant where he and his friend Srinivas Kuchibotla worked. Srinivas and Alok, who had met in 2008 after they finished their Masters degree in the US, had been friends and colleagues until the shooting cut the story tragically short. The duo had been hanging out at Austins Bar and Grill, which looked like a hundred other strip malls that we had seen across America, when a man named Adam Purinton accosted them, accused them of being illegal immigrants and after a brief exchange of words where Srinivas insisted they were there on H1B visas, he left only to return with a firearm blazing. Srinivas never made it out alive, while Alok and another American Ian Grillot who tried to intervene, got shot in their hands and feet. It's the kind of thing that can make you want to throw in the towel and head back home where gun violence is nearly non-existent and you are less likely to be called an Iranian. Despite all that, Alok decided he needed to get back to work, because his American dream and lure of a better life trumped those concerns. "There has never been a doubt that I don't belong here. I have thoroughly enjoyed my stay here and continue to do the same. Being back at work at Garmin has helped me transition back to, I won't say normal yet, but I'm getting back to work and talking about it has helped me move away from that," added the Hyderabad-born, Warangal-raised techie. "One incident shouldn't mar the great opportunities that this country has," he said. 'I am staying away from Srinivas' family because they're in a lot of pain' He's not the only one who's back after the tragedy. Sunayana Dumala, Srinivas' widow, has also returned. "I have been in touch with Sunayana and his family and it's not something that I can do freely now because I was there that day and the more I try to talk to them the more I feel like I'm invoking memories of that day. I can't fathom the pain they're going through even now. It won't go any time soon. I'm still trying to maintain some distance from them," he said. "Sunayana is a very strong woman and she is spreading the message that everyone should live without fear," he said. Though the Indian community at large has been shouting about how they find acts of discrimination rising in the first six months of Donald Trump's presidency, Alok indicates how things are very 'friendly' in the mid-west. "To be honest, my perception about America hasn't changed. We came here to study and we had this great opportunity to work here and the political environment is not something we think about. During, before and after the shooting, neither my family nor my friends have considered us as outsiders in America," said the 32-year-old who is going to become a father soon. In Kansas, random people want to know if he's okay One of the upsides of the shooting is the way the people of Oletha and Kansas have really stood up and shown their support. "When I go to Target to get groceries, random people recognise me and ask me how I am doing now. They don't ask me about that night but they ask about whether we're OK and then they let me go. That's the best thing about Kansas," he explained, adding how relatives and friends whom he hadn't spoken to in years had now reconnected and have been constantly in touch over the past three months, "because they know I went through something that nobody should have to go through". Governor Brownback's glad someone stood up to discrimination and took a bullet for it the Kansas way The Kansas community is a huge talking point for Governor Sam Brownback, a career Republican, who was most recently billed as someone that President Trump was considering for Ambassadorial position. Admitting that the whole shooting has left him 'embarrassed', he said he was glad that Srinivas and Alok stood up for themselves in the face of adversity. "It doesn't reflect who we are as Kansans. I was glad that somebody stood up and said 'No, this is wrong' and took a bullet for it. That's why we have honoured him. It was a tragedy and it shouldn't have happened," he said. Brownback, who is pro-immigration and is against abortion, also added that they would be throwing the book at the shooter. "As a government, we will be prosecuting the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law. It is wrong and we're not going to stand for it. Period!" Though he is somebody whose views are strongly aligned with the White House, Brownback conceded that the Trump campaign has created a climate of divisiveness. "I can say that there been a divisiveness that's grown since this election cycle. There seems to be heightened anger and vitriol that I think is not good. Social media also feeds these camps and it just gets shriller and shriller and that's lamentable," he said with a shrug, seated in his decadent Capitol Building office in Topeka, Kansas. 'We need more Indians and immigrants in Kansas' Reflecting on immigration, he said that he was a big fan of the H1B visa. "I have supported H1B visas and we should do more of them. In Kansas we need people. We got just under three million people in a large State. We have jobs. We need people. So we're constantly trolling for good people," he said. Pressed to talk about whether Trump's van would hit states like his, he merely retorted, "It's been a tough debate on immigration debate. We're all immigrants other than the native Indians. My family is German eight generations ago." Enough said.
By Associated Press
QUETTA: Pakistani authorities reopened the main Chaman border crossing at Afghanistan's request after shutting it down earlier this month when the two sides traded fire there, killing 15 people on both sides, the military said Saturday.
The move comes on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Pakistan. In a statement, the Pakistani military said the border was reopened Saturday on "humanitarian grounds." Kabul welcomed the decision.
The statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghans were killed on May 5. Pakistan says the violence began when Afghan forces opened fire on census workers and troops escorting them. Kabul blames Pakistan for initiating the gunfire.
Mohammad Sharif Gharzi, an official from the Afghan passport department at Spin Boldak, said after negotiations between officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan the border reopened around 4 p.m. local time on Saturday.
"We welcome the opening of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan at Spin Boldak," said Gharzi.
He added that given the pressure on locals of fasting during Ramadan, this was "great news for all".
Pakistan shares a 2,200-kilometer- (1,375 mile-) long porous border with Afghanistan.
Also Saturday, a Pakistani oil tanker driver was killed when his vehicle was hit by a mortar round fired by the Iranian border force in the Panjgur area of the southwestern Baluchistan province bordering Iran, said Abdul Jabbar, an administrator in the district.
Abdul Jabbar said the incident would be raised at the upcoming flag meeting of border officials from both countries.
QUETTA: Pakistani authorities reopened the main Chaman border crossing at Afghanistan's request after shutting it down earlier this month when the two sides traded fire there, killing 15 people on both sides, the military said Saturday. The move comes on the first day of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan in Pakistan. In a statement, the Pakistani military said the border was reopened Saturday on "humanitarian grounds." Kabul welcomed the decision. The statement said Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a ceasefire in the border town of Chaman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghans were killed on May 5. Pakistan says the violence began when Afghan forces opened fire on census workers and troops escorting them. Kabul blames Pakistan for initiating the gunfire. Mohammad Sharif Gharzi, an official from the Afghan passport department at Spin Boldak, said after negotiations between officials from Afghanistan and Pakistan the border reopened around 4 p.m. local time on Saturday. "We welcome the opening of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan at Spin Boldak," said Gharzi. He added that given the pressure on locals of fasting during Ramadan, this was "great news for all". Pakistan shares a 2,200-kilometer- (1,375 mile-) long porous border with Afghanistan. Also Saturday, a Pakistani oil tanker driver was killed when his vehicle was hit by a mortar round fired by the Iranian border force in the Panjgur area of the southwestern Baluchistan province bordering Iran, said Abdul Jabbar, an administrator in the district. Abdul Jabbar said the incident would be raised at the upcoming flag meeting of border officials from both countries.
By AFP
PARIS: France's new President Emmanuel Macron will hold delicate talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday with the two countries harbouring longstanding differences over Ukraine and Syria.
Coming just three weeks after an election in which the Kremlin was widely seen as backing centrist Macron's far-right rival Marine Le Pen -- with Putin hosting her during a surprise visit to Moscow -- the encounter in Versailles, near Paris, has an added personal edge.
As a candidate, Macron, 39, had tough words for Russia, accusing it of following a "hybrid strategy combining military intimidation and an information war".
Since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia has flexed its muscles with a series of war games involving tens of thousands of troops in areas bordering NATO Baltic states.
Macron criticised Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and "shows of force in Syria or alongside our coastlines and airspaces, (and) the use of social media or state-controlled media to destabilise public opinion".
But he said it was essential to "keep dialogue open with Moscow" -- while government spokesman Christophe Castaner said Friday that "dialogue does not mean agreement".
Ahead of Monday's meeting, the two countries' foreign ministers spoke by telephone on Friday, the Russian foreign ministry said.
Interesting and frank
Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov has described the visit as an "informal" occasion that will nevertheless touch on some tough issues.
"France is among the countries with a very severe stance towards the regime of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad, so I think a discussion on this subject will be interesting and frank," Ushakov told a Moscow news briefing.
France President Emmanuel Macron | AP
The stakes are high for Russia, said Fyodor Lukyanov of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy. "It's obvious that the Russian side wants to break the impasse," he told AFP in Moscow.
"One shouldn't expect anything from this visit," he added, however. "It's a matter of the two leaders getting to know each other and to create a positive ambiance -- or not."
Putin, 64, was quick to congratulate Macron on his election, urging him to "overcome mutual distrust" and "join forces to ensure international stability and security".
The visit comes seven months after the Russian leader cancelled a trip to Paris for the opening of a Russian cathedral complex near the Eiffel Tower in a spat over Syria with then president Francois Hollande, who had said Russia's bombing of Aleppo could amount to war crimes.
France had helped spearhead the EU's economic sanctions on Russia over the seizure of Crimea and backing for insurgents in the east of the former Soviet republic.
Macron has called for the "de-escalation" of the sanctions, which have seriously dented EU-Russia trade.
Moscow has much to gain from a rapprochement with Paris, said Thomas Gomart, head of the French international relations think tank IFRI.
"Russia realises that on the economic front it remains oriented towards the EU," which relies on Russia for about a third of its gas supplies, with half of that amount transiting through Ukraine.
In addition, "Putin wants to try to correct the very negative image he left during the presidential campaign, particularly by hosting Marine Le Pen", Gomart told AFP.
The venue will be the sumptuous palace of Versailles, where the pair will inaugurate an exhibition marking 300 years of Franco-Russian ties since the visit of Russia's modernising tsar Peter the Great to France in 1717.
"The idea is to stress... the duration and depth of the link between the two countries," a Macron aide said.
Gomart noted that while the visit is early in Macron's presidency, it follows trips by the new leader to Berlin and the NATO summit in Brussels.
"It's a message that serves as a reminder that the French priority is Germany and the European project, while Moscow had banked on the disintegration of Europe," Gomart said.
Pragmatic
Russia's ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, said Moscow had a "positive perception" of Macron, describing him as "very intelligent, realistic and pragmatic".
"He's not very ideological compared with his predecessors," Orlov told a meeting of business leaders last week. "With him we have more chances of moving forward than before."
That would mean overcoming raw feelings over a raft of cyberattacks on Macron's election campaign that his aides have blamed on Russia, accusing the Kremlin of mounting a "smear campaign" against him.
On the eve of Putin's visit, central and eastern European activists plan a demonstration in Paris to denounce "the warlike behaviour of... Putin's Russia."
Organisers of the Sunday march said Russia had a "strategy of general hostility towards Europe".
PARIS: France's new President Emmanuel Macron will hold delicate talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday with the two countries harbouring longstanding differences over Ukraine and Syria. Coming just three weeks after an election in which the Kremlin was widely seen as backing centrist Macron's far-right rival Marine Le Pen -- with Putin hosting her during a surprise visit to Moscow -- the encounter in Versailles, near Paris, has an added personal edge. As a candidate, Macron, 39, had tough words for Russia, accusing it of following a "hybrid strategy combining military intimidation and an information war". Since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia has flexed its muscles with a series of war games involving tens of thousands of troops in areas bordering NATO Baltic states. Macron criticised Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea and "shows of force in Syria or alongside our coastlines and airspaces, (and) the use of social media or state-controlled media to destabilise public opinion". But he said it was essential to "keep dialogue open with Moscow" -- while government spokesman Christophe Castaner said Friday that "dialogue does not mean agreement". Ahead of Monday's meeting, the two countries' foreign ministers spoke by telephone on Friday, the Russian foreign ministry said. Interesting and frank Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov has described the visit as an "informal" occasion that will nevertheless touch on some tough issues. "France is among the countries with a very severe stance towards the regime of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad, so I think a discussion on this subject will be interesting and frank," Ushakov told a Moscow news briefing. France President Emmanuel Macron | APThe stakes are high for Russia, said Fyodor Lukyanov of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy. "It's obvious that the Russian side wants to break the impasse," he told AFP in Moscow. "One shouldn't expect anything from this visit," he added, however. "It's a matter of the two leaders getting to know each other and to create a positive ambiance -- or not." Putin, 64, was quick to congratulate Macron on his election, urging him to "overcome mutual distrust" and "join forces to ensure international stability and security". The visit comes seven months after the Russian leader cancelled a trip to Paris for the opening of a Russian cathedral complex near the Eiffel Tower in a spat over Syria with then president Francois Hollande, who had said Russia's bombing of Aleppo could amount to war crimes. France had helped spearhead the EU's economic sanctions on Russia over the seizure of Crimea and backing for insurgents in the east of the former Soviet republic. Macron has called for the "de-escalation" of the sanctions, which have seriously dented EU-Russia trade. Moscow has much to gain from a rapprochement with Paris, said Thomas Gomart, head of the French international relations think tank IFRI. "Russia realises that on the economic front it remains oriented towards the EU," which relies on Russia for about a third of its gas supplies, with half of that amount transiting through Ukraine. In addition, "Putin wants to try to correct the very negative image he left during the presidential campaign, particularly by hosting Marine Le Pen", Gomart told AFP. The venue will be the sumptuous palace of Versailles, where the pair will inaugurate an exhibition marking 300 years of Franco-Russian ties since the visit of Russia's modernising tsar Peter the Great to France in 1717. "The idea is to stress... the duration and depth of the link between the two countries," a Macron aide said. Gomart noted that while the visit is early in Macron's presidency, it follows trips by the new leader to Berlin and the NATO summit in Brussels. "It's a message that serves as a reminder that the French priority is Germany and the European project, while Moscow had banked on the disintegration of Europe," Gomart said. Pragmatic Russia's ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, said Moscow had a "positive perception" of Macron, describing him as "very intelligent, realistic and pragmatic". "He's not very ideological compared with his predecessors," Orlov told a meeting of business leaders last week. "With him we have more chances of moving forward than before." That would mean overcoming raw feelings over a raft of cyberattacks on Macron's election campaign that his aides have blamed on Russia, accusing the Kremlin of mounting a "smear campaign" against him. On the eve of Putin's visit, central and eastern European activists plan a demonstration in Paris to denounce "the warlike behaviour of... Putin's Russia." Organisers of the Sunday march said Russia had a "strategy of general hostility towards Europe".
CHARLESTON A motorcyclist died from injuries he received in an accident that also involved a four-door Mazda in northern Coles County on Friday morning.
Michael A. Elam, 55, of rural Hutton was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, Coles County Coroner Ed Schniers said.
The motorcycle was eastbound on County Road 1000N about two miles east of Loxa Road when it collided with the Mazda about 8:21 a.m. Friday, according to Illinois State Police. Schniers said the Mazda was westbound and struck the motorcycle head-on.
Elam was a retired Eastern Illinois University police officer.
Illinois State Police released information about the accident late Friday. Police said the 2014 blue Mazda four-door vehicle driven by Vanessa Cappiello, 26, of Rochester, N.Y., was westbound behind a white 2008 Freightliner, hauling a semitruck, driven by Gary R. Morris, 69, of Mattoon.
Cappiello attempted to use the eastbound lane to pass the semi, ISP reported, and did not see Elam, riding a 2003 Harley Davidson motorcycle, traveling eastbound in the eastbound lane. As a result, the Mazda and the motorcycle struck head on, police reported.
Cappiello was cited for improper overtaking on the left and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, ISP stated.
By AFP
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka stepped up its military-led relief operations Saturday as nearly half a million people were displaced after a monsoon deluge killed at least 122 people and threatened more flooding.
Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of the island and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water, the authorities said.
The official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said a total of 122 people were confirmed dead while 97 remained missing. Another 49 injured in landslides were hospitalised.
"Most of the fatalities were due to landslides and only a very few drowned," said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne who is also the health minister.
He said nearly 500,000 people were forced from their homes and most of them had moved into temporary shelters.
The military led search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road.
At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to higher ground for burial.
The military vehicles also ferried villagers along roads converted into riverways by the rainfall, passing submerged traffic signs and flooded houses.
There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the island's gem capital, which was also flooded. The authorities arranged funerals for dozens of victims.
WATCH: Rescue workers intensify search for survivors
The deluge caused the Nilwala river to burst its banks, threatening to submerge a large number of villages, the DMC said.
It warned thousands of villagers living near the Nilwala to evacuate to higher ground.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, travelled to Kalutara, one of the worst affected districts south of Colombo, to supervise relief operations.
"The government will give new houses to those who lost their houses," he tweeted.
The authorities dropped thousands of life jackets for marooned people in a bid to protect them until they could be moved to safer ground.
International aid
An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday and a second vessel was expected on Monday, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said.
The United Nations said it will give water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.
Save the Children warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the country.
The charity's Sri Lanka country director Chris McIvo said: "We're particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake."
Pakistan said it was in talks with Colombo to send relief supplies. Islamabad recently gave 10,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka to help drought victims.
The meterological department said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said.
Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing over 100 people.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka stepped up its military-led relief operations Saturday as nearly half a million people were displaced after a monsoon deluge killed at least 122 people and threatened more flooding. Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of the island and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water, the authorities said. The official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said a total of 122 people were confirmed dead while 97 remained missing. Another 49 injured in landslides were hospitalised. "Most of the fatalities were due to landslides and only a very few drowned," said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne who is also the health minister. He said nearly 500,000 people were forced from their homes and most of them had moved into temporary shelters. The military led search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road. At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to higher ground for burial. The military vehicles also ferried villagers along roads converted into riverways by the rainfall, passing submerged traffic signs and flooded houses. There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the island's gem capital, which was also flooded. The authorities arranged funerals for dozens of victims. WATCH: Rescue workers intensify search for survivors The deluge caused the Nilwala river to burst its banks, threatening to submerge a large number of villages, the DMC said. It warned thousands of villagers living near the Nilwala to evacuate to higher ground. President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, travelled to Kalutara, one of the worst affected districts south of Colombo, to supervise relief operations. "The government will give new houses to those who lost their houses," he tweeted. The authorities dropped thousands of life jackets for marooned people in a bid to protect them until they could be moved to safer ground. International aid An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday and a second vessel was expected on Monday, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said. The United Nations said it will give water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas. Save the Children warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the country. The charity's Sri Lanka country director Chris McIvo said: "We're particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake." Pakistan said it was in talks with Colombo to send relief supplies. Islamabad recently gave 10,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka to help drought victims. The meterological department said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation. The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said. Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing over 100 people.
By PTI
LONDON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted extremists must be wiped out and that "fires for justice" were burning hot over the Manchester attack, during a solidarity visit to Britain today.
Tillerson joined his British counterpart Boris Johnson at the foreign secretary's official residence in London to write a message in the book of condolence for victims of Monday's suicide bombing, which killed 22 people.
Tillerson wrote that the attack broke people's hearts all across the United States.
Britain was renowned for its "strength in times of darkness" and would not be broken by terror, he told reporters after 90-minute talks with Johnson. "Even as our ally and friend mourns, the fires for justice burn very hot in all of our hearts," Tillerson added.
"We will drive out the terrorists and the extremists... we must drive them off the face of the Earth." Priests, rabbis and "every imam in every mosque must condemn the souls of those who carried out these attacks."
Tillerson's first official visit to the UK was a previously unscheduled stop on his return to the United States from yesterday's NATO summit in Brussels.
The Manchester attack was perpetrated by Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old born and brought up in a Libyan family in the city he targeted.
Both secretaries acknowledged there were problems in properly integrating immigrant communities.
Tillerson said Western countries had to address their "inability to assimilate people", while Johnson said immigrants "have to become British".
"We seem to have difficulty assimilating those people so that they feel part of our society and would never consider supporting acts of violence against their fellow citizens and their fellow neighbours," Tillerson explained.
Johnson said Britain should aspire to achieve integration.
"But I'm not going to pretend to you that every individual and every community feels as well-adjusted as they should," the former London mayor said.
"When people come to this country, they have to become British. And if they're going to live here and work here, they must become part of our society and espouse its values."
British investigators have shared information on the Manchester attack with their closest defence ally, but repeated leaks of the material out of Washington have infuriated London.
Tillerson tried to provide reassurance during his visit.
He said the United States took "full responsibility" for the leak of pictures and details shared by the British investigators.
"We condemn that," he said.
"We take full responsibility for that and we obviously regret that that happened."
The "special relationship" between London and Washington "will certainly withstand this particular unfortunate event," Tillerson added.
LONDON: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson insisted extremists must be wiped out and that "fires for justice" were burning hot over the Manchester attack, during a solidarity visit to Britain today. Tillerson joined his British counterpart Boris Johnson at the foreign secretary's official residence in London to write a message in the book of condolence for victims of Monday's suicide bombing, which killed 22 people. Tillerson wrote that the attack broke people's hearts all across the United States. Britain was renowned for its "strength in times of darkness" and would not be broken by terror, he told reporters after 90-minute talks with Johnson. "Even as our ally and friend mourns, the fires for justice burn very hot in all of our hearts," Tillerson added. "We will drive out the terrorists and the extremists... we must drive them off the face of the Earth." Priests, rabbis and "every imam in every mosque must condemn the souls of those who carried out these attacks." Tillerson's first official visit to the UK was a previously unscheduled stop on his return to the United States from yesterday's NATO summit in Brussels. The Manchester attack was perpetrated by Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old born and brought up in a Libyan family in the city he targeted. Both secretaries acknowledged there were problems in properly integrating immigrant communities. Tillerson said Western countries had to address their "inability to assimilate people", while Johnson said immigrants "have to become British". "We seem to have difficulty assimilating those people so that they feel part of our society and would never consider supporting acts of violence against their fellow citizens and their fellow neighbours," Tillerson explained. Johnson said Britain should aspire to achieve integration. "But I'm not going to pretend to you that every individual and every community feels as well-adjusted as they should," the former London mayor said. "When people come to this country, they have to become British. And if they're going to live here and work here, they must become part of our society and espouse its values." British investigators have shared information on the Manchester attack with their closest defence ally, but repeated leaks of the material out of Washington have infuriated London. Tillerson tried to provide reassurance during his visit. He said the United States took "full responsibility" for the leak of pictures and details shared by the British investigators. "We condemn that," he said. "We take full responsibility for that and we obviously regret that that happened." The "special relationship" between London and Washington "will certainly withstand this particular unfortunate event," Tillerson added.
Fallen Chester police Officer James Brockmeyer was honored twice last week in Springfield.
House Resolution 157, mourning the death of Brockmeyer, sponsored by State Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Smithton, passed Thursday. In the Senate, Senate Joint Resolution 22, sponsored by Paul Schimpf, R-Waterloo, advanced. The resolution would name part of Illinois 3 in Chester after Brockmeyer.
Brockmeyer, 22, died in the line of duty Oct. 28 pursuing Jason Stoker in a high-speed chase, according to police. Brockmeyers vehicle crashed along Palestine Road in rural Randolph County. Stoker is being charged with first-degree murder in Brockmeyers death. He is scheduled to sit before a Randolph County Jury later this summer.
This young man was one of our best and one of our brightest," Schimpf said on the Senate floor Thursday, flanked by friends and family of Brockmeyer. "He epitomized everything that is good about our first responders and his loss was a tragic blow not only to his family but also to the City of Chester.
I cant think of a more fitting tribute to Officer Brockmeyer than to have a section of Illinois Route 3 from Water Street to State Street in Chester named as the Officer James I. Brockmeyer Memorial Highway, he said.
The resolution passed with 58 yeas and one senator not voting. The resolution now makes its way to the House, where it will be sponsored by Costello. If it passes both chambers, the city of Chester and the Illinois Department of Transportation will work out the details of marking the memorial stretch of highway.
Its symbolic in that our officers mean a lot to us in the community, Chester Police Chief Ryan Coffey said.
What's next for Middletown after school regionalization fails
With the most recent version of regionalization off the table Middletown is now looking at Plan B.
Climate change may keep you awake -- and not just metaphorically. Nights that are warmer than normal can harm human sleep, researchers show in a new paper, with the poor and elderly most affected. According to their findings, if climate change is not addressed, temperatures in 2050 could cost people in the United States millions of additional nights of insufficient sleep per year. By 2099, the figure could rise by several hundred million more nights of lost sleep annually.
The study was led by Nick Obradovich, who conducted much of the research as a doctoral student in political science at the University of California San Diego. He was inspired to investigate the question by the heat wave that hit San Diego in October of 2015. Obradovich was having trouble sleeping. He tossed and he turned, the window AC in his North Park home providing little relief from the record-breaking temperatures. At school, he noticed that fellow students were also looking grumpy and bedraggled, and it got him thinking: Had anyone looked at what climate change might do to sleep?
Published by Science Advances, the research represents the largest real-world study to date to find a relationship between reports of insufficient sleep and unusually warm nighttime temperatures. It is the first to apply the discovered relationship to projected climate change.
"Sleep has been well-established by other researchers as a critical component of human health. Too little sleep can make a person more susceptible to disease and chronic illness, and it can harm psychological well-being and cognitive functioning," Obradovich said. "What our study shows is not only that ambient temperature can play a role in disrupting sleep but also that climate change might make the situation worse by driving up rates of sleep loss."
Obradovich is now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab. He is also a fellow of the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at UC San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Obradovich worked on the study with Robyn Migliorini, a student in the San Diego State University/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, and sleep researcher Sara Mednick of UC Riverside. Obradovich's dissertation advisor, social scientist James Fowler of UC San Diego, is also a co-author.
The study starts with data from 765,000 U.S. residents between 2002 and 2011 who responded to a public health survey, the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study then links data on self-reported nights of insufficient sleep to daily temperature data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. Finally, it combines the effects of unusually warm temperatures on sleep with climate model projections.
The main finding is that anomalous increases in nighttime temperature by 1 degree Celsius translate to three nights of insufficient sleep per 100 individuals per month. To put that in perspective: If we had a single month of nightly temperatures averaging 1 degree Celsius higher than normal, that is equivalent to 9 million more nights of insufficient sleep in a month across the population of the United States today, or 110 million extra nights of insufficient sleep annually.
The negative effect of warmer nights is most acute in summer, the research shows. It is almost three times as high in summer as during any other season.
The effect is also not spread evenly across all demographic groups. Those whose income is below $50,000 and those who are aged 65 and older are affected most severely. For older people, the effect is twice that of younger adults. And for the lower-income group, it is three times worse than for people who are better off financially.
Using climate projections for 2050 and 2099 by NASA Earth Exchange, the study paints a bleak picture of the future if the relationship between warmer nights and disrupted sleep persists. Warmer temperatures could cause six additional nights of insufficient sleep per 100 individuals by 2050 and approximately 14 extra nights per 100 by 2099.
"The U.S. is relatively temperate and, in global terms, quite prosperous," Obradovich said. "We don't have sleep data from around the world, but assuming the pattern is similar, one can imagine that in places that are warmer or poorer or both, what we'd find could be even worse."
With antiretroviral drugs, HIV has become a manageable chronic condition, but only so long as patients continue to take the medication. A large new Brown University study finds substantial momentum in that direction. The study, which examined a national sample of Medicaid patients, showed that , the median duration of persisting with treatment increased by more than 50 percent over the decade 2001 to 2010.
"This represents a lot of people who are not dying and not infecting others," said Dr. Ira Wilson, corresponding author of the new study in AIDS and chair of Health Services Policy and Practice department in the Brown University School of Public Health. "These differences represent tremendous, very real benefit."
Graduate student Bora Youn led the research, which tracked Medicaid claims to measure medication persistence among 43,598 HIV patients in 14 states over the decade. Persistence refers to the time from starting treatment to discontinuing it. The study also compared those rates to persistence with medications for other chronic conditions among hundreds of thousands more patients without HIV-infection.
In 2001-2003, half of patients stopped taking HIV medications 23.9 months after starting them, but by 2004-2006 the median of persistence reached 35.4 months. In the final study period, 2007-2010, more than half the patients were still taking the medications by the study's end, so the median had not even been reached. Statistical analysis that adjusted for possible confounding factors confirmed that the last group of patients had a reduced risk of discontinuing their medications compared to patients at the beginning of the decade.
A few other studies have shown a similar trend, but they have been based on data from advanced, individual clinics, Wilson said. This study is the first to show progress among a broad-based, low-income population.
Youn and Wilson agreed that while results showing strong increases in treatment persistence over a decade were encouraging, they acknowledged that it's still a major problem that so many people apparently discontinue HIV medications after a few years. And for all the progress reported in the study, some crucial disparities remained. Everyone improved at about the same pace, but women, blacks and people living in certain states (e.g. Texas and Louisiana) remained more likely to discontinue therapy sooner than men, whites and people living in other states (e.g. Maryland and New Jersey), the researchers found.
"Although it is improving, it is still not optimal," Youn said. "There is lots of room for further improvement. Still many people discontinue therapy in a short period of time."
Wilson, who sees patients in addition to his teaching and research, said there are several reasons why patients discontinue HIV treatment even though it is life-sustaining in the long term. So long as patients are on the medication, many typically have no HIV-related symptoms. Instead what they perceive most immediately is the cost of medicines, and the sometimes significant side effects. There is also still a stigma around HIV that can make taking the drug difficult, for instance if people feel like they'll have to hide it.
In general, adherence to medications for many chronic conditions is poor, Wilson said, yet rigorous persistence with HIV treatment is especially important. Not only does staying on medications preserve the health of patients, but also it reduces the likelihood that the virus will develop drug resistance and it reduces the possibility that a patient could transmit the virus to someone else.
A unique persistence success
A substantial portion of the improvement in HIV treatment persistence appeared to come from the fact that the drugs became much easier to take over the course of the decade. For one thing, some side effects have eased. Also, early in the decade patients might have had to take six pills a day but toward the end of the decade patients could take just one. People in the study on single-pill regimens had a 29 percent lower hazard of discontinuing medication than people on the six-pill regimen.
But when the researchers statistically controlled for regimen, and a variety of patient demographic characteristics, they still saw improvements in persistence. That suggests that more is contributing to the improvement, Wilson and Youn said. The data don't show this, but they suspect that another important factor is a strong national push to emphasize persistence in HIV treatment.
A hint of this comes from their comparison of persistence with HIV treatment and that of treatments for other chronic conditions such cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes. The study showed that HIV treatment persistence has improved markedly at the same time that persistence with other treatments has not. Among hundreds of thousands of HIV-negative Medicaid recipients taking any of the three non-HIV medications, persistence changed very little between 2001-2010, the study showed. Yet at the same time, persistence with those medications did improve markedly among HIV-positive patients who were also on antiretroviral therapy (ART).
"There could be something about using ART or about HIV care settings that improves persistence with other medications," Youn, Wilson and their co-authors wrote in AIDS.
Moreover, they added, "these findings suggest that more systematic efforts to prioritize and support medication adherence at the practice level could improve adherence with chronic medications more generally."
In future studies, the team will continue to update its data, to investigate the potential link between adherence counseling and better persistence and to also measure how consistently patients take their medications, not just whether they continue to take them at all.
SPRINGFIELD Senate Democrats made good Friday on their pledge to pick apart the workers' compensation system at the behest of Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner, but the measures they approved brought only derision from the GOP.
Majority Democrats endorsed one proposal that would require companies writing workers' compensation insurance to get state approval for the rates they charge, and another that creates a nonprofit company with government oversight to write competitive policies.
Here are some questions and answers about the web of rules that ensures compensation for employees injured while on the clock:
Q: Why is this an issues when the state has no budget?
A: Rauner has made cost-cutting workers' comp changes a must before he'll agree to an annual budget something Illinois has been without for two years, longer than any state in modern history. Frustrated Democrats say they're making major concessions because they overhauled the compensation system in 2011.
Q: What is workers' compensation?
A: A Progressive Era reform, Illinois was on the ground floor when it adopted the law in 1912. Workers previously had little recourse if they were hurt on the clock. Workers' compensation created limited liability for employers and set speedy payment for an injured worker who agreed to forgo an uncertain court remedy.
Q: Where does it stand?
A: Rauner's demand for workers' comp reform goes back to when he was a gubernatorial candidate. After he became governor, Democrats told him their 2011 changes meant that medical and replacement-wage payments in Illinois dropped 20 percent, to $1.33 billion, from 2011 to 2015, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, an industry observer. Quoting state statistics, the Midwest Region of the Laborers' International Union of North America reports that insurance premiums that Illinois employers pay for workers' compensation coverage have gone up nearly 15 percent.
Q: Why is there still a problem?
A: That's what Democrats have wondered. An expert, Democratic Rep. Jay Hoffman of Swansea, notes that NCCI has recommended a 29 percent reduction in workers' comp insurance rates during the past seven years.
Q: What did Democrats do?
A: A Hoffman-initiated measure sponsored by Chicago Democratic Sen. Kwame Raoul requires state Insurance Department-approved rates based on market need. It won approval 32-20 but must return to the House for concurrence. The other, sponsored by Glenview Democratic Rep. Laura Fine and Evanston Democratic Sen. Daniel Biss, creates a nonprofit insurance company with oversight from a government board to push down rates by competing for policies like ones in other states.
Q: How did the GOP respond?
A: Senate Republicans derided the workers' compensation legislation as "delay" and "distraction" but not "reform." Rauner's office declined comment. The Illinois Manufacturers' Association issued a statement in opposition.
Q: What changes did Republicans seek?
A: Republicans want arbitrators who determine awards to solely consider American Medical Association guidelines addressing "impairment." Currently, an arbitrator may consider a worker's age, occupation, future earning capacity and other factors. Using only AMA, Democratic Senate President John Cullerton of Chicago says a bus driver and a concert pianist who both lose a finger would get the same award.
Mark Denzler, vice president of the Illinois Manufacturers' Association, says his organization's compromise was that AMA guidelines be the sole guide unless a preponderance of evidence calls other factors into play. He says applying AMA guidelines provides for fair, clearly delineated compensation decisions.
Q: What would Republicans get?
A: There's now a cost-saving, GOP-proposed list outlining eligible prescription drugs. A Republican suggestion speeds up the process for injured first responders. It includes a Rauner-recommended change that allows a company or worker to forgo the cost of an injury report.
The bills are HB2622 and HB2225.
Skull fractures and other head and facial injuries from motorcycle trauma in Michigan have doubled since that state relaxed its motorcycle helmet laws, reports a study in the June issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, the official medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). The new study is one of the first to focus on how helmet laws affect CMF trauma rates.
"Our study demonstrates the negative impact of weakened motorcycle helmet laws leading to decreased helmet use," said lead author Nicholas S. Adams, MD, of Michigan State University College of Human Medicine and Spectrum Health, Grand Rapids. The findings suggest that higher numbers of craniomaxillofacial (CMF) injuries can be added to increased deaths, serious injuries and health care costs when motorcyclists ride without helmets.
'Significant Negative Impact' of Weakening Helmet Laws
The researchers used a state trauma quality improvement database to analyze changes in the rate of CMF injuries to motorcycle riders since the change in Michigan helmet laws. In 2012, Michigan repealed its universal motorcycle helmet law in favor of a partial law. Under the new law, riders are eligible to ride without helmets if they meet criteria for age (over 21), training/experience and insurance coverage.
Trends in CMF injuries were analyzed for three years before and three years after the change in helmet laws. The study included a total of 4,643 motorcycle trauma patients seen at 29 Michigan trauma centers.
Under the new law, the proportion of motorcycle trauma patients who were riding without helmets more than doubled, from 20 to 44 percent. Compared to helmeted patients, those not wearing helmets were about twice as likely to sustain CMF injuries.
The difference was significant for fractures and soft tissue injuries. Patients without helmets had higher injury severity scores. Before and after the change in helmet laws, unhelmeted patients had higher blood alcohol content.
The absolute rate of CMF injuries increased from 25.5 percent under the universal helmet law to 37.2 percent under the partial helmet law. This translated into a relative 46 percent increase in overall CMF injuries, including a 28 percent increase in fractures and a 56 percent increase in soft tissue injuries.
The researchers also noted an increase in certain patterns of facial injuries after the change in helmet laws. Fractures of the cheekbones (malar fractures) increased significantly, as did facial lacerations, contusions and abrasions. All types of injuries were more common in unhelmeted patients.
There is a long history of debate over motorcycle helmet laws. Previous studies have shown that helmets prevent nearly 40 percent of fatal injuries and 13 percent of nonfatal serious injuries. Yet, up to one-third of motorcycle riders do not wear helmets, even more in states without universal helmet laws.
Dr. Adams said, "We urge state and national legislators to reestablish universal motorcycle helmet laws."
Based on their findings, the researchers estimate that wearing a motorcycle helmet can decrease the risk of facial trauma by half, while requiring all riders to wear helmets could decrease facial injuries by more than 30 percent.
Source: http://wolterskluwer.com/company/newsroom/news/2017/05/increased-facial-and-head-injuries-after-motorcycle-helmet-law-change-in-michigan.html
One year after graduating from the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator powered by Techstars, several health-tech startups are swiftly expanding their innovations into hospitals and other healthcare settings for the benefit of patients.
Eleven companies completed the three-month accelerator program last year, and have since begun to make inroads among healthcare providers in the United States and overseas. By utilizing Cedars-Sinai's mentors and tapping into Techstars' network of entrepreneurs and tech experts, these companies have been able to accelerate their growth.
The second accelerator class graduated in March, and the accelerator is now accepting applications for its third class. The deadline is June 9.
"We want to turn ideas into breakthroughs that ultimately lead to better care and better health for patients," said Darren Dworkin, chief information officer at Cedars-Sinai.
Among the companies in the first accelerator class is WELL, a messaging app that helps administrators and care coordinators reach patients between visits. A year ago WELL had just one customer. The software has since been rolled out to more than 120 clinics and doctor's offices at Cedars-Sinai. The company also is now connected to 48 other healthcare provider organizations.
"Before starting the accelerator program, our reach in healthcare was 0.00001 percent," says co-founder Guillame De Zwirek. "The difference is amazing."
Other accelerator graduates include Stasis Labs, creator of a bedside health monitoring system that connects to the cloud, allowing doctors to intervene before patients experience critical events. Stasis Labs is expanding to overseas markets, including several large cities in India, and was recently featured in INC as one of the top 30 global emerging companies of 2017 as selected by the Kairos Society, a nonprofit that helps fund young entrepreneurs.
Another successful graduate getting significant traction and accolades is Deep 6 AI. It finds patients for clinical trials in minutes, bringing lifesaving treatments and cures to patients faster. The company has signed several hospitals and contract research organizations since completing the accelerator program. Deep 6 AI also won the Enterprise and Smart Data category at the South by Southwest Conference & Festivals 2017 and met with former Vice President Joe Biden to discuss how it can play a role as part of the Biden Foundation Cancer Initiative.
Another accelerator graduate, Inscope Medical, recently received Food and Drug Administration clearance for a new disposable video laryngoscope that improves and speeds up intubation, and is now poised to capitalize on various health system relationships it made during the program. The company has begun a limited market release in four hospitals and is preparing for a nationwide launch this fall.
A fourth accelerator company, Silversheet, has built a web-based platform that simplifies hiring and onboarding for doctors and other healthcare professionals. The company now has more than 100 customers around the country, including hospitals, urgent care centers and surgical networks, more than doubling its number of users in the last year. It recently launched a hiring solution to help facilities identify and hire the best staff.
Source: http://www.cedars-sinai.edu/About-Us/News/News-Releases-2017/Health-Tech-Startups-Thriving-One-Year-After-Graduating-From-Cedars-Sinai-Accelerator.aspx
Molina Healthcare, a major insurer in Medicaid and state exchanges across the country, has shut down its online patient portal as it investigates a potential data breach that may have exposed sensitive medical information.
The company said Friday that it closed the online portal for medical claims and other customer information while it examined a "security vulnerability." It's not clear how many patient records might have been exposed and for how long. The company has more than 4.8 million customers in 12 states and Puerto Rico.
"We are in the process of conducting an internal investigation to determine the impact, if any, to our customers' information and will provide any applicable notifications to customers and/or regulatory authorities," Molina said in a statement Friday. "Protecting our members' information is of utmost importance."
Brian Krebs, a well-known cybersecurity expert who runs the Krebs on Security website, said he notified the company of the potential breach earlier this month and wrote about it on his website Thursday. Molina said it was already aware of the security vulnerability when contacted.
Use Our Content This story can be republished for free (details).
Until recently, Krebs said, Molina "was exposing countless patient medical claims to the entire internet without requiring any authentication."
Krebs said the information he saw online included patients' names, addresses, dates of birth and information on their medical procedures and medications.
"It's unconscionable that such a basic, security 101 flaw could still exist at a major health care provider," Krebs said. "This information is more sensitive than credit card data, but it seems less protected."
Krebs said he received an anonymous tip in April from a Molina member who stumbled upon the problem when trying to view his medical claim online. The tipster found that by changing a single number in the website address he could then view other patient claims, according to Krebs.
Krebs said the Molina member showed him screenshots of his own medical records and how when he changed the web address slightly it then displayed records of another patient. On Friday, the Molina website told customers that the online portal was "under maintenance."
Health care companies, hospitals and other providers must report data breaches to U.S. officials. Molina emphasized that it was still investigating the matter so had not yet reported it. Federal regulators can levy significant fines for violations under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA.
Many security experts question the ability of health care companies and providers to safeguard vast troves of electronic medical records and other sensitive data, particularly at a time when cybercriminals are targeting medical information.
Molina, based in Long Beach, Calif., posted $17.8 billion in annual revenue last year.
Molina made news earlier this month with the surprise firing of its top two executives, who are sons of the company's founder. Both CEO J. Mario Molina and his brother, finance chief John Molina, were ousted. The company's board said Molina's disappointing financial performance led to the management change.
Molina has grown more prominent during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, as Medicaid expanded and state insurance exchanges launched. The company serves more than 1 million people through Obamacare exchanges across several states. It has nearly 69,000 enrollees in the Covered California exchange, or about 5 percent of the market.
This story was produced by Kaiser Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation.
New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) reveals that residents of the Mid-Ohio River Valley (from Evansville, Indiana, north to Huntington, West Virginia) had higher than normal levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) based on blood samples collected over a 22-year span. The exposure source was likely from drinking water contaminated by industrial discharges upriver.
The study, appearing in the latest publication of Environmental Pollution, looked at levels of PFOA and 10 other per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in 931 Mid-Ohio River Valley residents, testing blood serum samples collected between 1991 and 2013, to determine whether the Ohio River and Ohio River Aquifer were sources of exposure. This is the first study of PFOA serum concentrations in U.S. residents in the 1990s.
"These Mid-Ohio River Valley residents appear to have had concentrations of PFOA in their bloodstream at higher than average U.S. levels," says Susan Pinney, PhD, professor in the Department of Environmental Health at the UC College of Medicine, a member of both the Cincinnati Cancer Consortium and UC Cancer Institute and senior author of the study.
Ohio River PFOA concentrations downstream were elevated, suggesting Mid-Ohio River Valley residents were exposed through drinking water, primarily contaminated by industrial discharges as far as 666 kilometers (413 miles) upstream. Industrial discharges of PFOA to the Ohio River, contaminating water systems near Parkersburg, West Virginia, were previously associated with nearby residents' serum PFOA concentrations above U.S. general population medians.
The article notes that use of granular activated carbon filtration (GAC) by water treatment facilities reduced PFOA exposure by as much as 60 percent.
"Where GAC has been used, the blood level concentration of PFOA was decreased significantly," says co-author Robert Herrick, a UC doctoral student in the Department of Environmental Health.
Nearly all of the samples tested positive for some level of PFOA (99.9%) but 47 percent of the samples had PFOA levels higher than the 95th national percentile.The study additionally looked at information about municipal water distribution systems and the zones that were serviced by each of the water treatment plants.
"We conducted statistical analyses to determine if factors such as location and years of residence, drinking water source and breast feeding were predictors of the person's serum PFC concentration," says Herrick.
PFCs have had wide consumer use and industrial applications. They are surfactants used in fire-fighting foams and in the manufacture of stain and water resistant coatings, on cookware, furniture and carpeting. PFOA, or C-8, can be found as a residual impurity in some paper coatings used on containers for processed food. As a byproduct of commercial production, PFCs/PFOA are released into the environment and, although no longer used in manufacturing in the U.S., are considered persistent in the environment.
Pinney points out that the primary concern with PFCs/PFOA is that they take a very long time to leave the human body, and studies indicate that exposure to PFOA and PFOS over certain levels may result in adverse health effects, including developmental effects, liver and tissue damage and immune and thyroid impacts.
"Because the elimination time could be several years, it is hard to determine what impact these environmental exposures may have on our health and children's health," says Pinney. "These data from the 1990s demonstrate that that the contaminants have been in our water a long time, at unchecked levels, before anyone was paying attention to it."
Pinney cites projects like this one as having the translational potential to make improvements in public health. "Studies like these provide evidence to support changes in water treatment practices." An earlier study looking at samples from girls and young women from Northern Kentucky showed that about half of the samples from the girls were much higher than the national average for U.S. children (the 95th percentile) concentration. The Northern Kentucky Water department has since then implemented the use of GAC at their plants to meet new federal regulations, and Cincinnati Water Works used the study's findings to check their treatment regulations and filtration usage.
Source: http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/29075/
The summit of Group of Seven wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they hoped were long settled.
However, there was relief that Trump agreed to language in the final G7 communique that pledged to fight protectionism and commits to a rules-based international trade system.
The internal G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Britain on Monday, that killed 22, overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined the world power leaders to discuss their continent's potential.
After lengthy deliberation, the document included a separate threat, that was inserted into the 2016 G7 statement, to take additional action against Russia, if warranted, for its intervention in Ukraine.
However, Italy was disappointed not to receive more backing for its call to open up more legal channels for immigration to try to slow the flow of people risking their lives to reach Europe on flimsy boats from lawless Libya.
Security questions dominated initial G7 discussion on Friday and the leaders called on internet service providers and social media firms to "substantially increase" their efforts to rein in extremist content.
: Under pressure from allies, US President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism on Saturday, but refused to endorse a global climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide.Trump, who has previously called global warming a hoax, tweeted that he would make a decision next week on whether to back the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions following lengthy discussions with G7 partners."The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not."During his election campaign last year, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it is renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany "very bad" on trade because of its surplus with the United States."In the end we convinced them to include the fight against protectionism in the final communique, so that was a step forward," said one European diplomat, who declined to be named.Meeting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of neighbouring Africa.Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the crisis in Libya -- the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of migrants looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticised them for not honouring aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions."Be it Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through development that we will prevent illegal migration," Issoufou said.French President Emmanuel Macron (left) speaks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (centre) and Christine Lagarde (right), head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as they attend a G7 expanded session during the G7 Summit in Taormina, Sicily on May 27, 2017. (The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider audience.The European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and pledged to up the penalties if Russian interference in Ukraine intensified. Trump's promise of warmer ties with Moscow had called into question the US commitment to sanctions.Diplomats said that on other key international issues, such as Syria and North Korea, there was broad G7 agreement."There was very strong opposition by the Americans and British who wanted to refocus on security and water down the expansive language on freedom of movement," said a European diplomat, who declined to be named.The US president is due to return to Washington later on Saturday at the end of a nine-day tour of the Middle East and Europe -- his first foreign trip since taking office.Unlike other G7 leaders, he is not due to give a press conference before flying out.US officials said he had enjoyed "robust" conversations with his allies in Sicily and had also learnt a lot -- especially in the debate on climate change, which he has previously dismissed as a hoax."He came here to learn. He came here to get smart. His views are evolving which exactly as they should be," Trump's economic adviser Gary Cohn said on Friday.
Saharanpur has been in headlines for its month-long riots between Dalits and Thakurs, but a heartening story has come from Shabbirpur village, an epicenter of violence, where some Thakur families played hosts to the wedding of two Dalit girls on Friday.It was the marriage of Preeti and Manisha, daughters of Fakir Chand from Shabbirpur. While Preeti was getting married to Nikki, son of Dharampal from Sheetalpur, Manisha was getting married to Arun, son of Sukhpal from Janipur.The former pradhan of Shabbirpur village, Thakur Om Singh, and former pradhan of Mahespur village, Nakli Singh, decided to play host to the baraatis at a time when the region is simmering with rage. Breaking the caste barriers, the two Thakurs escorted the baraat to the venue and welcomed the guests as traditional hosts.This prompted a few youngsters from both communities to join the celebrations. And soon the village which has seen only violence over the past few weeks saw scenes like never before Thakurs and Dalits dancing together to the tunes of Bollywood music.Till Friday morning, Preeti and Manishas families were anxious, fearing that violence might disrupt the wedding. But elders from both communities came together and sought the administrations help in ensuring there were no problems. Using the opportunity to send a message of peace and harmony, senior administrative officers promised adequate security measures.The baraat was escorted amidst heavy security to Ravidas temple and then finally to the marriage venue with the help of local police and Rapid Action Force.When asked, Fakir Chand said, Everyone was concerned and we all decided to come together. People from Thakur community also participated in the marriage and helped as much as they could. Role of administration is also commendable as they went out of their way to help us. I only wish that our village remains peaceful like this forever.
Kolkata: Centres move to ban sale of cattle from marketplaces across India for the purpose of culling has left hundreds of beef traders worried in West Bengal.
In 2015, as per National Sample Survey Office (NSSO), more than 80 million people eat beef/buff in India. West Bengal, where selling of beef, ox, and buffalo meat is legal, accounted for 18.66 % of the total. In 2016-17, this went up to nearly 21%.
Mohammed Ali, president, Calcutta Beef Dealers' Association (CBDA) said, The ban will leave lakhs of workers unemployed. We will approach Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on this.
There is a huge scarcity of beef/buff meat in Bengal. Our business has been badly affected because some states, including Uttar Pradesh, stopped supplying cattle. There are possibilities that from tomorrow (during Ramzan) prices of beef and Ox will shoot up, he said, adding that the government, along with the ban, should also come with a solution to the problems faced by lakhs of people.
We are really worried with the Centres notification and state government has to intervene to save us from this crisis. The loaders and transporters are not willing to procure cattle from UP, Jaipur and other north Indian states due to gau rakshaks. One cannot impose such law all of a sudden. The after effects of such a law have to be dealt with smoothly too, he added.
Sources also told News18 that the CBDA members were planning to meet Kolkata civic body regarding the ban.
While Banerjee was in Delhi to meet PM Narendra Modi, Trinamool Congress secretary Partha Chatterjee said, We are aware of the notification and we have to go through it carefully before coming to any conclusion. Soon, a party level discussion will be held on this issue.
In a surprise gazette notification, the environment ministry has banned cattle slaughter and introduced restrictions on the sale of cattle to prevent their killing. A gazette notification, titled Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change states that no one can bring cattle to an animal market unless he or she has furnished a written declaration that the cattle will not be sold for the purpose of slaughter. Further, upon sale of cattle, the animal market committee will take an undertaking that the animals are for agricultural purposes and not for slaughter.
New Delhi: Security forces eliminated six terrorists and foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Rampur sector of Jammu and Kashmir, hours after thwarting a similar attack by Pakistans Border Action Team in Uri sector.
Army sources told CNN-News18 that an ambush was laid by troops at Rampur Sector based on specific input. Contact with intruders was established and six terrorists were killed. Combing operations were underway in the area.
On Friday, the Indian Army foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) on a patrol party along the Line of Control in Uri sector, killing two militants. "Alert troops foiled a BAT attack on our patrol party in Uri sector today. Two BAT terrorists were killed in the operation," an army official said. The BAT attack was effectively repulsed, the official said.
According to police sources, the bodies of the two slain militants were lying in "no man's" land along the LoC. Army sources said the two armed intruders infiltrated from a Pakistani post which is 200 metres from the LoC in the area. They were spotted on the Indian side around 8:40 am in South of Jhelum in the Uri sector.
In exchange of fire, both were neutralised at distance of 500 metres from the LoC in the Indian side, the sources said. One AK-47 rifle, one pistol and other warlike stores were recovered, they said.
The infiltration bid comes 25 days after two Indian soldiers were beheaded in a BAT attack in Krishna Ghati sector of Poonch, triggering a strong reaction from India.
On Tuesday, the Army had said it launched "punitive fire assaults" on Pakistani positions across the LoC, inflicting "some damage".
(With PTI inputs)
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who was killed by security forces in an encounter in Tral area of Srinagar, on Saturday, was on the radar of intelligence agencies for the last few days.After Bhat's encounter, Internet services were shut down in the valley as a security measure. Clashes broke out between civilians and the police in Anantnag, Budgam, Ganderbal and Pulwama. One person has been killed and around two dozen injured in the melee.Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani as the commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Tral, was present in Srinagar on May 19 and 20. He reportedly wanted to strike a truce with Hurriyat leaders, who were enraged when Zakir Musa had threatened to kill them for calling Kashmirs separatist movement political and not religious.Sources told News18.com that the Tral operation was based on specific intelligence inputs of three militants hiding in a house in Soimoh village of Tral district, 36 km from Srinagar.The operation commenced on Friday night and contact with the militants was established at 8:15 am, sources said. Para Commandos eventually joined the operation and two terrorists, including Bhat, were killed.The other militant who was killed was Faizan Muzaffar Bhatt, a resident of Tral, who was studying in class 10 before joining the militant group this year. A search operation was on for the third militant.Sabzar Bhat is the most high-profile militant target eliminated by security forces in Kashmir this year.Talking exclusively to News18, Zulfiqar Hasan, Kashmir IG (Operations) of CRPF said, Tral is the hot-bed of separatism in Kashmir. Now that the Hizbul Commander of Tral has been killed, we have, in effect, created a vacuum in south Kashmir.When asked if like after Burhan Wanis death, the Hizbul Mujahideen might see a spike in sympathy and membership, the IG said, Sabzar was not as popular a figure as Burhan Wani. Although we are monitoring the situation, we do not think public reactions would be as big as it was after Wanis death.The three operations since Friday (in which two armed intruders were killed in Uri Sector) should be seen as Pakistans desperate act to accelerate militancy. The Indian Army has been conducting relentless counter-terrorism operations from the Line of Control to the hinterland, said a senior Army official.Sources said security forces have so far recovered an AK-47 rifle, an INSAS rifles, and a large quantity of ammunition from the encounter site.Sources have also said that currently there are about 350 militants in the Kashmir Valley, out of whom 150 are from Pakistan.
Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 27, 2017
This indigenously built stealth Submarine will soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy. Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) May 27, 2017
: The indigenous Scorpene class submarine has successfully test-fired a torpedo, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, congratulating the scientists and engineers for it.Defence Ministry sources said this was the last major test that was required before the submarine could be handed over to the Indian Navy.Jaitley said in a series of tweets that the test was done by the first Scorpene class submarine Kalvari, but did not say which torpedo was tested. The sources also declined to identify the torpedo."Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine."This indigenously built stealth Submarine Awill soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy," posted Jaitley.On March 2, the Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene submarines being built in India, had test fired an anti-ship missile for the first time.The Scorpenes submarines are being built by Mazagaon Dockyard Limited under Project 75 with transfer of technology from the collaborator, DCNS of France. Two of the submarines are ready, and rest four are under construction.Kalvari is undergoing sea trials and expected to be commissioned mid-2017.The second submarine Khanderi was launched on January 12 this year, and will undergo rigorous tests and trials in the harbour and at sea, on surface and underwater till December this year, and will be commissioned in the Navy after that.The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpenes include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons.The attacks could be carried out with torpedoes, tube-launched anti-ship missiles both while underwater or on surface in all theatres, including the tropics, giving it invulnerability unmatched by many other submarines.
Once during a lecture on leadership in Delhi University, an MBA student asked Mr. KPS Gill, Sir, you and your family have remained under the threat of terrorists for the most part of your life; werent you afraid of death? Gill paused for a moment and said, Death has come to each one of us, so I never bothered about it.A true patriot, a leader, a saviour of the nation, a poet and what not there never was and there never will be another like him. Once, I asked him how he felt to be admired by millions. He said he didnt feel much about it, since a couple of millions hated him too. I asked how he felt about the haters and the critics; and he said, May God bless them.A man of few words, when I asked him about his biggest regrets, he said he had no regrets but few assignments he thought that the Government should have given to him for the good of the nation. He wanted to be the DGP in Jammu and Kashmir and also hoped for a free hand in Chhattisgarh to tackle the Naxal problem. He always felt pity for the soldiers dying in the insurgency operations.While I was writing the biography of KPS Gill, I had the occasion to interview the then Chief Minister of Gujarat and the present Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. Without cops like Gill Sahib, there can be no democracies, no political leaders and no kings, Modi told me.Due to these competencies, Modi had appointed Gill as his security advisor when the Gujarat Police was not able to maintain law and order during the post-Godhra riots in 2002. Gill brought an end to riots within a week of assuming charge.I am reminded of an anecdote which is comparable to what KPS Gill did for India. In 1860s, when the civil war was on in America, General Ulysses S. Grant, the Commander of the Union Army under President Lincoln, played a major role in preserving the Union. Soon thereafter, Grant was elected the 18th President of America and that was Americans way of thanking their beloved leader.In 1990s, KPS Gill played a similar role in preserving the Indian Union by saving Punjab for India. But thats the apathy of our nation and its national leaders that Gills contributions to the nation are not much remembered.Many people will find it ironic that Mahatma Gandhi was Gills role model, and that he practiced non-violence while in school and college. But, destiny landed him amidst troubled times and bestowed him with the task of fighting for his country, with an iron hand.In his career as an officer of the Indian Police Service, spanning over almost 4 decades, Gill epitomized honesty, unwavering courage, and uncompromising patriotism.In business management, Jack Welch, former CEO of GE is considered the greatest manager ever. If Forbes would have rated managers in the government sector, then I can say with conviction that KPS Gill would have been rated as the greatest manager in the field of policing, ever.What I say here might not be remembered for long but what KPS Gill did for our nation should never be forgotten. The living legend belongs to the ages now. Good Bye, Sir. You will be missed till the last minute of the last day of my life.
Islamabad: Hours after Indian Army neutralised top Hizbul commander and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and his accomplices in Kashmir, Pakistan condemned the act, even calling upon the International Community to intervene in the matter.
Foreign Affairs Advisor Sartaj Aziz accused India of carrying out "extra-judicial killings", adding that "India had killed 12 Kashmiri youth in Kashmir since yesterday (Friday) in Pulwama and Baramulla. Three of them were martyred extra-judicially as has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past".
Aziz urged the international community, including the United Nations and human rights organisations, to step in and ask India to immediately stop the "ruthless killing of defenceless Kashmiris", IANS reported.
Sabzar, 28, was killed, along with his two accomplices, in a four-hour-long gunfight in a village in Tral town of Pulwama district. He was named as the successor of Burhan Wani -- killed last year on July 8.
In another incident, six militants were killed by the Army when an infiltration bid was foiled on Saturday in Rampur sector of the Line of Control in Baramulla district.
After Bhat's encounter, Internet services were shut down in the valley as a security measure. Clashes broke out between civilians and the police in Anantnag, Budgam, Ganderbal and Pulwama. One person has been killed and around two dozen injured in the incident.
(with inputs from IANS)
A search operation was underway for two Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots who had gone missing four days ago on board a Sukhoi-30 jet, the wreckage of which was found on Friday in a forested area in Assam.Garud Commandos were air-dropped to access the wreckage, located 60km from the Tezpur Air Force Station from where the pilots took off on a routine sortie on May 23. The commandos, however, failed to reach the site due to poor visibility, sources told CNN-News18.The Indian Army's Cheetah helicopters, which were deployed in the search operation, reported sighting parachutes in the same area, giving hope that the pilots may have self-ejected before the crash. The identity of the pilots was yet to be disclosed.ALSO READ | China Says no Info on Missing IAF Sukhoi-30 Fighter Jet The Indian Air Force on Friday ordered a court of inquiry into the crash, hours after the debris of the fighter plane was sighted, reported PTI. "A court of inquiry has been ordered to investigate the cause of the accident," IAF spokesperson Wing Commander Anupam Banerjee said in Delhi."The search parties of the Army are also trekking their way to the crash site. However, their progress is getting hampered due to inclement weather, thick foliage and steep terrain," Banerjee said.
The encounter of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Bhat and his associate resulted in clashes between police and protesters in the Kashmir Valley. One person was killed and over 20 people injured in the incident.The Srinagar district administration has decided to impose curfew in parts of Srinagar falling under the jurisdiction of eight police stations from Sunday. The curfew is set to continue till further orders.Internet services were also shut down across the Valley. It was only on Friday afternoon that a social media ban was lifted in Kashmir.Soon after the killings, protests and stone-pelting started at around 50 places, including many parts in the city.Joint Hurriyat leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Yasin Malik have called for a complete shutdown in the valley on May 28 and 29, citing the killing of Bhat, his associate Faizan Muzaffar Bhatt and a civilian during police clashes."A person was hit by a bullet during the exchange of fire between militants and security personnel in Tral. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he succumbed to injuries," a police official told PTI.However, the protesters alleged he was killed during clashes with the security forces.According to an official at sub-district hospital Tral, 19 injured people were admitted there.While six persons had bullet injuries, 13 others were hit by pellets.A teenager, Samir Ahmad, was hit by a tear smoke shell in the head in Mattan area of Anantnag district during clashes between security forces and protesters. He was rushed to a hospital in a critical condition.Five persons were injured in Shopian district during similar protests, he said adding the number of injured people across the valley might go up by the end of the day as intense clashes were reported from many parts.Five police personnel were also injured during the clashes and have been taken to police hospital here for treatment, the official said.Unnerved people rushed to their homes, leading to traffic snarls on certain routes. The schools closed three hours early.Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Burhan Wani as the militant outfits chief, was among two terrorists gunned down during an hour-long encounter in Tral area of south Kashmir.Sources told News18.com that the Tral operation was based on specific intelligence inputs of three militants hiding in a house in Soimoh village of Tral district, 36 km from Srinagar.The operation commenced on Friday night and contact with the militants was established at 8:15am, sources said. Para Commandos eventually joined the operation and two terrorists, including Bhat, were killed.While Bhat and another militant were killed, search operations were on for the third militant.
"We would protest whenever we got a call from the Hurriyat leaders," Shahid tells CNN-News18, adding that unemployment was another factor that "drove us towards stonepelting".
"We pelt stones to earn money. The rich go abroad to study. We are poor, we stay here and pelt stones," says Muzamil, who, given a chance, would like to take the engineering exam.
: More than a year after Indian army gunned down Hizbul Mujahiddin commander Burhan Wani in Jammu and Kashmir, the valley is still simmering with violence. The students and security forces clash on a regular basis, leading to deaths and injuries.The young school goers are seen hurling stones at the security forces, at times, even kicking the jawan in the shins, expressing their anger. What forces them to take this path?Shahid, a class 12 student, got swayed by everyone at school who resorted to stone pelting, not regularly though. He wishes to write the Kashmir Administrative Exam and become an SDM.Stone pelting, however, hasn't borne fruit for Shahid. After "losing out" on his school, Shahid is now "stuck in jail".Faisal, another youngster, has now understood that stonepelting was never of any use, after having participated in the exercise just once. He fumes over the fact that kids of Hurriyat leaders study abroad. "Their kids study abroad, but they are ruining our lives here," says Faisal, adding that he didn't ask his parents when he became a stonepelter that one time.While unemployment compelled Shahid to pick up a stone, Muzamil, despite calling it wrong, threw stones to "earn money". Poverty forced him out of school; he could just study up to class 10.The violence and protests in the Valley, triggered by the death of Burhan Wani, have seen the death toll rise every passing day. The PDP-BJP led government has come under fire for having failed to take control of the situation.
Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Burhan Wani as the militant outfits chief, was among two terrorists gunned down during an hours-long encounter in Tral area of south Kashmir.Sources told News18.com that the Tral operation was based on specific intelligence inputs of three militants hiding in a house in Soimoh village of Tral district, 36 km from Srinagar.The operation commenced on Friday night and contact with the militants was established at 8:15am, sources said. Para Commandos eventually joined the operation and two terrorists, including Bhat, were killed.While Bhat and another militant were killed, search operations were on for the third militant.Since Friday morning, security forces in J&K have killed eight militants, including Bhat and his associate. Six others were killed in Rampur Sector of Kashmir when security forces thwarted another infiltration bid. The infiltration bid was foiled hours after a similar failed attempt in which two members of Pakistan's Border Action Team were killed.
ALSO READ | Forces Foil Another Infiltration Bid at LoC, 6 Terrorists Killed in Rampur Sector
Both Wani and Bhat belonged to the Tral area. Bhat was one of the 11 people in one of the earliest photos of Burhan Wani along with his associates. He was understood to have been the one who was appointed to replace Wani in Hizbul Mujahideen. Bhat was in March 2017 trapped in a gunfight with security forces at his hometown in Tral. He escaped the following night in the cover of darkness and with help from stone-pelters. Talking about Saturdays encounter, Director General of Jammu and Kashmir police SP Vaid told News18 over phone: He is definitely there. His presence has been confirmed. But we will declare him dead only after all the operations are over. Ever since Burhan Wanis death at the hands of security forces in July last year, Bhat had been heading the Hizbul Mujahudeen. The militant, also known as Sab Don, has featured in videos and photos that have been circulated by the group.
#BREAKING - Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Ahmad Bhat killed in Tral Encounter pic.twitter.com/DdcdcorwPL
News18 (@CNNnews18) May 27, 2017
Bhat, categorised as an A++ militant in Kashmir, reportedly turned to militancy after the family of a girl he loved spurned his marriage proposal and ended the relationship.A childhood friend of Burhan Wani, Bhat became an important member of the terrorist organisation when he managed to snatch a rifle from an armed forces officer during the protests that erupted when Burhan Wani elders brother, Khalid, was killed.Soon after Bhat was reported killed on Saturday, stone pelting started at five different areas of Anantnag district.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who succeeded Burhan Wani as the operational chief of militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, was among two terrorists gunned down during an encounter that lasted hours in Tral area of south Kashmir.- Ever since Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wanis killing in July last year, Sabzal Ahmad Bhat had been heading the outfit. The militant, also known as Sab Don, has featured in videos and photos circulated by the group.- Bhat was catergorised as an A++ militant in Kashmir. He is said to have been extremely popular in Tral and although Hizbul did not make an official announcement, Sabzar was the operational chief after Zakir Rashid a.k.a Zakir Musa quit the group a fortnight ago.- A local from Tral in south Kashmir, Bhat had been Burhan Wanis right-hand man. Having worked with Wani for close to two years, Bhat had access and knowledge to all links and contacts of Hizbul Mujahideen.- Bhat reportedly turned to militancy after the family of a girl he loved spurned his marriage proposal and ended the relationship.- A childhood friend of Burhan Wani, the militant became an important member of Hizbul when he managed to snatch a rifle from an armed forces officer during the protests that erupted when Burhan Wani's elder brother, Khalid, was killed.- Bhat was one of the 11 people in one of the earliest photos of Burhan Wani, along with his associates. The photo, uploaded by Bhat, went viral and was viewed as a move to gain sympathy from Kashmiris.- Sabzal Bhat was viewed as the brains behind the operation of the militant group, while another of Burhan Wanis close aides, Zakir Musa, looked after the tech side of things.- Bhat had a reward of Rs 10 lakh against his name and is believed to have received training on Indian soil.- Bhat was in March 2017 trapped in a gunfight with security forces at his hometown in Tral. He escaped the following night, in the cover of darkness and with the help of stone-pelters.- Besides attacks on panchs, sarpanchs and security forces, Sabzar is known to have killed civilians who were believed to be informers of the Indian armed forces.
The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) declare the West Bengal Madhyamik Class 10 Results 2017 on May 27 at 10 am. Students can check their results at wbresults.nic.in from 10 am onwards.The mark sheets will be distributed from 10 am onwards on Saturday.Earlier reports were doing rounds that West Bengal WBBSE Class 10 Madhyamik exams results Result 2017 will be announced in mid-May.The West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) will announce a merit list of the top ten students in a press conference at 9 am on Saturday.Students who had appeared for the exam will be able to access their results on the West Bengal Board's following official websites:The students who have been appeared for the WBBSE madhyamik Class 10 exams can check their WBBSE Result 2017 Class 10th results at the official site wbresults.nic.in If any student forgets his roll number he can search West Bengal WBBSE madhyamik Class 10 results 2017 name wise also.The students are also allowed to get their West Bengal WBBSE madhyamik Class 10 result 2017 via SMS. For this, they will have to send an SMS on the number released by the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) on its website.Steps to download the West Bengal WBBSE madhyamik Class 10 results: Go to the official website of the WBBSE ( wbbse.org ) or WBBSE Madhyamik results 2017 Click on the notification for the 2017 results. Select Madhyamic Pariksha (SE). Enter your details in the fields provided. Then download your results.
Kolkata: In a first, the West Bengal government is mulling a fixed fee structure for all private schools across the state. The decision will include suggestions from all stakeholders involved, including owners of these institutes and other trusts.
Speaking to News18, state education minister Partha Chatterjee confirmed that there will be some changes in the fee structure.
He said, The chief minister will meet the representatives of all the private schools to discuss the matter on May 31 at Nabanna, the state secretariat. After the meeting we will impose a fixed fee structure in these schools. It will be unanimous decision. Lets see how the meeting goes.
The decision comes in the wake of the CM being flooded by requests from parents to intervene in the fee structure of private schools, which they say is exorbitant.
Party insiders claimed that the government is being cautious about the matter and has decided to keep politicians, from within and outside the party, away from the decision.
We will ask school owners to suggest some logical fee structures and based on that we will take the final decision. We want to make the structure transparent. We have received several complaints that some of these schools are charging a hefty amount of money in the name admission, an official at the school education department said.
We will also raise the issue donations, which has become a menace nowadays, the official added.
Mumbai: Pyaar Ka Punchnama star Kartik Aaryan, who improvised his lines while shooting for his forthcoming film Guest Iin London, says improvising is natural for actors.
Kartik said in a statement: "I love the comedy genre. It is such a good space to be in. I like that I have done films that make people laugh. Improvising is natural for any actor. We have ideas and share it with the director and if he likes it, it becomes part of the film."
He will be seen with actor Paresh Rawal in the film.
"Paresh ji has been more than amazing. His off-screen humour translates on-screen, and that is the best part about him. He even goes out of his way to help his co-stars deliver the best that they can. I'm so glad to have had him as my mentor on this comical journey called Guest Iin London," Kartik said.
Guest Iin London, directed by Ashwni Dhir, is slated to release on June 16.
Mumbai: Actor Rajkummar Rao, whose movies often travel to film festivals, says there is no point cribbing about how the Indian focus at the 70th Cannes Film Festival is more on glamour and red carpet appearances than the celebration of cinema.
Veteran actress Shabana Azmi had recently opened up on how in their times, the experience at the Cannes film jamboree was more about their film and work rather than dressing up.
Asked about his opinion, Rajkummar said, "Yes, but there is no point in criticising that. Every film festival is different. I feel good to see Indian actors are going there, making their presence felt... It is fantastic. I see no point in criticising celebration of glamour."
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Deepika Padukone's photographs from the Cannes red carpet were splashed all over as they represented a global cosmetic brand at the gala, while only one student made movie made it to the fest this year from India.
Rajkummar likes to believe that the Cannes Film Festival is an amalgamation of glamour and cinema.
"I think it is not only Indians, but also people from all over the world are coming there, getting clicked and international media is praising it... There's nothing wrong in that. And I also read articles about Nandita Das's upcoming film 'Manto', they did a launch there. So you see, they (international audience) are getting an exposure to our films as well, so why to criticise?"
The actor is all geared up for his upcoming romantic comedy titled "Behen Hogi Teri" with Shruti Hassan. It is releasing on June 9.
Hyderabad: The BJP will not get a single seat in the Telangana assembly elections in 2019 while the Congress will get two, says a survey conducted on behalf of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao.
The ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) led by Rao will win 106 seats in the 119-member assembly, if elections are held now, claims the survey.
The survey findings were announced during a meeting of TRS MPs and legislators in Hyderabad on Saturday, party sources said.
TRS had bagged 63 seats in the 2014 elections. The Congress finished second with 26 seats while the BJP bagged five seats.
The survey comes close on the heels of Bharatiya Janata Party national President Amit Shah's three-day visit to Telangana, during which he exuded confidence that the party will come to power in Telangana in the 2019 elections.
The visit triggered a war of words between TRS and BJP with Chandrasekhar Rao terming as a blatant lie Shah's claim that the Centre had given Rs 1 lakh crore additional funds to Telangana in three years.
KCR, as Rao is popularly known, asked Shah to apologise to the people of Telangana for what he said was "belittling" the newly created state.
He also threw the challenge that if Shah proved his claim he will resign as the Chief Minister.
The TRS chief, who has been conducting surveys on the performance of his ministers and party legislators, told the TRS leaders that the Congress will get only two seats.
KCR's survey forecast that the Modi factor may not have much impact in the next assembly elections. It also claimed that the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen will win six seats, down one from its 2014 performance.
The meeting called by KCR discussed the latest developments in the wake of Amit Shah's visit to the state and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's proposed visit next month.
Had met Soniaji on April 20 and discussed opposition unity, presidential election: JD(U) president and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar pic.twitter.com/TSNkfOc2jG ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
Issue of silt in Ganga is getting serious, there is a danger of flood. I thought I should meet PM on this issue separately: Bihar CM N Kumar pic.twitter.com/EAQck5F8S3 ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
#WATCH: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi pic.twitter.com/KS5MJBIJBI ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
: A day after he skipped a luncheon meeting of opposition parties, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the buzz about growing bonhomie between the two.The JD(U) president was, however, dismissive of any such suggestion and told reporters after the meeting that "too much was being read into" the meeting which, he insisted, was a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister.There are allegations and counter allegations, he said, claiming that he responded only to "facts."Kumar also said that he had met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last month and it was already decided that former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav will attend the lunch hosted by her.Modi had invited Kumar for a lunch he hosted for the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth."Bihar has an emotional connect with Mauritius as half of the population there is of Bihari origin. PM had invited me for the luncheon as the state CM and I decided to accept it," he said.The chief minister said he also impressed upon the prime minister the need for desilting the Ganga in Bihar and requested him to send a team of experts to the state before June 10. The rise in the level of riverbed causes flood in vast areas during monsoon, while large parts of it become dry during summer as it cannot hold much water.
Even as Congress chief Sonia Gandhi made an effort to bring in opposition unity to decide upon the presidential candidate, JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar gave the luncheon a miss.Sources told CNN-News18 that the Bihar CM is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, hinting at a possible change of stand on presidential election.Clearing the air on the matter, the Bihar CM said he had already intimated the Congress chief that Sharad Yadav was going to represent the JD(U). He added: "I have sent a request to meet PM Modi tomorrow (Saturday) after lunch. I am the representative of my state and I have never skipped a meeting with the Prime Minister."The lunch meet coincides with the BJP-led NDA governments third anniversary in power. According to reports, the leaders will be discussing a united candidate for the upcoming presidential polls.Bitter contenders in Uttar Pradesh the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party and hostile rivals in West Bengal the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M) were present at the lunch at the Parliament House library.The lunch was also attended by NCP leader Sharad Pawar, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and DMK's Kanimozhi, reported PTI.Left leaders Sitaram Yechury, S Sudhakar Reddy, D Raja and P Karunakaran were also present, as were Sharad Yadav and KC Tyagi of the JD(U).Besides representatives of smaller regional parties, Omar Abdullah of the National Conference also attended the event.Apart from Gandhi and party vice-president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress was represented by former prime minister Manmohan Singh and leaders Ahmed Patel and Ghulam Nabi Azad.The Congress has been advocating unity among non-NDA parties ahead of the presidential election which, it believes, can be taken forward to the upcoming assembly polls in states such as Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, besides the Lok Sabha elections in 2019.Kumar missed Friday's lunch because of a prior engagement. Leaders of 17 parties attended the lunch. Among the many present were SP's Naresh Aggarwal and Ram Gopal Yadav, AIUDF's Badruddin Ajmal, JMM's Sanjiv Kumar, JD(S)'s CS Puttaraju and RSP's NK Premachandran.(With inputs from PTI)
Authorities in riot-hit Saharanpur were bracing for a visit by Rahul Gandhi a day after the Congress leader was denied permission to travel to the strife-torn district in western Uttar Pradesh."Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi has not been given permission to visit Saharanpur," said Senior Superintendent of Police, Saharanpur, Bablu Kumar.The Amethi MP, however, left for the riot-hit district on Saturday morning with sources saying he would meet families of the riot-affected at the border check post, 20km from the city.Rahul Gandhi will be stopped at Saharanpur border if he tries to enter the district, ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra told PTI.Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes this month. Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes between two communities. About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.Police sources told CNN-News18 that three routes had been identified from where Rahul Gandhi could enter Saharanpur Muzaffarnagar, Badod-Shamli and Panipat Yamuna Nagar. Sources said the police were on high alert at these border areas.The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.UP Minister Sidharth Nath Singh on Saturday morning said Rahul Gandhi had been denied permission to visit the area as a recent visit by BSP chief Mayawati had worsened the situation. When Mayawati visited Saharanpur, she gave an inflammatory speech which worsened the situation. We have denied permission to Rahul Gandhi. For him, this is just a photo-op. This is how he keeps himself relevant, Singh told ANI.During her recent visit, former chief minister Mayawati had lashed out at the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government for "failing to maintain law and order" in the state.In a related development, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant an urgent hearing on a plea seeking a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the incidents of caste violence. A vacation bench comprising Justices L Nageswara Rao and Navin Sinha said there was no urgency and the PIL may be heard after the court's summer break.
Washington: US President Donald Trump has denounced as "merciless slaughter" the attack on CC in Egypt that left at least 28 dead, urging the nations to defeat "terrorists engaged in a war against civilisations".
Trump said that the United States "makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian Communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected."
"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement.
Masked gunmen in military fatigues on Saturday opened indiscriminate fire on a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo.
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil," Trump said in a statement after the terrorist attack in Egypt.
Trump said that the bloodshed of the innocent "inflicts a wound upon humanity".
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls. Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity," he said.
Trump, who met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi at a summit in Riyadh last week, called for a greater resolve to bring nations together to "crush" the common enemy -- "the evil organisations of terror".
"But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organisations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology," he said.
"America stands with President Al Sisi and all the Egyptian people today, and always, as we fight to defeat this common enemy," he added.
Trump said that America will take every step to protect its people as he made an appeal to protect all faiths and religions.
"Civilisation is at a precipice -- and whether we climb or fall will be decided by our ability to join together to protect all faiths, all religions, and all innocent life. No matter what, America will do what it must to protect its people," he said.
Khost:A suicide car bomber killed 18 people in the eastern Afghan city of Khost on Saturday, officials said, in the first major insurgent attack at the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
No group has so far claimed responsibility for the bombing, which provincial authorities said targeted Afghan security forces working with American troops in Khost province.
The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on Western-backed forces as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive and the insurgency expands more than 15 years after they were toppled from power in a US-led invasion.
"A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 18 people and wounded six others, including two children," said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish.
"The target was a public bus station which was hit by the bombing. The victims were in civilian clothes and it is difficult to verify their identities at this stage."
But provincial police chief Faizullah Ghairat said the victims were civilians and members of the elite Khost Provincial Force (KPF) working with US troops.
"The bombing took place early morning when KPF members were heading to work," Ghairat told AFP.
The brazen attack comes just a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major insurgent assault this week on the military in the southern province.
The assault in Shah Wali Kot district followed insurgent raids earlier this week on military bases in the same area and Maiwand district, bringing the death toll among Western-backed troops to around 60.
The battlefield losses mark a stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces and have raised concerns about their capacity to beat back the resurgent Taliban.
Afghan forces are beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders.
During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior
authorities for help.
The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks.
The Taliban launched their annual spring offensive in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy.
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan.
The United States and several NATO allies are considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.
Minya: Egyptian fighter jets carried out strikes on Friday directed at camps in Libya which Cairo says have been training militants who killed dozens of Christians earlier in the day.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he had ordered strikes against what he called terrorist camps, declaring in a televised address that states that sponsored terrorism would be punished.
Egyptian military sources said six strikes took place near Derna in eastern Libya at around sundown, hours after masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians travelling to a monastery in southern Egypt, killing 29 and wounding 24.
The Egyptian military said the operation was ongoing and had been undertaken once it had been ascertained that the camps had produced the gunmen behind the attack on the Coptic Christians in Minya, southern Egypt, on Friday morning.
"The terrorist incident that took place today will not pass unnoticed," Sisi said. "We are currently targeting the camps where the terrorists are trained."
He said Egypt would not hesitate to carry out further strikes against camps that trained people to carry out operations against Egypt, whether those camps were inside or outside the country.
Egyptian military footage of pilots being briefed and war planes taking off was shown on state television.
East Libyan forces said they participated in the air strikes, which had targeted forces linked to al-Qaeda at a number of sites, and would be followed by a ground operation.
A resident in Derna heard four powerful explosions, and told Reuters that the strikes had targeted camps used by fighters belonging to the Majlis al-Shura militant group.
Majlis al-Shura spokesman Mohamed al-Mansouri said in a video posted online that the Egyptian air strikes did not hit any of the group's camps, but instead hit civilian areas.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on the Christians, which followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against the Copts.
Islamic State supporters reposted videos from earlier this year urging violence against the Copts in Egypt.
At a nearby village, thousands later attended a funeral service that turned into an angry protest against the authorities' failure to protect Christians.
"We will avenge them or die like them," mourners said, while marching with a giant wooden cross.
GUNFIRE AND BLOOD
Eyewitnesses said masked men opened fire after stopping the Christians, who were in a bus and other vehicles on a desert road. Local TV channels showed a bus apparently raked by gunfire and smeared with blood.
Clothes and shoes could be seen lying in and around the bus, while the bodies of some of the victims lay in the sand nearby, covered with black sheets.
Eyewitnesses said three vehicles were attacked. First to be hit was a vehicle taking children to the monastery as part of a church-organised trip, and another vehicle taking families there.
The gunmen boarded the vehicles and shot all the men and took all the women's gold jewellery. They then shot women and children in the legs.
When one of the gunmen's vehicles got a flat tire they stopped a truck carrying Christian workers, shot them, and took the truck.
One of the gunmen recorded the attack on the Copts with a video camera, eyewitnesses said.
The attack took place on a road leading to the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Minya province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority.
Security forces launched a hunt for the attackers, setting up dozens of checkpoints and patrols on the desert road.
Police armed with assault rifles formed a security perimeter around the attack site while officials from the public prosecutor's office gathered evidence. Heavily armed special forces arrived later wearing face masks and body armour.
The injured were taken to local hospitals and some were being transported to Cairo. The Health Ministry said that among those injured were two children aged two.
US President Donald Trump, who has made a point of improving relations with Cairo, said his country stood with Sisi and the Egyptian people.
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls," Trump said.
The Grand Imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning, said the attack was intended to destabilise the country.
"I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism," Ahmed al-Tayeb said. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, condemned the perpetrators as traitors.
The head of the Coptic Christian church, Pope Tawadros, who spoke with Sisi after the attack, said it was "not directed at the Copts, but at Egypt and the heart of the Egyptians".
Pope Francis, who visited Cairo a month ago, described the attack as a "senseless act of hatred".
ONGOING PERSECUTION
Coptic Christians, whose church dates back nearly 2,000 years, make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million.
They say they have long suffered from persecution, but in recent months the frequency of deadly attacks against them has increased. About 70 have been killed since December in bombings claimed by Islamic State at churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta.
An Islamic State campaign of murders in North Sinai prompted hundreds of Christians to flee in February and March.
Copts fear they will face the same fate as brethren in Iraq and Syria, where Christian communities have been decimated by wars and Islamic State persecution.
Egypt's Copts are vocal supporters of Sisi, who has vowed to crush Islamist extremism and protect Christians. He declared a three-month state of emergency in the aftermath of the church bombings in April.
But many Christians feel the state either does not take their plight seriously enough or cannot protect them against determined fanatics.
The government is fighting insurgents affiliated with Islamic State who have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula, while also carrying out attacks elsewhere in the country.
Manila: Philippine security forces dropped more bombs Saturday on a southern city where they have been battling Islamist militants for five days, vowing no let up despite the start of Ramadan.
President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law across the southern third of the Philippines in response to the clashes, which have claimed at least 48 lives and he has said are part of a campaign by the Islamic State (IS) group to establish a local caliphate.
"We have identified where they are consolidating so we are doing surgical air strikes to destroy the local terrorist group," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jo-ar Herrera told AFP.
Truckloads of marines were also seen driving into Marawi. One of the biggest Muslim-populated cities in the mainly Catholic Philippines, its population of about 200,000 residents had largely been evacuated because of the fighting.
The violence erupted on Tuesday when dozens of gunmen went on a rampage throughout Marawi in response to an attempt by security forces to arrest Isnilon Hapilon, a veteran Filipino militant regarded as the local leader of IS.
The gunmen planted black IS flags, took a priest and up to 14 other people hostage from a church, and set fire to buildings.
Thirteen soldiers, two policemen and 31 militants have died in the fighting, according to authorities.
Two civilians were also confirmed killed inside a hospital that the gunmen had occupied on Tuesday, and the military has said it investigating reports that nine people were murdered at a checkpoint the militants had set up.
Duterte has vowed to extinguish the threat of the militants, whom he has said belong to the local Maute terrorist group but are being backed by criminals in the area.
Prayers to end 'terrorism'
Nevertheless, Duterte also said on Friday that he was prepared to talk with the group's leaders.
His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said this was partly an offer made in the spirit of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began in the Philippines on Saturday.
"Together we pray for an end to terrorism that falsely claims to advance Islam and seeks to subjugate our land to the brutal IS," Abella said in a statement.
"In this spirit of Muslim peace, the president has offered the hand of peaceful dialogue to terrorist groups, to avoid bloodshed in this time of prayer, fasting and mercy."
However there appeared to be an extremely small chance of talks, unless they were to negotiate the release of the hostages.
Military spokesman Herrera said the security operations to rid Marawi of the gunmen would continue despite the start of Ramadan.
"It is painful for the Maranao (the name for local Muslims) that it is Ramadan but our action now is to protect Marawi," Herrera said.
"These are the impacts of the local terrorist group's actions."
The battle to clear the city of the gunmen was proving hard because they had scattered into small groups and were moving to different houses and setting up sniper positions, according to the military.
"They also have sympathisers from private armed groups," Herrera said.
Islamist militants working with criminals and corrupt politicians is common across Mindanao, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has claimed more than 120,000 lives since the 1970s.
The Maute, Abu Sayyaf and other small hardline groups are not interested in negotiating peace and have in recent years looked to IS to help them.
Still in December 2016, Armenian Environmental Front civic initiative published an open letter addressed to the cofounders of Aurora humanitarian prize Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeian with a request to explain the contradictions in their for-profit and allegedly charitable activities. The point in matter is specifically about IDEA Foundation having proclaimed mining in Armenia as a strategic area of activity, financing a huge open-pit mine near Jermuk mineral water town that endangers Armenias most important water resources on the one hand, and speaking of the contradictory development of Armenia through tourism, high technologies and humanitarian prize awards on the other hand.
Since December we havent heard any feedback to our open letter published in various media and to our private letters either. This behavior was in line with Armenian General Benevolent Unions (AGBU) behavior, to which we had addressed an open letter too, but never received a response. It is worthwhile mentioning that we comprehensively addressed the issue of how various actors, including Ruben Vardanyan, AGBU, banks and Lydian International offshore company claiming to stripmine Amulsar are connected in our article published in February 2017.
The project of turning Amulsar Mountain into an open-pit mine is in essence a humanitarian crisis given its extremely hazardous social-ecological impact not only on Armenias, but on the entire regions freshwater resources, including Lake Sevan, Spandaryan and Ketchut reservoirs, Arpa and Vorotan rivers, as well as on Jermuk sanatorium town and its mineral waters.
On the eve of the Aurora humanitarian prize award, we call upon the mass media to republish our open letter directed to the cofounders of this award and to demonstrate an analytical and critical approach towards initiatives well disguised under advertisement packaging, the founders of which are not eager to act in a transparent and responsible manner regarding other extremely important public issues.
Please find the original Is Aurora Compatible with Amulsar Mining open letter attached:
To the Founders of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative
Members of Board of Directors of Ameriabank CJSC
Noubar Afeyan
Ruben Vardanyan
Dear Mr. Afeyan, Mr. Vardanyan,
Days ago we were surprised and disappointed to learn that Ameriabank CJSC signed a loan agreement with Lydian Armenia providing 24 million USD for gold extraction in Amulsar Mountain near Jermuk and for purchasing equipment for the construction of a heap leach facility.
This policy of Ameriabank came to strike our expectations and opinion about the bank. Firstly, because the bank advertises itself as responsible towards nature and humans and according to its website, it has an environmental and social risk management policy. Secondly, as members of the Board of Directors of the bank, you have become known in Armenia for your social, ecological, educational and charity projects, including the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative.
Both of you have lead Armenia 2020 project, which never envisioned mining for the development of Armenia, nor did the National Competitiveness Foundation established with your participation in 2008 and annulled in 2014, which promoted the strategic direction of Southern Corridor Tourism development, including a long-term tourism development plan for Jermuk. Both the Southern Corridor Tourism development master plan, and Jermuk Town Development plan continue to be a state policy, which paradoxically are in the perspectives of the WB Development Assistance Agencys lending policy for Armenia.
For 5 years environmentalists and independent experts in Armenia ring alarms and present facts regarding the unmanageable risks of gold extraction in Amulsar Mountain and application of sodium cyanide in this process, which can forever poison Vorotan and Arpa rivers, Vayots Dzor regions agricultural lands and Armenias strategic water resource and the largest freshwater reserve in the region Lake Sevan. Jermuk health resort town together with its mineral waters will also be under a serious threat.
Blinded with Ameriabanks green image, a few weeks ago our civic initiative also opened a bank account there. However, like many other citizens, we too decided to boycott your bank after seeing that despite the problems raised, the bank continues defending this anti-ecological, anti-human and unethical loan deal. Bank staff members even dared to spread misinformation that the bank may reconsider its policy regarding this deal, or to lie to customers that Lydian is experienced in responsible mining (this company does not have any experience at all, it was established in 2005) and that the project entails no risks or else to stress that this project received loans from EBRD and IFC who have high standards thus this mining operation cannot be dangerous.
Such claims could be ridiculous and if one would only read the investigative article published by Huffington Post in April 2015 titled Gold Rush. How the World Bank is Financing Environmental Destruction, they would become aware, that these financial institutions do not apply high standards, that their lending and investment projects in mining in Latin American, African, Asian and former Soviet countries have already led to horrendous and irreparable environmental destruction and physical and economic resettlement of millions of people. Having served on the Economic Advisory Board of the IFC, Ruben Vardanyan must have known and must have made conclusions about this.
We are puzzled by this controversy in your activities, namely how you can initiate humanitarian projects in Armenia on the one hand and speak about Armenias long-term social and economic development, and on the other hand finance such a short-term project that threatens Armenias ecology.
Lydians arguments that its project is in line with international standards have long been refuted. It is two years that IFC Compliance Advisory Obmudsmans office is assessing complaints from Armenia that mining in Amulsar does not comply even with IFC standards. Armenias government has no clear answers regarding very basic questions on risk management and has held no real professional assessment of mining in Amulsar Mountain (see Ecolur environmental information NGOs Four Questions to the Government on Jermuk here and Pan-Armenian Environmental Fronts Amulsar: Questions to the Government here).
Given the above-mentioned facts, as well as principles declared by projects and institutions led by you in the present and in the past, also given your direct responsibility in the possible exploitation of Amulsar, please explain to us and the general public these contradictions in your actions.
We hope that your personal reputation and the one of institutions led by you matter to you so much that you will not leave this letter to the fate of our previous open letter sent to My Armenia project of the Smithsonian Center and AGBU. The latter simply ignored the letter. We expect your clear position on this problem.
Armenian Environmental Front (AEF) civil initiative
E-mail: [email protected]
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Friday wished Muslims a "joyful Ramadan" and urged them to reject violence and help fight terrorism around the world.
"At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict," Trump said in his first Ramzan message to the Muslim world as the President of the United States.
Trump referred to this week's bombing of a concert in Manchester and the shootings of Christians in Egypt in his statement.
"This year, the holiday begins as the world mourns the innocent victims of barbaric terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom and Egypt, acts of depravity that are directly contrary to the spirit of Ramadan," Trump said.
"Such acts only steel our resolve to defeat the terrorists and their perverted ideology," he said.
Trump mentioned his recent trip to Saudi Arabia, during which he decried terrorism but avoided controversial terms like "radical Islamic terror". He had frequently argued during his campaign that politicians can't be afraid to use that term.
The message is a departure from the more aggressive rhetoric Trump used on the trail.
Referring to his visit to Saudi Arabia, Trump said he had the honour of meeting with the leaders of more than 50 Muslim nations.
"There, in the land of the two holiest sites in the Muslim world, we gathered to deliver together an emphatic message of partnership for the sake of peace, security, and prosperity for our countries and for the world," said the US President.
"I reiterate my message delivered in Riyadh:America will always stand with our partners against terrorism and the ideology that fuels it," he said.
"During this month of Ramadan, let us be resolved to spare no measure so that we may ensure that future generations will be free of this scourge and able to worship and commune in peace," Trump said.
Volkswagen shortened to VW, is a German automaker founded on May 28, 1937 by the German Labour Front and headquartered in Wolfsburg.Image: Nazi leader Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945) inspects the new, Volkswagen 'people's car' at the Fallersleben car factory, May 27, 1938. The factory is designed to manufacture six million of the cars. On Hitler's left is the car's designer Dr Ferdinand Porsche (1875 - 1951). (Image: Getty Images)
Its no secret Forest is one of the fastest-growing areas of Bedford County.
With its proximity to Lynchburg, view of the Peaks of Otter and combination of country living and retail shops, grocery stores, restaurants and other services, the Forest areas population has grown 60 percent from 1990 to 2010.
At one time, Forest was mostly farmland. Now the Forest stretch of U.S. 221 the main artery through the county, also known as Forest Road is home to successful restaurants, retail and other businesses.
Its where the growth is happening; its where businesses want to come, said Josiah Tillett, chairman of the Bedford County Planning Commission.
Forest developer Tom Bell, of Thomas Builders of Virginia, first arrived in Lynchburg from Maine in 2003 to attend Liberty University. He remembers Forest only having an Apple Market.
Just seeing where its at now, everything is moving here, and theres a reason, he said. People see its a growth area. This whole place is blowing up out here, and it doesnt seem like its slowing down.
Bell said developers are building in Forest because that is where the businesses are moving.
With Forest, theres kind of eliteness, said Bell, who has developed and built more than 200 single-family homes, 250 townhomes and more than 200 apartments inForest since 2007. Its kind of the new Boonsboro. You want the value of what you build to increase, not decrease.
Bell recently approached the Bedford County Board of Supervisors, asking to rezone more than 180 acres adjacent to Gladden Circle and Everett Road, about two miles from Forest Middle School, from agricultural residential to low-density residential to build 170 single-family homes.
It is the second significant Forest-area residential development Bell has sought permission to build in the county in recent months.
On May 22, supervisors approved Bells proposal in a 5-2 vote, with Bill Thomasson and Andy Dooley opposed, despite concerns from both supervisors and commissioners on its potential impact on nearby schools, roads, drainage and water lines.
The back-to-back proposals have prompted discussion about how to manage continued growth in Forest.
Needless to say, [Forest] is where the growth is, and it continues to grow, supervisor Kevin Willis said. The struggle comes into play when we dont havein place a plan to address the oncoming infrastructure needs.
There are areas of Forest that dont have a public water supply or sewer lines, he said, and as every newly proposed development continues to grow larger than the one before, the county needs to move away from relying on septic tanks.
With this rapid growth, the infrastructure needs have lagged behind that. Thats when you wonder, are we serving the interest of the county best by going ahead and allowing the growth to continue or do we slow down without stopping development so we can have an infrastructure plan to catch up with it? Willis said.
Tillett doesnt think the county is growing too fast but said the county could do more to focus on infrastructure needs. For example, he said, Forest Middle School, which was built over capacity when constructed in 1991,now is facing growing pains with the increasing population.
At the May 22 supervisor meeting, Bedford County School Board member Gary Hostutler told supervisors the school board is considering building an addition at the middle school, which has seven mobile units to accommodate an overflowing student body.
Tom Woodford, vice chair of the Bedford County Planning Commission, voted in favor of Bells first Forest proposed development of 400 townhomes off Perrowville Road in March, but when Bell returned to the commissioners less than a month later, asking for permission to rezone 180 acres for 170 single-family homes off of U.S. 221, Woodford voted it down, though the motion still passed the commission in a 5-2 vote.
First and foremost, Im pro-growth, Woodford said. My concern is we as a county, from an infrastructure perspective, need to get a handle and catch up with development. Youve got the additional people moving in here, and weve got to have a plan for the schools, a plan for first responders with more growth, we need to have that covered.
Noting businesses follow rooftops, supervisor Steve Wilkerson said the county needs to be prepared to offer the services that residential services demand without sacrificing too much.
Andy Krinzman, a Forest resident for 11 years, is concerned mostly about overbuilding in an already congested area.
He said he sees no issue with single-family housing development but worries about how Bell could fit 400 townhomes onto a 40 acre-plot.
That corner right there [of Perrowville and Forest roads] is probably the worst place you could put that, Krinzman said. Its already a nightmare over there. Theres no planning in something like that.
He said when he first moved onto Howards Scenic Trail off of Cottontown Road, there were no developments nearby. Now he is concerned with the speed and location of some of the new development in Forest.
Krinzman said Farmington, a suburban development off of Perrowville Road, is not yet finished and wonders why there are new developments popping up without building out the ones already in place.
So why do we need another subdivision? he asked. I dont want Forest urbanized We dont want that thats why we moved here.
Many of the homes in these newly developed subdivisions, including Farmington and Lake Manor, range from $300,000 to $400,000 in price, said Bells engineer Norm Walton, with Perkins and Orrison.
The Forest area has a median household income of $56,000 and a median family income of $77,500. From 1990 to 2010, the Forest area grew 91 percent in the number of housing units, the fastest in Bedford County, the comprehensive plan states.
Walton said he was encouraged by the supervisors vote at their May 22 meeting, saying he thinks they realize the Forest community is a developing one, and the main way to enhance the commercial growth is to add residential developments to the area.
Which they said may have some growing pains, but in order to increase the tax base for the people of Bedford County, I think we have to go through some growing pains, he said.
Waltons Forest-based firm was involved with the first planned development community in Bedford, Thomas Jefferson Crossing on U.S. 221, which includes the Bank of the James and Finks Jewelers. The firm worked on the Forest Square Shopping Center, completed the site plan for the Forest Kroger and has designed several utilities with Bedford Regional Water Authority.
The leaders of Bedford have identified several areas that are earmarked for growth in Bedford, and Forest is one of them, Walton said. Currently in the economic environment were in now, Forest is the only area in the county that is experiencing any growth.
Benjamin McGehee, owner of Benjamins Great Cows and Crabs on Forest Road across from the Forest Kroger, grew up in Forest. He said the location was perfect to open his business 15 years ago.
I also saw the excellent growth potential, he said. There were also no full-service dining options on our side of town, so I knew if we could focus on quality ingredients, creative and consistent menu items and excellent service, then the Forest area would support it.
Tillett said there still are lots near the Kroger that are ready to be developed.
There isnt a way to turn back development, and even if there was, I dont think its the right thing to do, he said.
He said if supervisors had voted against the single-family home development proposed by Bell on U.S. 221, he worried the county would be sending out a message that Bedford was closed for business.
Theres lots of opportunity for Bedford. The best thing the county can do is get out of the way and let it prosper, he said. We all talk about economic development, but if were sending a message through our regulatory policy that its difficult to do business here and potential investors will have to jump through hoops, thats not the message we want to send if economic development is our goal.
Thumbs up to Sherry Lee Kane, who received her high school diploma May 20 in Amherst County High Schools commencement services.
And why, you may ask, are we singling out one high school student for recognition? Because Kane received her diploma at the age of 70.
A native of New Jersey, Kane moved to Amherst County 20 years ago. She had dropped out of high school as a teenager and got her beauty culture degree in her homestate. Several years ago, she decided it was simply time to dial the clock back and finish what she started five decades earlier.
Most recently, Kane worked as an aide for special needs students in the Amherst County Public Schools. She was able to share graduation with four of her students, though not before getting to joke around with them about who theyd be sharing the graduation stage with. As she relayed the story to News & Advance reporter Nicole Steenburgh, some of her students guessed they would be graduating with her son or possibly a grandson. Revealing that she was the one who would be graduating with them just made the moment that much more special for Kane.
So on the occasion of her high school and receiving her GED just a few decades late, we extend our sincere congratulations. Its a well-deserved honor, maam.
* * *
Thumbs down to Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte of Montana for his horrific explosion of anger at and physical attack on a journalist merely for doing his job and asking a question.
Gianforte was one of three candidates in a special election Thursday in Montana to fill the states sole seat in the House of Representatives. Following a campaign event Wednesday night, Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper in Great Britain, tried to ask the candidate a question about his stand on a health care reform bill that had just passed the House of Representatives. Gianforte brushed off the reporter the first time. The second time Jacobs tried to ask his question was when things took a sinister turn.
Gianforte, a tech-industry mogul originally from New Jersey, exploded, grabbed the reporter and flung him to the ground where he proceeded to assail him. The attack, caught on Jacobs audio recorder, was witnessed by a Fox News crew who stood by in utter shock. Jacobs later called the local sheriffs office, which investigated and charged Gianforte with misdemeanor assault.
Many of the votes in the special election had already been cast before Thursday, and Gianforte went on to win a seat in Congress. He apologized Thursday night but still tried to cast some of the blame on the reporter.
The job of reporters is to ask questions on behalf of the public the powerful dont always want to answer. But nothing can justify an attack like this. Nothing.
$18M cocaine bust at sea
Sources said that at about 3.30 am, a Coast Guard interceptor was conducting routine patrol when they spotted a 24-foot pirogue with three occupants on board.
Coast Guard officers ordered them to cut their engines and prepare to be boarded. Instead, the pirogue sailed off at high speed.
A chase ensued with the interceptor forcing the pirogue to come to a halt. It was escorted to Staubles Bay. During a search, Coast Guard officers searched the pirogue and found 36 packets of cocaine, weighing in total about 40 kilos.
The three were handed over to officers of the Organised Crime Narcotics and Firearms Bureau.
Police believe the cocaine originated from Colombia via Venezuela.
This is the fifth drug haul by the Coast Guard. Sources said the estimated street value of narcotics seized in these five interdictions is about $850,000,000.
the three bodies comes at a time when the two vessels on the sea bridge have been prone to breaking down and also do not have proper cold storage facilities for food items far less human bodies.
What is the logistics of bringing these bodies to Trinidad? This is ludicrous! This is total dementia to bring three bodies on the ferry. They would have to bring crime scene people and officers will be required to transfer the bodies. As far as I see it, this is absolute and total stupidity.
I am also fearing a contamination of evidence. It is international standard that bodies being carried from one place to another should be put in sealed metal coffins and should not be among the public. I have been in the country for over ten years and I am shocked from time to time by the level of incompetence, he said.
Calls to National Security Minister Edmund Dillons cellphone yesterday went unanswer
Smith disappoints PM
Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday said although he has received Smiths report on $92,000 being spent to taken 12 persons from the ministry to Tobago for a THA awards ceremony, he has taken no decision on the controversial matter as yet.
The answer is no. I have not, Rowley said during a news conference at the Parliament in Port of Spain during the Houses tea-break. But I will in the nottoo- distant future. Rowley, who along with his wife Sharon and four Cabinet members leaves on Sunday for an official trip to Chile said he was disappointed about the situation.
I am very disappointed with what I saw in the Ministry of Sport, I must say. But I am not overwhelmed by it because I am leading a young Cabinet and I have a responsibility to ensure they are guided appropriately.
I think I have been doing that and maybe not enough guidance would have followed at the Ministry of Sports. And I take responsibility for that and I will rectify that, Rowley said.
He cautioned that people should not be quick to condemn Smith.
I dont want us to overdo the condemnation because while this is to be condemned for what one thinks is excess...maybe my lifestyle is different to other people.
But I have made this point in Local Government and I have made it in the Cabinet and it is this, taxpayers money is not available for office holders...to have a good time. He said there was no amount of justification, for such action. Alluding to a $59,000 phone bill incurred by Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe during a recent visit to the Bahamas, Rowley said: I see that for what it is...it could easily have been me. He said Clerk of the House Jacqui Sampson gave him a quick lesson in phone usage before his recent trip to Ghana.
She came to my office of her own free will, with good intentions and said to me, let me see your phone. And she showed me what I had to do once I get out of Trinidad and Tobago, to turn off the data roaming, he said. I was going to Ghana for a week.
So you could imagine what kind of phone bill I would have had.
When you get across there, you had to identify the cellular and data roaming and turn off the data roaming on your phone otherwise the data roaming, once the phone is on, it will pull down data at some humongous cost and that ends up on your phone bill. Rowley said the Government intends to seek the advice of an experienced individual in the public service to conceptualise a workable cellular management protocol for members of the Cabinet and government. We are trying to eliminate waste, mismanagement and corruption, he said.
TT is sick
Quoting from the Bible, where Jesus said, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Archbishop Harris said repentance is needed.
He made the call while delivering the homily at the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-of-Spain having been invited by Fr Carl Williams to so do, in this week where both the Catholic and Anglican churches pray for Christian unity.
The Archbishop said the solemnity of the Ascension tells us why TT is sick. We have not fulfilled the mandate given to disciples to teach everything that the Lord has commanded us.
We teach what the Lord has commanded principally by the example of our lives. He said the important thing in life is that all of us live by good habits as bad habits are sins.
He said repentance is essentially replacing bad habits with good ones or replacing sin with virtue.
As a result, the Archbishop stated, the situation in this country necessitates a change of heart. It is not easy.
But Almighty God has promised us the Holy Spirit will lead us into the truth. We have received the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation and the truth that the Spirit leads us to, is to seek God first and see each other as brother and sister. For his part, Rev Williams surmised: If there is beauty in the home, there is order in the nation. Among those in the congregation were Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar and UNC chairman David Lee. Following the service, Persad-Bissessar said she felt it was her duty to attend. She praised and thanked Archbishop Harris for his fortifying homily.
State attorneys want in on Law Association meeting
They include all attorneys employed at State departments, including the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, Attorney Generals Office as well as the Solicitor Generals department, among others.
Their request was made in a letter to Law Association president, Douglas Mendes,SC, in which they have asked to attend the special general meeting carded for June 1.
They said although they cannot, as law officers, go up for election to the council as they do not pay annual subscription fees, they should be permitted to attend and participate in discussions.
On Thursday of next week, lawyers will vote on a motion which calls for the resignation of Chief Justice Ivor Archie and the JLSCs members for the imbroglio surrounding the appointment of former Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar as a judge and her subsequent resignation.
The request is expected to be considered by the association.
Just two weeks into her appointment as a judge on April 12, Ayers-Caesar resigned her judgeship, admitting she failed to inform the JLSC about the part-heard matters.
In a simultaneous statement, the Judiciary indicated that the JLSC had met and agreed to restore Ayers-Caesar to the magisterial bench but that position later changed and on Wednesday last it was decided that the 53 cases left unresolved will be restarted from the beginning.
Already there has been strong condemnation of this move, with many attorneys, including those whose clients are affected.
Several leading senior counsel have also repeated their calls for Archie and the JLSCs resignation.
On Thursday, criminal attorney Criston J Williams, who last week wrote to the DPP asking that he either discontinue the matters against six of his clients or immediately file indictments in the High Court, bypassing the preliminary inquiry, criticised the decision.
It was his clients whose near riot at the Port of Spain Magistrates Court led to Ayers-Caesars resignation.
This is the least palatable option for persons most affected by the decision taken. I want to know if the accused were consulted on their ability to hire attorneys or would they be subjected to Legal Aid. Do defence attorneys have to start over these cases for free? What about the ability of the accused to pay for justice to be done when they already expended so much? he said.
Newsday understands that the Legal Aid and Advisory Boards tenure came to an end on May 15 and a new board is yet to be appointed by Government.
As a result, the Legal Aid and Advisory Authority cannot appoint attorneys to represent accused persons nor can they approve legal fees.
Opposition Senator, attorney Wayne Sturge also said, This was the obvious way forward there was literally no other option. Sadly, in Trinidad and Tobago paper committals dont work the way they are meant to work and with the criminal bar being so small delay is inevitable. The other obvious issue is the hardship which would be occasioned by the accused who will have to find money to pay for the new proceedings. I am sure that legal proceedings will be brought to reimburse them for the cost incurred which has been wasted by no fault of their own. Dont be surprised if there is mayhem. You cant expect a man to lose seven years of his life in custody and simply accept that the administration of justice made a mistake. We are all enjoying our liberty while they are suffering, Sturge said.
Zika fight by Public Health England and CARPHA
The reception highlighted the work being done by both agencies in the fight against the Zika virus in the Caribbean region.
Participants from across the Caribbean attended the workshop, which concluded on May 23.
The British High Commission said, A key part to addressing the spread of Zika is clear messaging to the public on its precautions against transmission, debunking myths and how to reduce the breeding ground for the specific mosquito that carries the virus. The diverse range of cleavages in the Caribbean audiences; economic, cultural, religious, geographical, politically, et cetera, makes getting these key messages across challenging.
Therefore, the Public Health Marketing and Behavioural Change Workshop is a key component in ensuring this is achieved, the British High Commission stated.
Addressing workshop participants during the May 22 reception at his Maraval residence, Stew said, In Britain were clear that the only way we can operate effectively, to face down challenges like Zika in our globalised world, is to work together. Thats why, for the past year, we have supported Public Health England and CARPHA working in partnership through this project to tackle Zika in this region.
Spanning 26 countries its the largest project funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the Caribbean.
Chattergoon: Health Minister to blame for SFGHs demise
Health services at the San Fernando General Hospital have unquestionably deteriorated under your watch and your stewardship as Minister of Health, Chattergoon told Minister of Health Terrance Deyalsingh during the question and answer segment of a public consultation held on Thursday evening in the auditorium of the Naparima Boys College. There is no question about that in my mind. And the patients are undergoing trials and tribulations, terrors and horrors, such as they have never gone through before. Chattergoon, who served as the hospitals medical director for five years before being replaced last July, said the hospitals demise was the result of two serious blunders made by the health minister. The first was, the revolutionary initiative which your predecessor had put at the San Fernando Gen (sic), which was to have a number on the walls of the hospital that patients can call when they have a problem, that initiative has been shut down. Though not directly stated by Chattergoon, it was later revealed in the response from the South West Regional Health Authority (SWRHA) Chairman, Dr Alexander Sinanan, that the phone number which used to be on the hospital walls was Chattergoons. Sinanan explained that having the number of a single person on the hospital walls was impractical because patients would have been left without service should Chattergoon have been unavailable.
The number, said Sinanan, was replaced with a customer service line, but Chattergoon said the replacement number does not work.
Chattergoon said the second reason for the hospitals deterioration was the appointment of an unsuitable medical director. The doctor had raised this point in a letter sent via email to Deyalsingh and SWRHA deputy chairman, Valerie Rawlins in July 2016, in which he questioned whether SWRHA CEO Anil Gosine was biased in the appointment of Dr Pravinde Ramoutar as Ag Medical Director.
You made a bad choice, Chattergoon thundered. You put the wrong person in the position of medical director of the Sando General Hospital sir. And I can tell you for a fact, sir, in this situation you need a medical director who cares about the people. Sinanan responded to the criticism of Deyalsingh, saying that the minister was not responsible for the hiring of medical directors.
There Was No Red Wave,
'That's for Darn Sure'
Hot scientists may not have careers that are so hot, according to, well, scientists who find that the laboratory is apparently the anti-Hollywood. The researchers, whose work was published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists, asked roughly 3,700 participants to rate the headshots of 600 actual geneticists and physicists based on their attractiveness, competence, morality, and sociableness. What they found, according to Live Science: Apparently the frumpier and nerdier the scientist, the more we think he or she is competent and doing good work. "I was very surprised that attractiveness could be a negative quality," says lead researcher Ana Gheorghiu, a doctoral student of unknown good looks from the University of Essex.
That has very real implications in an industry in which getting one's research taken seriously shapes one's ability to get funding or publish papers. "The way scientists are perceived affects how people apply their findings to their own lives, to influence government and science policy," Gheorghiu says. "That's why it's helpful to know what biases are out there." It's not all bad news for Dr. McDreamys: Those scientists who were judged as attractive also garnered more initial interest in their research. And our perceptions are likely changing as we watch scientist heroes nerd out on the big screen, a la Matt Damon in The Martian.
"I think the more representations of scientists in the media, the better," says a psychologist. "Anything that fleshes out the picture of who does scientific work and that shows scientists are real people, I think, is to the good." (Scientists also tell us that beauty sleep is no myth.)
Police are searching for answersand possibly missing peopleafter an SOS signal was spotted recently in a remote part of Western Australia, the BBC reports. A helicopter spotted rocks spelling out SOS in an area called Swift Bay. According to the Sydney Morning Herald the rocks are 75 miles from the nearest Aboriginal community and more than 600 miles from the nearest city of note. In fact, it's so hard to get to the area where the SOS message was spotted that police had to use a helicopter to reach it for a search May 19, ABC reports
The search came up empty. Police found the apparent remains of a campsite but no "indication of recent human activity." "We've done a ground search and aerial search of the area and there are indications that there may have been someone camped there at one point in time, but it's just not clear how long ago that was," Sgt. Peter Reeves says. It may have been years since anyone was at the campsite. Police are continuing to investigate and trying to figure out if anyone has gone missing nearby. It's still possible the SOS message is a hoax. (Read more SOS stories.)
A Texas nurse who is in prison for the 1982 killing of a toddler has been charged with murder in the death of an infant a year earlier, and authorities said Friday they think she may have killed up to 60 young children around that time. Genene Jones, 66, is serving concurrent 99-year and 60-year sentences for the 1982 killing of 15-month-old Chelsea McClelland and the sickening of a 4-week-old boy who survived, the AP reports. The girl was given a fatal injection of a muscle relaxant and the boy received a large injection of a blood thinner. Jones was due to be freed next March under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted. But on Thursday, the district attorney's office announced that she has been charged in the 1981 death of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer, who investigators say died of a fatal overdose of an anti-seizure drug, Dilantin.
During Jones' time working in Texas hospitals and clinics, children died of unexplained seizures and other complications. At a news conference District Attorney Nico LaHood said Friday investigators believe Jones may have killed some or all of those children because they died under unusual circumstances during or shortly after her shifts. It's not clear why Jones' actions, involving so many suspected victims, were not detected earlier. Prosecutors at Jones' 1984 murder trial said the nurse lethally injected children there to demonstrate the need for a pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital. Other prosecutors theorized that Jones' tactic was to take swift medical action and save some of her victims, making herself appear to be a sort of miracle worker. (Read more child murder stories.)
A Muslim man claims he was served and accidentally ate pork, a food prohibited in his religion, after ordering a halal pepperoni pizza advertised at Little Caesars. And he plans on making the franchise pay up. The Detroit News reports that Mohamad Bazzi, 32, saw a sign in the window of a Dearborn, Mich., Little Caesars on March 20 announcing it served halal pepperoni, meaning the food meets Islamic guidelinesthe equivalent of being kosher in Judaism, explains the Detroit Free Press. He says he ordered a pie that he began eating with his wife at home before they realized the pepperoni was not halal. Bazzi previously worked at a pizza shop and says he was able to see the difference, while his wife, a converted Muslim, tasted the difference having grown up eating pork. According to court documents, the pair say they became sick and filed a police report three days later.
Bazzi returned to the franchise in May and ordered another halal pepperoni pizza, which he claims again contained pork. When he complained in a recorded conversation, the manager claimed he asked for a regular pepperoni pizza with a halal sticker on the box, which he denies. "They have no regard for people's religious beliefs," says Bazzis lawyer. "This is a violation of the Muslim faith." A rep for Little Caesars says they cannot comment on pending litigation, but are taking the claim very seriously. Click On Detroit has photos of the franchises signs advertising the halal option as well as Bazzis receipts. Moughni says the transaction violates a state law referred to as the Wayne County Halal and Kosher Anti-Fraud and Truth-In-Labeling Ordinance, and Bazzi is suing the company to the tune of $100 million. (Read about a little-known billionaire's job: making cheese for our pizza.)
A federal judge on Friday tossed out two life sentences for one of Virginia's most notorious criminals, sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings. In his ruling, US District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk said Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings after the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional, reports the AP. Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three over a three-week span in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, causing widespread fear throughout the region. Malvo has been serving his sentence at Red Onion state prison in southwest Virginia. His accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, was executed in 2009.
Fairfax County Commonwealth's Attorney Ray Morrogh, who helped prosecute Malvo in 2003, said he believes Malvo meets the criteria for a harsh sentence. A rep for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said Friday evening that the office is "reviewing the decision and will do everything possible, including a possible appeal, to make sure this convicted mass murderer serves the life sentences that were originally imposed." He also noted that the convictions themselves stand and emphasized that, even if Malvo gets a new sentencing hearing, he could still be resentenced to a life term. Malvo also was sentenced to life in prison in Maryland for the murders that occurred there. His lawyers have made an appeal on similar grounds in that state. A hearing is scheduled in June. (Read more Lee Boyd Malvo stories.)
"Love comes in all flavours," says socially active ice cream giant Ben & Jerry's, which is putting their scoops where their mouth is in a new protest. In a move supporting gay rights, the companys 26 stores in Australia have banned servings of two scoops of the same kind of ice cream until same-sex marriage is legalized in the country, reports NBC News. A video promoting the campaign was added to the chain's Twitter page, while another tweet urges customers to sign activist group Equality Campaigns petition. In a statement, the company asks customers to imagine how furious being denied a double scoop of their favorite flavor would make them.
But this doesnt even begin to compare to how furious you would be if you were told you were not allowed to marry the person you love," it adds. Ben & Jerrys stores are also placing brightly colored mailboxes on their countertops for customers to add post cards with their stories, which theyll deliver to parliament by its final session on June 13. Polls suggest that most Australians support gay marriage, but legislation to legalize it remains mired in limbo, per news.com.au. Ben & Jerrys has not shied away from political causes in the past, and the actual Ben and Jerry were arrested in a DC protest in April. (Read more gay marriage stories.)
As of March, more than 61 million people were receiving a Social Security check each month. Two-thirds of these monthly payouts are headed to our nation's retired workers, 61% of which rely on their Social Security benefits to account for at least half of their monthly income. You could rightly say that without Social Security, millions of seniors would probably be struggling to make ends meet during retirement.
America's most important social program is in trouble
While we can all be thankful for a program like Social Security, we also have to recognize that America's most important social program is in a bit of a bind. The architects who crafted Social Security in the 1930s couldn't have foreseen the boom in baby births following World War II or the rapid advancement in medical care that's pushed the average life expectancy higher by roughly nine years over the past five decades. The result is the ongoing retirement of baby boomers and lengthening of life expectancies is weighing on Social Security.
According to the Social Security Board of Trustees 2016 report, the program will begin paying out more in benefits than it's bringing in via revenue by 2020, ultimately culminating in it burning through its more than $2.8 trillion in excess cash by 2034. Should this spare cash be depleted, an across-the-board benefits cut of up to 21% may be needed to sustain payouts through 2090. It's not exactly an optimal scenario given retired workers' reliance on Social Security.
Though we'd love for Congress to step in and pass bipartisan legislation to fix Social Security for future generations, we can't count on that happening. Instead, we have to focus on the three factors we can control that influence our Social Security benefit: our earnings, our work history, and our claiming age.
Ways we can impact our Social Security benefit
The first two factors, earnings and work history, are somewhat interconnected. The Social Security Administration (SSA) averages your 35 highest-earnings years when calculating your monthly benefit, therefore it's in your best interest to earn as much as you can each year, and to work a minimum of 35 years. For each year less than 35 worked, a $0 will be averaged in by the SSA, dragging down your eventual payout.
The big "X-factor" is when you decide to claim Social Security benefits. The SSA allows qualifying seniors (those who've collected 40 lifetime work credits) to begin collecting as early as age 62, or at any point thereafter. Of course, there's a very lucrative reason to hold off on your claim: your benefits grow by about 8% per year for every year that you wait, until age 70. This means an individual claiming at age 70 could have a monthly payout that's 76% higher than someone claiming at age 62, assuming identical annual earnings, work length, and birth year.
The most important number involving your claim is your full retirement age, or FRA. Your FRA is the age at which the SSA deems you eligible to receive 100% of your monthly payout, and it's determined by your birth year. This year's newest eligible retirees (those born in 1955) have an FRA of 66 years and two months.
Put simply, if you claim benefits at any point before hitting your FRA, your benefits will be permanently reduced by up to 25% to 30%, depending on your birth year. Conversely, if you claim benefits at any point after you've hit your FRA, you can boost your payout by up to 24% to 32%, depending on your birth year.
Taking Social Security at full retirement age could be a smart move
Though the decision of when to claim is entirely personal and dependent on a number of factors, including your income needs, savings, health, and whether a spouse will be reliant on your income (to name a few factors), claiming at your full retirement age might be a great idea. Here are three reasons why.
1. You'll get every penny that you're due
Arguably, the best reason to claim at your full retirement age is that you'll get 100% of your due benefit in retirement. With around three-fifths of seniors dependent on Social Security as a "major" source of income during retirement, seniors' focus should be on maximizing their payout and netting at least 100% of their benefit as opposed to accepting a permanent reduction by claiming before they hit their FRA.
Also, with the possibility of a benefits cut on the table within the next two decades, claiming early and accepting a permanent reduction in your payout could really put you in bad shape financially. Waiting until at least your FRA to claim won't make a future cut in benefits less painful necessarily, but it'll leave you with far more each month if that's the path Congress chooses to take.
2. It can maximize spousal benefits
Secondly, it's important to realize that while your claiming decision is personal, it may not effect only you. If you have a spouse, your claiming decision could impact what he or she may receive via spousal benefits.
A good example is if there's a wide gap in lifetime benefits between a higher-earning spouse and lower earning spouse. If a higher earning spouse waits to claim until their full retirement age, the lower-earning spouse will have the option of taking up to half the spousal benefit based on the higher earnings spouse's work history or their own benefit based on their work and income history. The SSA will pay out whichever is higher. If you claim earlier than your FRA, your spouse's benefit will be reduced as well. They'll still get the higher benefit of the two (spousal vs. their own benefit), but it could be lower than if you'd have waited.
Long story short, waiting until your FRA can put your spouse on solid financial footing over the long-term.
3. It'll encourage workers to stick to their savings game-plan
Finally, it's worth pointing out that America has a major saving problem. The St. Louis Federal Reserve data from March shows the personal savings rate at just 5.9%, which is half of what it was 50 years ago and well below the recommended 10% to 15% that financial advisors suggest workers sock away for retirement. The end result is workers' poor saving and extra cautious investing habits have them extra reliant on Social Security come retirement.
However, Social Security was never designed to replace more than 40% of the average workers' income during retirement. Waiting to claim until your FRA would serve a key purpose: it'd keep you honest with your budget by forcing you to save and invest. Since you can't count on your health and the ability to work until age 66 or 67, claiming at your FRA means you'll need to have built a large enough nest egg to cover your expenses through the first couple years of retirement prior to claiming Social Security benefits.
Waiting until your full retirement age won't be right for everyone (e.g., those in poor health, lower-income spouses, or those who can't find work or generate income), but for a majority of seniors it looks to be a smart move.
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On Saturday, the final day of its summit, the countries of the G7 reaffirmed their strong commitment to the Paris climate agreement. That is, of course, except for the US. "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" President Trump tweeted Saturday morning. ABC News reports Trump was pressured to remain in the climate agreement by the rest of the G7Japan, the UK, Italy, Canada, France, and Germanyas well as by Pope Francis earlier in the week. Trump criticized the agreement during the campaign, and once called global warming a Chinese hoax, according to the AP.
G7 leaders counted it as a small victory that Trump didn't reject the agreement outright, and an EU official says they appreciated the chance to make their case, Politico reports. We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it, ABC quotes Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni as saying. Trump's economic adviser, Gary Cohn, says the president's views on the Paris climate agreement are "evolving." Nearly 200 nations are part of the agreement signed by President Obama in 2015. The AP consulted more than two dozen climate scientists on what might happen if the US pulls out of the agreement. Experts fear more countries could follow, leading to rising seas and more extreme weather as the Earth more quickly reaches dangerous levels of warming. (Read more climate change stories.)
A 59-year-old woman is facing a litany of criminal charges after she allegedly shot another womanby dropping her purse. WAPT reports the incident happened Thursday morning on the fourth floor of the Lakeland Family Medicine Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Debra McQuillen was in the waiting room of the clinic on the University of Mississippi Medical Center campus when she dropped her purse, according to the Clarion-Ledger. Police say a gun inside McQuillen's purse fired, and the bullet struck a woman in the leg. WJTV reports there were four people in the waiting room when the gun went off.
The victim was transported to the emergency room with a non-life-threatening injury. Her name has not been released. McQuillen has been charged with possession of a stolen firearm, carrying a concealed weapon, and assault. Signs outside the medical center state firearms are prohibited inside. (Read more shooting stories.)
By next month, the number of refugees allowed into the US could balloon from 830 per week to more than 1,500. The New York Times reports the State Department made the change with zero fanfare this week, sending a private email to agencies helping refugees in other countries. The change could increase the number of refugees entering the US in the 2017 fiscal year to 70,000; that's 15,000 fewer than in 2016 but far more than the 50,000 President Trump had proposed. Refugee advocates were excited by the news, calling it "long overdue." There are currently tens of thousands of refugees waiting to enter the US following a nearly two-year application process.
The change in refugee policy has nothing to do with court rulings on Trump's travel ban but rather with congressional budgets. The refugee quota was imposed by a budget passed last fall, but the spending bill passed by Congress this month didn't include it. The email sent out by the state department read that refugees will be "unconstrained by the weekly quotas that were in place." A spokesperson for the State Department says the decision to adjust refugee quotas was made following discussions with the Justice Department. It's possible the quotas are reinstated when Congress passes the 2018 budget. Read the full Times report here. (Read more refugees stories.)
British Airways canceled all flights out of London's two largest airports Saturdaythe first day of a spring bank holiday weekend in Britainaffecting tens of thousands of travelers. The problem stems from British Airway's IT system, the entirety of which apparently crashed worldwide, the AP reports. According to CNN, the airline says it doesn't appear to have been a cyberattack, but rather a "power supply issue." An aviation expert tells the BBC that British Airways "can't do anything at all." That includes having planes take off, moving baggage, and issuing credentials to passengers. The problem affected call centers, the British Airways website, and its mobile app. While British Airways hopes to have some flights in the air Sunday, the problem could persist for days, one expert says.
On a normal day, British Airways has hundreds of flights out of Heathrow and Gatwick. On Saturday, travelers described chaos at the airports. One such traveler at Heathrow called it one of "most turbulent, badly organized days that I've ever experienced in Britain." With planes unable to take off and blocking gates, passengers on flights arriving at the airports were unable to disembark. Some waited on their planes for four hours only to get off and learn they had no idea where their luggage was. British Airways eventually told passengers to stop coming to the airport. Those affected will be offered a rescheduled flight or refund. (Read more British Airways stories.)
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New Delhi:
Delhi University has shelved its decision to hold online entrance tests for its M Phil, PhD and PG programmes as it feels that conducting these along with the offline format wont be feasible.
The standing committee in a meeting held on May 19 had given approval for holding both online and offline exams for M Phil, PhD and PG programmes.
It had attracted criticism from student circles, including the Delhi Union Student Union and the ABVP, who claimed that the online test could disadvantage students from rural areas.
The decision to stick to offline pattern was taken after a committee meeting today in which it was concluded that the dual mode was "unfeasible" .
"Logistics involved in conducting both kind of examinations were not feasible. Several stakeholders were consulted and it was found that it needed a large exercise," a member of Standing Committee for Admissions told PTI.
Also Read: Delhi University Admission 2017: All you need to know about courses, application forms, entrance exam, syllabus and cut-off
"Diverting the same resources for two examinations would not only involve more cost but also manpower. Also time is very short," the member said.
The offline exams would be held in six major centres across the country. They would be held in Delhi, Kolkata, Varanasi, Guwahati and Nagpur while in South India, the centre would either be in Bangalore or Chennai.
Next year the exercise would be started a bit early and then it would be seen if this can be taken forward, he added.
Some members of the meeting also said that the move needed a nod from Academic Council.
A special invitee to the meeting, elected AC member Samrendra Kumar confirmed that the online examination would be done away with for this year and said a proposal was also put forth to get ACs assent before going ahead with the move.
Registrations for entrance-based courses, PG, M Phil and PhD programmes, will begin on May 31.
Also Read: Delhi Universitys undergraduate courses registration shoots up to over 40,000 since May 22
According to a statement issued by the DU, on an average one student registers every 5 seconds online for undergraduate (merit-based) programmes. Over 80,000 applicants have already registered.
Mumbai:
A documentary on the rise of AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, from an activist to Delhi chief minister, has landed in trouble with the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Documentary's directors have claimed that the censor board has asked them to remove references of BJP and Congress.
Director duo Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla's "An Insignificant Man" traces the rise of Kejriwal and the birth of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"We have shown in our film how an outsider enters politics, it is about how somebody who is protesting becomes a politician. We did not anticipate any kind of trouble for our film," Khushboo told PTI.
"It is a political film, so any number of things can be problematic or not problematic. The job of the censor (board) chief is not to protect political parties or politicians," she alleged.
Read | Delhi HC seeks Kejriwal's response on Jaitleys fresh defamation suit
However, Nihalani has refuted their claims, saying they have been asked to follow the regular procedure.
"We have just asked them to follow the regular procedure. I have not asked them to give anything else. We have given them a notice. We have asked them to mute some words and the specification of which have been given in the letter, which they should share with the media," Nihalani told PTI when reached out for a comment.
The duo had applied for certification in February this year and the examining committee saw the film. The makers were then handed over a letter, stating that the censor board chairperson has decided to pass the film to CBFC's revising committee.
Vinay claimed that when he went to meet Nihalani and asked him the reason behind CBFC's decision, the censor board chief told him that he was "not obliged to give me any answers and we can go to the media". "After the film went to the revising committee, we were told to get an NOC from PM Narendra Modi, former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit and current chief minister Arvind Kejriwal to clear their film," he said, adding they were consulting their lawyers for the next step.
Vinay said when a filmmaker attempts to make a realistic movie, he/she is punished with arbitrary rules of CBFC. "Every Friday, a filmmaker cries because of the way the censorship laws are exercised in this country," he said. The 90-minute documentary was screened at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and has been showcased at various film festivals.
Read | PWD scam: ACB conducts raid at Kejriwal's relative's company in Delhi
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New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth issued joint statement on Saturday. PM Modi said that the bond between India and Mauritius extend to people and societies who take pride in their shared roots.
The two countries also signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
In a statement, Modi said he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen mutual cooperation and capacities, he said.
A total of four agreements were signed after the talks between the two leaders.
The agreement today on the USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment to the development of Mauritius, the prime minister said.
"We are truly honored excellency that you have chosen India for your first overseas visit after taking on new responsibility as PM. PM Jugnauth and I agree that it is our responsibility to ensure collective maritime security around our coasts and in our EEZs. India is supporting Mauritian NCG in expanding its capacity through Project Trident; taken decision to renew life of CG Ship Guardian," said PM Modi.
"The already excellent bonds between Mauritius and India have taken on a new dimension since I became PM. We have developed a strong bilateral cooperation between Mauritius and India in the field of defence and security," said PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.
With PTI inputs
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New Delhi:
The government will impose curfew in seven police station areas of Srinagar on Sunday as a pre-emptive measure to prevent spread of violent protests which took place on Saturday, following killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter with security forces in Pulwama.
"Curfew will be imposed tomorrow in seven police station areas of the city as a precautionary measure," Farooq Lone, district magistrate, Srinagar told PTI.
He said the curfew will be imposed in Khanyar, Kralkhud, Maharaj Gunj, Maisuma, Nowhatta, Rainawari and Safakadal.
Lone also said that educational institutions in the city will remain close on Monday.
Read | Petty to deny Modi's achievements in 3 yrs, but Kashmir remains dark blot: Omar Abdullah
"The admit cards of students appearing in CET and other competitive examinations tomorrow will be treated as curfew passes. The staff posted as invigilators can use their identity cards for reaching the centres and back home," he added.
Meanwhile, the authorities in Ganderbal district have imposed restrictions on movement of people under Section 144 (Power to issue order in urgent cases of nuisance of apprehended danger) of CrPC.
Sabzar Bhat was killed on Saturday in an encounter in Tral area of Pulwama district.
Violent protests broke out in several towns of the Kashmir Valley after the news of Bhat's killing spread. Bhat, who had succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant.
Soon after the killings, protests started at around 50 places, including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag in south Kashmir, the police said.
On the other hand, the Indian Army said that as many as 10 militants have been gunned down in Kashmir since Friday after it stepped up its counter-insurgency operations in the Valley.
"Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan," the defence spokesman of the Northern Command said.
Pakistan asks UN to intervene
Meanwhile, Pakistan approached the United Nations and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In a statement, Pakistan's foreign office said the Prime Ministers adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz has expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at Line of Control.
Aziz accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistans unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Ahmedabad:
A notice was issued to CBSE and other parties by the Gujarat High Court on Saturday over a plea for holding the NEET exam afresh with same questions in Gujarati and English languages.
The plea to scrap the recently held exam and hold it afresh was moved by a group of 40 parents of those students who had taken the CBSE-conducted National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in Gujarati language.
After admitting the plea on an urgent basis, Justice A J Shastri issued notices to Centre, state government, CBSE, Medical Council of India and Dental Council of India and posted the matter to June 5.
Read more: Cut-offs for post graduation courses through NEET to be reduced: Health ministry
Through their petition, these parents contended that there were discrepancy in NEET exam papers, as the question paper in Gujarati was more difficult than the one in English.
The petition said by providing question papers having different difficulty levels for a common merit list was the breach of students' right to equality guaranteed under Article 14 of the Constitution.
"Hence, the NEET exam conducted on May 7 should be annulled so that afresh examination is held with same set of questions given to examinees of both medium", said the petition.
The petitioners also claimed that the candidates appearing from Gujarati medium were given a totally different set of questions which were tough, and hence these candidates are not likely to score high marks, even when the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) prepares a common merit list for them.
Read more: Madras HC seeks CBSE's stand over plea to cancel NEET, issues notice
"Since the CBSE will prepare a common merit list based on marks scored by candidates irrespective of which language they took the test, candidates from Gujarati medium will lag behind due to difference in difficulty level of different question sets", the petition said.
NEET 2017 was conducted in ten languages.
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New Delhi:
Violent protests broke out in several towns of Kashmir Valley on Saturday in after security forces gunned down Hizbul Mujahideen militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter in Tral region. Bhat, who had succeeded Burhan Wani, was killed along with another militant early morning.
Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests started at around 50 places, including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag in south Kashmir, the police said.
A person in Mattan area in the district was injured during clashes with security forces, they said. The situation across the Valley is tense. Unnerved people rushed to their homes, leading to traffic snarls on certain routes. The schools closed three hours early.
Read | Hizbul commander Sabzar Bhat killed by security forces in ongoing operation in Tral area in Pulwama
Earlier, security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from Srinagar, following information about presence of some top Hizbul Mujahideen militants in the area, a police official said.
The government also suspended mobile internet services as a precautionary measure to check rumour-mongering following protests at various places. However, BSNL broadband service was functioning normally.
The move came hours after the government lifted a month-long ban on 22 social networking websites and apps in the Valley.
He said the operation was launched after militants opened firing on an army patrol in Tral on Friday night.
The official said as the security forces were closing on the building where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire.
Stone pelting incidents have been reported in some parts of south Kashmir including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anamtnag district, the official said.
He said the law enforcing agencies are on the job to chase away the protestors. Burhan Wani was killed on July 8 last year in south Kashmir. His killing had sparked violence in the Kashmir Valley for months.
Read | J-K: Policeman who fled with rifles joins Hizbul Mujahideen militant outfit
Rift in Hizbul Mujahideen: Zakir Musa quits terror outfit after lack of support to his 'beheading' threats to Hurriyat leaders
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New Delhi:
Militants on Friday night opened fire at a patrol party of the security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district in Kashmir but no one was injured, police said. As per reports, 3 terrorists were trapped in the encounter. Out of them, Burhan Wani's successor and Hizbul commander Sabzar Bhat has been killed.
Search operation by security forces is currently underway in Saimu Tral area of Pulwama district.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from Srinagar, following information about presence of some top Hizbul Mujhaideen militants in the area, a police official said.
He said as the security forces were closing on the house where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire.
The security forces retaliated, triggering a gunbattle.
No casualties have been reported so far.
The ultras fired at a patrol party of 42 Rashtriya Rifles at Hardumir at around 9 pm, a police official said.
There was no loss of life in the incident, the official said, adding the militants manage to escape from the spot.
Also read: J&K: Encounter between militants, security forces breaks out in Pulwama district
Also read: Kashmir: Encounter with militants reported in Kupwara forest; arms, ammunition recovered
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New Delhi:
The security forces on Saturday foiled an Infiltration bid in Rampur sector in Jammu and Kashmir. Six terrorists were killed in the encounter. Search operations is presently in progress.
Troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in Rampur sector in the early hours, an army official said.
He said a firefight broke out between the infiltrators and the Army, resulting in elimination of four ultras.
A search operation was going on in the area, the official said.
Earlier on May 20, two terrorists attempting infiltration killed by security forces along Line of Control (LoC) in Nougam in Anantnag district of Jammu and Kashmir. Two soldiers also lost their lives in ongoing operation.
On May 15, the security forces had gunned down two suspected Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militants in Kupwara, north Kashmir. They were allegedly involved in a suicide attack on an army camp in Panzgam last month.
Also read: J&K: 2 terrorists attempting infiltration into Indian territory killed by Army in Nougam sector; 2 soldiers martyred in operation
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New Delhi:
Violent protests have erupted in Kashmir Valley after the army escalated its anti-insurgency operations in which 10 militants, including Hizbul Mujahideen commandar Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, have been killed in past 24 hours.
Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run-up to the holy month of Ramzan, said defence spokesman of the Northern Command.
In the last 24 hours, ten heavily armed intruders and terrorists have been successfully eliminated, he said.
In the ongoing counter-infiltration operations along the LoC in Rampur sector, six armed intruders have been intercepted and eliminated, he said.
In another counter-terror operation which was based on specific information from a local source in Tral in South Kashmir, have so far resulted in deaths of two terrorists, he said.
Army troops on Friday foiled an attack by Pakistans Border Action Team (BAT) on a patrol party along the LoC in Uri sector, killing two militants.
ALSO READ: Hizbul militant Sabzar Ahmad dead: Kashmir Valley witnesses violent protests, mobile internet services suspended
Here are the live updates:
#6.pm
Indian Army holds press conference to brief the media about ongoing anti-insurgency ops
WATCH LIVE: Army's press conference in Uri (J&K) over present situation in Kashmir. https://t.co/uhKrNGLE1d ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
#5.55pm
A Kashmiri resident has died during exchange of fire between security forces and militants in Tral
#5.54pm
Valley witnesses shutdown at 50 places, stone-pelting also reported in Tral where Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed
#5:41 pm
Srinagar to be under curfew from tomorrow in the wake of bandh call given by separatists
#5:33 pm
In the last 24 hours, 10 heavily armed terrorists have been successfully eliminated: Army
#5:30 pm
Ops by security forces have defeated attempts by Pak& Pak sponsored agents to spread terror in J&K in run up to the holy month of Ramzan: Army
Relentless operations thwart desperate attempts by Pakistan to boost terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Statement attached. @adgpi pic.twitter.com/TShVCxlTmU NorthernComd.IA (@NorthernComd_IA) May 27, 2017
(With Inputs from PTI)
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Mumbai:
Swine flu has claimed as many as 221 lives in Maharashtra so far this year with Pune accounting for more than one-fourth of the fatalities, a government official said on Saturday.
Four of the victims hailed from adjoining Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh (two each) who were admitted to state hospitals, where they succumbed to the infection, according to a report compiled by the Maharashtra health department.
The report has figures related to H1N1 affected patients from January 1 to May 26.
During this period 15,003 patients showed swine flu like symptoms and were administered medicines as a preventive measure, Joint Director of Family Welfare Mukund Diggikar told PTI.
Of these patients, 1,106 tested positive for the deadly virus. Among them, 23 were from neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, he said.
H1N1 infection has been the cause of death of 221 people in Maharashtra between January 1 and May 26. There has been some fluctuation in the temperature, which is accelerating the infection, said Diggikar, who holds the additional charge of epidemic diseases in the department.
Also Read: Zika virus detected in India, health ministry confirms 3 cases in Ahmedabad
The common symptoms of swine flu include cough, fever and cold. It seems people are reporting their infection late. Most of the people must be assuming that these symptoms are that of common cough and cold. Hence, by the time H1N1 infection is detected, most of the patients are severely affected by the virus, Diggikar said.
Going by the district-wise figures, Pune has reported 58 swine flu deaths -- the highest in the state, followed by 30 in Nashik district, he said.
According to the report, Aurangabad district reported 20 deaths and Ahmednagar district 19. Nagpur district in Vidarbha has recorded 17 fatalities, the highest in the eastern region of the state.
Amravati district in Vidarbha reported 12 deaths, followed by Akola (8), Buldhana (7), Kolhapur and Solapur (five each), Satara and Thane (four each), Parbhani and Mumbai (three each), Latur, Beed, Sangli, Osmanabad, Washim and Dhule districts (two each).
Also Read: Woman dies of swine flu, death toll touches four in Kota this year
Jalna, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Wardha, Mira Bhayandar (a municipal corporation), Ratnagiri, Chandrapur, Yavatmal, Sindhudurg and Bhandara reported one death each due to H1N1 infection, Diggikar said.
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New Delhi:
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, who skipped a luncheon meet of opposition parties on Friday, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday at the lunch hosted for visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
There has been speculation about a tie-up between JD(U) and the BJP, something Kumar has repeatedly refuted.
JD(U) had broken its 17-year alliance with BJP in 2013 after Narendra Modi was declared the saffron party's prime ministerial candidate.
#WATCH: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi pic.twitter.com/KS5MJBIJBI ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
Such conjecture has grown following the Supreme Court's decision to try RJD chief Lalu Prasad in four fodder scam cases and fresh allegations of corruption against him and his family members.
Read | Will consult opposition before picking presidential candidate: Amit Shah
Kumar heads the JD(U)-RJD-Congress coalition government in Bihar. The chief minister has maintained a silence on the allegations against the RJD supremo and his kin, merely saying it was for the central government to look into them.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar addresses the media after meeting PM Modi https://t.co/Vm8bzdXSYb ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
Nitish, however downplayed speculation about his skipping the luncheon meeting hosted by Sonia Gandhi and accepting an invite of the Prime Minister to join a lunch, terming it as 'misinterpretation'.
The Prime Minister's lunch is in honour of Mauritius Prime Minister. "It's all nothing but misinterpretation," Kumar told reporters asking them not to read too much into it.
Kumar said, "There is nothing about going or not going. I had told Ahmed Patel about this 4-5 days back itself when he had called me to invite JD(U) for the meeting over lunch". "The invitation was given to JD(U) and Sharad Yadav attended it as party representative," he said emerging from a meeting of the state cabinet.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Guwahati:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the demonetisation drive was a tough decision to take in view of the opposition parties constant efforts to turn people against it.
In the end, however, the people stood by the decision of his government, he told a rally in Guwahati on the occasion of the BJP-led NDA governments completion of three years in office.
Demonetisation was a tough decision. Political leaders tried to create anger and provoke people, Modi said.
He said, Demonetisation has brought 90 lakh people into the tax net. People stood by me shoulder to shoulder in this big decision.
Modi thanked the 1.25 crore people of the country for standing by him on every decision his government took.
On black money, the prime minister said, We decided to take strong steps against black money. I know that for this I will face problems, but I wont hesitate as I have promised this to the people.
Indirectly criticising the previous governments at the Centre, Modi said that an Act was passed against benami properties in 1988, but it was never notified.
What kind of governance was this? For the first time in India, honesty is getting a chance. An honest person is thinking of living peacefully for the first time, he observed.
The prime minister said that because of his honest decisions, he had faced huge problems, but he would always stand by it as promised to the people.
Once black money was everywhere, now it became Jan Dhan everywhere. From now on, it should be Digi Dhan everywhere, he said referring to his governments drive for a cashless economy.
ALSO READ: 3 years of Modi Govt: PM lays foundation of Guwahati AIIMS, says demonetisation was a very tough decision
Highlighting some of his governments achievements, Modi referred to the setting up of OBC Commission, Swachch Bharat campaign, surrender of LPG subsidy by people, spread of Internet to villages, transforming post offices into banks, irrigation system and providing LED bulbs to common people.
He took a dig at previous governments for slow speed of work, saying there was a big mismatch between peoples expectations and implementation of schemes or projects.
He took credit for trying out new things, saying, Everyday there is a new initiative. There is a change in the work culture. The country is feeling the change. In the last three years, there was not a single day when we did not take a step.
Talking of a new India he wants to see, Modi said, We have to build a new, developed India. There should be respect for all work and workers. Women will travel equally. There will be no discrimination to anyone and all will be equal.
During his day-long tour of Assam, Modi said projects worth Rs 3,500 crore had been either conceived or commissioned in the state in a single day.
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New Delhi:
Rahul Gandhi on Saturday met the victims of Saharanpur caste clashes and their family members at the districts border after authorities denied him permission to visit the violence-hit area.
Congress leader P L Punia, who accompanied Gandhi during the visit, said the party vice president promised the victims that he will work towards ensuring justice to them.
The administration tried to stop me on the UP border but I walked to Shahjahanpur Chauki, Saharanpur, where I met the families of the victims, Gandhi said in a tweet.
Today there is no place for the poor or the weak in India. The Dalits are being crushed, being pressed - not only in UP but in entire India, he added.
Gandhi also appealed to the administration to get an impartial probe done into the cases of violence and take steps for peace and brotherhood, Punia told PTI.
The district administration had refused permission for a visit by Gandhi to the violence-hit zone and he was stopped at the Saharanpur border by officials in the midst of elaborate security arrangements.
Punia said Gandhi asked the district authorities about the legal provisions under which he was being denied entry into Saharanpur which has witnessed clashes between Thakurs and Dalits. He had planned to visit Shabbirpur village, where Dalit houses were torched on May 5.
On being stopped by the district administration, the Congress vice president got out of his vehicle and met the victims and their families in a roadside eatery at the districts border.
Though Rahul Gandhi asked the administration to allow him to visit the hospital to meet the victims admitted there, he was told that all of them have been discharged, Punia said, claiming that last night he had gone to a hospital from where around 23 people were discharged abruptly.
According to him, Gandhi was told about incidents of violence and how 58 houses of Dalits were set afire.
The victims and their families also told Gandhi about a meagre compensation of Rs 5.12 lakh in total being disbursed to them so far, Punia said, claiming that those who perpetrated the trouble have got handsome compensation.
The district magistrate assured Gandhi that he will review the compensation given to the victims, he said.
Gandhi, who reached Saharanpur border from Delhi this morning, left for the national capital after the meeting with the victims, he added.
The victims demanded that as the post-mortem report of an upper caste youth, who was believed to have died during hurling of brickbats, stated suffocation to be the cause of death, the three persons arrested for it should be released, Punia said.
Earlier, ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Misra, camping in Saharanpur in view of the tense situation there, had said Gandhi would not be allowed entry as the administration wanted to avoid any confusion and provocation.
The ADG had also warned that a legal action would be initiated against the Congress vice president if he violated the law.
Meanwhile, Devendra Chauhan, a Thakur community leader, said they tried to meet the Congress vice president but failed.
Chauhan alleged that political leaders visiting the district had been meeting the Dalits, while a Thakur youth had also been killed in the violence.
He maintained that prominent leaders should not be allowed to come here as their visit leads to worsening of the situation.
He criticised Gandhi for attempting to enter the district at a time when the situation was tense.
Violence first broke out here about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, one person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur village were allegedly torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.
On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government had suspended the senior superintendent of police and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the district administration restore peace in the region.
Earlier in the day, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi tried to visit violence-hit Saharapur district in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday but was stopped at the district border by the police.
Later, Rahul addressed the media saying he was not allowed to visit the region. He further stated that he will return from the place where he was stopped today as requested by the administration.
Rahul Gandhi was also accompanied by actor turned politician Raj Babbar.
Commenting on NDA government Rahul Gandhi said, in todays India there is no place for weaker sections of society.
Criticising the NDA government Rahul Gandhi said that the NDA government is spreading fear among weaker sections all across country and has not fulfilled its promise of providing employment to the youth.
Speaking on Kashmir issue, Rahul said that situation has got worse under the Modi regime.
IMMEDIATE PLAYOUT: Rahul Gandhi addresses the media in Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) https://t.co/xSSitCPUCd ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
ALSO READ: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi denied permission to visit riot-hit Saharanpur
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New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday night said India stands by the people of the island nation and that ships are being rushed with relief material, with floods and landslides causing widespread devastation in Sri Lanka.
He condoled the death of 90 people due to rain-triggered floods and landslides in Sri Lanka.
"We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need", he said in a tweet.
Modi said Indian ships are being dispatched with relief material.
"The first ship will reach Colombo tomorrow morning. The second will reach on Sunday. Further assistance on its way", he said in a series of tweets.
Read more: Sri Lanka supports Indias concern over Kashmir with respect to Chinas OBOR project
Heavy floods and landslides killed around 92 people in the country
Heavy floods and landslidestriggered by the worst rainfall since 1970s have killed atleast 92 people and left 110 missing in Sri Lanka, officials said Friday, warning the situation could get worse.
Over 20,000 people have been displaced in seven districts as the south western monsoon caused havoc, destroying hundreds of homes and cutting off several roads.
"We have seen worst rainfall since the 1970s", said Dunesh Gankanada, deputy minister of Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
"We are carrying out relief operations in some areas when we can't even reach some of the affected areas", Gankanda said, adding that people in the southeastern region of Ratnapura were taking shelter on tree tops.
The DMC said the death toll has risen to 92 and another 110 remain missing with reports coming in from areas which were inaccessible earlier in the day.
The government has alerted international organisations for relief, Gankanda said.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will keep monitoring the situation and will seek assistance as required", said Deputy Minister Karunaratne Paranavithana.
Sri Lanka Airforce and the Navy are working to provide relief to people stranded by floods with helicopters and boats deployed, an official has said.
Relief officials said the monsoon had been expected, yet the rainfall recorded was at unexpected levels.
Read more: Modi in Sri Lanka: PM hails shared Buddhist heritage, warns of growing arc of violence
Over 600 millimeters of rain was recorded in some areas with other badly affected areas receiving rainfall ranging between 300 and 500 millimetres.
Chief of Meteorological Department R S Jayasekera said while the peak of the monsoon had passed, more rains are expected during the next few days. Jayasekera said it is expected to intensify again on May 30.
He said the rainfall was more than in 2003 in the south of the island which killed over 250 people.
A majority of those killed were from a landslide in Kalutara and flooding in Ratnapura district, officials said.
They said adverse weather had badly affected seven districts.
According to DMC, a total of 7,856 individuals from 2,811 families were affected in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and Southern Provinces due to the torrential rains which have been lashing several parts of Sri Lanka since yesterday.
"The number of deaths in Ratnapura district is recorded as 10 and it's nine in Kalutara due to floods and landslides", the DMC said earlier in a report.
According to the report, Galle is the worst affected district where 7,157 people have been affected.
Kalutara District Secretariat Field Officer said 38 deaths were reported from the district alone.
The Centre has asked people to be vigilant on rising water levels and also advised them to evacuate from unstable slopes if the showers continue for the next 24 hours to minimise disasters due to landslides, rock falls in Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota districts.
"People of Bulathkohupitiya, Deraniyagala, Yatiyantota, Dehiowita, Baddegama,Yakkalamulla, Neluwa, Thawalama, Bulathsinhala, Agalawatta, walallawita, Baduraliya, Kotapola, Pasgoda, Pitabeddara, Mulatiyana, Walasmulla and Katuwana areas are advised to evacuate", the report said.
"Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North-western provinces. Heavy falls (about 150 mm) can be expected at someplaces", it said.
Sri Lanka, which has been heavily deforested for cashcrops, often witnesses landslides during the monsoon season.
Last year, more than 100 people were killed in a massive landslide in the country.
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London:
A major global IT outage forced British Airways to cancel all its flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports in London on Saturday, leaving thousands of travellers stranded as a workers' union blamed outsourcing to India for the "meltdown".
The carrier had earlier said flights will be cancelled until 1800 local time but has now confirmed all its flights will remain grounded at both airports throughout the day.
The GMB union said the "meltdown" could have been avoided if BA hadn't made hundreds of IT staff redundant and outsourced their jobs to India at the end of last year.
Travelers remained stranded at UK airports due to the outabe.
British Airways apologised in a statement for what it called an 'IT systems outage' and said it was working to resolve the problem.
It said in a tweet that the problem is global. Passengers at Heathrow Airport reported long lines at check-in and flight delays.
One posted a picture on Twitter of BA staff writing gate numbers on a white board.
"We've tried all of the self-check-in machines. None were working, apart from one," said Terry Page, booked on a flight to Texas.
We apologise for the current IT systems outage. We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. British Airways (@British_Airways) May 27, 2017
Also Read: 'Heavily drunk' son of Gujarat Dy CM Nitin Patel argues with Qatar Airways staff, stopped from board flight to Greece
"There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front."
The problem comes on a holiday weekend, when thousands of Britens are travelling.
For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Cairo:
In response to the attack by suspected Islamic State militants that killed 28 Christians in south of Cairo, the Egyptian army has launched intensive airstrikes on terrorist groups in Libya, the army spokesperson said.
Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip, which also included footages of army aircrafts while taking off, on his official Facebook and Twitter pages on Friday.
The army operation is still going on, he said in a statement.
The airstrikes came after the army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen on Friday attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250 km south of Cairo, the Ministry of Interior said.
Read more: Islamic State claims responsibility for suicide bombing on Jakarta bus station in Indonesia
The gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles, it said. Reports said there had been between eight and 10 attackers who were wearing military uniforms.
Prior to the army's announcement, Egypt's President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained on attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the attack.
The president did not give other details on the strikes or the location, however, the local media then quoted official sources who confirmed that Egypt launched airstrikes on camps belonging to terrorists in Derna city in Libya.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 28 people were killed and dozens others injured in the attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three-month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
There have been a number of attacks on Copts in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
Read more: Philippines: Islamic State militants hold dozen Catholic hostages, torch buildings
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypt's Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint George's Cathedral in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
Islamabad:
Pakistan on Saturday approached the United Nations and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In a statement, Foreign Office said the Prime Ministers Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at Line of Control.
Aziz accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistans unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self-determination.
ALSO READ: 10 militants killed in 24 hours in Kashmir as Indian Army mounts counter-insurgency operations
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Fabu, Madisons former poet laureate, is a consultant in African-American culture and arts. She writes a monthly column for The Capital Times. fabu@artistfabu.com
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Last summer, many residents living on the Squantz Pond shoreline were unable to use their boats or go swimming for fear of getting tangled in coils of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil.
But the weed, which infested as much as 39 acres last year, could become a thing of the past with the introduction in two weeks of sterile grass carp, which have a voracious appetite for milfoil.
This is really going to be what the homeowners on Squantz Pond have been waiting for, said Cherry Dumaual, who lives on the pond.
Dumaual and her husband, Howard Hillman, said tourists and residents werent able to take full advantage of Squantzs recreational opportunities last year.
The milfoil was so bad that by mid-summer, people couldnt get their boats out and their children couldnt go swimming, Hillman said.
Squantz Pond is scheduled to get 585 carp and Candlewood Lake another 4,450 carp on June 8 as part of the ongoing effort to battle the milfoil, which has been spreading for years. This will bring both bodies of water close to the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protections preferred ratio of 15 carp per acre of milfoil, said DEEP Fisheries Division Director Peter Aarrestad.
Residents along the Squantz shoreline have spent years campaigning for the fish to be introduced.
The milfoil has, for the past four or five years, gotten to be a big problem, said First Selectman Susan Chapman. So theyre looking forward to getting relief.
The town applied in 2015 for a grant to begin stocking the carp in 2016. But DEEP did not grant the permit until earlier this year.
Candlewood was stocked with 3,800 carp in June 2015 and 50 more were added last summer, this time implanted with transmitters to track their movements in the lake.
DEEP originally planned to add 3,000 carp this year, but increased the number to 4,450 after officials realized the earlier figure had been calculated using an outdated formula.
Candlewoods first stocking had taken a conservative approach, allotting 13 fish per acre of milfoil, said Larry Marsicano, executive director of the Candlewood Lake Authority. But the milfoil projection from 2015 fell short of the actual acreage by about one-third.
Marsicano said the lake ended up with just nine fish per acre of milfoil in 2015.
DEEP arrived at this years 15-per-acre ratio by using the 506 acres of milfoil measured last year by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the expectation that about 10 percent of the original fish stocked died, Aarrestad said.
Marsicano said adding the carp years apart is purposeful.
Part of doing it in a step-by-step process is so all the fish arent the same age, he said. These fish will be younger than the fish that we stocked a couple of years ago. ... You want a number of age classes in there because you dont want all the fish dying off at once.
He said the authority has received positive feedback from many shoreline residents, several of whom donated to the program.
This years $48,000 cost for stocking Candlewood will be paid for with a grant from FirstLight Power Resources, several private donors and a portion of the authoritys budget. Squantzs fish will be covered by a $4,900 grant from FirstLight, which oversees both bodies of water.
Chapman said she does not think the milfoil problem will be solved overnight.
People are optimistic that the carp will help with the milfoil problem, but the reality is until you get the right number of carp in the lake, you wont see relief, so were not there yet, she said. I dont believe the stocking this year gets us to the right number. Relief from the milfoil with the carp is still years away.
New Fairfield officials are considering adding the herbicide Diquat to a part of the lake to kill the milfoil, but have not yet filed an application with DEEP.
Department spokesman Dennis Schain said the agency has been in discussion with Solitude Lake Management, the company hired by the town to apply the herbicides, but applications for pesticides can take several months to be approved once submitted.
A town meeting is scheduled for next week in New Fairfield to determine whether moving forward with the herbicide proposal should require a townwide vote.
The fish will be added to Candlewood at the same 10 locations used in 2015, which is required by the permit, Marsicano said. The two Squantz spots will be in the shallower, northern part of the pond, with the fish split evenly between the New Fairfield and Sherman locations.
Stocking locations are based on which areas have the most milfoil, which prefer shallower waters.
Though Hillman and Dumaual are pleased with the choice of release points, they lamented that the fish werent added at the same time Candlewood got its first group.
With them putting it in now, the full impact wont be seen for three years, Hillman said. In terms of timing, were behind.
Dumaual said pond residents would like Squantz to be included more fully in plans for Candlewood.
Were all a lake community, and we want the best for Candlewood Lake and Squantz, which are jewels, she said. We hope that there will be ongoing attention to milfoil and other invasives.
Marsicano said although overseeing Squantz Pond isnt in its mission statement, the lake authority has always been involved in helping Squantz residents. He said the authority helped combat algae blooms in Squantz last summer and that the pond has recently been added to FirstLights mapping program.
If somebody wants something to get formalized that we do more at Squantz, that can be discussed, but we do quite a bit there, said Marsicano, who conducted research on both bodies before joining the authority. Its not an official mission statement, but weve always been monitoring there. I love Squantz and Ive always been very interested in it.
Len Greene, a spokesman with FirstLight said the two waters were connected and the company has been committed to both.
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Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Donald Trump's transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate - a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that it's unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushner's apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than relying on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administration's relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and it maintains a nearly constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that although Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushner's apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
"How would he trust that the Russians wouldn't leak it on their side?" said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause "a great deal" of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, "seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy."
The discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trump's closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts. Trump's first national security adviser, Flynn, was forced to resign after a series of false statements about his conversations with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters related to the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own meetings with Kislyak when asked during congressional testimony about any contact with Russians.
Kushner's interactions with Russians - including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions - were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last year's presidential race and help elect Trump.
Obama administration officials say members of the Trump transition team never approached them about arranging a secure communications channel with their Russian contacts, possibly because of concerns about leaks.
The State Department, the White House National Security Council and U.S. intelligence agencies all have the ability to set up secure communications channels with foreign leaders, though doing so for a transition team would be unusual.
Trump's advisers were similarly secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. The Obama White House only learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner, Flynn and Stephen Bannon, another top Trump adviser, because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leader's name on a flight manifest.
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities - which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds - to an American.
The Post was first alerted in mid-December to the meeting by an anonymous letter, which said, among other things, that Kushner had talked to Kislyak about setting up the communications channel. This week, officials who reviewed the letter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence said the portion about the secret channel was consistent with their understanding of events.
For instance, according to those officials and the letter, Kushner conveyed to the Russians that he was aware that it would be politically sensitive to meet publicly, but it was necessary for the Trump team to be able to continue their communication with Russian government officials.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a "Russian contact" in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
The Post reported in April that Erik Prince, the founder of the private security firm Blackwater, now called Academi, and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met on Jan. 11 - nine days before Trump's inauguration - in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Video: Untangling the web of Jared Kushner
What you need to know about Jared Kushner's ties to Russia. (Thomas Johnson / The Washington Post)
Short URL: http://wapo.st/2qo8qTK
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Video: Russian ambassador says Kushner wanted secret channel with Kremlin
Jared Kushner and Russia's ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin. (Alice Li, McKenna Ewen / The Washington Post)
Short URL: http://wapo.st/2qoFbQO
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Establishes Import, Export, and Wholesale Distribution Pipeline in European Union, Executing on Global Expansion Strategy
TSXV: ACB
VANCOUVER, May 26, 2017 /CNW/ - Aurora Cannabis Inc. (the "Company" or "Aurora") (TSXV: ACB) (OTCQX: ACBFF) (Frankfurt: 21P; WKN: A1C4WM) is pleased to announce its acquisition of Pedanios GmbH ("Pedanios"), a leading wholesale importer, exporter, and distributor of medical cannabis in the European Union ("EU").
Pedanios, a federally licensed medical and narcotic wholesale and GMP inspected narcotic import company, holds all relevant licenses and permits, and has been successfully importing, exporting, and distributing cannabis for medical purposes since December 2015, into and within the EU.
In January 2017, German parliamentarians unanimously passed a new medical cannabis law, which appointed physicians as gatekeepers to access, established pharmacies as the point of sale, and introduced full insurance cost-coverage for medical cannabis patients across the country. In March 2017, when the new law came into force Pedanios' monthly sales immediately doubled and growth continues to accelerate as Germany's 80 million citizens begin to benefit from the improvements to patient access guaranteed by the new law.
Pedanios wholesales medical cannabis to a growing number of pharmacies - over 750 as of today - and offers the widest selection of products of any distributor in the German market, including ten of the fourteen products approved by the Bundesopiumstelle, a body of the German federal Health Ministry. All Pedanios' existing supply contracts will remain in place.
"This is a transformational acquisition for Aurora, and a key step in our aggressive international expansion strategy," said Neil Belot, Aurora's Chief Global Business Development Officer. "The transaction will ensure ongoing and increasing high quality product is available to fuel Pedanios' rapid growth, while positioning Aurora and Pedanios to seize upon opportunities together in Germany and the EU's emerging cannabis industry."
"Pedanios, with first mover success in the EU, has proven itself as one of the world's most trusted and scalable importers, exporters, and distributors of wholesale medical cannabis. Patients, physicians, and pharmacies across the EU recognize the Pedanios brand as the trusted source for high quality GMP certified medical cannabis," said Terry Booth, CEO. "The Pedanios team share Aurora's vision, our high standards, and our intentions to play a leading role in shaping the future of the global cannabis industry. In addition, because the average market prices are higher in Germany than in Canada, we expect German sales to positively impact our average sales price per gram."
"Canada and Germany are among the world leaders in medical cannabis, and as trailblazers in our respective countries, Pedanios and Aurora are well positioned to continue to drive innovation, expand our distribution network, and capture significant global market share," said Patrick Hoffmann, Pedanios' Co-Founder and Executive Partner. "We look forward to the synergies that our combined companies will deliver to shareholders and stakeholders alike."
Under the terms of the purchase agreement, dated May 18, 2017, Aurora will pay a consideration to holders of Class B securities of Pedanios approximately 3,421,756 common shares of Aurora, priced at $2.14 per share. In addition, a total consideration of approximately $13,565,000 in cash and common shares is payable to the holders of Class A common shares of Pedanios, which are held by the two founders/Managing Directors of Pedanios who will continue to run the company. The cash portion for the two founders being $3,020,000 and the share portion being 4,895,026 common shares of Aurora, priced at $2.14 per share, of which 17% will become free trading 4 months after closing, with the balance becoming unrestricted in equal installments on a quarterly basis over 27 months, commencing in February 2018. Total shares of Aurora being issued over 3 years represent less than 2% of total shares outstanding. Aurora's cash balance as of May 15, 2017 was $165,000,000. Values herein have been calculated based on an exchange rate of 1.51 Canadian dollars to every 1 Euros.
Pedanios, over the last 90 days, has achieved cash flow positive operations, with gross revenues of approximately CAD$1.15 million, and costs of approximately CA$1.00 million. Revenues for May, up to and including May 26, 2017, were approximately CAD$0.5 million, reflecting a 410% increase in the daily sales pace as compared to average for the 8 months prior to the introduction of the new law, and an increase over the April and March 2017 averages of 70% and 108%, respectively.
About Aurora
Aurora's wholly-owned subsidiary, Aurora Cannabis Enterprises Inc., is a licensed producer of medical cannabis pursuant to Health Canada's Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations ("ACMPR"). The Company operates a 55,200 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, and is currently constructing a second 800,000 square foot production facility, known as "Aurora Sky", at the Edmonton International Airport, and has acquired, and is undertaking completion of, a third 40,000 square foot production facility in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, on Montreal's West Island. In addition, the company is the cornerstone investor with a 19.9% stake in Cann Group Limited, the first Australian company licensed to conduct research on and cultivate medical cannabis. Aurora's common shares trade on the TSX-V under the symbol "ACB".
On behalf of the Board of Directors,
AURORA CANNABIS INC.
Terry Booth, CEO
This news release includes statements containing certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "continue", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "may", "will", "potential", "proposed" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. Various assumptions were used in drawing the conclusions or making the projections contained in the forward-looking statements throughout this news release. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The Company is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation, to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly required by applicable law.
The TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Aurora Cannabis Inc.
For further information: For Aurora Cannabis Inc., Cam Battley, Executive Vice President, +1.905.864.5525, [email protected], www.auroramj.com; Marc Lakmaaker, NATIONAL Equicom, [email protected], +1.416.848.1397
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27, 2017 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced that the 2018 G7 Summit will be held at Le Manoir Richelieu in La Malbaie, Quebec. Located in the Charlevoix region, this unique and idyllic area highlights our country's vast and diverse natural beauty and evokes the historical significance of the St. Lawrence River.
Next year's summit will allow Canada to showcase both its domestic and international priorities: to strengthen the middle class, advance gender equity, fight climate change, and promote respect for diversity and inclusion.
It will also be an important opportunity for Canada to engage G7 counterparts on pressing global challenges, and pursue further collaboration on innovative and clean economic growth.
A parallel announcement was also made today at Le Manoir Richelieu by Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Jean-Yves Duclos, and Minister of National Revenue Diane Lebouthillier.
Quote
"Canada is proud to host the 2018 G7 Summit in Charlevoix. This vibrant region captures everything that our country is about from bilingualism, to cultural diversity, to stunning scenery in every season. I look forward to welcoming my counterparts next year in beautiful Charlevoix. I'm sure they will fall in love with the region, just as Canadians have done for generations."
- Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
Quick Facts
This will be the sixth summit hosted by Canada , and the first in Quebec since 1981.
, and the first in since 1981. The previous Canadian summits were held in Muskoka, Ontario (2010), Kananaskis, Alberta (2002), Halifax, Nova Scotia (1995), Toronto, Ontario (1988) and Ottawa - Montebello , Ontario and Quebec (1981).
Associated Links
This document is also available at http://pm.gc.ca
SOURCE Prime Minister's Office
For further information: PMO Media Relations: 613-957-5555
Related Links
http://pm.gc.ca/
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27, 2017 /CNW/ - This year's G7 summit has ended without substantial commitments to help the world's most vulnerable, according to humanitarian and development organization World Vision Canada. Instead of meaningfully addressing the world's most pressing problems, more attention was paid to handshakes. Unless Canada steps up in 2018, the days of the G7 as a forum for real visionary change may well be numbered.
G7 Fails:
No real commitment to address the needs of 20 million people on the brink of starvation in 4 countries
No tangible solutions for at least 3.7 million Syrian children who have known nothing but war
No fresh climate change policy to address the disproportionate suffering in developing countries
No remedy for 5 million children dying before their 5th birthday from preventable, treatable diseases
No action to protect millions of child labourers making products governments & consumers buy each day
Silver linings?
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , host of G7 2018, has a true opportunity to leverage his global popularity to inspire new political and financial commitments from his peers to address the world's worst crises and promote lasting change for the world's most vulnerable people, especially women and children
Quotes:
"This year's G7 was a disappointment this new group of leaders failed to provide meaningful solutions to the world's most pressing problems. The world needs more Canada. At last year's G7, Prime Minister Trudeau was the newcomer, this year he was the third most senior leader, next year he will host leaders in Charlevoix. He will have a unique opportunity to turn sunny ways into meaningful action for the world's most vulnerable."
Martin Fischer, Director of Policy, World Vision Canada
"Prime Minister Trudeau keeps saying the right things. As the world looks to Canada's G7 Presidency in 2018, it's time to create a game-changing legacy on the global stage. Canada has an opportunity to rally global leaders around to champion the rights of children, gender equality, inclusion and non-discrimination. It's time Canada's feminist prime minister rallies his peers to realize the rights and drive lasting change for the most excluded women and girls, especially in the world's toughest places."
Martin Fischer, Director of Policy, World Vision Canada
World Vision is a Christian relief, development, and advocacy organization working to create lasting change in the lives of children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice. Inspired by our Christian values, World Vision is dedicated to working with the world's most vulnerable people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender.
SOURCE World Vision Canada
For further information: Brett Tarver, World Vision Canada, +1-647-825-2712 or [email protected]
Related Links
http://www.worldvision.ca
tanks5.JPG
Giant beer tanks headed to the Genesee Brewery in Rochester via the Erie Canal. This photo was taken at Lock 12 (Tribes Hill) by Corbett Godwin
(Corbett Godwin)
Updated with response from state economic development officials (below).
Three Upstate New York lawmakers say they're angry that the state-supported modernization of the Genesee Brewery in Rochester includes beer fermentation tanks made in China.
Those are the same tanks that are now making their way down the Erie Canal to Rochester, where they will be a key part of the brewery's $49 million renovation project. "The fermentation tanks going down the Erie Canal are literally on a slow boat from China," said Assemblyman Anthony Brindisi, D-Utica.
The three Mohawk Valley-area lawmakers -- Brindisi, Brian Miller of New Hartford, and Marc Butler of Newport -- wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state economic commissioner Howard Zemsky expressing their frustration.
They are upset that the state plans to contribute $9.5 million to the Genesee project and argue that the tanks could have been made by a New York company, such as Feldmeier Equipment, a Syracuse-based tank fabricator with two factories in Little Falls.
The lawmakers also urge support for a bill sponsored by Brindisi that would require state officials to give preference when offering financial help to projects using New York goods, products and services.
"It disgusts me to know that state economic development dollars were used to support a project where goods were manufactured in China, when we have companies like Feldmeier Equipment that produce products like this right in the Mohawk Valley," Brindisi said in a news release Friday. "New York should put its money where its mouth is and support our state workers and state companies first, before they ship taxpayer's money right out the door to China."
On Thursday, Feldmeier vice president for sales Dave Pollock expressed similar frustration that the tanks came from China, noting the irony that the barges carrying them on the canal passed just 100 feet in front of one of the Feldmeier facilities in Little Falls.
"Our issue is they're getting $9.5 million from the state for this project," Pollock told NYup.com Thursday. "And they're asking people to come down and toast the tanks on the canal that are coming from China. And we have employees to feed here."
Pollock said his company had submitted a proposal for the work to Genesee, but it was not accepted.
Genesee responded that it asked bidders to submit proposals for the entire tank project, and Feldmeier instead bid on just a piece of the tank work. Feldmeier, in fact, did not bid on the specific tank work that ended up with the Lehui Group of China, Genesee officials said.
Genesee also argued that it is spending $40 million of it own money on the current phase of the brewery modernization, including the tanks. It will not receive the state money for several years, and only after it meets certain requirements, including adding 125 workers to its current payroll of 600. When the state money arrives, it will be used to expand the Genesee Brewhouse next to the main brewery.
On Friday, in response to the three lawmakers, Empire State Development spokesman Jason Conwall issued this statement:
"Governor Cuomo and Empire State Development support New York State businesses, period.
"In fact, ESD provided $750,000 to Feldmeier Equipment in 2013 in order to secure their expansion to Herkimer County, ensuring the new operations and 80 new jobs came to Little Falls instead of going out-of-state, which was under strong consideration by the company.
"The bottom line is that while Feldmeier bid on a larger equipment package, the company declined (twice) to bid on the tanks in question and not one penny of State funds were spent on the equipment purchased by NAB, from China or elsewhere. If local elected officials had contacted ESD with their concerns before issuing a press release, they would have known these indisputable facts instead of playing politics with inaccurate information."
Here is the text of the letter the three lawmakers sent to Cuomo and Zemsky:
"While it has been exciting to see the interest generated in the Erie Canal over the recent shipment of beverage tanks to the North American Brewery Facility in Rochester, the event has generated some strong concerns for us here in Herkimer County and the Mohawk Valley.
As you know, the tanks were manufactured in China and then shipped here for delivery. We believe you can understand that the fanfare for this event was less than enthusiastic in the City of Little Falls, where Feldmeier Equipment, Inc., has a production facility that specializes in tanks of this nature. While there have been statements that Feldmeier did not submit a bid for the project, we are led to believe the opposite is true. In fact, we are absolutely convinced that Feldmeier submitted a proposal for the project and had asked for your support.
Gentlemen, this was a $50 million project which included approximately $9.5 million in state assistance ($4.5 million in performance based Excelsior Jobs Program Tax credits and up to $5 million in Upstate Revitalization Initiative)- assistance provided by the taxpayers of New York State, Herkimer County and the residents of the City of Little Falls. We feel we must express our surprise and disappointment that there were no conditions placed on the expenditure of this state funding.
This project had the potential to be a great win for New York with the attention it drew to the canal, the development of additional brewing capacity for the Rochester area, and the production of the new tanks for an upstate New York Company. Feldmeier has an outstanding reputation for this kind of work and has, in fact, done other work for the Genesee Brewing Company in Rochester.
As things now stand, we must express our strong disappointment that this highly-regarded local company was not given more consideration in this project. We would hope, in the future, New York companies and businesses will receive stronger support from this administration."
This is from a statement that the Genesee Brewery has issued in response to those questioning the decision to use Chinese-made tanks:
"We love Rochester, and New York State. It's our home and home to our 600 employees whose jobs we are securing through this $40 million investment in our brewery.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that will transform the Genesee Brewery into a world-class operation. We will create new opportunities for our business and community for generations to come. We worked to get the highest quality equipment that fit within our budget while still allowing us to complete the full vision of this project. We have a strong track record of creating jobs, investing in the business and supporting our community that demonstrates our commitment to both Rochester and the state of New York. The brewery modernization is privately funded by us. NYS funding and tax credits kick-in based on that private investment and our commitment to create new jobs. Those dollars will fund the expansion of the Genesee Brew House."
Don Cazentre writes about craft beer, wine, spirits and beverages for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.
BARABOO - Sharon Lee (Linde) Hillmer, 80, of Baraboo, began her eternal life on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Sharon was born Oct. 22, 1936, in Madison to Dorothy Susan Harris and Carl Gjermund Linde. She graduated from Central High School in Madison and later attended the University of Wisconsin Baraboo extension.
Sharon married Roger "Bud" Martin Hillmer on March 3, 1956. After Bud's college graduation they moved back to his hometown of Baraboo. They raised their four children as well as numerous foster children, and welcomed anyone as family into their home.
Sharon spent her career as a medical transcriptionist working at the University Hospital in Madison, after winning a typing competition for speed and accuracy. She continued to work for the hospitals in Baraboo and local private physicians until a car accident crippled her. Sharon could often be found answering the phone at the family business, perusing her catalogs and engaging in long conversations with whomever walked in the door.
She enjoyed couples club at church and the church choir, the Jaycettes, Baraboo Theater Guild, and the Lyle Greenwood and Fairfield Fiddlers earlier in her life. Sharon had been a part of the First Methodist Church and Walnut Hill Bible Church during her life in Baraboo. Many do not know because of her humility, but Sharon was a gifted artist, a talented violinist and had a lovely warm voice (but it was drowned out by Bud's booming to the heavens).
Sharon worked at Renewal Unlimited helping community members rebuild lives and homes. She volunteered for two decades with Bud at Self Help Ministries, where they assisted Wisconsin inmates to rehabilitate back into the community. She always looked for and believed there was good in everyone.
After her accident, Sharon ran away with the circus, luckily it was just a few blocks away, and it ran away with her heart. For over 25 years she volunteered at Circus World Museum, attending circus activities and donating to circus events. She embraced the nickname "Grandma Circus" and looked forward to seeing repeat families visiting year after year.
For almost five years Sharon has resided at St. Clare Meadows, where she was president of the resident council. She loved her resident neighbors and staff and will be truly missed by all who knew her.
Survivors include her son, Jon and wife Debbie; daughters, Pam Marquie and husband Tom, Susan Hillmer, and Carol Keepers and husband Daniel; grandchildren, Elise Payne and husband Frank, Merrick Marquie and wife Ashton, Maureen Marquie, Linde VanSlyke and Kenny Bell; great-grandchildren, Guthrie, Ivy, Violet, Vlad and Gavrila; a brother, Ken Linde and wife Denise; a sister, Jean Flansburgh and husband Roy; loving nieces and nephew; as well as numerous foster children and countless friends. She was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Bud; and her parents, Dorothy and Carl.
A memorial service celebrating Sharon's life will be held at a later date. The Rago-Baldwin Funeral Home is assisting the family.
The World Economic Forum said that employees should continue working until 70 in nations such as the UK, US, Japan and Canada.
Since the 1950s, life expectancy has been increasing rapidly. On average, it has been increasing by one year, every five years. Babies born today in
2017 can expect to live to over 100, or in other words, they will live to see the year 2117.
The normally quoted life expectancy numbers are based upon the ages of people who are dying now aka people who were born 75-85 years ago. This is used as an estimate for the life expectancy of all people in spite of the trends towards longer lives.
This does not even account for extreme longevity advances using SENS and gene therapy.
The increase will be needed, as the number of people over 65 will more than triple to 2.1 billion by 2050.
By then, the number of workers per retiree will have halved to just four.
Michael Drexler, head of financial and infrastructure systems at the World Economic Forum, said the expected rise in longevity was the financial equivalent of climate change.
Here is the 24 page World Economic Forum report.
Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has reacted to the raid on the official guest house of Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, accusing President Muhammadu Buhari of running a government of terror against opposition.Fayose, through his Chief Press Secretary, Idowu Adelusi, also accused the president of going after Igbo leaders in the opposition by systematically intimidating them through repeated harassment and intimidation.He said the presidency in the efforts had turned the hitherto disciplined law enforcement agencies like the police and Department of State Services to agents of darkness that must muzzle the opposition at all cost.Fayose said, This is a calculated and sustained attempts to silent all the Igbo leaders that are not in the All Progressives Congress with Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections because he knows it is a no go area for his party.They have gone from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kalu, to the Chairman of Capital Oil, Ifeanyi Ubah and now the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. This is the muzzling of democracy and it is time we saved our nation beyond party line from the hands of the terrorists.Obviously it is too early to rate this government that has turned to government of terror using DSS and police as agents of terror. This certainly is not the change we bargained for.We have lost this democracy to military junta of the past masquerading as democrats and we must rise as a people to defend it.But I assure Nigerians that this period shall pass. Nigeria will once again be free from the hands of the agents of darkness and terror.
Lack of funding is forcing aid agencies to cut feeding programmes for starving people in northeast Nigeria, the UN said Thursday, warning of growing pressure on resources as refugees return.The World Food Programme last week said nearly two million people were living on the brink of famine in the remote region, which has been devastated by Boko Haram violence since 2009.According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 5.2 million people could need life-saving food aid in three northeast states from June to August.OCHA said a massive funding shortfall had forced some organisations to review plans and targets and in some cases reduce food distribution for the upcoming critical lean season.That might negatively affect some of the progress made so far, it added in its latest situation report.This, paired with recent nutrition assessments indicating deteriorating nutrition levels in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (states), is putting increased pressure on food security and nutrition responders, the agency said.Boko Harams Islamist insurgency has killed at least 20,000 people in northeast Nigeria and forced millions of others from their homes.Lack of security, plus restrictions on travel and trade, have hit agriculture in a desperately poor region dependent on subsistence farming and fishing.That has led to food shortages and driven up prices.The UN says Nigeria needs $1.05 billion this year to fund vital humanitarian projects including food and healthcare provision, clean water, sanitation and education.But on Tuesday it said the plan to tackle the looming famine was only about 20 percent-funded at $24 million.We need to do more, we need to do it quicker and we can always do better, said the UNs deputy humanitarian coordinator in Nigeria, Peter Lundberg.Lundberg called the situation in the northeast Africas worst humanitarian crisis and said funding was pivotal as Nigeria faces up to the aftermath of the conflict.Aid agencies working the region have stepped up their efforts with the approach of the rainy season, which sees already hard-to-reach rural areas cut off by flooding.Makeshift dwellings are threatened with damage from heavy rains while the risk of disease especially malaria and water-borne conditions such as typhoid and cholera increases. Precarious state Nigerias government had wanted to shut camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in and around the Borno state capital, Maiduguri, by the end of May but was forced to abandon the plan.Humanitarian agencies say camps elsewhere in Borno are facing increasing pressure because of the return of refugees from neighbouring Cameroon.More than 6,000 people have registered with the immigration service since early April; 1,500 arrived in the first two weeks of May and 2,500 more are expected in border areas in the coming weeks.Returnees are arriving in areas where aid partners may not be fully prepared to provide assistance due to lack of presence and funding, said OCHA.The conditions in return areas are very poor and camps are overcrowded. The situation continues to deteriorate with serious protection implications.The returnees are in a precarious state, lacking all basic life necessities, including shelter, food and water.Security also remains a persistent problem, with regular suicide and bomb attacks, despite military claims the militants have been weakened to the point of defeat.Earlier this month, Britain and the United States warned that foreign aid workers were at increased risk of kidnapping in border areas where people are most in need of help.
Nollywood actor, Saidi Balogun has blamed the members of the House of Representatives in charge of passing anti-piracy laws for the death of many actors in Nigeria.Balogun said the effects of the activities of pirates could be minimized if funds were made available to actors before their death.People die but because we are in the public eye, death of actors resonates more. Two million people can die but nobody would write about them unlike when actors die.People die every day. It is not that we are not checking ourselves, it happens but I am begging all actors to work on their health. I was supposed to celebrate my birthday from May 24 to 26 but I postponed it in honour of our fallen colleagues, Balogun told Punch.The reason why most actors solicit for funds when they are ill is because of lack of health insurance and we should talk to insurance companies about that. If we are making our money now, we should look at health insurance policy for future sake.I keep begging that the House of Representatives pass hard laws on piracy because if we are making good money, we would be able to subscribe to insurance policies.If I am making N500,000 and the school fees of my daughter is N600,000, where would I see money for insurance? It is the people that are not passing hard laws on piracy that are killing us.I have an insurance policy as the President of The Golden Movies Ambassadors of Nigeria. I have been on an insurance policy for over four years, he said.Balogun also advised the younger actors to insure their lives and property.I am begging the up and coming artistes to look towards insuring themselves. I implore my colleagues to get good managers and lawyers to help them manage their image.I travelled to Germany some months back to shoot a movie and when they checked for my name on Google, the only thing that came out were bad reports and the German asked me if that was the way the journalists in my country celebrate the best actors in Africa. I stood up for journalists.They felt that because we are black, that is why such happened but I made them know that we are BPI, Black, Proud and Intelligent. It affected me a lot but I still thank God I am still here today and I am friends with journalists till date, Balogun said.
Nigerian Embassy in New York
The Nigerian Embassy in Washington has protested to the U.S. Government over the violation of its premises by the Secret Service agents following fracas between two local workers.The Acting Ambassador/Charge dAffaires, Hakeem Balogun, told the Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that a protest note had been transmitted to the U.S. Department of State.Balogun condemned the violation of the diplomatic protocol over altercation by two Embassy drivers adding: The embassy has as well transmitted a protest note to the U.S. Department of State.We have sent a protest note in respect of the entrance by the police into the embassy. It is against diplomatic protocols.They are not supposed to enter the embassy. The protest letter is in respect of the entrance of the police into the embassy, Balogun said.The Nigerian envoy also said that he has since taken appropriate and timely, administrative and diplomatic steps to address the incident.These measures include the immediate and indefinite suspension of the two local staff members involved in the fracas.There is the establishment of a Committee to investigate and recommend appropriate disciplinary actions against the two locally-recruited staff members involved in the fracas.Balogun dismissed the publication by a Nigerian newspaper alleging that the United States Police was called in to restore order in the Embassy as a result of a physical fight.The ambassador also described as baseless, claims that the fracas took place in the full glare of dozens of guests and visa applicants.To buttress its report, the Newspaper attached a photograph claiming to be the chaotic situation that erupted as a result of the fight, he said.According to him, however, the dispute between two of its drivers took place in the basement area of the Chancery where Embassy drivers are stationed.The physical encounter was, therefore, not in the full glare of the public as to have caused a chaotic situation.A cursory look and careful analysis of the picture attached by the Newspaper will reveal to anyone conversant with the Embassys premises that the picture used has no physical connection to the Embassy.This was clearly an effort at deception, the ambassador said.On the issue of the nationalities of the Embassys local staff members, he said the primary qualification for employment into the non-diplomatic workforce is knowledge of the job, not the nationality of the applicant.The Newspaper went further to question the composition of the nationalities of the Embassys locally recruited staff.This is an international best practice. Be that as it may, it is important to inform that out of the Missions current local staff strength of 44, there are 37 Nigerians.Seven are non-Nigerians from India, The Philippines, Singapore and Sri Lanka, he said.Balogun assured that the Mission would continue to do everything within its mandate to protect and defend the interests of Nigeria and Nigerians in the U.S.Reuters
Controversial ex-British lawmaker, Eric Joyce has given his reasons why he believe President Muhammadu Buhari is dead Recall that Mr. Joyce has been recently active concerning the health status of Buhari.He had in some of his twitter posts, suggested that the President, who has been away to the United Kingdom for medicare, has died.In his latest post on Friday morning, the ex-British soldier gave what he called the reasons the truth about Buhari is being kept away from Nigerians.He wrote via @ericjoyce, his twitter handle, Nigerias president, Muhammadu Buhari, was last seen by people other than his own staff in early May.According to his staff, he handed over co-ordinating power to his Vice President and headed to London for medical treatment.Shortly beforehand, he had returned from around two months in London, also apparently receiving medical treatment there.His staff now say that he will soon return to Nigeria, but he may then return shortly thereafter to London for more medical treatment.For three weeks, the presidency has failed to prove any evidence that Mr Buhari is still with us.There has been no detail at all about Mr Buharis condition.Photographs, obviously historical ones, depicting Mr Buhari apparently in rude health have been provided to media outlets in Nigeria.Some Nigerian outlets have provided largely nonsensical quotes from inside the London High Commission where they claim Mr Buhari is recuperating.Nigeria is a vibrant, growing and increasingly powerful democracy; the transition of power between Mr Buhari and his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan was exemplary indeed it was of historical importance for the whole of Africa.There is only one course of action for a democracy when a president becomes ill or dies; officials must brief the public on the medical condition of the president and if it does not seem that he is likely to be able to continue in the role then power must pass formally to the Vice President.The present state of play is having the effect of suggesting that nothing has changed in Nigeria and actually this is not correct. Things have changed and Nigerian democracy is all the better for it.There is a contested politics now but that cuts both ways and the APC must not now resort to the old ways that party was created to consign to the past.There are only a small number of alternatives in respect of the present scenario. First, Mr Buhari is recuperating and will resume his role.If this is the case, then why is not presenting himself on camera to his people? Second, Mr Buhari has passed on.However, no death certificate appears to have been issued.Third, Mr Buharis officials are allowing the impression to be created that he may have passed on in order to produce him frail but alive, as they did a month or so ago.This in turn may provide more time to manage the succession when and if he does pass on by making reports of his death then less credible.Finally, Mr Buhari may be so incapacitated as to be unable to resume his role. Actual death in these circumstances is in respect of a presidents role academic. Machines can give the appearance of a life preserved even though there is no real living and certainly no governing going on.At present, a murky combination of the last two possibilities above seem most likely. In other words, officials and those in the know are working behind the scenes to organise a succession.This may seem to make sense from an administrative point of view, but it is profoundly undemocratic.The point of Nigerias complex system of electing a president and administration is to ensure that the Nigerian people openly choose a workable and representative government.This is the opposite from what appears to be going on at present. Of course, it is unfortunate that for the second time in succession a northern muslim seems certain to be replaced as president by his southern Christian deputy. But that is democracy.Perhaps Nigerian democracy is not able to navigate this new crisis. It is certainly true that foreign countries are much more interested in the stability of the north and the continuation of Nigeria as a single polity than the existence of a Nigerian democracy of itself.In the end, though, it is for Nigerians to choose if they wish to remain a democracy. One clear criteria for the latter is that you have a right to know if your president is still alive; and if he is, that he is still able to govern.
Oluremi Tinubu, the Senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, said the recent rescue of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls ...
Oluremi Tinubu, the Senator representing Lagos Central Senatorial District, said the recent rescue of 82 abducted Chibok schoolgirls was proof of the commitment of the Federal Government to the well-being of the Nigerian child. Tinubu said this on Saturday in Lagos in her message on the occasion the Childrens Day celebration marked annually on May 27.She expressed the hope that the remaining girls would be rescued soon and be reunited with their families.Tinubu also urged the government to provide food, shelter, affordable and accessible health care and education for those who had been displaced by insurgency.This is your right and I hope that Nigeria can be better to provide you a whole world of opportunities ahead of you.It is my hope that every one of you can be protected from violence in all its forms such as exploitation, abuse, trafficking, physical and humiliating punishment and harmful traditional practices among others.However, you must not let the difficulty of the situation around you limit the greatness you have, she said.She promised to continue to do her best to ensure better conditions, welfare and opportunities for children, women and the vulnerable in the society as the senator representing Lagos Central.My commitment to you children has not waned.You are Nigerias future and everything you do and learn is to prepare you for that great responsibility and equip you with all the necessary tools. Please make the most of it.I wish you a happy Childrens Day and I hope sincerely that you take on the baton of excellence, impacting lives, your surroundings and Nigeria in all you do, Tinubu said.The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Childrens Day was set aside by the United Nations in 1964 to celebrate the importance of children.
The Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of running a government of terror so as to cow the opposition.Specifically, he accused the president of going after Igbo leaders in the opposition by desperately scheming to silent them through repeated harassment and intimidation.The governor said the presidency in the efforts had turned the hitherto disciplined law enforcement agencies like the police and Department of State Services to agents of darkness that must muzzle the opposition at all cost.He said this in reaction to the reported raiding of the home of the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, by security agencies.Fayose said, This is a calculated and sustained attempts to silent all the Igbo leaders that are not in the All Progressives Congress with Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections because he knows it is a no go area for his party.They have gone from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kalu, to the Chairman of Capital Oil, Ifeanyi Ubah and now the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. This is the muzzling of democracy and it is time we saved our nation beyond party line from the hands of the terrorists.Obviously it is too early to rate this government that has turned to government of terror using DSS and police as agents of terror. This certainly is not the change we bargained for.We have lost this democracy to military junta of the past masquerading as democrats and we must rise as a people to defend it.But I assure Nigerians that this period shall pass. Nigeria will once again be free from the hands of the agents of darkness and terror.Also speaking on the development, a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, who said he had confirmed from Ekweremadu that his home was raided by security forces, added that the action was shameful and shocking.In a statement he issued on the incident, Fani-Kayode said, Raiding the homes of our friends and leaders like Ekweremadu and harassing their children will not deter, stop or silence those of us that are in the opposition. It will only harden our hearts and strengthen our resolve.As each day goes by more and more people have come to accept the fact that the Buhari administration is a government of fascists and beasts.They are led and guided by dark and sinister forces whose sole agenda is to divide our people and destroy our country.It is about time that Nigerians woke up and stood up to their madness and tyranny. We must employ all lawful means to resist them and expose them for what they are. Not only are they incompetent but they are also sadistic and wicked.
A civil servant in Kogi, Mrs Husseina Mohammed has returned the sum N1, 780,500 paid in excess of her March salary to the coffers of the...
A civil servant in Kogi, Mrs Husseina Mohammed has returned the sum N1, 780,500 paid in excess of her March salary to the coffers of the state government. Mohammed said this on Friday in Lokoja while on a courtesy visit to the Director General, Bureau of Information and Grassrrots Mobilisation, Alhaji Abdulkareem Abdulamlik .She said that she received an alert from her bank in the afternoon of May 21 and discovered that a huge sum had been credited in her favour. Mohammed said that she immediately called the attention of her husband to the development and a decision was taken to return the money to the coffers of the government.The civil servant, who works at the state Teaching Service Commission, said she started the process of returning the money back to government on May 22, saying that the money was paid into the government account with the Lokoja branch of the Zenith Bank Plc. She then handed over the bank teller and other documents used in paying back the money into the government bank account to the Director General Mohammed praised Gov. Yahaya Bello for paying her salary up till March, 2017, saying that she was not in any way affected by just concluded staff screening and verification exercise. She, however, pleaded with the state government to reciprocate her good gesture by paying the outstanding 15 month salary arrears of her husband, Mr Yakubu Mohammed.The civil servant said that the salary of her husband was being withheld for the discrepancy in his age declaration, saying that the discrepancy had since been rectified. In his response, the Director- General commended Mohammed for her honesty. He said with people like her in the society, Nigeria was sure of winning the ongoing war against corruption. The Director -General urged other civil servants and residents of the state to emulate Mrs. Mohammed.He said that her good conduct would not go unrewarded, adding that her exemplary conduct would be recorded for generation yet unborn to learn and emulate. Abdulmalik also reiterated the resolve of Gov. Yahaya Bello to carry the restructuring of the state civil service to the end.
Lucigen Corp. is being noticed for working with customers abroad.
The Middleton biotechnology company was one of 32 companies and organizations across the country honored by the U.S. Department of Commerce this week for exports of their goods and services. Lucigen received a 2017 Presidents E Award for recording a sustained increase in export sales over the past four years.
Earlier this month, the company received a 2017 Wisconsin Governors Export Award.
Johnsonville Sausage, of Sheboygan Falls, is the only other Wisconsin company named for a presidential export award this week. A previous E award winner, Johnsonville received an E Star award, recognizing four more years of export growth.
Lucigen makes biomedical research products. With the expansion of its distribution network as well as the addition of new products, it has nearly doubled product sales from less than $6 million in 2014 to $11 million in 2016. Product sales are expected to hit nearly $20 million in 2017, said Glaselyn Miller, director of global sales and distribution.
International sales are an increasing part of Lucigens growth and have more than doubled over the past three years, Miller said.
Employment at Lucigen also is on the upswing. The company has 65 employees, including 10 added in the past year, and plans to hire another 15 to 20 this year, Miller said.
In addition to its products for scientific research, Lucigen has been working on a quick test for the Ebola virus since 2014. Miller said the company is working on a series of screening tests based on the same platform called the ClariLight platform that might provide early identification of diseases such as the Lassa virus; the Zika virus; influenza; human papillomavirus (HPV); Clostridium difficile; and chikungunya virus.
Using a unique enzyme discovered in the waters of Yellowstone National Park, Lucigen plans to create the assays and work with a partner company that would develop the testing instrument and bring the products to market, Miller said.
I think it would get us closer to providing scientists with a point-of-care solution. We can help researchers in the field to identify cases of infectious diseases (which would) lead to quicker treatment of these diseases, she said.
Miller said it will probably be a couple of years before the technology goes through the regulatory process and becomes available on the market.
US President Donald Trump wished Muslims a joyful Ramadan, on Friday, urging them to use the holy month to reject violence by Islamist...
US President Donald Trump wished Muslims a joyful Ramadan, on Friday, urging them to use the holy month to reject violence by Islamist extremists.On behalf of the American people, I would like to wish all Muslims a joyful Ramadan, said Trump, who is winding up a first overseas trip as president that included a stop in Saudi Arabia.This year, the holiday begins as the world mourns the innocent victims of barbaric terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom and Egypt, acts of depravity that are directly contrary to the spirit of Ramadan, said the US leader, who campaigned last year on a pledge to ban Muslims from entering the United States.Such acts only steel our resolve to defeat the terrorists and their perverted ideology, he said in his message to the worlds estimated 1.6 billion Muslims.Trump said that when he met dozens of leaders of Muslim countries in the Saudi capital Riyadh, he had vowed to stand with them to counter terrorism and the ideology that fuels it.During this month of Ramadan, let us be resolved to spare no measure so that we may ensure that future generations will be free of this scourge and able to worship and commune in peace, said Trump, whose revised travel ban on half a dozen Muslim-majority countries was once again rejected by a US court this week on grounds of religious discrimination.At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict, he said.During Ramadan, Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk. The month is sacred to Muslims because tradition says it marks the period when the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.The presidential statement concluded by saying, I extend my best wishes to Muslims everywhere for a blessed month as you observe the Ramadan traditions of charity, fasting, and prayer. May God bless you and your families.AFP
An Ibadan Customary Court sitting in Mapo on Friday dissolved a 20-year-old marriage between a man and a woman who stabbed her husband wi...
An Ibadan Customary Court sitting in Mapo on Friday dissolved a 20-year-old marriage between a man and a woman who stabbed her husband with a broken bottle.The President of the Court, Mr Ademola Odunade, said he dissolved the marriage between Abideen and Kudirat Adekola in the interest of peace and order.Odunade said that it was inconceivable that a wife could be so bad to the extent of stabbing her husband with a broken bottle.The custody of four out of the five children is hereby awarded to Abideen, while Kudirat is allowed to go with the last, who is still a minor.Abideen shall, however, pay a monthly feeding allowance of N5,000 for the upkeep of the last child, said Odunade.Narrating his ordeal, Abideen, a civil servant, explained that his wife derived pleasure in beating him up.I have chosen to part ways with Kudirat because she always threatens my life with dangerous weapons.Whenever there is any dispute between us, Kudirat steps forward with rounds of dirty slaps on my face and if she is not satisfied, she resorts into blows and kicks.A few days ago, Kudirat extended her devilish threat to me when she broke a bottle and tore my flesh to the angry astonishment of everyone.At that stage, I ran to the police for safety and to report her.Kudirat is such a troublesome and inhuman wife who is never satisfied with any situation.She, however, packed out the following day she stabbed me, said Abideen.Kudirat did not deny the allegations levelled against her.It is true that I stabbed Abideen, but it was in retaliation to the earlier mark he gave me.He is such an irresponsible husband and his mother is the major cause of our matrimonial problems.Abideen keeps saying that Ajimobi (Oyo State governor) has not paid him, so he does not provide food or education for the children.Since we got married, weve been living in their family house with his parents and other relatives in spite of my complaints.Even the house is now dilapidated, she said.(NAN)
Nigerias Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has lambasted Kenyan Airline for bringing a corpse from Ebola-hit Congo into the country wi...
Nigerias Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, has lambasted Kenyan Airline for bringing a corpse from Ebola-hit Congo into the country without proper documentations despite the Ebola alert issued by the country.In a press statement released by the Ministry of Health on Friday, Mr. Adewole demanded the airline be investigated and sanctioned if found to have violated rules for repatriating bodies into the country.The corpse was flown into the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos, on Monday from the Democratic Republic of Congo, DRC.Though THISDAY newspaper had reported that the corpse tested Ebola negative, the minister still called for investigations.The newspaper reported that the corpse, believed to be a Nigerian, had arrived Nigeria unaccompanied and was left at the basement of the airport terminal.While paying an unscheduled visit to the National Port Service of the airport, directed that the body be examined thoroughly.Examinations by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC, and Lagos University Teaching Hospital confirmed that the body tested negative to Ebola virus or any contagious disease.The minister also ordered the immediate replacement of current hand-held screeners with auto thermal machines to screen passengers arriving the country.
Policemen are on red alert across the country ahead of the planned protests by Biafra agitators on Tuesday.
Policemen are on red alert across the country ahead of the planned protests by Biafra agitators on Tuesday.The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), Biafra Independence Movement (BIM) and other groups want to shut markets and stage protests in the Southeast and some other parts of the country to back up their agitation for Biafra,.The police said yesterday that they were deeply concerned with the security implications of the planned actions and urged the groups to shelve their plans in the interest of national security.Moshood Jimoh, the Force Public Relations officer, said in a statement in Abuja that the protests were part of renewed hostilities and subversive propaganda aimed at undermining law and order in the Southeast by these groups, their associates, sponsors, apologists and sympathisers.He said: Consequently, the Commissioners of Police in the affected states and their supervising Assistant Inspectors General of Police, have been directed by the Inspector General of Police to be strict, polite, civil and firm in dealing with the situation and put all the Police Personnel and Police Anti-Riot equipments on red alert to deal decisively in accordance with the law with any eventuality from these groups, that can disrupt commercial activities, vehicular movements and safety of lives and properties in some states of the federation considered to be flash/vulnerable points which have witnessed the unfortunate disturbance of public peace by these groups in the recent past.The Force sees the activities of these groups as not only unlawful but highly provocative and capable of causing breach of the peace currently being enjoyed in the Southeast states and other states of the federation.The planned protests and orders of market closure and illegal unilateral self-imposed restrictions of vehicular movements by these groups in the affected states should be disregarded by all well-meaning Nigerians.The Nigeria Police Force hereby advise members of the public to go about their lawful duties and other responsibilities without any fear or apprehension as adequate security arrangements have been put in place for the safety of every Nigerian throughout the country by Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies. The Nigeria Police Force is not unaware of the rights of every Nigerian to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association and freedom of movement as essentials of democracy provided by the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, particularly sections 38, 39, 40 and 41.However, these rights must be observed with decorum, in good faith and without violating the rights of other millions of Nigerians to free movements and access to public/private facilities and their means of livelihood on daily basis.The Nigeria Police while observing the rights of all Nigerians as stated above, is equally conscious of the fact that these rights are not absolute as section 45 of the same Constitution provide for derogations to these rights.Consequently, the Police will resist the action(s) of any person or group of persons for whatever course that is against the interest of public defence, public safety, public order, public morality and a threat to the rights and freedom of other Nigerians.The Force will continue to Police the country based on international core values and best practices and operate within the Principles of Democratic Policing but will not succumb and tolerate criminal activities of any group(s) under any guise to cause disturbance of public peace and unleash mayhem on innocent Nigerians anywhere in the country. As a result, the Police Force is hereby calling on the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), the Biafran Independence Movement (BIM), the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB) to consider the consequences of their actions and activities and without delay and call themselves to order in the interest of National Security, and safety of lives and properties of every Nigerian across the Nation as the full weight of the law will be made to bear on violators of the laws.The Nigeria Police Force will not hesitate to deal decisively with any group(s) and their sponsors that attempt to cause disturbance of the peace or carry out any unlawful demonstration, unlawful assembly/procession or gathering and public disobedience that can jeopardise law and order and harmonious co-existence within and amongst Nigerians throughout the country. The fact that freedom of expression as one of the dictates of democracy is being observed by the Police, should not be misconstrued as liberty by any group(s) for sectional or group interest to violate the laws and cause mayhem, confusion and apprehension in the minds of more than about one hundred and seventy Millions Nigerians.The Force will continue to carry out its Constitutional duties and other statutory responsibilities in accordance with the law of the land and for the utmost protection of lives and properties of all Nigerians across the country.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has rejected the appointment of her second daughter, Uju Anwuka, by the Federal Government as a mem...
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State has rejected the appointment of her second daughter, Uju Anwuka, by the Federal Government as a member of the Board of the Federal College of Education Technology, Omoku, Rivers State.Okorocha announced the rejection on behalf of his daughter in a statement issued in Owerri, the state capital on Friday, by his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo.The governor alleged that the appointment was not done in good faith, describing it as unbridled mischief.Okorocha claimed that he heard the appointment like every other Nigerian, alleging that nobody consulted him before announcing his daughters name as a board member of the federal institution.The governor said that he, his daughter and his entire family rejected the appointment, adding that whoever was behind the suspicious appointment had an ulterior motive.The statement partly read To the governor, the appointment was obviously not done in good faith. Whoever was the brain behind the appointment did so out of unbridled mischief. Otherwise, the person behind the appointment would have had the courtesy of either informing the father or the mother.The statement further said, The truth of the matter is that the governors daughter does not need the appointment.The governor has therefore asked whoever was behind the appointment to withdraw it since the daughter would not have needed the appointment, even if he (Okorocha) had not become governor.Indeed, the governor has the feeling that whoever was behind the appointment did it with something else at the back of his or her mind; otherwise, the person would have acted well by informing him or the mother or even the daughter herself. The daughter and the entire family reject the appointment.Okorochas daughter is married to the son of the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Anwuka.
Troops of 31 Artillery Brigade Nigerian Army, on Thursday 25th May 2017, raided an evolving Boko Haram terrorists cell at Mokwa and its...
Troops of 31 Artillery Brigade Nigerian Army, on Thursday 25th May 2017, raided an evolving Boko Haram terrorists cell at Mokwa and its environs in Niger State.
A statement signed by Army spokesperson, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman, said the raid and subsequent bursting of the cell followed a painstaking surveillance that led to the arrest of the 3 leaders of the cell, Mustapha Muhammed (Adam Bitri), Ali Saleh and Uba Mohammed at their hideout at Gidan Mai village, along Mokwa-Tegina road.
Preliminary investigation has confirmed that one of the terrorists, Mustapha Muhammed (Adam Bitri), was among the group of the Boko Haram terrorists that kidnapped the late elder statesman, Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno, in Maiduguri on 13th May 2013 along with one Bakura (at large).
Items recovered from them include Automated Teller Machines debit cards, Voters Registration cards, National Identity Cards, various mobile telephone handsets and Bank tellers, among other items.
Men of the Nigeria Police on Friday raided the official Guest House of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in Maitama, A...
Men of the Nigeria Police on Friday raided the official Guest House of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, in Maitama, Abuja.The policemen who were said to have stormed the building with a search warrant, interrogated a steward who was in the building and taken him to a destination yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report, where the steward was made to make a written statement.But police said they were not involved in the raid. The police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, denied reports that the police raided the guest house, saying the Force had nothing to do with the operation.He said, I have inquired from all our investigation units and they all said they did not know about the operation, they did not carry out the raid, so we are not involved in the raid on the guest house, he said on FridayBut a security operative attached to Ekweremadu, who spoke on condition of anonymity, identified the operatives as members of the Inspector General of Police Special Squad.The officer who led the team presented a search warrant. The men were from the IGPs Special Squad, the source said.Speaking to newsmen on Friday, the Special Adviser to the Deputy Senate President on Media, Mr. Uche Anichukwu, said neither Ekweremadu nor any of his aides was informed before the raid was carried out.He said, They did not inform us. Only the steward was there. They should have, at least, waited for the senior staff to be there but they just broke into the house and started searching.When reminded of a point of order raised by Ekweremadu recently on how the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was planning to raid his Enugu home, Anichukwu stated that the raid on the official residence in Abuja was by the police.When asked if the policemen took anything from the house, he replied, They didnt find anything. They took the steward, I think, to the Force Headquarters to sign a document that they didnt find or take anything away.Anichukwu added, The worry is that nobody supervised them; nobody searched them before they entered; and nobody supervised them when they were searching (the house). Anybody can drop anything in a place in the night and come back in the morning to come and search again.Ekweremadu had raised the alarm at the plenary on May 3, 2017, alleging that there was a plan by the EFCC to raid his home in Enugu State and plant incriminating items in it.He further alleged that the proposed raid was to ensure his arrest, detention and indictment, with the aim of frustrating his political ambition.The Deputy Senate President alleged that the mission to move against him was being sponsored by a cabal in the Presidency.Meanwhile, a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has berated the Federal Government for the raid on Ekweremadus home.Fani-Kayode said in a statement that the Buhari government was taking Nigeria back to the days of military rule.The former minister said members of the opposition would not be intimidated by the government which had continued to exhibit fascist tendencies. The statement read in part, Raiding the homes of our friends and leaders like Ekweremadu and harassing their children will not deter, stop or silence those of us that are in the opposition. It will only harden our hearts and strengthen our resolve.Later on Friday, the Office of the Deputy President of the Senate issued a statement on the police raid titled, Police raid Ekweremadus Abuja house, finds nothing.The statement read, Senator Ekweremadu is worried about the manner in which his guest house was raided. The questions are: Was there a search warrant? What were they looking for? Who searched the police officers before the search? Who supervised the search?The Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the Senate on Friday night condemned the police raid in a statement by its spokesperson, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, describing the action as unwarranted, unacceptable and a deliberate attempt to muzzle the opposition.The raid said to have been ordered by the Inspector General of police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, on a property owned by the National Assembly was a wilful affront on democracy.
The Director General on Media and Publicity to the, Kingsley Fanwo has described as a political joke, calls from certain quarters for the resignation of the Governor over the INEC registration saga, insisting that the issue was overblown to score political goals by opponents of the Governor.Kingsley Fanwo, Director General on Media and Publicity to the Governor of Kogi StateAddressing journalists in Lokoja over the weekend, Fanwo said the issue was straightforward enough as the Governor welcomes the decision of INEC to cancel the latter registration.It is unfortunate that some APC leaders have constituted themselves as opposition within their own party, simply because they have lost out in their bid to compromise the system and scam the people of Kogi State. Ametuo has turned himself to a diaspora Chairman who doesnt know what is happening in Kogi State. He is running from his own shadows and has joined forces with those who want to pull the APC-led government in Kogi State down. He and his co-travelers have not come to terms with a new Kogi State that cannot be compromised. Under Governor Yahaya Bello, it will never be business as usual.Change comes with pains. Beneficiaries of the filthy past will continue to resist the new order in Kogi State. They have attempted to incite the populace to insurrection but their plans hit the walls because the people are appreciative of the manner governance is delivered under the present administration. They tried to deceive the people about the hugely successful staff Verification exercise but it failed because the people have seen what we are doing with funds saved from the success of the exercise. The roads to their communities are under construction, they now have water, we are subsidizing healthcare, we are making education more attractive for our children and agriculture is taking the centre stage of our economic renaissance.But because they want to be Governor in 2020 despite their unpardonable failings, they have continued to dance naked in marketplaces, attempting to scandalize the Governor and drag the name of the state in the mud, preaching against their own lifestyle and creating a false impression of the reality of todays Kogi State. Governor Yahaya Bello is a man who is undaunted by the calculated faux against him and the state. To him, he is determined to write his name in gold.The Governors spokesman said the State House of Assembly will not be blackmailed into reversing the gains of the state, urging discredited and corrupt oil thieves to keep their billions and face the legal battles ahead of them rather than venturing in anti-people ventures that are not feasible in modern day Kogi State.The Governor will not resign. We have listened to INEC and we respect their decisions. Now is time for the Commission to fast-track the transfer of the PVC of the Governor to Kogi State from Abuja. Resignation is completely out of the options and the Governor will continue his good work for the people of Kogi State. They and their corrupt sponsors should wait till 2019.The community of their oil sponsor had no electricity for years. But the Governor has restored electricity to the community to the delight of his people who were in darkness for years. To him, we have exposed his failings and hatred for his own people. But to us, government is only fulfilling its electioneering promises to the people. This we shall continue to do.Governor Yahaya Bello met Kogi State in a deep mess. The people had lost confidence in their leaders. He came with hope, rolled up his sleeves and today, we are celebrating great achievements by the administration. We have better roads in Lokoja and many places across the state, we have restored sanity to our environment, we have many ongoing road projects, we have empowered thousands of youth and women through entrepreneurial training and we have repositioned our healthcare, tourism and educational sector. Governor Bello will continue to serve the people of Kogi State.It is ridiculous for a person who has never worked in his life, who has never done any known contract and who was not born into a rich family but yet, controls cars worth hundreds of millions; to turn around and accuse another who was a successful civil servant, successful business magnate and a successful professional, of corruption. We know corruption will continue to fight back but we shouldnt make Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations.When you look at the way our opponents celebrate insecurity in Kogi State, you will wonder if they genuinely love this state. How can you celebrate what was taking the lives of your people? It is high time Security agents invited them for questioning because they might be sponsoring some of these crimes to discredit government and scare investors from the state. We have turned the corners and we can beat our chest that we shall continue to serially defeat insecurity in Kogi State.On the announcement by tertiary institutions managements on schools reopening, Fanwo said it was done after government had met most of the demands by the striking workers.Government is concerned about the continued closure of the schools. We have met majority of their demands and we are sure they will soon go back to work. They are Kogites too who have the interests of our students at heart. Education is number one on the thematic areas the present administration is focusing and government will do everything within its resources to fund the sector and make it the steering of our drive to greatness.Kogi people want the workers to return to work. We have lost ground as a result of the strike and we shall strive to put in place a permanent mechanism to stop future disagreements that could lead to strike. It is unhealthy to the future of our generation-next. We are currently turning some institutions to model schools across the state to lay a foundation for what we want the secondary schools to look like under the present administration. We are also driving academic activities in our schools with a strong ICT backbone to make our children highly competitive. We are not oblivious to the indispensability of education for development. It is the bulwark of the administrations policy on development.
EAU CLAIRE Like the ghost towns left behind after the California gold rush fizzled, many of the frac sand mines dotting western Wisconsin sat dormant a year ago.
Piles of golden sand sat untouched next to stationary rail cars, with skeleton crews stopping by only occasionally to check on the idle facilities.
It was a far cry from the boom times of a few years ago, when mines and facilities to process the regions high-quality sand popped up constantly.
But even faster than the industry rose from the ground up, it ground to a near halt, shedding hundreds of jobs as oil prices plummeted. For western Wisconsin residents, it was a crash course on the volatility of the gas and oil industry.
Through the slump, company officials insisted the frac sand industry would bounce back.
The big question is when, industry consultant Kent Syverson, chairman of UW-Eau Claires geology department, said last May.
He now has the answer: 2017.
The industry was fairly dormant for a while, but now it has reawakened, Syverson said this month. These mines are going full out again.
Representatives of several companies with regional frac sand mining operations confirmed Syversons assessment.
We are running pretty much full time, back to 24 hours a day, said Sharon Masek, manager of mine planning and industrial relations for Superior Silica Sands in Wisconsin. Were pretty much back to our peak levels of employment.
That means employment at Superior Silicas five mines in Barron and Chippewa counties has reached close to 200, up from about 70 last year when two of the facilities operated part time and two were completely shut down, Masek said. The company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is seeking to further boost its western Wisconsin workforce in the coming weeks.
The buzz of activity is refreshing after a tough 2016.
Its great, Masek said. I love coming to work in the morning when there are trucks all over the place and its tough to find a place to park.
Now hiring
For Hi-Crush, which operates frac sand mines in Augusta, Blair, Whitehall and Wyeville, the rebound also is well underway.
Chief financial officer Laura Fulton said the mines are ramping up and should all be operating at full capacity producing a combined 10.4 million tons of sand per year by late June or shortly thereafter. The Houston-based company temporarily shut down the Whitehall plant when the Blair operation started in March 2016. The Wyeville facility, near Tomah, is the only one of the four mines that operated throughout the downturn.
Hi-Crush has hired 91 workers so far this year, roughly doubling its 2016 employment level, and is seeking an additional 20 to 25, Fulton said.
We think its the beginning of a rally, she said. Everything seems to be really positive.
While depressed oil prices also led to cutbacks for Fairmount Santrol, which has four sand facilities in western Wisconsin, mining director Aaron Scott emphasized that diversification helps it weather the ups and downs of the oil and gas market. The Sugar Land, Texas-based company also supplies sand for the glass, foundry, roofing, construction and water filtration markets.
We think the long-term market outlook remains bright, Scott said.
Strong demand
Apparently, so do industry observers. Masek cited a report showing the consensus of analysts is that demand for frac sand will exceed its 2014 peak of 53 million tons this year. After dipping to 37 million tons in 2016, projections call for demand to climb to 79 million tons in 2017 and 107 million tons in 2018.
Samir Nangia, who follows the frac sand industry as director of consulting for IHS Energy Insight, said all indications are that the sector is mounting a strong comeback after the doldrums of last year. IHS projects U.S. demand for frac sand will increase by more than 60 percent this year.
Really strong demand is driving the change, Nangia said. Its a boom-bust cycle, and it looks like the boom has just started.
Wisconsin is the nations leading producer of sand used in hydraulic fracturing the drilling technique commonly known as fracking that involves injecting a mixture of sand, water and chemicals deep into underground wells to force oil and natural gas to the surface. Wisconsin sand, prized by frackers for its grains ideal size, shape and durability, is shipped to drilling sites including Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Canada.
Rising demand for sand is a result of more wells being fracked and more sand being used per well, Nangia said. The analyst indicated the number of frac wells in the U.S. now totals 10,600, up 28 percent from last year but still well below the 19,790 wells in 2014.
Rich Budinger, spokesman for the Wisconsin Industrial Sand Association and vice president of mining operations for Fairmount Santrol, said oil prices are probably the No. 1 indicator of the health of the oil and gas industry. He tied the industrys slump directly to oil prices plunging below $30 a barrel after OPEC announced late in 2015 that it was not planning to limit production. The benchmark crude oil price finally surpassed $50 a barrel again late in 2016 and remains in that territory.
When the price got up to around $50, it was kind of a green light for the oil companies that they could make money again, Syverson said.
Syverson believes the frac sand industry, which has attracted criticism from environmentalists for its destruction of the regions sandstone hills and potential impact on air and water quality, can play a key role in diversifying the regional economy.
This resurrection of the sand boom is important because its happening at a time when some communities are suffering because agricultural prices are low, Syverson said.
Texas competition
One factor still weighing heavily on the share prices of frac sand companies involves renewed interest in cheaper but lower-quality sand from Texas, where the most fracking is occurring.
While the northern white sand found in the Midwest remains the highest quality and generates the highest yields for fracking, it costs $60 to $70 per ton to ship it to Texas, and more companies are exploring the possibility of using Texas sand instead to save on transportation costs, Nangia said.
It may not matter much in the short term if analysts are right about the impending surge in demand for frac sand.
If the projections hold true and theyre going to need so terribly much sand, then they will need the Texas sand and all of the other sand as well, or they wont be able to meet demand, Syverson said.
Another new development is that some frac sand companies are beginning to use finer grain sand they once rejected and allowed to sit in settling ponds at mine sites because frackers have learned they can inject those fine grains into smaller fractures and thus extract more oil and natural gas by stimulating a higher percentage of shale formations, he said.
Second chance?
Despite the fresh lesson on the volatility of the oil and gas market, many laid-off frac sand workers have returned to the industry.
Not as many are skittish as you might think, Superior Silica Sands Masek said. Many of them loved their jobs and were happy to come back, although some said they were worried about supporting their families and needed something more secure.
Fulton said Hi-Crush has had a similar experience, with most workers willing to give the industry another chance.
The pay is good, and the hours are steady, Fulton said.
While Fairmount Santrols Budinger acknowledged there is risk that goes along with being involved in a global market, he pointed out that a positive aspect of the latest slowdown is it pushed sand companies to become more efficient.
Theres nothing like an industry downturn to bring focus to cost control, Budinger said. Because of that, maybe our industry can withstand a little more volatility than it could two years ago.
Refusing to self-insure state employees would trigger a 10 percent increase in health care premiums for 2018 3 percent more than what Gov. Scott Walkers budget plans for, state officials said Friday.
And revised estimates released by the Walker administration also show the state would save about $43 million more than the $60 million figure the governor had touted in the past while trying to persuade lawmakers to approve his plan.
The announcement from top officials in Walkers administration is part of a renewed push to convince lawmakers to move forward with Walkers self-insurance proposal despite a promise from the states budget committee to reject the idea, and was met with questions from critics about the legitimacy of the new figures.
Self-insurance allows us to get a taxpayer savings of $103 million with no changes to benefits to state employees, Department of Administration Secretary Scott Neitzel said Friday during a press conference with Walkers budget director Waylon Hurlburt and Deputy Insurance Commissioner J.P. Wieske.
The $103 million in savings includes the $60 million in general purpose revenue, a $22 million health insurer fee under the Affordable Care Act and $21 million worth of premium increases that would not materialize if the state self-insured, according to Hurlburt.
But critics say the Walker administrations numbers are misleading because bids for health plans arent due until June 30, so the figures are based on assumptions.
And Joint Finance Committee co-chairman Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, said the administration released new, higher savings figures with unsupported evidence and in spite of health insurance sector experts disagreeing with their analysis.
The projection violates the integrity of the states proven bid-negotiate process and ignores its effectiveness, said Phil Dougherty, spokesman for the Wisconsin Association of Health Plans, which has opposed the proposal to move to self-insuring state employees.
Nygren said Friday in a statement that Walker administration officials are being disingenuous when saying by moving to a self-insurance model, the state could avoid paying the ACA health insurer fee, or whats known as an Obamacare tax.
The Obamacare tax has never been collected and theres no evidence to show it will be collected in the future, Nygren said.
Nygren also said the savings are largely based on the use of reserves collected by the Group Insurance Board by likely overcharging for health care coverage.
Dougherty said that the 7 percent increase in premiums that Hurlburt said the budget proposal expects is nearly double the performance of the fully insured program over the last nine years.
The only way the state can be certain of its costs or savings is to fix its payments with a fully insured benefit program, he said in a statement. The health plans pay the cost of fully insured medical services and bear the risk of unexpected increases in medical costs. Fully insured premiums do not change during a contract period.
In the last nine years, final premium increases averaged 3.7 percent and the negotiated difference between preliminary and final bids equaled $283 million, Dougherty said. Fully insured premium rates increased 1.6 percent in 2017 after preliminary bids reflected a 5.4 percent increase, he added.
Walker in his 2017-19 spending plan proposed switching about 236,000 state workers and family members from a competitive HMO model, in place since 1984, to a self-insured program like that used in at least 20 states. The idea was one of the governors most ambitious and contentious proposals this budget cycle.
Under Walkers plan, the state would pay benefits directly and assume the risk for losses instead of buying insurance from 18 HMOs. Self-insurance could save the state money or could cost more, according to consultants reports.
Deductibles would
increase 400 percent
The new projections presented Friday also said annual deductibles would increase about 400 percent, or $1,000 per person and by $2,000 per family.
The public plea to revive the proposal comes days after the states Group Insurance Board met and floated the idea of moving forward with self-insurance regardless of what the Legislature decides to do with Walkers proposal.
One way would be to divide the states into regions that insurers must cover and reducing the number of insurers, according to Wisconsin Public Radio.
Wieske said Friday its unclear how much savings that plan would generate because its unknown which insurers would participate.
Officials with the Group Insurance Board and the Division of Personnel Management also on Friday sent a letter to the Joint Finance Committee detailing consequences of not moving to a self-insurance model.
This new information confirms that the current fully insured model will be much costlier than moving to a self-funded approach, the letter from GIB chairman Michael Farrell and DOA deputy administrator Stacey Rolston said.
A spokesman for Joint Finance Committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said Darling was unavailable for comment. A spokesman for a union representing state employees did not respond to a request for comment.
Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch wrote a nice column last week about our recent Wisconsin Poverty Report. She applauded the progress Wisconsin has made and proposed pushing harder to reduce poverty.
We agree on a lot: Unemployment among men, especially ex-offenders, should be the next focus area, especially in Milwaukee. Also, I am interested in any new approach to government-subsidized housing that helps people move in, move up, and move out and would love to hear the details.
But then we move to other areas where she says we part ways, and indeed we do.
We both believe that the long-term solution to poverty for the able-bodied non-elderly is a secure job that pays well what we differ on is how to get there. I know that a part-time, low-wage job alone wont do the trick, and I suppose she does, too.
Lt. Gov. Kleefisch and her colleagues have already attached work requirements to the SNAP food and nutrition program for able-bodied single people without dependents. They have managed to reduce SNAP by 40,000 such people, many of whom are young ex-offenders in Milwaukee who cant find jobs because of their records and a lack of jobs in central Milwaukee.
So, no job, no eat that seems cruel to me. Now, they plan to attach work requirements, drug testing and time limits to housing vouchers and Medicaid, with added work tests for single parents on SNAP. These big-stick approaches are designed to punish people who need aid and who cannot get along on low-wage work alone. The lieutenant governor is right that I do not like these approaches.
Should we require work for able-bodied people who could take a job and who are not drug-dependent? Yes, but only if that job helps the person to a better life. One way is to make sure that parents have affordable, quality child care for their children while they work. Another is to leave Medicaid alone. Better efforts at both child care and affordable medical care would also lower expenses and reduce poverty, leaving low-income families more to spend on food, clothing and shelter.
What else do we need to create more secure, well-paying jobs? Simple: A guaranteed job in a private or nonprofit workplace (call it a paid apprenticeship) if none is available to the person being forced to work, and a higher minimum wage for all workers in Wisconsin.
Milwaukee is losing population and employment while nearby counties are doing very well. Either create more jobs in Milwaukee or help those in central Milwaukee get to where the jobs are, and make sure the employer will hire them. Other areas of the state also are in need of jobs. So if we want to force people to work, they have to have a decent secure job to take.
As for a well-paying job, 29 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Ours is $7.25 not enough by itself to bring a mother with two children above the poverty line if she worked full time year-round. This is why we have the earned income tax credit to push her wage over the poverty line.
But why not a $9 or $10 minimum wage for Wisconsin? That would get our working mother really close to the poverty line for her family and reduce outlays on the earned income tax credit. With a national $10-an-hour wage, for every job lost, 20 other workers would get a raise. I can take that tradeoff, especially in our improving economy where employers say there are not enough workers.
We are not sure what is going to happen next. Will more people in Wisconsin get better jobs and further reduce poverty because of bigger paychecks? Or will people be cut off from basic aid and forced out of subsidized housing because they are drug-addicted or cannot find or hold a job?
The one thing you can be sure of is that the Wisconsin Poverty Report will continue to present the good news with the bad, so that Wisconsin residents know if state programs and the state economy work for the unfortunate. Our annual poverty report is the Wisconsin Idea in action, and I am a proud and strong supporter of both.
With a national $10-an-hour minimum wage, for every job lost, 20 other workers would get a raise.
Once elected, members of the Public Service Commission typically have an easy time hanging onto their jobs. Voters dont know much about them or their work, and the only real money in the campaigns has traditionally come from utilities and others
As a community and as a region, Council Bluffs and the surrounding communities have felt the beneficial impact of philanthropists.
Looking back more than a century, Council Bluffs, Atlantic, Clarinda, Denison, Glenwood, Hamburg, Logan, Malvern, Missouri Valley, Red Oak, Shenandoah, Villisca and Woodbine can thank Andrew Carnegie for funds to build community libraries. More recently, funding from the Lied Foundation, the Charles Lakin Foundation and the Nelson Family Foundation has made seemingly impossible projects possible. These were the gifts of individuals and families who accumulated wealth through their business activities.
The Iowa West Foundation, created by laws and regulations ensuring that dog and horse racing and casino gaming in the state would be beneficial to Iowans, has forever changed the face of southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska.
But with the spread of community foundations, anyone, including those with limited wealth but a desire to invest in a better future, can be a philanthropist.
Now in its 10th year, the Pottawattamie County Community Foundation created that possibility.
The idea for a foundation in Pottawattamie County came from a 2006 study commissioned by the Iowa West Foundation that determined that over the next 50 years, an estimated $10.5 billion in wealth will be transferred to heirs in the county.
PCCF was formed in October 2007 with the initial financial assistance of the Iowa West Foundation. The founding board members were Kelly Summy, Marie Knedler and Bobbette Behrens of Council Bluffs and Dean Fischer of Neola.
Kelly has been the conductor of the local community foundation train since the start, said Jerry Mathiasen, the current PCCF president and CEO. He laid the tracks, and we have made progress with his strong leadership. As a result, we are now really picking up steam.
He was all in from the very beginning, very actively involved in all phases, said Behrens, another of the founding board members, said of Summy. He gave an incredible amount of time more than any of us. I dont know what we would have done without him.
Summy, who served as PCCFs first and only board chairman until he reached his three-term, nine-year limit in March, downplays his personal involvement, preferring to focus on the long-term benefits of the organization he helped organize and lead through its infancy.
I wanted to see it succeed, but so did all of the other board members, he said. I like to toot the horn for the foundation because its such a great way for donors to create a legacy that will continue to give back in perpetuity.
Much of the early emphasis was on having the PCCF recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization, which allowed PCCF to accept funds, and getting PCCF nationally accredited.
Summy was quick to praise Iowa lawmakers for establishing the 25 percent Endow Iowa tax credit, something many states do not offer residents.
The Endow Iowa tax credit program provides tax incentives for Iowa taxpayers to endow funds at a qualified community foundation such as the PCCF. Donors who make gifts receive a 25 percent Iowa tax credit in addition to the federal charitable income tax deductions for certain charitable gifts. An individual making an eligible $10,000 donation is able to reduce their Iowa tax payment by $2,500 for the year the donation is made.
The Legislature, where the Endow Iowa tax credit program has drawn bipartisan support, currently allocates about $6 million annually for the tax credits.
Eligible gifts that qualify for the tax credit are awarded on a first-come, first-served basis until the yearly allocation is reached. If the current available tax credits have been awarded, qualified donors will be eligible for credit the following year.
With assets currently totaling about $12 million, Summy commented, It will eventually get to $100 million. It might take 10 or 20 years, but it will get there. When PCCF reaches that level, it will be able to give back $5 million annually.
There is a lot of wealth in Pottawattamie County that is going to be transferred in the coming years. PCCF will help people leave a legacy.
Showers and thunderstorms were likely to move east across southwest Iowa and eastern Nebraska early today, with the precipitation continuing into this afternoon and possibly this evening, according to the National Weather Service office in Valley, Nebraska.
Forecasters called for a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms and a high in the lower 70s for Saturday in the Council Bluffs-Omaha area.
Becky Kern, a weather service meteorologist, said a complex front will move through the metro area this morning. There is an additional chance of precipitation later today, she said.
Tonight, the precipitation chances drop to 20 percent before 1 a.m. A low around 55 is forecast.
Sunday and Monday will be dry and sunny in the metro area with highs in the mid-70s and overnight lows in the lower to mid-50s, the weather service said.
Saturday looks like the only day of the holiday weekend with any precipitation, Kern said.
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week should be mostly to partly sunny with highs in the lower to mid-70s and overnight lows in the lower to upper 50s.
There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms Tuesday night and Wednesday night.
The Iowa Board of Regents will pilot a new approach to accepting public comments that could, depending on its success, result in the elimination of regular, if rarely used, opportunities to give comments to the board at a Council Bluffs location.
The regents will allow in-person comments from the public at its next meeting, scheduled for June 8 in Cedar Falls, for up to 30 minutes.
Previously, the board accepted public comments at transparency hearings held remotely in advance of regular meetings, where remarks were recorded on video and posted to the boards website.
Those video-recorded transparency hearings will still be held in advance of the next meeting, board spokesman Josh Lehman told The Nonpareil. Anyone wishing to make a comment to the Board of Regents can attend a hearing Thursday at 4 p.m. in Room 1113 of Iowa School for the Deafs Administration Building.
Transparency hearings also will be held at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Charles City, the Board of Regents Office in Urbandale, the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and Iowa State University in Ames.
The new program will allow citizens to request the opportunity to present to the Board of Regents by completing a form available online at iowaregents.edu.
The form will be available Tuesday once the docket for the regents June meeting is publicly available. Requests must be received no later than 48 hours prior to the first day of the meeting, usually the Monday in advance of a regularly scheduled board meeting.
Up to 10 presenters will be given three minutes each to present, and the board office will organize presenters, giving priority to those speaking on subjects related to the agenda items for the board meeting. Speakers will be told in advance they were selected, and they will be able to distribute handouts to the board members.
The Board of Regents oversees Iowas three public universities the University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa as well as the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs and the Iowa Educational Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
Board meetings are held across the state at various regents campuses, including a meeting in Council Bluffs that typically is scheduled in April. The board also holds occasional telephonic and special meetings, which a news release stated wont be included in the new public comment pilot program, nor are transparency hearings typically scheduled for those meetings.
Michael Richards, the newly appointed president of the board, announced plans at the boards April meeting in Council Bluffs to start holding public comment periods at meetings after years of demands from critics wanting to speak directly to board members, according to the Cedar Rapids-based Gazette.
Lehman, the board spokesman, said that the board wants to give the public the chance to comment openly about the programs and campuses operated by the regents.
We have heard from many people that a pilot program like this is something they wanted us to try, Lehman said in an email. This pilot program will increase our transparency and accountability, and assist with oversight of the public universities and special schools.
The regents plan to evaluate the public comment pilot program on an ongoing basis, and Lehman said it has yet to be determined if the transparency hearings will continue after next month.
If the Board of Regents discontinue the hearings, Council Bluffs residents wanting to make a comment could face long drives to reach regents meetings in eastern Iowa, including treks of about 250 miles to reach the UI and UNI campuses.
However, no one in southwest Iowa has made much use of the hearings, so its unclear if they would be missed in the future by area residents. Lehman said no one has attended a hearing at ISD in the past year.
CEDAR RAPIDS (AP) President Donald Trump's planned visit next month to Iowa has been postponed.
Trump had been scheduled to visit Cedar Rapids his first trip to Iowa as president of the United States on June 1.
A news release sent Saturday said the trip has been postponed "due to an unforeseen change in President Trump's schedule." The release did not give a rescheduled visit date, but said that information would be released early next week.
Trump's last visit to Iowa occurred in Des Moines during his "Thank You" tour as president-elect in December. Trump won Iowa's six electoral votes in November.
A New York-based hedge fund publicly pushed for Cabelas to be sold, but in documents filed this week, the Nebraska retailer says it already had been quietly trying to sell itself months before the investor declared its big stake in 2015.
What lies ahead for Cabelas? OMAHA As Cabelas reports its fourth-quarter earnings Thursday, questions about a sale of
Meanwhile, Cabelas co-founder and Chairman Jim Cabela initially opposed the proposed sale to Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops or any buyer without assurance that the retailers Sidney headquarters would stay open, according to the documents.
Can't see the video? Click here.
He didnt get that guarantee, and a sale is expected to close later this year, with many of the companys roughly 2,000 jobs in Sidney hanging in the balance.
The documents, which Cabelas filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this week, detail the yearlong process to sell the retailer.
Bass Pro announced in October that it would acquire Cabelas for $5.5 billion, when including the retailers debt. It would consolidate a combined companys headquarters in its hometown of Springfield, Missouri. Capital One Bank said it would acquire the companys Worlds Foremost Bank, which operates the Cabelas credit card portfolio.
The deal has hit some regulatory snags along the way and has been restructured since then, but the documents filed this week provide a window into how the proposed sale unfolded, and an insight into Jim Cabelas initial opposition to a sale that could hammer Sidney, a city of about 6,800 people roughly six hours west of Omaha.
Among the details disclosed in the documents:
Cabelas board and management discussed a sale of the company or parts of it as early as June 4, 2015. (It didnt report having received any offers.) By then, the company said it already had received pressure from other shareholders to sell. That was months before the New York-based hedge fund, Elliott Management, declared an 11 percent stake in the outdoors supply retailer in October of that year, saying it would press for a sale.
Jim Cabela initially didnt support a sale to Bass Pro, and even tried to get Bass Pro to sign a contract that would require operations to stay in Sidney after the sale closed. Bass Pro refused but did say in its announcement of a deal that it appreciates and understands the deep ties between Cabelas and the community of Sidney. It didnt commit to anything specific. Cabela helped found the company with his brother, Dick Cabela, and Dicks wife, Mary Cabela.
Elliott and Cabelas management and board were in contact before Elliott publicly declared its stake in the company, and the two parties maintained communication throughout the sale process. Elliott also was not the only shareholder raising the idea of a sale.
Bass Pros Chief Executive Johnny Morris called Cabelas Director Mike McCarthy of Omaha roughly a week after Elliott disclosed its stake. Morris at the time said he was interested in buying Cabelas, according to the documents filed this week. Three other strategic bidders, or other retail companies, also were interested in buying the company, along with several private-equity firms, the documents say.
Cabelas declined to comment for this story, as did McCarthy, who also is head of an Omaha investment bank. Jim Cabela did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesman for Elliott Management did not respond to a request for comment.
As for Bass Pro, it said, in response to questions from The World-Herald: We are committed to bringing these two organizations together, which will enhance our ability to serve sportsmen and sportswomen in an increasingly competitive environment.
Cabelas did not publicly announce that it had put itself up for sale until December 2015, after the activist hedge fund announced in October of that year that it had amassed an 11 percent stake in the company. But, according to the documents filed this week, the company was exploring a sale or other strategic alternatives as early as June of that year.
In a June 4, 2015, meeting, Cabelas board and management discussed a letter from Hirzel Capital Management, a private investment fund in Dallas, recommending that the company sell Worlds Foremost Bank, which runs Cabelas credit card business. Hirzel also recommended that the retailer sell its real estate. Options discussed by the board then included a sale of the company or parts of it; selling its real estate; acquiring a new business; and repurchasing stock, according to the documents filed this week.
The retailer shopped itself around in July and August of 2015, the documents say. Five private-equity firms and five financial institutions were asked if they were interested in a deal. Ultimately, Cabelas settled on a share buyback which pushes the companys stock price higher and cost-cutting initiatives.
Enter Elliott Management: The hedge fund contacted the investment bank used by Cabelas days before the fund declared its stake publicly to say that it had amassed shares of the company and intended to file documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing the stake publicly. Elliott told Cabelas it would push for change. The New York fund noted that share prices for Cabelas had languished as it grappled with falling sales.
Following Elliotts announcement, Cabelas heard from other shareholders who also recommended that the company sell itself, according to the documents filed this week.
Cabelas management met with representatives from Elliott in mid-November 2015. Elliott said then that the company should be sold via a public auction and that if Cabelas didnt put itself up for sale, Elliott was prepared to take further steps, according to the documents.
Cabelas announced that it was exploring strategic alternatives oftentimes Wall Street-speak for putting itself up for sale on Dec. 2, 2015.
Elliott was kept apprised of the sale process throughout 2016, according to the documents. McCarthy told the board of directors on Aug. 12, 2016, that he intended to discuss a confidentiality agreement with Elliott so that he could provide it some insight into the process.
Report: Bass Pro Shops-Goldman Sachs group in lead to acquire Cabela's Nearly 2,000 jobs in the Panhandle town of Sidney are on the line if Bass Pro Shops makes a
Someone elses interest also was piqued by the announcement of Elliotts stake: Bass Pro CEO Morris. Morris called McCarthy about a week after Elliott went public, indicating that Bass Pro was interested in buying Cabelas. Other competitors only referred to as Strategic Parties A, B and C in the documents also were interested.
But Jim Cabela was not interested in that or a sale to any strategic buyer who intended to move the companys headquarters from Sidney. Dennis Highby, a former Cabelas CEO who still is on the board, agreed, and the pair said they would not be willing to vote their company shares for a sale to such a bidder. The pair recused themselves from further meetings in line with their fiduciary duty as directors.
Highby and Cabela tried to protect Sidney until the end, according to the documents. In the fall, before the deal was announced, they said they would agree to vote their shares for a Bass Pro deal if the bidder were to make certain commitments regarding maintaining a presence in Sidney, Nebraska, following any potential transaction.
They ultimately settled for the statement in the press release announcing the deal that nodded to Sidneys importance to Cabelas and vice versa. Still, analysts have said many jobs are likely to be lost in Sidney.
The board of directors including Highby and Cabela unanimously support the Bass deal, according to the documents filed this week, but its not clear how Cabela will vote his own shares; he owned about 16 percent of the company as of earlier this year, according to calculations from FactSet, a Wall Street data provider.
Its unlikely that Cabelas could have fetched a higher price than Bass offered from any of the companies that initially were interested in the retailer. Strategic buyers like Bass Pro are almost always willing to pay a higher price to acquire a competing company because they can save money after the deal closes by eliminating overlapping functions, while still adding new stores and increasing sales.
Documents filed with the SEC show that the headquarters will be in Bass Pros home, Springfield, Missouri. Bass CEO Morris said, in a meeting with Cabelas employees last year, that he intends to maintain important, significant jobs in Sidney. Still, he said he wouldnt make false promises, noting that there would be some slimming down as operations combine.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts and state and local economic development officials met with Morris and Bass Pro President Jim Hagale in October and November of last year to make a pitch for why Nebraska is a good place to do business. Ricketts spokesman Taylor Gage said the governor has offered to make himself and his team available to them as they work to grow their business.
Officials in Sidney also conducted an economic development study to see which industries and companies it should focus on recruiting.
The Canberra Raiders have granted a release to Jordan Turner effective immediately, so he can take up a long-term contract with the Huddersfield Giants in the English Super League.
Turner arrived for pre-season training for the Raiders at the beginning of the 2017 season and has been playing for Mounties in the Intrust Super Premiership.
Turner thanked the Raiders for the opportunity to come to Australia and said the decision to return home was one he made for his future.
"I want to thank the Raiders for the opportunity to come over to Australia and be a part of the Raiders squad. They understand the deal for me and my partner to return home to England to play for Huddersfield was too good for me to turn down," Turner said.
"I've enjoyed my time with the Raiders and will take the experience with me as I return to the Super League. I want to thank everyone at the raiders and most of all the players for making me feel welcome while I've been in Canberra."
Raiders v Roosters: Schick Preview
Police gunned down 10 fleeing steelworkers who had been striking for fair wages and safer working conditions at the Republic Steel mill on Chicagos Southeast Side on May 30, 1937.
The attack on demonstrators from Northwest Indiana and South Side mills on a windswept Illinois prairie injured dozens more and became known as the Memorial Day Massacre. It still resonates today, 80 years later.
It was a rallying cry. They were martyrs, retired steelworker and labor historian Mike Olszanski said.
Old-timers would come in and tell the story. It was more like a picnic than a demonstration. People brought their kids. They were parading around the plant gates. Then for no reason the cops started beating people up and shot 10 workers. It was filmed with newsreel cameras. You can see the clips of them beating people up, beating people over the head with billy clubs.
The violent assault helped rally public opinion toward the workers and motivated them eventually to come together and form the United Steelworkers union five years later, Olszanski said.
Local steelworkers honor the fallen every year with a march and tributes that have included women in black veils and a reading of the names of those who died that day, ages 17 to 50: Sam Popovich, Earl Handley, Lee Tisdale, Leo Francisco, Kenneth Reed, Otis Jones, Joseph Rothmund, Alfred Causey, Anthony Tagliori and Hilding Anderson.
They stood up for the whole working class and changed workers history, said Scott Marshall, USW District 7 Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees executive board member.
It was terrible, tragic; it was a festive occasion with men, women and children, when they were shot down. But it got the Wagner Act enforced, got the ball rolling on the labor movement and got so many steelworkers contracts.
It was an era of police violence against union workers; United Auto Workers members also were killed on picket lines in Detroit and Flint, Michigan.
Republic Steel actually bought weapons for the Chicago Police Department, he said. You dont have that kind of relationship today.
While todays picket lines are far more peaceful, the fight continues, Marshall said.
Nobodys getting shot down now and hopefully it stays that way, he said. That took a whole lot of effort, and we still have to fight today. We have to fight against right-to-work laws and different ways to take away bargaining rights.
Four of the slain workers Popovich, Handley, Reed and Causey hailed from Hammond-based Local 1010, which represented workers at Inland Steel and, now, ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor in East Chicago.
We were directly involved with losing members, USW Local 1010 President Tom Hargrove said. It had a big impact at the time. Steelworkers throughout the plant were ready to fight. U.S. Steel signed an agreement without a struggle.
USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap said the loss of life was just tragic.
They were fighting to have a safer workplace and better wages, he said. We still have the same struggles today. Were still fighting for higher wages, safer workplaces and better working conditions.
The United Steelworkers union formed 75 years ago, helped raise wages for countless steelworkers and boosted the quality of life in Northwest Indiana for generations.
The union still represents thousands of steelworkers in the mills around Lake Michigan, though it has seen its numbers dwindle over the last few decades as steel industry jobs have vanished with automation and outsourcing. Union leaders said theyre still fighting to preserve jobs, maintain wages and sustain a middle-class lifestyle in the Region.
The USW has brought a higher standard of living to employees in Northwest Indiana, USW District 7 Director Mike Millsap said.
It fought for safety, it fought for fairness. Now were fighting the trade battles. I dont think as many trade cases would be filed if not for us. There wouldnt be nearly as many jobs.
The impact of the union extends far beyond steelworkers in the mills, as its lobbied, for instance, on health-care issues in Washington, D.C.
We continuously support the community in Northwest Indiana, Millsap said. We fight for all the people, for the children, for health care across the United States.
Indiana University Northwest professor Micah Pollak said the USW formed to counter the rise of powerful corporations in the early 1900s. It was a way to strengthen the power of workers who had been forced to work 12-hours days, seven days a week, for little pay in dangerous conditions.
By combining many voices, unions convert the relatively limited power of individual workers into something greater in order to protect, preserve and further their rights, he said.
In recent decades, with the decline in manufacturing employment, stagnant household incomes and a shrinking middle class, unions like the USW play an increasingly important role in maintaining the balance of power between employees and employers in the labor market.
The USW, however, has made missteps, such as the national 1959 steel strike that went on for a record 116 days, said Charles Bradford, of New York City-based Bradford Research Inc.
Steelworkers won minimal wage increases, but shut down domestic steel production so long many customers ended up buying imported steel for the first time, opening the U.S. market up to foreign steelmakers.
Imports, automation take their toll
Imports have grown steadily over the years, contributing to the dissolution of most U.S. steel companies in the early 2000s and capturing a record 29 percent of the market share in 2015, resulting in the layoffs of nearly 14,000 workers nationwide.
Workers everywhere, however, would be much worse off without the USW, retired steelworker and labor historian Mike Olszanski said. Deaths were far more common at the mills in the early days, before workers were given a say in safety.
I joined Inland when I got out of high school in 1963. Without a union, I might not be alive today, he said. Some of the benefits are high wages, wonderful benefits, a sense of security and never having to kiss up to the boss. One of the most unspoken advantages is that you never feel under the thumb of the boss.
The union secured a standard 40-hour work week, educational benefits that helped send workers to college, and pay increases that enabled them to send their own kids to college.
Some of the toughest negotiations were early on, he said.
Steelworkers wages and benefits probably hit a peak around the late 1970s and early 1980s. President Ronald Reagan was elected and the companies started coming at us asking for concessions. From 1980 to the present, we have not gained so much as held on to what we have.
USW and other unions can make themselves more powerful again through cross-border organization, such as with workers in Mexico and Europe, Olszanski said. Now theyre dealing with multinational companies like ArcelorMittal and also must unify to combat outsourcing to countries that pay lower wages.
The leadership didnt have a crystal ball, he said. But its something they should have done a long time ago. The companies win when they split workers up, turn us against one another, whether along national or some other lines. They look to divide and conquer.
Thats occurred a lot in recent years, as much of the membership feels alienated from its own leadership, Olszanski said.
Union influence still felt, despite shrinking base
Mills today employ a fraction of the workers they once did, largely because automation has drastically increased productivity per worker, he said. Unions potentially could have preserved more jobs if they had negotiated for shorter work weeks.
Lately, union leadership has been more active in fighting for members, such as pressing international trade cases against steel dumping, Olszanski said.
Without a union, workers just dont stand a chance, he said.
USW Local 1010 President Tom Hargrove said the USW has been one of the most progressive unions in the country, citing instances of the Hammond-based local, for instance, fighting for womens rights arbitration all the way back in 1943.
Historically, steelworkers had no right to tell employers of the situation if conditions were unsafe, he said.
Thanks to the USW, workers can turn down jobs if theyre not safe, with no retaliation. We have to look out for the safety of one another, and ensure no one dies or gets hurt.
Hargrove said the USW also has shaped Northwest Indiana far beyond what it accomplished at the mills.
The first influx into the Harbor (section of East Chicago) was mostly Eastern European kids, and thats because the mills paid good wages, he said. The steelworkers kids grew up and moved south, and now are doctors and lawyers in Schererville.
LAPORTE A Valparaiso man arrested and charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer had been employed as a corrections officer at the time of the incident.
Austin Shultz, 20, allegedly wore his correctional officer uniform the night he is accused of walking up to three teens and asking to see their fishing licenses, said John Schrader, spokesman for the Westville Correctional Facility.
Schrader said Shultz had his prison identification and badge when he allegedly approached the teens, but did not know if they were used in the incident. He said Shultz was hired in January and let go following his arrest on Thursday for impersonating a police officer, a felony charge.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources headed up the investigation after the teens reported being approached May 19 while fishing at the Kingsbury Fish & Wildlife area. They told officers a man with a gun in a holster shined a spotlight on them and implied he was a law enforcement officer responding to a complaint of gunshots fired. The man asked to see their fishing licenses and left in a Ford Crown Victoria, according to DNR officials.
DNR Conservation officer Shawn Brown said a posting about the incident on Facebook resulted in tips that led investigators to the Westville facility and the discovery of Shultz's employment there.
Shultz was identified from a picture shown to the teens.
Once aware of the investigation, Schrader said the Indiana Department of Corrections began assisting in the probe and suspended Shultz. He was fired following his arrest.
Shultz was charged in Porter County in 2016 with impersonating a police officer, but the case was later dismissed.
Schrader said since the case was dismissed, it did not show up in the agency's standard criminal background check. Had there been a conviction, Schrader said "he never would have been hired."
A driver involved in a single-vehicle crash went from the hospital to jail following an incident early Saturday morning in LaPorte County.
According to an Indiana State Police news release, driver Vienna Christine Ali, 34, of Carrollton, Texas, rolled a 2009 Ford Edge multiple times at approximately 4:09 a.m. Saturday after veering into a construction zone on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 41, hitting the rumble strips, overcorrecting and losing control of the vehicle.
Ali and her passenger, Joe Jesse Salazar, 44, of Texas, were both wearing seat belts and were transported to Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Michigan City with non-life threatening injuries, according to the release.
During a preliminary investigation, State Trooper Justin Heflin ran a check on the Edge's license plate, which came back as being reported stolen out of Texas on May 18. A check of the Fords VIN matched that of the reported stolen vehicle, the release stated.
After Ali was released from the hospital, she was taken into custody, transported to LaPorte County Jail and charged with felony auto theft, according to state police. Salazar was not charged. The two had been visiting family in Michigan, the release stated.
The Edge was towed and impounded, and westbound lanes of I-94 at the site of the rollover were closed for approximately 30 minutes.
"They are very lucky to be alive. This could have easily been a fatal crash," Heflin stated in the release. "Since they were wearing their seat belts this turned into both of them being treated for minor injuries and being released from the hospital.
State police began Click It or Ticket enforcement earlier this month. The initiative ends June 4.
GARY Two Democratic federal legislators vowed they will fight in the U.S. House and Senate to protect steelworkers' jobs from international trade manipulations.
"All we need is a fair playing field," U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, said.
He and U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Merrillville, were at Indiana University Northwest on Friday afternoon to meet with union and management leaders of ArcelorMittal and U.S. Steel to discuss strategies in upcoming congressional votes on federal spending and regulation.
Visclosky has represented Indiana's 1st Congressional District, which includes Lake, Porter and western LaPorte counties, since 1985. Donnelly has represented the Hoosier state in the U.S. Senate since 2013 and previously the 2nd Congressional District, which includes eastern LaPorte County.
Brett S. Smith, of the American Iron and Steel Institute who took part in the roundtable discussion, expressed concern about the layoff of 14,000 jobs in the steel industry in the last two years.
Visclosky raised concerns about the potential negative effects of President Donald Trump's proposed 2018 budget. "We need to have dollars to make sure trade laws are enforced," he said.
He said the Trump administration's budget proposal would cut $45 million in federal dollars that go toward monitoring and working on international steel dumping complaints, and $10 million from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
"We are going to make sure any infrastructure bill that comes forward has 'Buy America' in it. If we are going to be rebuilding American infrastructure, it is going to be made in America as well. This is one of the absolutely critical components of moving forward," Donnelly said.
Visclosky said if the Trump administration reopens negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement, "You want to make sure that any discussions include improvements that could be made, not only for domestic steel, but all manufacturing in the United States."
Visclosky also expressed confidence Congress will turn back efforts by Trump to cut mass transit spending that would put future plans for the South Shore commuter line in jeopardy.
"The senator has been adamant, as well as myself, in growing the economy here through the expansion of the South Shore," Visclosky said.
"The administration has asked for no money for any new (mass transit) starts. I don't belittle the challenge ahead of us, but ... when the final budget for 2018 is completed, there will be money for new starts across this country, including the South Shore. I'm certain of that."
The South Shore wants to build 9 miles of track linking Munster and Dyer to the commuter passenger line. Federal funds are needed to cover half the $615 million in construction cost.
HAMMOND City environmental officials and the U.S. EPA want the Indiana Department of Environmental Management to refine an air pollution permit before renewing it for a lead-processing facility in Robertsdale.
Several residents say IDEM should instead reject the permit, in part, because the Environmental Protection Agency is evaluating whether the level of contamination in soil at nearby properties warrants a cleanup.
A number of parties, including the Hammond City Council, have asked IDEM to schedule a hearing on the permit for Whiting Metals, 2230 Indianapolis Blvd.
IDEM said Thursday no decision on a hearing has been made, and there is no specific timetable for its review of public comments.
They will go through all of the comments and prepare responses to them. As they do this, they will also note any requests for a hearing or public meeting, said Barry Sneed, a spokesman for IDEM. A decision will be made after they have thoroughly reviewed all the comments submitted.
IDEM records show the departments staff plan to respond to any comments in an addendum to a technical support document in the permit.
Whiting Metals current 10-year air permit is scheduled to expire Aug. 10, according to records. The company submitted an application to renew the permit earlier this year.
The company reclaims lead and zinc from scrap at the former Federated Metals site, where remediation plans started in 1992 under EPA's Resource Conservation and Recover Act program. A 10-acre landfill on the shore of Lake George was capped in 2005, but a prescribed groundwater study was not initiated, a 2016 hydrogeological supplemental investigation report shows.
The 2016 report also identified plumes of arsenic, lead and fluoride under the factory property and homes to the north. EPA sampled soil in December and March at 32 city-owned parcels and three private residential properties in Whiting and Hammond, but the federal agency has not yet determined the nature and extent of contamination or whether a cleanup is warranted.
'Folly ... is obvious'
In comments submitted to IDEM, attorney and Hammond resident David Dabertin said no additional source of lead should be allowed in the area surrounding Whiting Metals until the source of localized lead contamination is identified.
"While steps have been taken to contain the contamination on the former Federated property, nothing has been done to address any potential contaminiation of property located outside of Federated's original boundaries," Dabertin wrote.
"Because the former Federated Metals facility was never properly remediated, there is more than speculative concern" the neighborhood surrounding the property is contaminated with lead, he said.
"The folly of permitting a lead source in a neighborhood that may already be contaminated with lead is obvious," Dabertin wrote. "IDEM should delay the issuance of Whiting Metals' permit until the full extent of lead contamination is determined. Until it can be proved that any contamination is historical and not the result of any current source (including Whiting Metals) IDEM should curtail any further lead emissions in this area."
If IDEM allows Whiting Metals to continue to operate, the state should require the company to install air monitors to sample the concentration of lead in the air, Dabertin said.
Dabertin also questioned whether Whiting Metals is a legal successor to the company to which IDEM originally issued the air permit in 2009.
Officials in Hammond and Whiting have told The Times they want more soil sampling outside the plant to be conducted. The possible soil contamination and Whiting Metals' permit request are separate, but related, issues, said Ronald Novak, head of the Hammond Environmental Management Department.
"It's not a large source (of air pollution). Not as large as Federated Metals," he said. "However, it is in an area and handles materials we are concerned about."
HDEM submitted comments asking IDEM to require Whiting Metals to melt only clean scrap or, in the alternative, accurately account for emissions created by burning plastic, rubber and other materials; ensure, test and document that equipment used to control emissions is properly sized, operated and maintained; conduct tests to accurately determine the quantity of particulate and volatile organic compound emissions from the facility; and verify and accurately inventory all sources of emissions.
EPA also submitted comments, asking IDEM to require Whiting Metals to verify quantities and sources of emissions.
Previous violation discovered
HDEM, EPA and Dabertin cited several IDEM inspection reports when asking the state to refine its draft air permit for Whiting Metals.
HDEM officials discovered Whiting Metals was melting rubber along with scrap after Hammond Port Authority Director Milan Kruszynski on Sept. 8, 2016, reported black smoke exiting the roof of the factory, according to a report.
Novak and another HDEM employee inspected the factory Sept. 9 and encountered dense smoke in the furnace room. The companys owner, Bob Griffin, told them the smoke was due to the fact there were rubber particles mixed in with the lead, according to the report.
Griffin told inspectors the company uses compressed air to blow rubber particles from the lead, but he admitted it appeared employees didnt remove enough of the particles, according to the report.
HDEM's comments said the city has shared photographic evidence of fugitive emissions from the facility with IDEM.
The permittee has no equipment for treating the scrap and, therefore, can only attempt to remove the contaminants manually. Manual removal of contaminants is largely impractical, so it is believed that much of these contaminants are being charged to the kettles and furnaces," HDEM's comments said. "Since the kettles and furnaces were not designed for VOC destruction and are not equipped with afterburners, VOC emissions are likely higher than noted.
Records also show IDEM issued a violation letter to Whiting Metals in June 2014, after an inspector on May 30, 2014, found the company was not calibrating a gauge on its dust collection system or keeping records related to recalibration of the gauge.
During the May 2014 inspection, IDEM staff also noted Whiting Metals was using a reverberatory sweat furnace listed under its zinc die cast operations to process lead alloys, according to an inspection report.
Hannah Bays, environmental manager for IDEMs Air Quality Office Permits Branch, questioned the use of the furnace in a recent email to a Whiting Metals official. Bays wrote EPA had raised the question with IDEM.
Mark Elliott, of Whiting Metals, replied the furnace has not technically existed since 2009 and said almost none of the permitted capacity of 83 million pounds of zinc per year has been used because of a crash in the market, emails show.
It is not anticipated that the reintroduction of (the furnace) will ever be necessary, and it would be easier to just remove it from the permit going forward," Elliott wrote.
Elliott did not list the furnace, nor two of six sweat kettles and one holding kettle used in the lead-alloying process that inspectors noted had been removed from the property, among the facility's permitted units, emails show.
HAMMOND The closing of the City Court may provide some additional financial benefits for the city by allowing it to house more federal prisoners in its jail.
City officials are currently talking with the U.S. Marshals Service about increasing the number of federal prisoners the city can house at the jail.
"They have shown great interest," said Police Chief John Doughty.
Additional space became available at the jail when the City Council, at Mayor Thomas M. McDermott Jr.'s urging, decided to phase out the City Court with not as many holding cells needed for misdemeanor offenders.
McDermott said the cost of the renovations to the jail to house the additional federal prisoners is estimated to be in the $300,000 to $350,000 range, which he said is less than he had anticipated. Doughty said officials believe they could recover that outlay in the first year of a new agreement with the U.S. Marshals Service.
Currently, the jail may hold up to 16 prisoners on average, and Doughty said officials think they may be able to hold up to 40 when the renovations are complete. Under the current contract, the city receives $50 per day per prisoner.
McDermott said the city's goal is to have about 80 to 85 percent of the prisoners in the jail be federal inmates. In the past, about a third of the prisoners were federal inmates.
The renovations would include dividing the jail into two pods. Prisoners who are testifying against other prisoners need to be kept separate as they may be members of rival gangs. In addition, a couple of cells might be eliminated as the space is converted into an additional exercise area for the federal prisoners.
The city could seek additional compensation under a new contract, and McDermott wants to ensure the city gets a guaranteed number of occupants. Under the new arrangement, the city would be providing medical services, including having a doctor on staff and nurses coming in, although McDermott noted that the federal government would be covering these costs.
Doughty said a lot of the federal prisoners can be held from six months to two years in jail. The federal government, which holds inmates appearing at U.S. District Court in Hammond, helped fund the construction of the current jail.
The U.S. Marshals Service also houses prisoners who may appear at the federal court houses in Hammond, in Chicago and South Bend, which Doughty notes is a long commute for the U.S. Marshals Service to transport the prisoners.
"You can see why they would be interested," said Doughty.
On this Memorial Day weekend, we are remembering a fallen hero from Queens who was killed in Afghanistan just a few months after his 21st birthday. His mother, sat with our Ruschell Boone to share what it was to lose her only child.
The tears no longer flow when she talks about her son, Army Specialist Roberto Hernandez.
Eight years after his death, Paulina Campbell-Richards says she has dealt with the trauma of losing her only child and she is at peace. His death has been harder on the rest of the family.
"I dealt with it and I gave it to the Lord," Campbell-Richards said. "My family have not done what I've done so they hold on and when things come around, this time of the year comes around, they are very hurt."
Hernandez was killed in Afghanistan in 2009. His Military Police unit was ambushed.
"He was the gunner on top and as the vehicle came over the IED it just blew it apart," his mother said. "He was thrown from the vehicle and they were attacked while they were down.
Hernandez was 21. He died just days before he was supposed to return home. Looking at his pictures Campbell-Richards wonders what his life would have been like today had he survived.
"All he needed was another day or two to be out of there," she said.
Hernandez was born into an immigrant family from Panama and was the eighth to serve in the U.S. military. His mother broke ranks and joined the Air Force instead of the army. She says serving his country was in Hernandez's blood. Since his death, she has spoken out against the war, President Obama's failure to end it and on this Memorial Day weekend, she wants President Trump to acknowledge the sacrifices immigrant families like hers have made.
He passed doing something he loved doing.
Over the last 9 years, she has used his death as motivation to get a bachelor's and now a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She wants to help other military families dealing with trauma.
"Because of my experience, I feel like I can speak clearly to their needs and understanding of what they are going through," Campbell-Richards said.
For her it is also a way to give back in honor of her son's memory.
Add Governor Andrew Cuomo to the list of people not marching in the Puerto Rican Day Parade.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Cuomo says the governor will skip the parade this year.
The statement did not give a reason why Cuomo will not attend.
This year's parade is mired in controversy over plans to honor Oscar Lopez Rivera.
Rivera is a Puerto Rican nationalist who spent nearly four decades in prison for ties to an extremist group behind more than 100 bombings around the country, including some in the city.
He himself was never directly charged in any bombing.
Multiple sponsors have pulled out of this year's parade amid the controversy, including Goya, Univision, the New York Yankees, AT&T and the New York Daily News.
Police Commissioner James O'Neill will also not march, citing the plans to honor Rivera.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said he will participate.
More than 500 principals sign open letter to Government
28 May 2017
More than 500 school principals from throughout New Zealand have signed an open letter to the Government asking for the funding needed to pay support staff like teacher aides more.
The open letter was published in a national newspaper today.
This is an unprecedented show of solidarity for the support staff who do such important work for the children of New Zealand," said Lynda Stuart, President of NZEI Te Riu Roa and on leave from her role as principal of May Road school in Auckland.
This demonstrates the extent of principals' concern for the teacher aides, librarians, administrators and others who are the lifeblood of schools and yet remain some of the lowest-paid people in New Zealand.
We've signed this letter because we are extremely concerned about the impact that very low wages and low job security are having on our essential support staff and the follow on effect this has on our students.
Support staff are in pay negotiations with the Ministry now and we principals firmly back their calls for a pay rise.
But unless schools are funded to cover any pay increase many of us will feel we have no option other than to cut back on learning resources or cut the hours of teacher aides to afford their higher rates of pay.
"Children shouldn't lose time with teacher aides, or lose other resources because the Government isn't funding schools to cover the basics.
Support staff are paid out of school operations grants, which were frozen by the Government last year. Principals were hoping for a big funding jolt in last week's budget but the grant was only increased by 1.3 percent leaving us with no additional funding to meet extra staffing costs or any additional needs.
Analysis of the budget by Victoria University and the NZ Institute of Economic Research shows that real, per child funding for education is dropping by 1.6 percent this year, and the Government is budgeting for a major decrease over the next few years.
We believe New Zealand can afford to provide all our children with the best education in the world. But this will not be possible unless the Government funds education properly, Ms Stuart said.
The letter and names of principals who've signed it can be found here :
New Alabama Law Makes It Illegal To Remove Confederate Monuments Elijah C. Watson Elijah Watson serves as Okayplayer's News & Culture Editor. When
Several days after Mitch Landrieu gave an eloquent and powerful speech on the removal of Confederate statues throughout New Orleans, Alabama has now decided to make the removal of such statues illegal.
In a report from the Hill, a bill titled the Alabama Memorial Preservation Act of 2017 was signed on Wednesday by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R), which restricts the removal or renaming of any memorial streets or buildings on public property that have been in place for 40 or more years.
I appreciate Gov. Ivey standing up for the thoughtful preservation of Alabamas history, State Sen. Gerald Allen (R-Tuscaloosa), who first proposed the bill, said in a press release. Contrary to what its detractors say, the Memorial Preservation Act is intended to preserve all of Alabamas history the good and the bad so our children and grandchildren can learn from the past to create a better future.
At least nine Confederate monuments throughout Alabama will be protected under the Preservation Act, including a monument at the state Capitol in Montgomery, where Jefferson Davis was sworn into office as the only President of the Confederate States of America.
Although Allen says that the bill will not only preserve both good and bad monuments in Alabama but encourage people to learn about the states past, many oppose the bill because it allows Confederate monuments honoring white supremacy to still exist.
These racist symbols have no place on government property, where they counter our nations core principle to ensure liberty and justice for all, Rhonda Brownstein, legal director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in a statement. By signing this bill, Gov. Kay Ivey indicates that lauding white supremacy is more important than demonstrating equality for all Alabamians.
Source via the Hill
Nebraska Medicine will be changing the way it bills at clinics in the metropolitan area beginning June 13.
At that time all clinics will become hospital outpatient departments. Patients will continue seeing a physician charge on their bills, as they have in the past, but theyll also find a new hospital or facility charge.
Tom Macy, vice president of ambulatory clinics and clinical programs, said some patients may pay slightly more in out-of-pocket costs and others will pay the same, depending in part on their insurance plans and policy benefits.
We really worked pretty hard to make sure the majority of patients see little change, he said.
Nebraska Medicine notified patients of the change in a recent letter. Macy said the move is another step toward completing the integration process that brought together UNMC Physicians and the Nebraska Medical Center beginning in late 2014. The system operates about 40 clinic locations, some of which already operate under the new model.
The change also helps the system remain in compliance with a federal pharmacy discount program that allows the system to buy pharmaceuticals for patients at a lower cost.
It varies every year, Macy said, but were estimating wed be at risk of paying an additional $22 million if we didnt make that change.
The facility charge, despite its name, is not intended to pay for new health system facilities, Macy said. The Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center, dedicated last week, is a public-private partnership funded through a combination of private contributions and state, city and county monies.
Patients can call 402-559-3140 or 888-662-8662 for additional information.
A small table sits in every American Legion post.
It has a white tablecloth, for the purity of those who served their country and didnt return.
A single red rose, for the blood they shed and their families who never cease praying.
And one empty chair symbolizing the lonely prisoner of war.
American Legion Riders take that tradition to Werner Park on Sunday, dedicating a permanently empty chair in the ballpark to honor prisoners of war and those missing in action. The chair sits alone in section 125, down the third base line.
One of the key efforts of the American Legion, said Chris Rhino Casey, is never forgetting prisoners of war and those missing in action, and trying to continuously repatriate those remains. Casey is the vice commander of the Omaha American Legion chapter.
Imagine youre one of those families, Casey said. You just dont have any answers. Especially with the Vietnam War. Were talking an entire generation without any answers.
Casey said he hopes the black chair and its commemorative plaque will serve as a reminder of that lack of closure to those who visit the ballpark.
The idea for the chair came from Bob Corndog Swanson, the chapters resident ideas guy, Casey said. Swanson began work on the idea more than a year ago after seeing similar chairs in other stadiums.
Swanson died after a motorcycle accident May 9. But most of the work on the project was already complete.
Everything was already installed and ready to go. Right up to the day before he died, Swanson and Casey were discussing the dedication.
This was one of Bobs last projects he put together before he passed, said Mike Shrek Robaszkiewicz, commander of the chapter. Itll be a pretty emotional time out there. He was a good man.
But Swansons ideas for the empty chair went beyond Werner Park, Casey said. He was already in talks to dedicate a similar chair at TD Ameritrade Park, and he had hopes of doing the same at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Inscribed on the plaque is the quote Sacrifice is meaningless without remembrance. Casey said he cant remember where the phrase came from, but to him its Swanson, who said the phrase so often, it was set as his email signature.
The chair will be dedicated at 6 p.m. Sunday before the Storm Chasers play the Round Rock (Texas) Express.
We will not forget those who are still there, Robaszkiewicz said. Never leave nobody behind? This is all part of that.
102-yr-old woman, son, who illegally entered Assam after Modis assurance, face detention
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Guwahati, May 27: This is one more story from Assam about illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and their plight. On one hand the northeastern state is facing massive demographic changes and on the other the "illegal" immigrants are either demanding citizenship rights or are claiming to be bonafide citizens of India.
Moreover, there is a religious angle to the whole problem. While the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is running the governments both in the state and the centre, has promised to give Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi Hindu migrants, opposition like the Congress and powerful local students' bodies vehemently oppose such a move.
The case of a 60-year-old man and his 102-year-old mother, natives of Jagannathpur in Sylhet, Bangladesh, who are currently staying "illegally" in Silchar, Assam, has once again brought the issue of influx of illegal immigrants to the limelight.
The man, Radhika Biswas, told The Telegraph that he came with his ailing mother Unomotibala to Assam in search of a safe home. However, as of now his dream has been shattered as both Biswas and his mother are facing detention from the authorities as they entered the country illegally. Moreover, they are being forced to stay in a school as they have nowhere to go.
Biswas said that he decided to leave his birthplace after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that Hindu migrants from Bangladesh will get Indian citizenship. "Modi ji's persona and his words ignited hope among many non-Muslims in Bangladesh that we can come and live here with dignity. We sold our house and other belongings and came with whatever money we got," he said.
Biswas said that he spent a huge amount of money on agents who paid security forces to help his and his mother's entry into Assam. The man also claimed that one of his relatives in Assam cheated him and thus Biswas lost around Rs 5 lakh.
Biswas rued the fact that he tried his level best to procure National Register of Citizens documents for himself and his mother to become "legal" citizens of the country, but failed.
The police got a scent of Biswas and his mother's illegal stay in Assam after the headmistress of the Sarbodoy Lower Primary School at Malugram in Silchar informed the local administration that the duo was staying in the school verandah.
According to a senior cop, Radhika and Unomotibala were produced before the court in Silchar on Friday. The court in its order asked the police to send them to a detention camp soon. Police officials said that the investigation has confirmed that both are from Bangladesh.
Silchar MLA and Deputy Speaker Dilip Kumar Paul said the previous Congress governments are responsible for the suffering of people like Radhika and Unomotibala. He said the government will soon pass the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016, to solve such cases. He urged the Congress to support the bill.
Silchar MP Sushmita Dev from the Congress said her party had never opposed the bill. "Citizenship for persecuted migrants is a different matter. This family cannot claim they came to India due to persecution. We have sympathy for them but they came here illegally. I feel that citizenship should be given to persecuted migrants but a clear draft of the bill has to come out first."
OneIndia News
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Burhan Wani' s successor Sabzar Bhat killed; Hurriyat calls for shutdown
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Srinagar, May 27: Hurriyat leadership called for a shutdown for two days in Kashmir valley against the killing of Sabzar Bhat on Saturday.
A successor of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, Sabzar Bhat, was one of the six militants killed in an encounter in Kashmir's Tral Saturday morning.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the Valley as violence erupted at more than 50 places in the wake of killing of Bhat, a police official said.
According to reports, a civilian was killed and several others were injured as calshes erupted after Sabzar's death. Stone-pelting have been reported in five places in Anantnag district.
Earlier, at least six militants were killed on Saturday on the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Army foiled an infiltration bid, according to defence sources.A group of militants was challenged by the alert troops on the Indian side of the LoC in Rampur sector.
"The infiltration attempt has been foiled," the sources said.
Sabzar Bhat's death considered as a huge success for the Army.
Rampur sector is adjacent to the Uri sector where the Army on Friday foiled an attack by Pakistan's Border Action Team (BAT) and killed two intruders.
(With agency inputs)
Prashant Kishor claims Nitish Kumar in touch with BJP says don't be surprised if he joins hands with it again
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar plays down meeting with PM Modi
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday denied reports of political significance attached to his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Nitish Kumar met PM Modi at a luncheon hosted in honor of Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
Talking to the media after the meeting, he said 'Issue of silt in Ganga is getting serious, there is a danger of flood. I thought I should meet PM on this issue separately.'
The JD(U) president told reporters after the meeting that "too much was being read into" the meeting which, he insisted, was a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister. "I did not meet him in the capacity of the JD(U) chief but as the state chief minister. It was not a political meeting. Why is the media reading too much into it?" he said. He also did not take questions from journalists about allegations of corruption against his ally-- RJD chief Lalu Prasad-- and his family members. There are allegations and counter allegations, he said, claiming that he responded only to "facts."
Earlier, JD (U) leader Pavan Verma, said, 'As far as meeting with PM Modi is concerned, Nitish Kumar has come on an official invitation.' He denied any political significance attached to the meeting.
Nitish Kumar's meeting with the Prime Minister comes when speculations are rife about realignments in Bihar. The speculation gained credence since Nitish Kumar skipped Sonia Gandhi's luncheon meeting held Friday afternoon in which leaders of 17 political parties participated.
#WATCH: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi pic.twitter.com/KS5MJBIJBI ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
However, Janata Dal (United) national President Shard Yadav had said Nitish Kumar would not take part in the meeting called by Sonia Gandhi as he busy in government programmes. Shard Yadav himself attended the meeting on behalf of Nitish Kumar.
But, political pundits think the other way around about Nitish Kunar's meeting with the PM Modi. Analysts say since RJD Chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Misha Bharati's land dealings are under the I-T radar Nitish Kumar wants to distance himself with the present coalition partner in Bihar.
(With agency inputs)
Bihar jail inmates set to receive post-graduate degrees at university convocation
India
oi-Prabhpreet
By Prabhpreet
It is commonly thought that jails are just meant to punish those guilty of breaking the laws of the land and to bring justice to the victims of their crimes. Though this may be the most basic aim of incarceration, another point, which is mostly overlooked is the effort to reform those convicted.
This is usually attempted to be achieved through imparting training in activities such as carpentry, cooking among others and also encouraging inmates to apply for study courses. Though this might not be done in all jails around the country, some such as the famous Tihar jail has been appreciated for implementing such programs.
And in a new development, instead of the usual learnings that they pick up, six inmates have now been able to pass their post graduates examinations while in jail. And what could be considered as a reward for their efforts they might get to take part in the convocation ceremony.
The six, are currently held in the Beur Model Central Jail, which is located on the outskirts of Patna, Bihar, and may very well be able to wear the convocation gowns to receive their degrees from the Nalanda Open University (NOU) on July 16.
According to reports, the inmates have cleared masters of arts (MA) examination in fields and subjects as varied as sociology, geography and journalism from the prison in 2016. NOU vice chancellor (VC) RK Sinha is reported to have said that they were among 22,000 candidates eligible to receive degrees at the convocation.
Ram Nath Kovind, the governor of Bihar who is also the chancellor of universities in the state, has agreed to attend the convocation function to be held at SK Memorial Hall in Patna, Sinha reportedly said.
"We were in contact with some renowned scientists and scholars for their participation as special guests, but their confirmation is still awaited," Sinha was quoted as having said in a leading national daily.
"Altogether 28 gold medals, each weighing 10 grams, will be awarded with purity certificates to toppers of graduate and post-graduate programmes in different streams. Separate letters have also been sent to eligible candidates for participating in the convocation," the VC said.
According to Sinha, a letter has been sent to the Beur jail authorities, conveying the information of the six inmates having cleared their examinations.
"The NOU administration has written to the Beur jail superintendent for completing necessary formalities to bring the inmates to the convocation venue and take them back after the event," SP Sinha, the registrar of the university is reported to have said.
NOU, established in March 1987, is named after the famous ancient Indian, Nalanda University, and is the only university in Bihar that imparts learning exclusively through distance education.
And it may just make the rare, if ever seen, sight, of inmates of a jail donning convocation gowns and receiving their post-graduates at a function attended by the Governor of a state, possible.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 15:52 [IST]
BJP's 30:30:40 formula to kill dissent and win Karnataka in 2018 polls
India
oi-Anusha
The BJP in Karnataka may have just managed to find a way to keep all its leaders happy and end dissent and differences between leaders. With ticket distribution being the root cause of problems in the party, the senior leadership of the BJP is likely to adopt a 30:30:40 balance formula.
A day after BJP national president Amit Shah reiterated that B S Yeddyurappa was party's Chief Ministerial candidate, sources from the BJP claim that a bunch of candidates for the 2018 elections will now be selected by Yeddyurappa. In a bid to ensure that Yeddyurappa's choices do not disappoint other leaders, sources said, the BJP will give RSS the choice to select 30 percent of the candidate and central leadership of the party will select 40 percent of the candidates who will contest on a BJP ticket.
The core issue between K S Eshwarappa and B S Yeddyurappa stemmed from ticket distribution in constituencies in and around Shimoga. With this 30:30:40 formula, the BJP hopes to end the rift within the party. Leaders like K S Eshwarappa, Ananth Kumar, Sadananda Gowda, Prahlad Joshi and R Ashok will be consulted by the central leadership of the party to allot tickets under their 40 percent quota. B S Yeddyurappa and RSS will be allowed to choose their candidates constituting 30 percent each.
The central leadership, according to party sources, has already begun an assessment of eligible candidates. Workers from every district are contributing to help the senior leadership identify potential candidates, tickets will be issued depending on the winnability of each candidate. Despite Yeddyurappa having the power to choose 30 percent of the candidates, the final decision on issuing tickets will remain with the central leadership, it is learnt.
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Cow slaughter ban: Left-ruled Kerala outraged
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Kerala, well-known for consumption of beef, is leading the protest against the first central regulation for cow protection in the name of animal welfare.
The Central government's rules banning the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter has invited criticism from Kerala. Chief Minister P Vijayan, in a public function, blamed BJP for following RSS' agenda by banning cow slaughter. written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"The government cannot decide the choice of our food. The decision seems illogical. The state government will look into it and see if anything can be done legally," Finance Minister Thomas Isaac told media.
According to reports, left-wing student union SFI has called for protests against the ban in 220 centers across the state. Also, reportedly conducting beef parties in defiance of the ban.
Late night beef fest in kerala :D Effing them :D pic.twitter.com/mLgBFjS1Ix Siyad calicut (@siyadppkt) May 27, 2017
The notification on slaughter ban is significant in the wake of rising cases of violence against cow-traders. Cow slaughter is banned in states except in most parts of north-east India and Kerala.
In fact, ruling CPM has held a beef fest at Nallela village in Kollam district, where BJP had called for a hartal to protest against local governing body's failure in acting against "illegal slaughter houses''.
The BJP protested in front of a beef stall at Nallela for two days before calling for hartal. Later, the CPM organised the fest in reaction to the bandh.
(With agency inputs)
How this 24 year old MBA student helped bust a kidney racket
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
Four persons were arrested in connection with a major kidney racket in Delhi. The credit goes to a 24 year old MBA student who put his life at risk to help the police bust the racket. Delhi police officials say that the student played along with the donation agents for several weeks before the racket was busted.
Four alleged middlemen were arrested in raids at other places and sent to six-day police custody. Praveer Ranjan, joint commissioner of police (crime branch), said the arrests were a result of 40 days of trailing the racketeers.
Jaideep Sharma, the MBA student was the one who help bust the racket. His friend had gone missing last September. His friend had spoken about selling his kidney. When he went missing, Jaideep felt that this may have had something to do with what he had been speaking about.
Jaideep then got in touch with some kidney donors and presented himself as a donor. He then contacted a reporter from the News 24 channel and prepared to conduct a sting operation. The news team in turn informed the crime branch and sought backup.
In the meantime, the racketeers made Sharma assume the identity of an Andhra Pradesh man by arranging fake documents and working on his looks.
This was necessary as the law allows only close family members to donate kidneys to the patients. The man who was to receive Sharma's kidney is a native of Andhra Pradesh. On Thursday, just an hour before Sharma was to be operated upon, the police swooped down on the hospital and rescued him from the operation theatre. The police say that the racket is an inter-state one. The racketeers would charge anything between Rs 30 to 40 lakh.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 6:16 [IST]
Congress can never give stable govt to Himachal; it is guarantee of instability, corruption, scam: PM Modi
Impossible to give jobs to all: Amit Shah admitted Modi govts failure to solve unemployment issue?
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
New Delhi, May 27: On the occasion of third anniversary of the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre on Friday, president of the saffron party, Amit Shah, addressing a press meet in New Delhi, rubbished the allegation of rise in unemployment in the country under the current regime.
Shah added that joblessness was only in media findings. Disputing reports about increasing unemployment, the BJP chief said, "Where have jobs gone? These are newspaper reports. Do you consider newspaper reports as truth? People don't."
"We have tried to give a new perspective to employment as it is not possible to provide employment to everyone in a country of 125 crore people. We are promoting self-employment and the government has made eight crore people self-employed," Shah told reporters.
The BJP president's statement has come at a time when official reports showed a marginal increase in unemployment--from 4.9% in 2013-14 to 5% in 2015-16.
Moreover, several companies, including Information Technology giants, in recent times have shown doors to many of their employees.
The Opposition too has targeted the government for failing to solve the issue of jobs in the country.
"Modi government had promised to give employment to two crore youths annually but actually it had been able to give jobs to only 1.35 lakh people in 2015 and in 2016 too it could give jobs to about as many people," Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi said at a press conference on Friday.
Taking a dig at the previous Congress-led UPA government, Shah said the earlier political establishment was marked by policy paralysis and a string of scams. In contrast, even the opposition parties have not been able to level a single charge of corruption against the Modi government, he claimed.
"The BJP government under Modi ji is the most decisive and transparent government, not a paralysed government," Shah said.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 12:33 [IST]
Attacks on Hindus in UK: Are Muslims frustrated over spread and reach of Hinduism?
Hijab ban: With SC delivering a split verdict, here is what happens next
In a Punjab village, Sikhs, Hindus together build a mosque, set example in communal harmony
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Chandigarh, May 27: It's a perfect gift ahead of Eid for Muslims in Ghalib Ran Singh Waal village in Punjab.
The Sikhs and Hindus of the village came together to build a mosque for their Muslim brothers and sisters, just a few days ahead of the beginning of the holy month of Ramzan.
Ghalib Ran Singh Waal till recently had no mosque because of which the Muslim residents of the village had to go to nearby places to offer their prayers. Liaqat Ali, a resident of the village, told Times of India that their long cherished demand has been fulfilled and that the beautiful Hazrat Abu Bakar mosque is an Eid gift for them.
The small village with just 1,300 people is mostly dominated by Sikhs. According to the village leaders, Ghalib Ran Singh Waal has around 700 Sikhs, 200 Hindus and 150 Muslims. The Muslims are said to have taken shelter in the village only after partition in 1947.
Hailing the friendly action of the Sikh and Hindu communities, Shahi Imam of Punjab, Maulana Habib Ur Rehman Saani Ludhianvi, said that it's a big gesture of brotherhood on part of the villagers. "It was a long pending demand of the local Muslim community which will now be able to pray in its own mosque," he said.
In fact, the resolution to construct the mosque was passed in 1998. However, it was only last year that construction began with the help of the villagers. Village sarpanch Jagdeep Kaur proudly said that her village is the epitome of communal harmony.
Kaur added that the villagers are now building a temple for the Hindu community too. The village already has a Nanaksar Gurdwara. People from all faiths visit the Gurdwara regularly.
The villagers say that Ghalib Ran Singh Waal has never seen any communal tension and everyone irrespective of religion and caste stay happily together.
"Our village is a perfect example of how members from various communities can come together in a peaceful manner, and respect each other's faith," said a villager.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 7:53 [IST]
In the dense forests of Khunti how opium is grown to fund naxalites
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
In the dense forests of Khunti district in Jharkhand, there are villagers who are walking back home with quick money. It is quite strange when a large number of villagers from the state of Jharkhand have migrated to other places in search of employment, this small district has the population intact.
The rice-belts in the naxal-affected areas in Jharkhand were barren and this forced the farmers out of the place to explore better avenues. However these areas have seen a trend-reversal in the past few days and the villagers are back.
Every field today has opium plantation and this according to security officials is being done with the help of the naxalites. The proceeds from the opium are taken by the naxalites to fund their operations.
The villagers are back:
Nothing grew on these lands for the past couple of years. This was not only because of a bad monsoon. Most villagers left the villagers due to the fear of naxalites. The naxalites on the other hand realised that there was no point in threatening farmers and invited them back. There was however a catch.
The farmers were told to grow their produce as they wished, but the catch was that they grew opium as well. Today the naxalites back the villagers and help them grow the produce.
In the midst of all the opium, the villagers have been growing, guava, litchi, turmeric and chilli. The farmer makes a quick buck by selling the opium. He gets Rs 40,000 per 1 kilogram. This is not even one per cent of the market cost. The major chunk of the money is made by the naxalites who transports the produce to states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where there is very high demand.
It is a win-win situation for both the naxalites and the villagers.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 12:42 [IST]
Talented, driven and great potential: President Putin is all praise for India and Indians
The Western bias and why it cannot digest Indias success
India extends US$ 500mn credit to Mauritius
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
Prime Minister Narendra on Saturday extended support to the development of island nation Mauritius whose Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is on visit to India.
'We are truly honored excellency that you have chosen India for your first overseas visit after taking on a new responsibility as PM,' said PM Modi in a joint press conference. India is supporting Mauritian National Coast Guard in expanding its capacity through Project Trident and has taken decision to renew life of Coast Guard Ship Guardian.
Both countries reached an agreement on US$ 500mn line of credit to Mauritius. 'Our bonds extend to people and societies who take pride in our shared roots,' said Modi. Also, both the leaders ensured collective maritime security around coasts and EEZs.
Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar said ' Already excellent bonds between Mauritius and India have taken on a new dimension since I became PM.' He reiterated both countires have developed a strong bilateral cooperation in the field of defense and security.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 14:29 [IST]
Inside story: How the Saharanpur violence was stage managed to embarrass Yogi
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
More leads are emerging to suggest that the Saharanpur violence was entirely stage managed. It was a well-oiled network of a political party that offered Rs 50 lakh to some people to ensure that violence erupted. Moreover investigations have also been found a major political party in Uttar Pradesh wanted to ensure that the violence continued so that the blame of Dalits being targeted fell upon the government in the state.
The Principal Home Secretary of UP, Mani Parsad Mishra termed the recent caste- based violence as a "well-planned" conspiracy. Addressing a press conference here, he said though there had been incidents of violence reported from the district in the last few years but it had not attained the magnitude which was witnessed during April 20, May 5, May 9 and May 23 clashes.
It was also witnessed that since April 20 violence, the intensity of such incidents has been on a rise and some where it has been felt that there was something lacking in the police administration.On the arrest of leader of Bhim Army Chandrashekhar Azad, he said he would be arrested soon.
The role of a political party has come under the scanner for orchestrating the Sahranpur violence. A report by the Intelligence Bureau states that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to embarrass the government in Uttar Pradesh.
On May 5 violence had broken out in Sahranpur, UP when a procession by Thakurs to mark the birth anniversary of 16th-century Rajput king Maharana Pratap, entered Jatav settlements.
Sources say that they do not rule out the protests being stage-managed. A certain amount of money had been paid off to stage the violence, investigators also question. An amount of Rs 50 lakh was spent on staging the violence by a particular political party, it is also suspected.
The Intelligence Bureau has been collecting information and leads regarding the incident. It was triggered at the behest of a political party to embarrass the government in UP, an officer informed. Moreover the persons who triggered it off wanted the same to become a chain reaction across UP, the officer also noted.
The flare-up began on May 5 when Dalits objected to the procession being carried out by the Thakurs and Rajputs. One Thakur youth was killed in the clashes and this led to the homes of 50 Dalits being torched.
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K P S Gill will be remembered for effective policing: President Mukherjee
India
pti-PTI
New Delhi, May 27: President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday condoled the passing away of former super cop K P S Gill, saying his contribution in establishing law, order and security will be remembered.
"A committed IPS officer, Gill served the nation in various capacities including Director General of Police in Punjab and Assam," Mukherjee said in a condolence message to his wife Heminder Gill.
He was honoured with 'Padma Shri' award in 1989 for his work in civil service. His contribution in establishing law, order and security will be remembered," he added.
The president said: "Please accept my heartfelt condolences and convey the same to the members of your family. May you all have the strength to bear this irreparable loss with courage and fortitude." Gill, who is credited with rooting out militancy in Punjab, passed away yesterday at the age of 82.
Former Punjab DGP, K P S Gill passed away on Friday. He was 82. Doctors treating on him at the Ganga Ram Hospital in Delhi said he suffered from a cardiac arrest. They also said that he was suffering from end stage kidney failure and significant ischemic heart disease.
PTI
Karnataka: Dalits assaulted over drinking water by upper caste men
India
oi-Anusha
Even as the Congress continues to launch attacks on BJP over the lack of protection to Dalit in states where it is in power, the scenario is not very different in Congress-ruled Karnataka. Two Dalit men were assaulted by a group of upper caste men in Koppal of Karnataka over drinking water units.
A group of 25 upper caste men barged into a Dalit colony in Jeerala Kulgudi village of Gangavati Taluk in Koppal and damaged a drinking water installation and locked up the unit. The group even assaulted two men who questioned the move. As part of its clean drinking water in rural Karnataka scheme, the government had inaugurated a water purifier unit in the Dalit colony just eight days ago.
Angered that the installation was made in the Dalit colony and not in the area where people belonging to upper castes reside, men from the community broke down the water pipes and shut the unit down. The group of 25 men who assaulted the Dalit youths included members of gram panchayat identified as Manjunath and Veerupaknagouda. The group, Dalit residents claimed, took offence to supply of drinking water from a unit that was installed in the Dalit colony.
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Madras University gets new vice chancellor, longer wait for Anna University
India
oi-Anusha
P Duraisamy has been appointed as the new vice-chancellor of Madras University. The post of the VC was lying vacant since 2016. Tamil Nadu higher education minister K P Anbazhagan on Saturday announced that P P Chelladurai would be appointed as the vice-chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University.
The post of VC in MKU has been lying vacant since April 2015. Anna University that has not had a Vice Chancellor since May 2016 will have to wait longer since the Governor has rejected all names suggested for the post. "Governor was not happy with the three names given for the post of Anna University Vice-Chancellor. The university has over 7 lakh students and hence has rejected all the three names," the minister said. He added that a fresh appointment would be made within four months.
After years of lying vacant posts of VCs in Tamil Nadu universities are being filled up after the Madras High Court pulled up the government. Acting on a Public Interest litigation, the Madras High Court gave the government two weeks time to appoint VCs to universities. The governor had held interviews to the posts after which two appointments have been made. Anna University is yet to get a Vice-chancellor.
"The Governor had said that their (three names suggested) qualifications were not up to the mark. The committee has been asked to give a new panel of names to the Governor," the minister added. Meanwhile, new rules are being framed for the appointment of Vice-chancellors to universities. The new law will apply to 12 out of the 13 State Universities. "3 to 5 member committee will be part of the search panel. A retired judge or a retired VC will be part of the committee," Anbazhagan said.
"Search committee will be constituted 6 months prior the end of VC's tenure. Within four months the committee should constitute its panel of names. If the committee is unable to give the names, the Governor can either give time or dissolve the committee," he added.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 14:19 [IST]
Down in Kashmir, Pakistan now looks to dish out trouble in naxal land, North East
PM Modi gifts North East a new name, 'New Engine'
India
oi-Oneindia
By Oneindia Staff Writer
Guwahati, May 27: Till now, we all know that the acronym NE stands for the North East region, referring to the eight northeastern states of the country. However, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to call NE not as the North East, but the New Engine, which will "drive India's economy".
During his visit to Assam on Friday, PM Modi said, "The NE will not be known as the North East anymore, but the New Engine - for the new engine which will drive India's economy forward."
He added that the government was working to make the region a hub of economic activity. "This region can play a huge role in connecting India to Southeast Asia," Modi said.
PM Modi visited Assam on the day when the BJP-led NDA government completed three years at the Centre. It was a hectic trip to Assam for PM Modi. He first inaugurated the country's longest river bridge, Dhola-Sadiya bridge, now called as Bhupen Hazarika bridge, in Tinsukia district.
Next, he laid the foundation stone of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute Assam at Gogamukh in Dhemaji district. Then he symbolically laid the foundation stone of AIIMS Assam (proposed to be set up at Changsari in Kamrup district) at Sarusajai stadium in Guwahati through remote control.
Then in the evening, the PM addressed a public meeting in Khanapara, Guwahati.
Assuring the people of the North East region that they are equally important for his government, the PM said, "Every corner of the country is as important as Delhi for us."
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 11:31 [IST]
'This isn't the way to run a country', says Rahul Gandhi in Saharanpur
India
oi-Anusha
"Those not in power are today scared. This is not the way to run a country," said Rahul Gandhi after arriving at the borders of violence-hit Saharanpur. The Vice President of the AICC visited Saharanpur on Saturday. Rahul Gandhi added that the BJP government had failed to ensure law and order in Uttar Pradesh. "There is no place for the poor and weak in India today. Dalits are being oppressed across the country today," Rahul Gandhi added.
Uttar Pradesh: Rahul Gandhi, along with GN Azad & Raj Babbar, reaches #Saharanpur pic.twitter.com/Va1KZiqFrt ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) May 27, 2017
The Congress scion maintained that he intended to go visit the village where caste clashes had claimed lives but was requested against it. "The administration has asked me to return and I will respect that. As and when the situation in under control, I will visit the village too. They had infact stopped me at Uttar Pradesh's borders but I headed here," Rahul Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi was accompanied by Gulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar. Rahul Gandhi who met Dalit families in the region hit by caste clashes assured economic help. En route, the Congress scion met supporters along the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border.
Rahul Gandhi's visit to Saharanpur comes days after leaders from his own party reportedly questioned his silence over the caste clases that led to loss of lives. Rahul Gandhi who had refrained from making comments of the Saharanpur clashes decided to visit the district. Even as the police had claimed to stop the Congress Vice President at the borders, Rahul Gandhi went ahead and met families affected by the violence.
The Uttar Pradesh police had earlier said that Rahul Gandhi would be stopped at the border. "Rahul Gandhi will be stopped at Saharanpur border if he tries to enter the district," Aditya Mishra, ADG (Law and Order) had said. The police had stepped up security on all routes leading to Saharanpur. Rahul Gandhi defied the Uttar Pradesh police who denied permission for him to enter the violence-hit district.
Soon after the Congress said that Rahul Gandhi would visit Dalit families in the locality on Friday, the Uttar Pradesh police refused to grant permission. Despite section 144 imposed in the district ahead of his visit, Rahul Gandhi has asked all his supporters including those from Haryana to head to Saharanpur. The violence-hit district saw communal clashes in which lives were lost and many were injured.
A fresh bout of violence broke out in Saharanpur after Mayawati's visit. The police have refused permission to ensure that no more unrest is seen in the locality however, politicians continue to use the situation despite permission being denied.
OneIndia News
United Bengaluru files complaint against illegal dumping around Hormavu Agar lake
India
oi-Chennabasaveshwar
By Chennabasaveshwar
The United Bengaluru on Saturday filed a complaint against unknown persons for illegal dumping around Hormavu Agar lake periphery. The complaint said the illegal dumping is in violation of various High Court and Supreme Court order.
The United Bengaluru has launched an initiative 'Reclaim and Protect our Lakes'. Under the initiative a group of experts consisting of Lake and Urban Experts, Members of Lake Groups, elected representatives, and government officials inspect these Lakes to assess the extent of deterioration, encroachment, and dumping of domestic and industrial effluents.
The team visited the Horamavu Agara, Jayanthinagar (Horamavu small lake) and Challekere Lakes in the Yellamallappa Chetty Lake Series located in Mahadevapura Zone. The motive of the visit was to ensure that Citizens use the National Green Tribunal Order on Dumping into Lakes throughout Bengaluru. As per the NGT order, each violation must be fined INR 5,00,000. The experts also encourage the Citizens to use United Bengaluru as a platform to end encroachment and dumping of lakes and send a copy of your complaints.
Senior Freedom Fighter, HS Doreswamy, said United Bengaluru is going to revisit next month and if there are no sign of development then United Bengaluru will sit on a dharna. We are not against any MLA, MP or any Political Leader, we are working for the benefit of the citizen and I urge the citizen to come forward and complain about any violation in the lake. While the elected representatives have to protect the lakes as its their priority."
MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar, said ".......This kind of united citizen effort is the only way to protect Namma Bengaluru for future generations. I request all NGOs n citizens to work together because United we can succeed and Divided we will fail. I am proud and fully support the UnitedBengaluru citizens' movement. For my part, I will continue my fight to create more accountability in government."
Swarit Agarwal, Member, Save Horamavu Lake said, "We are thankful to team United Bengaluru led by HS Doreswamy for visiting our lake. The debris thrown around the lake is a major concern and it needs to be fenced asap. The bad street lights are encouraging anti-social activities in the lake surroundings. Today we filed complaint at Hennur Police Station against the encroachment and we have been assured by the officials that necessary action will be taken to protect the lake."
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 20:20 [IST]
As Pakistan bolsters military might, an uneasy disquiet at the border
More infiltrators arrested by Army as Pakistan continues to push terrorists into Valley
Unrest returns to valley after Sabzar Ahmad Bhat's killing, One civilian dead
India
oi-Vikas
By Vikas
In the protests across the valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, one civilian was killed and several others were injured in Kashmir on Saturday.
Bhat was killed along with killed five other suspected militants who were allegedly trying to infiltrate into the valley from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
The Army in a media briefing said they tracked the infiltrators and laid an ambush to neutralise them.
"Our boys and our surveillance devices have tracked their movement continuously. But due to thick forest the surveillance was very difficult. But continuous tracking of the area around the LoC yielded results. Last evening we were able to spot the entire group of infiltrating terrorists. We then laid the ambush at selected place when it was confirmed that would take a particular route. When the light was fading the group appeared. We wanted to get the entire group," an Army official told media.
The official said the search operation was still underway and more details will be made available after the completion of the operation.
"When they appeared, we engaged them. After sometime we were able to eliminate all of them, they were of foreign origin. We recovered a lot of things like food, medicines and other things. The search operation is still in progress," he added.
The government cut off mobile internet as a precautionary measure as the protests spread to capital Srinagar where people rushed to stock fuel fearing prolonged violence.
A successor of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani, Sabzar Bhat, was one of the six militants killed in an encounter in Kashmir's Tral Saturday morning.
A spontaneous shutdown was observed in most parts of the Valley as violence erupted at more than 50 places in the wake of killing of Bhat, a police official said.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 19:50 [IST]
What we know about Sabzar, Burhan's successor who was killed today
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
He replaced Burhan Wani as the commander of the Hizbul Mujahideen on July 10 2016. This was exactly two days after Burhan was killed in an encounter by security forces. Sabzar Bhat, the successor to Wani was today killed in an encounter at Tral in Jammu and Kashmir.
What do we know about Sabzar Bhat who went by the aliasMehmood Ghaznavi. The 21 year old Bhat was close to Burhan and he had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen in 2015.
Burhan Wani' s successor Sabzar Bhat killed in encounter in Kashmir
His decision to join the Hizbul Mujahideen was taken following the killing of Burhan's brother Khalid by the security forces. The appointment of Ghaznavi was made by the head of the outfit, Syed Salauddin through a statement on a local news agency KNS.
Who was Mehmood Ghaznavi alias Sabzar Bhat?
There is very little information on Ghaznavi. The police had in fact last year declared a cash reward on him. The Jammu and Kashmir police too were seeking out information relating to this man.
Officials say that Ghaznavi was a resident of Rathsuna in South Kashmir. He was a good friend of Burhan's and had joined the Hizbul Mujahideen only an year ago. It was the killing of Burhan's brother Khalid which prompted him to join the Hizbul Mujahideen in April last year.
Bhat is aged 21 and was an engineering student in a Chandigarh college. A low key operative, he never took too much to the social media like Burhan. Chosing a low profile commander may have been a deliberate attempt by the Hizbul Mujahideen which wanted some of the heat on it to be lowered.
Officials say that it was following the death of Khalid that he decided to join the outfit. Following that incident he left behind a note for his father who was a government employee.
In that note he wrote that he could not bear the atrocities that the people of Kashmir were facing and hence it is time that "I perform Jihad". He had been active since a young age. He had also taken part in several protests that took place in Kashmir including the one in 2010. Following this, he left to Chandigarh to do his engineering. Upon his return, he felt that he needed to fight for Kashmir.
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Will protest if consensus candidate for next President of India not selected: Opposition
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
The opposition has decided to launch a massive agitation if the National Democratic Alliance does not chose a consensus candidate for the next President of India. After a series of meetings on Friday, the opposition leaders said that the NDA must put up a consensus candidate. The elections will be held in July.
A consensus can only be built if the NDA government initiates talk and invite us for a discussion. Otherwise, we would a launch a massive political agitation said JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav. He was speaking after attending a meeting headed by Sonia Gandhi in which 17 parties took part.
Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, "Normal practice has been that the ruling party takes initiative to build consensus on names of candidates (President and Vice President).
This hasn't happened so far, if acceptable consensual candidates don't emerge then we (opposition parties) shall decide our future course of action," he added.
Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said that no name for the Presidential candidate has been discussed, adding that the Opposition is waiting for the Centre to initiate talks on the same.
"It is for the party in power to reach out to the Opposition. We want a person who is known for his commitment to the Constitution and who can uphold secular, democratic values of our society in the country," Raja told ANI.
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Yeddyurappa is BJP's candidate for Karnataka CM says Amit Shah
India
oi-Vicky
By Vicky
B S Yeddyurappa will the chief minister if the BJP wins the Karnataka assembly elections in 2018. The name of the former chief minister of Karnataka was proposed by Amit Shah, the national president of the BJP.
During an interaction with PTI, Shah also indicated that Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani would be the party's choice for the top post in the state, asserting that it would win more than 150 seats in the Assembly polls slated later this year. The Assembly has 182 seats.
He, however, said the party has not yet decided on its chief ministerial face in Himachal Pradesh, which goes to polls along with Gujarat. Asked if it meant that Yeddyurappa, who is the BJP's Karnataka unit chief, will be the chief ministerial face, he said, "He will be."
To a question on the party's state of affairs in Karnataka, Shah said he would visit the state soon. The party had recently taken action against some leaders, suspected to be behind the internal wrangling. Asked whether Rupani will be the party's CM face in Gujarat, Shah said, "He is already the chief minister."
"What does it mean that he will be the chief ministerial face...," he said in a lighter vein.
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 6:25 [IST]
Chinese jets intercept US plane in South China Sea
International
oi-Prabhpreet
By Prabhpreet
With the tensions related to the South China Sea, between China and its smaller neighbours, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia showing no signs of abating, the operations conducted by Western powers such as the US, and China's reaction to them just keep adding to them.
The South China Sea is an issue related to the territorial sovereignty of the countries involved as all of them claim at least some area of it to be under their jurisdiction. With smaller countries often accusing China of overstepping in this matter as China has often openly declared that the area comes under its control.
The South China Sea is not only important for resources available in the area but also as a strategic gateway.
Adding to all this, two Chinese aircraft have now been accused by the Pentagon, of conducting an unprofessional intercept of a surveillance aircraft belonging to the US Navy over the South China Sea. This is the second such incident in a week's time where the US has blamed the Chinese of unsafe operations in the area.
According to reports, an American P-3 surveillance plane, which was flying in international airspace and was around 150 miles away from Hong Kong, was subjected to an unsafe intercept by Chinese aircraft.
As per news agencies, a defense official on the condition of anonymity, said that two Chines J-10 fighter jets which conducted the intercept, and one of them flew, around 200 yards in front, and 100 feet above the US aircraft, while doing slow turns, and the other jet remained about 750 yards off its right wing.
The US has claimed that its aircraft was operating in international airspace. As per reports, US Navy Cdr. Gary Ross said that the country is reviewing the incident and will convey its concerns to the Chinese.
Recently a US Navy warship had sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island which has been built up by China in the South China Sea, said US officials, according to reports. And actions such as these have made China deeply suspicious of any US military activity around its coastline
In an earlier incident, US defence officials were reported to have claimed that Chinese jets had conducted an intercept of an American radiation-sniffing surveillance plane even though it was in the East China Sea.
According to reports, following this the Pacific Air Forces spokeswoman Lt Col Lori Hodge had explained that the Chinese aircraft approached the US aircraft conducting a routine mission in international airspace in accordance with international law.
The crew of the aircraft had described the actions of the Chinese pilots as unprofessional "due to the manoeuvres by the Chinese pilot, as well as the speeds and proximity of both aircraft," Hodge had reportedly said. China had denied accusations about last week's intercept, as it claimed that its aircraft conducted a safe and professional operation.
Chinese Defense Ministry had earlier reportedly said the American plane was conducting surveillance over the Yellow Sea and that the Chinese jets had performed actions "in accordance with laws and regulations."
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Story first published: Saturday, May 27, 2017, 13:43 [IST]
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In the two weeks since Pacific Seafood announced it would consolidate its dominant position on Newport's Bayfront with the acquisition of two additional fish processing plants, the deal has generated more litigation than fish fillets.
Pacific has been unable to open the former Trident Seafood surimi plant because it cannot find the necessary 150 employees. Like other agricultural and food processing operations, Clackamas-based Pacific has been grappling with a shortage of seasonal laborers.
On Thursday, two companies who claim Pacific illegally conspired with its competitors to lock them out of the Newport seafood processing business, filed an antitrust lawsuit in federal court to undo the transactions. The lawsuit alleges Pacific, under the leadership of third-generation Chief Executive Officer Frank Dulcich, acquired three properties on Newport's Yaquina Bay in the past 23 months even though the plaintiffs offered more money.
Richard Carroll approached Trident about acquiring the Seattle company's two fish processing plants in Newport last fall and winter. Trident officials rejected his offer, allegedly saying the company was sticking with the "status quo."
But the status quo didn't last long.
Weeks later, Trident turned around and sold both properties to Pacific, a move that prompted concerns about the Clackamas company's ever-increasing share of the market. The two companies know each other well. Joe Bundrant, chief executive officer at Trident, is Dulcich's brother-in- law.
But Pacific wanted some reassurances before it closed the deal. In a highly unusual negotiation conducted largely in public, Pacific demanded a guarantee from the Oregon Department of Justice that the agency wouldn't attempt to block the transaction. State lawyers launched antitrust investigations of the company twice this decade and sided with fishermen in their class-action complaint.
The company enlisted the aid of Coastal legislators claiming nearly 150 fish processing jobs hung in the balance.
The Department of Justice accused Pacific of misrepresenting the situation and concealing its acquisition of the Trident fish meal plant earlier in April. But it gave its consent to the deal on the condition that Pacific operate the plants and attempt for a full year to find another buyer for the surimi operation.
The surimi plant converts Pacific whiting into surimi, the main ingredient in artificial crab and other seafood alternatives. It is a key asset to Oregon's commercial fishing fleet as there is an enormous supply of whiting offshore.
Carroll is an expert in the surimi process. He and a partner in their company, Innovation Marine Protein LLC, are working on a process to convert whiting into a nutritional supplement suitable for human consumption. Such a product would be far more valuable than surimi, Carroll said, and conceivably could significantly increase the price paid to fishermen.
A second plaintiff is Front St. Marine LLC. The suit alleges that Front St. owner Stephen Webster, a Newport entrepreneur, offered $1.8 million for the dilapidated wharf and an idle Bayfront processing plant owned by California Shellfish in 2015.
The suit alleges California Shellfish rebuffed Webster and then sold the property to Pacific Seafood for just over $1 million.
"In two secret transactions in the last 23 months, Pacific conspired with two of its competitors to thwart the entry of new competitors into the seafood processing business on the Central Oregon coast," the lawsuit claims. "Both conspiracies dramatically increased Pacific's monopoly power position."
The lawsuit pits Dulcich against a long-time nemesis: Portland lawyer Mike Haglund. It was Haglund, an experienced litigator of antitrust claims, who represented fishermen in two earlier lawsuits filed against Pacific and Dulcich. Both suits alleged that Pacific abused its enormous market power to drive down prices paid to fishermen.
Dan Occhipinti, Pacific general counsel, said the new lawsuit is "ludricrous." He alleged Haglund was unable to find a fisherman willing to put his name to the suit.
"The lawsuit takes a couple true facts and then adds 99 percent falsehoods to make its case," Occhipinti said. "What it really is, is an attempt by a land developer to buy waterfront property."
-- Jeff Manning
503-294-7606, jmanning@oregonian.com
From University of Oregon Athletic Department:
EUGENE, Ore. - Matt Mercer and Kenyon Yovan combined to hold UCLA to just one unearned run to even the series in a 2-1 Pac-12 Conference win on Friday at PK Park.
How It Happened: Mercer (6-7) struck out six while allowing one unearned run on three hits over 7.1 innings to earn his first win since April 8. The sophomore right-hander retired the first 10 batters he faced and didn't allow a runner to get past first base until the eighth inning.
The Ducks (30-24, 12-17) pushed across a run in the bottom of the fifth to break a scoreless tie. Morgan McCullough delivered a two-out RBI single to score A.J. Balta who was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning.
Kyle Kasser made it a 2-0 Oregon lead in the seventh, scoring from second on an infield single by Spencer Steer with two outs.
After a pair of one-out walks chased Mercer, the Bruins (29-25, 18-11) scored a run on a throwing error by catcher Matthew Dyer on a stolen base attempt, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Yovan locked up his 15th save, throwing 1.2 perfect innings with two strikeouts, including a big strikeout to strand the tying run on third in the eighth inning.
Box Score Notes: Steer finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, collecting his 14th multi-hit game which is second most on the team ... Kasser went 1-for-3 with a run scored, extending his hitting streak to 14 games ... He moved into a tie for the second-longest hitting streak in school history with Tyler Baumgartner (2013) and is one shy of the program record of 15 set by Kyle Garlick (2014) ... Gabe Matthews turned in a 2-for-4 night at the plate ... Yovan finished his 20th game putting him in a tie for seventh most in a career at Oregon with Madison Boer (2009-11) and Kellen Moen (2010-11).
On Deck: The Ducks will send Cole Stringer (4-2, 3.36) to the mound on Saturday to close out the regular season against the Bruins. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Health care and the saga of the suggested removal of benefits for youth, the elderly and the poor continues to be a hot subject of national editorial cartoonists. Also some artist draw in support of the victims of the terror attack in Manchester, England. Other topics include the attack on a reporter in Montana and President Trump's trip overseas.
The Alden B. Dow Home and Studios Education Program is the recipient of the Focal Point quilt, the Great Lakes Bay Modern Quilt Guilds 2017 QuiltCon Charity Challenge quilt.
To highlight this creative work, the Home and Studio is showing Focal Point between the hours of 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Second Drafting Studio through June 20. Original drawings and photos of a variety of Dows Mid-Century Modern door designs will accent the display. A silent auction, ending June 20, will allow the quilt to be purchased by the highest bidder. Money raised from the sale will be appropriated to the busing fund used to bring students from around the region to the Home and Studio for a variety of education programs.
Nurturing the love of quilting in the next generation, is the GLBMQG motto, said chapter founder Tara Bird. Our mission is to support and encourage the growth and development of modern quilting through art, education and community. The Alden B. Dow Home and Studio is where young students are introduced to Mid-Century Modern architecture and design. It seemed fitting to gift this years quilt to Mr. Dows organization, since his legacy not only inspired our entry, but continues to inspire the youth of our community to carry forward and express their creativity.
The QuiltCon Charity Challenge, a nationwide competition, is one of the Modern Quilt Guilds largest-scale charity projects. QuiltCon East 2017 was in Savannah, Georgia. After the entries are displayed at QuiltCon, guilds are asked to donate the completed quilt to a local charity they support. This years challenge required participants to work collaboratively to create completed quilts using a predetermined color palette while crafting a design that plays with scale.
The quilt design was inspired by the work of Dow, Michigans sole architect laureate and a Midland native known for his contributions to modern architecture and design. Permission was obtained to use a photograph of a door that Dow designed for the Duke University Presidents Home, to serve as inspiration for the quilt. The presidents home is located on the campus in North Carolina, and is used to house visiting dignitaries and host conferences.
Some members chose to carefully plan their sections, while others used improvisation, Bird said. All the predetermined colors were used, as we felt it added visual interest and gave the impression of the stained glass used in the original door. She described the challenge of playing with scale that can be seen in a variety of ways on the quilt. The piecing and quilting show that the door is set into an alcove. Each door section is unique with varying sizes of squares and rectangles to make up the window panes. The overall design of the quilt gives the illusion of depth. The quilting further enhances this. The quilting lines on floor and ceiling, and scale of blocks on the walls draws the eye in from the entryway to the door. The quilting also shows the uniqueness of Alden B. Dows unit blocks which are present on many of his buildings.
While taking a tour of the Home and Studio, a guild member met the daughter of Ted Gwizdala, Dows master carpenter, who crafted the door from Dows design. Stephanie Gwizdala-McMurphy, a docent at The Home and Studio, shared memories of being present while her father was working on it.
I remember how proud my father was of that door. It took an incredible amount of time and detail to construct. I have memories of him being out in the garage asking his buddies their opinion and they all agreed it was a beautiful piece of artistry and craftsmanship.
As she looked at the Focal Point display, Gwizdala-McMurphy said, Its an interesting comparison between two different mediums the wood with the glass composition in the door juxtaposed to the colors and the quilting of the fabric. Both the door and the quilt are amazing masterpieces of craftsmanship.
Modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in different ways, but several characteristics often appear that may help identify a modern quilt. These include, but are not limited to: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. Modern traditionalism or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern design.
The GLBMQD meets in the classroom area at Park Bench Quilt Shop in Midland from 6 to 8 p.m. on the last Thursday of the month. People who are interested in modern design are welcome.
For more information on the Focal Point silent auction, visit at www.abdow.org or call 989-839-2744.
The first West Nile virus activity for Michigan in 2017 has been confirmed in three birds across the state.
West Nile virus has been identified in one turkey found in Barry County, and two crows one from Kalamazoo County and one from Saginaw County. Residents are reminded that the best way to protect against West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses is to prevent mosquito bites.
People who work in outdoor occupations or like to spend time outdoors are at increased risk for West Nile virus infection from mosquito bites. Adults 50 years old and older have the highest risk of severe illness caused by West Nile virus.
Symptoms of West Nile virus include a high fever, confusion, muscles weakness and a severe headache. More serious complications include neurological illnesses, such as meningitis and encephalitis. Last year, there were 43 serious illnesses and three deaths related to West Nile virus in Michigan. Nationally, there were 2,038 human cases of the virus and 94 deaths reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Everyone older than six months of age should use repellent outdoors, said Dr. Eden Wells, chief medical executive of MDHHS. It only takes one bite from an infected mosquito to cause a severe illness, so take extra care during peak mosquito-biting hours, which are dusk and dawn for the mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus.
Repellents containing DEET, picaridin, IR3535, and some oil of lemon eucalyptus and para-menthane-diol products provide longer-lasting protection. For both safety and effectiveness, repellents should be used according to the label instructions.
The mosquitoes that transmit West Nile virus may breed near peoples homes in storm drains, shallow ditches, retention ponds and unused pools. They will readily come indoors to bite if window and door screens are not maintained. As summer temperatures rise, mosquitoes and the virus develop more quickly, so it is important to protect yourself from mosquito bites as the weather warms, according to the state.
The three West Nile virus positive birds were found sick or dead in early May and tested positive at Michigan State University this week. Birds are the natural animal reservoir for the virus and carry it in their blood. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite an infected bird.
Most birds show no symptoms of infection, but certain bird species, such as crows, blue jays and ravens, are more sensitive to the virus and are more likely to become sick and die when they become infected with the virus.
As with many wildlife diseases, vigilant observation and reporting from the public are critical in helping health and wildlife experts better understand and contain the transmission of West Nile Virus, said Dr. Kelly Straka, state wildlife veterinarian. We ask residents to contact us if they find sick or dead crows, blackbirds, owls or hawks or any other bird exhibiting signs of illness.
For information about West Nile virus activity in Michigan and to report sick or dead birds, visit www.michigan.gov/westnile
Additional information can be found at www.cdc.gov/westnile
There are a number of ways to mark Memorial Day in Midland County.
In Sanford, the Memorial Day Parade will be at 1 p.m. Monday, followed by a ceremony at 1:30 p.m. at the Sanford Cemetery.
In Coleman, the Memorial Day Parade is at 10 a.m. Monday. A ceremony will take place at 1 p.m. at the Coleman Veterans Memorial. On Saturday, the Coleman Memorial Concert: United by Sacrifice, will feature four bands starting at noon. Eddie Money will perform at 6 p.m.
In Midland, a number of events are organized by the American Legion Post 165.
Activities commence at 8 a.m. Monday at the veteran section of the Midland Cemetery. Immediately following, there will be a Naval ceremony at the Upper Bridge on Currie Parkway for deceased Navy personnel. At 9 a.m., there will be the presentation of wreaths at the Midland County Veterans Memorial located in the front of the Midland County Courthouse. This will be hosted by American Legion Post 165 Auxiliary member, 1st Vice President Jackie Pnacek. U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar will be the keynote speaker with Michigan Sen. Jim Stamas and State Rep. Gary Glenn as the guest speakers at the Courthouse wreath ceremony.
The annual Memorial Day parade will commence at 10 a.m. The parade route will begin at West Main Street to Rodd Street and ending at Nelson Street. The parade marshall will be World War II Army veteran Gale M. Crandell. Crandell served from Nov. 3, 1944, to Aug. 21, 1946, in the European Theater. He was assigned to the 14th Field Artillery Battalion and transported prisoners to the Nuremberg trials. Crandell is an active member of the Berryhill American Legion Post 165. Gold Star Mothers will be represented by Kim Burgess and Deb Ullom in honor of their sons Ryan and Aaron.
Following the completion of the parade, the Memorial Day ceremonies will conclude at the band shell, where the guest speaker will be Vietnam veteran Marine Col. Jim Murphy, a Midland High School graduate of 1961. Murphy received his Naval Aviator Wings in 1965 and was awarded the Navy Cross for heroic action in combat. Murphy retired from the USMC in 1991. He holds a masters degree and a Michigan Teaching Certificate in special education. Music will be provided by the Midland High School Marching Band.
American Legion Post 165 Commander James Cherry asks everyone in the community to have a safe as well as a happy holiday weekend and urges everyone to participate in the Memorial Day activities in remembrance of the service and sacrifice of U.S. veterans from Midland County. In case of severe inclement weather, turn to the Midland County 911 Facebook page or the Midland American Legion Post 165 Facebook page for parade cancellation information at 8:45 a.m. Monday.
Memorial Day is a time to pause and honor those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our country. This year, the day is even more meaningful for our community.
Three weeks ago, the people of Bloomington-Normal mourned one of our own, Army Sgt. Josh Rodgers, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in late April. Hundreds of family and friends attended a celebration of his life at Eastview Christian Church and paid tribute to the young hero.
Sgt. Rodgers, a 2013 graduate of Normal Community High School, was a member of 2nd Platoon, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. He had been deployed to Afghanistan three times.
The population of our twin cities is large enough that families living here may never cross paths. Many of us did not know Sgt. Rodgers or his family. But the culture of our Midwestern setting is still close-knit. We all felt the impact of losing a native son.
My husband and I wanted to pay our respects to the man and his family, and to the soldiers attending the service. In addition to a military honor guard, there were several other military personnel present, including a chaplain and a fellow Army Ranger.
Area residents were given the opportunity to show our respect by standing along the funeral procession as it made its way from Eastview to Evergreen Cemetery.
About 30 minutes before the scheduled procession, my husband and I quietly put on our coats and retrieved two U.S. flags. Then we walked in silence to the route street. We held hands, each deep in our own thoughts. As parents, our hearts ached for the family.
As we walked, an unusual thing happened. Dozens and dozens of our neighbors also exited their homes and began the same pilgrimage. Many carried flags. Some brought their dogs, some brought small children in wagons. The stars and stripes of Old Glory were everywhere people wore red, white and blue or decorated their yards, bike and cars.
It would be easy to mistake the gathering as a Fourth of July parade. But there was one significant difference: We were solemnly silent. Even the children knew something was different and kept their usual shouts to a minimum.
When we reached our destination, the open space along the route provided an impressive sight: Hundreds of mourners filled the length of the road as far as you could see. The community had shown up.
In a time of grief, we had united. Despite the political divisions our nation has experienced the past year and despite differences in opinions which have fueled civil discourse, we came together to honor a fallen soldier. It was a truly humbling thing to behold.
As it happened, that afternoon I saw many neighbors I had not seen in months and some I had never met. We quietly introduced ourselves and shared thoughts on the sorrow of Sgt. Rodgers death.
In a time when many of us communicate via social media or our smart phones, it was important for us to collectively put that aside and be present in the moment. Standing along the road, we shared a single purpose: to honor a young mans sacrifice.
As the hearse carrying the casket passed by, men and women removed their hats and waved flags. I put my hand over my heart. No one said a word.
We wanted the family to know we cared.
We wanted the soldiers, who rode in the procession and stoically looked straight ahead, to know we supported them.
We wanted the veterans groups, some riding on motorcycles, to know we remembered.
From the window of his units vehicle, one soldier glanced our way. He mustve felt our care and concern. He mustve have sensed the mix of sadness and patriotism in our hearts. He mustve understood communities come together in times of tragedy.
Because he put his face in his hands and wept.
STREATOR OSF HealthCare is giving $1 million to the Streator YMCA for building expansion and increased health and wellness programming.
OSF and YMCA leaders announced the gift at the YMCA, 710 Oakley Ave., on Friday.
A committee with diverse representation and understanding of community needs will be formed to make recommendations as to specifically how the money will be used, OSF said in a prepared statement.
The donation is part of Peoria-based OSF HealthCare's efforts to improve health and wellness in Streator since OSF took over the former St. Mary's Hospital, 111 Spring St., in January 2016.
That same month, Springfield-based Hospital Sisters Health System closed St. Mary's in a decision that angered Streator-area residents.
When OSF took over the hospital campus, it didn't reopen the hospital but instead turned it into Center for Health-Streator, an outpatient center that includes a 24/7 emergency center, rehabilitation services, diagnostic imaging, lab services, primary and specialty physician offices, occupational health and community education.
One concern of Streator residents has been what would happen to money raised by the Friends of St. Mary's. OSF pledged to keep that money in the community and Friday's announcement honors that commitment, OSF said.
Streator YMCA serves more than 9,000 people annually through memberships, scholarships, programs and services. YMCA's membership is at an all-time high of 2,400 people.
"At the YMCA, we believe that all people should have the tools and support they need to reach their full potential," said YMCA Executive Director Josh Biros. "Thanks to our new support and collaboration from OSF HealthCare, Streator can take a bigger step toward building and maintaining a healthy community."
"As health care continues to change, OSF wants to be even more integrated and participate in communities where we have been called to serve," said Ken Beutke, president of Center for Health-Streator and OSF St. Elizabeth Medical Center, Ottawa. "We are proud to continue delivering on our promises to the community and be part of solutions that meet our collective needs."
Vonda Rodgers, the mother of fallen Army Ranger Josh Rodgers, was at Fort Benning, Ga., this week to welcome home her sons military unit from Afghanistan, or, as she put it, to make sure theyre doing OK and so they can see were doing OK. She arranged the special meeting a gracious gesture from a family thats at peace.
If only it were so with the rest of the world.
This Memorial Day holds acute poignancy, a special sorrowfulness for our community. It was one month ago today that Sgt. Rodgers died on the other side of the globe, fighting ISIS militants in a night-time raid near Afghanistans border with Pakistan, successfully targeting the Islamic States leader there.
Many of us knew Josh. Most of us did not, just as we didnt know the servicemen and women from other wars whose graves are decorated this weekend with American flags and, perhaps, flowers. Yet we owe them so much.
It was 149 years ago that Gen. John Logan (our Logan County was named after his father) ordered members of his politically powerful organization of Union soldiers, the Grand Army of the Republic, to adorn the graves of fallen comrades with flowers on May 30. After World War I, the tribute, then commonly called Decoration Day, evolved to honor military personnel who died in all wars. Memorial Day didnt become an official holiday until 1971.
Now theres a fresh grave in Evergreen Cemetery that holds another of our own. And 217 large American flags line the path to and from that southeastern part of the cemetery, each flagpole with a plaque honoring a deceased veteran. One has the name of Air Force veteran Michael Rodgers. Thats Josh Rodgers grandfather. Now the flagpole holds a second name.
Just one day before Josh was laid to rest, a sizable monument was erected next to what would be his grave, commemorating how the Traveling Tribute Vietnam Memorial Wall stood on that site for five days last August. The wall contains the names of 58,307 Americans who died in a distant country. Theres another American flag there on an even taller flagpole. The thought is to reserve that part of Evergreen for veterans and their spouses.
Joshs father, Kevin, didnt travel to Georgia this week, staying behind so he could be part of a ceremony at the Illinois State Capitol. About a month from now, both of Joshs parents will be at Fort Benning for a memorial service where his name and that of another Ranger who died in the high-stakes raid, Sgt. Cameron Thomas of Ohio, will be added to a monument there.
History has made us too good, too practiced at building memorials and holding ceremonies honoring our war dead, many of whom had what the poet called a half-used life. For Sgts. Rodgers and Thomas, it was even less.
They were just 22 and 23 years old, respectively, the 1,834th and 1,835th American troops killed in action in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion began nearly 16 years ago. The Pentagon says they may have been victims of friendly fire, a theory disputed on social media by some of their fellow combatants.
To Joshs family, its irrelevant. I admire that perspective.
The dark reality is that war is ugly, even when its necessary. Once a bullet is triggered loose, it doesnt discriminate. It may strike a tree, a building, human flesh. People in those faraway places know what war does to their homelands.
NORMAL U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis is coming back to Normal.
Davis, a Taylorville Republican, will hold open office hours 8:30-10 a.m. Thursday at his uptown office, 104 W. North St.
Meetings will be taken on a first-come, first-serve basis. Due to office space constraints, meetings will be limited to no more than five people at a time. Constituents can contact Davis Champaign Office at 217-403-4690 with questions.
Davis last held office hours May 8. In addition to meeting with constituents, he addressed a group of about 30 protesters who opposed his vote on the American Health Care Act, which the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said this week will result in 23 million fewer Americans with health insurance.
Protesters also have called for Davis to hold a town hall meeting, which he has never done. He has held several private meetings media will again be barred from Thursday's sitdowns and teleconferences in which staff members screen questions.
Davis also will hold office hours this week in Champaign, Decatur, Maryville and Springfield.
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On Monday we reported that the new Apple Store in Singapore would open on May 27 and on schedule it opened to the public with great fan fare and Apple's classic opening day greeting as noted in our cover graphic. The store is the first of its kind in Singapore, running entirely on solar energy. See our cover graphic in full size by clicking on the image.
The new Apple store called the 'Apple Orchard Road' has a 120-foot glass facade that blurs the line between inside and out, while 16 interior trees continue the city's lush greenery throughout the space.
The Apple Orchard Road store opened this morning at 10 a.m. to thousands of customers who queued to explore Apple's first store in Southeast Asia. Braving the equatorial heat as early as Friday night, customers were greeted by Apple's Angela Ahrendts and the store's 237 employees when doors opened.
The new store is two stories with the second floor used for 'Today at Apple' events and classes. The store is graced with twin curved castagna stone staircases which adds a new flare to the Singapore store as noted below.
The Singapore Straits Times has a walk-through video highlighted today. While it's available, check it out here. A month ago Apple opened the doors to their new Dubai store.
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It was just yesterday that we posted a report titled "Apple's advances in AI Continue to Surface at a Record Pace as news of a 'Neural Engine' Chip now Emerges." Two weeks ago we posted a report titled "AI Wars are almost reaching Fever Pitch with new Home Devices and Apple Fans look to WWDC 2017 for Apple's Response." One of Reuters latest reports makes the same point about the activity surrounding AI in the tech sector.
A new Reuters report quotes a statement by research firm CB Insights about the AI frenzy: "A total of 34 artificial intelligence startups were acquired in the first quarter of this year, more than twice the amount of activity in the year-ago quarter. Tech giants seeking to reinforce their leads in artificial intelligence or make up for lost ground have been the most aggressive buyers. Alphabet Inc's Google has acquired 11 AI startups since 2012, the most of any firm, followed by Apple, Facebook and Intel respectively."
The companies noted in the report declined to comment on their acquisition strategies. A spokesman for Apple did confirm the company's recent purchase of Lattice Data, a startup that specializes in working with unstructured data.
Apple is focused mainly on the retail/consumer sector while AI is ripping through all sectors of technology. Nvidia's Tesla P100 AI GPU was just adopted by IBM who see's this GPU as a game changer for the AI revolution.
Intel is going full tilt into into AI and made one of their largest acquisitions ever to gain Israel's Mobileye for autonomous vehicles. And the Reuters report today points to Ford Motor spending a billion dollars on Argo AI, founded by former executives on self-driving teams ag Google and Uber Technologies.
Large acquisitions aside, Apple never talks about their plans or projects. We know for a fact that they have a Project Titan team resides in Ottawa Canada in an industrial park that houses a research team from BlackBerry developing an autonomous vehicle OS and Apple is hiring as many of BlackBerry engineers that they can for their carOS efforts. You can't be developing an carOS for autonomous vehicles without a connection to AI. So while we don't know at what stage Apple is at, it's assured that one of their AI projects is related to Project Titan. One of their major AI acquisitions was Vocal IQ, a company that had a major focus on a digital assistant designed for the autonomous car.
I remember the unveiling of Apple's iPhone in 2007 which set off the mobile revolution which was an amazing time to see unfold. The AI revolution is not yet here. All we see is the preparation for the AI revolution, but for now it's just tiny baby steps coming to market in the form of Home devices and elementary digital assistants.
So many industries are banking on the coming 5G networks to help ignite the revolution and that's only three years away. So time will tell if that's when the starting gun for the AI Revolution truly fires.Yet whenever it does, we'll get to behold one of the most interesting times in history unfold. The AI revolution will of course dwarf the mobile revolution in shear scope covering every major market sector from the consumer, to the enterprise, to vehicles, to home automation, robotics and far beyond. It's a wonderful time to be alive. For more on this, read the new Reuters report titled "Acquisitions accelerate as tech giants seek to build AI smarts."
About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
Saturday Link Love is a feature where I collect and post links to various articles Ive come upon over the past week. Feel free to share any interesting articles youve come along as well! The more the merrier.
English Club: A Story of Gang Rape, Trafficking, and a Dragon, on The Manifest-StationFor three years all I remembered was the tea. The tea wasnt even that good.
Tulsi Gabbard Is Not Your Friend, on Jacobin MagazineSo what is the cause of terrorism, according to Gabbard? Islam, of course.
You Couldve Asked, on EmmaAn Infographic
The Independent Mothers of Iceland, on the New YorkerIn contrast to the competitive, anxious parenting of middle- and upper-class Americans, there is an ease to being a mother in Iceland, at least among the native population.
It Was Forced on Me: Child Marriage in the U.S., in the New York TimesNot surprisingly, the marriage didnt work out two-thirds of marriages of underage girls dont last, one study found but it did interrupt Johnsons attendance at elementary school.
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In Remote Iranian Province, Women Make Gains At Ballot Box
05/26/17
By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL
Iran's sprawling southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province is notorious for insecurity, poverty, drug trafficking, and deadly clashes between security forces and militants. More recently, however, it made headlines this month for sweeping a record number of women onto city and village councils.
Iranian women at a rally for President Hassan Rohani in Tehran.
(photo by Islamic Republic News Agency)
Officials say the number of women elected to local councils in the Sunni-majority province, which shares borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, more than doubled.
"Four hundred and fifteen women have been elected to the city councils in the province," Governor Ali Osat Hashemi was quoted by Iranian media as saying on May 23, up from just 185.
In one village, Afzalabad, in the district of Khash, all 10 candidates on the council ballot on May 19 were women.
The numbers remain low nationally. Of the more than 287,000 candidates registered for last week's elections, just 6 percent were women, according to official figures.
But moderates and reformists, bolstered by the rise to power of President Hassan Rohani and their success in the 2016 parliamentary elections, have aimed at ending the tight grip of conservatives on local politics.
Rohani, a veteran politician who has risked crossing Iran's powerful unelected establishment with calls for modest reform inside the country and on the international scene, was reelected on May 19 with 57 percent of the vote. The victory was widely seen as a blow to political and cultural hard-liners and an expression of Iranians' desire for interaction with the world.
"Despite having university educations, [women] don't have freedom of speech. I want to defend them," Esmat Irandagani told the Iranian daily Shahrvand. She said she did very little campaigning and owed her victory to the women in her village who encouraged her to run "to help them" get their handicrafts more recognition.
"I was a volunteer for the Red Crescent. I also worked one year as a reporter. Now I want to do work for the women in my village," Irandagani said, adding that men had not successfully developed the village.
Women Taking Charge
Gains on city councils follow the appointment in recent years of more women to senior posts in the region, including as governors, mayors, and prefects.
Source: Roozan daily
Khash Governor Mohammad Chakerzehi credited Rohani's administration with advancing the political role of women, saying the government in Tehran's effort to increase the number of women in decision-making positions across the province contributed to women's success in the city-council elections.
"One-third of women who had registered to run were elected to city councils," Chakerzehi said. "Many of these educated women registered to run in order to strengthen the position of women in society."
Abdol Sattar Doshoki, a Baluchi political analyst who heads the U.K.-based Center for Baluchistan Studies, says the high-level appointments have inspired women to seek a greater role in the society. "The [city-council election] has provided Baluch women, many of whom have obtained university degrees in past years, with an opportunity to show themselves and play a role in political and social life," Doshoki explains.
Baluch make up a majority in the province, which is said to be one of Iran's poorest.
Doshoki says he believes that the high participation of women also helps combat discrimination in the province, which is among Iran's poorest. "Baluchi people suffer from different types of discrimination, including ethnic discrimination, religious discrimination, and also gender discrimination, which is common for [other regions] in the country," he says.
"In places where women stood, men and women had the power to say no to gender discrimination," Doshoki says.
Setting An Example
Afzalabad Mayor Maryam Ahmadzehi, a woman, has been held up in local media coverage as a successful example of a woman in a senior post and, presumably, a key factor encouraging men to vote for women when they step into the voting booth. Roads have been paved, new parks have been created, and the village has been connected to the electricity grid.
"The day Ahmadzehi became mayor, the village was in ruins, but things have changed significantly since then," a local school principal told the daily Etemad in April. "We're satisfied with our mayor, so we reached the conclusion that women can also do good work in the council."
The principal added that since many local men are out in the field farming or on duty guarding Iran's border, they are happy to cede "care of the village issues" to women.
One of the female candidates for the village council in Afzalabad told Etemad that Ahmadzehi was indeed a role model. "Her efforts motivated all of us to study and work," she said.
Women voting in the city of Gorgan
Across the country, initial election results suggest that reformists and moderates ousted conservatives and took control of councils in at least six major cities.
In the capital, Tehran, where all 21 seats went to reformists in this month's vote, women doubled their presence on the city council from three to six.
The hard-line election supervisor, the Guardians Council, imposes an effective ban on women running for the Iranian presidency, but parliament vets those running for city-council seats.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently accused Iran of systemic discrimination and other obstacles in the workplace, saying Iran lags in gender equality.
Local media report that there are around 150 women in managerial positions in Sistan-Baluchistan, a province of around 2.5 million people.
A $7.48 million turnkey fish processing plant has been commissioned at Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abram (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region to help reduce unemployment and poverty among the people.
Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, who commissioned the Raphael Spectrum Company Limited, said the government has also planned to build a fishing harbour, cold storage facilities and landing sites, as well as Anomabo Fisheries College.
She stated that government would improve the wellbeing of fishing communities by creating the enabling environment that would create jobs and wealth for residents and their dependents.
She was hopeful the management team would put in place sound management systems to effectively manage the facilities.
Paramount Chief of Edina Traditional Area, Nana Kodwo Conduah, underscored the importance of the facility to the people of the area.
Nana Conduah added that the facility would provide adequate iced blocks for the fishermen in the area to store their fish on the high seas.
He underscored the need for the people in the area not to politicize the operations of facility since it belongs to all Ghanaians and not a particular political party.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Raphael Spectrum Company Limited, Raphael Tackie Antiaye, said the facility would be managed properly to improve the lives of all.
He said measures had been put in place by the management to ensure that the facility stores enough fish after the fishing season.
The keys of the facility were handed over to Raphael Spectrum Company Limited, which is going to partner proponents of an Indian firms post-harvest technology for a six-month supervisory period after which the Ghanaian firm would take over the operations of the facility.
Source: Daily Guide
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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Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has extended his "warmest felicitations to the Muslim Ummah in Ghana and around the globe on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan".
Muslims across the world begin their 30-day fast today, Saturday, 27 May.
In a Ramadan message, Dr Bawumia said: I would like to extend my warmest felicitations to the Muslim Ummah in Ghana and around the globe on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan.
Read full message below
I would like to extend my warmest felicitations to the Muslim Ummah in Ghana and around the globe on the occasion of the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. An occasion which heralds the twenty-nine day period of fasting when Muslims are expected to exercise self-restraint.
Ramadan is a period of great sacrifice, patient endurance and gratitude. It inspires in us the common values and experiences we share as human beings. The rich and powerful go through the experience that the hungry and weak go through so that they develop empathy for weak and hungry and gratitude for the bountiful blessings of God.
As we mark this auspicious month, may we all (Muslims as well as Christians), rededicate ourselves to the universal human values of love, humility, empathy for others and thankfulness for the blessings of God. Let us pray for our dear country Ghana. I wish you a blessed month. May Allahs peace be upon us all.
Ramadan Mubarak!
Source: Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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A group which calls itself Voice of Krobo Force has staged a demonstration at Somanya against the Krobo branch of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and destroyed part of the Krobo District head office of the company.
The demonstration, which lasted more than four hours, was against high electricity bills being charged by the ECG.
Numbering about 500, the demonstrators attacked the ECG workers who were on duty and destroyed the windscreen of two of their official vehicles.
In the course of the disturbance, some of the policemen who were detailed to maintain law and order sustained minor injuries as the demonstrators threw missiles and other items at them.
The Somanya police could not contain the large crowd and called for reinforcement from Akuse, Akosombo, Odumase Krobo and Kpong.
A resolution sent to the ECG Manager with copies to the Energy Sector Minister and the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stated, among others, that ECG should henceforth desist from wrongful practice of estimate billing of customers.
Fraudulent
The demonstrators also accused the ECG of fraudulent documentation in the billing system and manipulation of meter boards by the ECG technicians.
It is hereby resolved by members of the Voice of United Krobo Force that henceforth, the Krobo will no longer pay light bills. This is because of the negative repercussion on the lives of the Krobos as a result of the creation of the Akosombo Dam which completely submerged Kroboland and destroyed so many of our properties.
No government has provided any compensation package to us the affected Krobos and this is the time we shall show our anger, the statement stressed.
When the Daily Graphic contacted the Krobo Manager of ECG, Mr Prosper Avadetsi said the issue started about a month ago when an assembly member of one of the electoral areas started beating war drums encouraging the electricity consumers not to pay for electricity.
He alleged that because of that announcement, customers refused to pay their bills and when they were disconnected, they reconnected the power by themselves.
Mr Avadetsi alleged the assembly member owed so much for power he consumed at his residence and his block factory.
He said when he was disconnected, he reconnected his meters.
The Somanya Police Commander, ASP Francis Ackah, for his part, said there was no permission from the group for the demonstration.
As of the time of filing this report at 6.30 p.m., the police were still guarding the ECG premises to avoid any untoward situation.
A member of the organisers, Mr Ebenezer Jones Adamtey, aka Dendenden, who spoke to the Daily Graphic, asked the demonstrators to remain calm as the petition would be sent to the Energy Minister and the President.
Source: Daily Graphic
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William Tevie, a former Director General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), has refuted allegations and publications by some news outlets that he is involved in a US$4m scandal that has rocked the Authority.
Mr Tevie indicated in a rejoinder that such publications are diabolically concocted to mislead the reading public and tarnish my reputation because I have never, at any time, whether privately, before the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), or any state investigating agency, admitted that I, William Tevie, former Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), accepted any money or monies, and which I have agreed to refund.
A story had earlier been published by the Daily Guide to the effect that Mr Tevie had agreed to refund some of the monies. However, he insists that the publications are false and therefore demanding an immediate retraction and an unqualified apology to me, failing which I will advise myself accordingly.
The former appointee, together with two others who are being investigated by the BNI, according to Information Minister Mustapha Hamid, conspired with a private citizen to commit the act.
The former Mahama appointees being investigated, as named by Mr Hamid in an interview with Joy FMs Kojo Yankson on Wednesday, 24 May, include Mr Eugene Baffoe-Bonney, former Board Chairman of the NCA; Mr William Tevie and Alhaji Osman, former Deputy National Security Coordinator.
Their conspirator is George Oppong. Mr Hamid said they engaged in the graft in connection with a contract between the Mahama administration and an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, in which the latter was to supply eavesdropping gadgets worth $6 million. The equipment were meant to help the government of Ghana monitor the calls of suspected terrorists.
In the course of the transaction, Mr Hamid said a local agent Infraloks Development Limited charged $2million as facilitation fee, bringing the total amount to $8million.
According to Mr Hamid, National Security, which did not have the funds for the equipment, allowed the NCA, which supervises the use of such equipment to fund the project.
The NCA top officials, he revealed, withdrew $4 million from the NCAs kitty but gave only $1million to the Israeli firm.
However Mr Tevie maintains that publications that implicate him are not and want a retraction and apology.
Find below the full rejoinder Rejoinder addressed to the Editor of the Daily Guide:
NCA Boss To Refund $1.5m Cash
The banner headline of your May 16, 2017 publication, NCA boss to refund $1.5m cash is not only false but diabolically concocted to mislead the reading public and tarnish my reputation.
I have never, at any time, whether privately, before the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) or any state investigating agency, admitted that I, William Tevie, Former Director-General of the National Communications Authority (NCA), accepted any money or monies, and which I have agreed to refund.
I was invited by the BNI and questioned about an allegation that some former Board Members of the NCA and I were given an amount of money to share. I categorically denied the allegation. If the alleged monies were given or received by anybody or group of persons, I am not aware and I was definitely not a party to it.
I hesitate to irresponsibly go into specifics because the transaction in question was handled by the National Security Council Secretariat because of its very sensitive nature. Your reportage on the issue was not only mischievous but also smacked of ill motive.
I am therefore demanding an immediate retraction and an unqualified apology to me failing which I will advise myself accordingly.
William Tevie
Former Director General
National Communications Authority
Source: classfmonline.com
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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President Nana Akufo-Addo urged Muslims to embody the principles of love, sacrifice and dedication to duty ingrained in the observance of the Islam pillar of Ramadan.
President Akufo-Addo also noted that these principles are critical to fuelling development in Ghana. I pray that in this month and beyond, we strive to live by these values, so that, even beyond Ramadan, we continue to commit ourselves to the good of humankind and our fellow Ghanaians. We have an opportunity to realize our potential as the Black Star of Africa, and it is my belief that the principles that Ramadan seeks to inculcate in Muslims are important for realizing this objective.
Ramadan is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting to commemorate the first revelation of the Quran to the prophet Muhammad.
Find below President Akufo-Addos full message
PRESIDENT AKUFO-ADDOS RAMADAN MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS
I send fraternal greetings to Muslims in Ghana and around the world on the occasion of the Ramadan fast.
The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed and which has been instituted for Muslims to dedicate themselves to God and to the service of humankind. It is a month of intense devotion and commitment to the principles of love, sacrifice and dedication to duty.
I pray that in this month and beyond, we strive to live by these values, so that, even beyond Ramadan, we continue to commit ourselves to the good of humankind and our fellow Ghanaians. We have an opportunity to realize our potential as the Black Star of Africa, and it is my belief that the principles that Ramadan seeks to inculcate in Muslims are important for realizing this objective.
Once again, I wish all Muslims the best of the month. May the Almighty Allah bless us all, and make our nation great and strong.
signed
Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo President of the Republic
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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Former President John Dramani Mahama has bemoaned the mass sacking of workers by the NPP government
The Nana Addo led administration has sacked and forced out some key government appointees and laid off some workers; a situation the former President has described as a bad precedent for Ghanas governance.
Bad precedents for our governance. Mass sacking of workers by the NPP govt unacceptable. #OneGhana #OnePeople, he tweeted Friday evening.
In another tweet on the same day, he said: These workers are all citizens and like all Ghanaians have rights, which must be protected. #OneGhana #OnePeople, he said.
Tweet below-
Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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Guwahati, May 26 (IBNS) : Asserting that North East will become the new engine of Indiaas growth, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the Union government has adopted five paths to take Indiaas astalakshmi (the eight north eastern states) forward.
While laying the foundation stone of Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Gogamukh in Dhemaji district, PM Modi said that the Union governmenthas taken up five paths involving highway, railway, waterway, airway and information way (optic fibre network) to help growth in North East and to transform it into a hub of new economy, new energy, new empowerment and new engine of Indias growth.
NE means not only north east, it means new engine, new energy, new economy, Modi said.
Addressing a mammoth gathering, the Prime Minister also announced launching of a new scheme Sampada for promotion of agro and food processing industry in the country to mark the completion of three years of Government of India.
Sampada, which stands for Scheme for Agro-Marine Processing and Development of Agro-Processing Clusters, the Prime Minister stated that Government of India has initially earmarked an amount of Rs 6000 crore for the scheme and will take the same forward in Public Private & Partnership mode in future.
Congratulating the Assam Chief Minister and his team for bringing back Assam into the track of development, PM Modi commented that the central Governments move to set up IARI at Gogamukh is a step for changing the future of the nation.
We are blessed with nature and our life is agriculture based. We have reached upto this level following traditional farming methods. We need to change now and ensure that science and technological benefits reach farmers and rural life, Modi opined.
Stating that the Centre believes in decentralization, Modi stated that the network of institutes like IARI are expanded so that Governments vision of Lab to Land and Seeds to Market becomes reality.
PM Modi expressed the view that the IARI at Gogamukh gives emphasis on area specific research and will help in scientific intervention based on local demand.
He further added that in the functioning of the IARI, Gogamukh, North East will get special focus and local people and their experience will get preference.
Stating that the Union government envisions various plans to boost rural economy by adopting different innovative measures, Modi said that we have a dream to change the life of the farmers.
We want to modernize agriculture through holistic intervention to double farmers income by 2022 when India completes 75 years of independence, Modi said.
Outlining the achievements made through distribution of Soil Health Cards, the Prime Minister urged the farmers to take the benefit of this scheme stating that like human health, it is very important for the farmers to know the health of their land also to yield betters crops.
Modi also informed that Government of India has increased the network of Soil Testing Laboratory from 15 to 9000 within three years, further added that small scale labs would soon come up for research at micro level through innovations of youth of the country.
He also urged the framers to carry out test of their soil every year to obtain health card and to follow the prescribed suggestions for better production.
Modi also informed that around 90 schemes are being implemented by the Government of India for better irrigation facilities at paddy fields.
He also said that there is seven percent increase in the number of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantra Fasal Bima Yojana in the country during last three years and efforts are on to implement the same in the entire country.
Highlighting the potential of Assam and North East to grow as an organic hub, the Prime Minister said that if north-east marches ahead, it acts as a big boost to the progress of the entire country.
Modi also urged the farmers of the region to learn lessons from Sikkim which has turned into an organic state and to move ahead for an evergreen revolution.
The PM also talked about initiatives taken up for reducing farmers expenditure and laid emphasis on animal husbandry, growth in milk production, pissiculture, poultry farming to increase farmers income.
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that north bank of the Brahmaputra was lagging behind for last seven decades, but with institutions like IARI coming up, the entire region would see rapid pace of development.
Lakhimpur and Dhemaji are the storehouse of Assams food grain and with the setting up of IARI, the agriculture of the region starting from Jonai to Sri Rampur would be benefitted, Sonowal said.
The Assam CM also hoped that the IARI would help in exploiting the rich agriculture potential of the region and its growth as an organic state.
Thanking the Prime Minister Modi for giving the farmers of the region an opportunity to double their income, Sonowal said that agriculture and rich natural resources of Assam would now get a better platform for growth.
The Assam CM also highlighted the vision of Chief Ministers Samagra Gramya Unnayan Yojana under which Rs 30,000 crore will be spent in 25,425 villages of the State, over a period of five years, with an objective of doubling the farmers income. Under this scheme, an amount of Rs 1.20 crore will be spent in each revenue village.
Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh in his speech said that the IARI, Gogamukh would be a boon for the entire north-east as the institute would put focus on improving economy of the region through intervention of agri based technology.
The Union Minister also highlighted Prime Minister Modis commitment for growth of north-east and thanked Chief Minister for prompt allotment of land for setting up the institute.
Governor Banwarilal Purohit, State Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Irrigation Minister Ranjit Dutta, Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley, MPs Pradan Baruah, RP Sarma, MLA Dr. Ranoj Pegu were present among other in the programme.
The Communications Director of the National Democratic Party (NDP), Mr Ernest Owusu Bempah, is doubtful about the credibility of broadcast journalist Captain Godsbrain Blessed Smart in leading a fight against corruption in Ghana.
He observed that the persona of the character who is championing the course is himself fraught of corruption allegations wondering how he could get the moral fiber to demand accountability from persons who are also alleged to have dipped their hands into the purse of the state.
The Adom Fm Presenter on Friday May 26, 2017 led thousands of residents in Accra to stage a demonstration christened Ye Gye Ye Sika and extended version of his on air show dubbed FAB3WOSO to compel persons alleged to have been cited in various fraudulent deals to be pursued and the monies retrieved.
He was reported to have issued a three-month ultimatum to the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO) after presenting documents he claimed were his evidence to do the work and prosecute persons found guilty.
We are given EOCO three months within which they must work and investigate persons engaged in acts of corruption who are in the documents we have presented to them, Captain Smart announced while presenting the documents to a representative of EOCO.
But the newly appointed communications Director of the Ghana Gas Company Limited is wondering when Captain Smart saw the need to engage in such an exercise when he was alleged to be corrupted in time past to do the bidding of those he is seeking to get them hanged today.
Source: mynewsgh.com
Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.
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Schapelle Corby is due back in Australia in the early hours of tomorrow morning. Shes been notoriously reclusive during her three years living in Bali after she was freed from Kerobokan Prison on parole, avoiding reporters and mostly staying indoors.
Now, however, on the day before her return home, shes gone and done the most 2017 thing possible: shes joined Instagram.
Big thank you to my Bali family, neighbours and my brother inlaw Wayan. #realtime #abouttoleavwmyhomeof3years A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 27, 2017 at 1:51am PDT
The account only has four photos at the time of writing this one of the two very cute lil dogs shell be leaving behind, one of her Bali family including brother-in-law Wayan Widartha, one of her parole papers, and a selfie with sister Mercedes.
Its already clocked more than 45,000 followers in the few hours its been around, and every photo has been flooded with comments of support.
Going to miss these two. My puppies #Luna&May A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 26, 2017 at 5:17am PDT
For a woman whose story has been a staple in the Australian public consciousness since 2005, who undoubtedly knows the media scrum that will be awaiting her on her return, starting an Instagram account might actually make a lot of sense. Where else, after all, can we so thoroughly curate our lives for the consumption of others?
Lets hope its the start of Corbys reclaiming her story. Its certainly been long enough.
Source: SBS.
Image: Instagram / @schapelle.corby.
After 13 years in Bali, convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby finished her sentence and returned home to Australia overnight, touching down in Brisbane in the early hours of this morning.
Getting out of Bali was itself an achievement, though media interest in her was so intense that local authorities engaged upwards of 100 police officers to escort her to the airport, and clearly, they were necessary.
From the back of a black mini van, Corby used her newly-created Instagram account to document the trip to Ngurah Rai Airport, and she was swarmed on all sides by photographers.
A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 27, 2017 at 5:39am PDT
Some, like this unfortunate snapper who took a tumble over a wall, actually risked life and limb to get a shot:
A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 27, 2017 at 2:22pm PDT
Schapelle and her sister Mercedes Corby made it to their flight, after changing from Virgin to Malindo Air at the last minute, and touched down in Brisbane slightly ahead of schedule at 5.09am.
Boarded A post shared by Schapellecorby (@schapelle.corby) on May 27, 2017 at 7:04am PDT
There was no such media pack to greet them at home, and per the Brisbane Times, Corby was whisked away without detection under cover of darkness.
It is understood tha Corby will be spending her first days of freedom at her mothers residence in Loganlea or with her sister on the Gold Coast.
Source: Instagram.
Source: Instagram.
Schapelle Corby has completed her drug smuggling sentence and been cleared for deportation, with Indonesian officials saying that the 39-year-old will be leaving Bali today on a Virgin flight bound for Brisbane.
Corby, who has been staying at a villa in Kuta since her release on parole in 2014, had a meeting at the prosecutors office in Denpasar this week, where she was reportedly given the all-clear to leave the country.
Given the media circus surrounding Corbys trial, incarceration and subsequent parole, Indonesian authorities wont be taking any chances, and her deportation will involve a large-scale police operation.
Kuta police chief Wayan Sumara says that he will deploy one company of troops the equivalent of around 100 officers to escort Corby from her villa to the airport, via the parole office, where she will sign off on her sentence.
The company will include traffic police as well as general officers, and Sumara says that no special treatment is being given to Corby, but that extra caution is being taken because I dont want someone to have a problem here.
Corby will also be accompanied by her bodyguard John McLeod as she travels to Ngurah Rai International Airport, where she will get her passport back from immigration officials.
She is booked into business class alongside McLeod and her sister Mercedes Corby, but special arrangements have reportedly been made in Brisbane so that she will not travel through the public arrivals hall on landing.
It is unknown whether Corby will stay with her mother at Loganlea or her sister at the Gold Coast, but police were seen at her mothers house yesterday, allegedly discussing transportation plans.
Source: 9 News.
Photo: Jason Childs / Getty.
The southbound lanes of Interstate 81 in Cumberland County have been reopened following a crash earlier Saturday morning, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The crash occurred just before 11:30 a.m. Saturday, just north of the Exit 57, the exit for Route 114 and Mechanicsburg in Silver Spring Township.
The interstate was reopened at about 12:30 p.m.
For more traffic information, follow live traffic updates, accident reports and road closures below from PennDOT, Total Traffic Network and other Twitter sources.
Get a look at conditions on local roads -- via PennDOT traffic cameras -- anytime here on PennLive. For Pennsylvania Turnpike updates and possible travel delays visit the Turnpike website here.
Tweet us at @pennlive with any incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
NEW CASTLE, Del. (AP) -- A medical helicopter crashed Thursday behind a postal facility in a Delaware industrial park, killing the pilot, authorities said.
The Eurocopter EC135, registered to the University of Pennsylvania, crashed just before noon about 1 mile southeast of New Castle Airport.
Delaware State Police spokesman Cpl. Jeffrey Hale said the pilot, 37-year-old Michael R. Murphy of Franklinville, N.J., was pronounced dead at the scene.
It wasn't immediately clear what caused the crash. Hale said the helicopter crashed into a ditch behind a U.S. Post office facility, causing minor damage to an outbuilding and vehicles parked behind the building.
Murphy also served as a backup pilot for a Philadelphia-area news helicopter, NBC10 reported.
James Salmon, a spokesman for the airport's operator, Delaware River and Bay Authority, said the helicopter was not engaged in life-saving operations at the time of the crash.
Troopers said Murphy had flown from the Atlantic City Airport and was conducting approach training in the area of the New Castle Airport.
Ryan Dillman, a worker at a nearby business, told The News Journal of Wilmington that he heard a noise outside that "kept getting stronger and stronger."
"Right when we looked out, it crashed and exploded. There were flames everywhere, and smoke. My heart dropped," he said.
Susan Phillips, a spokeswoman for Penn Medicine, said in a prepared statement that the helicopter was operated by Metro Aviation, which provides aviation services for PennStar, the air transportation service for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
Kristen King Holmes, marketing director for Metro Aviation, based in Shreveport, Louisiana, said in an email that the company has sent operations, safety and maintenance personnel to the scene.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with our pilot's family and the entire Metro Aviation and PennSTAR family," Holmes wrote.
Upper Allen Township police said Friday that they have arrested a Washington state man who they believe tried to engage an underage girl in sexually explicit contacts last year.
Police said the contacts, which were not described in detail, were made through a social media application and the department was notified on March 28, 2016.
The subsequent investigation led them to Mark Townsend, 44, of Walla Walla, Wash.
Townsend was arrested in Washington on April 25, 2017, on charges of transmitting obscene and other sexual materials and performances, corruption of minors, and unlawful contact with a minor.
The suspect was transferred to Cumberland County earlier this week, where he was committed to the county prison in lieu of $89,000 bail.
A preliminary hearing will be held at a later date.
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New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday greeted Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on the latter's birthday.
Lauding Gadkari's work, the Prime Minister wished for his long life.
"Birthday greetings to @nitin_gadkari, who is energetically spearheading the creation of next-gen infrastructure. May he lead a long life," PM Modi's tweet read.
Gadkari turned 60 on Saturday,
Earlier he served as the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), from 2010-2013.
image: twitter.com/nitin_gadkari
FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 file photo, British Airways planes are parked at Heathrow Airport during a 48hr cabin crew strike in London. Air travelers faced delays Saturday, May 27, 2017 because of a worldwide computer systems failure at British Airways, the airline said. BA apologized in a statement for what it called an "IT systems outage" and said it was working to resolve the problem. It said in a tweet that Saturday's problem is global.OOOOOOOO(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file)
FILE - In this Oct. 26, 2004, file photo, Lee Boyd Malvo enters a courtroom in the Spotsylvania, Va., Circuit Court. A federal judge has tossed out two life sentences for D.C. sniper shooter Lee Boyd Malvo and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings. In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk said Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional. (Mike Morones/The Free Lance-Star via AP)
PM Modi pays tribute to Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary India Blooms News Service | | #NarendraModi, #PMModi, #JawaharlalNehru, #NehruDeathAnniversary, #PanditNehru
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to former Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the latter's death anniversary.
A home along Evergreen Lane in Haddonfield, the only municipality in the South Jersey region to have seen a jump in median prices since 2007. Read more
If the massive cluster of new housing, shops, and restaurants rising in King of Prussia is any indication, the suburbs are as prosperous as ever. There, as elsewhere across the Philadelphia region, developers have poured millions into new developments and town squares, betting on the prospect that Philadelphia itself can't stay attractive or affordable forever.
It makes sense: Since 2010, every suburban county in the region except for Camden County has seen its population grow. Communities such as Ardmore and Media have enjoyed new success after rethinking their downtowns. And corporations have been ditching the city for the suburbs, heading to municipalities they say can offer lower taxes.
There's just one flaw in this picture: Nearly 10 years after the housing bubble burst, the median home-sale price in the Philadelphia suburbs is down 11 percent, having dropped $27,000, from $242,950 in the first quarter of 2007 to $216,000 in 2017. And few signs exist that the suburbs will regain their pre-housing-bust vigor quickly.
It's posing a problem for some suburban homeowners many of whom are holding on to their homes longer, for fear they may not be able to sell for a high enough price. And it's causing ripple effects across the market, resulting in fewer properties for sale and bidding wars for those that are, and a growing challenge for first-time buyers and the middle class to find houses they can afford.
Suburban Home Values Still Underperforming The value of homes in Philadelphias suburbs remains far below the pre-housing-crisis peak, while values in Philadelphia and the country as a whole have surged since 2012, according to an analysis by Kevin Gillen, an economist at Drexel University. The chart shows the percentage change since the first quarter of 2017 of Gillens House Price Index, which tracks the value of an areas entire housing stock, and not just the prices of homes that have sold. *Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey. SOURCE: Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow, Drexel Universitys Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation Staff Graphic
"Suburban homeowners cannot obtain a sufficiently high price that allows them to also pay off their remaining mortgage balance," said economist Kevin Gillen of Drexel University's Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation, who releases a quarterly analysis of regional home values based on sale-price data for single-family homes from the city's Recorder of Deeds Office and Trend Multiple Listing Service. (The analysis does not include condo sales.)
The slump also presents a sharp contrast to Philadelphia, which in first-quarter 2017 saw home values surge 11.8 percent compared with a year ago, according to Gillen's analysis for his Home Price Index, which evaluates the region's entire housing stock, regardless of whether homes were purchased during a particular period.
By contrast, suburban values dropped 0.5 percent as a whole in first-quarter 2017, according to Gillen's analysis of homes in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties in New Jersey.
Yet the losses in the suburbs have been exacerbated over time, Gillen found: Since the first quarter of 2007, when the housing boom peaked in the suburbs, every county in the region has seen its overall home values fall some of them drastically. And even with property values appreciating at a rate of 2.4 percent a year, a typical suburban home is still valued 19.1 percent lower than it was at peak of the housing boom in 2007.
Philadelphia homes, meanwhile, have appreciated in value at a rate of nearly 12 percent a year, boosting them to a level that is 15.6 percent higher than it was during the same 10-year period, Gillen's analysis showed.
Such a drastic difference between the suburbs and the city underscores just how unequal the comeback from the Great Recession has been both here and and across the United States, dividing largely along class lines and urban boundaries. From Philadelphia to California to the South, observers' analyses show, city home values generally have outpaced the suburbs', even as specific suburban communities mostly the higher-income ones have enjoyed big gains.
"Urban home values have had a stronger recovery than suburban home values nationwide," said Aaron Terrazas, a senior economist at the real estate company Zillow. "There has been a preference shift to be close to both jobs and amenities, and that's associated with urban living."
Realtors, economists, and other observers say the urban draw is only part of the story. Certainly, additional factors have been demand for nearby amenities, and the number of wealthier and college-educated individuals who have been flooding into Philadelphia and many other U.S. cities, said Jessie Handbury, assistant professor of real estate at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, who studies urban revival. The phenomenon has trickled past Center City into such sections as Brewerytown and South Philadelphia, Gillen's analysis showed, with many areas seeing skyrocketing home values likely the result of increased development and demand in gentrifying neighborhoods.
"They want to be close to bars and restaurants and gyms, exercise places, and nail-salon establishments," Handbury said. In turn, "there's an increase in [urban] demand among these groups you have people who want to spend money on housing downtown. And you see prices respond to that."
An Inquirer analysis of Gillen's zip code-level sale-price data from 2007 to 2017 shows that, in general, the unevenness of the housing recovery in the suburbs reflects a growing divide between high- and low-income Americans. Overall, towns on the Main Line have seen the largest growth in median sale price compared with 10 years ago, the analysis revealed. Meanwhile, nearly all of South Jersey and lower- and middle-income communities in the Pennsylvania suburbs have seen median sale prices drop. (Median is the middle number: Half the houses sold for more, half for less.)
Behind those losses is a complex mix of economic and behavioral forces, all of which reinforce the age-old real estate adage: location, location, location. Highly desirable communities with good school districts or trendy downtowns have fared well as sustained or even increased demand provided big gains on top of prices that already were high.
In Pennsylvania, four of the five zip codes that experienced the largest gains in median price between 2007 and 2017 Narberth (19072), Haverford (19041), Malvern (19355), and Devon (19333) had first-quarter median prices this year that were higher than $480,000. At the other end of the spectrum, the five zip codes in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania that saw the largest price drops all had median prices of $108,000 or less in the first quarter. (Zip codes with fewer than 10 sales in both first-quarter 2007 and 2017 were excluded.)
Median Sales Prices by Zip Code Sales and median-price figures are for the first quarters of 2007 and 2017, for suburban zip codes with at least 10 sales in the first quarter of each year. Pa. suburbs South Jersey SOURCE: Kevin Gillen, senior research fellow, Drexel Universitys Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation Staff Graphic
Lower- and middle-priced communities have fallen that far, observers say, because they fared the worst nationwide when the real estate bubble burst. During the boom years, many lower-priced homes appreciated faster than higher-priced ones, partially because of lenders who gave loans to unqualified buyers, increasing demand and prices for lower-cost properties. When the market tanked, those inflated values tumbled the hardest. Many could not afford to stay in their homes, ushering in an era of rampant foreclosures that dragged down prices even further.
The aftermath of the foreclosure crisis can be seen today in South Jersey and parts of Delaware County. In addition, many homeowners are still underwater there: They owe more money on their mortgages than their properties are worth.
According to Attom Data Solutions, which tracks deed, mortgage, and foreclosure data nationwide, Willingboro in Burlington County and Darby and Upper Darby in Delaware County led the region with the greatest percentage of homes underwater in the first quarter of 2017: each with more than 37 percent. By contrast, King of Prussia in Montgomery County and Haddonfield in Camden County had fewer than 4 percent of their homes underwater.
"The market is recovering very slowly here in our area," said Joanna Papadaniil, an agent with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox & Roach in Mullica Hill, Gloucester County. "We're trying to recover from the crash, and we can't because our values came to be so high in that bubble 15 years too soon."
"We have people underwater on their mortgages. A lot of buyers see this," Papandaiil said. "Underpriced homes are the ones that are going to sell. And what used to be the $600,000 product is now the $500,000 product. And the buyers who can afford that are going to be more discerning, looking at school districts, looking at commute, looking at downtowns, rather than just the size or the type of home these days."
Figuring out what is happening to middle-class homeowners many of whom weren't in foreclosure, but who also haven't seen gains is harder to do. Though some places for example, the Marcus Hook-Boothwyn area in Delaware County and Horsham in Montgomery County saw big gains in the last 10 years; others, such as Phoenixville, Chester County, and Bensalem, Bucks County, experienced losses.
The reality, many say, is that some of these homeowners are just stuck. Wages still aren't rising the way economists expect them to, and many middle-class homeowners are paying off mortgages on properties they bought when prices were inflated.
"When you're underwater, you're trapped it's like an anchor," said Mechele Dickerson, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Law who is an expert in consumer debt. "One of the problems you run into with middle-class homes tumbling in value is that when the housing prices fall, so does household wealth."
What's happening in the Philadelphia region is quite the reversal from a decade ago, when the suburbs, not the city, boasted the most robust housing growth. Yet Philadelphia's situation mirrors a trend across the nation, Zillow economist Terrazas said.
According to a Zillow report released last year, urban home values outpaced suburban ones in 20 of 34 national markets evaluated. Cities including Boston, Washington, and Phoenix, in addition to Philadelphia, were standouts, Zillow found, as well as "other cities with fast-changing downtowns."
Yet Gillen's analysis showed that values in Philadelphia, in particular, are appreciating faster than in many cities. Behind that, economists say: Philadelphia, long considered among the most affordable big cities, simply has more to gain.
"Historically, Philly tends to lag most other cities," Gillen said. "They began recovering sooner and much faster than us, and have since slowed. In the meantime, we've finally hit our pace."
That's evident even in the region's first-quarter median home prices: $137,500 in the city, Gillen found, and $216,000 in the seven suburban counties.
"Markets with lower prices tend to see higher appreciation rates," Terrazas said. "The lower the price, the faster the pace of growth."
Srinagar, May 27 (IBNS): At least four militants were killed in a gunfight between forces and militants at Saimu Tral sector of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday morning, police said.
According to reports, acting on a tip-off, forces laid cordon in Saimu village on Friday late evening, which resulted in a fierce gunfight between both parties.
"Encounter started at Saimu Tral district #Awantipur. Reportedly 3 terrorists trapped," tweeted Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid on Friday night.
Earlier on Friday evening, a group of militants attacked at the 42 RR Indian Army's patrolling party at Jammu and Kashmir's Saimooh village in Pulwama's Tral.
Meanwhile, the Army said that four infiltrators were killed in Rampur sector of North Kashmir Uri Town on Saturday.
A group of militants was challenged by the alert troops on the Indian side of the LoC in Rampur sector.
The operation is ongoing in the area, and bodies are yet to be retrieved, said army spokesman in Srinagar.
In addition to sandcastle architect, boogie board fetcher, and beach blanket de-sander, grown-ups who accompany young children on summer's surfside pleasures know this to be a sacred trust: You are Slatherer-in-Chief, responsible for seeing to it that those sun-protective potions are applied early and often, keeping young skin an ouch-free zone and staving off future damage.
But which products are best? Drugstore shelves are a daunting array of choices. And if you think food labels are tough to read, sun-protection products have ingredients you can barely pronounce, let alone comprehend.
There is, however, help.
With Memorial Day weekend and the start of beach season upon us, the researchers with the Environmental Working Group have released their 11th annual sunscreen guide.
They have compiled lists of what they consider to be the best scoring sunscreens for children, as well as those they consider the worst.
The group, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to healthier lives and protecting the environment, also rated brands of moisturizers that contain sun protection, as well as sunscreens marketed for adults. And for folks who prefer to figure it out on their own, the group has come up with guidance on what ingredients to look for and some to steer clear of.
And be assured, it matters. Nationally, the skin cancer rates in adults have tripled since the 1970s. The rates continue to rise.
Marissa Perman, a pediatric dermatologist with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said children from birth through 18 who get even one serious sunburn are twice as likely to develop melanoma later in life as those who don't.
"That's a very sobering effect," Perman said.
And although children are especially sensitive to sun damage, adults also need to take precautions. The sun's UVB rays, which are thought of as the burning rays, and UVA rays, which are associated with tanning, both damage skin and can lead to cancer.
"No one is safe from the sun's damaging UV rays, and patients of all skin types should use sunscreen and sun protective measures," Perman said.
The Environmental Working Group recommends sun-protection products with ingredients that pose little or lower health concerns and provide lasting and broad-spectrum protection against both UVB and UVA rays. SPF sun protection factor only refers to protection from UVB.
If you happen to be visiting Europe this summer, think about picking up one the brands there. The Environmental Working Group says European brands contain ingredients with better UVA protection than most American brands.
The group favors mineral-based sunscreens with active ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, and discourages the use of products that contain oxybenzone, which it calls a hormone disruptor, or retinyl palmitate, a form of vitamin A, which the group says can harm skin and potentially increase cancer risk.
The Environmental Working Group also advises against spray products there's an inhalation risk and it's harder to be sure of reliable coverage.
As for SPF, the group calls for at least factor 15 but not higher than 50. Higher SPF can be misleading and lull the user into a false sense of security, it says.
Sunscreen needs to be applied 15 to 20 minutes before going outdoors. The Environmental Working Group recommends two coats.
"You really need a thick and even coating on the skin," said Environmental Working Group senior analyst Sonya Lunder.
Perman agreed that most people don't put on enough sunscreen. Plus it needs to be reapplied at least every two hours, and every 40 to 80 minutes if you are going in the water. Water-resistant or "sport" formulas are good, but you still need to re-apply.
The Environmental Working Group cautions that sunscreens, though necessary, should be your last resort rather than the first line of defense.
Infants 6 months old or younger should be kept out of direct sunlight as much as possible. Cover them in loose-fitting, tightly woven clothing and a sun hat. Find shade or make your own, using an umbrella, stroller canopy, or hood. Especially avoid the strong midday sun. Consult your pediatrician before using sunscreen on a baby that young because of possible adverse effects from the ingredients.
For older children and adults, clothing and hats are the best protection against the sun. Sunglasses are important protection for the eyes from UV radiation that can lead to cataracts. Shade is your friend. The early morning and late afternoon hours are much safer than 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., sun prime time.
So this summer, make your beach bag a well-stocked arsenal. And while you're slathering up the kids, don't forget about yourself. There's nothing better than a good example.
The Environmental Working Groups 19 Best Kids Sunscreens:
Adorable Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30+
All Good Kid's Sunscreen, SPF 30
All Terrain KidSport Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection Sensitive Skin Lotion Sunscreen, SPF 50
Babytime! by Episencial Sunny Sunscreen, SPF 35
Badger Baby Sunscreen Cream, SPF 30
Bare Republic Baby Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 50
Blue Lizard Australian Sunscreen Baby, SPF 30+
BurnOut KIDS Sunscreen, SPF 35
California Baby Super Sensitive Sunscreen, SPF 30+
Caribbean Sol Sol Kid Kare, SPF 30
Goddess Garden Organics Baby Natural Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
Kiss My Face Organics Kids Sunscreen, SPF 30
Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby Sunscreen, SPF 50
Sunology Natural Sunscreen Kids, SPF 50
Sunumbra Sunkids Natural Sunscreen, SPF 40
ThinkSport Kids Sunscreen, SPF 50+
Tom's of Maine Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 30
TruKid Sunny Days Sport Sunscreen, SPF 30
The Environmental Working Groups Least Favorite Kids Sunscreens:
Banana Boat Kids Continuous Spray Sunscreen, SPF 100
Banana Boat Kids Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 100
Coppertone Foaming Lotion Sunscreen Kids Wacky Foam, SPF 70
Coppertone Sunscreen Continuous Spray Kids, SPF 70
Coppertone Sunscreen Lotion Kids, SPF 70
Coppertone Sunscreen Lotion Water Babies, SPF 70+
Coppertone Sunscreen Stick Kids, SPF 55
Coppertone Sunscreen Stick Water Babies, SPF 55
Coppertone Sunscreen Water Babies Foaming Lotion, SPF 70
CVS Health Children's Sunstick Sunscreen, SPF 55
Equate Baby Sunscreen Lotion, SPF 70
Neutrogena Pure & Free Baby Sunscreen, SPF 60+
Neutrogena Wet Skin Kids Sunscreen Spray, SPF 70+
Up & Up Kids Sunscreen Sticks, SPF 55
Typically, when people think of Memorial Day, images of barbecues, beaches, and spending time with family and friends come to mind. While I hope everyone enjoys this weekend, as a hand surgeon at The Philadelphia Hand Center at Jefferson, I also want you to stay safe and out of the emergency room. Year after year, we see the same injuries due to various holiday weekend activities from grilling burns to lacerations to fractures and amputations. It's imperative that you pay attention to your surroundings, minimize distractions when working with sharp tools and equipment, and be prepared if an injury does occur.
Here are my tips on the top hand hazards to be aware of for you and your family this weekend.
Hand Hazard #1: Frozen Foods & Other Food Prep
When it comes to barbecues, so many people make the mistake of trying to pry frozen hamburger patties apart with a sharp knife. What happens? The knife slips and people end up stabbing themselves, resulting in deep lacerations and puncture wounds. It's better to defrost food first. Also, remember to always bend your fingers into the palm of your hand when holding food for slicing, dicing and chopping.
When grilling, never put your hand directly into the grill to light the flame. If you need to manually ignite it, use a long lighter (a lighter with an extension) and remember to always turn your gas off after use. Finally, never put your hand into kitchen appliances to clear blockages, even if it powered down. Garbage disposals, blenders, and food processors lead to many severe injuries, including lacerations and amputations.
Hand Hazard #2: Broken Glass
It's common for wine glasses and beer bottles to be a part of Memorial Day weekend festivities. I always tell my patients to try use paper and plastic goods at parties to avoid glass shattering. Glass injuries are so devastating. Just a little pinpoint wound to your finger could cut both tendons and nerves. Once that happens, you'll be faced with a long recovery of extensive therapy sessions for rehabilitation.
When cleaning up glass, always use a broom or vacuum to pick up the broken pieces and protect your hands properly with gloves; never use your bare hands to pick up broken glass.
Hand Hazard #3: Fireworks & Sparklers
It's important to know how to handle these explosives safely if you plan on incorporating them into this weekend's festivities. As a hand surgeon, I recommend that fireworks be left to the professionals, however if you plan to set off your own, be sure to purchase authorized, legal, properly wrapped fireworks. Fireworks sold in brown bags are generally meant to be handled by professionals and are very, very dangerous. Never relight a firework that didn't go off completely because it could backfire.
I often see burn injuries that occurred when people were cleaning up. Have a bucket of water on hand for clean-up and pour water on all firework debris before handling.
Sparklers, while pretty and easily accessible, can also be dangerousthey burn at about 2,000 degrees which is hot enough to melt some metals. Before lighting, educate children on firework safety and never leave them unattended. Here are a couple of tips we share with our patients to prevent sparkler injuries in children:
If a child is afraid to hold a sparkler, do not force them to do it. Children who are scared tend to react without thinking and throw the sparklers in response to fear.
To prevent the sparks that shoot off from touching their hands, purchase large disposable cups. Before lighting the sparkler, poke a hole in the bottom of the cup and put the handle of the sparkler through the hole. Have children hold the sparkler handle with their hand inside the cup. The cup acts as a shield and the sparks will land on the cup and not their hands.
Hand Hazard #4: Animal Bites
We see many patients who get bit by dogs and cats at social gatherings. Seemingly innocent pets, that are normally friendly, can get excited in large crowds and behave differently in the presence of strangers, so you need to exercise caution. First, always ask the animal's owner if it is safe to pet their furry friend.
Before you pet an animal, first let them get familiar with your scent by offering your hand with your finger bent into your palm, in a slow and gentle manner. You never want to extend your fingers to an animal you don't know. I see this all the time a dog or cat reacting to a stranger who is reaching out to pet them and then bites their finger or hand resulting in a fractured finger or even amputation.
If you do get bit, mix anti-bacterial soap and peroxide, in equal ratios, in a bowl of water and thoroughly clean the wound. Apply a pressure bandage if the wound is bleeding and be sure to seek professional medical attention to avoid infection and to have the wound site assessed. Before going to the ER, be sure to find out if the animal is up to date with his vaccinations, this will be very helpful for physicians when planning treatment for your injury.
Above all, have happy and safe Memorial Day weekend, and thank all who have served and who are currently serving our country.
Stephanie Sweet, MD, is an orthopedic surgeon at The Philadelphia Hand Center at Jefferson.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents take Mexican national Santiago Mondragon into custody on a Downey street while he was on his way to work on April 18, 2017 in Downey, Calif. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS) Read more
Authorities dismissed as untrue a rumor circulating Friday on social media that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were detaining undocumented immigrants at SEPTA's subway station at City Hall.
ICE officials said Friday night that the agency had not conducted any sort of operation at the station, which is a busy stop along the Broad Street Line.
SEPTA Transit Police Chief Thomas J. Nestel III said he was not aware of any enforcement actions there.
"There is a viral post circulating around Facebook that ICE is stopping people at City Hall station. Is this true?" a person asked Nestel on Twitter at 6:04 p.m.
"The Watch Commander tells me that there has been no unusual activity reported or seen at City Hall. This appears false," Nestel replied six minutes later.
ICE is not averse to letting the public know it is cracking down on undocumented immigrants.
The agency on Thursday announced to the media that it had arrested 186 "foreign nationals" in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware during a 10-day targeted enforcement operation.
HARRISBURG Five times a year, Pennsylvania corrections officials meet inside a white block masonry field house on the grounds of the prison near Penn State, and carry out a mock execution.
They escort the "inmate" to the execution chamber. They strap that person onto the gurney. And then they simulate injecting a lethal dose of drugs into his body.
They perform this drill even though capital punishment in the commonwealth remains indefinitely on hold while government officials await a report, now years in the making, analyzing capital punishment's history, effectiveness and cost in Pennsylvania.
The death sentence imposed last month on Eric Frein, the Poconos survivalist who killed a State Police trooper and injured another in September 2014, has reignited questions and in some cases, criticism about why the state has taken so long to decide whether to continue or stop, once and for all, executing criminals.
Troopers say Gov. Wolf should sign Frein's death warrant.
"For us, it's all about justice," said Joe Kovel, president of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association. "It's time for the moratorium to be lifted."
And state Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican hoping to unseat the governor next year, has signaled it's an issue he'll press on the campaign trail.
And state Sen. Scott Wagner, a York County Republican hoping to unseat the governor next year, has signaled it's an issue he'll press on the campaign trail. "I can assure you, when I'm governor, within the first 48 hours, I'll be up there reversing that moratorium," Wagner said in an interview Friday.
Pennsylvania isn't the only state in limbo over the death penalty, as debate has raged over the probability of an innocent person being executed and the propriety of lethal injection as an execution method. Capital punishment is authorized in 31 states, but only seven have carried out executions 31 of them since the start of 2016, according to Amber Widgery, a capital punishment policy specialists at the National Conference of State Legislatures.
A view from the witness area into the execution chamber for Pennsylvania inmates.
"There are people in the world who think that no one innocent has ever been executed, and others who think it happens all the time," Widgery said. There are also some who don't believe you have to constitutionally execute a criminal painlessly, she said, and others who classify lethal injection as cruel and unusual.
In Pennsylvania, those and other concerns led Wolf, a Democrat, to impose a moratorium on the death penalty after taking office in early 2015. He argued the state should await the results of a long-awaited report by the Pennsylvania Task Force and Advisory Committee on Capital Punishment before putting any more criminals to death.
The report is expected to analyze more than a dozen factors involving the death penalty, such as cost, bias and effectiveness.
Wolf's decision has drawn backlash from organizations like the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association, which in 2015 called it "a misuse of [the governor's] power" that ignores the law.
The study itself has also come under fire, particularly for how long it's taking to complete: It was ordered up by the state Senate in 2011 and was supposed to be completed by 2013.
"Based on the makeup of the group and how it's operating to date, we have serious concerns about the product that's going to be produced and it's very likely that it's going to be anti-death penalty," said Richard Long, executive director of the prosecutors' group.
Those involved in the study defend their work.
The initial research, conducted by Penn State's Justice Center for Research, took years because the researchers had to physically travel to county courts and district attorneys' and public defenders' offices to access documents, said the center's Managing Director, Gary Zajac.
The process of obtaining this data was a "long nightmare," Zajac said, requiring permission to access the information then "weeding throughirregularly organized files."
"It's a wonder we got done at all, but we did," he said in an email.
The Justice Center's report awaits a final peer review before it is complete. A scholar who had been scheduled to perform that task died, causing further delay.
"The report is almost like it's been cursed from the beginning," said Glenn Pasewicz, executive director of the Joint State Government Commission, which is tasked with producing it then sending it to legislators for consideration.
Meanwhile, tax dollars still go toward keeping prisoners on death row.
Each of the state's 165 death row inmates from Frein, who was sentenced last month, to Henry Fahy, who has been awaiting his punishment since November 1983 cost Pennsylvania $10,000 more a year to house than a convict sentenced to life in prison. This does not account for the additional legal fees associated with capital cases: Some estimate prosecuting and litigating a capital murder case can cost up to $3 million more than a non-capital murder case.
The state is also paying to maintain the long-dormant execution facility on the grounds of State Correctional Institution Rockview. The last time it was used was in 1999, when Philadelphia "House of Horrors" murderer Gary Heidnik was executed by lethal injection.
"We have spent billions of dollars having a death penalty including maintaining a death facility and we have not executed someone who did not ask to be executed" since 1962, Sen. Daylin Leach, a Montgomery County Democrat and one of four members of a Senate task force awaiting the report, said last week.
Leach is an unapologetic opponent of the death penalty. He has introduced bills to abolish it since 2009, arguing that it is "immoral and barbaric," and calling the cost of capital punishment "troubling" including the cost of maintaining the execution complex.
The "death house," as the chamber at the Rockview prison is sometimes called, requires tax dollars to be heated, lit and maintained. "It's literally something we are getting zero out of," Leach said.
The Department of Corrections was unable to provide information about the costs of maintaining the execution complex. But officials there say it has to be maintained in case an execution is suddenly scheduled.
Corrections officials declined requests to inspect or photograph the inside of the chamber, citing security reasons. They say it contains three cinderblock holding cells, where inmates are expected to spend their final hours. Approximately 20 feet away, in the execution chamber, a window peers through to a witness room, where media, citizens and victims can watch executions from rows of metal folding chairs.The field house has upstairs offices, currently unused, and an adjacent building with a kitchen to prepare an inmate's final meal.
But that hasn't been necessary since 1999.
Bobby Henons bill targets the waving inflatable-tube men often used by car dealerships. Read more
What is a wacky wavy arm flailing inflatable tube man without the waving arms and flailing tubes? A Philadelphia councilman wants to find out.
Under a bill proposed this month by Councilman Bobby Henon, the colorful attention-grabbers often used at car dealerships would not be banned outright, but would be subject to new city regulations: "Portable signs shall be temporarily secured to resist rolling, blowing away, tipping over, or otherwise moving from their secured location. Portable signs shall not be located in the right-of-way."
It's not the first time Henon has targeted the flappy figures, which he described as "blight" and a detraction from the city's "quality and integrity and dignity."
The bill also classifies "feather flags" and banners as portable signs, but excludes the A-frame signs that restaurants and boutiques often use on their sidewalks to lure passing pedestrians.
Henon's chief of staff, Courtney Voss, told PlanPhilly that these "Wacky wavy arm flailing inflatable tube men are all over the place including in our district, particularly along our business corridors and in our industrially zoned areas. The Councilman really, really dislikes them."
Henon acknowledged that other council members have concerns about the proposal, which was sent to the Rules Committee and awaits a June 13 hearing.
Police are investigating a suspicious death of a 6-week-old boy, who was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Friday afternoon.
A police spokesman said the baby's parents found him bleeding from his nose in a home on the 5800 block of Willows Avenue in Southwest Philadelphia, and they drove him to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Darby.
From there, the baby was flown by helicopter to CHOP, where he was pronounced dead at 12:35 p.m. Police were notified about the baby's death shortly afterward and went to the hospital to investigate, a police spokesman said.
No further information was immediately available.
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has condoled the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to flooding and landslides.
ON Saturdaym, in a message, he said, India condoles the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to flooding and landslides.
We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need.
Our ships are being dispatched with relief material. The first ship will reach Colombo tomorrow morning.
The second will reach on Sunday. Further assistance on its way.
Flood and landslides triggered by incessant rain have killed at least 91 people and left another 110 missing in Sri Lanka, according to media reports late on Friday.
The media quoted Sri Lanka's Management Centre (DMC) as saying that nearly 20,000 people had to be leave their homes in the south and western parts of the country owing to the calamity.
Image: Sri Lanka Red Cross Twitter
The Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul as seen from 18th and the Parkway. Read more
One name stands out on an otherwise innocuous list of upcoming clerical assignments issued this month by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia: the Rev. Louis Kolenkiewicz.
He's scheduled to return from a leave of absence on June 19, and become a parochial vicar at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, around the corner from the archdiocese's administrative offices. What's left unsaid in the announcement is the reason why Kolenkiewicz has been on leave since 2015.
Bucks County prosecutors investigated the priest in 2011 for more than 12,000 pornographic images found on a computer he used at St. Bede the Venerable Parish in Holland, Bucks County, where he had been assigned. And while they did not file charges, they said they remained so concerned about the priest returning to active ministry that they helped provoke his suspension two years ago.
District Attorney Matthew D. Weintraub described the news of Kolenkiewicz's reinstatement as a surprising development after a frustrating investigation he said was hobbled by the church's failure to preserve evidence found a decade ago and leaving local law enforcement in the dark.
"Wow," Weintraub said this week when told by the Inquirer and Daily News that Kolenkiewicz had been assigned to the signature cathedral for the five-county archdiocese.
Church officials removed Kolenkiewicz from St. Bede because of concerns that images of minors may have been among the photos he allegedly downloaded on a parish computer.
Ultimately, authorities filed no charges. The archdiocese has since determined that the 49-year-old priest "is suitable for ministry and that he does not pose any danger to minors or other individuals," Kenneth Gavin, an archdiocesan spokesman, said in an email. As a parochial vicar, Kolenkiewicz can celebrate Mass and perform other priestly functions.
But after nearly 15 years of investigation, prosecution, and litigation over sex-abuse allegations involving Philadelphia-area priests, the Kolenkiewicz assignment reflects how the church's internal response to cases continues to exasperate even law enforcement, and fuels skepticism among some about whether the institution really has begun to, or wants to, change.
"The mentality has not changed," said Chester County mother and longtime Catholic Kathy Kane, 50, whose child-clergy-abuse website Catholics4Change.com reported in 2015 that Kolenkiewicz was seen performing clerical duties even after the archdiocese publicly stated he had been forbidden from doing so. "I cannot imagine a parish Catholic school teacher caught with 12,000 porn images and investigated for possible child porn would then be given a job at archdiocesan headquarters."
The backstory is a long one.
In 2005, Kolenkiewicz admitted to using a computer in St. Bede's rectory to view graphic images, Gavin said. But the archdiocese did not contact police in Northampton Township or the Bucks County District Attorney's Office. Instead, Gavin said, the archdiocese contacted the FBI's Innocent Images Unit, after the images were first reviewed by an outside agency. The FBI told the archdiocese the material didn't include any images of minors, he said. (An FBI spokesperson declined to comment.)
In 2011, the cleric's case got a fresh look after another scathing Philadelphia grand jury investigation. Its 124-page, damning report detailed the archdiocese's underwhelming response to decades of allegations about priests who abused children, even after an earlier comprehensive grand jury probe had delivered a similarly critical assessment of the church in 2005.
A random search of Kolenkiewicz's electronic devices in 2011 showed that he had allegedly viewed porn again, Gavin said, and he was placed on leave. The church handed over its information to the Center City law firm it hired to review past allegations, which then forwarded it to the district attorney in Delaware County, where the priest had been most recently stationed.
Bucks County authorities said they were contacted by their Delaware County counterparts and attempted a full investigation. A pediatrician hired by Bucks investigators said she believed several images in the pornographic cache were of children, prosecutors said.
But investigators in Doylestown and Northampton Township struggled with their efforts because the archdiocese said it no longer had the original computer, and no one had made copies of what had been on the computer's hard drive when it was first seized something that Weintraub said police would have done if they had been contacted in the first place. What remained had passed through so many hands over the years that the evidence had chain-of-custody problems. Gavin said the church was never told to retain the original computer.
"Even with our best forensic analysis, we were unable to tell where the images had come from, whether they were downloaded or simply viewed, or any other information about their origin," Weintraub said. Reluctantly, his predecessor, David Heckler, agreed that no charges could be filed but with an understanding that the church would remove the priest from access to children, both Weintraub and Heckler said in interviews.
Kolenkiewicz underwent treatment for "his issues" with pornography, Gavin said, and returned to active ministry in 2014. His electronic devices were monitored, and he was treated to unannounced visits from the archdiocese's Office of Investigations.
"[H]e has been working diligently on the path toward recovery while cooperating fully with his monitoring and rehabilitation plan," Gavin wrote in an email this week.
In 2015, Northampton Township Detective Charles Pinkerton was alarmed to see Kolenkiewicz back on duty at St. Bede. He and Heckler met at the local police department with the head of the archdiocese's Office of Investigations and expressed their displeasure, both men said in interviews.
"What I threatened back then was to have a press conference, which is sort of atypical," Heckler recalled Friday. He demanded that Kolekniewicz be removed from St. Bede and kept away from children, which prompted the priest's being placed on administrative duty. Pinkerton said "there was an understanding there that the archdiocese was going to reexamine the matter."
Gavin said an archdiocesan investigative review board, made up of former city prosecutors and experts on both sex offenders and sexual-assault victims, unanimously approved of Kolenkiewicz returning to active ministry. Archbishop Charles Chaput signed off on the decision this month.
In addition to his assignment at the Basilica, the priest will also serve the Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters at their Convent of Divine Love on Green Street near 22nd. The archdiocese's assurances that Kolenkiewicz doesn't pose any danger to children doesn't sit well with Barbara Dorris, executive director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.
"I think this speaks to the arrogance [of the church], the idea that they're untouchable," she said. "There's no punishment. He just gets a new assignment. It's going to take the people in the pews standing up and saying, 'If he stays, we go,' for something to change."
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS) : Defying the Uttar Pradesh police ban on his entry, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday left for riot-hit Saharanpur for an on-the-spot survey of the situation, reports said.
The Uttar Pradesh police on Thursday refused permission to Gandhi to visit Saharanpur, where clashes between Dalits and upper caste people broke out recently resulting in the death of one person. Eight people were injured in the incidents.
The Congress vice president reportedly has plans to visit Shabbirpur village in the district and meet the Dalit families whose houses had been burnt allegedly by upper caste people.
He may also try to visit a hospital to meet the injured villagers.
However, The Hindustan Times quoted state home secretary Mani Prasad Mishra as saying that the administration will not allow Rahul into the district.
Srinagar, May 27 (IBNS) : Burhan Wani's successor and Hijbul commander Sabzar Bhat were among eight terrorists killed in separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, reports said.
Bhat and another terrorist, holed up in a building at Saimu village in the Tral sector of Pulwama district were shot dead in an encounter with security forces while six others were killed by the Indian army while attempting infiltration along the Line of Control in Rampur sector in Baramulla district.
In Tral, security forces laid a cordon on Friday evening around a house in Saimu village where Bhat and one or two other terrorists were hiding. After a prolonged exchange of gun fire Bhat and another terrorist were killed. Operation is still underway in the area.
Bhat alias Abu Zarar had succeeded former Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed on July 08, 2016, in Anantnag district. He carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh.
The operation in Rampur, was carried out after the soldiers noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in the early hours of the morning.
Six terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight. The army said the infiltration attempt has been foiled .
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The news continues to be bad for Fox as ratings keep sliding into the porcelain dumper with each new Nielsen score. TV Critic Zurawik Explains Why This Is A Dangerous Time For Fox News, while Newsweek says Fox News Pounded in Ratings As Truth Mounts Surprising Comeback:
Are Americans that stupid? Maybe not. Trumps approval rating is an astonishingly low 39.6 percent. Root canals poll better. And yet Fox News continues with its pro-Trump propaganda, hoping that reality wont intrude. But this isnt the Soviet Union. People can simply switch the channel, and theyre starting to.
But, theres always one outlier:
Rumors of Fox News
Death Greatly Exaggerated:
Ratings Still Strong for May
However, with a new competitor from the right, Fox will get a run for its money:
Experts and Tribune Media unions
raise concerns about Sinclairs history
of pushing conservative propaganda
Weve seen this Right Wing Rodeo before, as Recent crises may take toll on Fox News:
For the past 10 days, as bombshells and bad news swirled around President Donald Trump, Fox has all but sidestepped the story, prompting some of its viewers to head elsewhere (the top reference to the story on FoxNews.coms homepage Wednesday afternoon: Does it matter? No evidence of Trump collusion with Russia as media shift focus). Result: A resurgent MSNBC took the top spot in the news ratings for the first time in its history last week. Fox finished a shocking third behind MSNBC and CNN among younger viewers. On Tuesday, there was a new mess for Murdoch: Amid an outcry and threats of a lawsuit, Fox took the rare step of retracting one of its stories a baseless report alleging that Seth Rich, a young Democratic National Committee staffer, was murdered last year in a conspiracy tied to the leak of DNC emails. The retraction put Fox at odds with its signature personality, Sean Hannity, who has pushed the discredited story on his prime-time program and has refused to admit error. Hannity now faces an advertiser boycott the kind that helped sink OReilly.
Things got so bad for Hannity that when he took what seemed like a hastily planned vacation, even Variety had to chime in: Fox News Says Sean Hannity Will Return to Show, while Fox News fights back after Sean Hannity uproar. It has to be worrying for snowflake Hannity that Bill OReillys vacation became permanent while he was meeting the Pope due to a similar advertiser boycott.
This comes as The Seth Rich Scandal Shows That Fox News Is Morally Bankrupt. Other Foxers say they are disgusted and embarrassed by Hannitys baseless conspiracy-mongering. Keith Olbermann blasts subhuman Sean Hannity for making up fake news to cover up Trumps failed presidency as The Atlantic notes, Its Too Late for Fox to Retract Its Seth Rich Story, even though it has tried to do so.
You wouldnt know it now, but Hannity once said it would be reckless and irresponsible to suggest the DNC had anything to do with Seth Richs murder. Now he cant let it go, as these headlines prove:
From Sean Hannity, a Murder and Why Fake News Endures:
Facebook and Google have worked up new computer formulas and dispatched dedicated teams of humans to push the corrosive stuff off their platforms or, at the very least, to let readers know when something doesnt look right. Ad makers are pulling their advertising from sites that run false items. And educators are working up news literacy programs to teach students how to tell the difference between real, corroborated journalism and naked lies dressed in the colors of veracity. But as the Seth Rich story shows, were going to need a bigger algorithm.
Meanwhile, while 75 things to know about Sean Hannity seems comprehensive, it never even mentions Hal from North Bergen.
But, Hannitys a peach of a patriot, who kept the money from his Freedom Concerts, promised to the families of fallen vets.
FRY ER, TUCK: With so much breaking last week, Friday Fox Follies gave short shrift to this sanctimonious little prig. To prep for todays article, last night I slummed, watching Tuckers Tee Vee House instead of Victorian Slum House. It was a good night to tune in because Carlson was at his most disingenuous last night. He turned a GOP candidate attacking a reporter into an attack on Lauren Duca. No, really.
But first, Ive detected a pattern: At least once per show (and sometimes nearly every segment) Carlson blurts out, Im not here to defend [fill in the blank of the thing hes actually defending as hes constructing his strawmen that he knows his guests cant knock down . . . especially once hes inoculated himself that way. Clever little prick, isnt he?
Meanwhile, last night he took a pivot from the alleged Greg Gianforte assault, to how the left is blaming EmperorTrump, to a dystopian present in which all violence is committed by the left. No, really, he did. Watch:
https://youtu.be/BM_b-JnqNv0
Then bizarrely he pivoted from progressive left violence to a renewed attack on Lauren Duca, who already bested him back in January. No, really:
Tucker Carlson (Sort of) Apologizes
to Lauren Duca Then Calls
Her Vapid, Not Very Impressive
Two tweets sum up how surreal this moment was:
Me introducing myself at parties pic.twitter.com/41t0ax9Cc3 Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) May 26, 2017
CNN: Jared Kushner MSNBC: Jared Kushner FOX NEWS: "Duca's Tweet Stirs Controversy." @laurenduca pic.twitter.com/LYEJqtPHQB Yashar Ali (@yashar) May 26, 2017
All too often lately, Carlson is setting the table for Fox & Friends, which tends to use his mendacious framing of issues the next morning. In fact: Everyone but Fox & Friends reported that the FBI is looking at Jared Kushner in the Russia probe, just like Tucker from the night before.
However, If you appear as a guest on Tucker Carlson Tonight, theres a good chance youll be a target of online harassment, as his fans threaten the lives of people who disagree with him.
Once again this week, as I have reported about previously, Carlson trolled Eric Wemple when the WashPo scribe asks for clarification. Read Tucker Carlson: Hypocrisy in action, as Wemple proves once again what a hack Tucker really is:
With his hypocritical use of data, Carlson once again illustrates a maxim of Fox News what well call the Situational Credibility Principle. When a major institution like the New York Times or The Post or Harvard University publishes something inconvenient, these places are populated by rancid partisans. When they publish something convenient, they are THE NEW YORK TIMES! or RESEARCHERS AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY!
Carlson cant possibly believe most of what he says because that would make him as dumb as his audience. He even hosted Dana Loesch to say The media is culpable for Greg Gianforte allegedly attacking a reporter, as opposed to Emperor Trump, who attacked the press as enemies of the people.
GAGGING OVER GREG GIANFORTE: In fact nothing demonstrates the alternative facts on Fox more than its reaction to the alleged assault by candidate Greg Gianforte:
Fox & Friends parrots Montana
GOP congressional candidates
defense for assaulting reporter
Fox News Had The Best
Reporting On Journalist Attack,
But Its Top Hosts Ignored It
Fox panel cheers on Gianforte assault:
Snowflake reporter got Montana justice
Geraldo Rivera calls the reaction to a
Montana Republican body-slamming
a journalist gigantically overblown
Yet, the rest of the fact-based world knows: The GOP inherits what Trump has wrought.
ISLAMOPHOBIA ON PARADE:
THIS WEEK IN FOX SCANDALS: With fingers crossed that the earth wouldnt reject the body, Roger Ailes Son Says Hes Coming After Those Who Betrayed His Late Father. According to Friends, Family Gather to Mourn and Honor Roger Ailes:
Zachary pledged to fight to clear his fathers name after a series of sexual harassment allegations led to his ultimate ouster from Fox News. I want all the people who betrayed my father to know that Im coming after them, Zachary Ailes said during a speech at the ceremony, and hell is coming with me. Longtime personality Kimberly Guilfoyle remembered Ailes as a champion of women.
Regardless, he will always be known as Roger Ailes: The man who destroyed objectivity.
THIS WEEK IN FOX LAWSUITS:
Bob Beckel Accuser Retains Lawyer
Behind Fox News Discrimination Suits
Fox News Seeks Sanctions for Hoax
Lawsuit As Andrea Tantaros
Lawyer Renews Spying Claim
PASSAGES:
Former Arkansas Governor
Takes Huckabee From Fox
News to Religious Broadcaster
Headly Westerfield has been writing Fox News criticism since 2009 and is Head Writer at the Not Now Silly Newsroom.
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The Senate Intelligence Committee appears to be closing in on Donald Trump as they have requested all communications documents going back to the launch of his presidential campaign.
Robert Costa of The Washington Post reported, The Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race, has asked President Trumps political organization to gather and produce all documents, emails and phone records going back to his campaigns launch in June 2015, according to two people briefed on the request.
Investigators arent just looking for evidence of potential Trump and Russia collusion during the general election. The Senate Intelligence Committee wants all communications going back to the launch of the campaign. This means that investigators are trying to figure out when the Trump/Russia relationship started, or it is was present at the campaigns launch.
If evidence is found that Trump was in contact with Russia before he won the Republican nomination, that will make him as close to real life Manchurian Candidate as this country has ever seen. The Trump White Houses rush to launch a war room to deal with the investigations his potential collusion with Russia makes more sense now.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is digging deeper, and the odds are that what they find wont be good news for Donald Trump.
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By establishing a war room to fight the Russia collusion investigation, the Trump White House is all but admitting their guilt.
Reuters reported, President Donald Trumps White House is preparing to establish a war room to combat mounting questions about ties between Russia and his presidential campaign, administration officials and persons close to Trump said, addressing a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency. Upon Trumps return from a nine-day overseas trip, the administration will add experienced political professionals and possibly lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head the investigation, the sources told Reuters.
Innocent presidents who didnt collude with Russia during the campaign dont have to set up war rooms to defend themselves from criminal investigations. Administrations who are worried about going down in flames establish war rooms in a bid to hold on to power. Establishing a war room is not what normal presidents do.
The war room is an admission that the investigation is getting close, and Trump has moved from trying to win a battle for public opinion to a more legalistic approach that is intended to give congressional Republicans some PR guidance and lawyers to help them legally maneuver in a bid to hold to power.
When a president has to establish a war room to defend himself against allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia, things are going very badly. Trump and his administration are sinking fast, and their plans for a war room suggest a White House that is guilty and trying to beat the charges that they will be facing.
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By Jeff Mason, Richard Cowan and James Oliphant
BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) President Donald Trumps White House is preparing to establish a war room to combat mounting questions about ties between Russia and his presidential campaign, administration officials and persons close to Trump said, addressing a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency.
Upon Trumps return from a nine-day overseas trip, the administration will add experienced political professionals and possibly lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head the investigation, the sources told Reuters.
Beyond pushing back at suggestions that Moscow is unduly influencing Trumps administration, the messaging effort will also focus on advancing Trumps stalled policy agenda and likely involve more trips out of Washington that will feature the kind of raucous rallies that were the hallmark of Trumps campaign.
A person in regular touch with the White House said it needed a new structure to focus on the new reality that there would be continued leaks to the media from the federal law enforcement and intelligence communities, leaks that have increased in frequency since Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey this month.
Since the firing of Comey, that really exposed the fact that the White House in its current structure is not prepared for really a one-front war, let alone a two-front war, he said. They need to have a structure in place that allows them to stay focused while also truly fighting back on these attacks and these leaks.
The current structure isnt doing enough to drive his own agenda, the person said.
The White House declined to comment on plans for a war room but said Trump will be looking to build on momentum it believes it has built up during the presidents trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Europe. A White House official confirmed plans to hold more rallies.
Trump returns to Washington on Saturday from his first trip abroad as president.
The president has had an incredibly successful trip overseas and the White House looks forward to continuing an aggressive messaging strategy to highlight his agenda when we return to D.C., said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
KUSHNER, BANNON INVOLVED IN WAR ROOM
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, will be involved in the new strategic messaging operation, as will Steve Bannon, another top adviser who specializes in managing Trumps populist appeal and shaping his political image, the sources said. Bannon and Trumps chief of staff, Reince Priebus, have been laying the groundwork for the plan this week, they added.
On Thursday, NBC News and the Washington Post reported that Kushner, who held several meetings with Russian officials following the election, is a focus of the probe, making him the first current White House official to be caught up in the probe, although Kushner, who is Trumps son-in-law, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Corey Lewandowski, Trumps former campaign manager, is also expected to be part of the effort. Lewandowski, who has been seen in the White House recently, could join the administration as early as next week, a source close to him said.
Reuters has reported that Comey kept a detailed record of a meeting with the president before his dismissal in which Trump asked Comey to end the investigation into former Trump National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. The White House denies that there was ever any effort by Trump to interfere with the probe.
Flynn was fired in February for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about the extent of his talks with Russias ambassador to the U.S., Sergei Kislyak.
This month, the Justice Department named Robert Mueller, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation director, as an independent special counsel in the probe, setting off alarms at the White House and stoking fears that it will have to endure a protracted investigation that may involve extended interviews with current officials.
(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Ginger Gibson and Roberta Rampton Writing by James Oliphant; Editing by Jason Szep and James Dalgleish)
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth discussed various issues at the delegation level talks, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the ceremonial reception, at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
This was followed by a visit to Rajghat, the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi, where PM Jugnauth paid floral tributes.
The Prime Minister of Mauritius along with his wife, Kobita Ramdanee-Jugnauth, arrived in India on Friday, for a three-day state visit.
On Friday, the PM of Mauritius held meetings with various Union minister and attended the India Mauritius Business Forum organised by CII.
Images: PIB
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The White House is worried that Trumps tweeting could put the president in legal jeopardy so they are creating a plan to run all of his tweets through a team of lawyers before they can be published.
The Wall Street Journal reported:
One major change under consideration would vet the presidents social media posts through a team of lawyers, who would decide if any needed to be adjusted or curtailed. The idea, said one of Mr. Trumps advisers, is to create a system so that tweets dont go from the presidents mind out to the universe.
If the White House was trying to get Trumps through a filter before they were published, why would they want to run them through a team of lawyers? The answer is that the administration is worried about more than Trump making crazy statements that they will later have to try and explain. The fear is one of legal jeopardy, specifically surrounding the Russia scandal.
White House officials wont say it, but they are worried that Trump is going to incriminate himself with a tweet if he is left unsupervised. The chances of Trump agreeing to have his tweets vetted before they are published are slim and none.
The President uses Twitter to react to things that get him riled up. If the White House takes away Trumps Twitter machine, they may have to deal with something even worse like him dialing up random reporters and spouting off, or calling a press conference and melting down.
When lawyers need to start vetting tweets, the legal trouble is real.
It is beginning to look like this White House is trying to find a way to shut Trump up before they all end up in jail.
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Jared Kushners lawyer issued a statement that didnt deny that the Presidents son in law and senior adviser may have committed treason by engaging in unreported contacts with Russia.
Kushners lawyer, Jamie Gorelick, released a statement in response to a Reuters about more unreported contacts between her client and Russia:
There are two important points missing from the statement. Kushners lawyer doesnt deny that more unreported contacts took place, and nowhere does it deny that Kushner would ever do anything to harm his country.
When Kushner didnt report the contacts on his application for security clearance, he committed a felony. Kushners excuse appears to be that he has so many phone calls where he is potentially betraying his country that he cant keep track of them all.
Evan McMullin pointed out that Kushners actions in trying to set up a back channel for communications with Russia could constitute a treasonous act:
In the intelligence business, this is called a "comms plan." Usually, however, it's proposed by the officer, not the traitor. pic.twitter.com/s7g9baIX9Z Evan McMullin (@Evan_McMullin) May 26, 2017
If the best excuse that Kushner can come up with is that hes not sure which criminal or potentially treasonous act Reuters was reporting on, the Trump White House is going down faster than anyone could have imagined.
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Trump administration officials all but admitted that the President was too tired to hold a press conference, by offering up a series of lame excuses for why he has taken no questions from the press during his first foreign trip.
ABCs Jon Karl reported on the White Houses latest excuse for Trump not holding a press conference:
Gary Cohn says @POTUS couldn't do a presser b/c he had a robust schedule & worked non-stop"; his predecessors managed to do both Jonathan Karl (@jonkarl) May 27, 2017
NBCs Andrea Mitchell pointed out that the event the administration held on Saturday morning was not a news conference:
Not a news conference !! No cameras and 1st POTUS to avoid reporters since these summits started decades ago https://t.co/aJf7gQNPgj Andrea Mitchell (@mitchellreports) May 27, 2017
Journalists and political pros quickly saw through the White Houses excuse:
It's almost like this president lacks stamina or something. https://t.co/aJmRgs0ycM Daniel W. Drezner (@dandrezner) May 27, 2017
No stamina? Maybe he just needs to nap. https://t.co/ufCWCZLQwp Jesse Ferguson (@JesseFFerguson) May 27, 2017
The White House isnt fooling anyone. They are trying to keep Trump away from any unscripted setting where he will be asked or talk about Russia. The administration admitted that by day two of the trip, Trump was exhausted. The President was too tired to hold a press conference, and the White House doesnt trust a tired or rested Trump to talk about Russia.
A man who ran for president based on his stamina and energy doesnt have enough energy to make it through a foreign trip and talk to the press. Trump doesnt belong in the White House. He belongs in a gated retirement community.
Charleston, SC (29403)
Today
Showers and thunderstorms. Potential for heavy rainfall. High 74F. Winds ENE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 100%..
Tonight
Tropical storm conditions possible. Thunderstorms. Low near 70F. Winds SE at 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 90%.
Parker Hendriks had 13 rides in his first season as a jockey in 2020, and gave up his apprentice status early this spring. His first race as a pro was April 2, at the Carolina Cup in Camden. Read moreYoung American set to be crowned jockey champ at Steeplechase of Charleston
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS) : Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who skipped Congress president Sonia Gandhi's lunch party for opposition leaders on Friday pleading prior engagements, arrived in Delhi on Saturday to lunch with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, NDTV reports.
PM Modi is hosting lunch in honour of visiting Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth. He has invited senior leaders of various political parties.
Kumar attending PM's luncheon after regretting the one hosted by Sonia Gandhi has raised questions and speculations about possible equations.
The programme was part of an attempt of Sonia Gandhi to gather opposition parties on a common platform for a groundwork towards a united opposition to the BJP-led NDA in the 2019 Parliamentary elections.
The Janata Dal (U) leader, however, told reporters that he had not skipped Gandhi's programme as his party was represented and there is nothing to read into his action.
I had met Sonia ji in April and already discussed the issues which were discussed this time. This time she invited all the parties for lunch. Former national president of our party Sharad Yadav went for the lunch on behalf of JD (U). There is no such thing that I skipped the lunch. This is mere misinterpretation, he said.
However, the wavering nature of acts and statements of Nitish Kumar in the recent times have contributed to public speculations. Once a part of the NDA, Kumar turned into a bitter political rival of the Prime Minister and ended his nearly two-decade-long alliance with the BJP.
However, after demonetisation, Kumar, unlike all other opposition leaders, praised Modi for his initiative. over the latter's ascent in his party. In recent days however he has not quite lived up to the reputation of a being sharp critic of PM Modi.
Very recently, the praise he had about Modi while ruling himself out as a Prime Ministerial candidate in 2019 was also interesting. He said he didn't have the "the aspiration or the ability" adding that, "the person in whom people will see potential will become the prime minister. People saw potential in Narendra Modi during the last elections, he has become the PM."
In the aftermath of another turbulent election season, maybe its time for politicians, regulatory agencies and the media to return to something that feels almost quaint: the truth. During World War II, the Superman radio show writers coined the phrase Truth, Justice and the American Way. Read moreCommentary: Now that we're finally past Election Day, let's get back to truth and honesty
The city of Charleston has an amazing opportunity to have a new urban park right in the heart of downtown, on Dominion Energys site between Meeting and King streets, roughly between the City Market and the Four Corners of Law. City leaders and others in the community should seize this chanc Read moreEditorial: Charleston should seize on this unique chance for a new urban park
Legislation outlawing near all abortions in South Carolina is officially dead after a stalemate between the House and Senate ended with GOP leaders in both chambers blaming each other. Read moreFinal Statehouse push to ban nearly all abortions in SC officially over for the year
For art to really work it has to connect with someone in the outside world. It takes courage for the artist to reveal their inner world. Read moreSpoleto Review: Cecile McLorin Salvant conjures magic at Charleston Gaillard Center
Time for the lofty to ascend the podium and offer a few words of speechified wisdom to the restless class of 2017, all ready, willing and eager to rectify a nation currently in chaos.
At least we oldsters hope they're ready. Here's some advice before you open your mouth and crack a little joke or two.
Make sure your words are your own.
Consider. Donald J. Trump's mess of trouble these last few days was not limited to the memorandums of James Comey, his fired FBI chief, nor his alleged spilling of sensitive intelligence to the Russians, nor even the arrival of a wild card special counsel in Robert S. Mueller III. He also had to deal with the specter of Reese Witherspoon.
Via Jimmy Fallon, anyway. The late-night host ran a segment comparing Trump's graduation address to Liberty University with Elle Woods' famously stirring words in the 2001 movie (and subsequent musical), "Legally Blonde ," arguing that Trump stirred the Liberty graduates with a whole lot of the same phraseology and even some Elle-esque cadence. At least with the help of a malevolent "Tonight Show" editor, it sure looked that way.
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Was Fallon's shtick fair? Probably not. There are only so many ways you can verbalize inspiring truths about dreaming big, having courage in your convictions, boldly going forth into the world, fearing not failure, living in the present and being true to yourself. Add in a few words about not letting Spiro Agnew's "nattering nabobs of negativism," i.e., your inevitable critics, break your stride and you've analyzed most graduation speeches.
A matter of tone
Super-savvy satirists like Stephen Colbert or John Waters (whose 2015 graduation speech at the Rhode Island School of Design became a book titled "Make Trouble") often add an anarchic element to their speeches, for they understand the power of self-deprecation, the crucial need for relatability and the confounding of expectations. But if you look closely at the kind of trouble that Waters is recommending in the speech-that-went-viral, he's mostly just using a different set of words to describe what business consultants like to call disruption.
That's another standard piece of graduation advice. It's just a matter of tone.
In graduation-speech land, no one even has to steal anything for speech ownership to become murky. In 1997, the Tribune columnist Mary Schmich wrote what she described as the graduation speech she had never been asked to give it's the famous column that contains the pithy and practical advice "wear sunscreen." But when the soundscape-loving film director Baz Luhrmann sought out permission to use the text of Schmich's "speech" for a 1998 remix album, he at first fell prey to the widespread myth that the author Kurt Vonnegut had delivered the speech at a graduation ceremony that year for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Not only did Vonnegut not write Schmich's words, but the 1997 graduation speaker at MIT that year was Kofi Annan.
Such is the weirdness that long has befallen graduation speeches. It's probably best to acknowledge that little is truly original when it comes to advice at commencement.
Of course, in a democracy that prizes free speech, a satirist like Fallon is under no obligation to be fair to Trump, or any other powerful figure, thank the stars.
Co-co in hot water?
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Trump could at least take solace in one thing: late-night hosts and comedians hardly are exempt from accusations of intellectual theft. Take the federal lawsuit filed by freelance joke writer Robert "Alex" Kaseberg accusing Conan O'Brien and his writers of stealing jokes. A federal judge recently ruled that the case involving gags about Caitlyn Jenner, Tom Brady and the phallic properties of the Washington Monument could head to a jury.
This is another murky area. Jokes delivered verbally are hard to copyright (I'll wager most of the gags about Jenner that you've ever heard were structurally and comedically much the same). Some view comedy as a kind of wiki of laughs where every joke inevitably pays tribute to a joke from the past and that comedy writers are good at policing themselves when it comes to someone going too far. And it should be left right there.
Others take a dim view of such disregard for a writer's individual comedic creativity especially when they allegedly are taken by a big-name celebrity with a lot more power. But a writer like Kaseberg then usually has to prove not only that the alleged thief knew the precise wording of their joke but also that they then delivered it to precisely the same effect.
Or does he? You'd think O'Brien and his team had some motivation to settle, if only to avoid reputational damage. Monologues, like graduation speeches, are supposed to be original. Or, at least, original enough. You would not want anyone to think otherwise of you.
So if you are speaking from the podium in coming weeks, consider this. Speak from the heart. With freshness, humility and simplicity. Be personal. You'll get laughs. You don't need other people's jokes. The bar is low. Your audience will be in the mood for humor, if only to delay a while longer the troubles of the world beyond.
"Dress to impress" might sound cliche, but it's an age-old saying worth remembering, especially for those getting their first taste of office life this summer with an internship.
Although hard work is important, studies show 33 percent of how someone is professionally perceived is based on their image, reports Internships.com. But for those better acquainted with the classroom than the corporate world, knowing what to wear to work (and where to find it) can be tricky for cash-strapped college students or recent graduates.
Take the guess work out of a company's dress code with these tips from style and etiquette experts you'll be the talk of the office for all the right reasons.
Lizzie Post, co-president of the Emily Post Institute and co-host of the "Awesome Etiquette" podcast
Do your homework: Nowadays, there is no "this suit will work for everything" or "this dress will work for everything." Research the company culture and dress code. That is something you can easily do by going to the company's website and seeing how they represent themselves online or on Facebook. Or call the company and ask. It's always a good idea to reach out to friends and family to ask what they think of your outfit if you're not sure.
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Building a wardrobe on a budget: Try eBay or second-hand shops. Just be really scrupulous about finding things that have no signs of wear, and look for things that are going to work in multiple ways. A full button-down shirt will work for a jeans culture, or it can go with a suit.
Learn the art of dressing up (or down): If a man is wearing a suit and gets to the office and sees everyone else is in jeans and T-shirts, remove the jacket and tie and carry them. For women, dress pants and a nice top can be just as formal as a nice suit.
Zephyr Basine, CollegeFashion.net editor-in-chief
Personal style meets work wear: Even if you're in a conservative office, women can add personality with their extras say a modern pair of geometric stud earrings or a work-appropriate handbag in your favorite color. I also love using scarves for personality and warmth in chilly offices.
Stores for the fashion-savvy professional: We love LOFT, Club Monaco, Banana Republic, Nordstrom and J.Crew, especially their sale selections. You also can find fantastic work wear for less at Saks Off Fifth and Nordstrom Rack.
When in doubt, channel Coco Chanel: There's her old quote that says, I'm paraphrasing, "Take off one piece of jewelry before you leave the house." I think that's still great advice. I like to choose two pieces, and they have to be in balance. Think statement stud earrings with a thin pendant necklace or a chunky watch with small, simple gold studs.
Antonio Centeno, men's style expert and Real Men Real Style creator (www.realmenrealstyle.com)
Look the part: "You're an intern, you shouldn't dress as nicely as everyone there" is a misconception. The point of an internship is for the company to see how you fit in and how you mold with them. If all goes well, the goal is to get hired. You don't want to find yourself in a situation where you love the company, but they didn't feel you were professional enough. You want to be seen as the intern who already feels a part of the company. Leave everything on the table. Dress your best. Work hard.
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For the sharply dressed man: The best way to show some personality will be with accent pieces. Are you wearing a pocket square, lapel pin, tie clip, nice watch, crazy socks or nice shoes? These are all pieces that catch the eye but aren't overbearing to onlookers. It's a subtle way of saying, "I care about my presentation." It's all in the details.
Pick a celebrity style muse: Chiwetel Ejiofor's style is not too flashy but not overly conservative either. A great example was his wardrobe in the movie "The Martian." Gabriel Macht's character Harvey in the television show "Suits" dresses in a way to express respect and authority. He would be a great option for young men looking to make a name for themselves in their internships.
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Packing for a summer internship? Here are some items to consider bringing:
Women
A nice pant or skirt suit
Work-friendly dresses (nothing too short or too low cut)
Dress slacks and/or skirts (at least fingertip-length) in neutral colors that can be mixed and matched
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Blouses (button-down or pullover)
A blazer, cardigan or wrap (good for air-conditioned offices)
Khaki pants or dark-wash jeans (for casual offices)
Neutral closed-toe shoes. For heels, nothing higher than 4 inches. Flats are OK for most offices, but check with a supervisor.
Tasteful accessories (nothing too flashy that could be distracting)
Men
Interchangeable dress shirts (white, light blue and/or pinstripe)
Trousers (charcoal gray, navy, khaki and/or black)
Dress shoes (for example, penny loafers, wingtip brogues, brown double monk straps, etc.)
A properly tailored suit and coordinating tie
Dark-wash raw denim pants (for casual offices only)
Tailored khaki chinos (for casual offices only)
Polo shirts with no visible logos (for casual offices only)
Tasteful accessories (pocket squares, tie clip, a watch, dress socks, etc.)
Leave at home
Mini skirts
Anything sheer or with holes or cut-outs in it (including cold-shoulder and off-the-shoulder shirts, keyhole tops, distressed pants, etc.)
Crop tops
Shorts (for after work only)
Anything low cut (tops and dresses)
Flip-flop sandals and sneakers (for after work only)
Athleisure wear
Anything that's ripped or stained
Additional resources
www.internships.com
www.internqueen.com
corporette.com
unkeptgentleman.com
Srinagar, May 27 (IBNS): Internet service has been blocked in the Kashmir Valley following the killing of Burhan Wani's successor and Hijbul commander Sabzar Bhat on Saturday.
Burhan Wani's successor and Hijbul commander Sabzar Bhat were among eight terrorists killed in separate encounters in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday, reports said.
Bhat and another terrorist, holed up in a building at Saimu village in the Tral sector of Pulwama district were shot dead in an encounter with security forces while six others were killed by the Indian army while attempting infiltration along the Line of Control in Rampur sector in Baramulla district.
In Tral, security forces laid a cordon on Friday evening around a house in Saimu village where Bhat and one or two other terrorists were hiding. After a prolonged exchange of gun fire Bhat and another terrorist were killed. Operation is still underway in the area.
Bhat alias Abu Zarar had succeeded former Hizbul commander Burhan Wani, who was killed on July 8, 2016, in Anantnag district.
He carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh.
The operation in Rampur, was carried out after the soldiers noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in the early hours of the morning.
Six terrorists were killed in a fierce gunfight. The army said the infiltration attempt has been foiled .
With the summer vacation travel season now underway the Memorial Day weekend traditionally is considered the start there's the question where everyone will be going this year.
AAA estimates that summer travel will be up this weekend by a million Americans to a total of 39.3 million, marking the highest travel volume in 11 years.
And millions more will be traveling the rest of the summer season on vacations, which traditionally ends with the Labor Day weekend.
According to one survey, top summer vacation spots are mostly sun- and hot-weather destinations, with the Las Vegas area (including Henderson and Paradise) winning the No. 1 spot.
Personal finance website WalletHub lists the Los Angeles area the No. 2 favorite and Orlando area No. 3.
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Others in the Top 10 include, in order, Chicago, San Diego, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Sacramento and New York. Other favorites are Salt Lake City; Austin, Texas; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Cincinnati; Tampa; St. Louis; Portland, Ore.; Charlotte and Detroit.
California and Texas are home to the top destinations in the U.S., each with at least two metro areas apiece in the top 15. Conversely, according to the survey, Connecticut and New York area are each home to the largest number of the most unpopular destinations.
The Salt Lake City metro area, according to the survey, has the most diverse attractions. Akron, Ohio, is the metro area with the least diverse.
The Minneapolis-Bloomington area was ranked No. 44 in the survey, which considered such factors as travel costs, local costs, attractions, weather and activities into the rankings.
The AAA survey, meanwhile, forecasts that the vast majority of people will drive over the Memorial Day weekend, and some 34.6 million people are expected to travel in this manner. That's an increase of 5.5 percent or 2.9 million over last year's total. Air travel will increase 5.5 percent, to 2.9 million.
Based on AAA travel bookings, the top destinations for this holiday weekend are Orlando, Rome, London, Dublin, Vancouver, Seattle, Las Vegas, New York, Paris and Honolulu.
As usual, travel costs are up this year, says AAA. Both airfares and hotel costs have increased. Average fare for the top 40 domestic flight routes is $181 for a round-trip ticket, 9 percent more than last Memorial Day weekend. A night at the average AAA Three Diamond Rated hotel is up 18 percent, to $215.
AAA information was based on economic forecasting and research.
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Are you plugged in?
According to another survey this by Travel Leaders Group with millions of Americans heading for vacations this weekend there will be a challenge for many to "unplug" themselves and fully enjoy the experience of being away from the office.
According to the survey, some 94 percent of those polled have or will be taking at least one leisure trip this year, and 62.3 percent of those individuals make it a point to check work emails or voice mail messages while on vacation.
In addition, 31 percent of the respondents revealed they leave vacation days on the table. There were 2,854 consumers surveyed throughout the U.S.
However, there is "good news," according to the survey. Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko said in a news release that "the percentage of those surveyed who say they forfeit well-deserved vacation days has decreased from 38.5 percent in 2014 to 31 percent today. However, there is a significant increase in individuals staying 'plugged in' to work while on vacation," he added.
"Studies have sown that people who take vacations are happier, have improved mental and physical health and are more productive," Chacko said.
The Travel Leaders brand is on hundreds of franchised travel agencies, including one in Rochester.
Gerard Moes stared in awe as he paced through the halls of Assisi Heights, frequently pausing to view old photographs of his ancestor and her accomplishments.
"What I like of Assisi Heights is that there seems to be this silence, this harmony," Moes said. "Everybody has a contribution."
Gerard Moes, 68, and his wife, Margit Moes, traveled from Luxembourg to learn about the history of his ancestor and fourth great aunt, Mother Alfred Moes, founder of Saint Marys Hospital and the Sisters of Saint Francis of Rochester, Minnesota. During their stay Tuesday and Wednesday, the Moes visited Assisi Heights, Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus, the Mayo Clinic and the gravesite of Mother Alfred Moes.
Mother Alfred Moes established the Sisters of Saint Francis in 1877. After a tornado ravaged Rochester in 1883 killing 37 and injuring hundreds Mother Alfred Moes persuaded Dr. William Worrall Mayo to build Saint Marys Hospital, now part of the Mayo Clinic.
Gerard Moes said he was struck by the "harmony" between medicine and religion at Saint Marys.
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"You feel there's a common aim, a common vision," he said.
Though separated by more than 100 years, Gerard Moes noted he was able to find commonalities with his ancestor through faith and family values.
Mother Alfred Moes was accepted as a woman in an era lacking women's rights, Margit Moes added. "There were no women's rights at that moment."
As Gerard Moes visited the gravesite of his ancestor, he said he felt a greater sense of pride and connection with Memorial Day looming.
"It gave me the feeling of being on the side of heroes," he said. "Heroes, soldiers, as well as all the nuns being there. They were fighting illness; they were fighting life tragedies."
GOODVIEW When the beer runs out, that's it.
The Wenonah Brewing Company is closing its unassuming doors Sunday when the last drop of beer is served. The tap house and brewery isn't running out of business because business is bad. In fact, it's all about location.
"We approached the landlord multiple times to buy it," said Paul Brown, one of the trio of owners of the business. "But he wouldn't sell."
With that kind of uncertainty about their building and not being able to invest in the structure, Brown and his partners, Dave Weinhold and Steve Barber, decided to call it quits.
For now.
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Brown said people who love their beer like the Wenonah nut brown, Burglers golden ale or lemon raspberry shandy that were on tap Friday can hold out hope that the company many live to brew again. Beyond that, he said, he could not give any details.
The idea of getting another pint or growler down the road was music to David Rokus' ears. Of the brewery's smoked cherry porter, he said, "It was the best beer I ever had."
Rokus said he's stopped once in a while over the five years Wenonah Brewing Company has been open, and he was absolutely saddened to hear it was closing.
"It's a nice, fun brewpub establishment," he said. "I came for a growler of the Goodview honey cream ale, and one last pint."
Sunday, the local music -- another staple of the tap house -- begins at 2:30 p.m. with Andrew Hudson for an hour, followed by an hour of Justin Bell at 4 p.m. and two hours of The Bootleggers beginning at 5:30 p.m. The Woodshed's wood-fired pizza will be on hand as well.
Brown said he expected the beer would run out somewhere between 8-10 p.m., then that's the end. For now, at least.
ST. PAUL When following Minnesota legislative politics, it is wise to remember Yogi Berra's famous quote "It ain't over till it's over."
The fate of what will happen to the $46 billion budget passed by the Republican-led Legislature now rests with Gov. Mark Dayton. The Democratic governor told reporters on Friday he is unsure whether he will sign any of the bills.
"I'm genuinely undecided. I never committed to signing any of these final 11 bills. I haven't had a chance to review them myself. My staff is in the process of reviewing them now," Dayton said.
If any of the budget bills are vetoed, that means lawmakers would need to return for another special session to pass legislation that could win the governor's signature. If that doesn't happen by July 1, it would lead to a partial government shutdown.
House Taxes Committee Chairman Greg Davids, R-Preston, said Republican leaders negotiated in good faith with the governor to reach a budget deal. He said it would be a mistake for the governor to veto the compromise budget bills.
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"That would make him look very bad. He would earn the title "Governor Shutdown," Davids said.
Dayton said he is specifically concerned about the $650 million tax cut package passed by lawmakers, which he fears could lead to future budget deficits.
"The tax bill prioritizes the needs of the wealthiest Minnesotans and large corporations over working and middle-income Minnesotans," Dayton said.
The governor has already been asked to veto the tax bill by Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook. The governor does not have to sign the tax bill to keep state government open.
Davids said he remains hopeful the governor will sign the bill. He said he worked closely with the governor's staff and the bill has needed tax relief for Social Security recipients, farmers and business owners just to name a few. He pointed to the state's projected $1.5 billion budget surplus as another reason the governor should sign the bill.
"He should sign it because Minnesotans have paid more than was needed," Dayton said.
Republicans made tax cuts their number one priority during the legislative session. Lawmakers also approved a $300 million boost to transportation funding paid for with existing auto-related taxes and a 2 percent per year increase in the K-12 funding formula.
But Democrats say they have serious concerns with the budget. Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, said she believes the tax cuts, transportation spending and raiding of a health care fund used to pay for low-income Minnesotans' care will lead to massive budget problems down the road. As Congress pushes ahead with efforts to repeal and replace Obamacare, Liebling said she expects dramatic cuts in federal health care funding for states.
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"This is heading for disaster for people in Minnesota," she said. "I predict it will affect everybody not just people on public programs."
Several progressive groups are also urging the governor to veto all the budget bills and start over.
The governor said he hasn't decided whether he will sign a nearly $1 billion construction borrowing package that would fund projects across the state. He said that he believes it is "an overall good bill," but he is disappointed that some important projects were left out.
Ultimately, Dayton said he has no intention of being rushed into making a decision about whether or not to sign the bills before Tuesday.
He added, "I'm not going to rush to judgment on this. (Lawmakers have) had five months. We deserve three days to assess the final products."
Can a Western welfare state defend itself against Islamic terrorism? Perhaps, but it will require fundamental changes. The Telegraph reports that last weeks terrorist attack in Manchester was funded by the British government:
The Manchester suicide bomber used taxpayer-funded student loans and benefits to bankroll the terror plot, police believe. Salman Abedi is understood to have received thousands of pounds in state funding in the run up to Mondays atrocity even while he was overseas receiving bomb-making training.
Why? What qualified a terrorist in training for state aid? I suppose the answer is, anyone can get state funding these days, no serious questions asked.
Abedis finances are a major theme of the police inquiry amid growing alarm over the ease with which jihadists are able to manipulate Britains welfare and student loans system to secure financing. One former detective said jihadists were enrolling on university courses to collect the student loans often with no intention of turning up. Abedi was given at least 7,000 from the taxpayer-funded Student Loans Company after beginning a business administration degree at Salford University in October 2015. It is thought he received a further 7,000 in the 2016 academic year even though by then he had already dropped out of the course. Salford University declined to say if it had informed the Student Loans Company that Abedis funding should have been stopped.
Time out! British universities arent required to advise the government when students who are receiving loans drop out of school? Apparently not. The student gets to keep the cash that was intended for tuition.
Then there is Britains generous welfare system. The fact that murderous imams have been supported by the British government for years has been widely reported.
Separately, the Department for Work and Pensions refused to say if Abedi had received any benefits, including housing benefit and income support worth up to 250 a week, during 2015 and 2016. It would only say he was not claiming benefits in the weeks before the attack.
So taxpayers are required to fund terrorists as they prepare to murder Brits, but are not entitled to find out how much money they have paid to reward their murderers. Actually, in the 21st century welfare state that is not at all surprising.
Apparently Salman Abedi never actually worked, so pretty much everything he did was government-funded:
Abedi, 22, never held down a job, according to neighbours and friends, but was able to travel regularly between the UK and Libya. Abedi also had sufficient funds to buy materials for his sophisticated bomb while living in a rented house in south Manchester. Six weeks before the bombing Abedi rented a second property in a block of flats in Blackley eight miles from his home, paying 700 in cash. He had enough money to rent a third property in the centre of Manchester from where he set off with a backpack containing the bomb. Abedi also withdrew 250 in cash three days before the attack and transferred 2,500 to his younger brother Hashim in Libya, who is accused of knowing about the attack in advance.
Abedi might have gotten some cash from ISIS. But still, how stupid are we Westerners, to support those who are trying to murder us?
Professor Anthony Glees, director of Buckingham Universitys Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said: The British system makes funds readily available to jihadist students without checks on them. There needs to be an inquiry into this.
No wonder the terrorists hold us in contempt. It is easy to ridicule the Brits, but the real question is: given the fact that it is not possible to talk honestly about terrorism, Islam, welfare, education, or a number of other topics, is there any way a Western welfare state can reform itself to stop supporting its most bitter enemies?
American Enterprise Institute fellow Charles Murray must rank among our most prominent living social scientists. At a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee convened by Senator and JEC vice chairman Mike Lee last week, Murray was included on a panel of social scientists testifying on the state of social capital in America the subject of a new report released by the committee.
Testifying along with Murray on the panel were Prof. Robert Putnam (Harvard), Prof. Mario Small (Harvard) and Yuval Levin (Ethics and Public Policy Center). The occasion of their testimony was the release of a report prepared by committee staff at Lees request on the state of associational life in the United States.
What happened next? Committee Democrats performed a concerted mugging of Murray rich in the defamation flaunted by ignorant rioters protesting Murrays appearances at Middlebury and and other college campuses. Decrying the mugging committed by JEC Democrats on Murray, Joy Pullman tells the story in the Federalist column Congressional hit on Charles Murray indicates rioting wont stay on campus.
Pullman credits Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar with Minnesota nice by contrast with her Democratic colleagues on the committee. Klobuchar, however, was the first to jump Murray. She lobbed her thinly veiled disparagement of Murray into the proceedings and promptly departed. Klobuchars Democratic colleagues on the committee piled on and pummeled Murray. Klobuchars role in the production was at least as contemptible as that of her Democratic colleagues.
Klobuchar avoided smearing Murray directly. Called on first to pose questions after the witnesses opening statements, Klobuchar sought to build a little social capital of her own discussing the local Minnesota scene. Then Klobuchar turned to an expression of concern about unnamed individuals. Senator Klobuchar commented:
One troubling aspect of this hearing today are [sic] we are here to discuss a very important issue that impacts our society and I think there are many constructive ways we should examine the issue of social capital and its our responsibility to seek a wide range of expertise. I do want to express concern that I do not believe it is constructive to engage on this matter with individuals whose theories are drastically polarizing and have been discredited.
Gee, to whom might she have been referring?
Senator Klobuchar exited for a meeting at the White House, leaving her colleagues progressively to fill in the blanks. Senator Martin Heinrich directs questions to Prof. Small regarding the lack of evidence supporting inherent genetic differences leading to disparate economic outcomes. Murray is not named, but they are of course talking about him.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney was the first to call out Murray by name. She makes a statement condemning Murrays infamous and offensive views about a womans capabilities. She wants Murray to be gone: [I]n my humble opinion, Congress should not give these ideas a platform in our committee, should not seek to elevate offensive claims that rely on spurious evidence.
For the slow learners out there who may have missed the action at Middlebury, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer and Michigan Senator Gary Peters added to the indictment of Murray. Beyer criticizes Senator Lee himself for inviting Murray to appear before the committee:
[T]hose racist luminaries whose ideas and policies would ideally be rejected by all 535 members of Congress often turn to pseudoscience to justify hatred and exploitation. Cognizant of this history we would hope we would do everything in our part to make a clean break with that foul part of our legacy as opposed to dressing it up in new clothes and returning it to these marble hallsIm dismayed thatthe decision to invite Charles Murray risks turning this hearing into a sideshow. I cannot imagine, Senator [Lee], a man of your intelligence and political acumen was unaware of the meaning and consequences of inviting Charles MurrayI dont believe that this committees time and resources should be used to burnish his reputation. After all, it was his unconstrained exercise of his constitutionally protected right of free speech that gave him his toxic reputation in the first place.
Beyer then called on Prof. Small to disparage The Bell Curve. Small dutifully complied.
Klobuchars prefatory disparagement of Murray culminated in these remarks by Senator Peters:
Before us today we have a witness who serves no purpose other than to bring divisiveness to this body. And while Im sure all of us here believe deeply in freedom of speech and expression as well as the need for Congress to seek a wide range of opinions and expertise, a witness who has promoted racist and sexist stereotypes is a needless distraction from what we need to be doing here. To have someone who holds these views elevated alongside actual policy experts before us today is disrespectful to our other witnesses and the members of the committee and the important topics that we have to discuss.
Joy Pullman has performed a service drawing attention to the story with quotes and video here (Klobuchar appears at about 47:00 of the video, Beyer at about 1:24:00, Peters at about 1:30:00).
Recall that Murray appeared before the committee by the invitation of the JEC, presumably (according to Beyers remarks) the invitation of Senator Lee. At no point was Murray invited to respond to the ignorant and cowardly attacks on him. At no point does Senator Lee speak up on Murrays behalf. The committee Democrats are beyond shame or regret, but whoever was responsible for the hearing owes Murray a profound apology.
Lest there be any doubt about Senator Klobuchars part in this production, let me add that I wrote her spokesman this past Thursday morning:
At the JEC hearing last week with the four witnesses including Charles Murray, who was attacked by the committee Democrats in series, Senator Klobuchar concluded: One troubling aspect of this hearing today are [sic] we are here to discuss a very important issue that impacts our society and I think there are many constructive ways we should examine the issue of social capital and its our responsibility to seek a wide range of expertise. I do want to express concern that I do not believe it is constructive to engage on this matter with individuals whose theories are drastically polarizing and have been discredited. I take it from the questions and comments of the committee Democrats who followed her that Senator Klobuchar was referring to Murray. Will you please, confirm, deny or identify to whom she was referring before the close of business today?
I have received no response from Senator Klobuchars spokesman.
Reuters reports that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark Ramadan. Reuters cites two U.S. officials.
The State Department has been hosting such dinners for two decades. The practice began in 1998 under Madeleine Albright.
Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan. He called it a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection. Most importantly, he added, it is a cherished time for family and friends to gather and give charity to those who are less fortunate.
One might think that this statement pays sufficient tribute to the holiday. However, former U.S. diplomat Farah Pandith, who helped plan Ramadan events at the White House and State Department under past administrations, complained that if Tillerson declines to host a Ramadan shindig, it might send a message that it is not as important to this administration to engage with Muslims.
Or, assuming that the State Department doesnt host events to celebrate the holidays of other major religions, it might send a message that the administration is neutral as among religions like Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc.
In point of fact, the administration just engaged extensively with Muslims. The first and most publicized part of President Trumps trip abroad was all about this.
But theres engagement and theres engagement. The Obama administration was too engaged with certain Muslims. It farmed out a chunk of the war on domestic terrorism to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an outfit that reportedly raises money for Hamas and that the government named it an unindicted co-conspirator in a major terrorism case. The Obama administration engaged with CAIR, in part, through the Countering Violent Extremism program (CVE). I discussed this program here.
Under Obama, CAIR wielded tremendous power and managed to bully law enforcement agencies at the local, state and federal level to alter counterterrorism training materials deemed by the group to discriminate against Muslims. Judicial Watch described that power here. For example, the FBI was required to purge anti-terrorism training curricula of material determined to be offensive to Muslims. (Robert Mueller was the director who acceded to this demand). Ive heard FBI agents complain that the purge hurt the agencies ability to identify terrorists and combat terrorism.
If the Trump administration reverses this course, the State Department can host as many Ramadan events as CAIR wants, as far as Im concerned.
I fear, though, that the Obama-era obsequiousness to CAIR will survive, albeit less starkly, the Trump administration. Indeed, there are signs that the State Department may hold a Ramadan event this year, after all.
A spokesperson told Reuters: We are still exploring possible options for observance of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan. According to this source, Eid al-Fitr commemorates of the date in 624 when Muslim armies defeated infidel forces on the field of battle in the Battle of Badr. Supposedly, Muslim forces were greatly outnumbered, but heavenly angels came down to earth to help them defeat a non-Muslim Arab force in this important battle. The battle is said to mark a turning point for Islam its shift from preaching to fighting as the most effective way to spread the religion, i.e, the end of its time as a religion of peace.
Tillerson will have taken a step backwards if the State Department celebrates Eid al-Fitr.
The Lancet is a renowned medical journal headquartered in England. The current issue includes an article on Venezuela, titled Data reveal state of Venezuelan health system. The data in question come from the Venezuelan government, after two years in which it released no reports. No doubt the picture the government paints is, if anything, optimistic. Still, the facts are grim:
Maternal and infant mortality have skyrocketed in Venezuela in the past 2 years, and diphtheria and malaria, diseases that were once controlled, are on the rise according to data released by the countrys Ministry of Health. The epidemiological data show that maternal mortality rose by about 9% between 2014 and 2015, then jumped by nearly 66% by the end of 2016-with 756 deaths. Infant mortality rose by about 30% between 2015 and 2016-11,466 deaths in 2016-according to government figures.
The country is on its eighth health minister since 2013. I dont think personnel is the issue.
Its very sad. We dont even have an aspirin tablet in stock, said Ivan Machado, chief of cardiology at University Hospital of Caracas. The Venezuelan Institute of Palliative care published a letter on May 11 that reported the country had run out of all classes of analgesics, and doctors are incapable of alleviating pain for patients. Doctors took to the streets on May 17 to protest the shortages.
The situation in hospitals is bleak:
Doctors describe hospitals without functioning equipment, basic medicines, or even running water, and laboratories without reagents.
***
The University Hospitals cardiology unit, which usually does 100 catheterisations and 30 open heart surgeries per month, has done only 30 catheterisations and 20 open heart surgeries so far this year, Machado said. Several operating rooms are out of service and vital equipment is idle for lack of replacement parts.
Young doctors are leaving Venezuela in droves, seeking better opportunities elsewhere:
Venezuela is haemorrhaging doctors, especially young ones. Thousands of doctors are thought to have left the country, leaving the system short-staffed. By the time his medical students reach their fourth year, Castro said, 60% of the class will have emigrated.
Their devotion to the state is apparently insufficient.
The Lancet refers to Venezuelas political and economic crisis, but never mentions the key word, socialism. This is the point I want to make: neither Venezuelan reformers nor the Lancet seem to understand the role of socialism in the collapse of Venezuelas health care system, along with the rest of its economy:
Duran and others are calling for a health emergency to be declared in the country, which is wracked by a political and economic crisis. This would allow the import of medicines, while pharmaceutical plants, which have been idle for years, can begin producing again. International organisations, however, say they cannot act without the governments approval. So far, the regime of president Nicolas Maduro has been silent. Health shouldnt be politicised, Duran said. Health has nothing to do with ideology. Health is a right.
But in a socialist country, everything is politicized. Thats the point of socialismwhere everything is controlled by the government, everything is politicized.
Mr. Duran is correct in this respect: in Venezuela, health is a right, as provided by Article 83 of the Constitution:
Article 83: Health is a fundamental social right and the responsibility of the State, which shall guarantee it as part of the right to life.
A socialist government can guarantee health, but a socialist economy cant perform competently enough to supply hospitals with running water, let alone the tools needed for sophisticated medical care. The reality is, if you want your people to die miserably, you should socialize your health care system.
Pretty much everyone understands that socialism is a lousy way to produce cars, television sets, cell phones, and so on. Yet for some reason, there are lots of people who think health care should be socialized because it is fair. That is the position of pretty much the entire Democratic Party. If you think it is fair for children to die at birth or from malnutrition, diphtheria, malaria and the like, and for hospitals to shut down for lack of working equipment, then, yes, socialism is the system for you. (It isnt entirely fair, of course, because those who run the socialist system generally become billionaires while others starve.)
Venezuelas experience shows that socialism is just as disastrous for health care as it is for every other industry, regardless of what the government purports to guarantee. Why on Earth would any American want to copy the Venezuelan example by bringing socialism (single payer) to the United States health care system?
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Patna, May 27 (TheBiharPost/IBNS): Maoists in India have handed down adeath penaltya to the judge who awarded death sentence to their five colleagues on Thursday.
The rebels took this decision after holding a Jun Adalat (peoples court) on Friday, a local media reported on Saturday quoting a spokesperson of Bihar-Jharkhand Zonal Committee Laljit Koda.
Maoists were awarded death sentence by judge Jyoti Swarup Srivastava for killing two CRPF jawans during the last 2014 Lok Sabha polls. The death sentence was handed out by the Munger district court in Bihar on Thursday.
In view of this threat, the security of the judge has been beefed up, reports added.
The rebels have also given a call for two-day bandh (shutdown) on May 28 and 29 in eastern Bihar to protest the death sentence given to their colleagues.
As per reports, a police team had gone on patrolling in the Jamui LS constituency during the 2014 polls when their vehicle was attacked by rebels.
Subsequently, two jawans died in the incident while seven others sustained injuries.
(thebiharpost.com)
Africa is undeterred by the failures of the past and the continent is motivated by the incredible energy and talent of its bustling youthful population, according to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo.
Mr. Osinbajo spoke Saturday at the G7 Summit special outreach forum on Africa with selected African nations and leaders including Nigeria, Guinea, Tunisia, Niger, Ethiopia and Kenya.
According to him, Africa is confident of the future because we have learnt,we are investing more in education, insisting on good governance and holding ourselves to account.
But the greatest reason for our optimism is in the incredible energy, talent and creativity of our young people, male and female who are completely undeterred by the failures of the past and are daily taking advantage of innovation and technology bringing about the Africa of our dreams, the Acting President stated.
While assuring the G7 countries of Africas increasing collaboration as never before in trade, counter terrorism and strengthening democracy, Prof Osinbajo commended the seven most industrialized nations of world for their support in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism, especially the US, France and the United Kingdom as effective partners in the Lake Chad basin, citing the successes of our joint intelligent unit which has provided useful and timely intelligence in the war against terrorism.
On the progress made so far in the country, Prof Osinbajo highlighted that there is massive increase in rice yield over the past two years, distribution of fertilizer subsidies to farmers, who have also benefited from an e-wallet system which guaranteed that the subsidies actually gets to the farmers.
Continuing, he said the N-Power programme which has started engaging some of the up to five hundred thousand young previously unemployed graduates installmentally as teachers, agricultural extension workers and public health professionals is a breakthrough in mass post-tertiary education.
He said the participants were recruited online in all states in the nation mostly using mobile phones, adding that participants were soon to receive their electronic tablet devices and can access an N-Power portal that contain required training materials for acquisition of more skills to carry out their duties.
Other world leaders including from the African Union, Chairman of the African Union, United Nations, OECD, IMF, AfDB and World Bank were at the summit, besides leaders of the G7 countries.
On the entourage of the acting president were Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyema, Special Adviser to the on Economic Matters, Yemi Dipeolu, the Nigeria Charge d Affairs in Italy, Bisi Meshioye.
The acting president has since returned to Nigeria.
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The Nigerian Presidency has released a series of file photographs of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The images, taken by Mr. Buharis personal photographer, Bayo Omoboriowo, were circulated to the media, including PREMIUM TIMES, in commemoration of Childrens Day, marked on May 27 every year.
The pictures were sent with the caption: File photos of President Muhammadu Buhari and children on the occasion of Childrens Day 2017.
Let little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God.
Pictures of the jolly grandfather and the little ones were taken at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The presidency did not indicate when the pictures, showing Mr. Buhari displaying love and affection for kids, were taken.
The President is currently in London for medical treatment.
It is unclear how much progress he has made in his treatment, and when he will return to Nigeria.
An embassy source in London recently told PREMIUM TIMES Mr. Buharis condition had improved significantly, but that only his physicians can determine when he will return home, and to work.
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Security operatives have taken over the All Progressives Congress secretariat in Lagos following an outbreak of violence that erupted during the local government election primaries.
Angry party members invaded the venue as aggrieved party members protested the announcement of candidates endorsed by the party leadership.
Ballot boxes and chairs were destroyed in the ensuing melee prompting armed security operatives to seal off the venue.
Details later.
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Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and his predecessor, Namadi Sambo, on Saturday disagreed over the role played by present and past Kaduna governors in a water project in Zaria, commissioned by Mr. Osinbajo.
Represented at the event by the national chairman of the All Progressives Congress, John Oyegun, the acting president had claimed the project had lingered for 16 years but was speedily completed by Governor Nasir El-Rufai in two years.
But the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the 150 million liters per day multi-billion water project was initiated by Mr. Sambo in 2008 when he was governor of the north western state.
Mr. Osinbajos representative described Mr. El-Rufai as one of the most visionary governors the party has produced.
I am glad on behalf of the party, it took an APC governor just two years to complete a project that has been in slumber for over 16 solid years, he was quoted by NAN as saying.
I want to specially thank our host, the governor of Kaduna State, this is one of the showcase examples of what an APC government is all about, he said.
He described the invitation of Mr. Sambo to witness the inauguration as a demonstration of good will of the state government.
But Mr. Sambo struck back in his speech, telling the audience that while Mr. E-Rufais effort was commendable, the project had not gone beyond where he left it seven years ago.
The former vice president however said the event would bring an end to water scarcity in Zaria which had been on for over 40 years.
He urged the benefiting communities to make judicious use of the project and to protect it against vandalism.
The first part of the project inaugurated by Mr. Osinbajo would supply water to Zaria and Sabongari Local Government Areas.
NAN reports that, when fully completed, the Zaria water supply project would also be extended to Giwa, Kudan, Makarfi, Soba and Kubau local government areas.
To facilitate the project, the Federal Government constructed the Galma dam which has 186.1 million cubic metres of water to provide raw water to Zaria water treatment plant.
The state government also secured funding from the African Development Bank and the other financial institutions.
Gov. El-Rufai described the inauguration of the project as a fulfilment of one his major promises during electioneering campaign.
This water treatment plant is an important component of the Zaria water supply expansion project that Kaduna State Government is executing with the support of Federal Government, AFDB, IDB, he said.
The governor explained that the state government funded the construction of the new water plant, transmission mains and service reservoirs, and also rehabilitated and extended the distribution network.
According to him, the project will improve public health and standard of living, enhance investment and commercial activities, as well as create jobs, improve livelihood and reduce poverty.
The ADB approved a credit facility of $101 million in 2012 for the rehabilitation and extension of distribution network of the project. (NAN)
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The immediate past attorney-general of the federation, Mohammed Adoke, who is facing corruption charges, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja to declare his prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, illegal.
In the suit asking the court to determine the constitutionality of a serving minister exercising executive power through a presidential directive, Mr. Adoke said his involvement in the Malabu Oil deal was limited to carrying out the directive of former president, Goodluck Jonathan.
Named as the sole defendant in the suit was his successor, Abubakar Malami.
Mr. Adoke is accused by the EFCC of aiding the transfer of money to his co-defendant, Dan Etete, himself a former petroleum minister and conspiring with him to commit money laundering offences in the infamous $1.1 billion Malabu Oil scam.
But in originating summons to his counter-suit, which was signed by 11 lawyers led by Kanu Agabi and two other senior lawyers, Mr. Adoke asked the court to determine whether by virtue of sections 5(1), 147(1), 148(1) and 150(1) of the 1999 Constitution a serving minister of the country can perform the executive power of federation vested on the president as directed by the president.
Section 5(1) of the Constitution deals with the executive power of the President and how such powers can be exercise or delegated.
Section 147(1) and 148(1) outlines the duties and responsibilities of ministers and how those responsibilities are exercised in accordance with the wishes of the president while Section 150 (1) specifically deals with the responsibilities of the AGF.
Mr. Adoke prayed the court to declare that his involvement in the negotiation between the Nigerian government and Malabu Oil and gas Limited, Shell, Nigeria national Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Agip in the matter of OPL 245 was in furtherance of the lawful directive/approval of the president in the exercise of his powers.
The former AGF also asked the court to declare that any correspondence he had with J.P Morgan (the back which transferred the money to Mr. Etete) and any other entity and ancillary actions and processes taken in respect to the Malabu oil deal was in obedience to the lawful directive of the president in the exercise of his executive power.
He further asked the court to declare that his prosecution by the EFCC in respect of Malabu deal on the account of carrying out the presidents directive was illegal, null and void and in breach of Section 5 (1) of the Constitution.
Lastly, he asked the court to declare that he cannot be held personally liable for carrying out lawful directive/approval of the president while he served as a minister.
In the affidavit filed in support of the originating summons, Mr. Adoke traced the evolution of the deal from 2006 until 2010 when Mr. Jonathan approved the transfer of the oil block to Mr. Etete maintaining that his role in the deal was shaped by former presidents directives.
That at all time material the plaintiff carried out the Presidential directive diligently, faithfully, impartially and in good faith and without any personal gain to himself nor to any other person except as was agreed to by the known parties to the parties.
The plaintiff verily believes that he did not exceed the directives/ approval given to him by the President and did nothing wrong to warrant his prosecution on account of the implementation of the Settlement Agreement, the affidavit stated.
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The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), in Kogi State has called on Governor Yahaya Bello to resign for registering twice for permanent voter card.
A Senator, Dino Melaye, made the call on behalf of the party at a news briefing in Abuja on Friday.
The chairman of the APC in Kogi, Hadi Ametuo, agreed with Mr. Melaye, adding that it was the position of the party.
Mr. Melaye said the people of Kogi State and the party were dissociating themselves from the act and called on Mr. Bello to resign immediately or risk impeachment.
This executive recklessness and impunity is what we are reacting to.
We are saying that as stakeholders in Kogi politics and the All Progressives Congress (APC), we condemn in its entirety the fraudulent behaviour of Yahaya Bello, the executive governor of Kogi State.
This criminal behaviour has embarrassed the people of Kogi state and the APC. We dissociate ourselves from this criminal behaviour.
Kogi people are responsible people and we expect to have a responsible governor. As at the time he was contesting that election, it showed that he was not a registered voter in Kogi state.
Since he knew he was not registered in the state, why did he in the first place accept the candidacy of the party?
So, on this note, we are calling immediately for the resignation of the governor because a criminal awaiting trial cannot be representing the people of Kogi state as governor.
If he has integrity, he should honourably resign and if the governor refuses to resign, we are going to mobilise our members in the House of Assembly to start an impeachment process against him.
We will do this because we have a valid point as expressed by INEC, he said.
Mr. Melaye further said that besides the move for impeachment, Kogi citizens would be mobilised to stage peaceful protest in strategic locations across the country should he refuse to resign.
He said the people would be mobilised to INECs head office, the national secretariat of APC and strategic locations in Lokoja to protest, adding that power belonged to the people.
The lawmaker emphasised that the governors action was an embarrassment to the state and the party.
He has disgraced the party we are so proud of; he has disgraced the people of Kogi state enough by not paying salaries.
Our people are dying. This 419 entrant into government should cease and we are going to follow it to the letter.
This will give the APC electoral deficit in 2019 if we did not separate Yahaya Bello from the APC.
We will not allow him to destroy this platform because it is still useful to many of us because we want to use it in 2019.
He must be honourable enough to step aside because he who must go to equity must come with clean hands.
INEC said it contravenes the provisions of the Electoral Act and that he has committed a crime and because of his immunity they cannot prosecute him now.
INEC said the second registration has been cancelled and that the officer who went to conduct the registration will face disciplinary action.
INEC also said Government House Lokoja is not a designated local government registration centre, meaning the governor must have taken INEC to Government House either through corruption, coercion or through diabolic means, he said.
The chairman of APC in Kogi, Hadi Ametuo, agreed with Mr. Melaye, adding that it was the position of the party.
He said, We know the law and INEC says it is criminal. We will abide by what Melaye has just said. That is our position.
The call for the governors resignation came on the heels of a statement from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), saying Mr. Bello registered twice to vote.
INEC, in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday, accused Mr. Bello of double registration for Permanent Voter Card in contravention of the Electoral Act.
The statement was issued by Solomon Soyebi, INEC National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee.
The statement noted that Mr. Bello had his first registration on Jan. 30, 2011 in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja and the second registration on Tuesday, May 23, at the Government House, Lokoja.
It further noted that the Government House was outside the designated centre for the ongoing nationwide Continuous Voter Registration.
(NAN)
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It was an embarrassing scene at a local church in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Wednesday, when the wife of the founder and pastor of the church openly informed worshippers that her husband was not just living an adulterous life but had impregnated a female member of the church.
The pastors wife, Idongesit Ese, was prevented from entering the auditorium of Kairos Rhema Embassy. But she defiantly stood at the church premises to tell her story.
I want every man and woman who has conscience in this church to ask my husband why he is doing this to me, why would he be sleeping with a young girl who came to seek counseling and prayers from him, Mrs. Ese said with teary eyes to a handful of churchgoers who gathered around her.
I caught my husband in a hotel having sex with Evelyn Etim, a member of our church. As I speak to you, Evelyn has given birth to a baby boy and she is living in Eket with my husband.
Ms. Etim, accused of having an affair with the pastor, could not be reached.
Nsikanabasi Ese, the pastor of Kairos, may have had a hint of the wifes intention, it seemed. As soon as the wife stepped out of the car and walked up to the front of the church, a dozen of young men said to be hired thugs accosted her and told her that she did not have the pastors permission to attend the church service.
The incident occurred around 12 noon at Bassey Esau Street, off Aka Itiam, where the church is located.
Witnesses told PREMIUM TIMES that they saw one of the thugs slap the pastors wife.
Mr. Ese is the same pastor who, some weeks ago, knocked down a customs officer on a highway in Akwa Ibom while trying to evade duties check, as reported by this newspaper.
Journalists who went to cover Wednesdays incident in Mr. Nsikanabasis church, were violently attacked by the thugs, despite the fact that they were driving in a bus that had the name and logo of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ, on it. One journalist had his shirt torn. Another was beaten with a club.
The situation became a bit calm when policemen arrived.
The pastors wife, Mrs. Ese, now being more relaxed, brought out photos from her handbag and showed them around to buttress her points. She showed people a photo of herself with a bloodied face.
Thats when my husband, so called man of God, beat me and hit me with his car and ran away with Evelyn Etim when I caught them in the hotel, she explained.
She also displayed a photo of a young woman whom she said was that of the alleged intruder, Evelyn Etim.
I want members of the church to know why I havent been attending programmes in the church, Mrs. Ese said. Many people have been calling my telephone line to inform me that my husband lied to the congregation that I traveled out of the country.
This is the moment of truth. Let the people know what has been going on in my marriage and in the church. I believed and trusted this man with my whole life. I am still asking myself one question, is this the same man who once woke me up late in the night, stood stark naked before me, poured anointing all on his head and swore that God should destroy him and his ministry the day he sleeps with any woman other than his wife!
Mrs. Ese said she was pregnant for the pastor but that the baby died mysteriously in her womb two days to delivery some three years ago.
The programme that was going on in Kairos on the day of the incident was a special emergency deliverance service with the theme One of Us Is in Trouble.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr. Ese sneaked out of the pulpit through the backdoor to an unknown destination when the commotion outside became intense. The congregation became uneasy, but the guest minister, Rufus Willie, senior pastor, Living Fire Ministries, Eket, who was delivering the sermon persuaded them to remain calm.
God should be feared. When this programme was fixed and a theme was given for it, nobody knew what would happen today .. Truly, one of us is in trouble, a woman who was in the congregation quoted Mr. Willie as saying during the service.
Mr. Ese did not respond to requests from reporters for comment on the issue.
An assistant pastor of the Church, Timaro Christo, told a reporter that he was going to make available to journalists a telephone contact of the church spokesperson. But he did not as at the time of filing this report.
According to some persons who claimed to have spoken with Mr. Ese, the pastor was accusing the wife of having lied to him about her age and her level of education.
The pastor has filed for divorce in a customary court in the state, PREMIUM TIMES learned.
A clergyman, identified as Moses, who stood in as Mr. Eses father during his traditional marriage, told PREMIUM TIMES that he was disappointed with what was happening in the pastors five-year-old marriage.
He (Mr. Ese) didnt give me any vital reason why he should divorce the wife, he just said the woman is harsh, the woman is this. I said to him, have you reported to me since I came and signed as a father to you (during the marriage ceremony), have you brought the woman to say this is what the woman did?
I told him since youve never brought the woman to tell me this is what she has done wrong, I am not in support of your divorce, Mr. Moses said.
I dont believe that Nsikanabasi is called by God. I have told him and his mother not to come to my house anymore, he said.
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Anti-narcotic officials with Seme Border Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) Lagos have intercepted 5,863 kilogrammes of compressed dried weeds that tested positive for cannabis.
The illicit drug consignments originating from the republic of Ghana through the water ways were seized in two separate operations at Badagry, Lagos State, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
Four suspected drug traffickers including a Ghanaian were also apprehended in connection with the seized drugs, worth N60 million according to the agency, while two vehicles used in conveying the drug have been impounded.
NDLEA commander at Seme Border, Udotong Essien, said the twin shipment of cannabis were made within 48 hours.
The first consignment of cannabis weighing 3,525kg was discovered in a clandestine warehouse where a Ghanaian and two female Nigerians were apprehended, said Mr. Essien.
The suspects are a 38-year-old Ghanaian, Adoboe Nana Shelter as well as two female Nigerians Falilat Sadiq, and Mary Ige Joseph both 39 years old.
The following day, the Command made a similar seizure of cannabis weighing 2,338kg being smuggled in a bus meant for distribution in Lagos. A male suspect, Bola Adigun, was equally arrested in respect of the second seizure.
The NDLEA said the criminal group specialises in smuggling compressed cannabis through the water ways into the country and use yellow commercial bus to supply to dealers within Lagos. They also use ladies who pretend to be legitimate traders conveying their wares to preferred destinations, the agency added.
The Ghanaian who claimed to be a fisherman said in his statement that he illegally imported cannabis into the country because of the anticipated financial gain involved.
I am a fisherman from Volta region in Ghana, he said.
A friend introduced me into hemp business because of the profit. The two women work with me in distributing the drug in Lagos. This is my first arrest and I promise to quit drug trafficking if released.
The NDLEA Chairman, Muhammad Abdallah, in his reaction described the seizures as a victory against the activities of drug trafficking syndicates working at Seme border.
I am very pleased with the latest seizure by Seme border command, said Mr. Abdallah, a retired colonel.
The illicit activities of the criminal group has been closely monitored by undercover officers until it was expedient to intercept the drugs. This is a sweet victory for the Agency and a demonstration of our capacity to dislodge drug trafficking groups in the country.
We are taking legal steps to sanction those arrested for smuggling the drugs and also forfeit both the warehouse and vehicles used in conveying the drugs. These are essential elements in ensuring absolute dismantling of drug trafficking cartels. Let me warn that the entire border and water ways are under our watch to uncover drug smuggling and prosecute offenders in accordance with the NDLEA Act.
The NDLEA boss urged security agencies to collaborate towards a common goal of enhancing national security. He also called on members of the public to report suspected drug activities in their neighbourhood to the Agency for prompt action.
The agency said the suspects would soon be charged to court.
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The Nigerian Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, has assembled a team to implement the Execute Order issued by acting President Yemi Osinbajo on the procurement of information technology products and services by federal government establishments.
The Director-General of the agency, Isa Ali Pantami, disclosed this in a press statement.
Mr. Osinbajo, had on May 18 issued the Executive Order to Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, of the Federal Government to support local content in procurement of IT products and services.
In compliance with the Federal Governments directive that MDAs and all other institutions of the Federal Government planning to embark on IT projects must obtain clearance from NITDA, the Agency has assembled a team of experts charged with supporting MDAs with advice and guidance throughout the IT procurement process, Mr. Pantami said in the statement.
Mr. Pantami called on MDAs to comply with the Executive Order on Support for Local Content in IT Procurement.
He noted that the order is aimed at mitigating waste and mismanagement of government funds as well as ensuring that procurement of goods and services are in line with the national development goals.
Mr. Pantami further disclosed that NITDA was strengthening its strategy to foster patronage of indigenous IT products and services in Nigeria.
He said the strategy will make Nigerian IT products viable and promote a Local-Content-First policy in IT procurement by government establishments.
He disclosed that NITDA has invested in building IT hubs, and incubation and acceleration centres around the country, and is partnering with private IT hubs to identify and accelerate innovative IT solutions crafting policies and guidelines that will make the Nigerian environment conducive for IT business.
The Director-General appealed to MDAs and other stakeholders in the IT sector to support the Agency in this strategy so as to help boost the local IT industry, create new markets as well as deepen existing ones, and accelerate information technology penetration and adoption in all government services in Nigeria for better service delivery.
NITDA was established to implement the Nigerian Information Technology Policy and co-ordinate general IT development and regulation in the country.
Specifically, Section 6(l) of the NITDA Act mandates the agency to render advisory services in all information technology matters to the public and private sectors.
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The trial of the suspended Supreme Court Justice, Sylvester Ngwuta, continued on Friday amidst a controversy over the actual amount of funds recovered from the judges residence.
Mr. Ngwuta is among seven judges whose homes were raided by operatives of the State Security Service in October 2016.
The SSS had explained that it carried out the raid as part of investigations into allegations of fraud perpetrated by the judges, and that it recovered large sums of money in local and foreign currencies.
An operative of the SSS, John Utazi, who testified in court regarding the recovered funds had told a Federal High Court in Abuja that the amount of money recovered was N35.3 million in local currencies while large sums in foreign denomination were also found at Mr. Ngwutas residence.
The judge, John Tsoho, had earlier ordered that the recovered funds be kept in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
When the matter was called on Friday, Mr. Tsoho drew the attention of the prosecution to the fact that the amount said to have been recorded as local currencies differed from what the court arrived at, after counting the money.
Mr. Tsoho said the money was short by over N22, 000 when it was counted following the order made by his court.
In an attempt to explain the reason for the difference, the prosecution counsel, Olufemi Fatunde, said she had had been told that the money was calculated using counting machines.
The witness, Mr. Utazi, however insisted that what he had stated to court, was what the SSS found.
The case was adjourned till July 3, for further hearing.
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Jamshedpur May 27 (IBNS): Tata Steel employee Hemant Gupta, who was steadily progressing towards the Summit in his Everest expedition, has conquered Mount Everest at 6.25 am this morning as per the report received from Ground Zero.
Hemant Gupta (27 Yrs.) completed his B. Tech in Metallurgical Eng & Material Science from IIT Bombay in 2011 and joined Tata Steel as a Management Trainee in Tata Steels new plant in Kalinganagar Orissa.
As a MT, he had undertaken TSAF Outdoor Leadership Course in Uttarkashi Himalaya.
His first tryst with adventure came through his successfully completing the one month Basic Mountaineering Course from the National Mountaineering Institute in Manali.
TSAF thereafter included him in the TSAF organized Chamser Kangri Expedition in which he reached upto 21100 ft. His love for adventure made him join the Adventure Programme Dept. in Sept. 2013.
Since then he has climbed Mt Aconcagua (22860 ft) - Highest peak of America (one of the seven summits) in 2015, Mt Bhagirathi II (21310 ft) in Gangotri region, Climbed Island Peak (20400ft) in Nepal, Mt Kanamo (19600ft) in Spiti Valley of HP Himalaya
Payo Murmu, another employee of Tata Steel, who was also on this expedition with Hemant Gupta was not able to make the final attempt towards the Summit due to inclement weather. Both the mountaineers are expected to be back at Base Camp by tomorrow.
At the start of the expedition, Bachendri Pal, Chief Adventure Programm, Tata Steel had said, Everest has always represented the epitome of challenge of human endeavor, of leadership, of knowing ones strengths and weaknesses, of being humble in ones approach and of testing ones capabilities. All the skills learnt not only help one in surmounting mountains in Himalaya but also in their real life, thereby making them better individuals benefitting them and the organization or community they work for. Tata Steel believes in empowering people and its continuous effort in this direction is seen through the two employees making the attempt this summer.
The government of Yobe State on Friday began the distribution of food to residents in the 17 local government areas of the state as the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan starts Saturday.
Several trucks transported grains on Friday to local government areas.
The handout was shared from the reserve of grains and other related consumables that came to the state from donation to victims of Boko Haram.
The distribution was coordinated by the states committee on Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement of Boko Haram victims, which is chaired by the state deputy governor, Ali Abubakar, in conjunction with the State Emergency Management Agency, SEMA.
Yobes Commissioner for Education, Mohammed Lamin, who said the governor, Ibrahim Gaidam, had directed that all food donations made to the state be evacuated and distributed to the people rather than keeping them in the store.
He said the governors decision was to ensure that sufficient food quantities reached all parts of the state during the Muslim lent period.
The supply will bring succour and alleviate the dire need of the people, which is food, he said.
On how the food would get to the right people, the commissioner said the government had put up a committee at the local government level which involves all the Sharia committee chairmen, groups of disabled people, and members of the vulnerable groups so that the food gets to all segments of the society.
He warned that the government would not tolerate diversion of food by any official.
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The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) has approved a flat rate of N1,535,505 as the Hajj fare for Kaduna State intending pilgrims for 2017 hajj in Saudi Arabia.
The public relations officer of Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare of the Board, Yunusa Abdullahi, made the known in a statement on Saturday.
He said a letter sent to the board by the NAHCON explained that the Hajj fare was arrived at after computation of all hajj components, including accommodation in Makkah and Madinah.
Mr. Abdullahi explained that all pilgrims were to receive $800 as Basic Travelling Allowance, since no provision was made for minimum and maximum hajj fares as practised in the past.
Already prospective pilgrims from the state have made deposits of between N800,000 and N1.2 million with the board.
NAHCON has appointed Jaiz Bank Plc to collect N38,000 from the intending pilgrims for the hadaya (sacrificial ram) fees through the board and would later remit same to the designated accounts of Jaiz Bank Plc.
All the intending pilgrims are expected to obtain customized bank teller at their respective Local Government registration centres before making the payment.
The overseer of the Kaduna Board, Hussaini Tsoho, urged the intending pilgrims to hasten payment as the process of acquiring visa would soon commence.
He said there is the need to pay the balance of the fare to the NAHCON on schedule.
According to him, defaulters risk forfeiting their chance to make the trip, because NAHCON has also fixed deadline for remittance of the fare.(NAN)
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Pres. Duda's address at the GLOBSEC 2017
Forum in Bratislava (full text)
Honourable Mr. President, Honourable Madam President, Dear Friends, Eminent Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen! I am grateful for this invitation and the opportunity to address the GLOBSEC 2017 Forum here in Bratislava.
Organised for over a decade now, this extremely important event now gathers politicians, diplomats and international affairs experts from entire Europe and the world. This meeting and its debates have become a tradition. Today, in addressing the key contemporary issues of security and stability, I wish to focus on the global position of our part of the world, Central Europe.
Eminent Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The value of cooperation in this region, our region lying between the Baltic, Adriatic and Black seas, has doubtless been rising steadily since we threw off the yoke of communist enslavement, since we again became fully independent countries, since we are a part of the Western world. In my belief, this growth contributes fruitfully to building global peace, political trust and economic stability. In practice this is especially visible in two cooperation formulas existing between the countries of Central Europe, including my country, Poland, and to which I personally have given great weight since the onset of my presidency.
The first formula involves cooperation within the North Atlantic Alliance, NATO, between a group of eastern flank countries known as the Bucharest Nine, the second is cooperation in development and cohesion on the EU platform, which has taken the shape of the Three Seas initiative. Here I would like to strongly stress that Poland wants to be a keystone and active participant of both of these regional cooperation formats within the two basic Euro-Atlantic organisations - the European Union and NATO.
Poland sees this as a strategic task of international policy, but at the same time a logical consequence of its EU and NATO membership. Poland wants to co-build the Euro-Atlantic community through regional community. For Poland, Central Europe is a natural political environment. Thus we want it to be secure, coherent and economically dynamic.
At the same time, Poland strongly wants NATO as well as the EU to remain a unity. Just as security is indivisible within NATO, also the development of Europe has sense only if it remains an entity.
As I said at the security conference in Munich "if the West is to be strong, then it will be strong only thanks to its unity, if it is to collapse it shall fall divided". Poland also wants the Euro-Atlantic community to remain, thanks to our region's contribution, a community open to new countries.
Being an advocate of the EU's and NATOs open door" policy is a very import task for Central Europe. It is in the best interest of our part of Europe not to become a permanent border region, but to expand Euro-Atlantic ties eastwards and southwards. This is why we argue for the expansion of stability. Last year's NATO summit in Warsaw was a vital step towards achieving our goals.
At the time, we made breakthrough decisions on strengthening of the entire NATO alliance's defence capabilities, and its further adjustment to 21st century challenges. In our decisions we were guided by the so called 360-degree principle. It means the indivisibility of security in the NATO countries. Its assurance should be the priority of all NATO members regardless of their geographical location. The Central-European countries have shown they learnt this important rule of building world peace.
Before the NATO summit, Poland together with Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, decided to consolidate cooperation within the "Bucharest Nine." Despite differences in national security concepts, we agreed on several fundamental defence policy issues.
Among them, the conviction about the indispensability of strengthening NATO's eastern flank through the deployment of the NATO countries' battalion groups in the Baltic Sea region within the enhanced forward presence, and raising NATO military presence in Central and East Europe and in the Black Sea region within the so called tailored forward presence. Thus as a region we have offered solidary answers to the question how to best ensure European peace and order.
However, this kind of solidarity would not exist without a sense of responsibility among the Central European countries. As reliable members of NATO and the European Union, we share the responsibility for global and European security.
We want to improve it basing on the expansion of non-aggressive deterrence and defence capabilities. We pursue this approach by, for instance, comprehensively modernising our own armies. We are increasing our defense expenditures, upgrading our military equipment, and expanding our territorial defence forces. In this way, Central Europe is trying to maximise security guarantees, optimise the military potential of its own armies and, naturally, minimise threats.
An important aspect of the message coming from Central Europe is that the region emphasises the importance of the international law towards which the respect we regard as a beacon in all international activities. For this reason, we are consistently calling for the cessation of aggression and for a peaceful resolution of all conflicts. We strongly oppose armed aggression. We are engaged in a global coalition against terrorism and the Islamic State. In the most conflict-ridden parts of the world we provide necessary humanitarian aid and training assistance.
Central Europe is not only a recipient, but let me accentuate it also a provider of security. Our region addresses this issue in a comprehensive manner. We do not limit ourselves to investing in the expansion of land, air and sea forces. Each country in the region participates in the development of missile defence systems. We are developing capabilities for the cybernetic protection of our states. We are counteracting hybrid threats, including disinformation. Our comprehensive approach to security is also evident in our activities as part of NATO whose centres of excellence are functioning effectively in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Hungary and Poland. Their main task is to better prepare the Alliance in areas such as security services, crisis management, strategic communication and energy security.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Eminent Guests,
We are all aware of the close correlation between our countries' security levels and the pace of their economic growth. Peace cannot be lastingly guaranteed without a well-functioning market. On the other hand, economic progress will certainly be halted when confronted by a realistic military threat.
The pace of economic growth depends on many factors, one of the most important of which is the accepted development model. In recent years we could see which markets proved most resilient to the crisis and slowdown in global and European economy. This was a time when the rationality of fundamental economic principles was put to a global test.
Central Europe passed this test. The countries located between the Adriatic, Baltic and Black seas showed resilience, stability and economic energy. Our countries successfully cut their budget deficit and public debt, and lowered their unemployment rate.
We remain a region that draws investment, in which enterprisers from Western Europe, Asia and America pursue their business with success. In recent times, alongside a marked rise in our mutual trade, we have also deepened economic ties with the western part of the Old Continent. Thanks to instruments like the European Union's cohesion funding we have moved closer to the high living standards of Western and Northern Europe.
This impressive transformation would not have been possible without the huge potential which distinguishes Central Europe. We know how to - and, I believe, we want to - make use of a number of assets our region possesses.
This is a catalogue of advantages which are decisive for our countries' rising economic position. Central Europe owes its place on the global economic map to its characteristic features - the geographic and cultural closeness of its countries, high discipline in public finances, and our societies' industriousness along with high skills. However, the modernisation of our economic systems is still an open process.
In view of the above I decided to make the Three Seas Initiative one of the priorities of my presidency. At this point I wish to stress very strongly that the initiative, which I have been overseeing from the very outset with the here-present Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, is not so much political as infrastructural and economic in character.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have established the Three Seas Initiative with the aim of creating an informal cooperation platform between Poland, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria and Austria. Our priority is to build infrastructural and economic cohesion on the North-South axis. This will complement the already advanced East-West relations and reinforce the positive effects of our EU membership.
This way, we want to be not just a beneficiary, but first of all a co-author of European unity. Unity expressed in a dense network of roads, railways, air connections and energy links. The success of the Three Seas Initiative will ensure the positive functioning of the European market and is to raise our region's credibility not only in the eyes of our European partners, but also globally. These issues will be debated at the upcoming second Three Seas Initiative Summit in Wroclaw this July.
We want the Three Seas to bear fruit in the form of raised innovativeness in our economies and societies. The pursuit of such ambitious goals requires continued cooperation between the Three Seas countries. This initiative is directed to many addressees - business circles, experts, local government, and state enterprise. This openness to different milieus is the DNA code of the Three Seas Initiative.
Eminent Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I notice a meaningful similarity between today's security talks here in Bratislava and Poland's July meeting, during which we will discuss economic growth. Regardless of which regionally crucial issues we take up, we are bound by the belief that a secure and subjective Central Europe is a significant stability and growth factor in the Euro-Atlantic world.
Therefore, I once again convey my thanks for inviting me to the GLOBSEC conference, and would like to direct your attention to the July Three Seas Initiative Summit in Wroclaw. We will therein be able to continue the debates initiated today, tjhe debates on the dynamic Central-European community, a community of aspirations and ambitions. (PAP)
"He was an eminent Polish national who went down in both nations' history", he added.
In a statement the president stressed that he had been deeply saddened to have learnt of Zbigniew Brzezinski's death.
"In his lifespan, Zbigniew Brzezinski greatly contributed to both Poland and the United States. His activity and commendable commitment to the victory of freedom over slavery, the victory of human rights and the rights of peoples over totalitarianism have inducted him into the tier of the most prominent Polish nationals who will be remembered in the history of both Peoples", wrote President Duda.
He recalled "the great role of Prof. Brzezinski in the confrontation with the Soviet Union during the Cold War, as well as his (...) support for Poland's efforts in accessing the North Atlantic Alliance".
"In these difficult times, I share Prof. Brzezinski's family's deep sorrow and I assure he remains in my prayers", added the President.
Earlier, the President tweeted: "Zbigniew Brzezinski has passed away - once Poland's voice in the White House, the voice of free Poland. For tireless advocacy of our freedom, we thank You!". (PAP)
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP With one new store already approved for a site along English Creek Avenue, Dollar General is expected to seek approval for a second location in the township at the June Planning Board meeting.
Dollar General, which filed the application under the company name of Egg Harbor (Zion) DG LLC, is seeking minor subdivision and preliminary and final site plan approval to build a 9,250-square-foot store at 455 Zion Road, which is currently a wooded lot with frontage on both Zion and Robert Best roads.
According to Laura Somerville, a corporate communications representative from Dollar General, the company is in the due diligence phase for the proposed location.
This means we are reviewing the opportunity to add a new store in the area, but we have not committed to doing so just yet. Based on our current timeline, we anticipate to have a final decision on this location by midsummer 2017, Somerville wrote in an email.
The closest current Dollar General is at 6701 Black Horse Pike, in the Cardiff Plaza, and a new store is set to open in early summer along Route 9 in Pleasantville.
In February, the township announced that a 9,300-square-foot Dollar General was approved for English Creek Avenue, just north of the intersection with West Jersey Avenue. The store will be replacing a single-family home on a 1.88-acre parcel in the neighborhood business zoning district. That store is anticipated to open in the fall, according to a township press release. No site work has begun at the English Creek location.
When asked about the expansion in Egg Harbor Township, Somerville said Dollar General customers tend to shop at stores that are conveniently located.
The company looks for places where we can offer customers an easy and convenient shopping choice. We know convenience is a major factor in our customers' shopping decisions as we generally serve customers within a 3-to 5-mile radius or 10-minute drive, she wrote. We also take demographic trends, competitive factors, traffic patterns and community concerns into consideration.
The parcel is located across the street from the Walgreens near the intersection of Ocean Heights Avenue and Zion Road. An engineering report filed in conjunction with the application suggested the intersection of Zion and Robert Best roads should be reconfigured to align with the Walgreens driveway, providing for better visibility and traffic flow around the site. The proposed entrance to the store would be located along Robert Best.
Dollar General stores sell merchandise such as health and beauty products, home cleaning supplies, housewares, stationery, seasonal items, basic clothing and packaged, refrigerated and frozen foods.
Each new store creates six to 15 jobs, Somerville wrote. Current employment opportunities and applications are available at dollargeneral.com/careers.
EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIPDebra Vizzi walked along rows of canned and boxed food at the Community FoodBank of New Jersey Southern Branch on a Monday afternoon.
Wearing a bubblegum pink tailored jacket and black slacks, Vizzi talked with employees in the food banks warehouse about their work and upcoming projects.
To an outsider, Vizzi, 53, looks the part of CEO with her refined appearance, confident demeanor and articulate speech. Most people wouldnt know she grew up hungry in foster care and, at times, out on the streets.
I know what its like to be a hungry child, she said. Here I am now, the CEO of the largest anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization in the state, and its because of this position that I get to share my story and let other kids know that you can make your lives useful.
Vizzi was given up for adoption at birth and grew up in group homes starting at 12 years old. At times, living in foster homes and shelters, Vizzi ran away when she was physically and sexually abused.
She was not adequately fed in those placements, she said, and her food access became worse while out on her own as a child on the streets of New York City.
I was going to soup kitchens and stuff like that, Vizzi said. They were serving food, but they werent engaging. Ive also had celiac disease since I was a kid and I wished when I went to a shelter or pantries that they would have helped provide specialized food to satisfy my health issue as well as my hunger.
The food bank, which is headquartered in Hillside, Union County, and has a southern branch in Egg Harbor Township, increases access to affordable, healthy food for low-income individuals and families.
The food bank distributed more than 43 million pounds of food through its brick and mortar pantries, mobile pantries and other feeding programs, according to the nonprofits 2016 report.
Vizzi, who became CEO in September 2015, helps oversee hundreds of monetary donations, thousands of food donations and a large network of employees and volunteers.
Its tough work, but Vizzi loves it, she said. After jumping from place to place growing up, Vizzi met a social worker who helped her grow and develop goals into her adulthood.
It was this social worker who inspired Vizzi to put herself through the State University College at Buffalo and Rutgers University to become a clinical social worker.
The troubling thing is that those scars from your past are not visible to the eye, she said. You cant see the residual effects, so one could argue that part of my evolution as CEO has been to be that voice, to make my story useful. It helps make sense out of the chaos and madness.
When Vizzi meets clients of the food bank who are looking for help to feed themselves and their families, she knows how theyre feeling and how important the food bank is in communities.
She and her own family have made vacation trips to the Cape May County beaches and she even lived in Brigantine for several years. Her time in South Jersey has taught her how prevalent childhood food insecurity is in this area of the state.
These counties we serve here are sometimes overlooked, Vizzi said. There are record numbers down here in food insecurity rates, people still struggling with residual effects from Hurricane Sandy and communities being affected by casino closures and a seasonal workforce.
In addition to improving existing programs and partnerships at the food bank, Vizzi said, she draws from her own experiences when looking into the future.
Her goals include expanding summer feeding programs, creating specialized pantries to better serve children and adults with food allergies and other digestive medical issues and to reduce stigma surrounding food assistance programs.
Vizzi knows what its like to live in poverty, without regular, healthy meals. She doesnt want others to go through what she did, but wants people to know if they do, they can still be successful in life.
We not only want to feed bellies, we want to feed the soul, she said. Feeding the hungry is a labor of love. Our task isnt a job, its a vocation.
In the same way for me, going from an abused foster child to CEO I didnt get there alone. As adults, we become the baton passers. People made me well enough to pass the torch on to help others.
New Delhi, May 27 (IBNS): President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday extended his greetings and felicitations to the Government and people of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the eve of their Republic Day.
In a message to Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Mukherjee said, On behalf of the Government and the people of India, I congratulate you and the people of the Republic of Azerbaijan on the occasion of your Republic Day."
"It is indeed a matter of satisfaction that the long-standing friendly relations between India and Azerbaijan have been strengthened and deepened in a wide range of areas. I am confident that our joint efforts to further expand our bilateral co-operation will pave the way for our closer partnership in new areas of our common interest," the Indian President said.
He said: "I take this opportunity to extend to Your Excellency my best wishes for your good health and success as well as for the progress and prosperity and progress of the friendly people of Azerbaijan."
WASHINGTON, May 26, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today called on President Trump to speak out personally against rising bigotry and acts of racial violence in America targeting Muslims and other minority groups after two people were stabbed to death in Oregon when they reportedly tried to intervene as a man yelled racist and Islamophobic slurs at two young Muslim women, one of whom wore an Islamic head scarf, or hijab.
Witnesses told one local media outlet that the suspect shouted about "hating Muslims" before being confronted. While the suspect's rants were not exclusively anti-Muslim, at some point the man directed his slurs at the two women who appeared to be of "Middle Eastern" heritage. One other passenger was injured in the incident, but is expected to survive. The suspect has not been named, but is described as a white man between the ages of 20 and 40.
SEE: 2 Killed in Stabbing on MAX Train as Man Directs Slurs at Muslim Women, Police Say
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2017/05/police_responding_to_ne_portla.html
Police Believe the Victims Were Defending Women in Hijabs
http://koin.com/2017/05/26/one-dead-in-stabbing-near-hollywood-tc/
Police: 2 Killed In MAX Train Stabbing After Suspect Directs Slurs at Women
http://www.kgw.com/news/crime/1-dead-2-injured-in-stabbing-at-hollywood-transit-center-in-ne-portland/443422022
"President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities," said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. "Only a strong statement from the nation's leader will send a message to bigots that such acts of violence targeting racial, ethnic or religious minorities are unacceptable."
Awad also urged local Muslim communities to step up security measures during the month-long fast of Ramadan, which began tonight.
CAIR is offering Muslim community leaders free copies of its booklet, "Best Practices for Mosque and Community Safety." The booklet may be requested through CAIR's website: http://www.cair.com/mosque-safety-guide.html
Earlier this week, CAIR condemned the murder of an African-American Bowie State University student by a suspect who is a member of a white supremacist group on Facebook called "Alt-Reich Nation."
SEE: CAIR Condemns Murder of Maryland College Student by Suspect with White Supremacist Links
https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14341-cair-condemns-murder-of-maryland-college-student-by-suspect-with-white-supremacist-links.html
CAIR recently released a report showing a 57 percent increase in anti-Muslim incidents in 2016 over the previous year. This spike in anti-Muslim incidents was accompanied by a 44 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes during the same period.
SEE: New CAIR Report Shows More than 50 Percent Spike in Anti-Muslim Incidents
https://www.cair.com/press-center/14322-new-cair-report-shows-more-than-50-percent-spike-in-anti-muslim-incidents.html
Last week, CAIR released an updated report indicating that the most prevalent trigger of anti-Muslim bias incidents in 2017 has been the victim's ethnicity or national origin. Eleven percent of incidents have occurred as a result of an individual being perceived as Muslim. A Muslim woman's headscarf has been a trigger in 8 percent of incidents.
SEE: CAIR's First-Quarter Civil Rights Update Shows Bias Incidents Related to 'Muslim Ban,' Federal Agencies
https://www.cair.com/press-center/press-releases/14336-cair-s-first-quarter-civil-rights-update-shows-bias-incidents-related-to-muslim-ban-federal-agencies.html
The Washington-based civil rights and advocacy organization urges community members to report any bias incidents to police and to CAIR's Civil Rights Department at 202-742-6420 or by filing a report at: http://www.cair.com/report
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
La mision de CAIR es mejorar la comprension del Islam, fomentar el dialogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprension mutua.
Become a Fan of CAIR on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational
Subscribe to CAIR's Email List
http://tinyurl.com/cairsubscribe
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http://twitter.com/cairnational
Subscribe to CAIR's YouTube Channel
http://www.youtube.com/cairtv
CONTACT: CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]
SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
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ANNVILLE, Pa., May 27, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Governor Tom Wolf, commander-in-chief of the 20,000-member Pennsylvania National Guard, served as guest speaker at the Pennsylvania Army National Guard's Annual 28th Infantry Division Memorial Service in Boalsburg May 21.
"We are here to remember and honor the 28th Infantry Division one of the finest divisions in this country and the oldest active division in the Army," said Wolf. "The 28th Infantry Division these 'men of iron' as General Pershing put it have over and over again showed their commitment to the safety and security of the American people during World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Persian Gulf, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Through all of those conflicts the Iron Division has been there, fighting alongside our allies against chaos, dictatorship and atrocity, and fighting for our country."
The governor, who placed his hand over his heart as the 28th Infantry Division color guard passed in front of his reviewing stand, also assisted in laying a wreath to honor the fallen of the Division while the music of the Division Band added the perfect amount of pageantry to the service.
Governor Wolf closed his remarks by thanking 'his' troops for their selfless service to their community, commonwealth and country. "We cannot repay the debt that we owe to them, but through services like this one, we can show our appreciation for what they do often without expectation of reward or recognition."
In addition to his remarks, the Governor and First Lady Frances Wolf, who also attended the service, spent a great deal of time meeting and talking one-on-one with guardsmen, Gold Star Families, and veterans about their hometowns, lives, families, and thanking each of them for their service.
The members of the 28th Infantry Division were honored to stand with their commander-in-chief and true to their motto, they will continue to "Roll On!" in service to their community, commonwealth and country.
Photos from the memorial service can be viewed at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/the28idpao/albums/72157684149807855
MEDIA CONTACT: Joan Z. Nissley, 717-861-8720
SOURCE Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
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Mumbai, May 27 (IBNS): Prawaal Ramanas Dobaara, starring Huma Qureshi and Saqib Saleem, is a horror film where a mirror creates havoc in the lives of a brother and sister, playing tricks between reality and illusion.
The trailer has spooked everyone and the audience too, cant wait to watch the movie.
The film has not only left the audience startled but the edit and post production team working on the film too, found it difficult to handle and refused to work on the film post sunset as they felt strange eeriness working on the film at night.
In fact, it is well-known that while shooting for the film the mirror behaved strangely many a times by cracking on its own on multiple occasions and yet not breaking when it was hit hard during an action sequence in the film.
Talking about the same, director Prawaal Raman said, Technically in film making process, I felt that it was challenging to deal with a team that refused to work on the film post 8 pm, not realizing that the real reason for the sound designers finding it quite eerie and losing the distinction between illusion and reality".
B4U motion pictures presents Dobaara- See your Evil, written and directed by Prawaal Raman, starring Huma Qureshi, Saqib Saleem, Adil Hussain, Lisa Ray, Madalina Bellariu Ion and Rhea Chakraborty. Dobaara- See your evil is slated to release on June 2.
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this
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Headquartered in Chicago, the Assyrian-American Bar Association plans to open offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Arizona, and California by the end of 2018. This Association will serve an important need... there is a critical need for a trusted information source that can provide guidance on human rights and immigration issues, among others," Kalogerakos said.
A new bar association for lawyers who serve Illinois Assyrian-American population has elected its first board of officers.
The Assyrian-American Bar Association (AABA) elected the following officers to two-year terms: President Tony S. Kalogerakos, Vice President Christina Abraham, Treasurer Joy Mkrdichian, Secretary Phillip Rehani, and Law School Liasion Mark Ishu. The group began organizing in 2016.
The Association was founded to promote the highest standards of competence, professionalism and integrity among Assyrian-American attorneys in their service to Assyrian-American communities and cultivate a strong network of Assyrian attorneys with a comprehensive range of legal expertise.
The new Assyrian-American Bar Association also plans to host legal seminars on topics of particular interest to the community and mentor Assyrian-American youth who aspire to join the legal profession.
Assyrians are the descendants of one of the earliest civilizations in the Middle East and have a history spanning almost 7,000 years. Although the Assyrian empire ended in 600 B.C., the Assyrian descendants of this empire maintain the Assyrian culture, language, and heritage in nations including Iraq, Iran, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and United States. About one third of the worlds roughly 4.5 million Assyrians live in diaspora. The Chicago area is home to approximately 100,000 Assyrian-Americans.
I am humbled and honored to serve as the first President of the Assyrian-American Bar Association, said Kalogerakos, founder and principal attorney of Injury Lawyers of Illinois & New York. This Association will serve an important need. With everything that is going on with our Assyrian community, there is a critical need for a trusted information source that can provide guidance on human rights and immigration issues, among others.
Assyrian-American attorneys have been practicing law in Illinois for many years, noted Robert Benjamin, a partner of Golan, Christie and Taglia. Benjamin was an early supporter of creating a bar association for Assyrian-American lawyers.
Over the years, the number of attorneys of Assyrian descent who have chosen a career in the law has grown, he said. We felt it was appropriate for us to launch an association to support their growth as professionals. In the coming years, I am looking forward to assisting in the development of these professionals and overcoming the challenges all lawyers face in the everyday practice of law.
Headquartered in Chicago, the AABA plans to open offices in New York, California, Arizona, and Washington, D.C., by the end of 2018.
When creating this product, we knew we wanted it to be a zesty, pub-style mustard and we were looking for a quality craft beer to bring the flavors together and the product to life, said Janine Somers, Director of Marketing and DTC Sales.
Award-winning specialty food producer Stonewall Kitchen is pleased to announce the launch of its newest mustard, Maine Craft Ale Mustard, featuring Maine-based Allagash Brewing Companys Tripel as the products key ingredient.
When creating this product, we knew we wanted it to be a zesty, pub-style mustard and we were looking for a quality craft beer to bring the flavors together and the product to life, said Janine Somers, Director of Marketing and DTC Sales. Maine has so many wonderful craft breweries that share in our commitment to quality. After multiple recipe iterations and internal taste panels, Allagash Brewing Company came out on top. Were absolutely thrilled to include an authentic, award-winning Maine brand as the key ingredient in our new, Maine Craft Ale Mustard.
Weve always admired Stonewall Kitchens dedication to supporting our home state of Maine, said Jeff Pillet-Shore, Marketing Director of Allagash. Were excited that Tripel was chosen to be a part of their mustard and cant wait to enjoy the fruits of our collective labor with a pretzel and a beer.
About Maine Craft Ale Mustard:
Made with stone ground Dijon mustardwith slight shades of tart vinegar and sweet honeythis mustards coarse texture and robust taste pairs perfectly with the distinctive golden-hued layers and subtle, dry fruitiness of Allagashs Tripel. The mustard is great on hot dogs, baked chicken, for dipping pretzels and more. Use it as a condiment, add spice and flavor to recipes, or serve as a dip.
Maine Craft Ale Mustard is currently available for purchase on Stonewall Kitchens website and Retail Company Stores as well as in a variety of retailers nationwide. For more information, please visit: http://www.stonewallkitchen.com.
Enclosed: Image of Maine Craft Ale Mustard
About Stonewall Kitchen
Stonewall Kitchen is a leading specialty food producer headquartered in York, Maine. Founded in 1991 by partners Jonathan King and Jim Stott, the two established themselves selling jams and jellies at local farmers markets, fairs and festivals with their flavorful line of distinctive and high quality food items. Over time, they expanded their product line to include sauces, condiments, dressings and baking mixes. Today, Stonewall Kitchen is known for its innovative product development, beautiful packaging, stunning retail spaces and exceptional customer service. It now boasts more than 6,000 wholesale accounts nationwide and internationally, thriving catalog and web divisions and 10 retail Company Stores along the East Coast. As the winner of 29 prestigious awards from the Specialty Food Association and the recipient of the coveted Outstanding Product Line Honors three times, Stonewall Kitchen is proud to be one of the most awarded specialty food companies in the country. For more information about Stonewall Kitchen, please visit: http://www.stonewallkitchen.com.
About Allagash Brewing Company
Founded in Portland, Maine, by Rob Tod, Allagash Brewing Company is dedicated to crafting the best Belgian-inspired beers in the world. Since 1995, Allagash has been a proud resident of Portland, and loves giving back to the communityand statethat has supported them along the way. Allagash currently stands as one of the Top 50 Craft Breweries in the U.S. (by sales volume) and has earned a spot on Maines Best Places to Work list for four years running. A portion of the proceeds from all of their beers goes back to organizations that help make our great state of Maine even better. For more information, please visit http://www.Allagash.com.
"Driving Miss Daisy," starring Michael Learned, opens the 67th season of Totem Pole Playhouse. Driving Miss Daisy is the first play in Totem Pole Playhouses four-show, subscription series.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau recommends a visit to Franklin County PA for Driving Miss Daisy, the opening show of Totem Pole Playhouses 67th season. Four-time Emmy Award-winning actress, Michael Learned, best known for her role as Olivia Walton, the matriarch of the series, The Waltons, stars as Daisy Werthan. The popular film version of Driving Miss Daisy went on to win nine Academy Awards including Best Picture.
Set in mid-century Atlanta, Driving Miss Daisy tells the story of Werthan and her chauffeur, Hoke Colburn. At first, Daisy is none too happy about being forced to rely on a black man to get her from one place to the next. However, Hoke gradually wins her over, and during the 25-year span of the play, the two develop a deep-rooted affection. This Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece is a delicate depiction of racial tensions, the passage of time, and the experience of aging.
Lance E. Nichols, who starred for four seasons in the critically-acclaimed HBO series, Treme, as well as appearing in over 150 films and television series, will play opposite Ms. Learned. Shippensburg University Professor of Theatre and Greencastle resident, Paris Peet, will play Boolie Werthan, Daisys son. Michael Bloom, former Artistic Director of the Tony-Award winning Cleveland Play House and director of last seasons Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks, directs the production.
Driving Miss Daisy is the first play in the theatres four-show, subscription series. The production will have three low-cost previews: Friday, May 26, at 8pm and Saturday, May 27, at 2pm and 8pm with all general admission seats only $20.00. Tickets for remaining performances are $45 and available online at http://www.TotemPolePlayhouse.org or by calling 888.805.7056.
The Franklin County Visitors Bureau invites all to explore Franklin County PA and enjoy trails of history, arts and architecture, recreation, natural beauty, fresh foods and the warm hospitality of communities like Chambersburg, Greencastle, Mercersburg, Shippensburg, and Waynesboro. Franklin County PA is located just north of the Mason Dixon Line and is an easy drive to Washington DC, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh. Discover more....plan a visit soon at ExploreFranklinCountyPA.com or by contacting 866.646.806
Pablo Lecea and Fernando Gonzalez from Belatrix Software at Nexus 2017
Belatrix Software, a leading software development company, sponsored the Nexus 2017 conference held at Googles Campus in San Francisco. The event brought together executives and thought leaders to discuss and explore the opportunities that nearshore services can provide both established companies and emerging start-ups in Silicon Valley.
During the event Belatrix introduced companies to a recently launched service specifically targeted at start-ups in their early stages. Belatrixs Innovation Lab is designed to help such companies with the best possible ecosystem to speed up the process of creating their minimum viable product (MVP). This MVP can then be shown to potential investors or customers. The service involves support from Belatrixs user experience lab, mobile lab, continuous integration/development lab, and test automation lab.
Meanwhile, the event kicked-off with a talk given by the global lead of Googles Accelerator and Start-Up program, Roy Geva Glasberg. He explored how start-up success relies on the pillars of mentorship, investment, and policy. He also spoke of the depth of technical talent that they can see in areas throughout the world, not just in Silicon Valley.
Participants discussed how Latin America has witnessed the highest growth in services headcount over the past 2 years compared with other locations from Asia to Eastern Europe. This reflects how the industry continues to go from strength to strength. In the midst of a changing political environment in the USA, mixed with the explosion of new technologies such as automation and machine learning, nearshore technology services have become increasingly attractive to companies who want to find the best talent, but do not need to concern themselves about possible visa changes.
Fernando Gonzalez, Belatrixs Vice President of Marketing, attending the event commented that, it was great to see the vibrant nearshore industry discuss the future of technology services. Thank you to Nearshore Americas for organizing the event.
About Belatrix Software:
Belatrix Software helps clients achieve the full impact of their R&D capabilities developing high quality, innovative software, QA, testing and mobile solutions that enables clients to generate best-in-class software products, decrease time to market, and gain competitive edge.
Belatrix's clients include both established Fortune level and emerging, venture backed firms. Some of the firm's clients are Disney, Adobe, SiriusXM, mFoundry, and Chatham Financial. Belatrix is a South American company with offices in Fort Lauderdale, New York, San Francisco, Mendoza, Buenos Aires, Bogota and Lima. For more information, visit http://www.belatrixsf.com.
New York, May 27(Just Earth News): The United Nations human rights chief on Friday urged all warring parties in Syria to take every feasible measure to spare the civilian population from the effects of the armed conflict, noting that civilians are increasing caught in fighting between the Government forces and the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da'esh) terrorist group.
In particular, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein urged the air forces of the Government and other States fighting ISIL in Syria to take much greater care to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians.
The rising toll of civilian deaths and injuries already caused by airstrikes in Deir-ez-Zor and Al-Raqqa suggests that insufficient precautions may have been taken in the attacks, Zeid said in a news release from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Just because ISIL holds an area does not mean less care can be taken. Civilians should always be protected, whether they are in areas controlled by ISIL or by any other party, he added.
Places such as the border city of Albo Kamal where retreating ISIL fighters and their families are mixed in with some 100,000 people, including displaced Syrians and Iraqis are of particular concern, Zeid said.
The same civilians who are suffering indiscriminate shelling and summary executions by ISIL, are also falling victim to the escalating airstrikes, particularly in the northeastern governorates of Al-Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor, according to numerous credible reports of such incidents, he said, citing an airstrike of 14 May that reportedly killed 23 farm workers, including 17 women, in a rural village of eastern Al-Raqqa Governorate.
Airstrikes on two residential areas of the ISIL-controlled city of Albo Kamal in eastern Deir-ez-Zor Governorate on 15 May reportedly killed at least 59 civilians, including 16 children and 12 women and injured another 70.
The day after that, ISIL fighters are said to have cut the throats of eight men at the sites of the airstrikes, after accusing them of providing coordinates for the strikes. On 18 May, an ISIL attack on the Government-controlled village of Aqareb in rural eastern Hama Governorate allegedly resulted in the deaths of 36 civilians including women and children.
Photo: UNICEF/Ebo
Source: www.justearthnews.com
ROCK ISLAND New federal data confirms that people are leaving Illinois while Iowa's population is growing.
According to estimated census data released this week by the U.S. Department of Commerce, populations have fallen over the past six years in Rock Island, Henry and Mercer counties in Illinois, while Scott County has seen growth.
On a statewide basis, the federal report estimates Illinois has 29,093 fewer people than in 2010, reducing the state's population from 12,830,632 to 12,801,539. For the same period, Iowa's population has grown by 88,338 people from 3,046,355 in 2010 to 3,134,693, according to the report.
The census data shows that 22 of Illinois' 30 largest cities have shrunk.
Since the 2010 census, Rock Island County's population is estimated to have decreased by 2,762; Henry County's by 1,206; and Mercer County's by 704. Scott County is estimated to have increased in population by 7,250.
In the last six years, the city of Rock Island is estimated to have lost 808 residents. Rock Island Mayor Mike Thoms said he is not surprised by the drop but didn't expect it to be so high.
He said that amenities such as bike paths and access to parks are benefits of the city. But he said he's heard of a lot of "Illinois flight" to Iowa because of property taxes.
"Some people, all they talk about is property tax, and that's not the full picture," Mayor Thoms said.
Silvis has bucked the trend by adding more than 100 residents since 2010, according to the report.
"It probably has to do with the expansion we've had in apartment buildings and housing," said Jim Nelson, Silvis city clerk.
Economic development in the city also has provided residents with amenities that make Silvis more welcoming, Mr. Nelson said.
He said providing more rental property such as new apartment developments in the city designed to house about 260 people has proven especially attractive.
"It just seems like right now ... people are more interested in rental homes than buying a house," Mr. Nelson said.
Oak Grove and Rapids City were the only other communities in Rock Island County to see population growth during the past six years.
Countywide, Rock Island has lost 2,762 residents during the past six years from 147,546 in 2010 to 144,784 last year. Scott County, on the other hand, has added 7,250 residents over the same period, from 165,224 in 2010 to 172,474 in 2016.
Bettendorf and Davenport have accounted for almost three-quarters of Scott County's population growth with Bettendorf up by more than 2,500 and Davenport up by nearly 3,000.
Most of the Bettendorf's growth likely is a result of increased housing, said Decker Ploehn, city administrator.
"We've been building, on average, 162 new homes per year," he said.
Mr. Decker said he was not surprised by the figures and hopes it also reflects Bettendorf's quality of life.
"We're pleased with what's happening, and are going to continue making Bettendorf a great place to live," he said.
Additional census data is available at factfinder.census.gov.
Population Changes
Census data from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the past six years indicates Iowa's population is growing while Illinois' is declining.
Counties
Scott County 165,224 (2010); 172,474 (2016)
Rock Island County 147,546 (2010); 144,784 (2016)
Henry County 50,486 (2010); 49,280 (2016)
Mercer County 16,434 (2010); 15,730 (2016)
Cities
Davenport 99,685 (2010); 102,612 (2016)
Bettendorf 33,217 (2010); 35,727 (2016)
Moline 43,483 (2010); 42,250 (2016)
Rock Island 39,018 (2010); 38,210 (2016)
East Moline 21,302 (2010); 21,135 (2016)
Silvis 7,479 (2010); 7,586 (2016)
Geneseo 6,586 (2010); 6,526 (2016)
Aledo 3,640 (2010); 3,516 (2016)
For additional data, visit factfinder.census.gov.
New York, May 27(Just Earth News): Condemning the surging violence in Tripoli, the top United Nations official in Libya called on Friday for an immediate end to fighting in and around the capital and for rival groups to aput Libyan national interestsa ahead of their own.
According to a news statement, Martin Kobler, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for the North African country, is following reports of the violence with grave concern and has called for the fighting to stop and for civilians to be protected.
Voices of reason should prevail for the benefit of the country, he said. Political aims must not be pursued through violence. Civilians must be protected. I remind all parties of their duty to respect the provisions of international humanitarian and international human rights law, said Kobler, who also heads up the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
He went on to express full support to the Presidency Council as the sole legitimate executive authority in Libya, as stipulated in UN Security Council resolution 2259 (2015) and 2278 (2016). He urged all parties in Libya to engage seriously in the political process and towards national reconciliation.
Photo: UNSMIL/Abbas Toumi
Source: www.justearthnews.com
GENESEO Karen Johnson wants the children in Augustin, Haiti, to have lunch every day when they are in school.
Mrs. Johnson spearheaded efforts to raise funds to be able to provide one meal per day for five days per week during the 10-month school year, but her efforts fell short.
Extending Grace and Hope was the theme of a breakfast held at Grace United Methodist Church in Geneseo, when the public was invited to join the congregation for breakfast and taste the meal of rice and beans prepared similar to the school lunches the children receive in Haiti.
A sponsorship fund previously was established through Grace church to support the school and ensure the children had an opportunity to attend grades K-6. Sponsorship for a child for the entire school year is $180, or $15 per month for 12 months.
Mrs. Johnson explained a sponsorship covers teachers salaries, school uniforms and school supplies for the students.
Currently, we are at about 70 percent sponsorship funding, she said. When we have 100 percent sponsorship funding, we will be able to also fund the lunch program for the children.
Mrs. Johnson and her son-in-law, Brett Decker, who both have traveled with mission teams to Haiti, presented information at the meal served at Grace church.
Mrs. Johnson traveled to Augustin in March 2015. She helped repaint the church the Geneseo church built there and said, Our mission team was always surrounded by the children who were at play and would talk to us.
In our country, it is almost hard to imagine what absolute poverty, lack of any resources and hunger really look like until you live among it, she said. I was only there 10 days, but the Lord touched my heart for the children in an area of Haiti that is the poorest of the poor.
One major issue is the lack of food, she said.
I tried to send money for one child but discovered that many others were left without food.
When the pastor from the church in Haiti visited Grace church, Mrs. Johnson said her heart was moved to try to find a way to collect enough money to provide lunch for the children every day while in the school.
Sponsorship cards are available in the foyer and office of Grace Church. Anyone who would like to donate to Extending Grace and Hope to the school children of Augustin, Haiti, can send checks, payable to Grace Church, 318 N. Center St., Geneseo, IL 61254.
Streetcars returned to Woodward Avenue in Detroit for the first time in 61 years with the May 12 inauguration of the 3.3-mile Q Line from Larned Street to West Grand Boulevard.
The $140-million project is claimed to be the first public-private partnership deal to be funded by private businesses and philanthropic organizations, in partnership with local, state and federal governments.
Supporters of the project include Bank of America, Detroit Downtown Development Authority, Detroit Medical Center, Ford Foundation, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, JPMorgan Chase, Michigan Department of Transportation, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and the United States Department of Transportation.
The project was also supported by the federal government through a $25-million grant from the Transport Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.
In 2007 the projects backers formed the non-profit M-1 Rail to lead the design, construction and operation of the 20-station line. Stacy & Witbeck was subsequently awarded the contract to build the line and major construction began in July 2014.
Services are operated by a fleet of six bi-directional Liberty LRVs supplied by Brookville Equipment Corp.
The articulated LRVs will operate without catenary on 60% of the line, then drawing power from 750-volt rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The 70% low-floor vehicles will also operate in catenary-free mode around the lines depot.
Each vehicle accommodates up to 125 passengers, 32 of them seated.
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Infrastructures are required for the operation of a society and lie at the heart of social and economic life. However, when faced with depleted public finances, how can states promote the development of infrastructures?
Questions about how to design regulatory regimes to support the development of infrastructures are at the forefront of international debates across a range of nations. Getting this right is particularly relevant, as experiences over the past decades have had poor outcomes, while new state-backed investors, especially from China, have come to play an increasingly prominent role.
Regulation plays an essential role through helping to address the demands of investors who are seeking assurances that their investments are safe, while also reassuring democratically elected governments. Regulation can also make any attempts at expropriation costly to national governments.
Brazil presents important insights for the study of regulation in this context. While types of ownership and industry vary somewhat, the main regulatory challenges are the lack of investment, the presence of bottlenecks impeding development, unsatisfactory regulatory experiences and political contestation over questions of ownership, as well as differences across different states within the country.
Initiatives from various federal administrations in Brazil to attract investment and infrastructure expansion have had, at best, moderate effects. One such example is the PPI (Programme for Investment Partnerships), which was launched by the current interim administration. Long-term concessions were signed, either with very limited performance-related oversight (e.g. the roads) or were prone to more generous renegotiations (e.g. the airports).
Our study looking at strengthening Brazil's logistics infrastructure indicated that improving the landscape of regulatory governance needs to be a central priority in achieving more positive effects. In this regard, a more extensive focus on the underlying deficits in regulatory capacity is needed that establishes a less fragmented administrative landscape, allows regulators to enforce timely sanctions, and provides more incentives for concession holders to actually fulfil the arrangements set out by government.
The term disciplined discretion is used to describe an approach to address these gaps. It involves combining a commitment to be predictable when exercising discretion responsibly, while taking procedural instruments seriously. In the context of Brazil, disciplined discretion has been articulated through three potential options.
The first option would cover the development of concessions to rely on special purpose vehicles. Such vehicles come with the advantage of not requiring major institutional re-arrangements, but they do include the disadvantage of not supporting more long-term capacity building.
The second option would be establishing a new organisation to develop long-term infrastructure plans. However, in a context that already suffers from a hyper-complexity of governmental organisations, adding an additional layer of bureaucracy seems unlikely to be a viable option.
The final option involves coordination protocols. Accordingly, protocols (e.g. memorandums of understandings) would be established to provide regulatory agencies with legitimate scope in concession design and oversight. Such a device would allow regulators to play a more confident role in developing and maintaining their capacity in analysis and oversight. Without support from the very top, however, it would run the risk of gridlock.
None of these options promise an easy and quick win for Brazil. However, it is by investing in these processes of regulatory governance that capacity can be enhanced. It has long been argued that the regulation of infrastructures requires both commitment (to attract long-term investment) and flexibility (to deal with changes over time). These two goals of commitment and flexibility are often seen to be in opposition to each other. Through investing in regulatory capacity, it is possible to support disciplined discretion in regulation and help produce sustainable social and economic development.
Christian van Stolk is vice president of RAND Europe. Daniel Schweppenstedde is an analyst with RAND Europe. Martin Lodge is director of the Centre for Analysis of Risk and Regulation (CARR) at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Julia Batistella-Machado is a researcher at CARR. RAND Europe and CARR were awarded a grant by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office under its Prosperity Fund scheme to research the regulatory governance of logistics infrastructures in Brazil.
A longer version of this op-ed was published in LSE's Risk & Regulation Magazine ( PDF ).
Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
New York, May 27(Just Earth News): A senior United Nations official is calling for additional humanitarian aid in the Central African Republic, where nearly the entire population of the city Bria was forcibly displaced last week.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that more than 41,000 people were forced out of their homes in unprecedented violence between rival armed groups between 15 and 18 May.
In those days, people searching for protection flooded seven sites for internally displaced camps, among them one near a base for the UN peacekeeping force in the country (MINUSCA).
With the emergence of an ethnic dimension to the conflict, hundreds of houses were burned, property looted and ransacked, said OCHA.
The resurgence of the last outbreaks of tension in the past two weeks has caused the displacement of about 100,000 people, 200 wounded and 300 dead, according to the Ministry of Social Health in the country.
Echoing the Government's concerns, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator in the country, Najat Rochdi, expressed concern at this new outbreak of violence where civilian people are paying the highest cost.
A lack of sufficient shelters is the main concern, as CAR is now in a rainy season, following by the need for food and clean water.
OCHA said that shelters and food rations have been convoyed from Bangui and Bambari to Bria, but insecurity and the poor conditions of roads have delayed their arrival. The humanitarian community is also working to meet the needs in terms of supply of drinking water and sanitation.
Diseases are also increasing, spread by promiscuity and poor hygiene, OCHA said.
The senior UN official has called for additional resources. Halfway through the year, funding for the 399.5 million dollars Humanitarian Response Plan is only at 64.8 million.
CAR is emerging from civil conflict which began in 2013, with clashes between the mainly Muslim Seleka rebel coalition and anti-Balaka militia, which are mostly Christian.
Photo: OCHA Central African Republic
Source: www.justearthnews.com
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New York, May 27(Just Earth News): Citing Iraqi Government figures, the United Nations migration agency on Friday warned that the number of people fleeing West Mosul is soaring a on 18 May, hitting a peak when some 16,100 transited through the Hamam al-Alil screening site a the largest official daily movement of people since the October 2016 military offence began.
The fact that huge numbers of Iraqis continue to flee West Mosul, despite the dangers involved, is a testament of both the the dire situation inside, and the enormous task ahead of us to alleviate the suffering of IDPs [internally displaced persons], said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Iraq Chief of Mission, Thomas Lothar Weiss.
According to the military and camp management at Hamam al-Alil, an average of 10,000 individuals fleeing West Mosul arrives at the transit zone on a daily basis.
With gruelling high temperatures during the day, most leave at night, walking several hours before reaching the nearest military checkpoints. From there, they are transported to Hamam al-Alil, south of Mosul, on the western banks of the Euphrates, which has become the transit hub for the tens of thousands of families fleeing the West Mosul conflict.
The camp adjacent to the site is at full capacity, and many families are being moved to other camps, with large numbers opting to go to areas east of Mosul where they stay with families, friends or in rental accommodations, says IOM.
According to the Iraqi Government, cumulatively, more than 742,000 people have been displaced from Mosul and its surrounding areas since 2016, when the military offense to oust extremists began, including 566,000 individuals from Western Mosul since mid-February. More than 73,000 Iraqis were displaced last week alone.
As of 23 May, IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix has tracked and located more than 377,000 individuals some 63,000 families currently sheltering in camps and emergency sites, including people living in host communities, informal sites and rented homes.
Protection of civilian lives is a legal and moral duty above all other objectives
Meanwhile, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen OBrien expressed deep concern for the safety of civilians behind ISIL lines in Western Mosul.
Although the UN is not present in the areas where fighting is occurring, we have received very disturbing reports of families being shut inside booby-trapped homes and of children being deliberately targeted by snipers, he said, emphasizing that families in the city still lack access to clean water and medicine and many have only limited access to food.
Yesterday, the Government asked civilians in districts surrounding and inside the Old City to leave and seek safety across government lines. We dont know for sure how many civilians are still in ISIL-held districts, but as many as 200,000 additional people may try to leave in coming days, he explained.
I remind all parties to the conflict of their obligation under international law to protect civilians against all forms of violence and to ensure people in need have access to the assistance they require, stated OBrien, adding that in the context of Mosul, where ISIL fighters are known to be using human shields in densely-populated neighbourhoods, parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to protect civilian lives.
International law is unambiguous. The protection of civilian lives is a legal and moral duty that stands above all other objectives, underscored the UN aid chief.
Photo: IOM/Hala Jaber
Source: www.justearthnews.com
'There are no jobs, the economy is slowing down, but the BJP is more concerned with issues like triple talaq, anti-Romeo squads and the beef ban.'
"Where the country is headed is a matter of concern," Congress leader Digvijaya Singh tells Amit Agnihotri.
Winds of change are sweeping through the Congress.
States like Goa, where the party could not form a government despite emerging as the single-largest block in the assembly polls, and in Karnataka, which will hold assembly polls next year, have been taken away from your charge.
Do you see any link between events in Goa and these changes in the party?
No. The decision to bring about changes in the All India Congress Committee has been taken by party President Sonia Gandhi and Vice-President Rahul Gandhi.
It is a process of reform in the AICC. There is no question of me or anyone else feeling otherwise.
As for Goa, the Bharatiya Janata Party formed the government through the back door by buying the support of regional parties.
It was helped by the state governor who did not invite the Congress first to form the government.
What is your assessment of the Manohar Parrikar government in Goa? strong
Politics in Goa is usually marked by mobility.
Governments have been formed, toppled and formed again.
The game goes on.
In the past, only two governments -- that of the Congress led by Digambar Kamat or the previous BJP one led by Manohar Parrikar and later by Laxmikant Parsekar -- have completed full terms.
And Karnataka?
There is huge support for the Congress in the state. I see no reason why we should not win there.
I am sure the new general secretary in charge, K C Venugopal, will take a call on what to do.
I think some changes are planned in the state unit where PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief G Parameshwara has been a minister.
You have been in the news recently over your allegations that the Chhattisgarh government was hand-in-glove with the Maoists. Can you explain that?
Whenever there are polls, especially since 2003, there is evidence that the BJP leaders strike a deal with the Maoists through the local traders.
Chief Minister Raman Singh benefits from this arrangement.
I have said this earlier and I stand my ground.
During my term as chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, I eliminated traders who had become middlemen between the government and Maoists.
I am saying this with authority. Further, I am surprised that the support that the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) should get from the police is missing in the state.
For instance, in the latest attack in Sukma in which 25 CRPF soldiers were killed, there were intelligence gaps.
The CRPF camp was just 2 to 3 km away from the site where the attack took place, but there was no intelligence about Maoist movement in such large numbers.
There is no understanding between the police and the CRPF.
You dropped another bombshell alleging the Telangana police was encouraging Muslims to become radicals...
There was a counter-terrorism meet in Delhi where this subject came up.
Chiefs of anti-terror bodies from some states raised the issue of a fake portal being run by the Telangana police, which is attracting radicals among Muslims.
The police is saying such criticism will affect the morale of the force, but is not denying the existence of the portal.
The Telangana police is encouraging Muslim youth to get radicalised and then arrests them. It has arrested 10 to 12 such youth in the past.
Sonia Gandhi is busy forging Opposition unity over the Presidential polls to counter an aggressive BJP under Prime Minister Modi. Is it a good strategy?
It is a historical fact that whichever party is in the Opposition tries to put up a candidate for the post of President.
Credit goes to Sonia Gandhi that she is talking to various Opposition leaders to bring them on a common platform.
If regional parties like the Shiv Sena, the AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), BJD (Biju Janata Dal) and the Shiromani Akali Dal can work out a compromise candidate, I think that person stands a fairly good chance to win.
The Congress has said it has an open mind if Modi consults the party over his presidential nominee.
The prime minister should reach out to the Opposition like (then prime minister) Atal Bihari Vajpayee did to enlist support for the NDA's (National Democratic Alliance) Presidential nominee A P J Abdul Kalam in 2002.
Modi should make a similar effort. Though he is not used to consulting the Opposition on key national issues, this is an opportunity for him to prove otherwise and get an image makeover.
Another issue that has united the Opposition is faulty electronic voting machines. Do you support the view, as some veteran Congress leaders think otherwise?
In the age of technology, nothing is tamper-proof.
The Uttarakhand high court is looking into the issue, the Uttar Pradesh government has said smartphones were used to steal petrol from petrol pumps
In the case of EVMs, who develops the software, who makes the chips?
EVM tampering can be done selectively.
If there is an iota of suspicion in the mind of any political party it is time to get back to the paper ballot. Many developed countries are using the paper ballot.
When is Rahul Gandhi getting promoted?
At present, he is focusing on poll-going states and party changes in a phased manner.
It seems there is not going to be any big-bang AICC reshuffle. Party polls are due.
To me, whether Rahul becomes party chief through a CWC (Congress Working Committee) decision or via internal elections does not make a difference.
He should have taken over as party chief yesterday. The earlier that happens, the better.
How can the Congress counter the BJP? What are the challenges before the Congress today?
The BJP practices the politics of hatred and communal divide.
The very idea of India is under threat.
The RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) is creating divisions between religious groups.
There are no jobs, the economy is slowing down, but the BJP is more concerned with issues like triple talaq, anti-Romeo squads and the beef ban.
Where the country is headed is a matter of concern.
The BJP wants to take us back to the 19th century.
What we need is a liberal and modern mindset. Only a national party can take on the BJP.
It is a great opportunity for the Congress to regain its strength for which the party has to restructure and re-engineer its strategy, fight back and defeat communal forces.
The challenge would be to re-strengthen the organisation across states and bring together like-minded parties simultaneously.
The number of hate crime incidents reported to police in Manchester has doubled in the wake of the suicide bombing at the Ariana Grande concert which claimed 22 lives this week.
From a daily average of 28, the number shot up to 56 by the middle of this week, Greater Manchester Police said.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said that while the force could not make a direct link to the bombing on Monday in which 22 people died, it is monitoring the situation.
Sadly weve seen an increase in hate incidents since the bomb from 28 on Monday, which is our normal average a day, through to 56 on Wednesday, he said.
The kind of incidents reported include a bomb threat received by a Muslim school, racist graffiti and a niqab-clad woman being told she should not be wearing the Islamic outfit.
Hopkins said the city had largely pulled together in the aftermath and urged the community to come together.
Weve seen compassion but it is important that we continue to stand together here in Greater Manchester, particularly standing together against some of the hate-filled views that we have seen from a very small minority of the community that have no place here, he said.
I have sent a personal message out to all the faith leaders and places of worship and have thanked them for the support they have shown and stressed that hate crime will not be tolerated, Hopkins said.
Police believe the bombing was carried out by Salman Abedi, a Manchester-born Libyan origin 22-year-old.
His being a Mancunian, as people from Manchester are known, has sent shockwaves in the city.
Of the 119 injured in Mondays attack, 66 remain in hospital and 23 of them are said to be in critical care.
Image: Worshippers from East London Mosque shield their faces from the sun as they attend a gathering in a nearby park in remembrance of the victims of the Manchester terror attack. Photograph: Carl Court/Getty Images
India on Saturday announced a $500 million (Rs 3227 crore) line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries decided to firm up cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hand with his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnaut during their joint press statement in New Delhi. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
In a statement, Modi said he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities and provide security to the people of both the countries.
We have to keep up our vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing, and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources, the prime minister said.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen cooperation and capacities, he said, noting that the two sides also agreed to strengthen their wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain.
On his part, Jugnauth said the two countries need to ensure that the sea lanes of communications are safe and secure and regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing in the territorial waters and drug trafficking.
A decision to extend the operational life of Coast Guard ship Guardian, that was given by India to Mauritius under a grant assistance programme, was also taken.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi shakes hands with his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at Hyderabad House. Photograph: Shahbaz Khan/PTI Photo
During his visit to Mauritius in March 2015, Modi had commissioned offshore patrol vessel Barracuda, built and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
Holding that Mauritius has strong defence and security ties with India, the visiting prime minister said the acquisition of such OPVs and fast interceptor boats from India
has enhanced the operational capacities of its police and coast guard.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders. They were for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius, one on cooperation in ocean research and the US dollar Credit Line Agreement between the SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Company and Export-Import Bank of India.
Modi said the agreement on the line of credit to Mauritius was a good example of the strong and continuing commitment to the development of that country.
The two sides also decided to ramp up cooperation in a number of areas including trade and investment.
India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius, Modi said, adding that emphasis was also given on cooperation in skill development during the talks.
IMAGE: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth inspects the Guard of Honour during the ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Photograph: Manvender Vashist/PTI Photo
Reaffirming Mauritius unwavering support to India for UN Security Council membership, Jugnauth also welcomed New Delhis support to the island nations claim over the Chagos archipelago.
Both the UK and Mauritius have competing claims over the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Jugnauth also discussed with Modi the issue of a comprehensive economic cooperation and partnership agreement on which discussions have been held in the past.
He expressed satisfaction over the resumption of the negotiations on the CECPA issue last year, saying Mauritius looked forward to its conclusion by the end of this year.
The CEPCA will play a major role in the economic dynamics between our two countries, by enhancing trade and enabling collaboration with Indian entities, he said.
Referring to the India-funded Metro Express Project from Curepipe to Port Louis, Jugnauth said it will play a pivotal role in the economic development of the island nation. The metro network will have 19 stations.
Mauritius also informed India about its ratification of the International Solar Alliance, a project involving 120 countries. It was initiated by Modi and former French president Francois Hollande.
Several parts of the Kashmir valley were on the boil on Saturday after security forces inflicted heavy damage on militants, killing eight of them, including Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani following his killing last July.
IMAGE: Army personnel take position in a nearby house during an encounter with terrorists at Soimoh village of Tral in Pulwama. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo
In a major success for the security forces, Bhat was gunned down along with another terrorist, at Soimoh village in Tral of Pulwama district, about 36 kilometre from Srinagar, during a cordon and search operation following specific information about the presence of terrorists there.
The states police chief S P Vaid said Bhat was among the two terrorists killed in the encounter.
They were holed up inside a house and opened fire at security personnel as they closed in on their hideout. The two were killed in retaliatory fire.
The army also foiled a major infiltration bid from across the Line of Control in Rampur sector, killing six terrorists.
There was a fierce exchange of fire after the troops noticed some suspicious movement in the early hours. On being challenged, the terrorists opened fire, and in the encounter that ensued, six infiltrators were felled, the army said.
A civilian was also reported dead in cross-fire at Soimoh village during the encounter in which Bhat was killed. However, some locals claimed he was killed in firing by the security forces on protesters who took to streets and fought pitched battles with men in uniform after the encounter.
The two factions of separatist conglomerate -- the Hurriyat conference -- have called a two-day shutdown in the valley from Sunday against the use of force against protesters in the aftermath of Bhats killing.
IMAGE: The completely damaged house where two terrorists including a top commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Sabzar Ahmad Bhat were killed in an encounter with security forces at Soimoh village
Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo
Mobile internet services have been suspended across the valley to prevent rumour-mongering, officials said.
Violence erupted at more than 50 places in the valley after the news of Bhats killing spread like wildfire.
Stone-pelting youth were out on streets in Srinagar, Tral and several big and small towns in the valley, attacking security forces.
According to an official at sub-district hospital in Tral, 19 injured people were admitted there.
While six persons had bullet injuries, 13 others were hit by pellets.
Separatists, while announcing a two-day shutdown, have also called a march to Tral on May 30 to pay tributes to Bhat and seven other terrorists killed on Saturday.
We condemn the use of brute force against unarmed civilians, injuring hundreds of them and call for a strike on Sunday and Monday, separatist leaders Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik, said in a statement in Srinagar.
They asked people in the valley to turn up in large numbers in Tral on Tuesday to pay tributes to the slain terrorists.
IMAGE: Army personnel standing outside a house which got completely damaged during the encounter. Photograph: S Irfan/PTI Photo
Mobile internet services were suspended in the valley as a precautionary measure, but BSNLs broadband service was functioning normally, official said.
The move came hours after the government lifted a month-long ban on 22 social networking websites and apps in the valley region.
Authorities have decided to impose curfew in areas under seven police stations in Srinagar on Sunday to prevent violent protests.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Northern Command said in Jammu that relentless operations by security forces had resulted in the killing of 10 terrorists in the last 24 hours.
Relentless operations by security forces have defeated desperate attempts by Pakistan and Pakistan-sponsored agents to spread terror in the state in the run up to the holy month of Ramzan, the spokesman said.
He said besides the eight killed on Saturday, the army had on Friday shot dead two militants along the LoC in the Uri sector.
New York, May 27(Just Earth News): The United Nations Security Council and Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Friday condemned in the strongest terms the killing of at least 28 people in Egypt, with the Council denouncing the attack aheinousa and acowardly.a
The 15-member Council, whose rotating membership currently includes Egypt, began a regularly scheduled meeting this morning with a moment of silence in honour of the victims.
In a press statement, the Council members expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Egypt, and wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured, reportedly including children.
In a statement that followed, the Council reiterated that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.
Perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism need to be brought to justice, the members said, and called on Governments to cooperate actively with the Egyptian Government and all relevant authorities.
A statement issued by UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Guterres condemned the terrorist attack, saying: There can be no justification for such horrific violence.
The Secretary-General expressed his deepest sympathies to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Egypt. He also wished a quick recovery to those injured and hoped that the perpetrators of this despicable act will be swiftly identified and brought to justice.
Also strongly condemning the attack, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, the High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), said: The terrorist attack in Egypt and few days ago in Manchester are stark reminders that the ugly face of terrorism knows no borders. It is also a reminder that we should all stand up together in our fight against terrorism in all its forms.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton
Source: www.justearthnews.com
Last updated on: May 27, 2017 11:38 IST
Over 20,000 people have been displaced with officials warning the situation could get worse.
IMAGE: A man stands on top of a damaged bike during a rescue mission at the site of a landslide in Bellana village in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
Heavy floods and landslides triggered by the worst rainfall since 1970s have killed at
least 92 people and left 110 missing in Sri Lanka, officials said on Saturday, warning the situation could get worse.
Over 20,000 people have been displaced in seven districts as the south western monsoon caused havoc, destroying hundreds of homes and cutting off several roads.
We have seen worst rainfall since the 1970s, said Dunesh Gankanada, deputy minister of Disaster Management Centre.
We are carrying out relief operations in some areas when we cant even reach some of the affected areas, Gankanda said, adding that people in the south-eastern region of Ratnapura were taking shelter on tree tops.
The DMC said the death toll has risen to 92 and another 110 remain missing with reports coming in from areas which were inaccessible earlier in the day.
The government has alerted international organisations for relief, Gankanda said.
The ministry of foreign affairs will keep monitoring the situation and will seek assistance as required, said Deputy Minister Karunaratne Paranavithana.
IMAGE: People gather during a rescue mission at the site of a landslide in Bellana village in Kalutara, Sri Lanka. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
Sri Lanka air force and the navy are working to provide relief to people stranded by floods with helicopters and boats deployed, an official has said.
Relief officials said the monsoon had been expected, yet the rainfall recorded was at unexpected levels.
Over 600 millimetres of rain was recorded in some areas with other badly affected areas receiving rainfall ranging between 300 and 500 millimetres.
India dispatches relief India has rushed naval ships with relief material to the island nation. One of the ships reached Sri Lanka on Saturday morning and another will reach on Sunday. In a series of tweets last night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India stands by the people of the island nation and that ships are being rushed with relief material. He also condoled the deaths of people due to rain-triggered floods and landslides in Sri Lanka. We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need, he had said.
Chief of Meteorological Department R S Jayasekera said while the peak of the monsoon had passed, more rains are expected during the next few days. Jayasekera said it is expected to intensify again on May 30.
He said the rainfall was more than in 2003 in the south of the island which killed over 250 people.
A majority of those killed were from a landslide in Kalutara and flooding in Ratnapura district, officials said.
They said adverse weather had badly affected seven districts.
According to DMC, a total of 7,856 individuals from 2,811 families were affected in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and Southern Provinces due to the torrential rains which have been lashing several parts of Sri Lanka since yesterday.
The number of deaths in Ratnapura district is recorded as 10 and its nine in Kalutara due to floods and landslides, the DMC said earlier in a report.
According to the report, Galle is the worst affected district where 7,157 people have been affected.
Kalutara District Secretariat Field Officer said 38 deaths were reported from the district alone.
IMAGE: A man pulls a main powerline during a rescue mission. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters
The Centre has asked people to be vigilant on rising water levels and also advised them to evacuate from unstable slopes if the showers continue for the next 24 hours to minimise disasters due to landslides, rock falls in Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota districts.
People of Bulathkohupitiya, Deraniyagala, Yatiyantota, Dehiowita, Baddegama,Yakkalamulla, Neluwa, Thawalama, Bulathsinhala, Agalawatta, walallawita, Baduraliya, Kotapola, Pasgoda, Pitabeddara, Mulatiyana, Walasmulla and Katuwana areas are advised to evacuate, the report said.
Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North-western provinces. Heavy falls (about 150 mm) can be expected at some places, it said.
Sri Lanka, which has been heavily deforested for cash crops, often witnesses landslides during the monsoon season.
Last year, more than 100 people were killed in a massive landslide in the country.
New York, May 27(Just Earth News): aI envy the mountains and the trees and the rocks because they will be able to breathe Daraaas air and I wonat.a Those were the thoughts going through Doaa Al Zamel, when she and her family reached the Jordanian border. It was November 2012, one year and eight months since the violence in Syria first began.
Doaa is a refugee from Syria who now lives in Sweden. She survived one of the worst refugee shipwrecks on the Mediterranean Sea. In August 2014, aboard an overloaded ship carrying more than 500 refugees, Doaa became an unlikely hero.
As Head of Communications and Chief Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Melissa Fleming listens to stories of people fleeing for their lives every day. Although she has met many refugees and gotten to know several stories of resilience, when she came across Doaas story, she couldnt sleep at night.
Doaas story is particularly remarkable; the resilience and the strength of the human spirit is so evident through her story that it is one that people are really not just moved by but also inspired by, Fleming told UN News following a recent event at the UN Bookshop in New York.
War and persecution have driven more people from their homes than at any time since records began, with over 65 million men, women and children now displaced worldwide. According to the latest Global Trends report issued by the UN refugee agency, known as UNHCR, one in every 113 people on earth is either an asylum-seeker, internally displaced or a refugee.
In order to get away from the idea of refugees as statistics, Fleming believes in a communication strategy of telling individual human stories. That is why she would love to tell all 65 million stories of all the forced displaced people in the world.
But it was the powerful story of Doaa that inspired her to write A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea, which gives a human face to the sheer number of human beings trying to escape to seek better lives.
Refugees are becoming statistics and throughout the world they are being used to fuel xenophobia because of the large numbers and because of their desperation, Fleming said.
With the book, she hopes to build a bridge of empathy to people, so theyll start caring and understanding why refugees like Doaa take this kind of risk to come to their countries, why refugees like Doaa deserve our compassion and our help.
Doaa comes from Daraa, in Syria. After war engulfed her city, tanks rolled in and bombs started falling, she and her family became terrified for their lives and left to Jordan and then to Egypt. Through her story, Fleming also describes the situation in the neighboring countries which are hosting the majority of refugees, some five million.
Egypt was one of these countries; when Doaa first arrived with her family, Egypt was a very welcoming place, but then the government changed and it became less so. Like in all the countries that host so many refugees, the refugees struggle because those countries themselves are having their own difficulties. UNHCR is always underfunded and can only provide pretty much the basics. So all the dreams of studying and making a good living, they are not just completely destroyed by the war, but also by the fact of being a refugee in a situation like that, Fleming explained.
Without a work permit in Egypt, Doaa struggled through day shifts for low wages. The war in Syria that drove her family away was in its fourth year. And the people who once welcomed them in Egypt had become weary of them.
It is also in Egypt that Doaa meets and falls in love with Bassem, a fellow Syrian refugee who convinces her to leave and make the perilous journey across the sea to Europe. Theyd heard from their friends who had already made the journey to Europe that there they could not just be safe, but also she could study and he could find a job, said Fleming.
And so he convinced her even thought she was terrified of the water, because she had a near drowning experience when she was a young girl to take this journey. They sold everything and paid the smugglers $2,500 each, which was a fortune for them, and ended up boarding not a luxury liner as the smugglers promised but a really decrepit, rusty, rundown boat packed with 500 refugees, among them 100 children.
After two days at sea she started to get worried, and on the third day she told Bassem: We will never reach the shore. We will all sink. The boat sank near Greece; only 11 people survived, enduring four horrible days floating in the sea. One of them was Doaa.
When Fleming first read about Doaa and baby Masa who survived four days and nights on a childs floating ring in the middle of the sea with no food and no water and everyone dying around her she flew to Crete, Greece, to meet her. At the time Doaa was deeply traumatized.
She lived a nightmare beyond what anyone could possibly imagine. She witnessed the drowning of 500 people, just one after the other before her eyes, including Bassem, who after two days of treading water next to her, slipped from her hands and gave up his struggle. The fact that 19-year-old Doaa and 18-month-old Masa survived is actually almost miraculous.
Through UNHCRs resettlement programme, which helps resettle refugees in a third country, Doaa was reunited with her family. We were able to connect them with the Swedish Government and facilitate the move, said Fleming. The Swedish Government settled them in a small snowy village where they are now learning Swedish, she is healing from her trauma and now again thinking of her brighter future.
As she says in the book, Doaa still feels the same longing she felt in 2012. One day, I hope to return to Syria so I can breathe again. Even if just for one day. That would be enough.
Fleming said she never met a single refugee who does not want to go back. All refugees want to go home someday. Some of them may never go home and live there again they were forced to flee. Its one of the worst things that can happen to you, everything that you treasure and its not just things, its community, its friends, its atmosphere, its the type of food, its memories, its all been forcibly left behind.
All refugees long for the chance to be able to go home. I hope one day Doaa will be able to go home and not just go home, but go home to a peaceful Syria, the Syria that has been reconstructed and a Syria that is reconciled with the evils that have happened in the past six years.
The book is set to reach an even wider audience given that Hollywood directors Steven Spielberg and J. J. Abrams plan to turn it into a film. That means that the telling of this single human story, a remarkable human story its something that resonates, Fleming noted.
Photo: The Italian Coastguard/Massimo Sestini
Source: www.justearthnews.com
Image: www.media.oregonlive.com
Portland, May 27 (IBNS): At least two men were stabbed to death and another injured on a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) train by an attacker who was yelling 'anti-Muslim slurs', reports said.
The incident took place on Friday afternoon, a release from the Portland Police read.
"Two people are dead and one person is injured after a disturbance and stabbing on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Station. The suspect is in custody and there is no further public risk," the release read.
The police have arrested the suspect, who will be named later.
Meanwhile, the witnesses told police that the attacker was directing the slurs to a couple of Muslim girls.
"Witnesses described to police two young women, possibly Muslim, who were on the train at the time of the disturbance and attack, but left prior to police arrival. The young women have not been identified but one was described as wearing a hijab. Detectives would like to speak to them, and any other people who left the scene, as they may be witnesses to this incident.," the release read.
The ongoing investigation will also hamper train services, the release stated.
"East and westbound MAX trains will not be running for several hours due to this ongoing homicide investigation. Commuters and/or transit users are encouraged to seek alternate transportation or visit www.trimet.org for service updates," it said.
MAX train image: M O Stevens/Wikipedia
From 2-7 to sectional champs, Monrovia has one question: 'Why not us?'
Cairo, May 27 (IBNS): Militant group the Islamic State (ISIS) has claimed the attack which killed at least 29 Coptic Christians in Egypt on the eve of Ramadan, reports said.
The incident also injured 25 others.
SITE Intel Group said that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack on the bus.
"Along with the report from its Amaq News Agency for the attack, the Islamic State (IS) issued a formal communique claiming credit for the killing of Coptic Christians in Minya, Egypt," read a report published on the group's website.
Reports said that 10 masked men boarded vehicles carrying Copts and open-fired at them.
Meanwhile, avenging the terror attack, Egyptian planes targeted militant bases in Libya.
Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi said that the country's warplanes struck the Libyan town of Derna six times.
In a tweet on Friday, al-Sisi urged all world leaders to unite against 'this evil'.
In a speech on national television, the Egyptian President warned terrorist organisation and said that he will order strike at any base that train militants.
The attack was also condemned by UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres, who termed the act as heinous and cowardly.
Earlier a similar attack by ISIS in 2016 had claimed the lives of at least 21 Coptic Christians.
On Apr 9, this year, at least 46 people, belonging to the same faith, died in a dual suicide bomb blast at church services in Alexandria and Tanta, forcing the country's President to declare a state of emergency.
Who are the Copts?
Copts make up to 10 percent of Egypts population and is the largest Christian community on the Middle East.
The Copts follow the teaching of Apostle Mark, who introduced Christianity to Egypt, according to St. Takla Church in Alexandria, the capital of Coptic Christianity.
According to the World Council of Churches, the Coptic language descends from ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Though there were hundreds of Coptic monasteries in ancient Egypt, only 20-odd remains active today.
The Church is headed by the Pope of Alexandria, who is based in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
Former Cambodia National Rescue Party President Sam Rainsy, who has been forced to live in exile since 2015 in the face of questionable defamation charges, spoke with reporter Vuthy Huot of Radio Free Asias Khmer Service by telephone from Massachusetts on Friday to discuss his life and activities after he was forced by the government in February to leave his CNRP post. He also spoke about local elections on June 4 that are seen as a bellwether for national elections in 2018.
RFA: How is your life after resigning from the position of CNRP president?
Sam Rainsy: I want to state that even though I forced myself to resign from being the CNRP president, my heart still yearns to rescue the nation 100 percent. My forced resignation was in order to protect the CNRP so that the other side could not use my personal issues as a pretext for dissolving the CNRP. I was the one who initiated the establishment of the CNRP. Considering me as though I am a parent who produced a child and devotes everything for the long life of that child. Hence, I dont regret any position as I have to devote everything including my own life so long as our nation is alive, sustained and prosperous. The CNRP is the only means of rescuing our nation. So, again, I dont have any regret so long as the CNRP retains its role as the single hope for Cambodian citizens, patriots and justice lovers. I would like to appeal to our fellow citizens and our young people, nephews and nieces, to go to vote for the CNRP so that we can rescue our nation together to make it become a prosperous nation like other civilized countries in the world.
RFA: During the election campaign, current CNRP President Kem Sokha called on the citizens to vote for the CNRP if they want to witness Sam Rainsys return to Cambodia. As for now, will you return to Cambodia to lead the party if the CNRP wins the election?
Sam Rainsy: Ive always wanted to return to my home country now. Yet the Phnom Penh government has banned all airline companies from allowing me to board any plane. They said that they wont allow any plane carrying Sam Rainsy to land in Cambodia. They wont even allow any persons boarding the plane to be able to leave the plane as they will send the plane back to its point of origin. So no airline dares to accept me. If the government was courageous, they would not bar me from returning to my own country since it violates the laws and the constitution. No government is entitled to prevent its own citizens from returning to their own home country. Our fellow citizens can make a judgment on this issue. This government is very afraid and nervous of my presence. They are not brave enough and do not possess any sporting spirit for fair competition. They wouldnt need to use such a puppet court to convict me so that I am not able to compete with them. This is so terrible. So leave it to our citizens to judge.
RFA: In the event that the CNRP wins the upcoming elections, and things change, and you can return to Cambodia, will you lead the government or the CNRP once again?
Sam Rainsy: The most important thing is the will of the people. When the majority of the people vote for the CNRP, it means that the citizens want the CNRP to lead the country. First, in 2017 to lead at the commune/sangkat level. With the same level of support in 2018, the CNRP can lead the new government. Hence, when we have a new government led by the CNRP, we can request the King to help intervene in settling my past cases and we will make a new law to protect citizens rights and freedom of expression, and those of our lawmakers as well so that they can protect the citizens who are subject to injustice and other victims. I myself along with my colleagues who dare to speak up for our citizens and those victims didnt do anything wrong. They just convicted us, saying that we had committed offenses so that I cannot take part in the election or return to Cambodia. These are all just pretexts to prevent their challenger from being able to take part in the competition with them since they are very afraid of us and they are cowards. I request that all of our citizens go to vote on election day. When they see the CNRP receive massive support from the people, I believe that the situation will start to change. And I will try to return to Cambodia when our citizens vote for the CNRP at a maximum level.
RFA: Are you standing behind the CNRP acting as the partys supreme advisor or being an unofficial leader of the CNRP?
Sam Rainsy: This depends on the CNRP and its leadership. Let them consider it. But for now, what we need to do is to ensure that our citizens go to vote and bring about victory for the CNRP. Other remaining issues can be settled easily once we gain a good number of our own commune/sangkat chiefs. When they see the landslide support for the CNRP, the other side will surely weaken in power. By then we will have an opportunity for dialogue. Now they are boastful, saying that they represent the majority. Just wait and see in the next couple of days which party enjoys majority support at the commune/sangkat level, and next year at the national level. When we have a majority voice, they wont have the ability to disturb or harass us again. Then the CNRP will make its own internal decision whether it wants anyone to hold any position or not at all. As long as we are the ones who make our own decisions, as long as we have not been forced to follow their orders. When we follow their orders, it damages not only our interest, but also the interest of the nation as a whole.
RFA: Besides appealing to Cambodian citizens to vote for the CNRP so that you can return, have you sought any negotiations with the ruling party so that you can return?
Sam Rainsy: I believe that for now what is crucial is that we must give priority to the election process. We dont need to negotiate at this time. Let the citizens decide and make their own judgments. The courts in Cambodia cannot be accepted. The ones who make the final decision are the citizens who are the owners of the territory. Please my fellow citizens go to vote. You are the representatives of Cambodia; you are the one who make the decision for the future of the country so that you dont allow such corrupted and unjust courts decide the cases of the countrys patriots. So you as the citizens go to vote. You are the court of last resort and the peoples court that makes a decision via elections.
RFA: The NEC does not permit any airing of video clips by the CNRP containing your message. What is your reaction to such a ban?
Sam Rainsy: The current government nowadays is afraid of me. They are afraid of my shadow and my voice or anything related to my name. They are very afraid, just like children afraid of a giant. So let the citizens make their own judgment against those who do evil things against their own citizens, compatriots. They are afraid of those who love justice, democracy and patriotic movements. So you see they dont have any new ideas to present to the citizens. They know that the citizens dont like them and dont believe in them, so they dont have anything to say except using threats of war, or threats to eliminate this or that. I feel such pity for our citizens who are the victims, including civil society members, members of national assembly and the senate from the CNRP who are now in jail. These people didnt commit any crime. I insist our citizens to go to vote in this local election. Do not wait until next year for the national election by saying that this local election is not important. Please dont think like this. We have to do it step by step. We have to go vote and the first step is to change local leadership so that later we can change the leader at the national level. We cannot directly change the national leader at once. We have to vote for change of commune/sangkat leaders, to show our force at the local level so that we can arrange for a better national election towards our final victory for the Cambodian citizens. So please do go to vote on June 4.
Translated by Sovannarith Keo.
New York, May 28(Just Earth News): At the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Italy, United Nations Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres on Saturday called world leaders to invest in young people, with stronger investment in technology and relevant education and capacity building in Africa.
Speaking at a session on reinforcing the partnership between the G7 and Africa, the Secretary-General noted that the international community has a role in helping the continent adapt as it heads for a new wave of industrialization.
Failing to do so might have dramatic consequences for the well-being of the people of Africa; increase fragility, causing massive displacement and risking to boost unemployment, especially for young people, Guterres told leaders at the two-day meeting in Taormina, Italy.
Noting that a majority of African countries have improved their competitiveness and business environments, the UN chief stressed: Our shared challenge is to build on these gains and to change the narrative about Africa from crisis-based narrative to an opportunities-based narrative. We know that the full and true story of Africa is that of a continent with enormous potential for success.
Africa has the fastest growing youth population in the world, he added, who must be supported with education and training in tomorrow's jobs.
High levels of youth unemployment are not only a tragedy for young people themselves, but can also undermine development and generate frustration and alienation that, in turn, can become a threat to global peace and security, Guterres cautioned in his statements to leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Investment in youth must include education and training for girls and women. Gender inequality is costing sub-Saharan Africa $95 billion a year, which at six per cent of the region's gross domestic product is a needless loss of inclusive human development and economic growth, the UN chief said.
He also called for moving manufacturing and traditional activities, such as agriculture, higher up the global value chain, as well as investing in infrastructure that links regions, countries and communities.
Smart digital platforms, smart grids, smart logistics infrastructure can link urban and rural, and better connect the people of Africa to each other and the world, Guterres stated, adding: More than just the transfer of technology, we need to maximize the power of innovation for the people of Africa.
Such support and innovation will help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Africa's framework for socio-economic transformation, known as Agenda 2063.
Source: www.justearthnews.com
Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter was felled by a single shot Friday night as he was working to make one of Richmonds most crime-plagued and violence-prone communities a safer place to live.
Mike made the ultimate sacrifice, Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said Saturday as he stood just a few feet away from the spot where Walter, an 18-year state police veteran and father of three, was shot and mortally wounded as he tried to talk with a resident of the Mosby Court public housing development.
The resident, identified by police as Travis A. Ball, 27, was a felon who lived in the same block where authorities said he shot the officer. He was a passenger in a car driven by another man when Walter and his Richmond police officer-partner walked up to initiate a conversation, police said.
Walter approached the passenger side where Ball was seated. Within moments, a shot rang out, and Walter, who was wearing a ballistics vest, fell to the ground as Ball ran from the car, police said. Ball escaped before police cordoned off the area but was arrested less than 12 hours later in Heathsville, the county seat of Northumberland County.
It was a huge effort. Nobody held back, Col. Steven Flaherty, Virginia State Police superintendent, said of the multi-pronged effort involving eight state, local and federal law enforcement agencies. Everybody brought everything they could to bear to make this arrest a reality, and to protect all of these communities.
Flaherty said Walter was trying to make a positive impact on Mosby Court the scene of 19 shootings and six homicides this year by participating in a joint investigative and patrol operation with Richmond police.
It was about trying to do something to make a difference right here in this community, and thats what they were trying to do last night, Flaherty explained.
The encounter unfolded about 7:25 p.m. after Walter and his partner pulled up behind a Chevrolet Cobalt that was parked on the wrong side of the 1900 block of Redd Street. Both officers, who were riding together, got out to talk with the other cars occupants as part of what police described as a consensual encounter.
But the meeting almost immediately led to gunfire. It happened very quickly, almost within minutes of them even starting a conversation, said state police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
The Richmond officer, who hasnt been identified, immediately called for medical assistance and ran to Walters aid. He was not injured.
Walter died shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday at VCU Medical Center. He was the 63rd state police officer to die in the line of duty since 1932, and the 11th in the last 11 years.
Just over a year ago, on March 31, 2016, trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, was fatally shot inside Richmonds Greyhound bus station by a felon traveling from Aurora, Ill. Dermyer, who was taking part in a training exercise, was shot multiple times as he approached the suspect, who was then fatally shot by other troopers returning fire.
In Fridays shooting in Mosby Court, police recovered a handgun near the car that had been occupied by Ball and the driver, who remained at the scene and was detained by police. He has not been charged.
The recovered gun is the murder weapon, Geller said Saturday, as confirmed by the Office of the Medical Examiners autopsy and examination.
Because the investigation is ongoing, police declined to say how they believe Ball traveled to Heathsville, which is about an hour and 30 minutes from Richmond by car. Ball apparently went to high school in Northumberland and has ties to that community, including several arrests in adjoining Lancaster County.
He was arrested shortly after 6 a.m. and charged with malicious wounding, felony use of a firearm, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Additional charges are pending.
Law enforcement personnel from Virginia State Police, Richmond, Henrico, Hanover Sheriffs Office, FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. Marshals Service joined forces to conduct a massive search for Ball throughout the region, and their efforts, aided by tips, led to his capture, authorities said.
This years wave of violence in Mosby Court was already a sore subject with Richmonds police chief, and on Saturday his frustration boiled over.
Here we are, once again, in Mosby Court, Durham said to reporters who gathered at the scene. Every time we do a press conference, its not about anything positive. Well today, were going to try to do something thats impossible. And thats to build relationships and having a greater presence in the community.
Durham said he will not be deterred by Walters death, and the joint patrols between Richmond and state police will continue in Mosby Court.
We want the residents of this community to come out and engage our officers, Durham said. We want to hear from you. We can no longer expect police to take ownership of the problem thats happening, especially in this community. At some point, we have to get it together as a people, as community, and say were not going to tolerate this anymore.
***
In Mosby Court on Saturday afternoon, a mailman made deliveries as laundry swayed in the breeze on clotheslines between apartment buildings on Redd Street.
Nearby were the blinking red and blue lights from a Richmond Police Department mobile command center. A Richmond police officer sat in a car parked on the street as a state police cruiser drove past.
The relative calm at about 1 p.m. Saturday was in sharp contrast to the scene residents described on Friday night and early Saturday morning, when police swooped into the neighborhood after the shooting.
Joe Robinson, a 58-year-old Mosby Court resident, said it was as if an army descended on the neighborhood after the shooting near Redd and Coalter streets.
They came out here with full force, Robinson said, adding They werent joking. They had lights blinking a lot of lights.
Officers swarmed the area, some using K-9s to search, and others carrying assault rifles patrolled the area in SWAT gear. A police plane circled overhead.
Randy Brown, 62, said he was sitting next to Coalter Street at the time of the shooting. He did not hear the shooting, but he did see the police response to it.
I started seeing them coming up the hill, coming down here, coming down here, and they was flying, three or four cars behind one another, every street, said Brown, who lives just down the road from where the shooting took place.
Brown said a lot of crime in the neighborhood has been caused by outsiders coming in, not people from the community.
Although police said the suspect Ball lived in the area, many of those interviewed in Mosby Court on Saturday said they didnt know him. One woman said she used to see Ball around the neighborhood.
Greg Stokes, a West End resident, said he was visiting his mother in Mosby Court on Friday when he heard a shot, and then saw like 100 police cars.
Stokes, 62, said Saturday afternoon that he was pleased to see police in the neighborhood that has seen its share of crime.
Youve got a lot of people here (in the neighborhood) that work, and they care about each other, Stokes said.
***
After Saturdays news conference in Mosby Court, Bishop Darryl Husband Sr. of Mount Olive Baptist led a group in prayer that included several police officials who had gathered in a circle and held hands. All bowed their heads as they listened to the senior pastors words.
He implored the mothers and fathers in the community to give oversight of their children in such a manner they will teach them respect of their elders, respect for authority.
We pray for healing, Husband continued. Heal, heal, heal. No more turf wars. We pray, Father, that they will themselves understand that this ground is your ground. This is not a ground that they should be planning on living in for the rest of their lives. But a transition area to other communities, and that this ground should be safeguarded with everything that they have.
We pray against gun violence, the pastor said, his voice growing louder. We pray for our police officers, Father, that look over these streets. Not to be intimidating but because theyre here, but to protect those who really care.
And lastly, Husband prayed for the family of the officer, noting the tragic irony of losing his life while trying to protect life.
That in the line of duty, that he would come to this community that he does not live in to bring protection, to bring care, to bring oversight, and then to lose his life, Husband said. And that his wife and children would have to suffer this loss. I pray for them today.
A Virginia State Police special agent has died after he was shot Friday evening after approaching a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street in Mosby Court.
The trooper, Michael T. Walter, succumbed to his injuries shortly after 5 a.m. today at VCU Medical Center.
State police said a Richmond man, Travis A. Ball, 27, is in custody after an overnight search by local, state and federal law enforcement agents.
Ball was apprehended at a home in Northumberland County shortly after 6 a.m. and is being held without bond. He was charged on warrants obtained Friday on one count of malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police said additional charges are pending.
A multi-agency investigative effort involving eight law enforcement agencies and tips from the public led to Ball's apprehension in the Northern Neck, police said. It wasn't immediately clear why Ball traveled to that area.
The shooting happened just after Walter and a Richmond police officer approached the car about 7:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Redd Street, in the heart of the Mosby Court public housing development. A passenger in the vehicle fired a shot and ran, police said. The driver of the vehicle, whom police have not identified, remained at the scene and was detained.
It was not an actual traffic stop. They just approached the vehicle," State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. "They were just having a conversation with the individuals when the state police special agent was shot.
In an update Saturday morning, Geller said Walter was riding with a Richmond police officer as part of the ongoing city-state partnership between the two agencies. She said a handgun was recovered near the car occupied by Ball.
Walter was assigned to the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation field office's Drug Enforcement Section and had routinely partnered with Richmond police on investigative and patrol operations, Geller said.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe identified the trooper as Walter in a tweet at about 10:20 p.m. Friday evening, several hours before law enforcement officials confirmed it.
In a statement just before 10 a.m. today, the governor issued his condolences.
Dorothy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter, and we are heartbroken for his wife and children," McAuliffe said. "Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice.
As the community grieves, I ask my fellow Virginians to join me in praying for Mike's family, friends, and fellow troopers who are suffering from this sudden loss," the governor added. "No words can heal their pain, but we can all honor Mike's memory by showing gratitude to those who protect and serve every day.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also offered condolences.
I am heartbroken over the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter in a senseless act of violence here in our city last night," Stoney said in a statement.
"Richmond joins the entire law enforcement community in mourning the loss of this fallen hero and brave public servant, who worked every day to keep the rest of us safe.
"I ask my fellow citizens to keep Special Agent Walter's wife and children in their thoughts and prayers in the difficult days ahead, and to honor his service with a renewed commitment to a safer, more peaceful city."
Police from across the region poured into the area in the hours following the shooting.
On Friday night, law enforcement in tactical gear, some carrying assault rifles, had cordoned off all entrances to Mosby Court while a small plane buzzed overhead. Some officers searched the area with K-9s.
No one was being allowed in or out of Mosby Court and police were going door-to-door asking residents what they knew about the incident, according to multiple people with family members and friends in the complex.
Yet Ball had somehow initially slipped away.
Mosby Court has gained a reputation as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said last month the public housing complex is a priority for police and is driving up violent crime.
At a news conference Friday evening, Durham said six of the citys homicides this year have occurred in the Mosby community and a total of 19 people have been shot in the vicinity.
By David M. Hart and Chad A. Smith
Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has made clear with his carbon-reduction directive that he stands with the vast majority of Americans who want the nation to do more to address global warming. He joins a large group of governors, county executives, and mayors in doing so. While President Trump ponders withdrawal from the global agreement designed to avoid the worst effects of climate change, states and localities are sending a powerful signal to the world: Only the U.S. government is shrinking from this challenge. The American people are not.
The anti-global warming agreement was signed in Paris in 2015. It is built around intended commitments by each participating national government to reduce its global-warming emissions independently and voluntarily on a specific timetable. Unlike domestic law and many international treaties, the Paris agreement does not create a system to force compliance with these commitments. Its power comes from cultivating mutual awareness and building confidence. Global stakeholders will only reduce their emissions in the short run if they are sure they will benefit in the long run. But they will only benefit in the long run if they see everyone else acting similarly in the short run. The commitment process cultivates awareness, and agreed-upon arrangements to measure and verify progress build confidence that the commitments are indeed credible.
Although nations are the legal parties to the Paris agreement, they are not its only stakeholders. Actions taken by state and local governments as well as by the private sector can contribute to the achievement of its goals. The framers of the agreement recognized this fact, and they devised mechanisms to create awareness and build confidence among these stakeholders, too. What they may not have anticipated is that these mechanisms might perform the agreements main function as one of its most important parties, the United States, pulls back.
The Compact of States and Regions and the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy are two of these mechanisms. They mirror the main agreement by allowing state and local officials to make authoritative, independently determined declarations about emissions reduction goals and providing a standardized methodology for assessing progress toward these goals. More ambitious state and local stakeholders may make more ambitious commitments through other mechanisms like the Carbon Neutral Cities Alliance.
The Non-State Actor Zone for Climate Action (NAZCA) portal brings all of these commitments together. Any stakeholder who wants to become aware of what other stakeholders are doing may consult this portal. Its eight internationally recognized partners build confidence in commitments registered there by certifying the quality of the data that the stakeholders submit and the methods by which those data are gathered.
The portal has registered more than 6,000 commitments by states and cities globally, including 573 in the United States. They come from red places in this country as well as blue ones: Utah and Indiana have registered as well as California and New York. Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, along with Portland, Oregon, belongs to the Compact of Mayors.
Virginia, along with a host of other states, cities, and counties, has made commitments that could be added to the list. More than a thousand American cities, for instance, have adopted emissions reduction targets, far more than have registered with the portal. Twenty-nine states, many more than the portal shows, including Virginia, North Carolina, and Maryland, have adopted requirements for the use of renewable resources for electricity generation, reducing emissions of carbon dioxide, the most important global warming gas.
Such commitments reflect the hard work of grassroots coalition-builders, the creative entrepreneurship of local businesses, and the bold leadership of elected officials like Governor McAuliffe. But they can have a much greater impact if they are broadcast to the world and validated through the mechanisms created by the Paris agreement.
Just think: If all the states that have already adopted emissions reduction targets were to hit them in 2050, while the remaining states merely continue on their established business-as-usual trajectory, national emissions would decrease by 43 percent compared to 2005 more than halfway to the Paris goal of 80 percent. And that doesnt even count targets set by cities and counties in states without such targets. Nor does this estimate incorporate the increasing ambition that many American states, cities, and counties have expressed.
Official declarations by elected representatives of these governments on the global portal would create awareness and build confidence in the rest of the world, where the Trump effect has unsettled many parties to the Paris agreement. It would do the same here at home, sparking new and more ambitious commitments. It might even allow the nation to weather this difficult period in our struggle with global warming without losing the promising momentum built over the last decade.
The president is not speaking for the nation on the Paris agreement. But the nation can and should speak for itself through its federal system. As President Ronald Reagan said in his first inaugural address in 1981, All of us need to be reminded that the federal government did not create the states; the states created the federal government.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Nearly four years after it started operations as a farm brewery in Goochland County, Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery is planning a $14 million expansion that is expected to create 59 new jobs over the next three years.
State and local officials including Gov. Terry McAuliffe turned out to sample beer at the brewery on Friday, as co-founder and chief executive officer Lisa Pumphrey outlined plans for the expansion in both Goochland and downtown Lynchburg.
The brewery plans to add 50,000 square feet of production space and a new tap room to its existing 4,000-square-foot brewery in Goochland overlooking a 290-acre farm near Little Lickinghole Creek.
The expansion will enable the brewery known for its specialty ales to expand production and make what Pumphrey described as a distinctive new lager style of beer.
Lickinghole Creek has hired a new brewmaster, Brandon Greenwood, formerly of California-based Lagunitas Brewing Co.
What we have dreamt up and what we are branding is the Virginia lager, Pumphrey said, adding that she hopes it will be copied by other breweries and become identified with the state.
The expansion also includes opening a new production brewery in a leased building in downtown Lynchburg.
The location is phenomenal, Pumphrey said of the decision to open a second site in Lynchburg. Its in the heart of the downtown, which they are trying to revive.
(The city) needs jobs, and we think we can bring in tourism and be an anchor for other businesses, she said.
The Lynchburg brewery will focus on innovative brewing techniques to make sour beers and barrel-aged brews.
Gov. McAuliffe approved a $250,000 grant from the Governors Agriculture and Forestry Industries Development Fund for the companys expansion in Goochland, and a $50,000 grant from the same fund for the new facility in Lynchburg. Both grants will be matched with local funds.
To receive those funds, the brewery agreed to purchase more than $550,000 worth of Virginia farm products for its brewing operations over the next three years.
The (Lynchburg) News & Advance contributed to this report.
Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Donald Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, then President-elect Trumps son-in-law and confidant, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter said the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that its unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushners apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than rely on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administrations relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and maintains near-constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that though Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushners apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
How would he trust that the Russians wouldnt leak it on their side? said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause a great deal of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy.
The discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trumps closest advisors to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts. Trumps first national security adviser, Flynn, was forced to resign after a series of false statements about his conversations with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters related to the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own meetings with Kislyak when asked during congressional testimony about any contact with Russians.
Kushners interactions with Russians including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last years presidential race and help elect Trump.
Obama administration officials say members of the Trump transition team never approached them about arranging a secure communications channel with their Russian contacts, possibly because of concerns about leaks.
The State Department, the White House National Security Council and U.S. intelligence agencies all have the ability to set up secure communications channels with foreign leaders, though doing so for a transition team would be unusual.
Trumps advisers were similarly secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. The Obama White House only learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner, Flynn and Steven Bannon, another top Trump adviser, because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leaders name on a flight manifest.
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds to an American.
The Post was first alerted in mid-December to the meeting by an anonymous letter, which said, among other things, that Kushner had talked to Kislyak about setting up the communications channel. This week, officials, who reviewed the letter and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said the portion about the secret channel was consistent with their understanding of events.
For instance, according to those officials and the letter, Kushner conveyed to the Russians that he was aware it would be politically sensitive to meet publicly, but it was necessary for the Trump team to be able to continue their communication with Russian government officials.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a Russian contact in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
The Post reported in April that Erik Prince, the founder of Blackwater private security firm and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met on Jan. 11 nine days before Trumps inauguration in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
A Virginia State Police special agent has died after he was shot Friday evening after approaching a vehicle parked on the wrong side of the street in Mosby Court.
The trooper, Michael T. Walter, succumbed to his injuries shortly after 5 a.m. today at VCU Medical Center.
State police said a Richmond man, Travis A. Ball, 27, is in custody after an overnight search by local, state and federal law enforcement agents.
Ball was apprehended at a home in Northumberland County shortly after 6 a.m. and is being held without bond. He was charged on warrants obtained Friday on one count of malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Police said additional charges are pending.
A multi-agency investigative effort involving eight law enforcement agencies and tips from the public led to Ball's apprehension in the Northern Neck, police said. It wasn't immediately clear why Ball traveled to that area.
The shooting happened just after Walter and a Richmond police officer approached the car about 7:30 p.m. in the 1900 block of Redd Street, in the heart of the Mosby Court public housing development. A passenger in the vehicle fired a shot and ran, police said. The driver of the vehicle, whom police have not identified, remained at the scene and was detained.
It was not an actual traffic stop. They just approached the vehicle," State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. "They were just having a conversation with the individuals when the state police special agent was shot.
In an update Saturday morning, Geller said Walter was riding with a Richmond police officer as part of the ongoing city-state partnership between the two agencies. She said a handgun was recovered near the car occupied by Ball.
Walter was assigned to the Virginia State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation field office's Drug Enforcement Section and had routinely partnered with Richmond police on investigative and patrol operations, Geller said.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe identified the trooper as Walter in a tweet at about 10:20 p.m. Friday evening, several hours before law enforcement officials confirmed it.
In a statement just before 10 a.m. today, the governor issued his condolences.
Dorothy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter, and we are heartbroken for his wife and children," McAuliffe said. "Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice.
As the community grieves, I ask my fellow Virginians to join me in praying for Mike's family, friends, and fellow troopers who are suffering from this sudden loss," the governor added. "No words can heal their pain, but we can all honor Mike's memory by showing gratitude to those who protect and serve every day.
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney also offered condolences.
I am heartbroken over the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Michael T. Walter in a senseless act of violence here in our city last night," Stoney said in a statement.
"Richmond joins the entire law enforcement community in mourning the loss of this fallen hero and brave public servant, who worked every day to keep the rest of us safe.
"I ask my fellow citizens to keep Special Agent Walter's wife and children in their thoughts and prayers in the difficult days ahead, and to honor his service with a renewed commitment to a safer, more peaceful city."
Police from across the region poured into the area in the hours following the shooting.
On Friday night, law enforcement in tactical gear, some carrying assault rifles, had cordoned off all entrances to Mosby Court while a small plane buzzed overhead. Some officers searched the area with K-9s.
No one was being allowed in or out of Mosby Court and police were going door-to-door asking residents what they knew about the incident, according to multiple people with family members and friends in the complex.
Yet Ball had somehow initially slipped away.
Mosby Court has gained a reputation as one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the city. Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham said last month the public housing complex is a priority for police and is driving up violent crime.
At a news conference Friday evening, Durham said six of the citys homicides this year have occurred in the Mosby community and a total of 19 people have been shot in the vicinity.
We have some great people who live in this community and theyre living in fear. Its a small population of individuals who think they can run rampant and instill fear in our citizens, the police chief said. People are only going to do in your communities Ive said it before what you allow them to do. So this is a plea. This is a final call. Enough is enough.
By Press Trust of India: Neemuch (MP), May 27 (PTI) Police today seized 71kg of opium and arrested three persons near here, an official said.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team stopped a trawler loaded with soybean de-oiled cake (DOC) near Jamunia Khurd village. A careful inspection revealed that 71kg of opium, packed in two white plastic bags, was concealed between cartons filled with the cattle feed, Neemuch SP Manoj Kumar Singh told reporters.
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The police arrested three persons travelling in the trawler, which was bearing a Rajasthan registration number, the officer said.
Those arrested were identified as Dharmendra Gurjar (23), Bharat Gurjar (35) and Gopal Banjara (23), he said.
The drug consignment was given to the trio by one Sheru Gurjar and it was being taken to Haryana, Singh said, adding further probe was on. PTI COR MAS RSY
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The 'Missing Man' flypast is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms. The Arrow Formation of MiG-21 Bison, with a gap between two aircraft in the formation depicted the - Missing Man.
By Manjeet Negi: Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa led a four aircraft, MiG-21 'Missing Man' formation flypast today at AF Station Bhisiana to honour the valour and supreme sacrifice of Kargil martyrs.
The 'Missing Man' flypast is an aerial salute accorded to honour the fallen comrades-in-arms. The Arrow Formation of MiG-21 Bison, with a gap between two aircraft in the formation depicted the - Missing Man.
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Later, in a simple, yet poignant ceremony, he laid a wreath at the Memorial to honour martyrs who made the supreme sacrifice in the line of duty.
Air Chief was on a three day visit to the station. It is here, while commanding the 17 Squadron Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had flown the MiG-21 T-96 aircraft, currently the oldest fighter in the IAF inventory.
On this day in 1999, Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja VrC (Posthumous) attained martyrdom during Kargil conflict. He was at that time the Flight Commander of 17 Squadron. Alka Ahuja wife of late Squadron Leader Ajay Ahuja VrC (Posthumous) was also present and the CAS presented her a plaque of 'Missing Man' formation.
During his visit, the Air chief also reviewed security and operational preparedness of the base. He complimented the personnel of the base for their combat readiness; and urged them to "learn from the past, practise in the present, and win in the future".
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The Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid in Kashmir, killing at least six suspected militants in Baramulla.This was the second infiltration attempt in 24 hours.
By Shuja-ul-Haq , Ashraf Wani: At least six suspected militants have been killed in Kashmir's Baramulla area after the Indian Army foiled an infiltration bid in the Rampur sector. Early Saturday morning, the Army said that four militants had been killed in an operation that began on Friday night.
Later on Saturday, two more militants were gunned down, taking to the toll to six. As of Saturday morning, search operations to locate the slain militants' bodies and other possible attackers were on.
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According to an Army statement, forces laid an ambush for the militants at around 7.30 pm on Friday after receiving specific input about their movements inside Indian territory.
The ambush was laid around 10 kilometers south of Rampur and on making contact, the militants engaged Indian soldiers in a fierce fire fight.
The bodies are yet to be reached, the Army said. Search operations are in progress to recover the bodies.
This was the second infiltration attempt in 24 hours.
On Friday, an Army patrol was attacked by a Pakistan Border Action Team (BAT) in Uri, which is adjacent to the Rampur sector where the four militants were killed today.
The Army shot dead two BAT personnel in response on Friday. BAT is the same unit that has previously been involved in the mutilation of Indian Army jawans.
TRAL ATTACK
There was another attack on Friday night when suspected militants opened fire at an Army patrol in Pulwama's Tral. No personnel were injured.
Up to three militants were cornered by forces in Tral and the encounter was on as of Saturday morning.
(With inputs from Gaurav Sawant)
ALSO READ | Kashmir: India to keep pressure on Pakistan troops at the LoC
ALSO WATCH | The way forward after Pakistan Army's mutilation of Indian jawans
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By SA Commercial Prop News- I-Net Bridge
Spur Corporation (SUR) CE Pierre Van Tonder said countries in the rest of Africa offer a good opportunity to enter higher growth markets although each market brings its own particular challenges.
Spur Corporation (SUR) whose brands include Panarottis John Dorys and Captain DoRegos will open outlets in Swaziland Nigeria Tanzania Namibia and the Seychelles next year.
With Africas middle class expected to triple by 2031 consumer-facing industries are harnessing opportunities to cash in on the surge in spending.
In its annual report released yesterday the restaurant franchise group said its strategy was to grow in existing territories to allow for the development of improved logistics pricing and raw material efficiencies.
Countries in the rest of Africa offer a good opportunity to enter higher growth markets although each market brings its own particular challenges CE Pierre Van Tonder said.
There are 25 restaurants in the groups African division outside SA. The company has nine outlets in Mauritius.
We have added resources to our African management team. The two new Captain DoRegos (Mauritius and Namibia) have been received well and we believe that there is a large market for this offering in Africa.
"We continue to review our traditional models to adapt these to the higher set up occupancy costs and other challenges we encounter in certain countries in Africa the company said.
Africas fast-growing prospects have caught the eye of other local players such as Famous Brands and Taste Holdings as well as global chains.
Dominos Pizza which is the largest pizza chain worldwide opened two restaurants in Nigeria last year and is exploring expansion opportunities in Kenya and SA.
Another international food company establishing a platform in Africa is YUM Restaurants International which intends to grow KFC exponentially in the future.
Famous Brands (Fbr) the owner of Wimpy and Mugg & Bean last month acquired a 49% stake in Nigerian fast food business Mr Biggs that it will use to entrench its position in Africas most populous country.
Famous Brands network in the rest of Africa totals 172 restaurants in 15 countries and makes up about 8% of total sales a figure the company wants to push to 15% over the next three years.
While rich pickings are clearly available in the rest of Africa this must be tempered with knowledge of the trading risks such as the lack of formalised retail infrastructure power shortages and poor logistics.
By SA Commercial Prop News
Last week, Neil Gopal CEO of the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) made call to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs, Gugile Nkwinti, to invoke his discretionary powers to expedite Spatial planning and Land Use Management
Commercial property owners are appealing to the Minister of Rural Development and Land Affairs, Gugile Nkwinti, to invoke his discretionary powers to expedite Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013 (SPLUMA) to prevent damaging logjams in the property development sector.
The matters relating to the property development has remained topical in the country as a lot of work still needs to be undertaken in the property development sector.
Last week, the South African Property Owners Association (SAPOA) made call on Government to unravel the unnecessary bureaucracy and other delaying factors that have resulted in a R20-billion hiatus in the property development sector that could leave a R3-billion-plus dent in GDP and wipe out up to 16 000 jobs in the sector.
SPLUMA replaces the much-vaunted Development Facilitation Act, 1995 and is supported by SAPOA from a legislative perspective.
However, property development applications, and appeals among other matters are being affected by the transition, creating not only significant delays but also unnecessary bureaucracy.
For this reason, SAPOA is requesting that Minister Nkwinti invoke subsection d) of Section 60 of SPLUMA, says SAPOA CEO, Neil Gopal.
This provision allows the Minister to prescribe a date by which property development applications, appeals and other matters must be dealt with.
The Minister has indicated that SPLUMA will be phased in over two deadlines.
On 1 July 2014, sections dealing with current DFA applications, establishment of tribunals and the preparation of Spatial Development Frameworks would be effective, followed by sections dealing with municipal land use planning and development applications of national interest on 1 September 2014.
These dates have yet to be gazetted, adds Gopal, pointing out that they are thus not yet official.
Furthermore, there are signs that the overall deadlines may be pushed back to February 2015, which would exacerbate the situation faced by the property development sector.
A lack of professional capacity and a need to promulgate appropriate bylaws are the main reasons for slow progress to date.
As Gopal underscores, the economic impact of delays and bottlenecks is profound. Data shows that the private sector in SA accounts for 61% of construction activity, and provides employment for 828,000 people, more than 6% of total employment in SA.
Research undertaken by SAPOA finds that R20 billion of property developments are currently in the pipeline.
With an average completion period of 24 months, some 50% of the value of this development pipeline will be lost annually if delays continue. Linked to that is job creation of 30,000.
The overall negative economic impact on GDP is estimated at R3.3 billion, while the loss of permanent jobs across SA is estimated at around 16000, explains Gopal.
By Pramod Madhav: Pro-Tamil groups are protesting against Center's decision to ban cattle sale for slaughter, with incidents of attempt to burn Modi's effigy being reported from parts of state.
On Friday, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified new rules under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, that ban sale of cattle for slaughter in open markets across the country.
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DMK Leader MK Stalin tweeted on the matter saying that such a rule defies the federal system of the Indian nation.
India is a federal union and BJP Government should recuse itself from endangering the pluralism by instituting monolithic laws #beefban- M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 26, 2017
Tamil Tigers Party took to the streets to protest against the new rule in Coimbatore's Red Cross society, where they attempted to burn en effigy of the prime minister.
"Over 40 per cent people of India consume beef and such a kind of rule will definitely affect them. Modi has hurt the sentiments of the people by this ban", claimed Ilavenil, leader of Tamil Puligal Party.
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Turnout for general election less than expected for Saline County
Ballots are still being counted as of Wednesday, but it seems the turnout for the 2022 general election was lower than expected by the county clerk.
They were handed over to BSF at Akhaura border in Brahmanbaria district.
By Sahidul Hasan Khokon: Two Indian citizens, a woman and her son, have been released from Moulvibazar jail on Saturday, after completing their jail term.
They were handed over to the BSF at Akhaura border in Brahmanbaria district.
The woman Jayant Biswas and her son Pratush Biswas were in tears after being released from Moulvibazar jail. They had entered Bangladesh through the Juri Upazila border on February 23, 2016 and were trying to return to their homeland India without any passport when members of BGB arrested them.
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On April 10, 2016, the court sentenced them to one month's imprisonment and fined one thousand taka and 10 days' more in default to pay. But due to the legal complications of both the countries, even after their prison term expired, they were not able to get out of jail.
The prison authorities contacted the Indian High Commissioner and finally after 16 months, the prison authorities were able to release them.
Jail Super Mohammad Anwaruzzaman said, "It was not possible to release them due to the legal complications of both the countries."
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Betham Brothers Enterprises (B.B.E) celebrated their 25th years of service to Samoa by giving back to their customers and supporting societies such as Nuanua o le Alofa, Disability Advocacy Organization in Samoa and Loto Taumafai Society.
NYK Bulk and Projects Carriers Ltd. and KYOWA Shipping Co. Ltd are two of biggest shipping organizations in the world and both companies are in partnership with B.B.E.
They are in Samoa to celebrate B.B.Es birthday with donations to N.O.L.A. and Loto Taumafai.
B.B.E. Head of Customers Broker, Mataafa Saeni Leatupue, said the partnership with NYK Bulk and Projects as well as KYOWA Shipping Co. Ltd for their twenty-five made the donations possible.
The first donation of a $1, 000 cheque from NYK Bulk and Projects, was presented to N.O.L.A. by Masahiro Morimoto, General Manager of N.Y.K. Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd, in Tokyo Japan.
We have been doing our best to contribute to civil societies through transportation but we also believe that we should assist through other activities as well and we are here today to recognize the importance of N.O.L.A. and the significant contribution that that organization have made to local societies, he said.
Samoa is one of the most important markets in the South Pacific for us."
We are proud to be able to make a donation in support of N.O.L.A.s education and good work.
Mataafa Fuatino Utumapu, office manager for N.O.L.A. acknowledged B.B.E. and its partners from NYK Bulk and Projects for their contribution.
We started this dialogue in early March of this year, they have been looking for organizations to donate to and thats not just to donate to but based on the number of works that we have been doing and continue to do for persons with disabilities.
So the fact that theyre donating for us is not just a matter of one partner donating to the other but it is for the realization of how much persons with disabilities are visible in our community and how much work and efforts they put in to make sure that persons with disabilities are inclusive, respected and recognized in all levels of developments.
The second donation of a $1,200 cheque was given to the Loto Taumafai Society by Mai Kohno, Chief of Trade Headquarters for KYOWA Shipping Co. Ltd.
All of our vessels come around the South Pacific Islands, so we have three liners services which goes to the Micronesia area, one that serves Papua New Guinea and Australia and our third one; we have boats to Fiji, New Calendonia, Tahiti and of course Apia, so its very great to visit one of the ports that we serve.
Leataa Devoe, Chief Executive Officer for Loto Taumafai Society acknowledged B.B.E. and KYOWA Shipping Co. Ltd for their contribution.
I know that this is special to our students and we as a society are very appreciative of any assistance that is given to us for our operations.
At the end of the donations, B.B.Es Mystery Draw was conducted at its main office at Savalalo where 25 customers were chosen to pick out their special prizes from a mystery box with only one mystery prize.
Each customer won something worthy of their loyalty for using B.B.E. services.
They were gifted with prizes such as vouchers, cash prizes, tickets to the Reds and Blues game, mobile phones with $50 credits, crates of Taula and Taxi drinks but only one winner name Saalanepi Talatala from Lotofaga Aleipata, was blessed with the mystery prize of $2,500 cash.
The celebration continued last night.
Coverage from the birthday reception will be in tomorrows Sunday Samoan.
It was inevitable. The governments plan to tax pastors and members of the clergy was always going to come up against some pretty stiffed opposition and today none more so than the biggest denomination in the country.
On the front page of the newspaper you are reading, members of the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S) are united in their decision to flatly reject the governments tax plan.
The decision was apparently reached during the Churchs annual conference where the meeting resolved for a letter to be formally presented to the government outlining the churchs objection.
And now that C.C.C.S is making the first move, it would not be surprising at all if other denominations follow. There are some interesting times ahead.
But it doesnt surprise us. One could easily sense the Churchs unhappiness about the plan in the voice of the Chairman of the National Council of Churches, Leaupepe Kasiano, when his opinion was sought.
Back in March when the news broke, Leaupepe urged the government to reconsider.
Its a sensitive matter because it is not the same for all the churches in Samoa, Leaupepe said. Weve told the Ministry that the decision will not come from the Samoa National Council of Churches. This is because the Council are not the ones to decide on this matter.
We will leave it to leaders of each Church in Samoa to come up with their own ideas in relation to this and then present it to the Ministry for their report to Parliament.
Well now that the C.C.C.S have found their voice, where do we go from here?
Back to Leaupepe, asked for a comment about the Prime Ministers claim that even Jesus Christ paid taxes, he laughed.
We all know the story, Leaupepe responded. Jesus held up the coin and asked the people to look at the image on the coin. He asked them whose image was on the coin and people said it was Caesars.
So he said, give back to Caesar what is Caesars, and to God what is Gods.
This means, whats been set aside for God and has been blessed for God should be for God. Those are sacred.
Now speaking of sacred, there is one other element of this tax debate that has been widely ignored. Perhaps not deliberately or maybe people have just not thought about it hard enough.
You see folks; its not just the pastors and the churches whom the government is targeting. The highest office holder on the land, the Head of State, is the first target. Yes thats correct, the Head of State, whom has not been taxed since the beginning of time, will soon be required to pay taxes like everyone else, if the government has its way.
And as with most policies and laws the government has formulated which affect the Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi has maintained his dignity and in doing so protected the Office he holds by keeping his silence.
Lets not forget that the government has already changed the law, which guides the nomination of candidates for the role of the Head of State. Whereas the old law dictated that Parliament could vote on the position holder, the new one means the government can solely choose whomever they want.
All that was done with little or no consultation with the Head of State, sources have told this newspaper. As if that wasnt insulting enough, Prime Minister Tuilaepa and his government are at it again, this time pushing to change the law to now require the Head of State to pay taxes too.
As weve alluded to earlier in this piece, the Head of State is the highest office holder on the land. Was he ever consulted about this plan? If so, what did he say?
We ask these questions because if the Head of States of the past were not taxed, why now with His Highness Tui Atua at the helm?
Has this plan been designed to be another slap in the face by the government to add further insult to injury? And if the official line is that the government is merely doing what is right to tax everyone, why was this not done 30 years ago when they came into power?
With due respect, why didnt they think of taxing the late Malietoa Tanumafili II? What has the leadership of this government got against the Head of State?
The point is the forefathers of this nation would be turning in their graves at the idea that this government is doing everything in its power to turn things upside down.
They have already butchered the Constitution blue with so many unnecessary changes. When are they going to stop?
The fact is, if our forefathers did not see fit to tax pastors and the Head of State office holders when the Constitution was written, why now?
Dont we believe anymore in the wisdom of our forebears who fought blood, sweat and tears for the freedom we are preparing to once again celebrate this week?
Is there nothing sacred in Samoa anymore?
Tell us what you think!
Have a peaceful Sunday Samoa, God bless!
The nations biggest denomination, the Congregational Christian Church of Samoa (C.C.C.S), has rejected the plan by the government to tax church Ministers.
The decision was reached during the Churchs annual conference, which ended on Friday.
The meeting resolved that a letter will be formally presented to the government outlining the churchs objection.
The rejection of the governments plan was widely supported by the Churchs membership.
This is not a type of local government, I mean this is a church, church member Tautolo Masele told the Sunday Samoan.
Looking closely at what is happening now, they are targeting the money given to faifeau every week. Thats a double tax for us members of the public. I mean we are not only paying taxes to the government through other ways and now we will all be taxed again through the faifeau.
Mr. Masele said peoples offerings to the Pastors should be left alone.
The money we offer to the Pastors is money we have dedicated to God through his servant."
That should be left alone as it is holy money.
Im happy that the church has rejected this decision.
Another church member agrees.
This is not because of anything else, we are doing this in the name of God, he said.
I think the government is waiting on the E.F.K.S. (for their decision), but Ive heard the Methodist Church have also rejected it.
The church member said the government must rethink its decision.
Its something our ancestors did and this was instilled in the minds of our people. Why is the government changing it now?
Accrording to the Minister of Revenue, Tialavea Tionisio Hunt, the governments intention is for everyone in Samoa to be taxed.
Tialavea said the Ministry has been entrusted with the task of generating revenue to pay for the developments and they are not leaving a stone unturned.
I took the oath when I was selected as the Minister that I would do everything to make sure that we get extra money for the development of the country," he said.
So we are now in the process and we are reviewing the laws to make sure that everyone pays taxes.
Tialavea said the review includes the existing law which allows church Ministers not to pay tax on their incomes.
The proposed changes targets the money church ministers receive from the congregation every two weeks (alofa/peleti)."
We will not touch other contributions made by the church. We believe those other contributions are for the development of the churches."
This will also exclude the money they get from funerals, weddings, and other things.
Tialavea said the Ministry only wants to tax the offering received by Pastors from their congregations.
As you are aware, these taxes are for the development of our country. It is to help our people." I understand that there are other pastors who are doing volunteering work and giving out money and food for those in need."
But we (Member of Parliaments) are also doing the same. We also give out money to develop our districts and help those who need help. The difference is that we pay tax and they dont.
In March, the Chairman of the Samoa National Council of Churches, Deacon Kasiano Leaupepe, cautioned the government over its plan.
It is something they have to consider very carefully, Leaupepe said. Its a sensitive matter because it is not the same for all the churches in Samoa.
For that reason, Leaupepe said the National Council of Churches does not have an official opinion on the plan by the Ministry of Revenue.
Weve told the Ministry that the decision will not come from the Samoa National Council of Churches. This is because the Council are not the ones to decide on this matter.
We will leave it to leaders of each Church in Samoa to come up with their own ideas in relation to this and then present it to the Ministry for their report to Parliament.
Leaupepe said his only wish is that the review is fair and that everyone is given an opportunity to present their views.
You see different churches in Samoa have their own systems, he said. So its something that they should look at carefully because it is not the same for all the churches in Samoa.
For example, the Methodist church and the C.C.C.S church have their own systems, different from the Catholic Churchs system. If we look at the plan they have now, they are targeting the money given to faifeau on Sunday (alofa/peleti).
To me, it seems like the Church ministers for the E.F.K.S and Methodist are the ones who will have to pay. I say this because for us in the Catholic Church, we will definitely not be paying tax because we dont get as much as my brothers from the Methodist and E.F.K.S church.
We also have our own system of paying those who are in charge of conducting services in our church. I think the same goes for other churches aside from the Methodist and E.F.K.S.
And thats what I mean that the Ministry should look at this very carefully before they make their final report.
If they want to tax everyone, including all members of the clergy, then they should do it in a way where it is fair for everyone. They should also look at how some churches are bigger than others. Things like that.
Leaupepe added that there is a big difference between a person working for the government and a faifeau (church Minister).
A person who works for the government works from 9-5 from Monday to Friday. As for a church minister, they dont just work during daytime. They work days and nights.
For example, if someone from the congregation dies late at night, the family always have to call the faifeau to come and do a service before anything else. No matter what time of the night something like this happens, the faifeau will always have to get up and do it.
It can happen any day and any time of the day or night. There are a lot of differences. They sacrifice a lot in order to do their duties and calling from God.
Asked for a comment about the Prime Ministers claim that even Jesus Christ paid taxes, Leaupepe laughed.
We all know the story, he said. Jesus held up the coin and asked the people to look at the image on the coin. He asked them whose image was on the coin and people said it was Caesars.
So he said, give back to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.
This means, whats been set aside for God and has been blessed for God should be for God. Those are sacred.
Trying to reduce its homeless population, the city of El Cajon is considering hiring an outside group with a track record of getting people off the streets and into temporary or permanent housing.
Similar to a one-year pilot program in Encinitas, the El Cajon City Council is looking at the nonprofit Crisis House to be a housing navigator.
The navigator would establish a relationship with a person who is homeless, matching them with a suitable housing environment. Once housed, various programs and services would be made available.
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Crisis House has been helping people become self-sufficient and get access to social services in East County since 1970.
Councilmen Steve Goble and Gary Kendrick told the City Council on Tuesday they were concerned that El Cajons most recent homeless numbers showed a 21 percent increase in the past year.
The annual count in 2017 showed 65 people in sheltered housing and 323 living unsheltered in the city, for a total of 388. That number was 321 last year.
Goble and Kendrick said the goal of Project Home Team would be to find homes for 25 individuals by June 30, 2018.
The effort in Encinitas was part of a national effort known as the 25 Cities Initiative, with a similar goal of finding housing for at least 25 homeless individuals.
The key to remaining housed lies in providing ongoing, supportive services to each individual, tailored to their needs, Goble said.
The services are provided by the county and a variety of community agencies.
The coalition of service providers includes the police and fire departments, the county of San Diego, Crisis House, the East County Chamber of Commerce, St Pauls Senior Services, the Regional Task Force on the Homeless and the East County Homeless Task Force.
All support this approach of housing-first solution combined with ongoing assistance, Goble said.
Kendrick said the plan could also assist homeless people in their quest to find employment.
Its pretty hard to find a job if you have no place to hang your hat, sleep or take a shower, he said.
As the busy Memorial Day weekend got under way Friday at San Onofre State Beach, surfers noticed something unusual in the water far fewer people.
A spate of recent white shark sightings along the Southern California coast, and a near-fatal shark attack at San Onofre last month, may have cooled the appetites of many swimmers and some surfers who typically flock to the beach this time of year.
There arent as many guys here as there used to be for a holiday weekend, said Mick Kingfish Rosine, 69, of San Clemente, after hitting some waves at San Onofre. Instead of waiting shoulder to shoulder in the lineup, surfers were spaced out in loose clusters.
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The same was true at nearby San Clemente, where a white shark was spotted as recently as Wednesday, said Marine Safety Officer Blake Anderson.
We have absolutely seen fewer people going in the water, he said. While the beach wasnt under a shark alert Friday, Anderson said lifeguards were flying a yellow flag signifying caution because of the recent sightings.
Last Sunday and Monday, 20 to 25 white sharks some of them 10-footers were spotted near shore between San Clemente and Capistrano beach, prompting lifeguards to close the beaches several times in a three-day stretch.
On April 29, 33-year-old Leeanne Ericson was swimming at the popular Church surf spot near San Onofre when she was bitten on her thigh by a white shark that tore away much of her leg. She was airlifted to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla and is still recovering from her injuries.
Scientists say the stretch of coast on the border of San Diego and Orange counties, known for legendary waves and a rich variety of surf breaks, is also recognized as a shark hot spot. Tagging data, fishermens catch and eyewitness observations confirm that the beach is a nursery for the ocean predators.
Dale Northey, who has surfed San Onofre for 45 years, said he encountered one at close range last year.
A friend of mine was yelling my name, said Northey, 71, of Laguna Nigel. I heard him the third time and I could tell by the urgency in this voice that it was a shark. I saw a fin coming at me 10 yards away, and I turned around and paddled near my friends.
The experience was sobering, but didnt scare him away, he said, noting that surfing poses risks independent of sharks. Over the years, he has sustained a head injury, sliced a fingertip and broke three ribs in in the water there. On Friday he emerged with a bloody scratch on his shin.
Its a fun sport, and if you really love it, youre not going to give it up for sharks, he said.
In fact, many surfers Friday were thrilled at the relative quiet.
This is the sharks home, said Max Caldwell, 19, of Mission Viejo. We like it because it keeps everyone away.
Lifeguard Mark Allen said he and other lifeguards at San Onofre work to keep beach goers informed of the risks as shark incidents unfold, with a series of escalating alerts. They issue shark advisories when the predators show up, give warnings when they exhibit aggressive behavior such as circling or breaching, and close beaches in the event of a shark attack.
At San Clemente, Anderson said lifeguards are also proactively talking to visitors about safety measures.
If we notice a group that seems to be out of town, we go out of our way to educate them and let them know some of the risks of going into the water and the situation that has developed in the past month, he said. Our number one goal is the safety of the public.
Nick Duclos of Salt Lake City who was visiting San Onofre on Friday with his wife and 4-year-old daughter said theyd read about the recent shark incidents and planned to stick near the shore, where they like to stay anyway.
Were just doing the same thing we would be doing whether there were sharks or not, said Duclos, 36.
Steve Christiansen, of Corona, said he makes a surf pilgrimage to the site every Memorial Day with his wife. He relies on herd protection to stay safe in the water, sticking within a group of surfers in the lineup.
I just make sure Im not the farthest one out, said Christiansen, 57.
Reveling in the unusually tranquil start of Memorial Day weekend, other surfers said they keep shark risks in perspective.
Theyre definitely out there and you have to be cautious, but Im still going to surf, Karina Rozunko, 20, of San Clemente.
deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
It might be a fun task, kind of like a puzzle: divvying up a city into four parts, deciding which neighborhoods share interests and where the boundaries should be, while staying mindful that each part should have relatively equal populations.
As Vista starts creating its first election districts, city officials invited the public to come up with proposed maps of their own. Many did just that, and now the city has at least 19 viable maps from which to choose.
Two maps are from professional demographers hired by Vista to create potential districts. Most of the other submissions are from residents including those a school board member, a former college professor, a stay-at-home mom and an artist.
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I have no experience (in drawing election boundaries) but I am very interested in this process, said Cipriano Vargas, a Vista Unified school board member who submitted two maps for consideration in the city districts. My big thing is community input.
Vista is ending its practice of electing City Council members by citywide vote; instead, each council member would be elected by a specific geographic zone. The mayors seat would still be elected at-large.
The change was triggered this year when Malibu-based attorney Kevin Shenkman threatened Vista with a lawsuit alleging its at-large voting system disenfranchises Latino voters and violates the California Voting Rights Act.
Shenkman pointed to last falls City Council election, in which one council candidate attorney Erubey Lopez received the majority of the vote in Latino neighborhoods, including the Townsite area where he grew up, but landed in fifth place overall, drawing less than 14 percent of the vote.
Vista opted not to fight Shenkmans demand. The council is set to vote June 13 to approve the change, as well as the makeup of the districts.
Justin Levitt, a redistricting consultant with National Demographics Corp., the firm Vista hired to guide it through the election change, said the level of public response is notable.
For a city of this size, we have had a lot of good public participation, he said. I have done cities where we have .. gotten no maps, or one map.
Some people dive into the mapmaking, spending hours thinking and reconfiguring, tweaking boundaries and trying to make the math work. They become redistricting junkies, Levitt said.
View submitted maps
The city set up a website drawvista.org and posted information about the change as well as public participation kits, specifically designed to help people make maps to submit.
Most of the proposals that have been submitted so far are very similar, officials said.
That is important to emphasize, consultant Levitt said. What we are seeing is very clear general brushstrokes for what people think is important.
There could be more maps coming. The deadline is June 5 one week before the City Council will choose an option and approve the boundaries. That week is required by law.
The city has had a handful of public workshops and special council meetings addressing the topic. The next will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, in the City Council chambers.
There are rules to follow for submissions. Mapmakers need to keep communities of interest together and not dilute voting blocs, while staying mindful of population requirements.
Educator Rob Christensen, who turned in eight variations of district maps, said it was challenging so much so that he wants to withdraw six of the maps he submitted, fearing that they divide neighborhoods with common interests.
Its like splitting fine hairs, Christensen said of drawing district lines. There is no easy way of doing it. You are not going to please everyone. There will be a certain segment that will be disappointed.
The rookie mapmakers said they spent some time thinking about and crafting the maps, changing lines and trying to keep communities of interest together.
Stay-at-home mom Nanci Oechsle who does a lot of political volunteerism turned in one map, and said she was pleased to see the public interest in crafting them.
Its exciting for people when they think they can make a difference, she said. Its a lot better than sitting home and complaining.
No matter which map wins, the goal is the same, Levitt said.
What we strive for at the end of the day is a map that everybody can live with, Levitt said.
Once the council approves the switch to district elections it wont take effect until 2018, when two council seats and the mayors seat are up.
The two districts up first would be roughly around the Townsite and Shadowridge neighborhoods. The other two districts, on the east and west ends of the city, would start electing representatives in 2020.Along the 78 corridor, Escondido has had district elections in place since 2013.
Threats from Shenkmans firm led the city of San Marcos to approve districts last year (to take effect in the 2018 election).
Faced with those same threats from Shenkman, Carlsbad and Oceanside are also moving toward district elections.
teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
President Trump s budget would eliminate federal funding for an earthquake early warning system being developed for California and the rest of the West Coast which, if enacted, probably would kill the long-planned effort.
The budget proposal for the year ending in September 2018 also seeks to eliminate U.S. funding for critical tsunami-monitoring stations in oceans and reduce funds for a next-generation weather forecasting system.
Scientists said the loss of federal funding would derail the early warning system, which officials hope would one day send public earthquake alerts to smartphones seconds or even minutes before a temblor.
It probably would kill the early warning system if we thought there were no more funding coming from the U.S. Geological Survey, said John Vidale, director of the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network and a seismology professor at the University of Washington.
The money weve received is essential, Vidale said.
In a statement announcing the USGS budget, the Department of the Interior said the budget focuses on core USGS science and efficiency, and asserted that the budget would be able to fund monitoring of the nations earthquakes.
Bill Leith, the USGS acting associate director for natural hazards, said a decision was made to focus on USGS service core capabilities services that are already offered, rather than a new service such as the earthquake early warning system.
The budget document posted on the U.S. Department of the Interiors website did not elaborate on the reason for cutting the alert system, saying only: This elimination would end USGS efforts to implement the ShakeAlert earthquake early warning system.
New hires havent been approved by Trump administration
The earthquake early warning system, being built by the USGS in conjunction with several major universities, still needs more seismic sensors installed across Washington, Oregon and Northern California, and it needs a staff of 40 to 50 people to install and maintain equipment as well as monitor the computer systems.
Already, hiring has proven difficult. Since Trump was inaugurated, the Department of the Interior has frozen hiring of senior scientists, including those needed to operate the early warning network.
There are people weve identified and interviewed and wed like to hire them as soon as we have permission, Vidale said. These are the people who would keep the computer doing what we need to to get the early warning system up and operating.
Without ongoing funding, the ShakeAlert system would need to lay off employees, said Tom Heaton, a Caltech professor of engineering seismology.
If that funding went away, we would have to lay off a number of the developers and the development would basically cease, Heaton said. Im not sure how we could possibly recover from that.
Such a blow probably would lead Heaton, who said he is nearing retirement, to work on other issues.
Ive been kind of excited at the possibility well have a system up and running by the time my career was done. That hope would be dashed in that case, Heaton said.
Lucy Jones in 2015 discusses Californias prototype earthquake early warning system. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times) (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)
Companies have been seeking to use the system
Companies have started to notice the potential benefits of an earthquake early warning system. Intel, for example, is very eager to use early warning to make their manufacturing safer, Vidale said. Computer companies can use seconds of warning before shaking comes to halt sensitive manufacturing processes preventing equipment from clanging together and being damaged in the shaking. That would enable factories to resume operations much faster after the earthquake.
And factories using toxic chemicals can prevent problems by securing operations before shaking arrives, too, Vidale said. And just telling people that shaking is coming so that they can drop, cover and hold on could save lives and reduce injuries.
This is a simple technology. We know how to do it, Vidale said. Even Mongolia is doing it.
The budget proposal would also reduce $800,000 in funding for earthquake monitoring in Alaska and the central and eastern United States, where earthquakes are a risk on the East Coast, in the South and in the Midwest. The reduction may slow the rate of updates to seismic provisions in building codes and provide less science to support risk mitigation actions. The USGS would also suspend its annual forecast of hazard related to both natural and induced seismicity.
An additional $561,000 would be cut under the proposal from earthquake hazards operations, diminishing the governments ability to monitor and report on earthquakes, assess earthquake hazards and send earthquake results to emergency responders, the budget document said.
Video of how the earthquake early warning system operated in Japan during the great 2011 earthquake.
Congressional response
A champion of the earthquake early warning system, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), said it would be foolish to end it.
After years of educating the public and Congress to the benefits of the earthquake early warning system, we have been able to deliver $23.4 million in federal funding to help build out an early warning system across the West Coast, Schiff said in a statement.
But we cannot stop now, just as monitoring stations are being built out and the system is expanding its reach. Support for the early warning system in Congress is sustained, growing and bipartisan, and we will not accept this attempt by the president to cut a vital funding stream for a program that will protect life, property and critical infrastructure, Schiff said.
Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who serves on the House Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Friday that he believes the earthquake early warning system can be a lifesaving tool for the millions of Californians and other Americans who live in earthquake-prone areas.
Thats why I have been at the forefront of advocating for funding of the program, including the $10.2 million in funding that was signed into law earlier this year, Calvert said. Obviously, the presidents budget proposes some reductions for this program and other agencies that fall within the Interior Appropriations Subcommittees jurisdiction, which I oversee as Chairman. During the appropriations process, important programs like this will be given full consideration.
Watch the earthquake early warning appear on TV in Japan before the great 2011 earthquake. The alert shows up about 36 seconds into the video. At about 2 minutes into the video, shaking arrives in Tokyo, and a news anchor interrupts the programming.
U.S. far behind other nations
The United States is far behind other nations in developing an earthquake early warning system. In Japan, for instance, national TV broadcasts and cellphones are interrupted with warnings about incoming shaking, and for significant quakes, high-speed trains automatically slow down, as slower speeds reduce the threat of a deadly derailment.
All of Japanese society is very happy for their early warning system, Heaton said. Nobody in Japan really wants to turn it off. They view it as a great step ahead for them. Californians will, too.
In the last few years, lawmakers in Washington and Sacramento have started to devote significant dollars to developing the system.
In fact, the budget deal reached in Congress for the current budget year that ends in September penciled in $10.2 million for the system, which represented an increase from the previous years $8.2 million for the system. The system needs about $16.1 million in yearly operating and maintenance costs, and $38.2 million to build it.
Seismologist Lucy Jones said she was deeply disappointed to see Trumps budget proposal.
Eliminating the $10 million a year that the government has been spending would stop the program and waste the $23 million that has already been invested, Jones said in an email. The talented scientists and technicians that are working on the project now will go to other jobs, so their experience and expertise would be lost.
Many life- and money-saving measures would not be available when the next earthquake strikes, she added.
Workers begin to demolish the Northridge Meadows apartment building, whose ground floor collapsed in the 1994 earthquake. (Richard Derk / MCT) (Richard Derk / MCT)
How the early warnings work
The earthquake early warning system works on a simple principle: The shaking from an earthquake travels at about the speed of sound through rock slower than the speed of today's communications systems. That means it would take more than a minute for, say, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that starts at the Salton Sea to shake up Los Angeles, 150 miles away, traveling on the states longest fault, the San Andreas.
The prototype system has had some early successes. When a magnitude 6.0 earthquake hit Napa in 2014, the system gave researchers in San Francisco about eight seconds of warning before shaking began. Last year, 30 seconds of warning reached downtown L.A. before the ground shook from a magnitude 4.4 quake centered near Banning.
As the system gets built, officials have talked about allowing places such as classrooms, offices, shopping malls, amusement parks and police and fire stations to have ready access to alerts. Eventually, bigger benefits are expected: technology to open elevators at the next floor, sparing occupants from being trapped, and warnings that could halt the flow of natural gas through major pipelines, preventing catastrophic fires.
Officials last week had said they hoped to have an early version of the system sometime next year.
The waters of the tsunami were still evident in the Japanese town of Ishinomaki days after the March 11, 2011 tsunami. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Tsunami sensing stations could lose all funding
The proposed budget also affects other agencies monitoring natural disasters. The U.S. Department of Commerce, which oversees the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , faces eliminating funding $12 million that pays for a crucial network of buoys in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. The network can sense an incoming tsunami, enabling officials to send watches and warnings for the United States.
This is known as the Deep-Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis, or DART. A budget document said that the termination of the program is anticipated to have a 20% or greater impact on the accuracy, certainty, and timeliness of NOAAs tsunami watches and warnings.
The DART buoys are essential for telling local authorities whether the public needs to be evacuated from the coast, Vidale said. Those DART buoys are our eyes out in the sea for incoming tsunamis from distant earthquakes.
The zeroing out of the DART buoys is just startling, said University of Washington atmospheric sciences professor Cliff Mass.
In this March 11, 2011 file photo, boats collide with one another after a tsunami swept through a boat basin in Crescent City, Calif. (Bryant Anderson / Associated Press) (Bryant Anderson / Associated Press)
The agency is also facing a proposed reduction of funding for a network of automated weather stations that can indicate rapidly deteriorating weather conditions, called Mesonet. That means NOAA wont be able to monitor these conditions in all 50 states, but will have to prioritize states most susceptible to tornadoes and severe weather.
The budget also proposes reducing funding for an array of sensors in the ocean designed to detect El Nino, which officials said may delay the recognition of the onset of phenomenon and hamper the ability to deal with its effects, such as heavy rain or drought.
Damage is viewed in the Rockaway neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City, where the historic boardwalk was washed away during Hurricane Sandy . (Spencer Platt / Getty Images) (Spencer Platt / Getty Images)
Slowing or ending programs to improve weather and tornado forecasts
The budget proposal also would slow the development of the National Weather Service s next-generation weather forecasting system. Scientists and officials have been pushing for a major upgrade to the weather services forecasting system, which is well behind European modeling systems, Mass said. That shortcoming was seen in the U.S. forecasting of Hurricane Sandy as it struck New York, he said.
What theyre proposing to do is cutting a large amount of money out, which would delay it at best and kill it at worst, Mass said. If you look at the statistics for virtually any place in the country, youll see the American model is well behind.
The proposal would also end an effort to extend operational weather outlooks from 16 days to 30 days, saving $5 million, and halt a project that would improve tornado forecasts in the southeastern United States, which would also save $5 million.
In an executive summary accompanying the budget proposal, the Commerce Department said that the termination and rescaling of programs, while challenging and impactful, is necessary as we move toward a more efficient government model that refocuses on national security and core government functions.
(Los Angeles Times)
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After years of planning, California is likely to roll out its earthquake warning system next year
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Earthquake denial gets a lot harder when you stand on top of the San Andreas fault
Trump budget underscores new national priorities: slashing the safety net and taxes
UPDATES:
1:05 p.m.: Updated with a new statement from Rep. Ken Calvert.
7:15 a.m.: Updated with timeline for system.
May 26, 12 a.m. This article was updated with details on proposals to end efforts to extend operational weather outlooks and improve tornado forecasts.
11:10 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from seismologist Lucy Jones.
9:40 p.m.: This article has been updated to include comments from the USGS and the Commerce Department.
This article was originally published on May 25 at 8 p.m..
Anwesa Pyne from Vivekananda Sikshaniketan High School in Bankura district has topped the examination with an aggregate score of 690 out of 700 marks.
By Indrajit Kundu: West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) on Saturday declared the results of its Madhyamik or 10th standard examination results conducted in February this year. Over ten lakh sixty one thousand students had appeared for the examination at various centers across the state.
Anwesa Pyne from Vivekananda Sikshaniketan High School in Bankura district has topped the examination with an aggregate score of 690 out of 700 marks. Daughter of a school teacher in the district, Anwesa has scored the highest aggregate score in the history of the examination.
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Announcing the results, WBBSE chairman Dr Kalyanmoy Ganguly said that 85.65% students have cleared this year's test, an increase of 2.19% than previous year's figure. East Midnapore district has topped the pass percentage list while in Kolkata, 88.93% students have been successful in clearing the examination. This year's test was conducted as per a new syllabus with 40 per cent of the total questions being of multiple-choice (MCQ) format.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has greeted students who have been successful in the tests. "My congratulations and best wishes to all the students who have passed Madhyamik examination," Banerjee tweeted.
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--- ENDS ---
They honor the dead. Specifically, they honor those who put on a uniform and pledged to defend the nation.
These stories look at people who give their time year-round to honor Americas fallen veterans.
What sustains them? Tears are not far from Roy Zannis eyes when he answers that question.
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Because the veterans deserve it, the 69-year-old bugler said.
Another answer: gratitude.
This is a wonderful country. Ive lived here 42 years now, and its been great to me, said Suzanne Porter, who provides free horse carriage service at veterans funerals.
Memorial Day honors those killed on the field of battle.
On any given day in San Diego County, these volunteers honor the combat dead and all who once protected the nation.
Bugles Across America has at least 15 members in San Diego who volunteer to play at services for veterans.
Who: Roy Zanni, 69
Where: Lives in Mira Mesa
What: Member of Bugles Across America, which offers a free, live rendition of Taps at the funerals of eligible veterans
A recording of Taps isnt good enough, not for U.S. military veterans receiving their final honors.
So 69-year-old Roy Zanni puts on his pressed, olive-green uniform with a Marine Corps sergeants stripes. A shiny trumpet completes the required gear.
Zanni is one of 4,000 buglers -- including more than two dozen in the San Diego region who donate their time to ensure that veterans get a live performance of Taps as a final measure of respect at burial.
At Miramar National Cemetery, Zanni is often the lone bugler standing at a distance from ceremonies large and small. His trumpet lends an authentic note to services where a recorded Taps would otherwise be played.
Federal law calls for a two-person military honors detail to fold and present the American flag, and to play Taps.
However, the bugle of bygone years is frequently replaced by a good-looking imposter: A ceremonial bugle that plays a recording of Taps while someone in uniform holds the instrument in the playing position.
Its beautiful, but theres one thing thats missing from it, said Zanni, who served in the U.S. Marine Drum & Bugle Corps while in uniform from 1966 to 1968. Heart.
The nonprofit group Bugles Across America was founded in Chicago in 2000, in response to national legislation that normalized recorded music at veterans funerals.
The buglers offer their services for free at veterans funerals. The national nonprofit operates on donations, but no fee for individual services is charged.
Heres the irony: Due to word-of-mouth advertising, they only cover about 50 veterans funerals a month in the San Diego region. Thats about a quarter of services where military honors are given, Zanni estimates.
Hed like to do more. Why does it matter?
Taps is an American military tradition that goes back to the Civil War. The song has been played at military funeral ceremonies since at least 1891, according to a 2016 Congressional Research Service report.
Its a remnant of a bugle system that once numbered at least 19 calls per day, from sunrise to dusk.
That history whacks you in the chest when Taps is played live, Zanni said.
Its 24 notes that get right to your heart, said the Marine veteran who got his first trumpet at 8 years old.
The veterans deserve it, thats why I do it.
At a recent Miramar service, Zanni finished playing, his last note trailing off into the wind.
Then he stepped forward, the older Marine veteran joining two active-duty soldiers dispatched by the Army. The trio pivoted and marched away together silently, duty done.
More information on the group is available at buglesacrossamerica.org.
Kathy Bruyere, 73, is a volunteer at Miramar National Cemetery. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Who: Kathy Bruyere, 73
Where: Lives in Chula Vista
What: Volunteer at Miramar National Cemetery
*
Who: Allan Coats, 75
Where: Lives in University City
What: Volunteer at Miramar National Cemetery
When Kathy Bruyere is the friendly face at the Miramar National Cemetery front desk, she knows the topic at hand. Personally.
Bruyere was one of the first volunteers assigned to the new national cemetery after it opened in 2010.
Being close to the grave of her late husband, Tom, is comforting for Bruyere.
Capt. Thomas Bruyere, who flew Navy fighters during the Vietnam War, died in 2009. His family waited until Miramar opened in order to lay him to rest. They liked thinking of him under the flight path of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, where he flew when it was a Navy base.
But Kathy Bruyeres volunteer job has become way more than just solace to this widow.
She is able to help other veteran families in their grief. To her a retired Navy captain in her own right that is meaningful service.
Ive been there, you know, what they are going through, Bruyere said. Yes, we keep a lot of Kleenex around. And, just a touch of the hand and saying, Ive been through this as well. And how can we help you?
Volunteers at the national cemetery are organized through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which has a longstanding program and depends on people giving their time.
Annually, an estimated 140,000 volunteers give 11 million hours of service at VA facilities nationwide.
Allan Coats wife is buried at the cemetery where he volunteers. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Allan Coats has taken that path at Miramar.
His wife, Jessie, died in 2011. A former Navy yeoman, she is buried at Miramar.
Coats came along, too, as one of the original volunteers at the cemeterys front desk.
More than anything else, just the idea that it would be something I could do to help other people. And of course, the fact that shes here, it gave me a tie to it, Coats said.
Now his is the kind voice on the phone when it rings on Mondays at Miramar.
Coats and Bruyere field lots of questions. The most common: Can I reserve a spot? (No. But you can pre-qualify, which means getting the veterans records organized in advance to determine eligibility.)
Bruyere said a family-like feeling has built up over time.
Now whats really endearing are the families who come in and say, You know, I was here two years ago with my husband, and today we are having his service, and we are so glad that we came out to see it together.
Also, people she met at burial time now stop into the office to chat when visiting the cemetery.
I do a lot of volunteer work, but this is the best, Bruyere said. This is the most rewarding. Its the most interesting.
When the time comes, both Bruyere and Coats plan to be buried next to their spouses. They dont see that as morbid. Instead, its comforting.
Ive moved around so much, this is going to be my final permanent move, Bruyere said with a chuckle. And I dont even have to pack anything.
Suzanne Porter and Wayne Moretti maneuver the Final Honor carriage as it carries a veteran to his resting place at Miramar National Cemetery. (Nelvin C. Cepeda / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Who: Suzanne Porter, 61, and Wayne Moretti, 60
Where: Live in Ramona
What: Founders of Final Honor, a nonprofit that provides free horse carriage service for veterans funerals at Miramar National Cemetery
The white horse is tall and elegant, with its black harness standing out in contrast. The carriage is also black, in the style of an early American hearse.
The drivers, Wayne Moretti and Suzanne Porter, fill out the picture, with their formal black suits and Morettis top hat.
The nonprofit group Final Honor has been providing a solemn, dignified final transport to U.S. veterans at Miramar National Cemetery since 2011.
The group offers its services without charge on Mondays, taking donations the rest of the week to fund the donated time.
Last year they provided more than 400 free carriage transports on Mondays for veterans services.
Porter grew up in Britain and worked at an American air base there. Her parents were teenagers during the German bombing of England during World War II.
Without you bloody Yanks, I dont know where wed be, Porter said, laughing. This is my paying it forward. This is a wonderful country. Ive lived here 42 years now, and its been great to me.
The couple operated a carriage company based in Julian for more than 20 years. After selling that enterprise, they focused their commercial business on funeral services, traveling around Southern California with their horse-drawn hearse.
But Mondays are devoted to veterans funerals at Miramar.
Its a long day, starting at dawn to get the horse loaded up at their ranch in Ramona. They participate in several services at the cemetery, from mid-morning up through tea time.
Their role is to lead the funeral procession to the ceremony location. The flag-draped casket or urn rides in the place of honor in the windowed hearse.
The rig is not a caisson, which is a military wagon traditionally used for hauling ammunition. A caisson is famously used for funerals at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
But this horse-drawn carriage helps bring a sense of tradition and nobility to a sorrowful occasion.
Some services are imprinted in Porters memory.
On the same day in 2014 as a massive, overflowing memorial for Jerry Coleman, the beloved Padres announcer, the final event of that Monday was a tiny service for an elderly veteran.
Almost no one came.
It was the caregivers who brought him in. And it was a very inexpensive casket. I was the witness, Porter remembers.
There he was, he had no family. But we got to bring him in still with all the dignity and all the trimmings that he should have had.
Having a front seat on so many veterans memorials is an honor for them, Moretti said.
When you get to do this, and you see the military services, you have such a huge pride in our military and our country, he said.
At the end of a full Monday, the horse -- one of two French draft horses named Katy and Kandy -- gets a handful of carrots before the whole show is loaded into the trailer for the ride home.
Its a labor of love that costs $1,200 each Monday for gas and supplies. The couple used to do it at their own expense before forming the nonprofit group.
They would like to offer free transportation for veterans funerals on other days, if the funding was available.
For more information go to finalhonor.net.
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Todays backstory features Jeanette Steele, our veterans reporter and writer of The Intel column. Her package of stories about San Diegans who quietly honor fallen service members year-round is available here.
Q: Who are the people youve spotlighted in todays stories?
A: My editor and I chose to focus this Memorial Day on regular people who give their time to pay respect to veterans who have died either in combat or afterward.
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Roy Zanni is a former Marine Corps bugler who, in retirement from his civilian career, gets up many mornings and heads over to Miramar National Cemetery. Zanni and his compatriots in the nonprofit group Bugles Across America want to make sure that every eligible veteran gets a live performance of Taps, the iconic military song that marks days end.
Zanni reached out to us because he wanted more (unpaid) work! In other words, he feels not enough people know about the free bugler honors being offered. Youll meet Zanni and others like him in our collection of stories.
Also, during this weekend, look out for hundreds of Boy Scouts placing flags and veterans laying roses on graves at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery.
Q: What tends to motivate these individuals to give their time, money and other resources?
A: People in the military often tell me they want to continue serving either in follow-on jobs or volunteer work.
For example, in todays collection of stories youll meet Kathy Bruyere, a retired Navy captain who volunteers at the Miramar veterans cemetery front desk. Her late husband, Tom, was one of the first people buried at Miramar.
Bruyere seems to enjoy using the knowledge and compassion gained from her personal loss to assist people who come to the cemetery with fresh grief.
Q: Youve covered a good amount of memorial services and funerals for military personnel. What are the things that have stuck with you the most?
A: When an aircraft squadron or a Navy SEAL team mourns one of its own, its a distinct experience. Theres a tangible sense that the group has lost a piece of itself.
It is beautifully shown in the missing man roll call performed at many military funerals. I remember it from the public service for Charles Keating IV, the 31-year-old SEAL killed in Iraq last May.
The speaker calls out the fallen members name, repeating it in an increasingly formal way. No one answers. The silence is loud with grief.
Q: Reporters strive to be balanced, neutral and perhaps even emotionally detached in their work. But this topic must hit you in the guts sometimes. How do you approach these issues?
A: If we cant see the poignancy in a story, that probably isnt good. I think its understandable to mourn with the family and friends while still being clear-eyed about the news.
San Diego has buried quite a few troops killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
The first such ceremony I covered was the memorial service for seven Marines who died in January 2002 when their KC-130 crashed into a Pakistan mountainside.
The service at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station overflowed the building. It was early in the Afghanistan war, and everyone seemed dazed and reeling from the big hit.
People got there hours in advance to get a seat. The governor showed up, and so did a sitting U.S. senator.
They memorialized seven people in one long day. I will never forget it.
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jen.steele@sduniontribune.com
Facebook: U-T Military
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Hatchery Drive cuts through the forest about a mile east of the reservoir for which this San Bernardino Mountain resort community is named.
Its the lone remnant of a facility that produced teeming millions of trout here before mud flows closed it in 1932.
Now, with trout offered by state hatcheries getting fewer in number and smaller in size, the Big Bear Municipal Water District said Friday it plans to build a $3.5-million hatchery that will produce 150,000 pounds of rainbow trout each year and feature education programs, tours and projects devoted to rearing rare and endangered fish.
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We plan to be making fish within a year, said Mike Stephenson, the districts lake manager.
In its first phase, the hatchery will grow trout exclusively for Big Bear Lake. If successful, theres room in the facility to expand fish production and accommodate projects with partners such as state and federal wildlife agencies and universities, he said.
Big Bear Lake stocks trout hauled in a truck from a Fish and Wildlife hatchery in Northern California. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Those projects could include captive-breeding federally threatened and endangered species including the Santa Ana sucker, steelhead trout and Sacramento perch, Stephenson said.
The proposed 13,000-square-foot facility would be one of the largest in the state, and is scheduled to open early next year on four acres of district property currently used as an RV park, officials said.
The hatchery aims to boost the local economy and restore the lakes luster as an angling hot spot in Big Bear Valley, which is a two-hour drive from Los Angeles and home to about 18,000 permanent residents.
It also attracts about 7 million visitors who spend an estimated $350 million here each year, city officials said.
Eventually, the district hopes to defray operating costs of about $300,000 by selling rainbows to other recreational lakes including Lake Arrowhead, a few miles to the west; and Santa Ana Lakes in the Orange County city of Anaheim.
The proposal was developed largely because state hatcheries were no longer reliable sources of enough large, sterile trout to meet demand. State law requires that trout stocked for recreational purposes be sterile in order to keep them genetically isolated from native species.
The initiative comes at a time when annual sales of state fishing licenses have flattened over the past five years at roughly 1 million, with most sold to older anglers.
That trend initially made the hatchery proposal a hard sell to the districts directors.
Their perspective changed after board members traveled to Anchorage to visit the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery, one of the newest and largest fish hatcheries in the United States.
Logan Huefner plants trout in Big Bear Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
I was blown away by the technology and efficiency I saw there, Charlie Brewster, director of the water district, said. Were planning to use it as a model for our effort to set Big Bear Lake up as a premier fishing lake.
Michael Perry, executive director of the Big Bear Visitors Bureau, said his agency has already agreed to budget $250,000 each year to assist the educational components of the hatchery, where visitors will learn about fish life cycles and the Big Bear Valley ecology.
Its water held back by a 129-year-old dam, Big Bear Lake crawls with invasive species including massive brown carp, noxious aquatic plants and bass, which accumulate mercury, a neurotoxin that poses special risks for pregnant women and children.
But the alpine forests, creeks and meadows that surround it are home to one of the nations largest concentrations of rare plants and animals. They include one of Californias few known colonies of unarmored three-spined stickleback fish, and southern mountain buckwheat and Bear Valley sandwort, which are both listed by the federal government as threatened.
Bald eagles for centuries have migrated here each winter from frigid nesting grounds in the Pacific Northwest to roost in scraggly pine trees and hunt for fish and waterfowl in wetlands surrounding the 7-mile-long lake.
Will bald eagles feast on trout from our new hatchery? Heck yes! Stephenson said.
In the meantime, the district will continue to stock the lake two to three times a year with rainbows purchased from Mt. Lassen Trout Farm, a private hatchery roughly 600 miles to the north in Paynes Creek, Calif.
Trouts from a hatcherys truck are transferred into a submerged cage attached to plateform in Big Bear Lake. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
The latest shipment of 4,600 pounds of trout, worth $20,000, arrived at daybreak Thursday in a tank truck, in time to satisfy some of the anglers expected to cast lures, bait and artificial flies into the lake over the Memorial Day weekend.
The 11 1/2-hour drive was nearly as arduous for the truck driver, Leng Xiong, 57, as it was for the hundreds of trout in the six stainless steel tanks he had onboard.
That was quite a trip, Xiong said. One of my headlights went out; officers at a weigh station gave me a hard time, and I had to stop at a gas station to buy nine bags of ice to keep the fish tanks from overheating.
The last time I delivered trout here, he added, I got a flat tire.
A few hundred yards away, Robert and Karen Maloney sat quietly on folding chairs near their fishing rods, waiting for a strike.
For us, its not really about catching fish, Karen, 61, said, adjusting her sun hat. Its about sitting back and soaking up the scenery for five to six hours at a time: white caps on the water, bald eagles perched on tree tops, pine trees.
Her husband agreed, to a point.
When that hatchery comes in, he said, its going to be trout heaven around here.
Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com
@LouisSahagun
DAndre Brooks is celebrating a milestone.
The 31-year-old graduated from San Diego City College on Friday with an associates degree in sociology. Hell begin classes at San Diego State University in the fall.
Hes come a long way from four years ago, when Brooks who admits he was once gang-affiliated was released from state prison after doing 10 years on an assault conviction. Now, hes a small-business owner and youth mentor who has set his sights on a brighter future.
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But something still weighs on him. He wants to know whether police consider him a documented gang member and if his name remains among the thousands in a statewide database known as CalGangs.
An audit released last year found numerous problems with the database, including that it had hundreds of names that should have been purged over time and some whose birth dates indicated they were babies when their names were entered.
There also was evidence some data had been used for purposes other than law enforcement, including employment screenings.
Some lawyers, legislators and community leaders see this as proof that CalGangs can cast a long shadow on a persons life and livelihood, even after that person has left gang life behind.
Looking back at my whole lifestyle and upbringing that kind of dictates your pace and what direction you go in, Brooks said, reflecting on his early teens growing up in Logan Heights. You dont have the insight, but the more insight you get you can make better choices all the way around.
Brooks is among a dozen people who have lodged inquiries with the San Diego Police Department to find out whether their names are in the CalGangs system, which law enforcement agencies use to share information about suspected gang members, associates and affiliates.
Although CalGangs has been around for more than a decade, it wasnt until a few months ago that adults had a way to formally request notification about whether their records are in the system, and if necessary a way to get their names removed.
Previously, CalGangs information was only available to law enforcement personnel on a right-to-know and need-to-know basis, according to state authorities.
That changed with the passage of a bill by Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, a San Diego Democrat who had requested the audit. The law took effect Jan. 1.
The audit was based on data from four agencies: the Los Angeles Police Department, Santa Ana Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriffs Office and Sonoma County Sheriffs Office. It did not include the San Diego Police Department, which oversees the regional database for San Diego and Imperial counties.
After Webers bill passed, Pillars of the Community, which is based in southeastern San Diego, and other organizations began alerting community members that they now have a recourse if they believe their information is in the database but shouldnt be. With help from a local attorney, the group identified 11 people including Brooks and submitted requests for information from the Police Departments gang unit.
The request is Am I documented? said criminal defense lawyer Danielle Iredale, who has taken the cases pro bono. Then we want to know, Why?
In San Diego, a person has to meet at least three of nine criteria during a single contact with police to be documented as a gang member, or meet at least one of the criteria during three separate contacts. That could include wearing gang clothing, displaying gang hand signs, being seen with other documented gang members and frequenting known gang areas.
The problem is that there are real and adverse consequences from being on this list, Iredale said. Youre somewhat relegated to a second-class citizen without a judge, without a jury, without an opportunity to defend yourself or seek representation, so theres no counterpoint to what one police officer observed.
Law enforcement agencies are now required to notify people in writing when their names are added to CalGangs, unless providing that information would compromise an active criminal investigation. (State law had already required notification of a parent if a juveniles information was entered into the database.)
Written inquiries must be submitted to the appropriate law enforcement agency, which has 30 days to respond.
San Diego police Lt. Marshall White, who is with the departments street gang unit, said 12 inquiries have been submitted to the department this year. As of last month, San Diego had about 3,750 records in the database, including 25 juveniles.
I think that most people in the database know that theyre there and know that they claim gang membership, White said. Theyre proud of that. They do not hide it.
People who learn they are in the CalGangs database and believe they should not be can now request a civil hearing in San Diego Superior Court, where a judge would determine whether police have enough evidence to support gang documentation.
So far, no gang-database hearings have been conducted in San Diego County. White said he was unaware of any such hearings in the state. At least, not yet.
We are not afraid to have challenges, he said, explaining that the department is complying with the notification requirements.
Its no trouble on our part (to have) people inquire about their status, White said. People shouldnt hesitate if they believe they are in there erroneously. Hold us accountable.
Iredale said thats what her clients are trying to do.
One of them is Sharron Bolden, 38, who served time in prison on drug and theft-related convictions but has since focused her attention on working three jobs, going back to school and getting involved with social justice issues. In recent years, Bolden has worked closely with Pillars of the Community and the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on matters related to restoring voting rights to people who have been convicted of felony offenses.
Bolden said she was surprised to learn from her parole officer in 2009 that she was a documented gang member, a designation that subjected her to a higher level of supervision. She admits some of her co-defendants had been in gangs, but she was not.
Basically being the dope dealers girlfriend, thats how I went to jail, twice, she said.
Bolden acknowledges she made bad decisions in the past, but her life is moving in a positive direction. Still, she remains concerned there could be problems if police see her around people who may have gang ties, perhaps at a family function. And its possible they could be documented if theyre seen with her.
I have a little anxiety about (that), she said. So shes waiting for answers from the Police Department.
The thing about this list, with respect to Ms. Bolden, she should have never been on it, Iredale said about CalGangs. With respect to Mr. Brooks, hes very open about his past. Our issue is that he shouldnt be on it anymore.
dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @danalittlefield
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recent memo to federal prosecutors that instructs them to charge and pursue mandatory minimum sentences whenever possible including for all drug cases generated a wave of backlash among bipartisan criminal justice reform groups, some state and local prosecutors, and the defense bar.
In San Diego, defense attorneys said the new charging and sentencing policy could mean fewer plea deals and unwarranted harsher sentences in human smuggling and drug cases common to the border region.
Its a position that is not shared by the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys, a labor union representing about 1,500 of the 5,700 federal prosecutors in the country. The association, which called Sessions a man of unquestionable integrity and unparalleled experience when it endorsed him for attorney general, lauded the renewed focus on mandatory minimum penalties.
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In a conference call Thursday with several news outlets, including The San Diego Union-Tribune, the associations leadership sought to correct what they said were inaccuracies in reporting on the topic and to inject a line prosecutors voice into the debate.
In 2013, then-Attorney General Eric Holder instructed prosecutors to not seek mandatory minimum sentences against low-level drug offenders who were not violent, not major recidivists and not leaders of large criminal organizations.
Sessions May 10 memo revokes that, a move the associations leadership applauded as a return to upholding the will of Congress, which enacted mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
Weve simply gone back to a policy and practice thats been effective for the past 30 years, said association President Lawrence Leiser, an assistant U.S. attorney in Virginia.
He said mandatory minimum sentences helped cut the high crime rates of the 1980s and 1990s, and lenient policies like Holders put that effort in jeopardy.
Unfortunately were beginning to see crime rates rise in the country at the same time prison populations are starting to decline, Leiser said, echoing Sessions comments on the topic. I dont believe the increase in crime rate is a coincidence.
That goes to the core of the criminal justice reform debate. What makes communities safer incarceration or rehabilitation of criminals?
Opponents of minimum mandatory laws say they cast an unfair dragnet and limit the discretion of prosecutors and judges.
Association Treasurer Steve Wasserman said the law already takes those concerns into account and pointed to safety valve exceptions that allow certain offenders typically low-level, first-time, nonviolent drug offenses not involving guns to avoid mandatory minimum sentences. Those who cooperate with the government can also avoid such sentences or petition to have them reduced at a later time.
According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, in fiscal 2015 nearly 40 percent of the offenders convicted of a mandatory minimum sentence were relieved of that penalty for various reasons. Thirteen percent of all federal offenders received a mandatory minimum sentence.
Wasserman emphasized that rhetoric about unduly harsh penalties for low-level drug offenders isnt as relevant at the federal level, where prosecutions focus on large-scale operations, the big fish. Low-level drug offenders are often tried in state court, he said.
We are typically not prosecuting the guy you think of standing on the corner with a bag of marijuana, Wasserman said, adding that a mandatory minimum sentence is triggered by the amount and type of drugs involved.
In San Diego, gang and cartel members are frequent targets of prosecution. Another common drug offender is the courier, someone who is often law-abiding or small-time but recruited by a drug-trafficking organization to drive a load of narcotics across the border for a few thousand dollars. They are often desperate for the money, persuaded by someone they trust or threatened.
Under Sessions, the courier might be treated the same as the cartel member when it comes to mandatory minimums. Should they?
Wasserman also refuted the notion that more mandatory minimum charges could mean fewer plea deals and more trials putting more pressure on court resources.
It has not been my experience that the charging of mandatory minimums prior to the Holder memo resulted in more people going to trial, he said.
kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @kristinadavis
Its been a bit of an up and down journey for the UC San Diego students known as Team Original Gravity, but now its official: Their beer-brewing experiment is going to the moon.
Its super exciting because after we lost, everybody was so depressed, said Neeki Ashari, one of the team leaders.
Their proposed experiment beat out thousands of other ideas in an international contest and gained national media attention. Members of the team traveled to India for a chance to put their experiment aboard a spacecraft headed to the moon, and everything went well.
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Up until they lost.
In an unexpected turn, however, another group of entrepreneurs have invited them aboard their spacecraft. Contracts between the two were recently finalized, and a launch will be sometime before the end of the year.
The experiment involves a small canister that, once on the moon, will mix yeast with wort, the mixture of barley and other ingredients that give beer its flavor, to cause fermentation and carbonation.
Besides proving that beer can be brewed remotely and in low gravity, the experiment demonstrates the potential for making other things involving yeast in low gravity, such as bread and certain medicines, which could be important if a lunar colony is ever established.
The canister, designed by the students at the Qualcomm Institute Prototyping Facility, will be aboard a spacecraft being built by Synergy Moon, one of the teams competing for the Google Lunar XPrize, a contest meant to inspire engineers and entrepreneurs to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration..
Google is offering $30 million in prizes to successful competitors, with $20 million going to the first team that can reach the moon with a robot that will explore at least 500 meters of the lunar surface and transmit high-definition video and images to Earth before Dec. 31.
In a contest within a contest, one of the other teams competing for the XPrize had offered to take other experiments aboard their spacecraft. TeamIndus received 3,500 entries in the competition.
Original Gravity was one of 25 finalists, and team members Han Lu Ling and Srivaths Kalyan flew to India March 13 to demonstrate their prototype before judges. Ashari stayed home to study for a final.
The trip wasnt too much of a culture shock for the two, as Kaylan has relatives in the country and regularly visits them and Ling has family from a similar tropical area, which he said gave India a familiar feel.
But the language barrier, Ling said. We were trying to get a ride to the hotel. Even he (Kaylan) was a little bit lost because theres so many different dialects over there
The two were in India four days, and everything seemed to be going well. They presented their experiment to two teams of judges, using baking soda and vinegar to demonstrate that the device could keep ingredients separate and generate a reaction when mixed.
It did all that perfectly before the judges, Ling said, adding that some other teams didnt even have a prototype to demonstrate.
When the winner was announced, the prize went to a team from Italy that was using cyanobacteria for radiation shielding. Ling said the idea has definite merit, but hes not sure why the same experiment couldnt be conducted on Earth.
It was definitely a little shocking, Ashari said. We were confused. It was very disheartening to hear that, because we were pretty confident about our design, the publicity we generated, our supporters. We had dedicated seven months of our lives to this whole mission.
The students, all Jacobs School of Engineering undergraduates, faced finals immediately following their defeat. Ashari said they were down, but still confident that they were on to something.
To hear that we didnt win was pretty upsetting, but it did not deter us away from wanting to try harder, she said. I felt like the flame inside of me grew bigger.
Her brother suggested they reach out to another team participating in the Google challenge, and she immediately thought of Synergy Moon, an international, privately funded team based on six continents and headquartered in San Francisco.
I chose them in particular because they really emphasized the same ideals and values as we do, Ashari said. I thought, theyre just like us. Were all diverse and come from different backgrounds. And Ive seen their videos. Theyre very passionate, especially about including young talent from around the world.
She wrote a short email asking if their team had room on board for their 250-gram experiment.
Within five minutes, she heard back from the team CEO Neb Stanojevic.
He said, Absolutely, Ive been following you guys since before you even emailed me, Ashari said. That was music to my ears. I didnt even believe it when I read it. Here I am, looking at this wonderful team and their accomplishment, and theyve been following me back.
Besides being guaranteed a spot on the moon shot, Original Gravity also was invited to fly on seven low-orbit flights with Synergy Moon. The team has been busy making adjustments to their design so it will work in zero gravity for those flights as well as low gravity on the moon.
Although team members are graduating this year, all the leaders said they will stay involved in the project through the launches.
gary.warth@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @GaryWarthUT
760-529-4939
Tim Lewis and his wife and Simone de Bruyne-Lewis knew early on there was something special about their daughter, Claire.
At Paloma Elementary in San Marcos, Claire was helping other students with their school work. At home, she was trying to teach herself Beethovens Fur Elise on the piano after listening to it repeatedly on the preschool show Little Einsteins, before she started taking lessons at age 6.
Claire was growing restless and wanted to learn at her own pace, but her parents were reluctant to home-school their only daughter.
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As a parent, I didnt know how I was going to be a teacher, Simone Lewis said. I cant keep up with her. Shes too fast for me.
They agreed to enter her in a home school program through Pathways Academy, but her mother said she wanted some additional support, so when Claire was 10 she took her to Palomar College to see if she qualified for any classes.
On Friday, wearing a Phi Theta Kappa stole in recognition of her 4.0 grade point average, Claire became the youngest student to ever graduate from Palomar College at age 13, having earned an Associate of Science degree in general studies with an emphasis on science and mathematics.
Im really excited, she said the morning of the ceremony. It took me three years, but its finally here. I cant believe its happening.
Claire is one of three remarkably young students graduating this year from community colleges in the county.
Kyle Litzenberg, 15, graduated from MiraCosta on Friday with an a degree in computer science and another in math and science.
Leilani Trautman, 16, plans to graduate June 7 from Grossmont College, where she earned four degrees.
There have been other young graduates from community colleges in the area, including Nicolas Pini, who graduated last summer just shy of his 15th birthday.
At Southwestern College two years ago, 13-year-old sisters Edna and Lara Stewart and their 15-year-old sister, Carla, were all enrolled at the school. Carla graduated Friday.
But while young community college graduates have happened occasionally, having three from different schools in the same year could be a first.
Claire Lewis said she took a different path because she felt her traditional school was taking more time than she needed to learn things.
I just wanted to switch to home school so I could learn a little bit faster, she said. It was a lot faster, it turned out.
Before enrolling in home school, Claire took assessment tests at Palomar College in the summer after fifth grade. She scored 99 out of 99 on writing and 97 out of 99 on reading. Her math score was high enough for beginning algebra, the first Palomar class she took at age10.
I went to my first class and I was kind of nervous because there were so many older people and I didnt really know how to talk to them, Claire said. Everyone was looking at me at first and was like, What is she doing here?
People were curious and asked her how old she was, but Claire said everyone was nice.
They all talked to me during breaks before and after class, she said. At each class I had a couple of friends I talked to each time.
At Palomar, Claire took classes in math, history, English, geography, geology and other subjects, with some units counting as high school credits.
Claire taught herself home school classes that included literature, vocabulary, world history, economics and other subjects. She said she studied on her own with books, and also took online classes to learn German.
She studied until bedtime, with only a few hours to herself each day.
I really love studying, she said. I love learning. Its one of my favorite things to do. It feels amazing when you learn something new.
While her degree has a science and math emphasis, Claires passion is music. She plays violin, guitar, flute, clarinet, cello and ukulele, and for five years has been a violinist with the San Diego Civic Youth Orchestra,
She plans to attend a music conservatory but first will take a year off before returning to school to earn a bachelors degree in piano performance and a masters in conducting, with the dream of one day leading an orchestra.
While she didnt get to experience high school or the social aspects of college, Claire said she made the right decision.
I feel like I missed out a little bit, but I think it was worth it, Claire said. I got to learn at my own pace and have more time for music, so Im really happy it turned out to be exactly what I wanted.
Pat Stall, director of the School of Education at CSU San Marcos, said very young graduates from community colleges are uncommon, but they may increase in the near future as students have more opportunities to get ahead.
With dual enrollment, online and charter schools with personalized learning that lets students go at their own pace, its entirely possible for students who are motivated and very bright to go through their high school curriculum and community college, she said. Its rare, but I dont think its going to be very rare in the future.
Still, she said, the students have to be motivated to succeed.
Kyle Litzenberg had that type of motivation when he entered MiraCosta College as its youngest student ever when he was 13 in 2014.
Now 15, Kyle has earned two degrees and is headed to CSU San Marcos.
I think that first semester was like culture shock, said Kyle, who had been home-schooled before enrolling in MiraCosta. I had never gone through a public school before. But after the first two semesters, I found my groove pretty easily.
The load was heavier than expected and resulted in a third year at MiraCosta, but Kyle said he is back on track to graduate from CSU San Marcos in 2019, around the time his friends are graduating high school.
Kyle said being so young at school was an interesting experience, but it never was a factor when dealing with other students. It also didnt hurt Kyle had a growth spurt that brought him to about 6 foot, 3 inches.
Kyle said he didnt regret missing out on parties with other community college students and doesnt think things will be different at CSU San Marcos, but has some regrets about missing high school.
But to be honest, everybodys experiences are different, he said. I did whats best for me. I feel some times I might have missed out by not building on my friendships in high school, but honestly, I feel I made the right choice.
Stall said the trend of more young students graduating from community college could have a down side because students will miss out on the social experiences of high school and college. Then again, students who are bright and self-motivated are likely to be bored if they hold themselves back, she said.
By and large, moving ahead is probably more practical and, in the long run, valuable, she said.
At Grossmont College, Leilani Trautman is graduating with four degrees in math, physics, natural science and computer science.
Im just so proud of her, I want to scream it to the world, said her mother, Lillian Trautman.
Leilanis skills in math became clear as early as kindergarten, when her teacher noticed she could count to 100 while other students were learning to count to 30. She asked for extra homework in elementary school, and after going through the most advanced math classes at Valhalla High, she enrolled in 11th grade at Grossmont Middle College to take more.
Shes also been taking classes at Grossmont College, and said she was a little nervous at first because everyone would be older.
I thought it would be really strange and people would think it was really weird, she said. But I think people really gravitated toward me. They thought I knew what I was doing.
She did. Besides earning four degrees, Leilani was the lead author on a paper she wrote with a physics professors on double stars, or stars that are appear close together.
In the long term I want a career in engineering, Leilani said, adding her dream job would be at NASA or Google.
Shes been accepted to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and she received a merit scholarship from Raytheon.
To some extent Im nervous, but I think its fairly common for people to be younger when they go to MIT, she said. Going away for the first time will be a bit of a change, and Ill be enjoying the classes.
Kyle Litzenberg is youngest student at MiraCosta College
gary.warth@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @GaryWarthUT
760-529-4939
San Diego Countys first online real estate auction set sales records, with more timeshares, land and buildings bought than ever before, as well as higher gross receipts.
Bidders won 343 properties for a total of $5.61 million, surpassing by a long shot the 62 parcels sold in 2013 for $3.49 million, the previous record. While 2013 was a gross sale high water mark, more units were sold at the last auction, in 2015, when 85 properties sold for $2.9 million.
It means that this sale worked well, and it worked in a big way, County Treasurer-Tax Collector Dan McAllister said.
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From May 5 to May 10 the county sold 13 parcels with homes or businesses, 117 vacant properties, and 213 timeshares, all of which had fallen years behind on their property taxes.
It was the first time the sale was online rather than in a downtown San Diego convention hall with a live auctioneer.
The switch came after more county financial processes, like property tax payments, have migrated online, making it possible for bids from around the world.
Automatically there was a greater distribution of buyers, McAllister said.
His office said that the majority of people who registered were from outside San Diego County. In all, they were from 19 states and Puerto Rico, as well as Canada and the Philippines.
I have never met anyone who was not interested, in their dreams or in reality, of having some wonderful San Diego County real estate, McAllister said.
Sales totaled $5.61 million, but around $3.6 million will be left after some of the funds are used to pay the auctioneer and backlogged property taxes and penalties.
While more money was collected and more properties were sold, the average cost per sale was smaller than in previous years. This drop, McAllister said, was due to the sale of so many timeshares, the cheapest properties auctioned. Because so many of these low-cost properties were bought, the average sale price dropped.
While timeshares made up the bulk of the sales driving down average prices, some properties were quite expensive. A house on Palm Avenue in Carlsbad sold for $641,100. Real estate listings show it is a single-family home with three bedrooms, 2.5 baths, and nearly 2,000 square feet of floor space. Its on a quarter-acre lot with a one-bedroom guest house and is a short walk from the beach.
The county still has 1,012 parcels that are behind in property taxes that it wants to sell, and McAllister will auction them online from July 21 to July 26will put them online for a second auction from July 21 to July 26. Opening bids for some timeshares will start at $100.
McAllister said that several people contacted his office to say they missed the first option and were upset. Given the recent success, the county decided to hold a second auction this summer.
McAllister said that properties will be offered for sale for several years until theyre sold, but hes reluctant to slash opening bids because the parcels have overdue property tax payments that he hopes to recover. But selling land to a responsible owner also means that the property will be returned to the tax rolls and generate revenue for the government.
Twitter: @jptstewart
joshua.stewart@sduniontribune.com
(619) 293-1841
Four men and a teenager suspected of burglary were arrested as they ran out of a Mira Mesa home Friday night, police said.
A person called police about 7 p.m. to report seeing a group of strangers at a neighbors home on Revelstroke Way near Bootes Street. The 911 caller said the homeowner was out of town, police Officer Robert Heims said.
The vacationing homeowners security system notified him of the burglary via a cellphone application, and he too called police, according to media reports.
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Officers arrived and saw the intruders running out of the home. The suspects were chased and quickly taken into custody, police said.
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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com
Phone: (619) 293-1876
Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
A shot fired in an apparent drive-by shooting struck a 19-year-old woman standing inside her home in the Paradise Hills neighborhood of San Diego Friday night, police said.
The woman heard gunshots and then realized she had been shot in the lower back, police Officer Robert Heims said.
Her sister called police to report that the victim had been shot in their home on Potomac Street near Calle Tres Lomas shortly before 11 p.m. Multiple people also called 911 and reported hearing up to nine gunshots, Heims said.
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The victim was taken to a hospital with a single gunshot wound and was expected to survive.
Witnesses saw a long, black 2-door car, possibly an older-model Monte Carlo, drive away after the shooting.
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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com
Phone: (619) 293-1876
Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
By Press Trust of India: Bhubaneswar, May 27 (PTI) BJD, which had supported demonisitisation, today sought a white paper on its impact and asked the Centre to inform the people as to how much black money was seized.
"It was told that demonetisation would help bring back black money and end naxal and terrorist activities. The people across the country would like to know the impact of the demonetisation," BJD spokesman P K Deb said and demanded that the Centre clarify whether naxal and terrorist activities declined in the aftermath of demonetisation.
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"Will the central government bring out a white paper on the subject and inform the people as to how much black money returned to state coffer?" he asked while speaking to reporters.
Accusing BJP of not doing "much" for the development of Odisha and country, he said "BJP says it will make Odisha its laboratory for welfare schemes. But the party should inform people of the state what it has done so far for the state."
Alleging that the BJP-led NDA had failed keep the promises made by in its manifesto before the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he said it had assured to create two crore jobs every year.
Going by such promises, it would have generated six crore jobs, including 30 lakh employments in Odisha. "We need a reply on this from the government," Deb said.
Targeting Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Deb wanted to know how many young men from Odisha have got employment in the IOCLs refinery at Paradip and about the promise on the special category status for Odisha.
He also blamed for not hiking MSP for various agricultural produce despite its promises.
The BJD spokesman asked BJP to share information and status of the coastal highway project, central assistance and conversion of state highways into national highways in Odisha and non revision of coal royalty.
"We want the union ministers scheduled to visit the state in some days should answer the questions raised by BJD," he added. PTI AAM KK KK
--- ENDS ---
The research vessel Roger Revelle, a global explorer operated by UC San Diegos Scripps Institution of Oceanography, has returned to San Diego Bay after a four year journey that included studying active submarine volcanoes in the western Pacific and climate change in the Southern Ocean.
But this is brief visit for the Revelle, a 274-foot ship that the university operates on behalf of the Office of Naval Research. The vessel will leave next week to conduct extended research in the California Current.
The Revelle is named after the late Roger Revelle, the famed Scripps oceanographer who was known as the father of the greenhouse effect. He also played a pivotal role in founding UC San Diego.
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UC San Diego booming as Chancellor Khosla finishes 5th year
Science Playlist On Now In a first, scientists rid human embryos of a potentially fatal gene mutation by editing their DNA On Now Space station flyovers visible from San Diego this week 0:55 On Now UCSD's 'ghost drivers' begin testing people's reaction seemingly empty cars 1:29 On Now 10 interesting facts about Mars On Now Kids can add years to your life On Now LA 90: SpaceX launches recycled rocket On Now Big passions, big giving: Malin Burnham 2:30 On Now Big passions, big giving: Darlene Shiley 2:40 On Now Big passions, big giving: Joan and Irwin Jacobs 2:45 On Now Ocean temperatures warming at rapid rate, study finds
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gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com
In 2015, a local resident joined a nationwide project to uncover how police use face recognition devices. He filed a public records request with the Carlsbad Police Department, which quickly responded that no documents existed because the city didnt use that technology.
This was demonstrably false: Carlsbad police had been part of a regional face recognition pilot program for years. Eventually, CPD admitted 14 officers carried special smartphones that capture faces and match them against the countys mug shot database.
But Carlsbad could not produce policies, protocols or guidelines for how officers may operate the devices. Nor did the city know how many times the devices were used.
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Surveillance technology is rapidly advancing and can consist of automated license plate readers that track our travel patterns, fake cell towers that surreptitiously connect to our smartphones, algorithms that scrape our social media or devices that digitize our faces. Many technologies arent limited to gathering intelligence on suspects and instead collect information on everyone.
The Carlsbad incident raises questions about public trust and high-tech policing. Who should decide which surveillance technologies are appropriate for our communities? Should police have to disclose how these technologies are used and how often theyre abused?
Privacy and public safety are not mutually exclusive; it just takes a robust debate to land on the right balance. This conversation wont happen unless the rules change so police obtain approval from the public and our elected officials prior to deploying invasive spy tech.
A bill before the California legislature Senate Bill 21 would ensure that police do not acquire surveillance technology without a public process.
Before moving forward, a law enforcement agency would submit a usage policy for public review during an open meeting. Elected representatives (e.g. a city council) would have the authority to approve or reject the technology. In exigent circumstances, police could temporarily bypass the process, but they would need to stop using such surveillance technology and submit proper disclosures after the emergency has passed.
Police and sheriff departments would publish biennial transparency reports, disclosing the kinds of data the technologies collect, how many times each technology was deployed, how often each technology helped catch a suspect or close a case, and the number of times the systems were misused.
In 1972, Californians voted to include privacy as an inalienable right in the states Constitution. The proliferation of government snooping and data collecting is threatening to destroy our traditional freedoms, the amendments authors wrote. They warned technology would allow police to create cradle-to-grave profiles of every American, which then could be used to humiliate us.
One need only look to nearby Calexico. In 2014, police spent nearly $100,000 from a slush fund of seized assets on sophisticated spy gear. They then allegedly used these systems to run illegal surveillance on city council members with the intent to extort. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation confirmed this corruption but also found a troubling pattern in which the city approved a network of surveillance cameras, body cameras and automated license plate reader technology before implementing the essential fundamentals of policing.
To head off these kinds of threats to privacy, Santa Clara County has already passed an ordinance promoting transparency about surveillance technology. Other cities are considering similar measures.
SB 21, a bill by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, would implement statewide standards an important step for San Diego County, where police technology often flows freely between agencies. The bill enhances fiscal responsibility by providing policymakers with data to evaluate whether a costly technology is as effective as vendors claim.
As the U.S. government ramps up a new War on Drugs and aggressive immigration enforcement, we anticipate even more military-grade surveillance technology to flow down to local agencies through grant programs, equipment transfers and federal partnerships. California lawmakers must pass SB 21 to put adequate controls in place so these technologies are operated responsibly, transparently and with respect for our constitutional rights.
Maass is an investigative researcher at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that promotes civil liberties in the digital world.
Californias housing crisis is a matter of immense concern for millions of low- and middle-income families who see their family budgets squeezed by the constantly increasing cost of rents and mortgages. But the abject failure of the state government to help relieve the crisis by trying new approaches to adding housing stock should be cause for public anger, not concern. At the state and local level, officials continue to embrace housing subsidy programs that have tiny impacts and continue to refuse to think outside the box.
Now there is a fresh example of this backward approach in San Diego, where average apartment rent tops $2,000 a month and the median price of homes is more than $500,000. A May 22 San Diego Union-Tribune story detailed how Los Angeles developer Jennifer Litwaks innovative proposal to build shipping container apartments and 3D-printed urban cabins, which could cost as little as $150,000 per unit, couldnt get traction with the San Diego Housing Commission or with the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, a nonprofit foundation with ambitious plans to redevelop areas in southeastern San Diego.
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Litwaks 6-year-old nonprofit company, Housing on Merit, has $1 million in hand and wanted to buy or lease land in San Diego to establish what it calls a Housing Innovation Learning Laboratory to try a new approach to housing. Given that it costs the city an average of $350,000 to build an affordable-housing unit using standard construction practices, Litwaks ideas would seem worthy of full consideration.
Instead, Litwak says commission officials told her they passed because they considered the plan risky. Commission officials said their reason was they doubted her proposal could get approval from the mayors oversight board and City Council members.
Neither reason is acceptable. 3D-printed houses are not a science-fiction dream but something that has already been done with sometimes stunning results. Apis Cor, a San Francisco-based housing start-up, used 3D printing to build a 409-square-foot home, whose materials cost only about $10,000. Its demonstration project in Russia earlier this year produced an attractive, functional home in about 24 hours. Apis Cor is not alone. Other companies in the U.S., Asia and Europe have established the viability of inexpensive 3D print construction technology.
The contrast between Liwaks treatment in San Diego and the city of Bostons approach to individuals with similar ideas about addressing housing shortages is striking. In 2014, Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh embraced a new path by announcing plans for a city Housing Innovation Laboratory to consider ideas just like Litwaks specifically innovatively designed compact units. Last year, the laboratory, the Boston Society of Architects and housing developer Livelight showed off a prototype 385-square-foot modular, stackable apartment they called an Urban Housing Unit, or Uhu, which costs between $40,000 and $70,000 to build. Walsh sees Uhus as having great promise for housing students and young people who might otherwise be priced out of the market.
Bostons experience shows how San Diego officials should have reacted when approached by Litwak. Instead of having to run a bureaucratic obstacle course, she should have gotten an invitation to meet the mayor and City Council. Such an invitation remains a great idea at least if our elected leaders really hope to offer something to combat the housing crisis beyond hollow rhetoric.
Twitter: @sdutIdeas
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To welcome the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan, President Donald Trump on Friday offered well wishes to Muslims worldwide in remarks that drew sharp focus to its references to terrorism and also attracted comparisons to remarks by past presidents and other world leaders.
Trumps six-paragraph statement on Ramadan included a reference to the deadly bombing at a concert in Manchester and his recent visit to the Middle East and also alluded to Americas war on terror.
I reiterate my message delivered in Riyadh: America will always stand with our partners against terrorism and the ideology that fuels it, Trump said.
As is often the case, much attention was given to a U.S. presidents choice of words. Those with a critical eye were quick to point out the references to terrorism and share them on Twitter.
Many of Trumps comments about Muslims have made headlines dating back to his campaign, and have been in the news recently because of his attempts to block entry into the United States to foreigners traveling from Muslim-majority countries.
During a stop in Saudi Arabia this week, Trump delivered an address that appealed to Middle East leaders to root out terrorists and extremists. His speech, which made reference to terror 31 times, was mostly seen as tempered and statesmanlike.
While this may be Trumps first remarks on Ramadan, he is not alone in offering a message of support for the holy month observed by millions of Muslims worldwide. Others including U.S. lawmakers and world leaders shared their well-wishes too.
Trumps message was also inevitably compared to the past remarks from former president George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Heres an excerpt of Bushs message on Ramadan during his first year, which came two months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001:
The American Muslim community is as varied as the many Muslim communities across the world. Muslims from diverse backgrounds pray together in mosques all across our great land. And American Muslims serve in every walk of life, including our armed forces.
And here is an excerpt of Obamas first Ramadan remarks during his first year as president in 2009:
This month is also a time of renewal and this marks the first Ramadan since the President outlined his vision for a new beginning between America and the Muslim world. As a part of that new beginning, the President emphasizes that our relationship with Muslim communities cannot be based on political and security concerns alone. True partnerships also require cooperation in all areas particularly those that can make a positive difference in peoples daily lives, including education, science and technology, health, and entrepreneurship - fields in which Muslim communities have helped play a pioneering role throughout history.
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Join me in a conversation: Shoot me a private email with your thoughts or ideas on a different approach to this story. As always, you can also send us a tweet.
Email: luis.gomez@sduniontribune.com
Twitter: @RunGomez
Read The Conversation on Flipboard.
MEMORIAL DAY CANNONJohn Schwaesdalls been building a cannon. It should be ready for the Memorial Day service Monday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on his property at 17677 Rancho De Oro Drive off state Route 67 and across the highway from Country Wine & Spirits West.
He started with an old cast-iron pipe hes had for the past 40 years. Using redwood slats, liquid nails, diamond mesh wire, and Bondo, he built the pipe into the shape of a cannon that he will secure between the boulders at the memorial. It will look like the real thing, says Schwaesdall, but it wont shoot.
Schwaesdall owns Schwaesdall Roofing & Repairs and Schwaesdall Winery. His grape vines surround the Vietnam memorial that he built in 1990, the same year he planted the grapes. Originally, he was only going to put a flagpole on the property. He had traded a roof repair job on the old Poway Post Office for the flagpole that was there. But then he saw the movie Born on the Fourth of July, and he asked Wally Green why Green wore a POW-MIA hat. Green, who has since died, told Schaesdall that his son, Tommy, was killed in action in Vietnam. Because Pfc. Thomas Greens body was never found, he is listed as missing in action. Pfc. Green was a door gunner aboard a CH-47 helicopter when it went down in the waters of South Vietnam.
Schwaesdall decided to turn part of his property into a memorial for the seven Ramona men who died or were MIA in the Vietnam War. He and his father, the late Edward Schwaesdall, made the plaque and engraved the names and ranks of the seven Ramona servicemen who never returned. Every Memorial Day, Schwaesdall invites the community to the service that the Ramona VFW Post 3783 holds at noon.
SUNDAY VOLUNTEERSThe Sunday before Ramona Rodeo found a crew of about 25 volunteers busy hanging more than 100 sponsor banners in and around the rodeo grounds. Nancy and Larry Spurlock, a husband and wife team on the Ramona Rodeo Committee, have taken charge of Ramona Rodeo sponsor banners from beginning to end since 2004. They solicit sponsorships, collect banners from all of the sponsors, coordinate getting the banners up, take the banners down after the last rodeo show, and then return the banners to their owners.
The Spurlocks are just two of the many volunteers who work behind the scenes to put on the rodeo each year.
SENIOR WALKRamona High School seniors will don their caps and gowns and take a Senior Walk down memory lane two days before their official graduation ceremony. On Tuesday, June 6, theyll receive their caps and gowns after their Senior Breakfast and, dressed in their graduation regalia, theyll walk through Olive Peirce Middle School. Then theyll be bused to the elementary school they attended to walk the halls of their alma mater to show the kindergartners through sixth-graders what theyve accomplished and also to give the younger students a peek at where they will be some day.
Those seniors who did not attend elementary school in Ramona can choose the school they want to go to, said Mona Snodgrass, Ramona High teacher and Associated Student Body adviser who is helping to coordinate the walks with RHS Assistant Principal Antoinette Rodriguez.
Allie Wagner, a Ramona High School graduate who studied journalism at San Diego State University and is a reporter on KUSI television, is expected to cover the event.
The airline said it was suffering a "major IT systems failure" around the world.
By AP: British Airways (BA) canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports Saturday as a global IT failure causes severe disruption for travelers.
The airline said it was suffering a "major IT systems failure" around the world. It didn't say what was causing the problem but said there is no evidence of a cyberattack.
Hours later the airways said that there was no evidence that a global breakdown of its IT systems had been caused by a cyber attack. BA said terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick had become extremely congested and cancelled all flights from those airports until 6 p.m. (1700GMT, 1 p.m. EDT).
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It is urging passengers not to go to the airports.
PROBLEM GLOBAL, SAYS BRITISH AIRWAYS
BA has not said what is causing the computer failure. It said in a tweet that the problem is global.
Earlier, passengers at Heathrow reported long lines at check-in counters and flight delays.
One posted a picture on Twitter of BA staff writing gate numbers on a white board.
"We've tried all of the self-check-in machines. None were working, apart from one," said Terry Page, booked on a flight to Texas. "There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front."
TRAVELLER's VERSION
Another traveller, PR executive Melissa Davis, said she was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow aboard a BA flight arriving from Belfast.
She said passengers had been told they could not transfer to other flights because "they can't bring up our details."
Heathrow said the IT problem had caused "some delays for passengers" and it was working with BA to resolve it.
The problem comes on a holiday weekend, when thousands of Britons are travelling.
BA passengers were hit with severe delays in July and September 2016 because of problems with the airline's online check-in systems.
WATCH VIDEO
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Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh seems to be a transformed Congress leader ever since he was sworn as the CM on March 16. Of late, he has been siding with BJP's ideology on several issues.
By Kumar Shakti Shekhar: In the last inning of his political career, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is playing on the front foot. Of late, the position he has been taking on most of the issues are in line with that of BJP. If his views are not against his Congress party's stand, they are not in unison either.
He seems to be a transformed Congress leader ever since he was sworn in as Punjab CM on March 16.
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Has Amarinder Singh got 'Modified'? Or, is he his usual self?
Much before the February Assembly elections in Punjab, Amarinder Singh had declared that he was contesting the last time. He had also sought a chance from the Congress high command to lead the party in the Assembly polls on the same ground.
The 'Maharaja of Patiala' was granted whatever he wished for and he went on to lead Congress to a decisive victory.
BADALS AND KEJRIWAL ON TARGET TILL PUNJAB POLLS
Till elections, Amarinder Singh's statements and tweets were largely related to campaigning. He never named BJP in any tweet though he targeted the other two rivals - the Badals led Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Amarinder Singh made personal comments on the Badals and Kejriwal. His attack on the Badals pertained mainly to law and order, corruption charges and drug menace.
However, the former Army Captain's assault on the Delhi Chief Minister was frontal and highly damaging. His comments would, of course, be retorts to provocations by Kejriwal.
If you are so sure, why don't you come and fight me? You sneaky little fellow! @ArvindKejriwal https://t.co/h6byJRahSm- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) January 12, 2017
SOFT TOWARDS PM MODI AND BJP
But never in his campaign the 'Maharaja' ever target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This was in contrast to not just other Opposition parties but also other Congress leaders, including party vice president Rahul Gandhi.
These may lead one to believe that Captain Amarinder Singh may be soft towards BJP and PM Modi. There were reports too claiming that he was about to join BJP in September 2015.
However, the Punjab CM refuted this. In a tweet on May 17, he said he never thought of joining BJP due to differences with Congress. In a significant revelation, he said he only toyed with forming own party.
Amarinder Singh as a young boy at YPS Stadium, Patiala. Photo: @capt_amarinder
Disclosing plans of breaking away from parent Congress and forming a new party in itself is quite a bold statement to make. No other Congress leader can muster enough courage to make such a statement.
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But Captain Amarinder Singh, saddled firmly in his position, has been speaking his mind, unmindful even of diverting from his Congress party's stand or ideology. The steps or the stand he has been taking appear closer to rival BJP.
DOING AWAY WITH VIP CULTURE
The Modi government banned red beacons atop vehicles of ministers, politicians and government officials. The announcement was made on April 19. However, similar decision had already been taken by the Punjab government on March 18, just two days after the Amarinder government was sworn in.
In fact, the decision to rid Punjab of VIP culture was taken in the new state cabinet's first meeting. All beacon lights were ordered to be removed from vehicles of ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats.
On April 21, the Punjab CM surrendered 400 security personnel and the government withdrew 1500 from other protectees. It plans to cut down more to free more security personnel for policing.
THE TURNING POINT
Captain Amarinder Singh has launched an offensive akin to any 'nationalist' BJP leader ever since Naib Subedar Paramjeet Singh was martyred and his body mutilated by Pakistani forces in Kashmir on May 1. He met the family of the martyr and announced jobs for the latter's children.
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On his own, he announced that a police job was waiting for martyr Paramjeet Singh's daughter when she completes education and another job was reserved for the son. Later, he heartily accepted the request of the family for naib tehsildar's job to the martyr's daughter and ASI for the son.
Meeting with the family of Shaheed JCO Paramjeet Singh today at Veinpoin village was a heart-wrenching experience. pic.twitter.com/dc9Y32fohJ- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 7, 2017
Being a former Army officer, who had fought the 1965 Pakistan War, Captain Amarinder Singh is clearly passionate about issues related to the military. However, not all ex-servicemen match his zeal.
Paid homage to martyrs at State War Memorial Amritsar. Salute the brave hearts who laid their lives for the country! pic.twitter.com/L3dLHvb5h9- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 7, 2017
Visited Jallianwala Bagh today. Salute the courage of the freedom fighters who laid down their lives for the Nation. pic.twitter.com/EVDCxtxtto- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 8, 2017
He also expressed shock at the ghastly kidnapping and murder of Army officer Ummer Fayaz. He exhorted the Centre to take tough action to put an end to such brutality.
Really shocked & saddened at cowardly kidnapping & killing of army officer Ummer Fayaz. Need tough action to put an end to such brutality.- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 10, 2017
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The Punjab CM's stand on Major Leetul Gogoi, who had tied a stonepelter as a human shield on the bonnet of a jeep in Kashmir to save election and security personnel from a huge violent crowd, was also in variance with that of Congress for several days.
Amarinder Singh had expressed his happiness over Major Gogoi being given clean chit by the Army's Court of Inquiry as early as May 15. Congress took a week more to make its stand clear and second the Punjab CM.
Good to hear of @adgpi Court of Inquiry clean chit to 'human shield' officer Major Nitin Gogoi, should be given distinguished service award.- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 15, 2017
He also said that had he been a young army major, he would have done the same what Major Gogoi did. He is of the view that the Army cannot fight terror with one hand tied behind.
Captain Amarinder Singh has also supported the Centre whole-heartedly unlike other Opposition leaders. For instance, he congratulated External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj for ensuring the safe return of Uzma from Pakistan on May 25.
Really happy to know of Uzma's safe return to Delhi, congrats to central govt for handling sensitive matter with maturity @SushmaSwaraj- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 25, 2017
What would please the BJP leaders is the Sikh leader's penchant for Hindu gods and goddesses.
Visited the historic Durgiana Mandir in Amritsar to seek blessings of Maa Durga for Punjab and its people. pic.twitter.com/bH2JWXzFFh- Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 8, 2017
Captain Amarinder Singh may have endeared himself to the 'nationalists' and the Sangh Parivar by his deeds and words. However, they may also have reasons to believe that the Punjab CM may be hijacking their agenda and ideology.
ALSO READ:
Congress' Amarinder Singh says wanted to float new party but never join BJP
Punjab: Amarinder Singh's one month in office full of controversies and flip-flops
ALSO WATCH THE VIDEO
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FLORENCE, S.C. Twenty-one students graduated from The Kings Academy on Friday evening at the schools campus gymnasium.
Two students received Palmetto Fellows Scholarships, and nine students received Life Scholarships.
Charlie Aimar was named salutatorian. Aimar plans to attend Clemson University. Taylor Blaker was named valedictorian. Blaker plans to attend the College of Charleston.
In Blakers valedictory address, she mentioned each of her 20 classmates by name and recognized what each taught her during her years at The Kings Academy. Blaker also encouraged students to positively influence others in their words and actions.
We teach people things every day, so lets make what we teach them something that matters, Blaker said.
Kings Academy instructor Peter Worn gave the commencement message. Through storytelling and references to biblical passages in Ecclesiastes, Worn said students could live contented lives by doing four things: working diligently, enjoying the fruits of their labor, enjoying their families and fearing God and keeping his commands.
Worn said students must pay attention to the present and without rushing ahead too far. He said they must remember that no matter how menial a task they are performing, the task at hand is the one that matters, not focusing on discontentment.
Balloon where you are planted, Worn said.
Senior class President Harold Boatwright echoed Worns message. In his senior class presidential address, Boatwright encouraged students to slow down and enjoy moments. He warned students not to chase money but to work hard and seek God in all their plans.
Principal Barbara Osterrieder and Head of School David Wolff presented diplomas to the students. Then, each student received a yellow rose to give to his or her parents. During the ceremony, students hugged their parents and thanked them for their support through school.
A reception was held in honor of the graduates following the ceremony.
By Press Trust of India: Visakhapatnam, May 27 (PTI) Telugu Desam president N Chandrababu Naidu today warned the party leaders against criticising their ally BJP and stressed that the issue of continuing or discontinuing the alliance would be decided by the high command.
Addressing the general body sessions on the first day of the TDP Mahanadu here, Chandrababu directed his party leaders not to react to criticism, if any, from the other party (BJP).
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"The top leadership will decide about the alliance. Nobody else should talk about that. Even if they criticise, none of our leaders should react. Otherwise, it will be treated as violation of party discipline and stern action will be taken against such leaders," Chief Minister Chandrababu warned.
He said the TDP allied with the BJP in 2014 to safeguard the interests of the country and the state.
"People were vexed with the Congress rule and its gross corruption. (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi provided a ray of hope and people across the country accepted him.
"At the same time, our state was facing a lot of crisis because of bifurcation. Hence, we decided to ally with the BJP to derive benefits to the state," Chandrababu told his party workers.
It may be recalled that there had been a renewed acrimony between the TDP and the BJP, alliance partners both in the central and the AP governments, in the last few days with a section in each party seeking to break the tie-up.
Interestingly, the BJP Telangana unit had already announced severing of ties with the TDP in that state and BJP national president Amit Shah endorsed it.
Chandrababu held a luncheon meeting with Shah in Amaravati two days ago to send a message that he was firm on continuing the friendship despite skirmishes between the second-rung leaders.
Today, he openly sought to put at rest all wild talk about the possible break-up. PTI DBV NRB RCJ
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FLORENCE, S.C. Many areas across the Pee Dee region have seen a steady decrease in population over the past five years, according to new population estimates released last week by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Darlington, Williamsburg, Marion, Dillon and Marlboro counties showed decreases in population each year from 2010 through 2016.
The only county in this region that showed population growth between the 2010 census and last year is Florence County. The population increased by a little more than 1 percent, to 138,742 estimated people.
The largest city in the region, Florence, has grown by 3.4 percent since 2010, bringing the population to 38,317.
Only three other cities with populations of 1,000 or more in the region showed growth since the 2010 census. Timmonsville grew by 2.4 percent, Lake City by 1.2 percent and Hartsville by approximately half a percent.
With much of the area showing decreases in population, some civic leaders are worried about attrition and a waning tax base.
Frank Willis, executive director of the Darlington County Economic Development Partnership, said people go where there are economic and personal opportunities, and right now that place is Florence County.
Most of the Pee Dee has not had the kind of success Florence has had, and most counties have not had that kind of job creation, he said. Its all about productivity. If you have the product, you have industry and jobs. Jobs drive growth. That's not happening across the Pee Dee.
A decreasing base population means a decreasing tax base as well, which becomes a funding problem for local government and struggling school districts.
Many of the counties with declining populations in the Pee Dee fall into South Carolinas corridor of shame a section along Interstate 95 containing counties with notoriously poor school records and low graduation rates. These are mostly rural and low-income districts.
Many of these districts have a lot of money tied up in buildings and other facilities, with fewer options to pay for them, Willis said. If the population declines, there are fewer parents with students and less tax revenue. Its a big problem weve seen for a while in some of these more rural counties. Its hard to maintain a tax base once jobs go and people start leaving.
The million-dollar question, Willis asked, is how to reverse these negative trends.
You try to improve each countys environment for creating industry, he said. You have to look at ways to improve rail service, industrial parks, roads and transportation. Florence County is the beneficiary in this area of two interstates and major rail service. Most counties dont have that.
Buddy Brand, Florence mayor pro tempore and economic development adviser, said Florence is in a good position to continue its growth pattern.
More young people are coming back to Florence to work rather than leave and never come back, he said. A lot of it also has to do with the location of industry. Were seeing people move into Florence County from some of these outlying areas in the Pee Dee because we have the jobs.
Job growth in Florence County isnt expected to slow any time soon, as several major employers announced job-creating expansions of their operations in the past year.
Honda of South Carolina announced a $45 million, 115,000-square-foot expansion; McCall Farms announced a $23 million investment; General Electric announced a $40 million expansion; and Project Horseshoe is a forthcoming $79 million expansion.
These projects alone are anticipated to bring nearly 1,100 new jobs to the county in the next two to five years.
I think youll see this type of job growth continue in Florence County, because there are a lot of opportunities here, he said. And there are a lot of good upcoming businesses that will increase our chances of more growth as well.
There are 4,961,119 living in South Carolina, making it 23rd in population ranking among all U.S. states.
Population in the six-county area that makes up the Florence metro, or Pee Dee Region, fell by more than 6,500 people since 2010 to 327,460 in 2016. That accounts for a 2 percent population loss in the region since 2010.
The city of Florence ranks 11th on South Carolinas largest cities list for 2016, just ahead of Spartanburg and just behind Hilton Head Island.
Nationally, 10 of the 15 fastest-growing cities with populations of 50,000 or more were spread across the South in 2016, with four of the top five found in Texas. The fifth in that group was Greenville, South Carolina.
According to the data, on average, small towns in the South grew by about 0.2 percent.
By Priyanka Sharma: It's a two-in-one surgery that's one of a kind in India. Businessman Rajeev Khurana, 50, was content with his lavish lifestyle. But 30 years of chain smoking finally caught up with him- he was diagnosed with lung tumour.
Doctors at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital (SGRH) advised the removal of his left lung urgently. A twist came when surgeons realised that his heart was not functioning properly either as 99 per cent of his major arteries were blocked. He needed immediate heart bypass surgery.
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The doctors had a problem: which of the two vital organs to operate first as both heart and lungs needed quick surgery. The lung removal surgery could not be done first as there were 99 per cent chances of the patient dying due to a heart attack during the procedure. They finally decided to do a combined lung removal and heart bypass surgery.
A ONE OF A KIND SURGERY
Doctors at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital say this is the first such procedure in India and only one or two such operations have been carried out worldwide.
Dr Arvind Kumar, chairman for chest surgery at the hospital, told Mail Today, "This patient was a chronic smoker. He was detected to have cancer in his left lung in the wind pipe (bronchus), which goes into the lung and he was in the stage where lung removal surgery was possible."
For any major surgery, doctors check if the vital organs such as heart, lungs, liver and kidneys are functioning properly to withstand the stress.
"When he was sent for cardiac function tests it was revealed that the major heart blood vessels were blocked between 95 per cent and 99 per cent. Time was less and organs were deteriorating and that became a serious situation. This meant that he was not fit for major lung cancer surgery," said Dr Kumar. A combined heart surgery and lung resection facilitates the treatment of two major problems in one intervention with acceptable outcomes and overall cost reduction, according to experts. However, with increasing age and frailty of the patient, it is sometimes very difficult to perform two major surgeries during a short time interval.
"I was almost half dead when I got to know that I would have to undergo bypass surgery for the heart along with the lung removal operation. There was a risk to life but doctors made me very comfortable and I was able to tolerate both the major operations in one go," Rajeev told Mail Today. "We had three options: first, give heart the priority and conduct bypass surgery; tumour would be removed later. Second, as cancer was in lungs and it could spread further, remove the tumour first, but there was 99 per cent risk of cardiac arrest. The third option was to perform lung removal and bypass surgery together. After a lot of discussions, we decided to do both the surgeries together," Dr Ganesh Raj Shivnani, chairman of the department of cardiac surgery at SGRH, told Mail Today.
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Doctors offered the best option to Rajeev and were prepared for the worst.
"We decided that lets make a cut which can handle both the vital organs. Lung removal surgery was done first and bypass heart surgery next with proper protocol. In case the heart started to crash, a team of cardiac surgeons was on standby to put the patient on the bypass machine within a minute and cardiac surgeons could take over the case. And since the heart was behaving well, chest surgeons continued to remove the lung tumour first," said Dr Shivnani, who is a Limca book awardee 2012, 2016 for conducting more than 446 successful bypass surgeries. "The heart surgery was done later without bypass machine and it was kept ready for eight hours. Today, by God's grace, Rajeev is alive and doing well."
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FROM THE MAGAZINE: WHAT'S CHANGING IN SURGERY
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Blue badge holders can now register their vehicles for the new car parking systems at Scunthorpe hospital.
As part of a 400,000 upgrade to the car parks at Scunthorpe, Grimsby and Goole hospitals new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology barriers are being installed. Work is expected to be completed by the end of June.
The improvement works are being funded by ISS UK Healthcare, the company contracted by Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust to manage its car parking and security.
Blue badge holders who use the car parks regularly are advised to register their vehicle with the car parking and security teams to ensure they receive the fixed rate tariff.
Phil Whale, car parking and security manager for ISS UK Healthcare, said: "We're inviting blue badge holders to register their vehicle on the new system. After the work is complete when a blue badge holder registered on the system approaches the barrier the ANPR cameras will recognise their number plate and lift the barrier automatically.
"On leaving the site, when patients with a blue badge go to pay at the machine they will be charged the fixed rate fee of 2 rather than the standard parking charges. It means they will also no longer have the inconvenience of having to give their details every time they visit."
At Goole hospital the pay and display system on the car park opposite the main entrance is being replaced with one of the new ANPR barrier systems.
Currently people have to pay upfront for parking and estimate how long they will be on site, under the new system they will be able to pay as they leave, for the time spent on site.
The car park for the GP surgery (Bartholomew Medical Centre), which is not managed by the Trust, will not be affected by the works.
New payment machines are also being installed at all three hospital sites with a range of payment options including cash, card and contactless options plus online payment, SMS and telephone payments via an app called 'whoosh'.
Anyone wanting to register their blue badge number on the new system can either fill out the online form on the Trust's website, email here with their name, vehicle registration details and blue badge number or visit the car parking and security office to complete a registration form.
The online form is available on the Trust website at Grimsby, Scunthorpe and Goole.
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A woman and child have today (Saturday, May 27) been involved in a two-car crash in Scunthorpe.
The incident happened on Scotter Road at around 12.15pm.
Humberside Fire and Rescue Service have said that a man in another vehicle released himself before the arrival of fire and rescue crews.
The woman had to be freed by firefighters before being assessed by paramedics and taken to hospital.
A boy was also assisted out of the car by firefighters.
The European Extremely Large Telescope is five time larger than the top observing instrument in use today. It will provide astronomers images of larger plants and even help characterise their atmospheres.
By India Today Web Desk: The construction of a telescope which began on Friday will give the world its largest optical telescope.
Construction on the European Extremely Large Telescope began in Chile and the telescope is some five times larger than the top observing instrument in use today.
The size of the ELT has the potential to transform our understanding of the universe, say its backers, with its main mirror that will measure some 39 meters across.
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Located on a 3,000 meter-high mountain in the middle of the Atacama desert, it is due to begin operating in 2024.
Chile's President Michelle Bachelet and Director General of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), Tim de Zeeuw walk at the construction site of the world's largest telescope in the desert of Atacama, Chile, May 26, 2017. Sebastian Rodriguez/Courtesy of Chilean Presidency/Handout via Reuters
CAPABILITIES OF ELT
Among other capabilities, it will add to and refine astronomers' burgeoning discoveries of planets orbiting other stars, with the ability to find more smaller planets, image larger ones, and possibly characterise their atmospheres, a key step in understanding if life is present."What is being raised here is more than a telescope. Here we see one of the greatest examples of the possibilities of science," said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet in a speech to mark the beginning of construction at the site.
ATACAMA
The dry atmosphere of the Atacama provides as near perfect observing conditions as it is possible to find on Earth, with some 70 per cent of the world's astronomical infrastructure slated to be located in the region by the 2020s.
EUROPEAN SOUTHERN OBSERVATORY
The ELT is being funded by the European Southern Observatory, an organisation consisting of European and southern hemisphere nations.
Construction costs were not available but the ESO has said previously that the ELT would cost around 1 billion euros at 2012 prices.
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Press Release
May 26, 2017 Hontiveros to Congress: Don't default on constitutional duty, hold joint session on martial law declaration Saying that Congress must not default on its constitutional duty, Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday asked the legislature to convene its members to discuss the report of President Rodrigo Duterte on his martial law declaration in Mindanao as a response to the Marawi crisis. Hontiveros issued the statement after Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez both said that there is no need for the Senate and the House of Representatives to convene in a joint session if the majority of its members agree with the declaration of martial law. "With all due respect to the leaders of the two chambers of the legislature, but how can we get the exact sense of the majority of the lawmakers if we don't convene in a joint session? I hope the legislature is not taking the declaration of martial law lightly," Hontiveros said. Hontiveros explained that the mandate of the constitution is clear. She said that there are no provisions in the constitution that says that convening a joint session on the declaration of martial law is optional. "The legislature has the constitutional duty to scrutinize the report of the President on the declaration of martial law before a joint session. We have the duty to evaluate if the declaration has basis or not. Even if the declaration seems to have the support of the majority of our lawmakers, the constitution mandates us to listen to all voices, particularly those who raise legitimate concerns over the implementation of this proclamation," Hontiveros said. "More than trusting the President, we should put our trust in our check-and-balance mechanisms. This is one of the best ways to ensure that any declaration of martial law, valid or not, is not abused, Hontiveros added. Hontiveros said that a joint session will also be an opportunity for lawmakers to officially record their vote and show their constituents and the general public where they stand on this important issue. "The people deserve to know where their lawmakers stand on this important matter. If they believe that they stand on the right side of history, I don't see why Congress can't convene a joint session," she said. Congress is constitutionally mandated to receive a report from the President on his martial law declaration within 48 hours of its proclamation, and vote on it in joint session.
By India Today Web Desk: TV actress Shweta Tiwari became the latest victim of the death hoax row.
The rumour started circulating after a fan page of Sakshi Tanwar published a post that said, "I feel very sad and shocked on knowing that Shweta Tiwari (Prerna) of Kasautii Zindagi Kay lost the battle with life and is no more. RIP Shweta. Balaji Telefilms and the whole team will miss you..."
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The news of Shweta's death spread like wildfire and it was all over the internet. But soon the news was busted by Shweta's husband actor Abhinav Kohli. He spoke to Dailybhaskar.com and said, "I got panicked when I got to know about this news. I mean, I had just spoken to her a few minutes back and when somebody called me up with this news; I didn't know how to react to it. Immediately, I called up Shweta and found her all well. In fact, she started laughing at me. All I want to say is that she is alive and is doing very well."
Also read: SEE: This picture of Shweta Tiwari with her precious little one is too cute for words
Shweta Tiwari said that this the third time that she has been declared dead. She said, "I don't feel like reacting to such rumours now. Believe it or not, this is the third time people have declared me dead and I have become used to it. Abhinav was the first one to call me up; he was nervous while speaking on phone. I told him to relax and just ignore such baseless rumours. I am very much alive and happily enjoying the evening with my children".
Currently, Shweta Tiwari is on a break, as she recently became a mother for the second time.
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STATEMENT OF SEN. PANGILINAN ON THE PASSING OF FORMER SENATOR EVA ESTADA KALAW
The nation weeps for the loss of a dedicated public servant, leader, and fighter: Senator Eva Estrada Kalaw.
In one of the darkest moments of our history, during the martial law era of the Marcos regime, Senator Eva was among those at the front lines in the fight for freedom, truth, and justice.
Her fearlessness and love of country is truly an inspiration to all of us. She will surely be missed.
Rest in peace, Senator Eva.
Scott Strazzante/The Chronicle
NEW YORK - Yonder Alonso is taking batting practice Saturday morning at Yankee Stadium and he said beforehand that he expects to be available to come off the bench.
Alonso hasnt played since leaving Tuesdays game after taking a pitch off his right wrist; the first baseman has a major-league high nine homers in May.
A 28-year-old former Contra Costa County community college professor was arraigned Friday morning after allegedly assaulting at least seven people with a bike lock at an April clash between Trump supporters and counterprotesters in Berkeley.
Eric Clanton was arrested at his Oakland apartment at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday and booked into Berkeley Jail that evening on three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of wearing a mask or disguise to evade police, and a sentencing enhancement for causing great bodily injury, according to county records.
Uncovering Clantons identity became a minor obsession in some internet circles after video surfaced of a man now believed by many to be Clanton beating a Trump supporter in the back of the head during the April 15 melee at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park in which at least 20 people were arrested.
In a YouTube video of the attack, a masked person in a black hoodie can be seen emerging from a crowd and walloping an unarmed man on the head, drawing blood.
One of the wounds inflicted by the bike lock needed five staples to be closed, according to Berkeley Police Officer Andres Bejarano.
In another case, Bejarano wrote, Clanton struck a person wearing a helmet hard enough with the lock that a piece of the helmet was broken off.
At Clantons apartment, detectives found flags, pamphlets and other paraphernalia associating Clanton with the Anti-Fascists and Anarchy political groups, as well as U-locks and facial coverings like those worn during the April 15 assaults, according to Bejarano.
Clanton was an adjunct professor of philosophy at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill in 2016, but the college released a statement Friday saying that he is not employed by Diablo Valley or by the Contra Costa Community College District.
Clanton last worked at the college in December, according to the statement. He was arrested during a Black Lives Matter demonstration in 2014 on public nuisance and soliciting charges, police said.
He remains in custody at the Berkeley Jail and is next scheduled to appear in court on June 14 for a pretrial hearing, according to jail records. His bail is set at $100,000.
As the Golden Gate Bridge was being built, Joseph Strauss, the chief engineer, was often asked: How long will the bridge last? His answer was always the same.
Forever, he said.
The famous span turns 80 on Saturday, not quite forever, but nearly a lifetime. And how long the bridge lasts depends on a small army of painters, ironworkers, electricians and engineers whose job over the years has taken them to the top and the bottom of the towers and everywhere else on the bridge.
Currently, the Golden Gate Bridge employs 32 painters, five painter laborers, 19 ironworkers, and three ironworker foremen, called pushers in the trade. A superintendent is in overall charge.
Though the painters are the most visible of the maintenance crew, its the ironworkers, who walk the high steel and build the scaffolding for the painters, who capture the public imagination.
We have a nickname. They call us Sky Cowboys, said Phillip Chaney, 57, the ironworker superintendent.
Their job is to replace rusting rivets with bolts, to build scaffolding for the painters and to make sure the bridge is sound.
The paint protects the steel, but its the steel that holds up the bridge, Chaney said.
We have a corner office with a view, said Darren McVeigh, 51, a second-generation ironworker who has been with the Golden Gate Bridge for 15 years and in the trade since 1982.
Its rough and dirty work, McVeigh said, but its a good job.
Ironworkers report at 6:30 in the morning and are off by 3. Its a union job, and the pay is good: $41.53 an hour, according to bridge district figures. It takes a four-year apprenticeship to become a journeyman, and Golden Gate work is especially prized in the trade: Bridge workers get 13 paid holidays, plus vacation.
In other jobs, McVeigh said, When you dont work, you dont get paid.
On the other hand, working on the Golden Gate presents special problems. The bridge crosses a strait on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, and the strait is famous for its wind and fog.
Sometimes it cuts through you like a knife, McVeigh said. Its brutal, just brutal. At the end of the day, all you can do is stand under a hot shower.
The moisture from the fog and rain also add an element of danger to the work because it makes the steel slippery.
No one can be an ironworker who has a fear of heights, but the trade requires a finely honed sense of caution.
You know the saying: One hand for the company and one hand for yourself, McVeigh said.
All ironworkers on the bridge are required to wear a harness 100 percent tie-off they call it but theres a trade-off. With layers of clothing on a chilly day, a body harness and a tool belt, ironworkers look like bears up on the steel. It makes it harder to move, to work.
Though 11 workers were killed during construction, there have been only two fatal accidents involving bridge crews in the past 80 years. In 1970, a painter fell to his death, and in 2003 an ironworker in the employ of a contractor died in an accident during a seismic retrofit project.
Liz Hafalia/The Chronicle
And there are also injuries, especially working with steel beams and building scaffolding.
You get hand smashes and eye injuries, back injuries, bad knees, McVeigh said.
They also face death, especially when someone is threatening suicide. Bridge workers are trained to intervene and will go to the railing to try to stop someone from jumping. We put on a harness and tie-off so if they go, we are not going to go with them, McVeigh said.
Like the others, he has talked some would-be jumpers off the edge. Ive lost count, he said. Maybe a dozen.
In the next few years, a suicide barrier will be strung under the deck. The work wont be done by in-house ironworkers, but by ironworkers hired by the contractors for the job.
The ironworkers main work at the bridge is keeping it standing. Theres an old saying, McVeigh said. Rust never rests.
Chaney points to a long color-coded chart in an engineering office near the toll plaza. Its a conceptual printout of the bridge, showing the results of regular inspections: green for good steel, yellow for caution, red for problems.
Last year, the ironworkers spent a lot of time replacing some of the 600,000 rivets in the Marin tower. Rusted rivets are removed by a device called a rivet buster and are replaced with steel bolts.
Most of this year is devoted to building stages dance floors, they are called under the roadway deck, so old paint and some steel can be replaced. The stages are surrounded by tent-like structures that keep the old paint and debris from falling into the water.
It takes months to build the stages and the tenting, careful work done under the roadway. Its not as dramatic as high work on the 746-foot-tall towers, but just as important.
There are other jobs, too. I have guys working on greasing the bearings on the deck, Chaney said. Like all suspension spans, the Golden Gate Bridge moves with the weight of traffic and with the wind. The steel moves. You dont want a stiff structure, he said.
After the stages are done, the next big job will be to work on the San Francisco tower, where the effects of wind and rain have left the tower looking a bit shabby, as if it needs a new paint job. Its structurally sound, Chaney said, but not aesthetically.
Not everybody can work on what may well be the most famous bridge in the world. Like others on the bridge, McVeigh is proud of it.
When you are driving to work and see it in the windshield, he said, you say to yourself: Wow! Look at this thing!
Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf
A quiet anniversary
It will be a quiet birthday Saturday when the Golden Gate Bridge turns 80.
Instead, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is inviting the public to post personal stories about the bridge on the bridges Facebook page and to Twitter @goldengatebridge, hashtag #GGB80 and #MyGGBstory.
The idea, the district says, is to allow visitors from all over the world to join the fun.
On the bridges 50th anniversary, in 1987, as many as 300,000 people walked on the bridge, causing the arch in the main span to flatten. The bridge staged an elaborate fireworks display on its 75th, in 2012.
The San Francisco Zoo has two sea lions, and they both happen to be blind.
One of them is Henry, who is 7. He was found stranded on a beach in Humboldt County in 2010, malnourished and blind no one is sure why and taken to the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito. In 2012, he was sent to the San Francisco Zoo, where veterinarians had a fancier term for his disability: non-sighted eyes.
This year, they were hoping an operation would help Henry see again. But zoo officials are still uncertain whether the January procedure was a complete success. Henry can only differentiate between light and dark; its still an improvement.
It would have been a miracle to give him vision, said Ashleigh Lutz-Nelson, assistant curator of carnivores for the zoo. We decided it was worth trying. Even the possibility of it was incredible. Now when he goes inside, we do notice his pupil contracting and responding to light and dark contrasts. Its an improvement from before.
On a foggy Thursday, animal keeper Sandy Huang fed Henry halved herring, and bits of capelin and calamari from a white plastic bucket. Huang used a large stick with attached shakers to direct the 300-pound mammal to his lunch. He shimmied along the cement, waving one fin, then the other, and turning in circles. Each trick was rewarded with a snack. A flap of his skin covered one now-empty eye socket, and his other eye rolled in circles, unfocused.
Hes the cutest little sea sausage ever, said Huang, who was Henrys main trainer leading up to his surgery. He has a great story, this history and past. We took a guy who had a tough beginning and gave him a wonderful life. And hes sassy.
Henry, hiding behind a large rock, declined to comment.
Henrys right eye, which had a detached retina, was the first to go. Veterinarians removed it in January after he showed increasing pain and discomfort. The sea lion would rub the eye with his fin or against the rocks in his exhibit.
There was hope for his left eye. Carmen Colitz, a veterinary ophthalmologist specializing in marine mammal eyes, a niche field within a niche field, recommended removing the milky cataract glossing it.
Medical experts from the Marine Mammal Center assisted. But, of course, it wasnt that easy. First, trainers had to teach Henry to remain still while receiving a huge number of eye drops anywhere from eight to more than 20 daily. The most difficult part: There would be no splashing or swimming for the sea lion for three weeks following the surgery.
Paul Chinn/The Chronicle
On a mid-January day, Henry waddled down the sidewalk behind his enclosure and was loaded into a transport trailer. Keepers drove him to the hospital near the zoos gorilla exhibit. Colitz flew from her home near Jupiter, Fla., for the operation. Because risks were high for her gigantic patient, two zoo officials and a human anesthetist helped monitor Henry during the four-hour procedure.
Short procedures arent a worry, but there are risks associated with the long ones, and the chances of survival go down, said Adrian Mutlow, a clinical veterinarian at the zoo who was present at the surgery. He was on a ventilator the whole time. Because sea lions have dive-like reflexes, their bodies can have strange responses under anesthesia, like their heart rate dropping. It can be dangerous.
It all seemed to go OK.
For weeks afterward, Henry refused food and lived off his fat stores but he did accept the medicated eye drops. Soon, he rejoined his other blind buddy, the sea lion named Silent Knight, in their exhibit. The male was found in Sausalito, blinded from a shotgun blast, and the two have been together since 2012. Early photos pinned in the back of their enclosure show a tiny Henry spooning Silent Knight. He even tried to suckle on the older male, keepers say.
Paul Chinn/The Chronicle
Henry still cant see, zoo officials think. But even if he is cured someday, it might take months to learn to use his restored vision an ability he has never had.
Until then, hes doing all right, Lutz-Nelson said. Henry doesnt bump into walls or get lost in his enclosure. He relies on his other senses to get around.
Each of them have only one eye, so between the two, they have a complete set, Lutz-Nelson said. Theyre our resident pirates.
Lizzie Johnson is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ljohnson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LizzieJohnsonnn
The Delhi Police Special Cell has issued an advisory alerting its district, metro police and railway police units, asking them to step up security in market areas, religious places, malls and metro and railway stations.
Commando vans, aimed at countering terror, flagged off by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: PTI
By Press Trust of India: The Delhi Police have been put on high alert following intelligence inputs that a group of 20-21 Laskar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorists has entered the country to carry out attacks.
The Delhi Police Special Cell has issued an advisory alerting its district, metro police and railway police units, asking them to step up security in market areas, religious places, malls and metro and railway stations.
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The advisory has asked various police units to maintain utmost vigil and keep a "sharp eye for suspected persons/articles and vehicles" and conduct proper frisking and checking of vehicles and persons.
This advisory comes close on the heels of terror attacks in Manchester in the UK and several other places across the world.
One of the Commando vans, aimed at countering terror, after they were flagged off by Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik in New Delhi on Friday. Photo: PTI
Police sources say it is suspected that the group members might be putting up in Delhi, Mumbai, Rajasthan or Punjab.
Officials have also been asked to carry out mock drills to check preparedness of the their staff.
In a recent interview to PTI, Delhi Police commissioner Amulya Patnaik had said that they needed to make extra efforts in maintaining vigil since the national capital was a favourite target of terror outfits.
Ten PCR vans manned by National Security Guard-trained drivers and commandos have been deployed at vulnerable spots.
The 'Parakram' vans will be stationed at Vijay Chowk, Palika Bazar, IP Marg, Select Citywalk Mall in Saket, Vasant Kunj Mall, Pacific Mall in Subhash Nagar, Netaji Subhash Place market and mall complex, Akshardham Temple, Lotus Temple and Jhandewalan.
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Seems like everybody here in our little city by the bay is talking about the almost finished 1,000-foot-tall Salesforce Tower. Its terrible. Its awful. Its Manhattanization.
However, after a quick weekend visit to Manhattan, this native son and his native daughter companion began to think that maybe San Francisco could use a little Manhattanization.
New York City seems to be a little cleaner, a little safer, and a lot less stuck on itself than our fair city. Theyve cleaned up their act in New York. In San Francisco were still talking about it.
I have to admit that SFO gives a much better first impression than JFK, New Yorks biggest airport, where theres a hustle right away: Furtive-looking men with signs held up on iPads: Uber, Lyft, limousine. This is accompanied by a blaring, metallic public address soundtrack that warns, Do not accept rides from unauthorized persons.
Theres usually a big line for authorized taxis, even in the middle of the night. And the ride into the city is dreary, past sad neighborhoods in Queens, past cemeteries, into the mother of all traffic jams, a prelude to an ancient tunnel, full of fumes.
But then, Wham! You are in midtown Manhattan, a million people on the streets, maybe 2 million, lights, camera, action. Gosh, Toto, Ive got a feeling were not in SoMa anymore.
This really is a big city, the Crossroads of the World as the Daily News is pleased to call Times Square.
Were no experts, but weve been in New York before. We traded New York stories from other lives: a White Christmas in the 50s, walking through Manhattan in the 60s and 70s, when the big city was a dangerous place. A subway trip in a rattletrap train, covered with graffiti. A visit to a friend who lived in an apartment with six sets of locks and bolts. Menace on every corner. You looking at me?
It was different this time, different even from a trip two years ago. Even though some nutcase had run his car through Times Square targeting pedestrians only days before, the place seemed safer.
There were homeless people hanging around with the same sad signs you see in San Francisco, but fewer of them. Other panhandlers were dressed as Batman and Minnie Mouse or the Statue of Liberty. We didnt see people shouting crazy stuff the way they do at Powell and Market in Everybodys Favorite City.
The morning before we flew to New York, I saw a man crawling on all fours down a San Francisco street. On the next block a man taking a dump. We saw nothing like that in the capital of Manhattanization.
We felt like refugees from the city where Anything Goes, so we did the tourist things: stayed on Times Square, went to a Broadway play, pricey but worth it. We visited the pastrami-flavored chaos at Katzs Deli on the Lower East Side, had a dark ale at McSorleys Ale Old House, once patronized by Abe Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Joseph Mitchell. We had dinner at Sardis, strolled up Fifth Avenue to Tiffanys, which is right next door to Trump Tower.
We walked all over. And the best walk was on the High Line, a decommissioned elevated railroad freight line that has been turned into a park in the air, wandering through and above an old industrial district. At one time, West Chelsea, near the High Line, had two lives. By day it was an industrial area, by night it was a gay mecca.
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Now its a promenade, a park, a showplace, with pieces of the old freight tracks still in place, a reminder of past days. It wanders through old meatpacking plants, and next to glass-walled condos.
At one end, where the High Line skirts the Hudson River, a new arts center is being built over a rail yard now full of shiny commuter train cars. This is Hudson Yards Plaza, a huge development of glass towers. The day we left New York, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg gave $75 million to the Shed arts center there.
No neighborhood in New York has changed identities so profoundly as this stretch of the West Side, Justin Davidson writes in Magnetic City, his new book about New York. The High Lines story, he writes, is far from over, because the city that changes around it is a show that never folds.
I scored a window seat on the flight back home. Hours of flyover country, and finally, the plane started the last descent, San Francisco glistening in the sun just over the right wing. What a pretty city. Too bad its so afraid of change.
Carl Nolte is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. His column appears every Sunday. Email: cnolte@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @carlnoltesf
Ten years ago, California started giving homeowners and businesses rebates to go solar, hoping to kick-start an industry. It worked.
Now, some state officials want to do the same thing with batteries.
Legislation from state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, would create a 10-year incentive program for energy storage, handing out rebates to people who want to install batteries in their businesses or basements. The rebates would shrink over time, as the cost of a still-expensive technology declines.
That approach mimics the California Solar Initiative, the state rebate program that began in 2007. Many credit the initiative, which issued declining rebates until its $2.17 billion budget was spent, with helping make solar power mainstream in California and creating businesses and jobs along the way.
That played a hugely positive role in expanding solar in the state, so were looking to do that here, Wiener said. He sees batteries and other forms of energy storage as a missing piece in the states renewable energy plans.
Solar goes away at 5, 6 oclock, when people get home and start using energy, he said. So we need storage.
The bill, SB700, was passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday and is expected to face a vote of the full Senate soon.
The Bay Area boasts a small but growing clutch of companies that are either developing new kinds of batteries or selling existing ones to utilities, businesses and, in a few cases, homeowners. Tesla, for example, offers its Powerwall battery pack, which homeowners can pair with the companys rooftop solar panels.
Beyond the obvious appeal of storing solar energy, batteries big enough to power buildings have other uses. Utilities are experimenting with large-scale battery packs that can help maintain the electrical grids stability. Businesses can use them to store energy in off-hours, when electricity prices are low, and supply it during the day when prices are higher.
But storage isnt cheap.
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The Tesla Powerwall, for example, costs $6,200 for the battery and supporting equipment, and installation costs can range from $800 to $2,000. Wider use and increased production would probably lower the cost of storage just as happened with solar panels during the past decade but for now, the technology remains out of financial reach for many homeowners.
The state has a long-running energy rebate program that will fund battery installations, among other things: the Self-Generation Incentive Program. But its rules have changed repeatedly, and companies consider it both erratic and woefully underfunded.
Early this month, for example, the program began accepting applications for the first time this year, offering $50.3 million for storage rebates. Within 24 hours, companies had submitted $104 millionworth of applications. The winners had to be chosen by lottery.
The application window for the programs next round of funding, which will be worth $117.2 million, opens June 5.
Its a lot of people trying to get what they can in a limited amount of time, so its boom, bust, boom, bust, said Jeanine Cotter, chief executive officer of the Luminalt solar installation company in San Francisco. Thats not going to cause the market transformation we need to create the grid of the future.
Cotters business just started selling Tesla Powerwalls and submitted 25 rebate applications. Twenty-three were accepted.
Wieners bill would split off energy storage from the rest of that rebate program, creating an Energy Storage Initiative that would begin next year and run through 2027. The California Public Utilities Commission would determine the level of funding, and the rebates would shrink on a predictable schedule.
Predictability is key, said Vic Shao, founder and CEO of Green Charge in Santa Clara. Banks dont like backing storage companies, he said, if they dont know what government incentives will be available in the future.
Now, the rules are changing at least every year, so what the 10-year platform allows is for the financial community to step in, said Shao, whose company offers battery packs for businesses, government agencies and school districts. You can get cheaper debt. That makes the difference between a project penciling and not penciling.
Theres certainly customer interest.
Paul Chinn/The Chronicle
The Mountain View Los Altos High School District installed Green Charge battery packs at both of its high schools, switching them on in January 2016.
The batteries help the district cut a specific part of its monthly utility bills the demand charge. Businesses and institutions like schools not only pay for the amount of electricity they use from the grid, but they also pay a charge based on their peak electricity demand during the month, even if that peak is very brief. Tapping the batteries when needed lowers that peak. Mike Mathiesen, associate superintendent for business services, said his school district saved $80,000 to $82,000 last year.
Every dollar we save is a dollar that goes into the classroom, he said. Energy prices have gone up, and thats something a district doesnt have much control over. Its not like you can turn off the lights when theres a class.
David R. Baker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dbaker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @DavidBakerSF
Each year, minimum-wage violations by California employers sap the states workforce of nearly $2 billion in earnings, increasing the financial vulnerability of already at-risk populations and creating a drag on the states overall economic health, according to a report released this month by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank in Washington.
Employees who are supposed to be getting paid the minimum wage in California are, on average, losing $64 per week and about $3,300 annually 22 percent of their earnings from employers shortchanging their hourly workers.
Though the current state minimum wage of $10.50 an hour translates to an annual salary of $21,840, minimum-wage workers dont always have full-time work, so they collect only $11,700 a year in wages on average. That forces them to rely on public assistance programs to survive and provide for their families, the reports authors wrote.
Their findings suggest that, despite Californias reputation as a bastion of worker-friendly labor laws, wage theft a broad term that can be invoked any time an employer doesnt follow those laws remains a pernicious problem.
And its one that Julie Su, the states labor commissioner, is keenly aware of and looking to combat.
Before she took office in April 2011, Su said, the labor commissioners office worked to weed out wage theft largely through random workplace inspections, a tactic she called a very insufficient, inefficient way of pursuing enforcement of the states labor laws.
Su has shifted her agencys resources, taking a more focused approach to enforcement relying on reports of workplace violations from employees on the inside before taking action. Su said that her agency has also become much more aggressive when it comes to reclaiming money employers owe workers when wage violations are uncovered.
We do in-depth inspections of workplaces where we suspect there are violations, and we go all the way to actually attacking the shell games employers play to hide their assets going after individuals where appropriate, when they hide assets in their own bank accounts to get the workers their money, Su said.
Legislation that took effect in 2016 allows the state to recoup stolen wages from individuals, not just corporate accounts.
If you as an individual caused these violations to occur, then you need to be held responsible, too, said Carole Vigne, an attorney at Legal Aid at Work, a nonprofit agency that provides legal representation to low-wage workers. The corporate shield isnt going to protect you anymore.
Sus efforts to enforce the states labor laws rely on workers coming forward to report wage violations, which means raising awareness about wage theft and where employees can go to report it.
To do that, Su initiated a statewide multilingual campaign in 2014, Wage Theft is a Crime, designed to flush out violations at the source. The labor commission is renewing the campaign through 2018 and will focus on Bakersfield, Fresno and San Bernardino and Riverside counties, Su said, using billboards, social media campaigns and a website, which includes information for workers and how they can take action.
Since 2012, Sus first full year in office, an average of 34,000 wage claims are filed with the labor commissioners office each year, or about one every four minutes. That figure doesnt include private lawsuits.
Farm labor contractors, car washes and garment manufacturers are among the types of companies that historically have a high incidence of wage theft, Su said. Because of that, those business are required to obtain special licenses from the labor commissioners office, which pays close attention to them.
In July 2018, janitorial businesses will be added to that list. Su said her office also keeps a close eye on hotel housekeeping, restaurants, residential care homes and construction businesses.
Vigne sees workers in nearly all of those industries during twice-monthly clinics the organization holds in San Francisco and Oakland for people who believe theyve been victims of wage theft.
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Were seeing a lot of construction workers, Vigne said. In that industry, there are a lot of deadlines and pressure to finish a project on time, and we often see people who are interrupted during their meal period to come back to work. Construction workers, Vigne added, are commonly paid only portions of what their employer owes them, with assurances to pay the rest later on. Over several months, it adds up to thousands of dollars, she said.
Last year, Vigne represented a construction worker who had seen chunks of his wages withheld for about two years. After bringing his claim to the labor commissions office, the agency found he was owed more than $30,000.
Harold Butanas of Daly City was working 24-hour shifts caring for a half-dozen elderly patients at a residential care facility in the Bay Area, but his wages werent reflecting the time he spent on the clock. It came out that I was only receiving $2.53 per hour, Butanas said. With some legal assistance from Golden Gate University School of Law, Butanas filed a wage claim with the labor commissioners office and was able to recoup the money he was owed.
Wage theft is perhaps most acutely felt by the individuals whose paychecks are being illegally docked, but the practice has a wider impact on the states economy, according to David Cooper, a senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, and a co-author of the organizations report.
If theres one employer who is keeping their labor costs low by cheating their workers, it puts downward pressure on wages for all the other workers in that industry, Cooper said. Its one more thing that contributes to holding down wages for the broader population.
Cracking down on minimum-wage theft isnt a silver bullet for solving poverty, Cooper added, but it makes a real difference in terms of the number of folks who have to turn to public assistance to meet their needs.
Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa
Thanks to a new state law, school districts that grant parcel-tax exemptions to seniors, low-income or disabled homeowners cannot require them to renew or reapply for the exemption each year.
California allows school districts to exempt certain classes of homeowners from voter-approved parcel taxes and many do to get the required two-thirds majority to pass. These taxes can add hundreds of dollars to property tax bills each year.
In the past, districts could require homeowners who got the exemption to renew or reapply for it each year, and many did including San Francisco Unified, which levies two parcel taxes totaling $280.88 per year.
AB1891, which passed unanimously in September and took effect Jan.1, says that once an exemption is granted, it will remain in effect until the taxpayer becomes ineligible. An analysis of the bill said it will be up to taxpayers to notify the school district when they are no longer eligible, or up to the school district to come up with a strategy for determining whether taxpayers remain eligible.
The exemption applies only to school district parcel taxes, which are a fixed amount per property. They do not apply to taxes used to repay bond issues, which are based on the propertys value.
School districts may exempt homeowners who are 65 or older, people receiving Supplemental Security Income for a disability, or low-income people receiving Social Security Disability Insurance. Some districts exempt one group (most often seniors) but not others.
The bill originally did not apply to people getting the exemption because of their low income or disability, because those factors can change from year to year, said its author, Assemblyman Matt Dababneh, D-Encino (Los Angeles County). They were included in the final bill after disability rights groups objected.
Seniors, on the other hand, will automatically qualify each year unless they transfer or move out of the house or find a time machine. Nevertheless, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association looked at about 100 districts, mostly in the Bay Area, and found that roughly half required annual renewal, according to its legislative director, David Wolfe.
The Jarvis group supported the bill even though it objects to exempting certain groups from parcel taxes. The exemption doesnt seem like a fair and honest and equitable tax policy. But as long as it exists, people should be able to take advantage of it without having to reapply each year, Wolfe said.
Seniors and others who have not yet been granted an exemption still must apply. Even if they were not eligible when the parcel tax was approved, they can apply when they turn 65 or meet the disability or income requirements. Most school districts require applicants to live in the home as their primary residence, apply by a certain date usually in May or June for the tax year starting July 1 and provide proof they qualify.
The Los Altos School District grants about 2,000 senior exemptions to its parcel taxes, which will total $820 per property in fiscal 2017-18. In years past, we sent them all a renewal letter each year, said Randy Kenyon, assistant superintendent of the K-8 district. If they didnt respond, the district checked on them, and 95 to 99 percent of the time, he said, the exemption continued.
In the future, the district will have to track ownership changes to see whether any seniors who hold an the exemption have sold the house. If they did, the district will have to ask the county assessor to remove the exemption. Otherwise, the new owners would get it whether they qualify or not. It puts the onus on us instead of them, he said.
Kenyon noted that some seniors forgo the exemption to support schools. The tax money pays for smaller classes, junior high electives and other programs.
San Francisco Unified grants about 26,000 exemptions to its two parcel taxes. Each year, only about 1,000 to 1,500 lose the exemption, usually because the property is sold or transferred, said Chris Armentrout, the districts director of policy and planning. He estimates that fewer than 50 per year lose the the exemption because they forget to return a renewal form the district sends out.
The tax goes mainly to teacher and principal salaries, to provide laptops for educators and incentives for hard-to-fill positions.
To get the San Francisco Unified exemption for 2017-18, seniors must apply by June 30 and be 65 or older by June 30, 2018.
To see if you are eligible for an exemption, call the school district(s) listed on your property tax bill.
Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
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Martha Stewarts name has been mixed up with some interesting celebrities over the years, and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis was her latest pairing.
The culinary mogul teamed up with the Grammy Award-winning duo for a cooking demonstration on BottleRocks Williams-Sonoma Culinary Stage on Friday afternoon.
Ive never been part of a rock concert, Stewart said to Macklemore and Lewis as she began cooking. Now I know what you feel like.
Stewart was intent on promoting her new meal kit service (available both on MarleySpoon and AmazonFresh), but what host Liam Mayclem (of KPIX) wanted to know was about her relationship with Snoop Dogg, with whom she shares a VH1 cooking show, Martha & Snoops Potluck Dinner Party.
The main reason Im doing (the meal kit) is for sustainability, Stewart said. Were trying to eliminate that $43 billion that gets wasted in supermarkets every year, adding, we can give that money to President Trump. (For the record, Stewart had been feuding with the Donald well before he became president).
As she sprinkled herbs over the chicken she was cooking, Stewart said, Because I was just with Snoop for 10 days, a little bit of green goes a long way.
Macklemore gave a shout-out to olive oil, which goes well on everything.
Lewis, when asked to name his favorite foods, mentioned steak and salt, adding that hes a breakfast guy.
Downtown, Lewis and Macklemores hit song, played in the background. The Seattle rapper and music producer both made it clear that they dont count the culinary arts among their talents.
I know how to fry chicken, and I know how to make cheeseburgers, Macklemore said when asked about his cooking specialties. And I know how to make cereal.
You dont make cereal, Lewis protested.
Bull, Macklemore responded.
And what was his favorite cereal? Im white, he said. So, Rice Chex. Stewart appeared unfamiliar with the cereal, and Macklemore described it to her: perforated, bland Chex that you put in a bowl with milk and eat with a spoon.
Stewart put Lewis on vegetable chopping duty, and taught them a few cooking terms, including deglazing.
Right before Macklemore threw a very hot piece of chicken into the crowd to crowdsurf it he asked Stewart whether she had ever crowdsurfed before.
Oh, last night, she responded, without skipping a beat.
Snoop Dogg remained present, if only in spirit. Mayclem asked all three presenters what theyd bring to Snoops house for a hypothetical dinner. Stewart said he loves her green peppercorn salt so much that he wants to put it on everything. She added shed bring a bottle of wine for herself, but noted Snoop wouldnt partake: He only drinks Kool-Aid.
Macklemore, who mentioned that he has been sober for nine years, said that although he doesnt smoke, Id bring Snoop some Freddys Fuego marijuana from Seattle, while Lewis said he would bring whiskey.
The three inhaled the food they had prepared: chicken and rice for Macklemore and Lewis, a pork chop for Stewart.
I thought I was going to have to lie if I didnt like this chicken, Macklemore said. But honestly this chicken is absolutely incredible.
Oakland police are seeking the publics help in finding an arsonist who set a tent on fire at a homeless encampment last week, officials said in a Friday statement.
The tent was unoccupied at the time and no one was hurt in the blaze, according to police.
The statement was the first public acknowledgment from the Oakland Police Department and the Oakland Fire Department that the fire was set deliberately, although the East Bay Express published video of the tent being lit on fire on Thursday.
The arsonist is between 5 foot 8 inches and 6 feet tall, and wore a light colored jacket with black sleeves, black jeans and a backpack, police said in a statement on Friday. He had a bicycle with him when he set the fire.
Cameras captured the man setting fire to a corner of an unoccupied tent about 12:33 a.m. May 15 on the 2400 block of Union Street in West Oakland.
The Oakland Fire Department and the Oakland Police Department are working together to identify the arsonist, the statement said.
There have been at least five fires at Oakland homeless encampments this year, including two at the same city-sanctioned camp underneath Interstate 580 in a two-week period.
Anyone with information on the arsonist or the fire is asked to call the Oakland Fire Department Arson Investigation Unit at (510)-238-4031 or the Oakland Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at (510) 238-3326.
Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
Donald Trump continued to distance himself from fellow world leaders over climate change at the G-7 summit, and said he'll determine next week whether to pull the U.S. out of the landmark Paris climate accord.
"I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week," the president told his almost 31 million Twitter followers on Saturday.
Trump, who for months has delayed a decision on the climate agreement, made his announcement at the conclusion of the Group of Seven summit in the resort town of Taormina, Italy.
In an unprecedented step, the U.S. broke from the other six nations in a joint statement issued at the summit's conclusion, saying America is reviewing its climate policies while the G-7 members others remain committed to the Paris Agreement.
Climate was among the most disputed issues separating Trump from other leaders at the two-day meeting on the Sicilian coast. A top White House adviser said the president's views were evolving on the issue, but Trump wasn't immediately swayed by arguments from Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, France's President Emmanuel Macron and others to honor the Paris Agreement, brokered in 2015 by almost 200 nations to slash fossil fuel emissions and boost funding to ease impacts of global warming.
"The whole discussion about climate has been difficult, or rather very unsatisfactory," Merkel told reporters after the summit. "Here we have the situation that six members, or even seven if you want to add the EU, stand against one."
Diplomats spent days trying to hammer out language for the G-7 joint statement. Past communiques, which are painstakingly crafted to reflect common goals and values of all seven nations, have dedicated lengthy sections to climate change. At one point this week, the words "Paris Agreement" were nearly excluded from the statement, underscoring how contentious the issue became in Taormina, said a Canadian government official who spoke on the condition on anonymity to discuss private deliberations.
Trump, who once said the concept of global warming "was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive," repeatedly vowed to pull out of the Paris deal during his election campaign, but has sidestepped the issue since taking office.
Delaying a decision about the accord provided opportunity for G-7 leaders and Pope Francis to press Trump to honor the U.S.'s environmental commitments. Now the president heads back to Washington, where much of his party is pushing him to do the opposite.
Last week, 22 Republican senators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, sent a letter to Trump urging him to exit the Paris accord. Members of his administration, meanwhile, are deadlocked on the issue. Environmental chief Scott Pruitt and top strategist Steve Bannon are pushing for a pullout. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, White House adviser Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, the president's son-in-law and daughter respectively, have urged the president to stay in the deal.
John Kirton, director of the University of Toronto's G8 Research Group, said Trump's trip home may not bode well for those in favor of Paris. "If you let him go back to the civil war within the White House, Pruitt might win," he said.
Trump has criticized efforts to cut emissions, saying they limit U.S. economic competitiveness. The president's views on the Paris accord, however, are evolving, White House National Economic Council director Gary Cohn told reporters Friday in Italy. Trump may be willing to stay in the agreement, Cohn said, if the U.S. can scale back commitments made by former President Barack Obama.
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"His views are evolving, and he came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision is ultimately going to be what's best for the United States."
The Paris Agreement is broader than any previous climate accord. It calls for reducing pollution in hopes of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above temperatures at the outset of the industrial revolution.
Hundreds of corporations and investors have endorsed the pact, including oil majors Royal Dutch Shell Plc, BP Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., which was previously led by Tillerson. Alden Meyer, who's followed climate talks for two decades as director of policy at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said Trump's reluctance to support it puts him at odds with much of the world.
"He stands in stark isolation," Meyer said. "The leaders from Europe, Canada, and Japan have made it crystal clear that they intend to fully implement their national commitments under the Paris Agreement."
--With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy
DU aspirants who wish to pursue B.A. in Spanish, French and German can expect cut-offs to be as high as 90 per cent.
By Arpan Rai: Those wanting to study in Delhi University 's department of Germanic and Romanic studies will have to bear the brunt of high cut-offs this year.
DU aspirants who wish to pursue B.A. in Spanish, French and German can expect cut-offs to be as high as 90 per cent.
Admission to undergraduate courses in romanic languages - Spanish, Italian, German, French, Romanian and Portuguese offered only by Delhi University - will be conducted through ongoing online registration process, based on merit, following which, cut-off lists will be released.
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"Students can expect a minimum of five cut-off lists this year under all the languages. Unlike every year, the cut-off will be slightly higher and demanding," said Vijaya Venkatraman, associate professor of Spanish and a member of the admission committee.
However, the department will bring down the cut-off to 85 per cent in the first two lists. "The cut-off is likely to go as low as 70 per cent in its last stage," Venkatraman added.
The intake under all six undergraduate language offered by Department of Germanic and Romanic studies will be 39 each.
If students have not studied the language in class 12 that he wants to pursue a bachelor's degree in, they will have to face deduction of 2.5 per cent in their overall class 12 percentage.
Also read
Delhi University Admissions 2017: Important dates
Delhi University admissions: Glitches in online registration process
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The Golden Gate Bridge was built, if you can believe it, as a means for locals to travel by car between San Francisco and Marin County. Foes of the plan included ferry owners who ran advertisements suggesting that the unbuilt bridge would have a negative effect on tourism.
Instead it became a beacon, inviting the world to discover what residents had known for a century: that San Francisco was a city of singular beauty.
The Bay Bridge technically came first, and so did the Ferry Building, Coit Tower and Ghirardelli Square. But with the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937, the city had its centerpiece. The Art Deco angles and solid engineering were arguably eclipsed by the last-minute decision to paint the structure International Orange instead of gray. That decision ensured that no one who saw the bridge would ever forget the image.
San Francisco had been preparing for its coming-out party for decades. Long in the shadow of New York and Paris, the city hosted the Pan-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, proving that it had not only recovered from the 1906 earthquake, but it was ready to claim its spot as a world-class tourism town. Beautiful San Francisco City Hall with its Beaux Arts inspiration opened at the end of that year, while Market Street and Union Square grew quickly as theater and shopping districts.
More common sense: From the early 20th century until the 1980s, citizens and politicians rallied to stave off attempts to get rid of San Franciscos cable cars arguably the citys second-most-famous icons. Locals had their own favorite neighborhood landmarks, from the Hamms Brewery sign near Seals Stadium to the 17 Reasons sign in the Mission District. (Both resting in peace.) Then they fought to save the last Doggie Diner head, solidifying the citys reputation for finding beauty in kitsch.
John O'Hara / John OHara / The Chronicle 1988
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The Transamerica Building and Sutro Tower in the 1970s were both protested as potential blights on the San Francisco skyline. The former became a legitimate San Francisco icon, while the latter is celebrated by the younger generations as a symbol of local pride.
And finally, in the late 1970s, came the arrival of Pier 39. San Franciscans thought the museums and T-shirt shops and chain restaurants would drag the city down. But it was too late for that. San Franciscos allure is now as unshakable as the bridge that first brought the city worldwide fame.
The cost of doing business is escalating for just about everyone in San Francisco. But its particularly hard on nonprofits that get by on grants and donations, struggling to stay open in the neighborhoods theyve long served.
Weve had to hold meetings in cafes, or at the (former) Alexandria Theatre on 18th Avenue, said Cindy Tong, development and communications director for Community Youth Center San Francisco, a 47-year-old organization in the Richmond District. The centers staff spent months scouting new locations to replace its two rented offices, which are far too small and scruffy to serve hundreds of neighborhood teens.
Then help came, in the form of a $700,000 grant from the city. Its among $2.7 million in awards that Mayor Ed Lee and the Office of Economic and Workforce Development are doling out this year to 13 nonprofits, enabling them to buy or lease facilities amid rapidly climbing real estate prices.
The role of nonprofits in the city of San Franciso was, in my opinion, born in the Summer of Love, Lee said Friday during a news conference at Community Youth Centers current Sixth Avenue headquarters, where floors are lined with a worn maroon carpet and bent blinds clatter against the windows.
During that famed hippie era 50 years ago, Lee said, our city registered itself as the place of love and embracement of different cultures and populations.
The mayors commitment to help these organizations stems in part from his own history: Lee began his career as a civil rights lawyer for the nonprofit Asian Law Caucus, before entering the bureaucracy of City Hall.
Hes seeking $1.2 billion in city contracts for nonprofits in a two-year budget proposal that he will present to the Board of Supervisors next week.
That pledge comes at a time when Bay Area nonprofits are feeling the squeeze of a hot real estate market, said Joanne Lee, director of consulting services and program development at the Northern California Community Loan Fund, which is helping administer the $2.7 million in grants.
In San Francisco, leases for many of these groups are being terminated and not renewed, or theyre being renewed at substantially higher rates, Joanne Lee said.
And community groups, unlike businesses or households, cant just move to Oakland when the rent gets too high, she said. Community Youth Center is an organization with deep roots in the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods, and long-standing partnerships with San Franciscos school district. It cant provide the same services from across the bay.
The $700,000 will go a long way for Community Youth Center, which is negotiating to purchase and renovate a 6,200-square-foot building at 952 Clement St. Once it owns that property, the organization will have a new line of equity credit to use in an emergency, not to mention being shielded from rent increases.
Other recipients of funds from the $2.7 million in grants include the Bayview arts organization Public Glass and the Mission District group Senior and Disability Action, which fights evictions of senior citizens and people with disabilities.
Rachel Swan is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan
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Firefighters battled a blaze at a storage building in Fremont overnight, officials said Saturday.
The fire, which was reported at around 8:30 p.m. Friday, hit a storage building on the 45200 block of Industrial Drive, said Richard Dickinson, a battalion chief with the Fremont Fire Department.
Dickinson noted that 18 of the units were engulfed while another 20 experienced smoke damage.
One person experienced smoke inhalation but was not transported to the hospital, Dickinson said.
A cat died in the blaze, which was extinguished at around 2:30 a.m.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Hamed Aleaziz is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: haleaziz@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @haleaziz
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Apple employees were briefly evacuated from their new campus in Cupertino when a gas leak was reported in the area on Friday afternoon, officials said.
The leak was reported shortly after 2 p.m. on North Wolfe Road, near the western edge of Apples 850,000-square-foot corporate headquarters, according to Santa Clara County fire officials.
Eighty years ago, the Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic, instantly becoming one of the world's most recognizable structures.
To mark the birthday, we unearthed images from the construction, several of which have not been seen in years. Construction started Jan. 5, 1933, after authorization by the War Department, which owned the land on both sides of the strait. The first cars rolled over it on May 27, 1937.
San Mateo police are searching for a woman who dragged an officer with her car Thursday and then sped away, officials said.
The officer initially approached the woman as she was loading stolen alcohol into her car outside a shopping center, according to the San Mateo Police Department.
The officer was passing by the Woodlake Shopping Center on North Delaware Street and Peninsula Avenue when he noticed a Safeway employee running from the store and gesticulating at the woman, who was transferring the pilfered alcohol from a shopping cart into her car, police said.
The officer spoke with the woman once she was in the drivers seat of the maroon four-door Honda Accord, and she told him the receipt for the alcohol was in her trunk, according to police.
The woman then started her car, prompting the officer to grab her and tell her to turn off her vehicle, police reported.
But rather than turn off the car, the woman reversed at full acceleration, dragging the officer about 35 feet before he let go and fell to the ground, sustaining minor injuries, police said in a statement.
The woman then drove south on South Delaware Street and remains at large, police said.
Investigators are asking the publics help in identifying her. They estimate she is 40 years old, 5 foot 6 inches to 5 foot 8 inches tall, between 150 and 160 pounds, with a lower back tattoo.
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to contact the San Mateo Police Department at (650)-522-7650.
Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
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Lois Holmes sat with her back facing the bay, her oversize round sunglasses shielding her eyes from the occasional streaks of sunlight that peeked through the blanket of clouds on Treasure Island. Food trucks with Indian street food, sandwiches and pizza surrounded Holmes as she placed a half-eaten scone on an empty chair beside her.
She joined crowds of people Saturday for the sixth anniversary of the Treasure Island Flea Market, a site jammed with about 750 vendors with trinkets, jewelry, food trucks and live music. The event, which takes place on the last full weekend of every month, is a family affair for people wandering through the booths looking for knickknacks and hidden treasures.
I love antiques, I love food, and its exercise, Holmes, a 75-year-old Vallejo resident, said as she pointed to the various booths that dotted the path. Im waiting for the band to play because I usually dance, although I danced (Friday) and Im kind of tired.
Though Holmes said she hadnt bought anything yet, she was eyeing some of the earrings that were on display in a booth near where she was sitting.
Kids with faces painted as Pokemon characters walked clutching their mothers hands while older shoppers sipped on Moscow Mules and other cocktails as they strolled among booths filled with fedora hats, gluten-free cookies and granola, carved wooden benches, and cacti and succulents.
The monthly market was historically held on the west side of Treasure Island before moving to the east side in 2016 changing its view and set-up to face Oakland rather than San Francisco making it a larger event with more room for food and vendors.
At first, no one liked the change, but I think its become an asset to us, said Chelsea Ansanelly, the daughter of the market owners.
Now the market can offer seating to its patrons along the water. The set-up also encourages people to walk through the entire market to the end which is capped with two bounce houses for children, Ansanelly added.
But the change of scenery wasnt ideal for Wayne Collins, a 66-year-old Napa resident, whose booth included first-edition books by John Steinbeck, as well as cut-out versions of President Trump and Hillary Clinton for just $25.
Now Im stuck on the Oakland side with the sewer, Collins said, pointing to the Treasure Island Waste Water Treatment Plant behind him. I have to walk a mile to the bathroom and a mile to the food trucks.
But not all the vendors felt the same disdain as Collins.
David Brown of Sacramento saved his contempt for his wifes two lambs, who chewed on his power cords and ran around his booth as he set up handmade horseshoes, antique radios and hundreds of records that included Elvis Presley and the Bee Gees.
They just follow her around, Brown said, frowning at the lambs as he found a spot for a rusty Civil War-era knife, once used to amputate limbs and now priced at $125.
It gives us something to do on the weekends, Brown added, even though shoppers seemed more anxious to pet the two brown and black sheep that bounded through the booth than purchase the arrowheads or mermaid-inspired trinkets on display.
Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
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A man stabbed to death in San Franciscos Bernal Heights Park on Thursday was a 33-year-old city resident, officials said Friday.
Giovanny Alvarez, who was stabbed multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, was identified by the city medical examiners office.
A jogger found Alvarezs body in the park about 5:30 a.m., according to Sgt. Michael Andraychak of the San Francisco Police Department.
No arrest has been made in the killing.
San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen, whose District Nine includes Bernal Heights Park, said Thursday that she and police officials will hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center to discuss public safety concerns in the community.
While little information is known at this time, the police do not believe the killing was random. Extra patrols will be in and around the park, Ronen wrote on Facebook.
Anyone with information on the slaying should call the San Francisco Police Department at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411.
Filipa Ioannou is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: fioannou@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @obioannoukenobi
NAIROBI, Kenya James Njoroge, an Uber driver in Nairobi, earns barely $5 at the end of a grueling 10-hour workday ferrying customers through snarled traffic across the Kenyan capital. Now a new competitor is in town, threatening to undercut even these meager earnings.
That rival is none other than Njoroges own employer.
Uber in Kenya, one of the companys most affordable services in the world, charges customers in Nairobi, Kenyas capital, a minimum fare of $2.90.
Uber is trying to beat back competing services by pushing its prices even lower. In April, the San Francisco company announced it was introducing an even cheaper service at half that price, $1.45, by allowing its drivers to use much older, lower-quality cars.
Drivers say they are bearing the brunt of the price cuts. In February, drivers went on strike to protest fare cuts they said made it difficult for them to break even. The new pricing is much lower than that.
The prospect of losing what is already a threadbare living is making Njoroge, 29, nervous.
Weve been working for them so much, but now theyre slashing us, he said recently, slowing down his Toyota, a 7-year-old model, hardly brand-new but newer than the cars expected to be part of the fleet for the coming service, UberGo. He waited patiently for a herd of goats, led by two teenagers wearing Adidas hoodies, to cross the road. Traffic swiftly backed up from behind.
Kenyans always go for cheap-cheap, so this is worrying, he said. I dont know what to do.
Uber has quickly expanded across parts of Africa, where it is seen by those signing up as drivers or partners in the Uber lingo as a rare job opportunity on a continent with stubbornly high unemployment.
But the service has stirred debate over how low fares should go, and the company has faced a series of strikes from South Africa to Lagos. This month, drivers in Lagos, Nigerias biggest city, went on strike after fares were slashed 40 percent.
Faced with fierce competition from other ride-hailing apps, Ubers latest service in Kenya, critics say, would pit its own drivers against each other in a kind of cannibalistic race to the bottom, eroding what little they already earn.
To live in Nairobi, its very hard, Njoroge said recently in his home in Umoja, a dusty but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Nairobi where, within a short space of time, a fight broke out, a minibus with Rock Gospel stenciled on its side unloaded passengers, a man hawked grilled meat and a fashionably dressed woman crossed paths with a strutting rooster.
You have to hustle on all sides, he said. If we dont have many clients, he said, referring to competition from UberGo, well need to find new options for work. Njoroge has two other side hustles.
Uber insists that the new service would allow drivers to save on fuel and other expenses, ultimately making their jobs more profitable.
Revenues might not be higher, but the costs will be lower, so ultimately profits will be higher, Alon Lits, Ubers general manager for sub-Saharan Africa, said in an interview. We believe our economics make sense, he said, but added that the company was in the process of getting feedback from drivers in order to interrogate our assumptions before moving forward.
In Nairobi, Uber and its competitors like Taxify, an Estonian company, and Little Cab, a company owned by Kenyas mobile network giant Safaricom that offers free Wi-Fi in its cars, are aiming to capture clientele from a rising, but fragile, middle class that still values affordability, sometimes at the expense of quality of service or even vehicle safety. Competition is fierce even among apps for notoriously dangerous boda-bodas, or motorcycle taxis, which are a major cause of road accidents.
In February, a series of strikes by an informal union of Uber drivers forced the company to raise the minimum fare to $2.90 from about $2, and rates to 39 cents per kilometer, up from 33 cents. But many drivers say UberGo, which is 29 cents a kilometer, is a fresh attempt to bring down rates, given that many cost-conscious customers are likely to use the cheaper service. The company last month said it was even offering $30 six times Njoroges net daily earnings as an inducement to drivers to sign up to the new, cut-price service.
Njoroge and many other Uber drivers expressed anxiety not just about losing customers but also about failing to meet car loans loans that Uber helped them secure in the first place and that require drivers to stay with the company until they are paid off.
Uber sponsors its drivers based on their earnings record with the company. Without Uber, drivers struggle to obtain auto loans, even for secondhand cars, because banks require borrowers to earn monthly salaries of $485. That is far above what most ordinary Kenyans, even those with diplomas and degrees, can hope to earn.
Once a driver pays off the loan, which typically takes about three years, the car is the drivers to keep, although by that stage it will typically be 10 years old. At that point drivers can leave Uber and start their own businesses, although many drivers said they intended to stick with Uber. Free of car-loan payments, they would keep significantly more of what they earn.
Until the final loan installment is made, however, drivers are pretty much at the companys mercy. If they have not logged on to Ubers software for a week or so, the company sends a warning. If theyre absent for an extended period of time, and Uber decommissions them, the bank could withdraw its loan.
Uber gives with one hand and takes with the other, said Samuel Gichia, another Uber driver, who nonetheless appreciated the freedom Uber offered. My car is my office, he said, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel as he listened to reggae music. When you no longer have a loan, thats when Uber is going to be very sweet.
Drivers also complain that the Uber algorithm means they will be paid only for distance traveled and no longer receive extra fare when they are stuck in traffic. That amounts to an effective pay cut, since the driver loses fuel, time and the opportunity to pick up new passengers. A two-hour journey over a short distance could still carry a fare of only $2.90 the minimum fare because you havent moved, said Njoroge. (Even then, Uber takes its 25 percent cut.) Lits of Uber denied those claims, saying drivers do receive compensation for time spent in traffic.
Uber drivers say they might make $58 a day, which does not seem that bad by Kenyan standards until they lay out their laundry lists of loans and work-related expenses. From that $58, drivers typically have to pay $19 for the car loan, $19 on fuel and another $14.50 for Ubers commission. Once insurance is paid, theres very little left.
Take Njoroge, the eldest of six siblings the other five are still in various stages of schooling and a father of one.
Njoroge, who had a string of odd jobs after graduating from university in agricultural sciences, turned to Uber in 2015 when it began in Kenya. Uber, he thought, would give him more independence, the ability to support his wife and son, now 2 years old, and a chance to buy a secondhand car.
After settling his car payments and paying for fuel, he said, he has about $5 left by the end of the day. On Fridays and Saturdays, when he is busier picking up night revelers, he makes net earnings of about $10.
He supplements his income with commissions from selling electronic credit for M-Pesa, a money transfer service on mobile phones, and also working as an agent for a local bank.
Njoroge complains little. He looked wistful when asked about his dreams and ambitions, but remained silent.
Back on the road, he finally gave his response.
Right now, I cant tell, he said, as his car inched its way across town. Right now, its just surviving.
Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura is a New York Times writer.
Six strikes took place near Derna in eastern Libya at around sundown, hours after masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians travelling to a monastery in central Egypt, killing 29 and wounding 24.
By Reuters: Egyptian air force planes on Friday carried out strikes directed at camps in Libya which Cairo says have been training militants who killed dozens of Christians earlier in the day , Egyptian military sources said.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said he had ordered strikes against what he called terrorist camps, declaring in a televised address that states that sponsored terrorism would be punished.
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The sources said six strikes took place near Derna in eastern Libya at around sundown, hours after masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians travelling to a monastery in central Egypt, killing 29 and wounding 24.
The Egyptian military said the operation was ongoing and had been undertaken once it had been ascertained that the camps had produced the gunmen behind the attack on the Coptic Christians in Minya, central Egypt, on Friday morning.
"The terrorist incident that took place today will not pass unnoticed," Sisi said. "We are currently targeting the camps where the terrorists are trained."
NOT SCARED OF CARRYING OUT STRIKES
He said Egypt would not hesitate to carry out further strikes against camps that trained people to carry out operations against Egypt, whether those camps were inside or outside the country.
Egyptian military footage of pilots being briefed and war planes taking off was shown on state television.
East Libyan forces said they participated in the air strikes, which had targeted forces linked to al-Qaeda at a number of sites, and would be followed by a ground operation.
A resident in Derna heard four powerful explosions, and told Reuters that the strikes had targeted camps used by fighters belonging to the Majlis al-Shura militant group.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack on the Christians, which followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against the Copts.
Islamic State supporters reposted videos from earlier this year urging violence against the Copts in Egypt.
At a nearby village, thousands later attended a funeral service that turned into an angry protest against the authorities' failure to protect Christians.
"We will avenge them or die like them," mourners said, while marching with a giant wooden cross.
GUNFIRE AND BLOOD
Eyewitnesses said masked men opened fire after stopping the Christians, who were in a bus and other vehicles on a desert road. Local TV channels showed a bus apparently raked by gunfire and smeared with blood.
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Clothes and shoes could be seen lying in and around the bus, while the bodies of some of the victims lay in the sand nearby, covered with black sheets.
Eyewitnesses said three vehicles were attacked. First to be hit were a vehicle taking children to the monastery as part of a church-organised trip, and another vehicle taking families there.
The gunmen boarded the vehicles and shot all the men and took all the women's gold jewellery. They then shot women and children in the legs.
When one of the gunmen's vehicles got a flat tire they stopped a truck carrying Christian workers, shot them, and took the truck.
One of the gunmen recorded the attack on the Copts with a video camera, eyewitnesses said.
The attack took place on a road leading to the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Minya province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority.
Security forces launched a hunt for the attackers, setting up dozens of checkpoints and patrols on the desert road.
Police armed with assault rifles formed a security perimeter around the attack site while officials from the public prosecutor's office gathered evidence. Heavily armed special forces arrived later wearing face masks and body armour.
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The injured were taken to local hospitals and some were being transported to Cairo. The Health Ministry said that among those injured were two children aged two.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made a point of improving relations with Cairo, said America stood with Sisi and the Egyptian people.
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls," Trump said.
The grand imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning, said the attack was intended to destabilise the country.
"I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism," Ahmed al-Tayeb said. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, condemned the perpetrators as traitors.
The head of the Coptic Christian church, Pope Tawadros, who spoke with Sisi after the attack, said it was "not directed at the Copts, but at Egypt and the heart of the Egyptians".
Pope Francis, who visited Cairo a month ago, described the attack as a "senseless act of hatred".
PERSECUTION
Coptic Christians, whose church dates back nearly 2,000 years, make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million.
They say they have long suffered from persecution, but in recent months the frequency of deadly attacks against them has increased. About 70 have been killed since December in bombings claimed by Islamic State at churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta.
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An Islamic State campaign of murders in North Sinai prompted hundreds of Christians to flee in February and March.
Copts fear they will face the same fate as brethren in Iraq and Syria, where Christian communities have been decimated by wars and Islamic State persecution.
Egypt's Copts are vocal supporters of Sisi, who has vowed to crush Islamist extremism and protect Christians. He declared a three-month state of emergency in the aftermath of the church bombings in April.
But many Christians feel the state either does not take their plight seriously enough or cannot protect them against determined fanatics.
The government is fighting insurgents affiliated with Islamic State who have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the Sinai Peninsula, while also carrying out attacks elsewhere in the country.Also read
Egypt: 26 Christians shot dead, 25 others injured in Minya province
Egypt: IS claims responsibility for attack on Saint Catharine monastery in Sinai
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A $43 million aquatic park, called The Wave, opened in Dublin on Saturday, just in time for Memorial Day weekend.
About 1,400 sun worshippers are expected on opening day, reports the East Bay Times. They'll be the first to try out three pools, six water slides, and a play zone for youngsters, all housed on a 31,000-square-foot-facility. For those concerned about crowds this weekend, there's even a live stream of the parking lot.
The opening is years in the making, partially due to the fact that construction took place in the midst of California's five-year drought. According to the Times, residents flooded City Hall leaders with complaints during peak drought years, requesting the park be scrapped or scaled back. After approval in 2015, construction went ahead as planned and ended up costing the city an additional $6 million on top of its August 2016 projection.
While the park uses about 480,000 gallons of water, all of it is potable, says KTVU. Water from the slides and pools will be filtered and recycled so that none goes to waste.
Swim and exercise classes will be offered year-round in the indoor and outdoor pools, and a 2,000-seat outdoor auditorium will host performances and community events. The park is expected to employ about 200 seasonal employees, says the Times, and costs about $2.5 million to operate.
City officials told KTVU that they expect the park to generate about $1.5 million in its first year and will subsidize costs "for a while."
Admission ranges between $13 to $15 for residents (depending on the time), and $15 to $17 for non-residents. As KTVU points out, admission to the nearby Waterworld costs about four times that.
Park hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday through Monday, and tickets can be purchased in-advance online.
Read Michelle Robertsons latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. Following a spike in deadly attacks on police, more than a dozen states have responded this year with Blue Lives Matter laws that come down even harder on crimes against law enforcement officers, raising concern among some civil rights activists of a potential setback in police-community relations.
The new measures build upon existing statutes allowing harsher sentences for people who kill or assault police. They impose even tougher penalties, extend them to more offenses, including certain nonviolent ones such as trespassing in Missouri, and broaden the list of victims covered to include off-duty officers, police relatives and some civilians at law enforcement agencies.
Proponents say an escalation of violence against police justifies the heightened protections.
What were getting into as a society is that people are targeting police officers not by something that they may have done to them, but just because theyre wearing that uniform, said Republican state Rep. Shawn Rhoads of Missouri, a former detective.
But people who have protested aggressive police tactics are expressing alarm.
This is another form of heightened repression of activists, said Zaki Baruti, an activist and community organizer from St. Louis County. It sends a message to protesters that we better not look at police cross-eyed.
Police deaths on the job have generally declined over the past four decades, from a high of 280 in 1974 to a low of 116 in 2013, according to the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund. But they rose last year to 143, including 21 killed in ambushes the highest number of such attacks in more than two decades.
Nearly all states already have laws enhancing the punishments for certain violent crimes against law officers.
More states began expanding their penalties after last summer, when five officers were killed in a July 7 sniper attack at a protest against police brutality in Dallas, and three more officers were slain in Baton Rouge, La., 10 days later.
Some civil rights activists contend such laws will make it more difficult to prosecute officers and easier to charge protesters who confront police. They say such measures could undermine the Black Lives Matter movement that grew out of the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and other shootings by police around the country.
These laws deepen divisions between law enforcement and communities with no tangible benefit to law enforcement, said Sonia Gill Hernandez at the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.
Jim Salter and David A. Lieb are Associated Press writers.
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WASHINGTON Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Donald Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, then President-elect Trumps son-in-law and confidant, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But sources familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that its unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushners apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than rely on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administrations relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and maintains near-constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that though Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushners apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
How would he trust that the Russians wouldnt leak it on their side? said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause a great deal of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy.
The discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trumps closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts. Trumps first national security adviser, Flynn, was forced to resign after a series of false statements about his conversations with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters related to the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own meetings with Kislyak when asked during congressional testimony about any contact with Russians.
Kushners interactions with Russians including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last years presidential race and help elect Trump.
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities - which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds - to an American.
Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous and Greg Miller are Washington Post reporters.
PORTLAND, Ore. A man who police say fatally stabbed two people who tried to stop him from yelling anti-Islamic slurs on a Portland light-rail train spent time in prison for robbery and kidnapping charges years ago, according to court records and a defense attorney.
Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, was being held in the Multnomah County Jail on Saturday on suspicion of aggravated murder, attempted murder, intimidation and being a felon in possession of a weapon.
He will make a first court appearance Monday, and it wasnt immediately clear if he had an attorney. A phone at his home in Portland rang unanswered Saturday.
Two people died Friday night and another was hurt in the stabbing after police said Christian yelled racial slurs at two young women, one of whom was wearing a Muslim head covering. The assailant on the train was ranting on many topics, using hate speech or biased language, according to a statement from police.
The attack prompted soul-searching in Portland, a city that prides itself on its tolerance and liberal views. A memorial of flowers quickly grew at the scene by a transit station.
There is too much hatred in our world right now, and far too much violence. Too much of it has arrived here in Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler said in a Facebook post.
Dyjuana Hudson, a mother of one of the girls, told the Oregonian/OregonLive that the man began a racial tirade as soon as he spotted the girls.
He was saying that Muslims should die, Hudson said. That theyve been killing Christians for years.
The victims were identified as Ricky John Best, 53, of Happy Valley, and Taliesin Myrddin Namkai Meche, 23, of Portland
Gillian Flaccus is an Associated Press writer.
By Press Trust of India: (EDS: Updating with Egyptian Presidents quotes)
From Youssra El-Sharkawy
Cairo, May 27 (PTI) The Egyptian Army has launched airstrikes on terror groups in Libya in response to the attack that killed 28 Coptic Christians with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserting that his country will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorists.
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Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian Army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip, which also included footages of army aircraft taking off, on his official Facebook and Twitter pages yesterday.
Six air strikes against "terror camps in Libya" were reported by state television. The jihadist training camps were hit in the eastern Libyan city of Derna.
The airstrikes came after the Army gathered information that confirms the terrorists participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo.
Twenty-eight Christians were killed and 23 others injured in the attack yesterday.
"Egypt will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorist elements whether inside Egypt or outside Egypt," Sisi said in a televised address.
He said yesterdays attack will not pass easily.
Sisi also directly addressed US President Donald Trump, saying, "Your Excellency, I trust your ability to wage war on terrorism as your first priority, with the cooperation of the whole international community, that should unite against terrorism."
He said that "all countries that support terrorism, should be punished, without any courtesy or conciliation."
Sisis remarks came as Trump denounced the attack as "merciless slaughter".
Trump said that the US "makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected."
"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement.
Sisi, in his address, asserted that "if Egypt falls, the whole world will be in chaos."
"We are waging a war on behalf of the world," he said.
Sisi said that recent attacks were aimed at making people believe that Christians are not secure in Egypt, and that the government is not protecting them.
No group has claimed responsibility for yesterdays attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three- month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
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There have been a number of attacks on Coptic Christians in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint Georges Cathedral in Tanta and St Marks Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the countrys recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypts 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubaraks regime in 2011. PTI YES CK ASK AKJ ASK
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President Trump returned home Saturday to confront a growing political and legal threat, as his top aides tried to contain the fallout from reports that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is a focus of investigations into possible collusion between Russia and the presidents campaign and transition teams.
As Trump ended a nine-day overseas trip that aides considered the most successful stretch of his presidency, he was returning to a crisis that had only grown in his absence. The White House canceled a presidential trip to Iowa in the coming days and was putting together a damage-control plan to expand the presidents legal team, reorganize his communications staff and wall off a scandal that has jeopardized his agenda and now threatens to engulf his family.
Trumps private legal team, led by his New York lawyer, Marc Kasowitz, was preparing to meet in Washington to face fresh questions about contacts between Kushner and representatives of President Vladimir Putin of Russia. The president may meet with Kasowitz as early as Sunday.
Kushner, who organized the presidents Middle East stops at the start of the foreign trip, has no plans to step down from his role as senior adviser or to reduce his duties, according to people close to him.
Still, there are signs that Kushner is tiring of the nonstop combat and the damage to his reputation. He has told friends that he and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have made no long-term commitment to remain by Trumps side, saying they would review every six months whether to return to private life in New York.
Kushners troubles are only one facet of the crisis. Reince Priebus, the White House chief of staff, and Steve Bannon, the presidents chief strategist, dropped off Trumps trip early, in part to return to deal with the political furor over the Russia investigations and the presidents decision to fire James Comey as FBI director.
The White House was trying to figure out how to respond to reports that Kushner had spoken in December with Russias ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, about establishing a secret channel between his father-in-laws transition team and Moscow to discuss the war in Syria and other issues. The Washington Post first reported on the suggestion Friday, and three people informed about it confirmed it to the New York Times.
The discussion took place at Trump Tower at a meeting that also included Michael Flynn, who served briefly as Trumps national security adviser until being forced out when it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about a separate telephone conversation he had with Kislyak. It was unclear who first proposed the secret communications channel, but the idea was for Flynn to speak directly with a Russian military official. The channel was never set up.
Kushner has dismissed the attention on him as a reflection of his father-in-laws unconventional approach to diplomacy and inexperience in government, rather than anything of nefarious he has done.
Maggie Haberman, Glenn Thrush and Julie Hirschfeld are New York Times writers.
WASHINGTON The Warthog is sitting pretty.
Once on the brink of forced retirement, the A-10 attack plane with the ungainly shape and odd nickname has been given new life, spared by Air Force leaders who have reversed the Obama administrations view of the plane as an unaffordable extra in what had been a time of tight budgets.
In the 2018 Pentagon budget plan sent to Congress this week, the Air Force proposed to keep all 283 A-10s flying for the foreseeable future. Three years ago, the Pentagon proposed scrapping the fleet for what it estimated would be $3.5 billion in savings over five years. Congress said no.
The next year, the military tried again but said the retirement would not be final until 2019. Congress again said no.
Last year, officials backed away a bit further, indicating retirement was still the best option but that it could be put off until 2022.
Now the retirement push is over, and the Warthogs future appears secure.
The world has changed, said Maj. Gen. James Martin Jr., the Air Force budget deputy, in explaining decisions to keep aircraft once deemed expendable.
The Air Force has similarly dropped plans to retire the U-2 spy plane amid prospects for bigger budgets under President Trump. It also reflects the relentless pace of operations for combat aircraft and surveillance and reconnaissance planes that feed intelligence data to war commanders.
The service had complained for years that its inventory of aircraft was getting dangerously small and old. Gen. Mark Welsh, who retired as the top Air Force officer last year, was fond of describing the service as having 12 fleets of aircraft that qualify for antique license plates in the state of Virginia.
The A-10 is a special case. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., who flew the A-10 in combat and commanded a squadron in Afghanistan, speaks of it with obvious affection.
The A-10 is this badass airplane with a big gun on it, she said she told Trump in a recent conversation, explaining why the Warthog is unlike any other attack aircraft.
The big gun to which she refers is a seven-barrel Gatling gun that is nine feet long and fires 30mm armor-piercing shells at a rate of 3,900 rounds per minute. Also armed with Maverick missiles, the A-10 is effective not only in a conventional battle against tanks and other armored vehicles. It also provides close-air support for Iraqi and other U.S. partner forces taking on Islamic State fighters in the deserts of Iraq and Syria.
Robert Burns is an Associated Press writer.
By Press Trust of India: Christians
From Youssra El-Sharkawy
Cairo, May 27 (PTI) The Egyptian army has launched intensive airstrikes on terrorist groups in Libya in response to the attack by suspected Islamic State militants that killed 28 Christians south of Cairo, the army spokesperson said.
Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip, which also included footages of army aircrafts while taking off, on his official Facebook and Twitter pages yesterday.
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The army operation is still going on, he said in a statement.
The airstrikes came after the army gathered information that confirms the terrorists participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen yesterday attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo, the Ministry of Interior said.
The gunmen were riding in three 4x4 vehicles, it said.
Reports said there had been between eight and 10 attackers who were wearing military uniforms.
Prior to the armys announcement, Egypts President Abdel-Fatah El-Sisi has vowed to strike any training camp in Egypt or outside, where terrorists are trained on attacks against Egypt.
In his televised addresses, the president said that the army has already hit one of these camps following the earlier attack in Menya governorate.
The president did not give other details on the strikes or the location, however, the local media then quoted official sources who confirmed that Egypt launched airstrikes on camps belonging to terrorists in Derna city in Libya.
According to the Ministry of Health, at least 28 people were killed and dozens other injured in the attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three- month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
There have been a number of attacks on Copts in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypts Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint Georges Cathedral in Tanta and St Marks Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the countrys recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
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Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypts 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubaraks regime in 2011. PTI YES CK
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The AAP has termed the reply of the Election Commission as its confession.
By India Today Web Desk: The Election Commission has rejected the allegation levelled by the Aam Aadmi Party that the poll panel has backtracked from its promise to hold hackathon to prove reliability of the electronic voting machine.
In a reply to the Aam Aadmi Party, the Election Commission today said, "... it is clarified that no such 'promise' about a 'no-holds barred Hackathon' was ever made or announced by the Commission. Its attribution to the Commission is wrong." It further said that the poll panel "had clearly explained that it will offer an EVM challenge and not a 'Hackathon'."
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"The statement that the Commission is "backtracking" from hackathon is absolutely baseless," the Election Commission said in its reply to the Aam Aadmi Party.
The AAP has termed the reply of the Election Commission as its confession.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's media advisor Nagendra Sharma tweeted saying, "EC in its latest response to AAP concedes it "never offered a Hackathon" but only an EVM challenge - finally a honest confession at last."
AAP legislator Saurabh Bhardwaj, who had claimed that he hacked EVM, said, "When EC itself says that they are not holding Hackathon, then why are Bhakts and Bhakti News spreading lies?"
Earlier, the AAP had refused to participate in the EVM challenge under the existing framework prescribed by the Election Commission.
The AAP had written a letter to the Election Commission accusing it of backtracking from the promise of a hackathon.
The Election Commission maintained in its reply that the EVMs used by the poll panel were tamper proof. It also reiterated that it would not allow a challenger to change the hardware of the EVM in order to prove hackability of the voting machine.
Also read:
EVM hackathon: AAP backs out, NCP, CPI-M only ones to dare Election Commission
EVM row: Why is Election Commission running away from open hackathon, asks AAP
Election Commission to AAP: Changing EVMs' motherboard during hackathon is irrational
WATCH | EVM tampering: Election Commission accepts AAP's challenge, announces 2-day hackathon
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Barun Sobti opens up about his character, love for reading and desire to be behind the camera.
By Shweta Keshri: When Barun Sobti asked for a black coffee with no sugar, it instantly reminded me of ASR. Not Advay but Arnav Singh Raizada from Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon. Who can forget the angry young man from the first installment of Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon, that made Barun Sobti a household name.
The actor looked cool in a simple black t-shirt and blue jeans.
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In an exclusive chat with India Today Digital, the actor reveals about his role in his upcoming show Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3 and more.
You will be back on TV after five years. What took you so long?
When I had quit, at that time I wanted to travel with my wife (Pashmeen Manchanda) and spend some time with her. After that, I took things as it came. So I did films, short films and a web series. This (Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3) concept was the first that I liked.
Are you choosy about your projects?
Thankfully, I have the liberty to be (choosy). I have a very adjusting family. They are not like ja paise le ke aa types. (laughs)
Tell us about your character Advay Singh Raizada.
Advay is a science professor. He is not much of a nice guy. I can't call him grey because he is not at all considerate of the society. He is out and out a dark character. He is unapologetically dark because of the things happened to him.
Barun is slaying it with his new look in the Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon teaser. Picture courtesy: Facebook/starplus
When I was being briefed about the character of Advay, I was thinking in my head that this is very wrong what he is doing. So, when is he going to do the good things. That's when my producers told that's where the whole challenge of the casting comes in. We have to hire an actor that will make this character look compelled enough to do this. Where people when they watch you, they think if I was in his place, probably I would have done the same thing. That was one thing that really struck me and got me excited about the role.
How different is Advay from Arnav?
Arnav had found a way to hide his misery behind his work. Arnav never really dealt with his problem, he never liked to talk about his parents. Basically, that was what ate him up and that was what the whole character was about. Advay, on the other hand, refuses to stop thinking about it and his whole agenda lies around his past life. He is not like he will not talk about it. He will talk about it and he will react and behave based on what has happened in his past life. His agenda is very clear.
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Also read: First look of Barun Sobti as Advay Singh Raizada in Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon 3 unveiled
What sort of homework do you do before getting into the character?
I have read a lot about the character -- the back stories, character traits, correlations with the other characters, screenplay and the script. I have given it a lot of thought. I do play the scenes again and again in my head and improve on what I thought initially.
You take interest in your character and the story. What part of film-making interests you the most?
This is a very difficult question. I have directed on behalf of my directors a few times. But I have not directed with credit of course. Directing is a very-very difficult job. With respect to keeping your sanity, the more you are dedicated to your job, the more you think about it. And there is so much to think about for the director. I don't know if I am prepared right now or not, but somewhere down the line, I would like to do it. That's the plan, actually. I really hope I can.
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You left television because you felt stressed out. Are you now ready get into the daily soap mode?
I am totally committed to this show. I don't know how many people know this but at the time I had signed the first show with my producer saying I will do this only for a year. But at that time I was not good with paperwork. But this show is going to be finite series, which will run for a year, hopefully.
Sanaya and Mohit are a part of Nach Baliye. Are you following the show?
Of course, peet degi yaar agar follow nahi karenge.
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You have been a part of TV, films, web series and a play. Which medium you find most difficult and why?
Plays are definitely the most difficult of them all. They are entirely a different category altogether. I don't have the courage to try out plays. I am not ready to be laughed at, right now. A lot of respect to people who do theatre but I wouldn't make a good theatre actor is what I feel.
You like reading. What kind of books interests you more?
I like to read non-fiction. I like to be aware of the cultural and political setup of our country and the world. Currently, I am reading Mihir Bose's The Indian Spy. It's about a secret agent who was spying during the second world war for five countries including India.
Fans are crazy about you. Anyone, you are a big fan of?
No, no. I am not a crazy person. I think the craziest thing I have ever done was when I saw Sachin Tendulkar for the first time. I had a very difficult time fathoming the courage to walk up to him and shake hands. That's my crazy. I am actually boring.
What do you miss the most about Delhi?
I miss the Delhi winters the most.
Your favourite hangout place in Delhi?
It used to be Friday's in Connaught Place. It's shut now.
Your fans were eagerly awaiting Satya Ki Kiran. It got shelved. What exactly went wrong?
I don't know what went wrong. I am guessing they (the makers) were not happy with how it turned out. We had shot just the first episode of the show.
Tanhaiyan was magical. How was your experience shooting for the series?
Woah! It was awesome. It was a very quick 29 days. I had very very good experience.
How does your wife Pashmeen deal with all the female attention coming your way?
She's a very wise woman. She doesn't think about it like that. She knows what the reality of our world is. There's nothing to handle basically. (smiles)
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Accused of sneaking into his college building and changing his fail grade to a B, a student in Florida is learning a lesson after getting caught.
By India Today Web Desk: Since it is the exam result season, here is an interesting story about the grade system.
Reports have it that a 22-year-old college student in Florida went out of his way to get his failing grade changed. And by 'going out of his way,' we mean literally.
The student, Sami Ammar, has been accused of sneaking into the University of Central Florida's building, illegally logging into a computer to access the grading system, and changing his failing grade to a B.
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What happened next will remind you of that scene from movie 3 Idiots, where a call gets Rancho and his friends caught for stealing the question paper.
Professor Chung Young Chan, a teacher at the university, received an alert from the program he uses to log grades, which made him suspicious. When he checked the grades, he found that Ammar's failing grade in the Electronics I class was suddenly a B.
Thus, Ammar got caught. Things got even worse after the university police identified Ammar on surveillance video.
Ammar turned himself in at the Orange County Jail in Orlando on Wednesday, and now faces a felony charge of accessing a computer without authorisation.
(With inputs from AP)
Read more at FYI:
Mass cheating during Maths board in Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district. Is this an annual ritual now?
Divine intervention in board exams? Gujarat temple offers pen set to pass; full refund if student fails
Full marks for her spirit: Patna girl writes exam with feet, uses toes to grip pen
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AAA is offering free "Tipsy Tow" services to celebrants this Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
The service will run from 6 p.m. Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday and is available to anyone, not just AAA members.
"If your plans involve alcohol, plan ahead for a safe ride home," AAA Northern California spokesman Mike Blasky said in a statement. "If those plans fall through, please don't get behind the wheel. Call AAA and we'll get you home safely."
Drivers, passengers, party hosts, bartenders and restaurant managers can call (800) AAA-HELP (222-4357) and provide the driver's name, home address, phone number and their pick-up location.
AAA will send out a tow truck and give the driver, the driver's vehicle and one passenger a free 10-mile tow and ride home. For distances beyond 10 miles, a standard towing rate will apply.
By Press Trust of India: Hyderabad, May 27 (PTI) GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd. (GHIAL), which operates Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), here today said it started exporting mangoes to South Korea.
According to a statement issued by GMR, it has exported an initial commercial consignment of 2.5 tons of Indian mangoes for the first time to South Korea through its cargo terminal, being operated by Hyderabad Menzies Air Cargo Pvt. Ltd (HMACPL).
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In this regard, GHIAL and HMACPL teams has worked with the farmer community at Vizianagaram facility for developing a pack-house, creating markets, commissioning this project with requisite approvals from government and exporting Suvarnarekha variety of mangoes to South Korea, it said.
Meanwhile, GHIAL and HMACPL are in the process of identifying and enabling similar infrastructure across the catchment areas in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, northern Karnataka and eastern Maharashtra among others, that can provide the requisite processing facility, said the release. PTI GDK NRB BAS
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At least six labourers working in Gollapalem stone quarry near Phirangirpuram in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district have been killed while two others were injured after boulders fell on them.
By Ashish Pandey: At least six labourers working in Gollapalem stone quarry near Phirangirpuram in Andhra Pradesh's Guntur district have been killed while two others were injured after boulders fell on them.
Those injured were shifted to Guntur government hospital. Meanwhile, senior police officers reached the spot to investigate the cause of the accident.
Speaking to India Today, Guntur Rural SP K Narayan Nayak said, "Around 9:30 am, eight labourers went to the quarry. During drilling, heavy rocks and boulders fell over them, leading to deaths and injuries."
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The police is investigating whether the quarry, which was for making stone chips for roads, has an authorised licence and trying to ascertain what led to the mishap.
Also read | West Bengal: 2 dead in mishap at IISCO plant after molten steel falls on labourers
Also read | Patna: 2 labourers die of suffocation while cleaning sewer line
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By Press Trust of India: Kohima, May 26 (PTI) Nagaland Chief Minister ShArhozelie Leizietsu today said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will open new era in the indirect taxation structure and administration in the country.
GST regime, which is going to be implemented in the country from July 1, is going to create a system, wherein one is allowed to claim credit for the tax paid earlier, irrespective of the kind of indirect tax and also the place where it has been paid, the CM said while addressing Naga legislators workshop on GST under the aegis of State Finance Department at State Banquet Hall here.
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The new GST regime is the successful culmination of all efforts put in the direction of uniform taxation, he said adding that the system will also check tax evasion, since the trade and industry will benefit by coming under the GST system through a self-policing mechanism.
"In the process the tax base is likely to expand and lead to more revenue collection," he said.
He also said that due to the destination principle in the new tax policy, a state like Nagaland, which is pre-dominantly a consumer state will benefit.
The GST regime will be a milestone for making the tax administration in Nagaland more effective and transparent, having a beneficial effect on the consumers and the economy as a whole, the CM said.
Expressing hope that the tax collection in the State would rise under the new tax policy, the CM however said that in the event of loss of revenue, the State would be compensated for the shortfall in collection by the Central Government for the next five years, for which the relevant Act has already been passed by the Parliament.
State Chief Secretary Pankaj Kumar said that GST has been hailed as a major path-breaking reform of Indian taxation system.
Kumar informed that the Bill was approved by the State Cabinet yesterday and will be introduced in the special session of the Nagaland Legislative Assembly tomorrow for enactment.
He said that GST has two components, the Central GST to be levied and collected by the Centre and the State GST to be levied and collected by the States.
The entire tax administration for GST will be online through the GST Network, he said. PTI NBS RG
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By Press Trust of India: MSP
Bhubaneswar, May 26 (PTI) The House Committee of Odisha Assembly today decided to seek another appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and demand hike in the rate of MSP.
"The delegation of the House Committee would like to meet the Prime Minister by June 30 to discuss the MSP of paddy," Agriculture Minister Damodar Rout said after the House Committee meeting, chaired by Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat.
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The effort to get an appointment would be made again as the House Committee
did not get any reply from the PMO earlier.
Former Food and Civil Supplies minister Sanjay Das Burma alleged that the PMO did not give time to the House Committee even after an appointment was earlier sought.
On March 25, the Odisha Assembly had unanimously adopted a resolution recommending the state government to urge the Centre to increase the MSP of common paddy from Rs 1,470 per quintal to Rs 2,930 . PTI AAM BBN AYP
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By Press Trust of India: eminent citizens
Srinagar, May 26 (PTI) A group of eminent citizens today said the strapping of a civilian to an army jeep has brought the human rights record in Jammu and Kashmir to a new low and the efforts to legitimise the act was condemnable.
The group of 22, comprising former high court judge Shabir Hasnain Masoodi and former chairman of Public Service Commission Mohammad Shafi Pandit, lashed out at the silence of state government and in particular Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on the issue.
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In a statement here, they said that they had petitioned President Pranab Mukherjee, seeking an end to the human rights violations in the state, particularly tying of an "innocent" man to an army jeep as a "human shield" by the army officer.
"With the strapping of an innocent Kashmiri young man by an officer of Indian Army to the bonnet of an army vehicle and parading him for hours through a dozen villages, the abysmal Indian human rights record in Jammu and Kashmir has come down to a new low," the statement said.
Describing it as a "dastardly act" which was "totally unjustifiable", the statement said, "It is against human dignity, offends core constitutional values and violates International Covenants, to which India is a signatory."
They said, "the effort to legitimise the act by cooking up and concocting facts is bizarre and deserves to be equally condemned."
They said it was "painful and shocking that instead of expediting the Court of Inquiry proceedings ordered against the officer and the investigation in FIR registered by the local police against him, the officer has been decorated and favoured with an award and is applauded by a person no less than the Defence Minister of India for an otherwise cowardly act."
The statement said that "awarding the officer before conclusion of the Court of Inquiry and police investigation is unfair and grossly inappropriate. Those who have decided to confer the award have done no good to Indian Army or people of India but widened the gulf between them and the people of Jammu and Kashmir."
Lashing out at Mehbooba, they said, "Having condemned the incident, directed investigation by a senior officer and sought an immediate report, the Chief Minister should have been the first person to strongly protest grant of award to the army officer, an accused before the state police and demanded its withdrawal pending investigation."
Chief Minister, by her silence, has condoned the grant of award, the statement said. PTI MIJ SKL AKK
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The Washington Post is reporting that President Donald Trump is considering naming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus ambassador to Greece as part of a major shakeup of his senior staff.
"Some Trump associates said there have even been conversations about dispatching Priebus to serve as ambassador to Greece -- his mother is of Greek descent -- as a face-saving way to remove him from the White House," the report states.
MARAWI, Philippines Philippine fighter aircraft unleashed rocket fire against militants on Saturday, prompting villagers to hoist white flags to avoid being targeted as the military turned to air strikes to try to end the siege of a southern city by Islamic State group-allied militants.
The predominantly Muslim city of Marawi, home to 200,000 people, has been under siege since a failed army raid Tuesday on a suspected hideout of Isnilon Hapilon, who is on Washingtons list of most-wanted terrorists.
Hapilon eluded capture and fighters loyal to him took over parts of the city, burning buildings, taking cover in houses and seizing about a dozen hostages, including a Catholic priest. Their conditions remain unknown.
At least 48 people have died in the fighting, including 35 militants and 11 soldiers, officials said, adding that an unknown number of civilians are feared to have died.
While up to 90 percent of Marawis people have fled amid the fighting, many who were trapped or refused to leave their homes have impeded military assaults, officials said. That has slowed efforts to end the most serious crisis President Rodrigo Duterte has faced since he took power nearly a year ago.
In as much as we would like to avoid collateral damage, these rebels are forcing the hand of government by hiding and holding out inside private homes, government buildings and other facilities, the military said in a statement.
Their refusal to surrender is holding the city captive, it said. Hence, it is now increasingly becoming necessary to use more surgical air strikes to clear the city and to bring this rebellion to a quicker end.
The violence prompted Duterte on Tuesday to declare 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines, where a Muslim separatist rebellion has raged for decades. But the recent violence has raised fears that extremism could be growing as smaller militant groups unify and align themselves with the Islamic State group.
Hapilons group has received a couple of million dollars from the Islamic State group, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told reporters Friday.
As air force planes and rocket-firing helicopters pounded militant positions on Saturday, fleeing residents waved white flags or raised them on their roofs to signify that they are not combatants.
Lt. Gen. Carlito G. Galvez Jr., a military commander, said about 150 trapped civilians have been rescued by troops from their homes.
Jim Gomez is an Associated Press writer.
BAGHDAD A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander was killed in an explosion during clashes with the Islamic State group west of Mosul, an Iraqi official said Saturday, as aid groups voiced concern for the safety of civilians after Iraqs government called for residents in militant-held neighborhoods to flee immediately.
Gen. Shaaban Nasiiri was an adviser to Qassem Soleimani, the head of Irans elite Quds Force. Soleimani has acted as a key adviser to Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces an umbrella group of Mostly Shiite militia forces sanctioned by the Iraqi government in the fight against Islamic State since 2014.
The Iraqi official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Nasiiri was killed Friday and is the first senior Iranian commander to die in the Mosul fight.
Inside Mosul, U.S.-backed Iraqi forces began the push to retake the Old City on Saturday morning, moving in on the district from three directions, according to a statement from Nineveh operations command, the authority overseeing the Mosul fight.
The militants hold on Mosul has shrunk to just a handful of neighborhoods in and around the Old City district where narrow streets and a dense civilian population is expected to complicate the fight.
Iraqi planes dropped leaflets over the area Friday telling civilians to flee immediately to safe passages where they will be greeted by guides, protectors and (transportation) to reach safe places, according to a government statement.
However, it is unclear how the government intends to ensure safe passage for civilians as Islamic State fighters have repeatedly targeted fleeing civilians with small arms and mortar fire.
The move to clear the Old City marks a shift in approach. Since the Mosul operation was launched in October, Iraqi forces have encouraged civilians to remain in their homes to avoid massive displacement. However, more than 730,000 people have fled the fight to date according to United Nations figures.
As many as 200,000 additional people may try to leave in coming days, the U.N. said Saturday in a statement following the call for Old City civilians to leave. Save the Children warned that fleeing civilians could be caught in the crossfire, leading to deadly chaos.
While U.S.-backed forces have fought inside Mosul during the operation to retake it, Iraqs Popular Mobilization Forces have largely operated in the deserts to the west. The Popular Mobilization Forces are largely supported by Tehran, a key Iraqi ally in the fight against the Islamic State.
Qassim Abdul-Zahra is an Associated Press writer.
ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar's basic salary increased over 15 per cent to Rs 2.67 crore during the fiscal ended March 2017, as per banks annual report.
By Press Trust of India: Chanda Kochhar, the head of country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank, has drawn Rs 7.85 crore as total remuneration in 2016-17, a jump of over nearly 64 per cent from a year ago.
ICICI Bank MD & CEO Chanda Kochhar's basic salary increased over 15 per cent to Rs 2.67 crore during the fiscal ended March 2017, as per banks annual report.
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Calculated on daily basis, her cost to the company was Rs 2.18 lakh.
During the year, she took home performance bonus of Rs 2.2 crore. However, the bank had not not given performance incentive in 2015-16 due to weak financial status.
Her total cost to the company was over Rs 4.79 crore in 2015-16 and basic salary was Rs 2.32 crore.
The total remuneration included perquisites as well as retrial benefits.
Furnished accommodation, gas, electricity, water and furnishing, club fees, group insurance, use of car and telephone at resident, reimbursement and leave travel concession, provident funds are among the major heads of perquisites.
The monthly basic salary for Kochhar will be within the range of Rs 1,350,000-Rs 2,600,000, said the annual report 2016-17.
In her message, Kochhar said ICICI Bank is focused on capitalising on growth opportunities. At the same time, the bank is taking steps to address challenges in environment.
"Our large size, capital base, robust funding profile, extensive distribution network, diversified portfolio, presence across the financial services sector and leadership in technology, position us very well to leverage the growth opportunities across the economy," Kochhar said.
Shares of the company traded at 0.79 per cent up at Rs 320.10 on BSE.
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SRINAGAR, India One civilian was killed and dozens of others injured Saturday after huge protests against India and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir following the killing of a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gunbattle with government forces in the disputed region.
Rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that rebels were hiding there, police said.
The gunbattle ended later Saturday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching the area for at least one more body, police said.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape. Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
Witnesses said a young man was killed and several other people were injured after government forces fired on the protesters near the site of the gunbattle. Kashmirs police chief, S.P. Vaid, said the man was killed by crossfire.
As the news of the rebel leaders killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting Go India, go back and We want freedom.
Traders shuttered shops and businesses across the Kashmir Valley, including in the regions main city of Srinagar. Officials said clashes were reported in more than four dozen locations in the region.
Dozens of civilians were reported injured in the clashes. Police said at least 25 police officers and paramilitary soldiers were also injured.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep among the regions mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels cause against Indian rule despite a decades-long military crackdown to fight the armed rebellion.
Separatist leaders who challenge Indias sovereignty over Kashmir called for a general strike on Sunday and Monday.
Meanwhile, authorities declared an indefinite security lockdown in parts of Srinagar and other major cities and towns across the Kashmir Valley starting Sunday.
Last year, similar massive protests roiled Kashmir following the killing of rebel leader Burhan Wani.
Aijaz Hussain is an Associated Press writer.
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TAORMINA, Sicily Seven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming.
The final G-7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.
Trump tweeted he would decide on Paris this week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. presidents first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six wont change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasnt decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way.
French President Emmanuel Macron also chimed in on the climate issue, praising Trumps capacity to listen. Macron said he told Trump it is indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris climate agreement.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more downbeat, calling the G-7 climate talks very difficult, if not to say, very unsatisfactory.
The G-7 leaders had better luck finding agreement on the other problematic topic at the summit, trade.
They restored a vow to fight protectionism the use of import taxes and skewed regulations that favor domestic producers over their foreign competitors. The no-protectionism pledge had been a part of previous G-7 statements but was omitted after a meeting of the groups finance ministers earlier this month in Bari, Italy. This time the G-7 leaders reiterated a commitment to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism.
The Trump administration has argued that trade must be balanced and fair as well as free. Trumps position appeared to be addressed by new language that said the member countries would be standing firm against all unfair trade practices.
The leaders also agreed on two other topics: closer cooperation against terrorism in the wake of the concert bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people, and on the possibility of putting more sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine if Russian behavior requires that.
The G-7 is an informal gathering that meets every year under a rotating chairmanship.
Colleen Barry, Sylvie Corbet and David McHugh are Associated Press writers.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) India today announced a USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries resolved to deepen ties in a range of areas including the maritime domain.
The two countries also signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
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In a statement, Modi said he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen mutual cooperation and capacities, he said.
A total of four agreements were signed after the talks between the two leaders.
"The agreement today on the USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment to the development of Mauritius," the prime minister said.
The two countries also decided to ramp up cooperation in a number of areas including trade and investment.
"India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius," Modi said. PTI PR MPB BSA SC BSA
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WASHINGTON -- Zbigniew Brzezinski, the national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, has died. He was 89.
His death was announced on social media Friday night by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. She called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."
My father passed away peacefully tonight. He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his https://t.co/LU7X7kzjTH Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) May 27, 2017
Chief at the helm!
We love you, Dad, and will always be grateful for the love and devotion you showed us all. #HailToTheChief pic.twitter.com/4OtLuYIyZY Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) May 27, 2017
We are remembering my father tonight with the love of his life who inspired him and shared in his wonderful life over six decades. pic.twitter.com/8if3PFRnSN Mika Brzezinski (@morningmika) May 27, 2017
Brzezinski (pronounced ZBIG'-nyef breh-ZHIN'-skee) helped topple economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West. And he helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords.
But the Carter years were also defined by the Iranian hostage crisis, which came to symbolize the administration's failures and frustrations.
In recent years, Brzezinski took part in proceedings designed to bring the former Soviet republics into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) India today announced a USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries decided to firm up cooperation in the field of maritime security in the Indian Ocean region.
The two sides signed a maritime security agreement after extensive talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
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In a statement, Modi said he and Jugnauth agreed that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities and provide security to the people of both the countries.
"We have to keep up our vigil against piracy that impacts trade and tourism, trafficking of drugs and humans, illegal fishing, and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources," the prime minister said.
The bilateral maritime accord will strengthen cooperation and capacities, he said, noting that the two sides also agreed to strengthen their wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain.
On his part, Jugnauth said the two countries need to ensure that the sea lanes of communications are safe and secure and regular patrolling is conducted to combat illegal activities such as piracy, illegal fishing in the territorial waters and drug trafficking.
A decision to extend the operational life of Coast Guard ship Guardian, that was given by India to Mauritius under a grant assistance programme, was also taken.
During his visit to Mauritius in March 2015, Modi had commissioned offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Barracuda, built and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
Holding that Mauritius has "strong" defence and security ties with India, the visiting prime minister said the acquisition of such OPVs and fast interceptor boats from India has enhanced the operational capacities of its police and coast guard.
Besides the maritime pact, three other agreements were also signed after talks between the two leaders. They were for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius, one on cooperation in ocean research and the US dollar Credit Line Agreement between the SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Company and Export-Import Bank of India.
Modi said the agreement on the line of credit to Mauritius was a good example of the strong and continuing commitment to the development of that country.
The two sides also decided to ramp up cooperation in a number of areas including trade and investment.
"India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius," Modi said, adding that emphasis was also given on cooperation in skill development during the talks.
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Reaffirming Mauritius "unwavering" support to India for UN Security Council membership, Jugnauth also welcomed New Delhis support to the island nations claim over the Chagos archipelago.
Both the UK and Mauritius have competing claims over the archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Jugnauth also discussed with Modi the issue of a comprehensive economic cooperation and partnership agreement (CECPA) on which discussions have been held in the past.
He expressed satisfaction over the resumption of the negotiations on the CECPA issue last year, saying Mauritius looked forward to its conclusion by the end of this year.
"The CEPCA will play a major role in the economic dynamics between our two countries, by enhancing trade and enabling collaboration with Indian entities," he said.
Referring to the India-funded Metro Express Project from Curepipe to Port Louis, Jugnauth said it will play a pivotal role in the economic development of the island nation. The metro network will have 19 stations.
Mauritius also informed India about its ratification of the International Solar Alliance, a project involving 120 countries. It was initiated by Modi and former French president Francois Hollande. PTI PR MPB BSA SC BSA
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By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs and quotes)
Colombo, May 27 (PTI) India today sent relief materials and deployed rescue personnel in Sri Lanka as the death toll from the worst floods since 2003 in the country crossed 100 and authorities warned of more rains.
The Disaster Management Centre issued an urgent evacuation warning for residents living along the Kelani River and within the Divisional Secretariats of Kollonnawa, Kaduwela, Wellampitiya, Kelaniya, Biyagama, Sedawatte, Dompe, Hanwella, Padukka and Avissawella.
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At least 200,382 people belonging to 52,603 families were affected in 14 districts. Further, 12,007 people belonging to 2,937 families were relocated to 69 safe locations as of Saturday morning, it said.
The death toll crossed 100 while 99 others were missing, officials said but did not provide the exact numbers.
Sri Lankas tri-forces personnel including more than 1,000 Army troops were engaged in the rescue and relief operations.
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) airman died after falling from a helicopter during a flood rescue operation in Neluwa area in Galle.
The Meteorology Department said that rain and windy conditions are expected to continue.
"Showers or thundershowers will occur at times in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Central and North-western provinces," it said.
Sri Lankas Ministry of Foreign Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Disaster Management, appealed to the UN, International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighbouring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially in the areas of search and rescue operations.
India in response dispatched three Navy ships with emergency supplies to help Sri Lanka in the rescue and relief operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed provision of all necessary assistance.
The Indian rescue personnel are now being deployed to the disaster affected zone in coordination with Sri Lanka Navy and other Sri Lankan authorities.
Modi also expressed condolences at the loss of lives and property and said that India stands with her Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need.
The fist Indian navy ship with rescue and relief materials arrived this morning at the Port of Colombo.
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who was present to receive the ship, said: "We are grateful to India for sending relief at such a short notice so quickly."
He said Indias move to send relief materials demonstrated the Indo-Lanka relations which are at an excellent level.
INS Kirch diverted to Colombo to render immediate assistance in flood relief operations, arrived in Colombo Port today. Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu handed over the relief items brought by INS Kirch to Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake.
Two more Indian Navy ships -- INS Shardul and INS Jalashwa -- have also left for Sri Lanka with relief materials including food medicines and water.
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Medical and diving teams along with boats and helicopters are also being sent on board INS Jalashwa to assist Sri Lanka in rescuing people from flood-hit area, Indian Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma said.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful Southwest monsoon, officials said.
Sri Lankas Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had activated the Emergency Response Unit to coordinate rescue and relief measures related to the flood situation.
Sri Lanka, which has been heavily deforested for cash crops, often witnesses landslides during the monsoon season.
Last year, more than 100 people were killed in a massive landslide in the country. PTI Corr MPB NSA AKJ NSA
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Car insurer AAMI promises to "make life simpler", but for the Wotton family of Sydney's northern beaches, this did not turn out to be.
For the past year, Lauren Wotton searched for the cause of an "unbearable" stench in her bright blue Mazda. The mother-of-three eventually discovered that water had been sloshing around in the spare tyre well the whole time.
Alarmed, she contacted her car insurer of 10 years, AAMI, which swiftly arranged for a repairer to remedy the issue.
The repairer found that a previous AAMI-preferred mechanic had stuffed two drain pipes from the sunroof into the boot, instead of attaching them to the back bumper, causing the pool of water to be formed.
Lawyers, developers and business figures linked to notorious property spruiker Henry Kaye face their first public grilling over the land banking scams into which mum and dad investors tipped as much as $100 million.
Liquidators on behalf of the corporate regulator will publicly examine 10 key players behind two failed development schemes proposed for Melbourne's outer west and Bendigo and were part of a network land-banking scams across Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, revealed by The Age in early 2015.
Property spruiker Henry Kaye leaves court in 2007. Credit:Penny Stephens
Both projects were wound up by the court in 2016.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is now seeking to untangle the complex web of companies, trusts, loans and properties behind the schemes as part of its ongoing probe of land banking.
Several large media packs circle the reporting of key NSW issues, like overlapping schools of sharks. One of these factions never misses an opportunity to attack the reputation of NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Cath Burn, as well as Scipione, who was seen as a supporter of Burn.
Maybe next time we send in the journos, and let the cops do the hindsight thing afterwards.
But on and on it went, from the instant experts. The equipment was wrong. The army should have been called in. The snipers should have fired through the windows. And, of course, former deputy commissioner Nick Kaldas should have been in charge.
I know blame is deeply ingrained in media culture these days, but do those who seek to scapegoat individuals understand how out of sync they are with the actual response of Sydney to the siege, which was full of compassion and unity, and expressed itself in the sea of flowers that flowed down Martin Place?
It would also be nice to think Mr Barnes' report will put an end to some of the finger-pointing from sections of the media in the weeks and months after the siege, but don't hold your breath.
And so we had story after story, along with commentary, about how Burn and Scipione had failed during the siege; how they were trying to "distance themselves" from the siege's tragic outcome by claiming they had no direct role in the operation; how, despite this, they had wantonly interfered in it; how they had destroyed critical evidence on the way through; and how they had "turned in early" on the night of the siege.
That last claim would have to be the most spectacular example in the history of the media's selective use of the wisdom of hindsight.
I was with Skippy and Baird when they went to get some rest, close to midnight on the 15th. Try to grasp this, folks. They did not know the siege was going to end a couple of hours later.
If it had dragged on for a further 12, or 24, or 48 hours as there was every chance it could have were they still supposed to be sitting there at the table, tired beyond the point of being able to make a rational decision about anything?
Barnes in his report knocked all of this for six. He carefully clarified the role that senior police command played during the siege, agreeing entirely with the way Scipione and Burn had characterised their functions. He had no criticism of Burn, and described her decision to grab some rest, on Scipione's direction, as both prudent and reasonable.
Dodgy marketing. Fee-paying students ripped off. Promised qualifications that never eventuate. Staff left in limbo. The scandals that have plagued private vocational colleges in recent years are depressingly familiar. But the cumulative impact of cowboy practices in the private sector appears to have carried over to TAFE colleges, tarnishing a great public institution that has provided people with a practical pathway to employment.
Sadly, some TAFE colleges across Victoria now better resemble ghost campuses than vibrant centres for training and learning. Enrolments have dropped, with a number of once-popular courses now suffering a chronic shortage of students. The reason for this malaise is doubtlessly more complex than simply blaming the bad press directed to private operators, but the consequences are alarming.
Sadly, some TAFE colleges across Victoria now better resemble ghost campuses Credit:Jim Rice
The Andrews government should be examining why students are turning away from TAFEs, and the impact of the significant funds it poured into the system since coming to power.
The TAFE sector is clearly struggling and every effort is required made to strengthen what is a mainstay of the economy.
First there are the neighbours in Yemen to deal with. According to a March 2017 assessment by the BBC, in the Yemen civil war more than 7600 people have been killed and 42,000 injured since March 2015. The majority of these casualties were due to air strikes by the Saudi-led multinational coalition. The preferred weapons of choice for Saudi peace missions are purchased from the United States and Britain. Thankfully no bad barrel bombs - like those employed by the Syrians - are used in the operations. But hospitals are fair game, as in the August 15, 2016 incident where the Saudis bombed a Medecins Sans Frontieres hospital despite it having a huge identification sign on the roof and the Saudis having been given the GPS co-ordinates repeatedly. Nineteen people were killed.
Such humanitarian actions have brought famine and cholera to Yemen's 28 million people. Trump, I'm sure, would enjoy a good locker room chat with King Salman about this and other matters. Wives would surely be on the agenda with the pros and cons of sequential or concurrent relationships of interest. Trump has had three, one after another, while King Salman reportedly has had the same number, possibly all at one time. The benefits of being born with a silver spoon in your mouth, or the trouble one has with domestics and foreigner workers, are also of common interest.
Trump's advisors could provide some useful background briefing on executions, lest the president be unaware of the detail in this shared experience. For example, after the beheading of 24-year-old Sri Lankan domestic worker Rizana Nafee in Saudi Arabia in 2013, human rights organisations revealed that 45 foreign maids were on death row in the Kingdom. In 2015 at least 157 people were executed while on the single day of 2nd January last year 47 were beheaded including Shia religious leader, Nimr al-Nimr , who was convicted of sedition, disobedience and bearing arms. Nimr did not deny the political charges against him, but said he never carried weapons or called for violence. Still, in the brave new Trump/Salman world, all Shia are Iranian-backed terrorists.
The United States is not as efficient as the Saudis in executing people and has only managed to kill 11 people by lethal injection so far this year. As of October 2016, 2902 people were waiting their turn. But I'm confused about President Trump's attitude towards those who decapitate people. In the presidential campaign debates candidate Trump referred to "these people, these animals over in the Middle East, that chop off heads." Did he tell the King that he thought he was an animal?
And what about his claims about the wives of the 9/11 terrorists during the 2015 and 2016 debates? Trump said that friends and family of the hijackers "were put into planes and they were sent back, for the most part, to Saudi Arabia. They knew what was going on. They went home and they wanted to watch their boyfriends on television." Like so many of the things he says, this statement was false. But in an interview with the New York Times, Saudi Ambassador Bandar bin Sultan revealed that after the attack, with the help of the FBI, his government arranged for relatives of Osama bin Laden, who were in high school or college, to assemble in Washington to be flown back to Saudi Arabia. (No members of bin Laden's immediate family - wives or children - were in this group.) Let's now recall that 15 of the 19 al-Qaeda terrorists were Saudi Arabian citizens, that Saudi Arabia is the major sponsor of the intolerant, extremist Sunni form of Islam Wahhabism -- that ISIS terrorists follow and that the King is an adherent of this brand of Islam.
But now it seems that Saudi Arabia has a clean bill of health on terrorism and Trump wants only an anti-Iranian crusade. This at the very moment that Iran has re-elected a moderate leader, Hassan Rouhani, who wants re-engagement with the world. Rather than build on the significant progress of the deal negotiated to curtail Iran's nuclear arms program, Trump has joined the Saudi and Israeli campaign to destroy the deal. Thankfully, because this deal was negotiated by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -China, France, United Kingdom, United State and Russia - and Germany and the European Union, he will face strong opposition. In 2011 Trump ranted that "our President [Obama] will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate."
Prospects for the controversial Adani coal mine have dimmed further after the Queensland government said it wanted no role in any federal loan to support the project.
In a statement on Saturday, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that "consistent with our election commitments, cabinet has determined that any [Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility] loan needs to be between the federal government and Adani".
The chances of building a rail link to Adani's proposed coal mine just got a little fainter. Credit:Rob Homer
If the NAIF does provide funds for the 388 kilometre, $1 billion-plus rail link to support the proposed Carmichael mine, it will do so without the support of the state government. The NAIF's guidelines say loans should "align" with a state's needs.
"If [Prime Minister] Malcolm Turnbull wants to spend his money in this way, that's his decision," a source said, requesting anonymity.
Within 24 hours of lifting a ban placed on internet services in the Valley, the Jammu and Kashmir government has restricted websites yet again. The move follows the killing of Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter in Tral.
The J-K government has suspended internet services in the Valley (PTI file photo for representation)
By India Today Web Desk: The Jammu and Kashmir government today suspended internet services in the Valley just 24 hours after lifting an earlier ban.The move followed the death of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat in an encounter in Tral.
Bhat is widely believed to be the successor of slain Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, whose killing on July 8 last year had sparked violent, months-long protests in the Valley.
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Civilians protesting Wani's death clashed with security forces numerous times. The unrest saw security forces employing the controversial pellet guns and led to the deaths of more than 50 civilians.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat's death in an encounter today has sparked concern among authorities that the Valley could see a repeat of last year's violent unrest.
Bhat's demise was confirmed by Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S P Vaid who told news agency PTI that Sabzar was among the militants killed in Tral.
Following Bhat's death, reports came in of protesters clashing with security personnel. An unnamed police official told news agency PTI that stone pelting incidents have been reported in some parts of south Kashmir including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag district.
The agency also reported that several parts of the Kashmir Valley have been shut down in the face of violent protests.
Meanwhile, sources have confirmed that the combing and search operation by security forces are underway in J-K's Rampur sector.
INTERNET SHUT
The Jammu and Kashmir government's move to restrict internet services came just hours after a similar restriction, placed in April, was lifted on Friday at around 8.30 pm.
Under the original ban, social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, QQ, WeChat, Ozone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reditt, Snapfish, YouTube (Upload), Vine, Xanga and Flickr were suspended.
The ban was imposed after a string of student protests over alleged high-handedness of security forces. ALSO WATCH | Hizbul terrorist and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Bhat killed in Kashmir
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The recently retired Defence head Dennis Richardson has said Australia should carry out its own "freedom-of-navigation" naval operation to challenge China's claim over waters surrounding artificial islands in the South China Sea.
Such a move would provoke an angry response from Beijing, but Mr Richardson, who has been a central figure in Australia's security and foreign affairs establishment for the past two decades, said Australia should not tacitly accept the legitimacy of China's man-made territory in the strategically vital waterways.
The USS Dewey conducted a "man overboard" exercise near Mischief Reef on Thursday. Credit:Wikimedia commons
Asked whether Australia should carry out a naval freedom-of-navigation operation, Mr Richardson said: "I think at some point, we should ... What that point is, being a good old public servant, I'd leave it to the government."
The remarks are highly significant in that they come from such a senior and recently retired national security figure. Mr Richardson also led ASIO and the Department of Foreign Affairs and served as ambassador to Washington. He retired just over a week ago after a 48-year career.
Sam Al Maraee says he is lucky. When his parents and sisters in Baghdad faced death threats unless they embraced Islamic State's perverted brand of Islam, he had the means to give them a chance most of the world's 21 million refugees will never have.
At a personal cost of $100,000, he was able to bring them to Australia after they hurriedly fled to Jordan in 2014, leaving behind not just possessions but the food in the fridge.
Al Maraee had moved to Sydney nearly a decade earlier. He was targeted by al-Qaeda for working alongside the invading forces in the Iraqi capital's green zone. An anti-tank missile was fired into his house while his wife, Sabba, and youngest son, Fahad, were inside. Al Maraee didn't think twice. He packed up his family of six, headed for the border, and within months was accepted as part of Australia's humanitarian refugee program.
He was able to bring out his extended family, including a brother-in-law and niece, through another program a pilot scheme for community sponsorship of refugees.
"Yeah, of course, no problem. What's it about? It is something sensitive?" "Just read the email, and let me know," she said impatiently. "Call me when you're done." I logged on to my email. This place was full of crazy people who would rip apart someone like my sweet, beautiful wife who, let me remind you, wasnt crazy at all. She just hadnt slept. Dear Jill
I wanted to follow up from our meeting about forecasting for the next quarter. As I'm still new to this company and position, I'm struggling a bit to keep up with the assignment. I hope this isn't a problem, and that we can find more time to talk about it. Thanks Giulia "It's fine, Giulia," I said when I called her back. "It's polite and totally fine. It doesn't sound like a big deal." "You don't think it's too much? Like, I'm not capable of doing my job? I don't want her to think I can't handle this." She was impatient and cold, as though she were interrogating me.
"No, not at all, it's totally fine, Giulia. You should go ahead and send it." She sighed. "Are you sure? I worked on this for the last hour." "It's a great email, Giulia." "Okay." And then she hung up. Giulia's calls became more frequent and more frantic. She forwarded me several email drafts a day, most only a sentence or two. They took her hours to write. Her anxiety about what to say in an email monopolised her day. She was assigned projects, and didn't know where to start and laboured all day over how to write an email of a few sentences long to ask a question about the assignment.
"Come on, Giulia," I begged her over dinner, as she sat sullenly, picking at her food, not saying much. "What's going on?" I had been asking her this every day for a week, each time sounding more exasperated, and each time, Giulia shut down. I couldn't stand the defeat of the silence, so I compulsively kept talking about letting bad thoughts go, being in the moment, staying positive, not giving up, all the weary platitudes. I cleaned the kitchen as she watched in silence. Only a few weeks earlier we had blasted music for our dishwashing dance parties, one of our favourite chores together. Now she was a silent, isolated spectator. Even our favourite songs couldn't bring her back to me. We got ready for bed. I followed her into the bathroom and slowly rubbed her neck as she brushed her teeth and took out her contacts. When she finished, we got under the covers together and I cradled her body, my fingers caressing her earlobes, one of her favourite ways to be cuddled. I felt her breathing slow down and the muscles in her body relax. But she couldn't fall asleep. Three weeks into her job, I jolted awake in the middle of the night to hear Giulia shouting in Italian in a different room. I rushed out of bed to see what was going on. Giulia was in the kitchen, Skyping with her mom in Italy who, at nine hours ahead, was in her mid-morning routine. "What's going on in here?" I mumbled, squinting at the fully lit kitchen. It was 2am. Giulia craned her neck to face me. "I can't sleep. I'm just talking to my mom."
"Come on, Giulia, let's get to sleep," I said, waving vaguely at the camera. Giulia's mom backed me up: Giulia needed sleep. In our bedroom, I pulled her close under the covers. I asked yet again what was wrong, trying to coax out the words that might help give shape to what was happening. I forced myself to be gentle, to mask any hint of frustration, but she still had nothing to say. She was becoming too lost in the anxiety to step back to examine it. I instinctively began to rub her neck and earlobes again, while whispering that she was doing a great job, and tried to get her to focus on her breathing. The truth is, I didn't know what else to do. Her anxiety had been brewing for a few weeks now. Each day felt like a steady escalation of tensions, and I was losing my patience and energy. Her barrage of forwarded emails and desperate phone calls over trivial work matters was dominating my life. At home, she wasn't interested in dinner. At night, she was restless and agitated, and I didn't understand why she couldn't just relax and sleep. We downloaded guided meditations, lit scented candles, played the sound of waves. None of it worked. At the time of Giulia's breakdown, author Mark Lukash had known her for nine years. 'She had always exuded confidence. I could always count on her thriving at work,' he writes. Credit:Courtesy of Mark Lukach Giulia began to call in sick to work. She even agreed to see a psychiatrist but was offended by the initial diagnosis of depression. Depression didn't happen to someone like her. This was just a minor setback. The psychiatrist prescribed sleeping pills and antidepressants. Giulia had no intention of taking them. Regardless, she had the scripts filled at the local pharmacy and brought them home. When she set them on the table, she joked that I should make sure to hide the pills in the morning, because since she was so depressed, what if she took them all? We laughed uneasily.
That night we sleepwalked through the same failed ritual, more hours of trying to calm Giulia to sleep, to no avail. In the morning, I woke up late and rushed out the door to get to school on time. I completely forgot about the medicines, which remained where we had left them the night before on the dining-room table. I came home from work and Giulia was Skyping with her mom, who seemed to be glaring at me through the computer. I had no idea what was going on until Giulia said to me, "You left the pills out." "I did?" I asked innocently. "Oh yeah, that's right, you did ask. I'm sorry I forgot." "Well, don't forget any more," Giulia's mom said to me. "Hide them like she asked you to." It wasn't until later, after dinner, as we were getting ready for bed, that I learned it was a very big deal that I had left the pills out. Giulia told me that when she woke up that morning, she saw the pills and sat down at the dining room table to study the orange jars. She shook them out into her palm to test their weight. And she thought about taking all of them.
"But I wanted to call my mom first," she told me as I listened in horrified silence. "So I Skyped her and told her that I was thinking of taking all the pills, and she begged me not to. So we kept talking until you got home." Giulia's mom had stayed on Skype for six hours, stuck on the other side of a computer screen on the other side of the world, refusing to let Giulia hang up until I came home. This changed everything. I asked Giulia to stay in our bedroom with the door closed, and I took the pills and went around the house for a few minutes, opening and closing drawers in each room to make as much sound as I could to make it hard for her to know where I hid them, the worst game of hide-and- seek I had ever played. Giulia's dad, Romeo, dropped everything and flew out to California. I breathed a sigh of relief. There had been almost a month of Giulia's faltering stability, and now I could go off to work and know that she was safe with family. She had unofficially put herself on sick leave and went to bed with little to no expectation of going to work the next day, so father and daughter spent their days together walking the beach, riding bikes, talking about work, and life, and balance, and happiness. And nothing helped. Giulia and Mark Lukach. 'Giulia had shocked me with her beauty from the first moment I saw her,' Mark says. Credit:Courtesy of Mark Lukach Even away from work, Giulia's anxiety grew. She went from restless sleep to no sleep at all. She stopped eating. The colour drained from her skin. It was like watching her vanish right before my eyes.
One morning, when I woke up, Giulia sat calmly at the foot of our bed. "I talked to God last night, Mark," she told me. I couldn't hide the scepticism in my voice. "Really?" I said. "I did, and he talked back," she said. "His voice was so loud and clear. I thought it was going to wake you up. He said that everything is going to be all right. We are going to figure this out." "Well, that's good to hear," I said for her benefit, but nothing about this felt good. Giulia had never talked like this before. The next morning, when I woke up, Giulia was pacing around the bedroom, mouthing thoughts to herself. "Good morning, honey. How did you sleep?" I asked.
"I talked to the Devil last night, Mark," she said, speaking very loudly and quickly. "He said everything is not going to be okay. He said that there is no way out of this. I can't be saved. I'm not worth saving." She was very matter-of-fact about this, as if reading the weather forecast, but with a rushed intensity. I jumped out of bed and pulled her close to my chest. "Giulia, you're totally worth it," I whispered back to her. "There is no Devil talking to you. It's just you and me." "But you were asleep! You didn't hear what I heard!" She was growing desperate for me to believe her, but I couldn't pretend any more that hearing God and the Devil was no big deal. "I didn't hear what you heard because the Devil isn't real, Giulia. He's not tormenting you. This is all in your mind." With that, Giulia exploded. "You don't believe me? That the Devil is here to get me? Fine, whatever, get out of my face. This is all going to be over soon anyway."
I left our room and crossed the hallway to the guest room, where Romeo slept. "I think we need to take her to the hospital," I told him. He agreed. We went into the living room. "Giulia, we need to get you some help," I said. "We are worried and don't know what to do. We want to take you to the hospital." "No! Don't waste your time. The Devil said I'm not worth it." "Please, Giulia," Romeo said. "We want to get you help to feel better." Giulia backed away from us. "Leave me alone!" she shouted as we slowly approached her, cornering her in the front entrance.
Finally Romeo and I grimaced at each other, knowing what we had to do. He grabbed her around the legs, and I scooped her under her armpits, and we carried her down the hallway. She shrieked and reached out wildly for anything to hold her back and latched on to the hallway bathroom doorknob. I pried her fingers individually while she tried to squirm her body free. Romeo and I worked in silence, overpowered by the fierce sound of Giulia's resistance. I caught a glimpse of Romeo's face and saw that he was sobbing, and only when I saw his face did I realise how much I was crying, too. After six hours at the ER, we were shooed away with nothing but a prescription for a different sleeping pill, a better antidepressant and a Contract for Safety ("If you're ever feeling like you might hurt yourself, you have to tell Mark about it," the social worker told Giulia). I was hoping for more guidance from professionals whose help we needed. Or at least a different type of medication, one that would deal with these new obsessions with God and the Devil. Maybe this was the only help they could provide, but I felt abandoned all the same. Mark Lukach, Giulia, their son Jonas, and bulldog, Goose, in a park in San Francisco last September. Credit:Alex Souza Giulia's mother Mariarita arrived the next night. She pretended to be happy with us all together, but her worry was palpable. I alone couldn't help Giulia. Romeo hadn't stopped things from escalating, either. It was now a full-court press, all three of us in the house to love Giulia back to health. When Giulia and I married, I nicknamed Mariarita "Suoc", short for suocera, Italian for mother-in-law. She loved the name and wore it proudly in front of her friends. Suoc was now here, in full mama-bear mode, and wanted to sleep with Giulia, so mother and daughter settled in the guest room. Romeo slept in our bed.
I took the couch. I collapsed in the living room, but took a little while to drift off. With Giulia's parents there to help, I should have felt relief, but instead I felt like I had been exiled to the couch. Their little girl was in crisis and needed support and protection and her surfer dude husband wasn't equipped to do the job. I felt defensive and petulant. Eventually, I drifted into the first solid night's sleep I'd had in six weeks. Then, at 7am the next morning, Romeo jolted me awake. "We need to go back to the hospital," he said. I jumped up, pulled on pants and found Giulia pacing around the guest room, her mom upright on the bed, eyes wide open and full of tears, shaking her head in disbelief. Her terror was obvious. "Mark, the Devil was here last night. But don't worry. I protected my mom. I protected you. I protected all of you guys. I stayed awake and the Devil is still here, but can't get you because I am here." Giulia was babbling. "I need to get out of here. It's over, and worthless to fix things." This time Giulia didn't fight getting into the car or resist going into the ER. We drove back to the same hospital and went through the same admission process with many of the same people from two days before. A nurse hooked Giulia right back up on an IV drip of Ativan to calm her down.
After 30 minutes, she began to settle in the hospital bed. Suoc sat at the foot of the mattress, Romeo took the chair and I sat on the floor, my back against the wall. We were all lost, silent, sunk in our own worlds. None of us could do anything. Over the past six weeks, we had steadily ramped up our attention and focus on Giulia, Skyping and praying and meditating and holding her in our arms, but we hadn't helped her. It was almost as if her slide into psychosis was inevitable and that no matter what we did, she still had no appetite, couldn't sleep, heard voices in the night and remained fixated on heaven and hell. "Mark, I am the Devil," she whispered through the fog of Ativan. After hours of waiting, four people appeared in the hospital room, and my world erupted. Everything seemed to happen at the same time. It all felt out of reach, and the best I could do was hurry to keep up. Four people loaded Giulia onto a stretcher to wheel her into an ambulance that would transport her to a hospital with a psych ward on the other side of the city where there was an available bed. Suoc went in the ambulance with Giulia and I sprinted three blocks to the parking garage to get the car, Romeo chasing behind me. The ambulance was already out of sight by the time we pulled away from the ER, so we sped across the city to the hospital on our own. Reaching the psych ward, we stepped off the elevator into a new world. The entirety of the walls were glass windows, and almost all the blinds were pulled. The waiting room was about eight feet by ten feet, the floor a bland, greenish tile, with a few beaten-up vinyl chairs sagging along the perimeter. Mariarita was collapsed in one of the chairs, hair dishevelled, hands clasping each other for something to hold on to. She had just landed the night before. She had cried so much already that now her body shook, but no sounds or tears came out. The waiting room was an enclosed fortress in the middle of the ward. Chaos swirled around it. The only bridge between the fortress and the chaos was a single glass door. No one greeted us in the waiting room. No warm, comforting smile, no pat on the hand. Instead just those glass windows with blinds pulled and a few signs printed on white paper, hastily taped up. Visitors are advised that they are not permitted to bring ANY of the following objects when they visit a patient: weapons, sharp objects, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, cameras, anything with drawstrings (sweatshirts, shoes).
Visiting hours are from 78:30pm. Saturday and Sunday there are also visiting hours from 121pm. Directly across from the doorway was the nurses' station, a stout counter at least six metres long. I craned my neck to the left to the end of the nurses' station and I saw Giulia. She was sitting in a chair across from a nurse with a clipboard. Giulia was in the hospital robe that they had given her in the ER, her glasses on, her shoulders held upright in a perfect balance, as if she were balancing a textbook on her head. I tapped on the glass again, louder. I wanted to reassure Giulia that she was okay, that the people were there to help her. She looked up, saw me, and looked away, returning her focus to the nurse at her side. I sat back down. "What's going on, Suoc? What happened?" I asked my mother-in-law. "Nothing," she replied with her thick accent. "They brought her up here while you parked the car and now we're here. What can I say?" "What did the nurses say?"
"They didn't say anything to me. They took Giulia inside and closed the door and that is it. Nothing." I felt so much of everything and had so much to say, but I didn't know where to start, and no one was listening to me anyway. She doesn't belong here. You take care of her or I'm going to sue you for everything this hospital is worth. Give her the best room. She doesn't like heavy carbs with her meals. If any of the patients even tries to touch her, I will fucking kill them. My heart raced, my fingers twitched, my stomach hurt. My saliva tasted bitter, as if I were going to vomit. I walked back to the glass door to look at Giulia's new world. A pale, gaunt man with thinning gray hair and a jean jacket hovered near her. He looked to be in his late 40s, and his movements were painfully slow. We made eye contact for a flash of a second, and I was terrified of what he might do to my wife, the two of them locked away from me on the other side of a glass door. There was a big guy in his 20s, well over six feet tall and probably more than 110 kilograms, with frumpy brown hair matted as though he had been lying in bed for days. He shuffled in and out of view, his pants sagging underneath his hospital gown, revealing the top of his bare ass. He saw Giulia, and saw me at the door, and flashed me a confident smirk. He scared me most of all.
What the fuck had we done? Where had we taken Giulia? This place was full of crazy people who would rip apart someone like my sweet, beautiful wife who, let me remind you, wasn't crazy at all. She just hadn't slept. She was stressed out. She just needed to sleep. Finally, one of the nurses stood up from her seat behind the station and walked over to the glass door. She surveyed all the patients to make sure they were at least six feet away. She inserted one key into the doorknob and then a second key into a lock on the wall. With two keys in place, the door buzzed, and she pulled it open and stepped briskly into the waiting room. I jumped up to meet her. Suoc and Romeo stayed on the chairs behind me. "What do you want?" the nurse asked coldly. "Uh, what do you mean?" I said. "We just dropped off my wife, Giulia. She's there talking to a nurse, and uh, we, uh, have some "
"I know you dropped her off. So what do you want?" "Well," I said, taking a deep breath. "What is going to happen? This has never happened to us before." The nurse rolled her eyes, irritated. "Your wife is clearly psychotic and delusional. She has been brought here on a 5150 and so " "A 5150? What does that mean?" I said. "And what's psychotic?" I thought of psychopath and psycho killer. Did they think she was going to hurt somebody? "A 5150 means she's been involuntarily checked in here, and so she needs to stay at least 72 hours, as required by law. The visiting hours are posted."
"I know, but it's so short, only 7 to 8.30pm. Can't I visit her during the rest of the day?" "No. You've obviously had a long day. I suggest you go home and come back tomorrow to visit her." "But can we go and see her room?" "No, we need to process her and get set up, and that is best done alone, away from the family." I didn't like being called "the family". I started panicking. "Wait, please. Please. You don't understand " I was croaking. "Please. Can I at least say goodbye to her?"
If she had to stay there, I at least wanted to go to Giulia and hold her hands and look her in the eyes and kiss her forehead and tell her to be strong and that there is so much love in the world that will lift her up out of this darkness. "Please," I begged. "Please. I didn't say goodbye to her." "It's up to her," the nurse said, finally cracking. "I'll go ask if she wants to talk to you. But she has rights. Otherwise, we'll see you tomorrow." The nurse crossed back into the other world and I stood at the door, my hands and face pressed against the glass. Giulia watched me. She sat so still and upright, trying to hide her fragility. The nurse approached her and asked her something as she gestured back to the door where I was peering in. Giulia shook her head: no. Edited extract from My Lovely Wife: A Memoir of Madness and Hope, by Mark Lukach (Bluebird, $33), in shops on Tuesday.
For more than a decade Schapelle Corby has been a regular fixture in our lounge rooms, whether it be her face on the television or in a magazine, or her name being mentioned on the radio.
She, along with her extended family, have become fully fledged celebrities and Schapelle is now a name we instantly recognise.
Over the past few weeks Australians have become equally familiar with another young woman, Cassandra Sainsbury. Just like Schapelle, we had a young Australian woman behind bars in a foreign prison accused of smuggling drugs.
The need to come up with a pictogram representing an insulin pen presented difficulties and six possibilities were tested via social media. "It becomes this embattled place, where the person and the health professional get into this cycle of totally inappropriate therapeutic relationships." Earlier this year, responding to the enormity of the problem, the Skinners combined their expertise to create a start-up and launch a diabetes treatment method they hope will prove to be a game-changer for all involved. The full range of emojis are as close to universal as the Skinners can get after extensive testing on social media. Called Emojifit, it is an app that aims for two revolutionary outcomes.
First, it allows each person with diabetes to make his or her own decisions about treatment and management priorities an approach that conventional wisdom holds to be risky. Australian professors and husband and wife team Timothy and Isabelle Skinner. Their program is working, albeit as an oily rag start-up. To understand the complexity of this challenge, think of the eggplant emoji on your phone. To you it might represent a vegetable. To your neighbour it might suggest a penis. Second and perhaps more significantly it attempts to do this by the use of emojis and pictograms rather than written text, to give this power to anyone, regardless of literacy level or language. This turned out to be nowhere near as straightforward as it seemed.
Timothy and Isabelle Skinner have developed an app for non-English-speaking patients to manage their diabetes. Pictograms have been around for thousands of years think of Aboriginal rock art, for instance and emojis have lately flooded digital communications platforms. Most of the latter, though, didn't express what the Skinners needed simple images to represent, among other things, food, alcohol, unhappiness, pain, kidney disease, clogged arteries, exercise, medication and erectile dysfunction. And they needed them to be instantly clear and unambiguous to sick people in the Northern Territory, Azerbaijan and Papua New Guinea, all at once. To understand the complexity of this challenge, think of the eggplant emoji on your phone. To you it might represent a vegetable. To your neighbour it might suggest a penis.
Even facial expression emojis can be unclear, although there are a handful that translate across borders and language groups. "The particular emojis we use of the face are part of a validated scale, and they are different from ones that are just funny," explains Isabelle. The validation arises from research done in the 1990s by US psychologist Paul Ekman, who determined that there are six facial expressions common across all cultures. They represent anger, happiness, surprise, disgust, sadness and fear. "We are only using two of the universal emojis," Tomothy says. "The sad one is the obvious one, as we are engaging people with their depression and how this negatively impacts on people's ability to manage their diabetes. We are also using a graded version of this as a marker of confidence, moving from depression to happiness."
The second universal, he adds, is the "happy face", used in the context of praise. All other emojis and pictograms on the app have been developed by the Skinners, working with an in-house designer. Drafts are run past the project's more than 200,000 Facebook followers. User feedback is critical. Recently, for example, there was a need to come up with a pictogram representing an insulin pen, a portable injection device used for diabetes management. Six possibilities were floated to the Facebook group each involving a cartoon medicine bottle and a syringe. All were rejected, with reasons ranging from: that some could be interpreted as warnings against using the device; or that the medicine bottle looked like it contained poison; or that it was all just too old-fashioned. The Skinners have, quite literally, gone back to the drawing board. The visual problem is that while the devices function as syringes, most of them actually look like pens but a pictogram of a pen will very likely be interpreted as something to do with writing.
The issues they are encountering are increasingly common, and ironic. Pictograms, by definition, function to circumvent language and convey meaning in a visual form. Just what that meaning is, however, turns out to be strongly influenced by culture. Not everyone speaks emoji. This is despite a rigid classification system for the smiley faces and hands and bits of food and so on that is universally employed across every communication platform. Each emoji is accorded what's known as a Unicode number. The rendering may differ slightly between Google and Samsung, but Unicode 1F634, for instance, will always be a head with the snores coming out, the pictogram for sleeping. In 2016, a group of researchers from the University of Minnesota recruited over 300 volunteers and gave each of them several dozen emojis to interpret. The researchers asked whether each was positive, negative, or neutral.
They discovered that interpretations varied, sometimes wildly, 25 per cent of the time. The rendering of U-1F612, for instance, defined as "unamused face" was interpreted as "disappointment", "depressing", "unimpressed" and "suspicious". Another, defined as "blissfully happy", was interpreted as "ready to fight". "There is an issue regarding the universality of emotions, but what we've been doing is consulting with our social media platform," says Timothy. "We ask our users to identify which pictograms convey the right meaning, but also don't have any other negative associations. "The social media platform is crucial to engage people in that dialogue. And I envisage that as we engage more people in more countries using the app, some of our emojis will be tweaked and evolve until we have more universality. But the ones we've got at the moment are as universal as we can get."
Emojifit was built using two design suites owned by Apple and offered free to scientists and healthcare workers. One of the conditions made by the tech giant is that every visual element must have a fallback spoken word function, to enable use by sight-impaired people. This was particularly useful for a diabetes app, because sight damage and blindness are common symptoms of the disease. It did, however, throw up a familiar problem, related to the demographics of the condition. Smaller language groups are proportionately more at risk, yet practically less likely to be able to access health information in their own tongues. Accordingly, over the past couple of months the Skinners have self-funded a quest to find translators for as many Indigenous language groups as possible. Aboriginal communities, especially those in which English is not commonly spoken, are hit disproportionately hard by type 2 diabetes. Often, notes Isabelle Skinner, the condition is not detected by visiting health workers until blindness manifests.
Nearly one third of the 545 Australians currently imprisoned or facing charges overseas were convicted or arrested for drug-related crimes, according to the latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Many are in countries where conviction on drug charges may attract the death penalty.
Antonio Bagnato, now on death row, after his arrest in Cambodia in December. Credit:Kampuchea Thmey Daily
DFAT figures on open consular cases show that as of May 24, 102 (or 41 per cent) of the 246 Australians languishing in overseas jails were convicted on drug charges, and 68 (or 23 per cent) of the 299 Australians arrested overseas were arrested on drugs charges. They come as convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby returns to Australia, having completed her sentence in an Indonesian jail.
While Corby's is perhaps the most high-profile case of an Australian facing the death penalty, a Fairfax Media analysis shows that since 1980 at least 92 Australians have been charged with crimes that attract the death penalty.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has cautiously responded to Indigenous leaders' calls for a constitutionally enshrined "voice" to parliament, warning that Australians are "conservative" about constitutional change.
Speaking at a lunch at Crown on Saturday to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1967 referendum, Mr Turnbull thanked Indigenous leaders who agreed on a historic declaration at Uluru on Friday to reject a minimalist version of constitutional recognition of Indigenous people. But he gave a thinly veiled warning that their more ambitious recommendation would face challenges in a nation in which referendums have historically been defeated.
The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull watches a traditional Torres Straight islander dance at the The National Reconciliation Week Luncheon. Credit:Chris Hopkins
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, speaking at the same gathering, also did not specifically endorse the Uluru statement, but urged Australians to consider the calls with an "open mind".
A NSW police officer has been charged over an alleged domestic violence incident involving a teenage girl in Sydney's west.
Emergency services were called to a home in Blacktown just before 4pm on Friday afternoon following reports that a teenage girl had been assaulted.
Police from Mt Druitt Local Area Command arrested the 39-year-old senior constable and charged him with two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
The teenage girl is assisting police with their inquiries.
The officer is attached to a local area command in the South West Metropolitan Region, a police spokesperson confirmed on Saturday.
A garbage collector responding to a resident's call to their local council has been confronted by the grisly sight of a man's body stuffed into a wheelie bin.
Police have been on the scene at Butler Street, Preston, after a Darebin City Council worker made the discovery on Saturday morning.
The bin had been dumped in Melbourne's inner north from somewhere else, police say.
Police brought out the body, wrapping it in blue tarpaulin. The top half of the body was clad in a white tee-shirt soaked in blood.
A surfer has died after being pulled from the water at a popular Mornington Peninsula beach on Saturday.
Des Watson, 65, of Armstrong Creek, was competing in a Kneeboard Surfing Victoria event at Gunnamatta beach when he was hit in the head with his board, police said.
Surfer Des Watson drowned after being hit on the head with his own board. Credit:7NEWS Melbourne
He was dragged unconscious from the water near Truemans Road at Fingal shortly before 11am.
Emergency services tried to resuscitate Mr Watson but he died at the scene.
By India Today Web Desk: Jammu and Kashmir government has lifted the month-long ban on 22 media sites and applications in Kashmir.
The ban on social media sites was lifted around 8:30 in the evening yesterday, an official said.
Jammu and Kashmir government had ordered suspension of internet services in the trouble-hit valley for a period of one month or till further orders.
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In an order, the Home Department had directed all ISP's that "any message or class of messages to or from any persons or class of persons relating to any subject or any pictorial content through the following social networking sites shall not be transmitted in the Kashmir valley for a period of one month or till further orders."
As per the government directive, social networking sites suspendeded included Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, QQ, WeChat, Ozone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reditt, Snapfish, YouTube (Upload), Vine, Xanga and Flickr.
The state home department invoked powers conferred on it under Indian Telegraph Act and Information Technology Act to suspend the internet services, the officials said.
WHY WERE THE SERVICES SNAPPED
The mobile internet services in Kashmir were snapped following widespread student protests in the valley against alleged highhandedness of security forces.
The government had said that the continued misuse of social networking sites and instant messaging services are likely to be detrimental to the interests of peace and tranquility in the state.
The move was criticised by a lot of people who said that this is a blatant act by the government to block communication.
3G and 4G mobile internet service were also suspended earlier when widespread students' protests rocked the Valley after the Pulwama government college assault by forces in which 54 students were injured.
On April 9, the internet was suspended when by-polls were held for Srinagar parliament seat, and on April 13 when re-polls were held in 38 polling stations where no voting could be held due to protests and killings of 8 civilians in Budgam and Ganderbal districts.
Also Read:
Internet suspended in Jammu and Kashmir for a month over student protests
Kashmir: Government likely to ban social media in Valley
Also Watch:
Kashmir: 3G, 4G mobile internet services suspended following fresh violence
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A new tourist attraction planned for South Perth foreshore will rob Sir James Mitchell Park of beloved community space, according to the local ratepayers' association.
"The City of South Perth wants to build an unneeded facility right in the middle of Sir James Mitchell Park, that would not only rob the park of more than 2000 square metres of existing open space, but create an architectural eyesore in the centre of the suburb's greatest natural asset," said spokeswoman Cecilia Brooke.
An artist's impression of the Westralian Centre. Credit:City of South Perth
"Plans are to convince federal and state governments and private investors to provide $7 million for a project named Westralian Centre, that will replicate already existing exhibition space across Perth.
"So far, the council is yet to satisfactorily explain why such a project is necessary or why it wants to develop a facility that will have a permanent impact on the outstanding visual appeal of one of Australia's most pristine and appealing parkland areas."
So desperate were the media to capture every moment of this cultural phenomenon, one local journalist toppled off the wall surrounding the parole office with a sickening thud. Mercedes Corby shields her sister Schapelle, who has her face covered, in the car taking her to the parole office. Credit:Amilia Rosa As TV reporters reminisced live on air about the first time they heard of a Gold Coast beauty called Schapelle, Corby left for the airport. She was ushered into the airport through a gate usually reserved for the airforce. Pictures obtained by Fairfax Media show a radiant looking Corby about to embark on the rest of her life. Schapelle Corby leaves her home of three years. Credit:Amilia Rosa
Earlier, Bali corrections chief Surung Pasaribu said if everyone worked calmly, Corby's escort would proceed calmly. He said when Corby arrived at the parole office she needed only to sign some documents and then the papers would be handed over to the immigration chief at Bali's Ngurah Rai airport. Armed police vehicles complete a practice run to the parole offices in Denpasar, where Corby will sign papers before being deported. Credit:James Brickwood Mr Surung said Indonesians upheld human rights. "We do not hate any person, if we don't like a person then we pray for that person, that it won't happen again and they repent. God also wants a person who did wrong to return to the right path." He said the parole office did not need to provide an escort but had received a request for assistance, including from the Australian Consulate to "save my citizen".
Schapelle Corby at At Ngurah Rai airport, Denpasar, Indonesia. "If the family asked for help to secure their family member in Indonesia, for security from home, the parole office, and immigration, that's fair," he said For weeks Bali officials had been insisting Corby was no one special and her long-awaited deportation back to Australia would be "SOP" - the acronym commonly used here for standard operating procedure. But with 275 Denpasar and Kuta police officers deployed to shepherd the Australian locally known as the "Ganja queen" through a frenzied media pack, things were never going to be SOP.
Drones buzzed overhead as the Polisi vehicles drove past, blue lights flashing, in the narrow Denpasar street. While Corby had remained holed up in her Kuta villa on 'D-day', as it was known here, anticipation built to a fever pitch. "Schapelle is holding up well, it's going to be a big day," Corby's fiercely protective sister Mercedes told Fairfax Media through a family friend. Tiny mundanities had been blown up into headline news in recent days - an "exclusive" of Corby peeking through a gap, a bucket of soapy water thrown over the fence onto a channel seven camera man, the prison doctor conducting a final health check. "Is Schapelle pregnant?" one reporter breathlessly asked Dr Agung Hartawan, who had not even checked her physically after Corby said she was "sehat", the Indonesian word for healthy.
Denpasar police spokesman Sugriwo said about 200 officers had been preparing for several days. "We will have officers from traffic, mass control, intelligence officers in plain clothes, regular officers in uniform," he told Fairfax Media. "We will anticipate the maximum, to ensure the process runs smoothly and we avoid any possible disturbances," he said. Corby was accompanied by bodyguard to the stars John McLeod, who has provided security for Leonard Cohen, Roger Federer and the Dalai Lama. Now 39, she arrived in Bali almost 13 years ago to celebrate her sister Mercedes' 30th birthday. But the celebrations turned to hell when she was arrested at Bali's international airport with 4.2 kilograms of marijuana.
She was sentenced to 20 years jail, but served only nine behind bars, after being granted remissions and had five years shaved off her sentence by former Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. She also became one of the few foreigners in Bali to be allowed to spend three years on parole, after the Balinese husband of her sister Mercedes agreed to act as guarantor. She is understood to have misgivings about leaving Bali, especially as it will mean leaving behind her boyfriend, Sumatran paddle boarder Ben Panangian and her two dogs. Mr Panangian, whom she met in Kerobokan jail, has drug convictions and is unlikely to pass the character test required to get a visa to Australia. Last month, Corby asked Bali corrections chief Surung Pasaribu when she could return to Indonesia.
London: Former US president Barack Obama offered his condolences to the victims of the Manchester suicide bombing on Saturday when he met Britain's Prince Harry.
Prince Harry was hosting Obama at his London home, Kensington Palace, to discuss military veterans, mental health issues and empowering young people.
Prince Harry met with former US President Barack Obama at Kensington Palace. Credit:Handout
The meeting also gave him an opportunity to pass on his sympathies following Monday's attack at a pop concert in Manchester which left 22 dead and more than 100 injured.
"Good to see my friend Prince Harry in London to discuss the work of our foundations & offer condolences to victims of the Manchester attack," Obama said on Twitter.
Bali: The media - so loathed by Schapelle Corby during her dark days in jail - got its comeuppance on Saturday, with the convicted drug smuggler hoodwinking it to the end with a canny flight swap.
Corby had been booked on Virgin flight VA46 - a photo of her boarding pass, seat 1A, was even circulated on social media.
But at the bitter end she boarded a marginally earlier Malindo flight to Brisbane, leaving a plane full of miffed photographers on the Virgin flight.
New York: Donald Trump continued to distance himself from fellow leaders over climate change at the Group of Seven summit, and said he'll determine next week whether to pull the US out of the Paris climate agreement.
"I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week," the President said in a Twitter post on Saturday.
Trump, who for months has delayed a decision on the climate agreement, made his announcement at the conclusion of the G-7 summit in Taormina, Italy.
The US broke from the other six nations in a joint statement issued at the summit's conclusion, saying America is reviewing its climate policies while the other G-7 members remain committed to the Paris agreement.
Taormina: Prime Minister Theresa May accused rival Jeremy Corbyn of saying that Britain had brought terrorism upon itself, in an unusually personal attack that thrust the Manchester bombing into the centre of an election campaign less than two weeks before the vote.
The verbal assault was made all the more unusual by the setting.
May was at the Group of Seven in Sicily discussing global affairs with fellow leaders after campaigning had been suspended for three days. The mud-slinging marked May's own return to electioneering after a series of opinion polls showed her once dominant lead evaporating.
"I have been here today at the G-7 working with other international leaders to fight terrorism. At the same time Jeremy Corbyn has said that terror attacks in Britain are our own fault and he's chosen to do that just a few days after one of the worst terror atrocities we have experience in the UK," she said before leaving the summit early to return to London.
The United States has confirmed that it will aim to shoot down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in a test on Tuesday, in preparation for the growing threat emanating from North Korea.
The aim of the test is to more closely simulate a North Korean missile aimed at the US homeland, officials said on Saturday.
North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has vowed to develop a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking American territory. Credit:AP
Coming at a time of heightened tension between the US and North Korea, the test is the first time the US will try to intercept an ICBM.
While Pyongyang is some years away from mastering the techniques required for a successful ICBM launch, North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, has vowed to develop a nuclear-armed missile capable of striking American territory.
I am proud to be a Guyanese but I chose St. Maarten as my home
PHILIPSBURG:--- About 1,500 persons witnessed the grand opening of Motorworld state of the art showroom which officially opened on Friday, May 26th, 2017 (On Guyanas 51st Independence.)
Among those that attend the grand and spectacular ceremony were dignitaries from both sides of the island, Prime Minister William Marlin, Governor Eugene Holiday, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams President of the Collectivity of St. Martin Daniel Gibbes, MP,s Frans Richardson, Franklin Meyers, George Pantophlet, Hyacinth Richardson, Silvio Matser, Rodolphe Samuel,Claret Connor Ministers Silveria Jacobs, Rafaeal Boasman, Christopher Emmanuel, Emil Lee, Richard Gibson Sr., Vice Presidents Valerie Damaseau, Steven Patrick and Territorial Councillor Alain Richardson and many others.
Also, there were many business people from both sides of the island who joined the Amjads in celebrating another one of their accomplishments in the business community on St. Maarten.
Speakers include Prime Minister William Marlin, President of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams, President of the COM Danielle Gibbes, first VP Valerie Damaseau, MP Frans Richardson, MP Franklin Meyers, Hyundai Deputy General Manager for Central America and the Caribbean Taewon Choi, Lee Da Silva from Honda Product Planning and Marketing Manager, and ICT Regional manager for Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge/RAM Jeremy Hart.
Each of the speakers congratulated the Amjads for believing in St. Maarten, their determination to succeed and their continued support and investing in St. Maartens economy and in several social programs, foundations, and associations.
The Amjads Imran and Farina Amjad along with their oldest son Reza Amjad migrated from Guyana to St. Maarten almost 40 years ago where they began their journey of success.
The Amjads has dominated the auto dealership industry even though they only entered the auto dealership in 2004 when they bought Marshals Motors and rebranded it to Motorworld, they are also the owners of Caribbean Auto, and car rental companies such as Thrifty Dollar.
While most of the work and credit was given to the Iron Lady Farina Rena Amjad and their youngest son Tariq Amjad for executing the construction of the new state of the art showroom that has placed St. Maarten as one of the countries that have the biggest showroom for Hyundai.
Farina Amjad in her remarks told the large gathering that when they bought Marshalls Motors in 2004 they were just rookies in the auto industry, they had almost no knowledge on how to order vehicles and spare parts but with determination she and her oldest son Reza who even missed his graduation worked diligently to rebrand and build the company that led them to purchase Caribbean Auto.
Mrs. Amjad spoke of the difficulties but also made clear that her family were determined to make every business they own grow successfully, she also gave lots of credit her staff whom she said are dedicate workers.She credited her son Tariq for taking on the responsibility to oversee the construction of the new showroom while managing Thrifty Dollar and Caribbean Auto and nurturing his young family. It is no doubt that the Amjads worked day and night to build the businesses they have starting with NAGICO Insurances and now the most dominant in the Auto Dealership Industry.
The main speaker for the evening was the Chairman of the Motorworld Group of Companies Imran Macsood Amjad who did not mingle with words when he reminded his guests that he is proud to be born in Guyana, and the grand opening of Motorworld Showroom opening took place on Guyanas 51st Independence anniversary. Amjad said he did not choose where he was born but the thing he did choose was where he and his family would make their home.
Mac as he is mostly known as also made clear to all those in attendance from government to the business sector that they need to learn that they must invest in their country in order for that country to develop. He said even when the economy of St. Maarten is on the downside, his family chose to invest millions in constructing one of the biggest, and modern showrooms in the world and mostly in the Caribbean.
In order to make your country successful, you need to invest even if its one dollar as that one dollar would spin around in many ways for the economy to strive. He said that the people of St. Maarten are resilient people because they survived the 1990s when the island was hit with at least 10 hurricanes the worst in 1995 hurricane Luis. It is because of their resilience and love for this country that St. Maarten is where it is today. Another message Mac had for the gathering was that despite all of what is said about St. Maartens politician whether French or Dutch there is one thing he knows for sure is that each one of the politicians loves their country dearly and that is one thing that has to be respected.
His son Tariq Amjad who thanked each and everyone for their hard work, and those that worked on the construction of the showroom also took some time out to admonish the business community on St. Maarten by asking them to clean up their place of businesses. He said all it needs is some paint and team effort, one has to remember that tourism is the countrys only economic pillar and when people visit this country they want to see a clean island with clean buildings while at the same time the people that patronize the businesses on St. Maarten will feel much more comfortable.
The young businessman also had a message for the Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr that there is no place like St. Maarten, this is one of the most beautiful islands but government must do more to promote St. Maarten in order to draw more people here.
Young Amjad said when he turns on his television he sees other Caribbean nations are promoting their islands even though they cannot compare to St. Maarten, but nowhere he sees St. Maarten. He said he was born on St. Maarten and can boast that he is from here and he also loves his country just like everyone else.
At the grand opening, the Amjads who is also well known for giving back to the St. Maarten community made some presentations to foundations that they have been supporting over the years. Among them were Conscious Lyrics Foundation, K1 Britannia, Rotary Sunrise, Manasseh Academy, and the French Baccalaureate program.
While the ceremony took a late start with lots of speakers, invited guests were comfortably seated and were served with snacks and beverages. The ribbon cutting was done by Mrs. Farina Amjad and Prime Minister William Marlin while the other family members and invited guests looked on.
Motorworld and Caribbean Auto will be having a sale the whole of next week where customers will get a discount and gifts as they purchase their new vehicle. While the Amjad's were clearly joyful at the opening ceremony of the master showroom, Mrs. Farina Amjad and her husband Imrad Amjad called their two sons and daugher in laws Manisha and Felisha to the podium and told them now that her husband has reached the golden age of 60 she will work less and their busnesses are now in their hands to manage.
Click here to view photos of the opening ceremony of Motorworld State of the Art Showroom
Some airlines abandoned passengers.
AIRPORT:--- Police and other law enforcement officers are at the Princess Juliana International Airport conducting a security search after receiving information that there is Bomb on a Jet Blue aircraft that came from Boston. At the moment the runway closed and the road leading towards PJIAE. All flights that were scheduled to land from 3 pm onwards have been redirected to San Juan until the searches of all Jet Blue flights are searched and clearance is given to reopen the runway for landings. SMN News learned that police received a phone call informing them of the bomb on the Jet Blue flight.
After a thorough search of all Jet Blue aircraft's that were parked at PJIAE nothing was found and the airport runway was reopened by airport security and police. However, several passengers suffered because of yet another hoax. Several flights coming from the US territory had to be diverted to San Juan Puerto Rico and Air France to Guadeloupe.
American Airlines flight 2219 that was scheduled to land at 3:15 diverted to San Juan but chose to bring their passengers back to St. Maarten once clearance was given to them. Seaborne Airlines dropped off their passengers in San Juan and rebooked them to travel from Miami to Anguilla and the St. Maarten passengers have to find their way to St. Maarten by boat. SMN News learned that some passengers who had monies had to pay as much as $300.00 to get on the flight to Anguilla on Saturday afternoon.
Another airline that did not show compassion was WINAIR who left one passenger stranded at PJIAE. The passenger told SMN News that she was on her way to the Airport when police closed off the road, she said when she got to the Airport WINAIR agents told her the flight was closed and they were unable to do anything for her since they were not responsible for the bomb threat and how passengers were affected. The female passenger said that her flight was still on the runway and as much as she pleaded with the agents they refused to offer her any assistance. The only thing the airline did she said was rebooked her for the first flight on Sunday morning at no cost.
SMN News called the CEO of WINAIR Michael Cleaver and asked him what sort of customer service his staff was offering to passengers, the island's visitors when none of the parties was responsible for the hoax and delay. Cleaver who was extremely upset because he felt he was scolded by SMN News reporter who was at PJIAE when the runway was closed off. Cleaver said WINAIR was not responsible for the delay and they had a certain time to reach other destinations before the airports at those destinations closed. He said the situation on Saturday after caused some chaos and created a hectic situation for his staff. Cleaver also maintained that WINAIR would not assist the passenger and that they only thing they did without charging her was rebook her flight at no cost.
In a statement from PJAIE, they said Just after 2 pm today (Saturday), the Central Dispatch in Philipsburg received notice of a bomb threat on a JetBlue flight, according to Police Spokesman Ricardo Hanson.
Emergency personnel was immediately dispatched to the airport, where the local authorities, who were leading the search and investigation, were assisted by representatives of PJIAE.
In the interest of the safety and security of all involved, the aircraft was isolated at the eastern part of the airport near the Causeway roundabout.
Onboard searches of the aircraft were conducted by the local search team and completed a few minutes ago. The aircraft has since been released by the authorities and activities at SXM Airport have resumed normal operation
Man in his 60's was severely beaten north of Montana Avenue
This pricey home north of Montana was not related in any way to the subject of this story.
Santa Monica Police say they are searching for two suspects in the severe beating of a resident during a possible home invasion robbery Monday North of Montana Avenue.
The assault occurred in the 500 block of 17th Street, just after 3 p.m. according to Lt. Saul Rodriguez, SMPD's Public Information Officer.
The victim was "assaulted pretty severely" and treated by paramedics at the scene, Rodriguez said. He was taken to a local hospital where he remains in serious condition.
Police are investigating the incident as a possible home invasion robbery, Rodriguez said, adding that the victim is a man in his 60's.
The Police Department issued a community alert on Tuesday that said it "will immediately be deploying additional officers in the community to address your safety concerns."
"We encourage all residents to remain vigilant and call the police if you see something or someone suspicious," the alert said.
"Due to the sensitivity of the investigation and condition of the victim, no additional information may be released at this time," Rodriguez said.
"Is this a General who is speaking or an auditor who is trying to save money? This order is nuts," was the message from someone bearing the brunt of the order.
By Jugal R Purohit: In Jalandhar, the erstwhile capital of Punjab, home to Indian Army's XI Corps formation, the Corps Commander, Lieutenant General BS Sahrawat has shot a directive ordering his staff to ensure that no air conditioners were installed in the offices in any unit including the COs office.
So as to further emphasize the seriousness of the matter, the directive has been tagged as 'most urgent'. The Lieutenant General sought that 'Commanders and Commanding Officers of the Div Troop Units' file a verbal compliance report followed by a written one. The deadline stated was May 18.
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The entire district, located on the 'intensively irrigated plain between the Beas and Sutlej rivers' is experiencing an intense heat wave. Predictably, the jury is out on the General's action.
"Is this a General who is speaking or an auditor who is trying to save money? This order is nuts," was the message from someone bearing the brunt of the order. A source with a ringside view of the developments said, "It is a very legitimate step. Some were going too comfortable. How can we have junior officers and jawans seeking air conditioners? Peace time training is also aimed to condition the mind and the body." Before concluding he berated the officers saying, 'chocolate soldiers' who had protest on their minds.
Located at an aerial distance of 96 km from the nearest point along the Indo-Pak International Border (IB), undoubtedly Jalandhar holds immense significance for the army's preparations.
However, the terse order from the Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Sahrawat isn't very specific. For example, it isn't clear if it is meant for troops and officers of a particular division (a Corps Commander generally would have three divisions under him) or does a Division Commander, who ranks below the Corps Commander too gives up the conditioning unit in his office? "Has the Corps Commander given up the air conditioning in his office to lead from the front?," asked someone.
"Such an order can't be very specific. The key is to understand the intent," explained a source.
--- ENDS ---
Not even the 81 degree heat could stop shoppers from enjoying the Annual Montana Avenue Sidewalk Sale on Saturday.
The Avenue was packed with families snapping up great bargains and gifts from their favorite stores and designers.
Families enjoyed ice cream treats, complimentary drinks, deserts, sushi rolls and even doggy treats were on hand as the shoppers browsed to the sound of the Montana Avenue drum circle.
Freebird ride App were also on hand to support by providing shoppers with a free ride to their favorite store.
"This was such a great day for our locals, tourists and shoppers, "said Montana Ave Chairman Ryan Ole Hass. "We look forward to this every year, it isn't just a day for shopping, it is a family experience for all to enjoy!"
For more information on Montana Avenue and upcoming events, please go to:
http://www.MontanaAve.com
Sheryl Aronson Actress Erin Gavin, celeb trainer Charlene Ciardiello, playmate Rosie Tenison and Producer Cindy Cowan at R + D.
Montana Avenue is home to two elementary schools, a public library, and a mile of about a hundred and fifty upscale stores, banks, real estate offices and restaurants. There are three Starbucks (one inside Pavilions) two of which are located between 7th St. and 9th St., and one Peet's Coffee and Tea among several independently owned cafes and coffee shops, including Caffe Luxxe and Primo Passo Coffee Company. The businesses on this street are generally boutiques with two national markets.
Montana Avenue is also honored with the 1939 landmark Aero Theater, built by Donald Douglas Company as a continuous around-the-clock movie theater. This is now a repertory theater operated by The American Cinematheque.
Every December and June the Montana Avenue Association hosts a neighborhood wide sale and festival where stores give holiday discounts, give free samples of food, or have clearance sales to make room for a new season of clothing. Montana Avenue is served by the 3M line of the Big Blue Bus.
Suspect had barricaded himself in the backyard of a home after invasion robbery, stabbing
Following a stabbing and home invasion, police report one suspect arrested and another possibly at large. Here, SWAT team members on 20th Street
Police ended a barricade situation in the 200 block of 20th Street on Friday evening. It followed a home invasion and stabbing at 21st Street and Carlyle, a couple of blocks away.
Police responding to a report of shots fired encountered one suspect, who fled into the backyard of a home in the 200 block of 20th Street and was immediately surrounded by officers. The man barricaded himself at the rear of the home but had no hostages, said Santa Monica police Lt. Saul Rodriguez.
"We are actively in negotiations with the suspect to try to call him out," Rodriguez said at about 8:45 p.m., shortly before the arrest. "We are trying to get the guy into custody as quickly and safely as possible." The SMPD were investigating a report that a second suspect had fled the scene by car.
The home invasion was reported in the area of 21st Street and Carlyle Avenue sometime before 6:40 p.m. According to Santa Monica police, at least two suspects broke into a home. During the course of the robbery, two people inside the home were hurt. Some witnesses reported the 2 had been stabbed.
Witnesses saw blood in the driveway of the home. One person posted that the attackers had swung hatchets at the victims, causing serious multiple injuries. The two victims were transported to a nearby hospital with injuries believed to be non-life threatening, police said.
Separately, a black Prius hit two pedestrians at the corner of Montana Ave. and 11th Street in Santa Monica. It was not immediately clear if this incident is related in some way to the ongoing barricade situation.
Santa Monica Police have tweeted that residents should avoid the area between 17th and 21st street, in the 100 to 300 block.
A home invasion was initially reported in the area of 21st Street and Carlyle Avenue. Two victims were transported to a nearby hospital. One post on social media read: "There were 4-5 suspects. They had knives and hatchets. They attacked my nephew, he offered them gold, his watches, the cars, they refused all. All he took were five $20 bills from my nephew and his phone. I did see a gold mustang with black stripes take off toward Montana when I arrived. The police have been tracking one suspect."
Christine Peake Local residents gaped as the Swat Team brought in to 90402 to handle a home invasion robbery.
Residents reported seeing a "Swat Team" type HumVee or other vehicle in the neighborhood North of Montana. There are reports on social media of the perpetrators using hatchets.
As of 7:30 p.m., Santa Monica police were in a standoff with a barricaded suspect at a residence in the 200 block of 19th Street. Police were asking residents to stay inside and keep their doors and windows closed.
The neighborhood North of Montana is the 90402 zip code, often the single priciest zip code for homes in the entire United States. One could surmise why it might be a magnet for criminals. On the other hand, Santa Monica does have a heavy police presence, and violent crimes perpetrated against residents in their homes are rare. Local residents gaped as a Swat team vehicle drove down Montana Avenue.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has a forward-thinking space program
While the United States increasingly puts science on the back burner, the United Arab Emirates is forging ahead with an ambitious program meant to increase knowledge and economic opportunities for its citizens.
Their long-term goal is to put men on Mars by 2117.
No Arab state has ever launched a spacecraft, but UAE intends to launch its first space probe in 2021 to celebrate the country's golden jubilee. That probe, named Al Amal (Hope), will mark the beginning of UAE's plan to become a significant player in space exploration.
Saeed al Gergawi, program director of Mars 2117, spoke at this year's Humans to Mars Summit in Washington, D. C.
"We believe that we are on the cusp of a new age for exploration, a new space race that affects literally every human on earth," he said.
Early images from UAE indicate plans for construction of an extensive infrastructure.
Al Gergawi hopes the project will get people, and particularly young people, excited about science and interplanetary exploration.
Last year, UAE made several significant moves forward in commitment toward its space effort.
At the January 2016 Global Art Forum, they conducted a panel discussion on their future in space, and the significance of having Arab countries enter into the 21at century Space Race.
In June 2016, UAE signed an outer space cooperative agreement with NASA. NASA reported that the agreement is "to cooperate in aeronautics research, and the exploration and use of airspace and outer space for peaceful purposes, working together in the peaceful use of outer space for the benefit of humanity."
NASA administrator Charles Bolden met with UAE Space Agency Chairman Khalifa Al Romaithi to discuss the possibility of putting men on Mars, and what that act would mean to the world.
"The United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are long-standing allies and have deep economic, cultural and diplomatic ties," said Al Romaithi. "We at the UAE Space Agency genuinely welcome the opportunity to collaborate and work with the USA and NASA in the fields of aeronautics, space science, and the peaceful exploration of outer space toward the common goal of fostering the well-being of humankind."
Al Romaithi noted the financial, scientific, and humanitarian benefits that could come from international collaboration.
"We believe that working alongside international partners is the best way to accelerate the development of space technologies and the space sector within the UAE," he said, adding "The space sector serves as catalysts for economic development and diversification, creating job opportunities and enabling scientists and engineers to become leaders of an industry that can bring huge benefits to our daily lives."
After the November 8 election, Kushner discussed the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
By Reuters: US President Donald Trump's son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former US officials told Reuters.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official.
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Before the election, Kislyak's undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving US-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the November 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
BACK CHANNEL
Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the Nov. 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynn's involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
HOW KUSHNER CAME TO THE ATTENTION OF FBI
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynn's connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushner's contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
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NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the president's inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish "a line of communication." Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.
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KUSHNER UNDER SCRUTINY
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynn's contacts with Russians included mentions of US citizens, whose names were redacted because of US privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask US intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current US law enforcement official said.
Kushner's was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the president's son-in-law's dealings with Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current US law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under US sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of US banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
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Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russia's attempts to interfere in last year's election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what US intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trump's chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Also Read:
Donald Trump's son-in-law Kushner under FBI scrutiny in Russia probe: Media reports
Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met executives of US sanctioned Russian bank, will testify
--- ENDS ---
Five Things to Do: A Vonnegut suite, music of the sea and 'Willy Wonka'
A day after the women alleged they were dragged to a field and gangraped by a group of six robbers, the initial reports rules out gangrape.
The robbery victims were travelling to Bulandshahr from Jewar when the incident took place on Thursday morning. They were carrying cash and valuables worth lakhs with them.
By Chayyanika Nigam: A preliminary medical report has ruled out any sexual assault of four women in the Jewar case. According to Dr Anurag Bhargav, CMO of the hospital where the test was conducted, the initial report rules out gang rape. However, the Forensic Science Laboratory report is expected within two-three weeks.
This comes a day after the women alleged they were dragged to a field and gangraped by a group of six robbers off the Yamuna Expressway early on Thursday. Their male relative was shot dead allegedly by the robbers while he was trying to save them. Mail Today was first to report the discrepancies that the police found while probing the case.
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Meanwhile, the special task force of Noida police has detained five men in connection with the murder and robbery incident that took place in the wee hours of Thursday in a field near the Jewar-Bulandshahr road off Yamuna Expressway in Gautam Budh Nagar district.
However, later they were let off. Speaking to Mail Today, a senior police officer close to the investigation said: "Even though the initial report confirms no sexual assault, but the sections related to the gang-rape will still sustain until the FSL report comes."
Mail Today had earlier published that the the initial statements given the family members do not mention about rape allegation but only robbery and murder.
"In the video recorded by the police team that reached the spot, the victims only alleged about robbery and murder. Also, the circumstantial evidences do not hint towards gang-rape.
"All the four women - who are in their forties - were wearing proper clothes. None of their clothes was torn," an official on conditions of anonymity said on Thursday.
Also, an eyewitness who was also the victim also told police that no rape took place.
The official, on Friday said if the FSL report will also say negative then an action might be taken against the victims for fabricating the incident and making false charges.
However, he said: "They will be booked only after few days of the report. As they are the victims of robbery and murder, so on humanity grounds, they will be given some days to come out of that trauma." The incident took place in the wee hours of Thursday when a family of eight members was going from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr to meet a relative who was about to deliver a baby.
THE INCIDENT
At the time of their journey in a grey Eeco, the victims claimed they were carrying around Rs 1.5 lakh in cash and other valuables.
During a press conference, police said the five persons were picked up after the allegations were made by one of the victim. She said three of the six assailants were her neighbours. She retracted the statement by saying she named the neighbours out of sheer anger.
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Also Read
Uttar Pradesh: 4 held for murder, gangrape on Bulandshahr-Jewar highway
UP: Man killed, women gangraped as gang attacks family on Bulandshahr-Jewar highway
--- ENDS ---
The truth is we don't really now if space goes on forever by maybe, one day, we will find out.
This is an article from Curious Kids, a new series aimed at children. The Conversation is asking kids to send in questions they'd like an expert to answer. All questions are welcome serious, weird or wacky! This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
Does space go on forever? Conrad, age 6, Sydney.
Space probably does go on forever, but the truth is we don't know. Not yet anyway. That's what makes this a great question, because science is all about finding answers to things we don't know yet.
So, what do we know about space? We know it's big, really big. It's big enough to contain the Earth and all the other planets. It's big enough to include the Sun and all the stars we see at night.
Not that long ago, people thought that when they looked up at the night sky, they were seeing all of space. That was until Edwin Hubble came along. He was an American astronomer and what he found out was so amazing that NASA named the famous Hubble Space Telescope after him.
Stars far, far away
Almost 100 years ago, Hubble, the astronomer, was looking at some small fuzzy patches of light hidden among all the stars we can see. No one was exactly sure what they were, but Hubble discovered that these patches of light were made of stars and even more importantly, they were a long way away.
The Andromeda Galaxy, shown here, may be much larger than astronomers previously thought. Astrophotographer Lorenzo Comolli took this photo Nov. 16, 2012, from Bogli, Italy. (Image credit: Lorenzo Comolli
With that one discovery, our idea of space exploded.
The stars we see in the night sky are part of the Milky Way Galaxy. That's the galaxy we belong to.
The patches of light that Hubble was studying were other galaxies each one filled with stars and planets and lots of other things too. Some galaxies are smaller than our Milky Way and others are larger.
Space was a whole lot bigger than anyone had ever imagined.
The Sun is one of billions of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. (Image credit: Caltech)
How to see forever?
Space is big, but does it go on forever? The problem is we can't see forever. There's a limit to how much space we can see, just like we can't step outside our front door and see every city in Australia.
The part of space we can see is called the observable universe. It contains all the light we will ever be able to see (because when we look across space we are mostly looking for light).
The observable universe can even be measured. It is 93 billion light years from one side to the other. Now that's a distance even astronomers find hard to think about. It's like making about 300,000 laps of our Milky Way Galaxy, yet our Sun has only made 20 laps in its entire life. Or can you imagine lapping the Earth 20 million trillion times?
All the light we see is part of our observable universe. (Image credit: Avi Solomon/flickr)
What's more, the observable universe is centred on us because we are at the centre, looking out into space. An alien on another planet, in a far away galaxy, would have their own observable universe. You might want to think of each of us being inside our own bubble universe.
If our two bubbles overlapped, then the alien would see some of the same things we can see. But what about the places that are outside our bubble? Would the alien see emptiness at the edge of space?
No, probably not. What's more likely is they would see a part of space that we will never ever be able to see.
In theory space goes on and on
So why do scientists think that space goes on forever? It's because of the shape of space. Our part of space, or the observable universe, has a special shape: it is flat.
That means if you and a friend each had your own rocket ship and you both took off and travelled in a straight line, forever and forever, you would never meet. In fact, you would always stay exactly the same distance apart, within the observable universe.
If the shape of space is flat, then two rockets will never ever meet. (Image credit: Troy Cryder/NASA)
But this is a really special case. If space was shaped any other way, then lots of things could happen. Your two rockets, travelling in a straight line, might eventually cross paths or they might get really close but never meet or perhaps they'd go the other direction and drift away from each other.
But only flat space will keep the rockets exactly apart.
Scientists have an idea of how to solve this special flatness problem. And importantly, their idea solves some other problems as well to explain why space looks exactly the way we see it.
When one idea solves lots of problems, scientists call it a theory. It means we could be on the right track to finding an answer.
The theory says that space must be really, really big but we can only see a small part of it, and that part looks special and flat. It's kind of like how Earth seems flat, unless you are an astronaut floating in space. Up there, you see so much more of the Earth that it's possible to see how it curves away.
My bet is that space does go on forever. Maybe one day science will help tell us if that's true.
When you see much more of the Earth it stops being flat. (Image credit: Reid Wiseman/NASA)
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This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Follow all of the Expert Voices issues and debates and become part of the discussion on Facebook, Twitter and Google +. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. This version of the article was originally published on Space.com.
Here's a trivia question for you. Of the 12 zodiacal signs, only one is an inanimate object. Which is it?
The answer is the Balance, or Scales, known to horoscope readers everywhere as Libra. I still remember: When I gave my very first lecture at New York's Hayden Planetarium more than three decades ago, one of the senior lecturers was in the darkened sky theater, unbeknownst to me. After I finished my presentation, he approached me. I asked him how I did, and his retort was akin to a reprimand.
"You referred to the Scales as 'LEE'-brah'; it's 'LY'-brah'!" He then started to walk away, but before I had a chance to recover, he turned back to me and, for good measure, added, "Remember! When you want to borrow a book, you go to a LY'-brary, not a LEE'-brary!" [Facts About the Libra Constellation]
Now, one might argue that we're talking about two completely different things. The English word "library," for example, comes from the Latin word "libraria" ("book"). "Libra" is also a Latin word, meaning "balance." But the World Book Encyclopedia (Field Enterprises Educational Corp.) suggests the pronunciation is LY'-bruh, while The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (Houghton Mifflin Co.) says both 'LEE' and 'LY' are acceptable.
Declawing the scorpion
In the sky, Libra really isn't all that much to look at. It's marked by an oblong figure of moderately bright stars; in a way, it sort of resembles a high-flying kite. This week, you'll find Libra almost due south between 10 p.m. and midnight local daylight time. It's really only important because it's part of the zodiac. But Libra could just as well have served as part of the two larger constellations that flank it: the Scorpion to its left, or the Virgin to its right. The Greek poet Aratus, who lived in the third century B.C., knew Libra not as the Scales, but as the claws of Scorpius, the Scorpion. In fact, Libra's two brightest stars still bear their original tongue-twisting Arabic names: Zubenelgenubi and Zubeneschamali, which mean "Southern Claw" and "Northern Claw," respectively.
Zubenelgenubi is a lovely double star that's easily separated with a simple pair of binoculars. There is a bit of a mystery, however, regarding Zubeneschamali. The ancient Greeks, such as Eratosthenes and Ptolemy, described it as appearing considerably brighter than it does to us today. But no one can explain why this is so. Another mystery is this star's color. Some observers claim that Zubeneschamali shines with a greenish hue, but others disagree. This star's apparent color seems to be strongly subjective. Perhaps you might like to determine this for yourself on the next clear night.
Many years ago, the Fels Planetarium in Philadelphia had an amusing demonstration of how the claws of Scorpius once extended into the region of the sky now occupied by Libra. The Fels staff projected just such a star picture up onto the planetarium dome over the stars of Scorpius and Libra. Then, the lecturer commented that, today, the Scorpion's claws no longer extend as far as they used to, in order to make room for Libra. Then, the lecturer flipped a switch, and the claws retracted back into the current boundaries of Scorpius. What made this funny was that by flicking the switch back and forth, it appeared that Scorpius was doing calisthenics! [Planets, Constellations and Meteors in May 2017 (Skywatching Video)]
Balancing the seasons
Libra also could have been associated with Virgo, representing the scales of the goddess of justice, which Virgo was supposed to represent.
But Libra's very reason for existence might be to provide the zodiac with 12 signs. There were, after all, 12 months (or moons), so there had to be one sign to represent each month. Perhaps there might have been just four at one time, marking where the equinoxes and solstices occurred or maybe six, with each sign accounting for two months. But in no way could that number be 11.
So Libra might have been created for convenience, as a way to round out the zodiacal signs to 12. It first became a separate constellation around the time of the ancient Romans. And the representation of a scale or pan balance might have come out of Libra's position in the night sky long ago. In fact, between the years 2300 B.C. and 700 B.C., the point in the sky where the sun crosses the celestial equator while migrating south to mark the beginning of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere was located within the boundaries of Libra.
So, quite possibly in this way, Libra might have been intended to symbolize a balance, demonstrating the equality of day and night that occurred when the sun was entering that region of the sky some 30 centuries ago.
Editor's note: If you capture an amazing photo of a night-sky sight and want to share it with Space.com for a story or gallery, please send images and comments in to managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
Joe Rao serves as an instructor and guest lecturer at New York's Hayden Planetarium. He writes about astronomy for Natural History magazine, the Farmer's Almanac and other publications, and he is also an on-camera meteorologist for Fios1 News in Rye Brook, New York. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Summer isn't usually the best season for television. Traditionally, the networks have filled their schedules with reality shows and reruns, and that hasn't changed much this year. Fortunately, with the availability of streaming services and the cable, summer television has plenty to offer.
The highly anticipated penultimate season of Game of Thrones begins in July; the political drama House of Cards has never felt more relevant; and critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller, Orphan Black, returns for its fifth and final season.
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GREENWICH - A neighbors concern has put a temporary hold on the destruction of the former residence of Ruth Madoff on Tomac Avenue.
A demolition application for 57 Tomac Ave. was submitted June 15 to the Department of Public Works and could have been approved on Aug. 1, but an objection filed by Rebecca Grunberg of 1 Kernan Place on July 6 put that back 90 days.
Grunberg wrote, I live on a lovely cul-de-sac in Old Greenwich where there is an old home that fits in very nicely into our neighborhood. Technically this structure is slated an historical home (1905) and certainly should not be demolished. It is a shame to see such a changing face in Old Greenwich of late and I would like to see if we can hold up the demolition to see if the house can be saved. At the very least we (the neighbors) would like to open up a dialogue as to what the builders have in mind for the very small lot that will impact all of us.
Receipt of the objection extended the waiting period for demolition to Sept. 14 to allow for more comments.
Ruth, wife of convicted Ponzi scheme thief Bernie Madoff, was the most recent resident of the house, according to a neighbor. It was owned by the Madoffs son Andrew, who died of lymphoma in 2014.
Bernie Madoff pled guilty in 2009 to securities fraud for running a $65 billion Ponzi scheme, the largest in U.S. history. He is serving a 150-year prison sentence in North Carolina.
The current owner, Waterview Cottage LLC, a limited-liability company registered with the state at the Tomac Avenue address, has filed an application with the town to demolish the house, according to a notice posted to the front door.
The listed principal for the LLC, Greenwich attorney Aldo Pascarella, declined to comment.
The brown shingled colonial was built in 1905, according to the Greenwich Assessors Office. A search through the Greenwich Historical Society archives did not return any evidence that the home, though old, was particularly historic.
pfrissell@hearstmediact.com; @PeregrineFriss
STAMFORD - One Republican is stepping forward to challenge Democrat Mayor David Martin in November.
Barry Michelson, a former Zoning Board member who clashed with Martin over a developers plans for the citys only boatyard, said he is assembling his campaign.
He will run on a vow to address citizens concerns about congestion in their neighborhoods because of overbuilding, illegal apartments, parking shortages and other problems created by the citys failure to enforce zoning regulations, Michelson said.
People have asked me to run because of this issue, he said. It crosses party lines. This has been escalating, incrementally, for decades.
He has launched a website Barry2017.org and has filed the paperwork needed to begin accepting political donations, Michelson said. He plans to make a formal announcement in the coming weeks.
Martin announced in January that he will run for re-election, but city Republicans have been tight-lipped about their candidate.
Other Republicans believed to be considering a bid are longtime City and Town Clerk Donna Loglisci, who has not made her intention known, and city Rep. Dennis Mahoney of District 20, who did not return requests for comment.
The Stamford Republican Town Committee next meets June 7, and its nominating convention is in July.
Residents have said Michelson, who served on the Zoning Board for six years, has regularly attended neighborhood association meetings, where zoning is the hot topic.
They are fed up with illegal apartments in single-family homes, multifamily dwellings built without adequate parking, and builders putting up structures too big for the neighborhood. For large projects, there is a perception the city lets developers do what they want.
Enough is enough
Residents of the Cove, the Ridges, Springdale, Glenbrook and other neighborhoods have said they want over-development to be the focus of the mayoral race.
Neighborhood groups are calling for residents to attend a Wednesday meeting of the Board of Representatives Land Use Committee, which is expected to discuss a proposal to temporarily ban new building permits for multifamily housing projects.
City Rep. Carl Franzetti, R-14, made the proposal after learning the citys largest developer, Building and Land Technology, is seeking to change zoning regulations to allow construction of 804 housing units on the site of a onetime corporate park at 120-292 Long Ridge Road. The change would allow developers to convert other office complexes into housing developments as well.
Franzetti said the meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m. on the fourth floor of the government center, is not a public hearing, so people cannot speak, but they may want to hear a discussion about what powers the Board of Representatives has when it comes to land use.
We have to listen to our constituents about this, Franzetti said.
Michelson, who was a stickler for regulations as a member of the Zoning Board, has criticized a practice common in Stamford amending regulations to accommodate projects proposed by developers.
The project should fit the zoning, said Michelson, a planner by profession. The zoning should not have to fit the project.
Battle vs. BLT
As a member of the Zoning Board, Michelson tried to hold BLT, which is in the middle of a $3.5 billion remake of the South End, to the rules. He opposed BLTs plan for replacing the boatyard, which it tore down in violation of its zoning agreement with the city.
BLT wants the former boatyard site, a peninsula off Bateman Way, for some project it has not disclosed.
As the Zoning Board was preparing to vote on BLTs boatyard replacement plan in 2015, Michelsons term ended. Martin, who supported the developers plan, refused to reappoint him.
Martin said he wanted to appoint a fellow Democrat to shift the political balance on the Zoning Board to his party, which mayors typically do. But he did not move to replace another Republican whose term expired the same day Michelsons did.
Though Michelson had expertise on the boatyard plan after months of deliberations, Martin did not let him remain for up to six months after his term ended, as the rules allow.
Martin was elected in 2013, when he narrowly defeated Republican Michael Fedele, capturing 50 percent of the vote during the most expensive mayoral race in city history. Between the Democratic primary and the general election, the candidates spent a total of $1.1 million.
Martin, who began serving in city government with a seat on the Board of Representatives in 1983, lost his first mayoral bid to Republican Michael Pavia in 2009.
Besides his tenure on the Zoning Board, Michelson ran for state Senate in 2012, losing to Democratic incumbent Carlo Leone.
At citizens expense
In an opinion piece published in The Advocate last year, Michelson wrote An Open Letter to the People of Stamford, saying builders and their advocates routinely approach the citys zoning and planning boards with proposals that require changing regulations.
The net effect, he wrote, is increased lot coverage, less natural light onto the street, greater density, and reduced parking, contributing to congestion.
As each development is subject to different standards, he wrote, regulations designed to protect residents are undermined.
The issues I raise pertain to the willingness of the city government and boards to foster changes to the zoning regulations rather than adhere to them, emboldening developers and their advocates to flaunt zoning standards for their financial gain at the expense of citizen sentiments and concerns, he wrote.
acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296; stamfordadvocate.com/angelacarella
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has slammed the media for reporting the Jewar incident in which a man was killed. She said that media reports 'every rape case' that is why "it is on top of the mind".
By Devina Gupta: Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has slammed the media for reporting the Jewar incident in which a man was killed.
Maneka Gandhi said that media reports 'every rape case' that is why "it is on top of the mind".
"The press after the 2012 (Nirbhaya) incident has adopted a zero-tolerance policy. In other countries, press doesn't report rape and molestation anymore. Our press reports every incident. So it is on top of the mind", Maneka said.
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THE JEWAR INCIDENT
Initial reports claimed that four women were gangraped by a group of six men. A relative of the women was killed by the accused. However, no rape case was lodged with the police.
The incident reportedly took place early on Thursday morning when eight members of a family were on their way from Jewar in Greater Noida to Bulandshahr to meet an ailing relative.
Their vehicle hit axles and came to a halt around 1.30 am on Thursday, when the accused allegedly assaulted the women travelling in the car. When a male relative objected, he was shot dead.
The attackers fled with cash and valuables from the occupants of the car. The deceased person was identified as Shakeel Quraishi.
Initial medial report ruled out gangrape in Jewar incident.
MANEKA FINDS FAULT WITH MEDIA
Now, Maneka Gandhi has slammed the media for highlighting the Jewar incident. Speaking exclusively to India Today, Maneka said, "Our media reports every rape case. Press in other countries don't report rapes. Press in other countries don't report molestation anymore."
Maneka played down the crime rate against women in India saying, "India is fourth from bottom when it comes to crime against women."
However, she did not clarify as to which report she cited to make the claim.Also read | Jewar gangrape-murder case: Death haunted family, 4 members died in last 5 years
Also read | Initial reports in the Jewar-Bulandshahr case rule out gangrape of 4 women: Was the incident fabricated?
WATCH VIDEO
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A man is fighting for life in hospital after a mass brawl in a west London street.
The Met Police were called to Ealing Road in Brentford at around 4.20am on Saturday after reports of a fight between a group of people.
When they arrived, officers found a man in his 30s collapsed in the road with a head injury.
He was rushed to hospital by paramedics where he remains in a critical condition.
Worried residents found part of the road near Brentford High Street cordoned off by police on Saturday morning as they carried out their investigations.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: Police were called at 4.20am on Saturday, 27 May, to reports of an altercation between a number of individuals and a male injured in Ealing Road, Brentford.
Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended the scene and found a man in his 30s with a head injury.
He was taken to a central London hospital where he remains with life-threatening injuries.
Police said there had been no arrests so far.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101, via Twitter @MetCC or phone Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
D ramatic footage has emerged of police officers descending on a street in east London following a mass street brawl.
A video taken from the scene showed numerous officers rushing to outside the Jewish Yesodey Hatorah Senior Girls' School in Egerton Road, Hackney, at 9.45pm on Friday.
One man can be see sprawled across the pavement as two officers attend to him, while a shocked crowd watches on.
Four males have since been arrested for public order offences, with one of them taken to hospital with a head injury.
Police officers holding down a man at the scene / London 999 Feed (Twitter)
A spokesman for the Met Police said: Police were called at 19:45hrs on Friday, 26 May, to reports of four youths fighting in Egerton Road, N16.
Officers and LAS attended the location.
All four males were arrested for public order offences.
One of the males was taken to hospital for treatment to a head injury.
T wo women were rushed to hospital after they were mowed down by a hit and run driver in north London.
Police were called to Bury Street, in Edmonton, at about 11.15pm on Friday to reports of a car in collision with two pedestrians.
On arrival they found to women, one in her 30s and the other in her 50s, having been hit by a car.
They were rushed to hospital by paramedics, where their injuries are described as life-changing but not life-threatening, police said.
The driver failed to stop at the scene.
A Met Police spokesman said: Police were called at around 11:15hrs on Friday, 26 May, to a car in collision with two pedestrian in Bury Street.
The pedestrians - two women aged in their 30s and 50s - were taken by London Ambulance Service to an east London hospital.
Detectives described the car as an estate, possibly a Mercedes, which is likely to have sustained damage to its front in the crash.
No arrests have been made.
Anyone with information should call the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at Chadwell Heath on 020 8597 4874 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
T hree east London dealers who set up their own dedicated drug delivery hotline promising Magic, anytime, anywhere have been jailed.
The trio provided an order-by-phone delivery service around Hoxton, handing out business cards with their slogan and a number to call.
Over a one-month period, they handed out MDMA, ketamine, cocaine and cannabis to eager punters who called the Magic number and left their address.
When police checked out the number, they found it registered to 21-year-old Arif Ahmed.
Magic: Kasru Abdul will be spending a spell in jail
During a search of his address in Durward Street, Whitechapel, on April 6 they found around 4,000 cash and a box containing over 100 business cards. Officers also found six wraps of white powder on Ahmed.
His accomplice Karim Adbul, 21, of Heneage Street, Whitechapel, was arrested near Hoxton Square on the same day after he supplied Class A drugs to two undercover officers.
Karim Abdul: The trio ran a drugs hotline called Magic
When the car he was driving was searched, they found a quantity of cash, more Magic business cards, 30 wraps of Class A drugs and eight bags of cannabis.
The third man, Kasru Abdul, 23, of Raine Street, Whitechapel, was arrested a week later in Romford.
At Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday, the men were jailed for a total of 14 years after admitting a string of drug offences.
Ahmed and Karim Abdul were sentenced to four-and-a-half years each while Kasru Abdul was jail for five years.
Detective Sergeant Nick Hamer, of the Mets Trident and Area Command, said: There was no caution practiced by this network.
Anyone who called the number simply provided their location and the drugs were brought to them.
A murder probe has been launched after a young woman was shot dead as she stood with friends in north west London.
Police were called to Blake Court near Malvern Road, Kilburn, just before 9pm on Friday after reports of the shooting.
Officers descended on the estate and found a 20-year-old woman suffering from gunshot wounds.
Despite the efforts of paramedics she was pronounced dead at the scene around half an hour later.
Kilburn: A woman has been shot dead / Facebook
Residents reported seeing the area cordoned off as a helicopter buzzed overhead.
Video taken at the estate showed a large crowd of police gathered around as neighbours were ushered away from the scene.
Police said on Saturday they believed the victim was with a group of friends when they were approached by a gang of youths on bikes.
At least one of the attackers fired shots into the group, hitting the woman and killing her.
Labour parliamentary candidate Tulip Siddiq tweeted: Horrified to hear of fatal shooting this evening in Kilburn thoughts are with victim & family.
Councillor Tom Miller wrote: "Terrible fatal shooting in South Kilburn this evening and a cordon now up. Thoughts with family and friends of the victim."
A London Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: We were called just after 8.55pm to reports of a shooting on Malvern Road.
We sent a number of staff to the scene, including an ambulance crew, two responders in cars and a medical team from Londons Air Ambulance also in a car.
Sadly, despite attempts to resuscitate her the female patient was pronounced dead at the scene.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: Police were called at 8.54pm on Friday, 26 May, to a woman shot in the area of Malvern Road.
Officers and the London Ambulance Service attended and found a 20-year-old woman suffering from gunshot injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.34pm.
At this early stage detectives believe that the victim who was standing with a group of individuals in the Malvern Road area was approached by a number of suspects possibly on pedal cycles.
"A firearm was discharged towards the group and the victim was shot. The suspects made off from the scene. Enquires are ongoing to establish the number of suspects believed to have been involved."
Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command (HMCC) are leading the investigation and there have been no arrests so far.
Anyone with information should call police via 101 or contact the Met via Twitter @MetCC. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was stabbed to death in south London.
The victim, thought to be a mother-of-two aged in her 30s, was knifed in broad daylight in West Norwood on Thursday.
She was found bleeding to death in Eylewood Road just after 7pm.
A 39-year-old man was arrested in Croydon on suspicion of murder on Friday.
Police, paramedics and London's air ambulance all raced to the scene but the woman was pronounced dead in the street.
She was the 15th person stabbed to death in London in six weeks.
Murder detectives continue to appeal for witness to come forward.
A post-mortem examination was held on Thursday at Greenwich Mortuary, and a provisional cause of death was given as a stab wound to the heart.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "We await formal identification.
"Both parties are understood to know each other and police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation."
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Lynes, leading the investigation, said: "I am appealing to anyone who was in the vicinity of Elyewood Road, close to Aubyn Hill who witnessed the murder or the events leading up to it to come forward.
This incident occurred in broad daylight and there would have been a number of people in the area who possibly saw something significant.
It is of paramount importance that those who hold vital information come forward and assist us with our inquiry."
Anyone who witnessed the incident or has any information is asked to contact the incident room on 020 8721 4868 or via Twitter @MetCC.
Alternatively Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111.
A man has been charged with murder after a woman was stabbed to death in a south London street.
The victim, thought to be a mother-of-two aged in her 30s, was knifed in broad daylight in West Norwood on Thursday.
Mark Morris, 39, of Cranbrook Road, Croydon, was on Friday charged with her murder.
Police and paramedics were scrambled to the street, Eylewood Road, just after 7pm but the woman died at the scene.
She was the 15th person stabbed to death in London in six weeks.
A post-mortem examination was held on Friday at Greenwich Mortuary, and a provisional cause of death was given as a stab wound to the heart.
Morris will appear in custody at Camberwell Magistrates' Court on Monday, May 29.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: The woman has not yet been formally identified. Her next of kin have been informed.
Detectives from the Homicide and Major Crime Command are investigating and they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.
F lights leaving two major London airports have been cancelled after British Airways' (BA) computers shut down worldwide - causing chaos for holidaymakers.
People are being warned to stay away from Gatwick and Heathrow Airport following Saturday morning's computer system failure.
A spokesman for British Airways said all flights before 6pm had been cancelled.
Some passengers have claimed they were told by staff that the airline had been hit by a cyber attack, though BA said it found "no evidence" of a hacking.
Queues at Heathrow Airport this morning / Michael Singh
Domestic and international flights are being affected by the outage.
A British Airways spokesman said: "We have experienced a major IT system failure that is causing very severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
"The terminals at Heathrow and Gatwick have become extremely congested and we have cancelled all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick before 6pm UK time today, so please do not come to the airports.
"We will provide more information on ba.com, Twitter and through airport communication channels as soon as we can for flights due to depart after that time.
"We will be updating the situation via the media regularly throughout the day.
"We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience this is causing our customers and we are working to resolve the situation as quickly as possible."
People reported queueing for hours at Heathrow Airport / Ian Small
Numerous passengers took to social media on Saturday morning to complain about the outage and reported huge queues at check in counters.
Workers at the airport have also reportedly had to write gate information on white boards.
A Heathrow Airport spokesman said: "We are working closely with the airline to assist passengers who have been affected by the British Airways' issue and have extra customer service colleagues in terminals to assist those passengers already at Heathrow."
The outage comes as thousands of people prepare to leave the UK for Bank Holiday celebrations, with numerous travellers taking to social media to vent their frustration at the cancellations.
Melissa Davis, who runs a legal PR agency in London, was held for more than an hour and a half on the tarmac at Heathrow, on a BA flight returning from Belfast.
Speaking from the plane, Miss Davis said the air conditioning had been off "so I don't think we will be going anywhere any time soon", but added that the passengers had been kept informed by their pilot and given water while they remained seated.
She later said she and others were then told they could not transfer to other flights because "they can't bring up our details".
Passengers at Gatwick Airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem on Friday.
Those taking flights were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
A London medical student is hoping to show the untold stories of refugees living in a crowded migrant camp through a new series of unseen photos.
The collection of photographs, taken on disposable cameras by young men living in the refugee camp, will go on display in a new exhibition in east London next month.
Amy Lineham, from Islington, visited the crowded refugee camp in northern Paris earlier this year and said she was struck by the stories of people she met.
But in a bid to help change the way refugees were often portrayed in the media, the UCL student launched her project Disposable Perspectives with friend and fellow student Rhona Fleming.
I was in the Paris camp for five weeks, Ms Lineham told the Standard. Lots of journalists would come and ask a couple of questions, mainly to the volunteers, take a couple of pictures.
They might interact with one person in the camp but it felt really detached. And these were the people who really thought they were engaging in the story.
Grinning: A group of men pose for the camea.
The other thing, it was a mens camp which is the group which is most maligned in the media. There was some real myths to be debunked.
The 23-yearold said she then came up with the idea of handing out disposable cameras and blank postcards to people around the Porte de la Chappelle camp.
I passed on the cameras. They came with an instruction sheet telling them they could take photos of whatever they wanted.
And a really nice guy who spoke five or six languages, he translated the set of instructions.
The tents in the camp in Paris.
The cameras came back with more than 180 photos.
The photos are actually really interesting, Ms Lineham said.
People have taken it in really different directions in that theres one guy who used up his entire roll in 15 minutes, taking photos all around him.
Other people have really experimented. Theres one guy who has taken some photos through fences.
Theres a lot of people smiling. When I have looked at all the pictures altogether, what really draws your eye is how many smiles there are.
What Im really glad comes through, they are just boys who happened to be in Paris and have found themselves in difficult circumstances.
It shows these people are individuals with 24/7 lives in the same way as everyone else. They are not defined by the fact they are refugees but they are first and foremost young men who are refugees.
The exhibition is being held at the Hive in Dalston from June 2. It runs from June 3 to 9 with the exception of June 4.
A man arrested in Miami recently, for pointing a gun at the traffic, not only has 'Joker' tattooed on his forehead, but other facial tattoos that reminds one of the ominous Batman villain.
By India Today Web Desk: We don't know about Gotham, but Florida is surely safe from the 'Joker', no thanks to Batman.
The police here recently arrested a green-haired, tattoo-faced man, for pointing a gun at the traffic on a Miami street. But the news of his arrest gained peoples' interest only after his booking photo came out.
The 29-year-old man, Lawrence Sullivan, not only has the word 'Joker' inked on his forehead, but also has tattoos of a knife-pierced Batman symbol, stitched cuts on each side of his mouth, and a teardrop under his eye.
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To add to the whole 'Joker' effect, Sullivan also has green hair like the ominous Batman villain.
A Miami-Dade police report says Sullivan was arrested and charged with carrying a concealed firearm, after they found him with a loaded handgun on Tuesday.
Sullivan, a self-described "tattoo model", was being held on $5,000 bail. Jail records didn't list an attorney.
That said, take a look at his Joker-inspired look:
A man with "Joker" tattooed across his forehead has been arrested after being accused of pointing gun at traffic https://t.co/JIvsPolfsi pic.twitter.com/qPXJ3Ft2pE- Travis ??? (@travislylesnews) May 25, 2017
Why won't Batman and Joker never kill each other? Here is the answer!
The Dark Knight Rises: Man dressed as Batman chases 'killer clowns' in Cumbria
The reason why this woman was called 'Batman' is extremely racist!
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A new digital map has revealed the worst boroughs in London for fly-tipping with Enfield coming out top.
There were 70,930 cases of fly-tipping in Enfield in the year to March 2016, equivalent to 22 per cent of its population, according to statistics from the Department of Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.
This made the north London borough not just the worst offender in London but in the UK.
However, the council has claimed the figures are only so high because it is the most pro-active council in the country in terms of tackling fly-tipping.
Haringey and Newham were the next worst offenders in London on 34,975 and 32,718 respectively.
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The London borough with the fewest fly-tipping incidents was the City of London with 627, followed by Bexley on 1,110.
It comes as one east London council hunts for a fly-tipper who dumped 40 tonnes of rubbish near a school.
Barking and Dagenham Council, which has launched a campaign cracking down on the practice, hopes to trace the mystery person who dumped waste near Goresbrook School.
An Enfield Council spokesperson said that the figures for the borough were so high because they include all dumped waste and not just fly-tips reported by residents.
They said that the actual fly-tipping figures are on a par with neighbouring authorities such as Barnet and Haringey.
The spokesperson added: What the figures from Defra do show is that Enfield Council is the most pro-active council in the country when it comes to dealing with fly tippers and keeping our streets clean. The data reflect that we are vigorous in our approach to littering across the borough.
We aim to clear all reported fly tips within four hours of them reported. We also have an extensive enforcement programme in place for people caught fly tipping and have issued over 900 fixed penalty notices over the last 12 months for dumped waste and fly tipping.
Our research shows that imposing charges on litterers acts as a powerful deterrent and so we will continue to target litterers and others who try to wreck our beautiful borough.
M ichael Fallon was left red-faced after he blasted quotes seemingly from Jeremy Corbyn on the war against terror only to realise they were the views of Boris Johnson.
The defence secretary attacked the Labour leaders policy on defence and views on extremism in Britain, with Mr Corbyn claiming on Friday the war on terror is simply not working.
He comments came after Theresa May raised the countrys threat level to critical in the wake of the Manchester bombing, with more than 1,000 armed police patrolling the streets.
Senior Conservatives criticised the Labour leader, with Mr Fallon accusing him of dangerous and muddled thinking.
Michael Fallon criticised the Labour leader on Channel 4 News / EPA
But he was caught off guard while slamming Mr Corbyn live on Channel 4 News on Friday, after it emerged he was being read words from an article written by fellow Cabinet Minister Mr Johnson.
Presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy read out a quote to Mr Fallon: "Isn't it possible that things like the Iraq war did not create the problem of murderous Islamic fundamentalists, though the war has unquestionably sharpened the resentments felt by such people in this country and given them a new pretext?"
Mr Fallon said: Well I dont think you should allow pretext from people who blow up innocent children.
Theyre not entitled to excuses. This was an act of murder, and of callous murder at that, taking the lives of innocent civilians.
A dumbfounded Mr Fallon was forced to admit he didnt agree with the foreign secretary when he was confronted with the quotes.
Mr Corbyn had made a speech earlier that day as campaigning for the general election resumed following the deadly bombing at the Manchester Arena on Monday.
He said the UK must be brave enough to accept that its foreign policy and approach to fighting terrorism has failed.
He said: No rationale based on the actions of any government can remotely excuse, or even adequately explain, outrages like this weeks massacre.
Jeremy Corbyn said the UK must be "braver" and admit the UK's policy is not working / Getty Images
But we must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism.
The speech led Mr Johnson to brand the comments absolutely monstrous.
On Monday, suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 people when he set off a bomb as revellers left an Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena.
So far, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the bombing.
A n evacuation is underway as part of an ongoing search linked to the Manchester bombing.
A property was being searched as Greater Manchester Police attempt to close the net on the suspected terror network behind attacker Salman Abedi.
Officers were said to have been taking precautionary measures to ensure public safety.
A bomb disposal unit was seen stationed outside a road in the area.
Two men aged 20 and 22 have been held on suspicion of terror offences after officers used an explosive device to gain entry to a property in the Cheetham Hill area of the city.
Raid: Arrests were also made in Brideoak Street, Cheetham Hill / PA
Residents of Cheetham Hill described hearing a "loud bang" as the latest raid and controlled explosion took place in Brideoak Street in Cheetham Hill..
Shakufta Bi, who lives across the road, said the noise woke her in the early hours and she saw the street full of police cars and vans along with men in green military uniforms.
Manchester attack survivor Millie Robson considers herself lucky
Mrs Bi said a Libyan family live at the address - a mother, three sons in their late teens or early 20s and a daughter. The father, an engineer, lives in Dubai and visits occasionally.
All the sons pray at a mosque 200 yards away, known locally as the "Libyan" mosque.
Some neighbours report seeing the sons wearing both "Western" dress and traditional Islamic robes.
Another neighbour, Val Jones, said: "I heard a loud bang, it sounded like a door getting kicked in. Then I looked out the window. I seen a lot of police going to the bottom end then I seen a convoy of cars, just normal, private, unmarked cars from the bottom of the street to maybe where that taxi is.
Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims 1 /21 Manchester Arena Terror Attack: Victims Nell Jones, 14, who died in the Manchester attack PA Jane Tweddle, 50 of Blackpool, was also killed 'Inseperable couple' Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 Scottish teenager Eilidh MacLeod, 14, was confirmed to have been killed in the blast PA Michelle Kiss died in the blast. Her family have said they are "absolutely devastated" PA Saffie-Rose Roussos eight, from Lancashire, had been at the concert with her mother and sister when she was killed in the blast Wendy Fawell died in the attack Collect Olivia Campbell, 15, is also confirmed among the dead after a desperate search to find her Ariana Grande superfan Georgina Callander, 18, was one of the first victims to be named Lisa Lees and Alison Howe were killed while waiting in the foyer to collect their children Facebook Kelly Brewster died shielding her niece from the blast John Atkinson, 26, was also killed in the suicide blast Polish couple Angelika and Marcin Klis are confirmed among the dead in the Manchester attack Credit: Family photograph Victim: Martyn Hett has been confirmed as one of those killed in the attack Confirmed dead: 14-year-old Sorrell Leczowski Facebook Victim: Elaine McIver, an off-duty police officer Greater Manchester Police
"Car doors flew open, police come out, soldiers in combat gear come out (wearing) green body armour.
"They were just walking up and down the street with guns, focusing (on) ... I don't know which house it was but it was pitch black at that time.
"I knew it was serious but I didn't know it was anything. I thought it was a drugs raid or something like that. You hear a lot of that around here."
It came after claims a barber shop raided by anti-terror police was linked to cousins of Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
Police raided the Fade Away shop in Moss Side earlier on Friday, around a mile away from where Abedi lived in south Manchester.
Locals said the shop was run by a family, who live at a house on Aston Avenue, Fallowfield, raided by armed police after Monday night's outrage, which killed 22 people.
Police said three men, aged 18, 21, and 24, were held on Wednesday on suspicion of terror offences.
It is understood an armed response unit arrived at the Fade Away shop in Princess Road in the early hours of Friday and that the shutter to the barbershop was cut open at about 5.15am to gain access.
Locals in Fallowfield said the barber shop is run by a large Libyan family, who are related to the Abedi family and live at the house on Aston Avenue.
Neighbour Mohammed Mubarak, 18, said the bomber's aunt and uncle lives at the address along with around eight sons and daughters, ageing from primary school age to early 20s.
He said the father of the family returned, briefly to the property on Thursday, but police forensics are still examining the house.
Mr Mubarak said he was at school with Salman and his younger brother Hashem Abedi and that both brothers were regular visitors at their aunt and uncle's house.
He said: "Often I saw Hashem here. He used to drive the aunty around basically."
He said Hashem appeared more religious, while Salman was involved on the periphery of gangs.
Of Salman, he said: "He used to hang around with lads who are a bit dodgy, I don't think he was involved that much, but the crowd he ran with were a bit different.
"They were just sort of petty street criminals, sold drugs, weed, nothing serious, they weren't doing anything that big.
"I don't think he was in a gang but he was associating with guys who were in gangs. He didn't belong to a gang. He had associates.
"I don't even know if he became religious.
"He was reported, definitely reported by his mosque. He was kind of suspicious, people saw signs they didn't like.
"I've never seen him to be religious at all. Normal clothes."
He said Salman Abedi was friends with another Libyan youngster who was "stabbed up" and murdered in Moss Side recently.
H olidaymakers are being left stranded at airports with British Airways' computer systems down across the world.
Numerous passengers have taken to social media to complain about the outage and are reporting huge queues at check-in counters at Heathrow Airport.
The airline has apologised for any issues, with Heathrow having called in more customer service staff to help ease the disruption.
It is not yet known how many flights are being affected.
British Airways posted on Twitter: We apologise for the current IT systems outage. We are working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Numerous British Airways passengers are reporting huge queues at airports / PA Wire/PA Images
It comes as thousands of people prepare to leave the UK for Bank Holiday celebrations.
Mr Tail, a 27-year-old teacher from London, claimed he had missed his flight to Rome because of the technical problems.
He said: "I checked in online using the BA app at 8.15 for my flight at 9.25, then went and had breakfast."
"At some point the app restarted and when I went to go through security I couldn't log in to my booking to get my QR code.
"This meant I couldn't go through security, and by the time I'd gone back and forth to various customer service desks the flight had closed.
"I've tried to call customer services but their systems are still down so they weren't able to help me, and they told me it was a worldwide issue.
It comes a day after passengers at Gatwick Airport faced chaotic scenes and long queues due to a baggage system problem.
Those taking flights on Friday were forced to travel without their hold bags and were asked to carry any essential items in their hand luggage.
Londoner Terry Page, 28, who was booked on a BA flight to Texas, was stuck in a queue in Terminal 5 for two hours.
He claimed BA "made no announcements at all" about the delays, adding: "I tried to use their website to get a screenshot of my boarding pass - but the website isn't working either."
He added: "(We) had to rely on the whisperings I could hear from staff talking.
"We've tried all of the self check-in machines; none were working, apart from one. There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front."
"Then we queued for about an hour and a half with lots of people pushing in front to catch earlier flights."
A spokesman for Heathrow Airport said: "An issue with a worldwide British Airways' IT system is causing some delays for passengers at Heathrow this morning.
"We are working closely with the airline to resolve this and are advising passengers to check the status of their flight before travelling to the airport."
A complaint was lodged against Riddho Chaudhari (28), an engineering professor at a private institute in the city for allegedly "harassing" the daughter of a senior police officer.
By Indrajit Kundu: A college professor in Kolkata has been booked by the police over an alleged altercation with a city top cop's daughter on social media. A complaint was lodged against Riddho Chaudhari (28), an engineering professor at a private institute in the city for allegedly "harassing" the daughter of a senior police officer. Chaudhari has been booked for defamation, criminal intimidation and insulting the modesty of a woman.
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Confirming the development, Joint Commissioner of Kolkata Police (Crime) Vishal Garg on Friday said, "A complaint was lodged against Riddho Chaudhari, an assistant professor of the Calcutta Institute of Engineering and Management, for uploading comments on his Facebook profile which are objectionable and derogatory as well as defaming and threatening in nature." The professor claims that he was grilled for close to five hours at the police headquarters on Wednesday and his laptop hard drive and mobile phone confiscated.
Trouble began last Monday after Mr Chaudhari, who is a self proclaimed SFI worker, made a Facebook post about the police's role during the Left front's agitation programme in the city which had turned violent.
"Kolkata Police you have hit us hard. 100 people on your side have sustained injuries. Sympathies. Comrades will gain strength. The number of injured will rise. But your DA wont. Are you game?" the professor had written. However, one of Mr Chaudhari's friends later posted a screenshot of a separate post made by Sudeshna Banerjee, daughter of a senior Kolkata police officer below Chaudhari's post.
Ms Banerjee had criticised Left workers for indulging in violence during their agitation programme.
"What kind of barbarians throw bricks at other, my dad along with 90 other officers were hurt today at the Nabanno protest in Kolkata," she had written on Facebook. This apparently led to a heated social media exchange between the two sides. Prof Chaudhari had also tagged Ms Banerjee's sister Sugandha and questioned their "hypocrisy", following which they filed an online police complaint against him.
"He took screenshots of my post, and my sister's status update, tagged us both and made a public post about it where we were ridiculed, abused and were forced to go through every kind of humiliation. As per the rules set by Facebook, harassing a private figure publicly is condemnable offense. Therefore, I sent an email to the cyber crime department of Kolkata Police with all the relevant screenshots," Sugandha told India Today.
However, refuting the allegation, Prof Chaudhari claimed that it was civilised debate and no abuse was hurled at anyone.
"I had only stated that they should not act like hypocrites and condemn the barbaric police action on old people and media too, or else it would be a biased opinion," he said adding that the complainants were using their clout as daughters of a top police officer to "harass" him. "This is how those in the establishment are trying to stifle dissenting voices just like they did with Prof Ambikesh Mahapatra," Chaudhari alleged.
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ALSO READ:
Bengaluru woman booked for putting up 'objectionable' Facebook posts about Yogi Adityanath
Bengal: Man arrested for 'defamatory Facebook post' against Trinamool leader
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As many as 24 resolutions will be passed during the meeting while the president will be elected on the last day of the Mahanadu.
By Ashish Pandey: The 36th 'Mahanadu' of Telugu Desam party began in the coastal city of Vishkhapatnam today. The annual general meeting of the party was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and party chief N Chandrababu Naidu.
This is the first time, since the bifurcation of the state that the Telugu Desam Party is holding two mahanadus- one each in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Mahanadu of Telangana was held on May 24 in Hyderabad.
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Tomorrow will be the second day of Mahanadu in Visakapatnam which will coincide with the birth anniversary of late party founder NT Rama Rao (NTR).
As many as 24 resolutions will be passed during the meeting while the president will be elected on the last day of the Mahanadu.
The annual plenary of the party, shortlisted the Andhra University Engineering College grounds as the venue. Around 2000 police personnel have been deployed for the event which is being attended by over 25000 party cadres including ministers and MLAs of Telugu Desam Party of the two states.
In a fresh turn of events, the Congress top leader and former Central Minister Jaipal Reddy has hinted at an alliance with TDP in Telangana to counter ruling Telangana Rastra Samiti.
While in Andhra Pradesh, the YSR Congress party in opposiiton has started preparing for the election and has hired top poll strategist Prashant Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee. Sources say the TDP leadership too will discuss its strategies and may start early for the next election.
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SCOTTSBLUFF When the Civil War ended on May 9, 1865, many slaves stayed in the south, but others began looking for family members theyd been separated from.
Two former slaves eventually made it to Scottsbluff where they enjoyed a relatively peaceful life. In the Sunday, Dec. 5, 1937, edition of the Star-Herald, two former slaves, Aunt Lucy Young and Mrs. Lucinda Woods recalled their times in bondage.
Young remembered, a kind mistress who loved her slaves and wept when they left her after the close of the Civil War.
Woods saw slavery in a much different light. She witnessed slaves being beaten and she toiled for years before she was freed.
Reporter Robert McCaffree wrote about the bitter memories Woods had about her time as a slave. Woods was taken from her mother when she was about 5 years old. She was given as a wedding gift to Old Master Jesse Matlocks daughter.
Woods life was filled with terrible images.
I can remember seeing men chained to trees and beaten with whips, Woods told McCaffree. Ive seen their shirts cut to ribbons.
She worked in the house and the field for so long, her hands were permanently scarred.
I remember going into the woods with a team of oxen or horses, whichever was handy, cutting down trees, hauling them to the house and chopping them into kindling, Woods said. And I can remember hours and hours in the cornfields.
Woods was born on a plantation near Louden, Tennessee. Having been born on Matlocks plantation, she was his property. Slaves on the Matlock plantation were not allowed to read. Woods mother once got a book for her children to try to learn to spell words.
When Old Mistress came, wed throw the book way back under a bed where she couldnt find it, Woods said.
Woods was first sold as a gift to Matlocks son when he married. She was to move to Pennsylvania with him, but that didnt happen.
I cried and carried on like my mother told me to, Woods said. So Old Master bought me back for $1,000.
Later, she was given to Matlocks daughter, who moved to Maysille, Missouri. Woods never saw her parents or siblings again. She learned about her parents deaths 35 years after they had passed away in a letter from her brother.
After slavery was abolished, she worked for white families who she said were good to her. After marrying Thomas Woods, they moved around, seeking work before finally moving to Scottsbluff in 1918.
When Thomas died, she remained happy and active. Woods complained she wanted to work, but her daughter-in-law wouldnt let her. Still, at the time the article ran, she was attempting to finish a quilt 32 years in the making and declared the Lords really good to me.
By 1937, Young was physically disabled, but enjoyed spending her days smoking her pipe and just sitting. She recalled a happier time as a slave. She was not old enough to start working as a slave and was only required to look after her brother and sisters.
Slave times were bad for some folks, but not for us, Young said. Our mistress loved my mother and they were so glad when my papa came back from the war that they didnt know what to do.
Her father was forced into the Army, but Young didnt know which branch or where.
Young lived on the Fox farm and remembers soldiers and bushwhackers ransacking the farm looking for valuables.
But old Mistress had hidden all the goods under the rug so they didnt get much, Woods said.
Foxs sons were also forced to go to war. When one refused, he was shot.
Young didnt know who her father was when he returned from the war.
I wondered why that man wanted to hold me in his arms, Young said.
That same night, her mother stayed up all night cooking. In the morning, they left in a covered wagon for Kansas City. Young lived there most of her life. After her husband died in 1903, she did some washing, then I got some of this government aid.
The article does not explain what type of aid this was, but may have been enough for her to move. Youngs brother, Bishop Arthur, lived in Scottsbluff and she moved to be closer to him.
At the time of the interview in 1937, Young was alone. Her husband, brothers and sisters and her only child had all died.
Im ripe for the grave, Young said.
Young pdied at age 82. Her obituary ran in the Feb. 6, 1944 edition of the Star-Herald.
Young had indeed spent the remainder of days sitting contently, puffing on her pipe.
A Gering man has agreed to plead to pornography charges.
Sean Gudgel, 47, pleaded to four counts of possession of child pornography, a Class II felony, in Scotts Bluff County District Court Wednesday.
Gudgel had initially faced nine counts of possession of child pornography, stemming from a December 2016 arrest. According to an arrest affidavit filed in the case, a Nebraska State Patrol Investigator received a cybertip which was an image of a girl estimated to be 7- or 8-years-old laying on a mattress wearing only a T-shirt. The image, uploaded to a chat website, was traced through an IP address and reported to be uploaded from a home that Gudgel lived in.
The affidavit states that when the investigator made contact with Gudgel, he consented to a search of his computer, which yielded about 50 images of assorted child pornography and child erotica. The investigator subsequently searched Gudgels cell phone which allegedly yielded the same images. The trooper also noted a folder containing about 411 images, about half of which were alleged to be child pornography.
The trooper did a search for the website to which Gudgel had reportedly been using. He discovered several chat rooms that were locked which involved accessing child pornography.
A sentencing date for Gudgel was not available in online court records. Gudgel could receive up to 20 years imprisonment on each charge.
SCOTTSBLUFF Area emergency response teams will be able to use a mobile command unit that Region 22 Emergency Management acquired.
Region 22 Emergency Management applied for and received a 2004 Monaco 40-foot mobile home recently as part of a federal excess property program.
The RV used to belong to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, set up and used when officials with the agency responded to a disaster. Region 22 Emergency Management director Tim Newman said he learned of the federal excess property program through an official with the Nebraska Forest Service. The Nebraska Forest Service has used the program to acquire excess property and acquire it to convert into wildland trucks and other equipment. When a trailer became available, officials alerted agencies that may be able to use it.
I have no budget for such things, Newman said. I thought Id see what was out there and saw that it would make a good command post vehicle.
Through a partnership with the Minatare-Melbeta Fire Department, the agency took official possession of the vehicle. Mutual fire agency funds through the Scotts Bluff County Mutual Aid Association were sought through an application with the Scottsbluff Fire Department to pay transfer fees, insurance and repairs. Three area fire departments contributed $500 each to help with costs for repair and equipment.
If Region 22 no longer needs the vehicle, it returns back to the Nebraska Forest Service.
The RV will be outfitted with white boards, radios and other materials that are currently in the mobile command trailer used through the Scottsbluff Fire Department. The fire department is still considering the potential uses for the mobile command trailer that has been used.
Everyone is really excited (to put the new trailer into service), Newman said. He mentioned that it also has more room - something a firefighter, who stands over 6-feet tall, appreciates as he stood in the trailer and is happy he wont have to duck.
The RV is outfitted with a 7,500-watt diesel generator, two air conditioning units and a heater.
I think it is going to be a really good piece of equipment for us, he said.
Other agencies such as the Scotts Bluff County Sheriffs department, will help outfit the RV with items such as cots and blankets. Space will also be made for the HAM Radio Club, as amateur radio enthusiasts have been helpful in serious emergency disasters like Hurricane Katrina when traditional communications could not be used, Newman said.
This RV is really an example of a multi-jurisdictional, multi-agency partnership, Newman said. It will be nice for all of us to be able to use the RV when needed.
SCOTTSBLUFF With voting in the U.S. Senate ending early Thursday evening, Sen. Ben Sasse was able to fly back from the east coast to conduct a number of field tours before spending Memorial Day in eastern Nebraska with his family.
Sasse toured the Western Sugar factory in Scottsbluff Friday, before speaking briefly to reporters about healthcare and tax reform.
On tax reform, we need a system that has lower marginal rates, but broadens the base by carving out loop holes and special exemptions for the politically connected, Sasse said. Right now, if youre really wealthy or a giant corporation, youve got a whole bunch of ways to figure out how to do tax avoidance.
Sasse said that middle-class families and Nebraska farmers and ranchers dont have that luxury.
We frankly dont want people spending their time trying to figure out how to pay more and more accountant fees to game the tax code, Sasse said. We want people to be producing and benefiting their neighbor, and that everyone wants to pay their fair share.
Sasse would rather have tax dollars going toward what he said are first priority issues that the federal government should be dealing with, such as the common defense of the nation.
On the subject of health care reform, Sasse echoed comments made by Sen. Deb Fischer on Thursday, saying that the Senate will not be using the bill advanced by the House of Representatives, and will instead work on its own bill.
The challenge, of course, is that it takes 60 votes in the Senate to do most big and complicated stuff, he said. We only have 52 Republican senators, and Democrats dont want to participate and discuss repealing and replacing Obamacare.
What I want is a system where Nebraska farmers and ranchers and families can buy the policy that they want that goes with them across job and geographic change, Sasse said. They shouldnt be required to buy a policy that some bureaucrat in Washington, D.C., wants because they end up loading in so many bells and whistles that the plan ends up not being affordable.
Sasse said that the tour at Western Sugar wasnt intended to be about health care, but that the conversation quickly shifted to it.
People immediately started telling me about whats happening to their premiums and how few choices there are, Sasse said.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported Wednesday that it had released its latest scoring of the American Healthcare Act, which the House of Representatives rushed to a vote and passed on to the Senate rather than waiting to see the impact it would have. The CBO said the house GOP bill would reduce the deficit by $119 billion over the next 10 years, but could leave an estimated 23 million uninsured by 2026.
The House bill is not the basis of what were dealing within the Senate, Sasse said.
Sasse said that when the House passed its bill, it created a reset button for the Senate to tackle.
We need to do a better job than Obamacare, and frankly, a better job than that bill thats coming over to us, he said. Obviously, you want to look at the CBO score and try to understand the mechanics in there, but also admit that the CBO has never been good at this.
Sasse said the premium rates for Obamacare included in the CBO scorings from 2009 and 2010 went up much faster than projected, and that despite the amount of money spent on Obamacare not nearly as many individuals were covered as the CBO report was predicting.
CBO scores should always be taken with a grain of salt, and yet we should look at them closely and understand what we can learn from them as the Senate tackles our bill, he said.
GERING Seven World War I veterans will be honored for their service this year at the Creighton Valley Cemetery.
Through the old cedar trees, many of which were placed in the 1890s when the cemetery began, flags will fly high in the eastern part of the cemetery, a tribute to the men and women who served in the armed services and are buried there.
Each year on the Sunday before Memorial Day, volunteers gather at the cemetery to honor the 29 veterans who have served their country. This year, seven Lloyd Chrisman, Warren Dickinson, Ernest Johns, Phil Learned, Newton McCue, John Robertson and Ben Schuman will be recognized with special decorations on their graves to commemorate their service in World War I.
They will be mentioned in a special ceremony, but the names of the others will also be mentioned, said Sharon Johns.
Johns helps organize the event each year not only to honor their service, but because she lives in the Creighton Valley and many of her relatives are buried there, including one being recognized this year.
Ernest Johns was drafted into military service in 1917 and spent 13 months in service. His basic training was spent at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was then sent to St. Paul, Minnesota, to serve in the motor pool. He received his orders to leave for Europe when the armistice was signed.
World War I is also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars. The war officially lasted from July 28, 1914, to Nov. 11, 1918. It was one of the largest wars in history with over 70 million military personnel participating. It is generally accepted as one of the deadliest conflicts in history with casualties totaling more than nine million combatants and seven million civilians.
Brent Emerick will be speaking at the ceremony. Johns said he is the nephew of her grandfather and grandmother.
Its something Brent likes to do, she said. He also likes to come and see us.
Boy Scout Troop 17 will raise the flag and recite the pledge. Emericks wife, Dolly, will also sing. After the ceremony, those gathered will visit with each and remember the sacrifices of those they came to honor.
Services will be held at the Creighton Valley Cemetery on Sunday, May 28 at 2:30 p.m. The public is invited to come.
We have been doing it on the Sunday before Memorial Day so people can also go to other cemeteries they need to go to on Memorial Day, she said.
The Creighton Valley Cemetery is east of Gering on Highway 92, south on Wrights Gap Road, County Road U and 27th 1/2 mile south. GPS Coordinates: Latitude: 41.74823, Longitude: -103.55804.
SCOTTSBLUFF West Nebraska Arts center will be presenting two Art Camps for youth ages 6 to 15 starting in June.
Art Camp 1 is a four-day camp geared to children ages 10 to 15, instructor Traci Wilkes will teach Summer Swag Swap. Students will create multiple pieces of art on tags, swap the art tags equally among fellow students and then construct a swag to hang in their room. From the swag, a piece of art from each of their fellow students will dangle. The lesson is learning how to use principles of art and color theory when you design an artful project and how to brainstorm for ideas. Students will have to pick at least 3 principles as their design focus on their art tags. The theme is summer and students will create mixed media tags further developing their planning, color theory, drawing and painting skills. Students will experience the fun of sharing their art with others.
Instructor Charla Herbert will teach Throwing Some Shade: Discover the art and physics of cast light throwing shadows in rainbows of color. All participants will be able to manipulate light create art and discover the physics of the light spectrum hands on in a fun and enlightening experience.
Art Camp 1 will be held in the downstairs classroom at WNAC on Tuesday, June 6, through Friday, June 9, running from 1 to 5 p.m. Space is limited to 12 participants and early registration is advised. On Friday, June 9, 5-6 p.m. there will be a mini reception to showcase the students art.
The cost for the camp is $90 for WNAC members or $130 regular price and includes all materials and a T-shirt. Registration for the class must be completed before 5 p.m. on Friday, May 26. For more information or to register for the workshop, contact Maria Lena Soto at West Nebraska Arts Center at 308-632-2226, or lena@thewnac.com
Art Camp 2 is a 3-day camp geared to children ages 6 to 9, Herbert will teach Fun with the Zoo.
This summer WNAC will have animals from the zoo come to the class, where students will draw, then paint them on paper. Campers will learn to look at shapes, define form and create art.
Art Camp 2 will be held in the downstairs classroom at WNAC on Tuesday, June 13, through Thursday, June 15, running from 1 to 4 p.m. Space is limited to 12 participants and early registration is advised. On Thursday, June 15, 4-5 p.m. there will be a mini reception to showcase the students art.
The cost for Art Camp 2 is $60 for WNAC members or $75.00 regular price and includes all materials and a T-shirt. Registration for the class must be completed before 5 p.m. on Friday, June 2. For more information or to register for the workshop, again, contact Soto at West Nebraska Arts Center at 308-632-2226, or lena@thewnac.com
Support for the camps is made possible by Platte Valley Companies, North Platte Valley Artist Guild, Kiwanis Scottsbluff Club, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
By Press Trust of India: (Eds: Repeating after dropping a word in first para)
Mumbai, May 27 (PTI) Incarcerated former Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Chhagan Bhujbal today sought assistance from the state government to bail out financially troubled Nashik District Central Cooperative Bank.
Bhujbal in a letter dated May 22 to the state government asked it to provide monetary help to the bank for crop credit disbursement ahead of Kharif season starting from mid-June.
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Bhujbal, who is lodged at the Arthur Road jail here in connection with the money laundering case, said the district cooperative bank is in bad financial shape.
The farmers hoped for a loan waiver announcement in the Budget session of the assembly, hence loan recovery was stopped as a result its capital shrunk further and its situation has become critical as crop loan has to be disbursed in next few weeks, Bhujbal wrote in the letter.
He also touched upon the issue of demonetisation and its impact on old currency notes which have not yet been exchanged by the RBI.
"The bank should be able to function, hence the old currency notes should be exchanged by the RBI and union government," the letter mentioned. PTI ND RMT
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By Press Trust of India: By Shirish B Pradhan
Kathmandu, May 27 (PTI) A newly-formed alliance of seven Madhes-based political parties in Nepal was set for a fresh round of agitation to disrupt the second phase of local level polls slated for June 14 in the Madhesi-dominated Terai region.
Rastriya Janata Party Nepal (RJPN) will launch a series of protests from later today aimed at obstructing the local polls held in the country in two decades, including call for strikes on June 2 and 3, the days set by the Election Commission to file nominations for the second phase of the local polls.
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The protest programme includes organising torch rallies in 22 districts of southern Nepal, the alliance said yesterday.
The alliance said cases registered against Madhesi cadres had not been withdrawn and the increase in the number of new local units in southern plains was not enough.
They also pointed out that thousands of eligible voters in the Terai region were left out.
The boycott of the polls has made fate of the second- phase of local polls in 483 units in four provinces uncertain.
However, a splinter group of Madhes-based Federal Socialist Party led by Upendra Yadav and another major Madhes- based party Madhesi Peoples Rights Forum Democratic led by Bijaya Gachhadar will participate in the local polls.
The RJPN has been pressing for an amendment to the Nepals Constitution prior to June 14 elections to address their demands.
Meanwhile, the Madhes-centric parties have welcomed the governments decision to upgrade two sub-metropolitan cities located in Terai to metropolitan cities.
Birgunj sub-metropolitan city and Biratnagar sub- metropolitan city have been upgraded to metropolitan cities, according to Republica, an English daily.
The first phase of the local polls was held on May 14 with a 71 per cent voter turnout.
Local-level elections could not be held in the country after 1997 largely as a result of the decade-long Maoist insurgency that claimed more than 16,000 lives in Nepal.
The elections should be held in every five years but due to the political instability, they were halted since May 1997.
Local bodies remained ignored during the long transitional period even after the signing of a peace deal between the government and the Maoists in November 2006.
Madhes-centric parties have opposed the elections until the new Constitution is amended to accommodate their views: more representation in the Parliament and redrawing of provincial boundaries.
The Nepal government has tabled a new Constitution amendment bill in the Parliament to address the demands of the agitating Madhesis.
Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin, launched a prolonged agitation between September 2015 and February last year against the implementation of the new Constitution which they felt marginalised the Terai community. PTI SBP MRJ AKJ MRJ
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IAS officer Puneet Yadav's fervent Facebook posts last month about his inability to attend to his 80-plus ailing parents in Agra have put the Mamata Banerjee government in a bit of a spot. The evidently harassed West Bengal cadre officer's emotional outburst has exposed an embarrassing truth - the pall of fear shadowing the state's civil bureaucracy, more specifically officers of the central administrative and police services.
Believe it or not, under 'Didi's rule', state cadre officers seeking central deputations are frowned upon. IAS and IPS officers are also actively discouraged from putting such requests in writing. At best, they can make verbal requests to the chief secretary.
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Nearly a dozen such requests have been pending for over a year despite the DoPT (the central government's department of personnel and training) repeatedly asking the state to fill its portion of the central reserve. At present, against the sanctioned 78, there are just seven West Bengal officers on central deputation. "The MoS in charge of DoPT, Jitendra Singh, had also written a letter on this. In 2011, we had 37-38 officers of the West Bengal cadre at the Centre. Now it's down to seven," says the commissioner of home P&AR (personnel and administrative reforms) department, Mezhba-ul Haque. A senior state government officer says Didi is reluctant to send officers, fearing they would be influenced by the Centre. "It's also in line with her decision not to cooperate with Delhi," he says.
Officially, though, Mamata points to the shortage of officers in the state: "We have 276 IAS officers against a sanctioned strength of 359, and 274 IPS officers against 347," she says. And she's just as fiercely 'possessive' about state cadre officers. Addressing the WB Civil Service officers last December, Mamata did not mince her words: "Your career begins in the state and will end here."
Even training programmes outside the state for IAS and IPS probationers are viewed as an attempt to 'brainwash' young officers. Dubbing this as contrary to the spirit of 'cooperative federalism', the CM refused to give postings for eight months to eight officers who had returned from a three-month training in Delhi. The 2013 IAS cadre from West Bengal-including the eight officers whose postings were put on hold-had returned from training in November 2015. They were put on 'waiting' for eight months and given SDO postings only after the 2016 assembly elections. Sources say the CM felt that officers trained in Delhi might be used to upset her in the polls. "The SDO of Contai (South), where the BJP increased its vote share by 22 per cent in the byelections, was immediately removed after the poll results," says an officer on condition of anonymity.
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Not only this, the CM has asked officers not to share any documents with the Centre, unless she specifically clears them. Even the visits of state officers to Delhi for meetings have been restricted.
Meanwhile, Yadav has been reprimanded by the chief secretary for going public with his problems. But the young officer isn't backing down. Last week, after the Darjeeling municipal election results were announced, he congratulated the people for "free and fair polls". Incidentally, in the May 17 election, 31 of the 32 municipality seats in Darjeeling municipality went to the BJP-Gorkha Janamukti Morcha alliance. The TMC got just one seat.
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By Press Trust of India: (Eds: After adding more quotes of Kumar)
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) A day after he skipped a luncheon meeting of opposition parties, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the buzz about growing bonhomie between the two leaders.
Modi hosted a luncheon in honour of his visiting counterpart from Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth, which was also attended by Kumar, triggering political speculation about their growing proximity.
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Dismissing any link between the two meetings, the Kumar told reporters after the meeting that it was "apolitical" and that "too much was being read into" it. He insisted it was a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister.
Asked if he was contemplating to come back to the NDA, Kumar brushed aside the suggestion, saying, "What do these things mean? You (media) are needlessly doing a political analysis. (In cheezo ka kya matlab hai?.. Aap (media) rajnitik vykhya karte hain)."
"To compare the two meetings is a misinterpretation," he said.
"I did not meet him (PM) in the capacity of the JD(U) chief but as the state chief minister. It was not a political meeting. Why is the media reading too much into it?" he said.
Kumar did not take questions from journalists about allegations of corruption against his ally-- RJD chief Lalu Prasad-- and his family members.
There are allegations and counter allegations, he said, claiming that he responded only to "facts."
"RJD has also responded to the allegations levelled by the BJP. But what are the facts? I do not react to allegations and counter allegations... my reaction, which you are seeking, is unwarranted," the JD(U) supremo said.
Asked if there was "unease" in JD(U)-RJD ties, Kumar said, "We are meeting our RJD partners everyday, we are working everyday. We have a grand alliance, we have received a mandate. And, JD(U)-RJD-Congress together are running the government in Bihar."
Kumar also said that he had met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on April 20. "Opposition unity and presidential polls have already been discussed. It has also been discussed with other parties. And, five days before the luncheon hosted by her, it was already decided that (former JD(U) chief) Sharad Yadavji will attend it."
"Besides, Mauritius has emotional links with India and Bihar. More than half of the population of Mauritius has roots in Bihar, and so when a luncheon was held in the honour of the Mauritius PM, I thought it was appropriate for me to accept the invite. Today I was invited as CM and not as the JD(U) chief.
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"Also, it is our duty to hold talks with the central government. So, I am doing that," he said.
Kumar said he discussed with Modi issues facing Bihar, with special focus on plans to desilt the Ganga, as the state faced a flood threat this year, too.
The chief minister said he also impressed upon the prime minister the need for desilting the Ganga in Bihar and requested him that a team of experts be sent to the state before the expected arrival of monsoon in June to assess the condition of the river.
"Ganga should have a constant flow. Before making any silt management policy, we need to assess the condition of the river. So, I have requested the prime minister to send a team of experts to Bihar before June 10 to assess it practically. He (PM) has agreed that before June 3 it would be done, for which I thanked him," Kumar said.
The rise in the level of riverbed causes flood in vast areas during monsoon, while large parts of it become dry during summer as it cannot hold much water. PTI KND KR SK
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The United Kingdom formally handed over Sea King helicopters to Pakistan Navy on Wednesday in a ceremony attended by the Pakistan High Commissioner to the UK Syed Ibne Abbas.
According to details, informed by the Pakistan High Commission; Christopher Bob Richardson represented the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the formal handing over ceremony.
The contract for the purchase of seven helicopters was signed last year. A separate contract was signed with Vector Aerospace for maintenance of the aircraft before being shipped to Pakistan later this year.
The High Commissioner lauded the historic relationship between the Armed Forces of Pakistan and the United Kingdom and the role played by the UK in capacity building of Pakistan Armed Forces both in terms of equipment support and training.
Abbas also thanked the representatives of the UK MoD, Leonardo and M/s Vector Aerospace for their support in making this project a success and hoped that the cooperation between the two Armed Forces would continue to grow in future.
Flooding and landslides have killed at least 91 people and left another 110 missing in Sri Lanka as the monsoon set in Friday, dumping record rainfalls in many parts of the island, authorities say.
About 20,000 people were also driven out of their homes in the south and western parts of the country, the Disaster Management Center (DMC) said.
"There are some areas where we are unable to reach, but relief operations are under way," deputy minister for disaster management Dunesh Gankanda told reporters in Colombo.
The DMC said the toll rose to 91 dead and another 110 missing as reports came in from areas which had been inaccessible earlier in the day.
The highest number of fatalities were from Ratnapura, the country's gem hub, where the Kalu River burst its banks and inundated the main town which is about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Colombo.
Nearly 500 homes were either damaged or destroyed due to flooding as well as landslides, DMC director of operations, Rear Admiral A. A. P. Liyanage told AFP.
Most of the deaths were due to mountain sides collapsing on homes, he said.
The Met department said the worst of the rains may be over, but there could be downstream flooding in the next few days and the authorities issued evacuation orders for thousands of people.
The government arranged temporary shelters in schools and other public buildings for people in low-lying areas to move in, the DMC said.
The military has deployed thousands of troops to reach marooned villagers and the air force carried out several rescue operations to pluck people from rooftops of flooded homes.
International appeal
Sri Lanka appealed to the international community, including the United Nations and neighboring countries, for help as the numbers of dead and missing climbed.
"The (foreign) ministry will continue to monitor the flood situation and seek assistance as required in consultation with the Ministry of Disaster Management," the government said in a statement.
The latest flooding was the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful Southwest monsoon, officials said.
In the early hours of the day a mountainside collapsed on a women's hostel at a tea plantation at Neluwa in the island's south, killing at least seven women, police said.
DMC officials said the monsoon had been expected on Thursday night and ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydro power generation.
The rains filled the reservoirs used for hydro power, which had hit rock bottom, raising concerns of power shortage in June.
But officials said most reservoirs were now so full they were in danger of spilling over and causing dangers of flooding to people living downstream.
US Congressman Adam Kinzinger has said Washington should go for any effective measures to make Islamabad comply with Americas Afghanistan strategy, even if that entails crossing the border.
"If that means more aid to do stuff, if that's withdrawing aid to do stuff, I think that's fine. But I think ultimately we need to make it clear that we are going to cross the border if necessary because they are not doing enough," Kinzinger said while speaking at an event held at the Wilson Center.
He was answering a question posed by Jane Harman, Director, President and CEO of the Wilson Center, around Pakistan's role in Afghanistan.
The Republican lawmaker, who represents the state of Illinois, is of the view that the United States should toughen up its foreign policy when it comes to its ties with Pakistan.
"I just think we need to get back to some real tough love with Pakistan," said the lawmaker, who also serves as a Major in the US Air Force.
"I hope that when the president (Trump) is discussing his Afghan strategy, Pakistan really comes into play there," he said.
Speaking on the possibility of developing a border along the Durand Line, Kinzinger believed that the idea was not feasible. "We've talked about the idea of border security and border guards with the Afghans, the problem is that they're just so spread thin anyway right now," said the congressman.
"But I think ultimately we need to make it clear that we are going to cross the border if necessary because they are not doing enough."
"I think it's important to note that the Afghan National Army (ANA) lost 140 soldiers last month in fights, so they are out there working hard."
Contemplating on the strategies the US could adopt with Pakistan, the 39-year-old congressman said, "I think it's a couple of things we have to use. There's the carrot and stick, again. And I think we need to frankly look at the consequences and consider opening up strikes again, whether it's the Taliban, the Haqqani Network, Al-Qaeda, or any other bad group in Pakistan as we have before."
"And we can't push Pakistan away totally because that can be obviously pretty bad the other way. You have a tenuous situation between India and Pakistan as it is," Kinzinger said.
He was also of the view that the US leadership should adopt any effective method to make Pakistan comply, whether that entailed giving more aid, withdrawing aid or going for extreme measures, such as crossing the border.
In an interview conducted in Beirut with Marwa Osman, freelance journalist based in Beirut, Sheikh Naim Qassem deputy Secretary General of the Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah commemorates the 25th of May the Resistance and Liberation day by saying that the Resistance has managed to create a balance and remain fully prepared in Lebanon to the highest degree so that its presence in Syria did not affect its arrangements in Lebanon.
What is happening in the region is a network of interdependent events that cannot be separated from each other. The basis of the problem in the region is Israel, Sheikh Naim Qassem told Osman.
Sheikh Qassem emphasized that We are committed to the order of the mandate of Sayyed Ali Khamenei as we are committed to the Wilaya, as well as Sayyed Khamenei being an inspirational leader who wants to protect the region from the occupation and to liberate its people and therefore we will continue with all the Palestinian factions in this approach.
The following is a transcript of the recorded interview with Sheikh Naim Qassem deputy Secretary General of the Lebanese Resistance movement Hezbollah exclusively for Khamenei.ir:
After 17 years of the 25th of May 2000, Resistance and Liberation Day, how is the readiness of the resistance today mainly in the southern Lebanese front?
At the early days of the liberation of the year 2000, several statements were issued from different sides implying that the task of Hezbollah fighting against occupation has reached its end and that consequently there would not be any justification for the continuation of the resistance even with the ongoing occupation of the Shebaa Farms and Kafr Shuba hills. However, the resistance through His Eminence the Secretary General, as well as through its commanders, declared that the battle with Israel is still open and the danger to Lebanon still exists and that the presence of the occupation in the Palestinian territories is a real danger, with a possibility of starting a new occupation in Lebanon or launching a new aggression and therefore it was necessary to continue work on getting ready militarily with all the necessary preparations and potentials to face the existential threat posed by the Israelis. Our expectations were ratified when after six years since the 2000 liberation, a large Israeli aggression in the year 2006 was declared with a pre-planned decision to crush and end Hezbollah as our intelligence from various quarters suggested. This aggression was the flare to change the map of the New Middle East starting at the southern gates of Lebanon. After the blessing form God, it was the resistances readiness and attentiveness that has a big impact which resulted in the defeat of the Israeli entity, a defeat like no other throughout the period of occupation in our region. We have learned the lesson from the war of 2006 and we believe that we should continuously be prepared and ready at all times. We are therefore in our best position of preparation for confrontation if Israel decided to attack. We also have the potential and the necessary premises for any defensive situation required for Lebanon despite our involvement in Syria, however our intervention in Syria is not a factor of weakening the Lebanese front. We have managed to create a balance and we remain fully prepared in Lebanon to the highest degree so that our presence in Syria does not affect our arrangements in Lebanon, all praise to Allah (swt).
In the 2000 Resistance and Liberation day, Hezbollah liberated the Lebanese territory from the Israeli occupation; today the resistance is participating in the liberation of the Syrian lands from the takfiri enemy. Does the Liberation Day have a new meaning now that the resistance has participated in the war against terrorism in Syria?
What is happening in the region is a network of interdependent events that cannot be separated from each other. The basis of the problem in the region is Israel. Since Israel occupied Palestine, our suffering from the occupation and aggression began. That was followed by the International conspiracy and attempts to overthrow and change the regions governments while trying to install subordinate regimes controlled by the West and the US. There are also various economic and social crises arising due to the existence of Israel in our region, and in the last phase, starting from the year 2011, the Syrian crisis led to the emergence of a new Takfiri extremist front which added a new element of confusion and occupation to the region perpetrated by the arrogant west. Therefore we are facing interrelated crises in the region and what Hezbollah did in the year 2000 was an indicator of a U-turn to maintain the independence of Lebanon and spark a sense of resistance among the peoples of the region, especially in Palestine. This infuriated and annoyed the Israelis who plotted to confront it and launched the aggression of 2006 to counter this trend, but Israel did not succeed in that either. They therefore believed that entering through the gate of Syria could cause a major blow to the resistance from top to bottom. But the participation of Hezbollah in Syria with the Syrian Arab Army and with Iran and all the forces that have been active inside Syria against the western agenda, have terminated the Israeli-Takfiri project. The takfiris were the tools for the Israeli project and they were also a target that Israel frequently used to achieve its objectives in the region, nevertheless they completely failed. So for us, the victory of May 25th 2000 is the normal preface to the 2006 victory against Israel and an introduction to the victory of Hezbollah and Syria against the takfiri threat during the past six years. Because we are facing the same aggressive project and therefore these victories are part of the confrontation.
Since you mentioned the importance of Palestine for the Resistance which constitutes a challenge to the Israeli enemy, Ayatollah Khamenei, issued a message during the conference to support the Palestinian Intifada held in Tehran during March 2017, which included the importance of the continuation of the Palestinian popular resistance against the Israeli occupation, a proposal fully supported by the resistance in Lebanon. What is the stance of Hezbollah Islamic Resistance today towards the new road map, which was recently put forward by the Hamas movement, which in turn is considered one of the most prominent resistance movements among the Palestinian? Will your stance change with the turning in Hamass standpoint?
At the conference in support of the Palestinian intifada in Tehran, Ayatullah Khamenei-- may God bless him-- presented a road map which emphasizes that the resistance is the paramount priority, that the Liberation of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean is a must and that the support of all those who resist regardless of their ideological or cultural trend is a necessity. The important thing is resistant action because this resistant action is what liberates the land and all other issues could be discussed later. On this basis, we as a resistance movement are committed to this direction and move fully in line with the guidance of Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. We are committed to the order of the mandate of Ayatullah Khamenei as we are committed to the Wilaya, as well as Ayatullah Khamenei being an inspirational leader who wants to protect the region from the occupation and to liberate its people and therefore we will continue with all the Palestinian factions in this approach. I dont think that there is any change that requires us to take a different position, we are with the Palestinian resistance and fully support it in order to confront the Israeli occupier. I believe that all groups inside Palestine want to resist and still are resisting, but with a different perception for priorities and details, however, these matters are not a stumbling block to the priority of the resistance thus we support all Palestinian factions.
It is known that the Islamic resistance in Lebanon Hezbollah emerged influenced by the 1979 revolution of Ayatullah Khomeini, the banner of which is still being carried by Ayatullah Khamenei. Is there a particular incident in your memory with Ayatullah Khamenei that you would like to share with us?
I recall an incident that indicates the extent of emphasis Ayatullah Ali Khamenei sets on the resistance in the face of Israel. When there were problems between Hezbollah and the Amal Movement in the Iqlim al-Tuffah area, The Political Solution in one of its articles stated that Hezbollah should withdraw from the Luwayzah town and turn it in to the Lebanese army. We were concerned at that time that the Lebanese army might be biased to the other party and give the arm to Amal movement, which would lead the area we had defended to fall in the hands of the other group. Despite the bickering, we were convinced that this problem with Amal needed to come to an end and His Eminence leader Ayatullah Khamenei was also pushing in this direction from the first moment. We went see Ayatullah Ali Khamenei to discuss our problem. We asked him what we can do since we are in a position where we cannot afford to lose Luwayzeh. He answered back with a question: If the problem of Luwayzeh remains unresolved can you resist Israel? We said no because we are busy with the internal affairs. He said: If the problem of Luwayzeh is resolved and Amal ended up taking the area will you still be able to resist Israel? We replied again that we will not be able to resist Israel from that region either. He then replied: since in both cases you wouldn't be able to resist Israel because of this internal situation, then it is for the best that you accept the solution because it will be the founding rock of creating an internal understanding with Amal Movement and what you are concerned about might end up not happening. This way you can resume your resistance against the Israeli enemy. And this is what happened. Thank God, the resistance continued and what we were afraid of at the internal arena ended up not happening. On the contrary, matters have developed between us and the Amal Movement to become a state of brotherhood. We are now both on a very high degree of uniformity with all internal and external cases.
After the speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on the first anniversary of the martyr Commander Mustafa Badr Eddine, reports circulated about Hezbollah handing over certain military posts on the Lebanese-Syrian borders to the Lebanese army. What is the guarantee to keep the region safe after you gave sweat and blood in order to secure it? Will we see a similar handing over of posts inside the Syrian territory to the Syrian Arab Army?
The spread of Hezbollah in the Lebanese region of the Tufail and its environs is directly linked to the presence of militants in the Syrian region adjacent to the Lebanese border in Madaya, Al-zabadani, Sarghaya and its surroundings. When these Syrian villages were liberated by the Syrian Arab Army and the terrorists left the area and the civilian residents went back to their homes in these villages, there was no more danger from the Syrian region adjacent to the Lebanese Tufail. There is no need for us to remain in these areas. We are not concerned about the safety of Tufail from the deployment of sleeper cells in Lebanon but the concern was originating from the presence of hundreds of terrorists inside the Syrian territories who posed a threat to Lebanon. Hence, since the threat is no longer existing, there is no need for us to be present among the returned civilians, the task to care for the security and wellbeing of the Syrian people in these Syrian towns is the task of the government of Syria and the Syrian Army. And this is what confirms what we were saying earlier: Hezbollah exists in Syria, where it should be in the face of danger and the threat of the takfiri extremist whose aim is to change the face of Syria and to strike the heart of the resistance. Otherwise, we are not regular forces inside Syria and our job is not to meddle in the internal Syrian state issues and we have no intention whatsoever to take permanent positions inside of the Syrian territories. We are fighting in Syria for a political project. The political project of the Syrian state to remain at its course of resistance, if that is attainable without any presence of us in any place in Syria, no one will see us there.
Although the spread of Hezbollah inside Syria was a challenge to the Zionist entity-- who said we had to fight Hezbollah in 2006 to keep them away from the Litani River-- and today Hezbollah is on the banks of the Euphrates River; so isnt remaining present inside Syria a forte in the face of the Israeli entity?
The power of resistance is not only the presence of the members of the resistance forces; the power is with all forms of the resistance. We consider the Syrian President Bashar Assad as a member of the Resistance and Syria is a vital part of the Resistance axis and thus whether our presence as individuals or as a party or our absence comes all as an integrated package of Resistance. When we entered Syria our aim was not to substitute for the system of confrontation in Syria but we went to prevent the falter of one of the foundations of the axis of resistance. If the Syrian government retakes full control of the country then our objective would be attained and we would be present inside Syria through the Syrian government as a force of resistance not by actual physical presence of our forces.
Since you mentioned the central fronts of resistance, the southern front to Syria poses a serious challenge for all parties as it is included in the four safe zones agreed upon in Astana talks in Kazakhstan. If Israel violates this region as it usually does, will there be a deterrent role for Hezbollah in the southern Syrian front, in particular in Quneitra?
We do not want to talk about what can be done by Hezbollah in the face of Israel in the Quneitra region. We leave this issue ambiguous for Israel without clarifying how we think and what we will do. Now we are doing what we see fit inside Syria, therefore at any time or place we find it appropriate to protect Syria and the resistance will interfere and protect it.
What is Hezbollahs opinion of the four zones agreed upon in Astana between the guarantor states (Russia- Iran - Turkey) and the Syrian state? Is it possible for this agreement to pave the way for a possible realistic political solution applicable in Syria?
The four safe zones that have been announced in Astana 4 are the result of an agreement with the Syrian state, its a resolution for the Syrian state. We fully support the decisions of the Syrian government concerning their internal affairs on the basis that the government in Syria is taking these orientations for the sake of Syria. We are not part of this resolution to give our opinion and we are not part of the negotiations over this matter. The Syrian State does what it deems fit to do, and they declared that they agree on these safe areas. That being said, Astana 4 talks and the four safe zones agreement is not a political solution but rather is a temporary security solution. The political solution has not started yet as it requires several months to be done, perhaps even until the world figures out what the US wants from Syria. The US is still confused to this day and have not yet settled its options in Syria.
It is apparent however that the US has settled its option in northern Syria by arming the Kurdish fighters and this was confirmed by President Donald Trump in early May 2017. Is it likely that we see Hezbollah engaging in the conflict zone near Raqqa province which would possibly lead to a confrontation with the Kurdish fighters, the USs allies in that area?
We are not a part of what is happening in Raqqa province. Point.
But isnt it alarming for the Resistance that the Kurdish fighters are being armed by the US which enhances the possibility of dividing Syria?
The results of what is under way in Raqqa will be revealed in the political resolution later on and not what is actually happening on the ground now. The political agreement will decide how the map will look like in that area and how different powers will be positioned and what would be the status of the Kurds in the united sovereign Syrian state. These are all political addresses and now it is not the time yet to discuss them. The status of that area is still unclear.
Finally on the Lebanese domestic situation; Hezbollahs stance from the electoral law has been and still is based on the statement of the Secretary-general: any other political blocs deemed as a good law, we shall accept and move on. But what is the red line that Hezbollah might draw on any upcoming electoral law to ensure Lebanon does not fall into the brink of division?
No need for Hezbollah to draw any red lines in the electoral law because what is required by all blocs is to light up all green lines for this matter, since the existence of many blocs and factions in the country is far more important than any red line that might disrupt the political process to reach a fair electoral law. We have presented a logical, fair and unifying proportional law proposal and we have said repeatedly that there are now at the table more than twenty different forms of that proportional law and we agree with all of them. We encourage the different parties to choose one of these forms to reach a solution because after various experiments in search of different laws, all these laws did not receive the required consensus and did not surpass the red lines of the various parties. We believe that a proportional electoral law will be best fitting for everyone as we already have heard positive feedback form nearly all the political parties concerned. We now have only two options, either we hit a power vacuum dead-end which will be bad for everyone, or we accomplish the electoral law, the form of proportional law as a reasonable and appropriate way out of this situation. We are open to all discussions.
Even if one of these laws destabilizes certain alliances existing in the country such as Hezbollahs coalition with other political forces in Lebanon, For instance, with a new election law, is a change in alliances plausible?
There is no form of any electoral law that poses a threat to us and therefore we're enthusiastic and positive. Also, we do not think that the law produces alliance, on the contrary, the Alliances produce an electoral. Those who ally themselves with one another on the basis of an electoral law are not real allies.
By Press Trust of India: Srinagar, May 26 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan today accused the Centre of compromising the security of the country and questioned the foreign and internal security policy of the BJP-led NDA government.
He also said that the country was facing worst ever crisis after Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister.
"You are aware of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir. Manipur is facing the same situation and Naxal attacks have increased manifold. There is tension with Pakistan and China, ties with Nepal and Russia have been hit, compromise is being made with security of the country," he told reporters here.
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Holding Modi responsible for the prevailing situation in the country, he said prime minister wants to run the government single handedly even as he lacks the talent.
"He is not allowing anybody to work freely. Modi talked about new direction during his oath taking ceremony and invited prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif," he said.
He made a sudden stop-over at that country, sari-shawl diplomacy started and he was of the thought that everything will be alright as he had developed a personal relation with Sharif, Chavan said, adding "but he forgot that Pakistan Army and its ISI decides its relation with India and not its premier".
Referring to Indias relation with Nepal, he said never in the history such deterioration had happened in the ties between the two countries.
"China is brow beating us every time. China and Pakistan relation is developing CPEC and One Road One Belt initiative is being talked about. Everyone else is becoming part of it and the BJP is rubbing its hands," he said, adding Russia is coming closer to Pakistan and conducted military exercise there.
He said that we are unable to understand where we are going. "I feel the entire failure is because of the PM as he had taken the whole work of external affairs in his own hands sidelining Sushma swaraj," he said.
Continuing his attack on the BJP-led Centre on its third anniversary, he said BJP had failed on every front and failed to fulfill its poll promises.
"Nowadays, you are not hearing the prime minister talking about fighting corruption in his public addresses. It is because his government got exposed due to various scandals in BJP-led states. The height of the affairs is that there is no inquiry or progress in any of these cases," he alleged.
Speaking about Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, dam construction scandal in Arunachal Pradesh, petroleum corporation scam in Gujarat, mining scam in Rajasthan and money laundering in Chattisgarh, he said these exposed the BJP government at the Centre which had promised to fight corruption and black money.
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He said the UPA government received names of 1,400 people who have offshore accounts through Germany.
"After the change of government, BJP got the files, but there is no progress. 500 names of Indian nationals surfaced in Panama papers but not a single case was registered, leave aside making some arrests."
He said it is on record who facilitated safe passage to former IPL chief Lalit Modi and business tycoon Vijay Mallya out of the country.
Terming demonetisation as a biggest scam, Chavan said the government claimed having taken the step to end fake currency, terrorism and black money.
"There is no end to corruption, black money was deposited in banks and made white. Money was spent in huge amounts in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab elections recently. From where money has come?" he asked and said RBI is not revealing how many notes have been printed and how many notes were returned.
He said fake currency notes, printed in Pakistan, have been seized in large numbers after demonetisation.
"Will Modi again go for demonetisation of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes? " the Congress leader said.
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He said USD 753 million income was generated through export from agriculture sector in 2003-04 which was enhanced to USD 3,295 million during the UPA government but the NDA government has brought down the export to USD 1,338 million.
Chavan also questioned the government for its failure to generate jobs and taking industrial sector to new heights.
"Modi had promised to generate 2 crore jobs each year. Where are the 6 crore jobs? If you view government figures, only 1.35 crore jobs were created in 2015," he said, adding demonetisation has dealt a severe below to the unorganised sector.
He claimed that the youth of the country is frightened as to see his future bleak.
"Youth are feeling directionless. Chavan also lashed out at the BJP government for its failure to provide relief to the people as falling oil prices resulted benefit to the tune of USD 40 million to the government. PTI MIJ SMJ
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In 2010, Nitish Kumar had cancelled a dinner invitation to BJP leaders including Narendra Modi in Patna. Today, Nitish Kumar had his lunch with PM Modi in New Delhi. But, the Opposition leaders may not like this growing bonhomie between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi ahead of Presidential election.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna during 350th Prakash Parv ceremony in January this year. (Photo: @PIB_India)
By Prabhash K Dutta: Luncheons and dinner need to get special mention in defining the undulating relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over the years.
Narendra Modi played a host to Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth over lunch and invited Nitish Kumar, who skipped a lunch hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday.
Entire Opposition was fuming, albeit not openly, over Nitish Kumar's decision to skip the lunch where all the invited party chiefs were present to discuss their strategy for the presidential election.
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THE DINNER THAT NEVER HAPPENED
It was a dinner invitation in 2010 that threw the relationship between Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi into rough weather. Narendra Modi, then as the Gujarat Chief Minister, was in Patna to attend the BJP national executive meet.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar - then in alliance with the BJP - had extended lunch invitation to the top brass of the BJP leadership. But then something happened.
It was the month of June and an advertisement put by the then Gujarat Chief Minister bragging about his state's flood relief aid to Bihar - where rivers were in a spate in 2010. Narendra Modi had sent a cheque of Rs 5 crore on behalf of Gujarat to Bihar Chief Minister for flood relief.
Nitish Kumar took the advertisement as an insult to 'people of Bihar'. He was so furious with the development that he withdrew his invitation to the BJP leadership as it was not possible to convince the top brass of the alliance partner to leave out Narendra Modi from the dinner.
Nitish Kumar went to return the cheque of Rs 5 crore to Gujarat Chief Minister.
Narendra Modi, as BJP's presidential candidate, had slammed Nitish Kumar for 'treating him like an untouchable' and withdrawing the invitation for dinner.
But, times have changed. Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar now share more cordial relation.
'MEETING IN SAFFRON TURBANS'
Nearly two years after Narendra Modi took oath as the Prime Minister, things ice started to melt between him and Nitish Kumar, who met the former in New Delhi last year and sought special relief package for Bihar.
Nitish Kumar is likely to present his list of demands and remind Narendra Modi of the unfulfilled promises made during that meeting in August, 2016. Nitish Kumar praised and endorsed Narendra Modi's ambitious Namami Gange programme.
Next month end when Indian forces carried out surgical strike in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, while Aam Aadmi Party and Congress demanded proof and were skeptical of Narendra Modi government's claim, Nitish Kumar lauded the military operation targeting terror launching pads.
Three months later, Narendra Modi announced demonetisation in a bold yet surprising decision on November 8. The entire Opposition was virtually up in arms. But, Nitish Kumar backed the move calling it well directed one. He criticised the Centre a few weeks later but over implementation woes and problems faced by people.
Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Prakash Parv ceremony in Patna. (Photo: @PIB_India) Prime Minister Narenda Modi and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar at Prakash Parv ceremony in Patna. (Photo: @PIB_India)
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Then came a meeting in January this year in Patna, where 350th Prakash Parv was celebrated at the Patna Sahib gurudwara. Nitish Kumar and Narendra Modi were seen together, walking, sitting and sharing lighter moments with big laughter. There was no sign of any past bitterness between Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar.
Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar, both, were wearing saffron turbans. Another person, who wore a saffron turban was Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who incidentally had quit as a minister and walked away of the NDA over 2002 Gujarat riots.
LUNCH INVITATION BY SONIA GANDHI
The Opposition parties have been doing every bit to get their acts together for the presidential election. The ruling NDA is little short of 50 per cent of the vote pile for the presidential election. The Opposition sees it as an opportunity to embarrass Narendra Modi government if they succeed in putting up a common candidate, capable of trouncing the ruling coalition's nominee.
Nitish Kumar is key to a united Opposition. Yesterday's meeting in the Parliament Library House over lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi was being considered as a crucial step in that direction. While all the main Opposition leaders huddled together, Nitish Kumar sent Sharad Yadav as JD-U representative.
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This led to RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Yadav quip: Nitish Kumar possibly finds the Prime Minister's lunches more delicious and appetising.
However, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who attended the lunch, said that Nitish Kumar had "a lot of official work" to do. However, for record, Nitish Kumar had just one meeting scheduled for the day and that was the cabinet meeting slated for 5 pm.
About skipping the lunch, Nitish Kumar said that he had already conveyed his party view on the presidential election issue to Sonia Gandhi in April. Nitish Kumar had favoured incumbent President Pranab Mukherjee, who incidentally said that he would not contest if there was no consensus on his name.
This leaves Nitish Kumar open to take call on the question of supporting another candidate, who could even be an NDA nominee.
Many observers feel that Nitish Kumar, in reality, wanted to avoid Lalu Prasad Yadav and not Sonia Gandhi.
Nitish Kumar is said to be upset with the political posturing of Lalu Prasad Yadav, who declared himself as the leader of the mahagathbandhan in Bihar.
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The charges of financial irregularities against the family members of Lalu Prasad Yadav and RJD chief's now exposed equation with jailed don-turned-politician Mohammed Shahabuddin have further complicated the relation between the two leaders. Nitish has maintained a safe distance from the Income Tax raids on the properties of Lalu Prasad Yadav's family members.
LUNCH INVITATION FROM NARENDRA MODI
Nitish Kumar's lunch with Narendra Modi was timed to irk those trying to stitch a united front in the Opposition rank.
But, Nitish Kumar has his own explanation for attending the luncheon. He said, "I was invited by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the lunch in the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister (Pravind Jugnauth)."
"You know we have deep emotional bonds with people there. 52 per cent of population there has origins in Bihar," Nitish Kumar said.
But, Nitish Kumar further added that he had sought a separate appointment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss de-siltation of the Ganga river and some other issues.
So, finally after seven years, Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar had their meal together though they were playing the reversed roles. Narendra Modi was the gracious host this time.
ALSO READ |
Why did Nitish Kumar skip meeting with Sonia Gandhi but will have lunch with PM Modi?
ALSO WATCH | Sushil Modi offers BJP support to Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, asks him to dump Lalu Prasad
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Are communities safe from strangers in local communities? Debate over Airbnb and homestays View(s): View(s):
Does Airbnb pay taxes? This was one of thekeenly-sought after queries from delegates at the 2017 annual Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) summit held in Sri Lankas west coast town of Negombo over the weekend.
Yes we do pay taxes and want to pay taxes, was Airbnb official Thao Nguyens stock answer to the many comments raised at the conference. An Asian-American and former US diplomat, Ms Nguyen is Head of Strategic Partnerships, APAC, Airbnb, Singapore.
Tourism Minister John Amaratunga also acknowledged that Airbnb, a hugely successful online marketplace and hospitality service helping people to lease or rent short-term lodging, was in discussions with the government on paying taxes on online sales. They have agreed to pay taxes, he told the conference.
Airbnbs model has disrupted the market in many countries where travellers earlier stayed at star-class hotels and registered accommodation. In recent years, homestays like the Airbnb model is drawing more clientele in Sri Lanka at least 40 per cent of visitors are staying in non-formal accommodation and eating into the profits and business of traditional hotels. The competition has whipped up opposition from the traditional marketplace which is urging governments to tax Airbnb and booking.com, among other online platforms and ensure a level playing field.
Another issue that confronts homestays through platforms like Airbnb was flagged by Lawrence Leong, former Assistant Chief Executive (International Group), Singapore Tourism Board, Singapore.
Local peace is important. Communities are getting disrupted by all kinds of visitors coming to the locality. Are young kids safe; is my daughter safe coming home at night with strangers in the locality with strange cars? The community gets disrupted by all kinds of people coming in, he said, also adding that on the flip side, the government also needs to look at how consumers staying in Airbnb facilities are protected. In response, Airbnbs Nguyen said that the company is constantly working to ally these concerns and also engaging with DMOs to resolve some of these local issues.
CB Dep. Governor post still vacant View(s):
The Central Bank (CB) is yet to appoint a new deputy governor to a vacant position, nearly four weeks after S. Lankatillake retired from the post.
Though the CBs Monetary Board (MB) had submitted its nominee to fill the vacancy, the Finance Ministry has been dilly-dallying over the appointment amidst speculation that the terms of Mr. Lankatillake and Deputy Governor P. Samarasiri, due to retire on August 18, would be extended. Both were seen as close to former governor Arjuna Mahendran.
Since Mr. Lankatillake stepped down on April 30 on reaching the retirement age of 60 years, his position is yet to be filled as a result of which seven divisions which came under him including EPF and Human Resources are temporarily handle by Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy.
Trade union officials they were hoping that the new Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera would formally approve the MB nominee for the vacancy than delay the process. The MB had sent their nominee, selected among the most senior Assistant Governors, soon after interviews were conducted on April 4.
Colombo University holds Stat Day View(s):
The Stat Circle, a society formed by the students of the Faculty of Science, University of Colombo, held Stat Day 2017, on March 30 at the main auditorium of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
It was attended by many distinguished guests from the government sector, private sector and academia, and undergraduates from state universities and school students.
The aims of the Stat Circle are to enhance the statistical knowledge of the students and the outside community and to communicate and exchange ideas with other societies, universities, the industry and school children, the association said.
The keynote speech for the event was delivered by Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy, Governor of Central Bank of Sri Lanka, who said the role of statistics is becoming increasingly important today with the advancement in technology revolutionizing the way data is collected and processed.
Statistical information provide a useful basis for the formulation of decisions by individuals, by businesses, and by policy makers, he said.
The Central Bank has developed updated sophisticated modelling techniques such as factor augmented vector auto-regression models and the Bayesian vector auto-regression models for near term forecasting and Neo Keynesian open economy model for medium term forecast. These have become common workhorse models in forecasting policy analysis within the Central Bank and they play a very important role in the everyday work of the organization, he said.
Dr. Amara Satharasinghe, Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics, in his speech said that statisticians together with the relevant stake holders have a role in making available these statistics accurately, reliably and in time as these are essential to show where the goals are being met and where they are not and focus the attention on the need for immediate action.
Long term $24 billion credit line to SL under OBOR initiative View(s):
Sri Lanka has been offered a long-term US$ 24 billion credit line from China under the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, official sources revealed.
This was a major outcome of Sri Lankas participation in this forum in Beijing recently a senior official said adding that the Sri Lankan delegation headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has had successful negotiations with Chinese authorities in gaining their support for local development projects.
The negotiations are at the preliminary stage on the nature of the Chinese line of credit whether through government to government or from the China-sponsored Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), he disclosed.
Sri Lanka has borrowed billions of dollars from China to build domestic infrastructure. Sri Lankas estimated total debt is $64.9 billion, of which $8 billion is owed to China.
The China Communications Constructions Company (CCCC) is now constructing the $1.4 billion Colombo International Financial Centre, a new city along Colombos coastline that will become the citys central business district by 2030 creating 80,000 jobs for Sri Lankans, under the OBOR initiative.
The ongoing development within Sri Lankas commercial city Colombo, which will be built on 269 hectares of reclaimed land, would accommodate 200,000 residents and consists of apartments, hotels, offices, shopping malls, exhibition centres, an official said.
Chinas OBOR plan comprises a belt of overland corridors and sea routes connecting Asia, Africa and Europe through building infrastructure and boosting financial and trade ties for over 60 countries that lie along the routes.
Linked closely with the OBOR initiative, China has invested in developing Sri Lankas infrastructure and has emerged as one of Sri Lankas top five investors.
Using the OBOR initiative could further improve trade and investment linkages with China and other OBOR partner countries including East Asia and Europe, he added.
The Sri Lankan government has accorded priority to attracting more foreign investment and real estate investment will play a key role in achieving this objective.
The country is targeting foreign investment to the tune of US$3 billion in 2017, a BOI official said. (BS)
Now tea-on-a-plate for world chefs via Dilmah By Quintus Perera View(s): View(s):
Believe it ornot now tea is not only served in a cup but also on a plate, thanks to Dilmah Tea pioneers who promoted Pure Ceylon (Sri Lanka) tea as a brand all over the world and now exported to more than 120 countries.
Dilmah is now helping to brand Sri Lanka Tourism by having this special tea in food menus of all the contestants participating in the prestigious international Bocuse dOr Culinary Competition which will be held in Lyon, France in January 2019. The event is the biggest live culinary competition in the world held once in two years where the chefs have to perform in front of an enthusiastic audience.
For the fourth time Sri Lanka chefs has been invited to participate in this competition and this was announced at a media briefing held this week at Colombo Movenpick Hotel. The competition will be held in three stages national, regional and international. The national selections would be done in June this year.
Rohan Fernandopulle, President, Bocuse dOr, Sri Lanka, said that the winners of the national competition have to participate in Asia Pacific Regional Competition and out of all the countries only five countries would be participating in the Lyon finals. He is spearheading the Bocuse dOr Sri Lankan Chapter together with an executive committee of chefs.
He said that the Sri Lankan team participated at the 2016 Asia Pacific finals but was short of a few marks to be selected to participate in Lyon 2017. He said that at the 2013 competition Sri Lanka was selected to participate at the World Finals in Lyon, after being placed among the top four at the Asia Pacific Competition.
Paul Bocuse, held in high esteem in the culinary world who sets new standards, created the Bocuse dOr gastronomy contest in France in 1987 to give young chefs an opportunity to demonstrate their skills, offering them a boost in their careers. Thus 24 worlds best chefs would be contesting in Lyon to become worlds best chefs.
On the sidelines of the briefing, the Business Times spoke to Suren Atukorale, Food Service Manager, Dilmah- Ceylon Tea Services PLC on the tea served on a plate concept.
He said that when Merril J. Fernando, founder Dilmah and his two sons met Mr. Bocuse in his culinary school in Lyon, the latter had agreed to include Ceylon Tea as an ingredient in the culinary preparations in the competition. Thus served-in-a- cup Ceylon Tea goes round the world on a plate through these chefs participating in this wide and highly prestigious culinary contest.
He said that not only in this competition but in other ways people are learning how to use tea as an ingredient in food preparations. He said that when tea is added as an ingredient in the food, it should be brewed longer and stronger when cocking with it and one should refrain from using too many ingredients to ensure the prominence of the taste of tea.
SriLankan adds new routes in India, flies to Vietnam View(s):
Sri Lankas national carrier is planning to fly to more destinations in India, increase frequencies to Hong Kong and launch a new service to Vietnam.
SriLankan Airlines Chairman Ajit Dias told reporters, on the sidelines of the May 18-20 annual summit of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), that the debt-ridden airline is adding Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Cochin to its Indian sector eventually making it the largest foreign carrier into India with 13 destinations.
We are also increasing the frequency to Hong Kong and launching a new service to Vietnam, he said in Negombo where the PATA summit was held. We are adding some smaller aircraft to our fleet for the increased frequencies while retiring the larger ones, as per original plans, he added.
While battling huge debt left behind by the previous management under an earlier government, the airline is focusing on the India subcontinent and the Far East while slowing down on loss-making European routes.
Earlier this month, the airline said net group loss for the year ending March 31, 2017 had risen sharply to US$15.12 million from $3.15 million loss in the previous year.
The national carrier has been scouting around for a partner in the past 12 to 18 months but without much success. US-based Texas Pacific Group, one of the largest private equity investment firms in the world, had been in discussions for several months with the government on a possible partnership but pulled out in early May after completing due diligence.
Travel and the sharing economy View(s):
Travellers want the human face back in tourism in a digital age where machines book your hotel room, air ticket and other needs, say experts.
According to Rafat Ali, Founder/ CEO of Skift, a US-based travel industry intelligence and marketing platform, research shows that travellers are yearning for a more human touch and less tech. It should be a mix human contact coupled with digital efficiency, he said speaking at the at the 2017 annual Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) summit held in Sri Lankas west coast town of Negombo.
It is time that we return to the core of travel hospitality, he said adding that while platforms like Airbnb, booking.com and Uber have transformed the travel landscape, mass tourism might be on the way out as millennials prefer quieter cities than overcrowded ones.
The conference drew many references to the way travel is changing under a shared economy where the focus is on access to convenience rather than ownership with millennials leading the way in these progressive changes.
Taking lessons from the sharing economy, hotels are beginning to put kitchens in rooms.
Renting budget tuk-tuks, surf boards or roller skates among many other needs will be the next best thing to happen while borrowing Princess Dianas wedding dress or an exquisite piece of jewellery for a special occasion is not far off.
According to Lawrence Leong, former Assistant Chief Executive (International Group), Singapore Tourism Board and now an angel investor, there is an app rocksbox.com offering jewellery on rent. Ladies, you can rent the best jewellery in the world for that special occasion, he said drawing laughter from the audience.
Its not about ownership, its about access, he said adding that very soon there would be many other rental options flooding the travel marketplace.
Greg Klassen, formerly from Canadian Tourism Commission and now an international consultant, strongly believes that tourism will move away from the mass market model to a localised Fit model which will generate more revenue and contribute more to communities.
Black Friday for disaster victims; Rs 369m for MPs View(s):
Rs 1,200 million since March for luxury vehicles; Rs 1,000 million to reconstruct houses destroyed
by floods, landslides in Kegalle District in 2016
By Chandani Kirinde- Lobby Correspondent
To say it is ironic would be an understatement, that, on a day the country is faced with a huge natural disaster, the Govt appeals for international assistance to deal with it, while presenting to Parliament a Supplementary Estimate for a hefty Rs 369 million, of which, a large component will be for vehicles for lawmakers and to renovate their official residences.
And that is exactly what happened on Friday, when Parliament met for a few hours, adjourning early, so that, MPs can assist in rescue operations and distribution of relief to victims of the floods and landslides, but, not before the Supplementary Estimate was presented to the House. This would put at a total, the amount allocated this year to buy vehicles, mainly for ministers, deputy ministers and senior public officials, at over Rs 1,200 million, a luxury which a debt-ridden and natural-disaster-hit country can ill afford.
This is followed up with a mayday call by the Government to the UN, International Search & Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighboring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially, in areas of search and rescue operations, while some in the Corporate sector were seen scurrying to collect assistance to hand out to the victims. All this is well and good, but what it exposes is the unpreparedness on the part of this Govt, to move swiftly and provide the necessary relief and assistance to citizens faced with natural disaster.
Parliament has largely paid lip service to the subject of how the country deals with natural disasters and with what seriousness it views environmental degradation, which has led to worsening natural disasters in the country.
Lets take, for example, the attention Parliament had paid, by way of Budgetary allocations, to institutions tasked with dealing with natural disasters. Under the Ministry of Disaster Management (MDM) come the National Disaster Management Council, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the National Disaster Relief Services Centre, the National Building Research Organization (NBRO) and the Meteorology (Met) Dept, all of which need to work together in the event of a natural disaster.
Floods and landslides are not entirely new phenomena to Sri Lanka and, according to the MDM, 151 persons died and over 2,000 homes were damaged due to floods and landslides in 2016. Additionally, the MDM claims to have 77 early warning dissemination towers, 25 disaster management coordinating units, in addition to seven Meteorology observation units. Of the Rs 4,600 million allocated to the MDM in 2017, 46% is earmarked for disaster relief. Of this, Rs 1,000 million has been allocated to reconstruct houses destroyed in the floods and landslides in the Kegalle District in 2016, which is less than the Supplementary Estimates to purchase luxury vehicles for those in the Government.
In keeping with time-honoured Parliamentary traditions, MPs, on Friday, were keen to speak on the floods and landslides, given the nationwide attention the matter was receiving. Leader of the House, Minister Lakshman Kiriella told Parliament that Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had given instructions to take all steps to assist the flood victims, while the Tri-forces, too, were deployed with boats in rescue efforts and to provide relief.
Joint Opposition Parliamentary Group Leader Dinesh Gunawardena urged the Govt. to provide prompt emergency assistance to the victims. With all the concerns being expressed, Parliament was adjourned at around 2 pm. But it is more than likely that, by the time the House next meets, this will be forgotten till the next natural disaster strikes, which, in all probability, is round the proverbial corner.
rom Meeriyabedda in 2014, to Aranayaka in 2016, and the Meethotamulla garbage-slide and the landslides in Ratnapura and Kalutara Districts, the intensity with which, both man-made and natural disasters strike the country, have intensified.
ut the lack of direction by the Government. and failure to allocate sufficient funds to put in place emergency response units to deal with such situations, continue, and, other than knee jerk reactions, each time a disaster occurs, long term solutions will remain elusive.
Bodu Bala bogeyman bares bigotrys evil breast again View(s):
Phantoms raised from comatose state to dance once more on Lankas grave
It was, probably, the shortest sathyakriya the assertion of truth ever undertaken by any man in search of martyrdom. But when injustice protests its innocence and demands its continuance in the outer precincts of the Sri Dalada, its no wonder the flaky timbre of resolve to wantonly assert the potency of truth soon disintegrates and turns unto dust.
Last Sunday the Bodu Bala Sena tribal chieftain jauntily strode into the Sri Dalada Maligawa to pay worship to the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha. Gnanasara Thera who led his tribe was granted, after waiting an hour, a short audience thereafter with the Chief Monk of the Malwatte Chapter and then directed to meet the Anunayaka the Ven. Dr. Niyangoda Vijithsiri Thera. After the audience was over he emerged from the chamber to state that, henceforth I will not obey the laws of the land and I will not recognise the jurisdiction of the courts.
He then proceeded to occupy a bench outside the premises of the Sacred Dalada Maligawa and declared that he will stage a sathyakriya against plans to arrest him. But it was apparent the guardian monks of the Temple of the Tooth were not prepared to let Gnanasaras sathyakriya stunt take place on the doorstep of Lankas most hallowed temple. Two hours later the Anunayaka of the Malwatte chapter emerged from his avasa to warn the rebel monk the consequences that would follow if he did not give up his sathyakriya and vacate the premises forthwith.
Not all enterprises begun with great pitch and moment succeed when the pangs of hunger and the whip of authority stand poised to beat down the barred doors of intransigence. And the renegade monk who had dared to exploit and violate the sanctity of the Sri Dalada with a supposed sathyakriya to further his own interests and delay his day of judgment, meekly accepted the order and, shuffling his robe in haste, made quick exit. He could not risk being shown on national television launching a tirade of filth towards the custodians of the nations most precious possession, The Buddhas Tooth Relic. But when it came to letting loose his lewd tongue on the guardians of the law, no such constraints restrained him from giving full vent to his spleen in the choicest words the Sinhala vocabulary possess in abundance.
Last Friday while returning to Colombo, the police tried to arrest him at a petrol station where the Bodu Bala cortege had stopped to refuel their vehicles. With raised fist and a filth outburst, he defied the police to arrest him, backed as he was by his supporter mob. Speaking in a lingo, unbecoming of a monk, he told them, I told you I will surrender on Monday, why are you doing this cheap thing now? Is this the example you wish to set for this country? Rich, isnt it, coming from him, compared to the odious example he, an ordained monk representing the Noble Order of Bhikkhus, has set by inciting racial and religious attacks as happened three years ago in Beruwela and spreading racial and religious hatred elsewhere at every turn. The outnumbered police squad had to back down and Gnanasara was free again.
And why was the police, in the course of their lawful duties, bent on arresting the marauding monk? For an alleged hate speech made in Kurunegala and other similar incidents, apart from obstructing the police in the execution of their lawful duties.
But the monk never turned up at the police port of call on Monday. Neither did he turn up at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday where the complaint made by additional judge of the Homagama court that the rebellious monk had scandalised his court by behaving in the manner he did in his court room on January 25th last year by language and gestures made before him in open court, was scheduled for inquiry. Instead his counsel informed Court that her client Gnanasara was unwell to attend court that day and that she would submit the medical certificate on the next day of call. The case was re fixed for May 31st.
In these last two months Bodu Bala Gnanasara seems to have awoken from his hibernation and heightened his racial campaign and become active in the east where the three communities live more or less in equal proportion. The East is where the majority of Muslims live. He has taken his Bodu Bala inquisition to the fringes of Muslims Mecca; and there sought to blaspheme Islams God, Faith and Quran in an attempt, it seems, to provoke a backlash against Lankas majority race and condemn this country to another terrible racial war.
Two Sundays ago, on May 14th, he threatened Muslims at Onekama in Polonnaruwa and broke their huts and livelihood means, in the presence of the police, on the basis they were illegal structures. He claimed the Muslims were taking over Sinhala lands and referred to how Veheragodaella has become Palliayagodaella; and that the same thing had occurred to Mannikkawaduwa.
He said to a crowd of Sinhala monks and villagers that Mannikkawaduwa is Deegavapiyas ancient chaithya, but now they call it Mayawaduwe. He then proceeded to refer to Allah and spoke in derogatory terms that would have inflamed Muslims. He then exhorted the monks and villagers to grab any lands they could and say this is ours, this is ours, and occupy the lands. When the Government sends its forces to enforce the law, he said, if there is any problem, call us and we will come. From one corner we will start and take batons and hammer anyone who comes and chase them away. He was to repeat a similar exhortation during a press conference he held two days later on May 16, where he once again referred to Allah in derogatorily terms.
So what makes this boisterous, bigoted, insufferable, so called guardian of Sinhala Buddhism spew hate in his track everywhere he goes even as the Giant African Snail or Golu Bella introduced to Lanka a hundred years ago due to the negligence of a British planter leaves a discharge of sevela or saliva in its trail? Was the introduction of Gnanasara to assume the mantle of the Sinhala saviour during the halcyon days of the Rajapaksas, deliberate or due to negligence?
Even whilst the nation is still nursing its war wounds caused by a 30-year ethnic war, Gnanasara still remains hell bent on starting another, this time with the Muslims, united in the one faith of Islam which has over 1.8 billion followers worldwide, the state religion of many of the oil rich nations in the world having the power to control oil supplies and even place embargoes; and which religion has, within its religious councils, the power to issue fatwas against anyone who dares profane the name of Allah.
Already the Muslims are showing signs that this time they are not ready to remain as sitting ducks for the Sinhala Bodu Bala to take pot shots at. An Eastern Provincial Council member, Shibly Farooq has already fired the first warning shot. This week he told the monthly Eastern Provincial Council sitting that: The racial activities taking place in the country will pave the way for another bloodbath. The majority of the Sinhala community does not approve racism. The proof of this mindset could be seen in the defeat of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The Tamils and Muslims in the country are once again facing a series of problems.
He further warned, Racism is once again unleashed in spite of the fact that the scars of the 1983 bloodbath and the war that followed have not healed yet. Therefore, while great trust has been placed on this Government of Good Governance, it must flex its muscles and restrain the racist forces from rearing their ugly heads, and called on the Government to maintain law and order.
Gamini Viyangoda of the Purawasi Balaya Sangvidanaya also had a message to the Government. Addressing a news conference this week, he said: When it comes to holding a referendum, it is important for the Government to minimise as much as possible its unpopularity in order to win the peoples verdict. But unfortunately today, the Governments unpopularity is on the rise. Gnanasaras attacks against the Muslims three years ago became a main factor to send the Rajapaksas home. Again this Gnanasara has appeared on the stage. But up to today, no action has been taken by the Government against this monk. This will have adverse consequences on the referendum that is planned to get the new constitution approved by the people. Whatever else this Government might do, it will be of no use if this country is once again engulfed in flames. Therefore, it is vital that monks like Gnanasara should be tethered.
It is almost as if someone somewhere seems to have pressed the red button to raise the ghouls from the land of the living dead and reactivate them to dig the nations grave and dance once more upon its barren bed. Someone, somehow seems to have managed to retract the stake driven into their hearts these vampire bats who once, not so long ago, stalked the land in search of Muslim prey to feed on and revive them to life, with the prospect of more blood to suck from minority necks and to replay the self same scenes that haunted the land and struck terror in the hearts of the minorities when the saffron shrouded spectres arose with impunity and acted with immunity.
If America has a Klu Klux Klan, wreathed in black and marching incognito to render the blacks into a quivering mass of black jelly, meet the Bodu Bala Brigade of renegade monks who do it in the open, without shame, without remorse, without fear: but with pride, with impudence, with arrogance and, alas, with immunity from legal reprisals; and, worst of all, do it in the name of Gautama the Buddha and flagrantly violate every tenet he preached. If the Taliban blasted the 1600 year old Bamiyan Buddha statues, the symbolic artistic representation of an alien idol to that fanatic Islamic outfit, the Bodu Bala seems hell bent on reducing to naught the value of the two thousand five year old peaceful Sinhala Buddhist heritage by the violent methods they use to ostensibly protect it.
Their rise from the sewers of obscurity is itself shrouded in mystery. But though their rise may have been from such depths, their burst in to national prominence began in 2012 when they held their first convention at the BMICH. Where did the bowl of funds come from, for a band of unknown monks without any known patronage, to start their campaign of hate from the steps of the grandiose international conference hall?
Then the world was their oyster, and legal immunity from arrest for what they were about to embark upon, their pearl. The saffron robe their armour, Sinhala chauvinism their lance and an unarmed defenseless community their prey. And attacking them and striking fear into their hearts, their pride and glory. All done in the name of protecting Buddhism, the nations religion, which despite five hundred years of foreign domination, has still remained Buddhist to the core.
Bodu Bala past atrocities need no retelling, for their reputations for bigotry and an inclination to arouse racial and religious hatred amongst the communities has long preceded their latest unwanted arrival on the national stage.
But this time Galagodaaththe Gnanasara seems to have lost his marbles, gone over the top, gone berserk. Perhaps it is to plunge the nation into chaos with Sinhala Muslim clashes which would earn for Lanka the worlds opprobrium and bring her down to her knees which would ideally suit his puppeteers waiting for anarchy to break to escape from their own shadows of corruption sins and defer his day of judgment where he faces the distinct possibility of a long-term in prison if convicted of contempt of court, stripped as he is now of his saffron immunity which the Rajapaksa regime caparisoned him with.
But why is it that this Government having condemned the Rajapaksa legal system of selective justice and harped time and time again that everyone is equal before the law and the Government is committed to upholding the rights of all citizens and that it is dedicated to creating an environment where all citizens of all communities can live together as one in peace and harmony, still shirk to throw the book at all those depraved racists elements, be they Sinhalese, Tamils or Muslims who are intent on exploiting race and religion to advance their own political agendas?
Does the Maithripala Government believe that Galagodaaththe Gnanasara is untouchable? A sacred bull that must be left undisturbed in its rampage? Merely because he wears the sacred robe of the Buddha? If so they are wrong. Galagodaaththe Gnanasara has shown by his actions that he is not fit to don it. Does the Maithripala Government believe that if they act against him, that there will be a mass Sinhala uprising against the Government which would cause them to lose the elections next time around or even precipitate the Governments downfall before 2020? If so, wrong again.
The Government has only to look at the 2015 general election results where the Bodu Bala Sena contested under the name of the Buddhist Peoples Front. They only received 20,377 votes or just 0.18 percent of the total votes cast. So what is the Government waiting for?
Defilement of the sacred Buddhist Flag
This was the scene on Tuesday in the heart of Fort where a group of Bodu Bala monks and a few lay supporters staged a protest march against the imminent arrest of their tribal chieftain Galagodaaththe Gnanasara on a charge of delivering hate speeches against the Muslims. Whether the rebel bigoted monk of hate is guilty of the charges to be laid against him is a matter for the courts to decide. But his supporters, Buddhist monks of his organisation Bodu Bala Sena, is clearly guilty of defiling the universally accepted Buddhist flag, sacred to millions of Sinhala Buddhist in the land. Whilst proudly giving flutter to the Sinhala lion flag, itself an offence to fly being a distortion of the Sri Lankan national standard, this band of wayward monks and the misguided lay, perhaps in their ignorance, had thought it fit to deface the Buddhist flag by transposing upon its five colour, the photograph of their leader striking, with his raised and pointing forefinger, the Mudra of Hate. Never in the history of its 132-year existence has the standard symbolising Buddhism, ever been subjected to such desecration and distortion. Only the Buddha has a right to be placed on it but even the Buddha image has never adorned it. The five-colour flag was designed by a distinguished committee in 1885 comprising Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thera the chairman, Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera, Don Carolis Hewavitharana, the father of Anagarika Dharmapala, Andiris Perera Dharmagunawardhana, the maternal grandfather of Anagarika Dharmapala, Charles A. de Silva, Peter De Abrew, William De Abrew (father of Peter), H. William Fernando, N. S. Fernando and Carolis Pujitha Gunawardena and was first raised and publicly displayed on Vesak day 1885 at Dipaduttamarama, Kotahena, by Ven. Migettuwatte Gunananda Thera which was the first time the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day was declared a public holiday in Ceylon by the British. It was introduced to Japan by Anagarika Dharmapala and Olcott who presented it to Emperor Meiji and subsequently to Burma. And in 1952 at the World Buddhist Fellowship convention the five-colour flag was adopted as the International Buddhist Flag and universally recognised as such. And then this Tuesday morn, these Bodu Bala Sena monks went and flung dung on it. BROMANCE: Sealed with a kissSmooch that says no hard feelings It was no torrid full blown deep seated kiss on the lips done in the manner of the French. Neither was it a casual peck on the cheek done in an offhand manner as a meaningless gesture of comradeship. But one with pursed lips passionately planted on the cheek of the outgoing Finance Minister by the new successor to that envied position. It was perhaps Mangalas touching hope that by kissing the frog now condemned to a foreign well, he would turn into a prince of finance the nation had never witnessed before. And by the look and smile on Ravi Karunanayake face, he did not even blush red or turn scarlet when Mangala, in all his innocence, turned physical and sprung the kiss of kisses in public which would have made a grown man wish the earth to have swallowed him whole for the embarrassment it caused. But as Ravis response clearly indicates, it was as natural as the activity of the bees and the birds; as if receiving a smooch from Mangala in this way in happy abandon was the most natural thing, a daily run of the mill stuff to make a grown man start his sunshiny day with a spring in his step and a song in his heart and, of course, the tingling sensation on his cheek that lingers on, long after the kissy sound had vanished. But while Karunanayake was assuming the Foreign Minister portfolio which Mangala Samaraweera had held and performed splendidly, Mangala Samaraweera was just slipping into his hardly used finance full suit only to find its pockets bare and discovering that even the shoes he was trying on as the nations new finance minister were much too large for his feet. And worse. To add more woe to his exalted new found plight, finding that the national coffers which had seemed to him as foreign minister a cornucopia from which flowed limitless cash to finance his many foreign trips, empty like Mother Hubbards cupboard. No wonder he told Parliament this week in his first speech as Finance Minister, that he was inheriting a bankrupt treasury. And this, after two years of the present coalition government. Most probably he would have wondered whether he had been given something to bite which was more than he could chew. And as for Ravi Karunanayake, as he went back home to pack his bags to take the next flight to some exotic destination to peddle Ceylon tea or coax some foreign sucker to stake his dough on buying a twenty buck Mahajana Development lottery ticket since the National Lotteries Board is expected to come under his purview he must be wondering of the quirks of fate. Only last year he was named by the London magazine Banker, as Asias best Finance Minister in the year 2016. Now he had been thrown out. Alas, if its of any comfort, he should take consolation from the much stated maxim that a prophet is never appreciated in his own land. But, as he is reported to have remarked, its all due to envy. At least he gets to keep the same initials he bore as Finance Minister: FM. But so o does Mangala.
For the rest of the Ministers the nonagathe which started a week before the Sinhala New Year when the President announced there would be a cabinet reshuffle after the new year festivities were done with which was then extended to Vesak and then further extended to this Monday, at least the frustrating inauspicious period of anxiety and inactivity has at long last ended. As for the people, the cabinet reshuffle was no big deal. As evidenced by the Finance Minister being appointed as the Foreign Minister and the Foreign Minister being appointed as the Finance Minister, it was nothing more than a case of wife swapping at a New York swingers club.
India has extended USD 500 million line of credit to Mauritius as the two countries signed maritime security pact today during the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his visiting counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Jugnauth in New Delhi. (Photo: @MEAIndia)
By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held talks with visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and discussed maritime and coastal security in the Indian Ocean among other issues.
After holding talks with his Mauritius counterpart, PM Narendra Modi said, "PM Jugnauth and I agreed that it is our responsibility to ensure maritime security around our coasts."
The talks gain significance in the wake of China's aggressive posturing in the Indian Ocean as it tries to extend help to India's neighbours having coastline.
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"Effective management of conventional, non-conventional threats in Indian Ocean essential for pursuing economic opportunities," Narendra Modi said highlighting the concerns.
PM: We agree that effective mngnt of conventional & non-conventional threats in Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities pic.twitter.com/lwA4bZ4080- Gopal Baglay (@MEAIndia) May 27, 2017
A USD 500 million line of credit (LOC) from India to Mauritius is among four agreements signed by the two countries following delegation-level talks headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay listed out the agreements signed between India and Mauritius under 'New Vistas for a Futuristic Partnership'.
The LOC agreement was signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.
Another agreement was signed on cooperation on maritime security between the two countries.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two sides for setting up of a civil services college in Mauritius.
Another MoU was signed between the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) of India and Mauritius Oceanography Institute for research and education in marine sciences and technology.
(Photo: @MEAIndia)
Mauritius also submitted its instrument of ratification of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance (ISA).
The ISA, launched at the UN Conference of Parties (CoP) climate summit in Paris on November 30, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then French President Francois Hollande, is conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach.
It is open to all 121 prospective member countries falling between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn.
JUGNAUTH MEETS SUSHMA
Earlier in the day, Jugnauth was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan following which External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on him.
Jugnauth arrived in New Delhi yesterday on a three-day state visit to India. This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad since assuming office this January.
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Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas including trade and investment.
During the meeting, Swaraj said there was scope to expand bilateral ties in a range of areas.
Jugnauth held discussions with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday.
--- ENDS ---
Britain mourns while Sri Lanka groans View(s):
It was a week of tragedy and farce. Here in the UK death came suddenly and unexpectedly one night last week. The country went into mourning as the single biggest suicide bomb attack in the UK brought home a reality. Home grown terrorism is as alive here as transnational terrorism which has taken root in continental Europe.
For Sri Lankans who have lived through nearly three decades of terrorism, blood-letting and gory violence and mayhem, it seemed like deja vu many times over. In my years of journalism in Sri Lanka I have visited many scenes of terrorist attacks and killings from the massacre of worshippers and monks at the Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura to the indiscriminate shooting of Buddhist monks and samaneras at Aranthalawa, the shooting, hacking and dismemberment of farmers and their families in north central/ eastern province villages, to the bombing of the CTO, the Pettah bus depot and the explosions inside a passenger a train close to the Dehiwala station and other scenes of unbelievable gore.
I have also reported on the gruesome killings of state officials, journalists and others in the late 1980s including several personal friends and escaped an attempt on my life too.
The type of terrorism perpetrated by youth born and bred in the UK or others who sought refuge here is rather new but not to Sri Lankans who have lived through years of daily fear not knowing when they and their families left home in the morning whether they would ever return home safe.
While most Sri Lankans will condole with the families of those killed and wounded in Manchester, their groaning and moaning today have little to do with that dastardly incident. It has all to do with the acute stomach cramps they unexpectedly underwent last week. What with our medicine men, some with black cloth tied across their mouths occupying space on the pavements instead of in the hospitals where they should have rightly been and so were unavailable to treat the needy, it was a torrid time for many people.
We now know what caused the indescribable pain. It was the consequence of a nation-wide outburst of side-splitting laughter. It spread faster than the dengue fever that a yahapalanaya administration, more interested in sorting out their duty-free vehicle permits, is still trying to eradicate.
It spread like a rash when news broke of the cabinet reshuffle which had gripped the country with great expectation for weeks. Would they rid the country of those who have been in the public eye for various shenanigans that are too well known to require reiteration here.
Having grappled day and night on how to shuffle the pack the great minds of the palanites came up with such a classic solution that even the irresistible Don Trump might wish to emulate. On hearing of the final solution Sri Lankans burst into paroxysms of laughter at what almost immediately earned the sobriquet the Great Hoax.
When some years ago an advertising copy writer, perhaps jokingly, called Sri Lanka the Wonder of Asia he little realised what prescient powers he possessed. If the copy writer still follows the haps and mishaps in what he called a wondrous land he too would add to this comic interlude that has at least brought momentary laughter to a people suffering under the multiple indignities and corruption they are forced to live under.
What better illustration of this farce than the appointment of the new foreign minister. Everybody and their kussi ammas knew that our great president who was last heard of exploring the wonders of Australia wanted to get rid of Ravi Karunanayake from the finance ministry under pressure or by choice.
He might be the wonder man of the Asia-Pacific region for The Banker magazine which had probably run out of nominees, but to President Sirisena and his motley crew a long time slogan had been Ravi must go. It is also known that Sirisena had sounded several ministers including one or two I know, for the job.
But they turned it down just as Prime Minister Wickremesinghes reported approach to at least four persons including I am told former high commissioner to Malaysia Rosie Senanayake for the post of High Commissioner in London were turned down just as those who Sirisena sounded for the finance ministry turned down the offer.
This reshuffle seems like the man they wanted out of the job was not being removed but provided with pre-Christmas goodies. Where in the world would you find a foreign minister given functions that have little or nothing to do with foreign affairs such as running lotteries.
It surely requires a tour de force of the imagination that institutions such as lotteries boards, mahapola scholarship funds and ancillary aspects of the plantations industries are connected with foreign affairs unless it is somebodys dark humour to demean the foreign ministry.
If media reports that Ravi Karunanayake demanded or is being presented with additional duties because of his exemplary performance as finance minister, whatever others might say I think it is eminently relevant that he be allocated such money-losing institutions like SriLankan Airlines which investors run away from at the first mention of the name of the national career.
It has also been reported that the new foreign minister wonder of the Asia-Pacific now handling (or perhaps manhandling as it could well turn out to be) a new ministry would also find the Securities Exchange under his belt which of course is a highly appropriate thing to have.
But why the Socratic thinkers who worked out such magic formula to appease the deities or whoever demanded that the pack be shuffled to remove some of the cards and card sharpers, did not gift Foreign Minister Karunanayake with overseeing the Treasury Bonds really is a cause for great worry. In fact he should have had the Central Bank attached to the foreign minister portfolio.
Those who are laughing their sides out at the Foreign Minister overseeing the lotteries boards have missed the point entirely. The fact is that he can now make use of the countrys diplomatic missions scattered around the world to sell the lottery tickets as one Sri Lankan jokingly (I hope) said the other day.
We know of course that little productive work is done in several of these missions. Capable and experienced officers are languishing in them because they have no work or no important work is assigned.
In his travels round the world Karunanayake would have realised this. It might be said for the now reassigned Mangala Samaraweera he knew what was happening in some of our missions but his hands seemed to have been tied.
Now Karunanayake can make use of officials sent to our missions to stand on the streets of their respective capitals and hawk lottery tickets. I mean they can earn their keep by doing something more lucrative than, for instance, being deployed to cut the grass in residency lawns.
It is reported that Foreign Minister-elect had asked for an immediate report on the composition of our missions even before he set foot in his Republic Square office.
Apparently it is Prime Minister Wickremesinghe who has asked for the report. Surely in his frequent travels abroad Wickremesinghe who is fast earning the reputation of the most travelled PM in the shortest time, must know some of those who are heading our embassies, high commissioners and consulates.
Karunanayake will soon find some of them cosying up to him making requests for extensions of service for them or their junior officers who they have taken to their bosom. These things have happened in the past and will happen in the future as relationships with the minister are built or strengthened.
One wonders of course why our leaders want to know about our ambassadors and high commissioners. After all they are the very people who appointed them making some strange choices that should never have happened.
All they need to do is look at the cvs of our great diplomats that should be available with the high posts committee in parliament. How some of them got through that committee is another of the wonders of Asia. One always wondered what educational and professional qualifications some of them had.
One supposes that like so many of our elected (and non-elected) representatives they may not have gone beyond the GCE O Level that is if they got that far.
It appears that the report is also to look into other diplomatic and non-diplomatic staff in our missions. That would really require a thorough study not a cover up to appointments made and extensions of service given to undeserving persons sometimes two or three extensions in the same posting as has happened several times.
This deprives others deserving of overseas postings being sent out, a practice the minister should stop before it turns into a bigger joke. Among other issues perhaps the PM is trying to identify dual citizens and non-Sri Lankan citizens holding office or in various positions in our missions. That should reveal some very interesting facts and should not buried for the sake of protecting people.
It was said many months ago that Singapore would help restructure our foreign ministry. As far as I know Singapore does not recruit foreign nationals as confidential secretaries to their heads of missions because it is a sensitive position. I know this well from my personal interactions with high ranking Singaporean diplomats.
How could foreign nationals be permitted to handle confidential correspondence between a head of mission and the foreign ministry or between missions unless of course nothing confidential ever passes from the mission to the ministry?
There will surely be requests and appeals to the new foreign minister from lackeys, unqualified and unsuitable friends and relatives to be posted to our foreign missions. One hopes that he will not fall prey to this demeaning the quality of some of our missions still further.
This government is well known for appointing commissions and committees to inquire into various issues and calling for reports at the drop of a hat. Some of the reports of these appointed bodies seem to end up in the attic of forgotten things without the public ever seeing them.
If the report of our foreign missions now called for is to serve any purpose and the public is to be made aware of it, this report should not end up the same way. There are sizeable Sri Lankan communities in most countries where we have missions. It is not enough that these communities to be asked to help Sri Lanka and appeals are made for them to return to what was once their home if they are ignored when it comes to making use of their knowledge and experience in writing the report. After all they are people who interact with the missions on official business.
If they are denied such opportunities then Sri Lankans will have to resort to their right to information which this government made into law. So the report must be available for public scrutiny.
Caught between grinning devils and incompetent imbeciles View(s):
Caught between the grinning devil of Rajapaksa racism and the incompetent (if not corrupt) deep blue sea of the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe unity alliance, Sri Lankans are increasingly being left helpless.
Is this not obscene conduct?
With the passing of each day, examples abound of this odious dilemma. It is the height of callousness for example, that the Government could have justified asking for millions for luxury vehicles for ministers at the very same time that the country is facing a financial crisis.
Now to compound that idiocy, we are being told that a supplementary estimate had been presented in Parliament this week to purchase vehicles for members and officers of the steering committee of the Constituent Assembly. Jokes are being cracked as to what or who exactly will this Assembly steer, except themselves and that too, into a corner by all accounts. But this news, coming on top of hundred deaths, another hundred reported missing and scores left homeless following major floods during the past few days begs an important question. Is this not obscene behaviour, in the very basic meaning of that term, taken in the context of conduct deeply offending morality?
There is little point in directives being given by the President or the Prime Minister to give relief to the affected. Victims of the Salawa disaster, the Meethotamulla garbage dump and countless other victims are still languishing without succor, months after they lost their homes and saw the lives of family members being snatched away. So, what possible faith can be posed in these directives?
A matter of palpable hypocrisy
Today it is a sad irony that much of the woes afflicting Sri Lankas yahapalanaya Government could have been predicted early on. Indeed, chaos could have been prevented if the feet of this Presidency and this Government had been held firmly to the fire by civil society leaders who turned unblushing defenders of unconscionable government policies almost overnight, even though they had loudly railed against those very same policies when perpetuated under the Rajapaksa rule.
It was this palpable hypocrisy that exposed the very shame of the facade of good governance, paraded to all and sundry in January 2015. To add to that shame, justifiable questions raised at the outset regarding government policy showing worrying signs of departure from the standard that had been promised were looked at askance.
It was as if the yahapalanaya government could do no wrong. It is this pitiable naivete, taken at its best interpretation or callous self-interest taken at the worst, which is to blame. It is this attitude which led to many preferring to stay quiet while a monstrous Counter-Terror policy framework was being drafted secretively.
Engaging in one stupidity after another
And it was no wonder that the late Ven Madulwawe Sobitha had become deeply disillusioned by the very change that he (more than any other) had brought about. Unlike unfortunate beings like the rest of us however, he has the luxury of not witnessing the plight that the country has been reduced to. For one stupidity succeeds another. Indeed, if this was April 1st, one might be tempted to laugh off the very idea of subjects that have no relevance to the particular ministry in issue being grouped under that ministerial portfolio purely because of the demands of a particular minister.
This is the laughable situation which has arisen according to reports not yet denied by the Government, that former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, (now the new Foreign Affairs Minister), may continue to claim agencies that he controlled earlier. These include the National Lotteries Board, Mahapola Trust Fund, Colombo Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sri Lankan Airlines, EPF, ETF and National Insurance Trust Fund.
This continuance may be enabled by a state ministry portfolio according to reports. On all accounts, lists of ministers, deputy ministers portfolios that have been sent for gazetting, omits the respective subjects coming under each. One hopes that sanity will prevail but given what has been occurring so far, expectations cannot be too high.
The continued discarding of the law
In the midst of all this, religious and communal violence is on the rise. Some months ago, I likened the Witness Protection Authority, showcased internationally but non-functional domestically, to the elusive Scarlet Pimpernel. Victims seeking protection looked for the Authority here, they sought it there but could not find it.
Now we have other elusive individuals being added to this list. Head of the Bodu Bala Sena (BBS) Galaboda Gnanasara who has returned to his old ways of fomenting religious hatred has managed to elude team upon team of law enforcement officers. It is nothing short of a nasty miracle, one might add. When the Aluthgama incident occurred under the Rajapaksa Presidency, it was pertinently warned in these column spaces that problems of extreme radicalism and religious hierarchies aside, what distinguishes post-war Sri Lanka is the discarding of the law and the impunity afforded to saffron clothed terror groups.
State complicity irrefutably marked the Aluthgama and Beruwala violence at the time. Then as now, government inaction only aggravates the problem. Enough law exists for the purpose, apart from the Penal Code and including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) Act No 56 of 2007. In that context, a Prime Ministerial directive to hold area police responsible for failing to stop religious violence in their respective areas is farcical. Not so long ago, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) was captured on television assuring the Minister of Law and Order that a favored individual protected by the government will not be arrested. This showed the extent to which the command structure of the police has been subverted. No action was taken either against the IGP or against the relevant Minister.
Acts of omission are equally culpable
So to announce that it will hold lower level police officers responsible without this Government implementing the law at the highest levels sounds hollow. Commitment must be evidenced through action and not through words. It is the same relentless and unsparing logic as in regard to flood relief.
Unlike in the case of the Rajapaksa regime, one cannot accuse this Government of actively fomenting racism or communal violence. But let it be clearly said that acts of omission are equally culpable in the eyes of the law.
It is by this standard that the unity alliance will be judged and assessed by all right thinking Sri Lankans, apart from those who are selectively deaf, blind and mute as it were.
Mind the trade gap to avoid a balance of payments crisis View(s):
The widening trade gap in the first few months of this year poses serious difficulties for the balance of payments. The trade gap that has been increasing in recent years has widened still further in the first two months of this year to US$ 1.73 billion and is expected to increase to nearly US$ 1.9 billion in the first quarter of this year.
If this trend continues the trade deficit would exceed US$ 10 billion and create a serious dent in the balance of payments. Containing the trade deficit to around US$ 8.5 billion this year is imperative to avoid a balance of payments crisis. Resolving the problem by increased foreign borrowing would further aggravate the very debt burden.
Recent performance
The countrys recent trade performance has been extremely disappointing. This has been as much due to a fall in exports as an increase in imports. In 2015 export earnings fell by 5.6 percent to US $ 10.5 billion, followed by a further 2.2 percent decline in 2016 to US $ 10.3 billion. Imports, on the other hand, increased from US$ 18.9 billion in 2015 to US$ 19.4 billion last year. Consequently, the trade deficit increased from US$ 8.4 billion in 2015, to a massive US$ 9.1 billion in 2016.
This year
This trend has continued into the first quarter of this year: exports have fallen and imports have increased. The trade deficit widened to an unprecedented extent of US$ 1.73 billion in the first two months as exports declined by 1.1 percent in January and by 2.7 percent in February. The trade deficit for the first quarter is tentatively estimated at US$ 1.87 billion. Imports have increased by twice the increase in exports.
One of the reasons for the widening trade deficit is the increase in the countrys oil imports since December last year that continued into the first quarter of this year. The more than doubling of the oil bill in February increased imports substantially and deepened the trade deficit. On the other hand, exports declined by 3.2 percent in the first two months: by 1.1 percent in January and by 2.7 percent in February. Consequently the trade deficit was US$ 1.73 billion in the first two months of this year. Indications are that the trade deficit expanded further in March to increase the trade deficit to about US$ 2.7 billion for the first quarter.
If the trade deficit continues to increase in this manner this years trade deficit would exceed US$ 10 billion. This would be a severe strain on the balance of payments that is likely to record a significant deficit that necessitates foreign borrowing. However there are reasons to think that the trade gap will narrow during the rest of the year owing to increased exports to the EU, increased tea production and better prices and reduced oil imports.
Export decline
For quite some time the blame for the poor export performance has been laid on the slow growth of the international economy. While this is true, exports fell due to other reasons too. These included an inability to be competitive with other country exports, the lack of diversification in export products, the inability to attract foreign investors to manufacture export commodities, especially the hi-tech industry, impediments exporters have to face, especially with respect to perishable exports and policy uncertainty weaknesses.
Tea exports
Geopolitical factors combined with the depressed incomes of oil producing countries were responsible for reduced tea exports. Improvements in these conditions may boost the demand for tea this year. An increase in tea production aided by good weather is needed to benefit from an improvement in the world tea market.
Prospects and expectations
There is an expectation that exports to the EU would increase by about US$ 500 million this year. This would certainly ease the trade deficit, but is inadequate to reduce it to a manageable level of about US$ 8 billion that is needed to generate a balance of payments surplus. Exports to the EU could expand by about US$ 1 billion next year provided we can increase exportable products.
There are brighter prospects for exports now owing to the EUs decision to grant the GSP Plus concession, an improved demand for tea, and free trade agreements with China and India. Yet these may take time. There have to be economic policies and a helpful domestic environment to take advantage of these opportunities. The supply capacity is an important determinant of the extent of export expansion.
Policies
Economic policies must be geared to expanding exports. A clear statement of economic policies is overdue to build confidence that would expand exports. Economic policies that encourage foreign investment in export industries are especially important as the experience of South East Asian countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore have demonstrated. Taxation policies should have an export bias.
Imports
The containment of imports is important especially in the short run. The continuing increase in imports has been a significant cause for the trade deficit. Imports are almost twice the countrys export earnings. Despite efforts to manage aggregate demand through monetary, fiscal and exchange rate policies, imports have continued to grow. High value investment goods imports and higher imports of oil in recent months are causes for this import expansion.
Hopefully an improvement in rainfall with the expected monsoon would reduce oil imports in the second half of the year. Good weather conditions could also reduce food imports though this gain would be small. It is high value investment goods imports that could increase imports significantly.
Summing up
The increasing trade deficit in the first quarter of this year is a serious problem for the balance of payments. Although the GSP plus concession in the EU would contribute towards an improvement in the trade balance it cannot be expected to make a significant impact this year. An increase in tea exports and an improvement in international tea prices can assist in increasing exports. The impact of the GSP plus is likely to be significant from next year provided we gear ourselves to produce more items demanded by the EU. Meanwhile it is important to contain imports so that the trade deficit is not too large. The euphoria generated by regaining of GSP plus in the European Union (EU) should not blind us to the severe imbalance in the countrys trade.
No fully fledged reshuffle, Govt. faces more burdens View(s):
Presidents much-awaited changes just quid pro quo between SLFP and UNP
More changes among ministers, deputies and state ministers likely as Sirisena shows who the boss is
Amid new flood catastrophe, public debt soars to more than Rs. 9,387 million; PM appoints economic experts to study the debt situation
By Our Political Editor
Exactly a week before last Mondays Cabinet re-shuffle President Maithripala Sirisena told two United National Party (UNP) ministers rather assertively people must know I am the President of Sri Lanka. Even if he did not elaborate, the message was loud and clear he makes the decisions.
The two ministers were emissaries of their party discussing matters related to the reshuffle. That naturally included a choice of names and positions. As revealed earlier, the duo also sought a delay in the proposed ministerial changes until Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe returned from China. That request saw a meeting between the President and the Premier hours ahead of the latters departure to Beijing. Accord was reached. Sirisena called off his self-imposed ban on chairing Cabinet meetings until the reshuffle took place.
When Wickremesinghe returned from Beijing, the two leaders met again, at least on two occasions. This time it was over last-minute changes. Thus, the much anticipated reshuffle took place last Monday. In essence it was a quid pro quo between the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and the UNP and was therefore not a full-fledged reshuffle as earlier expected. This is notwithstanding the entire Cabinet, Deputy Ministers and State Ministers being summoned for the reshuffle at the Presidential Secretariat last Monday. The SLFP succeeded in having its bete noire Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera removed by Sirisena from the portfolios they held.
Allegations against them, if any, have neither been revealed to the public nor formally investigated. Yet, in the past months it was known that there would be a swap of the two Ministries. Behind-the-scenes diplomacy has been underway to persuade at least one minister to agree to the shift on the grounds that it would be a promotion. Spearheading it was a UNP minister backed by a colleague. Not surprisingly, the two UNP ministers, sought additional subjects to be assigned to their ministries. This drew a rather strong response from a leading political figure who said, This is not a buffet. He was of course alluding to the fact that ministers cant just go and help themselves to what they want and underscoring the fuller backdrop in which the changes have been made. President Sirisena, who returned to Sri Lanka from a two-day visit to Australia on Friday night, is yet to sign a Gazette proclamation assigning the subjects. He has told aides before departure to Canberra that he would make no additions but re-assign the same subjects that existed.
However, the likelihood of at least two additional institutions coming under the Foreign Minister was not ruled out yesterday.
Last afternoon Sirisena had a meeting with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe. It came ahead of a planned private visit by the latter to the United States. Also present were Ministers Kabir Hashim and Malik Samarawickrema.
Ahead of the reshuffle, Karunanayake who learnt he was being moved out as Finance Minister had a hurried meeting with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe. He is learnt to have asked the reasons for his ouster, why he was singled out and what the allegations against him were. He declined comment on the meeting but said yesterday, I have supported the drive against corruption. I was doing my best. The new Foreign Minister said despite the shift in portfolio, no one can change my resolve to serve the people and my country. I will continue to do so without fear and with dedication.
It was no easy task when it came for the UNP receiving its part of the quid pro quo. If the SLFPers sought the removal of the Finance and Foreign Ministers, the UNP in turn were seeking changes in two other portfolios Ports and Shipping (Arjuna Ranatunga) and Petroleum Resources Development (Chandima Weerakkody). The UNP leadership was livid with Ranatunga for allegedly placing stumbling blocks over the Hambantota Port project. Together with his brother Dhammika, Chairman of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA), they have been challenging a string of cabinet memoranda submitted by Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema and Special Assignments Minister Sarath Amunugama.
If the UNP ministers charged that they were placing obstacles to prevent the expeditious conclusion of the project, Ranatunga has insisted that issues were being raised in the national interest since he was answerable to the nation. That he had the backing of President Sirisena was clear. In fact, Sirisena has now put a total halt to the signing of the Concession Agreement with the Chinese firm China Merchants Port Holdings Company Limited (CMPort), a legally binding document to take forward the project. He wants all the controversial issues that have surfaced so far, some of them not advantageous to Sri Lanka, to be resolved first. Hence, he picked on one of his trusted loyalists Mahinda Samarasinghe to be the new Minister of Ports and Shipping. As one senior SLFPer backing Sirisena declared, He (Samarasinghe) is not a yes man. What he meant was that Samarasinghe will not be a mere rubber-stamp to the UNP-run administration. He will heed the wishes of the President on any issue. He will not cross the line. Thus, Sirisena took over a portfolio which had remained within the purview of the UNP and gave it to the SLFP. He acquiesced to the UNP, but also kept the Ministry within his tight grip. The UNP leadership did not object. A balancer appeared to be the inclusion of Tilak Marapana as Minister of Development Assignments.
The removal of Chandima Weerakkody as Minister of Petroleum Resources Development had been the talking point for many weeks now. He was an outspoken critic of any deal to develop the Trincomalee tank farm project with India. He wanted the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to take over the oil tanks. His public utterances became a major irritant to the UNP leadership who wished to rope in India after the Hambantota Port project with China raised apprehensions in New Delhi. Weerakkodys repeated public remarks also embarrassed the SLFP leadership, for there were periodic references to President Sirisena.
There is little doubt that the Hambantota Port project was mishandled with little or no input from the Foreign Ministry or other issues relating to national interests being weighed in. As revealed earlier, the firm to whom the award of the project is to be made was one of two companies recommended by the Chinese Ambassador in Sri Lanka. It was selected by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM). The Cabinet of Ministers later approved it together with a Framework Agreement. Thereafter, a Concession Agreement too was approved. However, in a change of mind, the matter was revisited and things have now been put on hold. It is amidst this process that Government leaders became alive to growing concerns in the Indian capital. The New Delhi Government was highly disturbed over the issue. For Sri Lanka, the issue was heightened by events of the past. Damage control became necessary. That was how a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India was worked out to jointly make investments to develop the Trincomalee Port, establish a petroleum refinery and other industries there.
In the late 1970s, the state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) called for worldwide offers to develop the tank farm as a commercial venture. Multinational oil giants like Shell and Chevron did not respond. The nationalisation of the US oil giants operating then in Sri Lanka, Shell, Caltex and Mobiloil in the 1960s probably acted as a deterrent. An offer arrived from Coastal Corporation, a US firm that was actively trading in oil in Singapore. The CPC and the Coastal Corporation signed an agreement to develop the tank farm.
There were immediate protests from India. New Delhi was apprehensive of any US access to Trincomalee that would pose security threats to them at a time when the Cold War was at its height between the US and the former Soviet Union. The then Indian Foreign Secretary Romesh Bhandari was despatched to Colombo by late Premier Indira Gandhi as special envoy for a meeting with the late President J.R. Jayewardene. After discussions, Jayewardene was to direct that fresh offers be called.
A three-member Tender Board comprising G.V.P. Samarasinghe (then Cabinet Secretary), General Sepala Attygalle (Defence Secretary) and Daham Wimalasena, Chairman CPC once again recommended that Coastal Corporation be awarded the tank farm project. Amidst mounting Indian protests, Jayewardene sent Finance Minister Ronnie de Mel and Wimalasena to New Delhi. They met Premier Gandhi and the Indian Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram. However, an apprehensive New Delhi opposed any American presence in Trincomalee a move that was to see the birth of a separatist insurgency in Sri Lanka with support from Ms Gandhis Government.
These issues notwithstanding, India has granted Sri Lanka a credit line of US$ 45.27 million for financing the rehabilitation of the Kankesanthurai Port in the northern Jaffna peninsula. The port which adjoins the Palaly military base and the Northern Area Navy headquarters was not operational until it was cleared after the military defeat of Tiger guerrillas in May 2009. The guerrillas bombed cargo and naval vessels inside the port blocking access to the quays. The rehabilitation will include dredging shallow areas while making provision for more ships to dock there.
Sirisena naming Arjuna Ranatunga as the new Minister of Petroleum Resources Development, it is clear, is much to the dislike of the UNP leadership. There were fears whether he would oppose the tank farm project much the same way he did with the Hambantota Port issue. However, SLFP ministers argued that he would not defy President Sirisena and would heed his wishes. Chandima Weerakkody has been placed in charge of the relatively unimportant Ministry of Skills Development and Vocational Training, hitherto held by Mahinda Samarasinghe.
The other ministerial changes appear marginal. S.B, Dissanayake, Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister has, in addition, been given Kandyan Heritage. He had confessed to friends, weeks earlier, that he was set to receive this additional subject. Labour and Trade Union Relations Minister John Seneviratne was given an additional subject Sabaragamuwa Development. It is interesting to note that only some provinces have ministers in charge of development. They are Patali Champika Ranawaka (Western Province), S.B. Nawinna (Wayamba Development) and Sagala Ratnayake (Southern Development). All other provinces have not been placed in charge of ministers. Media Minister Gayantha Karunatilleke sought a change.
He is learnt to have been offered Public Administration but was not in favour. Hence, the subject of Lands was given to him, a portfolio that was garaged with his UNP colleague Tourism Minister John Amaratunga. He has now denied that he sought the subjects of the Government Printer and a few other institutions, that were under the Media Ministry, be brought under his new Lands Ministry.
Some of the Deputy Ministers and State Ministers were also expected to be shifted around last Monday. The only change was Fisheries Minister Mahinda Amaraweera being additionally made Minister of State for Mahaweli Development. However, Sirisena who spoke to Ministers, Deputies and State Ministers before the reshuffle said that within a week (after his return from Australia), there would also be a reshuffle of deputies and state ministers. He said that since 1994 he had experienced ministerial changes. There would be some who would be unhappy but such changes, he said, were necessary. Sirisena is also proposing to effect a reshuffle of Ministry Secretaries.
Whether the measures proposed by Sirisena would be delayed due to devastation caused by prevailing torrential rains remains a question. Flooding and landslides have caused more than a 100 deaths with dozens reported missing. It came in the aftermath of a prolonged drought. It was only weeks earlier the Government finalised a relief package to affected families with a two million US dollar assistance from the World Food Programme (WFP). It will go to 6,250 poorest and most vulnerable households in the districts of Moneragala, Kurunegala, Vavuniya and Mannar. The WFP had proposed cash assistance amounting to Rs 10,000 a month with the condition that those families should be headed by women. The assistance programme will be implemented by the Ministry of Social Empowerment and Welfare with the assistance of District Secretaries, Grama Niladharis and Samurdhi Officers among others.
The severe drought until last week and the heavy rains this week will no doubt cost the Government substantial amount of money both in terms of rehabilitation as well as compensation payments. This is at a time when the economic situation is worrying and concerns are rising over public debt.
After a lengthy discussion over the public debt situation at a meeting of the Cabinet Committe on Economic Matters (CCEM) Prime Minister Wickremesinghe who chaired the meeting, appointed a Committee to study and report on the debt situation, growth momentum, export-oriented economy and how to plan next years budget to ensure value for money. The Committee is chaired by Treasury Secretary R.H.S. Samaratunga, includes Central Bank Governor Indrajit Cumaraswamy, R, Paskaralingam, Advisor to the Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs (under the Prime Minister), Charitha Ratwatte, Advisor to the Prime Minister, Mangala Yapa from the Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade and Sarath Rajapathirana, Economic Advisor to the President. At a meeting of the CCEM it was observed that Sri Lanka had to borrow extensively due to the low domestic private savings, persistent budget deficits and persistent current account deficit in the balance of payments. It was revealed that the Central Government debt had increased to Rs 9,387 billion in 2016. During that year, the outstanding debt stock of the country comprised 57 percent of the domestic debt and 43 per cent of the foreign debt. Domestic debt consisted of short-term debt that accounted for 18 percent and medium to long term debt comprised the balance. The foreign debt stock of Sri Lanka consists of both loans obtained on concessional terms and non-concessional or commercial terms.
In addition to direct borrowings of the Central Government, the funding requirement of the Government has also been met through a number of other sources in the recent past. By end 2016, debt raised by such corporations amounted to Rs 827 billion. It was reported that Sri Lankas high level of debt necessitates immediate fiscal adjustments to ensure a sustainable level of debt. Therefore, it was reported that enhancing revenue and increasing public expenditure efficiency by rationalising recurrent expenditure, while maintaining productive capital expenditure at a reasonable level, are crucial measures to be followed until a sustainable level of debt is reached.
It is clear that the new Finance Minister, Mangala Samaraweera, would have to work closely with the CCEM in not only formulating the next (2018) budget, but also any other fiscal measures he may want to introduce. In doing so, he also will have to deal with public enterprises that are bleeding the countrys resources. One such venture is SriLankan Airlines, the national carrier.
In April, this year, the state owned banks Bank of Ceylon and the Peoples Bank approved the issue Letters of Comfort for the tune of US$ 35 million on the grounds that it was until talks with the US-based TPG (Trans Pacific Group) for a Public-Private partnership is concluded. The company was then conducting a survey of all SriLankan Airlines assets. The TPG has since declared it was not interested in going ahead with the project. Now, the Government has made soundings to other airlines.
The Letters of Comfort from the two state banks are US$ 32.50 million for SriLankan Airlines and US$ 2.5 million for Mihinair, now owned by the former. Public Enterprise Development Minister Minister Kabir Hashim sought ministerial approval to obtain the Letters of Comfort so the airline could raise funds through another bank using the document as a guarantee. The Letters of Comfort valid for a year beginning May 1, 2017 Hashim told ministers, is until a final decision is made on the public-private partnership (PPP) and financing from the shareholder is finalised. The pull-out by TPG has now caused a serious uncertainty and raised worries over more funding from the Government becoming necessary to sustain the loss-making national carrier. He said that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Management (CCEM) also granted approval for a loan facility of US$ 65 million from the two state banks.
On its part, the SriLankan Airlines has suffered a loss of more than US$ 30.2 million from flights departing Colombo when the runway was under repairs. Similarly, the loss as a result of a curtailment of arrival flights, was more than US$ 18.5 million with the total loss being US$ 48.6 million. Enterprise Development Minister Hashim told ministers recently that SriLankan Airlines continues to make losses as a result of having to absorb the interest cost on the current loans outstanding. He has lamented that the company does not have any other source of funding or an alternate method to manage its funding requirements.
Besides economic woes, the Government is also preoccupied with political issues, particularly the formulation of a new Constitution. An SLFP subcommittee met last Monday to discuss the draft Steering Committee report. There is no change in the partys position that the Executive Presidency should be retained particularly on the grounds that an abolition would inevitably require a national referendum. It was decided to further discuss all issues and formulate their response. The subcommittee meeting was followed on Monday night with a Central Committee session chaired by President Sirisena.
The Steering Committee itself was embroiled in a heated debate after members of the Joint Opposition raised objections to the deletion of the word unitary when a reference is made to the State. JO leader Dinesh Gunawardena said yesterday that the issue met with strong objections from some members prompting a debate for two consecutive days. Tamil National Alliance (TNA) leader Rajavarothayam Sampanthan insisted that there was no need to retain the word unitary. If the pro-Maithripala Sirisena SLFP member Dilan Perera concurred with the move, there was no comment from Minister Susil Premajayantha. However, SLFP sub-committee Chairman Nimal Siripala de Silva insisted that the word should remain.
The much-hyped Cabinet reshuffle, which is clearly a quid pro quo between the SLFP and the UNP, is now over. Highly placed sources within the Government claim that further changes are not ruled out. This is on the basis that some ministerial changes which President Sirisena sought from Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe are yet to be made.
Sirisena has conceded in his speech after the reshuffle that disappointments were to be expected. That appears to be a mild understatement. All in all, the events that led to the reshuffle and last Mondays event itself have drawn clear lines between the two principal partners in the Government the SLFP and the UNP. How that will impact on good governance in the weeks and months to come will remain a critical question. Thus, President Sirisena has one more burden to bear as he faces the many challenges, with some promises unfulfilled and others partially done.
Whither merit in public service reshuffle View(s):
After months of struggling and straining to implement a Cabinet reshuffle, the President eventually delivered on his promise. Whether the answer lies in changing pillows for a continuing headache, i.e. the economy, however, is left to be seen.
For some time now, it had been known that the Presidents main intention was to change his Finance Minister. However he required the concurrence of the other party in his National Government, the UNP, to do this. There seemed to have been some initial resistance to the move from the Ministers party, but it now seems that certain influential elements within the Prime Ministers own inner circle did him in, and worked on the swap one FM for another.
While theres no gainsaying that it is a comedown for the former Finance Minister to be removed, his replacement was quick to say the shoes he inherited are too big for him. He has said this before when he took over as Foreign Minister in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the peerless Lakshman Kadirgamar in 2005. He grew into those big shoes reasonably well, though he seems to have lost them in the past two years holding the same portfolio. He was probably getting stale on the job and with foreign policy being dictated from outside his Ministry, he took a laid back approach to the affairs under his watch.
As for his dual role as Media Minister, which came as a surprise, one would only hope his second innings in that portfolio would be more pleasant for himself, the Media and the Government he serves than the disastrous period during his previous avatar as Media Minister in the Chandrika Kumaratunga Government.
One might feel a tad sorry for the dismissed Finance Minister, but he must be held partly responsible for his own downfall. No doubt, he had to pay for the collective sins of others, not least having inherited a Treasury heavily debt-ridden with loans taken by the previous Rajapaksa Government. But then, this Government wanted to run the country and the Finance Minister, the job of managing the empty Treasury; these jobs were not thrust down their throats.
To begin with, the Finance Minister received an emasculated Ministry sans the Central Bank. In order that his party won the Parliamentary elections of August 2015 on a polar headwind, he piloted a Rs. 10,000 pay hike for Government servants, reduced petrol prices and took the credit for some populist measures that the country could ill afford. A botched attempt at collecting revenue through VAT and a familiar trek to Washington to pay homage to the IMF and World Bank for bail-out loans and to Beijing and New Delhi in search of investments were the hallmarks of his stint at the Ministry of Finance. Ironically, the first act of the new Foreign Minister was a familiar one to him asking for foreign aid, this time for flood relief.
Then he was identified with those who were involved in the massively roguish, hugely unpopular Central Bank Treasury Bond scam of 2015 and 2016. That was not good for him as much as it was not good for the country. Within his own party, he tried to make out that he was their main fund-raiser, but he won no brownie-points with the party leadership when in a second castration of his powers, the state banks and several other institutions were taken out of his control, and he refused to get his appointees to stand down to make way for new nominees.
Consequent to this mini Cabinet reshuffle on Monday, one is to expect some heads to roll and fresh faces to be inducted to the support staff of the Cabinet of Ministers the Public Service; the men and women who execute the political decisions of the Government.
One of the expectations of the new Government in 2015 was that not only would there be a group of competent Ministers at the helm of the countrys affairs, but also that the Public Service would be better oiled (not in the bribery and corruption sense), independent and efficient.
In fact, the Government announced that there will be a high-powered committee headed by no less than the President and the Prime Minister to select political-appointees to high office on what they themselves called a scientific basis. That has become one of the biggest jokes of recent times. Take the classic case of the Ports Minister who removed a Ph.D qualified financial expert who had returned from Britain to serve his country, and replaced him with the Ministers brother who had less educational qualifications than is required from a port security guard.
The SriLankan Airlines board is a miniature example of the dysfunctional Government. Its members have been appointed by the Prime Minister and former President Kumaratunga and there has been in-fighting from Day One. Differences of opinion is one thing, disagreeing on everything is another. The line minister is often kept out of the loop. It is a public secret, and nothing is seen to be done to remedy the hopeless situation of the continuously loss-making national carrier.
Relatives and party hangers-on were appointed, no different to Governments before, even by the President as Secretaries to Ministries and as Ambassadors and Corporation heads and to their directorates. This week, the Parliamentary High Posts Committee published a list of persons so appointed and called for public petitions, if any. The Committee is supposed to check on their suitability for the posts, some of which these people have been holding already for years.
Not since, the Select Committee headed by then Prime Minister R. Premadasa found the most suitable Upali Wijewardene as unsuitable to hold the post of head of the then GCEC (Greater Colombo Economic Commission now the BOI Board of Investment) and President J.R. Jayewardene ignored the politically motivated findings, has the High Post Committee found anyone unsuitable, unsuitable. It has become a mere rubber-stamp limited to checking if the appointees have paid their income tax.
When the Government therefore proposes Parliamentary All Party Oversight Committees to go into the administration of the Government, it must be serious about its own proposal. It is understandable that jobs for the boys i.e. jobs for those who supported the ruling party into office are a political necessity. But so too is the proper administration of the country. There have to be hand-picked apolitical persons for state jobs. The good and bad in appointments is best illustrated in the appointment of the former Governor of the Central Bank (bad) and the present appointee (good).
This week, in the backdrop of the Finance Minister asking for statutory bodies un-related to his new Ministry (and further castrating his old ministry), the UPFA General Secretary and Minister says institutions will be allocated on a scientific basis. Havent we heard this bovine excreta before?
Talented Club Members View(s):
Misha Miskin of Horizon College International, Malabe was presented three awards for Outstanding Achievement World Prize for English, Best Results in Sri Lanka and Best Primary Achievement Test Results 2016 at the Pearson High Achievers Awards ceremony held at the BMICH.
Manith Liyanage a Grade 7 student of Lyceum International School, Nugegoda, was awarded a Gold Medal and was adjudged All-Island Winner in his age category and received a trophy as the Best String Performer in all age categories at the Sri Lanka Festival for Performing Arts 2016.
Shaza Silmy, a student of Royal English School, Matale was a Gold Medal Winner for Public Speaking Own Choice at the Sri Lanka Festival for the Performing Arts 2016.
Hashini Dissanayake, passed the Trinity College London CEFR Level A1 with Distinction at the Grade Two Graded Examination in Spoken English.
Januda Perera, a Grade 8 student of Royal Institute and a member of the Royal Institute Model United Nations (RIMUN) was awarded an Honorary Mention as a delegate of Israel in General Assembly 04 at the VII session of the Lyceum International Schools Model United Nation Conference (LISMUN) held in December 2016.
Amid the floods, threat of water-borne diseases View(s):
In the aftermath of the flood havoc, the Health Ministry has directed Medical Officers of Health (MOH) to be vigilant about water-borne diseases and take preventive measures. Health Services Deputy Director General Harsha de Silva said that in the flood-affected districts, the people needed to be cautious about their health as skin diseases, dysentery and gastroenterological diseases could spread due to water contamination caused by the floods.
Dr. de Silva said the major issue the health officers faced was that the flood levels had not receded and it was difficult to reach thousands of affected people. The Home Affairs Ministry will undertake the task of cleaning water wells and, for this purpose, District Secretariats and the Divisional Secretariats have distributed chlorine powder.
Medical services to flood-affected areas are being coordinated by Provincial and Regional Directors of Health Services (PDHS) and Provincial Director of Health Services (RDHS).
Kalutaras Health Services Director Dr. Udaya Ratnayake the floods had gravely affected the people and more than 40 camps had been set up for the affected people. However, the affected could gain access to only five camps through the normal mode of transport.
In the Kalutara district 15 teams have been utilised to attend to medical requirements. They include district doctors. The Ministry of Health has informed the Kalutara authorities that about 50 doctors would be sent there when needed and the Sri Jayewardenepura General Hospital has agreed to send five teams.
Sabaragamuwas Health Director of Sabaragamuwa Dr. Kapila Kannangara said doctors were working tirelessly and even going against regulations to serve the affected people. The security forces were making efforts to bring marooned people to medical stations.
Southern Province Health Director Dr. G. Wijesuriya said they had difficulties in reaching the affected people. Travelling by boats to reach the people had also failed due to the strong currents. Therefore, they had requested air transport.
Meanwhile,GMOA Secretary Dr. Nalinda Herath said they had registered 100 voluntary doctors to be deployed to the affected areas as a gesture of goodwill, while the Public Services United Nurses Union has offered 1,000 voluntary nurses to serve in the affected areas.
We are expecting diseases to break out in a few days and we have set up teams consisting of doctors and nurses and the nearest hospitals have also been put on alert for emergency admissions, he said.
Deluge and disaster View(s):
Tri forces spearheading rescue operations struggle to reach survivors cut off by flood waters
President chairs emergency meeting soon after arriving from Australia
People living along riverbanks asked to leave to safer ground as rivers swell in spite of rains easing on Saturday
By Sandun Jayawardana
Despite an easing of torrential rains yesterday, rescue teams were still struggling to reach thousands of people trapped by floodwaters and landslides in several districts, the worst the country has witnessed since May, 2003.
Fourteen districts were affected with Kalutara, Galle, Matara and Ratnapura being the worst hit. Some places in these districts remained inaccessible to rescuers even last morning.
Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena told journalists yesterday that Ayagama and Rakwana in Ratnapura were difficult to reach while about 2000 people cut off by floods in Mapalagama, Nagoda, Gammeddegoda and Unanvitiya in Galle. Many were on the roofs of their houses and were pleading for rescue, he said.
The Minister said one reason for so many people being trapped is that those living along riverbanks had not been vigilant regarding rising floodwaters further upriver. He urged people living along riverbanks to move to safer areas about two-three kilometres away as water levels could rise rapidly as rains fall upriver.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who chaired an emergency meeting of peoples representatives and senior Government officials in Kalutara yesterday, soon after his return from Australia, had directed officials not to be burdened by Government circulars and to take whatever measures necessary to assist those who have been affected. He had also directed the immediate purchase of 10,000 life jackets to be airdropped to those who are still trapped due to flooding. Health Minister and Co-Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said the life jackets would at least provide the wearers with the ability to keep floating until rescuers can reach them. A set of these life jackets were also on board an Indian vessel that arrived in Colombo yesterday carrying flood and other relief items.
Rescue operations were being spearheaded by the tri forces. Fifteen battalions comprising about 1500 soldiers belonging to the Sri Lanka Armys 58 and 14 Divisions as well as the Commando Regiment were engaged in operations in affected areas, Military Spokesman Brigadier Roshan Seneviratne told the Sunday Times. They were deployed in Ratnapura, Galle, Matara, Kalutara and certain areas of the Colombo district. In addition, the Sri Lanka Navy had deployed 68 vessels to the affected areas along with rescue teams comprising about 400 naval personnel. Naval teams had rescued 1854 people by last morning Captain Sujeewa Seneviratne, the Navys Deputy Director (Operations) said. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Spokesman Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said they had deployed six helicopters including Bell 212, 412 and Mi-17s to assist in operations. An SLAF Beechcraft observation plane was also in the air to locate persons trapped. The SLAFs rescue helicopters had saved 25 people by Saturday.
In some instances, rescue teams could only reach certain areas after the SLAF assisted to airlift boats.
An airman who was engaged in rescue operations on an SLAF helicopter died in unfortunate circumstances during a rescue mission in Neluwa on Friday. Flight Sergeant Y.M.S. Yaparathna (37), was involved in evacuating two people who had been buried in a landslide at Doowili Ella Kanda and had safely extracted one individual before he fell from the helicopter, Minister Abeywardena said. Flight Sergeant Yaparathna, a resident of Kotugoda, later succumbed to his injuries at the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital (Please see box).
The death toll from the destructive floods and landslides had reached 103 by Saturday morning while 113 are reported missing, according to the Disaster Management Center (DMC). A total of 221, 738 person from 60, 472 families have been affected. According to the DMC, 273 houses are classified as being fully damaged. As of yesterday, over 12, 000 displaced persons were being housed in 104 camps.
Galle was the worst affected district, with 12, 874 persons from 32, 215 families being affected and 13 people reported missing.
Kalutara was also severely hit, with 40, 284 persons from 9210 families affected. Kalutara reported the highest number of missing, with 72, 38 deaths and 167 houses fully damaged the most in any district.
Matara was next with 20, 757 persons from 5886 families being affected. There were 11 confirmed deaths while 17 people are listed as missing.
Ratnapura was the hardest hit in terms of confirmed deaths, with 46.
Most lost their lives in landslides, with Kalutara being the worst affected. Several large landslides occurred in the Bulathsinhala area. Many others who were believed to be trapped under the rubble remained missing even yesterday.
Given the scale of the disaster, the Government also requested assistance from the United Nations (UN) and neighbouring countries. The Indian Government was the first to respond. While one vessel carrying disaster relief material arrived yesterday, a second vessel is due to arrive today. India has also offered search and rescue helicopters if needed while other countries have also offered assistance, Minister Rajitha Senaratne said.
Rs.150 million have already been released as emergency disaster relief by the Government.
In a bid to ensure food hygiene is maintained, authorities have decided to cook food for those who had been affected at one place and airlift them to relevant areas. Accordingly, all cooked food will be airlifted from the Ratmalana Air Force base in coordination with the relevant district and divisional secretaries. These will then be distributed by vehicle, boat or helicopter depending on the situation. Dry rations to be distributed later were also being stocked.
The floods also caused havoc in the health services in the affected districts. The Iththepana and Galpatha hospitals in Kalutara are cut off. The bodies of several persons killed due to floods and landslides are lying in the mortuaries of these hospitals, Minister Senaratne disclosed. We have asked that the bodies be kept in the mortuaries until floodwaters recede as there is currently no way to conduct final rites, he stressed. Meanwhile, the Ratnapura General Hospital and Kamburupitiya Hospital were also affected by flooding while patients and staff have been evacuated from the Deniyaya and Morawaka hospitals as they were in danger of being completely flooded, he disclosed.
The Government has decided to provide compensation to those who were killed while houses which were fully destroyed would also be repaired, the Minister added. In addition, compensation would be given for property damage and losses.
The adverse weather was brought on by the onset of the southwest monsoon over the island. The Department of Meteorology had earlier correctly predicted that the monsoon will set in from around May 25. Nevertheless, the destructive nature of the rains seemed to have caught everyone by surprise. During the 24-hours ending at 8.30 a.m. on Friday, Kukuleganga had recorded the highest rainfall of 553 millimeters (mm). S.R. Jayasekara, the Met Departments Director General, stated that the flood situation was comparable to the destructive floods of May, 2003, which left hundreds dead.
Mr. Jayasekara said the Met Department predicts the rains to gradually ease by Sunday (28). There was however, a danger of further heavy rains on May 29 and 30, he cautioned.
Ratnapura was hit hard during the 2003 floods and the situation was similar this time. Ratnapura town itself was inundated on Friday, as armed forces personnel scrambled to rescue hundreds of people trapped by floodwaters.
Meanwhile, several towns in the Galle district, including the Neluwa and Thawalama were inundated, with floodwaters in some of these areas reaching as high as 25 feet.
According to M. Thuraisingham, the Irrigation Departments Director General, water levels of the Kalu Ganga, Nilwala Ganga and Gin Ganga were rising. The Nilwala and Gin Ganga especially had reached critical levels, he noted. Water level of the Kelani River was also rising.
Meanwhile, the Home Affairs Ministry has cancelled the leave of all Government employees and field officers attached to District and Divisional Secretariats in disaster affected districts until further notice and they have been instructed to immediately report to their respective offices.
District Secretaries were also given powers to recruit retired Government employees to execute duties if there is a shortage of officials.
Flight sergeants death being investigated
The Sri Lanka Air Force has launched an inquiry after a fight sergeant engaged in operations to rescue flood and landslide victims in the Neluva area fell to his death on Friday.Y.M.S. Yaparatne (37), an SLAF fire fighter, had hoisted a person who was trapped in the floods on to a Bell 212 helicopter and was on the way down to rescue another when he had fallen to his death. Air Force Spokesman Wing Commander Gihan Seneviratne said it was too early to say what caused the flight sergeant to fall and hence an inquiry is underway to ascertain what caused the accident. The SLAF has engaged six helicopters and one Beechcraft in the rescue operations and airlifted more than 25 persons. Highest rainfall recorded since 2003 The rainfall on Thursday was the highest recorded since 2003 resulting in floods that left 260 dead in five districts, the Meteorology Department said. A high rainfall of 55 mm was reported in the Kukuleganga area on May 26 while heavy rains were also experienced in the South Western areas as well as Western, North Western and Central provinces. Weather Forecasting Division Deputy Director Anusha Warnasuriya said that compared to rains which caused floods in May 2003, the current rain fall has been considered high due to its prolonged effect. On May 17, 2003, there was continuous rain for 12 hours and a rainfall of 730 mm. This year it rained for at least 48 hours, he said.
The 2003 floods displaced 800,000 people while 15,197 houses were completely destroyed and 26,284 houses partly damaged. India, Pakistan stand by Sri Lanka in her hour of need Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday expressed his condolences for the loss of lives and property in the country. India condoles the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to flooding and landslides. We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need.
Our ships are being dispatched with relief material. The first ship will reach Colombo tomorrow morning. The second will reach on Sunday. Further assistance on its way, the Indian Premier said. Meanwhile Pakistans Acting High Commissioner, Dr. Sarfraz Ahmad Khan Sipra said, Pakistan people are standing shoulder to shoulder with the Sri Lankan people in these times of grief and suffering, He added that as a true and trusted longstanding friend, Pakistan has always been providing unconditional assistance to Sri Lankan brethren in their hour of need. The High Commission of Pakistan said that it is in constant touch with Sri Lankan Authorities and they will soon provide necessary relief goods to the government and people of Sri Lanka. Indian Naval Ship Kirch here on relief operations; 2 more to follow
A day after torrential rains caused serious floods in the country, an Indian Naval Ship Kirch arrived at the Colombo port yesterday, with relief assistance for victims of floods and landslides. The INS Kirch is tasked to assist in the ongoing disaster relief efforts, and was welcomed by the Sri Lanka Navy on her arrival, in keeping with Naval customs. On the directives of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a consignment of relief materials have been promptly shipped to Sri Lanka, strengthening long term ties of camaraderie and mutual friendship between the two neighbours, a statement from the Indian Navy said.
The ship, with around 125 personnel on board, arrived at Colombo Port yesterday morning and offloaded relief supplies, inflatable Gemini boats with diving teams, and a mobile medical team with supplies. High Commissioner of India Taranjit Sandhu officially handed over the supplies to Foreign Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake at the Port. The Indian rescue personnel are now being deployed to the disaster affected zones in coordination with the SLN and other local authorities. Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake, Indian High Commissioner (IHC) to Sri Lanka, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Commander- Western Naval Area, Rear Admiral Niraja Attygalle, officers from Naval Headquarters, IHC Defence Attache in Sri Lanka, Captain Ashok Rao and a host of Govt. officials were present on the occasion. A second ship, INS Shardul left Kochi and is scheduled to arrive at Colombo Port by this afternoon. The ship is carrying additional relief material requested by the Sri Lankan authorities, apart from more inflatable boats. According to the IHC, a third ship, INS Jalashwa, has also set sail from Visakhapatnam to join the relief efforts, and is expected to reach Colombo within two days. INS Jalsahwa is an even larger Dock-class ship, which can carry large amounts of relief material and is ideally suited for conduct of Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster relief missions. The IHC in Colombo is in close touch with local authorities to coordinate any additional assistance that may be required, a statement from the IHC said. The Indian assistance came as the Foreign Affairs Ministry activated its Emergency Response Unit Ministry, to coordinate rescue and relief measures related to the flood situation in several parts of the country yesterday.
The Ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Disaster Management, has appealed to the UN International Search & Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighboring countries to provide assistance to affected people, especially for search and rescue operations.
Diplomatic community voices concern over attacks on minorities View(s):
The Government has come under fire from civil society groups and Muslims for its failure to act fast in checking attacks on mosques and shops owned by Muslims in recent weeks. This was also debated in parliament on Tuesday, with Law and Order Minister Sagala Ratnayake blaming police sluggishness for the state of affairs, when JVP Parliamentarian Bimal Ratnayake charged that, without state sponsorship, these acts could not take place. There is somebody from the government backing the people who are doing these, he said.
Also blaming the Government was Colombo District parliamentarian S.M. Marikkar. His speech in Parliament came as Muslims expressed anger at Muslim ministers, who, they said, had not done enough to protect them, and also at the Government, which they say would not have come to office if the Muslims and other minorities had not voted it in, at the 2015 elections.
However, the Palestinian embassy expressed confidence that the President and the Prime Minister would rein in destructive forces and create an environment where all communities will live in peace and harmony. The Palestine embassy said so in a letter it sent to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, expressing grave concern over the attacks by extremist elements on Muslim and Christian places of worship.
The Governments inaction also attracted the attention of the United States and the United Nations. US Ambassador Atul Keshap expressed his concern in several tweets. On Sunday he tweeted: Any attack on a house of worship is reprehensible; this is the third in a week. I hope authorities arrest and try the perpetrators soonest.
Also taking to Twitter to voice her disapproval was Una McCauley, the United Nations Resident Representative in Sri Lanka. She tweeted on Monday: Time for #SriLanka to stand strong & be bold to hold those inciting hatred & violence responsible for actions.
Getting ready to leave it all behind View(s):
With bitter lessons from last year, people take precautions, heed warnings to evacuate
Hundreds of vehicles lined up towards Colombo on Friday as people in Wellampitiya, Angoda, Kelanimulla, and Ambatale started leaving their homes as the Kelani river kept on rising with water spilling into the villages.
The Sunday Times team witnessed motorists and people in three-wheelers taking with them clothing, valuables and even pets as they left their homes.
Some of the families close to the Kelani river at Wellampitiya were waiting by the road until their householder who had gone to work returned so they could all move away.
Some of those leaving were being displaced for the second time within the space of a year, as they were victims of last years flooding as well.
The police attempted to manage the heavy traffic which was building up towards Colombo. Even though the police informed people in affected areas to leave within four hours, some people refused to leave.
K.A.D Nimal, a resident of Kelanimulla, who less than a year ago faced floods, was yet again preparing for the worst. He said that in the previous instance, the water level had reached the roof of his house, and all the furniture and electrical equipment were destroyed. He said that the government only provided a compensation of Rs.10,000 for two of his houses.
We were not told to leave by the authorities, it was only the area police that told us to vacate our houses. I was ready before that as I have experienced floods. However, this time the water was reaching the houses faster, he said.
Mr. Nimal said that he had to use metal sheets to cover his shabbily built wooden house. I rented iron scaffolding to prepare a makeshift rack to hold my electrical equipment and shelter the furniture, he said, explaining the precautions he had taken.
He said that he had already planned to take refuge at the Kithsirimewan Kelani Rajamaha Viharaya after releasing his pigeons on the roof.
At the temple, the Viharadikari Ven. Unana Upananda Thera had converted the dana shalava into a refugee centre where flood victims were being received. The Ven. Thera requested the public and the government to provide food and bottled water for the inconvenienced people.
Gamini Hemal, a resident near the Gangathilaka Viharaya at Kohilawatte said that after he was affected by last years floods, he had built a second floor to his house as a safe place for his furniture.
The Kelani river is reaching spill-point and will flood the road, then I will move my furniture upstairs. It will take about three hours for the by-road to flood he said.
Further up, towards Wellampitiya, women, children and elderly people were at the gates waiting for their family members at work to return home with their vehicles so they could leave the place.
Monika Rajanayake was one of these people waiting anxiously at the gate in fear that the water would suddenly reach her house without warning. There are six occupants of this house. Most of them are at work. There are warning messages announced on the TV, and the police also instructed me to leave, she said.
The Sunday Times also witnessed officials of the Disaster Management Centre and the Kolonnawa Divisional Secretariat urging people to leave their houses and move to safe areas.
Ms. H.A. Silawathi, a resident of Ganga Asabada Road, Kotikawatte said that the police instructed her to move to a safe area such as the Rajasinghe Vidyalaya or Kotikawatte Wimalaramaya.
People in Mulleriyawa also experienced flood waters in fields close to the river. Most residents of low-lying areas were leaving the area, while others further up the road were preparing to leave during the night.
S.A. Nishanthi Silva said that there are over 40 houses in their lane and that most of the residents had already started to evacuate. She said residents were told to move to higher ground at Galwana Purana Rajamaha Viharaya by police and the area Disaster Management official Nimal Amaraperumarachchi.
On Saturday, there were more people leaving their homes as the water levels kept rising. Based on last years experiences, many people did not want to take a chance and stay, even though the weather had improved compared to Friday. Some were already in temporary shelters such as tents and schools.
Security was strengthened in the area with police patrolling to prevent looters from breaking into houses that were vacated.
By Press Trust of India: Kathmandu, May 27 (PTI) Nepals two ruling parties today decided to withdraw an impeachment motion filed against the countrys first woman Chief Justice Sushila Karki, a move that may soon end the tussle between the executive and judiciary.
The parties -- Nepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre) -- took the decision during a meeting with the main opposition CPN-UML in Singha Durbar, Kathmandu Post reported.
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Lawmakers of the two parties had registered an impeachment motion against Karki, 64, at the Parliament Secretariat on April 30.
An alliance of opposition parties had been obstructing the House for the past few days to protest the government?s decision of increasing the number of local federal units and demanding withdrawal of the impeachment motion.
With the agreement among there big parties, the main opposition UML has decided to let the House proceed with its business from today which has assured that the budget will be announced on May 29 as provisioned by the Constitution.
"The impeachment motion registered against CJ Karki will be withdrawn by this evening, if not, by Sunday morning," UMLs Parliamentary Party leader Subash Nembang quoted Prime Minister Prachanda as saying.
Prachanda said that the process to withdraw the impeachment motion has already been moved ahead.
Nembang said that Parliamentary Committee would be formed today itself on the basis of an understanding reached among the three parties. Chief whips of all the three parties have been entrusted with the task.
The government on May 18 had decided to accept the Tharuhat and Madhes protests as political movements and withdraw all the cases filed against those who were involved, as a part of its bid to ensure agitating forces? participation in polls scheduled for June 14 and bring them on board the constitution implementation process.
Prachanda also told the main opposition that the government would not take the Constitution amendment process ahead prior to the second phase of local level elections.
The leaders of three major political parties did not discuss on forming the national consensus government though President Bidya Devi Bhandari on May 26 had asked the leaders to form the consensus government within seven days.
The President made the call on Thursday, a day after Prachanda tendered his resignation to choose a new prime minister on the basis of political understanding. PTI NSA
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Lanka imposes jail term for bottom trawling View(s):
A two-year jail term or a fine will be imposed on those found guilty of bottom trawling in Sri Lankan territorial waters, the government has decided.
For this purpose, an amendment to the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Act was gazetted this week. It seeks to prohibit fishing operations utilising trawl nets towed by motorised fishing boats and the sale, import or transport of such nets and the issuance of licences.
Bottom trawling, an illegal and harmful fishing method for marine resources, uses a towing net with a cone shaped body and bag (madiya) connected to the other end to drag along the sea bed for maximum catch. The new amendment comes after several years of poaching and bottom-trawling by Indian fisherment in Sri Lankas waters.
The amendment sets out clearly that no person can engage in or cause any other person to be engaged in fishing operations utilising trawl nets, including nets without two wings or using vertical poles at the two free ends of the net, to be towed by motorised or mechanised fishing boats.
Accordingly, the Fisheries Director General, who is responsible for issuing fishing permits, cannot issue fresh licenses or renew past licences to carry out fishing using trawl nets in Lankan sea.
Meanwhile, on the same day the Sri Lankan Government published the gazette, the Tamil Nadu state government published an order detailing funding measures taken in concurrence with the Indian central government to convert Tamil Nadu fishermens bottom trawlers to deep-sea vessels .
As an initial phase, the Indian Central government approved Rs, 200 crore (SL Rs 2,000 million) to convert some 750 bottom trawlers to deep-sea vessels. The project is expected to begin this year.
The new development to introduce deep sea fishing as an alternative for poaching in Palk Strait came as Indias Fisheries Commissioner noted in the order that the Sri Lankan Governmnts frequent seizure of Indian fishing boats was causing anxiety and insecurity among Tamil Nadu fisher community.
During the fishermen level talks, the Indian fishermen have expressed that they are willing to diversify the trawling operations into deep sea fishing operations in a phased manner over three years, provided that the Indian government funds such a programme.
The Commissioner also noted that about 2,000 large trawl fishing boats would be replaced with new deep sea fishing gill netter cum long liner and moved out of Palk Bay in a phased manner.
MASCOM special award for Daily Mirror journalist View(s):
Lakshman Kadirgamar Journalism scholarship winner 2016-2017 Piyumi Fonseka of the Daily Mirror received her internship certificate and a special award for securing the highest score in investigative reporting at Fridays convocation at MASCOM, the Kerala based media academy.
MASCOM is managed by one of Indias largest multi-media houses, the Malayala Manorama Group and the academy is headed by the well-known journalism teacher Prof. Thomas Oommen.
Ms. Fonseka won the Lakshman Kadirgamar scholarship for being the recipient of the Denzil Pieris Young Journalist Award at the annual Excellence in Journalism programme jointly organised by The Editors Guild of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Press Institute.
She is seen here receiving her certificate and award at the MASCOM graduation ceremony from the Kerala State Police chief Dr. T.P. Senkumar.
President gives blank cheque for flood relief efforts View(s):
Officials told to ignore circulars and spend funds
President Maithripala Sirisena yesterday directed District Secretaries in flood-affected areas to ignore circulars and spend funds on relief measures to those affected. He told a conference at the Kalutara District Secretariat that his directive should apply to all affected districts. The meeting came just hours after Mr. Sirisena returned to Sri Lanka following a visit to Australia.
The Police Chief, armed forces commanders and top Government officials took part in the discussion. As the death toll rose to 122 with 98 missing, three important areas were identified at the conference. Main among them was the continuation of search and rescue operations though there were signs of flood waters receding and providing cooked food for those rendered homeless.
President Sirisena said the Government would pay compensation to those whose houses were fully or partially damaged. Today, he will tour the worst-affected Ratnapura area. The Disaster Management Centre, set up specifically to deal with such tragedies, appears to have been unprepared. (See our P1 story).
Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa had left Sri Lanka before the floods to represent President Sirisena at an international event in Mexico. The President has also directed the immediate purchase of 10,000 life jackets to be airdropped to those who are still trapped on roofs or trees due to the floods.
Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department warned yesterday that heavy rains in excess of 100 millimeters were expected in the Western, Southern, Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces and several Northwestern Province areas tomorrow and Tuesday. According to statistics made available last evening, 493,455 persons were affected by the flood and landslide havoc, while 273 houses were fully damaged and about 700 partially.
Ratnapura, Galle, Kalutara and Matara have been the hardest hit areas by the worst floods since 2003. Most of the dead were victims of landslides, with Kalutara being the worst affected. Almost all the deaths in the district occurred due to large landslides in the Bulathsinhala area.
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) last afternoon issued a 24-hour landslide warning to the Ratnapura, Kegalle, Galle, Kalutara, Matara, Hambantota, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya districts. The people were told to be on alert, if the rain continued. The Government announced last afternoon that the security forces and relief teams had reached all disaster areas which had been previously inaccessible.
About 1,500 personnel from 15 battalions of the Army were engaged in rescue operations yesterday. The Navy had deployed 86 specially trained rescue teams consisting of about 500 personnel along with 86 dinghy boats.
The Air Force, meanwhile, deployed six helicopters and a Beechcraft observation aircraft. The Navy has rescued more than 3000 people and the Air Force 26 by last afternoon. The Army had rescued over 1,100.
The Air Force is also airlifting cooked food from the Ratmalana air base to affected areas in coordination with District and Divisional Secretaries.
Rs.150 million have so far been released as emergency disaster relief, officials said. Compensation will be provided for those who were killed while houses which were damaged would also be rebuilt at state expense.
Mass Media and Information Deputy Minister Karunarathna Paranawithana told journalists yesterday that some people had asked whether they could cremate those whose bodies had been recovered. He, however, said they had been advised to keep the bodies in the mortuary of the nearest hospital as post-mortem inquests needed to be carried out and death certificates issued.
Meanwhile, National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) Chairman K.A. Ansar said the water supply to Ratnapura and Matara had been disrupted as the floods and landslides had damaged the pipelines.
USAID slashes aid to Lanka by 92 percent View(s):
Sri Lanka will receive only US$ 3.38 million for its programmes here from the USAID in the 2018 budget a drop of 92 percent when compared with the 2016 account summary published in the latest Congressional Budget Justification (CBJ) for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programmes.
The CBJ is the annual presentation to Congress that justifies the US foreign operations budget request. The latest one shows that the allocation for Sri Lanka for 2018 is only US$ 3.38 million. The same document, in its 2016 account summary, has a figure of US$ 42.5 million for Sri Lanka.
The FY 2018 budget reflects the Presidents America First agenda that prioritises the well-being of Americans, bolsters US national security, secures our borders, and highlights US economic interests, the US Embassy in Colombo said, when asked why there was such a drastic reduction in aid.
Activities and programmes will address near-term threats, such as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and other transnational terrorist groups, combat illegal migration and trafficking, and level the playing field for American workers and businesses, the official response said.
The Presidents request reflects a commitment to rebuild our nations military within fiscal constraints, while working on behalf of the American people to advance our national security objectives and foreign policy goals, it added. The FY 2018 budget request for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the Presidents commitments to make the U.S. government more efficient by streamlining efforts to ensure effectiveness of U.S. taxpayer dollars.
This position is dramatically different to what is reflected in the 2017 budget, which said US assistance to Sri Lanka had entered a new era following the historic political transition after Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2015.
In FY 2017, US assistance will be used to strengthen governance, democratic reform, and the rule of law by promoting and protecting human rights, strengthening justice sector institutions, and supporting civil society organizations, it said. FY 2017 resources will also be used to encourage reconciliation efforts and support anti-corruption activitieskey foci as the government undertakes major reforms during this political transition. To help increase economic stability, U.S. assistance will also work to improve economic governance and growth, while supporting livelihoods and promoting trade.
Despite repeated warnings by the police and the authorities, people continued to visit flood-affected areas, as seen in this picture taken in Tangalle yesterday. Pic by Rahul Samantha Hettiarachchi.
Yapa waxes eloquent while disaster overwhelms ministry View(s):
While institutions under his purview were grappling feebly with the rising death and destruction from floods and landslides, Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa was in Mexicotalking about how Sri Lanka has put in place a programme to minimise casualties, damage to infrastructure, and economic losses in natural calamities.
The Ministry of Disaster Management has seriously considered the increasing trend of disasters and has collaborated with all ministries to implement medium and long-term disaster risk reduction programmes in line with the Sendai priorities, to minimise casualties, damage to infrastructure, and economic losses, Mr Yapa said, attending the 2017 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction in Cancun, Mexico.
The conference was from May 22-26. The Minister spoke on May 24 and even posted a photo from the event on his Facebook page.
Meanwhile, back home, the Disaster Management Centrewhich falls under Mr Yapas purviewwas engaged in a desperate hunt for relief items. These included blankets, life jackets, mats, mobile toilets, tents, torches, towels, umbrellas, matchboxes, lighters, sanitary napkins, undergarments and rubber slippers. It had none of these in its stores.
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, in March 2015. It envisages, among other things, the adoption of a forward-looking and action-oriented structure for disaster risk reduction. Sri Lanka is a signatory.
Minister Yapa said in his speech that, since the adoption of the Sendai Framework, his ministry has consulted relevant stakeholders and identified national targets, as well as prepared a National Action Plan.
Sri Lanka has already taken measures to translate salient points of the Framework into our local languages, and conducted a series of awareness programmes at national and sub-national levels, he said. Our aim is to disseminate the key Sendai messages to the most-vulnerable, with specific focus to the school community.
The Minister admitted that Sri Lanka, an island nation, faced intensified challenges due to climate-related hazards. During the last two years, Sri Lanka has experienced devastating floods, landslides, and droughts, he said. Damage and economic losses caused by these disasters have exceeded US$ 1 billion.
After the devastating floods and landslides in May 2016, my Ministry led a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA), which was supported by the World Bank, European Union, and United Nations to identify damage, losses and recovery needs, he continued. The figures uncovered by the PDNA were alarmingly high. The damage and losses exceeded US$ 660 million.
With the increase of unpredictable extreme weather events, these figures could be the new norm for countries such as ours, he said. Sri Lanka has also established a web-based damage and loss assessment system and was now developing the next National Disaster Risk Management Plan.
The Govt has also committed funds to develop risk profiles for frequently-occurring hazards, aiming to obtain risk information by 2020, he said. There were challenges such as inadequate capacity of development agencies on risk-sensitive development. These could easily hamper our efforts in reducing disaster risks. He called for increased international cooperation for knowledge-sharing and capacity-building to achieve the Sendai targets.
Activist ambassador Born in apartheid South Africa and having been an active participant in its transition, South African High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Robina P. Marks tells Randima Attygalle how the political fabric of that nation has shaped her life View(s): View(s):
I am very much at home in places where there is a noisy democracy, says the new South African High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Robina P. Marks. Ms. Marks who also serves as the South African High Commissioner to the Maldives and Bangladesh and the High Commissioner Plenipotentiary to Nepal, asserts that her previous diplomatic experience with the East Asian regions of Laos, Cambodia,Myanmar and Thailand contributed to her finding herself in her element in the Lankan fabric. Noisy democracies such as the one we have back at home remind us that our democracy and our civil society are robust but at the same time, it is peaceful and is engaged with the issues of the day.
Her Sri Lankan experience (from November last year) so far has been rewarding, enabling her to make a contribution to some of the seemingly intractable issues faced by the country today in a tangible space, she adds.
Born in 1963, the same year in which the late President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years, for young Robina Marks as it was for her entire generation, the visionary leader was an absent father. Even in his absence, he was very much present in our lives, she reflects, asserting that, what sets African diplomats apart are the values of humility, integrity, patriotism and passion for South Africa which the Father of their nation instilled in them. Our political conscience is shaped by our history in which we were not allowed to vote, live and work where we desired, deprived of basic needs and not even allowed to be buried next to white people, she says, adding that this dark past has driven South Africa to make policy prioritizing the most marginalized, most vulnerable and the most secluded.
Recollecting her first meeting with the globally revered leader, Ms. Marks says with a smile: I was completely dumbstruck thinking what am I supposed to be saying to such a man who loomed so large in all our lives! He was our moral compass.
Ms. Marks who calls herself an activist ambassador notes that South African politics had shaped her consciousness. She was an anti-apartheid activist from the age of 13, and worked in community based organisations, trade unions and womens organisations. I was also a regional organiser for the United Democratic Front that was agitating for the release of political prisoners and the unbanning of political parties. I was detained under Section 29 of the Internal Security Act that allowed for indefinite detention and held in solitary confinement in various prisons, she recalls.
With an academic background in sociology, gender and institutional development as well as teaching, she had also held several senior positions in both the public and private sector in South Africa wearing multiple hats of a researcher, lecturer and consultant.
My work as a diplomat is a natural extension of my activism for human rights, gender equality, justice and fairness. I became a diplomat because it allowed me to work at the intersection of policy and practice which means that I can advocate South Africas progressive position on these issues. In Sri Lanka this means she can be exposed to the practical work that government and civil society organisations are doing on the ground to build a united in its diversity Sri Lanka, she says.
Transitional justice, human rights, peace and reconciliation are very close to the heart of Ms. Marks who brings with her the experience of nation building and reconciliation in her previous postings. One year after I took up office in Thailand, there was a soft coup and the country went through a period of soul searching. In the case of Myanmar, the only country they trusted as the moral authority around reconciliation was South Africa and I spent a fair amount of my time in this process of moving the country forward.
South Africas commitment to Sri Lankas reconciliation process has been consistent says the High Commissioner, adding that her country has always been a reliable partner in this exercise. There had been a lot of foot traffic between the two countries and we will continue to support in the reconciliation process in Sri Lanka. At the same we will also remain concerned about several issues including the completion of the Terrorism Act, the reported incidents of torture, the pace of the writing of the constitution and the rights of the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. We also urge the Sri Lankan Government to live up to the commitments made at the UN Human Rights Council. The optimist she is, she says: When the entire world was expecting a revolution, we were able to give birth to a new country. If it was possible for South Africa, it is possible for Sri Lanka too.
Lauded as one of the most progressive constitutions in the world which champions inclusiveness and non-discriminatory practices, the South African Constitution also articulates gender equality in terms of womens representation in Parliament. Sri Lanka should take a cue from this, particularly at local level as womens participation in governance mirrors good governance, says Ms. Marks.
She also urges for gender awareness programmes to be in place if the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) process is to be a feasible exercise. In our experience with TRC, women only platforms were created for them to speak of their painful experience, to testify on behalf of their victimized family members, says the High Commissioner who adds that a day should dawn for Lankan war-affected women to have a space beyond tears. Even if the war is over, the war still lives in them very much, says Ms. Marks who also reminds that violence has its many manifestations of poverty, under-development and forced removals.
We are here to share our own transition process towards reconciliation and nation-building. We recognize and respect the territorial sovereignty and integrity of Sri Lanka as a multi-ethnic, united and unified state and will continue to promote the need for a peaceful, sustainable long-term political solution, which will be best achieved through broad consultation and an inclusive dialogue process amongst all the people of Sri Lanka. As well, at our most recent Partnership Forum meeting, we also confirmed the strengthening of the economic relations between both countries; the identification of new opportunities in the fields of renewable energy, the blue economy and agro-processing; and to an aligning of positions in global fora in pursuance of the strengthening of multilateral organisations and the reform of global institutions of governance.
South Africa is Sri Lankas largest trading partner in the African region and the balance of trade at the moment is in our favour and we are looking at ways of balancing that relationship, says the diplomat who also believes in a strong African-Asian trade dialogue. These two blocs are the last two frontiers of economic growth in the world and therefore it makes sense for the two to speak to each other, says Ms. Marks who adds that South Africa is exploring maritime sector education opportunities here while encouraging Lankan students to explore scholarship openings in South Africa.
Rubber is also an area of interest for her country says Ms. Marks. South Africa is a possible gateway to the Southern African Development Corporation in terms of tea exports. The potential Sri Lankan cultural tourism offers with its rich heritage is also significant, she notes.
A lover of books, beaches and jazz, Ms. Marks adds on a lighter note that Ching-chi her puppy is alarmed by Sri Lankan fire crackers! Very much in love with Colombo for its unique fusion of flavours, she is also fascinated by the Galle Fort. Whenever I miss Cape Town where its fort dominates the landscape, I run away to the Galle Fort, smiles Ms. Marks.
A woman who claims her sense of empathy to be her greatest strength, she is inspired by the core values of peace, kindness, compassion and forgiveness advocated in all religions. Our faiths are linked to each other and if we could revisit the core values in them which are not subverted by negative elements of nationalism, reconciliation is made easier, she says reminding us of the poignant words of President Mandela which she cherishes as her all-time favourite: Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.
Letters To The Editor View(s):
Mosquito nets for hospitalized dengue patients will take the sting off the rampaging disease
Dengue is on the rampage despite many unsuccessful efforts to eradicate breeding grounds of the mosquito.
A recent worrying incident was when a child who was admitted to the cardiac ward at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Colombo was taken up for cardiac surgery after over a months stay in the ward and was diagnosed as having Dengue two days following surgery (while in the ICU) clearly indicating that the virus was contracted while in hospital.
How could this happen? Yes, the hospital is overburdened by dengue patients from all over the country who carry the dengue virus in abundance. Also the hospital is not mosquito- free and these mosquitoes feed on the dengue-infected blood. These infected mosquitoes then bite other kids who have come for treatment of other illnesses as well as staff members resulting in them contracting dengue once they are discharged needing re-admission once again, this time for dengue.
As a preventive measure hospitals carry out fogging which drives out all the infected virus loaded mosquitoes which are similar to highly destructive missiles to the neighbourhood thereby infecting all those living in the vicinity of the hospitals which may be one reason why the Western Province which has so many large hospitals with dengue patients has the most number of dengue cases.
I suggest that it be made mandatory that all dengue patients in hospitals should be nursed under the cover of a mosquito net at all times which would greatly help reduce the incidence of the disease.
Eradicating the mosquitoes is of paramount importance but it seems impossible so the next best strategy would be to prevent the mosquitoes getting access to the virus and thereby preventing the spread of the disease.
I feel we should change our focus as all our efforts in preventing the rampage of dengue have failed.
I hope health authorities would look into this and issue strict guidelines to all health care institutions on use of nets for all patients being treated for dengue.
Dr. Shehan Perera
Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children, Colombo
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What happens to all the illegal drugs seized
We often see on TV and read newspaper reportsof how thePolice and Customs officers arrest drug peddlers and confiscate stocks of drugs.However there is no public awareness of what transpires thereafter. I personally believe the stocks are destroyed in front of their higher officers but the public may have different views.
Some time back we saw on TV how elephant tusks confiscated by the Customs Dept. were set on fire in front of a big audience.
Transparency is a key word used by these two departments, hence I strongly believe that the public has the right to know what transpires after these drugs are confiscated by the respective departments.
Daya Perera
Via email
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Here a noise, there a noise: Authorities please step in to give us peace and quiet
I read with much interest the letter published on May 14 Ask the monks whether sound pollution is a good practice according to the Buddha and would like to add my comments on this.
Its about time the Sri Lankan authorities clamped down on noise pollution in our beloved country. We are encountering the highest noise pollution emitting from many sources and in particular the use of loudspeakers from a Buddhist shrine on the street we live on. Other loudspeaker noises from nearby entities include a school, a mosque, railway station, vendors bellowing their sales and tuk-tuk bread vendors with their loud tunes.
While I realize vendors do need to earn their living, I fail to understand why the use of loud speakers is allowed at any given time disturbing the peace and quiet of residents.
Several failed attempts to talk to the caretaker at the shrine requesting them to lower the loudspeaker volume due to elderly and sick people living in the vicinity has proved futile. Arrogance has taken precedence over peace and harmony and without any consideration for others. Any religion should not be a nuisance to another person!
C. Kularatne
via email
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Some pedestrian crossings dont serve the purpose
According to a news report, the Road Development Authority is going to repaint pedestrian crossings to suit international norms. But before that they should look into the need for these crossings.
People tend to take the shortest way in crossing a road, unless pavements are barricaded to prevent jaywalking. Policemen and school prefects control traffic near schools during school days.
Once I saw traffic police on Christmas day waiting near a school outside the city to nab a motorist for overtaking at the crossing whereas they would have been doing a better service controlling traffic in the city.
Also on lonely stretches of road there are crossings which are never used.
The Road Development Authority (RDA) also should think of single lines in the centre of a road where in some places, the vision is clear and road is straight but the driver is prevented from overtaking even though the road is clear.
D.R.A. Abeywickrema
Via email
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Give money to Little Hearts Project of Lady Ridgeway Hospital
Apropos Dr.Thenuwaras query published in the Sunday Times of May 14, asking for advice on whom he should help with the Rs. 15,000 he had, I suggest that he donates the money to the Little Hearts Project of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital.
He will be following the Buddhas saying, Those who look after the sick look after me which he quotes in his letter.
Dr.Punchihewa
Via email
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Ministers, come down to earth and see the true picture
Have our ministers dropped from heaven to enjoy everything the country has to offer?
This months and last months allocation for MPs luxury vehicles was Rs. 1.2 billion
Meethotamulla garbage dump killed 35 victims and damaged 29 houses
Flood victims in Kolonnawa lost everything inclusive of houses
Muddy waters for villagers to drink and no roads to reach their houses
Ministers are supplied with air conditioners and hot and cold water in their houses
All this while thousands of unemployed graduates strike in the blazing sun
Their only demand to consider giving them a place in the sun too
Every five years duty free vehicles permits are sold for millions
Some even sport gold chains, Rolex watches worth millions
Palatial bungalows, Ministry vehicles, subsidized meals in Parliament,
Free phone facilities, staff at their beck and call at home and in Parliament.
A vehicle at the bungalow for the Nona and even kussiamma but only a few go to Parliament
Are we living in an era like the pre French Revolution where the poor were asked to eat cake instead of bread?
And Nero fiddled while Rome burnt?
Ministers hold thamashas while the cost of living soars
Its time these ministers came down to earth and saw the true picture of the situation.
A.C.A. Ghafoor
Dehiwala
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Archaeological sites in the East: Let use unite to preserve our heritage
Latheef Farook writing to the Sunday Times of May 21 states that as part of Sinhalisation of Tamil Muslim lands, 86 places in the Eastern Province were declared as archaeological sites by a gazette notification issued in October 2014.
Historically, a larger part of the present-day Eastern Province falls within the Rohana division of the Tri Sinhale.There is evidence to say that even before the Christian era this region had been inhabited. Professor Paranavitana in his monumental work Inscriptions of Ceylon Vol. 1,-Early Brahmi Inscriptions identifies nearly 50 sites where over 150 early inscriptions have been found in the Eastern Province. These are only inscriptions. In addition there are the other historical monuments. With a cultural history going back to over 2000 years it is bound to have many more archaeological sites in the region. It is the bounden duty of the State to preserve them for the sake of the posterity which will include Sinha-lese,Tamil as well as Muslim
The Minister in charge of the subject has the right to declare archaeological monuments by a notice published in the Government Gazette in terms of sections 16,17,18 and 19 of the Antiquities Ordinance for the purposes of the said Ordinance.
We have seen how vandals in the past systematically destroyed our priceless antiquities. They are irreparable losses. So let us unite to preserve our heritage. It is not Sinhalisation.
C.B.Punchibandara
Via email
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) An animal protection body today said there was no process earlier to regulate animal markets but the new rules on cattle slaughter would help plug that gap.
Animal Equality which conducted a nationwide study of cattle markets also "exposed" the "horrific" cruelty inflicted on cattle in them.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests notified the stringent Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 on May 25, banning the sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter.
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"All these cruel practices are illegal as per the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960 but there was no process in place to regulate these markets and hold them accountable. With these rules now this gap has been filled," said Amruta Ubale, executive director of Animal Equality.
The studies conducted by Animal Equality said shocking cruelties were inflicted on dairy animals across India.
It said that animals which were no longer of use to the dairy industry were sold for meat through cattle markets.
The organisation visited eight cattle markets in seven states, including Chikaguda cattle market in Secunderabad, Pollachi cattle market in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu and Masouli cattle market in Uttar Pradesh among others.
The findings from Animal Equalitys cattle market study mentioned some standard practices in cattle markets across the country.
It said cattle markets meant for the sale of agricultural bulls and dairy animals often facilitate the sale of unproductive dairy animals and newborn male calves for slaughter.
It claimed that at the cattle market, the animals were not given any food, water or shelter while some were seen without horns indicating that they were dehorned, and with branding marks on their face and body.
"Dead bodies and faces of calves were stuffed with hay and used to lure female cows and buffaloes who were unwilling to move due to the distress caused from separation from their offspring," the study claimed.
"The handlers prod the animals with sticks or fingers, rub chilly powder in their eyes, twist break the tails and drag them by their tails and nose ropes while loading them onto the truck," it claimed.
It said animals were seen bleeding from their genitals due to prodding while calves and weak or diseased adult animals were dragged and thrown into the truck.
The governments ban on sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter is expected to hit export and trade of meat and leather.
The government has also prohibited practices that are cruel to animals including painting of horns and putting ornaments or decorative materials on them.
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The body claimed that the Supreme Court directed the government to draft these new rules after a petition was filed.
Following this, Animal Equality presented the environment ministry and the animal husbandry department with a study showing the cruel and illegal treatment of cattle at markets.
It also provided a list of recommendations, which were forwarded to the Animal Welfare Board of India who framed and recommended the rules to the government. PTI TDS AAR
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Its about taking a step in someone elses shoes.
And in the case of Red Cross Maree Boyes and Tauranga mayor Greg Brownless, theyre taking 10,000 steps a day to understand someone elses story.
Maree and Greg have teamed up to complete the Red Cross The Journey programme running from May 8 to June 8 to unlock pieces of a Red Cross volunteers story.
The idea behind The Journey is to follow the journey of a Red Cross volunteer and, as you take steps and log them in, youll unlock little bits of information about their story and their job, says Maree.
I contacted Greg and he said: Im in but I dont think I can do 10,000 steps so I suggested we team up and we could do it together. Greg did two weeks volunteer work in Thailand following the Indonesian tsunami. He then returned to help again several weeks later. He said yes to this challenge when others said no.
Gregs disaster volunteer work made a difference to the people he has helped, and he has had his own experience in the role of relief worker
In 2004/2005 following the Asian tsunami I firstly volunteered, then later worked, in Khao Lak and Mai Khao, Thailand, assisting with those who had died along the coast, says Greg.
There were about 3000 tourists and 3000 locals who died in that area. I was there initially for two weeks as a volunteer, then some months later for five weeks as a contractor for the actual repatriation.
Maree says one the main focuses is disaster relief.
The money from this goes towards the Red Cross helping people, not just in the local community but here and overseas.
But its not all fun and games for Maree. In her quest to log every precious step, she managed to drop her phone in the toilet. Thankfully she managed to dry it out and it has faithfully continued to log her daily steps.
As challenging as I am finding this, Im sure its not as challenging as being a Red Cross disaster volunteer worker, says Maree.
To donate to Maree and Gregs journey, visit www.redcrossjourney.co.nz and search Greg and Maree in the Find a Friend section.
The Bihar chief minister was a special invitee to the lunch hosted at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Post lunch, Nitish Kumar met PM Modi and the two leaders discussed issues concerning Bihar.
By Anand Patel: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who skipped lunch hosted by Sonia Gandhi yesterday, today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the lunch hosted in the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth who is on a state visit to India.
The Bihar chief minister was a special invitee to the lunch hosted at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.
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Post lunch, Nitish Kumar met the Prime Minister Modi and the two leaders discussed issues concerning Bihar.
"Don't read too much into the meeting between Prime Minister and Bihar Chief Minister," said Nitish Kumar while taking to reporters at Bihar Sadan.
Nitish Kumar further said, "It has nothing to do with politics. I was invited since Mauritius has a large number of natives from Bihar. I have requested the PM to send a team of experts to look into the silt problem in Ganga River,"he added.
The JDU leader scoffed off speculation over his party rejoining National Democratic Alliance.
"Too much is being read into this meeting," he added.
"JDU, RJD and Congress are running a coalition government Bihar," he quipped, when asked about how strong was the 'Mahagathbandhan' in the state.
"I don't want to comment on allegations and counter allegations," he said, refusing to talk on the corruption allegations against RJD Chief Lalu Yadav and his family members.
Relations between JDU and RJD have strained following the recent Enforcement Directorate raids against Lalu following allegations of benami properties by BJP leaders in Bihar. RJD leaders have been accusing Nitish Kumar of not standing up against what it calls 'misuse' of central agencies to arm twist Opposition leaders.
The Bihar Chief Minister clarified that he had met Congress president on 20th April as well as other Opposition leaders and discussed about Presidential polls with them.
ALSO READ:
Why Nitish Kumar's lunch with Narendra Modi may rankle Sonia Gandhi, Lalu Yadav
Why did Nitish Kumar skip meeting with Sonia Gandhi but will have lunch with PM Modi?
ALSO WATCH:
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Fishing company Sanford Limited posted a 25 per cent increase in net profit after tax to $19.0m for the six months ended March 31, 2017, compared to the same period in the prior year.
Its been achieved by raising the prices of higher value, non-commodity offerings such as toothfish, scampi and salmon and shifting production plans towards higher value items such as fillets.
The group reports improved revenue of $230.4m for the first half of its financial year, compared to $219.4m for the same period last year.
CEO Volker Kuntzsch says this is a heartening validation of Sanfords shift to focusing on non-commodity products, where greater value can be added through branding and a relentless approach to quality.
We have had a challenging first half in some ways adverse weather impacted operations on numerous occasions and pricing for commodity items such as jack and blue mackerel was lower than we would like.
But our ability to still deliver a good result speaks to the value of a focus on fresh and to the resilience we have in this company, resulting from the diversity of our excellent portfolio.
Sanfords newest and largest addition to its freezer fleet San Granit, took longer than expected to start fishing to capacity because a number of technical adjustments had to be made to optimise the vessel for New Zealand conditions.
Overall, the wild catch business performed well, with the volume of fish caught increasing year-on-year by 1,600 tonnes. The longline and deepwater freezer vessels contributed the majority, while the inshore fleet was often hampered by poor weather.
Additions in the fleet were complemented by additions to Sanfords corporate capability.
The company welcomed a new chief people officer Karen Duffy who joined Sanford in February and is working to grow the capability of the business at all levels.
Sanford has also appointed the first communications manager in its 150 year history with the addition of Fiona MacMillan as GM Corporate Communications.
With the focus on fresh, the company is committed to New Zealand as a market for its seafood. New Zealand was the destination for $79.7m worth of Sanford product to March 2017, compared to $68.7m for the same period in 2016.
Aligned with this is the new approach to branding at Sanford. Development work continued in H1 on premium brands, including the Big Glory Bay brand of King salmon, farmed Bluff oysters and Greenshell mussels from Stewart Island.
The brand has recently been welcomed to several high end New Zealand restaurants.
We have gone in a very short amount of time from servicing no Auckland restaurants to supplying approximately one third of the top 50 eateries. Clearly this is an exciting start and we feel there are more great things to come, says Sanfords marketing and consumer general manager Justine Powell.
While Volker says Sanford has a number of exciting challenges ahead.
We have really just begun this journey and will continue to focus on adding more and more value and thereby creating improved returns with one of New Zealands most iconic natural resources.
The Maori Party is mourning the loss of one of Rotoruas staunchest advocates, John Te Manihera Chadwick, MNZM.
John, the husband of Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick, died suddenly in Rotorua Hospital on Friday afternoon. He was 72.
John will lie at his home in Kawaha Point until Monday morning and then will be taken to lie in Tamatekapua meeting house at Te Papa-i-o-Uru in Ohinemutu before his funeral service on Tuesday.
Maori Party co-leader Te Ururoa Flavell says tributes are pouring in from every part of the community, the wider legal profession, and whanau and friends, to honour the significant contribution of one of Rotoruas leading lights.
That is only appropriate, given the thousands of lives this wonderful man touched. John was a staunch advocate for our rangatahi, in and out of the courtroom, and he mentored generations of Maori lawyers and other community professionals who beat a path to his door.
With a sharp tongue and even sharper mind, Te ururoa says John could articulate a point of view with a style that very few possess.
Because of these innate qualities, his submissions, whether in front of the judge or during the oral hearings on the proposed Te Arawa Partnership model, were legendary, and his influence will be carved in to the memories of those who were privileged to see him in full flight, for years to come.
Fellow Maori Party co-leader Marama Fox says John had been at the forefront of community led initiatives in a relentless pursuit of justice for those least able to access it.
He had also served community for decades as a member of Te Waiariki Purea Trust, the Rotorua District Community Law Centre and the Tumahaurangi Trust.
John was also the founding president of the Maori Law Society, Te Hunga Roia Maori and served on numerous national bodies and advisory groups during his long career as a Maori lawyer, adds Marama.
Through his many achievements, John filled us all with pride and he was an inspiration to many throughout his life, in so many areas. When he received his New Years Honour in 2016, he reflected on all the pro bono work he had done for clients over the years.
That selfless service for which he never sought recognition, was one of the many reasons I was so proud to promote him through the Honours nominations process.
But Marama believes Johns greatest contribution was as a husband, father and koro.
The Maori Party expresses our sincere condolences to our Mayor for Rotorua Stevie, their three tamariki Hana, Eli and Rama, and their mokopuna and wider whanau.
John has been at Stevies side for the good part of nearly half a century, her back bone and her constant and our hearts go out to her and the whanau.
To this trailblazing son of Ngati Tuwharetoa, Ngati Wai o Ngati Tama, Ngati Tama, Ngati Whatuiapiti and Ngati Rangikoianake, we tip our hats to this special person who was a gentleman and a scholar; a fierce advocate and supporter; and a man greatly loved by his whanau.
Skyline Rotorua is shining a bright and unique spotlight on talented Kiwi music makers as part of its annual celebration of New Zealand Music Month this May.
Now into its third year, the Gondola Gigs feature top Kiwi artists performing songs acoustically as they travel up the side of Mount Ngongotaha inside one of Skyline Rotoruas iconic gondolas.
Some of the artists filmed so far include Three Houses Down and The Phoenix Foundation, plus Rotoruas Kindred performing Lets Join Hands and Myra Dawn Spooner performing Te Awhina Kaiwai-Wanikaus song Tiaho Mai Ra in Te Reo Maori.
Skyline Rotorua sales and marketing manager David Blackmore says filming the Gondola Gigs is half of the fun as the performers get used to the cabin space for fully unplugged performances.
We think its really special to include a performance completely in Te Reo this year, to also celebrate New Zealands Maori culture.
Were excited to release the new videos for 2017 with beautiful music and a spotlight on locals were proud of in the music scene.
During May Skyline Rotorua will upload two Gondola Gig videos weekly to its Facebook page, and then to its website at skyline.co.nz/rotorua/gondolagigs/
"To subdue the enemy without fighting is the pinnacle of strategy."
-Sun Tzu in The Art of War
A project for the century was how China's leader Xi Jinping described on May 14 his grand plan to remake the world. In the presence of 29 foreign leaders in Beijing, Xi unveiled his pet initiative, the rather harmless-sounding One Belt, One Road (OBOR), which seeks to establish Beijing at the centre of the world's economy through a series of massive infrastructure projects linking China with the world. India was the only major absentee-the opacity surrounding China's goals, coupled with India's concerns over China's projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), prompted Delhi to boycott the summit.
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If OBOR was named so with the hope of signalling to the world China's benign intentions, the country's leading thinkers in Beijing are aware that a lot more is at stake. Through OBOR, China is for the first time staking claim to global leadership. With the United States, under Donald Trump, distracted, many in Beijing see a China moment, and for the rest of the world a decision to be made.
"Two alternatives await us," says leading Chinese thinker Zheng Bijian. "One is trade protectionism. The other is to guide globalisation into a new phase and reform the economic and political order. The first alternative takes the world back to square one and is unthinkable. We are at a historical turning point, and we must embrace this new phase."
China is careful enough to state it doesn't aspire for global leadership. But the view among diplomats and China-watchers is that the 'guiding globalisation' that Zheng speaks of is merely a euphemism for reshaping the world order and placing China firmly at its summit.
China's push for global supremacy didn't begin with OBOR, but it has emerged as the instrument through which China is signalling its ambitions. For two decades, China pushed its state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to 'go out' to secure the country's interests, from natural resources to access to ports. Today, the SOEs are building railways in Africa, acquiring and operating mines all over the world, from Latin America to Afghanistan, constructing dams from Argentina to Myanmar, and building ports at every crucial littoral Indian Ocean state as Beijing builds a blue-water navy to protect its expanding overseas interests.
"What China is trying to do-and to some extent has achieved success in doing-is create a psychology that there is an inevitability of China's hegemony, and the sooner countries adjust to it the better for them," says former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran. "OBOR is aimed at reinforcing this narrative at a time when the US is either in decline or preoccupied. So most countries find that either they have to shut up or accept Chinese hegemony, as there appears to be no countervailing force."
Xi's Chinese Dream
"Some foreigners with full bellies and nothing better to do engage in finger-pointing at us. First, China does not export revolution. Second, it does not export famine and poverty. And third, it does not mess around with you. So what else is there to say?" In those sentences in 2009, Xi, then China's vice-president, had summed up Beijing's view of the world and his disdain for a US-led world order. In the eight years since then, Xi hasn't been as undiplomatic in his public speeches, but neither has he disguised his ambitions.
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More than his predecessors, Xi has been aggressive in championing China's greater role globally. Since taking office in November 2012, he made the campaign slogan of his administration what he calls "the Chinese dream" (zhongguo meng) of the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" (zhonghua minzu de weida fuxing). This isn't new. Every leader since Sun Yat-sen has spoken of China's revival, but "it is something Xi has pushed more than anyone else", says Tom Miller, economist and author of China's Asian Dream. "The key word in this is fuxing, or revival, and it gets to the heart of what China is now trying to do with its foreign policy," says Miller. "It means making China secure-a strong economy, a China that will be a great nation on the world stage."
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Given China's three-decade experience since its reforms, it's no surprise its leaders see their economy and trade as key to their global mission. The first step was securing the resources to fuel the country's rise. OBOR is the second, aimed at consolidating China's sway over countries in its economic orbit. The third will be securing China's assets overseas. Beijing has so far eschewed a global role for its military, but it has last year opened its first naval base, in Africa. More are on the way.
In 1996, then leader Jiang Zemin pushed what was then called a 'going out' strategy for SOEs. In a decade, China's overseas investments surged from $3 billion to $100 billion. This was buttressed by China's rising share of global trade following its entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001.
Xi Jinping arrives with world leaders for a group photo during the Belt and Road initiative in Beijing on May 15.
At that time, China accounted for less than 5 per cent of global exports. Today, it is the world's largest exporter, with a 14 per cent share. It is the largest or second-largest trading partner for more than 100 countries and has emerged as the biggest source of foreign investment for countries, from Venezuela and Angola to Nepal and Sri Lanka. China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank are funding this investment spree and lending more in Africa than the World Bank and IMF combined.
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In Africa and Central Asia, more and more countries fell into China's economic orbit as its SOEs embarked on massive 'resources for infrastructure' deals. China was offering to regimes from South America to Africa a different way of doing business. Gobbling up their resources, China is today the world's biggest producer and consumer of everything-from coal and iron ore to copper and rare earths. It built them roads, railways and dams.
In Africa, the China Road and Bridge Corporation is constructing the continent's most expensive project, a railway linking Nairobi and Mombasa that will eventually link six countries in East Africa. In Zambia, China has acquired one of Africa's biggest copper mines. China's biggest trade partner in Africa is, unsurprisingly, resource-rich Angola, which supplies everything from oil to minerals and agricultural commodities. China, in return, has offered more than $15 billion in loans. When Venezuela's economy was on the brink of collapse, the CDB stepped in with a $50 billion loan. When foreign banks refused to loan Ecuador funds for a hydropower dam, Chinese companies pitched in. Altruism isn't the motive, though; Ecuador, according to reports, will pay a high 6-7 per cent interest on loans.
Building the Belt
The Belt and Road plan was first unveiled as a land 'Silk Road Economic Belt' by Xi during a 2013 visit to Kazakhstan. When he was in Indonesia a month later, Xi announced a 'Maritime Silk Road' to link the region's ports with China's. The plan was then christened 'One Belt, One Road', though subsequently renamed in English as the 'Belt and Road Initiative' to assuage global concerns about a Chinese-led initiative.
As China's state investment driven model runs out of steam, it is no longer devouring the resources that fuelled its rise. Beijing now needs new markets. It's doing this in three ways: connectivity projects that will bring markets closer, by setting up projects overseas, and through massive lending. In two years, Chinese companies have signed close to $180 billion worth of contracts in 60-odd OBOR countries, according to the Chinese government.
The projects will create new infrastructure to suit China's strategic goals as well as open up new avenues for companies struggling with a slowing economy at home. For instance, to reduce reliance on the Malacca Straits for oil imports, China has opened a pipeline connecting the Kyaukphyu port in Myanmar with Kunming in Yunnan, giving China access to the Bay of Bengal for shipments. Pakistan's Gwadar port in the Arabian Sea has been conceived to open up alternative access to sea routes. Chinese economists, however, find the idea of a pipeline across the Himalayas far-fetched.
To open up Eurasian markets, the first major OBOR project to materialise was a transcontinental rail network linking China's manufacturing hubs to Europe. While the network has long existed, China added routes and doubled the number of trains to 1,700. From the world's biggest commodity market Yiwu and the western metropolis Chongqing, freight trains laden with everything from electrical machinery and laptops to toys and clothes travel all the way to London, Hamburg and Duisburg in Germany. Again, the long-term feasibility remains unclear. While it halves the 30-day travel by sea, the cost doubles.
China is also financing many of the overseas projects for its own companies. In addition to a $50 billion Silk Road Fund, the CDB and EXIM Bank have said they will lend up to $100 billion annually in the next decade for such projects, many of which will be undertaken by Chinese companies. This is being welcomed by countries in dire need of infrastructure, says Wang Yiwei, an international relations scholar at the Renmin University of China. "We are sharing our 30-year experience and that is why we are being welcomed. In China, we say what you need to become rich is to build roads and bridges. We have all seen the catastrophe of the global financial crisis. We offer something different," he says.
Whether this plan will work is far from certain. Top Chinese economists have expressed fears that China is overextending itself. In some partner countries, the debt burdens are becoming impossible to finance for local governments, which are also facing criticism because Chinese companies are being given all the contracts. "One big worry is if many of these countries fail to pay back their loans as they have incentives not to, eventually China will suffer from defaults," says Xu Chenggang, a leading Chinese economist.
Xu worries political considerations are driving the plan, and this could negatively impact China's economy, which is dealing with a rising debt problem-the debt to GDP ratio is at a record 282 per cent-and has failed to carry out long-pending reforms in SOEs. He says: "Rather than carry out reforms to privatise the state sector, OBOR is designed to overcome overcapacity by exporting machines, steel and cement to other countries, to let them borrow from China and purchase Chinese capacities. We are not only dealing with this disease but exporting it to other countries."
Sri Lanka is among the debtors struggling to repay loans, notes Xu. Miller says some policymakers in Beijing estimate China is likely to lose 80 per cent of investments in Pakistan, 50 per cent in Myanmar and 30 per cent in Central Asia.
China's new ambitions will fundamentally change its relations with the world. For the past three decades, China's diplomacy has followed Deng Xiaoping's cautious maxim known as 'tao guang yang hui', which literally means 'hide your brightness and seek obscurity'. The new phrase of choice in Beijing is 'fen fa you wei', which means to forge ahead. Wang says the US, with its superior military, remains the world's superpower, but as Beijing's commercial interests overseas expand rapidly, it will naturally have greater stakes globally.
Last year, when China opened its first military facility overseas by building a naval facility in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa near the Gulf of Aden, there wasn't even a word of acknowledgement that it was abandoning a decades-old policy of not operating foreign bases. Chinese firms have been seeking port projects throughout the Indian Ocean region, where China has built or managed ports in Indonesia, Hambantota and Colombo in Sri Lanka, Kyaukphyu in Myanmar, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan. The projects, Beijing says, were purely economic, but it is no coincidence that China is accelerating the expansion of its blue-water navy and its aircraft carrier programme. Its second carrier was launched in April and a third is being built in Shanghai.
Nowhere is China's proactive approach more evident than in Pakistan, which for many Chinese planners is a test case in how far its involvement in other countries can go. The 'flagship' OBOR project is the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). A leaked draft master plan, published by Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, underlines the extent to which China is exporting almost every aspect of its development model to Pakistan. Besides building roads and dams, Chinese firms will even take up agricultural land in Pakistan as well as build tourism and cultural projects.
Many scholars believe it's only a matter of time before Chinese boots are on the ground to protect their assets and personnel, including in PoK where China and Pakistan have already begun limited joint army patrols. "It is almost a takeover. I don't think the master plan will succeed, as the Chinese are overextending themselves and have become overambitious," says Saran. "They have so far been pragmatic in relations with countries without such a transformational role, and I find it incredible that China is making that commitment."
For many of China's Asian neighbours, the pull of its economic orbit appears too strong to resist, especially when the US appears unwilling to offer an economic counter. The Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal, which excludes China, was pushed by the Barack Obama administration, but one of Trump's first acts was to withdraw from it. For now, the US appears more interested in securing contracts for its companies under OBOR than resisting the plan. Trump sent Matt Pottinger, a senior official in his National Security Council, with several major US companies to the Beijing summit.
The American and European hope is to shape the initiative from within by pressuring China to be more open, and to ensure projects don't just go to Chinese companies. "While Washington is right to view the initiative through a strategic lens, its attitude should not be hostile," says Paul Haenle, director of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing. "At the same time, China should find ways to more proactively engage with the US and other developed nations on its objectives."
India's Options
In Delhi, the thinking is there is little likelihood of China adopting a more democratic approach. "It is clear the entire initiative is China-centric and China-led," says Ashok Kantha, former Indian ambassador to China. "They are trying to project jointness, but even at the summit, all the announcements and decisions are coming from the Chinese side. Others have to fit into the structure that China is laying down. For India, it is difficult to emerge as a junior partner in a grand Chinese enterprise."
No wonder India boycotted the summit. The decision also factored in China's unwillingness to address its concerns on CPEC projects in PoK. Opposing OBOR-and puncturing China's narrative about its inevitable global dominance-may have been a bold step, but Delhi now faces the more difficult challenge of responding to the rising Chinese influence in its backyard and offering an alternative to its neighbours. If China's plans succeed, India will have to deal with a fundamentally changed neighbourhood that is already gravitating into China's economic orbit. Some experts suggest that Delhi's response should begin with consolidating its interests in its immediate neighbourhood, where its core interests lie, rather than attempting to counter China's moves in Africa or Southeast Asia. India could begin, for instance, by leveraging and opening its market and integrating with the neighbourhood, even if it comes at some domestic cost.
It also needs to more robustly push its own connectivity agenda. New Delhi has no dearth of such projects, from 'Go West', where it's working with Iran on the Chabahar port, to the 'International North South Transport Corridor' to Central Asia. But on scale and speed, China is in another league. "We need to focus on delivery of existing commitments because that's where China scores over you all the time," says Saran. One long proposed solution was the setting up of an independent agency empowered to deliver on projects by avoiding the webs of bureaucracy. It was stymied on account of turf battles between ministries. This needs to be revived.
Dance With the Dragon
Then there is the question of managing India's relations with China. Boycotting OBOR is unlikely to have a major impact on the relationship, say officials. The two sides are already dealing with a long list of thorny issues, from China's opposition to India's entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group to its protection of Pakistani terrorists against UN Security Council sanctions. But it is not in Delhi's interest to allow the relationship to descend into outright hostility. In the lead-up to September's BRICS Summit in Xiamen, to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, three Indian ministers and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval will travel to Beijing and continue engaging with China.
Delhi is also building closer ties with other regional powers, from Japan and Australia to Indonesia and Vietnam. But given their own sensitive economic and political equations with China, this can only go so far.
The Modi government has adopted the pragmatic approach of attempting to leverage China's strengths by roping in its companies for major infrastructure projects and create new pro-India constituencies in China. This has been somewhat successful-last year, Chinese investment in India crossed $1 billion for the first time. China's mobile companies and real estate giants are looking at India as their biggest foreign opportunity.
Kantha suggests exploring synergies with China and looking at projects that both sides can work on under their different connectivity initiatives. He cautions against framing India's position as rejecting China's and adds it's unrealistic for Beijing to expect India to endorse OBOR and unwise to insist on OBOR labels for bilateral projects.
India's only recourse is to focus on its own growth and close the ever-widening gap with China. "International perception will only change once India is seen narrowing the gap with China," says Saran. "We are the only country with the area, population and potential market to be in the same league. Even if we narrow the gap and grow at 8-9 per cent every year, the world will look at us differently."
New Delhi has certainly raised the stakes by declaring it will not necessarily acquiesce to a Chinese-dominated order. But ultimately, it will also need to present a credible alternative. The time starts now.
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By Press Trust of India: Chandigarh, May 27 (PTI) The Opposition in Punjab today stepped up its attack seeking immediate sacking of Cabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh for allegedly acquiring sand and gravel mines through "benaami transactions in the name of his former cook and staff," a charge vehemently denied by him.
Raising questions over the allotment of mines in the recently-concluded auction, main opposition AAP also sought a vigilance probe into the allotment.
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AAP MLA Sukhpal Khaira said the party leaders would sit on dharna outside the chief ministers residence on May 30 if no action was taken against the minister.
"It is the money of Rana Gurjit Singh who pumped it through his four former employees to get mining contracts in Punjab," Khaira alleged while claiming that there was a "big scam" in the allotment of the contracts.
Khaira also showed the copy of the purported income tax return of Amit Bahadur, one of the ministers former cooks, to the media here.
"As per income tax return for the financial year 2014-15 of the former cook, his income was about Rs 95,000. He was getting an income of just Rs 11,706 per month. With such a meagre income, will a cook be able to bag mining contract of Rs 26 crore," Khaira asked.
AAP MLA from Bholath said he has written to the Punjab Vigilance Bureau chief, demanding probe against the minister and his former employees.
He said he will also approach income tax authorities to launch an inquiry into the financial transactions conducted by the ministers former staff for bagging the contracts.
The MLA demanded from Punjab CM to remove Rana Gurjit from his ministry immediately. "It is the biggest test of Punjab CM Amarinder Singh who has been claiming that his government is tough against corruption. He should now immediately sack his minister and if he takes this step, it will send across a message among public that the government was really serious against corrupt practices," said Khaira.
"If Amarinder Singh chooses to remain silent on this issue, then people will assume that he is shielding his minister from strict action," said Khaira.
Earlier, opposition SAD and BJP had also sought action against the Cabinet minister.
"Rana Gurjit Singhs cook and other employees getting mining contracts worth crores is a classic example of what the Congressmen are upto," Tarun Chugh, the national secretary of the BJP said in a statement citing media reports.
Senior SAD leader Prem Singh Chandumajra said the minister, who had allegedly openly abused his authority to indulge in "naked illegality", should be proceeded against under relevant sections of the Income Tax Act.
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"The case should also be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate for investigation as someone who was making paranthas till last night has outbid 32 other big-wigs to acquire a Rs 26.51 crore mining site," Chandumajra, who is also party MP, had alleged in a separate statement here.
However, power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit clarified that neither he nor his company - Rana Sugars Limited - has any direct or indirect stakes, financial or otherwise, in the sand mining business. The minister had categorically denied any links of his family members or employees with the sand mining business.
He termed as "incorrect" the reports in a section of the media claiming that his company employees had successfully bid for sand mines.
He said the employees in question had left their jobs a long time ago, which can be verified from the companys records.
"Though I am personally not involved in the day-to-day functioning of my companies for the last about two decades, however, I can say with command and confidence that neither any of the employees working in these companies nor any of my family members has any interest or stake in sand mining business in Punjab," he asserted.
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"The fact that some of my former employees reportedly bid for the mines does not in any way imply that I have interests or stakes in the business," the minister had said.
"There are thousands of employees who have worked with me and left from time to time and I cannot be held accountable for what they do after leaving my companies," he had said.
Pointing out that his businesses had an annual turnover of more than Rs 1,000 crore, Rana Gurjit asked, "With a business already running into hundreds of crores of rupees, does it make any sense to indulge in a business of a few crores of rupees?". PTI CHS VJ SUN KUN
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If your mind, like mine, is already drifting towards thoughts of long, languid summer days stretched out in the sunshine with a book, then youve procrasti-clicked on the right article. I asked some fellow discerning readers for recommendations of books to enjoy once youve broken the bubble, and they did not disappoint. So here we have TCSs list of the best beach books for the summer of 2017:
Martha Radbourne: Set in du Mauriers traditional setting of historic Cornwall, Frenchmans Creek unfolds as a swashbuckling adventure of the affair between Lady Dona St. Columb and a French pirate. Utterly improbable and thus rather perfect escapism, this story combines its inevitable romance and daring sea rescues with just enough realism that it is almost believable.
Beatrice Obe: The holidays always make me think of freedom and whimsy, so I love reaching for Ray Bradburys sci-fi short stories (The Martian Chronicles, The Veldt, etc). I also dedicate time to re-reading old favourites, like Philip Reeves Mortal Engines series.
Finley Kidd: I would recommend Beauty Queens by Libba Bray. Its a classic stranded-on-a-desert-island plot but with more feminism thrown in. Fun, very readable, and better than Lord of the Flies.
Cait Findlay: Sarah Waters The Night Watch has become one of my all-time favourite books its long enough to keep you busy for a few hours, but you can take a pause between each section to go for a ramble in the sunshine. The setting of war-time London, while hardly an exotic destination, will transport you to somewhere, and some-when, completely different if you wont otherwise be travelling far this summer.
Ellie Loxton: Love Nina by Nina Stibbe; The Secret life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd; The Help by Kathryn Stockett; No Bed for Bacon by Caryl Brahms; and On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan.
Martha Radbourne: A shorter read than most novels we have become accustomed to, The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery is perfect for the beach since its short chapters will allow you to fairly divide your time between reading, swimming, and shell collecting. With its deceptively simplistic illustrations and slightly surreal setting, it reveals itself to be a moving dialogue with surprisingly profound reflections on how we choose what we accord importance to and the possible absurdity of such elections. To challenge yourself a bit more, you could read it in its original French.
By Press Trust of India: From Sajjad Hussain
Islamabad, May 27 (PTI) Pakistan today said it has opened a key border crossing with Afghanistan on humanitarian grounds at the start of the month of Ramadan, days after shutting it down following deadly clashes between the two sides.
The crossing at Chaman in restive Balochistan province was closed after a clash killed 15 people on both sides in the first week of May.
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"Pakistan has opened Friendship gate Chaman on humanitarian grounds in Ramazan on request from Afghan authorities," the army said in a statement.
It said that after the Chaman incident, Pakistan has its area under effective control after having pushed back Afghan Border police troops.
The clash started over competitive claims by the two countries over two border villages where Pakistan officials were carrying the census drive.
Army said census has been completed in the Pakistani side of the divided villages of Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir.
It said no border violation will be acceptable and Pakistani troops will maintain their positions along International Border in Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir. PTI SH ZH
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the most gorgeous iPhone ever released but also be the most innovative and the most powerful both in terms of internal hardware and imaging capabilities
Update as of September 13, 2017: Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have just been officially announced by the Cupertino company. You can learn more about them Apple iPhone 8 and 8 Plus have just been officially announced by the Cupertino company. You can learn more about them here
Rounded Glass-Metal-Glass Sandwich Design
5.8-inch Bezel-less Edge-To-Edge Display
Home Button and Fingerprint Scanner Within the Screen
New Dual Camera Module Design
4K videos at 60 frames per second
Price and Release Date Guesstimate in the Philippines
historically
Many fans of the Cupertino company - including myself - and even just regular mobile consumers are hoping that the model would not only beIf you're also excited about imminent release of the Apple iPhone 8, here are purported and unverified "insider information" about this upcoming handset that have already surfaced online:Hardcore Apple fans and mobile industry enthusiasts would know that the controversialwas the first ever smartphone to flaunt a glass-metal-glass sandwich design language, an elegant look that was eventually copied by so many handset makers.According to various sources, the Apple iPhone 8 will have a metal mid-frame with rounded corners in between two sheets of curved scratch-resistant glass panels. This will represent a big departure from the "already tired" full metal shell of the'Supposed insiders' are saying that the new iPhone will have a 5.8-inch AMOLED display without those thick side bezels found on previous iPhone models. They say that the usable area will be around 5.15 inches across and that its corners will be rounded, just like what's on the. No word yet on the screen resolution.The Apple iPhone 8 could very well be the first smartphone to have a fingerprint scanner integrated into its glass touchscreen, making the edge-to-edge face possible. Samsung was supposed to implement it on thebut failed to do as Synaptics - the Korean Giant's partner in crafting the sensor - ran out of time developing the technology.Like the, the Apple iPhone 8 will (most likely) have a Dual Camera module at the back making depth of field effect and lossless zooming possible when snapping images. Off hand, based on 'leaked photos' of the 2017 iteration to the iPhone, the main difference lies in the design of the module.Whereas Apple iPhone 7 Plus Dual Optics at the rear are oriented horizontally, the ones on the iPhone 8 are said to be oriented vertically within a protruding plate. Also, while the Quad Tone LED bulb of the 2016 phablet is located on the right of its Dual Cameras, the flash of this year's iPhone will supposedly be found in between the two optics.According to various sources online, Apple iPhone 8's rear camera will be able to record, which is a clear level-up from the 4K 30fps main recorder of the. If this will turn out true, Apple will again be a trailblazer when it comes to sheer video recording prowess in the world of cameraphones.Since thein 2012, the Cupertino company has been officially announcing its latest smartphone release within the month of. And in the Philippines, Apple's network partners and authorized retailers havebeen officially releasing the newest iPhone within the month of. That said, I'm expecting the Apple iPhone 8 to follow this trend. Now, as for its official price tag, my TechPinas Guesstimate is that it would start at $1000 USD - as earlier reported by other tech websites and blogs - or around Php 49,700 with current conversion and before taxes.
Researchers from the University of California Santa Barbara and the Georgia Institute of Technology have discovered a new class of Android vulnerabilities that have been named the "Cloak & Dagger" exploit.
Google was informed about that exploit nine months ago, but some of the vulnerabilities are still present, even in the latest Android 7.1.2 Nougat. This is because some legitimate apps use the tools that are manipulated by the exploit.
What Does Cloak & Dagger Do?
According to the researchers, Cloak & Dagger attacks allow malicious apps to take over the user interface feedback loop and gain control of infected devices, without the user even knowing that such attacks have taken place.
The exploit uses two permissions, namely SYSTEM_ALERT_WINDOW ("draw on top") and BIND_ACCESSIBILITY_SERVICE ("a11y"). The draw on top permission is the Android overlay feature that allows apps such as Facebook Messenger and Samsung's Multi Window to create windows that users can minimize and move around on top of other apps. The accessibility service permission, meanwhile, intercepts user input such as keystrokes to help users with impaired eyesight or hearing.
Working together or separately, these permissions can be exploited to allow apps to steal text input which may include passwords, confidential information, and two-factor authentication codes. When users input information into apps, they would not know that they are also inputting the information into another layer. This kind of attack is known as clickjacking.
What makes the Cloak & Dagger attacks even more dangerous is that these two permissions being exploited are not part of the Android permission granting system that started in Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Malicious apps are automatically granted the draw on top permissions, allowing them to create overlays on top of apps such as Facebook and the Android keyboard.
The accessibility permission, meanwhile, is a bit harder to exploit as attackers will need to use the overlay exploit to activate it. However, once that is done, a so-called god mode app may be used to steal data from any app that is launched on the Android device.
How To Protect Yourself From Cloak & Dagger
Fortunately, Cloak & Dagger is not an active exploit, and there have been no reported cases of hackers taking advantage of the vulnerability. There is also the chance that a complete solution is coming with Android O. Nevertheless, Android users will need to stay vigilant to protect themselves.
The simplest way to protect Android devices from the Cloak & Dagger attack is to disable the draw on top permission. This can be done by entering Settings, tapping on the Gear symbol under Apps, and then selecting Special Access. The Draw Over Other Apps option can then be deactivated.
Users can also go into the Accessibility menu under Settings, and check the apps that require a11y under the Services option.
In addition, users are highly recommended to follow the usual tips in protecting their Android devices from security breaches, first and foremost of which is to avoid installing random apps from untrusted sources.
While Google and security researchers should hunt down and fix vulnerabilities such as the Cloak & Dagger exploit, users also share in the responsibility of preventing the spread of malware.
2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
HTC is rolling out a new VR headset called Link. Emphasis on "new."
In the VR scene, consumers can either go for high-end devices connected to PCs such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift or smartphone-powered headsets such as the Samsung Gear VR and the Google Daydream. HTC's new product sits somewhere in between, perhaps introducing a new type of way for VR experiences.
HTC Link, Not Vive
The name HTC picked out is pretty straightforward. It's not completely a standalone device, as it still needs a smartphone the manufacturer's latest flagship U11, to be exact to "link" to for it to work, which arguably makes it fall among the likes of the Gear VR and Daydream. However, the big difference is that it has its own display.
On that note, it's not quite as powerful as HTC's Vive offering or the Oculus Rift, but it's one notch higher than the other VR headsets that rely on smartphones. Again, it's somewhere in between the two types.
As mentioned earlier, it's still technically a smartphone-powered VR device, but it's capable of supporting six degrees of freedom or 6DOF tracking. In other words, this is the first mobile VR headset of its kind because of that feature.
Other than connecting to a smartphone, it relies on an external camera as well for tracking purposes, and this is seemingly evidenced by the lights on the headset itself and its two controllers, which is comparable with Sony's PlayStation VR.
HTC Link Specs
Since the HTC Link doesn't use a smartphone for a screen, it won't take advantage of the U11's 5.5-inch Super LCD display and QHD resolution (2,560 x 1,440). Instead, it'll push out VR experiences on two 3.6-inch LCD panels with a 1,080 x 1,200 resolution and a 90 Hz refresh rate, providing a 110-degree field of view.
It won't be cumbersome either, weighing in at 554 grams or 1.22 pounds. For a better idea, that's almost the same as the Galaxy S8 and Gear VR (2017) combo, which weigh 155 grams or 0.34 pounds and 345 grams or 0.76 pounds respectively and come to the total of 500 grams or 1.1 pounds.
The thing is, it's only available in Japan, and according to UploadVR, HTC doesn't have any plans to release this beyond the country just yet.
To sum things up, HTC is bringing a game changer to the table called Link, and VR enthusiasts can only hope for a wider launch or perhaps get their hands on a kit from the country.
It's also worth mentioning that HTC is working with Google to release a standalone Vive headset, which was announced during the latter's I/O 2017 conference.
Interestingly enough, HTC is promoting the Link VR headset with the anime Ghost in the Shell, which Paramount Pictures made a movie out of that stars Scarlett Johansson.
With everything cleared up, what do you think of the HTC Link? Feel free to drop by our comments section below and let us know.
2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Earlier this month, Tech Times reported smartphones and iPads may be responsible for speech delay in babies and toddlers. Now, a new study revealed further negative impacts of digital technology in child development.
This time, the emphasis is on parental use of mobile devices and how the adults' tech obsession can be harmful to their children.
'Technoference': Smartphone Use During Family Time
Parents' addiction to digital technology may be causing behavior problems in children, according to researchers at the University of Michigan and Illinois State University.
The scientists conducted a small study to investigate whether kids' tantrums may be attributed to heavy smartphone use on their parents' part.
While parents typically say their kids act out due to being bored, tired or hungry, the researchers uncovered children often misbehave because the adults may be spending too much time on their smartphones, iPads or tablets.
Parents who are too engrossed in their mobile devices often interrupt the time they spend with their kids for instance, to check phone messages during conversations, meals, playtime or routine family activities.
Research lead author Brandon McDaniel, of Illinois State University, dubbed these interruptions "technoference."
How Often Are Parents Engrossed In Digital Technology
In the study, his team asked parents to complete questionnaires on how often they use smartphones, tablets, laptops and other technology, and how these mobile devices interfere with family time.
The survey involved 170 two-parent families, and the researchers asked mothers and fathers to complete the questionnaires separately.
The scientists tried to determine how problematic was the parents' use of mobile devices, by asking them to rate how often they worry about calls or texts, how difficult they find ignoring new messages and if they think phones are using up too much of their time.
Parents were also asked to specify how often phones, tablets, computers and other devices distracted them during activities with their children.
Nearly half the surveyed parents (48 percent) said technology diverts their attention away from their kids at least three times a day. About 24 percent responded mobile devices disturb their interactions with the children twice a day.
Fewer respondents 17 percent reported digital technology interrupts family time once a day, while just 11 percent said they keep away from smartphone, tablets, laptops, iPads and computers while spending time with their kids.
Interestingly enough, although both mothers and fathers acknowledged around two mobile devices invade their relationship with their children, mobile phone use was seen as problematic more by the mothers than the fathers.
Parental Mobile Device Use And Kids' Behavioral Problems
Next, parents were surveyed on how their children behaved in the past two months and asked to rate how often the kids whined, sulked, got frustrated easily, threw fits or showed signs of hyperactivity or restlessness.
"This study investigates whether parental problematic technology use is associated with technology-based interruptions in parent-child interactions, termed 'technoference,' and whether technoference is associated with child behavior problems," wrote the authors in the abstract of their paper, published May 10 in the journal Child Development.
The researchers discovered that parents don't have to be glued to their smartphones for these behavioral problems to occur in their kids. The scientists found that even low or seemingly normal amounts of technoference caused child behavior issues, such as oversensitivity, hot tempers, hyperactivity and whining.
"This was a cross-sectional study, so we can't assume a direct connection between parents' technology use and child behavior but these findings help us better understand the relationship," said senior author Dr. Jenny Radesky, child behavior expert and pediatrician from the University of Michigan.
Radesky admits there is also a possibility that parents of difficult children feel more inclined to use technology as a stress-reliever while spending time with their kids.
According to Radesky, parents become less responsive to their children while absorbed in digital technology, and this can lead to less-than-ideal interactions with the kids.
"It's really difficult to toggle attention between all of the important and attention-grabbing information contained in these devices, with social and emotional information from our children, and process them both effectively at the same time," she added.
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Uber hasn't had it easy over the last year, getting hit with a laundy list of legal problems. The problems don't look to be clearing up anytime soon and are only getting worse.
Uber Vs Waymo
The case between Uber and Waymo has been contentious up to this point due to what's at stake for both companies self-driving car projects. Uber has suffered hit after hit as a result of the case and the hits keep coming. Things only got worse for Uber as a magistrate judge has ordered Uber to give Waymo an unaltered version of the original term sheet for Uber's acquisition of self-driving car developer, Otto. Otto is also the company at the center of Waymo's lawsuit over supposedly stolen trade secrets since Otto's founder, Anthony Levandowski, worked for Waymo's parent company, Alphabet.
Waymo had been asking for the document to be handed over, believing it had pertinent information that could help Waymo's case. Waymo is also demanding access to the due diligence report Uber did before its purchase of Otto last summer. However, up to this point, Uber had been refusing to hand over these documents, claiming the information was meant to stay confidential and was protected by attorney-client privilege. While it may not be everything Waymo wanted, this is still a big win for the company's battle with Uber.
Self-Driving Approval
Otto seems to have caused nothing but headaches for Uber and that trend is ending soon. The San Francisco-based company is now facing investigation from California regulators because of self-driving truck tests. The belief is that Otto may have run truck tests on public highways without getting approval from the state. The inspection is being prepped as an unscheduled visit to prevent Otto from manipulating the inspection in any way.
The inspection is a result of an internal Otto report that was published in 2016 detailing how the self-driving trucks drive the highways surround San Francisco daily. The report contradicted reports Otto had given to California regulators in February, stating that the trucks weren't being operated remotely. Otto only added fuel to the fire thanks to a report for Colorado regulators, detailing how operators switch between manual control and autonomous software, depending on conditions. Given the ruling just handed down in the Waymo case, this inspection couldn't have been planned for a worse time.
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Apple is reportedly developing proprietary chips equipped with artificial intelligence, potentially called the "Apple Neural Engine." If reports prove true, then this chip will be iOS's most significant AI upgrade since the voice assistant Siri arrived on iDevices in 2011.
Apple Reportedly Developing Artificial Intelligence Chip
Reports say the processor will be dedicated to processing AI-related tasks, among them facial recognition, speech recognition, and augmented reality. What's more, this chip could improve the device's battery life, in addition to improving the overall performance.
That's according to Bloomberg, which cites a person familiar with the matter. Among the major players in the AI landscape are Google and Amazon, with their respective Assistant and Alexa technologies. By developing a chip devoted to AI, the Cupertino, California-based company could have a speed boost in the race and potentially catch up to its peers.
But it's not clear if the alleged chips will ship on iDevices this year, says Bloomberg. That said, Apple has reportedly already tested the Apple Neural Engine on future iPhone prototypes. It seems the goal is for the company to equip its devices with separate chips that are devoted to specific tasks only the AI chip will handle computationally intensive tasks, while other distinct chips will handle motion sensing, AirPods syncing, and more.
Apple is typically unwilling to share details regarding future products, and the same can be said of the aforementioned AI chips. Still, Tim Cook, the company's CEO, has previously dropped hints that AI and augmented reality are two of the most important pillars of Apple's future. Both technologies could pave the way for innovations such as self-driving cars, smarter digital assistants, and improved facial or object recognition.
Apple And Artificial Intelligence
Although Apple hasn't shared much with regard to how its developments related to AI are going, actions speak louder than words. In recent years, the company has aggressively recruited top-rank industry talent, acquiring companies such as RealFace, Lattice Data, and Tuplejump.
What's more, its commitment to AI is also beginning to show, particularly with it joining the Partnership on AI, a group of major Silicon Valley companies examining the impacts of automation, digital intelligence, and more.
Though this report should be taken with a grain of salt, putting a dedicated AI chip on its devices makes sense for Apple, especially if it wants its products to stay relevant as AI, augmented reality, and other technologies slowly take over the tech landscape.
Apple's AI chip will be one of the company's many processors developed in-house. It began designing proprietary processors back in 2010 with the A4 chip. It has since developed and shipped dedicated processors for the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, AirPods, and more.
It's not certain when Apple plans to release the said chip and what device it'll debut with, for that matter. It's worth noting that the iPhone 8 could be unveiled this fall, but it's unlikely that the device would pack the chip that early. Still, there's always room for surprises.
Thoughts about Apple's purported chip dedicated to AI tasks? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!
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A new bug has been discovered for computers running on Windows 7, Windows 8, and the out-of-support Windows Vista that causes them to crash.
While the glitch is not as damaging as the WannaCry ransomware that infected systems on outdated Windows versions, it will still cause massive headaches for users of vulnerable computers.
These 4 Characters Can Cause A Windows Computer To Crash
Russian website Habrahabr.ru reported that the four characters "$MFT" can cause a computer running on an older version of Windows to crash.
The bug works when a developer uses the four characters in the directory name where a website stores its images. Windows only expects to see the $MFT in a special metadata file used by the NTFS file system, so when the computer encounters the string of characters, Windows locks the file system.
All succeeding operations in the computer are held back while waiting for the lock to be released. What happens is that every running program will eventually hang, causing the computer to become gradually unusable before crashing. In some cases, users may even be faced with the dreaded blue screen of death.
The Verge was able to successfully replicate the bug by using the filename "c:\$MFT\123" for one of the images of a website. The computer slowed down after accessing the website.
Once the bug is initiated, the only way for users to escape it is to reboot their machines.
The glitch works very similarly to an old problem found in Windows 95 and Windows 98. The special filename "con," which represents the keyboard and the screen, caused computers to crash when it was referenced twice in a filename. If the filename was referenced in a website, the computer would crash whenever its browser visits the malicious webpage.
Is A Fix On The Way For The $MFT Bug?
Microsoft has been informed about the bug, but it has not yet released a fix for the problem. Fortunately, for now, the worst thing that can happen is that users will lose unsaved work and spend additional time in rebooting their computers.
Ars Technica was not able to make the glitch trigger remotely so that hackers can exploit the bug, but it wouldn't be surprising if an attack that pairs the glitch with malware can be made.
Currently, the only way for users on Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows Vista computers to protect themselves from websites taking advantage of the bug is to set up their internet browsers to not load images. However, that would be too extreme of a solution, especially as users will not likely run into the bug if they only visit trusted websites.
The bigger issue and solution, however, is that users could prevent themselves from being exposed to such vulnerabilities by upgrading to the latest versions of operating systems and constantly updating their systems. Technology companies such as Microsoft keep improving the security of products such as Windows 10, but it will only benefit users if they also choose to prioritize cybersecurity.
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NASA is planning to launch a spacecraft which will make its way to the sun's atmosphere to conduct research. The space agency is all set to make an announcement regarding this mission on Wednesday, May 31, at 11 a.m. EDT from the William Eckhardt Research Center Auditorium.
The first mission to touch sun is dubbed the Solar Probe Plus or SPP and is expected to launch sometime in summer 2018.
Solar Probe Plus: First Mission To Touch Sun
The specially-designed spacecraft will fly within four million miles of the sun. This distance is almost seven times closer to the sun than any previous spacecraft has managed. NASA will announce the ambitious project in the coming week and is optimistic that it would offer insights into the stars' behavior, as well as give vital information about space weather.
"Solar Probe Plus will swoop to within 4 million miles of the sun's surface, facing heat and radiation like no spacecraft before it," the space agency noted.
Earlier in the year, NASA said that it would launch a robot to the sun to help analyze the dangerous solar activity, which could one day endanger human life on Earth. However, it appears that the agency is now planning to send the probe to the sun's outer atmosphere to conduct research on the physics of how stars operate and to predict space weather better.
"This mission will provide insight on a critical link in the Sun-Earth connection. Data will be key to understanding and, perhaps, forecasting space weather," NASA revealed.
According to the scientists, these weather events in space not only affect Earth and the satellites in orbit, but also the astronauts who are currently in the International Space Station.
Solar winds, which are the phenomenon where gases from the sun flow through space at speeds of millions of miles per hour, are known to shake the Earth's magnetic field. A recent study estimated that the United States alone would lose about $2 trillion if a massive solar wind were to hit Earth without prior warning.
Solar Probe Plus Mission: What Are The Challenges?
The zone in which NASA wants to place the probe will have very high temperatures, almost around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists have come up with a material which they think will be able to withstand this immense heat, as well as relay the data back to scientists on Earth.
NASA officials revealed that the probe will be made of a 4.5-inch thick carbon-composite shield, which would likely safeguard the technological equipment placed inside. At the closest point to the sun, the spacecraft will be moving at speeds of 450,000 miles per hour.
The announcement will be broadcast live on NASA TV on May 31.
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The first stone for the Extremely Large Telescope or ELT was laid in Chile, kicking off the world's first super telescope's construction. The main mirror of the super telescope will measure almost 128 feet in diameter, which gives one an idea of just how enormous the telescope would be.
Unlike any other telescopic device, the ELT will also have the ability to correct turbulence in the atmosphere while taking pictures of distant stars and planets.
The super telescope will be constructed on the top of the Cerro Armazones, which is a 10,000 feet high peak in Chile. The ceremony marking the super telescope's construction start took place in the European Southern Observatory's Paranal residencia, which is close to the construction site. The Chilean President Michelle Bachelet Jeria and ESO's Director General Tim de Zeeuw attended the event.
The World's First Super Telescope
The ESO and scientists from Oxford University are constructing the world's first super telescope, which is the biggest telescope ever. The university's scientists are tasked with building the ELT's spectrograph, dubbed the HARMONI. This instrument can simultaneously capture 4,000 images, each with a somewhat different color.
HARMONI will enable researchers to get clear images from space. It will provide a detailed look at the planets in the solar system, as well as stars in the Milky Way. Scientists claim that the ELT will also be able to provide clear and concise data about celestial events that are occurring in distant galaxies and star systems.
"For me, the ELT represents a big leap forward in capability, and that means that we will use it to find many interesting things about the Universe that we have no knowledge of today," HARMONI's principal investigator Niranjan Thatte, remarked.
He also added that the super telescope would be used to gather data, which was presently inaccessible.
Time Capsule Used To Commemorate ELT Construction
As part of the historic construction, the ESO team created and sealed a time capsule during the ceremony. This time capsule will act as a reminder of the immense commitment and ambition driving the super telescope's construction.
The capsule includes a book that describes the scientific aims behind building the super telescope, pictures of the team members that played or would play a part in the construction efforts, and finally a visual representation of how the finished ELT would look.
"The ELT will produce discoveries that we simply cannot imagine today, and it will surely inspire numerous people around the world to think about science, technology and our place in the Universe," ESO's de Zeeuw noted.
The super telescope's construction is expected to wrap up by 2024.
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By Press Trust of India: droh: Adityanath
Varanasi, May 27 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath today said the Ganga river, which is a symbol of Sanatan Sanskriti, is everyones mother and insult to it is equal to rashtra droh (treachery).
He claimed that the pollution level in the Ganga river was the highest after the Ganga Action Plan was launched in the 1980s due to non-cooperation of states through which the river passes.
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Addressing a gathering of heads of villages on the banks of river Ganga in Uttar Pradesh, Adityanath said the Narendra Modi government at the Centre is making efforts to clean and rejuvenate the river through its Namami Gange programme.
"The holy river belongs to everyone and is a symbol of Sanatan Sanskriti. It is everyones mother and people need to save it. Any insult to the river can never be tolerated and it is equal to rashtra droh," the Chief Minister said.
He claimed that non-cooperation of states though which the river passes, led to the failure of the Ganga Action Plan- 1, launched in 1986 by then prime minister Rajeev Gandhi.
Several reports suggest that the rivers pollution level turned worse after the scheme was launched and huge amount of money was spent on it for almost 15 years, the chief minister said.
If the the Yamuna and the Ganga dries up, Uttar Pradesh will turn into desert, Adityanath said and appealed to people not to throw coins, clothes, flowers and other items into the rivers to save those from getting polluted further.
The chief minister was addressing the Swachh Ganga Sammelan held at Banaras Hindu University, which was attended by heads of villages from 25 districts in the state.
Underscoring the governments focus on making villages open defecation free, Adityanath said efforts are on make 75 districts open defecation free by next year.
Earlier in the day, the chief minister prayed at Kashi Vishwanath and Kaal Bhairav temples and also visited the parliamentary office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Ravindrapuri extension here and heard the grievances of the people.
In the evening, he held a review meeting with officials of eastern UP districts to oversee the pace of development works in the region. PTI CORR NSD NSD
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Brazil's president-elect, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, met this Wednesday in the country's capital with the leaders of the National Congress: the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur... | Read More
Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is in India on its first foreign trip as Mauritius PM. He was accorded the ceremonial guard of honour at Rashtrapati Bhavan today morning.
By India Today Web Desk: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was today morning accorded the ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. Jugnauth arrived in India on Friday for a three-day visit and held delegation-level a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday.
Earlier, after being welcomed by PM Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Jugnauth visited Rajghat and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.
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Apart from holding delegation-level talks with PM Modi, Jugnauth, who is accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo among other senior officials, will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
This is the Indian-origin Juganauth's first visit aboard as prime minister of Mauritius.
Jugnauth on Friday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. During those meetings, India and Mauritius discussed a numbero of issues including bilateral relations, security cooperation, maritime security, counter-terrorism a Home Ministry official told news agency IANS.
'INDIAN BUSINESSES SHOULD INVEST IN MAURITIUS'
Mauritius is a major source of foreign direct investment to India and Jugnauth urged Indian businesses to take advantage of the island nation's strategic location that provides a gateway to Africa and invest in special economic zones and pharmaceutical industry of Mauritius.
Describing Mauritius as "a home away from home" for Indians, Jugnauth said the partnership with India is likely to be cemented through the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), which is taking shape.
"The CECPA will provide the opportunities for even greater flow of trade in goods and services as well as improve cross-border investments between our two countries," the Mauritius prime minister said while addressing the industry chambers on Friday.
Dnyaneshwar M Mulay, Secretary, Overseas Indian Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs, said both sides are pursuing the CECPA to help diversify the trade basket and address the balance of trade, which is currently in India's favour.
He said the draft of the CECPA is likely to be ready in mid-2017 with an expected conclusion by the end of the year.
India exports petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton and electrical machinery, among others, to Mauritius.
The island nation's export to India includes iron and steel, pearls and precious and semi-precious stones.
Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
During his visit, Modi had commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
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(With agency inputs)
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By Press Trust of India: Lucknow, May 27 (PTI) Terming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi as a "tragedy tourist", Uttar Pradesh minister Shrikant Sharma today said that wherever tragedy takes place, he reaches there.
"Rahul Gandhi is a tragedy tourist. Rahul and company are in frustration. Wherever any tragic incident takes place, he goes there. People of the country had given him 10 years, but he proved to be a flop. People have rejected him. He and leaders of other political parties should co-operate in ensuring peace in the region," Sharma told reporters in Mathura.
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Reacting to Rahuls visit to Saharanpur, minister of state (for independent charge) for Cane Development and Sugar Mills Suresh Rana said that he should not see the feud between two families as a political opportunity.
"Situation was not conducive when we assumed power in UP. Things will improve, and we will work for the betterment of each and every section of the society," he said.
Urging the rival political parties to leave politics of negativity, Rana said, "I urge the other political parties to shun politics of negativity, and start politics of positivism as a habit. The people of UP have shunned the politics of caste and religion in the 2017 UP Assembly polls. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi should not see the feud between two families in a village as a political opportunity."
UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi said, "After the 2017 UP Assembly elections, the Congress, the SP and the BSP are desperately searching for issues, so that they could survive politically. In fact they do not hesitate in taking advantage of even the slightest opportunity."
Meanwhile, state Congress spokesperson Dwijendra Tripathi questioned the UP governments stand in denying permission to Rahul to visit the clash affected village.
He said, "The UP government wants to conceal something. Hence, the district authorities denied permission to Congress vice-president to visit the strife-torn area." PTI NAV SMJ
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After Hizbul commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed on Saturday in a gunfight with the security forces in Kashmir's Tral, the Hurriyat has called for a two-day shutdown in the Valley from May 28 condemning the 'use of force' against the protesters.
Srinagar: Youth attacks a police vehicle amid tear smoke fired by cops during violent clashes which erupted following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen Commander Zakir Ahmad Bhat in Tral on Saturday. PTI Photo
By India Today Web Desk: After top Hizbul commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat alias Abu Zarar, successor of Burhan Wani, was killed on Saturday in a gunfight with the security forces in south Kashmir's Tral, the Hurriyat has called for a two-day shutdown in the Valley from Sunday.
Bhat's killing led to protests across the Valley in which one civilian also reportedly died.
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The shutdown called by the separatists is over the "use of force" against the protestors following Bhat's killing.
The separatists have also called for a march to Tral in Pulwama on May 30 to pay tributes to Bhat and the 7 other militants who were killed in two separate encounters in the Valley on Saturday.
HERE IS ALL THAT HAPPENED Sabzar, 28, was killed in a gun battle that lasted four hours in a village in Tral sub-division of Pulwama district. He was appointed successor of Wani after the latter was killed by the security forces in July, 2016. The encounter in Tral began after a patrol of the Army's counter-insurgency unit Rashtriya Rifles was fired upon near Tral town late on Friday evening. The security forces quickly laid siege to the two houses in Saimoh village where the militants had been hiding. The fierce gunbattle that started in the village on Saturday morning ended when the houses the militants had been using as fortified bunkers were destroyed, police said. In another incident on Saturday, the Army killed six militants after thwarting an infiltration bid in Rampur sector of the LoC in Baramulla district. Authorities are struggling to prevent a repeat of the 2016 unrest, which was triggered by the killing of Hizbul militant Burhan Wani in July. Over 100 people died in the unrest. State police chief S.P. Vaid had said earlier that three militants were trapped in the security force cordon, but during search operations, the bodies of only two were recovered from the debris of the demolished houses. One of the bodies - identified as that of Bhat - carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. "The bodies of Sabzar Bhat and his accomplice identified as Faizan Ahmad have been retrieved and identified", police said. As soon as the news about the gunfight spread to neighbouring villages, several protesters marched to the site of the incident and pelted stones at the security forces. A civilian was killed while over two dozen protesters were injured during the clashes in Tral. According to police sources, the third militant - a foreigner - escaped from the scene amid protests. Valley police chief Muneer Khan said that the civilian died in cross-firing between the holed-up militants and the security forces. A spontaneous shutdown was observed in all districts and major towns of the Valley and protests started in Anantnag, Shopian, Kulgam, Pulwama, Badgam, Ganderbal, Srinagar and Kupwara. Public transport went off the roads throughout the Valley as people rushed home in their private vehicles while others walked long distances. Schools and colleges were also shut. Over 30 people were injured in clashes at different places in the Valley. Some people reported at hospitals with pellet gunshots, according to the doctors who attended to them. Curfew-like restrictions have been imposed in parts of Srinagar city till further orders, authorities said. Vaid said the clashes during the day were of a "minor nature" and the situation was well under control. Authorities quickly suspended Internet services in the Valley and blocked all social networking sites, which had been restored only on Friday after over a month. A heavy deployment of paramilitary and police personnel has been made at all district headquarters and sensitive places in the Valley to ensure that the situation remains under control. Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti was holding a meeting of top security and intelligence officials to ensure that the situation did not flare up like it did in the aftermath of Burhan Wani's killing last year when over 100 civilian protesters were killed in the nearly six-month long unrest that followed.
(WITH INPUTS FROM IANS)
Also read | Kashmir: Burhan Wani successor Sabzar Bhat gunned down in Tral, 8 other militants killed
Also read | Sabzar Ahmad Bhat killing: Internet services suspended in Kashmir, combing underway
Also read | Sabzar Ahmad Bhat: Burhan Wani's successor joined Hizbul after a failed love affair
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After the U.S. Justice Department decided not to prosecute the two Baton Rouge police officers involved in the death of Alton Sterling, his family members and others turned their attention to state charges, citing new details of the encounter revealed by federal authorities.
Most jarring to many was that in the first few seconds of the encounter, the officer who ended up firing the fatal shots had pointed a gun at Sterling's head and said, B****, I will shoot you in your motherf****** head" if Sterling didnt put his hands on the hood of a car.
An attorney for the family, speaking to reporters minutes after federal officials described the circumstances of Sterling's death to his relatives, argued that the threat by Officer Blane Salamoni would help make a "phenomenal case" for state criminal charges against him, a process now in the hands of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry.
Can't see the video below? Click here.
But experts interviewed by The Advocate criminal defense attorneys, former prosecutors and legal scholars all express doubt that such a case could be successful under state law.
Even if Salamoni's initial approach proves as aggressive as described gun drawn followed by an expletive-laden threat to shoot if Sterling didn't comply with his order the relatively strong self-defense provisions of Louisiana law and the deference frequently given to police officers by jurors may pose obstacles, the experts say.
And ultimately, several attorneys said the same set of facts that federal authorities said nixed civil rights charges that video evidence didnt prove whether Sterling was reaching for the loaded .38-caliber revolver in his right pocket at the moment Salamoni opened fire from point-blank range also looms large for state prosecutors.
The two main issues are whether the officers' actions provoked the situation and whether they honestly and reasonably believed he was reaching for a gun," said Ken Levy, a criminal law professor at LSU. "It may all turn on provocation and that's the murkiness of it."
Prem Burns, a longtime lead prosecutor in Baton Rouge who is retired, had a similar take.
"I think the two things that are going to be really important is if the gun is put to the head the way we've heard and if the officers ever saw Sterling's gun," she said.
When he announced the Justice Department was closing the 10-month investigation into the shooting without charges, Corey Amundson, the acting U.S. attorney for Baton Rouge, stressed the high burden of proof in federal criminal civil rights cases, which require a greater degree of intent than many Louisiana criminal charges.
Federal prosecutors faced convincing a jury that Salamoni didn't reasonably fear for his life when he pulled the trigger, Amundson said, noting that the officer at least twice yelled that Sterling was "going for the gun" as they struggled on the ground.
The degree to which Salamoni's decision to put his gun to Sterling's head was justified moments not seen on widely publicized cellphone videos but at least partly captured on other, unreleased footage from that night will play a central role in determining whether a legal case exists for murder, manslaughter, negligent homicide or other state charges, the legal experts said.
Louisiana law provides relatively robust protections for anyone using force in self-defense and makes further allowances for law enforcement officers who use force to carry out their duties, they said.
But the initial aggressor in a confrontation can't claim self-defense under state law, said Jim Boren, a veteran Baton Rouge defense attorney.
The legal question is whether the officer's threat to kill Sterling is reasonable," Boren said. "He didn't shoot him, but he basically said, 'comply or die.'
The other officer, Howie Lake II, arrived at the Triple S Food Mart first that night, responding to a 911 call about a man matching Sterling's description having threatened someone with a gun in front of the shop. Lake twice ordered the tall and heavyset 37-year-old to put his hands on the hood of a car.
Sterling didn't do so, according to sources who've seen evidence in the case and spoke to The Advocate on condition of anonymity. But they also said Sterling made no overtly aggressive moves either and instead walked toward Lake while appearing confused and asking what the officer wanted. A police dispatcher had told the officers a 911 caller said Sterling had a gun in his pocket.
Salamoni arrived about five seconds after Lake, coming in from Sterling's right. Drawing his gun, Salamoni made his threat just as Lake reached for Sterling's left arm, law enforcement sources said.
Salamoni's actions at least briefly had their intended effect: Sterling responded by placing his hands on the hood.
Boren and several other legal experts said a key decision will hinge on whether Salamoni's initial actions and words which federal prosecutors and FBI agents called outrageous and unacceptable in two closed-door meetings with the Sterling family and community leaders go far enough beyond the bounds of acceptable police tactics to be criminal.
"If Salamoni indeed threatened Mr. Sterling like the family is saying was disclosed to them, then Salamoni would be the aggressor," said Kelly Carmena, a Southern University law professor and former public defender.
The Baton Rouge Police Department doesn't have a specific policy on when officers should draw their weapons, said Sgt. L'Jean McKneely, a police spokesman. Instead, the decision on when to unholster a gun is governed by the more general use-of-force policy, which calls for officers to use "only the amount of force necessary to effect the arrest" but doesn't detail specific types of officer action.
Police officers are allowed by law to brandish or aim guns in ways regular citizens cannot, Boren said.
+5 Does BRPD need more 'reform?' Depends who you ask The words "police reform" became a frequent buzzword in Baton Rouge over the last 10 months,
Boren, who stressed that such cases revolve around the kind of specific facts and details not yet revealed in Sterling's death, called the reported account of Salamoni's actions "horrible police procedure" but said state law also tilts in favor of law enforcement officers who use deadly force.
When a defendant claims self-defense, Boren said, it's a prosecutor's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooter didn't, in fact, kill with justification. Combined with the reluctance of many jurors to second-guess life-and-death decisions made by cops, Boren said, that makes convicting an officer in an on-duty shooting extremely difficult.
"The easiest case for a defense attorney to defend is a police officer who killed someone in the course of their duties," Boren said. "Absent extraordinary circumstances, prosecutors just don't take those cases to trial."
Burns, the longtime Baton Rouge prosecutor, said she tried a number of officers for misconduct during her career and took several shootings to a grand jury, but none of the grand juries returned an indictment against a cop for an on-duty shooting.
Burns offered a list of details she'd want to consider before making a decision on criminal charges, beginning even before the officers arrived: How long had Salamoni and Lake been working that night? What other calls had they responded to? Did they communicate before arriving in separate patrol cars? And had they ever interacted with Sterling before?
"It's huge to their mindset," Burns said. "It's going to dominate the approach they take to the man."
Although the 911 caller said Sterling had a gun in his pocket a fact relayed to both officers Burns said she'd want to know whether either officer actually confirmed Sterling had a weapon before they wound up in the final, fatal struggle on the pavement.
Burns noted that grand jurors aren't inclined to indict in police shooting cases.
"I think they look at society today, they know it's violent, and they also know that a lot of officers are killed in the line of duty protecting them," Burns said.
Still, she didn't rule it out in the Sterling case, noting that the particular facts as well as the abundance of video and other evidence may persuade a grand jury to return an indictment.
But Ralph Capitelli, a veteran defense attorney and former prosecutor in New Orleans, said he believes the Justice Department's investigative findings virtually rule out state charges against the officers. He said state authorities, like the Justice Department, will be focused on whether Salamoni had an "objectively reasonable" fear for his life when he opened fire.
"The basic reasons that the DOJ did not go forward apply equally to the state case," Capitelli said. "A negligence-type case doesn't fit the facts at all. It's undisputed that this was an intentional and not a negligent action. The government found that the officer was intentionally defending himself."
Carmena and Burns both said manslaughter would be the most likely charge if Landry's office files charges or gets an indictment from a grand jury.
"I think if you're finding that Salamoni is at fault, it's because there's 'heat of passion,' the blood is boiling, and it's from provocation it's from what Alton Sterling is doing," Burns said.
But Carmena also said she doubts Salamoni or Lake will face criminal charges, even if the evidence can be made to fit a strictly legal case for manslaughter or another count. The reason? The state's criminal code doesn't exist in a theoretical vacuum but is interpreted through the lens of Louisiana's generally conservative and adamantly pro-police populace.
"When an officer is involved, the general mentality is he must have had a valid reason for what he did," Carmena said. "So even if the facts would otherwise result in charges for a layperson, I do not believe they will actually be brought against the two officers here."
Such decisions now fall to the attorney general. Landry's office declined comment on the case, citing its ongoing investigation.
Landry is a conservative Republican and former policeman and sheriff's deputy from St. Martin Parish. On several occasions, he has blasted the softer approach to policing advocated by the administration of former President Barack Obama arguing, for example, that the federal consent decree intended to curb law enforcement abuses in New Orleans hamstrings officers and amounts to "hug-a-thug" policing.
Landry took over the Sterling case after East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore III removed himself, citing long-standing relationships with Salamoni's parents, who are career Baton Rouge police officers. Several black leaders initially called for Landry, too, to step aside.
But those calls appear to have faded, at least for now. State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, a north Baton Rouge Democrat who's been a vocal supporter of the Sterling family, recently said she has confidence in Landry's ability to fairly handle the case.
The attorney general met with the Sterling family and with local lawmakers to explain the next steps in his investigation and assure them he'd do "everything in his power to expedite the process while doing a thorough investigation."
Just how long that might take remains unclear. Marcelle said Landry didn't provide a timeline for his investigation.
Once the Attorney General's Office completes the review, Landry has several options in how to proceed. If he determines neither officer broke the law during the fatal encounter, Landry simply could announce he's closing the investigation without charges. Or if he determines criminal charges may be warranted, he can file any charge short of murder directly with a bill of information.
He also could present the case to a grand jury, a process that could last for hours or weeks, depending on how much evidence the attorney general decides to show jurors during the secret proceedings.
Burns said in such a high-profile and contentious case, she almost certainly would take it to a grand jury and present a full range of evidence and witnesses. The law mandates that nine of the 12 members on the grand jury would have to vote to indict, she said.
Although prosecutors, including Burns, push back against the idea, many defense attorneys argue that prosecutors largely dictate a grand jury's ultimate decision.
Prosecutors control grand jury proceedings deciding what evidence to present and how to explain the applicable criminal law. Defense attorneys have no right to sit in or present a case of their own.
"The grand jury is a fig leaf for prosecutors," Boren said.
But Roy Fletcher, a veteran political consultant, said using a grand jury strikes him as a fair way to handle the matter.
"It just allows the community to make a decision, at least in some sense," Fletcher said. "Those are normal, regular, everyday East Baton Rougeans there to make a decision."
Advocate staff writer Jim Mustian contributed to this story.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed at Tral today in an operation by the security forces. Bhat was the local Hizbul commander and had been appointed after Burhan Wani was killed last year.
Hizbul militant Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed today in an encounter at Tral.
By India Today Web Desk: After Burhan Wani, the killing of Sabzar Ahmad Bhat is said to be the biggest success of the security forces against terror in Jammu and Kashmir.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was the local Hizbul commander after Burhan Wani was killed in an encounter with the security forces July last year. Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was a childhood friend of Burhan Wani.
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Reports suggest that Sabzar Ahmad Bhat loved a girl and wanted to marry her. But, the family of the girl did not like the proposal and they refused to marry their daughter to Sabzar Ahmad Bhat.
Spurned by the girl's family Sabzar Ahmad Bhat took to terrorism and joined the Hizbul rank. He is said to have snatched a rifle from a policeman to get entry into Hizbul Mujahideen.
WHAT WE KNEW ABOUT SABZAR AHMAD BHAT Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was a resident of Tral like Burhan Wani. He was believed to be the local Hizbul commander after Burhan Wani was killed last year. Sabzar Ahmad Bhat joined the Hizbul Mujhaideen in 2015 and was among the new breed of terrorists who followed Burhan Wani since 2010. Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was known as Sab Don in inner circle because of this mannerism and style of functioning. He was the over-ground worker for Burhan Wani in Tral. Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was said to be responsible for recent recruitments of youths in Hizbul Mujahideen after the killing of Burhan Wani in July last year. After Burhan Wani's killing Sabzar Ahmad Bhat operated underground and unlike his predecessor in Hizbul Mujhaideen, he largely stayed away from social media.
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Sabzar Ahmad Bhat killing: Internet services suspended in Kashmir, stone pelting in some areas
ALSO WATCH | Hizbul terrorist and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Bhat killed in Kashmir
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From being a campaign ground for student elections, a place to catch up with friends or a space to grab a drink after a strenuous exam, ANU's Union Court has been the centre of student life for many decades.
After leaving its mark on thousands of students during their time at university, it was time for students to leave a mark of their own on Union Court.
Third-year ANU Arts/Law student Bolwen Fu was one of dozens of students who seized an opportunity to spraypaint messages on the university's Union Court before the area is closed off for demolition. Credit:Sitthixay Ditthavong
Hundreds of ANU students converged on the area this week armed with paint to leave messages of farewell to the central space before its demolition as part of a multi-million dollar redevelopment.
The event's organiser and president of the Postgraduate and Research Students Association Alyssa Shaw said it was a way for people to say goodbye to the "heart" of ANU.
Teachers from Australia and India's capital territories have come together to give their students the opportunity to become "global citizens".
Campbell High School's Debbie Dwyer hosted Mridu Marwah from Delhi's Bal Bharati Public School this month as part of the Australia-India Bridge School Partnerships Project.
Campbell High School's Debbie Dwyer hosted Mridu Marwah from Delhi's Bal Bharati Public School this month as part of the Australia-India Bridge School Partnerships Project. Credit:Stephen Jeffery
Ms Marwah's visit to Canberra followed Ms Dwyer's visit to India in January, as part of a cultural and educational exchange the pair hoped would lead to a lasting relationship between their schools.
She spent time at the school, as well as at a learning program about creativity, design thinking and digital work at the Sydney Opera House last week.
When Michael and Elizabeth Taarnby visit the blood donor centre every three months it's to pay back for their family's previous withdrawals.
Over the past few years, Elizabeth's father needed blood transfusions regularly to manage myeloma, blood cancer. Before he died last month, he was receiving up to two units of blood every week.
Michael Taarnby donating blood at the Red Cross. He has O Negative blood type. Credit:Rohan Thomson
"We decided we would put deposits back into the blood bank because we were making quite significant withdrawals," Mr Taarnby said.
"After seeing the impact on a family member, and with the ability to have the same impact on other people, we couldn't look at each other and say we're going to be selfish and not do it anymore. Even though dad passed away last month, we will still continue to do it," he said.
Don Stokes, Heidelberg Plans baffle commercially, environmentally The closure of Hazelwood and Carter Holt Harvey's timber mill had nothing to do with the "big bad Greenies". Engie is getting out of coal globally, while Carter Holt Harvey lost much of its wood supply in the 2009 fires. The Adani mine doesn't stack up commercially, let alone environmentally. I live in the Latrobe Valley and have seen the damage caused by open-cut mines. Furthermore, because mining is so mechanised, the Adani mine will employ few people over its life but will cause enormous environmental damage. Simon McInnes, Boolarra THE FORUM
Harsh, usual punishment Last Thursday night, while going to a concert, I spotted the usual array of homeless people begging for alms. As I neared a young man, I realised to my horror that it was a young boy of about 13, begging beside his battered and worn-out mother. I know there are homeless families aplenty in Australia, but this experience was really confronting. How can we allow this to happen, a First World nation that has had 103 quarters of uninterrupted growth, and that has hundreds of millions of dollars to hand out to foreign billionaire magnates for "investment"? Kids like this boy are our future, yet simply to survive he is forced to beg on a wet, cold night instead of being in a warm place, doing his homework and relaxing. Meanwhile, the government is going out of its way to punish such people as harshly as possibly, just for being poor. Olivia Manor, Coburg Votes priceless
What hypocrisy. The government is to waive the salary and allowances paid to the very wealthy Bob Day, who was not eligible to sit as a senator, yet continues to mercilessly pursue welfare recipients for dubious "debts", mostly created by an automated system. Could it be because welfare recipients, unlike Bob Day's Family First party, do not have a senator that votes with the government? Harry Kowalski, Ivanhoe Dutton's post-truth life Peter Dutton again regales us with his version of post-truth life in Australia ("ABC cull urged after Abdel-Magied axing", 26/5). Lawrence Krauss and Tony Jones are to be condemned for speaking the truth. It is a fact that more Muslims are killed by terrorists in their own countries than Westerners in their own countries by terrorists. And that black men in American are more likely to be killed by police than terrorists. But these facts don't suit Mr Dutton's narrative and his border protection mania. When Mr Dutton adds that "air time should be given to victims of crime and the families left behind", he seems oblivious that that is exactly what Krauss and Jones did. They focused on the greater number of victims in Muslim countries and African-American men dying at the hands of US law officers.
If the ABC ever stops giving a platform to such inconvenient truths, we'll be in an even worse situation than we currently are. Mary Edwards, Kilsyth As for critical thinking Surely the minimum behaviour to be expected from senior ministers would be an ability to accept criticism in an intelligent thoughtful manner rather than childish Trump-like knee-jerk reactions. An emotional intelligence test should be a prerequisite for politicians. People can't be reasonable when they are consumed with anger. Julie Conquest, Brighton
Blowback for the right? Yet again "conservative" opinion reveals its true colours. In the aftermath of the Manchester bombing, Quadrant digital editor Roger Franklin wrote that "had there been a shred of justice, that blast would have detonated in an Ultimo TV studio". The article was just the latest round in increasingly vicious faux battles purporting to uphold free speech. Human Rights Commissioner Gillian Triggs was crucified in public commentary and in Senate hearings because of a mishandled complaint against young students at QUT. Meanwhile, ABC presenter Yassmin Abdel-Magied probably lost her job because of a mildly inappropriate comment made on Anzac Day. While Quadrant editor-in-chief Keith Windschuttle has apologised to the ABC's managing director, is anyone at Quadrant facing any consequences? Felicity Bloch, Hawthorn Fill empty bellies Asylum seekers are not, as Peter Dutton suggests, "taking the system for a ride". In actual fact they are struggling to survive on 89 per cent of the already meagre Newstart allowance because they have restricted work rights. And the results are predicable. Some 40 per cent of asylum seekers have gone to bed hungry in the past month, while 42 per cent have lost weight through not having enough food. So keep an eye out for the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre's Food Justice Truck. It welcomes general shoppers who pay market prices, while asylum seekers receive a discount. The truck parks outside the Wesley Church in Lonsdale Street, the Uniting Church in Northcote and many other places.
Lesley Walker, Northcote Shades of 1939 pact After all Donald Trump's chest beating about Muslims in the election campaign he is now cosying up to Saudi Arabia to sell billions of dollars of weapons. What a hypocrite. Presumably he believes his followers will forget his pre-election rhetoric. The Saudis have spent billions promoting extreme Wahhabi conservatism, which is at the root of most of the world's radical terrorism. Saudi extremists were also responsible for the 9/11 attack in New York, yet Trump toadies up to the Saudis as part of his promotion of the US "military industrial complex". This radical coalescence is similar to the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 when Nazi extremists and Communist extremists, two diametrically opposed philosophies, joined forces. Greg Angelo, Balwyn North
Reverse blackmail Donald Trump's proposed budget cuts to the United Nations are nothing new. Since the 1980s when Ronald Reagan started delaying or refusing to pay its share, America has repeatedly cut or withheld payments in breach of the charter. As the richest nation, the US rightly is expected to pay the biggest share of the UN's costs but it is not onerous relative to its GNP. America's reverse blackmail is designed to influence the voting in the General Assembly and the policies of the various programs the UN runs. America doesn't like the UN but knows it needs it. The other UN members should call America's bluff and change the rules to deny voting rights to all nations in arrears. Peter Lynch, Kew Obsolete weapons You could take all the aircraft carriers, battleships, submarines, warplanes, missiles, bombs and guns and sink them in the Pacific Ocean, but they would not be missed in the 21st-century war that is terrorism. Terrorism doesn't need such equipment. Terrorism happens anywhere, any time without warning. The first responders to a terrorist attack are not usually soldiers but local police, ambulance officers, doctors and medical staff. But still politicians invest in weapons production as a way of providing jobs for people who just may become victims of a terrorist attack. Funny people, humans.
Fay Bailey, Wonthaggi Labor on front foot Congratulations to the federal Labor Party for committing to a proper ID system for company directors. This will help stop unscrupulous business men and women from ripping off contractors, stealing the wages of people working for them, committing fraud and evading tax. Combined with Labor's policy for a public register of the real owners and controllers of companies, Australia would be a world leader in combating shady front companies. Mark Zirnsak, social justice spokesman, Uniting Church Complicity a block
The financial collapse of Careers Australia surely must trigger a royal commission on the vocational training sector. Australia claims to have a high-quality education system built on integrity and regulation to ensure quality outcomes for students. This is a farce. The VET system is based on profit first, education second. Nothing has stood in the way of racketeers as they ripped off students with false promises and dodgy training. Not only have retrenched staff and students been left in limbo and debt, but whole sectors of the so-called qualified workforce will live with this debacle for years, as will taxpayers, who subsided the enrichment of so many directors. The block to any inquiry is the complicity of both major parties in the demise of TAFE and their facilitation of the huge taxpayer-funded rort that was the VET loan system. Peter Robertson, Coburg A reckoning required Directors of the former MFS Investment Management business have been ordered to pay $615million compensation to more than 10,000 retirees. Can there be similar justice for the thousands of innocent victims of negligent or corrupt executives of private training colleges? I am sure they can afford it. Despite mishandling taxpayers' money, these people never seem to be held accountable for their actions, while their victims are quickly forgotten and left in serious debt. Many of these colleges should never have been allowed to open their doors.
Surgical anaesthesia brought the gift of oblivion. Yet 170-odd years after a Boston dentist named William Morton gave the first successful public demonstration removing a lump from the jaw of 20-year-old Gilbert Abbott we still don't understand fully how anaesthetics work. Each day, specialist doctors known as anaesthetists put hundreds of thousands of people into chemical comas to enable other doctors to enter and alter our insides. Then they bring us back again. It is mind-blowing. But quite how this daily extinction happens and un-happens remains uncertain. Researchers know that a general anaesthetic acts on the central nervous system, reacting with the slick membranes of the nerve cells in the brain to hijack responses such as sight, touch and awareness. They have nominated areas and processes they know are important: the microscopic channels through which neurons blast their chemical relays; the electrical circuits that pulse and groove between different regions of the brain. But they still can't agree on just what it is that happens in those areas, or which of the things that happen matter the most, or why they sometimes happen differently with different anaesthetics, or even on the manner a sunset? an eclipse? in which the human brain segues from conscious to not. In a way, the art of anaesthesia is a sophisticated form of guesswork. We try to give the right doses of the right drugs and hope the patient is unconscious. Nor, as it turns out, can anaesthetists ultimately measure what it is they do. For as long as doctors have been sending people under, they have been trying to fathom how deep they have sent them. In the early days, this meant relying on signals from the body; later, on calculations based on the blood concentration of the various gases used. More recently, brain monitors have come on the market that translate the brain's electrical activity into a numeric scale a de facto consciousness meter. For all that, however, doctors still have no way of knowing for sure how deeply an individual patient is anaesthetised or even if that person is unconscious at all.
More than a decade ago, I found this quote in an introductory anaesthesia paper on a University of Sydney website: "There is no way that we can be sure that a given patient is asleep, particularly once they are paralysed and cannot move." Last time I searched, the paper had been adjusted slightly to acknowledge recent advances in brain monitoring, but the message remained the same. Just because a person appears to be unconscious does not mean they are. Equipment can fail a faulty monitor, a leaking tube. Then there are certain operations such as caesareans, heart and trauma surgery that require relatively light anaesthetics: there the risk is increased as much as tenfold. One study in the 1980s found that close to half of those interviewed after trauma surgery remembered parts of the operation, although these days, with better drugs and monitoring, the figure for high-risk surgery is generally estimated at closer to one in 100. Certain types of anaesthetics (those delivered into your bloodstream rather than those you inhale) raise the risk if used alone. Certain types of people, too, are more likely to wake during surgery: women, fat people, redheads; drug abusers, particularly if they don't mention their history. Children wake far more often than adults, but don't seem to be as concerned about it (or perhaps are less likely to discuss it). Some people might simply have a genetic predisposition to awareness. Human error plays a part. But even without all this, anaesthesia remains an inexact science. An amount that will put one robust young man out cold will leave another still chatting to surgeons. "In a way," continued the original version of the introductory paper, "the art of anaesthesia is a sophisticated form of guesswork. It really is art more than science We try to give the right doses of the right drugs and hope the patient is unconscious." I tracked down the paper's author, anaesthetist Chris Thompson, at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney. It was a quick encounter, as he was in surgery that day. We met in a small waiting room outside the operating theatre. He was still in his scrubs and surgical mask, and my first impression was of a pair of eyes so startlingly intense that for a moment I could not speak.
Without the mask, Thompson turned out to have a handsome regular face in which the eyes I think they were blue assumed more manageable proportions. He was quick to reassure me that anaesthetists are very good at giving the right doses of the right drugs. Today's specialist anaesthetists train for 12 to 13 years. They can put you to sleep in seconds, keep you that way for hours and wake you up again in minutes. They administer increasingly specific drugs in increasingly refined combinations; they have equipment to monitor your physical responses and are trained to look out for signs such as tears or sweating or increased heart rate or blood pressure that you might be more awake than you look. Applied anaesthesia, he said, was a blend of technical skill, compassion and science. "Experience is far more important than knowledge alone." Chris Thompson was in every way reassuring. He was knowledgeable and articulate and engaged. But a strange thing happened on both of the occasions that I spoke with him. I went into a kind of trance. I don't think it was just his eyes; perhaps it was the cadence of his voice, or the rhythms of his speech, or the things he was saying, some of which were quite technical. He would talk and I would try to focus, to lean in, to concentrate, and instead I would find myself drifting. When I tried to form words or sentences, they sounded as if they came from somewhere else, or as if someone else were saying them. It was bizarre. When I think of Chris Thompson I think of him as Mr Anaesthesia. Today's anaesthetic cocktails have three main elements: 'hypnotics' designed to render unconsciousness, analgesics to control pain, and in many cases, a muscle relaxant to prevent movement on the operating table. Credit:iStockphoto Anyway, all of this training helps explain why the death rate from general anaesthesia has dropped from about one in 20,000 in the 1970s to one, maybe two, in 200,000 by early this century; and the incidence of awareness from one or two cases per 100 to one or two per 1000. But it doesn't change the fact that anaesthesia is still, in some senses, as close to alchemy as to arithmetic. "Obviously we give anaesthetics and we've got very good control over it," another senior anaesthetist told me, "but in real philosophical and physiological terms we don't know how anaesthesia works." Today's anaesthetic cocktails have three main elements: "hypnotics" designed to render you unconscious and keep you that way; analgesics to control pain; and, in many cases, a muscle relaxant ("neuromuscular blockade") that prevents you from moving on the operating table.
Hypnotics such as ether, nitrous oxide and their modern pharmaceutical equivalents are powerful drugs and not very discriminating. In blotting out consciousness, they can suppress not only the senses, but also the cardiovascular system heart rate, blood pressure: the body's engine. When you take your old dog on its last journey, your vet will use an overdose of hypnotics to put them down. Every time you have a general anaesthetic, you take a trip towards death and back. The more hypnotic your doctor puts in, the longer you take to recover and the more likely it is that something will go wrong. The less your doctor puts in, the more likely that you will wake. It is a balancing act, and anaesthetists are very good at it. But it doesn't alter the fact that people have been waking during surgery for as long as other people have been putting them to sleep. I have to say that, having now had considerably more personal experience of anaesthesia than when I began writing my book on the subject, my recent impressions of anaesthetists have been uniformly positive. I have found each to be accessible, intelligent and more than happy to talk about what it is that they do, and are proposing to do to me. Perhaps this is because they know I am already interested in the subject, although I suspect a lot of people simply don't ask. Yet the reality is that anaesthetists remain for the large part the invisible men and women of surgery. For the doctors who each day make possible the miraculous vanishing act at the heart of modern surgery, this invisibility can be galling. It is not surgeons who have enabled the proliferation of surgical operations numbering in the hundreds 170-odd years ago and the hundreds of millions today. It is anaesthetists. In hospital emergency rooms in Australia and other countries, it is not surgeons who decide which patient is most in need of and mostly likely to survive emergency surgery: anaesthetists increasingly oversee the pragmatic hierarchy of triage. And if you have an operation, although it is your surgeon who manages the moist, intricate mechanics of the matter, it is your anaesthetist who keeps you alive. In 2006 I met Greg Deacon, then head of the Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA). It can be a tricky job, balancing the interests (pecuniary and otherwise) of Australia's anaesthetists with the need to maintain their public professional standing. On the day I met him, in the library of the ASA's Sydney headquarters, he looked the part. Black suit, grey-and-white striped tie, slightly greying hair and a neatly trimmed beard. He did not look at all the sort of person who would knowingly allow a man to have his chest cut open without anaesthetic. Throughout the interview he was polite and helpful, although at times barely concealing frustration at the media attention surrounding the question of anaesthetic awareness, which he said was extraordinarily rare. The point he wanted to make, and to which he kept returning, was that on a scale of the things that could go wrong in anaesthesia, awareness was by no means the worst. Sometimes, said Deacon, when patients asked him if there was a chance they might wake up during their operation, he wanted to say to them: "If you purely want to worry, worry about not waking up: don't worry about waking up!"
One of the problems, he said, was that modern anaesthesia had become so safe we now took it for granted. Fifty years ago, if Grandma didn't wake up after her anaesthetic, well sad, but not so surprising. Or if she woke up, but was never quite herself afterwards. "Again, that wasn't considered unusual." Those were the risks you took. These days, he said, they expect "perfection". Sure, awareness was an issue. "But it's not the main thing that I would be worrying about when I have an anaesthetic." He paused, then added: "I've had an episode myself." At first I thought he himself had woken during an operation. But he meant that one of his patients had, a man waiting to have open-heart surgery. Deacon had been preparing to anaesthetise him, he said, when the man went into cardiac arrest. The team managed to restart the recalcitrant heart and then raced the patient into surgery where they operated immediately. It was only once the operation had begun, the man's heart now beating steadily, that they could safely administer an anaesthetic. It all went well, said Deacon, and the man made an excellent recovery. Some days later, the patient told doctors he remembered the early parts of the procedure before he was given the drugs. "That is a sort of incidence of awareness which was thoroughly understandable and acceptable," Deacon told me: he had not even known if the man's brain was still working, let alone whether he would survive an anaesthetic. "We were trying to keep him alive." This is the tightrope that anaesthetists walk every day. They just tend not to talk about it. Despite some media hype, the likelihood of waking up while still in surgery is extremely rare, says one specialist: 'If you purely want to worry, worry about not waking up, don't worry about waking up!' Credit:FDC
It is not just doctors who sometimes find it hard to admit it when a patient wakes during anaesthesia. In the early-'90s, a Dutch team tracked down and interviewed 26 people who had reported waking during surgery. Most of them had mentioned the experience in preoperative interviews before subsequent operations. The records of the initial operations were unremarkable: experienced anaesthetists who later examined them side by side with records of other, uneventful surgical procedures were unable to reliably pick which patients had been aware. But what startled the researchers was that only nine of these patients had told their original anaesthetists what had happened. "Anaesthesiologists may well ask themselves," they wrote, "whether they really know what happens to their patients " As it turned out, all the patients they approached were grateful, even eager, for the chance to talk. But other patients don't want to talk at all. Some are afraid of being disbelieved. Some don't want to make trouble. Some feel guilty, as though they have been a bad patient. Some can't see the point. Others may be too traumatised to revisit the experience. Michael Wang is a British psychologist who has built a career investigating the impact on patients' lives of being awake when they are supposed to be under anaesthesia. He was one of the first writers I came across when I started investigating stories about people waking under the knife. Some people think he or at least his area of interest is a bit wacky. That he is slightly obsessive. Certainly he has been a persistent and outspoken advocate for anaesthetised patients. "It is difficult to imagine a more exquisite form of torture than major surgery with consciousness, pain perception and complete paralysis," he wrote in a 1998 paper. "Clinical psychologists and the patient's family are then left to pick up the pieces." In a 2005 interview, Wang, who was by then working at Hull University in England's north, recounted an incident in which he had been called to the Hull Royal Infirmary after staff realised that a ventilator supposedly delivering anaesthetic gas to surgical patients had been dispensing only oxygen. Two patients had already undergone operations with the faulty equipment, one a woman having her stomach stapled, the other a man having a hernia operation. Both had been paralysed. Wang spoke first to the woman. "I went to the ward to meet her and she was extremely distressed," he said. "She was completely awake during the operation, but couldn't move. She felt every one of those staples going in." He never got to speak to the man. "I got to the ward about 24 hours after his operation had finished, but he'd already discharged himself against medical advice and all attempts to contact him failed," said Wang. "It might be that men assume they're going to experience some degree of pain and distress if they're having an operation, but my suspicion is, they think it's somehow not very macho to complain."
In this gig, I'm sometimes guilty of not featuring enough sales for men. So this week, we will kick off with a major sale at Herringbone and Rhodes & Beckett, both of which were recently placed into voluntary administration.
There are discounts on absolutely everything in their ranges, including suits, pants, shirts, belts and accessories. And there are also plenty of ladies' styles, too.
Online and in selected stores. Check websites for details. While stocks last.
Not coming, going ... Herringbone and Rhodes & Beckett are holding a clearance sale following the company going into voluntary administration. Credit:Chris Hyde
Melbourne brand Lunar and Storm, founded by friends Carla and Meaghan in 2015, is all about contemporary pieces with clean lines. Its classic staples include an open trench coat, which is one of the key layering pieces this season and into spring. The label is having a pop-up sale with free coffee a must for any chilly Melbourne weekend.
Earlier today, accompanied by other Congress ministers, Rahul's convoy reached Yamunanagar in Haryana via Karnal.
By India Today Web Desk: Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi today took a U-turn from his trip to the violence-hit Saharanpur. The Gandhi scion was on his way to visit the violence hit region to meet members of the Dalit community.
"I am going back as the administration asked me to returned. They assured me that they will take me to the region once the situation is brought under control," said Rahul Gandhi.
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Earlier today, accompanied by other Congress ministers, Rahul's convoy reached Yamunanagar in Haryana via Karnal.
Rahul Gandhi had also planned to visit the injured in the hospital.
The BJP had earlier slammed Rahul for his visit accusing him of politicising the ongoing clashes.
Rahul Gandhi further said, "Govt has failed on law & order in UP. Everybody in country who is not powerful is scared and this is not the way to run a country."
He also said that these days poor, people from weaker sections and Dalits are being harassed and suppressed and it has been happening across the country.
UP-HARYANA BORDER TURNED INTO A FORTRESS
According to sources, the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border has been turned into a fortress with massive deployment of police personnel.
Uttar Pradesh ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra has said, "Rahul Gandhi will be stopped at Saharanpur border if he tries to enter the district."
Talking to India Today, Mishra on Friday had said that no politician or political party will be allowed to enter the violence-hit areas of Saharanpur till normalcy is restored.
"I had a word with SSP Saharanpur and he informed that Rahul Gandhi has not been given permission to visit Saharanpur," Uttar Pradesh DGP Sulkhan Singh added.
But the Congress party questioned the decision, saying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is nobody to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting Saharanpur.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Who is Adityanath to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting the Dalit brothers? Doesn't it show the anti-Dalit mindset of the BJP government? This kind of mindset is deplorable."
"Congress and Rahul Gandhi will continue to speak against injustice. Nothing will be able to stop us," he added.
SAHARANPUR ON THE BOIL
Saharanpur has been on the boil since April 20 when some BJP workers and Muslims clashed over a Dalit rally to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a Thakur rally commemorating Maharana Pratap sparked off violence as it passed through a Dalit neighbourhood in the village of Shabbirpur.
Section 144 was imposed in Saharanpur to prevent any untoward incident on May 25. Internet services have also been blocked to deny rumour mongers any chance of vitiating the atmosphere further.
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The Centre has now sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
Also read: Saharanpur: Internet shut, Section 144 imposed as Yogi administration battles to bring back normalcy
Also read: How Saharanpur clash promises to throw up new Dalit leadership threatening to dislodge Mayawati
Also read: Saharanpur violence: Jantar Mantar turns into sea of blue as thousands of Dalits gather to protest
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It was the most difficult 44 days of Neil Pennock's life.
His partner, Trace Richey, was dying in St Vincent's Hospital his body tragically rejecting a bone marrow transplant he had received due to a rare form of cancer.
Neil Pennock prepares for the City2Surf at Circular Quay. He is hoping to raise the $60,000 needed to complete fitting out a room in a bone marrow ward. Credit:Cole Bennetts
Even on his deathbed, Richey whose career was professional fundraising managed to rustle up $7000 for a leukaemia project at the hospital. He had accepted the challenge after hearing a nurse had promised to shave her hair if more than $2000 was reached.
"Richey always tried to help others, that's what he was like. The target [was] $2000 but of course he gave it all he had and worked to raise more than that," Mr Pennock said.
A bumbling cocaine syndicate that delivered drugs to thousands of people across the eastern suburbs and city showed off about being untouchable while they were selling to undercover operatives and eating dumplings together in full view of surveillance officers.
The Sun-Herald can now reveal the inner workings of the syndicate after several members pleaded guilty to drug supply offences recently.
George Gerges, from Bondi, told his boss that he did everything he could to minimise his risk of being caught. Credit:Facebook
Merrylands electrician Andrew Hadi, 30, and Homebush man Beau Greentree, 30, directed the syndicate from home, employing six drivers who worked around the clock to satisfy Sydney's booming appetite for cocaine.
Buyers would text Hadi or Greentree asking for "rock show tickets" or "beers" - code for a 0.5 gram bag of cocaine for $200.
The state government will urgently review procedures for managing contaminated land in NSW, following a Fairfax Media investigation that revealed suspected contamination in residential areas was not being made public to protect house prices.
Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton announced the review on Saturday after Fairfax Media revealed that the Environment Protection Authority had been keeping "significant" chemical contamination hidden to protect residential property prices.
An emergency HAZMAT crew respond to dumped building material found on a suburban back street on Saturday. Credit:TNV
"There will be an independent urgent review into the procedural guidelines for contaminated land management," Ms Upton said in a statement.
One of Australia's worst serial asbestos dumpers has set up shop in Melbourne after narrowly avoiding jail for illegally disposing of hundreds of tonnes of contaminated waste across Sydney.
Already owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, Dib Hanna has failed to appear in court as the NSW environmental regulator pursues him over eight fresh offences.
Dib Hanna backing his garbage in Melton West, Melbourne.
But Mr Hanna is now advertising cheap excavation and tipping in Melbourne under a new name, "David from Delta Civil Group Vic".
When Fairfax Media contacted "David", he at first denied being Dib Hanna, then thought again. "Alright, I'm Dib Hanna," he admitted.
A street artist has sent a powerful message to the Queensland premier, expressing his "disgust" over the Adani Carmichael mine deal being negotiating by the government.
Scott Marsh said he wasn't afraid of the possible repercussions of his piece, having had dealings with police due to his background in illegal graffiti when he was younger.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk depicted holding a gun to Nemo's head in an anti-Adani street mural in New Farm. Credit:Lisa Maree Williams
Mr Marsh had travelled up to Brisbane for a commissioned piece and started the mural on Friday afternoon before finishing about 10pm.
It was the second painting the Sydney-based artist had created relating to the Adani deal, the other having been completed in April.
Forty years ago Fergus Ramsay was on holiday in the city of Cuzco, Peru, when he spied a shopkeeper using an Australian shoe polish, Kiwi.
It struck Ramsay just how far the brand which has a family connection had come.
In 1906, his grandfather, William Ramsay, started Kiwi in a two-roomed factory in Bouverie Street, Carlton, with business partner Hamilton McKellan.
It sounds like a New Zealand product, but yes, Kiwi actually began in Melbourne. Its name derived from William's New Zealand-born wife, Annie.
It took a fair bit of time for doctors to work out that Lindsay had dementia, the cruel and incurable disease that affects about 100,000 Victorians. But it took little time at all for the heartbreak that followed, as Jayne and the children slowly watched his quality of life diminish.
There were also times she'd arranged appointments after work, but he wouldn't show up. And gradually, his personality changed, too, from the highly engaged lawyer he'd always been, to a man confused, forgetful, frustrated.
Lindsay had always been a good handyman, yet suddenly he was struggling with basic tasks, like adjusting the heater, or turning on the sprinklers.
Jayne Francis noticed something wasn't quite right with her husband shortly after they moved into their new home.
"In the end, he didn't know who he was, he couldn't feed himself, he couldn't talk," Jayne says of Lindsay's final stages before he died, aged 57.
"You sort of grieve twice, really, because you're grieving for this person you see changing before your eyes and losing all their everyday skills. He spent the last three years in care, and I think if he'd been able to make a decision about the end of his life, he probably would not have wanted himself in that state. It was heartbreaking."
As the Andrews government prepares to introduce laws giving terminally ill people the right to a physician-assisted death in Victoria, attention has turned to the vexed question of who should qualify and whether people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease ought to be included.
Under the model proposed, only adults with decision-making capacity, who suffer from a "serious and incurable" condition, and are at the end stages of their life possibly the final 12 months are likely to get access to an assisted death.
But this leaves people with dementia ineligible. Think of it as a catch-22: on one hand, patients would have the mental capacity to make a request as the disease is developing, but are unlikely to die within the time-frame being considered by the government. On the other hand, once they are close to death, they won't have the mental capacity to request that their doctor provide them with a lethal pill to end their suffering.
Why would a church have their altar and sanctuary draped in new men's and women's underwear once a year? After all, there's nothing about it in the prayer book. Or is there?
"We're reaching out to people ln need. We collect underwear for the Asylum Seekers Centre," says Val Casley a parishioner of St John's Church in Croydon, which regularly undertakes a program to meet the needs of asylum seekers who have no access to food or clothing.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre in action. Credit:Eamon Gallagher
"As they are a bit nervous about asking the centre for underwear, we do this regular program, which we call Undie Sunday."
In this case, the people have arrived in Australia by boat. Often people smugglers have falsely promised them easy access to visas and jobs. And both sides of the Australian government have treated their arrival unsympathetically.
Sinha said that the state officials were not working properly and that his had resulted in the breakdown of law and order in the state.
By Siraj Qureshi: Union MoS for Railway and Communication Manoj Sinha has slammed the UP officials for not changing their mindsets with the change in the government.
Accepting for the first time that there was indeed a law and order situation in Uttar Pradesh since the Yogi government took charge, Sinha accused the state officials for not working properly which had resulted in the breakdown of law and order in the state.
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Talking to India Today, Sinha said that normalcy in Saharanpur will take time. He said that the Jewar incident was being followed up and in time, things will definitely come back to normal, but the officials will have to change the way in which they were working.
When India Today pointed out various issues with the railways, Sinha said that the government has spent Rs. 422 crores in the past three years in the Agra railway division on development. The work on laying the fourth line between Mathura-Palwal is ongoing, platforms are being lengthened to accommodate longer trains, escalators and security systems are being installed.
Apart from this, Agra-Bandikui, Agra-Bayana-Mathura-Alwar lines are also being extended. A Rs. 107 crore bridge is being constructed on the Yamuna river beside the Stretchey bridge for the dedicated freight corridor. Asked about the failed trials of TALGO train, he said that the trials did not fail and soon another trial will be conducted.
YOGI GOVERNMENT TO OPEN ALL PATHS OF DEVELOPMENT
Commenting on the previous Samajwadi Party government, he said that various developmental programs of the central government did not reach the common man during Akhilesh Yadav's government but this won't happen now as the Yogi government is opening all paths of development.
Presenting the central government's side on the black money issue, he said that till date black money worth Rs. 62 thousand crores has been recovered by the government and India now has an arrangement with several countries to exchange banking information. He said that even if the black money was hidden deep underground, the Modi government will find it and send it back into the economy, no matter whose money it was.
EFFECTIVE MUZZLE ON TERROR FUNDING
Sinha said that no stones will be thrown in Kashmir now. The government has put an effective muzzle on the funding of terrorists and naxalites with demonetisation which came into effect on 9 November 2016. He said that the Central government has paid special attention to the development of farmers, youth and women.
Making a remark on the Dr. Manmohan Singh government's financial management, Sinha said that the UPA left India languishing at a growth rate of just 5 percent, while the Modi government has brought it up to 7.6 percent and it will reach 7.8 percent next year.
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GST A MAJOR GAIN
He said that GST was a major accomplishment of the Modi government as India will finally be under a "one country-one tax" regime. The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley personally facilitated the transition of the tax systems of various states into this system. He said that cumbersome and useless laws will also be abolished.
Answering a question, Sinha said that the government's target is to take high speed internet access to one lakh villages. In the first phase, 516 village panchayats are being furnished with broadband services, although he could not give a timeframe for the completion of this project.
Also read:
Saharanpur riots: Yogi's new outreach team uses humour to lighten tense nerves
WATCH: Section 144 imposed, internet suspended in Saharanpur after clashes
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Victoria's Parliament risks becoming a "flawed branch of democracy" because it remains beholden to the state government and is being starved of funding.
In a highly unusual intervention, a research paper by the Parliament warns its constitutionally-enshrined independence is being eroded by a process it calls "executive creep".
Credit:Nigel Killeen
This is where the bureaucratic arm of government, known as the executive, is increasingly curtailing the Parliament's ability to apply scrutiny.
This is because, unlike many other jurisdictions operating under the Westminster system, in Victoria the executive directly controls the Parliament's funding, and the Parliament must justify its "outputs" in terms of the government's agenda.
Two 15-year-old boys have been arrested after allegedly robbing a milk bar armed with a hammer and a knife.
Police say the pair robbed the Bemersyde Drive shop in Berwick, in Melbourne's east, about 7.45pm on Saturday.
They fled the scene with an unspecified amount of cash.
Victoria Police spokesman Luke Zammit said police arrested one of the boys on Hedgeley Drive, Berwick, while the other was found at a separate Berwick house a short time later.
"The teenagers were both charged with armed robbery and have been bailed to appear at a children's court at a later day," Mr Zammit said.
"Sharks that had been attracted to the beach by bait, then bitten by even larger sharks while they were struggling caught on hooks, sharks that were released beside surf life saving clubs trailing plumes of blood from holes right through their head, and others that were supposedly released alive but that sunk straight to the seabed once they were in the water." It was then they met other high-profile conservationists including TV's 'Shark Man' Riley Elliott and documentary filmmaker Mike Bhana, both from New Zealand, underwater photographer Juan Oliphant and business partner Ocean Ramsey, Hawaii-based freedivers dubbed the 'shark whisperers' after global media coverage of the jaw-dropping videos Mr Oliphant has made of Ms Ramsey interacting with great whites. All had flown to WA for the massive protests, with Mr Corbe, Ms Ramsey and Mr Elliott taking part in a high-profile resuscitation of a bleeding tiger shark in the water. "These guys are the salt of the earth and so knowledgeable about sharks, their biology, behaviour and conservation that before long it felt like we'd taken a crash course ourselves," Ms Corbe said.
It was only after the Environmental Protection Authority vetoed the continuation of the trial the Corbes left WA for the Bahamas, stopping en route to visit Ms Ramsey and Mr Oliphant at their Hawaii-based shark diving, conservation and research centre One Ocean, where their daughters also "fell in love with sharks". Ms Corbe said life on board since had been everything they had hoped; but not as lazy as one might expect. "There wasn't really an adjustment period for us like some families go though, I guess we'd been talking about it for years and we fell in love with life on the water," she said. "We still never seem to have quite enough hours in the day. "Home school takes up a huge amount of time, and there's always something to fix on a boat."
She said logistics, such as provisioning or refilling gas cylinders, often took up an entire day and that was besides the "whole lot of paradise to explore". "Each day we go to bed tired but very happy," she said. "More than two years on it's still one of the best decisions we ever made." Ms Ramsey and Mr Oliphant recently joined the Corbes shark-spotting in the Bahamas on a "holiday" they spent taking film and photos in support of a campaign to create Australia's largest shark sanctuary, waged by ecotourism operators from WA's Shark Bay.
"I'm not sure the word 'holiday' fits into their vocabulary," Ms Corbe said. "We had a hit list of sharks we wanted to film, with oceanic whitetip and greater hammerhead sharks taking the two top spots. "We were incredibly lucky to check everything off." She said people were always surprised by the calm feel of their photography and video, but while being alert was important around sharks, the calmer the swimmer the calmer the shark. The best way to illustrate was to teach people to get into the water - or sometimes out of the water.
"That's happened to me only once so far," she said. Ms Corbe and Ms Ramsey admiring local sharks that seemed happy to hang around even with a dropping tide. Credit:Instagram @juansharks "After two-and-a-half hours diving with a huge tiger she decided it was time we left her alone. She asked, in her polite, jaw snapping, sharky kinda way, and I didn't wait for her to repeat the request." Ms Ramsey said the WA couple were among the most dedicated conservationists she had met. "Working every day before sunrise without sleep in rough cold weather, watching the animals you love being killed," Ms Ramsey said.
"Now they sail from island to island and it's a great reminder that sharing your voice for marine life and the ocean everywhere you go is so important." Nearly 300,000 Ocean Ramsey followers on Instagram alone have now seen the Shark Bay campaign signage. Meanwhile, the Corbe family plans to eventually head to the Pacific Ocean and home to Australia but is in no hurry, and they are not the only ocean lovers promoting the Shark Ark campaign. WA mermaid stunt artists Hannah Moy, Jessica Bell and Amelia X are all 'Shark Ark Ambassadors', promoting the cause at the recent Asia DiveEXPO.
There, they recruited oceanographer and National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the New York Times, "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, and first "Hero for the Planet" by Time magazine. Campaign instigator Leon Deschamps is pushing for an audience with Fisheries minister Dave Kelly to discuss shark conservation and the possibility of prevention 'trophy hunting' of sharks in WA waters. While the Nationals' election commitment of $200,000 to build a shark museum in Shark Bay or Denham is no more after the change in government, local MP Vince Catania told WAtoday he hoped the new government would show support. Loading "There is a fascination with sharks in the community," he said.
Brussels: US President Donald Trump's White House is preparing to establish a 'war room' to combat mounting questions about ties between Russia and his presidential campaign, to address a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency.
Upon Trump's return from a nine-day overseas trip, the administration will add political professionals and possibly lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head the investigation.
Beyond pushing back at suggestions that Moscow is unduly influencing Trump's administration, the messaging effort will also focus on advancing Trump's stalled policy agenda, and is likely involve more trips out of Washington that will feature the kind of raucous rallies that were the hallmark of Trump's campaign.
A person in regular touch with the White House said it needed a new structure to focus on the "new reality" that there would be continued leaks to the media, which have increased in frequency since Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey this month.
Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, has offered to cooperate with congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election, but lawmakers are unwilling to accept his conditions, according to congressional officials.
Deripaska's offer comes amid increased attention to his ties to Paul Manafort, who is one of several Trump associates under FBI scrutiny for possible collusion with Russia during the presidential campaign.
The two men did business together in the mid-2000s, when Manafort, a Republican operative, was also providing campaign advice to Kremlin-backed politicians in Ukraine. Their relationship subsequently soured and devolved into a lawsuit.
Deripaska, an aluminum magnate who is a member of the inner circle of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, recently offered to cooperate with congressional intelligence committees in exchange for a grant of full immunity, according to three congressional officials.
The parents of about 78 children had decided to protest against the school and asked for an explanation for sending a letter when the issue of fee hike is still pending before the state education department.
By Vidya : Parents have decided to postpone their protest against a school management at Dahisar after getting assurances from the Maharashtra state government of intervention. The parents of about 78 children had decided to protest against the school and asked for an explanation for sending a letter when the issue of fee hike is still pending before the state education department.
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Parents of Universal High School were in for a shock when on Friday morning they received a letter asking them to collect school leaving certificates of their children. The letter said "The school through its previous communications has repeatedly awarded you more than a reasonable opportunity to pay the required fees and regularise your default. Unfortunately, you have chosen to not pay heed to the numerous requests that have been made by the school. Please note that the school leaving certificate shall be ready by May 29, 2017 and you may collect the same. The school will now be filling up the vacancies with immediate effect by granting admissions to other eligible and deserving students."
The parents had alleged that the school has been increasing the fees exponentially every year and so most had not paid it and had infact challenged it before the education department. The parents alleged that through phone calls and meeting with individual parents and pressurising tactics the school management had managed to get parents to pay high fee, and there are only now 78 who still held on to their ground. However, after the notices were received by the parents on Friday, they reached out to the Education Minister Vinod Tawde.
Tawde assured that they will hold meeting with the school management next week and a way out will be found. He said, "The school has extended the deadline for payment of fees to May 31. No parent will be forced to make the payment until next week's hearing."
With this assurance, the parents have decided to hold off their protest for a week.
Sakshi Dahanukar, a parent of a 7th standard student from Universal High School, said, "The government has assured of helping us out, so respecting that, we will not protest for now. We are hoping that something positive will come out of these meetings."
ALSO READ:
Mumbai: Parents protest exorbitant fee hike by school in Ghatkopar
Parents stumped by 11-20 pc hike in fees by schools: Survey
--- ENDS ---
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (1994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A 19-year-old man from Grunthal faces charges under the Highway Traffic Act after the pickup truck he was driving collided with a school bus at the intersection of Highway 52 and Honey Lane Road Friday morning.
RCMP said the eastbound school bus had pulled over to the shoulder and come to a stop to pick up children. With its flashing lights on and stop sign extended, an eastbound vehicle came to a stop on the highway and waited for the bus to clear before proceeding. An eastbound pickup truck drove onto the shoulder of the highway and was attempting to pass the stopped vehicle when it rear ended the school bus.
About 20 children seated inside the bus at the time of the collision and no injuries were reported. The children were evaluated by EMS on scene as well as at Kleefeld School.
The truck driver was treated and released at the scene for minor injuries.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Stefan Michalaks story about what he witnessed in the Falcon Lake-area on May 20, 1967 remained the same until the day he died.
The 51-year-old amateur prospector was prospecting that day the woods north of Falcon Lake.
While he was there, what could only be described as a Hollywood-style flying saucer descended from the sky and landed on a rocky ridge not far away from him, said Chris Rutkowski, a Winnipeg science writer who studies UFOs.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Chris Rutkowski and Stan Michalak visit the site of the Falcon Lake UFO incident.
Stefan walked up to the object and touched the side of it.
When it left rather abruptly, it blasted some hot gas onto him as it took off. It set his clothes on fire and smoldered some of the pine needles and leaves that were on the ground, said Rutkowski.
Stefan was injured and was treated at the Misericordia Hospital. He had circles engraved onto his abdomen and become sick in subsequent days.
50 years later, his son Stan Michalak, and Canadas UFO guy Rutkowski have commemorated the anniversary of the encounter, dubbed the The Falcon Lake UFO Incident, with book.
When They Appeared Falcon Lake 1967: The Inside Story of a Close Encounter, launched last Saturday at McNally Robinson Booksellers in Winnipeg. The book features three parts: Stefans 40-page story he handed out to media after the incident, Stans experience from the family perspective and research and reflections on the incident from Rutkowski.
The book, Stan said, tells the complete story of the incident, which 50 years later is classified as unexplained.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Royal Canadian Air Force and the United States Air Force all investigated the incident.
Their final word on the incident was they have physical evidence of an event that cant be explained, said Stan.
The only person who did any poking and prodding after the fact was Chris, he adds.
Stan and Rutkowski grew up in the same neighbourhood and reconnected in the late 1970s when Rutkowski wanted to investigate the incident.
Interestingly enough, the pair had never visited the site in Falcon Lake together until this year. In fact, after 50 years, the visit was Stans first.
Extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary, said Stan about visiting the site for the first time. There was a lot of emotion.
Five days after the incident in 1967, Stefan was still sick. He was dizzy, vomiting and nauseated. Yet, he could still recall exactly where his experience occurred.
SUBMITTED PHOTO Stefan Michalak in his bed with burns on his stomach, the day after the incident.
Stan said the RCMP wanted his dad to take them to the landing site, which meant going for a hiking adventure in the bush. At the time, Stefans family doctor said he wasnt fit to do so.
The RCMP pleaded with him and said, Look. Draw us some sort of sketch, so we have reference when we go plotting around, said Stan.
From memory, Dad drew a site map of the spot he had been. He even put a compass reference and showed the direction of flight, where they landed and distances to forest lines, the height of the rockEverything. He put in all in there from memory.
50 years later, Stan stood on the site with the map his father drew in hand.
Everything he drew on the map is perfect. Its exactly right, including the compass reference, Stan said.
He got to that site for a reason. The year before, he had gone out there and he located a few nice, rich veins of quartz. He wanted to put in a few mineral claims because he wanted to find gold and nickel.
Stefan was very familiar with the spot, but Stan said no one could find that spot until months later. It wasnt until years later that people actually geocached the spot with Stefans coordinates.
With holding that site map that he drew from memory and realizing everything was perfect, I knew he was there. There is no question that he stood on that very spot, said Stan.
Thats vindication to me. You can talk about him making up stuff, but its not until you actually put your buts on the ground that you realize thats exactly where this occurred.
Stefan was lauded by a producer of Unsolved Mysteries, who filmed the familys story for an episode that aired in 1992, as being an extraordinary man. Stan said the producer mentioned to his dad this had to be the most extraordinary and scary thing that had ever happened to him.
No, Stefan replied.
He then explained his wartime experiences.
SUBMITTED PHOTO A sketch Stefan Michalak made of the craft he experienced while it sat on the ground during The Falcon Lake Incident.
Anybody who goes through all of that life experiencewhy would he make up something like this? the producer told Stan.
Stan said psychology evaluations also painted his dad in a positive lightonce again, as someone who wouldnt have a reason to make up his encounter.
Stefan stood by what he saw. He may not have hoaxed it, but he didnt necessarily believe it was aliens.
He never actually believed this was a craft from another world. He believed that it was an American research craft. Every time we talked about it, logic would dictate we had nothing technology-wise that was that advance in 1967, so it mustve been other worldly, said Stan.
Dad would roll his eyes and say, well, yeah, but how do we know that? We dont.
Time would go by where no one would talk about the incident, Stan said. They didnt have a reason to. The first year after the incident was intense and every so often after that, someone would approach the family for interviews or other information.
Stefans account of what happened on May 20, 1967 stayed with him until he died Oct. 28, 1999. Stan said there were no death bed confessions saying the whole thing was a hoax and no one ever came forward to say they helped Stefan with the hoax.
While Stefan was in the hospital before he died, the scar tissue underneath his skin from the circles could still be felt on his abdomen, Stan said.
In fact, one of the doctors at the Victoria Hospital said, we found some very unusual scar tissue. We said, yeah, we know, Stan laughs.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered the commencement address today at her alma mater, Wellesley College, urging graduates from the all-womens college to believe in themselves and their abilities during dark times. But among all the encouraging words and inside jokes were jabs against her former presidential campaign rival Donald Trump. Lots of them.
Clinton was relaxed and loose before the fawning crowd. When she lost her voice twice early on in the speech, she lavishly paused to unwrap a throat lozenge as the audience laughed and cheered, the stuff of campaign-era Infowars conniptions now fodder for dark told-you-so humor.
After lilting through greetings and formalities, Clinton got to the well-done, ketchup-drenched meat of her speech, not pulling any punches as she dove into her opinion of the current state of the world.
Speaking of the 2016 campaign, Clinton quipped Things didnt go exactly as I planned. But you know what? Im doing okay.
Clinton explained that since November, shed been spending time with her family, going for long walks in the woods, organizing her closet, and drinking Chardonnay.
The crowd then cheered as though Chardonnay isnt the worst wine.
The former New York senator used the rest of her address to give the Wellesley class of 2017 a pep talk. She recalled how when she was in college, the country was experiencing a dark time, living under a president that would eventually be impeached for obstruction of justice, after firing the person responsible for investigating him.
You are graduating at a time when there is a full-fledged assault on truth and reason, the former First Lady continued as the cheering from the Nixon/Trump joke died down. Just log onto social media for 10 seconds, it will hit you right in the face. People denying science, concocting elaborate, hurtful conspiracy theories about child abuse rings operating out of pizza parlors.
Clinton was referring to the conspiracy theory known as Pizzagate, a widely-debunked fringe notion that Clinton aides were trafficking children through a DC pizza restaurant called Comet Ping-Pong. One of the theorys chief proponents, Mike Cernovich, reportedly retains a close relationship with some members of the Trump administration.
Hillarys turn as Roastmaster General was just getting started. She went on, condemning those in power who try to twist the truth to fit an agenda, and warning students that one of the hallmarks of authoritarian regimes is the obstruction of the truth.
Some of the things we can deny with our own eyes. Like the size of crowds, said Clinton, referring to the Trump administrations bizarre early attempts to prove the presidents inauguration was attended by more people than any other inauguration in history, a claim easily debunked by photographic evidence.
Moving beyond the Trump administrations low-hanging fruit, Clinton dove in on policy. Look at the budget that was just proposed in Washington, she said, referring to the newly-released Trump budget. It is an attack of unimaginable cruelty among the most vulnerable among us. She called the budget a con.
Her audience laughed as though experiencing catharsis, for a few isolated minutes living in the Clinton-led reality that conventional wisdom suggested would await them after November 8.
Clintons voice held as she offered words of comfort to the graduates of the small private college. If you feel powerless, dont. Dont let anyone tell you your voice doesnt matter.
In the years to come, she said, there will be trolls galore, online and in person, eager to tell you that you dont have anything worthwhile to say or anything meaningful to contribute. They may even call you a nasty woman.
But the former Secretary of States words werent bereft of actual advice for the class of 2017. Tucked into her Trump jabs was an appeal to the elite graduates to engage with the very people who put Trump in power. Your learning, listening and serving should include people who dont agree with you politically, she said.
She spoke of economic and cultural alienation of people who feel left behind and looked down on by the wealthy and powerful.
Their anger and alienation has proved a fertile ground for false promises and false information, Clinton warned. Their economic problems and cultural anxiety must be addressed or they will continue to sign up to be foot soldiers in the ongoing conflict between us and them.
Despite how much of her speech was devoted to the man who defeated her in November, Clinton never once mentioned President Trumps name. Its hard to fathom that this wasnt a deliberate exclusion.
Clinton wrapped up her speech with the standard good luck to the grads. Based on her assessment of the current state of American politics, theyll need it.
A South Carolina real estate agent who kidnapped a woman and kept her chained in a shipping container on one of his properties pleaded guilty on Friday to killing seven people, including the womans boyfriend.
Todd Kohlhepp, 46, pleaded guilty to murder, kidnapping, and sexual assault, WSPA reported. Investigators said Friday that Kohlhepp told one of his kidnap victims that he killed four people at Superbike Motorsports in Chesnee, South Carolina in 2003. Kohlhepp had previously confessed to the Superbike Killings in exchange for a meeting with his mother and an agreement to send money to an unnamed childs college fund.
Police found Kala Brown chained by her neck in a 30-by-15 foot container owned by Kohlhepp, her employer, last November. Police discovered Brown, 30, after they heard a banging sound coming from the crate where she was being held. Kohlhepp allegedly lured Brown and her boyfriend, 32-year-old Charlie Carver, to his Spartanburg County apartment to do some cleaning and clearing on his properties, investigators said.
A month before Brown was found on Kohlhepps property The Daily Beast reported that someone continued posting updates on Carvers Facebook page after the couple vanished. In the statuses, now believed to have been posted by Kohlhepp, Carver wrote about buying a house and expecting a daughter with Brown. Ominous about digging holes and sword violence were also posted from Carvers account, horrifying the missing couples friends and family.
In early October, someone posing as Carver uploaded and deleted an old picture of the couple, captioned we are fine.
His Facebook posts have been hacked, Browns best friend Lindsey Mayson told The Daily Beast. Its not him posting.
Brown was missing for two months before investigators found her, and claimed Kohlhepp had killed Carver. Police discovered Carvers body on a nearby property shortly after finding Brown in the shipping container.
Brown told police in November that other bodies were likely buried nearby.
She said that there are four people buried on this property," Sheriff Chuck Wright told WYFF in November. "I dont know if thats true or not, but we will stay here as long as it takes to make sure that what she said is true or not true."
Another of Kohlhepps alleged victims, Meagan Coxie, was held for days in a shipping container before being shot in the back of the head, Solicitor Barry Barnette said Friday. Coxie and her boyfriend, Jonny, were reported missing in December 2015 and their bodies were found on Kohlhepps 95-acre property nearly a year later. When Kohlhepp showed investigators the locations of the buried bodies last November, he called his alleged victims by name as he pointed to their graves.
Kohlhepp pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty and will receive seven consecutive life sentences without parole. Kohlhepp was also sentenced to 30 years for criminal sexual conduct and 30 years for kidnapping.
Europe seems to be containing the fever of resurgent nationalism that propelled last years Brexit vote as well as Donald Trumps improbable election here. Emmanuel Macrons landslide victory over Marine Le Pen in Frances presidential election is just the latest sign that continental Europe isnt catching the populist bug.
Not yet, anyway. Nativist and illiberal nationalist movements continue to make headway in many democratic countries. They could break through and take poweras they did in the United States last Novemberif mainstream parties cant channel popular grievances toward constructive change.
As populists push political debate to the right, however, center-left parties are floundering on both sides of the Atlantic. Yoked to stale ideas and change-averse constituencies, they are failing to offer restive voters a radically pragmatic alternative to populist panaceas like cutting off immigration, seceding from the global economy and reverting to zero-sum nationalism.
The progressive malaise has left a vacuum that is being filled either by traditional conservative parties, or by young upstarts such as Macron and Italys Matteo Renzi, who are challenging the status quo from the radical center.
As the year began, the populist tide was rising. But Dutch voters threw up the first dike in March by rejecting anti-Muslim crusader Geert Wilders, who like Le Pen conflated immigration and terrorism, elevated ethnic solidarity above cosmopolitan values and vowed to take Holland out of the European Union. The Netherlands said Stop to the wrong sort of populism, declared the incumbent Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose free-market oriented Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy led the voting.
Next up on the continent is Germany, which holds a national election in September. Polls and local elections indicate that Chancellor Angela Merkels Christian Democrats are pulling away from the Social Democrats (their junior partner in the governing coalition.) Germany is exceptional in that its post-war political order remains largely intact, while populist forces are relatively weak. The xenophobic and ultra-nationalist Alternative for Germany party languishes in single digits.
Of course, right-wing nationalists dont need to win power in order to shake up Western societies and turn up the heat on complacent elites. Nonetheless, Europes firewalls against demagoguery and extremism seem sturdier than expectedand proved stronger than Americas did last year.
The big question now is whether the center-left can rally and offer a bold and progressive counterpoint to populism. The Dutch Labor Party all but collapsed in the March election. Frances Socialist Party has also cratered; its candidate mustered a meager 6.2 percent in the first round of presidential voting. Manual Valls, Prime Minister under the monumentally unpopular Socialist President Francois Hollande, recently declared his party dead and behind us and endorsed Macrons En Marche party in upcoming parliamentary elections.
Meanwhile, Britains Labour Party is marching resolutely backwards in history under Jeremy Corbyn to the hard left dogma that marginalized the party during the 1980s and most of the 1990s. Corbyns votaries seem to have a political death wish, which Conservative Prime Minister Teresa May was only too happy to grant by calling a snap election for next month. The party just unveiled a retro manifesto of that calls for renationalizing rail and other industries, price controls on energy, and a slew of costly welfare state expansions. Its widely regarded as proof that Labour isnt interested in contesting Britains centerground. Most polls point to a comfortable Tory victory.
Then theres the United States, where Republicans now dominate national as well as state politics. Having relied too much on demographic change to produce progressive majorities, Democrats must now expand their party the old-fashioned waythrough persuasion and conversion. As in Britain, many U.S. progressives are enamored of the idea that left-wing populism, Bernie Sanders style, will win back white working-class voters who bolted to Trump. The fallacy here is a kind of economic determinism that gives short shrift to these voters deep sense of cultural dispossession. And basic math suggests that in a country where only a quarter of voters identify as liberals, Democrats need to do better across the pragmatic center, among moderates, independents and Republicans who cant abide Trump.
Thats how Macron won in France. He took votes from the moderate left and right by challenging the parties that have dominated France since World War II, while at the same time rejecting the extremism of both Le Pens National Front and left-wing populist Jean Luc Melenchon, whose planks included calls for a shorter work week, lower retirement age and taking France out of NATO. Instead of ceding ground to angry populists, Macron stoutly condemned nativism, promised structural economic reforms and defended the European Union.
Macron is an unlikely revolutionarythe insider as outsider. He is a product of the establishment he wants to overturn, an investment banker who served as economic minister under Hollande before breaking with the Socialists and forming his own party. Philosophically, he could be described as a liberal (in the European or more market-oriented sense) with a social conscience. The politicians he most resembles are third way modernizers Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.
Above all, the 39-year-old Macron symbolizes generational change. Some have likened him to a Gallic JFK eager to get France moving again. His main goal is to liberate Frances torpid economy from rigid labor laws and a suffocating state that consumes nearly 57 percent of national output. Only then, in his view, can France resume its rightful place as an equal partner with Germany in the European Union.
Can Macron rejuvenate the French economy as well as French politics? Obstacles abound. Many who supported Macron in the second round were motivated mainly by their desire to keep Le Pen out of power. His brand new party has to field candidates for 677 legislative seats up in next months election. Anti-market sentiments run deep in France, as does resistance to periodic attempts to change social protections and subsidies that weigh heavily on entrepreneurs and younger workers.
Theres every reason to be skeptical, but Macron is not called the magician for nothing. His plans for reinvigorating the French economy and reducing inequality through shared prosperity rather than more state redistribution probably represent Frances last and best hope for staving off populism. And if Macron succeeds, his radical pragmatism will show an enfeebled center-left a new way forward.
Last week, I was in my local hardware store in Dublin, getting some keys cut by the elderly gentlemen who owns the shop, and we were both half-listening to the rolling news was crackling out of the radio.
The excitement was owing to the resignation of Enda Kenny, Irelands longest serving Taoiseach, as the Prime Minister of Ireland is known, the word coming from the Gaelic for chieftain or leader.
This event had been impatiently anticipated for well over a year, and immediately the two leading pretenders for the leadershipLeo Varadkar, the current health minister, and Simon Coveney, the housing ministerthrew their hats in the ring.
Within hours, it seemed, almost every elected politician of the ruling Fine Gael party had declared for Varadkar and, under the partys voting rules, which give significantly more weight to the partys elected politicians than to its members, it seemed the race was all but sewn up.
As we listened to the declarations rolling in on the radio, between the keening of the key machine, another customer came bounding into the store.
Well, he said disingenuously, What do you think of that then? Varadkar for Taoiseach! Itll be interesting when he brings his partner on foreign visits, wont it?
The sly emphasis was due to the fact that Varadkar has confounded traditional expectations of what makes a Taoiseach not only by being 38, not only by being the son of an Indian immigrant and his Irish wife, but also by being Irelands most prominent out, gay elected politician.
I sighed, braced myself for a storm of homophobic ranting, and hoped my keys would be ready soon.
I would never in a hundred years have predicted how the shop ownerwho must have been at least 75would reply as he did: Oh, I think it will be great for us, he shot back, A bit of a novelty. A great example.
Crestfallen that he hadnt succeeded in his trolling, the newcomer fell silent and quietly browsed the shelves of mousetraps, super glue, and sandpaper while I got my keys finished up.
Up and down the country, across all ages and classes, conversations like this have been taking place.
The general reaction to Ireland being on the point of having its first gay premierjoining an exclusive club that has only ever included only Luxembourg, Belgium, and Icelandhas been remarkably unremarkable.
Its in stark contrast to the situation just six years ago, when a gay senator, David Norris, stood for the position of president.
Norris was the victim of a series of disgusting, homophobic attacks by the Irish press. The Sun newspapers Irish franchise took great delight in decorating its front page with a series of puns on the Irish word for the presidents house, the Arras.
Norris, a lifelong campaigner for gay rights in Ireland, with an extraordinary record of public service, even saw himself accused of being an apologist for pedophilia.
It wasnt just the tabloids that rounded on him; he won multiple libel cases including one against RTE, the state broadcaster, which allowed a contributor to a radio show to say repeatedly that he had suggested parents should be allowed to have sex with their children.
Speaking to The Daily Beast this week, Norris said that the potential coronation of Varadkar as Taoiseach is indeed a very significant moment.
Norris said: Gay people of my generationI am 73had no role models at all. There was not even discussion of it unless it was in the context of a police trial. So to have someone young, fit, good-looking, and gay is a great thing for young people. They can see a headline and know that they can be successful. It signals to a young gay man or woman that they can seriously consider going into politics.
Norris said that the rise of Varadkar is a sign that people are thinking things out for themselves, not dong bidding of church or state any more .
Indeed, its hard to imagine the rise of Varadkar and LGBT rights more generally in Ireland without the concomitant decline of the Catholic Church, which campaigned against equality in the marriage referendum.
The church has lost influence following a series of horrific scandals which revealed that the sexual, physical, and emotional abuse of children by priests, monks, and nuns (and its cover-up) was endemic in the organizations they controlled which extended into every area of Irish life.
Tens of thousands of children are thought to have been abused. Just this year another gruesome chapter was added to the story when it was confirmed that hundreds of illegitimate babies were buried in shoeboxes and rags by an order of nuns who ran a so-called Mother and Baby home.
Like many Irish people, Norris also believes the 2015 equality in marriage referendum, which was won by the pro-equality side by a huge margin of 62-38, has been pivotal in changing attitudes across Irish society. Indeed Varadkar, who dates a Dublin doctor and trained as a medic himself, came out as gay during the referendum campaign.
The Catholic Church vigorously opposed the marriage equality referendum, and voting yes was also seen as a powerful demonstration of the fact that Irish people were no longer in thrall to the church.
Norris said: It played a significant role. People talked to their families and work colleagues told them they were gay. It opened up a real national dialogue, and put a human face on the idea of being gay.
Norris points out that Ireland is not that politically backward and that Ireland had the first woman cabinet minister and that he himself was the first person elected to a national parliament as a gay man in 1987 when he was elected to the Senate (albeit that his electorate was a limited franchise, 65,000 graduates of Trinity College, a prominent Dublin University).
The current minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zeppone , is gay.
Another influential commentator, Tonie Walsh, the co-founder of Gay Community News and curator of the Irish Queer Archive, now held at the National Library of Ireland told The Daily Beast: I suppose its a measure of how much has changed in Ireland within a generation that I find it quite unremarkable that we might end up with a Taoiseach who is gay.
Like many others, Walsh is concerned that Varadkars sexual identity is obscuring his right-wing ideologyVaradkar has been compared by his critics to Margaret Thatcherbut he still says the installation of a gay prime minister is an important sign of how Ireland has been growing up in terms of attitudes to sexual minorities.
Much credit, he says, must go to the EU which encouraged Ireland to embrace notions of social inclusion and cultural diversity. Given what is happening in Britain at moment [with Brexit] it is hugely important to remember that. The EU has allowed a conversation about the type of rights and social justice we want in Ireland to take place and Leo Varadkar is a beneficiary of that. He can campaign without having any obvious concern about his sexual orientation.
The marriage referendum became a much larger question of the type of society we wanted our children and grandchildren to grow up in. It seems the majority in Ireland have signed up to a liberal, progressive, empathic future.
By Press Trust of India: Panaji, May 27 (PTI) Criminal elements are easily procuring mobile phone SIM cards in Goa and telecom companies must tighten their verification process to curb their misuse, the states police chief has said.
"Criminals are very easily obtaining SIM cards by submitting forged documents. They produce somebody elses photographs, name and even signature to procure SIM cards," Director General of Police Muktesh Chander told reporters here yesterday.
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Representatives of telecommunication companies opt for verification of the address and other details of customers over phone. They often avoid personal visits to verify these details, which is in violation of norms, he said.
The DGP said SIM cards are being sold across the tourist state like "onions and potatoes" due to which they are readily available to criminals.
"Non-implementation of know your customer (KYC) requirement is eventually helping criminal-minded people. Sometimes it becomes very difficult to identify and trace the actual subscriber," the DGP said.
"We have asked companies/dealers/agents to ensure SIM cards dont fall in wrong hands," Chander said. PTI RPS RSY RYS
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The dangers posed to airline safety by lithium-ion batteries in personal electronic devices took on an unexpected dimension with a new French report about what may have brought down EgyptAir Flight 804 over the Mediterranean a year ago, with the loss of 66 lives.
The French daily, Le Parisien, reports that French investigators are looking at the possibility that the airplanes copilot plugged a device either an iPhone or iPad - into a cockpit socket not intended for recharging, and that this led to a spontaneous combustion of the batteries and the subsequent disaster.
The same paper in January published a graphic that they said was based on information from video surveillance at the gate at Charles DeGaulle Airport, showing that the copilot, who occupies the right hand seat, had placed two devices on a ledge (similar to the space above a cars dashboard) next to a cockpit window, along with a personal bag containing two bottles of aerosol spray perfume. (This detail was, the paper said, retrieved from the scanning of the pilots hand luggage at security.)
However, that merely showed that, probably before the pilots began going through the departure checklist, the copilot had those devices with him. They would never have remained there. They would have had to have been stowed more securely before departure.
Le Parisien itself has, oddly, made a point of stressing that the copilot was carrying Apple devices. Lithium-ion batteries dont discriminate in their behavior between the many brands of personal devices and they are common to most of them.
An Apple spokesman confirmed to The Daily Beast that they have not received any request to assist the French investigators and that if they did they would readily collaborate. We rigorously test our products to ensure they meet or exceed international safety standards he added.
There is, for sure, substantial circumstantial evidence that an electrical fire of some kind initiated the disaster, just before the airplane began its descent to Cairo. If the copilot did seek to recharge one of his devices he would logically have done so before this, during the cruise phase of the flight, when the airplane was on automatic pilot.
At the onset of the emergency the Airbus A320 sent seven automatic failure messages via satellite to the airlines maintenance center. The first two indicated a problem in the cockpit window de-icing system. That was followed by a warning of smoke in a toilet immediately behind the cockpit. A fourth warned of an electrical failure in the cockpit window.
This picture of a rapidly cascading emergency triggered by an electrical fire was reinforced when wreckage of the Airbus was located at a depth of around 9,000 feet. Images of the forward fuselage including the cockpit showed heat damage.
The story of this disaster has been bedeviled all along by the behavior of the Egyptian authorities. Although the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder were recovered from the wreck and the data from them was successfully retrieved no details of the story they told have been released.
Families of the 15 French victims of the crash complained of the lack of information from Egyptian pathologists who examined bodies and body parts recovered from the wreck. In December the Egyptians said that some bodies showed traces of explosive, hinting at foul play, and that they had opened a criminal investigation.
After more protests from Paris the bodies of eight victims were returned to France in January.
Le Parisien reports that French investigators, frustrated with the lack of cooperation from Egypt, have worked around the absence of information by pressing on with their own investigation, resulting in the new focus on electronic devices in the cockpit.
As it happens, this coincides with a renewed focus on the risks of fire aboard airplanes that originate in the batteries of personal electronic devices.
It was provoked by the recent negotiations between officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and European Commission officials in Brussels about imposing a ban on tablets and laptops in carry-on luggage on all flights between Europe and the U.S. In this case the reason was intelligence suggesting that terrorists are now able to adapt the batteries in devices into an explosive charge powerful enough to bring down an airplane.
But the European authorities have pushed back hard on the idea of a cabin ban because of the fear that devices placed with checked baggage in the cargo hold would increase the risk of fires triggered in lithium-ion batteries fires that the standard fire suppression equipment is incapable of dealing with. European airline pilots have also warned against a ban for the same reason.
The talks between the U.S. and Europe ended without a conclusion. In effect, the idea remains in limbo. A DHS spokesperson told The Daily Beast, There is no timeline and there is no deadline for a decision.
As The Daily Beast has reported, there are well-documented examples of serious fires being instigated by devices carried in the cabin, including one on a Delta flight from Honolulu to Atlanta in December 2016. This began in a laptop. After the cabin crew exhausted five extinguishers before putting out the fire they then put the laptop with ice in a cooler bag for the rest of the flight.
In the case of the EgyptAir emergency the warning of smoke coming from the toilet immediately adjacent to the flight deck could indicate that a crew member was attempting to extinguish a fire in one of the copilots devices or in a device that had been brought into the cabin by a passenger, but that this got out of control.
There is no doubt from those seven automatic warnings that whatever caused the emergency it rapidly overtook the crews capacity to handle it. The final fault warning showed that Airbuss main computer, its brain that managed all the critical flight controls, went into meltdown and that failure sent the airplane spiraling from 36,000 feet into the Mediterranean.
There is no record of any aviation accident being caused by a pilot recharging an electronic device from a cockpit socket. What remains the most salient and most puzzling lacuna in this story is the absence of a mayday message from the cockpit. As in all air accidents, in the absence of a clear, thorough and entirely credible report from investigators the public and especially the families of victims are left with a trail of theories and speculation and no single convincing explanation.
Christopher Dickey contributed to this report.
By Press Trust of India: By Gurdip Singh
Singapore, May 27 (PTI) Singapore has to "manage" its population carefully as it grapples with low fertility rate, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said today, welcoming 150 new citizens.
The Prime Minister pointed out that with the countrys total fertility rate at about 1.3, Singaporeans are far from replacing themselves.
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About 30,000 babies are born as citizens every year and, to top up, about 20,000 foreigners become new citizens annually. With about 50,000 new citizens every year, Singapore can "almost sustain a stable population", he added.
"We have to manage the inflow carefully, and make sure that the people who come can integrate into our society, make sure they have the abilities and skills to contribute to our economy, and make sure their hearts are in the right place and they will become good Singaporeans," Lee said.
"We are a country, not simply a city or an economy," he added after giving out citizenship certificates to immigrants who have settled in Singapore.
"You have chosen to take up Singapore citizenship because you believe in Singapore and identify yourself with what Singapore stands for - a harmonious multi-racial, multi- religious country, a fair and just society where people have opportunities to succeed if they work hard, (and) a cohesive community where Singaporeans care for one another and help one another to succeed," he said.
"Singapore congratulates you. We welcome you," The Straits Times quoted the Prime Minister as saying.
"I hope you will play your part, to continue to deepen your roots here, enrich our society with your experience and contributions and work with fellow citizens, old and new, to build a better future for all of us," he added.
Singapore, a country completely built by the immigrants, has an estimatedpopulation of 5.6 million, of which 3.4 million are citizens, and the rest are permanent residents as well as professionals and blue collar workers. PTI GS AMS AKJ AMS
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Three brothers -- who are also Texas A&M graduates -- kicked off a bike trek Tuesday in Anacortes, Washington, that will cross the country before finishing in New York City later this summer. The three hope the Brothers Bike excursion will raise $500,000 for two charities they helped build.
The Jenkins brothers hail from San Antonio. Bobby (A&M Class of 1981), Raleigh (1983) and Dennis (1985) all followed in their father's footsteps as presidents of ABC Home and Commercial Services branches. The idea for the trip was born in College Station during Bobby's sophomore year, when he and two friends rode bikes from San Antonio to Calgary. In 2009, Bobby made the ride with his brothers and turned it into a fundraising event.
"We picked three charities," Dennis said. "So we went out on a ride, 2,300 miles, and ended up in Calgary. We raised about $150,000 for the charities that we were racing for."
Eight years later, "Brothers Bike" is working to raise half a million dollars for the Moss Pieratt Foundation and A Child's Hope. According to Dennis, they have already raised close to $100,000 through sponsorships. The rest of the funds will be made through individual donations, which can be made at brothersbike.org.
Bobby credits the brothers' time at A&M in influencing their charity efforts.
"This is right in alignment with what Aggies do," he said. "We see an important cause and we try to figure out what can we do to raise awareness and resources for this cause. Obviously, these are personal, and we are passionate about them, but that's what Aggies do -- they get passionate about things that are important."
The Moss Pieratt Foundation was founded in the wake of a tragedy in the Jenkins family in 2014. Bobby's daughter, Jessica Pieratt, found her 14-month-old son Moss unresponsive in the crib. Bobby said the child had experienced sudden unexplained death in childhood (SUDC).
"To this day, we don't know what happened," Bobby said. "The medical community doesn't know what happened. It is classified as unexplained. There is absolutely nothing more horrific, heartbreaking and tragic than to lose a little child, and not only to lose them but then to have no idea what happened and why this happened."
Bobby said funds raised with his ride will go toward continuing the foundation's fellowship to study SUDC at New York University's Langone Medical Center.
Raleigh will be riding for another cause close to his heart, one that began after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. Raleigh was president of the National Pest Management Association at the time, and led a team to provide aid in Port-au-Prince by removing insects and rats from hospitals for safer medical support.
Over the next two years, the association trained residents to fight the pest problems. Raleigh said another need caught his attention.
"At the end of that two-year period, the thing that left probably the biggest impression was the children on the streets," Raleigh said. "I would see total desperation on the children's faces. Many of them did not have anywhere to go at night. "Twelve-year-old girls were walking around pregnant. It was a desperate need. What touched our hearts, the godsend message we were given, was to work with the children. Our focus then became to start A Child's Hope."
A Child's Hope is an orphanage on nine acres of land in La Montagne, Haiti, which gives a home to 42 orphaned and abandoned children, Raleigh said. His vision is for the facility to go beyond providing a safe environment.
"We feel that we have an answer," Raleigh said. "Having a Christian-based home for children to grow up in is very important. We are not trying to Americanize these children, rather make them great Haitians for future leadership."
The brothers will be updating the status of their journey on their website. Those interested in making contributions can learn more about the Moss Pieratt Foundation and A Child's Hope at brothersbike.org.
Much better to have Donald Trump running our country
The partisan, biased, liberal The New York Times and The Washington Post that freely quote anonymous sources and produce "fake" news are referenced in Sunday's editorial in The Eagle.
The liberals and the media are conducting a campaign of disruption to prevent President Donald Trump from implementing programs to correct eight years of Barack Obama bungling and 50 years of Great Society give away.
To date there is zero affirmative information that supports the need for the numerous investigations. The career politicians lament, "Oh, he is not one of us." Better for America that Trump is not one of them. For the well-being of the citizens of the country, it is great that we have a leader who is putting America first. It is much better that businessmen such as Trump and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are conducting the business and interests of the country than having a political hack such as Hillary Clinton or John McCain in charge.
ROSS GEORGE
College Station
Why would Donald Trump trust the Saudis to fight Isis?
President Donald Trump's speech to the group of Muslim heads of state in Saudi Arabia last week was interesting and puzzling. Saudi Arabia, now promoting itself as the standard-bearer in the global fight against Islamist terrorism is in many ways the founder, supporter and instigator of these activities.
In the 1980s, the Saudi regime funded the so-called "madrassahs" in Afghanistan to promote its fundamentalist views of Islam, and in the process trained the would-be leaders of Islamist terror groups (e.g. al-Qaida.) The Saudi regime also supported and funded Sunni Muslim and Baathist extremists that terrorized Iraq in the aftermath of the U.S. attempt to remove Saddam Hussein from power.
The Saudis later funded and supported what became Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in an attempt to counter their archenemy, Iran. Every one of the Islamist terrorists that have terror attacks against Western targets in Europe, the U.S. and Australia have been Sunni Muslims inspired by the fundamentalist ideology of Saudi Arabia.
It is perhaps needless to remind everyone that 15 out of 19 of the 911 terrorists came from Saudi Arabia as did half of the duo that committed the horrific massacre of San Bernardino. The Saudi royal family also has been implicated in funding the 911 terrorists through its so-called Islamic charities in the United States.
Moreover at the time present Saudi Arabia ruthlessly is bombing innocent Yemeni men, women and children, using American-made weapons, thereby breathing the next generation of terrorists. None of this explains how President Trump trusts the Saudi regime to serve as the leader in the fight against terrorism. Perhaps he knows more than we do, but given the history of Saudi involvement in anti-Western Islamist terrorism, I would not bet on their commitment to reverse course in the future.
REZA LANGARI
Bryan
Rain-triggered landslide and floods in Sri Lanka have claimed up to 100 lives, leaving scores injured and over 99 missing. The Indian government has offered assistance in rescue and relief operation, with three Navy ships dispatched for help.
By India Today Web Desk: Rain induced floods and landslides in Sri Lanka have killed at least 100 people, displaced 2,900 while 99 are missing, according to latest reports after soldiers fanned out in boats and in helicopters to help with rescue operations.
The island nation has appealed to UN and other countries to help as the death toll from floods and mudslides today rose exponentially.
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The Indian Navy too has been pressed into action to help the island nation with INS Kirch operating in Bay of Bengal being diverted to Colombo to render immediate assistance in flood relief operations.
INS Shardul with medical relief kits and diving teams left from Kerala's Kochi port at 7am and is likely to reach Colombo by tonight.
Additionally, INS Jalashwa shall sail out from Visakhapatnam shortly with HADR (Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief) stores which includes victualing, clothing, medicines and water.
The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with Gemini crafts and helicopters to assist in relief operations. It is likely to reach late morning or by noon on May 28, Sunday.
"There are at least five landslides reported in several places in Kalutara," said police spokesman Priyantha Jayakody, referring to the worst-hit district on the island's west coast.
"Rescue operations are still taking place."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed condolences and solidarity with Sri Lanka, further assuring of complete assistance in relief and rehabilitation operations.
Our ships are being dispatched with relief material. The first ship will reach Colombo tomorrow morning.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2017
The second will reach on Sunday. Further assistance on its way.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2017
India condoles the loss of lives and property in Sri Lanka due to flooding and landslides.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2017
We stand with our Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 26, 2017
DEATH TOLL RISES
The disaster management center said 91 people had been killed and 110 were missing. The center said 38 deaths were reported from Kalutara while 46 were reported from the central southern district of Ratnapura.
Military Spokesman Roshan Senevirathne said about 400 military personnel had been deployed with boats and helicopters to help the police and civilian agencies.
The wettest time of the year in Sri Lanka's south is usually during the southern monsoon, from May to September. The island nation also receives heavy rains in the North West monsoonal season from November to February.
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Sri Lankan meteorology officials said Thursday's rains are the worst since 2003 and they expected more rain in the coming days as the South-west monsoon condition had established over the country.
The Meteorology Department has warned of more rains in the next 24 hours.
With inputs from Manjeet Singh Negi and agencies
Also read: Did Modi's Sri Lanka visit influence Colombo to reject China submarine request?
Also read: Chinese media slams India's 'meddling' in Sri Lanka
Also read: China deploys exploration submersible in hunt for Indian Ocean minerals
Also watch: Narendra Modi Sri Lanka visit: Prime Minister lauds Tamil culture, MGR
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Brynn Casady makes most of her volleyball season at Spoon River College
Casady played defensive specialist, libero and outside hitter at various times during the season
By Press Trust of India: Bhubaneswar, May 27 (PTI) Activists of the Students? Congress today burnt effigies of Odisha Chief Minister and technical education minister demanding arrest of the promoter of a private university.
The student Congress activists held a bike rally and marched towards Naveen Niwas, the residence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. As the bike rally reached Sishu Bhavan Chhak, the police intervened which led to a scuffle between the security personnel and activists.
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"The authorities of the Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER) under SOA university has played with the future of hundreds of students. The promoter of the college must be arrested as he has cheated the students community," State Students Congress president Itish Pradhan said.
The engineering students of the university were allegedly cheated in the name of private placement.
Pradhan also said the state govenrment was yet to take up any inquiry against the private university even as the students have been agitating since three days.
The Student Congress workers later burnt the effigies of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Technical Education minister Usha Devi. Few activists were subsequently taken into preventive custody by police.
The incident came a day after the police arrested ITER Dean (Placement) R K Hota on charge of involvement in the fake placement issue. PTI AAM CR CR
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WESTPORT When James Branson left for his first deployment, fellow firefighters threw the U.S. Navy corpsman the best party he had ever seen only matched by the party marking his return.
The department flew a blue star flag and had their uniform T-shirts made in military green. Firefighters wore the shirts for Memorial Day and Veterans Day while Branson was overseas and also sold some to raise money, which they used to send him care packages. They did everything possible to stay in touch and offered any help to his wife during his year-long tour in Jordan last year.
In general fire departments and police departments are really supportive of their (military) reserve or National Guard members, but Id say Westport from the chief down was just unbelievably supportive, Branson said. They were probably the best support system that my wife had while I was gone.
The 29-year-old Brookfield native returned from the Middle Eastern kingdom in December after a year of active-duty service. A Westport firefighter since 2012, Branson lives in Stamford.
It means everything to me, he said of the Westport firefighters and their support. There is definitely the cliche of the brotherhood among firefighters, but they definitely came through and displayed that it was real while I was gone with all the support they showed.
Firefighting and military service have long been Bransons passions. He began pursuing firefighting as a volunteer in high school, later becoming an EMT and paramedic, and he eventually joined the military after college.
I had two sets of toys when I was a kid: firetrucks and toy army men. So here I am today just got bigger toys, he joked.
After graduating from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla., Branson began taking fire tests for various departments. For a year after graduating, he worked as a paramedic until, in 2011, he pursued his military dreams and signed up with the U.S. Navy Reserve. The next year he joined the Westport Fire Department. Both demanding individual peak performance and teamwork simultaneously, the pursuits and needed training complemented each other, he found.
Bransons background in emergency medicine is vital for firefighting, but he also chose to apply it to military service by becoming a Navy corpsman, a medical specialist role. The choice to apply his medical background was both a logical use of his skills and rooted in his hopes for service.
Personally, I was named after my uncle who was a marine who was killed in Vietnam, Branson said, so I think growing up that was always a big part of me and seeing the loss that families have for a whole generation. I kind of had the idealistic thought that if I could be there with my medical skills thatll bring a marine back and thatd be great.
As a Navy corpsman, Branson was assigned to a Marine Corps infantry reserve unit; the Marine Corps deploys Navy medics, having no medical personnel of its own. In 2015, Branson was selected to be part of an advisory group, which he left when he got called up for active duty last year.
Deployments are extremely difficult, Branson said. My wife and I got married in 2014, so when I came home from deployment in December 2016 we had been apart for half our marriage. Its definitely really difficult for me being away, and Id say its definitely more difficult for wives and families that are behind. Theyre definitely the unsung heroes of the military.
In Jordan, Branson worked with the countrys military, living on a base and forming close ties with his Jordanian counterparts. The mission was to aid Jordans marines with various skills and training. Because the countrys force has no specialties within its military medical professionals, Branson was working to teach some of the forces first tactical medics.
He found the experience unlike anything before, learning a new culture in the immersive environment of living on a military base in a foreign country. Many conversations were through linguists and interpreters and, before and during his deployment, Branson described learning a vast amount about Jordanian culture.
Sometimes its difficult because its so much different than ours, but thats what they trained us to do, to be able to interact in that type of an environment and work through cultural boundaries to help improve the Jordanians, Branson said.
In his combination of service and firefighting, Branson is not alone. He emphasized that a lot of Westport firefighters who have served have had more challenging deployments than his. He recounted fellow firefighters serving in combat in Somalia, the Persian Gulf War and Afghanistan.
Those guys I legitimately look up to and think that theyre heroes to me, Branson said. I dont think I did as much as them, but it was a great experience.
Describing coming home in December, Branson recalled seeing his wife awaiting his return at a Marine Corps base camp in North Carolina the most amazing feeling. After he returned to Connecticut, Branson spent time readjusting, traveling and being with his wife and family before his work for the fire department started up again.
I dont take it for granted for a single day at all just being with my wife and my dog and being able to go see the rest of my family is just great, he said. I appreciate every night I spend in a comfortable bed with access to amazing food anywhere you go, the freedom to be able to travel and not worry about where youre traveling to and if its going to be safe to get there and all that other stuff.
Branson said, Its an amazing life we all get to have here.
lweiss@hearstmediact.com; @LauraEWeiss16
Dear Annie: I am a widow with many children and stepchildren, who all are adults. Most of us get along and spend time with one another on a monthly basis.
There is one stepson, Joe, who has decided to disown the family, feeling that he isnt kept in the loop and that others dont talk to him. This is the second time hes announced a disowning. The first time, my late husband was able to talk him out of it. Joe also disowned his mother, and neither he nor any of his immediate family attended her funeral. Since her funeral, he has disowned a sister who voiced her displeasure at this. He announced the most recent disowning just prior to a Christmas gathering I was hosting, so he, his wife and his two sons didnt attend (although his daughter did).
Frankly, not having Joe at family gatherings will decrease the stress and tension, as we wont have to be so careful about what we say or do. Usually, he and his wife would remove themselves from the group and sit in a different room or area, I believe as a test to see who would come to talk to them. This did not happen when his father, my late husband, was alive. There is lots of baggage from my husbands nasty divorce, which was before my time. Joe sided and lived with his father. Outside of the family arena, he and his wife are pleasant and lovely people.
The problem I am having is in deciding whether to attend a wedding celebration for Joes son. None of his siblings or other family members is invited; Im the only one. I feel I should attend and be a gracious stepmom. I do not condone this behavior but do not want to act in the same way and cut off the relationship. I feel it is his way of being in control, but it is hurtful and puts me in the middle. Do I go and kick up my heels or decline and send a check?
Torn
Dear Torn: This is a time to kick your heels up and put on your dancing shoes. Children dont choose their parents. Im sure that being the son of a difficult man has been tough, so you should not further punish Joes son by not going to his wedding just because his dad is a prima donna. Disown the drama and enjoy the wedding.
Dear Annie: My parents gave me a name that is spelled funny, and Im being shamed for it everywhere I go, especially in the community I live in. Its too late for me to change it, as it would mess up all my legal business. How do I deal with or what do I say to these nasty, spiteful people who seem to enjoy harassing me? Im angry enough to really tell them off, but the consequences of that might not be worth it. What do you suggest?
Sick and Tired of Spiteful People
Dear Sick: People who would judge or ridicule you in any way for the spelling of your name are the punchline of their own joke. So in a way, your name does you the favor of screening those people out. Pay no mind to the herdlike mentality. Be brave; be yourself. A wolf doesnt lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.
Annie Lane, a graduate of New York Law School and New York University, writes this column for Creators Syndicate. Email questions to dearannie@creators.com.
The Northwest High School band is on a bus headed to San Antonio.
Band Director Shawn Pfanstiel said 88 people consisting of himself, 75 students, 10 chaperones and two trailer drivers are making the trip.
The band was to leave at 6 a.m. Saturday and will return to Grand Island around 2:30 a.m. Thursday.
While in San Antonio, the band will perform at two concerts at the Alamo and at Six Flags Fiesta Texas amusement park as well as at a band clinic at C.T. Johnson High School with its band director, Jarrett Lipman.
The highlight of the trip, Pfanstiel said, will be the Northwest band performing at the Alamo at noon Tuesday.
I am really looking forward to the Alamo performance. I think that is going to be really cool, he said. There are groups that come in and perform, especially patriotic stuff. That is what we are doing as a group. They will be playing basically right in front of the Alamo, and there is a pretty big square there. It is going to be a cool experience for the band.
Pfanstiel said the band will perform mainly patriotic tunes. The set includes a song called Niobrara River Sketches to highlight Nebraska heritage, America the Beautiful and The Salute to Americas Finest, a medley of service songs from all five service branches. The performance will conclude with a march titled, The Alamo.
During a rehearsal on Thursday night, Pfanstiel told the students that Lipmans high school band performs at the same level as Nebraska colleges and universities. He hopes the band will benefit from Lipmans clinic.
He will be working with us, hopefully giving us a few pointers and things like that, Pfanstiel said.
Those on the band trip will also tour attractions both in San Antonio and along the way. Pfanstiel said the band will visit attractions such as SeaWorld San Antonio and will also see the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra perform the music of John Williams at a concert Sunday afternoon.
On the way to San Antonio, Pfanstiel said, the band will tour the Oklahoma City National Memorial, which honors the victims, survivors, rescuers and all who were affected by the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995.
Pfanstiel said the Northwest band makes a trip every three years and previously traveled to San Diego and Boston. He added that having a big band trip every three years allows everyone to be able to go on at least one during high school.
Abby Campbell, who will be a senior when school resumes in August, said she is looking forward to having a really fun time with everyone on the trip. Shes excited about going to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and about the band clinic.
I am always trying to find ways to better myself, she said. It is nice to be able to get someone else to come in and say, OK, this is what the band needs to work out. It gives you an idea of what we can do better.
Destiny Blatchley, who will also be a senior, said she, too, is looking forward to being with her friends and going to Six Flags.
It is a nice little vacation for summer, she said.
Blatchley added she is also excited for the Northwest bands performance at the Alamo, saying, it will be cool to have a big crowd there to watch the band perform.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today met Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas including trade and investment.
During the meeting, Swaraj said there was scope to expand bilateral ties in a range of areas.
"Meeting with a long-standing friend. EAM @SushmaSwaraj calls on Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Kumar Jugnauth," MEA spokesperson Gopal Bagley tweeted along a picture of Swaraj with the Mauritian PM.
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Earlier today, Jugnauth was given a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The Mauritian prime minister arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit, during which he will hold meetings with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee.
Jugnauth held discussions with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday.
He will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi today, besides meeting Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
This is Jugnauths first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year. PTI MPB GJS BSA
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In recognition of National Historic Preservation Month, Edwardsvilles Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) will showcase some of Edwardsvilles historic buildings in a series of articles during the month of May.
No. 3 Logan Place
The home at No. 3 Logan Place sits in a short row of similar houses all built in 1912-1913 by developer Samuel Lloyd. The Logan Place Development included the lots surrounding the spacious Metcalf family home place at No. 7 Logan Place. Fortunately, Edith Metcalf Tuxhorn, who owned the property when it was subdivided in 1911, retained possession of her old home as well as lots 10, 11 and 12, otherwise the fine old house at No. 7 would have lost its front lawn. When construction began, the Metcalf barn was used as a workshop for framing and storing building materials.
The eight new homes on Logan Place included six on the south side of the block and two on the west side. Many assume the lots on the west side (facing the back of the Nelson Campus) are on Brown Street, but the addresses are No. 8 and No. 9, Logan Place.
As construction began, a description of the homes was printed in the Edwardsville Intelligencer: They will be types of the genuine California bungalow, of six or seven rooms each, built on lots 50 by 225 to a 15-foot alley. The best of material will be employed. The specifications call for a cellar under the entire house, concrete walks and porches, built-in buffet, cupboards, window seats, etc. Sanitary plumbing is to be installed throughout, electric lights, piping for light and fuel gas, furnace, coal bins, laundry, screened porches, beamed ceilings, paneled walls, arched openings, fire places, sanitary underground garbage receptacles and covered concrete ash bins in the rear.
The houses sold quickly, although some were to investors with plans to keep them for rental income. For the first few years, No. 3 was a rental property belonging to George W. Meyer. The first tenant was an employee of the U. S. Radiator Corporation, Charles Gable, and his family who were joined by Moses and Frances Newell in 1915, so the house had two flats nearly from the beginning. The Newells purchased the house in 1920.
Moses Newell was born in 1878 in Montgomery County, Illinois. After graduating from the Normal School, now known as Illinois State University, he was a superintendent of schools in various districts for nine ears. In 1904, when working in the Brighton School District, he married Frances Carriker. Frances was also born in 1881 in Montgomery County and worked as a housekeeper before her marriage.
After nine years in education, Moses changed careers, passing the bar in 1915 after attending law school at the University of Illinois. He set up his practice on Main Street in Edwardsville near the new courthouse. Moses and Florence lived at No. 3 Logan Place for five years before purchasing the house in 1920.
Moses could not be accused of being a slacker. On his WW I Draft Registration Card, he listed his occupations as attorney, Postmaster (Acting Postmaster in Edwardsville 1917-1920), and as editor at the Edwardsville Republican, a local newspaper. In 1927, the Newells moved their home and his law practice to Alton. They advertised for the sale or lease of their home numerous times over the years, including the following advertisement in 1930.
For sale or rent Nice well-appointed residence containing nine rooms, modern in every particular, suitable for one or two families, situated at No. 3 Logan Place.
The Newells didnt sell the property until 1945. Over the next 20 years there was a series of owners until it was purchased in 1961 by Walter and Frances Meredith. The Meredith family owned the house for over fifty years. Its interesting to note that Walter Meredith was an evangelist who often broadcast his radio program from a sound-proofed room in the house.
The current owners are in the process of restoring the one-and-a-half story stucco bungalow to its original appearance. This includes removing an outside entrance to the second floor to bring the house back to a single-family residence. The bungalows of Logan Place, one of Edwardsvilles earliest residential developments, were an attractive, modern addition to the City of Edwardsville.
Information for this article was obtained from resources at the Madison County Archival Library, the Madison County Recorder and Probate Offices, Edwardsville Public Library and from current and previous owners. If you have questions about this article, contact Cindy Reinhardt at 618-656-1294 or cynreinhardt@yahoo.com.
Two members of the Glen Carbon Police Department were honored at the most recent meeting of the full Board of Trustees.
Police Chief Todd Link presented awards to Officer Patrick Barnes and GCPD Records Manager Nicholee Blockton.
Glen Carbon Police Officer Patrick Barnes was presented with the Police Departments Lifesaving Award.
Link said Barnes earned the honor after responding to a call regarding a suicidal person.
Officer Barnes responded to a suicidal subject who had hanged himself with a leather belt, Link said. After Officer Barnes arrived he was able to cut down the victim and he immediately performed CPR.
Link said Barnes quick thinking and his CPR efforts were successful in that the victim recovered and gained consciousness on the scene.
EMS personnel arrived and transported the victim to the hospital where he made a full recovery.
If not for the quick and decisive action of Officer Barnes the victim probably would have lost his life that day, Link said.
Barnes is currently attending Lindenwood University and will soon graduate with a bachelor's of science in Criminal Justice. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1983-2003 and has previously worked for the Virginia Beach, Va., Sheriffs Dept.
Glen Carbon Sgt. Greg Boyer nominated him.
Records Manager Blockton was presented with a Chiefs Appreciation Letter and honored for her 15 years of service to the Village of Glen Carbon.
Essentially she is our one-person records department, Link said. She handles all report requests, coordinates discovery for the states attorneys office, processes all the solicitor permits and directs all the efforts for records archiving. She has a difficult job and always does a great job.
Lt. Wayne White nominated Blockton.
In his nomination letter White said: Mrs. Blockton deserves the award for her dedication to the job and her dedication to the people at the police department and the people of the community.
White continued saying even though Blockton had gone through some difficult medical issues, she continued to work every day, regardless of how awful she felt. She remained dedicated to the department in her actions and service to the people of Glen Carbon. Her attitude and her grace served as an inspiration to everyone in the police department, White said.
Mayor Rob Jackstadt congratulated Blockton on her service to the community.
We cant thank you enough for your 15 years with the Village, he said. Much of the success and growth of the Village is in part to your dedication over the past 15 years.
Blockton previously served as telecommunication operator and supervisor for both the Glen Carbon Police Department and the Venice Police Department.
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After 18 years, I kind of forget that this is cool, said Lt. Col. Donald Landgrebe, commander of the 906th Air Refueling Squadron at Scott Air Force Base. I just take for granted another airplane to be 50-feet underneath me going 500 miles an hour and thats normal to me.
Well, it wasnt normal to us.
As reporters covering this flight, our mission was simple: arrive at 10:45 a.m., receive a passenger briefing prior to the flight, board a KC-135 Stratotanker with our media equipment, fly over Wisconsin, lay in a boom pod as an operator performs an in-air refueling for two F-16 fighter jets approximately 20,000 feet in the air, take photos and get a story.
Scott Air Force Base hosted the media flight Tuesday, May 23, after it was rescheduled from last week, due to inclement wind conditions.
Landgrebe greeted us and briefed us on the 906th squadron at SAFB and the in-air refueling process before boarding.
The 906 specifically is only in five locations right now but there was a period of time where we were in seven, he said. Its been busy. The tankers have been tasked with about 256 percent of capacity for the past four years.
The Stratotanker we were to fly on was 65-years-old and primarily utilized for in-air refuelings and transporting critically-wounded patients in combat.
The plane can fly a maximum of 50,000 feet, can carry up to 83,000 pounds of cargo and travel up to 535 miles-per-hour. It also houses everything from airway kits and life-saving equipment to oxygen.
However, there is one thing it lacks: air conditioning.
When Mr. Boeing designed these, comfort wasnt really a factor. If youre hot, go lower. If youre cold, go higher. They are very meager accommodations and thats designed because if we have air conditioning for example, which we dont on these airplanes," Landgrebe said.
"So in the desert, it gets up to about 150 degrees in the cockpit or so and were out there for two hours prior to takeoff. So you can see, it takes its toll on the body.
But, youll find that if we did things like that, those creature comforts, then I cant take fuel. If I cant take as much fuel, I cant off-load that fuel to either a heavy airplaneor a lighter airplane thats protecting our army soldiers in a combat zone or a bomber aircraft, he added.
To perform the in-air refueling, the Stratotanker pumps the internal fuel through the flying boom, the planes primary fuel transfer method. The boom operator, stationed in the rear of the plane, controls the boom during the process.
A shuttlecock-shaped drogue, attached to the flying boom extends to the aircraft in need of refueling during our flight, this would be two F-16 fighter jets and is fitted with the probe. The jets were to fly up, attach to the probe and activate the refueling.
Landgrebe said during the refueling flight, our plane would also be flying in formation with another tanker and two F-16 fighter jets.
Were going to fly in formation, so youre going to look out the window and see the other tanker. Its kind of like driving down the highway in moving traffic. Our spacing is one mile in trailand we do that all visually, he said.
The jets are able to carry more ammunition or bombs, given that the tankers will carry the fuel they need. This fueling process in particular hits close to home for Landgrebe.
My brother-in-law is in the Army. Hes been on the ground in Iraq and Ive been over the air, refueling the fighters that have been keeping him safe. So it really is a whole department of defenseteam effort, he said. Theres this huge net that the Air Force places around our soldiers on the ground, around our important aspects and around our country, frankly. We all have a key position for that.
As discussion came to a close, we hopped in a van and were transported to the plane. We boarded and took off at approximately 12:30 p.m. As the plane flew to an elevation of 20,000 feet in the air, it wasnt long before the two jets were visible from the passenger windows.
I went down into the boom pod, located in the back of the plane. The boom operator, Senior Airman Alberto Ayala, controlled the probe and moved it into position as the F-16 came into view.
I was instructed to lay on my stomach while in the pod as the refueling took place.
The F-16 flew close and retreated often, but steady as the fuel was being transferred. The jet was approximately 30-feet away from the tanker.
The process took an estimated 20 minutes or so, as more than 800 gallons of fuel can be pumped from the tanker to the jet in a minute. Prior to this training flight, airmen had spent a total of six months in training for this exercise.
The flight was three-hours long in total and prior to landing, I was able to make my way to the cockpit. Pilot Tom Jackson and co-pilot Major Viveca Lane were directing the aircraft. By communicating via headset to the base, they began to descend the plane as we neared SAFB. They received clearance to descend to 6,000 feet of elevation, then 4,000 feet, 2,200 feet, and soon after, we reached ground level by 3:45 p.m.
Ayala said this wasnt his first air-refueling mission as a boom operator and overall, this flight went smoothly.
By this point, Im already a little experienced with it. There was a little bit of turbulence, but I dont think overall it was too bad, Ayala said.
Ayala is on active duty at SAFB and has been since December of 2015. Originally from Chicago, Ayala said he started training for the Air Force in high school.
The reason I joined the Air Force is, I went to the Air Force Academy in high school, up in Chicago. Just getting a feel of the Air Force life, and the uniform and what it all had offered. I didnt see a reason why not to, he said.
Typically, airmen spend between four and six months to train and prepare for an in-air refueling flight. Ayala said it isnt an easy task.
Its about four to six months, depending on how fast you get through. I think the most difficult is just all of the informationyou just have to retain it all. Thats probably the hardest part, he said.
Ayala said he plans to go back to school this September and get his bachelors degree before becoming an officer and flying planes for the Air Force.
The Illinois Air National Guard has a motto: Anytime. Anywhere. From a media standpoint, this flight shed light on the operations and trainings the base undergoes on a daily basis, aside from whats seen through a camera lens or heard through a soundbite. I think I can say with certainty that following this flight, both myself and the other media personnel that were present would be eager to cover another training or flight in the future. Anytime. Anywhere.
For more information about SAFB, visit its website at http://www.scott.af.mil/.
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Linkedin Khristian Ibarrola (Inquirer.net/Asia News Network) Sat, May 27, 2017 13:06 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b04b7 2 Science & Tech space,asteroid Free
The National Aeronautics Space Administration (NASA) continues to be Earths safety net against threats from beyond outer space.
Through its famed asteroid detection site, the space agency announced the possibility of five asteroids that are set to make close encounter to our planet this year.
According to reports from the United Kingdom-based newspaper The Sun, some of these asteroids may come as close as 0.15 lunar distances to Earthenough to warrant concern from the government body.
Read also: Alarming bomb-making tutorials rampant in YouTube
The nearest encounter is expected to occur on July 23, when a 300 feet in diameter space rock called 2017 BS5 is expected to come within 3.15 lunar distances (752,937 miles) of Earth, the report said.
The biggest and possibly the most threatening risk, meanwhile, is an 88-foot asteroid dubbed 2012 TC4, which is projected to blow past at 0.15 lunar distances on October 12.
Currently, NASA has employed a team of astrophysicists to regularly monitor the problematic space rocks.
Still, NASA reminded everyone to remain calm, as there is still no guarantee that the asteroids will indeed collide with Earth.
Topics : space asteroid
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This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
Taapsee Pannu is setting dressing goals in her fusion outfit that you will never be able to achieve.
By Shivani Chhabra: If you're having a bad day, you need to look at this spell-casting combination of Taapsee Pannu and pink--no, we're not talking about the movie Pink here, although it is no less a wonder.
The beautiful Naam Shabana actor donned a lustrous, cotton dress, which she styled with a chic white shirt, and redefined the term fusion dressing for us.
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Taapsee looked absolutely gorgeous in the hot pink, one-shoulder dress, and we've learnt a thing or two about mix-matching clothes like a genius!
Picture courtesy: Instagram/urvashisoneja
The cotton textile attire was absolutely bewitching owing to that magnificent shimmer, while the white, circular pattern added an edge to the Urvashi Soneja number.
Also Read: Ranveer Singh is back in black, so let's just breathe now
The sensuality of the hot pink dress, and the class that came with the white shirt, blend so well that we'd never be able to look at a white shirt without wanting to style it like Taapsee.
The flared sleeves of the dress contrasted enigmatically with the buttoned sleeves of the shirt, and created a fusion of drama and poise in the ensemble. And, that's how you get the best of both worlds.
Picture courtesy: Instagram/urvashisoneja
Taapsee, who was every bit of a stunner in this enthralling attire kept her hair tied in a low bun, keeping it classy and chic.
Also Read: Let Twinkle Khanna teach you how to dress sexy for the summer
The lovely actor teamed up her super-stylish outfit with a pair of open-toe black stilettos, and sported minimal makeup.
Taapsee totally rocked this fusion look, and it's time we give her an award already.
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Linkedin Hasan Mohammed (Agence France-Presse) Douma, Syria Sat, May 27, 2017 12:02 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2af040 2 Art & Culture Syria,war,children,#children,#Syria,theater Free
To escape the nightmare of life in their besieged hometown near Syria's capital, 13 young girls sought refuge in a fairytale performance of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".
The all-girl cast spent months memorising lines from the classic Brothers Grimm fable before performing in front of a packed audience this week in the elementary school in Douma.
"It was really hard, but I memorised all my lines in English," said proud 10-year-old Afnan, who played the story's lead antagonist, the Queen.
"When I act, I forget the war that we're living through in Douma and I feel happy and hopeful," she said.
Afnan's hometown is the de facto capital of the Eastern Ghouta region, the last remaining rebel enclave near Damascus and besieged by government troops since 2012.
Until this month, Eastern Ghouta had been regularly targeted by air strikes and artillery as part of a government offensive chipping away at rebel territory.
The bombardment would often wound or kill children as they headed to street markets, played outside, or walked to school.
But the skies have been quiet since a landmark deal earlier this month to create four "de-escalation zones" in Syria, where more than 320,000 people have been killed since conflict broke out in 2011.
Read also: Arab TV series showcases untold stories of IS women
- 'Bombing is their normal' -
On-stage, her character is consumed by a search for youthful beauty, but Afnan said her own ambitions in life lie elsewhere.
"The lesson from the play is that beauty is in your heart and your soul, not in your looks! I want to be a doctor -- I want to be brave and treat sick people," Afnan said.
With the glittering stage decorations and nervous murmurs of young students, the evening could have almost taken place in any school around the world.
But halfway through the performance, two distant booms shook the room -- rockets that hit the edge of the town, residents later said.
"These children don't know what it's like not to have shelling. For them, bombing is their normal," a female stagehand told AFP.
Earlier this year, international aid group Save the Children warned that a whole generation of war-scarred Syrian children may be "lost to trauma and extreme stress".
For the school's director of extracurricular activities, Yasser al-Assaad, theatre is one of the most effective ways to offset years of traumatic experiences -- for the young students and their mentors alike.
"I get my rehab from a student's smile, and that student draws her psychotherapy from the teacher that came to her school to motivate her," Assaad told AFP.
It is his third fairytale performance: in 2015, he helped put on "Little Red Riding Hood", and last year his students performed "Beauty and the Beast".
"We want to send a message to all of humanity that Syrian children can create, that we are open to all civilisations," he said.
Read also: German map project to aid future rebirth of Aleppo
- 'Flowers can grow' -
Despite efforts to leave Douma's devastation behind, death seemed to touch the cast of Snow White.
Just days before the final performance, the director's husband was killed by a stray bullet from intra-rebel clashes in the town.
And the play's rosy-cheeked narrator, Dania, recalled how her own school had been bombed just a year and a half ago.
"It was all blood and (the bodies of) girls in front of me," the 11-year-old told AFP.
Even lead actress Rayhana Noaman, who played Snow White, said her favourite part of the story was escaping a tragic fate.
"The witch wanted to kill me, but the charming prince saved me from death!" she said with a shy smile.
Slender Amal al-Kurdi burst onto the stage with an explosive introduction: "A-a-achoo! I'm Sneezy!"
The eight-year-old actress donned a white felt beard and brown shirt like her fellow dwarfs.
"I really liked acting because we learned how to be brave and how not to be afraid to speak in front of an audience," she said.
As his students prepared to raise the curtain, Assaad said the performance was a sign that "flowers can grow amid rocks of pain."
"Every household in Douma has lost someone and tasted the anguish of pain, war, and siege. Despite this, we can build Syria anew," he said.
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Linkedin Marianne Barriaux (Agence France-Presse) Taormina, Italy Sat, May 27, 2017 12:30 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2af8a5 2 Lifestyle Emmanuel-Macron,justin-trudeau,G7-countries,G-7,bromance,netizens Free
"A liberal fantasy dream sequence", "a bromance," "insanely romantic".
The Internet was abuzz Friday with pictures of French President Emmanuel Macron and his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau schmoozing at the G7 summit in Sicily, strolling through flowered walkways and chatting against the backdrop of a sparkling blue Mediterranean sea.
"Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot," netizen @sherlockify joked on Twitter.
Apparently Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron flew to Sicily for their wedding photoshoot. pic.twitter.com/7trjOsXlfi tessa (@sherlockify) May 26, 2017
The reaction to the telegenic pair's encounter in the picturesque, hillside town of Taormina, immortalised by Macron himself who tweeted a video of their meeting, provided some light relief from a summit otherwise devoted to thorny issues such as climate change and the threat of extremism.
"The Franco-Canadian friendship has a new face," Macron tweeted after sitting down for talks with Trudeau and taking the now famous stroll.
"@JustinTrudeau, it's up to us to take on the challenges of our generation!"
L'amitie franco-canadienne a un nouveau visage. @JustinTrudeau, a nous de relever les defis de notre generation ! #G7Taormina pic.twitter.com/8EdQopviov Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) May 26, 2017
Read also: Jokowi, Ahok show off bromance at farewell event
"Sitting down with @EmmanuelMacron for the first time, talking jobs, security & climate - looking forward to more conversations, my friend," Trudeau responded on Twitter, posting pictures of both smiling, shaking hands, and looking out over the Mediterranean, their dapper suit jackets billowing in the breeze.
Sitting down with @EmmanuelMacron for the first time, talking jobs, security & climate looking forward to more conversations, my friend. pic.twitter.com/8ih8iEZ4aw Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 26, 2017
Trudeau, 45, is popular with liberals worldwide for his commitment to fighting climate change and easing the refugee crisis -- in stark contrast to the United States, Canada's powerful neighbour.
Macron, 39, has only been in power for 12 days but enjoys similar kudos, particularly abroad where he has been compared to Trudeau.
"This image of Trudeau and Macron in Sicily is right out of a liberal fantasy dream sequence," tweeted Dhruva Jaishankar, an expert on foreign policy at the India section of the Brookings Institution think tank.
This image of Trudeau and Macron in Sicily is right out of a liberal fantasy dream sequence. pic.twitter.com/3ayVQmMyrK Dhruva Jaishankar (@d_jaishankar) May 26, 2017
Others were even more explicit.
"Le swoon, le sigh," tweeted netizen MissMary, above a photo of both leaders in apparent earnest chat.
"Is there a budding bromance between Macron and Trudeau? Two hunks!" added @MaureenRamsden.
Is there a budding bromance between Macron and Trudeau? Two hunks! https://t.co/kAEWYgxFLK Maureen Ramsden (@MaureenRamsden) May 26, 2017
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 15:00 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b3b6e 1 National Marawi,Philippines,JT,Jamaah-Tabligh,IS,Islamic-State,Foreign-Affairs-Ministry,Arrmanatha-Nasir Free
Eleven Indonesian citizens have been evacuated from Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur province, the Philippines, where intense clashes have reportedly occurred between security authorities and Islamic State (IS)-linked insurgents.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arrmanatha Nasir said 10 of the evacuees were Jamaah Tabligh (JT) members from Bandung, West Java. They had traveled to Marawi to perform khuruj, an Islamic practice of traveling around the world to spread the message of Allah, he added.
Arrmanatha further said that the 10 JT members were hosted by an Indonesian citizen identified only as Yusuf, who was married to a local and had lived in Marawi for several years.
So far, there has been no confirmation about their involvement with the Maute group, IS, or other terror groups involved in the clashes in Marawi, Arrmanatha said on Saturday.
Immigration Office spokesperson Agung Sampurno said the 10 JT members had been staying at the AbuBakr As-Siddiq Mosque in Barangay Basak Malutlut village.
They had notified local authorities about their activities, including Philippine police and military authorities by submitting an official letter from the AbuBakr As-Siddiq Mosque, he said.
When the clashes occurred, they were immediately evacuated to another mosque near a police office, Agung said.
He said all of the 11 Indonesian citizens were now outside of the conflict area in Marawi and under the protection of the police.
The Immigration Office and Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) Davos urged them to go back to Indonesia, but they said that they were still considering what to do next, Agung said. (dis/ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 18:45 1992 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b8d33 1 City anies-baswedan,Ridwan-Rasyid-Baswedan,Jakarta-gubernatorial-candidate,Jakarta-gubernatorial-election,2017JakartaElection,#2017JakartaElection Free
Jakarta governor-elect Anies Baswedans brother, Ridwan Rasyid Baswedan, passed away at age 44 at Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta on Saturday. He had been treated at the hospital since February following a heart attack.
Ridwan Rasyid Baswedan, a reform activist, has passed away at RSCM Jakarta at 12:50 a.m. on Saturday, Aniess spokesman Naufal Firman Yursak said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.
Ridwan was taken to the hospital for medical treatment after he suffered a heart attack and experienced complications that had developed from other illnesses.
Anies said his brother had always been at his side during his gubernatorial candidacy, starting in the first round of the campaign, until he fell ill in late February.
Please send prayers to my brother. He joined my campaign activities for the first round of the election before he was treated at the hospital, Anies said.
Ridwans body was laid to rest at Tanah Kusir public cemetery in South Jakarta. A prayer for the deceased was held at Al-Azhar Grand Mosque before the burial.
Political figures attended the prayer. They included People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Speaker Zulkifli Hasan and his deputy, Hidayat Nur Wahid, former energy and mineral resources minister Sudirman Said and Golkar Party politician Erwin Aksa. (dis/ebf)
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Linkedin Words Prasiddha Gustanto Photos VeeramalLa Anjaiah (The Jakarta Post) Sat, May 27 2017
Canadian Ambassador to Indonesia Peter MacArthur earlier this week launched Canadas 150th anniversary celebrations during a colorful event at his residence in Jakarta.
The event, held on May 23, was attended by government officials, social media influencers and the media. It highlighted Canadas contributions in Indonesia and the four themes of Canadas 150th anniversary celebrations: diversity and inclusiveness, environment, youth and reconciliation with indigenous peoples.
The 150th anniversary of [the establishment of the Canadian] Confederation is a major national milestone and an opportunity for Canadians to celebrate great accomplishments that highlight our countrys proud past and bright future, and our diversity, said Ambassador MacArthur.
It is also an opportunity for Canada to reflect on our relationship with the world including our longstanding partnership with Indonesia.
The embassy marked this important anniversary by announcing a number of special events throughout 2017 it would be holding, including its marquee Canada Day celebration, which will take place in July in Jakarta. The embassy said it will publicize other events soon.
It also used the occasion to celebrate Canadas relationship with Indonesia. MacArthur highlighted the common values of unity in diversity, beliefs in democratic development and a desire to build open and prosperous societies that link the two countries.
The relationship between the two countries dates back prior to diplomatic relations being officially established in October 1952, which also makes 2017 the 65th anniversary of formal relations between the two countries.
Canadas then ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew McNaughton, played a key role in the adoption of a resolution that led to international recognition of Indonesias independence. Since then, bilateral relations have grown rapidly in the ensuing 65 years.
Indonesia is a G20 partner and priority market for Canada. Bilateral trade flows have increased by 30 percent since 2010. Two-way trade was valued at Rp 29 trillion in 2016. Canadian companies today are active in Indonesia and Canadian investment valued at Rp 39.2 trillion has created thousands of jobs for Indonesians.
Key Canadian exports include wheat (used for Indonesian noodles), fertilizers (for palm oil plantations), wood pulp, aircraft and machinery. Indonesian products imported by Canada are also growing. Canadians are increasingly drinking Indonesian coffee, buying Indonesian-made clothes, shoes and wood furniture.
There is great potential for deepening trade and investment ties between Canada and Indonesia, with many opportunities in sectors of mutual interest: renewable energy, educational [and] vocational training, infrastructure, aerospace and services, MacArthur said. Canada also supports Indonesia in its agenda to deepen its democratic roots and in its official policy of Pancasila.
The embassy also kicked off national-level activities, namely, Canadas ongoing National Support for Local Investment Climates (NSLIC) project, which supports the government of Indonesias efforts to reduce poverty by creating sustainable economic growth and inclusive and accountable governance.
This Rp 176.4 billion project began in December 2015 and aims to be a six-year project that supports the government in implementing its local and regional economic development strategies to reduce business development constraints, thus creating a more investment-friendly business environment for economic growth.
Expected results include improved business regulations, simplified business licensing processes and strengthened business development service providers to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and cooperatives.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27 2017
Major Indonesian carrier Lion Air Group plans to operate a new route connecting Bandung, West Java, and Pekanbaru, Riau, to cater to surging demand from flyers between the two cities.
Airlines under the group will fly daily to these destinations starting from June 16, according to the groups statement.
We hope to fulfill the needs of residents in both Bandung and Pekanbaru with a direct flight. This will allow efficiency in terms of time and costs [for the passengers], Lion Air Group public relations manager Andy M. Saladin said in the statement Friday.
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Linkedin Tony Gamal-Gabriel (AFP) Minya, Egypt Sat, May 27, 2017 09:45 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a5d2f 2 World Egypt,Libya,jihad,jihadist,jihadist-camps,Coptic-Christians,IS,Islamic-State Free
Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya Friday after masked gunmen attacked a bus of Coptic Christians south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 28 people.
Assailants in three pick-up trucks attacked the bus as it was heading for the Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Cairo, before fleeing, the interior ministry said.
It was the latest attack on Copts after Islamic State (IS) group jihadists bombed three churches in December and April, killing dozens of Christians.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, in a televised address, said Egyptian forces had hit a jihadist training camp in retaliation.
State television reported six air strikes against "terror camps in Libya", specifying that jihadist training camps were hit in the eastern Libyan city of Derna. Witnesses there reported four strikes by a single aircraft.
"Egypt will not hesitate in striking terror camps anywhere, either inside (the country) or outside it," Sisi said.
A spokesman for the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city, said the Egyptian air force carried out eight raids on the city without causing casualties.
Addressing US President Donald Trump, Sisi said: "You have said that your priority is to confront terrorism, and I trust you are capable of doing that."
In a statement released in Washington, Trump said: "The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished."
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil."
No group has yet claimed responsibility for attacking the bus.
Footage on state television showed the bus riddled with bullet holes, while cellphone footage and pictures on media sites showed victims lying in the desert sand.
- International condemnation -
State television quoted a health ministry official as saying a "large number" of the victims were children.
"They used automatic weapons," Minya governor Essam el-Bedawi told state television of the attackers.
State television cited the health minister as saying the attack, which prompted widespread international condemnation, killed 28 people.
It came after jihadists had threatened more strikes against the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 90-million population.
The north Minya town of Maghagha saw scenes of anger and despair on Friday.
A group of around 50 men gathered near a church where the funeral of two victims was held, calling for the interior minister to quit.
Nearby, a dozen women in dusty black robes cried and moaned.
In a statement on its spokesman's Facebook page, the Coptic Church called for "measures to be taken to prevent the dangers of those incidents that tarnish Egypt's image".
IS suicide bombers struck a Cairo church on December 11, killing 29 people.
On April 11, bombers attacked two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday, killing 45 in the deadliest strike in living memory against the Copts.
The bombings prompted Sisi to declare a three-month state of emergency.
The Egyptian affiliate of IS has also killed several Copts in North Sinai, forcing dozens of families to flee in January.
Friday's shooting came after a historic visit to Egypt by Roman Catholic Pope Francis to show solidarity.
- 'Senseless act of hatred' -
In late April, Francis visited one of the bombed Coptic churches and condemned violence carried out in the name of God.
After Friday's attack, he sent a message to Sisi saying he was "deeply saddened to learn of the barbaric attack, calling it a "senseless act of hatred".
Al-Azhar, Egypt's top religious authority, condemned the shooting on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
"The Minya incident is unacceptable to Muslims and Christians and it targets Egypt's stability," Al-Azhar's Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb said in a statement.
Condemnation also poured in from Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organisation, Russia and France.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Eiffel Tower lights would go dark after midnight in solidarity, as also happened on Tuesday after the Manchester Arena attack.
A statement from Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Israeli premier "sends the condolences of the Israeli people to President al-Sisi and the Egyptian people".
Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the "barbarism and cruelty of terrorism", and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian tweeted that no one "should fear for their life by practising their faith".
Copts have suffered sectarian attacks for years.
A suicide bomber attacked a church in 2011, and there have been deadly clashes with Muslims, especially in the rural south, following disputes over church construction.
Egypt says it has identified those behind the April church bombings, saying they were part of an extremist cell based in southern provinces, offering a reward for their capture.
Sisi has defended the performance of his security forces and accused jihadists of trying to divide Egyptian society by attacking vulnerable minorities. (**)
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 14:46 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b2e2f 1 National intolerance,Shinta-Nuriyah,Shinta-Nuriyah-Abdurrahman-Wahid,extremism,radicalism,SARA,pluralism Free
Former first lady and womens rights activist Shinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid has said that protecting Indonesia from a growing feeling of insecurity caused by conflicts relating to ethnic, religious, racial and intergroup (SARA) issues was mandatory for all Indonesian people.
We need to close ranks to fight against this cruelty, she said on Friday.
Shinta Nuriyah is one of 12 religious leaders attending a gathering to affirm a commitment to fight against intolerance at the University of Gadjah Madas (UGM) University Club (UC) in Yogyakarta.
Among leaders attending the event are Ahmad Syafii Maarif, Engkus Ruswana, Bhikku Nyana Suryanadi, Cardinal Julius R. Darmaatmaja, Mohamad Sobary, and Rev. Gomar Gultom.
(Read also: Religious leaders call for bolder steps against intolerant, anti-Pancasila groups)
Gomar said that for years, the government had let intolerant movements expand in Indonesia. Even in certain cases, the state had facilitated such movements.
The government must act firmly [against intolerance], he said.
Meanwhile, Confucian priest Budi Suniarto said intolerance in Indonesia had been getting stronger because it was cultivated in children from the time they began school. Parents should not remain idle in such a situation, he added.
Actually, many of us support pluralism and diversity but we often fail to act when we encounter intolerance, Budi said. (ebf)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 08:30 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a2a8b 1 Business dam,tender-offer,irrigation-projects,public-works-housing-ministry,2017 Free
The Public Works and Public Housing Ministry will commence bidding soon for three irrigation projects to help farmers in Pamukkulu in South Sulawesi, Sidan in Bali and Way Apu in Papua increase productivity.
Bidding for the projects were intended to commence in March or May, but further inspection of the soil structure was required for the safety of the project, said the ministry's water resources director general, Imam Santoso, on Friday.
The inspection is based on the request of the National Committee for Big Dams (KNI-BB).
"A small leak in the dam is dangerous," Imam said during a press briefing in Jakarta on Friday.
Out of 65 dams to be developed up to 2022, the ministry finished seven dams from 2014 to 2016, Imam said, adding that this year, the ministry was expected to finish five more.
There are 209 dams with total capacity of 12.62 billion cubic meters of water that can serve 761,542 hectares or 10.7 percent of total agriculture fields in the country.
"In 2019, we will have 238 dams, with total water capacity of 14.42 billion cubic meters. They can serve 934,533 hectares of agriculture fields," Imam said. (bbn)
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Linkedin Anton Hermansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 08:45 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a38d3 1 Business dam,construction,2017 Free
In an effort to increase agricultural production, the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry will finish the construction of five irrigation dams in 2017, an official has said.
The five dams are those in Marang Kayu in East Kalimantan, Raknamo in East Nusa Tenggara, Tanju and Mila in West Nusa Tenggara and Tugu in East Java, said the ministry's water resources director general, Imam Santoso, on Friday.
"Marang Kayu Dam is complete, while the construction of Raknamo has reached 92.6 percent completion," Imam said during a press briefing in Jakarta on Friday.
The construction of Tanju and Mila dams has reached 74.02 percent completion, while the construction of Tugu Dam has reached 71 percent completion.
There are 209 dams with total capacity of 12.62 billion cubic meters of water that can serve 761,542 hectares of agriculture fields in the country. (bbn)
Topics : dam construction 2017
A middle-schooler was awarded a 'most likely to be a terrorist' title by her teacher, who was later suspended. That was not the only honour as another kid was awarded 'most likely to become homeless' award.
By India Today Web Desk: A teacher in Texas has been suspended after she awarded a seventh-grade student the title of "most likely to be a terrorist".
Soon the authorities of the middle school were seen apologising after the 13-year-old was given the aforementioned title.
According to Click2Houston, Lizeth Villanueva, who is a student at Anthony Aguirre Junior High in Channelview, Texas, near Houston, received the insulting and problematic title during a "fake mock" awards ceremony for her honours program class and another honours class.
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FYI || Kerala govt to distribute sanitary pads in all schools, CM Pinarayi Vijayan announces on Facebook ||
Villanueva, who is Salvadoran American, said her teacher primed the class for the ceremony by saying the awards "might hurt [students'] feelings."
She told the Washington Post the teachers handed out other offensive honours, like "most likely to cry for every little thing," and "most likely to become homeless".
When the teacher, who is now suspended, presented these titles, Villanueva said she "just laughed".
Photo: Twitter - Affinity Magazine/@TheAffinityMag
FAMILY DID NOT THINK IT WAS A NICE JOKE
The little girl's mother was furious. Their family was hurt when Villanueva handed her mother the paper which read the title. The mother did not understand how could that award be a joke.
"That program is supposed to be for advanced kids," Hernandez said. "It is kind of hard to believe that [the teacher is] doing that. Being a teacher - giving this to a 13-year-old. How is she going to feel when she grows up later on?"
POOR ATTEMPT TO POKE FUN
The session of the school ends this week and the girl given "likely to be a terrorist" award hasn't been back since she is feeling uncomfortable, The Daily Dot reported.
Channelview Independent School District spokesman Mark Kramer told Click2Houston that it was a "poor attempt to poke fun" at students that "wasn't well thought out".
A statement from the school district apologised for the awards, and said the teachers have been disciplined. Villanueva said her teacher has been suspended, but thinks that's not enough.
"Get fired, at least, or something," she told KHOU.
FYI || Bengaluru play school horror: Spate of FIRs reveal many other kids sexually assaulted by same man ||
--- ENDS ---
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru Sat, May 27 2017
A Sumatran tiger cub has been found in critical condition in a rubber plantation in Api Api village, Bengkalis regency, Riau.
The plantation owner named Sadri, 45, found the cub on Thursday afternoon as he was heading to his plantation, Riau Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Guntur Aryo Tejo said. As the cub was ill, Sadri brought it to the village and it was treated by a veterinarian from the local Bukit Batu clinic named Edi Nuryanto, he said on Friday.
The male tiger cub was in a weak condition suffering from dehydration, hunger and infected wounds. The cub, estimated to be about four to six months old weighs 14 kilograms and is 80 to 120 centimeters in length and 50 centimeters tall.
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Linkedin Bambang Muryanto (The Jakarta Post) Yogyakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 13:55 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b1773 1 National Pancasila,Bhinneka-Tunggal-Ika,unity,UnityInDiversity,extremism,intolerance,ReligiousRadicalism Free
Indonesian leaders from different religious communities have called on all people in Indonesia, but especially the government, to raise awareness on the importance of Bhinneka Tunggal Ika and Pancasila to strengthen the character of the nation.
The government must be tough and wise in responding to the current situation, which has led to dissension. They must take immediate action for the sake of the nations safety and unity, said Sunan Kalijaga State Islamic University (UIN) lecturer Abdul Munir Mulkan.
He read out the joint statement of 12 Indonesian religious leaders, who gathered at the University of Gadjah Mada (UGM), Yogyakarta, on Friday.
They discussed the current situation in Indonesia, which they say has worsened following the rapid emergence of intolerant movements that encourage their adherents to commit violent acts. The movements have made people feel unsafe and triggered conflicts between different groups of people, such as what happened during the 2017 Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Among leaders attending the event included Ahmad Syafii Maarif, Sinta Nuriyah Abdurrahman Wahid, Engkus Ruswana, Bhikku Nyana Suryanadi, Cardinal Julius R. Darmaatmaja, Rev. Gomar Gultom and Mohamad Sobary.
The government should have a united stance and rhetoric in addressing the various challenges that people must deal with in their life as one nation, said Munir.
Meanwhile, Syafii said the current situation was triggered by the governments slow response to intolerant groups whose values went against those of Pancasila and Bhinneka Tunggal Ika.
We should contribute our ideas to the government, pushing it to not let such groups threaten [our unity and diversity], he said. (ebf)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 14:15 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b1c85 1 City kampung-melayu,#KampungMelayubombings,suicide-bombings,South-Jakarta,security,Satpol-PP Free
The South Jakarta administration is stepping up monitoring of undocumented newcomers in areas across the municipality, following a double suicide bomb attack in East Jakarta on Wednesday evening.
We will record data of newcomers in boarding and rented houses. This is to anticipate the movement of criminal suspects, South Jakarta Mayor Tri Kurniadi said as quoted by beritajakarta.id in Jakarta on Friday.
He further said that the recording process would be conducted by local administration officials, starting from heads of district to neighborhood unit chiefs.
At the same time, Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers will conduct joint security operations with the police.
Every police officer will increase their alertness level from now on, said South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Iwan Kurniawan. (kuk/ebf)
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Linkedin Angus Mackinnon and Jitendra Joshi ACKINNON (AFP) Taormina, Italy Sat, May 27, 2017 09:15 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a532b 2 World G7-countries,DonaldTrump,Donald-Trump,Manchester,manchester-attack,terrorism,NATO Free
G7 leaders on Friday found common cause on combatting terrorism after the bloodshed in Manchester but failed to bridge a gulf between Donald Trump and US partners on trade and climate change.
On the opening day of a two-day summit, the leaders endorsed a British call urging internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on the dissemination of jihadist content online, after 22 people were killed in the concert bombing in northwest England this week.
But US partners hit deadlock in their attempt to persuade Trump to keep the world's biggest economy inside the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions to reduce global warming.
Tensions over trade also flared. Unusually for such a set-piece event, leaders made no effort to hide their divisions in Sicily's ancient hilltop resort of Taormina.
The choice of venue overlooking the Mediterranean reflected the Italian hosts' desire for the summit to showcase cooperation against deadly flows of illegal migration from nearby Africa.
But discussions on that subject also hit stalemate because of differences with the US at what EU president Donald Tusk called "the most challenging G7 summit in years".
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on climate change, describing the future of the Paris pact as "still hanging", as Trump reviews the arguments for and against ditching the global deal.
Gary Cohn, Trump's economic advisor, said the president's views were "evolving".
"He came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision ultimately will be what's best for the United States."
- 'Bad, very bad' -
British Prime Minister Theresa May led the discussion on terrorism, and won backing for her demand that extremist content should be quickly taken offline by platforms like Facebook and YouTube -- although details of what this will mean in practice were left vague.
"Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet," May told her colleagues.
In a joint statement on terrorism, the G7 powers also vowed a collective effort to track down and prosecute foreign fighters dispersing from theatres of conflict such as Syria.
Transatlantic tensions on trade resurfaced after reports that Trump had described the Germans as "bad, very bad" and vowed to stop them selling millions of cars in the United States, during a meeting with senior EU officials in Brussels on Thursday.
Also in Brussels, Trump had fired an extraordinary broadside at NATO allies for failing to pay their fair share of the transatlantic defence bill, and notably did not endorse the group's commitment to collective defence, as his predecessors have done.
Both US and EU officials confirmed the outspoken president had raised the auto trade issue but sought to play down the language used, as Trump shared friendly words with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders at the G7.
Merkel said that Trump's criticism was "not really something new".
"The surplus is also a sign of the good quality of German goods," she said.
Trump rode to power on an "America First" platform but has yet to implement any significant protectionist measures, as the EU had feared he would.
"We are going to continue to fight for what we believe is right, which is free, open and fair trade, which the president has been very clear on what that means," Cohn said.
- Russia row -
For Trump, the talks were the final leg of his first presidential foray overseas.
The gruelling week-long trip briefly diverted attention from domestic concerns focused on alleged campaign collusion with Russia.
But that issue reared up again overnight as it emerged the FBI is examining his son-in-law Jared Kushner's contacts with the Russian ambassador in connection with the probe of alleged interference in the election campaign by Moscow.
Trump has refused to commit the United States to extending sanctions imposed on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea. But Cohn said neither would the sanctions be curtailed, as Moscow hopes.
"If anything we would probably look to get tougher on Russia," the economic aide said.
In other talks, France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, gave short shrift to May's request for Brexit-bound Britain and the EU to negotiate their future trading relationship at the same time as they thrash out the terms of their divorce.
Japan meanwhile was using the summit to air its concerns about North Korea. Meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Sicily, Trump bullishly promised the problem posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes "will be solved". (**)
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Linkedin Jim Mannion (AFP) Washington, United States Sat, May 27, 2017 09:00 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a3c5b 2 World trump,DonaldTrump,Donald-Trump,Russia,Jared-Kushner,Trump-son-in-law Free
President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, made a pre-inauguration proposal to the Russian ambassador to set up a secret, bug-proof communications line with the Kremlin, the Washington Post reported Friday evening.
Kushner, then and now a close adviser to Trump, went so far as to suggest using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States to protect such a channel from being monitored, the Post said, quoting US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
The Post story is yet another sensational detail in the deluge of allegations raising questions about team Trump's relationship with the Russians, whom US intelligence agencies say tried to sway the November election in Trump's favor and thus deny Hillary Clinton the presidency.
And it ensures that Trump will be thrust right back into the din of the Russia scandal upon his return to Washington this weekend, following his first foreign trip, a tour of the Middle East and Europe.
The Washington Post said the secret comms proposal was made December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower in New York, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by US officials.
Michael Flynn, who would become Trump's national security adviser before being fired 24 days into the job for not telling the truth about meetings he held with the Russian ambassador, was also at the meeting, the Post said.
The Russian ambassador, Sergei Kislyak, was surprised by Kushner's idea of the secret channel and passed it on to the Kremlin, the Post said. It did not specify what came of Kushner's alleged pitch, if anything.
The White House did not immediately comment on the Post report.
Besides the Kushner developments, which strikes at Trump's core by drawing his family into the crisis, the White House also faces a cascade of other worries in the coming week.
Fired former FBI director James Comey has promised to testify at a yet unscheduled open session before the Senate Intelligence Committee, sometime after Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
And the White House staff itself could be facing upheaval. CBS News reported that Trump is expected to consider plans for a shakeup of his communications operation upon his return.
- Kushner at center stage -
But Kushner, the 36-year-old real estate developer who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka, is likely to take center stage in the coming days.
Reserved in public, he was on prominent view during Trump's first presidential trip, as befits a trusted behind-the-scenes adviser involved in everything from Middle East peace to an initiative to streamline the US bureaucracy.
The Post reported earlier that investigators are focusing on meetings he held in December with Moscow's ambassador and the head of a Russian bank that has been under US sanctions since 2014.
Kushner has offered to talk to Congress about these meetings, according to his lawyer Jamie Gorelick.
The Post and other media have been careful to note that their sources did not say Kushner was a "target" of the investigation, nor that he was accused of any wrongdoing.
If he were a "target," it would suggest Kushner was a main suspect of the investigation.
The Post reported last week that the Russia investigation had been extended to a top White House official as a "significant person of interest."
Kushner is the only person currently in the White House known to be under investigation.
- Russia contacts -
At least four other former campaign aides or advisers have been reported to be under FBI scrutiny as well -- Flynn, former campaign manager Paul Manafort, sometime Trump adviser Roger Stone, and ex-campaign adviser Carter Page.
The FBI investigation is now being overseen by Robert Mueller, a respected former FBI director who was given broad powers to pursue the case as a special counsel after Trump abruptly fired Comey on May 9.
The key question before the FBI is whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia in its effort to tilt the 2016 US election in the Republican's favor, which included a damaging hack of Democratic campaign emails.
Trump has denied any collusion, calling the probe "the greatest witch hunt" in American political history.
Former CIA director John Brennan revealed this week that intelligence chiefs had been looking into suspicious contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials since mid-2016.
The Senate and House Intelligence Committees also are investigating, but not with an eye to bringing criminal charges.
In early December, after Trump had won the elections, Kushner and Flynn met in New York with Kislyak.
Kushner also met that month with Sergei Gorkov, chairman of VneshEconomBank, the state bank under US sanctions since July 2014.
Both those meetings have since been publicly acknowledged by the White House, but Kushner initially failed to declare them on forms submitted to obtain a security clearance.
His lawyer later said it was a mistake, telling the FBI that he would amend the forms. (**)
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Linkedin News Desk (Kyodo News) Gifu, Japan Sat, May 27, 2017 11:11 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a9ba0 2 News railroads,#travel,#traveling,Japan,#Japan,Tourist,tourist-destination,traveling,travel,travelers Free
Abandoned railroads once serving as a lifeline for local industry are recapturing attention as tourist attractions.
Last month, 15 groups from 12 of Japan's 47 prefectures inaugurated an association of regional promoters hoping that their railway legacies will attract visitors and help revitalize their aging rural communities. Still, financing and safety issues abound.
Shingo Suzuki, who chairs a nonprofit group in the central Japan city of Hida, played a key role in creating the new group following a bout of success in his hometown in Gifu Prefecture.
The mountainous town of Kamioka, currently part of Hida city, developed as the base for a mine that was discovered in the eighth century and flourished as one of the largest production sites in East Asia for zinc and lead ores.
Freight trains transporting sulfuric acid were the symbol of the town for decades, including the period of Japan's high economic growth. After the train service there was discontinued in 2006, Suzuki came up with the idea of keeping alive the rails and tracks.
"Using railways is one of the few effective ways you can find to boost local economies where populations keep declining," Suzuki said.
The idea led to a "mountain rail bike" tour, which allows visitors to travel on an abandoned rail using mountain bikes fixed to metal frames in what was part of the Kamioka Railway line.
The largely experimental event began in 2007 and proved an instant hit. It has now grown to attract more than 40,000 people annually in recent years, giving Kamioka a reputation as a highly successful model for local revitalization.
On April 8, train lovers visited the site from across the country for a one-day revival of an old diesel passenger car, which ran for the first time since the Kamioka Railway terminated its service.
The 20-kilometer railway line was opened in 1966 by the state-run Japanese National Railways before a local operator took over in 1984. The primary purpose of the service was transporting sulfuric acid from the mining area with roughly 80 percent of the company's revenue coming from freight, although passenger service was provided as well.
Trains continued running even after the closure of the mine in 2001, but a full shift of sulfuric acid transport to trucks in 2004 eventually triggered the termination of the railway operation.
Currently, the Hida city government owns the rails and cars while Suzuki's NPO is assigned maintenance work such as replacement of railway ties. The local government is responsible for large-scale repairs of railway facilities.
"The mayor is very cooperative with us and has shown understanding for the use of the rails," Suzuki said. "Our project will come to nothing without such positive support from authorities."
The western town of Misaki in Okayama Prefecture, the only public entity among the association's members, offers another example of collaboration between the public sector and a civic group in utilizing a discontinued railway line.
The town provides support to a voluntary group of avid railway fans, who aim to keep in working conditions train cars and a locomotive used by the Katakami Railway, which was abolished in 1991 after nearly 70 years of freight and passenger service.
Read also: Japan opens 2nd robot-manned hotel
The group carries out train-running operations once a month on demonstration tracks set up in a memorial park for a nearby pyrite mine, which was shut down also in 1991.
The Misaki government, for its part, owns most of the preserved locomotive and cars while providing fuel for running operations.
In 2014, town authorities extended the demonstration line by about 130 meters and built a new station at their own expense at one end of the tracks, which now stretch nearly 500 meters in total, according to the group's website.
"These railway facilities are a valuable tourism asset for the entire town and we would like to continue cooperation (with the group) as much as possible," said Masashi Kawashima, a senior official of Misaki town's tourism section.
But not all such railway-inspired efforts have progressed as fortunately as these, nor do they have bright future prospects.
The Takachiho Railway in the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki was forced to be discontinued after typhoon-caused flooding swept away two of its bridges in 2005.
The company that took over the railway's management after the disaster currently offers visitors sightseeing rides on the deserted rail tracks by using carts converted from small trucks.
Concerned about the safety, the town of Takachiho was reluctant to give permission for the new service in the early stages of negotiation with the head of the operator, Fumihiko Takayama.
"It's not surprising that authorities would abruptly decide to remove the rails. It would be a huge blow to us if a disaster strikes again and severely damages the railroad," said Takayama, who hails from Takachiho and is also a nonfiction author.
Enjoying scenic countryside views from abandoned tracks often accompanies the thrill of running on challenging rural terrains, interspersed with tunnels and bridges in many locations.
This also means operators are faced with constant safety and maintenance headaches.
Masayuki Odanagi, who runs a rail bike business in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, said it alarmed him once to see children bumping each other's rail bikes on the tracks.
"What's important is to carry out proper customer guidance and thorough facility checks, and hopefully the levels of awareness and attention regarding safety issues will be raised through the new association," Odanagi said.
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Linkedin Ni Nyoman Wira (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 10:38 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2a857e 1 Activities Jakpost-guide-to,jatinegara,pasar-jatinegara,jakarta-gems-center,travel,#JakpostGuideTo Free
Located in East Jakarta, Jatinegara is not only known for its dynamic, crowded market, but also for its historical buildings that deserve more attention.
Jatinegara itself is quite vast in size, thus The Jakarta Post began the trip from Patung Perjoangan Jatinegara (Statue of Jatinegaran Struggle) that serves as the meeting point of two busy streets, namely Jl. Jatinegara Barat and Jl. Matraman Raya.
Ojek drivers waiting for passengers in front of Jatinegara Railway Station on May 12.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
How to get there
Depending on where you are coming from, it is quite easy to reach the district as it is home to Jatinegara railway station, Transjakarta bus stops and many other forms of public transportation like Komilet Jaya public minivan and Mayasari Bakti bus.
However, if you are coming from Menteng area in Central Jakarta and thinking of hopping on a Transjakarta bus, you need to make several stops and walk for several minutes to reach Kebon Pala bus stop in front of the statue or Pasar Jatinegara bus stop. If you depart from Sarinah bus stop, for instance, you will need to pass through several bus stops, such as Bank Indonesia, Balai Kota, Gambir 2, Kwitang and Senen. Afterwards, you can walk to Senen Central bus stop that will take you to other bus stops, such as PAL Putih, Kramat Sentiong NU, Salemba UI, Salemba Carolus, Matraman 1, Tegalan, Slamet Riyadi, Kebon Pala and Pasar Jatinegara (Jatinegara Market). More information on the Transjakarta route can be obtained from its website.
A more efficient journey for those heading from Menteng area is therefore the commuter line network. Starting from Gondangdia railway station, hop on the Bogor Jakarta Kota line that will make stops at Cikini and Manggarai railway stations. Afterwards, catch the Manggarai Bekasi train that will take you to Jatinegara railway station. The commuter line network schedule can be obtained from its website.
Meanwhile, those from Kemang area in South Jakarta can consider using ojek (motorcycle taxi) via ride-hailing apps.
Read also: Jakpost guide to Glodok
What to wear
Wear comfortable, casual clothes and shoes since you will have to walk in order to explore all the interesting places. Also, apply sunblock beforehand and wear a hat. Both Pasar Jatinegara and the Jakarta Gems Center are air-conditioned, but sometimes these places can be quite crowded.
Pasar Jatinegara (Jatinegara Market) or Jatinegara Trade Center is also known as Pasar Mester (Mester Market).(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Where to shop
Pasar Jatinegara is also known as Jatinegara Trade Center or Pasar Mester (Mester Market) as the district itself was formally named Meester Cornelis after a legendary figure in the area named Cornelis Senen. Unlike Pasar Mayestik that mainly sells textiles, Pasar Jatinegara is a haven for many items; from fruits, cooking utensils and traditional cakes, to traditional toys, clothes and shoes.
The building consists of five floors; the semi-basement that offers souvenirs, cakes and staple foods; the ground floor and first floor that provide mostly clothes; and the second floor that hosts merchants selling shoes. It has escalators and elevator starting from the ground floor. However, most of the sellers there are wholesalers, therefore it is advised to ask first before making any transaction.
A collection of the Jakarta Gems Center on May 12. At first, the place was known as Pasar Rawa Bening and was built in 1974 and then revamped in 2010.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Walk a bit further and you will find the Jakarta Gems Center across the Jatinegara railway station. This place features rubies, sapphires, pearls and other gemstones with prices ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of Rupiah. Some of the sellers can also be found offering keris (traditional daggers) and vintage items.
The collective coordinator head of Puspa Cakra Association, association for gemstones sellers, Junaedi, says the gallery serves as an information and promotion center of Indonesian gemstones. .(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Newcomers to gemstones may want to visit the gallery on the second floor. The collective coordinator head of Puspa Cakra Association (gemstone merchants association), Junaedi, says the gallery serves as an information and promotion center for Indonesian gemstones. It also has a laboratory to test the gemstones, he said.
The collections are said to come from all provinces of Indonesia. Aside from gemstones with unique features and colors, visitors can also expect to find corals, fossils and wooden handicrafts.
What to see
Aside from the Patung Perjoangan Jatinegara that was inaugurated in 1982, another interesting historical building in Jatinegara is the Synod of Protestant Churches in Western Indonesia (GPIB) that was built in 1889. It was the first church built on the eastern side of Batavia, the old name for Jakarta. It is advised to contact the church staff before visiting.
GPIB Jemaat Koinonia that was built in 1889. It was the first church built on the eastern side of Batavia. It is advised to contact the church staff before visiting.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Walk a little further from the Jakarta Gems Center and you will find a white, colonial-style building, which is known as the house of Cornelis Senen, a man from Maluku who resided in Batavia from 1621. According to kompas.com, Cornelis, who worked as a Christian religious teacher, established a school and gave sermons in Malay and Portuguese languages. The building itself later served as the headquarters of 0505 East Jakarta Military District Command (Kodim), but now has no clear function and is not well-maintained despite being officially under the wing of the Jakarta Tourism & Cultural Office. Visitors can still freely marvel at the establishment from the outside.
Walk a little bit more from Jakarta Gems Center and you will find a white, colonial-style building that is known to be the house of Cornelis Senen, a man from Maluku who resided in Batavia from 1621.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Read also: Jakpost guide to Jl. Cipete Raya
What to eat
Ayam Goreng Ibu Haji (Ibu Haji Fried Chicken) is a legendary restaurant in Jatinegara. Established in 1980, it is open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is located near the Jakarta Gems Center.
In addition to its famous fried chicken, the establishment also offers other dishes including sayur asem (vegetables in tamarind soup), nasi uduk (steamed rice cooked in coconut milk) and perkedel (potato fritters). But what makes the place special is its sambal (chili) that is accompanied with peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce. The average price starts from Rp 15,000 (US$1).
Ayam Goreng Ibu Haji is a legendary restaurant in Jatinegara. Established in 1980, it is open from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and is located near the Jakarta Gems Center.(JP/Wienda Parwitasari)
Tips
- The gallery of the Jakarta Gems Center operates from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Be careful when attempting to cross the street of Jl. Jatinegara Barat and Jl. Matraman Raya since there is no adequate zebra crossing for pedestrians.
- Beware of your belongings; avoid wearing flashy jewelry.
- It is advised to not bring your own car to Pasar Jatinegara due to its limited parking space.
- Parking spaces are available for motorcycle riders if they want to visit the Jakarta Gems Center.
- Bring cash because most of the sellers in Pasar Jatinegara do not accept credit cards.
- If you arrive via commuter train and want to use ojek ride-hailing apps like Go-Jek or Grabbike, it is better to meet them in front of the Jatinegara Railway Station to avoid traffic jams. (kes)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Sat, May 27, 2017 15:29 1993 4065a5a8898c7cc661d4adf97a2b447d 1 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,tourism,#tourism,South-Sumatra Free
As part of the preparation for the 2018 Asian Games, the Tourism Ministry together with the South Sumatra Culture and Tourism Agency held a technical mentoring session (Bimtek) regarding Indonesia's tourism brands on Thursday in Palembang, South Sumatra.
Regarding the Pesona Indonesia and Wonderful Indonesia brands, the main thing that every participant needs to know is that the use of the Pesona Indonesia brand identity is represented in its logo, colors and supergraphics, said the ministry's archipelago tourism marketing development deputy, Esthy Reko Astuti.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the Palembang Tourism Agency, Palembang Tourism Polytechnic, Indonesian Charms Generation (GenPI) South Sumatra and developers of tourist attractions, such as Al-Munawwar village and Kapitan village.
Read also: Palembang airport to be revamped for 2018 Asian Games
On this occasion, the head of the South Sumatra Culture and Tourism Agency Irene Camelyn Sinaga also introduced the Explore Your South Sumatra tourism brand, which is part of a collaboration effort between the agency and MarkPlus, Inc.
The brand will have its official launch at the ministrys headquarters in the Sapta Pesona Building in Jakarta in the near future. (kes)
(lead article, Communist League statement)
Speak out against UK rulers attack on rights!
Working people suffered a double blow here May 22.
The reactionary, murderous attack on children and families at the Manchester Arena that killed 22 and injured 120 was totally repugnant to working people.
And the capitalist rulers will use this, as have their counterparts across Europe and in the U.S., to stoke anti-Muslim prejudice and to insist that the need to fight terrorism justifies their wars in the Middle East.
Working people and defenders of political rights need to speak out against the rulers efforts to use the brutal attack to rationalize assaults on political rights.
The government, with cross party support, is deliberately using this attack to beat the drum of we British. Conservative, Labour and other bourgeois candidates contesting for Parliament suspended partisan campaigning. Theresa May stated that our values, our country, and our way of life will always prevail. But the working class shares no common values and no way of life with the rulers we face social devastation at home, attacks on rights, scapegoating of Muslims and wars abroad.
The rulers have deployed troops and armed cops on the streets. In France President Emmanuel Macron says he will once again extend the 18-month-long state of emergency, under which demonstrations have been banned and police raids against immigrants have been stepped up. Washington has moved to impose travel restrictions on people from predominantly Muslim countries.
The government has announced plans to strengthen its Prevent strategy. Set up in 2005, this requires local councils, schools and health services to report anyone they think voices extremist views. Labours Jeremy Corbyn complained this is focused on Muslims, but instead of calling for it to be shut down, he calls for Prevent to target everyone. Labour and Tories are vying in the election campaign for who will build up the police the most.
The rulers in London and in Washington have rained terror on working people worldwide: in Ireland, in Hiroshima, in Vietnam, in the Middle East and much more.
They are driven to attack our political rights today because they fear that the carnage the crisis of their capitalist system is bringing down on working people is leading us toward struggle class struggle. Islamic State is a reactionary anti-working-class outfit. It falsely claims to act in the name of Muslims, instilling fear and divisions among working people. It fills the vacuum created by the disasters for working people wrought by the seemingly endless imperialist regime change wars in the Middle East wars that are an extension of the capitalist rulers assault on working people at home.
Working people need an independent road forward, rejecting any idea that we have common class interests with the capitalist rulers. We need to build solidarity and unity. Join the Communist League to build a revolutionary party to lead the fight for workers power.
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(front page, commentary)
Deplorable workers are true target of liberals fury
It is tens of millions of workers in the United States, not President Donald Trump, who are the target of todays relentless liberal press hysteria and efforts by Democratic Party politicians to invalidate the outcome of the 2016 presidential election. Middle class radicals are cheering in the stands.
These liberal-inspired assaults reached a new crescendo following Trumps dismissal of FBI Director James Comey in early May.
Whats fueling this frenzied crusade? Why cant the big business media, liberal Democratic Party figures, and even growing numbers of Republican politicians and mouthpieces reconcile themselves to Trumps election?
The answer is that its neither Donald Trump, nor a Trump presidency, that sticks in their craw. What these ruling-class voices find irreconcilable are the millions of working people who voted for Trump. As Washington Post columnist Charles Lane complained May 4, There hasnt been nearly enough blaming of the people most responsible for [Trumps] rise: his voters.
The target isnt simply working people who are victims of capitalisms spreading carnage. The target is those (whatever their skin color or mother tongue) determined to find some way to say no to the never-ending assaults and indignities inflicted by the propertied ruling families on workers and farmers today.
These workers are drawn to the prospect of draining the swamp cleaning out the growing federal bureaucracy of those whove found themselves a comfortable berth, as they contrive new ways to nudge and regulate us.
Thats why Trump won the 2016 election.
Thats shown, among other things, by the fact that in states like Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Iowa and others, Trump won the votes of workers most of them Caucasian who had cast ballots for Obama in more than 200 U.S. counties in 2008 and 2012. These workers were looking for a change from government as usual, from capitalisms mounting blows over the prior eight years and more (as were many workers who just stayed home on election day).
But Trump is a billionaire capitalist politician. Like those who came before him, he aims to serve the needs of the U.S. rulers abroad (arguably doing better so far than his two predecessors in advancing imperialisms class interests), and at home (still very much a work in progress, from the standpoint of both exploiters parties).
Capitalists fear working people
The capitalists fear of working people didnt begin in 2016. Its been growing as the capitalist crisis deepens, and as more and more workers are open to the necessity of deep-going change. This includes growing openness by working people to explanations and proposals of Socialist Workers Party members who knock on their doors campaigning for communism, who fight alongside them at work and on picket lines, or who join them in protests against cop brutality or for a womans right to choose abortion.
Increasing numbers of workers are beginning to sense there is nothing the bosses can do to respond to the stagnation of capitalist production and trade apart from taking more of it out on us. A broad social crisis is unfolding, as a significant section of the working class has been pushed out of the workforce and working people confront deteriorating access to health care, an epidemic of drug addiction, and, for the first time in decades, falling life expectancy.
Thats why Democratic and Republican politicians alike are taking steps to curtail the political rights working people use, and will need to use more in months and years ahead. The rulers are disenfranchising more and more workers by strengthening and expanding the bureaucratic and regulatory apparatuses of the capitalist government and state.
From the outset of Barack Obamas primary bid in 2007, he and his Democratic administration demonstrated the same anti-working-class attitudes that led Hillary Clinton last year to demean those planning to vote for Trump, not for her, as deplorables. They are offensive, hateful, and mean-spirited, Clinton said.
Whats more, those on Obamas own deplorables list arent just Caucasian workers who, as he said in 2008, cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who arent like them. In his sights are also millions of workers who are Black. African-Americans, Obama said that same year, need to replace the video game or the remote control with a book once in a while. And they should stop feeding their children cold Popeyes for breakfast. (See box.)
Both parties of the employing class are in the midst of crises and makeovers. Neither will ever be the same as they were prior to the 2016 elections.
More workers sense the accuracy of a political cartoon run during the election campaign. It depicted two neighbors with signs on their lawns reading, Hes worse and Shes worse.
Even if liberals now were somehow able to get Trump impeached, as the Washington Post recently acknowledged, there is no reason Trump supporters would suddenly be satisfied again with the old Republican and Democratic parties.
Saint Mueller
On May 16, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special prosecutor, tasked with investigating alleged ties between Trumps 2016 election campaign and Moscow. My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted, Rosenstein said.
The liberal press and top figures in both capitalist parties responded with fawning tribute to Mueller, practically elevating him to sainthood. But this former U.S. top cop built his reputation working for the capitalist ruling families to make their federal police agency more effective and virulent in spying and disruption.
The campaign against Trump has relied on classic frame-up techniques, slapping together lurid allegations and innuendos, in hopes some will stick.
Workers, including those targeted by the bosses for union or political activity, are all too familiar with this kind of witch-hunting. Vanguard working-class fighters, including members and leaders of the Socialist Workers Party, have been railroaded to prison, beaten up, or threatened with deportation when such inquisitions pick up speed.
All this is reinforced by endless lewd and vulgar comedy on late-night talk shows slurring Trump, including demeaning, anti-women comments about his daughter Ivanka and wife Melania. Morning news shows pick right up where the foul-mouthed comics left off.
Disenfranchising working class
Political servants of the U.S. propertied families especially the liberal think tank, university, foundation, nongovernment organizations and other middle-class and professional meritocrats who buttress bourgeois rule are finding more ways for the government to dilute workers use of the franchise.
There is no better example right now than the U.S. rulers new special prosecutor.
In Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosensteins memo on Comeys conduct, Rosenstein recounts how the former FBI director baldly usurped the authority of the Justice Department and refused to acknowledge it.
At most, Rosenstein says, Comey should have said the FBI had completed its investigation and presented its findings. The Director now defends his decision by asserting that he believed Attorney General Loretta Lynch had a conflict. But the FBI Director is never empowered to supplant federal prosecutors and assume command of the Justice Department.
Republicans had urged Lynch to step aside from the investigation, after former President Bill Clinton flagrantly maneuvered to compromise her by walking onto her plane as it waited on the tarmac at Phoenixs Sky Harbor International Airport in June 2016. Rather than telling Clinton to take a hike, Lynch proceeded to talk for 30 minutes with the husband of a candidate under investigation by the Justice Department that she herself was in charge of.
The working class has no stake in who heads up the cop agencies and other government bodies that serve the interests of the capitalist class. These are their tools to defend the rule of the propertied ruling families. But workers have plenty of experience with FBI frame-ups and disruption of struggles against exploitation, racism and imperialist war.
In his investigation into the Trump campaign, former FBI head Mueller has the power to compel witnesses to testify, and to impanel a grand jury, which meets behind closed doors interrogating individuals with no right to counsel alongside them. He wont be responsible to any elected body.
Nothing new
Liberals have always been the first to move against workers rights, and then, when the employing class finds it necessary, capitalist rulers turn to the thugs of the ultra-right to carry their assault on workers to the end.
The McCarthyite witch-hunt in the 1950s was set up under the administration of Democrat Harry Truman.
It was the Democratic administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that initiated the FBIs assault on class-struggle-minded union militants and opponents of Washingtons entry into the Second World War, leading to the frame-up and imprisonment of 18 leaders of the Socialist Workers Party and the Midwest Teamsters union under the notorious Smith Gag act.
Today the middle-class left and liberal groups increasingly blame workers most of whom they consider ignorant, racist, xenophobic, and dangerous for derailing what they consider progressive politics.
Many are circulating posters and bumper stickers saying Impeach Trump, while some furtively post flyers reading Kill Trump. Many celebrate the breaking up of meetings in Berkeley, California, and Middlebury, Vermont, closing down political space so necessary for workers and workers organizations to organize and act under conditions of capitalist rule.
And when a witch-hunt against working people opens up in bourgeois politics, it rapidly bumps into the communist vanguard.
It is the two Democrats on the Federal Election Commission, for example, who dealt a blow to workers rights when they defeated the extension of the Socialist Workers Partys exemption from campaign disclosure laws last month.
That action by these liberal federal regulators gave a freer hand to government and right-wing spying and harassment of the SWP and other workers organizations.
Related articles:
Obamas contempt for working people is colorblind
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By Press Trust of India: University VC
Chennai, May 27 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Governor C Vidyasagar Rao today ordered formation of a new search committee for the appointment of the next vice chancellor to Anna University here. "The governor has ordered the constitution of a new search committee for recommending a panel of three names to him for appointing the next vice chancellor of Anna University following the decision to reject the panel submitted by the earlier committee," a Raj Bhavan release said. "Former chief justice of India, R M Lodha has been nominated to the new search committee as the chancellors nominee," it said. In another Raj Bhavan release, Rao appointed P Duraisamy and P P Chellathurai as the Vice Chancellors of state-run Madras and Madurai Kamaraj universities, respectively.
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Rao is also the chancellor of the state-run universities.
The posts had been lying vacant for more than a year.
Duraisamy and Chellathurai were appointed for a period of three years from the date of assuming office. The two received their appointment orders from Rao at the Raj Bhavan today, it added. PTI VIJ SRY
--- ENDS ---
(front page)
SWP communist propaganda drive to reach workers goes over the top!
The Socialist Workers Partys spring party-building campaign to introduce working people and youth to the party, its newspaper theand the writings of central party leaders on the carnage workers face today and a revolutionary road forward has gone over the top.
SWP and Communist League members report a wide range of discussions and debates theyve had as they advance communist propaganda widely in the working class, including at events welcoming Puerto Rican independence fighter Oscar Lopez after his release from prison, and on strike picket lines.
In a number of cases these discussions have led working people to want to learn more about the party and join party members in political activity. The party is sponsoring an Active Workers Conference in Oberlin, Ohio, June 15-17 to hear reports from SWP leaders on politics today, the Cuban Revolution and next steps in building the party. The gathering will feature a series of classes and social events.
Many decided to subscribe to the Militant and dig into the writings of party leaders on working-class politics especially three books offered during the campaign at a discount: The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record and Are They Rich Because Theyre Smart? both by Socialist Workers Party National Secretary Jack Barnes, and Is Socialist Revolution in the US Possible? by SWP leader Mary-Alice Waters.
The seven-week campaign ran concurrently with the Militant Fighting Fund to raise $112,000 to finance the operating expenses of the Militant. As of May 23, $93,081 had been received. The Militant is asking readers to kick in to help cover the cost of sending a reporting team to join in the celebrations in Puerto Rico marking freedom for Oscar Lopez. All contributions to the fund received by May 30 will be counted. The final Militant Fighting Fund chart will appear next week.
Members of the Socialist Workers Party walked the picket lines with AT&T and DirecTV workers during a May 19-21 nationwide strike. Betsey Stone wrote that for many of the strikers in Oakland, California, this was their first time on a picket line. I signed up to be in the union. Now I need to learn more about what a union is, Jose Ramirez, a line tech worker at DirecTV, told her. Two subscriptions and The Clintons Anti-Working-Class Record were sold to strikers.
Going door to door the same weekend, SWP members built support for the strike. Unions are important. I know because I worked at a big glass company, Owens, where we had to go on strike, said Charlotte Harris, at her door in Hayward, south of Oakland. At another door, a young Teamster driver purchased a subscription.
From Albany, New York, Jacob Perasso writes that SWP members attended a rally to support AT&T workers there. A 20-year-old with six months on the job bought a subscription. Perasso spoke at the rally bringing solidarity from the campaign of Margaret Trowe, SWP candidate for Albany mayor.
Dominick Patrignani, president of International Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America Local 81359 that struck Momentive near Albany, told the rally his union would back the strike. After the rally Perasso showed him a Militant article reporting on the strike by Idaho silver miners for safety and against Hecla Minings concession demands. Patrignani read the whole article, saying the miners are just like us and deserve support. He bought a six-month subscription for the union.
Ruth Robinett writes that she visited Jennell Finley in South Philadelphia May 16 after meeting her two weeks earlier. I love the Militant, Finley told her. The only problem is it doesnt come out more often. Finley had picked up a subscription, along with a couple of books on revolutionary politics, at a May Day protest against deportations in Center City.
Ive got a lot of experience, if not a lot of victories fighting for workers rights on the job, she said. She worked at a poultry plant and, in Georgia where she grew up, at an industrial bakery.
We have to do something to make a change, Finley said. Otherwise it will get worse. She got the three books on special and Cuba and Angola: The War for Freedom and said she would see party members again at the next Militant Labor Forum on the Cuban Revolution.
While the seven-week drive is over, the Socialist Workers Party and Communist Leagues around the world will continue campaigning in working-class neighborhoods, walking strike picket lines with fellow workers, joining social protests and building the party. To learn more about the party and the Active Workers Conference, and to join with us, contact the party or league branches nearest you. See directory.
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Conference in Cuba demands US get out of Guantanamo
CAIMANERA, Cuba Across the bay from the Guantanamo military base that Washington has occupied for more than a century, participants in the Fifth Seminar for Peace and the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases joined leaders of the Cuban Revolution and workers and youth in this citys town square May 6 to demand U.S. out!
We demand the United States return to Cuba and its people illegally occupied territory of the Guantanamo Naval Base, and the lifting of the economic, commercial and financial blockade, said a statement adopted at the conference that was read at the protest. The statement also condemned U.S. imperialisms aggressions around the world.
The more than 200 participants in the May 4-6 conference came from 32 countries. It was organized by the Cuban Movement for Peace and Sovereignty of the Peoples (MovPaz), the World Peace Council and the Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) and took place in Guantanamo, the capital of this eastern Cuban province.
In addition to substantial Cuban participation, there were large delegations from the U.S. and Canada.
Among U.S. participants, many of whom had joined hundreds of thousands of Cubans marching in Havana on May Day, were members of anti-war organizations and political groups, including Veterans for Peace; the Womens International League for Peace and Freedom; individuals from Cuba solidarity coalitions in Chicago, Minneapolis, New York City and Albany, New York; Code Pink; and the Socialist Workers Party.
Other international delegates included Samuel Wanitsch, chairman of the Swiss-Cuba Association; Daniel Ortega Reyes, president of the Party of Christian Unity in Nicaragua and Nicaraguan deputy to the Central American parliament; Aleida Centeno Rodriguez, member of the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party; and two delegates from Okinawa, Japan, where residents have long protested the U.S. military base there.
Movpaz President Silvio Platero Yrola chaired the sessions, which opened with talks by Jose Ramon Balaguer, member of the secretariat of the Central Committee of the Cuban Communist Party and head of the partys Department of International Relations; Nancy Acosta Hernandez, president of the Assembly of Peoples Power in Guantanamo province; Maria do Socorro Gomes, president of the World Peace Council, who hails from Brazil; and others.
The U.S. occupation of Cuban territory here is a blow to the legitimate national interests of Cubans and is a moral affront and aggression against the country and its sovereignty, said Manuel Carbonell Vidal, vice rector of the Raul Roa Garcia Institute of International Relations in Havana, at the opening session.
There can be no normal relations between the two countries so long as Washington occupies sovereign territory of the Republic of Cuba, said a statement submitted to the seminar by Osborne Hart, Socialist Workers Party candidate for mayor of New York, and Maggie Trowe, SWP mayoral candidate in Albany. Both attended the conference. From the SWPs widespread campaigning door to door in workers districts, they said, We can attest to the possibility of winning the political battle to convince the majority of U.S. working people that the U.S. government should get out of Guantanamo now and end its economic, financial, and commercial war against Cuba forthwith.
The Committee for the Defense of the Revolution and residents of the Villa Toa neighborhood of Guantanamo invited delegates for a lively evening of salsa dancing May 4, a spread of tropical fruit and an opportunity to ask residents about life in Cuba.
We told retired cook Adis Martinez the U.S. rulers say most Cubans didnt support socialism or historic Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, who died last November. No, we like it here, she replied. Were very sad that Fidel died. But other generations are ready to defend the revolution.
The visit to Caimanera was a moving experience. As our buses entered the bustling town, people lined the streets to welcome us. From a hill nearby delegates could see the U.S. bases administration buildings, telecommunications domes, and two giant American flags, a daily reminder of Washingtons unending campaign against the Cuban people and their socialist revolution.
I had thought the U.S. base was out in some remote uninhabited place, said Veterans for Peace leader Patrick McCann, who lives in Miami. Its right in the middle of a populated area!
While Cubans are now allowed to move some supply ships through the portion of Guantanamo Bay occupied by the U.S. Navy to the ocean, they are denied all other access, including to excellent fishing grounds.
On a cross-island bus ride delegates got to visit a number of sites memorializing the revolutionary struggle in Cuba. In Santiago de Cuba they went to the cemetery where Jose Marti, leader of the 19th century struggle against Spanish colonial domination, and Fidel Castro are buried. They visited the Moncada Barracks, where on July 26, 1953, Castro led a group of revolutionaries in the assault that opened the struggle against U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, an effort that grew into a mass revolutionary movement that triumphed in 1959.
During the journey Veterans for Peace member Monisha Rios and Yania Marrero, an ICAP representative and veteran of Cubas Revolutionary Armed Forces, exchanged experiences that highlighted the differences between an army structured to defend the revolutionary rule of workers and farmers and one organized to defend Washingtons imperialist interests against the people of the world.
Basic training was physically demanding, crawling though fields and woods, learning how to handle weapons, but it made me stronger, Marrero said. Here in Cuba we prepare for what we call the War of the Entire People, so that everyone in the country is ready in case of an invasion.
Rios explained why she had joined the U.S. Army. I was poor and I wanted to get some skills I could use to get a job, she said. I guess I believed what the government says, that the U.S. Army defends democracy. But I learned thats a lie.
Related articles:
Canada brigade members experience Cuban Revolution
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37,000 AT&T workers strike against bosses
cutback demands
UNION CITY, Calif. About 37,000 AT&T Inc. workers in 36 states and Washington, D.C., held a three-day strike May 19-21, including thousands of workers in the San Francisco Bay Area.
On the picket line at the AT&T store here, a popular chant was AT&T rich and rude. We dont like your attitude.
Workers told Socialist Workers Party members who joined their picket line in solidarity that AT&T rakes in nearly a billion dollars a month in profit while cutting workers paychecks. Rahul Godra, a retail worker, said his commissions were cut by 40 percent in the past year.
The striking AT&T workers belong to the Communications Workers of America, but because they work for separate divisions, theyre covered by different contracts.
The majority are in the wireless division, including workers at retail stores and call centers. Many are young and were proud to be on a picket line for the first time in their lives. Their contract ran out in February and they are fighting against outsourcing to nonunion contractors and for higher wages to make up for increased health insurance costs. AT&T also has call centers in other countries where it pays workers substantially less than in the U.S.
The strikers were joined on the picket lines by workers in the AT&T wireline division in California, Nevada and Connecticut, which includes landline phone and internet service. These workers have been without a contract for over a year.
At first I was not sure we should be out here with the mobile workers, said Gerry San Juan, a worker for four years in the landline division. We had a meeting about it and I was convinced that we and the mobile workers are one. That when we support each other, we will all be better off.
Things just get worse and worse, said Johanna Aldrich, a worker for 35 years in the wireline division. They take one persons job and give different parts of it to others. They take the higher paid jobs and give them to lower paid people. They cut sick days and ask us to pay more for medical.
Weve gone for over a year without a contract. I am thinking we need to hit the company harder, said Marco Sahagun, a young wireline worker. Because of his four years with the company he is not in the lowest pay tier, he said, but he believes the divide-and-rule practice of paying new hires less was weakening the union.
They make less, yet the new people have to pay more for medical, Sahagun said. Its not right.
One of the demands being raised in the strike is to end the two-tier plan so new employees can afford health care with no increase in premiums.
We have to pay $300 a month for health care and a deductible of $4,500, call center worker Dea Polchow said at the Chicago picket line May 21.
Workers in DirecTV in California and Nevada, bought by AT&T in 2015, also joined the strike. They voted to become members of the CWA, but have yet to win a first contract. Id like to see us get improvement on scheduling, said Jose Ramirez, who works out of the DirectTV yard in nearby San Leandro. Only the senior guys get a weekend day off. And we dont know the schedules ahead enough to plan our lives.
In March 17,000 AT&T wireline workers went on a one-day strike in California and Nevada against managements practice of assigning work previously done by more experienced and higher paid employees to workers in lower pay classifications. The company backed down.
Betsy Farley in Chicago contributed to this article.
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Oscar Lopez in Chicago: US colonialism is a crime
CHICAGO I have struggled against colonialism because it is a crime against humanity, Oscar Lopez Rivera told more than 500 people who gathered in Humboldt Park here to welcome him back to Chicago May 18. The Puerto Rican people have a right to struggle for their freedom.
The celebration included a parade, renaming a street to honor Lopez and the Humboldt Park rally.
The Puerto Rican independence fighter was released from 36 years of imprisonment the day before. Lopez lived here before his arrest, fighting to improve conditions in the Puerto Rican community and promoting independence for Puerto Rico, a U.S. colony.
The big U.S. corporations go to Puerto Rico, Lopez told the rally. They leave their waste and take the wealth out of Puerto Rico. And now Washington has imposed the fiscal control board, which is demanding huge attacks on the working people of the island.
Its an accomplishment of the Puerto Rican people, men and women around the world, that none of our political prisoners had to die in prison, he said. The fight continues to win freedom for many fighters for Black rights and other political prisoners still imprisoned in the United States, Lopez explained.
News coverage of the celebration played up the presence of one individual who held a sign calling Lopez a terrorist, and another who attempted to disrupt the unveiling of the street sign. This is part of a government-inspired countercampaign to smear Lopez and the fight to end Washingtons colonial domination.
Lopez pointed to the terrorism used against Puerto Ricans by the FBI and other police agencies over the years. The FBI has admitted to carrying out a disruption campaign against the movement for independence both in Puerto Rico and the United States dating back to the 1930s. They have released some of the more than 1.5 million pages of spy files they gathered with information on some 75,000 people dubbed political subversives.
Speakers at the events included Rep. Luis Gutierrez; Alderman Roberto Maldonado; Jose Lopez, executive director of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and Oscars brother; and Danette Sokacich, principal of the Pedro Albizu Campos High School, named in honor of the historic leader of the fight against U.S. colonial rule. Dozens of students from the school, which Lopez helped found in the 1970s, attended the event.
Local participants in the May Day International Brigade to Cuba joined the parade, carrying a banner reading End the U.S. economic war against Cuba now! U.S. out of Guantanamo now!
Oscar never broke and kept his humanity, Edwin Lopez, who came from Milwaukee, told the Militant. Hes an inspiration to many. Some people came from as far as Orlando, Florida.
Security forces in Kashmir's Tral shot down Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, a top Hizbul Commander who is believed to have succeeded Burhan Wani, and two another militants in an encounter going on since Friday.
By Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu, Shuja-ul-Haq : Forces have shot down Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, a top Hizbul Mujahideen commander, in an encounter in Pulwama's Tral that has been going on since Friday.
Sabzar Ahmad Bhat is widely believed to have succeeded Burhan Wani, whose killing last year sparked months-long unrest and violence in Kashmir.
Apart from Bhat, two more militant have been killed and at least one is believed to be trapped in the area under barrage of heavy fire from the Indian security forces.
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The encounter has been going on since Friday night after Hizbul terrorists ambushed an Army patrol party of 42 Rashtriya Rifles at Saimooh village in Tral around 9pm.
According to reports, Sabzar made a final phone call to his family members when he got injured and asked for forgiveness.
He said, "Forgive me, if I'm wrong. We have been cornered."
In another audio clip that India Today accessed, an aide of Sabzar Bhat is heard saying, "As you know there is an encounter going on in Tral. Sabzar bhai (brother) is trapped in that encounter."
It was not immediately clear who the aide was or with whom he was speaking.
Sabzaar Bhat, after Tral encounter pic.twitter.com/am1MrdOMs2- Rahul Pandita (@rahulpandita) May 27, 2017
Meanwhile, sporadic incidents of stone-pelting in various parts of the Valley are being reported.
BARAMULLA ATTACK
Meanwhile, at least six suspected militants have been killed in Baramulla area after the Army foiled an infiltration bid in the Rampur sector on late Friday night.
Four were killed between Friday and Saturday while two more militants were gunned down today morning.
According to an Army statement, forces laid an ambush for the militants at around 7.30 pm on Friday after receiving specific input about their movements inside Indian territory.
The ambush was laid around 10 kilometers south of Rampur and on making contact, the militants engaged Indian soldiers in a fierce fire fight.
The bodies are yet to be reached, the Army said. Search operations are in progress to recover the bodies.
Also read: From failed lover to terror chief: Meet Hizbul's new poster boy in Kashmir
Also read: Farooq Dar, used as human shield, moves Human Rights Commission against Army's award to Major Gogoi
Also read: Army officers in war-like zones free to act, don't need to consult Members of Parliament, says Jaitley
Also watch: Hizbul terrrorist and Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Bhat killed in Kashmir
--- ENDS ---
Sir Roger Moore is best known for playing James Bond in seven of the franchises films.
The third actor to take on the role, he served as 007 between 1973 and 1985.
Here are his most memorable lines from each of his outings as Bond.
:: Live And Let Die, 1973
With the producer of Live And Let Die (PA)
Bond has been teaching the inexperienced Solitaire (Jane Seymour) the first two lessons of love.
Solitaire: Is there time before we leave for lesson number three?
Bond: Of course. Theres no sense going out half-cocked.
:: The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974
With Lulu, who sang the theme tune for The Man With The Golden Gun (PA)
Bond has just discovered from M (Bernard Lee) that someone has put a contract out on his life.
Bond: Whod want to put a contract on me?
M: Jealous husbands, outraged chefs, humiliated tailors! The list is endless!
:: The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977
Sir Roger Moore had some memorable Bond lines (Yui Mok/PA)
At the end of the film, Bond is caught in a compromising position with Russian agent Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) in a lifeboat.
Minister of Defence: Bond! What do you think youre doing?
Bond: Keeping the British end up, sir.
:: Moonraker, 1979
The actor at the beginning of his Bond days (PA)
Villain Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) has been trying to kill Bond with the help of a python.
Drax: Why did you break up the encounter with my pet python?
Bond: I discovered he had a crush on me.
:: For Your Eyes Only, 1981
With For Your Eyes Only theme tune singer Sheena Easton (PA)
After the famous scene involving a ski chase down a mountain.
Bond: I took the scenic route.
:: Octopussy, 1983
Posing with the Bond girls from Octopussy (PA)
Bond is told that an enemy has offered a hit woman a Faberge egg in exchange for killing him.
Bond: Well, I hear the price of eggs was up, but isnt that a little high?
:: A View To A Kill, 1985
Sir Roger early in his career (PA)
The spy has just met Jenny Flex (Alison Doody), a keen horserider.
James Bond: Well my dear, I take it you spend quite a lot of time in the saddle.
Jenny Flex: Yes, I love an early morning ride.
James Bond: Well, Im an early riser myself.
A father of three girls has told Ariana Grande to take care of herself in a heartfelt open letter, and that she should not apologise for the Manchester attack.
Ariana had just finished her concert at the Manchester Arena on Monday night when an explosion caused by a suicide bomber killed 22 people and injured 59.
In the hours after the atrocity, the 23-year-old pop star wrote on Twitter: broken. from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i dont have words.
Ariana Grande (Hannah McKay/PA)
US film producer Patrick Millsaps a daddy of three daughters has praised Ariana for her work while advising her to take time off in his open letter.
He said that she should sing again and that she makes this crappy world a little less crappy.
In the letter, posted on Twitter, Mr Millsaps wrote: Dear Miss Grande, I am the father of three daughters ages 13, 12 & 12. So, you have been a part of our family for years.
On occasion, your songs may have stayed on the radio AFTER I have dropped the girls off at school.
Referencing the American teen sitcom Ariana previously appeared in, he joked: I will neither confirm nor deny that I have personally seen every episode of Sam & Kat.
Since you are a part of our family and after reading a tweet you posted on the Twitter the other night; Im afraid I need to set you straight girl. So listen up and receive some redneck love from a daddy of daughters.
Mr Millsaps told Grande that she must not apologise for the attack as it was a matter out of her hands.
You see, you are no more responsible for the actions of an insane coward who committed an evil act in your proximity than you would be for a devastating natural disaster or acts of morons near your hotel, he wrote.
He continued with his second reason, writing that in her line of work, you have so many experts who are now strategizing what you should do next (I used to be one of those experts when I managed talent.
broken.
from the bottom of my heart, i am so so sorry. i don't have words. Ariana Grande (@ArianaGrande) May 23, 2017
He added: Tell them ALL to go take a powder, give them the month off, and tell them that if they call you within the next 30 days, they are fired! These experts dont have a freaking clue what you are processing right now.
Spend time with your God, your family and your friends who will give you space and support when you need it.
When and only when you are ready, on behalf of all dads who love your um whose daughters love your music, SING AGAIN.
Music is the international language of peace. Every time you open your mouth and share that incredible God-given gift to the world, you make this crappy world a little less crappy.
Ariana Grande (Ian West/PA)
The witty yet poignant missive concluded: So there you go my dear, unsolicited advice from a fat dude in Georgia who loves his daughters and appreciate that there are people like you in the world.
Take care of you first. Your fans arent going anywhere.
Sincerely, Morgan, Alison & Kendalls Daddy.
Ariana is reported to have flown home to Florida on Tuesday, and it has yet to be confirmed if her scheduled shows at the London O2 Arena will take place later this week.
Brandon Block , RIVRS , Melon Bomb , Lee Scratch Perry , DJ Mary Charteris , The Egg and Radio 1s David Rodigan will bring the beats and breaks for a stunning dance party.
There are still more acts to be announced, including a secret special guest performance.
In terms of art, there's a lot going on. The Chapman Brothers, pioneers of the 'Young British Artists Movement', will be hosting drawing masterclasses while Paul Saunders curates a street art extravaganza with graffiti walls, live art and interactive workshops.
If a dance-filled line-up and immersive art workshops aren't enough, there will also be a search for 'The New Young Face of Essex', judged by a celebrity model, performing arts masterclasses, paint runs, bike rides and DJ workshops. Street food stalls and pop up bars will be on offer to keep you fuelled up to dance through the day.
Kelvedon Bash takes place 30th June - 2nd July at Kelvedon Hall, Brentwood, Essex.
Tickets to Kelvedon Bash are available
www.kelvedonbash.com
Taking place at the Grade I listed Kelvedon Hall in Brentwood, there's a 'house party' vibe to this festival, with a line-up of dance legends includingand Massive Attack's. Joining these iconic names the likes of
Salman Abedi is believed to have received thousands of pounds in state funding prior to the Manchester Arena terror attack even while he was overseas in bomb-making training.
Police are currently investigating his finances, which covered multiple trips to Libya, where he is thought to have been trained at a jihadist camp.
His financial situation is said to be a major theme of the investigation, amid growing unease with jihadists manipulating Britains welfare and student finance systems.
Abedi is known to have received 7,000 from the Student Loans Company in 2015 after enrolling on to a business administration degree at Salford University.
Although he had dropped out by this time, it is thought he received a further 7,000 in the 2016 academic year.
Neighbours and friends say Abedi was never able to hold down a job, yet travelled frequently between the UK and Libya.
A Student Loans Company spokesperson said: It would not be appropriate for the Student Loans Company to respond to media requests for information that may be relevant to the ongoing police investigation.
It is for universities to inform the Student Loans Company when students withdraw or suspend their studies, at which point funding stops.
On Monday night, Abedi bombed Manchester Arena, where Ariana Grande was performing to thousands of fans.
Following Grandes performance, Abedi detonated the device, which killed 22 people and injured 116.
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By Press Trust of India: Washington, May 27 (PTI) Scientists have developed an eight-foot underwater computer touchpad for dolphins to play games, which can help study the intelligence and communication skills of the highly social marine mammals.
The system features specialised dolphin-friendly "apps" and a symbolic keyboard to provide the dolphins - which are intelligent and highly social - with opportunities to interact with the system.
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Scientists from the Hunter College and Rockefeller University in the US found that dolphins can even play games like Whack-a-Mole with little training.
To make the system safe for the dolphins, the touchscreen has been installed outside an underwater viewing window, so that no parts of the device are in the pool: the animals touch is detected purely optically.
Researchers have embarked on studies aimed at understanding dolphin vocal learning and communication, their capacity for symbolic communication, and what patterns of behaviour may emerge when the animals have the ability to request items, videos, interactions and images.
"We hope this technologically-sophisticated touchscreen will be enriching for the dolphins and also enrich our science by opening a window into the dolphin mind," said Diana Reiss, a research scientist at Hunter College.
"Giving dolphins increased choice and control allows them to show us reflections of their way of thinking and may help us decode their vocal communication," said Reiss.
"It was surprisingly difficult to find an elegant solution that was absolutely safe for the dolphins, but it has been incredibly rewarding to work with these amazing creatures and see their reactions to our system," said Marcelo Magnasco, from the Rockefeller University.
"It has always been hard to keep up with dolphins, they are so smart; a fully interactive and programmable system will help us follow them in any direction they take us," said Magnasco.
"The interactive system was designed to engage the dolphins without requiring explicit training. It is an open system in which the dolphins use of the touchscreen will shape how the system evolves," said Ana Hocevar, a postdoctoral research scientist in Magnascos lab.
In addition to the touchscreen, the dolphins habitat at the US National Aquarium in Baltimore has been outfitted with equipment to record their behaviour and vocalisations as they encounter and begin to use the technology.
Already, the scientists have begun to introduce the dolphins to some of the systems interactive apps, so the animals can explore on their own how touching the screen results in specific contingencies.
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"Without any explicit training or encouragement from us, one of the younger dolphins spontaneously showed immediate interest and expertise in playing a dolphin version of Whack- a-Mole, in which he tracks and touches moving fish on the touchscreen," Reiss said. PTI MHN SAR SAR
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By Press Trust of India: (Eds: With changes in headline, para 1)
New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Two persons accused of threatening the chairperson of Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) in 2007 today tendered an "unconditional apology" to her before a Delhi court.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass posted the matter for June 6 for hearing after AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy said she needed time to contact her lawyer before taking a decision on the plea moved by the accused -- Praveen Shankar Sharma and Deepak Kathpalia.
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Krishnamoorthy, who lost two minor children in the Uphaar fire tragedy and has been fighting a legal battle for justice on behalf of the victims families for the last 20 years, had claimed in her complaint that she and her husband were harassed by the accused persons inside the Patiala House court premises on the evening of May 10, 2007, when they were emerging out of the court room.
Krishnamoorthy had gone to the court for attending the trial proceedings in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
Kathpalia and Sharma were accused of passing lewd remarks against her and clicking her photographs.
The trial court had earlier taken cognisance of the offence against the four accused, including real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal, under relevant penal provisions.
However, later the high court first stayed and then quashed the case against the Ansals.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Ansals and five others to appear before it in an alleged case filed against them for allegedly tampering of evidence in the fire tragedy case.
Besides the Ansals, the other accused in the 2006 case were Anoop Singh, Prem Prakash Batra, Harswaroop Panwar, Dharamveer Malhotra and Dinesh Chandra Sharma.
All the accused have denied the allegations against them.
On February 9, the Supreme Court in the curative petition had sentenced Gopal Ansal to jail for a year in connection with the blaze. However, the bench had spared 77-year-old Sushil Ansal because of his age. It had also upheld the fine of Rs 30 crore each imposed on the duo and had said the money should be utilised to set up up a trauma centre.
Following this, Gopal Ansal had approached the Supreme Court seeking modification of its order on the grounds of parity, saying he was 69 years old and would suffer irreparable damage to his health if sent to prison.
It was dismissed and Gopal Ansal surrendered before the Tihar Jail authorities on March 20.
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Fifty-nine people, trapped in the balcony of the theatre in South Delhi, had died of asphyxia following the fire and over 100 were injured in the subsequent stampede on June 13, 1997 during the screening of Bollywood film "Border". PTI UK ZMN
--- ENDS ---
Army chief hints Kotee behind blast
BANGKOK: New information has come to light suggesting Mondays (May 22) bombing at Phramongkutklao Hospital was carried out by the network of red-shirt hardliner Wuthipong Kotee Kochathamakun, army chief Chalermchai Sitthisat said yesterday (May 25).
crimehealthmilitarypolicepoliticsviolence
By Bangkok Post
Friday 26 May 2017, 09:03AM
An army EOD team combed the Wongsuwon waiting room of the Phramongkutklao Hospital for clues of Mondays bombing, but have come up almost empty again on possible perpetrators. Photo: Royal Thai Police
He vowed that authorities would redouble their efforts to seek the fugitives extradition.
Gen Chalermchai spoke cryptically at first, saying the new leads suggest the blast was masterminded by a fugitive who was continuing to rally his supporters to violence despite having fled to a neighbouring country.
When pressed on the point by one reporter he identified Mr Wuthipongs network as the group in question.
He said the group constantly uses social media to instigate violence, adding that investigators are still looking into whether there is any connection between the latest hospital bomb and the recent arrest of hardliners.
Mr Wuthipong, who reportedly fled to Laos after a warrant was issued for his arrest in April 2014 on a lese majeste charge, has also been implicated in another case that saw a cache of weapons confiscated in Pathum Thani in March.
Following the discovery of the firearms, the government sent a request to Laos for his arrest but has reportedly not received a reply.
Other red-shirt leaders disputed his involvement. Tida Tawornseth, who heads up the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), said she was not convinced Kotees network had the resources to carry out the bombing.
Kotee was not a hardliner, she said. Its easy for certain forces to cast his network in a bad light.
Gen Chalermchai also did not rule out the involvement of rogue military officers in the bombing.
Yet his remarks about Kotee reinforce comments by national police chief Chakthip Chaijinda that political hardliners or extremists may be responsible.
Gen Chalermchai, who also serves as secretary-general of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), said the military would not intervene in the investigation but was ready to assist if asked to.
He said figures in the government have floated the idea of using military courts for cases involving public security. The regime issued an order to this effect after the May 2014 coup but it was later revoked.
When asked about the nine suspects arrested in connection with a spate of arson attacks in Khon Kaen, the army chief said there is nothing linking them to the hospital blast in Bangkok.
They claim they were paid several hundred baht to start the fires and have already been handed over to the police, he added.
There have been several bomb attacks in Bangkok since the Erawan shrine was targeted in August 2015.
The latest rash of incidents, which have all occurred close to the third anniversary of the coup, includes an explosion in front of the National Theatre near Sanam Luang and a blast outside the old Government Lottery Office on Ratchadamnoen Klang Avenue. To speed up the probe into the three most recent blasts, Gen Chakthip has appointed an investigative team headed by deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, Gen Chalermchai said.
In his order signed on Wednesday (May 24), the police chief said all three attacks are believed to be the work of the same group.
It was reported that 200 police officers have been assigned to investigate the explosions and bring the culprits to justice.
Meanwhile, a source close to the investigation said a composite sketch of a possible suspect in the hospital bombing has been drawn up, but police have decided not to release it or use it to seek a court warrant until more evidence is found.
The source said police have found two persons of interest who visited the hospital ostensibly to visit patients there and that both are close aides to a former army colonel who was charged with illegal possession of firearms.
About 20 people are now wanted for questioning, the source said, adding they were captured by security cameras entering and leaving the hospital before and after the explosion.
The footage has been collected from 17 security cameras, the source said. But nothing of use has emerged from the camera inside the dispensarys waiting room, known as the Wongsuwon room, where the bomb went off and left 25 people injured, the source added.
The source said the camera may have missed the perpetrator as it was placed to capture images from the drug dispensary and cashier section.
A man detained on May 24 has been released without charge, the source said.
Read original story here.
By Press Trust of India: New Delhi, May 27 (PTI) Two persons accused of threatening the chairperson of Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) in 2007 today sought an "unconditional apology" from her before a Delhi court.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sumit Dass posted the matter for June 6 for hearing after AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy said she needed time to contact her lawyer before taking a decision on the plea moved by the accused -- Praveen Shankar Sharma and Deepak Kathpalia.
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Krishnamoorthy, who lost two minor children in the Uphaar fire tragedy and has been fighting a legal battle for justice on behalf of the victims families for the last 20 years, had claimed in her complaint that she and her husband were harassed by the accused persons inside the Patiala House court premises on the evening of May 10, 2007, when they were emerging out of the court room.
Krishnamoorthy had gone to the court for attending the trial proceedings in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
Kathpalia and Sharma were accused of passing lewd remarks against her and clicking her photographs.
The trial court had earlier taken cognisance of the offence against the four accused, including real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal, under relevant penal provisions.
However, later the high court first stayed and then quashed the case against the Ansals.
Meanwhile, the court directed the Ansals and five others to appear before it in an alleged case filed against them for allegedly tampering of evidence in the fire tragedy case.
Besides the Ansals, the other accused in the 2006 case were Anoop Singh, Prem Prakash Batra, Harswaroop Panwar, Dharamveer Malhotra and Dinesh Chandra Sharma.
All the accused have denied the allegations against them.
On February 9, the Supreme Court in the curative petition had sentenced Gopal Ansal to jail for a year in connection with the blaze. However, the bench had spared 77-year-old Sushil Ansal because of his age. It had also upheld the fine of Rs 30 crore each imposed on the duo and had said the money should be utilised to set up up a trauma centre.
Following this, Gopal Ansal had approached the Supreme Court seeking modification of its order on the grounds of parity, saying he was 69 years old and would suffer irreparable damage to his health if sent to prison.
It was dismissed and Gopal Ansal surrendered before the Tihar Jail authorities on March 20.
advertisement
Fifty-nine people, trapped in the balcony of the theatre in South Delhi, had died of asphyxia following the fire and over 100 were injured in the subsequent stampede on June 13, 1997 during the screening of Bollywood film "Border". PTI UK ZMN
--- ENDS ---
After External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj rescued Uzma Ahmed and brought her back to India, hopes of a father from Uttar Pradesh has rekindled. Hopes of seeing his son who is caught in Sharjah.
Sudesh Kumar was working in Sharjah and family members have failed to contact him over the past two months.
By Rajat Rai: When Uzma Ahmed, who was allegedly forced to marry a Pakistani man at gunpoint, returned home on Thursday, she brought joy not just to her own family but also the parents of 25-year-old Sudesh Kumar.
The young man from Uttar Pradesh's Bishnupur village was working in Sharjah and family members have failed to contact him over the past two months. They now want external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to intervene, just like she did to ensure Uzma's safe homecoming.
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"When we last heard from him, his voice was heavy and then someone snatched his phone," recalled Ram Sakal Yadav, Sudesh's father. Uzma, accompanied by Indian mission officials, crossed the Wagah Border near Amritsar on Thursday morning. She had met Pakistani Tahir Ali in Malaysia and fell in love with him. Ali allegedly forced her to marry him on May 3 when she visited Pakistan. On May 12, she made a plea to Pakistani authorities to be allowed to return to India. Swaraj thanked the Pakistani government and judiciary for acting swiftly on the case.
HOPE REKINDLES
The incident has rekindled hopes for Sudesh's family. Yadav, a daily wage worker living in the rural outskirts of Deoria district, recalled how he took a heavy loan and spent his last rupee to send his son to the UAE.
"We got him married about four and a half years ago but soon after that he started dreaming of going to Sharjah. After six months, we somehow managed to send him there and he got work as a labourer," Yadav said.
"We sent him along with another person from our village, Om Prakash Yadav, who got him engaged as a labourer with some firm. He used to talk to us regularly, but about three months ago he told us that his employer had confiscated his passport and was also not paying him for the past few months."
Yadav says when they last spoke in March, his son was crying. "By the time we could understand anything, someone snatched his phone."
According to the details gathered by the family, Sudesh's employer's name is Arbaav and his manager's name is Kaale. "We also somehow managed to get their contact numbers but they never replied to our calls," Yadav said.
After failing to get any information, the family approached Mail Today and subsequently submitted an application to the district magistrate of Deoria.
"You are requested to initiate necessary action and also bring the matter in the cognisance of foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and the government of India," Yadav wrote in the plea.
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"We have received the application and the ADM (administration) has been instructed to initiate the required action," district magistrate Sujit Kumar told Mail Today.
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Uzma Ahmed: Pakistan is a well of death, thank you PM Modi, Sushma Swaraj for helping me return to India
Indian woman Uzma, forced to marry Pakistani man, returns home; Sushma Swaraj welcomes 'India's daughter'
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According to the WHO statement, the routine surveillance detected a laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus disease through RT-PCR test at B J Medical College in Ahmedabad.
By Press Trust of India: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed three cases of Zika virus, including a pregnant woman, reported from Gujarat's Ahmedabad, the first in the country.
All the cases are from the Bapunagar area of the city.
"The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare - Government of India (MoHFW) reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus disease in Bapunagar area, Ahmedabad District, Gujarat, State, India," the global health body said in a statement.
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However, the WHO did not recommend any travel or trade restriction to India based on the current information available.
According to the statement, the routine surveillance detected a laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus disease through RT-PCR test at B J Medical College in Ahmedabad.
FIRST ZIKA POSITIVE CASE REPORTED THROUGH AFI SURVEILLANCE
This was further confirmed at the national reference laboratory at the National Institute of Virology (NIV) in Pune on January 4 this year.
WHO said two additional cases were then identified through the Acute Febrile Illness (AFI) and the Antenatal clinic (ANC) surveillance.
Between February 10-16 in 2016, a total 93 blood samples were collected at BJ Medical College (BJMC) out of which one sample from a 64-year-old male had tested positive for Zika virus.
"This was first Zika positive case reported through AFI surveillance from Gujarat," the statement said.
Also, a 34-year-old woman delivered a baby at BJMC on November 9 and during her stay in the hospital she developed a low-grade fever after delivery.
The woman had no history of fever during pregnancy and had no history of travel for three months.
A sample from the patient was referred to the Viral Research and Diagnostic Laboratory (VRDL) for dengue testing and was found to be positive for the virus.
"She was discharged after one week (on 16 November, 2016). The sample was re-confirmed as Zika virus positive at NIV," the statement said. Besides, a 22-year-old pregnant woman in her 37th week of pregnancy was tested positive for Zika virus disease at the same hospital.
GOVERNMENT CONFIRMED CASES
The Indian government had confirmed these cases and had sent the details of the patients to the WHO in March after which the global health body's confirmation in these cases came today, a ministry official said.
As per the WHO statement, immediately after the cases were reported, the Health ministry had shared the national guidelines and action plan on Zika virus disease have been shared with the states to prevent an outbreak of the disease and containment of spread in case of any outbreak.
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It also constituted an inter-ministerial task force. Meanwhile, a technical group tasked to monitor emerging and re-emerging diseases regularly reviewed the global situation on Zika virus disease.
All the international airports and ports have displayed information for travellers on Zika virus disease while the airport health officers along with airport organisations, the National Centre for Disease Control and the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme are monitoring appropriate vector control measures in airport premises.
In addition to NIV and NCDC in Delhi, 25 laboratories have also been strengthened by Indian Council of Medical Research for laboratory diagnosis, while three entomological laboratories are conducting Zika virus testing on mosquito samples.
ICMR TESTED 34,233 HUMAN SAMPLES
"The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has tested 34,233 human samples and 12,647 mosquito samples for the presence of Zika virus.
Among those, close to 500 mosquitoes samples were collected from Bapunagar area, Ahmedabad district, in Gujarat, and were found negative for Zika.
"The Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK) is monitoring microcephaly from 55 sentinel sites. As of now, no increase in number of cases or clustering of microcephaly has been reported from these centers," the WHO said.
While coming out with the report, the WHO said it assumes significance as it describes the first cases of Zika virus infections and provides evidence on its circulation in India.
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"These findings suggest low level transmission of Zika virus and new cases may occur in the future," it said, while stressing on strengthening surveillance to better characterise the intensity of the viral circulation and geographical spread and monitor Zika virus related complications.
"Zika virus is known to be circulating in South East Asia Region and these findings do not change the global risk assessment. WHO encourages member states to report similar findings to better understand the global epidemiology of Zika virus," the statement said.
The risk of further spread of Zika virus to areas where the competent vectors, the aedes mosquitoes, are present is significant given the wide geographical distribution of these mosquitoes in various regions of the world.
Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. People with Zika virus can have symptoms including mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7 days.
WHO continues to monitor the epidemiological situation and conduct risk assessment based on the latest available information, it said.
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By Press Trust of India: By H S Rao
London, May 27 (PTI)The worlds highest gain high-power laser amplifier, which could amplify sounds from rustling of leaves to that of a jumbo jet, has been developed in the UK, an advance that may result in new radiotherapy modalities for the treatment of cancer.
The laser developed at the University of Strathclyde works on a relatively long, high-energy laser pulse that is made to collide in plasma with a short, very low energy pulse.
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At the point where they collide they produce a beat wave, much like that of the two colliding water waves. The light pressure of the beat pattern drives plasma electrons into a regular pattern or echelon that mimics the beat wave.
"The Raman amplification in plasma is a fascinating concept that combines the ideas of Nobel Physics laureate C V Raman with plasma, optical and laser physics," said Professor Dino Jaroszynski of Strathclydes Department of Physics who led the research.
These lasers will lead to new science and technology that could, for example, transform our understanding of high field physics and result in new radiotherapy modalities for the treatment of cancer.
Over the course of two pioneering experiments at the CLF, the scientists worked to adapt the Vulcan laser so that two different colour lasers could exchange energy in a plasma.
The measured gain coefficient of 180 cm-1 is more than 100 times larger than achievable from existing high-power laser system amplifiers based on solid-state media.
The research was published in the journal Scientific Reports.
The colliding point acts as a very high reflectivity, time-varying mirror that sweeps up the energy of the high- energy pulse reflecting it into the low energy pulse, thus amplifying the low energy pulse and compressing its energy into an ultra-short duration pulse of light.
"Our results are very significant in that they demonstrate the flexibility of the plasma medium as a very high-gain amplifier medium. We also show that the efficiency of the amplifier can be quite large, at least 10 per cent, which is unprecedented and can be increased further," Jaroszynski said.
However, it also shows what still needs to be understood and controlled in order to achieve a single stage high-gain, high-efficiency amplifier module.
"One example of the challenges that we still face is how to deal with amplification of noise produced by random plasma fluctuations, which is exacerbated by the extremely high gain. This leads to undesirable channels for the energy to go. We are making excellent progress and believe that we are in an excellent position to solve these problems in our next experimental campaigns," he said.
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"Plasma is a very attractive medium to work with. It has no damage threshold since it is already a fully broken-down medium, therefore we can use it to amplify short laser pulses without the need for stretching and re-compressing," said Gregory Vieux who led the research team working at the CLF.
Laser amplifiers are devices that amplify light.
Plasma, the ubiquitous medium of the universe, offers a way around this limitation because it is very robust and resistant to damage - plasma can be seen as a matter that has already been broken down into its smallest constituent elements: electrons and ions.
This is a very worthy goal because very intense laser pulses can be used for fundamental studies, such as accelerating particles, helping drive nuclear fusion or even extracting particles from vacuum and recreating the conditions inside stars or the primordial condition of the universe in the laboratory.
The highest power lasers in the world will be available for use at three research centres that are part of the European Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) project. It was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. PTI HSR KJ
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India extended a $500 million Line of Credit (LoC) to Mauritius as the two countries signed an accord on maritime security to effectively manage conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean.
The agreement on LoC was a good example of Indias strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at a joint media interaction with his visiting Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth during which the two leaders discussed a range of issues, particularly cooperation in ensuring maritime security around the coasts and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). Jugnauth is currently on a three-day State Visit to India, his first overseas trip after becoming the PM in January.
two sides also exchanged documents on setting up a civil services college in Mauritius and for cooperation between CSIR and Mauritius Oceanography Institute.
Effective management of threats in the Indian Ocean was essential to pursue economic opportunities, protect the livelihood of the people and provide them security, the Indian leader said, adding that India-Mauritius cooperation was very important to achieve these objectives.
He said both countries must be vigilant against piracy that impacted trade and tourism, drugs and human trafficking, illegal fishing and other forms of illegal exploitation of marine resources.
"The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement today will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities," he said.
Modi said the two countries had also agreed to further strengthen their wide-ranging cooperation in hydrography for a secure and peaceful maritime domain. India would support the National Coast Guard (NCG) of Mauritius in augmenting its capacity through Project Trident, an integrated development project of the NCG.
"We have also taken a decision to renew the life of the Coast Guard Ship Guardian, that was provided to Mauritius, under a grant assistance programme," he stated.
Mauritius submitted its instrument of ratification of the India-initiated International Solar Alliance, conceived as a coalition of solar resource-rich countries to address their special energy needs and provide a platform to collaborate on dealing with the identified gaps through a common, agreed approach. "The signing and ratification of the framework agreement on International Solar Alliance by Mauritius has opened up new vistas of regional partnership for both countries in this field," Modi said.
On his part, Jugnauth said that both Mauritius and India agreed that there could be no compromise when it came to sovereignty and territorial integrity.
"We have developed a strong bilateral cooperation between Mauritius and India in the field of defence and security," he said. Jugnauth also expressed Mauritius's "unwavering support" to India's bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council.
He said he had also discussed with Modi the signing of a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between the two countries.
Tejpal, a resident of Gurudwara locality, in Lucknow had gone to visit chief minister Yogi Adityanath where the security asked him to remove his turban.
Tejpal Singh meets CM Yogi, tells him that he was asked to remove turban, kripaan during frisking.
By Rajat Rai: Tejpal Singh says his visit to UP CM Yogi Adityanath's Gorakshnath Peeth could have turned into a nightmare if the 56-year-old had not gathered courage to resist the cops and put his point "blatantly".
"It never happened ever since the 1984 Sikh riots that I was asked to remove my turban in Gorakhpur," said a visibly moved Singh, who was also thankful to Yogi for his kind gesture.
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Tejpal, a resident of Gurudwara locality, was overwhelmed to know that the CM will be attending to woes of the people on Friday.
"I went to the Gorakhsnath Dham early on Thursday and was successful in getting a pass to meet him," said Singh, flaunting the pass.
However, the nightmare began when he reached the last security cordon on Friday afternoon.
"There was an officer whose name (mentioned on his nameplate) was SN Siddharth. He asked me as to why I am carrying a knife. I told him that it is a kripaan - a holy sign of our religion - but he tried to pull me down," Singh narrated.
However, as the media turned their cameras on me, he left me instructing a female cop to intercept me, he added.
"The female cop asked me to take off my turban. Then an altercation took place after which I said whether you allow me to meet the CM or not, I will not take off my turban," Singh added.
After all the ruckus, Singh was finally let in. "I narrated my woes to the CM and he was kind enough to accompany me to the gate where it all happened. However, all the misbehaving cops were missing from there, and Yogiji assured me of proper action," a relieved Singh said later.
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The Delhi Medical Association (DMA) has called for a "medical bandh" on June 6 against the rising number of attacks on doctors.
As part of the bandh, the DMA has urged its members and owners of hospitals, nursing homes and health facilities in the city to keep their establishments closed till 2 pm.
However, emergency services will remain open.
The decision was taken in the DMA's state executive committee held today, a statement said, adding the body also called for a stringent Central act to stop the violence against doctors.
The members of DMA further said that if their concerns were not looked into, they would call for a nation wide indefinite strike.
Meanwhile, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) is organising 'Dilli Chalo Movement' on the same day against the "atrocities" faced by the medical fraternity.
More than one lakh doctors are expected to take part in the protest march, which would start from Rajghat and end at Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium.
A 'pen-down satyagraha' would also be observed by all doctors across India as no doctor would give any prescriptions for one hour, between 10 to 11 am on June 6, the statement added.
With a video showing four Sikh men purportedly beaten up by local residents in Ajmer going viral on social media, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh has sought Rajasthan CM's intervention in the case.
The 51-second video shows four members of the Sikh community being abused and thrashed by a mob. Capt Amarinder spoke to his Rajasthan counterpart, Vasundhara Raje, on Friday to seek her personal intervention in ensuring a thorough probe into the incident of mob violence and stringent action against the constable alleged to have abetted the crowd.
Captain Amarinder also urged Rajasthan CM to direct the police to take immediate steps to prevent recurrence of such incidents, which could escalate if not curbed through strong and prompt action by the police.
Describing the reported incident as unfortunate, Captain Amarinder said the Rajasthan government needed to fix culpability and ensure that the culprits are duly punished.
The CM expressed serious concern over the fact that the incident, which reportedly took place in April, was being sought to be give a communal hue.
He expressed shock at the fact that the incident did not come to the notice of the local police till a video surfaced on the social media showing the mob drag the four Sikhs out of a Bolero SUV and thrashing them mercilessly.
Captain Amarinder further said he was shocked at reports of a constable, who reached the spot, not only failing to save the victims but in fact found instigating the crowd to teach them a lesson.
He urged the Rajasthan CM to ensure an inquiry into the charges and serious action against the cop if found guilty.
Though the Rajasthan State Minorities Commission has reportedly taken cognizance of the April 24 video and sought a report on action taken by the Ajmer police, a strong signal needed to be sent to the perpetrators of the violence by the political dispensation of the state, said Capt Amarinder.
The four victims were sevadars from an Alwar gurudwara and had stopped at Rajgarh village for langar and alms makes the whole affair even more condemnable, the Punjab CM said.
It was in a most turbulent period of the history of Bengal that Abul Mansur Ahmed fought hard against social prejudice and religious bigotry. His brilliance in various fields, be it politics, journalism or literature, made him a popular name in undivided Bengal. He was a superb satirist, a thoughtprovoking essayist and an astute political commentator.
Ahmed witnessed and contributed to the rise of political and cultural consciousness in Bengali Muslims. In his youth, he participated in different social and cultural movements and in his more mature years, he blossomed as a writer, journalist, politician and, most importantly, as a social thinker. Ahmed (1898-1979) was a keen observer of his contemporary world, which he saw with the eye of an artist, who portrayed life not only as it is but also as it could be. The many different roles he played made him an exceptional writer, experienced politician and an ace journalist. But it is in the capacity of a litterateur that Ahmed shines still today and will do so in future.
His youngest son and editor of The Daily Star, Mahfuz Anam, described as follows the moment of his fathers birth, Abul Mansur Ahmed was born in the Farazi family when the muezzin was calling for Fazr prayers on Saturday, 3 September 1898. His mother suffered severe pain for several days before the boy was born. After the birth the midwife declared that the boy was stillborn.
Ahmeds maternal grandfather Meherullah Faraizi was a prominent figure in the non-communal anti-British Faraizi movement. Being informed about the daughters prolonged delivery pains he came to see her and was informed about the stillborn baby. Deeply saddened, he wanted to see the child who was wrapped in banana leaves and left outside the hut. Emotionally shattered, the grandfathers heart drew him to pick up the baby to kiss him. To his amazement he saw the dead baby flicker his eyes and thus Abul Mansur was born a second time.
Emeritus Professor Anisuzzaman, said, Parashuram said many things about Hindu deities but the Hindu community tolerated that; Abul Mansur Ahmeds contemporary society tolerated him too. I have doubts whether any editor now would dare to print such stories and society would tolerate him. The target of Abul Mansur Ahmeds attack was not any individual, a community or any particular religion. He revolted against prejudice and superstition in general. Even 80 years after the publication of Aina, there is still a need for such a book.
After completing his studies in Mymensingh and Dhaka, he went to Calcutta (now Kolkata) for further studies and to follow his dream of writing. He worked in many weekly and daily newspapers and wrote his famous satires during this period. He became involved in anti-British movements, was inspired by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, and worked under Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Huq and Huseyn Shahid Suhrawardy. Ahmed started with the Swaraj Party led by Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and joined Congress, attracted by the leadership of Subhas Chandra Bose. He played a significant role in the Krishak Praja Party. He was a member of Indian National Congress, Krishak Praja Party of Fazlul Huq and later joined the Pakistan Movement. In 1946, he founded and edited Dainik Ittehad from Calcutta, which was to become one of the fastest growing newspapers of the time.
Through Ahmeds satires, he struggled against all forms of bigotry and exploitation in the name of religion and political hypocrisy. In the early 1940s, when the demand for Pakistan was gathering support, Ahmed foresaw the issue and wrote that the state language of East Pakistan must be Bangla.
After the Partition, Ahmed returned to his native Mymensingh, restarted his law practice and continued his political activities. He was one of the early leaders of the Awami League and the principal author of the famous Ekush Dafa, the election manifesto of Jukta Front (United Front) in 1954, which routed the Muslim League from East Bengal politics. He later became the education minister in Sher-e-Banglas short-lived government. In 1956, he became the commerce and industries minister in the central government of Pakistan, headed by Husyen Shahid Suhrawardy as the Prime Minister. He used to be named the acting Prime Minister of Pakistan during Suhrawardys foreign trips.
Ahmed was imprisoned, along with many leaders of East Bengal including Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, when martial law was promulgated by General Ayub Khan in 1958. He was released in 1963 after which he practically retired from politics and devoted himself to writing.
Among his books are his political and personal autobiography, Amar Dekha Rajnitir Panchash Bachhar and Atmakatha, his satires, Aina,Food Conference,Guilliverer Safarnama, his books of essays, Sher-e-Bangla theke Bangabandhu and many others.
Of all his work, Ahmed is most remembered as a satirist. He chose satire as his main genre in literature but he also wrote several novels depicting social injustice.Each of his satires is timetested. Among them, Aina is most noteworthy. InAinar Frame, the foreword to Aina, poet Kazi Nazrul Islam wrote, Normal mirrors reflect the outward picture of a man. But the Aina my friend Abul Mansur Ahmed has created has caught the inner picture of man. People who roam around us wearing various masks have had their real face revealed in Abul Mansurs Aina. We met them all the time in temples, mosques, on the dais making public speeches, and also in the literary arena.
Ahamds other humour pieces like Hujur Kebla and Nayebe Nabi are also unparalleled in Bangla literature. He showed his intellectual courage by writing these books in the 1930s and 1940s while contemporary writers were cowed down by fundamentalists.What Ahmed wrote at that time about religious bigotry one cannot think of writing in the 21st century.
In his typical satirical style Ahmed had this to say about the role of an editor. To write editorials, editors have to be a scholar in all subjects. They are selfassigned advisor to all in all matters.They advise Mr Jinnah about politics, Gandhiji about non-violence, Acharya Prafulla Chandra about chemistry, Dr Ansari about medical science, Huq Shaheb (AK Fazlul Huq) about running the government, Shaheed Saheb (Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy) about party politics, Maulana Azad about religion, even General de Gualle about war policy and Stalin about communism. Giving advice is their responsibility and duty. That is why they are editors.
As a visionary and an intellectual, Ahmed was far ahead of his time. Imbued with patriotism, he stood against corruption all his life. He used his mighty pen against all inconsistencies in society. His belief in democracy was life-long and unshakeable. For him it was the best form of government and he wrote relentlessly to build a democratic society.
In his writings, Ahmed was vocal against a backward, negative outlook towards life. He observed life from close quarters. He adopted satire as a medium to serve his people as he observed the plight of Bengalis in general and of the Bengali Muslim community in particular. With his keen sense of observation he also saw the hypocrisy of the people in the guise of so-called patriotism.
Rabindranath Tagore had written, Baire jobe hashir chhata,bhitore thake ankhir jol (On the outer side is a ripple of laughter, inside drops of tears). This also applies to the literary works of Abul Mansur Ahmed. As Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin drew a sketch of the famine, Ahmed drew a sketch of social evils in his works. And he succeeded in unmasking those responsible for the famine and the distress of humanity.
In Bangla literature, Abul Mansur Ahmed remains an important figure. Society is not yet free from the social, political, religious and cultural vices against which he wrote so vigorously. Use of religion in politics, the influence of the pirfakirs in social life and the hypocrisy in the name of politics still persists. But today, no one is as vocal against these as Ahmed had been. We now need such writers and thinkers more than ever before.
The daily star/ann
The 'Made in India' version of high quality Israeli oranges will soon hit the Indian market. The Indo-Israel centre for excellence for citrus plants in Kota has developed breeds of high yielding Israeli oranges with more shelf life. Of the 24 orange varieties developed by the centre half of them are or of Israeli origin and are likely to hit Indian fields next year as test trials in closed and field conditions have shown good results.
Senior officers of Rajasthan's Directorate of Horticulture said half the 24 new varieties developed by the centre will soon be ready for mass plantation. The 'Made in India' version of Israeli oranges will not only yield twice the production of Nagpur oranges, but also have almost three times more shelf live than the Indian variety of oranges.
We have developed these 24 varieties in the Indo-Israel centre of excellence in Kota. Most of them have already acclimatised to Indian conditions, and have shown good results in controlled conditions as well as in field conditions. Some of them have already been given to some progressive farmers who have indicated good results, said Govind Srivastava, a senior officer of the Directorate of Horticulture.
If the Israeli varieties are planted successfully in the Kota region, the yield would go up drastically and so will its price as the shelf life of the product is more. It would go to far-of places and fetch good price, he said. The average yield of a Nagpur orange tree is 100 kg, whereas Israeli oranges give an average of 200 to 300 kg per tree in the same area. At present, a farmer gets Rs 2 lakh from a one hectare Nagpur orange farm. In the same acreage, he would earn Rs 4 lakh or more if he plants these Israeli varieties, Srivastava said.
The government is selling saplings of these trees for Rs 35 only. The production capacity in the Indo-Israel centre for excellence farm would also go up to two lakh saplings per year from the present 50,000 a year. Five years down the line the government has set a target of increasing orange acreage from 40,000 hectares to one lakh hectares, said principal secretary Rajasthan Agriculture Department Neelkamal Darbari.
The centre for excellence has been developed under the National Horticulture Mission and has been operational for the past two years. Farmers and horticulturists of the state are trained in latest varieties for citrus fruits. Besides saplings, the centre has also introduced state-of-the-art fruit grading machines, fruit processing unit, where any farmer can grade and process citrus plants at a reasonable price, Srivastava said.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is on a three-day visit to India, was on Saturday accorded ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Firstly, let me thank PM Narendra Modi for invitation extended to me. Our forefathers came from India and it is always natural blood relation that existed between two countries and we are taking this special relation to make further special," Jugnauth said after receiving ceremonial welcome.
"I must say that the meetings we had earlier and am sure on today's occasion also will take this relation to new heights and am looking to cementing on that continued form of relationship," he added.
Jugnauth will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi and some bilateral agreements are expected to be signed after the meeting.
This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad as Prime Minister after assuming office early this year.
Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid his tribute to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 53rd death anniversary.
"Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary," Modi tweeted.
Nehru, who was sworn-in on August 15, 1947, as the first Prime Minister of India when the nation gained independence from the British empire, died on May 27, 1964.
In office until his death, Nehru remains India's longest-serving Prime Minister.
He was born on November 14, 1889, in Uttar Pradesh's Allahabad.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday reached riot-hit Saharanpur and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the unrest in Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and rising unemployment in the country.
Theres no place for Dalits and poor in the country, they are being suppressed, this is happening in the entire country, Rahul Gandhi said after interacting with locals in Saharanpur .
"Narendra Modi did false promises of bringing employment in the country," he added.
I am going back on administrations instructions, as soon as the problem will be solved, they will take me to the village, he added.
Rahul Gandhi arrived in Saharanpur region in Uttar Pradesh even though he was denied permission from the district authorities.
Rahul visited the city to take stock of the prevailing situation, where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted.
Clashes occurred earlier after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.
According to reports, on 5 May, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.
(With inputs from agencies)
The Federation of Educational Publishers in India (FEPI) on Saturday urged the government to addresses some "inadvertent anomalies" that have crept into the tax structure for books under the proposed GST regime.
Addressing its concerns to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the FEPI an umbrella body of over 2,000 publishers said that according to the final Goods and Service Tax (GST) slabs, books had been largely exempted from tax.
The publishers' body, however, added that some categories of books, such as those for colouring, drawing, workbook of all types and exercise books, have been made taxable under the GST structure.
"We would like to point out that these books are for children, who have just entered the schools and are in the age group of three to 12. This additional tax will pose financial burden on their parents. We request the government to immediately rectify this," said S.K. Ghai, the FEPI President.
Science practical and lab manuals, and maths activity manuals with printed material and some blank pages have also been put under the taxable category.
Terming these "anomalies" as a "major oversight", FEPI General Secretary R.K. Gupta urged the Finance Minister to roll it back.
"This will lead to a major burden on millions of children and their parents, who shall have to bear the burden of more expensive books. These books for tiny tots not only bring out the hidden talent of children but also help them shape their creativity and evolve into good human beings," said Gupta.
He further added that all types of books should be kept away from the GST.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday left for riot-hit Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh despite being denied permission by the authorities.
Uttar Pradesh ADG Law and Order Aditya Mishra had on Friday requested all political parties not to visit the violence-hit area until the situation returns to normal.
No permission has been given for Rahul Gandhis visit to the district, Mishra had said.
"We have requested all political parties not to visit the state until the situation is brought back to normal in Saharanpur." Mishra had said.
However, the Congress party had questioned the decision, saying Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is nobody to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting Saharanpur.
Rahul will visit Saharanpur to take stock of the prevailing situation, where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted.
Clashes occurred earlier after Bahujan Samajwadi Party (BSP) supremo Mayawati's visit to Saharanpur, where one person was killed and several others were injured.
In the wake of clashes between two communities in Saharanpur, the Yogi Adityanath Government transferred 174 Sub-Divisional Magistrates.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also asked the Uttar Pradesh Government to submit a report on the recent worrisome clashes in Saharanpur.
According to reports, on 5 May, one person was killed and 16 people, including a head constable, were injured in clashes between the Dalits and the Rajputs in Shabbirpur and Simlana villages.
(With inputs from agecnies)
Karl Heinrich Marx (1818-1883) was the last of the great critics in the Western intellectual tradition. His ideas exerted a decisive influence on all aspects of human endeavour, and transformed the study of history and society. They significantly changed anthropology, the arts, cultural studies, history, law, literature, philosophy, political economy, political theory and sociology by establishing a link between economic and intellectual life.
By developing a theory of praxis, i.e. unity of thought and action, Marx brought about a sea change in the entire methodology of the social sciences. However, from its very inception Marxism had to countenance criticism and critical acclaim. In fact, the controversies within Marxism are such that Marxism, like Liberalism, has become an umbrella ideology.
In the context of Marxs writings, scholars spoke of two Marx ~ the young and the old. The young Marx was concerned with alienation, human nature and morality; the old was more deterministic, with his in-depth study of the workings of capitalism. The link between the two was the Grundrisse (1857-1858) and the Introduction to the Critique of Political Economy (1859).
Another crucial fact was that four of Marxs writings were written in collaboration with Friedrich Engels (1820-1895), his friend and comrade. After Marxs death, Engels edited and published some of his works as Marxs disciple raising questions about how much of it was Marxs original, and what were interpretrations of Engels.
It is generally believed that Marx generalised on the basis of events, i.e. from the particular to the general. Engels on the other hand, according to Carver was more deterministic, analysing from the general to the particular.
Engels acknowledged Marx as a genius, while, at best, he was talented. Marx was an innovator, and Engels the popularizer.
Gareth Stedman Jones convincingly comments that Marxism as a codified doctrine was Engels achievement. The latter made it palatable for Communist parties who were not interested in following the dense text of Marx. It was Engels who drew the parallel between Marx and Darwin.
To comprehend the major thrust of Marxs political philosophy that aimed at human liberation, it is important to consider the significant shift that occurred in the late 17th century when traditional analysis of the political order based on scarcity was replaced by a philosophy of abundance.
This meant, as pointed out by Arendt, that poverty and disparities once seen as natural, inherent and inevitable were now considered manmade and hence could be solved. The liberal writings of Locke and Jefferson reflected this libertarian dimension. However, the failure of early liberalism, according to Watkins to fulfil its own promise, led to the crystalisation of socialist ideas.
The liberal theory hinged on two principles ~ politics as involving non-coercive solutions to antagonistic interests, and the importance of democratic methods as being effective in making these adjustments.
Though it took cognisance of the Hegelian critique of individualism, it did not accept two of its major assumptions. The first was that society moved, balancing the antithetical forces which generated social change by their schisms and strife, and second, that social history was inherent in the very forces that generated them.
These aspects of Hegelian philosophy played a pivotal role in the political theory of the 19th century, and later primarily due to the transformation brought about by Marx.
Conflict played a crucial role in both Hegelian and Marxist political theory, thereby ruling out peaceful adjustment for the mutual advantage of the contending parties.
Marx interpreted liberalism and classical economics as articulating and defending the interests of the middle class. He proposed to create a social philosophy that was in tune with the aspirations of the rising proletariat.
Like Hegel, he looked upon the French Revolution as an indication of the demise of feudalism. But while Hegel contended that the Revolution would culminate in the emergence of nation-states, Marx looked upon it as a prelude to a more fundamental and total revolution beyond the nation-states.
The French Revolution, which brought the middle class to the forefront with the destruction of the nobility, was essentially a political revolution.
The next step to be undertaken was a social revolution which would be brought about by the proletariat. Francois Noel Gracchus Babeuf (1760-1797) was the first to highlight the contradictions within the revolutionary slogans of liberty and equality. He advocated socialisation of industry and land
to complete the Revolution that began in France in 1789.
Socialism carried forward the Libertarian element of early Liberalism in its call for total human emancipation. Marx disparagingly dubbed the Socialists who preceded him as Utopians, for their emphasis on class harmony and non-revolutionary politics.
The label Utopian socialists was first used by Jerome Blanqui in the History of political economy (1839). Marx learnt a lot from these Utopian socialists, and borrowed more of their ideas than he ever cared to admit. The relationship between the early Socialists and Marx was like the one that Plato shared with the Sophists. Like Marx, Plato disparaged sophism, but was indebted to its ideas.
Marx described his socialism as scientific. Having studied the laws of social development and of capitalism, he sought to prove that the destruction of capitalism was inevitable, for it had given rise to its own grave diggers.
Marxisms dream of creating a classless society beyond conflict and based on equality remained illusory. However, its critique of exploitation and alienation, and the hope of creating a truly emancipated society that would allow the full flowering of human creativity, would continue to be a starting point of any Utopian project. Despite Marxs Utopia being truly generous, it displayed a potential for being tyrannical, despotic and arbitrary. Centralisation of power and absence of checks on absolute power were themselves inimical to true human liberation and freedom.
Bakunins critique that the dictatorship of the proletariat would degenerate into a dictatorship on the proletariat was prophetic. Camus viewed Marxism as a historical religion that replaced god with history and eternal salvation with an earthly paradise. Such a utopian scheme inevitably, ended as Koestler said, as a God that failed. But despite such serious limitations, Marx was a brilliant critic of 19th century economics and politics.
(The writers are respectively former Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi, and Associate Professor in Political Science, Jesus and Mary College, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.)
Given the presently pathetic state of Indo-Pak relations, any comparison of a bilateral nature would probably be frowned upon on both sides of the border. For people are more than fed up of romantic recollections of the cultural bonds that obtained prior to 1947, and are more alive to the tensions that now divide the subcontinent. Yet there is a commonality, possibly acceptable because it is a negative ~ the mess both countries have made of their national airlines. A key adviser has recently suggested to the senate in Islamabad that the legislature facilitate the shutting down of Pakistan International Airlines in the wake of its incurring sustained losses, so massive that no turn-around seems possible.
Dismay over Air-India may not have sunk to that depth, but the airline is surviving only because of a huge government bail-out, and shows few signs of the professional capacities critical to a revival: suggestions that it be privatised have been frequent. Yet political considerations in both countries have come out forcefully against such extreme action ~ without any indication of how commercial efficiency can be restored to the carriers that had once operated in the black. The suggestions made to the senate by the Pakistan prime ministers advisor on aviation, Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, have a very familiar ring ~ Air-India could well be substituted for PIA in both his diagnosis and prognosis. The reaction of the senate has been one of false prestige and sentiment; so too have Indian parliamentarians and ministers looked to band-aid solutions rather than take the plunge.
There could well be much commonality to what brought PIA and AI to such dire straits. Political interference and excessive bureaucratic control over the years have ejected professional management from the cockpit. In both countries has the line been taken that a clean up at the top will have a magical effect. But Mr Abassi confessed that top quality people do not come to PIA any more, just as the cream of Indian aviation professionals have migrated to private airlines. And, again AI could substitute PIA in the key piece of advice: PIA should be run under business models, keeping in view the challenges facing the industry. It cannot be run on recommendations that will limit its flexibility to adopt the best industrial practices. That observation would have been more than applauded by the legendary JRD Tata, maybe even Ashwani Lohani would nod in agreement.
The mismanagement has had its trickle-down effect: both airlines are heavily over-staffed, their senior employees devoid of discipline, a few even thriving on political patronage. Clearly the term sarkari conjures up the same ugly images on both sides of the Radcliffe Line. And this is one drawback that cannot be blamed on the shared colonial legacy.
For once, the Kathmandu roulette has revolved without bitterness. Mercifully for Nepal, Wednesdays change of guard in the Himalayan country has happened without another bout of political turmoil. The resignation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda ends the stewardship of a Maoist head of government in a nation where royalty had once reigned supreme. Equally, the fact that he has handed over the baton to the Nepali Congress president, Sher Bahadur Deuba, is perfectly in accord with the power-sharing agreement that was concluded in August last year between the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the ruling partner, Nepali Congress. The pact is intended to run the government on a rotational basis until elections to Parliament are held in February next year. The certitudes of a coalition have thus been upheld in a country that has in the recent past been plagued by political instability, not to forget natural catastrophes.
The Nepal experiment is somewhat akin to the arrangement in another SAARC country ~ Afghanistan ~ where Ashraf Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah have inked a power-sharing arrangement. While the provincial and national elections will now be held with Deuba at the helm, Prachanda can be credited for the peaceful conduct of local elections, that for the past two decades had been placed in a state of suspended animation. Elections to the quangos are, at least theoretically, scheduled to be held every five years, but the process was stopped since May 1997 because of political instability. It is no mean achievement on the part of a Maoist Prime Minister to have conducted the polls on 14 May with- out bitterness, let alone violence. Nepal has without question registered a critical step towards strengthening democracy.
It redounds to Prachandas credit that he has been able to impart a measure of stability in India-Nepal relations. He has utilised his second stint as Prime Minister to make India his first port of call rather than China, which even during the earthquake in April 2016 had tried to undercut Indias influence. It bears recall that with KP Oli as PM, Nepal had rejected Indias aid package, preferring Chinas instead. Not that bilateral relations were cordial during Prachandas first stint, but in course of his second innings on Kathmandus Singha Darbar, it must be acknowledged that he has avoided the roller-coaster drift in ties. Nepals relations with India will of course hinge on addressing the disaffection of the Madhesis. Politically, Prachandas major achievement was to have transformed the movement spearheaded by Maoist rebels into a political party after the peace deal with the government in 2006. The Left radicals are no less a challenge in India, but 50 years after the upsurge in Naxalbari the political class has steered clear of any engagement with yesterdays Naxalites or todays Maoists.
On 11 May, the central biotech regulator, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) recommended that the environment ministry should approve GM Mustard. With this India has come one step closer to the entry of genetically modified (GM) food crops.
Here it needs to be mentioned that most countries have so far resisted the introduction of GM food crops mainly due to their widely acknowledged health and safety hazards, as well as the irreversible threat of genetic contamination. In most of Europe the resistance to GM food crops has been particularly stiff. India has approved only one GM crop, which is Bt cotton.
The battle to save India from GM food crops had been successful so far due to the determined resistance of farmers organizations, social and health activists supported by some senior scientists. This battle is not over. The final decision of the environment ministry has not been taken .There is still hope from the Supreme Court where long drawn out legal battles have been fought for several years on this issue.
While the movement against GM crops has prepared a strong case against GM Mustard with many technical details, the wider reality is that of an already existing case against GM crops taken as a whole with special emphasis on GM food crops. Many of these objections supported by senior scientists have already been widely discussed first in the context of Bt cotton and than in the case of Bt brinjal.
An eminent group of scientists from various countries who constitute the Independent Science Panel have said in their conclusion after examining all aspects of GM crops GM crops have failed to deliver the promised benefits and are posing escalating problems on the farm. Transgenic contamination is now widely acknowledged to be unavoidable, and hence there can be no co-existence of GM and non-GM agriculture. Most important of all, GM crops have not been proven safe. On the contrary, sufficient evidence has emerged to raise serious safety concerns that if ignored could result in irreversible damage to health and the environment. GM crops should be firmly rejected now.
In April 2009, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published a report Failure to Yield confirming that after 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialisation, GM crops have failed to increase yields and that traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering hands down.
In a widely quoted paper titled 'The Biotechnology Bubble' Dr. Mae-Wan Ho (of the BioElectrodynamics lab of the Open University in the UK), Joe Cummins (Professor Emeritus of Genetics in Canada) and Hartmut Meyer have summarised the results of several experiments, trials and commercial releases of GMOs. They write : There are many signs of the problems caused in genetic engineering organisms. For every product that reaches the market, there are perhaps 20 or more that fail. It is particularly disastrous for animal welfare.
The superpig engineered with human growth hormone gene turned out arthritic, ulcerous, blind and impotent.
The 'supersalmon engineered again to grow as fast as possible, with genes belonging to other fish, ended up with a big monstrous head and died from not being able to see, breathe or feed properly.
Even products that reach the market are failing, including crops that have been widely planted.
The authors of this widely quoted paper (published in the Ecologist) concluded: It is important to realize that the failures are not just teething problems. They are very much the result of a reductionist science and a hit or miss technology. The transgenic foods created are unwholesome, because they involve stressing the developmental and metabolic system of organisms out of balance. There are bound to be unintended effects including toxins and allergens, which current risk assessments are designed to conceal rather than reveal. The major problem is the instability of transgenic lines.
In 2009-10 at the time of the Bt brinjal debate 17 distinguished scientists from Europe, USA, Canada and New Zealand wrote to the Prime Minister of India warning against the unique risks (of GM crops) to food security, farming systems and bio-safety impacts which are ultimately irreversible. This letter added, The GM transformation process is highly mutagenic leading to disruptions to host plant genetic structure and function, which in turn leads to disturbances in the biochemistry of the plant. This can lead to novel toxin and allergen production as well as reduced/altered nutrition quality.
Dr. Sagari R. Ramdas, codirector of Anthra organisation writes, Between 2005 and 2009 Anthra, an organisation led by women veterinary scientists researching the impact of Bt cotton on animals in different parts of India, has been closely investigating the reported morbidity and mortality observed in sheep and goat flocks which have been grazed on harvested Bt cotton crop in Andhra Pradesh. Shepherds unambiguously declared that their animals, which had never died or fallen sick while being grazed on regular cotton fields since the past 10 years, began to exhibit morbid changes when grazed on the GM crop.
In Haryana, there was a strong correlation between feeding Bt cotton seeds and cotton seed cake to milch animals, and drop in milk yield and several reproductive disorders such as prolapse of uterus, premature birth of calves, increase in the incidence of abortions and decrease in conception rate.
Dr. Pushpa M. Bhargava, former Vice-Chairman of the National Knowledge Commission, has explained how Indian farmers will suffer if GM food crops like Bt brinjal are allowed to spread in India, Eighty four percent of our farmer community consists of small or marginal farmers with a holding of less than four hectares land. According to Monsanto data, Bt. brinjal pollen can travel for 30 metres and could thus easily contaminate the neighbouring non-Bt brinjal field. In course of time, we would be left with no non-Bt yield even if the farmers do not want the transgenic crop. Unlike in Europe, Britain and many other countries, India has no labeling laws. In these countries, any food product which has more than 0.9 per cent of GM material must be labelled as genetically modified item. Therefore, we would neither be able to export our vegetables stock nor exercise choice with regard to GM brinjal or a nonGM brinjal. There is an everincreasing demand everywhere, including our country, for organically grown food which fetches the farmer better price. This market will also be lost with the introduction of GM foods.
Further Prof. Bhargava, who was once nominated by the Supreme Court of India to the GEAC, has also drawn attention to the attempt by a small but powerful minority to propagate genetically modified crops to serve their interests and those of multinational corporations, the bureaucracy, the political setup and a few unprincipled and unethical scientists and technologists who can be used as tools.
Further he has warned, The ultimate goal of this attempt in India of which the leader is Monsanto, is to obtain control over Indian agriculture and thus food production. With 60 per cent of our population engaged in agriculture and living in villages, this would essentially mean not only a control over our food security but also over our farmer security, agricultural security and security of the rural sector.
The writer is a freelance journalist associated with several social movements and initiatives.
Concert masters the world over confess to difficulty finding musicians to play second violin, for human nature resents having to be second fiddle to anyone else. It is no different in the world of politics where egos do not always match up with ability. In a one-man show like the drama now being enacted on Raisina Hill, none dare seek selfprojection, and all are expected to chant Modi, Modi at all times. Though Sushma Swaraj hardly directs or supervises the prosecution of foreign policy, she has successfully managed to carve a niche for herself: Possibly one of the few ministers who has established personal credibility, and earned a unique reputation ~ not for being BJP-tough, but for displaying humane considerations to people in distress. Count is fast being lost of the number of occasions when she played the role of savior, unraveled bureaucratic red-tape, and worked the diplomatic channels for the benefits of Indians in trouble abroad. Indias embassies and high commissions have never been hailed for playing the role of fairy Godmother: somehow Mrs Swaraj has done that repeatedly, and hopefully her example has trickled down to the foreign service ~ otherwise alienated from the common citizen. Her stated intention of converting an Indian mission into a source of succor for those holding Indian passports is to be admired, even if it is not always successful. And to be fair, in times of emergency even non-Indians have been accommodated on special evacuation flights/cruises operated by Indian air services or its naval vessels. Some may ask if the office and dignity of the External Affairs minister has not been demeaned by all major foreign policy decisions being taken in the Prime Ministers Office; true but Sushma has secured for herself a special place in the otherwise heartless corridors of power.
Unlike most other ministers of the NDA government, Mrs Swaraj is aware that there are limits to Paki-bashing. She did not hesitate to acknowledge the assistance of the home and foreign ministries in Islamabad, and the High Court there, in securing the early release of Uzma, the young woman who has expressed much gratitude at returning home recently. The minister was forthright, she acknowledged the Pakistani efforts despite the difficult phase of the bilateral relations. Not that she has always been a softie. She was strident when leading the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, as an Opposition leader she demanded 10 Pakistani heads for every Indian soldier beheaded. In a previous avatar as minister for information and broadcasting she was rapped for an intemperate remark that derailed the VajpayeeMusharraf summit at Agra. Yet she has matured with the passage of time, realised that being saffron can be counter-productive. Unlike other ministerial colleagues she has grown with the job, even if that job has been devalued.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has strengthened his fort with the indefinite extension of the emergency. In effect, a theoretically democratic Turkey, westernised a century ago by Kemal Ataturk, now faces the thoroughly undemocratic prospect of what they call rule by decree. The emergency, it would be pertinent to recall, was introduced as a temporary measure after last years abortive coup; signals emitted from the presidential palace suggest that it shall continue till the country achieves welfare and peace within no time-frame and according to Presidents Erdogans lights. The perception of welfare and peace can be a matter of subjective reflection.
As both have been scarce commodities over the past few years, Turkey is seemingly headed for a monolithic presidential dictatorship of sorts for some time yet. His power will be untrammelled not least because the sweeping decree will not be subject to parliamentary oversight, let alone a review by a constitutional court. Indeed, his authority could turn out to be as unchallenged and repressive as that of some of the leaders of the Arab region, deposed or otherwise. In the aftermath of the coup that wasnt, the facts and figures pertaining to his authority are mind-boggling ~ a sweeping purge within the military, suspension of 140,000, imprisonment of 40,000, and the winding down of 1500 civil rights entities.
Erdogan cannot be unaware of the caveat sounded by Amnesty International, one that effectively places his country on notice. Catastrophic has been the impact of the purges and the emergency on the lives of hundreds of thousands of Turkish families, ever since the measure was imposed. More than 100,000 people have not just lost their jobs in a completely arbitrary process, but have had their personal and professional lives shattered as well. However much he played to the Pakistan gallery while on a recent visit to the subcontinent, his problems and policies at home are bound to intensify the groundswell of opposition to his regime. The almost intractable domestic troubles can overshadow the diplomatic grandstanding abroad.
The fact of the matter is that Erdogan has alienated both the people and the army. The deepening crisis within has to an extent impinged on the governments policy towards migrants. Arguably, the emergency might have been justified in the aftermath of the failed coup in which no fewer than 250 people had perished. Having said that, the measure is now being used to muffle the faintest dissent. As in most countries, it is a weapon to stifle criticism of the ruling AK Party and not to counter the genuine threats to national security. The President of Turkey is palpably wobbly at the knees, and he can scarcely afford to ignore the warning advanced by the Council of Europe ~ If the government rules through emergency powers for too long, it will inevitably lose democratic legitimacy. Mustafa Kemal must be spinning in his grave.
As one is ushered into the technological millennium, life has become a ratrace for people in every walk of life. Not everyone shares the perspective of 65-year-old KR Vijayan owner of a nondescript easy-to-miss wayside tea shop in Gandhi Nagar, Kochi when it comes to travelling and living. Even though his sole income is from the shop, he has visited 17 countries so far. Vijayan says, Some people say I am crazy. Maybe I am. But, we live only once and I believe that our entire life is a journey and the experiences that we accumulate are our only earnings from life.
Fortunately, my parents too share immense enthusiasm for travelling and by their grace I have explored a number of places within the country. We came up with a plan to visit Meghalaya and the largest river island in the world, Majuli in Assam.
On a Friday night, we boarded a train and reached Guwahati around 9 the next morning. Once outside, we found a swarming mass of taxi drivers, calling out Shillong Silchar, with much persistence.
Shillong is just a couple of hours from Guwahati and just before reaching the capital of Meghalaya, we came across the popular Umiam Lake, known as Bara Pani among local people. The turquoise hue of the water was breathtaking to behold.
The Shillong View Point was next up. It allows a birds eye view of the entire city and beyond through a telescope. I think we did a city tour through the telescope itself brick by brick. Then along the way, Elephant Falls came up clearly the magnificence of the waterfall speaks for itself.
Back in the city, we discovered that Wards Lake was a place where time flies just by gazing at the beauty of the park and row-boating in the still waters. While there, a stroll through the bustling shops of Police Bazaar is highly recommended along with sampling some of the delicious food in the area.
Next day, we left for Cherrapunji. The mountains of the North-east are widespread but gentler. It felt like an absolute surreal experience to drive through the lonely serpentine roads with the gentle slopes closing in at times and spreading out at others. The mountains were an exact example of how I had imagined the Wessex Mountains to be from the pages of Thomas Hardys classics.
The first spot we went to in Cherrapunji was Nohkalikai Falls the tallest plunge waterfall in India at 1,115 feet. The plunge pool that the waterfall hits has an unusual eye-soothing greenish tinge. Another major tourist spot was the Mawsmai Caves. It was my first time in a cave and I was initially sceptical about entering it because I thought I would be walking amid dirty, damp rocks. Instead, it truly turned out to be the most adventurous part of the trip. The rocks were of a most exquisite texture, slippery to touch but absolutely dirt and dust free, much to my surprise. They might owe their cleanliness to the water trickling through the fissures and the entire path was well-lit. As we moved deeper into the cave, the rock-roof pressed us closer to the ground. Looking back, it was actually a thrilling experience to squeeze through really narrow openings and bump our heads against the protruding rocks overhead!
Thereafter we hit the road and set off for Majuli. We drove to Nimati Ghat over Kaziranga from where we were ferried to the largest river island. Its said the island will be engulfed by the Brahmaputra in 15 years from now.
There was a striking peculiarity about life there. The only god the inhabitants believe in is Lord Krishna and one can only find ashrams devoted to Vishnu. Throughout the year people prepare for the Raas festival. I felt that other than mask-making, practicing roles for skits in the Raas or singing devotional verses, theres not much to do there.The island stays pretty much isolated after 5 pm as the last ferry leaves at that hour.
Thus, we bid adieu to the lonesome island and with that our short journey came to an end.
The Egyptian Army has launched airstrikes on terror groups in Libya in response to the attack that killed 28 Coptic Christians with President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi asserting that his country will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorists.
Announcing the retaliatory attack, the Egyptian Army spokesperson Tamer el-Refae posted a clip, which also included footages of army aircraft taking off, on his official Facebook and Twitter pages on Friday.
Six air strikes against "terror camps in Libya" were reported by state television. The jihadist training camps were hit in the eastern Libyan city of Derna.
The airstrikes came after the Army gathered information that confirms the terrorists' participation in the attack.
Masked gunmen attacked a bus and other vehicles taking a group of Coptic Christians to Anba Samuel monastery in the Minya Governorate, 250km south of Cairo.
Twenty-eight Christians were killed and 23 others injured in the attack yesterday.
"Egypt will not hesitate in striking any camps that harbour or train terrorist elements whether inside Egypt or outside Egypt," Sisi said in a televised address.
He said yesterday's attack will not pass easily.
Sisi also directly addressed US President Donald Trump, saying, "Your Excellency, I trust your ability to wage war on terrorism as your first priority, with the cooperation of the whole international community, that should unite against terrorism."
He said that "all countries that support terrorism, should be punished, without any courtesy or conciliation."
Sisi's remarks came as Trump denounced the attack as "merciless slaughter".
Trump said that the US "makes clear to its friends, allies, and partners that the treasured and historic Christian communities of the Middle East must be defended and protected."
"The bloodletting of Christians must end, and all who aid their killers must be punished," he said in a statement.
Sisi, in his address, asserted that "if Egypt falls, the whole world will be in chaos."
"We are waging a war on behalf of the world," he said.
Sisi said that recent attacks were aimed at making people believe that Christians are not secure in Egypt, and that the government is not protecting them.
No group has claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack.
The attack comes as the country is still under a three- month state of emergency period following twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday last month that killed dozens of people, in attacks claimed by ISIS.
There have been a number of attacks on Coptic Christians in the country in recent months claimed by Islamic State militants.
The Minya attack is the latest in a series of deadly attacks on Egypt's Christians, following the Palm Sunday Suicide Bombings.
On April 9, two suicide bombers hit Saint George's Cathedral in Tanta and St Mark's Cathedral in Alexandria, killing and injuring dozens in the deadliest attack against civilians in the country's recent history. A total of 29 people died in the Tanta explosion and 18 in Alexandria.
In December last year, an attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people.
Coptic Christians, which make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 91 million population, have faced persecution in Egypt, which has spiked since the toppling of Hosni Mubarak's regime in 2011.
North Korea on Saturday accused South Korea of violating its airspace with an unmanned vehicle, Pyongyang's state news agency reported.
According to KCNA, a Heron surveillance plane flew over the western border area four times between 7.46 a.m., and 8.40 a.m., on Friday.
The agency called the incident a "grave military provocation" as it coincided with the temporary deployment by the United States of four Global Hawk drones and around 100 soldiers at the Yokoda Air Base in Japan from their base in Guam.
Pyongyang also accused Seoul of escalating tensions and warned of a "merciless retaliatory response".
The incident took place after South Korea fired warning shots at the border on Tuesday at an unidentified object flying from North Korea to South Korea's Kangwon province, which it later identified as a propaganda balloon in support of the Kim Jong-un regime.
However, North Korean media said South Korean troops had fired at a flock of birds and accused them of being "reckless" and taking the confrontation between the two countries to a new level of "hysteria".
Repeated weapons tests by North Korea, including the most recent on May 20, have escalated tensions in the region and with Washington, who has hinted at possible pre-emptive strikes.
The weapons test took place barely a week after Pyongyang launched the Hwasong 12, a new medium range missile that indicates significant progress made by the Kim regime in developing an intercontinental missile with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching US territory.
US President Donald Trump favours keeping in place the sanctions Western nations imposed on Russia over Moscow's role in the Ukrainian conflict, one of his top advisers said here.
Speaking to reporters at the G7 Summit, Director of the National Economic Council Gary Cohn said: "We're not lowering our sanctions on Russia. If anything, we would probably look to get tougher on Russia."
Cohn said this just days after telling the media that the Trump administration was "looking at" the issue and had not yet arrived at a firm position.
Acknowledging that his previous comments created confusion about Trump's intentions, the presidential adviser said that he "should have just been much clearer", Xinhua news agency reported.
The possibility that Washington was open to softening the sanctions caused unease among some European allies.
President of the European Council Donald Tusk, appealed to the G7 nations the US, Germany, Japan, France, Britain, Italy, and Canada to show unity on the question of the Russian sanctions.
Port aux Basques woman feels as though her 'future is in somebody else's hands' as she waits for answers on Fiona compensation
Patty Munden has faced her share of loss and frustration over the past seven, almost eight, weeks, but the Port aux Basques woman is not letting it get her down. She has found an outlet to express her feelings about whats been happening, or not ...
Patnaik's close aides say that to understand him, one has to understand his empathy
By Pratul Sharma/Photos Sanjay Ahlawat
Make way for the boss as he is all set to return to the silver screen.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal and DWA announced that actor Alec Baldwin is all set to re-unite with DreamWorks Animation for the sequel of 'Boss Baby'.
The sequel brings back the creative team from the sleeper hit for a new adventure based on award-winning author Marla Frazee's picture-book series.
The first movie has grossed over 468 million USD at global box-office till date. The movie's haul in the US is 167 million USD, while earning in 301.4 million USD overseas.
Directed by Tom McGrath, the story follows a suit-wearing, briefcase-carrying baby that pairs up with his seven-year-old brother to stop the dastardly plot of the CEO of Puppy Co.
The voice cast also included Miles Christopher Bakshi, Tobey Maguire, Jimmy Kimmel, Lisa Kudrow and Steve Buscemi.
No further information has been given about the project.
Thalaivar164 unveiled
The weeks biggest draw was the announcement of of Kaala. Fans of Rajinikanth were hugely disappointed after the postponement of 2.0, which had been earlier scheduled for release in November 2017. The film is being directed by the Kabali-helmer Pa Ranjith and produced by Dhanush. It was the latter who took to Twitter to make the big announcement, the shooting of which begins later this month. The film has its roots in mythology, and also associates to the caste divide.
Playing on nostalgia
After much noise, the docu-feature on Sachin, Sachin A Billion Dreams released in theatres this week. The reviewers warmed up to the film, most avoided critiquing it because the film plays on nostalgia.
Pitt in Mumbai for War Machine
Another much talked about news for film buffs, was the visit of Brad Pitt to Mumbai for his Netflix film, War Machine. Reports reveals that an investment of $60 million has gone into making the film -- one of the biggest investment in a Netflix original film. There's been much anticipation around the feature along with Okja another Netflix original feature. At the recent Cannes Film Festival, the film had to face trouble as the festival authorities felt that, as of next year, all Palme dOr contenders must be released in French cinemas. As per the French law, there should be a 36-month window between the theatrical release and streaming date. By this rule, Netflix features will be out of the competition. Owing to this, at the press screening of Okja at the festival, many in the audience booed as per reports.
Tubelight trailer flickers against Mexican feature
Back home, the trailer of Tubelight was launched with much fanfare. However, its similarity to the trailer of the Mexican fantasy-drama, Little Boy (2015) dampened the charm of both Salman Khan and Kabir Khan that they had created with their last offering, Bajrangi Bhaijaan. The director confessed a little while back that there's resemblance to the Mexican feature because his film is inspired by it. Apparently, it hasn't gone down too well with many.
Kamal takes a dig at Aamir
If Paresh Rawal's controversial tweet (which he deleted later) against Arundhati Roy kept him in news earlier in the week, it was Kamal Haasan who stole the limelight on Friday with some of his remarks while launching Bigg Boss Tamil in Chennai. The senior actor took a dig at Aamir Khan and grabbed enough eyeballs on Twitter. As per reports, when asked why he chose a show like Bigg Boss when he could have done something like Satyamev Jayate, he said, I have been more socially responsible for long than the person who hosted Satyamev Jayate.
Among the world's largest private initiative for child nutrition, the Akshaya Patra Foundation has taken up a programme to feed a staggering five billion school children in India annually. The effort was taken up to battle malnourishment and lack of proper education for children.
Malnourishment and hidden hunger has for long affected child development and education. It is time to create this sense of urgency and call for action against this, said Sridhar Venkat, CEO, The Akshaya Patra Foundation.
Currently, Akshaya Patra feeds about 2.4 billion school-attending children in the country, and aims to double this figure in the next three years.
To help it achieve this goal, eight corporate partners have structured their CSR spending to come in line with the Akshaya Patra cause, and are funding its 'Feed the Future Now' programme, Venkat added.
Among the eight corporate partners that the feeding programme has onboarded so far are Glaxo Smith Kline Consumer Healthcare, Facebook, Nestle India, pepsico, PVR, Reliance Fresh, The Lalit Hotels, Viacom18 and 92.7 Big FM. These corporations have committed to support our programme through these three years, and would also drive contributions for Akshaya Patra's initiatives to set up new kitchens, said Venkat, at the sidelines of the launch of the 'Feed the Future Now' initiative in Delhi.
Our initiative is guided toward how Akshaya Patra would become irrelevant by 2040. The latest initiative is also guided by the same principle, said Venkat.
The children feeding programme is currently running 28 kitchens in 12 states. Each of its kitchens are capable of feeding 50,000 to 100,000 school children. Under the present programme, it aims to have 50 kitchens in all states in the next three years.
Among these states, the Uttar Pradesh government under Akhilesh Singh Yadav had committed financial support in setting up 11 Akshaya Patra kitchens in the state. We hope that the present administration under Yogi Adityanath will also continue with the commitment.
The programme also plans new kitchens in Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttarakhand. So far, each Akshaya Patra meal costs about Rs 11 (18 cents) and the programme receives about Rs 6 support from the Union and state government put together.
Maneka Gandhi, union minister for women and child development, pledged her support for the programme and said that her ministry will support it and also take it to all states.
Congratulating the corporations that have aligned their school feeding programmes with Akshaya Patra, Gandhi said, This is the ideal way to go forward. We have to eradicate child malnutrition from this current high rate that is prevalent in India. It is important that these feeding programmes are run with compassion for children and not just with an aim to feed.
The focus should not be on feeding just food, but providing a nutritious meal. I believe children should be provided packets that contain 600-1000 calories and nutrients, and urge the Akshaya Patra Foundation to take up this initiative, said Gandhi addressing the inaugural.
Hizbul Mujahideen's second-in-command Sabzar Ahmed Bhat, one among the most wanted militants who is also known to be the successor of deceased militant Burhan Wani, has been killed in an encounter with security forces this morning. Two of his associates have also been neutralised in the encounter near Sabzar's house at Rathsuna in Tral of the Pulwama sector.
Sabzar was one of the most important members of the famed Burhan Wani-led militant group. The killing is seen as a major setback to Hizbul after Burhan's killing last July at Bamdooru in Anantnag along with two of his associates. Burhan's killing had then triggered the most severe uprising in Kashmir that lasted for six months without a break.
Police sources said Sabzar was trapped last night after an army patrol came under fire at Rathsuna.
The firing led to an encounter and the Hizbul No. 2, along with two other militants namely, Adil and Fiazan, were killed this morning.
Meanwhile, intense clashes broke out between security forces and protesters who were trying to break the security siege to help the militants escape during the encounter. The clashes led to injuries to a few civilians, including two with pellet hits.
As the news spread, irate mobs took to streets raising pro-freedom slogans in Pulwama, Tral and Srinagar. Students in Srinagar took to streets and raised slogans. The protests created panic across Kashmir forcing buisneses, schools and offices to close.
The fresh incidents have also led to the government suspending internet in the state. It was just yesterday that the government had lifted the month-long ban on 22 social media sites and applications in Kashmir.
The Indian Navy has pressed three shipsINS Kirch, INS Shardul and INS Jalashwafor relief and rescue operations in Sri Lanka, where, following heavy rains, flooding and landslides have already claimed nearly a hundred lives.
The government of Sri Lanka sought Indian help on my 26, shortly after which INS Kirch, a corvette, which was on deployment was diverted to Colombo. The ship reached Colombo on May 27, with relief supplies, inflatable Gemini boats and diving teams, and a mobile medical team. The rescue specialists are already in the disaster prone zone, working in co-ordination with Sri Lankan authorities.
INS Shardul, an amphibious ship, sailed out from Kochi on May 27, loaded with relief materiel and more inflatable boats. It should reach Colombo port by Sunday afternoon. INS Jalashwa set sail from Visakhapatnam, with additional supplies and is expected to reach by Monday. INS Jalashwa is the largest of the three ships. It is a Landing Platform Dock that can carry large amount of relief material and is ideal to be deployed for disaster relief missions.
Prime minister Narendra Modi who has condoled the loss of lives, said that India stands with her Sri Lankan brothers and sisters in their hour of need''.
Earlier this week, Indian Navy had successfully rescued a Maldivian ship, MV Maria 3, which has been adrift in the high seas for five days after a propulsion failure, The ship had six sailors on board. The Indian Navy deployed its Dornier aircraft in the search and rescue operation and located the ship drifting 150 nautical miles south east of Male.
108 ft Shankaracharya statue in Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh government has decided to erect a 108 feet statue of Shankaracharya in Bhopal, on the lines of the Statue of unity at Sardar Sarovar dam in Gujarat. The statue will be made from eight metalsastdhatuwhich will be collected from the public through a special campaign. Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan announced the campaign in the presence of Hindu seers. Like the 'Run for unity' campaign organised in Gujarat, the campaign, set to begin on June 1, will be called 'Run for cultural unity' and will collect metal donated by Hindus from all over the state to build the statue. Shankaracharya is one of the important proponents of Hinduism and the CM hopes to appease the RSS leadership.
Rs 500 for those present at Amarkantak rally
A recent report has claimed that Rs 500 was paid per head to all those who attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi's speech at Amarkantak on May 15 as part of the conclusion to Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan's Narmada Yatra. According to the revelation, which left the BJP government embarrassed, the payments were made from the Swachh Bharat Mission fund. The rally itself was questioned by the National Green Tribunal for its impact as Amarkantak is a biosphere reserve. More than 50,000 people were ferried from 33 districts on the government's fund to impress the prime minister. The fund came from the Information, Education, Communication (IEC) head of Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) and in official documents the rally was projected as a training programme. Leader of opposition Ajay Singh questioned the misuse of public money. He asked if the government money was used to mobilise people, then why was the opposition not invited for the function.
UK based banknote firm gets court notice
Security Paper Mill located in Hoshangabad, 70 kilometres from Bhopal, has sued the UK based banknote manufacture De La Rue for supplying sub-standard security paper for making Rs 100 and 500 denomination notes. Security Paper Mill (SPM) lawyer Sushil Goyal told media that his client SPM has filed a recovery suit in a local court against the foreign company to recover Rs 11 crore for allegedly supplying poor quality paper. Advocate Goyal said that the paper was supplied last year and company has accepted that it was of inferior quality. On the complaint, the court has issued notice to the UK firm and listed the matter for second week of next month. De La Rue is the same company which was previously accused by Aam Aadmi Party as one of those mentioned in the infamous Panama papers. It was also reportedly investigated by CBI in 2010, AAP said.
6 crore saplings to be planted on the banks of Narmada
Over six crore saplings would be planted across river Narmada in Madhya Pradesh on July 2. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has asked people to register themselves for planting trees. He launched a website where people could volunteer themselves to plant saplings during the drive. The forest department is enrolling masses to become part of the afforestation drive along the banks of river Narmada to protect and conserve environment. Individuals and groups or organisations can plant these saplings on designated forest and revenue land. The government is also giving a subsidy for farmers who can plant fruit saplings on their privately owned land. A special task force has been created for safety and maintenance of saplings. People can even volunteer to be 'caretaker' to guard and nurture the saplings.
Malayalees love their beef. No wonder, Keralathe biggest consumer of beef in the countryis up in arms against the Union government's ban on selling cattle for beef. Political parties, literary figures and actors have all joined hands to air their protest against the Centre which, through a notification issued by the environment ministry on Friday, stuck a deathly blow to the beef trade in the country.
A large number of Malayalees have changed their Facebook profiles to pictures of spicy beef curry. Beef festivals were organised across the state with people from various quarters of life attending it.
In fact, beefa divisive subject elsewhere in the countryis a uniting force in Kerala with political parties across the spectrum, barring the BJP, coming together to protest against the ban.
Chief Minister Pinaray Vijayan was the first one to take a public posturing against the Union government move, and called it a an action unsuitable for a democratic nation.
"The Central government's rules on cattle slaughter and trade are part of its effort to further the RSS agenda in the country. India is a country of diverse religions and culture. Pluralism is the essence of our democracy. However, various actions of the Centre are against this pluralism. The Sangh Parivar has unleashed violence in many parts of the country in the name of protesting against cow slaughter. Crores of people in the country slaughter cattle for food,'' he said.
Finance Minister Thomas Isaac joined the league calling the Centre's decision 'illogical'. He said the state would introspect what it could do legally.
"The government cannot decide the choice of our food. The decision seems illogical. The state government will look into it and see if anything can be done legally," Isaac said.
Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar of the CPI described Centre's decision unacceptable and unconstitutional.
"We will seek legal resort against this. The Centre has taken undue advantage of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and has misused it. By this move, the central government in practice is banning consumption of meat, which is not acceptable," the minister said.
Congress party, too, was quick in criticising the beef ban. KPCC president M.M. Hassan said the Centre's move was "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional".
"It is an outright violation of human rights. Banning slaughter of cow and buffalo, especially in states like Kerala, is denying the people their right to eat. Since there is no law that prohibits cow slaughter in Kerala, we will not allow for this regulation to come into practice," Hassan said.
He also alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was trying to enforce "Sangh Parivar agenda."
Hassan added: "BJP is doing cow politics in Uttar Pradesh to polarise communities. They are trying to do the same thing in Kerala by implementing ban on cow slaughter in the state. Congress will resist such an action."
Traders, butchers to feel the heat
Despite the large-scale outrage and protests by both the ruling and the opposition parties in the state, people like Hasan Chellari, who has been in the beef business for the last 30 years, is not relieved.
Hasan, who owns two butcher shops in Kozhikiode district, said the Centre move meant death bell to people like him. Beef is an interstate business. More than three quarter of cattle that get slaughtered in Kerala are brought from neighbouring states. If this ban is implemented, then it will be tough to procure them even if the state government support us,'' he said.
Hasan has been in this business since the age of 15. His father was also a butcher. There are close to 50,000 people like him in the state who earns their livelihood from beef.
According to official figures, around 12 lakh cattle are slaughtered in Kerala every year. Majority of these cattle are brought from the neighbouring states where beef is banned. Malappuram, the Muslim dominated district in the state, accounts for the maximum beef consumption followed by Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kasargode and Thrissur.
Malayalees love eating beef. There is no religion involved it,'' said Sajan Varghese, who runs a slaughter house in Ernakulam.
Sajan gets cattle from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. According to him, there are some who get their cattle from far away states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. He said the business was already shaky since the notification.
With rumours spreading, many of my agents in other states sounded scared. Some told me that they already had received threats from local BJP leaders in the Kerala-Karnataka border,'' Sajan said.
He said people like him would be able to do the business only if the state government took a proactive step in this regard.
Even then, as Hasan put it, the scenario looks bleak'' as beef is an interstate business.
A man yelling anti-Muslim slurs stabbed two men to death on a Portland, Oregon, commuter train on Friday.
The two men were stabbed after they confronted a passenger who was "yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs," CNN quoted a Portland police spokesman as saying.
"It is unclear if he was directing (slurs) at specific people but witnesses told us he may have been targeting two girls described as Muslim, one wearing a hijab. We have not been able to find those girls to verify that," said Portland police Sgt. Pete Simpson.
Simpson further informant that a suspect is in custody.
"This is at the early stages of the investigation. We do not know if the suspect was drunk, on medication, had mental issues or anything else," Simpson added.
The stabbing occurred on a Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) light-rail train. According to witnesses one of the victims was stabbed in the neck.
Portland police said that both the victims died adding that a third passenger who also tried to intervene with the shouting man was injured.
US President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, according to seven current and former US officials.
Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sourcesone current and one former law enforcement official.
Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said.
While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said.
The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged.
Media reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the presidents inner circle.
The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November.
"Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said.
In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish a line of communication. Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials.
Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving US-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
After the November 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place.
Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the November 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. . Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions.
Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides.
FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of U.S. citizens, whose names were redacted because of US privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask US intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current U.S. law enforcement official said.
Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians.
FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current US law enforcement official.
The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under US sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed.
The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of US banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy.
Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts.
There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed.
Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election.
The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what US intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
On May 8, when India filed a petition at the International Court of Justice seeking a provisional stay on former naval commander Kulbhushan Jadhavs hanging, Pakistan was caught unprepared. Pakistan floundered in gathering up a convincing defence in the tight one week deadline it got before the ICJ heard the case, while India had all its ammunition ready.
Pakistan, which retired hurt, is now determined to return to the arena with knives sharpened. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, speaker of the Pakistan National Assembly and chair of the Parliamentary Committee for National Security, told parliamentarians that they would defend their position forcefully, and that this time, attorney general Ashtar Ausaf Ali, too, would be part of the legal team. With India on the offensive in the first battle, it had the advantage of surprise. In the war ahead, however, India will have to second guess Pakistans moves. The ball is now in Pakistans court.
Pakistan is still mulling over what its best options are. Legal experts and politicians in Pakistan might bicker among themselves over what went wrong at the ICJ, but the country is putting together a defence that should not be taken lightly by India, however strong its own legal team may be. The bickering is for media consumption and political posturing. Behind this curtain, though, a legal team is being put together to examine every point through which Pakistan can salvage or avenge the face it lost. Some feel that an unprepared Pakistan lost the opportunity to get an ad hoc judge to the 11-member jury which passed the order, while India had a judge, Dalveer Bhandari, on the bench. Pakistan now has the chance to select its ad hoc nominee for the case.
Continuing ahead on the merits of the case will be Indias biggest challenge, said Soli Sorabjee, former attorney general of India. Vinai Kumar Singh, deputy director of the Indian Society of International Law (ISIL), said since it was the violation of the Vienna Convention that triggered the ICJ jurisdiction, Indias safest bet lay in proving a continuous violation of the convention. So far, Pakistan has not provided consular access to Jadhav, saying that the ICJ order did not mention it. ICJ president Ronny Abraham said consular access should be provided even if a person was being tried for espionage or terrorism. The court order, though, did not give directions to Pakistan in this regard. Pakistani officials are making various excuses, from pointing out that they have not been asked to provide consular access to that they are considering the request. So far, the denial has strengthened Indias case.
Significantly, India has not made a fresh request for access, after getting no response to the previous 16 ones. Gopal Baglay, spokesperson for the ministry of external affairs, said the previous requests were not withdrawn and therefore if Pakistan wanted, it could provide consular access based on those requests.
But once Pakistan provides access, what would be Indias argument? The other strong point in Indias favour is a human rights issue, but both India and Pakistan can provide ample evidence of violating human rights.
Once Pakistan submits a report on the actions taken as per the ICJ orders, we will have to find means to ensure that the case continues in the ICJ. This could be difficult because India has a declaration that within the Commonwealth, disputes should not be in the ICJ unless both parties agree. Since the strongest point in Indias favour is the flouting of the Vienna Convention, it will be a tightrope to ensure that beyond the violations, too, the case finds merit to be tried in the ICJ, said Singh.
Sources in the MEA said India was looking at the matter step by step. The first step was to get a stay, in which it succeeded.
What scenarios could play out now? Pakistan can still argue on the jurisdiction of the ICJ over the case. It says Jadhav is a terrorist. Just in case it is able to convince the ICJ about this, how will India deal with the development? Iran has so far not given an official statement on whether Jadhav was in the Chabahar area when he was picked up. Getting Iran to give the statement will be a shot in the arm for India, but it will require much diplomatic skill. Iran needs Pakistan for its new oil economy and would not want to be seen taking sides. Pakistan claims that Jadhav was caught with two passports. If India can prove that the one in the Muslim name is fake and if there is no departure stamp from Iran on the original passport, Pakistans case weakens. A lot depends on what moves Pakistan makes, said Sorabjee.
While Harish Salve and his team get their arguments ready, India needs to strengthen its diplomatic outreach. The most favourable order we can get from the ICJ is a complete quashing of the case under which Jadhav was tried, said Sorabjee. Pakistan will have to agree by the ICJ order. It will be in for a huge diplomatic disaster if it doesnt.
But even in case of the most favourable judgment, there is the risk that Pakistan may not implement it. The ICJ does not have the authority to ensure that its order is implemented. It can, however, ask the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions against Pakistan. The UNSC will consider whether it is a procedural or a substantive matter. A procedural matter cannot be vetoed, a substantive one can be. But we have no control there, said Singh.
Do we have enough trustworthy friends in the UNSC? asked E.M. Sudarsana Natchiappan, former Union minister and president of the ISIL. Even if we feel we have Russias support, the United States is unpredictable. And, China is more Pakistan-friendly. We have further irked China by boycotting the One Belt One Road meet. This is not a time to celebrate a victory, we need to work hard at our diplomatic outreach. Even while the case is on, there are still ways we can work on the international community to ensure Pakistan steps down from its stand on Jadhavs execution. By going to the ICJ, we may have opened the floodgates for bigger issues to be taken to this court. We need to be prepared for those eventualities, too. Now, more than at any other time, we need to work on our diplomacy.
While the big win would be getting Jadhav back to India, realists say that if India plays its cards well, it could at least succeed in getting the sentence reduced, through the ICJ or through diplomatic outreach.
Fox News Channels Sean Hannity said Tuesday hes backing off his speculation about the 2016 murder of Democratic National Committee employee Seth Rich after talking with Richs family, which had appealed to the media to stop.
The decision took Hannity off a potential collision course with his network, which earlier Tuesday had removed a week-old story about the case from its website because it was not initially subjected to the high degree of editorial scrutiny we require for all our reporting.
The report quoted a private investigator suggesting that Rich had some connection to WikiLeaks and its leaks of Democratic National Committee emails during the last campaign.
Richs family has said they dont believe their son, who was shot in July 2016 in Washington, gave any information to WikiLeaks. The investigator has since recanted his claim, and the independent researcher Politifact.com has said the notion that Rich was involved in the leak was flimsy and illogical. No arrests have been made in the shooting. Washington police have said they think Rich was killed in a random robbery attempt.
Hannity, Foxs biggest star and a leading conservative radio talk show host, has said he doesnt believe the robbery theory. Some Trump supporters have been pushing a supposed WikiLeaks connection to counter stories about Russian involvement in the last election.
Hannity said Tuesday that he had corresponded with Richs brother and that out of respect for the familys wishes for now, I am not discussing this matter at this time.
My heart, my soul, my prayers, everything goes out to them in this very difficult time, he said.
He then pivoted to talking about the destroy Trump media that he says is continuing to talk about the Russian story without any evidence of collusion in the last election.
Hannity sent mixed signals about whether he was actually through with the Rich story, both on his show and in a later tweet.
To the extent of my ability, I am not going to stop trying to find the truth, he said. He added that, at the proper time, we shall continue and talk a lot more.
He said liberal fascists were trying to urge his advertisers to leave the show. Fleeing advertisers played a role in last months drama over Foxs Bill OReilly, who was fired by the network following reports of settlements paid to women to keep quiet about allegations of harassment.
I serve at the pleasure of Fox News Channel and I am here to do my job every night, he said, adding as long as they seem to want me.
Hannity is the last remaining star of a prime-time lineup that only a year ago also included OReilly, Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren. Kelly and Van Susteren now both work for NBC News. Hannity was close to former Fox co-president Bill Shine, and publicly defended Shine after questions were raised about how much Shine knew of alleged harassment by OReilly and the late Fox chairman, Roger Ailes. But Shine left the network shortly thereafter.
Although Fox removed the Rich story from its website, its statement did not say the story was wrong. The network said it will continue to investigate the story and provide updates as warranted.
The network had no other comment beyond the published statement on Tuesday.
(AP)
Masked militants riding in three SUVs opened fire Friday on a bus packed with Coptic Christians, including children, south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 28 people and wounding 22, the Interior Ministry said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, the fourth to target Christians since December, but it bore the hallmarks of the Islamic State group. The attack came on the eve of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Islamic militants have for years been waging an insurgency mostly centered in the restive northern part of Egypts Sinai Peninsula, although a growing number of attacks have recently also taken place on the mainland.
The assault happened while the bus was traveling on a side road in the desert leading to the remote monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Maghagha, in Minya governorate, about 220 kilometers (140 miles) south of Cairo.
Security officials quoted witnesses as saying they saw between eight and 10 attackers, dressed in military uniforms and wearing masks. The victims were en route from the nearby province of Beni Suef to visit the monastery.
Security and medical officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters, said the death toll stood at 28 but feared it could rise further. According to Copts United news portal, only three children survived the attack. It was not immediately known how many of the victims were children.
Arab TV stations showed images of a badly damaged bus along a roadside, many of its windows shattered and with numerous bullet holes. Footage of the buss interior showed blood stains on the seats and shattered glass.
Ambulances are seen parked around the bus and bodies are lying on the ground, covered with black plastic sheets.
The surge in attacks targeting Christians in Egypt has added to the challenges facing President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissis government as it struggles to contain the insurgency while pushing ahead with an ambitious and politically sensitive reform program to revive the countrys ailing economy that already has sent the cost of food and services soaring.
There was no immediate response from the government to Fridays attack, but it is likely to heighten security around churches, monasteries, schools and annual pilgrimages to remote Christian sites across the country.
On Wednesday, Egypt blocked access to nearly two dozen websites it said were sympathetic to militants or spreading their ideology.
The growing number of these terror attacks is not at all reassuring, Fr. Rafic Greiche, the spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic church, told a local television station.
El-Sissi called for a meeting with top aides to discuss Fridays attack. Last month, he declared a three-month state of emergency following twin suicide bombings that struck two churches north of Cairo on Palm Sunday. In December, a suicide bomber targeted a Cairo church. The attacks left at least 75 dead and scores wounded and were claimed by IS, which later vowed more attacks against Christians.
Late last month, Pope Francis visited Egypt, in part to show his support for Christians in this Muslim majority Arab nation following the December and April attacks.
During the trip, Francis paid tribute to the victims of the December bombing in Cairos St. Peters church, located in close proximity to Cairos St. Marks cathedral, the seat of the Coptic Orthodox Church. He visited the church, where he joined in prayers the spiritual leader of Egypts Orthodox Christians, Pope Tawadros II, and leaders of other Christian churches in Egypt.
Following the popes visit, IS vowed to escalate attacks against Christians, urging Muslims to steer clear of Christian gatherings and Western embassies, saying they are targets for the groups followers.
Egypts Copts, the Middle Easts largest Christian community, have long complained of discrimination, as well as outright attacks, at the hands of the countrys majority Muslim population. They account for about 10 percent of Egypts 93 million people.
They rallied behind el-Sissi, a general-turned-president, when he in 2013 ousted his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi, who hails from the Muslim Brotherhood group. Attacks on Christian homes, businesses and churches subsequently surged, especially in the countrys south, the heartland of Egypts Christians.
(AP)
A Virginia-based federal appeals court pulled no punches in refusing to reinstate President Donald Trumps revised travel ban, with judges in the 10-3 majority calling the administrations action discriminatory and its reasoning nonsensical.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals opinion Thursday upheld a Maryland judges decision to block the travel ban from taking effect. It was the first appeals court to weigh in on the travel ban.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit is expected to rule soon after hearing arguments in Seattle this month, and the issue is likely to reach the Supreme Court.
Heres a look at what the 4th Circuit decided and what might come next.
ARE TRUMPS CAMPAIGN STATEMENTS RELEVANT?
According to at least eight of the judges in the majority, yes. Chief Judge Roger Gregory wrote that it was appropriate to consider Trumps comments calling for a Muslim ban.
But Gregory stressed there should be no bright-line rule governing when its appropriate to consider an officeholders campaign statements.
A persons particular religious beliefs, her college essay on religious freedom, a speech she gave on the Free Exercise Clause rarely, if ever, will such evidence reveal anything about that persons actions once in office, he wrote. For a past statement to be relevant to the governments purpose, there must be a substantial, specific connection between it and the challenged government action.
The groups challenging the ban made a compelling case that the primary purpose of Trumps revised travel ban was to discriminate against Muslims, in violation of the Constitutions ban on the government favoring or disfavoring any religion, the majority said.
One judge, Stephanie Thacker, an appointee of President Barack Obama, said in a concurring opinion she would not consider statements by candidate Trump but, she added, it wasnt necessary to. She cited Trump adviser Rudy Giulianis comments following Trumps inauguration that the president had asked him to figure out how to legally implement a Muslim ban.
The three dissenting judges, Republican appointees Paul Niemeyer, Dennis Shedd and G. Steven Agee, accused the majority of fabricating a new proposition of law. Campaign statements often ambiguous, retracted, clarified and politically charged might provide fertile ground for anyone who wanted to recast the intent of an officials action in an effort to show discrimination, they said.
NATIONAL SECURITY
Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall argued that the presidents directive falls squarely within his duty to secure the nations borders and that it does not discriminate against Muslims in its language or in its operation.
The majority didnt buy it.
The only examples Trumps order cited of immigrants born abroad and convicted of terrorism-related crimes in the United States include two Iraqis and a Somalian refugee, Gregory wrote. Iraq is not among the six predominantly Muslim countries included in the travel ban, and the Somalian came to the U.S. as a child and was radicalized here as an adult.
The travel ban appears to be a post hoc, secondary justification for an executive action rooted in religious animus and intended to bar Muslims from this country, he wrote.
In her concurrence, Thacker called the governments reasoning untenable. She noted that two non-Muslim nations, the Philippines and Venezuela, werent included among the banned countries even though they are home to terrorist groups and fail to help verify information about people attempting to travel to the United States.
The Government has not consistently applied the criteria it claims it used, and the reason seems obvious and inappropriate, she wrote.
SUPREME COURT
Attorney General Jeff Sessions swiftly said the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to review the 4th Circuits decision. Sessions says the Justice Department strongly disagrees and will continue to vigorously defend Trumps order. He says the courts ruling blocks Trumps efforts to strengthen this countrys national security.
The Supreme Court almost always has the final say when a lower court strikes down a federal law or presidential action.
Trump could try to persuade the Supreme Court to allow the policy to take effect, even while the justices weigh whether to hear the case, by arguing that the court orders blocking the ban make the country less safe.
A vote on whether to grant that request could signal the courts ultimate decision.
It takes a majority of the court, five votes, to put a lower court ruling on hold. One factor in that first vote is whether the government is likely to win in the end. If at least five justices vote to let the travel ban take effect, theres a good chance they also would uphold the policy later on.
Conversely, its hard to imagine that a majority would uphold the travel ban if there are not five votes to let it take effect pending a final ruling.
(AP)
A U.S. service member was killed in a vehicle accident in northern Syria on Friday, according to a statement from the anti-ISIS coaliton.
A U.S. service member died of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover in northern Syria, May 26, 2017, said a statement from Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, the formal name for the military coalition helping to fight ISIS in Iraq and Syria.
Further information will be released as appropriate, the statement added, saying it is the coalitions policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.
The United States has slightly more than 900 military personnel in Syria to advise and assist Kurdish and Arab rebel forces fighting ISIS.
Two other American service members have died in Syria since U.S. troops arrived there in early 2016.
Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Scott C. Dayton, 42, was killed by an improvised explosive device in northern Syria on Nov. 24, 2016.
U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Austin L. Bieren, 25, died from suspected natural causes while deployed to northern Syria on March 28.
(AP)
More than a dozen states have passed legislation within the past year enhancing penalties for crimes against law enforcement officers. Heres a look at those measures:
ARIZONA
Expands the crime of aggravated assault against on-duty officers to also apply to off-duty peace officers not engaged in police activities, and adds offenses committed maliciously against peace officers as grounds for enhanced sentences. SB 1366 , entitled the Blue Lives Matter Law, signed April 17 by Gov. Doug Ducey.
ARKANSAS
Creates enhanced penalties for offenses targeting current or former law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical providers, prosecutors, corrections officers and code enforcement officers, or their family members. HB 1172 signed March 3 by Gov. Asa Hutchison. Expands the scope of the crime of aggravated assault on a law enforcement or correctional officer and enhances the penalties. SB 20 signed March 3 by Hutchison.
GEORGIA
Increases mandatory minimum prison penalties for assault or battery against public safety officers and for repeat offenses of resisting or obstructing officers. Also imposes new fines, which fund payments to families of officers who die in the line of duty. SB 160 , entitled the Back the Badge Act of 2017, signed May 8 by Gov. Nathan Deal.
KANSAS
Creates enhanced penalties for non-drug felonies committed against on-duty law enforcement officers or when the offender knows the victim is a law officer. SB 112 signed May 5 by Gov. Sam Brownback.
KENTUCKY
Adds employment as a peace officer, firefighter and emergency medical services provider to an existing list of qualities such as race, religion and sexual orientation for which enhanced penalties can be pursued for offenses committed as hate crimes. HB 14 signed March 20 by Gov. Matt Bevin.
LOUISIANA
Adds employment as a law enforcement officer, firefighter and emergency medical services provider to an existing list of qualities such as race, age, gender, religion, disability or sexual orientation for which enhanced penalties can be pursued for offenses committed as hate crimes. HB 953 signed May 26, 2016, by Gov. John Bel Edwards.
MISSISSIPPI
Creates enhanced penalties for misdemeanor or felony crimes that target people because of their employment as law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians similar to enhancements already in place for crimes committed for such reasons as race, religion and gender. HB 645 , entitled The Blue, Red and Med Lives Matter Act, signed March 24 by Gov. Phil Bryant.
MISSOURI
Adds the crimes of involuntary manslaughter, stalking, property damage and trespassing to those carrying enhanced penalties when committed against law enforcement officers or their family members.
(AP)
High end: Clients in China like buying insurance from an international firm
Global Benefits Group is an insurance business with a difference.
It is totally focused on medical, travel, life and disability cover with an international twist, ranging from companies wanting to insure local employees in far flung places to wealthy expats wanting private medical insurance from their home country.
The business floated in February at 150p and the price has drifted to 142.5p.
At this level the shares are worth a closer look.
The company is growing fast, dividends are expected to be extremely generous and the market in which it operates is worth more than 7 billion.
Most insurers in this sector are either large multinationals, for whom international medical, travel and life cover are just a small slice of their business, or they are small, local players.
GBG is large enough to have an international presence but small enough to customise insurance products so they fit customers specific needs.
The group has around 150,000 clients in about 150 countries, including Myanmar, Brazil, China and many parts of Africa.
Most customers do not want off-the-shelf policies. Instead, they want individualised cover to suit their circumstances.
An oil business operating in Angola, for example, may want to offer medical insurance to both local employees and international workers from many different countries.
Fitting them all on to a single policy requires dexterity and flexibility, which GBG provides.
The group has a growing business in China, where wealthy individuals like the idea of buying life and medical insurance from an international firm.
Many want to include grandparents as dependants, but this does not fit into standard Western life cover. GBG adapts policies so elderly dependants can be included.
The firm was founded in the US in 1981 and the corporate headquarters remain there, in Orange County, California.
But the company underwrites insurance in London and has offices in numerous locations, including India, the Philippines, South Africa, China and Canada.
The group also prides itself on developing an extensive network of partnerships with hospitals and medical facilities so if an insured customer falls ill in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for example, GBG can swiftly hook them up with a nearby health centre.
They have no need to pay and the bill goes straight to GBG.
Having grown steadily for more than 30 years, the group decided to float on AIM, largely because London is home to the largest insurance market in the world, so institutional investors understand the industry.
As a public company, the group is keen to expand into new regions and develop new products.
In 2015, for example, it began offering life and medical cover to international students and has already attracted annual premiums of almost $10 million (7.7 million).
The company has also started GBG Assist, a 24-hour service helping other insurers with administration around medical emergencies. The division is expected to grow rapidly over the next few years.
GBG is run by Bob Dubrish, an insurance veteran with 35 years experience under his belt. He joined the company in 2015 but his director of strategic planning, Andy Thorburn, has worked at the company for 18 years and ran it from 2005 to 2015.
Now 73, Thorburn is a down-to-earth insurance specialist from New Jersey with a strong entrepreneurial bent and a track record of success.
Revenues for the year to the end of June are expected to rise 23 per cent to $133 million, with income expected to rise almost 29 per cent to $13.4 million.
The group has said it will pay a dividend of 4.7p this year, but brokers believe it will more than double to 11.2p in 2018, putting the shares on a yield of almost 8 per cent.
Dubrish and Thorburn are extremely confident about the future, expecting revenues more or less to double to about $200 million over the next four years, with even stronger growth in profits.
At the moment, most of the shares are in the hands of long-term investors, who owned stock before the company floated.
Over time, however, these investors will almost certainly reduce their holdings to make more shares available to other investors and boost liquidity in the stock.
Midas verdict: GBG is a fast-growing company in an attractive market and the shares are worth a punt on the dividend alone. At 142p, the stock is a buy.
Traded on: AIM Ticker: GBGI Contact: gbg.com or 001 949 470 2100
The execution of juvenile offenders is a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as Convention on the Rights of the Child, both of which have been signed by Iran. Nevertheless, Iran remains one of the only countries to continue the practice, and the Iran Human Rights report indicates that Tuesdays execution was at least the third such incident in 2017. The report concluded by calling upon the European Union to resume their pressure on the Iranian authorities in order to stop juvenile executions.
Coming just days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was elected to a second term amidst promises of domestic reform and outreach to the international community, the story may be regarded as a stark reminder of the lack of progress that has been made during Rouhanis first term, as well as the diminished international attention that has allegedly been given to human rights issues in Iran since the supposedly moderate president began pursuing a nuclear agreement with six world powers led by the United States.
Although the nuclear negotiations did result in an agreement in July 2015, it has been widely criticized, including by leading figures in the Trump administration and the US president himself, for extracting only tepid concessions from the Islamic Republic while allowing tens of billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief that could potentially finance terrorist activities and the repressive activities of organizations like the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
These potential negative effects may have been overlooked by the previous presidential administration on the basis of an assumption that the Iranian regime would begin down a path of moderation in the wake of the agreement and under the influence of the Rouhani presidency. The Iranian presidents campaign for his first term included a number of progressive sounding promises, one of the most prominent of which was the release of Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, the leaders of the 2009 Green Movement who have been under house arrest without formal charge or trial for the past six years.
Excuses for Inaction
Rouhani took no recognizable steps toward fulfilling this promise after winning office. But with his reelection campaign approaching, he blamed other elements of the regime for holding back his earnest efforts to loosen the restrictions on political expression in the country. These excuses were quickly reiterated following his reelection, as was pointed out by the Center for Human Rights in Iran on Wednesday. The organizations report on Rouhanis first post-reelection press conference characterized it as abandoning altogether the promise of freedom for Karroubi and Mousavi.
This effort to pass of responsibility on other branches of the government comes after Rouhanis campaign claimed that unilateral action on this point would be made easier if he was reelected with a stronger mandate in the May 19 elections. Rouhani very clearly accomplished this goal. Although opponents of the Iranian regime, chiefly the National Council of Resistance of Iran, have insisted that the electoral participation figures are grossly inflated, there does not appear to be any doubt about Rouhanis victory. The official figures put Rouhanis share of the vote at 57 percent, while his leading opponent, the hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi, received 38 percent.
While this is a considerable margin of victory, Al Monitor claimed on Thursday that the conservative political base has been galvanized behind Raisi after remaining fractured for a long time. This could help that faction to maintain its strength and influence, thus lending some credence to Rouhanis claims of being stymied from outside the administration. Furthermore, as the Al Monitor article notes, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei signaled implicit support for Raisis candidacy, a fact that is made especially significant by the fact that the supreme leader is the ultimate authority in all matters of state.
Of course, Rouhanis comments about the Green Movement leaders and other reformist issues failed to acknowledge this political reality. This apparent dishonesty may cast doubt on Rouhanis claims about his own intentions, as well. And some commentary on the elections, including that from the NCRI, has emphasized Rouhanis longstanding role as a regime insider. The NCRIs main constituent group, the Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran, organized an electoral boycott in the run-up to May 19, and its campaign included slogans describing Rouhani as an imposter.
Longstanding Trends, Still Neglected
Tuesdays execution is an early indicator that this characterization of the president may remain just as justified in his second term as it did throughout his first. That is to say, it is the continuation of established trends, insofar as the administration has made no recognizable moves toward curtailing the use of the death penalty, either against juvenile offenders or in general. Rouhani has overseen approximately 3,000 executions during his first term, which included a period during which more hangings were carried out than had been in any equivalent period for 25 years.
This figure guarantees that Iran will retain its status as the country with the worlds highest rate of executions per capita. And this trend is attributable to the constant use of capital punishment for non-violent drug offenses, as well as some political and religious crimes. Politically motivated arrests have seen a dramatic surge at various times during Rouhanis first term, including in the weeks leading up to the election. Furthermore, there are already signs that that crackdown is continuing now that the election has concluded.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran reported on Thursday that a scholar and newly elected reformist member of the Hamadan city council was facing the possibility of a death sentence over comments that he made about the Prophet Mohammad. The merciful prophet was secular and Islam is the same as liberalism, Javad Giahshenas said in a speech at Islamic Azad University. The countrys Basij civilian militia subsequently called for him to be disqualified from running for political office, ousted from his position as an academic staffer, and prosecuted for insulting the prophet, which is a capital crime in the Islamic Republic.
In a statement released a day before the May 19 elections, Giahshenas sought to clarify the comments in order to dispel the criticism surrounding his arrest. On the subject of liberalism, the root of the word comes from liberty, which means freedom, he said. But our interpretation of freedom does not include debauchery and sinful behavior. Iranian media reported on Wednesday that he had been released on bail of over 15,000 US dollars. It remains to be seen what consequences he will face, and whether the supposed reformist victories in the election will have a significant impact on this or other cases.
In the current political climate, there are certainly large numbers of activists attempting to intercede with the government and the judiciary, but there is little to suggest that these efforts are meeting with success. In and around the month of March, it was widely reported that there had been a rash of hunger strikes in Iranian prisons, some of them lasting multiple weeks and inspiring civilian protests over prison conditions and questionable arrests. But even after considerable pressure, the regime has generally only made the concessions that were absolutely necessary in order to save the life of the hunger striker.
This trend may still be ongoing, as evidenced by another report from the Center for Human Rights in Iran, this one pointing to the case of Esmail Abdi, a teachers rights activists whose hunger strike has surpassed three weeks, during which he has been demanding an end to the prosecution of peaceful trade union activists on national security charges. A petition for Abdis release has gathered some 15,000 signatures, but authorities have remained silent on his case even as his health condition deteriorates badly.
Religious Persecution
The cases of Giahshenas and Abdi are certainly predictable instances of political persecution, insofar as they represent the hardline authorities struggle against both another political faction and civilian activists. But given the nature of the theocratic regime, religious persecution is also a trend to be watched in the wake of Rouhanis reelection. And with long-term effects yet to be determined, it remains true that at least for the time being the familiar trends are going strong.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency published a report on Monday indicating that authorities in Mazandaran Province were engaged in an ongoing battle to confiscate homes and agricultural lands from the members of the Bahai religious minority in the village of Rowstan Kooh, in line with the nationwide efforts by the government to punish the community for its faith. The authorities allege that the lands were traditionally forest land, which needs to be reclaimed, but they have refused to provide images or documentation to support the claim.
This lack of documentation is reminiscent of the well-established practice of denying Bahais access to higher education after claiming that would-be students files are incomplete but providing no details on the nature of the problem. Equally commonplace are instances of the forced closure of BahaI businesses, as well as the outright arrest of members of the faith. And the Center for Human Rights in Iran plainly stated on Tuesday that The persecution of the Bahai religious minority in Iran has grown worse under President Hassan Rouhani.
The same allegation may plausibly made about the countrys treatment of other religious minorities such as the Sufi group known as the Gonabadi Dervishes, as well as other groups caught up in the crackdowns that are still being prosecuted by the Revolutionary Guards, the Intelligence Ministry, and other authorities. And in light of Rouhanis statements about the Green Movement leaders and related matters following his reelection, there is little grounds for confidence in the reversal of current trends during his second four-year term.
By Raul Ilargi Meijer on 27 May 2017 for the Automatic Earth -
Image above: Mass media propaganda demonizes children in Iran to exhort more violence against our "enemeies". It's all lies. Stop the violence against the Middle East and Islam. It's our kuleana. From ( https://themediaexpress.com/2017/03/11/military-training-camps-for-iranian-children-to-prepare-for-jihad/ ).
US-led air strikes on Syria killed a total of 225 civilians over the past month, a monitor said on Tuesday, the highest 30-day toll since the campaign began in 2014. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the civilian dead between April 23 and May 23 included 44 children and 36 women. The US-led air campaign against the Islamic State jihadist group in Syria began on September 23, 2014. The past month of operations is the highest civilian toll since the coalition began bombing Syria, Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP. There has been a very big escalation. The previous deadliest 30-day period was between February 23 and March 23 this year, when 220 civilians were killed, Abdel Rahman said.
Muammar Gaddafi warned Tony Blair in two fraught phone conversations in 2011 that his removal from the Libyan leadership would open a space for al-Qaida to seize control of the country and even launch an invasion of Europe. The transcripts of the conversations have been published with Blairs agreement by the UK foreign affairs select committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the western air campaign that led to the ousting and killing of Gaddafi in October 2011. In the two calls the former British prime minister pleaded with Gaddafi to stand aside or end the violence. The transcripts reveal the gulf in understanding between Gaddafi and the west over what was occurring in his country and the nature of the threat he was facing.
In the first call, at 11.15am on 25 February 2011, Gaddafi gave a warning in part borne out by future events: They [jihadis] want to control the Mediterranean and then they will attack Europe. In the second call, at 3.25pm the same day, the Libyan leader said: We are not fighting them, they are attacking us. I want to tell you the truth. It is not a difficult situation at all. The story is simply this: an organisation has laid down sleeping cells in north Africa. Called the al-Qaida organisation in north Africa The sleeping cells in Libya are similar to dormant cells in America before 9/11.
Gaddafi added: I will have to arm the people and get ready for a fight. Libyan people will die, damage will be on the Med, Europe and the whole world. These armed groups are using the situation [in Libya] as a justification and we shall fight them. Three weeks after the calls, a Nato-led coalition that included Britain began bombing raids that led to the overthrow of Gaddafi. He was finally deposed in August and murdered by opponents of his regime in October.
Before the 2003 invasion of Iraq led by the U.S. and U.K., he was forcefully and repeatedly warned by Britains intelligence services that it would lead to exactly this type of terrorist attack and he concealed these warnings from the British people, instead claiming the war would reduce the risk of terrorism. We know this because of the Chilcot Report, the seven-year-long British investigation of the Iraq War released in 2016. The report declassifies numerous internal government documents that illustrate the yawning chasm between what Blair was being told in private and his claims in public as he pushed for war.
On February 10, 2003, one month before the war began, the U.K.s Joint Intelligence Committee the key advisory body for the British Prime Minister on intelligence matters issued a white paper titled International Terrorism: War With Iraq. It began:
The threat from Al Qaida will increase at the onset of any military action against Iraq. They will target Coalition forces and other Western interests in the Middle East. Attacks against Western interests elsewhere are also likely, especially in the US and UK, for maximum impact. The worldwide threat from other Islamist terrorist groups and individuals will increase significantly.
And it concluded much the same way: Al Qaida and associated groups will continue to represent by far the greatest terrorist threat to Western interests, and that threat will be heightened by military action against Iraq. The broader threat from Islamist terrorists will also increase in the event of war, reflecting intensified anti-US/anti-Western sentiment in the Muslim world, including among Muslim communities in the West.
European ministers have embarrassed David Cameron by voting to impose an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia on the same day the British prime minister praised the UK for selling brilliant arms to the country. Speaking at a BAE Systems factory in Preston, the prime minister said the UK had pushed the sale of Eurofighter Typhoons to countries in the Middle East, including Oman and Saudi Arabia. [..] Camerons speech in Preston came at the same time the European Parliament voted to impose an EU-wide ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia, citing criticism from the UN of its bombing in Yemen.
Asked at the talks how he was helping to export the planes, Cameron said: With the Typhoon there is an alliance of countries: the Italians, Germans and ourselves. We spend a lot of time trying to work out who is best placed to win these export orders. Weve got hopefully good news coming from Kuwait. The Italians have been doing a lot of work there. The British have been working very hard in Oman. The vote will not force EU members to comply with the ban, but will force the government to examine its relationship with Saudi Arabia.
In the last year the British government has sold 3 billion (US$4.18 billion) worth of arms and military kit to the Gulf state, as well as providing training to Saudi forces. A report released by Amnesty International on Friday called the ongoing trade with Saudi Arabia truly sickening, and urged governments to attend meetings in Geneva on Monday to discuss the implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). The report names the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the US as having issued licenses for arms to Saudi Arabia worth more than 18 billion in 2015.
The arms sold include drones, bombs, torpedoes, rockets and missiles, which have been used by Saudi Arabia and its allies for gross violations of human rights and possible war crimes during aerial and ground attacks in Yemen, the campaign group said. Control Arms Director Anna Macdonald said: Governments such as the UK and France were leaders in seeking to secure an ATT and now they are undermining the commitments they made to reduce human suffering by supplying Saudi Arabia with some of the deadliest weapons in the world. Its truly sickening.
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 a 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 Tony Blairs intervention in Iraq, and may yet come to be as damaging to Camerons foreign policy legacy.
It concurs with Barack Obamas assessment that the intervention was a shitshow, and repeats the US presidents claim that France and Britain lost interest in Libya after Gaddafi was overthrown. Cameron has refused to give evidence to the select committee. In one of his few reflections on his major military intervention, he blamed the Libyan people for failing to take their chance of democracy.
The committee, which has a majority of Conservative members, did not have Chilcot-style access to internal papers, but took voluminous evidence from senior ministers at the time, and other key players such as Blair, the chief of the defence staff, Lord Richards, and leading diplomats. The result of the French, British and US intervention, the report finds, 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.
Theresa May has defended her trip to Saudi Arabia, saying its ties with the UK are important for security and prosperity. The prime minister is facing questions about the UKs support for the Saudi-led coalition which is fighting rebels in neighbouring Yemen. Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn said UK-made weapons were contributing to a humanitarian catastrophe. [..] Mrs May said humanitarian aid was one of the issues she would be discussing on her trip. We are concerned about the humanitarian situation thats why the UK last year was the fourth largest donor to the Yemen in terms of humanitarian aid 103m. We will be continuing with that, she told the BBC.
[..] Mr Corbyn called for the immediate suspension of UK arms exports to Saudi Arabia. He criticised the dictatorial Saudi monarchys shocking human rights record and said the PM should focus on human rights and international law at the centre of her talks. The Saudi-led coalition bombing in Yemen, backed by the British government, has left thousands dead, 21 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and three million refugees uprooted from their homes, he said. Yemen urgently needs a ceasefire, a political settlement, and food aid, not more bombing.
British-made weapons are being used in a war which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.
Theresa May has staunchly defended selling arms to Saudi Arabia despite the country facing accusations of war crimes, insisting close ties keep people on the streets of Britain safe. Jeremy Corbyn called on the Prime Minister to halt those sales because of the humanitarian devastation caused by a Saudi-led coalition waging war against rebels in Yemen. The Labour leader spoke out after the Parliamentary committee charged with scrutinising arms exports said it was likely that British weapons had been used to violate international law.
The Saudis stand accused of bombing multiple international hospitals run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, as well as schools, wedding parties and food factories. In the Commons, Mr Corbyn linked weapons sales to the ongoing refugee crisis, which he said should be Britains number one concern and our number one humanitarian response.
He added: That is why I remain concerned that at the heart of this Governments security strategy is apparently increased arms exports to the very part of the world that most immediately threatens our security.
The British Government continue to sell arms to Saudi Arabia that are being used to commit crimes against humanity in Yemen , as has been clearly detailed by the UN and other independent agencies.
But, in response, Ms May pointed out she had called on Saudi Arabia to investigate the allegations about Yemen when she met with the kingdoms deputy crown prince at the recent G20 summit in China. The Prime Minister dismissed Mr Corbyns suggestion that what happened in Saudi Arabia was a threat to the safety of people here in the UK. Instead, she said: Actually, what matters is the strength of our relationship with Saudi Arabia. When it comes to counter-terrorism and dealing with terrorism, it is that relationship that has helped to keep people on the streets of Britain safe.
Theresa May issued a stern warning to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan about respecting human rights yesterday as she prepared to sign a 100m fighter jet deal that Downing Street hopes will lead to Britain becoming Turkeys main defence partner.
The British government operated an open door policy that allowed Libyan exiles and British-Libyan citizens to join the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi even though some had been subject to counter-terrorism control orders, Middle East Eye can reveal. Several former rebel fighters now back in the UK told MEE that they had been able to travel to Libya with no questions asked as authorities continued to investigate the background of a British-Libyan suicide bomber who killed 22 people in Mondays attack in Manchester.
Salman Abedi, 22, the British-born son of exiled dissidents who returned to Libya as the revolution against Gaddafi gathered momentum, is also understood to have spent time in the North African country in 2011 and to have returned there on several subsequent occasions. Sources spoken to by MEE suggest that the government facilitated the travel of Libyan exiles and British-Libyan residents and citizens keen to fight against Gaddafi including some who it deemed to pose a potential security threat.
One British citizen with a Libyan background who was placed on a control order effectively house arrest because of fears that he would join militant groups in Iraq said he was shocked that he was able to travel to Libya in 2011 shortly after his control order was lifted. I was allowed to go, no questions asked, said the source. He said he had met several other British-Libyans in London who also had control orders lifted in 2011 as the war against Gaddafi intensified, with the UK, France and the US carrying out air strikes and deploying special forces soldiers in support of the rebels.
They didnt have passports, they were looking for fakes or a way to smuggle themselves across, said the source. But within days of their control orders being lifted, British authorities returned their passports, he said. Many Libyan exiles in the UK with links to the LIFG [Libyan Islamic Fighting Group ] were placed on control orders and subjected to surveillance and monitoring following the rapprochement between the British and Libyan governments sealed by the so-called Deal in the Desert between then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Gaddafi in 2004.
According to documents retrieved from the ransacked offices of the Libyan intelligence agency following Gaddafis fall from power in 2011, British security services cracked down on Libyan dissidents in the UK as part of the deal, as well as assisting in the rendition of two senior LIFG leaders, Abdel Hakim Belhaj and Sami al-Saadi, to Tripoli where they allege they were tortured.
According to Scotland Yard, the attack on the crowd leaving the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, 22 May, has been perpetrated by Salman Abedi. A bankcard has been conveniently found in the pocket of the mutilated corpse of the terrorist. This attack is generally interpreted as proof that the United Kingdom is not implicated in international terrorism and that, on the contrary, it is a victim of it.
[..] In 1992, Ramadan Abedi [Salmans father] was sent back to Libya by Britains MI6 and was involved in a British-devised plot to assassinate Muammar Gaddafi. The operation having been readily exposed, he was exfiltrated by MI6 and transferred back to the UK where he obtained political asylum.
He moved in 1999 to Whalley Range (south of Manchester) where there was already resident a small Libyan Islamist community. In 1994, Ramadan Abedi returned again to Libya under MI6s direction. In late 1995 he is involved in the creation of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), a local branch of Al-Qaeda, in conjunction with Abdelhakim Belhadj.
The LIFG was then employed by MI6 again to assassinate Gaddafi, for a payoff of 100,000. This operation, which also failed, provoked heated exchanges within British Intelligence, leading to the resignation of one David Shayler. Other former members of the LIFG have also lived at Whalley Range, including Abedis friend Abd al-Baset-Azzouz. In 2009, this last joined Al-Qaeda in Pakistan and became a close associate of its chief, Ayman al-Zawahiri. In 2011, al-Baset-Azzouz is active on the ground with the NATO operation against Libya.
On 11 September 2012, he directs the operation against the US Ambassador in Libya, Christopher Stevens, assassinated at Benghazi. He is arrested in Turkey and extradited to the US in December 2014, his trial still pending. Nobody pays attention to the fact that Ramadan Abedi has linked LIFG members to the formation of Al-Qaeda in Iraq and, in 2011, he takes part in MI6s Arab Spring operations, and in LIFGs role on the ground in support of NATO. In any event, Abedi returned to Libya after the fall of Gaddafi and moves his family there, leaving his older children in the family home at Whalley Range.
According to the former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, Abdelhakim Belhadj was involved in the assassinations in Madrid of 11 March 2004. Later, he is secretly arrested in Malaysia by the CIA and transferred to Libya where he is tortured not by Libyan or American functionaries but by MI6 agents. He is finally freed after the accord between Saif al-Islam Gaddafi [Gaddafis son] and the jihadists.
Slightly over a half of people in the UK agree that the nations involvement in wars abroad has increased the terror threat to the country, a poll out Friday has showed. The survey found that 53% of 7,134 UK adults sampled by YouGov said they believed wars the UK supported or fought were in part responsible for terror attacks at home. [..]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who made a speech earlier in the day to mark his return to general election campaigning, said UKs war on terror had not worked. He cited intelligence experts who said foreign wars, including in Libya, threatened the countrys security.
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SUBHEAD: An 8-year old child in Manchester, just like one in Mosul or Aleppo, is innocent.[IB Publisher's note: This is a long and detailed piece... certainely longer than most we post on IslandBreath. Raul Ilargi Meijer hits the nail on the head by implicating Western culture with complicity in the atrocity of the endless War on Terrorism.]There are times when you have to talk about things when it appears most inopportune to do so, because theyre the only times people might listen. Times when people will argue that this is not the right moment, while in reality its the only moment.A solid 99% of people will have been filled, and rightly so of course, with a mixture of disgust, disbelief and infinite sadness when hearing of yet another attack on civilians in Europe, this one in Manchester. An equally solid 99% will have failed to recognize that while the event was unique for the city of Manchester, it was by no means unique for the world, not even at the time it happened.Though the footage of parents desperately trying to find their children, and the news that one of the dead was just 8 years old, touches everyone in more or less the same place in our hearts, by far most of us miss out on the next logical step.In a wider perspective, it is easy to see that parents crying for missing children, and children killed in infancy, is what connects Manchester, and the UK, and Europe, to parents in Syria, Libya, Iraq.Whats different between these places is not the suffering or the outrage, the mourning or the despair, whats different is only the location on the map. That and the frequency with which terror is unleashed upon a given population. But just because it happens all the time in other places doesnt make it more normal or acceptable.Its the exact same thing, the exact same experience, and still a vast majority of people dont, choose not to, feel it as such.Which is curious when you think about it. In the aftermath of a terror attack, the mother of a missing, maimed or murdered child undergoes the same heartbreak no matter where they are in the world (I hope the Russians love their children too). But the empathy, the compassion, is hardly acknowledged in Britain at all, let alone shared.Not that it couldnt be. Imagine that our papers and TV channels would tell us, preferably repeatedly, in their reports in the wake of an attack like the one in Manchester how eerily similar the emotions must be to those felt in Aleppo, Homs and many other cities.That would change our perception enormously. But the media choose not to make the connection, and the people apparently are not capable of doing it themselves.None of that changes the fact, however, that British lives are not more valuable than Syrian and Libyan ones. Not even when weve gotten used to news about bombings and drone attacks executed for years now by US-led coalitions, or the images of children drowning when they flee the area because of these attacks.The overall theme here is that 99.9% of people everywhere in the world are innocent, especially when they are children, but their governments and their societies are not. That doesnt justify the Manchester attack in any shape or form, it simply lays equal blame and condemnation for western terror attacks in the Middle East and North Africa, perpetrated by the people we elect into power.This is something people in the west pay no attention to. Its easier that way, and besides our media with great enthusiasm pave the way for our collective ignorance, by calling some other group of people terrorists, which while theyre at it is supposed to justify killing some other mothers child.Theres another thing that is also different: they didnt start. We did. The British and French terrorized the region for many decades, since the 19th century, even way before the Americans joined in.The presence of oil, and its rising role in our economies, caused them to double down on that terror.Yes, its awkward to talk about this on the eve of a deadly attack, and its easy to find arguments and rhetoric that appear to deflect responsibility. But at the same time this truly is the only moment we can hope that anyone will listen. And lest we forget, the UK carries an outsized share of the responsibility in this tragedy, both historically and in the present.You can say things about the city coming together, or the country coming together, or not allowing terrorists to affect our way of life, but perhaps it should instead really be all the mothers who have children missing or dying, wherever they live, coming together. They all see their ways of life affected, and many on a daily basis.Those mothers in Syria and Libya, who have been through the same hellhole as those in Manchester, are a lot closer to you than the politicians who send out jet fighters to bomb cities in the desert, or sell arms to individuals and organizations to control these cities for their own narrow personal gain, such as the governments of Saudi Arabia and Turkey.The traumatized mothers in the desert are not your enemies; your enemies are much closer to home. Still, most of you will tend to react to fear and panic by looking for protection in exactly those circles that are least likely to provide it.The UK government under Theresa May, like those of Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron before, is as cynically eager as their predecessors to send bombers into the desert, and sell arms to those living there.We can illustrate all this with a few bits of news. First, the US-led coalotion, of which the UK is a substantial part, killed more civilians in Syria than at any time since they started bombing the country almost 3 years ago.They keep saying they dont target civilians, but to put it mildly they dont appear to go out of their way not to hit them. For instance, a single attack on Mosul, Iraq in March killed over 105 civilians. Collateral damage in these cases, and there are hundreds by now, is a very disrespectful term. Moreover, the files released by Chelsea Manning show US soldiers killing people with impunity.And its not as if the British didnt or couldnt know what was going on. That was clear as early as 2003, when Tony Blair couldnt wait to join the Bush coalition to invade Iraq on the false premise of weapons of mass destruction. Before Libya was invaded, which led to Hillarys disgusting we came we saw he died, Gaddafi, the one who did die, warned Blair about what would happen. It indeed did, which makes Blair a guilty man.What they are guilty of is no more and no less than Manchester. No hyperbole, but a warning from Blairs own intelligence services back in 2003. The real weapons of mass destruction were not in Iraq, but in the White House and Downing Street no. 10. The CIA issued warnings similar to this.Not long behind Blair came David Cameron, a man after Tonys heart:British MPs from Camerons own party didnt like it either, but what meaning does that have if it takes 5 years to issue a report, and moreover he can simply refuse to give evidence?It seems obvious that if there were an impartial international body with the power to prosecute, Bush, Cheney, Blair, Cameron, Hillary etc. etc. (dont forget France) would be charged with war crimes. And Obama too: his shitshow comment must be seen in light of the we came we saw he died comment by Hillary Clinton, his Secretary of State. Think he didnt know what was happening?Another person who should be charged is Theresa May, Camerons Home Secretary from May 2010 till July 2016, and of course Britains present PM, who sells as much weaponry to Saudi Arabia as she possibly can while the Saudis are shoving the few Yemenis they leave alive back beyond the Stone Age. And then May has the gall to talk about humanitarian aid.The one person who would probably not be in front of such a court is Jeremy Corbyn, opponent of Mays in the June 8 elections. Though there is the issue that he never protested in much stronger terms as an MP. Still, if you have to pick one of the two, what is not obvious?Mays, and Britains, utterly mad stance in this is perhaps best exemplified, in one sentence, by her comments during the speedy trip she made to Turkey, again to sell more arms to an at best highly questionable regime. Why do it, why drag your entire nation through the moral gutter for $100 million or a few billion? The military industrial complex.And once again, no, none of this justifies the Manchester bombing. Neither a government nor an extremist movement has any right to kill innocent people. But lets make sure we know that neither does.Theres another aspect to the story. MI6 had close links to the Libyan community in Manchester.Torture one day, passports the other. Lovely. And it still gets better: MI6 didnt just have close contacts with Libyans in Manchester, it knew the alleged perpetrators family, and used his father multiple times as on operative:Luckily, perhaps the Brits are not that stupid:If that is true, Theresa May obviously should have no chance of winning. May can and will try to use the horror of Manchester, and the subsequent pause in the campaign, to strengthen her position in the upcoming election, by playing on peoples fear and making them believe shes in control.Even if the very attack itself makes clear that shes not. The Tories have already attacked Corbyn for saying their policies have failed; it was the wrong time to say that, according to them.But its not. Its the very best time. This is when people pay attention. And having this discussion doesnt disrespect the victims of Manchester. If anything, it shows more respect than not having the discussion. Because you want to make sure this doesnt happen again, neither here nor there. And to achieve that, you have to look at why these things happen.An 8-year old child in Manchester, just like one in Mosul or Aleppo, is innocent. Yourself, perhaps not so much. The politicians you vote into power, and the media you read and watch to inform you, not a chance. Guilty as hell.
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By Gina Martinez
After allocating $40,000 in funding, City Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) visited PS 165 in Flushing and PS 154 in Fresh Meadows last week to celebrate the success of the Cultural After School Adventures program.
CASA provided New York City public school students with unique after-school arts programming last year, allowing students at both schools to learn about the arts from Queens College faculty and professional instructors.
Lancman attended each schools CASA showcases, an end-of-year event where students show off what they learned from their respective CASA programs.
Students at PS 165 took part in the Bringing the Beat program, where they explored a wide range of percussion instruments and musical styles. At PS 154, students participated in the Portrait Party program, where they learned the ins and outs of visual arts and different two-dimensional and three-dimensional techniques.
Lancman said it was a thrill to see firsthand the new skills the students learned during their CASA program.
What makes the CASA program so special is that it opens our students eyes to different forms of art and different cultures, he said. I look forward to working with the Kupferberg Center and our local schools to bring the magic of the CASA program to our students next year.
Lancman partnered with the Kupferberg Center for the Arts at Queens College to allocate the CASA grants. The grants provide specific programming to students. Local schools participating in the CASA program select from seven unique arts programs offered by the Kupferberg Center. According to Lancman, each program provided students with more than 50 instructional hours of learning and an interactive learning experience.
Tiffany Davis-Nealy, principal at PS 165, said the partnership with CASA has enriched the lives of her students.
Not only did they learn about music, she said, they learned very valuable life skills such as active listening, teamwork, and focus. The PS 165 community is looking forward to working corroboratively with the CASA program for many years to come.
Pamela Gathers, principal at PS 154, said the CASA program opened up the students eyes to new artists.
Its infusion of cultural background study and different artists from around the world has exposed our students to understanding how to grow as dynamic artists, she said. We are proud of this partnership, which serves complimentary to the arts programs we offer our students in our curricula. We are grateful to Councilman Rory Lancman for bringing this enriching opportunity to our children.
Jeff Rosenstock, executive director at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts, thanked Lancman for fulfilling the projects mission of providing quality and accessible arts programming to the community.
The Council member values the role the arts can play in the education of our students as well as serving as a shared language among students from many different cultural backgrounds, Rosenstock said.
One civilian was killed and dozens of others injured Saturday after massive anti-India protests and clashes erupted in Indian-controlled Kashmir following the killing of a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gunbattle with government forces in the disputed region.
Rebel leader Sabzar Ahmed Bhat and a fellow militant were killed after troops cordoned off the southern Tral area overnight following a tip that rebels were hiding there, police said.
The gunbattle ended later Saturday and soldiers recovered the bodies of two militants. However, they were searching the area for at least one more body, police said.
As the violence raged, hundreds of angry residents chanting anti-India slogans marched in an attempt to help the trapped rebels escape.
Clashes between rock-throwing protesters and government forces erupted in different places in the area, with police and paramilitary soldiers firing shotgun pellets and tear gas to stop the protests.
Witnesses said a young man was killed and several other people were injured after government forces fired on the protesters near the site of the gunbattle. Police chief S.P. Vaid said the man was killed by crossfire.
As the news of the rebel leader\s killing spread in the region, thousands of people, including students, took to the streets shouting "Go India, go back" and "We want freedom."
Traders shuttered shops and businesses across the Kashmir Valley, including in the region\s main city of Srinagar. Officials said clashes were reported in more than four dozen places in the region.
Dozens of civilians were reported injured in the clashes.
Authorities suspended most internet services in the region a day after they lifted a monthlong ban on 22 social networking sites, including Facebook and Twitter. The social media ban on April 26 came after videos depicting the alleged abuse of Kashmiris by Indian forces fueled widespread protests.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep among the region\s mostly Muslim population and most people support the rebels\ cause against Indian rule despite a decades-long military crackdown to fight the armed rebellion.
Last year, similar massive protests followed by clashes roiled Kashmir following the killing of charismatic rebel leader Burhan Wani. His death led to months of protests and a security lockdown during which at least 90 people were killed and thousands injured. Hundreds were blinded or maimed by the firing of government forces.
Earlier Saturday, Indian soldiers killed six suspected rebels along the highly militarized de facto border that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, the army said.
The gunbattle erupted after a group of heavily armed militants crossed from the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir into the Indian-held portion in western Rampur sector, said army spokesman Col. Rajesh Kalia.
On Friday, the army said soldiers killed two suspected militants in the same area after they crossed into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir from the Pakistani-held part.
There was no independent confirmation of the latest incidents.
India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in its entirety and have fought two wars over their rival claims to the territory.
Rebel groups have been fighting since 1989 for Kashmir\s independence or merger with neighboring Pakistan. Nearly 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting and the ensuing Indian crackdown. India has accused Pakistan of arming and training the rebels, which Pakistan denies.
Rebel groups have largely been suppressed by Indian forces in recent years. However, public opposition to Indian rule remains deep and is now principally expressed through street protests marked by youths hurling stones at government forces.
SOURCE: AP
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Greenwich
National Grid is putting the finishing touches on a $77 million project that straddles Saratoga and Washington counties and most Capital Region customers don't even know about it.
What's known as the Mohican-Battenkill Rebuild Project, a two-year effort to rebuild a 14-mile stretch of transmission lines between the so-called Mohican substation in Easton and the Battenkill substation in Moreau, is largely out of view from most of the public.
That's because the project is taking place mostly on right-of-ways that National Grid owns on farm land and other property where the transmission line has stood for nearly 100 years.
However, due to age and the construction of GlobalFoundries' Fab 8 computer chip factory in 2011 as well as the expected expansion of the $12 billion facility in the coming years National Grid had to replace the two existing 115 kilowatt circuits, or power lines, that travel along that route in order to deliver more electricity to the region.
After beginning construction in January 2016, National Grid and its contractors completed reconstruction of the line, along with the installation of new towers. Now all that is left to do is take down the old towers and do restoration work to the right-of-ways.
"It's the last phase of it," said Jennifer Schlegel, a project manager for National Grid. "It's a major project for us, and it went very well. It's a big project for that area."
The $77 million spent on the new transmission lines and poles was part of the $6 billion that National Grid has spent on infrastructure upgrades in upstate New York over the past decade. The company says the improvements to aging upstate infrastructure some of which dates back to the 1920s is what is driving the company's latest rate hike request, which will help to fund $2.7 billion in infrastructure upgrades over three years. The rate hike is expected to raise monthly utility bills by between $10 and $20 a month, depending on if a customer also gets gas service.
The Mohican-Battenkill project includes the installation of 136 towers and the removal of 131 old towers. Nearly 30 miles of new transmission line wire, which is heavier and stronger than the older wire so it can handle more capacity, have also been installed.
Although National Grid says it rarely had to shut off service to nearby customers during the project, it has done a lot of community outreach since it was on right-of-ways so often doing the work. That outreach has included sponsoring the Washington County Fair the past two years, giving farmers and others an opportunity to ask questions about the project. Utility workers have also gone door-to-door to inform neighbors.
"We've had very minimal complaints," said Erin Grynyak, a stakeholder relations specialist with National Grid.
lrulison@timesunion.com 518-454-5504 @larryrulison
The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album was hailed in some quarters as a groundbreaking milestone in popular music on its release in June 1967.
Others scoffed at it as an overly ambitious bid for artistic respectability that abandoned the innocence of the group's early hits.
In the ensuing five decades, the debate has raged on and is likely to gain renewed fervor with the Friday release of the 50th anniversary edition of the album, newly remixed in stereo by Giles Martin, son of the album's original producer, George Martin.
The raison d'etre for the project isn't simply to serve up a new edition of a classic album that scads of Beatles fans are likely to lap up though clearly many will.
Rather, it is an attempt to rectify what's long been perceived as a significant though hardly fatal flaw in the original stereo version, created with considerably less time and attention from band members Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.
It's hoped that the new iteration will introduce the work to younger audiences and sound more akin to contemporary recordings.
"It's not exactly an album that is unloved," Giles Martin, 47, said during a recent playback session at Capitol Records' Studio A in Hollywood for music writers and a couple of dozen executives and employees of Universal Music Enterprises, the parent company of Capitol, which is releasing the album in the U.S.
In late 1966 and early 1967 when the Fab Four set to work on "Sgt. Pepper," monaural sound was the dominant format for music.
Stereo counterparts often were created hastily for the U.S. and other foreign markets. Because the "Sgt. Pepper" stereo mix was better known in the U.S., Lennon once famously stated, "You haven't heard 'Pepper' until you've heard the mono version."
In part that's because the group's vocals are often divorced from the instrumental accompaniment, separated in different channels because that was how the engineers charged with creating the stereo version could get the job done quickly.
Just how quickly? George Martin and the Beatles spent about three weeks mixing the mono version; its stereo counterpart was completed in barely two days, according to Giles Martin's chief collaborator on the new edition, Abbey Road Studios senior engineer Sam Okell.
"There is a thing about the mono mix," Martin said. "There is immersion that comes from the depth they put in there, even though it is just coming out of one speaker. I was trying to create that (in stereo). No one can say the (1967) stereo mix is not a great-sounding record. But there's a way to get the best of both worlds."
Feedback on the new mix has been "almost humiliatingly positive," Martin said.
Chris Carter, host of "Breakfast With the Beatles" radio show on L.A. rock station KLOS-FM, says: "In general, I was blown away. Not to sound overly dramatic or corny, but in a lot of ways it was like hearing the record for the first time."
Nearly a half-century after she first declared herself to the world as a young woman unafraid to ruffle feathers and challenge authority, Hillary Clinton was back at the very same podium at Wellesley College. And once again, she was at a crossroads in her life.
The first time, she was 21, the first graduating senior ever chosen to address Wellesley's commencement, and her bold speech challenging the remarks of the U.S. senator who spoke before her delighted classmates, dismayed the school's president, and made it into Life magazine. The Hillary who returned to campus on Friday was a battle-scarred politician who had come agonizingly close to becoming the first female president of the United States.
"You may have heard that things didn't exactly go the way I planned," she said, wryly. "But you know what? I'm doing OK." Then she launched into a blistering critique of Donald Trump, without once mentioning his name, drawing a parallel to Richard Nixon and the scandal that led to his resignation.
Half a year after her stunning loss a loss that by all accounts left her devastated and heartbroken Clinton has said recently that she's "part of the resistance" and "ready to come out of the woods," a winking reference to the viral photo of her walking in the woods days after the election.
But what will coming out of the woods look like? How will Clinton, long seen as a master at redefining herself over three decades in the limelight define her role in the Trump era? Some have even speculated she might run for elected office again a possibility she hasn't flat-out denied, but has said she doesn't expect to happen. Friends say it's unlikely.
"I think she's basically closed the door on ever running again," said Melanne Verveer, Clinton's longtime friend and chief of staff from her first lady years who also worked with her at the State Department. But she added: "She's not going to recede. You're going to continue to see her engaged on issues that she is passionate about and has played a leadership role in. She will be out there ... but not as that public candidate. So it's a new place."
After remaining largely out of public view for months after the election, Clinton has stepped up the pace of her public appearances. On May 15, she announced the formation of Onward Together, a political group designed to aid progressive causes, oppose Trump's agenda, and help people run for office. Its website bears the slogan Clinton has called her new mantra: "Resist, insist, persist and enlist."
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ALTAMONT -- A celebrated State Police diver retired Wednesday afternoon after almost 25 years on the force. Hours later, he died by apparent suicide.
Timothy Hard, 52, was found in his Altamont home on Thursday morning by other troopers after a family member called 911.
Hard was the father of two young adults and was engaged to be married, with plans to move to a waterfront home in Long Island.
"He was a great trooper and a hard worker," said State Police Capt. Robert Patnaude, who commands Troop G. Hard was a field training officer, a position the captain said is only given to the best on the force. "They pass on what they do to the recruits," Patnaude said.
What to watch for, what to do Warning signs of suicide: Talking about wanting to die
Looking for a way to kill oneself
Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose
Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain
Talking about being a burden to others
Increasing the use of alcohol or drugs
Acting anxious, agitated, or recklessly
Sleeping too little or too much
Withdrawing or feeling isolated
Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge
Displaying extreme mood swings
Giving away meaningful possessions
Making final arrangements What to do: Listen and acknowledge the person's emotions
Ask about suicidal thoughts: "Some people in your situation have thought about suicide. Have you? Are you now?"
Do not leave the person alone
Remove any firearms, alcohol, drugs, or sharp objects that could be used in a suicide attempt
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)
Take the person to an emergency room, or seek help from a medical or mental health professional Access free resources: National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK
Crisis Chat, a national suicide prevention organization that offers online support and crisis intervention: www.crisischat.org
Man Therapy, mental health tools tailored for men: www.mantherapy.org
Safe Call Now, a confidential resource for law enforcement: 1-206-459-3020
Uniformed Service Program at Brattleboro Retreat: 1-800 738-7328
Protector Project, which provides addiction treatment to those who serve our communities: 1-877-HELP LINE, www.theprotectorproject.com
National Police Suicide Foundation: www.psf.org See More Collapse
He led the State Police's Capital Region dive team for several years as senior diver, but had been on medical leave since winter, after he suffered a hernia while on the job, and a colleague had taken over as senior diver Patnaude said. The autopsy results are pending but investigators do not suspect foul play, he said.
The State Police had the option to hand the scene over to local cops, but declined. "He's one of ours, and we wanted to handle it," Patnaude said.
Hard's death highlighted a tragic reality within the law enforcement community.
"Police have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession," Patnuade said. The stress and trauma of policing, plus officers' easy access to weapons, can be a deadly combination, he added.
The State Police has an employee assistance program that offers counseling, but "many troopers have personalities that make it difficult for them to ask for help," Patnaude said.
Nationwide, police suicides have dropped in recent years from 141 in 2008 to 108 last year, according to Badge of Life, a national not-for-profit that helps law enforcement agencies modernize their training, policies and attitudes on mental health.
"It is a matter of, What are the departments doing for the living?" said Badge of Life Chairman Ron Clark. "How do you talk to officers about their own psychological wellness in a dangerous field?"
A Connecticut state trooper for 25 years, Clark used his master's degree in counseling in helping to run the agency's peer-to-peer support office. Almost 30 troopers acted as mental health support officers for their colleagues. Most cases would eventually be referred to a mental health professional, but Clark said police were more likely to seek help if the first person they were calling knew the realities of the job.
In a law enforcement career, Clark said, "You're going to see more raw trauma in 20 to 25 years than most people see in a lifetime, and nobody is prepared for that."
Clark said he believes police suicide rates are slowly dropping in part because Baby Boomers who see mental health as "alien" are retiring and younger generations who are less likely to perceive counseling as a stigma are taking their place.
"They're beginning to see that it can't be done with booze, drugs or sex. These are the old ways," he said. Instead, the chiefs and superintendents who are the first to get a free, voluntary and yearly mental health checkup are the ones leading healthier agencies, Clark said. "They also have to grasp the element that this all starts from the academy."
In New York, State Police recruits studying at the six-month academy undergo a weeklong mental health course that starts with a 90-minute conversation about officers' emotional well-being.
Trooper Greg Pencek, who teaches the class with a state Office of Mental Health employee, advises recruits to develop hobbies, make friends outside of law enforcement, and to contact a State Police counselor for themselves or a colleague.
To drive his point home, Pencek tells recruits about some of his own friends on the force, who live with post-traumatic stress disorder after witnessing horrific car crashes, crime scenes or suicides.Several took their own lives or tried to, he said.
"It's cavalier to say the weak people can't handle it and the strong people can," Clark said. The average person "has never seen a dead body outside a funeral home, has never been shown up to find everyone screaming in pain, and has never walked into a house where someone just beat a 2-year-old to death."
"Human beings recoil at these things, and cops are human beings," he said.
THE ISSUE:
The head of a nation once admired for its values presents a very different face to the world lately.
THE STAKES:
Can we set a better example at home and abroad?
More Information To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com or at http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion See More Collapse
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Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan both spoke of America as a "city on a hill." The phrase, as they were well aware, refers not to some perfection the nation has attained, but to the fact that the world looks to the example the United States sets.
That example must be troubling of late from a nation that had long set a tone of decency in the world, even if it sometimes fell short of its ideals.
In his first venture onto the international stage as president, Donald Trump seemed to abandon the notion of American moral leadership, essentially signaling in a speech in Saudi Arabia that however authoritarian regimes want to run their affairs, that's their business. At the same time, he sought to further isolate Iran, a nation whose people, if not its leaders, seem to be yearning for moderation and modernism.
The same president went out of his way in a phone call to praise the murderous leader of the Phillipines, Rodrigo Duterte, for doing "an unbelievable job on the drug problem" in his nation a job that has featured extrajudicial killings and to invite him to the White House.
America's friends, meanwhile, merit far less respect. At a meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels, Mr. Trump shoved the prime minister of Montenegro like a grade school child elbowing for the front of the stage. He scolded allies for failing to meet their financial obligations while falling short of committing to the central premise of the alliance to defend any member that is attacked.
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As for Russia the greatest threat to those allies, and to a peace that has endured in Europe for more than 70 years Mr. Trump has long spoken admiringly of President Vladimir Putin, even brushing off his alleged killing of journalists and political rivals.
And in a nation that celebrates its first president's legendary inability to lie about even cutting down a cherry tree, Mr. Trump and his aides routinely and casually distort, dissemble and lie, and accuse the press of "fake news" when it calls them out on the facts.
The damage of all this can't be easily quantified. But one has to wonder if it gave security guards for Turkey's prime minister a sense of license to attack protesters at the Turkish embassy in Washington an outrageous assault on First Amendment rights, right here on American soil, on which Mr. Trump was conspicuously silent.
One must wonder, too, if the president's attacks on the free press empowered Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte to assault a reporter this past week. Or for Texas Gov. Greg Abbot to joke about shooting journalists.
Greatness is not something America can simply claim as a matter of right or legacy. It is something it must constantly earn, by the example it sets at home and abroad. It has earned that in large measure not by pushing the world around, literally or figuratively, or by imposing its will on other nations, or by turning a blind eye to violations of human rights or norms of behavior. It has earned it in large measure through a fundamental decency among its people, and among those at the top of the hill.
The Rural Regional College of Northwestern Pennsylvania, with an office in Warren, began classes for the fall semester Monday evening.
[May 26, 2017] BioNovelus, Inc. Announces Resignation of Chief Financial Officer and Appointment of Interim Chief Financial Officer and Update of Prior Coffee Rust Press Release
Phoenix, May 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- / BioNovelus, Inc. (ONOV), whose CR-10 Biofungicide is a non-toxic solution for safe and effective pre- and post-harvest applications, today announced that Chief Financial Officer Mark R. Johnson has left the Company to pursue other interests. Effective immediately, Company founder and CEO Jean Ekobo will assume the role of interim CFO until a permanent successor to Mr. Johnson is named. BioNovelus is part of the award-winning business incubator program at the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation in Phoenix, Arizona. We are grateful for Mr. Johnsons support and encouragement through the beginning of our incubation phase, said Ekobo. His wisdom and assistance with our financial statements have been greatly appreciated. About CR-10 Biofungicide and Disinfectant
CR-10 is a proven, biodegradable, non-toxic solution that kills most bacteria, fungi, and spores rapidly, safely and effectively. It is a new generation of biofungicide and biodisinfectant with a unique mode of action. BioNovelus management believes that CR-10 has a broad range of uses in crop protection before harvest, as well as post-harvest sanitation. Coffee Rust Update
Phase I Testing in Guatemala Still Underway for Organic Coffee Rust-Fighting CR-10 In a press release dated February 27, 2017, the Company shared its positive results during the first round of testing done by Anacafe, the Guatemalan Coffee Association. This release revealed that important first steps had been taken towards the goal of showing CR-10 efficacy validation by Anacafe, something that would make successful marketing of the biodegradable and non-toxic product possible in the region.
To further clarify that release while Anacafe has not validated the biofungicide CR-10 for commercial sale, CR-10 has been approved to enter Phase II of Anacafes testing and the Company will provide further updates as this testing continues.
Anacafe is an esteemed organization, says BioNovelus CEO and President, Jean Ekobo. Their potntial validation means a great deal to us and having reached an agreement to continue pursuing the validation process with this institution is very good news.
About CEI
The Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation (CEI), a comprehensive business incubator centrally located in Phoenix, Arizona, provides the services, space and support critical to the development of these early-stage and startup companies. Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes forward-looking statements covered by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to various risks and uncertainties and actual results for the fiscal year 2017 and beyond could differ materially from the Company's current expectations. Forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "anticipates," "projects," "expects," "plans," "intends," "believes," "estimates," "targets," and other similar expressions that indicate trends and future events.
Factors that could cause the Companys results to differ materially from forward looking statements regarding the efficacy of the crop restoration and results of CR-10 and registration approval include the lack of capital needed to complete testing, the lack of experience with pursuing approval of this product and modifications and receipt of information that may be demanded by the registration of the CR-10 formula and the delays in the various government approval processes unrelated to the product itself. Factors that could cause lower rates of success in CR-10 eradication of fungi include the method and timing of applications of CR-10, the impact of heavy rainfall, the strength of fungi contamination, and other environmental conditions resulting in re-infection. Factors that may impact transactions with Mexican and Central American distributors include the alternatives of genetically modified crops, products of competitors, government approvals, and pricing.
There is no assurance of when registrations will be obtained for CR-10 and various applications. There is no assurance that the coffee rust application will prove commercially viable. There is no assurance that any transaction will be done with Mexican and Central American distributors.
Factors that could cause the Company's results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements include, without limitation, variation in demand and acceptance of the Company's products and services, general business and economic conditions beyond the Company's control the consequences of competitive factors in the marketplace including the ability to attract and retain customers, results of continuous improvement and other cost-containment strategies, and the Company's success in attracting and retaining key personnel. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update forward-looking statements because of new information, since these statements may no longer be accurate or timely.
Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933, and are subject to Rule 3B-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this press release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and other results and further events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Future events and actual results could differ materially from those set forth in, contemplated by, or underlying the forward-looking statements.
For more information, contact http://bionovelus.com Media contact: Nathalie Ekobo, Marketing & Communications Director BioNovelus, Inc. +1 602-888-3424 [email protected]
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[May 26, 2017] ESSI LOSS NOTICE: Rosen Law Firm Reminds Eco Science Solutions, Inc. Investors of Important Deadline in First Filed Class Action
Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the securities of Eco Science Solutions, Inc. (OTCQB:ESSI) from May 1, 2017 through May 19, 2017, inclusive (the "Class Period") of the important July 27, 2017 lead plaintiff deadline in the first filed class action commenced by Rosen Law Firm. The lawsuit seeks to recover damages for Eco Science Solutions investors under the federal securities laws. To join the Eco Science Solutions class action, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1135.html or call Phillip Kim, Esq. or Kevin Chan, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action. NO CLASS HAS YET BEEN CERTIFIED IN THE ABOVE ACTION. UNTIL A CLASS IS CERTIFIED, YOU ARE NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL UNLESS YOU RETAIN ONE. YOU MAY ALSO REMAIN AN ABSENT CLASS MEMBER AND DO NOTHING AT THIS POINT. YOU MAY RETAIN COUNSEL OF YOUR CHOICE. According to the lawsuit, throughout the Class Period defendants mad false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Eco Science Solutions' plan for strategic acquisitions lacked veracity; and (2) as a result, defendants' statements about Eco Science Solutions' business, operations and prospects were materially false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable bases at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.
A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 24, 2017. If you wish to join the litigation, go to http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1135.html or to discuss your rights or interests regarding this class action, please contact Phillip Kim or Kevin Chan of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn (News - Alert): https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter (News - Alert): https://twitter.com/rosen_firm.
Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Since 2014, Rosen Law Firm has been ranked #2 in the nation by Institutional Shareholder Services for the number of securities class action settlements annually obtained for investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170526005737/en/
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[May 26, 2017] Vivo's New Flagship Smartphone V5s Enables Perfect Selfies in Low-Light Environments
SHENZHEN, China, May 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading smartphone manufacturer Vivo will launch its latest flagship mobile smartphone, the V5s, a new member of the V series of devices today. The V5s continues Vivo's record of delivering phones that provide users with "Perfect Selfies" with an advanced 20MP front camera and optimized Selfie Softlight feature as well as 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM. "Our focus group shows that users tend to take selfies in their everyday life," explained Alex Feng, Global Vice President at Vivo. "The V5s is a ground-breaking smartphone that aids users' pursuit of the perfect selfie in low-light environments and fulfills their desire to beautify portraits with natural effects." - High-quality images with 20MP front camera The V5s uses a 20MP front camera to take selfie technology to the next level with exquisite clarity and vivid, natural colors. The new selfie function also supports bokeh effects to deliver crystal-clear portrait focus and artistic background blurring.
The V5s is powered by an octa-core CPU, with 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM (expandable to 256GB with a microSD card). This powerful hardware configuration, together with the updated Funtouch OS 3.0 operating system (based on Android 6.0), guarantees a smoother selfie and photography experience.
- Perfect selfies under low ambient light with Selfie Softlight The optimized Selfie Softlight creates lighting effects that are comparable to professional photography studios. The function captures radiant complexions even in low-light conditions. In addition, Vivo's Face Beauty 6.0 function allows users to beautify selfies with one click. - Creative Group Selfie and 52MP Ultra HD photos Dedicated to cutting-edge smart phone photography technology, V5s also introduces the Group Selfie feature to capture every smile in a group shot without squeezing in or missing anyone. Meanwhile, the 52MP Ultra HD photo feature shoots multiple frames in quick succession and creates remarkable 52MP photos with more detail and less noise. Other features of the V5s include: 0.2s fingerprint unlocking speed
Sleek unibody design
AK4376 Hi-Fi audio chip "By launching the brand new V5s, Vivo heralds a new era of photography in the mobile phone industry," noted Feng. "It continues to offer users gorgeous selfies and an enjoyable user experience by upgrading our photography technologies as well as introducing new features." For more information about the Vivo V5s, please visit: www.vivo.com The V5s will be available in matte black, crown gold and rose gold. It will land in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines in May. About Vivo A young global smartphone brand focusing on introducing perfect sound quality and ultimate photography with cutting-edge technology, Vivo develops dynamic and stylish products for passionate young people. The company ranks among the top 5 smartphone brands worldwide according to IDC's Q4 2016 report. Photo - https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20170510/1836341-8 SOURCE Vivo
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[May 27, 2017] Hujiang EdTech Launches Online Museum Project in Copenhagen to Promote Global Cultural Exchange
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hujiang EdTech ("Hujiang"), China's leading online education company, through its interactive online teaching platform CCtalk, launched the Cultural Exchange - "Aim at the World" Museum Children's Education Project ("the project") at the Frederiksborg Castle Museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. This live interactive broadcast is one of Hujiang EdTech's initiatives to link China and the rest of the world. The company intends to introduce exhibits and other content from world class museums to children worldwide through Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/516862/Hujiang_EdTech.jpg Nearly 10,000 students from China's rural villages took a virtual tour of the Fredeiksborg Castle Museum, which was led by Ms. Mette Skouggard, the museum's curator, Chinese representative Gao Yimeng and CCtalk contract teacher Dr. Henry Guo graduated from Oxford University who translated all of the content. "Our Danish partners understand the great importance of this event. They closed the renowned Treasure House for 3 hours just for us to do the live broadcast," said Guo. The live event not only linked curious children to the far-away land, but also interconnected their experiences among distant Chinese provinces. Student representatives from two schools in Gansu (northwestern province of China), and Henan (middle eastern province of China) could raie questions in response to each other using CCtalk's two-way video tool.
Most of the children who participated in the live broadcast have never taken a step out of their hometowns. After the event, Sun Dongqiang, principle of Lianzhuang Primary School in Hebei Province, said, "Children in the village really need courses like this, not only to broaden their horizons, but to help increase knowledge as well." Ms. Mette Skougaard said in a prior interview with China Central Television, "It is very important to promote cultural blending, but it is not easy to organize Danish students to go to China." But soon, Danish students will also be able to virtually travel to China and "walk inside" places such as Prince Kung's Mansion in Beijing as a part of the "Aim at the World" Museum Children's Education Project, which was initiated by China's National Culture and Arts Foundation, the Prince Kung's Mansion Management Center of the Ministry of Culture, the Frederiksborg Castle Museum and Hujiang EdTech.
With the use of panoramic live-broadcasting, two-way video, VR and other technologies, children in classrooms worldwide can learn world history, experience foreign cultures and gain a better understanding of other civilizations. "Through the combination of high technology including VR, AI and big data and education, we hope to facilitate learning and make knowledge more available to a wider range of audience and build a bridge for cultural exchange worldwide," said Arnold (Cairui) Fu, Founder & CEO of Hujiang EdTech. According to the Prince Kung's Mansion Management Center of China's Ministry of Culture, besides the Frederiksborg Castle Museum in Copenhagen, it is very likely that in the future, more and more world-class museums will offer similar experiences in collaboration with CCtalk. Courses covering the arts, nature, history, and technology will be available soon. This project will enhance the educational resources available to local schools. To guarantee successful communication and interaction between students and foreign experts, multi-lingual simultaneous interpretation will be provided during the live streaming. About Hujiang EdTech Founded in 2001, Hujiang EdTech stands out from the booms and busts of the tech scene in China by offering solid answers to two questions: How can technology change the education industry? What is an educational technology platform, really? Started as an online BBS community offering online courses and now China's leading online education company, Hujiang EdTech strives to make high-quality education more accessible and enjoyable through mobile learning applications, online courses, and its interactive online teaching platform. Serving over 140 million users (including 110 million mobile users) in China, Hujiang EdTech offers a wide range of online educational programs, including international & domestic examination preparation, foreign language learning, professional skills training, and more. Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQfNwBdlbQI
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Kansas City Gunmen On The Run
Police search for 3 men in carjacking, crash near 87th, Wornall Matt Evans/KMBC SOURCE: Matt Evans/KMBC Kansas City police are searching for three men suspected in a carjacking and crash Friday morning near 87th Street and Wornall Road. Police said officers spotted a tan Mazda Tribute that has been reported stolen in a carjacking.
Grizzly Killing Suspect On The Outskirts Of Town
Prosecutors to seek death penalty in quadruple homicide PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) - Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty if a northwest Missouri man is convicted of killing four member of his family. The Kansas City Star reports a June 1 hearing is scheduled in Platte County Circuit Court for prosecutors to argue for the chance to seek the death penalty against 25-year-old Grayden Lane Denham.
Follow-up From Our Midday
Eight shot in 48 hour span in Kansas City, including one homicide Eight people were shot in a span of 48 hours in Kansas City, including a homicide Wednesday that claimed the life of a 28-year-old man. No charges have been announced in any of the shootings. Antonio C. Hughes of Kansas City was found fatally shot Wednesday at 57th Street and Bales.
The violent weekend is underway, take a look . . .Developing . . .
The Kansas City Burrito Crisis
Chipotle offers more info on security incident from April Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (Chipotle) is providing further information about the payment card security incident that Chipotle previously reported on April 25, 2017. The information comes at the completion of an investigation that involved leading cyber security firms, law enforcement, and the payment card networks.
Sprint Center Security Scare
Security on minds of concert-goers as Roger Waters kicks off tour at Sprint Center KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters kicked off his Us and Them North American tour Friday Night at Kansas City's Sprint Center. Opening songs included Breathe, One of these Days, and Time. "Once in a lifetime for both of us, so we are pretty excited," said 21-year-old Mariah Lamar, who had purchased tickets for her and her father.
Show-Me GOP Gridlock
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens hints at more special sessions JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has hinted at the possibility of another special session just hours after the Legislature adjourned from its first. The governor told The Associated Press on Friday that he is "leaving every option on the table" and has a lot of topics that could be considered for a future special session.
Sleaze Summit Housing Rage
Lee's Summit dream home nightmare continues LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. - Imagine building a brand new, $500,000 home then finding out you can't live in it. That's the nightmare one Lee's Summit family continues to deal with. "We were at $557,000, then minus value is negative $172,000. That's without legal fees, mortgage payments, utility payments and more," said homeowner Pam Hatcher.
Raytown Home Repair Nightmare
Collapsed ceiling pours insulation, mold into Raytown home, creating 'toxic mess' RAYTOWN, Mo. --The storms and rain this spring have caused damage to homes across the metro, including the house where Montoyia Walker and her three children live. The ceiling in Walker's bedroom has collapsed, bringing insulation and mold with it, infecting her home and making her children sick.She has been to the emergency room twice in the last few months because her children are having asthmatic reactions to the mold.
The Great War Review
For Memorial Day, Kansas City's World War I Museum Invites Public To Make Connections The National World War I Museum and Memorial plans several events, along with free admission for veterans and active-duty military personnel, to celebrate Monday's national holiday recognizing the men and women who've died in service to the U.S. military.
More KCMO Weekend Plans
Memorial Day 2017: Things to do around Kansas City this weekend The Memorial Day weekend is here, and there are a lot of ways for you to get out and enjoy it. The KC Jazz and Heritage Festival is now open. There are multiple stages up at the Historic 18th and Vine District, so you can go check out the music, food and drinks.
starts our Saturday morning and these are just a few of the Kansas City links we're checking . . .and this is thefor this morning . . .
CHECK COUNCIL DUDE REED THROWING A HIGH-CLASS B-DAY BASH IN DOWNTOWN LUXURY APARTMENTS!!!
Kansas City 3rd District Council Dude Jermaine Reed is busy planning his next move and a long-shot effort to sneak into the Mayor's Office.To wit . . .Here's the card a hint that money is always the easiest way to a politico's heart . . .The first major KCMO Mayoral campaign event kinda sends mixed messages and while the candidate rages against the Trump administration . . . It's hard to identify with all the plebs from a luxury penthouse.You decide . . .
Kieran Dickson a Scot on holiday in the village of Kassiopi, Corfu happened to capture an incredible moment a huge whirlpool was whipped up by strong winds on the Corfu coast just metres from the balcony of his getaway home.
Mr. Dickson explained that the whirlpool lasted 5 minutes. Dickson shared the video on Facebook and said: Left the sunshine in Scotland and arrived to this weather in Corfu!
The video shows damage to foliage, cable wires, and other objects whipping in the air from the force of the winds.
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
Petroleum Development Oman (PDO) has signed three contracts worth $35 million with Omani firms for the supply and servicing of compressors.
PDO has agreed two contracts with Bin Salim Enterprises for the supply of instrument air compressor packages and the maintenance and repair of installed units, said a statement from the company.
It also penned another service deal with PipeLine Supply Company for an existing compressor fleet, it added.
Raoul Restucci, managing director of PDO, said that the company is delighted to sign these contracts which displays its commitment to investing in Omani businesses and people.
He added that the deals will enable both the local manufacture of vital equipment for our operations and the development of Omani service engineers and repair facilities.
Restucci further noted that PDO are working all the time to ensure Omani companies play a greater role in the oil and gas sector and beyond in order to develop competitive, capable, professional and efficient local supply chains.
Tribune News Service
Amritsar, May 27
A Pakistani youth, identified as Abdullah Khan (22), a resident of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, was today sent to 14-day judicial custody by the local court.
Khan had crossed the border fencing at the Attari-Wagah joint check-post two days ago. The incident took place when Retreat Ceremony was in progress. He crossed the prohibited line from the rear side of the spectators gallery. A mobile phone and Pakistani currency worth Rs 9,000 were seized from his possession, but nothing objectionable was found. Sources said he revealed that he wanted to watch the dance being performed by Indian spectators.
He was handed over to the Gharinda police by the Border Security Force yesterday. A case under Sections 3, 34, 20 of the Indian Passport Act and Section 14 of the Foreigners Act was registered against him.
Tribune News Service
Hisar, May 27
With girl students staging dharnas in a number of villages demanding upgrading of schools, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma today said a list of 122 schools that had been upgraded would be released on Monday.
Talking to the mediapersons in Bhiwani today, the minister said it had become a trend to stage a dharna to raise the demand. Blaming the previous government for the controversy, the minister said the Congress government had upgraded 244 government schools, but without requisite infrastructure.
On the statement of Additional Chief Secretary PK Das that the process of upgrading schools for 2017-18 had been completed and that no more schools would be upgraded, the minister denied any rift between them, while reiterating that the list of upgraded schools would be issued on Monday.
The government school at Riwasa village of Bhiwani where the girls locked up the school two days ago was along among the schools on the list, he assured.
Sharma said he was not satisfied with the results of Class X of the Haryana Board of School Education. The previous government used to give 20 per cent grace marks to ensure better result. He said a technical hitch had resulted in goof-up in compiling the merit list of the matriculation result of the HBSE.
Villagers lock school over poor result
Hisar: Residents on Saturday locked Government High School at Nawa Rajgarh village in Bhiwani to protest against poor Class X result. They claimed that most of the posts of teacher were lying vacant for one year, which had affected the studies. The schools 46 students had appeared in the Class X examination and 36 have failed while four would be reappearing to clear the exam. The remaining six students have managed to secure pass marks. Sarpanch Phool Kumar said they would take up the issue with the higher authorities. TNS
Tribune News Service
Karnal, May 27
The local police today foiled an attempt of AAP workers to gherao the CMs camp office over the issue of rising incidents of crime against women.
The AAP workers tried to cross the barricades installed near the camp office, but the police swung into action and used water cannons and resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse them.
Earlier, the AAP workers led by state president Naveen Jaihind assembled at old vegetable market.
While addressing the activists, Jaihind launched a scathing attack on the state government, alleging that it had failed to provide security to women as the crime against them had been increasing by the day.
Citing examples of gang-rape and murder of Rohtak women and gang-rape in a moving car in Gurugram, Jaihind said these incidents had shaken the entire country and exposed the poor law and order in the state.
He maintained that the girl students had to struggle to continue their study. They had been staging dharnas and sitting on indefinite strike for demand their right to education. He alleged that the incidents of gangwars had been on the rise, but the government had remained a mute spectator.
Quoting a report, the AAP leader said most of the incidents of eveteasing and molestation took place during commuting in different modes of transport. Taking a dig on Operation Durga initiated by the state police, he said it had failed miserably and people were harassed.
After the address, Jailhind along with party workers, came from the various parts of the state, took out a procession towards the CMs camp office. A large number of women also participated.
Tribune News Service
Yamunanagar, May 27
Former INLD MLA Dilbag Singhs elder brother Rajinder Singh alias Raja and one of his business partners were shot at by four persons here last night.
Raja and his partner in plywood business Sanjeev Kumar sustained injuries. They were admitted to a private hospital where their condition was stated to be stable.
Sources said the assailants came in a car outside the victims office situated at Sector 17 in Jagadhri. Two of them barged into the office and opened fire on them. The assailants then fled the spot. An old enmity is said to be the reason behind the attack.
On Rajas complaint, the police have registered a case against four persons, including Joginder Rana and his two sons Kala Rana and Surya Rana. Kala Rana is already lodged in Jagadhri jail.
Yamunanagar SP Rajesh Kalia said the attackers had fired five shots, while four hit the victims. He said the family members of the former MLA had clashed with the accused a few months ago. He said four teams under the supervision of Jagadhri DSP had been formed to nab the culprits.
Dilbag Singh was elected from the Yamunanagar in 2009. He lost the seat to BJPs Ghanshyam Das in 2014.
Old enmity
Sourcses say the attack is the result of an old enmity. The family members of former MLA Dilbag Singh had clashed with the accused a few months ago
Tribune News Service
Panchkula, May 27
Wooing journalists at the first-ever "Journalist Meet" here, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar today advised the scribes to avoid yellow journalism, which, he said might bring short-term fame, but hindered the creation of a welfare society.
Apparently miffed at a section of the media dubbing his recent trip to Singpore and Hong Kong as a 'junket', Khattar asserted that while positive news could create new consciousness in society, negative news could create sensationalism.
The CM announced several incentives for mediapersons, including monthly pension of Rs 10,000 for journalists over 60 years who had completed 20 years of service, life insurance of Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh on sharing basis, and cashless mediclaim of Rs 5 lakh.
He announced that a new policy would also be framed for giving recognition to representatives of web news portals besides giving 'recognition' to journalists of five years' standing.
Earlier, Information, Public Relations and Languages Minister Kavita Jain informed that it was for the first time in the last 50 years in the state when such a huge "Journalist Meet" had been organised.
Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, May 27
In a major blow to the BJP, 10 of the 15 councillors withdrew their support from president of the Solan, Municipal Committee (MC) Pawan Gupta. A letter claiming no confidence to the president was submitted to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Rakesh Kanwar in this regard today.
Among those who withdrew the support are seven BJP councillors, including vice-president Meera Anand , though she was not present when the letter of no confidence was handed over to the DC. Three Congress-supported councillors also lent their support to the move.
The DC confirmed that a letter signed by 10 councillors was received by him though only nine had turned up to hand over the same. He added that it had been forwarded to the SDM for further action and as per the Act a minimum period of 15 days was supposed to be granted to the president to prove his majority on the floor of the House.
Being the lone MC in the district which the BJP had won in the last years civic polls, internal bickering within the party propelled this move. Though efforts had been made by a faction of the BJP councillors to elevate their another candidate to the post of president after seeking support of the three Congress councillors earlier too, but the move had not materialised.
Bhanu P Lohumi
Tribune News Service
Shimla, May 27
Hundreds of government teachers today staged a dharna outside the Vidhan Sabha in support of their long-pending demands and also performed a sadbudhi yajna praying for giving saner sense to the government.
More than 3,000 teachers under the banner of the Himachal Government Teachers Association (HGTA) assembled at Ambedkar Chowk for pressing the government to implement the 21-point demand charter. They performed yajna and marched towards the Vidhan Sabha carrying placards highlighting the demands and raised slogans like Sarkar ko sadbudhi aaye and Jo sarkar sikshak hiteshi hogi, wahi raj karegi,(Only the government which is well-wisher of teachers would rule).
The protestors tried to gherao the Vidhan Sabha but the police, which was deployed in strength, had cordoned off the area and did not allow the teachers to proceed further following which they resorted to dharna.
The HGTA president, Virender Chauhan, said the association had served an ultimatum to the government to accept the demands by May 15 following which the teachers would gherao the Vidhan Sabha.
The Chief Minister had given an assurance of sympathetically considering the demands of the teachers and called the Joint Coordination Committee (JCC) for talks during the teachers convention at Jawalaji on December 18, 2016, but even after five months, no progress was made and the teachers who were left in the lurch were forced to adopt the warpath.
Throwing sufficient hints that the teachers would settle the scores in the Assembly elections, Chauhan said, Teachers will only support that government which is their well-wisher.
Announcing that the association would further intensify the agitation, he said after the two-day all- India-level convention on quality education at Kullu on June 10 and 11 the members of the association would gherao the DC, Kullu, on June 12.
Dharnas and gheraoes would be organised at all district headquarters during the coming months, followed by a general house meeting of the association at Hamirpur on October 16 during which a detailed programme for proceeding on an indefinite strike would be chalked out, in case the demands were not.
Tribune News Service
Shimla, May 27
The Himachal Vidhan Sabha today unanimously passed the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Service Tax Bill, 2017, even as both ruling and Opposition members tried to give credit for the historic move to their central leaderships.
Moving the GST Bill on the second day of the special Assembly session, convened especially to pass it, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said the GST would come into force from July 1 all over the country ushering in one nation-one tax era. The House passed the Bill after debating on it for almost an hour.
Participating in the debate, Leader of Opposition PK Dhumal said this was the biggest-ever economic reform undertaken in the independent India. The traders, shopkeepers and consumers will be saved from paying multiple taxes and it is bound to bring about an improvement in the GDP by at least 1.5 to 2 per cent, he stated.
Dhumal said even though the GST Bill had been introduced by the previous UPA regime but consensus could not be developed on certain issues, like revenue sharing and who will have the power to impose taxes. During the NDA regime, all such issues were resolved and from July1, the entire nation will be under one tax, facilitating all, he remarked.
He said while two-third powers would be with the Centre, only one-third powers would be with the state. Items of daily use have either been completely exempted or kept in the lowest bracket of five per cent tax, he said.
Transport and Civil Supplies Minister GS Bali, while welcoming the passing of the Bill, said it was during the regime of Rajiv Gandhi when a strong foundation for the IT sector was laid and the successive Congress and BJP regimes helped move towards having a uniform taxation system. However, states like Himachal having immense tourism potential could be adversely impacted by GST, especially smaller hotel units, and this issue must be raised with the Centre, he said echoing his concern. He urged Opposition members, including Dhumal, Shanta Kumar and JP Nadda, to take up the issue with the Centre in the interest of the state.
Majid Jahangir
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, May 27
After top militant Burhan Wanis killing in July last year, security forces today tasted their first major success when they gunned down his close aide and Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmed Bhat along with one of his associates in south Kashmirs Tral area of Pulwama district.
The killing of Sabzar (27), alias Sahbeh Don, has ignited fresh tension in the Valley.
A civilian was also killed in the crossfire.
The encounter took place at Saimoh village, some 40 km from Srinagar, when a joint operation was launched last evening by the J&K Police, Armys 42 Rashtriya Rifles battalion and the CRPFs 180 battalion following a specific input about the presence of three militants.
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As the forces were moving towards the village, the hiding militants fired at them, triggering a brief gunfight. The security forces maintained a tight cordon around the village the entire night and resumed the operation against the militants hiding in a house early in the morning.
A fierce gunfight ensued as the forces approached the suspected house, which left Sabzar and Faizan Muzzaffar dead, a police officer said.
Video received on WhatsApp from unidentified sender
J&K Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid termed the killing of the militant commander as a major success for the security forces.
The civilian who was killed has been identified as Aqib Ahmed of Tral. While the locals said he died in firing by forces while they were trying to march towards the gunfight site, the police said he died in the crossfire. There are reports that a militant who was trapped may have managed to escape.
As the news about the militant commanders death spread, an instant shutdown was observed and there were clashes in many parts of the Valley. At several places, the forces had to use teargas and fire into the air to disperse stone-throwing crowds. The clashes left several people injured.
The killing of Burhan, a resident of Tral, had led to a five-month-long unrest that left nearly 90 persons dead and thousands injured.
Meanwhile, the separatists have called for a shutdown on Sunday and Monday to protest the killing of militants and civilians. They have also called for a march to Tral on May 30.
Meanwhile, curfew will be imposed in seven police station areas of Srinagar tomorrow to prevent the spread of violent protests.
Arun Joshi
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, May 27
Kashmir is always waiting to erupt and it just needs a spark. The killing of Sabzar Bhat, believed to be the successor to Burhan Wani whose death last year had sent tremors across the Valley, played out some flashback scenes of 2016 on Saturday, though at a miniature level to show that the place and the people are not at rest.
The efforts of the government to keep the situation calm did not withstand the test that came after the killing of Sabzar Bhat and one more militant Faizan in Tral on Saturday. Spontaneous protests and the usual use of force, showed that nothing had changed. The contingency plans were executed after the killing of militants. The anticipation part was missing as was in the case of Burhan Wani in July last year even after the Valley suffered an incalculable damage in the unrest that set new precedents in protests.
Today, Kashmir may not be standing at the threshold of the disaster of last year because of the fatigue factor, yet the fact cannot be ignored that Kashmir did wail the death and prepared obligingly to observe the shutdown call by the separatists. Kashmir is not afraid of the separatists as they have reconciled to the fatalities of the situation, but they do not want to give an impression to the world that they would let the militants die unmourned.
Sabzar was not a match to Burhan, who had gained popularity through social media, but his being the aide of the high-profile militant who was described by Pakistan as a martyr and his name broadcast at the United Nations General Assembly last year, was enough of a reason for hundreds of militants to throng his village, said Gulam Rasool Bhat, hailing from Tral. It should serve as an eye-opener to the Government of India to know where sympathies of the people lay.
Two factors weigh with the people after such incidents: one, they feel that it is their duty to demonstrate their sympathies for militants because the movement for azadi is work in progress, and, secondly, they want to stay away from the trouble as much as possible. No driver is willing to risk his vehicle to be smashed by stones, and the showroom owners are more than cautious. They shutter their establishments at the first signs of trouble.
It brings out the fact that they are not convinced that security personnel can save them from any trouble. That is where the faith in the system is getting eroded, and the government is shaking uncontrollably. That is where the problem lies. Security forces cannot be buffer in such situation when the politicians abdicate their responsibility and cocoon themselves in seclusion.
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, May 27
The Gulzar Group of Institutes (GGI) held its convocation at Guru Nanak Bhavan, Ludhiana. Students of different academics were awarded with degrees at the convocation. The chief guest of the event was Ambassador Dr Deepak Vohra, Special Advisor to the Prime Minister of Lesotho and Guinea-Bissau. The guest of honour on the occasion was Margaret Kedisi Minister counsellor Uganda High Commission, New Delhi.
A total of 723 degrees were conferred upon the students. The function began with Saraswati Vandana by students of the institute, which was followed by the lighting of lamp by the eminent guest and offering of prayers to Goddess Saraswati. Dr Deepak Vohra urged the students to be innovative and come out with cutting-edge solutions to the problems they would face in their career.
He said education must prepare youths for integration into societies and economies from highly diverse, linguistic, ethnic, religious, racial and cultural backgrounds.
Gulzar Group of Institutes Chairman Gurcharan Singh said now the students could dream of having successful careers ahead. Executive director Gurkirat Singh said at the moment, education was a continual process that kept on enriching the lives of everyone around.
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
A day after saying no to Congress president Sonia Gandhis lunch party organised for the Opposition leaders from 17 political parties, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday accepted the lunch invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Nitish, who arrived in Delhi today, will attend the lunch party, which the Prime Minister is hosting in the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is visiting India.
Nitish will also hold a separate sitting with the Prime Minister on developmental issues pertaining to Bihar, including central help to de-silt Ganga river.
JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav had attended the meeting with Sonia Gandhi yesterday held to discuss the Presidential poll. Nitish meeting with Modi has attracted much attention.
JD (U)-RJD-Congress grand alliance had thwarted BJP in the last Assembly election in Bihar.
Ravi S Singh
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
A day after he skipped a luncheon meeting hosted by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for Opposition leaders, Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) president Nitish Kumar here today met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid speculation of a thaw in their ties.
Kumar met Modi after attending a lunch the PM hosted for his Mauritius counterpart Parvind Jugnauth. As the meeting became the talking point, the JD(U) went into an overdrive trying to put to rest the speculation. No political meaning should be attached. The luncheon was a protocol as the Mauritius PM hails from Bihar, the JD(U) spokesperson said.
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What triggered further speculation was Nitish flying back to Patna without meeting any Opposition leader. Political circles have also been abuzz about his differences with the RJD after Lalu Prasad Yadavs daughters name cropped up in a land scam.
New Delhi, May 26
Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Friday arrived here on a three-day visit, during which he will meet his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee.
Jugnauth held discussions with Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today.
He will hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister Modi tomorrow, besides meeting Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The Mauritian premier will also meet President Mukherjee and Vice-President Hamid Ansari tomorrow.
The Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) leader is accompanied by his deputy Ivan Collendavelloo, and senior officials including the cabinet secretary and finance secretary of Mauritius.
This is Jugnauths first visit abroad as Prime Minister after assuming office early this year.
Modi had visited the island nation in March, 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
During his visit, Modi had commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
The Mauritian PMs visit to India is part of our continuing engagement with the Government of Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between our two countries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Gopal Baglay had said on Thursday. PTI
New Delhi, May 26
Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth today arrived here on a three-day visit to India. The visit takes place at a time when India is looking to strengthen its ties with countries of the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), mainly to keep China out of the region.
Jugnauths visit is likely to boost a defence partnership between India and Mauritius. This is Jugnauths first visit to India since he became the PM in January this year. The ceremonial part of the visit will start tomorrow when PM Narendra Modi holds delegation-level talks with his Mauritian counterpart. India is also expected to increase its line of credit to Mauritius during this visit.
The elephant in the room when the two leaders hold discussions tomorrow will be China and its ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative. In the recently held summit in Beijing, India chose to stay away due to sovereignty concerns. But the neighbourhood seems to have embraced the OBOR, with Pakistan leading the way. Nepal and Sri Lanka also seem to be going along with the OBOR initiative which is concerning India.
The next area of strategic interest where India will want to keep China away is the IOR and in that context, Mauritius is an extremely important partner for India. TNS
New Delhi, May 27
The Election Commission of India on Saturday said it had never promised no-holds barred hackathon when it had announced EVM challenge.
Changing the internal circuit of electronic device is like changing the device itself, the EC said on AAPs insistence to change EVM motherboard.
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The EC said EVM challenge will be conducted within framework of existing administrative safeguards and security protocols.
The Congress and AAP, while refusing to participate in the challenge on June 3, had yesterday written to the Commission flagging certain issues.
The poll panel responded to the two parties separately today.
"The EVMs are not accessible to any unauthorised person at any stage before, during or after the polls and as such, the question of access to all the components, such as the motherboard for tampering the EVM machines does not arise," it told the Congress.
In its response to the AAP, the Commission said it "does not subscribe to the views expressed in the letter (written by the party) that open hackathon is necessary for safeguarding the election process in the country".
It also said it had not promised a no-holds barred hackathon."...no such promise about a no-holds barred hackathon was ever made or announced by the Commission...
During the all Party Meeting on May 12, the Commission had clearly explained that it will offer an EVM challenge and not a hackathon."
It said the claim that it is backing off from a hackathon is "baseless".
As any person with basic common knowledge will be able to appreciate, a non-ECI EVM or an EVM with a different 'internal circuit' is simply a different machine or at best a look alike of ECI EVM and hence, can never be guaranteed by ECI to give correct results, the EC said.
It further said the Commission has invited nominees of national and state recognised political parties to participate in an EVM challenge' to prove the allegation of EVM tampering, within the framework of the extant administrative and security protocols prescribed by the Commission, which are strictly followed in the field with active participation of the political parties/candidates/their representatives in an absolutely open and transparent framework.
Further, in case there is some data or evidence in possession of the party to suggest that EVMs deployed in the recently held General Elections to the State Legislative Assemblies -2017 were already tampered to deliver skewed results, it is requested that the opportunity provided by the EVM Challenge' be availed of by the party and polling stations of the choice be selected to verify the results and demonstrate the tampering during the challenge slot, which will be provided by ECI once it receives the request and as per ECI Challenge framework, it added.
Political parties -- especially Mayawati led-Bahujan Samaj Party and Arvind Kejriwal's AAP had contested and claimed that the EVMs held under the ownership of Election Commission and used in recent elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand in February-March polls were tampered. Agencies
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
Political developments of the past few months indicate that Janata Dal United leader Nitish Kumar may be on his way back to the NDA, which he had walked out of after his relations with Narendra Modi, his then Gujarat counterpart, soured.
While replying to a query whether the JD-U stalwart was inching close to the coalition he was part of for 17 years, BJP chief Amit Shah on Friday had said that he had no such communication from the Bihar Chief Minister.
However, Kumars presence at the Prime Ministers lunch in honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on Saturday and his absence from the oppositions lunch on Friday, some believe, may be one of the many signs.
Kumar had broken the alliance with the NDA in 2013 after Modi was declared the PM candidate of the saffron coalition.
However, much has changed since. Kumar was among the few rivals who had appreciated Modis demonetisation move. The BJP reciprocated by appreciating his liquor ban in Bihar and also his clean image. The first proof of the improvement in the relations between Kumar and Modi came at the Prakash Parv celebrations at the Patna Sahib gurdwara in January.
Since then, several BJP leaders have appreciated Kumars performance as sushasan babu when he was in alliance with the BJP.
BJP leaders claim that given his clean image, it is natural that he is feeling bogged down by fresh allegations of corruption against Lalu Prasad and his family.
Also, the need to get together could be mutual. While Kumar needs the numbers to run the government in Bihar in the possible absence of the RJD, the BJP needs him to do well in the state where it fared badly in the last Assembly polls.
Shahira Naim & Shiv Kumar Sharma
Tribune News Service
Lucknow/Yamunanagar, May 27
Denied entry into Saharanpur, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi today walked more than a kilometre and stopped at a dhaba in Shahjahanpur village (taking the Yamunanagar route), where he met some of the victims of the recent caste violence.
He was accompanied by UP Congress chief Raj Babbar, AICC general secretary in charge of UP Ghulam Nabi Azad, former Saharanpur (Deoband) MLA Imran Masood and other leaders.
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The Saharanpur administration had raised barricades and deployed the police in strength at every entry point. Rahuls car was stopped at one of the barricades in Saharanpurs Sarsawa town. He got off and started walking. So did the Congress leaders accompanying him.
Rahul was not allowed to proceed towards strife-torn Shabbirpur. A police officer urged him not to proceed and that he could have been stopped at the border itself. Under which law could you have stopped me? retorted Rahul. The entourage then halted at a dhaba where he interacted with some caste violence survivors waiting for him there. He was with them for 30 minutes.
At Radaur, Joriyo Naka and near the sugar mill yard in Yamunanagar district, Rahul was welcomed by enthusiastic party men, who raised slogans. On his return to Delhi, he tweeted: The administration tried to stop me at the UP border but I walked to the Shahjahanpur chowki, Saharanpur, where I met some survivors.
In another tweet, he observed: In todays India, there is no place for the poor and marginalised sections. Dalits are being crushed not only in UP, but all over India. UP ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Mishra said the administration had requested all political parties not to visit the district until normalcy was restored. He and other senior officers have been camping in the district since May 23 following fresh Thakur-Dalit clashes.
Vibha Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
Non-BJP ruled states, such as Kerala and Mizoram, have flayed as fascist and anti-federal the new rules banning the sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter. But there is little they can do skirt the ban brought in just ahead of the Ramzan.
Experts say the move will not just affect meat, fodder and tannery business but milk production too, further resulting in a rise in the spurious variety a frightening thought given that two of every three Indians are already consuming spurious milk.
Agriculture expert Sudheer Panwar points out the Centre has strategically used the Environment Ministry route of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017 so that the states have no other option but to fall in line.
Hence, while banning the sale of cattle for slaughter may be a political step closer to a beef ban across the country, Panwar says it could trigger dire consequences, leading to a further rise in the production of spurious milk.
Research shows that two of every three Indians consume milk laced with detergents, caustic soda, urea and paint. The admission was made by none other than Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan in Parliament. It is Vardhan who, now as Environment Minister, has introduced changes in the animal protection rules.
Panwar says the farmers will henceforth be wary of rearing cows. And given the high consumption of milk in the country, it is spurious milk manufacturers who will make hay at the cost of public health. According to studies, more than 68 per cent of milk sold does not conform to standards laid down by the food regulator (FSSAI). Moreover, given that 50 per cent of any specie is bound to be male, the slaughter ban could result in buffaloes becoming as big a nuisance for farmers as the neel gai. Meat exporters say it is mostly unproductive cattle that arrives at the meat markets. And the ban would only mean owners abandoning such cattle on the streets.
As per the gazette notification, cattle, which also includes cows, calves, buffaloes and camels, can now only be sold to farmers, that too after providing identity papers.
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhis visit to the outskirts of riot-hit Saharanpur today was no surprise to those following his politics.
From July 2008 onwards when Rahul cited Kalawati, a Dalit widow from Yavatmal in Maharashtra to make the case for Indo-US nuclear deal to his 2016 engagement with Dalit victims of flogging in Gujarats Una, he has always espoused the cause of Scheduled Castes visibly.
With his attempted Saharanpur visit today, Rahul again sought to send the message of solidarity with SCs victimised by upper castes in the area over the past many days. The plan is to aggressively engage the SCs as part of Congress ideology to stand with the marginalised. But leaders within admit that more needs to be done. We need to do much more for the SCs than we are doing. We must reach out to Dalits at all times and not just when they need our help in events of victimisation, said K Raju, head, Congress SC cell.
Shiv Kumar Sharma
Tribune News Service
Yamunanagar, May 27
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi walked into Saharanpur district from the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border on Saturday afternoon and met some victims of caste violence at a dhaba in Shahjahanpur village.
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He accompanied by AICC general secretary in-charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and other party leaders.
The Congress vice-president walked on foot more than a km and reached a dhaba at Shahjahanpur village, where he met some of the victims of the caste violence.
After staying about half-an-hour at the dabha, Rahul returned to Delhi via Yamunanagar.
According to information, the Saharanpur district administration had put barricades and deployed policemen in large numbers at the entry point on the border. When the Congress vice-presidents car reached near the barricades, the police didnt allow the driver to go ahead.
In the meantime, Rahul Gandhi got down and walked into the Saharanpur district. Other Congress leaders followed him.
After walking for more than a km, they were stopped by the police. Rahul Gandhi and other Congress leaders stopped at a dhaba there.
Sources said Gandhi wanted to go to violence-hit Shabbirpur village, but the Saharanpur administration didnt allow him.
Gandhi stopped at three places at Radaur, Joriyo Naka and near Sugar Mill yard in Yamunanagar district, where he was welcomed by the Congress men.
Saharanpur has witnessed widespread caste-based clashes his month.
Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 5, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes in which houses of Dalits in Shabbirpur were torched by Thakurs.
About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 9.
On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region. With agency inputs
New Delhi, May 27
Sacked Water Minister Kapil Mishra on Saturday accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Health Minister Satyendar Jain of misappropriating health funds and claimed three health scams, including one involving Rs 300 crore.
Mishra said three big scams were perpetrated in the health sector by the Aam Aadmi Party government, including one of more than Rs 300 crore in the procurement of medicines.
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The Kejriwal government improperly procured medicines, overpaid for ambulances, and violated rules in transfers and appointments too, Mishra told the media here.
The former minister said Jain did not allow hospitals to buy medicines and instead handed over the task to a central procurement authority.
"The government bought medicines worth crores of rupees six months in advance, even when hospitals said they don't need them. Three godowns were built to store the medicines, which have been wasted," said Mishra, who has been suspended from the Aam Aadmi Party.
The former Minister claimed that such medicines have since expired and hospitals have started running out of stock.
He also raised doubts over the purchase of 100 ambulances in the national capital.
Mishra said the 100 ambulance bought by the government for Rs 23 lakh each were supposed to be fireproof, but four caught fire within the first few days of running. "Some are now not even in use," he alleged.
The MLA from Karawal Nagar said that Health Minister Jain appointed at least 30 Medical Superintendents in Delhi hospitals without following the due process.
"Jain broke rules of transfers and appointments. Junior officers were given senior posts and he ordered over 30 illegal postings," Mishra claimed. IANS
Amaninder Pal
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 27
One would think there are long queues of job-seekers for low-paid jobs. Not true. In Punjab, more than 270 persons have applied for the post of Vice-Chancellor of Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU), Amritsar, and Punjabi University, Patiala. The last date for submitting applications was May 25.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) clearly lays out that distinguished academicians are to occupy the post.
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Sources say the five-member search committee set up by the state government has received 139 applications for the post of VC, Punjabi University, and 134 in case of GNDU. Apart from some retired Army officers, a good number of professors already teaching in these universities have applied for the job.
UGC rules state that besides a distinguished academic career, the applicant must have 10 years experience as professor. Now, distinguished academic career is difficult to interpret. But many academicians with 10 years of teaching experience as professor see themselves qualified for the post. Hence, the number of applicants is quite high, explains a university don.
Critics say the criteria is flawed as one does not expect a scholar of eminence to submit an application for the post. Rather, according to Dr SS Johl, who has been VC of Punjabi University and Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, those applying for the post should not be considered at all.
A search committees job is to search, not select, a candidate. Instead of calling for applications, the committee should have approached persons who have made a mark in the academic world. Eminent scholars do not apply for posts. These are offered to them, Dr Johl says.
Aditi Tandon
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
The World Health Organisation (WHO) today announced the Zika virus outbreak in India, reporting the first three laboratory confirmed cases of the disease, all from Ahmedabad in Gujarat.
The WHO, however, did not recommend any travel or trade restriction and said the current evidence suggested low levels of transmission of the virus. It said cases could occur in future and advised India to remove breeding sites of Zika vector, the Aedes mosquito, besides reducing human-mosquito contact.
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WHO said on May 15, Indias health ministry reported three laboratory-confirmed cases of Zika virus in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad. All were detected during surveillance at BJ Medical College. The etiology was confirmed through positive test and sequencing at Indias national reference laboratory, National Institute of Virology, Pune.
The first case involved a 64-year-old male whose sample was taken during an acute febrile illness surveillance at BJMC between February 10 and 16, 2016, when 93 blood samples in all were collected. The second case features a 34-year-old female who delivered a healthy baby at BJMC on November 9, 2016.
After delivery she developed low grade fever. A sample from her was negative for dengue but positive for Zika. The third case is of a 22-year-old pregnant woman whose sample was taken at BJMC during antenatal clinic surveillance between January 6 and 12 this year when 111 blood samples were collected.
A health ministry source when asked why the Government didnt report these cases to WHO earlier said, Under the International Health Regulation Treaty to which India is a signatory, member states are obliged to notify only those diseases which the WHO has classified as Public Health Emergencies of International Concern. Zika ceased to be one in November 2016. Our Zika cases were reported thereafter. Since these cases, the ministry has tested over 30,000 human samples and 12,000 mosquito samples from the community. All are negative.
What is ZIka
Zika is caused by a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, which is also the vector for dengue
People with Zika can have mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache; symptoms last for two to seven days
Zika virus is a cause of microcephaly (birth defect) in babies delivered by infected mothers
Can be prevented by preventing mosquito bites
No vaccine or medicine available but Zika is usually mild and requires no specific treatment. Patients should get plenty of rest, drink enough fluids, and take common medicines
84 countries have evidence of Zika virus transmission
Why India delayed
Shahira Naim
Tribune News Service
Lucknow, May 27
A local Sikh at Yogi Aditayanaths Janata Darbarat Gorkahpur was today asked to remove his turban before meeting the Chief Minister. The incident occurred on the second day of the CMs two-day visit to his constituency.
Tejpal Singh, a resident of Dharamshala Market area, was waiting for the Chief Minister at his Gorakhnath Temple ashram. He was asked by security personnel to remove his kirpan. Tejpal reluctantly did so after putting up some resistance. Then as he was about to clear the security cordon, he was told to remove his turban too.
Taken aback, Tejpal refused to oblige and there was a commotion. Others waiting to meet the CM came to Tejpals rescue and the security staff had to give in.
Tejpal complained against the security staff to the CM, who reportedly instructed his personal secretary to reprimand the officials.
My family has been visiting the Gorakhnath Temple ashram for generations. Even when Yogi was MP, I had visited him on several occasions. This is the first time that I have been humiliated in this manner, a dejected Tejpal said.
SGPC writes to UP CM
Amritsar: Taking a note of the incident, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has appealed to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure liberty for Sikhs to wear their religious symbols in his state.
In a communique to Yogi Adityanath, SGPC president Kirpal Singh Badungar has asked the CM to direct his administrative officials to acknowledge and respect Sikh religious symbols.
The SGPC chief said the incident had hurt sentiments of the community and such treatment in their own country was not acceptable.
Talwara, May 27
Rakesh Kumar (28) of Baring village in Hoshiarpur district was found dead in Doha (Qatar) on May 19.
The youth had got married on February 28 and returned to Doha on April 12. The family was informed about his death by his colleagues.
Rakesh was working in Qatar as an excavator operator. His family has written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and the Indian Embassy, seeking help in bringing the body to India at the earliest. OC
Sarika Sharma
For the last 30 years, Prof Gurinder Singh Mann has been working in the trenches he has straddled villages, towns and countries to gather Sikh texts. He has made night trips to Pinjore on several puranmaashis to copy manuscripts that none in the family that owned them could decipher. He clicked 32 rolls of film in four hours at a Patna gurdwara. He has scanned and handwritten thousands of pages that are a matter of faith for most, but treasure trove for a historian. And now, Professor Mann is giving it all away. The texts and artefacts he has collected over the last three decades are now part of a repository in New York.
The idea is to make Gurmukhi manuscripts available to people who cant get their hands on them, says Mann, who recently retired as Kapany Professor of Sikh Studies from UC Santa Barbara after 15 years and has now set up the Global Institute of Sikh Studies. The idea is also to set out on a fresh exploration of fundamental issues in a globalised world.
During the period I was contemplating retirement, I had long conversations with people who I had been associated with and who had a long experience in university-level education and history of community organisation and development. We all acknowledged that the Sikh community continued to face severe religiopolitical challenges, whether in Punjab, in India or around the globe and something needed to be done, says Professor Mann, who was visiting Punjab earlier this month.
He realised there was a need for radical reorientation of the prevailing academic discourses within Sikh studies regarding fundamental issues such as founding of the community, Sikh beliefs and practices, social structures and political aspirations, etc.
Nothing seems to have changed since the mid-1960s. It is as if we are living in the shadow of a Mcleod [W Hew Mcleod (1932-2009) was a New Zealander and a prominent scholar of Sikhism] with the same distorted narratives being uncritically re-hashed, he says.
He says the narrative of Sikh history that has dominated scholarly work was built on the assumption that Guru Nanaks concerns were primarily spiritual, and the development of Sikh institutions, rituals and ceremonies was seen to have taken place under the guidance of the later gurus.
Given the new focus on Baba Nanaks founding of Kartarpur (West Punjab), and activities such as the compilation of a sacred text recorded in a new script, three daily prayers, local authority within distant Sikh congregation, and even the practice of pilgrimage to Kartarpur that the Sikhs undertook, provide us a different understanding of his mission, which later expanded under the guidance of the later Sikh gurus, he points.
He points out that the situation had also changed in another way: Sikhs are now living in a globalised world and their aspirations need to be understood in this changed framework. As a concerned Sikh scholar, I felt I owed it to the Sikh community to play a small part in creating a revised narrative of their early history and current opportunities and challenges, he says.
The GISS thus aims to act as a resource centre where one can have access to physical as well as digital resources on important manuscripts, early Sikh art and artefacts as well as original archival materials relating to Sikh migration experience overseas. Acting as a repository of Sikh heritage at one location, researchers will have instant access to a variety of early sources of Sikh history.
Professor Manns decades of relentless research aside, there is a lot that is building up the archive at GISS. Texts from private collections, universities and museums are being photographed. Families of early migrants to the US are sharing old letters, photographs. And amid this, sometimes, springs up a surprise.
A London-based physician visiting Professor Mann in Santa Barbara with a mutual friend, was fascinated by his interest in early Sikh manuscripts and sent him pictures of an old manuscript of the Guru Granth Sahib that was in his family since the times of Guru Gobind Singh, but no one knew much about its precise historical importance. When Professor Mann studied the pictures of this undated manuscript, the evidence pointed to its being a pre-1638 text.
"This dating makes it the fourth oldest Sikh manuscript presently extant; the first two being pre-1574 texts compiled during the period of Guru Amar Das. The third one, the Kartarpur Pothi, is dated 1604," tells Professor Mann. Non-existent for scholars, the text had been owned by this family in the UK for hundreds of years. It had taken it along when it migrated from India and safeguarded it for faith's sake. We ask him if this was once in a lifetime chance... He affirms, "Such instances are rare." These are what keep a student of history enthused. And this is what keeps even this greatest living historian of Sikh history looking for more.
Sarah Berry
Indian food is yum. I gained seven kg. Can you imagine? And aloo ka parantha is irresistible! says an excited Cyrus Johnson from the USA. It was not a year in my life, but a life in a year, is what Loula Burnus, from Belgium, describes her experience here in India as. Maria Tournas from Switzerland dubs it Overwhelming! when asked about her journey in India. These are some of the responses from a group of exchange students, who travelled from various corners of the world to India, and stayed for almost a year, on an intercultural exchange organised by AFS (originally, American Field Service) an organisation that provides intercultural learning opportunities to help people develop knowledge, skills and understanding, needed to create a more just and peaceful world.
The essence of intercultural education is the acquisition of empathy the ability to see the world as others see it, and to allow for the possibility that others may see something we have failed to see, or may see it more accurately. The simple purpose of the exchange programis to erode the culturally rooted mistrust that sets nations against one another. The exchange program is not a panacea but an avenue of hope. How true these words of J. Williams Fulbright are. More so in todays time and age, when rapid globalisation has made the world a smaller place.
What is remarkable about all these exchange students? The openness to adapt, adjust and accept. Paul Adomah from Ghana greets you, touching your feet, symbolic of seeking blessings from elders, and bows with a namaste. It comes as a quite a stunning greeting from a young boy who has lived in Ghana all his life and has been in India for only 10 months. Paul explains, I have been with a host family in Varanasi the cultural capital of India and though it is for only a relatively small period of time, but I can easily say that it has been an enriching experience. I miss my family, but there is one thing I have learnt: we all have, essentially, the same roots. I definitely plan to come back, and soon. And, yes, I love kurta pyjama. Anything particular he has learnt Lots of things, but one thing is for sure: I can make the chapatis a lot rounder now, he adds with a laugh.
Says Thanchanok Chamnanwanakit, who hails from Thailand I was awarded a scholarship and when I got to know I would be travelling to India, I had mixed feelings. However, these were natural. Having stayed with a host family in Bangalore, I could understand that India is such a diverse country with so much to offer and so many different cultures integrated together. What was so heart-warming was that everyone was curious to know more about me and language did not seem to be a barrier at all.
However, there must have been many challenges too? Martina Magi, who comes from Italy, agrees. Being teenagers, one goes through many phases and hence challenges. Added to this is the fact that one is staying away from home and in a very different country. But you know what? I received so much of care and love from my host family in Rajkot, that I never used the terms host-mom and host-dad. They were actually mom and dad for me. In fact, I plan to come back for Navratras next year and my (host) sister here, in India, plans to visit Italy. Her biggest treasure she says is a diary with almost 40 recipes for Indian dishes.
Yasemin Yur from Turkey cites another challenge which ultimately became a real joy. I am the only child and my host family comprised of 13 members, of which I shared the room with four siblings. It taught me a lot about adaptation, understanding and patience, besides being responsible. The best part was that all of my siblings obeyed their sister! Her biggest accomplishment? She smiles, Making ladoos!
Raihan Mauladi from Indonesia recalls an incident when he boarded a bus and the entire busload got together to explain and help him reach his destination an experience, he says, he will never forget. He adds I was staying with a host family in Chennai and though it was hard to adapt at first, which is natural, but over the passage of time I grew very close to my host family. It is the warmth of the people that touched me deeply.
What is beautiful about many of these experiences is the way in which the journeys have been described. So, when Maria describes her journey as a transformation from a cocoon to a butterfly, a mind-blowing discovery of the self through a new learning experience each day, one can actually feel the depth of her words and the emotions behind them.
For most of the students the culture shock was not very striking as orientations were provided before leaving for the host country and prior to departure. A mid-stay orientation also takes place and each student is allocated a counsellor (a former returnee). Integration within the education and the social system is a steady process enabling the student to take his/her own time to cope with the changes and challenges.
As the group prepares to leave for their respective countries, they are taking back not only memories for a lifetime but also a lifetime. The bonds formed, the exchange of cultures and the deep-rooted experiences makes one realise the deep truth in Pauls words We all have but the same roots.
The beginnings
The AFS began as American Field Service in the First and later the Second World War, when nearly 5,000 ambulance drivers, who had been witness to the horrors of the war pledged to promote peace and global understanding through intercultural exchanges. Since 1947, over 14,000 exchanges per year, in more than 54 countries, have been organised by the organisation. In India, the AFS has been present since 2005, with a pool of 750 volunteers and presence in 27 Indian cities.
Rashmi Gopal Rao
One of the most popular attractions in fog city, San Francisco, is the Alcatraz Island. Located less than 2 km from the Fishermans wharf, the island is also called the rock owing to the fact that it was a barren, irregular mass of land jutting out of the bay. Covering 22 acres, the island is steeped in history that dates back to the 18th century and was declared a national historic landmark in 1986. Managed by the National Park Service, the island is accessible by a ferry ride from Pier 33 of the city.
Originally called Island de los Alcatrazes or the Island of Pelicans because of the presence of many of these avian species, the island was first inhabited by the Spanish, who built several structures on the island. The island today is extremely significant for the lighthouse that is the oldest operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States, military fortification and the prison. Fortification of the island and its use for military purposes started in the 1850s following Americas acquisition of California from Mexico after the Mexican-American war. Soon a fortress was built and the island mounted close to 100 cannons making it a heavily protected military site.
The island was isolated from the mainland and the cold, strong waters and currents of the San Francisco Bay. This almost impregnable location made it an ideal site for a prison. Alcatraz served as a military prison starting from the 1860s as it was considered an ideal place from where no inmate could escape. As the number of prisoners swelled to hundreds, facilities were added to accommodate the inmates and Alcatraz was officially designated as the Western US military prison. Alcatraz was handed over to the US Justice Department after which it became a federal prison from 1934-63 that was used to house the most dangerous and notorious criminals.
The prison was home to several disruptive and wanted criminals, including George Machine Gun Kelly (1895-1954), who was charged with kidnapping and gangster Alvin Creepy Karpis Karpowicz who was infamously known as Public Enemy No. 1 by the FBI during the 1930s. There is a record of 14 escape attempts involving 36 inmates and the same has inspired many a movie as well as the Escape from Alcatraz, which is an annual triathlon organised by IMG each June. The rigorous race includes a one-and-a-half-mile swim in the icy cold waters starting near Alcatraz Island, a one-half-mile run from the bay to the transition zone at Marina Green, an eighteen-mile bike ride and finally an eight-mile run!
Alcatraz makes for an insightful half day tour from San Francisco where visitors can view a number of landmarks on the island, including the boat dock, former military chapel, library, main cell house, dining hall, morgue, the lighthouse and the officers club. One can enjoy great sights of the bay, surrounding landscape, animal and marine life during the visit.
Harish Khare
When on Friday afternoon we learnt of KPS Gills demise, my colleagues immediately contacted very many of his former colleagues with a request for an assessment of this man, who alone answered to the supercop moniker. A few agreed but quite a few declined, politely but clearly. It appeared that his detractors outnumbered his admirers.
That is not surprising.
After all, KPS represented a recurring dilemma of our times: an ugly mess gets created because the politicians and diplomats fail to do their job of reconciliation and resolution of conflicting claims and demands. Minor lapses and failures are allowed to pile up, curdling up into a stalemate, as forces of intolerance and instruments of violence get unleashed and petty mens appetites get whetted. Small minds and smaller men invariably fail to get on top of the chaotic situation.
Yet, societies especially those which take pride in being a nation of laws and constitutions cannot live forever with chaos and violence; sooner or later, a need is felt, and felt keenly, that the mess be cleared up. That is the time when unorthodox men get called up and are told that they need not feel encumbered with orthodox methods.
A KPS Gill gets tapped on the shoulder.
Such men are leaders, who motivate their men and officers to cast doubts and diffidence aside; they take offence and have no qualms in giving offence; they have clarity and conviction; they achieve success and their goals by unconventional methods and unrestrained mandates; and, they invariably end up thinking they can take liberties with the laws and men and women (including a Rupan Deol Bajaj). Such men inevitably get tagged with a controversial dhobi-mark. Gill sahib was no exception.
Violence takes its own toll on society and on its moral and spiritual bearings neither the victims nor the victors escape the brutalising consequences of violence; Punjab is still paying the price for those years of militancy, misguided and misled. Even after two decades of peace, small men have pushed themselves to the podium, they control the pulpit and would not allow fault-lines to be repaired.
It is never a happy augury in a democracy when a man in uniform gets put on a pedestal, but let there be no mistake: If Punjab has known peace it is because out there was a man called KPS Gill.
******
I am not sure if very many people recall the shadowy figure of a so-called godman Chandraswami. Here was a man who, not long ago, could command respect and attention from heads of many governments and who could create headlines on his own but he passed away in total obscurity, consigned to the back pages.
At one time, this tantric guru, an unattractive figure, was capable of making quite a bit of difference in our national politics. He had a strange hold over PV Narasimha Rao, one of the most educated and experienced men in our national life; and, his hold seemingly became stronger after Rao saheb got elevated as the prime minister. Besides Rao saheb, Chandraswami could count very many powerful leaders, across the political divide, among his bhakts.
I met him only once, that too at his insistence. That was a time when I used to report and write on the Congress Party and he wanted to understand from me what was happening in the party. This was after Rao saheb had ceased to be the Congress President. Chandraswami came across as oily and uncouth. But I do remember two important individuals one, the influential head of a very huge private hospital in South Delhi and the other, a retired bureaucrat being made to wait in the anteroom. My only thought after the meeting was: what could our leaders see in this man?
But they did eat out of his hand. As a sant, he could straddle the worlds of politics and religion. His religious garb liberated him from political or ideological ties; he had access to almost every Indian political leader of some consequence. But it still remains a mystery as to why a Sultan of Brunei or a Prime Minister of England or an international arms dealer like Adnan Khashoggi would come under the spell of this swami. How could this vastly uneducated man mediate and broker deals between powerful businessmen in London?
I believe that he was providing an often essential but generally unacknowledged service: the need for powerful figures in business, politics, crime, finance to try to get things moving outside the realm of what is permissible under the law and its procedures. Connections and contacts have to be made among legal, quasi-legal and plainly illegal entities and individuals to see to it that things do not get stuck; and, even though every State has its agencies to undertake unconventional chores, there are limits to how much a ruler can trust his own agencies. Secret envoys, middlemen, power-brokers like Chandraswami get pressed into service.
******
What do John D Rockefeller, Robert Clive, Genghis Khan, Margaret Thatcher and Deng Xiaoping have in common? They were all globalists, according to Jeffrey E. Garten, who in a new book, From Silk to Silicon argues that globalisation is a phenomenon that has been in the making for nine centuries, at least; and, nor is it going to go away in any great hurry notwithstanding Donald Trump and other populist protectionists.
Besides these five, Garten writes about five others: Prince Henry (the explorer), Mayer Amschel Rothschild (the godfather of global banking), Cyrus Field (the tycoon who wired the Atlantic), Jean Monnet (the diplomat who reinvented Europe) and Andrew Grove (the man behind the Third Industrial Revolution). Through these lives, the spluttering story of globalisation is told, rather engagingly.
The connection between these lives is a bit of a stretch and the argument rather oversimplified. Yet, the basic outlines of the globalisation process do appear through these ten lives at some point, a leader or an inventor or an empire builder or a banker has the imagination and the courage to move out of his familiar territory and to initiate new physical, commercial and cultural linkages.
Gartens Ten were doers and movers, not great thinkers; they did not set out to be path blazers; but each one of them undertook enterprises which involved long-term efforts and long-term horizons. They turned out, according to Garten, accidental globalists insofar as they achieved transformative results which changed the ways the world did its business.
Garten is also careful to suggest that globalisation is not cannot be a pretty affair. Each of these ten priests of globalisation initiated changes that caused dislocation and destruction which, in turn, paved the way for peace, modernisation and prosperity. But after each round of dislocation and disruption, the rules of a new game would emerge because societies crave for order, predictability, regularity and hierarchy.
The merit of Gartens book is that each one of the ten chapters can be read in isolation, yet there is a kind of commonality in the manner in which change was brought about: Taking advantage of shifting circumstances, identifying a major problem, attacking it at its weakest point with a clear strategic thinking and single-minded tenacity. It involved marshalling resources, men and talent beyond national boundaries, inspiring and motivating followers to explore new territories and new ideas.
Mercifully, Garten has included only those who he thinks made a positive contribution to the global well-being. Otherwise, Adolph Hitler, or Osama bin Laden would have also made it to the list.
******
Thanks to a new, strong and decisive government in Delhi, we all feel emboldened to rewrite history. Or, at least correct the distortions. Thanks to authoritative voices in the social media, we now learn that the first man to set foot on the Moon was none other than our very own Bahubali. But, due to the Cold War political pressure, NASA translated his name to Armstrong.
About time. Let us raise our cup of coffee to this real moonraker.
kaffeeklatsch@tribuneindia.com
Vishav Bharti in Chandigarh
Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singhs cook Amit Bahadur shocked everybody when he contracted a sand-and-gravel mine in Saidpur Khurd, Nawanshahr, for an annual Rs 26.51 crore. The mine is spread over 11.58 acre and has an annual extractable quantity of 31,320 ton. Going by the amount paid to the government and the material available for digging, he paid Rs 8,464 for each ton of sand and gravel to the government. It doesnt include local taxes, processing, transportation cost or the contractors profit, etc.
Out in the market, sand and gravel is available for just Rs 500 a ton. When it costs Bahadur 22 times than the market price, then how would he be able to make a profit? Here lies the catch and the story of illegal mining business, dominated by SAD-BJP and Congress workers.
The common modus operandi of the mining mafia in the state is that they get one site on inflated prices in a bid, but dont touch the core area. They have the surrounding area excavated or they keep off mining. But, then, they give a free hand to the truckers to do mining and charge a royalty. It is called Goonda Tax.
Insiders in the mining department say that even the system of auctioning mines on the basis of extractable material in tons favours the mining mafia. No one cares how much material a truck carries because the weight is never measured. But if auctions are done on the basis of extractable cubic meter material, it will not give a free hand to contractors, says a senior functionary of the mining department.
On May 19-20, Punjabs department of commerce and industry auctioned 89 sand and gravel quarries, which fetched a record bid of Rs 1,026 crore. But when it came to depositing the 55% of the bidding amount by May 23, almost half of the bidders backed out.
The mafia managers put up check posts on the outskirts of a mining site and charge money from each truck carrying the mining material. Ropar-based RTI activist and Aam Aadmi Party leader Dinesh Chadha has campaigned against it for several years. Our efforts helped in creating public awareness, but there is nothing to count on from the government side, he says. He narrates an incident of March 2014 Nurpur Bedi area, when after mass agitation local police was forced to raid the goonda tax naakas.
The police-politician-mafia nexus is evident from the fact that the Ropar police in an inquiry into a complaint of illegal mining passed an order that it is not their business to investigate the black money. That is why Simarjeet Bains, president of Lok Insaaf Party and MLA from Ludhiana, launched a sand satyagrah. A new set of mafia has come in. I dont see anything changing for the better for the people, he said.
Taipei, May 27
China must not conduct a black box hearing against a Taiwan activist arrested on suspicion of subversion, but openly judge his case and disclose all the evidence, Taiwans ruling party said on Saturday.
Activist Li Ming-che, a community college worker known for supporting human rights, went missing in China on March 19, straining already poor relations between China and Taiwan.
Chinas official Xinhua news agency reported on Friday that Chinas Taiwan Affairs Office said Li had been formally arrested by state security authorities in the southern province of Hunan on suspicion of subversion of state power.
The Chinese authorities should disclose all the evidentiary information and openly hear the case with the attitude of a civilised state, rather than dealing with the case in a black box operation, Taiwans independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said in a statement.
Chinas state-run Xinhua said that after being interrogated Li had confessed to engaging in activities to harm state security. It said judicial authorities will handle the case in accordance with the law.
Taiwans Mainland Affairs Council, which handles China affairs, has said it does not agree with the alleged charges against Li, describing them as vague and unconvincing.
Chinas judicial system must protect Lis legal rights and Beijing should cooperate with Taiwan via legitimate channels to help Lis family go to China to visit him and avoid further worsening in cross-Strait relations, the DPP said.
Lis family and the Taiwan government have previously expressed frustration at not being told where Li was being held.
His wife, Li Ching-yu, was barred from travelling to China last month, but this month went to Washington to appeal to the US Congress for President Donald Trump to press Beijing to free activists and end torture.
A group of non-governmental organisations in Taiwan, supporting Lis wife, slammed China for its big battle approach against Li and said Beijings actions to date have seriously violated Lis basic human rights.
Relations between China and Taiwan have cooled since Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen took power last year, because she refuses to concede that the self-ruled island is part of China.
China views Taiwan as a wayward province and has not ruled out the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control.
Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the Communists. Reuters
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, May 27
Indian Navy today rushed in its warship, INS Kirch, carrying relief supplies to flood-hit Sri Lanka as the death toll from the worst floods since 2003 in the country crossed 100 and authorities warned of more rains.
Two more ships are expected to reach the country by tomorrow afternoon.
INS Kirch with nearly 125 personnel on board arrived at Colombo port today morning and offloaded relief supplies, inflatable rubberised Gemini boats with diving teams, and a mobile medical team with supplies. The INS Kirch was on mission in the southern part of the Bay of Bengal and was diverted to Colombo.
High Commissioner of India Taranjit Sandhu handed over the supplies to Ravi Karunanayake, Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka, at Colombo port.
INS Shardul and INS Jalashwa, which can carry 10,000-11,000 tonnes of load, are expected reach Colombo tomorrow.
Indian Navy spokesperson Capt DK Sharma said the Jalashwa would be carrying clothes, medicines and water. The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with rubberised crafts and helicopters to assist in relief rescue operations at Colombo. The ship is set to reach by noon tomorrow.
Besides this, other assets are standing by at short notice to render assistance as required. Heavy rainfall since Thursday has severely affected seven districts in the country.
This is the second time in one year that India has rushed to the aid of Sri Lanka. In May last year, India had sent in two ships of the Indian Navy and an Indian Air Force C-17 transport aircraft.
Washington, May 27
Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner allegedly wanted to have a secret communication channel with the Russians weeks after the US presidential polls, according to a media report.
Kushner, in a meeting with the Russian envoy to the US Sergey Kislyak, discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between the then transition team and the Kremlin using Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, The Washington Post reported.
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The information, which Kislyak relayed to Moscow after their meeting on December 1 or 2, was intercepted by the US intelligence agencies, the daily said quoting an unnamed US official briefed on intelligence reports.
The meeting was also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser, the daily said.
"The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest," the daily reported.
The opposition Democratic party urged Trump to fire Kushner.
"Trump has no choice but to immediately fire Kushner, whose failure to report this episode on his security clearance is reason enough for a criminal investigation," the Deputy National Committee deputy communications director Adrienne Watson demanded in a statement.
"The next question is whether the President authorised this, because no one stands between Trump and Kushner on the chain of command," Watson asked.
Democratic Congressman Nanette Diaz Barragan from California tweeted, "The Kremlin and Kushner/ #Trump ties become more & more disturbing as we learn more facts w each passing day."
According to The Washington Post, the Russian Ambassador was alarmed by such a proposal from Kushner, who is now the senior most advisor to President Trump and has played a key role in his trips to Saudi Arabia and Israel and Palestine.
The daily alleged that the discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trump's closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts.
PTI
Coweta Canine Officer Chalet was remembered at a solemn flag lowering ceremony Tuesday, May 23 at the Coweta Police Department, where he served faithfully in office from October 17, 2006 until February 9, 2015. The police service dog died on Monday, May 15 which ironically was National Police Officer Memorial Day.
Several Coweta officers were joined by representatives with the Broken Arrow Police Department, Wagoner Police Department and Wagoner County Sheriffs Office to pay their final respects to Chalet for a job well done.
The bulk of Chalets professional career was spent rooting out illegal narcotics, Coweta Police Chief Michael Bell said. He was deployed many times for apprehensions, article recoveries and to track suspects and lost persons.
When he was first certified, Officer Chalet was assigned to Officer Zach Livingston. During his career he was also assigned to Sgt. Doug Black, Officer Matthew Pinson and Officer Cody Wyatt.
His most recent handler was Officer Charlie Burke, and Bell called them the right fit as the departments longest running controlled dangerous substance detector team. They worked together nearly five years.
The American flag retired in front of the department during Chalets memorial service was presented to Officer Burke who, along with his family, provided the service dog with his forever home after his retirement.
Officer Burke and his family, Amanda and the kids, will miss Chalet greatly and so will all of his law enforcement family, Bell assured.
Unbreakable Bond
Chalet went through a number of handlers, and at one time in 2012 there was talk about donating him back to the kennel. Burke volunteered to take him in and began the necessary training.
Going through training, the bond you have with your dog is unmatched to any human partner you could have, Burke explained. You spend more time with them, its 24-hours a day, 7-days a week. They are with you all the time and there is no getting away or days off. You still have to keep the dog fresh for training.
The officer called Chalet temperamental, saying he had his moments when he would let people know he was a dominant figure in the world.
He had a switch, and when you put him in the patrol unit, he went into work shift mode. If you got near his car, he would let you know, Burke recalled. I could tell the days when he was feeling really good and the days when he wasnt. You could tell if it was going to be a good work day.
Memorable Calls
The canine officer only had one live bite during his tenure. In 2012, Burke was conducting a pedestrian check at Kum and Go and the man ran from police after repeatedly being told to stop. Chalet chased him down.
It turns out that same guy is the one who drug my dad (former Wagoner County Deputy Kelly Burke) down Highway 51 for about a half a mile after making a traffic stop in 2000.
Kelly Burke had stopped to give the driver a motorist assist. As he was reaching to turn off the ignition, the driver jumped in and drove off with the officers arm stuck in the steering wheel. He did time in prison for the incident, and when he got out, he had outstanding warrants against him. Charlie Burke said that is likely why he ran on the call in 2012.
Chalet showed me the first sign that karma is true, Burke said referring to that incident.
On a positive note, the officer recalled when Chalet helped locate someone who suffered from dementia and had walked away from home in the middle of the night.
Honoring a Partner
Burke said the May 23 flag lowering ceremony means more to him than most people know as it shows others care.
You are told the whole time you are a canine handler that your dog is nothing but a tool, and then something like this reassures you that they do care and notice things, he said. I was his fifth handler, and there were four other guys who had a bond with him as well. They understand what its like to lose something like this and know the feelings I have.
The flag presented to Burke in Chalets memory will be on permanent display in the Burke home. The officer continues to work with his current canine partner, Zee.
OKLAHOMA CITY Some relieved Republicans and more than a few disgruntled members of both parties walked away from the Capitol on Friday far from satisfied but mildly comforted in the conviction that the 2017 legislative session could have ended a lot worse than it did.
And may yet.
The nearly $7 billion general appropriations bill bundled off to the governor on the last day of the session Friday depends heavily on at least two measures a $273 million cigarette fee and a $110 million increase in the sales tax on motor vehicles of questionable constitutionality.
If one or both are ruled out by the courts, lawmakers will be back at the Capitol in special session, either looking for more money or cutting 10 to 15 percent out of budgets that have been under the knife through most of the past decade.
For now, though, most Republicans seem to be congratulating themselves on getting to the end of the session without the train coming completely off the tracks. They viewed the budget, flawed as it might be, as a stunning achievement given the $1 billion hole they started in, and the Houses inability to muster the three-fourths majority to pass revenue bills under the terms of the state constitution.
It was a session filled with a lot of pressure, said Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus. We had a $1 billion shortfall going in. We didnt get it all filled, but we got most of it filled.
House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Altus, said he was proud of the session and that ultimately $575 million in recurring revenue was added to the budget baseline.
He said resolving Oklahomas long resistance to Real ID, elimination of all wind energy incentives and passage of a long laterals measure the oil and gas industry badly wanted were some of the sessions other achievements.
Democrats and some Republicans, however, were less impressed.
I struggle to find words to describe what happened here, said House Minority Leader Scott Inman, D-Del City.
I looked for highlights, but I couldnt really find any. I thought we would have criminal justice reform, but that didnt happen.
Unlike McCall, who is only in his third term, Inman has been in the House 11 years and minority leader for seven. His ability to hold together his 26-member caucus in an effort to pry concessions from the Republican majority frustrated the GOP as well as some potential allies who felt he lost a chance to get more revenue this session by holding out for too much.
Inman, though, blamed Senate Republicans, who he said scotched a grand bargain because they wouldnt include personal income taxes in the deal.
He said the Republicans left another $100 million on the table when they refused to consider capping itemized deductions after the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs threatened to sue over the matter.
Inman said the only blowback he and his caucus heard from constituents was from those who wanted the Democrats to hold out for more.
Some Republicans were frustrated, too.
Rep. Scott Fetgatter, R-Okmulgee, one of more than 40 first-year lawmakers in this years session, said he voted for several bills that amounted to tax increases because he wanted raises for teachers.
Instead, he said, Im going to go home and be called a RINO a Republican in name only.
About 15 to 20 House Republicans consistently voted against revenue bills, making it even more difficult for majority leadership to come up with even 51 votes, let alone the 76 for revenue bills required by the state constitution.
The constitution also prohibits passage of revenue bills in the last five days of session.
To get the cigarette fee and auto tax bills introduced and through the Legislature with bare majorities in the last week of the session, leadership ruled that neither met the legal qualification of a revenue bill. Democrats maintained this was merely a charade, and Inmans House caucus fought the GA and both non-revenue revenue bills to the end.
The House spent more than three hours on the GA bill Friday morning before passing it 57-42. The cigarette fee was a closer call, at 51-43, with the vote called the instant the bare minimum needed for passage hit the board.
The Senate had already passed those two measures, and on Friday needed only to pass the vehicle tax which it did, 25-18, with 25 votes needed for passage.
Total spending authorized by the Legislature this session for fiscal year 2018 is $6.85 billion and does not include $124.4 million in FY17 supplemental appropriations approved for this session. That is a 1.6 percent increase over FY17, and includes small increases for common education, Medicaid, mental health, corrections and several other agencies. The Department of Human Services received an 8.2 percent increase, largely because it was funded for only 10 months in the FY17 budget and required a $34 million supplemental this spring.
The DHS budget also includes an additional $11.3 million for implementation of mandated improvements to child welfare services.
Most state agencies, including higher education, were cut about 4 percent.
It has been an interesting and fascinating year. And frustrating, said Rep. Earl Sears, R-Bartlesville. Now that its come together, I can honestly say I have found peace with what we have.
Car and motorcycle owners at PatriotFest all spent time preparing their rides for Saturday mornings show.
Some spent Friday night painstakingly detailing every inch of their vehicles; others gave them only a quick wash before hitting the road for the patriotic festival on historic Route 66.
But for many, like car owners Dudley and Vicky Jones, preparation started years before the crackle, thunder and growls of from exhaust pipes echoed along the Mother Road on Saturday.
In 1969, Dudley Jones traded in the Volkswagen van he drove throughout high school to buy what was then Motor Trends Car of the Year, the Plymouth Road Runner. The car was perfect for him, a 383-cubic-inch motor, three-speed Torqueflite automatic transmission and a brilliant gloss coat of competition orange paint.
On Saturday, he stood eagerly at the front of what he called his first love, maybe second, and waited for onlookers to stop by and chat.
Jones and dozens of other owners drove in a massive convoy of classics and collectibles along Route 66 from East Central High School through downtown Tulsa, arriving at the Historic Route 66 Village on Southwest Boulevard for PatriotFest.
Children waving American flags lit up with smiles hearing the cars horn, a beep that mimics the seemingly invincible cartoon Road Runner. Other car owners gawked at the cars pewter gray interior and original dealer price sheet taped in the drivers window, listed at less than $4,500.
I guarantee someone will walk by and offer me sticker price for this car today, Dudley Jones said.
The Joneses Road Runner was like so many other cars at PatriotFest. Everything from late-model Dodge Chargers down to classic cruisers had a story on display, each vehicle its own time capsule of memories.
The Joneses took the car on Hot Rod Magazines Power Tour in 2016 and made the cover of the magazines November 2016 issue. Although the couple regularly enter it in car shows, Dudley Jones said its not about awards for the restored, single-owner muscle car.
People come and sit in it and their face just lights up, he said. They used to have one, or their friend used to have one. It takes people back, and thats the fun part.
Its all more of the same, and Dudley Jones said the car used to get the same looks when it was new. He drove the car through college in Stillwater, to and from he and Vickys wedding and up until it broke down in 1977.
But this wasnt a car they could replace.
Weve gotten rid of cars in the past we wish we could have back, Vicky Jones said. But it was never an option to let this one go.
The car sat in the garage until after the Joneses children finished college. When time and money allowed, Dudley Jones started restoring the car to its original orange glory. Since then, his meticulous attention to detail, going so far as to repaint nuts and bolts after regular maintenance, has kept the car in showroom condition.
Im a detail guy, anyway, Dudley Jones said. I havent done it recently, but I lay in the garage underneath it and wipe the dirt off everything underneath it. Then the first time you drive it, its all dirty again.
After the motor was overhauled, the Joneses drove to Oologah to drive the car for the first time in almost 40 years. There were no seatbelts reinstalled yet, and hours of work remained before the car would look like it did Saturday, but the Joneses couldnt resist.
The motor roared and pulled like it used to; every bump and shifted gear took them back to driving the car together. So they did what came natural.
We drove it to Sonic, which was where we always went in college, Vicky Jones said. We sat and ate coneys.
While onlookers peered into windows and talked shop about torque and horsepower, PatriotFest wasnt just about the cars. Amid the cars, trucks and Miss Route 66 pinup contest, veterans handed out American flags to anyone able to carry them. It is no coincidence that PatriotFest is on Memorial Day weekend.
Not only did people bring donations for Folds of Honor, but PatriotFest also took donations for care packages for Tulsas homeless veterans.
Near the main stage, American Legion Post 17 sold raffle tickets for a 1996 Ford Mustang convertible. Money from the raffle tickets goes to support expenses Post 17 helps veterans with, including utility bills and groceries.
The Mustang will be raffled off on Veterans Day, and Army veteran and Post 17 member Rickie George sold every $5 ticket he could. For him, PatriotFest is an easy way for veterans like himself to connect to the past.
Ive met a lot of veterans here from Iraq, Afghanistan and Korea, George said. They come out to just walk and look at what was at one time and probably wish it was there again. A lot of them probably left when these muscle cars were big at the time.
Jim and Beth Cox brought their Brandywine red 1967 Chevrolet Camaro RS out from Berryhill for the show. Like the Joneses, they arent out for the competition, but its an excuse to get the car out.
Although Jim Cox loves working on the vehicle down to its finest details, it is his wifes car. She reminds him when she finds a spot he missed while detailing it. Its license plate tells passersby the 50-year-old Camaro is His Too.
As people traversed the field of cars taking in the sights, sounds and smells of nostalgia, the events title was a constant reminder for Jim Cox and many other veterans at the show.
He served in the Marine Corps from 1970 to 1975. PatriotFest, which Jim said has improved every year he has attended, is as much a thank you to veterans as it is a showcase.
It means unity for veterans and regular citizens, Jim Cox said. For me, its too late. The gesture everyone gets here, I missed all that. Im happy its changed and how people look at vets differently now than they used to.
Father Stanley Rother, former Tulsa priest who is the first American recognized as a martyr by the Roman Catholic Church, moved closer this month to recognition as a saint.
Rother was murdered in 1981 while serving a parish in Guatemala.
His remains were exhumed from a cemetery in his home town of Okarche, near Oklahoma City, so they could be examined and verified by medical professionals.
The examination is a requirement for the beatification process. Rother will be beatified Sept. 23 in Oklahoma City. He will be the first U.S.-born man and first U.S. priest to be beatified.
Beatification is the final step before sainthood in the Catholic Church.
After the examination, Rothers exhumed remains were placed in a new casket and lowered into a crypt at Resurrection Cemetery in Oklahoma City.
His heart remains in a shrine in the mission where he served in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala.
Rother was ordained a priest in 1963 and served parishes in Durant, Tulsa and Oklahoma City before going in 1968 to the Oklahoma Catholic mission in Guatemala.
While in Tulsa, he served as assistant pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Church from 1965 to 1966 and assistant pastor of Holy Family Cathedral in 1966.
In Guatemala, he worked in a poor village that was peaceful until civil unrest broke out in Latin America in the mid 1970s.
He returned to the United States in early 1981 to visit his parents and went back to Guatemala in time for Easter, aware that his life was in danger.
In a 1980 letter, he had written that a shepherd cant run at the first sign of danger.
On July 28, 1981, three masked men shot and killed Rother in his rectory in Guatemala. His assailants were never caught.
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City began the case for Rothers beatification 10 years ago.
This week Insight hears from grandparents, parents and grandchildren on the highs and lows of grandparents looking after the kids.
Grandparents are now the most popular form of child care in Australia. They are busily babysitting nearly half of Australias young children.
But how much should be expected of grandparents when it comes to raising the kids?
Ngarrindjeri great-grandmother Maxine Risk-Sumner looks after her grandchildren and great-grandchildren whenever required. Being part of the stolen generation, she sees her greatest role as providing guidance for their future.
I never got to know my parents, or my grandparents, so it was important to me that when my grandchildren came along they knew their culture, identity, and the language we use, Maxine tells Jenny Brockie on this weeks episode of Insight.
Elizabeth Vescio, 61, retired five years ago so she could help look after her four grandchildren. She says it keeps her young.
Balancing child care costs and full-time work led Meetu and Ritesh Rajput to convince Riteshs parents to fly from India to Canberra to look after their two children.
For grandparents Virender and Rekha Rajput, both in their sixties, its provided an opportunity to pass their language and culture onto their grandchildren, but at a cost.
We left our social life behind. Here we have a language problem here our social life is looking after our grandchildren, says Virender.
When it comes to grandparents pitching in, not everyone agrees about discipline and parenting methods. When Suganya Chandra asked her parents and parents-in-law for help, there were unexpected clashes over daily issues, like getting her older son ready for school, and the use of nappies.
For others, the stakes of looking after their grandchildren are much higher. Theres a growing army of grandparents taking over full-time caring roles of their grandkids.
Charlotte, 15, has been raised by her single grandfather John, 67, since she was a toddler. Together, theyve navigated anxiety and depression, and now the awkwardness of dating. John insists any suitors ride their push-bike to his hobby farm to have a chat before taking his granddaughter out.
Deb, 61, was planning to live in America with her new girlfriend when she became a stay-at-home, single grandmother raising her three grandchildren under the age of 6.
I always told my daughter I wanted lots of grandchildren, but I never, ever thought for a moment that I was going to be bringing them up! she says.
Deb has used all her superannuation to keep her mortgage going and raise her grandchildren, but worries about her employment prospects when she has to go back to work to build up her superannuation again.
Tuesday at 8.30pm on SBS.
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Sustainable energy solutions for productive uses and industrial applications are equally important for the environment as they are for economic and social prosperity. Considering that energy inputs remain a significant cost of industrial production, cheap renewable energy and energy efficiency become core determinants of economic competitiveness and sustained growth. Energy efficiency improvements have positive impacts in terms of lower final production costs and greater competitiveness.
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UNIDO in Europe and Central Asia
While UNIDO meets the industrial development needs of its Member States across the globe, major focus of its technical cooperation activities in Europe and Central Asia lies on environment and energy.
UNIDO projects that advance economic competitiveness and safeguard the environment in the industrial sector can be found, amongst others, in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan, as well as in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, and Russia. The projects are mostly implemented at the national level but a further objective is to increase the portfolio of large-scale ISID-related regional projects. UNIDO and the Eurasian Economic Commission have signed a joint declaration on cooperation and future priorities will focus on innovation, technology transfer, high tech industrial parks, trade capacity building, environmental management and energy efficiency. The objectives of many countries, including Kazakhstan, are new innovative business models that address structural transformation priorities while pursuing inclusive and sustainable industrial development. UNIDO supports countries in their efforts of strengthening capacities in innovation and new technologies with a special focus on sustainable energy solutions.
UNIDO believes that sustainable energy enables and empowers inclusive development and contributes to every aspect of economic growth from energizing enterprises to environmental sustainability and natural ecosystems.
Visit the UN Astana EXPO 2017 website here.
Official event hashtag: #AstanaExpo2017
In six days God created the world out of a shapeless chaotic void. In a matter of a few weeks the Democrats and the media, one and the same of course, have created a conspiracy theory out of a similar void. And done so without any evidence whatever of Russian collusion in the Presidential election.
Some years ago there was a commercial on TV that featured an elderly woman who had been offered a hamburger with questionable ingredients. She uttered out loud Wheres the beef? This commercial became quite popular and amusing at the time.
In like manner, I ask the Democrats, Wheres the evidence? there is none of course, but in asking for a special prosecutor, they can disrupt the Presidents agenda, extend the length of hearings, and de-legitimize his Presidency. Precisely what they hope to do.
If there was ever the need for a special prosecutor, it was evident in a multitude of Hillary Clintons criminal schemes ... And, the Russians had enough of her classified and unprotected E-mails to prosecute her themselves. How many special prosecutors did Obama ask for in this matter??? None of course.
Now, the Dems and the Liberal Media, with the same voice, accuse President Trump of sharing top secrets with the Russians during his recent meeting at the White House. BS, and more BS. It never ends.
Jack Pierce, Mattoon
The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, Nevadas world-class performing arts center, announced today it has received a $100,000 grant from the national William Randolph Hearst Foundation that will fund an expansion of its Southern Nevada Wolf Trap (SNWT) Early Learning Through the Arts program in the 2017-2018 school year.
(Pictured: Tim Hanlon, Smith Center vice president of Development, Annette Hepler, grants manager with The Hearst Foundations, Dolores Hauck, Smith Center grant writer, and Candy Schneider, Smith Center vice president of Education and Outreach).
This is the first-ever grant awarded by the Hearst Foundation to a performing arts program in Nevada.
The funding will provide professional development for 75 Southern Nevada preschool teachers through 50 in-classroom residencies. Each residency will focus on developing arts-integrated teaching strategies that will enhance the education of 1,500 preschool students from low-income households.
The impact of this support from such a prestigious group will be felt throughout our entire community, as it provides educational resources vital to our students lifelong success, said Myron Martin, Smith Center president and CEO. We are elated that our Education and Outreach programs are attracting national attention, and we are deeply grateful to the Hearst Foundation for its incredible generosity.
The Smith Center partnered in 2008 with the acclaimed Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts to provide the regional SNWT program, making Las Vegas just one of 16 cities nationwide selected as a host city for the initiative.
Under this school-readiness program, The Smith Center partners professional teaching artists with local preschool teachers during seven-week, in-classroom residencies, training the educators to utilize innovative teaching strategies that incorporate the disciplines of drama, music and movement.
Research shows the use of such arts-based strategies can enhance young childrens developmental skills, improving outcomes in key areas including literacy, comprehension, language and social skills.
Since The Smith Center opened in 2012, 1,030 early childhood educators in Southern Nevada have received training under SNWT. In addition, 4,179 students, predominantly from low-income households, have participated in the classroom residencies. All classrooms involved with SNWT have reported improvements in students academic performance.
The Smith Center initially developed its SNWT program through the support of United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN). During the past two years, UWSNs Womens Leadership Council has championed the support for SNWT. This groups support throughout the past eight years has been critical in expanding the program and garnering attention from national organizations such as the Hearst Foundation.
The William Randolph Hearst Foundation operates as part of The Hearst Foundations, national philanthropic resources for organizations and institutions working in the fields of education, health, culture and social service.
Reflecting the philanthropic interests of William Randolph Hearst, the foundations identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the United States have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and inspiring lives.
Since inception, the Foundations have provided more than 20,000 grants totaling more than $1 billion.
La Cave Wine & Food Hideaway inside Wynn Las Vegas will toast dads with a premium Fathers Day bourbon flight, offered on Sunday, June 18 (Photo credit: Jim Decker).
Photo credit: Jim Decker.
The Fathers Day Flight will include four, one-ounce pours of Rowans Creek, Noahs Mill, Jack Daniels Single Barrel and Eagle Rare ultra-premium bourbons, priced at $37. Recommended pairings for the bourbon flight include the beef filet crostini, tender beef medallions on crostini topped with blue cheese and truffle cream, priced at $22; the chorizo flatbread with Italian and Andouille sausage, priced at $18; and a charcuterie board, featuring seasonal meats and hand-selected cheeses, priced at $39.
Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam, Bui Nguyen Hung and Pho Duc Phuong, head of the VCPMC (right to left)
Many hotel owners have voiced their opposition to the fees, saying they have already paid through their TV licensing deals.
The owners said the general yearly fees applied for reception areas were unreasonable as the fees must be collected based on how frequently the songs are played. The demand to collect VND25,000 per room per year is even more absurd.
Pham Viet Cuong, representative of a hotel in Danang City said, "We already pay to use services from TV stations. Our guests turn on the TV and watch whatever is available. We don't agree with these fees," he said.
Meanwhile, Pho Duc Phuong, head of the VCPMC, said there were many TVs in the hotels and lots of programmes and songs were seen there so it's natural to collect copyright fees from the hotels. Phuong said they had collected copyright fees from the hotels in Danang City for over three years and 10 years in Hanoi and HCM City.
"Individuals or organisations that use music to do business must pay fees," he said. "Other hotels in Danang must research the laws more clearly before making a fuss like that."
Nguyen Hoang Giang, head of the VCPMC in the north, said the artists had rights to perform, copy, control and distribute their works. The TV stations pay for the distribution rights.
"It's like collecting fees to use music on planes. The airlines were also upset 10 years ago but after being explained to, they have accepted the fees. We have collected fees from hotels for 10 years but mostly from four and five-star hotels. Now smaller hotels must also pay the fees," Giang said.
There are many people showing concern about how such fees are used. According to the VCPMC, they collected a total just VND3bn (USD132,000) from hotels and restaurants in the south last year. But Pho Duc Phuong said the revenue earned from TVs in hotels was minimal as most of the copyright fees were from live shows and background music in bars and restaurants.
Nguyen Hoang Giang then said that the pay to the original authors wasn't very accurate as it's difficult to know how many songs have been used and how many times they are played. Moreover, they will only collect fees from songs of artists who have given the VCPMC the authorisation.
Director of the Copyright Office of Vietnam, Bui Nguyen Hung, said the fees were in accordance with the law on intellectual properties and international conventions. But how and how much should be collected are another matter. Hung went on to say the prices must be flexible as different areas want different prices.
Tran Anh Dung from Hanoi Bar Association approved of the fees. "It's difficult to clarify how many of the songs on TVs will be seen and the amount of music time is not much. This is a civic dispute," he said.
An ambulance transporting wounded Egyptians arrives at a hospital in Cairo's northern suburb of Shubra on May 26, 2017, following an attack in which 28 Coptic pilgirms were gunned down following a visit to a monastery. (Photo: AFP/Mohamed El-Raai)
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan. It followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against the Copts.
Islamic State supporters reposted videos from earlier this year urging violence against the Copts in Egypt.
Eyewitnesses said masked men opened fire after stopping the Christians, who were in a bus and other vehicles. Local TV channels showed a bus apparently raked by gunfire and smeared with blood.
Clothes and shoes could be seen lying in and around the bus, while the bodies of some of the victims lay in the sand nearby, covered with black sheets.
The attack, which Egypt's Muslim leaders condemned, happened 15 km (10 miles) from the monastery, a security official on the scene told Reuters. Ambulance workers, monks and Muslim clerics were also present but declined to speak.
Police armed with assault rifles formed a security perimeter and officials from the public prosecutor's office were gathering evidence and fingerprints. Heavily armed special forces arrived later wearing face masks and body armour.
The injured were taken to local hospitals and some were being transported to Cairo. One of the vehicles attacked was taking men to carry out maintenance work at the monastery while another had children on board, officials said.
Dozens of people gathered at the emergency area of a local hospital. Some carried a wooden coffin to a hearse.
The Health Ministry said that among those injured were two children aged two.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called a meeting of security officials, the state news agency said, and the cabinet said the attackers would not succeed in dividing the nation.
The grand imam of al-Azhar, Egypt's 1,000-year-old centre of Islamic learning, said the attack was intended to destabilise the country.
"I call on Egyptians to unite in the face of this brutal terrorism," Ahmed al-Tayeb said from Germany, where he was on a visit. The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Shawki Allam, condemned the perpetrators as traitors.
The Coptic church said it had received news of the killing of its "martyrs" with pain and sorrow.
The attack took place on a road leading to the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in Minya province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority. An Interior Ministry spokesman said the unidentified gunmen had arrived in three four-wheel-drive vehicles.
Security forces launched a hunt for the attackers, setting up dozens of checkpoints and patrols on the desert road.
PERSECUTION
Coptic Christians, whose church dates back nearly 2,000 years, make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million.
They say they have long suffered from persecution, but in recent months the frequency of deadly attacks against them has increased. About 70 have been killed since December in bombings claimed by IS at churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta.
An Islamic State campaign of murders in North Sinai prompted hundreds of Christians to flee in February and March.
Copts fear they will face the same fate as brethren in Iraq and Syria, where Christian communities have been decimated by wars and Islamic State persecution.
Egypt's Copts are vocal supporters of Sisi, who has vowed to crush Islamist extremism and protect Christians. He declared a three-month state of emergency in the aftermath of the church bombings in April.
But many Christians feel the state either does not take their plight seriously enough or cannot protect them against determined fanatics.
The government is fighting insurgents affiliated to Islamic State who have killed hundreds of police and soldiers in the Sinai peninsula, while also carrying out attacks elsewhere in the country.
Ishak Ibrahim of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said the state of emergency was failing to prevent attacks.
"The state is not addressing the root cause, which is the sectarian climate that encourages terrorism," he said. "There are no serious steps being taken to use culture or education to address this."
US President Donald Trump (L) listens to Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni during the G7 Summit. (Photo: AFP/Jonathan Ernst)
On the opening day of a two-day summit, the leaders endorsed a British call urging internet service providers and social media companies to crack down on the dissemination of militant content online, after 22 people were killed in the concert bombing in northwest England this week.
But US partners hit deadlock in their attempt to persuade Trump to keep the world's biggest economy inside the framework of the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions to reduce global warming.
Tensions over trade also flared. Unusually for such a set-piece event, leaders made no effort to hide their divisions in Sicily's ancient hilltop resort of Taormina.
The choice of venue overlooking the Mediterranean reflected the Italian hosts' desire for the summit to showcase cooperation against deadly flows of illegal migration from nearby Africa.
But discussions on that subject also hit stalemate because of differences with the US at what EU president Donald Tusk called "the most challenging G7 summit in years".
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni acknowledged there had been no breakthrough on climate change, describing the future of the Paris pact as "still hanging", as Trump reviews the arguments for and against ditching the global deal.
Gary Cohn, Trump's economic adviser, said the president's views were "evolving". "He came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision ultimately will be what's best for the United States."
'BAD, VERY BAD'
British Prime Minister Theresa May led the discussion on terrorism, and won backing for her demand that extremist content should be quickly taken offline by platforms like Facebook and YouTube - although details of what this will mean in practice were left vague.
"Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet," May told her colleagues.
In a joint statement on terrorism, the G7 powers also vowed a collective effort to track down and prosecute foreign fighters dispersing from theatres of conflict such as Syria.
Transatlantic tensions on trade resurfaced after reports that Trump had described the Germans as "bad, very bad" and vowed to stop them selling millions of cars in the United States, during a meeting with senior EU officials in Brussels on Thursday.
Also in Brussels, Trump had fired an extraordinary broadside at NATO allies for failing to pay their fair share of the transatlantic defence bill, and notably did not endorse the group's commitment to collective defence, as his predecessors have done.
Both US and EU officials confirmed the outspoken president had raised the auto trade issue but sought to play down the language used, as Trump shared friendly words with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders at the G7.
Merkel said that Trump's criticism was "not really something new". "The surplus is also a sign of the good quality of German goods," she said.
Trump rode to power on an "America First" platform but has yet to implement any significant protectionist measures, as the EU had feared he would.
"We are going to continue to fight for what we believe is right, which is free, open and fair trade, which the president has been very clear on what that means," Cohn said.
RUSSIA ROW
For Trump, the talks were the final leg of his first presidential foray overseas.
The gruelling week-long trip briefly diverted attention from domestic concerns focused on alleged campaign collusion with Russia.
But that issue reared up again overnight as it emerged the FBI is examining his son-in-law Jared Kushner's contacts with the Russian ambassador in connection with the probe of alleged interference in the election campaign by Moscow.
Trump has refused to commit the United States to extending sanctions imposed on Russia over its 2014 annexation of Crimea. But Cohn said neither would the sanctions be curtailed, as Moscow hopes.
"If anything we would probably look to get tougher on Russia," the economic aide said.
In other talks, France's new president, Emmanuel Macron, gave short shrift to May's request for Brexit-bound Britain and the EU to negotiate their future trading relationship at the same time as they thrash out the terms of their divorce.
Japan meanwhile was using the summit to air its concerns about North Korea. Meeting Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Sicily, Trump bullishly promised the problem posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear programmes "will be solved".
An animal health official distributes vaccines to live pigs on a farm in Tra Vinh Province. VNA Photo Vu Sinh
The visit proved fruitful, and the Chinese ministry is leaning toward welcoming Vietnamese pork products into their domestic market with a set quota, Duong said.
However, he also made it clear that food hygiene and product quality must be top concerns for Vietnamese pork farmers and processors. China requested strict control over these criteria, with particular focus on keeping the pigs free from contaminations such as foot and mouth disease.
Regarding official export protocols, China asked Vietnamese authorities, especially the MARDs Department of Animal Health (DAH), to monitor and manage food hygiene so that the Chinese government can clear the previous 2012 ban on Vietnamese live pigs.
These procedures will be discussed later during upcoming negotiations before the two sides reach an official bilateral trade agreement.
Meanwhile, the MARD suggested Viet Nams government agencies work on meeting Chinas standards and produce certificates of assurance on hygiene and quality. Chinese animal health agencies promised to do their best to help their Vietnamese counterparts in finishing these official regulations as soon as possible, starting with a Chinese delegation visiting Viet Nam in the foreseeable future to gather information about Viet Nams current approach to disease control. China also recommended that Vietnamese producers freeze their exported pork products to maximise food safety.
Despite Chinas pork price dropping from VND65,000 (US$2.9) per kilogramme to VND45,000 ($2.01), the current Vietnamese domestic pork price is still a bit lower.
This means Vietnamese producers and farmers will surely benefit from exporting their pork products to China. Even though Chinese importers are currently bringing in pork from other countries besides Viet Nam, the Chinese demand a large supply of pork. On estimation, China can import roughly one million tonnes of pork from Viet Nam annually, according to Duong.
As such, a reconstruction of the livestock industry is much needed to create a strong link between farms, processors and exporters. Furthermore, there should be a stronger and more practical implementation of technological solutions to lower product costs for a stronger competitive edge within the ASEAN region.
Two documentaries shed light on the hardships Syrian refugees and how they're regarded by the world. One tells the story of a town in northern Syria seized by Islamic State militants in 2014, turning its inhabitants into refugees. Another focuses on a Bulgarian village's debate over what to do with the refugees crossing into their lands from Turkey. VOAs Penelope Poulou has more.
For more than half a century, Africa's identity and unity have been celebrated around the world on May 25, in honor of the 1963 founding of the Organization of African Unity, now known as the African Union (AU).
"Celebrating Africa Day, to me, is recognizing not only what Africa has contributed to the rest of the world, willingly and/or unwillingly through slave trades, wars and colonization, but also through trade, cultural and civilizational exchanges; also to see how much Africa has learned, acquired and borrowed from other civilizations," said Mohamed Saliou Camara, chair of the African Studies department at Howard University in Washington.
Today, the continent has one of the largest populations of people ages 35 and younger, and while that can be an asset, Camara says it also has its challenges.
Youth education in almost every African country has been increasing in the past 20 to 25 years, Camara says, but "unemployment has also been on the rise. So when you take that, you get what you call the youth bulge.
"You have so many young and talented people, educated young people, connected with the rest of the world, many of whom don't have jobs, gainful employment and so on," he said.
Hence, this year's Africa Day celebration focused on harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in youth.
Raymond Maro, who is working on his master's degree in African Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Bradford in England, has been involved in many youth organizations in East Africa.
"We have two profound challenges that have been daunting so far," Maro told VOA via Skype. "First, it's the employability ... and, secondly, it's education. There's still a gap between the business stakeholders and the education sector, whereby they don't come together to see if our young graduates' [skills]" align with the labor market.
Maro hopes to use his knowledge to help resolve issues in Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He says he'll always remember the words of former South Africa President Thabo Mbeki, who told him and others that "young people in Africa don't need to only debate issues that matter to you, but also have a concern of what you can do to help make the continent better."
Maro says he supported this year's Africa Day theme and the AU Africa Agenda 2063. The agenda to accelerate growth and sustainable development is a strategic framework for the socioeconomic transformation of the continent over 50 years.
"It's an agenda that talks about reforming the African continent, but how do we reform it?" Maro said. "We reform it through policies. So the policies that are not good to us, we think that they are outdated, we can relinquish them and find a way that we can have policies that would aim higher and will give us a chance to propel the continent forward."
Maro's advice for the youth in Africa and the diaspora: "We should take advantage of the opportunities that are unveiled to us and tackle them in a way that we can impact change to our countries. We should be cognizant of the fact that change is hard, but it's necessary. Progress is never easy, but it's always possible, so let's play our part."
One problem-solving method, as seen by Camara of Howard University, is regional integration. Groups such as the 15-state West African economic bloc, or ECOWAS, can complement one another economically, culturally and intellectually, Camara says.
"Why don't we integrate these countries in a way that Senegalese young people can find employment in Guinea and vice versa, the same way you can travel within the 15 nation states without needing a visa, as long as your passport is valid?" he asked. "Why not have an ECOWAS-wide university system, ECOWAS-wide educational, training and employment system?"
Camara points to Botswana, Tanzania, Mauritius, Senegal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Cape Verde as examples of African countries whose stability, democratic governance and economic progress can serve as inspiration for others.
On May 30, many people in southeastern Nigeria will remember those who lost their lives in one of Africas most brutal wars. More than 1 million people died during Nigerias 1967 to 1970 civil war known as the Biafra War The conflict erupted after leaders from southeastern Nigeria declared that the region would secede from Nigeria.
Memories of the war remain strong for those who lived through it.
Have you been walking with somebody and the bomb killed him and all you have to do is look at the corpse and continue walking? Even if its your sister, you just continue walking because youre running for dear life? Or have you been hidden in the roof of a building because you are afraid, because your mother is afraid the soldiers will come and rape you? says Enuma Okoro, who was 21 when the war broke out.
In my compound we saw several skeletons of dead people. My fathers compound was flattened. It was a war front, says Obum Okeke, who was 7 years old when the war started.
Images sifted opinion
The war gained widespread global attention once pictures of starving Biafran children were published in the international media. The Nigerian government had formed a blockade, making it difficult for aid groups to reach Biafra. Many children starved and developed a severe condition that became known as kwashiorkor.
First of all, the first thing you notice is the stomach bloated," says Christopher Ejiofor, a traditional king in his community in the southeastern state of Enugu and the aide to Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, a military officer and leader of the short-lived Republic of Biafra. "The arms to the bones, the legs to the bones, the thigh to the bones, the head, skull. Can you imagine that? That is a starving a child. And that is what happened everywhere in Biafra, he says.
The war ended with the surrender of Biafra in January 1970. Biafrans returned to Nigeria and the country once known as Biafra, ceased to exist. But in recent years, the pro-Biafra movement has resurged. Supporters say the grievances that led to the war have still not been addressed.
Poll: growing support
A survey released this week from a Nigerian research group revealed that the pro-Biafra movement is gaining support, particularly among young people who did not experience the war. The rise could also be a reaction for a region that has received little infrastructural development from the federal government.
I am supporting it [Biafra] because that is who I am, says senior university student Sofuru Afah. Nigeria is an artificial creation by the British. I am not a Nigerian and I have never been and I never will. Buhari hates our people.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari fought against Biafra during the civil war as a young soldier. He says he will not tolerate the Biafra movement. Under Buharis administration, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of one of the more popular pro-Biafra groups, called IPOB, was detained in 2015 on charges of treason, criminal conspiracy and belonging to an illegal society. Kanu was released on bail last month after spending nearly two years in prison in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
IPOBs deputy, Uche Mefor, told VOA the Nigerian government cannot ignore the voice of Biafrans. He says May 30 will be a day for the world to recognize because pro-Biafrans will unite in peaceful resistance. Some pro-Biafrans will stay in their homes while others plan to join street rallies.
The compliance on that day will indeed convince the world that the people of Biafra are actually ready for their self-governance. We have our right to self-existence and it doesnt matter what anybody things about it, he told VOA.
The Nigerian government is determined to preserve Nigeria. Speaking at a Biafra remembrance forum in Abuja this week, acting president Yemi Osinbajo said Nigeria should remain one and all Nigerians should strive to achieve an ideal Nigeria.
We are not there yet, but I believe we have a strong chance to advance in that direction. But that will not happen if we allow our frustrations and grievances to transmute into hatred, Osinbanjo said during the address.
But, the message of one Nigeria is too late for many people like Lawrence Akpu, a former Biafran fighter. During the war, shrapnel cut into his spinal cord. Today, hes confined to a wheelchair. Even though hes poor and begs for handouts, he says he doesnt regret fighting for Biafra and will fight again.
If we join our hands together to seek Biafra, we shall get Biafra. Because we have no place in Nigeria, Akpu says.
Akpu joins a group of other disabled Biafra War veterans on a hot afternoon. They reminisce about the war and soon, they begin to sing the war songs that kept their spirits inspired to keep fighting.
British Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party's lead over the opposition Labor Party has narrowed to 10 percentage points, according to an Opinium poll for the Observer newspaper on Saturday.
Opinium said May's lead had slipped from 13 percentage points on May 16 and 19 percentage points at the start of the campaign.
The Conservatives were on 45 percent, down one percentage point since Opinium's last survey, and Labor were on 35 percent. The online poll of 2,002 people was carried out between May 23 and 24.
Sur, a central district in Diyarbakir that was destroyed in the monthslong clashes in 2015 between Turkish security forces and the youth branch of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is finally being rebuilt.
But some families are refusing to leave their homes, saying a state-sponsored subsidy is too low. Power and water to the district have been cut, meaning families have no electricity and must carry water for their needs.
At night, the streets of Ali Pasa and Lalebey neighborhoods in Sur are mostly dark because of the power outage, with a few street lamps as the only light source. The residents gather under the lamps to talk about only one topic: the clearing out of the district.
Two neighborhoods have evacuated.
Some families who got subsidies left Sur for good. Other families, who said the subsidies were too low, sought legal help. But even as their lawsuits are making their way through the courts, some residents have been forced to leave. Still others have refused to abandon the city, which led to the government's decision to cut power and water to Sur.
For those residents who remain, they carry water for their daily needs and sit under street lamps until they go to bed. It's been three days, and the residents are frustrated.
Cemal Tayurak, who lives with 19 other people in one house, told VOA, "They're forcing us to leave by cutting electricity and water. The subsidy they gave for my 135-square-meter house is 87,000 Turkish liras [U.S. $24,285]. Twenty people live here. Where can we go with this little money? We don't know where to go, we're desperate. We're poor, that's why we live here."
Sitki Aktas says he's tired of carrying water.
"You see how dirty we are. I couldn't even pray. No water, no power. I have four kids living with me. We are 20 people in total," Aktas said. "They gave 105,000 Turkish liras [U.S. $29,309]. Where can we go? I'm carrying water from the mosque since this morning."
WATCH: Sur Residents Talk about their Inability to Leave
The women suffer more from the lack of water, because it limits what housework they can do.
Cahide Toprak told VOA that time doesn't pass without electricity and water.
"I'm desperate," Toprak said. "We all sit here. I don't have any means to leave. We've collected our stuff and [are] waiting. Come see our situation in our house. The state, the municipality don't give us water. What else can I say?"
For security reasons, the street lamps are still powered.
But as Ramadan, the holy month in Islam, is about to start, the residents are feeling more anxious. The lack of electricity and water will make it harder for them to fast.
PHOTOS: Some Sur Residents Remain After Electricity, Water Cut
Four men have been ordered to stand trial in Pennsylvania in the death of a Somali immigrant cab driver in Pittsburgh.
Prosecutors allege the group wanted to rob a pizza delivery driver on the night of Feb. 21 but due to the late hour opted for a cab driver.
Authorities say the men punched, kicked and beat 31-year-old Ramadhan Mohamed, who died three days later at a hospital.
At a preliminary hearing Friday, District Judge Armand Martin ordered all four suspects held without bond on charges of homicide, robbery and conspiracy. Attorneys said the four men are expected to be formally arraigned in June.
During the hearing, one of the men waived his right to a preliminary hearing and provided testimony about the beating, admitting to his role in it but also naming a co-defendant as the instigator.
At the time of his death, Mohamed was married with a 2-year-old son and his wife was pregnant. He was a well-respected member of the Somali Bantu community and was known for wearing his religious garb. His killing prompted the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh and others to investigate his beating as a hate crime.
But police and prosecutors said then that they had no evidence the suspects were motivated by Mohamed's nationality, race or religion, although the investigation was continuing.
The four charged are Christen Glenn, 19, of Greensburg; Daniel Russell, 20, of Youngstown, Ohio; and King Edwards and Hosea Moore, both 20 and from Pittsburgh.
Moore testified Friday that he worked a shift at a fast-food restaurant that evening and he and the others decided later to lure someone to the neighborhood to rob them. He said they considered targeting a pizza delivery driver, but abandoned that plan because it was late and pizza shops were closing. He said Russell was the one who suggested the robbery.
Moore said he wasn't completely on board with robbing someone but "I did it anyway," the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
When the cab arrived, Moore said, he was the first to reach the vehicle and he punched Mohamed. Moore testified that the others pulled Mohamed from the cab, threw him to the ground and began kicking and beating him. They then searched him for money or other valuables but found nothing, leaving with only the driver's cellphone and the vehicle's key, he said.
Moore's attorney, Kevin Abramovitz, said Mohamed "lost his life in a horrible, horrible set of circumstances." He said he and his client have no deal with prosecutors but they are "certainly anticipating a benefit" from Moore's testimony.
Russell's attorney, Robert Carey Jr., said he looks forward to "challenging the credibility of this witness."
Based on confirmed sightings of Ramadan's new moon crescent, millions of Muslims around the world are fasting on the first day of the holy month. According to Islam, the sighting of the new moon marks the beginning of the Muslim lunar month of Ramadan.
Thirty-three countries, mainly those in which the majority of residents are Sunni Muslims, officially started Ramadan on Saturday. Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Shi'ite Muslims in Iraq declared Sunday to be their first day of Ramadan.
During Ramadan, which is the holiest and the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, Muslims abstain from food, drink, sex and immoral acts from sunrise to sunset. It is one of the most important Muslim practices the Five Pillars of Islam and just the second below the shahada, which is the sincere recitation of the Muslim profession of faith.
In Ramadan, fasting and carrying out the other Islamic obligations provide the framework of a Muslim's life.
But in contrast with these Islamic values, the Islamic State and other terrorist groups in the world, like al-Shabab in Somalia, use the holy month to call for more violence against the West and other Muslim counties by attacking innocents and civilians.
This year, Ramadan begins as the world mourns the loss of innocent victims of barbaric terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom and Egypt.
Messages from clerics
Moderate Muslim clerics across the world started Ramadan with messages to the world emphasizing that acts of terrorism and violence are directly contrary to the spirit of Ramadan.
"Ramadan is a month of peace, love and respect for all, but not a month of violence and bloodshed. Those calling for mayhem do not represent Islam and Muslims," said Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, an influential cleric and the chairman of the Council of Religious Scholars of Somalia.
In Britain, Muslim leaders called for calm and special prayers for the victims of the Manchester bombing.
Muslims in America are observing Ramadan this year for the first time under President Donald Trump. In a statement on Ramadan, Trump focused on violence and terrorism.
"At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict," Trump's statement said.
Imam Sharif Mohamed of Islamic Civic Society of America at Dar Al-Hijrah Mosque in Minneapolis said the president's message was different from the Ramadan massages of former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
"Unlike Obama and George Bush, Trump mainly focused on the fight against terrorism in his Ramadan statement," said Sharif. "His statement only represented his election campaign and the anti-Muslim rhetoric he was notorious with."
Taking Heart
In Minnesota, the Muslim American Society and Minnesota Council of Churches continue a program called Taking Heart to bring Christians and members of other faith communities together with Muslims for food and conversation.
"For many years, Minnesota mosques and Islamic Community Centers and mosques like ours, we have been running such programs where we sit with non-Muslim neighbors for a traditional Ramadan iftar, inviting a time of learning and encounter," Sharif said.
"Our faith, Islamic faith, obliges us to follow the message of tolerance, co-existence, and to publicly condemn violence, extremism, any form of that," he said.
Growing in popularity, Taking Heart saw more than 800 non-Muslims attend open-house iftar dinners in 2016.
Iran's Supreme Leader has said that Saudi Arabia is a "cow being milked" by the United States.
A Saturday report by the semi-official Fars news agency quotes Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as saying that Saudi Arabia trades its wealth with "pagans and enemies."
"The stupid Saudi government thinks it can attract the friendship of enemies by giving them money," said Khamenei.
Khamenei added that bastion of Islam Saudi Arabia is "cruel toward believers and kind toward pagans."
President Donald Trump signed a $110 billion weapons deal with Saudi Arabia during his visit to kingdom last week.
Majority Shiite Iran and predominantly Sunni Saudi Arabia support opposite sites in the conflicts in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the Middle East.
Iraqi armed forces launched an operation Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.
The fall of the city would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" declared nearly three years ago by IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.
The enclave includes the Old City center and three adjacent districts along the western bank of the Tigris river.
The U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, now in its eighth month, has taken longer than planned as the militants are dug in among civilians.
"The joint forces have began liberating the remaining districts," an Iraqi military statement said.
Another military statement announced the deaths of two Iraqi colonels during the fighting Saturday.
Desperate civilians trapped behind Islamic State lines now face a harrowing situation with little food and water, no electricity and limited access to hospitals.
The Iraqi air force dropped leaflets on Friday urging residents to flee, but humanitarian groups say they fear for the safety of those trying to escape.
Al-Nuri mosque
The push inside the Old City coincided with the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The offensive's prime target is the medieval al-Nuri mosque with its landmark leaning minaret, where the IS black flag has been flying since mid-2014.
Iraqi armed forces hope to capture the mosque where Baghdadi announced the "caliphate" in the next few days. Residents in the Old City sounded desperate in telephone interviews over the past few days.
"We're waiting for death at any moment, either by bombing or starving," one said, asking not to be identified. "Adults eat one meal a day, either flour or lentil soup."
The United Nations expressed deep concern for the hundreds of thousands of civilians behind Islamic State lines, in a statement Saturday from the organization's undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen O'Brien.
"Although the U.N. is not present in the areas where fighting is occurring, we have received very disturbing reports of families being shut inside booby-trapped homes and of children being deliberately targeted by snipers," he said.
Residents said millet, usually used as bird feed, is being cooked like rice as food prices increased tenfold. People were seen collecting wild mallow plants in abandoned lots and also eating mulberry leaves and other plants.
About 700,000 people, about a third of the pre-war city's population, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps.
The insurgents are also retreating in Syria, mainly in the face of U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces.
Further fighting
The insurgency is expected to continue in the sparsely populated desert region along the Syrian border even if Mosul is fully captured.
Iranian-backed Shi'ite paramilitary forces are fighting Islamic State in that part of the country where Baghdadi is believed to be, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
On Saturday, Iran announced for the first time the death of a senior commander during the operations launched in October to drive the Islamist militants out of Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province.
Shaaban Nassiri, a senior commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed west of Mosul, near the border with Syria, according to Mashregh, an Iranian news website.
The IRGC is the main backer of the Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary force known as Popular Mobilization. Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is aiming to control the border in coordination with the Iranian-backed Syrian army.
Linking up the two sides would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a significant advantage in the six-year rebellion against his rule.
In an unprecedented move, a Group of Seven summit communique has carved out a unique place for the United States to break with its counterparts on a major issue.
In a pared-down final communique, all G-7 nations, except the United States, pledged action to mitigate climate change.
"The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," the communique read. "Understanding this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement.
The United States, according to the document, needs more time to decide whether it will exit the landmark deal to reduce carbon emissions agreed upon by representatives of 195 countries two years ago.
I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted from Sicily on his personal account before returning to Washington Saturday night.
"I told Donald Trump that it was crucial that the United States remained fully engaged in the Paris climate change deal," French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the climate agreement is so important there should not be any compromises on it.
The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," the German leader told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not.
There was a very frank exchange of views on the topic, acknowledged President Trumps top economic adviser, Gary Cohn.
WATCH: Steve Herman reports from the G-7 summit in Italy
Conservation groups criticize delay
Environmental groups immediately expressed disappointment with the American stance.
Europe, Canada and Japan stood up today and made a stand, revealing again how far Trump is out of step with the rest of the world on climate change, Greenpeace International Executive Director Jennifer Morgan said, adding it was up to the other leaders to ensure that the larger G-20 bloc signals even greater ambition for the transformation to clean energy.
President Trump should now return to Washington and make the right decision, take climate change seriously and take action with the rest of the world, said Morgan in a statement sent to VOA News.
Protectionism condemned
Trump did accede on language on trade in the communique, agreeing to fight protectionism despite his oft-repeated America first stance on commerce.
We do to you what you do to us, was what Trump communicated to his G-7 partners on trade policy, Cohn told reporters.
In remarks to U.S. service personnel at Naval Air Station Sigonella the president did not mention any of the disagreements with the six other countries, saying the summit was a tremendously productive meeting and we made a lot of good friends this week.
In another break with tradition, the U.S. president did not hold a news conference following the conclusion of the G-7 summit the only leader present who did not speak with reporters.
Cohn and the presidents national security advisor, General H.R. McMaster, instead, briefed a group of traveling White House reporters but television cameras were not permitted to show their remarks.
Trumps first foreign trip as U.S. president was a hectic nine-day jaunt that took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Italy and Belgium, concluding with a second Italian stop for the G-7 on the largest Mediterranean island, Sicily.
Migrants a topic on final day of summit
On the second and final day of the G-7 summit, the host country, Italy, wanted to draw attention to the migration crisis and the dangerous Mediterranean crossings taken by tens of thousands of people looking for a better life in Europe.
Leaders from Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger, Nigeria and Tunisia were involved in Saturdays talks, as those are the main countries of origin for migrants trying to reach Europe.
The Oxfam charity consortium accused the Trump administration of blocking any agreement on human mobility.
As the leaders fly home from Taormina they will look down on the waters that have claimed thousands of lives on the G-7s watch, said the British-based international confederation of 20 non-governmental organizations.
Along with the United States, the other members of the G-7 are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Britain. The EU is also represented.
The Africa-focused anti-poverty group One says the communique sets a new low for the G-7 in a year of greatly diminished expectations.
The early promise of this summit was crushed by the Trump administration's hostile negotiating posture and the evident lack of ambition of other leaders, said the international advocacy groups statement.
North Korea discussed
At the start of a one-hour discussion on Friday between Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the U.S. president said the G-7 summit would have a particular focus on the North Korea problem.
The leaders subsequently reaffirmed their commitment to cooperate to the fullest extent possible to counter terrorist threats and agreed to enhance sanctions on North Korea in an attempt to deter the development of Pyongyangs ballistic missile and nuclear programs, according to a White House statement.
The U.S. Navy has dispatched a third strike force group led by a nuclear-powered USS aircraft carrier to the western Pacific.
The USS Nimitz will join the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan, VOA News has learned. It is unusual in peacetime for the navy to deploy three aircraft carriers in the same region.
When suicide bomber Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old British-Libyan, triggered his bomb packed with nuts and bolts Monday in Manchester, he not only brought Libyas civil war to the streets of Britain, he may well have wrecked the chances of a peace deal being struck between rival governments and their militia backers in the strife-torn North African state.
The Manchester bombing that left 22 dead and dozens injured, mostly teenagers and children, has sparked an escalation in fighting in Libya in a war featuring a complex array of militias and three rival governments. All of them are vying not only for control of the country, but also backing from foreign powers.
All sides appeared to be seizing the opportunity of the Manchester attack, as well as the massacre Friday in Egypt of Coptic Christians by Islamic State fighters, to strike their foes regardless of whether their enemies are linked to the bombing in Britain or the slaughter of Christian pilgrims in neighboring Egypt.
The escalation in fighting, especially in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, is darkening the prospects of a peace initiative led by the United Nations special envoy Martin Kobler. The U.N. envoy has been tireless in his efforts to broker an agreement between rival powers in a country that has known no peace since the uprising and NATO-backed overthrow six years ago of Libyas dictator, Moammar Gadhafi.
Hopes dashed
Peace hopes had mounted earlier this month after two key rival Libyan leaders met face-to-face in Abu Dhabi, ending a 16-month stalemate thats been undermining increasingly frenetic diplomatic efforts to unify the country and to stop the fighting between competing loose alliances that pushed the country into open warfare in 2014.
The meeting between Gen. Khalid Haftar, the head of military forces aligned to a government based in the east thats backed by Egypt, and the GNAs prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj, was seen widely as the first step in a possible deal. But now hopes are being dashed and the peace process is unraveling because of an outbreak of intense fighting.
On Friday, Kobler appealed to rival groups to stop fighting immediately and put Libyan national interest first. His plea came after mainly Islamist militias opposed to the weak U.N.-backed Government of National Accord and loyal to a rival known as the National Salvation Government, launched a series of attacks in the capital, shattering weeks of relative calm in the city, and turning residential neighborhoods into war zones.
The U.N. envoy said he was following the situation with grave concern, insisting that political aims must not be pursued through violence. Civilians must be protected.
But despite the appeal, the attacks coinciding with the start Saturday in Libya of Ramadan, Islams holy month have included the shelling of residential districts in the south of the city, according to the British ambassador Peter Millett, along with clashes in parts of downtown Tripoli and along the citys airport road.
GNA officials say that at least 52 of their fighters have died so far in the fighting, which has persisted into the weekend with loud explosions heard across the city. There were unconfirmed reports that civilians were among the dead and wounded.
Some GNA officials claimed the attacks by the mainly Islamist armed groups are in retaliation for the arrests in Tripoli midweek of the father and brother of the Manchester bomber by a militia loyal to U.N.-backed government. Salman Abedis father, Ramadan, has been linked to the militant Islamist group the Libyan Revolutionaries Operations Room.
You have to ask yourself why they attacked now, said an adviser to the GNAs prime minister, Fayez al-Sarraj. But other GNA officials say they had expected an attack for weeks by Islamist-leaning militias, led by Salah Badi and Khalifa al-Ghwell, in a bid to try to reclaim lost territory in the capital. The flaring tensions in the country in the wake of the Manchester bombing may have contributed to the decision to launch the attacks this week, they say.
In turn, forces loyal to the GNA have seized Tripolis al-Hadhba prison, where former officials of ousted dictator Gadhafi have been incarcerated. The fate of the detainees is unknown.
IS claims Egypt attack
The Islamic State terror group claimed Saturday the slaughter of the 29 Christians, many of them children, in Egypt as its handiwork, saying in an online statement its affiliate in the country had carried out the attack. The Christians were traveling on a pilgrimage by bus to a monastery in Minya in central Egypt, 220 kilometers south of the capital, Cairo, when masked gunmen struck. The terror group put the number of dead at 32.
On Friday, Egypt retaliated, launching a half-dozen airstrikes on the eastern Libyan town of Derna, targeting what Egyptian President Abdul Fattah el-Sissi said were training camps where the militants behind the massacre had trained.
Sissi said he would "not hesitate to strike terrorist camps anywhere, and announcing the strike in a television speech late Friday, he promised to protect our people from the evil.
Like the fighting in Tripoli, the Egyptian airstrikes are being seen by some analysts as opportunistic, too. The Islamic State was pushed out of Derna in 2015 and lost its remaining bases on the outskirts of the town last year, according to Mary Fitzgerald, a researcher on Libya, who covered the 2011 ouster of Gadhafi. She says the strikes feed into suspicions that Sissi's airstrikes are opportunistic more than anything else and aimed at helping his ally Gen. Haftar.
Derna residents say the six locations struck are residential areas. Some analysts say if training camps were struck they would have been controlled by mujahideen groups linked ideologically to al-Qaida and not the Islamic State.
Developments Friday concerning President Donald Trump include his discussions on North Korea, climate change and trade at the Group of Seven meeting in Italy, newspaper reports about his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and a Senate committee seeking all Russia-related campaign documents from Trump's presidential campaign; and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's commencement speech, in which she referenced Trump:
Climate Change Among Most Contentious Issues at G-7 Summit -- Climate change was among the most contentious agenda items Friday at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Sicily, but both American and British government officials are publicly denying any major discord. The leaders had a very good discussion about climate issues, British Prime Minister Theresa May told reporters, adding there was no doubt around the table -- which included U.S. President Donald Trump -- about how important the issue is.
Report: Russian Ambassador Told Moscow Kushner Wanted a Private Channel to Kremlin -- The Washington Post is reporting that Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed with Russia's ambassador to Washington the possibility of setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
Report: Senate Intelligence Panel Seeks Trump Campaign Documents -- The Senate Intelligence Committee, investigating Russian meddling in U.S. 2016 election, has asked President Donald Trump's political organization to hand over all documents going back the campaign's launch in June 2015, the Washington Post reported on Friday, citing two people briefed on the request.
Trump: North Korea A Particular Focus for G-7 Leaders at Summit -- U.S. President Donald Trump says terrorism and North Korea are top items on the agenda for the leaders summit of the Group of Seven nations, which began Friday on Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island. While terrorism would also be a primary concern for the leaders during their two days of talks on the Italian island, North Koreas nuclear weapons testing and ballistic missile development comprise a big problem, its a world problem, said Trump. Trade is another major topic on the minds of Trumps counterparts who have gathered in the resort town of Taormina.
Tillerson: US Takes 'Full Responsibility' for Manchester Intel Leaks -- The United States takes full responsibility for the leaking of sensitive information in the aftermath of the suicide bombing in Manchester Monday, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said.
WATCH: Clinton's commencement speech
Hillary Clinton Calls on Graduates to Fight for "Truth and Reason' -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on graduates to fight for "truth and reason" Friday during a commencement address at her alma mater. "Don't be afraid of your ambition, of your dreams, or even your anger," she told Wellesley College's class of 2017. "Those are powerful forces, but harness them to make a difference in the world."
Career Prosecutor Nominated to Head US Office of Special Counsel -- President Donald Trump has announced his intent to nominate Henry Kerner, vice president of a nonpartisan watchdog agency, as special counsel in the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that protects employee rights. Kerner is the vice president of a watchdog group called Cause of Action that monitors and reports on federal government waste, fraud and abuse.
US Congressional Candidate Who Attacked Reporter Wins Election, Apologizes -- The Republican candidate for a U.S. congressional seat in (the western U.S. state of Montana who was charged with assault after he allegedly grabbed a reporter by the neck and threw him to the ground, has apologized for his actions after defeating his Democratic opponent.
Trump to Set Up 'War Room,' Seek to Repel Attacks Over Russia Probe -- Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency. Trump's advisers are planning to establish a "war room" to combat mounting questions about communication between Russia and his presidential campaign before and after November's presidential election, while bringing new aides into the White House, administration officials and persons close to Trump told Reuters.
US: China Puts Pressure on Border With North Korea -- Chinese officials have told the U.S. that theyve tightened inspections and policing along the border with North Korea as part of U.N. sanctions aimed at halting Pyongyangs nuclear and missile activities, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia said Friday.
Asked about reports that U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law had tried to set up a clandestine communication channel with Russia before the president took office, U.S. National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster said Saturday that so-called "back-channeling" was normal.
McMaster was in Taormina, Italy, on the sideline of the Group of Seven meetings, and he did not speak specifically about Jared Kushner, who is also a senior advisor to Trump. When asked if it would concern him, though, if someone in the administration tried to set up a back channel with the Russian embassy or the Kremlin, McMaster replied "no."
"We have back-channel communications with any number of individual [countries]. So generally speaking, about back-channel communications, what that allows you to do is communicate in a discreet manner," said McMaster.
"So it doesn't pre-expose you to any sort of content or any kind of conversation or anything. So we're not concerned about it."
His comments come on a heels of The Washington Post report that Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed with Russia's ambassador to Washington the possibility of setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
The Post quoted U.S. officials Friday as saying that the move was meant to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from scrutiny.
The Post's sources said Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner made the proposal during an early-December meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. The sources said the information was detected through intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials.
On Thursday, U.S. news outlets reported that Kushner is being investigated by the FBI in its probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Post reported last week that a senior White House official close to the president was a significant focus of the high stakes investigation, although it did not name Kushner then.
The FBI's focus on Kushner does not necessarily mean he is suspected of a crime, nor is he considered a subject of the bureau's wider probe of Russia.
This latest revelation comes two weeks after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, who was responsible for overseeing the investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last week appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation. Separately, at least four congressional committees are conducting their own probes into the matter.
Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin amid accusations from U.S. intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin orchestrated a sweeping campaign to tilt the vote in the Republican's favor.
A federal judge Friday tossed out two life sentences for one of Virginias most notorious criminals, sniper Lee Boyd Malvo, and ordered Virginia courts to hold new sentencing hearings.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Raymond Jackson in Norfolk said Malvo is entitled to new sentencing hearings after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles are unconstitutional.
Malvo was 17 when he was arrested in 2002 for a series of shootings that killed 10 people and wounded three over a three-week span in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia, causing widespread fear throughout the region.
His accomplice, John Allen Muhammad, was executed in 2009.
Sentenced in Maryland
Malvo also was sentenced to life in prison in Maryland for the murders that occurred there. But his lawyers have made an appeal on similar grounds in that state. A hearing is scheduled in June.
Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney Ray Morrogh, who helped prosecute Malvo in 2003, said the Virginia attorney general can appeal Jacksons ruling. If not, Morrogh said he would pursue another life sentence, saying he believes Malvo meets the criteria for a harsh sentence.
Michael Kelly, spokesman for Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, said Friday evening that the office is reviewing the decision and will do everything possible, including a possible appeal, to make sure this convicted mass murderer serves the life sentences that were originally imposed.
He also noted that the convictions themselves stand and emphasized that, even if Malvo gets a new sentencing hearing, he could still be resentenced to a life term.
Supreme Court ruling
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled that mandatory life sentences for juveniles were unconstitutional. Then, last year, the Supreme Court applied that case retroactively to sentences issued before 2012.
Malvos first trial took place in Chesapeake after a judge agreed to move it from Fairfax because of pretrial publicity. A jury convicted Malvo of capital murder for the slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, who was shot in the head outside a Home Depot store. Under Virginia law, a capital murder conviction requires either a death sentence or life without parole. Prosecutors sought a death sentence, but a jury opted for life in prison.
Malvo then negotiated a plea bargain in Spotsylvania County and agreed to a life sentence and waived his appeal rights.
Virginia's argument
The attorney generals office argued unsuccessfully that the Supreme Court rulings should not apply to Malvo. To begin with, while the jury in Chesapeake had only the option of a death penalty or life without parole, the capital murder statute required them to make specific findings about Malvo, including a conclusion that he poses a future danger. The state argued that the jurys findings provide the kind of individualized assessment that the Supreme Court requires to sentence a juvenile to life in prison.
The state also argued that Malvo knowingly waived his appeal rights when he struck the plea bargain in Spotsylvania County.
Jackson, in his ruling, wrote that Malvo was entitled to a new sentencing hearing because the Supreme Courts ruling grants new rights to juveniles that Malvo didnt know he had when he agreed to the plea bargain.
Malvo has been serving his sentence at Red Onion state prison in southwest Virginia.
The Washington Post is reporting that Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, discussed with Russia's ambassador to Washington the possibility of setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin.
The Post quoted U.S. officials Friday as saying that the move was meant to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from scrutiny.
The Post's sources said Ambassador Sergei Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner made the proposal during an early-December meeting at Trump Tower in New York City. The sources said the information was detected through intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials.
On Thursday, U.S. news outlets reported that Kushner is being investigated by the FBI in its probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. The Post reported last week that a senior White House official close to the president was a significant focus of the high stakes investigation, although it did not name Kushner then.
The FBI's focus on Kushner does not necessarily mean he is suspected of a crime, nor is he considered a subject of the bureau's wider probe of Russia.
This latest revelation comes two weeks after Trump abruptly fired FBI Director James Comey, who was responsible for overseeing the probe.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein last week appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the investigation. Separately, at least four congressional committees are conducting their own probes into the matter.
Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and the Kremlin, amid accusations from U.S. intelligence that Russian President Vladimir Putin orchestrated a sweeping campaign to tilt the vote in the Republican's favor.
A South Korean Defense Ministry official says a South Korean fishing vessel has apparently been hijacked in the waters off of Somalia.
The official told the French News Agency, The boat sent a message that she was being approached by some unidentified vessels and then contact with the boat was lost.
South Koreas anti-piracy unit was in nearby waters and was dispatched to respond to the emergency call.
The fishing ships crew included South Koreans and foreigners, the Defense Ministry official said.
A resurgence of piracy has occurred recently in the waters off of Somalia after years of inactivity.
At the peak of the piracy crisis in 2011, dozens of boats were hijacked and hundreds of hostages were taken.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the message in U.S. President Donald Trump's "blunt" speech urging alliance members to boost defense spending echoed that of previous administrations.
Stoltenberg spoke to RFE/RL in an interview on Friday, a day after Trump met with the other leaders of the 28-member military alliance at its new headquarters in Brussels.
Trump used a large part of his speech before unveiling a 9/11 memorial to admonish allies he said are not shouldering their share of the financial burden.
It is "not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States" that only five NATO countries currently meet a target of spending at least 2 percent of gross domestic product on defense, he said.
WATCH: NATO Chief not shocked by Trumps 'blunt and direct' speech
Trump "has a blunt and direct style," Stoltenberg told RFE/RL. "This plain speaking is something we have seen before and he expressed clearly an expectation that European allies and Canada should invest more in defense.
However, he added that "the language may be different and the words may be different but the core message is the same as we have heard before, also during the previous administration: that we need fairer burden-sharing in the alliance."
NATO countries pledged in 2014 to try to reach the 2 percent target within a decade, but so far only Britain, Estonia, Greece, Poland, and the United States are doing so.
Many NATO countries, especially on the organization's eastern edges, have expressed concerns about the perceived threats from an aggressive Russian foreign policy and about Trumps commitment to the Western alliance and to sanctions placed on Moscow for its interference in Ukraine.
'Strong, united approach'
A U.S. official on Friday caused concern when asked whether Trump plans to extend Ukraine-related U.S. sanctions against Moscow.
"I think the president is looking at it. Right now, we dont have a position," White House economic adviser Gary Cohn told reporters en route to a Group of Seven meeting in Sicily.
However, later Friday at the G-7 summit, Cohn came out strongly in favor of sanctions.
We are not lowering our sanctions on Russia," he told reporters. "If anything, we would probably look to get tougher on Russia."
Stoltenberg insisted to RFE/RL that the alliance has a "strong, united approach" to Moscow.
"I know that NATO is united in our common approach to Russia, which is about credible deterrence and defense combined with political dialogue, and that is exactly what we are delivering on," he said.
The NATO chief said the alliance has "implemented the strongest reinforcement of collective defense since the end of the Cold War" but has also engaged in talks with Moscow "because Russia is our biggest neighbor."
"We have to avoid a new Cold War," he added. "We don't seek confrontation with Russia and, therefore, also our deployment of forces in the eastern part of the alliance is defensive. Its proportionate and it is done in a way which sends a clear signal of multinational presence."
Ukraine crisis
He said NATO leaders discussed the Ukraine crisis during their Brussels gathering.
"Of course, we also addressed issues like Ukraine, where we see that Russia continues to destabilize Ukraine, continues to provide support for the separatists in Eastern Ukraine, and continues to illegally annex Crimea."
He said it was important that all NATO members express "strong political support" for the territorial integrity of Ukraine and to seek a peaceful, negotiated settlement to the crisis.
"On top of that, we also provide practical support, helping Ukraine to build more modern security institutions, implement reforms fighting corruption, developing command and control, strengthening their cybercapabilities, and many other areas, logistics," he said.
Afghan mission
However, he added that NATO is facing many other important issues.
NATO is about addressing many different security challenges, including the terrorist threat, the instability we see to the south, [the extremist group Islamic State], Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, and also, of course, cyberthreats where, of course, we have threats coming from many different state and non-state actors.
Stoltenberg said the alliance is studying the need to send additional troops to Afghanistan to aid the battle against the Taliban, the Islamic State group, and other militants.
"What is clear is that NATO allies will continue to sustain our mission in Afghanistan," he said. "Its currently at 13,000 troops," adding that alliance leaders are assessing the request from their military chiefs to increase troop levels "with a few thousand."
That has not yet been decided. But its clear that will continue. The exact troop levels [will be known] in the coming weeks.
The U.N.s top human rights official said civilians are paying a heavy price as airstrikes in Syria escalate, particularly in Islamic State-controlled areas. High Commissioner Zeid Raad al-Hussein called on the air forces operating in the country to do more to minimize civilian casualties.
The situation for Syrian civilians is difficult throughout the country, but it is particularly so in areas held by Islamic State in the northeastern governorates of al-Raqqa and Deir-ez-Zor.
Battered from both sides
The high commissioners spokesman, Rupert Colville, said civilians in those areas are being battered by escalating airstrikes from Syrian, Russian and U.S. coalition forces. At the same time, he says the same civilians are suffering indiscriminate shelling and summary executions by IS militants, whom he referred to by the acronym ISIL.
Because of the ISIL presence, we fear civilians are in an increasingly dangerous situation as the airstrikes and ground conflict intensify, possibly resulting in many more casualties, as well as retaliatory assaults by ISIL against densely populated civilian areas, Colville said.
And, unfortunately, we think very scant attention is really being paid by the outside world to this situation and the appalling predicament of the civilians trapped in these areas, he added.
Airstrikes, then ISIL
On May 14, Colville noted, airstrikes in a rural village of eastern al-Raqqa Governorate killed 23 farm workers, 17 of them women. The following day, he said, airstrikes on two residential areas in an IS-controlled city in eastern Deir-ez-Zor reportedly killed at least 59 men, women and children and wounded 70 others.
And the day after that, Colville said, ISIL fighters are said to have cut the throats of eight men at the sites of the airstrikes, after accusing them of providing coordinates for the strikes.
Zeid, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, is urging all air forces operating in Syria to take much greater care to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians.
The Pentagon has denied reports that it is sending a third aircraft carrier to the Western Pacific as a show of force to deter North Korea's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
Sources told VOA and Japan's Asahi Shimbun Saturday that the USS Nimitz, one of the worlds largest warships, would join two other supercarriers, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Ronald Reagan, in the western Pacific to send a signal to North Korea.
But on Tuesday, the Defense Department denied that the Nimitz deployment is anything but routine.
"U.S. Navy carrier strike groups routinely deploy to the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean. [The] USS Carl Vinson, USS Ronald Reagan and USS Nimitz deployments are all part of a previously planned and detailed maintenance, training and deployment cycle, and not in response to any specific incident or regional events. It is not uncommon for carrier strike groups to overlap in a region as one begins a deployment and the other concludes."
We dont expect all three to be in the Western Pacific at the same time but we are ultimately flexible, a Navy official told VOA.
The movements of the three carriers are all previously planned, said Navy Lt. Commander Matt Knight of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs Office
North Koreas growing nuclear and missile threat is seen as a major security challenge for President Donald Trump, who has vowed to prevent that country from being able to strike the U.S. with a nuclear missile, a capability that experts say Pyongyang could have some time after 2020.
The Nimitz deployment is set to begin on Thursday.
The Carl Vinson strike group, which is part of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, began its regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific January 5. The Ronald Reagan strike group, which belongs to the 7th Fleet based in Japan, began its patrol in the Western Pacific on May 16.
VOA's White House correspondent Steve Herman contributed to this report.
Once U.S. President Donald Trump returns from his overseas trip, the White House plans to launch its most aggressive effort yet to push back against allegations involving Russia and his presidential campaign, tackling head-on a scandal that has threatened to consume his young presidency.
Trump's advisers are planning to establish a "war room" to combat mounting questions about communication between Russia and his presidential campaign before and after November's presidential election, while bringing new aides into the White House, administration officials and persons close to Trump told Reuters.
The strategic shake-up comes as Republicans in Washington increasingly have fretted that the probe, continued chaos in the West Wing and Trump's steady slide in opinion polls will derail the president's drive to reform health care, cut taxes and rebuild the nation's infrastructure.
Upon Trump's return, the administration will add experienced political professionals, including Trump's former campaign manager, and possibly more lawyers to handle the Russia probe, which has gained new urgency since the Justice Department appointed a special counsel to head an investigation, the sources said.
Advancing agenda
Beyond pushing back at suggestions that Moscow is unduly influencing Trump's administration, the messaging effort will also focus on advancing Trump's stalled policy agenda and most likely involve more trips out of Washington that will feature the kind of raucous rallies that were the hallmark of Trump's campaign.
A person in regular touch with the White House said it needed a different structure to focus on the "new reality" that there would be continued leaks to the media from the law enforcement and intelligence communities, leaks that have increased in frequency since Trump fired James Comey as Federal Bureau of Investigation director on May 9.
"Since the firing of Comey, that really exposed the fact that the White House in its current structure ... is not prepared for really a one-front war, let alone a two-front war," the person said. "They need to have a structure in place that allows them to stay focused" while "also truly fighting back on these attacks and these leaks."
The White House declined to comment on plans for a "war room" but said Trump would be looking to expand on momentum it believes it has built up during the president's trip to Saudi Arabia, Israel and Europe. A White House official confirmed plans to hold more rallies.
Trump returns to Washington on Saturday from his first trip abroad as president.
"The president has had an incredibly successful trip overseas and the White House looks forward to continuing an aggressive messaging strategy to highlight his agenda when we return to D.C.," said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
Kushner, Bannon involved
Jared Kushner, a senior adviser to Trump, will be involved in the new strategic messaging operation, as will Steve Bannon, another top adviser who specializes in managing Trump's populist appeal and shaping his political image, the sources said. Bannon and Trump's chief of staff, Reince Priebus, have been laying the groundwork for the plan this week, they added.
On Thursday, NBC News and The Washington Post reported that Kushner, who held several meetings with Russian officials following the election, is a focus of the probe, making him the first current White House official to be linked to it, although Kushner, who is Trump's son-in-law, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager, is also expected to be part of the effort. Lewandowski, who has been seen in the White House recently, could join the administration as early as next week, a source close to him said.
Trump fired Lewandowski in June 2016 over concerns that he was not experienced enough to oversee the general election fight against Democrat Hillary Clinton, but he has remained a trusted adviser to Trump and a steadfast defender of the president on news programs.
Trump has been frustrated of late that his communications team hasn't done a more effective job at making the case that he isn't implicated in the Russia probe and highlighting his administration's successes, sources close to the president said.
The White House declined to comment on the president's frustrations.
Another Republican close to the White House said the new team is taking a page out of former President Bill Clinton's playbook. When Clinton faced impeachment in the late 1990s, he assembled a crisis-management operation that dealt with fallout from his affair with Monica Lewinsky while allowing the rest of the White House to deal with day-to-day policy matters.
"The goal of the White House is to try to contain the crisis and media coverage of the special counsel," the Republican said.
More traveling seen
Christopher Ruddy, chief executive of Newsmax Media and a Trump friend, said he expected the president to travel more when he returns from overseas and encouraged the White House to focus on issues that pump up his base voters.
"From my perspective, I think the president should be doing the stuff that he does best, which is talking about his agenda: jobs, trade and security," Ruddy said.
Trump has scheduled a political rally for next week in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The White House said other similar events are in the planning stages.
Republicans in Congress are aching for Trump to leave the distraction of the Russia probe aside and focus on legislation and nominating officials to fill the hundreds of vacant slots across the administration.
"What we really want to be able to do is tend to our business," Mike Rounds, a Republican senator from South Dakota, told Reuters. "We've got a health care bill we're working on. We've got tax reform that we think is important."
Two new documentaries have shed light on the plight of Syria's refugees and how they are regarded by the world around them.
Apo Bazidi's "Resistance is Life" chronicles the siege of Kobane, a primarily Kurdish town in northern Syria that Islamic State militants seized in 2014, forcing many of its inhabitants to flee. During the monthslong siege, thousands escaped to Turkey, including a family of five that moved into a refugee camp in Suruc.
Eight-year-old Evlin is the eldest of the children. Smart and engaging, she is the main character of this documentary. Using a small camera, Evlin trains her eye on scenes around the refugee camp.
"I take pictures of the pain around me," she says.
Her high intellect and her voraciousness for learning seem wasted in a barren refugee camp. Yet Evlin seems to derive wisdom from her personal experiences and the experiences of others around her.
She appreciates the welcome the people of Suruc have extended to the refugees, but she confesses that sometimes her expressed appreciation is more for the sake of the giver.
In her young, perceptive mind, she has weighed the few options she and her family have.
"I have not given up on my homeland," she says. With adult composure, she describes how many opt for making a treacherous trek to Europe. "They get on a boat. They ask each other who knows how to operate it. One says, 'Me.' Then people go in the water. Little children drown, and they die," she says.
Key role of women
In April 2015, Kurdish fighters were able to liberate the villages of the Kobane canton. Enwer Muslim, prime minister of the canton, says women led a major part of the resistance.
"Young women fought to prevent even a single braid falling into the hands of ISIS," he says, using an Islamic State acronym. "It may hurt some male fighters to hear this, but believe me, 70 percent to 80 percent of our victory was led by women."
But the city lies in ruins.
Many have returned to their destroyed homes, but tens of thousands, including Evlin and her family, remain in a refugee camp.
The threat of the extremists is still palpable in the region, and life is far from returning to normal. The documentary is a reminder that these people need help from the international community.
Tonislav Hristov's "The Good Postman" focuses on a dying Bulgarian village as its elderly inhabitants face refugees crossing into their lands from Turkey.
As the electoral campaign of three mayoral candidates heats up, the debate over Syrian refugees, who cross illegally into their village daily, intensifies.
The current mayor is a young woman who brings little hope for relief to the poverty-ridden villagers.
An unemployed self-styled revolutionary is a populist candidate, who longs for the older communist times and mixes utopian socialism with bigotry and xenophobia. During a lackluster campaign gathering, he promises "internet for all" to the sparse octogenarian electorate that has huddled around, waiting for a ration of sausages and beer, and in the same breath he declares his objection to Syrian refugees settling in his village.
Ivan, a postman and the liberal candidate in the race, offers a different proposal: Let the refugees settle in the village and revitalize it.
Mayor re-elected
In the end, neither Ivan nor the revolutionary wins. The existing mayor, who has not campaigned, wins again amid the poverty and malaise of her dying constituents.
Kaarle Aho, the documentary producer, says the Bulgarian village is reflective of the Western world.
"It's sort of like a microcosm. You have these people everywhere in Europe and also here. You don't have to go to a small Bulgarian village in order to find these characters. The same kind of politicians you have in Finland and Sweden, everywhere in Europe," he says, "but also probably the United States. There is like a small-time populist politician there who's just promising anything and who's trying to raise fears among people, to make people be afraid of everything new. And then, funnily enough, the liberal guy is the postman of the village."
As for the populist candidate who ran against the settlement of Syrian refugees in the village, Aho says "he has a son living in Ukraine, which means that his son is an immigrant. Yet he doesn't want to have immigrants in his own country," underscoring his hypocrisy.
"The Good Postman" is as heartbreaking as it is funny, a searing satire of today's world.
A Yazidi woman who was sold five times a sex slave under the Islamic State group (IS) came to Washington to push for help for the traumatized, displaced Yazidi community in northern Iraq and the hundreds of others who remain in IS bondage.
Shireen Jardo, 25, met with several U.S. congressmen and federal officials along with Iraqi aid groups and media.
"I told them to rescue our people and our land from IS," Jardo said in an interview with VOA on Friday. "I asked them: 'How much longer should we wait until we hear a word on our people who are still under IS?'"
At least 9,900 of Iraq's Yazidis were killed or kidnapped in an IS massacre in 2014, according to international organizations. While many Yazidis such as Jardo escaped, either through smuggling or ransom, rights organizations say about 2,500 Yazidis, mostly women and children, remain under IS captivity in Syria and Iraq. IS regards Yazidis as devil worshipers who have to convert to Islam or die.
Yazidi organizers say Jardo's plight is emblematic of the broader suffering Yazidis have endured.
"Her story is something everyone should hear," said Nemam Ghafouri, the founder of Joint Help for Kurdistan-U.S., an American-Kurdish organization that supports displaced Yazidis including Jardo. "She was sold five times, each time for a dollar."
When IS attacked Sinjar in August 2014, Jardo and 46 members of her family were taken as prisoners.
IS took them to its stronghold in Mosul.
"They separated me from my family and put me in a prison with 13 other young girls and two older women,"Jardo said.
While in Mosul, Jardo underwent vaginal examination twice by IS doctors to determine if she was a virgin, she said.
She was later taken with hundreds of women and girls to IS's defacto capital of Raqqa in Syria where militants started pricing them based on their appearances as a preparation to be sold.
"One day an IS member approached me and told me I looked attractive with my gold tooth," she said. "I pulled off that tooth right after he left and I was bleeding for hours afterwards.
As IS started taking young Yazidi girls to the marketplaces of Raqqa, Jardo says she used several ways to outsmart IS fighters.
"I pretended to be completely mute and incapable of moving," she said. "IS members did not believe me and started torturing me by using electric shocks and beating."
She said IS fighters avoided sexual intercourse with handicapped women because they believed they were cursed. As she attempted to keep up the ruse, "a group of IS fighters started firing guns around me and threatened to kill me if I did not talk," Jardo said. Her way of being tortured was different from others because IS fighters could not rape her, Ghafouri of Joint Help for Kurdistan-U.S. told VOA. Ultimately, IS fighters were unable to put a high price on her because they believed that she was "a damaged good," Jardo said.
But IS did not give up finding ways they could profit from her, Jardo said.
IS militants took her to a hospital in Mosul where she received unwanted surgery.
"I then screamed, 'why do you want to kill me?'" she said, "They did not say a word and put me into sleep."
When Jardo woke up, she found her stomach riddled with stitches.
"We don't know why IS cut her stomach open," said Katrina Kraemer, president of Joint Help for Kurdistan-U.S., who helped her get medical tests in Iraqi Kurdistan. "We can't find that they removed any organs, so there is no explanation."
Jardo said she was put into a house with some 300 disabled or sick people. She was later taken by some Mosul residents to a hospital for treatment after developing an infection from the surgery. The residents who helped her contacted smugglers, who took her to a refugee camp in the Iraqi Kurdish region.
There she became a rights advocate for hundreds of displaced Yazidis.
"With her recommendation, aid organizations provided 11 washing machines to women in the camp," Ghafouri told VOA. "She also inspired Yazidi women to start a sisterhood program to share thoughts and ideas."
Three of Jardo's brothers are unaccounted for, she said.
"When Mosul was attacked, we were all thrilled thinking we will finally reunite with our families," she said. "But Mosul is almost liberated now and we are still waiting for them to return."
VOA's Kurdish service contributed to this report.
Zbigniew Brzezinski, who helped topple economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West as President Jimmy Carters national security adviser, died Friday. He was 89.
His death was announced on social media Friday night by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. She called him the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have.
Earnest and ambitious, Brzezinski helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords in September 1978. Three months later, U.S.-China relations were normalized, a top priority for Brzezinski.
Expert in Communism
Born in Warsaw and educated in Canada and the United States, Brzezinski was an acknowledged expert in Communism when he attracted the attention of U.S. policymakers. In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy and served in the Johnson administration.
In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser. He had not wanted to be secretary of state because he felt he could be more effective working at Carters side in the White House.
Brzezinski often found himself in clashes with colleagues like Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. For the White House, the differences between Vance and Brzezinski became a major headache, confusing the American public about the administrations policy course and fueling a decline in confidence that Carter could keep his foreign policy team working in tandem.
Iran hostage crisis
The Iranian hostage crisis, which began in 1979, came to dramatize Americas waning global power and influence and to symbolize the failures and frustrations of the Carter administration. Brzezinski, during the early months of 1980, became convinced that negotiations to free the kidnapped Americans were going nowhere. Supported by the Pentagon, he began to push for military action.
Carter was desperate to end the standoff and, over Vances objections, agreed to a long-shot plan to rescue the hostages. The mission, dubbed Desert One, was a complete military and political humiliation and precipitated Vances resignation. Carter lost his re-election bid against Ronald Reagan that November.
Brzezinski went on to ruffle the feathers of Washingtons power elite with his 1983 book, Power and Principle, which was hailed and reviled as a kiss-and-tell memoir.
I have never believed in flattery or lying as a way of making it, he told The Washington Post that year. I have made it on my own terms.
Son of a diplomat
The oldest son of Polish diplomat Tadeus Brzezinski, Zbigniew was born on March 28, 1928, and attended Catholic schools during the time his father was posted in France and Germany.
The family went to Montreal in 1938 when the elder Brzezinski was appointed Polish consul general. When Communists took power in Poland six years later, he retired and moved his family to a farm in the Canadian countryside.
At his new home, the young Brzezinski began learning Russian from a nearby farmer and was soon bitten by the foreign policy bug.
Brzezinskis climb to the top of the foreign policy community began at Canadas McGill University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science. Later at Harvard, he received a doctorate in government, a fellowship and a publishing contract, for his thesis on Soviet purges as a permanent feature of totalitarianism.
Frequent trips to Eastern Europe and several books and articles in the 1950s established Brzezinski as an expert on Communism, and by the 1960s hed begun to attract the interest of policymakers. Throughout his career, he would be affiliated with moderate-to-liberal groups, including the Rand Corp., the Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty International and the NAACP.
Soon there will be no classic beauty salons in the United States. At least thats what two Alexandria businessmen claim. Don and Jeff DeBolt, father and son, offer stylists an opportunity to become owners of one man salons by renting equipped salon studios. Anush Avetisyan visited one of them.
Between shoving prime ministers and awkwardly shaking hands with world leaders, President Donald Trump is having quite the memorable experience abroad this week. And you know who doesnt love this weird energy coming from our Trumpy? Stephen Colbert, but of course. I dont think that shoving is appropriate for an international summit. Thats the kind of shoving that belongs in the buffet line at Mar-a-Lago, he explained. And to the NATO leaders who looked sad while Trump was speaking: Oh come on, cheer up, hes not your president! You dont have to live with him here.
Photo: Photo: Cindy Johnson/Courtesy of FSG
Its difficult to write about being fucked-up on drugs because the point for the user is the experience of the derangement not the telling of it. The high, the comedown, the forgetting. Then the getting on with life, which for the addict means the next high, but even so. Its not what people want to hear about, and any attempt to romanticize it courts embarrassment. Thats why theres so very little great drug writing in our literature. You can count it out on your hand: Nelson Algrens The Man With the Golden Arm; the early novels of William S. Burroughs; Bruce J. Friedmans cocaine story Lady; all the addicts in David Foster Wallaces Infinite Jest, especially Madame Psychosis in the bathroom; the relentless cataloguing of powders and pills in Tao Lins Taipei. Jay McInerneys Bright Lights Big City is more memorable for the narrators failing marriage and his lousy job as a fact-checker at a fictionalized New Yorker than for the Bolivian marching powder its a sideshow, an occasion for him to ask if hes really that kind of person. Nobody is until they are. You learn the same thing from two exemplary recent books about heroin addiction: Michael W. Clunes memoir White Out and Jade Sharmas Problems. But we havent seen anything lately that approaches the work of Denis Johnson, who died on Wednesday of liver cancer at age 67, and we arent likely to anytime soon. As Fuckhead, the narrator of the stories in Jesus Son, the 1992 collection thats Johnsons masterpiece, says of his days as a pill-popping hospital orderly given to misadventures on the highway: That world! These days its all been erased and theyve rolled it up like a scroll and put it away somewhere. Yes, I can touch it with my fingers. But where is it?
Now its gone for good. Its hard to avoid asking the question, Was Fuckhead really Denis Johnson? We know he spent the 1970s his 20s as an alcoholic and those were his days of doing drugs, and that he progressively cleaned up first from alcohol and then from drugs by the early 1980s when he became a novelist with Angels (hed been a published poet since he was 19). The stories in Jesus Son I want to punch a wall whenever I hear them called vignettes, though they dont contradict the dictionary definition have both an undeniably personal feel and the indelible power of myth. That power is in the books relentless succession of singular images. That the narrator and many of the characters spend the book drunk, high, cranked up, or burnt out is just the fabric of reality in their fictional world. The last thing theyd do is wonder whether theyre that kind of person, which isnt to deny that the arc of the book bends toward recovery and redemption, of a sort. Johnson himself spent the past four decades teaching creative writing all over the place, by all accounts generously, and being a father, homeschooling his children in Arizona and Idaho.
In Emergency, the story of the world now rolled up in a scroll, those images include the blood on the floor of the operating room in the opening scene that the orderlies have to clean up (Georgie dropped his mop and bent over in the posture of a child soiling its diapers. He stared down with his mouth open in terror. // He said, What am I going to do about these fucking shoes, man?); a man who walks into a hospital with a knife sticking handle-out from his left eye, stabbed by his wife in his sleep for peeping on a neighbor (he will be saved by Georgie, the orderly who pulls the knife out while routinely cleaning him up); the famous drug guru being interviewed at the county fair (His eyeballs look like he bought them in a joke shop. It doesnt occur to me, as I pity this extraterrestrial, that in my life Ive taken as much as he has); the eight finger-size baby rabbits Georgie saves from the corpse of their mother, now roadkill, that Fuckhead kills by rolling over on them in the cab of Georgies orange pickup truck (Georgie asked, Does everything you touch turn to shit? Does this happen to you every time? // No wonder they call me Fuckhead. // Its a name thats going to stick. // I realize that. // Fuckhead is gonna ride you to your grave). Thats not to mention the drive-in theater seen through a September blizzard (Famous movie stars rode bicycles beside a river, laughing out of their gigantic, lovely mouths), the military graveyard, and the lonely hitchhiker trying to get to Canada to escape the draft. Emergency is an unforgettable story, though I often forget that its just one story. How could you fit the guy with the knife in his eye and the dying baby rabbits into the same piece of short fiction?
Johnsons was the art of compression, of lyrical density, and hes one of the few prose writers, as John Jeremiah Sullivan once demonstrated in a review for Harpers, who wrote paragraphs of fiction that could be broken up into lines and stand as poetry. Sullivan was reviewing Tree of Smoke, Johnsons 2007 Vietnam novel that won the National Book Award. Its a messy, uneven book with more than its share of theoretical digressions, but you forgive overstuffed novels when half of what theyre stuffed with is brilliance, beginning in Tree of Smoke with the killing of a monkey in a jungle in the Philippines, the sort of overture a writer delivers at the beginning of a novel that will make the reader acquiesce to going wherever the author wants to take us.
A new Johnson collection is in the offing, including some stories never before published. It will also carry The Largesse of the Sea Maiden, a standout in Ben Marcuss recent anthology New American Stories. Reviewing that book, I thought that Johnson was still as in control of the story form as he was when he wrote Jesus Son and called Largesse a compendium of indelible moments from an aging admans life, the most powerful of which comes first: a woman bending to kiss the stump where a veteran amputees leg used to be and then breaking out in tears. The new book will surely deepen our understanding of his art and send us back past Tree of Smoke and Jesus Son, to his many novels of the 1980s; to his poetry and plays; to the gorgeous Western novella Train Dreams, which along with The Pale King was denied a Pulitzer in 2012 when the committee decided not to give out the prize; to the nonfiction collected in Seek, including his account of going to Liberia to find Charles Taylor; and to his last book, The Laughing Monsters, a reimagining of the American noir set in Africa. Im going back first to Angels. A friend of mine sent me a line from it this afternoon: But that was just a story, something that people will tell themselves, something to pass the time it takes for the violence inside a man to wear him away.
Us Yanks across the pond have been mercilessly teased with Love Actually reunion content ever since the short film aired in the U.K. two months ago as part of Red Nose Day, and now our favorite rom-commers are finally back and ready to make us weep for joy. And honestly? Things are pretty much the same as it ever was David is back at 10 Downing Street dancing around the staircase. Billy is releasing another cover single and hating on the countrys youth. Jamie is rocking those tasteful turtlenecks. Rufus is causing way too much trouble with his gift-wrapping. Sarah is still working late in the office and has a super-hot and doting husband?! Suck it, Karl!
You Were Never Really Here.
This review originally ran during the Cannes Film Festival.
Its hard not to wish there were more Lynne Ramsay movies, period. The Scottish filmmaker responsible for modern masterpieces Ratcatcher and Morvern Callar takes extended breaks between films, partially of her own accord, partially due to development debacles. (Her last slated film, Jane Got a Gun, got especially hairy, and Ramsay walked off the project before the first day of filming.) The bright side, hypothetically, is that her very spare output ensures that she means every single one of them; that there is nothing casual about a Lynne Ramsay film. Which is why I cannot casually dismiss You Were Never Really Here, Ramsays first film since 2011s We Need to Talk About Kevin. Cinematically, its undeniably gripping, a tightly wound contraption of nervous energy, grief, and gore. But its in service of a story thats been told countless times before, and its not clear where Ramsays usually singular point of view is in play.
The film opens with an elliptical series of images: a burning photograph, scattered jewelry, a seedy motel room. Ramsay is a master of strategic disorientation, withholding information and forcing the viewer to feel whats going on, rather than puzzle it out, and shes in fine form in these opening moments. We soon learn Joe (Joaquin Phoenix) is a war veteran who now makes a living finding girls who have been kidnapped by sex traffickers. Hes just finished another successful mission, but it seems theres not much in the way of job satisfaction. The countdown, it turns out, is Joes attempt to suffocate himself, which we soon learn is somewhat of a habit for him. Joes next mission sends him in search of Nina (Ekaterina Samsonov), the 13-year-old daughter of a gubernatorial candidate, whos being held by a clandestine ring of Manhattan pedophiles. And we are thereby introduced to our all-too-familiar key ingredients: a troubled man, a missing girl, and an evil syndicate.
The film is based on a novella by Jonathan Ames, which was published in the halcyon, preTrue Detective days of 2013. Still, a good filmmaker should be able to make the familiar fresh, and in many ways, Ramsay does. Joes one-man raid on the traffickers headquarters is a tour de force of editing and music, the rotation of security cameras and the eerie skip of a record creating a kind of off-kilter rhythm thats both surreal and thrilling. The nighttime drives through the city have a kind of measured, manic energy, Thomas Townends camera panning around the bodegas and bars with unsettling precision. Visually and stylistically, Ramsay has never been more assured, and Johnny Greenwoods mournful and energetic score is among his best. Its her leading man, and his connection to his adolescent charge, that feels dismayingly empty.
Regardless of your feelings on either of them, it cant be denied that Phoenix and Ramsay are more or less made for each other. Both are intense, capital-A artistic personas, allergic to half-measures, for better or worse. Phoenix is Ramsays first male protagonist since 1999s Ratcatcher, but he bears more resemblance to the quietly shattered women at the front of her subsequent two films. At any rate, its not the first time Ramsay has focused on a protagonist with a death wish. But its less surprising territory for Phoenix, who once again seems to be dredging up the darkest depths of his soul for us onscreen, gasping and literally rending his garments from his asymmetrically muscular, scar-mottled chest, 0 to 100 in every sequence. Its not grounded by much except his relationship with his sweetly melancholic senile mother (Judith Roberts,) whose scenes are some of the films best. Nina becomes a kind of platonic avatar of calm for Joe he turns out to be yet another grizzled middle-aged man who finds redemption by the side of a tweenage girl.
When everything goes sideways about halfway through the films brisk 88 minutes, the deja vu of the plot only becomes more unshakeable. Ramsay has said she is still in the process of editing the film (the cut screened at Cannes didnt even have end credits), and I look forward to seeing her final version. But the emotional meat of what shes working with here doesnt feel as vital as past projects, especially given the unrelenting violence and gut-churning details of the trafficking ring. You Were Never Really Here is a powerful assault of a film, but its missing its directors inimitable poetry.
AMVETS Post 19 is having a Memorial Day Ceremony at 9 a.m. Monday at Rosemound Cemetery, 3201 S. 12th St.
Marvin Buck Wheat, a World War II veteran and Purple Heart recipient, will be the keynote speaker.
Members of the Heart of Texas Young Marines will place flags on veterans grave sites starting at 6:30 a.m.
The ceremony is open to the public.
For more information, call 366-8430, 366-4370 or 447-2877.
Mayborn SPEED
Baylor Universitys Mayborn Museum Complex, 1300 S. University Parks Drive, will debut its new exhibit, SPEED: Science in Motion, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
Developed by Scitech in Perth, Australia, and produced by Imagine Exhibitions, SPEED: Science in Motion replicates the high-octane action of a Formula 1 racetrack, complete with pit lane, workshop and physical testing environments.
Visitors can challenge themselves through hands-on exhibits and displays, to see if they have the skills, fitness and reactions to race at more than 125 mph.
The exhibit will be on display through Sept. 3. Regular museum admission rates will apply.
For more information, call 710-1110.
Roadrunner festival
The city of Woodway is having its annual Woodway Roadrunner Festival from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Woodway Family Center, 1100 Estates Drive.
The event will include a KidZone, vendors, an Uptown Party game truck, live music from the Michael Carubelli Band at 7 p.m. and the Brett Hendrix Band at 8:30 p.m., and fireworks at 10 p.m.
For more information, call 399-9204.
Military free at park
Hawaiian Falls water park, 900 Lake Shore Drive, is offering free admission to military personnel, ID required, Saturday through Monday.
The park will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Immediate family members can purchase a day pass for a discounted price of $21.99.
For more information, visit www.hfalls.com.
Lake Whitney drama
Lake Whitney Arts is conducting registration for a summer drama camp for ages 8 to 18.
The camp will be held from June 19-24.
The camps director, Christi Coverdale, serves as the Drama Department director for Meridian ISD.
Cost is $35 per student, and the registration deadline is Thursday.
For registration forms, visit www.lakewhitney arts.org and go to the Childrens Theatre link.
For more information, call Coverdale at 485-7855.
University of Nebraska President Hank Bounds told members of the Legislatures Appropriations Committee he was committed to keeping any tuition hike next year below a double-digit increase.
During a February hearing, Bounds intimated to senators NU would cut its budget where it could in an effort to close a $50 million funding gap created by a state revenue shortfall and increasing costs tied to salaries and benefits.
But alongside cuts the university has identified 10 areas targeted for reductions in programs and staff Bounds said NU would be forced to rely on its other funding source to balance its budget. Tuition.
There has to be a revenue solution as part of our process, Bounds told the committee. We cant get there any other way.
Its unclear just how much university administrators will ask the NU Board of Regents to raise tuition for 2017-18 at its meeting Thursday, however.
After keeping tuition flat in 2013-14 and 2014-15, regents approved small increases of 1.75 and 2.5 percent in 2015-16 and 2016-17, respectively.
An operating budget proposal and tuition rate plan for 2017-18 will be made public Tuesday, about 48 hours before regents are set to take a vote.
Calculating potential increases based on current credit hour costs posted on the websites for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney provides a frame of reference for students and their families, however.
Currently, in-state students attending UNL pay $6,757 in tuition for 30 credit hours in an academic year. That doesn't include room and board and student fees, which can easily top $12,000 in a year. And the UNL colleges of Architecture, Business and Engineering charge higher tuition rates.
If regents choose to increase tuition by 5 percent next year, full-time students paying in-state rates would see roughly $300 added to their annual tuition bill. A 10 percent hike would add $600-$700 to the tuition statement for Nebraska students next year based on the campus.
Non-resident students those attending NU campuses from outside the state would pay $600 to $1,100 more under a 5 percent increase. If tuition costs are increased 10 percent, those students may see between $1,300 to $2,200 added to their bill.
Sen. Kate Bolz of Lincoln, the vice chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, said she believes there is a shared commitment between committee members and the university system to keep tuition rates low and the quality of education high.
That will be more challenging this year as budget impacts are felt in the university system, she said.
All three of NUs primary undergraduate campuses UNL, UNO and UNK currently impose tuition rates and mandatory student fees that are lower than the average of their peer institutions.
Raising tuition on Nebraska students by 10 percent would not result in any dramatic shift on that array.
But the impacts would be felt locally, Bolz said.
Nebraska ranks among the bottom 10 states in providing financial aid to students for college while ranking above-average in the number of Pell Grant-eligible students.
Those students will be forced to shoulder more in loans to attend college if tuition goes up significantly, work more hours to make ends meet or leave NU to complete their degree elsewhere, Bolz said.
The average college student graduates with $30,000 in debt, according to a report by the Institute of College Access and Success. Students in Nebraska fall below the national average, but only slightly, with a debt load of $26,000.
How a tuition increase and budget cuts will impact those figures might not be immediately evident, Bolz said.
Significant increases to cost of attendance might drive some students away as early as next fall, while other students might choose to leave in future semesters. Any cut programs would still have to serve current students for several years, and only after those programs are discontinued would a hit on enrollment be seen.
I dont know if well see dramatic initial impacts, so its important to take a long-term view, Bolz said.
Once again, the great downtown tax debate is heating up just in time for summer.
When values in the downtown Tax Increment Finance Zone increase by 34 percent and in many cases, more than double last years values is it reflecting a bull market for downtown Waco real estate, as McLennan County Appraisal District officials say, or will soaring taxes kill the goose that laid the golden egg?
Downtown property owners and advocates argue the latter, saying that a too-sudden escalation of tax values could slow the momentum of downtown and even drive out some businesses.
The thing that is driving values up is successful businesses, said Megan Henderson, executive director of City Center Waco. If appraisals rise so steeply as to shock the system and make it unsustainable to do business downtown, the potential to erase a lot of significant gains weve made is very real.
Values for about 30 properties, including the Magnolia Market at the Silos, have not yet been released. Of the 879 preliminary appraisals that have been made public, 185 of them had increases of more than 100 percent.
The biggest increases are concentrated south of Franklin Avenue especially around RiverSquare Center, the silos and the former residential district around Cleveland Avenue that Shane and Cody Turner are redeveloping commercially as West Village. Some businesses along Austin Avenue also saw major increases, though not across the board as they did last year, when the appraisal district raised land values in that area.
Only about 40 downtown property owners so far have signed up to protest their values in hearings this summer, but most have until Wednesday to do so.
MCAD created an uproar in downtown a year ago when it released preliminary appraisals showing property in the TIF Zone had increased by 46 percent on average. The zone includes downtown from the river to 11th Street, with extensions along the Brazos River corridor and Elm Avenue.
Many property owners succeeded in lowering those values, and the 2016 tax rolls ended up at $413.4 million, about $90.5 million or 28 percent above the 2015 values.
Now some property owners who were successful in last years protest process are girding for battle again. For example, the value of the Insurors of Texas building at 225 S. Fifth St. increased by 110 percent this year, from $3.8 million to $8 million.
We protested last year and lowered it down to pretty much what it had been previously, said Insurors president George Chase, who plans to protest his value again. That would seem to me to be an agreement that it was appropriate a year ago. Its hard to see in one year how it could have gone up that much. . . . Values have gone up, and I cant pretend otherwise, but doubling in 12 months is hard to imagine.
A sample of other properties with major increases include:
Liberty Building, 601 Austin Ave., from $428,679 to $1.48 million (245 percent).
Courtyard by Marriott, 101 Washington Ave., from $11.2 million to $21.6 million (land and improvements, 93 percent).
Stratton Building, 800 Austin Ave., from $65,630 to $514,060 (683 percent).
Parking lot near Magnolia Market, 325 S. Sixth St., from $172,500 to $653,400 (279 percent). The property is being marketed online for $1.3 million.
Some of the largest increases were on undeveloped property in the West Village area, where two hotels and retail areas are planned, as well as in the Magnolia Market Silo District and in East Waco around Taylor Avenue and Bridge Street. New developments, such as the Altura Lofts and Mary Avenue Market, also showed huge increases.
New growth, new info
Don Whitney, MCADs director for commercial appraisals, said the large increases are partly a result of new growth since last year, and partly the result of new information that indicates some properties have been undervalued for years. He said the district purchases proprietary information on rental rates, which can be used to set the income-producing value of a commercial property.
We have a lot of rental information we didnt have last year, he said. We learned last year that office buildings were worth more than we thought.
In addition, he said land values were adjusted for the areas along both sides of the river, especially East Waco.
We had overlooked that area, he said.
Whitney said hotel values also have increased because of soaring occupancy rates and income in the past couple of years, as documented in state lodging tax reports. But he said retail data are not as easily attainable, making it difficult to appraise one-of-a-kind projects such as Magnolia Market, which drew more than a million visitors last year. At any rate, he said, Magnolia is only one factor in the downtown real estate boom and corresponding value increases.
You keep seeing market activity and redevelopment and construction activity all the way down to 11th Street, he said. Its not Magnolia Silos driving this.
Randy Reid of Reid-Peevey Commercial Real Estate said the downtown real estate boom is real, and Magnolia is a part of it. He said Fixer Upper fever will eventually subside, but downtown Waco will likely continue to draw tourists as well as businesses and urban dwellers as it develops.
But he said rising rents, along with the prospect of big tax increases, are likely to drive out some businesses with smaller profit margins.
Youve just essentially had an atomic bomb, and it takes a few years for the fallout to come, he said. Whats going to happen is that people are going to go out of business. . . . Youve going to have winners and losers. Theres going to be lots of winners, and also people disappointed with their sales and overhead, and thats going to put them out of business.
Reid said the problem with the tax appraisal process is that it assumes highest and best use for every property, but not every owner can find a buyer willing to pay top dollar.
Current use ought to trump highest and best use if an owner doesnt want to sell their property, he said.
Brian Ginsburg, a retailer who also owns three buildings in the 800 block of Austin Avenue, said increased taxes could tip the scale in the survival of some small businesses. He leases one building to the Hey Sugar! candy store, has one under renovation for a home decor boutique and has one for lease.
Together, the appraised value of the buildings went up this year from $272,990 to $408,080, a 49 percent increase. He said hell have to eat the tax increase for Hey Sugar!, but pass along the tax costs to the other future tenants through what is known as a triple net contract.
Ginsburg has been downtown for decades, and he said a lot of property was undervalued for a long time. But he said this seems like too much, too soon.
It hurts everybody
I cant protest it on the grounds that its not worth it, he said. Its just the sharp increase that hurts. . . . In the long run, it hurts everybody.
Henderson, the downtown official, said her central concern is that properties are appraised accurately. But she said the values should reflect the long-term, intrinsic value of a given property, not just match the highest rent in the market.
For example, she said the new Mary Avenue Market at South Sixth Street and Mary Avenue is set to charge high rents to high-end businesses, such as a pie bakery.
I like pie as much as the next person, but weve got 111 blocks of downtown, she said. Theyre not all going to be Mary Avenue Market. Theyre not all going to get a lot more in rent than theyre getting right now.
Henderson said she is urging property owners to challenge their values and to request comps from the appraisal district to use as evidence.
Chase, the Insurors of Texas president, said his company isnt going anywhere, even if taxes double. But he said it cuts into the companys bottom line and creates a less certain business environment.
Still, he said hes glad to see downtown real estate becoming more valuable.
Chases father, Tom Chase, bought the five-story Southwest Drug factory-warehouse in 2003 for a few hundred thousand dollars and announced plans to spend about $3 million renovating it for the insurance firm, according to news stories from the time.
I thought (my dad) had lost his mind, George Chase recalls. I said, Youre going to do what? It was an old, run-down building that had been vacant more than 20 years. But it did strike me that downtown was ripe for development.
George Chase said moving downtown was a good bet, and he thinks downtowns redevelopment wont slow down anytime soon.
I think it will continue for at least the next few years, he said. Weve got great momentum. We love being downtown. Having more people down here makes it more exciting. . . . When you get more people, you get more places to go. When you get more places to go, you get more people.
Fox & Gray, a clothing and gift boutique located in the new Mary Avenue Market at 300 S. Sixth St., will host a grand opening Thursday evening, owner Summer Herriage has announced.
With the rapid growth of both retail and tourism in Waco, we found it the perfect opportunity to open our dream store, said Herriage, who moved to Central Texas in January after spending the last 10 years in Los Angeles with her husband, Joey Oglesby, a Baylor University alumnus and actor, and their toddler, Gray.
Were thrilled to be a part of these exciting times in Waco, and Summers extensive experience in fashion as a buyer, consultant and stylist all came together in what we think is a perfect fit for this market, Oglesby said in a press release.
The grand-opening celebration will last from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, with the entire store 15 percent off regular prices, according to the press release.
The shop will occupy 1,700 square feet about a block from Magnolia Market at the Silos. It will operate from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, selling gifts, jewelry and clothing.
Spice turns 20
Spice Village is celebrating its 20th anniversary of offering space downtown to a collection of shops that sell gifts, souvenirs, kids and baby items, home decor, collegiate items and clothes.
Located at Second Street and Franklin Avenue, it once was called the Shops at RiverSquare Center. It grew to more than 100 shops under the ownership of Jennifer Wilson, who recently scaled back on the number of display areas operating there, giving owners more space to operate. The number of shops now stands at 63.
Spice Village is located on the second floor of what once was the McLendon Hardware building, which dates back 123 years.
We at Spice Village are thankful to our many customers for making this anniversary possible, Wilson said. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers with the unique shopping experience that we all have grown to love.
Gym UP
Dominique Terrase has opened a gym called Gym UP at 103 Randy Drive, which she said is Greater Wacos only private womens-only training center. She recently hosted a Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting ceremony there.
On top of owning my gym, I also offer a meal-prep company called Fuel UP, Terrase said in a press release. I started this company back in August of 2016. It is a healthy meal prep that you just order online. You then pick up your cooked, packaged and ready-to-warm meals on Sunday.
Terrase, 28, said the parent company to Fuel UP and Gym UP is Uniquely Positive, which she founded in 2013. She sells apparel and other merchandise under that label and also operates a motivational company that includes workout plans.
Advanced Sheet Metal
Advanced Sheet Metal, 2901 E. Industrial Blvd., has scheduled a ribbon-cutting and grand- opening ceremony from 4 to 6 p.m. June 8 with appetizers, music and prizes.
Advanced Sheet Metal is affiliated with Lochridge Priest Inc., which installs heating and air-conditioning systems.
Its services include cutting, bending, forming, rolling, press breaking, sawing, plasma cutting, welding and spiral duct work.
Those attending the grand opening will be welcome to tour the production facility.
Sometimes Spouse
A Waco-based company called Sometimes Spouse, which rents out husbands and wives to carry out honey-do lists, has a new owner and operated named Mark Hollingsworth.
Sometimes Spouse started in 2013 in Waco with a couple and their friend, but has grown to 39 locations around the state, according to a press release.
Employees are background-checked and trained. They can perform home cleaning services and can assist with home repairs, painting, carpentry, fence installation and handyman work.
Sometimes Spouse has franchise opportunities around the state, according to the press release, which adds, Sometimes Spouse rents out husbands and wives, but it is totally legal in Texas.
The building that housed Wacos Twin Peaks restaurant remains vacant more than two years after the deadly shootout there, but the structure is playing host to some mysteries for local real estate agents.
The 7,869-square-foot space built to resemble a hunting lodge is located in Central Texas Marketplace, a sprawling retail and dining center at West Loop 340 and Interstate 35 that continues to attract new stores and restaurants, including a La Madeleine French Cafe and Bakery that will arrive before years end.
Still, the former Twin Peaks site, flanked by a Don Carlos Mexican restaurant and a La-Z-Boy furniture store, sits idle and wrapped in plastic to protect it from intruders and bad weather.
No signs appear there to silently announce it remains available for sale or lease. Mention of the building is not found on the popular LoopNet commercial real estate site, according to several commercial agents with fingers on the pulse of the local market. They also said they have not been contacted by anyone to show the site to prospects.
Agents from outside the city with listings in Waco typically welcome, and even recruit, assistance from those more familiar with the market and with easy access to properties.
The absence of any apparent marketing plan prompts some local agents to wonder about the owners game plan.
Current title holder
The McLennan County Appraisal District identifies the title holder as Store Master Funding VI LLC of Scottsdale, Arizona, which was incorporated to operate in Texas in 2013, according to information provided by the Secretary of States Office.
Store Master Funding says online it provides services to companies, including restaurants, that would rather rent or lease space than own it, freeing up capital for expansion and other uses.
An employee of Store Master Funding, who said by phone he could briefly discuss the status of the building but not be quoted by name, said, It is our intention to not have that building vacant. Were working on something to get it operating, but I do not know all the details. I would say talks are continuing.
Obviously, the building has some notoriety to it, the employee said. He said he has no idea why signs have never appeared on the property.
I am surprised there has not been more of a marketing push on that building, said Pat Farrar, a veteran commercial agent with the Reid Peevey Real Estate Company. Early on a listing briefly appeared on the LoopNet real estate site, and there were a couple of other places you could find information, but now everything is quiet. Nobody really seems to know whats going on with that site.
The Twin Peaks structure first was listed by Dallas-based Greg Blandford, with Position Property Group, who confirmed his involvement in 2015 with an email message to Farrar, who had worked with Blandford in showing a handful of other properties. The note asked Farrar to keep Blandford apprised of any lookers.
Blandford has not responded to numerous email and phone messages from the Tribune-Herald.
Under Blandford, the structure that features an 1,800-square-foot patio carried a price of $4.2 million. It could be leased for $350,000 a year plus the cost of insurance, according to information provided to Farrar in Blandfords email message.
Negative publicity
More than one local agent suggested the asking price was too steep, especially for a site associated with a melee that left nine bikers dead, more than 20 wounded, almost 200 jailed and made headlines nationwide, putting Waco in the crosshairs of negative publicity.
At this point, if someone came along with a new concept and new design for that building, I cant see what happened there being a hindrance, Farrar said. The price is the hindrance.
Still, the McLennan County Appraisal District has judged the value of the building for tax purposes at $4.1 million.
Bunny McLeod, a Dallas- and Houston-based real estate agent involved in attracting tenants to Central Texas Marketplace for years, confirmed in January 2016 she had secured the listing for the Twin Peaks property. She said she would not place any notices on the property indicating her status as listing agent.
Over several months, McLeod said in a phone interview, she showed the structure to a handful of lookers. She declined to quote a sales price during the interview, saying only that securing a good fit was more important than landing a user willing to meet the original asking price of more than $4 million.
So far, I have had no real objections to the building itself, not a lot of pushback, she said at the time. I simply want to find a really good tenant, just the right fit. But you never really know who the tenant is going to be.
Later, McLeod said she was no longer showing the property and that it was her impression the owner had assumed that task. She has not returned calls seeking further comment for this story.
Brad Davis, a commercial agent with Coldwell Banker Jim Stewart Realtors, said he still thinks the former Twin Peaks building carries a stigma that time alone will not change.
I think they are going to have to raze it, tear it down, Davis said. People will always associate that building with what happened there. That was my opinion from the very first, and it still holds.
But I also think their approach to marketing the building has been very strange. I dont think Ive ever seen a sign there.
Commercial agent Brad Harrell said he tends to agree with Davis.
Extreme discount
I hate to see an investment like that torn down, but it may have to be demolished because it still may be stigmatized, Harrell said. Either that or someone will have to sell it at an extreme discount.
Peaktastic Beverage LLC, the franchisee that owned the Twin Peaks location in Waco and another in Harker Heights, a suburb of Killeen, was ordered by Irving-based Twin Peaks to shutter both restaurants following the violence in Waco. The company also stripped Peaktastic of its franchising rights.
Reality TV star Richard Rawlings, known for his Fast N Loud show on the Discovery Channel and his Gas Monkey Bar N Grill restaurants in the Dallas area, bought the building in Harker Heights and opened an eatery called Richard Rawlings Garage.
A spokeswoman for Rawlings has not responded to inquiries about possible interest in the former Twin Peaks building in Waco.
Originally, in my gut, I thought the building would be razed, said Gregg Glime, a local commercial agent. But I also thought there was potential for someone to come in and completely renovate and repurpose it. I have not heard the story on why they may not be marketing it aggressively. I just wonder if there is something looming over it we dont know about.
Chris Gutierrez, with Texas Commercial and Industrial Real Estate, said he also thinks demolition is the buildings likely fate, though not only because of the stigma.
Ive felt the building would be demolished, Gutierrez said. I do think it carries a stigma, but beyond that, I believe the end user of that site will want to put its own prototype building there.
The larger shopping center, on the other hand, continues to thrive, he said.
This has nothing to do with Central Texas Marketplace, which is going strong, Gutierrez said. This is just a special case.
Former condemned murderer Albert Leslie Love Jr. has a decision to make: Does he want the same attorneys who represented him at trial four years ago to do so again, can his family hire a lawyer for an expensive death penalty case or does he want the court to appoint him new attorneys for his retrial?
Love, 30, made his first court appearance Friday since the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned his capital murder conviction and death sentence in December. He has been back in the McLennan County Jail since May 2.
Love was sentenced to death after a trial in Williamson County in the March 2011 shooting deaths of Keenan Hubert, 20, and Tyus Sneed, 17, at the Lakewood Villas apartment complex, 1601 Spring St.
The Court of Criminal Appeals, in a 6-3 opinion, ruled that Love deserves a new trial because his Fourth Amendment rights were violated when Waco police seized the contents of his text messages without a search warrant, which were then used by prosecutors at his trial.
In a motion for rehearing rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeals in April, prosecutors argued that Waco police officers were relying on what they understood the law to be at the time and exhibited a good-faith belief that warrants were not necessary for the cellphones.
Now Loves case has been returned to 19th State District Judge Ralph Strothers court for a new trial.
Strother told Love on Friday during a brief hearing that he has the option of having John Donahue and Jon Evans re-appointed to represent him again or have other attorneys appointed to represent him.
Love said his family is exploring the possibility of hiring an attorney for him, which the judge said would be OK, too.
You can hire any lawyer that has a bar card, Strother told Love.
The difference between hiring a lawyer and having one appointed at county expense is that Love has the option of choosing anyone he wants if his family intends to pay for his representation. If the judge were to appoint attorneys, they would come from a court-approved list of attorneys qualified to handle capital cases.
Love conferred with Donahue and Evans for a bit in private Friday and asked the judge for more time to consult with his family over the decision. The judge set another status conference in the case for June 23.
Donahue and Evans are in a bit of a touchy situation. While Love went to death row after the trial, Donahue and Evans did not file his appeal. They did object to the introduction of the text messages, which, in effect, got his conviction overturned.
However, another of Loves attorneys alleged in an application for writ of habeas corpus that Donahue and Evans provided ineffective assistance of counsel, a common claim in writs.
So if Love agrees to allow Donahue and Evans to represent him again, he would have to assure the court those are his true wishes because of the writ allegations.
After the hearing, Donahue estimated it would cost $500,000 to hire an attorney in a death penalty case because the attorney, besides charging for his time, would have to pay for expert witnesses, an investigator and other expenses.
2019 retrial possible
The judge said that between his normal docket and trying cases arising out of the Twin Peaks shootout, it could be 2019 before Love is tried again.
Loves trial was moved to Georgetown because the trial of his co-defendant, Rickey Donnell Cummings, was held first in Waco. The appeals court affirmed Cummings conviction.
Rickey Cummings, like Love, is a member of the Bloods gang. He was sentenced to death in 2012 for his role in the double slaying.
Rickey Cummings younger brother, DArvis Cummings, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in September 2014. He pleaded guilty to murder as a party to the ambush slayings.
Deontrae Majors and Marion Bible, who were in the front seat of the car Hubert and Sneed were in when they were killed, were wounded in the attack but managed to escape.
Testimony from both trials showed Cummings and Love wanted to kill Hubert out of revenge because they thought he killed their best friend, Emuel Man Man Bowers III, at East Waco Park the year before.
Prosecutors introduced Loves cellphone records, which included 37 pages showing the contents of about 1,600 text messages.
A message was sent to Bowers mother shortly after the attack that said, mission accomplished. Later, after Rickey Cummings was arrested, Love sent a text to his former girlfriend saying, hide the guns.
Trial testimony showed Bowers mother, Shelia Bowers, was upset at the pace of the Waco police investigation into her sons murder.
A few years ago we adopted a dog. Well, I guess I adopted a dog. My wife finally gave in. But he won her over and now he is our dog. He has traveled thousands of miles with us, and introduced us to strangers from around the world.
Across the years we had pets, mostly mutts and strays that wandered into our lives. They helped us raise our kids. Each was different. Punkin was our first. I brought her home for Christmas. I was too busy to give her much attention, but the boys loved her. She grew old, blind and died before our daughter was born the year I turned 40.
Rascal was a stray gray-and-white kitten our boys picked up off the street. He was part of our family for 15 years and made the move with us from Texas to Minnesota.
We picked up a puppy we named Max from a Minnesota farm. We thought he would be a small dog, but in six months, he was bigger than our daughter, had eaten all the furniture and dug up the back yard. We offered him to a good home. One interested lady tried to take his picture and he ate her camera. Finally a young couple with a farm adopted him. We threw in his crate, dog food and anything else we could think of. We last saw them chasing him down the street.
So we went back to cats. My wife and daughter found a cute black and white kitten that our son named Fido. Our daughter loved Fido. But, Fido was apparently insulted by our move back to Texas and ran away. When our daughter left for college we found ourselves in an empty nest, the kids grown and the dogs and cats gone. It was peaceful. I guess a little too peaceful. After awhile I realized I missed having a dog.
We found Buddy, a tri-color Pembroke Corgi. He was picked up starving off the streets of Fort Worth by Corgi Rescue. When we first met him he was skinny and sick. But we knew he was right for us. Buddy and I have bonded. He goes with me just about everywhere I go. He is helping me put my life in perspective and teaching me some things about God.
Buddy is teaching me to live in the moment; to celebrate each day as a gift. So often I spend time reminiscing or regretting the past and dreaming or worrying about the future. But Buddy takes each day as it comes. Of course it is good to cherish memories and learn from the past. And it is good to dream and plan. That is part of what defines us in Gods image. But I am prone to miss the moment. Jesus said, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Mt 6:34). This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it (Ps. 118:24).
Abigail Chapa Castillo
Aug. 11, 1972 - May 23, 2017
Abigail Chapa Castillo, 44, of Waco, was called home Tuesday, May 23, 2017 after a brave battle against scleroderma. The funeral service celebrating her life will be held at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, May 27, in the chapel of Lake Shore Funeral Home with burial following at Oakwood Cemetery in Waco.
Abby was born August 11, 1972, in Waco, to Rebecca Perez Chapa and the late Augustin Chapa. She attended University High School where she made numerous lifelong friends. Abby worked for many years at Texas Oncology, formerly Central Texas Cancer Center, for Dr. Ofobuike Okani where she enjoyed assisting patients to find financial assistance they needed. She was passionate about her work and helping others, but was even more passionate about her beloved family. Abby was a devoted homemaker for her husband and children.
Abby married the love of her life, Pete Castillo on October 12, 1995. Together they purchased their first home in Waco where they raised six loving children.
Abby was preceded in death by her loving father, Augustin Chapa.
She leaves behind to cherish her memory her loving husband of 22 years, Pete Castillo; her daughters, Kayla Rose Chapa and husband, Matthew Garcia, Ashlie Michelle Chapa and Erica Marie Castillo; her sons, Cresencio Alejo Chapa, Matthew Duron and Jonathan Duron; her two beautiful grandchildren, Jaylen Augustin Garcia and Kamdyn Edward Garcia; her twin brother, Andrew Perez Chapa; brothers, Augustin Perez Chapa and Adrian Chapa; her only sister, Amy Chapa Guillen and husband, Tony. She also leaves behind 12 nieces and nephews; numerous aunts, uncles and cousins, who were more like brothers and sisters to Abby; and countless friends she's known throughout her life.
Abby touched the lives of each individual that she came across because of her strength and ability to overcome anything that came her way.
Pallbearers will be Cresencio Chapa, Jaylen Garcia, Austin Chapa, Andrew Chapa, Adrian Chapa, Roy Castillo and Augustin Chapa, Jr.
Memorial contributions in her memory may be directed to the Scleroderma Research Foundation or P.A.L.S (Patient Assistant Lending Support) at Texas Oncology, 1700 W. State Hwy 6, Waco, TX 76712.
Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.LakeShoreFH.com.
I learned recently that it was my father, the economist John Kenneth Galbraith, who in 1957 introduced the young Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy to the Washington representatives of Algerias National Liberation Front, a meeting that led to Kennedys July 2, 1957, speech endorsing Algerian independence and by extension, the cause of freedom and democracy throughout the colonial world.
In his brief presidency, Kennedy appointed top diplomats and close friends to leading countries aligned with neither the United States nor the Soviet Union; courted new African leaders at state visits in Washington; and supported the United Nations. And when Algerian president Ahmed Ben Bella was in New York in October 1962, Kennedy overrode the State Department to receive him at the White House and also to send him on in a Cuban plane, carrying a private message to Fidel Castro with information still highly secret at that moment: that the United States knew about the Soviet missile installations in Cuba.
We know too that Kennedy a combat veteran was highly skeptical of his military and intelligence advisers and, after the disaster at the Bay of Pigs, resolved never to give them free rein. He settled the missile crisis with a backdoor deal, averting what would otherwise certainly have been a nuclear war. Thereafter he worked to defuse the Cold War, through the atmospheric test ban treaty and other measures. And we know, largely through the work of the historian John Newman, that Kennedy would not have committed combat troops to Vietnam and had decided in October 1963 to withdraw the advisers already there.
It is therefore a fair bet that were Kennedy president today, he would not have turned his generals loose in Syria. And it is difficult to imagine our only Roman Catholic president so far launching himself on the world stage with a visit to three theocracies, two of them the recipients of vast arms flows, employed daily in massacre the Saudis in Yemen and in an unending occupation, the case of Israel in the West Bank.
Invidious comparison is cheap work. But we should also remember that Kennedy and Donald Trump were alike in one key respect: They sought dialogue and detente with our greatest adversary, then the Soviet Union, today the Russian Federation, on ground of shared interests in peace and coexistence.
Unlike todays Democrats, JFK didnt demonize the Russians and advanced no illusory schemes to destabilize or defeat the Soviet regime. He knew that to depict any foe as unmitigated evil opens the door to a war of annihilation, which none would survive. So he spoke, instead, at American University in July 1963 of how we all breathe the same air and are all mortal.
Of course, it would not be right to base a comparison between presidents solely on points of policy. Kennedy was good-humored, intelligent, well-informed but no saint. By any standard including those of the present day, his private approach toward women was predatory. His family ties to organized crime, through his father, were not less deep than those of several successors, including Trump. Preoccupied with foreign affairs, Kennedy was less effective on civil rights and on the completion of Franklin Roosevelts New Deal than would be his successor, Lyndon Johnson.
But there is something to be said, as we reflect on John F. Kennedy on his centennial, for a United States that believed in a community of independent nations, forged in mutual respect rather than brute force, and for a government that acted, up to a point, on that belief.
Lincolns booming housing sales the past couple of years outpaced its property assessments forcing the Lancaster County assessor to update values to catch up.
Official notices of the changes go in the mail June 1, although property owners have been able to see the new valuations online for months at the countys website.
Lancaster County staff plan to send upward of 9,400 letters notifying property owners their valuation has changed. Anyone whose values went up or down will get a notice.
All the residential assessments were done from scratch using a new valuation model that primarily compares homes with the sales of similar properties. Some increased, others decreased and some stayed the same.
Overall, Lancaster Countys residential property class increased by 12 percent, of which a little less than 2 percent was due to new construction, according to a report from the Nebraska Department of Revenue.
The percent increase for all real property was 8.93 percent. If you take out new construction, the increase was 6.69 percent.
State rules say residential and commercial properties must be assessed within 92 percent to 100 percent of market value, which helps ensure all property owners are treated fairly.
Local governments -- county, cities, school districts and others -- set levy rates which when applied to property valuations determine how much owner's tax bills will be.
The countys overall residential property assessments have steadily increased and in recent history only dipped in 2009 due to the Great Recession, said Rob Ogden, the chief field deputy at the Lancaster County Assessors Office.
Property owners who want to protest their new valuation can file to do so between June 1 and June 30.
Forms can be filled out in person at the County Clerks office, 555 S. 10th St., or online at the county clerks website. Go to lancaster.ne.gov (keyword: protest).
Hearings will happen from June 28 to July 24 at the Lancaster Event Center at 84th Street and Havelock Avenue. Independent appraisers act as referees, helping examine protests and information provided by homeowners relevant to the requested property value. Lancaster County has hired Great Plains Appraisal to oversee the protest process.
Protesters should prepare to make their case armed with evidence such as independent appraisals, recent comparable house sales in your area and photos showing the home's conditions.
Referees analyze data and recommend values, which will be reviewed by a coordinator. Then, the Board of Equalization will make final decisions and property owners get notified by Aug 2.
Homeowners then have until Aug. 24 to appeal the Board of Equalization decision to the state Tax Equalization and Review Commission.
Raising a child these days doesn't come cheap nappies, food, childcare, school and hopefully in the distant future, university.
Apart from a Kardashian, few newborns have the ability to fund their own futures, unless they have a unique selling point like the first Bachelor Australia baby.
Following the hype surrounding the announcement that Sam Wood and Snezana Markoski, possibly the public's favourite pairing from the Channel Ten reality love show, were expecting their first child together, there was scope to turn the news into a business arrangement.
Wood and Markoski, an entrepreneurial personal trainer and a scientist respectively, reached out to a number of publications seeking the highest bidder for "a media partnership surrounding the baby news pre- and post-pregnancy".
Publicly declaring accused drug mule Cassandra Sainsbury as a sex worker is "unethical," according to Sydney's best-known escort, Amanda Goff, aka Samantha X.
"The worst crime you can commit as a sex worker is to out another woman. It's such a personal decision to go public, like I have done," she told Fairfax Media.
"Any madam who outs a worker lacks integrity and class. It's disgraceful. What price was on Cassie's head? Who will she out next? What happened to the sisterhood?"
Nine's 60 Minutes claimed Sainsbury, 22, worked at Club 220, a brothel near Penrith in western Sydney last year, before she was arrested in Colombia on April 12 when she was pictured with with 5.8 kilograms of cocaine worth $1.7 million in 18 bundles in her luggage.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Donald Trump was isolated on climate change at the Group of Seven meeting on Friday, as the US president said he's in no rush to decide whether to scrap his country's involvement in the Paris Agreement.
A closed-door session on the first day of the G7 summit in Sicily found unity on stepping up efforts to combat terrorism, but entered stormier waters on trade and on climate, Mrs Merkel said. At that stage it was six against one as leaders pressed Trump to hold to US agreements made under the landmark Paris climate accord.
"We made it clear that we want the US to stick to its commitments," Mrs Merkel told reporters after the meeting on Friday. "There were very different arguments from us all urging the president to hold to the climate accord." She said the discussion was conducted in a very "honest" atmosphere, leading to a "very intense exchange."
After deriding climate change as a hoax and pledging to pull out of the Paris deal during his election campaign, Mr Trump has sidestepped the issue and passed up an number of opportunities to outline his international stance toward global warming. Members of his administration are deadlocked about whether the US should uphold the pact.
Wellesley: Hillary Clinton assailed the man who beat her to the White House, slamming as "unimaginable cruelty" President Donald Trump's proposal to cut $US3.6 trillion in government spending over the next decade in a speech to college students on Friday in which she also encouraged them to go out and "make a difference."
The defeated Democratic candidate did not name the Republican president in her remarks to the graduating class at her alma mater, Wellesley College. But she took several veiled swipes at the businessman-turned-politician, whose budget proposal earlier this week proposed sharp cuts in programs for healthcare and food assistance.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers the commencement address at Wellesley College. Credit:AP
"Look at the budget that was just proposed in Washington. It is an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us," Mrs Clinton told a crowd at the all-women's college, located in Boston's suburbs.
"It grossly underfunds public education, mental health and even efforts to combat the opioid epidemic."
They came up with a simple plan to give voice and power to those living in Lincolns lowest-income neighborhoods:
Listen to them, and then try to help.
Our concern was, we needed to have boots on the ground in Lincoln doing intensive relationship building, said Adam Morfeld, executive director of Nebraskans for Civic Reform. What are the needs? How do we provide skills?
But now they needed enough money to hire enough people to knock on 10,000 doors a year -- to help the residents of the Clinton, Malone, Everett, Near South and other neighborhoods identify whats working in their areas, whats not working, and ways to make their lives better.
They came up with the cash, too. Morfelds group partnered with Nebraska Appleseed and the new South of Downtown Community Development Organization to launch a coalition called Collective Impact Lincoln, which was recently awarded a $1.175 million grant from the Woods Charitable Fund.
Thats enough to hire three door-knocking community organizers, a program manager who will also host leadership training for neighborhood residents, and a policy analyst to help residents find solutions to their problems.
We sometimes lose grasp of whats happening on the ground, said Shawn Ryba, director of the South of Downtown Organization. Now well actually be getting an accurate pulse, having conversations with people every day who are living in these neighborhoods. Why are folks not reaching their highest potential?
This was the first large and long-term grant given by Woods, which typically awards between $5,000 and $50,000 during its twice-yearly grant cycles.
The board wanted to see what groups in Lincoln would propose if they could spend up to $500,000 a year for five years, said president Tom Woods.
That was our level of commitment, to say if we really want to get behind something, we need to step up in terms of dollars and time, he said.
They named it the Breakthrough Initiative Grant, and they asked for ideas last fall. About 30 organizations responded, and Woods invited 15 of those to submit proposals. Those were narrowed to six, then to three, and Woods named Collective Impact Lincoln the winner.
The money will allow each of the groups in Collective Impact Lincoln to hire a community organizer with a fairly straightforward job description: Get out there and talk to people.
The South of Downtown organizer will focus on the Near South and Everett neighborhoods. Nebraskans for Civic Reform's hire will work north of downtown. Nebraska Appleseed's will fill in some of the blanks.
The 10,000 doors a year isnt a symbolic number. Morfeld, a state senator with experience going door-to-door, did the math, and he deemed it possible over the grant's three-year span.
But they won't just hand out fliers. They'll try to have meaningful talks with residents about what it means to live where they live.
This is deep canvassing, Morfeld said. Really having a conversation.
Nebraskans for Civic Reform will hire a program manager to coordinate the organizers and the effort and provide a series of leadership training sessions for residents in the neighborhoods, said deputy executive director Amanda Barker.
That person will help residents identify what's strong in their neighborhoods and what's needed, she said, and help them develop ideas for making them better.
Finally, Nebraska Appleseed will hire a policy analyst, likely an attorney, to take what organizers are hearing and help turn that into real change, said James Goddard, an Appleseed program director.
The three groups hope to have their new staffers hired by July and listening to residents by August or September.
I believe well start seeing trends and patterns, Ryba said. For example, hes been talking to people in Everett and the Near South, and has been surprised by the number of people who simply want brighter street lights and less littering.
But overall, the nonprofits are reluctant to predict what organizers will hear when they start knocking on doors. They want residents to determine what's important.
We dont want to tell people what we think they need, Goddard said.
DAVID CITY -- A downtown renovation project and seven blocks of reconstruction along Nebraska 15 in David City is the town's biggest capital project in decades.
Constructors Inc. of Lincoln is the contractor for the combined $9 million in renovations.
Barricades start going up June 1.
Lead designer Al Hottovy with Leo A Daly said crews will begin staging materials along the highway, and on June 5, weather permitting, the street will be torn out and the paths prepared for large storm sewer lines to carry runoff from the Courthouse Square.
The entire project encompasses new streets and sidewalks and underground infrastructure in the downtown area. Weather permitting, completion is expected by Dec. 1, 2018.
The plan is to completely finish work on Nebraska 15 this year, Hottovy said.
As for the rest of the streets around the courthouse and on Fifth Street, the water mains will be installed by directional boring through the winter months. The streets will remain intact until the removal of the bricks -- for sorting and reuse -- starting in the late winter months.
Street surfacing and sidewalk replacement will come after the underground work.
Hottovy said the Nebraska Department of Roads will have signs set up at intersections north and south of town to divert semi traffic to other highways around David City.
Other through traffic will find a Nebraska 15 detour east to Sixth Street at Iowa Street on the south, and D Street on the north.
After the highway work is completed, crews can focus on the areas to the east of Nebraska 15 in 2018. Courthouse parking lots and the sidewalks and curbs around the courthouse will be completed.
Hottovy acknowledged there is some anxiety among downtown property owners. But the start of construction also will bring some relief.
When they start bringing in that 48-inch (storm drainage) pipe, theyre going to be excited, Hottovy said. Its big.
RISING CITY Kristen Wilton sat at her desk as students counted down the minutes.
A group of seventh-graders was sitting on the floor engaged in a game of charades, and a few others were at a table playing chess while waiting for the school day to end.
A short time later, the students were exiting the building, rushing to buses to start their summer vacation.
Wilton called the moment bittersweet because it not only marked the last day of the school year, but also the last day of school in Rising City.
Its going to be sad to see this building empty, Wilton said.
For her, the moment was emotional. Wilton has been a teacher there for 11 years and is a 1988 graduate of the school.
She knew the day was coming.
That doesnt make it any easier, said Wilton, who teaches language arts.
For some, the writing was on the wall after merging with Shelby in 2011, forming Shelby-Rising City Public Schools. Since then, Shelby served as the learning site for elementary and high school students while Rising City housed the middle school.
The plan was for the middle school to stay in the community for five years, as long as enrollment remained steady. It lasted six.
Now the doors are closing.
Students Kira Pavlik and Alexa Carter, both descendants of original school board members, attended class in the building dedicated in 1926. They had mixed feelings on Wednesday.
Im pretty sad. I really like it here, said Carter, a sixth-grader.
Pavlik, an eighth-grader, would have been going to Shelby next year for high school either way. She said she is happy to have gotten to spend her middle school years in Rising City and also understands that a piece of the community is gone.
When you have a two-story old building and you cant provide an elevator and things for the handicapped, its so expensive to keep going. There comes a time when you have to change and you have to accept it, said LuAnn Kilgore, a Rising City resident.
Kilgore is a 1963 graduate of the school and was a paraprofessional there for 26 years. The 71-year-old also served as treasurer of the Rising City Alumni Association for a number of years.
She said it is difficult for a town the size of Rising City to continue to support a school.
When you are in between two larger schools you wont have enrollment to keep going, she said, speaking of Shelby and David City, communities located fewer than 15 miles from Rising City.
Enrollment has been an issue. This year the number of students attending school there was in the 80s, down from 100 four years ago.
The enrollment numbers are dropping. You cant manage to keep a school open with only six, seven, eight kids in a class. You have to pay the teachers, too, said Walter Crook, a 1957 graduate of Rising City.
Crook has a long family connection to the school. His grandfather was a member of the school board when the building opened. His wife, Mary Ann, and their four children also graduated from the school.
The 77-year-old has spent most of his life in Rising City. He is concerned about the future of the community without a school.
Look at all the other little schools that closed. Those towns start to die, he said.
Crook is a loyal attendee of the annual Rising City alumni banquet and this is his 60th reunion year. He and other attendees of this weekend's banquet at the school are wondering if those banquets can continue with the future of the building unknown.
Our goal is to work with the village to come up with a viable option that works for the community for that site. How that will look will be based on cost and feasibility, said Chip Kay, superintendent of Shelby-Rising City Public Schools.
The building has structural issues and updates are needed throughout, but Kay said there are options on the table to avoid the possibility of it remaining empty. He said it will take a substantial investment to use the building long-term.
A school has been located in Rising City since the late 1800s. The current brick building is 91 years old. It initially housed grades one through 12.
In 2015, voters passed a $14.9 million bond issue that added to the Shelby site, including a new elementary building. Elementary rooms are being remodeled to accommodate middle school students.
The staff at Rising City will be transitioning to Shelby, too, including teacher John Schoenrock.
The social studies instructor has spent 10 years in Rising City.
My kids have gone through this building, from elementary through middle school into high school. Ive taught a number of kids here. I hate leaving but understand the reasoning, Schoenrock said.
He would like to see the building become a community center.
The north part of the building is newer and has several different rooms. It has a kitchen. It would be perfect for weddings, reunions, funerals, get-togethers. Unfortunately, the older part of the building has some issues and a lot of costs, he said.
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By Tim Brockwell
May. 26, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY
By Tim Brockwell May. 26, 2017 | 02:07 PM | PADUCAH, KY
A railroad equipment manufacturer has shut down production at its Paducah Facility.
Hal Burgan, who represents National Railroad Equipment Co. said a continued downturn of the locomotive and rail industries has forced the company to temporarily halt production at its Paducah facility. He says layoff notices were delivered April 26 to 38 employees. The layoffs take effect June 26.
Burgan cited several factors that led to the decision, including depressed commodities production and reduced demand for raw materials. He said reduced diesel prices and a strong U.S. dollar have also led to a downturn in work for the Paducah facility.
Burgan said the company is confident that the suspension will be short-term, and that NRE has recently secured several new projects. The companys 2018 forecast reportedly shows an increase over the previous two years. The plan, according to Burgan, is to bring people back to work as production increases.
NRE is the largest privately-owned manufacturer of locomotives and locomotive components, operating three Illinois facilities and one in Kentucky.
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Little sign of relief expected in October US inflation data
By PADUCAH, KY May. 26, 2017 | 10:48 AM | PADUCAH, KY
The National Weather Service office in Paducah continues to issue a hazardous weather outlook for this afternoon and tonight, into Sunday morning.Latest forecast trends indicate that an intense line of severe thunderstorms will move into southwestern Illinois and southeast Missouri around 7pm tonight. This line of storms will likely produce widespread wind gusts in excess of 80 mph. The damaging winds could last up to an hour.Depending on their intensity and duration, the line could completely move through western Kentucky and the rest of the outlook area before midnight.In addition to the damaging wind potential, isolated severe storms may develop ahead of this line later today. These storms would have the potential for large hail, damaging winds, as well as a tornado.Every form of severe weather is possible, including damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes. Heavy rainfall and deadly lightning will also be storm hazards.Officials say the most uncertainty in the severe weather and flooding potential will occur between 3 am and 8 am Sunday morning. Where the cluster of thunderstorms stalls out overnight will determine where and when any severe weather could occur on Sunday.Yesterday, meteorologist Rick Shanklin held a video briefing on Facebook Live detailing the weekend weather possibilities. That presentation is available at a link below.Stay tuned to NOAA weather radio for updates through the weekend.
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As settlement in Nebraska moved westward, the earliest inhabitants coined being the first in numerous fields, with John Mickey among them.
John Hopwood Mickey was born in 1845 on his parents farm near Burlington, Iowa. Mickey joined the Union Army as a private serving under Gen. Sherman and as a soldier was able, under a special law, to vote at 19 for Abraham Lincoln for president.
After the war Mickey finished high school at Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, then studied for two years at Iowa Wesleyan University. After teaching for two years, Mickey and his wife moved in 1868 to the 1-year-old state of Nebraska. Deciding on land in Hackberry Precinct in then-Butler County, he became the first homesteader to be issued land at the U.S. Land Office in Lincoln and became the first homesteader in what was to become Polk County.
Circuit rider Rev. James Query delivered the first sermon in the county at Mickeys cabin in May 1869 and that fall, as other families settled, Mickey was elected school treasurer.
Polk County finally split off from Butler County in August 1870, with the county seat established at a point named Osceola. John Mickey was named the countys first treasurer with his home becoming the de facto courthouse.
The following October the question of moving the county seat to a more central location arose, and, by a 14-vote majority, settled on a site just three miles to the west. Mickey was then chosen to head a committee to pick 40 acres within the newly designated area for the county seat. This new site, again named Osceola and in the new Osceola Precinct, was then surveyed and platted by Mickey.
In 1872, Mickey moved to the new Osceola site, built one of the first three houses and was later appointed General Agent for the Union Pacific Railroad Land Office in Polk County.
Evan Mickey, Johns son, was born Jan. 26, 1874, the first birth in Polk County.
Rev. Jesse Jackson Fleharty floated the concept of establishing a Methodist conference school in Osceola and was immediately joined in the project by Mickey. The school, named Nebraska Wesleyan University, opened in September 1879 with 11 students and four teachers, but closed two years later with the schools foundation destined to become the base for the county courthouse.
Mickey opened the Mickey Bank on the south side of the square in 1879 as the first bank in Polk County with a capitalization of $5,000. The bank was incorporated in 1881 as the State Bank of Osceola, with C.H. Morrill and Albinus Nance as partners and Mickey as president.
Mickey was elected to a one-year term in the lower house of the Nebraska legislature in 1881. Two years later Mickey built the large frame house at the south end of then Hawkeye Street, now State Street, at what would be near the southeast corner of today's State and Beebe streets.
Although the extant house is noted on its nomination to the National Register of Historic Places as being built in 1883-84, a steel engraving of the house appears in Andreas History of Nebraska which was written in 1881 and published in 1882. As Mickey is noted as having built the first frame house in Polk County and the present house has admittedly been added onto a number of times, it is interesting to ponder if its origins may date to the 1870s.
When Mickey's wife, Marinda, died in 1886, John married Flora Cinderella Campbell and later was elected to the Board of Trustees at Nebraska Wesleyan University in University Place, Nebraska, becoming the boards president. Mickeys tenure at Nebraska Wesleyan was long and fruitful and, in 1901, when the schools chancellor was paid $1,000 a year, Mickey pledged $6,000 to enable the school to pay salaries, debts and taxes.
Mickey was elected Nebraskas governor in 1902 and served two terms. Although the terms were considered successful and generally positive, his tenure is most often remembered for his granting 12 pardons and issuing 65 commutations amid charges that he abused the pardon and parole system.
Mickey, cited as being one of the largest land holders in Polk County, died in Osceola on June 2, 1910, after a protracted illness. He also was one of three governors who lived in Osceola. Albinus Nance, a business partner of Mickeys, served two terms beginning in 1879, and Ashton Shallenberger, who grew up in Osceola, became governor in 1909.
Although a fire in 1895 destroyed all of the businesses on the south side of the city square except A.P. Mickeys Hardware and Mickeys 1892 bank building, his house on the south side of the city is extant. After his death the house was converted into a hospital, then in 1956 returned to a residence and in 1967 became the home of the Polk County Museum and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
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By The Associated Press
May. 26, 2017 | FRANKFORT, KY
By The Associated Press May. 26, 2017 | 05:14 PM | FRANKFORT, KY
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin is discounting an ethics complaint aimed at him as political "mumbo jumbo."
The complaint by a government watchdog advocate stems from questions regarding Bevin's connection to a Louisville-area mansion that sold for nearly a million dollars below market value.
The Republican governor told reporters Friday that he and his family live in the house.
But he downplayed the importance of where he lives. Bevin answered questions about the topic after he announced a record-setting amount of business investments in the state.
The complaint stems from questions regarding the mansion's sale and reports that Bevin's family has taken up residence there.
The government watchdog, Richard Beliles, is asking whether a chain of events involving the governor and one of his backers amounts to improper gifts under the ethics code for state officials.
Gorey music students jet off to L.A. to experience the sights and sounds of the showbiz world
The Northeast United Church of Christ and Havelock Christian Church are joining forces to sponsor a series of free Community Breakfasts the first three Saturday mornings in June.
Open to the public free of charge, the breakfasts are scheduled June 3, 10 and 17 at Northeast United Church of Christ, 6200 Adams St. Serving hours will be 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. each Saturday.
Cole Cressler, son of Clayton and Samantha Cressler, has completed his 8th-grade year at Irving Middle School, 2245 S. 22nd St. School officials commented: Cole is a very intelligent, hardworking student. He is very helpful, respectful and kind to others. Cole is analytical and always interested in learning new things. He is a pleasure to have in class. He has attained the First Class Scout rank with Boy Scout Troop #16, is a member of the Lincoln Shooting Stars 4-H club, and placed second in the 4-H State Tournaments Olympic Recurve Bow competition. His interests include archery, World War II history, engineering, and model building.
Landon Reichmuth, son of Tracy and Kevin Reichmuth, has completed his 8th-grade year at Lux Middle School, 7800 High St. Landon is perceived as a kind-hearted, caring soul who demonstrates many positive character traits on a daily basis. He always puts forth 110% into everything he does whether its with his outside of school activities or with his academics, school officials said in his nomination form. He takes tap, ballet, lyrical, contemporary hip-hop and jazz dance classes at Pas de Deux, and performed as a Big Party Boy in Lincoln Midwest Ballet Companys The Nutcracker last December. He is a member of St. Michaels Catholic Church, takes vocal lessons at Harris Academy of Music, and performed in various productions at the Lincoln Community Playhouse. His hobbies include dancing and tumbling, media/video editing, and learning to speak Spanish.
Cecilia Eubanks, daughter of Ruth and Todd Eubanks, has completed her 8th-grade year at Lux Middle School, 7800 High St. CeCi is a leader in the classroom, school officials said. She is a dedicated student, contributes well to classroom discussions, and thinks outside the box. She has volunteered for the Gotta Have Hope charity for the past five years. She won first place in a 400-meter race at the CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) meet, has been a choir member and cantor at church, participates in Vacation Bible School, and was an altar server at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Overland Park, Kansas, where she was a two-time recipient of the Christ Light Award at St. the Archangel, a leading-by-example award. She has been accepted into the French 2/3 compacted course at Lincoln East High School, where she will serve on the Student Council next year. She plays the guitar and ukulele, and loves art, literature, and music.
RACINE The mother of Stephen Kohl and Jenny Pelton mother gave The Atrium a $111,000 security deposit when she moved in five years ago, and their aunt paid $111,500 when she moved in in December.
Both may have trouble getting much of that money back.
Details about The Atrium of Racines receivership, announced Thursday, began to emerge Friday when residents family members began to talk about the impact on their loved ones. The receivership, an alternative to bankruptcy under Wisconsin law, affects The Atrium, 3900 N. Main St., a 76-unit senior housing facility; and Bay Pointe, 3950 N. Main St., a 40-unit assisted living facility.
The Atrium, Bay Pointe in receivership RACINE The Atrium of Racine, which owns and operates The Atrium and Bay Pointe senior livi
According to a news release issued Thursday by court-appointed receiver Michael Polsky, The Atrium of Racine cited shifting market forces such as rising health care costs, lower government reimbursements and increased competition as issues that created financial challenges and which led to the filing.
Atrium was unable to fully recover from the negative impact, both financially and operationally, that resulted from the collapse of Lincoln Lutheran of Racine, stated Polsky, who was also the receiver in that case.
According to a document Polsky filed Wednesday in Racine County Circuit Court, as of Feb. 28 The Atrium of Racine had about $9.1 million in assets including about $8.1 million in fixed assets.
Liabilities totaled about $14 million including: resident entrance fees, deposit fees and trust funds totaling about $7.5 million; and about $6.1 million owed to The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Co., the first lien holder.
Until thats resolved, Kohl remarked, everyone else is far down the list.
Residents were informed of the Atrium receivership in a meeting Thursday, he said.
Normally, a resident would get 90 percent of the security deposit back if he or she moved, or the family would get that money if the resident died, Kohl explained. Now the situation is uncertain.
My aunt is just inconsolable, Kohl said.
Polsky said operations will continue as they have until he can facilitate a sale at auction of the Atrium as a going concern.
Declining amenities
The Atrium and Bay Pointe are both remnants of the insolvency of Lincoln Lutheran of Racine which went into receivership in December 2014. For decades, Lincoln Lutheran had operated several Racine-area senior care centers and programs. The organization no longer exists.
Lincoln Lutheran insolvent RACINE Lincoln Lutheran of Racine is insolvent and in receivership, and its assets will be
With Lincoln Lutheran in receivership, in April 2015 Watertown-based Marquardt Management Co. signed an agreement to manage, with an option to buy, five former Lincoln Lutheran properties including the Atrium and Bay Pointe.
For more than a year, Atrium services and maintenance were in decline, Kohl and Pelton said.
For example, they said the front door phone system has been broken for about a year and a half. So residents must leave their apartments and go to the front door to let their visitors in. Management told residents it wouldnt be fixed because its too expensive, Pelton said.
A huge selling point for their family when their mother moved to The Atrium, Pelton said, was the emergency buzzer cord system in every residents apartment. But thats no longer operating.
More than a year ago they said, Just call 911, Pelton said.
Bay Pointe used to offer hospice service, but that was discontinued, she said. Other examples she and Kohl cited of a declining level of quality is a broken railing at The Atriums entrance, which they said has gone unrepaired for up to six months.
Marquardt CEO Matt Mauthe did not respond to requests for comment Friday.
Kohl and Pelton said management would or should have known financial collapse was coming but continued to take in new residents and their security deposits. They have taken money from people, probably knowing this was inevitable, Kohl said.
One new resident came in just three weeks ago, he said.
Previously, independent Atrium residents who needed to move up to assisted living at Bay Pointe could have used their security deposits for that, Pelton pointed out. How much of that money will remain after the receivership remains to be seen.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Tucked in the brief pocket of time between major festivals such as the Winnipeg International Fringe Festival and Folklorama, there are a collection of smaller summer music fests making noise outside the city. One of those is the Real Love Summer Fest.
Real Love Summer Fest was created by the minds behind Real Love Winnipeg, a concert promotion company that made a name for itself in the city through a series of compilation albums it created featuring local bands. From there, the next logical step was to use those connections in the Winnipeg music scene to develop a festival.
Its something we had talked about and dreamed of, so we just kind of dove at the opportunity there, co-founder Gil Carroll, 25, says.
The inaugural event was held in 2014 with local headliners Animal Teeth. This year, the indie festival is shifting venues from the motorsports park in Gimli, which worked for the short-term, but obvious issues such as lack of infrastructure and noise from the nearby track prompted a move to Teulon this year.
It was right next to a motocross track, so when the bands were playing, you could literally hear and see races whipping by. There was a certain nice character that that brought, but at the end of the day it was kind of silly, Carroll says of their previous spot.
If there were acoustic acts, you couldnt hear them at points, co-founder Adam Soloway, 24, adds.
SUPPLIED Real Love Summer Fest is moving to tree-filled grounds in Teulon with plenty of room for camping.
The tree-filled new grounds feature lots of room for camping and parking, as well as walking trails through the forest for the expected 400 attendees and 70 volunteers to use.
Another new area at the fest will be a red tent, which acts as a safe space for women and trans, non-binary and two-spirit attendees. The entire festival board did red-tent training and wish to make it clear anyone and everyone is welcome at their event.
That has become more a part of our mandate, creating a community where all types of people feel welcome and safe. Thats something were continuing to build on, Carroll says.
Real Love Summer Fest has always leaned heavily on local talent, but in the past couple of years, Carroll and Soloway have been working hard to bring in touring acts from outside the city with the intention of helping them build a fanbase here to encourage return performances.
This year, Brooklyn indie-rockers Widowspeak will take the top headlining spot, while Chicago alternative band Yawn, Saskatoon psychedelic rock group the Radiation Flowers, indie-rockers Look Vibrant out of Montreal and a handful of other acts will also be coming from out of town. Local headliners include Mulligrub, Micah Erenberg and 3Peat.
The lineup announcement and ticket launch party takes place tonight at the Good Will Social Club and will feature 2017 festival performers Mulligrub and Fox Who Slept the Day Away, and festival alum Umami. Tickets for the show are $10 and a limited number of weekend festival passes will be available for purchase for $60.
For more information about the festival, visit reallovesummerfest.com
erin.lebar@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @NireRabel
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ERIC ROBERTS PHOTO Mulligrub is among the local headliners for this years festival.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Karalee Grant was a vibrant 19-year-old when she was diagnosed with a rare sinus cancer.
During Karalees treatment for the disease, she touched many lives by speaking to students about cancer and being involved in work and numerous campaign endorsements with the Canadian Cancer Society. She was honoured with the societys National Medal of Courage.
But it was only shortly before Karalee died, in March 2010, that she and her family learned about palliative care and what it could offer her.
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS From left, Jennifer Gurke, Palliative Manitoba executive director, Margaret Clarke, Palliative Manitoba former executive director and volunteer Barb King.
And the family didnt hear about what Palliative Manitoba could have offered them until almost a year after her death.
Its too bad because I now know what Palliative Manitoba could have done for us, Karalees mom, Kim Grant, said recently.
We could have used several of the services at that time. And, unfortunately, everyone is going to need the services at some point. When I learned about it, I thought, Its such a good service. I wanted to help.
Grant is now the board president of Palliative Manitoba.
A lot of people ask me why Im there and I tell them I want to make it better for other families going through what we went through, she said.
Everybody dies, but Palliative Manitoba not only provides end-of-life care and helps people with terminal illnesses live a full life with the time they have, it also supports the families they leave behind.
Palliative Manitoba, formerly known as Hospice and Palliative Care Manitoba and in earlier years as Manitoba Hospice Foundation, is a registered charity whose mission is to provide services and education that are complementary to the regular health system, as well as promoting effective compassionate care for all Manitobans with life-threatening conditions.
The organizations vision statement is: That all Manitobans experiencing a life-threatening condition live well until the end of life and that those around them are cared for in the process.
Jennifer Gurke, the organizations executive director, said they have volunteers who will visit people with terminal illnesses, and others who will offer telephone support to grieving family members. Last year, its volunteers visited 38 people at home or in hospital, while 64 people were supported in its province-wide telephone bereavement program.
We want to get the word out there that we exist, Gurke said.
Whenever people hear about our support they are keen and want to learn more.
The organization has myriad other programs for helping people. It offers monthly grief seminars, hosted by Chapel Lawn Funeral Home and Cropo Funeral Chapel, with upcoming topics including Grief Doesnt Take a Vacation, The Holidays Can Be a Difficult Season, and People Just Dont Understand. It also offers support for grieving children through its Kids Grieve Too and Teens Grieve Too programs.
The organization hosts an annual provincial palliative care conference, where more than 300 attendees from professions within the health-care field come to listen to speakers and take part in presentations and workshops, and runs Lunch and Learn educational sessions for Winnipeg Regional Health Authority nurses and its own volunteers.
It also annually puts up a Memory Tree at St. Vital Centre where people can write messages in a card to remember a deceased loved one and then hang it on a branch. Trained volunteers are at the site to offer support to people who may need it.
We have a large reach, but without the dedication and hard work of our staff and our volunteers it would not be possible, Gurke said.
All volunteers have to take the eight-week, two-hours-a-week, compassionate-care course before they are allowed to support and care for people living with terminal illnesses and their families. Twenty-three people attended the last one.
Our volunteers come from all backgrounds and all walks of life, Gurke said.
Some have been supported by the agency in the past. Some have had the personal experience of losing someone who was in palliative care in the past. Most of the time it is their own personal experiences.
Gurke said the organization follows WRHA guidelines for palliative care, so they begin offering support when the individual is diagnosed as having about six months to live.
To do its work, the organization receives some funding from the United Way of Winnipeg and the WRHA, but for the bulk of its operations it relies on donations from individuals and foundations, grants, and fundraising events including its annual Hike for Hospice, Celebrate Life Luncheon, and Pub Night.
Barb King is one of Palliative Manitobas volunteers who supports people who are dying by visiting them.
King was matched with a person last December and she met weekly with the woman both at the womans home and then in hospital weekly until her death last month. She has since been matched with another woman.
It was nothing for me, but it meant everything to her, she said.
She would wake out of a dozy sleep with a big smile when she saw me we fill a void for these people. And you stay with the person through until the end.
King said she mostly just spoke with the woman, including topics about death that she wouldnt articulate with her own family.
She couldnt wait for us to set a date for the next time I would come. It was very pleasing for her.
Margaret Clarke, the organizations first executive director, said Palliative Manitoba was founded in 1983 as the Manitoba Hospice Foundation to help promote better care for people dying in the community.
Clarke said four people a physician, a lawyer, a communications specialist, and an accountant came together and set up the organization to follow the lead of what Dame Cecily Saunders was doing in the United Kingdom.
Saunders, a doctor who said, You matter because you are, and you matter until the end of your life, founded St. Christophers Hospice during the 1960s and is recognized as the founder of the modern hospice movement. Her work helped lead to the recognition of palliative care as a medical specialty by Britains Royal College of Physicians.
The four had a vision for what was needed here, Clarke said.
But Clarke said in many ways the real start of the local organization was in 1986, when it was able to get office space in Deer Lodge Centre, hire its first co-ordinator, and began initiating programs including the community hospice volunteer program and the volunteer education program.
Clarke said the organization changed its name to Hospice and Palliative Care Manitoba in 1995, before changing it again in 2015 to the current Palliative Manitoba.
Originally, it was to provide volunteer home support for people living with terminal illnesses, she said. We began to grow from there.
Grant admits she is still dealing with her daughters early death and attends the organizations grief seminars. She hopes others who are dealing with grief call Palliative Manitoba.
Time does heal, but even seven years later, I mourn my daughter every day. Its a lot easier now and Palliative Manitoba has these resources to help. It doesnt cost anything and youve an opportunity for healing.
And everybody will need palliative at some point and everybody will grieve at some point. They have helped me with my grief.
kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
In the past year, inmates in Canadian prisons were put in solitary confinement more than 6,000 times. On any given day, nearly nine per cent of Manitobas jail population is held in segregation.
Its a practice the United Nations considers tantamount to torture and one that has been linked to an increased likelihood of health problems and suicides behind bars. Canadas federal corrections agency is currently making changes to its rules on solitary confinement, with the aim of reducing the number of vulnerable inmates kept in isolation.
But prison-reform advocates say the proposed changes dont go far enough, and that there is an urgent need for federal and provincial institutions to be more transparent about the practice.
University of British Columbia law Prof. Debra Parkes has been researching solitary confinement in this country for nearly a decade. She said proposed new regulations from Correctional Service Canada fall short because they dont set time limits for isolation, and they dont allow for an independent review process.
This is, unfortunately, tinkering around the edges of the problem and it doesnt represent fundamental change for a number of reasons, Parkes said.
There are no changes in legislation. It still maintains the practice of administrative segregation when, in fact, this practice needs to be abolished. We have substantial evidence now that it does amount to torture and inhumane treatment.
The federal government agency responsible for prisons last week issued new drafts of internal policies regulating the use of what it calls administrative segregation, as well as new rules for monitoring prisoners with severe mental disorders.
Proposed changes to segregation
Prison officials would not be able to isolate inmates who are suicidal or have serious mental-health problems under the proposed changes, which also double the minimum time to two hours daily segregated prisoners are allowed out of their cells.
One of the goals is to ensure that vulnerable offenders are not placed in administrative segregation, except in exceptional circumstances, the agency said.
A separate draft policy governing the treatment of mentally ill prisoners is also up for discussion. It would expand the scope of enhanced observation levels within facilities to allow for increased monitoring of inmates who are suicidal, self-harming or suffering from serious mental conditions. It would require face-to-face monitoring of restrained mentally ill prisoners and sets out more detailed internal review processes.
A spokeswoman for Correctional Service Canada said the proposals are subject to a two-week consultation period with stakeholders, after which the federal agency will publish its revised policies.
After consultation and dialogue with various stakeholders, the government of Canada recognizes the need for administrative segregation as a correctional tool, but has provided additional direction to the Correctional Service of Canada to integrate evolving best practices, Avely Serin said in an email to the Free Press.
International standards limit solitary confinement to a maximum of 15 days; anything beyond that is considered torture.
Parkes said proposed changes might not be changes at all.
Theres lots of room for this practice to continue under different names and without any real kind of fundamental change, she said.
Proposed changes to Interventions to Preserve Life and Prevent Serious Bodily Harm
Winnipeg defence lawyer Wendy Martin White, who has experience working with offenders who have fetal alcohol syndrome, said shes concerned the proposals dont exclude inmates with undiagnosed mental-health issues or cognitive impairments from being placed in solitary confinement.
She said while the new policy is a positive step, it leaves the door open for some of the most vulnerable inmates to end up in the hole.
A 2007 study by Dr. Albert Chudley found at least 10 per cent of inmates at Stony Mountain Institution had some form of fetal alcohol syndrome.
Theres going to be a significant population thats missed and may likely, because of their disability, end up being in the population of (segregated offenders) who we now know shouldnt be in that population, she said.
She recalled the experience of one of her past clients, who was considered to have low cognitive functioning, and who became suicidal after being placed in segregation at Headingley Correctional Centre.
The office of the federal correctional investigator has found that solitary confinement is over-used, particularly for indigenous inmates, who have had the longest average stays in segregation.
Statistics from the Correctional Service of Canada show that as of the end of March, there were 6,263 admissions to segregation in federal prisons across the country. That figure doesnt show how many prisoners were held in solitary confinement, since the same inmate can be isolated repeatedly.
Segregation is being increasingly used at Stony Mountain 472 times during the fiscal year ending in March, compared with 453 and 469 times in the previous two fiscal years.
In provincial government-run jails in Manitoba, about 8.7 per cent of inmates are being held in segregation on a given day, according to data from Manitoba Justice.
The justice department could not say how long, on average, inmates are isolated, only that the maximum an for continuous, disciplinary segregation is 45 days at a provincial correctional centre. Of the 219 inmates in segregation on May 24, for example, 20 or about nine per cent were in for disciplinary reasons.
Parkes said provincial jails are often opaque when it comes to solitary confinement and operate with less oversight than federal prisons.
She said she believes the public needs to know more about what their provincial governments are doing to address serious legal issues associated with holding inmates in segregation.
I think average Canadians, Manitobans, are increasingly aware and becoming concerned about this, but when you have the government not even being forthcoming about their use of the practice, I think thats a problem. And thats why were starting to see courts stepping in more, she said.
Office of the Correctional Investigator / The Canadian Press A solitary confinement cell. Critics say proposed new regulations dont set time limits for isolation and they dont allow for an independent review process.
This is an area where the law, I think, needs to step in and determine the illegality of this practice, and I think were moving in that direction.
In 2015, the John Howard Society of Canada and the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association launched a constitutional challenge against the use of solitary confinement, suing the federal government in a lawsuit that is still before the court.
John Hutton, executive director of the John Howard Society of Manitoba, said he hopes the provincial government will review its use of segregation in the wake of the proposed changes at the federal level.
Manitoba hasnt committed to such a review, and Justice Minister Heather Stefanson was not available to comment because of the blackout period before the June 13 byelection in Point Douglas.
Hutton said governments should provide regular reports on their use of segregation.
Its very important information to have, particularly since there are deaths in custody that seem to be related to the use of administrative segregation, and when someone is in custody regardless of if its provincial or federal corrections they are under the responsibility of the government, and the public has a right to know that that responsibility is being carried out in a professional way or not, he said.
katie.may@freepress.mb.ca
Twitter: @thatkatiemay
Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press files John Hutton, executive director of the John Howard Society in Winnipeg
Once upon a time there were two farm families who decided to settle west of Racine in the new settlement of Mount Pleasant.
The Walkers and the Reeds laid claim to adjacent pieces of land along a toll plank road that ran between Racine and the small settlement of Wyatts Corner, so that their products could be easily transported into Downtown Racine and sold at Market Square, the major center of commerce where farmers sold their goods and produce.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, dairy farming was the main industry in Mount Pleasant, which boasted 312 settlers when it officially organized in 1842, six years after Racine was first settled, and a year before Racine was incorporated as a city.
The Walker family settled on about 160 (perhaps as much as 200) acres. The Reeds and Walkers both built large homes and agricultural buildings along the southern edge of their properties near the toll road, and the lands owned by these two prosperous farming families comprised the entire area that is today commonly known as the Manree Park neighborhood in Racine.
Today, that old plank toll road is the busy and well-traveled Washington Avenue; Market Square is now Monument Square; and that rural section of Mount Pleasant where the Walkers and Reeds milked cows and raised crops is now a residential neighborhood within the City of Racine limits.
The City of Racine grew rapidly after 1890, when the population had reached 23,840. World War I prompted an immediate need nationwide for military production and Racines foundries, machine shops, and automotive and farm manufacturers converted portions of their operations from helping American farms to aiding the war effort.
The industrial boom was so profitable that the city experienced over 20 percent growth in manufacturers and a staggering 50 percent growth in workers as the value of industrial output tripled. The countys agricultural output also boomed, peaking in 1919.
The growth of both industries simultaneously required more workers. Racine soon found itself facing manpower shortages. The resulting influx of workers into the community required more housing and resulted in Racines largest growth during the 1910s and 1920s. The citys boundaries expanded as more area was needed for businesses and residences. Racine in the 1920s ranked second only to Milwaukee in value of industrial products and manufacturing employment in Wisconsin.
Changes in the economy, however, prompted changes in land use. Declining profits in the dairy industry and increased values in property values compelled farmers with large tracts to sell off parcels for urban development. The continued decline of the agricultural industry in the wake of the industrial boom resulted in additional annexation into rural areas.
Starting in 1925, the Reeds began platting sections of their farmland northwest of the Lathrop and Washington avenues for private residences, using with the development firm L.O. Mann & Son Co.
The resulting subdivision was named Manree Park No. 1 probably a combination of the names Mann and Reed. The Reeds platted additional adjacent property for Manree Park No. 2 in 1929. The Walkers followed the Reeds, establishing the Hillcrest Addition subdivisions.
Homes were built every year between 1929 and 1945. The suburban development movement after World War II spurred the development of additional subdivisions until the entire Manree Park neighborhood was completed in the 1960s.
Manree Parks boundaries are Graceland Boulevard to the north; South Ohio Street to the west; Washington Avenue to the south; Lathrop Avenue to the east. Some of the homes in this neighborhood will be featured on Preservation Racines 2017 Tour of Historic Places this Sept. 24.
Upcoming events
Our next membership meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Monday, June 5, at Snap-on Corporate Headquarters in Kenosha. Join us as we learn about the history and visit the museum of this important southeastern Wisconsin manufacturer.
For more information on Preservation Racine and how you can become involved visit www.preservationracine.org.
Opinion
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Theres always more to a story.
And then there are the readers such as Henry Katz who demand more.
He sent an email after my Thursday column about the departure of Alexander Mickelthwate, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestras long-serving musical director, on the heels of the WSOs 70th anniversary season.
PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra musical director Alexander Mickelthwate (left) was not invited to stay past his 12th season. Readers wanted to know why, but the governance board has cited confidentiality issues.
Too-long serving in the WSO boards opinion, which the organization cited in more diplomatic language for not renewing the maestros position beyond a 12th season.
Its just the way things come and go for conductors on the symphony scene; his time was up, was the message. But I had the feeling there was more to it, and asked board chairman Terry Sargeant how the orchestra felt about Mickelthwate. He declined to answer on the grounds of confidentiality. He instructed the musicians they shouldnt say anything either.
That leads us to the Katz email.
Not only am I saddened by Alexander Mickelthwates departure, but even more so, I am disgusted with the cavalier attitude displayed by Mr. Sargeant in claiming confidentiality in the matter of the maestros dismissal. The WSO is a gem that belongs to the citizens of Winnipeg it is not the private domain of Mr. Sargeant and his board, Katz wrote. As a decades-long subscriber and financial supporter of the WSO, I believe that I, and others in the same position, are entitled to know why the maestros contract was not renewed.
He wasnt the only reader who wanted to know more. What follows is more background music on what led Mickelthwate to sign with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic recently. It comes from a well-placed WSO source who asked not to be identified, but is an admirer of the soon-to-be 47-year-old maestro.
The source pointed first to what Sargeant didnt want to discuss: a core of dissatisfied musicians from the orchestra who got the boards ear. The musicians wanted change, the source said someone and something fresh and new musically.
There may have been more to it than that. I know of some WSO musicians who didnt want Mickelthwate when he was hired and have never respected him musically. In any event, this core this rot, as the source referred to it was essentially the same group who complained about Bramwell Tovey before he left after 12 seasons with the WSO to join the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra in 2000. That made it easy for an element on the board who felt it was time for Mickelthwate to go after serving 12 years particularly since he had agreed to do so while signing his last contract for the 2017-18 season.
That end date wasnt publicly proclaimed. At least, not until after he signed with Oklahoma City.
Leaving probably wasnt Mickelthwates preference. Not judging by how much Mickelthwate loves living and working in Winnipeg, and how he acknowledged after news broke about his departure that he and his young family never wanted to move. The source said the board could have extended his time here again; that there was a group of board members many of them drawn to serve because they are fans of Mickelthwate that pulled together to try find another solution. Maybe a short extension for Mickelthwate to find another orchestra, if a long one wasnt going to happen.
There was deep conversation, the source said. There were all sorts of opinions.
Which brings us back to the central question.
Apparently, there was another key part to what led to Mickelthwates contract not being renewed or extended. Perhaps the central one.
It all really boiled down to improper governance, said the source, who had another word for it, too.
Sloppy.
There was some sloppiness that triggered this entire thing that jeopardized the proper kind of governance for an effective vote procedure.
The source said the WSO already has an initial short list of candidates, all of whom are undoubtedly technically acceptable. In time, one may become the next darling with the audience. The problem is there may be no maestro good enough for all of the musicians and, in time, the rot may prevail again. And the next musical director will be told time is up, if, of course, that person hasnt already decided to leave.
That could be the way it happens because the source also believes Mickelthwates departure is happening at a time when his vitality and vision is so vital; because the WSO as an institution is without a long-term vision. Something thats suggested by letting Mickelthwate go.
Still, there are lessons the WSO, its board, management and some of its musicians should learn from what happened.
Board governance improvements being one, by the sounds of it. And how it manages the transition when the next musical directors time is up.
Management will still try to make it appear all is wonderful with your Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as it celebrates its 70th season, and much of the audience will buy it. But the organizations mishandling of the Mickelthwate departure has turned what could have been a true tribute to Mickelthwate into a long, awkward goodbye for the man who is, and still should be, the face of the WSO.
So how could the transition been handled better?
Well, how about taking Tovey and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as a shining example. Yes, our former maestro is still leading the VSO, and has been for nearly 17 years. But come the end of the 2018, Tovey will be stepping down, which the Vancouver Sun reported way back in 2013, when he signed his last contract. The article went on to say this: The decision to step down at the end of the symphonys 99th season was Toveys, made with considerable thought towards making the best possible transition for conductor, orchestra and community.
There you have it. An open, honest, classy and, I dare say, dignified way to do things. Words that appear to be unknown to our discordant, dysfunctional and disappointing Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.
gordon.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (1994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
About 100 supporters turned out for a rally Friday to protest provincial funding cuts to North Point Douglas Womens Centre. With drums and prayers, supporters called on the province to restore $120,000 in Neighbourhood Alive! program funding.
To have to stand here and have to say this is not OK is amazing, said the centres executive director Tara Zajac. This cut means we will no longer be able to offer counselling, no advocacy for anyone who comes to us with problems with CFS or whatever.
The program cuts also put an end to the centres drop-in program, which provides support for basic needs to over 100 people a day, including access to phone and computer services, laundry, used clothing, coffee and snacks.
ALEXANDRA PAUL / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS About 100 supporters turned out on Friday to protest provincial funding cuts at North Point Douglas Womens Centre.
This (cut) is affecting many organizations this feels like an attack on the inner city of Winnipeg, Zajac told the crowd.
North Point Douglas is among the poorest neighbourhoods in Winnipeg.
Minutes before the rally got underway, the province issued a notice that it is replacing the cuts with $7.5 million in new programs across Manitoba.
In the case of the centre, the new funding will bring nearly $260,000 to North Point Douglas over the next three years.
But executives with the centre said the new funding probably wont save the eight jobs that will be lost through the existing cuts.
The new money we are receiving is through the United Way and it is earmarked to enhance existing services, the executive director said in an interview.
Where that leaves the centre after one third of their existing services are cut, nobody knows.
The rally drew opposition politicians, including NDP MLA Nahanni Fontaine, Liberal interim leader Judy Klassen and some of the candidates vying for the Point Douglas seat in the June 13 byelection: the NDPs Bernadette Smith, Green candidate Sabrina Koehn Binesi and Liberal John Cacayuran. Councillor Ross Eadie was also in attendance.
They backed the centres demand that the province reverse funding cuts and called on the premier to meet with centre officials within a month.
Fontaine who has had some heated exchanges with Pallister over the cuts this week said she offered to bake the Premier his favourite treats and drive him to the meeting.
One community organizer noted that a communication gap with the province is as much to blame for igniting grassroots as the funding cuts themselves.
How it was rolled out, thats the problem, said Bear Clan co-founder Mitch Bourbonniere. Wheres the communication? Where theres no communication, theres confusion. Everybody here is just scared, thats all.
In December, the Conservative government announced reviews into the two programs Community Places and Neighbourhood Alive! that non-profit organizations rely on to get teens off the streets, assist families with food and support homeless people.
Some non-profits responded to the funding instability by announcing pre-emptive staff layoffs or reorganizing remaining funding to save services.
Then in March, the provincial government announced $7.5 million in new funding through Manitoba Education and Training (Healthy Child) to support 24 neighbourhood family centres throughout the city.
This funding is designed to leverage matching donations over a six-year period through the United Way Winnipegs For Every Family initiative.
That new funding is expected to bring North Point Douglas Womens Centre $257,590 over the next three years.
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/05/2017 (1993 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency added to its list Saturday of flour and flour products being recalled due to possible E. coli contamination.
The 24 products affected were manufactured by Ardent Mills from specific shipments of wheat during certain production dates, said an announcement posted on the Robin Hood brands website. Limited production codes of Smucker Foods of Canada Corp. brands Robin Hood, Brodie, Golden Temple, Purity, as well as Ardent Mills brands, have been impacted.
The food-recall warning has been ongoing since May 11, the CFIA said in a news release. While there have been no confirmed illnesses associated with the products identified, the watchdog agency is urging consumers to check if they have recalled products in the home, and if so, the product should be thrown out or returned to the store where purchased.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is issuing a recall for the Robin Hood brand of all-purpose flour sold in Western Canada due to possible E. coli contamination. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Canadian Food Inspection Agency)
The CFIA (http://inspection.gc.ca) is verifying that industry is removing recalled products from the marketplace, it said.
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (1994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
RCMP have arrested a man for a homicide in Norway House Cree Nation early Friday.
Police were called to a home at about 5:15 a.m.
A 31-year-old Norway House man was taken to the local nursing station with life-threatening injuries and later died. A 27-year old man was arrested.
Norway House RCMP, along with RCMP major crime services and the forensic identification section, are investigating.
Norway House is a Cree First Nation with a population of about 5,000, located about 460 kilometres north of Winnipeg, on the Nelson River at the top of Lake Winnipeg.
alexandra.paul@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2017 (1994 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Nejma Abbulreshid Hassan was 11 years old when she went to school for the first time.
Now 17, the West End resident loves every minute at Gordon Bell High School and plans to be a lawyer. Abbulreshid Hassan has ambulatory issues and gets around by electronic wheelchair, something that was never a possibility in the refugee camp in Somalia where she used to live.
As soon as Abbulreshid Hassan and her family arrived in Winnipeg, they began working with Society of Manitobans with Disabilities Ethno-Cultural Program, an initiative that helps refugees and all types of newcomers with disabilities settle into a new life in Canada. They helped Abbulreshid Hassan get a wheelchair and worked with her family to help them make sense of different resources.
Alana Trachenko Nejma Abbulreshid Hassan (right) and her translator and SMD case worker, Muhiadin Sheikh Omar.
It was life-changing for me, she said. I can do so much on my own that had to be done for me, which was incredible. When I was back home, I could never get anywhere but when I get here, I can go somewhere, I can go to the mosque and I felt like an able person that could walk, like anyone.
The Ethno-Cultural Program recently received a $20,000 grant from the Manitoba Community Services Council, which SMD staff are incredibly grateful for. According to them, the money will make it possible to continue paying employees who work closely with newcomer families during the hectic first few months after arrival.
The front-line staff have the most work with the families. Initially, sometimes several times a day, program supervisor Traicy Robertson said. In different languages, there may be no equivalent terms for the specialists theyre going to be seeing so our program interprets on a cultural level to explain what the services are so people can understand whats being offered to them.
Roberston said the idea of people living with disabilities having an independent life is a new idea for many immigrants, especially when they come from countries which dont provide much in the way of social supports. For Abbulreshid Hassan, life was very different in Somalia.
My mother was already carrying my youngest brother in her hands, which was hard, so Im like, OK Mom, I dont want to go anywhere, so I just kept my mouth shut. When I got (the wheelchair) it was like that big ticket to the world, huge ticket, its like, oh my god, free. And I could go anywhere.
Robertson adds that especially in refugee camps, even having a wheelchair may not make life much easier.
Because of the state of infrastructure in a refugee camp, giving someone who has ambulatory issues a wheelchair is like giving a fish a bicycle, theyre not going to be able to use it, she said. Theyre relearning how to use that piece of equipment.
SMD staff say the grant is a reflection of the hard work being done, but its also a response to the pressure that SMD is feeling as more newcomers are expected to come into the country. The Winnipeg Foundation recently donated $10,000 to the program, as well.
We know the numbers from Somalia are going to be increasing, we expect Sudan to be increasing as well with the unrest there, she said. In the future, well have to see what happens in Turkey.
For more information, visit smd.mb.ca
Sharon Lee (Linde) Hillmer, 80, of Baraboo, began her eternal life on Wednesday, May 24, 2017.
Sharon was born Oct. 22, 1936, in Madison to Dorothy Susan Harris and Carl Gjermund Linde. She graduated from Central High School in Madison and later attended the University of Wisconsin-Baraboo extension. Sharon married Roger Bud Martin Hillmer on March 3, 1956. After Buds college graduation they moved back to his hometown of Baraboo. They raised their four children as well as numerous foster children and welcomed anyone as family into their home.
Sharon spent her career as a medical transcriptionist working at the University Hospital in Madison after winning a typing competition for speed and accuracy. She continued to work for the hospitals in Baraboo and local private physicians until a car accident crippled her. Sharon could often be found answering the phone at the family business, perusing her catalogs and engaging in long conversations with whoever walked in the door.
She enjoyed couples club at church and the church choir, the Jaycettes, Baraboo Theater Guild, and the Lyle Greenwood and Fairfield Fiddlers earlier in her life. Sharon had been a part of the First Methodist Church and Walnut Hill Bible Church during her life in Baraboo. Many do not know because of her humility, but Sharon was a gifted artist, a talented violinist and had a lovely warm voice (but it was drowned out by Buds booming to the heavens).
Sharon worked at Renewal Unlimited helping community members rebuild lives and homes. She volunteered for two decades with Bud at Self Help Ministries where they assisted Wisconsin inmates to rehabilitate back into the community. She always looked for and believed there was good in everyone.
After her accident, Sharon ran away with the circus, luckily it was just a few blocks away and it ran away with her heart. For over 25 years she volunteered at Circus World Museum, attended circus activities and donating to circus events. She embraced the nickname Grandma Circus and looked forward to seeing repeat families visiting year after year.
For almost five years Sharon has resided at St. Clare Meadows where she was president of the resident council. She loved her resident neighbors and staff and will be truly missed by all who knew her.
Survivors include her son Jon (Debbie); daughters, Pam (Tom) Marquie, Susan Hillmer, Carol (Daniel) Keepers; grandchildren, Elise (Frank) Payne, Merrick (Ashton)Marquie, Maureen Marquie, Linde VanSlyke and Kenny Bell; great-grandchildren, Guthrie, Ivy, Violet, Vlad and Gavrila; brother Ken (Denise) Linde; sister, Jean (Roy) Flansburgh; loving nieces and nephew as well as numerous foster children and countless friends.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 46 years, Bud; and her parents, Dorothy and Carl.
A memorial service celebrating Sharons life will be held at a later date. Rago-Baldwin Funeral Home is assisting the family.
The proposed leadership of the planned think tank named for former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison does not match up with political leaders promises of nonpartisanship, said Donald Moynihan, director of the university's La Follette School of Public Affairs.
Our vision of Thompson center is that it will be a credible nonpartisan entity, Moynihan messaged Friday in response to a request for comment. The governor, speaker and others committed to that goal when they presented the idea to the public. The current language coming from the JFC falls short of that standard.
The Joint Finance Committee voted Thursday to allocate $3 million for the Tommy G. Thompson Leadership Center in the 2017-2019 budget, and outlined the makeup of its governing board in a wide-ranging motion covering UW related provisions.
The seven-member board would include:
a director
the president of the Thompson Family Charitable Foundation, Inc.
one member who worked under the personal direction of Thompson in the state or federal government
two members nominated by the Speaker of the Assembly
two members nominated by the Senate Majority Leader
The nominees from the Speaker and Majority Leaders would be appointed by the governor without Senate confirmation.
Thompson was the states longest serving governor before joining the George W. Bush administration as secretary of Health and Human Services in 2001.
Gov. Scott Walker and Assembly Speaker Robin Vos announced plans for the Thompson Center at a news conference Tuesday. Vos, R-Rochester, said its purpose will be to facilitate research and leadership training.
"We will continue our efforts to have long-term, bipartisan solutions that bring the best in academia together with the best in government to find long-term solutions that continue to move Wisconsin forward," Vos said.
Moynihan said then that the La Follette School supports creation of the Thompson Center. On Friday, he proposed that its founding legislation be improved by either increasing the number of nonpartisan members of the board, or reserving board seats for the minority party.
The Thompson Center will have a faculty advisory committee also, and its important that they play a substantive role in guiding the center, Moynihan said.
If the language passes as currently written, "the center would be viewed as more credible if those appointed were not chosen to promote a specific set of political goals," Moynihan added. "Given that the center honors his legacy, I think it would be wise to include Governor Thompson himself."
In addition to statements about bipartisanship in announcing the center, Vos spoke of his long-held belief that conservative ideology gets short shrift at UW. Hopefully it will be able to offset some of the liberal thinking," Vos said of the center to Wisconsin Public Radio. "This is just hoping that we can have a balance of thought on campus."
Vos has regularly called for more conservative speakers on campus. Hes currently sponsoring a bill that would require UW System campuses to "remain neutral on public policy controversies" and could punish students for disrupting campus events.
The JFC omnibus bill also calls for $500,000 a year in state funding to the Thompson Center to be used for speaking engagements at UW campuses other than Madison.
In addition to state funding, private money would be sought to run the Thompson Center. UW-Madison spokeswoman Meredith McGlone said that UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association "will reach out to private donors across the ideological spectrum who are interested in improving leadership. No political party or ideology has a monopoly on leadership.
Some Democratic legislators were critical of the Thompson Center proposal.
Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, questioned the priorities of Republican leaders in funding the Thompson Center.
After $795 million in cuts to the UW System, including millions in cuts that UW-Madison had to absorb during the last budget, the priority of Republican legislators is to fund a partisan propaganda machine to support their failing agenda that has stifled economic growth, resulted in crumbling roads and schools and the stagnation of middle income wages, Taylor said in a press release Friday. This is a serious misuse of public money for the purposes of pushing a partisan, right-wing agenda on UW campuses."
Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh, said that with the creation of the Thompson Center, it is Republicans who are trying to create the campus safe spaces, free of offensive speech, that they accuse Democrats of supporting.
It seems that when science and objective research does not support the ideological view of the Wisconsin Republicans they feel the need to make their own space, Hintz said in a press release Wednesday.
Hintz questioned the need for another public policy center on the UW-Madison campus and said that the current Republican leadership does not work in the spirit of Thompson.
Gov. Tommy Thompson worked with UW faculty on a regular basis. In fact, he utilized the existing La Follette School of Public Affairs on at least two commissions studying complex policy issues, Hintz said. "It is baffling to me that Wisconsin has an existing public affairs school that receives only $600,000 a year in state funding, and yet the GOP's feels the need to spend $1.5 million a year to pursue their own truths.
Hintz said it's unclear how the new Thompson Center would incorporate Vos bill that requires universities to stay neutral on public policy controversies.
The Thompson Center would not grant degrees, unlike the La Follette School, which offers graduate programs, Moynihan said.
The center, according to the JFC, would support faculty research that objectively studies public leadership in American political and legal institutions, policy making and policy implementation; make competitive grants for faculty research with direct and urgent relevance for the state; publicize the findings of research supported by the center, foster public debate and facilitate dialogue between academics and policymakers; conduct programs that bring timely issues to public attention.
A slate of Republican-authored changes to the state budget includes new rules to ensure University of Wisconsin System chancellors can come from non-academic backgrounds and a requirement that lawmakers weigh in before any taxpayer money can be sent to UW- Oshkoshs troubled private foundation.
Those are two of 23 provisions the Joint Finance Committee approved Thursday in a wide-ranging motion that changed or approved pieces of Gov. Scott Walkers executive budget for the UW System.
The most significant changes to Walkers budget involved removing his proposal to cut tuition for in-state UW students by 5 percent in the 2018-19 school year, and reducing by about $7 million the amount of new funding the System stands to receive in the 2017-19 biennium. The committee instead voted to keep UW System tuition frozen through the 2018-19 school year, continuing the cap that has been in place since 2013.
System President Ray Cross wrote in a statement that he has concerns with some of the provisions in the budget, though he did not specify what they were. Cross said the vast majority of UWs requests were approved.
Chancellor rule: The budget would bar the Board of Regents from enacting any rule that requires chancellors of UW institutions or the Systems president to be tenured faculty members or those who hold terminal degrees such as doctorates.
Its not clear, though, whether the System has any such rules on the books, or if the budget change is meant as a preemptive move. A System spokeswoman did not provide an answer Friday to an emailed question about existing UW policies.
The change was not mentioned during the committees two-and-a-half-hour hearing on the UW budget, but seems aimed at ensuring System leaders could come from the worlds of business or politics, not just academia.
Examples of that approach include the University of Iowa, whose president, Bruce Harreld, worked as a business consultant and executive, but had no higher education experience a fact that rankled faculty members, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.
UW-Oshkosh Foundation: As UW officials consider a settlement deal that could use System money to pay the creditors of the UW-Oshkosh Foundation, another budget provision would require approval from the Joint Finance Committee to transfer any money to the private nonprofit.
Two former UW-Oshkosh officials approved guarantees pledging the universitys credit on millions of dollars worth of foundation loans for various building projects on and around the campus. Those guarantees were illegal, according to System lawyers who are now suing the former officials, but they could mean that UW is left on the hook for the foundations debts.
System leaders said last week they are in preliminary discussions on a settlement.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported in January that the foundation was considering bankruptcy, and had $14.5 million worth of debt.
Tommy Thompson Center: A new research and leadership center at UW-Madison named for former Gov. Tommy Thompson would have to spend at least $500,000 over the next two years to bring speakers to UW System campuses under the budget changes.
Committee members agreed to provide $3 million in total funding for the center, which Republican lawmakers and UW officials announced on Tuesday.
Democrats have raised concerns that the center could produce right-leaning research, and noted its board of directors would be almost entirely made up of Republican appointees.
Supporters say it will fund nonpartisan faculty research into government and public policy, improve connections between academics and state lawmakers and inspire the next generation of leaders by inviting engaging speakers.
One of the lawmakers who pushed to create the center Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester has complained that UW institutions dont invite enough guest lecturers from the political right, and has said he believes conservative ideas arent presented fairly on college campuses.
Other pieces of the budget include:
Providing $10,000 for the UW System to review and revise policies related to academic freedom. Walker proposed that funding in his executive budget.
Requiring the System to contract with a private accounting firm for an audit of financial statements.
Authorizing the creation of a new engineering school at UW-Green Bay.
Requiring the System to standardize how it classifies different types of student fees. Students are charged segregated fees for a variety of services, but how the fees are classified often varies between campuses, lawmakers said.
RACINE The city has drafted a request for proposals for a comprehensive feasibility study of all its buildings associated with public safety.
The draft, which will be presented at Tuesdays Public Works and Services Committee meeting, names the Safety Building, which includes the Police Station, Fire Department offices and Fire Station No. 1; the other five fire stations; the police impound lot, 2215 South Memorial Drive; and the City Hall Annex, 800 Center St., as targets for the study.
Sixth District Alderman Sandy Weidner had requested an update on the study of the building earlier this month.
The study was a prominent line item in the citys 2017 capital improvement plan and $50,000 was set aside to fund the study. In November, Public Works Commissioner Mark Yehlen said the Safety Building, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2017, doesnt do a good job of housing a modern police force.
Its time to take a look at this building, he added. Do we need to get into this building and extend its service life?
In an email sent to the committee earlier this month, Yehlen called the plan a Police and Fire Departments facilities programming study and said it would include an in-depth look at the Safety Building.
This study will be performed as a portion of a larger, citywide facility study/long-range plan that is being developed by senior city staff, Yehlen wrote.
Scope of the study
According to the draft RFP, the studys purposes include identifying whether the facilities meet Racines current and projected safety needs and identifying deficiencies and the impact they have on public safety operations. The study will also determine whether those deficiencies can be addressed through renovation and expansion and if not identify options, along with associated costs, for constructing a new facility or facilities.
The goal of this proposed facility study is to build the informational foundation which will be used to start the process of recapitalizing the City of Racines Police and Fire Departments to meet the public safety needs of our citizens for the foreseeable future, the document reads.
Tuesdays Public Works and Services Committee meeting is scheduled to take place at 5:30 in the Council Chambers, Room 205, at City Hall, 730 Washington Ave.
Throughout the Trump-Russia investigation, the core question the question that mattered above all others was whether President Trump or his associates colluded with Russia to try to influence the 2016 election.
If there were proof of that, the effect on Trumps presidency would have been devastating, and possibly fatal.
The problem for the confederation of Democrats, pundits, Obama holdovers and NeverTrumpers who hoped to see that result, has been that so far after a lot of investigating no evidence has emerged that collusion actually occurred. Although they allowed that previously unknown proof always could emerge, last week some of the lawmakers most deeply involved in the investigation, and most closely in touch with the intelligence community and law enforcement working on the probe, conceded that there appeared to be no there there.
That was then. Now, rather than focusing on alleged collusion, the thrust of leaks in recent days has been directed almost exclusively toward building a case of obstruction of justice against the president, charging that he actively tried to derail the investigation into his campaign and his associates. More and more, day after day, Trumps adversaries believe that, when it comes to bringing down the president, it might not matter if collusion occurred or not. A cover-up would be enough to do the job.
The Trump-Russia case could become the ultimate illustration of the old Washington saying that its not the crime, its the cover-up. In this case, there might be no underlying crime at all.
The latest story in the cover-up timeline broke Monday night in the Washington Post. Citing current and former officials, the paper reported that Trump called the Director of National Intelligence and the head of the National Security Agency to enlist their help to push back against the FBI investigation and to publicly deny the existence of any evidence of collusion during the 2016 election.
Before that came a spate of reports and developments, all arising out of Trumps May 9 firing of FBI Director James Comey.
First, the White House portrayed the firing as not Trumps doing, and not related to the Russia investigation.
Then Trump told NBCs Lester Holt that he had in fact decided to fire Comey because this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.
Then, with accusations of obstruction in the air, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed a special counsel to investigate the Russia affair. Rosenstein specifically gave that prosecutor, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, authority to pursue any federal crimes arising from the investigation and specifically referenced the part of the Code of Federal Regulations dealing with special counsels and obstruction.
Then the New York Times reported that Comey wrote contemporaneous memos of his interactions with the president, and that during one of those interactions Trump asked Comey to drop the investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Then the Times reported Trump, in an Oval Office meeting, bragged to Russias foreign minister and ambassador to the U.S. that firing Comey relieved Trump of great pressure in the Russia investigation.
As each revelation came, there was more talk of obstruction. Democrat after Democrat suggested Trump might have engaged in obstruction, while the list of Democrats calling for impeachment grew long enough for party leaders to worry about the situation escalating too soon.
Before Trump fired Comey, a likely conclusion of the Russia affair was coming into view. Flynn would be in trouble for his connections to Turkey and possible violation of the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Former Trump campaign head Paul Manafort would be in trouble for some sort of sleazy business dealing in Ukraine. Maybe another figure or two from Trumps circle of advisors would get into trouble, as well, but in ways tangential to the investigation. There would be scalps for Democrats to celebrate, but the most consequential issue collusion would end in nothing.
That was before Comey was sacked. Now, the investigation has taken what is for Trump a more ominous turn. Focusing on alleged obstruction, the presidents enemies no longer have to find an underlying crime to attempt to remove him from office.
All the while, some Republicans have found themselves asking over and over: But what about collusion? Remember that? If theres no crime at the bottom of the Russia affair, then isnt all of this just much ado about nothing?
The answer is no. Certainly Trump has good arguments to make in his defense, beginning with what legally constitutes obstruction. But after the last two weeks, his supporters can no longer assume that his detractors will have to find an underlying crime to make big trouble for the president.
RACINE A Turning Point Academy student, who has a prior conviction for misdemeanor sexual assault from earlier this year, has allegedly been charged with felony sexual assault of a fellow student.
According to a criminal complaint:
The male student has been sexually harassing and inappropriately touching a female student since he arrived at Turning Point, 1101 Douglas Ave. The female student also said that recently the harassment has become more frequent and aggressive, police said.
This week, the male student allegedly stuck a marker down the pants of the female student without her permission. He also allegedly inappropriately touched the female student multiple times in the past two weeks and made sexually degrading comments to her.
The male student admitted to the marker incident and other students provided information to police about the accuseds alleged consistent harassment of the female student, police said. The male student is 17; the female student is 15.
The accused student made his initial appearance in court Friday and had his bond set at $5,000, according to court records. Records show that he is scheduled to make his next court appearance for a preliminary hearing on June 1.
According to the Racine Unified School District, Turning Point Academy is a redirection program designed to meet the educational needs of at-risk students through therapeutic intervention services, behavior and academic prevention and intervention programs.
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What Is An Oblast?
An oblast is the political and administrative division of a country. In many places, these divisions are referred to as states or provinces. Oblast, or its cognates voblast and oblys, are terms used by many former Soviet countries. This article takes a closer look at which countries use the term oblast (or its cognates) to describe its administrative divisions.
History Of Oblasts
The term oblast dates as far back as the Russian Empire, which lasted from 1849 to 1917. In this empire, oblasts were administrative areas that made up part of the Governorate Generals, also known as Krais. At this time, the oblasts were positioned around the borders of the country or in areas inhabited by Cossacks, East Slavic-speaking people.
After the establishment of the Soviet Union, from 1922 to 1991, oblasts were once again utilized to organize the union. During this era, oblasts were the administrative centers of each union republic. They were further divided into districts and municipalities that worked under the direction of the oblast. As a form of economic planning, these new oblasts were established in order to facilitate the electrification goals. Under the Soviet Union, there were 13 European oblasts and 8 Asian oblasts.
Countries With Oblasts
After the fall of the Soviet Union, the following countries continued to use oblasts (or another term with the same meaning) to organize their newly formed nations: Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Bulgaria, Belarus, and Armenia. The other terms used in place of oblast are: viloyat (Uzbekistan and Tajikistan), welayat (Turkmenistan), mkhare (Georgia), voblast (Belarus), and mar (Armenia).
How Many Oblasts In Each Country?
Uzbekistan has 12 oblasts, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 autonomous city. The largest of these by population size is Samarqand with over 3.51 million residents.
Ukraine has 24 oblasts (called viloyat) and 1 autonomous region. The largest of these oblasts by population size is Donetsk with over 4.38 million residents.
Turkmenistan is divided into 5 oblasts (called welayat) and 1 capital city region. According to population size, the Mary oblast is the largest with over 1.28 million residents.
Tajikistan is home to 2 oblasts, 2 Districts of Republican Subordination, 1 autonomous region, and 1 capital city region. The largest oblast is Khatlon with a population size of 2.15 million.
Russia has a total of 85 subjects. Of these, 46 are considered oblasts. The Moscow oblast is one of the most densely populated in the country, with a population size of over 7.09 million in an area of 17,100 square miles.
Kyrgyzstan is divided into 7 oblasts and 1 independent municipality. The Osh oblast has a population of 1 million, making it the largest.
Kazakhstan is politically divided into 14 oblasts. These are further divided into districts. The most populated oblast here is South Kazakhstan with over 2.68 million.
Georgia has a total of 9 oblasts, known as mkhare. This division is considered temporary until the secession movements in Abkhazia and South Ossetia are ended. These mkhare are further divided into districts.
Bulgaria is divided into 28 oblasts or provinces. These are further divided into municipalities. The largest population (not considering the largest city) is found in Plovdiv, with 683,027 residents.
Belarus has a total of 6 oblasts and 1 independent city. The most heavily populated of these is Gomel with a population size of over 1.44 million.
Armenia is divided into 10 oblasts (known as marz) and 1 special administrative city, the countrys capital. Armavir oblast has the largest population size, with 265,770 residents.
Man Sentenced for Public Order Offences at Wrexham Vigil
This article is old - Published: Saturday, May 27th, 2017
A 49-year-old man has today been sentenced to 14 weeks in prison after shouting obscenities at a local vigil held for the victims of the Manchester attack.
Steven Barry Ellis from Wrexham was arrested for public order offences at the vigil on Llwyn Isaf last night, after he shouted obscenities as the minute silence was being observed.
He appeared before Wrexham Magistrates today, Saturday 27th May, and was sentenced immediately.
Supt Rob Kirman said: The immediate sentencing of this man demonstrates that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated in North Wales.
Careers Australia, one of the countrys largest private vocational colleges, went into voluntary administration on Thursday, leaving 1,000 staff jobless and preventing up to 15,000 enrolled students from completing their courses.
The overnight collapse of the college is the latest in a spate of closures in the private education sector. They have highlighted the role of successive state and federal governments, Labor and Liberal-National alike, in turning over vocational training to publicly-subsidised corporations that engage in dubious practices to make a profit.
Staff were reportedly sent an email on Thursday evening by Careers Australias administrator, PPB Advisory, stating that there were insufficient finances to cover the payroll and that they were stood-down immediately. Students were sent a brief text message late at night which declared that there would be no classes. Administrators are investigating whether the business can be restructured or sold.
Careers Australia operated 14 campuses across the country, including in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, and in regional centres, such as Townsville and Caboolture in Queensland.
The colleges largely working-class student cohort undertook courses in trades, including cabling, electrical installation and construction, and community work, such as early childhood education, along with diplomas in business management, legal services and other subjects. Some of the courses included apprentiships, work placements and traineeships.
There is widespread anger among students and staff over the sudden closure. One worker, quoted anonymously by ABC News, commented that staff had been misled. Somebody knew this was coming and they didnt give us any warning, they said. Numbers of students have also commented on social media about the uncertainty that they now face.
Students have spoken out about the prospect of being left tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket, and unable to graduate. A nursing student told news.com.au that his course had cost $26,000. He only had a four week-work placement to complete before graduating. He said students had not been told whether they would receive a refund for their course, or other costs including travel and accommodation associated with work placements.
If it all falls through, I know I can get back on my feet, but there are ladies in their fifties who have taken two years off to do the course. What do they do? the student asked. It seems unfair that we have completed 99.9 percent of the requirements but we cant graduate.
College management has claimed that the trigger for the collapse was confirmation from the Education Department that its enrolments would not be government-subsidised, after an overhaul of the federal student loan scheme.
Under VET Fee-Help, the previous model introduced by the former federal Labor government of Julia Gillard, private colleges were indiscriminately provided with vast federal grants, on the basis of their enrolment numbers. The colleges received an immediate cash bonanza, while their students became heavily indebted to the government for their studies.
Careers Australia received $146 million in federal subsidies in 2014, and $320 million in 2015. Last year, it reported a profit of more than $34 million. VET Fee-Help provided a direct incentive for private colleges to charge exorbitant fees and artificially boost enrolment numbers, in order to receive as much government funding as possible.
Careers Australia, like a number of other colleges, was repeatedly accused of carrying out dubious practices to boost enrolments.
In 2015, Chris Chambers, a former sales broker for Careers Australia, told the ABC that impoverished and disadvantaged youth in working class areas were deliberately targeted by the company. Chambers claimed that he had seen the companys recruiters do the mandatory literacy and numeracy test for students on 4050 occasions, because those being signed-up were illiterate or innumerate. Students have also claimed to have been pressured into courses.
In May, 2016, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) secured an agreement from the college that it would pay back $44 million in federal funding and withdraw up to $110 million in claims for future grants, as a result of dubious enrolments. The college said that third-party recruiters were responsible for the practices.
Signing-up students for courses they were not equipped to complete, however, appears to have been central to the business model of many private colleges. The Australian reported in 2015 that government figures showed that no students enrolled at Careers Australia in 2011 had graduated by the end of 2014. Only 10 percent of students who began studies at the college in 2012 had graduated, along with 13.4 percent from the following year.
Following the ACCC action, Careers Australia cancelled over 12,000 student enrolments. Only around 14 percent of the 30,000 students enrolled in 2015 completed a course. The college had been charging almost $18,000 in diplomas for counselling and business, and even more for other courses, before government funding caps were introduced last year on new enrollments.
Those changes, along with a broader clampdown on the sector, have seen a series of colleges close. For instance, in February, 2016, Global Intellectual Holdings, which controlled a network of three colleges, collapsed.
In February this year, Evocca College announced campus closures, following earlier job cuts, which saw the number of learning hubs it had across the country reduced from 40 to 18. In March, administrators closed colleges owned by the Australian Careers Institute, stranding around 1,600 students and resulting in 200 job losses.
A number of other colleges have also curtailed their operations or closed. Virtually all of them had been accused of dubious enrolment practices, and had received substantial federal funding.
The overhaul of the VET loan system, however, will do nothing to reverse the privatisation of education. The Liberal-National government only took action last year after vast sums had already been provided to the colleges.
The move was in response to mounting concerns in the financial elite that billions of dollars were being transferred to entrepreneurs, recruiters and others, amid demands that the government balance the budget to ensure the countrys triple A credit rating, and implement sweeping social austerity measures. The changes go hand-in-hand with a stepped-up attack on education, including further cuts to university funding in the May budget, and the ongoing gutting of publicly funded TAFE colleges.
The scandals and crises surrounding private colleges underscore the central role of the Labor Party, with the collaboration of the trade unions, in the destruction of public education.
As part of their Education Revolution, the federal Labor governments of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard spearheaded the introduction of a voucher-based funding model for vocational education, in collaboration with state governments, which allocated funding to private or public entities based on their enrolment numbers.
The pro-business model was tested in Victoria before being rolled out nationally in 2012. It saw a reduction in funding for public TAFE colleges in Victoria of $300 million in 2012 and $119 million the following year. Similar measures have been imposed in every other state. Enrolments in New South Wales (NSW) TAFEs were down by 83,000 in 2015 compared to 2012. Between 2011 and 2016, 2,000 NSW TAFE teachers lost their jobs.
In other words, public vocational training, especially for a young generation that confronts widespread joblessness and the lowest wage growth in history, is increasingly a thing of the past.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn gave his response to the Manchester suicide bombing yesterday, amid the further unravelling of Prime Minister Theresa Mays lie that Salman Abedi was a lone wolf known only to a degree by the security services.
As Corbyn stood to speak, police carried out further raids, bringing the total of those arrested in the UK to eleven, including Abedis younger brother who lives in Manchester and his father and other brother in Libya. Evidence shows that his entire family were known Islamic extremist elements. Abedi himself had been the subject of warnings to the police and security apparatus regarding his terrorist sympathies on at least five occasions over five years.
In sum, what emerges is that the dead and horribly maimed in Manchestermainly young peoplewere the victims of the illegal regime-change policies pursued by British imperialism.
This was especially damaging to the Conservatives who authorised the Libyan uprising and murder of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi using such extremist elements in 2011. But their efforts to whip up a backlash against Corbyn as a threat to national security who is soft on terrorism have singularly failed to win traction among working peoplewhose suspicions and animosity are directed against May and her attempts to politically capitalise on the terrorist outrage.
The Conservative lead, based on a YouGov polltaken on Wednesday and Thursday of this weekis now down to just 5 points. Such is their disarray that the planned relaunch of the Tories own election campaignto be overseen by Brexit Secretary David Daviswas postponed just as Corbyn relaunched Labours.
Corbyns assertion that Britains involvement in numerous wars in the Middle East and North Africa had contributed to the terror threat facing the UK has popular support. A poll taken yesterday showed that 65 percent agreed that UK foreign policy has played a direct role in such attacks.
But rather than showing how foreign policy is driven by the class interests of the British bourgeoisieboth against the working class at home and its rivals overseasCorbyn presents it solely as a wrong policy choice that can be rectified with clear thinking.
In particular, Corbyn advanced himself as someone who can heal the bitter social divisions that threaten to explode if the Tories continue to believe they can impose their class war policy without opposition.
His was a patriotic speech that invoked traditions of British respect for democracy, human rights, fairness at home and abroadand which cast Labour as the guardian of national unity against division at a time of acute crisis.
His brief foray into the question of Britains foreign policy was only made after Corbyn had made clear his support for the police, the security services and the armylinking them all with doctors and nurses and firefighters as the defenders of the publics safety.
Corbyns address, replete with numerous references to our country, began with a plea for national unity. The Manchester bombing could have happened anywhere and that the people in any city, town or village in Britain would have responded in the same way [to help and assist the dying and injured and take those stranded into their homes]... That is the solidarity that defines our United Kingdom.
His statement that he has spent his political life working for peace and human rights and to bring an end to conflict and devastating wars was followed by the ringing declaration, But do not doubt my determination to take whatever action is necessary to keep our country safe and to protect our people on our streets, in our towns and cities, at our borders.
To overcome the threat of terrorism meant reversing the cuts to our emergency services and police Austerity has to stop at the A&E [accident and emergency] ward and at the police station door.
As opposed to cuts in police numbers that have taken place under May, Corbyn stressed, There will be more police on the streets under a Labour Government. And if the security services need more resources to keep track of those who wish to murder and maim, then they should get them.
What was required on British foreign policy was a necessary course correction, he insisted. His argument did not reference popular opposition to wars in Iraq, Libya and Syria or their devastating consequences, but the citation that Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism here at home.
This was his one oblique reference to the fact that Abedis family are from Libya and that his father was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
Corbyn stated, We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. What was needed was not a retreat from UK interference in other countries, but a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism.
Labours approach to foreign policy would be focused on strengthening our national security in an increasingly dangerous world, he pledged. This is why it was imperative to support our Armed Services, Foreign Office and International Development professionals
One of the most significant statements made by Corbyn was his personal address to soldiers. Tory Prime Minister Theresa Mays decision to send an initial 1,000 troops on to the streetsout of a 5,000-plus that is possible under the provisions of the secret Operation Temperer she helped devise while home secretaryis unprecedented. That it could mean an election held June 8 under barely disguised martial law is so potentially explosive that even loyal mouthpieces such as the Guardian have sounded a note of caution.
In contrast, Corbyn declared on the Westminster rostrum, I would like to take a moment to speak to our soldiers on the streets of Britain. You are doing your duty as you have done so many times before... I want to assure you that, under my leadership, you will only be deployed abroad when there is a clear need and only when there is a plan and you have the resources to do your job.
He concluded his paean to the army, That is my commitment to our armed services. This is my commitment to our country.
Only then did Corbyn issue his own guarded and carefully worded caution to Britains rulersnot to risk the explosive consequences of the on-going lurch towards authoritarian forms of rule and not to be so blinded by their hostility to all things left that they misjudged the entirely benign aims of a Corbyn government.
Democracy will prevail. We must defend our democratic processand stand united against those who would seek to take our rights away, or who would divide us, he said. Democracy was at the very heart of British values... our General Election campaigns are the centrepieces of our democracy...
His loyalty to the British capitalist state should not be questioned. The Labour Party was about bringing our country together, he concluded. Lets have our arguments without impugning anyones patriotism and without diluting the unity with which we stand against terror.
There is no doubt that Corbyns appeal for unity encompassing everyone from public sector workers to soldiers and for democracy and a saner foreign policy will have its appeal to large sections of workers and youth. But in his smart suit and newly cropped beard, Corbyn and his backers will hope that he has also convinced a more important target audience in Britains boardrooms, banks, editorial offices and military command centres.
Socialist Equality Party (SEP) and International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) members and supporters held a successful picket and public meeting in Hatton on May 21 to demand the immediate release of the framed-up Maruti Suzuki autoworkers in India. Hatton is a major town in Sri Lankas central hill country plantation district.
In March, 13 workers from Maruti Suzukis Manesar car assembly plant in the north Indian state of Haryana were sentenced to life imprisonment on bogus murder charges. Their only crime was to fight against the brutal working conditions inside the global corporations factory.
The SEP picket and public meeting were held a little more than a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the area to address a meeting of estate workers organised by the plantation trade unions. Modis posturing as a friend of plantation workers is exposed by his governments brutal treatment of the Maruti Suzuki workers, in particular, and the Indian working class in general.
The SEP/IYSSE picket, held near the Hatton bus stand, won the attention of hundreds of estate workers, housewives and young people. SEP and International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI) statements in defence of the framed-up Suzuki workers were distributed in the town. Plantation workers travelled from Maskeliya, Dickoya and Kotagala to attend the meeting.
Banner and placards displayed in the picket line read: Free the framed-up Maruti Suzuki workers! Fight for international socialism against the suppression of social and democratic rights! Build the working class revolutionary party! and Fight for a Union of Socialist Republics in South Asia.
Two Tamil dailiesVirakesari and Thinakkuraland the Sinhala daily Lankadeepa reported on the picketing in the online and printed editions of their newspapers, and the leading private channel, Sirasa TV, covered the event.
SEP and IYSSE members campaigned at the estates around Hatton and Maskeliya in the weeks leading up to the picket and meeting. Maskeliya plantation workers signed the online petition demanding freedom for the Maruti Suzuki workers, as did workers from the Glenugie and Deeside estates, where the workers established an action committee to fight for their rights under the leadership of the SEP.
Explaining his support for the campaign, S. Ramar from Deeside estate said: The Maruti Suzuki workers fought to overcome their problems, like we did. I regard them as our people and face the same problems. They should be immediately released.
SEP political committee member M. Devarajah, who chaired the May 21 meeting, began by explaining that the life imprisonment of the 13 Suzuki workers and the jailing another 18 for three to five years was a declaration of war by the Indian government against the working class. The Indian courts verdict, he said was a political decision and a warning, not only for Indian workers, but workers throughout the world.
Devarajah drew a parallel with the plantation workers at the Ingestre and Deeside estates who were arrested and sacked on framed-up charges last year because they remained on strike after the unions betrayed the campaign for higher wages and against increased productivity. All the trade unions collaborated with the management in this frame-up. Only the SEP and World Socialist Web Site fought for their release and reinstatement, he said.
T. Sambandan, a leading SEP member from Jaffna, addressed the meeting. Governments around the world, he said, are offering the working class to the transnational corporations as cheap labour. The frame-up of the Maruti Suzuki workers is a part of the repression against any worker who fights against sweatshop conditions.
The speaker explained that Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley visited Japan early this month and met with Osamu Suzuki, owner of the Suzuki corporation. Following this meeting the company agreed to invest $US880 million in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Sambandan said workers could only defend their basic rights as part of the fight to abolish the profit system. Sri Lankan plantation workers and the war victims in the North should unite with the workers in the south of the island and across the Indian subcontinent under the socialist banner, he stated.
SEP political committee member W.A. Sunil was the final speaker. He explained why it was necessary to fight for the release of the jailed Suzuki workers and through that build the unity of the international working class.
Commenting on the Indian prime ministers visit to the Sri Lankan plantations, Sunil said the plantation unions were desperately fighting each other to embrace Modi.
The trade unions are not concerned about workers rights, he said, but do everything they can to subordinate estate workers to company profits. They are collaborating with the companies and the government to impose a share-cropper system that will wipe out all the limited rights workers won in previous struggles
Under conditions of a deepening economic crisis, international finance capital cannot maintain its profits and the rights won by working class in the past century. Without forging the international unity, the working class cannot win or defend its rights or defeat the worldwide attacks of financial capital, he said.
The court verdict against the Maruti Suzuki workers, he continued, was an assurance by Indian authorities to the global companies that it would crush any working class opposition that affects investors. It is also a warning to working people about what is in store if they resist slave labour conditions, he said.
Sunil pointed to the increasing repression of workers and use of court orders by the Sri Lankan government of President Maithripala Sirisena. Workers cannot defend their rights with old methods, he said, they need an alternative program and perspectivethe fight for international socialism.
Several people remained after the meeting to discuss the international campaign to release the Suzuki workers. Nadarajah from Kotagala said: What happened to the Maruti Suzuki workers is unjust. While you are fighting to unite all workers around the globe to release them and to fight for workers rights, all the other parties are supporting the bourgeoisie. You are fighting for socialism and I support you.
On Monday, Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama withdrew his appeal against a two-year jail sentence imposed by the North Jakarta District Court. Basuki was convicted on the concocted charge of blasphemy on May 9.
The frame-up was part of a politically motivated campaign organised by right-wing Islamist groups, undertaken in collaboration with political opponents of Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Elements within the countrys ruling elite are seeking to weaken Widodos coalition in the run up to the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections.
The anti-Basuki campaign was based on chauvinism and racialism, attacking the governors Christian background and Chinese ethnicity. The campaign played a major role in bringing about Basukis defeat in the gubernatorial race on April 19the blasphemy trial ran throughout the latter stages of the election campaign.
In a letter written from jail and read by his wife Veronica Tan at a press conference, Basuki said that he decided to withdraw his appeal for the sake of our people and our nation.
Basuki called for a halt to candlelight vigils and protests against his jailing, and Islamist counter-demonstrations, saying the congestion and economic losses due to demonstrations disrupt traffic in Jakarta.
There is an element of legal calculation in Basukis move. The prosecutions appeal against the severity of the sentencethey had asked for probationwill still go ahead. The possibility of Basuki receiving an even harsher sentence via his own appeal will be removed.
There is no doubt, however, that deeper political considerations are involved. Basuki and the ruling elite as a whole are concerned about the possibility of unrest engendered by intense social divisions.
It was not just because of religious fervour that relatively small hardline Islamist groups, such as the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and Muslim Peoples Forum, were able to mobilise hundreds of thousands of people at Jakarta anti-Basuki rallies on November 4 and December 2. That can be seen from the dynamics of the gubernatorial election itself.
These groups, as well as some leaders of the two largest Muslim organisations, Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, endorsed the candidacy of Agus Harmurti Yudhoyono, son of Widodos predecessor, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. For the election, the latter formed an electoral coalition of his Democratic Party with the three major Muslim partiesthe United Development Party, National Mandate Party and National Awakening Party.
Yudhoyono senior had cultivated relationships with the conservative Muslim groups to shore up his shaky parliamentary support. During his presidential term, from 2004 to 2014, the reactionary 1965 blasphemy law was used 106 times, compared with eight times during the 1965 to 1998 Suharto military-backed dictatorship. Despite this clerical support, however, Agus was eliminated in the first round of voting on February 15 with a humiliating vote of less than 18 percent.
This left the run-off election in April to Basuki and the winner Anies Baswedan.
Anies is the front man for Prabowo Subianto, a Suharto-era general who was Widodos opponent in the 2014 presidential election. His Gerindra Party and its ally, the Islamist based Prosperous Justice Party, ran a three-pronged campaign for Anies and his deputy Sandiaga Uno, one of Indonesias richest men.
First, they tacitly supported the Islamists attacks on Basuki, while posing as champions of the poor.
Second, Anies solidarised with the 16,000 families forcibly evicted by Basukis flood mitigation and development land reclamation program. Anies promised to end evictions, claiming he would create jobs and impose price controls.
Third, Prabowo who has associated himself with a more nationalist and protectionist economic program, presented himself as a maverick in an attempt to distance himself from the detested political establishment.
Widodo and his protege Basuki are associated with the major infrastructure projects in Jakarta demanded by big business and foreign investors.
Widodo has pushed for pro-investor reforms to finance transport and energy sectors projects. In 2014 he met the demands of finance capital to slash fuel subsidies, raising prices and provoking widespread anger.
Widodos coalition, led by former President Megawati Sukarnoputris Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, is seen by millions of people as part of the long line of administrations that promised economic growth while only benefitting the rich.
The Asian Development Bank estimates that to provide infrastructure and have any impact on deteriorating social conditions, $US1.2 trillion is needed by 2030. Sixty percent of the $400 billion required to finance Widodos 2019 energy, clean water and transport plans must come from foreign investors.
Bloomberg has quoted analysts warning that the challenge from right-wing religious groups will make the president more reliant on his rent-seeking supporters, defer his pro-market reforms and scare off investors.
The stagnant world economy and the Trump administrations trade war threats make the economic and social situation even more precarious.
The Jakarta Post reported on a May 17 meeting at the State Palace between Widodo and the chief media editors that underscored the rising tensions.
Widodo criticised the ongoing demonstrations and use of sectarianism to undermine his administration and its agenda. Widodo told the assembled editors that if demonstrations took place outside the legal corridor, then we should clobber [the perpetrators].
Editors reminded Widodo that the word clobber (gebuk) was used by Suharto in 1989 when he began a 10-year crackdown on dissidents.
Widodo said he knew that but if he only twisted the ears of protesters he would be considered lenient. He again echoed Suharto, whose military security apparatus is still intact, saying he would defend the constitution and the state ideology Pancasila against groups attacking it.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The federal budget proposed by the Trump administration could end plans to restore Amtrak train service to Tallahassee.
Over the past couple years, Amtrak has made stops in Marianna, Tallahassee and Live Oak. Service was suspended after hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Last year, Amtrak went on an inspection tour along the Gulf Coast in an efforts to get more community interest.
However, the federal budget would cut funding for Florida's three existing routes and hamper plans for renewed service to the capital city.
Former Tallahassee mayor John Marks has been part of a federal panel that's been looking into restoring service here.
"It does not help us at all," Marks said. "We want to restore service between New Orleans and Jacksonville -- and obviously through Tallahassee -- and we've been working on this for several years now. But, unfortunately, the present administration does not believe that's something that they should support."
In a statement, Florida Senator Bill Nelson said, "Eliminating Amtrak service in Florida not only affects the nearly one million Floridians who ride the train each year, it would have a real impact on our tourism driven economy."
EC says SC's order ended speculation over third phase of polls
With the Supreme Court issuing interim order on Friday barring the implementation of the government's decision to add local units, officials at the Election Commission (EC) said that it has put an end to speculation whether third phase of local elections would be held.
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Our Emperor has resigned as our Prime Monster so that King Deuba can get back to Baluwatar in the coming weeks.
Anyone who wiped away a few tears on Tuesday while listening to US President Donald Trumps cliche-filled speech likely discovered that even the tissue paper laughed out loud. After two days of hollow ceremonialism, aimed at building the highlight of the visitthe speechit turned out that the only thing one could learn from it was mainly how to say nothing using a lot of words.
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Its very easy to be tempted to see it as a Zionist speech: An American president standing and giving Israel his personal commitment that he wont allow its destruction. What a spine-tingling moment that was, when he turned to us and promised that he, Donald J. Trump, would take care of us. What more does a nation at risk need, after being controlled through fear and intimidation for years? A state with massive military strength, which isnt really threatened by any existential threat, but acts as if it is on the verge of a second Holocaust.
Trump and Netanyahu at the Israel Museum, Tuesday (Photo: Reuters)
Were forgetting, however, that the person who is giving us this promise came straight from Saudi Arabia, where he finalized a $110 billion deal to supply the Saudis with arms systems. And this is a country which funds the worlds most radical mosques, which is behind dozens of acts of terror, including the 9/11 attacks.
But that cant compare in any way to Trumps hand on the Western Wall stones, to Ivankas tears or to the photo of the American president and the first lady laying a wreath at Yad Vashem. So what if Trump asked to take the shortened Yad Vashem tour, or if he forgot to mention the Jewish victims on International Holocaust Day, or if he was accompanied to Saudi Arabia by Steve Bannon, his senior advisor who is a declared anti-Semite?
But whoever watched our prime minister during the presidents speech must have thought that Trump was uttering the words of a living God. Benjamin Netanyahus body language, his hand gestures, the clenched fist, the pressed lips, expressed satisfaction, gratitude and mainly admiration: Look at the power, the commitment, the courage this president has! Thats exactly the kind of president that I, Netanyahu, would like to be. The president of the United States of America, of course.
Trump in his visit to Saudi Arabia (Photo: AP)
What did we really have here, apart from a great atmosphere? The two-states-for-two-people solution was not raised even once. Nothing was said about negotiations. Even a peace process wasnt mentioned. We dont need the leader of the worlds greatest power to tell us that making peace will not be easy, but with determination, compromise and the belief that peace is possible, Israelis and Palestinians can make a deal. We already know that.
So what did Trump leave us with? He left the Saudis at least with a good deal. What about our deal? During his visit, Trump didnt say anything beyond what he had already told Netanyahu on the prime ministers visit to Washington, which translates as do whatever you like. You want two states, you want one statethats just fine. There was no mention of the promises we have heard ever since he was elected, like moving the embassy to Jerusalem. All we got was a pile of words that were so sympathetic, so flattering, that it sometimes felt like he was actually laughing at us.
So is there any wonder that the Right is satisfied? No one has ever established a state with words. Netanyahu got what he wanted too: To be left alone. No Palestinian right to self-determination, no two-state solution, no 1967 borders and not even a building freezewhat else could he have asked for? Surprisingly, the Left is happy as well. As if the hot air that Trump left behind is something to hold onto.
The Washington Post reports that Russia's ambassador to the US has told his superiors that he and Jared Kushner discussed setting up a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and the Kremlin in December.
Kushner is Donald Trump's son-in-law and a trusted adviser to the president.
The Post report cites anonymous US officials who were briefed on intelligence reports on intercepted Russian communications.
The newspaper says Ambassador Sergei Kislyak told his superiors that Kushner proposed using Russian diplomatic facilities for their discussions, apparently to make them more difficult to monitor. The Post says Kislyak was reportedly "taken aback" by the suggestion.
The White House in March confirmed that Kushner and the ousted national security adviser, Michael Flynn, met with Kislyak at Trump Tower in December.
Timothy is a copy editor for The Kathmandu Post. Previously, he was a reporter on the Features desk and deputy editor on the National News desk.
Hundreds of hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners ended their 40-day fast on Saturday after reaching a compromise for better conditions, Israels prison service said.
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Prison service spokeswoman Nicole Englander said the inmates declared an end to the strike Saturday morning. She said it came after Israel reached a compromise with the Palestinian Authority and the Red Cross for prisoners to receive a second family visit each per month.
Palestinians demonstrating support for the hunger strike
Hundreds of prisoners observed the strike they said was aimed at improving prison conditions.
The hunger strike had evolved into one of the longest such protests with this many participants since Israels 1967 capture of territories Palestinian seek for their state in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip. More than 1,000 prisoners began the hunger strike and 834 ended their fast Saturday.
The strike's organizer, Marwan Barghouti (Photo: AP)
Many Israelis view the prisoners as terrorists and have little sympathy for their demands. More than 6,000 Palestinians are currently in prison for offences linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, for charges ranging from stone-throwing to weapons possession and attacks that killed or wounded Israeli civilians and soldiers.
Palestinians rallied behind the hunger strikers as national heroes, relishing a rare break from deep divisions between two rival political groups, the Islamic militant group Hamas which runs Gaza and Fatah, the movement of Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas who administers autonomous enclaves in the West Bank. Palestinians hoped the protest will draw the attention of a seemingly distracted international community as what Palestinians refer to as the "Israeli occupation" of the West Bank hits the 50-year mark in early June.
Support for the prisoners is an emotional consensus issue; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been jailed by Israel at one time or another since 1967.
Israels public security minister, Gilad Erdan, alleged that the hunger strike was motivated by a power struggle in Abbas Fatah movement. He claimed that imprisoned strike organizer Marwan Barghouti cynically exploited his fellow prisoners to boost his standing in Fatah and secure his position as a possible successor to Abbas. Barghoutis family has denied such claims.
Qadoura Fares, who runs the Prisoners' Club advocacy group, said negotiations took place between Israel officials and a committee from the prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti. He said negotiations began on Friday and were the first since the strike began.
Barghouti is serving five life terms after being convicted by an Israeli court of directing two shooting attacks and a bombing that killed five people. In prison since 2002, he never mounted a defense, saying the court had no jurisdiction over him.
Earlier this month, Israel released footage it said shows Barghouti breaking his fast . Palestinians say the video is a fabrication.
Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies on Friday put pressure on internet companies and social media sites to do more to stop the spread of hateful ideology, appealing to their sense of social responsibility to more swiftly identify and remove terror propaganda.
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The measure signed by the seven nations leaders was a show of solidarity with Britain following Mondays suicide bombing in Manchester, England that killed 22 outside a pop music concert. The Islamic State group claimed the attack, although authorities are working to establish the bombing suspects ties to extremist organizations.
Photo: EPA
G7 summit (Credit: Reuters) (: )
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British Prime Minister Theresa May said the leaders agreed that the threat posed by the Islamic State group is evolving rather than disappearing.
As they lose ground in Iraq and Syria, foreign fighters are returning, and the groups hateful ideology is spreading online, May said. Make no mistake, the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet.
She said terror propaganda is warping young minds and that she thinks technology companies both could do more and have the responsibility to act.
Theresa May and Trump (Photo: AFP)
In their declaration, the leaders said they were targeting propaganda supporting terrorism and violent extremism, online recruitment by extremists, radicalization and incitement to violence. They said they would work also with youth and religious leaders, prisons and educational institutions toward that end.
They also agreed in the declaration to strengthen the process for returning foreign fighters operating in Europe to their countries of origin, to better share intelligence on individuals who have trained in Islamic State territory, and to do more to cut off funding streams they called the lifeblood of violent extremists and terrorists.
World leaders urge Trump to change stance on climate change
At the close of the days talks, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said six of the G7 nationsItaly, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japanconfirmed our commitment and our determination to the Paris Agreement establishing goals for reducing greenhouse gases.
The United States, meanwhile, confirmed a period of reflection on the issue, he said.
Photo: EPA
Trumps pending review of US climate policies and decision not to make up his mind before the Taormina summit has braced environmentalists for the possibility of bland language that says little after years of increasingly stronger commitments to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and emissions under the Paris Agreement.
What we do not want to see is a false compromise on nothing, Tobias Muenchmeyer, a political expert for Greenpeace, said. We want to see determination and commitment over unity, with the other partners going ahead without the United States.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the G7 leaders put forward very many arguments for the US sticking with the agreement. And by Friday evening, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said Trumps views were indeed evolving.
Angela Merkel and Trump (Photo: EPA)
He feels much more knowledgeable on the topic today, Cohn said. He came here to learn, he came here to get smarter.
While those comments were remarkable given Trumps fierce criticism of the Paris deal as a candidate, they were also in keeping with his emerging pattern as president. A novice in international affairs, Trump has been surprisingly candid about the impact his conversations with world leaders have had in shaping his views on numerous issues.
He backed away from his tough campaign talk about trade with China after a summit with President Xi Jinping. And he abandoned his criticism of Saudi Arabias human rights record following his warm welcome in the desert kingdom this week.
On Friday, G7 leaders appeared to take a page out of the playbook other countries have followed, emphasizing Americas unrivaled influence on the world stage. Cohn told reporters that Trump was struck by how important it is for the United States to show leadership and how even in massive international agreements, theres a big gap when you take the biggest economy out.
Jean-Marc Ayrault and Rex Tillerson (Photo: AFP)
White House National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster quickly jumped in to assert that Trump would make his decisions based on whats best for the American people, hewing to the America First policy that energized the presidents supporters during last years election campaign.
Nearly 200 countries are part of the Paris accord, and each sets its own emissions targets, which are not legally binding. The US has pledged to reduce its annual greenhouse gas emissions in 2025 by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels, which would be a reduction of about 1.6 billion tons of annual emissions.
The Trump administration has argued that the US standards are tougher than those set by China, India and others, and therefore have put American businesses at a disadvantage.
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and his wife, Akie (Photo: EPA)
President of France Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte (Photo: AFP)
Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau (Photo: AFP)
The gap between Trump and other G7 leaders on climate underscored his isolation from Europe on some major issues. The other G7 nationsBritain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japanwere weighing whether to issue a statement at the close of the summit reiterating their support for the Paris accord, even if the United States was not included.
The White Houses slow decision-making on the issue led to the European leaders persuasion campaign. Multiple White House meetings on the matter were delayed in recent weeks, and Trump advisers ultimately said he would not make a decision until after he returns to Washington this weekend.
British Prime Minister Theresa May says the country's threat level from terrorism had been reduced from its top level of "critical," which indicates an attack is imminent.
May says it now stands at "severe," meaning an attack is highly likely.
The level was raised to critical after Monday's bomb attack in Manchester, which killed 22 people.
May says major progress has been made in the investigation but that people should remain vigilant.
Legal procedures against the Israeli jailed for alleged murder in a Muslim state have been frozen, as the court ordered to reopen the case.
The Israeli traveled about two years ago to a country which Israel has no diplomatic relations with to fight ISIS. He was imprisoned after shooting a cab driver in self defense.
New details concerning the conclusion of the Palestinian prisoners' hunger strike and its causes are coming to light in the hours since the prisoners and the Israel Prison Service (IPS) made their announcements.
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As the strike reached its peak, with dozens of prisoners requiring medical attention, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas intervened directly in order to bring the matter to a close out of fear of significant provocations and demonstrations.
Palestinian mothers celebrate the end of the strike
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Palestinians celebrating the end of the hunger strike (Photo: AFP)
The beginning of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan was a significant motivator, given that prisoners would no longer be able to drink, which they had been doing prior to the holiday.
Since the beginning of the strike, Minister of Public Security Gilad Erdan decided that dialogue with the prisoners would only be conducted through the IPS, which is subordinate to his ministry. This policy differs from previous incidents when prisoners also negotiated with the Shin Bet and Egyptian intelligence services.
Ynet has learned that Abbas was pressured by various Palestinian officials to bring about a change in the situation, finally agreeing for the PA to finance the cost of one of the two visits per month prisoners are entitled to with their families.
Photo: AFP
The cost is estimated to be between $6-7 million per year and was previously financed by the Red Cross, which cut the program following budgetary constraints.
Israel, it should be noted, had no objection to this move because international law requires it to allow two visits per month to prisoners.
However, Israel objected to the notion of financing travel costs for family visits from the West Bank and the Gaza Strip due to security reasons.
The news of the PA agreeing to finance the second visit was passed to Israeli security officials by Palestinian Civil Affairs Minister Hussein al-Sheikh. In turn, IPS officials sat with leaders of the strike, including Nassir Abu Hamid and Ahmad Barghouti, to inform them of the PA's gesture.
Hussein al-Sheikh
Following the revelation, prisoners requested a meeting to be held at Shikma Prison in Ashkelon, which IPS officials agreed to. The meeting lasted from Friday afternoon to early Saturday morning, with prisoners requesting to speak directly with PA officials including al-Sheikh.
Several senior officials involved in the strike told Ynet that the IPS also promised striking prisoners that additional sentences imposed upon them as a result of their strike would be cancelled.
IPS officials were pleased the strike was halted and the promise of no additional punishment as a result of the strike, as well as guaranteed two visits per month to families, gives Palestinian prisoners something to show for the effort.
However, it should be noted that none of the demands put forth by Marwan Barghoutiincluding access to phoneswere met.
Marwan Barghouti (Photo: AP)
In total, some 6,200 Palestinian security prisoners are currently incarcerated in Israel. According to the IPS, some 1,200 prisoners joined the strike at its peak, with only roughly 830 remaining by Friday evening.
(Translated and edited by Fred Goldberg)
President Donald Trump discussed his recent trip to the Middle East and his achievements there in a speech to US marines stationed in Sicily. Trump stopped over in Sicily following trips to Saudi Arabia and Israel last week.
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"Benjamin Netanyahu promised me he is ready to make peace. He is my friend and he means it," said Trump in his comments to troops.
Photo: AP
First Lady Melania Trump introduced the president, saying, "My husband works so hard for our country and I am proud of him," before the two exchanged a hug and a kiss in an attempt to bury rumors and speculation about discord between the two.
Trump elaborated on his trip to Israel, saying, "I went to Jerusalem and there I reaffirmed the unbreakable alliance between the United States and Israel. I visited Bethlehem, a city so precious to many, and met with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. He promised me that he wanted to make peace with Israel."
Trump and Netanyahu (Photo: Reuters)
In his speech commemorating memorial weekend in the United States, Trump also referred to the scourge of terrorism and called for alliances and cooperation in defeating the phenomenon in the Middle East and the world.
"America fought to defend Europe from the evil of Nazism and now we are fighting the forces of terrorism in the Middle East," said Trump, who added, "There is no peace without those who are willing to carry the scars and wounds of war."
BOSASSO -- A Somali court sentenced five men to death on Saturday after they were caught with a vehicle laden with explosives, a court official said, a rare successful prosecution in a country where bombings by the Islamist insurgency are increasing.
The five said they were members of the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab Islamist militia. They were arrested as they drove a vehicle carrying three barrels packed with explosives into Bosasso, the capital of the northern semi-autonomous region of Puntland, on April 26.
"The five men had been caught red-handed as they entered Bosasso with a car bomb previously. They admitted before the court they are al Shabaab members and the court sentenced them to death," Abdifatah Haji Aden, the chairman of Puntland's military court, told Reuters on Saturday.
If one lives long enough, one comes to understand life is a concoction of tragedy and heartbreak blended together with happiness and fun.
This brings me to an event which is both the 50th reunion of the Rarely Glorious Class of 1967 Genoa Orioles this evening.
Thus far I despite looking everywhere have found no method by which such the muzzle velocity of such a calamitous reality by softened.
It is what it is and what it is, dear friends, is shocking.
You may well be close to, at or beyond your own 50th class reunion and if so Im not bothered in the least because its yours.
This one, however, belongs personally to me and my classmates of five decades ago.
We will tour the school now home to the Twin River Titans at 5 this afternoon, attend the banquet at 6 and then repair to the local community building for for
I guess I dont know for what, never having experienced a half-century class reunion until today.
I was fairly easily talked into stuff in 67 and apparently nothing about that has changed. I know this because I am the chosen one to speak for our class at tonights alumni swaree.
It will be short and sweet, but I will not relinquish the microphone before telling them how we lived President Kennedys assassination, riots in the streets, public buildings being commandeered by Vietnam War protesters, mobs chanting Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today? and even the gunning down of Kent State students on their own campus by the National Guard. Four died, nine were wounded, one of whom was paralyzed for life.
This happened in 1970 to people who were our age and looked just like us.
It wasnt all bad of course. Our generation ushered in hippies who brought with them potential wonders such as the Make Love Not War era of Free Love and the ubiquitous Peace sign.
To our continuing disappointment the Sexual Revolution ran out of hormonal steam somewhere between Haight-Ashbury and Nance County, New-Brass-Key.
Rumor has it the movement we so enthusiastically awaited without result is still hovering over Colorado. Come to think of it, given the modern realities of our (puff, puff) neighbor thats probably (puff, puff) the most nurturing environment for it anyway.
Our world was all about baby moon hubcaps, AM radio, 3-on-the-tree and retreaded tires (man, those babies were cheap).
Good Wife Norma and her fellow cheerleaders wore sads (saddle shoes) and boys (like me one day) who showed up to school in a shirt with no collar were actually sent home by Mr. Hulse, our principal, to change.
The uniform of the day for my buddies and me Levis 501s and penny loafers with white socks was not to be altered in any way.
Wear anything else more than a couple times in public and you were liable to find yourself aboard the next bus to Celibate City.
Finally, lest I leave you with the impression those were truly the Good Old Days in these trifocally-challenged old eyes, I assure you the Class of 67 would wail like banshees should our modern conveniences be taken away.
My god, GPS by itself has saved me from dropping off the face of the earth who knows how many times.
And cell phones, much maligned as they are (often with good reason), are something the Class of 67 would fight to the death to keep.
As proof I offer the actual fact that GWN and I have not had a land line of any kind for nearly 15 years.
So tonight once we figure out who everyone is - well laugh and hug and revisit 1967. But make no mistake; we will all be delighted to wake up tomorrow morning back in 2017.
Frances Stuhr Smith left this earth to be with the Lord in the morning hours of May 15, 2017 at the age of 65.
Born in Houston, Texas on March 1, 1952, Fran grew up in York, was a graduate of York High School and a Miss York.
She competed for Miss Nebraska and for Mrs. Florida.
Frances served four years in the Air Force, after graduating from high school, achieving the rank of Sergeant with commendation letters for her excellent work.
She held a BA in Business from Eckerd College, was a Registered Nurse both in Texas and Florida and a licensed Realtor in both states.
First and foremost, Fran was a dedicated, tireless worker for the Lord who changed an uncountable number of lives. At Victory Christian Family Center in Sarasota, Fla., she was a Life Group Leader for Business Women, taught Charm School for 8-12 year old girls, taught the Honey Bee class for 3 year olds, was a Royal Ranger leader for 9-10 year old girls, a member of the Praise Team and a Director of Womens Ministry. She was instrumental in the startup of Victory Christian Academy; a private Christian school for children of all ages. Most recently, Fran was a Sky Ranch camp nurse for Christian youth summer sessions in Texas and in the Colorado mountains; zip-lining, swift water rafting, and mountain climbing with the teens.
Fran is survived by four brothers and three sisters; her husband, Gregory Smith; sons, Heath and Chad Rosenstein, their wives Courtney and Miranda; her grandchildren, Micah, Malachi, Elijah and Nataleigh.
A faithful servant of the Lord and loved dearly by so many, she will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
Fran never liked cut flowers and thought it was a waste of money, so please send the money you would have spent on flowers to Sky Ranch, 7616 LBJ Freeway, Suite 500, Dallas, TX 75251, donate online at skyranch.org/donate, or call the Development Office at (469) 484-4840, ext. 3601. You will be donating to help deserving children attend the Christian summer camp which was so near to Frans heart. Please mention this is in memory of Fran Smith.
There will be a military burial service at the Sarasota National Cemetery on June 2 at 10:30 a.m. and a Celebration of Life service at Hope International Ministries, 5425 39th Street East, Bradenton, Fla. on June 3 at 10:30 a.m.
YORK The Nebraska Department of Labor (workforce development) will not be providing five-day services in the York County Courthouse as it has in the past and will go down to one or two days a week.
So the question now is whether vocational rehabilitation (which helps place disabled people in jobs) will be allowed to continue using a portion of that space.
Representatives of the vocational rehabilitation agency met with the York County Commissioners this week, saying that they would like to continue space, even though the department of labor will not be there full time.
They are two separate entities.
They noted that in 2015, they helped place 85 disabled persons in jobs in York County. It was explained that they work with people who have conditions that impact their ability to work that includes learning disabilities.
There is obviously a great need in York County and we feel that we will need space 3-4 days a week, they told the board.
No fees have been collected in the past by the county for the use of that office space. That will be addressed in the future, as both parties agreed that might be a possibility, although some of the commissioners said they were fine with allowing them to use the space for free.
It was also noted that the use of the basement office space might change in the future, if a 911 communications center is established there.
Gathabandhan ups the ante
The Sanghiya Gathabandhan led by the Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N), a unified force of six Madhes-based parties, on Friday announced fresh protests, saying it will not participate in the second phase of polls.
YORK Every year on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend, members of the local Legion and VFW auxiliaries create a miniature Flanders Fields at Greenwood Cemetery, then leave it in place through Mondays 10:30 a.m. service for all visitors to enjoy.
In November of 1918 The Ladies Home Journal reprinted the Col. John McCrae poem, We Shall Not Sleep, now well known by the title In Flanders Fields.
McCrae, a surgeon with Canadas First Brigade Artillery, was grieved by the sight of row upon row of crosses, each marking the resting place of a soldier who had died on Flanders battlefields.
His poetic expression of the sight became a rallying cry to all who fought in World War I.
Following McCraes death, New York City YMCA volunteer Moina Michael sought to keep the poems message alive by wearing a red silk poppy in memory of all veterans.
The poppy was officially adopted as the national symbol of the American Legion at the organizations 1920 national convention in Cleveland.
Subsequently the Legion Auxiliary added its support and agreed to distribute the flowers.
In 1924 the Legion Auxiliary was given total responsibility for poppy production and distribution. The program is now one of the oldest and most beneficial for veterans and has kept the message of Col. McCraes little poppy alive.
Listing of Memorial Day events
Arborville
Memorial Day services will be held at the Arborville Cemetery on May 29 at 2:30 p.m. Marlin Seeman will be the speaker.
Bradshaw
A Memorial Day ceremony will be held Monday, May 29, at 10 a.m., at the Bradshaw Plainfield Cemetery.
Cordova
The Memorial Day service will begin at 2 p.m., on May 29, at the Zastrow Cemetery.
Exeter
Exeter will hold a Memorial Day program on Monday, May 29 starting at 10 a.m. It will be at the Exeter Cemetery with Pastor Dave Coleman giving the invocation. The Exeter-Milligan band will provide music. The address will be given by Tim Wilbeck. In case of inclement weather, the service will be held at the Exeter-Milligan High School gym. The American Legion Auxiliary will be serving coffee and rolls, at the Legion Hall, following the service at the cemetery. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Fairmont
Fairmont American Legion Post No. 21 will conduct Memorial Day services on Monday, May 29 beginning with the Fairmont Catholic Cemetery at 9 a.m., the Fairmont Cemetery at 9:30 a.m. and the Grafton Cemetery at 10:30 a.m. In case of rain, joint services will be held at the Fairmont American Legion Hall at 10 a.m.
The annual Windsor Loin dinner will be served from 11:30 a.m. - 2 p.m. on Memorial Day Monday, May 29 at the Fairmont Legion Hall.
Gresham
A Memorial Day service will be held at Cedar Lawn Cemetery followed by a pancake breakfast at the community center.
Henderson
A Memorial Day service and potluck will be held at Farmers Valley Cemetery on Monday, May 29. Memorial events will begin at 11a.m. with live music from musician, Paul Siebert, as he performs Echoes of an Era and also from the Hamilton County Band, keeping all the visitors entertained. At 12:15, a 21-gun salute memorial service will be presented by Auroras American Legion, honoring the many veterans buried at Farmers Valley. At the conclusion of the service, a potluck will follow. Everyone is invited to join in the celebration by bringing some home cooking to share, along with their own table service, blankets, chairs and/or card tables. Electricity will be available for hot food. Just drive two miles west out of the town of Henderson and turn south on Y Road. After crossing the Blue River, turn west on Farmers Valley Road, which will lead to the cemetery. In case of inclement weather, the Memorial Day service and potluck will take place at the Plainsman Museum in Aurora. Please join in this celebration and remembrance of those who came before us, and take this opportunity to view the many improvements this historical site has made.
McCool Junction
The American Legion Post 341 will have a Memorial Day observance on Monday, May 29, at 10 a.m., at the Pleasant Ridge Cemetery, at McCool Junction. Fellowship will follow at the town hall. Refreshments will be provided by the Auxiliary.
Milligan
Milligan will hold a Memorial Day program on Monday, May 29 starting at 2 p.m.
Utica
Utica American Legion Post #49 will be conducting Memorial Day service on May 29, 2017 at 2 p.m. Utica Cemetery. Guest speaker will be LCDR Lathan Rohren, USN (Ret).
Utica Post 49 will hold their annual spaghetti feed at the Utica Auditorium on Monday, May 29. Serving will take place from 4-7 p.m. Free will donations will be accepted with proceeds to benefit Legion community service programs.
A Memorial Day Mass will be held on Monday, May 29, at 9:30 a.m., at the St. Patricks Cemetery. In case of rain, Mass will be held at the church. Refreshments will be served after Mass, and in case of rain, refreshments and fellowship will be at the parish hall after Mass. Those who attend are asked to bring their own lawn chairs, stools or blankets to sit on. Everyone is reminded to pick up their flowers within two weeks after Memorial Day. Arrangements in containers on cement pads are OK to leave. Everyone is invited to attend.
Waco
A Memorial Day celebration will be held in Waco on Monday, May 29. The Waco CBO will be serving breakfast (ham, eggs, toast, orange juice and coffee) at the Waco Community Building from 8-11 a.m. Memorial Day services will be held at the Waco Cemetery. Anyone wishing to donate a dozen rolls, a dozen muffins or a coffee cake for the breakfast is asked to have their items at the community building early on the morning of the breakfast. Volunteers are needed for set up, serving and cleaning up. Youth volunteers are also needed to help serve refills and clear plates. Volunteers may sign up by contacting Barry Lewis at 308-380-2432. A Memorial Day service will be at the Waco Cemetery at 10 a.m., with the guest speaker being LCDR Lathan Rohren. A marching color guard will be followed by the Trail Life Troop 0048.
York
Volunteers are needed for putting up the Avenue of Flags at Yorks Greenwood Cemetery starting at 7 a.m., on Saturday, May 27, and removal at 7 p.m., on Monday, May 29. Coffee and rolls will be served at the VFW on West Fourth Street after the flags are in place on Saturday.
Memorial Day services at Greenwood Cemetery in York will be conducted under the auspices of the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Auxiliaries. The service will be held at 10:30 a.m., with the greeting to be given by Commander Bill Hardy. The national anthem will be sung by Jessica Wagner. The invocation will be given by Steve Witmer. The address will be by Marlin Seeman, to be followed by God Bless America by Jessica Wagner. The placing of the wreath will be done by Jack Garner. Military honors will be conducted by the American Legion Bolton Post 19, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Irven J. Blum Post 1609. In case of inclement weather, it will be held at the York City Auditorium.
Memorial Day Mass will be at St. Josephs Cemetery at 9 a.m., with military honors to follow.
YORK Arraignment proceedings were held this week in a case stemming from an armed robbery that was committed at a York hotel on Dec. 23, 2012.
Terence James, 24, pleaded not guilty to aiding and abetting a robbery, which is a Class 2 felony that carries a possible maximum sentence of 1-50 years in prison, and use of a deadly weapon to commit a robbery, which is a Class 1C felony that carries a possible maximum sentence of 5-50 years in prison.
James and his co-defendant, Kevin D. Lewis, were arrested a few weeks after the robbery occurred here, in Wyoming.
The case against Lewis was dropped here because he was given very lengthy prison sentences in two other states.
The case against James, however, is still active and he has now been arraigned here after being incarcerated in another state.
According to court documents, James and Lewis entered the New Victorian Inn during the night. The front desk clerk said Lewis asked for her to give them a room for free and she said she was unable to fulfill that request.
At that point, she said Lewis displayed a handgun and demanded that she give him the money from the cash register, which she did.
She told investigators that the other man James didnt say anything except something about wanting to get some hookers.
Lewis demanded that the clerk open the safe and give him the contents, but she explained that she did not have the code.
She told officers that at that point, Lewis put the gun to her neck and said she would die if she didnt open it in the first try.
The clerk said she tried to open the safe, but was unable to because she didnt have the code.
At that point, she said Lewis told her to give her purse to him and he took it.
The two men allegedly made the clerk lie down on the floor in a back room and told her to count to 100.
They fled the scene at that point.
The police provided video surveillance and other information to outside law enforcement agencies and were eventually contacted by officers in Wyoming who said they had Lewis and James in custody . . . and they believed they were the men who committed the robbery in York.
The officers in Wyoming interviewed both men and indicated that Lewis admitted to robberies in Wyoming, York and Colorado.
James allegedly told investigators that the two were returning home from Lincoln and were low on gas. They stopped in York, at the hotel, and Lewis said all the same stuff as usual. You know what this . . . get down . . . open the safe. James also allegedly told investigators that Lewis had the pistol he always uses.
A jury trial has been set for Sept. 26, regarding the charges against James.
He remains in custody.
On May 3rd, Wingham Wildlife Park welcomed their first ever European Wolf pups. Wolves have been part of Wingham Wildlife Park since 2013, when Dakota (the mother of this litter of pups) and her sister Arya arrived at the UK from Parc Animalier de Sainte Croix in France, to be joined later in 2015 by male, Raksha, from Bern Zoo in Switzerland.
The new litter of four pups is a first for Dakota. However, having grown up in a fairly large pack in Sainte Croix, she is used to the mechanics of what should be done and how best to keep the litter healthy and safe, as Tony Binskin, the managing director of WWP explained: We are really pleased with how she is doing with the pups. When animals have their first ever babies it can always be a bit of a worrying time. Do they know how to socialize them? Will they know how to make their own den? Will they know to use their artificial den if they dont? There are so many variables which can potentially go wrong!
Jackie Binskin, Tonys wife finished by saying, She really is a great mum though! So far, she has done nothing wrong, and as for how the pups are faring with here The proofs in the pudding they look great.
Photo Credits: Wingham Wildlife Park
On the morning of May 13, the den, which Dakota had dug herself using a fallen over tree and its root system as a starting point and natural barrier, was inspected from a discrete distance by management staff at Wingham Wildlife Park.
The result of this inspection was a huge relief and surprise for the staff, as Tony explained; Today was the clearest we have seen the pups so far. Before she had spent most of her time laying down with the pups huddle under her. In that position, we always only saw 3 but had our suspicions that there might be a 4th after seeing the odd tail or foot hanging out which didnt quite look right! Today however we saw all 4, clear as day.
Markus Wilder, the parks curator interjected with; And to top it all off they all have their eyes open already and are moving around really well. When Dakota first made her den, it was quite shallow, but we can see now why she has been excavating it more making it deeper and steeper. Whilst she is doing really well, its obviously also a bit of a learning curve for her!
Cairo: Islamic State said on Saturday that its fighters had carried out a shooting that killed dozens of Egyptian Christians on Friday, according to a statement from the group.
"A security unit from the soldiers of the caliphate set up a checkpoint to ambush tens of Christians headed for the Saint Samuel monastery west of the city of Minya," the statement said.
Eyewitnesses said on Friday that masked men boarded several vehicles carrying Christians and opened fire at close range, killing at least 29 and injuring 24.
Rome: More than 3,400 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Saturday, bringing to about 10,000 the total number rescued over four days, according to Libyan and Italian officials.
At least 10 bodies were also found by the Italian coastguard, officials said. No vessels were reported in distress on Saturday.
Yesterday, more than 1,200 migrants were rescued by Libyan ships and taken to Tripoli or Zawiya, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west, while the Italian coastguard and commercial boats rescued 2,200 others and took them to Italy.
Migrants were still disembarking in southern Italy today.
Another 6,400 were picked up between Tuesday and Thursday, but at least 35 people drowned on Wednesday when a powerful wave struck their vessel, pitching them into the sea as a rescue ship was distributing life jackets.
The unloading of passengers in Sicily was halted all week due to the G7 summit in the eastern hilltop town of Taormina, which lengthened rescue ships' journey by 24 hours and delayed their return to the seas.
In response, they called on commercial boats to help out.
More than 50,000 migrants have reached the Italian coast since the start of the year, not counting those rescued in recent days, while more than 1,400 have drowned or are missing, according to UN figures.
Of the 181,000 migrants who entered Italy last year, some 90 per cent arrived via Libya.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Libya has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African, enter the country.
Florida: A Cuban CIA spy who dedicated his life to trying to kill Fidel Castro and destabilise the communist government, Antonio Veciana on Saturday says his is "the story of failure."
It is a tale he recounts with rage -- and no regrets.
"I was an unlikely terrorist," he said in his book "Trained to Kill," co-written with journalist Carlos Harrison. "I was skinny, asthmatic, and plagued with insecurities."
The 88-year-old anti-Castro activist, sitting with a medical walker by his side in his daughter`s Miami living room, clarifies those words.
"The work I did is what terrorists do. It`s just that it wasn`t called that."
The book details how CIA agent David Atlee Phillips -- known by the alias "Bishop" -- recruited him in 1959 and trained him in Havana to kill Fidel Castro, who died last year of natural causes.
"Bishop invited me to lunch," he says. "It was easy, he didn`t have to convince me about the danger of communism in Cuba."
Originally an accountant at Cuba`s National Bank, Veciana was taught to be invisible, to plot, to be unscrupulous and to distrust.
"At first, the idea was to destabilise," he says. "In countries with destabilisation, people believe rumours."
"That was my job -- creating those rumours."
The first was an alleged bill under which the Cuban government would strip parents of legal custody over their children.
Parents then sent some 14,000 children to the United States in an exodus known as "Operation Peter Pan."
"Many parents later met with their children, but others could not see them again, because they died or because they couldn`t leave the country," Veciana said.
Between 1960 and 1962, parents took their children out of Cuba via offices of the Catholic Church. Minors without adult companions were received at camps in Florida.
Veciana says he has no regrets over his role in separating these children from their parents.
"It might have been irresponsible, but what I did was out of conviction," he says.
"At the time I was convinced I was doing the right thing, so I would do it again."Veciana fled to the United States in 1961 following a botched attack on Castro that would have easily led authorities to him.
When contacted by Bishop in Miami, Veciana founded the anti-Castro paramilitary group "Alpha 66," which during the 60s and 70s carried out commando-type strikes against the Castro regime.
"These attacks encouraged to hope, and when they were published in the press there was euphoria -- people still had hoped they could win the battle," says Veciana.
He acknowledged however that the success and magnitude of the attacks were "always exaggerated."
Like many Cuban-Americans of his age, Veciana holds a grudge against President John F. Kennedy for "betraying" Cuban exiles for withdrawing US military support from the failed anti-Castro Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in 1961.
He also claims to have seen Bishop meeting Lee Harvey Oswald three months before Kennedy`s assassination in Texas in 1963. Oswald was later identified as the sole attacker.
A later attempt to kill Castro in Santiago de Chile failed, and years later Veciana had to abandon another attempt on the Cuban leader`s life.
Veciana`s effort to discredit Ernesto "Che" Guevara after his 1967 death in Bolivia also fizzled. The Argentine revolutionary instead became a leftist icon.
"I really try not to think too much about it, because mine is a story of failure," Veciana says. "When you fail because of different circumstances you feel you did not do the right thing -- or that luck did not help you -- but you feel like a failure."
In 1979, after several attempts against his own life, Veciana finally threw in the towel and retired from the espionage and hit-man business.
"My secret life was over," the final words of his book read.
Sicily: President Donald Trump said Saturday he would decide next week whether the United States would abide by the 2015 Paris agreement on cutting global carbon emissions.
The unexpected announcement came as a summit of G7 leaders in Sicily wrapped up in deadlock on the issue, with US partners voicing frustration at the president`s failure to commit to the deal aimed at stemming global warming.
"I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" Trump tweeted.
The US leader, concluding his first overseas trip in office, was due to fly home later Saturday without giving the customary close-of-summit press conference.
The meeting`s final declaration reflected a stalemate between the US and the six other participating countries, who are all strongly committed to the Paris accord.
"The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," it stated.
"Understanding this process, the (other participants) reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement...
"In this context, we all agree on the importance of supporting developing countries."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised what she called "a very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory" discussion with Trump on the issue.
"Here we have a situation of six against one, meaning there is still no sign of whether the US will remain in the Paris accord or not," she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron struck a more positive note, saying the talks had been useful. "I think there was progress and there was a real discussion and exchange of views," he said, voicing hope that Trump would decide to keep his country within the Paris framework.
Other delegates concurred that it was "six against one" at the gathering of leading democracies spanning North America, Europe and Japan.
Under Trump, who once called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China, Washington has resisted intense pressure from its partners to commit to respecting the global 2015 accord on curbing carbon emissions.
But Gary Cohn, Trump`s economic advisor, on Friday said the president had told his G7 colleagues that he regarded the environment as important.
"His views are evolving, he came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision ultimately will be what`s best for the United States."
The United States is the world`s biggest carbon emitter after China.
Trump had said he would listen to what US partners have to say at the G7 before making a decision on how to proceed.Abandoning the Paris agreement would carry a high political cost internationally, with Europe, Canada, China and Japan all strongly committed to the deal.
It would also be fiercely opposed at home by environmental activists and by American corporations that are investing heavily in cleaner technology.
Greenpeace regretted the outcome but held out hope that Trump might change tack.
"Europe, Canada and Japan stood up today and made a stand, revealing again how far Trump is out of step with the rest of the world on climate change," Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace`s international executive director, said in Sicily.
Nevertheless, the clean energy revolution is "unstoppable" with support from other governments and from industry, she said.
"Leaders must now keep resolve... President Trump should now return to Washington and make the right decision, take climate change seriously and take action with the rest of the world."
Iain Keith, campaign director of Avaaz, an activist network, said: "Today, G6 leaders put our planet first, showing that even the US president cannot stop the inevitable clean energy revolution."
"Trump`s attempts to derail global climate action won`t make America great, it will only make America late."
Delhi: Former U.S. national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, who established himself in the Carter administration as a hard-liner on foreign policy, died on Friday, his family said. He was 89.
Brzezinski`s daughter Mika said on social media that her father died peacefully, but did not give the cause of his death.
Brzezinski, the son of a Polish diplomat, was national security adviser for all four years of Jimmy Carter`s presidency. He helped Carter contend with several international issues including the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah, the taking of 52 Americans as hostages in Tehran and a failed rescue mission, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
As national security adviser, Brzezinski, who Carter plucked from the academic world, saw many of the Soviet Union`s foreign policy moves as evidence it could not be trusted.
That placed him at odds with two of Carter`s most trusted advisers: Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, who pushed for a Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT-2) with Moscow, and Defense Secretary Harold Brown, who urged a U.S.-Soviet accord to curb conventional forces in Europe.
When Soviet troops invaded Afghanistan, Brzezinski strongly backed the arming of Afghan rebels in response to the invasion.
His hardline stance on U.S.-Soviet relations led Pravda, the Soviet Communist Party newspaper, to denounce him as a "foe of detente".
And while he was skeptical of Soviet motives and objectives, Brzezinski nurtured a diplomatic friendship between the United States and China, which culminated in a trip to Beijing in June 1978. Six months later Carter announced a decision to re-establish diplomatic ties with China starting in 1979.
Brzezinski`s view of the Soviet Union may have been colored by his childhood experiences. Born in Warsaw, Poland, on March 28, 1928, he was taken as a youngster to Canada where his father served as a diplomat. When the communists took over Poland at the end of World War II, the family remained in the West.
Brzezinski received a doctorate from Harvard University in 1953 and became an American citizen in 1958.
He voiced support for U.S. policy in Vietnam in the mid-1960s, and served on the policy planning staff of President Lyndon Johnson`s State Department in that era.
Along with David Rockefeller, chairman of the Chase Manhattan Bank, Brzezinski helped to found the Trilateral Commission, a private group that promoted closer ties among North America, West Europe and Japan.
VAST INFLUENCE
Carter had known Brzezinski before his election to the White House in 1976 and asked him to leave Columbia University, where the effects of Soviet communism had been the focus of much of Brzezinski`s work.
Having regular access to Carter gave him vast influence in Washington, which for a time led to recurring reports that he and Vance were rivals for the president`s ear.
The rivalry lasted until Vance resigned after the aborted mission to rescue American hostages in Iran in April 1980.
Before the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran in 1979, Vance had resisted Brzezinski`s proposals that Washington back a military crackdown against Iran`s radical Islamic forces.
Once the embassy was taken by followers of Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Vance sought Carter`s backing for an attempt to come to terms with Khomeini. Brzezinski characteristically favored military action to free the 52 American hostages and punish Iran.
Carter vacillated but eventually accepted Brzezinski`s proposal for the ill-fated rescue mission, in which eight servicemen died.
Brzezinski also took part in negotiations toward the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979, which was seen by many as the major achievement of Carter`s presidency.
In the arms control field, Brzezinski, despite his lifelong antipathy to Soviet communism, joined defense secretary Brown in spearheading the unsuccessful drive to win Senate approval of the 1979 SALT-2 accord with Moscow.
Although it never cleared the Senate as a result of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in December 1979, SALT-2 remained unofficially in effect even beyond its original five-year life-span.
After the Carter years, Brzezinski became a consultant on international affairs and a senior adviser for the Georgetown Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He also taught American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University.
He frequently wrote opinion articles for newspapers and published several books, including "Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power" in 2012.
Vice President George H.W. Bush, trying to build up his own image as a tough foreign policy realist, considered it a coup to secure Brzezinski`s support in his 1988 presidential campaign.
Brzezinski was at times critical of the foreign policies of both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He was sharply critical of Bush`s "war on terror" and the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In August 2007 Brzezinski endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, saying that Obama "recognises that the challenge is a new face, a new sense of direction, a new definition of America`s role in the world."
Brzezinski and wife Emilie had three children, including Mika, a host on MSNBC`s "Morning Joe" show.
Pilot killed in Goma Air cargo plane crash in Lukla
Captain of Goma Airlines aircraft has died when the plane crashed while landing at the Tenzing Hillary Airport in Lukla of Solukhumbu district on Saturday.
New York: Former Democratic Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has ripped into US President Donald Trump, drawing parallels between him and former President Richard Nixon whose presidency she said ended in "disgrace" with his "impeachment" for obstruction of justice.
Clinton, who returned to her alma mater at Wellesley College in Massachusetts yesterday to give a commencement speech 48 years after she graduated, referred to the mood on the campus following Nixon's election as President in 1968.
"And by the way, we were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice after firing the person running the investigation into him at the Department of Justice," Clinton, 69, said to thunderous cheers from students.
Through her comments on "impeachment" and "obstruction of justice", which drew the loudest cheers, she made a thinly- veiled attack against 70-year-old Trump for firing former FBI Director James Comey who was leading the investigation into links between Trump's campaign team and Russia's meddling in the Presidential elections.
She seemed to suggest through her remarks that if Trump obstructs justice, he could see his presidency end in disgrace with his impeachment.
Clinton told students of the Class of 2017 that they were graduating at a time when there was a "full-fledged assault" on truth and reason.
"Just log on to social media for ten seconds. It will hit you right in the face. People denying science, concocting elaborate, hurtful conspiracy theories about child-abuse rings operating out of pizza parlours, drumming up rampant fear about undocumented immigrants, Muslims, minorities, the poor, turning neighbour against neighbour and sowing division at a time when we desperately need unity," she said.
In another dig at Trump and his obsession with the size of the crowd at his inauguration, Clinton said some people were even denying "things we see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds, and then defending themselves by talking about quote-unquote 'alternative facts'".
She also attacked the Trump administration budget, calling it a "con" and "an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us, the youngest, the oldest, the poorest, and hard-working people who need a little help to gain or hang on to a decent middle-class life".
"It grossly under-funds public education, mental health, and efforts even to combat the opioid epidemic. And in reversing our commitment to fight climate change, it puts the future of our nation and our world at risk. And to top it off, it is shrouded in a trillion-dollar mathematical lie. Let's call it what it is. It's a con. They don't even try to hide it," she said.
Clinton asserted that all these issues matter because "if our leaders lie about the problems we face, we'll never solve them. It matters because it undermines confidence in government as a whole, which in turn breeds more cynicism and anger", she said.
Clinton also joked about her loss in the presidential elections.
"Now, you may have heard that things didn't exactly go the way I planned. But you know what? I'm doing okay. I've gotten to spend time with my family, especially my amazing grandchildren. I was going to give the entire Commencement speech about them but was talked out of it. Long walks in the woods, organising my closets, right?" she said.
Washington: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has declined a request to host an event to mark Islam`s holy month of Ramadan, two U.S. officials said, apparently breaking with a bipartisan tradition in place with few exceptions for nearly 20 years.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either an iftar dinner to break the day`s fast during Ramadan or a reception marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, at the State Department.
Tillerson turned down a request from the State Department`s Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host an Eid al-Fitr reception as part of Ramadan celebrations, said two U.S. officials who declined to be identified because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
According to an April 6 memo seen by Reuters, the office - which typically initiates such events - recommended that Tillerson hold an Eid al-Fitr reception.
His rejection of the request suggests there are no plans this year for any high-profile Ramadan function at the State Department. The month of fasting and prayer for Muslims gets under way in many countries on Saturday.
When asked by Reuters to comment on Tillerson declining a request to host an Eid al-Fitr event in July for Ramadan, a State Department spokesperson said:
"We are still exploring possible options for the observance of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the month of Ramadan. U.S. ambassadors are encouraged to celebrate Ramadan through a variety of activities, which are held annually at missions around the world."
Muslim activists have accused President Donald Trump`s administration of having an unfriendly attitude towards Islam, encapsulated by its attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
The administration says that while it strongly opposes Islamist militants, it has no quarrel with Islam. Aides point to Trump`s visit this month to Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries, as evidence of that.
Members of Congress, Muslim civil society and community leaders, diplomats from Muslim countries and senior U.S. officials usually attend the State Department Ramadan event, a symbol of the U.S. government`s diplomatic efforts with Muslim countries and people.
If Tillerson avoids hosting one this year, that could send a message "that it is not as important to this administration to engage with Muslims," said former U.S. diplomat Farah Pandith, who served in the Bush and Obama administrations and helped plan Ramadan events at the White House and State Department.
Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan, which he called "a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection."
"Most importantly, it is a cherished time for family and friends to gather and give charity to those who are less fortunate," he said.
PAST RAMADANS
Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright started the tradition 18 years ago of America`s top diplomat hosting a public event for Ramadan, a lunar month.
The secretary of state of the time usually gives remarks there on the meaning of Ramadan.
In April, the State Department`s Office of Religion and Global Affairs made a request to Tillerson`s office that he deliver remarks at an Eid al-Fitr reception this year, and suggested a two-week range of dates in July. The event would serve to "highlight State Department initiatives and the importance of Muslim engagement," the memo said.
It noted that by hosting a reception just after Ramadan, rather than an iftar - an often sumptuous dinner at sunset - a State Department event could be held any time of the day, thus preventing "a very late evening for the Secretary."
Several weeks later, that office and other offices at the State Department were alerted that Tillerson declined the request, the officials said.
Reuters was told of the request being declined but did not see Tillerson`s reply. An official with the Office of Religion and Global Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.
Several prominent Muslim-American groups in the Washington area who are normally invited to the Ramadan event told Reuters this week that they had yet to receive an invitation from the State Department, which they said was unusual.
"If they`re having one, we haven`t been invited," said Rabiah Ahmed, spokeswoman for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington. A representative for her group has been invited to the State Department event in the past, she said.
FRAUGHT RELATIONSHIP
Trump`s administration has had a fraught relationship with Muslims. As a presidential candidate, the Republican urged a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States, called for more surveillance of mosques and warned that radical Muslims were "trying to take over our children."
Trump has since toned down his rhetoric and courts have halted his temporary travel ban on people from six mostly Muslim countries.
White House officials did not respond to a request for comment on whether they would continue the tradition this year of hosting a Ramadan-related event at the White House.
The State Department celebrates other religious traditions though some of those commemorations are not as well-established as the State Department`s Ramadan event. In 2014, then-secretary of state John Kerry hosted the first ever celebration at the State Department marking Diwali, the Hindu festival.
The White House also traditionally hosts annual Christmas and Easter events as well as a Seder dinner to mark the Jewish Passover.
The top U.S. diplomat has personally hosted a Ramadan event every year since 1999, often in the State Department`s grand Benjamin Franklin room, apart from three years.
In 2006 and 2015, deputies of the secretary of state at the time hosted either an iftar dinner or an Eid al-Fitr reception. In 2014, Kerry hosted a reception for Eid al-Adha, another important Muslim holiday.
Washington DC: The Pentagon has announced plans to test its first-of-its-kind missile intercept in the next week that would involve shooting down an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) - similar to what North Korea recently launched.U.S. military personnel plan to launch a custom-made missile from the Marshall Islands and aim to shoot it down in space by firing an interceptor missile from a base in California, reports Fox News.
The missile is meant to simulate an ICBM, meaning it will fly faster than missiles used in previous intercept tests, according to Christopher Johnson, spokesman for the Missile Defense Agency.
This is the first time the U.S. military has attempted to test a ground-based interceptor against an "intercontinental class target," said the Missile Defense Agency.
The interceptor test, scheduled for Tuesday, comes after a series of successful North Korean ballistic missile launches the recent being on May 21.
Japanese Defense Minister Tomomi Inada said the missile hit the water about 350 kilometers (217 miles) from the east coast of North Korea. She said the missile did not go higher than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), according to preliminary data.
On May 14, the test missile by Pyongyang reportedly reached an altitude of more than 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles).
According to analysts the test gave North Korea critical information on developing a re-entry vehicle for nuclear warheads and showed Pyongyang had a missile capable of striking the U.S. territory of Guam.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had earlier vowed to field a nuclear-armed missile capable of reaching American territory.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday opened the Friendship Gate at Chaman Border crossing on "humanitarian grounds" for Ramzan after remaining closed for 22 days in wake of the alleged Afghan attack in the country that claimed 12 lives.
"Pakistan has opened Friendship (FS) gate Chaman on humanitarian grounds in Ramazan on request from Afghan authorities," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement."Chaman on humanitarian grounds in Ramazan on request from Afghan authorities," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement."
After the Chaman incident, Pakistan has its area under effective control having pushed back Afghan Border police troops. Census has been completed in the Pakistani side of the divided villages," it added.
The statement further said that it has been agreed upon by Pakistan authorities that cease fire shall continue to be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable and Pakistani troops will maintain its positions along international border in Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir on Pakistani side of the border.
Earlier, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to avoid escalation at border during a meeting between representatives of the two sides in Chaman.
DIG Frontier Corps Balochistan led the Pakistani delegation while the Afghan side was headed by a Brigadier rank officer of the Afghan Border Police.
The Pakistani delegation informed the Afghan side that the Pakistani troops shall remain on its own side where they are deployed along the international border.
Islamabad and Kabul are caught in a fresh verbal salvo as Pakistan`s Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Nadeem Ahmed earlier during the month claimed that Afghan forces targeted the civilian population, while Pakistan targeted their check-posts, leaving 50 Afghan troops dead and 100 others wounded.
New Delhi: A day after he skipped a luncheon meeting of opposition parties, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the buzz about growing bonhomie between the two.
The JD(U) president was, however, dismissive of any such suggestion and told reporters after the meeting that "too much was being read into" the meeting which, he insisted, was a usual interaction between the prime minister and a chief minister.
"I did not meet him in the capacity of the JD(U) chief but as the state chief minister. It was not a political meeting. Why is the media reading too much into it?" he said.
He also did not take questions from journalists about allegations of corruption against his ally-- RJD chief Lalu Prasad-- and his family members.
There are allegations and counter allegations, he said, claiming that he responded only to "facts."
Kumar also said that he had met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi last month and it was already decided that former JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav will attend the lunch hosted by her.
Modi had invited Kumar for a lunch he hosted for the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.
"Bihar has an emotional connect with Mauritius as half of the population there is of Bihari origin. PM had invited me for the luncheon as the state CM and I decided to accept it," he said.
The chief minister said he also impressed upon the prime minister the need for desilting the Ganga in Bihar and requested him to send a team of experts to the state before June 10. The rise in the level of riverbed causes flood in vast areas during monsoon, while large parts of it become dry during summer as it cannot hold much water.
New Delhi: The Election Commission on Saturday refuted the Aam Aadmi Party's allegations of a promised no-holds-barred Hackathon and said that replacing the EVM's motherboard would be like changing the device itself.
The poll body said the June 3 EVM challenge will be held according to the framework of existing administrative safeguards and security protocols.
The EC made the comments after AAP insisted on changing the EVM's internal circuit to demonstrate the devices can be hacked.
The Kejriwal-led party had objected to the "rules" imposed by the EC for the hackathon. It demanded that its representative be allowed to "tamper" with the EVM motherboard.
The EC maintained that changing the internal circuitry of the electronic device is like changing the device itself and turned down AAP's petition.
The Congress had also complained about the "extensive terms and conditions" imposed for the EVM test.
In a letter to the Commission, Congress leader Randeep Surjewala said the challengers should be allowed access to all components of an EVM, including the motherboard.
"The extensive terms and conditions that this challenge imposes prevent challengers to conduct a thorough test on the EVMs. We urge you to reconsider relaxing the three rules, as their inclusion undermines the very credibility of this initiative," said Surjewala.
"The EC must factor in the possibility that those who try to or tamper with EVMs in real life can do so without pressing the buttons on the CU or BU or do it before/after the EVMs are in the control room," he said.
The challenge follows allegations by the AAP and other opposition parties of EVM-hacking during the February-March assembly elections and the Delhi civic election to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party.
London: A total of 13 people are in detention in Britain and Libya over Monday`s suicide bombing on a pop concert in the English city of Manchester by a British-born man of Libyan origin.
A teenage boy and a woman arrested by British police this week have since been released without charge, leaving 11 in custody on UK soil who were arrested "on suspicion of offences contrary to the terrorism act".
In Libya, the father and brother of the bomber, Salman Abedi, are in detention.
Abedi reportedly returned from Libya only a few days before the attack which killed 22 people, including seven children aged under 18, but police are still trying to pin down his movements as well as determine whether he was part of a wider network.
Here are the details of the arrests so far:
- Police arrest a 24-year-old man in the Chorlton area of south Manchester near where Abedi is believed to have lived. Police had earlier given the man`s age as 23.
An eyewitness told AFP that police shouted at the man to lie on the ground before taking him away. British media indicated that the man is highly likely to be Abedi`s older brother Ismael.
The brother was described in media reports as "outgoing" compared to Salman, who was "very quiet."
- Police arrest three more men in south Manchester aged 18, 21 and 24, a short walk from the house where Abedi lived.
Omar Alfaqhuri, a neighbour who lives just in front of a house that was raided, said he saw "a massive deployment of police forces" during the arrest in the night and a man he named as "Adel" handcuffed and taken away.
"They blocked the whole street," he said, adding that his neighbours were a "nice quiet family".
- An 18-year-old man, who police said was carrying a suspect package, is arrested in Wigan, a town near Manchester. No further details were given about him.
- Another man, 22, is arrested in the town of Nuneaton in central England, widening the British police probe beyond areas in and around Manchester.
- Libya`s Deterrence Force, which acts as the police of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, arrests Abedi`s father Ramadan, saying it had already arrested his brother Hashem on Tuesday.
A spokesman said the brother was aware of Abedi`s attack plan and both belonged to the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.
Abedi`s father reportedly protested his son`s innocence in the hours before his arrest.
- In Manchester, a 34-year-old woman is arrested by armed police in an apartment block in Blackley, an area north of the city. She is later released without charge.
- A 16-year-old boy is arrested in Withington, a suburb of south Manchester. He is later released without charge.
- A 38-year-old man is arrested in Blackley, north of Manchester.
- A 30-year-old man is arrested in Moss Side, an area of Manchester which has been associated with social deprivation and gangs.
- A 44-year-old man is arrested in Rusholme, in the south of the city.
- Two men aged 20 and 22 are arrested following a raid, involving a controlled explosion, at an address in Cheatham Hill, North
Moscow- Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iran`s Hassan Rouhani held a phone call in which the two leaders stressed the need for more joint efforts to resolve the Syria crisis and discussed economic ties, the Kremlin said on Saturday.
The Kremlin added that Putin congratulated Rouhani on his recent election win. It clarified that the economic issues discussed included joint projects in the oil and gas sector and peaceful nuclear projects.
Paris: France`s new President Emmanuel Macron will hold delicate talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Monday with the two countries harbouring longstanding differences over Ukraine and Syria.
Coming just three weeks after an election in which the Kremlin was widely seen as backing centrist Macron`s far-right rival Marine Le Pen -- with Putin hosting her during a surprise visit to Moscow -- the encounter in Versailles, near Paris, has an added personal edge.
As a candidate, Macron, 39, had tough words for Russia, accusing it of following a "hybrid strategy combining military intimidation and an information war".
Since the start of the Ukraine crisis in 2014, Russia has flexed its muscles with a series of war games involving tens of thousands of troops in areas bordering NATO Baltic states.
Macron criticised Russia`s 2014 annexation of Crimea and "shows of force in Syria or alongside our coastlines and airspaces, (and) the use of social media or state-controlled media to destabilise public opinion".
But he said it was essential to "keep dialogue open with Moscow" -- while government spokesman Christophe Castaner said Friday that "dialogue does not mean agreement".
Ahead of Monday`s meeting, the two countries` foreign ministers spoke by telephone on Friday, the Russian foreign ministry said. Putin adviser Yuri Ushakov has described the visit as an "informal" occasion that will nevertheless touch on some tough issues.
"France is among the countries with a very severe stance towards the regime of (Syrian President) Bashar al-Assad, so I think a discussion on this subject will be interesting and frank," Ushakov told a Moscow news briefing.
The stakes are high for Russia, said Fyodor Lukyanov of the Council on Foreign and Defence Policy. "It`s obvious that the Russian side wants to break the impasse," he told AFP in Moscow.
"One shouldn`t expect anything from this visit," he added, however. "It`s a matter of the two leaders getting to know each other and to create a positive ambiance -- or not."
Putin, 64, was quick to congratulate Macron on his election, urging him to "overcome mutual distrust" and "join forces to ensure international stability and security".
The visit comes seven months after the Russian leader cancelled a trip to Paris for the opening of a Russian cathedral complex near the Eiffel Tower in a spat over Syria with then president Francois Hollande, who had said Russia`s bombing of Aleppo could amount to war crimes.
France had helped spearhead the EU`s economic sanctions on Russia over the seizure of Crimea and backing for insurgents in the east of the former Soviet republic.
Macron has called for the "de-escalation" of the sanctions, which have seriously dented EU-Russia trade.
Moscow has much to gain from a rapprochement with Paris, said Thomas Gomart, head of the French international relations think tank IFRI.
"Russia realises that on the economic front it remains oriented towards the EU," which relies on Russia for about a third of its gas supplies, with half of that amount transiting through Ukraine.
In addition, "Putin wants to try to correct the very negative image he left during the presidential campaign, particularly by hosting Marine Le Pen", Gomart told AFP.
The venue will be the sumptuous palace of Versailles, where the pair will inaugurate an exhibition marking 300 years of Franco-Russian ties since the visit of Russia`s modernising tsar Peter the Great to France in 1717.
"The idea is to stress... the duration and depth of the link between the two countries," a Macron aide said.
Gomart noted that while the visit is early in Macron`s presidency, it follows trips by the new leader to Berlin and the NATO summit in Brussels.
"It`s a message that serves as a reminder that the French priority is Germany and the European project, while Moscow had banked on the disintegration of Europe," Gomart said.Russia`s ambassador to France, Alexander Orlov, said Moscow had a "positive perception" of Macron, describing him as "very intelligent, realistic and pragmatic".
"He`s not very ideological compared with his predecessors," Orlov told a meeting of business leaders last week. "With him we have more chances of moving forward than before."
That would mean overcoming raw feelings over a raft of cyberattacks on Macron`s election campaign that his aides have blamed on Russia, accusing the Kremlin of mounting a "smear campaign" against him.
On the eve of Putin`s visit, central and eastern European activists plan a demonstration in Paris to denounce "the warlike behaviour of... Putin`s Russia."
Organisers of the Sunday march said Russia had a "strategy of general hostility towards Europe".
New Delhi: The Central Board of Secondary Education will on Sunday (May 28, 2017) declare CBSE 12th result 2017/Class 12 result 2017 CBSE board.
The Senior School Certificate Examination (Class XII) 2017 results for All the CBSE regions will be declared tomorrow in the forenoon.
Students can access CBSE result 2017 Class 12/Class XII CBSE result 2017 through following websites:
www.results.nic.in
www.cbseresults.nic.in
www.cbse.nic.in
Notably, the CBSE Class 12 result 2017 will not be available in the Board.
The process of verification will be displayed on CBSEs website later.
Steps to check Class 12 CBSE result 2017:
- Log on to either of the three websites: www.results.nic.in, www.cbseresults.nic.in, www.cbse.nic.in
- Click on CBSE Class 12 result 2017
- Enter your details like roll number
- Click on 'Submit'
- Check CBSE result 2017 Class 12
The CBSE class 12 result are coming out after an ongoing controversy over the board's moderation policy.
The CBSE had proposed scrapping the policy on April 25 that entailed according extra marks to students as compensation for tough, inarticulate, confusing questions.
However, when the matter reached the Delhi High Court, it shot down the proposal, saying the rules cannot be changed at the eleventh hour.
Local bodies must get adequate budget
The parliamentary Finance Committee on Friday directed the government to allocate adequate resources to the local bodies by creating a specific criteria in the budget to be announced on Monday.
New Delhi: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday accused Prime Minister of the ongoing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and said that the prime minister is giving foothold to the anti-national power in the Valley.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving foothold to anti-national powers in Jammu and Kashmir," Rahul said.
"We worked for ten years and brought peace in Jammu and Kashmir, now see the present situation of the state. Whenever there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, it is profitable for the India. But when violence took place, it's profitable for Pakistan. It's all done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he further said.
Earlier in the day, Rahul was stopped by the Uttar Pradesh Police at the border of violence-hit Sarahanpur district of Uttar Pradesh after he decided to pay a visit there despite the 'no permission' from the district authorities.
Accusing the Modi-led government at the Centre further over the law and order condition in the Uttar Pardesh village, Rahul said, "Govt has failed on law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Everybody in country who is not powerful is scared. This is not the way to run a country."
"I wanted to visit Sarahanpur, however the authorities did not allow me to go there. They wanted to stop me at the Uttar Pradesh, but I came here," Rahul said.
"I am going back as the administration has asked me to do so. As soon as condition normalise here, they will take me to the village," he said.
Attacking the government further, the Gandhi scion said, "In today's time, poor and weak people has no place to live in and are being troubled. This is happening not just in Sarahanpur but in entire country."
Watch the complete video of Rahul Gandhi addressing media in Sarahanpur:
Maharajganj: Suspected Hizbul Mujahideen operative Naseer Ahmed was on Saturday remanded to 14-day judicial custody by a court here.
The CJM court sent Naseer, arrested by the Sashatra Seema Bal (SSB) from Sonauli on India-Nepal border earlier this month, to judicial remand, government counsel Raghuvansh Shukla said.
The court had earlier remanded Naseer in 12-day police custody as the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad wanted to question him.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police had also sought his remand citing cases lodged against him there but the court disallowed it.
Naseer Ahmed alias Sadiq (34), hailing from Banihal in Ramban district of Jammu and Kashmir, was held on May 13 from Sonauli border post in Mahrajganj.
He was trying to sneak into India from Nepal in the guise of a carpet vendor, and was nabbed by the SSB, which guards the 1,751-km-long open border.
Naseer was carrying a Pakistani passport and an identity card showing that he was a resident of Lala Musa village in Punjab province of Pakistan. He was handed over to the Uttar Pradesh ATS for further investigation.
Naseer had joined Hizbul Muzahideen in 2002-03 and moved to Pakistan. He was allegedly involved in a number of terrorist activities.
In 2002, he sustained bullet injuries during an encounter with the Army in Banihal.
Naseer was residing in Pakistan since September, 2003, and was allegedly involved in many attacks against civilians and security forces including an attack on an STF camp in India in 2003.
He was sent to India by his handler for a specific mission, according to an SSB spokesperson had said.
The paramilitary, based on initial interrogation of the terrorist, said he and his accomplice Mohd Shafi landed in Kathmandu on May 10 from Faisalabad in Pakistan via Sharjah.
The SSB said Naseer reached the Indo-Nepal border in a bus with an intention to sneak into Indian territory and carry out terror activities in India.
"He was in touch with a handler from India, who used to deposit money, in his account, off and on. On his instructions, he came to India for undertaking terrorist activities but was apprehended by the SSB," the SSB said.
New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee today condoled the passing away of former super cop KPS Gill, saying his contribution in establishing law, order and security will be remembered.
"A committed IPS officer, Gill served the nation in various capacities including Director General of Police in Punjab and Assam.
"He was honoured with 'Padma Shri' award in 1989 for his work in civil service. His contribution in establishing law, order and security will be remembered," Mukherjee said in a condolence message to his wife Heminder Gill.
The president said: "Please accept my heartfelt condolences and convey the same to the members of your family. May you all have the strength to bear this irreparable loss with courage and fortitude."
Gill, who is credited with rooting out militancy in Punjab, passed away yesterday at the age of 82.
New Delhi: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was given a ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan here on Saturday at the start of his three-day state visit.
Prime Minister Jugnauth was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the forecourt of the official presidential residence.
Thereafter, he inspected a tri-services guard of honour and then proceeded to the tented receptorium where he was introduced to members of the Prime Minister Modi's cabinet and other dignitaries. He also introduced Prime Minister Modi to his delegation.
Speaking to the media after the ceremonial reception, Prime Minister Jugnauth said, "Firstly, let me thank PM Narendra Modi for the invitation extended to me. Our forefathers came from India and it is always natural blood relation that existed between two countries and we are taking this special relation to make further special."
He added, "I must say that the meetings we had earlier and am sure on today's occasion also will take this relation to new heights and am looking to cementing on that continued form of relationship."
Prime Minister Jugnauth later visited Rajghat with his delegation to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi, Father of the Nation, at his memorial.
The two prime ministers' will be holding delegation-level talks and some bilateral agreements are expected to be exchanged after the meeting.
The two leaders will also make a joint statement to the media.
Jugnauth will meet Defence and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. He will also call on President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari in the evening.
Jugnauth held discussions with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan yesterday.
This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad as Prime Minister after assuming office early this year.
Modi had visited the island nation in March 2015, as chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
During his visit, Mr Modi had commissioned the OPV Barracuda, built by an Indian shipyard and financed by India, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson said Jugnauth's visit is part of India's continuing engagement with the Mauritius at the highest level and reflects special ties between the two countries.
The Indian Ocean island nation is the largest source of foreign direct investment into India with a cumulative inflow that has touched 111 billion dollars. Mauritius accounts for 30 per cent of foreign direct investment inflows into India. Over 100 Indian companies are doing business in Mauritius. (ANI)
New Delhi: Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth on Saturday met President Pranab Mukherjee at Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Earlier, the Mauritius Prime Minister met Vice President Hamid Ansari and Union Minister Arun Jaitley.
Earlier in the day, Mauritius Prime Minister Jugnauth met External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in various areas, including trade and investment. Swaraj said there was scope to expand bilateral ties in a range of areas.
India and Mauritius today signed four agreements after delegation-level talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritius counterpart.
Both the countries agreed to cooperate in stepping up vigil against conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean.
The conclusion of the bilateral Maritime Security Agreement will strengthen our mutual cooperation and capacities, said Prime Minister Modi.
India also agreed to provide a Line of Credit of USD 500 million to Mauritius for various projects.
Prime Minister Jugnauth also thanked India for its assistance in the field of education, training and research while describing India as closest strategic partner.
In the morning, the Mauritius Prime Minister was given a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat.
He is on a three-day state visit to India. This is Jugnauth's first visit abroad as prime minister after assuming office early this year.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday met his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth here ahead of delegation-level talks.
"A relationship marked by age-old ties of friendship and deep mutual respect. PM @narendramodi receives PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at Hyderabad House," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.
Earlier in the day, Jugnauth was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
Following this, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj called on the visiting dignitary.
On Friday, after his arrival here on a three-day state visit, Jugnauth met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and discussed various issues including security cooperation.
Jugnauth also held discussions with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
India sees Mauritius as a key player in the blue economy. Modi made a historic visit to the Indian Ocean island nation in March 2015.
This is Jugnauth`s first visit abroad since assuming office this January.
New Delhi: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Saturday met Prime Minister in the national capital, a day after he skipped the luncheon meeting organise by Congress president Sonia Gandhi for opposition leaders.
Kumar met Modi after attending a lunch hosted by the Prime Minister for his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth.
"The Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri @NitishKumar met PM Shri @narendramodi in New Delhi today," the PMO tweeted.
On Friday, Nitish did not attend a luncheon hosted by Gandhi and instead sent deputed senior JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav as JD(U)'s representatives.
Gandhi had organised a luncheon meeting, which was attended by the leaders of 17 Opposition parties, as part of efforts to forge an opposition unity particularly in the context of upcoming presidential polls.
The Bihar chief minister turning down Gandhi's lunch invitation - designed as a show of opposition unity on the day the Modi government turns '3' - had caused eyebrows to be raised.
His 'yes' to PM Modi sparked a massive political buzz among the political group. However, Nitish played down the reports by saying, "I have already met Sonia Gandhi over it and has telephonic talks with prominent leaders of other parties."
It comes as the Congress is trying to gather opposition parties on a common platform to test the ground for a possible alliance of parties to take on the BJP in the 2019 national election when PM Modi will seek a second term.
Watch the video:
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday paid their tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his 53rd death anniversary.
"Tributes to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on his death anniversary," Modi tweeted.
"Remembering Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. May the vision and the values he dedicated his life to always guide our conscience and our actions," Gandhi said in a tweet while remembering the first Prime Minister of India who is also his great-grandfather.
President Pranab Mukherjee and Vice President Hamid Ansari offered floral tributes at Nehru`s memorial Shantivan.
Nehru, who was sworn-in on August 15, 1947, as the first Prime Minister of India when the nation gained independence from the British empire, died on May 27, 1964.
In office until his death, Nehru remains India`s longest-serving Prime Minister.
He was born on November 14, 1889, in Uttar Pradesh`s Allahabad.
United Nations: The UN has reaffirmed that the "good offices" of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres were available for helping in bringing India and Pakistan together to resolve differences if it was acceptable to them.
"As you know, about the question of good offices, good offices are available to all parties if they mutually agree to this. So, that's the case in this situation as in every other situation," Guterres' deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said here yesterday at a daily press briefing.
Haq made the remarks when asked if the Secretary-General will use his good offices for India and Pakistan as tensions increase between the two South Asian neighbours.
On mediation being not acceptable to India, Haq reiterated that that the "very nature of the principle of good offices is that the parties themselves need to be willing to accept it."
Last week, Guterres' spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had said the UN chief is watching the rising tensions between India and Pakistan very closely and reiterates the need for the South Asian neighbours to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue.
Dujarric had asserted that the Secretary General is not reluctant to focus on the issue.
The UN chief has not made any direct intervention to resolve the issue and his spokesperson has repeatedly said Guterres reiterates his call for India and Pakistan to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue to resolve the Kashmir issue.
NACs Boeing auction attracts zero bidders
Nepal Airlines Corporation (NAC) did not receive a single bid for its 30-year-old Boeing 757 that was put up for auction on April 10. The deadline for submitting tender documents ended on Wednesday.
New Delhi: The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations will declare the ISC 12th result 2017/ICSE 10th results on May 29, 2017 (Monday).
Class 10 result 2017 ICSE and Class 12th result 2017 ISC can be checked by logging on to www.cisce.org.
The Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations will introduce a DigiLocker facility to store digitally signed certificates and marksheets.
In another first, the Council has also made a provision for candidates to apply for rechecking of marks.
"The Council will announce the results at 3 pm on May 29," a statement by CISEC Chief Executive and Secretary Gerry Arathoon said.
The results will be made available on the career portal of the council and its website, as well as through SMS.
To receive the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) or Indian School Certificate (ISC) results by SMS, the candidate will need to type ICSE or ISC followed by their seven digit unique ID code and send the message to 09248082883.
New Delhi: Idea Cellular has launched Data Jackpot offer, giving up to 10 GB data per month to postpaid customers.
The offer can be availed through My Idea App at a nominal rental of just Rs 100. Customers can enjoy 10 GB data per month for first three months under the offer.
After 90 days, customer will continue to get 1GB data benefit at Rs 100 monthly rental.
Out of the total data benefit given, 1GB benefit will be applicable and refreshed as per customers bill cycle.
The remaining benefit will be applicable for 30 days from the offer activation date and subsequently will be provided 2 more times automatically, each for 30 days.
The free data benefit will be applicable only on available Idea network as per following:
Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra & Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Jammu & Kashmir 4G/3G/2G
Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Mumbai, North East, Orissa, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal 4G/2G
Delhi, Kolkata 3G/2G
The pack will remain active for a minimum period of 90 days with a rental of Rs 100 charged 3 times.
The Offer is available for subscription for a limited period till 31st May 2017.
Udhampur (J&K): The Army on Saturday killed at least 10 terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir as they thwarted repeated attempts by Pakistan to push intruders into India.
The spike in Pakistani attempts to breach the border comes as the Muslims have begun their holy month of Ramadan.
Citing the Army's Northern Command, the ANI reported that security forces have mounted relentless operations to thwart attempts by Pakistan to boost terror activities during Ramadan.
In the last 24 hours, 10 heavily armed intruders and terrorists have been successfully eliminated, the Army said in a statement.
The terrorists were gunned down in separate encounters near the Line of Control (LoC) in Rampur and Tral sectors of Kashmir.
The Army said six armed intruders were killed in Rampur, while two more were killed in Tral.
Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was among those killed in Tral operation. Bhat was the successor of slain Hizbul terrorist Burhan Wani.
After Bhat's death, incidents of violence were reported from different parts of the valley.
The authorities have suspended internet services in the Valley as a precautionary measure.
The development comes after a Pakistani BAT team on Friday tried to target an Indian army post but the security forces have thwarted the attempt.
Srinagar: In a big achievement of the Indian Army, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, who had succeeded Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani, was killed in an encounter in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday.
Bhat and one more militant were killed in the encounter with security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district in Kashmir.
A spontaneous shutdown was, meanwhile, observed in the Kashmir Valley following violent protests in the wake of the killing of Bhat.
Confirming the news, Director General of Police SP Vaid told news agency PTI that Burhan Wani's successor Sabzar Bhat is among the two militants killed in the encounter in Soimoh area of Tral this morning.
Soon after the killings, stone-pelting protests started at around 50 places, including Tral in Pulwama and Khanabal in Anantnag in south Kashmir, police said.
Hizbul Commander Sabzar Bhat killed: Know how Burhan Wani's successor was tracked by intelligence agencies
Vaid said the law enforcing agencies are on the job to chase away the protestors.
A person in Mattan area in the district was injured during clashes with security forces, police said.
The situation across the Valley is tense. Unnerved people rushed to their homes, leading to traffic snarls on certain routes. The schools closed three hours early.
Burhan Wani was killed on July 8 last year in south Kashmir. His killing had sparked violence in the Kashmir Valley for months.
Notably, both Wani and Bhat belonged to the Tral area.
Bhat, who carried a reward of Rs 10 lakh, was one of the 11 people in one of the earliest photos of Burhan Wani along with his associates, reported CNN-News18.
Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Soimoh village of Tral, 36 kms from here, following information about the presence of some top Hizbul Mujahideen militants in the area, a police official said.
An official said as the security forces were closing on the house where the militants were hiding, the ultras opened fire.
The security forces retaliated, killing two militants.
On Friday evening, a patrol party of 42 Rashtriya Rifles was fired at by militants in Tral, but there were no casualties in the brief encounter that ended when militants fled from the spot.
In another development, six militants were killed today on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district as the Army foiled an infiltration bid, according to defence sources.
A group of militants was challenged by the alert troops on the Indian side of the LoC in Rampur sector.
(With Agency inputs)
Srinagar: The security forces on Saturday recovered a huge haul of arms and ammunition from the encounter site where Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was gunned down.
The weapons recovered included AK-47 and INSAS rifles. The police and the Army had cordoned off the area after the attack. A massive anti-insurgency operation is currently underway.
Earlier in the day, the security forces had gunned down Bhat and his associate during an encounter in the Tral area of Kashmir's Pulwama district.
The operation was jointly carried out by the Rashtriya Rifles, J&K police, Special Operation Group and CRPF.
Bhat, alias Abu Zarar, had succeeded Burhan as JeM commander after his death on July 8 last year.
Bhat carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
Srinagar: Six militants were killed as the Army on Saturday foiled a major infiltration bid along the Line of Control in Rampur sector of Jammu and Kashmir`s Baramulla district.
Alert troops noticed suspicious movement along the LoC in Rampur sector in the early hours, an Army official said.
He said a firefight broke out between the infiltrators and the Army, resulting in the elimination of six ultras so far.
A search operation was going on in the area, the official said.
Rampur sector is adjacent to the Uri sector where the Army on Friday foiled an attack by Pakistan`s Border Action Team (BAT) and killed two intruders.
Meanwhile, at least two militants were killed today in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Pulwama district in Kashmir.
Srinagar: Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat was killed along with another militant in an encounter with security forces in Tral area of Kashmir's Pulwama district.
Bhat alias Abu Zarar had succeeded Wani who was killed on July 8 last year in a security operation in Anantnag.
Bhat carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head and was at the top of the security forces' wanted list.
Here, we take a look at the CNN-News18 report on how the Hizbul commander was zeroed in by the intel:
On May 19-20, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat visisted Srinagar to strike a truce with Hurriyat leaders after Zakir Musa's outburst against him.
Bhat desperately sought a truce with Hurriyat after Musa released tapes where he openly expressed his dissatisfaction over the working style of Hizbul.
The intelligence agencies got inputs about Bhat's visit to Srinagar and that's where they started tracking him.
As per the report, from Srinagar, the Intelligence agencies finally zeroed in on where Sabzar was.
On Saturday morning, an encounter took place and security personnel killed Bhat along with one more militant in Tral area of Pulwama district in Kashmir.
According to another report, the Jammu and Kashmir Police and security agencies were trying to track him since couple of years after Bhat went underground in April 2015.
Bhat first came to news after he snatched a rifle from a CRPF jawan and joined the wings of slain Hizbul commander Burhan Wani. After Wani's death last year, Bhat was made the successor of the wing while another militant Zakir Musa was given the work of attracting youths to the wing.
Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was on Saturday shown black flags by few people in Gulbarga district of the state.
The Chief Minister was addressing a speech when he was shown black flags by people belonging to the Madiga Dandora Horata Samiti, ANI reported.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah shown black flags in Gulbarga by Madiga Dandora Horata Samiti demanding special quota under reservation,5 detained pic.twitter.com/xGDMC1wYc8 ANI (@ANI_news) May 27, 2017
Activists of Madiga Dandora, a Dalit organisation, have been demanding internal reservation for Scheduled Castes (Scs), have in past staged several protests against the government.
The activists have several times complaint of atrocities on Dalits and have been demanding the Chief Minister to drop Shivaraj Tangadagi, Minister of State for Minor Irrigation and Koppal district-incharge.
Meanwhile, at least five Madiga Dandora activists have been taken into custody by the state police.
New Delhi: Even as lakhs of central government employees are keenly waiting for the announcement on allowance and arrears as per the recommendation of the 7th Pay Commission, nothing concrete seems to be happening on ground.
The anxious employees however have pinned their hopes on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
As per fresh reports in the media, PM Modi might personally intervene into issue of arrears and allowances.
Meanwhile media reports are also pouring that the update on allowances as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission will be out by June 1.
The Cabinet secretary has purportedly assured that the deadline to look into the report on the allowances committee has been set for the month end and by June 1 the update might be announced.
Consequently, the report will be sent to the Cabinet for consideration.
As per news reports, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) set up to screen the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC) recommendations on allowances was supposed place the proposal before the Cabinet this week, however nothing of that sort happened.
Media reports also say that PM would wait for the suggestions made by the E-CoS before personally intervening into the matter.
The Lavasa Committee on April 28 suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways and defence, after examining the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.
Last month, the Union Cabinet approved important proposals relating to modifications in the 7th CPC (Central Pay Commission) recommendations on pay and pensionary benefits in the course of their implementation.
The benefit of the proposed modifications will be available with effect from 1st January, 2016, i.e., the date of implementation of 7th CPC recommendations. With the increase approved by the Cabinet, the annual pension bill alone of the Central Government is likely to be Rs 1,76,071 crore.
There are about 47 lakh central government employees.
While recommendations of the CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.
The CPC had recommended that of a total of 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.
New Delhi: The central government employees might heave a sigh of relief as media reports are pouring that the update on allowances as recommended by the 7th Pay Commission will be out by June 1.
The Cabinet secretary has purportedly assured that the deadline to look into the report on the allowances committee has been set for the month end and by June 1 the update might be announced.
Consequently, the report will be sent to the Cabinet for consideration.
As per news reports, the Empowered Committee of Secretaries (E-CoS) was supposed to present the report to the Union Cabinet yesterday, however nothing of that sort happened.
The Lavasa Committee on April 28 suggested modifications in some allowances applicable universally to all employees and also for those in specific categories, including railways and defence, after examining the 7th Pay Commission recommendations.
Last month, the Union Cabinet approved important proposals relating to modifications in the 7th CPC (Central Pay Commission) recommendations on pay and pensionary benefits in the course of their implementation.
The benefit of the proposed modifications will be available with effect from 1st January, 2016, i.e., the date of implementation of 7th CPC recommendations. With the increase approved by the Cabinet, the annual pension bill alone of the Central Government is likely to be Rs 1,76,071 crore.
There are about 47 lakh central government employees.
While recommendations of the CPC on pay and pension were implemented with the approval of the Cabinet, allowances continued to be paid at old rates.
The CPC had recommended that of a total of 196 allowances, 52 be abolished altogether and 36 be abolished as separate identities by subsuming them in another allowance.
NFC buys 106 tonnes of beans, buckwheat
Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has bought 106 tonnes of beans and buckwheat from farmers in the Karnali region even though it has 60 tonnes of unsold legumes in its warehouses.
Bengaluru: Rajinikanth is expected to announce his political ambitions by the end of July, says the veteran actor's brother.
Satyanarayana Rao Gaikwad, who lives in Bengaluru, has been quoted by The Times of India as saying: "It is the people's wish that Rajinikanth should enter politics. He has just ended the first round of consultation with his fans and well-wishers who were urging him to take the plunge.
Last week, political parties in Tamil Nadu welcomed Rajinikanth's hints that he may join politics at an appropriate time but cautioned him that it may not be all that easy in public life.
The parties felt that in a democracy anybody has the right to enter public life but added that only when he (Rajinikanth) takes the step he will know how difficult it is to survive in politics.
"He wants to meet as many fans as possible before firming up his plans. With the response being overwhelming, the outcome would be hopefully positive and Tamil Nadu will usher in a new era in politics," said the daily quoted Satyanarayana as saying.
He added that the key aim behind the move to enter politics was Rajini's intent to cleanse corruption in public life. "The government's coffers are plush with money, but it is not reaching the poor while welfare schemes are not benefiting the needy," Rao added.
He further said that Rajinikanth may not join any political party and prefers to float his own one. The name and the structure of the party were being worked out, Rajini's brother added.
Last Monday, superstar Rajinikanth told his fans that if it is God's will, he will step into the political arena.
The actor, who met his fans after a gap of some eight years in Chennai, also said if he enters politics, he will be truthful and will not entertain people who want to make money.
"God decides what we have to do in life. Right now, he wants me to be an actor and I'm fulfilling my responsibility. If God willing, I will enter politics tomorrow. If I enter, I will be very truthful and will not entertain people who are in this to make money. I won't work with such people," Rajinikanth had told his fans, who had gathered at Raghavendra Mandapam in Chennai.
The 66-year-old star described his brief stint in politics two decades ago as a "political accident".
In 1996, during the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election campaign, Rajinikanth had denounced J Jayalalithaa and her politics. His strong remarks had contributed to her defeat.
(With Agency inputs)
Chennai: Denying media reports, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Saturday ruled out any reshuffle in the state Cabinet.
"It is only the newspapers that are publishing news about a ministry change. There will be no change in the ministry," he told the media at Yercaud, about 370 km from here.
As for meetings of AIADMK legislators with him, Palaniswami said they discussed issues related to their respective constituencies.
The Chief Minister said he will respond to the Centre`s move to prevent sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter when the order is received.
"One cannot say anything on the basis of newspaper reports."
The Environment Ministry on Friday notified Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, with the aim of regulating the animal market and prevent animal cruelty.
New Delhi: Despite being denied permission by the Uttar Pradesh government, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday set out to visit the violence-hit villages of Saharanpur district, where caste conflict has left two dead and scores injured.
UP Congress chief Raj Babbar and Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad are also accompanying him.
He is travelling by road after his chopper was denied landing permission by the state administration following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's order to not allow political leaders from visiting Saharanpur.
Rahul left for Shabbirpur village, the centre of the caste-based violence in the district, this morning after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, the sources said.
"They cannot suppress the voice of the poor, Dalits and Adivasis of this country. Rahul Gandhi and the Congress party will continue to speak," Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.
"Nobody will be able to stop Rahul from reaching out to the victims of the violence which have been perpetrated at the instance of BJP gundas," he added.
The Congress party had on Thursday said Adityanath was nobody to stop Rahul Gandhi from visiting Saharanpur.
"The permission has been denied based on the state policy of keeping the region out of bounds for leaders until the situation returns to normal," Additional Director General (ADG) Law and Order Aditya Mishra had clarified yesterday.
Sources said that as the violence broke out soon after Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati's visit, the Chief Minister's Office asked district officials not to grant any permission to political leaders to visit the area in future.
Earlier, former union minister Kumari Shailja and senior Congress leader PL Punia were denied permission to visit Saharanpur.
(With Agency inputs)
New Delhi: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday arrived in violence-hit Saharanpur, despite district authorities denying him permission to visit the area.
He is being accompanied by AICC general secretary in charge of UP affairs Ghulam Nabi Azad, and UP Congress chief Raj Babbar.
He travelled from New Delhi by road after his chopper was denied landing permission by the state administration following Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's order to not allow political leaders from visiting Saharanpur. Rahul Gandhi met Congress president Sonia Gandhi before leaving for Saharanpur from New Delhi.
Here are the UPDATES:
- The government has failed in maintaining law and order in UP. Everybody in the country, who is not powerful, is scared. This is not the way to run a country, says Rahul Gandhi.
- I am going back because the administration has told me to do so. As soon as normalcy will be restored, they will take me to the villages: Gandhi
- I wanted to visit Saharanpur but was not allowed. Actually, the authorities had stopped me at the border, but I somehow reached here: Rahul Gandhi
- After meeting the locals, Rahul could be seen engaged in an altercation with the police force where he questioned them as to on what grounds he was not allowed to enter Saharanpur.
- Rahul Gandhi reaches the clash-affected area to take stock of the situation and interacts with locals.
- Police try to stop the Congress vice-president.
- Rahul Gandhi reaches Saharanpur.
- Senior Congress leader PL Punia said on the phone that party men were awaiting Gandhi in the district. "We want the administration to allow him to meet the victims of the violence," he said.
- If Rahul Gandhi still comes to the town, he will be stopped at the border and requested to return. But if he does not, legal action under Section 144 of CrPC, which prohibits an assembly of more than four people in an area, will be taken.
- ADG (Law and Order) Aditya Misra, who is camping in Saharanpur in view of the tense situation there, said police have requested Rahul Gandhi to cancel his visit as it wanted to avoid any "confusion and provocation".
- Taking a swipe at Rahul Gandhi's visit to Saharanpur, Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday described the Congress leader as a 'photo opportunist'. Speaking to ANI, Naidu said, "Rahul Gandhi is a photo-opportunist, whenever there is a photo opportunity he always goes there."
- If not permitted to visit the victims in the affected area, Gandhi would court arrest, news agency PTI has quoted sources as saying.
- According to the district Congress leaders, Gandhi will only meet the injured persons in a hospital and not visit the spots where clashes were reported.
- Saharanpur borders have been ordered to be sealed to prevent Rahul Gandhi from visiting survivors of the caste violence that has hit the district.
- Senior civil and police officials, including Deputy Inspector General (Security) Vijay Bhushan, were camping on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border at Sarsava to intercept Rahul Gandhi`s motorcade.
- The state government's move comes after the violence in Saharanpur raised with the visit of Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati earlier this week. Former union minister Kumar Shailja and senior Congress leader PL Punia were denied permission to visit Saharanpur.
- "We are committed to ensuring peace and harmony in the region and will not allow any political leader to visit the places that have been singed by caste clashes over the past few days," a senior Home Department official told news agency IANS. He said senior state officials are camping in the district to monitor the situation.
- The permission was denied based on the state policy of keeping the region out of bounds for leaders until the situation returns to normal
- On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission to Gandhi to visit the villages where caste conflicts since May 5 have left at least two dead and over two dozen others injured, until the situation returns to normal.
- The Centre has sent 400 anti-riot police personnel to Saharanpur to help the state restore peace in the region.
- On May 23, another person was shot dead and two others were wounded, following which the government suspended the SSP and district magistrate and transferred the divisional commissioner and the deputy inspector general of police.
- About a dozen police vehicles were set ablaze and 12 policemen were injured on May 09.
- Violence first broke out in Saharanpur about 40 days ago following a procession to mark Ambedkar Jayanti. On May 05, a person was killed and 15 people were injured in clashes.
Kushinagar: In a bizarre move, the District Administration in Uttar Pradesh's Kushinagar distributed soaps, shampoos, and perfumes among the villagers before their meeting with Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Residents were asked to have a bath before attending a meeting with the UP CM so they 'smell good'.
According to news agency ANI, the members of the Musahar community were called to attend a vaccination program for the eradication of Encephalitis, a campaign started by the Chief Minister in Kushinagar's Kasiya division.
Five children from the community were to be vaccinated under the campaign from the area.
Ahead of the event, local officials distributed the soaps and shampoos to those attending the event, in order to make them "look clean and smell good."
Also, roads were paved, toilets were fixed overnight and streets were cleaned up in the village ahead of the CM's arrival.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched Encephalitis vaccination campaign in the state from Mainpur Kot village in Kushinagar.
The drive is being held from May 25 to June 11 and will cover 88 lakh children in 38 districts, for which the Central Government has provided one crore vaccine vials.
Earlier, the administration in Deoria had received much flak for placing air conditioners, sofas and carpets at the house of a Border Security Force (BSF) martyr when Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath went to his place to give the compensation cheque.
(With ANI inputs)
Varanasi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday visited Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and inspected the undergoing developmental projects.
Directing developmental projects be completed in specified timelines and as per norms and quality standards, he said those in populated areas should be executed in such ways that neither transport and traffic is disrupted nor the established water supply or sewage pipeline are disturbed and damaged.
During the inspection, the Chief Minister visited the various development projects at Chaika Ghat Lahartara, Manduadeeh flyover, Sankuldhara and Durga Kund ponds, the bridge on the Ghat side in front of the BHU and the Shiv Prasad Gupta hospital.
He told officials to ensure timely completion of the Chaika Ghat Lahartara-Manduadeeh flyover by working on a war footing. During the inspection, it was brought to Adityanath`s notice that some sewer lines and water supply lines had burst during the construction and he said there should be repaired promptly.
Telling the Bridge Corporation officials to ensure that the flyover`s construction and other works met the fixed timelines, he also directed officials concerned to ensure that the digging work on the Sankuldhara pond is completed in time. He also ordered lighting at the sides of the pond.
He also inspected the beautification work done at Durgakund pond at a cost of Rs 4.30 crore, the pathway being built at a cost of Rs 18.50 crore, toilets, lighting, benches and other public utilities and asked officials to expedite work.
At the bridge being built over the Ganga outside BHU, he said the project should be completed by June 27 under all circumstances and the work force should be increased to meet the deadline. Engineers were also asked to ensure quality work.
At the hospital, ge enquired about the health of the admitted patients and also sought information from the staff about the facilities being provided.
Ever since he was sworn-in, Adityanath has been regularly monitoring the work in Varanasi and holding meetings to ensure that the city gets a makeover.
Kolkata: Sixteen thousand police personnel have donated blood over the past one week to overcome the blood crisis in West Bengal during the ongoing summer, chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said here on Saturday.
The Chief Minister had earlier urged police personnel and her party Trinamool Congress workers to organise voluntary blood donation camps in the city and across districts to meet the shortage of blood in hospitals and blood banks as part of the celebrations to mark the sixth anniversary of her government. Besides, the Banerjee government on Saturday completed its first year in office in its second term.
"Till yesterday (Friday), 16,000 police personnel have donated blood," Banerjee said while addressing a function at the state secretariat, Nabanna.
She said the Trinamool workers and the state government employees had also started holding blood donation camps from Saturday.
"There will be nearly 50,000 bottles by June 10," Banerjee said.
The Chief Minister said the total collection of around 66,000 bottles would mitigate the blood shortage in the state.
The state government, together with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, also started an ambulance service during the day. The 53 air-conditioned ambulances would be used both in the city and the districts.
Banerjee also launched an air-conditioned fast bus service from Kolkata to Bolpur and Suri in Birbhum district.
In an oblique reference to the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, which is celebrating the completion of its third year in office on a grand scale, Banerjee said: "We could also have celebrated the sixth year of our government with fanfare. But we are not doing so.
"Instead, we are organising blood donation camps and starting ambulance services, besides taking up other social programmes for benefit of the public".
On the occasion, the state government also published a booklet and released a compact disc highlighting its successes over the years.
Tripoli: Forces loyal to Libya's unity government said Saturday that 52 of its fighters were killed as they repelled rival militias in fierce clashes in the capital Tripoli.
Apart from sporadic gunfire in southern Tripoli, calm returned to the city on Saturday, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Among the 52 killed in Friday`s clashes which centred on the southern district of Abu Slim, said Hashem Bichr, a security official of the Government of National Accord, were 17 members of pro-GNA forces who had been "executed".
There was no immediate confirmation from medical or other independent sources of the death toll, updated from Friday`s health ministry figures of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded that did not give a breakdown of the casualties.
UN special envoy Martin Kobler condemned the fighting in which heavy artillery and tanks were used, urging restraint from all sides.
Forces of the UN-backed GNA announced on their Facebook page they had defeated rival militias and taken control of a prison holding key leaders of the ousted regime of Moamer Kadhafi including his last premier, Baghdadi al-Mahmudi, and former intelligence chief Abdullah Senussi.
Al-Hadhba jail had been under the control of the Fajr Libya militia coalition, which had seized Tripoli in 2014 and set up a government headed by Khalifa Ghweil.
The Libyan capital has been gripped by a power struggle ever since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Kadhafi in 2011.
The latest fighting started around a complex of luxury villas that until March served as headquarters of militias loyal to Ghweil, who was ousted when the GNA took office last year but refuses to recognise the new administration.
Loyalist forces seized the villas in four days of intense fighting in March that saw them expand their control over the capital.
Tripoli had been relatively calm since, but dozens of armed groups still operate and several parts of Tripoli remain beyond its control.
Relying on militia support and pitted against a rival administration in eastern Libya, the GNA has struggled to assert its authority across the country.
In a statement on Friday, the GNA blamed Ghweil and Salah Badi, another leader of Fajr Libya, for Friday`s violence.
"This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan," it said in a statement.
Mattia Toaldo, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said the main figure to benefit from the Tripoli clashes was military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who supports the eastern administration.
"The man standing to gain from these clashes is again Khalifa Haftar who benefits from the increasing sense of chaos in the capital," he told
London: Former US president Barack Obama offered his condolences to the victims of the Manchester suicide bombing on Saturday when he met Britain`s Prince Harry.
Harry, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth, was hosting Obama at his London home Kensington Palace to discuss military veterans, mental health issues and empowering young people.
The meeting also gave him an opportunity to pass on his sympathies following Monday`s attack at a pop concert in Manchester which left 22 dead and more than 100 injured.
"Good to see my friend Prince Harry in London to discuss the work of our foundations & offer condolences to victims of the Manchester attack," Obama said on Twitter.
London: Britain`s terrorism threat level has been reduced from "critical" to "severe", Prime Minister Theresa May said on Saturday.
The change indicates an attack is highly likely, not imminently expected. May said she reduced the nation`s terror alert level based on advice from an inter-departmental security meeting called Cobra, BBC reported.
She said significant activity by the police during the last 24 hours had led to the threat being reduced.
It had been set at critical in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing.
Earlier on Saturday, police evacuated an area of Moss Side in Manchester, in a search linked to Monday`s Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people and left scores injured.
The evacuation was described by Greater Manchester Police as a precautionary measure to "ensure everyone`s safety".
Detectives are questioning 11 men over the attack after a series of raids. There were also searches at properties in Cheetham Hill and in the Longsight area.
At the start of the bank holiday weekend, armed police are guarding hundreds of events across the country.
Senior officers have encouraged people to go out, but to remain vigilant.
Opposition parties obstruct Parliament
The opposition parties, led by the CPN-UML, obstructed the Parliament meeting on Friday to protest the governments decision to increase the number of local units in 12 Tarai districts.
Beijing: China has arrested a visiting Taiwanese rights activist on suspicion of subverting state power, according to reports.
Lee Ming-che, a 42-year-old NGO worker, had been unreachable since March 19 after he entered the southeastern Chinese city of Zhuhai from Macau, according to Taiwan`s government.
On Friday China`s official state news agency Xinhua reported that he was in detention and had "confessed" following interrogation.
Lee had "colluded with mainlanders...established illegal organisations, and plotted out and carried out activities to subvert state power," Xinhua cited a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office as saying.
"After interrogation, Lee and his group confessed to engaging in activities endangering national security," the spokesman was quoted as saying.
Lee, who works at a community college in Taipei, has long supported civil society organisations and activists in China.
"The Chinese authorities did not disclose any evidence related to the case at all," Taiwan`s Mainland Affairs Council said in a late Friday statement reacting to the Xinhua report.
"Their vague and superficial responses cannot convince the people of Taiwan and also cannot convince the international community watching this case," it said.
Lee had been sharing "Taiwan`s democratic experiences" with his Chinese friends online for many years and often mailed books to them, according to the Taiwan Association for Human Rights.
His detention is the latest in a series of incidents that have heightened tensions between Beijing and Taipei since China-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen won Taiwan`s elections last year.
Beijing mistrusts her independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party and has severed official communications with Taipei since she took office.
"It`s alarming that sharing views and Taiwan`s experience of democracy would be considered `subversion`. Again, it shows the arbitrary use of the charge against free speech," Amnesty International China researcher Patrick Poon told AFP.
"If the Chinese authorities don`t follow the cross-straits agreements on handling criminal suspects, it just shows that there is zero protection for Taiwanese citizens on the mainland," he said.
Last month, Beijing blocked Lee`s wife from travelling to the mainland, with the airline telling her she could not board the plane because her travel permit had been revoked.
China`s foreign ministry has not responded to request for comment from AFP.
Taiwan has been self-ruled since 1949 following a civil war on the mainland. But Beijing still claims it as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
Beirut: Hundreds of civilians are fleeing two cities held by the Islamic State group in eastern Syria after a series of deadly air strikes that killed dozens, a monitor said Saturday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitor, said a "large-scale displacement" was underway from the cities of Albu Kamal and Mayadeen.
"Hundreds of civilians are fleeing the two cities heading towards villages in the countryside," the Observatory said.
The monitor`s director, Rami Abdel Rahman, said civilians had begun fleeing on Friday but that the displacement was continuing on Saturday morning.
He said relatives of IS fighters were among those fleeing.
The two cities are in Syria`s oil-rich eastern Deir Ezzor province, which is largely under the control of IS and regularly targeted by the US-led coalition, as well as Syria`s regime and its ally Russia.
On Friday, at least 80 relatives of IS fighters were killed in US-led coalition bombing of Mayadeen, according to the Observatory.
Air raids by the coalition have pounded IS positions across Iraq and Syria since the jihadist group claimed responsibility for the devastating bombing at a concert in the English city of Manchester on Monday.
The monitor said 33 children were among the dead in the strike on Mayadeen on Friday, the third day of heavy bombardment of the town.Mayadeen on Friday, the third day of heavy bombardment of the town.
According to the Observatory, 37 civilians were killed in coalition raids on the town on Thursday night, including 13 children, and another 15 were killed in coalition strikes on Wednesday.
Mayadeen has seen an influx of displaced families from the IS-held territory in Iraq and Syria, including its bastion Raqa.
Albu Kamal sits on the border between Iraq and Syria and has also regularly been targeted in air strikes.
Earlier this month, at least 62 people, including 42 civilians, were killed in strikes on the town.
The US-led coalition denied responsibility for those strikes.
On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March.
Before the new revelation, the US military had said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had "unintentionally" killed 352 civilians since 2014.
But monitors say the true number is much higher.
New Delhi: India has sent Navy ships to rescue and relief material to Sri Lanka, where torrential rains and landslides have resulted in several deaths and massive devastation over the last two days.
INS Kirch operating in South Bay of Bengal has been diverted to Colombo in Sri Lanka to render immediate assistance in flood relief operations. According to reports, the ship will enter Colombo anytime soon.
Additionally, INS Jalashwan shall sail out from Visakhapatnam today with HADR (Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief) stores which include victualling, clothing, medicines and water.
The ship will also carry medical and diving teams along with Gemini crafts and helicopters to assist in relief operations at Colombo.She is likely to reach late morning or by noon tomorrow.
On the other hand, INS Shardul with relief material medical and diving teams leaves Kochi at 7 AM.
It will arrive in Colombo tonight. Other assets standing by at short notice to render assistance as required.Heavy rains in the southern and western parts of the country have destroyed hundreds of homes and cut off several roads.
Landslides and floods killed at least 91 people in Sri Lanka on Friday, the Disaster Management Centre said.
Nearly 50,000 people across 13 districts in the southern parts of the island were affected and about 8,000 of them had to be evacuated from Kalutara, a coastal city some 40 km south of Colombo, among the worst hit.
Last May, Sri Lanka experienced severe floods in which at least a 100 people died.
Islamabad: A mortar fired by Iranian forces today killed a man in Panjgur district of Pakistan's south- western Balochistan province.
Commissioner Makran, Bashir Bangulzai, said that the mortar shell landed on a vehicle, instantly killing Kam Jan, a resident of Washuk, and causing extensive damage nearby. Jan was travelling in the vehicle. His body was shifted to a local hospital.
"We have informed provincial and federal governments about the Iranian violation," Bangulzai said.
Security forces reached the site of the attack and cordon off the area. They have started a probe into the incident.
The attack came a week after Iranian border guards fired five mortar shells into Pakistani territory.
There is tension between the two countries since April 26 when 10 Iranian border guards were killed in a militant attack near the border.
Iran accused that militants hiding in Pakistan were involved in the attack.
Arbil: Iraqi forces have launched a broad assault on parts of battleground second city Mosul still held by the Islamic State group, the military announced today.
The offensive is the latest push in the more than seven- month battle to retake Mosul, a linchpin in IS's now crumbling bid to establish a cross-border jihadist "state".
Multiple security forces units are attacking "what remains of the unliberated areas" on the west bank of the River Tigris, the Joint Operations Command said in a statement.
"Army forces attacked Al-Shifaa neighbourhood and the Republican Hospital, federal police forces Al-Zinjili neighbourhood, and Counter-Terrorism forces attacked Al-Saha al-Oula neighbourhood," it said.
All three neighbourhoods are located north of the Old City, a warren of closely spaced buildings and narrow streets that has posed significant challenges to Iraqi forces seeking to oust IS.
On Friday, the federal police said they had bombarded IS positions with Grad rockets and field artillery in "preparation for attacking the Old City in the coming hours."
But the Joint Operations Command did not mention any attack on IS-held areas of the Old City on Saturday.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped "hundreds of thousands of leaflets" on IS-held areas of Mosul urging "citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces."
International aid group Save the Children expressed concern that the call for civilians to leave could expose them to additional danger.
"The Iraqi government must ensure all exit corridors are genuinely safe for people to flee," it said.
"The call for civilians to leave their homes is a U-turn on former directives that compelled civilians to stay and wait for the battle to pass" -- instructions that also raised concerns about the risks.
IS overran large areas north and west of Baghdad in 2014, but Iraqi forces backed by US-led air strikes have since regained much of the territory they lost to the jihadists.
Iraqi forces launched a major operation to retake Mosul in October last year, fighting their way to the city and retaking its eastern side before setting their sights on its smaller but more densely populated west.
The battle has taken a heavy toll on civilians, pushing hundreds of thousands to flee, while hundreds more have been killed or wounded.
On Thursday, the United States announced the results of an investigation into a deadly coalition air strike earlier this year.
The probe found that at least 105 civilians had been killed and 36 remained unaccounted for, but said most had been killed by the secondary explosion of IS munitions stored in a nearby house.
There have also been reports that members of an Iraqi interior ministry special forces unit tortured and killed detainees during the Mosul operation.
Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady recounted witnessing the abuse, which he also filmed, in an article for German magazine Der Spiegel. US network ABC News too reported on Arkady's footage.
The interior ministry has launched an investigation into the allegations.
Abuses such as those described in the reports could sow the seeds of future conflict even as security forces near the end of the battle for Mosul, IS's most emblematic stronghold.
Baghdad: Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.
The fall of the city would, in effect, mark the end of the Iraqi half of the "caliphate" declared nearly three years ago by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.
The enclave includes the Old City centre and three adjacent districts along the western bank of the Tigris river.
The U.S.-backed offensive in Mosul, now in its eighth month, has taken longer than planned as the militants are dug in among civilians.
"The joint forces have began liberating the remaining districts," an Iraqi military statement said.
Another military statement announced the death of two Iraqi colonels during the fighting on Saturday.
Desperate civilians trapped behind Islamic State lines now face a harrowing situation with little food and water, no electricity and limited access to hospitals.
The Iraqi air force dropped leaflets on Friday urging residents to flee but humanitarian groups say they fear for the safety of those trying to escape.
The push inside the Old City coincides with the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The offensive`s prime target is the medieval al-Nuri mosque with its landmark leaning minaret, where Islamic State`s black flag has been flying since mid-2014.
Iraqi armed forces hope to capture the mosque - where Baghdadi announced the "caliphate" - in the next few days.
Residents in the Old City sounded desperate in telephone interviews over the past few days.
"We`re waiting for death at any moment, either by bombing or starving," one said, asking not to be identified. "Adults eat one meal a day, either flour or lentil soup."
The United Nations expressed deep concern for the hundreds of thousands of civilians behind Islamic State lines, in a statement on Saturday from the organisation`s under-secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Stephen O`Brien.
"Although the U.N. is not present in the areas where fighting is occurring, we have received very disturbing reports of families being shut inside booby-trapped homes and of children being deliberately targeted by snipers," he said.
Residents said millet, usually used as bird feed, is being cooked like rice as food prices increased ten-fold. People were seen collecting wild mallow plants in abandoned lots and also eating mulberry leaves and other plants.
About 700,000 people, about a third of the pre-war city`s population, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps.
The insurgents are also retreating in Syria, mainly in the face of U.S.-backed Kurdish-led forces.
The insurgency is expected to continue in the sparsely populated desert region along the Syrian border even if Mosul is fully captured.
Iranian-backed Shi`ite paramilitary forces are fighting Islamic State in that part of the country where Baghdadi is believed to be, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.
On Saturday Iran announced for the first time the death of a senior commander during the operations launched in October to drive the Islamist militants out of Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province.
Shaaban Nassiri, a senior commander of Iran`s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), was killed west of Mosul, near the border with Syria, according to Mashregh, an Iranian news website.
The IRGC is the main backer of the Iraqi Shi`ite paramilitary force known as Popular Mobilisation. Iraq`s Shi`ite-led government is aiming to control the border in coordination with the Iranian-backed Syrian army..
Linking up the two sides would give Syrian President Bashar al-Assad a significant advantage in the six-year rebellion against his rule.
Pyongyang: North Korea on Saturday accused South Korea of violating its airspace with an unmanned vehicle, Pyongyang`s state news agency reported.
According to KCNA, a Heron surveillance plane flew over the western border area four times between 7.46 a.m., and 8.40 a.m., on Friday.
The agency called the incident a "grave military provocation" as it coincided with the temporary deployment by the United States of four Global Hawk drones and around 100 soldiers at the Yokoda Air Base in Japan from their base in Guam.
Pyongyang also accused Seoul of escalating tensions and warned of a "merciless retaliatory response".
The incident took place after South Korea fired warning shots at the border on Tuesday at an unidentified object flying from North Korea to South Korea`s Kangwon province, which it later identified as a propaganda balloon in support of the Kim Jong-un regime.
However, North Korean media said South Korean troops had fired at a flock of birds and accused them of being "reckless" and taking the confrontation between the two countries to a new level of "hysteria".
Repeated weapons tests by North Korea, including the most recent on May 20, have escalated tensions in the region and with Washington, who has hinted at possible pre-emptive strikes.
The weapons test took place barely a week after Pyongyang launched the Hwasong 12, a new medium range missile that indicates significant progress made by the Kim regime in developing an intercontinental missile with a nuclear warhead capable of reaching US territory.
Islamabad: Pakistan on Saturday called on the UN and the international community to stop the violence in the Kashmir Valley.
In a statement, Foreign Office said the Prime Minister's Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz expressed grave concern at the constant ceasefire violations by Indian forces at Line of Control.
Aziz accused India of making attempts to discredit the Kashmiri indigenous movement. He also alleged that India was trying to change the demography of Kashmir to convert the majority Kashmiri into minority territory, which Pakistan has brought to the attention of the UN.
He reaffirmed Pakistans unflinching support for Kashmiris in their struggle for the right to self- determination.
Islamabad: Hussain Nawaz, the eldest son of Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has submitted a plea against two Joint Investigation Team Officers, Bilal Rasool and Ahmer Aziz, expressing his apprehension about the impartiality of the officers in the Panamagate probe.
A three-judge special bench will hear the plea that objects the presence of the two JIT officers for the family`s investigation in the Panama Papers leak on May 29.
Hussain submitted his plea, citing the political bias the two officers may portray. The Express Tribune reported that Bilal Rasool, was a representative from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) and nephew of Mian Muhammad Azhar who is an ardent supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).
Hussain accused Rasool of being vocal against the government, in his plea. Ahmer Aziz, who is a representative of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was also a part of the National Accountability Bureau investigation that was carried out during former President Pervez Musharraf`s tenure.
Another member of the Nawaz family has filed a complaint against JIT, citing misbehaviour. This complaint was filed by the Prime Minister`s cousin Shafi to the JIT`s head Wajid Zia against some of the JIT members after his interrogation.The complaints have been forwarded to the Supreme Court for perusal and will be heard by a special 3-judge bench on 29 May.
Jerusalem: Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners incarcerated in Israeli jails ended a 40-day hunger strike on Saturday, the Israel Prisons Service said.
More than 800 inmates ended the strike that began on April 17, after talks held with the International Committee for the Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority concluded in an agreement to change some of the prisoners` conditions, the Prison Service Statement said.
The full details of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
Parliament starts deliberations on government's policies and programmes
The Saturday's meeting of the Legislature-Parliament started deliberations on the government policies and programmes for the fiscal 2017-18.
Manila: Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has sought to reassure soldiers who might be accused of committing abuses under martial law and jokingly said that if any of them were to rape three women, he would personally claim responsibility for it.
Duterte is notorious for comments often deemed offensive and made the remark as a joke, reiterating that only he would be liable for any backlash over military rule on southern Mindanao island. He has, however, said he would not tolerate abuses.
"If you go down, I go down. But for this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible, just do your job I will take care of the rest," Duterte said on Friday, according to a president`s office transcript.
"I`ll imprison you myself," he said, referring to any soldiers who commit violations, then he joked: "If you had raped three, I will admit it, that`s on me."
Duterte made the remark in a speech to soldiers on Mindanao island, where he imposed martial law on Tuesday to try to crush Islamic State-linked rebels, who have been battling the military after laying siege to a southern city.
It was not the first time Duterte has made a joke about rape. He caused outrage in the lead-up to his presidential election win last year when he recalled a 1989 prison riot in which an Australian missionary was killed, and inmates had lined up to rape her.
In what was intended as a joke, Duterte said the victim was "beautiful" and as mayor of Davao city where the riot took place, he should have been first in line. He later apologised and said he did not intend to disrespect women or rape victims.
Duterte is known for his informal, no-nonsense style and his speeches are often loaded with profanity, threats and jokes about taboo subjects, which offend some but are taken lightly by many Filipinos.
The president`s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Duterte`s latest remarks about rape.
Duterte`s pledge of support for troops comes as human rights groups and some lawmakers criticise his decision to declare martial law as excessive, and say it could lead to abuses by security forces.
He also joked that he would join soldiers in the fight against extremists if he could, but he had arthritis.
He urged rebels to disarm and hold talks and said anyone not authorised to carry guns would be killed.
"My order to the troops is all people who are not authorised by the government to carry arms and they resist, kill them, wipe them out," he said.
Manila: Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte came under fire Saturday for making a second joke about rape, with Chelsea Clinton leading online outrage and a rights group branding his sense of humour "sickening".
In a speech at a military camp on Friday aimed at lifting troops` spirits after he imposed martial law across the southern Philippines, Duterte told them they were allowed to rape up to three women.
"I will be imprisoned for you. If you rape three (women), I will say that I did it. But if you marry four, son of a whore you will be beaten up," he said.
Duterte, who uses profanities regularly, also attracted controversy last year when during an election campaign speech he joked that he had wanted to rape a "beautiful" Australian missionary who had been murdered in a Philippine prison riot.
Clinton joined many people on social media on Saturday to criticise Duterte, who has also carried out a war on drugs that has left thousands of people dead and rights groups say may be a crime against humanity.
"Not funny. Ever," wrote the daughter of ex-US president Bill Clinton and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on her verified Twitter account.
In a second post she wrote: "Duterte is a murderous thug with no regard for human rights. It`s important to keep pointing that out & that rape is never a joke."
Phelim Kine, a deputy director with Human Rights Watch`s Asian division, described the joke as a "sickening attempt at humour".
He and Filipino rights activists warned it sent the wrong signal to soldiers that they could commit rights abuses as they enforced martial law in the southern region of Mindanao, which Duterte imposed to quell what he says is a major Islamist terrorist threat.
"Duterte`s pro-rape comments only confirm some of the worst fears of human rights activists that the Duterte government will not just turn a blind eye to possible military abuses in Mindanao, but may actively encourage them," Kine said.
Gabriela, a women`s political party in the Philippines, also expressed outrage.
"Rape is not a joke. Martial law and the heightened vulnerability to military abuse that it brings to women and children are not a joke either," it said in a statement.
Duterte`s aides frequently explain away his most controversial comments as being "merely rhetoric" or an "exaggeration" or comments only ordinary Filipinos would appreciate.
His spokesman, Ernesto Abella, released such a statement on Saturday explaining that Duterte was using "heightened bravado" when trying to raise the morale of the troops.
"He gave his full support to the men and women in uniform, taking complete responsibility for their actions, even exaggeratedly describing crimes like taking a fourth wife," Abella said, while ignoring Duterte`s preceding rape remark.
Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his disapproval to German Chancellor Angela Merkel over her country`s reportedly giving asylum to people accused of links to last year`s failed coup, he said in an interview published Saturday.
"We brought to the agenda the putschist soldiers whose asylum applications have been accepted and gave a firm reaction," Erdogan said, referring to his meeting with Merkel on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday.
"We asked: `How can you do this?`" Erdogan said, quoted by the Hurriyet newspaper.
Since the coup attempt, dozens of Turkish diplomats and high-ranking officials have sought asylum in Germany as Ankara continues its crackdown on those suspected of links to US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it accuses of ordering the coup.
German media reported this month that numerous Turkish military personnel and their families holding diplomatic passports had been granted political asylum.
But Erdogan said Merkel told him asylum approval "was not up to her".
Relations between Berlin and Ankara have been strained since last July`s attempted putsch, but have deteriorated further over several issues including the referendum campaign to expand Erdogan`s powers.
Ties also worsened after Turkey imprisoned Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish journalist with Die Welt, on terror charges in February.
Erdogan hit back at Germany`s "fixation with Deniz", saying he told Merkel: "I reminded them: `You have many Deniz, I gave you these documents`."
He was referring to 4,000 dossiers which Turkey previously said it gave its Berlin colleagues about "terrorist" suspects in Germany.
Germany`s interior ministry said on Friday that 217 of the asylum applications came from Turks holding diplomatic passports while another 220 were from people with passports issued to other government employees and their dependants.
It is not known officially how many have been given asylum or how many are from the military.
Erdogan also said that the issue of German lawmakers wanting to visit the Incirlik military base near Syria was also discussed by the two leaders.
Ankara refused to allow German lawmakers to visit the base this month, and Erdogan said Turkey wanted a list of those who would visit because some MPs "openly support terrorists".
The lawmakers called off their visit but not before Berlin warned it could move its 250 military personnel stationed at the base to another location in the region, most likely Jordan.
The German forces at the base fly Tornado surveillance missions over Syria and refuel flights for partner nations battling the Islamic State jihadist group.
Seoul: A South Korean fishing vessel was apparently hijacked in waters off Somalia on Saturday, a defence ministry official said.
"The boat sent a message that she was being approached by some unidentified vessels, the South Korean official told AFP.
Contact with the fishing boat was then lost, he said.
South Korea`s naval anti-piracy unit, which was on routine patrol off Somalia, was urgently dispatched to the site, the official added.
The fishing vessel was carrying an unknown number of crew members, including South Koreans and foreigners, he said.
Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing boat with a crew of up to 20 on Tuesday.
They took the captured vessel to a port in northern Somalia, John Steed, regional manager for Oceans Beyond Piracy, a US-based non-profit group, said Wednesday.
There have been at least eight attacks by Somali pirates in recent months and three successful hijackings.
Last week the Indian Navy thwarted an attempted hijacking, chasing away at least three boats that had swarmed a cargo vessel off Somalia`s northeast.
Lawlessness and a lack of job opportunities in Somalia, combined with the waning attention of international anti-piracy patrols have given piracy new life.
Somali pirates began staging attacks in 2005, seriously disrupting a major international shipping route and costing the global economy billions of dollars a year.
At the peak of the piracy crisis in January 2011, 736 hostages and 32 boats were held.
Kathmandu: Two Nepal parties which moved an impeachment motion against Chief Justice Sushila Karki in April, on Saturday decided to withdraw it, a move expected to end an unsavoury row between the executive and judiciary in the Himalayan country.
On Saturday, leaders of both the parties held parleys with the main opposition Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist-Leninist and decided to withdraw the motion by Saturday evening or Sunday.
"The impeachment motion registered against the Chief Justice will be withdrawn by this (Saturday) evening or by Sunday morning," CPN-UML`s Parliamentary party leader Subash Nembang quoted Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal `Prachanda` as saying.
Dahal, who had announced his resignation as the Prime Minister on Wednesday to honour an agreement with the Nepali Congress leader Sher Bahadur Deuba, said the process to withdraw the motion has already been initiated.
Lawmakers of the ruling Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) had registered the impeachment motion against the Chief Justice at the Parliament Secretariat on April 30 after the apex court annulled the government`s decision to appoint the police chief.
On March 21, a Supreme Court bench led by the Chief Justice had revoked the Cabinet`s February 12 decision to appoint Jaya Bahadur Chand as the Nepal Police chief, thereby paving the way for Deputy Inspector General of Police Nawaraj Silwal`s appointment to the post.
Immediately after the impeachment motion was registered, Sushila Karki -- the first woman Chief Justice of Nepal -- was suspended, but later reinstated on the post by another court verdict.
There was huge national and international interest, including from the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in the impeachment motion.
With the three parties reaching an agreement on the impeachment motion, the main opposition CPN-UML decided to let Parliament proceed with its normal business from Saturday in the wake of assurances that the Budget will be announced on May 29 as per the constitutional provisions.
--IANS
giri/tsb/bg
Bangkok: The UN raised "serious concerns" on Saturday over the fate of a Turkish man deported by Myanmar and Thailand this week for alleged links to Fetullah Gulen, the cleric accused of plotting a failed coup against Turkey`s president.
Muhammet Furkan Sokmen, an accountant who had been working at an international school in Yangon, is at least the sixth person in recent months to be deported from Southeast Asia over alleged connections to Gulen, the UN said.
"The UN Human Rights Office has serious concerns for their safety in Turkey where there are substantial grounds to believe that they would face an imminent risk of grave human rights violations, including torture," the UN`s Southeast Asia office said in a statement.
Turkey has accused Gulen of orchestrating the July 2016 attempt to oust President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The US-based preacher strongly denies the allegation.
Since the failed putsch Turkish authorities have carried out an unprecedented crackdown on suspected Gulen supporters, arresting or sacking more than 100,000 people.
Muhammet was first arrested at Yangon airport on May 24 with his family.
He was then transferred to Thailand, where he was held for 24 hours before being sent back to Turkey on Friday, according to the UN, which said it had urged Thai authorities to halt the deportation.
The UN added that it has seen a spike in cases over the past month of Turkish nationals in the region being scrutinised for suspected links to the Gulen movement.
Muhammet`s deportation comes shortly after three branches of the Horizon International School, where he used to work in Yangon, were shut down.
Local Myanmar magazine Frontier reported police had launched an investigation into the school for links to "terrorist organisations" shortly after Turkey`s failed coup.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Vartan Gregorian, Co-Founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and President of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, says people must shows with their example that they stand for the society, for humanity, rather simply for their benefit.
Im sorry that we are experiencing such days, when people dont have faith in anything, because theyve been cheated, betrayed, they are so disappointed that they dont believe. When we are in such a situation, we create an emptiness, which isnt filled with anything. Like I said yesterday, we are the prisoners of the present, we dont have an idea about the future, we dont have information about the past, we are simply dealing with our business. One must have an ideological symbol in himself, which will bring belief to yourself for yourself, he said.
Asked on his opinion about the concerns that despite having similar issues, Armenia is transferring large amounts of money to other troubled countries, Gregorian said We Armenians have always nationalized and restricted ourselves, we must think internationally. The Armenian Genocide is being talked about in Congo, tourists who have never been here before are arriving, Armenians abroad say that foreigners know us. We have restricted ourselves and we think that everyone must help us, but first of all we must help ourselves. When I arrive in Armenia I see the casinos. There is not a single person to criticize why so many casinos resembling palaces have been built. Yes, Armenia has advanced, it also has many problems, but instead of building casinos let them spend 50% of it on schools, Gregorian said, adding he is very proud for bringing people from all over the world to Armenia.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The EU encourages the formation of the corruption prevention agency on the basis of the ethics commission of high ranking officials and highlights the agencys independence, Ambassador Piotr Switalski, head of the EU delegation to Armenia, told reporters.
According to him, the EU believes that the formation of this agency is already a good development.
The experience of other countries proves that this kind of an agency can operate efficiently if it is independence and isnt led by someone, he said, adding that the EU will speak about the independence of this agency after it begins to operate.
The establishment of the corruption prevention agency was earlier announced by PM Karapetyan.
The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day?
Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount.
Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists.
Evelyn Horwitz was eighty-four when doctors told her they had to amputate her right leg to prevent the spread of villonodular synovitis sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. But she maintains a good sense of humor about the amputation, which extended a bit above her leg. Im the half-buttless wonder, Horwitz chortles.
Retired from the Flat Rock public schools since 1985, shed continued to teach in Ypsilanti public schools and tutor English as a Second Language for xADWashtenaw Literacy. While her three kids nixed the idea of her driving a hand- xADoperated car, the amputation has hardly set Horwitz back. She still takes the AAATAs A-Ride service to tutor four days a week, and she teaches aerobics (most of which can be performed from a sitting position) three days a week at Brookhaven Manor, where she lives.
Shell celebrate her ninetieth birthday next month, but with no particular fanfare. My daughter generally takes me out to dine at a Chinese or an Italian restaurant, she says. I dont think there are any grandiose plans.
Ruling parties decide to withdraw impeachment motion against CJ Karki
In a bid to address the demands of main opposition CPN-UML, the ruling partiesNepali Congress and CPN (Maoist Centre)have decided to withdraw an impeachment motion filed against Chief Justice Sushila Karki.
That free speech on college campuses is under attack cannot be denied. We find invited speakers being disinvited or shouted down, "bias incident" reporting systems that encourage students to complain when they hear anything they don't like, and professors who demean students who dare to question their assertions.In the fairly recent past, most higher education leaders would have admitted that the assault on free speech was bad, but tried to say that it isn't really much of a problem. But now we find that some actually praise it, such as New York University professor Ulrich Baer, who recently argued in the New York Times I'm not going to explain what's wrong with that "speech must be regulated" view here (but if you're interested, I did so in this Minding the Campus piece ). The question at hand is what, if anything, the federal government should do to protect free speech against its many enemies.In an April 30 Wall Street Journal piece, the well-known civil rights attorney (and co-founder of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education) Harvey Silverglate made the case that, as his title said,Silverglate argues that the Department of Education should first of all rescind the Obama-era "guidance" telling colleges that they must ban all "unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature," which includes speech that any student might find objectionable. That rule, Silverglate points out, has led to such absurdities as the firing of Louisiana State University professor Teresa Buchanan on the grounds that some of her class discussions included sexually vulgar language.The Department's "guidance" was itself misguided, Silverglate points out, since the Supreme Court's standard for illegal harassment in education (announced in the 1999 case Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education) requires conduct that is "so severe, pervasive, and objectively offensive" as to deprive a student of educational opportunity. Therefore, the Department should make it clear to all schools under its authority that they must not interfere with speech on campus unless it rises to the high standard in Davis.Second, Silverglate suggests that Congress should exercise the power of the purse and stop funding to institutions with policies that violate free speech rights. He advocates legislation thatColleges and universities certainly ought to be held to "their own professed principles" (that is, free speech and open inquiry) but the question is how.If the federal government wants to condition receipt of tax money on compliance with the protection of First Amendment rights, it will have to do so through the Department of Education. That prospect worries Preston Cooper, a research analyst at the American Enterprise Institute.Writing on Forbes several days after Silverglate's piece was published, Cooper suggests caution before turning such power over to the Department's regulators. Cooper quotes F.A. Hayek's observation thatIn other words, while it might seem wise to empower the Education Department to do good by threatening to withhold funds from schools that don't protect free speech rights on campus, we should consider the possibility of that same power being abused.Cooper writes,If Hayek were still alive, he would undoubtedly say that we shouldn't just think about what the good federal bureaucrats might do in the present to protect free speech, but also about the harm they might do with that power in the future. Could a pro-speech mandate today become an anti-speech mandate under the next administration?Cooper raises this hypothetical: What if the Department were at some point to tell colleges that they violate "free speech" if they have a prayer or chapel requirement? Small, church-oriented colleges might decide that it would be better to give in than to fight officious federal bureaucrats who enjoy exercising their power for "progressive" ends.Lord Acton famously warned about the corrupting nature of power and we should keep that in mind whenever we contemplate giving more power to any governmental agency.Cooper isn't arguing that we stand idly by as colleges trample upon free speech, but instead that we rely on means other than the administrative state. We can shame and stop supporting schools that don't respect free speech and we can sue them when they act in ways that violate the First Amendment or (for private schools) fail to live up to their professed free speech commitments. Cooper argues that it's less dangerous to use those approaches than to add the protection of free speech to the list of jobs the Education Department has to do.So which argument is the stronger?The question comes down to trying to weigh the prospective good that might come from having the government task the Department of Education with the defense of campus free speech against the prospective damage its bureaucrats might do with that authority.While I agree with Cooper (and Hayek) that it's dangerous to give government officials power, I'm not convinced that we would actually increase the Education Department's power and the likelihood of its abuse if we conditioned eligibility for federal funds on respect for free speech on campus.I say that because Education Department bureaucrats can already abuse authority, and often have. Their "Dear Colleague" letters imposing new legal requirements on schools were abuses of power-not clarifications of existing law, but new law imposed by bureaucratic fiat. They could now find some justification for harassing religious colleges over chapel requirements if they wanted to, as Cooper suggests, or concoct other "guidance" letters that threaten to withhold funds if schools allow the sort of speech that Professor Baer finds objectionable.The problem, in short, lies in the existence of the Department itself, not in the precise authority Congress chooses to give it.I'm reminded of Edmund Burke's famous outburst over the problem of government corruption:(See this article by Professor Michael Munger for the reference.) The Thing here is the Department of Education. Congressional tinkering with its authority probably won't make it much better but it's hard to see how it could be made any worse.
Per-Student Expenditure Figures are Not Always Meaningful
Earlier this month, the National Education Association (NEA) released their annual " Rankings and Estimates " report. In addition to North Carolina's surge in average teacher pay , NEA researchers estimated that North Carolina is ranked 43rd in average per-student spending for the current school year. In conjunction with the release of the report, the NEA's state affiliate, the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE), held a press conference calling on lawmakers to increase per-student spending to the national average.But are per-student expenditure calculations used in the NEA report and elsewhere accurate, appropriate, or meaningful? Not always.The NEA report includes two measures of per-student expenditures in their annual report. The first is "expenditures per student in average daily attendance" and the second is "expenditures per student in fall enrollment." North Carolina's per-student expenditure using average daily attendance figures was $9,501, which is 39th in the nation and higher than pesky rivals Georgia and Florida. North Carolina's per-student expenditure using fall enrollment figures was $8,955, which is 43rd in the nation and, curiously, lower than Georgia and Florida. Most media reports only acknowledged the latter.Why is there a discrepancy between the two? First, the count of the number of students, which constitute one-half of the per-student calculation, are far from straightforward. Average daily attendance is the total number of students who reported to school divided by the number of instructional days held during a prescribed period. Enrollment is the total number of students who have registered during the school year without regard for transfers, withdraws, deaths, or early graduation.Differences in the way that researchers calculate the number of students lead to significantly different totals. According to the NEA, North Carolina public schools enrolled an estimated 1,457,700 this fall but had only 1,371,588 students in average daily attendance. In general, enrollment is higher than average daily attendance. As a result, dividing total expenditures by enrollment almost always produces a lower per-student average.Obviously, each way of counting students have strengths and weaknesses. Enrollment is a widely-available and standardized figure, so it is useful for comparing student counts across jurisdictions. On the other hand, it is not adjusted for transfers, withdraws, deaths, and early graduations. Average daily attendance accounts for change but may be inaccurate due to the inevitable difficulties of documenting daily attendance, variations in the way states define attendance/absence and count instructional days, and different calculations used to produce the figure.For these reasons, North Carolina uses a third measure, average daily membership (ADM). State officials note that average daily membership "is a more accurate count of the number of students in school than enrollment." Unfortunately, ADM figures are not as widely used as enrollment or average daily attendance, so the NEA does not even include them in their report. Not only does North Carolina and the NEA not see eye-to-eye on this issue, but there are also state-by-state disagreements about the best student count to use when calculating how much they spend per student.Statistical issues aside, average expenditures obscure vast differences in spending across schools, districts, and states. Indeed, the actual amount of money we spend on a student depends on the school they attend, the services they require, and numerous other factors. While North Carolina reports that the state spent an average of $8,888 per student on operating expenditures last year, the actual range of expenditures was considerable. Hyde County led the pack with a per-student expenditure of $17,802, while Burke County was dead last with $8,512. On a per-student basis, state funding for Hyde County Schools was double of what Burke County School received. Federal and local funding were also considerably higher.On that last point, few discussions of per-pupil expenditures acknowledge the role of federal and local funding. In North Carolina, the state government contributes around two-thirds of the total operating funds for public schools. While the state government can (but shouldn't) increase taxes to pay for more spending on K-12 schools, racing up the NEA ranking would also require a big lift from local governments and a change in the way federal funds are distributed to states.Finally, none of these technical issues speak to whether our current level of spending is sufficient. As I have written in the past, research suggests that $8,000 per student is the "magic number." In a 2015 Comparative Education Review article , Emiliana Vegas and Chelsea Coffin concluded thatIn a subsequent op-ed published by the Brookings Institution, Vegas, who is the Chief of the Education Division at the Inter-American Development Bank, argued that once the $8,000 spending threshold has been met, how the money is spent is more important than how much is spent.Regardless of how one calculates the figure, North Carolina exceeds the minimum, and, thus, should focus on using taxpayer money as efficiently and effectively as possible.
Is the concerted Democrat plan to obfusticate the purpose of government by the unprecedented delaying of President Trump's appointments, while galvanizing with the organized protesters' directive to obstruct the process of governing, at the federal level, working for the Democrat brand? Yes, Democrats will finally create a Socialist Progressive utopia if they remain banded together. No, the nation is in dire straits, on so many levels, and needs immediate repair. I'm busy with my important life, such as it is, and don't care. 68 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?
A coup d'etat is defined as an overthrow of government, and hence the state, by the illegal and overt seizure of power by the military or other elites within the state apparatus. James Downton explains: "Unlike the coup d'etat that sees a military or popular figure lead a minority resistance or majority force into power over the legitimate government, this coup d'etat is leaderless and exposes some of the deepest fissures in our system of government. This coup d'etat represents not the rule of one man or even many, but by the multitude of our elites."Ever since I shockingly watched as a news reporter pondered on air what would happen if both Donald Trump and Mike Pence were assassinated during the inauguration ceremony, and ever since I witnessed the Women's March on January 21... And as I continue to observe how members of Congress have absolutely lost all semblance of obedience to the Constitution and respect for the Electoral College outcome as they attack Trump for every word and breath he has taken so far in office, as I disappointingly note how the liberal courts are doing their best to re-write the Constitution and federal laws duly enacted by prior administrations, and as I listen disbelievingly each day to the conjured, false narrative that the Russians interfered with the presidential election and that there was collusion between Putin and Trump and his team in order to rob Hillary of her victory, and as I read about the audacious repeated leaks from government in violation of our federal Espionage and other laws in order to frustrate and taint our new president, and I see college students act like uncivilized savages on their campuses when any conservative speaker dares to be invited, and as I listen dumbfounded to members of Congress call for Trump's impeachment when no action has warranted this action, I know that we are in the midst of a coup d'etat. I've made this allegation for months now and I can't help but notice how many are now saying the very same thing.I'm still, to some extent, affected deeply by the dark depths to which the Trump-hating media went on that glorious inauguration day. Who can ever forget it? During the inauguration events, CNN contributor Brian Todd had the audacity to openly brainstorm what would happen if President-elect Donald Trump and Vice-President-elect Mike Pence were assassinated. (Who would be in charge if an attack hit the incoming president, vice-president, and Congressional leaders just as the transfer of power is underway?") Their conclusion? According to their diabolic, yet hypothetical scheme, it would be a member of the Obama cabinet who would be selected to take over as president. As Todd explained: "According to the Constitution, if the president and vice president are killed or incapacitated, next in line is the House Speaker, then the President Pro Tempore of the Senate...... But what if something happened to them at the inauguration, too?"He continued:But Todd wasn't the only one to mention a hypothetical assassination. Before his report, news anchor Wolf Blitzer led into the story by asking: "What if an incoming president and his immediate successors were wiped out on day one?" As anyone can recall, tensions had never been higher than they were on election night, when ALL polls were proven wrong and Donald Trump was elected president, and in all the days after, even leading up to Inauguration Day. After all, that was what the Women's March was all about and thousands upon thousands turned out for that. The remarks by Blitzer and Todd were highly reckless given the tension level and the frazzled, fragile psyche of many progressives who wouldn't need any more than a suggestion to commit such an unspeakable act. How many "crazed lone gunmen" have assassinated our political figures in the past? How many have done so with less of a provocation? We are told that Jack Ruby silenced Lee Harvey Oswald in order to spare Jackie Kennedy the ordeal of seeing the man who murdered her husband go on trial.And so, as Downton aptly describes it, this brewing coup d'etat "represents not the rule of one man or even many, but by the multitude of our elites." A full-on smear campaign is being coordinated at many levels, including by rogue officials remaining from the previous administration, by a group of exceedingly ignorant and partisan US politicians, by statist Republicans, and most brazenly, by the leftist media (ie, over 90% of the media). There is only one word to describe their conduct - other than "treasonous" and "rebellious" - and that is "deception." They are trying to deceive the American people of the worth of the man they elected. It is a smear campaign and nothing more. Downton explains it best:We the People need to figure out a way to help conservatives ORGANIZE across the country so that if the government devolves according to the leftist plan and all hell breaks loose, we can put a plan in place to defend our rights under the Declaration (with respect to government) and to prevent the evil from taking hold. If government cannot function for the people who elected this president, then we don't need government at all. It will have ceased to be a constitutional republic and will have officially become a political oligarchy, where a select group of political heavyweights run the country.We have a dark group that is using the Democratic Party for their own purposes and a dark group within our government that continues to ignore us and work against us, that continues to subvert the useful ends of government, and that continues to want to un-do the legitimate and constitutional election of Donald Trump - a man who won the presidency against all odds and against a powerful machinery that did everything it could to prevent it from happening. These dark forces have, as their ultimate goal, the undoing of the values and principles in our Declaration of Independence and rendering of our precious Constitution as nothing more than a piece of useless parchment paper, all in order to control absolutely "We the People."The Democratic Party, the progressive movement, the likes of George Soros, entrenched government elites, members of the Shadow Government saw the election of Hillary Clinton as the cement to consolidate power of the administrative state - the government that progressives have long hoped for. These groups of political elites and these multi-millionaires and billionaires, all believing that their kind have the right to power and the right to determine the future of this country view the rest of us as pawns, as mere putty in their hands who, with the right "incentives" will vote for their agenda and surrender in the process our precious liberties and our virtues. Virtues and principles and individual liberties, after all, must be surrendered for unelected individuals to assume total power.For those of us who can recognize the precarious situation facing our country right now, we also have noticed the trend that has gotten us to this point... the massive growth of a "dependency" culture, the massive expansion of an "entitlement" mentality, the persistent division of individuals along race, culture, gender, and sexuality lines, the increasing attacks on morality and the laws of nature, and the increasing immigration of those who don't have traditional "American values" as their primary reason for coming here. For decades, we have predicted these growing trends as an intentional design to erode our nation's foundations. "If conservatives are right about the importance of virtue, morality, religious faith, stability, character and so on in the individual; if they are right about sexual morality or what came to be termed "family values"; if they are right about the importance of education to inculcate good character and to teach the fundamentals that have defined knowledge in the West for millennia; if they are right about societal norms and public order; if they are right about the centrality of initiative, enterprise, industry, and thrift to a sound economy and a healthy society; if they are right about the soul-sapping effects of paternalistic Big Government and its cannibalization of civil society and religious institutions; if they are right about the necessity of a strong defense and prudent statesmanship in the international sphere-if they are right about the importance of all this to national health and even survival, then they must believe-mustn't they?-that we are headed off a cliff." [See James Downton's article in The Federalist at http://thefederalist.com/2017/05/19/watching-slow-motion-coup-detat/ ]If it looks like it, feels like it, smells like it, acts like it... we call it what it is...... TYRANNY.I can't help but sense a similarity to the John F. Kennedy administration. Kennedy vowed to "splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces." The CIA could not allow this to happen and the next thing you know, Kennedy was removed. The assassination of JFK let to a complete reversal of policy, particularly in foreign policy and with the Vietnam War. Many have termed the assassination (and a government conspiracy, as concluded by the Senate Select Committee on Assassination in 1979) "a coup d'etat with Lyndon Johnson waiting in the wings." (partial quote taken from the movie JFK). Trump has made it a point (indeed, a campaign pledge) to seek the dismantling of the administrative state. While the CIA during Kennedy's administration did not fight back publicly, the administrative state (the secret government) is clearly more than capable of fighting back and seizing additional power through leaks, fabrication, partisan loyalty, and incest with the media. The removal of Trump, according to their plans, can be accomplished by non-violent means. The American people, after all, are a one-issue people (abortion, gay rights, transgender rights, women's rights, illegal rights, entitlement rights) and are therefore without principle or sense of civic duty. They are meek. Conservatives may get angered, Democrats believe, but they quickly go back to their routines - living their lives and working; they don't have the time or the stomach for prolonged protest or resistance.In short, the powers that be are determined - and capable - of ensuring their survival. Since they couldn't achieve that end through the election of Hillary Clinton, they are prepared to go the more insidious route - the coup d'etat.If you are as concerned as I am and believe there is a sense of urgency to our current situation, I ask that you consider what we can do and what we MUST do. The witch-hunt against Trump is historic and the liberals will not rest until they over-throw the will of the people, effect a coup in this country and erect a government not of the people's choosing and not concerned with their legitimate issues. Real patriots would not allow this to happen. We have to assess all that is happening, what the counter-efforts are, what the likelihood is that their evil measures will be effective, and again, what we can or SHOULD do. "A good patriot must always be willing to defend his country, even against his government."" [Jim Garrison in Oliver Stone's movie JFK]James Downton, "We Are Witnessing a Slow-Motion Coup d'Etat," The Federalist, May 19, 2017. Referenced at: http://thefederalist.com/2017/05/19/watching-slow-motion-coup-detat/"CNN Prophesizes Trump, Pence Getting Assassinated During Inauguration," Sputnik News, January 19, 2017. Referenced at: https://sputniknews.com/us/201701191049784915-shoddy-cnn-reporting-trump-inauguration/
Czech Republic now seems firmly en route to authoritarian rule
27. 5. 2017
cas cteni 2 minuty
In spite of his corruption scandals, oligarch Andrej Babis now enjoys unprecedented popularity in the Czech Republic
Fearing the growth in popularity of his deputy and his Finance Minister, the powerful oligarch Andrej Babis, the Czech Social Democratic Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka brought about a political crisis in his country, when he accused Babis, his coalition partner, of unethical financial transactions and forced him to leave his post of Finance Secretary (Babis has had himself replaced by a stooge).
Most commentators regarded Sobotka's action as hypocritical and risky. If Babis is such a shady character (which he is), why did the Social Democrats happily work with him in a coalition government for three years?
Luckily for the Social Democratic PM Sobotka, the situation for Babis then became extremely complicated when
Not so. Fearing the growth in popularity of his deputy and his Finance Minister, the powerful oligarch Andrej Babis, the Czech Social Democratic Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka brought about a political crisis in his country, when he accused Babis, his coalition partner, of unethical financial transactions and forced him to leave his post of Finance Secretary (Babis has had himself replaced by a stooge).Most commentators regarded Sobotka's action as hypocritical and risky. If Babis is such a shady character (which he is), why did the Social Democrats happily work with him in a coalition government for three years?Luckily for the Social Democratic PM Sobotka, the situation for Babis then became extremely complicated when recordings were published in which he brutally and in a vulgar fashion attacked his coalition partners and discussed with a journalist from a major newspaper he owns when (not) to publish various compromising material related to his political opponents. Temporarily, it looked that PM Sobotka and the Social Democrats were winning over Babis.Not so.
According to the latest opinion poll, carried out by CVVM between 8th and 18th May 2017, ie. during the political crisis, created by Sobotka, Babis and his "ANO" movement is now supported by 33 per cent of Czech voters in spite of all the revelations, published about his in recent weeks. The support of the Social Democrats has dropped to a record low of 14 per cent.
As the Prague political commentator Jiri Pehe points out, Babis's ANO is not really a political party. It is a one-man show, dominated by a bully. It would be very difficult for the other Czech political parties to work with Babis.
It is necessary - reluctantly - to conclude that the Czech votes do not seem to mind Babis's corrupt practices, his conflicts of interest, his control over the media and his bullying.
A general election will take place in the Czech Republic in October 2017 and it now looks extremely likely that Babis will be able to form a government on his own, without any coalition partners.
We are witnessing a remarkable phenomenon in the Czech Republic: the existing political parties of the right and of the left have basically disintegrated and a large number of Czech citizens now place their trust in an authoritarian, corrupt bully.
Babis wants to take the Czech Republic out of the inner circle of the European Union and move the country to its periphery. He is extremely critical of Brussels. He assumes a strong anti-refugee stance and wants to build a fortified border against the refugees. This attitude of his will be popular amongst Czech voters because the recent terrorist attack in Manchester, England has provoked a virulent wave of islamophobia and hate in the Czech newspapers and on social media in the Czech Republic.
Read more:
Power struggle in the Czech Republic
Which groups of the Czech population support regressive and xenophobic policies and why?
Czech Deputy PM Babis wants to take Czechia out of the EU integration process
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By Colin Packham SYDNEY (Reuters) - Asylum seekers at an Australian-run offshore detention center in Papua New Guinea must move to a community facility in order to be eligible for a refugee swap deal with the United States, a notice posted at the camp and seen by Reuters shows. The directive, designed to help Australia empty and ultimately close the center on Manus Island, presents asylum-seekers with a difficult choice, as they must voluntarily exchange a secure facility for an area where critics say they are likely to face violence and inadequate medical care. Several of the refugees said they would not move to the nearby town of Lorengau, where authorities want them to shift in preference to staying at the detention camp. "I'm not going to Lorengau," said one asylum seeker, who refused to be named for fear of jeopardizing his application for U.S. resettlement. "Many refugees have been beaten, robbed and abused (there) in different ways." Resettlement interviews held by U.S. Homeland security officials will no longer be conducted at the detention center, authorities said in their notice. "As Manus Refugee Processing Center is closing, interviews at the RPC will cease," Papua New Guinea immigration authorities said in the notice. "Interviews in other locations in PNG are being arranged and you will not need to return to Manus Island." Parts of the facility will be closed as early as Sunday, the notice added, but did not specify when the locations would be changed. Australian and PNG authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment on Friday. This week, Reuters reported U.S. Homeland security officials had begun "extreme vetting" interviews with some asylum seekers as the U.S. begrudgingly honors a refugee swap deal with Australia that President Donald Trump called a "dumb deal". Australia has pledged to take Central American refugees from a center in Costa Rica as part of the deal. The swap is designed, in part, to help Australia close one of its offshore centers that is expensive to run and has been widely criticized by the United Nations over treatment of detainees. It is unclear how many detainees will be resettled under the deal. Australia's hardline immigration policy requires asylum seekers intercepted at sea trying to reach Australia to be sent for processing to camps at Manus and on the South Pacific island of Nauru. They are told they will never be settled in Australia. Asylum seekers are already allowed to travel to Lorengau during the day, but nearly all choose to remain in the detention center, located on a Papua New Guinea naval base. In contrast, while the Lorengau transit center is easily accessible, it is not guarded by security officers. (Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Rumble
The sweet and spicy Korean style sauce with gochujang is the key to the taste! A salad made with boiled sliced pork that has less amount of fat, crispy vegetables, fluffy tofu, and a Korean-style sauce made with gochujang. The tangy spiciness holding the meat and vegetables is addictively delicious. Even when you have no appetite or are on a diet, this is a great dish that allows you to eat plenty of meat and vegetables. you can enjoy meat and vegetables even if you are on a diet! ============================================================= YouTube : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDvCGAygv511zlEkVAWQfbA Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/hungrycookingstudio/ ============================================================= Ingredients (for 2~3) Pork belly shabu-shabu thin slice 150~200g Silken (soft) tofu...half pack Sunny lettuce ... 1/3 Cucumber ... 1/2~1 Avocado 1/2~1 Green onions Shredded chili pepper Cherry tomatoes... 2~3 Potato starch salt sake Sauce Soy sauce... 2 tbsp Sesame oil... 1 tbsp Gochujang 2 tbsp Sugar... 1 tbsp Vinegar... 2 tbsp Garlic ... 4 La-Yu (chili oil) Sesame Cooking Recipe Cut the tip of the sunny lettuce core and soak it in water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Prepare hot water to boil the pork Grate the garlic and mix the ingredients for the sauce Add mashing the sesame seeds with your fingers at the end take the lettuce leaves as much as used and wash them with the other vegetables. hand cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and drain well. Peel the cucumber, cut it in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and thinly slice diagonally Slice the avocado and cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters Cut the tofu into appropriate sizes Finely chop green onion When the water boils, add salt and sake, then sprinkle potato starch on the pork slices and lightly rinse with water, then put them in the boiling water one by one and boil while loosening. put vegetables, tofu, and pork on a plate, sprinkle dressing on top, and top with green onion and shredded chili peppe. Cooking tips You can omit the potato starch, but if you sprinkle the pork with potato starch, the pork will have a smooth and soft texture, and will remain soft even when cold. to drain the lettuce, wrap it in kitchen paper and putting it in a plastic bag or between the colander and the bowl and shaking it, so you don't have to use a spinner Please adjust the amount of garlic to your liking. for topping, Kaiware (daikon sprouts) is also good instead of green onion if you have
Un-learning
They say the best way to learn a concept is by teaching it to someone else. Last summer, I had the privilege of giving English lessons to some young studentsa prospect that tremendously excited me at first.
PHILADELPHIA -- For years, the common narrative in human developmental neuroimaging has been that gray matter in the brain - the tissue found in regions of the brain responsible for muscle control, sensory perception such as seeing and hearing, memory, emotions, speech, decision making, and self-control -- declines in adolescence, a finding derived mainly from studies of gray matter volume and cortical thickness (the thickness of the outer layers of brain that contain gray matter). Since it has been well-established that larger brain volume is associated with better cognitive performance, it was puzzling that cognitive performance shows a dramatic improvement from childhood to young adulthood at the same time that brain volume and cortical thickness decline.
A new study published by Penn Medicine researchers this month and featured on the cover of the Journal of Neuroscience may help resolve this puzzle, revealing that while volume indeed decreases from childhood to young adulthood, gray matter density actually increases. Their findings also show that while females have lower brain volume, proportionate to their smaller size, they have higher gray matter density than males, which could explain why their cognitive performance is comparable despite having lower brain volume. Thus, while adolescents lose brain volume, and females have lower brain volume than males, this is compensated for by increased density of gray matter.
"It is quite rare for a single study to solve a paradox that has been lingering in a field for decades, let alone two paradoxes, as was done by Gennatas in his analysis of data from this large-scale study of a whole cohort of youths," said Ruben Gur.
"We now have a richer, fuller concept of what happens during brain development and now better understand the complementary unfolding processes in the brain that describe what happens."
The study was led by Ruben Gur, PhD, professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Raquel Gur, MD, PhD, a professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, and Radiology, and Efstathios Gennatas, MBBS, a doctoral student of neuroscience working in the Brain Behavior Laboratory at Penn.
According to Gur, the study findings may better explain the extent and intensity of changes in mental life and behavior that occur during the transition from childhood to young adulthood.
"If we are puzzled by the behavior of adolescents, it may help to know that they need to adjust to a brain that is changing in its size and composition at the same time that demands on performance and acceptable behavior keep scaling up," Gur added.
In the study, the researchers evaluated 1,189 youth between the ages of 8 and 23 who completed magnetic resonance imaging as part of the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort, a community-based study of brain development that includes rich neuroimaging and cognitive data, to look at age-related effects on multiple measures of regional gray matter, including gray matter volume, gray matter density, and cortical thickness. Neuroimaging allowed the researchers to derive several measures of human brain structure in a noninvasive way.
Observing such measures during development allowed the researchers to study the brain at different ages to characterize how a child's brain differs from an adult's. "This novel characterization of brain development may help us better understand the relationship between brain structure and cognitive performance," Gennatas said.
"Our findings also emphasize the need to examine several measures of brain structure at the same time. Volume and cortical thickness have received the most attention in developmental studies in the past, but gray matter density may be as important for understanding how improved performance relates to brain development."
Further study is required to fully characterize the biological underpinnings of different MRI-derived measures by combining neuroimaging and brain histology. The study's findings in healthy people can also help researchers understand the effects of brain disorders in males and females as they evolve during adolescence.
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This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants (MH107235), (MH089983), (MH096891), and the Dowshen Neuroscience fund.
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $6.7 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2016 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community.
china air force air show j-10
Chinese fighter jets have once again engaged in "unsafe and unprofessional" behavior around a US Navy plane flying over the contested South China Sea, ABC News reports.
The US Navy plane was reportedly a P-3 Orion, which is used for maritime surveillance.
China has built and militarized artificial islands in the South China Sea and frequently asserts its sovereignty over the land features despite an international court ruling against its claims.
Recently, the USS Dewey, a guided-missile destroyer, contested China's claims in the South China Sea by sailing past the Mischief Reef, one of China's militarized islands.
The US intends to bring this incident up with Chinese authorities at the next opportunity, according to ABC.
This incident is similar to another occurrence earlier in May, when a Chinese jet reportedly flipped over and flew upside down about 150 feet above a US Air Force WC-135.
map south china sea
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Getty Images. Progress in the Obamacare replacement debate is being blocked by too many myths about health care, says Jake Novak.
The Republican bill to replace key parts of Obamacare is hugely unpopular with the American public.
A series of polls showing widespread unhappiness with the GOP bill have been released, just as Congress heads into a week-long recess that will give lawmakers opportunities to hear, at home, what their constituents think about that legislation.
Those lawmakers include a group of senators who in recent weeks have been meeting regularly to discuss crafting their own version of a bill to make big changes to the Affordable Care Act.
The current version of the replacement bill, which was approved by just a single-vote margin by the House on May 4, received Wednesday a sobering analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.
The CBO found that if the bill becomes law 23 million more Americans would be uninsured by 2026, and that people with pre-existing health conditions, as well as older Americans, could face sharply higher insurance costs.
One new poll found that just 20 percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a senator or member of the House who supported the current version of the bill.
But 44 percent of voters they they would be less likely to vote for a member of Congress who backed the bill, according to that poll from Quinnipiac University.
The same Quinnipiac Poll found that 57 percent of voters disapprove of the bill, known as the American Health Care Act. Just 20 percent of voters approve of the bill.
"Advisory to Republicans who support the replacement for Obamacare: Backing this bill could be very hazardous to your political health," said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll. The poll questioned 1,404 voters, and had a margin of error of 3 percent.
The Q-Poll's findings were mirrored by those of another survey, the Harvard-Harris poll, which found that 55 percent of voters see the AHCA as a step backward.
But support for the bill was higher in the Harvard-Harris poll, which found that 45 percent of voters see it as a step forward.
Story continues
That said, 57 percent of respondents told the poll they want significant changes made to the bill by the Senate. The working group of senators reviewing the bill has indicated that their version will look greatly different from the House version.
Mark Penn, co-director of the poll, told TheHill.com, "The voters want to neither go back to Obamacare nor to the House bill."
"The Senate is going to have to thread the needle here and craft a new compromise," said Penn, whose poll questions 2,006 voters. The poll's methodology does not have a traditional margin of error, according to TheHill.com.
A third poll came from Hart Research Associates, which was commissioned to survey 1,005 voters online by Protect Our Care, an Obamacare-defense group.
That poll found that just 40 percent of voters have a favorable impression of the bill, compared to 54 percent with an unfavorable impression.
However, support for the bill worsened after respondents were told about provisions in the measure that would lead to some older insurance customers and people with pre-existing conditions facing higher health plan premiums, as well as about a big tax cut in the bill for wealthy Americans.
After hearing that, 65 percent of respondents said they saw the bill unfavorably, compared to 35 percent who viewed it favorably, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 3 percent.
A total of 62 percent of voters said they wanted to see the Senate "work on a new bill that keeps what works and fixes what doesn't in the [Affordable Care Act] rather than repealing the law altogether," according to a summary of the results from Hart Research.
Watch: CBO scores new health care bill
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In this Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2016, photo, the lightning port of an iPhone 7 is shown during an event to announce new Apple products, in San Francisco. The new iPhones are better, even when considering that the most dramatic change is what got taken away: the traditional headphone jack. Without a traditional headphone jack, wired headphones plug into the Lightning port normally used for charging. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
Movement is energy. Anytime you move an object, including your arms or legs, youre transferring energy to it. That kinetic energy can be turned into other types of energy, which means you could potentially harvest it and turn it into a power sourcea dream scientists have been working on for some time.
One group of scientists at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst has a promising method that involves coating ordinary, off-the-shelf fabric, such as cotton, with a microscopically thin layer of a conducting polymer. The process effectively transforms the fabric into an electrode, capable of conducting the electricity generated by the friction of the fabric rubbing against itself. Now imagine using that cotton to make a jacketone that could power a device as you move around in it, going about your daily life.
Trisha Andrew, the materials scientist who led the project, says with the polymer-coated fabric, her team has been able to generate a few microwatts of electricity, enough to power small LED lights, a Fitbit, or a heart monitor. We cant charge a smartphone right now, but we hope to one day, she adds. Just as notable, according to the team, the conductive fabric doesnt lose its breathability or flexibility, it can be washed and ironed, and you cant tell by touching it that it has been coated at all.
The scientists bought 14 different fabrics, including multiple samples of cotton, linen, silk, and some others, from a common crafts store. They applied the polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), or PEDOT, using a method called vapor deposition. The process is similar to how fire deposits soot on a wall.
Conductive fabric
The team at UMass has a bright idea.
The polymer coating, which had a thickness about one-tenth the diameter of a human hair, didnt change the feel of the fabrics or increase their weight by more than 2%. But it did allow the fabric to conduct electricity.
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Importantly, bunching or folding the fabric didnt change its conductivity. The team also rubbed the fabrics, heated them on a hot plate, washed them in detergent, and ironed them to see how they would respond. The only thing that decreased conductivity was hot water, whether in a laundry cycle or as steam during ironing. But the fabric stood up just fine to cold laundering, body-heat level temperatures, and dry ironing using the irons wool or silk setting.
Any commercial application is still very theoretical. The fabric can be made into two leads, letting you hook it up to anything you choose. But to actually charge a product such as a Fitbitor eventually a phonewould require an adapter to connect to the devices charging port. Thats a whole other engineering challenge that would most likely have to undertaken by a commercial enterprise.
Still, Andrew and her team arent alone in seeing the potential. Other scientists have also been working on polymer-coated, conductive fabrics.
One issue Andrew and her group might need to overcome is cost. Textile scientists havent always embraced chemical vapor deposition because its expensive and poses some technical challenges. But Andrew and her team believe its commercial use in producing items such as sunglasses and potato-chip bags over the past several years shows it can be cost-effective.
Undoubtedly the reality of conductive clothes is getting nearer. This fall, Levis and Google will actually release a jacket made of fabric with metal alloys woven into the yarn, allowing its surface to be touch-responsive, like your smartphone screen. Its not hard to imagine a smartphone-charging jacket being a possibility in the near future.
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Sears Pembroke Mall
Sears' shares enjoyed a strong surge this week, soaring as much as 20% on Thursday after the company reported its first net profit in two years.
But traders' cheer quickly wore off and shares dipped again, as the grim reality behind the initially rosy headlines set in: Sears' operational decline is in fact accelerating, and its odds of survival beyond 2017 remain uncertain, according to Evercore ISI analyst Greg Melich.
A closer look at Sears' earnings show that the company's sale of its Craftsman brand in March is responsible for its net income of $244 million in the first quarter. Excluding the sale, Sears' losses deepened to $230 million from $199 million the prior year.
"Operating losses... show no sign of improvement" and "sales remain in a state of free-fall decline," Melich wrote in a research note.
Sears' sales overall tumbled more than 20% to $4.3 billion in the first quarter, which the company blamed on store closures and declining sales at its stores open at least a year. Same-store sales plunged 12.4% at Sears stores and 11.2% at Kmart stores.
Sears
Sears says it is "fighting like hell" to turn business around and has promised to cut costs by $1.25 billion. The company has announced more than 180 store closures so far this year and recently told investors that it has bids for $700 million in real estate sales, which would provide much-needed cash to help keep it afloat.
Assuming those sales occur and Sears can achieves success with its cost-cutting plan, "it should have sufficient liquidity to make it through holiday, although the cash burn and rate of sales decline are very concerning," Melich wrote.
But the company is still a very sick patient with little evidence of any sustainable forms of cash flow going forward, according to his note.
"Improving the cash burn rate is imperative as the company shrinks, and Sears remain very far from sustainable levels of loss that does not require external liquidity," Melich wrote. "Given the very weak store base, continued comp declines, anemic sales productivity, and continued share loss in most major categories, Sears does not appear well positioned for the rest of 2017."
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Moody's vice president and senior analyst Christina Boni last month delivered a similar assessment on Sears' survival, saying the real estate sales will help the company survive a little longer, but at the same time diminishes the company's lifeline as it struggles turn business around.
"Sears financial performance remains extremely weak," Boni said. "Its effort to sell real estate which has produced over $700 million of bids currently will enhance liquidity, but accelerates the timeline required to stem operating losses as it asset base diminishes."
Sears CEO Eddie Lampert addressed bankruptcy concerns recently and said the company has "as much time as our vendors and our lenders and our shareholders are willing to give us."
"The reality needs to be better than it is for us to really demonstrate to people that the transition is starting to take hold," he said in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
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Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top White House adviser, was willing to go extraordinary lengths to establish a secret line of communication between the Trump administration and Russian government officials, The Washington Post reported on Friday.
During the presidential transition period leading up to Trump's inauguration, Kushner held a series of meetings with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, and the head of a Moscow bank that was under US sanctions.
In talks with Kislyak in December, Kushner floated the possibility of setting up a secure line of communication between the Trump transition team and Russia and having those talks take place in Russian diplomatic facilities in the US, essentially concealing their interactions from US government scrutiny, The Post wrote, citing US intelligence officials briefed on the matter.
Kislyak reportedly passed along that request to Moscow. The Post's Ellen Nakashima, Adam Entous, and Greg Miller reported that the Russian ambassador was "taken aback" by Kushner's request, because it posed significant risks for both the Trump team and the Kremlin.
Kushner, who did not disclose the meeting on his security clearance form, is now a subject in the FBI's investigation of Russia's election interference, and whether the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to undermine Hillary Clinton.
He also had two previously undisclosed phone calls with Kislyak between April and November of last year, according to Reuters. Kushner's attorney James Gorelick responded to the Reuters story Friday evening via CNN, saying "Mr. Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information."
"GOOD GRIEF. This is serious," said Bob Deitz, a veteran of the NSA and the CIA who worked under the Clinton and Bush administrations.
Story continues
"This raises a bunch of problematic issues. First, of course, is the Logan Act, which prohibits private individuals conducting negotiations on behalf of the US government with foreign governments," Deitz said. "Second, it tends to reinforce the notion that Trump's various actions about [fired FBI Director James] Comey do constitute obstruction."
"In other words, there is now motive added to conduct," Deitz noted. "This is a big problem for the President."
Kushner did not previously disclose the December meetings to US officials during his background check, and the White House only acknowledged them after news outlets reported on it. It follows a pattern among key Trump advisers that unfolded during and after the 2016 election.
"If you are in a position of public trust, and you talk to, meet, or collude with a foreign power" while trying to subvert normal state channels, "you are, in the eyes of the FBI and CIA, a traitor," said Glenn Carle, a former top counterterrorism official at the CIA. "That is what I spent my life getting foreigners to do with me, for the US government."
Carle noted that, if the Kushner-Kislyak meeting and reported discussion were an isolated incident, then it could be spun as normal back-channel communication arrangements among states."
"If Jared Kushner was trying to set up a back channel with the Russians, doesn't that mean he wasn't colluding with them?" a White House official said in response to the story, according to CNN.
But Kislyak and the Trump campaign interacted extensively, and Trump associates either kept those interactions secret from US officials or misrepresented them, as was the case with Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign in February for similar reasons.
Reuters reported earlier this month that Flynn and Kislyak also spoke about setting up a secret back channel during the transition between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin "that could bypass the US national security bureaucracy."
"We know about the multiple meetings of Trump entourage members with Russian intel-related individuals," Carle said. "There will be many others that we do not know about." He noted that while this reported back channel is "explosive," it is worth questioning who planted the story The Post reportedly received an anonymous letter in December tipping them off to the Kushner-Kislyak meeting.
donald trump kislyak
Additionally, as a longtime diplomat, Kislyak would have known that his communications were being monitored. So the possibility remains, Carle said, that the Russians used the meeting with Kushner to distract the intelligence community and the public from potentially more incriminating relationships between the campaign and Moscow.
Indeed, Kushner also met with the CEO of Russia's state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergey Gorkov, in December 2016, The New York Times reported in late March. The meeting which had not previously been disclosed and came on the heels of Kushner's meeting with Kislyak at Trump Tower caught the eye of the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and whether any members of Trump's campaign were complicit.
Kislyak reportedly orchestrated the meeting between Kushner and Gorkov, who was appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in January 2016 as part of a restructuring of the bank's management team, Bloomberg reported last year.
The Kremlin and the White House have provided conflicting explanations for why Kushner met with Gorkov.
Former CIA Director John Brennan, in testimony Tuesday before the House Intelligence Committee, said that he was concerned by some of the "interactions" between Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign that took place during the election last year.
Republican Rep. Tom Rooney asked Brennan if he ever found "any direct evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Putin in Moscow" while he was the CIA director.
Brennan replied that "there was intelligence that the Russian intelligence services were actively involved in this effort ... to try to get individuals to act on their behalf either wittingly or unwittingly." He added that he was "worried by the contacts that the Russians were having with US persons" and "had unresolved questions" by the time he left office about whether" the Russians had succeeded in getting Americans to do their bidding.
Pressed further, Brennan said that "the information and intelligence revealed contacts and interactions between Russian officials and US persons involved in the Trump campaign that I was concerned about because of known Russian efforts to suborn such individuals. It raised questions in my mind about whether the Russians were able to gain the cooperation of such individuals."
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Currency wrote:
Thanks for the responses. I'll have a closer look at some of these schools when I'm putting together my application packages. For right now, trying to do this one step at a time and the first step is to get a stellar GMAT score.
My real concerns are:
-that being an English only speaker will be a big disadvantage and may actually hurt my grades.
-the MBA in Germany wont be recognized, or viewed in a favorable light, in Canada.
-Almost all MBA programs around the world are in English. I do not know a single one that is not. So you should be okay with not knowing German. However, b-schools like muti-lingual candidates. Of course, they can overlook it if you have a strong profile.-You have to look at school's credentials such as accreditation and rankings. It is important that European b-school has EQUIS and AMBA. If it does not have AACSB, it is still okay. AACSB is not as well known in Europe but if you are planning on working in the US or Canada, you might want to look for a school with triple accreditation (triple crown) which means that it has AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. To my knowledge, only Mannheim Business School has that but you should check.
HBSorBust91 wrote:
Ok so...here's my situation:
Hi HBSorBust91. Let me address your important question below.
- My significant other and I have been together since sophomore year of college (about 7 years now) but the last 3 have been long distance because of the jobs that we got post undergrad were in different cities. Perfect jobs for each of us but not so perfect location wise.
- It has therefore been 3 years since we lived together
- Current plan is the SO will be moving to wherever I get into school. The timing will be right for him to do something new since he's been in his current role for almost two years and all of the schools I'm applying to are also located in cities where his industry has a significant presence.
- We kind of don't really want to do the above without being sure the living together would work out given how long we have been living a part (we're super risk adverse) and obviously if it didn't work out he would be the most negatively affected because he's the one who would be uprooting his life since I am going to bschool no matter what.
So, I am thinking that I submit my applications and secure my recommendations and then take on a 6-8 month contract position in his city for the time period between submitting applications and attending school. That way we have 6-8 months of living together before we move. I already have a contact to get a job there. I would be looking to move between December-Feb. So after Round 1 is over but in the middle of Round 2....how risky is this for my applications? Especially if I don't get it Round 1 and I am possibly at a new job during Round 2 interviews? A little awkward for R2 if you are not in for R1. Can you possibly ask your current job if you can just work remotely for 6 mos?
Second, I have already thought about what I would do if I didn't get in anywhere. I would be ok with it to be honest. I am ready for something new and to move to a new city regardless of whether that is for school or a different job. I am mostly worried about that awkward explanation in a Round 2 interview....
It would be best if you apply R1 and get your results in Dec and then in Dec when you know your status reassess. It is not ideal to switch jobs in the middle of applying but it sometimes does happen so just be sure you explain it. The reason you have here is more personal and probably not what I would lead with in converstation with B schools. I would focus on what I wanted to learn in the new city/role and how that helps me get closer to my post MBA goal. As long as you can explain that- and if all else is strong- then I think that is best option. However, I would try to get IN first and then do what ever you want from Jan- school start in August!
_________________
Yalung
The only certainty about tracking a snow leopard is the uncertainty. These solitary and secretive cats are not called the ghost of the mountain without reasonno matter how much you prepare, you are almost always pointing in the dark.
- The mom of a quadriplegic grad student received an honorary degree
- She had attended all classes with him
- The only way he could go back to school was if she helped him with all the assignments
The mother of a quadriplegic graduate student decided she would not stop at making sure her son achieved everything he proposed to do, including graduate school.
29-year-old Marty OConnor received a 10,000 per year scholarship and enrolled in Chapman University. He was going to need his mothers help 24x7 in order to be able to go on with his goal.
Marty in front of his Alma Mater.
During commencement, the universitys authorities came up with a great surprise for his mom Judy: she was awarded an honorary degree! The well-deserved prize was given out at her sons graduation ceremony on Saturday.
Judy decided to move from their hometown in Florida to California in order to help her son with classes. She accompanied him to every lesson, took notes and helped him with every assignment. Marty had been paralyzed since 2010, when he suffered a tragic fall.
READ ALSO: 13-year-old teen wins scholarship to prestigious school
Judy, who is a business graduate of University of Notre Dame and a teacher, took this change of life as a challenge.
With regard to the odds of going back to school, Marty said it challenged me to do some introspection and see what strengths I do have to utilize, and how I can use my situation to work on some new strengths. This has really forced upon me some patience and thoughtfulness in everything Im doing.
READ ALSO: Pastor's wife claims her husband allegedly impregnated a member (photos)
The degree Judy received was kept a secret until last moment. It was only when Martys name was called out that the announcer commented the faculty, administration and board of trustees had decided to give a special individual an honorary degree. They then called out Judys name. Mrs. Judith OConnor has attended all the classes with her son Marty, the announcer said.
The moment was particularly special for both mother and son. As a mom, you just want to help your kids get through things, she said, adding that she had always believed in him. I knew he could do it and I just wanted to have his back.
Watch this video below with young talented artist paints prominent Nigerians:
Source: Legit.ng
- Father receives his sons college degrees 3 days after he died
- The black student from Bowie State University was murdered
- His university had a moment of silence in his remembrance
- The cold blood murder is currently under investigation by FBI
A 23-year-old student from Bowie State University (BSU) who was just about to graduate was recently killed in an alleged hate crime.
The student, identified as Richard Collins III, was allegedly attacked during visit to University of Maryland. He was stabbed and died while in hospital. This came just three days to his graduation.
I am yet to come to terms with the real motive behind my sons murder. I feel pain and immense sense of loss. I am currently in no position to get emotions beyond just being sad, his father, Richard Collins Jr, told reporters.
READ ALSO: Arabic inscription found on a tree in Ekiti (SEE)
Emotional Richard Collins Jr accepts his sons degree.
On the graduation day, the grieving and emotional father received degree on behalf of his late son, who was a business major and US Army lieutenant. The crowd could be heard cheering him up as he accepted the degree.
Richard Collins III was allegedly attacked and killed during a visit to University of Maryland.
The institution also felt a sense of deep loss and honoured the late by holding a moment of silence in his remembrance.
One of the professors from University of Maryland held a signboard with Richard's name inscribed on it in special honour of the diseased.
READ ALSO: First time in 39 years: 1.7 million students register for JAMB 2017 in new RECORD
Investigation into the Richard's shocking murder is on. So far a 22-year-old suspect, who goes by the name Sean Christopher Urbanski, has been arrested and charged with murder.
According to the documents presented in court, Urbanski, a white student, attacked the late with knife after the two briefly argued.
Richard Collins III (left) and suspected killer Sean Christopher Urbanski (right)
The suspected killer was arrested shortly after his cruel act and as he fled the scene of crime. FIB is reportedly looking into his case.
READ ALSO: Ekweremadu canvasses total removal of age criterion for political offices
Video below has more details regarding the murder of Richard Collins III:
Watch this video with talented Nigerian lady:
Source: Legit.ng
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Americans have been fighting over how to create congressional districts since 1789.
That was when James Madison was elected to the House of Representatives although his Virginia district was created to give his opponent the advantage. Madison went on to become president of the United States, as did his opponent in that election, James Monroe.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court released a decision in the latest congressional redistricting dispute.
Redistricting is the process of redefining congressional districts on a map. Voters within each district elect a representative to the U.S. Congress.
The court rejected two congressional districts in the state of North Carolina. The court said race played too large a part in how the districts were created.
More African-American voters were added to both districts, making them majority black. Those disputing the redistricting said the result weakened black voting strength in other parts of North Carolina.
It happens every 10 years
Every 10 years the U.S. government carries out a census that counts the number of people living in all 50 states.
After the census, each state develops new district lines for the House of Representatives, and state legislatures, to reflect the new population numbers.
Common Cause is an activist group that supports measures to have independent commissions create districts.
That would be a change from the current system. Most states now permit the political party that controls state government to create district lines. That gives the majority partys candidates an advantage, according to Common Cause.
There are now more state governments controlled by Republicans than Democrats. The Brennan Center, a democracy and justice group in New York, says this has given Republicans an advantage.
The group says the benefits provided Republicans are worth 16-17 seats to the current Republican majority in the 435-member House of Representatives.
Like a salamander
Developing district lines to give one political party an advantage is known as gerrymandering. That term was created in 1812 to make fun of a congressional district, approved by Massachusetts Governor Elbridge Gerry.
Some said the 1812 Massachusetts district looked like a salamander, a lizard-like animal that lives in water and on land.
Supreme Court Justice Elaine Kagan wrote the recent decision in the North Carolina redistricting case. She said states cannot make race a primary reason for creating district lines, as she said was the case in North Carolina.
Republicans, who controlled the redistricting process in North Carolina, said they were guided by politics, not race.
Their goal, Republicans said in a legal paper, was to make strong Democratic districts even stronger so Republican candidates in nearby districts would do better.
The Supreme Court may take up the question of how much politics can affect redistricting next year, said Justin Levitt. He is a law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, California.
There's no other major Western democracy that lets incumbents draw their own district lines, as we do, and that's the source of a lot of the problems we encounter, he said.
The Brennan Center for Justice said six states use independent commissions to create district lines. But most others let state legislators and governors create districts.
Eric Holder is the former attorney general under President Barack Obama. He is now the leader of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, which backed the legal challenge that led to Tuesdays Supreme Court decision.
North Carolinas maps were among the worst racial gerrymanders in the nation, Holder said.
Robin Hayes is chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party.
Hayes complained that it is difficult for legislatures to create district lines, when courts "constantly" change rules "from case to case, often after the fact.
The Supreme Court ruling criticized how North Carolina creates districts. But the two districts considered by the court were already changed, as a result of earlier court rulings.
More and larger congressional districts
The size of House of Representative districts has grown as Americas population has increased.
In 1790, each of the 110 members of the House of Representatives represented about 34,000 residents. Today, there are 435 House members, with districts of about 711,000 people each.
Congress is divided into two bodies -- the House of Representatives and the Senate. The number of House members in each state is based on population.
In the Senate, each state has two senators, regardless of population. So California, with a population of 39.2 million, has the same number of senators as Wyoming, with about 585,000 residents.
I'm Jill Robbins. And I'm Bruce Alpert.
Bruce Alpert reported on this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.
We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section and share your views on our Facebook Page.
____________________________________________________________
Words in This Story
advantage - n. something such as a good position or condition that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others
census - n. the official process of counting the number of people in a country, city, or town and collecting information about them
gerrymandering n. to divide a state or legislature into political units that give one group an unfair advantage
incumbent - n. a person who holds a particular office or position
draw - v. to create something
source - n. the cause of something
encounter - v. to experience problems or difficulties
constantly - adv. happening again and again
Higher than normal body mass index (BMI) is known to lead to cardiovascular ill-health in mid-to-late life, but there has been limited investigation of its effect in young, apparently healthy, adults. Researchers have now shown that having a higher BMI can cause worse cardiovascular health in those aged as young as 17, according to a study to be presented to the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics today (Sunday).
Dr Kaitlin Wade, a Research Associate at the Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit (MRC-IEU) at the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK, and colleagues used data from The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to investigate the potential link between increased BMI and cardiovascular health. "ALSPAC is a world-leading birth cohort study, started in the early 1990s with the inclusion of more than 14,000 pregnant mothers and their partners and children, and provides an excellent opportunity to study environmental and genetic contributions to a person's health and development. It was therefore ideal for this purpose," Dr Wade will say.
The researchers hypothesised that cardiovascular risk due to increased BMI was likely to emerge in earlier life. The design of existing observational studies (those just looking for associations in the population) have meant that they are unable to make a distinction between correlation and causation. The MRC-IEU specialises in the use of genetics to help these difficult analytical situations and in this case researchers were able to use genomic data from ALSPAC to detect the likely causal relationship between higher BMI and higher blood pressure and left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in those aged 17 and 21. A thickening of the left ventricle in the heart (hypertrophy) means that it has to work harder to pump blood and is a common marker for heart disease.
Higher BMI did not appear to have an effect on heart rate in these young adults, although previous studies have shown an association - most likely due to bias caused by the mixing of effects of an additional factor resulting in a distortion of the true relationship (confounding). "Our results showed that the causal impact of higher BMI on cardiac output was solely driven by the volume of blood pumped by the left ventricle (stroke volume). This, at least in part, can explain the causal effect of higher BMI on cardiac hypertrophy and higher blood pressure that we observed in all our analyses," says Dr Wade.
The results support efforts to tackle the obesity epidemic from an early age in order to prevent the development of cardiovascular changes known to be precursors of cardiovascular ill-health and disease. "It is the first time that the nature of this relationship has been shown in group of young adults where it has been possible to draw improved conclusions about its causation," says Dr Wade.
The researchers are now trying to untangle the relationship between higher BMI and disease mechanisms including metabolomics (the study of the chemical processes involved in the functioning of cells and the abundance and diversity of microbes living in the gut - the gut microbiome). "We have also begun an analysis of the causal role of higher BMI on detailed measures of cardiac structure and function within the ALSPAC data. We hope to further explore these associations within an older population - the UK 1946 birth cohort.
"Whilst randomised controlled trials are important for disentangling cause and effect in disease, they are expensive, time-consuming and labour-intensive. Modern genomics allows us to detect causality more quickly and cheaply, and the availability of large quantities of genetic data means that we can overcome the limitations of observational epidemiological studies. We believe that there are clear messages for cardiovascular health in our findings and we hope that they may lead to increased efforts to tackle obesity from early life," Dr Wade will conclude.
Chair of the ESHG conference, Professor Joris Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University Newcastle, United Kingdom, said: "Distinguishing between correlation and causation is tremendously difficult in medical sciences, especially for complex interactions like those between obesity and cardiovascular disease. In this study, statistical genetics approaches were applied to longitudinal cohorts from the UK to improve this. The scientists could demonstrate that obesity also causes poorer cardiovascular health in young adults. In contrast, higher BMI did not seem affect heart rate in this group.''
If you have made money from the recent Bitcoin boom and want to cash out, you will need to pay tax on your earnings.
Due to the unregulated nature of cryptocurrency, though, you may ask how much tax youll have to pay and how it can be traced.
MyBroadband spoke to South African Bitcoin exchange Luno, blockchain expert Simon Dingle, and the SARS and SARB about tax on Bitcoin earnings.
Luno
Bitcoin exchange Luno states it has high compliance standards with local and international laws and regulations around the world.
Luno Head of Growth Werner van Rooyen said Bitcoin recipients must consult with a registered tax professional regarding tax on their Bitcoin earnings.
There are various factors that could impact taxes an individual owes to the tax authorities, said van Rooyen.
The short answer is that all income is taxable in South Africa and it is the responsibility of individuals to remain tax compliant.
Luno said it has simplified Bitcoin payments for businesses by partnering with platforms like PayFast and Bidorbuy in South Africa.
When someone pays a partner merchant in Bitcoin, Luno automatically converts Bitcoin into rand to simplify the accounting for the merchant.
Van Rooyen said businesses must also consult with a tax professional if they accept Bitcoin in exchange for goods or services.
Simon Dingle
Blockchain expert Simon Dingle said that when exchanging Bitcoin for rand, the same taxes apply as any other asset disposal.
It may trigger a capital gains event, or could qualify as income for active traders, he said.
All assets are treated equally in terms of tax.
Dingle said the South African regulator is one of the more progressive in the world when it comes to blockchain technology.
That said, they have not ratified virtual currencies in a way that, for example, the Japanese regulator has.
SARS and SARB
The South African Revenue Service said transactions or speculation in Bitcoin are subject to the general principles of South African tax law and are taxed accordingly.
This applies to income generated from trading cryptocurrency.
SARS did not specify the tax requirements for specific Bitcoin-to-rand transactions and said it does not accept payment in Bitcoin.
The South African Reserve Bank referred MyBroadband to its position paper published in 2014 when asked about Bitcoin tax and regulation in the country.
The paper outlines the numerous risks of the use of decentralised currencies such as Bitcoin, including the potential to exert significant competitive pressure on existing payment systems.
Now read: How South Africans use their Bitcoin
Several gamblers who won a total of around R1.25m in online activities in SA have had their winnings confiscated, the trade and industry department said on Saturday.
Minister Rob Davies had previously cautioned that online gambling was illegal for South African citizens and that their winnings would be forfeited to the State after an application through the High Court, said department spokesperson Sidwell Medupe.
Minister Davies has also expressed concern that online gambling could be utilised to launder money. It is on this basis that the banks continue to collaborate with the National Gambling Board to confiscate the unlawful winnings.
Medupe said those caught gambling online, or those running illegal gambling establishments, such as internet cafes, would face criminal charges, a fine not exceeding R10m, or both.
Those who wanted more information on what was lawful could visit the National Gambling Boards website.
News24
Los Angeles police continued their search for the 5-year-old boy of Armenian descent missing since April 22, taking computer equipment from the Montebello home of the childs paternal grandmother.
As it was noted, the boys grandmother and aunt were taken to the sheriffs East Los Angeles station and interviewed, but they werent arrested, Los Angeles Daily News reported.
The boy's father, Aramazd Andressian Sr. noted he last saw his son on Saturday morning at Arroyo Park near his South Pasadena home. He also added that after breakfast Aramazd Jr. wanted to go to the park before meeting his mother for a custody exchange.
Andressian Sr. was later found unconscious in the territory of the park; he was lying near his car, while the child was missing.
The man was jailed on suspicion of child abduction, but was released from custody after being questioned due to insufficient evidence.
Councilor Theo Zografos of the City of Monasha local government area in Melbourne, Victoria, Australiain Fridays meeting included a motion for the recognition of the Pontian, Armenian, and Assyrian genocide to be added to an upcoming council meeting agenda, asking for fellow councilors to support him.
So many of our ancestors suffered, and there are so many descendants of those migrants in Monash, Zografos told Neos Kosmos. People of those background deserve that formal recognition within our local community, and then hopefully use that to advocate in other local councils. The more governments push for it, the more chances there are for Turkey to admit and recognize the genocide.
Although the states of New South Wales and South Australia have already recognized the genocide, Victoria has not despite the large numbers of Pontian, Assyrian, and Armenian populations living in the state. If the motion passes, Monash will be the first local government in Victoria to recognize the genocide.
My paternal grandparents were from Aivali, Asia Minor, and moved to Greece in the early 1920s, noted Theo Zografos.
YEREVAN. The National Assembly (NA) of Armenia will not resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict, but it will contribute to the conflicts pro-Armenian resolution in a parliamentary platform.
NA Vice President Eduard Sharmazanov told the aforesaid to Armenian News-NEWS.am, reflecting on the new Armenian parliaments role in the settlement of the Karabakh conflict.
The President [of Armenia] will negotiate with the [OSCE] Minsk Group until 2018, and then the head of the executive [branch of power; i.e. the PM], said the NA deputy speaker. As for the parliaments role, parliamentary diplomacy certainly should be conducted within the framework of the powers that are given under the Constitution and with the NA regulation.
And in response to the remark that, ultimately, the final voting on the settlement of this conflict will take place in Parliament, Sharmazanov said: I believe its too early to talk about this, given the destructive policy of Azerbaijan. The reality today is that Azerbaijan is not ready for constructive talks.
Im not optimistic that I will see the final solution of the Artsakh problem in a foreseeable future. But no one, including the Republic of Armenia, has the right to resolve this problem without the will of the people of Artsakh. The core of the matter is that the expression of will by the people of Artsakh be mandatory.
Georgian PM and Armenian Ambassador discuss cooperation issues
FLYONE ARMENIA to start flights between Yerevan, Dubai
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Former Ombudsman: 2,700 ha of Kapan community of Armenia's Syunik Province are under occupation by Baku
Japan and the US begin major joint exercise
Armenia soldier sustains gunshot wound from Azerbaijan shooting
PM: If anyone thinks peace agenda is peaceful annihilation of Armenia or Karabakh Armenians, they are sorely mistaken
Armenia Premier: We have 16 missing persons since September 13 military aggression by Azerbaijan
Bitcoin is trading just above $16,000
Armenias Pashinyan: Spreading of fake news by Azerbaijan becomes prelude to new aggression
PM: Armenia, Karabakh propose Azerbaijan to create demilitarized zone
Pashinyan: Armenia is going to present new proposal to Azerbaijan
Biden says he will discuss Ukraine conflict at G20 summit
Erdogan tells what relations between Turkey and Armenia depend on
Iran says it has developed first hypersonic ballistic missile
Armenias Pashinyan: Russia peacekeepers are deployed in Karabakh indefinitely
FM Lavrov to head Russia delegation at G20 summit
Erdogan: Ankara continues mediation efforts to resolve Ukrainian crisis
IAEA head: Talks on Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively
Armenia PM: Aliyev grossly violated tripartite written agreement of Sochi
This year 320 people seek asylum in Armenia, 213 are from Ukraine
Erdogan speaks on trusting relationship with Putin
Gold prices remain stable
Ombudsperson in Brussels, reflects on top Azerbaijan leaderships policy of Armenophobia
Indonesian authorities: Putin won't come to G20 summit in Bali
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Washington demands part of Israeli Arrow 3 for sale to Germany, be produced in the U.S.
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STEPANAKERT. There were no drastic changes in the operational situation along the line of contact between the Karabakh and Azerbaijani opposing forces, from May 21 to 27.
During this time the Azerbaijani armed forces breached the truce more than 550 times, and with different-caliber shooting weapons, informed the press service of the Republic of Artsakh Ministry of Defense (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic/NKR MOD).
In addition, the adversary fired from mortars as well as rocket-propelled and automatic grenade launchers, in various sectors of the line of contact.
Furthermore, as a result of ceasefire violation by the Azerbaijani armed forces, NKR Defense Army serviceman Armen Harutyunyan (born in 1996) fell on Friday, at the protection area of a defense army unit that is located in the northern direction.
But the Artsakh defense army vanguard units took actions in response, and they continued confidently carrying out their military task.
YEREVAN. The European Union (EU) fully supports the latest statement by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs.
Ambassador Piotr Switalski, Head of the Delegation of the EU to Armenia, on Saturday told the above-said to reporters. He noted this reflecting on the Minsk Groups recent harsh statement, which contains a targeted reaction for the first time.
Switalski stated that the EU closely follows the actions by the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs, and fully supports their latest statement.
Also, he said the EU believes that the status quo in the Karabakh conflict can no longer be maintained, the ceasefire agreement should be honored, there is no military solution to this conflict, and that the incident investigation mechanisms need to be implemented.
Ambassador Switalski added that, once the conflict is resolved and peace comes to Nagorno-Karabakh, the EU stands ready to provide assistance for restoration and help the people in this region, with a considerable amount of funds.
YEREVAN. On May 29, a dialogue on human rights will be conducted with Armenia in Brussels, during which various matters will be discussed.
Ambassador Piotr Switalski, Head of the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to Armenia, stated the aforesaid at a press conference on Saturday. He noted this when asked about the joining of the Armenian National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights to the Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs.
Switalski added that although there was progress in some domains, they will use the said dialogue to discuss the domains where, in their view, there is a need for further progress.
As for the makeup of the NA standing committees, the EU ambassador said these are the autonomous decisions of the Armenian parliament and the ruling coalition. He added, however, that they will encourage the NA to include the matter of human rights on its agenda.
Also, the head of the EU delegation to Armenia noted that last week, when a delegation from the European Parliament was in capital city Yerevan, the visiting Members of the European Parliament raised issues of human rights in Armenia, during their talk at the NA.
He added that several priorities, which need to be put on the NA agenda, became clear during this visit.
Ambassador Switalski noted, however, that the important thing for them is the adoption of laws, whose commitment the Armenian government has assumed independently.
YEREVAN. Recognition of the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh is even more important than recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire, head of the All-Armenian Fund's Toronto branch Mkrtich Mkrtchyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent.
Mkrtich Mkrtchyan himself is the son of a man orphaned as a result of the Genocide, therefore acknowledgment of the Genocide for him is of great importance. But even more important, he believes, is recognition of Artsakh and its establishment as an independent state.
Genocide is our past, and Artsakh is our future. That is why it is so important for me that the independence of Artsakh be recognized, he said.
Mkrtich Mkrtchyan added that in Canada, where he lives, all the people reading the news somehow know about the Armenian Genocide.
However, Mkrtchyan says he does not want to see that people know Armenians because of the Genocide. He wants the world to know that Armenians are smart, talented people. The world has to know about independent Armenia, he added.
The European Union believes decision to set up a new anti-corruption agency in Armenia is a good development, head of EU delegation to Armenia Piotr Switalski told reporters.
The EU and ambassador himself have been encouraging creation of anti-corruption body so far, and independence of the agency is very important, the diplomat said.
The experience of other countries shows that such agencies are working effectively if they are independent and not controlled by anyone. The European Union welcomes the initiative, because it is a move forward, Switalski said.
The bill on a Corruption Prevention Body was approved at Thursdays Cabinet meeting of the government.
Accordingly, this agency will monitor official ethics, conflicts of interest, and other requirements for officials.
Coast Guard Reminds Tri-State Area to Make Safety a Priority during Memorial Day Weekend
The Coast Guard has developed an infographic with relevant information
According to a news release the Coast Guard is reminding boaters in the Tri-State area to make safety a priority during Memorial Day weekend.
Some of the safety measures that boaters can take include: a vessel safety check, a float plan, checking the weather, not mixing alcohol with boating, wearing a lifejacket, and more.
The Coast Guard also advises against placing hoax calls. For more information, click here.
While I'm ranting about Netflix, a few weeks back, I was scrolling around on the streaming site only to discover "Bridget Jones's Baby" was now on Netflix an odd thing to be surprised by since I write an article every month about exactly that topic: the movies the company is getting and dropping.
At least that was a pleasure surprise though not like the time I discovered while perusing through Netflix to watch 2014's terrific thriller "The Guest" (added to the site in July two years ago) only to discover the movie was no longer available. Was this on Netflix's monthly report? Nope! It's hard to argue that Netflix isn't killing movies when sometimes, out of nowhere and without warning, it kills a movie off its site. Or, in the case of last year's indie gem "Sing Street," it's added to the site without the kind of helpful buzz these kinds of articles could generate.
So, in short, if a movie you love disappears off Netflix without it popping up on lists like the one below, don't blame me or any of the other writers posting these lists. Blame Netflix. Be like Hollywood, and blame Netflix for all your problems like scrolling through the streaming site and suddenly bring dragged into having to watch a years-too-late Renee Zellweger rom-com that you didn't expect to see there in the first place.
Or problems like not being able to watch "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Blair Witch Project," "D2: The Mighty Ducks" or any of the other titles listed below, since they're all bailing from Netflix next month. Get on them now while you can!
For the movies headed to Netflix in June, click here.
June 1
"D2: The Mighty Ducks"
"Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"
"House of Wax"
"Kidnapped"
"Knuckleball!"
"Las magicas historias de Plim Plim" season 1
"L'Auberge Espagnole"
"Serendipity"
"The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975"
"The Blair Witch Project"
"The Good Guys" season 1
"The Hustler"
"The Little Rascals"
"The Prince & Me"
"The Teacher Who Defied Hitler"
"The Three Musketeers"
"The Way of the Dragon"
"This Is Spinal Tap"
"Two Step"
"We Are the Giant"
June 6
"Private Practice" seasons 1-6
June 8
"Xenia"
June 9
"4:44: The Last Day on Earth"
"Farewell Herr Schwarz"
"Free the Nipple"
"Remote Area Medical"
"Secrets: The Sphinx"
"Tough Being Loved by Jerks"
June 14
"Bob the Builder" season 1
"Boys of Any Ghraib"
June 15
"The Lazarus Project"
June 16
"Jane Eyre"
June 19
"Daddy's Home"
"Grand Piano"
"The Right Kind of Wrong"
June 23
"Jimmy Goes to Nollywood"
June 24
"Agent F.O.X."
"Breath of the Gods"
"Dragon Guardians"
June 29
"CSI: NY" seasons 1-8
June 30
"Killer Couples" season 1
"Killer in the Family" season 1
"Murder Files" season 1
"Murder on the Social Network"
"My Online Bride"
Passengers wait at a British Airways check-in desk after the airport suffered an IT systems failure, at London''s Gatwick Airport, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports Saturday as a global IT failure caused severe disruption for travelers on a busy holiday weekend. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend.
The airline said it was suffering a "major IT systems failure" around the world. Chief executive Alex Cruz said "we believe the root cause was a power-supply issue and we have no evidence of any cyberattack."
He said the crash had affected "all of our check-in and operational systems."
BA operates hundreds of flights from the two London airports on a typical dayand both are major hubs for worldwide travel.
Several hours after problems began cropping up Saturday morning, BA suspended flights up to 6 p.m. because the two airports had become severely congested. The airline later scrapped flights from Heathrow and Gatwick for the rest of the day.
The airline said it was working to restore services out of Heathrow and Gatwick beginning Sunday, although some disruptions are expected. It said it expected that London-bound long-haul flights would land on schedule Sunday.
The problem comes on a bank holiday weekend, when tens of thousands of Britons and their families are travelling.
Passengers at Heathrow reported long lines at check-in counters and the failure of both the airline's website and its mobile app. BA said the crash also affected its call centers.
In this image taken from the twitter feed of Emily Puddifer, a view of Terminal 5 departure lounge, at London's Heathrow airport after flights were canceled due to the airport suffering an IT systems failure, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend. (Emily Puddifer via AP)
Passenger Phillip Norton tweeted video of an announcement from a pilot to passengers at Rome's Fiumicino airport, saying the problem affects the system that regulates what passengers and baggage go on which aircraft. The pilot said passengers on planes that have landed at Heathrow were unable to get off because there was nowhere to park.
One person posted a picture on Twitter of BA staff writing gate numbers on a white board.
"We've tried all of the self-check-in machines. None were working, apart from one," said Terry Page, booked on a flight to Texas. "There was a huge queue for it and it later transpired that it didn't actually work, but you didn't discover that until you got to the front."
Another traveler, PR executive Melissa Davis, said her BA plane was held for more than 90 minutes on the tarmac at Heathrow on a flight arriving from Belfast.
She said passengers had been told they could not transfer to other flights because "they can't bring up our details."
Passengers stand at the British Airways check-in desk after the airport suffered an IT systems failure, at London''s Gatwick Airport, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports Saturday as a global IT failure caused severe disruption for travelers on a busy holiday weekend. (Gareth Fuller/PA via AP)
Some BA flights were still arriving at Heathrow on Saturday, although with delays.
American Airlines, which operates code-share flights with BA, said it was unaffected.
Air industry consultant John Strickland said Saturday's problems would have "a massive knock-on effect" for several days.
"Manpower, dealing with the backlog of aircraft out of position, parking spaces for the aircraft it's a challenge and a choreographic nightmare," he said.
Airlines depend on huge, overlapping and complex IT systems to do just about everything, from operating flights to handling ticketing, boarding, websites and mobile-phone apps. Some critics say complex airline technology systems have not always kept up with the times.
In this Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017 file photo, British Airways planes are parked at Heathrow Airport during a 48hr cabin crew strike in London. Air travelers faced delays Saturday, May 27, 2017 because of a worldwide computer systems failure at British Airways, the airline said. BA apologized in a statement for what it called an "IT systems outage" and said it was working to resolve the problem. It said in a tweet that Saturday's problem is global.(AP Photo/Frank Augstein, file)
And after years of rapid consolidation in the business, these computer systems may be a hodgepodge of parts of varying ages and from different merger partners, all layered on top of each other.
A union official, meanwhile, blamed BA cost cutting for the travel chaos, saying the airline had laid off hundreds of IT staff last year and outsourced the work to India.
"This could have all been avoided," said Mick Rix, national officer for aviation at the GMB union.
While not that frequent, when airline outages do happen, the effects are widespread, high-profile and can hit travelers across the globe.
BA passengers were hit with severe delays in July and September 2016 because of problems with the airline's online check-in systems.
Passengers stand with their luggage outside Terminal 5 at London's Heathrow airport after flights were canceled due to the airport suffering an IT systems failure, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend. (AP Photo /Jo Kearney)
In August 2016, Delta planes around the world were grounded when an electrical component failed and led to a shutdown of the transformer that provides power to the airline's data center. While the system moved to backup power, not all of the servers were connected to that source, which caused the cascading problem.
Delta said it lost $100 million in revenue as a result of the outage. In January it suffered another glitch that grounded flights in the U.S. That same month, United also grounded flights because of a computer problem.
In July, meanwhile, Southwest Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights after an outage that it blamed on a failed network router.
After the recent outages, outside experts have questioned whether airlines have enough redundancy in their huge, complex IT systems and test them frequently enough.
Emily Puddifer, who was trying to travel to Milan from Heathrow, said her weekend away has been canceled. Her friends, who were going from Liverpool with a different airline, made it to Milan.
A view of Terminal 5 check in desks, at London's Heathrow airport after flights were canceled due to the airport suffering an IT systems failure, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend. (AP Photo /Jo Kearney)
Reached via Twitter, Puddifer said in an email she understands that such technical failures happen. What she didn't understand, she said, was why there were "no announcements, no messages on the boards" about what was going on. Displays showing flight times had the words "please wait" next to flights instead of information about delays or cancellations.
Puddifer said passengers found out about the cancellations from news reports. It was chaos just to get out of the airport as people followed crowds but no one knew where to go, she said. Finally, she made it out, and she considered herself lucky not to have checked luggage.
There are "thousands of people there with no idea where their bags are or what to do," she said.
In this image taken from the twitter feed of Emily Puddifer, people gather in the Terminal 5 departure lounge, at London's Heathrow airport after flights were canceled due to the airport suffering an IT systems failure, Saturday, May 27, 2017. British Airways canceled all flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports on Saturday as a global IT failure upended the travel plans of tens of thousands of people on a busy U.K. holiday weekend. (Emily Puddifer via AP)
2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Note that this only concerns my own imagery posted here, not imagery by others which I post with permission (the latter are clearly indicated as such in the subscripts)!
Excerpt from United Nations resolution 2222 (XXI)
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies
In order to promote international co-operation in the peaceful exploration and use of outer space, States Parties to the Treaty conducting activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, agree to inform the Secretary-General of the United Nations as well as the public and the international scientific community, to the greatest extent feasible and practicable, of the nature, conduct, locations and results of such activities. On receiving the said information, the Secretary-General of the United Nations should be prepared to disseminate it immediately and effectively.
By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's time in office has been a "complete disaster" aside from foreign affairs, fellow Republican and former U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said at an energy conference. The former Ohio congressman said he has been friends with Trump for 15 years but never thought he would occupy the White House. And while he praised Trump's aggressive steps to challenge the Islamic State militant group and other moves in international affairs, he was highly critical of the president's other early efforts. "Everything else he's done has been a complete disaster," Boehner said at the energy conference in Houston on Wednesday, according to the energy publication Rigzone. "He's still learning how to be president." A spokesman for Boehner confirmed the comments. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Boehner's remarks. The former House speaker, who resigned from Congress in 2015, was also highly critical of efforts by the administration and his former Republican colleagues in Congress to advance sweeping healthcare and tax reform plans. He said Republicans should never have tried to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, even after the House narrowly passed an overhaul measure. The Senate is considering its own version of the package. And he dismissed tax reform efforts, which form a cornerstone of the Republican policy agenda, as "just a bunch of happy talk." While Boehner's successor, Speaker Paul Ryan, tries to include a border adjustment tax, a tax on imports, as a key piece of any tax code overhaul, Boehner declared it "deader than a doornail" amid opposition from fellow Republicans and the White House. Boehner also supported efforts to "get to the bottom" of any potential interactions between Trump associates and the Russian government. However, he described any calls to impeach Trump as the purview of "the crazy left-wing Democratic colleagues of mine." Democratic Representative Al Green has formally introduced articles of impeachment for Trump, but such an effort has not been embraced by most Democratic lawmakers as the investigation continues. (Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
A Taliban car bomber killed 13 people in Afghanistan's Khost city on Saturday, in the first major attack at the start of the holy month of Ramadan that targeted a CIA-funded militia group. The powerful explosion in the eastern Afghan city, which also wounded six people including children, left the area littered with charred debris, shattered glass and mangled vehicles. It is the latest in a series of assaults on Western-backed forces as the Taliban step up their annual spring offensive and the insurgency expands more than 15 years after they were ousted from power in a US-led invasion. "A suicide car bomb in Khost province has killed 13 people," said interior ministry spokesman Najib Danish. "The target was a public bus station which was hit by the bombing. The victims were in civilian clothes and it is difficult to verify their identities." But provincial police chief Faizullah Ghairat said members of the elite Khost Provincial Force (KPF) -- known to be paid and equipped by the American CIA -- were the target of the attack. "The bombing took place early morning when KPF members were heading to work," Ghairat told AFP. "But most of the victims are civilians." The KPF, estimated to have around 4,000 fighters, are believed to operate a shadow war against the Taliban in a province that borders Pakistan and are accused of torture and extrajudicial killings. The brazen attack, claimed by the Taliban on their website, comes just a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when insurgents attacked their base in Kandahar, in the third major assault this week on the military in the southern province. The attack in Shah Wali Kot district followed insurgent raids earlier this week on military bases in the same area and Maiwand district, bringing the death toll among Afghan troops in Kandahar to around 60. - 'Unforgivable crime' - The battlefield losses mark a stinging blow for NATO-backed Afghan forces and have raised concerns about their capacity to beat back the resurgent Taliban. Afghan forces are beset by unprecedented casualties and blamed for corruption, desertion and "ghost soldiers" who exist on the payroll but whose salaries are usurped by fraudulent commanders. During another deadly Taliban attack on security outposts in southern Zabul province on Sunday, local officials made desperate calls to Afghan television stations to seek attention because they were unable to contact senior authorities for help. The pleas for attention, a major embarrassment for the Western-backed government, highlighted the disarray in security ranks. The United Nations this week called on all parties of the conflict for a halt in fighting during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. That has prompted no response from the Taliban, who launched their annual spring offensive in late April, heralding a surge in fighting as the US tries to craft a new Afghan strategy. "Terrorists, on the first day of Ramadan, conducted an attack in Khost that martyred a number of countrymen," the Afghan presidential office said in a statement. "The terrorists do not value any religious and holy days, committing a war crime and an unforgivable crime." US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis last month warned of "another tough year" for security forces in Afghanistan. The United States and several NATO allies are considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants. str-mam-emh-ac/iw
By Abdirahman Hussein and Katharine Houreld MOGADISHU/NAIROBI (Reuters) - A former U.S. intelligence specialist has donated surveillance drones to police in Somalia, aiming to help combat a jump in deadly bombings by al Qaeda-linked Islamist insurgents. The gift comes as U.S. President Donald Trump is increasing military engagement in the region. A member of the U.S. Navy SEAL special forces was killed in Somalia earlier this month on a raid, the first U.S. combat casualty in Somalia since 1993. The Somalis received five drones, some of which have infra-red or night vision capabilities, from Brett Velicovich, whose service with the U.S. military features in a "Drone Warrior", a book to be published next month. His life story is also being developed as a movie by Paramount Pictures. "There's been a real increase in complex attacks," the 33-year-old told Reuters on a rooftop overlooking the capital of Mogadishu, as drones swooped and whirred nearby during a four-day police training course. "Some of the things that these drones will be able to do will be to conduct surveillance ... to look out for other potential Shabaab members who may be on rooftops or may be there to look at hitting the first responders." The al Shabaab insurgents have been steadily losing control of cities and towns in the Horn of Africa nation since withdrawing from the capital in 2011. But they are hitting back with increasingly large and complex bombings. Bombs killed at least 723 people and wounded 1,116 in Somalia last year, according to Nairobi-based think-tank Sahan Research, up from 193 dead and 442 wounded in 2015. Increasingly, al Shabaab is using several bombs or a combination of bombs and gunmen to attack security forces who respond. So Bancroft, a Washington-based organisation contracted by the U.S. State Department to train the Somali police, brought Velicovich to Mogadishu to show officers how to use drones in examining potential threats or blast sites. "I used to work with a lot of different drones in the U.S. military and now we see the same type of technology readily available on the open market," said Velicovich, who has worked on similar programmes in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is planning a programme against wildlife poachers in Kenya. "The question is how can we use this (technology) to protect the people of Somalia?" BUILDING THE POLICE The drones are made by China's DJI company and are a combination of the commercially-available Mavic and Inspire models. The biggest has a range of up to 7 km (four miles). "We shall use the drones when we are in serious operations or when the enemy attack some places or innocent people," said Somali police commissioner Abdihakin Dahir Sa'eed. One example that police cited was when gunmen ambushed officers responding to a car bomb on Mogadishu's Lido beachfront last year. Police were unable to find the last attacker, holed up in a restaurant, for several hours. A drone might have found him in minutes, Velicovich said. The gift follows a deal in London earlier this month between the Somali government and its Western allies to beef up the security forces and try to integrate regional militias. But huge problems face new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, elected by parliamentarians in February. The Somali security forces have been crippled by years of corruption. High-ranking officers stuffed the payrolls with names of their relatives and sold weapons and food intended for the rank-and-file. Both the police and military have often gone for months without pay, encouraging them to extort money from angry civilians. In an interview published on Friday, the president said his United Nations-backed government was so broke that he had not drawn a salary since taking office and had been unable to pay the military. "We inherited a financial situation in which the government was unable to pay army salaries on a regular basis," he told the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat. "The army needs organisation, to restructure and to be supplied with arms ... I am not saying we are starting from scratch but the challenges ahead are many when compared with the possibilities." (additional reporting by Sylvia Westall in Dubai; writing by Katharine Houreld; editing by David Stamp)
By Ned Parker and Jonathan Landay WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trumps son-in-law and close adviser, Jared Kushner, had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with the Russian ambassador to the United States during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials told Reuters. Those contacts included two phone calls between April and November last year, two of the sources said. By early this year, Kushner had become a focus of the FBI investigation into whether there was any collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin, said two other sources - one current and one former law enforcement official. Kushner initially had come to the attention of FBI investigators last year as they began scrutinizing former national security adviser Michael Flynns connections with Russian officials, the two sources said. While the FBI is investigating Kushners contacts with Russia, he is not currently a target of that investigation, the current law enforcement official said. The new information about the two calls as well as other details uncovered by Reuters shed light on when and why Kushner first attracted FBI attention and show that his contacts with Russian envoy Sergei Kislyak were more extensive than the White House has acknowledged. NBC News reported on Thursday that Kushner was under scrutiny by the FBI, in the first sign that the investigation, which began last July, has reached the presidents inner circle. The FBI declined to comment, while the Russian embassy said it was policy not to comment on individual diplomatic contacts. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Kushner's attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November. "Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked (Reuters) for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information," she said. In March, the White House said that Kushner and Flynn had met Kislyak at Trump Tower in December to establish a line of communication. Kislyak also attended a Trump campaign speech in Washington in April 2016 that Kushner attended. The White House did not acknowledge any other contacts between Kushner and Russian officials. BACK CHANNEL Before the election, Kislyaks undisclosed discussions with Kushner and Flynn focused on fighting terrorism and improving U.S.-Russian economic relations, six of the sources said. Former President Barack Obama imposed sanctions on Russia after it seized Crimea and started supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014. After the Nov. 8 election, Kushner and Flynn also discussed with Kislyak the idea of creating a back channel between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin that could have bypassed diplomats and intelligence agencies, two of the sources said. Reuters was unable to determine how those discussions were conducted or exactly when they took place. Reuters was first to report last week that a proposal for a back channel was discussed between Flynn and Kislyak as Trump prepared to take office. The Washington Post was first to report on Friday that Kushner participated in that conversation. Separately, there were at least 18 undisclosed calls and emails between Trump associates and Kremlin-linked people in the seven months before the Nov. 8 presidential election, including six calls with Kislyak, sources told Reuters earlier this month. . Two people familiar with those 18 contacts said Flynn and Kushner were among the Trump associates who spoke to the ambassador by telephone. Reuters previously reported only Flynns involvement in those discussions. Six of the sources said there were multiple contacts between Kushner and Kislyak but declined to give details beyond the two phone calls between April and November and the post-election conversation about setting up a back channel. It is also not clear whether Kushner engaged with Kislyak on his own or with other Trump aides. HOW KUSHNER CAME UNDER SCRUTINY FBI scrutiny of Kushner began when intelligence reports of Flynns contacts with Russians included mentions of U.S. citizens, whose names were redacted because of U.S. privacy laws. This prompted investigators to ask U.S. intelligence agencies to reveal the names of the Americans, the current U.S. law enforcement official said. Kushners was one of the names that was revealed, the official said, prompting a closer look at the presidents son-in-laws dealings with Kislyak and other Russians. FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump, said the current U.S. law enforcement official. The head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Nikolaevich Gorkov, a trained intelligence officer whom Putin appointed, met Kushner at Trump Tower in December. The bank is under U.S. sanctions and was implicated in a 2015 espionage case in which one of its New York executives pleaded guilty to spying and was jailed. The bank said in a statement in March that it had met with Kushner along with other representatives of U.S. banks and business as part of preparing a new corporate strategy. Officials familiar with intelligence on contacts between the Russians and Trump advisers said that so far they have not seen evidence of any wrongdoing or collusion between the Trump camp and the Kremlin. Moreover, they said, nothing found so far indicates that Trump authorized, or was even aware of, the contacts. There may not have been anything improper about the contacts, the current law enforcement official stressed. Kushner offered in March to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating Russias attempts to interfere in last years election. The contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials during the presidential campaign coincided with what U.S. intelligence agencies concluded was a Kremlin effort through computer hacking, fake news and propaganda to boost Trumps chances of winning the White House and damage his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. (Additional reporting by John Walcott, Warren Strobel and Phil Stewart in Washington)
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte joked Friday that soldiers could rape up to three women, as he reassured them of his full support under his newly imposed regional martial law. Duterte, who often peppers his language with man-on-the-street curses, made the comments in jest during a speech at a military base to lift the spirits of troops tasked with quelling what he says is a fast-growing threat of Islamist terrorism. "For this martial law and the consequences of martial law and the ramifications of martial law, I and I alone would be responsible. Just do your work. I will handle the rest," he said. "I will be imprisoned for you. If you rape three (women), I will say that I did it." Duterte imposed martial law on Tuesday across the southern region of Mindanao in response to militants going on a deadly rampage through a city in the south and flying the black flags of the Islamic State group. Duterte said the militants were planning to establish a caliphate for IS across all of Mindanao, home to 20 million people, and that martial law was the only way to crush the rebellion. Duterte, 72, easily won presidential elections last year by presenting himself as in touch with ordinary Filipinos, often using street language full of profanities. On the election campaign Duterte said he had two mistresses but jokingly reassured taxpayers that he would not cost them much if he was president because he took them to cheap, short-time hotels for sex. Duterte also attracted controversy when he said he wanted to rape an Australian missionary who had been caught up in a 1989 prison riot in the Philippines and murdered by the inmates. "There was this Australian lay minister. When they took them out, I saw her face and I thought, 'Son of a whore. 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'," Duterte said in April last year. The Australian and American ambassadors to Manila voiced their disapproval at the comments, but Duterte reacted furiously and insisted he had been taken out of context. On the campaign trail Duterte also jokingly told voters to open funeral parlour businesses because as president he would fill them with corpses from a war on drugs. Duterte did launch his drug war, and it has claimed thousands of lives.
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Ameriprise Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services to individual and institutional clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other. The Advice & Wealth Management segment provides financial planning and advice; brokerage products and services for retail and institutional clients; discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory accounts; mutual funds; insurance and annuities products; cash management and banking products; and face-amount certificates. The Asset Management segment offers investment management and advice, and investment products to retail, high net worth, and institutional clients through unaffiliated third-party financial institutions and institutional sales force. This segment products also include U.S. mutual funds and their non-U.S. equivalents, exchange-traded funds, variable product funds underlying insurance, and annuity separate accounts; and institutional asset management products, such as traditional asset classes, separately managed accounts, individually managed accounts, collateralized loan obligations, hedge funds, collective funds, and property and infrastructure funds. The Retirement & Protection Solutions segment provides variable annuity products to individual clients, as well as life and DI insurance products to retail clients. The company was formerly known as American Express Financial Corporation and changed its name to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in September 2005. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
While mistakes can often teach valuable lessons, they also have the potential to cost your business and set you back from achieving your goals. So here are some tips from the online small business community that may help you avoid some of the more costly errors. And also there are some tips to help you avoid missing out on great opportunities as well. Read on.
Dont Ignore Cybersecurity
If youve paid any attention to the news in recent months, youve probably heard a lot about cybersecurity issues. And small businesses are not immune. But some CEOs ignore cybersecurity, as Rebecca Jordan of the Sociable Blog discusses here. She also explains why you should take it seriously.
Keep This Secret in Mind to Achieve Your Goals
Achieving business goals can be a complicated process. But you need to stay focused on your main processes and objectives if you want to be successful over the long run. In this SUCCESS Agency blog post, Mary Blackiston shares the number one secret you can use to achieve your goals.
Banish These Entrepreneurial Fears
Fear can be a major roadblock to success for small business owners. And there are some common fears that entrepreneurs have to deal with. In this Biz Epic post, Akshay Nanavati outlines some of those fears and how to banish them.
Keep an Eye on Your Small Business Competitors
When running a small business, its important to focus on your own goals. But you should still have an idea of what your competitors are up to, as Tony Paull details in this post. BizSugar members also shared thoughts on the post here.
Get a Top of the Line Antivirus for Your Mobile Device
You probably already have an antivirus program for your small business computer. But the same technology is often overlooked when it comes to mobile devices. In this Smallbiztechnology.com post, Sean Mir explains why small businesses need to consider this technology.
Make Ads Less Adversarial
Not all online ads are necessarily effective. There are some common problems advertisers face when trying to communicate with customers online. But you can combat that with the tips in this Marketing Land post by Brad OBrien.
Heed Googles Warning About Guest Posting to Build Links
Guest posting can be a great way to share your expertise and build your network online. But Google warns against doing it strictly to build links. This Search Engine Journal post by Matt Southern includes more information.
Go Beyond Linear Thinking in New Ventures
Todays businesses require more innovation and creativity than ever. So you may need to reset your thinking if you want to create something new that can really disrupt an industry, as Martin Zwilling discusses in this Startup Professionals Musings post. You can also see commentary from the BizSugar community here.
Make Your Content Marketing Profitable
You already know that content can help you connect with potential customers and spread the word about your business. But if youre not making your content marketing profitable, you could really be missing out. Neil Patel shares more information in this post.
Make Sure Your Copy Has a Human Voice
When writing copy, it can be easy for marketers to get stuck in the trap of using a copywriters voice. But you need to add in a human tone to really get through to your audience, as Gary Hennerberg discusses in this Target Marketing post.
If youd like to suggest your favorite small business content to be considered for an upcoming community roundup, please send your news tips to: sbtips@gmail.com.
Usefulness Content Freshness Is your business turning into a red-tape bureaucracy that is sabo thing your plans for growth? Take back your company and your potential for growth with" Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Teams Productive Power". Using the book's focus on leveraging scarcity (time, talent, and energy) to create growth, your business might be able to pull off a turnaround and launch into a new recurring cycle of industry-dominating success.
If you buy something through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners. Learn more.
Time, Talent, Energy: Overcome Organizational Drag and Unleash Your Teams Productive Power addresses how successful companies like Netflix, Google, Apple, and other powerful brands are able to maintain their success in a world where competition is brutally fierce and customer loyalty is fleeting.
The book argues that the continued success of these companies doesnt depend on their capital as many would assume. It depends on how they manage scarcity, particularly three scarce resources: time, talent and energy. Any business that can leverage these three resources, the book says, will have a massive competitive advantage over every other business in its industry.
What is Time, Talent, Energy About?
In Time, Talent, Energy, the key to becoming a profitable and successful company isnt getting more money so you can invest in more resources. (In fact, the authors argue that the business world has an overabundance of capital!) Money helps, but it isnt the only factor. Its how you use the resources a business already has time, energy and talent. This is what distinguishes an excellent company from an average one. Companies able to attract the right talent, cultivate that talent and direct its energy will create a decisive competitive advantage that builds each year rather than declines.
The book contends that businesses, in their quest to grow, sabotage their efforts with red tape, complexity, ineffective leadership and a lack of engagement with their workforce. Businesses dont do this on purpose, but it happens. As businesses start to mature, culture develops and policies develop. More meetings are scheduled and more departments are created. Decisions take longer to get approved as more layers of management get involved. Leadership focuses on maintaining the status quo instead of developing and cultivating talent. Slowly, the once successful company becomes a fossilized version of its own success.
Time, Talent, Energy suggests it doesnt have to happen this way. Businesses, especially mature ones, can adopt the books strategies to cultivate an efficient, loyal and engaged workforce. Once a business takes the steps to create that workforce, those employees begin creating a cycle of success on their own. In attracting and retaining good talent, a business becomes more productive. In becoming more productive, it can afford to hire even greater talent for even better results.
Author Michael Mankins is a strategy expert, speaker, regular contributor to Harvard Business Review and partner at management consulting firm Bain & Company (San Francisco office). He is also a board member of the Childrens Creativity Museum and the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues.
Co-author Eric Garton is also a partner of Bain & Company (Chicago office), a frequent contributor to Forbes, an expert in organizational transformation and part of the leadership team that develops best practices for consumer and industrial goods.
What Was Best About Time, Talent, Energy?
The best part of Time, Talent, Energy is the books core message and the recommendations that build on that core message. The book argues that every company can improve its productivity by paying attention to just three resources: time, talent, and energy. In a cash-strapped world still reeling from a recession, this is empowering news. Every business has the same amount of time. Time, Talent, Energy shows how to optimize that time so you can leverage the talent and energy every business possesses to reach a higher level of performance.
What Could Have Been Done Differently?
One area of Time, Talent, Energy that could use more attention is the spotlight on small and medium-sized businesses (referred to as everyday businesses in the book.) While the book promises to demonstrate how an everyday business can utilize the strategies of Time, Talent, Energy, it doesnt develop that promise into a fully fleshed-out example. More attention here (specifically a case study or case studies with a small business that utilized the books examples) might help small or medium-sized business owners who arent sure if the books strategies can be implemented on a smaller scale for big results.
Why Read Time, Talent, Energy?
Time, Talent, and Energy is a very important book because it redirects the conversation about internal growth with specific, actionable recommendations on how to optimize it in simple ways. Many business advice books focus on the paradox of success experienced by companies like Kodak and Blockbuster. As companies grow, they tend to reinforce their internal growth. That reinforcement includes policies, aspects of culture, assumptions and leadership styles that can become so ingrained in a business that it gets in the way of future growth. In other words, these businesses get so successful that they lose the qualities that make them so successful over the long run. Time, Talent, Energy was written to remedy that. By regularly focusing on the three scarce resources involved with growth, it is hoped, business owners can prevent their businesses from falling into the paradox of success.
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A micro-project should be launched in three localities this autumn.
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UNESCO experts say there is a big tourism potential in the National Park (NP) Poloniny. As a result, a micro-project should be launched in three localities of the Carpathian beech forest this autumn, with the aim to support the economic future of the region.
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The locals know about the value of the territory and want to fully use its potential, James Rebanks, expert advisor to UNESCO on sustainable tourism and the economics of heritage, told the TASR newswire.
Im here to advise them on how to secure a new economic future for this region which is in my opinion based on new forms of tourism, which could secure people new income not only from forestry, but also other forms of business-making, Rebanks added.
He sees potential especially in guided tours, gastronomy, accommodation and additional services.
The rural communities do not change on their own, Rebanks opines.
We cannot expect that they will adapt to the market economy, he said, adding he realises these communities will need external help and also financial subsidies.
He thinks people should use both the historical and cultural potential of NP Poloniny, as well as various interesting stories about places or events that have happened there.
It is also necessary to secure promotion across the globe. All activities need to be part of one package that can be promoted in New York, London, Paris, Moscow, etc. He is convinced that people from big cities may become interested in such a calm and peaceful place, as reported by TASR.
Peter DeBrine, senior project officer of UNESCO, told TASR that they first of all want to connect people who have a certain vision. The micro-projects should be only the first step.
I think that what you have in Slovakia is on the same level as Yellowstone National Park, Machu Picchu or the Taj Mahal, DeBrine added.
It is good that NP Poloniny is part of UNESCO which is something the local people should be proud of, he opines.
The UNESCO experts were invited to the region since investors are often afraid to participate in the project that may not be the same as the commitments arising from the convention to protect the UNESCO monuments, said Klara Novotna, Slovakias representative at UNESCO in Paris.
The Times considers them to be a hit of summer.
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The British The Times noticed the summer collection of Novesta sneakers and described them as the hit of next summer.
Novesta sneakers have been produced in Slovakia since the 1930s, when Jan Bata opened his factory in Partizanske.
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They have become also successful abroad, mainly because of the natural materials used in making the sneakers. They are made out of caoutchouc (natural rubber) and 100 percent cotton or linen.
Highlights from Globsec 2017: Day 2 (May 27)
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NATO Adapting to the Future Challenges
This panel reflected on the meeting of NATO leaders in Brussels and presented the future challenges facing the Alliance with Deputy Secretary General Rose Gottemoeller, general John Allen and Minister Linas Linkevicius chaired by Justin Vogt of Foreign Affairs.
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Vogt recognised life achievements and great contribution of Zbigniew Brzezinski to the global security. GLOBSEC had, in close cooperation with general Allen developed the Initiative dedicated to identifying the greatest challenges the Alliance is facing today and to delivered a set of recommendations for the way forward. General opens the debate with his presentation of conclusions of the Initiative.
Read also:
Read also: The time is right for Europe to strengthen its confidence Read more
Justin addressed Ms Gottemoeller remarking that NATO used to be more like uber, less like NATO.
Brzezinski was a passionate hunter. Once in Lithuania, shot two boars. He named them Molotov and Ribbentrop, said Linas Linkevicius.
Rose Gottemoeller seems rather dissappointed with the twitterstorm about what happened with Montenegrian Prime Minister and President Trump remarking that Montenegro has been warmly welcomed at the meeting of leaders and we should all celebrate that fact.
Minister Linkevicius shifted the attention to the strategic communication issues saying that instead of artillery fire we have brainwashing. Information warfare is less expensive than the missiles and we need to address this in a proper way, he added.
The issue of sanctions on Russian officials raised in the exchange with the audience. Rose Gottemoeller sees no slacking of those. Minister Linkevicius remarks that if the sanctions arent effective, we should add sanctions.
If our only solution to terrorism is to fight it, we will fight forever. No child is born a terrorist, said General John Allen.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/16BQS1jxvDQ
Disruptive technologies and the Future Conflict
Patrick Tucker lead an extremely interesting panel featuring General Breedlove, Tomasz Szatkowski, Howard Bromberg, Sarah Kreps and Franz-Stefan Gady. General Breedlove delivers his opening remarks on developing new disruptive capabilities and the challenges to their procurement.
Polish State Secretary Szatkowski noted that Poland is going for simpler but more concept of introducing automated and autonomous systems in their defence capabilities.
Sarah Kreps first remarks that 90% of innovative technologies fail in Silicon Valey. In defence industry, such a rate of failure is not accepteble.
Patrick Tucker pointed to the problem of assymetry, where governements have to be accountable to voters, media and others while non-state actors by definition can act without any restraint.
The speed of decisions is geting higher every day and this is something we need to talk when thinking about the future of conflict. General asked an open question: do you think you can call your capital in 4,5 minutes to tell them a missile is incoming & then engage it? Probably not, answered General.
Are we relying on technology too much at costs of rising defence budgets and cuts in numbers of service members? To this question General Breedlove said very few conversations he had about these cuts were due to investments in technology.
General Bromberg highlighted the need to embrace the innovation across the industry when it comes to defence acquisition.
The issue of Chinese policy of building artificial islands in a salami slice strategy is compared to Russian tactic of little green men in Crimea. Is US able or willing to react to these actions happening below radar? General Breedlove says US could, but sometimes decides not to react.
We will, one day fight in the space. It is going to happen, said General Philip Breedlove.
What is the weapon transforming the conflict for the next 20years? Speakers list the technology connecting the operator to the sensor, precision non kinetic weapon, militarized civilan drones and use of cyber tools to lattach nuclear sites. Interconnection of the new weapon systems.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/3IJrMx_ynjo
Protectionism vs. Globalism: Global Free Trade Running of Innovation
Trade has become sexy again, said Tom Nuttall. There is hardly any surprise to it with US President Trumps tendencies to flip any known concepts of the free trade agreements as well as rising anti-trade forces rising throughout European countries.
Philippa Malmgren and Barry Lynn both agreed from the start that the system of global free trade is already set up. The only challenge remains to take good care of it and do not take it for granted. Mr Lynn insisted the free trade should be reconceptualised again as an anti-monopoly measure in order to free up the people.
Challenge of today is how to manage the extreme interdependence inherent to the current global trade system,said Barry Lynn, Director of Open Markets Program, New America
Malmgren joined him on this argument stressing that free trade should protect competition, not the competitors.
Trade policy is a step child of the political arena, said Philippa Malmgren, former Special Assistant to the US President
Significant point of the discussion obviously focused on the TTP and CETA agreements. Former Canadian Foreign Minister, Stephane Dion, said Canada would love to have free trade arrangements under the TTP in the Pacific region. However, he was clear to say it cannot be just any agreement.
The example of CETA negotiations rang strongly mainly with the Australians in the room. As Australia aims to get the free trade agreement with the EU as well, it is buckling up for a difficult process. Stephane Dions advice was loud and clear:
The question remains how committed is Europe to opening up to the rest of the world while so much protectionism is being included to the EUs trade agreements.
No one in Canada is too happy about looming renegotiation of NAFTA, said Stephane Dion, former Foreign Minister of Canada.
Obviously, Brexit was a hot topic of this panel as well. The main issue discussed was possible starting point of the UK in terms of trade after the negotiations are over. Malmgren does not see reverting to the WTO-based regulation of the UKs trade as problematic. Trade relations between the US and the UK are being governed by these rules and it is not the worst case. Tom Nuttall points out that it is quite unusual to hear someone London-based to be optimistic about the reverse to the WTO after Brexit.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/7gTv3XRMQl0
Threat-Financing: Money Illicit Trade and (In)Security
Henry McDonald of the Guardian introduced Peter Neumann, Hans-Jakob Schindler, Alvise Gustiniani and Keith Groves to the discussion on the new trends in financing of terrorism. Does everyone taking part in illicit trade share responsibility for next terror attack?
Hans-Jakob Schindler acknowledged right from the start that there are explicit crime - terror connections in small scale local terrorism financing. Peter Neumann told a story of a guy selling arms to Charlie Hebdo attacker defending himself that he thought he was just a normal criminal.
In Ireland, we have a saying: normal decent criminal, said Henry McDonald.
Alvise Gustiniani stressed that the solution to the problem of illicit trade is public private partnership. This partnership should be strengthened.
Neuman spoke also about the so called cybercaliphate, the most effective recruiting organisation since Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Peter makes a point of saying attacks on 9/11 were coordinated by veterans of Jihad against Soviets 13 years after the war ended. We talk about the attack in Manchester while the conflict in Syria is still on. This will not go away so soon, I fear, he added.
Terrorist groups have been very entrepreneurial when it comes to high-tech. Keith Groves approaches the question stressing the fact that in order to address these problems we have to recognize its complexity.
Small amounts is what counts. You dont need a million dollars for Manchester, said Hans Schindler.
Peter Neumann stresses ISIL uses its hold of territory for their financing, and that creates problems for counterterrorism policies being in place.
Criminal as well as terror groups all over the world do start getting their funding by attaching themselves to the already existing industries such as poppy production. This was the case in Afghanistan, where the Taliban was initially funded mostly from poppy production, notes Schindler. Also, infamous Mokhtar Mokhtar was called Mr Marlboro as he was smuggling large amounts of cigarettes, adds Schindler.
Gulf sponsors of terrorism in the Middle East are of course crucial for its financing, but supporters from the West are also not negligible as they are profiting from the fact that everyone in Europe and the West have bank accounts. As this money come in small amounts, these are not tracked so easily, Schindler said.
Corruption does help terrorism. Will solvng corruption stop the financing of terrorism? No, because it simply isnt the enabler, said Hans-Jakob Schindler.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/9mho9Y7mWPs
American Leadership: Peace through Economic Strength
Chairman of Homeland Security Committee, Senator Ron Johnson enters the stage with Justin Vogt for a chat on the future of US leadership.
Vogt addressed the direction of the foreign policy of the new administration in the White House. The debate swiftly turned to the question of climate change.
I would not agree that human activity is the main driver of climate change, said Senator Ron Johnson.
On the issue of free trade and NAFTA, Senator agreed with the narrative of the White House that United States have treated unfairly in free trade deals. Free but fair trade is the is the way to go, he adds when talking TPP and TTIP.
There are winners and losers in an kind of free trade, said Senator Ron Johnson.
On NATO meeting in Brussels, Senator wants to cut some slack to the President and he sees that Mr President did mention Article V in his speech even if he did not use the right magic words. The whole event was about the Article. When Mr Trump said in his campaign speech that US needs to be more less predictable, Senator disagreed - we need to be far more predictable. Senator continues to praise President Trump for acting swiftly in Syria after the gas attack.
When asked about President Trump sharing intelligence with the Russian officials, Senator voices his concerns about the leaks happening in the White House.
Senator argued that the Iran deal of previous administration was a disaster. They might be harder hardliners, but there are no moderates among Iranian officials, according to Senator Johnson. Issue of propaganda and and Russian influence in political process in US was raised by the audience question. Senator stressed there is a cross-party agreement on the fact the US need to recognize the threat and prepare strategies to push back.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/ZlYPTXJPpnI
Safeguarding the Future: How to Outsmart the AI?
Patrick Tucker leads the way with Marek Rosa, Khalil Rouhana and Andreas Ebert. Tucker introduced the panel on the future of Artificial Intelligence by reminding the audience that the word robot actually comes from a Czech author, Karel Capek and his play R.U.R.
Picking up on Patricks remarks that we invented the fear of the robots right after we invented the robots, Mr Rouhana was rather optimistic of the technological development in the AI domain.
Fears are justified if youre not able to master the technology, Khalil Rouhana, Deputy Director-General, DG CONECT, European Commission, said.
Andreas Ebert polemicized with the title of the session, arguing that instead of outsmarting the AI, we should be thinking about it as enhancing human ingenuity. He pointed out the philosophy with which Microsoft approaches their development of the AI democratising of the AI. It is there necessary to ensure broad spread of the technology across the regions and sectors of the economy. Additionally, it should also mean broadening of the ecosystem of the developers to include multitudes of the inputs.
AI is often credited with future loss of jobs on one hand and doubling of the economic growth on the other. Reconciling the two, Mr Rouhana pointed out that looking on the EUbarometer results, those countries who invest the most into innovation and automation, have the lowest unemployment rate.
The issue of updating the skills of the workforce brought up the discussion on the digital literacy.
He added that we need to be careful with the regulation to be able to allow for the innovation to develop fully and not to regulate too early.
Finally, responsibility for the acts of the AI was hugely debated as well. Marek Rosa interestingly pointed out the decision he sees between the manufacturer and the user. As long as the software is pre-programmed, the responsibility lies in the hands of the manufacturer. However, in case of an adaptable software taking commands from a customer, it is the user who is accountable for the implications.
Embrace the surprises coming from the Artificial Intelligence, said Marek Rosa, CEO & CTO, GoodAI.
video //www.youtube.com/embed/WLQXTartpMs
The text was originally published as part of the daily summaries from the GLOBSEC 2017 Bratislava Forum.
Study
DC Voucher Program Study Shows Mixed Results
To find out the impact of federal "voucher" programs that enable children from families with low income to attend private schools, one needs to look no further than Washington, D.C., itself. The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program was set up by Congress in 2004 to issue scholarships to students through a lottery process, not unlike what's being proposed by the current administration but on a much smaller scale. The program was reauthorized in 2011 with a stipulation that the program undergo an evaluation to measure its impacts on student academic progress, satisfaction, safety and other outcomes. In April the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences issued that evaluation, and the news was fairly mixed.
The study examined data from the 2012, 2013 and 2014 funding years, comparing outcomes for a "treatment group" (995 students picked through the lottery to receive offers of scholarships) and a control group (776 students who didn't receive the offers). The data specifically covered the first year during which students could have used their scholarships. Some 70 percent of those who received voucher offers actually used them.
On the negative side, math scores dropped by seven percentage points for students who used the scholarships a year after they applied for the vouchers. Reading scores were also lower by nearly five percentage points, a difference too close to call, according to the researchers.
On the positive side, parents perceived the new schools attended by their students as being "very safe" compared with the parents of children who didn't receive the voucher offers. Also, for parents of students in grades 6 to 12, the program had a "statistically significant positive impact" on the involvement of parents in the education of their children who were offered or used a scholarship.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who supports vouchers, issued a statement last month responding to the report with the suggestion that parents "overwhelmingly support this program." That was an exaggeration. The researchers found little difference in parental or student satisfaction with the school attended in that first year among those who were offered or used the scholarships and those who didn't receive the offers.
Critics of school vouchers jumped on the results to advocate, as Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) did, for DeVos "to finally abandon her reckless plans to privatize public schools across the country."
But the researchers were more circumspect in their findings. "Vouchers provide parents with more options for their childrens school, but parents need information about the likely outcomes of exercising the option," the report stated. "And policymakers want to know whether resources invested in vouchers represent a sound use of public funds." Even there, they suggested, more research is needed. "Impacts reported here are from the first year during which students could have used their scholarships. Impacts could differ in later years." Likewise, they reminded readers, the program only operates in the District of Columbia. "Impacts could differ in other settings or locations."
The complete report is openly available on the Institute of Education Sciences website here.
Zambia considers relocating capital city, amid trial of opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema
Does it make sense for a country to locate its capital city someplace no one can find? Zambia wants to move its capital city from the well-known metropolis of Lusaka to the little know rural district of Ngabwe. A cursory search on Google Maps struggled to locate Ngabwe (Apples Maps app had better luck but showed little detail), but if planning minster Lucky Mulusa has his way, it will be the heart of life in Zambia.
Ngabwe, west of the city of Kabwe, was chosen because its in the center of the country; Mulusa believes that will make it easier to build the new capital city from scratch. Human settlement on its own is a problem and that is why my ministry is proposing that we start up a completely new capital city that will be planned on the modern principles of sustainable development, the minister told the Lusaka Times newspaper.
Lusaka has struggled to keep pace with rapid urbanization, adds Mulusa. The city of roughly 3 million people would simply not be able to maintain Zambias commerce and industry and official activities in the next decade, he said. Infrastructure improvements wont solve the citys fundamental problem: Geography.
If Lusaka was properly situated, it would have benefited many institutions, Mulusa told news agency AFP.
Moving the capital city will do little to solve the countrys basic problems and countries in the past have used such attempts to distract from more pressing issues. In 1983 Cote dIvoires longtime ruler Felix Houphouet-Boigny moved the capital from Abidjan to his hometown of Yamoussoukro, which never really took off as an urban center despite the construction of a massive church. Tanzania made Dodoma its capital city in 1973, but the official relocation from Dar es Salaam still has not happened. Nigeria moved its capital from the crowded coastal city of Lagos to the more central Abuja in 1991.
Story continues
Zambia has only recently emerged from an economic slump only to confront a slide toward autocracy in what was once one of Africas most stable democracies. Opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema was arrested last month after his vehicle failed to make way for president Edgar Lungus motorcade, sparking fears of a political witch-hunt over his vocal criticism of the president.
Then on May 25, Zambian authorities barred South Africas Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane from entering the country to attend Hichilemas case. Maimane returned to South Africa and promptly organized a televised march to the Zambian High Commission.
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Flamingo
Shutterstock/Christian Musat
A question flamingo researchers get asked all the time why the birds stand on one leg may need rethinking. The bigger puzzle may be why flamingos bother standing on two.
Balance aids built into the birds basic anatomy allow for a one-legged stance that demands little muscular effort, tests find. This stance is so exquisitely stable that a bird sways less to keep itself upright when it appears to be dozing than when its alert with eyes open, two Atlanta neuromechanists report May 24 in Biology Letters.
Most of us arent aware that were moving around all the time, says Lena Ting of Emory University, who measures whats called postural sway in standing people as well as in animals. Just keeping the human body vertical demands constant sensing and muscular correction for wavering. Even standing robots are expending quite a bit of energy, she says. That could have been the case for flamingos, she points out, since effort isnt always visible.
Hidden hip
Translate that improbably long flamingo leg into human terms, and the visible part of the leg would be just the shin down. A flamingos hip and knee lie inside the birds body.
Ting and Young-Hui Chang of the Georgia Institute of Technology tested balance in fluffy young Chilean flamingos coaxed onto a platform attached to an instrument that measures how much they sway. Keepers at Zoo Atlanta hand-rearing the test subjects let researchers visit after feeding time in hopes of catching youngsters inclined toward a nap on one leg on a machine. Patience, Ting says, was the key to any success in this experiment.
As a flamingo standing on one foot shifted to preen a feather or joust with a neighbor, the instrument tracked wobbles in the foots center of pressure, the spot where the birds weight focused. When a bird tucked its head onto its pillowy back and shut its eyes, the center of pressure made smaller adjustments (within a radius of 3.2 millimeters on average, compared with 5.1 millimeters when active).
Story continues
Museum bones revealed features of the skeleton that might enhance stability, but bones alone didnt tell the researchers enough. Deceased Caribbean flamingos a zoo donated to science gave a better view. The ah-ha! moment was when I said, Wait, lets look at it in a vertical position, Ting remembers. All of a sudden, the bird specimen settled naturally into one-legged lollipop alignment.
In flamingo anatomy, the hip and the knee lie well up inside the body. What bends in the middle of the long flamingo leg is not a knee but an ankle (which explains why to human eyes a walking flamingos leg joint bends the wrong way). The bones themselves dont seem to have a strict on-off locking mechanism, though Ting has observed bony crests, double sockets and other features that could facilitate stable standing.
The birds distribution of weight, however, looked important for one-footed balance. The flamingos center of gravity was close to the inner knee where bones started to form the long column to the ground, giving the precarious-looking position remarkable stability. The specimens body wasnt as stable on two legs, the researchers found.
flamingos
Reuters/Ina Fassbender
Wobbly ways
A young flamingo hand-reared at Zoo Atlanta settles onto one foot on an instrument for tracking waverings in posture. Measurements of one bird show the smallest shifts (red squiggles, right) of the center of pressure on its foot (in rectangles), where its weight is focused when the bird is quiescent, possibly dozing. When active, preening a feather or leaning to cackle at another youngster, the bird shows the biggest shifts.
Reinhold Necker of Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, is cautious about calling one-legged stances an energy saver. The authors do not consider the retracted leg, says Necker, who has studied flamingos. Keeping that leg retracted could take some energy, even if easy balancing saves some, he proposes.
The new study takes an important step toward understanding how flamingos stand on one leg, but doesnt explain why, comments Matthew Anderson, a comparative psychologist at St. Josephs University in Philadelphia. Hes found that more flamingos rest one-legged when temperatures drop, so he proposes that keeping warm might have something to do with it. The persistent flamingo question still stands.
NOW WATCH: The smartest bird in the world can use tools like a human, and it's amazing to watch
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By Camille Bottin BRUSSELS (Reuters) - As her reality TV star husband met many of his Western allies for the first time as U.S. president on Thursday, Melania Trump was offered a different take on the surreal by her hosts in Brussels. The first lady, a Slovenian-born former model, toured a museum dedicated to Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte in the company of wives of other national leaders who were attending a summit of the NATO military alliance across town. Famed for works like the 1964 "self-portrait" of a bowler-hatted man whose face is hidden by an apple or the image of a pipe subtitled "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" (This is not a pipe), Magritte has much to teach the world about questioning outward appearances, and about self-effacement, Belgian organisers said. "You never know," museum director Michel Draguet said ahead of the first lady's visit. "Maybe Donald Trump will move from one kind of surrealism to another, thanks to Magritte's ideas." The outspoken 70-year-old wealthy businessman and TV celebrity stunned many U.S. allies by entering the White House in January. He has broken a mould among world leaders with a style that offers little evidence of self-doubt and ideas that run counter to received wisdom among Western diplomats. His 47-year-old third wife was joined by other NATO spouses including the devoutly Muslim wife of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan; Brigitte Trogneux, who met Emmanuel Macron when she taught the new French president in school; and Gauthier Destenay, who is married to Luxembourg's gay prime minister. Speaking later, curator Draguet said Melania Trump "showed great interest in surrealism's free spirit and invention". Trump's first foreign tour, which has so far taken him to Riyadh, Jerusalem and Rome and will end this weekend at a G7 summit in Sicily, has been presented by aides as reassuring allies that Washington remains a reliable partner under a head of state who faces a series of ethics questions back home. For Charles Michel, the 41-year-old premier whose partner showed the group around Brussels, an itinerary that also took in tea with Belgium's queen was also a chance to show those close to power a host country keen to punch above its weight. (Additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday Saudi Arabia's rulers faced "certain downfall" for aligning themselves with the United States, hours after the country's pragmatist president called for improved ties with Gulf states. "They (Saudi leaders) act cordially towards the enemies of Islam while having the opposite behaviour towards the Muslim people of Bahrain and Yemen," Khamenei told a religious gathering, according to his Twitter account. "They will face certain downfall," he told a Koran reading event marking the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Iran and the Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen, and the unrest in Bahrain. Relations were further hit last weekend when U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East. Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia, its arch-foe, is the real source of funding for Islamist militants. Meanwhile President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who has significantly less power than the supreme leader, earlier called for improved relations with Gulf Arab states during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its Gulf neighbours over its relationship with Tehran. "We want the rule of moderation and rationality in the relations between countries and we believe that a political solution should be a priority," the state news agency IRNA quoted Rouhani as telling Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani. "The countries of the region need more cooperation and consultations to resolve the crisis in the region and we are ready to cooperate in this field," Rouhani told Sheikh Tamim, IRNA added. Rouhani earlier responded to Trump's criticism by saying stability could not be achieved in the Middle East without Iran's help. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates expressed exasperation this week after official Qatar media published remarks purported to have been made by Sheikh Tamim which were critical of Trump's foreign policy and of renewed tensions with Tehran. Qatar said the remarks, published late on Tuesday, were fake and that the news agency that ran them had been hacked. (Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Gareth Jones)
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian authorities have arrested six local men for suspected involvement with the Islamic State militant group, police said on Saturday. Muslim-majority Malaysia has been on the watch for Islamic State-linked militants since an attack last year by the group in Jakarta, the capital of neighbouring Indonesia. Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar said in a statement that the six suspects were detained from separate raids in four states from May 23-26. The first arrest was of Muhammad Muzafa Arieff Junaidi who surrendered after police issued a media statement requesting the public to come forward with information about him. The 27-year-old cow farmer was wanted by police for smuggling arms for Malaysia-based Islamic State militants. Khalid said Muzafa was instructed to sneak into Southern Thailand with two firearm. Another arrest involved two brothers - a religious school teacher and online businessman - under suspicion of helping the militant movement in Syria. The brothers are relatives of Muhammad Fudhail Omar, who had instructed a "lone wolf" attack in Malaysian state of Sabah last August. Fudhail is expected to take over the role of the former top Islamic State operative Muhammad Wanndy Mohamed Jedi who was on a U.S. list of global militants until his death, Khalid said. Wanndy was the alleged mastermind behind a grenade attack on a Kuala Lumpur bar last June which injured eight people. It was the first and so far only Islamic State attack that caused casualties in Malaysia. Also arrested, a 54-year-old retired military personnel for channelling around 20,000 ringgit to Syrian militants through several transactions. One of his sons has joined the militants in Syria. Another two unnamed suspects were detained for supporting and helping the Islamic State movement in Syria. All six suspects will be held for further investigation, Khalid said. Malaysia has arrested more than 250 people between 2013 and 2016 for suspected militant activity linked to Islamic State. (Reporting by Liz Lee; Editing by Michael Perry)
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has dispatched its anti-piracy naval unit to waters off Somalia after communication with a Mongolian fishing vessel was cut when it requested help, fearing it was being followed by a suspected pirate vessel. South Korean foreign ministry said communication with the squid fishing vessel, with three Koreans and 18 Indonesians on board, was cut after midnight on Friday. The ministry said India, Germany and Japan have deployed aircraft to the waters off Somalia to search for the vessel. "We are working with authorities in related countries including the United States, Germany, India and Japan," the ministry said in a statement. It said South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked related ministries to "put the utmost priority on human lives and make sure that they will be rescued". A South Korean navy unit in 2011 stormed a South Korean-operated chemical carrier Samho Jewelry that had been hijacked by Somali pirates, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight pirates. On Tuesday, Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel to use as a base to attack bigger, more valuable ships, part of an upsurge in attacks following years of relative calm. This month has seen a new rash of attacks, with two ships captured and a third rescued by Indian and Chinese forces after the crew radioed for help and locked themselves in a safe room. The sudden string of attacks by Somali pirates comes after years without a reported incident. Attacks peaked with 237 in 2011 but declined steeply after ship owners improved security measures and international naval forces stepped up patrols. The United States is closely watching a recent increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and a senior U.S. military official says the rise in piracy attacks has at least partially been driven by famine and drought in the region. (Reporting by Suyeong Lee and Hyunjoo Jin; Editing by Michael Perry)
CHANNELVIEW, Texas A Houston-area school district has disciplined several teachers after a student received a mock award naming her most likely to become a terrorist.
Certificates given to the 13-year-old girl and other students this week at a junior high school east of Houston were supposed to be lighthearted. But the Channelview Independent School District issued a statement apologizing for the insensitive and offensive fake mock awards.
The girls mother, Ena Hernandez, says she was upset by the certificate given to her daughter, particularly in light of the recent deadly bombing at a pop concert in Manchester, England.
Channelview spokesman Mark Kramer told KPRC-TV in Houston that the certificates were a poor attempt to poke fun.
The district declined to disclose the punishment the teachers received.
JAKARTA, Indonesia Indonesian police arrested three suspected militants Friday for their alleged involvement in twin suicide bombings that killed three people in Jakarta, while the Islamic State group claimed it was responsible for the attack.
The suspects are believed to be connected to Wednesdays blasts and were taken into custody from three places in Bandung, the capital of West Java province, West Java police spokesman Yusri Yunus said.
The roles of each and their group are still being investigated, Yunus said.
U.S. terror monitors, the SITE Intelligence Group, said the Islamic State group claimed it was responsible for the attack, which targeted police at a bus terminal in eastern Jakarta. The three killed were police officers, while another 11 people, both police and civilians, were wounded.
Authorities in Indonesia, the worlds most populous Muslim-majority nation, have carried out a sustained crackdown on militants since the 2002 bombings by al-Qaida-affiliated radicals that killed 202 people in Bali. Still in recent years it has faced a new threat as the rise of the Islamic State group in the Middle East has breathed new life into local militant networks and raised concern about the risk of Indonesian fighters returning home.
The attack Wednesday was the deadliest in Jakarta since January 2016, when a suicide and gun strike in the central business district left four civilians and four assailants dead.
Police have identified the suicide bombers as Ichwan Nurul Salam, 31, and Ahmad Sukri, 32, both from West Java province. Police had earlier given a different spelling of Salams name and said he was a different age.
Police were investigating if they have links to Jemaah Anshorut Daulah, or JAD, a network of almost two dozen Indonesian extremist groups that formed in 2015 and pledges allegiance to Islamic State group leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
JAD, which Washington designated earlier this year as a terrorist group, has been implicated in a number of terror plots in Indonesia over the past year.
Police identified those arrested Friday as Jajang Iqin Shodiqin, Waris Suyitno and Abu Dafa. Yunus said police have seized a computers, cellphones and documents about Islam from Shodiqins house in western Bandung.
Police said Shodiqin has an active role in raising donations to help fund a radical Islamic boarding school in Poso, a region in Central Sulawesi that is considered to be Indonesias terrorist hotbed where a Muslim-Christian conflict killed at least 1,000 people from 1998 to 2002.
Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Donald Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, son-in-law and confidant to then-President-elect Trump, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser.
The White House disclosed the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that its unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushners apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than relying on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administrations relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and it maintains a nearly constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that although Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushners apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
How would he trust that the Russians wouldnt leak it on their side? said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause a great deal of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy.
The discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trumps closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts. Trumps first national security adviser, Flynn, was forced to resign after a series of false statements about his conversations with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters related to the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own meetings with Kislyak when asked during congressional testimony about any contact with Russians.
Kushners interactions with Russians including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last years presidential race and help elect Trump.
Obama administration officials say members of the Trump transition team never approached them about arranging a secure communications channel with their Russian contacts, possibly because of concerns about leaks.
The State Department, the White House National Security Council and U.S. intelligence agencies all have the ability to set up secure communications channels with foreign leaders, though doing so for a transition team would be unusual.
Trumps advisers were similarly secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. The Obama White House only learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner, Flynn and Stephen Bannon, another top Trump adviser, because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leaders name on a flight manifest.
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds to an American.
The Post was first alerted in mid-December to the meeting by an anonymous letter, which said, among other things, that Kushner had talked to Kislyak about setting up the communications channel. This week, officials who reviewed the letter and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence said the portion about the secret channel was consistent with their understanding of events.
For instance, according to those officials and the letter, Kushner conveyed to the Russians that he was aware that it would be politically sensitive to meet publicly, but it was necessary for the Trump team to be able to continue their communication with Russian government officials.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a Russian contact in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
The Post reported in April that Erik Prince, the founder of the private security firm Blackwater, now called Academi, and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met on Jan. 11 nine days before Trumps inauguration in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Video: Untangling the web of Jared Kushner
What you need to know about Jared Kushners ties to Russia. (Thomas Johnson / The Washington Post)
Short URL: http://wapo.st/2qo8qTK
Video: Russian ambassador says Kushner wanted secret channel with Kremlin
Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Trumps transition team and the Kremlin. (Alice Li, McKenna Ewen / The Washington Post)
Short URL: http://wapo.st/2qoFbQO
Two Illinois men are back in New Mexico and in a Santa Fe jail after being charged with sex crimes against a minor, stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred several years ago.
Bryan Huber, 31, is charged with first-degree criminal sexual penetration of a child under the age of 13, second-degree sexual contact with a minor, sexual exploitation of children, tampering with evidence and aggravated indecent exposure. Robert Hull, 24, is charged with criminal sexual contact.
Both men now reside in Loves Park, Ill., but were living with the alleged victims family in Edgewood at the time of the incidents. Both are big men. According to jail records, Hull is 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 310 pounds. Huber is 6-1, 387.
According to the affidavit for Hubers arrest, about a year ago New Mexico State Police received a report from police in Albany, Ore., involving a now 14-year-old girl who had written in her journal about being sexually assaulted by the men while living in New Mexico. The incidents allegedly took place between 2007, when the girl was about 5, and 2014, when she was 12.
Huber admitted to inappropriately touching the girl when he was interviewed in Illinois by a NMSP investigator, the report says. But he says the girl came on to him sexually on more than one occasion.
Huber said he couldnt remember if Hull, whom he shared a room with at the Edgewood home, was present when the girl acted out sexually, but he might have been at least once.
Asked if he had ever taken photos or videos of the girl while she was naked, Huber said the girl used his phone to take her own illicit pictures and that he had deleted them all. He told the investigators he had an addiction to child pornography at the time he lived with the girl and her family, but he threw away the phone and a computer in a dumpster somewhere between New Mexico and Illinois. Huber hasnt lived in New Mexico since 2014.
The men were arrested in Illinois by the U.S. Marshals Service on May 4 and then were extradited to New Mexico. Theyve been in the Santa Fe jail since May 7.
SANTA FE The 2018 field for state land commissioner one of the few New Mexico statewide offices currently held by a Republican is starting to fill up.
Longtime conservation advocate Garrett VeneKlasen of Santa Fe said Friday that hell seek the Democratic nomination for land commissioner next year, joining former officeholder Ray Powell of Albuquerque in the primary contest.
Incumbent Land Commissioner Aubrey Dunn, a Republican who defeated Powell in 2014, could also seek re-election to a second four-year term.
Dunn said Friday that he is still weighing his options for 2018.
VeneKlasen, executive director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation, said that if elected he would seek to expand solar energy projects in New Mexico and increase access to public lands.
Our State Land Office is leaving millions of dollars on the table by not investing more in solar energy, VeneKlasen said.
He also expressed support for earmarking more money from the states largest permanent fund for early childhood programs, an idea that has stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate in recent years.
Meanwhile, Powell said he would resume work on energy generating and transmission line projects. He previously served as land commissioner from 1993 through 2002, and again from 2011 through 2014.
The State Land Office oversees more than 9 million acres of state trust land and an even larger swath of mineral rights that are intended to help fund public schools and other beneficiaries.
Revenue from state trust land comes from oil and natural gas royalties, grazing rights and energy leases, and the land commissioner has broad authority to allow activities and authorize land swaps.
The office has been held by just three individuals in the past 24 years Powell, Dunn and Republican Pat Lyons of Cuervo.
With the 2018 race still more than a year away, Powell said he welcomes a robust field of candidates, adding, I hope by having more competition, the office will get the attention it deserves.
Copyright 2017 Albuquerque Journal
LAS VEGAS, N.M. Benjamin Bacas advanced age didnt stop him from preying on vulnerable women with mental disorders, and it didnt stop a judge from ordering him to serve prison time after he pleaded guilty to raping three victims.
On Friday, state District Judge Matthew Sandoval sentenced Baca, 76, to seven years in prison for three counts of criminal sexual penetration against three women who lived in boardinghouses in Las Vegas.
Patients released from the New Mexico Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, the only psychiatric hospital owned and operated by the state, typically move into nearby boardinghouses.
Baca was charged with six counts of criminal sexual penetration, one count of kidnapping and 6 misdemeanor charges of criminal sexual contact and indecent exposure in March 2016. In February, he pleaded guilty to three third-degree felony counts of criminal sexual penetration and faced two to seven years in prison under his plea deal.
Bacas lawyer, Michael Aragon, asked Sandoval to sentence Baca only to sex offender counseling in Santa Fe because defendants his age typically dont re-offend and because he was concerned that Baca may be victimized in prison.
But Sandoval said Baca was too dangerous and handed him the maximum seven years.
Youre a danger to the vulnerable people in this community, Sandoval said. Its disturbing that youre still out there being a predator at your age.
Prosecutor James Grayson said in court that Baca would drive past boardinghouses in his truck and bang his hand on the side of the door to get the womens attention. He would persuade them to get into the truck with the promise of cigarettes and soda, Grayson said.
Baca would then drive them to a cemetery and force them to perform oral sex on him.
One woman said she was forced into oral sex at the cemetery and at Bacas house, and another said she was forced to have intercourse, as well, Grayson said.
Crime victims usually get the chance to address the judge during sentencing hearings, but Grayson said it was too emotionally difficult for the victims to be in court Friday. The women testified at the preliminary hearing a proceeding at which evidence is presented for a judge to determine whether a case should go to trial and had a hard time with the process. Some of them required adjustments to their medications.
The victims were traumatized by the crimes, and they were traumatized by the proceedings, as well, Grayson said.
When Sandoval asked Grayson if he felt that he had done his best for the victims, Grayson said he had because he didnt want them to relive their experiences in front of a jury to get a conviction.
The emotional trauma and the emotional toll on them makes it hard for the state to prove the charges, Grayson said.
Aragon maintained that Baca isnt the predator he appears to be and said the women were consenting adults, adding that one of them had characterized Baca as her boyfriend and another admitted that she liked the attention Baca showed her.
Ben has been portrayed as a monster, Aragon said. They are adult women with adult needs and adult urges.
But Aragon expressed sympathy for the women and said he had to pull up a chair right next to them when he cross-examined them at the grueling four-hour preliminary hearing instead of asking questions from the podium.
Having to cross-examine these women was like interviewing a child, in terms of their capabilities, Aragon said.
Aragon said Baca was once a patient at the mental health institute and that he was worried about his clients competence. He said he didnt want Baca to go to prison because he may be an easy target.
My concern is this will be a life sentence, Aragon said.
SAN RAFAEL, N.M. A member of the Albuquerque police SWAT team shot and killed a murder suspect Friday night while trying to take the man into custody, according to State Police.
Hector Gamboa, a 59-year-old Grants man, was shot after a standoff with police at a home in San Rafael, which is in Cibola County about five miles southwest of Grants, State Police said in a news release. Gamboa was wanted in connection with the slaying of 54-year-old Blanca Renova, who was stabbed to death at her Albuquerque home near Central and Wyoming earlier this month.
Renovas daughter found her on May 5.
Renova on March 15 had taken out a restraining order against Gamboa, who she had said threatened her during their relationship, according to a Journal story published earlier this month. She wrote in the order that Gamboa became more aggressive in the past six months.
Im concerned for my life and my safety is at risk, Renova wrote.
Albuquerque police have said a confidential informant told police that Gamboa admitted to killing Renova as she was getting out of the shower.
State Police spokesman officer Carl Christiansen on Saturday said that the name of the officer who killed Gamboa will be released after the officer has been interviewed about the shooting.
State Police released few details about the events that led up to the shooting.
Police said only that Gamboa refused to negotiate or comply with police commands prior to the shooting, which happened at about 8:30 p.m.
On Friday morning, State Police went to the San Rafael residence after receiving a report that Gamboa was there. When the officers encountered Gamboa, he barricaded himself in the home, which led to a standoff, according to the news release.
The State Police Crisis Negotiation Team and tactical officers responded. State Police Chief Pete Kassetas also asked APD to send its SWAT team to the area, according to the news release.
Such requests are standard and necessary to assist in volatile situations, and to supplement additional needed manpower, Christiansen said in the release.
The standoff lasted more than four hours.
Police didnt say if Gamboa was armed when he was killed.
Simon Drobik, an Albuquerque police spokesman, referred all questions to State Police.
The shooting is the Albuquerque police SWAT teams first since June 2014. It was the departments fourth shooting so far this year and the second fatal shooting.
The department is in the middle of a yearslong reform effort that aims to address a pattern of excessive force within the department. Throughout the reform process, the SWAT team has received praise from officials who monitor the departments progress and report to a federal judge.
The BlackBerry KEYone broke a pre-order record at Rogers, with Steve Cistulli, President and General Manager of TCL Communication North America saying that the Canadian carrier never received more advance orders on a BlackBerry-branded device in its history. Cistullis statement was made on Friday, only a week after the KEYone became available for pre-orders in Canada, indicating that the smartphone may solidify its new record in the coming days given how its only scheduled to be released on Wednesday, May 31. The Toronto, Ontario-based mobile service provider has yet to confirm Cistullis announcement and possibly expand on it given how TCL Communications official didnt provide a specific pre-order figure for the KEYone.
Cistulli on Friday also reiterated that the BlackBerry KEYone will be released in the United States, adding that its stateside launch coincides with the Canadian one and that the handset will be carried by different retail channels. Regarding Canada specifically, Rogers is said to have already started sending shipping notifications to Canadian consumers who pre-ordered the device, meaning some of them may already receive their new BlackBerry-branded Android smartphone even prior to May 31. Telus, SakTel, Bell, and Bell MTS also confirmed that they will be selling the KEYone whose contract-free price tag amounts to $679 CAD, or approximately $505. The fact that the latest BlackBerry handset managed to break the aforementioned record indicates that the brand may be on the track to jump back from its recent issues, at least in its home country. Rogers started selling BlackBerry devices in 1999 and has carried a number of its popular models in the last 18 years, making the KEYones pre-order record all the more impressive.
Originally announced at Mobile World Congress (MWC) earlier this year, the BlackBerry KEYone boasts a 4.5-inch display panel with a resolution of 1620 by 1080 pixels due to its unconventional 3:2 aspect ratio. The device is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 system-on-chip (SoC) and 3GB of RAM, in addition to featuring 32GB of internal flash memory thats expandable by up to 1TB via a microSD card slot. The physical keyboard with an integrated fingerprint scanner is one of the main selling points of the device, as is its 3,505mAh battery. While it remains to be seen whether the KEYone manages to return the BlackBerry brand into the mainstream spotlight, an update on its commercial performance should be available shortly.
The LG V30 is slated to be announced this fall. Google has already mentioned that it will be compatible with Daydream, but now were seeing something a bit interesting about this upcoming device. According to Evleaks, the picture above is a mockup of the LG V30, which is being called Project Joan internally. Evleaks did not say much about these devices, other than the fact that he is unsure whether this project is still headed in this direction. Above, you also see how the phone looks with the secondary display being extended. Its almost like the BlackBerry PRIV but instead of a physical keyboard, theres a second display, which appears to serve the same purpose as that ticker display LG has used in the V10 and V20.
This is a mockup, so it does look fake and not a picture that was taken in the real world, but the bezels look really small on that second display. Right now it just shows some apps (which appear to be ones that the user can add, thanks to that + button in the lower-left corner), as well as upcoming calendar events. Its a pretty interesting concept from LG, but it likely wont look exactly like this when its announced. LG does tend to take more risks and add more gimmicks with their V lineup, compared to the G series. The V10 and V20 both featured a ticker display at the top, and it appears that LG is moving that towards the bottom. Allowing that second display to become an on-screen keyboard would be interesting, and it would also give you more screen real estate. Since the keyboard does typically take up about half of your display.
The LG V30 isnt expected to be announced until around September, seeing as that is when the V10 and V20 debuted in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Theres still not much to go on with this smartphone, but we do know that it will support Googles Daydream, and itll likely sport the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 since LG has not yet released a smartphone with the Snapdragon 835 inside it yet (the LG G6 sported the Snapdragon 821).
Motorolas official Power Pack Moto Mod is now available for purchase in China. It is currently listed on the official online Lenovo Store for the Chinese market and has been made available in Black color. It packs battery capacity of 2220mAh which is claimed to offer up to 18 hours of additional battery life to a Moto Z series smartphone like the Moto Z and Moto Z Play. In terms of thickness and weight, it is only 4.99mm thick which Motorola is touting as ultra-slim design and weighs 72 grams which make it one of the lightest battery backup mods out there.
In comparison, Incipios OffGrid power pack mod is 6.2mm thick and weighs 79 grams (non-wireless version) while offering the same 2220mAh capacity. This shows that Motorola has paid close attention to the mods design and weight to make it comfortable for users to hold their phones while using the mod. Interestingly, Motorolas website lists Incipios offering with up to 22 hours of battery backup despite being the same capacity as its official offering. The official Power Pack mod also features four LEDs on the bottom side of the back panel which notify the user about the battery level. When the mod is fully charged, all four LEDs are on and for each subsequent 25% drop, one LED gets turned off. Another good thing is that the mod features support for turbo fast charge which is listed as 11 W at 2.2 A by Motorola. It means you will not only get the extra charge but also at a faster rate. As for the pricing, it is listed for 499 Yuan in China which is about $73 as per the current conversion rate.
Lenovo-owned Motorola first talked about this official Power Pack Mod at MWC in Barcelona earlier this year. It announced plans to bring it to the market in March but for some unknown reasons, the availability schedule got delayed. And as the mod is now available for purchase in China, the international availability of the same can be expected sooner than later. But if you dont want to wait or are looking for a higher capacity power pack mod, you might like to check out the Mophie Juice Pack which is a 3000mAh pack for $79.99.
Nokia phones went through a rather rough period in the last six years, ever since the Finnish consumer electronics manufacturer decided to partner with Microsoft and adopt its Windows Phone platform instead of Android in 2011. The brand as a whole has been on the downward spiral in the next half a decade, even after Microsoft purchased it for $7.2 billion in 2013, only to sell its phone division to the Foxconn-owned FIH Mobile and Finnish HMD Global Oy last year. Nokias new owners are now adamant to return the brand to its former glory by doing what they likely should have done six years ago adopting the Android operating system. While skeptics may say its too late for another player to break into the increasingly saturated handset market, Nokia is seemingly unphased by those doubts and is steadily moving towards returning its devices into the public spotlight once again.
The companys post-Microsoft era and its return to the phone scene symbolically started earlier this year at the latest iteration of Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, Spain. Thats where HMD officially announced the Western release of the Nokia 6 and unveiled the Nokia 5, Nokia 3, and a refresh of its cult classic the 2000 Nokia 3310. While the companys initial product lineup is still lacking a high-end device, the phones that it chose to prioritize all boast many hallmarks of older Nokia devices that were released during the brands peak in the pre-smartphone world. Despite the fact that the Nokia 5 and Nokia 6 are selling for approximately $210 and $260, respectively, both devices boast a much more premium design and feel than their modest price tags would suggest, featuring aluminum cases and impressive camera setups that can comfortably compete with the upper mid-range segment of the market consisting of devices that are priced at twice as much as Nokias new mid-rangers.
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This value-oriented design philosophy is something that once brought the Nokia brand to the very top of the smartphone industry, with many of its devices selling north of 150 million units, and its what could propel it once again. Yes, the (smart)phone market as a whole changed in a radical manner in the last decade and Nokia is unlikely to ever overtake the likes of Samsung, Apple, and at least several other OEMs, but the sole strength of its brand coupled with its newfound focus on returning to its value-oriented roots could still be more than enough to once again turn the brand into a relevant player in the industry.
While the company chose to return to the smartphone world with the rebooted Nokia 3310 feature phone, two mid-rangers, and one entry-level Android handset in the form of the Nokia 3, HMD is already looking towards the future and reportedly developing a true high-end device thats meant to compete with the best that the handset industry has to offer. Recent reports indicate that the upcoming Nokia flagship will be powered by Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 and 8GB of RAM, meaning it should be more than capable of going head-to-head with all of its contemporaries. Additionally, HMD is currently pursuing an unconventional mobile software strategy as it opted to release its first post-Microsoft handsets with whats essentially stock Android, something that almost no other OEM is currently offering. The company is thus presently shipping devices that provide a relatively unique user experience thats rarely associated with mass-produced smartphones (with several exceptions), and will also be able to ensure that all of its handsets are updated in a timely manner, something thats currently hard to accomplish with phones running heavily modified versions of Android.
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Nokias desire to return to its roots didnt come out of nowhere, with many of HMDs current top executives and regional managers being part of the Finnish phone maker at the height of its power, including the companys Chief Executive Officer Arto Nummela. Naturally, the old leadership that oversaw Nokias once-booming business doesnt guarantee success after all, many of these people once decided to opt for Windows Phone at the expense of Android but the firms newfound focus on its core values that once led it to dominate the handset industry and its still-powerful brand are reasons enough to understand HMDs optimism. As things stand right now, Nokia is on the right track to offer a wide variety of devices that are simultaneously different and more affordable than most of their competitors and are backed by an instantly recognizable brand. Time will tell whether consumers reward that product strategy but after half a decade in industry limbo, it seems that things are finally looking up for Nokia.
YEREVAN, MAY 26, ARMENPRESS. During the meeting between Foreign Ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan Sergey Lavrov, Edward Nalbandian and Elmar Mammadyarov, on May 28 in Moscow, an agreement was reached to increase the number of international observers in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict zone up to 7, OSCE Minsk Group Russian Co-Chair Igor Popov said in an interview with the Azerbaijani APA news agency, reports Armenpress.
Agreement was reached to increase the number of international observers up to 7. Both sides support this. However, there are still some disagreements over certain details, including placing observers, financing their activities and other technical issues. At the moment the OSCE Austrian chairmanship is working with the organizations respective structures, as well as with the representatives of both sides to reach an agreement on these issues, Popov said.
The Russian Co-Chair said during the Moscow meeting no progress was achieved, however, after a long break the sides could meet again and exchange views on problematic issues and clarify each others stances.
Igor Popov informed that the Minsk Group plans to visit the region in future to discuss the further contacts between the conflicting sides.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. Davit Lokyan, minister of territorial administration and development, visited several communities of Armenias provinces to follow the nationwide community work day activities of the Clean Armenia program.
Lokyan visited Lusarat community of Ararat and the Khor Virap architectural monument complex, then visited the memorial of the fallen Yugoslav pilots, where in addition to supervising the cleaning works the minister paid tribute to the memory of the fallen pilots.
The minister visited Ashtarak, with the last leg of the trip being Kotayk.
Lokyan traveled via the Yeghvard highway en route Nor Hajn and Byureghavan, where he met locals who were taking part in the community work day, and thanked for active participation.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. PM of Armenia Karen Karapetyan attended the Level Up International Economic Conference, which is held May 26-28 in Tsakhkadzor, at the initiative of the students council of the Armenian university of economics and the Armenian Youth Foundation.
In his remarks, the PM highlighted the organization of meetings in similar platforms with the participation of students and scientists who have arrived from different countries.
In many cases, the practical result of such meetings is greater than in the process of implementing research. You have an interesting and perspective future and I want this conviction to be enhanced for you after this conference, because today the world is facing great challenges. Each era, time, has its challenges, but today these challenges are different in quality, the PM said.
According to the PM, today there are doubts regarding the administration system, and countries are facing problems, as to how to administer, what is going to be the role of the state and the society.
I believe, that is necessary to find the balanced point, where we will be sure that the state and the society will develop in the right direction. I urge you to create this kind of platform often, so you can meet and talk, 2-3 days of discussions can be equal to one year of research, he said.
Nearly 100 students and young scientists from 14 countries are participating in the conference from Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, India, Syria and others.
YEREVAN, MAY 27, ARMENPRESS. The European Union is greatly supporting the activities of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs and their latest statement, Ambassador Piotr Switalski head of the EU delegation to Armenia, said during the final event of Europe Day.
We believe that there is no military solution for this conflict, and that the status-quo can no longer be maintained. We believe that the ceasefire agreement must be respected, the Ambassador said.
Switalski mentioned that the EU is ready to provide financial support to the population after the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement.
When this conflict is settled, and when peace returns to Artsakh, the European Union is ready to support the population of this area with significant resources, he said.
The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Igor Popov of Russia, Stefan Visconti of France and Richard Hoagland of the United States, released a statement on May 18.
The statement said that according to information from various sources, Azerbaijani military opened missile fire on May 15 across the line of contact, striking military equipment of Artsakh.
The Air Force has reversed its plan to retire the A-10 and now says all 283 Warthogs have a productive future. The 2018 budget plan sent to Congress this week says the iconic close support aircraft will be in the fleet for the foreseeable future, according to The Associated Press. All the A-10s were supposed to be parked in the desert by now as the Air Force prepared to deploy the F-35 to replace it and almost every other aircraft in the inventory. Warthog fans in the Air Force and in government have kept them flying for the last six years and now the immediate future of the 1970s-era aircraft appears secure.
Among the champions of the A-10 were Arizona Republicans Sen. John McCain and Rep. Martha McSally, who have political reasons for their stance since some are based at Davis-Monthan in their home state. But McSally is a former Warthog pilot who caught the ear of Commander-In-Chief Donald Trump with a succinct description that might have appealed to the action-oriented President. The A-10 is this badass airplane with a big gun on it, she is quoted as telling Trump. A-10s are in combat in Syria with the big gun, a seven-barrel Gatling gun whose distinctive ripping sound is unwelcome to any opposing ground force.
The escalating crisis surrounding the Russia investigation (with reports last night on FBI interest in Jared Kushner) looks like good news for somebody in the White House: Steve Bannon.
Nine sources in the West Wing and within Trump's close orbit said the Russia situation is Bannon's shot at redemption. He's being described as a "wartime consigliere" relishing a fight against the "deep state," media, Democrats and investigators.
Why it matters: Bannon had been on very rocky footing recently (to the extent that the President has vented to a number of people about him), but the bolstering of the White House team to respond to the outside crises is a joint effort led by Kushner, Bannon and Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, two sources said. The senior staff that had been out for each other is now united by a common enemy.
"It is now very clear that there is a unified opponent and that's ultimately the swamp, both with regard to the deep state leakers, to the partisan opponents and the people who just don't want to give up their power. That includes the media," said one source close to the process. "Obviously you want it [unity] under different circumstances but it's really united this team and helped bring clarity to their focus."
The proposed war room (the planning for which Mike Allen scooped yesterday) is not currently conceived as being about replacing current staff but adding "experienced veterans from the campaign trail who recognize the gravity of the situation," the source added.
Why some Bannon allies say he's made for this crisis:
"Steve is super savvy dealing with the media and dealing with crises," says Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy, a friend of Trump's.
Bannon, who declined to comment for this story, played a key role during the tensest moments of the Trump campaign (see: "Access Hollywood" tape).
He's skilled at misdirection and deflection. Along with his street fighter ally from the campaign, David Bossie who is now under serious consideration to join the White House communications team Bannon deployed scorched-earth tactics against Hillary Clinton like staging the famous press conference with the women who'd accused Bill Clinton of sexual assault.
At Breitbart he ran a 24/7 war against the mainstream media one of the two identified enemies for Trump currently (the other is the "deep state," which the team expects will keep leaking against Trump).
Side note: As Politico's Ben Schreckinger reported, Bannon teamed up with former Fox News boss Roger Ailes to discredit the work of journalist Gabe Sherman, who wrote an unflattering book about Ailes. The scene reads a lot like a war-room: "In the weeks before the release of Sherman's biography, 2014's "The Loudest Voice in the Room," Bannon huddled inside a Fox News conference room with Ailes, Ailes' personal attorney Peter Johnson Jr., pollster Pat Caddell and former Fox journalist Peter Boyer to discuss discrediting the book...True to form, Bannon advocated an all-out "go to war" approach during these sessions..."
Dissenting view: Roger Stone, who has known Trump since the late 1970s and been a political advisor, believes Bannon is the problem not the solution. "Steve doesn't do anything. I question his competence. I don't question his intelligence," Stone said. "Stephen K. Bannon talks a good game but never does anything ... the man has no political accomplishments, or as Donald Trump said to me, 'what did he do in the campaign?'"
The hottest topic among top White House officials is the FBI's interest in Jared Kushner, the closest adviser and son-in-law of the President. The Washington Post report that Kushner discussed "a secret and secure communications channel between Trump's transition team and the Kremlin" is something from a Clancy novel.
Why it matters: He did it, knowing the world suspected Russia of helping tilt the election to his father-in-law.
Deets from N.Y. Times, which follows The Post and also makes it the paper's lead story: "The [December] conversation between Mr. Kushner and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, took place during a meeting at Trump Tower that Mr. Trump's presidential transition team did not acknowledge at the time. Also present at the meeting was Michael T. Flynn."
"It is unclear who first proposed the communications channel, but the people familiar with the meeting said the idea was to have Mr. Flynn speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues. The communications channel was never set up."
Sound smart: A hot theory is that Trump can't clean house because those inside know too much to be let go, and outsiders (beyond old campaign hands) can't be trusted with what they'd learn.
Jared Kushner had at least three undisclosed calls with Russian Ambassador Sergei Kislyak during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, seven current and former U.S. officials tell Reuters. Two of these calls occurred between April and November last year. Kushner's lawyer, Jamie Gorelick said Kushner had "no recollection" of the calls. The FBI declined to comment to Reuters and the Russian Embassy said it is policy to not comment on diplomatic contacts.
Why it matters: Reuters, citing a current U.S. official, says the FBI is looking into "whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions would allow Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump."
The Washington Post reports that Jared Kushner wanted to set up a secret communications channel between President Trump's transition team and the Kremlin that would be free of monitoring. He wanted the secret channel to discuss policy issues and Syria with Russia, according to three officials who spoke with the NYT.
What we know: Kushner requested on Dec. 1 or 2 that the secret channel be set up during a meeting with Kislyak at Trump Tower a meeting also attended by Michael Flynn, Trump's first national security adviser. Kushner wanted to use Russian diplomatic facilities for the proposed meetings. They also discussed setting up a meeting between a Trump associate and a Russian contact in a third country.
Update: Once Rex Tillerson was confirmed as Secretary of State, Trump's team felt there was no need for a backchannel, per an AP report, which confirmed Kushner made the request. The AP, like the NYT, reports that the channel was meant to connect Flynn with military leaders.
Why it matters: The revelation comes at a time when the FBI and DOJ are conducting an ongoing investigation into Russia's election meddling and any collusion between Russian officials and Trump team members.
Some officials said the request showed a "staggering naivete," as WashPost put it. The White House and Flynn lawyer Robert Kelner, declined to comment to the Post, while the Russian embassy didn't respond to requests for comment.
Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak told his superiors in Moscow about the request and was "taken aback" by the proposal, since it would pose a security risk for Russia and Trump's team, per WashPost
Worth noting:
Trumpland escaped the swamp and went global this week. POTUS is wrapping up his big foreign trip that's encompassed nine days, five countries, three major world religions, and two key alliances. It's been a really busy week, especially if you haven't been able to catch up on your favorite cable news! So take our hand don't swat it away for the highlights of the White House's week abroad.
Saudi Arabia: POTUS became the first president to kick off his first foreign trip with a stop in the Middle East. His Saudi stop was mostly built around a surprisingly subdued speech to the Muslim world about combatting extremism, but he told the heads of the EU later in the week that his time there was "beyond anything anyone's ever seen." And that's true. He bowed to the king for a necklace! He sword danced! He put his hands on an orb! It was pretty meme-worthy even for Trumpland.
Israel: Built around the dream deal of "trying hard for PEACE," POTUS spent his time in Jerusalem with a quick jump to Bethlehem to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Still, this stop seemed designed to foster the budding bromance between POTUS and his best foreign pal, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu except it was a little awkward after Trump's disclosure of Israeli ISIS intel to Russians in the Oval Office. Then POTUS seemingly confirmed it all to the international press in front of Bibi. Could it really be a week in Trumpland without a minor international incident?
Vatican City: After POTUS called Pope Francis "disgusting" on Facebook during the campaign last year, speculation swirled that their meeting could be an awkward one. The pictures were a little awkward but things seemed to go pretty well overall. Then the most heartbreaking news of the week: devout Catholic Sean Spicer had been kept out of the papal audience.
Belgium: POTUS got a little testy with NATO, publicly calling out 23 of our 28 closest allies for not paying their share into the military alliance then, controversially failing to explicitly endorse its collective defense pact. (Don't worry: Sean Spicer said he "wasn't being cutesy.") There was not one but two awkward Emmanuel Macron encounters. And a kinda-shove of the Prime Minister of Montenegro. And a serious Germany diss. NATO is far from obsolete in Trumpland when it can generate headlines like that!
Italy: Trumpland's trip to the G7 summit the cool kids of liberal democracies was kept mostly under wraps as the leaders kept their negotiations to themselves. The big stuff: talking North Korea with Japan's Shinzo Abe, upping a post-Brexit trade deal with the U.K.'s Theresa May, and being the odd one out on climate change. One thing everyone agreed on? Russia's still not welcome at the table as long as it stays in Crimea
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27 May 2017 10:15 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
The level of IT risk management in Azerbaijani banks and companies is not at high enough, Director of Information Security Service at Growth Trend Partners Ilgar Aliyev told a conference in Baku dedicated to cyber security in banking and financial markets.
The main reason for this is non-compliance with the five main factors of IT risk management, he said May 26.
Aliyev said successful IT risk management requires connection between IT risk management and business drivers, integration and connection with electronic risk management, balance between costs and profit in risk management, senior managements responsibility, and application of IT risk management in everyday activities of a company.
He also noted that for a successful risk management it is necessary to change everyones personal attitude towards IT risk management.
More than 70 percent of successful attacks on information systems are phishing attacks, which directly depends on the attitude towards safety, Aliyev said.
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27 May 2017 11:08 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
The prices on land plots decreased in Baku in April, Nusrat Ibrahimov, director general of the MBA Group consulting company, real estate expert, told Trend May 26.
He added that the price on land plots decreased by 3.14 percent.
Ibrahimov said that activity on the land market has greatly decreased in the past months.
"The prices on land plots usually increase in April-May, but now we are witnessing an opposite trend, the expert said. This is connected with a decrease in private housing construction."
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27 May 2017 11:53 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Azerbaijans Trade House in Belarus is contributing to diversification of trade between the countries, Azerbaijani Economy Minister Shahin Mustafayev said.
Mustafayev made the remarks during the opening of Azerbaijans Trade House in Minsk May 26.
Opening of Azerbaijans Trade House in Minsk is an important event that caused great interest among Belarusian entrepreneurs as its main goal is to promote the Made in Azerbaijan brand, promote export, expand and develop bilateral cooperation, Mustafayev said.
He added that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Belarus increased by 33 percent in 2016 and by more than 40 percent in the first four months of 2017.
Today, the Azerbaijan-Belarus ties are at a high level, Mustafayev said. The friendly relations between the Azerbaijani and Belarusian presidents give those ties a powerful impetus. Azerbaijani and Belarusian people have sincere and friendly relations.
The minister said that the initiative to open the Trade House was put forward at the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Belarusian presidents in November 2016.
Great job was done, several visits were made, the Azerbaijani-Belarusian business forum was organized and a place for the location of Azerbaijans Trade House was chosen for such a short period, he added. As a result, today we have gathered for the opening ceremony of this Trade House.
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27 May 2017 12:28 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Australian city of Perth hosted a presentation of Azerbaijans economic and investment opportunities.
During the presentation, organized for Australian entrepreneurs by Azerbaijans Honorary Consulate in Perth, Honorary Consul of Azerbaijan Aydan Rzayeva spoke about the rapid growth of the Azerbaijani economy in recent years, the projects implemented in the country, as well as Azerbaijans investment attractiveness, a source in Azerbaijani Parliament told Trend.
In particular, information was provided on the implementation of projects to develop energy resources, the Southern Gas Corridor project, as well as transportation projects, including the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. It was noted that the development of the non-oil sector of economy, agriculture, manufacture of export-oriented products are among the main priorities of Azerbaijan.
Head of the Azerbaijan-Australia friendship group John Hammond provided information about modern Azerbaijan, its values of multiculturalism and tolerance. He noted that Azerbaijan has become a center for discussion of the problems of the modern world.
It was also announced that in October, Baku will host an Australia-Azerbaijan business forum.
The presentation was attended by more than 60 representatives of various Australian companies engaged in agriculture, dairy and livestock sectors.
Representatives of oil and gas, transportation and tourism companies also attended the event.
The presentation of Azerbaijans economic potential caused great interest among the participants, and many of them expressed desire to take part in the Australia-Azerbaijan business forum in Baku.
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28 May 2017 00:01 (UTC+04:00)
By Amina Nazarli
"Once raised flag never falls!" was the motto of glorious independence movement in Azerbaijan in the beginning of the 20th century, which proclaimed the establishment of Azerbaijani Democratic Republic.
The words written gold in the national history by Mammad Amin Rasulzade, brightest and most prominent political figure of the time, were the major slogan while declaring Azerbaijan's independence on May 28, 1918.
On this day a temporary National Council of plenipotentiary representatives of the Azerbaijani people -- the true elite of the nation, was formed in Tiflis. It was the council headed by Rasulzade.
This historic day entered the history of the Azerbaijani people as a big and significant event. The Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR), which established the first democratic, legal and secular state in the East, including the Turkic-Islamic world and in the Caucasus as a whole declaring the nations independence, demonstrated people's aspirations for independence.
The Azerbaijani People's Republic did not lag behind the traditional democratic republics of Europe in terms of its political system, the measures taken for the democratic state structure, as well as its goals and objectives.
The establishment of the ADR played an exceptional role in the subsequent approval of the country in the international arena. The leaders of the ADR not only proclaimed the independence of their homeland, but also managed to turn it into one of the recognized figures of the political world order.
The Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, throughout its activities, including during the uninterrupted 17-month operation, with its experience in the construction of an independent state, adopted by highly qualified legislative acts and decisions, left a deep and rich trace in the history of Azerbaijani statehood and, especially in the Parliamentary culture of the people.
The role of the ADR in the history of the statehood and socio-political thought of people is invaluable. The measures undertaken by the state for a short period left a large footprint in the history of the nation.
All citizens of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, regardless of their ethnic and religious affiliation, were granted the right to vote. Thus, women gained suffrage for the first time in the Islamic world.
Although the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic lasted only 23 months, it proved that even the most brutal colonial regimes and repressions are not able to destroy the ideals of freedom and the tradition of state independence of the Azerbaijani people.
The Parliament of Azerbaijan conducted activities in a very complicated internal and international historical situation.
To prevent the approaching danger of foreign intervention, the government and the parliament of the ADR did a great job in order to achieve international recognition of the young republic by other states, including the great world powers. In this regard, the Parliament decided to send a special delegation headed by the Chairman of the Parliament Topchubashev, to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
A delegation of the best representatives of intelligentsia of the time included Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Alimardan bey Topchubashev, Fatali Khan Khoyski, Samad bey Mehmandarov and others. They devoted their lives to establish and immortalize the first independent republic.
ADR leaders played very important role in the foundation of ADR and in Azerbaijans history, some of them were killed, forced to emigrate and punished in many different ways for dedicating their lives to the idea of free, secular, democratic and independent Azerbaijan.
Mammad Amin Rasulzade
Mammad Amin Rasulzade, famous Azerbaijan statesman and public figure is one of the founding political leaders of the First Azerbaijani Republic. It was Rasulzade who took an active part in the formation of Democratic Republic and was its ideologist. Exactly during the existence of Democratic Republic national Army was established in Azerbaijan. Rasulzade was also involved in the establishment of the State University in Baku in 1919.
In August 1920, Rasulzade was arrested by the Soviets. It was only due to his earlier support of Stalin that Rasulzade was released and taken from Baku. For the next two years Rasulzade worked as the press representative at the Commissioner on Nations in Moscow. He was seconded to Finland. For the rest of his life, Rasulzade lived in an exile in Poland, Romania and finally after World War II in Ankara, Turkey.
Mammad Amin lived far from his native land, but his soul was always dedicated to his Motherland. Even last word of Rasulzade was: Azerbaijan, which he repeated three times.
Fatali khan Khoysky
The first prime minister and one of the founders of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic, Fatali khan Khoysky made an immeasurable contribution to the formation and recognition of Azerbaijani statehood.
The paramount importance for him was the issue of preserving the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. At the time the main danger came from neighboring Armenia. He was against interference of other states in the affairs of sovereign Azerbaijan.
Subsequently, while holding the posts of the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs or simply an MP, Fatali khan directed all his forces to repulse the Armenian aggression and eliminate its consequences.
After the fall of the ADR and the establishment of Soviet power in Azerbaijan on April 28, 1920, Khoysky was forced to move to Tiflis, where he was killed by Armenians.
Khoysky lived a short but bright life. He was one of the creators of the state, and the existence of today's Azerbaijan Republic was made possible by the activities of this great personality.
Alimardan bey Topchubashev
Alimardan bey Topchubashev was an outstanding public and state figure. He became well-known as the editor-in-chief of Kaspi newspaper, which was of one of the largest local publications. Then he was elected to the City Duma (Municipal Parliament of Baku).
In early 1919, the official delegation from the Republic of Azerbaijan headed by Topchubashov left for Paris to participate in the Versailles Peace Conference held at the end of World War I. There he played an enormous role in the de-facto Azerbaijani Republic by the Council of Allied Powers in January 1920. However, few months later the communist army took over in Baku, and Topchubashov was never able to return to Azerbaijan. He died on November 8, 1934 in Paris.
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27 May 2017 10:54 (UTC+04:00)
The Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United Kingdom has organized an official reception to celebrate the Republic Day and the Armed Forces Day.
The 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Azerbaijan and the UK was also marked as part of the event, Azertac reported.
Co-chair of the Anglo-Azerbaijani Society, Rector of the Baku branch of Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov, professor Nargiz Pashayeva attended the event.
The reception brought together nearly 300 participants, including the British government and state officials, representatives of the diplomatic corps accredited in London, local public, and members of the Azerbaijani and Turkish communities.
Azerbaijani violinist Nazrin Rashidova first performed Azerbaijan's and UK's national anthems.
Addressing the event, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the UK Tahir Taghizade expressed his condolences to the relatives of the victims of recent terrorist attack in Manchester.
The Ambassador then highlighted the history of the establishment of the first democratic Republic in the East. Ambassador Taghizade hailed the Azerbaijan-UK bilateral relations and reciprocal official visits. He expressed his gratitude to the co-chairs of the Anglo-Azerbaijani Society Nargiz Pashayeva and Lord German for the activities of the Nizami Ganjavi Scientific Centre at the Oxford University and for the establishment of the British Foundation for the Study of Azerbaijan and the Caucasus.
In her remarks, British Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan Baroness Emma Nicholson highlighted her visit to Azerbaijan. She hailed the Azerbaijani music and the hospitality of the Azerbaijani people, saying she learned a lot about the history and culture of the country during her visit.
Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Michael Tatham thanked President Ilham Aliyev and the people of Azerbaijan for the condolences and solidarity messages over the tragic events committed in Manchester. He described Britain as one of the biggest investors in Azerbaijan. Mr Tatham underlined British companies' interest in operating in Azerbaijan. Michael Tatham hailed the great potential for further development of bilateral relations, saying the British government is keen to enhance ties with Azerbaijan.
The event participants then viewed the Azerbaijani stand which demonstrated the books and magazines highlighting the socio-economic development and tourism potential of the country.
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27 May 2017 10:45 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Other countries have interests regarding Azerbaijan and, naturally, there are spies in the country, Head of Azerbaijans State Security Service Lieutenant-General Madat Guliyev told reporters in Baku May 27.
Guliyev added that the State Security Service neutralizes the spies.
He was commenting on the detention of a group of individuals engaged in espionage in Azerbaijan.
We directed the information on the espionage network to Azerbaijans Defense Ministry, he said, adding the Defense Ministry carried out an operation to detain the espionage network members on the instruction of Azerbaijani president.
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27 May 2017 15:14 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Azerbaijans State Security Service held a march dedicated to the May 28 Republic Day.
Head of the State Security Service Lieutenant-General Madat Guliyev, Head of the State Border Service Colonel-General Elchin Guliyev, representatives of public and media took part in the march held in Baku.
The march, which started at the National Flag Square, ended near a clock tower in the National Seaside Park.
The participants of the march were presented diplomas.
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27 May 2017 17:33 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov met the leaders of religious communities of US, as part of his visit to New York, Azertac reported.
Mr. Mammadyarov spoke of tolerant and multicultural environment in Azerbaijan, stressing that, from ancient times the representatives of various faiths lived in peace and tranquility in the country. The minister also highlighted global inter-religious and intercultural dialogue forums held in Azerbaijan, saying that, Baku hosted the VII Global Forum on UN Alliance of Civilizations.
Then, Elmar Mammadyarov held meetings with the members of American Jewish Organization, Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. The meetings hailed the development of high-level relations between Azerbaijan and American Jewish organizations.
The minister also emphasized that, Azerbaijani government pays special attention to the promotion of tolerance and multiculturalism, recalling that 2016 has been declared the "Year of Multiculturalism", while 2017 the 'Year of the Islamic Solidarity'.
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27 May 2017 18:00 (UTC+04:00)
An Azerbaijani delegation led by First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ziyafat Asgarov has participated the meeting of defense and security committee as part of the NATO PAs Spring Session in Tbilisi, Georgia, Azertac reported.
Member of the Parliament Siyavush Novruzov, in his speech, said Azerbaijani state supports Georgia`s integration to Europe and NATO. 20 per cent of Azerbaijan`s territories were occupied by Armenia. The region is under threat, he added, stressing the importance of restoring the peace and stability in the region.
This is only the fifth time in its six-decade history that NATO PA has held a session in a country outside the trans-Atlantic Alliance.
The four-day NATO PA meeting opened a day after Alliance leaders held a summit in Brussels which stressed unity in the struggle against terrorism and highlighted the need for Allied nations to boost military capabilities to better share the security burden. Both issues are high on the agenda of the Assemblys session.
More than 200 lawmakers from parliaments of NATO Allies and 21 partner countries attended the meeting in Tbilisi. Other issues on the agenda included security challenges in the Arctic; the humanitarian and security implications of the war in Syria; and ballistic missile defence.
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27 May 2017 10:43 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
A business forum organized by the chambers of commerce and industry of Turkmenistan and Belarus has been held in Ashgabat, the Embassy of Belarus in Turkmenistan said in a message May 26.
The forum participants discussed development of bilateral cooperation at the level of business circles, including the supply chains, logistics and financing, the message said.
Ambassador of Belarus to Turkmenistan Oleg Tabanyukhov in his speech at the forum drew attention to the efforts of the Turkmen and Belarusian presidents aimed at creating a favorable environment for the two countries entrepreneurs.
About two dozen large enterprises and companies of Belarus took part in the forum.
Belarus offered its services in the supply of high-technology equipments and organization of their production, and expressed interest in Turkmen textile, agricultural and industrial products, and deepening cooperation in the manufacture of food products.
The sides also discussed the possibility of supplying railway rolling stock, agricultural and road machinery.
The two countries also discussed cooperation in establishing production of high-technology lighting equipment, as well as partnership in the field of printing.
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27 May 2017 09:55 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Azerbaijan has condemned the May 26 terrorist attack in Egypt.
We condemn the terror attack in Egypt and extend our condolences to families of victims and Egyptian people, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry tweeted May 26.
Gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in southern Egypt May 26, killing 28 people and wounding 24, with many children among the victims, Reuters reported citing Egyptian Health Ministry officials.
The attack, which Egypt's Muslim leaders condemned, happened 15 km from the monastery.
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27 May 2017 11:31 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
The Turkish delegation will hold talks with the Russian agriculture watchdog (Rosselkhoznadzor) on June 13 in Moscow, the parties will discuss veterinary and phytosanitary issues, the regulator said in a statement, TASS reported.
"According to the preliminary agreement, on June 13, on the first day of the visit, the Rosselkhoznadzor will hold talks with the Turkish party in Moscow to discuss the most relevant aspects cooperation in the field of veterinary and phytosanitary," the report said.
After the meeting, the Turkish inspectors will inspect Russian meat production enterprises located in the Bryansk, Orenburg and Moscow regions.
Earlier, Russias Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev told TASS that lifting of the embargo on the supply of Turkish vegetables should be discussed simultaneously with the removal of restrictions on dairy and meat products from Russia.
On May 3, 2017, presidents of Russian and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to cancel a range of restrictive measures on almost all positions, excluding tomatoes.
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27 May 2017 13:00 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
Russian-Turkmen relations are of a strategic nature, Chairperson of the Federation Council (upper house) of Russias Federal Assembly Valentina Matviyenko said at a meeting with Chairman of the Turkmen Parliamentary Committee on Legislation and its Norms Serdar Berdimuhamedov, said the press release of the Russian Federation Council.
The meeting was held within the framework of the 8th Nevsky International Ecological Congress, which took place in St. Petersburg May 25-26.
We are interested in building up regional cooperation with Turkmenistan, said Matviyenko, who is also Chairperson of the Council of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States (IPA CIS).
The Turkmen side was invited to think about the countrys membership in the IPA CIS.
Particular attention within the assembly was paid to the positive experience of drafting model laws, the majority of which are actively used in national legislation of different countries.
Matviyenko invited the delegation of Turkmenistan to participate in the activities of the 137th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to be held October 14-18 in Russias St. Petersburg, and consider the possibility of joining this organization.
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27 May 2017 15:44 (UTC+04:00)
By Trend
The 49th session of the Ad Hoc Working Group for development of a convention on the Caspian Seas legal status is scheduled to be held June 1-2 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, the Turkmen government said in a message May 27.
The session will be held at the level of deputy foreign ministers of the Caspian states.
Earlier, such important documents as the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea and the Agreement on Security Cooperation in the Caspian Sea were signed.
The Caspian littoral states Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Iran signed the Framework Convention for Protection of the Marine Environment of the Caspian Sea in November 2003.
Russia and Kazakhstan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights for subsoil use in July 1998. The two countries signed a protocol to the agreement in May 2002.
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan signed an agreement on the delimitation of the Caspian Sea and a protocol to it on Nov. 29, 2001 and Feb. 27, 2003, respectively.
Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Russia signed an agreement on the delimitation of adjacent sections of the Caspian Sea on May 14, 2003.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: In Atlanta, Rennie Sloan, rennie.sloan@cartercenter.org
In Monrovia, Liberia, Janice Cooper, janice.cooper@cartercenter.org
ATLANTAThe Carter Center congratulates Liberia on the passage of its first law to improve health care for people with mental illnesses and prevent discrimination against them.
The bill passed by the Liberia House of Representatives on May 24 protects people living with mental health disorders from discrimination and will give access to quality mental health care in all 15 counties. The bill, which becomes law upon the president's signature, also establishes, for the first time, oversight of mental health care through the Ministry of Health and creates a national advisory body on mental health issues. The Mental Health Act also protects the property of people with mental health conditions. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is expected to sign it.
"The impact of this Mental Health Act to improve the health and lives of Liberians cannot be overstated, said former U.S. First Lady and Carter Center Co-founder Rosalynn Carter. We have been honored to work closely with the Ministry of Health and our partners since 2010 to bolster the capacity of the health care professionals to address mental health issues.
Previously, this nation of 4.3 million had one psychiatrist and a handful of mental health nurses to meet the needs of at least 300,000 Liberians suffering from mental illnesses. Now it has two psychiatrists and 206 mental health clinicians working in health and mental health settings and in communities throughout the country. Since 2012, when a group of stakeholders met to draft the bill, advocates have been pushing for its passage. Recently when the bill came before the Senate, the country's chief medical officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, health care leaders, professionals, advocates, and mental health service users testified urging its passage. President Sirleaf has repeatedly called on the Legislature to send her a mental health bill.
Since 2010, The Carter Center has worked with partners to train mental health clinicians to establish new services in communities. Clinicians have opened 14 clinical practices in prison systems, trained nurse midwives to screen for maternal depression, treated refugees from the Ivory Coast conflict, supported the nation's first mental health consumer organization, worked in Ebola Treatment Units (ETUs), and provided psychosocial supports to individuals and families affected by the Ebola virus. Two classes of graduates specialized in child and adolescent mental health for Liberian youth, and seven schools now have clinicians in their clinics or have regular visits by mental health clinicians.
Editor's Note: Learn more about the Carter Center's mental health work in Liberia >
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"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 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.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Deanna.Congileo@cartercenter.org
Rosalynn and I are saddened by the death of Zbigniew Brzezinski. He was an important part of our lives for more than four decades and was a superb public servant.
Having studied Zbigs impressive background and his scholarly and political writings, I called on him to advise me on foreign policy issues during my first presidential campaign. I liked him immediately, and we developed an excellent personal relationship. He was inquisitive, innovative, and a natural choice as my national security advisor when I became president. He helped me set vital foreign policy goals, was a source of stimulation for the departments of defense and state, and everyone valued his opinion. He played an essential role in all the key foreign policy events of my administration, including normalization of relations with China, signing of the SALT II treaty, brokering the Camp David Accords, and the Panama Canal treaties, among others. He was brilliant, dedicated, and loyal, and remained a close advisor to my work at The Carter Center. I will miss him.
We send our deepest sympathy to Zbigs family during this time of loss.
VeriFone Systems, Inc. provides payments and commerce solutions at the point of sale (POS) worldwide. It offers countertop solutions that accept payment options, including contactless, NFC, mobile wallets, and EMV; PIN pads that support credit and debit card, EBT, EMV, and other PIN-based transactions; and multilane consumer facing commerce devices. It also provides portable payment devices, including small, portable, and handheld devices that enable merchants to accept electronic payments wherever wireless connectivity is available; and mobile solutions that attach to and interface with iOS or Android based smartphones and tablets. In addition, it offers integrated electronic payment systems that combine electronic payment processing, fuel dispensing, and ECR functions, as well as secure payment systems for integration with petroleum pump controllers; unattended and self-service payment solutions designed to enable payment transactions in self-service, high-transaction volume, and public transportation environments; and network access solutions. Further, it provides installation, deployment, training, and application development and delivery solutions; project management, client education program, and consulting services; helpdesk support, equipment repair and maintenance, and software post-contract support services; and application libraries and development tools. Additionally, it offers omnichannel commerce, terminal management, and security solutions; and cloud-based managed, transaction payment, and other value added services. It sells its products directly; and through third party and channel partners. It serves financial institutions, payment processors, government organizations, and retailers; petroleum, transportation, and healthcare companies; and quick service restaurants. The company was formerly known as VeriFone Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to VeriFone Systems, Inc. in May 2010. VeriFone Systems, Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.
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Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc..
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Genesee & Wyoming Inc. owns and leases freight railroads. It operates through three segments: North American Operations, Australian Operations, and U.K./European Operations. The company transports various commodities, including agricultural products, autos and auto parts, chemicals and plastics, coal and coke, food and kindred products, lumber and forest products, metallic ores, metals, minerals and stone, petroleum products, pulp and paper, waste, and other commodities. It owns or leases 122 freight railroads, including 105 short line railroads and 2 regional freight railroads located in the United States, 8 short line railroads located in Canada, 3 railroads located in Australia, 1 railroad located in the United Kingdom, 1 railroad in Poland and Germany, and 2 railroads in the Netherlands with a total of approximately 16,200 miles of track. The company also operates 6,200 additional miles of track that is owned or leased by others. In addition, it operates deep sea maritime containers and provides bulk haulage, including coal, aggregates, cement, and infrastructure services. Further, the company provides rail service at approximately 40 ports; rail-ferry service in North America, Australia, and Europe; and contract coal loading and railcar switching for industrial customers. Genesee & Wyoming Inc. was founded in 1899 and is headquartered in Darien, Connecticut.
Grief and rage in Egyptian church after the massacre of Christian pilgrims
Thousands of Christians, weeping and praying, gathered at a church in a small southern Egyptian village to mourn seven of their community who were among the more than two dozen Christians shot dead by unidentified gunmen earlier on Friday.
Their grief quickly turned to anger as funeral prayers at the Church of the Sacred Family in the village of Dayr Jarnous became a protest march with young men chanting as they carried a large wooden cross.
'With blood and soul, we will defend you, oh cross!' they yelled. 'We will avenge them or die like them,' they said. 'There is no god but God and the Messiah is God!'
Gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians traveling to a monastery in central Egypt on Friday, killing at least 29 people and wounding 24, with many children among the victims.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack, which came on the eve of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. It followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against Copts.
Eyewitnesses said three vehicles were attacked. A bus and a car transporting children and families to the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor were the initial targets.
The gunmen fired at the windows then boarded the vehicles, shooting dead all the men and firing at the feet of the women and children. They also took all the gold the women were carrying, eyewitnesses said. Some children were killed.
When one of the gunmen's vehicles had a flat tire, they stopped a truck carrying Christian workers, shot them and took their truck.
One of the gunmen had a camera, eyewitnesses said, indicating that the group behind the shootings might release footage of the attack in the future.
'They will go to hell'
Safwat Bushra, an eyewitness from Edwa a small town which like Dayr Jarnous lies in the province of Minya that is home to a sizable Christian minority said he saw the shooting from the road where he was driving that morning.
He told Reuters that police at a checkpoint near the incident did not rush in to fight the gunmen and also did not allow an ambulance past the checkpoint.
'The officers and policemen at the checkpoints are known to have Islamist sympathies. Or at least they hate Copts,' he said inside the church. Bushra was so enraged he had to be told by priests to calm down or leave.
A three-year-old and a four-year-old were killed, Bushra added.
Seven of the 29 Christians killed came from Dayr Jarnous. Bishop Agathon, Bishop of the Maghagha and Edwa Diocese, led the funeral prayers which were spoken in Coptic, the last living descendant of the ancient Egyptian language.
Women dressed in black wept and wailed, some even slapped themselves on the face. One woman whose father was killed had a breakdown and had to be carried away from the church by others.
Even the boy and girl scouts charged with organising the prayers and responsible for internal security in the church were crying.
'Did they deserve this? They were just going to work and then were killed,' said one crying woman, who did not give her name, referring to the Christian workers.
'God will avenge us. We will not do anything violent because we are Christians and love is in our hearts. It is enough that they will go to hell,' she said.
Iraqi forces begin last battle for Mosul as population starves
Iraqi armed forces launched an operation on Saturday to capture the last Islamic State-held enclave in Mosul, according to a military statement.
The Iraqi air force dropped leaflets on Friday urging residents in the Islamic State-held Old City center of Mosul to flee, raising fears among humanitarian groups for the safety of desperate civilians there.
The leaflet drop, announced in an Iraqi military statement, signaled that the decisive offensive to dislodge the militants from their remaining enclave in the northern Iraqi city was imminent.
The US-backed offensive on Mosul, now in its eighth month, has taken longer than planned as the militants are dug in among civilians, fighting back with booby traps, suicide cars and motor-bikes, snipers and mortar fire.
Civilians trapped behind Islamic State lines face a harrowing situation with little food and water, no electricity and limited access to hospitals.
'Iraqi air force planes dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets a short while ago on the non-liberated areas...urging citizens to exit through safe corridors,' an Iraqi military statement said.
A resident in Farouq, an Old City neighborhood, sounded desperate in a telephone interview. 'We're waiting for death at any moment, either by bombing or starving,' he said, asking not to be identified for his safety. 'Adults eat one meal a day, either flour or lentil soup.'
The humanitarian group Oxfam said the leaflets suggested that the Iraqi forces' move on the Old City in Mosul 'is imminent ... This could involve an official announcement from the military in the coming days.'
'Save the Children is deeply concerned that any calls to leave west Mosul will mean that civilians, particularly children, are in significant danger of being caught in the crossfire,' another aid organisation said in a statement.
The militants have laid sheets of corrugated metal over pebbles in the alleys as an early warning system, residents said. The grinding noise produced by treading on it would alert them to any troop movements or civilians trying to escape.
The United Nations last week said up to 200,000 more people could flee Mosul as fighting moves to the Old City.
Residents said millet, usually used as bird feed, is being baked like rice as food prices increased tenfold. People were seen collecting wild mallow plants in abandoned lots and also eating mulberry leaves and other types of plants.
About 700,000, about a third of the pre-war city's population, have already fled, seeking refuge either with friends and relatives or in camps.
Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had initially hoped Mosul would be retaken by the end of 2016.
The fall of Mosul would mark the end of Iraqi half of the 'caliphate' declared nearly three years ago by Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, which also covers parts of Syria.
Iraqi military commanders had expressed hope of taking control of the Old City's Grand al-Nuri mosque, from which Baghdadi declared the caliphate, before the fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on Saturday or Sunday in Iraq.
Iraqi forces launch operation to seize last Islamic State enclave in Mosul
G7 leaders turn gaze to Africa, climate harmony elusive
The insurgency is expected to continue in the sparsely populated desert region along the Syrian border even if Mosul is fully captured.
Iranian-backed Shi'ite paramilitary forces are fighting Islamic State in that part of the country where Baghdadi is believed to be hiding, according to US and Iraqi officials.
The Iraqi Shi'ite paramilitary force, known as Popular Mobilisation, is theoretically under Abadi's command.
On Friday, it announced it had captured the Sinjar military base, cutting the road between two cities that remain under Islamic State control west of Mosul, Tal Afar and Baaj, and getting closer to the Syrian border.
Iraq's Shi'ite-led government is aiming to control the border in coordination with the Iranian-backed army of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Linking up the two sides would give Assad a significant advantage in fighting the six-year rebellion against his rule.
Two men accuse former Willow Creek youth minister of sexually abusing them over 300 times
Two men who say they were sexually abused as teenagers more than 300 times over several years by a former youth minister at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois, are now suing the church, seeking more than $50,000 in damages for pain and suffering.
The men, identified by aliases John and Joe Doe, alleged that former Willow Creek youth minister Brian Wongkamalasai, now 30, started sexually abusing them in 2009. They were just 16 and 14, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The former counselor, who is now a registered sex offender living in Denver, Colorado, was convicted of sexually abusing a 16-year-old in 2013.
His current accusers alleged that between September 2009 and December 2011, Wongkamalasai masturbated them and performed oral sex on them more than 300 times.
During the time of the abuse, Wongkamalasai was allegedly working for Willow Creek as a youth minister, youth leader, supervisor, monitor and accountability partner to the men. He was allowed to stay in the home of the then teenagers in exchange for his work.
Willow Creek Community Church told The Christian Post in a statement Friday, however, that Wongkamalasai was not an employee or a volunteer with the church during the period the abuse is alleged to have taken place.
"We were saddened to hear about these allegations. Mr. Wongkamalasai was not an employee or volunteer of the church during the time of the allegations. As a church, we are deeply committed to the safety and well-being of everyone. We will pray for these young men and their family," it said.
On his eight-year-old Vimeo account, Wongkamalasai noted that although he worked for a Christian ministry, which he did not identify, he considered himself to be a "photographer and graphic designer."
"I've even dabbled in web design. I went to school at Columbia College in Chicago and studied in their AA&A program (audio arts and acoustics). I'm most passionate about using my artistic talents to glorify God be it in the technical production field or in content development," he said at the time.
In recent years, Willow Creek has had to deal with multiple allegations of sexual abuse. In 2014, two lawsuits claimed that negligence by Willow Creek Community Church officials allowed a volunteer to molest two young boys with special needs during church programs, according to the Chicago Tribune.
It alleged that the church did not sufficiently supervise then 20-year-old Robert Sobczak, who also pleaded guilty in December 2013 to aggravated criminal sexual abuse of an 8-year-old boy. He was sentenced to two years of probation and had to register as a sex offender.
At the time of Sobczak's arrest, a Willow Creek official noted in a report that the church carries out rigorous screening for both staff and volunteers.
"Willow Creek engages in a rigorous screening and training process for all volunteers and staff in our Special Friends Ministry that includes a detailed child protection application process, checking of references, a national background check, cross checking the sex offender registry, and offering training in child protection," the official said. "Mr. Sobczak had completed and passed this screening process before he began serving with the Special Friends Ministry."
Willow Creek, which was started by Senior Pastor Bill Hybels in 1972 in a college classroom, is now a massive multi-campus church attracting more than 25,000 people each week to worship services.
According to the church's website, they have tried over the years to ensure their passion for helping people become disciples of Christ remains the church's focus.
"While much has changed over the years, key themes taken straight from the Acts 2 passage that gripped Bill's heart in 1972 have transcended individual leaders, ministries, and eras. These themes are part of Willow's very DNA as a church. And the church's passion for helping people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ remains its laser focus," the church said.
"Willow Creek remains, above all else, a local church of Christ followers a place where people matter to God and to us, where together we seek to live out God's vision of being an Acts 2 church."
This article was originally published in The Christian Post.
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:
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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
Coeur Mining, Inc. explores for precious metals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold, silver, zinc, and lead properties. It holds 100% interests in the Palmarejo gold and silver mine covering an area of approximately 67,296 net acres located in the State of Chihuahua in Northern Mexico; the Rochester silver and gold mine that covers an area of approximately 43,441net acres situated in northwestern Nevada; the Kensington gold mine comprising 3,972 net acres located to the north of Juneau, Alaska; the Wharf gold mine covering an area of approximately 3,243 net acres situated in the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota; and the Silvertip silver-zinc-lead mine comprising 97,298 net acres located in northern British Columbia, Canada. In addition, the company owns interests in the Crown and Sterling projects located in southern Nevada; and the La Preciosa project located in Mexico. Further, it markets and sells its concentrates to third-party customers, smelters, under off-take agreements. The company was formerly known as Coeur d'Alene Mines Corporation and changed its name to Coeur Mining, Inc. in May 2013.Coeur Mining, Inc. was incorporated in 1928 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
The Celebrity Infinity was the first call of two cruise ships set to berth a the Nanaimo cruise berth this weekend.
Arriving at 7:00 am on Friday, May 26, Bernie Dumas, President & CEO of the port authority, said it was the Infinitys fourth visit to central Vancouver Island in three years. She is scheduled to depart after 10 hours in port at 5:00 pm.
With approximately 2,200 passengers and 1,200 crew, the Infinity is on a 12-day cruise from San Diego to Vancouver, also calling in Santa Barbara, Monterey, San Francisco, Astoria and Seattle.
The Norwegian Sun is scheduled to call on Sunday May 28, arriving at 8:00 am and departing at 6:00 pm. She is on a 15-day cruise from San Francisco to Vancouver, and will also call at Astoria and Prince Rupert, plus Alaska.
With six calls slated this season, Nanaimo expects an economic impact of $2.87 million from direct and indirect spending, according to the port authority.
Local and regional shore excursions include trips to the Alberni Region and Cowichan Valleys, also featuring the Parksville - Qualicum area.
As passengers arrive in the cruise terminal, travel counselors from Nanaimos visitor center greet passengers with Nanaimo Bar samplings and point the way to photo opportunities with the RCMP in Red Serge, the Big Tub and displays of racing Tubs from the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society. Cannon Firings at the Bastion are at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.
Dumas continued: Passengers can also take in the farmers market in the Pioneer Waterfront Plaza. Our complimentary shuttles transport passengers from the cruise terminal through downtown from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm where they can engage local volunteer hospitality ambassadors. Contact with local culture includes the downtown area, museums, galleries, eateries and walking tours.
The passenger feedback is positive and it is a real pleasure to know they enjoyed our destination and are leaving with good memories of Central Vancouver Island, he added.
Conagra Brands, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer packaged goods food company in North America. The company operates in four segments: Grocery & Snacks, Refrigerated & Frozen, International, and Foodservice. The Grocery & Snacks segment primarily offers shelf stable food products through various retail channels in the United States. The Refrigerated & Frozen segment provides temperature-controlled food products through various retail channels in the United States. The International segment offers food products in various temperature states through retail and foodservice channels outside of the United States. The Foodservice segment offers branded and customized food products, including meals, entrees, sauces, and various custom-manufactured culinary products packaged for restaurants and other foodservice establishments in the United States. The company sells its products under the Birds Eye, Duncan Hines, Healthy Choice, Marie Callender's, Reddi-wip, Slim Jim, Angie's BOOMCHICKAPOP, Duke's, Earth Balance, Gardein, and Frontera brands. The company was formerly known as ConAgra Foods, Inc. and changed its name to Conagra Brands, Inc. in November 2016. Conagra Brands, Inc. was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
The following companies are subsidiares of Thermo Fisher Scientific: 236 Perinton Parkway LLC, 27 Forge Parkway LLC, ABR--Affinity BioReagents, ACI Holdings Inc., ARG Services LLC, ASPEX Corporation, Abgene Inc., Abgene Limited, Acoustic Cytometry Systems Inc., AcroMetrix LLC, Acros Organics B.V.B.A., Advanced Biotechnologies Limited, Advanced Scientifics (ASI), Advanced Scientifics Inc., Advanced Scientifics International Inc., Affymetrix Biotech Participacoes Ltda., Affymetrix Biotech Shanghai Ltd, Affymetrix Inc, Affymetrix Japan K.K., Affymetrix Pte Ltd, Affymetrix UK Ltd, Afora S.A.U., Ahura Scientific, Alchematrix Inc., Alchematrix LLC, Alfa Aesar, Alfa Aesar (China) Chemical Co. Ltd., Alfa Aesar (Hong Kong) Limited, Allergon AB, Alphine Mountain Limited, Ambion Inc., Apogent Denmark ApS, Apogent Finance Company, Apogent Holding Company, Apogent Technologies Inc., Apogent Transition Corp., Apogent U.K. Limited, App-Tek International Pty Ltd, Applied Biosystems B.V., Applied Biosystems Finance B.V., Applied Biosystems International Inc., Applied Biosystems LLC, Applied Biosystems Taiwan LLC, Applied Biosystems Trading (Shanghai) Company Ltd., Applied Biosystems de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Applied Scientific Corporation, Avances Cientificos de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Avocado Research Chemicals Limited, B.R.A.H.M.S. Biotech GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. GmbH, B.R.A.H.M.S. UK Ltd, BAC BV, BAC IP BV, Barnstead Thermolyne LLC, Beijing Phadia Diagnostics Co Ltd, Bender MedSystems GmbH, BioTrove Corporation, BioTrove International Inc., Bioanalysis Labsystems S.A., Biochemical Sciences LLC, Biolab, BmT GmbH Laborprodukte, Bonsai Tecnologies - Sistemas para Biotecnologia e Industria Unipessoal Lda, Brammer Bio, Bumi-Sans Sendirian Berhad, CAC Limited, CB Diagnostics AB, CB Diagnostics Holding AB, CEPH International Corporation, CHK Holdings Inc., CRS Robotics, CTPS LLC, Capitol Scientific Products Inc., Capitol Vial Inc., Cellomics Inc., CellzDirect Inc., Cenduit GmbH, Cenduit LLC, Cezanne S.A.S., Chase Scientific Glass Inc., Chromacol Limited, Clintrak, Clintrak Clinical Labeling Services LLC, Clintrak Pharmaceutical Services LLC, Cohesive Technologies (UK) Limited, Cohesive Technologies Inc., Columbia Diagnostics Inc., Compendia Bioscience Inc., Comtest Limited, Consolidated Technologies Inc., Consultores Fisher Scientific Chile Ltd, Core Informatics, Core Informatics LLC, Core Informatics UK Ltd., D-finitive Technologies Inc., DCG Systems B.V., DCG Systems C.V., DCG Systems G.K., DCG Systems GmbH, DCG Systems Korea Ltd., DCG Systems LLC, DPI Newco LLC, DSM Pharmaceutical Products Inc., Dharmacon, Diagnostix Ltd., Dionex (China) Analytical Ltd, Dionex (Switzerland) AG, Dionex (UK) Limited, Dionex Austria GmbH, Dionex Benelux B.V., Dionex Brasil Instrumentos Cientificos Ltda, Dionex Canada Ltd., Dionex China Limited, Dionex Corporation, Dionex Denmark A/S, Dionex Holding GmbH, Dionex I LLC, Dionex Pty Ltd., Dionex S.A., Dionex S.p.A., Dionex Singapore Pte Ltd., Dionex Softron GmbH, Dionex Sweden AB, Distribution Solutions International Inc., Doe & Ingalls Investors Inc., Doe & Ingalls Limited, Doe & Ingalls Management LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties II LLC, Doe & Ingalls Properties LLC, Doe & Ingalls of California Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Florida Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Maryland Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of Massachusetts Operating LLC, Doe & Ingalls of North Carolina Operating LLC, Doublecape Holding Limited, Doublecape Limited, Drakeside Real Estate Holding Company LLC, Duke Scientific Corporation, Dynal Biotech Beijing Limited, EGS Gauging Ltd., EGS Gauging Technical Services Company, EP Scientific Products LLC, Ecochem N.V., EnviroEquip Pty Ltd, Epsom Glass Industries Limited, Equibio Limited, Erie Electroverre S.A., Erie Finance Limited, Erie LP Holding LLC, Erie Scientific Company of Puerto Rico, Erie Scientific Hungary Kft, Erie Scientific LLC, Erie U.K. Limited, Erie UK 1 Limited, Erie UK 2 Limited, Erie UK Holding Company, Erie UK Senior Holding Limited, European Laboratory Holdings Limited, Eutech Instruments Europe B.V., Eutech Instruments Pte Ltd., Eutech Instruments Sdn Bhd, Ever Ready Thermometer Co. Inc., FEI Asia Pacific Co. Ltd., FEI Australia Pty Ltd, FEI CPD B.V., FEI Company, FEI Company Japan Ltd., FEI Company of USA (S.E.A.) Pte Ltd., FEI Czech Republic s.r.o., FEI Deutschland GmbH, FEI EFA Inc., FEI EFA International Pte. Ltd., FEI Electron Optics B.V., FEI Electron Optics International B.V., FEI Europe B.V., FEI France SAS, FEI Global Holdings C.V., FEI Hong Kong Company Limited, FEI Houston Inc., FEI Italia Srl, FEI Korea Ltd., FEI Melbourne Pty Ltd., FEI Microscopy Solutions Ltd, FEI Munich GmbH, FEI Norway Holding AS, FEI SAS, FEI Saudi Arabia LLC, FEI Servicos de Nanotecnologia Ltda., FEI Technologies Inc., FEI Technology de Mexico S.A. de C.V., FEI Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., FEI Trondheim AS, FEI UK Ltd., FHP LLC, FRC Holding Inc. V, FS (Barbados) Capital Holdings Ltd., FS Casa Rocas Holdings LLC, FS Mexicana Holdings LLC, FSI Receivables Company LLC, FSII Sweden Holdings AB, FSII Sweden Holdings I AB, FSIR Holdings (UK) Limited, FSIR Holdings (US) Inc., FSUK Holdings Limited, FSWH Company LLC, FSWH II C.V., FSWH International Holdings LLC, Fermentas China Co. Ltd, Fermentas Inc., Fermentas International, Fermentas Sweden AB, Fermentas UK Limited, Fiberlite Centrifuge LLC, Finesse Scientific Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Finesse Solutions AG, Finesse Solutions Inc., Finnzymes Oy, Fisher Alder S. de R.L. de C.V., Fisher Asia Manufacturing Ventures Inc., Fisher Bermuda Holdings Limited, Fisher BioImage ApS, Fisher BioPharma Services (India) Private Limited, Fisher BioSciences Japan G.K., Fisher BioServices Inc., Fisher Bioblock Holding II SNC, Fisher CLP Holding Limited Partnership, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 1, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 2, Fisher Canada Holding ULC 3, Fisher Canada Limited Partnership, Fisher Chimica BVBA, Fisher Clinical Logistics LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Fisher Clinical Services (Bristol) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Colombia) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Korea) Co. Ltd, Fisher Clinical Services (Mexico) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Peru) LLC, Fisher Clinical Services (Suzhou) Co. 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Ltd., ThermoLase LLC, ThermoSpectra Limited, Trek Diagnostic Systems LLC, Trek Diagnostic Systems Ltd., Trek Holding Company II Ltd., Trek Holding Company Ltd., Trex Medical Corporation, USB Corporation, Union Lab Supplies Limited, United Diagnostics Inc., VG Systems Limited, Westover Scientific Inc., ZAO PE Biosystems, eBioscience GmbH, eBioscience Ltd, eBioscience SAS, and picoSpin LLC.
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KAR Auction Services, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides used vehicle auctions and related vehicle remarketing services for the automotive industry in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom. The company operates through two segments, ADESA Auctions and AFC. The ADESA Auctions segment offers whole car auctions and related services to the vehicle remarketing industry through online auctions and auction facilities. It also provides value-added services, such as auction related, transportation, reconditioning, inspection, title and repossession administration and remarketing, vehicle research, and analytical services, as well as data as a service. This segment sells its products and services through vehicle manufacturers, fleet companies, rental car companies, finance companies, and others. As of December 31, 2021, this segment had a network of approximately 70 vehicle logistics center locations in North America. The AFC segment offers floorplan financing, a short-term inventory-secured financing to independent used vehicle dealers; and sells vehicle service contracts. The company provides wheel repair and hail catastrophe response services. It serves vehicle manufacturers, vehicle rental companies, financial institutions, commercial fleets and fleet management companies, and dealer customers. The company was formerly known as KAR Holdings, Inc. and changed its name to KAR Auction Services, Inc. in November 2009. KAR Auction Services, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
1. Yes. Taxpayers are funding its operation; they should have a voice in the naming process.
2. Yes. The city should operate with a spirit of inclusivity. Residents will be responsive.
3. No. Public input can be problematic; rejection of suggestions can be divisive for residents.
4. No. Residents elect council members to make decisions on their behalf. No input is needed.
5. Unsure. Its hard to say whether public input would be more of a benefit or a hindrance.
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Ashkenazi Jewish women are known to have a predisposition to the inherited breast cancers BRCA1 and BRCA2, but currently genetic testing in this group is limited to women affected by breast and ovarian cancers and those who are unaffected but have a family history of the disease.
Ms Sari Lieberman, a genetic counsellor at the Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, Jerusalem, Israel, will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics tomorrow (Sunday) that offering open-access BRCA testing to Ashkenazi women unaffected by cancer, regardless of their family history, enables the identification of carriers who would otherwise have been missed. Carrying one of the mutations for the BRCA genes means that women affected have a 50-80% risk of developing breast cancer and a 20-50% risk for ovarian cancer.
"We knew that half of these carriers have no family history of cancer, and therefore would not have been identified had the test been offered on the current personal and family history criteria," she says. "As a genetic counsellor, it is frustrating and saddening to see the results of this policy, where patients are often only identified as BRCA carriers once they have been diagnosed with cancer."
The researchers streamlined the pre-test process so that traditional genetic counselling, which can be time-consuming and difficult, was excluded. Instead they provided written information about the BRCA genes, the genetic test, and about the implications of being a carrier.
"Current strategies for testing focus on women who are 50 and older, which is not the optimal age for effective prevention. In order to address this, we would like to continue this study and look for other approaches that could include younger women," says Ms Lieberman. participants in the study either referred themselves or were recruited by health professionals. Two-year follow up of the 1771 women tested included looking at psychosocial outcomes and health behaviours. Both groups reported a high level of satisfaction (94%) and low stress. Those who had referred themselves tended to be more knowledgeable about breast cancer issues than those who were recruited.
"Among the 25 women carriers we identified, 94% expressed satisfaction and 92% endorsed the idea of population screening. Their stress was understandably higher, but it declined over time, and their knowledge was greater than in non-carriers. All of them had breast surveillance, and three underwent risk-reducing bilateral mastectomy. Of those aged over 40, fifteen out of a total of 16 had their ovaries and Fallopian tubes removed in order to reduce risk," Ms Lieberman reports.
The researchers say that their study provides convincing evidence that open access genetic testing overcomes major barriers; not just lack of family history, but also referral and bureaucratic barriers, and that it is acceptable to those likely to be affected and their families.
"We were concerned that 'low risk' participants, with no family history, might not be able to cope with being offered BRCA testing and particularly with positive test results. We also worried that being found not to be a carrier might provide false reassurance and cause women to think they had no cancer risk and therefore avoid standard surveillance. We were pleasantly surprised on both counts," Ms Lieberman will say. In fact, mammography screening rates did not decline post-test in non-carriers, and even increased in some.
Falling prices for genetic sequencing and new techniques to avoid evaluating irrelevant gene variants will most likely make mutation screening available to wider populations in the near future. "We believe that our results are useful and highly relevant for other populations. On a personal note, I hope that this new approach means that one day I will not have to counsel someone with no family history and therefore no awareness of increased risk who says to me that she only wished she had known before," Ms Lieberman will conclude.
Chair of the ESHG conference, Professor Joris Veltman, Director of the Institute of Genetic Medicine at Newcastle University, Newcastle, United Kingdom, said: "This important study highlights the importance of population-wide genetic screening to identify women at risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer because of a genetic predisposition. The study also showed that most people cope very well with this genetic information; carriers of these mutations undertake breast cancer surveillance, whereas non-carriers are aware they can still develop breast cancer.''
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Abstract no: C12.3
Tens of thousands of British people are being infected with a potentially deadly liver virus in pork produce mostly imported from Europe, say doctors.
Dubbed the 'Brexit virus', the new strain of hepatitis E (HEV) linked to pig farms in France, Holland, Germany and Denmark is infecting more than 60,000 people in Britain a year.
The potentially deadly new strain is feared to have infected 10% of sausages, but the British pig industry has said this figure should be used with 'caution'.
The National Pig Association (NPA) said the finding was from a limited sample size of 63 sausages from 11 batches. While six sausages tested positive for HEV, five of these were from the same batch. The origin of the meat in the sausages was not known.
In the UK, sausages with the Red Tractor logo are not permitted to include liver or offal, reducing the risk of contamination compared with countries where liver and blood sausages are popular.
Flu-like virus
The strain, which used to be mainly a tropical disease but has now mutated to infect livestock, causes a flu-like illness. It is only killed in the meat if people cook the food for longer than normal.
A paper published by Public Health England revealed the number of HEV cases tripled from 2010 to 2015.
Dr Harry Dalton, a gastroenterologist at Exeter University, told a conference on neurological infectious diseases HEV had become a major threat.
The Times reported he said: "I call it the Brexit virus. It attacks the liver and nerves, with a peak in May. It is particularly dangerous for people with suppressed immune systems such as those who have had organ transplants and possibly cancer. The virus seems to come from Europe."
The Food Standards Agency said the virus had spread to most British pig herds with 93 per cent of animals infected and 6 per cent producing enough of the virus to infect humans.
But the NPA said the research has shown that the subgroup of hepatitis E causing the majority of human infection in the UK is not the same as the subgroup found in UK pigs.
A statement said: "The NPA agrees with the conclusion of the researchers that if people in this country have contracted hepatitis E virus from eating pork, it is likely to have come from imported pork, rather than British pork."
'Natural reservoir'
The NPA said pigs are a 'natural reservoir' for HEV and infection is present in pig populations worldwide.
Samples collected in 2013 as part of a survey of UK slaughter pigs found the virus in 129 out of 629 (20.5%) pigs, while 93% tested positive for HEV antibodies, indicating exposure at some point in life.
However, high-level presence of the virus to a level that could be infectious to humans via consumption of the raw pigmeat was only found in 6 of the 629 pigs sampled.
In this survey, the majority of the viral samples belonged to a different subgroup to that causing infections in humans.
An NPA statement said: "AHDB Pork has commissioned a number of research projects to better understand HEV presence on British pig farms and the risk to public health. Further research and surveillance is required to determine the true cause of the rise in hepatitis E cases in the UK.
"NPA recommends that consumers follow the advice from the Food Standards Agency that pork and sausages should be cooked thoroughly until steaming hot throughout, with no pink or red in the centre, to greatly reduce the risk of infection."
Consumer staples companies -- household products makers like Procter & Gamble (PG -0.24%) and beverage makers like Coca-Cola (KO -1.39%) -- are generally regarded as some of the best dividend stocks on the market.
These are stocks that tend be defensive by nature, as demand for products like toothpaste is stable no matter what the overall economy is doing. Thanks to their strong collection of brands, they also tend to have solid profit margins, which enables them to return billions of dollars in capital to shareholders in the form of buybacks and dividends.
For investors looking to balance out their portfolios with some defensive, consumer-based dividend stocks, here are three choices that won't disappoint.
1. Altria
Altria (MO -1.50%), the Marlboro parent and former parent of Philip Morris International (PM -1.65%), is one of the best-performing stocks of the last 50 years when dividends are included.
Despite smoking's decline in the U.S., Altria has been able to grow profits by raising prices and introducing products in new categories like e-cigarettes with its MarkTen brand.
Cigarettes have proven to be incredibly inelastic products -- U.S. consumers pay upwards of $10 for a pack in some states. While much of that cost goes to taxes, it's allowed cigarette-makers to lift their own prices, inflating profit margins. As an addictive product with no good substitute, cigarette makers like Altria will continue to command wide profit margins.
And as compensation for the risk of a declining market, investors have the huge potential upside of Altria getting in on the marijuana market if legalization continues to spread. As the country's largest cigarette-maker, Altria is ideally positioned to take advantage of such an opportunity.
For dividend investors, Altria remains a solid bet with a 3.5% dividend yield -- and while not technically a Dividend Aristocrat because it cut its dividend proportionally after spinning off Philip Morris in 2008, the stock's history is the same as that of an aristocrat. Most recently, its annual payout hikes have been in the high single-digit range, and investors should expect that pattern to continue.
2. Anheuser Busch/InBev
Fellow vice stock Anheuser Busch/InBev (BUD -0.88%) is the world's largest beer-maker, with a market cap of over $200 billion. AB InBev has consolidated its dominant position through a slew of recent acquisition, including most prominently its $103 billion takeover of rival SABMiller last year.
AB/InBev has also acquired a number of smaller craft brewers and leveraged its marketing and distribution muscle to grow sales. At a time when American drinkers are turning away from traditional macrobrews like Bud Light, that ability to acquire smaller brands has helped fuel growth and protected the company from competition.
The beer-maker is a solid dividend payer as well, offering a 3.5% yield. Since the company is based in Belgium, the dividend increases and payouts are affected by exchange rates, but it lifted the payout by 20% in its most recent hike, though it said following the merger with SAB Miller that it expected dividend increases to be more modest as it deleverages the debt from the deal.
With the SAB Miller acquisition behind it, an unmatched global distribution network, and a strong position with craft beers, the company should be a reliable dividend payer for years to come.
3. Pepsico
Soda has been a tough business in recent years as Americans turn away from sugary substances, but Pepsico (PEP -1.20%) is much more diversified than investors might think. In addition to Pepsi and other sodas, the company also owns Frito-Lay snacks, Quaker Foods, and dominant non-carbonated beverage brands like Tropicana and Gatorade.
Pepsico's diversification and savvy management have helped it steadily grow profits, outperforming competitors like Coca-Cola in the process. In 2016, core constant currency earnings per share increased 9%, or 12% when the deconsolidation of Venezuela is factored in.
As a dividend payer, Pepsico has long been a solid bet: it's a Dividend Aristocrat, having raised its quarterly payout every year for 44 years in a row. The food and beverage company's recent dividend increases have been in the 7% range, a solid clip for a reliable dividend payer.
The stock now offers a yield of 2.9%, and its status as a Dividend Aristocrat seems secure with a payout ratio of 69%. With 22 billion-dollar brands under its umbrella, Pepsico should continue to be a steady and reliable dividend stock.
he St. Regis Maldives Vommuli Resort has announced that Alexander Blair has been appointed as General Manager of the island resort. Blair joins The St. Regis Maldives having been the Complex General Manager of Al Faisaliah Hotel in Saudi Arabia since 2014. Prior to this, he held managerial roles at Oriental Residence Bangkok and HPL Hotels & Resorts, Maldives. He brings 25 years of experience in luxury hospitality across Europe, Asia and the Middle East, having begun his career in the UK with Marriott International and progressing through the company over 14 successful years. Alexander was born in the UK and gained a National Certificate in Hotel Catering whilst studying in Scotland, before embarking upon the Management Trainee programme with Marriott in 1991.
Lucas Group Taps Top Executive Recruiter to Lead Chicago IT Practice
Posted by Press Releases on Saturday, 05-27-2017 11:29 am
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Justin Martinez promoted to Managing Partner; brings special focus to IoT and cybersecurity.Lucas Group announced the internal promotion of Justin Martinez to Managing Partner. Martinez will lead the executive recruiting firms Chicago-based Information Technology practice.The Chicago IT market is extremely competitive with unemployment rates at records lows, said Steven Robinson, General Manager of Lucas Groups Information Technology executive recruitment services. Many companies are struggling to recruit and retain specialized IT talent. Martinez innately understands how to address these market challenges by building long-term relationships with IT professionals. He is a natural leader for our dynamic Chicago practice.As Managing Partner, Martinez leads an IT recruitment team with deep subject matter expertise.Each member of our Chicago team is a subject matter expert in a specific IT niche, such as cybersecurity, data science, and application development, says Martinez, who s...
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WCRI Webinar Informs Long-Standing Policy Discussion over Choice of Provider in Workers Compensation Cases
Posted by Press Releases on Friday, 05-26-2017 10:43 pm
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Should the choice of provider in workers' compensation cases be left to workers or employers? The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) will share its latest research informing this question during a 45-minute webinar on Wednesday, June 14, 2017, at 2 p.m. ET (1 p.m. CT, 12 noon MT, and 11 a.m. PT). The webinar will be hosted by Dr. Bogdan Savych, a public policy analyst at WCRI. This webinar will present research results that inform a long-standing policy discussion over whether the choice of provider in workers compensation cases should be left to workers or to employers. The research we will be discussing offers nuanced evidence about how provider choice policies are related to workers compensation medical and indemnity costs. Those who attend this webinar will learn about these nuances so they can focus on issues that will lead to better outcomes for injured workers while containing costs, said Dr. John Ruser, WCRIs president and CEO. The webinar will address the f...
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Understanding the approach of your service provider The first time I saw the phrase Good, Fast or Cheap I was at a restaurant in Washington, D.C. The phrase was hanging on the wall, framed, visible for all to read. At the time, I didnt relate the phrase to what I did for a living, which is to help businesses with the implementation of HR software solutions and educating them on the HCM implementation approach my firm utilizes and why this approach is important and how it leads to success. Years later I was reminded of the phrase when my firm began the process of purchasing and implementing our new website. Building a new website was going to be a big project for us and we were apprehensive about the implementation costs, the time it was going to take to build the site, the experience of the vendors project team and the scope of work we were requesting of the vendor. It was during this project the phrase Good, Fast or Cheap hit home for me. My firm had to make a choice in the type of implementation we wanted for our new website. We quickly learned we could not have a Good, Fast and Cheap implementation collectively. This simply was not possible. I also realized that the concerns we were having about cost, time and resources were similar to the concerns of our clients. The only difference was my firm was having a new website built where as our clients are implementing new HR software solutions. And I kn...
Business The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (May 27)
Employees work at the Central Banks headquarters in Naypyidaw in 2012. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters
Logistics Warehouse to Open in Thilawa SEZ
A modern logistics warehouse has been completed at the Thilawa Special Economic Zone and will begin operations on June 1.
The facility is operated by Nittsu Logistics Myanmar, whose services include warehousing, air/ocean cargo forwarding, customs clearance, domestic distribution (including bonded transport), cross-border truck transport and heavy haulage.
The new warehouse with temperature controlled and dehumidified spaces will offer facilities for the storage of products such as apparel and chemical products that require temperature controlled and an anti-fungal environment, according to a trade journal.
The facility will offer bonded storage services utilizing bonded cargo functions that are unavailable elsewhere in Burma, according to the report.
Plans to expand the cargo terminal at Thilawa port and to widen roads near the zone raise the possibility that the Thilawa economic zone will become a significant production and logistics hub, the report added.
Coca-Cola Welcomes New Chief in Burma
Coca-Cola Pinya Beverages, the bottling operation of the global drinks giant in Burma, has a new head, according to a company announcement.
Gaurav Chaturvedi previously served as an executive director for human resources at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, one of Indias largest manufacturing and distribution companies in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector.
Chaturvedi is one of 13 associates of Hindustan Coca-Cola who are working in senior executive positions for the company outside India, including in Burma.
The Burma plant is based in Rangoons Hmawbi Township and opened in 2013 with a planned investment of US$200 million and a target to create 22,000 jobs over five years.
Trucking-Shipping Route Slashes Export Delivery Time
A new ground-sea route which cuts delivery times from Burma to major markets was started this month by Nisshin Transportation, a unit of Hitachi Transport System, Nikkei Asia reported.
The service is geared to the textile industry. Goods go first by land between Yangon and Bangkok. Nisshin Transportation has created a trans-shipment site to rearrange cargo on trucks at Myawaddy on the border with Thailand. After the goods arrive in Bangkok they are shipped to China and Japan.
The service cuts the transport time for goods between Rangoon and Japan or China to about one month, compared to around two months for goods traveling the sea-only route via the Strait of Malacca.
Burma has a growing sewing and garments industry and quicker transport systems can bolster its position as a hub for womens clothing and other items that require fast delivery, according to the report.
Burmas Air Services See Sharp Rise
The number of air passengers in Burma has more than doubled in two years, according to a report in an industry publication.
Data from the air travel intelligence firm OAG indicates that seat capacity at Burmas airports was twice as high in 2016 as in 2014, according to the report.
Rangoon International Airport has accounted for roughly half of all scheduled seat capacity for more than a decade, the report said.
Last year the airport handled around six million passengers, it added.
After Rangoon, Burmas most used airports are Mandalay and Heho. Domestic air travel is dominated by flights from Rangoon to other airports, with Mandalay and Heho served with at least 10 daily flights.
The capital Naypyidaw comes only fifth for passenger numbers, with just two international services, to Bangkok and Kunming.
The two leading international services linked to Burma are to Bangkoks two airports. There are more than 90 weekly flights to Suvarnabhumi airport and 63 weekly flights to Don Muang airport. Singapores Changi airport is served by about 57 weekly flights.
Other international destinations served by direct flights from Burma include airports in Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.
The OAG data indicated that of Burmas top 15 airlines (by seats), nine are locally based. Going forward it seems unlikely that the country can sustain as many as nine local airlines, but while Myanmar [Burma] is developing rapidly there are clearly opportunities, the report said.
DICA Approves 25 Investments this Month
A total of 25 local and foreign investments were approved so far this month by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA).
The approved companies include seven in the cut-manufacture-pack (CMP) garment sector, while others were in agriculture, construction and telecommunications, according to an official.
We will give priority to investments which can create job opportunities, the official told The Global New Light of Myanmar.
DICA is in discussions with state and regional governments on how to stimulate investments in other industrial sectors besides the garment industry, the report said.
South Korea to Send Buses
South Koreas trade promotion agency said two hundred buses will be exported to Burma for use by public schools, according to Yonhap news agency.
The 29-seat Hyundai buses will be shipped next month in a deal between the Yangon Regional Government and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).
The deal marks South Koreas first government-to-government contract with an Asian country. It also involves South Korean trading firm POSCO Daewoo International Co. and a local operator, according to the report.
Bankers Set for Training in Thailand
A leadership program for banking executives will help build skills and deepen knowledge in Burmas banking sector, according to organizers Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Thammasat University in Thailand, together with the Myanmar Banks Association.
The Myanmar Banker Leadership Program is the first program developed exclusively for Burmese banking executives, according to SCB in a statement.
With a rapidly developing economy and changing business landscape, the banking industry requires strong leadership and trained employees to drive banks into the new financial future, the statement said. SCB expects the program to be a must attend for Burmas rising financial leaders, the press release added.
The first round of the six-week program will include around 30 banking executives from private and public banks. Different curricula are offered for young executives and senior executives.
Subjects include financial analysis and credit risk management, trade finance, foreign exchange, money market management and portfolio management.
Since establishing our presence in Myanmar in 2012, SCB has been keen to contribute to the Myanmar government effort to help improve the financial sector, said Kamalkant Agarwal, Head of International Banking, SCB.
Guest Column Displaced by Violence, Kaman Yearn for Home as Hopes Dim
Kaman Muslims held a press conference at the Royal Rose restaurant in Rangoon in late April. / Phyo Thiha Cho / Myanmar Now
RANGOON After retiring from the army in Oct. 2011, Saw Aung returned to his family home in Arakan States Ramree Township. He was 73 at the time.
But the idyll of his golden years was short-lived.
One year after returning, his home was burned to the ground amid communal violence between Arakan Buddhists and Muslims in Ramree, part of a wave of clashes that swept the state and left hundreds dead in separate incidents throughout 2012.
He and his family were sent to a refugee camp, where they lived for four years.
Although there were some members of the army, police and administrative bodies there, no one tried to stop the fire, Saw Aung recalled during a press conference at the Royal Rose restaurant in Rangoon in late April.
Saw Aung is Kaman, the only ethnic group of Muslims recognized by Burmas government. Before 2012, the Kaman, who number in the tens of thousands, enjoyed considerably more rights than the Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority of about 1 million people who were stripped of their citizenship in 1982 and deemed newcomers from Bangladesh.
But after the violence, the Kaman struggled with some of the same problems facing the Rohingya, who make up most of the more than 120,000 people still living in IDP camps in Arakan.
Though they could vote in the 2015 election that brought pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to power, many Kaman find it difficult to this day to gain national identity cards, a crucial requirement for freedom of movement.
While they have tried at times to distance themselves from the Rohingya, they face discrimination regardless and some have been accused of trying to fake their own identity to get proper documents.
In a cruel twist, the plight of the Kaman is often overlooked by the international community, who have focused intensely on the much larger Rohingya crisis, especially since a brutal crackdown on Rohingya Muslim militants began in October following attacks on police border guard posts.
Members of the Kaman community gathered at the Rose Restaurant to raise concerns about their rights and call for resettlement.
After his house was destroyed, Saw Aung and two relatives lived in a small room at the refugee camp in Ramree that sheltered more than 700 people. It flooded during the rainy season. Fed up with the conditions many in the camp later moved in with relatives in other cities in Burma. Saw Aung and his family went to Rangoon.
Tun Myint, another Kaman man who spoke at the Royal Rose, said more than 1,000 men holding swords had surrounded his village in 2012. But he escaped the mob, hiding in a pigsty owned by Arakan Buddhist friends.
This is a proof of our close relationship with Arakan people. They also protected us from the attackers, he said.
Although he felt well off and comfortable in Ramree, Tun Myint had his share of misfortune after 2012. He moved to a refugee camp for three years before taking his family to Rangoon, where he struggled financially.
We had to live in a bamboo house for more than one year in Rangoon, although we had an ordinary life in Ramree. My sons had to live separately from their wives, and we became homeless people, he said.
Religious Oppression a Factor?
The Kaman are Muslim, but they share many cultural and traditional traits with their Arakan Buddhist neighbors, leaving them sometimes stuck in the middle of an enduring conflict.
They continue to be oppressed because of their faith, said Tin Win Hlaing, secretary of the Kaman National Progressive Party.
We, Kaman people, were treated unlawfully. We have spent five years of our time at the camps without regard from two successive governments, he said, referring to the new administration of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the previous military-backed President Thein Sein, who was at the helm as Burma launched reforms in 2011.
The Kaman should receive better treatment, Tin Win Hlaing argued, because they are one of Burmas 135 ethnic races.
Situations at Refugee Camps
The Kaman have lived mostly in Arakan in the townships of Sittwe, Thandwe, Ramree and Kyaukphyu.
They were targeted in 2012 and many now live in refugee camps. There are 600 Kaman in a camp near Tan village in Ramree and 1,115 close to Kyauktalone village in Kyaukphyu.
Maung Phyu Shae is from Kyaukphyu but moved to the Kyauktalone camp when riots broke out in Oct. 2012, the second of two major clashes that year. He thought it might be temporary, but he and his family are still there.
The education of his children suffered and his family members could not get work, circumstances that are also rife in Rohingya camps in central and northern Arakan.
His family members have been living in a tarpaulin tent for five years. They have little hope of returning home.
We do not get a daily income of [more than] 500 kyats for more than five years at the camp, he said.
Although the situation has stabilized in Kyaukphyu, the authorities say the Kaman cannot go back, citing security concerns. Instead, they want the displaced Kaman to set up new residential wards near Kyaukphyu, using plots set aside for families, Maung Phyu Shae said.
He thinks this is unnecessary.
No one disturbed us when we went to Kyaukphyu. Extremist Arakan people in previous riots were the strangers. The local Arakan people and Kaman people have been living in peaceful coexistence for centuries, he said.
Tun Ngwe, chairman of the Kaman Social Network, a civil society organization, said community representatives held talks with officials from the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement in Sittwe Township on May 6, and reached an agreement for the return of 65 families from Ramree camp.
But refugees from the Kyauktalone camp have not been allowed to do the same thus far.
When we asked authorities to go back to our native land that was allocated by an ancient king, they promised to rebuild new homes for refugees, Tun Ngwe said.
Parliament This Week in Parliament (May 22-26)
Members of Parliament attend a meeting at the Lower House of Burmas parliament in Naypyidaw on March 10, 2016. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters
Monday (May 22)
The Lower House approved a proposal from Thabaung Township lawmaker U Thein Tun to increase the tax the on the use of land, irrigation water, and reservoirs to a rate that does not cause a burden to farmers. According to the lawmaker, the taxes have not been increased in more than eight decades.
U Soe Nyunt, a judge of the Union Supreme Court, extended apologies to lawmakers for accusing them of holding the court in contempt. Earlier, the judge, in response to a Waw Township lawmakers proposal on March 7 urging the Union Supreme Court to fix the corrupt judicial system, said such an accusation amounted to contempt of court. Lawmakers, however, approved the proposal, which allows the Parliament to oversee the judicial system.
Tuesday (May 23)
The Union Parliament received the Presidents proposal to continue Burmas membership in 2017 Regional Cooperative Agreement (2017 RCA) which replaced the 1978 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training related to Nuclear Science and Technology for Asia and the Pacific (1978 RCA).
The Parliament approved the Presidents proposal to sign the Indian Ocean Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control.
Two lawmakers discussed the Presidents proposal to obtain a US$125 loan from the World Bank to implement the South East Asia Disaster Risk Management Project, of which US$77 million is earmarked for the prevention of urban flooding in the commercial capital of Rangoon.
Nineteen lawmakers discussed the Presidents proposal to sign the agreement for the establishment of the Asean Forest Cooperation Organization.
Wednesday (May 24)
There was no session in either of the two houses, as lawmakers attended the second 21st Century Panglong Peace Conference which convened in Naypyidaw.
Thursday (May 25)
To dismay of lower-level civil servants, Deputy Minister for Planning and Finance U Maung Maung Maung Win told Mingin Townships lawmaker U Maung Myint in the Lower House that the government had no plan so far to increase the pay for civil servants. The deputy minister however said that the government was implementing other measures to contribute to the welfare of civil servants, such as the sale of apartments in installments and increasing overtime pay and other allowances.
The Parliament also approved a proposal from Hlaingbwe Township lawmaker U Khin Cho urging the government to adopt strategies to address the countrys unemployment problem. According to the lawmaker, Burma has over 32.98 million people aged between 15 and 64, but just 66 percent are working.
In the Upper House, Daw Khin Swe Lwin of Chin State Constituency (9) asked if the government could provide small and medium enterprises (SME) in Chin State with access to international loans for their development.
Union Minister for Industry U Khin Maung Cho said that the government had obtained a loan of around 50 billion kyats intended for SME development from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and provided 41.558 billion kyats to 186 SMEs in 10 divisions and states; and that businesses in Chin State could ask for the loans from the remaining 8.442 billion kyats through the state government.
Friday (May 26)
There was no session in either house.
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By Paul Rowe | (The Conversation) |
Coptic Christians in Egypt have been attacked while traveling on pilgrimages and bombed while praying on Palm Sunday, amid an accelerating series of attacks over the last decade. The interrelated challenges of violence, economics and discrimination have led to the increasing departure of Christians from the Middle East. For centuries they have been part of the rich religious diversity of the region.
So who are these people that National Geographic has called The Forgotten Faithful?
Coptic history
Among the Christians of the Middle East, the largest number some eight million or so is made up of Egypts Copts. Since I first visited Egypt in the 1990s, I have been interested in this community and its contribution to pluralism.
Copts are the indigenous Christian population of Egypt, who date back to the first decades following the life of Jesus Christ. The biblical Book of Acts tells how Jews from Egypt came to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, a Jewish harvest festival that marked the birth of the Christian church merely weeks after Christs crucifixion. Many of these Egyptians took the message of Christianity back to their own country. Christian tradition holds that St. Mark, one of the early disciples of Jesus, became the first bishop of Egypt.
By the fourth century, the majority of Egyptians had embraced the Christian faith. Even after the Muslim conquest in the seventh century, the majority of Egyptians were still Christians. It was only during the Middle Ages that greater and greater numbers embraced Islam, and the Christian population dwindled.
Today, Egyptian Christians make up approximately 5 to 10 percent of the Egyptian population. The word Copt is used for all Egyptian Christians. It is derived from an ancient Greek word that simply means Egyptian.
Copts are fiercely proud of their Egyptian heritage that dates back to the age of the pyramids as early as 3000 B.C. The vast majority of Copts are members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, an independent church that arose in A.D. 451, long before the divide that created the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches in 1054.
The language of the Coptic Orthodox church service (or liturgy) used in daily worship is also known as Coptic. It is the original Egyptian language written in Greek script.
Copts live throughout every corner of Egypt and at every socioeconomic level. One of Egypts richest men, Naguib Sawiris, is a Copt, and so are most of Cairos garbage collectors, the zabellin. Though Copts are largely indistinguishable from the Muslim majority, many are given tattoos of a cross on their wrists as children, signifying their permanent commitment to the community. In addition, Coptic women are unlikely to veil, making them stand out from Muslim women.
The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the most significant Christian leader in Egypt, is the bishop of the See of St. Mark, known among Egyptians as the Coptic pope or patriarch. Today the Church is led by Pope Tawadros II, who studied pharmacy before deciding to pursue a religious career in the 1980s.
Religious practice
Copts practice a form of Christianity that hearkens back to the earliest traditions of the church.
Pope Tawadros and all of the bishops of the Coptic Orthodox Church begin their vocation as monks celibate men living in seclusion in monasteries. The Coptic Orthodox Church is unique in its preference for placing monks in the highest positions of authority.
In fact, the worlds first Christian monks, St. Anthony and St. Paul, established their monasteries in the eastern desert of Egypt in the early fourth century. Both of these monasteries, and numerous others, continue to operate.
In his book Desert Father, Australian author James Cowan describes how the monastic tradition became an important support for Egyptian Christians under persecution and helped to preserve culture throughout the Christian world.
Modern-day Copts often visit the monasteries for spiritual guidance, community retreats and to rediscover their heritage.
But while Copts may go to the deserts of Egypt for their religious practice, most live in the cities among their Muslim compatriots. Their churches and community service organizations and even Coptic news sites and media contribute to the vibrancy of Egyptian social and intellectual life.
Peter Makari, a church leader with extensive experience working with Coptic organizations, writes about the ways in which Copts have organized community initiatives, development projects and solidarity movements with fellow Egyptians to promote national unity and peace. Copts regularly celebrate feasts with Muslim leaders and host public dialogues with Muslim intellectuals and leaders.
In particular, Copts participated alongside their Muslim compatriots in the proteststhat brought down the authoritarian rule of former President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.
The condition of Copts today
Nonetheless, Copts have faced systemic discrimination in employment and limitations on their ability to access public services and education ever since the establishment of the modern republic of Egypt in 1952.
Governing authorities made it very difficult for them to build or refurbish their churches. After the 2011 revolution, Copts initially enjoyed newfound freedoms to organize and voice their concerns about these practices.
However, their aspirations were dashed when the Egyptian Armed Forces clashed with Coptic protesters in a deadly confrontation in October 2011. When subsequently the Muslim Brotherhood came to power in 2012, there was an attempt to push through a constitution that gave special powers to Islamic authorities. These developments seemed to undermine Copts ability to participate as equal citizens.
Most Copts were therefore content to see the restoration of authoritarian rule under Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who in 2014 introduced a new constitution that limits the role of Islam in Egyptian government.
Unfortunately, the Coptic community has now become an easy target in the fight between al-Sisi and his Islamist enemies. Violent attacks on Copts have led them to flee certain areas of Egypt, such as Sinai, and there is a steady stream of Coptic emigration from Egypt.
This must concern all Egyptians, since the presence of Copts is essential to the health of intellectual, cultural and political life in the Middle East.
Paul Rowe, Professor and Coordinator of Political and International Studies, Trinity Western University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
Related video added by Juan Cole:
PBS NewsHour: Coptic Christians en route to monastery targeted in a deadly assault
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According to one witness, the suspect was heard saying get off the bus, and get out of the country because you dont pay taxes here.
Amidst rising rates of violence directed toward Muslims and those percieved to be Muslim in the United States, two men on a commuter train in Portland, Oregon were fatally stabbed and a third injured on Friday after they confronted a man who was allegedly yelling racial slurs at two other passengers, one of whom was wearing a hijab, local media reported.
Ibrahim Hooper: Video: CAIR Rep Ibrahim Hooper Interviewed on CNN About Killing of Men Who Defended Muslim Women
According to a Portland police spokesperson, the stabbing suspect who is currently in police custody, was allegedly yelling a gamut of anti-Muslim and anti-everything slurs at two other passengers.
According to one witness, the suspect was heard saying get off the bus, and get out of the country because you dont pay taxes here.
When three men confronted the suspect and tried to calm him down, he allegedly stabbed them in the neck, killing two and injuring the other.
Preliminary information indicates that the suspect was on the MAX train yelling various remarks that would best be characterized as hate speech At least two of the victims attempted to intervene with the suspect and calm him down. The suspect attacked the men, stabbing three, before leaving the train, the Portland Police Bureaus official statement read.
It continued to say that witnesses saw two young women, possibly Muslim, who were on the train at the time of the disturbance and attack, but left prior to police arrival one was described as wearing a hijab.
The location and identity of the two women is unknown, although police are currently looking to find and speak with them.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), an organization promoting American Muslim civil liberties based in Washington, D.C., released a statement asking U.S. President Donald Trump to speak our personally against rising bigotry and acts of racial violence in America targeting Muslims and other minority groups.
According to CAIR, the past three years have seen a nearly 600% rise in hate crimes targeting Muslims, and those who are perceived to be Muslim.
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HIGHLIGHTS ATTRIBUTABLE & ADJUSTED ATTRIBUTABLE Q2 DILUTED EPS OF $0.27 AND $0.30 PER SHARE, RESPECTIVELY QUARTERLY PRODUCTION OF 159,262 OUNCES AT PRODUCTION COSTS OF $986 PER OUNCE AND AISC* OF $1,267 PER OUNCE FIRST HALF PRODUCTION OF 333,201 OUNCES AT PRODUCTION COSTS OF $918 PER... Read More
SASKATOON, Saskatchewan / Nov 09, 2022 / Business Wire / Cameco (TSX: CCO; NYSE: CCJ) announced that the first pounds of uranium ore from the McArthur River mine have now been milled and packaged at the Key Lake mill, marking the achievement of initial production as these facilities... Read More
U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a four-point policy plan on North Korea revolving around using "every possible pressure" while looking for a diplomatic solution, a South Korean lawmaker said Thursday.
A bipartisan group of South Korean politicians met with Joseph Yun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy.
Yun briefed the lawmakers on the Trump administration's approach toward Pyongyang.
Trump signed a comprehensive policy report by the State Department about two weeks ago, Yun was quoted as saying by Rep. Kim Kwan-young of the opposition People's Party.
It includes four main strategies -- not recognizing North Korea as a nuclear state, imposing every possible sanction and pressure, not seeking a regime change and resolving the problem with dialogue in the end.
It indicates that the Trump administration may have ruled out a military option for the Kim Jong-un regime, which has ratcheted up military threats with a series of ballistic missile launches and nuclear testing. (Yonhap)
South Korea's unification ministry on Friday approved a plan by a non-governmental organization for contact with North Korea in a sign of Seoul's move to gradually resume inter-Korean exchanges.
The government gave the green light to the request by the Korean Sharing Movement to contact with North Koreans to discuss ways to resume the supply of assistance and cooperative projects, according to government officials.
It marks the first such approval since the administration of liberal President Moon Jae-in took office early this month amid expectations of engagement with North Korea.
The humanitarian assistance body filed for approval from the Ministry of Unification on the plan to discuss its assistance programs with North Korea in early May.
The ministry said Monday that it plans to resume civilian inter-Korean exchanges to the extent that the move would not compromise the international sanctions regime.
South Korea said it will sternly respond to North Korea's provocations but also does not believe that long-strained ties will help stability on the divided peninsula.
The ministry said Thursday it is reviewing 19 civic groups' requests for such approval as they are seeking to provide humanitarian assistance and pursue projects in development and exchanges in the social and cultural sectors.
Since Moon took office on May 10, expectations have been high that civilian inter-Korean exchanges would be revived.
The government under former President Park Geun-hye said it would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those vulnerable in North Korea, such as infants and pregnant women. But Seoul suspended almost all civilian exchanges when North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January 2016.
Last year the government approved only the Eugene Bell Foundation Korea's delivery of medication for tuberculosis to North Korea.
Established in 1996, the Korean Sharing Movement has worked on agricultural assistance and nutrition projects for North Korean children.
Any trip to the North requires the Seoul government's approval, as well as the North's consent. The two Koreas remain technically in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)
By Jun Ji-hye
The U.S. State Department reaffirmed Friday that "all options are on the table" in dealing with North Korea, indicating it has not ruled out the military option.
Its comments came after a bipartisan group of South Korean lawmakers, after meeting in Washington with Joseph Yun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, told reporters they heard from Yun that the Donald Trump administration is not considering any military options against the North.
President Donald Trump
Rep. Kim Kwan-young of the opposition People's Party quoted Yun as saying U.S. President Donald Trump has approved a four-point policy plan that did not include the military option.
The four main strategies are: refusing to recognize North Korea as a nuclear state, imposing every possible sanction and pressure, not seeking regime change, and resolving the problem with dialogue in the end, according to Rep. Kim.
Yun was also quoted as saying Trump signed the policy report by the State Department about two weeks ago.
However, State Department spokeswoman Katina Adams refused to confirm whether or not Trump approved the policy.
"We are not going to discuss our private diplomatic conversations," Adams said during a telephone interview with Voice of America (VOA).
She indicated the U.S. government has not ruled out the military choice, reaffirming: "All options are on the table."
She added, "As we pursue our international pressure strategy, we will continue to be flexible and take advantage of opportunities and respond to provocations."
In the early weeks of the Trump administration, the U.S. President as well as high-ranking officials made a series of hawkish remarks against the repressive state that has continued its missile provocations in defiance of international condemnation and sanctions.
During his visit to South Korea in March, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson declared an end to the Barack Obama administration's policy of strategic patience in dealing with Pyongyang, vowing to explore all options including harsher sanctions and military action.
Then in April, President Trump also warned of the possibility of military action against the North, saying, "We are sending an armada, very powerful," during an interview with Fox Business.
The comment was made in reference to the dispatch of a massive aircraft carrier strike group led by USS Carl Vinson to waters off the Korean Peninsula, which was seen as an apparent warning against the North.
However, the Trump administration has recently appeared to shift to a rather soft tone, with the President saying earlier this month he was "absolutely" willing and would be "honored" to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, though such a meeting could only take place "under the right circumstances."
During his meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in's special envoy last week, Tillerson also said the United States wants the North to trust its promise of no hostility and conduct no more nuclear or missile tests before Washington can consider opening talks with Pyongyang.
Rep. Kim told reporters, "The U.S. side told us that it was not Washington that has refused to hold a dialogue but Kim Jong-un has shown no willingness to talk."
The U.S. government's recent emphasis on dialogue with the North seems to be in line with President Moon's dual-track policy to pursue Pyongyang's denuclearization and seek dialogue at the same time.
But observers said Moon and Trump may have some differences about the timing and conditions of the dialogue.
The two heads of state are scheduled to hold a summit late June in Washington.
By Kim Bo-eun
Danish authorities said late Wednesday Chung Yoo-ra, the daughter Choi Soon-sil, former President Park Geun-hye's longtime friend, will be repatriated to Korea. The confirmation of Chung's extradition comes 144 days after she was arrested in Denmark's northern city of Aalborg, for staying there illegally.
Chung, 21, had filed an appeal to the high court, after a district court ruled in support of her extradition.
Korea's justice ministry said Thursday that it was notified by its Danish counterpart that Chung had dropped her appeal.
She is presumed to have dropped the appeal based on the judgment that the high court would be unlikely to overturn the lower court's ruling.
Korean and Danish authorities are discussing the date of Chung's extradition. According to Danish law, this should take place within 30 days after the decision is made.
Chung will remain detained until she is returned.
Because there is no direct flight between Denmark and Korea, Chung will have to make a stopover in a third country, from which authorities need approval to make the transfer. She will either be escorted by Danish officials or Korean officials who could be sent there to bring her back.
Chung will be taken to the prosecution for questioning when she enters the country. Prosecutors will likely seek an arrest warrant to detain her, as she needs to undergo extensive questioning. She has not yet been questioned by the authorities as she was abroad when the investigation into the scandal involving her mother took place.
Choi's lawyers, including Lee Kyung-jae, will represent Chung when she returns.
Chung has been charged with obstruction of work, based on allegations that she received favors in admission and grades at Ewha Womans University. She is also allegedly involved in Samsung's provision of funds for her training expenses as a dressage competitor. Chung has denied the allegations.
Her alleged accomplices _ her mother Choi and former Ewha President Choi Kyung-hee, as well as professor Kim Kyung-sook _ have been indicted and are on trial.
Earlier, an independent counsel team investigating the presidential scandal involving Choi had requested the extradition of Chung, but she refused and the counsel team extended the expiration date of her arrest warrant to August 2023. Chung cited her refusal was because she would be separated from her 23-month-old son when she arrives in Korea.
On March 17 when the Danish prosecution decided to extradite Chung, she filed a suit with a local court. However, the court supported the extradition, April 19.
Chung had filed an appeal with a higher court and the hearing was set to take place June 8.
Gwanghwamun 1st Street at Gwanghwamun Square, Seoul, May 25. / Korea Times photos by Choi Won-suk
By Ko Dong-hwan
Foreigners now have an official window to deliver their complaints directly to the central government, but they must be in a written format without a personal consultation.
President Moon Jae-in opened on Thursday Gwanghwamun 1st Street, an outdoor pavilion comprising blue modular spaces, next to the Government Complex in Gwanghwamun, where visitors can leave their comments about the new administration.
Comments can also be submitted online to a website launched on Friday.
Citizens gather at the new pavilion to petition President Moon Jae-in. (From top) members of animal rights group Care hold signs saying "Ban dog meat"; a man rebukes allegedly corrupt prosecutors and calls on the Prosecutor-General to see that justice is done; two men ask President Moon to pass laws to preserve bar exams.
Foreigners can submit their comments in their own languages to staff at the pavilion or via the email indicated on the website Foreigners can submit their comments in their own languages to staff at the pavilion or via the email indicated on the website gwanghwamoon1st.go.kr
Visitors to the pavilion can also petition through a one-on-one meeting with a stationed officer. However, the communication is limited to Korean.
"We will operate Gwanghwamun 1st Street only for 50 days," said Shin Sung-yeol, from Creative Government Planning Bureau under the Ministry of Interior, who was at the pavilion's opening ceremony on Thursday.
"The idea is to build an effective communication channel between Korean citizens and the central government. To be honest, we have not thought about tending to foreigners."
The pavilion launched the service immediately following the ceremony joined by four project planning committee executives and two citizen representatives.
More than 10 sets of small desks with two chairs were lined up inside an air-conditioned space, where officers and petitioners engaged in discussion.
Petition desks were crowded with citizens and journalists on the pavilion's first day of operation.
The ceremony was joined by several civic activists who raised their voices in front of journalists and filed their petitions at the desks.
A member of animal rights group Care live-streamed a fellow member filing a petition, while two former Samsung employees loudly claimed they were unfairly fired 20 years ago.
Two men held signs addressed to President Moon saying it was not yet too late to pass the laws to preserve the bar exam. An aged man spread out a banner containing a letter to the Prosecutor General, claiming two prosecutors had covered up for certain robbers by not complying with a Supreme Prosecutors' Office's order to extend an investigation into the alleged crime.
Visitors to the pavilion can also highlight passages of their favorite books and recommend them to the President by donating the books at a collection point.
By Kim Hyo-jin
The Ministry of Unification authorized a request from a non-governmental organization for its contact with North Koreans, Friday.
This marks Seoul's first approval of inter-Korean civilian contact since it suspended all exchanges following Pyongyang's fourth nuclear test in January last year.
The ministry said it approved the request from the Korean Sharing Movement, a Seoul-based humanitarian aid group, to contact North Korean citizens for humanitarian aid.
Contact with North Koreans or visits to the country require government permission here.
"The current strained inter-Korean relations are not desirable considering stabilization of the Korean Peninsula," the unification ministry said.
"The approval was made based on our position that civilian exchanges including humanitarian assistance should be reviewed flexibly as long as they do not undermine the frame of international sanctions against the North."
The decision came as tensions between the two countries still remain high following the North's test firing its long-range ballistic missiles.
President Moon Jae-in has vowed to resume humanitarian assistance and pursue projects in development and exchanges with North Korea. The decision reflects the stance of the new government that the move should be separated from political considerations.
Kang Kyung-wha, the foreign minister nominee, said Thursday that "Humanitarian aid, the universal value of humanity, should be sought separately from political considerations." A presidential aide mentioned later the remark was in tune with the Moon government.
Kang Young-sik, secretary-general of the Korean Sharing Movement, said he will first discuss a quarantine project with the North in fighting malaria. The group has mainly worked on agricultural assistance and nutrition projects for North Korean children since 1996.
"After the discussion, we plan to send supplies for prevention of the disease on approval from the unification ministry," Kang said.
The humanitarian aid group also seeks to visit the country along with lawmakers including Won Hye-young of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and Chun Jung-bae of the minor opposition People's Party. Kang said it may be realized around June 10 at the earliest.
The ministry is expected to approve other suspended requests made by multiple NGOs to communicate with the reclusive country.
Over the last year, Seoul only approved the Eugene Bell Foundation Korea's delivery of medication for tuberculosis to North Korea.
Eugene Bell is a foreign foundation but needed the government's approval as it had to send supplies procured in South Korea.
It caused controversy as it was done while domestic civilian groups were banned from contact with the North, even to discuss humanitarian assistance.
President Moon Jae-in and incumbent Cabinet ministers appointed by the ousted former President Park Geun-hye applaud during their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. Moon, who was sworn in without a transitional period, asked for the ministers' cooperation for a smooth transfer of jobs to their successors. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Cheong Wa Dae apologized, Friday, for past irregularities committed by some of President Moon Jae-in's nominees for top government posts.
It, however, sought understanding from the National Assembly and the public for their offenses.
Moon's Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok said at a press briefing that the presidential office felt deeply sorry as Moon's personnel appointments failed to live up to public expectations.
"We also want to ask for the understanding of lawmakers who are conducting confirmation hearings at the National Assembly," Im said.
The apology came as Lee Nak-yon, Kim Sang-jo and Kang Kyung-wha, nominees for prime minister, Fair Trade Commission (FTC) head and foreign minister, respectively, have been embroiled in controversy over false residence registration of themselves or their family members.
False residence registration is a criminal offense in South Korea, punishable by up to three years in jail and a fine of up to 10 million won ($8,900), although the law has not been strictly enforced.
During the presidential campaign, Moon vowed not to appoint those linked to evasion of mandatory military service, real estate speculation, tax evasion, false residence registration and thesis plagiarism as high-ranking government officials.
Opposition lawmakers have already attacked Prime Minister-designate Lee during his confirmation hearings over the false residence registration of his wife, calling on Moon to express his position.
Lee's wife falsely registered her address in 1989 while working as a public school teacher, a move aimed at being assigned to a school of her choice. Lee admitted and apologized for the past wrongdoing of his wife during hearings.
The nominee to head the FTC has been also suspected of falsely registering his address twice in the past. The FTC explained that the nominee did not have bad intentions such as speculation in real estate.
Kang also faces criticism for her daughter's false resident registration. Kang explained it was an inevitable choice for her daughter to change schools from the United States to South Korea.
Im confessed that it was difficult for Cheong Wa Dae to fully keep Moon's campaign pledge related to the personnel appointment, saying the reality was different from the ideal.
"The presidential office is working to verify nominees for new ranking government officials with very high moral standards," Im said.
Regarding the issue, some Cheong Wa Dae officials are calling for preparing more detailed criteria in scrutinizing nominees as it is improper to uniformly exclude figures simply because they are involved with false residence registration. The officials say Cheong Wa Dae should look at the intention of the action, as the purposes of changing schools and real estate speculation are different in nature.
The commercial bulk carrier Global Vega rescued seven fishermen in distress on May 21 off the coast of Peru.
While Global Vega was sailing from the port of Acajutla, El Salvador, to the port of Callao, Peru, the vessel came upon a fishing boat having engine trouble. Food and fresh water were provided to the fishermen and their boat was moored to Global Vega. Afterward, the fishermen and their boat were safely delivered to the Peruvian Coast Guard.
Global Vega is a bulk carrier operated by NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of NYK Line.
Global Vega
Captain: Arturo F. Ignacio (Filipino)
Flag: Panama
Crew: 22 seafarers
Gross Tonnage: 32,370 tons
Type of Vessel: Bulk Carrier
Ship owner: NYK Bulk & Projects Carriers Ltd.
Ship-management: NYK Shipmanagement Pte Ltd.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, May 26, 2017
Google has sent a reminder to publishers that they should not misuse content -- which could put publishers and authors at risk of being penalized. The post warns against publishing guest articles for the purpose of building links with the intent to manipulate Google search results.
Those who do are "spamming the algorithm," wrote one person commenting on the post, reminding contributors that the "safe way to strike an advertorial deal is to put rel="nofollow" on the outbound links."
Google's penalties often negatively impact overall site rankings. While Google does not discourage these types of articles in cases when they inform users, educate another sites audience or bring awareness to a cause or a company, publishers that are posting the content need to take a close look and determine whether the content fits the audience.
Some factors among many that can violate Google's guidelines include stuffing keyword-rich links to sites in articles; publishing across many different sites or many articles on a few large, different sites; using or hiring article writers who are not knowledgeable about the topics they are writing on; and using the same or similar content across these articles.
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For years, Google and Facebook have dealt with issues around spam post links in publishers' content. In 2013, Italian researchers Andrea Stroppa and Carlo De Michel led a group that uncovered price lists for posting third-party links to Facebook fan pages.
As for Google, "any links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site's ranking in Google search results may be considered part of a link scheme and a violation of Googles Webmaster Guidelines. This includes any behavior that manipulates links to your site or outgoing links from your site."
by Ray Schultz , May 26, 2017
DataRobot, a company that specializes in machine learning, has acquired Nutonian Inc., a data science software vendor, in a high-tech merger of interest to marketers and other data users. The terms were not disclosed.
The union will bring machine learning to the masses, DataRobots claimed when announcing the deal.
Nutonians AI-driven modeling engine, Eureka, powers predictive analytics for global companies, including Audi, Becks Hybrids and RealPage. The firm is known for its work in time-series forecasting, one of the most time intensive, yet valuable aspects of predictive modeling, said Jeremy Achin, CEO and co-founder of DataRobot, in a statement.
DataRobot offers a machine learning platform, incorporating a library of open-source machine-learning algorithms. In helping firms automate, it facilitates more accurate predictions at scale, it said.
In March, the company secured $54 million in venture funding, adding to a total of $120 million to date.
DataRobot had revenue of $20 million in 2016 -- almost nine times that of the prior year, Dylan Martin reported on Boston. Its 400+ customers include several banks and insurance companies, including Bank of America, he added.
To keep its edge in emerging technology, Apple is developing a processor devoted entirely to artificial intelligence.
Currently referred to as the Apple Neural Engine, the chip is being designed to take on such standard AI tasks as facial recognition and speech recognition, Bloomberg reports.
Among top tech companies, it is hard to overstate the current excitement surrounding AI.
Google, for example, is now shifting from a mobile-first to an AI-first strategy, CEO Sundar Pichai told attendees at Googles I/O developer conference, last week. In an AI-first world, we are rethinking all of our products, and applying machine learning and AI to solve user problems, Pichai said.
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As tech titans pour money into the space, it is clear the market for AI is taking shape faster than previous tech trends.
This is not going to be as slow as the previous [tech] waves, Sarah Fay, managing director at Glasswing Ventures, told attendees of MediaPosts Marketing AI conference last week.
Compared to broadband adoption, programmatic integration and other transformative tech, AI [implementation] is going to happen at about double the speed, Fay predicted.
Thats because, in Fays estimation, the necessary infrastructure and data are already in place for smart marketers to turn AI into high ROI.
Earlier this year, Apple was expected to join the Partnership on AI, which includes other industry leaders with a stake in the future of AI.
Separately, Apple sold fewer iPhones during its second fiscal quarter compared to the same period last year. All told, the company sold 50.8 million phones during the quarter ended April 1, which was off from the 51.2 million sold during the company's second-quarter 2016 period.
On the upside, Apple made more money from phone sales -- $33.2 billion, which was up from $32.9 billion -- meaning that the company is now making more per device.
Analysts are expecting a major sales boost when the next iPhone debuts in the fall.
As such, rather than fret about Q2 sales, Apple watchers should hit snooze for 90 days, as RBC analyst Amit Daryanani explained in recent note to investors.
The following companies are subsidiares of CIT Group: 1143986 Ontario Limited, 1244771 Ontario Limited, 3918041 Canada Inc., 544211 Alberta Ltd., 555565 Alberta Ltd., 555566 Alberta Ltd., Baliardo Limited, C.I.T. Leasing Corporation, C2 Aviation Capital LLC, CBG LJB 21 LLC, CCERU Finance LP, CFHE Funding Company LLC, CIT Aerospace (Australia) Pty Ltd, CIT Aerospace Asia Pte Ltd., CIT Aerospace Belgium Sprl, CIT Aerospace Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, CIT Aerospace Holdings (France) SAS, CIT Aerospace International, CIT Aerospace International (Aruba) A.V.V., CIT Aerospace International (Australia) Pty Ltd., CIT Aerospace International (Bermuda) Limited, CIT Aerospace International (France) Sarl, CIT Aerospace International Leasing II, CIT Aerospace LLC, CIT Aerospace Sweden AB, CIT Asset Management LLC, CIT Aviation Finance I (France) Sarl, CIT Aviation Finance I (Ireland) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance I (UK) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance I Ltd., CIT Aviation Finance II (France) Sarl, CIT Aviation Finance II (Ireland) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance II (UK) Limited, CIT Aviation Finance II Ltd., CIT Aviation Finance III Ltd., CIT Bank N.A., CIT CBK Funding Company LLC, CIT CBK Funding Inc., CIT CLO Holding Corporation, CIT CLO I Blocker Inc., CIT CLO I LLC, CIT CLO I Ltd., CIT Canada Finance LP, CIT Canada Finance ULC, CIT Capital Aviation (UK) Limited, CIT Capital Finance (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Capital Securities LLC, CIT Capital USA Inc., CIT Cayman Coconut Palm Leasing Ltd., CIT Cayman Sandy Keys Leasing Ltd., CIT Communications Finance Corporation, CIT Credit Group USA Inc., CIT Equipment Finance (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT FSC Eighteen Ltd., CIT FSC Nineteen Ltd., CIT Finance & Leasing (Tianjin) Corporation, CIT Finance & Leasing Corporation, CIT Finance LLC, CIT Financial (Alberta) ULC / Services Financiers CIT (Alberta) ULC, CIT Financial (Barbados) SRL, CIT Financial (Hong Kong) Limited, CIT Financial II (Barbados) Srl, CIT Financial Ltd./Services Financiers CIT Ltee., CIT Financial USA Inc., CIT Funding (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Funding Company LLC, CIT Funding LLC, CIT Funds LLC, CIT Group (Hungary) Financial Servicing Limited Liability Company "under voluntary dissolution", CIT Group (NFL) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group (NJ) LLC, CIT Group (Singapore) Pte Ltd (In Members' Voluntary Liquidation), CIT Group (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group Finance (Ireland), CIT Group Holding (Germany) GmbH i.L., CIT Group Holdings (UK) Limited (in liquidation), CIT Group Holdings B.V., CIT Group Inc., CIT Group Italy Srl in liquidazione, CIT Group SF Holding Co. Inc., CIT Healthcare LLC, CIT Holdings (Barbados) SRL, CIT Holdings B.V., CIT Holdings Canada ULC, CIT Home Lending Securitization Company LLC, CIT Insurance Agency Inc., CIT Leasing (Bermuda) Ltd., CIT Leasing (Germany) GmbH i.L., CIT Lending Services Corporation, CIT Lending Services Corporation (Illinois), CIT Loan Corporation, CIT Malaysia One Inc., CIT Maritime Leasing LLC, CIT Mezzanine Partners of Canada Limited, CIT Millbury Inc., CIT Rail Holdings (Europe) SAS, CIT Rail LLC, CIT Railcar Funding Company LLC, CIT Small Business Lending Corporation, CIT Strategic Finance Inc., CIT TRS Funding B.V., CIT TRS Holdings B.V., CIT TRS Subsidiary B.V., CIT Technology Financing Services Inc., CIT Trade Finance Funding Company LLC, CIT Transportation Holdings B.V., CRE CT 21 OTHER LLC, CRE CT 27 OTHER LLC, CRE FFBC LLC, CRE LJ 21 OTHER LLC, CRE LJ 27 OTHER LLC, CRE LJ 4800 Riverside LLC, CRE LJ CA 2 LLC, CRE LJ CA LLC, CRE LJ CP ESCONDIDO LLC, CRE LJ TX LLC, Canadian Income Partners I Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners II Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners III Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners IV Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners V Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VI Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VII Limited Partnership, Canadian Income Partners VIII Limited Partnership, Capita Corporation, Capital Direct Group Inc., Centennial Aviation (Bermuda) 1 Ltd., Centennial Aviation (France) 1 SARL, Centennial Aviation (France) 2 SARL, Centennial Aviation (Ireland) 7 Limited, Direct Capital Corporation, Direct Capital Funding III Company LLC, Direct Capital Funding V LLC, Education Loan Servicing Corporation, Emerald Funding (Netherlands) C.V., Emerald Holdings C.V., Financial Freedom Acquisition LLC, IMV 11 PALM LLC, INDYMAC VENTURE LLC, Jessica Leasing Designated Activity Company, MEX CIT SERVICIOS S. de R.L. de C.V., Madeleine Leasing Designation Activity Company, Memphis Peaking Power LLC, Millennium Leasing Company I LLC, Millennium Leasing Company II LLC, NACCO (U.K.) Limited, NACCO GmbH, NACCO Rail Ireland Limited, NACCO S.A.S, Nacco Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Newcourt Financial Espana S.A., North Romeo Storage Corporation, ONEWEST VENTURES HOLDINGS LLC, OWB REO LLC, OneWest Bank N.A, OneWest Investments II LLC, OneWest Investments LLC, OneWest Resources LLC, PL Servicing LLC, Rita Leasing Designated Activity Company, The CIT GP Corporation III, The CIT Group Securitization Corporation II, The CIT Group/Business Credit Inc., The CIT Group/Commercial Services Inc., The CIT Group/Corporate Aviation Inc., The CIT Group/Equipment Financing Inc., The CIT Group/Equity Investments Inc., The Capita Corporation do Brasil Ltda, The Equipment Insurance Company, and Worrell Capital Limited.
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CNO Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, develops, markets, and administers health insurance, annuity, individual life insurance, and other insurance products for senior and middle-income markets in the United States. It offers Medicare supplement, supplemental health, and long-term care insurance policies; life insurance; and annuities, as well as Medicare advantage plans to individuals through phone, online, mail, and face-to-face. The company also focuses on worksite and group sales for businesses, associations, and other membership groups by interacting with customers at their place of employment. In addition, it provides fixed index annuities; fixed interest annuities, including fixed rate single and flexible premium deferred annuities; single premium immediate annuities; supplemental health products, such as specified disease, accident, and hospital indemnity products; and long-term care plans primarily to retirees and older self-employed individuals in the middle-income market. Further, the company offers universal life and other interest-sensitive life products; and traditional life policies that include whole life, graded benefit life, term life, and single premium whole life products, as well as graded benefit life insurance products. CNO Financial Group, Inc. markets its products under the Bankers Life, Washington National, and Colonial Penn brand names. The company sells its products through agents, independent producers, and direct marketing. CNO Financial Group, Inc. was founded in 1979 and is headquartered in Carmel, Indiana.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company provides solutions that allow customers to capture, analyze, and act upon data seamlessly in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Japan. The company offers general purpose servers for multi-workload computing and workload-optimized servers; HPE ProLiant rack and tower servers; HPE BladeSystem and HPE Synergy; and solutions for secondary workloads and traditional tape, storage networking, and disk products, such as HPE Modular Storage Arrays and HPE XP. It also offers HPE Apollo and Cray products; and HPE Superdome Flex, HPE Nonstop, HPE Integrity, and HPE Edgeline products. In addition, the company provides HPE Aruba product portfolio that includes wired and wireless local area network hardware products, such as Wi-Fi access points, switches, routers, and sensors; HPE Aruba software and services comprising cloud-based management, network management, network access control, analytics and assurance, and location; and professional and support services, as well as as-a-service and consumption models for the intelligent edge portfolio of products. Further, it offers various leasing, financing, IT consumption, and utility programs and asset management services for customers to facilitate technology deployment models and the acquisition of complete IT solutions, including hardware, software, and services from Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others. Additionally, the company invests in communications and media solutions. It has a partnership with Striim, Inc. to offer high performance and mission-critical solutions with real-time analytics. It serves commercial and large enterprise groups, such as business and public sector enterprises; and through various partners comprising resellers, distribution partners, original equipment manufacturers, independent software vendors, systems integrators, and advisory firms. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Bank of America has a rich history dating back to 1800 and even earlier. It was begun by immigrants as a group of separate and unrelated banks that, over the years, merged and grew together. One such is the Bank of Italy which was founded in 1904 by Amadeo Giannini to serve Italian immigrants that were facing discrimination. He later buys out the Banca de America e de Italia (Bank of America and Italy) which was also located in San Francisco. Over the years additional mergers and changes in Federal banking legislation, as well as the boom brought on by WWI and then WWII, helped boost the bank to national prominence.
Things turned sour, however, in 1998 with a major bond default that led to yet another merger, this time with Charlotte, NC-based Nations Bank to officially become the Bank of America that exists today. At the time, the merger was the largest bank merger in history and the company has only grown in the time since.
Other additions to the new Bank of America include MBNA (a major credit card operator), Fleet Boston (then the US 7th largest and one of its oldest banks), and Merril Lynch, now Merril, which was added to the group in 2008 to provide an investment banking branch. Together the company dominates as one of the Big Four Banks in America. Bank of America lays claim to nearly 11% of all US deposits which ranks in line with its peer group and Bank of America Securities is listed as the worlds 3rd largest investment bank.
Today, Bank of America Corporation provides banking and financial services for individuals, small businesses, institutions, corporations, and governments worldwide. The bank operates in three segments Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management, and Global Banking bringing in a combined revenue greater than $90 billion in 2022.
As of 2022, Bank of America serves approximately 67 million consumer and small business clients with approximately 4,200 retail financial centers. The bank also operates more than 16,000 ATMs and digital banking platforms with approximately 41 million active users.
Its Consumer Banking segment offers traditional banking and investment products for retail clients. These range from deposit accounts to savings, credit cards, consumer loans, and IRAs. The Global Wealth & Investment Management segment offers investment and wealth management solutions including, brokerage, banking, and trust and retirement products. The Global Banking segment provides lending products and services, including commercial loans and leases for businesses of all varieties. The Global Markets segment offers market-making, clearing, settlement, and custody services, as well as risk management, derivatives, and FX exchange services.
The following companies are subsidiares of HSBC: Assetfinance December (F) Limited, Assetfinance December (H) Limited, Assetfinance December (M) Limited, Assetfinance December (P) Limited, Assetfinance December (R) Limited, Assetfinance June (A) Limited, Assetfinance June (D) Limited, Assetfinance Limited, Assetfinance March (B) Limited, Assetfinance March (D) Limited, Assetfinance March (F) Limited, Assetfinance September (F) Limited, Assetfinance September (G) Limited, B&Q Financial Services Limited, Banco Nominees (Guernsey) Limited, Banco Nominees 2 (Guernsey) Limited, Banco Nominees Limited, Bank of Bermuda (Cayman) Limited, Beau Soleil Limited Partnership, Beijing Miyun HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Billingsgate Nominees Limited, CC&H Holdings LLC, CCF & Partners Asset Management Limited, COIF Nominees Limited, Canada Crescent Nominees (UK) Limited, Canada Square Nominees (UK) Limited, Capco/Cove Inc., Card-Flo #1 Inc., Card-Flo #3 Inc., Charterhouse Administrators (D.T.) Limited, Charterhouse Management Services Limited, Charterhouse Pensions Limited, Chongqing Dazu HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Chongqing Fengdu HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Chongqing Rongchang HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Cordico Management AG, Corhold Limited, Corsair IV Financial Services Capital Partners, Dalian Pulandian HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Decision One Mortgage Company LLC, Dem 5, Dem 9, Dempar 1, Dempar 4, Elysees Immo Invest, Eton Corporate Services Limited, Fdm 5 SAS, Finanpar 2, Finanpar 7, Flandres Contentieux S.A., Fonciere Elysees, Fujian Yongan HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Fulcher Enterprises Company Limited, Fundacion HSBC A.C., GPIF Co-Investment LLC, Giller Ltd., Global Payments Technology Mexico S.A. De C.V., Griffin International Limited, Grundstuecksgesellschaft Trinkausstrasse Kommanditgesellschaft, Grupo Financiero HSBC S.A. de C.V., Guangdong Enping HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, HITG Administration GmbH, HRMG Nominees Limited, HSBC (BGF) Investments Limited, HSBC (General Partner) Limited, HSBC (Guernsey) GP PCC Limited, HSBC (Kuala Lumpur) Nominees Sdn Bhd, HSBC (Malaysia) Trustee Berhad, HSBC (Singapore) Nominees Pte Ltd, HSBC Administradora de Inversiones S.A., HSBC Agency (India) Private Limited, HSBC Alternative Investments Limited, HSBC Amanah Malaysia Berhad, HSBC Americas Corporation (Delaware), HSBC Argentina Holdings S.A., HSBC Asia Holdings (UK) Limited, HSBC Asia Holdings B.V., HSBC Asia Holdings Limited, HSBC Asia Pacific Holdings (UK) Limited, HSBC Asset Finance (UK) Limited, HSBC Asset Finance M.O.G. Holdings (UK) Limited, HSBC Asset Management (India) Private Limited, HSBC Assurances Vie (France), HSBC Australia Holdings Pty Limited, HSBC Bank (Chile), HSBC Bank (China) Company Limited, HSBC Bank (General Partner) Limited, HSBC Bank (Mauritius) Limited, HSBC Bank (RR) (Limited Liability Company), HSBC Bank (Singapore) Limited, HSBC Bank (Taiwan) Limited, HSBC Bank (Uruguay) S.A., HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd., HSBC Bank A.S., HSBC Bank Argentina S.A., HSBC Bank Armenia cjsc, HSBC Bank Australia Limited, HSBC Bank Bermuda Limited, HSBC Bank Canada, HSBC Bank Capital Funding (Sterling, HSBC Bank Capital Funding (Sterling 2) LP, HSBC Bank Egypt S.A.E, HSBC Bank Malaysia Berhad, HSBC Bank Malta p.l.c., HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, HSBC Bank Nominee (Jersey) Limited, HSBC Bank Oman S.A.O.G., HSBC Bank Pension Trust (UK) Limited, HSBC Bank Polska S.A., HSBC Bank USA National Association, HSBC Bank plc, HSBC Branch Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Brasil Holding S.A., HSBC Brasil S.A. Banco De Investimento, HSBC Broking Forex (Asia) Limited, HSBC Broking Futures (Asia) Limited, HSBC Broking Futures (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Broking Securities (Asia) Limited, HSBC Broking Securities (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Broking Services (Asia) Limited, HSBC Canadian Covered Bond (Legislative) GP Inc, HSBC Canadian Covered Bond (Legislative) Guarantor Limited Partnership, HSBC Capital (USA) Inc., HSBC Capital Funding (Dollar 1) L.P., HSBC Capital Limited, HSBC Card Services Inc., HSBC Casa de Bolsa S.A. de C.V., HSBC Cayman Services Limited, HSBC City Funding Holdings, HSBC Client Holdings Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Client Share Offer Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Columbia Funding LLC, HSBC Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, HSBC Corporate Finance (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Corporate Trustee Company (UK) Limited, HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) Limited, HSBC Custody Services (Guernsey) Limited, HSBC Daisy Investments (Mauritius) Limited, HSBC Diversified Loan Fund General Partner Sarl, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Guangdong) Limited, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, HSBC Electronic Data Processing (Philippines) Inc., HSBC Electronic Data Processing India Private Limited, HSBC Electronic Data Processing Lanka (Private) Limited, HSBC Electronic Data Service Delivery (Egypt) S.A.E., HSBC Enterprise Investment Company (UK) Limited, HSBC Epargne Entreprise (France), HSBC Equipment Finance (UK) Limited, HSBC Equity (UK) Limited, HSBC Europe B.V., HSBC Executor & Trustee Company (UK) Limited, HSBC Factoring (France), HSBC Finance (Brunei) Berhad, HSBC Finance (Netherlands), HSBC Finance Corporation, HSBC Finance Limited, HSBC Finance Mortgages Inc., HSBC Finance Transformation (UK) Limited, HSBC Financial Services (Lebanon) s.a.l., HSBC France, HSBC Fund Services (Korea) Limited, HSBC Germany Holdings GmbH, HSBC Global Asset Management (Bermuda) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (Canada) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (Deutschland) GmbH, HSBC Global Asset Management (France), HSBC Global Asset Management (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (Japan) K. K., HSBC Global Asset Management (Malta) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., HSBC Global Asset Management (Oesterreich) GmbH, HSBC Global Asset Management (Singapore) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (Switzerland) AG, HSBC Global Asset Management (Taiwan) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management (USA) Inc., HSBC Global Asset Management Holdings (Bahamas) Limited, HSBC Global Asset Management Limited, HSBC Global Custody Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Global Custody Proprietary Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Global Services (Canada) Limited, HSBC Global Services (China) Holdings Limited, HSBC Global Services (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Global Services (UK) Limited, HSBC Global Services Limited, HSBC Group Management Services Limited, HSBC Group Nominees UK Limited, HSBC Holdings B.V., HSBC IM Pension Trust Limited, HSBC INKA Investment-AG TGV, HSBC Infrastructure Limited, HSBC Inmobiliaria (Mexico) S.A. de C.V., HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Asia) Limited, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Bermuda) Limited, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Ireland) DAC, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Mauritius) Limited, HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, HSBC Insurance (Asia) Limited, HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, HSBC Insurance (Bermuda) Limited, HSBC Insurance (Singapore) Pte. Limited, HSBC Insurance Agency (USA) Inc., HSBC Insurance Brokers (Philippines) Inc, HSBC Insurance Holdings Limited, HSBC Insurance Services Holdings Limited, HSBC International Finance Corporation, HSBC International Trustee (BVI) Limited, HSBC International Trustee (Holdings) Pte. Limited, HSBC International Trustee Limited, HSBC Inversiones S.A., HSBC InvestDirect (India) Limited, HSBC InvestDirect Financial Services (India) Limited, HSBC InvestDirect Sales & Marketing (India) Limited, HSBC InvestDirect Securities (India) Private Limited, HSBC Investment Bank Holdings B.V., HSBC Investment Bank Holdings Limited, HSBC Investment Funds (Canada) Inc., HSBC Investment Funds (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Investment Funds (Luxembourg) SA, HSBC Invoice Finance (UK) Limited, HSBC Issuer Services Common Depositary Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Issuer Services Depositary Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC LU Nominees Limited, HSBC Latin America B.V., HSBC Latin America Holdings (UK) Limited, HSBC Leasing (Asia) Limited, HSBC Leasing (France), HSBC Life (International) Limited, HSBC Life (Property) Limited, HSBC Life (UK) Limited, HSBC Life Assurance (Malta) Limited, HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited, HSBC Management (Guernsey) Limited, HSBC Markets (USA) Inc., HSBC Marking Name Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Mexico S.A., HSBC Middle East Finance Company Limited, HSBC Middle East Holdings B.V., HSBC Middle East Leasing Partnership, HSBC Mortgage Corporation (Canada), HSBC Mortgage Corporation (USA), HSBC Nominees (Asing) Sdn Bhd, HSBC Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Nominees (New Zealand) Limited, HSBC Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd, HSBC North America Holdings Inc., HSBC Odeme Sistemleri Bilgisayar Teknolojileri Basin Yayin Ve Musteri Hizmetleri, HSBC Operational Services GmbH, HSBC Overseas Holdings (UK) Limited, HSBC Overseas Investments Corporation (New York), HSBC Overseas Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC PB Corporate Services, HSBC PB Services (Suisse) SA, HSBC PI Holdings (Mauritius) Limited, HSBC Participaciones (Argentina) S.A., HSBC Pension Trust (Ireland) DAC, HSBC Pensiones S.A., HSBC Portfoy Yonetimi A.S., HSBC Preferential LP (UK), HSBC Private Bank (C.I.) Limited, HSBC Private Bank (Luxembourg) S.A., HSBC Private Bank (Monaco) SA, HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA, HSBC Private Bank (UK) Limited, HSBC Private Bank International, HSBC Private Banking Holdings (Suisse) SA, HSBC Private Banking Nominee 3 (Jersey) Limited, HSBC Private Equity Advisors LLC, HSBC Private Equity Investments (UK) Limited, HSBC Private Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Private Wealth Services (Canada) Inc., HSBC Professional Services (India) Private Limited, HSBC Property (UK) Limited, HSBC Property Funds (Holding) Limited, HSBC Provident Fund Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Qianhai Securities Limited, HSBC REIM (France), HSBC Real Estate Leasing (France), HSBC Realty Credit Corporation (USA), HSBC Representative Office (Nigeria) Limited, HSBC Retirement Benefits Trustee (UK) Limited, HSBC Retirement Services Limited, HSBC SFH (France), HSBC Savings Bank (Philippines) Inc., HSBC Securities (Asia) Limited, HSBC Securities (Canada) Inc., HSBC Securities (Egypt) S.A.E., HSBC Securities (Japan) Limited, HSBC Securities (Philippines) Inc., HSBC Securities (Singapore) Pte Limited, HSBC Securities (South Africa) (Pty) Limited, HSBC Securities (Taiwan) Corporation Limited, HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., HSBC Securities Asia International Nominees Limited, HSBC Securities Asia Nominees Limited, HSBC Securities Brokers (Asia) Limited, HSBC Securities Investments (Asia) Limited, HSBC Securities Services (Bermuda) Limited, HSBC Securities Services (Guernsey) Limited, HSBC Securities Services (Ireland) DAC, HSBC Securities Services (Luxembourg) S.A., HSBC Securities Services Holding Limited, HSBC Securities Services Holdings (Ireland) DAC, HSBC Securities and Capital Markets (India) Private Limited, HSBC Seguros S.A de C.V., HSBC Seguros de Retiro (Argentina) S.A., HSBC Seguros de Vida (Argentina) S.A., HSBC Service Delivery (Polska) Sp. z o.o., HSBC Services (France), HSBC Services Japan Limited, HSBC Services USA Inc., HSBC Servicios Financieros S.A., HSBC Servicios S.A de C.V., HSBC Software Development (Canada) Inc, HSBC Software Development (Guangdong) Limited, HSBC Software Development (India) Private Limited, HSBC Software Development (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, HSBC Specialist Investments Limited, HSBC Stockbrokers Nominee (UK) Limited, HSBC Technology & Services (China) Limited, HSBC Technology & Services (USA) Inc., HSBC Transaction Services GmbH, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt (International) S.A., HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt AG, HSBC Trinkaus & Burkhardt Gesellschaft fur Bankbeteiligungen mbH, HSBC Trinkaus Europa Immobilien-Fonds Nr. 5 GmbH, HSBC Trinkaus Family Office GmbH, HSBC Trinkaus Immobilien Beteiligungs KG, HSBC Trinkaus Real Estate GmbH, HSBC Trust Company (Canada), HSBC Trust Company (Delaware) National Association, HSBC Trust Company (UK) Limited, HSBC Trust Company AG, HSBC Trustee (C.I.) Limited, HSBC Trustee (Cayman) Limited, HSBC Trustee (Guernsey) Limited, HSBC Trustee (Hong Kong) Limited, HSBC Trustee (Singapore) Limited, HSBC UK Bank plc, HSBC UK Client Nominee Limited, HSBC UK Holdings Limited, HSBC USA Inc., HSBC Violet Investments (Mauritius) Limited, HSBC Wealth Client Nominee Limited, HSBC Yatirim Menkul Degerler A.S., HSI Asset Securitization Corporation, HSI International Limited, HSIL Investments Limited, Hang Seng (Nominee) Limited, Hang Seng Bank (China) Limited, Hang Seng Bank (Trustee) Limited, Hang Seng Bank Limited, Hang Seng Bullion Company Limited, Hang Seng Credit Limited, Hang Seng Data Services Limited, Hang Seng Finance Limited, Hang Seng Financial Information Limited, Hang Seng Indexes Company Limited, Hang Seng Insurance Company Limited, Hang Seng Investment Management Limited, Hang Seng Investment Services Limited, Hang Seng Life Limited, Hang Seng Qianhai Fund Management Company Limited, Hang Seng Real Estate Management Limited, Hang Seng Securities Limited, Hang Seng Security Management Limited, Haseba Investment Company Limited, Hg Janus A Co-Invest L.P., High Time Investments Limited, Honey Green Enterprises Ltd., Hongkong International Trade Finance, Household Capital Markets LLC, Household Finance Corporation III, Household Pooling Corporation, Hubei Macheng HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Hubei Suizhou Cengdu HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Hubei Tianmen HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Hunan Pingjiang HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, INKA Internationale Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH, Imenson Limited, InfraRed NF China Real Estate Investments LP, Inmobiliaria Banci S.A. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Bisa S.A. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Grufin S.A. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Guatusi S.A. de C.V., James Capel & Co. Limited, James Capel (Nominees) Limited, James Capel (Taiwan) Nominees Limited, Jasmine22 Limited, John Lewis Financial Services Limited, Keyser Ullmann Limited, Lion Corporate Services Limited, Lion International Corporate Services Limited, Lion International Management Limited, Lion Management (Hong Kong) Limited, Lyndholme Limited, MIL (Cayman) Limited, MIL (Jersey) Limited, MW Gestion SA, Marks and Spencer Financial Services plc, Marks and Spencer Savings and Investments Limited, Marks and Spencer Unit Trust Management Limited, Mercantile Company Limited, Mexicana de Fomento S.A. de C.V., Midcorp Limited, Midland Bank (Branch Nominees) Limited, Midland Nominees Limited, PT Bank HSBC Indonesia, PT HSBC Sekuritas Indonesia, Promocion en Bienes Raices S.A. de C.V., Prudential Client HSBC GIS Nominee (UK) Limited, R/CLIP Corp., RLUKREF Nominees (UK) One Limited, RLUKREF Nominees (UK) Two Limited, Real Estate Collateral Management Company, Republic Nominees Limited, Republic Overseas Capital Corporation, S.A.P.C. - Ufipro Recouvrement, SAS Bosquet - Audrain, SAS Cyatheas Pasteur, SAS Orona, SCI HSBC Assurances Immo, SFM, SFSS Nominees (Pty) Limited, SNC Dorique, SNC Kerouan, SNC Les Mercuriales, SNC Les Oliviers D'Antibes, SNC Makala, SNC Nuku-Hiva Bail, SNCB/M6-2007 A, SNCB/M6-2007 B, SNCB/M6-2008 A, Saf Baiyun, Saf Chang Jiang, Saf Guangzhou, Saf Zhu Jiang, Saf Zhu Jiang Jiu, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Ba, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Er, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Jiu, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Liu, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Qi, Saf Zhu Jiang Shi Wu, Shandong Rongcheng HSBC Rural Bank Company Limited, Sico Limited, Societe Francaise et Suisse, Somers Dublin DAC, Somers Nominees (Far East) Limited, Sopingest, South Yorkshire Light Rail Limited, St Cross Trustees Limited, Sun Hung Kai Development (Lujiazui III) Limited, Swan National Leasing (Commercials) Limited, Swan National Limited, Thasosfin, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, The Venture Catalysts Limited, Timberlink Settlement Services (USA) Inc., Tooley Street View Limited, Tower Investment Management, Trinkaus Australien Immobilien Fonds Nr. 1 Brisbane GmbH & Co. KG, Trinkaus Australien Immobilien-Fonds Nr. 1 Treuhand-GmbH, Trinkaus Europa Immobilien-Fonds Nr.3 Objekt Utrecht Verwaltungs-GmbH, Trinkaus Immobilien-Fonds Geschaeftsfuehrungs-GmbH, Trinkaus Immobilien-Fonds Verwaltungs-GmbH, Trinkaus Private Equity Verwaltungs GmbH, Tropical Nominees Limited, Turnsonic (Nominees) Limited, Valeurs Mobilieres Elysees, Wardley Limited, Wayfoong Nominees Limited, Wayhong (Bahamas) Limited, Westminster House LLC, Woodex Limited, and Yan Nin Development Company Limited.
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The following companies are subsidiares of Roper Technologies: AC Analytical Controls B.V., AC Analytical Controls Holding B.V., AC Analytical Controls Services B.V., Abel Pump, Acton Research, Acumen PM LLC, Aderant Canada Company, Aderant Company, Aderant Holdings Inc., Aderant International Holdings LLC, Aderant Legal (UK) Limited, Aderant Legal Holdings (AUS) Pty Ltd, Aderant Legal Holdings (NZ) ULC, Aderant Legal Holdings Inc., Aderant North America Inc., Aderant Parent Holdings Inc., Advanced Sensors Limited, Advanced Sensors Ltd., AiCambridge Ltd., Alpha Holdings of Delaware I LLC, Alpha Holdings of Delaware II LLC, Alpha Technologies B.V., Alpha Technologies GmbH, Alpha Technologies Japan LLC, Alpha Technologies Services LLC, Alpha Technologies U.K., Alpha Technologies s.r.o., Alpha Trust Corporation, Alpha UK Holdings LLC, American LegalNet Inc, Amot Controls Corporation, Amot Controls GmbH, Amot/Metrix Investment Company Inc., Amphire Solutions Inc., Amtech Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, Amtech Systems LLC, Amtech World Corporation, Antek Instruments, Archisnapper BV, Ascension Technology Corporation, Assureweb Limited, Atlantic Health Partners Inc., Atlas Database Software Corp., Avitru, Bellefield Systems, BillBlast, C/S Solutions Inc., CBORD Holdings Corp., CBORD Holdings Corporation, CIVCO Holdings Inc., CIVCO Medical Solutions B.V., Centurion Research Solutions LLC, Chalwyn Limited, Civco Holding Inc., Civco Medical Instruments Co. Inc., Clackamas Pump LLC, CliniSys Group, CliniSys Group Limited, Clinisys Scotland Limited, Clinisys Solutions Limited, Cointec Ingenieros y Consultores S.L., Commerce Pump LLC, Compressor Controls (Beijing) Corporation Ltd., Compressor Controls Corporation B.V., Compressor Controls Corporation Middle East, Compressor Controls Corporation S.r.l., Compressor Controls LLC, Compressor Controls Mauritius Ltd., Compressor Controls Pty Ltd., Compressor Controls Saudi Arabia LLC, ComputerEase Software, ConceptShare, ConstructConnect, ConstructConnect Canada Inc., ConstructConnect Inc., Cornell Pump Company, DAT Solutions LLC, DATSolutions Private Limited, DCMH Group Holdings Inc., DCMH Group Holdings LLC, DCMH Holdings Inc., DI Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., DI Dutch Holdings LLC, DI Hong Kong Limited, Data Innovations, Data Innovations Canada Ltd., Data Innovations Cooperatief U.A., Data Innovations Europe S.A., Data Innovations LLC, Data Innovations Latin America Ltda, Dawning Technologies LLC, Deltek, Deltek Ajera Inc., Deltek Asia Pacific (HK) Limited, Deltek Australia Pty Ltd., Deltek Danmark A/S, Deltek France SAS, Deltek GB Limited, Deltek GmbH, Deltek Inc., Deltek Nederland B.V., Deltek Netherlands B.V., Deltek Norge AS, Deltek Sverige AB, Deltek Systems (Canada) Inc., Deltek Systems (Colorado) Inc., Deltek Systems (Philippines) Ltd., Deltek TNSCore Holdings LLC, Deltek WST LLC, Dominion I Inc., Duncan Technologies, Dynamco Inc., Dynamic Instruments Inc., Dynisco Enterprises GmbH, Dynisco Enterprises LLC, Dynisco Europe GmbH, Dynisco Holding GmbH, Dynisco Instruments LLC, Dynisco Instruments S.a.r.l., Dynisco LLC, Dynisco Parent Inc., Dynisco S.r.l., Dynisco Viatran LLC, Dynisco Viatran (M) Sdn Bhd, Dynisco-Viatran Instrument Sdn Bhd, EPSI, FMS Purchasing & Services Inc., FSI Holdings Inc., FTI Flow Technology Inc., Flow Technology, Fluid Metering, Fluid Metering Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink Holdings Inc., Foodlink IT India Private Limited, Foundry, Foundry Visionmongers (Ireland) Limited, Freight Market Intelligence Consortium, Gatan, GeneInsight Inc., Getloaded Corporation, HRsmart Canada Inc., HRsmart France SAS, HRsmart Germany GmbH, HRsmart Inc., HRsmart International, HRsmart International Holdings LLC, HRsmart Mexico, HRsmart SA (Pty) Ltd., HRsmart Talent Management Solutions Europe Limited, HRsmart Ventures LLC, Handshake Software Inc., Handshake Software Inc., Hansco Automatisering B.V., Hansen Technologies, Hansen Technologies Corporation, Harbour Holding Corp., Hardy Process Solutions, Horizon Lab Systems LLC, Horizon Software International LLC, IDS, INPUT Inc., IPA Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., ISL Finance SAS, ISL Holding SAS, ISL Scientifique de Laboratorie - ISL S.A.S., Impact Financial Systems, Industrial Products Investment Company, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Innovative Product Achievements LLC, Inovonics Corporation, Instill Corporation, IntelliTrans Limited, Intellitrans LLC, Intellitrans Sweden AB, JLT Mobile Computers Inc., Job Access LTDA, Laser App Inc., Link Logistics Holding LLC, Loadlink Technologies Corporation, Logitech, Logitech Limited, Lumenera Corporation, MASD, MED Professional Services LLC, MEDTEC Inc., MEDTEC LLC, MHA Long Term Care Network Inc., MHA Long Term Care Services Inc., MIPS Austria GesmbH, MIPS Deutschland GmbH, MIPS France Sarl, MIPS Nederland B.V., MIPS Schweiz AG, MIPS Software Iberica SL, MPR Readers Inc., Managed Health Care Associates Inc., Media Cybernetics L.P., Medical Information Professional Systems NV, Medina Acquisition LLC, Metrix Instrument Co. L.P., NDI Europe GmbH, NDI Holding Corp., Navigator Group Purchasing Inc., Neptune Technology Group (Canada) Co., Neptune Technology Group Holdings Inc., Neptune Technology Group Inc., Neptune Technology Group Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Neptune Technology Group Services Inc., Nippon Roper K.K., Northern Digital Inc., Omega Legal Systems Inc., On Center Software LLC, Onvia Inc., PAC (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PAC Denmark ApS, PAC GmbH, PAC Instruments (Thailand) Company Limited, PAC Instruments Asia PTE. Ltd., PB Bidco Limited, PB Holdco Limited, PB Midco Limited, PB Topco Limited, PGP UK Limited, PMC/Beta, Petroleum Analyzer, Petroleum Analyzer Company L.P., Petrotech, Phase Analyzer Company Ltd., Photometrics, PowerPlan, PowerPlan Canada ULC, PowerPlan Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Inc., PowerPlan Intermediate Holdings Inc., PowerPlan Operations ANZ Pty Ltd, PowerPlan Operations Ltd., Princeton Instruments, Project Aloha Merger Sub Inc., Project Diamond Intermediate Holdings Corporation, Project Torque Intermediate Holdings Inc., Project Viking Holdings Inc., Project Viking Intermediate LLC, QSC 1208 Limited, QSC 1209 Limited, Quantitative Imaging Corporation, RF IDeas, RF IDeas Inc., RI Marketing India Private Limited, RIL Holding Limited, RMT Inc., RT Merger Sub Inc., Rebate Tracking Group LLC, Redlake Imaging Corporation, Resonant Software Inc., Roda Deaco Valve Inc., Roper Acquisitions Holdings Inc., Roper Brasil Comercio E Promocao De Productos E Servicos LTDA, Roper Canada Holdings LP, Roper Canada UK Limited, Roper Denmark UK Limited, Roper EUR Pte. Ltd., Roper Engineering s.r.o., Roper Europe GmbH, Roper GM Denmark Holdings ApS, Roper Germany GmbH, Roper Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Roper Holdings Limited, Roper IH LLC, Roper Industrial Products Investment Company, Roper Industries Denmark ApS, Roper Industries Deutschland GmbH, Roper Industries Inc., Roper Industries Limited, Roper Industries Manufacturing (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Roper Industries Mauritius Ltd., Roper Industries UK Limited, Roper International Holding Inc., Roper International Holding Limited, Roper International Holding SCS, Roper LLC, Roper Luxembourg Finance S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg Holdings S.a.r.l., Roper Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Roper Middle East Ltd. FZCO, Roper NL1 UK Limited, Roper NL2 UK Limited, Roper Operations Company I LLC, Roper Operations Company II LLC, Roper Pte. Ltd., Roper Pump Company, Roper Scientific B.V., Roper Scientific SAS, Roper Scot LP, Roper Singapore Holding LLC, Roper Southeast Asia LLC, Roper Swiss Finance GmbH, Roper T1 LLC, Roper T1000 Corp., Roper T2 LLC, Roper Tech. Middle East Ltd. FZCO, Roper Technologies (Ireland) Limited, Roper Technologies (Scot) LP, Roper UK Investments Limited, Roper UK Ltd., Roper-Mex L.P., Ropintassco Holdings L.P., SHP Group Holdings Inc., SIRA LLC, Shanghai Roper Industries Trading Co. Ltd., Sinmed Holding International B.V., Societe de Distribution de Logiciels Medicaux, SoftWriters Inc., Softwriters Holdings, Softwriters Holdings Inc., Sohnar Pty Ltd, Star Purchasing Services LLC, Strata Acquisition Subsidiary Inc., Strata Decision Technologies LLC, Strata Decision Technology LLC, Strata Parallel II Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker 2 Inc., Strategic Healthcare Programs Blocker LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs Holdings LLC, Strategic Healthcare Programs L.L.C., Struers, Struers (Shanghai) International Trading Ltd., Struers A/S, Struers GmbH, Struers Inc., Struers K.K., Struers Limited, Struers SAS, Sunquest Europe Limited, Sunquest Holdings Inc., Sunquest Information Systems (Europe) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (India) Private Limited, Sunquest Information Systems (International) Limited, Sunquest Information Systems Inc., Sunquest Information Systems Pty Ltd, TLP Holdings LLC, Team TSI Corporation, Technolog Group Limited, Technolog Holdings Limited, Technolog Holdings Ltd., Technolog Limited, Technolog SARL, The CBORD Group Inc., The Foundry Topco No.2 Limited, The Foundry USCo Inc., The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd., The Tidewater Healthcare Shared Services Group Inc., The Washington Management Group Inc., Torque Acquisition Holdco Inc., Transcore Atlantic Inc., Transcore CNUS Inc., Transcore Holdings Inc., Transcore ITS LLC, Transcore LP, Transcore Nova Scotia Corporation, Transcore Partners LLC, Trinity Integrated Systems Limited, Trinity Integrated Systems Ltd., UHF Purchasing Services LLC, Union Square Software (International) Limited, Union Square Software Inc., Union Square Software Limited, Union Square Software Pty, United Controls Group Inc., Uson L.P., Uson Limited, Utilitec Limited, Utilitec Services Limited, Utility Data Services Limited, Verathon Canada Holdings Inc., Verathon Holdings (Delaware) Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Inc., Verathon Medical (Australia) Pty Limited, Verathon Medical (Canada) ULC, Verathon Medical (Europe) B.V., Verathon Medical (France) SARL, Verathon Medical (Hong Kong) Limited, Verathon Medical (Japan) K.K., Verathon Medical (UK) Ltd., Vertafore, Vertafore Canada Inc., Vertafore Inc., Vertafore India Private Limited, Viastar Services LP, Viatran Corporation, WELIS, Walter Herzog GmbH, WorkBook APAC Ltd., Workbook Software A/S, Zetec (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Zetec Canada Ltd., Zetec France, Zetec Inc., Zetec Korea Inc., Zetec Services Inc., iPipeline, iPipeline (TCP) Limited, iPipeline Canada Inc, iPipeline Co. Ltd., iPipeline Holdings Inc, iPipeline Inc, iPipeline Limited, iSqFt Holdings Inc., iSqFt Parent Corporation, iSqFt Sub Inc., iTradeNetwork Inc., and mySBX Corporation.
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Credit Suisse Group AG, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The company offers wealth management solutions, including investment advice and discretionary asset management services; risk management solutions, such as managed investment products; and wealth planning, succession planning, and trust services. It also provides financing and lending solutions, including consumer credit and real estate mortgage lending, real asset lending relating to ship, and aviation financing for UHNWI; standard and structured hedging, and lombard lending solutions, as well as collateral trading services; and investment banking solutions, such as global securities sales, trading and execution, capital raising, and advisory services. In addition, the company offers banking solutions, such as payments, accounts, debit and credit cards, and product bundles; asset management products; equity and debt underwriting, and advisory services; cash equities, equity derivatives, and convertibles, as well as prime services; and fixed income products, such as credit, securitized, macro, emerging markets, financing, structured credit, and other products. Further, it provides HOLT, a framework for assessing the performance of approximately 20,000 companies; and equity and fixed income research services. The company serves private and institutional clients; ultra-high-net-worth individuals, high-net-worth individuals, and affluent and retail clients; corporate clients, small and medium-sized enterprises, external asset managers, financial institutions, and commodity traders; and pension funds, hedge funds, governments, foundations and endowments, corporations, entrepreneurs, private individuals, financial sponsors, and sovereign clients. As of December 31, 2021, it operated through a network of 311 offices and branches. The company was founded in 1856 and is based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Roy Gramps Morgan, leading member of US-based family reggae group Morgan Heritage, was on Tuesday, May 23, unveiled in Accra as an Ambassador of the 2017 Pan African Historical Theatre Festival, PANAFEST.
Gramps Morgan, the keyboardist and lead voice in the five-member family reggae group formed in 1994 by their musician father, Denroy Morgan , ended a weeklong personal visit to Ghana by offering to be a brand Ambassador for the Diaspora for the 2017 edition marking the 25th anniversary of the Pan African festival.
Gramps told newsmen at an unveiling ceremony at the African Regent Hotel that he had previously travelled to Ghana on two occasions but on this third visit, he realises that God is working here.
He recalled his days in Jamaica in the late 1990s when the then Ghanaian President Rawlings paid a state visit and urged Jamaicans and Blacks in the West Indies to endeavour to come home to Ghana.
Yes, Ghanas doors have been open to the Diaspora since she became Independent but the time has come to open those doors a little bit wider to attract those in the Diaspora to come in and make an impact in business, in the arts and in other areas of social endeavour, Gramps said passionately.
Brothers and sisters, you might not know this, but coming home to Africa is one of the most difficult things confronting even affluent people in the Diaspora especially those in the United States. The reason is that most of them still know little or nothing about Africa, and for that matter, about Ghana.
As I go back home, my responsibility as an Ambassador for a continental Pan-African festival like PANAFEST is clear. I am going to reach out to my network of friends, associates and all the conscious people out there and encourage them to visit Ghana to sample the nice, peaceful life here.....and try out some Banku or fufu and palm-nut soup, Gramps said to a loud applause.
Morgan Heritages 2015 album Strictly Roots won the Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category in 2016.
Gramps says he and brothers were getting ready to launch their latest album Avrakedabra - a highly anticipated release which features Ziggy Marley, Stephen Marley, KabakaPyramid and Dre Island, when he surprised everybody with his decision to come to Ghana a couple of weeks ago.
He said when his brothers and associates asked him what he was going to do in Ghana at this crucial time, he said: Ghana (Kenya too) is special to me and something there is calling me now!
Asked if, as a headliner, the entire five-member ensemble of Morgan Heritage will be featuring at PANAFEST 2017, Gramps said if everything worked out well, he could get the whole band to participate in the festival, adding rather jokingly, After all, Im the oldest brother in the band and I can decree that they all come home for Panafest.
The Pan African Historical Theatre Festival - PANAFEST is a landmark biennial festival which has been celebrated in Ghana since 1992 and usually attracts scores of artistes in both the visual and performing arts from the Diaspora and other parts of Africa. This year's PANAFEST will be held under the theme:'PANAFEST @ 25 - The power of Pan African Culture'.
Although, as usual, the reverential components of Panafest activities are scheduled for Cape Coast in the Central Region, the 2017 edition marking the 25th anniversary of the festival will open on July 25 with wreath-laying ceremonies at the tombs of Pan-African stalwarts W.E.B. Dubois, George Padmore and Kwame Nkrumah, Ghanas first President, in Accra and end on August 2 with an International Musical concert also in Accra.
Activities to be hosted in Cape Coast during the 10-days of the festival include the opening of an emporium and visual arts exhibition, visits to Historical Sites, series of International Variety Performances, the Panafest Colloquium and the Grand Durbar of Chiefs, Queenmothers and people.
27.05.2017 LISTEN
Nollywood actress, Funke Adesiyan, has come out to blast some of her colleagues who go about flaunting their wealth on social media yet cannot help a fellow colleague in the industry.
The actress anger came after it was announced that every actor should donate the sum of N100 thousand to help bring down the corpse of the late actress, Moji Olaiya, down to Nigeria.
She explained that when the amount was mentioned, some people chickened out but will go about posting her pictures claiming to be her friend as she as warned that her pictures should be brought down since they have nothing to offer.
In her words, Life is funny. People are really not worth the trouble. The essence of being part of an association, group et al is so you can be there for one another in matters related to you all. Its really a shame that many artistes came on social media, flooded Moji Olaiya's house shedding tears and when it boils down to extending a helping hand, many chickened out. Artistes were billed 100k each to bring Moji's body down.
If 50 of us contribute 100k, we have 5million which is about $15k (medical rate) Many didn't contribute a penny. All they know how to do is flaunt wealth that they dont have on social media. The house you live in is being paid for by others, the car you drive na dash, the supposed business you own, you are not making a dime from. My sister/brother, quit living large and forming rich on other people largesse. Forming oga madam on top nothing! You only have right to flaunt your own sweat. If not, siddon Jeje and make less noise please! We don't need to turn to beggers to help one another. We all could be one another's helper. If you are Moji's friend/colleague and you didn't contribute a dime towards helping to move her down, you should take her picture down! Thank you to the very few artistes, socialites, friends who contributed to save the day. May God bless you all.
Mr. President, even though it might seem long overdue, I still wish to use this opportunity to congratulate you on your assumption of the highest office of the Republic of Ghana. Without much reservation on the processes and the procedures that led to your 2016 victory, congratulations once again, my president. As a senior legal practitioner of great repute and a senior human right activist of good standing in this country, many a Ghanaian was very happy to have seen you sworn into office as our president.
However, Mr President, I shudder to believe that our hopes for the rule of law and protection of the fundamental human rights in your presidency per the recent development have failed to travel pass the first four(4) months of your four-year tenure of office. This is clearly evident in the recent unfortunate developments of human rights abuses and conspicuous disregard of law and order led by your financier and MP for Assin Central, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who is also said to be your defacto right-hand man.
I thought one of your hallmarks and the benchmark you were looking for to score high marks is the rule of law and for that matter, the promotion of the Fundamental Human Rights for the citizenry. Under your very watch, we have seen some of the worst human rights violations in our democratic history and the blatant disregard for the rule of law in broad day light. What have become of our president whose democratic credentials hence stand for the rule of law so trumpeted by the elephants and their media cabal? Or better still, will I not be right to say its the lawlessness of Kennedy Ohene Agyapong's which has fatally plagued your administration, Mr President? Can't the man who so challenged our very statutes in court for the repeal of the libel law, challenge the impudence of this lawless one and bring him to order? Is this a dead elephant syndrome? Or Kennedy Agyapong who is the commander in chief of the delta and invisible forces is mow more powerful than you, the commander in chief of Ghana's armed forces? I wish not to think far since whatever that may have made the elephant this psychiatrical, an ordinary citizen like me who still doesn't want to be a spectator may still not have the cure now until the next four years. But I believe you can still win back our trust if at least you do something about this cancer of lawlessness which Kennedy Agyapong and his delta and invisible forces have plagued your administration and unfortunately for that matter, our nation's democratic credentials.
Mr President, you may recall that at the very seat of the presidency, a policeman on duty was physical assaulted by your vigilante group in charge of the office of the president. And rather unlike about you as we know typical of you in the 1990s and the early 2000s, you would have condemned such acts of human rights violations but you have deafeningly refused to condemned such a human right abuse and violations even at the seat of your presidency. Have the monsters that were created to attack your political opponents, per the reciprocity of karma, now turned and they are eating up their own members?
My president, it's rather unprecedented in this country that a government appointee, the national security coordinator, for no small region like the Asante Region was assaulted, verbally abused and dragged out of his office. Shockingly, this happened in your tenure of office. This was a clear violation of his personal liberty, his fundamental human rights, his right to employment and even his freedom to speech. But what happened? Your MP and financier openly accused your national security minister, Hon. Kan Daapah and dared him, the police and the national security to take his notorious vigilante group members to the court. And that they shall see what will happen. Your guess is as good as mine that it was against this backdrop that this vigilante group raided the premises of a court of competent jurisdiction and freed its members who were on remand. When did our country become such a lawless one? If we justify present evil by past, we have only justified our backwardness. This is how backward political equalization is. We the people deserve better than what we are witnessing in your administration.
Having dared all that he could dare, this notorious MP and his lawless vigilante groups delivered in a Rambo style with their usual impunity to no surprise to those of us who have been fatigued by the MP who dishonorably has set himself above the law. However, to see him and his cohorts attack the very foundation of law and order just to free their people who were culpable is simply an unpardonable treason to the future of our toddling democracy. Your excellency, this honourable Kennedy Agyapong and his terrorists of law and order desecrated the sanctity of all that our courts stand for. Something which is ignobly unprecedented in our body politic. What makes evil and such lawlessness thrive the more even in a democracy and inspire others to do same is when men like you in the highest office of the land, vested with all the powers to call such a one and his hordes to order both within your party structures and state force, instead keep silent and turn the blind eye because you have allowed such crime to still wear political colours even under your distinguished self.
Your comments at the Asantehenes palace were discourse mastic. Because your financier, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has dared the police and he went on to carry out his course and nothing was done to him because during the previous government, the NDC when he allegedly said that they should kill Ewes and the Gas , he was arrested by the BNI, your party national executives made a hero out of him. So your Excellency, I think your hero is now making zero all your rule of law credentials as a party and a government. This "honourable" MP has virtually dishonoured with insults every member of your party including yourself good old self. What makes him think that NPP members are fools who do not have "home sense". Unlike you in opposition, you would have called on the president to disassociate himself from such an act of insults and ethnocentric hate speech. We are still waiting for you to bring such a bad nut in your party to order. I don't expect you to wash his dirty linen in public because it's already out there in the public. I expected you and your party to wash him thoroughly behind closed doors so he doesn't flaunt his dirty linen in public dishonorably.
Should the financier be the one who calls the shots in your party? Well, if he is, certainly we voted for you us our president and not for a de facto above the law Kennedy Agyapong. Everybody in this country knows that he has insulted every woman, journalists, businessmen etc. But in all these, you remain silent as usual of you. Well, your status has changed so you can't lead a Kumipreko demonstration now because you are the number one gentleman of the land. However, it's more gentlemanly to bring to order such an unruly mouth.
My president, we know you may not want to openly disassociate yourself from from the lawlessness of your financier even though that would have earned you more presidential credit but at least bring your untamed Hon. member of Parliament and financier to order so the up and coming ones in your party will not have a bad example set before them in him. Nobody can speak of him and will not be hunted. No security agents can work on him, arrest him nor can do anything to him. But we are not living in the days of the animal farm and we know and believe you as a human right activist will bring him to order. We are counting on you to do so.
But kindly prompt our Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, to please take note that as a law maker, he is supposed to protect and uphold the law at all times. Anyway, if I even say he is a law maker, I think I have been most charitable to the facts.
Again your excellency, even though you welcome your AG with the lowest point in our judicial system with the infamous delta force case where justice was stabbed in the back by the lack of evidence. If the rule of law is of mere judicial process then conscience must also pass its verdict on both you and all those in the judicial process that freed the delta forces in gross disdain of justice. Kindly tell the AG, the office you once held, to go on with the prosecution of Kennedy's vigilante group and not back out else it will be a clear admission that you, our President, is in full support of the lawlessness ravaging our infant rule of law and order. We the youths in Ghana will advice ourselves in ways you perfectly understand and the human rights fraternity in Ghana and abroad will have to know that indeed we have lost you as an immortalised fighter for human rights and rule of law. What else will be left for you Mr President is to go down the book of our democratic history as a once highly reputed fighter of human rights and the rule of law but lost his place because of the untamed lawless MP for Assin Central, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong.
Kind regards
Martin Luther Obeng (Dr)
Ambasciatore dei Diritti Umani (Ambassador of Adsociazione Diritti Umani, a human rights organization in Italy )
+233 244 507 573
+233 242 643 462
Accra - Poised to ensure that bad industry practices do not thrive at the expense of others who are playing by the rules, the National Petroleum Authority (NPA) on Wednesday confiscated over 10,000 litres of diesel in the Western Region.
The operation led by the Takoradi Zonal Manager of NPA, Mrs Linda Boamah which was in collaboration with the Western Regional Police Command, targeted table top sellers of petrol and diesel in Takoradi metropolis, Shama and Ahanta West municipality in the Western Region.
The fuel vendors sell petrol and diesel in gallons by the streets and other established locations, where fuel is placed in drums and served with the use of huge funnels to fill up gallons and vehicles of clients that turn up.
The NPA believes these table top dealers are either selling products at unapproved prices. Also, samples of the product, which were tested by the NPA with the LSX machine, revealed that the fuel being sold was of poor quality and had the tendency to destroy the engines of vehicles that patronized the fuel.
Also, the NPA Act prohibits any person, other than one licensed under the Act, from being in possession of a petroleum product in quantities unreasonably in excess of that person immediate requirement.
The fear is that these illegal sales of petroleum products could lead to fire explosions as dealers of the highly inflammable fuel operate with no safety measure.
The NPA will continue to ensure that the downstream petroleum industry is sanitize in order to ensure standards are applied across board in all aspects of the industry.
Assembly members and government appointees in the Sunyani West District have finally endorsed Mr. Martin Obeng, as presidents nominee for the position of a District Chief Executive (DCE).
This is his second attempt to be the DCE as he was rejected in a first attempt about two weeks ago.
Hon. Martin Polled 49 votes, representing 90.7 per cent, while 5 assembly members voted against him in the election which was held for the second time.
He was subsequently sworn-in into office by the Brong Ahafo regional Minister, Lawyer Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh.
The election which was held at the assembly Hall was presented by a heavy security both police and soldiers to safeguard the election.
Also intended to foil any attacks by sympathisers and supporters, mostly the youth of the party, on the assembly members.
In Hon. Martin Obeng acceptance speech he showed a great depth of gratitude to president Nana Addo,Brong Ahafo regional minister lawyer Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh, electorates, family and for the confidence repose in him and also thanks members of the Federation of Disability Organization and Ghana Society of Physical Disability as he dedicate this honorable day for them.
He called for collective effort in bringing development to the area irrespective of party and ethnic affiliation.
"Development of the area is key to my development agenda and would leave no stone unturned to change the lives of the people for the better" he added.
" Am ready to welcome everyone views and support from everyone" he stated.
"The developmental projects like poor infrastructural roads, sanitation should be dealt with as soon as possible" he added.
He pleaded with the assembly members to avoid partisanship and work together as a team for a better result.
Brong Ahafo regional minister, Lawyer Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh commended the assembly members for finally making a decision that would be of great help for the people.
He cautioned the newly confirmed DCE against favouritism and asked him to work selflessly with the assembly members.
The election was witnessed by the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Lawyer Kwaku Asomah Cheremeh,Regional police commander, Rep. from military,Sunyani East MP. Nananom,regional youth organizer,some confirmed MCEs and DCEs and regional NPP executives.
First Election Results;
Mr Martin Obeng did not secure the endorsement in the first meeting as he got 64.8 per cent of the votes cast.
Out of the 54 assembly members who were present and voted, 19 voted NO whilst 35 voted YES.
Nana Antwi Boasiako, Metro 90.5FM- Sunyani
27.05.2017 LISTEN
The international community welcomed the Sudan government's timely decision to open new humanitarian corridor for the World Food Program (WFP), to enable aid to get through to South Sudan, where famine has been declared in parts of the country.
importance of Sudanese decision is premised on the fact that it comes at a critical time just before South Sudans rainy season, which starts in May and usually renders roads impassable.
Sudan s initiative comes in conformity with both, Sudans longstanding and exemplary hospitality towards refugees, and likewise Sudans principled position that it will spare no effort to assist brothers in Southern Sudan until peace and stability are maintained.
Celebrating Sudans position, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas said "we are very grateful to the government of Sudan for the open approach, this is not something that has been easy, and they have shown a great deal of concern, generosity and openness,".
Likewise, the U.S Charge d'Affaires in Khartoum, on his part, has appreciated the efforts of Sudan government in this connection, affirming the importance of continuing contacts and coordination to address the humanitarian situation challenge in South Sudan.
The flow of South Sudanese refugees into the Sudan shows no signs of abating.
Every day, approximately 300 people cross the border to escape insecurity and lack of food in neighboring South Sudan. According to Sudanese officials Sudan is currently hosting more than 495,000 South Sudanese refugees, who have arrived since the brutal civil war erupted in their country in December 2013. In fact, given the situation in South Sudan marked by localized fighting and critical levels of food insecurity in areas close to the Sudanese border, the UNHCR and partners anticipated the continued arrival of South Sudanese refugees into Sudan throughout 2017.
Notably, in December 2013, Sudans President Omer al-Bashir decided to treat South Sudanese refugees as citizens and refused establishing refugee camps for them, saying they can live and work all over Sudan. Its only recently, and at the behest and repeated appeals of the government of South Sudan, Sudanese government has agreed for yet humanitarian reasons, to recognize South Sudanese nationals as refugees, so they can launch calls for the United Nations, to provide funds and aid assistance.
As the time when the world is struggling to accommodate a record number of refugees, one country has been exceptionally and notably welcoming without any reproach or injury; despite its known unfavorable economic conditions, Sudan in an exceptional self-denial, has willingly adopted open door policy towards refugees, Sudan has always opened its arms to those fleeing the wars of the South, but to those fleeing most of the continent's wars, large numbers of whom enter the Sudan legally or otherwise, constituting a heavy burden on the countrys meager resources and services.
Arguably, generosity stands as an integral part of the Sudanese cultural heritage which is inherited over the generations, especially towards those desperately fleeing conflicts and other tribulations; UNHCR for instance, continues to commend the Government and people of Sudan for providing hospitality to Asylum-seekers and refugees, hosting one of the worlds most protracted refugee Populations, over the past four decades.
Sudan continues to show outstanding generosity and hospitality towards the waves of South Sudanese refugees, at a time when the country is hosting the highest number of refugees in its history; today, besides South Sudanese nationals, Sudan is generally hosting about two million refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Chad, Somalia, Central Africa Republic, Yemen and Syria, fleeing conflicts and the like, to find safe haven in what must rank as one of the worlds most hospitable countries to refugees. According to UN statistics, there are steady new influxes of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers into eastern Sudan, at a rate of 1800 per month.
Citing another example of self-denial, let us recall that, at the time Syrian refugees were exposed to a systematic and untold violence, prosecution and discrimination in some countries in the region, Syrians and Yemeni refugees equally, were accorded special treatment in Sudan; granted the right to enter Sudan with no visa needed, and no fees entailed. In addition to that they are granted free medical care and education (free primary and secondary education in government schools) besides, the right to work in public and private sector. More importantly, Syrians and Yemenis, living in Sudan say they do not face the discrimination they often run into in some other Arab countries.
In fact and according to Mr. Mazin Abu El-Kheir, the founder of the Syrian Support Committee in Khartoum If Sudan closes its doors, Syrians have two options: Turkey or the sea," adding that "And everyone has seen the tragedies that happen at sea. Syrian refugees in Sudan have exceeded 100,000 in number and this figure is growing with aggravation of crisis in their country.
Upon his return from a his first short visit to Sudan in July 2016, the American Richard Gunderman, Chancellors Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University, documenting his experience in his article (The lessons of Sudan) he writes " My experiences in Sudan led me to think that hospitality and generosity are far more characteristic of the Islamic faith than extremism and terrorism. As a visitor from a far-off land and an adherent of another faith, my own experiences in Sudan attested to the importance of hospitality in the Islamic tradition. I had the sense that my Muslim hosts saw hospitality not as a duty they were required to comply with but as an opportunity to shine at something that they cared deeply about.
Whereas, Sudan deserves tremendous international praise for its continued humanitarian efforts, however, it is equally vital today for the international community to come together and to expedite their contributions of funds and expertise to ensure that all the urgent needs of refugees in Sudan and duly met. Further international efforts are equally needed to find long-term political solutions that will allow these refugees to return to their home countries to rebuild their lives in safety and dignity.
By Mubarak M.Musa Diplomat;
Embassy of Sudan in Ukraine, Kiev
The recent countless images and voice messages which are making the rounds on the social media and purported to be from migrants (to be precise, migrant women in the Middle East), represent nothing, but sheer cruelty and degrading treatment or punishment.
To be quite honest, the images are extremely inhumane and must not be allowed to pass without scolding and shaming the perpetrators.
It is being reported that the migrant women in some Middle East countries are often forced to undertake penal servitude (work without remunerations).
According to an eye witness account, the migrant women are forced to undertake variety of household chores, including taking care of children and caring for the sick and the aged, purportedly, with little or no remunerations.
More worryingly, credible sources have it that many migrant women are often kept under lock in their adopted homes by their masters.
Apparently, the migrant women are being tortured and raped day in and day out. It would, however, appear that the migrant women don't have equality, they don't have freedom, and they don't even have respect and dignity in any meaningful sense.
But then again, such an abhorrent behaviour should not surprise some of us, as most women from that part of the world are believed to be discriminated against in all walks of life, including jobs, pay, education and welfare.
Whatever the case, we cannot and must not stand aside and look whilst our country women are being treated as slaves elsewhere.
In this day and age, no country should be allowed to trample upon the inalienable human rights of its own citizens, let alone the citizens from elsewhere.
It is, however, worth emphasising that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights outlaws some practices directly related to trafficking, inter alia, slavery, servitude, the slave trade and forced or compulsory labour.
And what is more, the 1926 Slavery Convention criminalises slavery. Whilst its 1953 amended Convention delineates practices which are comparable to slavery, including debt bondage and institutions and practices that discriminate against women in the contest of marriage.
Moreover, some of the relevant international instruments that have been enacted to specifically combat slavery and human trafficking include the Palermo Protocol, an addendum to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime (2000).
Article 5 of the Protocol for instance, obligates States to criminalise trafficking, attempted trafficking, and any other deliberate involvement or arrangement in a trafficking scheme.
Granted, those ladies willingly or unwillingly travelled to those countries, the authorities or the citizenry have no given rights to maltreat or afflict pain on them.
As a matter of fact, any migrant, whether legal or illegal, is equally protected under the international law.
It is, however, worth stressing that the 1951 Refugee Convention is an important instrument in the protection and defending of the rights of aliens, refugees and stateless persons.
More significantly, Articles 31, 32 and 33 of the 1951 Refugee Convention protect against the prosecution for illegal entry and protection against expulsion (Refoulement).
Then again, if the migrant women were sent to those countries by registered agencies with a view to working legally, they might as well be covered under the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and their Family Members.
Obviously, the Migrant Workers Convention discourages all forms of discriminations, including forced or compulsory labour.
More importantly, migrant workers are protected through the principles and standards set forth in the relevant instruments such as the International Labour Organisation, especially the Convention concerning Migration for Employment (No. 97), the Convention concerning Migrations in Abusive Conditions and the Promotion of Equality of Opportunity and Treatment of Migrant Workers (No. 143), the Recommendation concerning Migration for Employment (No. 86), the Recommendation concerning Migrant Workers (No. 151), the Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (No. 29) and the Convention concerning Abolition of Forced Labour (No. 105) (UN 2016).
In this instance, it seems that those involved are acting illegally as it is being reported that the agencies more often than not, put the migrant women into forced labour.
If that was the case, then clearly, those individuals are in breach of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime.
Of course, we could assume that the migrant women have been acting naively for falling into the impenitent imps wicked traps.
Nonetheless, the migrant womens apparent servile compliance cannot in anyway take away the heinous crime being committed by the forced labour bandits.
In my view, the problem could be solved on three fronts.
First of all, the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and the Ministry of Trade must ban all such unscrupulous labour agencies as a matter of urgency.
Secondly, the Ministry of Information should undertake a nationwide education and awareness campaign to alert the potential job-seeking bandwagon of the dangers in falling for the numerous adverts on the non-existent lucrative employment opportunities in the Middle East.
Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as a matter of urgency, should put in an official complaint to the authorities of those countries and then proceed with a petition to the United Nations Human Rights Council, who has the mandate to bring abusive nations to book.
It must, however, be emphasised that the United Nations places emphasis on the dignity and worth of the human person and the equal rights of all men and women.
The recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world (UN 1948).
In sum, all the stakeholders must come together and work strenuously with a clear intention of halting the apparent slavery.
K. Badu, UK.
MTN Ghana, the leading telecommunication network in Ghana and E-Crime Bureau has gear mechanisms to curb Mobile money fraud by holding a day workshop for security personnel in the northern sector, Friday May 26, 2017.
The workshop held at the Ashanti regional police command met respected security officers within the sector among other stakeholders aimed at equipping the security with requisite knowledge and information to aid them deal with mobile money fraud alleged cases.
The bold step is also aim at fighting the menace of fraud in partnership with the police service and E-Crime Bureau.
In his welcome address, Mr. Peter Bimpeh senior Manager, regional sales-MTN said, mobile money service launched by MTN in 2009 is to provide an efficient means of making financial transactions.
Innovative service, according to Mr. Bimpeh has been introduced on the platform including payment options, the international remittance service, card-less ATM withdrawal option, wallet bank to account, quarterly interest payments, among others offered in partnership with 16 banks in the country, which aim to drive a cashless agenda through financial inclusion.
However, Mr. Bimpeh noted the service despite its numerous benefits has creates an opportunity for social deviants to take advantage and cheat unsuspecting persons, hence, the need as service provider undertaken several steps to ensure that the systems are robust enough to provide a secured service.
According to him, the Mobile Money service has experience a few setbacks with fraud which have so far been customer related and not system related.
He noted some of the customer related setbacks are fraud cases categorized under: phishing, advance fee scams, overcharging by merchants, identity theft among others.
Overtime, we are seeing a steady increase in the number of fraud cases in 2016 with an average of 28 cases per month, against 2017 where average of 43 cases are recording per month. He hinted.
The serious cause for concern has triggered MTN to work in hand with the Police service and the E-Crime Bureau to bring the situation under control.
Mr. Antwi Boasiako president of E-Crime Bureau said, the training will not only aid police to investigate fraud cases, but to enable them understand the process involved. He said, the police are most important stakeholder in fighting the crime hence the need to offer this capacity building to equip them.
According to him, the police way of handling complain serves as means of offering customer education to the public, to be abreast with the information on the ground to support their duties.
The Ashanti regional police commander DCOP Ken Yeboah applaud MTN for Mobile Money service that has helped economic transactions, and pledged his support in championing against the fight.
He called on all individuals and stakeholders to join the police in fighting against mobile money fraud.
27.05.2017 LISTEN
A former member of the board of the National Communications Authority, Dr. Nana Owusu-Ensaw who was cited in an ongoing fraudulent scandal at the telecoms regulator, has come out to deny vehemently ever taking part in any looting of funds.
According to Dr. Owusu-Esaw he has no knowledge of the supposed fraudulent $6 million contract signed between the NCA and Infraloks Development Limited in relation to the purchase of a listening device.
The Board Chairman of NCA Eugene Baffoe-Bonnie, including the Chief Executive Officer, William Tevie; a former Deputy National Security Coordinator, Alhaji Osman, as well as a private businessman, George Oppong of Infraloks Development Limited, are currently under investigation by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) over some US$4 Million withdrawn from the NCAs account purportedly for the purchase of the listening device.
But Dr. Owusu-Ensaw, in a statement released through a communication outfit Kumunication HQ, and copied to thebftonline.com , denied any involvement in the deal, in which he is alleged to have received some $500,000 dollars which he was expected to have shared with some colleagues of his.
The statement which came after his encounter with the BNI, indicated that he categorically told them that he never received any money in relation to the matter being investigated and was willing to cooperate with the authorities to unravel the truth surrounding the alleged deal.
In addition to the foregoing, Dr. Owusu-Ensaw is further prepared to cooperate with the authorities to get the bottom of the allegations the statement added.
Background
The news about how former NCA officials allegedly withdrew $4 million from the accounts of the NCA and failed to account for it broke last week.
According to media reports, officials had contracted an Israeli company, NSO Group Technology Limited, to supply listening equipment at the cost of $6 million, to enable National Security monitor conversations of persons suspected to be engaged in terror activities.
A local agent, Infraloks Development Limited, was also charging $2 million to facilitate the transaction, bringing the total sum to $8 million.
But only $1 million was paid into the accounts of the Israeli company while the remaining $3 million was lodged into the accounts of one George Oppong, representing the local agents, Infraloks Development Limited.
According to media reports, all persons involved except Alhaji Osman [whose whereabouts are unknown] and Mr. Tevie, have admitted to taking the money and have been granted bail after the BNI took their statements. Some of them have started refunding the money to the state.
Govt committed to retrieve the money - Mustapha Hamid
Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, told Joy FM government is determined to retrieve every pesewa wrongfully taken from the accounts of the National Communications Authority (NCA) by former Board members.
Their goal is to retrieve as much of whatever was looted from the state as possible.
Mustapha Hamid explained that there is always the difficulty in getting the monies paid back into the state coffers when the culprits are prosecuted or even incarcerated.
Nairobi (AFP) - The African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Friday ruled the Kenyan government had violated the rights and freedoms of the Ogiek hunter-gatherer people by driving them out of their ancestral lands.
The court ordered the government "to take all appropriate measures within a reasonable time frame to remedy all the violations established and to inform the court of the measures taken within six months from the date of this judgement".
The Ogiek, one of the last remaining hunter-gatherer peoples of east Africa, live in the Mau forest complex in the Rift Valley. They alleged that the Kenyan government had violated their rights, including to property, natural resources, religion and culture.
In their decision, the nine judges also asked the representatives of the Ogiek to file their requests for reparations within two months.
Minority Rights Group International, one of the three complainants in the case, hailed the ruling after an eight-year legal battle as a huge victory for the Ogiek and other indigenous communities.
"Crucially the court has recognised that the Ogiek -- and therefore many other indigenous peoples in Africa -- have a leading role to play as guardians of local ecosystems, and in conserving and protecting land and natural resources, including the Mau Forest," Lucy Claridge, legal director of the London-based group, said in a statement.
"By ruling that through a persistent denial of Ogiek land rights, their religious and associated cultural and hunter-gatherer practices were also violated, the court has sent a crystal clear message to the Kenyan and other African governments that they must respect indigenous peoples' land rights in order to secure their livelihoods and cultures," she added.
Based in Arusha, northern Tanzania, the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights was established in 2006. The court has no criminal jurisdiction, but can order a state to pay damages. Its decisions are not subject to appeal.
So far 29 states, including Kenya, have ratified the protocol establishing the court.
Nkamba (DR Congo) (AFP) - A cow carried on a stretcher as an offering plus a choir chanting effervescent songs of praise while a brass band plays.
It could only be Christmas, Congolese style, as members of the Kimbanguist church mark their annual festival in flamboyant fashion with a massive ceremony.
Entering into the joyous spirit of things, some 4,000 people including elderly, women, teachers, rescue workers and scouts, made a pilgrimage Thursday to the holy hill of Nkamba, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of Kinshasa.
For followers of the church, which is based in Democratic Republic of Congo, "true Christmas" falls on May 25.
This year, their chants of praise resounded for several hours at Nkamba's huge temple, where worshippers rejoiced both over the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago and for what they believe was the second birth of Christ on Congolese soil in the early 20th century.
Clad in crisp green and white uniforms, members of the Kimbanguist Social and Surveillance Movement (MSSK) paraded before their god, Simon Kimbangu Kiangani.
A stocky man in his 60s, wearing a dark blue suit, he is held to be the latest incarnation of God for a church whose origins are almost a century old and which lays claim to some five million members.
Christ 'reborn in 1916'
Nkamba is the birthplace of Simon Kimbangu, who launched his ministry in 1921 in an enormous territory which at the time was ruled by Belgium.
According to a church leader, he brought a message of divine revelation partly hidden by Jesus Christ, whom Kimbanguists see as the saviour of humanity.
Kimbanguist faithfuls try to lift a cow chosen as an offering to their leader during "true Christmas" celebrations
As founder of the church, Kimbangu was a self-styled healer and prophet who alarmed colonial powers to such an extent that he spent 30 years in prison until his death in 1951.
It was only in 1959 that the Belgian colonial authorities finally granted Kimbanguists the right to practise their faith.
Today, Kimbanguists worship their faith's founder as the original incarnation of the Holy Spirit -- and his three sons as the incarnation or reincarnation of the three aspects of the Holy Trinity.
It was in 2000 that they stopped celebrating Christmas on December 25 after a "revelation" they should instead mark the 1916 birth of Papa Salomon Dialungana Kiangani, Kimbangu's second son -- who is believed to be the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.
Their current leader, Simon Kimbangu Kiangani, is Kimbangu's grandson and believed to be the second reincarnation of the Holy Spirit.
For his followers, Nkamba is no less than the holy city, "the new Jerusalem".
Everyone barefoot
At this sacred site, everybody goes barefoot, apart from the Congolese soldiers assigned to watch over the living god and his family.
As part of the ceremony, some 30 elders -- or "papas" -- carried in the offering of a cow on a makeshift stretcher.
But the hobbled beast was too heavy for their weary arms and ended up on the ground, mute, as the joyous ceremony continued.
After the MSSK, other groups within the church made their entry, parading across the temple forecourt in warm sunshine to the sound of a brass fanfare then flutes.
Two iron basins were placed on stools to receive donations from the faithful. Most produced a banknote equivalent to one US dollar or less, a substantial sum for many Congolese.
Several contributed wads of chikwangue, a paste made from fermented cassava, and one family gave packets of spaghetti.
One man, who was apparently disturbed, appeared, raising his arm towards the shaded area where the "Holy Spirit" was seated, only to be swiftly led away by the guardians in green and white.
"It happens a lot," shrugged MSSK head Ruffin Asumbe who told AFP they were "isolated" for a while then released.
'Freeing Africans from the curse'
Before the processions, there was a six-hour ceremony at which the "true date of birth of Jesus, Son of God," was impressed on the minds of the faithful.
The "Holy Spirit" however did not attend as he went to register at a local polling station.
Freddy-Mafu Kayita flew in from Belgium just a few hours before Thursday's celebration began.
Born and raised in a Catholic family in Germany, he began to convert a decade ago.
Speaking to AFP, he said he had spent years researching the suffering of "the black race" and had found his answer in Kimbanguism.
"Adam and Eve were black," he explained, saying Africans had borne the consequences of their fall and the divine anger provoked by their "sin towards God".
But the Kimbanguist church "wants to free the black race from this curse, to give it back its lost sovereignty," he said.
The former Medical Director of the Ridge Hospital in Accra, Dr. Thomas Anaba has sued government for reassigning him.
He is however seeking an order from the court declaring that the decision of the Minister of Health was unlawful and therefore null and void and of no effect whatsoever.
The former Ridge hospital boss is also seeking an order reinstating him as the Medical Director of the Ridge hospital as well as an order prohibiting the Health Minister and any other person from taking any unreasonable, unfair, unjust and capricious decision against the applicant.
Background
Dr. Anaba was about two weeks ago given a letter directing him to handover to the Public Services Commission three years short of the expiration of his tenure.
He is expected to return to his former workplace at the University of Development Studies.
Although no reasons were given, the letter said the directive was from the Health Minister who has subsequently appointed Dr. Anaba's predecessor, Emmanuel Kwabla Srofenyoh.
But Dr. Anaba has vowed not to relinquish his post.
In his writ, Dr. Anaba argued in his reassignment was unlawful because the Minister [of Health] lacked legal authority to effect the release of the Applican from his position as Medical Director of the Greater Accra Regional, Hospital, Ridge.
According to him, the directive from the Ministry was unfair and unreasonable and does not comply with the requirement of the Constitution and the Ghana Health Service and Teaching Hospitals Act, 1996 (Act 525 with respect to the appointment and removal of staff of the Ghana Health Service.
He also insisted that the purported action of the Minister in the letter dated May 10, 2017 constitutes an abuse of power as it amounts to a constructive dismissal of the applicant without just cause in contravention of article 191 (b) of the Constitution.
Dr. Anaba in the writ further insisted that the action by the Minister also breached the legitimate expectations of the applicant that the terms of conditions of his appointment as Medical Director would be respected by the Ghana Health Service, his employer.
By: Godwin Akweiteh Allotey/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Follow @AlloteyGodwin
Some constituency executives of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in Biakoye have downplayed reports of a split within the party in the district following the rejection of Madam Millicent Kaburi Carboo as the DCE of Biakoye District.
The rank and file of the party, a cross section of Muslims in Biakoye as well as the chiefs and people of Worawora and Nkonya distanced themselves from a press conference addressed by the NPP constituency Chairman, Sulemana Moro, to the effect that there is confusion in Biakoye in the aftermath of the rejection.
They described the reports to that effect as false and without merit in a press conference addressed by the constituency secretary Salifu Aliwu Ibrahim.
The reports alleged that Millicent Carboo, popularly referred to as Kiki insulted Muslims, a claim the Muslim community in that district vehemently denied. The Muslims affirmed their unflinching support for the nominee Millicent
The Muslim community affirmed their unflinching support for the nominee, who they said virtually turned herself into the Hajia of the Zongo community in her attempt to woo Zongo votes for the New Patriotic Party ahead of the 2016 elections.
How can such a woman be alleged to have insulted Muslims. I, the constituency secretary, am a Muslim, I have worked very closely with the president's nominee since 2011, would I be working with her if she was disrespectful towards Muslims? He asked.
Millicent Kaburi, contrary to assertions that she is not from Biakoye is our proud daughter. She hails from 3 out of the six traditional areas in Biakoye, and she is more of a native than anybody else. Millicent comes from Worawora, Tapa and Nkonya and she has worked and supported development in the district extensively. Those alleging that she is not from here are simply up to mischief the, paramount queens of Worawora and Nkonya Bumbula told Citi News.
They are therefore appealing to the president His Excellency Nana Addo to re-nominate her in spite of the outright rejection on her first attempt.
They have also appealed to the assemblymen to do the right thing and vote massively for her if she is re-nominated because Millicent is a very resourceful person with the right answers to the numerous problems facing the district.
Below is the full text of the press conference:
PRESS CONFERENCE
RE: CONFUSION IN BIAKOYE NPP
BIAKOYE DISTRICT IS PEACEFUL AND WAITING FOR THE RE-NOMINATION OF MADAM MILLICENT CARBOO AS DCE FOR BIAKOYE
My attention has been drawn to a sham and shabby publication of a press conference which was purported to be the decision of the Biakoye Constituency NPP Executives, and other issues in the media concerning the president's nominee Madam Millicent Carboo. The said press conference was aired on Adom TV on Wednesday, the 17th of May 2017 and published in the TODAY newspaper on Monday the 22nd Day of May 2017.
As the chief scribe (secretary of the party) in this constituency, I am forced to join this press conference to clarify issues in the media concerning the president's nominee.
CLAIMS
The people of Worawora have rejected Madam Millicent Carboo
Some people for the sake of their personal interest are in the media saying that the people of Worawora have rejected Millicent Carboo otherwise known as Nana Yaa Frimponmaa; which is a total untruth. Madam Kiki as she is popularly known has been the female focal point of many political activities in the town where she hails from. She has been the brainchild of many political activities in the town. The chiefs and elders, the people and the party are solidly behind her.
Madam Kiki is not new in the constituency.
I met her in 2011 and got glued to her because of her strong zeal for party work. She contributed immensely to the party's campaign activity in election 2012. Her hard work subsequently got her elected as the Biakoye Constituency NPP Women Organizer in 2014. She also contested the 2015 parliamentary primaries on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party. It came as a shock that someone could go on air and claim that she is not known in the constituency. It is a fact that the president's nominee is a true daughter of Biakoye. Truth is, she hails from three out of the six traditional areas that makes up the Biakoye district; precisely Worawora, Tapa and Nkonya.
ALLEGED DISRESPECT FOR MOSLEMS
Madam Millicent Carboo in her pursuit to get our Muslim brothers in the constituency to vote for the party, she has virtually turned herself to be the Hajia of the party in our Zongo communities. She relates well with the Muslim community in the constituency especially Worawora, I the secretary to the constituency is a Muslim and a staunch supporter of the president's nominee Madam Kiki.
In the said publication under the caption CONFUSION IN BIAKOYE carried by myjoyonline.com and the TODAY newspaper are false and we wish to say that;
Mr. Yaw Mante the said drunkard (in the publication) is a responsible family man, an executive of the party, and was the campaign manager of Mr. Sulemana Moro in his bid to which saw him become the chairman of our great party. The said Yaw Mante is also the landlord of the chairman. It is therefore an indictment on the integrity of JOY News to .found Yaw Mante as news worthy. If readers understand paragraph three of the said publication well, it means that, right from day one, those executives were against the president's nominee as claimed by Mr. Yaw Mante. It is false and a smart propaganda to incite the general assembly against Madam Millicent Carboo's re-nomination since she is not the chairman's choice. On this note, I Mr. salifu Aliwu Ibrahim the secretary of the New Patriotic Party in Biakoye wish to remind the chairman that it is the president who has the power to nominate MMDCEs.
In conclusion, those members of the executive who claimed not to be the brain behind the rejection of the president's nominee are at the same time saying, they are not calling on the president to re-nominate Madam Millicent Carboo clearly shows the double standards they are playing and I leave it to the conscience of those who read the said publications.
Mr. Salifu Aliwu Ibrahim
The New Patriotic Party
Biakoye Constituency Secretary
0246741218
Yahya Ibrahim
Spokesperson 0245228885
By: Gratham-Gaisey Macintosh/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Some irate youth have looted and vandalised properties of Geo Professional Services (GPS) Mining Company in the Amansie West District with damages running into millions of cedis.
They caused considerable damage to virtually every item on sight including electrical connections, air conditioners, food, mining machinery, stationary and even furniture with the chances of re-fixing them being a herculean task.
Member of Parliament for Amansie Adubia, Yaw Frimpong Addo, in a chat with journalists Ghana condemned the vandalism as "lawless and too grave."
He said the motive for the attack was due to arrears in salary payments and unfulfilled extension of corporate social responsibility commitments amongst others.
Mr Addo described the act as a double jeopardy situation for the company with its expatriate staff being arrested in a recent operation led by Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, John-Peter Amewu, in a nation-wide exercise to clamp down on the activities of illegal mining activities.
He said a taskforce has been established to watch over the mine and pledged that the culprits would be arrested and punished.
Mr Addo said small-scale mining is exclusively reserved for Ghanaians and would join hands with government to use lawful means to stop the illegality festering in that sector.
Mr Amewu condemned the destruction at the mining site and called on the security agencies to investigate and bring the perpetrators to book.
He said government believes in forging genuine business partnerships on win-win benefits, taking cognizant of respect for the legal frameworks and abiding by the environmental caveats for businesses to thrive.
The Minister said government would streamline activities in the mining sector with production done in a sustainable and friendly manner.
The main partner of KAAS Mining group and a concessioner, Charles Kurankye, in an interview, debunked assertions that the company had reneged on its corporate social responsibilities and again failed to pay salaries, which is alleged to be in arrears.
He said GPS is currently operating in less than 25 of 75 acres of land allocated it and nowhere near 500 acres being alleged.
Mr Kurankye affirmed the partnership with some expatriates and the engagement of security support to increase production and protection of life and property.
GPS is a subsidiary of the KAAS Group of Companies, an international geological management and consultancy entity, which provides mining consultancy support services across the board.
Story by Ghana | Myjoyonline.com
President Akufo-Addo in a hand shake with one of the female military officers at the event yesterday
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has been tasked to lead the fight against illegal mining popularly known as galamsey.
Speaking at the presentation of colours to the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment (Recce) of the Ghana Armed Forces in Accra yesterday, President Akufo-Addo stated, As government intensifies its efforts to curb the illegal mining phenomenon, otherwise referred to as 'galamsey,' that is polluting our water bodies, destroying our farmlands and forests and threatening the very survival of this country, Ghanaians would continue to rely on the efforts of our security services, with the Armed Forces in the forefront, to help deal with the problem.
He therefore noted, I am confident that as always, the Armed Forces will rise to the occasion.
All of us owe a great debt of gratitude to you, the men and women of the Armed Forces, for being prepared to put your lives on the line to keep our nation safe, safeguard our sovereignty and protect our territorial integrity. As the saying goes, 'you are the salt of the earth.' The ceremony, the very first in the history of the GAF to be held for the Regiment, is in tune with long-standing military traditions across the world.
It has been the sole preserve for units in the infantry.
However, the decision to present the Regiment with its own colours is in line with a decision taken to present colours to deserving combat support units of the GAF.
Reason
According to President Akufo-Addo, The traditional challenges to security, such as chieftaincy conflicts, land disputes, religious intolerance, ethnic conflicts and political rivalry, are being compounded by contemporary threats like drug and human trafficking, proliferation of small arms and light weapons, armed robberies, cyber crime and activities of nomadic herdsmen.
Even though he admitted the fact that the challenges to Ghana's national security are numerous, complex and sometimes quite unpredictable, he indicated that nonetheless, and in the face of all these threats, you continue to discharge your duties equably and professionally.
President Akufo-Addo assured, In terms of military preparedness, government will actively support contemporary training methods that will not only keep you abreast with international military trends, but will also ensure that you remain the beacon of Armed Forces across the continent.
We are committed to providing you with modern military equipment which would complement the training you would receive. Government is also committed to enriching the human resource base of the Armed Forces by supporting initiatives that will provide further education for soldiers, sailors and airmen to enhance further their skills at protecting our territorial integrity.
He commended the officers and men of the Armoured Recce Regiment for their commitment to duty and their overall contribution to the GAF since its establishment in 1963.
For well over 54 years, this Regiment has provided armoured support to infantry units deployed on various national and international peace support operations, he said.
Facts On File
The ceremony for the presentation of colours, in tune with longstanding military traditions across the world, has been the sole preserve for units in the infantry.
The only other combat support units, which have ever been presented with their own colours in the Ghana Armed Forces are the 48 Engineer Regiment and the 66 Artillery Regiment.
According to the military, the colours of a regiment represent its honour and devotion to duty.
Being the very first time in the history of the Ghana Armed Forces that such a ceremony had taken place, President Akufo-Addo underscored, So you can see, it is an auspicious day for me. It means that the Armoured Reconnaissance Regiment has now joined to me in a special way, for my future recollections of this day will always feature you.
The colours represent the fighting spirit of military units, and are symbols of bravery and unity.
President Akufo-Addo recalled, As far back as some 5,000 years ago, the practice of carrying colours, both to act as a rallying point for troops and to mark the location of a commander, originated in ancient Egypt.
In the Middle Ages in Europe, and in the chaos that characterised battles in those times, he indicated that soldiers needed to be able to determine where their regiment was, and the colours of their respective regiments served that purpose.
He therefore advised the Armoured Recce Regiment that with your own colours, I urge you to revere them and be guided always by their undying principles of perseverance, unity and bravery in the protection of lives and property, and the defence of the territorial sovereignty of our beloved Ghana.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent
Two Russians and two Ukrainians have been hauled before an Accra Circuit Court for allegedly engaging in illegal mining in the country without licence.
The accused persons have been remanded into police custody until May 31, 2017.
They are Farid Isaev, Vadim Potokin, Serhii Chepurniy all engineers and Genadiy Rubec, a site manager.
According to the prosecutor, DSP Cletus Abadanlowra, the accused persons on or about May 22, this year at Manso- Tontokrom in the Amansie Circuit of the Ashanti Region, conspired to undertake small-scale mining without authority.
The pleas of the accused persons were not taken by the court, presided over by Justice Ruby Naa Ayikai Aryitey.
This was because the four, who were represented by Nana Fred Duah Agyeman, claimed they could not speak English and as such required a Russian interpreter.
The court had ordered the circuit court registrar to arrange for a Russian interpreter for the hearing to commence.
Prosecuting, DSP Abadanlowra said the complainant in the case is a police officer attached to the Lands and Forestry Ministry while the accused persons are from Russia and Ukraine and resident in Ghana, precisely Tontokrom in the Ashanti Region.
The Minister of Lands and Forestry, John Peter Amewu, recently gave an ultimatum to small-scale mining companies and illegal miners popularly known as galamsayers, operating in the country to stop their activities till their operations are regulated.
The government subsequently banned all forms of small-scale mining in the country till further notice.
On May 22, Mr John Peter Amewu and a team, including the complainant, went on a fact-finding tour at Manso Tontokrom to ensure that the ban was being complied with where they met the accused persons busily engaged in illegal mining (galamsey).
They were using heavy-duty equipment, which had degraded a vast land nearby, destroying crops and cocoa farms of the inhabitants.
They also polluted their source of drinking water.
The accused persons stated that they were employees of Geo Professional Services (GPS), a mining company.
By Jeffrey De-Graft Johnson
[email protected]
Overlord of the Sanguli Traditional Area of the Northern Region, Obore Kumayi Gabuja John, his sub-chiefs and elders have expressed disappointment and disgust at the way the police in the district have handled the recent armed robbery incident that took place at Tatale.
At about 4:00 pm, on 21st May, suspected armed robbers, numbering about eight, attacked businessmen and women at the Tatale market, fired gunshots and reportedly killed 10 people at Sanguli.
The people in the Konkomba communities were quickly informed through phone calls and they resolved to protect themselves against the reckless shootings by the suspected armed robbers, which resulted in the exchange of fire and killing of the residents and some of the robbers.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Obore Kumayi Gabuja John said it was shocking and disappointing that the police who have the constitutional duty to protect lives and properties of Ghanaians, were first informed but they failed to respond appropriately to forestall the incident.
According to him, even when they came later, they were seen as mere spectators of the incident and when they were questioned, they said they lacked logistics to defend the people when some of them were losing their lives.
The overlord appealed to the government to create more police stations and barriers on major roads such as the Tatale-Nahuyili and the Tatale-Tatindo roads.
We are also appealing to the government, the religious groups and all the benevolent individuals to come to the aid of the deceased families, the overlord entreated.
FROM Eric Kombat, Tatale
Victor Smith
27.05.2017 LISTEN
A former Ghana High Commissioner to the UK Victor Smith is livid at the founder of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) JJ Rawlings because he subtly supported then opposition leader Nana Akufo-Addo during the 2016 elections.
According to Mr. Smith, he wept over the development because Rawlings behaviour partly cost the NDC the 2016 elections.
I felt so bad about it when he [Mr Rawlings] seemed to be hobnobbing with the NPP in the run-up to the election. I, in particular, and I know so many others were unhappy that a founder of our party could be seen to be hobnobbing with our major opponent as we are about to go to war. Its unheard of in any jurisdiction to be seen to be hobnobbing with the principal opponent as we prepare for war, Mr. Smith told Accra-based Asempa FM.
He added: And I had the opportunity to tell him: This is how I feel. I told him on WhatsApp and he said I didnt understand, but I told him I understand. It is unheard of and there are so many people who are upset about it.
We saw signs of it and it was not the best. Some of us fell very pained about this. I dont know about others who dont want to talk but I feel pained that we worked so hard, travelling at night, up and down campaigning, people have died in accidents preparing for elections and your founder is hobnobbing with the chief opponent on national television. Its painful, I must say its painful.
Mr. Smith said he finds it difficult to forgive Rawlings, who allegedly dismissed him via a text message. Im not sure, was his response when he was asked if he will ever forgive the former military ruler.
Mr. Smith has served notice he will contest the flagbearer race of the NDC if former president John Mahama decides to stay off.
Al Hoceima (Morocco) (AFP) - Moroccan authorities were engaged in a manhunt on Saturday for a protest leader in the neglected Rif region after his arrest was ordered for interrupting an imam's prayer sermon following more than six months of social unrest.
The king's prosecutor late Friday ordered "the opening of an investigation and the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi" after he "obstructed, in the company of a group of individuals, freedom of worship in the Mohammed V mosque in Al-Hoceima".
The northern port city has been rocked by protests since the death in October of a fishmonger crushed in a garbage truck as he protested the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.
Calls for justice for Mouhcine Fikri, 31, in the ethnically Berber Rif region soon evolved into a grassroots movement demanding jobs and economic development, with Zefzafi emerging as the leader of the Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or "Popular Movement".
Zefzafi's whereabouts on Saturday were unclear.
According to the prosecutor, the protest leader on Friday stopped "the preacher from continuing his sermon, giving a provocative speech in which he insulted the imam and fomented disturbances that undermined the calm and sacredness of the place of worship".
Mobile phone footage shared on Facebook shows Zefzafi calling the imam a "liar", asking whether mosques were built for God or those in power, and slamming "those who want to make the Rif capitulate".
Zefzafi also criticised a recent music festival in the capital Rabat, and the "naked bodies we see live on the television of a state that calls itself Muslim".
A relative of Zefzafi said the protest leader had managed to escape arrest as he left the mosque on Friday.
Shortly after, in footage broadcast on social media, the leader appeared on his rooftop in Al-Hoceima surrounded by supporters, saying: "I'm not scared. If they want to arrest me, let them come."
In another video posted afterwards, he said he was "safe and sound" and called for peaceful demonstrations.
His supporters said on Facebook his home had been searched.
A source at the interior ministry said Zefzafi had not been arrested, adding that young protesters had thrown stones at security forces on Friday in the city of some 56,000 inhabitants.
Official news agency MAP said clashes between demonstrators and police wounded several people, including three members of the security forces who were seriously injured.
Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit led a large government delegation on a visit to Al-Hoceima on Monday, the latest trip to the region to promise projects to boost the local economy.
Cairo (AFP) - The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for shooting dead 29 Christians on a bus in central Egypt, an attack that prompted retaliatory air strikes on jihadists in neighbouring Libya.
The shooting in the province of Minya on Friday, as the Coptic Christians were travelling on a bus to a monastery, was the latest in a series of attacks by IS that have killed more than 100 Copts since December.
"A security detachment from the Islamic State carried out an attack yesterday in Minya," the group's self styled Amaq news agency reported.
Relatives of killed Coptic Christians carry a coffin as they gather outside the Abu Garnous Cathedral in the north Minya town of Maghagha, on May 26, 2017, during the funeral of the victims
Masked gunmen in three pick-up trucks had attacked the bus as it was heading for Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) south of Cairo, before fleeing, according to the interior ministry.
Egypt's government said the shooting killed 29 people, and it responded by conducting air strikes on jihadist camps in the eastern Libyan city of Derna later on Friday.
The bus attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.
IS claimed all the bombings and threatened more attacks on the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's 90-million population.
Nairobi (AFP) - Tanzanian police said Saturday that they had arrested two morgue employees in Dar es Salaam after they admitted to cutting open a dead man's corpse and stealing the drugs hidden in his stomach.
"The two morgue workers admitted to cutting open the body" a week ago to take the drugs, local police official Simon Sirro said in a statement, adding that the dead man had died of an overdose.
Drug traffickers regularly employ drug "mules" to transport merchandise by stuffing the drugs in small airtight bags which are then swallowed or inserted in someone's stomach.
But the technique is hardly foolproof as the bags can be eaten away by stomach acid and cause an overdose -- which is what may have happened to the dead man.
The man, a Ghanaian national, was found dead in a hotel room in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's economic capital, and transported to the morgue at Mwananyamala hospital, where the two employees worked, Sirro said.
According to police, the workers said they then sold the 32 drug capsules to an unidentified businessman, who in turn sold the merchandise to Ally Nyundo, a suspected drug trafficker.
Those two men were also arrested, police said, without identifying the drugs.
Africa's east coast has long been used as a transit point for drugs bound for Asia and Europe.
The so-called Smack Track -- leading from Afghanistan to the Makran Coast of Iran and Pakistan and then across the Indian Ocean to East Africa -- is an alternative to the traditional opium trail via Central Asia and the Balkans.
The path was revealed in 2010 when police busted four Tanzanians and two Iranians with 95 kilogrammes (210 pounds) of heroin in Tanga, northern Tanzania.
In May, Tanzanian drug baron Ali Khatib Haji Hassan, who has been accused by the United States of being at the head of a global cocaine and heroin trafficking network, was extradited to the US.
Rome (AFP) - More than 3,400 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya on Friday, bringing to about 10,000 the total number rescued over four days, according to Libyan and Italian officials.
At least 10 bodies were also found by the Italian coastguard, officials said. No vessels were reported in distress on Saturday.
On Friday, more than 1,200 migrants were rescued by Libyan ships and taken to Tripoli or Zawiya, about 50 kilometres (31 miles) west, while the Italian coastguard and commercial boats rescued 2,200 others and took them to Italy.
Migrants were still disembarking in southern Italy on Saturday.
Another 6,400 were picked up between Tuesday and Thursday, but at least 35 people drowned on Wednesday when a powerful wave struck their vessel, pitching them into the sea as a rescue ship was distributing life jackets.
The unloading of passengers in Sicily was halted all week due to the G7 summit in the eastern hilltop town of Taormina, which lengthened rescue ships' journey by 24 hours and delayed their return to the seas.
In response, they called on commercial boats to help out.
More than 50,000 migrants have reached the Italian coast since the start of the year, not counting those rescued in recent days, while more than 1,400 have drowned or are missing, according to UN figures.
Of the 181,000 migrants who entered Italy last year, some 90 percent arrived via Libya.
The North African country has long been a stepping stone for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
Libya has urged Europe, and particularly Italy, to supply it with the equipment it needs to monitor its southern borders, through which migrants, mostly from sub-Saharan African, enter the country.
Riyadh (AFP) - The world's 1.5 billion Muslims began observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan on Saturday, blighted by conflict and bloodshed in countries ranging from Afghanistan to Libya.
Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam during which Muslims are supposed to devote themselves to praying, giving to charity and fasting from dawn to dusk.
It is sacred because tradition says the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed during that month.
Although for many Ramadan is a time for families to gather and break the fast with an iftar meal at sunset and socialise, this year it has been marked by violence.
In Afghanistan's eastern city of Khost, a Taliban car bomber killed 13 people in the first major attack at the start of the holy month targeting a CIA-funded militia group.
In the Philippines, security forces intensified a bombing campaign in one of the country's largest Muslim-majority cities where they have been battling Islamic militants.
The Islamic State group, which has been responsible for countless bloody attacks around the world, claimed responsibility for shooting dead 29 Christians on a bus in central Egypt.
Friday's assault on the most populous Arab state's Coptic Christian minority community prompted retaliatory air strikes on jihadists in neighbouring Libya and an outpouring of condemnation.
Afghan Muslim men sleep as they wait to break their fast at a mosque during the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Jalalabad on May 27, 2017
"With a broken heart and tears in my eyes but after all I wish all my friends a great Happy Ramadan and may God accept all your prayers and fasting for the good of our beloved Egypt," Nabil Hakim, an Egyptian Copt who lives in the United States, posted on Facebook.
Clashes and famine
Libya has been gripped by chaos since the overthrow and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011, with rival governments and militias vying for power and jihadists taking advantage of the mayhem.
Smoke rises in the center of the Libyan capital of Tripoli after clashes on May 26, 2017 beetween loyalist forces and rival militias that killed dozens
On Friday, forces loyal to the UN-backed unity government battled rival militias in the capital Tripoli.
The health ministry gave a provisional toll of 28 dead and more than 100 wounded, while loyalist forces said 52 of their fighters had been killed in the battles that rocked residential areas.
"This is their gift to the people for the month of Ramadan," a Government of National Accord statement said.
Residents of west Mosul in northern Iraq also did not expect a peaceful Ramadan, far from it as Iraqi forces pressed a broad assault on areas still held by IS jihadists.
Earlier this week, the military said it had dropped "hundreds of thousands of leaflets" on IS-held areas of Mosul, urging "citizens to exit via safe corridors towards security forces".
Ramadan is a month generally marked by piety and sacrifice, and during which Muslims abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and having sex from dawn to dusk.
Civilians in impoverished Yemen, where Iran-backed Shiite Huthi rebels are battling government forces supported by a Saudi-led coalition, have certainly become accustomed to sacrifice.
A Yemeni girl suspected of being infected with cholera receives treatment at a makeshift hospital in Sanaa
The United Nations says the conflict there has killed more than 8,000 people, and has warned that 17 million Yemenis -- 62 percent of the population -- are unable to access food. A third of the country's provinces are on the brink of famine, and it is also facing a cholera epidemic.
'Reject violence'
Several global leaders marked the start of Ramadan with messages urging a peaceful world.
"Islam is the religion of mercy, moderation and peaceful coexistence," King Salman of Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites, said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump, winding up his first overseas trip in office that began in Saudi Arabia, wished Muslims a "joyful Ramadan", and urged them to use the holy month to reject extremist violence.
"At its core, the spirit of Ramadan strengthens awareness of our shared obligation to reject violence, to pursue peace, and to give to those in need who are suffering from poverty or conflict," Trump said.
In Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, police used a steamroller to crush thousands of bottles of alcohol, banned under Islam, and torched a huge stash of seized drugs in the run-up to Ramadan.
Afghan men cool off on a hot day as temperatures reached around 43 degrees Celsius (109 degrees Fahrenheit) on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jalalabad on May 27, 2017
Soaring temperatures and long days are expected to test the will of those who are fasting in many countries.
Many Ramadan shoppers have complained that rising food prices meant they could not prepare lavish iftar meals as they once did, and would need to save some money to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival that follows at the end of the month.
burs/jri/hkb/srm
Accra, May 27, GNA - Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, Minister of Education has inaugurated a committee to advise and lead the implementation of the country's free Senior High School (SHS).
The committee constituted representatives from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Information, Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Scholarship Secretariat, Buffer Stock Company, Auditor General's Department, Ghana Education Service Teachers Union and National Security.
He said the Ministry of Finance role was to facilitate the release of timely money while the Ministry of Food and Agriculture would liaise with the National School Feeding Programme to ensure food was available for the students.
Dr Opoku-Prempeh said the appointment of President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo as the Co-Chair of the United Nations Secretary-General's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Advocates, behoves him to ensure that children have the rights to education.
The SDG advocates comprise 16 persons meant to support the UN Secretary-General in efforts to generate momentum and commitment towards achieving the SDGs by 2030.
The Minister charged the Committee members to play their roles since the success of the free SHS would be dependent on their relentless effort.
'There is no option to fail because if you fail, you fail Ghanaians and the poor children in need of education. You are expected to play a technical role and develop workable solution to ensure success of the programme,' he added.
The Minister was of the view that the free SHS programme should have a dedicated account for transparency and accountability as well as facilitate the release of funds in an efficient and effective process.
He called for the co-operation and collaboration of all, saying he would only listen and act on the report of the committee for onward direction.
The free SHS was part of the educational agenda of President Akufo-Addo and assured Ghanaians of government's full implementation of the policy from September.
The implementation of the policy covers the full fees of students who attend public SHS in the country to ensure that Ghanaians who qualify for the programme are not burdened with financial challenges.
The committee members pledged their unflinching support to work assiduously to ensure the success of the programme.
GNA
By Kodjo Adams, GNA
27.05.2017 LISTEN
Accra, May 27, GNA - Mantrac Ghana Limited has held the maiden Mantrac Energy Systems Seminar in Accra, during which a Mantrac Energy Systems, a Hybrid Power-Generating Set was unveiled.
The technology uses the latest caterpillar solar and energy storage technologies, providing a full range hybrid power solution.
Mr Emad Adeeb, Managing Director, Mantrac Ghana, in his address said the seminar was held to outdoor an innovation in their power generation business - Mantrac Energy Systems.
'After supplying and supporting the exclusive caterpillar diesel engines for so many years we are now extending it into renewable energy sources while maintaining the durability, reliability and efficiency of cat power Generating sets,' he said.
He said Mantrac was at the forefront of the energy transition; such as integrating renewable power with smart energy storage and conventional diesel or gas fuelled power generator to keep industries producing, communities developing and people connected.
'This is in line with Ministry of Energy plans of improving renewable energy penetration from less than five per cent to 10 per cent of installed capacity by 2020,' he said.
Mr Adeeb said Mantrac Energy system was targeted at the domestic market, banking, telecommunication, manufacturing houses, rural electrification, mining, oil marketing companies, residential apartments and other industrial establishments.
'It integrated with high performance and guaranteed auxiliary equipment including but not limited to PV panels, Energy Storage Batteries, Inventors, advanced control system; and remote monitoring and control tools,' he stated.
Mr Adeeb said: 'Our Energy system packs can be customised to provide clean, efficient, economic and reliable power to meet our customers need.
'Industries are assured of reduced fuel expenses, decrease harmful emissions, lower total cost of ownership and achieve favourable return on investment.
'Our plan is to provide a 360 degree solution for the Mantrac Energy system as we do for Mining and construction equipment.
'We have put in place high parts availability coupled with prompt and professional after sales support as part of our overall commitment to customers.'
He said Mantrac Ghana was the leading supplier of mining and construction equipment in Ghana.
Mr Adeeb said the company had ambitious plans to further develop business to be the benchmark of caterpillar dealership on a global scale.
'We want to use this occasion to assure the government, partners, business community and our cherished customers of our continuous support to be make sustainable progress possible through innovative products and services.
'This is seen in our carefully selected and well trained, multicultural team over 600 professionals bent on making sure our customers are well supported with the best CAT Equipment as always,' Mr Adeeb said.
Mr Wisdom Ahiataku-Togobo, Director Renewable and Alternative Energy, Ministry of Energy, urged the public to take advantage of the innovative energy system to reduce the demand for power in Ghana.
He said as part of efforts to ensure a sustainable power supply in the country, government welcomes private sector participation in the energy sector.
Mantrac Ghana Limited is a sole authorised dealer for caterpillar products in Ghana and its part of the giant Mantrac Group.
The Mantrac Group is also the official caterpillar dealer in Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Iraq and Russia.
GNA
By Iddi Yire/Racheal Dwamena, GNA
27.05.2017 LISTEN
Accra, May 26, GNA-Shareholders of the GCB have shot down a motion to increase the remuneration of the Bank's Directors, from GHE2.5 million to GHE4 million per annum.
The motion was put forward by the Board at the Bank's 23rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Accra on Friday but shareholders did not approve it, saying the proposed GHE4 million per annum was too high.
The shareholders, by a show of hands when the motion was put to the vote, declined to approve the proposed increment, which was the penultimate issue on the agenda of the AGM.
According to the shareholders, the proposed increment, which was a 60 per cent increase over the current amount of GHE2.5 million, was too much and advised the board to revise the amount.
A shareholder, who wanted to remain anonymous, told the GNA that while the increment was in order, the amount proposed was too much and said the increment could be done annually in bits.
'They are asking for an increase in remuneration is in order but the amount of money that they're asking for is too much' she stated.
Mr Abraham Sackey-Ashie, a pensioner and shareholder of GCB, also agreed that while the need to increase the amount was understandable, the percentage of the increment was too much.
He said a 40 per cent increase would have been more acceptable to shareholders.
The new Chairman of the Board, Mr Jude Arthur said the remuneration for the board; including Executive and Non-Executive Directors, was last increased in 2013, thus the motion to increase it.
Mr Arthur said the increment proposed had been arrived at after careful research by the Board to arrive at benchmarks before presenting it to the shareholders for approval.
'The Directors did the right thing by looking at the economy and proposing benchmarks for approval by the shareholders,' he stated.
He said the Board would now have to get back to all the stakeholders on the matter.
'When something like this happens, you take the decision of the stakeholders in good faith and then make another proposal,' he said.
He said while the vote against the motion had been mainly by minority shareholders, it was important to be sensitive to all levels of shareholders.
He said though it was not possible to say immediately whether an extraordinary AGM would be called on the matter, any decision arrived at after the review will be communicated to the shareholders.
'It is also in the interest of the company and the shareholders so we will do it as short a time as we can,' Mr Arthur said.
GNA
By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA
Near an enchanted forest on a tiny island in the middle of Ugandas Lake Victoria, live the last remaining guardians of a spirit that takes the form of a python.
Legend has it that hundreds of years ago, the Ssese Islands, a lush, white-sand archipelago of 84 islands, were inhabited by the Abassese tribe, a race of super humans known not only for their impressive size and strength but their connection to the supernatural world.
Legend has it that the Ssese Islands were once inhabited by super humans (Credit: Ariadne Van Zandbergen/Alamy)
The Abassese believed in a spirit called Mbirimu, a shape shifter, who could take the form of human or animal. One day, as the story goes, Mbirimu was lonely, so he took the body of a woman and gave birth to two creatures, a python and a human. The twin brothers went to live on the island of Bugala, the largest of the Ssese Islands, and the python took the name of Luwala.
The human child built a shrine for his python brother, and the Abassese tribe began worshipping and consulting Luwala for advice. His problem-solving skills were so renowned that people from far away sought his help, and his human brother acted as an intermediary between them and the python, becoming the first in a long line of traditional healers that still exists today.
Called emandwa, which means the man who has a spirit sit on his head, the traditional healer is the only person who can speak to Luwala, and its through him that all requests are made. Only one emandwa can exist at a time, and he must be chosen by both his ancestors and the spirit, devoting the rest of his life to Luwala.
Fascinated by the folklore and powerful imagery of Luwala, Id come to Bugala Island, the home of the python spirit, to seek out the emandwa .
Bugala Island is home to Luwala, the python spirit (Credit: Bryan Kisembo Delon)
Finding Bugala was easy: a ferry crossing of a few hours from Entebbe and I was standing on the island pier. Finding the emandwa, on the other hand, was close to impossible: visitors are not generally allowed to visit and my requests were met with blank stares and no leads. It was only later that night, over numerous beers and plates of fried tilapia at a bar with the islands mayor, that my quest was addressed.
The next morning, after a few motorbike rides zigzagging across the island on dirt roads, followed by hours on narrow muddy footpaths through the bush, I finally arrived at the secret location of the shrine. On arrival, a young boy greeted me, telling me the python spirit knew I was here, but that elders had to be consulted before I could meet the emandwa.
Several hours later, calls had been made and permission granted, and the emandwa arrived. He was not what I expected: he rode up on a motorbike without great fanfare, dressed like everyone else Id seen on the island in trousers, a shirt and plastic boots. Lubala Simon, he said, pointing to himself. Then he took out a brightly beaded pipe and filled it with tobacco.
Youre sitting in the home of Luwala, Lubala Simon began, dramatically opening his arms wide. This is where the python spirit lives.
Lubala Simon is the first emandwa to not be from the lineage of the python (Credit: Bryan Kisembo Delon)
I looked around us: it could be any village, save for a few small differences. In the distance, a fire surrounded by spears was burning next to a large hut surrounded by ornaments. Voices were hushed and there was a sense I was sitting in a special, holy place.
Lubala Simon explained that his role as an emandwa to Luwala is a break with tradition: hes not in the lineage of the python spirit, but no one in the ancestral line was of age.
I asked my ancestors, and the elders of the spirit asked theirs, and it was agreed I would do it. When the spirit wants to talk to me, it sits on my head and communicates with me through my body. There are few called to be an emandwa.
Many stories are told about these healers, whose omnipotence and ability to communicate with Luwala made them important players in Central and East African history. In fact, the Ssese Islands are still considered to be one of the countrys spiritual centres. According to legend, one of the largest tribal groups of what is now Uganda, the Buganda, asked an emandwa to assist them in defeating the Banyoro tribe. The emandwa awarded them a special stick, called the Damula, for victory in battle, made from an enchanted tree on the island. That stick is still handed down between Bugandan kings today.
Buswa Forest is heavily guarded and can only be visited with permission (Credit: Bryan Kisembo Delon)
I was curious about the tree, which is said to still stand in one of the islands last remaining virgin forests, the Buswa, and asked Lubala Simon if I could see it. He explained its a good hour away by footpath. As we walked, villagers stared at us openly and everyone kept a far berth from Lubala Simon, who spoke to no one. We were joined by a few men with machetes; our guards, whose job was to watch over the forest against intruders.
Buswa Forest was a disappointment when we finally arrived: the original forest is almost all gone as its been leased out for palm-oil production by the elders, who need the income. The remaining trees didnt look enchanted, but just like any other bit of forest anywhere else on the island. But I was determined to see this most sacred tree.
Down a tumbling hillside, through a small woodland glen and over a stream, there it was: majestic and ancient. It was also quite dead, a hollowed-out version of whatever it once was. Yet Lubala Simon walked up to it, touching it gently, looking up at it with reverence. We will keep using this one, the python spirit has other trees ready, he said, moving over to a younger tree, the possible source of the next Damula, should one ever be asked for again.
Its not just the trees that are special here. Lubala Simon collects mosses and leaves for medicines during his visions. The stream Id just stepped over is the one the Damula was dipped into before it could be handed to the Buganda king to defeat his enemies: the water is what gave it power. No wildlife can be hunted here; the trees cannot be harvested for charcoal; and no one can come without permission and a guard. Yet theres less than a square kilometre of virgin forest left.
Water from the sacred stream gave the Buganda king the power to defeat his enemies (Credit: Bryan Kisembo Delon)
Walking back to the compound, Lubala Simon and I were joined by the boy whod greeted me a few hours earlier. Carefully chosen by the elders the via the emandwas promptings, he acts as the python spirits attendant. His job is to keep the fire burning 24 hours a day, for if it goes out, the spirit will be displeased. He told me he sleeps with the doors of his hut wide open, and that while pythons go in and out at night, he is never afraid, for they are just Luwala and his children.
He and Lubala Simon led me to the shrine, a tall grass-roofed hut with smoke billowing out of the open door and mingling with another smouldering fire pit at the entrance. I removed my shoes and ducked through the low entryway. With burning eyes, I watched Lubala Simon tend the flames, surrounded by bowls of tobacco, beads, sea shells, dried fruit, bones, coffee beans and paper money.
Offerings, gifts, payments, he said, holding each bowl in his hands.
[People] ask for anything and everything: fertility, wealth, protection. Sometimes they wish for something bad to happen. If what they wish for is very difficult, then they have a task to do. If they do it, maybe Luwala will grant the wish.
We walked out of the hut, covered in soot and choking on smoke.
Islanders make offerings to Luwala in hopes their wishes will be granted (Credit: Bryan Kisembo Delon)
Later, one of the elders talked to me about what it means to be part of a lineage that is dwindling. Many have been forced to move to the city for work, or lease or sell holy sites due to financial pressures. Modern life means children no longer want to take on the role of the emandwa, as it requires a lifetime commitment on the compound. Belief, too, is lessening: Christianity and Islam are now the two main religions on the island, while traditional gods are seen as backwards, or even evil.
But the elder told me this is a misunderstanding, and that Luwala is not malevolent, but simply a spirit, and spirits decide what to be.
Its difficult to know just how many people still worship in the python spirit, because belief in Luwala is a private practice even visiting the shrine is not something discussed openly. Yet the elders maintain the compound grounds, have saved a small strip of enchanted forest and turn to the python god for guidance for all things.
More and more, old ways are disappearing. Our land, our special places, us. But Luwala, our python spirit and ancestor, he is forever. He was here before everything else even was. We will guard him forever, too.
Benghazi (Libya) (AFP) - The air force loyal to Libya's strongman Khalifa Haftar said Saturday it took part in Egyptian air strikes on jihadist positions in the country after a deadly attack on Egypt's Copts.
Egypt launched six air strikes on jihadist camps in Libya's eastern city of Derna on Friday, hours after masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians south of Cairo, killing at least 29 people.
The Islamic State group on Saturday claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of IS strikes that have killed more than 100 Copts in Egypt since December.
Haftar's forces carried out a "joint operation" with Egypt in Derna, the air force said in a statement carried by the LANA news agency loyal to Libya's eastern administration.
Egypt used French-built Rafale fighter jets to target military camps and the headquarters of the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city, it said.
"The operation was a success and the losses of the Al-Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment," the statement said.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), opposed by Haftar, denounced the raids as a violation of its sovereignty.
"Whatever the pretext, we reject any action that undermines the sovereignty of our country. There is no justification for the violation of the territory of other countries," a GNA statement said.
Derna was known for being a bastion of extremists even before the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Libya's longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Relatives of killed Coptic Christians grieve on May 26, 2017 during a funeral at Abu Garnous Cathedral in Maghagha, Egypt
After the revolt, the Al-Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia slowly spread its presence to Derna.
In 2014, some jihadists defected to join IS, which took control of Derna.
Pro-Al-Qaeda elements opposed to IS banded together to form Majlis Mujahedeen Derna to fight both the group and Haftar's forces, in 2015 expelling the jihadists from the city.
Haftar's forces regularly carry out air raids on positions of the pro-Al-Qaeda alliance.
Libya's Islamists accuse Haftar allies Egypt and the United Arab Emirates of taking part in these strikes.
Taormina (Italy) (AFP) - It's a powerful symbol: Seven of the world's richest countries gathered in Sicily, a Mediterranean island on whose shores rickety migrant boats from northern Africa regularly wash up.
But while migration and the vast continent on Sicily's southern doorstep got a mention Saturday in the final statement of G7 leaders gathered in the hilltop town of Taormina, the summit itself was dominated by trade, climate change and security threats.
"Never before has a G7 been held so close to Africa, but never before has Africa been so far from G7 concerns," said Friederike Roder of the One poverty-focused NGO that has for years tracked G7 meetings.
As the leaders shook hands and chatted in the shadow of Mount Etna, or listened to a classical music concert in an ancient Greek theatre, migrants and refugees continued to make the dangerous crossing across the Mediterranean.
On Friday, more than 3,400 were rescued.
But with drastic security measures to protect leaders such as US President Donald Trump, aid boats were banned from bringing them to safety in Sicily, taking them to the mainland instead.
US 'killed the project'
Summit host Italy had made Africa a priority for the gathering, picking Sicily as a venue as it was "at the heart of the Mediterranean" and a "bridge between Europe and Africa," according to Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.
Italy, which has seen more than 50,000 people land on its shores since the start of the year, wanted to craft an ambitious, end-of-summit declaration outlining a long-term vision for relations with Africa apart from the main statement, according to Italian diplomatic sources.
But "the Americans killed the project and made it known end of April that they refused to have any separate declaration," says Roder.
Italy, which has seen more than 50,000 people land on its shores since the start of the year, wanted to craft an ambitious, end-of-summit declaration outlining a long-term vision for relations with Africa, according to Italian diplomatic sources
Trump has made the fight against illegal immigration one of his priorities, promising to build a wall along the US-Mexico border to keep migrants out.
This week, he drew a parallel between terrorism and immigration in the wake of the deadly Manchester attack.
"Terrorism must be stopped in its tracks, or the horror you saw in Manchester and so many other places will continue forever," he said in a speech at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
"You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases, we have no idea who they are."
But for Roder, "the problem isn't Trump so much as the other countries who did nothing to save the Italian project."
Help needed
In the final G7 statement, the leaders recognised the need to support refugees while also emphasising "the sovereign rights of states, individually and collectively, to control their own borders."
They also reaffirmed a previously-made commitment to lift 500 million people in developing countries out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030.
The statement came just hours after the G7 partners sat down for talks with five African leaders -- or their deputies -- invited to the summit.
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou took the opportunity to point out that migration was the result of "the combination of terrorism, poverty, the effects of climate change and demographic pressure."
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou (R) took the opportunity to point out that migration was the result of "the combination of terrorism, poverty, the effects of climate change and demographic pressure"
He also called on his Western allies to consider a global approach to the issue mixing "security measures, and measures in the field of economic and social development."
"Niger is well placed to understand the challenges linked to terrorism and global warming. These are issues we experience on a daily basis," a source close to Issoufou said.
"We expect more solidarity on crucial issues, we have to find a solution in Libya ... and the Europeans must convince President Trump to stay in the Paris accord (on climate change)," the source added -- a decision Trump is due to make next week.
Cairo (AFP) - Egypt said Saturday attackers who massacred Christians near a monastery had trained in militant camps in Libya which it targeted with air strikes, after the Islamic State group claimed responsibility.
The air force loyal to Egypt-backed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar said it had joined the Egyptian air strikes on Friday following the attack on Copts that killed 29 people.
But the only confirmed strikes appear to have hit a pro-Al-Qaeda group in the Libyan city of Derna that has fought against IS.
Relatives of killed Coptic Christians grieve during a funeral at Abu Garnous Cathedral in the north Minya town of Maghagha, on May 26, 2017
IS said on Saturday that its fighters had ambushed the Christians as they were travelling to the Saint Samuel monastery in Egypt's southern province of Minya.
The shooting was the latest in a series of attacks by IS that have killed more than 100 Copts since December.
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told his US counterpart Rex Tillerson that the jihadists who attacked the Christian convoy had trained in Libyan militant camps.
"There was enough information and evidence of the terrorist elements involved in the (attack) having trained in these camps", a foreign ministry statement quoted him as saying.
A spokesman for the pro-Al-Qaeda Majlis Mujahedeen Derna, which controls the city in eastern Libya, said the Egyptian air force carried out eight raids on the city without causing casualties.
A Libyan air force statement said: "The operation was a success and the losses of the Al-Qaeda terrorists were heavy in casualties and equipment."
Majlis Mujahedeen Derna ousted IS from Derna in 2015 and also fights Haftar's forces.
The group has no known connections to IS in Egypt.
Egyptians attend mass at the St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Bani Mazar province of Egypt's Minya governorate on May 27, 2017
Egypt has repeatedly expressed concern over militants crossing from Libya to Egypt to conduct attacks.
In a speech on Friday, Sisi said setbacks to IS in Syria were driving its fighters to try to relocate to Libya and Egypt's Sinai.
In past attacks, Egypt had usually identified local jihadists as the perpetrators.
Friday's attack followed two suicide bombings of churches in April that killed 45 Copts. In December, a suicide bomber struck a church in Cairo, killing 29 Copts.
IS claimed all the bombings and threatened more attacks on the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 90 million.
It has also killed several Christians in North Sinai, forcing dozens of families to flee.
The latest attack drew global condemnation.
Relatives of the victims of an attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt's Minya province carry a coffin as they gather outside the Abu Garnous Cathedral in Maghagha, on May 26, 2017
"Terrorists are engaged in a war against civilisation, and it is up to all who value life to confront and defeat this evil," US President Donald Trump said in a statement.
Pope Francis, who visited Egypt in April, sent a message to Sisi saying he was "deeply saddened to learn of the barbaric attack".
27.05.2017 LISTEN
Accra, May 27, GNA - President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has in a message commemorating the start of Ramadan, exhorted Muslims to commit to the principles of love, sacrifice and dedication to duty, as Ghana strive on the path of development.
He said Muslims should strive to live by the values of Ramadan- the holy month of fasting- instituted for Muslims to dedicate themselves to God and to the service of humankind.
'I pray that in this month and beyond, we strive to live by these values, so that, even beyond Ramadan, we continue to commit ourselves to the good of humankind and our fellow Ghanaians.
'We have an opportunity to realize our potential as the Black Star of Africa, and it is my belief that the principles that Ramadan seeks to inculcate in Muslims are important for realising this objective,' he said.
GNA
Kasoa (C/R), May 27, GNA - The Kasoa Police, have arrested three alleged electrical cable thieves at Gomoa Buduburam in the Central Region.
They are Danjumah Mohammad, 29, Ibrahim Aggrey 19, and Enoch Adam 22, the taxi driver of which the cables were found with the registration number GW 9613 - 14.
The Kasoa Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dennis Abade told the Ghana News Agency that a community member of Gomoa Buduburam alerted the Police of thieves within the area.
He said the Police rushed to the scene and during operation the suspects were found around 02:00 hours on Thursday with the electrical cables.
ACP Abade said the cab and the stolen items have been impounded at the Kasoa Police Station while the suspected thieves would be processed to appear before court.
GNA
FFA Funding Cut Poll View Photos
An informal poll question was posted on MyMotherLode on May 23rd asking, Do you support Gov. Browns budget cuts to K-12 programs like FFA? A full 81 percent said No, 14 percent said Yes, and 5 percent didnt know, out of nearly 800 total votes over three days.
On May 11th Gov. Jerry Brown released a revised, $124 billion budget with more spending than he proposed in January but nothing for the category of Career Technical Education (CTE). Our interview with Assemblymember Frank Bigelow regarding the funding cut is in our news story Bigelow Says More Support Still Needed To Save K-12 Tech Ed Funding is here.
Since 1928, the Agricultural Education Unit of the California Department of Education (CDE) has been the official sponsor of the California Association of Future Farmers of America (FFA). The student organization for grades 9-12 has been funded for more than a decade through SB 1070, with an annual amount of $15 million out of $48 million given to the California Department of Education and the rest going to the California Community College Chancellors Office.
The budget proposal will impact more than FFA programs and Agriculture Education, also affected will be in-class instruction for areas such as Business and Marketing including Future Business Leaders of America, Health Careers Education, Home Economics and Work Experience Education as well as programs aimed to prepare and develop CTE instructors.
Gov. Browns statement about his revised budget notes that funding for K-14 schools has grown. From a recent low of $47.3 billion in 2011-12, funding is expected to be $74.6 billion in 2017-18 an increase of $1.1 billion since January and $27.3 billion over six years (58%) For K-12 schools, funding levels will increase by about $4,058 per student in 2017-18 over 2011-12 levels.
The Governor describes the current Local Control Funding Formula as a way to reinvest and correct historical inequities in school district funding with $1.4 billion in new funding. The formula focuses most new funding to districts with low-income students, English Learners, and students in foster care and eliminates the deferral of funding that was included in the January Budget.
Mercded River in Yosemite, CA View Photos
The Merced River at Pohono Bridge is forecast to reach flood stage early Monday morning.
The combination of above normal temperatures and rapidly melting snow over the higher elevations of the Sierra during the weekend will bring an increase in water levels and flows along rivers and streams.
The California-Nevada River Forecast Center is forecasting the upper Merced River in Yosemite National Park to peak near or slightly above Flood stage at Pohono Bridge early next week.
Visitors to Yosemite National Park should closely monitor the situation for updated forecasts, flood warnings and flood statements for the upper Merced river.
- Amaechi and Wike's rift continues as the former governor rejects a top award to be given to him by the River state government
- According to Amaechi, Wike plan to honour him is a poisoned chalice
- Wike immediately welcomes the rejection, says he is a 'scoundrel of history'
Rotimi Amaechi, the minister of transportation, on Friday, May 26, rejected an award which was to be given to him by Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state.
According to Amaechi, Wikes plan to honour him is a poisoned chalice, Premium Times reports.
In a statement from his media office, Amaechi made it clear that he would not be part of the programme put together by the governor, who succeeded him in 2015.
The award ceremony is part of activities marking the 50th Anniversary of Rivers state.
READ ALSO: Buhari is responsible for making Nnamdi Kanu popular - Omokri
Amaechi said: The purported award itself is a contradiction of monumental proportions, a contradiction that can only come from a warped and perverted mind.
From day one as governor, Wike has made it his sole, one-point agenda to attack, abuse, insult and falsely denigrate Amaechi, his immediate predecessor and erstwhile benefactor.
Since he became governor, Wike spends most of his time making reckless, deeply irresponsible malicious, false allegations against Amaechi, as he attempts, albeit fruitlessly, to malign and destroy the outstandingly superb performance and legacy of Amaechi in Rivers state.
Amaechi wondered why Wike would even contemplate honouring him.
So, what are the bases or criteria for Wike to give an award/honour to a man he (Wike) has rashly attacked and called all sorts of unprintable names in the past two years?
The minister said he could not accept the award in the face of a deplorable situation which Wike allegedly plunged Rivers into.
But in a swift response, Wike immediately welcomed the rejection, with the Rivers state Commissioner of Information, Austin Tam-George, describing it as a huge moral relief for the administration, and the people of the state.
Tam-George said: "The Rivers state government has learnt with much relief news of the rejection of a proposed State award, by a former governor of the state, and current Minister for Transportation, Mr Rotimi Amaechi.
"Given Mr Amaechi's sanctimonious statement of rejection, it is important to clarify that the Rivers State Government never set out to honour Mr Amaechi for any meritorious service to the state during his time as governor.
"As part of the events of the State's Golden Jubilee celebration, the State government accepted the recommendation of the organizing committee that a variety of awards be given to different categories of individuals who have earned a place in the history of the State.
"There is a category of the awards designated for former governors of the state. And as a former governor, Mr Amaechi fell automatically in that category.
"We wish to emphasize that the award was never meant as a validation of Mr Amaechi's horrendous administration.
"Mr Amaechi was personally indicted for stealing billions of public funds during his time in office, by a court-approved panel of inquiry set up by the state government.
"The government will soon initiate a prosecutorial process against him in multiple jurisdictions, in Nigeria and abroad. And no award would have stopped that process.
"We must confess that as a government, we wrestled with the moral horror of giving any kind of award to a man whose government was no better than a criminal syndicate.
"Mr Amaechi may be a scoundrel of history, but he was once a governor of the state. The proposed award was to serve as a sad acknowledgement of the especially dark place he occupies in our State's otherwise illustrious history.
"His rejection of the award is therefore a huge moral relief for the administration, and the people of the state."
Legit.ng had earlier reported that Amaechi had been listed amongst those to be honoured by Wike as part of activities marking the 50th Anniversary of Rivers state.
Amaechi is s number 18 among the 29 people to be honoured by the government for their contributions to the development of the state.
Former Nigerian leaders Goodluck Jonathan and Yakubu Gowon are also on the list, alongside late activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, who would be honoured posthumously.
Watch as Amaechi speaks about Muhammadu Buhari's administration about two years after it came into existence
Source: Legit.ng
- The Lagos camp of National Youth Service Corps was allegedly overcrowded
- Corp members who couldn't endure the 28 people per a small room moved to the registration room to sleep
- They were however allegedly forced out by military personnel on Friday, May 26 night
Some male corps members of the Lagos camp of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) allegedly slept under the open sky on the night of Friday, May 26.
The affected corp members were reportedly forced out of the registration room were they had been sleeping due to lack of space in hostels since camp resumed on Tuesday, May 24.
Corp members sleeping outside
READ ALSO: Ekweremadu in trouble as APC unveils plot to unseat him in 2019
Corp members sleeping outside
A concerned corp member who was affected, Aniebiet Anie Udo, took to his Facebook page to show the condition of corp members in the camp.
Lagos NYSC camp
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Udo wrote: "NYSC staff and Soldiers pursued us and we slept on the Ground.This is how we slept Tonight.
Corp members were allegedly forced out of registration room were they were sleeping.
"We were pursued from the Registration Hall floor we've been sleeping on for 3 days straight to sleep in a tiny overcrowded room containing over 28 people most times with no fan.
Corp members were allegedly forced out of registration room were they were sleeping.
"When we said that it was wrong to pursue us because their Boss was coming on Sunday we were left to our fate. This is because the camp admitted more people than its capacity.
Aniebiet Udo
"And we had to sleep on Sand. This is where we slept . Keep in mind that this is Bare Ground(Sand) We are sleeping.
"Rain is now falling and the NYSC staff have Abandoned us here."
Meanwhile, Yusuf Ege Olaide, a member of the National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) with registration number KB/16 A/379 serving in Kebbi state has passed away.
Legit.ng gathered that Alhaji Lawal Turawa, the state coordinator, stated this on Thursday, May 25, during the swearing in ceremony on Batch A stream I at the NYSC permanent camp, Dakingeri.
Watch a Legit.ng video of some NYSC members doing charity works below:
Source: Legit.ng
- The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday, May 27, left Nigeria for the ongoing G7 Summit in Italy
- Osinbajo was invited to the summit to represent Nigeria
- The Acting President will be back to Nigeria later today's evening
The Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday, May 27, left Nigeria for the ongoing G7 Summit in Taormina, Sicily in Italy .
The special assistant to the acting president Laolu Akande while speaking to journalists in Abuja on Saturday morning said Osinbajo was invited to the summit to represent Nigeria.
Akande said the president will return to Nigeria later in the evening today.
READ ALSO: Biafra day celebration: Police arrest IPOB, MASSOB members in Ebonyi
He said: "Acting President, Osinbajo, invited to ongoing G7 summit in Italy to represent Nigeria, leaves this morning and is expected back later in the evening today.
At the summit, leaders of seven country members of the G7, will at the meeting discuss issues affecting the world generally.
Legit.ng gathered that these leaders meet annually.
The Acting President will be back to Nigeria later today's evening
READ ALSO: 65-year-old Muhammed Yuguda wanted by police for killing 27 people in Niger state (Photo)
Also, the former Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk who spoke before the meeting started said this years summit will be the most challenging of all.
Tusk said: "No doubt, this will be the most challenging G7 summit in years."
Legit.ng had earlier reported that the acting president was at the Garki Market in Abuja.
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Osinbajo during his visit interacted with traders and inquired for the prices of some foodstuff in the market.
He also met with some student from government run school at the State House on Friday, May 26.
Watch this video from the ongoing summit below:
You can also watch this Legit.ng video of #Biafra50 lecture with Professor Osinbajo and former president Olusegun Obasanjo:
Source: Legit.ng
- Fayose claims that Buhari plans to silent all the Igbo leaders that are not in the APC
- He accuses the president of using DSS and Police as agents of terror
- The Ekiti state governor assures Nigerians that the period shall pass
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of running a government of terror using the Department of State Services and the Nigerian Police as agents of terror.
Fayose was reacting to a report that Deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadus guest house was raided on Friday, May 27, 2017.
According to him, Buhari is going after Igbo leaders in the opposition by desperately scheming to silent them through repeated harassment and intimidation, The Punch reports.
READ ALSO: Buharis administration is a government of fascists and beasts Fani-Kayode
Fayose said: This is a calculated and sustained attempts to silent all the Igbo leaders that are not in the All Progressives Congress with Buhari ahead of the 2019 general elections because he knows it is a no go area for his party.
They have gone from the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu, to the Chairman of Capital Oil, Ifeanyi Ubah and now the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu. This is the muzzling of democracy and it is time we saved our nation beyond party line from the hands of the terrorists.
Obviously it is too early to rate this government that has turned to government of terror using DSS and police as agents of terror. This certainly is not the change we bargained for.
We have lost this democracy to military junta of the past masquerading as democrats and we must rise as a people to defend it.
But I assure Nigerians that this period shall pass. Nigeria will once again be free from the hands of the agents of darkness and terror.
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Deputy Senate president Ike Ekweremadu said his guest house was raided on Friday morning, May 26, by police officers, an allegation the police spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, denied.
According to Moshood, the police have absolutely nothing to do with the raid.
Watch video of officials of EFCC protesting against corruption
Source: Legit.ng
- Cross River has granted pardon to 34 inmates serving various jail terms in Calabar Prison
- Governor Ben Ayade did this to mark the 50th Anniversary of Cross River state
- The governor said the pardon was also based on the provision of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution
Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has granted a state pardon to 34 inmates serving various jail terms in Calabar Prison to mark the 50th Anniversary of the state.
Ayade said this on Saturday in Calabar in his anniversary speech to the people of the state.
He said that Cross River had every reason to celebrate 50 years of its existence as a state, considering its monumental achievements during the period.
READ ALSO: Acting President Yemi Osinbajo inaugurates Zaria water project
Governor Ben Ayade to mark the 50th anniversary of Cross River state has freed 34 prison inmate
The governor said the pardon was in the spirit of the celebration and based on the provision of section 212 of the 1999 Constitution.
He said: In the spirit of the celebration and the powers vested on me by the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, I hereby grant clemency to the following category of people serving various jail terms in the state.
They are five people on death row; 16 prisoners serving life sentences; four prisoners who are above 60 years of age; nine convicted criminals who are terminally ill and may likely die any moment if not granted pardon.
Ayade stressed the need for the people to always remember past leaders of the state who had made considerable efforts in moving the state to greater heights.
He said that in spite of the great challenges that have bedeviled the state, there was the need for the people to have hope for a greater future.
According to him, the state has excelled in many fields of endeavors including tourism, agriculture and forest preservation.
He added that the annual Calabar Carnival has become the greatest street party in Africa.
I therefore call on you to stick together as we look forward to a greater tomorrow, he said.
Ayade had earlier performed the public signing into law of eight bills passed by the State House of Assembly, as part of the celebration.
The laws include Administration of Criminal Justice in Cross River; Citizen Right, Cross River Inland Water-ways, Cross River Scrap Regulatory Agency, Cross River Lottery ; Hawkers Right; Emergency Management Agency, and House of Assembly Commission.
The governor also used the occasion of the celebration to call on the people of the state to pray for the quick recovery of President Muhammad Buhari.
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It would be recalled that Cross River was created on May 27, 1967 from the former Eastern Region as South Eastern State by the then Gen. Yakubu Gowon regime.
The state was renamed to Cross River State in 1976 by late Head of State, Gen. Murtala Mohammed.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Governor Ayade ordered all the commissioners aide in the state to wear only clothes made from the Calabar Garment Factory.
Ayade said by June he will also join his over 2,000 aides to patronize Calabar based designers.
He said the purpose of the directive is to showcase his sincere commitment to the state and over 3,000 Cross River state youth working in the factory.
Watch this Legit.ng video of Rotimi Amaechi giving a summary of the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration below:
Source: Legit.ng
- The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) council primaries has been marred by protest from some party delegates
- Chaos began when the party began announcing the names of 18 candidates endorsed by the APC leadership
- The chairman of the electoral committee Tokunbo Afikuyomi was attacked by the aggrieved party members and almost stripped naked
The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) council primaries has been marred by protest from some party delegates, the Nation reports.
There was chaos at the primaries which held in Lagos on Saturday, May 27, when the party began announcing the names of 18 candidates endorsed by the APC leadership.
READ ALSO: Corp members allegedly forced to sleep outside due to overcrowding at Lagos NYSC camp (Photos)
The chairman of the electoral committee Tokunbo Afikuyomi was attacked by the aggrieved party members and almost stripped naked.
The Lagos state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) council primaries has been marred by protest from some party delegates
Legit.ng gathered that Afikuyomi managed to escape was got protection from the police.
READ ALSO: Despite his absence, Presidency releases photos of Buhari with children
However, the delegates who were protesting later destroyed the ballot boxes as stones and chairs were being thrown carelessly.
Also, other leaders of the party who were present at the venue of the primaries were escorted out by security operatives present at the event.
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Watch this Legit.ng video of Nigerians lamenting over leadership by the APC:
Source: Legit.ng
Ronald D. Croatti, the chief executive of UniFirst, who spent his entire professional life supplying uniforms and apparel to some of the biggest manufacturing companies, died on Tuesday in Boston. He was 74.
The cause was complications of pneumonia, a company representative said.
At UniFirst, Mr. Croatti led what began in 1936 as a family-owned business run by his father, Aldo, from a converted horse barn in Boston, where one washing machine cleaned uniforms for factory workers. He turned it into the second-largest supplier and cleaner of uniforms and garments in the United States, with about $1.5 billion in annual revenue.
When he took over as chief executive in 1991, succeeding his father, UniFirst, based in Wilmington, Mass., had about $100 million in revenue.
Today, UniFirst supplies uniforms to nearly two million people working for 300,000 businesses in the United States, Canada and Europe, many in the food service, health care and energy industries. Archer Daniels Midland, Berkshire Hathaway, Coca-Cola, Costco and Goodyear are among its customers.
Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations New York office have been investigating an attempt by international hackers to break into computers at the Trump Organization, according to three people with knowledge of the matter.
Early this month, at a meeting at the bureaus offices in Lower Manhattan, some of the agents briefed President Trumps two grown sons, Eric Trump and Donald J. Trump Jr., about the attempted intrusion, the people said. All spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Mr. Trumps sons began running the Trump Organization after their father became president.
A spokeswoman for the F.B.I. declined to comment on the investigation, which was first reported by ABC News, or to comment on the briefing.
Eric Trump confirmed in a telephone interview on Thursday evening that he had spoken with the F.B.I. about matters related to computer security, but declined to elaborate, other than to say there had been no successful intrusion into the companys computer system.
Linda Sarsour, one of the most prominent Muslim-American activists in New York, says the messages have been arriving by the hour recently.
Your time is coming.
A good Arab is a dead Arab.
Youre getting two bullets in your head.
Ms. Sarsour, one of the lead organizers of the Womens March on Washington, has tackled issues like immigration policy, mass incarceration, stop-and-frisk and the New York Police Departments spying operation on Muslims all of which have largely inured her to hate-tinged criticism.
But it is the commencement address she is to deliver next week to about 100 students at the City University of New York School of Public Health that she says has drawn the most hostility and ire she has ever experienced.
Linda Sarsour is a Sharia-loving, terrorist-embracing, Jew-hating, ticking time bomb of progressive horror, the conservative media personality Milo Yiannopoulos said at a rally on Thursday outside CUNYs main office, as protesters held signs with images associated with the often racist and anti-Semitic language used by what is known as the alt-right, a far-right, white nationalist movement.
HANCOCK, N.Y. Four years ago, I traded a job in a big, noisy office in Washington, D.C., for one in a little storefront on the main drag of a town on the banks of the Upper Delaware River in the Catskills. My new job included protecting one of the finest wild trout fisheries on the East Coast, but I didnt start by meeting lawmakers and writing letters and rallying support. That came later. First, I fished.
For two full months in the spring of 2013, I waded and floated the river, fishing for wild browns and rainbows in the company of a band of guides and anglers who dedicate no small portions of their lives to the pursuit.
It did not take me two months to learn why this place is so special to so many. Its not just a pretty river meandering through beautiful countryside. Its a river with big, hard-pulling wild trout, native born and discerning enough to challenge even the most experienced angler. You start catching fish like these, and youll never want to leave.
When I returned to reality, I got to work. Weve had some successes in protecting the river. But the Upper Delaware is a fragile ecosystem, and now it is threatened by a bitter dispute between New Jersey and New York City over water availability, and how much should be released into the river for the fishery and downstream states from reservoirs that provide water to the city.
FRONT PAGE
An article on Friday about a federal appeals court decision rejecting President Trumps revised travel ban misstated the number of refugees admitted to the United States under the current program. It is 110,000, not 120,000.
An article on Friday about the Libyan community in Manchester misstated part of the surname of a leader of the former Libyan dissident movement there. He is Hashem Ben Ghalbon, not Ben Ghosal.
SPORTS
An article on Thursday about athletes who visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture included an outdated name for the N.B.A. team based in Charlotte, N.C. They are the Hornets, no longer the Bobcats, which was the name of the team from 2004 to 2014.
WEEKEND
A picture caption on Friday with an article about the Heartbeat Operas productions of Butterfly and Carmen carried an erroneous credit. The picture, of a scene from Carmen, was taken by Russ Rowland, not by Louisa Proske.
The United States Air Force has opened an investigation into allegations that a mortuary employee at Dover Air Force Base offered to show the remains of the astronaut John Glenn to inspectors during a visit they made to the complex in March.
Inspectors declined the offer and never viewed the remains, according to the Defense Department. Nonetheless, such an offer made by an employee would be considered completely inappropriate, Col. Patrick S. Ryder, an Air Force spokesman, said in a telephone interview on Friday.
The Delaware mortuary, which is the largest in the nation, had been temporarily holding the remains of Mr. Glenn, a former senator, at the request of his family, Mr. Ryder said.
Mr. Glenn was buried at Arlington National Cemetery about a month after the inspection occurred.
The Air Force takes extremely seriously its responsibility to fulfill the nations sacred commitment of ensuring dignity, honor and respect to the fallen and care, service and support to their families, Mr. Ryder said in a statement. At the conclusion of the investigation, the Air Force will determine what further corrective actions, if any, may be necessary and appropriate. If any allegations of misconduct are substantiated, those involved will be held accountable.
WASHINGTON The White House unexpectedly backed down Friday in a confrontation with the governments top ethics officer, announcing it will publicly disclose waivers that have been quietly handed out since January to let certain former lobbyists work in the administration.
The reversal came after the White House wrote last week to the Office of Government Ethics and asked its director to suspend his request for copies of the waivers. Such waivers are needed when officials want to work on policies or other government issues that they were directly involved in recently as private-sector lobbyists or industry lawyers.
The debate over the waivers which were routinely made public during the Obama administration has drawn heightened attention as the Trump administration has hired dozens of former lobbyists and lawyers, and is frequently placing them into jobs that overlap with the work they did for paying clients.
Both the Trump and Obama administrations have had ethics policies, signed by each president, that prohibit newly hired government officials from handing particular matters they worked on in the private sector for two years. If the new government hires were formerly lobbyists, they were prohibited from working on the same issue for two years.
Given its small size ($152 million in the 2017 fiscal year) and large geographic scope, the commission has demonstrated a real impact, Mr. Ziliak said. Half of the gains were realized in the first five years, but subsequent budgets severely slashed funding for the commission, suggesting that more funding is needed, he said.
Inflation F.A.Q. Card 1 of 5 What is inflation? Inflation is a loss of purchasing power over time, meaning your dollar will not go as far tomorrow as it did today. It is typically expressed as the annual change in prices for everyday goods and services such as food, furniture, apparel, transportation and toys. What causes inflation? It can be the result of rising consumer demand. But inflation can also rise and fall based on developments that have little to do with economic conditions, such as limited oil production and supply chain problems. Is inflation bad? It depends on the circumstances. Fast price increases spell trouble, but moderate price gains can lead to higher wages and job growth. How does inflation affect the poor? Inflation can be especially hard to shoulder for poor households because they spend a bigger chunk of their budgets on necessities like food, housing and gas. Can inflation affect the stock market? Rapid inflation typically spells trouble for stocks. Financial assets in general have historically fared badly during inflation booms, while tangible assets like houses have held their value better.
According to a report from West Virginia University that was commissioned by ARC, the partnership helped create 312,000 jobs, many in technology or manufacturing. In 2016 alone, it created more than 700 jobs and helped retain more than 1,700 others in Ohio.
Other research shows links between the commissions creation and lower risk of infant mortality, homeownership rates and educational attainment.
While theres a lot to like in the presidents budget, Representative Bill Johnson, Republican of Ohio, said he did not support the proposal to gut the commission, which he called critically important to the people of eastern and southeastern Ohio.
Claiming food stamp recipients dont work.
Justifying a $191 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for households with low incomes, Mr. Mulvaney suggested a work requirement for able-bodied adults to receive benefits.
But such a requirement already exists. Adults who dont have dependents or a disability must work at least 80 hours each month or participate in a work force program to qualify. Otherwise, they can receive food stamps for only three months over three years. States can apply for waivers in areas with high unemployment rates or a lack of jobs. Two-thirds of some 45 million SNAP participants were children, seniors and adults with a disability in the 2015 fiscal year, according to official data.
WASHINGTON Jared Kushner, President Trumps son-in-law and senior adviser, spoke in December with Russias ambassador to the United States about establishing a secret communications channel between the Trump transition team and Moscow to discuss strategy in Syria and other policy issues, according to three people with knowledge of the discussion.
The conversation between Mr. Kushner and the ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, took place during a meeting at Trump Tower that Mr. Trumps presidential transition team did not acknowledge at the time. Also present at the meeting was Michael T. Flynn, the retired general who would become Mr. Trumps short-lived national security adviser, the three people said.
It is unclear who first proposed the communications channel, but the people familiar with the meeting said the idea was to have Mr. Flynn speak directly with a senior military official in Moscow to discuss Syria and other security issues. The communications channel was never set up, the people said.
The three people were not authorized to discuss the December meeting and spoke on the condition of anonymity. The White House declined to comment on Friday night.
But he was able to enter the country in another way during that period, according to previously undisclosed court documents. Mr. Deripaska came to the United States eight times between 2011 and 2014 with government permission as a Russian diplomat, according to affidavits he gave in a little-noticed lawsuit in a Manhattan court. Mr. Deripaska said in the court papers that his visits were brief and made in connection with meetings of the G-20 and the United Nations, not to conduct business.
The court documents and public records show that Mr. Deripaska, whose companies have long had offices in New York, has expanded his American holdings over the past 10 years, buying high-priced Manhattan townhouses and a major stake in a Russian-language newspaper in New York.
The lawsuit was brought by Alexander Gliklad, a Russian-born businessman, who charged that Mr. Deripaska had used his diplomatic status as a cover to do business, which the oligarch denied. Mr. Gliklad claims he is entitled to collect funds that Mr. Deripaska had agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit with a man who owed Mr. Gliklad money from a court judgment. Last month, a New York State Supreme Court justice rejected Mr. Gliklads argument that the Manhattan court had jurisdiction over Mr. Deripaska.
As Mr. Manaforts dealings with Russia-friendly Ukrainian politicians, business activities and loans have come under examination in recent months, his former client has gotten caught up in the media scrutiny. The two men were partners in an offshore fund set up in 2007 to buy telecommunications and cable television assets in Ukraine, where Mr. Manafort had advised then-President Viktor F. Yanukovych. That deal fell apart, winding up in litigation in the Cayman Islands.
WASHINGTON Despite repeated efforts by President Trump to curtail refugee resettlements, the State Department this week quietly lifted the departments restriction on the number of refugees allowed to enter the United States.
The result could be a near doubling of refugees entering the country, from about 830 people a week in the first three weeks of this month to well over 1,500 people per week by next month, according to refugee advocates. Tens of thousands of refugees are waiting to come to the United States.
The State Departments decision was conveyed in an email on Thursday to the private agencies in countries around the world that help refugees manage the nearly two-year application process needed to enter the United States.
In her email, Jennifer L. Smith, a department official, wrote that the refugee groups could begin bringing people to the United States unconstrained by the weekly quotas that were in place.
But critics say that his behavior overlooks the fact that Americas most durable alliances are in Europe, not the Middle East, and that Europeans are not likely to buy Mr. Trumps bluster.
Everybody sees that hes trying to be a tough negotiator with the Europeans, whom he apparently views as a bunch of weaklings, said Daniel Gros, the director of the Center for European Policy Studies, a think tank in Brussels. But nobody sees any use in firing back. They think there will be very little action on trade. Ultimately, they think its harmless.
On Friday evening, White House officials reported that Mr. Trumps first day of meetings with the leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Canada and Japan had been lively and productive. The leaders discussed terrorism, North Korea, Iran, trade and climate change, they said, and there was even hope that the United States and Europe might stake out some common ground on the future of the Paris climate accord.
Gary D. Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council, compared the atmosphere to a family dinner with his three daughters, in which all those at the table are confident about their views. There was a lot of what I would call pushing and prodding, Mr. Cohn said, I think the president learned how important it is for the United States to show leadership.
Still, the tone was a notable departure from the visit to the Middle East, where Mr. Trump scrupulously avoided lecturing the Saudis on human rights or the Israelis on their construction of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. His harsh statements in Europe suggested that he could be most divisive American leader to join this rarefied club since it was first organized in 1975.
Brad Pitt swaggers onto the screen as a big-gun general any similarities to a living person are purely intentional in War Machine. And six filmmakers tackle patriotism in Take 5.
Whats Streaming
WAR MACHINE (2017) on Netflix. Brad Pitt, who helped produce this adaptation of Michael Hastingss book The Operators, stars as Glen McMahon, a fictionalized version of Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, who was put in charge of the war in Afghanistan in 2009 before destroying his own career. There are other thinly veiled characters (Anthony Michael Hall as a general reminiscent of Michael T. Flynn) and some real-life ones (Ben Kingsley as Hamid Karzai). At its best, David Michods satire crackles with irreverent wit, A. O. Scott wrote in The New York Times, and, after a chaotic start, finds its groove and becomes its own thing: a mordant, cleareyed critique of American war-making that is all the more devastating for being affectionately drawn.
TAKE 5: A MORE PERFECT PATRIOT on Sundance Now. Six short documentaries, with public figures including Van Jones and Colin Kaepernick, explore patriotism in a diverse and divided United States.
SAN FRANCISCO The mother of Travis Kalanick, the chief executive of Uber, was killed and his father seriously injured in a boating accident on Friday near Fresno, Calif., the company said on Saturday.
Bonnie Kalanick, 71, who formerly worked in advertising sales at The Los Angeles Daily News, had long had a close relationship with her son Travis, whom she raised with her husband, Donald, in the suburbs of Los Angeles.
Donald Kalanick was rushed to a nearby hospital and was listed in serious condition, the company said. By midafternoon Saturday, an Uber spokesman said his condition had stabilized.
Travis and his family suffered an unspeakable tragedy, the spokesman, Matt Kallman, said in a statement. Our thoughts and prayers are with Travis and his family in this heartbreaking time.
She acknowledged that large dinners are a reality, but, she said, Just because an invitation is issued doesnt mean you have to accept it.
Bingo, Ms. Post said. Say, Im sorry thats not a good night for me, and just leave it at that.
If someone pushes, Ms. Brown said, I will say, Oh, Im so sorry, I have plans with my family. Because I am my family. And my plans are to watch Netflix instead of going to an expensive group dinner.
When it comes to one-on-one dinners, both said the villain was usually the phone. Every time you look at your phone when youre out with someone else, youre saying that whatever is happening elsewhere is more important than whats happening with you right now, Ms. Brown said.
To get the attention of someone distracted by things like Twitter or Tinder, Ms. Post suggested a direct inquiry, like, Hey, do you need to be on Instagram right now?
In her book, Ms. Brown offers some tips on not letting the internet and social media take over your life. She suggests knowing what you need from it every time you sit down, making sure you are willing to stand by whatever you say forever, and not losing any sleep over mean comments.
Everyone talks about manners as a thing of the past, Ms. Brown said.
You and I certainly dont, Ms. Post said. We are on a crusade. Etiquette is alive. It is real. It is living.
Here are the top 10 comments of the week on our digital platforms, as selected by our readers and the journalists who moderate nearly every comment. Some comments were edited for length and clarity.
Manchester Bombing
1. When my son heard about this horror, he looked at me and said Why, Mommy? Why would somebody do such a thing? And I thought about the many intellectual, historical and political arguments I might provide trying in vain to articulate a response that would explain a suicide bomber blowing himself up in a crowd of kids, but in the end I just said, I dont actually know. I dont know why.
And I think Im not alone. How can we combat what we dont understand? We lament and wring our hands and weep, not just for the dead and the loss of innocence of the survivors, but because we all so desperately want this to stop and we dont know how to make it end.
Michelle in New Jersey, reacting to an article about a bombing after an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, that killed 22 people.
This comment received more than 700 reader recommendations.
2. This week the city that is my home has taken a beating. As for the aftermath, the good people of Manchester have pulled together in shared grief. This will only make us stronger. Together we stand.
Robert Grundy in Manchester.
A non-virtual, real-life Amazon bookstore opened in Manhattan on Thursday with no obvious signs of corporate guilt at having driven countless independent bookstores to oblivion with the scythe-like power of the companys e-book discounting.
The store opened to a crowd waiting outside, some of them curious about the retro spectacle of a big-box bookstore, as if resurrected from the dead, selling actual books over the counter instead of the internet. All in the name of Amazon, the Colossus that ate the Indies.
Were all about discoverability, said one of the friendly employees offering greetings and guidance. The stores strategy is to mine Amazons massive online archives of reader data to steer the most popular books to shoppers. The circularity of this creme-de-la-creme process provides the sales leverage. The store stocks only 3,000 of the most popular, data-driven titles for instance, a history best seller thats been judged a good read by 2,796 previous readers, who gave it a 4.8 approval rating on a scale of 5. Collectively, the store boasts, its stock has received 1.7 million 5-star reviews from Amazon.com customers.
How to resist in this age of rampant populism? The question was once addressed by Robert Silvers, founding co-editor of The New York Review of Books, the enduring resource for dedicated readers in Gotham and beyond. Mr. Silvers preferred to mine the tastes and opinions of gifted writers and editors whom he chose for being able to offer all manner of bookish recommendations and delights, not least some serendipity. We do what we want and dont try to figure out what the public wants, he explained unapologetically.
Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce and a wealthy private businessman, was asked for his first impressions of government service. I thought the quality of people in the government was not as high as it has turned out to be, he said. There are actually quite a lot of very good, very serious, very intelligent people wanting to do their best.
He should tell his boss.
President Trump, ensconced in his scandal-plagued White House, hasnt paid much attention to the two million federal employees who report to him, unless hes cutting their numbers, slashing their budgets or wondering on television, What do all these people do?
Mr. Trump has barely set foot inside a federal agency since his appalling trip to the Central Intelligence Agency on Jan. 21, when he stood before a wall carved with the names of officers killed on duty, fabulizing about his inauguration crowds. He also visited the Department of Homeland Security in January. This month, after he fired James Comey, the F.B.I. director, the president scrapped a conciliatory visit to F.B.I. headquarters after learning that he would not be welcome. Mr. Trump has spent more time with members of Mar-a-Lago than with members of the federal work force.
That would be people like Phillip Brooks, Byron Bunker, Joshua Van Eaton and their team from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Justice Department, who doggedly investigated Volkswagens scheme to evade federal emissions standards and won a record $17.4 billion settlement for car owners and environmental cleanup projects. Or Timothy Camus and the Internal Revenue Service impersonation scam team, a group of Treasury, I.R.S. and other agency workers who unearthed and alerted Americans to a scam that had conned unknowing taxpayers out of millions.
Even Republicans hotly critical of Donald Trumps brand of populist nationalism were a little giddy with excitement when he won the presidency with healthy Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.
Fond partisan fantasies of unified conservative government have given way to night sweats. Congressional Republican resistance to Mr. Trumps new budget, which combines big increases in military spending with deep cuts to Medicaid and nutritional support for the poor, is one piece of evidence that the partys legislative agenda is a mess.
The small-government fanatics of the Freedom Caucus and its former member Mick Mulvaney, now director of the Office of Management and Budget, may think huge tax cuts financed by reducing health benefits for millions of voters 23 million if the American Health Care Act is enacted, according to the latest Congressional Budget Office analysis is a great idea. But its wildly unpopular with the public, including Republican voters, many of whom rely on Medicaid. Moderate Republican legislators thus find themselves forced to pick their poison. Is it better to suffer electoral blowback for cutting popular programs or for fecklessly impotent unified Republican government?
Republicans need a fresh formula that can both win elections and govern. Mr. Trumps nomination was a triumph of bread-and-circuses populism over reheated Reaganism. Yet the Tea Party wing of the Republican Party remains zealously committed to the idea that tax and spending cuts are the magic key to economic growth.
IT is understandable that many people in American government are unhappy that Donald Trump is the president of the United States. It is also understandable that many people would contemplate constitutional mechanisms that might remove him from that office.
But so long as Trump remains the president and even those of us who imagine 25th Amendment remedies would be wise to bet on at least three years and seven months more then ad hoc, partisan and extra-constitutional attempts to strip him of normal presidential powers are a very bad idea.
This is basically what we have in the Fourth Circuit Courts ruling striking down the administrations controversial travel ban, which seeks to temporarily restrict travel to the United States from six majority-Muslim countries Sudan, Iran, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia that are either ruled by terror-sponsoring governments or in the throes of civil war.
There are reasons to think this ban overbroad, counterproductive, damaging to U.S. interests. But it not a Muslim ban under any reasonable legal definition of the term, and on its face it looks entirely constitutional. As the Fourth Circuit concedes, the president has broad powers to restrict the entry of noncitizens, and an executive order restricting travel from a specified set of terror-affected countries would normally easily pass muster.
Finally some details. On Tuesday, the Trump administration released a reasonably detailed budget for the year 2018. Since no one thinks that President Trump is a conventional Republican, this is the first peek at his general philosophy of government, if he has one.
This years sore thumb was a proposed family leave benefit. Paid family leave, that is, just like other grown-up countries have. It was under President Bill Clinton that the United States first had a law requiring employers to hold peoples jobs for them if they needed time off to have a baby or care for an elderly parent. But that was unpaid leave.
President Trump is proposing six weeks paid and another six weeks unpaid, following the birth or adoption of a child. Thats still less generous than what many other countries have, but its not bad. In fact, its pretty good. It has been on the Democrats wish list for decades, but the final push came from Ivanka Trump, who apparently made this her top priority as an assistant to her father. Mr. Trump has made it very clear that he doesnt care to be pushed around. But maybe he makes an exception for daughters. In any event, here is a piece of classic liberal legislation that Donald Trump endorses.
Or is there a catch? Yes, maybe. Several, in fact. Is this just something held in reserve to give away when budget negotiations get tough? Above all, theres the issue of whos going to pay for it. The Times described it as a $25 billion program and said: The administration would work with states to find ways to pay for it. Aides to Ms. Trump said the goal was a program that did not add to the deficit. This hardly gives you confidence, does it?
My biggest boneheaded move, Mr. Obama mused.
He was right. Democrats should stop insulting people. The high cost of doing so is dramatized by Im deplorable T-shirts and Inaugural DeploraBalls. Theres no need to accept racism, sexism or homophobia from working-class whites or anyone else. Just live up to our progressive ideals by acknowledging social disadvantage more consistently. If class-based insults were as politically incorrect as racial or homophobic slurs, Rush Limbaughs rants against P.C. elites might hold less appeal. Mr. Limbaugh, like Mr. Trump, feeds off class resentment. Lets stop making their jobs easier.
Thats the first step. The second is for Democrats to advocate an agenda attractive to low-income and working-class Americans of all races: creating good jobs for high school graduates. The college-for-all experiment did not work. Two-thirds of Americans are not college graduates. We need to continue to make college more accessible, but we also need to improve the economic prospects of Americans without college degrees.
Accepted wisdom that decent nonprofessional jobs are gone for good lets elites off the hook. In fact, the United States has a well-documented dearth of workers qualified for middle-skill jobs that pay $40,000 or more a year and require some postsecondary education but not a college degree. A 2014 report by Accenture, Burning Glass Technologies and Harvard Business School found that a lack of adequate middle-skills talent affects the productivity of 47 percent of manufacturing companies, 35 percent of health care and social assistance companies, and 21 percent of retail companies. Middle-skill jobs are important jobs: radiology technician, electrician, modern robot-heavy factory worker, emergency medical technician, wind turbine technician. In some cities, a construction boom is hobbled by a lack of plumbers. We might ameliorate this problem if we stopped talking about plumbers butt.
Democrats should champion a new education-to-employment system in which high schools, community colleges and universities work with businesses and unions to develop certificate programs that deliver job-ready Americans who have the specific skills needed by local industries. These programs should be shorter than college, with flexible scheduling suitable for adult students with families who may very well need to retrain again and again as jobs mutate in a fast-changing world. Skillful, a partnership among the Markle Foundation, LinkedIn and Colorado, is one initiative pointing the way. Skillful helps provide marketable skills for job seekers without college degrees and connects them with employers in need of middle-skilled workers in information technology, advanced manufacturing and health care.
Democrats have given Republicans the priceless gift of letting them be the party that talks more about good jobs for working-class Americans. Whats the Republican jobs program? Supply-side economics, which is bad science but savvy politics, because it communicates to working-class whites that Republicans understand what they want: jobs. I dont believe tax cuts for the rich are the answer. But the Democrats failure to communicate a meaningful alternative means that all Mr. Trump has to do to own the jobs issue is jawbone a few companies, propose tax cuts and sing the praises of coal.
When economic resentments are not addressed, they morph in ugly ways. Immigration provides an example. In 2014, the Republican leadership in Congress was moving toward immigration reform, driven by concern about alienating Latino voters. This momentum halted when Eric Cantor, then the House majority leader, was primaried by an unknown libertarian candidate, David Brat. Opposition to Mr. Cantor originally focused on crony capitalism and the Wall Street bailout. Mr. Brat didnt stop there. Instead, he attacked the amnesty immigration reform he accused Mr. Cantor of supporting. In a speech, he hit the nail on the head: Virginia is ground zero in the fight to protect American workers. If we want to stop amnesty, then we must stop Eric Cantor on this Election Day, June 10.
But we need the rest of the country, made up of states with much smaller economies, to be engaged and supporting this effort, if for no other reason than to share in the millions of new jobs and businesses that will be created to meet the challenges ahead. It seems so illogical for the G.O.P., the party of business, and the president who wants to create jobs to ignore these realities. We need to put a national price on fossil fuels and return the proceeds to households.
ROBERT KALAYJIAN
LONG BEACH, CALIF.
To the Editor:
Re On Climate, Look to China and India (editorial, May 22):
You rightly note that China and India are fast scaling up cleaner sources of electricity, particularly wind and solar power, raising questions about the United States role. But your contention that China and India are finding that doing right by the planet need not carry a big economic cost misses an important point. These two countries like the United States have been economically inefficient in many of the key policies and financial tools they have used to scale up renewable energy. The result: Renewable energy has cost more than it should.
These technologies are unlikely to grow to a level that will make much difference to the planet without a smarter policy and finance approach. For the United States, that will require working with China in the clean-energy race, not merely trying to defeat it. Though China-bashing is a popular political sport in the United States, it is by leveraging Chinas strengths in scaling up cleaner forms of energy that the United States is likely to build a domestic clean-energy industry robust enough to help both the planet and the nations economy.
JEFFREY BALL, DAN REICHER
STANFORD, CALIF.
The writers are, respectively, the scholar-in-residence and executive director at the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University.
To the Editor:
Re Vulnerable Voices Lash Out as Companies Sway Climate Talks (front page, May 17):
Im ashamed, but not at all surprised, that the United States is among the few countries defending the fossil fuel industry and rejecting a common-sense conflict-of-interest policy at the global climate talks. After all, President Trump nominated and the Senate confirmed the former chief executive of Exxon Mobil to lead the State Department.
Any doubts about the senseless cruelty underlying the health care agenda put forward by President Trump and Congress were put to rest last week by two government documents. The fantasy that Mr. Trump intends to fight for the health of long-suffering working people should be similarly interred.
One document was the administrations budget. The other was the Congressional Budget Offices detailed analysis of the Trumpcare bill passed by the House earlier this month. The budget proposes billions of dollars in cuts to programs that fund research into new cures, protect the country from infectious diseases and provide care to the poor, the elderly and people with disabilities. The analysis said that Trumpcare formally the American Health Care Act would rob 23 million people of health insurance while leaving millions of others with policies that offer little protection from major medical conditions. All of this would be done in service of huge tax cuts for the richest Americans.
Consider the fate of Medicaid, a program that provides health insurance to more than 74 million people, among them 60 percent of nursing home residents and millions of people with disabilities. Trumpcare would slash Medicaid spending by $834 billion over 10 years, according to the C.B.O. The presidents budget would take a further $610 billion from the program under the pretext of reforming it. Taken together, this amounts to an estimated 45 percent reduction by 2026 compared with current law, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities says.
Trumpcare, the C.B.O. says, would make it impossible for millions of people with pre-existing conditions like heart disease or diabetes to buy health insurance. Thats because the law would let states waive many of the requirements in the Affordable Care Act, the 2010 law known as Obamacare. It would also greatly increase the cost of insurance policies for older and poorer people, no matter where they live. By way of illustration, a 64-year-old earning $26,500 a year and living in a state not seeking waivers would have to pay $16,100 a year for coverage, nearly 10 times as much as she would under Obamacare.
But what if confirmation bias isnt the only culprit? It recently struck us that confirmation bias is often conflated with telling people what they want to hear, which is actually a distinct phenomenon known as desirability bias, or the tendency to credit information you want to believe. Though there is a clear difference between what you believe and what you want to believe a pessimist may expect the worst but hope for the best when it comes to political beliefs, they are frequently aligned.
For example, gun-control advocates who believe stricter firearms laws will reduce gun-related homicides usually also want to believe that such laws will reduce gun-related homicides. If those advocates decline to revise their beliefs in the face of evidence to the contrary, it can be hard to tell which bias is at work.
So we decided to conduct an experiment that would isolate these biases. This way, we could see whether a reluctance to revise political beliefs was a result of confirmation bias or desirability bias (or both). Our experiment capitalized on the fact that one month before the 2016 presidential election there was a profusion of close polling results concerning Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
We asked 900 United States residents which candidate they wanted to win the election, and which candidate they believed was most likely to win. Respondents fell into two groups. In one group were those who believed the candidate they wanted to win was also most likely to win (for example, the Clinton supporter who believed Mrs. Clinton would win). In the other group were those who believed the candidate they wanted to win was not the candidate most likely to win (for example, the Trump supporter who believed Mrs. Clinton would win). Each person in the study then read about recent polling results emphasizing either that Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Trump was more likely to win.
Despite these efforts, by this past March, about two and a half years after it had closed a round of funding that raised millions in venture capital, its active users over age 18 had fallen to 264,000, an enormous decline from nearly 1.9 million in November 2014, according to comScore.
Was Yik Yak really that bad? A study at the MIT Media Lab that compared it to Twitter found that posts on the anonymous platform were only slightly more likely to contain vulgar words. The difference was less than 1 percent. We find that on anonymous platforms, users are only slightly more likely to use vulgar language than on public ones, and when they do it is not acceptable and leads to negative feedback, the authors wrote.
Morgan Hines, who will start her fourth year at Northeastern University in Boston this fall, never encountered nastiness on Yik Yak. I thought it was funny, she said. It formed a lot of camaraderie between students. There would be random shout-outs to things happening on campus, like people who are attractive or being annoying in the library, or a fire alarm going off at 4 a.m.
But Ms. Hines criticized Yik Yaks hyper-localization. Yik Yak was for pockets of people on campus, she said. If the fire alarm went off at 4 a.m., it only went off at your building, so no one else will give it a thumbs-up.
That hyper-localization is also what made the cases of harassment particularly galling. Ms. Musick, one of the plaintiffs, said, With Yik Yak, in the back of your mind, you know theyre not from around the world or other parts of the state, theyre right there in your classroom, in your dining hall. On a campus with 4,500 students, thats a pretty small group of people. This isnt some creepy guy in his moms basement in Indiana.
In the end, it may have been this aspect of the app that really did it in. Danielle Levitas, the senior vice president for research at App Annie, pointed out that bad press would not necessarily override an apps popularity if it fulfilled a useful function (consider Uber, for example). But, she said, if it does not have something sustainable to offer, it will burn out.
In this case, it seems that being local was to Yik Yaks detriment. When Ms. Hines went home to Kentucky after her freshman year, she forgot about the app. I wasnt on campus anymore and I wasnt with my friends anymore, she said. And back at Northeastern, no one was on campus to comment on anything. She added, It kind of just became irrelevant in my life.
Its almost impossible for assistant professors to get this much money, he said. The research funding is shrinking in the U.S. and Europe. But it is definitely expanding in China.
Mr. Schwertfegers lab, which is part of ShanghaiTech University, works on ways for machines, without any aid from humans, to avoid obstacles. Decked out with wheeled robots, drones and sensors, the lab works on ways for computers to make their own maps and to improve the performance of robots with tasks like finding objects specifically, people during search-and-rescue operations.
Much of Chinas artificial intelligence push is similarly peaceful. Still, its prowess and dedication have set off alarms within the United States defense establishment. The Defense Department found that Chinese money has been pouring into American artificial intelligence companies some of the same ones it had been looking to for future weapons systems.
Quantifying Chinas spending push is difficult, because authorities there disclose little. But experts say it looks to be considerable. Numerous provinces and cities are spending billions on developing robotics, and a part of that funding is likely to go to artificial intelligence research. For example, the relatively unknown city of Xiangtan, in Chinas Hunan province, has pledged $2 billion toward developing robots and artificial intelligence. Other places have direct incentives for the A.I. industry. In Suzhou, leading artificial intelligence companies can get about $800,000 in subsidies for setting up shop locally, while Shenzhen, in southern China, is offering $1 million to support any A.I. project established there.
On a national level, China is working on a system to predict events like terrorist attacks or labor strikes based on possible precursors like labor strife. A paper funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China showed how facial recognition software can be simplified so that it can be more easily integrated with cameras across the country.
China is preparing a concerted nationwide push, according to the two professors who advised on the effort but declined to be identified, because the effort has not yet been made public. While the size wasnt clear, they said, it would most likely result in billions of dollars in spending.
Eight months before Election Day, Donald J. Trump was about a half-hour into his stump speech at a convention center in Louisville, Ky., when several protesters interrupted his rally. Get em out of here! he bellowed in response.
Matthew Heimbach, a white nationalist wearing a red Make America Great Again hat, gave a hard shove in the back to Kashiya Nwanguma, a black college student who had been holding up a poster depicting Mr. Trumps face on the body of a pig.
He knew what he was asking for, Mr. Heimbach said recently of Mr. Trumps remark.
What Mr. Trump got was a pair of lawsuits: one filed by Ms. Nwanguma and the other by one of Candidate Trumps most fervent young admirers among the white nationalist movement, Mr. Heimbach.
Two months after the March 2016 rally, Ms. Nwanguma and two other protesters sued Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, contending incitement, saying he was legally liable because Mr. Heimbach and other Trump supporters were acting as his agents. The civil suit also accuses Mr. Heimbach and two other Trump supporters of assault and battery, adding that they shouted racial slurs at her.
Ms. Handel, 55, the runner-up in April at just under 20 percent, has bulked up her base, attracting supporters of other Republican candidates who were defeated in the first round. She now faces the risk of losing some voters because of Mr. Trumps troubles.
Ms. Handel, however, has the advantage of being a known quantity to many voters, having cemented her conservative bona fides as a Fulton County commissioner and Georgia secretary of state long before Mr. Trumps rise to power.
The challenge for Mr. Ossoff, a documentary filmmaker and former congressional staff member, will be turning out his anti-Trump coalition in equal force a second time during summer vacation season while Ms. Handel hammers him for living outside the district and accuses him of exaggerating his credentials and being a puppet of liberal national Democrats.
Mr. Ossoffs supporters are dishing it out, as well, with one frequent ad accusing Ms. Handel of profligate spending while secretary of state. At the same time, they are trying to change the basic math of the race by reaching out to millennials and to minorities, who are altering the flavor of what a generation ago was a classic swath of deeply conservative, white-flight suburbia.
Mr. Ossoff may receive some help from two recent developments that expanded access to the polls: the May 11 expansion of early voting sites in three Ossoff-friendly areas of DeKalb County, and a May 4 injunction by a federal judge that extended the voter registration period.
The expansion of the registration period was a result of a suit brought by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. While the Georgia secretary of states office reports that at least 5,500 new registrations have been processed in the expanded period, it is not yet clear if it will benefit Democrats or Republicans, as Georgia voters do not list party affiliation on their registrations.
After a toxic election campaign, the veto-proof Republican majorities in the State House and State Senate moved to defang Mr. Cooper even before he took office. A special session in December stripped the governor of most power to appoint state employees and university trustees, choose a cabinet without legislative approval and install majorities on state and local election boards. The latter move was stayed, pending a trial.
Now the legislators are taking aim at the state judicial system. In December, after voters elected a Democratic majority to the nominally nonpartisan State Supreme Court, the legislature expanded the jurisdiction of the Republican-led Court of Appeals and made the legal path toward other Supreme Court hearings more tortuous. Last month, Republicans voted to shrink the Court of Appeals by barring replacement of the next three retiring judges, denying Mr. Cooper a chance to nominate successors.
In March, a state commission charged with improving the states courts urged the legislature to scrap the requirement that judges win election to the bench, saying it forced candidates to seek contributions from people who appeared before them.
Eight days later, the legislature voted to change lower-court elections from nonpartisan to partisan affairs, requiring nearly 400 judges to run under party labels in a bid to put more Republican loyalists on the bench. (The legislators had earlier made appeals and Supreme Court elections partisan.) Two Republican legislators filed a bill to split Charlottes Democratic-leaning Mecklenburg County judicial district into three new ones that would give Republicans a better shot at victory.
Its straight-up political, one of the sponsors, Senator Jeff Tarte of suburban Charlotte, told The News & Observer of Raleigh.
Other Republican-sponsored bills would rescind Mr. Coopers authority to fill most judicial vacancies, give political parties a role in filling others and change the composition of special three-judge panels, established to hear challenges to laws, that frequently have ruled against the legislature.
What is the future for an independent judiciary in the state of North Carolina should all these bills become law? asked State Representative Joe John, a Democrat who sat on the Court of Appeals from 1993 to 2001. It sure doesnt look very good.
The Oregon man accused of screaming anti-Muslim insults at two women, and then fatally stabbing two men and wounding a third as they tried to intervene on Friday, had a history of making extremist remarks, according to the police and civil rights advocacy organizations.
In a statement on Saturday, the Portland police said the attacker, who was identified as Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, of North Portland, Ore., had been booked into the Multnomah County Jail on charges that included two counts of aggravated murder. The police also said Mr. Christian will be arraigned on Tuesday and could face additional charges.
The episode began on Friday when the three men were attacked on a Portland commuter train as they tried to calm Mr. Christian, who, the police said, was ranting and talking disparagingly about the women, one wearing a hijab. The police added that the two women, who were not injured, left the scene and were later identified and contacted by investigators.
Its horrific; there are no other words to describe what happened today, Sgt. Pete Simpson, a spokesman for the Portland Police Bureau, said at a news conference. The police statement also said part of the investigation would focus on Mr. Christians extremist ideology.
EL KAMOUR, Tunisia It may look like just a clutch of tents pitched outside an oil pumping station on the edge of the Sahara. But to the people of this southern region, this is Tunisias second revolution.
Tired of waiting for the government to relieve their poverty and create jobs, thousands of young people have been camping here and demonstrating in the main town, Tataouine, for weeks.
This past week, the protesters shut the main oil pipeline at El Kamour and clashed with units of the National Guard who tried to burn down the camp on Monday. A police station and a National Guard post were burned in turn. One protester was killed, and at least two others were gravely wounded.
Six years after the revolution that brought down Tunisias dictator of 23 years, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, the protests reflect mounting frustration at the broken promises of the countrys new democratic leaders to bring tangible improvement to poorer regions like this one.
KABUL, Afghanistan A large Taliban explosion targeting an elite Afghan militia force that has worked closely with the C.I.A. killed at least a dozen people on Saturday in the eastern part of the country, officials said.
Gen. Faizullah Ghairat, the police chief of Khost Province, which borders Pakistan, said that members of the Khost Protection Force, a militia trained and paid for by the United States, were returning from a mission and had stopped at a crowded bazaar when a car bomb exploded.
There were conflicting reports about the death toll. Najib Danish, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, put the number at 18, while another senior security official said 13 people had been killed.
It was not immediately clear how many of the casualties were civilians or members of the militia, known as K.P.F.
TRAL, Kashmir Protests erupted across southern Kashmir on Saturday after Indian forces killed a militant who led an insurgent network and commanded a loyal following among local youths.
Early on Saturday, after Indian troops had surrounded the two-story house where the militant, Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, was hiding, several hundred villagers charged the site, apparently hoping that Mr. Bhat would escape amid the confusion, but they were repelled by tear gas and sprays of birdshot, witnesses said.
We will always try to stop the Indian forces from killing our brothers who are fighting for us, said Irshad Malik, 29, who was being treated for a wound sustained in the clash.
One other militant was also killed in the fighting, and a civilian who was wounded in the crossfire died at a hospital, the Kashmiri police said in a statement.
At least 122 people have been killed in floods and mudslides in Sri Lanka after the worst torrential rains to hit the tropical island nation since 2003, officials said on Saturday.
The state-run disaster management center said nearly 100 people were still missing, according to Reuters. The early rainy-season downpours forced many families from their homes, displacing over 270,000 people across the country.
Sri Lankan military and rescue teams have used boats and helicopters, but officials said access to some areas was very difficult.
SYDNEY, Australia Schapelle Corby left Australia for Bali in 2004 as a beach girl, another Gold Coast surfer who said she was just seeking a vacation and some waves.
On Sunday morning, she finally returned home, but as a convicted drug trafficker and one of Australias most well-known, if not favorite, criminals.
A mob of reporters and television cameras greeted her arrival in Brisbane just after 5 a.m. and less than 24 hours after she created an Instagram account, tens of thousands of followers had already signed up for a glimpse of her new life.
Theres not very many Australian drug traffickers that you could say are media stars, said Anthony Lambert, a senior lecturer in cultural studies at Macquarie University. Shes a celebrity prisoner, which is a relatively new phenomenon.
A global technology failure at British Airways led to delays, airport congestion and flight cancellations for thousands of customers at London-area airports on Saturday.
The problems began around 7 a.m. local time. By late afternoon, the airline had canceled all Saturday flights departing from Heathrow and Gatwick airports. In a statement, it cited a major I.T. system failure that is causing severe disruption to our flight operations worldwide.
The glitch affected the airlines check-in and operational systems, including call centers, the airlines chief executive, Alex Cruz, said in a video on Saturday.
The Italian police are looking for a Tunisian man suspected of having terrorist ties who entered the country on Wednesday, traveling in a car with German license plates, according to a police statement and Italian officials.
The suspect, Fouad Khaskhoussi, 36, was born in Tunisia and has German residency papers. The statement from the police, released this past week, said he was traveling in the car with Wassim Ben Hassem, 31, who was also born in Tunisia and lived in the Italian town of Reggio Emilia. They passed through the border security post in the Italian city of Como, which is on the border with Switzerland.
The Florence highway division of the state police circulated mug shots of the two men and said in a statement that they were traveling in a white Citroen with the German license plate DA411U.
An internal police document showed that Mr. Khaskhoussi appeared in Italys database of terrorism suspects.
TAORMINA, Sicily President Trump declined to endorse the Paris climate accords on Saturday, ending his first foreign trip much as he began it: at odds with several of the nations allies and under a cloud of questions back home about his ties to Russia.
Mr. Trump refused to bend on the pact after three days of contentious private debate and intense lobbying by other leaders that began Wednesday with an appeal by Pope Francis. The six other nations in the Group of 7 reaffirmed their commitment to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions in a joint statement issued Saturday.
The stalemate leaves the countrys future role in the climate accord in flux, though Mr. Trump promised to make a decision in the week ahead on whether the United States will be the first of 195 signatories to pull out.
Mr. Trump returned home on Saturday night to a White House in crisis after a nine-day trip to the Middle East and Europe that was book-ended by new disclosures about links between his aides and Russia.
The strikers, among 6,500 Palestinians in Israeli prisons, had demanded more family visits, an end to solitary confinement, better health care and greater access to education. Media reports said the Israeli authorities had agreed to prisoners demand for a second monthly family visit.
Israeli officials accused Mr. Barghouti of staging the strike to raise his position in the volatile struggle over leadership among Palestinians. Polls show that Mr. Barghouti, 57, who has been in prison since 2002, is the most popular choice to replace Mahmoud Abbas, 82, president of the Palestinian Authority.
Mr. Abbas met in the past week in Bethlehem with President Trump, and the two reportedly discussed the strike. The striking prisoners had limited themselves to water and salt, although Israeli officials said that Mr. Barghouti had violated the strike at least twice, eating snacks placed in his cell. Palestinian officials and his family denied the accusations, saying that videos purportedly showing Mr. Barghouti eating were faked.
by Franklin Lamb
Palmyra, Syria, May 23, 2017:
On any given Monday morning, at approximately 7:30 a.m. a car carrying highly trained archeologists and two Palmyra National Museum security guards, on weekly rotation, departs the Homs, Syria HQ of Syria's Directorate-General for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) along the previously dangerous 160 km Homs-Palmyra road east to Palmyra (Tadmor), the site of wanton destruction the past few years. Caused in the main by Islamic State (ISIS) jihadists who insist that non-Islamic archeological sites offend God who apparently abhors any possible idolatry-if indeed that is what preserving our global culture heritage for those who follow us amounts to. "It's both propagandistic and sincere," says Columbia University historian Christopher Jones, who has chronicled the damage on his blog . "They see themselves as recapitulating the early history of Islam." Simultaneously, ISIS uses looting as fundraisers for military operations.
Since 2015, DGAM archeologists' travel to Palmyra has sometimes been curtailed and the route closed by the Syrian army given that the area just to the north and south of the highway harbored jihadists camped deep under the vast desert in tunnels as well as dug into nearby hillsides with heavy weapons. On 5/23/2017 the Syrian army informed this observer that ISIS forces have now been pushed back some 50 km into the desert northeast of Palmyra and no longer pose a threat to those visiting the ruins area. Moreover, this past month Syrian troops, seeking to expand a buffer zone north of the Homs-Palmyra highway have advanced on ISIS positions in the same area with intermittent clashes between the Syrian Army (SAA) and ISIS units ongoing. Consequently, an invitation from DGAM for this observer to join the group and again visit Palmyra, one of 300 of Syria's 10,000 archeological sites damaged and/or looted since the spring of 2011, was most welcomed.
Syria's current work at Palmyra includes conducting updated assessments of damage by ISIS during their second occupation of the ancient city which lasted for ten weeks between December 11, 2016 and March 2, 2017. Fortunately, this month's Syrian government assessment shows that ISIS damage at Palmyra is limited to the central part of the facade of the Second Century theater and to the columns of the Tetrapylon, with no new damage to the Tomb of the Three Brothers, Temple of Bel, Temple of Nebo, Camp of Diocletian, the Straight Street, Agora and other monuments. Maamoun Abdulkarim, Syria's director of antiquities, who had already arranged the transport of some 800 of the ancient statues and artifacts in Palmyra's museum to Damascus and elsewhere for safe-keeping explained: "This time, they don't seem to have damaged Palmyra as badly as we feared."
Photo: fplamb 5/23/2017. ISIS substantially leveled most of the Tetrapylon Tetrapylon a group of raised pillars signaling a crossroads, with only four of 16 columns still standing and leaving the stone platform now covered in rubble.
(Image by Franklin P. Lamb) Details DMCA
ISIS substantially leveled most of the Tetrapylon Tetrapylon a group of raised pillars signaling a crossroads, with only four of 16 columns still standing and leaving the stone platform now covered in rubble. But again, ISIS failed to remove or pulverize the chunks of the columns such that the Tetrapylon will be relatively easily restored. ISIS also left behind most of the rubble at other sites during its first occupation. This means that approximately 80% of Palmyra's antiquities are in fairly good condition and 15% of those more heavily damaged also can and will be restored.
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Simplicity is of the utmost importance for efficient operation of everything from the smallest invention to all of Nature. Albert Einstein wrote, "Our experience hitherto justifies us in trusting that nature is the realization of the simplest that is mathematically conceivable."
This principle of simplicity in Nature can be extrapolated into politics and correct the biggest problem democracy in the United States is suffering under: the wealthy and their special interest groups purchasing politicians and elections and rendering voting meaningless.
When John Kennedy was running for the office of President of the United States in 1960, he had a very rude awakening. Congressman Paul Findley shared this enlightening moment John Kennedy had on page 114 of They Dare to Speak Out: People and Institutions Confront Israel's Lobby. Findley wrote:
"The night before, Kennedy had gone to dinner with a small group of wealthy and prominent Jews in New York. An episode of the evening trouble him deeply. Describing it to Bartlett as an 'amazing experience," he said one of those at the dinner party - he did not identify him by name - told him he knew his campaign was in financial difficulty and, speaking for the group, offered 'to help and help significantly' if Kennedy as president 'would allow them to set the course of Middle East policy over the next four years.' It was an astounding proposition."
Kennedy told his friend, Charles Bartlett, that this offer made him feel insulted, not as a candidate, but as an American citizen. Most people know that things like this go on all the time in politics. This is a major reason why the majority of people who can vote decide not to vote. By not voting, they are voting against the entire corrupt system.
This experience inspired Kennedy to come up with an idea that would break the legs of the powerful 1% and their special interest groups while protecting true democracy. That idea is to have a law that would subsidize presidential campaigns out of the US Treasury. He felt that the cost incurred by this would be well worth it as it would "insulate presidential candidates in the future from this kind of pressure and save the country a lot of grief in the long run."
If this idea of President Kennedy's had been made a reality, just imagine how much better things would be today. In just one aspect of world politics and life, Israel and the Middle East, the billions of American tax dollars US politicians from both parties take from Americans and give to Israel every year would more than likely stay in the US and put to use helping American citizens instead of a warmongering foreign state. The overly powerful Israel lobby (Kennedy tried to require the Israel lobby to register as a foreign agent) would not be able to virtually, and in some cases, literally, write US foreign policy for the Middle East which would mean the Iraq War, which was launched for Israel's benefit, never would have happened. If the Iraq War never happened, al Qaeda never would have gotten into Iraq and the Islamic State terror organization never would have come into existence.
President Kennedy's plan to subsidize presidential campaigns should also be applied to all political campaigns. This would virtually guarantee protection on all levels from the damaging influence of the 1% and their special interest organizations.
Working to implement Kennedy's idea, especially after the Citizens United v. Federal Election Committee US Supreme Court decision, would definitely be an uphill battle. But the beautiful simplicity of his idea would attract a lot of people and their support.
With Memorial Day, 2017 being the 100th birthday of President John F. Kennedy, we should honor him, while helping to resurrect democracy, by promoting his idea of protecting democracy from powerful special interest groups to the best of our ability.
By Hamma Mirwaisi
Kurds are the name come into existence after Alexander the Great of Greek Empire conquered the original land of Caucasian people. Kurd evolved from Kurt and Kurt evolved from Huart. The members of the median Empire army were called Hurt (Bear). Alexander the Great conquered Achaemenid Persian Empire. Persian of Tamil used by Median Empire royal families as servant forces used in their war against others.
Persian traitors under the leadership of Darius son of Hystaspes betrayed Median Empire royal family in year 522 BC or BCE by overthrowing Median King and establishing Achaemenid Persian Empire. Alexander the Great defeated Achaemenid Persian Empire in year 330 BC and established the Greek Empire.
The fall of the Achaemenid Empire to Alexander, the Great of the Greek Empire, heralded the birth of the Aryan Kurds. The Kurds under General Baryaxes who led the remainder of the Median Army known as Huart (Bears) into mountainous hideouts, which is the first Kurdish freedom or guerrilla fighters after Gutiani or Guti to defend against the Greek occupiers. The word 'Huart' evolved to 'Kurt,' which in time became Kurd. Today PKK guerrilla fighters are similar to Kurds of General Baryaxes.
The land of Kurds (Is the land of entire Caucasian people) from India to Europe and from Egypt to Mongolia made the land as hells for the Kurds. After Persian of Tamil, Arab of Africa and Turks of Mongolia occupied the land of Caucasian Kurds they killed most of the Caucasian people or chased them to Europe.
British, Russian and France Empires sided with enemies of Caucasian people because of the New Christian religion teaching. Today the US and Russian Empires are repeating the same mistakes of British, Russian and France Empires toward Kurdish people.
Kurd survived 2500 years suffering. They are reviving the Caucasian people civilization. The land is open for Caucasian people to move back to Kurdistan (the heaven on Earth).
YPG and YPJ are calling on Caucasian people to help them in the war imposed on them by the Persian of Tamil, Arabs of Africa and Turks of Mongolia.
References
23 05 2017 ingiliz savasci mesaj
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDr9eXR1d-Q
Dreams | Hold fast to dreams, For if dreams die Life is a br. | Flickr1024 -- 683 - 134k - jpg
(Image by flickr.com) Details DMCA
Do you see what I see?
Often dreams work a sleight of hand. Something will show up as "this", but then it transforms into "that". And the reason it was "this" is because I was relating to it in a certain way, to which it was responding, manifesting itself accordingly. (To be able to initiate and control this process is called lucid dreaming.) Here the dream is demonstrating an often stated catechism about the power of a positive (or negative) outlook in the waking world. One's outlook or attitude toward a given situation can actually alter the situation and therefore one's reality. (In quantum physics, they have been stating for some time, that the mere presence of a subject performing an experiment involving sub-atomic particles, alters the results, and this in a strictly controlled setting.)
Just how important is one's sense of reality in the larger picture? Very.
For example, just last month it seemed like we were very close to confronting North Korea militarily. At the height of this crisis I wrote to a friend: "As I write, there is a battle group heading for, as far as I can tell, a confrontation with North Korea, which could result in war and the death of tens of thousands of South Koreans and North Koreans and Americans, both soldiers and civilians stationed in South Korea. How mad is that? And even if it doesn't happen, it is so close to happening I cannot avoid thinking about it. It colors my day and bleeds into my life."
A day later it turned out that this story, that I read on the BBC World News, was a fake news story. The next day (4/19/17), the BBC came out with the following correction, absolving itself of the onus of bad-reporting: "US defense chiefs have been clarifying the whereabouts of warships that President Trump erroneously suggested last week were sailing for North Korea. US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the USS Carl Vinson strike group is now proceeding to the Western Pacific. . . . for training with Australia's navy. South Korean media were incredulous, with one newspaper headline blaring, "Trump's Carl Vinson lie".
So, Trump's fake news story affected my waking world, my attitude towards the future, my level of anxiety (my sleep and therefore my health), as well as how I was going to teach my class, which happened to be on the subject of war. It affected my mood, what I chose to talk about with my wife and friends, and it affected my dreams! (I dreamed that I was Trump's intern. I had just completed a project that I believed in, that I thought he might support, but in the dream he simply rejected it without explanation and without looking at me. I woke feeling powerless and discouraged.)
The point is, that if a million people are as troubled as I was during those days when bellicose threats were flying back and forth between two hot-headed nuclear powers, that creates a collective climate of anxiety and despair that influences the zeitgeist. Think of it -- fake news foments real emotions, which can wreak havoc with mental health.
(That is what was happening with the American psyche for 20 years during the Cold War!) No wonder we are, increasingly, a nation on medication. No wonder Americans are addicted to opiates. Nobody knows what's real.
(Article changed on May 27, 2017 at 16:08)
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Gary Lindorff is a poet, writer, blogger and author of several nonfiction books, a collection of poetry, "Children to the Mountain" and a memoir, "Finding Myself in Time: Facing the Music" Over the last few years he has begun calling (more...)
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Reed Boggs
If you caught any of the action from Crankworx Rotorua, you already know that this rider got some well-deserved attention. The youngster landed himself on the top of the podium at the whip off and competed in slopestyle. Yet while demonstrating this prowess in the park Reed has a special affection for his big bike and Rampage runs in Utah. This is a member of the new generation of freeride.
Describe yourself.
20 years old, I enjoy sessions at the lake with friends and riding bikes almost every day whether its at the skatepark, local dirt jumps, downhill, or some laps at the BMX track.
Where are you from and where do you live?
Im from Cleveland, Ohio, I grew up riding indoor bike parks like Rays MTB, and some local dirt jump spots. Realizing after high school, if I wanted to make something happen with mountain biking, Id have to move somewhere out west to continue progressing. So, Im settled in Hurricane, Utah for now. Living a couple miles away from the Red Bull Rampage zones is definitely ideal for a mountain biker!
Who do you ride for?
Raceface, Stans No Tubes, SR Suntour, Shimano, Giro, Ryders Eyewear.
What are your strengths?
I like to think I can judge speed for new jumps fairly well (knock on wood).
What are your weaknesses?
Showing up at new courses youve never ridden before, thinking about the tricks you have and having to throw them on all these big, new jumps. Sometimes its hard to bring the confidence out in yourself to send your biggest tricks.
Whats been your worst crash over the years?
Getting wrapped up the wrong way in a cork 720 is not fun. I've definitely had my worst looking crashes on that trick!
Wheres your favorite place to ride?
Virgin, Utah and Highland Bike Park
What bikes are you riding right now?
Im riding a Trek Session 88, Trek Ticket S, and a Trek Ticket.
You recently competed in slopestyle at Crankworx Rotorua. How did that opportunity come about?
Yeah! I traveled to Crankworx Rotorua as an alternate for the slopestyle event. The whole week I was just on deck in case something happened to one of the 18 riders. I wasnt stressing about it though since I wanted to focus on Speed n Style and the Whip Offs. It came down to Friday night when I was informed that a rider had been injured and that Im in for the slopestyle event on Saturday. As I was bummed for my friend Matt Jones being injured, I was excited to ride in my first diamond event. My main focus was to just get a run down the course and have fun with it. All in all, a really good trip to New Zealand!
Do you have any other big projects or trips planned for the rest of 2017?
More slopestyle events and downhill bike trips. Hopefully be able to film a freeride piece at home showcasing some fresh, new rampage lines.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Morning smoothie, digging on whatever we wanna ride that day, lunch at the infamous taco wagon in Hurricane, then evening King Kong laps with Ethan Nell and Lorin Whitaker.
Who or what inspires you?
When your riding buddies come to town, thats when inspiration comes. When were all throwing ideas about a new build or some new tricks we want to try, thats when the inspiration comes out!
What do you enjoy doing away from bikes?
Its hard to enjoy other activities when riding your bike is the best thing you can do with your day.
Whats your favorite non-bike website?
Transworld Motocross
Whats your favorite motto or saying?
"Confidence is key. Simple but gold.
What grinds your gears?
Dirty bicycles
What makes you happy?
Hitting old rampage lines!
Whos your favorite rider?
Thomas Genon, by far.
If you werent a pro mountain biker, what would you be doing?
Probably still figuring out life.
Where do you think the future slopestyle and freeride is headed?
Id like to think slopestyle is going more towards the creative side, hopefully, more courses end up with unique features like back in the old days. I really want to see slope events with more line choices/transfers instead of who can do the biggest tricks on a set of three jumps. That way, freeride and slopestyle will once again be blended together.
What does the future hold for Reed Boggs?
More rampage lines and big slopestyle tricks!
Thirteen graduates of the Guam Department of Education are closer to their goals of higher education thanks to the Partners in Education scholarship and the Society of American Military Engineers Guam Post Scholarship.
Yesterday at Guam DOE's Tiyan headquarters, Superintendent John Fernandez and Hargopal "Roger" Sachdev, owner of clothing store Moda Gino's, presented 12 hardworking grads with $1,000 each to support their education. The 12 graduates are recipients of the Partners in Education scholarship, which was set up by Sachdev in honor of his parents.
"We've been offering this scholarship since 2010 and would like to continue this for the future," Sachdev said in a short speech to recipients. "I'm always telling kids out there that the biggest asset you can have in your life is education. Other things will come and go. It's your education that will get you from point A to point B or whatever your goal is. So don't give up hope."
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In a PDF document available on Moda Gino's Facebook page, the clothing store outlines scholarship qualifications.
"The Moda Gino's Scholarship is offered to Guam public high school graduating seniors who will attend the University of Guam or Guam Community College. The scholarship award will be for one (1) academic year at $500 per semester for books and supplies. The award will be granted to deserving students based on a combination of Grade Point Average, Leadership, Citizenship, and Financial Need."
'Sometimes you come back with good news'
Recipient Atisa Marie Lujan, a Southern High School Dolphin, said she was very pleased to receive a scholarship.
"I was out walking, so when I found I got the scholarship, I started dancing around and I walked a little faster. My mom was like, 'Good job!' You see, you never know with these type of things, you just apply for a bunch of them and sometimes you come back with good news. And my dad calls me his scholarship girl now."
Her classmate Shaina R. Santiago, who will begin her education major at Guam Community College this fall semester, also had to deal with an ecstatic parent.
"My mom is in the Philippines, so she was really freaking out."
For Patrick B. Galmba Jr., his Tiyan High School counselors played an important role in his success.
"My counselors were bugging me. I had office aide for 4th period and every time I would see (counselor Dionne Shinohara) before the deadline was up, she would ask me, 'Did you do the scholarship? Did you fill it out? Did you get your letters?' All of that."
The complete list of the Partners in Education scholarship is as follows: Regina Mae Dominguez and Angela Rosario of George Washington High School; Tina Chen and Laura Alexandria Gombar of John F. Kennedy High School; Princess Valery Fernandez and Alyssa F. Roces of Okkodo High School; Patrick B. Galmba Jr. and Christian Aaron Diaz of Tiyan High School; Andreillette Mayoyo and Sofia Diane Meneses of Simon Sanchez High School; and Atisa Marie Lujan and Shaina R. Santiago of Southern High School.
Park awarded SAME scholarship
In the same day, Jeonginn Ho Park of John F. Kennedy High School was the honored recipient of the SAME Guam Post scholarship. As part of SAME's mission to develop future engineers, it awarded $3,000 to Park to support her education at the University of Pennsylvania, where she will be studying bioengineering.
"I was surprised because I didn't expect to get it," said Park, who nonetheless looks forward to pursuing her education in a completely new environment.
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.
Guyana GoldStrike Inc. (GYA.V) Reports 960,000 Ounces of Gold at Marudi Gold Project
By: guyana goldstrike
goldstrike- claim- map- small
Contact
Gregg Adams
***@gmail.com Gregg Adams
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--is a Canadian based junior gold producer focused on the exploration, development and operation of the Marudi Mountain Mining License in Guyana, South America.The Marudi Gold Project, a fully permitted mining license consisting of approximately 13,500 hectares, is located 230 Km from the town of Lethem in southern Guyana. The property is surrounded by good infrastructure, all-season road network with road access. The property was acquired in 1998 by Vanessa Ventures from Sutton Resources/Barrick, later acquired by Infinito Gold Ltd, and then Guyana Frontier Mining where the project was funded by Teck Resources. The Marudi property contains a historic non-compliant. The estimate is derived from two main development sites: Mazoa Hill and Marudi North. Both developments site are open at depth and to the west for further exploration upside.The historic estimates contained in this news release should not be relied upon. These estimates are not National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101") compliant. While the Company considers these historical estimates to be relevant to investors as it may indicate the presence of mineralization, a qualified person for the Company has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimates as current mineral resources as defined by NI 43-101 and the Company is not treating these historical estimate as current mineral resources.The Republic of Guyana is located in South America between Venezuela and Suriname. The country is English speaking under British Common Law with a democratically elected government. It has an established mining act and rich history of gold production. In 2013, 458,000 ounces of gold were produced by operators mining in the country. The Guiana Shield belt has 110 million ounces of gold inventory and is world-recognized as a premier gold region. With geological continuity with West Africa, the shield is highly prospective and very under-explored. Two mines have recently declared the commencement of commercial production in 2016: Aurora deposit (Guyana Goldfields) and the Karouni deposit (Troy Resources).
By: Costa Rican Vacations
Contact
Jennifer Forte Cuomo
***@jfcpr.com Jennifer Forte Cuomo
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-- Costa Rican Vacations (CRV), a travel agency specializing in personalized, boutique vacations to Costa Rica since 1999, polled its expert vacation planners to get their top tips for families traveling to Costa Rica. The vacation planners at CRV know that the logistics of family travel are not always easy but they're always worth it! With a bit of preparationplus a dose of good cheer and some luckthese helpful tips on traveling with kids will help in each phase of the planning and execution of the perfect Costa Rican Vacation!Spontaneity is an exciting way to travel, but it is best left to solo or adults-only vacations. If the kids are promised the turtle-watching tour of a lifetime, it would be very disappointing to discover that it is the off-season for turtle watching. When it comes to kids and happy traveling, it's better to book and plan well ahead of time.We don't have control over every aspect of travelingdelays, traffic and missed connections happen. The best bet for a smooth trip for the traveling family is extra time. Don't choose flights with a 45-minute layover or super early take-offs that might cause missed flights. There is no price on getting where you need to be on time!Parents know that one missing item can cause days worth of strife. Whether it's a special blanket, a stuffed animal, a favorite book or a preferred snack make sure all "must have" items are included in the suitcase. However it is also recommended to leave most non-essentials at home. For example, there are dozens of new cookies, crackers and other snacks to discover in any supermarket. Diapers, even swim diapers and pull-ups, can be found almost everywhere. Baby wipes, antibacterial gel, sippy cups, coloring booksthese things are all readily available throughout Costa Rica, thus saving the packing space (more room for souvenirs)! And always remember allthat your children can take on the airplane, on the shuttle bus, or in the backseat of the rental car. Pinterest is an incredible wealth of busy bag/activity bag ideas.and bonus points for throwing in Costa Rica-themed activities, like a rainforest search-and-find, a beachy tablet app, or anything that will connect kids to the sights and sounds around them.. Due to car seat safety, children's varying heights and weights, and other factors, it's best to take car seats and booster seats from home. They can be installed quickly in shared shuttles, private transport, rental cars and even taxis. Public buses and small airplanes do not require car seats.This may sound obvious, but pack weather-appropriate clothes. Being too cold or too hot can cause serious crankiness in little ones especially. If traveling to higher elevations, like the Monteverde Cloud Forest, bring warm layers and cozy pajamas.. There are hundreds of kid-friendly Costa Rican hotels ( https://www.vacationscostarica.com/ hotels/kids- friendly/ ), B&Bs and boutique inns that could make any family happy, but the right few will feel like the perfect match. Travel Consultants at CRV have visited each hotel and can address individual needs and preferences such as kid's camps, meals, accommodation concerns and more.Children thrive on routine, as parents know all too well. Try to plan around children's regular nap times and meal times. Most planned tours have morning and afternoon departures, so it's usually easy to pick a time that works for the whole family. If hotel check-in and check-out times could cause problems, ask your travel agent to request early check-in or late check-out. Scout special restaurants in advance, as many have fixed schedules that open late or close early.One of the best parts of kid-friendly travel is the pre-planning. Taking time to involve the children often sets the tone for a vacation that they can't wait to go on! Set the scene: let them know that they'll see monkeys or that the beach will be right outside their hotel room door. It's always prudent to give children the chance to pick at least one activitytotally their choice. (If this is a little too intimidating, let them choose from a parent-approved list.) There are so many choices for family fun ( https://www.vacationscostarica.com/ tours/family- friendly/ ), including hanging bridges, safari river floats, kayaking, canopy zip lines, waterfall horseback rides, sailboat and catamaran boat tours, volcano walks, thermal hot springs, snorkeling, dolphin watching, and wildlife sightings at Costa Rica's diverse national parks and wildlife refuges.Costa Rica is a very kid-friendly destination. Costa Rica is the perfect choice for traveling with kids, from the youngest infants to surly teenagers and beyond.A travel guide with even more great tips for vacations to Costa Rica, can be found online at http://www.vacationscostarica.com/travel-guide/travel-tips/Costa Rican Vacations (CRV) is a travel company specializing in personalized, boutique vacations to Costa Rica. CRV's Staff come from all over the world and they have explored every nook and cranny of Costa Rica. They know every destination inside and out, and what is more, they personally vet every experience and only recommend the ones they know will create the best travel experiences. Costa Rican Vacations marries a passion for travel and local expertise, using expert knowledge and insider information to curate true travel experiences. For more information go to
Media Contact
Ryan Stenberg
***@chirotouch.com
858.966.9047 Ryan Stenberg858.966.9047
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-- Contact: Kitty FranklinChiroTouch9265 Sky Park CourtSuite 200San Diego, CA 92123Phone: 858.966.9047ChiroTouch To Attend the California Chiropractic Association Convention and MarketplaceSan Diego, CAMay 25, 2017ChiroTouch, the nation's leader in chiropractic software, is pleased to announce it will be attending the California Chiropractic Association Convention and Marketplace in San Diego, CA, on June 1, 2017."We're looking so forward to attending this chiropractic convention in our home state and to continue to build strong relationships the chiropractic community," said Robert Moberg, CEO of ChiroTouch. "We're especially excited because this year ChiroTouch is offering an in-depth training on the first day of the convention to share tips and tricks to help users get the most out of our software. CCA has planned a convention that promises to educate and energize the attendees, and we're thrilled to be a part of it."From the CCA website: "In aggressively pursuing its mission, CCA provides members boundless services and programs designed to effectively represent chiropractic doctors before state government, communicate to chiropractic doctors the latest clinical and governmental news affecting their practices and patients, offer products and services through endorsed partners and others to positively impact patient treatment and the bottom line, and enhance the public's knowledge of benefits of chiropractic treatment."ChiroTouch offers two ONC certified EHR chiropractic software systems, one cloud-based and one on premise. Both systems are designed from the ground up to maximize efficiencies for virtually every process, including patient self check-in, scheduling, SOAP notes, billing, interoffice communication, and more. ChiroTouch has developed its HIPAA-compliant systems to drastically reduce the time it takes to perform tasks that chiropractors are already doing, thus giving chiropractors more time to see more patientsresulting in increased referrals, improved efficiencies, and a direct, measurable impact on practice profitability.In addition to attending various association conventions, and in the effort to support the chiropractic community, ChiroTouch teams up with state associations to give practices the opportunity to discover the power of the world's leading total practice management software while contributing to their own association. For each practice that signs up for a free, no-obligation demonstration of the ChiroTouch software system, ChiroTouch donates funds to the association. Additionally, for those association members that sign up with ChiroTouch after participating in the demo, ChiroTouch picks up all, or a majority, of the state association fees on behalf of the doctor.To learn more about ChiroTouch's state association programs, please visit www.chirotouch.com.About ChiroTouchChiroTouch is the premier provider of certified 2014 Edition Complete EHR chiropractic software technology solutions including ChiroTouch Complete Practice Software and SmartCloud Chiropractic EHR Software. With industry-leading support, training, and compliance expertise, we partner with practices of every type to help them easily automate operations, improve patient care, and increase profitability. Visit www.chirotouch.com.
AIANTA and Brand USA Bring Five Italian Journalists to Arizona and New Mexico for Native Focused Familiarization Trip
Contact
Rachel Cromer
***@aianta.org Rachel Cromer
End
-- The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, Inc. (AIANTA), in partnership with a multitude of tribal partners, Brand USA, and the U.S. Commercial Service Italy, will host a first of its kind familiarization (FAM) tour focused on Indian Country throughout the Southwest. The tour, taking place May 28-June 2, 2017 will take five select Italian travel and tourism press representatives through a unique, experiential tour of Arizona and New Mexico.For the first time, AIANTA and Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the USA, are working together to create a completely Native American cultural-focused itinerary. Working with tribal partners throughout the two states, the 6-day tour will garner invaluable editorial coverage featuring tribal businesses, tours and organizations in the quickly growing Italian market."This Native American FAM tour will improve the visitor experience to the U.S. by showcasing the incredible experiential opportunities available in Native America," said Camille Ferguson, AIANTA Executive Director. "The Italian participants will have a chance to visit amazing destinations and have incredible experiences including staying in a traditional Navajo Hogan at Monument Valley, a sunset hike in Window Rock, Arizona, a tour of Acoma Sky City, exploring Santa Fe's unique Native art scene and more."The tour, beginning in Phoenix, Arizona and ending in Albuquerque, New Mexico will have two step-on guides to provide cultural interpretation along the trip. Step on guides include Donovan Hanley from Navajo Nation Hospitality Enterprise and Emerson Vallo of Acoma Pueblo. Mr. Vallo is also a Southwest Representative on AIANTA's Board of Directors."Brand USA is excited to partner with AIANTA and the U.S. Commercial Service Italy to help showcase some of the great cultural heritage and historical experiences in the United States to the Italian travel media," said Brand USA President and CEO Christopher Thompson. "We have a great partnership with AIANTA and with the U.S. Commercial Service around the world, and this is another example of how we can work together to leverage each of our strengths."Italian travel to Indian Country has seen a major increase in recent years. Italy was the seventh largest market generating visitors to Indian Country in 2015, and there was a phenomenal jump in Italian arrivals between 2014 and 2015, with a nearly 80% increase in overseas travelers to Native American destinations. With this strong market growing rapidly, the upcoming FAM tour will help AIANTA in its goal to continue to educate Italian travelers about Indian Country and bring even more visitors from the high-spending travel market directly to Native businesses.Contact Rachel Cromer, AIANTA PR & Media Specialist for details and for the full itinerary.Talking Stick Resort ( https://www.talkingstickresort.com/ dining/orange- sky/ ) and the Courtyard by Marriot ( http://www.marriott.com/ hotels/travel/ phxpi-courtyard- sco... ), both owned and operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community of ArizonaDesert View Watchtower and Visitor Area (https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/desert-view.htm)at the Grand Canyon National ParkMonument Valley Simpson's Trailhandler Tours (https://nativeamerica.travel/listings/monument-valley-simpson-s-trailhandler-tours)Explore Navajo (http://www.explorenavajo.com/go2/home_page.cfm)Thunderbird Canyon Tours (http://thunderbirdlodge.com/tours/) and Thunderbird Lodge (http://thunderbirdlodge.com/)Hubbell Trading Post (http://www.hubbelltradingpost.org/)The Quality Inn Navajo Nation CapitalAcoma Pueblo (http://www.acomaskycity.org/home.html)Museum of Indian Arts and Culture (http://www.indianartsandculture.org/)Indian Arts Research Center (https://sarweb.org/?campus_tours-p:iarc)IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts (https://iaia.edu/iaia-museum-of-contemporary-native-arts/)La Fonda Hotel (https://www.lafondasantafe.com/)Hotel Santa Fe (http://hotelsantafe.com/hotel-santa-fe/)Poeh Cultural Center (http://poehcenter.org/)and Pojoaque PuebloTaos Pueblo (http://taospueblo.com/)Pueblo Harvest Cafe (http://www.indianpueblo.org/visit/dining/)and the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (http://www.indianpueblo.org/)The American Indian Alaska Native Tourism Association, Inc. (AIANTA) is a 501(c)(3) national nonprofit association of American Indian tribes; tribal tourism, cultural and private sector representatives;representatives from the tourism industry; Federal, State and local governments;colleges and universities;and friends incorporated in 2002 to advance Indian Country tourism. The association is made up of representatives from six regions: Alaska, Eastern, Midwest, Pacific, Plains and the Southwest. AIANTA's mission is to define, introduce, grow and sustain American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian tourism that honors traditions and values.Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, was established by the Travel Promotion Act as the nation's first public-private partnership to promote the United States as a premier travel destination and to communicate U.S. travel policies and procedures to worldwide travelers. The organization's mission is to increase international visitation to the USA in order to fuel the U.S. economy and enhance the image of the United States worldwide. Formed as the Corporation for Travel Promotion in 2010, the public-private entity began operations in May 2011 and does business as Brand USA. According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past four years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 4.3 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with nearly $30 billion in total economic impact, which has supported, on average, nearly 51,000 incremental jobs a year.For industry or partner information about Brand USA, visit TheBrandUSA.com (http://www.thebrandusa.com/). For information about exceptional and unexpected travel experiences in the United States, please visit Brand USA's consumer website VisitTheUSA.com (http://www.visittheusa.com/)
An increase in audience and clients is just a couple of reasons. Your business is also more likely to attract new partnerships.
Contact
Anna Cabral
***@digitalsocialmkt.com
9177203213 Anna Cabral9177203213
End
-- Because consistent posting, content creation, and video branding for multiple social media accounts, while also trying to care for other aspects of the business, is very time-consuming.The most important factor in a successful social media platform is consistency. Consistency demonstrates authority. A good social media manager can provide you with ongoing, targeted coverage to make your name, brand or organization recognizable and successful.The best social media managers haveSEO skills to research new keywords and trends in your industry, as well as combine your digital media with social platforms. From creating and implementing a plan for your website, to blogging and posting on social media while maintaining the same language, to SEO strategy, and branding, the social media manager weaves these complementary elements together.What can you expect from investing in a social media manager? An increase in partnerships, cross-promotions, and engagement, among many other benefits.An ads budget is not as essential today as it once was. In adding a low ads budget, your social media manager will be able to reach more customers or clicks, speeding up results.Adriana Jansen manages accounts and marketing at Digital Social MKT, and guides clients through the development and implementation of strategies to increase exposure and spur revenue growth through the production of organic content marketing and social media engagement. Servicing clients in the U.S, Bahrain, Brazil and UAE.
Stephen Greenblatts conversation is as nimble and graceful as the prose in which he roams through Shakespeares life in Will in the World (2004) or charts the odyssey of an ancient Roman poem in his Pulitzer Prizewinning The Swerve (2011). Discussing The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve, coming from Norton in September, Greenblatt speaks in elegant sentences, swooping in and out of clauses without ever losing his train of thought, mirroring a wide-ranging, lifelong intellectual curiosity. I used to go into the stacks of the Yale library and feel almost giddy with excitement at how many things there were that one might find and get interested in, he remembers.
The Rise and Fall of Adam and Eve gives Greenblatt the opportunity to delve into biblical scholarship, early Christian church history, Renaissance painting, Miltons Paradise Lost, and Darwins theory of evolution, among other subjects, as he considers the impact over millennia of what he calls this fiendish, Kafka-like little tale.
Kafka-like? The brilliance of the story is that its almost completely incoherent and mad, he explains. To prohibit people from eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil denies them access to the one thing that would enable them to understand why they shouldnt do something. Thats mad, and its not our discovery; two thousand years ago they saw that was a problem. At least since the time of Homer, we have on the one hand a society that depends on holding people accountable for their choices, and at the same time in a variety of waysin the case of Homer, it was whatever Zeus and Hera were doingwe understand that people arent moved only by completely free choice.
Adam and Eve, Greenblatt writes, remain a powerful, even indispensable way to think about innocence, temptation, and moral choice. Early Christian thinkers found this Old Testament tale of a naked couple and a talking snake embarrassingly reminiscent of pagan myths and suggested treating it as an allegory. The view that prevailed in church dogma, however, was St. Augustines insistence that Adam and Eves story was literally true. I hesitate to propose this as a principle, Greenblatt says, but its generally true that when a reasonable position comes up against a crazy position, the crazy one almost always wins.
Augustinian literalism posed theological difficulties over the centuries, but the belief that Adam and Eve had actually lived dovetailed with the artistic quest of the Renaissance, Greenblatts academic specialty. Artists such as Albrecht Durer, Greenblatt says, figured out a way to confer a kind of reality on representations of humans that had never been done before. They gave these figures life, bodies. In Paradise Lost, he continues, Milton excavates from this archaic story the truth about what it means to be human, to have a relationship, to have a sex life. One thing thats absolutely remarkable about this poem is that it in effect creates the idea of the novel; you wouldnt have Middlemarch if you didnt have Paradise Lost. From Miltons insane engagement comes the 19th-century novels that depict the complicated, messy creatures you and I are.
Greenblatts scholarly commitment to exploring the messiness of human experience has made him one of the leading figures of new historicism, a method of literary criticism that rejected the then-fashionable just-the-text approach in favor of engaging with an artists life and times. Ironically, Greenblatts B.A. and Ph.D. are from Yale, a bastion of new criticism. When he proposed his thesis topic, he laughingly recalls, his English department interlocutors reacted to the idea of exploring how Walter Raleighs experiences as a courtier and adventurer shaped his poetry as if I had passed wind in their office!
I was already interested in the relationship between the way people lived and what they produced as writers, Greenblatt says. I also felt that the historical past was present; Raleighs poetry sounded incredibly modern, like The Waste Land. All my life Ive tried to get the wires of something very far in the past and something absolutely immediate and explain how they touchor at least they touch for me, and I try to make them touch for my readers. Something from a different world, seemingly dead and gone, can be a letter sent with your name on it that you can open.
Greenblatt produced many influential scholarly books, including Shakespearean Negotiations while he was a professor at UC Berkeley and Hamlet in Purgatory during his early years at Harvard, where he has taught since 1997. But it seems in retrospect inevitable that his passion for bringing the past alive would lead him to a general readership with Will in the World in 2004.
I was long puzzled by the fact that we [academics] were writing about things that should in principle interest more than a few thousand people, and yet we were drawing boundaries that made this impossible to convey, Greenblatt says. One of the forms of literary criticism that the general public is interested in is biographywhich literary critics despise. I thought, Ive always been interested in how peoples lives are lived; why am I participating in the sense that its vulgar to do this? For me, writing for the general public has had not one moment of holding my nose and doing something I would not otherwise have done. Everything in Will in the World comes out of my most arcane academic work. The principal difference was putting it in the genre of biography and taking the time to explain who these people were.
Greenblatts says that his agent, Jill Kneerim, completely got the idea of a book about how Elizabethan historical realities shaped Shakespeares art. Shes a very subtle and sophisticated person, he says appreciatively. Elaine Mason bought the book for Norton and has edited Greenblatt ever since. Shes been so incredibly smart and helpful to me at every level, he notes. Its never about dumbing down, its about clarifying and making coherent whatever Im doing.
A Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award later, Greenblatt is nonetheless slightly apprehensive about the reception of his latest foray into uncharted territoryparticularly Adam and Eves epilogue, which describes a trip he took to Uganda to observe chimpanzees in the wild. I wanted to see for myself what our origins are supposed to look like, he says. The center of that experience was the realization that this is what it looks like to be without shame, without a sense of death, without the knowledge of good and evil. In some sense thats still us: one can look around at our political life, the xenophobia and screaming, and think, unbelievable chimpanzee behavior! But its the us we have been negotiating with for thousands of years; we have actually figured out ways to modify that side of ourselves. Im afraid Im going to get a certain amount of Say what? with the epilogue, but Im also hoping people will think, Oh, thats interesting.
Last Weeks Most Popular Reviews
And the most-read reviews on publishersweekly.com last week were...
1. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
2. The Hug
3. I Know This Much Is True
4. Fever 1793
5. Matilda
From the Newsletters
Tip Sheet
Barbara Browning, author of The Gift, dives into the weird world of book blurbing.
Childrens Bookshelf
Khizr Khan, the Gold Star father who gave a stirring speech at last years Democratic Convention, has written a middle grade nonfiction book about the Constitution.
Religion BookLine
The Christian fiction market, after some rough times, looks to be on the rise again thanks to a boom in the low-cost mass market format.
Global Rights Report
The scoop on the inaugural New York Rights Fair, set for May 30June 1, 2018.
BookLife Report
What recent changes to Amazons buy button mean for self-published authors.
Subscribe to these and other great, free newsletters.
Podcasts
More to Come
The More to Come crew recap a recent visit to an animation studio in Havana, note the relocation of Torontos the Beguiling comics shop, and preview the forthcoming Hot Graphic Novels panel to be held at BookExpo.
PW Radio
Leslie Buck discusses her memoir, Cutting Back, and PW senior writer Andrew Albanese offers some perspective on proposed cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Blogs
ShelfTalker
A day in the life of an independent bookseller, told entirely through the phone calls received.
Hannah Inks Triple at SMP
Re-upping with St. Martin's Press, bestselling author Kristin Hannah (The Nightingale) closed a three-book North American rights deal with her longtime editor, Jennifer Enderlin. Andrea Cirillo at the Jane Rotrosen Agency represented Hannah. The Nightingale, which SMP published in February 2015, has, the publisher said, sold three million copies in the U.S. The book has also been optioned by Tristar and a film adaptation is currently in production. Hannah's next novel with SMP, The Great Alone, is releasing in February.
Amazon Signs Carlan to 12-Book Deal
In a six-figure world English rights agreement, Audrey Carlan signed with Amazon imprint Montlake Romance to write 12 novellas. Carlan, author of the bestselling Calendar Girl series, was represented by Amy Tannenbaum at the Jane Rotrosen Agency. Montlake said the Calendar Girl series has, to date, sold more than two million copies in English alone; the series has also been acquired in a number of foreign rights deals. The novellas will make up a 12-part series that, the publisher said, follows a man who helps women find love and happiness, and finds both for himself along the way. The first three installments in the series are set to publish in summer 2018.
Greek Pol Lands at FSG
Former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis, struck a two-book North American rights deal with Alex Star at Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The first book in the deal is Varoufakiss memoir Adults in the Room (currently a bestseller in the U.K., where it was published by Bodley Head). The second book will be a reworked version of a title Varoufakis published in Greece called Talking to My Daughter About the Economy. Agent Wendy Strothman, who has an eponymous shingle, brokered the sale; she described Adults as a candid work about Varoufakiss negotiations with European power brokers and Talking as a letter from the author to his daughter about capitalism. FSG is set to publish Adults, which has sold in a number of other foreign rights deals, in the fall.
Morrow Nabs Comedic Travel Memoir
Audrey Murray, a comedian, sold a memoir about her travels in the former Soviet Union to William Morrow. Emma Brodie bought world rights to the currently untitled essay collection on an exclusive submission from Sanford J. Greenburgers Stephanie Delman. The book, slated for summer 2018, will, Delman said, feature humorous stories about the authors passion for the former Soviet Union and the nine months she spent traveling there alone. Murray hosts the Greenpoint Comedy Night at Word Bookstore and is a cofounder of Chinas first stand-up comedy club, Kung Fu Komedy.
Sci-Fi Bestseller to Thomas & Mercer
Thomas & Mercers Liz Pearsons bought world rights to Joe Harts sci-fi thriller, Obscura. Hart, whose books have been Kindle bestsellers, was represented by Laura Rennert at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Describing Obscura, which is slated for May 2018, Rennert said it is set in a near future where an Alzheimers-like disorder strikes old and young alike. In this world, a scientist must fight to find a cure for her daughter on a mission to space plagued by strange and deadly occurrences. Hart has written 11 novels, the five most recent of which were published by Thomas & Mercer; his previous books were self-published.
Briefs
Glenn Yeffeh at BenBella Books bought North American rights to James Breakwells Bare Minimum Parenting: Making Laziness Work for You. Mark Gottlieb at Trident Media Group represented Breakwell, a professional comedy writer and father with a robust social media presence; his Twitter account claims more than 800,000 followers. Gottlieb said the book is a parenting guide about doing just enough that if your kid fails at life, its not your fault, but if they succeed, you can still claim some of the credit.
Overlook Presss Peter Mayer and Tracy Carns took world rights to Vicki Huddlestons Our Woman in Havana: A U.S. Diplomats Chronicle of Americas Long Struggle with Fidel Castros Cuba. Huddleston, a former diplomat, was represented by Philip Turner, at Philip Turner Books. He called the title a candid diplomatic memoir that lays out whats at stake in [Americas] fraught relationship with Cuba. The book is slated for 2018.
Michael Flamini at St. Martins Press took North American rights, at auction, to Heath Hardage Lees The League of Wives: A True Story of Survival and Rescue from the Vietnam Homefront. Lee, who was represented by Katherine Flynn at Kneerim & Williams, is a historian who has spent much of her career working for museums. This book, Flynn said, follows four Vietnam-era women through their incredible transformation from conservative, rule-bound, stay-in-the-background military wives to covert spies, national lobbyists, and international human rights figuresall to save the lives of their POW husbands and those missing in action.
Harper Voyagers David Pomerico took world rights to two new books by Elle Katharine White. The novels, Dragonshadow and Coromander, are follow-ups to Whites debut Heartstone, which was published by Voyager in January and which the house calls a Jane Austen-inspired fantasy of manners. Sandra Dijkstra & Associates Thao Le represented White in the deal.
Less than a year ago, the LGBTQ books section at the Barnes & Noble in Eugene, Ore., occupied a paltry half shelf. Now it fills several, and additional books with LGBTQ content are a growing presence in other sections throughout the store. The shift is part of bookseller Ben Brocks mission to get LGBTQ books into the hands of more readers.
Im a trans man, so all of this is very personal, Brock says. When I was growing up there werent books [for me]. Hes trying to change that, and hes not alone. Across the country, booksellers are taking steps to make bookstores welcoming places for LGBTQ readers.
I see [booksellers] actively seeking out ways to work with community organizations, as well as artists, to bring people into the store and also to keep their profile up in our community, says Tony Valenzuela, executive director of Lambda Literary, the LGBTQ literary advocacy group that grew out of D.C.s now-shuttered Lambda Rising Bookstore in the late 1980s. I really think that seems to be fueling the renaissance of independent bookstores.
For Brock, forging those relationships hasnt always been easy. He began expanding his stores section in fall 2016, reaching out to a listserv of hundreds of fellow B&N community relations booksellers across the country for tips. Nobody replied. When he turned to small publishers specializing in LGBTQ books, he says, he received few calls back. I dont think [booksellers] have those connections in place yet.
Undeterred, Brock created them. He asked local high school groups to submit their favorite titles and ordered a third of what they submitted. Meanwhile, he formed close relationships with a handful of publishers, including Bold Strokes Books, one of the largest LGBTQ publishers in the country.
Ruth Sternglantz, editorial and marketing consultant at Bold Strokes, was pleasantly surprised to hear from Brock. It was very nice for a general interest bookstore to actively reach out and say, How do we develop our collection?
Though building up the LGBTQ stock was a long process, Brock says, the section now boasts an array of fiction, young adult, mysteries, science fiction, horror, and fantasy titles.
The Fall and Rise of LGBTQ Bookstores
Sara Luce-Look has spent her bookselling career serving LGBTQ readers at Atlantas 43-year-old Charis Books & More. As a queer-owned feminist bookstore, she says, the stores mission is to ensure that when people walk in, they see that their lives are reflected in our store.
Luce-Look prides herself on the breadth of the collection and the bookselling staffs ability to help readers find the books they want. Customers often come in with lists they have put together on Amazon, she says, but the books they find are of varying quality. She helps pinpoint which books will deliver what the customers are looking for.
Stores like Charis have long been central to their local LGBTQ communities. For readers in search of LGBTQ titles, notes Bold Strokes Sternglantz, these bookstores were for a long time the only place that had the books. And, she says, for decades the [LGBTQ] bookstore was not only the place where you bought books, but it was the place where you met people.
Now, however, Charis is one of the few remaining shops of its kind. It depends on how you count, Luce-Look says, but today there are probably around a dozen feminist bookstores and a handful of queer bookstores in the United States.
The latter include Outwords Books, Gifts & Coffee, which opened in 1993 in Milwaukee, Wis.; Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovannis Room, the latest incarnation of the venerable Giovannis Room, which temporarily closed for a few months in 2014; and Bureau for General ServicesQueer Division, which, that same year, moved to its current home at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center in New York City after occupying a couple of shorter-term spaces.
We started the project because there were no LGBT-specific bookstores in New York, says Greg Newton, cofounder of Bureau for General Services. We were kind of embarrassed on behalf of New York City, and we thought, its a shamewhat can we do to make it work?
Newton wasnt alone in asking the question. Many of the bookshops started dying just as there was a renaissance in queer publishing, Sternglantz says, so a new generation of booksellers has had to form relationships with readers and publishers alike.
Sending Signals
A short walk from Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., East City Bookshop is adding a gender studies section in response to customer demand. Hannah Sternberg, the stores director of marketing and events, attributes that expression of interest to the fact that the stores booksellers have frank and frequent conversations about how to be as inclusive as possible. You have to begin with a store where everybody is 100% invested in making it a welcoming place, she says.
Employees regularly discuss their customer interactions and specific handselling techniques. For instance, booksellers no longer ask the gender of a child when giving recommendations. Instead, they ask about the childrens interests. Sternberg says this makes it easier to meet a customers needs. I had a woman come in and say, My grandson is into books about princesses, and I thought to myself, well, lets roll with this, Sternberg says.
Emily Young opened Dog Ear Books in Russellville, Ark., in November 2016. She believes that its up to her to set the tone, in order to increase customers openness to exploring the titles they see on display.
When Laura Jane Graces memoir Tranny was released in November, Young says, I put it front and center, because it had just come out, and I love Laura Jane Grace. Young, who is gay, also says she was interested in seeing how readers in the small Arkansas town would react, with concern that their response would be negative.
Young says, Nothing happenedwe didnt get a negative reaction like I thought we might. Instead, she says, people bought the book.
A Question of Category
Among the challenges booksellers face is where to shelve LGBTQ books. East City Bookshop decided to limit distinctions, for both philosophical and practical reasons: all LGBTQ fiction, for instance, is shelved within the stores three thematic fiction sections: general, mystery, and SF/fantasy.
Sternberg notes that adding a section can be challenging in a store with limited space. But the overriding reason to integrate the titles was to demonstrate that LGBT voices are relevant to everybody. Its not just a special interest group where either you read general fiction or you read LGBT fiction. Everybody should be reading it.
Brock agrees, but has struggled with finding a uniform approach. If you put [a book] in its own section then the straight people arent going to read it, he says. And there are more straight people than gay people in the world. We need straight people to read these stories in order for this genre to thrive. But at the same time, [LGBTQ readers and books] also need a home. So he shelves certain well-known titles, such as John Green and David Levithans YA novel Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by category. With other titles, hell order two copies, shelving the second copy in LGBTQ.
This practice is fairly widespread; several booksellers we spoke with said they shelve certain books in more than one spot. Shane Mullen, manager at Left Bank Books in St. Louis, says there will always be a need for dedicated LGBTQ sections. We have customers who just want to browse and find things on their own, Mullen says. Having those sections where they can go and be comfortable is very important.
Creating an Inclusive Environment
Garrard Conley, author of the 2016 memoir Boy Erased, part of which recounts his experience of being subjected to conversion therapy, observed this firsthand last year. Conley traveled to Knoxville, Tenn., to speak at a benefit for a local AIDS program, and later gave a reading at nearby Union Ave Books.
As the store was preparing for the reading, Conley says, a teenage boy circled his table of books. Conley chose not to speak to him first, instead allowing the teenager the space to approach the book several times. As a result, he says, I got to watch in real time the thing that I had always wanted to happen, which is that this kid is nervous and doesnt know if he should pick it up, and ends up picking it up, and he ended up buying it.
Conley says that the whole experience was a testament to the bookstores welcoming approach. It also challenged his preconceptions. Going to Knoxville I was thinking [the AIDS advocacy group] was probably a little safe haven they have for themselves, and probably [LGBTQ] people dont stray too far outside of the organizations that were dealing with these issues. Instead, he says, I was surprised.
Brock and Sternberg both see author events as necessary for creating a welcoming environment. Brock regularly hosts LGBTQ-focused events and is adding a drag queen childrens story time in June, an idea he first read about on the events page for the San Francisco Public Library.
It gets kids used to people looking different, Brock says. When they see that, then when theyre older, theyre already used to it and its not a big deal to them.
Sternberg cosponsors many of her bookshop events with OutWrite, an LGBTQ literary festival in D.C. At a reading and discussion called The Future Is Queer in early May, the store hosted writers whose experiences are often overlooked within the LGBTQ literary community.
We really tried to find a variety of voices to make sure that people of color were represented, that people on the bisexual spectrum were represented, that it really is an inclusive event in all possible ways, Sternberg says.
At Left Bank Books, the Gay Mens Reading Circle and Lesbian Reading Group take such an active part in the stores other events that, Mullen says, we like to schedule the events on the same evening that the book clubs meet. Both groups have gathered monthly for over a quarter century, typically drawing anywhere from five to 15 readers.
Bureau of General ServicesQueer Division hosts book clubs too, including a recent gathering of an antifascism book group. Norton says the community has a large say in arranging the bookstores event programming. Tony Valenzuela is one community member taking them up on their openness: he has partnered with the store to host the preparatory meetings for this years annual Lambda Literary Awards.
Emily Young says that in the months since she opened Dog Ear Books, open mike nights have become a favorite of LGBTQ patrons. At a recent open mike, Young says, 30% of the audience were in that group, whether gay or trans. She adds, I thought, thats so amazing, because they must hear that its a welcoming place.
Forging Ahead
As booksellers expand their selections of titles and programming, Sternglantz of Bold Strokes says, its important that they find ways to change productively to meet the needs of LGBTQ readers. You want to grow and you want to improve and you want to reach a bigger audience, she says, but you also dont want to lose whats good.
In the coming year, Luce-Look will embrace that idea, moving Charis Books & More from its current location. She says she was approached by Agnes Scott College, a womens liberal arts college in nearby Decatur, about relocating to the edge of campus and forming a partnership with the school.
Some details are yet to be worked out, but, Luce-Look says, the store will maintain its current selection and also provide clothing and merchandise for students. She says Charis is a good fit, not only with the college but also with the young families who live in the surrounding neighborhood. A quarter of her stores books are multicultural childrens books. Well have a built-in community, Luce-Look says. Thats a way to survive.
Below, more on the subject of LGBTQ books.
The Library Saved My Life: LGBTQ Books 2017
The stacks can be a haven for LGBTQ patrons.
Select Books with LGBTQ Themes for 2017
Forthcoming titles include John Boynes latest, Armistead Maupins long-awaited memoir, and an alternate history YA novel by Julie Mahew.
Adult Fiction & Poetry
Barbary Station
R.E. Stearns. Saga, Nov.
Saga Press editor Navah Wolfe has described this debut and series launch, in which two newly minted engineers hijack a spaceship, as a queer WOC pirate space opera.
The Book of Love and Hate
Lauren Sanders. Akashic, Oct.
Sanders, whose first novel, Kamikaze Lust, won a 2000 Lambda Literary Award, offers an international espionage thriller in which a failed Olympic speed skater falls for her fathers lover, a former Israeli army pilot turned corporate spy.
Gay Zoo Day
Mike McClelland. Beautiful Dreamer, Sept.
McClellands debut fiction collection follows LGBTQ people in diverse settings, including Edwardian England, colonial Kenya, and the International Space Station.
Hanging on Our Own Bones
Judy Grahn. Arktoi, Aug.
This collection of verse by poet, activist, and scholar Grahn will be the final release from Red Hen imprint Arktoi, which publishes literary fiction and poetry by lesbian writers.
The Hearts Invisible Furies
John Boyne. Hogarth, Aug.
The author of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas follows the life of the fictional Cyril Avery at seven-year intervals, from his post-WWII childhood through his sexual awakening at boarding school and the aftermath of Irelands legalization of same-sex marriage in 2015.
I Stole You
Kristen Ringman. Handtype, July
Ringman, whose debut novel, Makara, was a Lambda Literary Award finalist, offers a collection of stories told from the perspectives of various shape-shifting creatures.
The Last Place You Look
Kristen Lepionka. Minotaur, June
Debut novelist Lepionka, who edits Betty Fedora, a journal that publishes feminist crime fiction, launches the Roxane Weary series, starring a bisexual private investigator.
Marriage of a Thousand Lies
S.J. Sindu. Soho, June
The marriage of convenience between Lucky and her husband, Krishna, who are both Sri Lankan-American and gay, is tested when Lucky reconnects with her former best friend and first lover, Nisha, who is preparing for her arranged wedding.
The Off Season
Amy Hoffman. Univ. of Wisconsin, Aug.
This novel, a lighthearted romance that kicks off when Nora, an artist, moves from Brooklyn to Provincetown, Mass., is the first from memoirist Hoffman, who is also the editor in chief of The Womens Review of Books.
Pages for Her
Sylvia Brownrigg. Counterpoint, July
In Brownriggs sequel to Pages for You, which won a 2002 Lambda Literary Award and received a starred review from PW, Flannery and Anne reunite two decades after their passionate affair.
Right Here, Right Now
Georgia Beers. Bold Strokes, Dec.
Beers, a Lambda Award winner for 2006s Fresh Tracks, returns with an opposites-attract contemporary romance between Lacey, an orderly accountant, and spontaneous, live-for-the-moment Alicia.
We Were Witches
Ariel Gore. Feminist Press, Sept.
In this novelistic riff on feminist literary tropes, a teen mother, beset by custody disputes and homophobia, seeks a way out of poverty.
Adult Nonfiction
Afterglow
Eileen Myles. Grove, Sept.
Lambda Pioneer Award recipient Myles, whose many books include the autobiographical novel Chelsea Girls, received a Guggenheim fellowship to complete this fantastical memoir of life with a pit bull named Rosie.
Fetch
Nicole J. Georges. HMH, July
In this graphic novel, Georges, who won a Lambda Award for her graphic memoir Calling Dr. Laura, writes of Beija, the shar-pei/corgi mix who was the one constant in her life in her teens and 20s.
Hes Always Been My Son
Janna Barkin. Jessica Kingsley, Aug.
Barkin traces her familys experiences raising Amaya, her transgender son, through adulthood.
Logical Family
Armistead Maupin. Harper, Oct.
The author of the influential Tales of the City novels writes his long-awaited memoir, detailing his journey from the North Carolina of his boyhood through service in the U.S. Navy in Vietnam to San Francisco in the 1970s and beyond.
Love on Trial
Kris Perry and Sandy Stier. Roaring Forties, out now
The lead plaintiffs in the successful legal battle against Californias Proposition 8, which sought to ban same-sex marriage in the state, tell their story.
Live Through This
Clay Cane. Cleis, June
Cane, director of the GLAAD Media Awardnominated documentary Holler If You Hear Me, continues to explore the intersection of sexuality, race, and the church.
Not So Good a Gay Man
Frank M. Robinson. Tor, June
In this memoir, SF and thriller novelist Robinson (19262014) recounts his LGBTQ activism, including his time as Harvey Milks speechwriter.
Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies
Michael Ausiello. Atria, Sept.
Longtime TV columnist Ausiello, founder and editor in chief of TVLine, recalls his late husband, who died in 2015 of a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Childrens & YA Fiction
Autoboyography
Christina Lauren. S&S, Sept. Ages 14up.
Two boysone from a progressive family and the other from a conservative religious communityfall in love in a writing class.
The Big Lie
Julie Mayhew. Candlewick, Oct. Ages 14up.
In an alternate history set in Nazi England, 2014, Jessikaa model daughter of the Greater German Reichmust choose between her perfect life and her outspoken, radical best friend and first love, Clementine.
Chainbreaker
Tara Sim. Sky Pony, Nov. Ages 14up.
In the sequel to Timekeeper, a steampunk novel that PWs review called an enjoyable, well-realized tale with a cast of complex and diverse characters, Danny and Colton travel from England to India to learn whats behind a series of attacks on the clock towers that control time.
The Gentlemans Guide to Vice and Virtue
Mackenzi Lee. HarperCollins/Tegen, July. Ages 13up.
PWs starred review called this story of a young bisexual British lord in the 18th century a gloriously swashbuckling affair that doesnt shy from addressing the eras overt racism, sexism, homophobia, and prejudice regarding illness.
I Hate Everyone But You
Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin. Wednesday. Sept. Ages 14up.
Best friends Gen and Avaone queer, the other straighthead off to college on opposite sides of the country in this epistolary novel told through emails and texts.
Little & Lion
Brandy Colbert. Little, Brown, Aug. Ages 15up.
When Suzette comes home to Los Angeles from her boarding school in New England, she finds herself falling for the same girl her stepbrother is in love with.
Mask of Shadows
Linsey Miller. Sourcebooks Fire, Sept. Ages 14up.
First in a YA fantasy duology, this debut novel centers on gender-fluid Sal, an adept pickpocket who is plotting revenge against the nobles who murdered their family.
Saturdays with Hitchcock
Ellen Wittlinger. Charlesbridge, Oct. Ages 10up.
When 12-year-old Maisie learns that Gary likes her, things get a little complicatedshe doesnt like Gary that way, but her best friend, Cyrus, does.
Release
Patrick Ness. HarperTeen, Sept. Ages 14up.
In a single life-altering day, Adam contends with unresolved feelings for his ex, Enzo, and uncertain feelings for his new boyfriend, Linus.
The Sidekicks
Will Kostakis. Harlequin Teen, Oct. Ages 14up.
Three boys struggle with the loss of the only friend they had in common. For one of them, Ryan, Isaac was the only person aside from his boyfriend who knew hes gay.
Sovereign
April Daniels. Diversion, Aug. Ages 14up.
The second installment in the Nemesis series, which features a transgender superheroine, follows Januarys Dreadnought, which PWs review said offers a fascinating exploration of gender identity in a fantastical setting.
27 Hours
Tristina Wright. Entangled, Oct. Ages 12up.
Debut author Wright launches her Nightside Saga with an SF thriller whose main characters are all people of color, and either bisexual or asexual.
Vanilla
Billy Merrell. Push, Oct. Ages 14up.
Hunter and Vanilla have been dating since seventh grade, but as high school goes on, as happens with so many couples, theyre realizing they want different things.
Wild Beauty
Anna-Marie McLemore. Feiwel and Friends, Oct. Ages 12up.
McLemore, a Stonewall Honor recipient for 2016s When the Moon Was Ours, offers a romance involving questions of gender and a family curse.
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At least 12 people died in a car bombing in the eastern Afghan city of Khost on May 27, the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Provincial police chief Faizullah Ghairat said 12 people were killed and eight others injured, adding that the injured are in critical condition.
According to Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish, 13 people were killed.
Earlier, Danish said 18 people were killed, but he revised the death toll in a phone call to news agency dpa.
Khost police chief Faizullah Ghairat said the attack targeted a convoy of local militia forces trained by U.S. forces.
Ghairat told RFE/RLs Radio Free Afghanistan that there were two children among the injured.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani condemned the attack.
Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the bombing. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the bombing was carried out by Hafiz Edris Khosti and killed 22 soldiers.
The attack comes a day after at least 15 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban fighters attacked their base in Kandahar.
Based on reporting by RFE/RLs Radio Free Afghanistan, Reuters, and dpa
The New York Times has reported that Kremlin-connected Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska has agreed to cooperate with U.S. congressional committees investigating possible connections between Russian agents and the presidential campaign of Donald Trump.
The daily, citing three unnamed congressional sources, reported on May 27 that Deripaska offered complete cooperation in exchange for a grant of full immunity from prosecution but that the offer had been rejected. The officials said committee members feared an immunity offer could complicate ongoing federal criminal investigations.
Although Deripaska has not been granted a U.S. visa because of his suspected ties to Russian criminal organizations, he entered the United States eight times between 2011 and 2014 using Russian diplomatic documents.
Earlier this month, Deripaska filed a lawsuit against the AP for a report in March about his purported connections with former Trump campaign director Paul Manafort.
The AP report said that while working for Deripaska, Manafort proposed a plan in 2005 aimed at influencing politics, business dealings, and media coverage across the United States, Europe, and the former Soviet Union in ways that would favor Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In March, U.S. media reported that Manafort had agreed to cooperate with the U.S. House Intelligence Committee in its probe, but he has not yet provided testimony.
Based on reporting by The New York Times, AP, and Politico
Over the past five years, Iranian officials and state media have touted the "indigenous" ingenuity in the Islamic republic's mass-produced Mohajer-6 combat drone, which Russia has deployed in its war against Ukraine.
But a new investigation by Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service, has found that electronic components underpinning Tehran's production of the Mohajer-6 are far from homegrown.
The Mohajer-6 drones contain components produced by companies from the United States and the European Union, both of which have sanctions restricting the export to Iran of such technology that can be used for both civilian and military purposes dual-use technology.
The presence of these components in the Mohajer-6 does not mean their producers are in violation of U.S. or EU sanctions, and RFE/RL does not have evidence that this is the case.
The investigation also found Mohajer-6 components produced in China, including a real-time mini-camera made by a Hong Kong firm that said it was "very sorry" that its products were being used in war.
At least one major foreign-produced component of the Mohajer-6 has previously been identified by reporters in a Mohajer-6 recovered from the battlefield by the Ukrainian military: an engine made by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, a subsidiary of the Canadian company Bombardier Recreational Products.
But Ukrainian intelligence assesses that the Iranian combat drone contains components from nearly three dozen different technology companies based in North America, the EU, Japan, and Taiwan, the Schemes investigation has found. A majority of these companies are based in the United States.
A Schemes reporter who personally inspected the foreign-made drone parts identified components produced by at least 15 of these manufacturers.
These include parts made by the U.S. technology firm Texas Instruments, which said in a statement that it does not sell into Russia or Iran and complies with applicable laws and regulations.
To identify these components, Schemes reporters examined parts of the Mohajer-6 drone that the Ukrainian military shot down over the Black Sea near the Mykolayiv region coastal town of Ochakiv. They also reviewed Ukrainian intelligence records on the sources of these components.
The drone also contains a microchip bearing the logo of a California technology company and a thermal-imaging camera that Ukrainian intelligence says may have been produced by a firm based in Oregon or China.
Both Western officials and experts on illicit technology transfers say Iran has built a broad, global procurement network using front companies and other proxies in third countries to obtain dual-use technology from the United States and the EU.
"Exporters will look at the request coming from the [United Arab Emirates] or another third country, and they'll think that they're selling to an end user based there, when really the end user is in Iran," Daniel Salisbury, a senior research fellow with the Department of War Studies at King's College London, told RFE/RL.
In September, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions specifically targeting Iranian companies that Washington links to the production and transfer of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Russia for deployment in its war on Ukraine. Fighting rages with no sign of an end more than eight months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an unprovoked invasion on February 24.
"Non-Iranian, non-Russian entities should also exercise great caution to avoid supporting either the development of Iranian UAVs or their transfer, or sale of any military equipment to Russia for use against Ukraine," U.S. Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement announcing the sanctions.
Chinese Cameras, California Chips
Development of the Mohajer-6, the latest model in a series of drones Tehran has used since the 1980s Iran-Iraq War, began in 2017, while mass production began the following year. During a ceremony commemorating the Islamic Revolution, then-Iranian Defense Minister Amir Hatami said that the new tactical drone could perform surveillance, reconnaissance, as well as help destroy targets.
Hatami extolled what he described as the drones domestic design, a portrayal echoed in later reports by Iranian media.
"The homegrown drone was made through cooperation among the army, Defense Ministry, and Quds Aviation Industries," the English-language Tehran Times quoted an Iranian military official as saying in July 2019.
The dismantling of the Mohajer-6 drone recovered by the Ukrainian military shows that the UAV is packed with foreign components.
One of these parts is a bright-orange real-time mini-camera produced by the Hong Kong-based company RunCam Technology. Documents seen by Schemes show that Ukrainian intelligence has also identified RunCam as the producer of the camera, which likely assists in remote guidance of the drone.
Founded in 2013, RunCam is involved in the development and production of so-called "first-person-view" real-time cameras. "Our users are our friends," the company's website states. The site says that RunCam has two authorized Iranian dealers.
Reached by Schemes for comment about the use of its camera in the Iranian drone deployed by Russia in its war on Ukraine, RunCam said in an e-mailed response: "We are very sorry to know that RunCam's products were used in warfare. RunCam is specialized in producing products for model aircraft hobby. We never contact any customer related to military."
The provenance of the Mohajer-6 drone-s thermal-imaging camera is more difficult to determine. A Ukrainian intelligence assessment reviewed by Schemes indicates it could be the Ventus Hot model produced by Sierra-Olympic Technologies, based in the U.S. state of Oregon, but that it also resembles a cheaper analog available for sale by the Chinese company Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology.
Qingdao Thundsea Marine Technology said in an e-mailed statement that the company did not "have any business with Iran," because "it will affect our business." The company said it specializes in marine services and is not involved in manufacturing. It also said that it did not have a single successful order for its online advertisement of the thermal-imaging camera resembling the one recovered from the Iranian drone.
Sierra-Olympic Technologies did not respond to a request for comment on the possible use of its thermal-imaging cameras in Iranian combat drones in time for publication.
Microchips recovered from the drone also featured the logos of the California-based company Linear Technology Corporation and its parent company, the Massachusetts-based semiconductor company Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI). ADI did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment on the possible use of its technology in the Iranian combat drone.
Schemes reporters also observed among the components of the Iranian drone a voltage step-down converter produced by Texas Instruments. The company said in an e-mailed statement that it "does not sell into Russia, Belarus, or Iran."
"TI complies with applicable laws and regulations in the countries where we operate, and does not support or condone the use of our products in applications they weren't designed for," Texas Instruments said.
Schemes reporters also saw several components produced by the California-based technology manufacturer Xilinx, whose parent company is the multinational semiconductor company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), also based in California.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, one of these Xilinx components was integrated into a video data-link module located in the wing of the Mohajer-6 that helped carry out attack missions.
"This module transmits information from the board to the missile head. That is, guidance for the missile. With the help of this module, it was possible to guide the missile to the target," a Ukrainian military intelligence representative told Schemes.
AMD did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
'No Authorization'
Previous media reports about the components of the Mohajer-6 drone, including by CNN, have shown evidence that its engine was produced by the Austrian manufacturer BRP-Rotax GmbH & Co KG, whose parent company is the Quebec-based Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP).
The Canadian company responded to the reports on October 21, saying in a statement that it "has not authorized and has not given any authorization to its distributors to supply military UAV manufacturers in Iran or Russia."
"As soon as we were made aware of this situation, we started an investigation to determine the source of the engines," BRP said. .
But Schemes reporters found that the authorized Rotax distributor listed on the Austrian manufacturer's website advertised itself as a Rotax aircraft engines distributor for Iran as recently as December 2020.
The distributor, the Italian company Luciano Sorlini S.p.a., has posted multiple magazine advertisements on its websites in which it describes itself as a Rotax distributor for numerous countries. Prior to January 2021, Iran was listed among these countries.
The Rotax website also lists a Tehran-based company -- MahtaWing -- as an official service center for its engines. The company, known in Persian as Mahtabal, conducts repairs of Rotax engines, including the Rotax 912 iS, the engine that was found in the Mohajer-6 combat drone recovered in Ukraine.
BRP said in an e-mailed statement on November 4 that while Luciano Sorlini S.p.a. is the appointed distributor of Rotax aircraft engines in Iran, "since 2019, no Rotax engines have been sold in Iran, and we will not sell any engines to Iran moving forward."
The Canadian company said it had "internal controls" that "significantly" restrict the sale of its products for military purposes.
"For example, the sale of any BRP product to operators with any military activity in Iran, Turkey, and Russia is strictly prohibited," BRP said. "We conduct our business in compliance with all EU, Canadian, and U.S. applicable regulations."
BRP described the Iranian company MahtaWing as a "local service center" that "offers maintenance services for previously sold aircraft engines."
Shahriar Siami of RFE/RL's Radio Farda contributed to this report.
A Canadian charged with working with Russian intelligence agents in a scheme to hack a half billion Yahoo accounts said on May 26 that he is appealing a decision to hold him in custody pending a hearing on a U.S. extradition request.
U.S. prosecutors have indicted Karim Baratov, 22, a Canadian citizen who was born in Kazakhstan, on computer hacking charges. They say he worked with Russian intelligence agents who paid him to break into at least 80 Yahoo e-mail accounts as part of a scheme to hack over 500 million accounts.
Canadian authorities will meet on June 16 to set a date for a hearing to determine if Baratov will be extradited to the United States. A bail appeal hearing for Baratov is scheduled for June 5,
Baratov was arrested in March and denied bail in April by a Canadian judge on grounds he was a flight risk.
Based on reporting by AP and Reuters
Several Moscow police officers are facing harsh criticism for roughly detaining a 10-year-old boy who was reciting poetry by William Shakespeare on a downtown street.
A video of the May 26 incident has gone viral and sparked outrage.
The video shows the terrified child screaming wildly as police dragged him away by the scruff of his neck. Bystanders who tried to intervene were pushed aside.
Police claimed that they were taking the child to a precinct office because he was on the street without adult accompaniment.
The boy's stepmother, who was nearby, tried to intervene with the police, but was also pushed aside and was not allowed to go to the precinct with her son.
A lawyer hired by the boy's father later posted on Twitter that the child had been released and that a police official had apologized to the family.
The boy's father, Ilya Skavronski, told RFE/RL's Russian Service that his son has been under treatment for speech defects for several years and that "his therapist advised him to recite poetry publicly" as part of his treatment.
"My son loves poetry and knows many poems by heart," Skavronski said. "Passersby always welcome it when my son publicly recites poems and in the past the police have reacted pleasantly and calmly."
Skavronski said police are investigating the incident and that he would decide whether to take further action based on the results of that probe.
Political groups that oppose Montenegro's bid to join NATO on May 26 seized on an incident at the NATO summit where U.S. President Donald Trump shoved the Montenegrin prime minister aside on his way to a group photo session.
Trump pushed past Dusko Markovic on May 25 in a move that Markovic dismissed as "harmless" but which drew derision and outrage from NATO critics in the Balkan country and Russia.
"Dusko Markovic has banged on for years about Montenegro becoming a NATO member...which will be respected and will be at the table where decisions are taken," said Jovan Vucurovic, spokesman for the opposition Democratic Front.
"Well, now we've seen just what the president of a world power thinks of that," he said, adding, "The problem isn't what Trump did... It's the fact that Markovic excused it and humbly sought to justify" Trump's aggressive behavior.
Montenegro's decision to formally join NATO on June 5 has also angered Moscow.
Russian news agency TASS on May 26 ran a story relating online comments about the Trump incident by Montenegrins who it said were demanding an apology from Trump and even calling for "sanctions" against the United States for "humiliating" Markovic.
Based on reporting by AFP and TASS
Pakistans military says authorities have reopened the main Chaman border crossing on May 27 at Afghanistans request after it was shut down earlier this month after bloody clashes broke out, killing 15 people on both sides.
The moves comes on the first day of the fasting month of Ramadan. The military said in a statement that the border was reopened on humanitarian grounds.
Pakistan and Afghanistan have agreed to maintain a cease-fire in the border town of Charman, where nine Pakistanis and six Afghans were killed on May 5, the statement said.
Islamabad says it closed the major crossing after Afghan troops opened fire on a Pakistani census team, sparking a deadly firefight.
Afghanistan claims that some of the villages visited by the Pakistani census-takers fall within their territory. The two countries have agreed to use Google maps to help settle the dispute.
Afghanistan accuses Pakistan of providing sanctuaries for Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani network on its soil, while Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering Pakistani Taliban.
Based on reporting by AP and AFP
Russia's ambassador to NATO decried the alliance's plans to increase military spending, saying the U.S. defense industry will be the prime beneficiary as European nations purchase more arms.
"If the Europeans accept the U.S. demand and increase their budgets to 2 percent [of gross domestic product], it will mean that their aggregate spending will reach some 370 billion euros (about $407 billion). This is a huge sum," Russian Permanent Representative to NATO Aleksandr Grushko told Rossia-1 television on May 26.
"They will be obliged to spend 20 percent of the sum on weapons purchase -- it is about 70 billion euros ($77 billion) a year. Obviously, most of the sum will go to buy American weapons. The U.S. defense sector will be rubbing hands in glee," he said.
Grushko also complained about a 40 percent increase in U.S. spending on NATO military operations to $4.8 billion proposed in U.S. President Donald Trump's budget.
"This means the United States may deploy additional forces in Europe, say, for instance, another brigade, which the Pentagon has been talking about," Grushko told Rossia 24 television.
In urging NATO allies to increase defense spending, Trump and other U.S. officials have stressed the need to combat terrorism, a goal Russia says it shares.
If NATO countries made their full and complete contributions, then NATO would be even stronger than it is today, especially from the threat of terrorism," Trump told fellow leaders at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on May 25.
Grushkos comments came as the Russian Foreign Ministry declared that "Russian-NATO relations are experiencing their most profound crisis since the end of the Cold War."
In a statement on the 20th anniversary of the Founding Act agreement between NATO and Russia, the ministry said recent measures taken to reinforce NATO's eastern flank by increasing troop rotations into Baltic and Eastern European states will backfire.
"The direct consequence is the increase in the potential for conflict in the Euro-Atlantic region," it said.
The increased NATO presence near Russia's borders "goes against the true interests of NATO states," will "change the balance of power in Europe, and lead to a new dangerous round of the arms race," it said.
"The increasing negative tendencies are not Russia's choice," the ministry said, but rather what he claimed was the result of NATO's goal of achieving "military-political domination in European and global affairs."
NATOs steps to strengthen defenses in the East are aimed at bolstering security and reassuring allies concerned about Russian intentions following Moscows military intervention in Ukraine.
With reporting by AFP, dpa, TASS, and Interfax
Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered Russian troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnieper River in the partially occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, another retreat amid a number of setbacks for Moscow on battlefields in Ukraine's east and southeast.
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, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.
"Begin to pull out troops," Shoigu said at a televised meeting with the commander of Russian troops in Ukraine, Army General Sergei Surovikin, on November 9, adding that the withdrawal must be implemented in "the nearest future."
"The lives of the Russian military personnel are always a priority for us. We must also take into account threats imposed on the civilian population and make sure that all civilians who chose to leave can do so," Shoigu said. "We also need to start withdrawing the troops and undertake all necessary measures to secure the move of military personnel, arms, and equipment to the other side of the Dnieper."
Kherson was the first city fully captured by Russia during what Moscow calls a "special military operation" and the only regional capital controlled by the Russians since the offensive began on February 24.
Ukraine's forces for weeks have been capturing villages as they advance toward the city, and Kremlin-installed leaders in Kherson have been evacuating civilians.
Earlier on November 9, the Moscow-installed deputy head of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, died in a car crash.
Shoigu's order came after Surovikin said it was impossible to deliver supplies to the city of Kherson and other areas on the western bank of the Dnieper River.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions "step by step" in the south.
"There is a lot of joy in the information space today, and it is clear why, but...the enemy will make no gifts to us," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, said earlier on Twitter that the Ukrainian side sees "no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight."
Part of the Russian group remains in Kherson city, he said, adding that additional reserves are being sent to the region. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, are "liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements," he said.
Zelenskiy has suggested that the Russians could fake a retreat in order to lure the Ukrainian Army into an entrenched battle in Kherson city.
Speaking to reporters in Washington, U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow's order to withdraw from Kherson was "evidence of the fact that they have some real problems with the Russian military."
Moscow and Russian-installed officials in Kherson have said for weeks that they are evacuating residents of Kherson -- both the city and the region -- to "other parts of the Russian Federation" for their safety. Ukraine has said the Russian move amounted to their forced deportation.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said that the withdrawal announced by Shoigu is "part of an overall pattern or picture we have seen over the last month that Russia has absolutely lost the momentum."
But Stoltenberg also cautioned against underestimating Russia.
"They still have capabilities," he said in an interview with Sky News during a visit to London. "We have seen the drones. We have seen the missile attacks. It shows that Russia can still inflict a lot of damage."
Kherson is considered by many military analysts as the most important of the four partially occupied Ukrainian regions that Russia announced as annexed in September.
It controls both the only land route to Ukraine's Russia-annexed Crimean Peninsula and the mouth of the Dnieper River that bisects Ukraine.
Earlier on November 9, Russia launched multiple suicide drones on Ukraine's southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding people and damaging civilian facilities, the head of the regional military administration said, as fierce battles were under way in the eastern Donetsk region and in the south.
"The occupiers attacked the area massively with kamikaze drones, said Governor Valentyn Reznichenko. Ukrainian air defense destroyed some of the drones, but others hit targets. The Russian forces also used drones in an attack on the city of Dnipro, targeting a logistics enterprise. Reznichenko said four employees were wounded, and three of them are in serious condition in hospital.
Russian forces also bombarded the Nikopol district in the region with Grad missiles and heavy artillery. Reznichenko said the shelling damaged private houses, a factory, and a power line, but people were not injured.
Zelenskiy vowed Ukraine will not surrender a single centimeter of our land in Donetsk, where heavy fighting has been under way, and he thanked Ukrainian troops who are holding positions in the Donbas region.
The epicenter of the battle for the industrial region of Donetsk is around the towns of Bakhmut, Soledar, and Avdiyivka.
"The activity of the occupiers remains at an extremely high level -- dozens of attacks every day," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address late on November 8.
"They are suffering extraordinarily high losses. But the order remains the same -- to advance on the administrative boundary of the Donetsk region. We will not yield a single centimeter of our land," he said.
Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russia said it annexed in September following referendums deemed as sham by Kyiv and its Western allies.
Fighting had been going on there between the Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatist forces since 2014, the same year Russia illegally annexed Crimea.
With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN
U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law proposed setting up a secret communications channel between Trumps team and the Kremlin at a meeting with Russias ambassador in Washington after the election, media reported on May 26.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak told his superiors in Moscow that Jared Kushner made the proposal during a meeting on December 1 or 2 at Trump Tower in New York, according to intercepts of Russian communications, The Washington Post reported, citing anonymous U.S. officials.
Kislyak said Kushner, who is now a senior White House adviser and is married to Trump's daughter, Ivanka, suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications, the newspaper said. The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, who later became Trumps national security adviser.
Reuters, also citing anonymous officials, reported that Kushner, Kislyak, and Flynn discussed setting up a back-channel of communications between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, though it did not provide details.
The White House disclosed the meeting between the Trump aides and Kislyak in March and played down its significance.
But the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of interest in its investigation into Russian attempts to influence the U.S. election, The Washington Post said.
Kushner met with the head of Russian state-owned Vnesheconombank, Sergei Gorkov, at Trump Tower, also in December. The bank has been under U.S. sanctions since 2014.
Reuters reported that FBI investigators are examining whether Russians suggested to Kushner or other Trump aides that relaxing economic sanctions against Russia would allow such Russian banks to offer financing to people with ties to Trump.
Reuters also reported that Kushner had at least three previously undisclosed contacts with Kislyak during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, including two phone calls between April and November.
A Kushner attorney told Reuters he could not remember any of the undisclosed contacts, saying Kushner received "thousands of calls" during that time period.
The Washington Post said Kislyak was taken aback by Kushner's suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate -- a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Besides setting up a communications back-channel, Kushner, Flynn, and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a Russian contact in a third country, the newspaper reported.
The Washington Post reported in April that Erik Prince, the founder of the private security firm Blackwater and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met with a Putin representative on January 11 -- nine days before Trumps inauguration -- in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean.
With reporting by The Washington Post and Reuters
Mercedes Benz India, Audi India, and BMW India have announced an immediate downward revision of prices of their Made in India models. Prices are being slashed by 12% so as to bring prices on par with (Goods and Services Tax) GST rates, will be with immediate effect.
Revision of prices in this manner will allow buyers to opt for purchases from now and through the month of June. This will add further impetus to purchase in the next two months rather than buyers postponing purchases till the month of July 2017, which is when the GST comes into effect officially.
Roland Folger, CEO and MD, Mercedes Benz India.
The Mercedes car models which have seen a revision of prices include CLA, GLA, C-Class, E-Class, S-Class, GLC, GLE, GLS and Mercedes-Maybach S 500. For BMW India, it is their 1 Series, 3 Series, 3 Series Gran Turismo, 5 Series, 7 Series, X1, X3 and X5. For Audi, their local assembly includes models like the A4, A6, A8, Q3, Q5, and Q7.
In addition to slashing of prices, BMW India has also announced reduced rate of interest of 7.90%, complimentary 3 years service and maintenance and 1 year complimentary insurance along with assured buy back upto 4 years. However, these offers are for a limited period only.
All three luxury car brands now look forward to the positive effects of the introduction of GST. The trio visualizes growth momentum in the luxury car segment and is posed to see increased growth in the months ahead. However, while these reduced prices are being offered only on its Made in India range, the companies are yet to take decision on price revision on CBU vehicles.
Under the new tax regime which is expected to come into effect from 1st July 2017, all luxury vehicles on sale in the country would attract a 28% GST along with maximum cess of 15% which could mean that customers will have to pay 43%. As on date, the effective tax on price of luxury vehicle stands at 52%-55%.
The first aerial assessment of the impact of South Sudan's current civil war on the country's wildlife and other natural resources shows that significant wildlife populations have so far survived, but poaching and commercial wildlife trafficking are increasing, as well as illegal mining, timber harvesting and charcoal production, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said in a report issued today.
Wildlife in South Sudan, which is home to the world's second-largest land mammal migration, includes species of global importance, such as elephant, giraffe, lion, and hippopotamus. WCS conducted the aerial survey in 2015-16 as part of a project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and part of the Great Elephant Census, funded by philanthropist and Microsoft cofounder Paul G. Allen. WCS previously conducted aerial surveys of South Sudan's wildlife and protected areas in 2007, 2008, 2009-10 and 2013.
The 2015-16 aerial survey covered the areas of Boma, Badingilo, Nimule, Southern, and Shambe National Parks, and the proposed Loelle protected area. A combination of aerial survey methods (systematic surveys and recce surveys) were employed with a total of 17,934 km flown (98 hours of flight time) and an estimated 20,845 sq. km surveyed systematically. The survey confirmed a minimum of 730 elephants in the surveyed zone. However, about 50 percent of previously documented important wildlife areas -- including the northern part of South Sudan's vast wetland, the Sudd -- were inaccessible due to conflict, preventing a comprehensive assessment.
Earlier surveys and applied research conducted by WCS and the South Sudan Wildlife Service estimated an elephant population of some 2,300 in the country prior to the civil war, which began in December 2013, down from an estimated 79,000 in the 1970's. Elephants face continued and expanded threats. Giraffe are in very low numbers -- down from some 13,000 in the early 1980's to only hundreds remaining now and at risk of local extinction. Migratory tiang and other antelopes are vulnerable due to annual migration between Badingilo National Park and the Sudd.
The survey documented northern giraffe Kordofan subspecies in Shambe National Park area and hippopotamus and Uganda kob in Nimule National Park. Endangered northern giraffe Nubian subspecies, reedbuck, common eland, Beisa oryx, ostrich and wild dog were observed in Badingilo, Boma, and Loella areas. The white-eared kob and Mongalla gazelle were found to be the most dominant species in Badingilo and Boma. Important transboundary conservation linkages between South Sudan and neighbouring Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda were also documented.
Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba, Minister, Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism stated: "These surveys are important for our country as they show the world that South Sudan is still home for many iconic wildlife species. However, some of these species have become endangered. I want to appeal to the people of South Sudan to take special care in protecting these endangered animals so that the next generation will continue to benefit from their presence. These animals serve and will serve as an import source of ecotourism for the country."
"The United States Government is supporting wildlife conservation in South Sudan because it is a priceless resource for the people of South Sudan and our shared global heritage," said USAID South Sudan Mission Director Jeffrey Bakken. "Our assistance has helped provide employment opportunities, helped resolve local conflicts and promoted knowledge sharing with local communities about the importance and benefits of protecting their wildlife heritage. South Sudan's wildlife and natural resources can directly contribute to peace and sustainable development."
Said Cristian Samper, WCS President and CEO: "There is still hope for wildlife in South Sudan even as conflict rages on. But there must be actions taken, including strengthening protected areas, to ensure the protection of South Sudan's natural heritage which is vital for wildlife and communities alike. Healthy wildlife populations and well managed Parks can improve livelihoods and security, and stabilize the region."
A UCLA study characterizes, for the first time, brain differences between people with a specific genetic risk for schizophrenia and those at risk for autism, and the findings could help explain the biological underpinnings of these neuropsychiatric disorders.
The research, published May 23 in the Journal of Neuroscience, sheds light on how an excess, or absence, of genetic material on a particular chromosome affects neural development.
"Notably, the opposing anatomical patterns we observed were most prominent in brain regions important for social functioning," said Carrie Bearden, lead author of the study and a professor of clinical psychology at UCLA. "These findings provide clues into differences in brain development that may predispose to schizophrenia or autism."
Bearden's earlier research had focused on children with abnormalities caused by missing sections of genetic material on chromosome 22, in a location known as 22q11.2. The disorder, called 22q11.2-deletion syndrome, can cause developmental delays, heart defects and distinct facial features. It also confers the highest-known genetic risk for schizophrenia.
Then she learned that people with 22q duplication -- abnormal repetition, or duplication, of genetic material in chromosome 22 -- had learning delays and sometimes autism, but a lower risk for schizophrenia than that found in the general population. In other words, duplication of genetic material in this region seemed to provide some protection against schizophrenia.
For the current study, Bearden, who is part of the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, conducted MRI scans of 143 study participants: 66 with 22q deletions, 21 with 22q duplications, and 56 without the genetic mutation.
Those in the group with 22q deletion, which carries the risk for schizophrenia, had thicker gray matter, but less brain surface area -- a measure which relates to how folded the brain is -- compared to those in the duplication group. The people in the 22q duplication group, who at risk for autism, had the opposite pattern, with thinner gray matter and larger brain surface area.
"The next question is how does brain anatomy -- and brain function -- relate to psychiatric outcomes? These findings provide a snapshot," Bearden said. "We are now conducting follow-up studies to track predictors of outcome over time. Those are the puzzle pieces that are next on our list to disentangle."
These structures are not sole determinants of schizophrenia or autism, Bearden said, but rather, more dots in the connect-the-dots puzzle of understanding these disorders. Observing this group of people over time could provide insights on how other risk factors or life events, such as puberty, affect the mind.
Bearden says she and her team are collaborating with other scientists to investigate brain structural differences in animal models, to find out what causes them at the cellular level.
A ground-breaking study by University of Leicester pathologists and radiologists could represent a breakthrough in how autopsy practice is conducted in the United Kingdom and around the world.
The research was led by Professors Guy Rutty and Bruno Morgan from the University of Leicester. It was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and is published in the Lancet.
Professor Rutty explained: "Over the years there have been several attempts to develop alternative approaches to the invasive autopsy to limit the extent to which the cadaver is dissected. Although these techniques have been published, the invasive examination remains the standard adopted approach."
A previous study of PMCT published in the Lancet in 2012 showed promise for using medical imaging to investigate the cause of natural death, but with a major weakness: the inability to diagnose coronary artery disease, the most common cause of natural death.
Professor Morgan explained: "In clinical CT scanning, a contrast agent is injected into a vein and circulation delivers it around the body. This allows the CT scan to show the state of blood vessels anywhere in the body. However, the lack of circulation in cadavers means these techniques cannot be used."
This has been overcome by developing a novel minimally invasive coronary artery angiography technique. A variety of these techniques have been developed around the world over the last few years, but this is the first large-scale fully autopsy-controlled trial to demonstrate their efficacy in adult natural death.
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Professor Rutty explained: "Here at the University of Leicester we developed a quick and minimally invasive approach to improve diagnostic accuracy. This uniquely uses a combination of standard contrast agent (positive) and air (negative) to show the coronary artery lumens and ventricular cavities."
Professor Morgan explained: "By 'minimally invasive' we mean that we use a catheter inserted into an artery to perform the angiography. The insertion techniques are like those we use on patients every day in our clinics, with just the use of local anaesthetic to numb the skin."
The Leicester team applied their PMCTA technique to a cohort of 240 deaths investigated by the HM coroner. They show that a cause of death could be given in 92% of cases, based on "the balance of probabilities," the burden of proof required by the HM Coroner. Comparison with independently generated autopsy results showed that PMCTA had a similar accuracy to autopsy, did not miss autopsy-identifiable unnatural or "reportable" causes of death, and would also not significantly change population "cause of death" statistics.
Professor Morgan added: "We have shown that PMCT enhanced by targeted coronary angiography can diagnose the cause of death in up to 90% of HM Coronial investigations for suspected natural death. This is the most successful application of PMCT and PMCTA to-date in natural death, and shows that a significant number of deaths could be investigated without the need for an invasive autopsy."
PMCTA was found to be superior at identifying trauma and haemorrhage, whereas autopsy was superior at identifying pulmonary thromboembolism. Both tests had different strengths and weaknesses in heart and lung disease.
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Professor Rutty cautioned: "Both autopsy and PMCTA have different strengths and weaknesses as investigative approaches. When a higher burden of proof is required the 'gold standard' of death investigation should include both PMCT and invasive autopsy."
The findings of the study are unique from an international perspective as it focuses on natural death. In the study a small number of unnatural deaths were also examined, showing PMCTA was also useful in these cases.
Professor Rutty concludes: "There is already great interest in providing PMCTA as an alternative to autopsy in the UK with several centres, including Leicester, recently initiating services. These data now provide strong evidence to validate these services, especially where they use angiography techniques. We therefore expect these results to have a major influence on the future of autopsy practice in the UK, and across the world."
Professors Rutty and Morgan are internationally recognised as pioneers, researchers and practitioners within the field of post mortem computed tomography. They are the authors of the largest body of scientific publications in this field within the United Kingdom, including research studies and educational papers and book chapters.
They both state "we dedicate the success of our research to the families of Leicestershire, who have consented for their loved ones to be involved in these studies, despite being in a period of bereavement."
They have pioneered other investigative adjuncts to augment PMCT studies, developed a 'patent-pending' PMCT catheter, and they have launched the first educational postgraduate teaching programs for PMCT at the University of Leicester, which started in 2016.
The team believes adopting PMCTA as the standard first-line test in natural death would have a positive and profound effect on the public and religious groups within the UK and potentially beyond.
The research was authored by Professor Guy Rutty (East Midlands forensic Pathology Unit, CSMM) and Professor Bruno Morgan (University Radiology Unit, CSMM), in collaboration with other University of Leicester, and University Hospitals of Leicester employees past and present.
Asturias, 05 May 2017 (SPS) - The General Assembly of the Principality of Asturias urged Friday European, Spanish and Asturias companies to cease activities that may favor the perpetuation of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and the exploitation of its natural resources, in a resolution adopted during its plenary session.
According to the resolution adopted, Asturias Parliament expressed its "concern" about the exploitation of the natural resources of Western Sahara by European companies, which "contradicts international and European laws." The General Assembly recalled the "illegality" of any commercial activity in Western Sahara without the consent of the Saharawi people.
Therefore, it calls for compliance with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 21 December 2016 in which "established that the association and liberalization agreements between Morocco and the European Union do not apply to the territory of Western Sahara ".
Finally, the Asturias Parliament also calls for a self-determination referendum to end the conflict in Western Sahara. (SPS)
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Being persistent helped Steve Jobs get the iPhone trademark from Cisco
The moment Apple introduced its first model of iPhone at the Macworld Conference & Expo in San Francisco in January 2007, it dictated the evolution of smartphone industry. Today, Apple has become one of the top smartphone manufacturers in the world. Thanks to iPhone that has become a household name around the world.
While many of us take pride in owning the iPhone and flash it around, does anyone know how the iPhone get its name? Several theories have floated around this question, however, the most popular answer to this remains that Steve Jobs, the late co-founder and former CEO of Apple, had actually acquired the iPhone trademark from Cisco Systems, the worldwide leader in IT and networking. Well, not really!!!
So, how did Apple manage to convince Cisco Systems to do away with the iPhone trademark?
When Apple decided that it wanted to name its handset the iPhone and launch it in 2007, it was completely aware that Cisco owned the trademark of that name. At that time, Cisco had an internet-based handset of the same name. Cisco had obtained the iPhone name through its acquisition of a company called Infogear in 2000, which had a product line called iPhone. Cisco used the name for its dual-mode cordless VoIP (voice over internet protocol) network phones.
According to Adam Lashinsky, the author of the book Inside Apple written in 2012, said that Jobs decided to approach Charles Giancarlo, a former Cisco executive, for the ownership of the name. Knowing that it was not going to be an easy task to convince Giancarlo to give up on the name, and that Cisco was a bigger company than Apple at that time, Jobs kept on persisting, trying to use some charm and following up more aggressively with Giancarlo. When Giancarlo refused to part with the name, Jobs decided that Apple would go ahead with the launch, and fight Cisco in court.
Apple went ahead with the launch of the product with the name iPhone forcing Cisco to file a lawsuit in a California federal court against Apple for trademark infringement, unfair competition, false description and injury to business reputation. Apparently, Cisco and Apple had been in negotiations for 2 years over the issue but had not signed a licensing agreement before the iPhone launch at Macworld.
At the time, Ciscos Mark Chandler Cisco Systems General Counsel had said:
Cisco entered into negotiations with Apple in good faith after Apple repeatedly asked permission to use Ciscos iPhone name.
Todays iPhone is not tomorrows iPhone. The potential for convergence of the home phone, cell phone, work phone and PC is limitless, which is why it is so important for us to protect our brand.
However, after Cisco filed the lawsuit, lawyers and executives from both the sides were forced to negotiate. The trademark-infringement lawsuit was settled with the agreement that allowed Apple and Cisco to use the iPhone brand on their own products. Also, it allowed both the companies to explore opportunities for interoperability in the areas of security and of consumer and business communications.
Read the excerpt below from Lashinskys Book that unfolds the turn of events:
Giancarlo fielded a call directly from Steve Jobs. Steve called in and said that he wanted it, Giancarlo recalled. He didnt offer us anything for it. It was just like a promise hed be our best friend. And we said, No, were planning on using it. Shortly after that, Apples legal department called to say they thought Cisco had abandoned the brand, meaning that in Apples legal opinion Cisco hadnt adequately defended its intellectual property rights by promoting the name. To Apples way of thinking this meant the name iPhone was available for Apples use. Giancarlo, who subsequently joined the prominent Silicon Valley private-equity firm Silver Lake Partners, said Cisco threatened litigation before the launch. Then, the day after Apple announced its iPhone, Cisco filed suit.
The negotiation displayed some classic Steve Jobs negotiating tactics. Giancarlo said Jobs called him at home at dinnertime on Valentines Day, as the two sides were haggling. Jobs talked for a while, Giancarlo related. And then he said to me, Can you get email at home? Giancarlo was taken aback. This was 2007, after all, when broadband Internet was ubiquitous in homes in the U.S., let alone that of a Silicon Valley executive who had worked for years on advanced Internet technology. And hes asking me if Im able to get email at home. You know hes just trying to press my buttons in the nicest possible way. Cisco gave up the fight shortly after that. The two sides reached a vague agreement to cooperate on areas of mutual interest.
Further, in 2010, Apple also licensed the iOS trademark from Cisco for its iPhone software. However, this time around, Apple actually acquired the trademark before going public. In fact, the company even made it known to the public that the name change was happening. Cisco had previously referred the IOS name as an acronym for their Internet Operating System, which powered the companys core equipment operating system.
Anixter International Inc., through its subsidiary, Anixter Inc., distributes enterprise cabling and security solutions, electrical and electronic wire and cable solutions, and utility power solutions worldwide. The company operates through Network & Security Solutions (NSS), Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), and Utility Power Solutions (UPS) segments. The NSS segment offers copper and fiber optic cable and connectivity, access control, video surveillance, intrusion and fire/life safety, cabinet, power, cable management, wireless, professional audio/video, voice and networking switches, and other ancillary products for the technology, finance, transportation, education, government, healthcare, and retail industries, as well as telecommunications service providers. The EES Solutions segment provides electrical and electronic wires and cables, shipboard cables, support and supply products, low-voltage and instrumentation cables, industrial communication and control products, security cables, connectors, industrial Ethernet switches, and voice and data cables to the commercial and industrial, and original equipment manufacturer markets. The UPS segment supplies electrical transmission and distribution products, power plant maintenance, repair and operations supplies, and smart-grid products, as well as arranges materials management and procurement outsourcing for the power generation and transmission, and electricity distribution industries. The company serves contractors, installers, system integrators, value-added resellers, architects, engineers, and wholesale distributors in various industries, including manufacturing, resource extraction, telecommunications, Internet service providers, finance, education, healthcare, retail, transportation, utilities, and defense, as well as government customers. The company was formerly known as Itel Corporation. Anixter International Inc. was founded in 1957 and is headquartered in Glenview, Illinois.
This is a current list of the top 250 companies by market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). Learn more .
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is one of the largest, and most recognizable, stock exchanges in the world. The NYSE is in New York City, New York at 11 Wall Street. The NYSE has been in existence since the earliest days of the United States becoming a nation, in 1792 and is primarily made up of blue-chip companies with large market capitalizations. In fact, many of the stocks that make up the Dow Jones Composite Index (i.e. The Dow) are listed on the NYSE.
This article gives a brief history of the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, it covers topics such as what kind of stocks trade on the exchange, what are the listing requirements, how trading is performed, and what the daily price movement of the NYSE tells investors about investor sentiment.
What Were the Origins of the NYSE?
Today, the New York Stock Exchange is known as the center of the financial universe. However, the exchanges origin is far more humble. On May 17, 1792, 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement creating a centralized exchange to help provide order to the securities market in what was still a young nation. The "Buttonwood Agreement comes from the tree of the same name under which the founders signed the agreement.
An initial benefit of the exchange was how it removed the need for auctioneers when trading commodities like wheat and tobacco and to set a commission rate. The exchange initially focused on government bonds.
However, the exchange had no formal home. Business was usually conducted informally in the local coffeehouses. In 1817, the exchange changed its name to the New York Stock & Exchange Board which later became the New York Stock Exchange. At this time, the exchange adopted a constitution that set the rules for trading. A group of stockbrokers met twice a day at 40 Wall Street to trade 30 stocks and bonds.
Over time, the exchange moved became the financial hub of the country and moved to its current location in 1865.
What Kind of Stocks Trade on the NYSE?
As of June 2022, the NYSE includes approximately 2,400 companies with a market capitalization of over $28.2 trillion. Although the NYSE trades stocks of all market capitalizations, its best known for trading the stocks of large cap companies. These have the benefit of being mature companies in mature industries. And many of these companies reward shareholders with dividends.
However, that also means that many of these companies are better suited for value investors as opposed to growth investors. In bear markets this stability can be a benefit for investors as these stocks tend to perform less bad than more volatile stocks. But in a bull market, these stocks are not likely to provide investors with the growth that they look for.
An interesting fact about how the NYSE and NASDAQ operate is that the companies with the five largest market caps on the NYSE are also listed on the NASDAQ exchange.
What Are the Listing Requirements For the NYSE?
The NYSE has strict guidelines that govern the types of companies that can list on the exchange. Here are the major requirements that all companies must meet:
The company must have at least 2,200 shareholders
The company must trade over 100,000 shares per month
The company must have a market valuation of over $100 million
The company must generate more than $75 million in annual revenue
However, there is at least one advantage of having such stringent requirements. That is the companies that meet the requirements generally find it easier to get more investors funds when they hold their initial public offering (IPO).
Once a company begins trading on the NYSE, it must continue to meet these requirements. If it doesnt it can be delisted. In addition to these requirements, the stock must continue to trade above $1. If the price of a stock drops below $1 for more than 29 consecutive trading days, the stock receives an Initial Price Violation Notice.
At that point, the company has 10 days to provide the exchange with a plan for bringing their shares above $1.
How are Trades Executed on the NYSE?
For over a century, the floor of the NYSE was the place for investors to be. This meant trades were conducted by traders who ran buy and sell orders across the trading floor looking to broker a deal for their clients. But with the birth of the NASDAQ exchange in 1971, the New York Stock Exchange began conducting electronic trading.
However, the NYSE continues to conduct trades in an auction style. Brokers purchase stocks on behalf of their clients or firms. Every order features a broker who will enter the order electronically and a specialist who serves as the market maker for that stock. The specialist posts bid and ask prices and manages the actual execution of the trades. And there are still a handful of stockbrokers who still traffic buy and sell orders physically on the floor of the exchange.
How Does the NYSE Signal Investor Sentiment?
Like its counterpart, the NASDAQ, the NYSE measures the risk appetite of investors. When the NYSE is moving higher over a length of time, it signals that a risk on environment. Conversely when the NYSE moves lower over a significant period, it signals that investors are moving to a risk off position.
Some Final Thoughts on the NYSE
Financial news networks plan their programming schedule around the opening and closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Its still considered a distinguished honor when individuals or groups are invited to ring the opening bell. In fact, Warren Buffett is attributed with saying that in the short term, the stock market acts like a voting machine. A fact that many U.S. presidents will attest to.
The NYSE is the oldest and most recognizable of all the stock exchanges. It also has the most stringent requirements for inclusion. And those requirements must be maintained even after a stock begins publicly trading on the exchange.
Although the NYSE still has a small in-person Trading Floor, much of the trading is done electronically to provide traders with the speed to execute trades.
AstraZeneca PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, focuses on the discovery, development, manufacturing, and commercialization of prescription medicines. Its marketed products include Calquence, Enhertu, Faslodex, Imfinzi, Iressa, Koselugo, Lumoxiti, Lynparza, Orpathys, Tagrisso, and Zoladex for oncology; Brilinta/Brilique, Bydureon/Byetta, BCise, Byetta, Crestor, Evrenzo, Farxiga/Forxiga, Komboglyze/Kombiglyze XR, Lokelma, Onglyza, Qtern, and Xigduo/Xigduo XR for cardiovascular, renal, and metabolism diseases; Bevespi Aerosphere, Breztri Aerosphere, Daliresp/Daxas, Duaklir Genuair, Fasenra, Pulmicort, Saphnelo, Symbicort, and Tudorza/Eklira/Bretaris for respiratory and immunology; and Andexxa/Ondexxya, Kanuma, Soliris, Strensiq, and Ultomiris for rare diseases. The company's marketed products also comprise Synagis for respiratory syncytial virus; Fluenz Tetra/FluMist Quadrivalent for Influenza; Seroquel IR/Seroquel XR for schizophrenia bipolar disease; Nexium, and Losec/Prilosec for gastroenterology; and Vaxzevria and Evusheld for covid-19. The company serves primary care and specialty care physicians through distributors and local representative offices in the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Australasia. It has a collaboration agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to research, develop, and commercialize small molecule medicines for obesity; Neurimmune AG to develop and commercialize NI006; Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to develop eplontersen, a liver-targeted antisense therapy in Phase III development for the treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis; Proteros Biostructures GmbH to jointly discover novel small molecules for the treatment of hematological cancers; Sierra Oncology, Inc. to develop and commercialize AZD5153. The company was formerly known as Zeneca Group PLC and changed its name to AstraZeneca PLC in April 1999. AstraZeneca PLC was incorporated in 1992 and is headquartered in Cambridge, the United Kingdom.
The following companies are subsidiares of InterContinental Hotels Group: 2250 Blake Street Hotel LLC, 24th Street Operator Sub LLC, 36th Street IHG Sub LLC, 426 Main Ave LLC, 46 Nevins Street Associates LLC, Allegro Management LLC, Alpha Kimball Hotel LLC, American Commonwealth Assurance Co. Ltd., Asia Pacific Holdings Limited, BHMC Canada Inc., BHR Holdings B.V., BHR Luxembourg SARL, BHR Pacific Holdings Inc., BHTC Canada Inc., BOC Barclay Sub LLC, Barclay Operating Corp., Bristol Oakbrook Tenant Company, Cafe Biarritz, Cambridge Lodging LLC, Capital Lodging LLC, Compania Inter-Continental De Hoteles El Salvador SA, Crowne Plaza Amsterdam (Management) B.V., Crowne Plaza LLC, Cumberland Akers Hotel LLC, Dunwoody Operations Inc., EVEN Real Estate Holding LLC, Edinburgh IC Limited, General Innkeeping Acceptance Corporation, Guangzhou SC Hotels Services Ltd., H.I. (Ireland) Limited, H.I. Soaltee Management Company Ltd, HC International Holdings Inc., HH France Holdings SAS, HH Hotels (EMEA) B.V., HH Hotels (Romania) SRL, HI Sugarloaf LLC, HIM (Aruba) NV, Hale International Ltd., Hoft Properties LLC, Holiday Hospitality Franchising LLC, Holiday Inn Mexicana S.A. de C.V., Holiday Inns (China) Ltd, Holiday Inns (Chongqing) Inc., Holiday Inns (Courtalin) Holdings SAS, Holiday Inns (Courtalin) SAS, Holiday Inns (England) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Germany) LLC, Holiday Inns (Guangzhou) Inc., Holiday Inns (Jamaica) Inc., Holiday Inns (Malaysia) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Middle East) Ltd., Holiday Inns (Philippines) Inc., Holiday Inns (Saudi Arabia) Inc., Holiday Inns (South East Asia) Inc., Holiday Inns (Thailand) Ltd., Holiday Inns (UK) Inc., Holiday Inns Crowne Plaza (Hong Kong) Inc., Holiday Inns Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd, Holiday Inns Inc., Holiday Inns Investment (Nepal) Ltd., Holiday Inns of America (UK) Ltd., Holiday Inns of Belgium N.V., Holiday Pacific Equity Corporation, Holiday Pacific LLC, Holiday Pacific Partners LP, Hotel Inter-Continental London Limited, Hotel InterContinental London (Holdings) Limited, Hoteles Y Turismo HIH SRL, IC Hotelbetriebsfuhrungs GmbH, IC Hotels Management (Portugal) Unipessoal Lda, IC International Hotels Limited Liability Company, IHC (Thailand) Limited, IHC Buckhead LLC, IHC Edinburgh (Holdings), IHC Hopkins (Holdings) Corp., IHC Hotel Limited, IHC Inter-Continental (Holdings) Corp., IHC London (Holdings), IHC M-H (Holdings) Corp., IHC May Fair (Holdings) Limited, IHC May Fair Hotel Limited, IHC Overseas (U.K.) Limited, IHC UK (Holdings) Limited, IHC United States (Holdings) Corp., IHC Willard (Holdings) Corp., IHG (Australasia) Limited, IHG (Marseille) SAS, IHG (Thailand) Limited, IHG ANA Hotels Group Japan LLC, IHG ANA Hotels Holdings Co. Ltd., IHG Bangkok Ltd, IHG Brasil Administracao de Hoteis e Servicos Ltda, IHG Commission Services SRL, IHG Community Development LLC, IHG Cyprus Limited, IHG ECS (Barbados) SRL, IHG Franchising Brasil Ltda, IHG Franchising DR Corporation, IHG Franchising LLC, IHG Hotels (New Zealand) Limited, IHG Hotels Limited, IHG Hotels Management (Australia) Pty Limited, IHG Hotels Nigeria Limited, IHG Hotels South Africa (Pty) Ltd, IHG International Partnership, IHG Istanbul Otel Yonetim Limited Sirketi, IHG Japan (Management) LLC, IHG Japan (Osaka) LLC, IHG Management (Maryland) LLC, IHG Management (Netherlands) B.V., IHG Management MD Barclay Sub LLC, IHG Management SL d.o.o, IHG Management d.o.o. Beograd, IHG Orchard Street Member LLC, IHG PS Nominees Limited, IHG Systems Pty Ltd, IHG Szalloda Budapest Szolgaltato Kft., IHG de Argentina SA, IND East Village SD Holdings LLC, Inter-Continental D.C. Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Investment Corp., Inter-Continental Florida Partner Corp., Inter-Continental Hospitality Corporation, Inter-Continental Hoteleira Limitada, Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Operating Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Montreal) Owning Corp., Inter-Continental Hotels (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation, Inter-Continental Hotels Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Inter-Continental Hotels of San Francisco Inc., Inter-Continental IOHC (Mauritius) Limited, Inter-Continental Management (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental (Branston) 1 Limited, InterContinental (PB) 1, InterContinental (PB) 2, InterContinental (PB) 3 Limited, InterContinental Berlin Service Company GmbH, InterContinental Brasil Administracao de Hoteis Ltda, InterContinental Gestion Hotelera S.L., InterContinental Hotel Berlin GmbH, InterContinental Hotel Dusseldorf GmbH (Germany), InterContinental Hotels (Puerto Rico) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Australia) Pty Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Canada) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (Espana) SA, InterContinental Hotels Group (Greater China) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (India) Pvt. Ltd, InterContinental Hotels Group (Japan) Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group (New Zealand) Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group (Shanghai) Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Customer Services Ltd., InterContinental Hotels Group Healthcare Trustee Limited, InterContinental Hotels Group Operating Corp., InterContinental Hotels Group Resources Inc., InterContinental Hotels Group Services Company, InterContinental Hotels Group do Brasil Limitada, InterContinental Hotels Italia S.r.L., InterContinental Hotels Limited, InterContinental Hotels Management GmbH, InterContinental Hotels Nevada Corporation, InterContinental Management AM LLC, InterContinental Management Bulgaria EOOD, InterContinental Management France SAS, InterContinental Management Poland sp. z.o.o, InterContinental Overseas Holding Corporation, Intercontinental Hotels Corporation Limited, KG Benefits LLC, KG Gift Card Inc., KG Liability LLC, KG Technology LLC, KHP Washington Operator LLC, KHRG 11th Avenue Hotel LLC, KHRG 851 LLC, KHRG Aertson LLC, KHRG Alexandria LLC, KHRG Alexis LLC, KHRG Allegro LLC, KHRG Argyle LLC, KHRG Austin Beverage Company LLC, KHRG Baltimore LLC, KHRG Born LLC, KHRG Boston Hotel LLC, KHRG Canary LLC, KHRG Cayman Employer Ltd., KHRG Cayman LLC, KHRG DC 1731 LLC, KHRG DC 2505 LLC, KHRG Donovan LLC, KHRG Employer LLC, KHRG Goleta LLC, KHRG Gray LLC, KHRG Gray U2 LLC, KHRG Hillcrest LLC, KHRG Huntington Beach LLC, KHRG King Street LLC, KHRG La Peer LLC, KHRG Miami Beach LLC, KHRG Muse LLC, KHRG NPC LLC, KHRG Onyx LLC, KHRG Palladian LLC, KHRG Palomar Phoenix LLC, KHRG Philly Monaco LLC, KHRG Pittsburgh LLC, KHRG Reynolds LLC, KHRG Riverplace LLC, KHRG SFD LLC, KHRG Sacramento LLC, KHRG Savannah LLC, KHRG Schofield LLC, KHRG Sedona LLC, KHRG State Street LLC, KHRG Sutter LLC, KHRG Sutter Union LLC, KHRG Taconic LLC, KHRG Tariff LLC, KHRG Texas Hospitality LLC, KHRG Texas Operations LLC, KHRG Tryon LLC, KHRG VZ Austin LLC, KHRG Vero Beach LLC, KHRG Vintage Park LLC, KHRG WPB LLC, KHRG Wabash LLC, KHRG Westwood LLC, KHRG Wilshire LLC, KHRG Zamora LLC, Kimpton Hollywood Licenses LLC, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group LLC, Kimpton Phoenix Licenses Holdings LLC, Kimpton Sedona Licenses LLC, Louisiana Acquisitions Corp., MH Lodging LLC, Mercer Fairview Holdings LLC, PML Services LLC, PT SC Hotels & Resorts Indonesia, Pollstrong Limited, Powell Pine Inc., Priscilla Holiday of Texas Inc., RM Lodging LLC, Regent Hotels and Resorts, Resort Services International (Cayo Largo) L.P., SBS Maryland Beverage Company LLC, SC Cellars Limited, SC Hotels International Services Inc., SC Leisure Group Limited, SC NAS 2 Limited, SC Quest Limited, SC Reservations (Philippines) Inc., SCH Insurance Company, SCIH Branston 3, SF MH Acquisition LLC, SPHC Group Pty Ltd., SPHC Management Ltd., Semiramis for training of Hotel Personnel and Hotel Management SAE, Six Continents Corporate Services, Six Continents Holdings Limited, Six Continents Hotels Inc., Six Continents Hotels International Limited, Six Continents Hotels de Colombia SA, Six Continents International Holdings B.V., Six Continents Investments Limited, Six Continents Limited, Six Continents Overseas Holdings Limited, Six Continents Restaurants Limited, SixCo North America Inc., Solamar Lodging LLC, Southern Pacific Hotel Corporation (BVI) Ltd., Southern Pacific Hotels Properties Limited, Universal de Hoteles SA, White Shield Insurance Company Limited, and World Trade Centre Montreal Hotel Corporation.
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Regions Financial Corporation, a financial holding company, provides banking and bank-related services to individual and corporate customers. It operates through three segments: Corporate Bank, Consumer Bank, and Wealth Management. The Corporate Bank segment offers commercial banking services, such as commercial and industrial, commercial real estate, and investor real estate lending; equipment lease financing; deposit products; and securities underwriting and placement, loan syndication and placement, foreign exchange, derivatives, merger and acquisition, and other advisory services. It serves corporate, middle market, and commercial real estate developers and investors. The Consumer Bank segment provides consumer banking products and services related to residential first mortgages, home equity lines and loans, consumer credit cards, and other consumer loans, as well as deposits. The Wealth Management segment offers credit related products, and retirement and savings solutions; and trust and investment management, asset management, and estate planning services to individuals, businesses, governmental institutions, and non-profit entities. The company also provides investment and insurance products; low-income housing tax credit corporate fund syndication services; and other specialty financing services. As of March 01, 2022, it operated through a network of 1,300 banking offices and 2,000 automated teller machines across the South, Midwest, and Texas. Regions Financial Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama.
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for New York Community Bank. New York Community Bank is the nations 47th-largest financial institution and its largest thrift. As a thrift, the bank specializes in real estate and consumer accounts specifically real estate loans and savings accounts and has limited exposure to other forms of business banking. Among the benefits to consumers are interest-bearing checking and saving accounts that come with higher-than-average interest rates.
New York Community Bank was founded in 1859 to serve Queens County, New York. It operated under that name, growing all the while, until 2000 when it changed its name to better reflect the business. The company IPOd in 1993 and has made multiple acquisitions in the time since. As of 6/30/2022, the bank had $63.1 billion in assets and $41.2 billion in deposits.
New York Community Bank operates in greater New York City, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, and Arizona. The company provides deposit products ranging from interest-bearing checking and money market accounts to savings accounts, IRAs, and CDs. Brands under the companys umbrella include AmTrust in Florida and Arizona, Ohio Savings Bank, Garden State Savings Bank, and Atlantic Bank.
The bank offers a wide range of real-estate-related loans including but not limited to multi-family loans, commercial real estate loans, construction loans, and consumer loans and mortgages. Investment products include annuities, mutual funds, and life insurance. Customers include individuals, small businesses, and organizations and are served through a network of more than 230 branches, and 300 ATMs, online, mobile, and by phone. Many of the locations are open 24 hours and 6 days a week although those hours are not available at all branches. Clients can access their accounts digitally 24/7.
New York Community Bancorp and its underlying business carry investment-grade credit ratings from all the major rating agencies. The credit outlook in the 4th quarter of 2022 was stable as it had been for some time. In New York, it is a leader in the multi-family market specializing in lower-cost housing in rent-controlled areas. As of June 30, 2022, the multi-family loan portfolio accounted for more than 75% of all investments. The company has a stock purchase and dividend reinvestment plan that help to sustain a high level of ownership.
BT Group plc provides communications services worldwide. Its Consumer segment sells telephones, baby monitors, and Wi-Fi extenders through high street retailers, online BT Shop, and Website BT.com; and offers home phone, copper and fiber broadband, TV, and mobile services in various packages. The company's EE segment offers 2G, 3G, and 4G mobile network services; broadband, fixed-voice, and TV services; and postpaid and prepaid plans, and emergency services network. This segment also sells 4G mobile phones, tablets, connected devices, and mobile broadband devices from various manufacturers. Its Business and Public Sector segment provides fixed voice, mobility, fiber and connectivity, and networked IT services to retailers, utilities, public sector, healthcare, sports, construction, finance, and educational sectors. The company's Global Services segment offers business communications and ICT services comprising BT Connect, BT Security, BT One, BT Contact, BT Compute, BT Advise, and BT for financial markets. This segment serves approximately 5,500 customers in 180 countries. Its Wholesale and Ventures segment enables communications providers and other organizations to provide fixed or mobile phone services. Its ventures provide mass-market services, such as directory enquiries and payphones; and enterprise services comprising BT Fleet and BT Redcare. This segment also provides broadband and Ethernet, voice, hosted communication, mobile virtual network operator, managed solutions, machine-to-machine, roaming, and media services. The company's Openreach segment engages in the provision of services over the local access network; and installation and maintenance of fiber and copper communications networks that connect homes and businesses. The company was formerly known as Newgate Telecommunications Limited and changed its name to BT Group plc in September 2001. BT Group plc was incorporated in 2001 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom.
The following companies are subsidiares of WPP: 24/7 Real Media UK Ltd., 41?29! Media Internet, AD Venture Worldwide Inc, AKQA, AKQA Denmark A/S, AKQA GmbH, AKQA Inc., AKQA Limited, AQuest, Acceleration, Acceleration eMarketing Inc, All Global, Always (Shanghai) Marketing Services Co Ltd, Arctouch LLC, BCW LLC, BWR PR, Beijing Benpao Century Technology Development Co. Ltd., Benenson Strategy Group LLC, Black and Deen, Blast Radius, Blast Radius Inc., Bomtempo Anahory e Ralha, Bottle Rocket, Bottle Rocket LLC, Brindfors Design AB, CB Associes S.A., CMI Media, CMI Media LLC, CONEXANCE MD, CT Finances SA, Catalyst Online LLC, Cavendish Square Holding BV, Center Partners, Cerebra, Cockpit Holdings Limited, Cognifide, Commarco, Commarco GmbH 120274, Cordiant Communications Group Limited, Dawson Integrated Marketing Communications, DeepLocal Inc., Design Bridge, Design Bridge Limited, Dewey Square Group, Ecommera, EffectiveUI, Enduring Organisation, Entreprise de Communications Tank Inc., Essence, Essence Global Group Limited, Essence Global LLC, Eurosem Belgium SA/NV, F.biz, FAST - Financial Administration Solutions & Technologies Srl, Finecast Limited, Finsbury LLC, Forward Limited, GREY Dusseldorf GmbH, GTB Agency LLC, GTB Shanghai Advertising Co. Ltd, GTB Stat LLC, GWE LLC, Geometry Global Japan GK, Geometry Global LLC, Geometry Global Limited, Glendinning Management Consultants, Go Direct Marketing Inc., Gorilla LLC, Grey, Grey Advertising Limited, Grey Global Group LLC, Group M France SAS, Group M Worldwide LLC, Group SJR LLC, GroupM (Shanghai) Advertising Co. Ltd, GroupM Argentina Trading S.A., GroupM B.V., GroupM Chile SAC, GroupM Competence Center GmbH, GroupM Denmark A/S, GroupM Japan KK, GroupM Limited, GroupM Market Advertising Co. Ltd., GroupM Media India Pvt Ltd, GroupM Pakistan (Private) Ltd, GroupM Singapore Pte Ltd, GroupM Srl, GroupM UK Digital Limited, Guangzhou Dawson Marketing Communication Co. Ltd, H-ART, HERING SCHUPPENER Consulting Strategieberatung fur Kommunikation GmbH, HeathWallace, Hill & Knowlton Limited, Hill and Knowlton Strategies LLC, Hirschen Group GmbH, Hogarth California LLC, Hogarth Worldwide Inc., Hogarth Worldwide Limited, Icon Brand Navigation Group, IntelliQuest Information Group Inc, International Meetings & Science LLC, J Walter Thompson Middle East and North Africa E.C., J Walter Thompson Publicidade Ltda, J.Walter Thompson Bridge Advertising Co. Ltd., John Street Inc., KBM Group LLC, KR Media UK Limited, KR Wavemaker SAS, Kantar TNS, Kinetic Advertising (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Kinetic Worldwide Limited, LLC GroupM, LLC Wavemaker, Landor LLC, M Media Group Pty Ltd, M2 Digital Inc., Marketeers Vietnam, Marketing Direct LLC, Marketing Perspectives Limited, Mather Direct GmbH, Maxus Communications (UK) Limited, Media Club SpA, Media Insight SNC, MediaCom - Warszawa Sp.z.o.o., MediaCom AS (Norway), MediaCom Agentur fur Media-Beratung GmbH, MediaCom Communications Pvt Ltd, MediaCom Danmark A/S, MediaCom Group Limited, MediaCom Istanbul Medya Hizmetleri A.S., MediaCom TWENTYFIVE GmbH, Mediacom AG, Mediacom Australia Pty Limited, Mediacom Canada, Mediacom Iberia SA, Mediacom Italia Srl, Mediacom LLC, Mediacom Middle East & North Africa Holding W.L.L., Mediacom North Limited, Mediacom Paris SA, Mediacom Worldwide LLC, Mediaedge:CIA Worldwide Limited, Mediaedge:cia India Pvt Ltd, Medialets, Memac Ogilvy & Mather Holding Inc, Mind Share Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., MindShare Canada, MindShare GmbH, MindShare Hong Kong Limited, MindShare Polska Sp. z.o.o., Mindshare Media UK Limited, Mindshare SA, Mindshare South Africa (Gauteng) (Proprietary) Limited, Mindshare SpA, Mindshare Spain SA, Mindshare USA LLC, Mirum LLC, Mirum S.A. de C.V., Motion Content Group Limited, OPR AGENCY PTY LIMITED, Ogilvy & Mather Brasil Comunicacao Ltda, Ogilvy & Mather Group (Holdings) Limited, Ogilvy & Mather Pvt Ltd, Ogilvy & Mather S.A.S, Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Australia Pty Ltd, Ogilvy Commonhealth Worldwide LLC, Ogilvy Public Relations GmbH, Ogilvy Singapore Pte. Ltd., Ootworld, OpenMindWorld LLC, P Four Consultancy, PTR Comunicacoes Ltda, Penn Schoen & Berland Associates LLC, Penn Schoen Berland, Pep LLC, Plano.Trio Comunicacao, Potato London Ltd, Premiere Group Holdings Limited, Prism Sport + Entertainment, Promotion Execution Partners LLC, Public Strategies Inc., Quasar Media Private, Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Quirk, RLM Finsbury, Rasor Holdings LLC, Ray + Keshavan Design Associates, Real Media, Red Fuse New York LLC, Regional Management Group SAS, Russell Square Holding BV, Salmon Limited, Salmon Ltd, Sandtable, Scangroup, Set Management LLC, Shanghai Easycom Advertising Co. Ltd., Shanghai Linjie Marketing Services Co. Ltd., Shanghai Ogilvy & Mather Advertising Ltd, Shire Hall Group, Spafax Airline Network Limited, Spafax Networks LLC, Stickleback Limited, Sudler & Hennessey LLC, Superunion Limited, Swift + POSSIBLE LLC, Syzygy AG, TMARC, Taxi, Taxi Inc., Team Garage LLC, The Brand Union, The Cocktail Global S.L., The Finsbury Group Limited, The Glover Park Group, The Glover Park Group LLC, The GroupM ESP Clever Company S.R.L. de C.V., The Lacek Group LLC, The Marketing & Communication Agency, The Ogilvy Group LLC, The Performers Group, The Young & Rubicam Group of Companies ULC, Triad Digital Media LLC, Twist Image, Two Circles, VML LLC, VMLY&R, WPP (Thailand) Ltd, WPP 2005 Limited, WPP AMC Holdings, WPP AUNZ, WPP Beans Limited, WPP Brands (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Development Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Brands Holdings (UK) Limited, WPP Deutschland Holding GmbH & Co. KG, WPP Finance 2013, WPP Finance 2015 Limited, WPP Finance Co. Limited, WPP Finance SA, WPP Group (UK) Ltd, WPP Group Canada Finance Inc., WPP Group U.S. Finance LLC, WPP Group USA Inc., WPP Health Limited, WPP Holdings Spain S.L., WPP Jubilee Limited, WPP Luxembourg Gamma Three Sarl, WPP Luxembourg Sarl, WPP Luxembourg Turris S.a r.l., WPP Marketing Communications (Hong Kong) Limited, WPP Marketing Communications Germany GmbH, WPP Media Ltd, WPP Montagu Square LLC, WPP Mexico S.R.L. de C.V., WPP Ottawa Ltd, WPP Samson Limited, WPP Sigma Limited, WPP Sphinx Limited, WPP Square one B.V, WPP UK Germany Holdings, WPP Unicorn Limited, WPPIH 2001 Inc., Warwicks, Wavemaker A/S, Wavemaker Australia Pty Ltd, Wavemaker BV, Wavemaker Canada ULC, Wavemaker Czech s.r.o., Wavemaker Global LLC, Wavemaker Global Limited, Wavemaker GmbH, Wavemaker Hong Kong Limited, Wavemaker Hungary Kft, Wavemaker Italia S.r.l., Wavemaker Limited, Wavemaker MENA FZ LLC, Wavemaker Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Wavemaker Publicidad Spain S.L., Wavemaker Sp.z.o.o, Wavemaker Taiwan Ltd, Wavemaker Servicos Publicitarios Ltda, Who Digital, Witgoud Investments B.V., Worldwide Mediacom Mexico S de R.L. de C.V., Wunderman A/S, Wunderman Thompson (UK) Limited, Wunderman Thompson LLC, XMKT Group, Xaxis LLC, Xaxis US LLC, Y&R Propaganda Ltda, Young & Rubicam, Young & Rubicam LLC, clarus digital, dBOD, groupm Germany GmbH & Co. KG, mPlatform LLC, plista GmbH, thjnk, and thjnk AG.
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This weekend, while we gather with family and friends to celebrate Memorial Day, we must also take time to remember all the brave men and women who have fought and died for our country. It is important we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice defending freedom around the globe so we could remain safe at home.
Next month marks the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of the Midway in WWII, considered one of the most important battles of the U.S. Navys Pacific Campaign. More than 300 Americans lost their lives preventing the Japanese from taking the island of Midway, a key to U.S. defenses in the Pacific. This Memorial Day, take pause at the heroism and resolve of those who fell defending American territory and ideals during that incredible battle.
HONORING THE LIVES & LEGACIES OF FALLEN SOLDIERS
As the son, father, brother and uncle of U.S. veterans, I have a heartfelt appreciation for everything our soldiers and their families sacrifice. In honor of the families who have lost a service member during a war, the Assembly Minority Conference has sponsored legislation to help them deal with their tremendous loss.
In addition to a number of pieces of legislation aimed at helping our veterans, I proudly support the College Tuition for Family Members of Fallen Military Personnel (A.1737, Hawley), which would allow the surviving dependent family members of New York State military personnel, who died while on active duty, to receive free tuition, room, and board at SUNY or CUNY institutions.
On the federal level, the Post 9/11 GI Bill allows the transfer of benefits from a service member to immediate family members. If the service member loses their life defending our country their family shouldnt lose the opportunity to use those benefits.
WATERLOO: THE BIRTHPLACE OF MEMORIAL DAY
As local residents know, this weekend holds a special place for our region. The Village of Waterloo was home to the nations first Memorial Day ceremony in 1866. Henry C. Welles, a local druggist, came up with the idea to commemorate the lives lost during the Civil War.
Mr. Welles joined General John B. Murray, the Seneca County Clerk, to formalize what we now call Memorial Day. As a result, in 1868, General John A. Logan issued General Order No. 11 establishing Decoration Day on May 5, exactly two years after Waterloos village-wide ceremony.
This weekend there will be no shortage of festivities in Waterloo commemorating Memorial Day, and recognizing the Villages place in history. As always, there is something for everyone and a variety of events and activities families can enjoy. For information on Waterloos Memorial Day Celebration, please visit http://waterloony.com/memorial-day/celebrate-commemorate/ .
I hope each of you can take a moment to reflect on the gravity of what our parades, cook-outs and celebrations represent. Without the incredible bravery and sacrifices of the U.S. Armed Forces, we would not be able to enjoy the many luxuries and liberties we too often take for granted. As we continue to face an uncertain world, we must be especially mindful of how fortunate we are to live in the greatest country, under the protection of the greatest military force in the world.
What do you think? I want to hear from you. Send me your feedback, suggestions and ideas regarding this or any other issue facing New York State. You can always contact my district office at (315) 781-2030, e-mail me at kolbb@assembly.state.ny.us, find me by searching for Assemblyman Brian Kolb on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA-A musclebound soldier inspects my passport, sternly eyeing my clean-shaven face. I had been warned not to look scruffy for Cosmojins tour of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) separating North and South Korea. Unkempt tourists are targets for North Korean propaganda posters. As funny as my mates would find it if my grotty-bearded face was plastered on billboards as an example of where the West went wrong, Id rather avoid the infamy.
First stop, the Third Tunnel of Aggression, one of four discovered infiltration tunnels dug by the authoritarian north since the armistice had been signed in 1953. A distant loudspeaker blasts ritualistic North Korean propaganda. CCTV cameras watch us shuffle down the dingy, cramped tunnel. We cant take photos. Its a military facility. Barbed wire everywhere.
On short notice, tours can be cancelled for safety reasons. In 1976, North Korean DMZ troops hacked two American officers to death with an axe. The north regularly threatens nuclear attack on the U.S., and periodically encourages and orchestrates terrorist attacks against their fellow Koreans to the south. Its a nice spot to despair for humanity.
Yet life is funny if you pay attention. Facing aggressive propaganda wailing from loudspeakers, and the somewhat more concerning underlying threat of nuclear obliteration, South Korea does not get angry. South Korea delivers the most humiliating derision of North Korea I can fathom. It plays Lionel Richie.
I can see it in your eyes. I can see it in your smile. Youre all Ive ever wanted and my arms are open wide cause you know just what to say, and you know just what to do, and I want to tell you so much . . .
I love you, South Korea. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, his hairstyle a more regrettable decision than the frosted tips of my teenage years, must be livid.
The tour guide, SP Hong, treats grim reality with similar levity. Leaving the tunnel, he points to a Christian cross atop a hill and says, dryly: Love thy neighbour. Do not bomb thy neighbour.
He mocks his own countrys propaganda in a welcome to the DMZ video that claims, in the same sentence, the DMZ will live forever and Korea will one day unify again. How can it do both? he asks, gleeful.
On the north side of the four-kilometre wide DMZ, who knows what would befall this astute, svelte and excellently dressed man for such witty observations. A glint in his eyes, Hong jests the tunnels are a special hand-made gift from North Korea to South Korean tourism.
Hong keeps conversation flowing by playfully imploring the medicinal benefits of South Koreas favourite root, ginseng, for aging gentleman struggling to match the sexual prowess of their prime.
Can you imagine the age of your guide? he asks.
Twenty-one, I suggest. Ive played this game before, my job occasionally demanding I ask grizzled, hardy Scottish women for their ages. The kind of women who can eviscerate you with a handbag.
We go to the second stop, the Dora Observatory. Land mines, indicated by red triangles bearing a skull and crossbones, are scattered next to the road. The observatory looks towards a fake, empty propaganda village in North Korea, created to tempt defectors from the South. Apparently theyve recently painted the village houses green. They used to be white. Ah, thats why no one was defecting. Flaky paint.
Two enormous flagpoles rise from either side of the demarcation line. South Korea erected a 100-metre pole in the 1980s. In retaliation, North Korea erected one of the worlds largest flagpoles, around 160 metres.
Human nature is very childish, as you can see, Hong says.
According to our guide, the Third Tunnel of Aggression symbolizes the past relationship of North and South Korea. The observatory symbolizes the present. Were now going to the symbol of the future, the empty Dorasan train station.
South Koreans enthusiastically embrace any opportunity for symbolism. In Seoul, at the War Memorial of Korea, there is a statue featuring two clocks. One is eternally set to the time of Koreas division, the other will start ticking when reunification takes place. The South Korean flag, as prevalent at the DMZ as the Stars and Stripes in any American suburb, features the duelling forces of a red and blue circle, yin and yang, opposites blending, a symbol for the future unification of the democratic south and authoritarian north.
An optimistic sign at Dorasan train station points towards Pyongyang, North Koreas capital. A billboard declares Not the last station from the South. But the first station toward the North.
South Korea is Lionel Richie, yearning for the North, asking is it me youre looking for but our guide Hong is a realist. For decades, hes heard the North is verging on collapse and nothing has changed. He no longer believes unification is going to be easy like a Sunday morning.
David Bateman is a Scottish writer.
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An Air Canada Rouge flight on its way to Toronto made an emergency landing because of a disruptive passenger on Thursday night.
The flight was on its way to Toronto from Costa Rica when it made an emergency landing just before 11 p.m. A male passenger, who is a Canadian citizen in his early 20s, was removed from the flight by Miami police, according to U.S. customs and boarder protection spokesperson Michael Silva.
Laura Tamblyn Watts said she was sitting in the same row as the passenger and that he was acting quite disorderly and his behaviour escalated when the plane took off.
It was clear to me very early on that there was definitely something going on with him, she said.
He started making hand gestures, speaking loudly and touching other passengers sitting around him. She said when the flight attendants didnt ask him for a drink and walked by quickly with the drink cart, the passenger chased after them down the aisle of the plane.
Tamblyn Watts also said he got into verbal altercations with a few other passengers.
But I didnt think he was drunk. I didnt smell any alcohol on him. He looked high . . . . His pupils were dilated and he was looking at his hands and wiggling his fingers.
Air Canada and Miami police did not respond to the Stars request for comment. Its not confirmed if either alcohol or drugs were a factor.
It was about two hours into the flight when it made an emergency landing in Miami. Tamblyn Watts said she saw one FBI agent outside the plane with seven other Miami police officers. She said a police officer boarded the plane, handcuffed the passenger and removed him.
The rest of the passengers remained on the plane, which took off about an hour-and-a-half later.
I was just surprised (the passengers behaviour) wasnt identified before we went on the plane, she said. The whole thing was just pretty dramatic.
A similar incident on an Air Canada flight occurred two weeks ago when a Toronto city councilor helped subdue a passenger who tried to open the plans cabin door mid-flight.
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After Ohio-born Sam Bahour moved to the West Bank, near his fathers hometown, he was approached to build a Western-style supermarket, a first in the occupied territories, in the late 90s.. They decided to call it Bravo, and it would expand into a plaza. His story is told in Giant in a Cage, an essay by Michael Chabon from Kingdom of Olives and Ash: Writers Confront the Occupation.
Note: The editors and authors worked with Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence on this project. Breaking the Silence helped to administer some of the travel costs in the region and made additional contributions toward travel costs for this project.
The architects original plan for the first proposed Plaza showed a U-shaped structure, but as the second intifada broke out and costs escalated every nail and plank and length of rebar had to be imported from Israel, finessed through the labyrinth of checkpoints and regulations, with deliveries constantly subject to delay, diversion, cancellation Sam was obliged to amputate one of the Us legs, and settle for an L. Then there turned out not to be enough money to engineer the structure adequately to include the Cineplex; the Cineplex was dropped from the plan.
The architects design called for the Plaza, like any self-respecting building in Ramallah, to be clad in the locally quarried limestone known as Jerusalem stone, but it was going to take a lot of limestone to cover so large a building (even after it had lost a leg) more limestone, unfortunately, than the project could afford.
The building site lay between two streets that had been laid out but not yet rezoned as commercial; one was set to be a main drag and the other a service road. Sam shocked the investors by suggesting that only the side of the Plaza facing the main thoroughfare needed to be stone-clad; nobody but teamsters and store employees was ever going to see the place from the back. After the investors had recovered from their shock, Sam went to the municipality to confirm which of the as-yet-unbuilt streets would be the principal thoroughfare.
He oriented the unclad, plain-stucco rear of the structure accordingly. No sooner was the Plaza completed than, all along the alleged service road, glittery new office buildings and commercial spaces started to crop up. The municipality, it turned out, had misinformed Sam, or changed its mind; and so the first supermarket-anchored shopping plaza ever built in Palestine shows its naked backside to the world.
It wasnt just artificially inflated building costs and the contortions of a stunted and questionable bureaucracy; every aspect of getting the first Bravo store up and running was made harder by the occupation. A properly modern supermarket must have a modern point-of-sale system, and while internationally there were many vendors to choose among, none was willing to take on the challenge of providing long-distance after-sale support to the occupied territory, not in the thick of an armed uprising. Through his solid business contacts he holds an MBA from Tel Aviv University Sam found a local firm, Retalix, based in Raanana, Israel, that was prepared to commit to Bravo. When the time came to install the software, however, none of Retalixs Israeli IT staff was permitted to travel to al-Bireh to perform the installation.
So, being an IT person, even though the GM of the company shouldnt be doing this, I became the liaison by phone, by fax, by email, between the supplier over there, and the technical people on my side. And we did it, it was the first retail bar code system in Palestine. The head of their company, a company with customers all around the world, he was so amazed that we could do something like that, in the middle of an armed uprising, they put it in their annual report; it said, We have entered the Middle East.
The memory tickled Sam, though he said that if he were to do it today, he would not use Israeli suppliers, as he also did for the stores refrigeration systems. Today I would go to NCR, in Texas. Because today I have a choice, given that intifada conditions have waned, and I understand what it means to be dependent on Israel. Thats a political decision. If you go with the business decision, by design of Israeli strategy, it will take you to their market, because theyve created all these obstacles to going outside their market. And I actually think thats part of the reason, for them, for continuing the occupation. Somebodys benefiting from it, to the tune of five billion dollars a year.
As for the merchandise that was to be scanned and inventoried by the Retalix software, the same labyrinth of barriers legal, military, and physical that had driven up the price of construction also caused constant headaches with inventory. Shipments of goods from Israel or Israeli ports arrived late, spoiled or not at all. Even when they showed up whole and on time they still arrived freighted with politics and tainted by the bitter flavour of occupation. Sometime before the first Ramallah Bravo opened for business, Sam was approached by local activists in town who wanted him to guarantee that the store would not carry any Israeli products.
Sam an activist himself, arrested for the first time in 1988, along with protesters who chained themselves to a fence outside the Saltsburg, Pennsylvania, headquarters of Federal Laboratories, which manufactured and sold the tear gas used by the Israeli army against Palestinian civilians had been expecting a visit of this sort. Refraining from pointing out that, given the state of the Palestinian food industry, it would be impossible to stock a modern supermarket with only produce and foodstuffs manufactured in Palestine, Sam who was the project manager, not the owner or operator framed the matter to the activists as one of official Palestinian policy. He offered to accompany the activists to meet with the Palestinian Authority. Together, he suggested, perhaps they might persuade the PA to set a bold new policy prohibiting the sale by any Palestinian retailer of any Israeli products. They should in no way be discouraged, he further suggested, by the undeniable fact, in the unlikely event the PA were willing to take such a step, that it would be impossible to enforce.
While his fellow activists chewed over this mildly disingenuous invitation, Sam said he could assure them, on behalf of the investors, that unlike other grocers throughout the occupied territories, Bravo would refuse to carry any goods grown or manufactured in the settlements. He also came up with an idea he thought might appeal to them: Bravo would strive, whenever possible, to offer a local Palestinian alternative to every Israeli or foreign item, and would highlight these local products by means of end-cap displays and signage, in particular the small, detachable shelf talkers that his fathers Youngstown [Ohio] grocery stores had used to draw shoppers attention to specials, new items and the like.
The activists went away reasonably satisfied, and the political pressure eased; construction proceeded. Costs were cut, frills discarded, workarounds found. The U became an L, the Plaza was left half-naked. Slowly, fitfully, the concrete-and-glass contours of Sam Bahours vision began to be discernible, a gleaming, air-conditioned foretaste of what the modern nation of Palestine might by and by become.
Then [Ariel] Sharon went to the Temple Mount, and the second intifada erupted, vastly more brutal, more violent, more destabilizing, than the first.
Thats when it became not work, but a challenge, Sam said. Given everything Sam had already told me about the reversals, obstacles and difficulties he had faced on the Plaza project, this struck me as setting the bar awfully high for deeming something a challenge. The word must mean something different for him, I thought, at least in this context. It must have some more profound, or more personal, connotation. So thats when I told the owners, I will not leave this project until its up and running. And that took five years to do.
He paused, as if allowing himself to dwell again, for a moment, in that challenging time.
At one point, he resumed, the owners came to me and said, Sam, we love you, but youre ordering a glass facade for your mall, and if you havent noticed, there are F-16s bombing outside. So I made a deal with them, and I said, I will not ask you for any more money. Let me take the investment youve made and try to make something out of it. Youre going to lose it, anyway.
I wondered if Sam had actually offered such an openly pessimistic assessment to the investors, or if he were paraphrasing what he had felt, what they had all felt but were perhaps afraid to express, about the probable fate of the Plaza project, and the investors money, in that dark and violent hour. Youre going to lose it, anyway: I wondered if any project manager in the history of real estate development had ever provided his investors with a more bleak, even nihilistic argument in the hope of keeping his job and ensuring that his budget not be cut any further.
It went beyond nihilism, I thought; it summed up, with perfect succinctness, the existential quest on which, because hed never deleted that line in his CV, Sam Bahour had embarked. He wasnt just trying to build a supermarket in what had become a war zone. He was making it out of glass. It made me think of Klaus Kinskis character in Fitzcarraldo, dragging a steamboat over a mountain in order to bring opera to the Amazon jungle.
I think the investors just said to themselves, Look, clearly hes just a little off balance. Let him work. And yes, I cut corners in the project, big time. But the project opened. And they were shocked. The place were going to see today, in Nablus, I didnt do that one, but I think its the ninth or tenth in the chain. To see it expand that way . . . there is a lot of pride in that.
It seemed a funny way to put it the pride lay unclaimed in the middle of the sentence like property forgotten in a locker. He said it quietly, with a hint of something that sounded like doubt, or maybe it was wistfulness.
After an hour and a half slowing down for a few checkpoints, getting lost a few times we came to the new Nablus Bravo. Built very much on the pattern of Sams innovations in Ramallah minus the minimall; apart from the fun zone for kids, that part of the vision was never afterward repeated it had been open only a week.
In the middle of a Thursday afternoon it was almost completely deserted. The staff of the new store made a fuss over Sam, who towered over all of them. The store manager seemed to be in awe, and confessed that several years ago he had attended a presentation for young people that Mister Sam had given, aimed at energizing and inspiring future business leaders of Palestine. He said that he had been energized, and inspired. Everyone agreed that the new location was off to a fine start. The grand opening had been jammed, and the store got extremely busy three times a day: first thing in the morning, at the end of the workday right before dinnertime, and in the evenings, when entire families came down from the surrounding neighbourhood, on the booming outskirts of Nablus, just to hang, to see and be seen.
At the moment, however, Sam and I were almost the only nonemployees in the store. Sam showed me how to distinguish among Israel-, Palestine- and foreign-sourced products, and he pointed out the shelf talkers all over the store drawing shoppers attention to locally made fare. The decor was Euro-minimalist, white paint and exposed air ducts, big primary-coloured signage in simple geometric shapes, sans serif type. The merchandise on offer cold cereal, packaged rice, processed meats, snacks and baked goods, yogurt and canned soups was all but indistinguishable from what you would have seen in a supermarket in France or Italy. The air-conditioning was first-rate and it was beautifully cool. Arabic-language pop music drifted from speakers all over the store. It was, convincingly and indisputably, a modern, state-of- the-art supermarket.
Nice, I told Sam.
Yeah, he said, and I thought I heard that uncertain, wistful tone again. Very nice.
Maybe he was just thinking about how long it had been, how distant the vision he had initially pitched to the investors in that time of relative peace and progress between intifadas. Maybe he was thinking about the darkest moment in the history of the project, in the first year of the second intifada, when the IDF, making a sweep, commandeered the construction site, confined Sam and his staff to the basement offices, and for three or four hours used the still-roofless, bare-concrete upper floor of the supermarket building to interrogate Palestinian detainees.
Maybe he was reflecting on how he had devoted five years of his life, five years of near-constant struggle, negotiation, improvisation, and compromise in order to bring the convenience of one-stop shopping and microwaveable suppers to Palestine. But, unlike Werner Herzogs demented Fitzcarraldo, Sam had pulled the job off, without losing his sanity. He had kept his promise to the investors, to the people of the West Bank, to himself; there was a lot of pride in it. Or maybe Sam Bahour was thinking about how, after that first Bravo store with its Palestinian-pride shelf talkers and Israeli-made refrigerators had opened for business in 2003 finally, miraculously he had gotten out of the supermarket-construction-and-management business, and had never gone back.
Clarification May 30, 2017: This article was edited from a previous version to make clear the role of Breaking the Silence in funding some of the travel costs for the book.
Excerpt of the essay by Michael Chabon from Kingdom of Olives and Ash edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman 2017. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
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It is evidence, surely, of some great cosmic sense of humour that of all the torrents of words spoken during one of Canadas epic constitutional moments, a person who said so little ended up having the greatest impact.
The No spoken by Elijah Harper in June 1990, as he held an eagle feather in his seat in the Manitoba legislature, was soft, certain and historic.
His recurring No effectively scuttled the Meech Lake constitutional accord negotiated under such charged, occasionally bizarre circumstances by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the countrys 10 provincial premiers.
And that No helped inspire a new generation of Indigenous leadership that, as Canada marks the 150th anniversary of Confederation, does not intend to let it be forgotten that justice for Indigenous peoples remains the countrys great outstanding issue.
For many, the newly confident, assertive Indigenous voice in Canada was helped into being in those moments when the late Oji-Cree leader, who died in 2013 at age 64, said No.
Harper was born in 1949 at Red Sucker Lake, Man., the second of 13 children in his family. He would be raised by his grandparents and it was his grandfather who taught him to hunt, trap and fish.
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When he was 8, government officials arrived on the trapline and Harper was taken to residential school, where he spent the better part of a decade at institutions in Norway House and Birtle, Man.
The story there one that has only recently come to broader Canadian consciousness was familiar.
His hair was cut. He was punished for speaking his language. He was abused. He was told the things taught him by his elders were the ways of heathens.
You feel like you dont have any say, no rights, nothing, he would later tell biographer Pauline Comeau.
Harper knew, when he returned home, that he wanted to help make change. He attended the University of Manitoba and became active there in seeking Indigenous rights.
At 29, he was elected chief of the Red Sucker Lake First Nation. Soon, he would be elected as the first treaty member of the Manitoba legislature. There, he would became a cabinet minister in the NDP government.
For all Harpers accomplishments, his life was not easy. He had financial trials, marriage difficulties. He lost a cabinet post over an accident after which he failed to take a breathalyzer test.
But Elijah Harper had a date with history. He quit drinking and renewed his focus on the cause of his life when, in June 1987, Canadas first ministers signed the Meech Lake constitutional accord, a set of decentralizing reforms intended to persuade Quebec to consent to the repatriated Constitution of 1982.
Harper was opposed to Meech Lake, he said, because we werent included in the Constitution.
We were to recognize Quebec as a distinct society, whereas we as aboriginal people were completely left out.
Over the three-year period allowed for ratification of the accord by provincial legislatures, objections built from federalists, Indigenous groups, womens advocates.
As reservations grew, Mulroney convened a first ministers meeting in Ottawa in June 1990 that dragged on for a week.
As it happened, CBCs all-news channel Newsworld had launched the year before and, for the first time, Canadians were privy to almost real-time accounts of the closed-door negotiations.
People were becoming famous. Some of them formerly obscure provincial premiers who, at breaks in proceedings, gave regular accounts of what was happening and they wanted; some like Wendy Mesley and Don Newman the journalists to whose cameras the premiers dutifully trooped.
Over the course of the week, legends were born. At one point, Albertas Don Getty tackled Newfoundlands Clyde Wells, it was said, to keep him from walking out. In the end, Ontarios David Peterson played Captain Canada by ceding some Senate seats to get the deal cut and left the hall hailed as a great Canadian.
It was obvious to all, however, that Wells had deep reservations about the deal and that getting ratification from Newfoundland might be less than a sure thing.
It was evident, as well, to Manitoba Premier Gary Filmon, who had also signed on to Meech Lake somewhat reluctantly, that the man from Red Sucker Lake might pose a problem.
Filmon had frequently warned me of Elijah Harper of the NDP, Mulroney would later write in his memoirs. That he would oppose Meech with procedural tactics.
In Winnipeg, Harper told the legislature that our relationship with Canada is a national disgrace and that we are fighting for our rightful place in Canadian society.
At every step in the process, when unanimous consent was sought in the Manitoba legislature to proceed with ratifying Meech Lake, Harper quietly said, No.
It was one of the rare occasions in Canadian political history that an Indigenous man or woman was able to thwart the ambitions of those in power.
In short order, Elijah Harper became famous across the country. Coming from the ranks of the marginalized, he was the perfect symbol of dissent and defiance of an agreement cobbled together in private by 11 well-off white men.
He exuded humility. He spoke slowly, as if after long thought. He was, as biographer Comeau wrote, so authentic, an overnight icon.
Moreover, Harper was using the very levers of the democratic process against the will of an impatient elite, and was doing so far from the corridors of power in Central Canada.
For his stand, Harper was named the Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year in 1990. Red Sucker Lake First Nation made him an honorary chief for life. He received honorary doctorates and awards from Indigenous and human rights organizations.
We came to the realization very quickly that our voice mattered, said Phil Fontaine, who would become chief of the Assembly of First Nations. We could make history, we could change the course of history. We knew and understood what was possible.
First Nations author and entrepreneur Frank Busch wrote when Harper died four years ago that in his childhood there was only one Elijah Harper.
Today, because he inspired an entire generation of First Nations youth, there are thousands of us . . . One person can change the world.
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Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington discussed the possibility of setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Donald Trumps transition team and the Kremlin, using Russian diplomatic facilities in an apparent move to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Ambassador Sergey Kislyak reported to his superiors in Moscow that Kushner, then U.S. President-elect Trumps son-in-law and confidant, made the proposal during a meeting on Dec. 1 or 2 at Trump Tower, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by U.S. officials. Kislyak said Kushner suggested using Russian diplomatic facilities in the United States for the communications.
The meeting also was attended by Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser.
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The White House disclosed the fact of the meeting only in March, playing down its significance. But people familiar with the matter say the FBI now considers the encounter, as well as another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kislyak reportedly was taken aback by the suggestion of allowing an American to use Russian communications gear at its embassy or consulate a proposal that would have carried security risks for Moscow as well as the Trump team.
Neither the meeting nor the communications of Americans involved were under U.S. surveillance, officials said.
The White House declined to comment. Robert Kelner, a lawyer for Flynn, declined to comment. The Russian embassy did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia at times feeds false information into communication streams it suspects are monitored as a way of sowing misinformation and confusion among U.S. analysts. But officials said that its unclear what Kislyak would have had to gain by falsely characterizing his contacts with Kushner to Moscow, particularly at a time when the Kremlin still saw the prospect of dramatically improved relations with Trump.
Kushners apparent interest in establishing a secret channel with Moscow, rather than rely on U.S. government systems, has added to the intrigue surrounding the Trump administrations relationship with Russia.
To some officials, it also reflects a staggering naivete.
The FBI closely monitors the communications of Russian officials in the United States, and maintains near-constant surveillance of its diplomatic facilities. The National Security Agency monitors the communications of Russian officials overseas.
Current and former U.S. intelligence officials said that though Russian diplomats have secure means of communicating with Moscow, Kushners apparent request for access to such channels was extraordinary.
How would he trust that the Russians wouldnt leak it on their side? said one former senior intelligence official. The FBI would know that a Trump transition official was going in and out of the embassy, which would cause a great deal of concern, he added. The entire idea, he said, seems extremely naive or absolutely crazy.
The discussion of a secret channel adds to a broader pattern of efforts by Trumps closest advisers to obscure their contacts with Russian counterparts. Trumps first national security adviser, Flynn, was forced to resign after a series of false statements about his conversations with Kislyak. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from matters related to the Russia investigation after it was revealed that he had failed to disclose his own meetings with Kislyak when asked during congressional testimony about any contact with Russians.
Kushners interactions with Russians including Kislyak and an executive for a Russian bank under U.S. sanctions were not acknowledged by the White House until they were exposed in media reports.
It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials. But new administrations are generally cautious in their handling of interactions with Moscow, which U.S. intelligence agencies have accused of waging an unprecedented campaign to interfere in last years presidential race and help elect Trump.
Obama administration officials say members of the Trump transition team never approached them about arranging a secure communications channel with their Russian contacts, possibly because of concerns about leaks.
The State Department, the White House National Security Council and U.S. intelligence agencies all have the ability to set up secure communications channels with foreign leaders, though doing so for a transition team would be unusual.
Trumps advisers were similarly secretive about meetings with leaders from the United Arab Emirates. The Obama White House only learned that the crown prince of Abu Dhabi was flying to New York in December to see Kushner, Flynn and Steven Bannon, another top Trump adviser, because U.S. border agents in the UAE spotted the Emirate leaders name on a flight manifest
Russia would also have had reasons of its own to reject such an overture from Kushner. Doing so would require Moscow to expose its most sophisticated communications capabilities which are likely housed in highly secure locations at diplomatic compounds to an American.
The Post was first alerted in mid-December to the meeting by an anonymous letter, which said, among other things, that Kushner had talked to Kislyak about setting up the communications channel. This week, officials, who reviewed the letter and spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence, said the portion about the secret channel was consistent with their understanding of events.
For instance, according to those officials and the letter, Kushner conveyed to the Russians that he was aware it would be politically sensitive to meet publicly, but it was necessary for the Trump team to be able to continue their communication with Russian government officials.
In addition to their discussion about setting up the communications channel, Kushner, Flynn and Kislyak also talked about arranging a meeting between a representative of Trump and a Russian contact in a third country whose name was not identified, according to the anonymous letter.
The Post reported in April that Erik Prince, the former founder of Blackwater private security firm and an informal adviser to the Trump transition team, met on Jan. 11 nine days before Trumps inauguration in the Seychelles islands in the Indian Ocean with a representative of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Will they get away with murder?
As the world absorbed the impact of images bearing witness to torture in the fight against Daesh, the leader of an Iraqi special forces unit with blood on its hands gleefully admitted to the worst, boasting that the disclosure of his mistakes will make him only more famous.
The staggering sense of impunity among at least some fighters that Canada and its coalition-partners have singled out for praise in the battle against Daesh (also known as ISIS) emerged early Friday, as Capt. Omar Nazar of the Iraqi Emergency Response Division took proud ownership of the damning evidence exposed in separate investigations by the Toronto Star and ABC News.
We have made mistakes, but they are all directed toward the enemy, ISIS, and Im proud of those mistakes, Nazar told ABCs Nightline in Arabic.
Claiming an ability to tell in 10 minutes or less who is loyal to Daesh and who is not, Nazar said he operated under orders to take no prisoners. When confronted with brutal images gathered over a span of months by Iraqi photographer Ali Arkady including a video clip of Nazar and a second ERD soldier, Cpl. Haidar Ali, gunning down an unidentified suspect Nazar explained human rights do not apply to ISIS.
He is not human, Nazar said of the slain suspect. He is a monster. The execution, he said, is not considered murder. Nazar sidestepped a question on whether Iraqi authorities would now follow through on promises to investigate his unit, saying the outcome would only enhance Nazars already substantial cult-hero status in Iraq.
Im already a star in Iraq and Ali (photographer Arkady) would only make me a bigger star by doing this. Why? Because my country is longing for someone who would help it get rid of terrorism.
Nazars comments came amid a chorus of worries that, as dawn rises over the first day of the holy month of Ramadan, impunity may prevail, with Iraqi officials ultimately paying only lip service to coalition demands for investigation and then quietly letting the issue fade away, even in the face of unprecedented images.
Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland said Friday that Canadian diplomats in Baghdad and Ottawa took their concerns to senior Iraqi officials seeking assurances that the actions of the ERD unit will be investigated.
We are gravely concerned by the allegations and horrific imagery published in the press. We strongly condemn any and all actions that violate international human rights and humanitarian law, Freeland said in a statement to the Star.
Canada has raised its concerns directly with the government of Iraq, condemning any and all actions that violate international human rights or humanitarian law.
In a separate statement, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said the federal government and the Canadian Armed Forces strongly condemn any actions that violate the Law of Armed Conflict.
While Canadian soldiers in Iraq have not had any direct interaction with the ERD, our government has raised this issue with the government of Iraq so that those who commit these types of atrocities are held to account, Sajjan said.
The defence minister said that in all missions conducted by Canadian troops, including the ongoing mission in Iraq, the Law of Armed Conflict is at the centre of the training our soldiers receive and the way they conduct operations.
The images of violence perpetrated not by a rogue militia group but an elite Iraq unit reverberated among allies including Canada. Col. Jay Janzen, a senior spokesperson for the Canadian Armed Forces, said those in the ranks of Canadas military were shocked and sickened by the pictures and video.
As a professional soldier, when I see those images, its a total breakdown in unit discipline, in leadership and in their responsibilities as professional soldiers. Quite frankly, that should never happen. Its completely unacceptable, he said Friday in an interview.
It needs to be dealt with. We strongly hope that Iraqi officials deal with these incidents appropriately.
He said the Canadian military was under no illusion when it deployed to Iraq in 2014 to train Kurdish peshmerga fighters in their fight against Daesh.
We went into this conflict eyes wide open. A lot of study has been done in terms of the history of this conflict, the potential for sectarian violence, the potential for retribution, he said.
New Democrat MP and national defence critic Randall Garrison noted that in recent months, the Canadian military mission in Iraq has shifted from training peshmerga troops to working alongside Iraqi security forces around Mosul.
Weve had a shift here that has never been fully explained, Garrison said, noting that the evolving mission has put Canadian forces in closer contact with Iraqi units.
Id like to know, now that this is public, what is the governments reaction, what are they doing to make sure that we are in no way complicit with these activities, Garrison (Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke) said in an interview.
Who were training becomes an important question when units like this are clearly involved in activities that would qualify as war crimes.
In Washington, Sen. Patrick Leahy, author of the 1997 Leahy Law that bars the U.S. from providing material support to allies who engage in war crimes, was shocked not merely by Arkadys images but also the mindset of the alleged perpetrators.
The photos are sickening. They clearly depict war crimes. That they were brazenly lauded by the units leader suggests that they were far from aberrations, Leahy said in a written statement to the Stars Washington bureau chief, Daniel Dale.
It is my understanding that the United States no longer supports the Iraqi unit involved, but we should insist that the individuals responsible, and particularly the leaders, be prosecuted and appropriately punished. The fact that U.S. military personnel praised the Iraqi units co-operation is deeply disturbing and requires further investigation by the Pentagon.
Longtime watchers of the Iraq conflict welcomed the publication of images that, however difficult and graphic, packed the power to cut through facile narratives and show a dimension of the battle that threatens to plant the seeds of the next ISIS, even after Daesh is unseated as a geographic entity.
Its becoming more common, here, especially in Washington and other Western capitals to say that somehow Iraq has moved on from the abuses that led to the rise of ISIS in 2014, said Hassan Hassan, co-author along with Michael Weiss of the bestselling book, ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror.
What have we learned from the past two and a half years in fighting ISIS? Is it just because we dropped more bombs and expelled these militants? Thats not enough. As long the abuse continues, as long as the behaviour of the Iraqi pro-government forces persist, the problem will persist as well, he said.
The wide sharing of Arkadys images sparked polarizing responses in Iraq, where some politicians proclaimed them to be false or manipulated in an apparent attempt at damage control.
But the boastful remarks by unit commander Nazar, in claiming ownership of what the images show, blunted the belated attempts to discredit the messenger. And also served to highlight how deeply Nazars attitude matches with the broader mindset of Iraqi military, according to a Human Rights Watch researcher who closely tracks the conflict.
Since this war against terror has been launched in the country, there has been this level of impunity for armed forces that are fighting the quasi-good fight, the fight against ISIS, said Belkis Wille, Human Rights Watchs senior Iraq researcher.
In any government meeting you go to, authorities, as much as they say, Yes we abide by the laws of war. We dont condone abuse, they always follow that up with, But you have to understand were fighting ISIS and ISIS has no respect for the rules.
What theyre implicitly saying is, because ISIS is so evil, its kind of OK for us to break some of the rules sometimes. And unfortunately that is the pervasive attitude, and its not only the attitude of armed forces but of civilians as well who have been the victim of ISIS abuse.
The big problem with that is this fundamental lack of understanding of what ISIS is, where it came from, and how it has garnered so many recruits, because if we engage in that line of thinking, then were never going to win. Well never get rid of these extremist groups with a considerable following that will always be targeting these communities that are victim of abuse.
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WASHINGTONZbigniew Brzezinski, who helped topple economic barriers between the Soviet Union, China and the West as President Jimmy Carters national security adviser, died Friday. He was 89.
His death was announced on social media Friday night by his daughter, MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski. She called him the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have.
Earnest and ambitious, Brzezinski helped Carter bridge wide gaps between the rigid Egyptian and Israeli leaders, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, leading to the Camp David accords in September 1978. Three months later, U.S.-China relations were normalized, a top priority for Brzezinski.
Born in Warsaw and educated in Canada and the United States, Brzezinski was an acknowledged expert in Communism when he attracted the attention of U.S. policymakers. In the 1960s he was an adviser to John F. Kennedy and served in the Johnson administration.
In December 1976, Carter offered Brzezinski the position of national security adviser. He had not wanted to be secretary of state because he felt he could be more effective working at Carters side in the White House.
Brzezinski often found himself in clashes with colleagues like Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. For the White House, the differences between Vance and Brzezinski became a major headache, confusing the American public about the administrations policy course and fueling a decline in confidence that Carter could keep his foreign policy team working in tandem.
The Iranian hostage crisis, which began in 1979, came to dramatize Americas waning global power and influence and to symbolize the failures and frustrations of the Carter administration. Brzezinski, during the early months of 1980, became convinced that negotiations to free the kidnapped Americans were going nowhere. Supported by the Pentagon, he began to push for military action.
Carter was desperate to end the standoff and, over Vances objections, agreed to a long-shot plan to rescue the hostages. The mission, dubbed Desert One, was a complete military and political humiliation and precipitated Vances resignation. Carter lost his re-election bid against Ronald Reagan that November.
Brzezinski went on to ruffle the feathers of Washingtons power elite with his 1983 book, Power and Principle, which was hailed and reviled as a kiss-and-tell memoir.
I have never believed in flattery or lying as a way of making it, he told The Washington Post that year. I have made it on my own terms.
The oldest son of Polish diplomat Tadeus Brzezinski, Zbigniew was born on March 28, 1928, and attended Catholic schools during the time his father was posted in France and Germany.
The family went to Montreal in 1938 when the elder Brzezinski was appointed Polish consul general. When Communists took power in Poland six years later, he retired and moved his family to a farm in the Canadian countryside.
At his new home, the young Brzezinski began learning Russian from a nearby farmer and was soon bitten by the foreign policy bug.
Brzezinskis climb to the top of the foreign policy community began at Canadas McGill University, where he earned degrees in economics and political science. Later at Harvard, he received a doctorate in government, a fellowship and a publishing contract for his thesis on Soviet purges as a permanent feature of totalitarianism.
Frequent trips to Eastern Europe and several books and articles in the 1950s established Brzezinski as an expert on Communism, and by the 1960s hed begun to attract the interest of policymakers. Throughout his career, he would be affiliated with moderate-to-liberal groups, including the Rand Corp., the Council on Foreign Relations, Amnesty International and the NAACP.
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TAORMINA, ITALYSeven wealthy democracies ended their summit Saturday in Italy without unanimous agreement on climate change, as the Trump administration plans to take more time to say whether the U.S. is going to remain in the Paris accord on limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
The other six nations in the Group of Seven agreed to stick with their commitment to implement the 2015 Paris deal that aims to slow down global warming.
The final G7 statement, issued after two days of talks in the seaside town of Taormina, said the U.S. is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics.
Trump tweeted he would decide on Paris next week. The announcement on the final day of the U.S. presidents first international trip comes after he declined to commit to staying in the sweeping climate deal, resisting intense international pressure from his peers at the summit.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, who chaired the meeting, said the other six wont change our position on climate change one millimeter. The U.S. hasnt decided yet. I hope they decide in the right way.
Gentiloni said climate was not a minor point and that he hoped the United States would decide soon and well because the Paris accords need the contribution of the United States.
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French President Emmanuel Macron also chimed in on the climate issue, praising Trumps capacity to listen. Macron said he told Trump it is indispensable for the reputation of the United States and the interest of the Americans themselves that the United States remain committed to the Paris climate agreement.
The leaders of the Group of Seven nations signed a declaration to fight terrorism and extremism. Italy's Prime Minister Gentiloni says it's a strong message of friendship and solidarity with Britain after the deadly Manchester attack.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was more downbeat, calling the G7 climate talks very difficult, if not to say, very unsatisfactory.
Trump held no news conferences during his nine-day overseas trip, allowing him to avoid questions about investigations into his campaigns ties with Russian officials. His top economic and national security advisers refused to answer questions during a press briefing Saturday.
The G7 leaders had better luck finding agreement on the other problematic topic at the summit, trade.
They restored a vow to fight protectionism the use of import taxes and skewed regulations that favour domestic producers over their foreign competitors. The no-protectionism pledge had been a part of previous G7 statements but was omitted after a meeting of the groups finance ministers earlier this month in Bari, Italy. This time the G7 leaders reiterated a commitment to keep our markets open and to fight protectionism.
The Trump administration has argued that trade must be balanced and fair as well as free. His Treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin, has said the United States reserves the right to be protectionist if trade arrangements are unfair to U.S. companies and workers.
Trumps position appeared to be addressed by new language that said the member countries would be standing firm against all unfair trade practices.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau went into the talks championing the benefits of free trade and action on climate change, as well as inclusive growth and gender equality, which are expected to be the main themes of the G7 summit that Canada is hosting in the Charlevoix region of Quebec next year.
Canada played a leadership role in pushing for the joint statement to include the language on fighting protectionism, the Paris Agreement, and in particular for the reference to gender equality being fundamental to the fulfilment of human rights, according to a federal government source.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the G7 also agreed to step up pressure on North Korea, including sanctions. He told reporters it was the first time that the G7 had recognized the North Korean threat as a priority issue.
The threat has entered a new stage (as North Korea tests missiles and nuclear weapons) ... there is a danger it can spread like a contagious disease, Abe said.
The leaders also agreed on two other topics: closer co-operation against terrorism in the wake of the concert bombing in Manchester that killed 22 people, and on the possibility of putting more sanctions against Russia over its conflict with Ukraine if Russian behaviour requires that.
Alden Meyer, the director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group in Washington, said the discord over climate change was unusual for G7 meetings.
There have been differences, to be sure, in some past summits, but not a sharp open split like this, he said.
Meyer said many U.S. states, cities, and companies are moving forward on climate action while the Trump administration is waffling on the Paris Agreement.
President Trump should join these leaders in protecting Americans from the mounting impacts of climate change and reaping the economic benefits of the clean energy revolution, rather than trying to shore up the flagging fortunes of the polluting coal and oil industries, Meyer said.
The G7 is an informal gathering that meets every year under a rotating chairmanship. Its decisions are not binding as an international treaty would be, simply representing the leaders political commitment to carry through on their collective decisions. The member countries are: Canada, France, Italy, Japan, Germany, the United States and the U.K. The European Union also attends.
With files from the Canadian Press.
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ILIGAN, PHILIPPINESPresident Rodrigo Duterte made a joke about rape as he urged soldiers to use the powers of martial law to take control of a besieged city in the southern Philippines.
In the speech Friday, Duterte said he will pay the consequences if any soldiers are accused of abuses.
Read more: Philippine troops attack Daesh-linked extremists in besieged city of Marawi
He said: I will go to jail for you. If you happen to have raped three women, I will own up to it.
On Tuesday, Duterte imposed 60 days of martial law in the southern Philippines as government forces battle militants in Marawi, a city of some 200,000 people.
Duterte is unapologetic about his manner of speech and liberally peppers casual statements with profanities.
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WASHINGTONFor once, the problem was not something he said but something he didnt.
Donald Trumps first foreign trip as president gave him a chance to make headlines on something, anything, other than Russia. He succeeded for a few days. Then, with an act of conspicuous silence, he changed the subject back.
In his Thursday speech to NATO, Trump declined to guarantee that his United States remains devoted to the bedrock principle of the bulwark against Russian aggression: a commitment to defend other members of the alliance if they came under attack.
Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald Trump
His refusal to endorse the all-for-one, one-for-all Article 5 of the NATO treaty, while hectoring members for spending too little on defence and too much on a new headquarters, alarmed and dismayed European leaders who had expected him to come to Brussels to reassure the alliance. And given that his omission doubtlessly thrilled Vladimir Putin, it reinvigorated bipartisan questions about where his loyalties lie.
That he couldnt even say some very benign words that wouldve meant a lot to our allies was really striking, said Loren Schulman, a former National Security Council official who is now a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. I think its a huge deal that he didnt say it.
The NATO omission it was at, of all places, the dedication of a memorial to the time NATO invoked Article 5 after Sept. 11 was the biggest black mark on an eventful, five-country whirlwind tour. The trip was far from a shining success, but also no catastrophe.
Read more: G7 leaders agree to fight protectionism, but U.S. still out on Paris Agreement
Here are six other lessons from Trumps time in the Middle East and Europe.
Hes not giving Israel free rein: Aaron David Miller, a former diplomat who advised six secretaries of state on Arab-Israeli negotiations, jokes that the version of Trump who spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict before March of last year could have been Hillary Clintons secretary of state.
Trump shifted well to the right during his campaign, giving a zealously pro-Israel campaign speech to a hardline lobby group.
But the old Trump has emerged again.
Appearing serious about his desire to make the ultimate deal, he played the role of honest broker, even in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He did not mention his promise to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. He declared the Palestinians ready to reach for peace, a conclusion rejected by much of the Israeli government. He linked the conflict to broader problems in the region, an analysis that irks conservative Israelis.
Netanyahu was visibly elated to be dealing with someone other than Barack Obama more relaxed, Miller said, than he had ever been in the presence of a president.
But there were hints that the happy vibes would not last.
I think the Israelis were very happy with Trumps visit. They were very happy with his speech, but, if you listened carefully to what he said, there are a lot of things I think the Israeli government is going to be very nervous about, said Yousef Munayyer, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights.
The Sunni side is up: Trump made it clear that he will not play middle-of-the-road mediator on the regions other defining battle: the power struggle between Saudi Arabia, run by a Sunni Muslim regime, and Iran, run by a Shiite Muslim regime.
The U.S. is now firmly aligned with the Sunnis.
Speaking in Saudi Arabia to a gathering of Sunni-nation leaders, Trump blasted Iran it did this the day after Iran held a presidential election, which Saudi Arabia has never done while heaping praise on the Saudi king and avoiding criticism of the other equally repressive men who sat before him.
The worlds Muslim population is 90 per cent Sunni, and there are good arguments in favour of a pivot toward Riyadh and its friends.
But the presidents speech overdid it, Miller said.
We cannot overdo it.
He just cant control himself: Trump earned some cautious early praise for displaying something that resembled discipline. Dodging almost any interaction with the media in a break from trip precedent Trump jettisoned his usual improvisation in favour of prepared texts obviously written by other people.
But he made outlandish errors whenever he was allowed to speak in his own words.
In a ridiculous goof in Israel, he accidentally confirmed that Israel was the source of the classified intelligence he divulged to Russian officials. In a meeting with European leaders, he called Germans bad, possibly in the context of trade, but still creating an embarrassing headline in Der Spiegel. In his speech at NATO headquarters, he ad-libbed a mocking jibe about the cost of that very building.
Sure, he managed to prevent himself from rage-tweeting. But there is no stopping the man from falling on his face over any extended period.
U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to push himself past the prime minister of Montenegro during a tour of NATO's new headquarters Thursday.
He was persuaded to soften on Islam: When word got out that the politician who campaigned on banning foreign Muslims would be giving a speech on Islam in Saudi Arabia, there was real and reasonable fear that he would create a dangerous international incident.
He did not.
In fact, he rejected the very premise of the inflammatory phrase he had insisted Obama use: radical Islamic terrorism.
Read more: G7 leaders agree on counterterrorism, but clash with Trump on climate, trade
Trump snuck in a modified version, unscripted. But in his prepared text, he rejected the very premise of the phrase saying that terrorists are barbaric criminals who falsely invoke the name of God, not true Islamic believers.
Nobody believes Trump has come to like Muslims; while he was away, he issued an insulting terrorism-centric Ramadan statement. But this was a sign that cooler administration heads, such as National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, might prevail over the Islamophobic nationalists.
With expectations being so low, we were pleasantly surprised by the fact that he didnt insult 1.7 billion people (while) in Saudi Arabia, Munayyer said.
Human rights? Out the window: Trump is awkward around the leaders of liberal democracies, displaying a mix of disinterest, contempt and confusion. Around autocrats such as Saudi Arabias King Salman, whom he pronounced wise, he becomes a fawning child, admiring, not condemning, their absolute power.
When Trump told an audience of undemocratic rulers that he was not here to lecture, the message was clear: As long as these men help kill terrorists, the U.S. no longer cares a whit about how they handle human rights and civil liberties.
It was not a total fiasco: There were substantive gaffes. There were silly gaffes. There was an inexplicable shove of a prime minister. There was an inexplicable photo with a glowing orb. So lets not drop the bar so far that we pretend the trip was an unequivocal success.
But it also wasnt an abject, on-all-counts disaster, and the bar has fallen to a place where that is notable.
The Trump team, best known for public incompetence, managed to do some complicated things well.
It went off relatively seamlessly given the potential minefields and traps, Miller said, speaking after the Middle East portion.
It did, however, get transparently worse as it proceeded. Schulman said she saw a big divide in the level of preparation the administration devoted to the made-for-TV first stops, in Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the subsequent European portion in which Trump seemed tired, annoyed, and like he was relying on his stock campaign lines.
In his speech in Saudi Arabia last Sunday, he paid tribute to the magnificent kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In his speech in Italy on Saturday, he referred to Canadas prime minister as Justin from Canada.
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The videos and photographs that have emerged of Iraqi soldiers from the Interior Ministrys elite Emergency Response Division brutally taunting, torturing and executing alleged supporters of Daesh (also known as ISIS or ISIL) and their family members had an eerie, distressing familiarity. In the course of Iraqs tragic modern history, we have witnessed so many Iraqi citizens enduring the ugliest of assaults at the hands of combatants wearing a variety of uniforms.
The torturers depicted in these recent videos seem to borrow from their grotesque predecessors. We see Saddam-era tactics, as officers hang by their arms one of two brothers alleged to support Daesh, then tearing out both their beards, putting a knife to their ears and shocking them with live wires. The videos show officers beating shackled detainees hanging from a ceiling, while the officers joke and jostle among themselves and casually record their atrocities, reminding us of the vile images of United States soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison. We also see soldiers summarily executing handcuffed detainees as revenge, like so many post-Saddam Iraqi forces fighting armed groups. And taking a page from Daesh itself, Iraqi officers bizarrely force one detainee to recite the pledge of fealty to the Daesh leader before reportedly murdering the detainee. In all these incidents, the Iraqi soldiers show little shame or fear in their vile actions, which they appear to relish recording and sharing on cellphones.
These videos are not the only evidence of serious abuses by Iraqi security forces in their battle against Daesh. Human Rights Watch has documented a wide variety of serious human rights violations. We have documented summary executions of suspected Daeshfighters, detention in inhumane conditions and collective punishment against family members of Daesh fighters, including home demolitions and forced deportations. We also documented the arbitrary detention of over a thousand Sunnis displaced from the fighting in Daesh-held areas. There is virtually no information about Daesh fighter casualties or captures: we dont know how many have been killed and how many have been detained.
While the reality is that the majority of Daesh fighters are Sunni Iraqis, the Iraqi government needs to recognize that winning the support of all Iraqis, in particular Sunni communities, requires persuading them that it stands for something different, something better. The governments legitimacy will ultimately rest on its demonstrated respect for the rule of law, an end to discrimination and attacks against the Sunni community, and accountability for the atrocities carried out by its security forces such as those depicted in these videos. Government abuses against Sunnis were a major factor behind the start of the civil war in 2014 and the government will risk losing the peace if it fails to rein in its security forces now.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has repeatedly said the right things about the need to exercise civilian control over, and curb abuses by, the countrys armed forces. There is no reason to doubt his sincerity but plenty of reason to doubt his willingness and ability to impose the accountability and reforms he has promised. Because his hold on power is fragile and his authority is almost completely dependent on the Iraqi security forces and pro-government militias, there is little incentive to follow through on the countless investigations he has announced. We know of few, if any, Iraqi soldiers or officers investigated and convicted for abuses.
Will we finally see real teeth in the prime ministers response to this latest evidence? The names of the officers shown in these videos are known. One of the captains, identified as Omar Nazar, is recorded justifying his executions as necessary to ensure battlefield justice and to save money having to feed Daesh detainees. Will an Iraqi court investigate and try these men? Will there be compensation to family members of those tortured and executed?
The U.S. and other members of the anti-Daesh coalition risk complicity in Iraqi abuses given their participation in military operations with the countrys security forces. The U.S. military and embassy in Iraq deny having a record on the Emergency Response Division, the elite unit involved, in their abuse database. They refuse to confirm or deny that Ali Abd Al Hussein Abd, one of the torturers filmed, is a U.S. citizen or ever worked with them. He was allegedly known as the units liaison with coalition forces and nicknamed Ali Mushtarakah (Ali the (U.S.) partner).
The U.S. also denies that it is arming the elite unit but wont say if it has in the past. Its all a bit of a shell game, as the U.S. government continually shifts its resources away from a particular abusive unit, only to have the weapons and materiel it provides turn up in their hands anyway, or to rebrand its assistance as going generally to a government ministry.
Thats why our recommendation has been to condition all military support on demonstrable, measurable steps by the Iraqi government to end abuses by its security forces and taking significant measures to hold accountable those suspected of carrying out or failing to halt such abuses.
As the decades of fighting in Iraq have shown, winning battles against armed groups is something the Iraqi government can accomplish. Where it has repeatedly failed, and stands to fail again without urgent steps to establish military discipline and accountability, is winning the struggle for a united, rights-respecting and peaceful Iraq.
Sarah Leah Whitson is the Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.
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Re: How a Canadian professors life became a horror show, Opinion, May 23
How a Canadian professors life became a horror show, Opinion, May 23
I was pleased to see Mohamed Fahmys column on the case of Hassan Diab. It is Kafkaesque how, with no good evidence, Diab has been scapegoated to serve political ends. Fahmy knows too well what this feels like. Hopefully, Diabs nightmare will, like Fahmys, be ended soon when Canadas government does the right thing: demanding his return to Canada and his family.
Dr. James Deutsch, Toronto
Mohamed Fahmy is right on: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must take action to bring Canadian citizen Hassan Diab home.
Thanks to a flawed Canadian extradition law, which allowed Hassan to fall between the cracks, he was extradited to France in November 2014, and has been in a Paris jail since. Let us not forget that France does not extradite its citizens.
Yes, the 1980 bombing of a synagogue, resulting in four deaths and dozens of injuries, was a tragedy beyond words. But it has been shown over and over that Hassan did not have anything to do with it.
How can some French judges order his release six times over the past year and six times the Court of Appeal overturns the ruling?
Is that not enough of a sign that Justin Trudeau has the obligation to use the full force of his office to end Hassans ordeal and bring him home to Canada?
Ria Heynen, Ottawa
Mohamed Fahmys column about Hassan Diabs extradition to France to face trial for the bombing of a synagogue compares the story to a B-movie.
Although the characterization may be correct, the point is that extradition law is not about guilt or innocence.
Rather the legal test is whether there is sufficient evidence which, if believed, would allow a judge or jury to convict. Then there is the non-legal, political or other circumstances test that the minister of immigration is required to consider.
In both instances, the extradition judge and the minister upheld Mr. Diabs handover to France. The Ontario Court of Appeal upheld both decisions in a very lengthy legal decision, and the Supreme Court of Canada refused Mr. Diabs application to review the case.
The very points that Mr. Fahmy makes in his article were dealt with by the courts, and may ultimately lead to Mr. Diabs acquittal in France.
But, to reiterate, that is not the legal test for extradition cases, because such a hearing does not hear from all witnesses and does not necessarily involve the same factual or legal issues.
Mr. Fahmys belief in Mr. Diabs innocence is obvious, but the court has to look to the relevant legal test and not to the opinions of journalists.
Leo Adler, criminal counsel, Toronto
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Re: Terror at U.K. concert, May 23
Terror at U.K. concert, May 23
Having lived through the IRA bombing campaign in England before I came to Canada in the 1980s, I know that the people of Manchester and the rest of the U.K. already know how to react to such terrorist threats.
Certainly, people will be more vigilant but, equally certain, they will not cower before the threat or demand the impossibility of complete security. They know there will always be a chance of another attack, but they know equally that the chance of being personally at risk in such an attack is very small.
This is almost always the way with terrorist attacks. Usually the number killed and injured is scarcely more than the daily traffic accident death toll. No one changes their lifestyle because people die in traffic accidents, although they may try to drive more carefully.
In the same way, we should not give up our freedoms and lifestyle because of terrorist attacks, although we may be a bit more vigilant in assessing potential threats.
Adam Quinan, North York
Daesh has claimed responsibility for this inhuman act of violence and shows once again that its actions are not those prescribed by Islam. In fact, they are the opposite. The Holy Quran states clearly that whosoever kills a person, it shall be as if he killed all mankind.
I am a Muslim and hearing about innocent lives being cut short so gruesomely hurts me down to my very core. These violent acts go against the very concept of peace.
I was born and raised in the U.K. and lived in Manchester for a brief time. From what I saw of the people there, they are resilient and will stand firm against this darkness.
Harith Chaudhary, Maple
Fighting Daesh is a struggle comparable to fighting the Terminator: it cant be bargained with, it wont ever give up and it makes no bones about killing in crowded public spaces. At least the Terminator had a clear goal, while Daesh just wants to create random fear around the world.
How does one fight an enemy that callously extinguishes the lives of those who cannot possibly be offending it, and kills for no discernible reason?
Geoff Rytell, Toronto
My family and I strongly abhor the atrocious and inhuman terrorist attack in Manchester, in which 22 innocent lives have been lost.
Our sympathies are with the aggrieved families, those who have sustained injuries, the people and the government of the U.K. We stand solidly behind Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the government of Canada in condemning any and all involved in this tragic event.
Raza Kara, Richmond Hill
Although some may claim the perpetrators behind the barbaric attack in Manchester have acted in the name of Islam, nothing could be further from the truth. The actions of these terrorists are in no way reflective of the teaching of Islam.
Ironically, these attacks took place just days before the start of Ramadan, a month where Muslims around the world practise discipline and engage in acts of charity and social welfare.
This demonstrates how Daesh has gone completely against the fundamental teachings of Islam. If we fall victim to creating a xenophobic atmosphere, we will only be contributing to the hatred rampant in the world. My heart and prayers go to those affected by this ruthless attack.
Osama Sobhi, Calgary
The attack in Manchester has left me feeling both grief and anger.
I sympathize with the families of the victims, many of whom were innocent children. Their entire lives have been changed forever and I extend my sincerest condolences and prayers for their well-being. No one deserved this.
I am also angry. Some may claim that this attack was motivated by Islamic teachings. This could not be further from the truth. Islam is a religion of peace. The Quran the holy book of Islam makes it clear that such attacks against innocent civilians have no basis within society and religion.
Many global Muslim leaders, including Mirza Masroor Ahmad, have condemned these attacks, stating these are militant groups, not followers of the true religion and we always stand against them.
Razi Qudrat, Toronto
As an Ahmadi Muslim, I strongly condemn the terrorist attack in Manchester. It is sickening to know that this attack specifically targeted innocent children. Certainly, such barbaric attacks cannot be led by any sane human. Sadly, the responsibility of this attack was claimed by those who spread terror in the name of Islam. In Islam, which teaches love and compassion, the killing of one innocent individual is considered akin to killing all mankind.
The compassion shown by the Manchester residents shows that hate cannot divide us and that terrorism cannot win.
The spiritual leader of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community once said, We Ahmadi Muslims sympathize and love humanity and so wherever mankind suffers in any way, it leaves us grieved and pained.
Our entire community offers our sincere prayers and condolences to those who were affected by this brutality.
Faiza Farooq, Calgary
The terrorist attack in Manchester reminds us of the tragic cost of keeping important issues in the dark.
This June 5 to 7, the replenishment conference for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) will be held in Ottawa. This little-known organization is the instrument that the international community has created precisely in order to combat obscurantism, and to offer a basic education to youth throughout the world who are incapable of attending school. The results are stunning: thanks to the GPE, 60 million children have been able to make their way back to school.
Unfortunately, there is much left to be done: 121 million children still lack basic education. Yet it has been proven that augmenting the school attendance of a girl by just one year would increase her future revenues as an adult by 12 per cent. And what can be said of the power of education to help build a culture of peace.
Jean-Francois Tardif, Gatineau, Que.
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European stock markets were mixed Friday after occasional spots of positive news proved unable to fully offset the effect of a cocktail of uncertainties dogging investors.
Continued uncertainty over the political future of the U.S., given recent talk of impeachment proceedings, remained in the background, although the disappointing outcome of the latest OPEC meeting and investors shunning the automotive sector were primarily responsible for the uneven performance of markets.
The FTSE 100 rose by 0.40% before coming to rest at 7,547 in London while the midmarket FTSE 250 added 0.29% to settle at 20,025, with both closes representing record highs for British stock markets.
In Frankfurt, the DAX index slid by 0.15% to close at 12,602. In Paris, the CAC 40 dropped 0.01% to rest at 5,336 for the bank holiday weekend.
Over in southern Europe, the FTSE MIB in Milan and the IBEX in Madrid were down by close to 0.50% toward the close.
In individual stocks, publishing group Informa (IFPJF) led the FTSE 100 higher with a gain of more than 5% after saying that it is on track to report growth in revenue, earnings and operating cash-flow for the full year.
The financial, business and academic publisher acquired Penton Information Services in September for 1.2 billion and told investors Friday that it has benefited during recent months from its increased scale in key areas.
However, it is looking to sell Garland Science, an undergraduate college book publisher, to reduce its exposure to the academic books market.
Another top riser on London's blue chip index was sustainable tech manufacturer, Johnson Matthey (JMPLY) , which earns a sizeable chunk of its top line from the production of emissions control technology for automotive clients.
Investors have rewarded a strategic pivot toward new markets, announced in late April, during recent weeks as the company takes action to address the now-inevitable decline of demand for diesel cars.
In Frankfurt, financial powerhouses Deutsche Bank (DB) - Get Free Reportand Commerzbank (CRZBY) were the biggest fallers on the DAX, although the broader European financial sector was also found swimming deeply in the red.
German carmakers were under the cosh again also after media in the European country reported that President Donald Trump renewed his earlier attack on the industry in a meeting in Brussels.
BMW (BMWYY) led the declines among German carmakers during early trading, with a loss of 1.3%, to change hands at 84.06
Daimler (DDAIF) stock fell by just more than 0.50%, to change hands at an intraday low of 65.20 during early trading, before paring losses during noon trading.
Volkswagen (VLKAY) shed 0.79% to be quoted as low as 137.45 before recovering some of its lost ground shortly ahead of the close.
German automakers were not alone at the bottom of the tables Friday as the sector fell broadly across the continent, reflecting a cocktail of concerns over growth, trade and the proliferation of emissions related probes.
In Paris, Renault (RNSDF) and Peugeot (PEUGF) were among the top fallers on the CAC 40, second only to Societe Generale (SCGLY) and oil & gas engineer Technip (TKPPY) .
Action Alerts PLUS, which Cramer manages as a charitable trust, has no positions in the stocks mentioned.
The heated bidding for wireless spectrum holding company Straight Path (STRP) has riveted attention on Globalstar (GSAT) - Get Free Report , a satellite company that has spectrum.
AT&T (T) - Get Free Report and Verizon Communications (VZ) - Get Free Report bid up Straight Path's valuation in April and May. The question is whether Globalstar, which has different spectrum with different capabilities, will attract a broader field of bidders.
"There are a number of aspects to this company that make it more exciting than Straight Path," said David Tawil of Maglan Capital, an investor in Globalstar. Cable operators such as Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Free Report and Charter Communications (CHTR) - Get Free Report or even mega tech groups Facebook (FB) - Get Free Report , Amazon.com (AMZN) - Get Free Report , Netflix (NFLX) - Get Free Report and Alphabet's (GOOGL) - Get Free Report Google could take interest, Tawil said.
Straight Path was under the gun to sell. The company lacked an operating business and effectively faced a mandate to pay $100 million or sell itself as part of a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission.
Satellite operator Globalstar won approval from the FCC to use its spectrum for some traditional, terrestrial wireless services in December.
While Verizon aims to use Straight Path's spectrum for 5G wireless services that will not launch for years, Globalstar's licenses could be put to use right away. "We're not waiting for hardware developments or technology advancements to utilize the spectrum," Tawil said.
Globalstar did not respond to queries, but the company has said that its spectrum is well suited to small cell networks. As the name implies, this form of infrastructure is smaller than typical cell transmitters. Carriers typically deploy small cells in areas where traditional cell tower coverage is insufficient, to boost capacity.
Chairman and CEO James Monroe III said during Globalstar's first-quarter earnings call in May that the spectrum and small cells could appeal to companies outside the realm of traditional mobile carriers. "Indoor and outdoor small cells are applicable to existing carriers as well as to new market entrants, both in the U.S. and abroad," Monroe told investors.
While the FCC charged Straight Path with failing to build out infrastructure, Globalstar's licenses do not have build-out requirements. A buyer could deploy service at its own pace, and provide service in profitable markets. "For a new market entrant, this band provides an LTE service in urban and semi-urban environments with significant ecosystem and cost and timing advantages," Monroe said.
Globalstar can also deploy its spectrum internationally.
The company says it has targeted 100 countries in which it will seek approval for terrestrial wireless service. "As of the end of Q1, we have filed applications for terrestrial authority in countries covering over 375 million people," Monroe told investors in the first-quarter call. "When the U.S. population is included, the total population covered would be about 700 million."
The international reach provides the "kicker," Tawil said, that could draw Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google and other global tech groups to Globalstar. "To them, this spectrum could be most valuable," he said.
Of Facebook's 1.94 billion monthly active users at the end of the the first quarter, more than 85% were outside the U.S. and Canada.
Facebook has experimented with efforts to connect new communities to the Internet. Mark Zuckerberg described beaming data from a Cessna airplane to a location on the ground during the company's first-quarter call in early May. "Eventually, we're going to use this technology along with Aquila, our solar powered plane that we're building, to beam Internet to parts of the world that currently don't have access," Zuckerberg said. Facebook did not immediately respond regarding Globalstar.
Amazon is already a player in the Internet of things, with the Echo and Dot. Jeff Bezos has talked about delivering products with drones, which would need some kind of wireless connection. The Deal reported in April about the possibility that Amazon, T-Mobile USA (TMUS) - Get Free Report and spectrum-rich satellite TV company Dish Network (DISH) - Get Free Report could strike a wireless pact. Amazon declined to comment regarding Globalstar.
Netflix is in more than 190 countries, and could take Interest in developing a delivery method of reaching customers directly. Netflix did not immediately respond to a query.
Google bid on wireless spectrum in a 2008 FCC auction, but wound up not buying any. Last year, Google acquired Webpass, which uses wireless infrastructure to connect buildings to broadband.
Comcast and Charter do not have the global reach of the FANG stocks, but are deploying wireless service. The companies said in early May that they will jointly seek out new wireless opportunities for one year, and they could jointly acquire spectrum. Comcast spent $1.7 billion on spectrum in an FCC auction that concluded earlier this year.
Jim Cramer and the Action Alerts Plus Team examined how wireless expands Comcast's offerings in a recent report. Get a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.
Comcast and Charter did not respond to queries.
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.
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Valero Energy Corporation manufactures, markets, and sells transportation fuels and petrochemical products in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Refining, Renewable Diesel, and Ethanol. It produces conventional, premium, and reformulated gasolines; gasoline meeting the specifications of the California Air Resources Board (CARB); diesel fuels, and low-sulfur and ultra-low-sulfur diesel fuels; CARB diesel; other distillates; jet fuels; blendstocks; and asphalts, petrochemicals, lubricants, and other refined petroleum products, as well as sells lube oils and natural gas liquids. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned 15 petroleum refineries with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.2 million barrels per day; and 12 ethanol plants with a combined ethanol production capacity of approximately 1.6 billion gallons per year. It sells its refined products through wholesale rack and bulk markets; and through approximately 7,000 outlets under the Valero, Beacon, Diamond Shamrock, Shamrock, Ultramar, and Texaco brands. The company also produces and sells ethanol, dry distiller grains, syrup, and inedible corn oil primarily to animal feed customers. In addition, it owns and operates crude oil and refined petroleum products pipelines, terminals, tanks, marine docks, truck rack bays, and other logistics assets; and owns and operates a plant that processes animal fats, used cooking oils, and inedible distillers corn oils into renewable diesel. The company was formerly known as Valero Refining and Marketing Company and changed its name to Valero Energy Corporation in August 1997. Valero Energy Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. owns, manages, and operates senior living communities in the United States. It operates in three segments: Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care, and Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The Independent Living segment owns or leases communities comprising independent and assisted living units in a single community that are primarily designed for middle to upper income seniors. The Assisted Living and Memory Care segment owns or leases communities consisting of freestanding multi-story communities and freestanding single-story communities, which offer housing and 24-hour assistance with activities of daily living for the Company's residents. This segment also operates memory care communities for residents with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The CCRCs segment owns or leases communities that provides various living arrangements, such as independent and assisted living, memory care, and skilled nursing; and services to accommodate various levels of physical ability and healthcare needs. It also manages communities on behalf of others. As of December 31, 2021, the company owned 347 communities, leased 299 communities, and managed 33 communities on behalf of others. Brookdale Senior Living Inc. was incorporated in 2005 and is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee.
By Alfred Tumushabe
Over 600 farmers from South-Western Uganda have flocked Mbarara Zonal Agriculture and Research Development Institute for Daily Monitors sixth Farm Clinic.
The farm clinic was intended to help farmers get knowledge on growing and marketing bananas, chili, passion fruit, beans and dairy enterprises.
Speaking at the event Dr Halid Kirunda, Director Research MBAZARDI has challenged Ugandans to seek knowledge if they are to improve farming.
Meanwhile Sarah Nalule, the Marketing Manager Monitor Publications Ltd said farmers in the countryside demanded that the farm clinics be taken to them because it was expensive to travel to Kampala.
The regional Farm Clinic is organized partnership with Agricultural Business Initiative with Heifer International, SNV the Inclusive Dairy Enterprise and MTK as sponsors.
Eight employees of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services have been referred
By Ali Mivule & Shamim Nateebwa
Millions of Muslims across the globe start fasting today in the holy month of Ramadhan.
During this period, Muslims do away with eating and drinking during day while married couples sacrifice their sexual desires for 30 days.
Now the Mufti of Uganda Sheikh Shaban Ramadhan Mubajje has urged Muslims to make the most of the next 30 days because the Holy month of Ramadhan is an opportunity for Muslims to amass divine rewards and blessings.
He says during the holy month of Ramadhan God grants believers more rewards for their good deeds.
He notes that this years holy month has come at a time when Uganda is facing challenges like growing acts of immorality, high crime rate, hunger and corruption and therefore muslims should use this fasting period to pray ceaselessly for the country.
Meanwhile health experts have warned that for fasting muslims, the body is likely to adjust to the new eating routine.
To avoid adverse effects of this sudden change to the metabolism, medical experts have given tips on what to do before one begins fasting.
Dr.Charles Kasozi, a general practitioner at Mulago referral hospital says one needs to first go for medical checkup before fasting to establish whether they are fit to fast.
Militants launched 61 attacks on positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in ATO area in Donbas over the past day.
This is reported by the ATO press center.
In Mariupol direction, militants used small arms and grenade launchers to shell Ukrainian positions outside Pavlopol (30 km northeast of Mariupol), Vodiane (16km north-west of Donetsk) and Hnutove (19km north-west of Mariupol). The same types of weapons were used to fire at ATO troops near Marinka (35 km south-west of Donetsk) and Krasnohorivka (29 km west of Donetsk).
In Donetsk direction, the tensest situation was observed near Avdiivka (18km north of Donetsk), which came under 82mm mortars, grenade launcher, heavy machine gun and small arms fire. Terrorists also used 82mm mortars to fire at Ukrainian strongholds outside Verkhniotoretske (22km north-east of Donetsk) and 120mm mortars to shell Troitske (69km west of Luhansk). In addition, Russian-backed militants launched attacks on Pisky (12km north-west of Donetsk), using grenade launchers and small arms.
In Luhansk direction, the illegal armed formations shelled Ukrainian servicemen outside Krymske (42.5km north-west of Luhansk), using mortars, grenade launchers and small arms.
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The composite Ukrainian military unit will take part in multinational exercises in Germany.
This is reported by the press center of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine
The composite mechanized unit of the South operational command arrived at the Hohenfels training area in the Federal Republic of Germany. Ukrainian service people will participate in the Combined Resolve VII multinational exercises in the next three weeks, the report says.
The exercises will be dedicated to inspection of the terrain and residential buildings and demining.
Ukrainian soldiers will also carry out training assignments as part of the tank division of the US Armed Forces in order to increase the interoperability of the troops and strengthen partnership relations.
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The topical problems of world politics and ways of Russia's emergence from the systematic crisis were discussed at the opposition Free Russia Forum, held in Riga, Lithuania.
At the end of the Forum, a resolution was adopted in support of Ukraine and its territorial integrity, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
One of the Russian opposition leaders, Garry Kasparov, praised blocking of Russian social networks in Ukraine: "It's strange to see when some so-called oppositionists, so-called liberals in Russia begin to criticize the blocking of Russian social networks in Ukraine. You can criticize them [Ukraine] only for the fact that was done just now, not earlier. Moreover, in my opinion, the EU could learn from this example how to deal with the Kremlin propaganda."
Member of the Lithuanian Seimas Mantas Adomenas stated in his speech: "Ukraine and the situation in Ukraine is the main argument for the continuation of sanctions against Russia. It is necessary to continue (and it is desirable to increase) the constant pressure on the aggressor."
Ukraine was represented at the Forum by Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, journalist Aider Muzhdabaev and Mark Feygin, the lawyer of a number of Ukrainian political prisoners, including Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko. In particular, Muzhdabaev told about the difficult conditions of life of Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea.
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President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has called on G7 leaders to stay firm on sanctions against Russia and be ready to strengthen them.
Poroshenko wrote this in his column on Politico website, the press service of the Head of state reports.
"If the West is serious about peace and world order, it should bear in mind that restoring normal relations with Moscow still runs through Kyiv. Russia must implement the Minsk agreements, especially those terms regarding security. It must return Crimea to Ukraine and restore our countrys territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders. Doing anything else opens the door to disaster," Poroshenko wrote.
According to him, the G7 leaders have an opportunity to clearly answer the aggressor. The Kremlin should not be able to wash the blood from its hands and escape responsibility for stealing Crimea and exporting war to the Donbass region.
"History teaches us that appeasement leads to greater aggression. Only from a position of strength can sustainable peace be defended and security and stability restored. This requires increasing Ukraines resilience by supporting crucial reforms and enhancing its armys defense capabilities, including boosting its store of modern defensive weapons. This also requires the West to stay firm on sanctions against Russia and be ready to strengthen them if need be," the President of Ukraine noted.
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Famous US artist Jeff Koons has been forced to acknowledge reproducing the work of a Ukrainian artist for a 45-foot-tall inflatable sculpture on display at New York's Rockefeller Centre.
"We are aware of Oksana Zhnikrups work and have a license to use it for Mr Koonss work," said his spokeswoman, The Telegraph reports.
The statement was made after the scandal broke out in social networks regarding the very great similarity of the new Koonss sculpture with the porcelain figurine by well-known Ukrainian sculptor Oksana Zhnikrup, who was born in 1931 and worked for the Kyiv Experimental Art Ceramics Factory. The original publicity material for the piece said the work was inspired by a porcelain figure "found at a Russian factory at the turn of the 20th century".
The 14-meter-tall Seated Ballerina inflatable sculpture was installed at the Rockefeller Center in New York. Jeff Koons, 62, is known for his kitsch, large-scale reproductions of everyday items, including a series reproducing inflatable animals.
ol
The topical problems of world politics and ways of Russia's emergence from the systematic crisis were discussed at the opposition Free Russia Forum, held in Riga, Lithuania.
At the end of the Forum, a resolution was adopted in support of Ukraine and its territorial integrity, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.
Ukraine was represented at the Forum by Valentyn Nalyvaichenko, journalist Aider Muzhdabaev and Mark Feygin, the lawyer of a number of Ukrainian political prisoners, including Ukrinform journalist Roman Sushchenko. In particular, Muzhdabaev told about the difficult conditions of life of Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea.
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By Catherine Ageno
Amnesty International has hailed the African Court ruling on the Ogiek case saying it gives hope to indigenous peoples everywhere.
The African Court on Human and Peoples Rights ruled yesterday that the Kenyan government violated the rights of the Indigenous Ogiek people when it evicted them from their land.
According to Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty Internationals Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, the ruling is a historic victory for the Ogiek community.
The ruling is a historic victory for the Ogiek community, and gives hope to all Indigenous peoples everywhere. In this one ruling, the court has both affirmed the Ogieks right to live freely on their ancestral land, and proved to the continent that regional justice mechanisms work.
Ms Wanyeki however quickly adds that the ruling is not enough, it must be respected by the Kenyan government.
The Ogiek, who live mostly in Kenyas Mau and Mt Elgon forests have fought for a long time in the national courts, and now at the African Court, to live on their ancestors land.
In their Applicant, the Ogiek community claimed that the Respondent State had violated their rights and freedoms through, among others, forced evictions of the Ogiek from the Mau Forest, their ancestral home, where they have lived from time immemorial and which was crucial for their very survival.
However, the Republic of Kenya denied the Applicants allegations and argued that the Court lacked jurisdiction in the case.
To this, the court unanimously dismisses the objection to the Courts material jurisdiction to hear the Application, dismissed the objection to the Courts personal jurisdiction to hear the Application.
The Court also dismissed the objection to the Courts temporal jurisdiction to hear the Application and declared that it had jurisdiction to hear the Application.
On Admissibility; the Court dismissed the objection to the admissibility of Application on the ground that the matter is pending before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights.
The Court dismissed the objection to the admissibility of the Application on the ground that the Court did not conduct a preliminary examination of the admissibility of the Application and that the author of the Application is not the aggrieved party in the complaint, failure to exhaust local remedies and thus declared the Application admissible.
On the merits; the Court declared that the Respondent has violated Articles 1, 2, 8, 14 17(2) and (3), 21 and 22 of the Charter and ordered the Respondent to take all appropriate measures within a reasonable time frame to remedy all the violations established and to inform the Court of the measures taken within six (6) months from the date of this Judgment;
The applicant also requested the Applicant to file submissions on eparations within 60 days from the date of this judgment and thereafter, the Respondent shall file its Response thereto within 60 days of receipt of the Applicants submissions on Reparations and Costs.
The case was initially lodged by Ogiek Peoples Development Programme, Minority Rights Group and the Centre for Minority Rights Development (CEMIRIDE) at the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, before being referred by the Commission to the Court in 2012.
A suicide car bomber struck a convoy of government forces in eastern Afghanistan Saturday, killing at least 18 people and wounding six others.
Officials said the attack in the eastern city of Khost targeted a special unit of Afghan forces providing security for U.S. troops in the area.
Interior Ministry spokesman Najib Danish said the bomber rammed his explosives-laden car into the convoy near the citys busy bus station, mostly harming civilians.
The Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the violence, asserted the security convoy was hit in an area where there were no civilians.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the attack left 22 enemy forces dead and many more wounded.
He explained that it took the Taliban several months to plot the attack to punish the special forces, accusing them of committing human rights abuses against Afghans at the behest of American CIA personnel in Khost.
The Afghan province borders Pakistan's volatile tribal areas and used to be a stronghold of the notorious Haqqani network, which is staging attacks alongside the Taliban against NATO and Afghan forces.
The deadly bombing took place on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Afghanistan, ignoring U.N. calls for both sides to cease hostilities to respect the religious occasion.
Taliban spokesman Mujahid has rejected as ignorance of [Islamic] religion calls for stopping jihad (fighting) in the holy month of fasting.
Our fight is Jihad and obligatory worship, reward for every obligatory act of worship is multiplied x70 in Ramadan, he said in a statement Saturday.
The spokesman went on to assert that the Taliban places special attention to protecting civilian lives while undertaking insurgent activities because hurting civilians during Ramadan and otherwise is a crime.
The Taliban has stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces and military installations around the country. The insurgents, in repeated attacks this week in the southern province of Kandahar alone, have killed more than 60 soldiers and wounded dozens more.
The deadliest attack on a military base in Afghanistan took place near the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif in April in which more than 150 security forces were killed, though independent sources gave a much higher death toll.
Tests are underway to determine the genetic sequence of the Ebola virus behind an outbreak in central Africa, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control researcher said Friday.
Dr. Barbara Knust, an epidemiologist, told VOA's Horn of Africa service that scientists are looking for "clues" about where this strain of Ebola originated and how to treat it.
"That could help [us] understand how this virus is related to other viruses that have caused other Ebola outbreaks," she said.
The latest Ebola outbreak is in northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a remote area near the border with the Central African Republic. The World Health Organization said that as of May 24, Ebola had killed four people in the area and the number of suspected cases stood at 44.
The Ebola virus, which causes a type of hemorrhagic fever, killed more than 11,000 people across the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in 2014 and 2015.
Resources 'mobilized quickly'
Staff from the CDC, the WHO, the Congolese Ministry of Health and other agencies are in Congo's Bas Uele province, working to contain the spread of the virus. Knust said the international response was going "fine."
"The responders involved in this outbreak very certainly are taking it seriously and the resources have been mobilized quickly," she said. "At least at this point of time [it] appears that it was detected fairly early, although that information is forthcoming. There is some hope it will remain a limited outbreak."
She said there had been discussion of using experimental treatments used in the West African outbreak, but that the Congolese government had not given its approval.
Dr. Galma Guyo, a disease control specialist in Nairobi, was part of an African Union team that responded to the Ebola outbreak in Liberia. He warned that the DRC's location in the center of Africa could allow the virus there to spread across borders.
"There is a possibility that the viruses can easily spread and be hard to detect due to the remoteness of the region, too," he said.
By Yahudu Kitunzi & Samuel Ssebuliba
Over 1000 pilgrims from Bugisu sub-region under Tororo Diocese have set off for Namugongo a head of the 3rd June Uganda martyrs day celebrations.
The group from Tororo Diocese will trek a distance of more than 250 kilometers holding dance, praising songs and prayers along the way that emulate the faith.
It comprises pilgrims from the districts of Bududa, Bulambuli, Sironko and Mbale.
The leader of the team James Wakinya says they expect to arrive at Namugongo on May 31.
Their journey started with special prayers held at St Denis Ssebugwawo Catholic Church of Namatala, Mbale and they were flagged off by the Rev. Fr. Leo Magombe.
Meanwhile as part of preparations for this years Martyrs day celebrations, the Anglican Church has dedicated today for childrens celebrations.
Previously, cases of missing children have been rampant and it was resolved that children be given a special day to tour and celebrate the martyrs.
Speaking to KFM, Rev Esau Bbosa a member of organizing committee for this year celebration said an average of 10,000 children are expected today and they are to be guided through a normal church service.
Thai environmental activists are calling for the military government to withdraw orders that currently place severe curbs on protests against industrial and development programs.
Since taking power in May 2014, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has looked to tough legislation, including articles in the interim charter able to override all other laws and regulations.
In 2016, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha applied the laws from Article 44 of the charter to revise environmental regulations and allow infrastructure development to cover a wide range of sectors.
New orders override local laws
These areas include construction of transportation systems, hospitals, irrigation systems and special economic zones for industrial development.
The government orders override regulations governing town planning, ministerial regulations or laws set by local authorities, planning acts and local regulations.
Environmentalists say the orders speed up the process for construction of controversial projects, but leave local people and the environment without protection.
Sor Rattanamanee Polka, a lawyer from the Community Resource Center Foundation, told local media the situation for community rights campaigners will be more difficult unless the NCPO revokes the orders, which currently severely violate people's rights and diminish environmental protection in favor of large projects.
Protests, gathering are limited
The government's programs for development include the setting up of 10 special economic zones (SEZs) throughout the country, along the Thai border, to promote provincial growth and market access to neighboring countries.
Other projects laid out under the fast development plans cover more than a dozen power plants, including coal-fired plants, as well as biomass and waste-to-energy plants.
Since the military came to power, it has also invoked tough laws against protests and gatherings of people.
Computer crime laws
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for Human Rights Watch, says the controls over protests further hinder people raising concerns over development programs.
The essential freedom of space that used to exist for community organizations and aggrieved community members to really stand up and make their views known has quickly shrunk, and it has direct impacts on people's ability to voice their grievances, Robertson told VOA.
Activists say they also are fearful of Thailand's tough defamation and computer crime laws that have been taken up by the private sector against local protests to development projects.
Pianporn Deetes, Thailand/Myanmar director for environmental group International Rivers, says the laws and restrictions on assembly leave civic groups increasingly contained in raising environmental concerns.
Freedom of expression is one of the most fundamental freedoms that you need in order to participate in decision-making over natural resources, environment and social issues. This includes the policies on energy policy, coal-fired power plants, hydropower in every country or special economic zones," Pianporn said.
Illegal logging on the rise
The government also has directed its tough legislation against landowners encroaching in national parks in Thailand, especially resorts often owned by local influential business interests.
Cholathit Suraswadi, director general of the Forest Department, said that since applying Article 44 laws in targeting forest encroachment and illegal logging, the area of forested land had been substantially increased.
Dozens of holiday resorts throughout the country, including forested regions and island locations, have been investigated for illegal construction.
Rigid application of laws
Rights groups say in forested areas, however, local communities, largely poorer rural families, also have faced eviction under the government's programs.
HRW's Robertson says the government's stand also reflects a rigid application of existing laws.
There is a change in environment in terms of land possession and things like that where this government is enforcing them much more seriously. And the local agreements that had been developed over a number of years, this modus operandi, that governance at the local level has been overturned, and what we're seeing is a throwback to a rigid interpretation of laws and regulations, he said.
Promoting foreign investment
By promoting Special Economic Zones and Economic Corridors, the government is looking to boost foreign investment, including offering longer leaseholds to 99 years from the current 50 years, in some provinces.
But Penchom Saetang, a director at the Ecological Alert and Recovery Thailand Foundation, says that with fewer checks on development going ahead, there will be greater impact on local communities.
The main concern is the rapid and aggressive development of industries and economy without consideration of the local people, Penchom said.
Despite the tough laws, though, local communities have continued protests against developments they see as harmful to their community.
Protests stall plans for power plant
Protests from local people and the tourism industry against construction of a coal-fired power plant near the popular resort area of Krabi has led to a temporary halt of the development.
Prime Minister Prayut ordered in April that the previous environmental health impact assessment be scrapped, ordering the state-owned Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand to conduct a new one, which would include greater input by local communities.
Activists say there is need for a green power development plan for Krabi province, proposals that so far have received only a lukewarm response by state energy officials.
ADVERTISING
Firm is hit for pulling ads on Hannity show
Financial services firm USAA is facing a backlash after its decision to pull advertising from Sean Hannitys show on Fox News Channel. The company said it is withdrawing its commercials from other opinion-based television shows.
USAA caters to U.S. military members, veterans and their families. Its Facebook page was clogged Friday with messages from customers threatening to end their accounts.
USAA is one of a reported nine companies to pull sponsorship from Hannity. The Fox personality has drawn heated criticism for his focus on a discredited story about a murdered Democratic National Committee staff member.
Associated Press
ECONOMY
Orders for durable goods fell in April
United States orders for long-lasting manufactured goods dropped in April for the first time in five months, and a key category that tracks business investment remained flat.
The Commerce Department said Friday that durable-goods orders fell 0.7 percent in April after rising 2.3 percent in March. The April downturn was the first since durable-goods orders fell 4.6 percent in November.
Orders for transportation equipment fell 1.2 percent last month, pulled down by a 9.2 percent drop in the volatile commercial aircraft category. Orders for military aircraft jumped 7.1 percent. But orders for cars, trucks and auto parts rose 0.3 percent last month after falling in February and March.
Orders for capital goods were flat for the second straight month potentially worrisome because that category offers clues about where business investment is headed.
Associated Press
CYBER CRIME
Chipotle says hackers stole card data
Chipotle Mexican Grill said Friday that hackers used malware to steal customers payment card data including account numbers, expiration dates and internal verification codes from payment systems at some of its restaurants between March 24 and April 18.
Chipotle, which is fighting to recover from 2015 food safety lapses that pummeled its sales, said it did not know how many payment cards had been affected but said the malware has since been removed.
An investigation into the breach found the malware searched for track data from the magnetic stripe of payment cards used in certain Chipotle and Pizzeria Locale restaurants.
Reuters
Also in Business
Northrop Grumman will begin making part of the F-35 fighter jet in Mississippi, investing $3.7 million and adding 60 jobs over the next four years, the defense contractor and Gov. Phil Bryant announced Friday. Northrop Grumman, based in Bethesda, Md., has 50 employees in the Gulf Coast town of Moss Point assembling military drones. The company is in line to get more than $3.4 million in state and local aid.
The former chief executive of Massey Energy has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn his conviction for misdemeanor conspiracy to violate federal safety standards at a West Virginia mine where 29 miners died in 2010. Don Blankenship, who recently finished a one-year prison term, asked the top court Thursday review his conviction, which a federal appeals court upheld in January. Massey said natural gas caused the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine and that the trial judge erred in instructing the jury and limiting cross-examination.
Jay Zs Tidal streaming service has lost its third chief executive in two years. Tidal said Friday that Jeffrey Toig has left the company, which was launched in 2015. Toig joined Tidal in January 2016. The streaming service said in a statement that it will announce a new chief executive in the coming weeks and wishes Toig all the best in his future endeavors. Tidals former CEOs include Peter Tonstad and Andy Chen.
BMW is recalling more than 45,000 older 7-Series cars in the United States because the doors can open unexpectedly while the car is being driven. The recall covers certain 745i, 745Li, 750i, 750Li, 760i, 760Li and B7 Alpina cars from the 2005 through 2008 model years that have the comfort access and soft door close options. BMW says the doors may appear to be closed and latched but can inadvertently open due to road conditions or occupant contact with the door.
From news reports
While doing research about George Marshall, I learned that he took daily swims in the Tidal Basin in the early 1920s, when he was aide-de-camp to Gen. John Pershing. It made me wonder if there was a time when swimming in the Tidal Basin was allowed.
Tom Bowers, Ashburn, Va.
Swimming in the Tidal Basin wasnt just allowed. It was encouraged. In the early 1920s, many Washingtonians eagerly anticipated the annual opening of the Tidal Basin to swimmers. Then as now, Washington summers were hot and steamy. A dip was one way to cool off.
The Tidal Basin wasnt created for recreational reasons, however. It was a result of the dredging that was done to create West and East Potomac Parks. The Tidal Basin is a reservoir with two sets of floodgates that open in turn as the tidal Potomac rises and falls, flushing silt and debris from the Washington Channel.
Swimming pools especially public swimming pools were rare around the turn of the 19th century, so bathers started flocking to the 100-acre Tidal Basin. In 1903, the city constructed two floating baths within the reservoir, at the foot of 17th Street NW. The queer-looking structures, as The Post described them, were intended for youngsters to disport themselves in.
Disporting was strictly segregated in those days. One floating bath 38 feet wide by 70 feet long was for white bathers. A second bath 20-feet-by-54-feet was for African American bathers. Such disparities were to plague the city for decades.
Ironically, although blacks could not swim with whites in the Tidal Basin, they could rescue them. In 1908, a 16-year-old African American teen named Harry Jackson saved a 60-year-old white man who had jumped from a bridge into the Tidal Basin in a suicide attempt.
Amenities for whites improved over time, among them the installation of a sandy beach and bathhouses on the Tidal Basins eastern shore.
But if the Tidal Basins beach was a symbol of the Districts segregation, it was also a symbol of its powerlessness. Like many things in a city whose purse strings were controlled by Congress, the bathing facilities at the Tidal Basin were constantly threatened.
In 1914, the Tidal Basin pools had to close midway through July when the money Congress had appropriated ran out. The Post used its pages to raise funds to reopen them.
This is only another strong link in the chain of arguments in favor of suffrage for the people of the District of Columbia, P.T. Moran, a Georgetown businessman, told a Post reporter.
When budget constraints periodically closed the lifeguard-staffed Tidal Basin, some people would head to the Potomac or Anacostia to swim, a riskier proposition that inevitably resulted in drownings.
Who knows what George Marshall thought of this, if he thought of it at all. What may have concerned him was whether hed fit in the Tidal Basin in the first place. It was incredibly popular, attracting as many as 9,000 people a day. In a 1919 Letter to the Editor, a Post reader complained that hed shown up one Sunday in June to find 400 people waiting in line to get one of the 10-cent lockers that would allow them to check their street clothes. (Bathers could also rent swimsuits: 75 cents for a womans; 25 cents for a mans.)
But once inside, visitors found a watery nirvana. They could splash in the sandy shallows or paddle out to the floating dive platforms. They could buy ice cream from a beachside vendor. They could take swimming lessons.
The Tidal Basin was the site of swim races and canoe races. It was also the setting for beauty contests. In 1919 two years before the first Miss America pageant judges proclaimed Audrey OConnor of Southwest D.C. Washingtons most beautiful girl in a bathing suit. Her attire consisted of a blue-and-orange jumper, blue cap and orange tights.
In 1923, beauty shows were banned. The tone of the beach had fallen, said Col. Clarence Sherrill, the city official in charge of public buildings. Rules regarding attire would be more strictly enforced, too. Suits had to come within three inches of the knee and have no opening below the armpits.
Modesty is the keynote, Sherrill explained.
In 1925, the Tidal Basin was closed to swimmers, its beach amenities demolished and carted away. There had been complaints that the water was polluted, but the real issue seemed to be reluctance to allow construction of a beach for African Americans on the western bank of the Tidal Basin. The only way to stave that off was to eliminate any beach.
Next week: Diving into the deep end of the Districts pool history.
john.kelly@washpost.com
Twitter: @johnkelly
For previous columns, visit washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
Marylands elected leaders seem unlikely to negotiate a deal this year to end partisan gerrymandering, despite overwhelming public support for redistricting reform, pressure from citizen groups to reach a compromise, and a federal lawsuit that could force the state to overhaul its voting maps for upcoming elections.
More than two weeks after Gov. Larry Hogan (R) vetoed plans to pursue a regional redistricting compact and insisted that Maryland should act alone, the states top Republican and Democratic officials remain sharply divided on the issue and have made no efforts to merge their proposals.
Pulling these parties together could be the trickiest piece, said Jennifer Bevan-Dangel, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, which is urging the two sides to meet this summer and hammer out an agreement before next years legislative session.
A February Goucher College poll showed that 73 percent of Marylanders would prefer that an independent commission determine the states voting districts, with overwhelming support for the concept across party lines. Only 20 percent said they want elected officials to continue forming the districts, which have been called among the most convoluted in the nation.
For the past two years, Hogan has proposed putting a nonpartisan panel in charge of redistricting for congressional and legislative districts. His bills have died without a vote in the state legislature, where Democrats hold strong majorities in both chambers.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), center, seated between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller (D), left, and House Speaker Michael Busch (D). (Patrick Semansky/Associated Press)
Democrats say they dont want to change the map-drawing process for Maryland, where their party has a more than 2-to-1 voter-registration advantage over the GOP, while Republican-controlled states continue gerrymandering.
In Virginia, where Republicans hold majorities in both legislative chambers, bills aimed at ensuring nonpartisan redistricting failed for similar reasons, with GOP lawmakers saying they dont want their state to disarm unilaterally.
Marylands legislature this year approved a proposal to create an independent commission to draw the voting maps, but only for congressional districts, and only if five other states agree to the same plan. Lawmakers from both parties would appoint members of the panel.
Hogan vetoed the measure, which he called a phony bill masquerading as redistricting reform and vowed to continue fighting for his own proposal.
House Speaker Michael E. Busch (D-Anne Arundel) and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) responded with a joint statement saying the governor prefers his plan to simply elect more Republicans to Congress.
Common Cause and the Maryland League of Women Voters applauded Hogans veto, saying the Democrats bill set an impossibly high bar with its requirement for five other states to join a redistricting compact. The advocacy groups also criticized the measure for not addressing legislative districts.
It was a feel-good bill that made them feel like they did something, said Nancy Soreng, co-president of the Maryland League of Women Voters. It just gave Maryland an excuse to sit back and do nothing.
Democrats could enact their bill next year by overriding the governors veto, and they had enough votes to do so when they passed the bill this year. But Busch and Miller have not said publicly what they want their powerful Annapolis caucuses to do next.
Del. Kirill Reznik (D-Montgomery), who proposed the House version of the multistate plan, said he is open to working on a compromise measure, but he doesnt think the governor is willing to budge.
He wants his bill and no other plan, Reznick said. He has to signal that hes open to some kind of multistate solution before we move forward.
Hogan spokesman Doug Mayer said the governor sees little room for compromise on the matter and has no plans for reaching out to Democrats.
Were always willing to talk to people and find ways to make things work, but this is an issue of right versus wrong, and theres not a lot of middle ground, he said.
The federal judiciary might force state officials into action, depending upon the outcomes of three gerrymandering lawsuits, including one in Maryland.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in the past that racial gerrymandering violates the Voting Rights Act. But it has never adopted a standard for striking down partisan manipulation, despite saying the practice could be unconstitutional.
Plaintiffs attorneys are now testing a new legal approach, arguing that partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, North Carolina and Wisconsin violates the First Amendment by preventing people of a particular political persuasion from electing their preferred representative.
In Maryland, plaintiffs lawyers are asking a three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court in Greenbelt to block the state from enforcing its congressional map. The attorneys are hoping for a ruling in their favor this fall, which could force the legislature to draw a new map before the June, 2018 primary.
It may be the courts that finally put some fairness into the process, Soreng said.
Bevan-Dangel, of Common Cause, sees room for Hogan and Democratic leaders to compromise. She said, for example, that they could agree to legislation putting an independent commission in charge of redistricting while only encouraging other states to follow suit, rather than making the change contingent upon a regional compact.
Or, Maryland officials could stagger implementation of the plan so that the change affects only congressional maps for the next round of redistricting, Bevan-Dangel said, allowing lawmakers to work out any kinks in the system before using it to redraw legislative maps down the line.
Additionally, she said they could negotiate how to form the independent commission, relying on models in other states for ideas.
In California, state auditors select dozens of applicants from a pool, then use a lottery to narrow the field to eight commissioners, who then pick six more people for a panel of five Democrats, five Republicans and four unaffiliated members.
In Arizona, the states Commission on Appellate Court Appointments nominates 25 applicants, and party leaders in both legislative chambers appoint two members apiece from that group. The appointees then pick a fifth member.
Common Cause and the League of Women Voters plan to spend the summer pressing Marylands top officials to work on a redistricting-reform agreement and encouraging partner organizations in other states to do the same.
They will also ask the Hogan administrations redistricting-reform task force to hold additional public meetings in urban areas to address concerns that the work group, which was formed in 2015, didnt focus enough on such communities.
The groups other plans include public-outreach efforts. In the past, they organized the Gerrymander Meander, a relay tracing the states contorted 3rd Congressional District; and mock birthday celebrations for gerrymanderings namesake, former Massachusetts governor and U.S. Vice President Elbridge Gerry.
Bevan-Dangel said her group has discussed bringing former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to Maryland this year to promote his states redistricting model.
She said Democratic and Republican leaders in the state should work toward an agreement before the 2018 election because either party could end up suffering if theyre seen to blame for redistricting reform not happening when it could have.
A noose was found hanging from a tree outside the Hirshhorn Museum around 6:30 p.m. Friday evening, a spokeswoman said.
The museum had been closed for about an hour when a security guard discovered the noose historically a racist symbol and called the U.S. Park Police.
The Smithsonian is committed to be a welcoming, inclusive, and safe place for all, Smithsonian Secretary David J. Skorton wrote in an email to his staff. I know you join me in deploring this act.
Skorton noted that a criminal investigation is underway. A Park Police spokeswoman did not return a request for comment.
Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call the police at (202) 610-8737.
Cindy DiCarlo of North Beach, Md., sews a new patch onto a biker vest Saturday at Harley-Davidson of Washington, D.C., in Fort Washington, Md. (J. Lawler Duggan For The Washington Post)
Lt. James Downing steered his motorized scooter through a crowd of leather-clad bikers who stared in awe as he approached a soundstage. The rumble of mufflers groaned in the distance as the 103-year-old Downing parked his three-wheeler in front of a man holding out a microphone, inviting him to speak.
Downing is the second-oldest known survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack. Thats why, even at an event that prides itself on the earthshaking roar produced by countless Harleys, Downings ride was one of the biggest head-turners on Saturday. It was carrying a living witness to World War II history.
We have to keep America so strong that no aggressor would even think about attacking us, Downing, seated in his scooter, said to rousing applause in the parking lot of a motorcycle dealership in Fort Washington, Md.
Downings speech to hundreds of bikers was part of a five-day event that makes up the annual Memorial Day gathering called Rolling Thunder. It will culminate on Sunday with thousands of motorcycles making their now-familiar pilgrimage from the Pentagon across the Memorial Bridge to Franklin D. Roosevelt Park to commemorate soldiers who were prisoners of war or missing in action.
Like Downing, the Rolling Thunder event has aged well. It is celebrating its 30th year.
A Rolling Thunder participant visits the Korean War Veterans Memorial. (Matt Campbell/EPA)
Its gotten bigger and bigger, said Sgt. Artie Muller, one of a handful of founders who organized a ride with 2,500 participants in Washington in 1998. That number has swelled to an estimated 900,000 participants, according to the organization.
Last year the event featured then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
For Downing, of Colorado Springs, this was the first trip to Rolling Thunder. And he found a receptive audience, as he told his story.
On Dec. 7, 1941, he was on shore enjoying a relaxing breakfast with his wife of five months when the Japanese attack began. He rushed to the dock, where his ship, the USS West Virginia, was under siege.
Everything above water was on fire, he said.
A low-flying Japanese plane passing overhead rained machine guns bullets in the direction of his group but missed him. As the West Virginia sank, Downing rushed to memorize the names inscribed on dog tags worn by the deceased. He was the postmaster for the West Virginia, and he knew he would need to write letters to the families of the deceased.
As Downing spoke, Kathryn Kent, a 46-year-old veteran from St. Louis, stood in the audience nodding her head. When Downing was finished, she walked up to the stage and knelt down in front of the scooter. She took his hand and thanked him.
Rolling Thunder founder Artie Muller at Harley-Davidson of Washington. (J. Lawler Duggan/For The Washington Post)
Thats living history, she said. The kind of thing our youngest generation needs to know about.
[He helped build the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. How did he end up dead in a landfill?]
Downing is doing his best to spread the word. He wrote a book about his experience at Pearl Harbor that was published in November. Hes done nine book speaking tours since then, said his full-time caretaker Carol Lucke Dodge. That included 36 speaking events in one two-week span.
How he gets this energy I can no longer explain, Dodge said, as a procession lined up to thank Downing.
The event also paid tribute to those not as fortunate as Downing.
Jim and Dianna Beardsley have been attending Rolling Thunder since they lost their son, William B.J. Beardsley, in Iraq on Feb. 26, 2007. Beardsley was killed when his vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
They buried him in Arlington National Cemetery on his 25th birthday.
The biggest thing youll hear out here is Please dont forget, Dianna Beardsley said. So when we see these people out here, its huge to us as a community.
A little while later, Downing was thinking about the friends he lost over 75 years ago. There were 105 from the West Virginia who died, he said.
He had maneuvered his scooter across the parking lot to a semi-truck painted to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the attack. Painted on one side of the cab was a reproduction of a photograph of Pearl Harbor taken from a U.S. plane only hours before the Japanese attacked.
Darrell Plonk, materials manager for Freightliner Truck Manufacturing, the North Carolina company that built the commemorative truck, said the photograph had been recovered from a U.S. plane that was later shot down in the attack.
The photo captured six of the more than 160 ships in the harbor that day.
Plonk pointed out the USS Arizona. Downing looked up and marveled with recognition.
Thats my ship right there, he said pointing to the one next to it. Thats the USS West Virginia right there.
A 32-year-old District man was fatally shot and seven others suffered gunshot wounds early Saturday a few blocks from a rapidly gentrifying area on the border of Shaw and Bloomingdale, police said.
Police identified the homicide victim as Algernon Harvey Jones, of Southeast.
Seven additional people six men and one woman had non-life-threatening injuries.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham issued a warning to the assailants, who remained at large by early Saturday evening.
This kind of reckless disregard for human life wont be tolerated in D.C. To those responsible: we will find you and bring you to justice, he said in a tweet Saturday.
The shooting occurred around 1 a.m. at a red brick apartment complex in the 100 block of Q Street NW, police said.
Officers responded to reports of gunshots and found an unconscious man shot multiple times lying in a grassy courtyard where a large group of young people had been gathered.
Calls to police and tips from people in the area helped officers find the other victims.
Five of the victims left the scene when police arrived and attempted to drive themselves to various hospitals, according to the incident report.
Police are searching for two black males wearing dark clothing who were last seen fleeing the scene in a dark-colored sedan with heavily tinted windows, heading eastbound on Q Street. The shooting remains under investigation.
William FitzGerald, the commander of the D.C. police district where the shooting occurred, declined to comment on the motive for the shooting, the number of shots fired or if any weapons were recovered.
The police department and property management companies could do a better job erasing some of the conditions that lead up to these [shootings], he told reporters Saturday afternoon. But at the end of the day it all goes back to who did the shooting, and to wound that many people is just heartless, callous.
FitzGerald asked for residents help in locating the gunmen.
Dont let people that do these things take over the city, he said.
A Virginia State Police special agent and father of three was fatally shot Friday night during a vehicle stop in a crime-ridden Richmond neighborhood. Police arrested a suspect in the killing after an overnight search.
Michael T. Walter, 45, was an 18-year veteran of the state police and Marine veteran known for mentoring young people. He is survived by a wife; two sons, ages 14 and 9; and a 6-year-old daughter.
Walter died of his injuries at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center shortly after 5 a.m. Saturday morning.
About an hour later, state police and U.S. marshals apprehended Travis A. Ball, 27, at a home in Northumberland County, in the Northern Neck region of Virginia.
Ball is being held without bail and was charged with malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Additional charges are pending, police said.
Walter was the 63rd Virginia state trooper killed in the line of duty since 1928 and the 11th in the past 11 years.
The most recent was in March 2016, when trooper Chad P. Dermyer, 37, was shot during a training exercise at the Greyhound bus station near downtown Richmond.
The shooting occurred in Mosby Court, a sprawling complex of run-down, two-story townhouses covering about a square mile the scene of six homicides and 19 nonfatal shootings since January.
During an appearance in the neighborhood Saturday morning to address reporters and residents, Richmond Police Chief Alfred Durham announced plans to have joint patrols with state and city police in hopes of improving relations with Mosby Court residents and alleviating crime.
At some point, we have to get it together as a people, as a community, as a city, and say, Were not going to tolerate this no more, he said.
State Police Superintendent Col. W. Steven Flaherty paid tribute to Walter for his commitment to public safety and passion for working with young people. He founded and ran a nonprofit, the Powhatan Youth Wrestling and Community Development Corp., through a local gym, he said.
It was all about making a difference to disadvantaged youth, mentoring them, fostering them, fostering their talents through physical fitness and sportsmanship, Flaherty said. A lot of what he was doing here last night he was here for this community as well.
Flaherty said Dermyers widow, Michelle, worked with Michaels family after the shooting.
State police gave the following account of the incident.
On Friday night, Walter was riding with a Richmond police officer when, at about 7:25 p.m., the officer and Walter saw a silver Chevrolet Cobalt pull up to the curb in the Mosby Court neighborhood.
The officer and special agent pulled in behind the car and approached it to initiate a conversation as part of a consensual encounter, police said.
As the Richmond officer spoke to the driver of the car, Walter walked up to the passenger side, where Ball was seated. Within moments, a shot was fired, and Ball ran.
A handgun was recovered near the car, and the investigation is ongoing. For 11 hours following the shooting, law enforcement from local, state and federal agencies conducted a search throughout the Richmond region.
Flaherty said Walter and the Richmond officer were close friends.
I know that hes having a very rough time, too, Flaherty said. Its a difficult time for the state police family; its a difficult time for the Richmond law enforcement family; its a difficult time for the Walter family.
A Philadelphia native, Walter served in the Marines from 1989 to 1994. He moved to Virginia to work at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center as a security officer and then served for two years as an officer with the Virginia Division of Capitol Police.
He graduated from the State Police Academy in 1999 and was assigned to the Fairfax Divisions office in Springfield. As a trooper, he transferred in 2005 to the Richmond Divisions Powhatan office.
A year later, he worked as a K-9 instructor at the State Police Academy. In 2010, he was promoted to special agent and assigned to the Richmond offices drug enforcement section.
Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) expressed condolences to Walters family and asked Virginians to honor his memory with gratitude for police.
Dorothy and I are deeply saddened by the loss of Virginia State Police Special Agent Mike Walter, and we are heartbroken for his wife and children, he said in a statement. Special Agent Walter was one of our brave men and women in uniform who risk their lives every single day to protect their fellow Virginians. We will be forever grateful for his service and sacrifice.
Durham, the police chief, thanked unspecified members of the community for offering tips that helped lead to the arrest.
A lot of folks say people dont talk. People talked, he said. You know why? Theyre fed up, and you should be, too.
A Virginia federal judge who upheld Miranda rights, loosened campaign finance strictures and sent both a Romanian hacker and a high-ranking CIA agent to prison will retire this fall.
James Cacheris, the first Republican to become a judge in Northern Virginia since Reconstruction, is also the longest-serving federal judge currently on the bench in Virginia. Before he took the bench in the Eastern District of Virginia in 1981, he served on the Fairfax County Circuit Court bench.
For the past two decades, Cacheris has served as a senior justice, meaning that he does not work a full caseload. Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, who is also retiring this fall, replaced Cacheris on the active bench.
At 84, Cacheris, who is married and has four children, does not plan to fully retire. He says he will likely do mediation work to get me out of the house. But first, he says, hed like to take another trip to Greece.
The son of Greek immigrants, Cacheris was born in Pittsburgh and raised in Bethesda and the District, attending the old Western High School. His brother, Plato Cacheris, is a prominent defense attorney in Washington.
Plato Cacheris said their parents never pushed them to be lawyers but pressed them hard to educate themselves. His father, who worked as a waiter in Chicago and Pittsburgh, had only a sixth-grade education.
I am not sure what his parents fed their boys, but they seemed destined to lead the profession from both the bench and the bar, said Jonathan Turley, who represented former CIA case agent Harold James Nicholson in Cacheriss court. Coming from a Greek family, the meals must have been as litigious as they were delicious.
In 1997, Nicholson admitted to spying for the Russian government. From prison, he persuaded his son Nathaniel to take up his ties with the Russians and collect his pension.
Judge Cacheris is known among attorneys for his unflappable demeanor and the intensive preparation he demands of himself and expects of litigants.
He commands so much respect because hes so steady on the bench. No detail escapes him, said Jim Hundley, who was a law clerk for Cacheris early in his career. He tries really hard to be a blank slate and judge a case based on the facts and the law and be absolutely fair to every litigant.
Cacheris always gets to the office early and starts court exactly on time, said another former clerk, Casey Stevens. If attorneys are late, the judge he makes his displeasure clear.
Off the bench, Cacheris is known as friendly and self-deprecating.
Hes never let the position go to his head, said his son, John Cacheris, a lawyer in North Carolina. One of four children, he said Cacheris was a devoted family man with no trace of ego. Hes always been reticent with the public spotlight thats just not who he is.
In fact, Cacheris declined to provide a photograph for this article and expressed hope that the news of his retirement would be buried on a busy day. He is funny and solicitous with clerks and court support staff, attorneys said, always learning workers names and histories on even short trips to other courthouses.
Hes sharp, thoughtful, gives equal consideration to all sides and is always unfailingly gracious, said Geremy Kamens, the federal public defender for Alexandria. Its hard to imagine the courthouse without him.
Several high-profile cases have forced him into the spotlight.
In 1992, Cacheris presided over the trial of a fertility specialist who used his own semen to impregnate women and told them that they were pregnant when they were not. Sentencing the doctor to five years in prison, Cacheris said he had not seen a case where there has been this degree of emotional anguish and psychological trauma.
In a case that went to the Supreme Court in 1999, Cacheris upheld the Miranda warning given to criminal suspects, throwing out a mans confession to committing several bank robberies in Maryland and Virginia. The judges decision was reversed by a Virginia court of appeals, which ruled that a 1968 crime law had rendered Miranda warnings moot. The Supreme Court sided with Cacheris, ruling that Congress could not undo Miranda.
That was my zenith as a trial judge, Cacheris said.
He was condemned by campaign finance advocates in 2011 for ruling that the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United allowed direct corporate contributions in politics.
For better or worse, Citizens United held that there is no distinction between an individual and a corporation with respect to political speech, he wrote.
That decision was overturned by the Fourth Circuit.
Cacheris also sentenced Guccifer, the Romanian hacker who first revealed that Hillary Clinton used a private email address while she was secretary of state and a man who plotted to blow up the U.S. Capitol.
Julia Valverde, 15, and her brother Desi Valverde, 13, were riding the Jokers Jinx at Six Flags America in April when the ride stalled. They were stuck on the ride in Maryland for two hours before being the first rescued by firefighters. (Pete Muntean, WUSA/Pete Muntean, WUSA)
Right before launching through the Jokers Jinx at Six Flags America in April, Julia Valverde quipped to her brother: Boy, it would be a real shame for a ride like this to stop and break down.
Moments after the train shot through the start of the purple-and-green roller coaster, it did just that. As Julia was screaming her head off, the car reached the top of a slope, lost momentum and started teetering back and forth before making a full stop.
After, like, 30 or so seconds, we realized, Oh no. This isnt part of the ride, Julia, 15, said.
Julia and her 13-year-old brother, Desi, became part of a second group of Jokers Jinx riders who had to be rescued from the roller coaster in less than three years.
But it appears two different problems cursed the Jokers Jinx in April and back in August 2014, when the ride first made headlines for getting stuck and leaving two dozen people stranded for hours several stories in the air.
Firefighters rescue riders on the Jokers Jinx on Aug. 10, 2014. (Fire Chief Marc Bashoor/Prince George's County, Maryland Fire/EMS)
In April, the tire of a train car separated from the metal hub, causing the Jokers Jinx to lose momentum at a critical juncture, according to state inspection records and incident reports requested by The Washington Post.
In 2014, a stack of park maps that fell through the slot of a train car and became wedged beneath its wheel was responsible for stopping the roller coaster, records show.
In both incidents, the ride had been recently inspected and was back in operation within days after the problems were fixed, said Rob Gavel, program manager of the state program responsible for ensuring amusement park safety in Maryland.
Gavel said it was an unfortunate coincidence that parkgoers were stranded and twice had to be rescued from the same ride in such a short span.
The parks work very hard to prevent things like this from happening, Gavel said. As with anything in life, things can happen.
[Sundays Six Flags incident was scary. But roller coasters have a good track record.]
Inspection records that The Post requested for the period from 2014 to 2017 showed inspectors were at the park almost monthly, and there did not appear to be any outstanding problems that were not addressed immediately.
Maryland is one of the first states in the country to create a certified amusement park inspection system with a program that is more than 40 years old, Gavel said. Inspectors check everything from seat belts, sensors and hardware, both before rides are assembled and after they are up and running, Gavel said.
Gavel said the stoppages on the Jokers Jinx should not deter thrill-seekers from hopping back on after inspectors gave it a thorough review.
I dont fear going to a park, and I tell people its more dangerous driving to the park than to go into that park, Gavel said.
Denise Stokes, a spokeswoman for Six Flags America, said she could not speak about the 2014 Jokers Jinx incident since it was before her tenure with the park. But she did say that company engineers and certified ride technicians took comprehensive action to fix the problem found with a train wheel that stalled the ride in April.
While it looked dangerous, and generated a lot of media interest, this ride stop was actually proof that our ride safety systems were working exactly as they should, Stokes said in a statement. All of our rides are engineered to stop safely.
Stokes said none of the riders was in danger and no one was injured. Inspectors with the state cleared the Jokers Jinx to be back in service within three days.
Our rides have hundreds of sensors constantly measuring and watching every aspect of the ride, similar to the sensors in your car that flash an alert if youve forgotten to buckle your seat belt or left one of the car doors open, Stokes said. The difference is that while you can still drive your car with these alerts on, if a sensor on a ride sends an alert, the ride will automatically shut down in a safe location.
The state requires amusement parks to be inspected once a year, but Gavel said his division tends to visit parks and Six Flags America regularly to answer any questions or address concerns.
[How much is being stuck 7 stories high atop a roller coaster for 5 hours worth?]
Six Flags, the biggest amusement park in Maryland, generally fixes concerns inspectors have as soon as they are raised, Gavel said.
In 2014, the bottom of the coaster was vented and the stack of maps fell out and fell under the wheel, causing the train to lose momentum, Gavel said. Six Flags took action to plug those holes up.
In Aprils incident, plastic around the wheel designed to give the train a smoother ride separated from the metal hub, a sort of wheel malfunction Gavel said he sees on roller coasters in the state once or twice a year.
Julia and Desi were stuck on the Jokers Jinx for about two hours before Prince Georges County firefighters in cherry pickers came to help them down.
Julia said her family plans to return to the park with their season passes, but she will avoid the Jokers Jinx.
Desi, however, is ready for another whirl.
Hes a daredevil, Julia said. Hell do anything.
Preschool enrollment in Virginia hovers well below the national rate and even further behind neighboring Washington, D.C., and Maryland, according to a new report by the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.
Across the country, nearly 1.5 million children participated in state-funded pre-kindergarten in 2016 an all-time high including 32 percent of all 4-year-olds nationwide, according to the report.
Participation rates were higher in Maryland, where 36 percent of 4-year-olds were enrolled. And they were more than double the national rate in the District, where 81 percent of 4-year-olds as well as 70 percent of 3-year-olds took part in public preschool programs.
At the same time, just 18 percent of 4-year-olds in Virginia were enrolled in state-funded preschool, a rate that has remained static for the past three years, according to the report released the week of May 22.
Overall, the report ranked Virginia 29th in preschool access on the national report. Maryland ranked 13th, and the District came in first.
Children at the Arlington Child Development Center in Arlington, Va., sing songs with their teather in 2013. State funding for preschool dipped for the first time after a decade of expansion, according to a recent report. (Linda Davidson/THE WASHINGTON POST)
Advocates say low funding from Richmond has hampered efforts to grow the state program. Virginia spent an average $3,740 per child in preschool in the last school year, far below the actual cost of providing a quality program for children, and many local governments have been unwilling to pay the balance, they say.
We are not investing in the future, said Del. Kaye Kory (D-Fairfax), who represents Baileys Crossroads, where she said many poor and immigrant children start kindergarten without important socialization skills and basic English proficiency. There is a huge gap at the start of school that makes it difficult for teachers and requires more resources and creates a strain all the way along.
Research has shown that quality preschool programs offer long-term benefits, including better school performance, improved graduation rates and higher rates of employment and homeownership. The potential payoff is greatest for children from low-earning households.
The General Assembly started the Virginia Preschool Initiative in 1995 to provide quality preschool for at-risk 4-year-olds who were not being served by the federal Head Start program, which provides preschool for about 7 percent of the states 4-year-olds.
Many children who could benefit most from the program do not have access, advocates say. More than 25,000 children were considered eligible by the state, because they come from households at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, or meet other criteria that put them at risk for academic failure.
But just over 18,000 of those children were actually enrolled in programs. State funding for more than 7,000 slots went unspent, largely because local government chose not to provide the required matching funds.
[More than a quarter of state-funded preschool seats went unfilled this year]
Children sing songs and play games at a class for 5-year-olds at the Arlington Child Development Center in Arlington in 2013. (Linda Davidson/THE WASHINGTON POST)
Many of the unused slots are in Northern Virginia, where officials say they have been struggling to keep up in fast-growing communities and do not have the resources or the facilities to add pre-K classrooms. They say the states contribution does little to offset the actual costs of providing a quality program.
As a result, Fairfax County served just under two-thirds of the 2,521 children eligible for the state preschool program; Loudoun County served just 28 percent of the 572 who were deemed eligible. And Prince William County provided pre-kindergarten for just 2 percent or 32 of the 1,609 children eligible in 2016.
Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, said the county is still trying to manage crowding in its public schools, which have some of the largest class sizes in the state. The Republican candidate for governor also said he does not support the state-sponsored preschool program on principle.
In my view, it amounts to taxpayer-funded day care, he said. Its a parents responsibility to take care of their own kids during the day until kindergarten.
Lacking support for any major new investments from the Republican-controlled legislature, Virginia has taken an incremental approach to building its preschool program, said Emily Griffey, a senior policy analyst for Voices for Virginias Children, a research and advocacy organization.
Right now, Virginia is focusing on building capacity through more public-private partnerships, she said.
In Maryland, localities pay the bulk of the cost for preschool, although a 2007 mandate to provide pre-kindergarten to children from poor families was timed with a large increase in state funding for education. Combined government spending per student in Maryland last year was $7,533, $5,964 in Virginia, and $17,875 in the District.
Virginia and Maryland also received federal funds through a competitive Preschool Development Grant program to support high-quality preschool enrollment of 4-year- olds from low-income families.
The Virginia grant provided seats for more than 1,200 additional children in the 2015-2016 school year and also improved program quality in 11 communities it considers high needs, including Prince William County, officials said.
The multiyear grant was launched by the Obama administration to fulfill the former presidents call for a dramatic expansion of publicly funded preschool to address the achievement gap between children from varying economic backgrounds.
President Trump has not signaled a similar commitment to preschool, and its unclear what will happen after the grant ends in the 2018-2019 school year, advocates say.
Variability in access to public preschool in the Washington region highlights a national problem, where the growth of public preschool programs is exacerbating inequality across state lines, said Steven Barnett, executive director of the Rutgers University institute that published the report.
We have this big expansion but its very uneven. If you live in D.C., or Oklahoma or Wisconsin or Iowa, chances are you can go to a high-quality pre-K program for at least a year, he said. But if you live in many other states, your chances are not very good, even if you are in poverty, he said.
In addition to Washington, D.C., three states Florida, Oklahoma and Wisconsin ranked at the top, serving more than 70 percent of 4-year-olds. Seven states have no state-funded preschool at all.
A firefighter assists a Metro rider with oxygen aboard a Metrobus after people were evacuated from the L'Enfant Metro station after smoke filled a Metro car Jan. 12, 2015. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)
A federal judge has agreed to allow 25 plaintiffs to withdraw lawsuits filed against Metro and the District of Columbia by victims of the January 2015 LEnfant Plaza smoke disaster.
The dismissals came at the request the plaintiffs an indication that those individuals have likely reached a settlement with Metro and the District out of court.
I am bound by confidentiality, and cannot comment further on the reason for the dismissal, said Patrick M. Regan, an attorney representing several of the individuals suing Metro and the D.C. Fire Department, including the family members of Carol Glover, 61, who died while stuck on the smoke-filled train.
That case was not among those dismissed Thursday in U.S. District Court.
The Glover case is going forward full steam ahead, Regan said Friday.
Metro and D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowsers office declined to comment or offer an explanation for the dismissals, citing the ongoing litigation.
Barry Trebach, one of the private attorneys representing Metro in the lawsuit, also declined to comment.
Many of the two dozen cases dismissed Thursday involved victims whose injuries were considered to be less grave or fraught with fewer potential long-term effects than others involved in the disaster.
With 25 cases now dismissed from the lawsuit, approximately 80 remain. Riders began filing lawsuits just weeks after the Jan. 12, 2015, incident.
During the incident, a Yellow Line train stalled inside a smoke-filled tunnel close to the LEnfant Plaza station with hundreds of commuters aboard.
Miscommunications and safety lapses involving Metro staff and fire department officials delayed the emergency response. Riders were trapped on the train for about a half-hour before they began to be escorted off the rail cars and back to the station, a few hundred feet away.
By that time, Glover had lost consciousness. Other passengers administered CPR until fire rescue arrived. Glover later died of smoke-related respiratory failure. More than 80 other people were hospitalized with smoke-related injuries.
[Metro rider who helped dying passenger: I told her she was going to be okay.]
In legal complaints filed since the incident, riders have argued that Metro created unsafe conditions for them in the subway tunnel and that emergency responders should have begun the evacuation much more quickly.
Metro and the District have also sought to pin the blame on each other.
In January, Metro filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit as well as a cross-claim arguing that the D.C. Fire Department should bear exclusive responsibility for what happened to riders. Weeks later, attorneys for the District returned with their own response, rejecting Metros accusations.
Neither entity has been granted its motion to dismiss the case.
[Jan. 2017: Metro seeks to dismiss lawsuit in LEnfant Plaza smoke incident and lays blame on D.C. Fire]
As the lawsuit moves forward for Glovers family and scores of others, Regan said they await further information from Metro about the incident.
Were working with Metro in terms of getting various materials, Regan said.
It will still be awhile before the case goes to trial. Regan said he anticipates that a court date will be scheduled for sometime in fall 2018.
A 33-year-old man was killed in Washington early Saturday morning after losing control of his car, swerving into oncoming traffic and colliding with an SUV, D.C. police said.
Patrick Kincaid, of Northwest, was driving a white Acura TL westbound on New York Avenue NE around 2:45 a.m. when he struck a black Toyota Rav4 head-on, police said. Kincaid was pronounced dead at an area hospital. The driver and passenger in the SUV were treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
Police did not indicate the cause of the crash, which remains under investigation.
Eating chocolate has been linked with a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. Now a study from Denmark suggests that regular consumption of the treat may help to prevent the development of atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat.
In the study, published in the journal Heart, researchers found that people who ate chocolate at least once a month had rates of atrial fibrillation that were 10 to 20 percent lower than those who ate chocolate less often.
Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the hearts two upper chambers, known as the atriums, do not beat at the same pace as the hearts two lower chambers, resulting in an irregular heartbeat. The condition increases a persons risk of strokes, heart failure and cognitive impairment.
[Study suggests the more chocolate you eat, the lower your risk of heart disease]
The study found that the strongest overall effects were seen in men and women who ate one ounce of chocolate two to six times per week, said lead author Elizabeth Mostofsky, a researcher at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. [5 Surprising Ways to Be Heart Healthy]
Between 2.7 million and 6.1 million Americans have atrial fibrillation, so its important to identify effective ways to help prevent the condition from developing, the researchers wrote.
[When her heart started beating wildly, she knew something was wrong]
Two previous studies have looked at the connection between chocolate consumption and the risk of developing atrial fibrillation, but their results suggested that any association may have been due to chance.
Unlike those earlier studies, whose participants were only men or only women, the new study included both men and women.
In the latest study, the researchers analyzed data collected from more than 55,000 Danes ages 50 to 64.
The researchers found that more than 3,300 of the participants were diagnosed with atrial fibrillation or atrial flutter (a condition in which the heart beats faster than usual but not irregularly) during a follow-up period that averaged 13.5 years.
When researchers took into consideration other factors that might influence development of atrial fibrillation, such as alcohol intake, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, the study showed an association between people with a moderate intake of chocolate and a lower risk of developing atrial fibrillation.
The study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. And although the exact mechanism of how chocolate may prevent atrial fibrillation is not known, its possible that compounds in chocolate called flavonoids may play a role, the researchers said.
Flavonoids have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, Mostofsky said. They may limit the inflammatory process in the body, reducing the stickiness of the blood and leading to less scarring of connective tissue. All of these factors may help prevent the electrical remodeling of the heart that leads to atrial fibrillation, she explained.
The findings showed that for women, the strongest association was seen in those who ate a one-ounce serving of chocolate once a week: This level of consumption was linked to a 21 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation compared with those who ate less chocolate. For men, the strongest association was seen in those who ate two to six one-ounce servings of chocolate weekly. These men had a 23 percent lower risk of atrial fibrillation.
Mostofsky cautioned that chocolate sold in Europe generally has a higher cocoa content than chocolate available in the United States.
All in all, the findings suggest that compared with some other snack choices, a moderate intake of chocolate may be a heart-healthy snack, Mostofsky said. But people should choose chocolate with a higher cocoa content, which has more health benefits and protective compounds, she said.
One of the limitations of the study is that people in Denmark are more similar to each other in race and ethnicity than people in other countries, so the findings may not be generalizable to other populations, other researchers wrote in an editorial accompanying the study.
The chocolate consumers in the study were also generally healthier, better educated and had lower rates of hypertension and diabetes than the people who didnt eat chocolate, and all of these factors might lessen their odds for atrial fibrillation, wrote the editorials authors, Jonathan Piccini and Sean Pokorney, cardiologists at the Duke Center for Atrial Fibrillation in Durham, N.C.
Live Science
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A daily 30-minute regimen designed to help elderly surgery patients stay oriented can cut the rate of postoperative delirium in half and help them return home sooner, according to a test among 377 volunteers in Taipei.
After they were moved out of an intensive care unit, 15.1 percent given conventional treatment experienced delirium. But when hospital workers got patients moving faster, helped them brush their teeth, gave them facial exercises and talked to them in ways to help them understand what was happening, the delirium rate was just 6.6 percent.
And while the patients who didnt get the intervention typically stayed in the hospital for 14 days, those who did were discharged an average two days sooner.
The study draws needed attention to delirium, which can cause problems when confused patients, for example, try to extricate themselves from the tubes and equipment needed to recover, said Lillian Kao, acute care surgery chief for McGovern Medical School at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, who wasnt involved with the study.
Estimates of deliriums prevalence vary widely, ranging from 13 percent to 50 percent among people who have non-heart surgery, according to an editorial accompanying the study, which appears in JAMA Surgery.
People 65 and older are particularly vulnerable. Delirium is believed to cost the U.S. health-care system more than $164 billion a year, yet up to 40 percent of cases could be preventable, the researchers write.
In the new study, all 377 patients were hospitalized for abdominal surgeries, about 90 percent of them involving removal of a malignant tumor. They ranged in age from about 69 to 80 years old, and half were randomly assigned to receive the usual care and half to receive the interventional strategy used in the study, known as mHELP.
Specially trained nurses started visiting the mHELP patients as soon as they were moved to the inpatient ward from the ICU. The nurse asked each patient about events of the past days to try to orient them or simply to get them talking on a subject that interested them. They also had patients practice exercises involved in eating and oral health. The patients were also encouraged to stretch, stand and start walking as quickly as possible.
Another pair of trained nurses, unaware of which experimental group a patient was in, assessed all of the study participants daily for delirium. The patients were considered to be delirious if they couldnt pay attention and if they experienced either an altered state of consciousness or disorganized thinking.
Cheryl Chia-Hui Chen, professor of nursing at National Taiwan University, and her colleagues estimated that for every dozen people treated with mHELP, one case of delirium would be prevented.
Summer soon arrives, and the big planets Jupiter and Saturn will entertain evening onlookers, Venus will distract morning dog walkers and Mars starts a season-long hiatus.
Catch a fattening, waxing moon as it approaches the bright Jupiter (-2.2 magnitude) in the southern sky on the evening of June 2 and then scooting past the planet June 3. Our lunar neighbor sails over the star Spica on June 4. The large, gaseous planet appearing to float through the constellation Virgo now rises in the midafternoon throughout June and hits due south soon after nightfall early in the month.
Saturn reaches opposition June 15, according to the U.S. Naval Observatory, when the ringed planet is opposite the sun from Earths perspective. Think of it as a full Saturn. For the month, the ringed planet will be zero magnitude, bright enough to see from city locations. Early in the month, it rises around 9 p.m., but rises near 8:20 p.m. (before the sun sets) in mid-June. Find it in the later evening, low in the southeastern sky. It then cruises south and you can catch it before sunrise in the southwest. The full moon (June 9) loiters near Saturn on June 9-10. Its the smallest full moon of the year.
Bon voyage to our neighboring Mars for the summer. From our earthly perspective, the Red Planet will be too close to the sun to see until September when it returns to the morning sky.
Venus ascends the eastern, morning heavens early in June, brilliantly capturing our cosmic hearts at -4.5 magnitude, quite bright. By mid-month, the planet is slightly less luminous at -4.3 magnitude which aint too shabby. Look to the east before dawn as youre walking the dog or taking a jog. Its hard to miss Venus. The waning crescent moon meets the planet on the mornings of June 20-21.
Its lunacy: June features two first-quarter moons for the United States. For the East Coast this month, the first-quarter moon officially occurs at 8:42 a.m. Eastern Daylight time on June 1, according to the Naval Observatory. The second first-quarter moon occurs June 30 at 8:51 p.m. EDT.
Summer officially starts with the solstice June 21 at just after midnight, 12:24 a.m., the point where the sun appears to touch the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere. Washington gets 14 hours and 54 minutes of daylight on June 18-23, according to the observatory. During the June 10-17 period, we see the years earliest sunrise at 5:42 a.m. for Washington. Our latest sunset is 8:38 p.m. for June 27-28.
Down-to-Earth events:
June 2 See the sun safely, and catch Saturn, Jupiter and other objects through telescopes and binoculars at the Astronomy Festival on the Mall. Find the cosmic frolic on the corner of the Washington Monument grounds, near 15th Street and Constitution Avenue NW. 6 -11 p.m. Hosted by Long Islands Hofstra University. www.hofstra.edu/dcstars. (In case of rain: School Without Walls High School, 2130 G St. NW.)
June 5 Summer is here with the Stars Tonight at the David M. Brown Planetarium, 1426 N. Quincy St., Arlington, adjacent to Washington-Lee High School. 7:30 p.m. $3. friendsoftheplanetarium.org.
June 5 Quasars and Supermassive Black Holes, a talk by astronomer Sylvain Veilleux, at the University of Marylands Observatory, College Park. Weather permitting, scan the night sky through telescopes afterward. 9 p.m. astro.umd.edu/openhouse.
June 10 Be spellbound and bedazzled by science fair winner presentations at the National Capital Astronomers meeting, held at the University of Maryland Observatory, College Park. 7:30 p.m. capitalastronomers.org.
June 11 The Sudbury Meteor Impact Event, a talk by geologist Bill Cannon, who will discuss the large crater about 250 miles northwest of Toronto, at the Northern Virginia Astronomy Clubs regular meeting, 163 Research Hall, George Mason University. 7 p.m. novac.com.
June 17 See the heavens from inside Washington at Exploring the Sky, hosted by the National Park Service and the National Capital Astronomers, at Rock Creek Park, near the Nature Center, in the field south of Military and Glover roads NW. 9 p.m. capitalastronomers.org.
June 20 Astronomers converse on the universe and then savor the heavens through telescopes, weather permitting, at the University of Marylands Observatory, College Park. 9 p.m. astro.umd.edu/openhouse.
June 22 The Grand Tour: Exploring Planets Outside the Solar System, a lecture by astronomer Heather Knutson, California Institute of Technology, at the Lockheed Martin Imax Theater, National Air and Space Museum. 8 p.m. airandspace.si.edu.
The shocking thing about Greg Gianfortes assault on a journalist isnt that he body-slammed and punched a reporter but that it took so long for the inevitable to occur.
Such an attack was foreshadowed way back in March last year when tough-guy Corey Lewandowski grabbed a female reporter who, apparently, was too brash for the tender sensibilities of then-candidate Donald Trumps inner circle.
A few months after his effrontery, Lewandowski left the campaign and joined CNN as a commentator. He now may be poised to rejoin Team Trump.
Gianforte, a Montana Republican, also was rewarded for his imitation of a distempered jackal. His campaign in a special congressional election reportedly reaped more than $100,000 in online donations just before the vote, most of it in the aftermath of the incident. The Bozeman businessman also managed to win the election, perhaps partly attributable to early voting before the attack.
As captured in an audio recording, the Guardians Ben Jacobs is heard saying, You just body-slammed me and broke my glasses. According to Fox News reporter Alicia Acuna, Gianforte began punching Jacobs, saying, Im sick and tired of you guys.
Arent we all.
The cause of his violent meltdown? Jacobs had asked Gianforte a few questions about his position on health care.
This isnt exactly high-handed heckling over a sensitive issue. What if it had been? Would Gianforte have throttled him? Gianforte did apologize for his actions after the election results were in and following 24 hours of denial.
It would seem that Gianforte, who has been charged with misdemeanor assault, is unfamiliar with the media beast known as a scrum, an impromptu assemblage of reporters, usually following an event, during which reporters fire off questions and jostle one another for a better position sort of the way President Trump bulldozed past Montenegrin Prime Minister Dusko Markovic on Thursday.
In Brussels for a NATO summit, the president proved that no one can out-bully him. He chastised other nations for not paying their fair share, and did not offer his endorsement of Article 5, the collective-security provision, which was interpreted as insinuating that they might not be able to rely on the United States should, say, Russia decide to pursue its dream of reestablishing the empire, as it did in Crimea.
Trump obviously had changed his tune since earlier declaring in Saudi Arabia that he had not come to lecture. He all but wagged his finger, which may explain why newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron walked directly toward Trump and then, at the last moment, swerved to greet German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, shaking other hands before getting to Trump last.
But Trumps coup de uncouth came when, apparently stricken by an urgent need to reach center stage for a group photo, the U.S. president literally pushed Markovic out of the way. Upon finding his preferred spot, Trump adjusted his tie and seemed oblivious to what the rest of the world observed as profoundly unseemly.
Markovic graciously has said he didnt notice the shove, adding that the U.S. president should be in the front row. Perhaps so, but a light tap on the shoulder and at least a pretense of manners in the form of Excuse me wouldnt have been such a strain.
While Trumps reflexive rudeness was merely embarrassing, Gianfortes attack was frightening. Both actions, however, flow from the same spout our ever-coarsening culture and partisan hostility that erased all boundaries of civility during the 2016 election. It would be unfair to pin this evolution on Trump alone, but broadening acceptance of bullying tactics undoubtedly has been aided by the commander in chiefs own embrace, even celebration, of resolving differences by force, if necessary.
Recall candidate Trump encouraging his supporters to boo journalists at his rallies; his promising to pay legal expenses for a guy who punched a heckler; and his incessant demonizing of the mainstream media as fake news, meaning news he doesnt like.
Gianforte may be a hero to some, but his violent antics should send a chill up the spines of Constitution-minded Americans. Trumps rhetoric has normalized hatred of journalists and, by implication, encouraged the sort of behavior weve now witnessed. The perpetrator wasnt some right-wing crazy from Bumduck; he was a respected businessman, now elected to Congress.
If this doesnt worry you, we have bigger problems than Russia could ever dream.
Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook.
Tim Carmans May 17 Food article, Ethiopians new narrative , described the modification of Ethiopian cuisine as a sign of refinement. I disagree. Authentic Ethiopian food, with all its unique characteristics and presentations, is fully enjoyed just that way: authentically. To modify the dishes for the sake of convenience or monetary reasons will only tarnish their image and originality.
Some of the modified dishes, as described in the article, create more confusion than delight. Why would one go to an Ethiopian restaurant to eat tacos and tortillas? The quest for imitation, indeed, is as puzzling as it is unsettling. Adding to the mix-up is chef Marcus Samuelssons statement: My aim is to make something delicious, not to be authentic. The chefs skill and creativity in preparing delicious dishes are well-known, although I have not experienced them personally. His own statement, however, disqualifies him, and similar chefs, from putting the Ethiopian label on their dishes and restaurants.
The ancient countrys delicious food does not need to be modified to broaden its appeal. Imitation may yield some temporary financial benefits to a restaurant, but only authenticity can bring the real joy of Ethiopian cuisine to the customer.
Tewodros Abebe, Accokeek
GIANFORTE GRABBED Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. That was Fox News reporter Alicia Acunas account of how Greg Gianforte allegedly assaulted Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs, the day before Mr. Gianforte won a special election to fill Montanas at-large congressional seat. Along with an audio recording of the incident, the eyewitness accounts confirm that the now-congressman-elect engaged in brutish behavior. That he subsequently tried to blame Mr. Jacobs for the incident, in which the reporter was merely asking an honest question, makes Mr. Gianfortes actions all the more inexcusable.
Inexcusable means inexcusable. The House, led by Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), who said theres never a call for physical altercation, should have made clear that Mr. Gianforte would not be welcome in the chamber. Instead, the speaker said , If he wins, he has been chosen by the people of Montana. Other Republicans were even more forgiving. Its not appropriate behavior, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Calif.) reportedly told the Associated Presss Mary Clare Jalonick. Unless the reporter deserved it. According to Texas Tribune reporter Patrick Svitek, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) held up a bullet-riddled gun-range target sheet and said, Im gonna carry this around in case I see any reporters.
If Mr. Gianforte is convicted of his pending assault charge, he should resign. If he declines to step away, the House of Representatives should expel him. Otherwise, a man convicted of assaulting a reporter and who subsequently lied about the incident, will serve in a body whose very existence proclaims that even the most contentious disputes can be managed through debate and peaceful disagreement. At the least, Mr. Gianforte should be persona non grata on Capitol Hill, frozen out of committee assignments, treated with disdain.
Admittedly, expulsion would be unusual. Though the Constitution allows two-thirds of the House to expel any member for practically any reason, only five have been expelled: three for disloyalty during the Civil War period, and two for corrupt activities while in office. Mr. Gianforte can claim a measure of democratic legitimacy because the beating happened (barely) before the election.
Its true that most Montana voters sent in their ballots early. But even if voters had chosen him with full knowledge of his behavior, lawmakers would have an obligation to make clear that speech is not to be met with violence, that the worst attack a questioner ever deserves is a tongue-lashing, that those chosen to conduct the nations business must meet at least a minimum standard of decorum.
Conservatives react with outrage at stories of intolerant college activists violently protesting right-wing speakers. Members of the Trump administration talk of fighting a war for civilization, a term that, if it means anything, stands for the proposition that disagreements are not settled brutally. Republicans must bring the same sense of moral certainty to the case of Mr. Gianforte or they must admit they care about these essential principles only when it is politically convenient.
THE MEN kicked people lying on the ground and put a woman in a chokehold just a mile from the White House. They outnumbered the protesters nearly two to one. That is one of the findings of the New York Timess review of videos and photographs of the violent attack May 16 on protesters by Turkish bodyguards during President Recep Tayyip Erdogans visit.
The meticulous review makes clear how ridiculous it is for the Turkish government to double down on its claims that police were at fault for inadequate control of demonstrators. It makes one wonder what is taking U.S. authorities so long in bringing charges against the assailants, and whether the White House is ever going to speak out against this clear-cut attack on American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.
Eleven people were injured in the melee outside the Turkish ambassadors residence at Sheridan Circle that has become the source of increasing diplomatic tensions. The State Department condemned the events and summoned the Turkish ambassador, prompting Turkeys Foreign Ministry to summon the American ambassador and lodge a formal protest over aggressive actions by U.S. personnel. On Thursday, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a resolution condemning the attack, and House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) demanded an apology.
Mr. Ryan shouldnt hold his breath. The Turkish government, as evidenced by the gall of the latest statement from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has made clear it doesnt care about facts as it tries to insist that ill-prepared police and aggressive protesters were to blame. Never mind the video showing otherwise. Never mind the images of Mr. Erdogan complacently watching as his black-suited guards charge off. Never mind that the Times was able to track the actions of 24 men (including armed members of the security detail and civilian supporters of Mr. Erdogan) as they punched and kicked protesters, including women.
The D.C. police investigation is continuing, with cooperation from the Secret Service and the State Department, according to Chief Peter Newsham. We understand the need for careful review, but there also should be a sense of urgency in bringing to justice those responsible for this indefensible attack on peaceful protesters. Charges should be brought. If diplomatic immunity precludes prosecution in some cases, those wrongdoers should be made personae non grata in the United States.
It is also important that President Trump make clear to Mr. Erdogan that such thuggery while unfortunately unchecked in his home country has no place here.
Yasmine Bahrani is a professor of journalism at American University in Dubai.
The month of May is graduation time here in Dubai, too. The seniors at the university where I teach happily toss their mortarboards into the air and pose for selfies, as seniors do annually. But this year something is different: When I ask the new grads where they will go for their summer internships or jobs or even vacations, Im hearing much more uncertainty than in years past. One Emirati student told me he had to cancel his plans to travel to the United States. Most of us cant get visas to the U.S., he said. Another Emirati said shell probably go to Britain because her plans for a summer internship in New York fell through when she could not get a visa. London is hardly a consolation prize, but why deny these students a chance to visit the United States?
Mind you, the United Arab Emirates is not on the list of six countries whose nationals are the focus of the Trump administrations controversial travel ban (and even that ban is in limbo as it makes its way through the U.S. courts). But I also have a student from Syria which is on the list, along with Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen who was accepted by a U.S. graduate school but cannot get to it. Students also told me that, ban or no ban, their visas were denied or the response to their requests took so long that they gave up. These students werent seeking H1-B work visas; they wanted just to study. Now theyre taking a last-minute look at Britain and Canada. One Syrian student told me with relief that she was accepted to Carleton University in Ottawa to study journalism. Shes one of the lucky ones.
Its not just students who are facing this difficulty. A family I know here had been granted visas by the U.S. Consulate in Dubai. But their attempt to attend a wedding in Indianapolis was blocked at the airport. A U.S. consular officer in Abu Dhabi canceled the visas on their passports and prevented them from boarding the plane. Why? The family told me they werent given a reason, but they believe it was because their British passports indicate they were born in Iraq. Iraq is no longer on the list of targeted countries.
The incident, according to the mother, was inexplicable. Still, the parents remained polite, trying to retain their dignity even as they were being humiliated. Their son, however, a man in his 20s, gave way to his fury and swore angrily at the visa officer. I suspect the sons outrage is the more common reaction to these travel frustrations. Certainly, these problems have changed some peoples views about the United States. Some who had otherwise positive views now curse the country as racist. At a minimum, others swear bitterly they will never visit the United States again.
Anyone can understand the need to protect Americans from potential terrorists, but the trade-off here is costly: In exchange for the possibility of barring those who might intend harm, the United States is making detractors out of people who want to be friends.
My own students are good examples. What do I have to do with terrorism? those in my classroom ask. The students have demonstrated repeatedly during our lively discussions that they dream of a liberal society for the Middle East, one that resembles the United States. They admire the freedom that the United States grants its citizens, which is one reason that they Westernize themselves: They dress in ripped jeans, know the words to the songs of Beyonce and Drake, and even keep up with the Kardashians.
Young as they are, they understand as well that some of the most outspoken defenders of Muslims in the United States right now are Christians and Jews. But they perceive the government as problematic. They are asking whether the United States has a problem with all Arabs and Muslims. The keynote speaker at this months graduation ceremony was Donald Trump Jr., who urged the seniors to dare to follow their dreams. What if their dreams involve learning opportunities in the United States?
Is it wise to prevent exactly the kind of people who should be engaging with the West from visiting? Why are Emiratis who are studying at an American campus in the Gulf having trouble getting U.S. visas? Why are Iraqi-born British citizens having their visas canceled? It isnt just Muslims facing this issue. I know a family of Iraqi Christians who have been waiting for their U.S. immigration visas for years. Why? They were told just to wait. What kind of risk has been avoided by delaying entry year after year to a family of four Christians?
In our classroom discussions, my students have been pleased to learn that in the United States, anyone can express his or her opinion. Theyve learned that anyone can freely practice any faith. Theyve learned that gay people can marry. My students see the United States as a cool country, which is why they wish to know it better, why they want to visit. Last Sunday, President Trump may have spoken of friendship and hope between the United States and the Middle East in his address in Saudi Arabia, but these new graduates have just been presented with a lesson about the United States that I wish they hadnt had to learn at all.
In the middle of one night
Miss Clavel turned on the light
And said, Something is not right!
Madeline, by Ludwig
Bemelmans, 1939
Many of us these days find ourselves channeling our inner Miss Clavel.
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, for one. In Dexter Filkinss profile of Mattis for the New Yorker, the most striking moment comes when Mattis is asked what worries him most in his new role. Filkins expected to hear about the Islamic State, or Russia, or the defense budget.
Instead, Mattis went to a deeper, more unsettling problem: The lack of political unity in America. The lack of a fundamental friendliness. It seems like an awful lot of people in America and around the world feel spiritually and personally alienated, whether it be from organized religion or from local community school districts or from their governments.
Something is not right. If anything, Mattiss diagnosis seems understated. This national distemper, the sour, angry mood infecting the body politic, was evident before Montana congressional candidate Greg Gianforte body-slammed a reporter for daring to ask a question; then had his campaign lie about it; then failed to apologize until after he won the election.
It was evident before Gianfortes current allies and future colleagues were muted, to put it mildly, in the face of his audio-taped assault. We all make mistakes, said Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio), who chairs the House Republicans campaign arm. This was not a mistake; it was an assault on a reporter doing his constitutionally protected job.
Something is not right and Gianfortes attack is simply a well-documented illustration of this larger ill. The events of a single week serve to underscore the gravity of the malady.
Something is not right when the grieving parents of murdered Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich are forced to suffer the further injury of seeing their sons death hijacked for political purpose, baselessly linked to WikiLeaked DNC emails.
Something is not right when President Trumps commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, marvels, after traveling with the president to Saudi Arabia, that there was not a single hint of a protester anywhere there during the whole time we were there. Not one guy with a bad placard. Note to Ross: The absence of protest is not good news it is evidence of the absence of democracy.
Something is not right when Trumps housing secretary, Ben Carson, asserts that poverty to a large extent is also a state of mind. You take somebody that has the right mind-set, you can take everything from them and put them on the street, and I guarantee in a little while theyll be right back up there. As if the poor have only themselves to blame for their condition. How can this man be entrusted with the task of ensuring affordable housing when he seems to believe that the inability to pay for housing stems from lack of will and moral backbone?
This is not simply about disagreeing with Trumps ideology, such as it is, or even with more orthodox Republican views. It is about the increasing distrust of the other, whether a refugee or a political opponent, and the emergence of a fundamental mean-spiritedness inconsistent with American values.
About those American values: Something is not right when, as the Congressional Budget Office found, the House Republican health-care bill would result in 23 million more Americans without health coverage, inflicting the greatest harm on the oldest, sickest and least well-off.
Something is not right when Trump proposes a budget that would slash funding for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the program launched by President George W. Bush in 2003 that has saved nearly 12 million lives in Africa and elsewhere by providing antiretroviral drugs. Trumps budget would cut the program by nearly one-fifth and result in the deaths of at least 1 million people, according to researchers.
And that is just one particularly poignant example. Something is not right when Trumps budget would cut food stamps and housing vouchers for needy families; health care for poor children this on top of cuts already envisioned in the health-care bill heating assistance for the low-income elderly; and job training programs to help the very Americans whose interests Trump vowed to champion.
Something is really not right when all this is done to help pay for trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the richest Americans. When it is built on an edifice of fairy-tale growth projections exacerbated by fraudulent accounting, double-counting savings from this supposed growth.
We are all Miss Clavel now, or should be.
Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook.
Immigrants go down an escalator after being sworn in as new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony in Los Angeles on Monday. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters)
Did the May 18 front-page headline Arrests of immigrants soar under new administration not beg for the modifier illegal? This is at best sloppy and at worst an insult to the millions of immigrants who enter the United States in accordance with our laws. Please do readers the service of reporting accurately and not adding fuel to the tiresome claims of a liberal media bias that are too often leveled at The Post.
James Gray, Washington
THE INSURANCE specialist who sold Joaquin S. Rams a $444,083 life insurance policy on his then-infant son recently recalled for us some of the circumstances of the transaction: How he contacted Mr. Rams by phone after Mr. Rams responded to an ad. About their initial conversation, in which Mr. Rams boasted about being a high-level government employee and also an aspiring musician who had been on the Voice and was about to go on tour with Jay Z. How he did a Google search but found absolutely nothing. And how he sold the policy anyway because it was really none of his business to raise suspicions. I was a salesman, John Donovan explained, selling a product for a commission.
That a 15-month-old child ended up paying with his life killed by his father who wanted to cash in on this and two other policies should give pause to an industry that sees juvenile life insurance as a means to easy profit. Obtaining life insurance on a child, according to insurance experts, takes less effort than getting a policy on an adult, with fewer checks that might reveal possible fraud or bad intent.
MassMutual, the financial group that issued the $444,083 policy, has declined to discuss the particulars of this case with us. After Mr. Rams was convicted in April of capital murder and insurance fraud for the 2012 death of Prince McLeod Rams, a spokesman emailed a statement: First and foremost, this is a horrific tragedy and we are pleased that justice has been served. MassMutual continues to adhere to rigorous standards and practices for both the review and approval on all policies we underwrite and issue.
Mr. Donovan, an independent broker under contract with MassMutual in 2011, said the policy was the largest he had ever written on a child in his career, so one might expect a fair degree of scrutiny from the underwriters at MassMutual. Not only did they fail to discover that Mr. Rams lied about his financial situation and about Princes mother being dead (she wasnt), but also they did not detect that he had already applied for a $30,000 policy with another company. Several months later, a third company issued a policy for $50,000. So much for the industrys vaunted review by third-party administrators.
Princes mother, Hera McLeod, said she had been worried about her ex-boyfriend taking out insurance on the child their custody fight and her bid to prevent unsupervised visits were marked by allegations that Mr. Rams had previously killed the mother of his older son and his mother for insurance purposes but was stymied in getting information. She and Princes grandmother contacted several insurance companies and were told that the only way they could obtain information was if Prince were dead and a policy was paid out to a beneficiary.
There should be, Ms. McLeod argues, a national registry that would allow people to find out if insurance policies have been taken out on them or their loved ones. This would be a helpful tool for law enforcement and insurance agents. And other safeguards should be put in place, too. Instead of allowing companies to set their own rules, states need to establish standards (as Washington state has done) or set limits on the amount of insurance that can be taken out on a childs life (as is the case in New York).
Data on how many murders are motivated by life insurance is spotty, and advocates for the industry may be right that cases like Princes are the terrible exception and not the norm. But do your own Google search and youll come across heartbreaking cases such as 7-week-old Tara Abdelhaq suffocated by her mother in 1995 to collect $200,000 or the three children of Deborah and Timothy Nicholls left in a burning house in 2003 for $10,000 on each child. What wont show up are instances in which a killer might have gotten away with the crime and that is even more reason for better safeguards.
Richard W. Collins III, fatally stabbed last weekend on the University of Marylands College Park campus, was as innocent as the 22 victims slain in the Manchester suicide bombing on Monday. Collins, an African American, newly commissioned U.S. Army officer from Maryland, was, like the victims of the Manchester, England, massacre, not bothering anybody. Slated to graduate from Bowie State University this week, Collins was simply out with friends enjoying himself. So, too, were those killed and wounded in Manchester.
Authorities are investigating Collinss death, allegedly at the hands of a knife-wielding University of Maryland student, Sean Urbanski, as a possible hate crime. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), speaking on the House floor, called the killing of his constituent a vicious crime probably motivated by hate. The cause has not been pinned down.
In Manchester, theres certainty.
That attack is deemed an act of terrorism spurred by an aim to intimidate and make a statement about the presumed religion, nationality and cultural values of the victims. The Islamic States claim of responsibility for the murders has not been substantiated.
But the suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, reportedly was radicalized recently. Flirtation with the dark side may have also attracted Urbanski.
(WUSA)
According to University of Maryland Police Chief David Mitchell, Urbanski belonged to a Facebook group where members post racist and other offensive statements. Mitchell described the postings as despicable and said they showed extreme bias against women, Latinos, persons of the Jewish faith and especially African Americans.
Whats striking about these unprovoked attacks is how much is known about motivators of extremists abroad and how little is known, or at least discussed, about instigators of extremism here at home.
On Sunday, President Trump denounced those who practice terrorism and spread its vile creed. And he urged his listeners to stand in uniform condemnation of terrorism and barbaric attacks.
Trumps message, however, was delivered to an international audience in Saudi Arabia.
Would that the presidents voice could be heard on threats posed here at home.
It would be good to hear a presidential condemnation of the kind of hate being investigated as behind Collinss death.
Or hear Trump express outrage at the March stabbing of an African American man in New York, allegedly by a white supremacist from Maryland who police say admitted traveling to the Big Apple to indulge his long-harbored hatred of black men. He wanted to trigger a killing spree against African Americans, police said.
Those individual hate crimes apparently dont rise to presidential attention, at least not like Manchesters multiple deaths, which tend to focus the mind. But solitary attacks add up.
As the Anti-Defamation League noted in a new report, A Dark & Constant Rage: 25 Years of Right-Wing Terrorism in the United States, the United States has experienced a long string of terrorist incidents, with many connected not to Islamist terrorists but to right-wing extremists.
The findings were startling.
The ADL analyzed 150 terrorist acts in the United States that were committed, attempted or plotted by right-wing extremists. More than 800 people were killed or injured in these attacks, the ADL said, noting that the attacks surged during the mid-to-late 1990s and again starting in 2009 the beginning of Barack Obamas presidency.
They also looked at other acts of violence and determined that from 2007 to 2016, a range of domestic extremists of all kinds were responsible for the deaths of at least 372 people across the country. Seventy-four percent of these murders came at the hands of right-wing extremists such as white supremacists, sovereign citizens and militia adherents.
And, reported the ADL, the hate and terror mongers choose their marks carefully: Jews, Muslims and the most common racial target African Americans.
According to The Post, a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino showed an overall increase of 13 percent in hate crimes reported, with 1,812 incidents reported in 2016 the year of our nasty, hate-filled presidential race.
So how about pivoting from Saudi Arabia to turn White House attention to our own homegrown terrorist problem? After all, right-wing extremism may be the predicate that led a hate-filled white student to pick up a knife in the middle of spring commencement celebrations and stab an innocent and promising young man of color to death.
Surely that is worth a presidential thought or two.
Manchester has prompted elevation of Britains threat level to its highest.
In light of Richard Collinss murder, the discovery of a noose in a fraternity house this month, as well as white supremacist fliers posted on campus earlier this year, where is the University of Marylands threat level? How about Americas?
After all, haters seem emboldened as never before.
Read more from Colbert Kings archive.
Correction: An earlier version of this column incorrectly stated that marijuana has been legalized in Portugal. The column has been updated.
Whats the standard line on President Trump these days? That hes an erratic creature of no fixed commitments and no stable policy objectives? Not so fast. In fact, Trumps entire administration can be understood through the lens of his weird, consistent, unwavering adherence to a 1980s concept of the War on Drugs.
This adherence unifies his policy actions: not only the appointment of drug-war hard-liner Jeff Sessions as attorney general but also his approach to immigration and the wall, his calls for a revival of stop and frisk and law and order policies, key features of the Republican House health-care bill, the bromances with Rodrigo Duterte and Vladimir Putin, and even the initial proposal to defund the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
After descending that Trump Tower escalator in July 2015, Trump made headlines when he kicked off his campaign by proclaiming that Mexico was sending us rapists. Less noted has been that he began his list of woes coming from the South by castigating Mexican immigrants for bringing drugs. Already in that speech the solution he offered to this caricatured problem was the wall. Almost two years later, the wall is still meant to solve the problem of drugs, as in this tweet from April: If the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!
Trumps well-received joint address to Congress in February also explained his desire to limit immigration by focusing on drugs: Weve defended the borders of other nations while leaving our own borders wide open for anyone to cross and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate.
No surprise, then, that Sessions has been working steadily, since his confirmation, to restore the building blocks of the War on Drugs that political leaders from both parties have been quietly removing for the past five years. He has ordered a review of federal policies on state legalization of marijuana and appears to be seeking an end to the policy of federal non-interference with the cascade of legalization efforts. He has ordered a review of consent decrees, whose purpose is to spur police reform, and sought to delay the implementation of Baltimores. He has recently handed down guidance requiring federal prosecutors to seek the stiffest possible sentences available for drug offenses.
To support these efforts, Trump has proposed hiring 10,000 immigration officers and 5,000 Border Patrol agents and beefing up support for police departments. According to the White House website, The Trump Administration will be a law and order administration for a country that needs more law enforcement.
The Obama administration had begun to drive toward replacing criminal-justice strategies for drug control with public-health strategies. It wasnt whistling in the dark but following, at least in part, the innovative model of drug control pioneered by Portugal. Use and modest possession of marijuana and other drugs have been decriminalized, but large-scale trafficking is still criminal. The criminal-justice system focuses on those large-scale traffickers, while public-health strategies and harm-reduction techniques pinpoint users and low-level participants in the drug economy. Adolescent drug use is down, the percentage of users seeking treatment is up, and Portugal is interdicting increased quantities of illegal narcotics.
Countries across Central and South America would like to follow Portugal and transition from a criminal-justice paradigm to an individual and public-health paradigm for drug control. They have advocated for this change at the United Nations but have been blocked by Putins Russia. Indeed, Putin is one of the worlds most steadfast advocates for the 1980s War on Drugs concept.
Of course, Trump has expressed a strange affinity for Putin and also for Duterte, the president of the Philippines. Duterte has called for the slaughter of the Philippines estimated 3 million addicts. The death toll from extrajudicial killings that he seems to have sparked has already reached into the thousands. The response from the United States? Trump praised Duterte for doing an unbelievable job on the drug problem and invited him to the White House.
Yet Trumps initial budget plan involved proposing nearly complete defunding of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, which was founded by congressional legislation in 1988. How does that square?
The Obama administration deployed that office to restore balance to U.S. drug-control efforts, increasing emphasis on treatment, prevention and diversion programs, and fostering a move toward a health-based strategy. The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and requirements that insurers support mental-health and addiction treatment undergirded this effort, supporting the emergence of programs designed to divert low-level drug offenders out of the criminal-justice system and into treatment. This has made for the very promising beginnings of a health-based approach to drug control.
The Trump administration has painted a bulls eye on this new policy strategy and is firing away. While the White House has backed off defunding the Office of National Drug Control Policy, it continues to pursue the reversal of the Medicaid expansion. The administration appears to think narcotics control can be achieved entirely through the tools of criminal justice.
But we tried that in the 1980s, the decade of Miami Vice, the era when the Los Angeles police chief, Daryl Gates, could testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee that casual drug users ought to be taken out and shot. We know where that story ends: with increased incarceration, further degradation of urban neighborhoods, no durable change in rates of drug use and a failure to address addiction.
So, yes, Trump has a vision, and hes moving steadily toward it, wrongheaded though it is, dragging us along with him, as if into a wall.
Jared Kushner had barely survived a fight to save his familys real estate empire.
Taking charge of the business after his father went to prison, Kushner, 25 at the time, paid $1.8 billion in 2007 for the nations most expensive office building. Then the market went south, the debts piled up, and Kushner spent years pushing banks to renegotiate the loans.
But after one disgruntled lender had tried to block him, Kushner had an unusual weapon at his disposal: He owned a newspaper.
Kushner, who had purchased the New York Observer in 2006, walked into his editors office and suggested a story exposing potentially embarrassing details about the uncooperative lender.
I could tell he was angry at the guy, said the editor, Elizabeth Spiers, who resigned in 2012. Only after months of dead-end reporting did Kushner finally stop asking for the story, she said. That followed a separate incident in which Kushner wanted a hit job on another foe, a second Observer editor told The Washington Post.
Kushners career in the cutthroat world of New York real estate shows how he dealt with his worst business crisis, averting catastrophe through connections, savvy negotiation and hardball tactics that left enemies in his wake. Kushner was not reluctant to strike back against those he said had crossed him.
Now, as a powerful senior White House adviser, Kushner faces a new crisis that risks not only his own reputation but ultimately, the success of his father-in-law President Trump, who has entrusted him with responsibilities including Middle East diplomacy and reinventing the federal government.
A federal investigation has focused on Kushners secret meetings with Russians during and after Trumps 2016 campaign. The Post reported Friday that Kushner discussed with the Russian ambassador the possibility of establishing back-channel communications with the Kremlin, according to U.S. officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Kushners attorneys have said he will cooperate with the federal investigation and answer questions from a special counsel examining allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, a probe that could also examine financial connections Trump advisers may have had with Russia. Kushner declined to comment.
Kushners allies said his experience in New Yorks aggressive business culture prepared him to manage crises and tackle any problem Trump gives him to solve.
But running a real estate company, where business deals and corporate rivalries stem from the singular goal of turning the biggest profits, is far different from navigating the vast federal government or mastering the tricky politics of Washington and complexities of overseas diplomacy.
(Alice Li,McKenna Ewen/The Washington Post)
Trump has relied on Kushner as the president makes his own transition from the business world. And just as Trump has struggled to adapt, Kushner is adjusting with the lessons of the past decade in mind, saying privately that he sees a parallel between his old and new careers, believing both are blood sports.
Kushners real estate career began with a family trauma. His father, Charles, a major Democratic Party donor whose company then focused on modest apartment buildings in New Jersey, was convicted in 2005 of federal tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign donations, including some in Jared Kushners name.
The prosecutor was then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie, who said the elder Kushner had not taken responsibility for his vile and heinous acts. (Christies prosecution scarred the family, Kushner associates told The Post. The wound reopened during the Trump campaign, when White House officials said the younger Kushner helped quash consideration of Christie for an administration role). Christie did not respond to a request for comment.
Jared Kushner was studying law at New York University as the case generated wide attention because of its scandalous details. Charles Kushner had arranged to secretly videotape his brother-in-law meeting with a prostitute, allegedly hoping to coerce relatives to stop cooperating with federal authorities. The judge called it an act of vengeance.
Kushner told New York magazine in 2009 that his father arranged for the sex tape as a warning to warring family members who he said were trying to hurt him.
Was it the right thing to do? At the end of the day, it was a function of saying, Youre trying to make my life miserable. Well, Im doing the same, Kushner said.
With his father incarcerated in Alabama, barred from making business deals, Jared Kushner, the eldest son, took over the empire. It had 1,000 employees and owned more than 25,000 apartments. The familys reputation was in tatters.
A lot of their friends and business colleagues just disappeared, said Arthur J. Mirante II, a business consultant who advised the Kushners.
Kushner went to Alabama every week to consult his father. He came up with two risky moves. In 2006, he bought an unprofitable newspaper, the New York Observer, for a reported $10 million. The newspaper, a broadsheet printed on pink paper, aggressively covered New York business and politics. It had been especially hard on real estate titan Donald Trump, calling him the prince of swine, according to former columnist Michael Thomas.
Kushners newspaper ownership gave him entree to the citys powerful. Kushner by then had relocated the company to Manhattan, and he added to his allure by announcing in January 2007 a deal that shocked many real estate analysts.
He agreed to pay $1.8 billion for a 41-story office building at 666 Fifth Ave., only blocks from Trump Tower, the highest price paid at the time for a U.S. office building. Kushner called it a great acquisition, but some real estate veterans saw it as an act of hubris. Income projections suggested that Kushner had vastly overpaid and that was months before the Great Recession further softened the market.
Within three years, Kushners project was drowning. A 2010 appraisal placed its value at $820 million, about half of what he paid, and well below his debt to banks, according to financial records. As the recession set in, office rents plunged, and his buildings occupancy rate dropped from nearly full to 77 percent in 2011, according to lending documents.
Bankers turned to LNR, a Florida firm that handles distressed real estate debt as a precursor to possible foreclosure. LNR represented the banks in their effort to collect Kushners obligations.
That created extraordinary pressure on Kushner to negotiate with LNR to reduce his debt burden. But that, in turn, meant some banks and investors might be paid less than expected. A battle began between Kushner and the companies that helped finance his risky purchase. LNR declined to comment.
One of the biggest debt holders was Colony Capital, which owned $72.2 million, according to analysts estimates. The company was run by Thomas J. Barrack Jr., a Trump friend. Barrack had worked for an oil baron who sold the iconic Plaza Hotel to Trump for $410 million, which Trump later acknowledged was too high, eventually forcing him to put the property into bankruptcy. The two men nonetheless remained close; Barrack had a speaking role at the Republican National Convention and headed Trumps inaugural committee.
Kushner mentioned to his wife, Ivanka Trump whom he married in 2009 that Barrack was going after him on the debt. She told him that her father was close to Barrack, and so Donald Trump introduced Kushner to Barrack, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.
Barrack was concerned, but Kushner argued that lowering his obligation was better than foreclosure. Im asking you to make more money for yourself than youll make otherwise, Kushner told Barrack, according to the person familiar with the conversation. Barrack did not respond to a request for comment.
A company run by another Trump associate, Steven Roth, chief executive and chairman of office giant Vornado Realty Trust, bought 49.5 percent of the project and helped run it. Roth is partners with Trump on other buildings and was chosen by the president to run a committee that will recommend how to spend federal money on infrastructure projects. Both Vornado and Roth declined to comment.
At the same time, one of Kushners most severe challenges was dealing with a New York company called AREA Property Partners, which held $105.4 million of Kushners debt, according to industry estimates based on lending documents. Its chief executive, Richard Mack, objected to Kushners debt-relief requests. Mack declined to comment.
Ultimately, Kushner made a deal with LNR to ease his debt burden and allow him to retain majority control. The agreement allowed Kushner to pay off some loans immediately, lowered his payment rate and extended the deadline on the bulk of the debt for two years, to February 2019. The initial $1.2 billion mortgage was split in two, with $115 million of what he owed subordinated by Kushners position so that banks may ultimately have to write it off, according to financial filings.
Such restructurings are not unusual for owners facing extensive real estate debt. But Kushners negotiations to protect his familys investment left some hard feelings. A lender involved in the negotiations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing private conversations, told The Post he was upset because Kushner did little to protect his lenders. The lender said the various renegotiations could cost banks and investors hundreds of millions of dollars compared with what was originally expected.
They could have taken steps to mitigate the damage, the lender said.
But Kushner viewed it as a hardball business deal and showed that he was a tough negotiator, according to an individual familiar with his perspective.
Sources familiar with the arrangement said the Kushner family got back most of its $500 million investment.
Kushner divested himself of his interest in 666 Fifth Ave. when he joined the administration, although he kept stakes in about 90 percent of his real estate holdings, valued between $132 million and $407 million. He resigned from the family business and pledged a clear ethical divide. But ethics experts say his remaining business ties many in partnerships and LLCs that cannot be easily traced call for fuller disclosure.
His admirers in real estate say Kushner has never made deals in traditional ways, although he is quick to seek counsel.
Sandeep Mathrani, the chief executive of shopping mall giant General Growth Properties, said he has been periodically offering Kushner advice since the young developer asked to meet with him almost a decade ago.
I think Jared got into the real estate business to redeem the reputation of the Kushner family, and I think he has definitely done that in the New York circles, Mathrani said.
Jared was always hungry for creative new ideas and not saying This is the way weve done things for generations. Which is cool because a lot of people in real estate families, thats how they behave, said Asher Abehsera, a Kushner partner in a high-end project under development in the Dumbo section of Brooklyn.
Kushner had never shied away from hardball tactics, and as a newspaper owner, he had a media vehicle to spread negative information.
One editor of the Observer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing a private conversation, said Kushner wanted a negative story on a banker who was at odds with the family business. The editor recalled Kushner saying: We have to do a hit job on this guy. He is a bad guy.
I said, Jared, first off, never use the phrase hit job. We cant use that term. And second, theres no story here, the editor said.
A similar episode occurred with Spiers, the former editor who said Kushner offered a tip that cast Mack, the lender from AREA Property Partners, in a bad light.
Mainstream media organizations generally try to maintain editorial independence from their owners, so Spiers was concerned that Kushner was hoping to use the newspaper to punish an antagonist.
Spiers said Kushner urged her to pursue the tip, which included information about Macks business affairs. Spiers, who previously had founded the website Gawker, told The Post she had already determined that Kushner seemed to want to use the newspaper to advance his business interests.
Jared didnt buy the paper because he was interested in journalism. He bought the paper because it was a mechanism to gain influence in New York, Spiers said. He was angry at the media because he thought the media was partly responsible for his father going to jail.
She said she told Kushner that you realize if we did this story, if anything is wrong, even by accident, he has a malice precondition, and Jared didnt know what I was talking about. A public official who sues for libel must show that the publication had actual malice against the subject of the story.
Spiers gave the tip to two reporters, but they could not substantiate it. Kushner insisted on meeting with the reporters twice and brought in a source to speak with them, according to Foster Kamer, one of the reporters. Still, it could not be confirmed.
Kamer said that Kushner had put him in an improper position.
To Jared, it was such a benign thing, and to myself, it was just one of the most deeply offensive . . . things that had ever happened to me professionally, Kamer said.
In the end, the reporters and Spiers convinced Kushner that the tip did not check out, and no story was published.
I think it took a year off my life to pursue that story, Spiers said. Every meeting I had with him, he asked, So hows that story coming?
Kushner was asked in March 2016 at a forum how he managed conflicts between his real estate business and the Observer. He brushed off the question.
If you dont want conflicts, just go into your apartment and lock the door, dont go to work, dont do anything, he said. But as it comes up, you trust people to do the right things, and we found that we really havent had any issues.
An associate defended Kushner by saying the newspaper owner spent less than 1 percent of his time on the Observer and was not involved in daily operations. As Kushner gave less attention to his newspaper, he hired a close friend, Ken Kurson, to become editor in 2013.
Kurson, who announced this past week that he was stepping down from his Observer job, said in an interview that those who poke fun at the enormous portfolio Kushner has at the White House fail to appreciate what he has gone through during the past decade and what he means to Trump.
It overlooks, first of all, the complexity and depth of what he has achieved in his business career, Kurson said of Kushner. It overlooks the major factor of how leaders select their teams. It is trust.
Amy Brittain contributed to this report.
Soldiers from the Southwest Special Police Force ride in a pickup truck on May 14 during a demonstration of tactics used against al-Shabab rebels on the outskirts of Baidoa, Somalia. (Andrew Renneisen/For The Washington Post)
Near a dried-out reservoir on the edge of this village is a dilapidated mud hut. The family that lived there until last month went so far as to strip off its straw roof and feed the material to their emaciated cattle. When the animals died anyway, the family disappeared.
Half of Rebeys 80 families have abandoned their homes, fleeing a drought that has decimated their livestock and withered two years of harvests.
But cruel weather is not the main reason hundreds of thousands of people in rural Somalia are on the brink of starving to death. Rebels from the extremist al-Shabab group are blocking vital aid from reaching villages, compounding the effects of the poor rains.
Mohamed Ibrahim Hasan, a traditional chief in Rebey, said the deadly combination could spell the end for his lifelong home.
If the rain is bad again this season, thats it, this village is finished, he said. Or, if al-Shabab comes here to fight, then we will not be able to get the aid from outside that is keeping us alive.
A soldier from the Southwest Special Police Force poses during a demonstration of fighting tactics on the outskirts of Baidoa. (Andrew Renneisen/For The Washington Post)
That aid agencies can still reach Rebey makes it an exceedingly rare and lucky village. Al-Shabab, an Islamist group that pledges allegiance to al-Qaeda, holds sway over most rural areas in drought-ravaged southern Somalia and opposes the presence of international aid groups, accusing them of colluding with its archenemy, the Somali government.
Without access to food, roughly 160,000 people from across the region have walked, sometimes for days, to disease-ridden camps in government-controlled cities where aid is available. Those who are too weak to make the journey are left at home to teeter on deaths edge.
Just six years ago, a famine swept these parts, and more than a quarter of a million people died. It is no coincidence that the worst-affected regions then, as well as now, are where al-Shabab has triggered mass displacement.
The militia is weaker and fragmented now, in part because its obstructionism during the last famine cost the group what popular support it had. But it has still mustered recent attacks on U.N. aid agencies such as the World Food Program. Thirteen aid workers were kidnapped by al-Shabab and other local militias in April, the highest monthly total since 2011.
[Somalis are fleeing famine only to find death in a place of refuge]
Since the previous famine, government-allied militias together with African Union troops have regained control over Baidoa, a city near the epicenter of the drought. U.N. agencies and African Union troops share a heavily fortified compound next to the citys airport.
Aid workers from private groups such as Save the Children and SOS Childrens Villages travel with truckloads of hired gunmen when they venture into the camps of displaced people in Baidoa or visit hungry towns nearby. U.N. staff often move in bulletproof vehicles with military escorts. Somali aid workers can travel with greater ease, but their association with aid groups makes them targets for al-Shabab.
If they caught me, they would kill me its that simple, said a Somali employee of Save the Children, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Al-Shabab does not just target aid groups, however. The rebels often retaliate against people who flee to Baidoas camps, saying they may be divulging details about the militants whereabouts to authorities. Many villagers, therefore, are reluctant to return to their homes when conditions improve. Aid workers worry that Somalias displacement crisis may thus prove intractable.
If they go back to their villages, they would have to answer to al-Shabab, said Edmore Tondhlana, who coordinates the United Nations drought-relief operation in Baidoa. [Al-Shabab] will ask: Where were you? Who did you speak to? They think that you have become a government informant. They can kill you.
[Trumps plan to slash foreign aid comes as famine threat is surging]
Baidoa is a refuge, for now. The displaced can check in at a government hospital, or fill up jerrycans at a water tank, even if the scattered camps are crowded and makeshift, and perfect breeding grounds for diseases such as cholera. Humanitarian agencies provide cash for people to buy food and materials for shelter.
Aid workers are scrambling to improve conditions in the camps, but they often must weigh their security against the needs of the displaced as they decide whether to travel outside their guarded compounds.
The U.N. is al-Shababs most valuable political target right now, said Roberto Mendoza, a Honduran who is head of security at the U.N. compound in Baidoa. He regularly prohibits U.N. aid workers from leaving the compound because of threats of attacks. Frequently, al-Shabab rebels creep close enough to Baidoa to engage the African Union troops stationed there, resulting in aid missions being postponed. In mid-May, al-Shabab took villages just miles south of the city, forcing planes to alter their flight paths.
Were doing the best we can, Mendoza said. But al-Shababs biggest strength is that they are underestimated. We cant allow ourselves to have a false sense of safety.
These frequent lockdowns mean that aid workers are delayed in providing services such as pit latrines, which could help prevent the spread of disease. Still, chances of survival in the camps are far higher than in the forsaken villages.
With the holy month of Ramadan beginning, fighting around Baidoa is expected to intensify. Al-Shabab and other extremist Islamist groups subscribe to a belief that God bequeaths military victories upon his most fervent followers and grants them double the rewards in paradise should they be martyred during Ramadan.
Fighters we have captured are telling us that their brothers will attack Baidoa, and even the camps, during Ramadan, said Hassan Hussein Mohamed, the head of the Southwest Special Police Force, the main unit of Somali security forces fighting al-Shabab near Baidoa.
A day earlier, Mohamed said, nine of his men had been killed by an al-Shabab car bomb just outside Baidoa.
Nine, God bless them, Mohamed said. We are fighting with no logistical support, no medicine, no protective gear and no salary.
The war with al-Shabab has been grinding on for more than a decade. A U.S. campaign of drone strikes targeting the group has intensified in the past few months. The militants have been pushed out of most of southern Somalias urban centers, but they have simply retreated and regrouped in the countryside.
Hasan, the chief in Rebey, said that until now his villages proximity to Baidoa gave him a sense of protection from al-Shabab. But he too fears the battles that could occur with the onset of Ramadan.
If they start a big fight and prevent us from getting aid, then that is our fate, Hasan said with a shrug. But are we not all Muslim? People here are already starving. Please, God, show us mercy.
Read more
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Piracy again on the rise off Somalia, U.S. military says
New U.N. chief confronts the nightmare of Somalias food crisis
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Journalists gather outside Kirill Serebrennikov's Gogol Center theater in Moscow. Russian investigators have launched an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of state funds. (VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP/Getty Images)
A sensational embezzlement investigation involving a theater company has sparked a protest among prominent figures in Russias arts community, pitting directors and actors against powerful Russian law enforcement agencies and prompting appeals to Russian President Vladimir Putin to intervene.
At the storms center is Kirill Serebrennikov, the virtuoso Russian stage director behind Moscows innovative, and often controversial, Gogol Center theater, who awoke on Tuesday to find agents of the Russian Federal Security Service, the sprawling law enforcement and intelligence agency, raiding both his theater and his apartment.
The reason? Accusations that a theater collective he founded called Seventh Studio had been involved in an embezzlement scheme, siphoning off $3.5 million in government funding from 2011 to 2014.
For now, Serebrennikov, who did not answer repeated calls to his mobile phone, is a witness and not a suspect in the case, which formally does not concern the Gogol Center. A former administrative director and accountant for the studio were detained on Wednesday, and on Thursday the accountants lawyer said she had admitted her guilt and was cooperating with investigators.
But supporters of Serebrennikov, including the head of the Bolshoi Theater, see ulterior motives behind the case: an attempt to force Serebrennikov out of the Gogol Center, which he has transformed since 2012 from a dramaturgical backwater into Russias leading avant-garde theater.
It has not been a smooth ride, fraught with conflicts with conservative activists and a 2015 brush with financial problems.
With the companys actors still detained by masked officers in the theater on Tuesday, hundreds of supporters from artist and journalist circles began gathering outside, among them former members of the punk protest band Pussy Riot and loyalist film directors like Fyodr Bandarchuk.
Mikhail Baryshnikov, the prominent ballet dancer, said that for a man with Serebrennikovs publicly expressed dissident views, these sudden repressions look particularly nasty.
Marina Davydova, a veteran theater critic who also believed the case had political motivations, said in an interview that while there are plenty of cultural figures skeptical of the Russian government, it was Serebrennikovs aesthetics that put him in the group at risk.
Hes always been an irritant, independent and unconventional, and that irritates people in power, Davydova said. If you ask me, I think the goal of this probe is simple: so that Kirill leaves the country and to create a fog over the Gogol Center.
The centers 2014 play Muchenik, the martyr, a difficult production about a students religious transformation in a Russian school, was considered by some critics to run afoul of Russias newly adopted laws on offending religious views. A 2013 play called Thugs was reviewed by the Moscow police for possibly inciting extremism.
The current investigation is the latest cause celebre in a series of political demonstrations that have bubbled up in Russia in recent months, an unusual period of opposition activity.
Ahead of the 2018 Russian presidential elections, where Putin will likely run for a fourth term in power, politics is back in Russia. Thousands of homeowners turned out for protest rallies this month against the expected demolition of Soviet-era apartment houses, part of a city beautification effort that opponents believe is a handout to construction companies tied to the government.
An unsanctioned March rally led by anti-corruption whistleblower Alexei Navalny brought out tens of thousands of protesters, and led to 1,000 detentions in Moscow alone.
Outwardly, the Kremlins goal in the Gogol Center case has been to tamp down political speculation surrounding the investigation.
There is no need to make this political, theres no reason for the Kremlin to be informed about this, Dmitry Peskov, Putins personal spokesman, told reporters on Tuesday.
But prominent figures in the theater community, including Vladimir Urin, the director of the Bolshoi Theater, have written directly to Putin, asking him to review the investigation.
Another theater director, Yevgeny Mironov, who runs the popular Theater of Nations, addressed Putin directly with a separate letter in support of Serebrennikov at an awards ceremony on Wednesday.
According to Andrei Kolesnikov, a political journalist close to Putin who has reported from the presidents pool for more than a decade, Mironov told Putin that the investigation could undermine his trip to France slated for Monday, where Putin will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron.
Putin, according to the report, agreed. Yes, theyre idiots, he said, according to Kolesnikov.
For Davydova, the case recalled the troubles of Anatoly Vasiliev, the founder and former director of the School of Dramatic Arts, a well-funded laboratory for inventive theater who was pushed out by the government and left for France in 2006.
Others have recalled a darker case: that of Vsevolod Meyerhold, the pioneering Soviet theater director, whose unusual style at first propelled his career, and then led to his arrest, torture, and death in 1940 under Stalin.
Serebrennikov himself was asked what he would do in place of Vasiliev, the director who was forced out of his School of Dramatic Arts by jealous city bureaucrats. But he played his cards characteristically close to the chest.
You cant answer this question, Serebrennikov said then, in a collection of responses for the Theater newsletter. We dont know his situation all the way through.
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The Manchester bombing has thrust terrorism to center stage ahead of Britains hotly contested June elections, as British Prime Minister Theresa May on Saturday warned that the country should remain vigilant even as authorities say concerns about a new attack have eased.
May lowered Britains security threat back where it was before the Monday suicide bombing at a pop concert killed 22 people. But even though authorities appeared satisfied that they had captured most of the people they suspect to have taken part in the attack, security fears continued to reverberate through the political campaign ahead of the June 8 election.
A significant amount of police activity has taken place in the last 24 hours, May said Saturday after a meeting of her top security advisers.
Police, meanwhile, arrested two additional suspects early Saturday in Manchester, bringing the number of people in custody to 11.
[British authorities believe most involved in Manchester bombing are in custody]
(Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post)
We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb, said Mark Rowley, the top counterterrorism official at Britains Metropolitan Police.
The announcement came a day after May and her Labour opponent traded vicious barbs about the role British involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts has played in provoking terrorist attacks. Before Mondays bombing, the election had appeared firmly in the grasp of Mays Conservatives.
May called the election seeking the publics stamp of approval for the governments strategy to negotiate Britains break from the European Union.
That was suddenly on the sidelines.
The war on terror is not working, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Friday, as campaigning resumed after a three-day break following the attack. Organizers preceded Corbyns speech with a minutes silence to honor the 22 people who died in the bomb blast.
In the address, Corbyn linked Britains foreign wars to terrorist attacks but stressed the connection in no way reduces the guilt of those who attack our children.
Many experts, including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries and terrorism here at home, he said.
Corbyn, a longtime critic of the Britains wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, also pledged that if he were prime minister, troops would be deployed abroad only if there was a clear need, proper resources and a plan for lasting peace.
His opponents wasted no time in accusing him of trying to politicize the attack.
'I have been here at the G-7 working with other international leaders to fight terrorism, May said Friday after a summit meeting with top European leaders and President Trump. At the same time, Jeremy Corbyn has said that terrorist attacks are our own fault.
There can be no excuse for terrorism, she said.
Boris Johnson, Britains foreign secretary, said that Corbyns position was absolutely monstrous.
[Libya becomes a key focus of the Manchester bombing probe]
Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron said that Corbyn was trying to score a political point and that he disagreed with his timing.
Corbyn responded to the criticisms in a late-night BBC interview, saying that he wasnt defending the indefensible Manchester attack but was reflecting the view that countries that want a secure future need to reflect on foreign policy.
Any sensible government has to look at what is happening in Libya, a huge ungoverned space and apparently a source of some awful extremism, he said. The 22-year-old attacker, Salman Abedi, was born in Manchester to Libyan parents and had traveled to Libya ahead of the bombing.
Still, some of the damage had already been done, with Britains powerful right-wing tabloids ripping into the Labour leader.
This is a man who, for years, has been one of Westminsters foremost apologists for terrorism, wrote Guy Adams, a columnist in the Daily Mail.
But while the Conservatives lashed out at Corbyn's remarks, they could also galvanize his base.
Corbyns speech will outrage many Conservatives, but if his aim is to mobilize his core left liberal vote, then it could work, said Tim Bale, a politics professor at Queen Mary University of London. Now, how that will play with the majority of voters is another matter.
Recent polls have shown the Conservatives lead significantly narrowing.
When May called the snap election last month, her opponents were weak and fractious. One pollster gave her Conservative Party a towering 23-point lead. But a new YouGov poll on Friday showed the Conservative Partys lead has slipped to five points a dramatic shift that would put Labour on track to actually gain seats, something few political commentators expected weeks ago.
Many attribute the shift to Labours successful manifesto launch and a controversy in the Conservative Party over its plans since abandoned to cut social benefits for the elderly.
Its possible, analysts say, that the Conservatives could inch back up in the polls following the terrorist attack as the narrative shifts away from their recent difficulties to focus on Mays leadership and security issues.
Before becoming prime minister, May served for six years as Britains home secretary, the countrys top domestic security official. She is also seen as the leader most likely to keep Britain safe from terrorist threats.
Mays recent difficulties will now be overtaken by events, wrote Mujtaba Rahman, an analyst with the Eurasia Group, in a briefing note. He said that the election campaign will shift to a stronger focus on leadership, where Labour is at a strong disadvantage with Jeremy Corbyn in charge.
Bale agreed that conventional wisdom suggests that May could benefit but also warned that it could backfire if it is proven that there were failings in the security services.
Normally, there is a degree of rallying around an incumbent or president or prime minister in this situation. But there are downside risks as well if investigation proves the security system could have spotted this man earlier and can pin that on lack of resources, said Bale.
But whatever way the pendulum swings, he said, its difficult to believe the election campaign will be the same as it might have been before the bomb went off.
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President Trump before delivering a speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit, at the King Abdulaziz Conference Center May 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press)
In a speech intended to galvanize Arab and Muslim leaders against threats from extremists and Iran, President Trump demanded unity from his audience in Saudi Arabia, and focus.
One goal transcends every other consideration, he said to the assembled leaders in the Saudi capital, in an address that shifted between stark realism and startling optimism. We pray this special gathering may someday be remembered as the beginning of peace in the Middle East, he said.
But instead of peace, the Middle East was battered by a wave of conflict in the days that followed, awash with recriminations and repression that suggested that, far from uniting the region, Trumps words had only aggravated its divides.
Qatar and Saudi Arabia launched a bizarre and unexpected war of words that highlighted their longtime competition for regional influence and their often sharply contrasting visions.
As that dispute raged last week, the leaders of Bahrain and Egypt embarked on unusually vicious crackdowns on political opponents at home, killing five people and arresting hundreds.
(The Washington Post)
And leaders in Iran, Saudi Arabias principal rival, where voters earlier this month reelected a reformist president, went on the offensive, condemning Trumps announcement of billions of dollars in weapons sales to the Saudis while revealing the existence of an underground ballistic missile facility.
Analysts said the tensions were almost surely a consequence of Trumps visit to Riyadh: a forceful American endorsement of Saudi leadership in the Arab world, punctuated by the weapons sales, which had stirred panic and anxiety among the kingdoms competitors and enemies while emboldening its loyal and authoritarian allies.
And Trumps appeal for a common stand against terrorism was unlikely to heal the rifts, analysts said: It was delivered to an audience of Arab leaders who have applied the term so broadly and casually to violent militants as well as anti-government bloggers as to render the word almost meaningless.
Donald Trump now accepts the view of Saudi Arabia as a strategic bastion in the Arab and Islamic World, said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of Middle East studies at the London School of Economics. And his visit was related to the tumult that ensued, Gerges said.
What you are seeing now is that the Saudi-led coalition feels empowered. They are on the offensive. Its a new era. Everyone has to toe the line and join this alliance, he said.
[In Trumps speech to Muslims, some see a businessmans focus on the bottom line ]
The consequences of the shift could trouble the region for years, he said, by intensifying proxy wars in Yemen or Syria, where Saudi Arabia and Iran have supported opposing sides, Gerges said.
1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad Trumps first trip overseas as president View Photos The U.S. president traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. Caption The U.S. president traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. May 27, 2017 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks to President Donald Trump as Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi listens during an expanded session at the Group of Seven Summit in Taormina, Italy. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.
New fronts also could ignite between Israel and Hezbollah, Irans ally, in places like southern Lebanon.
All sides are preparing for the next round, Gerges said.
Iranian officials initially shrugged off Trumps vociferous anti-Iran comments in Riyadh, dismissing the summit as spectacle. Irans Internet-savvy foreign minister, Javad Zarif, ridiculed the U.S.-Saudi arms deal on Twitter.
But in the days since, the Iranian government has adopted a more defiant tone, denouncing the raid in Bahrain against Shiite-led opposition activists as a direct consequence of Trumps visit.
On Thursday, Iran unveiled the countrys third underground ballistic missile facility. Its ongoing missile production has been a source of contention between Iran and the United States.
U.S. officials should know that whenever we need a missile test for technical reasons, we will test it, and we will not wait for their permission, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said at a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
It was a departure from the conciliatory tone Rouhani took on the campaign trail, and came as a senior military aide to Irans supreme leader also condemned the weapons deal as an attempt to destabilize the region.
As the Arab world braced for an escalating confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran, another fight broke out last week between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose long-standing rivalry has flared repeatedly since the Arab uprisings in 2011.
The genesis of the feud was a report published on the website of Qatars state news agency on Wednesday. It quoted Qatars emir as criticizing the messages that had emerged from the Riyadh conference, including the attacks by Trump and others on Iran and condemnations of Hamas and Hezbollah, the Palestinian and Lebanese militant groups.
Qatar later said that the emir had never spoken and that the state news agency had been hacked.
That did not prevent Saudi Arabia from launching days of scathing attacks on Qatar through Saudi media channels, which suggested it would not tolerate any divergence from the Saudi-led position.
In a column titled, Who runs Qatar, a Saudi columnist, Said al-Suraihi, writing on the al-Arabiya news site, said Qatar had disengaged itself from the consensus on issues that represent a common danger to the entire region.
Trumps visit which included what was widely seen as a pledge not to lecture the region on human rights abuses also raised fears about stepped-up domestic repression in Saudi Arabia and the countries in its orbit, including Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt. Violence last week in Bahrain highlighted those concerns. The tiny island nation a Saudi ally and a close partner of the United States has faced criticism for the governments repression of dissent and accusations of systemic discrimination against Bahrains Shiite majority.
Trump met with Bahrains king in Riyadh last week, and promised their relationship would be free of the strain of previous years a reference to the Obama administrations periodic scolding of Bahrain for rights abuses.
[Bahrain mounts deadliest raid in years on opposition]
On Tuesday, two days after the meeting, forces in Bahrain raided an opposition sit-in outside the house of Bahrains most revered Shiite cleric, killing five people in the deadliest confrontation with its opponents since a pro-democracy uprising on the island in 2011.
On the same day, in Egypt, the government of President Abdel-Fatah al-Sissi arrested one of the countrys most prominent opposition lawyers and a likely challenger to Sissi in elections that will be held next year.
Sissi who had appeared in a widely circulated picture alongside Trump and the Saudi king during the meeting in Riyadh, palming a glowing orb in a newly minted counterterrorism center has received political support as well as billions of dollars in aid from the Saudis over the last few years.
Khalid Ali, the lawyer who was arrested, had played a prominent role in the legal effort to block a plan by the government to transfer sovereignty of two islands in the Red Sea from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.
It was not clear whether the arrest was related to the Saudi conference. Dozens of people have been detained in Egypt in recent weeks, including leftist and liberal government opponents as well as workers and trade unionists, according to Gamal Eid, an Egyptian human rights advocate.
The authorities also blocked at least 21 news websites this week, including Qatar-based outlets as well as Mada Masr, a news portal that it is widely seen as Egypts last remaining independent publication.
The crackdown was not new, Eid said, but after the meeting in Riyadh and Trumps green light the campaign of arrests and censorship was growing fast, he said.
Read more:
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Heba Farouk Mahfouz in Cairo contributed to this report.
President Trump and other leaders tour the new Global Center for Combatting Extremist Ideology on May 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)
As more recent stops on his nine-day overseas journey yielded less love, President Trump continued to bask in the glow from his earlier visit to Saudi Arabia the site of what he has called his historic and unprecedented meeting with Arab and Muslim leaders.
People have said there has really never been anything even close in history, Trump said days later on the West Bank. In Israel, he talked up the Saudi stop as a harbinger of victory over terrorism and of Israeli-Palestinian peace.
In an otherwise grating speech Thursday in Brussels where he chastised NATO leaders for skimping on defense spending Trump recalled his historic Riyadh meeting and spoke movingly of Saudi King Salman as a wise man.
The contrast between Trumps respectful and smiling demeanor during two days in Riyadh, where he danced a traditional sword dance and was served endless cups of cardamom-laced coffee, and his solitary scowls during several hours spent in Brussels among Americas traditionally closest allies, was striking. During his last stop before returning home late Saturday, here in Sicily for a meeting with leaders of the Group of Seven world economic powers, he has also been gently lectured on climate change.
But how history ultimately remembers the Saudi event may depend on the extent to which deals struck and promises made are kept. An announced $110 billion arms agreement with Saudi Arabia would be the largest U.S. weapons sale ever, but many of its components were negotiated by previous administrations, Congress may balk at the transfers and the Saudis are currently operating on an unusually tight budget.
[Trumps views on climate are evolving, aide says, amid pressure from Europeans]
Additional Saudi investments totaling $270 billion or more than $300 billion, according to various administration pronouncements so far amount largely to statements of intent that remain to be negotiated, despite Trumps claim that thousands of U.S. jobs were won.
Although more than 40 leaders of Muslim-majority countries attended a Sunday meeting with Trump, the focus in Riyadh was on the Persian Gulfs importance as a U.S. partner and bulwark against terrorism during two days of bilateral negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council. The council also includes the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman.
A GCC communique signed with the United States on Sunday was similar to accords in recent years signed by the Obama administration, one at a U.S.-GCC summit at Camp David in 2015 and another a year later in Riyadh. They pledged to intensify efforts against terrorism and terror financing, reviewed the activities of working groups established in years past, agreed to help achieve an Israeli-Palestinian peace and condemned Iran for both terrorism and interference in other nations.
The first part entirely builds on the Obama initiatives, very explicitly, said a former senior U.S. diplomat with long experience in the region under Republican and Democratic administrations. The new part is the bashing of Iran over Bahrain and its support for Houthi rebels in Yemen.
Obama had put weapons shipments to Bahrain on hold, charging the ruling monarchy with oppression against political opponents that it says are instigated by Iran. Trump has lifted the hold. This week, days after he left Riyadh, Bahraini security forces clashed with what they said was a violent protest march opponents said it was a peaceful prayer group killing five demonstrators. Opposition leaders charged that Trump had given the government a green light.
The Trump administration has also given full support to Saudi insistence that the rebellion in neighboring Yemen is an Iranian operation. Obama had raised questions about the extent of Iranian support and withheld the shipment of precision-guided missiles to Saudi Arabia, which it charged with indiscriminate bombing of civilians as part of a two-year-old intervention in Yemen. Trump has said he would lift the ban on the missiles, the price of which is included in the new arms deal.
The communique also voices support for an Islamic military alliance force announced by Saudi Arabia several years ago that has gained little traction since then. There was no public announcement of a new Arab NATO that some administration officials had said was in the works.
[Fact Checker: Trumps claim that hes already saved millions of jobs on his foreign trip]
Senior administration officials, who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity, said the communique also includes a new commitment by the Gulf states to charge and prosecute individuals in their countries who finance terrorists, although the document itself does not specify that.
Asked about the discrepancy, one senior official later said in an email that the document was an umbrella statement that allowed flexibility to hold nations accountable for the financing [from] any institutions or individuals from within who fund terrorist groups in any way.
In exchange, Trump abandoned what the Arabs considered Obamas hectoring over human rights and democracy and perceived tilt toward Iran. Speaking to the group, Trump denounced Tehran as the cause of virtually all the regions ills. After denouncing the terrorism of the Sunni groups Islamic State and al-Qaeda in many respects based on an extreme version of Saudi Arabias interpretation of Islam he segued smoothly to Shiite Iran, a regime that is responsible for so much instability in the region.
Whats different, and certainly from a Saudi perspective whats very welcome, is an American attitude thats very open and not condescending. A meeting of equals, said Karen E. Young, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington. Thats what the Gulf states really crave recognition as equals on the international stage and that their governments are legitimate. Trump gave them that, and that makes it historic in terms of American recognition.
We get very little, added Young, a specialist in political economy in the region. Contracts, which in the defense field were moving forward anyway.
In an article on the website War on the Rocks, David Des Roches, who served in various White House and Pentagon positions from 1996 to 2010, called the defense sales more the art of the packaging than the art of the deal.
Congressional approval was already given during the Obama administration for $23.7 billion of the reported $110 billion sale, wrote Des Roches, now an associate professor at the Near East South Asia Center for Strategic Studies at National Defense University.
The rest of the equipment Trump has offered, as much as $86 billion, could be denied by Congress, he wrote. He noted in particular the most expensive item on the list: the Theater High Altitude Air Defense (THAAD) system, which costs $13 billion for seven batteries and about $3.5 billion for upgraded and new Bradley fighting vehicles.
In my experience, working on the [previous] $60 billion Saudi F-15 and Saudi National Guard aviation sales, qualitative military edge was the most frequently raised congressional concern, Des Roches wrote, referring to guarantees to Israel repeated by Trump during his visit there that its military edge will be preserved.
Atmospherically, the visit to Saudi Arabia was very positive, said Gerald M. Feierstein, a retired Foreign Service officer who is director for Gulf affairs at Washingtons Middle East Institute. Gulf and Arab leaders, he said, appreciated the effort, particularly in light of Trumps anti-Muslim campaign rhetoric. The strong language on Iran was welcome and reassuring.
In terms of specifics, do we see the outline of a new policy? I dont, he said. In terms of understanding more today about where this administration intends to go on some of these issues, I dont think you know anything more.
A lot of this stuff is ephemeral, Feierstein said. Who knows if its ever going to happen or not?
In this image made from video broadcast Nov. 7, 2001, a young boy, left, identified as Hamza bin Laden holds what the Taliban says is a piece of U.S. helicopter wreckage in Ghazni, Afghanistan. (Al-Jazeera via APTN/AP)
The voice is that of a soft-spoken 28-year-old, but the message is vintage Osama bin Laden, giving orders to kill. When the audio recording began turning up on jihadist websites two weeks ago, it was as if the dead terrorist was channeling himself through his favorite son.
Prepare diligently to inflict crippling losses on those who have disbelieved, Hamza bin Laden, scion of the Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind, says in a thin baritone that eerily echoes his father. Follow in the footsteps of martyrdom-seekers before you.
The recording, first aired May 13, is one in a string of recent pronouncements by the man who many terrorism experts regard as the crown prince of al-Qaedas global network. Posted just two weeks before Mondays suicide bombing in Manchester, England, the message includes a specific call for attacks on European and North American cities to avenge the deaths of Syrian children killed in airstrikes.
The recording provides fresh evidence of ominous changes underway within the embattled organization that declared war against the West nearly two decades ago, according to U.S., European and Middle Eastern intelligence officials and terrorism experts. Decimated by U.S. military strikes and overshadowed for years by its terrorist rival, the Islamic State, al-Qaeda appears to be signaling the start of a violent new chapter in the groups history, led by a new bin Laden one who has vowed to seek revenge for his fathers death.
Encouraged by the Islamic States setbacks in Iraq and Syria, al-Qaeda is making a play for the allegiance of the Islamic States disaffected followers as well as legions of sympathizers around the world, analysts say. The promotion of a youthful figurehead with an iconic family name appears to be a key element in a rebranding effort that includes a shift to Islamic State-style terrorist attacks against adversaries across the Middle East, Europe and North America.
This image from a video, which is part of a cache of videotapes that CNN acquired in Afghanistan, shows Osama bin Laden, right, and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, in May 1998 in one of several camps bin-Laden operated near the southeastern Afghan town of Khost. (CNN/Via AP)
Al-Qaeda is trying to use the moment [with] Daesh being under attack to offer jihadists a new alternative, said a Middle Eastern security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss counterterrorism assessments and using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State. And what could be more effective than a bin Laden?
[Libya becomes a key focus of the Manchester bombing probe]
Hamza bin Laden is hardly new to the Islamist militant world. His coronation as a terrorist figurehead has been underway since at least 2015, when longtime al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri introduced him in a video message as a lion from the den of bin Ladens terrorist network. But in recent months, he has been promoted as a rising star on pro-al-Qaeda websites, with audio recordings from him urging followers to carry out attacks or commenting on current events. Longtime terrorism analysts say the promotion of Hamza bin Laden appears calculated to appeal to young Islamist militants who still admire Osama bin Laden but see al-Qaeda as outdated or irrelevant.
Hamza is the most charismatic and potent individual in the next generation of jihadis simply because of his lineage and history, said Bruce Riedel, who spent 30 years in the CIA and is now director of the Brookings Institutions Intelligence Project. At a time when Zawahiri and al-Baghdadi seem to be fading, Hamza is the heir apparent. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is the Islamic States leader.
But Hamza bin Laden is not advocating his fathers style of jihad. Osama bin Laden was notorious for his ambitious, carefully planned terrorist operations, directed by al-Qaedas generals and aimed at strategic targets. His son, by contrast, urges followers to seize any opportunity to strike at Jewish interests, Americans, Europeans and pro-Western Muslims, using whatever weapon happens to be available.
It is not necessary that it should be a military tool, he says in the May 13 recording. If you are able to pick a firearm, well and good; if not, the options are many.
The faceless man
Strikingly, for a man who aspires to be the jihadist worlds next rock star, Hamza bin Laden insists on keeping most of his personal details hidden from public view. Even his face.
(The Washington Post)
No confirmed photographs exist of the young terrorist since his boyhood, when he was portrayed multiple times as an adoring son posing with his famous father. He is believed to be married, with at least two children, and he lived for a time in the tribal region of northwestern Pakistan, although his whereabouts are unknown.
His refusal to allow his image to be published may reflect a well-founded concern about his personal safety, but it complicates the militants task of making him a terrorist icon, said Steven Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit organization that monitors Islamist militancy on social media.
People loyal to al-Qaeda and against the Islamic State are looking for inspiration, and they realize that he can provide it, Stalinsky said. But for todays youth, you need more than audio and an old photograph.
[Manchester shows why even the best protection cant stop attacks]
What is known about Hamza bin Laden comes from his numerous recordings as well as intelligence reports and scores of documents seized during the 2011 raid by U.S. Navy SEALS on Osama bin Ladens safe house in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Included in the document trove were personal letters from Hamza to his father, as well as written instructions from the elder bin Laden to his aides on how Hamza was to be educated and provided for.
The documents reveal a special bond between Hamza bin Laden and his father that persisted despite long periods of separation. The 15th of Osama bin Ladens estimated 20 children, Hamza was the only son born to the terrorists third wife, and by some accounts his favorite, Khairiah Sabar, a Saudi woman whose family traces its lineage to the prophet Muhammad.
He spent his early childhood years with his parents, first in Saudi Arabia and later in Sudan and Afghanistan, where his father began to assemble the pieces of his worldwide terrorism network. A family friend who knew Hamza bin Laden as a child said he showed both promise and early flashes of ambition.
He was a very intelligent and smart boy, very fond of horseback riding, like his father, said the friend, a longtime associate of the al-Qaeda network, contacted through a social-media chat service. While his parents wanted him to stay away from battlefields, he had arguments with them about it.
Then came the 9/11 attacks, which brought the bin Ladens international notoriety and made Hamzas father the worlds most wanted man. As U.S.-backed Afghan militias closed in on al-Qaedas mountain redoubt at Tora Bora in eastern Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden dispatched several of his wives and children to Iran, believing that the Islamic republics leaders could offer protection from U.S. airstrikes.
Hamza rarely, if ever, saw his father after that. He was still in Iran in his early 20s, living under a kind of house arrest, when he wrote a long missive to his father complaining about his life behind iron bars and expressing a longing to join his father as a mujahid, or holy warrior, in his fight against the West, according to a copy of the letter found in bin Ladens safe house.
What truly makes me sad, he wrote in 2009, is the mujahideen legions have marched and I have not joined them.
[Manchester attackers possible radicalization started more than a year ago]
Iran allowed the bin Laden clan to leave the country the following year, and by the time of the 2011 Navy SEAL raid, Hamzas mother and other family members were living at the elder terrorists Pakistan hideout. Notably absent from the Abbottabad compound was Hamza. On Osama bin Ladens orders, aides had kept him in a separate hideout with the intention of sending him to Qatar to be educated, according to U.S. and Pakistani counterterrorism officials. Already, the patriarch was beginning to see his son as a future al-Qaeda leader, judging from the letters he wrote to his aides shortly before his death.
Hamza is one of the mujahideen, and he bears their thoughts and worries, Osama bin Laden wrote in one such letter. And at the same time, he can interact with the [Muslim] nation.
Jihadist royalty
Hamza bin Ladens sense of personal destiny only deepened with the death of his father and half brother Khalid at the hands of U.S. commandos.
By 2015, when Zawahiri introduced Hamza to the world as an al-Qaeda lion, the then-26-year-old already had the voice of a veteran Islamist militant, urging followers in an audio recording to inflict the highest number of painful attacks on Western cities, from Washington to Paris.
A year later, he delivered a more personal message intended as a tribute to his dead father. Titled We are all Osama, the 21-minute spoken essay included a vow for vengeance.
If you think that the crime you perpetrated in Abbottabad has gone by with no reckoning, you are wrong, he said. Yours will be a harsh reckoning. We are a nation that does not rest over injustice.
Terrorism analysts have noted several recurring themes in Hamza bin Ladens audio postings that distinguish his Islamist militant philosophy from the views expressed by both his father and putative al-Qaeda leader Zawahiri. One difference: Unlike Zawahiri, Hamza bin Laden has eschewed overt criticism of the Islamic State, perhaps to avoid antagonizing any followers of that terrorist group who might be inclined to shift to al-Qaeda.
[Use of weaponized drones by ISIS spurs terrorism fears]
The bin Laden family friend suggested that the omission is deliberate, part of an effort to position Hamza bin Laden as a unifying figure for Islamist militants. The associate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to comment freely, noted that Hamza bin Laden enjoys multiple advantages in this regard, as he can claim to be both a descendant of the prophet and a son of jihadist royalty.
The calculation is that it will be very difficult for the Daesh leadership to denounce Hamza, given who he is, the family friend said.
The other distinction is Hamza bin Ladens persistent calls for self-directed, lone-wolf attacks against a wide array of targets. Here, he appears to be borrowing directly from the playbook of the Islamic State, which has fostered a kind of Everymans jihad that does not depend on instructions or permission from higher-ups. His Internet postings have lauded Army psychiatrist and convicted Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan, who murdered 13 people in a rampage on the base in Texas in 2009, and the two Britons of Nigerian descent who hacked British soldier Lee Rigby to death on a street outside his London barracks in 2013.
None of those assailants were known al-Qaeda members. Yet, by applauding such attacks, Hamza bin Laden appears to associate himself with a more aggressive style of terrorism that appeals to young Islamist militants, analysts and experts said. Such messages also convey an impression of a terrorist network that, while battered, is far from defeated, said Bruce Hoffman, a former U.S. adviser on counterterrorism and director of Georgetown Universitys Center for Security Studies.
He brings assurance that, even though al-Qaeda has been hammered in recent years, its still in good hands, with a junior bin Laden who is ideally situated to carry on the struggle, Hoffman said. Since a very young age, Hamza bin Laden wanted to follow in his fathers footsteps. And from al-Qaedas perspective, now is the critical time for him to come of age and assume the reins of authority.
[Two bombings in Manchester show the changing nature of terrorism]
[He says he went to Syria to rescue his wife from ISIS. Now he sits in prison]
[U.S. lacks system for spotting, defusing homegrown extremist threats]
President Trump addresses U.S. troops and their families at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Sigonella, Italy, on Saturday. (Luca Bruno/AP)
President Trump failed to commit to remaining within the Paris climate agreement during a two-day meeting with world leaders that ended here Saturday, but he tweeted that he was still considering it and would announce a final decision next week.
In a final communique, the Group of Seven industrialized countries said that the United States is not in a position to join the consensus. The other six members reaffirmed their commitment to swiftly implement the 2015 accord to limit greenhouse gas emissions.
The G-7 summit marked the last stop of Trumps first overseas trip as president, a nine-day tour that included high-level discussions in the Middle East and with NATO, as well as a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican.
After leaving this picturesque town on the rugged Sicilian hillsides, Trump went by helicopter to the U.S. naval air station at Sigonella on the island to board Air Force One for the flight home. He summed up his journey in a rousing campaign-style speech to assembled U.S. service members at the base, promising it would pave the way for a lot of strength and a lot of peace.
From Saudi Arabia to Israel to NATO to the G-7, we made extraordinary gains on this historic trip to advance the security and prosperity of the United States, our friends and our allies, Trump said. And we paved the way for a new era of cooperation among the nations of the world to defeat the common enemy of terrorism.
(The Washington Post)
Trump reflected on how many places he had visited, saying, We have been gone for close to nine days . . . and I think we hit a home run, no matter where we are.
Earlier, in an off-camera briefing for reporters, National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn said of the climate discussions, Were all trying to get to the right place, respectful of each other. He described a very robust conversation . . . a lot of give and take in discussions that included leaders from Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Italy.
Asked whether Trump had given a sign of which way he was leaning on the accord, which he called a job killer and vowed to rip up during his campaign, Cohn said, I dont know.
After a first round of meetings on Friday, Cohn, who favors retaining the climate agreement, had said Trumps position was evolving.
National security adviser H.R. McMaster, who joined the briefing with Cohn, said that Trump had delivered on all three of his core objectives for the trip: reaffirming American global leadership and alliances; solidifying key relationships with world leaders; and bringing a message of tolerance and unity against terrorism to Muslims, Jews and Christians.
Both McMaster and Cohn refused to respond to questions about Trump senior adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, the subject of a new controversy roiling Washington after a Washington Post article revealed that he had discussed with the Russian ambassador to the United States the possibility of establishing a back-channel line of communications with Russia.
Im not prepared to talk about it, McMaster said, adding that he and Cohn were prepared to speak only about Trumps trip.
1 of 60 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad First trip overseas as president View Photos Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. Caption The U.S. president traveled to Saudi Arabia, Israel, Rome, Belgium and Sicily, Italy. May 27, 2017 German Chancellor Angela Merkel, left, speaks to President Donald Trump as Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi listens during an expanded session at the Group of Seven Summit in Taormina, Italy. Philippe Wojazer/Reuters Wait 1 second to continue.
Recounting what they described as successes over the past week, they noted pledges by Arab countries made during Trumps first stop in Saudi Arabia to step up their coordination in the fight against terrorism, including a renewed crackdown on militant financing and ending destructive Iranian activity in the region.
Sunni Saudi Arabia, as well as other Sunni Muslim allies, is Americas strongest partner in the Muslim world and arguably . . . the strongest Muslim voice, McMaster said in a comment that may roil the Shiite minority that makes up about 15 percent of Muslims.
Cohn spoke of the most amazing deals that have really been made by an administration ever that Trump had clinched in Riyadh, including both private-sector investments and arms sales. He put the total at close to half a trillion dollars, although the administration initially set it at $380 billion and did not provide details of the agreements.
McMaster called baseless reports that European leaders were concerned about Trumps failure to restate the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the NATO charter during an alliance summit in Brussels. The provision pledges all 28 NATO members to treat an attack against any of them as an attack against all.
He did not make a decision not to say it. It was implicit in the speech, McMaster said of Trumps address to the alliance, in which he recalled that Article 5 had been invoked only once, after the September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States. Its a matter of fact that the United States and the president stand firmly behind our Article 5 commitment, McMaster said.
He said that many of the allies had privately approached him and the president to thank Trump for aggressively pressing NATO members to spend more on defense.
On the climate agreement, Cohn said that he did not know where Trump was in his thinking. What youre asking me to do is tell you whats inside the presidents mind. Im not qualified to do that, said Cohn, who has briefed the president numerous times on the issue and attended G-7 meetings about it.
When asked why Trump had not held a news conference or spoken at any length with reporters accompanying him on his travels, Cohn said Trump had been working nonstop. Presidents traditionally hold news conferences when they travel overseas.
One thing you have to admit, Cohn said of Trump, since he left last Friday, he has put in 14-, 15-, 18-, 20-hour days of work.
When it was pointed out that every other leader at the G-7 had scheduled a news conference at the conclusion of the meeting, Cohn, who was speaking in front of a television screen on which Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni was addressing the media and taking questions, Cohn said, Im not sure thats true.
Not far from the summit meeting, which was held in a historic monastery-turned-luxury hotel on a cliff overlooking the Ionian Sea, several thousand demonstrators had assembled in the town of Giardini Naxos to march toward police barricades.
One group carried banners objecting to Europes treatment of migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Another, calling itself Women Against Trump, planned to protest what marchers said was the presidents sexism.
By the time the protest march began weaving its way along a narrow, seaside street toward the heavily armed security presence, however, Trump had already left.
Demonstrators who had expressed concern that their ranks were infiltrated by anarchist groups scattered as some among them pushed toward the barricades and Italian police began lobbying tear gas at them.
Stefano Pitrelli in Giardini Naxos contributed to this report.
Masked Kashmiri protesters march in Srinagar, India, following the killing of a prominent rebel commander and his associate in a gun battle with government forces in the disputed region. (Mukhtar Khan/AP)
A popular militant commander and one other gunman were killed Saturday in a standoff with security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir, sparking widespread protests across the valley that left at least one civilian dead.
Police said Sabzar Ahmad Bhat, the operational commander of the terrorist group Hizbul Mujahideen, was killed Saturday morning in a siege that had begun Friday night when security forces were fired upon near the town of Tral in south Kashmir.
After exchanging gunfire with the security forces, the militants took refuge in nearby houses, police said, prompting a search operation. Bhat and a young militant were killed during another exchange of fire.
After the shooting, locals thronged to the area and began pelting security forces with stones, unrest that eventually led to protests throughout the valley.
Bhat was a childhood friend of Burhan Wani, the social media-savvy militant commander whose death July 8 set off weeks of strikes and protests in Kashmir, eventually claiming 78 lives.
Jammu and Kashmir Police Chief Shesh Paul Vaid said that police have been searching for Bhat for over a year and that he was instrumental in drawing many youth into militant ranks.
Officials have downplayed Bhats death saying he was not as popular a folk hero as Wani but nonetheless are concerned that this summer may see a repeat of last years violence. A month-long ban on social-media sites and mobile Internet use put in place to stop the spread of incendiary videos on WhatsApp and Facebook was lifted for a matter of hours before Bhats death, then put in place again.
After the region calmed during the snowy Himalayan winter, tensions rose again in April during a special election for a parliamentary seat and several days of protests by college students over what they see as Indian military excesses. More than 20 people have been killed so far this year.
Indian officials have said that the number of militants in the valley has been rising in recent months, although the total number of about 200 is nowhere near the levels of the violent 1990s, when a deadly insurgency in the region long claimed by both India and Pakistan resulted in thousands of casualties.
The Hurriyat, the conference of separatist organizations, has called for a two-day strike beginning Monday and asked people to march toward Tral on Tuesday to pay tribute to the dead leader and others killed Saturday. Army spokesman Rajesh Kalia said earlier that six militants were also killed Saturday along the de facto border with Pakistan, the Line of Control.
Read more:
Indian Kashmir suffers worst violence in years after militant leaders death
Teen girls with stones are the new threat in Indias Kashmir conflict
This violent militant was a folk hero on social media. Now his death has roiled Indian Kashmir.
Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
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Gowen reported from New Delhi.
Allies of beleaguered Brazilian President Michel Temer are waiting for a crucial electoral court ruling in early June rather than withdrawing support now, but they are already preparing a grand bargain to pick an interim successor, party leaders said this week.
At dinner parties in plush Brasilia residences and in backroom meetings in Congress, Temers coalition partners and members of his party are seeking agreement on a caretaker to replace the scandal-plagued president, who they see as too damaged to govern.
Amid the political turmoil that comes just a year after his predecessor was impeached and removed from office, preserving Temers agenda of austerity reforms and pulling Brazils economy out of recession is more important than saving the leader himself, sources in three parties that are his main allies said.
Those measures range from reducing a gaping budget deficit through opening doors to foreign investors to weakening labor laws and tightening pensions.
We have to wait until we can agree on a way forward the day after, to maintain stability and preserve our Constitution and democracy, said Sen. Tasso Jereissati, leader of the center-right Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) that is the largest ally in Temers ruling coalition. Jereissati, a wealthy entrepreneur, is among likely candidates to become temporary president.
An electoral court is expected to rule June 8 or 9 on whether to annul the 2014 reelection of President Dilma Rousseff and her running mate Temer on accusations that the ticket was funded by illegal campaign donations.
It had been expected that the court would spare Temer by splitting the ticket and ruling that Rousseff, as president, should bear full responsibility. That changed last week when Brazils Supreme Court approved a corruption investigation into Temer himself.
If the electoral court nixes the 2014 ticket as a whole, Temer could still appeal to the Supreme Court, dragging out the process.
Young lawmakers in the PSDB wanted to abandon his government immediately last week when the top court approved the corruption probe into Temer. That came on the back of plea-bargain testimony indicating that Temer condoned bribing a witness in the sprawling Car Wash graft probe and that he had received $4.6 million in bribes.
But party elders convinced them to wait so a less turbulent transition could be arranged. Other main coalition allies, the Democrats and the Social Democrat Party (PSD), are similarly waiting for the electoral court decision on Temers fate.
Iraqi forces, backed by heavy U.S.-led air and artillery strikes, began a new offensive into the Islamic States final bastions in the city.
The operation, announced Saturday by Iraqs Joint Operations Command, comes after Iraqi troops have cleared most of the western parts of Mosul, leaving a small pocket of Islamic State fighters spread across a handful of neighborhoods along the western bank of the Tigris River.
The attack began at dawn and involved several Iraqi units assaulting across a broad front in an effort to overwhelm the Islamic States defenses.
After nearly eight months of fighting, Iraqi forces appear poised to retake what was once the Islamic States largest stronghold in Iraq and the birthplace of its caliphate. Fighting, especially in the citys west, has been ferocious, leaving Iraqi forces with thousands of casualties. Civilians, too, have been caught in the crossfire, leaving hundreds of thousands displaced and thousands dead.
[The Islamic States last stand in Mosul will test the best of Iraqi forces ]
Even though the Islamic State now controls only roughly five square miles of the city, Iraqi and U.S. commanders have cautioned that the worst fighting is yet to come.
From his small patrol base north of the city, U.S. Army Capt. Devan Zimmerman said the U.S.-led coalition had already provided a significant number of air and artillery strikes Saturday morning.
Yet with such a small amount of the city still held by the militants and so many Iraqi forces attacking at once, Zimmerman said, it will be difficult to marshal and coordinate U.S.-led aircraft over the city.
This isnt going to be quick, said Zimmerman, who helps advise a brigade from the Iraqi 9th Division.
Despite potential early gains, Iraqi forces have taken casualties. Late Saturday, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command issued a statement that two colonels from the armys 16th Division were killed in the fighting.
Along with the militants still in parts of the city, tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians remain trapped in their homes, creating the potential for a humanitarian catastrophe if they are not evacuated safely.
On Friday, Iraqi forces dropped thousands of leaflets over western Mosul, telling those in their homes to flee. The move is an abrupt shift from past instructions that have mostly told civilians to stay in place until the fighting is over. Aid groups cautioned the Iraqi government, saying that its forces must ensure that escape routes are protected before civilians leave.
On Saturday, checkpoints outside the city saw a surge in civilians trying to get out of the city. The United Nations has estimated that roughly 200,000 civilians remain in Islamic State-occupied neighborhoods and that 10,000 have begun leaving each day.
Read more:
Mosul neighbors reject U.S. claim that ISIS stored explosives in building
Pentagon confirms airstrike killed more than 100 civilians in Mosul
Final stages of Mosul battle will be extremely violent, U.S. commander says
Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world
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Corning Incorporated engages in display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses worldwide. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, including cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories. This segment also offers its products to businesses, governments, and individuals. Its Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that provide material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, software; as well as ultra-thin and ultra-flat glass wafers, substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products. This segment serves various industries, including mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables; aerospace and defense optics; radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. The company's Environmental Technologies segment offers ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products comprising consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware and equipment under the Corning, Falcon, Pyrex, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York.
The state of Alabama executed death row inmate Thomas Arthur on Thursday night at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. Arthur, 74, had spent 34 years on death row and had seven previous death warrants served against him.
Arthurs execution began only a quarter hour before his death warrant was due to expire at midnight. The US Supreme Court denied his appeal for a stay of execution at 10:45 p.m. and his lethal injection began at about 11:45 p.m. He was killed using a three-drug protocol that begins with the sedative midazolam.
According to witness from al.com, Arthur read out the names of his children as he was strapped to the gurney. His request to have a photo of his children in the execution chamber had been approved by prison authorities. Im sorry I failed you as a father, he said with a quivering voice. I love you more than anything on Earth.
Arthur began to slowly drift off after the first drug was administered, according to witnesses, and his breathing then became more shallow. He was pronounced dead at 12:15 a.m. His execution was apparently in sharp contrast to the December 8 execution of another Alabama inmate, Ronald Smith, who heaved and gasped for breath for 13 minutes before succumbing to the lethal drugs.
Arthur was convicted of capital murder in 1983 for the 1982 murder of Troy Wicker, Jr. That verdict was overturned, and he was retried in 1987 and convicted. That verdict was also overturned. He was convicted in his third and final trial in 1991 and sentenced to death.
Thursdays execution was set to begin at 6 p.m., but was delayed by final appeals to the US Supreme Court. His attorneys argued that the use of midazolam could subject their client to cruel and unusual punishment, which is forbidden by the Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution.
Arthurs attorneys also requested that they have access to a phone in the witness room if any aspect of the execution went wrong so they could contact the courts. The US Supreme Court initially issued a temporary stay, signed by Justice Clarence Thomas. However, the high court lifted the stay at 10:45 p.m., allowing the execution to proceed.
In the sole dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the courts decision, arguing that she continued to doubt that midazolam was capable of rendering prisoners unable to feel the excruciating pain of the lethal injection procedure.
She said this risk was compounded by denying the condemned mans attorneys access to a phone in the witness room. When Thomas Arthur enters the execution chamber tonight, Sotomayor wrote, he will leave his constitutional rights at the door.
Arthurs execution was the first under the watch of Republican Governor Kay Ivey, who assumed office in April. Deciding against granting Arthur clemency, she stated, Mr. Arthur was rightfully convicted and sentenced, and tonight that sentence was rightfully and justly carried out. Arthurs attorneys argued that their client was, in fact, denied access to crucial evidence.
The state contends that Arthur was having an affair with the victims wife, Judy Wicker, and that he shot her husband in the right eye with a pistol. After the crime, Ms. Wicker told police she had been raped by a black man who knocked her unconscious and then shot her husband.
She later changed her story, testifying that she had paid Arthur $10,000 to kill her husband, and that he had painted his face black and wore a wig when he committed the crime. Arthurs legal team maintained that their client had been denied access to evidence, including a rape kit from Judy Wicker and the wig worn by the assailant that they claimed could prove Arthurs innocence.
Neither a fingerprint nor a weapon, nor any other physical evidence, connects Thomas Arthur to the murder of Troy Wicker, said lead attorney Suhana Han in a statement. If the state executes Mr. Wicker on May 25 as planned, he will die without ever having had a meaningful opportunity to prove his innocencean outcome that is inexcusable in a civilized society.
In a statement after the execution, Sherrie Stone, Arthurs oldest daughter, expressed sympathy for the victims family and said, I hope what has transpired today will allow them to have some peace and closure. Ive never known for certain whether my father killed Troy Wicker.
Stone added, Over the decades you go through a roller coaster. Now Ill never know the truth because the evidence that could prove if my father was innocent or guilty has not been tested using the latest DNA testing procedure.
More than three decades on death row
Arthurs execution came a week after the Republican-dominated House of Representatives in Alabama approved a bill that would shorten the appeals process for death row inmates. Proponents of the measure argue the bill will spare victims families the agony of supposedly frivolous legal appeals by death row inmates. Opponents counter that the bill increases the possibility that the state will execute an innocent person.
Near the end of Arthurs final trial in 1991, he asked for the death penalty. While insisting that he was innocent, he said that he had not yet been able to prove it due to inadequate preparation. He felt that a death sentence would allow him more time and resources to devote to his appeal and exoneration.
I am asking you, with as much emphasis as I can, to please give me the death penalty, he said, according to court transcripts. I dont want to die. Hell, Im not crazy. Im not nuts. But giving me life and no parole will destroy my access to getting this thing back to court.
Arthur would spend more than three decades trying to prove his innocence, the majority of time spent on death row. Thirty-five years after Troy Wickers death, and with his legal options dwindling, he told the AP, I wont give up til I draw my last breath. I wont give up. In the end, he lost the gamble he took when pleading for the death penalty, and was executed Thursday night.
Arthur was the 12th person put to death in the US in 2017 and the first in Alabama this year. Since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, Alabama has carried out 59 of the 1,454 executions nationwide, according to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC).
As of 2013, Alabama had handed down more death sentences per capita than any other state (DPIC). Until this year, Alabama was the only state that still allowed a judge to impose the death penalty against a verdict in favor of life imprisonment.
* * *
There was a time not so long ago in America when the prospect of a man or women languishing on death row for decades shocked the conscience.
On January 23, 1948, Caryl Chessman was apprehended in a series of robberies and rapes in the Los Angeles area. In late January 1948, Chessman was indicted on 18 counts of robbery, rape and dubious charges of kidnapping. Although he was not charged or convicted of murder, he was sentenced to death under a loosely interpreted law that defined kidnapping as a capital offense under certain circumstances.
Chessmans appeals ran out in April 1960 and he went to the gas chamber at San Quentin prison on May 2 that same year. At the time, the 11 years and 10 months Chessman spent on death row was the longest ever by a death row inmate in the US.
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[25 April 2017]
The political warfare in Washington has intensified with media reports that Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, is among those being investigated by the FBI and special counsel Robert Mueller for possible collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russian government.
Kushner was first named by the Washington Post and CNN, which went public with the news late Thursday, sparking a wave of similar media reports on Friday. Kushner, among Trump's closest advisers and the husband of his daughter Ivanka, is the first current White House official reported to be a person of interest in the probe now led by Mueller, who was appointed special counsel last week.
Mueller headed the FBI for 12 years, under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He was succeeded in September of 2013 by James Comey, who was heading the FBI investigation into alleged Russian interference in the US 2016 election and possible Trump campaign collusion until he was summarily fired by Trump on May 9. Trumps action triggered talk of possible obstruction of justice, an impeachable offense.
A week ago Friday, as Trump was leaving on his nine-day foreign trip, the Washington Post reported that a current senior administration official had been identified as among those under investigation by the FBI, joining such former Trump associates as fired national security adviser Gen. Michael Flynn, former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, and former campaign advisers Roger Stone and Carter Page. The Post listed three current administration officials who had met with Russian officialsKushner, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of State Rex Tillersonbut did not identify which one was being investigated by the FBI, although the newspaper dropped broad hints pointing to the 36-year-old Kushner.
The fact that the Post, which, along with the New York Times, has been spearheading the campaign attacking Trump for being too "soft" on Moscow, chose to name Kushner the same day that Trump was meeting with European leaders at the NATO summit in Brussels suggests that the internecine conflict within the American ruling class and state will only intensify when Trump returns to Washington.
Trumps performance at the NATO meeting has been roundly criticized by most of the media because he failed to explicitly affirm US support for Article 5 of the NATO charter, which commits all member states to come to the defense of any state that comes under attack. Instead, he used his remarks at a ceremony at NATO headquarters to denounce alliance leaders for failing to fulfill an agreement that member countries devote two percent of their gross domestic product to military spending.
At the same time, Trump aides in attendance made contradictory statements as to the administrations commitment to maintaining economic sanctions imposed on Russia following the 2014 US-backed right-wing coup in Ukraine and subsequent secession of Crimea from Ukraine to join the Russian Federation.
Kushner and wife Ivanka, who were part of Trumps entourage during his stops in Saudi Arabia, Israel and Rome, flew back to Washington DC on Thursday.
These developments underscore the reactionary character of both factions in the conflict and the absence of any democratic or progressive content to the anti-Trump campaign, which is being led by the Democratic Party. The Democrats have chosen to base their opposition to Trump, who embodies the gangsterism of the financial oligarchy, not on his brutal assault on social programs and democratic rights, but on his reluctance to continue and intensify the aggressive drive against Russia initiated by the Obama administration.
The same week that Trump released a budget proposal that calls for $1.7 trillion in social cuts, including the virtual destruction of Medicaid, the government health program for the poor, the Democrats and allied media outlets have continued to focus on his alleged collusion with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This, in turn, is based on claims that Putin hacked Democratic Party emails during the election campaign and gave them to WikiLeaks to publish in order to embarrass Hillary Clinton and tip the election to Trumpclaims that have not been backed up by any substantive evidence.
On Thursday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 18-3 for a bill imposing sweeping new sanctions on Iran, Russias ally in defending the government of Bashar al-Assad against the US-led war for regime-change in Syria. Only two Democrats opposed the war-mongering measure. Later in the meeting, the committee approved a separate measure to expand efforts to counter Russian propaganda and election interference in the US and around the world.
This was accompanied by a statement from committee chair Bob Corker (Republican of Tennessee) promising to pass a measure imposing new sanctions against Russia as early as next month. Corker has come under intense pressure from Democrats on the committee to present such a measure, despite pleas from Secretary of State Tillerson to allow more time for negotiations with Moscow.
Senator Ben Cardin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, issued a statement declaring: I welcome Chairman Corkers commitment that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will mark up a sanctions bill on Russia after the Senate returns from the Memorial Day recess in June, pending a discussion with Secretary Tillerson and take committee action in time for the bill to move to the Senate floor before the July 4 recess.
According to press reports, Kushner is wanted for questioning concerning meetings he held with Russian officials both during and after the presidential election campaign. The Post pointed out that he is not at this point a target of the FBI investigation and is not accused of committing a crime.
Kushner and Sessions, along with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak, attended an April 2016 event in Washington where then-candidate Trump gave a speech in which he pledged to seek improved relations with Moscow.
In December of 2016, while Trump was president-elect, Kushner and Flynn met with Kislyak in Trump Tower. Late Friday, the Washington Post published an article on the meeting that cited US officials briefed on intelligence reports and claimed Kushner and Kislyak had discussed setting up a secret and secure communications channel between Moscow and the Trump transition team.
Also last December, Kushner met with Sergei Gorkov, the head of the Russian bank Vnesheconombank, which has been under US sanctions since 2014. That meeting points to the completely corrupt character of the Trump presidency, which has brought the criminality that pervades Wall Street into the White House. Trump officials described the meeting as routine and inconsequential, but the bank described it as a negotiation about promising business lines and sectors.
ABC News reported that the meeting was part of talks with a number of potential investors about the development of a skyscraper on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan owned by the Kushner family real estate firm, Kushner Companies.
Kushner had already told the Senate Intelligence Committee that he was prepared to testify regarding his relations with Russian officials, and on Thursday his attorney, Jamie Gorelick, issued a statement saying that he would cooperate with federal investigators as well.
While the attention of the Western press has been focused on Trumps visit to the Middle East, which he used to threaten Iran, and the NATO summit, where he attacked Germany, relations between India and Pakistan, South Asias rival nuclear-armed powers, have gone from bad to worse.
New Delhi and Islamabad made rival boasts this week of provocative military action. On Tuesday, the Indian Army released video to support its claim that it had destroyed forward positions of the Pakistani military in the disputed Kashmir region with punitive fire assaults. Pakistan denied the claim, then posted its own video, saying that it showed it had inflicted even greater damage with its own artillery barrage across the Line of Control (LoC) that divides Indian- and Pakistan-held Kashmir.
On Friday, India said its military had killed two Pakistani soldiers trying to infiltrate across the LoC. Islamabad denied there was any such incident.
Amid the claims and counter-claims, both countries are increasingly on a war footing. Pakistan has operationalized all its forward air bases, reputedly in response to a letter from the Indian military high command instructing 12,000 Indian Air Force officers to be ready for operations at very short notice.
Yesterday, the Pakistan-based Daily Times published an editorial titled Looming Nuclear War? It warned that were New Delhi to implement its Cold Start military strategy, which calls for India to mount a massive lightning strike on Pakistans heartland, Islamabad, due to its more limited conventional forces, would appear to have just one optionuse of nuclear weapons. Pakistans defense minister has repeatedly vowed that an Indian invasion would be met with tactical nuclear weapons.
Indias relations with its northern neighbor, China, are also fraught. Both countries are building up military forces and infrastructure along their disputed border, and they are locked in an increasingly bitter strategic competition for resources, markets and geopolitical influence across South and South-East Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Indias ruling elite bitterly resents Beijings military and economic support for its arch-rival Pakistan.
Cognizant that US imperialism was intent on harnessing India to its efforts to contain and, if need be, militarily thwart Chinas rise, Beijing long sought to foster improved relations with New Delhi. While it fired back at what it considered Japanese affronts and provocations, it downplayed differences with India.
But with India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government incorporating the country ever-more completely into Washingtons military-strategic offensive against China, Beijings attitude has undergone a pronounced change.
Over the past two years, India and China have engaged in one diplomatic spat after another, and they have begun to publicly exchange military threats, both implicit and explicit. Beijing responded angrily to Indias most recent test of its "Agni V" ballistic missile, which, with a range of 5,5008,000 kilometers, would be capable of delivering nuclear warheads to any Chinese population center. On becoming head of Indias Army last January, General Bipin Rawat boasted of Indias readiness to fight a two-front war against China and Pakistan simultaneously.
The Sino-Indian and Indo-Pakistani rivalries go back decades. But US imperialism, in its drive to escape the consequences of its economic decline and reassert hegemony over Eurasia through aggression and war, has fueled the growth of geopolitical tensions in South Asia.
Fifteen years ago, while the United States was using the so-called war on terror to pursue regime-change in the Middle East and establish a strategic foothold in Afghanistan, the Pentagon and CIA were already promoting India as a strategic prize. India was uniquely placed, they claimed, to bolster US power in Asia and Africa because of its large military, growing economic heft and potential to serve as a vantage point for dominating the Indian Ocean, the worlds most important commercial waterway.
Since then, Washington has spared no effort to transform India into a frontline state in its military-strategic offensive against China. Under Democratic and Republican administrations alike, it has showered strategic favors on India. To cement an Indo-US global strategic partnership, the Bush administration carved out a unique status for India in world nuclear trade. Under Obama, India was declared a major defense partner, giving it access to the advanced weaponry the US provides its closest allies.
The Indo-US alliance has overturned the balance of terror between New Delhi and Islamabad. During the Cold War, Pakistan was Washingtons principal regional ally. But over the past decade, it has been reduced to a poor cousin.
Under Modi and his Hindu supremacist BJP, India is seeking to leverage its growing strategic advantage and Washingtons eagerness to expand their anti-China alliance to pursue a belligerent policy toward Pakistan. Last September, after ordering Indian Special Forces to mount an illegal cross-border raid, Modi declared that the days of Indian strategic restraint toward Pakistan were over.
The Indo-US alliance has also become an increasingly pronounced threat to China. Modi has aligned India ever-more completely with the US drive against China, diplomatically and militarily. India now parrots the US line on the South China Sea; it has greatly expanded bilateral and trilateral strategic ties with Americas chief regional allies, Japan and Australia; and it has thrown open its ports and air bases for use by the Pentagon to resupply and repair its warplanes and battleships. Recently, the head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Harry Harris, revealed that the US and Indian militaries are sharing intelligence on Chinese ship and submarine movements.
Facing a common threat from the Indo-US alliance, Pakistan and China have moved to strengthen their own longstanding military-strategic and economic ties. This is exemplified by the $50 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will link western China with the Arabian Sea port of Gwadar and thereby provide Beijing a means of partially circumventing the Pentagons strategy to impose an economic blockade on China by seizing various Indian Ocean and South China Sea chokepoints.
South Asia is thus becoming more and more geo-politically polarized between an India allied with US imperialism and a Pakistan backed by Beijing.
The enmeshing of the Indo-Pakistani and Sino-Indian strategic rivalries with the confrontation between American imperialism and China adds highly volatile new charges to what are already explosive conflicts between nuclear powers.
In the past, Washington intervened to defuse tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad, but its ability and willingness to do so are increasingly in doubt.
Anxious not to jeopardize their anti-China alliance, the US supported Indias surgical strikes inside Pakistan last September, first tacitly and then explicitly. Moreover, there is growing animosity toward Pakistan in the Washington establishment over Pakistans maintenance of ties with sections of the Taliban as an insurance policy against the growing Indo-US partnership, and over Pakistans burgeoning ties to Beijing.
The US ruling elite confronts numerous geopolitical crises and mounting social tensions at home. The Trump administration, the product of a quarter-century of war and decades of social reaction, epitomizes its recklessness, violence and loss of historical perspective. Whether Trump and his aides are even aware of the explosive and interconnected conflicts that are roiling South Asia and how quickly the low-level fighting between India and Pakistan could spiral into wara war that could quickly involve other great powers, including the USis a real question.
What is incontestable is that the US drive for global hegemony is stoking conflict around the world and forcing the other imperialist powers, including Germany and Japan, to aggressively assert their own interests.
If the imperialist pyromaniacs are to be prevented from consuming the world in a conflagration that will dwarf the world wars of the last century, the international working class must be mobilized to impose its own solution to the capitalist crisissocialist revolution. The development of a working class-led anti-war movement in opposition to all the rival bourgeois cliques and their nationalist and chauvinist appeals is the cutting edge of the mobilization of the working class as an independent political force in the fight for all its social and democratic rights.
A quartet of adorable baby squirrels recently got into quite a sticky predicament.
The four squirrels were found in Bangor, Maine, with their tails stuck together in a matted collection of plastic, twigs and straw.
Andrew Day saw the ensemble of squirrels hobbling across the grass with their tails fused "like a giant dreadlock, Day told The Bangor Daily News. After capturing a video of the odd scene, Day took the squirrels to a veterinarian, who liberated them.
But how, exactly, did these little squirrels get so tangled? [Photos: World's Cutest Baby Wild Animals]
One possibility is that they were tied together by a malicious person, though that scenario seems unlikely in this case, said Lucia Jacobs, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of California, Berkeley, and the head of the Cal Squirrels project, which is aimed at studying the behavior of squirrels on campus.
"Some mean humans could have done it; but I don't think so, because you wouldn't be able to catch all [of the] squirrels together," Jacobs said.
The squirrels look to be about 10 to 11 weeks old, which makes such a malicious act more unlikely, Jacobs said.
"Their tails are really slippery when they're that young," Jacobs told Live Science. "If you did tie them together, they'd untie themselves because they're so slick."
Instead, the likeliest explanation is that the babies got their tails entangled in something sticky while in their nest, Jacobs said.
Squirrels stick together
Though it sounds bizarre, such a phenomenon is not unheard of.
To stay cozy while they sleep, baby squirrels sit all bunched up, with their tails wrapped around one another. So one possibility is that they were entangled by some kind of human food, like a sticky candy, Jacobs said. But whatever the sticky material was, it probably wasn't edible, because they would have eaten it, she added.
More likely, tree sap kept these squirrels together, said Bill Bateman, a wildlife biologist at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. There have been a few reported examples of this phenomenon in the past, he said.
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"One of the things that might happen is that when they use holes or they use dreys [squirrel nests] in pine trees, there's a lot of sticky sap. And they sit curled up with their tails together, and their tails then got stuck together," Bateman told Live Science.
Housing crunch
Squirrels that find themselves in this knotty predicament may be facing their own version of an urban housing crisis, Bateman said. In cities, the plethora of human food options fuels an explosion in the squirrel population, but there's not a lot of real estate for building nests tall trees with cozy holes or branching limbs for making their twig-based dreys, Bateman said. So just as humans in the big city do, city slicker squirrels get roommates and lots of them.
"There are lots of extended families using the same holes or dreys in trees," Bateman said.
As a result, they may be a bit overcrowded in these holes, making it likelier for them to get entangled.
In the case of this baby squirrel quartet, they likely got entangled and were just coming out of their nest for the first time, Bateman said. They probably managed to make it a fair way down the tree before they started falling.
"The way they were all sort of moving along together, it wouldn't have surprised me if they'd been able to get quite a long way without falling," Bateman said.
Such squirrel entanglements may be more common than people realize. But it's likely that most of the squirrels that get stuck in sticky sap either die in the nest, or after falling out of it or being eaten.
"I imagine they'd make a nice supersize meal for any hawk that goes by," Bateman said.
In this instance, the squirrels likely would have faced such a fate if Day had not intervened, Jacobs said.
"It's very lucky he found them," Jacobs told Live Science. "There was an interested cat nearby."
Rat kings
A slightly different phenomenon also occurs in rats, known ominously as a "rat king." In a rat king, dozens of rats may get their tails tied together in knots. There is some debate about whether these more elaborate rat kings are the result of human malice or a natural phenomenon, Bateman said. [Rats and Lizards and Monkeys, Oh My! 9 Islands Ruled by Animals]
In medieval Europe, rat kings were surrounded by dark mythology. (Remains of rat kings can be seen in museums in Europe.)
"The occurrence of rat kings was supposed to be a bad portent," Bateman said.
That's because, though people hadn't explicitly connected bubonic plague to rat-borne fleas in medieval times, rat kings were more common when rat populations exploded, meaning plague was likelier to spread rapidly through the human population. People in that time might have unconsciously made the connection, he said.
No one knows exactly how the evocative name "rat king" came about, but it might have stemmed from a similar-sounding Germanic phrase, or from a mistranslation of "rat wheel," Bateman said.
Originally published on Live Science.
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Business is so good for SEI Manufacturing in Cromwell, Ind., that theres only one thing preventing explosive growth: a shortage of workers. I could double my revenue if I could get the workers, says Nathan Scherer, the 37-year-old owner of the company, which makes marine components. It frustrates me. I never would have thought the biggest barrier to my success would be an inability to get workers.
President Trump has promised to bring back manufacturing jobs he claims have been shipped to countries like China and Mexico, and revive fading industries such as coal and steel. But in many pockets of the country, the problem isnt shuttered factories or abandoned mines but humming businesses that cant find the staffers they need.
The Labor Department reports nearly 6 million jobs open nationwide, close to the highest level in the 17 years the government has been gathering such data. The unemployment rate, at 4.4%, is below the level many economists consider full employment, or the rate at which employers must start boosting wages to lure the workers they need.
[What would it take to get you to move for a job? Wed love to know. Please take our survey.]
There are still about 8 million Americans who are unemployed, underemployed or drifting in and out of the labor force. Perhaps 10 million other working-age adults have dropped out of the labor force and given up looking for a job. Thats a real problem, but it doesnt mean there arent enough jobs in the country. It means the jobs arent located where the jobless live, or the available jobs require skills the jobless dont have. Its also possible some people who arent working simply dont want the jobs that are available.
Trucking companies, for instance, are short about 50,000 drivers, according to Bob Costello, chief economist for the American Trucking Association. Its obviously demanding work that requires being away from home for 7 to 10 days at a stretch. But pay has been rising, Costello says, with a typical driver able to earn $50,000 t0 $70,000 a year. The driver shortage has made companies more flexible, and willing to let drivers make their own schedules, when possible. And the nature of the job lets drivers live in low-cost areas of their choosing, with the south and Midwest being best, logistically. Still, the driver shortage is expected to intensify rather than ease, and despite the hype, self-driving trucks that could help solve the problem are probably still decades away.
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Nathan Scherer, owner of SEI Manufacturing, right, with Andy Cripe, owner of Polar Kraft Boats. Both Indiana companies are struggling to find needed workers.
There are many anecdotal reports of labor shortages across the country. Farmers in California report that seasonal foreign workers arent showing up the way they used toand neither are Americans happy to take the work foreigners are leaving behind, even though pay is approaching $15 per hour, or more. A tech and manufacturing boom in Utah and Colorado has pushed the unemployment rate more than a full percentage point below the national average in those states, and led to labor shortages in construction, health care and other sectors. In North Carolina, builders cant erect enough homes to meet demand because they cant find the workers. Home prices will rise, contractors say, as theyre forced to pay more to draw people to job sites.
Job-search site Indeed says these are the top 10 cities for job growth:
And these are the worst 10 cities, where job growth is actually negative:
Normally, in a free-market economy, workers move away from areas where jobs are drying up, to areas where jobs being created. But that isnt happening the way it used to. The portion of Americans moving to a different state is now half what it was in 1980, as this chart shows:
The question is why more people arent moving away from economically distressed areas to places where there is more opportunity. A few analysts say tales of labor shortages are exaggerated, because pay isnt rising the way it ought to be if companies had no choice but to raise wages in order to attract workers. But there may simply be a lag between whats happening on the ground and what shows up in nationwide data. In northern Indiana, Scherer says, were almost getting to a wage-war situation.
Wage data may also fail to capture the choices workers are actually making. Costello of the American Trucking Association says pay is going up in his industry, but many drivers are taking advantage of that to improve qualify of life. It used to be commonplace to drive 125,000 miles per year, he says. Now its more like 100,000. When you raise pay, a lot of drivers say, Ill work less and make the same amount of money.
Middle-skill jobs going unfilled
In blue-collar fields such as construction, theres some evidence that employers are so accustomed to cheap laborincluding undocumented workersthat theyre reluctant to increase pay, no matter what. But employers also dont want to pay more unless theyre going to get workers with better skills, and those can be hard to find.
Scherer says he needs more workers such as welders and CNC programmers able to operate technical machinery. Those are middle-skill jobs that dont require an engineering degree but do require specialized training. So an out-of-work coal miner from Appalachia cant just show up in northern Indiana and get hired for $25 an hour. If I could get really qualified labor, I would pay more, Sherer says. But there arent enough good workers. There are a lot of missing skills.
So displaced workers who stay put instead of moving to one of the nations new boomtowns may be acting rationally, in a waysince moving alone wont necessarily lead to a job. In the past, when millions of lesser-skilled manual-labor jobs were more or less interchangeable, following the work was a reliable way to get ahead. But with technology now suffusing jobs far down the economic food chain, the right skills are more important than ever, and not always transferable from one place or industry to another.
Trump insists he can boost the nations economic growth rate from the meager 2% range were at now to 3% or more, which would be great news for the middle class. But every order thats not placed because a manufacturer doesnt have the workers to fill it, every house that doesnt get built, and every truckload of freight that sits waiting for a driver is economic activity not happening. Thats how economies stall, and it has nothing to do with China or Mexico.
Confidential tip line: rickjnewman@yahoo.com
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Rick Newman is the author of four books, including Rebounders: How Winners Pivot from Setback to Success. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Chinese fighter jets intercepted a U.S. Navy surveillance plane over the South China Sea on Wednesday, with one coming within 200 yards (180 meters) of the American aircraft, U.S. officials told Reuters. The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial reports showed that the U.S. P-3 Orion surveillance plane was 150 miles (240 km) southeast of Hong Kong in international airspace when the Chinese aircraft carried out the unsafe intercept. One Chinese aircraft flew in front of the American plane, restricting its ability to maneuver. The Pentagon confirmed that two Chinese jets had carried out the intercept, saying it was "unsafe and unprofessional." "We continue to review the facts of this incident and will convey our concerns through appropriate channels with the Chinese government," Pentagon spokesman Navy Commander Gary Ross said in a statement. A U.S. Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles (22 km) of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since U.S. President Donald Trump took office. China is deeply suspicious of any U.S. military activity around its coastline, especially in the resource-rich South China Sea, parts of which are disputed by China and its smaller neighbors, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia. Incidents such as Wednesday's interception are not uncommon. Earlier this month, two Chinese SU-30 aircraft intercepted a U.S. aircraft designed to detect radiation while it was flying in international airspace over the East China Sea. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
New York (AFP) - Hillary Clinton launched a stinging attack on Donald Trump Friday, obliquely comparing him to former president Richard Nixon, who resigned in 1974 to escape impeachment, and savaging the Republican assault on fact-based politics.
The defeated Democratic presidential nominee made her remarks in a commencement address at her alma mater Wellesley College, a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts, 48 years after her own graduation.
Never once uttering Trump's name, she urged the class of 2017 to get politically and socially involved, saying that the future of America depends on "brave, thoughtful people like you insisting on truth and integrity."
Coughing at one point before being passed a bottle of water and continuing briefly in a hoarse voice, the former secretary of state who made history as the first US woman to win a major party nomination for president was frequently interrupted by applause.
"Now, you may have heard that things didn't exactly go the way I planned, but you know what? I'm doing ok," she said of her electoral defeat. "I won't lie, Chardonnay helped a little too," she added to roars of delight.
Clinton implicitly compared Trump to Nixon, the Republican president brought down by the Watergate scandal. He sacked his attorney general in a move some have compared to Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey, who was investigating Russian interference in last year's election and possible collusion by Trump's campaign.
The former first lady said her class of 1969 was "furious" about the then-recent election of Nixon, "a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment for obstruction of justice."
- 'Assault on truth' -
"You are graduating at a time when there is a full-fledged assault on truth and reason. Just log on to social media for 10 seconds it will hit you right in the face," she said.
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"People denying science, concocting elaborate hurtful conspiracy theories... Drumming up rampant fear about undocumented immigrants, Muslims, minorities, the poor," she added.
"Some are even denying things we see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds," she said, again alluding to but not naming Trump, who falsely accused the news media last January of misrepresenting the size of his inauguration crowds. "Then defending themselves by talking about quote unquote alternative facts."
Clinton called Trump's proposed federal budget "an attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable" that "grossly underfunds" public education, mental health care, efforts to combat America's opioid epidemic and threatens to worsen climate change.
"It matters because if our leaders lie about the problems we face, we'll never solve them. It matters because it undermines confidence in government as a whole."
Much of her speech was a rallying cry for graduates to get politically involved and engaged with their communities.
"In the years to come, there will trolls galore, online and in-person, eager to tell you that you don't have anything worthwhile to say or anything meaningful to contribute, they may even call you a nasty woman," she said.
"You don't have to do everything, but don't sit on the sidelines."
A day of grief in a city of pain Spencer Leak Sr stands in front of Leak and Sons, one of the oldest funeral homes on Chicagos south side and one that is burying many victims of Chicagos gun violence. (Photo: Jon Lowenstein for Yahoo News)
A native of south side Chicago, Spencer Leak Sr. has watched as his hometown and the neighborhoods where he grew up have been ripped apart by homicides in recent years, the results of an explosion of gun violence police have struggled to contain.
Last year, according to the Chicago Tribune, 781 people were killeda massive jump over 2015 when there were 492 recorded homicides. The pace of violence hasnt slowed this year. Since Jan. 1, more than 1,000 people have been shot and at least 230 killed.
Leak has more insight into Chicagos violence than most. As patriarch of Leak and Sons Funeral Home, hes been burying most of the dead. Last year, his funeral home handled the funerals for between 250 and 300 murder victims, and so far this year, hes handled around two to three services a week for those killed by homicide.
It is heart-wrenching work for Leak, who at 80, works 12 hours a day seven days a week, handling the routine deaths of mothers and fathers and grandparents as well as the mostly young casualties of violence. On a recent Saturday, Chicago photographer Jon Lowenstein, who has been documenting the toll of violence on his adopted hometown, spent a morning with Leak as he attended ten funerals that he and his staff organized.
Read the related story by Holly Bailey/Yahoo News. >>>
Photography by Jon Lowenstein/NOOR for Yahoo News.
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The White House and Congress are headed for a showdown over President Donald Trumps massive multibillion-dollar arms package for Saudi Arabia. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate are calling for congressional hearings and scrutiny into the planned arms sale, which Trump finalized during his trip to Saudi Arabia this week.
On his first presidential trip abroad, Trump made his initial stop in Riyadh, where he was lavishly greeted with sword dances and a glowing orb as he penned a $110 billion arms deal with Saudi leadership. Some congressional leaders say the move sent the wrong message to the rest of the world.
Sens. Chris Murphy (D.-Conn.), Al Franken (D.-Minn.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval for the deal. Under a provision of the Arms Export Control Act, they now have to wait 10 days before bringing their measure to the floor of the Senate.
They hope to block the sale of weapons and equipment to the Royal Saudi Air Force, though it represents only a portion of the total $110 billion arms package.
On the House side, Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.) urged the House Foreign Affairs Committee to reconsider selling precision-guided munitions to Riyadh a sale blocked by former President Barack Obama in December 2016 over civilian casualties in Saudi airstrikes on Yemen. The two lawmakers urged a hearing on the deal before the window for congressional oversight on the sale closed on June 20.
The debate showcases waning congressional support for a historic U.S. ally plagued by rampant human rights abuses, a controversial war in Yemen, and export of extremist ideologies to other parts of the world.
Saudi Arabia is pounding Yemen with airstrikes in a controversial campaign against the countrys Houthi rebels, backed by Riyadhs arch geopolitical foe, Iran. International watchdogs and human rights groups have slammed Saudi Arabia for indiscriminately targeting civilians in the air campaign, which has bogged down into a two-year long quagmire, while millions of Yemenis face starvation. Saudi Arabia has carried out its campaign with U.S. weapons and support.
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The Saudis have not proven to be responsible in their use of American weapons, said Jeff Abramson of the Arms Control Association, citing the numerous cases of Saudi airstrikes against civilians in Yemen. The United States shouldnt want its name attached to those actions, he told Foreign Policy.
Other Congressional leaders slammed the deal on account of Riyadhs human rights violations and export of extremist ideologies. In a particularly fiery statement on Friday, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D.-Vt.), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, accused Trump of kowtowing to one of the worlds wealthiest and repressive regimes. He accused the Saudi royal family of support for extremism that breeds terrorism and gross mistreatment of its own citizens.
Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he expected the new motion would fail. I think it probably goes the way of the other [resolutions]. I think most of the people on the committee and in the Senate support those sales, he told reporters Thursday.
Sens. Murphy, Franken, Paul, and Mike Lee (R-Utah) tried to pass a similar motion last year when the arms package was first proposed under former President Barack Obama. The motion failed by a vote of 71-27.
Photo credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP/Getty Images
Correction, May 26, 2017: Utah Sen. Mike Lee co-sponsored a bill to block an arms sale to Saudi Arabia in 2016. A previous version of this article mistakenly called him Patrick Lee.
Taormina (Italy) (AFP) - President Donald Trump said Saturday he would decide next week whether the United States would abide by the 2015 Paris agreement on cutting global carbon emissions.
His announcement came as a summit of G7 leaders in Sicily wrapped up in deadlock on the issue, with US partners voicing frustration at the president's failure to commit to the deal aimed at stemming global warming.
"I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week!" Trump tweeted.
US Defense Secretary James Mattis, in comments to be aired fully in a TV interview Sunday, said Trump -- famously skeptical of global warming -- is now "wide open" on the issue.
The US leader, concluding his first overseas trip in office, later left for home without giving the customary close-of-summit news conference.
The meeting's final declaration reflected a stalemate between the US and the six other participating countries, who are all strongly committed to the Paris accord.
"The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," it stated.
"Understanding this process, the (other participants) reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement...
"In this context, we all agree on the importance of supporting developing countries."
But Mattis, in an interview to air Sunday on a CBS talk show, said Trump was "wide open" on the Paris climate deal.
"I was sitting in on some of the discussions in Brussels, by the way, where climate change came up, and the president was open, he was curious about why others were in the position they were in his counterparts in other nations," he said.
"And Im quite certain the president is wide open on this issue as he takes in the pros and cons of that accord."
Earlier German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised what she called "a very difficult, not to say very unsatisfactory" discussion with Trump on the issue.
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"Here we have a situation of six against one, meaning there is still no sign of whether the US will remain in the Paris accord or not," she said.
French President Emmanuel Macron struck a more positive note, saying the talks had been useful. "I think there was progress and there was a real discussion and exchange of views," he said, voicing hope that Trump would decide to keep his country within the Paris framework.
Other delegates concurred that it was "six against one" at the gathering of leading democracies spanning North America, Europe and Japan.
Under Trump, who once called climate change a "hoax" perpetrated by China and wants to boost the US coal industry, Washington has resisted intense pressure from its partners to commit to respecting the global 2015 accord on curbing carbon emissions.
But Gary Cohn, Trump's economic advisor, on Friday said the president had told his G7 colleagues that he regarded the environment as important.
"His views are evolving, he came here to learn," Cohn said. "His basis for decision ultimately will be what's best for the United States."
The United States is the world's biggest carbon emitter after China.
Trump had said he would listen to what US partners have to say at the G7 before making a decision on how to proceed.
- 'Make the right decision' -
Abandoning the Paris agreement would carry a high political cost internationally, with Europe, Canada, China and Japan all strongly committed to the deal.
It would also be fiercely opposed at home by environmental activists and by American corporations that are investing heavily in cleaner technology.
French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot, in an interview to be published on Sunday in Le Parisien newspaper, said he found it unlikely "Trump would want to put his country in such an impasse."
"If Donald Trump decides to pull his country out of the Paris climate agreement, it would provoke a strong reaction from many American states, cities and economic players who are committed to developing renewable energy," Hulot said. "(...) It would be going tragically against the grain of history."
Greenpeace regretted the outcome of the summit but held out hope that Trump might change tack.
"Europe, Canada and Japan stood up today and made a stand, revealing again how far Trump is out of step with the rest of the world on climate change," Jennifer Morgan, Greenpeace's international executive director, said in Sicily.
Nevertheless, the clean energy revolution is "unstoppable" with support from other governments and from industry, she said.
"Leaders must now keep resolve... President Trump should now return to Washington and make the right decision, take climate change seriously and take action with the rest of the world."
Iain Keith, campaign director of Avaaz, an activist network, said: "Today, G6 leaders put our planet first, showing that even the US president cannot stop the inevitable clean energy revolution."
"Trump's attempts to derail global climate action won't make America great, it will only make America late."
Associated Press
There has already been two coaching changes halfway through the NFL season with Indianapolis firing Frank Reich this week four weeks after Carolina did the same to Matt Rhule. The NFL had a record-tying 10 coaching changes last offseason and three-quarters of the teams have changed head coaches at least once in the past five years. Here's a look at some coaches who figure to be on the hot seat if things don't turn around in the second half of the season and some assistants who could be in line for head coaching jobs.
The US President said that his administration will get to the bottom of intelligence leaks surrounding Mondays attack: AFP/Getty
Donald Trump has called the US leaks of evidence relating to the Manchester attack investigation deeply troubling and has vowed to get to the bottom of them.
Mr Trump appeared to be trying to halt an escalating diplomatic spat with the UK, with Theresa May having made clear that the trust between the two nations was at stake as a number of senior political and police figures expressed their dismay at the release of such sensitive information.
Mr Trump said he had instructed the Department of Justice to launch a full investigation into the leaks and if appropriate, the culprit should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The Presidents intervention comes with UK police forces having taken the extraordinary step of having stopped passing information on the investigation into the blast outside of an Ariana Grande concert that killed at least 22 people and left nearly 60 people injured.
This is until such time as we have assurances that no further unauthorised disclosures will occur, a counter-terrorism source told Reuters.
Late on Thursday senior UK anti-terror officials said the sharing of intelligence had resumed after those assurances were given.
Ms May raised her concerns with Mr Trump in person ahead of Nato meeting in Brussels which Mr Trump is attending as part of his first foreign trip using the set-up of a group photograph to corner the US President. The two then spoke again as they sat next to each other at a Nato working dinner.
The Prime Minister had earlier warned that the special relationship could be undermined because of the persistent leaking of intelligence material.
As she arrived in Brussels, Ms May said the attack by suicide bomber Salman Abedi had targeted innocent and defenceless children and young people.
Mrs May said: On the issue of the intelligence-sharing with the USA, we have a special relationship with the USA, it is our deepest defence and security partnership that we have.
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Of course, that partnership is built on trust. And part of that trust is knowing that intelligence can be shared confidently and I will be making clear to President Trump today that intelligence that is shared between law enforcement agencies must be shared securely.
Mr Trump also invoked the special relationship in saying that he took these alleged breaches seriously, and that the US still values Britain as an important ally. There is no relationship we cherish more than the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, he said.
But he was clear that the two nations, Nato and other allies must step up efforts to stop terrorism in its tracks as otherwise the horror you saw in Manchester, and so many other places, will continue forever.
Mr Trump then appeared to link the controversial issue of migration to the attack. The President has made lowering levels of migration into the US one of his major promises although the travel ban he has proposed aimed at a number of Muslim-majority nations has been accused of penalising those fleeing war zones.
You have thousands and thousands of people pouring into our various countries and spreading throughout, and in many cases we have no idea who they are. We must be tough, we must be strong and we must be vigilant, he said despite the fact that the Manchester attacker was British-born.
Mr Trump did not confirm that the leaks had come from American intelligence sources. He called the leaks alleged, though the information has widely been presumed to have come from US sources since American news organisations have been the first to publish specific details around the investigation and explosion.
US outlets were the first to report the attackers name and many details about the victims, leading to condemnation from the Home Secretary Amber Rudd and the Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham.
The leaks have continued since, with The New York Times publishing pictures of the bomb and reporting in precise detail how it had been made and detonated. The details came out at a time when British law enforcement officials have been working to determine if there were more potential terrorists planning further attacks beyond the initial attack and smashing the potential network that assisted in it.
The National Police Chiefs Council has condemned the revelations, saying it undermines our investigations and the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.
Lord Carlile, the former Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, described the leaks as very unusual and irresponsible and called for those responsible to be called to account.
Also, it damages decades of confidence between the UK and US services, the cohesion of the Five Eyes group, and sharing of information with French, German and other security services, he said.
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Lord Blair said the leak of images from the attack was a grievous breach although something similar had happened after the London 7/7 bombings.
Lord Blair, who was head of the Metropolitan Police during the deadly 2005 attacks, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme: Im afraid it just reminds me exactly of what happened after 7/7 when the United States published a complete picture of the way the bombs in 7/7 had been made up.
Its a different world in which the United States operate in the sense of how they publish things, and this is a very grievous breach, but Im afraid its the same as before, he said.
Fans are loving Rihannas curves. (Photo: Backgrid)
A slim body is celebrity currency, so when a star gains weight, its usually not a great career move. Except if your name is Rihanna.
On Wednesday, Rihanna was photographed leaving her New York City apartment wearing skinny jeans, a Buju Banton T-shirt, strappy heels, and carrying a Dior handbag. Eagle-eyed fans who noted that the star appeared a bit thick took to social media to praise her new curves.
rihanna is THICK. I love it. pic.twitter.com/nfs9bHgYUw baby boy ???? (@darkwavebaby) May 24, 2017
rihanna got thick again which means I have to get thick for the culture shy (@shysoaggy) May 24, 2017
I love when Rihanna get thick ???????? K. Don (@sincerelykm__) May 24, 2017
Just like any other woman on the planet, Rihannas weight has fluctuated over the years. In August 2015, when the star appeared curvier in Carnival photos taken in her native Barbados, the Internet decided she looked better than ever before. And a year later, when she hit the stage for her Anti-World Tour with a few extra pounds, fans called her new shape amazing.
Rihanna at Carnival in Barbados. (Photo: Sandy Pitt/Splash News)
Not all celebs get the same warm reception when their weight fluctuates up or down. On Wednesday, Modern Family star Sarah Hyland tweeted an open letter dispelling eating-disorder rumors after fans criticized her for being too skinny in an Instagram photo. And in April, Kim Kardashian was body-shamed after wearing a bikini on a beach in Mexico.
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The state of a womans body should never be up for debate, but social media makes it easy for some to judge and body-shame. For Rihanna, if the new photos prove anything at all, its that she looks fantastic at any size.
Read more from Yahoo Style + Beauty:
Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day. For Twitter updates, follow @YahooStyle and @YahooBeauty.
Marawi (Philippines) (AFP) - Foreigners are among Islamist gunmen battling security forces in a southern Philippine city, the government said Friday as soldiers tore down black IS flags in retaken districts and the reported death toll climbed to 46.
Tens of thousands of people have fled clashes raging through residential neighbourhoods in Marawi, one of the biggest Muslim cities in the mainly Catholic Philippines, with cars choking roads out of the area.
President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law across the southern region of Mindanao on Tuesday, hours after gunmen loyal to the Islamic State group rampaged through the city in response to a raid on one of their safe houses.
"You can see that ISIS is here already," Duterte said in a speech Friday at a military camp near Marawi, referring to the militant group by another acronym, as officials said the insurgents were from multiple countries.
Six foreign fighters were believed to have died in the bloodshed, according to Philippine military spokesman Brigadier-General Restituto Padilla, including Malaysians, Indonesians and another nationality which he did not specify. Another government official listed Singaporeans as also among the militants.
Padilla said 11 soldiers, two policemen and 31 militants had been confirmed killed in the fighting, which has involved the military bombing buildings where the militants have been hiding.
Two civilians were also killed inside a hospital that the gunmen had occupied on Tuesday, and the military was investigating reports that nine people had been murdered at a checkpoint the militants had set up, authorities said.
The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.
The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.
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- Militants rampage -
The raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then tore across the city while flying black IS flags.
Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because the militants, even though they were believed to number only in the dozens, had planted bombs in the streets and were holding hostages.
They said militants had also occupied higher ground in the city, enabling them to slow down or stop assaults from the security forces.
Snipers fired on Friday afternoon at about 100 troops who were marching single-file uphill through one district of Marawi that the militants had previously controlled, according to journalists accompanying the soldiers.
The troops pulled down a black IS flag that had been raised on top of one house, then set up position as the gunfire from uphill intensified.
Duterte said the militants belonged to the Maute group that has emerged only in recent years in Mindanao and gained strength on the proceeds of drug money.
The group had 263 armed followers at the end of last year, according to Duterte's report to Congress to justify martial law, which was released to the media on Friday.
Muslim rebels have been fighting since the 1970s for an independent or autonomous homeland in Mindanao, with the conflict claiming more than 120,000 lives.
The main Muslim rebel groups are now involved in peace talks with the government.
But the Abu Sayyaf, Maute and other hardline groups want to set up an Islamic caliphate in the south for IS, according to Duterte.
Security analysts have also warned that the threat and influence of the hardline groups has been rising in recent years as they have banded together behind the IS flag.
But some critics of Duterte say he might be exaggerating the IS threat to justify a form of authoritarian rule that will give him greater powers to prosecute his controversial crackdown on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives.
One of his most important political allies, ex-president Fidel Ramos, said Friday that martial law across Mindanao was not justified, and called for it to be quickly revoked.
Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter talks with Zbigniew Brzezinski, July 29, 1976 Democratic nominee Jimmy Carter, center, talks with Zbigniew Brzezinski of Columbia University and Carters foreign policy advisor, left, and Stuart Eizenstat, director of issues and policies, second from left, Thursday, July 29, 1976, Plains, Ga. Carter is being briefed on foreign policy in the Carter pond house which is used as country home. The man on the right is unidentified. (Photo: Peter Bregg/AP)
Zbigniew Brzezinski, the hawkish Polish-born Cold War strategist and former top aide to US president Jimmy Carter, has died, his family said. He was 89.
My father passed away peacefully tonight, MSNBC journalist Mika Brzezinski said on Instagram late on Friday.
He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life. I just knew him as the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have, she wrote.
Born in Warsaw to a diplomat father, Brzezinski moved with his family to Canada in the late 1930s. He went on to attend McGill University in Montreal then earned a doctorate from Harvard, later becoming a US citizen.
After serving under president Lyndon Johnson, he went on to become Carters national security adviser during the Iranian hostage crisis.
He was a driving force behind the failed US commando mission to rescue the hostages, after which he resigned. He believed Soviet influence would sweep through Iran if US strength did not prevail in the drama.
Nominally a Democrat, he leaned conservative on security matters. A tough critic of the Soviet Union, he also helped broker the Camp David accords and worked on normalizing relations with China.
Though a rigorous anti-communist, he held that US interests around the world should be addressed in terms of strategy and practicality, not ideology. (AFP)
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Leaders of the G7 nations met in Italy: AP
World leaders have pushed Donald Trump to join the rest of the world in combating climate change - but the President has made no promises despite the White House insisting his views are evolving.
G7 nations had hoped the US leader, who has previously described climate change as a "hoax", would publicly back the Paris Agreement and the commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Rather, according to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the leaders had a controversial debate on the subject.
Alden Meyer, director of strategy and policy for the Union of Concerned Scientists, told The Independent that the mood at the meeting was tense around climate and migration discussions in particular.
Despite that, and despite repeated criticism that Mr Trump has turned his back on science, the US insisted that the President had gone to listen and learn to the other world leaders.
The meeting in Taormina, Italy, of the heads of the worlds seven major industrialised economies, did secure widespread agreement on other issues, including Syria, Libya, and fighting terrorism.
The group ramped up pressure on internet service providers and social media to increase efforts to purge extremist content, four days after the terror attack in Manchester that killed 22 people, by toughening a final statement to fight terrorism, honing in on the role of companies like Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, sometimes referred to generally in Europe using the acronym Gafa.
We will combat the misuse of the Internet by terrorists. While being one of the most important technological achievements in the last decades, the Internet has also proven to be a powerful tool for terrorist purposes, said the joint statement signed by the leaders meeting in Sicily.
However that co-operation did not stretch entirely to the issue of Global warming. There is one open question, which is the US position on the Paris climate accords. All others have confirmed their total agreement on the accord, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said.
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We are sure that after an internal reflection, the United States will also want to commit to it, he added.
The White Houses decision to go slow on making a decision about his commitment to the 2015 climate change agreement - something Mr Trump said he would withdraw from when he was campaigning - led the other leaders to mount their campaign of persuasion.
During the opening months of this presidency, he has shown he can change his position, especially when confronted by strong and unified global opinion.
For instance, he backed away from tough campaign talk about trade with China after a summit with President Xi Jinping and abandoned his criticism of Saudi Arabia.
The White House said as much in briefings to reporters after the meeting, the final stage on the presidents nine-day foreign visit.
He feels much more knowledgeable on the topic today, said Gary Cohn, the Mr Trumps top White House economic advisor. He came here to learn, he came here to get smarter.
However, White House National Security Adviser HR McMaster said that Mr Trump would make his decisions based on what's best for the American people - bringing things back to 'America First' policy that energised the president's supporters during last year's presidential election campaign.
One specific issue Mr Trump has been consistent on is job creation.
He ran his 2016 campaign on a platform of job creation in rural areas of the US and EU leaders may be discussing how they have decoupled economic growth, job creation, and carbon emissions, said Mr Meyer.
According to senior White House officials, the president is particularly worried that the US will fall behind India and China in manufacturing and job creation. China has also become a leader in renewable energy investment, particular solar panels.
New investments in renewable energy outpaced new money in the oil and gas sector for the first time ever in 2015 to the tune of $350bn (273bn).
A recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that the worlds economies could boost economic growth by nearly three per cent by 2021 if they institute policies that would lower greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050 that growth could reach up to five per cent.
Mr Meyer said it's clear [Mr Trump] is not up on markets and trends, however there are people around him who are more knowledgeable about electricity and renewable energy markets like Mr Cohn.
Several business leaders, including the directors of multi-billion dollar pension funds in the US, have urged Mr Trump to stay in the Paris Agreement.
Ben Van Beurden of Royal Dutch Shell told NPR that he wants the US to commit so that there is predictability, consistency, and a level playing field from which companies in his sector can operate going forward.
It would be a mistake to sideline itself from trends in energy markets, said Mr Meyer because it would make the US less competitive.
Practically all of Mr Trump's first foreign trip has been spent of discussing the US stance on climate change. French President Emmanuel Macron had discussed the matter when the two had a somewhat strained meeting in Brussels ahead of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) meeting.
Prior to that, Pope Francis presented the president with a gift during his visit to the Vatican: a 2015 papal letter of nearly 200 pages on the need for people to address climate change.
Whether these messages will resonate with Mr Trump remains to be seen.
Mr Trump is due to return to the US on Saturday.
By John Irish and Crispian Balmer TAORMINA, Italy (Reuters) - Under pressure from Group of Seven allies, U.S. President Donald Trump backed a pledge to fight protectionism on Saturday, but refused to endorse a global climate change accord, saying he needed more time to decide. The summit of G7 wealthy nations pitted Trump against the leaders of Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Japan on several issues, with European diplomats frustrated at having to revisit questions they had hoped were long settled. However, diplomats stressed there was broad agreement on an array of foreign policy problems, including the renewal of a threat to slap further economic sanctions on Russia if its interference in neighboring Ukraine demanded it. "We are satisfied by how things went," said Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, while acknowledging splits with Washington in some areas. "We do not disguise this division. It emerged very clearly in our conversations." Trump himself hailed what he called "a tremendously productive meeting", saying he had strengthened U.S. ties with longstanding partners. The president, who has previously called global warming a hoax, came under concerted pressure from the other leaders to honor the 2015 Paris Agreement on curbing carbon emissions. Although he tweeted that he would make a decision next week, his apparent reluctance to embrace the first-ever legally binding global climate deal that was signed by 195 countries clearly annoyed German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying," she told reporters. "There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not." Putting a positive spin on it, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was sure Trump, who he praised as "pragmatist", would back the deal having listened to his G7 counterparts. "Only a few weeks ago, people thought that the United States would pull out and that no talks would be possible," said Macron, who, like Trump, was making his first G7 appearance. Merkel, by contrast, was attending her 12th such gathering, and clearly believed she had overcome climate change scepticism at a 2007 summit, when she convinced the then U.S. President George W. Bush to pursue substantial cuts in greenhouse gases. PROTECTIONISM Disappointment over the Paris Agreement was countered by relief when Trump agreed on Saturday to language in the final G7 communique that pledged "to fight all forms of protectionism" and committed to a rules-based international trade system. During his election campaign, Trump threatened unilateral tariffs on Mexican and Chinese goods and said he would quit the North American Free Trade agreement unless it was renegotiated to his liking. Earlier this week he called Germany "very bad" on trade because of its U.S. surplus. In a tweet after his plane took off, Trump said he had had "great meetings on everything, especially on trade", highlighting the part of the communique which called "for the removal of all trade-distorting practices". He made no mention of protectionism. Meeting in a luxury hotel overlooking the Mediterranean sea, hosts Italy had hoped that the summit would focus on Europe's migration crisis and the problems of Africa. The internal G7 divisions and a suicide bombing in Britain on Monday, that killed 22, overshadowed the Italian agenda, but on Saturday five African leaders joined the world leaders to discuss their continent's potential. Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou urged the G7 to take urgent measures to end the crisis in Libya - the point of departure for hundreds of thousands of migrants looking for a better life in Europe. He also criticized them for not honoring aid promises to fight poverty in West Africa's poorest regions. "Be it Niger, a transit nation, or the countries of origin, it is only through development that we will prevent illegal migration," Issoufou said. The final communique was just six pages long, against 32 pages last year, with diplomats saying the leaders wanted a simpler document to help them reach a wider audience. Security questions dominated discussions on Friday, with the leaders vowing to work harder to combat terrorism and calling on internet providers and social media firms to "substantially increase" efforts to rein in extremist content. Speaking to U.S. servicemen and women at the end of the summit, Trump promised to defeat terrorism and said he had made "extraordinary gains to advance security". The speech was the last engagement of his first foreign tour since taking office - a trip that took him to Saudi Arabia, Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Rome, Brussels and Sicily. "I think we hit a home run no matter where we are," Trump said, before boarding his plane back to Washington. (Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Steve Scherer, Giselda Vagnoni, John Irish, Andrea Rinke and Noah Barkin; Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Andrew Bolton)
CHICAGO (TNS) Every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, a few dozen women would turn up in the basement of Rockefeller Memorial Chapel at the University of Chicago. They were from different walks of life but were there for the same reason: They were pregnant and didnt want to be.
The clergymen and women who opened their doors to these women provided spiritual guidance, but also practical assistance: It was before the Roe v. Wade ruling, but if a woman decided she wanted to end her pregnancy, they helped her get an abortion, and in some cases put women on planes to other states and even other countries where the procedure was legal.
They called themselves the Clergy Consultation Service on Problem Pregnancies, and their mission was to protect women from risky back-alley procedures by establishing and vetting a network of safe providers.
Made of up pastors, rabbis and other religious leaders, and operating on the premise that this was the most compassionate way to help the women, the group also pushed for local hospitals and doctors to provide abortions and sought to address any moral or spiritual questions the women posed about their decision.
Today, the religious community is predominantly identified with the anti-abortion movement, and efforts to ban or limit access to abortions have long been led by evangelicals and other conservative Christians.
But in the years leading to the 1973 Roe ruling, religious leaders from throughout the country organized a network of consultation services called
Clergy Consultation on Abortion.
Part of what was remarkable about it was they didnt try to go underground. They were being very upfront about what they were doing, said Abigail Hastings, who coordinated a recent anniversary celebration.
Hopefully, people will start to understand that even though the religious leaders now are not as loud as fundamentalists are about the abortion issue, they nevertheless have had a record of a positive stance on abortion when they recognize that it does endanger the womans life or the way that she needs to live her life, Hastings said.
The message and the fight remain relevant today, advocates say, given various efforts to defund Planned Parenthood and chip away at access to safe abortions. President Donald Trump has also signed an executive order to block aid to groups that provide abortion counseling overseas.
In the late 1960s and early 70s, though, the battle was primarily focused on making abortion safe and legal. According to a 1969 Chicago newspaper report, thousands of women each year were turning up at Cook County Hospital with complications from botched abortions, a figure the Rev. E. Spencer Parsons, then the dean of Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago, cited at the time as the reason the Clergy Consultation Service was needed.
Parsons founded the group in April 1969 with 18 members; the number had reached 30 by the year-end, and by then they had counseled more than 500 women, according to the published report.
Other groups in Chicago, primarily the Abortion Counseling Service of Womens Liberation, also known as the Jane Collective, were also helping women get abortions or even providing the procedure.
But women who sought out the clergy groups took extra comfort in knowing that they were led by trusted, respected members of the community who represented someone who wasnt going to rip them off, said Gillian Frank, who has been studying the groups for years and is writing a book on them.
The Rev. Donna Schaper was a University of Chicago seminary student when Parsons recruited her to help with the effort. Now senior minister at Judson Memorial Church in New York, Schaper said she believes abortions are a medical choice that should be available to adult women.
If you think you can take care of (more children), thats wonderful, but when youre poor and youre going to decrease the life space for other children I think thats morally wrong because youre not stewarding the life that is around you, Schaper said.
In those early days, many of the women were sent out of state, and some were even flown overseas to locations including London, for the procedure. The clergy guided the women in getting passports and smallpox vaccinations and arranged for their plane and hotel reservations, as they would stay for a day or two to make sure there were no complications. Clergy members would follow up with the women after the procedures.
Parsons regularly revised the list of providers. Meeting minutes of the group archived at Northwestern University show that members decided in the fall of 1969 to cease referrals in Illinois because the legal risks are too high. Others doctors were dropped after women reported having bad experiences with them. The minutes used codes in place of providers names, presumably to protect their identities.
One early member was Harold Kudan, founding rabbi of Am Shalom synagogue in Glencoe, Ill.
Kudan said he isnt sure whether his involvement was commonly known within the synagogue, but he did recall providing referrals to some congregants.
I am gratified that I was able to assist in this work, and Im glad I was able to help people in distress, which is actually part of my calling as a rabbi and a member of the clergy, he said.
The relative openness of the operation did come with risks.
In 1970, Rabbi Max Ticktin, then Hillel director at the University of Chicago, was threatened with prosecution by Michigan authorities after referring a woman to a doctor there for an abortion. The woman turned out to be an undercover agent, and authorities sought to extradite the rabbi, but prosecutors in Michigan eventually backed down after protests and backlash.
Schaper had her own tussle with the law when, she said, the chapel basement operation was raided and all of the women and clergy present taken into custody. They were held at a police station for a few hours.
Schaper said service members refused to talk to authorities, citing clergy-client privilege, adding that police were roughing us up and scaring us more than anything else.
She believes the experience for many women showed them they could make their own choices about other aspects of their lives as well.
When a woman claims agency like that, she becomes different, Schaper said. Shes not a baby anymore.
Many of the clergy groups disbanded in the years after Roe v. Wade, though many members continued their work advocating for access to birth control and abortion.
One person who encountered the group in its infancy was Joseph Scheidler, a pioneer of the anti-abortion movement who became a full-time activist after Roe v. Wade and founded the Pro-Life Action League.
The Chicago resident, now 89, recalled picketing the Clergy Consultation Service but also attempting dialogue with the group.
These are supposedly religious people, and they send a terrible message about Gods place in a persons life, he said. They were willing to help women get abortions, when their obligation was to speak about the life that she was carrying and the sacredness of that life.
Scheidler called the groups anniversary celebration a travesty.
Some religious leaders cite such widely held beliefs as one reason their work is not complete.
Kudan said hes worried about todays climate around abortion and that its an important to remind people of what Roe v. Wade changed.
We were setting obstacles in the path of women and subjugating them to all kinds of disabilities, Kudan said. We should be helping them. Its insane what were doing today. Women have a right to their own bodies; thats the bottom line.
Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) - The terror manhunt in Manchester focused on a gritty area of the city notorious for gangland murders on Friday as the head of a local mosque where suicide bomber Salman Abedi worshipped recalled him as an "angry" young man.
Armed police raided a house in Moss Side overnight in connection with Monday's attack, shutting off a street of red-brick homes and shouting: "Hands on the ground! Get on the ground!"
A 30-year-old man was arrested in the raid which involved around 30 officers, neighbours said, while police searched a barber's shop nearby where a local shopkeeper said three of Abedi's cousins worked.
At the Salaam Community Association and Masjid, housed in a squat modern block, mosque chairman Abdullah Norris said 22-year-old Abedi had started coming there in January but had flouted mosque rules.
Norris said he had told Abedi, who killed 22 people and injured 116 when he blew himself up outside a pop concert in the Manchester Arena, to leave the mosque after finding him in a prayer room after closing time.
"He was angry. He said I shouldn't shout because he's not a kid. I said: 'Yes you are, otherwise you would not behave in that manner'," the 70-year-old told AFP as worshippers started to arrive for Friday prayers.
Norris said Abedi had started coming to the small mosque in January even though he lived in a different part of south Manchester but was not a "regular".
The deprived neighbourhood has suffered from criminality in the past but the situation has improved in recent years.
Media reports have linked Abedi to Moss Side's gangs and the murder last year of one of his friends, 18-year-old Abdul Wahab Hafidah, heightened his anger.
"I remember Salman at his funeral vowing revenge," a family friend told The Wall Street Journal newspaper.
Norris said he was unaware of Abedi's activities beyond praying and reading the Koran and defended the role of the local Muslim community.
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"Since our Muslim community has come to Moss Side it has become a much better place," he said.
- 'Fall prey' to radicals -
The arena attack was discussed at Friday prayers as the imam sought to reassure people and call for unity.
"Most of the news we've been getting from the mosque is: keep calm, this has happened, obviously we don't agree with it, we don't condone anything like this and it's not what we practice," a 25-year-old man, who asked not to be named, said afterwards.
He recognised Abedi and said locals were "very surprised" by what had happened.
A 22-year-old worshipper said there was already a lot of engagement with young people to stop them being radicalised online but ultimately it was up to individuals to take responsibility.
"Sometimes, somebody could try and radicalise you but if you're a strong character, it's not possible. They usually target someone who's soft and can fall prey to their ideology," he told AFP.
- 'Hell of a lot better' -
Residents described their area as friendly and multicultural despite the police raids, although they remembered its dark past.
"It's always been a lovely place to live and I've always really enjoyed how we meet people from all walks of life here," said student August Urquhart.
Outside the nearby barber's shop which was raided on Friday, locals expressed surprise that the terror probe had arrived on their doorstep.
"I've lived round here, I've seen people get killed, murdered, kidnapped. This is just taking it to a whole new level," said Paul, a 49-year-old resident who said there had been a reduction in crime in recent years.
Del Davies, an employee at the pharmacy which sits next to the barbershop, was confident that if authorities could tackle gangs in Moss Side they could also take on terrorists.
"Since the idiots stopped shooting each other... (it's) a hell of a lot better," she told AFP.
"Most of them are in prison. If they can do it with them, I'm sure they can do it with these."
Hillary Clinton couldn't help but notice a few things when she went to Donald Trump's inauguration, especially *cough cough* the size of his crowd.
Clinton delivered the commencement speech at her alma mater Wellesley College on Friday, 48 years after she delivered their student graduation address. While the range of her concerns were broad, Clinton zeroed in on the current administration's non-stop lying and couldn't help but deliver a dig about Trump's inauguration crowd size, too.
SEE ALSO: Give Trumpcare a break: Here are all the pre-existing conditions it will cover
"Some are even denying the things we see with our own eyes, like the size of crowds," Clinton said. "And then defending themselves by talking about, quote unquote, 'alternative facts.'"
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At the time of his inauguration, Trump slammed the media for allegedly underestimating the size of his crowds, claiming they reached all the way back to the Washington Monument.
Photo evidence later proved the president wrong, but that didn't stop him.
Remember that scandal? How young we all were then.
Clinton stressed to graduates that Trump's lying was part of a larger culture of disinformation, with politics becoming increasingly untethered from the truth.
Seems that the former Secretary of State's best material comes after she's spent some time wandering in the woods.
Sri Lanka stepped up its military-led relief operations Saturday as nearly half a million people were displaced after a monsoon deluge killed at least 122 people and threatened more flooding.
Rainfall on Friday triggered the worst flooding and landslides in 14 years in the southern and western parts of the island and although the rain eased on Saturday, low-lying areas remained under water, the authorities said.
The official Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said a total of 122 people were confirmed dead while 97 remained missing. Another 49 injured in landslides were hospitalised.
"Most of the fatalities were due to landslides and only a very few drowned," said government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne who is also the health minister.
He said nearly 500,000 people were forced from their homes and most of them had moved into temporary shelters.
The military led search operations in landslide-hit areas and the airforce deployed five aircraft for rescue operations and another five to transport emergency supplies to villagers who could not be reached by road.
At the village of Bulathsinhala, relatives were seen loading coffins of 10 victims onto armoured personnel carriers to transport them across flooded streets to higher ground for burial.
The military vehicles also ferried villagers along roads converted into riverways by the rainfall, passing submerged traffic signs and flooded houses.
There were similar scenes in the adjoining Ratnapura district, the island's gem capital, which was also flooded. The authorities arranged funerals for dozens of victims.
The deluge caused the Nilwala river to burst its banks, threatening to submerge a large number of villages, the DMC said.
It warned thousands of villagers living near the Nilwala to evacuate to higher ground.
President Maithripala Sirisena, who returned from a state visit to Australia, travelled to Kalutara, one of the worst affected districts south of Colombo, to supervise relief operations.
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"The government will give new houses to those who lost their houses," he tweeted.
The authorities dropped thousands of life jackets for marooned people in a bid to protect them until they could be moved to safer ground.
- International aid -
An Indian naval ship equipped with medical supplies docked in Colombo Saturday and a second vessel was expected on Monday, Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu said.
The United Nations said it will give water containers, water purification tablets and tarpaulin sheets while the World Health Organisation will support medical teams in affected areas.
Save the Children warned of a potential increase in dengue cases in the country.
The charity's Sri Lanka country director Chris McIvo said: "We're particularly worried we could start seeing a further increase in the number of dengue cases because of the stagnant water that the floods will leave in their wake."
Pakistan said it was in talks with Colombo to send relief supplies. Islamabad recently gave 10,000 tonnes of rice to Sri Lanka to help drought victims.
The meterological department said the rains ended a prolonged drought that had threatened agriculture as well as hydropower generation.
The flooding is the worst since May 2003 when 250 people were killed and 10,000 homes destroyed after a similarly powerful monsoon, officials said.
Monsoon rains last year caused flooding and landslides, killing over 100 people.
Reuters
A central piece of intelligence in the FBIs investigation of Hillary Clintons private email server was fake and FBI Director James Comey acted on it anyway, CNN reports.
The Washington Post reported last week that the FBI had obtained intelligence alleging then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch had conspired with former Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz to limit the FBIs investigation into Ms Clinton.
That piece of intelligence helped convince Mr Comey to announce his department's findings independently of the attorney general an untraditional move that generated outcry on the left and the right.
Now, sources tell CNN that Mr Comey knew the document was likely fake, but acted on it anyway.
The FBI director feared that the document real or not would shake the publics confidence in Ms Lynch if it was leaked. Ms Lynch was already under intense scrutiny for speaking with former President Bill Clinton on his private plane before the investigations conclusion.
Shortly before starting his now-infamous press conference, Mr Comey told FBI employees he was acting alone because I think the confidence of the American people in the FBI is a precious thing, and I want them to understand that we did this investigation in a competent, honest, and independent way.
Later, Mr Comey cited the intelligence on Ms Lynch and Ms Wasserman Schultz as a major reason he acted alone. In at least one classified session, sources tell CNN Mr Comey called it a the primary reason he took the unusual step.
In fact, the intelligence garnered so much interest that Senator Charles Grassley asked about it during Mr Comeys final public appearance before Congress as FBI Director.
In none of these situations did Mr Comey let on that he knew or even suspected that the document was fake.
James Comey may have been influenced during the Hillary Clinton email investigation by a phony Russian clue https://t.co/yFi8lYNUxZ pic.twitter.com/wWjWfIJAAw CBS News (@CBSNews) May 25, 2017
Still, sources tell both CNN and The Washington Post that the FBI had long doubted the veracity of the intelligence, and even suspected it had been created by Russian officials to dupe the US.
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To being with, the source of the information had previously provided the FBI with unproven information.
The FBI was also unable to obtain the primary document mentioned the intelligence: an email allegedly written by Ms Wasserman Schultz to Leonard Benardo, an official with the Open Society Foundations. The email allegedly discussed conversations between Ms Lynch and Clinton campaign staffer Amanda Renteria.
We must continue to seek the truth, our democracy depends on it. @washingtonpost https://t.co/0CahqmcB3W Amanda Renteria (@AmandaRenteria) May 25, 2017
According to the intelligence, Ms Wasserman Schultz recounted conversations to Ms Renteria in which Ms Lynch promised not to push too hard on the Clinton investigation.
According to Ms Wasserman Schultz and Ms Renteria, however, the two have never spoken to one another. Ms Lynch also denied any knowledge of the email when asked about it by the FBI. The bureau declined to formally interview her.
Ms Wasserman Schultz, Mr Benardo and Ms Renteria all told The Washington Post they had never been interviewed by the FBI about the matter.
Wow, thats kind of weird and out of left field, Ms Renteria said when contacted by the Post. I dont know Loretta Lynch, the attorney general. I havent spoken to her.
Still, Mr Comey told members of Congress in classified briefings that his fears of the intelligence could "dropping" and undermining the Clinton investigation were a key motivator of his actions,.
The White House has cited Mr Comeys handling of the Clinton investigation as the reason Mr Trump fired him, although the President himself has provided several contradictory explanations. Ms Clinton has blamed Mr Comeys actions for her election loss.
Russias ambassador told his superiors that he and Kushner discussed ways to shield White House transition team discussions from monitoring, sources said
Trumps son-in-law made the proposal at a meeting in early December at Trump Tower in New York, the Washington Post said. Photograph: Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images
Jared Kushner and Russias ambassador to Washington allegedly discussed setting up a secret communications channel to cloak contacts between Moscow and Donald Trumps White House transition team, it was reported on Friday.
Ambassador Sergei Kislyak told his superiors in Moscow that he and Kushner discussed ways to shield their pre-inauguration discussions from monitoring, the Washington Post said, citing US officials briefed on intelligence reports.
Trumps son-in-law made the proposal at a meeting in early December at Trump Tower in New York, weeks before Trump was sworn in, according to intercepts of Russian communications that were reviewed by the US officials, the paper said.
Michael Flynn, Trumps first national security adviser, also allegedly attended the meeting.
The report will likely put Kushner, who is now a senior White House adviser, under heightened scrutiny in the investigations into the Trump campaigns ties to Russia. Earlier this week it was reported that the FBI was investigating his contacts with Russian officials.
In a separate development, the Washington Post also reported that the Senate intelligence committee, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential race, has asked Trumps political organization to produce all documents, emails and phone records dating from his campaigns launch in June 2015.
It would be the first time the Senates bipartisan investigation has made such a request to Trumps official campaign organization.
The White House made no immediate response to requests for comment on either report. Trump is concluding his first foreign trip as president this week. He has repeatedly denied any collusion with Russia.
Two other outlets published related scoops on Friday. The first from the New York Times said that Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch once close to Paul Manafort, Trumps former campaign manager, offered to cooperate with congressional committees investigating Russian meddling in return for immunity. Lawmakers rejected his conditions, the Times reported.
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And Reuters, citing seven current and former US officials, reported that Kushner had at least three contacts with Kislyak during and after the presidential campaign that were previously undisclosed. Those contacts allegedly included two phone calls between April and November 2016.
In response to the Reuters report, Kushners attorney, Jamie Gorelick, said Kushner did not remember any calls with Kislyak between April and November. Mr Kushner participated in thousands of calls in this time period. He has no recollection of the calls as described. We have asked [Reuters] for the dates of such alleged calls so we may look into it and respond, but we have not received such information.
The cascade of news showed that the multiple Russia inquiries are advancing and that leaks continue to spout from the government, giving administration officials no respite even as they trot the globe.
The White House disclosed Kushners meeting with Kislyak in March, four months after it happened, and played down its importance. But the Washington Post reported that the FBI now considers the encounter, plus another meeting Kushner had with a Russian banker, to be of investigative interest.
Kushner, who is married to the presidents daughter, Ivanka, has said he will cooperate with any investigation.
Current and former US intelligence officials were astonished that he would have requested a secret back channel, calling it naive or crazy given the FBIs close tabs on Russian officials in the US, the Post reported.
Evan McMullin, an independent candidate in the 2016 presidential race, said the report raised the stakes for Kushner. If true, this is treasonous activity, whether borne of malice or naivete, or both, he tweeted.
Maxine Waters, the Democratic congressional firebrand, expressed little surprise at the latest allegation. Jared Kushner is under scrutiny in the FBIs Trump-Russia investigation. In other news, water is wet.
The Duggar family has been trying hard to keep details about Joy Anna Duggars upcoming wedding under wraps. Despite their best efforts, several details about her and fiance Austin Forsyths big day have come to light. Before the couple ties the knot, check out everything we know about their secret wedding plans.
The Date
The biggest mystery of all surrounding Joy and Austins wedding is the date they will get married. The couple was last speculated to be tying the knot on May 20, though the day came and went without any hint of a possible event within the Duggar family. However, it has been revealed that Joy and Austin filed for a marriage license in Washington County, Arkansas, on May 11. The countys rules dictate a couple must get married within 60 days after obtaining the license, which means Joy and Austin have until mid-July to get married.
Originally, Joy and Austin created a stir that they would be marrying on her 20th birthday on Oct. 28. The rumors started after the couple listed the date on their wedding registry. They later cleared up the rumors, writing on their account, P.S. Our actual wedding date has not been announced yet!
READ: When Is Anna Duggar Due To Have Baby No. 5?
austin and joy duggar
Photo: TLC
The Location
The Duggar Family News Facebook page, which reported on Joy and Austins May 20th wedding date, has shared that the event will be held close to Joys childhood home in Arkansas. It seems like the wedding will be held close to the Duggar compound since the source said guests will be at the compound before and after the wedding, the site previously reported.
The Dress
It was revealed in a scene from Jinger Duggars Counting On wedding special last year that each of the Duggar daughters wears a piece of their grandmothers and mothers shared wedding dress on their big day.
In a clip from the episode, uncovered by In Touch Weekly, Michelle Duggar, Joys mother, explains that she gives her daughters a snippet of the gown for them to use on their wedding day.
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Whenever one of the girls gets married they can take a piece of mom and grandma Duggars dress, Jinger explained to the cameras. We take a piece of that and incorporate somewhere in our dress.
Jill Dillard said she was given a clip of the dress in a handkerchief, which she carried in her bouquet. Jessa Seewald wore a floral clip including a snippet of the gown in her bouquet as well. Jingers wedding dress designer sewed a heart shaped snippet of the dress into her gown near her heart. Based on the tradition, its likely Joy will get a similar gift.
The Guests
Duggar wedding are known for being big so it wouldnt be shocking if Joy and Austin had over one thousand guests. While it is unclear who will be in Joy and Austins bridal party, it is apparent her big sister and former buddy Jill Dillard will be in attendance. Jill, her husband Derick and son Israel recently flew home to Arkansas in the middle of their mission trip in Central America, just in time for Joys big day. Jill and Derick also came home ahead of the arrival of their second son, who she is due to deliver in July.
READ: Jana Duggar Dubbed A Baby Whisperer By Friends
The Honeymoon
Joy and Austin have never spoken publicly about their honeymoon plans and it is entirely possible his work schedule could interfere with a post-nuptials vacation. The Forsyth familys Christian Fort Rock Family Camp and Christian Retreat Center, where Austin works and Joy is listed as a staff member, is due to open on June 1. Events at the facility are also scheduled through June 18.
Baby Plans
Joy and Austin have yet to say I do but theyve already been talking about plans for a family. In April, Joy revealed that she wants to be a mother in five years time. In a Mothers Day video for Michelle earlier this month, she followed up on her pregnancy comment, saying, I cant wait to be a mother myself.
Austin has also spoken out about their family plans. While celebrating their joint bachelor and bachelorette party earlier this month, he shared he hope that his future children will enjoy like the outdoors like him. My dad took me camping at a very age, our whole family, and its just something weve always enjoyed as a family and I hope to transfer that over to our family, he said.
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By Andreas Rinke TAORMINA, Italy (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel pushed back on Friday against renewed criticism of Germany's trade surplus from U.S. President Donald Trump, who told EU officials Germany was "very bad" on trade and suggested it was selling too many cars in the United States. Merkel told reporters she had explained to Trump during a G7 summit in Sicily that the surplus was due in part to factors out of Germany's control and had also highlighted the extent of job-creating German direct investment in the United States. The two agreed to set up a working group that will exchange information on bilateral economic ties, a step German officials said was designed to forestall any punitive measures from Washington based on an incomplete picture of the relationship. The exchange between the leaders came after German media reported on Friday that Trump had sharply criticized Germany in a private meeting on Thursday with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk. Spiegel reported that Trump had told Juncker and Tusk: "Look at the millions of cars that they are selling in the United States. It's horrible. We'll stop it." White House economic adviser Gary Cohn confirmed some details from the reports, but played them down. "He said they're very bad on trade, but he doesn't have a problem with Germany," Cohn told reporters in the resort town of Taormina. Cohn said Trump had pointed out during the meeting with Juncker and Tusk that his father had German roots in order to underscore the message that he had nothing against the German people. Trump's spokesman Sean Spicer said Trump had "tremendous respect" for Germany and had only complained about unfair trade practices in the meeting. UNSETTLING Earlier, Juncker called the reports "exaggerated". "The record has to be set straight," Juncker said. "It's not true that the president took an aggressive approach when it came to the German trade surplus." But the persistent focus on Germany's surplus has unsettled Merkel's government. Peter Navarro, a Trump trade adviser, has repeatedly criticized Germany and suggested it is deliberately pushing down the value of the euro, an argument the Germans reject, noting that the currency's strength is largely determined by policies of the independent European Central Bank. The German trade surplus, which reached a record 253 billion euros ($283 billion) in 2016, has also been a source of contention within Europe, with Berlin's partners encouraging it to do more to promote domestic demand. The United States had a $64.9 billion trade deficit with Germany in 2016, according to U.S. government data, down from a $74.8 billion deficit the year before. Trump's attack on German automakers has raised eyebrows, in part because firms like BMW, Daimler and Volkswagen - like their Japanese and Korean rivals - build many of their cars in the United States. Together, the three big German automakers employ tens of thousands of people at U.S. factories and dealerships, and operate large vehicle assembly factories in several states that voted for Trump in the 2016 election, including South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. U.S. consumers bought about 846,000 German-made cars and light trucks assembled in 2016, according to data compiled by Autodata, which tracks vehicle sales. That represented about 4.8 percent of total U.S. vehicle sales last year. ($1 = 0.8949 euros) (Additional reporting by Steve Holland and Joe White; Writing by Noah Barkin, editing by Crispian Balmer)
By Tim Ahmann WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. Senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman has withdrawn from consideration to be the next director of the FBI, citing the potential for an appearance of a conflict of interest given President Donald Trump's decision to retain an attorney who works at the same firm. Lieberman works at a New York firm headed by Marc Kasowitz, who has been hired by Trump to represent him amid probes by the Justice Department and Congress into possible ties between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. "With your selection of Marc Kasowitz to represent you in the various investigations that have begun, I do believe it would be best to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest," Lieberman wrote to Trump in a letter dated Wednesday. A copy of the letter, which was first disclosed by the Wall Street Journal, was provided to Reuters on Thursday. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Lieberman's withdrawal. Trump told reporters a week ago that he was "very close" to selecting a nominee to replace James Comey as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and he said Lieberman was a leading candidate. Trump fired Comey on May 9, a decision that set off a political firestorm given Comey's central role in the FBI's probe of Russian meddling in the election and potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials seeking to swing the vote in Trump's favor. The Department of Justice appointed a special counsel, former FBI director Robert Mueller, to lead an independent investigation into the Russia matter. Given Kasowitz's role, Lieberman might not have been able to participate in the Russia investigation for a period of two years without White House and Justice Department waivers, Kathleen Clark, a professor of legal ethics at Washington University School of Law told Reuters on Wednesday. A federal regulation restricts newly hired government lawyers from investigating their prior law firm's clients for one year, a period that was extended to two years under an executive order signed by Trump in January. CNN, citing a unnamed senior administration official, reported on Wednesday that Trump wanted to renew the search for an FBI director after having interviewed a number of candidates, including Lieberman. On Thursday, citing unnamed sources, CNN said John Pistole, a former deputy director at the FBI and a former head of the Transportation Security Administration, was under consideration. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann; additional reporting by Jan Wolfe, Ayesha Rascoe and Doina Chiacu; editing by G Crosse and Grant McCool)
CHICAGO (TNS) Harold Katz didnt require a crash course in Hebrew before his bar mitzvah next week in Wilmette, Ill. He started preparing 76 years ago, and his skills never got rusty.
Katz, 89, who lives in a North Side retirement home, was to have celebrated the occasion in Czechoslovakia back in 1941. But that plan like so many others was upended by the Holocaust. The Nazis ultimately murdered his father, mother, three brothers and four sisters.
Now his belated bar mitzvah, the Jewish ceremony that marks the transition to manhood, takes place under the shadow of a theological puzzle.
Why did God let this happen? he asked me. For all these years, Ive been asking that. I will never understand.
One brother survived the Holocaust. Katzs own survival came through a chain of happenstance just short of miraculous.
If a single link had broken, he wouldnt be spending Memorial Day reading from a Torah scroll he commissioned and in a synagogue Chabad of Wilmette built of imported Jerusalem stone that he donated.
The distinctive, whitish stone is freighted with meaning for Katz. Virtually every building in Jerusalem is clad in it. When the sun hits at the right angle, the city seems to shimmer, like the storybook city of Oz.
Amid the horrors of the Holocaust, Katz desperately wanted to take refuge in Jerusalem, but the Germans were determined that he wouldnt escape, and the British were determined that he wouldnt reach Jerusalem, which they then ruled.
At the time Katzs bar mitzvah was originally scheduled, his hometown of Tarn, Czechoslovakia, was occupied by Hungarian troops allied with Adolf Hitler. They were determined to be rid of the Jewish townspeople.
They went up and down the streets, ordering the Jews to get dressed quickly and come to the synagogue, Katz said.
I remember it as if it was yesterday, he said. The trucks coming down the street. How we were loaded up.
They were taken to a larger city and, eventually, across the border to Poland. There they were ordered out of the trucks and left beside the road without food, water or shelter.
We ate out of garbage cans, Katz said.
His father had a sister living in Poland, and Katzs family moved in with her. Then his father thought they had a better chance of surviving back in Czechoslovakia. He took the family across the border to Chust, as they feared being recognized in their hometown.
From that point, his familys saga has to be told as separate chapters.
A Hungarian woman offered to smuggle Harold Katz into Budapest, where she was going to rejoin her husband. Katzs father didnt object. Perhaps he thought it increased the odds that someone would live to tell the story? So the woman hid Katz under a wagonload of lumber and got him to Hungary.
The rest of the family remained in Chust. In 1944, they were sent to Auschwitz, where more than a million Jews were killed.
I think: Why didnt I save them? Katz said.
His daughter, Lila Katz, said its futile to try and reassure her father: I tell him: You were a boy, barely 13. What could you do?
In Hungary, Katz made contact with an underground Zionist group that provided him with false identity papers. He wore a cross and a red-and-white armband, posing as a member of the Hungarian armys youth group.
Three times I was caught, Katz said. And three times I got away.
In one jail, he said, he bribed a guard with a wristwatch not to cut his hair off; a bald head was a telltale sign of an escaped prisoner. Another time, after being put to work unloading supply wagons, he took off running.
But he couldnt escape Nazi-occupied Europe. In 1944, he was on a list of people awaiting passage to Palestine, but the boat sailed before his number came up.
As the war was drawing to a close, he was hiding in an abandoned building in Budapest. So, too, he said, was a deserter from the German army, who bragged about killing Jews and Russians.
Liberated by a Russian detachment, Katz told the Jewish commander about the German in the building. He said the Russian soldiers dragged the German out and blindfolded him. The commander handed Katz a pistol.
I shot him in the back, Katz said.
Did that dissipate his anger? No, he replied. To this day, he feels it.
Katz, then 17, assumed the rest of his family was dead until a survivor of Auschwitz said Katzs oldest brother was alive. Harold and Maurie Katz found each other, then joined the myriad displaced persons wandering Europe after World War II.
When one fellow traveler said he was going to New York, Harold Katz recalled that his mother had relatives in the United States. So he gave the fellow an ad to place in the Forvertz, a Yiddish newspaper published in New York.
Ich zich mein feter und tante, the ad began. Im looking for my uncle and aunt.
Wonder of wonders, an aunt and uncle in Chicago happened to read the Forvertz the day the ad ran. They sent Harold and Maurie a telegram, followed by a food package, then airline tickets.
The brothers lived with their newfound relatives on Evergreen Street. Harold found work as a sewing machine operator while Maurie learned the building trades. He established a construction business, and Harold joined him. They built homes all over the Chicago area.
Along the way, Harold learned English at the Jewish Peoples Institute, a West Side community center. There he met his wife, Judy, a survivor of Auschwitz. They had a daughter, Lila, and two sons.
Lila Katz said her parents didnt talk about the Holocaust until 13 years ago, when she saw a movie about Budapest in World War II.
I knew my Dad had been there, so I told him: Youre going to show me Budapest, Lila Katz said.
There Harold Katz took her to where he had witnessed Jewish children being killed. Pointing to a watch in a jewelers window, he said: A watch like that saved my life.
Last year, the family threw a big birthday party for Katz. My dad got up and, out of the blue, announced: Im going to have a bar mitzvah, Lila Katz said.
And so he will. The celebration is scheduled to begin the Sunday before Memorial Day, with the completion of the Torah scroll that Katz commissioned. By tradition, the final letters will be written in memory of congregants and friends loved ones.
In this case, there is a long list of people Katz could honor: his martyred parents, brothers and sisters. The aunt who sheltered his family in Poland. The Hungarian woman who smuggled him under a pile of lumber. Members of the underground who gave him forged papers. The fellow survivor who carried his ad to the Forvertz. The aunt and uncle who brought him to America.
Theyre always with me, he said. In dreams, I see them.
In recent years, Katzs wife and brother died, which got him thinking about how hed like to be remembered. Not just by a memorial plaque or a beautiful scroll, but a more personal memory. He wanted it to be a story his grandchildren would want to tell their children:
Grandpa Katz, full of years, stepped up to the readers platform in synagogue on Memorial Day. He touched the Torah scroll with the corner of his prayer shawl and kissed it, as is customary. Then reading a passage, he honored the ancient injunction to pass on the Lords commandments, as the Bible says: And ye shall teach them to your children, talking of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way.
A highly anticipated clinical trial has shown that treating patients with epilepsy with a compound derived from marijuana can significantly reduce and, in some cases, eliminate seizures in children and young adults.
In the study, children and young adults with a rare and debilitating form of epilepsy called Dravet syndrome who took doses of marijuana extract experienced half as many seizures per month as those who received a placebo.
And 5 percent of those treated with the marijuana extract, called cannabidiol, became seizure-free during the study period. [25 Odd Facts About Marijuana]
Currently, there aren't any medications that can completely control seizures in children with Dravet syndrome, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.
The study, published today (May 24) in the New England Journal of Medicine, is among the first to provide solid, clinical evidence to support a form of treatment that is becoming fairly widespread with the advent of medical marijuana, but which remains largely unregulated.
"I can't say enough about the importance of these kinds of medical trials. People have a sense that if 10 people say it works and it's a bad disease like cancer or epilepsy, then it's safe to use. That's just false," said Dr. Orrin Devinsky, the director of NYU Langone's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center and a co-lead author of the study. "Just because it's natural and just because there may be anecdotal support from people, doesn't mean it's effective and safe."
Cannabidiol
Cannabidiol, also known as CBD, is one of dozens of compounds in marijuana called cannabinoids. But unlike tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the main psychoactive chemical in marijuana, CBD does not get users "high."
The compound is typically administered in an oil form and is thought to work by interacting with receptors on nerve cells.
Interest in using the drug to treat epilepsy grew significantly in 2013 when an 8-year-old girl from Colorado with Dravet syndrome entered the public spotlight. The girl showed remarkable improvement after taking CBD administered by a Denver medical marijuana dispensary.
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Since then, other anecdotal cases have shown promise and a December 2015 study (also led by Devinsky) suggested positive outcomes from the drug. The 2015 study, however, did not use a placebo. Results, therefore, were vulnerable to a bias since patients and doctors could associate any progress to the drug.
The new study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial a study design that's considered the gold standard for clinical research. That means that neither the researchers nor the participants know if they have been given the drug being studied or a placebo.
The study included 120 children and young adults, ages 2 to 18, with Dravet syndrome. Half of the patients received a placebo, while the other half received 20 milligrams per kilogram of body weight per day of the CBD drug, Epidiolex. Epidiolex is a 99 percent cannabidiol preparation made by the U.K.-based company, GW Pharmaceuticals, which funded the study. [Healing Herb? Marijuana Could Treat These 5 Conditions]
At the end of the three-month trial, the researchers compared the frequency of patients' seizures to their seizure frequencies from a four-week period before the trial began. Those who received the drug had, on average, 12 seizures per month before the study began. After the study period, the frequency dropped to six seizures per month, on average.
Those patients who took CBD showed some side effects, including diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and abnormal results on liver-function tests. But Devinsky said most of these reactions were mild and could be reduced with an adjustment in dose.
Beyond Dravet syndrome?
Dr. Helen Cross, also a co-lead author of the study, told Live Science that it was critical to measure the effects of a drug with carefully prepared levels of CBD.
"We know exactly whats in every single batch," said Cross, a clinical neuroscientist at University College London's Institute of Child Health. "It's not like the hemp oils that you can buy from the internet, which are so variable in their content."
Indeed, in the U.S., CBD oil is legal (with varying limitations) in 44 states, but the substance is not regulated, and many patients and parents of children with elpilepsy are not waiting for clinical data and instead are trying these unregulated versions of the cannabis-derived drug. [3 More States Legalize Recreational Marijuana Use: How the Map Looks Now]
We desperately need other studies like this in other forms of epilepsy and using other cannabis preparations. That should be a priority, Devinsky told Live Science.
While Dravet syndrome is rare, affecting 1 in 40,000 children, epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological condition and affects more than 65 million people worldwide, according to the Epilepsy Foundation. Research from April 2017 showed CBD to be effective in treating another, relatively rare, but severe form of epilepsy, Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.
"The big question now is whether this drug is also effective for a larger group of people with epilepsy who don't have these rare syndromes," Devinsky said.
In an editorial published in the same journal as the study, Dr. Sam Berkovic, a neurologist and the director of the Epilepsy Research Centre at the University of Melbourne, in Australia,emphasized the importance of the clinical trial and the need for more like it. Berkovic was not involved with the new research.
"Medical practice cannot be decided by anecdotes," Berkovic told Live Science in an email. "They are subject to many forms of bias."
Originally published on Live Science.
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Donald Trump has said "the bloodletting of Christians must end" in a statement responding to the attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt.
In the harshly worded statement, Mr Trump described a war between civilization and terrorists, and called on people to rise up against terrorist attack and "defeat this evil."
"This merciless slaughter of Christians in Egypt tears at our hearts and grieves our souls. Wherever innocent blood is spilled, a wound is inflicted upon humanity," Mr Trump said. "But this attack also steels our resolve to bring nations together for the righteous purpose of crushing the evil organisations of terror, and exposing their depraved, twisted, and thuggish ideology."
Mr Trump is in the middle of his first foreign trip as president, and has repeatedly warned foreign allies of the dangers of terrorism. He has urged greater cooperation from Nato allies battling extremism in countries like Syria, and has called on civilised countries in the Middle East to push out radical ideologies.
At least 28 people were killed and another 23 others were injured in Egypt after gunmen wearing fatigues and face masks open-fired on a bus carrying Coptic Christians. The group was travelling to the St Samuel the Confessor monastery around 100km northwest of the city of Minya, according to Egypt's foreign ministry. It wasn't immediately clear who was responsible for the attack, which the ministry said was an act of terrorism.
That deadly shooting comes after twin attacks on Coptic churches on Palm Sunday that killed dozens of people, and put the country under a three-month state of emergency.
Life in Egypt has become increasingly dangerous for Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the country's population and base their theology on the teachings of the apostle who introduced Christianity to Egypt, Mark. Another attack on a Coptic church in Cairo killed 25 people, while Coptic churches and homes have been set on fire in the country. Individual Coptic minorities have been physically attacked and have had their property stolen, Amnesty International has said.
The Defence Intelligence Agency chief has said it is "inevitable" that a nuclear weapon launched from North Korea would hit the US mainland.
Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the possibility of an attack was very real after a recent nuclear missile test conducted by Pyongyang.
He warned that if the isolated country and its leader Kim Jong-un are left on the "current trajectory the regime will ultimately succeed."
However Mr Stewart said it was "nearly impossible to predict when" that would be.
He and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coates were pressed for a timeline repeatedly but refused to give a concrete answer out of fear that it may reveal what intelligence the US has been able to gather on Pyonyang.
"We do not have constant, consistent [intelligence and surveillance] capabilities and so there are gaps, and the North Koreans know about these," Mr Coates said.
Mr Coates also testified in the hearing that what makes North Korea a particularly "grave national security threat" is Mr Kim's "aggressive" leadership.
He seems determined to develop a nuclear missile capable of reach the west coast of the US, called an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
John Schilling is a missile expert and contributing writer on 38 North, a North Korea analysis website run by Johns Hopkins University. He told Al Jazeera that it would take Mr Kim at least until 2020 to develop a functional ICBM.
Concerns over a missile possibly hitting Hawaii resurfaced when Donald Trump sent an aircraft carrier fleet to the Sea of Japan, increasing tensions with North Korea after their last nuclear missile test.
The April test, which ultimately failed after just five seconds in the air, was accompanied by a large military parade in Pyongyang.
Mr Trump, according to a recently released transcript, called Mr Kim "a madman with nuclear weapons" in a phone call with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
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He also revealed to Mr Duterte that the Pentagon has sent two nuclear submarines to the region, but despite the US having "a lot of firepower, more than he has...we don't want to use it."
However, the president has expressed admiration for Mr Kim as well. In late April, he told CBS that: "At a very young age, [Mr Kim] was able to assume power. A lot of people, I'm sure, tried to take that power away, whether it was his uncle or anybody else. And he was able to do it. So obviously, he's a pretty smart cookie."
Mr Trump, though appearing reassured at the missile test failures, wants China to take a leading role on the issue.
In the wake of Mr Trump sending an aircraft carrier fleet to the area and installing a Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system in South Korea, China also put its bombers on high alert.
Seoul is within striking distance of North Korean weapons, but its newly-elected president Moon Jae-in is hoping his less hardline approach to their northern neighbours, which includes increasing economic cooperation, will improve relations and dissuade Mr Kim to launch any missiles.
Mr Trump said on the call with Mr Duterte that much of North Korea's goods are routed through China, which is why he wants them to take on responsibility for Mr Kim, but said "if China doesn't do it, we will do it."
The US, South Korea, and Japan continue to request the United Nations Security Council to meet and discuss North Korea, however Mr Kim continues to violate any resolutions the world body issues to stop him from further developing his country's nuclear arsenal.
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails on hunger strike since April 17 have ended their mass protest after Israel agreed a deal following weeks of refusing to negotiate, sources on both sides said on Saturday.
Some 30 of the more than 800 hunger strikers had been hospitalised in recent days, raising fears of an escalation of clashes with Israeli security forces in the occupied West Bank.
Palestinians hailed the deal as a victory for the hunger strikers after Israeli authorities repeatedly vowed not to negotiate with convicted "terrorists".
Palestinian Authority prisoners' affair chief Issa Qaraqe said it had come after some 20 hours of talks between Israeli officials and strike leader Marwan Barghouti, a figure revered among Palestinians but reviled by many Israelis.
An Israel Prisons Service spokeswoman confirmed the hunger strike was over but said the deal had been reached not with prisoners' representatives but with the Palestinian Authority and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Israeli authorities conceded to one of the prisoners' main demands -- that they should have two family visits a month instead of the one they were entitled to before the strike, the spokeswoman said.
Palestinian Prisoners' Club chief Qaddura Fares said there had been a last-minute U-turn by the Israeli authorities who had finally approached Barghouti for talks.
"Right up to 8 am on Friday, the Israel Prisons Service insisted that no negotiations were possible," Fares told AFP.
"Then two hours later everything changed," he said, adding that Israeli negotiators had began talks with Barghouti.
"In his cell in Ashkelon prison, they held more than 20 hours of negotiations, Fares said.
"An agreement was finally reached with the prisons service."
- 'We won' -
Qaraqe said full details of the deal would be announced later but news of it prompted celebrations in the West Bank city of Ramallah where supporters have staffed a solidarity tent throughout the hunger strike.
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Barghouti's wife Fadwa hailed a "victory for resistance and dignity" after the end of the 41-day hunger strike.
Amal Abu Dalal, a 50-year-old mother whose 33-year-old son has been in jail for 14 years, said: "The prisoner has defeated the jailer. We're so happy. We won."
The ICRC had warned on Thursday that its doctors who have been visiting the prisoners were concerned about "potential irreversible health consequences".
ICRC spokesman Jesus Serrano welcomed Saturday's end of the strike and said it would do all it could to facilitate the additional visits.
The resolution of the strike coincided with the start of the Muslim dawn-to-dusk fasting month of Ramadan.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had urged US counterpart Donald Trump to raise the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to the region earlier this week.
He raised the issue again with Trump envoy Jason Greenblatt in a meeting at his headquarters in Ramallah on Thursday.
Demonstrations in support of the prisoners had been held across the West Bank, leading to repeated bloody clashes with Israeli security forces.
They come as the 50th anniversary nears of Israel's seizure of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, in the Six-Day War.
- 'Palestinian Mandela' -
The hunger strike was led by Barghouti, a prominent figure in his Fatah movement and revered by many Palestinians, in contrast to the increasingly unpopular president.
Dubbed the "Palestinian Mandela" by supporters, Barghouti is serving five life sentences on charges of involvement in murders committed during the second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, that have made him a hate figure for many on the Israeli right.
Barghouti had been moved to solitary confinement and received a single reported visit by the ICRC to check on his condition on May 11.
On May 7, the Israel's prison authority shared video of what it said was Barghouti eating biscuits in a break from the strike.
But his wife Fadwa dismissed the footage as a "fake... intended to break the morale of prisoners" and called on Pope Francis to intervene.
Palestinian analysts hailed the deal as a victory for the hunger strikers.
"It is very likely that the United States was directly involved in the discussions," said one analyst, Hani al-Masri.
Abdel Majid Sweenem welcomed the fact that the Israeli authorities had been forced to negotiate with prisoner representatives after trying to avoid doing so at all costs.
"But we still have to see if Israel will respect its commitments," he warned.
By Romeo Ranoco and Roli Ng
MARAWI CITY, Philippines (Reuters) - The Philippines mobilized attack helicopters and special forces to drive Islamic State-linked rebels out of a besieged southern city on Thursday, with six soldiers killed in street combat amid heavy resistance.
Ground troops hid behind walls and armored vehicles and exchanged volleys of gunfire with Maute group fighters, shooting into elevated positions occupied by militants who have held Marawi City on Mindanao island for two days.
Helicopters circled the city, peppering Maute positions with machine gun fire to try to force them from a bridge vital to retaking Marawi, a mainly Muslim city of 200,000 where fighters had torched and seized a school, a jail and a cathedral, and took more than a dozen hostages.
Graphic: http://tmsnrt.rs/2qgS5o9
"Our troops are doing deliberate operations in areas we believe are still occupied or infested with the terrorist presence," said the head of the task force, Brigadier General Rolly Bautista.
The battles with the Maute group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, started on Tuesday during a failed raid by security forces on one of the group's hideouts that spiraled into chaos.
Eighteen rebels were killed on Thursday, the army said.
The turmoil was the final straw for President Rodrigo Duterte, who on Tuesday delivered on his longstanding threat to impose martial law on Mindanao, the country's second-largest island, to stop the spread of radical Islam.
"If there's an open defiance you will die," he said on Wednesday. "And if it means many people dying, so be it."
Islamic State claimed responsibility late on Wednesday for Maute's activities via its Amaq news agency.
At least 46 people - 15 security forces and 31 rebels - have been killed and religious leaders say militants were using Christians taken hostage during the fighting as human shields. The status of those hostages was not known.
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The White House condemned the Maute group as "cowardly terrorists" and said the United States was a proud ally of the Philippines and backed its fight against extremism.
GETTING OUT
Hundreds of civilians had sheltered in a military camp in Marawi City as troops helped clear the few remaining people from streets where smoke lingered in the air.
"We're leaving," said a resident named Edith, walking along a rundown street carrying a small suitcase. "We can no longer take it and we need to save our children."
Sultan Haji Ismael Demasala said he was staying and would leave his fate in God's hands. "If Allah wills it so, then we cannot stop it," he said, pointing his finger in the air.
Marawi is located in Lanao del Sur province, a stronghold of the Maute, a fierce, but little-known group that has been a tricky opponent for the military.
Military leaders say the Maute's motivation for taking the city was to raise its profile and earn recognition from Islamic State.
Tuesday's raid was aimed at capturing Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of radical faction of another militant group, the Abu Sayyaf. The government says Hapilon is a point man for Islamic State in the Philippines and has been collaborating with the Maute leaders.
"Based on our intelligence, Isnilon Hapilon is still in the city," said Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the First Infantry Regiment.
The Maute group's rise is a source of concern for Mindanao native Duterte, who is familiar with Muslim separatist unrest but alarmed by the prospect of rebels helping Islamic State to recruit and establish a presence in the volatile region of 22 million people.
The president held a cabinet meeting on Thursday in Davao, his home city and the biggest on Mindanao.
Security was stepped up in Davao, with more military checkpoints and some businesses sending staff home during daylight hours. Residents were urged to stay vigilant.
In the city where Duterte was mayor for 22 years, and enjoys a cult-like following, residents were supportive of martial law.
"It's not a hassle. It is good because it prevents harmful events," said manicurist Zoraida Jakosalem Himaya. "He is like a father telling his children what to do."
(Additional reporting by Neil Jerome Morales in Davao City and Enrico Dela Cruz and Manuel Mogato in Manila; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Tom Heneghan)
Philippine troops aboard helicopters and in armoured tanks battled Islamist militants inside a southern city on Thursday, as reports emerged of the gunmen murdering civilians.
An initial rampage by the gunmen, who have pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group, through the mainly Muslim city of Marawi on Tuesday prompted President Rodrigo Duterte to impose martial law across the southern third of the Philippines.
Authorities said ending the crisis was proving extremely hard because the militants were holed up in residential buildings, had planted improvised bombs in the streets and had taken Catholic hostages.
"People are afraid. They do not want to open establishments. Offices are closed. We do not want people to be used as human shields," Marawi mayor Majul Usman Gandamra said.
Two military helicopters flew above Marawi and armoured tanks churned through its streets as automatic rifle firing could be heard on Thursday, according to an AFP photographer in the city.
Marawi has about 200,000 residents but many of them have fled because of the fighting.
Five soldiers and one policemen died in the clashes, while 13 gunmen were killed, according to the military.
Authorities have not reported any civilian casualties but the GMA television network showed images of nine people who had apparently been shot dead. The victims had their hands tied together.
They were captured at a roadside checkpoint and murdered by the militants after being identified as Christians, according to the GMA reporter, citing a witness.
Duterte said on Wednesday one policeman was similarly caught at a checkpoint set up by the militants and beheaded.
There are only between 50 and 100 gunmen, according to various military officials.
The militants are also holding between 12 and 15 Catholic hostages abducted from a church, according to the local bishop, Edwin Dela Pena.
The fighting erupted on Tuesday after security forces raided a house where they believed Isnilon Hapilon, a leader of the infamous Abu Sayyaf kidnap-for-ransom gang and Philippine head of IS, was hiding.
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The United States regards Hapilon as one of the world's most dangerous terrorists, offering a bounty of $5 million for his capture.
However the raid went spectacularly wrong as dozens of gunmen emerged to repel the security forces, then went on a rampage across the city while flying black IS flags.
The militants raided two jails, leading to the escape of more than 100 inmates, according to Mujiv Hataman, the governor of a Muslim self-rule area that includes Marawi.
They also set fire to many buildings, including a church and a university.
Wellington (AFP) - A search and rescue exercise turned real for a US Coast Guard crew who found six Tongan fishermen missing at sea for a week, New Zealand officials said Friday.
New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre officer Greg Johnston said Tongan police raised the alarm as the US Coast Guard C-130 Hercules was preparing to return to Honolulu following a multi-national rescue drill in Auckland.
The US crew were alerted as they were flying through the area of the Pacific Ocean where the six were believed to be.
"The Coast Guard crew spotted the six men in their 12-metre (39-foot) vessel shortly after entering the search area, about 90 kilometres (55 miles) offshore from Tongatapu Island," Johnston said.
"They dropped the stricken men food, water, a radio and a transponder."
A Tongan navy vessel was directed to the area and picked up the men at daybreak on Friday. No details were immediately given on why the men needed rescuing or their condition when found.
A recent leak claims to show details about the upcoming Galaxy Note 8 smartphone. If valid, the leak could reveal a flat, bezel-free display for the phablet, after several generations of Samsung releasing curved display devices.
The video originates from the Chinese Twitter account, @mmddj_china and shows a wide smartphone front panel, which it claims belongs to a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 handset. There appears to be no curvature to the panel, as one would expect from other Samsung flagships, such as the Galaxy S8. However, the panel also reveals an infinity display. This would indicate the device in the video likely has a virtual, on-screen home button.
Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Dummy Sports Vertical Dual-Camera Module
Samsung has stated intentions to shift away from a flat display design to its dual-edge curved display as a signature differentiator for its flagship smartphones. So far, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy Note 7 have released with no flat display options. However, there are other leaks that suggest the Galaxy Note 8 design may be more flat than curved.
Recently, a YouTuber by the name of Concept Creator shared a 3D-printed dummy model of what he claims is the Galaxy Note 8. The model appears to be more curved along the sides of the device itself more so than the display. This design may differentiate between the Galaxy S8 Plus and the Galaxy Note 8 as two different types of phablets.
Rumors suggest the Galaxy Note 8 display could be 6.3-inches, and some also suggest 6.4-inches. It is possible the Galaxy Note 8 display may have less of a curvature or none at all to ensure the device can safely house all of its internal components. Samsungs efforts to make the Galaxy Note 7 as small as possible contributed to its ultimate design flaw, which caused the phablets battery to explode.
After the 2016 discontinuation of the Galaxy Note 7, consumers and pundits will likely be watching the Galaxy Note 8 for signs of a repeat malfunction. The Galaxy Note 7 was the first Galaxy Note device to feature a dual-edge curved display. It was Samsungs first device to feature a dual-edge curved display coupled with an S-Pen.
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Read: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Confirmed To Have Dual-Camera Module With 3X Optical Zoom?
In the past, Samsung claimed such a design would render the device too expensive for consumers. However, the Galaxy Note 7 proved quite popular during its short time on the market, even with an $850 price tag. Now, Samsung has other valid reason possibly shy away from a more compact form factor for the Galaxy Note 8.
So far, the Galaxy S8 has had no safety issues and the Galaxy Note 7 is expected to return to the market as a refurbished device featuring a smaller battery. However, the handset wont be available in the U.S.
The Galaxy Note 8 release date is expected to be announced between August and September.
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An evidentiary hearing on Authenticoms antitrust suit accusing two companies of an illegal plot to ruin the La Crosse company is set for June 26 and 27 in in U.S. District Court for Wisconsins Western District in Madison.
District Court Judge James Peterson sustained Authenticoms request for a preliminary injunction against the plaintiffs and set those dates after finding that it had provided ample support that its suit against CDK Global LLC and the Reynolds and Reynolds Co. should proceed.
The defendants opposition to the judges ruling is due June 16, after which Authenticom would have until June 22 to file a reply.
Authenticoms 96-page complaint, filed May 1, argues that the companies actions have cost it millions of dollars and pushed it close to insolvency.
Authenticom CEO and President Steve Cottrell founded the firm in 2002 in what had been his sons bedroom, and it now is headquartered in the Doerflinger building in downtown La Crosse.
One of only three companies remaining in the niche business of integrating automobile dealers data, Authenticom does so with facts such as sales figures, inventory tallies of cars, and parts and service reminders for more than 15,000 dealerships nationwide.
The sector, generically labeled dealer management systems, once had several players but has just Authenticom and the defendants. CDK Global is a publicly traded Delaware corporation with headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. It provides DMS software and services to car dealerships throughout the country and has more than $2 billion in annual revenues.
The private corporation of Reynolds and Reynolds is headquartered in Dayton, Ohio.
Among other allegations, Authenticom claims that CDK and Reynolds entered into an illegal agreement in February 2015 to eliminate competition in the market. That and other alleged actions, such as blocking dealers access to Authenticom, deactivating dealership logins to the La Crosse companys systems and alleging that its systems are not secure, have crippled it, the suit contends.
Among other things, the suit alleges that an executive for one of the companies cornered Cottrell in a secluded area of a convention center on April 3, 2016, and warned, For Gods sake, you have built a great little business. Get something for it before it is destroyed. Otherwise, I will (expletive) destroy it.
The companies actions have left Authenticom cash flow insolvent, with insufficient earnings and resources to satisfy its outstanding debt obligations. Authenticom was unable to pay an $11 million principal payment on a loan from BMO Harris Bank due April 16, 2017, and has received a limited 90-day forbearance from the Bank pending the outcome of the forthcoming preliminary injunction motion, the suit alleges.
Authenticom also could not pay a tax-related obligation of about $1.17 million that was due on April 18, the suit says. Several financial institutions have rejected Authenticom requests for financing, citing doubts about Authenticoms continued viability because of Defendants actions, according to the suit.
Authenticom had grown from a handful employees to as many as 120, although its payroll headcount is unavailable.
The company gained national attention in July 2015, when former President Barack Obama saluted it as one of Americas own fastest-growing private companies during an economic speech at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The complaint demands a jury trial and seeks unspecified damages, while insisting that such damages are eligible to be tripled, for alleged violations of the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The state of the hedge fund industry has improved from a year ago. But this is not to say things are great.
Thats the assessment of Anthony Scaramucci shared with Yahoo Finance at the SALT Conference, a marquee industry event in Las Vegas that brings together politicians, financiers, and celebrities.
If we were having this conversation last year, Id say, Wow, the state of the industry really sucks. But it sucks slightly less than last year, said Scaramucci, the founder of fund-of-funds SkyBridge Capital.
And the reason why it sucks slightly less is that performance is better, assets are up a little bit, and the real question, though, is are we in a secular decline for the industry or is this a protracted cyclical downturn?
Across strategies, hedge funds have returned 3.71% through the end of April, trailing the S&P 500s 6.5% rise, according to the Barclay Hedge Fund Index. The same period a year ago, hedge funds, in aggregate, had gained only 0.45%, the index shows.
REUTERS/Richard Brian
While performance has been lackluster, hedge fund industry assets have soared to a record high, with the total industry now above $3 trillion.
Scaramucci, who sold his stake in SkyBridge to Chinese conglomerate HNA earlier this year, believes that the industry is in a cyclical downturn. He also thinks that the industry has already bottomed and is on its way back up.
During the conference, Scaramucci asked hedge fund titan Bill Ackman, the CEO of $11 billion Pershing Square Capital, whether he thought the industry was in a secular or a cyclical decline.
I think the hedge fund industry is a little like the mall industry, Ackman said. What I mean by that is I dont think you can charge 1.5% or 2% and 20% of the profits and make people 8% or worse 5% or 2%. Because if you look what share of the profits is going to the manager, its a vastly disproportionate share.
Ackman got his start in the hedge fund business back in 1992 when it was a much lesser known industry. Now, there are more than 10,000 different hedge funds. In recent years, hedge funds, in aggregate, have lagged the S&P 500, a commonly used benchmark to compare performance.
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This was a place where you made high returns, Ackman said. This was a boutique industry where people would deploy their capital to earn 20% type of returns. My view is the hedge fund industry should be a place where you earn high returns. If its not a high return strategy, well then you have to really compromise on your fees.
At the conference, the consensus was that better days are ahead for the industry.
Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter.
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Sean Hannity earlier this year at the White House briefing room. (Photo: NICHOLAS KAMM via Getty Images)
As Fox News host Sean Hannity came under fire for fueling a conspiracy theory about a murdered Democratic National Committee staffer, Media Matters on Tuesday ran a straightforward, yet potentially ominous headline for him: These are Sean Hannitys advertisers.
Last month, then-Fox News star and accused sexual harasser Bill OReilly saw more than 50 companies quickly flee his show following an advertiser boycott led by Media Matters and other progressive organizations. Hannity tweeted more than a dozen times Wednesday that liberal fascists at Media Matters now were targeting him just as Cars.com became the first advertiser to jump ship.
The recent attention being paid to his advertisers, Hannity said in an interview with HuffPost, is an attempt by progressives to silence his conservative voice.
Theres nothing that I did, nothing that I said, except they dont like my position politically, he said. Theyll try to ratchet up the intensity of their rationale. It does not justify an attempt to get me fired. And thats what this is. This is an attempt to take me out. This is a kill shot.
Media Matters president Angelo Carusone told HuffPost his organization isnt pushing for an advertiser boycott. He said readers turn to the group for information on conservative media figures, and an accurate list of advertisers was relevant to post given the public outcry over Hannitys coverage of Seth Richs slaying.
Conspiracy theorists have claimed the 27-year-old DNC staffer was murdered last summer in Washington in retaliation for being WikiLeaks source of party emails later published online. The U.S. intelligence community, though, concluded it was Russian hackers who infiltrated the DNC and not the work of an internal whistleblower. Washington police consider Richs murder to have been a botched robbery attempt. And Richs parents have asked for people to stop politicizing their sons death.
But Hannity continued pushing the theory on his radio show Tuesday afternoon even after Fox News website retracted a story featuring unproven claims of a link between Rich and WikiLeaks. He later teased a major development coming on his Tuesday night Fox News show. But Hannity said during the broadcast that he would stop speaking about the case at this time out of respect for Richs family.
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Hannity told HuffPost he received no pressure from Fox News brass or Rupert Murdoch, the executive chairman of parent company 21st Century Fox, to back off the story.
I did it out of my own heart, he said. Nobody tells me what to say on my show. They never have and frankly they never will. Im not that type of person you can say, Go on air and say this. Thats been the beauty of Fox News all these years. They leave me alone.
A year ago, Fox News appeared invincible amid 15 years of rating dominance among cable news networks. But co-founder and chairman Roger Ailes left in disgrace in July following a sexual harassment scandal; he died last week. OReilly, the top-rated cable host, swiftly lost his perch in April following a social media-fueled boycott. Co-president Bill Shine, who Hannity personally advocated for on Twitter, was out weeks later.
Carusone said he views Hannity freaking out on Twitter as evidence of palpable fear and anxiety, given those high-profile departures from Fox News. I think it illustrates the anxiety he feels, he said. Still, Carusone also said Hannity was exploiting the opportunity to attack the left.
Last week, Media Matters launched a campaign Know What Youre Sponsoring thats aimed at making sure ad buyers know what their clients are sponsoring if they spend their ad dollars with Fox, according to the groups release. Carusone said posting the list of Hannitys advertisers is a continuation of that conversation, and pointed out that Media Matters compiled it through publicly available information.
Carusone said the problem with Hannitys brand right now from an advertiser perspective is not that its conservative, but that its completely volatile.
Hannity said he thinks Media Matters is being cute in claiming not to be leading an advertiser boycott.
There is an attempt, at this moment in time, to absolutely shut down the Fox News Channel and render it, frankly, a shadow of its former self, said Hannity. Im like the last, sole remaining person there from the old guard.
I think a lot of this is rooted in that people view that Fox did have an impact, people like me did have an impact in the [2016] election, or why would they waste their time, why would they care? he said.
Noting that hes been advancing a hard-hitting narrative about the media and a hard-hitting narrative about the Destroy Trump movement and a hard-hitting narrative about how there is no Russia-Trump collusion, he said of his critics: Probably they dont want me around for the 2018 elections and the 2020 elections. So I do believe if they can shut me down, silence me, theres political benefits for them.
Hannity said hes opposed calls to boycott controversial left-leaning hosts like HBOs Bill Maher and CBSs Stephen Colbert, and that if people dont like what someone is saying on TV they can change the channel or turn off it off.
But pressuring advertisers, he said, can silence the voice.
Maybe they think that theyll be able to mount my head on a trophy and put it in their living room somewhere, he said. But what is the net impact of all of this?
Conservatives, he said, may react by going after [MSNBCs} Rachel Maddow. And then maybe theyll go after [MSNBCs] Lawrence ODonnell. And then maybe theyll go after [CNNs] Anderson Cooper.
Hannity said its great to have hosts with views so diametrically opposed to mine on competing networks.
The danger here is so profound in as much as what were really saying is, Youd better not cross this line or this line or this and the line keeps changing or were going to shut you down or were going to intimidate you. I actually think that coming from that side of the aisle it is the greatest hypocrisy ever.
Still, the controversy that has embroiled Hannity didnt stem from his long-running conservative views or unapologetic support of President Trump. Hes drawn heavy scrutiny for using his radio and TV platforms to promote a baseless theory about Richs death.
Over the past week, Hannity has aired a clip of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange seeming to imply in a Dutch TV interview that Rich was a source for his organization. Hannity said Assange told him Russia wasnt the source of the Democratic emails and that he viewed the WikiLeaks chiefs comments to Dutch TV as suggesting Rich was.
Though Hannity at least temporarily backed off the Rich story on Tuesday night, it remains to be seen if enough damage was done from an advertiser standpoint.
Hannity said hes worked in an environment every day for decades knowing people want to get me fired.
The great thing is, in my heart, Im at peace, he said. I know I did nothing wrong.
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Steve Scherer GIARDINI NAXOS, Italy (Reuters) - Shopkeepers down the hill from where world leaders are meeting boarded up their windows and doors on Friday, bracing for a protest march along the seafront of this normally sleepy Sicilian tourist town. U.S. President Donald Trump and the leaders of Germany, France, Italy, Britain, Japan and Canada are holding a Group of Seven summit in the hilltop town of Taormina, which is off limits to most for security reasons, so the neighboring Giardini Naxos has been selected for the "No G7" march. Giardini's mayor Pancrazio Lo Turco has ordered all shops to be closed on Saturday until the protest is over, even though organizers say it is meant to be a peaceful demonstration aimed at giving voice to the world's disenfranchised. Stores and restaurants are forbidden from selling bottled alcoholic beverages, and many have already boarded up their windows. Some have mounted metal plating, fearing the kind of violence that marked a similar meeting in Genoa, Italy, in 2001. On that occasion, an anti-globalization protester was shot dead by police during some of Italy's worst-ever riots. The organizers of Saturday's rally expect some 3,500 people will turn up and police chiefs say they have no reason to believe it will turn violent. "We have to close down because of this summit. Who's going to give us our money back?" said Antonino Di Franco, a barber who everyone calls "Nino". "They shouldn't have held this meeting here, or they should have done it in April, not in May when the tourists start to come." In a morning gathering in Giardini's sunny municipal square, protesters said they were there to give voice to those who have little political clout, like migrants seeking to reach Europe and North America. "Today with Trump as president there is extreme uncertainty among immigrants without the proper documents who constantly fear deportation," said Father Tomas Gonzalez, who founded a shelter for migrants in Mexico near its southern border with Guatemala and who came to Italy to take part in the protest. "The policy of building walls is costing migrant lives on both sides of the Atlantic," he said. Some 1,500 migrants have died so far this year trying to reach Europe by boat as the European Union funnels money and equipment to the Tripoli-based coast guard to turn them back to Libya. Hundreds die every year along the U.S.-Mexico border, where Trump has pledged to build a wall to keep migrants out. (Editing by Crispian Balmer)
By Timothy Mclaughlin
(Reuters) - Sponsors have been fleeing next month's National Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York City since organizers decided to honor an activist recently freed after more than three decades in prison for ties to a nationalist group that carried out more than 100 bombings in the 1970s and 1980s.
Oscar Lopez Rivera, 74, was convicted in 1981 of numerous charges, along with other members of the Armed Forces of National Liberation (FALN), who sought to secure Puerto Rican independence from the United States.
Rivera's sentence was commuted by former President Barack Obama, and the prisoner was freed this month. He is to be honored as "National Freedom Hero" at the June 11 parade, which makes its way up Fifth Avenue and draws millions of onlookers.
However, some view Rivera as a terrorist. Several sponsors this week pulled financial support for the parade.
"It became clear that the debate about this year's parade was dividing the community," JetBlue Airways Corp said in a statement on Monday. "Out of respect for the many different points of view, we will be redirecting our funds."
JetBlue, like some others who have pulled their support, did not specifically cite Rivera as the reason for its exit. Spanish-language broadcaster Univision Communications Inc and telecommunications company AT&T Inc also backed away.
Univision, which had three radio and television stations sponsoring the event, said it would still provide news coverage of the parade and it and the other sponsors said they would donate funds for student scholarships.
The New York Daily News and the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, New York's largest police union, have been more direct in their criticisms of organizers.
The newspaper said on Wednesday it was pulling its sponsorship, while the police union said in a statement last week that this year's parade honors a "remorseless terrorist" and its members will not participate.
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The board of the parade said on Tuesday it was "saddened and disappointed" by the decision of sponsors pulling out from the parade, but added it was committed to representing a broad number of Puerto Rican voices.
In 1981, Rivera was sentenced to 55 years in prison for charges including seditious conspiracy. An additional 15 years were added to his sentence in 1988 after law enforcement foiled a plot to break him out of prison.
Rivera rejected clemency from former President Bill Clinton in 1999 because it was not extended to another imprisoned FALN member.
After his sentence was commuted by Obama, Rivera spent the final months of his incarceration in Puerto Rico. He was previously held in Indiana. He was freed earlier this month and returned to Chicago to a hero's welcome.
(Reporting by Timothy Mclaughlin in Chicago; Editing by David Gregorio)
This teens prom look won the Internet. (Photo: Khalaaaa/Instagram)
Prom season may be in full swing, but one teen just called it a wrap with her stunning style.
Kahlaa Salahuddin, an 18-year-old makeup artist in Philadelphia, completely owned her senior prom by wearing a custom-made, fringed, embroidered, silver gown with winged sleeves by Suede Square. Details included Christian Louboutin heels, a fringed clutch, henna tattoos on her hands, and a white headscarf.
Might crash the internet & I aint even into that, Salahuddin wrote on Instagram on Thursday, racking up more than 1,000 likes on her prom look.
A dress like this clearly needs a train.
Caption this A post shared by Oh Thts Kah! (@kahlaaaa_) on May 26, 2017 at 5:47am PDT
And a date gracious enough to forfeit his place in the spotlight. Even for a personalized umbrella.
oh you lookin real icy???? A post shared by Oh Thts Kah! (@kahlaaaa_) on May 26, 2017 at 5:07am PDT
Whats a selfie without an attachment that lets you shine like a precious jewel?
SHINING SHINING SHINING SHINING YEAH???? A post shared by Oh Thts Kah! (@kahlaaaa_) on May 26, 2017 at 7:24am PDT
Is it really a prom picture if no one leans on a car?
#Watchtheycopy???? A post shared by Oh Thts Kah! (@kahlaaaa_) on May 25, 2017 at 9:29pm PDT
Its no surprise that Kahlaas prom look was so on point. She has a 3.5 GPA and is attending college in the fall for business, mom Tia Woodson, tells Yahoo Style. Shes a true entrepreneur.
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This year is expected to be one of the worst on record for ticks, and not just in the Northeast. At least one variety of disease-transmitting tick has been found in all of the lower 48 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And a lab at Cornell University has identified 26 species of ticks along the East Coast alonefar more than the deer ticks most of us associate with Lyme disease. With a little bit of work, including cutting your grass shorter and more often, you can rid your yard of the pests.
Tick control is mostly about wildlife, says Jody Gangloff-Kaufmann, coordinator of New York States Integrated Pest Management Program at Cornell. If you have an open yard where animals can enter, youre almost certainly going to have ticks.
One way to know for sure is to perform whats called a tick drag. Cut a 5-inch-square swatch of fabric and tie it to an 18-inch-long pole or stick. Holding the pole, drag the fabric along tall grass or weeds, particularly near a woodland edge of your lawn. Ticks will typically transfer themselves to the swatch. If the trial confirms their presence, follow these five steps to deal with them effectively.
1. Keep Your Grass Short
Black-legged ticks, the type which transmit Lyme, dont like dry, hot environments, Gangloff-Kaufmann says. Because taller blades of grass cast a shadow and create shade, leaving your lawn a little shaggy is a bad idea in tick-rich areas.
Cut your grass as low as 2 to 2 inches, and be vigilant about keeping up with mowing. If you miss a week and the grass gets tall, its a good idea to use the bagging attachment with your tractor or lawn mower because leaving those long lawn clippings behind can create the perfect environment for ticks.
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2. Make a Mulch Moat
Many tick varieties favor the dense cover of woodlands over open lawn. That makes any wooded areas adjacent to your property a potential hotbed for ticks. Adding a 3-foot-wide barrier of mulch around the perimeter of your yard does double duty. First, it creates a physical barrier thats dry and sometimes hot, something ticks cant tolerate. Second, it serves as a visual reminder to anyone in your household to be especially careful once they step past the perimeter.
For the border, you want mulch made from broad, dry wood chips or bark, not the damp, shredded variety, which creates exactly the kind of cool, damp conditions favored by ticks.
3. Trim Tall Grass and Weeds
Ticks like to climb to the top of tall grass blades and look for questing opportunitiesthe chance to grab onto animals like deer or humans, Gangloff-Kaufmann says. By keeping grass and weeds at bay with a string trimmer, youll minimize those chances, making it more difficult for ticks to latch onto you or members of your family, or to travel around your property after hitching a ride on your dog.
4. Eliminate Tick Habitat
CR has long advocated for mulching grass clippings when you mow. And in many instances, its okay or even preferable to leave behind fallen leaves to nourish the lawn. But if you live in an area with a large tick population, its worth reconsidering both.
By bagging grass and blowing leaves into piles for collection, you keep your yard clear and cut back on tick-friendly places. Youll want to recycle leaves and grass clippings through your town if possible, or compost them in a pile far from the house.
5. Consider a Targeted Approach
Following the four steps above will make your yard less inviting to ticks, but if you want to make a serious dent in the number of ticks on your property, youll need to focus on methods that kill them. Many people opt for spraying their entire yard with pesticide, an approach that CRs experts say is both ineffective and potentially dangerous.
Spraying your yard provides a false sense of security, explains Michael Hansen, senior scientist at Consumer Reports. Instead, consider products that treat the fur of mice or deer with small quantities of tick-killing agents.
One example is a new product that consists of cardboard tubes stuffed with cotton treated with permethrin, a tick-killing chemical. Mice collect the cotton and take it back to their nests. The permethrin binds to oils on their fur, killing any ticks that try to attach without harming the mice.
Mice play an important role in the transmission cycle of Lyme disease, explains Laura Goodman, senior research associate in Cornells Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (PDF) has found that such systems have resulted in statistically meaningful drops in tick levels after several years of use.
Bonus: Tickproof Yourself
When working in the yard, wear a long-sleeved shirt, long pants, socks, and closed-toe shoes. Use insect repellentthe best in our tests provide more than 8 hours of tick protection. And regardless of the time of year, perform a tick check as soon as you return indoors, Goodman says.
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Copyright 2006-2017 Consumer Reports, Inc.
The US Bureau of Land Management rounds up a group of wild horses in Nevada: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Donald Trumps latest budget proposal could allow thousands of wild horses to be sold for slaughter by reversing nearly fifty years of protections for an American icon.
Slaughtering horses is illegal in the US, but popular in countries like Canada, Mexico, and parts of Europe where horse meat is considered a delicacy. Congress has long included language in budget bills specifically outlawing the sale of horses for slaughter.
Mr Trumps budget, however, forecasts $10m in saving by allowing horses not slated for adoption to be sold without restriction.
The current program is wholly unsustainable and a new approach is needed, particularly when considering the sharp and consistent growth in resource requirements, the budget proposal reads.
The proposal highlights a longstanding debate between those who want to protect the horses and those who would like to use the funding and land for other purposes.
Americas estimated 59,000 mustangs live across about 40,000 square miles (103,600 square kilometres) of land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The wild horse program takes up approximately 12 percent of BLM lands, and $80.4m of the BLMs budget more than double what it cost in 2008.
The majority of these costs come from rounding up excess wild horses and shipping them to private ranches. The wild horse population has experienced a boom in recent years, far exceeding the 23,622-horse limit set by the BLM.
Former BLM Director Neil Kornze estimated it costs the bureau $50 million to capture and house every 10,000 horses. The bureau has significantly reduced the number of horses they round up in recent years because of budget constraints.
Cattlemen and other business groups argue the current protections for wild horses are costly, and keep government corrals from being used to capture other animals.
The original intent of the [protections] was to make sure those animals had a healthy presence on the range, but also that they be kept at a number that is sustainable. [Now] you have horses starving to death and irreversible damage to Western rangelands. Ethan Lane of the National Cattlemens Beef Association told The Associated Press.
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Wild horse advocates, however, say there are other methods of controlling the wild horse population, such as fertility management or federal grazing program reforms.
This budget proposal is an example of lazy government, Laura Leigh, founder of Wild Horse Education, said in a statement. This is simply one more gift to the livestock industry.
In an epic handshake showdown between world leaders, President Trump and newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron exchanged some long and awkward interactions during NATO meetings this week.
Video footage shows Trump congratulating the newly elected French president just before the NATO summit in Brussels and sealing the meeting with an intense, white-knuckled handshake that was 6 seconds long.
When Trump started to let go, Macron continued to hold his hand for a few more seconds.
Read: Melania Trump Appears to Swat Away Her Husband's Hand in Israel
"It is my great honor to be with the newly elected president of France who ran an incredible campaign and had a tremendous victory," Trump said before the exchange. "All over the world they're talking about it and we have a lot to discuss, including terrorism and other things. Congratulations, great job."
Macron posted a video after the NATO meeting of another odd exchange during which Macron and a group of world leaders, including Trump, walk toward each other.
Trump is seen with his palms toward Macron, who then makes a B-line away from Trump, and shakes hands with others while Trump stands waiting. Trump then grabs Macron's hand in another handshake that lasts several seconds, with Trump pulling Macron toward him, this time holding on for longer as Macron tries to let go, a reversal of their previous exchange.
Another of Trump's interactions came under fire during the NATO meeting this week as he was seen pushing the Prime Minister of Montenegro out of the way before a group photo op.
Read: Trump Shoves Prime Minister of Montenegro at NATO Meeting
Trump arrived in Sicily yesterday for the G7 Summit with world leaders from seven industrialized nations to discuss such global political situations as climate change, trade and terrorism.
The leaders have agreed on new counterterrorism action during the meeting in Taormina, Sicily, but could not agree on climate change, according to BBC News.
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The news outlet reported that Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May will develop a post-Brexit trade deal.
The G7 includes representatives from the U.S., the U.K., the European Union, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Watch: Donald Trump's Turmoil Leads to Stock Market's Largest Daily Decline in Months
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There is a paradox that turns any normal idea about strategy on its head. In a business context, I call it the paradox of profit. Simply put, the surest path to losing money is for a company to be preoccupied with profits. The surest path to profit is to be preoccupied with benefiting society. By appealing to societys environmental concerns, Tesla now has the highest market value of any American automaker. By attempting to sidestep those concerns, Volkswagen lost $26 billion in market value in two days. A similar paradox applies to national interests. As President Donald Trump continues his international tour, he would be wise to focus on shared interests with other nations in order to truly put America first.
Engaging those with no natural interest in your success but with great ability to shape your opportunities or risks (those who I define as shapeholders) begins with authentically aligning a purpose that benefits both you and them. Otherwise, there is little reason for others to give your concerns a second thought. Since the end of World War II, Americas purpose has been underwriting global security, promoting open markets, and investing in development. As conflicts subsided, as trade expanded, and as newly prosperous nations became customers, both America and other nations benefited.
Abandoning Americas purpose and reverting to narrowly defined national interests might appeal to many. Yet a nationalistic dalliance, even if only an interlude, could harm Americas ability to advance its interests by undermining the trust and deference of other nations.
In geopolitics, Russia is playing chess. China is playing Go, a game that focuses not on a decisive clash of forces like in chess does, but on strategic encirclement through subtlety, indirection, and the patient accumulation of relative advantage. The United States must strengthen its alliances to avoid a Russian checkmate and keep China from encircling a dominant sphere of influence.
In the context of a global chess match, Americas queen has always been NATO. Our rook or castle in the West has long been the United Kingdom, and in the East, Japan. Canada and Mexico are Americas bishops, nestling us in a safe neighborhood. Australia, India, South Korea, and Turkey have historically, like knights in chess, extended Americas reach.
Putins chess moves seek to retain popular support by convincing his own people that the West is out to get them, as he and his friends line their pockets with Russias wealth. Putins queen is Iran. For both Russia and Iran, Bashar al-Assads Syria has been a pawn.
Russia has skillfully maneuvered its engagement in Syria to keep upward pressure on oil prices and destabilize Europe with refugees. By supporting nationalist candidates, Putin seeks to undermine unity within Europe. Russias occupation of Crimea and meddling in Ukraine has raised doubts about whether NATO will honor its security guarantees.
China is more complicated. While the West tends to wait for a Clausewitz-style battle to the finish, China follows Sun Tzus precept that the skillful leader subdues the enemys troops without any fighting.
China has a 5,000-year history of worrying about China. In the world of modern commerce, that includes Chinas supply chains. China seeks to reestablish its dominance along the historic Silk Road and assert itself in the Western Pacific. Its desired sphere includes the largest and fastest growing half of the globe.
Given the global contests for the affections of other nations, even the perception that the United States is preoccupied with only its own interests undermines its ability to attract nations to align with its priorities.
Candidate Trump placing conditions on NATO support and referring to it as obsolete fanned the flames of doubt that Putin lit. At the NATO summit this week, Trump did little to assuage those doubts.
As for Britain, Americas Western rook, the allure of significant commercial opportunities has drawn the U.K.s interest in Chinas One Belt, One Road infrastructure effort. Trumps recent disclosure to Russia of intelligence obtained from allied sources has called the continuance of the special relationship into question.
As for Japan, Americas Eastern rook, the United States canceling the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe exhibited great political courage to join has strained the relationship. Not only does pulling out of the TPP undercut Americas Pacific alliances, but it paves the way for China to assemble an Asian trade alliance with America on the outside looking in, instead of a Pacific trade alliance with America at its center.
Americas global power rests on it remaining unchallenged in North America, giving it the freedom to pursue foreign challenges without worrying about its position at home. There are few things that would more undermine American foreign policy than genuine friction with either of its bishops: Canada or Mexico. Trumps criticisms of the North American Free Trade Agreement and derogatory comments about Mexico seem oblivious to this reality.
As for those, who like knights in chess, could extend Americas reach, Chinas economic gravitational pull, accentuated by its commercial might and massive infrastructure investments, is capturing the attention of South Korea, Turkey, and even Australia, although India remains skeptical.
An America first policy risks leaving America alone, as important allies question Americas commitment and carefully weigh the attractiveness of switching or splitting their allegiances. The United States would be far better off if it followed the path of Tesla by focusing on enhancing mutual interests with others as the best path to truly keep America first.
Photo credit: DANNY GYS/AFP/Getty Images
RIDGEVILLE A special service at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 4, at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Ridgeville will celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Reformation.
The theme of the afternoon service will be Martin Luthers Small Catechism in the context of historic liturgy. Published in 1529, his Catechism, written in German, was complied as a result of religious instruction he led in his own home. Retaining the substance, an updated Catechism is used in Lutheran youth education and confirmation classes today.
Luther, a German professor of theology, was also a musician and composer. Although he is best known for his hymn A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, he wrote several hymns. As many as 31 are in the Lutheran Hymnal.
Under the direction of David Moseley of Warrens, a 30-member joint choir will sing hymns Luther wrote to accompany lessons in the Catechism. Also included will be Johann Sebastian Bachs Jesu, Joy of Mans Desiring.
Accompanists on the pipe organ will be Deb Doletzky of Tomah and David Moseley. A brass quartet under the direction of Todd Schendel of Iowa City, Iowa, will perform before and during the service.
Hosting the afternoon anniversary celebration is the Rev. Mathew Minzlaff, pastor of St. Jacobs in Norwalk, St. Johns in Ridgeville and St. Peters in Clifton, assisted by the Rev. Curt Bacchus of St. Paul in Tomah and the Rev. John Meyer of St. Johns in Sparta. Communion will be served.
Members of the choir come from area Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Churches.
Refreshments will be served after the service in the fellowship hall.
St. Johns Lutheran Church is on Hwy. A south of Tomah and Sparta.
Taormina (Italy) (AFP) - US President Donald Trump said Friday the "problem" of an increasingly belligerent North Korea would be "solved", as he met with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe just before the start of the G7 summit.
"It's a big problem, it's a world problem," he said in the Sicilian town of Taormina, adding the issue would be raised in joint meetings with the other six heads of leading industrialised countries.
"It will be solved," he said before going into closed-door talks with Abe, without giving further details.
Pyongyang has launched a series of missiles this year, including a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range projectile this month which the North claimed was capable of carrying a "heavy" nuclear warhead, fuelling tensions with Washington.
It has carried out two atomic tests since the beginning of last year, insisting it needs nuclear weapons to defend itself against the threat of invasion.
The US is worried that if North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is not stopped, other countries in the region including Japan and South Korea would be compelled to seek their own nuclear capability as a defence measure.
Washington says it is willing to enter into talks with North Korea if it halts its nuclear and missile tests, but it has also warned that military intervention was an option, sending fears of conflict spiralling.
A man allegedly stabbed two men to death in Oregon after they confronted him for harassing two Muslim women onboard a train on Friday, reports said.
Witnesses said the suspect started yelling ethnic and religious slurs toward the two women, who appeared to be Muslim, on a MAX train at the Hollywood Transit Station, according to reports.
Read: Student Apologizes For Allegedly Attacking Muslim Woman and Shouting: 'White Power!'
Three men reportedly tried to intervene during the alleged harassment and were stabbed, two fatally.
Witnesses said at least one of the woman targeted by the suspect was wearing a hijab.
The suspect allegedly told the women, "Get off the bus, and get out of the country because you dont pay taxes here, Evelin Hernandez, a passenger on the train, told KATU-TV.
When the men intervened, Jeremy Joseph Christian, 35, allegedly attacked them. One man died on scene. The other died later at a nearby hospital.
A third man was treated for non life-threatening injuries.
Police said they detained Christian as soon as he exited the train.
Police said the two women involved left before police arrived and officers are trying to locate them.
After the attack, the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the President to denounce "rising bigotry" against Muslims.
Read: Accused Molester Blames 8-Year-Old Girl's 'Provocative Clothing,' as Cops Fear More Victims
President Trump must speak out personally against the rising tide of Islamophobia and other forms of bigotry and racism in our nation that he has provoked through his numerous statements, policies and appointments that have negatively impacted minority communities," CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said.
Christian is charged with aggravated murder, intimidation in the second degree, attempted murder, and other weapons charges.
Watch: Man Accused Of Trying To Set Fire To Store Because Owner Was Muslim: Cops
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By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) - A Lebanese man accused of trying to use his ties to Hezbollah to further a scheme to launder drug money pleaded guilty on Friday in a Brooklyn, New York federal court to a U.S. money laundering conspiracy charge.
U.S. prosecutors said Joseph Asmar, 43, of Beirut, entered his plea at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano.
Asmar had been arrested in Paris in October 2015, and was extradited to the United States 14 months later. He had also faced a money laundering charge.
Aaron Altman, a lawyer for Asmar, said in an email: "ggggJoseph Asmar has taken responsibility for his actions and is anxious to move forward with his life. More than anything, he misses his family and prays that they will be reunited in the near future."
Hezbollah is a Shiite Islamist political and military group in Lebanon that the U.S. Department of State designates as a foreign terrorist organization.
Asmar was charged following what prosecutors called a two-year sting operation in which he and a Lebanese businesswoman, Iman Kobeissi, had meetings with an undercover U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent posing as a trafficker.
Prosecutors said Asmar claimed to be an attorney who boasted that his connections at European and Middle Eastern banks enabled him to launder money, and that he could use his Hezbollah connections to provide security for drug shipments.
Undercover agents provided $400,000 in alleged drug proceeds to Asmar and his co-conspirators, who laundered the money in exchange for a commission, prosecutors said.
Asmar faces up to 20 years in prison. A sentencing date has not been set. Kobeissi's case is still pending.
The case is U.S. v. Asmar, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of New York, No. 15-cr-00491.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Chicago; Editing by Andrew Hay)
Beirut (AFP) - A US-led coalition air strike on the eastern Syrian town of Mayadeen early Friday killed at least 80 relatives of Islamic State group fighters, a monitoring group told AFP.
"The toll includes 33 children. They were families seeking refuge in the town's municipal building," said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"This is the highest toll for relatives of IS members in Syria," Abdel Rahman told AFP.
The latest strike came as the United Nations urged all nations bombing jihadist targets in Syria to better distinguish between civilian and military targets.
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said "all states" whose air forces are active in the anti-IS missions needed "to take much greater care to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians."
The Britain-based Observatory gathered information from civilian and medical sources on the ground in IS-held Mayadeen, which was facing its third day of fierce bombing.
According to the Observatory, 37 civilians were killed in coalition raids on the town on Thursday night, including 13 children, and another 15 had been killed in coalition strikes on Wednesday.
The 68-member coalition began bombing IS targets in Iraq in the summer of 2014, and expanded their operations to Syria on September 23 of that year.
This week, the Observatory reported the highest monthly civilian death toll for the coalition's operations in Syria.
Between April 23 and May 23 of this year, coalition strikes killed a total of 225 civilians in Syria, including dozens of children.
The US-led alliance is backing twin ground offensives against IS's last main bastion cities: Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq.
On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March.
Prior to the new revelation, the US military had said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had "unintentionally" killed a total of 352 civilians since 2014.
Beirut (AFP) - Dozens of relatives of Islamic State group fighters were killed Friday in Syria in US-led strikes, regime or Russian raids, after the UN urged nations striking the jihadists to protect civilians.
Raids by the US-led coalition have pounded IS positions across Iraq and Syria since the jihadist group claimed responsibility for the devastating bombing of a concert in Manchester on Monday.
Scores of civilians, many of them families of IS members, have been killed in bombing raids in recent days on the eastern Syrian town of Mayadeen, held by IS since 2014.
Early Friday, at least 80 relatives of IS fighters were killed in US-led coalition bombardment, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"The toll includes 33 children. They were families seeking refuge in the town's municipal building," said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
"This is the highest toll for relatives of IS members in Syria," he told AFP.
Coalition strikes on the town killed 37 civilians on Thursday night after 15 had been killed on Wednesday, according to the Britain-based Observatory.
The US military on Friday confirmed that it had struck "near Mayadeen" on May 25 and 26, but said it was "still assessing the results of those strikes", according to Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon.
The US military insists that it takes every precaution to avoid hitting civilians, but the United Nations on Friday urged parties bombing IS to do more.
- Army seizes strategic route -
UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said "all states" whose air forces are active in the anti-IS missions needed "to take much greater care to distinguish between legitimate military targets and civilians".
The Observatory also reported a strike by Russian or Syrian regime aircraft Friday that killed "16 civilian" members of jihadist families in the central province of Hama.
It said the raid struck the IS-held village of Ouqayribat, northwest of UNESCO World Heritage city of Palmyra.
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Troops loyal to President Bashar al-Assad have been waging a multi-pronged offensive in the east to reach the strategic border territory.
They scored a key victory this week by linking the capital Damascus to the Palmyra.
It was the first time the government has been in full control of the Damascus-Palmyra highway since 2014, according to Abdel Rahman.
With backing from Russian air strikes, regime fighters "pushed IS fighters out of desert territory amounting to more than 1,000 square kilometres (390 square miles)", he said on Friday.
According to geography expert Fabrice Balanche, the government now controls 46 percent of Syria, compared with 36 percent in March.
Kurdish forces and IS each control 21 percent, and rebels just 12 percent.
Mayadeen town has seen an influx of displaced families from IS-held territory in Iraq and Syria, including its bastion Raqa.
It is in Syria's oil-rich east near the border with Iraq -- a region considered a prize by many of IS's enemies including the Syrian army.
A decades-old ally of Damascus, Moscow has been carrying out air strikes in support of Assad's troops since September 2015 -- a year after the American-led coalition began targeting IS in Syria.
The coalition is now backing twin ground offensives against IS's last main bastion cities -- Raqa in northern Syria and Mosul in neighbouring Iraq.
- 'Annihilate' IS -
The 68-member coalition began bombing IS in Iraq in the summer of 2014, and expanded operations to Syria on September 23 that year.
On Thursday, a Pentagon investigation concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-jihadist air strike on an IS weapons cache in Mosul in March.
Before the new revelation, the US military had said coalition air strikes in Iraq and Syria had "unintentionally" killed 352 civilians since 2014.
Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,681 people have died in coalition strikes -- between 283 and 366 in April alone.
Reports of civilian casualties in the air campaign have swelled in recent days.
On May 20, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis said US President Donald Trump had instructed the Pentagon to "annihilate" IS in Syria in a bid to prevent escaped foreign fighters from returning home.
The president has "directed a tactical shift from shoving ISIS out of safe locations in an attrition fight to surrounding the enemy in their strongholds so we can annihilate ISIS", Mattis said, using an acronym for IS.
But the Pentagon has denied that its rules of engagement have changed and insists that the coalition continues to strike only "military-appropriate targets".
Washington (AFP) - A Pentagon investigation has concluded that at least 105 civilians died in an anti-IS strike in the Iraqi city of Mosul in March, officials said Thursday, but they blamed the toll on a secondary explosion of jihadist munitions.
A US aircraft delivered a single precision-guided bomb into a building in west Mosul on March 17, with the aim of killing a pair of snipers on the second story of the structure in the al-Jadida neighborhood, which at the time was under Islamic State control.
But the bomb also caused a large cache of IS explosives to detonate, leading to the catastrophic collapse of the building that had civilians sheltering downstairs, officials said.
"The secondary explosion triggered a rapid failure of the structure which killed the two ISIS snipers, 101 civilians sheltered in the bottom floors of the structure and four civilians in the neighboring structure to the west," said US Air Force Brigadier General Matt Isler, the lead investigator.
Isler said another 36 civilians who are "believed to be connected" to the building remained unaccounted for, but they had likely fled the area shortly before the strike. He said he was "very confident" in the final toll.
It was the single deadliest incident for civilians stemming from a coalition strike since anti-IS operations in Iraq and Syria began nearly three years ago.
The United States had previously only acknowledged that it "probably" had a role in the civilian deaths.
The investigation comes amid broader claims that US forces under President Donald Trump are killing more civilians as the military fulfills a plan to "annihilate" the Islamic State group.
The Pentagon denies this and says its rules of engagement remain unchanged and insists its precision-targeting abilities are the best in the world.
- 'Defeat ISIS' -
Officials say the US takes every precaution to avoid hitting civilians, including by aborting missile strikes at the last moment if a civilian unexpectedly wanders into the target zone.
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"Our condolences go out to all those that were affected," said Major General Joe Martin.
"The coalition takes every feasible measure to protect civilians from harm. The best way to protect civilians is to defeat ISIS."
No condolence payments have been made, Isler said, though such a move has not been ruled out.
According to Isler, Iraqi counterterrorism service (CTS) troops had been moving into the al-Jadida neighborhood in west Mosul when they came under fire from the IS snipers.
Mosul was a former IS bastion but the jihadists now only control about 10 percent of the city.
Bad weather had kept surveillance drones from gathering video of the area for two days, and CTS and coalition forces -- not knowing civilians were in the building -- ultimately called in a strike, Isler said.
The precision-guided bomb selected -- a GBU-38 carrying 192 pounds of explosives -- was rigged to cause only localized damage to the building, but it ignited a large amount of ordnance which, unbeknownst to the coalition, IS fighters had previously placed inside.
"Post-blast analysis detected residues common to explosives used by ISIS, but not consistent with the explosive content of a GBU-38 munition," Central Command said in a statement.
"Engineering and weapons analysis indicates that the GBU-38 should have resulted in no more than 16-20 percent damage to the structure, localized to the front of the second floor."
Officials said IS may have deliberately rigged the building to explode and then used the snipers to intentionally provoke an air strike.
As of the most recent Centcom official tally, at least 352 civilians had been killed since the beginning of the bombing campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria nearly three years ago.
Airwars, a London-based collective of journalists and researchers that tracks civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, claims a minimum of 3,350 people have died in coalition strikes.
By Chris Mfula LUSAKA (Reuters) - A Zambian court on Friday allowed opposition leader Hakainde Hichilema to challenge the prosecution over moving his treason case to the high court for trial in a case that has stoked political tension months after contested elections. Hichilema, an economist and businessman known as "HH", was defeated by President Edgar Lungu in an election last August, which he described as fraudulent. His attempts to mount a legal challenge have so far been unsuccessful. The United Party for National Development (UPND) leader was arrested in a police raid on his home in April and charged with trying to overthrow the government. Hichilema's lawyers however said the case should not proceed to the High Court because the officer who issued the trial papers had no authority to do so. But Magistrate David Simusamba told a hearing in his court that Hichilema's defence could seek a judicial review of the charges before the case goes to the High Court for trial. Hichilema sat in court looking composed in a red shirt. "I hold the view that this is a proper matter for judicial review," Simusamba said, adding that the matter should go for trial if Hichilema's lawyers fail to launch their legal challenge in the High Court within 14 days. The magistrate adjourned the case to June 12. Zambia was seen as one of Southern Africa's most stable countries until relations soured between the government and opposition over the elections, which were marred by violence. On Thursday, South African opposition leader Mmusi Maimane said Zambian immigration officials barred him from entering their country late on Thursday, stopping his visit to attend the case of the detained Hichilema. Maimane held a rally on Friday in the South African capital Pretoria to demand that the case against Hichilema be dropped, saying the Zambian politician was facing trumped up charges. Zambia's High Commissioner to South Africa, Emmanuel Mwamba, said in a statement on Friday that Maimane was kept away to allow the due process of the law to take its course. (Writing by by James Macharia)
Cannes police arrested nine women for staging a pro-burkini protest on Friday in response to last years ban prohibiting overtly religious clothing on the beach and in public swimming pools. The women never made it to the beach and were arrested in front of the Hotel Martinez, AFP reported.
Although the prohibition of the full-coverage swimwear was overturned by Frances highest administrative court, citing insufficient grounds to justify the dress code, the issue is obviously still a contentious one. Last summer, more than 30 towns banned burkinis, which cover the whole body except for the face, hands, and feet.
The women were bailed out by Rachid Nekkaz, a wealthy Algerian businessman and political activist who is known for his stance against the burkini ban on the French Riviera. Earlier this month, he announced on his Facebook page that he would throw a burkini beach party in order to protest the ban.
Nekkaz chose the date of his beach party to coincide with the 70th annual Cannes Film Festival, which draws high-profile guests from around the world. The Cannes Film Festival is all about liberty and tolerance, he told the Local. Its the perfect place to celebrate this newfound freedom in the city that was the first to ban the burkini.
This is not the first time women wearing burkinis in the French Riviera have been arrested or fined. Last year, shortly after the ban was passed, police forced a woman to remove her clothing while she was sunbathing in Nice.
Is this laicite? Is this what being liberal looks like? Men forcing women to take clothes off? https://t.co/NOT4IcvuF5 Aisha S Gani (@aishagani) August 23, 2016
Newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron has stated in the past that the ban was justifiable only if safety was threatened. This garment is contrary to the idea that we have of civility and equality between men and women, he said.
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Wally Nowinski poses with a car in Iceland in this 2016 handout photo provided May 25, 2017. Courtesy Anne VanderMey/Handout via REUTERS
By Peter Henderson
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Wally Nowinski got his first car when he turned 16 in Michigan, the home of the U.S. auto industry. But after two years of living in New York City, he sold his wheels, using ride services, carsharing and bike sharing to get around.
My mom didnt think I could do it. She thought I would buy a new car in six months, he said. But that was more than a year ago, and his car budget of $820 per month fell to $250 for carsharing and ride services last year. I take Uber like pretty frivolously, he said.
Nowinski, 32, is not alone.
Nearly a quarter of American adults sold or traded in a vehicle in the last 12 months, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll published on Thursday, with most getting another car. But 9 percent of that group turned to ride services like Lyft Inc and Uber Technologies Inc [UBER.UL] as their main way to get around.
About the same percentages said they planned to dispose of cars and turn to ride services in the upcoming 12 months.
Though a small percentage, the figure of people switching to ride services could be early evidence that more consumers believe that ride sharing can replace vehicle ownership.
Automakers could see a new market in ride services drivers and believe the fast adoption of ride service technology bodes well for self-driving car technology, a big area of investment for many companies, said auto analyst Alan Baum.
It is not clear whether ride service drivers, who rack up vehicle miles and are likely to buy new cars relatively frequently, will make up for any long term drop in personal car ownership.
But Lyft Director of Transportation Policy Emily Castor called the survey 'early evidence' that its vision of a world where personal car ownership was unnecessary was beginning to take hold.
"What weve seen anecdotally aligns with what youve found," said Uber Head of Transportation Policy and Research Andrew Salzberg.
The survey was the first on the subject by Reuters/Ipsos, so it was not possible to tell whether the move to ride services from car ownership is accelerating, and respondents were not asked whether they gave up a car because of ride services.
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The survey showed that 39 percent of Americans had used rides services and that 27 percent of that group did so at least several times per week.
University of California, Berkeley researcher Susan Shaheen said the results on the move to ride services was in line with her 2016 study of a one-way carsharing service, which found a small portion of customers sold a vehicle due to carsharing. She noted, however, that the Reuters/Ipsos survey did not address carsharing or whether people who did not own cars would avoid buying one because of ride services.
Transportation consultant Bruce Schaller said that most of the move to ride sharing probably was explained by factors such as moving in and out of cities and employment changes. Still, he said, Its not the predominant trend, but there are a significant number of people who have changed their lifestyle, if you will, and are now relying much more on ride services than their own car. That was especially true of people who used many sharing services, such as ride share, car share and bike share.
Auto companies say they are getting ready for changes in technology, including expanded demand for ride services and, eventually, self-driving vehicles. Those are the factors that are driving our move into being both an auto and a mobility company, said Ford spokesman Alan Hall.
The Reuters/Ipsos U.S. poll was conducted online in English April 5-11. It gathered responses from 584 people who said they disposed of their personal vehicle within the last 12 months and 566 people who said they planned to get rid of their personal vehicles in the next 12 months.
The poll has a credibility interval, a measure of accuracy, of 5 percentage points for the people who recently got rid of their vehicle or planned to do so in the future.
For a graphic on ditching personal cars for ride sharing, click http://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/rngs/AUTOS-RIDESERVICES/0100419J2RP/index.html
(Reporting By Peter Henderson; Editing by Bernard Orr)
Their loved ones died on a Libyan beach, beheaded by Islamic State militants as cameras recorded their agony for a 2015 propaganda video.
Some of the Coptic Christians died repeating these words: Lord, Jesus Christ. An ISIS leader in a ski mask, in turn, offered this warning: We will conquer Rome with Allahs permission.
During the recent World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians, relatives of these modern martyrs stood to receive the applause of participants, who came from 136 nations including the ravaged lands of the Middle East and Africa.
Today our Christian brothers and sisters across the world are facing persecution and martyrdom on an unprecedented scale, said the Rev. Franklin Graham, who hosted the event for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. No part of the Christian family is exempt Catholic, Protestant or Orthodox nor is any part of the world exempt.
There were other poignant moments, including an Iranian woman ringing a memorial bell for the dead, including her father, who was hanged for converting to Christianity. Summit speakers represented the global church, including remarks by Archbishop Christophe Louis Yves Georges Pierre, the U.S. ambassador for Pope Francis, and a major address by Metropolitan Hilarion, leader of the Russian Orthodox Churchs ecumenical office.
But this meeting was held in Washington, D.C., and led by the always outspoken Franklin Graham who called the persecution of Christians genocide. Also, an address by Vice President Mike Pence guaranteed some mainstream news coverage, as well as a hot spotlight on the U.S. political implications of his remarks.
Thus, a Huffington Post news report claimed: Pence reiterated a common belief among conservative Christians in the U.S. that they are among the most persecuted people of faith in the world.
While the vice president alluded to trends in the United States, he made it clear that his primary worries and prayers about persecution were global. He stressed that Americans will stand with all those who are targeted and tormented for their belief, whether theyre Christian, Yazidi, Druzes, Shia, Sunni or any other creed.
At the same time, Pence echoed concerns in the Vatican and elsewhere that, in ISIS, the ancient churches of the Middle East face a threat that is unique and historic.
Christian communities where the message of our Lord was first uttered and embraced today, though, are often the targets of unspeakable atrocity, he said. In Egypt, just recently, we saw bombs explode in churches in the very midst of the celebration of Palm Sunday. A day of hope was transformed into tragedy. ...
In Iraq, at the hands of extremists, weve actually seen monasteries demolished, priests and monks beheaded, and the two-millennia-old Christian tradition in Mosul virtually extinguished overnight. In Syria, we see ancient communities burned to the ground. We see believers tortured for confessing Christ, and women and children sold into the most terrible form of human slavery.
Its hard to pin down the precise number of modern Christians who are dying for their faith year after year. However, a wide range of organizations are concerned: from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to the anti-persecution organization Open Doors; from the U.S. State Department to Notre Dames Under Caesars Sword project.
Pence came close to echoing the language of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who once declared that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. However, the vice president placed his heaviest emphasis on the wider persecution of religious minorities.
Truth is, he said, for all the prosperity of the freedom of faith in America and other free societies, today, according to the Pew Center, nearly 80 percent of the human family lives in places where restrictions on religion are either high or very high. Its a 5 percent increase in a single year.
Too many nations let the mob trample on the rights of the minority. Still more prefer the coercion of the state to conviction of the soul. And the limitations placed on people of belief have become too numerous to count. They range from violence to vandalism forced conversion to crush free speech, blasphemy laws to building codes, to detainment, to death. Across the wider world, Christians face this and more.
The bottom line, he concluded, is clear: As history attests, persecution of one faith is ultimately the persecution of all faiths.
WASHINGTON (TNS) Racial gerrymanders have been undone many times, most recently when the Supreme Court ruled against a pair of North Carolina congressional districts this week. But another case from that same state, heading into federal court next month, has a shot at eventually persuading the justices to do what theyve never done before: strike down an election map as an unconstitutionally partisan gerrymander.
The Supreme Court ruled three decades ago that it may be unconstitutional to draw political boundaries so that one party was sure to win a disproportionate number of elections, but its never come up with a means for deciding when such mapmaking has become too extreme.
The new lawsuit involving North Carolina congressional districts stands to provide just such a rationale. Thats especially true if it ends up getting paired with a similar case involving Wisconsins state legislature districts, which the Supreme Court seems virtually certain to consider in its term beginning this fall.
Plaintiffs in both cases say the maps tilt election outcomes so much in favor of Republicans as to violate Democratic voters rights of free expression and equal protection. And they have united behind a pretty straightforward mathematical formula for illustrating how thats so.
Its a standard that, if adopted, would give the courts a method for deciding whether partisan gerrymandering has become excessive not only in the Wisconsin and North Carolina cases, but also during the nationwide surge of political cartography that will get started right after the 2020 census.
That would probably not be good news for Republicans. They hold dominance in the state capitals and are counting on the legal status quo to help them maintain, if not expand, their power in many of the biggest states where their legislative throw-weight during this decade has far exceeded their routine share of the vote.
The bottom line of the equation in question has been dubbed the efficiency gap by its inventors, Nicholas Stephanopoulos of the University of Chicago Law School and Eric McGhee of the Public Policy Institute of California. They say their aim is calculating the number of wasted votes in a states elections and then measuring the difference between how many votes Republicans and Democrats have squandered.
They define wasted ballots as those that dont help a partys candidate to victory. This happens as a consequence of both techniques at the disposal of partisan mapmakers, known as cracking and packing.
If Democrats draw the lines and crack, or spread, the Republican voting base among so many districts that the party lacks a viable majority in any place, then the GOP ends up wasting all the ballots cast in the races where theyre defeated no matter how narrowly.
If the Republicans pack as many Democrats as they can into a district or two, with the aim of helping the GOP win everywhere else, then the Democrats end up wasting all the ballots cast beyond the bare minimum required to elect their few candidates.
The difference between the two parties wasted votes, divided by the total number of ballots cast, is the efficiency gap. Under a map drawn without any partisan bias, Democrats and Republicans will waste about the same number of votes and the efficiency gap is going to be close to zero. The more one party gerrymanders the other toward electoral oblivion, the wider the gap grows.
How big a gap violates the Constitution? Assuming the courts agree to apply the efficiency gap standard, or even consider it, the lawyers from the two states arguing in favor of the formula are contemplating somewhat different ways of answering.
The Wisconsin case is about what happened after the GOP won control of all the levers of power in Madison, just in time for this decades redistricting, and drew a state House map that resulted in Republicans winning 60 of the 99 seats in 2012 even though they won only 49 percent of the statewide legislative vote. Two years later, the GOP won 63 seats with 52 percent of the total vote.
Those numbers yielded efficiency gaps of 13 percent in 2012 and 10 percent in 2014. And those figures were used by the lawyers who last November persuaded a panel of three federal judges to strike down the map, ruling it was designed to make it more difficult for Democrats, compared to Republicans, to translate their votes into seats.
The plaintiffs argued that a gap exceeding 7 percent, sustained over several elections, is unconstitutional. The judges didnt base their ruling on that argument, but its bound to be resurrected before the Supreme Court by those arguing for and against Wisconsins map. (Some cases about elections take a direct path to the Supreme Court, and this is one of them.)
The North Carolina case is the latest in a state thats seen its congressional map under almost perpetual court scrutiny for decades. Before now, the legal challenges have always focused on minority voting power, with the Supreme Court ruling Monday that the districts represented by the two black Democrats in the House delegation, Alma Adams and G.K. Butterfield, were unconstitutional racial gerrymanders designed to concentrate as many black voters in as few places as possible in order to diminish their political strength elsewhere.
Now the states lawyers, in a trial set to begin June 26, will have to defend the mapmakers in the Republican-majority General Assembly from a very different allegation: that their motivation for drawing the statewide congressional map was unconstitutionally partisan, effectively abandoning the courts one person, one vote standard for districts (a breach of the 14th Amendment) and punishing a group of people because of their political beliefs (in violation of the First Amendment).
As in Wisconsin, the GOP took over at the state capital in time for this decades redistricting, and their cartography soon remade the House delegations balance of power. Four elections ago, Democrats won seven of the 13 seats. Last year, they won only three, even though their candidates took 47 percent of the congressional vote statewide.
And that 10-3 distribution was precisely the aim of the GOP state legislators, their redistricting point man state Rep. David Lewis has declared, only because I do not believe its possible to draw a map with 11 Republicans and two Democrats.
The plaintiffs, led by Common Cause and the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, are using a different formulation Stephanopoulos has come up with to illustrate how the efficiency gap can result in the racial gerrymandering of congressional maps what he calculates as the two-seat threshold, meaning one party has a reliable hold on at least two more seats than it would if the efficiency gap were closer to zero.
By Stephanopoulos reckoning, six states other than North Carolina are currently electing House members using maps that meet or exceed the two-seat threshold, all in favor of the GOP: Florida, Texas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Virginia.
After crunching the data, another academic, Princeton professor Samuel Wang, concluded that political gerrymandering had cost Democrats as many as 22 House seats in 2012, and winning all of them would have given the party a narrow majority.
In legislative elections in 2012 and 2014, according to another study by Stanford political scientist Simon Jackson, there were efficiency gaps above 10 percent in favor of the Democrats in just two states, New York and Rhode Island, but of that magnitude in favor of the GOP in 10 states: Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The Republican National Committee has already filed a brief asking the Supreme Court to decide against any application of the efficiency gap, deriding it as a tool that advances the partisan interests of the Democratic Party. The national GOP and others say the disconnect between statewide vote percentages and share of House seats results not from bias but from demographics the reality that Democrats concentrate in the big cities, allowing the GOP to win so many elections in the suburbs and rural areas.
As with so many other high-profile cases at the Supreme Court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is destined to be a pivotal voice if a map ever gets struck down as a partisan gerrymander either because it fails an efficiency gap test or some other standard.
Kennedy set himself up as a future swing vote in an important 2004 case. He joined four colleagues for a majority reiterating that political motives in mapmaking could theoretically go too far, but then he joined his other four colleagues to form a majority upholding the map in question, which GOP legislators had drawn with the stated purpose of guaranteeing that most congressional districts in a bluish purple Pennsylvania would nonetheless be reliably red for a decade.
Courts must be cautious about adopting a standard that turns on whether the partisan interests in the redistricting process were excessive, he wrote somewhat elliptically. Excessiveness is not easily determined.
MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) The downward spiral for Dianna Wallen began with a nasty fall in an airport.
About four years ago, the Manitowoc woman and her family were rushing to return to Wisconsin from their then St. Augustine, Fla., home for the funeral of a nephew when Dianna fell and hurt her hip and back.
"I have always had medical issues," she said. "I had major back surgery when I was 23."
That fateful spill led to a series of events that found her overdosing on pills and nearly taking her own life, not once, but twice. Dianna shared her story in hopes of helping others who struggle with thoughts of suicide.
After the fall, and against the advice of both her family and medical professionals, Dianna continued traveling to hospitals around the country as part of her job as a clinical laboratory scientist. She visited doctors for her pain, but they told her there was little that could be done. And by the time she slowed down, Dianna said her back was beyond repair.
"I had my kids very young. When they grew older and went their separate ways, I put all my identity into my profession," she said. "It's who I was I didn't want to give it up. I was in an abusive relationship while I was in college, with him jumping up and down on the bed while I was studying for an exam, so I would fail. I graduated with honors. I was very proud of that and I couldn't give up my career and be over at 46."
Eventually, her employers told her she needed to slow down, and even though they modified her duties, the pain was too much.
"They kept saying, 'You need to stop, you need to stop, you're killing yourself,'" Dianna said. "I didn't want to give it up. Now I'm here, and I've ruined any chance of working in my field. Pain ... pain is a vicious thing to go through. It takes you to a very hard place."
About two years ago, her doctor told her to stop working, and she was devastated.
Dianna overdosed on pills in her Florida home. Her story could have ended there, if her son hadn't found her and called an ambulance.
"I woke up on a ventilator," she said. "If my son would have found me five minutes later, I would have been dead. It's a miracle I'm still here. But I didn't mean to hurt anyone. Your mind doesn't go that way. I didn't want to be a burden to anyone. It's like a dark hole. You spin in it, and you can't see the reality of what you'll do to other people. You only see how it will be better for everyone if you're not around and for you."
A few days later, however, Dianna persuaded her doctor to allow her to work, and she was out of the hospital and back at her job.
"That is the very, very wrong thing to do," she said. "I was very, very sorry and remorseful, but I didn't deal with anything else."
Because she was not committed, Dianna did not lose her medical license. She is quick to say she never took pain medications while on duty.
"I would never, ever do that," she said.
Even more driven to make her career work despite the pain, Dianna shut down most other activities.
"I couldn't function outside of work," she said. "I worked that's it. There was no me. I didn't even go out of the house for dinner on my days off, because of the pain. The depression came from the pain. I became very isolated."
She acknowledged she carried many unresolved issues. Her mother died when she was 17, her father didn't want her, she was emancipated and had to support herself at 17, she was raped, she was in an abusive relationship.
"I never dealt with any of it," Dianna said. "I was a fighter. I just kept going."
Once the pain became too severe for her to physically do the job, she stopped. Then, the tsunami of empty time, lack of income, struggles with insurance companies and claims hit.
"It was the perfect storm," Dianna said. "You can't keep everything bottled up and not expect it to explode."
Dianna overdosed for a second time a year ago this month, on her mother's birthday.
"It was not a great day," she said. "It was shortly after Mother's Day, and it was not a great Mother's Day. I'd been arguing with my kids for weeks. Then, it was, 'Oh, by the way, you don't have insurance, either.' And I had just had a procedure. Everything just spiraled."
She said she couldn't take it anymore.
"I hadn't set out to do that that day," she said. "I went down to the ocean, I went to the grocery store with plans to make dinner. But it just became too much."
Again, her son found her.
Dianna moved back to Wisconsin in November and is working to find a new life. She recalls her doctor made changes to her anti-depressants right before her nephew's death, and her medications have been adjusted.
"Now, I feel better, I feel clearer," Dianna said. "The role of being a mom is better than any career or job. Being a mom is the most precious gift. My kids keep me going."
She has a fiance and enjoys time with her kids. But she's frustrated with a lack of mental health services in Manitowoc.
"If you call and say you need to talk to someone, they say, 'We can get you in in two months,'" she said. "It takes months to get in to see a counselor. You need it the same day. I got in in six weeks and was told I was lucky. They're aware of the issue of massive depression and they want to reduce the rate of suicide. Maybe if people had someone to talk to, it would reduce the rate."
She's speaking up now in hopes of helping others. And there are things family and friends can do if they suspect someone is thinking of suicide.
"Watch if they become isolated," Dianna said. "Offer to interject yourself. Don't let someone isolate themselves. Don't just offer to go and sit with them, but get them out of the house. Offer to go and pick them up. Isolation is the biggest thing people who are going to kill themselves do."
Those who are depressed or thinking of suicide should find something positive in their life to focus on, Dianna suggested.
"Focus on your kids, or your dog, whatever it is," she said. "Focus on that, and then eventually you can branch out."
Today, Dianna is coping.
"I learned a lot from what my kids had to say," she said. "My kids keep me grounded. I feel like I'm balanced now. My medication was changed, so my body is balanced. I'm not thinking off the cuff now. I know this, too, shall pass. I'm really trying."
Park University held its May 2017 Kansas City Area Commencement ceremony on May 13 at the Community of Christ Auditorium in Independence, Missouri. The university had 618 students eligible to participate in the ceremony. Among them was former Flagstaff High School student Max D. Crider, who earned a Master of Business Administration.
"Greyhound North" is Munger's fifth book in six years. The novel begins in 1962 and focuses on a 15-year-old boy, a son of wealthy parents who is completely unaware of the emerging civil rights movement. Because of a series of events that change his comfortable young life, he finds himself deeply involved in facing racial discrimination, intolerance, bigotry, segregation and lack of public school integration for the American Americans in his life.
Friday, May 26, 2017
A letter to two principals led to a published censure from the Kansas Supreme Court.
The parties in a post-divorce proceeding wanted their children to attend different schools.
The father had an order to send the children to school in McLouth; the mother wanted them in Tonganoxie.
On August 24, 2015, the respondent sent a letter to [McLouth principal] Mr. Johnson. In the letter, the respondent stated:
'This letter will serve to advise you that I represent [A.C.] concerning the enrollment of her children [] in the Tonganoxie School District. As you should know, the children, along with their mother, recently took up residence [in] Tonganoxie, Kansas 66086, which is located within the boundaries of USD 464. As a consequence of this new residence, my client has filed an application with the District court [sic] that has jurisdiction over this matter seeking to have a determination made about the district where the children will attend school moving forwards [sic]. Because my client's motion is pending, it is scheduled for a hearing on September 9, 2015, there is no order to resolve where they will be attending school. As I am sure you are aware, Kansas law provides that a student attend the school district of residency, which is why, pending a decision being made by the Court, that the children are enrolled in USD 464.'
Additionally, the respondent sent a nearly identical letter to the principal at the Tonganoxie Elementary School. The respondent acknowledged that the letters are not accurate and that a valid court order was in effect. The respondent explained that he did not carefully read the letters prior to sending them out. The respondent stated that he intended to inform the principals that a motion was pending and explain why his client was bringing the children to the Tonganoxie Elementary School.
On August 24, 2015, the father dropped the children off at the McLouth Elementary school. Prior to the start of school that day, the mother picked the children up from McLouth Elementary School and, presumably, took them to the Tonganoxie Elementary School. On August 27, 2015, the father again dropped the children off at the McLouth Elementary School. Again, the mother picked up the children from the McLouth Elementary School prior to the beginning of the school day and, presumably, took them to the Tonganoxie Elementary School.
The genesis of the bar case is described in the hearing panel report
On September 25, 2015, Judge Gary L. Nafziger filed a complaint with the disciplinary administrator's office regarding the respondent's conduct.
On November 4, 2015, the court resumed the hearing. The mother appeared with new counsel. The mother was called to testify and she testified that the respondent gave her legal advice that led her to disregard the court's order. The court concluded that the mother's violation of the court's order was induced by the respondent's legal advice.
The respondent disputes the statements made by his client which led to the court's conclusion. The respondent testified that prior to the time his client enrolled the children in school, he did not have a discussion with his client about the children's school enrollment in the Tonganoxie Elementary School. The respondent asserted that he advised his client that the court order required the children to attend school in McClouth. The respondent admitted, however, that the language of his letter confused his client.
Based on the respondent's response to the initial complaint as well as the respondent's testimony, it is clear that the respondent's client was a difficult client.
The court
In making its disciplinary determination, the court observes that the panel found respondent provided "inaccurate" information in his letters to the two principals, resulting in violations of KRPC 1.4(b) and 8.4(d). Merely providing inaccurate information can be consistent with its finding of his mental state that he "negligently" violated his duty. But the panel also found respondent violated KRPC 8.4(c) by engaging in conduct "that involved dishonesty when he falsely stated to the two principals that no court order regarding school attendance was in effect when, in fact, an order was in effect." (Emphasis added.)
Dishonest statements usually are inaccurate. But inaccuracy is not necessarily indicative of dishonesty, hence the questionable result of "negligent dishonesty." "Dishonest" has been defined as "disposed to lie, cheat, defraud or deceive." (Emphasis added.) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 378 (1981). By contrast, misrepresentationa form of misconduct that is also covered by KRPC 8.4(c)can be merely negligent. See Mahler v. Keenan Real Estate, Inc., 255 Kan. 593, 604-06, 876 P.2d 609 (1994). As the American Bar Association Standards recommend a reprimand for conduct that involves dishonesty (Standard 5.13) as well as for conduct that is negligent (Standard 6.23), this court holds that respondent should be disciplined by published censure.
The video of the oral argument is linked here. (Mike Frisch)
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/legal_profession/2017/05/a-letter-to-two-principals-led-to-a-public-reprimand-from-the-kansas-supreme-court-the-parties-in-a-post-divorce-proceeding.html
Friday, May 26, 2017
Doctor-assisted suicide remains a polarizing and difficult issue. Despite this, countries such as Belgium, Luxembourg, and Sweden have already legalized voluntary euthanasia. Last year, Canada legalized medically-assisted death. A recent story from the US, Brittany Maynard, a 29-year-old from California suffering from a brain tumor, travelled all the way to Oregon to end her life. Using social media to say her final goodbye, Maynard received an outpouring of support and sympathy from the online community.
A recent study released by the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the reason for terminal patients wanting to end their lives has more to do with psychological issues as opposed to physical suffering. Although discussions regarding assisted suicide commonly revolve around the unmitigated suffering endured by patients with diseases like cancer, this does not seem to be the primary impetus behind some individuals desire to die.
While the psychological issues are complex, many terminal individuals wanting to end their lives early share similar characteristics. These people tended to be decisive and independentin control of their lives. This attitude in life tended to correlate with a desire to control the manner in which they died.
Maynards final Facebook post expresses this idea as she wrote: Goodbye to all my dear friends and family that I love. Today is the day I have chosen to pass away with dignity in the face of my terminal illness, this terrible brain cancer that has taken so much from me but would have taken so much more.
See Ariana Eunjung Cha, Its Not Pain but Existential Distress that Leads People to Assisted Suicide, Study Suggests, The Washington Post, May 24, 2017.
Special thanks to Lewis Saret (Attorney, Washington, D.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2017/05/the-final-goodbye.html
American Rosalie Stoke is one of the millions of college students with a bright future ahead of her.
Stoke was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She studies chemical engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, also known as Virginia Tech. But the 22 year-olds path to college was very different from the majority of Americans like her.
In the United States, it is common for young people to complete four years of high school at age 17 or 18. After they finish high school in the spring, those who decide to attend college usually do so two- to three-months later.
However, Stoke learned about a different way of doing things from an older student. That student said that before going to college, she worked for a year helping with childcare for a family in Germany. This idea appealed to Stoke very much.
It just sounded like a really great idea to have a year off to figure out more of what I wanted to do in college and after, she said.
So, after finishing high school in 2013, Stoke decided she also wanted to take a gap year before starting college.
What is a gap year?
Gap years are much more common in Europe than in the United States, especially among children born to wealthy families. The British newspaper The Telegraph reported that in 2014, five percent of first-time university students in the United Kingdom chose to wait a year before starting their studies. A gap year is often a time when young people travel or work to earn more money for school.
Now, more Americans are showing an interest in the idea of a gap year. The American Gap Association offers resources and information on gap years for students and parents. The non-profit group reports that each year between 30,000 and 40,000 young people in the U.S. choose to take a gap year.
In 2016, Malia Obama, daughter of then-president Barack Obama, received a lot of media attention when she made the same choice.
Like Malia Obama, Rosalie Stoke had already been accepted for admission by her university of choice. Yet they both decided to postpone the start of their studies by a year. In fact, several U.S. colleges and universities are now urging students to delay their studies to make use of a gap year.
In fall 2013, Stoke connected with a family in Barcelona, Spain. They agreed to let her live with them and paid her a small amount to help care for their children for seven months. Stoke studied Spanish during her free time in Barcelona. She then used money she earned from a part-time job she had in high school as well as money from her parents to travel for two months.
Stoke told VOA she felt different when she returned to the United States to begin her studies at Virginia Tech in 2014. She said she felt at ease and that she knew more about herself as a person. Also, when talking with friends who went straight to college from high school, she found many had a difficult time in their first year of college. Some told her they questioned the field of study they had chosen. Others said they felt lost at the college or that they were wasting time doing things like partying.
Jennifer Powell-Lunder says these feelings are common among first-year college students. Powell-Lunder is a clinical psychologist who works mostly with young people. She says more young people are seeking admission to college than ever before. That means the level of competition is the highest it has ever been. She says young people today have to do more than ever before to be seen as successful.
"The pressure to perform and do well is unbelievable. And quite frankly, many kids crash and burn, because the pressure is just too much."
Powell-Lunder says young people still have a lot to learn about themselves at the age when they usually go off to college. Taking a gap year may help reduce some of the pressure. Having more time to think about ones decisions can help mental health in the end.
Some concerns about taking time off
However, Mandy Savitz-Romer does have some concerns about the growing interest in gap years. Savitz-Romer is a professor with the Harvard Graduate School of Education in Massachusetts. She notes that many colleges are now looking for students with more than just strong academic records. They want students with strong connections to their communities and knowledge of the rest of the world.
Gap years may provide this, she says. Yet gap years are often only a possibility for students from wealthy families.
"As they grow in popularity, they will continue to give more advantage to the students who can afford to take them. And if, in fact, admissions offices begin to see that as an advantage we have yet one more way in which therell be a widened gap in access to college."
More than just travel
But a gap year does not have to be just about spending money to travel internationally. It also does not have to be just one year.
When Steven Johnson grew up in Hammond, Indiana, his family did not have a lot of money. During high school, he got into trouble for bad behavior and fighting.
After completing his secondary education at a military school in 2009, Johnson knew he still was not ready for the demands of college. Instead, he chose to join a U.S. government-supported program called AmeriCorps.
AmeriCorps organizes groups of mostly college-aged volunteers on long-term projects around the country. These projects include things like building homes for disaster victims and improving grounds in national parks. In exchange, the program gives the volunteers money they can use toward a college education.
Normally, an AmeriCorps project lasts about 10 months. Steven Johnson worked with AmeriCorps for four years. He says the experience taught him valuable skills he needed when he began studying at Southwestern Michigan College in 2016. These skills included how to be a leader and how to work with different kinds of people.
"I had a different set of ideas than someone from upstate New York or the San Fernando Valley in California. But we all had to bring our collective heads together to work together for the betterment of the people that we were serving."
Ethan Knight created the American Gap Association in 2012. His group connects young people with and sets standards for volunteer gap year programs, such as those with AmeriCorps. He says no matter whether a gap year means a person is traveling, working or volunteering, it will likely be useful to them. His group reports that 86 percent of students who took a gap year were happier with their jobs later in life.
But a gap year is not just about postponing the difficulties of college. Knight says a gap year is only truly useful if it requires students to think about how their experiences have changed them and their ideas about the world.
"Rafting down a river, thats a good experience. Everyone will say they had a good time, but its not translated into learning until theres some sort of reflection that happens."
Knight and Savitz-Romer agree that colleges should consider gap year experiences the same way they do hard work. And students who cannot afford a gap year still learn a lot from the struggles they deal with every day.
Im Pete Musto.
And Im Alice Bryant.
Pete Musto reported this for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
We want to hear from you. How common is taking a gap year in your country? What are the most common gap year experiences? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.
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Words in This Story
resource(s) n. a place or thing that provides something useful
admission n. the act or process of accepting someone as a student at a school
crash and burn idm. come to trouble or fail greatly
academic adj. of or relating to schools and education
advantage n. something, such as a good position or condition, that helps to make someone or something better or more likely to succeed than others
afford v. to be able to pay for something
standard(s) n. a level of quality or achievement that is considered acceptable or desirable
rafting n. the activity of traveling down a river on a plastic or rubber boat that you have to fill with air in order to use
reflection n. careful thought about something
On Nov. 1, Linn Benton Food Shares warehouse in Tangent received two truckloads of food and household supplies arranged by the local branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
DARR A custom slaughter and meat processing facility centrally located in Darr has been open for nearly a year.
Busy Bones Butcher features a curing room, smokehouse, grinders and slicers to produce quality meat to a customers specifications.
Owner Kent Guthard said he chose the central Nebraska location for the convenience of customers and because of the quality of livestock raised in the area.
"We raise more premium beef than anywhere else in the world, and we dont have a locker real close," Guthard said. The business is something he has planned for many years.
Busy Bones Butcher is located on U.S. Highway 30 at 75829 Road 426, which is three miles north of Interstate 80. It was purposefully placed on a rural site near two of Nebraskas main arteries, Guthard said. He has lived just three miles north for 19 years.
"If were going to be agriculture, well be in the country," was Guthards philosophy. "Nobody likes dragging a trailer through town," he said.
"The building was built brand new, dirt underneath it and all," Guthard said, noting that an "eyesore" was torn down to ready the property for construction.
Although it was a huge investment Guthard sold a herd of cows to launch it he said he felt it was time to act.
"If we dont do it, Ill wonder what if for the rest of my life," he said.
Ease of access was taken into consideration in developing a drive-through system for trucks hauling trailers. There is no backing up required, Guthard said.
The facility was built to process up to 30 head a week, he said, but is not at that capacity yet. He said finding qualified laborers has been more difficult than attracting customers wanting meat processed.
"It is a lot of physical work, and its not for everybody," Guthard said.
Busy Bones Butcher currently has nine employees, but it took sorting through numerous applications to find them.
One key employee has worked in meat processing all of his life and brings a reputation for producing premium products along with retail experience. Four other employees came with knife skills and are being trained. Additionally, there is an employee devoted to customer service and handling paperwork.
"We are starting to grow into something," Guthard said. "Were having fun and trying to get there."
So far, Busy Bones Butcher has processed beef, pork, lamb and a handful of deer. There havent been any goats yet, but Guthard anticipates there will be requests in the future. Guthard said the meat processed onsite after slaughter is for private use and is labeled not for retail.
Guthard said Busy Bones Butcher participated in Hunters Feeding the Hungry, a program in which donated deer meat is ground for distribution through food pantries.
Busy Bones Butcher also offers meat for sale in its onsite retail store, similar to cuts of meat offered at a grocery store, including an assortment of roasts and steaks.
It also sells specialty items such as jalapeno cheddar summer sausage, chili dog brats, ham and cheese hot dogs, chili cheese hot dogs and pineapple teriyaki snack sticks.
As the business grows, Guthard would like to combine flavors and ingredients to create products that arent available on the market yet.
Guthard said customers are encouraged to call ahead if they have a large order.
Guthard said he was born and raised on a dairy farm at Litchfield and has worked in agriculture his entire life. He also farms on the side, has a herd of cows and does custom hay.
"Ive been in agriculture my whole life. I guess Im still wearing the same jeans," he said. "This is the final stage of the livestock side of it, so I put my hands on it."
After years of arranging the transport of cattle to Litchfield for processing, he said he wanted to build something closer.
Guthard said the business name was selected as a nod to a former employer. He worked for Busy B Ranch in Holdrege. Among the various names considered, Busy Bones Butcher had more meaning because of that relationship.
"Its a lot more personal," Guthard said of what the business offers. "Were family owned, not corporate."
Busy Bones Butcher is open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays. It is closed Sundays.
KEARNEY A Kearney Police Department officer fired three times at a car, once hitting the driver in the torso, after contacting the vehicle Sunday night in southeast Kearney, according to the first official account of the event.
WASHINGTON Health insurance premiums nearly tripled in Arizona between 2013 and 2017, the fourth-biggest increase among the 39 states that participated in healthcare.gov, according to new data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
Arizonas 190 percent increase meant a monthly premium increase of about $400 to a consumer in the state, to $611, under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare. The average monthly increase for all marketplace states was 105 percent, or $244, according to the HHS numbers released this week.
The report does not mention the tax credits that many low- and middle-income consumers received under Obamacare, which made the coverage affordable for many.
But Republicans, whose plan to replace Obamacare took a harsh hit in a Congressional Budget Office assessment released Wednesday, quickly seized on the HHS numbers to support what they say is the urgent need to replace the Affordable Care Act.
This is exactly why we are on a rescue mission, said House Speaker Paul Ryan, waving a copy of the report during a news conference Thursday. Between premiums surging up and choices going away, Obamacare is on an unsustainable path.
But Democrats said Republicans were merely looking for cover for their plan, the American Health Care Act, after the CBO report that said the GOP proposal would cause up to 23 million people to lose coverage, 18 million in 2018 alone. The CBO also said the impact would be disproportionately larger among older people with lower income. (About 400,000 would lose coverage in Arizona.)
I think the CBO score was pretty devastating to their proposal and so whatever justification theyre coming up with, its too late and weak, Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, said Thursday. If the CBO score would have gone before we took the vote, it wouldnt have passed.
The HHS report shows that premiums have increased significantly since the ACAs key provisions took effect in 2013, when increased regulations and insurance requirements in the individual market were expected to spark increases.
New Jersey had the lowest increase over the four-year period, at just 12 percent, while Alabamas 222 percent premium hike was the highest. Overall, 16 states saw increases below the national average of 105 percent, 20 states were between 105 and 200 percent and three states saw premiums rise more than 200 percent, according to HHS.
The bulk of Arizonas 190 percent increase came in the last year, when the state led the nation with an increase of 116 percent a number frequently cited by President Donald Trump when criticizing the ACA. But Obamacare backers said the jumps were likely a correction to premiums that were too low as insurers competed for customers in the early days of the law.
Healthcare providers, like Arizona Blue Cross Blue Shield and United Healthcare, also cut back their presence or left the Arizona marketplace entirely in 2017 following financial losses, reducing options for those seeking coverage.
The report shows whats been the case with Obamacare all along: Arizonans paying drastically higher premiums for fewer options, said Patrick Ptak, a spokesman for Gov. Doug Ducey.
The governor supports replacement that improves health care for Arizonans while ensuring no one has the rug pulled out from under them, Ptak said Thursday. He will continue to work with members of the delegation and the administration toward that goal.
Critics of the Affordable Care Act said the HHS report proves what they have been saying from the beginning, that Obamacare was flawed and unsustainable.
President Obama had promised the American people that their family premiums would on average go down by $2,500, and according to the study out of HHS of the people on those federal exchanges, the average (family) premium is up $3,000, said Sally Pipes, the president of the Pacific Research Institute.
The House passed the GOP plan on a 217-213 vote May 4, despite objections from Democrats that the bill was being rushed through. The Senate has yet to act on the bill, but senators have indicated that they will likely develop their own plan rather than build on the House version.
But Grijalva said the Republican cure is worse than any Obamacare problems, as it would kick people off their coverage and cripple rural hospitals in Arizona and health facilities.
Their mission is to provide education and support to other families
LEXINGTON What started out as a personal tragedy for three Nebraska mothers has grown into a mission to educate, comfort and support others.
The non-profit organization HeartBeatz was formed by three moms Heather Larson, Alma Hayman and Liz Bulgrin who share the gut-wrenching, yet unbreakable bond of having had children born with congenital heart defects.
Heather Larson, of Overton, said the groups mission is to provide support to "heart families" through education and to raise awareness for congenital heart defects.
Supporting one another
The organization HeartBeatz, established in January 2015, was selected as this years non-profit beneficiary for the Lexington Clipper-Heralds 9th Annual Red and Wild event held April 27.
Larson, Hayman and Bulgrin met each other while their children were patients at Childrens Hospital and Medical Center in Omaha.
"We were blessed to find friendship in the midst of our childrens journey with congenital heart defects," said Larson.
Larson said when the three children passed in 2014, all three mothers were fortunate to have each other for support.
"I was fortunate," Larson said reflecting on her experience. "Although there were ups and downs, our family always felt supported by family, friends and our community, which made each day a little brighter. I want to return the favor to other families so they feel supported."
A statement from the groups web site reads: "Weve been there, and we thrive from sharing stories and resources that help other families on their CHD journey. It is also wonderful to see childrens faces light up when they know how much they are loved and how people they have never met have gone through the same thing and support them."
"We are helping advocate everyday by providing educational resources for families, providing funds for research grants, staying in touch with Legislature and creating awareness for CHD. Together we will form an army and conquer CHD one day," the statement continues.
Making partnerships
HeartBeatz has partnered with Beads of Courage to provide children with CHD a bead for their journey. The Beads of Courage Program allows children to tell their story using colorful beads, beginning with their name, as meaningful symbols of courage that commemorate milestones they have achieved along their unique treatment plan. "This bead (for CHD) is a symbol of strength, hope and unity. It is a reminder that we are all together and fighting the same fight," said Larson.
In another program, HeartBeatz provides Journey Bags for families at the hospital. The bags may contain notes of encouragement, CHD educational materials, gift cards, a journal, coloring books, toys, hygiene products, a hat from Beanies for Babies and blankets. Most of the items are donated by local churches and sponsorships. It costs $40 to sponsor a journey bag, and in February of every year HeartBeatz accepts item donations to fill the bags.
HeartBeatz provides funds for research through national and local research programs.
Larson said "because of research, children and adults with CHD have advanced medical options for treatment."
Fun family days are provided by HeartBeatz in partnership with The Omaha Storm Chasers.
Statistics of CHD
Health statistics show that CHD affects 1 in 100 babies in the United States. It is the most common birth defect.
Approximately 40,000 children are born with a heart defect in the United States each year.
Nearly 1.4 million U.S. adults are living with a CHD.
Advocating for children
In 2016, HeartBeatz worked with partners to revise a Nebraska bill, written in 1972, regarding the birth defect registry.
The bill was introduced for study to the senate in May of 2017 and hopefully will be up for vote in 2018, Larson said.
Key points of LR 169 include redefining birth defects to include those recommended by the National Birth Defect Prevention Network and those identified by the Nebraska newborn screening panel and expansion of the list of required reporters to include laboratories and health care providers, other than those present at birth, to ensure more complete reporting.
The bill would also allow the release of registry information by the Department to health care providers overseeing the care of infants and children reported to the registry to ensure optimal support and referral to early intervention and support services for affected families.
There is a provision to promulgate regulations so that the registry can adapt to new problems, scientific innovations and practice patterns without necessitating statutory changes.
The proposed bill would also seek the establishment of an account to accept support from donors, benefactors and grant providers to enhance surveillance, analysis and reporting of birth defects in the Nebraska population and register through the lifespan of the child.
Larson said advocating for better legislation was an area that was of vital importance.
"HeartBeatz goes to legislation so families that are on their CHD journey can advocate for their child in the now and know that there is someone behind the scenes advocating for them," she said.
Inspiration
A poem titled "Tres Amigos" serves as inspiration for Larson in her life journey to support families with children with CHD.
Tres Amigos
In 2013, three beautiful children arrived in this world.
They each had very unique little hearts, which is what brought them to Childrens Hospital & Medical Center in Omaha.
These three little miracles brought together three families and changed our lives forever. Mia, Ethan and Rogue each fought so hard and brought so much joy to everyone who knew them.
They taught us how to be patient, be brave, and enjoy life in ways we never would have imagined.
Their lives were short, but they left a big impact on so many.
For more information on HeartBeatz visit the groups web site, http://www.heartbeatz.org/
PHOENIX The lobbyist at the center of a bribery indictment is denying he's guilty of anything, with his attorney suggesting there's a hidden motive behind the allegations.
In a prepared statement, Jim Norton said he is innocent of the eight charges and is confident these allegations will be shown to be without merit.
Attorney Ivan Mathew went a step farther, raising questions about the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator who apparently gave prosecutors information linking Norton, former utility regulator Gary Pierce, Pierce's wife Sherry and George H. Johnson, the manager of Johnson Utilities.
The motivation behind these allegations will become transparent when the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator is revealed, Mathew said in his own statement. A spokesman for both Norton and Mathew said they would provide no further information or explanations behind Norton's activities outlined in the indictment.
Separately the attorney for Pierce and his wife said the indictment should be seen for what it is: simply the government using the facts it wants to tell what it thinks happened.
I have seen the indictment and have had access to some other information that the government possesses, said Tom Henze. What I see is a picture that has two sides.
He said the couple will tell their side of the story but not now.
The time or the place is not in the media, Henze said.
Henze said he, too, thinks that the identity of the unindicted co-conspirator, when that is unmasked, will help the public better understand what's behind the charges.
I think it's obvious, he said.
Meanwhile, Democrat gubernatorial hopeful David Garcia is hoping to score points by demanding incumbent Gov. Doug Ducey disclose all ties he has had with Norton as well as Johnson who, aside from owning a water and sewer company, also is a developer.
Records obtained by Capitol Media Services show that Norton has given Ducey $9,000 for both his initial gubernatorial run in 2014 as well as helping finance his 2018 re-election campaign.
He's known Jim since college, said Ducey press aide Daniel Scarpinato. But Scarpinato said that, campaign donations notwithstanding, there is no real ongoing relationship between the governor and the lobbyist.
In terms of currently, the governor's really an outsider to the Capitol and to politics, he said. He doesn't really spend time with lobbyists, inside or outside of the Capitol.
And Scarpinato said Ducey typically doesn't take meetings with lobbyists, saying he leaves those to his staff.
Scarpinato said he does not know if or when Ducey and Norton have chatted.
But it doesn't appear they've formally met in the office, he said.
Scarpinato said he is not aware of any contacts or meetings between the governor and Johnson.
In a separate development, an attorney for Johnson on Friday filed a legal notice with the Arizona Corporation Commission saying he has removed himself from all management of the utility effective immediately in order to devote his time to defending himself until he is cleared of the recent charges.
That filing comes in an open docket that Johnson Utilities has used in the past when it seeks rate adjustments.
It was a prior effort by Johnson to get higher rates that, according to the indictment, led to the actions that resulted in bribery charges.
That starts with a 2010 decision by the five-member panel to deny a request by Johnson Utilities for a rate hike request. Part of that included Johnson to pass on to customers the taxes he has to pay from the income he received from the company.
A year later though, Pierce along with two other commissioners voted to increase the value of the company, a move that allowed it to collect more from customers. One commissioner abstained; the other said there was a lack of new evidence or information to overturn the earlier ruling.
Then in 2012 Pierce crafted a draft policy allowing the owners of companies like Johnson Utilities to recover personal income taxes through rates. That change was approved in 2013.
The indictment says that beginning in 2011, Johnson, working with Norton, provided $31,500 to Pierce and his wife in exchange for favorable and unlawful official actions on matters before the Arizona Corporation Commission.
One piece of information missing from the indictment is the identity of that unindicted co-conspirator.
According to the legal papers, it was that person, acting under the direction of Johnson and Norton, to have Sherry Pierce submit monthly invoices for approximately $3,500 for what the indictment calls simple tasks. The source of the money was Johnson, funneled through the consulting firm of the unindicted co-conspirator to Sherry Pierce.
Campaign finance reports show Johnson gave $4,000 to Ducey's election bid.
SCOTTSDALE Dr. Amit Shah smiles as he demonstrates the new technology at the Mayo Clinics new medical school campus in Scottsdale.
There is no center stage in the middle, (with) just a person beaming down information at you, as many of us unfortunately learned in medicine, he said.
Shah, the schools associate dean for faculty affairs, shows off classrooms armed with big-screen monitors and simulated office settings equipped with cameras so teachers can watch and provide feedback to the students.
The school plans to open in July. A spokeswoman said more than 3,000 students applied, but the school only accepted 50 students. The campus will serve as a sister school to the companys location in Rochester, Minnesota.
Shah said the school will provide a new way to learn the practice of medicine.
Youre not smart anymore as a physician because you know some small detailed fact, Shah said. Youre great as a physician if you know how to communicate to patients, to work in teams and how to access information.
The medical school will feature cadaver labs set up with touch-screen technology. A monitor, the size of a human, mimics a body on a table and allows students to interact with it. And the campus includes a student lounge with a ping-pong table so students can de-stress.
In a 2016 job report, health care was one of the fastest-growing job sectors in Arizona. However, experts said the state needs more doctors.
Arizona ranked 34th in active medical physicians per 100,000 residents, illustrating the states doctor shortage, according to a November 2015 study by the Association for American Medical Colleges.
Matthew Benson, a spokesman for the Arizona Hospital and Health Care Association, said keeping doctors within Arizona is extremely important.
That is a long standing problem, he said. Getting the individuals who train here, who go to medical school here, to stay here.
Shah said he hopes adding a medical school at the Mayo Clinic could help ease that shortage.
Because were in Phoenix, you have lots of opportunities to be involved in patient care, he said. Your clinical training is not just at Mayo Clinic, we have partnerships.
Students in the program also can earn a masters degree from Arizona State University in health care delivery, which trains students to create doctor, patient bonds.
JEROME A Jerome man convicted of murdering his wife wont get the new trial he was granted on appeal two years ago, the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled.
In 1985, Jaimi Dean Charboneau, then 25, was convicted of shooting his ex-wife 16 times with a rifle. Charboneau was initially sentenced to death and resentenced in 1989 to life in prison without parole for the death of 36-year-old Marilyn Arbaugh.
In 2015, a judge granted Charboneau a new trial after a letter purported to be written by one of the victims daughters and another by a former Jerome County sheriff were discovered. District Judge Robert Elgee said then that the letters showed evidence of misconduct by state authorities and should be admitted as evidence, and granting a new trial was the only way for justice to be served.
But in its ruling released Friday, the Supreme Court said the letter from the victims daughter, Tira Arbaugh, was too contradictory to be considered and also addressed the same arguments made during Charboneaus third appeal.
He cannot raise the same issue over 13 years later based upon the same statements by Tira in a different form, the courts opinion said.
At issue was whether Tira Arbaugh had recanted testimony she gave at the original trial. In his third appeal, filed in 2002, Charboneau used testimony from his mother to try to prove Tira recanted her trial testimony. In his fifth appeal, filed in 2011, he instead used a mysterious letter attributed to Tira that was allegedly hidden from him for decades.
But aside from the court finding that Charboneau was making the same argument again, it also found that the so-called Tira Letter was too contradictory it was inconsistent with Charboneaus own incriminating testimony and doesnt match up with forensic evidence like the autopsy. The Tira Letter says Tiffnie Arbaugh shot her mother in the head with a pistol, but the autopsy shows Marilyn Arbaugh was hit by at least 15 bullets but that she had not been shot in the head.
Charboneau admitted shooting at Marilyn with the Remington rifle while she was unarmed and running away from him; he admitted that he wounded her after which she was sitting on the ground; and he admitted that he had sole control of the Remington rifle from the time that he shot at her to the time that he threw it into the wheat field, the court said. The forensic evidence showed that she was shot at least fourteen times with that rifle; that she was shot one additional time probably with that rifle; that she was hit by three bullets coming from her rear; that the killing shots hit her in the upper chest; and that she was not shot either in her head or with a .22 pistol as Charboneau claimed.
The court also ruled a letter from Larry Gold, the former sheriff, is inadmissible hearsay and other documents in the case are forgeries. The letter from Gold purported to show that the sheriffs office knew about the Tira Letter in 1989 and instructed prison officials to keep it from reaching Charboneau.
Both Tira Arbaugh and Gold died before the 2011 appeal.
The murder case will be sent back to district court where a judge will likely dismiss Charboneaus appeal.
The Idaho Attorney Generals Office, which argued for the Supreme Court to overturn the new trial, declined to comment Friday. Charboneaus attorney from the Idaho State Appellate Public Defenders Office was not available Friday.
But Brian Tanner, the Twin Falls attorney who helped Charboneau win his appeal in 2015, said he was deeply disappointed in the Supreme Courts bad decision.
I dont think they understood what the case was about, Tanner said. I thought this case deserved a lot more attention than it was given.
Tanner said the main issue should have been whether the state committed a Brady violation by willfully withholding evidence from Charboneau that would have helped his defense.
I think the whole impetus for us was the Brady violation Judge Elgee stated clearly this was about the integrity of the legal system, Tanner said.
But the Supreme Court ruling made too few references to Elgees decision, Tanner said, and started out problematically by calling Charboneau a murderer in the very first sentence.
The most disappointing thing to me was saying he was a murderer, Tanner said. The courts obligation under Brady was to decide if the actions of the state withholding evidence was problematic.
The court did address the Brady allegations on page 18 of its 20 page ruling.
There is no showing that the prosecutors in Charboneaus case or others acting on the States behalf in the case, whether law enforcement or the investigator, knew of the Tira Letter, the court ruled.
Tanner also called into question whether the outcome might have been different if Charboneau hadnt been arrested just months after his release from prison.
Rhonda Arbaugh, the victims sister-in-law, didnt immediately return a message Friday night, but her family has repeatedly said they believe the Tira Letter is forged, and in a 2015 Times-News reader comment Rhonda Arbaugh wrote Charboneau terrorized Marilyn Arbaugh and her two daughters.
Early last year, Charboneau was charged with assaulting a Star woman after she reported to police he was hiding in her closet and threatened her with a gun. He was charged in Ada County with burglary and aggravated assault, both of which are felonies. That case is set for trial starting Oct. 23.
Cassia County
Felony sentencings
David Juarez; felony driving under the influence (second offense violation in 15 years), guilty, $290.50 costs, five years drivers license suspended, three years determinate time, seven years indeterminate time, four days credited, retained jurisdiction, penitentiary suspended, disposition withheld.
Adam Ray Shope; felony possession of controlled substance, disposition withheld.
Felony dismissal
Marco A. Garcia-Garcia; Two counts felony battery aggravated by use of a deadly weapon or instrument, dismissed on motion of prosecutor.
Driving under the influence sentencings
Brandon J. Kendall; misdemeanor driving under the influence, guilty, $300 fine, $202.50 costs, $300 restitution, 90 days drivers license suspended, 12 months drivers license suspended, 120 days jail, 118 days suspended, two days credited; misdemeanor possession of controlled substance, dismissed on motion of prosecutor, $300 restitution.
Alejandra Gonzalez; misdemeanor driving under the influence (second offense), guilty, $200 fine, $202.50 costs, 365 days drivers license suspended, 24 months probation, 365 days jail, 355 days suspended, one day credited, nine days must be served before August 1, 2017; misdemeanor driving without privileges, dismissed on motion of prosecutor.
Maria Rebecca Palacios; misdemeanor driving under the influence, guilty, $300 fine, $202.50 costs, 60 days jail, one day credited, must report to jail May 31, 2017 at 9 a.m. to serve 59 days; misdemeanor accidentleaving the scene or failing to stop for damages, guilty, 60 days jail, 60 days jail, one day credited.
TWIN FALLS One man is dead and another is in custody after an apparent shooting on Addison Avenue West.
Police initially responded to a call about a disturbance at a residence about 6:45 p.m., city spokesman Joshua Palmer said.
A Times-News reporter witnessed the first police to arrive on scene administering CPR to a man bleeding from his upper body outside 146 Addison Ave. W., just west of Washington Street North and next to the entrance to the Creekside Court trailer park.
After about 10 minutes of performing CPR, police and paramedics stopped working on the man and covered his body with a sheet.
Police were questioning the suspect Friday evening and authorities didnt immediately release the name of either the victim or suspect or whether they knew each other. However, Palmer said there isnt believed to be any danger to the public.
Were not searching for anybody else right now, he said.
Palmer wouldnt confirm how the man died. However, one neighbor reported hearing a gunshot.
At least five police vehicles raced to the scene with lights flashing and sirens blaring. Magic Valley Paramedics and personnel from the Twin Falls Fire Department arrived after police.
As several officers worked to save the man, others began speaking with those crowded around the home.
After draping the body with a sheet, officers spread out to begin interviewing witnesses and taped off the area in front of the house. City and state police amd the county sheriffs and coroners office responded to the scene. Authorities were still there more than two hours later.
TWIN FALLS A 38-year-old Twin Falls man has been identified as the victim of a deadly shooting the night of May 26 outside a home near the busy intersection of Addison Avenue West and Washington Street North.
William Newton Scott died just before 7 p.m. in what authorities are describing as a homicide, Twin Falls County Coroner Gene Turley said. Scotts body was being brought back to Twin Falls about noon May 27 after undergoing a morning autopsy in Boise.
Billy Duane Johnson, 45, of Twin Falls is being held on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm while police investigate the shooting, city spokesman Joshua Palmer said.
Police initially responded to a call about a disturbance about 6:45 p.m. at 146 Addison Ave. W., Palmer said. The home sits just feet back from the busy street near the entrance to the Creekside Court trailer park, just west of Washington Street North.
A Times-News reporter witnessed the first officers to arrive at the scene administering CPR to Scott, who appeared to be bleeding from his upper body. Paramedics arrived and joined in the unsuccessful life-saving efforts. After about 10 minutes, the officers and paramedics stopped and placed a white sheet over Scotts body.
Police were questioning the suspect Friday evening and though they didnt immediately release the name of a suspect, Twin Falls City spokesman Joshua Palmer said there wasnt believed to be any danger to the public.
Were not searching for anybody else right now, he said May 26.
City and state police and the county sheriffs and coroners office responded to the scene, where Scott died in plain view of the busy street. Police were on scene until after midnight, Palmer said.
The homicide is believed to be the first in Twin Falls in more than nine months, since 20-year-old Anessia Shaye Winterholer was found strangled to death last Aug. 21 in the basement of a Twin Falls home.
TWIN FALLS Three-year-old Josiah Baker is a victim of shaken-baby syndrome and suffers from permanent brain damage and developmental delays. Rodney Wodskow, 61, also struggles with a brain disorder.
The two have another thing in common a therapy horse named Chester.
Chester is one of 12 therapy horses used by Rising Stars Therapeutic Riding Center at Stargazer Ranch south of Twin Falls to change the lives of people with special needs. But more therapy horses are needed for the 90 clients the riding center serves.
Some 2,000 miles away, LexLin Gypsy Ranch breeds Gypsy Vanner horses in Rockwood, Tenn., and has donated 45 Vanners to equine therapy centers since 2009 in its annual Gypsy Gift contest to spread the awareness of the breed as therapy horses.
Rising Stars is well on its way to win one of 20 gift horses offered this year by LexLin Gypsy Ranch. As of Friday, Rising Stars was No. 16 out of nearly 80 competing facilities. The top 20 facilities will each win a Gypsy Vanner therapy horse.
We love seeing the impact this amazing breed has in therapy programs, said Suzy Brown, with the ranchs Gypsy Gift Program. Theyre perfectly suited for the work with their size and temperaments.
Vanner horses, bred by Gypsies after World War II to pull caravans, are known for their short, muscular bodies and calm disposition.
There is something about the movement of horses that mimics human movement, said Bob Rynbrand, a long-time volunteer with Rising Stars. Rynbrand works with riders three days each week. Horses do the work and the riders benefit from the movement.
Coleen Mullinix, Wodskows case manager, said Wodskow used to walk with a cane, but riding therapy horses has strengthened his body core and improved his balance to the point he doesnt need the cane anymore.
It used to take four people to hold Wodskow on a horse, he said Thursday as he waited his turn to ride Chester. Now I ride by myself.
Meanwhile, Josiahs adoptive mother, Tina Baker, and Rising Stars founder and Director Marni Porath were discussing how to fit a cowboy hat over a riding helmet.
The Baker family took Josiah in at four months old. Doctors told them he would likely be a vegetable and would never walk, Tina Baker said.
Josiahs basic motor skills were very limited when he started horse therapy.
He could barely sit up on his own, she said. Now after a year on a horse, he can sit on the floor for an hour at a time. He has really improved and he is going to walk perhaps with the help of a Gypsy Vanner therapy horse.
Chris Dickard, a volunteer and board member with Rising Stars, said its been a dream of the facility to own a Gypsy Vanner.
Our goal is to reach beyond the reins of limitations, Dickard wrote in nominating Rising Stars for the contest. Rising Stars is a place where miracles happen.There is something about the movement of horses that mimics human movement. Horses do the work and the riders benefit from the movement. Bob Rynbrand, a long-time volunteer with Rising Stars Therapeutic Riding Center
There is something about the movement of horses that mimics human movement. Horses do the work and the riders benefit from the movement. Bob Rynbrand, a long-time volunteer with Rising Stars Therapeutic Riding Center
PHOENIX (AP) State officials report traffic delays on northbound Interstate 17 as drivers heading for northern Arizona depart the Phoenix area for the Memorial Day weekend.
The Department of Transportation reported delays midday Saturday on about 15 miles of I-17 north of Anthem on the metro area's northern outskirts and lighter slowing near Sunset Point.
Clear conditions are reported the rest of the way to Flagstaff.
9 p.m. Friday: Backup on I-17 northbound out of the Valley has largely cleared
PHOENIX A backup on Interstate 17 northbound that persisted for much of the afternoon has largely cleared, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.
A vehicle fire that briefly closed the freeway near Sunset Point Rest Area, combined with holiday traffic heading north from the Valley, resulted in heavy slowing that at its height extended 20 miles to Anthem.
5 p.m. Friday: Vehicle fire causes northbound I-17 backup at Sunset Point
Northbound drivers on I-17 heading out of Phoenix for the holiday weekend didnt have to worry about exceeding the reduced 55 mph speed limits on the switchbacks below Sunset Point.
Thats because traffic was slowed to a crawl Friday after a vehicle fire temporarily closed the roadway near the rest area, causing a 15-mile northbound backup as of 4:15 p.m. all the way down to New River.
The Arizona Department of Transportation had just installed temporary signs and message boards earlier in the day reducing the speed limit on that stretch of northbound I-17 by 10 mph.
The same will be done Monday for southbound lanes between Sunset Point and New River.
An ADOT study found that law enforcement officers cited speed too fast for conditions in more than 40 percent of I-17 crashes that occurred in the Black Canyon City region between 2011 and 2015.
A $1.1 million safety project underway in this stretch of I-17 is adding overhead message boards alerting drivers to traffic conditions ahead and electronic signs alerting drivers to their speed. The sign installations will be completed later this summer.
Gov. Otter has been criticized by some for his veto on the bill to repeal the Idaho grocery tax. In my opinion, these folks might be a little shortsighted.
The governor vetoed the bill even though he knew he would receive some flak. Isnt it possible that he thought out what the consequences would be if he signed the bill? Where would the replacement money for the grocery tax come from? Youre right, it would come from the Idaho taxpayers in some other way, shape or form.
Possibly the proponents of eliminating the grocery tax would want to legalize and tax marijuana sales. If there were a few more backbones in the Legislature (or less lobbyist) they could pass a bill requiring sales tax on online purchases. This might even help local businesses to survive.
Currently we get a tax credit of $100 for each exemption. Therefore, a family of four gets their grocery tax refunded on the first $6,600 spent on groceries each year.
Think of the revenue Idaho would lose from outof-state hunters, fishermen, tourists, and those who own or rent properties in our resort areas (Sun Valley, Island Park, McCall, Salmon River, Coeur dAlene, Sandpoint, etc.). As an example, look at the Utah vehicles in Island Park. Go into a store in these resort areas and you will see these visitors buying a lot of groceries. Do we really want to give them a tax freebie at our expense? If we do, the resident taxpayer will not only have to make up for our lost grocery tax, but also the tax paid by out-of-state visitors.
Maybe, just maybe the Legislature didnt do their homework quite as well as the governor did. Isnt that a possibility?
Keith Broeder
Twin Falls
Average rents for units of almost all sizes in Flagstaff have increased in the past year, according to a study conducted by Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, which examined 46 market rate apartment complexes as well as 10 income-restricted complexes in the city.
Devonna McLaughlin, the executive director for Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, said despite increasing rental prices, the fair market price, as determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), has actually decreased in Flagstaff since last year, increasing the gap between the amount covered by assistance and the actual cost of renting an apartment in the city.
HUDs determination for a fair market price also includes the rest of the county, McLaughlin said, where renting and buying homes can be much cheaper than in Flagstaff, which is why the fair market price decreased, she said.
We are trying to raise awareness of the disconnect, McLaughlin said. So many assistance programs are based on HUDs fair market rent. Real folks are impacted.
TRYING TO MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE
Locally, the Flagstaff Housing Authority does have waivers for assistance to go above fair market rents, but even that does not fully compensate for the gap, McLaughlin said. The assistance coverage also includes utilities in the fair market rent calculation, when most apartments do not include all utilities in the base cost, meaning a person receiving assistance, which is meant to cover rent and utilities, will still have to pay the difference in rent, plus utilities, McLaughlin said.
For example, the Housing Solutions survey said a one-bedroom apartment averages $1,161 in monthly rent in the city. According to the citys Section 8 housing program, the payment standard for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,002 without utilities. The fair market rent of a one-bedroom, as determined by HUD, is $835, including utilities.
According to the survey, the average cost for a two-bedroom unit in the city is $1,427, as compared to the fair market price of $1,037. The cost for a three-bedroom unit is $1,717 vs. a fair market price of $1,309.
Purchasing a home is often out of reach for people renting in the city because of down payments and credit scores. But if they do not make enough to even pay rent, including deposits, people are left scrambling, McLaughlin said.
What other option do they have? McLaughlin said. If you cant afford to buy, then you have to rent, and if youre priced out of the rental market, then you start making do. You might start paying too much for housing as compared to your income, or have to look at shared living. My heart breaks for families who have to make those decisions.
According to the survey, there were about 475 people on Section 8 waitlists in the city for market rate apartments, and approximately 788 people on waitlists for income-restricted apartments in the city.
CREATING EMPIRICAL DATA
McLaughlin said Housing Solutions began the survey three years ago as a way to quantify what the rental market looks like in the city. Before the survey, which was administered in February and March, anecdotal data showed a steep increase in rents over time, but there were no hard numbers to use as evidence of gaps between federal assistance, rental costs and availability.
This year, the survey also began to ask about deposits required to secure a rental, but McLaughlin said the question was not asked consistently enough to get quantifiable data for this years results.
We want to look at all the barriers to renting to get a broad picture of whats happening, she said.
Amy Smith Montoya, a managing partner of Bella Investment Group, said the survey represents a point in time in the rental market, but does not necessarily show the nuances that come with renting in a city that hosts a university.
Flagstaff is like two different markets, because the west and east sides are very different, Smith Montoya said, adding that students often do not want to live on the east side of the city, even though the distance to Northern Arizona University might be the same.
Bella manages eight apartment communities in the city, with four on the east side and four on the west side. In the first quarter of 2017, Smith Montoya said, the east side communities had about a 92 or 93 percent occupancy, meaning there was space for immediate move-in.
SUMMER IS BEST TIME TO RENT
Apartments tend to be full during February and March, Smith Montoya said, and because students are still in their units at that time of year, rents on new leases during those months tend to be higher because of lower supply. Many apartments use revenue management systems that evaluate about 220 different factors, including availability, amenities and prospect inquiries, to determine suggested rents at a given time, she said.
For the locals, they will probably do the best on rent if they are looking to move in during May or June, she said. It helps to be a little knowledgeable in your rental search.
As far as the west side properties are concerned, Smith Montoya said many of the people on the waiting list are students looking to move in around August. She said she would like to see more data about how many people are waiting for immediate move-in versus how many are trying to secure a spot for the next school year.
Bella sets aside 10 percent of its units for vouchers from HUD, as well as Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH), Smith Montoya said. However, the choice is up to property owners, and Smith Montoya said many others opt out because it can represent a significant decrease in the propertys value.
For a 200-unit community that allows 10 percent HUD or VASH vouchers at an average of $175 below market, the property would forgo $42,000 in annual income, Smith Montoya said in an email. While that amount of cash flow may not sound like a huge number, it translates into just under a million dollars in value.
NEED TO BALANCE SUPPLY, DEMAND
Smith Montoya, who also serves as the chairwoman of the board of directors for the Arizona Multihousing Association, said the housing business across the country has seen similar problems, which include a lack of supply driving the prices up.
In a healthy market, it would take about a year for a new development to fill up, Smith Montoya said. However, she has heard of new apartment complexes in the city filling up in less than a third of that time.
If we built enough to slow the absorption rate, those of us with older properties would have to lower rents or invest in rehab or the addition of amenities to make them more competitive, she said.
The solution, however, will not be as simple as just building more housing, even though adding supply will be a big piece of the puzzle, she said.
The city and the community will have to be more welcoming to development, and that can be moderate development, she said. We also have to welcome more businesses that provide higher wages, because without that the locals dont have the opportunity to earn more.
Smith Montoya has been involved with many of the discussions and community meetings regarding student housing and high occupancy housing, and she said the city, community and federal programs will have to work together to overcome the problem of unaffordability.
The citys been doing a good job of opening dialogue, but Im not sure if weve seen some hard suggestions, she said. Its been a two-year dialogue and while we are making some progress, were still dialoguing.
Government troops head back to the site as they battle Muslim militants who lay siege in Marawi in southern Philippines Thursday, May 25, 2017. Army tanks packed with soldiers rolled into a southern Philippine city Thursday to try to restore control after ISIS-linked militants launched a violent siege that sent thousands of people fleeing for their lives and raised fears of extremists gaining traction in the country. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
The Washington Times
The White House on Thursday condemned cowardly Islamic State terrorists who have seized Christian hostages and overrun a large city in the Philippines in a firefight with the Filipino army.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the U.S. will continue to provide support and assistance to Philippine counterterrorism efforts.
The United States condemns the recent violence perpetrated by an ISIS-linked terrorist group in the southern Philippines, he said. These cowardly terrorists killed Philippine law enforcement officials and endangered the lives of innocent citizens.
Mr. Spicer said the Trump administration will continue to work with the Philippines to address shared threats to the peace and security of our countries.
Philippine army tanks have rolled into the southern city of Marawi in an effort to repel the Islamist insurgents. At least 21 people have been killed in the fighting, and thousands have evacuated the city.
The terrorists have raised the black flag of the Islamic State over the city and seized more than a dozen Catholic hostages.
China will rebuild the Gabonese National Assembly headquarters destroyed during post-electoral violence in the central African nation.
Local media indicated that Chinese authorities have agreed to rebuild the parliament during a meeting held between President Ali Bongo Ondimba and Ji Bingxuan, vice-president of the standing committee of the National Peoples Congress of China.
Demonstrators, loyal to opposition leader Jean Ping, set ablaze the parliament edifice during post-election crisis last August.
Ping who lost the August 2016 poll by less than 6,000 votes still holds himself out as the duly elected president of Gabon in defiance of the Constitutional Court, which upheld Bongos victory.
The Chinese official who was on a two-day visit in Gabon, hailed the deep-rooted friendship and fruitful cooperation in multiple areas between China and Gabon.
He discussed trade-related topics, infrastructure, cooperation and investment with President Ali Bongo.
The two countries have new opportunities since Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Bongo in December last year decided to lift China-Gabon relations to a comprehensive cooperative partnership, the Chinese official said.
China is willing to deepen cooperation with Gabon in the areas of resource development, infrastructure construction, agriculture, forestry, fisheries and further processing according to market rules.
Equatorial Guinea has officially joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as 14th member on Thursday, Reuters reported.
Africas third biggest oil producer applied to join the organization in January.
Equatorial Guineas joining of OPEC is a triumph. This is a proud moment for us, said the Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima on Thursday.
There has never been a more important time to stand together and it is our honor to stand with OPEC as a positive force in global energy. We will use this platform to advance the interests of all African oil and gas explorers and producers and all OPEC members.
Equatorial Guinea is one of Africas fastest-growing economies and sub-Saharan Africas third-largest oil producer. The government is trying to diversify its economy by developing its agricultural, fishing, financial services, and tourism sectors.
According to the United Nations Human Development Report, the country has the highest per capita gross domestic product in Africa, with about $37,000.
The news of Equatorial Guineas admission comes as OPEC ministers meeting in Vienna on Thursday agreed to extend a deal on production cuts for a further nine months.
Djibouti has opened the countrys latest mega port with world-class facilities and equipment on Wednesday.
The $590 million Doraleh Multipurpose Port designed by China and co-founded by Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) is one of four new ports of the tiny nation that can handle $7 billion of goods every year.
The bulk terminal of the port can handle 2 million tons of cargo a year and offers space to store 100,000 tons of fertilizer, grains and warehouses for other goods, the ports authority said in a statement.
Djibouti port is the main point of entry for goods from Asia, and also serves landlocked Ethiopia which recently opened the Chinese funded 752-km long Addis Ababa-Djibouti railway.
The port of Djibouti is a gateway to one of the fastest growing regions of the world with 30,000 ships transiting the port each year, the statement said.
Located on two of the three busiest shipping routes in the world, the port provides a strategic platform for maritime activity connecting Asia, Africa, and Europe.
The port also provides a world-class logistics platform for shipping.
With this new world-class infrastructure, Djibouti confirms its position as a major trading hub for the continent. We are proud to show the world our capacity to deliver major infrastructure projects some of the most technologically advanced on this continent, Aboubaker Omar Hadi, chairman of the Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) said at the opening ceremony.
Georgian Finance Minister, Chinese Vice Premier agree to boost trade, investment
The Chinese Government will encourage Chinese companies to invest in Georgia.This agreement was reached as Georgian Vice Prime Minister, Finance Minister Dimitry Kumsishvili met with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Yang in the city of Hefei in China.Kumsishvili said that large Chinese investments in Georgia are important as they create new jobs in the country and also make it possible to make full use of opportunities provided under the recently signed Georgia-China Free Trade Agreement."We asked the Chinese side to launch a new project under the One Belt One Road initiative to support Chinese private companies that will be represented in Georgia, Kumrishvili said.He named the Chinese company, the Hualing Group, as a successful example of such a collaboration between Georgia and China. The Hualing Group was named the largest investor in Georgia in 2015, with almost $600 million in USD investment capital.The pair also discussed the memorandum Kumsishvili signed in Beijing three days ago with Shanghais largest corporation, CEFC. Under the memorandum, a Chinese bank with $1 billion capital will open in Georgia to support Chinese companies do business in Georgia.The CEFC will be the second Chinese company after the Hualing Group to open a Free Industrial Zone in Georgia in the port town of Poti.Kumsishvili and Yang discussed trade issues as well and agreed that the two states will work to increase trade turnover between Georgia and China to $1 billion.Georgia is the only country in the region that has a Free Trade Agreement with China. Negotiations on this matter lasted for seven months and was concluded on May 13 when the two states signed the agreement.
Azerbaijans free trade zone to start work in 2017
Azerbaijans free trade zone (FTZ) will start to operate in 2017, Taleh Ziyadov, director general of the Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC, told reporters May 22.He made the remarks on the sidelines of the second meeting of sister ports within the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) in Baku.Ziyadov noted that Azerbaijans concept regarding the development of the Silk Road contributes to the strengthening of competitiveness and the creation of additional value of goods.For example, if a cargo container is sent to Europe, our concept is to process the cargo in the FTZ in Alat, create additional value and export further. In short, the Azerbaijani concept of the Silk Road is more innovative and aims to create added value in the non-oil sector. As for the FTZ, it will work this year, said the director general.Azerbaijans President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree March 17, 2016, on measures to create a free trade zone type special economic area covering the territory of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in the Alat township of Bakus Garadagh District.
Agriculture Minister against total ban on land sale
By Messenger Staff
Georgias Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili has stated he is against the total ban on selling agricultural lands to foreign citizens.He made the comment amidst the demands of some non-parliamentary opposition parties who proposed that the state constitution ban the sale of Georgian land to foreigners.Davitashvili says the Government has prepared a draft of changes that sets restrictions for such deals; however, the bill does not envisage imposing a complete ban.Lands will be sold to foreigners only in exceptional cases, mostly when it comes to big investments, Davitashvili stated.The draft 'scontent has been confirmed by the head of Parliaments Agriculture Committee, ex-Agriculture Minister Otar Danelia, but he did not name the amount of investment sthat will enable a foreigner to buy Georgian land.The Messenger has already touched upon the issue, as the topic is sensitive both for Georgians and those foreigners who wish to invest in the country.Each developed country refrains from selling its own land to other countries people, and the issue is generally under very strict regulations.The fact that the Government has already provided a draft over the issue means it is unlikely the Constitution will reflect the topic.Consequently, there will be no total ban on selling land to foreigners.It will be welcome if before the approval of the draft, the public had access to detailed information about the issue, as when it comes to topics like this the Government sometimes refrains from revealing details, as people may not like them.
BUILDING THE LA RAZA 'The Race' WELFARE STATE ON MIDDLE AMERICAS' BACKS: Months ago, the Biden administration publicly defended their proposal to begin providing federal identification cards to border crossers and illegal aliens who they plan to release into American communities. The goal of the proposal is to make securing public benefits easier.
Friendly Angelina enjoys meeting new dog friends on walks and playing with brave cat buddies. She would prefer a home without chickens, but loves spending time sniffing around horse pastures and going on hikes. Angelina is looking for a mature home. She recently spent time with an HSWM volunteer and enjoyed ice cream adventures, lounging in the sun and then snuggling at night. Angelina's adoption fee is waived through our Senior for Senior program for adopters 60 and up. Stop by Humane Society of Western Montana to meet this Terrier cross today, 5930 Highway 93 South in Missoula. Were open Wednesday-Friday 1-6 p.m. and Saturday-Sunday noon-5 p.m. Or visit myhswm.org.
HELENA Though it has yet to be determined when Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte will be sworn in, political experts say the misdemeanor assault charge filed against him the night before Thursday's election is unlikely to have much of an effect on the process.
Gianforte cannot be sworn in until Montana's special election results are certified by the Board of State Canvassers, which is expected to happen June 15. Gov. Steve Bullock will provide a certificate of election to Gianforte upon receipt of the board's report, said Christi Jacobsen, chief of staff for the Montana Secretary of State's Office.
Jeremy Johnson, an associate professor of political science at Carroll College in Helena, said he expects that House Republicans will want to swear in Gianforte shortly after that report is issued.
Mark Harkins, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institution at Georgetown University, said the ceremony could be delayed if Gianforte has to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on his assault charge.
Its one of those things where you have to be present to win, he said.
Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper, said Gianforte body- slammed him and broke his glasses at a campaign event Wednesday.
Audio of the event was widely distributed by national and international media that night, and a reporter from a Fox News crew in the room said Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck and slammed him to the ground. That statement differed from the one issued by the Gianforte campaign the same night, which said Jacobs had grabbed Gianforte's wrist and both ended up on the ground.
Gianforte apologized to the reporter during his victory speech Thursday night, saying, "I should not have treated that reporter in that way."
Gianforte has until June 7 to appear in Justice Court on his assault charge, and the maximum sentence for misdemeanor assault in Montana is six months in jail and a $500 fine.
According to Johnson, a Supreme Court decision prevents the House from refusing to seat anyone who has been elected to the body and meets the constitutional requirements. The Qualifications of Members Clause in Article I of the U.S. Constitution lays out those requirements, which include being 25 years old, having U.S. citizenship for seven years and being an inhabitant of the state when elected.
"They pretty much have to seat him," Johnson said.
The House does have the ability to expel members for other reasons, but a two-thirds majority vote is required.
In a 1969 case, Congress members tried to write House Rules excluding Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. from taking office because they didnt have enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority. Powell was accused of refusing to pay a court-ordered judgment, misusing travel funds and paying his wife a congressional staff salary even though she hadnt performed the work.
But the Supreme Court ruled that Congress didnt have the authority to exclude Powell for any reason other than those listed in Article I.
Harkins said the House rarely votes to expel members, and the reaction to Gianforte's assault charge make formal discipline even more unlikely.
During a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said If he wins, he has been chosen by the people of Montana, who their congressmans going to be.
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said Its not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it. Hunter himself is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly spending campaign money on family vacations, private school tuition and video games.
Harkins said Gianfortes apology to Jacobs could ease any remaining concerns from House leadership.
I think his apology goes a long way in trying to defuse the situation. The bigger issue is anger management. Hes going to have very little private space, he said.
Johnson agreed that the assault wouldnt be a big deal to members of Congress based on the severity of criminal accusations other members are facing or have faced. He said its much more likely that Gianforte will be disciplined informally, possibly by being denied his preferred committee assignments. Many politicians want to be on committees with the greatest impact to their state. For Gianforte, relevant committees might be Agriculture, Natural Resources or Small Business.
If youre not on one of those committees, thats a mark of not being favored, Johnson said.
The Washington Post reported in 2015 that 29 members of Congress had been indicted while in office since 1980. While being jailed would likely be grounds for expulsion, that has only happened five times, most recently in 2002 to Rep. Jim Traficant of Ohio. Harkins said Traficant was indicted and convicted of felony corruption, but maintained his innocence until the House voted to expel him.
Harkins said that in such cases, members are much more likely to resign, or constituents will vote out incumbents during their primary for re-election.
Usually the voters clean this up, he said. Two went to jail and then lost their primaries last year.
One was Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who initially said he would stay in Congress until his sentencing hearing in October 2016 after he was convicted of federal corruption charges, including bribery, money laundering and bank fraud. But members threatened to expel him, and he eventually resigned shortly after his conviction in July. Fattah had already lost his primary for re-election and would have been out of Congress by January.
As ballots were counted Thursday night, many political observers had one key question: Would Democrat Rob Quist make a come-from-behind victory because voters were angry over allegations that Republican Greg Gianforte physically assaulted a reporter the day before?
No, as it turns out. Gianforte secured a clear, if narrow, victory over Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks, with 50.2 percent of the vote.
The events of the last 24 hours really didnt have much of an effect on the people who voted on Election Day, Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said. I was a little surprised by that.
But an analysis of state election figures shows that Quist did receive an apparent boost in some counties from the news that his opponent had been cited for misdemeanor assault. However, it was largely negated by other counties where support for Gianforte actually grew after the incident saturated national news.
The regional differences seem to suggest that Montana voters interpreted the citation differently depending on their existing political views or apathy.
Everybody has an individual filter and assumptions, said Craig Wilson, an emeritus politics professor at Montana State University-Billings.
More than two-thirds of ballots were cast by mail in the month leading up to Election Day. On Wednesday night, a reporter approached Gianforte and asked him about health care reform in a short but testy exchange in which witnesses say the Republican grabbed the writer by or near the throat, threw him to the ground and punched him as he yelled at him.
After investigating, the Gallatin County Sheriff issued a citation for misdemeanor assault to Gianforte, who has until June 7 to appear in Justice Court, where he could face a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
News of the incident exploded on social media and dominated cable news broadcasts that evening and well into election day, with commentators wondering how it would influence decisions at the polls.
Liberal national political organizations poured money into last-minute ads in an attempt to boost Democratic turnout. They shared audio of the incident on social media and texted some potential voters with messages such as, Hi did you see Greg Gianforte attacked and choked a reporter last night? . This is crazy.
The quick turnaround producing those kinds of attack campaigns is a relatively new phenomenon, said Anthony Johnstone, a campaign finance expert at the School of Law at the University of Montana.
In this case, they were chasing after a relatively small share of the electorate that hadnt already voted and an even smaller share of that electorate that isnt so disgusted by the events that they actually want to show up to the polls on Election Day, he said.
More than $17 million poured into the 85-day contest, largely from national political organizations. Johnstone said it will be weeks before a complete tally is available and before analysts can see exactly how much went into these final campaign attacks on Gianforte.
Montana law does not allow people to change their ballot after it has been cast. Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton suggests only a sliver of Montanans sought to do so, tallying 17 calls to his offices main line. Some county election clerks told reporters they also had received inquiries.
At the polls Thursday, most voters who talked with reporters said the incident did not change their vote, although some said it encouraged them to show up rather than skip the election.
To any extent that Gianforte did worse on Election Day compared to mail ballots sent before his citation, voter outrage apparently was not strong enough that the overall outcome of the race would have been different if all ballots been cast that day, Stapleton said.
He noted that among the people who requested mail ballots for the fall elections, 94 percent cast votes in those races. Yet, among those same voters, only 74 percent mailed in their ballot this time, suggesting lower overall engagement.
Thats significant. Thats a choice. Those ballots sat on their kitchen tables for 30 days and they did not send them in, he said.
Some election volunteers said they talked to voters Thursday who had planned not to vote in the election but changed their mind after the alleged assault by Gianforte.
Because they had already thrown away their mail ballot, they had to cast one in-person at their polling location. It is unclear how many people who received absentee ballots chose to vote in-person instead or dropped off their mail ballot at a polling location because of the incident.
Because of the way votes are tallied, the states top election official could not provide a breakdown that shows which candidate won at the polls versus by mail. Each county election office counts its ballots, some by hand and others by machine, then transmit updates to Stapletons office. Those messages do not include information about whether each new count is based on mail or in-person ballots. But in general, the first results posted at 8 p.m. reflect mail votes only because polls have just closed.
And its those 8 p.m. numbers, along with absentee vote tallies, that Wilson used to answer the question political observers had Thursday: Did the assault shift votes?
Yes, said the pollster and statistician who has long analyzed Montana elections. It varied a whole lot by county.
Wilsons conclusions were supported by an independent Lee Newspapers analysis of the same underlying figures.
In Missoula County, Quist received 61.4 percent of the early votes and 67.5 percent of the Election Day ballots. But the apparent boost for Quist in that urban Democratic stronghold was negated by two reliably Republican counties where nearly 40 percent of the vote was cast on Election Day.
In Ravalli County, 57.8 percent of mail voters and 63.1 percent of in-person voters supported the Republican. In Flathead County, Gianforte secured 54.9 percent of mail and 61.6 percent of in-person votes.
A shift was less obvious in other places.
Democrats used to regularly win Cascade County, but it is now a swing area that Republicans have won in some recent key races. There, figures show no significant difference in the attitudes of voters toward Gianforte. He received 50 percent of the votes before and 48.9 percent after the news of his assault.
Johnstone said the numbers suggest Montana voters fit the broader trend that Americas two major political parties are drifting apart and their supporters are becoming less likely to flip votes.
It is not surprising we would see national polarization reach into Montana, particularly given the way this race was nationalized by parties and outside donors to some extent, he said. Another effect of the Gianforte incident might have been to turn off moderate voters on either side even as it mobilized more engaged voters.
It is difficult to know for sure whether the assault was the only reason for a gap between results among mail and in-person voters. Political analysts said they also might reflect underlying differences between the types of voters who cast absentee ballots and those who choose to vote on Election Day, or demographic characteristics that tend to shape voter perspectives, such as age, race and income.
Marcus Daly Hospital donated an ambulance valued at around $30,000 to the Quick Response Unit of the Corvallis Rural Fire Department.
The ambulance is 10 years newer than anything Corvallis has had, according to Corvallis Rural Fire Department Chief Jim Knapp. The older ambulance used by the quick response unit was frequently out of service due to old age. The new ambulance is equipped with modern high tech instruments and has a faster engine than the old one.
Knapp said response times and health outcomes for patients who need the quick response unit should improve with the better and faster ambulance.
Corvallis Rural Fire Departments QRU team does not usually transfer patients to the hospital, but does provide initial care while the Marcus Daly Hospital team is on its way, according to Knapp.
Because Marcus Daly Hospital serves such a large geographic area, the ambulances they use accrue high mileage quickly. But for Corvallis, that doesnt matter.
We dont put a lot of miles on an ambulance so that ambulance from Marcus Daly with 100,000 miles on it can last us a while, Knapp said.
Four members of the quick response unit at Corvallis Rural Fire Department also work with Marcus Daly Hospital. Using the same equipment at both of their jobs will make it easier for them, according to Knapp.
The hospital has donated three ambulances to rural fire departments in the Bitterroot, one to the West Fork, one to Florence and now Corvallis.
Willie Torres, the head of the EMS department at Marcus Daly Hospital, said the donations are an opportunity to recognize and reward the professionalism in the rural fire departments around the Bitterroot valley.
We have a pretty good relationship with all the QRUs in our response areas. Its an opportunity to pay it forward and give back to our community, Torres said.
The old ambulance will be donated to a small department in Quinby, Iowa, that has a yearly budget of just $9,000, according to Knapp. The camaraderie between different departments helping each other out is gratifying.
Its good to know someone else is going to keep using it, Knapp said.
Knapp said Montana ambulances acquire miles on them quickly. The Corvallis Rural Fire Department handled 400 medical calls last year. The new ambulance wont last them too long, though it will bridge the gap until they can find something else.
The ambulance still has Marcus Daly Hospital decals on it, but not for long.
Well put a yellow decal on it. All the other departments give us a hard time because were not a red fleet, but we tell them that real fire trucks are yellow, and this ambulance will be, too, Knapp said.
More than 3,000 Jehovah's Witnesses gathered in the Adams Center Friday to share messages that centered on endurance: through hardship, temptation, illness and imperfection.
This year's three-day annual convention that began Friday focused on the theme, Dont Give Up! as Jehovah's Witnesses gathered to hear speeches, sing songs, read Bible verses, and watch educational videos. It is the fourth convention held in Missoula, after the first in summer 2013.
The endurance theme is especially relevant, as Russias Supreme Court declared Jehovahs Witnesses an extremist group in April, banning their religious practice and inciting violence against their property and places of worship, called Kingdom Halls. Jehovahs Witnesses dont vote, participate in the military, or declare loyalty to any government.
Mike McCormick, the media services representative at the convention, said he assumes the ruling is a response to the Jehovah's Witnesses lack of loyalty to the state, because the government might feel it hinders political unity. But their principles, to which they strongly adhere, dont feel extremist, he said.
A lot of people are wondering how a pacifist organization could be accused of extremism, McCormick said.
Despite the seeming connection between this years theme and Russias ruling, McCormick said the convention was planned long in advance. Jehovahs Witnesses, of whom there are about 8 million worldwide, have a long history of persecution for their rejection of military service.
Missoula has three Jehovahs Witness congregations, totaling between 300 and 400 people. People traveled from Idaho, Great Falls, Butte, Helena and other places to attend the convention.
The purpose of these annual conventions is to strengthen the Christian brotherhood through Bible instruction, McCormick said. A governing body of Jehovah's Witnesses in New York plans the itinerary, which is then distributed to Jehovahs Witness groups across the world.
Every convention then follows the same schedule, sharing the same information and videos. In the United States this year, there are 469 of these conventions, McCormick said.
Next week, Billings will host one. Jehovah's Witnesses dont celebrate Christmas or Easter, so these conventions are the main event that brings them together each year. On the second morning of the convention, Jehovah's Witnesses can be publicly baptised. The program invites baptism candidates to bring a towel and a modest bathing suit for the ceremony.
On Friday, formally dressed Witnesses of all ages filled the rafters, many cradling babies and following the speakers Bible verses on iPads or physical Bibles. Speakers took turns highlighting certain themes using the Bible as a guide. In recent years, convention organizers have begun using short animated videos and testimonials to diversify the material.
The majority of people are visual learners, McCormick said. Especially the kids.
The mornings themes focused on continuing to preach door-to-door, and emulating Jehovah, who was the greatest example of endurance. Between speakers, everyone stood to sing short songs. One speaker proudly announced that the dramatic Bible readings played at the conventions are newly available for Jehovah's Witnesses to download from online.
Bryan Ybarra, a Jehovahs Witness from Helena, attended the convention with his wife, brother, and four children. He has been attending conventions for 36 years, he said, since his parents brought him as an infant. His wife, Briana Ybarra, said this years theme is especially helpful to her after losing a family member and father figure.
When difficult things happen, its easy to give up. We want to adhere to godly principles, which is hard in the world we live in, she said.
Bryans brother, Troy Ybarra, said the conventions are like a family reunion, since Jehovah's Witnesses think of each other as brothers and sisters. That also makes the persecution of Witnesses in different countries feel personal. The Ybarra family all wrote letters to Russias President Vladimir Putin to protest the countrys ban on Jehovahs Witnesses.
Its a worldwide brotherhood, so it affects us all, Briana Ybarra said. We are a peaceful people; we would never hurt anybody.
In the afternoon, Michael Miller, a Witness from Clark Fork, Idaho, spoke about enduring despite persecution. Prayer, he said, is the best tool.
Praying to Jehovah when were scared is like putting on a sweater when were cold, Miller said. By not giving up in the face of persecution, we bring honor to Jehovah God.
Editor's note: The following is the last Montana Standard Teen of the Month profile from the ending school year. The Standard will soon select a Teen of the Year as a scholarship winner.
The first thing you notice about solid student Kaytee Coyle is her red hair and her flashy cat ears headband.
"You bedazzled yourself today with glitter," teased Butte High Career Center dean Melissa Johnson. "There's a little bling going on."
Coyle, who splits her time between Butte High School and the BHCC alternative high school, said donning colorful cat ears boosts her confidence. The unique fashion flair seems to open her up gradually to others, grounding her, keeping her on track.
"It's also to keep the hair out of my eyes," she added.
Otherwise, an overwhelming shyness overtakes her, and she's reluctant to talk much until you get to know her and her academic prowess. She wields a solid 3.0 cumulative grade point average, including a 3.8 GPA at the semester.
But coming out of her shell has taken time.
"She was shy and timid when she first started at BHCC," said Johnson. "She secluded herself from peers and stuck to herself."
Her mother, Katie Faldzinski, attributes her daughter's penchant for wearing the headband to her days in speech and drama at Simms High School, from where Kaytee transferred last November. She studied mime there.
"Honestly, I think it's in her comfort zone," said Faldzinski. "The cat ears give her a different persona, and she gained some confidence."
Mother and daughter moved to Butte last November to be with family.
"In Simms, they all just accepted it because she talked more when she wore her cat ears," said Faldzinski. "So when we moved here, I didn't know how it would go and if it would be an issue."
Ultimately, Kaytee's former principal and current counselor, Butte High's Travis Johnson, decided it would benefit her to attend the alternative high school, where class numbers are low and manageable.
"We came from a very small school, and we thought (BHCC) was something we thought would fit her needs," said Travis Johnson, Melissa's husband. "It's not easy to come from a school of 40 kids to a school with over 1,000."
Mom Katie said some confidential family situations have affected Kaytee, yet she maintains a strong work ethic in spite of personal struggles.
"She works hard, and she does what she needs to do to get the grades," said Mom. "She's done amazing."
Travis has observed a difference in Kaytee since her arrival:
"She has made strides, and I'm proud of her for that. I think the classes she's taking up here at Butte High help her socially. She's doing well."
Kaytee studies art and choir at Butte High and core math, English, history, and journalism at the alternative school, located in the former Webster-Garfield building, 1050 S. Montana St.
"I see her every day when I'm doing my lunch duty," added Travis. "Now Kaytee is more personable."
Adds Melissa Johnson: "Now Kaytee has made friends and started a transition up to the high school. She has come so far over the last five months."
In her spare time, Kaytee loves to write, draw, read, and dance. She participates in drama and art club and helped with the Butte Rescue Mission Thanksgiving dinner.
A sweet, radiant smile may serve her well after high school, when Kaytee, a junior who turned 18 in April, wants to work in a communications field.
"I want to be a sign language interpreter," she told a visitor. She plans to earn a bachelor's degree and teaching credentials to make her career dream come true.
"Not only is Kaytee a terrific student in all aspects of academics, but I admire and appreciate her individuality and quirky personality," said journalism teacher Krystin Mengon-Lee. "She brings such positive energy to the classroom."
"She's an amazing artist," said Mom. "She's very artsy."
As for the ever-present cat ears?
"Every now and then, my friends wear them, too," said Kaytee. "I kinda pick out my outfit, and if my ears go with it, I wear it."
All in all, peers, family, and teachers seem to appreciate her eccentricity.
"There's so much more worse my daughter could be doing," added Faldzinski.
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The contaminated sand play area in Anacondas Benny Goodman Park is closed and under construction for removal and replacement of its sand by Monday and is expected to be open again Tuesday.
Anaconda-Deer Lodge County Chief Executive Bill Everett said the removal and replacement will cost Atlantic Richfield $29,000 and the dirt will be dug to 18 inches below the surface.
Atlantic Richfield did not respond to a request for comment by press time. The Environmental Protection Agency did not respond to repeated requests for comment by press time.
EPA said in a previous email to The Montana Standard that it tested the top two inches of soil in the park in the 2000s and the tests showed that the park did not require cleanup. But a test of different soil depths, including the top two inches of soil, the county performed in April showed the soil exceeds levels considered safe for both arsenic and lead in all but four out of 55 spots.
The county is now planning to do its own testing in all sand boxes and sand play areas in Anaconda-Deer Lodge County. Everett said the county believes there are at least five sand play spots, one of which is in Washoe Park. Everett is also extending the testing to residents who have sand boxes or sand play areas on their properties. (See information box.)
Although EPA says exposure to contamination in a park is less dangerous than exposure to contamination in a backyard, due to a child spending less time in a park, the sand area was particularly concerning to county officials because that is an area where children dig and push toys around, which could then wind up in a toddlers mouth.
Have you ever seen a kid play in a sand box? Everett said rhetorically by phone Friday.
According to the test samples released by the county to The Montana Standard earlier this week, arsenic levels tested at 725 parts per million in the top two inches of the soil beneath the sand area. Lead tested at 817 parts per million within the top two inches of soil beneath the sand.
The lead levels beneath the sand area are more than twice what the EPA deems safe for Anaconda. The soils arsenic levels beneath the sand area is nearly three times what EPA considers a safe level in Anaconda.
What EPA considers a safe level of heavy metals in the soil varies at different Superfund sites. In Butte, for instance, the level of what is considered safe for lead is considerably higher. EPA says it bases its levels of what is a safe amount of heavy metals in the soil in different Superfund sites on laboratory tests and risk assessment.
The county opted to do its own testing at Benny Goodman Park because it needed to replace the parks sprinkler system. Everett said the soil test results coming from east Anaconda residents showing high levels of lead in the soil also caused him to have the park retested.
Although EPA tested and cleaned up residents' yards in Anaconda for arsenic in the 2000s for the top two inches of soil, the agency is now going deeper and giving more focus to lead. Consequently, residents are now experiencing a cleanup do-over in their yards and attics, which has led to concern among residents. Critics of the cleanup say they are realizing they've been living with lead in their yards for years when they thought their yards were safe and clean.
Two Montana law firms have been holding public meetings in Anaconda to talk with residents about the new lead cleanup. Atlantic Richfield began offering $1,000 to residents in the first homes to receive cleanup earlier this spring if the homeowners would sign waivers giving up any right to sue. Once residents realized those waivers would follow the deeds of their homes, many backed out.
Atlantic Richfield allowed residents the ability to back out of the waivers, but the waivers are still on offer for residents who want to take advantage of the financial incentive. But the financial incentive has also caused community outrage.
Everett said another reason he was suspicious of the soil in the park was the parks history. Everett said it was originally called Grassy Park and the former Anaconda Company built it within sight of the smelter to prove that grass could grow that close to the former Washoe Smelter, which sent heavy metal contamination for miles throughout the valley for around 80 years.
According to Everett, the former mining company had to replace the sod every few years because the grass did not stay green in the park.
The only thing that changed Thursday night was that Greg Gianforte went from candidate to Congress.
Not like that's a small feat, especially given the events of this past week, which included the newly minted congressman being cited for assault.
The title notwithstanding, nothing has changed in our view.
By that we mean: The seven-point victory margin doesn't erase the Bozeman Republican's actions. The apology doesn't square the deal.
Forgiven? Maybe that's not for us to decide.
Forgotten? It cannot be.
This incident will continue to follow Gianforte as he makes an appearance in court in Bozeman. It will be replayed again and again as he arrives in Washington, D.C., and faces a scrum of eager reporters who will see if what they saw Wednesday was the "real" Gianforte.
Nothing changes for us because the issue is one of trust as we said Wednesday when The Gazette editorial board, along with The Missoulian and The Helena Independent Record, pulled endorsements.
We cannot trust that a man who had such little control over his emotions at a critical point in his public life will respond in a level-headed, thoughtful manner when the stakes are even higher. We simply haven't seen anything that would lead us to change our view.
In fact, since the "body slamming," we would note several other disconcerting incidents that make us question whether Wednesday's events were anything more than a high-profile nuisance to Gianforte.
After the incident, Gianforte's campaign issued a statement that was completely discounted and discredited by both eye witnesses and the audio of the assault (keep in mind it's been classified that way by the Gallatin County Sheriff's Office).
Since issuing that statement, which we're printing here, Gianforte has done nothing to change his characterization, instead standing by untrue statements.
Gianforte has remained mum on what he meant by issuing a statement that would seem to condone attacking physically a journalist because of perceived political beliefs. Letting such a statement linger is unconscionable as he prepares to take the oath of office which will include a promise to defend the U.S. Constitution, which has as its crown jewels the freedom of press, association and speech.
We can only continue to assume he meant what his campaign said, and without denouncing such untruths and dangerous anti-freedom language, his words going forward can only have a limited value to us.
Ironically, what Gianforte didn't say for more than 24 hours is just as important as what was said in the flawed press release.
After the incident, after the audio, after the eye-witness accounts, after the citation, leaders on a state and federal level called on Gianforte to apologize. For nearly 12 hours an eternity in the non-stop news cycle Gianforte remained silent.
Even U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and longtime friend U.S. Sen. Steve Daines of Montana called for an apology.
They were met with silence.
Finally, after victory had been declared, after several self-congratulatory remarks had been made, Gianforte apologized. The apology was sandwiched in an otherwise predictable speech in which term-limits, Congressional pay and "draining the swamp" were mentioned.
It must have been easy to apologize when victory was certain.
But his silence cannot be overlooked. Not only did it seem too little, too late, it again undercut his trustworthiness going forward.
Here's what we mean: We need our elected officials to become more talkative, more communicative, more thoughtful when it counts the most. In this case, Gianforte said nothing when everything his very election was on the line.
What can we expect when our health care, our immigration, our guns, our taxes or our children's education is on the line?
Silence?
We would point out that many people seemed to cheer Gianforte for striking back against the press with all its attendant charges of being fake, liberal or failing.
But we are certain that had this been just a citizen without a press pass, the reaction by the public would have been different. If Gianforte would have knocked a woman down, it would have likely been perceived very differently.
And yet, it wouldn't have been different. That point cannot be made strongly enough.
This wasn't shocking or newsworthy because a candidate roughed up a reporter. It was appalling because a Congressional hopeful apparently pummeled another human. That human just happened to be a reporter.
Going forward, we are professionally obligated and take seriously our role in covering the soon-to-be Rep. Gianforte. That's going to mean plenty of dialogue, plenty of interviews and assuredly pointed questions.
But there will be an increased level of scrutiny when he responds because he by his actions which have no analog has undermined the trust and credibility.
-- The Billings Gazette
HELENA Though it has yet to be determined when Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte will swear in, political experts say the misdemeanor assault charge filed against him the night before the election is unlikely to have much of an effect on the process.
Gianforte cannot swear in until Montana's special election results are certified by the board of state canvassers, which is expected to happen June 15. Governor Steve Bullock will provide a certificate of election to Gianforte upon receipt of the state canvass report, said Christi Jacobsen, chief of staff for the Montana Secretary of State's Office.
Jeremy Johnson, an associate professor of political science at Carroll College in Helena, said he expects that House Republicans will want to swear in Gianforte shortly after that report is issued.
Mark Harkins, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institution at Georgetown University, said the ceremony could be delayed if Gianforte has to appear in Gallatin County Justice Court on his assault charge.
Its one of those things where you have to be present to win, he said.
Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper, said Gianforte body slammed him and broke his glasses at a campaign event Wednesday. Audio of the event was picked up by national media that night, and a report from a Fox News crew in the room said Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck and slammed him to the ground. That statement differed from the one issued by the Gianforte campaign the same night, which said Jacobs had grabbed Gianforte's wrist and both ended up on the ground.
Gianforte apologized to the reporter during his victory speech Thursday night, saying "I should not have treated that reporter in that way."
Gianforte has until June 7 to appear in justice court on his assault charge, and the maximum sentence for misdemeanor assault in Montana is six months in jail and a $500 fine.
According to Johnson, a Supreme Court decision prevents the House from refusing to seat anyone who has been elected to the body and meets the constitutional requirements. The Qualifications of Members Clause in Article I of the U.S. Constitution lays out those requirements, which include being 25 years old, having U.S. citizenship for seven years and being an inhabitant of the state when elected.
"They pretty much have to seat him," Johnson said.
The House does have the ability to expel members for other reasons, but a two-thirds majority vote is required.
In a 1969 case, Congress members tried to write House Rules excluding Rep. Adam Clayton Powell Jr. from taking office because they didnt have enough votes to reach the two-thirds majority. Powell was accused of refusing to pay a court-ordered judgement, misusing travel funds and paying his wife a congressional staff salary even though she hadnt performed the work. But the Supreme Court ruled that Congress didnt have the authority to exclude Powell for any reason other than those listed in Article I.
Harkins said the House rarely votes to expel members, and the reaction to Gianforte's assault charge make formal discipline even more unlikely.
During a press conference Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan said If he wins, he has been chosen by the people of Montana, who their congressmans going to be.
Rep. Duncan Hunter of California said Its not appropriate behavior. Unless the reporter deserved it. Hunter himself is under investigation by the Justice Department for allegedly spending campaign money on family vacations, private school tuition and video games.
Harkins said Gianfortes apology to Jacobs could ease any remaining concerns from House Leadership.
I think his apology goes a long way in trying to diffuse the situation. The bigger issue is anger management. Hes going to have very little private space, he said.
Johnson agreed that the assault wouldnt be a big deal to members of Congress based on the severity of criminal accusations other members are facing or have faced. He said its much more likely that Gianforte will be disciplined informally, possibly by being denied his preferred committee assignments. Many politicians want to be on committees with the greatest impact to their state. For Gianforte, relevant committees might be Agriculture, Natural Resources or Small Business.
If youre not on one of those committees, thats a mark of not being favored, Johnson said.
The Washington Post reported in 2015 that 29 members of Congress had been indicted while in office since 1980. While being jailed would likely be grounds for expulsion, that has only happened five times, most recently in 2002 to Rep. Jim Traficant of Ohio. Harkins said he was indicted and convicted of felony corruption, but maintained his innocence until the House voted to expel him.
Harkins said members are much more likely to resign, or constituents will vote out incumbents during their primary for re-election.
Usually the voters clean this up, he said. Two went to jail and then lost their primaries last year.
One was Rep. Chaka Fattah, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, who initially said he would stay in Congress until his sentencing hearing in October 2016 after he was convicted of federal corruption charges, including bribery, money laundering and bank fraud. But members threatened to expel him, and he eventually resigned shortly after his conviction in July. Fattah had already lost his primary for re-election and would have been out of Congress by January.
MISSOULA As ballots were counted Thursday night, many political observers had one key question: Would Democrat Rob Quist make a come-from-behind victory because voters were angry over allegations that Republican Greg Gianforte physically assaulted a reporter the day before?
No, as it turns out. Gianforte secured a clear, if narrow, victory over Quist and Libertarian Mark Wicks, with 50.2 percent of the vote.
The events of the last 24 hours really didnt have much of an effect on the people who voted on Election Day, Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton said. I was a little surprised by that.
But an analysis of state election figures shows that Quist did receive an apparent boost in some counties from the news that his opponent had been cited for misdemeanor assault. However, it was largely negated by other counties where support for Gianforte actually grew after the incident saturated national news.
The regional differences seem to suggest that Montana voters interpreted the citation differently depending on their existing political views or apathy.
Everybody has an individual filter and assumptions, said Craig Wilson, an emeritus politics professor at Montana State University-Billings.
More than two-thirds of ballots were cast by mail in the month leading up to Election Day. On Wednesday night, a reporter approached Gianforte and asked him about health care reform in a short but testy exchange in which witnesses say the Republican grabbed the writer by or near the throat, threw him to the ground and punched him as he yelled at him.
After investigating, the Gallatin County Sheriff issued a citation for misdemeanor assault to Gianforte, who has until June 7 to appear in Justice Court, where he could face a maximum of 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
News of the incident exploded on social media and dominated cable news broadcasts that evening and well into election day, with commentators wondering how it would influence decisions at the polls.
Liberal national political organizations poured money into last-minute ads in an attempt to boost Democratic turnout. They shared audio of the incident on social media and texted some potential voters with messages such as, Hi did you see Greg Gianforte attacked and choked a reporter last night? . This is crazy.
The quick turnaround producing those kinds of attack campaigns is a relatively new phenomenon, said Anthony Johnstone, a campaign finance expert at the School of Law at the University of Montana.
In this case, they were chasing after a relatively small share of the electorate that hadnt already voted and an even smaller share of that electorate that isnt so disgusted by the events that they actually want to show up to the polls on Election Day, he said.
More than $17 million poured into the 85-day contest, largely from national political organizations. Johnstone said it will be weeks before a complete tally is available and before analysts can see exactly how much went into these final campaign attacks on Gianforte.
Montana law does not allow people to change their ballot after it has been cast. Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton suggests only a sliver of Montanans sought to do so, tallying 17 calls to his offices main line. Some county election clerks told reporters they also had received inquiries.
At the polls Thursday, most voters who talked with reporters said the incident did not change their vote, although some said it encouraged them to show up rather than skip the election.
To any extent that Gianforte did worse on Election Day compared to mail ballots sent before his citation, voter outrage apparently was not strong enough that the overall outcome of the race would have been different if all ballots been cast that day, Stapleton said.
He noted that among the people who requested mail ballots for the fall elections, 94 percent cast votes in those races. Yet, among those same voters, only 74 percent mailed in their ballot this time, suggesting lower overall engagement.
Thats significant. Thats a choice. Those ballots sat on their kitchen tables for 30 days and they did not send them in, he said.
Some election volunteers said they talked to voters Thursday who had planned not to vote in the election but changed their mind after the alleged assault by Gianforte.
Because they had already thrown away their mail ballot, they had to cast one in-person at their polling location. It is unclear how many people who received absentee ballots chose to vote in-person instead or dropped off their mail ballot at a polling location because of the incident.
Because of the way votes are tallied, the states top election official could not provide a breakdown that shows which candidate won at the polls versus by mail. Each county election office counts its ballots, some by hand and others by machine, then transmit updates to Stapletons office. Those messages do not include information about whether each new count is based on mail or in-person ballots. But in general, the first results posted at 8 p.m. reflect mail votes only because polls have just closed.
And its those 8 p.m. numbers, along with absentee vote tallies, that Wilson used to answer the question political observers had Thursday: Did the assault shift votes?
Yes, said the pollster and statistician who has long analyzed Montana elections. It varied a whole lot by county.
Wilsons conclusions were supported by an independent Lee Newspapers analysis of the same underlying figures.
In Missoula County, Quist received 61.4 percent of the early votes and 67.5 percent of the Election Day ballots. But the apparent boost for Quist in that urban Democratic stronghold was negated by two reliably Republican counties where nearly 40 percent of the vote was cast on Election Day.
In Ravalli County, 57.8 percent of mail voters and 63.1 percent of in-person voters supported the Republican. In Flathead County, Gianforte secured 54.9 percent of mail and 61.6 percent of in-person votes.
A shift was less obvious in other places.
Democrats used to regularly win Cascade County, but it is now a swing area that Republicans have won in some recent key races. There, figures show no significant difference in the attitudes of voters toward Gianforte. He received 50 percent of the votes before and 48.9 percent after the news of his assault.
Johnstone said the numbers suggest Montana voters fit the broader trend that Americas two major political parties are drifting apart and their supporters are becoming less likely to flip votes.
It is not surprising we would see national polarization reach into Montana, particularly given the way this race was nationalized by parties and outside donors to some extent, he said. Another effect of the Gianforte incident might have been to turn off moderate voters on either side even as it mobilized more engaged voters.
It is difficult to know for sure whether the assault was the only reason for a gap between results among mail and in-person voters. Political analysts said they also might reflect underlying differences between the types of voters who cast absentee ballots and those who choose to vote on Election Day, or demographic characteristics that tend to shape voter perspectives, such as age, race and income.
Greg Gianforte's physical attack on a reporter on the eve of his election as Montana's sole U.S. House member thrust both him and the state into the bright glare of the national spotlight, and it could have lasting repercussions.
Longtime election analyst Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan campaign news site Inside Elections, said he believes that Gianforte will "of course" get more attention from the press when he arrives in Washington.
"He didn't just poke the bear, he body slammed the bear," Gonzales said, referring to a criminal assault charge after Gianforte threw Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses at a campaign event on Wednesday night when Jacobs began asking questions about the Republican health care plan.
Gianforte is scheduled to appear in court in Gallatin County before June 7.
"He's going to come to Washington and have to deal with the consequences, more consequences I guess," Gonzales said. "To put it another way, the D.C. press corps is going to treat him differently than Ron Estes, who won the special election (for Congress) in Kansas. There's going to be more attention on Gianforte because of the last 48 hours of the campaign."
Gonzales said that the fact that Gianforte hails from a rural state with a relatively low population will not allow him to keep a low profile.
"His constituency and his geographic location will have no bearing on the scrutiny he'll receive at all," Gonzales said. "It will all have to do with his interaction with that reporter.
"Time could heal some wounds, but there's no going back with the reporters. He'll get an extra level of scrutiny that most members of Congress don't have. He's not going to be able to sneak through the hallways of the Capitol. He's going to attract attention."
At least one longtime D.C. political analyst believes that Gianforte may also be shunned by the Republican leadership and given less important committee assignments in an effort to avoid tying the Republican party to his personal controversy.
James A. Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had called on Gianforte to apologize was telling.
"For the Speaker to publicly say, 'The gentleman should apologize,' something generally doesn't get to this," said Thurber, who has written 12 books on American politics. "Therefore, the party leadership may take him aside and say, 'You've got to be a little more civilized in terms of the way you interact with the press.'"
Thurber said the controversy could affect Gianforte's stature in Congress.
"People that have been around a long time, when they're judging who should get certain committee assignments, this doesn't help (Gianforte). There are things that are unsaid that happen. There will be opportunities that don't come about (for Gianforte) because of things like this, but he'll never know it."
He added that normally, not many people even know who freshmen members of Congress are.
"To pop out like this among freshmen, especially in a special election, is rare," Thurber said. "To be a showboat this early is not good. Usually, nobody even knows who they are. They co-sponsor a few bills, do constituent work, and vote with the party."
Thurber also predicted that Gianforte would suffer politically if he becomes a national punchline, especially if his interaction with Jacobs is parodied by Saturday Night Live, which Thurber said on Friday afternoon would "probably" happen.
"If he turns into a joke, that's deadly for a public official," Thurber said.
Jeff Ballou, president of the National Press Club in Washington D.C., said that national journalists are very busy and also very professional.
"If people are thinking we're going to be somehow waiting outside his door with pitchforks and torches, we frankly have better things to do," he said. "And there are a cacophony of issues to cover in the nation's capitol. Gianforte will be one of a crowd, low in seniority and high in profile."
Ballou said that Gianforte does come in under unique circumstances.
"Like any high profile for very different reasons in this case member of Congress-elect, there'll be a lot of attention, if for nothing else but a curiosity factor," Ballou said. "Everybody knows what he's done. He's apologized for it. He will be given the same respect as any member-elect of Congress."
Ballou said that the job of elected officials in a democracy, where the First Amendment prevents Congress from abridging the freedom of speech or the press, is to talk to the media.
"For any member of Congress, he or she will be expected to perform his or her duties and part of that is to take questions from members of the press," Ballou said. "Our job is constitutional just like his.
"It is one thing to serve, but part of that service is being accountable for your service and to taking questions on votes you've taken or positions you take."
It's not the job or imperative of the D.C. press corps to mount a campaign against Gianforte to try to get him ousted, Ballou explained.
"Our gig is to treat him simply like the other 434 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate and call the balls and strikes as he delivers them," he said. "It's not the job of the D.C. press corps to fan those flames."
Ballou said that the people of Montana deserve to know more about Gianforte's actions in Washington above and beyond just his roll call voting record.
"All his statements, all his movements, all the things that people expect to know about a member of Congress," Ballou said. "He's going to get some white hot spotlight, I'm sure, when he first arrives and at some point the press corps will move on."
Ballou added that since the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, recently joked about shooting reporters at a gun event, he believes there is a concerning trend happening in the coverage of politics in America.
"It's not funny when collectively there is this atmosphere of incivility and rhetorically undermining the Constitution," he said. "That serves no one. It doesn't serve the people of Montana or, in Gov. Abbott's case, Texas."
The most important thing, he said, is to not let the controversy overshadow how Gianforte does his job.
"It just gets in the way of being able to see what (Gianforte) is actually doing for his new day job," Ballou said. "That's all we want to do. If he starts slamming doors and hiding, the people of Montana are going to go 'what gives?' We wish him respectfully well to have a successful term in Congress, and we hope he doesn't duck our questions.
"All we ask is for elected officials to respect the whole document (the Constitution) that they were elected to uphold and protect."
Lesley Clark, who has worked as a journalist in D.C. for a decade and is now a national correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers' D.C. Bureau, said no reporter wants to become the story.
"Reporters' first instinct is to treat all members of Congress with respect and dignity," she said. "However, we all want to get answers to questions."
Clark and other D.C. journalists told the Missoulian that since President Donald Trump was elected, there have been more reporters on Capitol Hill.
She thinks it will be a little awkward when journalists interact with Gianforte for the first time.
"(Gianforte) will find himself with a recorder in his face pretty much all the time, walking through the hallway or coming in for votes," she said. "He can't really expect to not see reporters unless he's in is own office or sitting on the House floor.
"But most members know that and are pretty good about it. They'll come out and answer questions, and if they don't want to, they'll walk away. We will pester them a little and say things like, 'Oh, come on, you can answer that.' So he's going to have to get used to that. There's no way to serve in Congress without that."
Clark also said that at least initially, Gianforte will face greater scrutiny from the media than other low-profile members of Congress.
"People in the news get greater scrutiny" she said. "All eyes are going to be on him when he first gets up here."
David Lightman, a veteran national political correspondent for McClatchy, had a different opinion.
"He'll get the same scrutiny anybody else does, the only difference is he's better known because of the incident," Lightman said. "He'll get the same scrutiny we give anybody else."
Gianforte is not the first member of Congress to serve while facing a criminal charge.
On Thursday, the news site Vox published an article explaining how elected officials continue to serve after committing offenses. For example, author Jeff Stein wrote that Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, was indicted on federal corruption charges two years ago but is still serving in the Senate.
Rep Chaka Fattah, D-Pennsylvania, was indicted on federal racketeering charges in July of 2015 and continued to serve for more than a year. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was indicted in 2008 on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts and served in Congress for five more months.
Gianforte is also not the first to threaten a reporter. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-New York, threatened to break a reporter in half and throw him off a balcony while on camera. Grimm was facing tax evasion charges at the time, and then-Speaker of the House John Boehner privately asked him to resign. Grimm later apologized and resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion.
HAMILTON A 30-year-old Hamilton man is in the Ravalli County jail after being arrested Thursday when he allegedly hit his former girlfriend in the eye with a cookie.
Ryan Douglas Eakle is charged with felony burglary as well as two misdemeanors for partner assault and another for tampering with a communication device. During his initial appearance Friday, Justice of the Peace Jennifer Ray set his bail at $25,000.
According to a court affidavit, officers with the Ravalli County Sheriffs Office went to a womans home in Corvallis around noon Thursday after she called 911 saying Eakle tried to break into her house.
On arrival, one deputy saw the womans right eye was injured.
She told the officer that two days earlier, Eakle became angry when she told him to leave her house. He allegedly threw a cookie at her, which hit her in the eye, causing bleeding and abrasion to her cornea.
He returned to her house Thursday and hit her phone out of her hand when she tried to call police, according to the affidavit.
Officers found Eakle at the Corvallis Tavern. He initially denied having been at the home, and denied injuring the woman with the cookie, saying the eye injury occured when she mowed the lawn without a grass deflector.
The deputy reported that the grass in her yard was long and had not been cut recently.
So what's the real story on Comey... It's a long story but well worth the reading!
There are very few crime/mystery novels that approach this true story for compelling drama, intrigue and brinkmanship (with the nation in the balance).
Dont believe the fake-media story that Trump made a mistake or huge gaffe by firing Comey. Dont believe the media narrative from the left that it was an attempt to silence Comey from some investigation into Trump.
Dont believe the RINO narrative that Comey is a good guy just trying to do his job in terrible circumstances and the timing was bad.
Dont believe the lie that Comey was admired and respected by career FBI investigators and agents. Dont believe the lie that Trumps tweets" are not professional and have no strategic purpose. His tweets are weaponized and deadly.
James Comey is a poisonous snake of the highest ordera deep-water Swamp Denizen who has been highly paid to deliberately provide cover for high-level corruption by the Clintons and Obama. He is has been central to trying to destroy the Trump campaign and then the Trump administration from the start. He is as dirty as they come in DC. He had highest-level cover (the FBI no less) and was deep into an effort to eliminate Trump. Trump had to move hard, fast, and at exactly the right time to cut the head off the snake without getting bitten by the snake or being finished by the other swamp denizens.
Begin by noticing how the President fired Comey when Comey was 3,000 miles away from his office, that Comey had no inkling he was being cut, that all his files, computers, and everything in his office were seized by his boss Sessions and the justice department. This was not a violation of protocol, it was tactical. Notice how Prez Trump compartmentalized the strike and did not inform any of his White House staff to prevent leaks. Notice how he emasculated Comey and the swamp denizens by letting them know in a tweet that the Attorney General got information (surveillance tapes from the seizure of Comeys office) to let Comey and his handlers know that Trumps DOJ has the goods on them.
This was a brilliant, strategic and totally imperative move at exactly the right time against horrible, evil and corrupt powers infesting our government. The swamp is on notice that the President is on to them, they are sweating bullets because their criminal games of corruption are being pursued and they know it. They are screaming and ranting because they are desperate denizens of the swamp who are beginning to realize they are roadkill.
THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE COMEY SCAM. Taken from credible public sources (readily available if you want to look or want me to sent them to you), with a few reasonable fill in the blank conclusions of my own.
The Highlights: Comey was a minor assistant US attorney in the late 90s. He only gained power and money by being the DOJ official who investigated and cleared Bill Clinton of any wrong-doing in Clinton's totally corrupt pardon (for huge payoffs) of criminal financier Marc Rich as Clinton was leaving the Presidency.
This is how Comey began his career as a creature of the swamp years ago, as a servant of the Clintons. Comey provided cover for the Clintons in their gaining incredible power and wealth after leaving office through pardoning a billionaire money-launderer, arms dealer and criminal. Comey was a key piece in how the Clintons upped their corruption game and gained incredible wealth through their foundation after leaving the White House. A huge part of the scheme was giving Marc Rich a free pass when he should have spent life in prison, and that is what Comey covered-up for the Clintons.
This set up Comey to be part of the corruption machine, making him powerful and wealthy. Immediately after doing the Clinton's dirty work as a DOJ official, Comey resigned from the DOJ and took a position as the head attorney (Counsel) of the Lockheed Martin company, a huge military contractor. While he was in that position Lockheed became a major contributor (millions) to the Clinton Foundation and its fake charity spin-offs. In return for these payment to Clinton Inc., Lockheed received huge contracts with Hillarys state department. Comey was the chief legal officer of Lockheed throughout this period of contributions to Clinton Inc. in return for State Dept. contracts. In late 2012, after overseeing Lockheeds successful relationship with the Hillary State Department and the resulting profits, Comey stepped down from Lockheed and received a $6 million dollar payout for his services.
In 2013, the largest bank of England, HSBC Holdings, was deep into a scandal. Investigations by federal authorities and law-enforcement had revealed that for years HSBC had been laundering billions of dollars for Mexican Drug Cartels, channeling money for Saudi banks who were financing terror, moving money for Iran in violation of the sanctions, and other major criminal activity. HSBCs criminality was pervasive and deliberate by the Bank and its officials. HSBC was a huge Clinton Foundation contributor (many millions) throughout the investigation and Bill Clinton was being paid large personal fees for speaking at HSBC events (while Hillary was Sec of State). Eric Holder and the Obama Justice Department did what they were paid to do, and let HSBC off of the hook for a paltry 1.2 Billion dollar fine (paid by its stockholders), and not one Director, officer or management member at HSBC was fired or charged with any criminal. Exactly when everyone involved with HSBC Bank (including the Clintons and all of their donors) were being let off without penalty, and cover had to be provided to HSBC, Comey was appointed as a Director and Member of the Board of HSBC (in the middle of the fallout from the scandal). He was part of the effort to cover up the scandal and make HSBC respectable again.
After about a year as HSBC director, despite his lack of any law enforcement experience, no DOJ leadership experience, and no qualifications for the job, Comey was appointed FBI director by Obama. The only qualification Comey had was that the Clintons and their cronies knew Comey was in bed with them, was compromised and was willing to do their dirty work. Comey was appointed to the FBI right when Hillary was leaving the State Department, and was vulnerable to the FBI because she had been using a private-server, mis-handling classified information, selling access to favors/contracts from the State Department to Clinton Foundation Donors (including Comeys Lockheed Martin), and much more. Remember that this was about the time the Inspector General of the State Department found over 2 billion missing from the State Department finances during Hillary's tenure. The obvious conclusion is that Comey was appointed to the FBI (along with other reliable Clinton-Obama cronies) to run interference for the Clintons and Obamas at the nations federal law enforcement agency(in conjunction with a corrupt Department of Justice).
Comey was and is owned by the Clintons. He owed all of his power and wealth to being part of their machine and providing them with cover. In late 2015 and early 2016, information began to come out about the Clinton Foundation and its use by the Clintons as a multi-billion dollar slush fund for corruption and political favors. (even Chelseas wedding had been paid for by the charity) This was right as Hillary was beginning her campaign for President. It was revealed that the Foundation had never completed required reports or had an audit.
Supposedly the FBI, under Comey, began an investigation of the Clinton Funds. A professional accounting firm was brought in by the Clintons to do a review, file some reports, make recommendations to the Clinton Foundation Board, and provide a veneer of legitimacy to the Clinton Fund operations. Predictably, one of the partners in the firm that was chosen (and paid lots of money) is the brother of James Comey (FBI Director). This brother owes James Comey $700,000 for a loan James gave him to buy a house, and presumably some of the money from the Clinton Fund was used to make payments to James on the loan.
Over 2 years later and nothing has happened as a result of the FBI investigating the Clinton Funds under Comey. No one in congress or federal law enforcement was intending to actually pursue the Clintons, but Judicial Watch and other independent sources obtained information proving that Hillary had been running her own server, sending out classified information, etc. This information began to come out right in the middle of her campaign to be coronated as President. A show investigation had to be performed to appear to look into it and clear her. Who to use?...the reliable shill James Comey.
As head of the FBI, Comey (and his lackeys in key positions) deliberately screwed up the investigation into Hillarys use of a private server and her plain violation of national security law on classified information. The investigation was deliberately mis-handled in every aspect. Comey gave immunity to all of Hillarys lackeys, did not use subpoenas or warrants, lost evidence, allowed the destruction of evidence, failed to do any searches or seizures of evidence, did not use a grand-jury, did not swear witnesses, did not record testimony, allowed attorneys to represent multiple suspects (corrupting the testimony). Everything that could be done to ruin the FBI investigation and to cover for Hillary was done. A slam-dunk case became a mess. Immunity was given every witness even though they provided no help. Maybe more importantly, by focusing the FBI on the email scandal, attention was drawn away from the much bigger scandal of the Clinton Foundation that could bring down a huge number of corrupt politicians, lobbyists, and even governments.
Originally, Comeys job was simply to totally botch the Hillary investigation and ruin the case against her and her minions within the FBI regarding her emails. At the same time Comey also started work on a parallel assignment to illegally wiretap and surveil Donald Trump and every other person involved in the Republican campaign. He was tasked with digging up any dirt or fact that could be used to hurt the Trump campaign later. This included using a fake dossier paid for by the Clinton campaign to obtain authorization for the surveillance and to try to associate Trumps campaign with the Russians. Under Comeys direction the Trump/republican campaign was monitored and surveilled and all information was provided to the Obama Whitehouse and the Clinton camp all during the campaign. Lorretta Lynch was supposed to complete the coverup for Hillary as Attorney General by issuing a finding that the deliberately botched FBI investigation did not justify prosecution of Hillary. But someone screwed up and Bill Clinton was videod meeting with Loretta Lynch in Arizona shortly before she was supposed to make her decision on Hillary (interference with a federal investigation), and Lynch could no longer credibly squash the Hillary scandal. The solution, give the job to James.
The Clintons owned him and he would have to do whatever is necessary to provide cover. Comey goes on national TV and violates every rule of the FBI, the Justice Department and American law enforcement by revealing some of the FBIs evidence of what Hillary did (enough to make it look like the FBI and Comey did some investigation), then declaring that there was no intent and clearing Hillary. He did what he was ordered to do. The Justice Department and Obama backed Comeys coverup and it looked like Hillary had survived the scandal.
Then, right before the election, the NYPD obtained pervert Anthony Wieners laptop and found classified emails from Hillary on the laptop. The NYPD began leaking details to new-media outlets, and the story was about to explode. Comey once again stepped in to cover Hillary. He short-circuited the NYPD leaks by publicly acknowledging the laptop and the emails, but then claimed just days later that hundreds of thousands of emails had all been reviewed and nothing new was on the laptop. Once again, he had done his job. Providing cover and FBI protection for Hillary on the newest scandal when it broke.
If Hillary had won, Comey would have kept right on providing cover for the corruption of the Clinton machine. He would have kept the FBI paralyzed, prevented the Clinton Fund from being investigated, and continued to do his job as the Clintons personal scandal eraser at the FBI. BUT TRUMP WON. The Swamp and its bottom-dwelling denizens realize they are at risk from this political outsider who is not connected to the uni-party machines. Before Trump takes office, a fail-safe plan is implemented to ruin Trumps administration and try to force him out of the Presidency.
The key players committed to the plan are the democrat politicians, the RINO establishment, the media, the Obama-Clinton operatives embedded throughout the intelligence agencies and the entire bureaucracy, and most importantly, the Obama DOJ and JAMES COMEY. The scheme is to smear Trump with Russian connections, through a fake FBI investigation and more importantly, to trap him into a charge of criminal interference with the FBI. COMEY IS THE CENTRAL FIGURE IN THE SCHEME TO TAKE DOWN TRUMP. The surveillance of the Trump campaign is continued after he is elected, all participants are unmasked illegally, and the transcripts are leaked throughout the government and to the media.
When General Flynn appropriately calls Russian officials on behalf of Trump, they brush off the old fake dossier and all of the surveillance of the campaign, and Comey creates the Russian Conspiracy investigation. With help by RINO swamp kingpin and warmonger sell-out McCain, the fake "Russian pee dossier is leaked to the press. There is no actual evidence of any collusion or connection between Trump or his campaign with Russia, but that does not prevent Comey from initiating an investigation at the FBI. This provides Comey with protection from Trump firing him immediately. Comey (or his minions) constantly leak news of the Russia Investigation to the media, and the media does its scripted part by screaming constantly about Russia. The Democrats fill their role and constantly scream about Russia. McCain and the RINO establishment do their part by promising to investigate how the Russians influenced the campaign.
Immediately after Trump is sworn in, the DOJ Hillary/Obama operatives and Comey start the direct attack. This is before Sessions has been appointed to the Department of Justice and the DOJ is still controlled by Obama operatives. DOJ Obama appointee Sally Yates approaches the Whitehouse with news that General Flynn had been in contact with Russia and alleges that he might be compromised. She reveals that there is an FBI investigation into the Russia ties (which they are constantly leaking to the media themselves). The White House Counsel (who Yates talks to, not Trump) asks for some more information. The day before the promised additional information is to be provided by Yates to the Whitehouse, Comey sets up a dinner with Trump. If he can get Trump to ask about Flynn or try to intervene regarding Flynn or Russia then Trump can be charged with interfering with an FBI investigation. MY OPINION IS THAT COMEY SURVEILLED AND TAPED THIS MEETING IN HIS ATTEMPT TO SET UP TRUMP. This is a two-pronged attack. It protects Comey and DOJ democrat holdovers from being terminated by the new administration because they are involved in an ongoing investigation that they control the timetable on(albeit one with absolutely no evidence). If Trump fires Comey then he is interfering with the investigation which is itself a federal crime that the FBI could then investigate. Alternatively, if they can get Trump to question Comey about Flynn or try to get him to back off of Flynn or the Russia investigation, then they again have him interfering.
Trump knows it is a set up by Comey and that he is probably being recorded (tips from FBI or DOJ who are not part of the corruption?) Maybe because his phone calls in the Whitehouse as President have already been bugged and released to the media. (FBI is in the best position to do this) Maybe because he was used to the Mafia in NY trying to shake him down every time he built a hotel.
Comey tells Trump that Trump is not under investigation regarding Russia, but that others involved with the campaign are being investigated. Trump does not take the bait and attempt to intervene about Flynn or the Russia scam. Later, Flynn is cut loose because he is being used by Comey and the Obama-holdover Justice to try to damage Trump. He did not thing wrong, but if he stayed the charge of interfering with an investigation might seem to have teeth. Comey verbally tells Trump on two more occasions that he is not being investigated, but refuses to state this fact publicly or when testifying in Congress.
Trump knows everything I have gone through above about Comey. But he has to move carefully. He has to get his Attorney General and Deputy AG in place, get enough leverage on the Russia narrative, and ideally get rid of Comey in a way that allows him to obtain all the information that Comey has been accumulating (if he is taping Trump he is taping others). Comey, and others testify in Congress. Under oath, both Sally Yates and Intelligence officials from the Obama administration state that there has been no actual evidence of any collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. More importantly, Comey, while refusing to say that Trump is not under investigation, testifies that he has informed the Senate Intelligence Committee heads who exactly is under investigation regarding Russia.
Trump tells almost no one at the White House that he is moving against Comey (so no leaks no listening in on his conversations) Trump somehow contacts Sen. Grassley (the Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee) and confirms that Comey told the Senator that Trump was not under investigation personally. Trump gets both the Attorney General and the new Deputy Attorney General to legitimately review Comeys unprofessional actions at the FBI and to recommend in writing that Trump terminate Comey. Somehow Comey goes to California (at the request of AG Sessions or already scheduled and someone at FBI telling Trump?). Trump seizes the moment and acts. While Comey is in California, 3000 miles away and 7 hours from his office, Trump prepares a letter firing him (with Sessions and the Deputy AG recommendations attached). In the letter Trump states that he had been told 3 times by Comey that he (Trump) was not under investigation. The letter is hand-delivered to the FBI headquarters by DOJ officials to lock-down and seize everything in Comeys office, including all surveillance files (tapes) of Trump and others. All of Comeys files, docs, computers and tapes are taken to Sessions at DOJ. They are not taken to the Whitehouse or Trump, but to Sessions, who has every right to have them. Sessions can tell Trump that Comey had surveillance tapes of Trump that contradict what Comey has been telling Trump, and perhaps tapes of conversations with other swamp conspirators. But Trump does not have them personally or at the Whitehouse.
Comey learns he has been fired when the media broadcasts it in California. He had no idea it was coming and he is ticked. On cue, the Democrat politicians and media begin screaming about Trumps interference with the Russia investigation in accordance with the plan to set up Trump for that charge. The Swamp wants to blow up the Russia narrative using Comey, and Comey is set to testify before Congress to try to hurt Trump by saying he was interfering with the FBI investigation. Comey intends to follow through with the plan to take down Trump. But because of his brilliant timing on this, Trump has Comeys files, documents and information safely with Sessions at DOJ. Trump sends out a crazy tweet that says: James Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press. The media and the politicians go crazy about the inappropriateness of this tweet. They accuse Trump of taping everyone at the WhiteHouse (forgetting that the Presidents phone calls with foreign leaders have been taped without his knowledge.) Notice that Trump did not say he taped anyone, or that he has any tapes at the White House. It seem apparent that Trump is telling Comey that the DOJ (who has every legal right to possess it) has the surveillance information and files from Comeys office, the tapes" obtained and kept by Comey.
Comey and all the Swamp Creatures understand the clear messagetheir plan has failed and Trumps DOJ is now holding all the cards. The whole Russia interference scheme crashes and burns.
While the mouthpiece media, Hollywood and the insane fringe continue to scream about Russia and Comey being fired, the politicians who will soon be in the crosshairs of a legitimate (and ticked) FBI and DOJ are starting to fall strangely silent. Comey realizes all the leverage is with Trump and that he will be lucky if he is not added to the Clinton Death List because of his knowledge (better not take any baths near an electrical outlet or get on any airplanes). Comey tells Congress he will not testify and writes a public letter to the FBI accepting his firing and telling them he does not want to discuss why or how he was terminated. Senator Grassley and Senator Feinstein (she must be covering her butt in fear ) issue public statements confirming that Comey told them that the Russia Investigation does not involve President Trump personally.
AG Sessions and his Deputy AG use the Comey trove of information to determine who has been part of the Comey Syndicate at the FBI. They will be appointing an interim Director of the FBI shortly who has not been compromised by Comey, Clinton or Obama. That interim Director does not have to be approved by Congress or anyone, and can immediately begin cleaning house at the FBI of all Comey/Clinton/Obama minions, initiating investigations of the Clintons, Clinton Fund, violations of intelligence confidentiality laws by Susan Rice and Obama, human trafficking in DC, political corruptiondraining the Swamp. Using the Comey files they can be fairly certain they are not getting another Comey as an interim", and they do not have to wait for the circus of appointing a new permanent Director through Congressional approval. Most of the heavy lifting on rooting out FBI corruption and starting investigations into the swamp will be done by the interim before a new director is appointed. I suspect the Trump administration hopes the approval FBI Director process will be slow and tedious, so there is no political interference with the housecleaning that is starting.
In one masterstroke, Trump has eliminated a truly toxic and dangerous enemy to his administration and our country, dealt a horrendous blow to the Clinton/Obama and deep state machines, begun the restoration of the integrity of the FBI and the DOJ, and gained incredible ammunition to begin hunting the foul creatures in the swamp. -Lisa Frank Happy Hunting President Trump and God Bless!
Les blattes ou cafards (Blatta orientalis) sont des insectes qui appartiennent a la famille des Blattoptera. Ils se caracterisent par leur forme allongee, leurs ailes []
Two Stanford University professors walked into a bar may sound like the beginning of a comedy routine, but its really two-thirds of a Bay Area jazz trio that will be performing at Blue Note in Napa on two separate dates.
The band, Charged Particles, has done more than 1,000 performances in its various generations that began in the 1990s, said Jon Krosnick. The band has been a quartet, enjoyed a variety of performers over the years and is now a trio made up of Krosnick, Murray Low and Aaron Germain. They will joined by saxophonist Tod Dickow in A Tribute to Michael Becker on June 4 and July 12 at Blue Note.
We will perform a special tribute to superstar Michael Brecker, who passed away 10 years ago at 57 from cancer. Most people will say he is among the two or three most significant tenor saxophone players. He was also a band leader and composer, Krosnick said. I really wanted to hear 40 more years of his music.
Krosnick has a doctorate in social psychology and is a professor of political science, communication, psychology and is the director of Political Psychology Research Group at Stanford University. Hes also the bands drummer with a massive drum kit.
Low, the keyboard player, teaches music at Stanford and brings two instruments with him for performances and makes hundreds of sounds with it, Krosnick said.
The third member is Germain who plays both electric and acoustic bass. His repertoire includes jazz, blues, funk, reggae, Senegalese mbalax dance music of Senegal, which is a fusion of Western music and dance with jazz, soul, Latin and rock salsa, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian forro dance style music that includes a variety of musical beats Caribbean steel pan music, and other international styles.
They all can boast and name-drop impressive jazz, and other music genre counterparts they have performed with. Germain, for example has played with Stanley Jordon, Bonny Raitt, Jacqui Naylor, Paul McCandless, Babatunde Lea, and Yusef Lateef to name but a few.
Low, known for his performances to Latin jazz, salsa and Afro-Cuban music was nominated as 2008 Pianist of the Year by the Latin Jazz Corner and for a Grammy in 2004 as part of Machete Ensemble. He has performed with such artists as Wayne Wallace, John Calloway, Pete Escovedo and Tito Puente.
Krosnick played with regularly with pianist Geoff Tyus, saxophonist Flip Jacksons Variations, and the jazz-fusion group State of Mind, as well as Chick Corea and John Patitucci among many others.
Collectively their backgrounds present very varied array of performances, Krosnick said.
Their performances are unexpected ... like going to a great movie and reading a great plot, he said. It takes you on a journey of what its like to be on this planet.
Krosnick allows his education and teachings to influence performances so that listeners feel like theyve been on an adventure. For example, sometimes the band will keep the house lights down and the stage blackened when they start the show. All they hear is a soft noise, but they dont know what it is.
Its me, starting the mood, he said. When was the last time you went to a concert that starts with a drum solo?
They are especially excited about playing at the Blue Note, its especially cool, he said because its maybe the number one jazz club in the world.
People can make the presumption that if someone is playing at the Blue Note, its probably good.
Krosnick is thrilled that the Blue Note is part of the Bay Area. It is a top level opportunity for regional artists, and for North Bay jazz lovers it means not having to drive to the East Bay or San Francisco for good live music.
Blue Note is located at 1030 Main St., Napa. Tickets start at $10. To hear samples of Charged Particles music go to ChargedParticles.com.
Napa Countys super-wet winter wont put a damper on this summers fire danger, not with an abundant grass crop drying out and ready to burn.
In California, droughts lead to potentially bad fire seasons. Rainy winters simply lead to another type of potentially bad fire season.
The brush and heavier fuels will take longer to dry out, Napa County Fire Chief Barry Biermann said. But the thick grass crop that resulted from the rains poses a more immediate threat.
Just because it was a wet year doesnt mean were going to have a good fire season, Biermann said. We could be very busy with the grass crop we have.
He reminded rural residents to take steps to protect their properties, such as clearing and reducing grass and other fuels within 100 feet of their homes. The 100 feet of defensible space is required under state law.
That is the minimum, Biermann said. If you can do more, more is better.
Lisa Hirayama lives in the rural community of Circle Oaks along Highway 121 in the mountains between the city of Napa and Lake Berryessa. The community was born 50 years ago and has about 180 homes scattered in oak-covered hills.
Fire is on the mind of Circle Oaks residents during the summer, Hirayama said.
Nobody ever feels totally secure, she said. You smell a little bit of smoke and everyone is calling each other Do you smell that?
Circle Oaks is recognized by the National Fire Protection Association as a Firewise Community. It has a fire safe council, a wildfire protection plan and spends homeowners association and grant money on fire safety projects.
Hirayama said the program makes a difference.
Yes, they actually cleared a lot of undergrowth and brush, she said. We had stuff on our back hillside that was cleared out.
Among the other local Firewise communities are Berryessa Highlands and Atlas Peak and still others have fire safety councils. The Napa Communities Firewise Foundation and county provide free chipping to residents in most rural areas to help them clear defensible space. Go to www.napafirewise.org for more information.
People should have their defensible space in place by June 1, Biermann said. But they should use their lawnmowers and other equipment before 10 a.m. and not on days with a north wind, for fear of sparking a wildfire when a blade hits a rock.
Dont do the right thing at the wrong time, Biermann said.
Napa County over the past couple of years has been singed by large wildfires that wreaked most of their havoc in adjoining counties. The 2015 Valley Fire that burned 76,000 acres mostly in adjoining Lake County is an example.
Large fires within Napa County during recent years have included the 4,300-acre Butts Fire in 2014 in the northeast county and 4,000-acre Wild Fire in 2008 that threatened homes in neighboring Solano County.
But the last really huge, devastating fire within Napa County to gain lasting notoriety was the 1981 Atlas Peak Fire that burned 23,600 acres, destroyed 65 structures and did $36 million worth of damage.
Hirayama didnt live in Circle Oaks at the time. But an arborist said a tree in her yard had fire damage and she learned this was from the Altas Peak Fire that came near to Circle Oaks.
Thats why its very concerning, she said.
Napa definitely has the potential for a large fire, Biermann said. In the canyons and areas that havent burned in many years, the brush dries off and the fuels become thicker, he said.
He recalled a fire in the Dry Creek area west of Yountville that fell short of becoming a major blaze only because of a fortuitous wind shift. This 2006 blaze called the Napa Fire burned 387 acres.
The Sonoma-Lake-Napa unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has 31 engines staffed with three to four firefighters at 21 state fire stations. The local action is starting. Biermann said Napa County has had some small grass fires here and there.
We will begin to have a fairly busy fire season fairly soon, Biermann said.
Gov. Jerry Brown in a May 5 wildfire awareness proclamation said that half of the states largest fires in recorded history took place over the past decade.
Firefighting alone cannot protect us and every citizen, especially those living in fire-prone areas, has an important role in preventing loss of life and property from wildfire events, Brown wrote.
Cal Fire has released a Ready for Wildfire app with wildfire preparation checklists for rural residents. Go to www.ReadyforWildfire.org for more information.
Hundreds of friends and relatives cheered Napa Valley Colleges Class of 2017 Friday evening, highlighted by a pair of 21-year-old valedictorians who spoke of determination, resilience and hope for the future.
Just because you are going through a rough time does not mean you should stop trying, said co-valedictorian Zoreen Mohammed, a biomedical engineering student headed to UC Davis. It just means you need to work harder to achieve all you have ever wanted.
Co-valedictorian Naomi Salvatto spoke to her fellow graduates about the battle within yourself.
As I stand here today, I see the winners of that battle, who choose to better yourselves and continue to reach your full potential. Despite the obstacles you have faced in all aspects of your life, you did it. You are here, said Salvatto.
Nearly 300 graduates attended the ceremony, while a total of 814 students earned diplomas or certificates.
Mohammed, 21, who learned English as a second language, is a graduate of Armijo High School. She was born in Redwood City and raised in Suisun City, by parents who migrated from Fiji and spoke only Hindi while raising their four children. Over time they learned English.
She came to Napa Valley College in search of an education and became the first woman in her family to attend college. After being declined admission to four-year schools after high school, she said she believes God had something better in store for her and that everything happens for a reason.
It was all a matter of fate, she said while deciding that NVC would provide an opportunity to put my creativity and imagination into reality.
My interest in engineering can be traced back to when I was a child. I greatly enjoyed creating and building things using Play-Doh, or using random household items, and was always proud to demonstrate my inventions to my family and friends.
I remember when my grandma first began dialysis. I never knew what dialysis was and what it did and soon discovered that it served to complete the job of what our kidneys would do. I was fascinated by the idea of building things that would help people and wondered what career would allow me to do such a thing.
After earning a bachelors degree in biomedical engineering, she plans to earn a masters degree and a doctorate.
Co-valedictorian Salvatto said she did not know when she came to Napa Valley College in 2013 that so many people on campus help students find a career goal, get financial aid and offer moral support.
The people at the college helped me figure out what I want to do with my life, said Salvatto, a Vallejo native.
After graduating from American Canyon High School, she said a relative financed her first semester at NVC.
I didnt know anything about financial aid assistance on campus, but when I went to the UMOJA Program on campus they helped me figure out what I want to do for a career, and they suggested I join Student Support Services/TRiO, where I received information about financial aid. They advised me to make an appointment with advisors and I received financial aid and counseling.
Inspired by the physical therapists who helped her parents heal from various health issues, she began taking health-related classes.
I had to change my life around, she said. College is a great place to gain exposure to different programs and career choices. I grew up at Napa Valley College, and found out what I wanted to do while dealing with family issues. My mother and father both had health issues, so I was faced with the choice of either working full-time or going to school. I decided to do both.
She said NVC has taught her how to make tough choices in life.
I had to choose between studying for tests or hanging out with my friends. I lost touch with many friends, she said.
Salvatto has been accepted at UC Berkeley and UC Davis, and plans to major in Psychology and minor in Human Physiology. She hopes to become an occupational therapist.
A Billings home builder, with the help of others, built more than a house in 2014.
McCall Homes in Billings partnered with subcontractors and vendors to construct a house in Josephine Crossing. Much of the labor was done pro bono, with the materials donated or provided at a discounted rate.
When the house sold, one family got a nice place to live. And the $169,000 in profits went to HOPE International, a nonprofit ministry that provides micro-loans to entrepreneurs in 16 developing countries.
That money has gone through multiple loan cycles, with over 6,000 families benefiting from the Homes for Hope program, Greg McCall told an attentive audience Thursday at a trade partner luncheon at McCall Homes. And 98 percent of those loans have been repaid.
So this isnt really a donation, McCall said. In my mind its an investment in somebody elses future.
McCall and his wife, Erin, talked about the work of Homes for Hope, a program of Pennsylvania-based HOPE International. And they invited guests to partner with them on building a second home to benefit the ministry.
The single-family dwelling will be the first home built in Annafeld, the McCalls brand-new subdivision south of Elysian Road, along the western edge of Hogan Slough.
Those at the luncheon adjourned to the home site after the luncheon for a ceremonial groundbreaking.
Toward the start of the event, McCall asked how many of those in the audience had been part of building the first house. About half those present raised their hand.
He thanked them, and told his audience that Hope International is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
It invests in the dreams of families in under-served areas with loans as small as $50, he said.
Erin McCall told the story of one woman, Teresa Bautista, who lives in the Dominican Republic and benefited from the sale of the home in Josephine Crossing.
Greg and Erin took a trip to that country a couple of years ago to see the work of Hope International. Bautista, a grandmother, took out a small loan to buy a foot-action sewing machine that helped her expand her business.
The walls of her home were made of tin, with a roof that leaked and a dirt floor, Erin McCall said. But Bautista was making a living.
And the joy on her face, affirming her ability to provide for her own family, was astounding, she said.
With the profits from her business, Bautista has been able to afford health care, take care of her familys needs and make significant improvements to her home. She recently took out her 14th loan for $475 more than 10 times larger than her first.
Other speakers at the event included Paul and Cindy Marty, HOPE Internationals first two missionaries who spent 10 years in the Ukraine. They partnered with Pennsylvania homebuilder Jeff Rutt in 2007 to start the ministry.
Having the opportunity to help people bring themselves out of poverty is such an amazing thing, Paul Marty said.
He rarely hears people in poverty plead for money. Instead, they want access to medical services, education and a chance to support their families.
Its giving a hand up, not a handout, he said. Its about restoring dignity.
One of the things we learned working with clients was that people are just like you and me, they have the same desires, homes and dreams, Marty said. But theyre just not able to do any thing about it because theyre stuck in a cycle of poverty.
All it takes, he said, is a small investment to alter the course of their life. Marty talked about one Ukrainian woman who had an entrepreneurial spark in her.
She sold milk for a living, and to expand her business, borrowed $100. The woman repaid her loan, and then asked for another one to buy a machine that makes sour cream, to boost her profits.
A few months later, she came up with an idea to sell cement at her booth in the market. That succeeded, and then she asked for a loan to build a kiosk on the street.
She has done really well for herself, Marty said. She transformed her business to one that employs 50 people and has branches throughout the city.
Since Homes for Hope started in 1998, more than 100 homes have been built, generating more than $10 million in revenue and creating thousands of loans for people like Bautista and the woman from the Ukraine.
Its an amazing thing to be part of, Marty said.
Liz Barrett was driving with friends through the English countryside in North Yorkshire when she heard about the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert at the Manchester Arena. She was visiting Britain from Chicago, and was horrified by the news.
"It was the only thing on all the radio stations," she says. Her next stop on the trip will be London, before flying home from Heathrow Airport.
With the threat level in Britain raised to "critical" - the highest in 10 years - and soldiers deployed in the streets, Barrett says that she is curious to see what is happening in London and at the airport. But altering her travels never crossed her mind.
"We didn't consider changing any plans because, honestly, I refuse to give way to those evil idiots," she says.
It has become too common a consideration: to travel or not to travel in the wake of a terrorist attack. Dan Richards, chief executive of Global Rescue, a risk-management firm focused on health, safety and travel, says that the decision depends on the individual.
"I think England, Britain and most of Europe, despite the most recent attack in Manchester, are still very safe," he says.
George Hobica, founder of the travel deal site Airfarewatchdog, says that he hasn't seen interest in traveling to Britain falling off since the attack.
" Furthermore, terrorists fervently hope that their actions will disrupt the economy and cause people to live in fear," he says. "We can't accede to their wishes, and every time something like this happens, travelers keep calm and travel on, as it should be."
If you have a trip planned to England, here are some things to consider:
If you wish to cancel, did you purchase travel insurance? If you did purchase travel insurance before the attack, and you don't wish to travel to Manchester or nearby towns right now, your policy may offer you an out. "Most travel insurance policies with trip cancellation benefits include coverage for a terrorist attack. This benefit allows travelers to cancel a trip if a terrorist attack occurs," says Megan Singh, spokeswoman for Squaremouth, a travel-insurance-comparison site. Singh says that in order for such an event to be covered, it usually must meet these requirements:
--It occurs in or near a city listed on the traveler's itinerary;
--It occurs within a specific time period of the traveler's departure date, usually seven to 30 days;
--It has been deemed "terrorism" by the State Department or the U.S. government issues a travel advisory for that destination.
Some policies also require there have been no recent terrorist incidents in the same city within a specified period of time. Singh says that some policies will specify how far the coverage extends, geographically - 50 or 100 miles from the city on the itinerary, for example.
"Some travelers may not be aware of the distance from Manchester to other popular locations in Britain. London, for example, is more than 100 miles away. So in some cases, even if the traveler has a policy in place, depending on where and when they are going, terrorism cancellation coverage may not apply," Singh says.
If you did purchase a policy, Singh suggests calling the provider immediately to understand what's covered and find out what steps need to be taken.
If you wish to cancel and didn't purchase travel insurance, start dialing. If you think that the possibility of an attack will cast a shadow on your trip, Richards says you may want to consider your options. "The last thing people should do is travel to a place and be constantly fearful if something is going to happen. That's no way to spend a vacation," he says.
Historically speaking, some airlines, hotels and car-rental agencies have relaxed their rescheduling or cancellation policies following an attack, and action is often taken on a case-by-case basis.
For example, British Airways recently issued this statement: "Following the tragic events in Manchester, we are offering a range of flexible rebooking policies to people who are affected or who are due to travel to or from the city in the coming days. We would encourage any customers with concerns about their bookings to contact us or their travel agent and we will be as flexible as possible."
United Airlines issued a statement by email: "All of us at the United family send our deepest condolences to those affected by this terrible tragedy. We have issued a travel waiver that allows customers on our flight between Manchester and Newark to adjust their travel plans free of charge."
Call any businesses you have bookings with and see if there's any flexibility in your upcoming plans.
If you go, take some basic precautions. Richards points out that recent attacks in Europe have a few things in common: "They tend to happen in very crowded, highly populated environments, and they tend to happen near fairly well-known landmarks within these cities."
He shares the following tips for people traveling to Britain:
--Take a "redundant" method of communication. Cellphone service often gets disrupted following an attack or disaster, and that redundancy can act as a backup. Richards says having a phone that can also tap into a WiFi network can be helpful, and so can a satellite device. That will allow you to contact friends and family to let them know that you're okay, or that you need help.
--Weigh the risks when it comes to crowds. As a tourist, avoiding densely populated areas can be rather tricky - especially if a sporting event, concert or popular museum drew you to the city in the first place. Richards says to consider your options. "This is the age we live in and these environments can be soft targets," he says. "And they're not environments that can be controlled by any secure law enforcement presence. So you take risks. Are they huge risks? Well, if you're caught in one of these events, sure they are. But the likelihood is still very, very low."
--Be vigilant. Always be aware of your surroundings, Richards says. "That doesn't mean you need to be suspicious of everybody or fearful of everyone, but be aware of who is around you and what they're doing." If you feel uncomfortable, leave the situation and contact law enforcement.
--Have a plan. Wherever you go, discuss an exit strategy and meet up point with your travel companions. It may be an uncomfortable conversation, but it could provide needed guidance in case of an emergency.
Keep the threat in perspective. The notion of getting caught up in a terrorist attack is horrifying, but it's important to remember that it is also rare. In 2013, President Barack Obama said on NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno": "The odds of dying in a terrorist attack are a lot lower than they are of dying in a car accident, unfortunately. The general rule is just show some common sense and some caution."
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In the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle allows: "We make war that we may live in peace. Sages through the ages have pointed out that the best way to keep peace is to be prepared for war.
Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the three monotheistic religions. Judaism traces its origins to the 12th century B.C.; Christianity to the first century A.D.; Islam to the sixth century A.D.
The Jewish tradition
In the Hebrew scripture, God is seen as leading the Israelites in battle. Yahweh your God goes with you to fight against your enemies and save you. (Deuteronomy 20:5)
At the same time it is filled with a longing for peace. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:4)
Justifications for war in Judaism include:
The covenant with Abraham that involves a right to a certain land promised by God: I am Yahweh who brought you out of Ur to make you heirs to this land. (Genesis 15:7)
Judaism asserts that war is permitted in self-defense or can be undertaken for a good reason (discretionary wars) where no cooperation remains possible. The killing of noncombatants is not permitted.
The aim of war is to achieve peace. The Jewish greeting Shalom means peace.
The Christian tradition
Christians, for the first 300 years of their existence did not fight in wars. Their pacifism was based on Jesus teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.
When Christianity became a legal religion in the Roman Empire, barbarian tribes were besieging Rome and threatening to destroy civilization. Pope Leo I got an army together to counteract them. Only Christians were allowed to serve. Thus Christians became involved in war and politics.
St. Augustine in his book The City of God points out that a just war is preferable to an unjust peace. He set the criteria for a just war. It must be:
A last resort. A governing authority must exhaust all diplomatic and non-military options for securing peace before resorting to force.
It must have a just cause: self-defense; defense of another nation; protection of innocents; to regain something wrongfully taken.
It must be promulgated by a legitimate authority.
It must have a right intention: the ultimate end in waging war must be to establish peace.
It must have a reasonable chance of success.
The means must justify the end: Respond to aggression with force but do not go beyond the damage done by the aggression itself.
Mercy must be shown to the defeated.
Noncombatants are not permissible targets of war. Since weapons of mass destruction have now become prevalent, it is questionable whether this criteria still applies.
The Islamic tradition
Muhammad, the progenitor of Islam, was born in the desert city of Mecca in 570 A.D., when fighting among the Bedouin ethnic groups (each with their own astral gods) was common. Each tribe felt no obligation to anyone outside their own group.
Mecca was the main city in which there was a semblance of order, but there was very little of that. Drunken orgies, gambling and bloodshed were commonplace, as was the practice of burying baby girls alive. The position of women was precarious.
Muhammad spent 15 years in meditation about how to right these wrongs. Then he proclaimed his message, making moral demands of people to abandon their evil ways and accept one God, Allah. For 10 years he persistently preached on the streets of Mecca. Eventually he was acclaimed by many as God's prophet.
There were lots of threats to his life. In 622 A.D., due to persecution by the inhabitants of Mecca, he was forced to flee to Medina. From there, his religion took off. War between Mecca and Medina followed. Thus Muhammad became involved in war and politics. His military conquered the other tribes of Arabia and converted them to the new religion. Within a century after his death, his followers had conquered, and then converted, all of North Africa, Spain and most of the Middle East.
The Koran, compiled two centuries after the prophets death, allows for war: in self-defense; when other nations have attacked an Islamic state; if another state is oppressing its own Muslims; to protect those who have been unjustly expelled from their homes.
To those against whom war is made, permission is given to fight because they are wronged and to defend those who have been expelled from their homes in defiance of right. (Koran 22: 39, 40)
War should be fought only for noble motives. Fight in the cause of God against those who fight you, but do not transgress limits. God does not love transgressors. (Koran 2:190)
Salaam," the Arabic greeting, means peace. The purpose of war it to attain peace.
There is much controversy about the word Jihad. The Council on American-Islamic Relations states that jihad "does not mean holy war." It refers to "a central Islamic concept that includes the struggle to improve the quality of life in society, struggle in the battlefield for self-defense, or fighting against tyranny or oppression." However, extremist Muslim groups (terrorists) interpret the concept of Jihad as a justification for killing anyone who isn't a Muslim.
Pope Francis recently said at a conference in Egypt, after Coptic Christians had been massacred by terrorists, Peace alone is holy and no act of violence can be perpetrated in the name of religion or the name of God.
All three traditions see the purpose of war is to attain peace.
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Accusing India of carrying out "extra-judicial killings", Foreign Affairs Adviser Sartaj Aziz said India killed "12 Kashmiri youth in Kashmir since yesterday (Friday) in Pulwama and Baramulla. Three of them were martyred extra-judicially as has been done on numerous occasions in the recent past".
The Adviser urged the international community to call upon India to immediately stop the "ruthless killing of defenceless Kashmiris".
Sabzar, 28, was killed along with his two accomplices in a four-hour-long gunfight in a village in Tral town of Pulwama district. He was named as the successor of Burhan Wani -- who was killed last year on July 8.
In another incident, six militants were killed by the Army, when an infiltration bid was foiled on Saturday in Rampur sector of the Line of Control in Baramulla district.
--IANS ahm/rn
( 183 Words)
2017-05-27-19:50:24 (IANS)
The money, which was channeled through the UN World Food Programme (WFP), is in addition to the $32 million contribution that was already confirmed for 2017, Xinhua news agency reported.
"The country needs continued international support which, combined with unimpeded access to the affected population, will help prevent the unfolding catastrophe from expanding further," WFP Representative and Country Director in South Sudan Joyce Luma said in a statement.
South Sudan is experiencing the worst levels of food insecurity since independence with up to 5.5 million people facing severe hunger.
In February, famine was declared in parts of former Unity State, in Leer and Mayendit counties, affecting about 100,000 people.
"This support is vital to our ongoing efforts to respond to the unprecedented levels of hunger in South Sudan this year," Luma said.
The contribution from the EC's Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) for WFP South Sudan will provide emergency food and nutrition assistance to about 890,000 people facing hunger as a result of conflict and seasonal food insecurity, including an estimated 165,000 children under the age of five and pregnant and breastfeeding women.
--IANS vgu/
( 216 Words)
2017-05-27-03:10:20 (IANS)
New Delhi [India], May 27 (ANI-NewsVoir): Indian-American Businessman Nitin Khanna entered California with his Cannabis business, the fastest growing industry in America. As more states legalize recreational use, the demand for premium cannabis is expected to increase. With a population of 39.1 million, California is the largest market in America within this industry; it was also the first state to legalize the medical use of marijuana back in 1996. Nitin Khanna is the CEO of MergerTech, an international Mergers and Acquisitions advisory firm, where he along with his team of highly experienced bankers incorporate their deep domain expertise and buyer relationships on the global platform for strategic or financial buyers, enabling their clients to convert their work into wealth through M&As. Taking a step forward in this direction, Nitin Khanna's Portland-based Cura Cannabis Solutions, already the leading provider of cannabis vape cartridges and oil in Oregon, will manufacture and market premium oils, concentrates and cannabis products in the United States. Cura's new facility in South East Portland will begin offering "Select" branded CBD (cannabidiol hemp oil) cartridges. The CBD cartridges will be available online and retail locations in select regions in the United States. Commenting on the growth, Nitin Khanna, CEO, Cura, said, "We are always scouting for exciting high growth businesses and entered the Cannabis business after a thorough study of its potential after it got legalized in the United States. Cura has undergone extremely fast growth since we started in 2016 and the further growth potential is enormous as the total North America sales of Cannabis are expected to be USD 20.2 billion by 2021 according to some reports." Cura's vape cartridge brand, "Select", provides consumers with the most flavorful, effective, safe and enjoyable vape experience in the market. Cura currently operates three facilities in Portland. The company witnessed significant growth over the past year, which is evident from the spike in the workforce. Last year, it added over 100 employees, taking the total tally to 125. In order to cater to the growing demand, the company is planning to have a new 10,000 square-foot facility in Sacramento with plans to open another in Los Angeles. The company is also planning to add 125 more employees by the end of this year. (ANI-NewsVoir)
She turns a year older on Saturday, and days before her special day, the little girl was able to enjoy a trip to the Disneyland Resort, reported eonline.com.
Shiloh was accompanied by family and friends while exploring the theme park and surrounding attractions since Thursday. Social media users spotted the group enjoying rides like Alice in Wonderland, Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin and Tarzan's Tree House. They also enjoyed a bit of shopping.
"The store clerk was showing her kids the remote control cars that they offer," an eyewitness told eonline.com, adding that Jolie was in a good mood and was asking the kids if they liked any of the cars.
--IANS rb/sac
( 160 Words)
2017-05-27-13:24:09 (IANS)
Chef Ranveer Brar says it is thrilling to narrate tales of his "explorations and experiments with food" to a global audience through social media platforms. "I like visiting interesting destinations but what I like even more is sharing my adventure with people through social platforms. It's thrilling to narrate tales of my explorations and experiments with food, to a global audience that is just as passionate about food and travel as I am," Brar told IANS via email. The chef is hosting a food truck reality show titled "Femme Foodies" and came out with season two of Twitter Video Show "#RanveerOnTheRoad", filmed in Seychelles in association with the Seychelles Tourism Board. He says he likes to "bring alive the spirit of the place". "Through my stories, I try to go beyond the scenic beauty of the place and bring alive the spirit of the place. What really helps is engaging with viewers by having conversations with them about these experiences," he said. Brar will be taking his fans and followers on Twitter through his food explorations with the 15-episode food and travel video series on Twitter. It started on Thursday, and will be tweeted twice weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays. --IANS sug/rb/bg ( 218 Words) 2017-05-27-17:06:10 (IANS)
FARGO, N.D. A 23-year-old woman described in court on Friday how she witnessed Ashley Hunter murder another man two years ago.
I woke up to Clay begging me for his life, said Megan Wartman, testifying in Cass County District Court, where Hunter is on trial for allegedly murdering two men in north Fargo in 2015.
Wartman said she had been sleeping on a couch in the home of Clarence Flowers, also known as "Clay," when she heard him shouting for help, and she ran to Flowers bedroom just in time to see him fall to the floor.
She said she saw Hunter holding a long knife, which she said he made her hold.
He wanted me to touch the murder weapon so I was a part of it, said Wartman, who described herself as a recovering drug addict.
Wartman said she did not know either Flowers or Hunter very well on June 22, 2015, the day Flowers was killed, adding she had slept at Flowerss home at his invitation because she had been awake for days and was in desperate need of sleep.
My eyes were bleeding, I begged him to let me sleep, she said.
Wartman testified that after Hunter killed Flowers he made her write down a statement saying she had seen a Mexican guy before finding Flowers body on the floor. She said Hunter then took her as a hostage as he looked for a place to lay low.
Hunter is on trial for Flowers death, as well as for the murder of Samuel Traut, who authorities believe was killed by Hunter several hours after Flowers was fatally stabbed 77 times.
Wartman said after Flowers was killed she and Hunter eventually made it to the home of a man she knew as Apache, a person identified in court Friday as Christopher Doss, who in June 2015 lived at 1119 N. University Drive in Fargo in a house that was separated by a fence from the home where Traut lived.
Wartman said she and Hunter, along with Doss and Dosss girlfriend, were in Dosss home and high on drugs when a 10 p.m. TV newscast aired a story about Hunter being wanted for Flowers murder earlier in the day.
She said at that point Doss and his girlfriend left the house.
Wartman said she and Hunter stayed in the house until later the next morning, when despite fearing for her life she said she chastised Hunter, telling him the best decision for him was to turn himself in.
My whole life was going down the tubes over something so stupid and petty, Wartman said.
Wartman said she realized at some point Hunter was gone and she walked out of the house to see a neighborhood filled with police officers.
None of them stopped her, she said, so she went to the only person I could trust in this world, her recovery caseworker.
Wartman said her caseworker then notified police.
In a statement Hunter gave to police after surrendering the morning of June 23, 2015, Hunter said he stabbed Flowers with a knife and later bludgeoned Traut with a hammer after going to Trauts back door to ask for a glass of water.
In the statement, a video of which was played in court on Thursday, May 25, Hunter initially indicated Doss was to blame for Trauts death, referring to Doss as The Original.
Testifying Friday, Doss said he had never gone by that nickname and he had never killed anyone in his life.
Doss said when Hunter, who he had only recently met once before, showed up at his house at around 8 or 9 p.m. on June 22, 2015, Doss got the impression Hunter was in trouble and needed to leave town. Doss said he realized what that trouble was when he saw the news story about Hunter being wanted for murder.
I didnt want no part of it, Doss said, adding he told Hunter to leave and Hunter said he would.
Doss said he and his girlfriend left their home early on the morning of June 23, at which time he said he saw no activity around Trauts home.
Testimony provided by a neighbor earlier in the trial indicated that a tall African-American man knocked on Trauts door around midnight on June 22 and a fire was seen in the home about an hour and a half later.
Doss said that at some point on the night of June 22, Hunter left the house for a time.
Hunters attorney, Samuel Gereszek, asked Doss if Hunter was covered with blood or smoke when he came back to the house.
No, Doss answered.
Sanjay will be the star attraction of the event, which will be held in Oslo and Lorenskog from September 8 to 14, read a statement.
The actor will attend the festival on September 8.
Nasrullah Qureshi, festival director, said: "We are very excited to have Sanjay Dutt on the opening day of the event. Cinema lovers of Norway would be very delighted to see Bollywood star in Norway. There has been a lot of excitement within the team after Sanjay Dutt sir's confirmation to the festival. The team has been working hard to give everyone the best seven days to make memories."
There would be other guests present at the event whose names would be disclosed soon.
Apart from screening of films, a Bollywood musical evening, dance performances and a segment on awareness about fitness and health will also take place at the event.
--IANS sug/ks/bg
( 172 Words)
2017-05-27-17:24:20 (IANS)
Mr Khan in a message here to the bereaved family said, "KPS Gill was a torch bearer for anybody who was ready to sacrifice his life for the safety and security of the country".
Terming him as an idol and inspiration, Mr Khan recalled his many one on one meetings with him especially those where he sought the latter's advice on counter terrorism operations in J&K.
Pertinent to mention here that Mr Khan, who retired from the IPS cadre of the J&K Police is credited with establishing and successfully leading anti militancy operations in Jammu Kashmir in 90s through the STF (Special Task Force).
''It is a personal loss to me. I gained immensely from his guidance and advice that helped us in fighting militancy in the state,'' Khan added. UNI VBH JW 2215
-- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0098-910275.Xml
"Encounter started at Saimu Tral. Reportedly 3 terrorists trapped," tweeted Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police Shesh Paul Vaid.
A group of terrorists attacked at the Indian Army's patrolling party at Jammu and Kashmir's Saimooh village in Pulwama's Tral.
The entire area has been cordoned off as the army and the police are conducting combing operations. The operation is still underway.
Earlier in the day, the Indian Army recovered two bodies along with weapons including one AK 47 rifles and one pistol after foiling an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri Sector, the jawans gunned down two Border Action Team (BAT) terrorists.
On May 13, amid the ongoing firing by Pakistan along the Line of Control, an Indian Army patrol party was fired upon by terrorists in Pulwama's Tral area. (ANI)
Ahead of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday welcomed the meeting of the duo, however refraining from commenting on speculations revolving around the same. BJP leader Shaina NC said there could be any kind of talk, either developmental or a generic one, but one does not need to speculate on it. "Nitish Kumar is the Bihar Chief Minister and obviously he is entitled to meet the Prime Minister because this the Prime Minister of the nation, and not a particular party. I think there could be a lot of development talk taking place or even a general talk. Why should we speculate on it," Shaina told ANI. Expressing similar sentiments, BJP spokesperson Sudesh Verma said the meeting was only over a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it. "It is a normal protocol lunch and nothing more should be read into it. As far as we are concerned, our agenda is 'sabka sath, sabka vikas', so every person who believes in the same will always be welcomed by us," Verma told ANI. Nitish Kumar is likely to attend a lunch to be hosted by Prime Minister Modi, which is scheduled to be to held today in the national capital in the honour of Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Interestingly, Nitish earlier on Friday missed the lunch organized by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, which was attended by JD (U) leader Sharad Yadav. (ANI)
The meeting will be held at Telangana Bhavan in Hyderabad.
The meeting will discuss among other, things regarding party membership and party's committee formation.
It will also discuss on the welfare and development activities being implemented in the state.
Discussion will also take place on the activities pertaining to welfare and development to be taken up in the state as part of state formation day and the next two days as part of celebrations.
Since this will be an important meeting, Rao has requested all the party MPs , MLAs and MLCs to attend the same without fail. (ANI)
Though Telangana state has two more years to face the upcoming Assembly Elections, the political parties in the state have started girding their loins. The state has suddenly been witnessing leaders visiting from Delhi, and the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) has been calling for frequent party meetings. The newly formed Telangana State will go into elections for the second time in the year 2019. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah's visit to Telangana seems to be the curtain raiser for the BJP to prepare itself in the state to fight elections. A former minister of Andhra Pradesh state Nagam Janardhan Reddy said "Amit Shah is touring the entire country. This is just the beginning and the fight will begin." He confidently said, "In Telangana, the BJP will come into power and chief minister Kalvakuntla Chandrashekhar Rao (KCR) is in panic because of his corruption." The Congress party as an opposition has started moving its leaders and also announced that they will release their manifesto one year ahead of the elections. Krishank, a Congress student leader from Cantonment is seen active to attract voters and he says that both Amit Shah and KCR are insecure in the Centre and the state. People feel there are only verbal slinging and no performance. Anyone coming from the Centre, KCR will attack them and immediately reacts. He also added that there is a complete insecurity amongst the Central and the state governments. They fear congress. They want to go into elections immediately to tell that they haven't been given proper time to deliver. "But definitely people have given them time. Amit Shah visited Nalgonda, a Congress bastion only to weaken the Congress. And on the other hand, the TRS is afraid because their surveys have failed. The Congress will come into power because people realised that Congress has fought for Telangana," Congress added. A Telangana Joint Action Committee chairman Kodandaram said, "Surprisingly yes, the election feel has come and this time it has began early while we still have two years for elections. For some reason everyone is actively preparing for the election." Talking about alliances he said that it is too early to comment upon how parties will behave and which parties will go in alliance. This election is going to be determined by the expectation people acquired in the course of struggle for a separate state. (ANI)
Even as Uttar Pradesh authorities kept a close watch, Saharanpur borders were ordered to be sealed on Saturday to prevent Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi from visiting survivors of the caste violence that has hit the district. The Congress leader had started for his proposed visit from New Delhi to the district despite denial of permission by state authorities, police said. Senior civil and police officials, including Deputy Inspector General (Security) Vijay Bhushan were camping on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border at Sarsava to intercept Gandhi's motorcade. On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government denied permission to Gandhi to visit the villages where caste conflicts since May 5 have left at least two dead and over two dozen others injured, until the situation returns to normal. "We are committed to ensure peace and harmony in the region and will not allow any political leader to visit the places that have been singed by caste clashes over the past few days," a senior Home Department official told IANS. He said senior state officials are camping in the district to monitor the situation. Already embarrassed by another bout of violence after Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati's visit to the district this week, the district administration is not willing to take chances. According to the district Congress leaders, Gandhi will only meet the injured persons in hospital and not visit the spots where clashes were reported. Clashes between the Dalits and Rajputs erupted on May 5 in Shabbirpur village after objections were raised over the playing of loud music in connection with the celebration of the birth anniversary of warrior king Maharana Pratap. --IANS md/ksk/tsb ( 280 Words) 2017-05-27-13:18:29 (IANS)
Issuing a stern warning to Pakistan, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley today said the country will have to pay a price for what it had done, and the Army was prepared for any eventuality. ''The Army is fully prepared, but all details can't be be made public,'' Mr Jaitley said in an exclusive interview to Doordarshan on three years of the NDA Government to be telecast tonight. His remarks come amidst the continuing tension on the border and the LoC with infiltration and ceasefire violations continuing on top of the recent beheading of Indian soldiers. ''Our forces have full domination on the border and LoC and whatever was necessary to check infiltration they were doing,'' Mr Jaitley said. The Army last week launched punitive assault on Pakistani along the LoC.''We take punitive action around LoC, so that infiltration attempts are reduced. With the melting of ice and opening of passes, there is risk of an increase in infiltration attempts. We want peace in Kashmir, and it is important that we improve counter-terrorist operation,'' the Army had said after the strikes.UNI NAZ RSA 1314 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0091-910631.Xml
Police said the bus was running at great speed when the driver lost controlof the bus and it fell into the ditch.
The bus was going from Nagarkura in Nadia to Habra in North 24 Paraganas.
The seriously wounded have been rushed to hospitals in Kolkata.
The driver managed to escape.UNI XC KK
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Greg Gianforte's physical attack on a reporter on the eve of his election as Montana's sole U.S. House member thrust both him and the state into the bright glare of the national spotlight, and it could have lasting repercussions.
Longtime election analyst Nathan Gonzales, the editor and publisher of the nonpartisan campaign news site Inside Elections, said he believes that Gianforte will of course get more attention from the press when he arrives in Washington.
He didnt just poke the bear, he body slammed the bear, Gonzales said, referring to a criminal assault citation after Gianforte threw Guardian reporter Ben Jacobs to the ground and broke his glasses at a campaign event on Wednesday night when Jacobs began asking questions about the Republican health care plan.
Gianforte is scheduled to appear in court in Gallatin County before June 7.
Hes going to come to Washington and have to deal with the consequences, more consequences I guess, Gonzales said. To put it another way, the D.C. press corps is going to treat him differently than Ron Estes, who won the special election (for Congress) in Kansas. Theres going to be more attention on Gianforte because of the last 48 hours of the campaign.
Gonzales said that the fact that Gianforte hails from a rural state with a relatively low population will not allow him to keep a low profile.
His constituency and his geographic location will have no bearing on the scrutiny hell receive at all, Gonzales said. It will all have to do with his interaction with that reporter.
"Time could heal some wounds, but theres no going back with the reporters. Hell get an extra level of scrutiny that most members of Congress dont have. Hes not going to be able to sneak through the hallways of the Capitol. Hes going to attract attention.
A national punchline
At least one longtime D.C. political analyst believes that Gianforte may also be shunned by the Republican leadership and given less important committee assignments in an effort to avoid tying the Republican party to his personal controversy.
James A. Thurber, a distinguished professor of government at American University and the founder of the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, said the fact that Speaker of the House Paul Ryan had to call on Gianforte to apologize was telling.
For the Speaker to publicly say, 'The gentleman should apologize, something generally doesnt get to this, said Thurber, who has written 12 books on American politics. Therefore, the party leadership may take him aside and say, 'You've got to be a little more civilized in terms of the way you interact with the press.''
Thurber said the controversy could affect Gianforte's stature in Congress.
"People that have been around a long time, when theyre judging who should get certain committee assignments, this doesnt help (Gianforte). There are things that are unsaid that happen. There will be opportunities that dont come about (for Gianforte) because of things like this, but hell never know it.
He added that normally, not many people even know who freshmen members of Congress are.
To pop out like this among freshmen, especially in a special election, is rare, Thurber said. To be a showboat this early is not good. Usually, nobody even knows who they are. They co-sponsor a few bills, do constituent work and vote with the party.
Thurber also predicted that Gianforte would suffer politically if he becomes a national punchline, especially if his interaction with Jacobs is parodied by Saturday Night Live, which Thurber said on Friday afternoon would probably happen.
If he turns into a joke, thats deadly for a public official, Thurber said.
'Being accountable'
Jeff Ballou, president of the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., said that national journalists are very busy and also very professional.
If people are thinking were going to be somehow waiting outside his door with pitchforks and torches, we frankly have better things to do, he said. And there are a cacophony of issues to cover in the nations capitol. Gianforte will be one of a crowd, low in seniority and high in profile.
Ballou said that Gianforte does come in under unique circumstances.
Like any high profile for very different reasons in this case member of Congress-elect, therell be a lot of attention, if for nothing else but a curiosity factor, Ballou said. Everybody knows what hes done. Hes apologized for it. He will be given the same respect as any member-elect of Congress.
Ballou said that the job of elected officials in a democracy, where the First Amendment prevents Congress from abridging the freedom of speech or the press, is to talk to the media.
For any member of Congress, he or she will be expected to perform his or her duties and part of that is to take questions from members of the press, Ballou said. Our job is constitutional just like his.
"It is one thing to serve, but part of that service is being accountable for your service and to taking questions on votes youve taken or positions you take.
Its not the job or imperative of the D.C. press corps to mount a campaign against Gianforte to try to get him ousted, Ballou explained.
Our gig is to treat him simply like the other 434 members of the House and 100 members of the Senate and call the balls and strikes as he delivers them,'' he said. "Its not the job of the D.C. press corps to fan those flames.
Ballou said that the people of Montana deserve to know more about Gianfortes actions in Washington above and beyond just his roll call voting record.
All his statements, all his movements, all the things that people expect to know about a member of Congress, Ballou said. Hes going to get some white hot spotlight, Im sure, when he first arrives and at some point the press corps will move on.
Ballou added that since the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, recently joked about shooting reporters at a gun event, he believes there is a concerning trend happening in the coverage of politics in America.
Its not funny when collectively there is this atmosphere of incivility and rhetorically undermining the Constitution, he said. That serves no one. It doesnt serve the people of Montana or, in Gov. Abbotts case, Texas."
The most important thing, he said, is to not let the controversy overshadow how Gianforte does his job.
"It just gets in the way of being able to see what (Gianforte) is actually doing for his new day job," Ballou said. "Thats all we want to do. If he starts slamming doors and hiding, the people of Montana are going to go what gives? We wish him respectfully well to have a successful term in Congress, and we hope he doesnt duck our questions.
"All we ask is for elected officials to respect the whole document (the Constitution) that they were elected to uphold and protect.
Increased scrutiny
Lesley Clark, who has worked as a journalist in D.C. for a decade and is now a national correspondent for McClatchy Newspapers D.C. Bureau, said no reporter wants to become the story.
Reporters first instinct is to treat all members of Congress with respect and dignity, she said. However, we all want to get answers to questions.
Clark and other D.C. journalists told the Missoulian that since President Donald Trump was elected, there have been more reporters on Capitol Hill.
She thinks it will be a little awkward when journalists interact with Gianforte for the first time.
(Gianforte) will find himself with a recorder in his face pretty much all the time, walking through the hallway or coming in for votes, she said. He cant really expect to not see reporters unless hes in is own office or sitting on the House floor.
"But most members know that and are pretty good about it. Theyll come out and answer questions, and if they dont want to, theyll walk away. We will pester them a little and say things like, Oh, come on, you can answer that.' So hes going to have to get used to that. Theres no way to serve in Congress without that.
Clark also said that at least initially, Gianforte will face greater scrutiny from the media than other low-profile members of Congress.
People in the news get greater scrutiny'' she said. "All eyes are going to be on him when he first gets up here.
David Lightman, a veteran national political correspondent for McClatchy, had a different opinion.
Hell get the same scrutiny anybody else does, the only difference is hes better known because of the incident, Lightman said. Hell get the same scrutiny we give anybody else.
Gianforte is not the first member of Congress to serve while facing a criminal charge.
On Thursday, the news site Vox published an article explaining how elected officials continue to serve after committing offenses. For example, author Jeff Stein wrote that Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was indicted on federal corruption charges two years ago, but is still serving in the Senate.
Rep Chaka Fattah, D-Pa., was indicted on federal racketeering charges in July of 2015 and continued to serve for more than a year. Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, was indicted in 2008 on seven counts of failing to properly report gifts and served in Congress for five more months.
Gianforte is also not the first to threaten a reporter. Rep. Michael Grimm, R-N.Y., threatened to break a reporter in half and throw him off a balcony while on camera. Grimm was facing tax evasion charges at the time, and then-Speaker of the House John Boehner privately asked him to resign. Grimm later apologized and resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to felony tax evasion.
The Border Security Force (BSF) today found a metal box containing around 400 live and empty cartridges of various weapons, including AK 47, SLR and INSAS rifle, partially buried in the bottom of a dry nullah near its camp in the Khavda area close to the border of Pakistan in Kutch district of Gujarat.BSF Deputy Commandant Prabhat Sharma said an information was received by BSF intelligence wing that a metal box containing ammunition was lying partially buried with its upper part visible in the dry nullah situated at around 500 meters north of the camp of 150 battalion of BSF.He said the box was dug out in which 176 live but rusty cartridges of weapons like AK 47, SLR and INSAS were found apart from 202 blank ones."The condition of the ammunition reveals that these were very old and rusty and even the live ones were virtually unusable," Mr Sharma said, adding that the matter has been handed over to Khavda police for further investigation.UNI RAJ SW SHK 1540 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-910820.Xml
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ongoing unrest in Jammu and Kashmir and claimed that latter is giving foothold to the anti-national powers in the Valley. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is giving foothold to anti-national powers in Jammu and Kashmir," Rahul said in Saharanpur. He also claimed that during the tenure of the Congress, the grand old party brought peace in the Valley and the current the government has failed to do so. "We worked for ten years and brought peace in Jammu and Kashmir, now see the present situation of the state. Whenever there is peace in Jammu and Kashmir, it is profitable for the India. But when violence took place, it's profitable for Pakistan. It's all done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi," he further said. Earlier in the day, the Jammu and Kashmir Police killed two terrorists, including Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) commander Sabzar Bhatt who succeeded Burhan Wani, were killed in an encounter in Saimu Tral sector of Jammu and Kashmir. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir snapped the mobile internet (2G, 3G and 4G) services in Kashmir fearing law and order problems, especially after the killing of top HM commander Sabzar Bhatt in Tral encounter. (ANI)
"It is only the newspapers that are publishing news about a ministry change. There will be no change in the ministry," he told the media at Yercaud, about 370 km from here.
As for meetings of AIADMK legislators with him, Palaniswami said they discussed issues related to their respective constituencies.
The Chief Minister said he will respond to the Centre's move to prevent sale of cows and buffaloes for slaughter when the order is received. "One cannot say anything on the basis of newspaper reports."
The Environment Ministry on Friday notified Prevention of Cruelty to Animal (Regulation of Livestock Markets) Rules, 2017, with the aim of regulating the animal market and prevent animal cruelty.
--IANS vj/tsb/bg
( 144 Words)
2017-05-27-17:16:19 (IANS)
There is no town or city in Uttar Pradesh where crime is not soaring after the Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Yogi Adityanath has been sworn in, the Congress leader said.
He also targetted the Centre, saying both the state and central government have "miserably failed on all fronts".
Gandhi made the comments after meeting persons affected by the Saharanpur violence at a roadside eatery in Sarsawa on the Uttar Pradesh-Haryana border.
He also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Kashmir violence and said Pakistan had benefitted due to the situation in the Valley.
On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government had denied permission to Gandhi to visit the villages where caste conflicts since May 5 have left at least two dead and over two dozen others injured.
Clashes between the Dalits and Rajputs erupted on May 5 in Shabbirpur village in Saharanpur after objections were raised over the playing of loud music in connection with the celebration of the birth anniversary of warrior king Maharana Pratap.
On Saturday, Rahul Gandhi reached Saharanpur around 3.30 p.m. along with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Raj Babbar before walking for about half a kilometre to meet the violence affected.
Earlier, a major crisis was averted when district administration and police officials succeeded in convincing the Congress leaders not to enter Saharanpur district, where heavy police force was deployed and its borders sealed.
--IANS md/tsb/rn
( 277 Words)
2017-05-27-17:18:09 (IANS)
Samajwadi Party chief and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday was denied permission to enter the riot-hit Saharanpur district, hours after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was stopped at the outskirts of the border. After being denied to visit to Shabbirpur village, which has been seeing clashes between two communities, Rahul blamed the Yogi Government for failing to establish law and order in the state. "In today's India, there is no place for poor people. The government has failed on law and order in Uttar Pradesh. The role of the government is to provide safety to all citizens of the nation but the government failed to do so," Gandhi said. "The Uttar Pradesh administration asked me to leave. They will later take me to the village once the situation becomes stable," he further said. However, the police did try to stop the Congress vice-president but the latter adamantly reached the clash-affected area to take stock of the situation. The Congress vice-president was yesterday denied permission to visit the clash-affected district where a caste conflict had erupted in which many Dalits were allegedly targeted. Meanwhile, the police have appealed the political parties not to visit the village until the situation is normalised. "We have requested all political parties not to visit the state until the situation is brought back to normal in Saharanpur." Additional Director General of Police Law and Order Aditya Mishra told ANI. (ANI)
Axed Water Minister Kapil Mishra, who has been trading corruption charges against Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal all this while, has now alleged a scam of Rs 300-crore, in purchase of medicines in the health department of the Delhi government.At a press conference, Mr Mishra made the allegation that the Health department of the state government is mired in medicine fraud of Rs 300 crore. Medicines costing this amount have already been purchased but not made it to the hospitals' pharmacies. He has also charged that irregularities in transfers, appointments in the ministry and ambulance procurement for hospitals also took place.He threatened that he would soon get an FIR registered in all the three cases.Not stopping at just that, MLA from Karawal constituency Mr Mishra thundered that he would blow the lid off from all the wrongs happening in the much ambitious deary scheme of Kejriwal, the Mohalla clinics in the next one or two days. Soon after Mr Mishra levelled allegations of graft against Mr Kejriwal, he was not only removed from the Cabinet but expelled from Aam Aadmi Party as well.Mr Mishra said government hospitals are facing severe medicine crunch. But government is not at fault because it did buy the medicines but they never reached the hospitals. The medicines are lying in abundance in governmental stores but are getting expired. Already huge stock is outdated. Referring to the "ambulance purchase scam", Mr Mishra disclosed that the ambulance van which the TATA was offering for Rs eight lakhs to the government was bought by the authorities at a whopping cost of Rs 23 lakhs dealing a financial blow to the government.The government's contention was that the costly ambulances were fire resistant but two of them caught fire even before launch puncturing its claim.Mr Mishra also charged Health Minister Satyendar Jain with wrongdoings in transfers and appointments in his ministry and alleged that thirty MS were appointed in the department who were close relatives of the minister after removing senior doctors from the posts.Mr Mishra also alleged "that the job of purchasing the medicines for hospitals was handed over to the CPA.Tarun Seem was allotted four posts and purchase of medicines started through software. Three godowns came into being to store medicines''.Mr Mishra revealed that the government had stored medicines of three to six months in advance last year but they failed to reach the hospitals and got 'expired' lying there.UNI SY SHK 1717 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0093-910898.Xml
BJP president Manoj Tiwari has urged Lt Governor of Delhi Anil Baijal to immediately order seizure and sealing of files pertaining to purchase of medicines, ambulances and other equipment by the health department besides those related to de-silting of drains by the Delhi Jal Board and PWD.In a letter to the Lt Governor, Mr Tiwari wrote, ''In the last few days we have heard a lot about financial irregularities by the Health Minister Satyender Jain and now suddenly Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also inspecting the hospitals amidst allegations of irregularities in purchases of medicines, ambulances among others necessitating investigation into these cases.''He said a few days ago the government was seen in strict action. ''Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia issued warnings to Delhi Jal Board and PWD officials of punitive action in case of water logging in any part of Delhi. Reports coming from all areas of the national capital indicate that people are not aware of de-silting work being done.Whenever Delhi gets even a little rainfall, traffic gets disrupted due to water logging all around the city'' Mr Tiwari observed.''Mr Sisodia's statement clearly indicates that the government is well aware of lapses in the de-silting work and in view of possible public protest is trying to shift its own responsibility on the officials. It is just a blame game and needs to be inquired, Mr Manoj remarked.UNI SY SB 2029 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0093-911368.Xml
The indigenous Scorpene class submarine has successfully test-fired a torpedo, Defence Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday, congratulating the scientists and engineers for it. Defence Ministry sources said this was the last major test that was required before the submarine could be handed over to the Indian Navy. Jaitley said in a series of tweets that the test was done by the first Scorpene class submarine Kalvari, but did not say which torpedo was tested. The sources also declined to identify the torpedo. "Congratulations to our scientists, engineers on successfully test firing torpedo from the first indigenously built Scorpene Class Submarine. "This indigenously built stealth Submarine Awill soon add potent underwater capability to the Indian Navy," posted Jaitley. On March 2, the Kalvari, the first of the six Scorpene submarines being built in India, had test fired an anti-ship missile for the first time. The Scorpenes submarines are being built by Mazagaon Dockyard Limited under Project 75 with transfer of technology from the collaborator, DCNS of France. Two of the submarines are ready, and rest four are under construction. Kalvari is undergoing sea trials and expected to be commissioned mid-2017. The second submarine Khanderi was launched on January 12 this year, and will undergo rigorous tests and trials in the harbour and at sea, on surface and underwater till December this year, and will be commissioned in the Navy after that. The state-of-the-art features of the Scorpenes include superior stealth and ability to launch a crippling attack on the enemy using precision guided weapons. The attacks could be carried out with torpedoes, tube-launched anti-ship missiles both while underwater or on surface in all theatres, including the tropics, giving it invulnerability unmatched by many other submarines. --IANS ao/vd ( 298 Words) 2017-05-27-21:34:09 (IANS)
The lights of the Eiffel Tower are set to be turned off in support for the Coptic community of Egypt, where a bus carrying Coptic Christians was shot at by gunmen killing at least 28 persons and wounding more than 20 in Minya province. The symbolic blackout of the monument was announced by the Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo on Friday night from her Twitter account, Efe news reported. Hidalgo lamented that the Christian community in Egypt was again the target of a barbaric and cowardly attack, adding that her thoughts are with the victims and their families. On Friday night, the Eiffel Tower will be shut down from 12.45 a.m. (local time) as a sign of sympathy to Egyptian Copts, said her second tweet. Built to the west of Paris in 1889, the Eiffel Tower is one of the most visited monuments in the world and one of the characteristic views of the city. The last time the monument's lights were turned off was on May 23, in tribute to the 22 persons killed and dozens wounded in the terror attack in Manchester, United Kingdom. Condemning the attack, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian said: "I condemn in the name of France with the utmost firmness the cowardly and barbarous act that plagues Egypt. No one should fear for his life by exercising the fundamental right to freely practice his faith." --IANS vgu/ ( 248 Words) 2017-05-27-03:48:27 (IANS)
The bombings were aimed at "terrorist" outposts, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi said, adding that any form of state-sponsored terrorism should be punished. Irrespective of whether terrorists are inside or outside Libya's borders, they will be targeted by Egyptian attacks, the president added. Six "terrorist" camps were struck by the sortie, the Sputnik reported.
Earlier on Friday, 28 Coptic Christians were ambushed and killed while en route to St. Samuel the Confessor Monastery in Egypt's Minya province.
U.S. President Donald Trump has condemned the murder of Christians.
"Evil organizations of terror" with a "thuggish ideology" are culpable for the attacks against Christians, he said. (ANI)
The move could break a bipartisan tradition that has been in place for nearly 20 years as the month of fasting and prayer for Muslims gets under way in many countries on Saturday.
Since 1999, Republican and Democratic secretaries of state have nearly always hosted either an Iftar dinner to break the day's fast during Ramadan or a reception marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday at the end of the month, at the State Department.
Tillerson turned down the request forwarded by the State Department's Office of Religion and Global Affairs to host an Eid al-Fitr reception as part of Ramadan celebrations.
The reports emerge days after U.S. President Donald Trump in his first official tour abroad visited the Muslim majority nation of Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, where he addressed the leaders of more than 50 Muslim countries.
However, earlier Trump came under much fire for his attempts to ban citizens of several Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
Meanwhile, Tillerson issued a statement on Friday to mark the start of Ramadan, which he called "a month of reverence, generosity, and self-reflection."
President Trump also wished Muslims "a joyful Ramadan," on Friday, urging them to use the holy month to reject violence by the extremists. (ANI)
South Korea has dispatched its anti-piracy naval unit to waters off Somalia after communication with a Mongolian fishing vessel was cut when it requested help, fearing it was being followed by a suspected pirate vessel.South Korean foreign ministry said communication with the squid fishing vessel, with three Koreans and 18 Indonesians on board, was cut after midnight yesterday.The ministry said India, Germany and Japan have deployed aircraft to the waters off Somalia to search for the vessel."We are working with authorities in related countries including the United States, Germany, India and Japan," the ministry said in a statement.It said South Korean President Moon Jae-in asked related ministries to "put the utmost priority on human lives and make sure that they will be rescued".A South Korean navy unit in 2011 stormed a South Korean-operated chemical carrier Samho Jewelry that had been hijacked by Somali pirates, rescuing all 21 crew members and killing eight pirates.On Tuesday, Somali pirates hijacked an Iranian fishing vessel to use as a base to attack bigger, more valuable ships, part of an upsurge in attacks following years of relative calm.This month has seen a new rash of attacks, with two ships captured and a third rescued by Indian and Chinese forces after the crew radioed for help and locked themselves in a safe room.The sudden string of attacks by Somali pirates comes after years without a reported incident. Attacks peaked with 237 in 2011 but declined steeply after ship owners improved security measures and international naval forces stepped up patrols.The United States is closely watching a recent increase in piracy off the coast of Somalia and a senior US military official says the rise in piracy attacks has at least partially been driven by famine and drought in the region.REUTERS SV 1346 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0103-910676.Xml
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has compared US President Donald Trump's "imperiled presidency" to that of Richard Nixon's in a fiery commencement speech at her alma mater Wellesley College. "We were furious about the past presidential election of a man whose presidency would eventually end in disgrace with his impeachment after firing the person running the investigation into him at the Department of Justice," Clinton said, before clarifying she was speaking about Nixon. In 1973, President Nixon ordered the then Attorney General to fire a special prosecutor who was looking into taped conversations recorded in the Oval Office as part of the Watergate scandal. He later resigned while facing the threat of impeachment in 1974. Clinton's reference to Nixon's firing of an investigator, in a graduation speech at the college on Friday, was an apparent knock at Trump's controversial decision to sack his former FBI Director James Comey, CNN reported. Since Comey's ouster, the President has been accused of urging Comey to end a probe into his ex-National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. She took repeated veiled shots at Trump for having launched "a full-fledged assault on truth and reason" and proposing a budget that represented an "attack of unimaginable cruelty on the most vulnerable among us". Her sharp remarks met thunderous applause and cheers from the graduating class. She went on to say that "when people in power invent their own facts and attack those who question them, it can mark the beginning of the end of a free society". Wellesley College president Paula Johnson noted in her introduction of Clinton that the famous alum almost broke the "highest, hardest glass ceiling." "And she won the popular vote," Johnson added. Clinton herself joked that she got through the aftermath of the election with the help of friends, family and wine. "Long walks in the woods. Organising my closets," she said. "Chardonnay helped a little too." The former presidential nominee's commencement speech came more than six months after her defeat to Trump, and almost five decades after a young Hillary Rodham's speech at her own graduation thrust her into the national spotlight, according to the report. Following the speech, Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said that Clinton's comments were a "stark reminder why (she) lost in 2016" and accused her of "lashing out with the same partisan talking points". --IANS soni/ ( 405 Words) 2017-05-27-14:32:20 (IANS)
US President Donald Trump said today that NATO alliance allies are already stepping up their contributions to the organisation, two days after the president scolded members for not spending enough on defence."Many NATO countries have agreed to step up payments considerably, as they should. Money is beginning to pour in -NATO will be much stronger," Trump tweeted from Sicily where he is attending a Group of Seven meeting.REUTERS RJ 1554 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-910869.Xml
Western nations should add sanctions against Russia as the current ones are not working well enough to resolve the Ukraine crisis, Lithuania's foreign minister said today.The 28-nation European Union and the United States imposed sanctions on Russia after Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and then backed separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.The EU has so far kept a united front in keeping sanctions until a ceasefire agreement signed in Minsk in 2015 is implemented, despite criticism from some leaders of the bloc.The United States' resolve, though, has sometimes come under doubt under new President Donald Trump.Lithuania shares a border with Russia and the annexation of Crimea has raised worry in it and its Baltic neighbours over Russian aggression.Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius said sanctions remained the only leverage the West had to press Russia."If they are not working well, let's add sanctions," he said at the GLOBSEC Bratislava Forum when asked whether the current sanctions were working."I believe we should but it is not so easy," he added.The diplomatic stand-off with Russia has dragged relations between Moscow and the West to a post-Cold War low.European Council President Donald Tusk urged Group of Seven leaders yesterday to stick to the sanctions policy.Tusk was responding to comments by White House economic adviser Gary Cohn on Thursday that appeared to differ to those from U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has repeatedly said sanctions must remain until Minsk is put in place.But speaking yesterday, Cohn said, "We're not lowering our sanctions on Russia. If anything we would look to get tougher on Russia. The president wants to keep the sanctions in place and I think the president has made it clear how the Russians could have the sanctions lifted."Fighting between pro-Russian rebels and government forces first broke out in April 2014. About 10,000 people have been killed in the three-year conflict and concerns are growing that the situation could once again rapidly deteriorate. REUTERS RJ -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-910880.Xml
British police made two more arrests on Saturday in connection with the Manchester concert bombing that killed 22 people, bringing the number of suspects in custody to 11. Two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested on suspicion of terror offences after officers carried out a controlled explosion to gain entry to a home in the Cheetham Hill area of the city, The Telegraph reported. Till now 13 people have been detained in the Monday terror attack probe, two of whom were released earlier without charge, the Greater Manchester Police said. Two cousins of the Manchester suicide bomber were being questioned in connection with the attack, as police said they were confident they had identified much of the terrorist's network, according to the report. Abedi's cousins -- Abderahman and Abdallah Forjani -- were arrested earlier this week from a home in the Fallowfield area of the city. Armed officers raided Fade'Away barber shop, run by Abedi's cousins, in the early hours of Friday morning and took away a number of items of interest. According to police, one unsubstantiated theory is Abedi may have used the shop to obtain hydrogen peroxide -- a chemical used in the hairdressing industry which can also be used to build bombs. Britain's top counter-terrorism officer Mark Rowley said that while there were still important lines of inquiry to pursue and further arrests were likely, the public should "go out as you planned and enjoy yourselves" over the bank holiday weekend. He said detectives had made "very significant arrests and some significant finds". The threat level is set to remain at critical throughout the weekend, meaning an attack is still considered imminent. Extra armed police will patrol the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Rugby Premiership final at Twickenham, while 50 per cent more armed officers have been deployed on the streets. Prime Minister Theresa May was chairing an emergency COBRA (a crisis response committee) meeting, having left the G7 summit in Sicily early. The investigation into whether a network supported Abedi's suicide attack involved raids at 12 addresses in Britain, including Manchester, Wigan, Nuneaton and St. Helens. Libyan authorities also arrested Abedi's father, Ramadan, and younger brother Hashem, 20. --IANS soni/bg ( 375 Words) 2017-05-27-16:00:26 (IANS)
Iranian mortar fire today killed a Pakistani civilian in the western Baluchistan province that shares a long border with Iran, a regional Pakistani official said.Relations between Iran and Pakistan have been at a low ebb since 10 Iranian border guards were killed by militants last month. Iran said that, in that incident, Jaish al Adl, a Sunni militant group, had opened fire from inside Pakistan.Earlier this month the head of the Iranian armed forces warned Islamabad that Tehran would hit bases inside Pakistan if the government did not confront Sunni militants who carry out cross-border attacks.Abdul Jabbar, deputy commissioner of the Panjgur district in Baluchistan, said Iranian border security forces had fired "many" mortar shells and rockets over the last two days."A Pakistani man was killed when a mortar shell hit his pickup while passing through the area," said Jabbar.He added that Pakistani officials had lodged a protest with Iranian authorities and asked for a meeting on Sunday.Iranian officials could not be immediately reached for comment.REUTERS RJ 1654 -- (Reuters) -- C-1-1-DL0098-910984.Xml
The Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, may well be won by a woman director this year.If that happens at the awards ceremony of the 70th Cannes film festival tomorrow, it will erase a historical incorrectness at the world's most influential film festival. Only one woman has ever won the Palme d'Or in the festival's past 69 years. That was New Zealand-born Jane Campion for 'The Piano'.That too happened 24 years ago. Campion had to share the prize then with another director Chen Kaige from China. Kaige had come to Cannes that year with 'Farewell My Concubine'.Campion, who is at the Cannes festival, considers the absence of other women filmmakers from the Palme d'Or list of winners, as " Insane". She has also won the Palme d'Or for the short film competition in Cannes, for 'Peel' in 1986.Campion, who was the president of the competition jury in Cannes in 2014, has spoken several times about the need to have more women directors among the Palme d'Or winners. This year, there are three women directors in the competition category of the Cannes festival out of a total of 19 films. They are Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase, American director Soria Coppola and Scottish director Lynne Ramsay.Kawase's new film, 'Hikari' (Radiance) is already talked about as a favourite to win the Palme d'Or. The 101-minute film is about a group of specialists preparing a new method of viewing a movie by the visually impaired. Kawase won the Cannes festival's Camera d'Or prize for the first film of a director in 1997 for 'Suzaku'.Coppala's 'The Beguiled', starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Farrel, is set in the backdrop of the American civil war. Coppola had earlier won the Golden Lion, the top prize of the Venice film festival, for her 2010 film 'Somewhere'.'You Were Never Really Here' by Ramsay, screened last night, deals with child abuse. The 95-minute film received a warm applause at the screening for critics. The Palme d'Or race has evoked a lot of curiosity this year because of the jury headed by celebrated Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodovar, who is known for his films dealing with a woman's world. Almodovar, who is famous for such films as 'Women On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown', 'Talk to Her' and 'Volver', has never won a Palme d'or in Cannes. But many believe he may hand over the prize, which has eluded him, to a woman director this year.The competition jury also has four women filmmakers -- German director Maren Ade, who many still think should have won the Palme d'Or last year for 'Tony Erdmann', American actor Jessica Chastain, Chinese actor-producer Fan Bingbing and French actor-director Agnes Jaqui. The jury also includes American actor Will Smith and Italian director Paolo Sorrentino.The men in the race for the Palme d'Or include two-time winner Austrian director Michael Haneke for his new film 'Happy End' and 'The Artist' director and French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius. The others include acclaimed South Korean director Hong Sangsoo (The Day After) and German director Fatih Akin (In the Fade).When the awards are announced at the closing ceremony of the Cannes festival tomorrow night, it could be a woman director walking to receive it. If that becomes true, Campion would be the one clapping the loudest. UNI XC SW SHK 1628 -- (UNI) -- C-1-1-DL0101-910923.Xml
"Pakistan has opened Friendship (FS) gate Chaman on humanitarian grounds in Ramazan on request from Afghan authorities," the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement.
"After the Chaman incident, Pakistan has its area under effective control having pushed back Afghan Border police troops. Census has been completed in the Pakistani side of the divided villages," it added.
The statement further said that it has been agreed upon by Pakistan authorities that cease fire shall continue to be maintained and no border violation will be acceptable and Pakistani troops will maintain its positions along international border in Killi Luqman and Killi Jahangir on Pakistani side of the border.
Earlier, Pakistan and Afghanistan agreed to avoid escalation at border during a meeting between representatives of the two sides in Chaman.
DIG Frontier Corps Balochistan led the Pakistani delegation while the Afghan side was headed by a Brigadier rank officer of the Afghan Border Police.
The Pakistani delegation informed the Afghan side that the Pakistani troops shall remain on its own side where they are deployed along the international border.
Islamabad and Kabul are caught in a fresh verbal salvo as Pakistan's Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Nadeem Ahmed earlier during the month claimed that Afghan forces targeted the civilian population, while Pakistan targeted their check-posts, leaving 50 Afghan troops dead and 100 others wounded. (ANI)
The change indicates an attack is highly likely, not imminently expected. May said she reduced the nation's terror alert level based on advice from an inter-departmental security meeting called Cobra, BBC reported.
She said significant activity by the police during the last 24 hours had led to the threat being reduced.
It had been set at critical in the aftermath of the Manchester bombing.
Earlier on Saturday, police evacuated an area of Moss Side in Manchester, in a search linked to Monday's Manchester Arena bombing which killed 22 people and left scores injured.
The evacuation was described by Greater Manchester Police as a precautionary measure to "ensure everyone's safety".
Detectives are questioning 11 men over the attack after a series of raids. There were also searches at properties in Cheetham Hill and in the Longsight area.
At the start of the bank holiday weekend, armed police are guarding hundreds of events across the country.
Senior officers have encouraged people to go out, but to remain vigilant.
--IANS soni/bg
( 198 Words)
2017-05-27-17:18:11 (IANS)
The G 7 leaders, in their final communique, have said that the summit in Italy has failed to bridge differences over climate change after United States President Donald Trump remained non-committal over the Paris Agreement. "The United States of America is in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement and thus is not in a position to join the consensus on these topics," the Independent quoted the communique as saying. "Understanding this process, the heads of state and of government of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom and the presidents of the European Council and of the European Commission reaffirm their strong commitment to swiftly implement the Paris Agreement," it added German Chancellor Angela Merkel dubbed the summit that was supposed to decide on the ratification of climate deal, as 'dissatisfying'. "The entire discussion about climate was very difficult, if not to say very dissatisfying. There are no indications whether the United States will stay in the Paris Agreement or not," Merkel said. The reaction came after Trump said that the final decision on the ratification of climate deal would be decided next week. "I will make my final decision on the Paris Accord next week," Trump tweeted. Trump has delayed his final decision on the Paris Accord as he wants more time to decide whether the United States should pull out of the 195-nation agreement. On Thursday, more than 20 Republican senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, sent a letter to Trump asking him to leave the Paris Climate Agreement. Meanwhile, Democrats are urging Trump not to withdraw from the agreement. As of May 2017, 195 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty, 147 of which have ratified it. On October 2016, India became the 62nd nation to ratify the Paris agreement. The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) dealing with greenhouse gases emissions mitigation, adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020. The language of the agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on December12, 2015. (ANI)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-26 03:43:13|Editor: yan
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TIRANA, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Albania will ask the European Union (EU) to open the accession talks shortly after the general elections scheduled on June 25, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama confirmed in a TV interview Thursday.
Albania will demand the start of the membership talks with the EU shortly after the June 25 parliamentary elections, and based on the political compromise we have achieved, the opposition will support the government in this major endeavor, Rama told media.
He made such statement a day after an informal dinner with other Prime Ministers of the Western Balkans hosted by EU's Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels.
According to Rama, the implementation of the vetting law which is deemed crucial to having a functional and reliable justice system will also mark the start of accession talks with the EU.
Albania was awarded candidate status by the EU in June 2014.
During these two years and a half, Albanian political class has been engaged in fulfilling the criteria set by the EU that would open the green light to accession talks. Justice reform has been the top priority.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 02:24:50|Editor: yan
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ANTANANARIVO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Gold exported by Madagascar increased to 900 kilograms in the first four months of 2017, an official said Friday, as reforms to regulate gold industry and curb illegal exports forged ahead.
"Madagascar exported officially 587 kilos of gold in 2016. It was the highest weight recorded in the country since its independence in 1960," secretary general of the ministry under the presidency in charge of mining and petroleum Carl Andriamparany told Xinhua in an interview.
In comparison, Madagascar recorded 900 kilograms of gold export from January to April, Andriamparany said.
"This is the result of the reform done by the government in the sector of gold," the official said.
Among the reforms is the distribution of 45,000 professional cards for gold panners in Madagascar and the set-up of a gold agency to monitor gold industry, according to the official.
The government also encouraged gold panners to declare their production and exportation to increase the money received by Madagascar from gold sector, Andriamparany disclosed.
The amount of gold exported illicitly from Madagascar is believed to exceed that recorded officially.
In 2012-2013, the Madagascar govenment recorded only 150 kg of official gold exports but the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) reported that 600 kg of gold worth 18 million U.S dollar had been exported illegally from Madagascar in the same period.
The World Bank also said that from 100 million to 200 million U.S. dollars of precious stones were exported clandestinely from Madagascar every year and only 5 percent of national production of mines was declared officially.
Data from the mining ministry estimated that Madagascar produced 4 tonnes of gold every year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 02:50:10|Editor: xuxin
A woman walks past a closed school in Lisbon, Portugal, on May 26, 2017. Schools and hospitals across Portugal were closed on Friday, with civil servants demanding the minority Socialist government to increase their salaries further. (Xinhua/Zhang Liyun)
LISBON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Schools and hospitals across Portugal were closed on Friday, with civil servants demanding the minority Socialist government to increase their salaries further.
Hundreds of schools cancelled classes and medical appointments were postponed.
"If the government doesn't give answers, workers will respond with a struggle," said Artur Sequeira, the leader of the federation of syndicates of workers at a press conference in Lisbon on Friday.
The Socialist government led by Prime Minister Antonio Costa took office in November 2015 increased pensions and raised salaries while managing to slash the deficit last year to 2 percent.
However civil servants in schools and hospitals are calling for a general rise in salaries next year, to unfreeze salary progressions, to pay for overtime and for 35-hour work weeks for all employees.
Last year the Portuguese government raised the national minimum wage from 505 euros (564 dollars) to 530 euros (592 dollars) and is aiming to raise it to 600 euros 671 dollars) by 2019.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 03:30:31|Editor: yan
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by Stefania Fumo
TAORMINA, Italy, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Terrorist ideology is "evolving not disappearing", British Prime Minister Theresa May said at the Group of Seven (G7) summit of industrialized nations on Friday.
Addressing a press conference shortly after the leaders signed a joint declaration on combating terrorism and extremist violence, May said: "We agreed the threat from Daesh (or Islamic State militia) is evolving rather than disappearing."
"Make no mistake: the fight is moving from the battlefield to the internet," she said.
The British leader said "corporations have a social responsibility to remove harmful content from the internet" which spreads "hateful" propaganda that "warps young minds".
"I want to see (Internet companies) report this vile content to authorities, and see them report users to authorities," May said.
She also said it is "vital" that Britain cooperate with its partners on counter-terrorism investigations and intelligence sharing.
May called for the pacification of Libya and Syria, where ongoing civil wars are destabilizing the Middle East and surrounding regions.
On the trade front, May said: "I reiterate the UK's abiding commitment to free trade and open markets."
However some citizens are being left behind and some don't play by the rules, the British premier said.
May called for the World Trade Organization (WTO) to "create a level playing field" to promote a fair business environment.
Fair play is one of the ways G7 countries can "ensure all our citizens participate in the benefits of globalization".
"We want companies to act responsibly," May said.
She went on to say that Britain remains committed to the Paris Agreement to curb climate change.
"As the G7, we stand united today in upholding the values we share to create a safe and prosperous future for all our citizens," May said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 03:45:37|Editor: xuxin
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi (C) delivers a speech in Cairo, Egypt, on May 26, 2017. Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Friday that the Egyptian forces hit terrorist training camps after the shooting attack that killed 28 Copts in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate. (Xinhua/MENA)
CAIRO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said on Friday that the Egyptian forces hit terrorist training camps after the shooting attack that killed 28 Copts in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate.
"Now, we have hit training camps used by those terrorists ... Egypt will not hesitate to target these terror camps anywhere," Sisi said in a televised speech aired by the state TV.
Earlier on Friday, unknown gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians in Minya governorate, about 220 kilometers south of Cairo, killing 28 people and wounding 24.
Security sources told Xinhua that some ten gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles intercepted the victims' two buses on the way to St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, and opened fire randomly at them.
Sisi did not mention the place of the targeted camps, but apparently they were not in Egypt since he also vowed to track the terrorists inside Egypt.
"These countries that support terrorism and provide terrorists with training and weapons must be punished," Sisi stressed.
The Egyptian president revealed that the terrorists want to break the strong Egyptian social fabric as well as the country itself.
"They want to send a message to the Christians that the government cannot protect you ... we must be careful," he said.
Sending a message to the U.S. President Donald Trump, Sisi said he trusts that the U.S. president is able to combat terrorism in cooperation with the countries that love stability.
The Egyptian president said the Egyptians will stand united and steadfast, urging the international community to unite and back the battle against terror that Egypt leads on behalf of the whole world.
A combination of file photos show Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) at a news conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Feb. 28, 2017 and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference in Brussels, Belgium, May 25, 2017. (Xinhua)
MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday called on NATO to stop confrontation and seek better relations with Moscow.
Russia-NATO relations are "in the deepest crisis since the end of the Cold War," said the ministry in a statement.
It noted that the military alliance has unilaterally frozen projects of practical cooperation on European security.
The Russian ministry issued the statement on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Founding Act on Mutual Relations, Cooperation and Security between Russia and NATO.
The deployment of NATO hardware and personnel close to Russia's borders dilutes the provisions of the Founding Act and leads to a dangerous round of arms race, the ministry said.
"Growing negative trends are not Russia's choice. This is a direct result of the long-term destructive policy of the bloc aimed at recklessly achieving military and political domination in European and world affairs," the statement said.
NATO decided to freeze relations with Russia in April 2014 over the latter's incorporation of Crimea and its alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis.
Both sides said they have continued to keep channels for political dialogue open. In particular, the NATO-Russia Council, an important platform for dialogue, have held several meetings at the ambassadorial level.
In March, Petr Pavel, chairman of the NATO Military Committee, discussed by phone security issues with Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff. The conversation was the first of its kind since 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 07:19:31|Editor: xuxin
Palestinian Muslims perform "Tarawih" prayer on the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in the West Bank City of Nablus, on May 26, 2017. Muslims around the world celebrate Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, in which they abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset. (Xinhua/Ayman Nobani)
Illegal north African immigrants wait to be transfered out of the southernmost Italian island of Lampedusa, March 31, 2011. Tensions between Italyand France were rising over the immigration emergency as more refugees coming from the southern island of Lampedusa tried to escape across the frontier and were pushed back by the French police. (Xinhua/Wang qingqin)
UNITED NATIONS, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The UN Migration Agency (IOM) said Friday that 1,530 migrants and refugees died crossing the Mediterranean in 2017.
The IOM reports that 60,521 migrants and refugees have entered Europe by sea this year, with over 80 percent arriving in Italy and the remainder divided between Greece, Cyprus and Spain, said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, at the daily news briefing.
"This number does not include some 6,000 people who have been rescued over the past 72 hours," said Dujarric.
In terms of fatalities, there have been 1,530 migrants and refugees who have died this year on this route, a figure that roughly matches those for 2016 for the same period, he said.
However, the IOM warned that the deadliest season is starting right now, said the spokesman.
BISMARCK, N.D. A Dakota Access pipeline protester has been cleared of charges after being accused of endangering a police plane with his drone last September in North Dakota.
Aaron Turgeon, 32, of Rapid City, South Dakota, was found not guilty of reckless endangerment and physical obstruction of a government function after a one-day bench trial Thursday, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
Prosecutors argued Turgeon endangered a pilot and the group protesting at a construction site in Morton County when he flew his drone on Sept. 6. Investigators also alleged Turgeon didn't cooperate with authorities.
Judge Allan Schmalenberger, who presided over the trial, ruled that Turgeon operated his drone in a "methodical manner," not in a manner that endangered anyone. Turgeon said he was filming the protest.
"The defendant did not fly the drone at the plane. He did not fly the drone in a reckless manner over either the people or at the plane," the judge said.
Turgeon said he was grateful for Schmalenberger's fairness and honesty.
"It's a call for other judges here in Morton County to understand that there might be things happening that you're not seeing," Turgeon said. "In my case, they tried to take my drone. If they would have taken my drone, I would not have video evidence that showed I never flew toward that plane."
The incident helped prompt the Federal Aviation Administration to impose a no-fly zone over the protest area.
Protests in southern North Dakota against the four-state, $3.8 billion pipeline led to hundreds of arrests between August and February.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 07:47:33|Editor: xuxin
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RIO DE JANEIRO, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian federal police on Friday launched an operation into bribes allegedly received by former Petrobras executive when buying an oil well in Benin, West Africa.
Dubbed "Pozo Seco" (Dry Well), the operation seeks to identify who received these bribes. It is thought that the illicit money received by former Speaker Eduardo Cunha, who has now been jailed for 15 years for corruption, came from these bribes.
Cunha, who began the impeachment trial against former president Dilma Rousseff in December 2015, was accused of receiving 1.5 million U.S. dollars of bribes.
According to investigators, the bribes were paid to hidden accounts in Switzerland and the United States.
The list of those being investigated include former Petrobras senior executive, Pedro Augusto Xavier Bastos, the former owner of the BVA Bank, Jose Augusto Ferreira dos Santos, and Fernanda Luz, daughter of lobbyist, Jorge Luz, who was arrested in February for corruption and money laundering.
These suspects, among others, are thought to have shared 10 million U.S. dollars in bribes from the Benin contract, Brazil's prosecutor-general stated.
The new operation is part of the sweeping inquiry into the Petrobras corruption ring as Brazil's political crisis worsens with President Michel Temer fighting off claims of bribery.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 07:47:36|Editor: xuxin
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MEXICO CITY, May 26 (Xinhua) -- A government investigator was killed and three other people were injured on Thursday evening when gunmen attacked a prosecutor's office in the town of Villa Ahumanda, in the northern state of Chihuahua.
The prosecutor-general of Chihuahua said that the attack, which happened at 8:15 p.m., was carried out by a criminal group backed up by municipal police.
Gunmen arrived in trucks outside the prosecutor's office, and opened fire. Agent Edgar Mariano Rojas died as a result of his injuries, while three other investigators were taken to a hospital in nearby Ciudad Juarez.
The statement added that agents had arrested on Friday the director and coordinator of the Ahumada police, under suspicion that they helped the gang carry out the attack, while other police officials are under investigation.
The two policemen, identified as Guillermo C. and Carlos Alberto D., were arrested while travelling in a truck, stolen in October 2016, and had in their possession an assault rifle and two handguns.
"The investigations revealed that the police chiefs of this municipality had links to a criminal group and that, on Thursday night, they acted as vigilantes in the armed attack," explained the statement.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 07:52:39|Editor: xuxin
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BRASILIA, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government rejected on Friday "in the strongest terms" a joint statement from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) criticizing repression in the country in recent days.
Brazil's Foreign Ministry blasted the statement, calling it "uninformed and biased."
"It is scary the lightness with which the UNHCR and the IACHR want to lead (people) to believe that Brazil does not have solid institutions, dedicated to the protection of human rights and cemented in the democratic rule of law," read its response.
On Friday, the two international bodies criticized excessive police force in the removal of drug users from the center of Sao Paulo and the repression of a union protest in Brasilia. They demanded that the Brazilian government seek dialogue and to protect people taking part in protests.
For Brasilia, this stance shows a lack of concern for the security of public officials and of protests subject to "systematic and deliberate" violence.
The government said that a violent protest on Wednesday saw the buildings of the ministries of culture, economy, planning and agriculture being attacked, with a number of fires being started, putting those inside in danger.
In response, President Michel Temer ordered army troops onto the streets to protect the ministries.
While the army and police fought back with tear gas and rubber bullets, live ammunition was also fired, with one street vendor in a critical condition after being shot in the face.
SAVANNAKHET, Laos, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Laos on Friday held the final round of the 10th "Chinese Bridge", an annual Chinese proficiency competition for foreign secondary students.
The contest was hosted by Chinese Embassy in Laos and Chongde school in Lao southern Savannakhet province with the topic "Learn Chinese to make more friends".
Comprising three sections of speech, real time Q&A and talent show, the contest drew the participation of 14 students from schools in Lao capital Vientiane and southern Savannakhet province.
During the contest, contestants showed their Chinese language skill and understanding of Chinese culture. After intense competition, two students from Chongde school and Lieutou school earned prizes to compete in the semi-final and final round of the 10th "Chinese Bridge" to be held in China.
Addressing the contest, chairman of Chongde school Ma Lijuan said, with the expansion of international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, the role of Chinese language has become increasingly prominent.
Under this context, being proficient in Chinese language will bring more and better development opportunities for students, so they can become major force in promoting socio-economic development of Laos and successors of Laos-China friendship.
The contest is expected to enhance the friendship between Chinese language schools, better encourage students to learn Chinese, promote students' understanding of Chinese language and Chinese culture, Ma added.
Director of consular section of Chinese Embassy in Laos Luo Zhiqiang said, since 2008, Chinese Embassy in Laos had coordinated with Chinese language schools in Laos to host nine "Chinese Bridge" contests. Through the contests, more and more Lao youngsters have shown their interest in studying Chinese language and using Chinese to communicate, they are also proud to participate in "Chinese Bridge" contests.
The contest has become a major brand among activities of Chinese language studying, setting up a bridge between young people of Laos and China, Luo said.
Chinese Embassy in Laos has always supported the teaching and promoting of Chinese language in Laos, including establishing "Ambassador Library Room" in Lao schools, providing Chinese, English and Lao language books, organizing Chinese culture camp activities to introduce Chinese language and Chinese culture to children, thus enhancing their understanding of China, Luo said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 09:08:19|Editor: xuxin
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PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian government on Friday issued a directive to ban selling and drinking of all types of alcohol for two days -- a day before the commune election day and the election day.
"To prevent violence, intimidation, traffic accidents, and other incidents that can arise from consuming alcohol, the traders and vendors must suspend alcohol sales and the Cambodians and foreigners living in Cambodia must stop drinking alcohol a day before the election day and on the election day from June 3 to 4, said the directive, signed by Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen.
The directive said the prohibition was made in accordance with the Election Law, which aims at ensuring that the forthcoming elections will be held in a free and fair atmosphere without violence and intimidation.
Leaders of ministries, institutions, and the armed forces have been ordered to instruct their subordinates about the ban and advise local authorities to promote the ban to the residents and foreigners in their control areas.
Twelve political parties will contest in the upcoming commune elections, with the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) and the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) being the major contestants in the elections, according to the National Election Committee (NEC).
The commune elections are to elect commune chiefs and councilors for the kingdom's 1,646 communes, the NEC said, adding that around 7.87 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots.
Held once every five years, the commune elections are seen as a bellwether of the party's support ahead of the general elections in July 2018.
In the last commune elections in June 2012, the ruling CPP gained 61.9 percent of the votes, compared to about 30.6 percent for the opposition.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 09:13:21|Editor: xuxin
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PHNOM PENH, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian immigration police arrested 29 illegal Vietnamese immigrants, including 7 female, during raids on houses in Phnom Penh's Chbar Ampov district on Friday, a senior police official said.
"They were caught for living in Cambodia without passports," Major General Uk Heisela, chief of the General Department of Immigration (GDI)'s investigation department, told Xinhua, adding that they had crossed border into Cambodia illegally.
He said the group would be deported to their country within a week.
According to the GDI, Cambodia expelled 1,025 illegal foreigners in 35 nationalities during January-May period this year. Of the figures, some 712, or 69 percent of them, were Vietnamese nationals.
Under the kingdom's immigration law, any alien living in Cambodia without valid documents such as passports, visas, or work permits are subject to deportation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 10:08:32|Editor: xuxin
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JERUSALEM, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Israel condemned Friday the deadly terrorist attack that killed 28 Coptic Christians in Upper Egypt's Minya governorate, sending condolences to President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and the Egyptian people.
"There is no difference between the terror of the attack in Egypt and that of attacks in other countries. Terror will be defeated more quickly if all countries work together against it," the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a press release.
Earlier on Friday, unknown gunmen opened fire on buses carrying Coptic Christians in the Minya governorate, about 220 km south of Cairo, killing 28 people and wounding 24.
Security sources told Xinhua that 10 gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles intercepted the victims' two buses on the way to St. Samuel Monastery in the Minya governorate, and opened fire randomly at them.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Xinhua| 2017-05-27 10:22:06|Editor: Hou Qiang
Japanese director Tetsuya Mariko attends the German premiere of his film "Destruction Babies" during the 17th Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection in Frankfurt, Germany, on May 26, 2016. The 17th Japanese Film Festival Nippon Connection is held in Frankfurt from May 23 to 28. More than 50 filmmakers and artists from Japan will visit the festival to present their works. (Xinhua/Luo Huanhuan)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 10:33:37|Editor: xuxin
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KATHMANDU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Madhes-based ethnic parties on Friday decided to boycott the second round of local body elections slated for June 14 announcing a fresh round of protests.
At a press conference held in the Capital, the Madhesi parties under the banner of United Federal Alliance announced that they will launch series of protests in Southern Terai plains to disrupt election process.
The alliance stated in its press release that it would impose general strikes on June 1 and 2 in Madhes and Limbuwan region to thwart the second phase of elections as candidates will have to file their nominations on June 2.
Nepal held the first round of local body elections on May 14 in provinces 3, 4 and 6, which was a major step of the government to implement the new constitution promulgated in 2015.
The latest move by the Madhes-based parties has thrown into disarray the plans of the government to hold second round of local body elections in 1, 2, 5 and 7 provinces of the country that border India, observers said.
"We will padlock election offices in all municipalities and rural municipalities on May 30 and bring out torch rallies in all the district headquarters, municipalities, and major parts of the districts on May 31," the release said.
The fundamental demand of the Madhes-based parties is to change demarcation of the provincial boundaries which the government has failed to fulfill, the released said.
A key leader of the agitating alliance, Mahantha Thakur, told the media that the revised constitutional amendment tabled by the government at the House failed to address their demands, forcing them to launch the fresh agitation programs.
The Madhes-based parties, which represent Nepal's southern Terai, announced their unification and the launch of a new group called Rashtriya Janata Party last month.
The Madhes-based parties have been demanding more political representation at the provincial and upper house and re-demarcation of provincial boundaries.
Rounds of talks between the Madhes-based parties and the government failed to yield positive results.
Earlier, the government had registered the new amendment at the House in a bid to persuade the Madhes-based parties to participate in all three tiers of elections -- local, provincial and central.
Over 50 people were killed in violent clashes with police in Nepal's southern Terai belt during the anti-constitution movement after Nepal promulgated the new statute in 2015 without involvement of the Madhes-based parties.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 11:03:44|Editor: An
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, capital of Russia, May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China is proposing to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue peacefully through negotiations on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.
At a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Wang said the Chinese proposal conforms to the principles of the UN Charter and the interest of all parties in the region, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.
Wang said the use of military force will create bigger problem and serious after-effects, adding that China and Russia have reached a high degree of consensus that military means should not be an option for any country.
Security is the root cause of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and thus reasonable security concerns of all parties should be well addressed, said Wang.
The obstacle to solving the issue is a lack of mutual trust, something all parties involved should strive to strengthen, he said.
To that end, China has proposed a "dual-track" approach to promote the denuclearization of the Peninsula. China has called for the suspension of Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for the suspension of U.S.-South Korean military drills, said Wang, adding that China's proposals are in line with Russia's.
"We urge the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to stop acting against the UN Security Council resolutions and create necessary conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiations," said Wang.
He said China has noticed that the United States recently expressed interest in a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue, adding that China hopes Washington will turn the words into concrete policy and actions.
South Korea's new government has repeatedly aired its position of continuing sanctions against the DPRK while seeking dialogue, Wang said, adding that he hopes South Korea will stick to this direction and strive to resume necessary contact with Pyongyang.
Japan's attitude is relatively negative, Wang said, urging Tokyo to adopt a more active and constructive attitude and not hinder peace talks.
MISSOULA The Montana Board of Regents approved state money for campuses Friday and also voted on tuition amounts mostly increases for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years.
The state appropriation for campuses overall is $3.2 million less, or 1.7 percent lower, for the 2018 fiscal year compared to 2017, according to budget documents; it grows 0.8 percent to $191 million with pay plan increases in the 2019 fiscal year.
Given the general rise in tuition, Regent Bill Johnstone said higher education officials need to focus their energy on helping students afford school and especially increasing need-based aid in Montana.
"I think it's very, very important for all of us to do everything possible to address the concerns of, certainly, students with respect to this," Johnstone said. "I think the tuition increase was necessary. It was responsible. I think we tried to do a good job of balancing.
"There's no doubt that it will disproportionately impact some students."
Regent Martha Sheehy praised staff members with the Montana Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education for their hard work on the difficult budget. She also had a request for campus leaders as the new budget rolls out.
"Keep us informed of all of the impacts of this as we move forward," Sheehy said.
The tuition increases varied. The highest hike of 28 percent hit resident freshmen and sophomore students at the University of Montana-Western. At the same campus, though, tuition stayed flat for junior and senior residents, and as a result, all undergraduate resident tuition and fees are $5,502.
In fact, the regents aimed to equalize tuition. Here's a summary of the changes for resident students at the largest schools in 2018 and a link to all the adjustments:
University of Montana: Tuition and fees are $7,047 for undergraduates, going up 13 percent for lower division students, and 5.2 percent for upper division students.
Montana State UniversityBozeman: Tuition and fees are $7,047 for undergraduates, same as UM, a 2.3 percent increase at MSU.
MSU-Billings: Tuition and fees are $5,827, a 0 percent increase for undergraduates.
Enrollment has been a challenge across the system in Montana as high school graduating classes have diminished. Many campuses show drops in recent years, but UM has had its own challenges and been hit especially hard, while MSU has grown at a strong pace.
UM has experienced budget trouble as a result of its enrollment decline, and this year, the Montana Legislature reserved $2 million to help. To try to save money in the future, UM has made buyout offers that would use all of that $2 million if all 48 people accept.
Thursday, UM President Sheila Stearns said fewer than 20 percent of the recipients had expressed interest in the offers. The deadline to do so is May 31.
Friday, Joy Honea, president of the Faculty Association at MSU-Billings, said her campus could put those funds to use as well. Honea said she understands the spirit of the Legislature was to assist UM, but she also noted the language itself dedicates the money to the university system as a whole.
MSU-Billings has experienced an enrollment drop, some 22 percent since 2007, and Honea said if UM doesn't use all the money, the funds could support other institutions.
"There are certainly other institutions with budgetary challenges," Honea said.
At the meeting in Great Falls, the regents approved other budget requests for campuses, although they did not support a proposal to remove the "opt-out" option for a $6 sustainability fee at UM.
The board also authorized UM to spend $625,000 of private donations "to implement steps necessary to install permanent seating, press box, concessions stand and restroom facilities at the Grizzly Softball Stadium."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 11:14:00|Editor: An
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) speaks during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, capital of Russia, May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- With highly compatible interests, China and Russia will see their relations grow even stronger regardless of changing global dynamics, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Friday.
Speaking at a press conference following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Wang said China cherishes its mature and stable relations with Russia, illustrated through the China-Russia Comprehensive Strategic Partnership of Coordination, a more advanced form of bilateral relations between the two countries.
The visiting Chinese foreign minister expressed confidence in the prospects of the bilateral cooperation, saying concerted efforts have been made to align the development strategies of the two countries and to further cooperate in the fields of energy, aerospace and connectivity.
The two sides are also consulting on the Economic Partnership Agreement, and are getting ready for a feasibility study on building a Eurasian Economic Partnership, Wang added.
Recalling the success of the Belt and Road Forum held earlier this month in Beijing, Wang said that China regards Russia as an important partner in the initiative, and believes China-Russia cooperation in this regard will promote development of both countries and contribute to the peace and prosperity of the entire Eurasian region.
According to Wang, Beijing and Moscow are sparing no efforts to facilitate the paring of their countries development strategies, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union.
During the meeting, Lavrov also spoke highly of Russia-China relations, which in his opinion have reached an unprecedented high level on the basis of mutual trust and respect.
The Russian foreign minister said that Moscow is ready to work closely with Beijing on the preparation for a visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Russia later this year, during which the two heads of state are expected to discuss in depth the paring of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union.
Lavrov said Russia and China will continue to coordinate within multilateral frameworks such as the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the BRICS, among others, and jointly serve as a stabilizer in tackling major global issues, he said.
The two ministers also exchanged views on the Korean Peninsula, Syria, Afghanistan and other issues on the international and regional agenda.
After the meeting, Lavrov and Wang jointly signed the 2017 consultation plan between foreign ministries of the two countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 11:54:16|Editor: Tian Shaohui
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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 27 (Xinhua) -- At least four militants were killed Saturday in a fierce gunfight with Indian army on Line of Control (LoC) dividing Kashmir, Indian army officials said.
The gunfight broke out in Rampur sector of Uri in frontier Baramulla district, about 103 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, the officials said.
According to Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia, the militants were attempting to infiltrate inside Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"Today an infiltration bid was foiled in Rampur sector and four militants were killed," Kalia told Xinhua, "The search operation in the area is going on."
On Friday, Kalia also said that the army foiled an attack from in Uri sector, killing two militants.
No independent confirmation could be made about the incidents, owing to their occurrence in remote areas.
Meanwhile the situation along LoC is tense since the beginning of this month. Several cease-fire violations and civilian killings were reported on both sides of LoC.
Indian army Tuesday claimed it had damaged some Pakistani army posts on LoC and described it as "punitive fire assaults."
In response, Pakistan also released a video claiming it damaged Indian army posts.
But both countries have rejected each other's claims of destroying bunkers.
The armies of India and Pakistan are currently at loggerheads with each other, especially along LoC and international border (IB) in Kashmir.
LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.
Militant groups are engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sending armed militants to Indian-controlled Kashmir. However, Islamabad says it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
p.china.org.cn| 2017-05-27 12:15:30|Editor: ZD
GPIGs launch of Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database was a highlight of the forum.
The 2017 China Poverty Reduction International Forum was held on May 26 in Beijing. This event has attracted more than 100 participants from 7 countries, including officials, experts as well as representatives from international organizations, academia, business and NGOs. They had a series of in-depth discussions on how to develop poverty alleviation cases and share Chinas experience, in order to help other developing countries find their way out of poverty.
The theme of the forum was Developing and Sharing Governance Solutions to Reduce Poverty. Innovative tools were introduced along with examples of successful progress. These highlighted experience in China and elsewhere from different perspectives.
The forum was co-hosted by the China Internet Information Center (CIIC), International Poverty Reduction Center in China (IPRCC), World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Asian Development Bank (ADB). It was jointly organized by China.org.cn, China Development Gateway, and Ada Technology (Beijing), while supported by Red Fortune (Beijing) Investment Management.
Last years forum saw the formal launch of the Global Poverty Reduction & Inclusive Growth Portal (GPIG). Initiated by the World Bank and supported by ADB, the GPIG portal is co-hosted and co-managed by IPRCC and CIIC.
Following a year of development, the portal is now supported by a strong network of contributors, promoting knowledge-sharing online and offline. It brings together information from different sources in a standardized way. By hosting, organizing, managing or delivering online and offline events, the portal promotes international cooperation and capacity building activities, contributing to the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
GPIGs launch of Global Poverty Reduction Online Knowledge Sharing Database was a highlight of the forum. The database classifies and translates a large number of poverty reduction cases from both China and the international community. Designed for worldwide users, its systematic presentation of poverty alleviation cases is unprecedented. Applying tree diagrams, it provides a clear picture of how China and other international bodies address the problem, focusing in particular on cases which are highly replicable in a technical sense. To facilitate social participation, the platform contains a guide to help users upload cases in standard templates, turning GPIG from an information sharer into a producer.
FAO, together with CIIC, has released a video named Think Innovatively for Poverty Reduction, exploring new measures to promote knowledge-sharing in support of the cause. The video urges to reduce rural poverty through innovative ways such as e-commerce, story-telling sessions, online live broadcasts and celebrity support, in the Internet Plus era.
In addition, researchers and representatives from the field of business shared ideas for best-practice in poverty reduction. For example, professor Pun Ngai and associate professor Julia Wang from Hong Kong University analyzed issues among the new generation of working poor and proposed intervention models. Zhang Jianping, General Manager of Jiujianpeng Group, illustrated how poverty could be reduced through the honeysuckle flower industry, while Chen Haida, Board Chairman of Ada Technology (Beijing) shared the application of logistics in poverty reduction.
Since the battle against poverty was launched in 2015, China has come up with many innovative and effective practices in targeted poverty alleviation. To eradicate poverty, China focuses on communication and cooperation with other developing countries and international organizations, while receiving from them the latest theories and best practices. By actively implementing the UN 2030 Agenda, China has made an enormous contribution to global poverty reduction.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 12:24:26|Editor: Tian Shaohui
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China held a high-ranking symposium Saturday morning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Addressing the symposium, which was held at the Great Hall of the People, top legislator Zhang Dejiang called for comprehensive and precise implementation of the principle of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 13:49:44|Editor: xuxin
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COLOMBO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- An Indian ship filled with relief supplies for those affected by the devastating floods and landslides in Sri Lanka arrived at the Colombo Port on Saturday, Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said here in a statement.
Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake visited the port to meet Indian Naval Ship INS Kirch and received the supplies from Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Sandhu.
The Foreign Ministry said another ship filled with relief supplies from India will arrive in Colombo on Sunday.
The death toll from the devastating floods and landslides reached 100 on Saturday while 200,000 people have been displaced and 99 are still missing, the Disaster Management Center said.
Rescue and search operations are still ongoing in several areas and fresh flood alerts have been issued as rains continue in certain areas.
The Sri Lankan government on Friday made an appeal to the United Nations' International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) and neighboring countries to provide assistance for the affected people, especially in the areas where search and rescue operations were ongoing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 14:20:01|Editor: xuxin
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PYONGYANG, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday accused South Korea of drone intrusions into its territorial space, two days after Seoul said a suspected DPRK drone flew across the military demarcation line.
The Korean Central News Agency said a "Heron" spy drone intruded deep into the territorial space of the DPRK above the waters near the border four times Friday.
"Such grave military provocation was committed when the U.S. imperialists forward-deployed four 'Global Hawks' (spy planes) and over 100 pilots at the Yokoda air base of Japan, near the DPRK, from Guam under the pretext of escaping from a typhoon," said the report.
The report said the areas intruded by the drone were "hot spot waters" where the two sides dispute over demarcation lines and over which the DPRK and South Korean troops clashed several times in the past.
South Korea said Thursday a suspected DPRK drone flew across the military demarcation line separating the north and south parts of the peninsula and its troops opened fire on it.
DPRK said the flying subject was "a flock of birds" and called the accusation "nothing but mental derangement."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 14:35:07|Editor: xuxin
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ISLAMABAD, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan has allocated 180 billion rupees (approximately 1.71 billion U.S. dollars) for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and its supporting projects during the 2017-18 financial year which will begin on July 1.
The country's Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, who presented the next year budget of 4,757 billion rupees in the parliament on Friday evening, mentioned several CPEC projects in his budget speech.
He told the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament that the development of Gwadar city in Balochistan province is "fundamental to development of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor."
"A comprehensive plan is being implemented for the road link networks, expansion and modernization of the airport, and development of the area. Thirty-one projects for development of Gwadar are provided in 2017-2018 budget for this purpose which include projects such as implementation of Gwadar master plan, New Gwadar international airport, a 200-bed hospital, 200 MW power generation, and desalination plant," he said.
"CPEC projects would enter into their third year of implementation during 2017-2018," the minister further said.
He said the backbone of Pakistan's infrastructure is the Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Karachi Railways or technically called the ML-1. A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with China for its improvement and upgradation.
He said imports have been recorded at 37.8 billion U.S. dollars during July-April, showing an upward trajectory compared to the same period last year.
"This vibrancy in imports is attributable to over 40 percent increase in capital machinery, industrial raw material and petroleum products and the increased investment under the CPEC projects focused on energy and infrastructure sectors. All of this augurs well for Pakistan's economy in the near future," he went on to say.
Pakistan's defense expenditure in the next financial year will be around 7 percent higher than it was in the outgoing year to 920.2 billion rupees, the minister said.
Exports during the first ten months of this year have shown an overall minor decrease of 1.28 percent compared to 7.8 percent decline during the same period last year, the budget documents said.
The minister said Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves currently stand at a comfortable level of 16 billion U.S. dollars despite a larger than expected trade deficit, mainly due to increased import of capital goods.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 14:45:09|Editor: xuxin
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SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 27 (Xinhua) -- At least six militants were killed Saturday in an ongoing fierce gunfight with Indian army on Line of Control (LoC), dividing Kashmir, Indian officials said.
The gunfight broke out in Rampur sector of Uri in frontier Baramulla district, about 103 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, the officials said.
According to Indian army spokesman Col Rajesh Kalia, the group of militants were attempting to infiltrate inside Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"Two more militants were killed in Rampur sector, taking death toll in today's gunfight to six," Kalia told Xinhua, "The militants were trying to infiltrate inside our territory but were spotted by our vigilant troops."
Indian army officials said they have not suffered any damage in the stand-off.
On Friday Kalia said the army foiled an attack in Uri sector, killing two militants.
Meanwhile, a separate gunfight has broke out in Tral area of Pulwama district, south of Srinagar.
"The area was cordoned last night and the gunfight broke out early today which is underway," a police official posted in Tral said, "We have information about presence of two militants in the village."
The situation along LoC is tense since the beginning of this month. Several cease-fire violations and civilian killings were reported on both the sides of LoC.
Indian army Tuesday claimed it has damaged some Pakistani army posts on LoC and described it as "punitive fire assaults".
In response, Pakistan also released a video, claiming it damaged Indian army posts.
But both the countries have rejected each other's claims of destroying bunkers.
The armies of India and Pakistan are currently at loggerheads with each other, especially along LoC and international border (IB) in Kashmir.
LoC is a de facto border that divides Kashmir into India and Pakistan controlled parts.
Militant groups are engaged in a guerilla war with Indian troops in the region since 1989. Gunfight between the two sides takes place intermittently.
New Delhi accuses Islamabad of sending armed militants to Indian-controlled Kashmir. However, Islamabad says it only provides moral and political support to Kashmiris.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir. Enditem
Palestinian women hold portraits of relatives imprisoned in Israeli jails during a protest in front of the Red Cross offices in east Jerusalem on May 25, 2017.(AFP photo)
RAMALLAH, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian sources revealed that over 1,500 Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails have suspended their hunger strike after a deal with the Israeli Prisons Authority.
The deal was reached after nearly 20 hours of negotiations involving Fatah party's leading figure and member of Parliament Marwan Barghouti, the International Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Detainees Commission, Eassa Qaraqe, said to local media.
But he said there are no details of the deal itself.
The demands of the detainees include visitation rights, use of a public phone and ending solitary confinement and administrative detention, which is imprisonment without charges or trial.
The strike ended just in time for the beginning of the month of Ramadan, where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for one month.
Marwan Barghouti, who led the collective hunger strike that began on April 17, is an elected member of Parliament and a member of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party's Central Committee. He has been imprisoned since 2004 for a term of five life sentences.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 15:45:38|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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MOSUL, Iraq, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi forces battling Islamic State (IS) militant initiated on Saturday a new push into three neighborhood at the northern edge of the old city center amid heavy clashes with extremist militants, the Iraqi military said.
The new progress began early in the morning when the Iraqi army soldiers pushed into al-Shifaa neighborhood, and the federal police and the elite Interior Ministry special forces, known as Rapid Response, advanced into the neighboring al-Zanjili neighborhood, while the commandos of the Counter-Terrorism Service pushed into the IS-held part of al-Seha neighborhood, Abdul-Amir Yarallah from the Joint Operations Command (JOC) said in a brief statement.
Late on Friday, the security forces intensified rocket and artillery shelling on IS headquarters and their defensive lines in several area at the edges of the heavily-populated city center, according to a statement by Lt. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, the commander of the federal police force.
Iraqi forces, backed by international coalition, have been fighting to drive out IS militant from the western side of Mosul, but several neighborhoods, including the densely-populated old city center, are still under control of the extremist militant.
Two days ago, the Iraqi military issued a statement urging the residents of the remaining IS-held neighborhoods to leave their homes through safe corridors.
"We ask all of you to leave and move immediately to the safe corridors that we will set up for you. You will find guides, protection and vehicles to transfer you to safe areas," the JOC said in a statement on Thursday.
The government wants to avoid civilian casualties, who have been used by the extremist IS militant as human shields, and in order to pave the way for the security forces to free the rest of the western side of Mosul, according to the statement.
Late in January, Abadi, who is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, declared the liberation of Mosul's eastern side, or the left bank of Tigris, after more than 100 days of fighting against IS militant.
On February 19, Abadi announced the start of an offensive to drive extremist militant out of the western side of Mosul.
However, the western part of Mosul, with its narrow streets and heavily populated neighborhoods, appears to be a bigger challenge to the Iraqi forces.
Mosul, 400 km north of Iraq's capital Baghdad, has been under IS control since June 2014, when government forces abandoned their weapons and fled, enabling IS militant to take control of parts of Iraq's northern and western regions.
CHEYENNE, Wyo. The capital city has played host this month to three young professionals from southeast Asia as part of an exchange program through the American Council of Young Political Leaders.
Tu Mai Zahkung of Myanmar and Tze Howe Ooi and Kelvin Yii of Malaysia have been in Cheyenne since April 27 as part of a fellowship through the ACYPL's Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative. They are part of a group of 16 young people from five southeast Asian nations who have come to the United States for the fellowship, divided between the cities of Washington, D.C., Chicago, Minneapolis and Cheyenne.
"I'm on the board for ACYPL, and I've done several exchanges before to Pakistan and India and hosted folks from New Zealand," said Bryan Pedersen, a local financial consultant and a former Wyoming state representative. He noted that while Cheyenne might seem like a usual choice to bring people to compared with the other, much larger U.S. cities, it provides both a unique perspective of America not available elsewhere and an unprecedented degree of access.
"Each time I've hosted one of these delegations, I've felt it's a two-fold opportunity it's an opportunity to show my birth state to the world, but it's also an opportunity to bring the world to Wyoming," Pedersen said. "When these men and women come here, they can meet all five elected officials. I can introduce them to the governor, to the superintendent (of public instruction), to the treasurer and secretary of state. This is the purpose of the exchange, and then to begin a dialogue."
All three men taking part in this month's exchange are skilled professionals in their home countries: Zakhung runs a nonprofit that conducts public policy research that looks into public engagement with Myanmar's government, which has recently begun opening to the wider world after decades of military control.
"One of my organization's focuses is on tourism development, so we work with community members on tourism," he said. "I spent two weeks with Visit Cheyenne, which is a very good tourism organization that works closely with community members. Now I'm with the (Wyoming) Department of Tourism office, learning how they're trying to attract people from outside and inside the country."
Yii is a medical doctor who also has a law background and advises two members of Malaysia's parliament on issues like health care and economics.
"Since coming here I've been attached with (City Councilman and Department of Education Chief of Staff) Dicky Shanor. One of the things I really wanted to learn is the system America has in terms of education," Yii said. "In our country, the education is centralized, and everything is decided by the federal government, unlike here in the U.S. where the states have autonomy and local school boards are elected."
Ooi works as an oil and gas engineer, as well as founder of a non-governmental organization that seeks to educate the public on international politics and citizen engagement in government. He's spent much of the month working with Mayor Marian Orr, joining his fellows at City Council meetings and following the recent sixth-penny sales tax election.
"Over here, my goal is to learn what are participatory politics like in the U.S.? How does the mayor frame the city budget and how is it brought before the City Council?" Ooi said. "In Malaysia, a lot of policy decisions are made in the central and federal government, but they may not know what is needed in local governments. I'm trying to develop a framework whereby local communities can get more involved in the local government process."
The three men agreed that Cheyenne has afforded them opportunities to learn about government firsthand in a way they would not have been able to elsewhere. But they noted smaller American cities like Cheyenne are also often more like the cities and towns they're used to back home.
"In Myanmar and Malaysia, most of the cities are not as big as New York or Minneapolis," Yii said. "My state is an energy-producing state, (so Wyoming) mirrors better the condition in my country."
The three agreed that the value of transparency and local control in government were among their biggest takeaways from their time in Cheyenne. While Americans may often criticize what their local elected leaders do, they at least have the opportunity to choose those leaders.
"The majority of the governmental positions in our country are appointed even our mayors are appointed so there's very limited opportunity for participation," Yii said. "One of the main things we discussed a lot with some of the local judges we've met here is the independence of the judiciary."
"In Malaysia, public opinion of the independence of the judiciary is at an all-time low," Yii added. "There have been cases in our country that were decided very favorably for the government. But all judges are appointed and promoted by the executive. If there are any 'activist' judges, they just stay where they are and never get promoted."
Ooi noted that he's also seen more public trust in civil servants in Cheyenne compared to back home, as evidenced by, for example, people's willingness to call the police to report a crime.
"In Malaysia, that's something we seriously need to improve tremendously," Ooi said.
He did note that, because of its governmental structure, public policy in Malaysia can be implemented much more quickly than in the United States, but that too can have drawbacks if a policy is put into place without considering its full ramifications.
Ooi also praised the American educational system's emphasis on critical thinking skills over rote memorization, which he said is crucial to cultivating an innovative workforce.
"One of the things I'm truly amazed by is the students here are taught to make decisions; teachers are giving you skills, knowledge of a different perspective so you can make a decision based on your belief in what is right or wrong," he said. "We do learn a lot about our constitution, but we learn it by books, by memorizing factual data and doing exams. That's why people aren't interested or engaged (in civic life)."
Home life, Zahkung added, is also quite different here from what he's used to in Myanmar.
"It's especially in (how parents) teach their kids, compared to the way we were taught when we were young," he said. "They're always trying to encourage, recognize and explain why things happen, which is very different from my experience."
In addition to learning a great deal about American governance, the three men said they'll also take away some great memories from their time in Cheyenne, which concludes May 27. For example, given the tropical monsoon climate of Myanmar, Zahkung said this week gave him his first-ever opportunity to see snow.
"I would also say shooting," he added, noting that Pedersen took the three to a local shooting range. "That was my first experience, and we shot like 50 times."
The three also appreciate the hospitality and what they described as the warmth of Cheyenne's residents.
"I'm convinced that the most friendly people in the United States are in Cheyenne," Yii said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 16:05:45|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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ANKARA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A passenger bus traveling from Kastamonu to Ankara overturned on Saturday morning, leaving at least 8 person dead and 34 people injured.
According to local media, the bus departed from Kastamonu at around 12:30 a.m. local time. It then lost control at about 6:00 a.m. at the Cankiri-Candir road crossing.
Eleven of the 34 wounded passengers are in critical condition. They were sent to hospitals in Kirikkale and Ankara.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, capital of Russia, May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Wu Zhuang)
MOSCOW, May 26 (Xinhua) -- China is proposing to solve the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue peacefully through negotiations on the basis of UN Security Council resolutions, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.
At a news conference following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, Wang said the Chinese proposal conforms to the principles of the UN Charter and the interest of all parties in the region, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea.
Wang said the use of military force will create bigger problem and serious after-effects, adding that China and Russia have reached a high degree of consensus that military means should not be an option for any country.
Security is the root cause of the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue and thus reasonable security concerns of all parties should be well addressed, said Wang.
The obstacle to solving the issue is a lack of mutual trust, something all parties involved should strive to strengthen, he said.
To that end, China has proposed a "dual-track" approach to promote the denuclearization of the Peninsula. China has called for the suspension of Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests in exchange for the suspension of U.S.-South Korean military drills, said Wang, adding that China's proposals are in line with Russia's.
"We urge the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to stop acting against the UN Security Council resolutions and create necessary conditions for the resumption of dialogue and negotiations," said Wang.
He said China has noticed that the United States recently expressed interest in a peaceful solution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue through dialogue, adding that China hopes Washington will turn the words into concrete policy and actions.
South Korea's new government has repeatedly aired its position of continuing sanctions against the DPRK while seeking dialogue, Wang said, adding that he hopes South Korea will stick to this direction and strive to resume necessary contact with Pyongyang.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 16:25:48|Editor: ying
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by Tamara Treichel
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A forum recently held in New York City has offered a platform for women to discuss how women are shaping China as a rising global power and opportunities for U.S. women leaders to communicate with their Chinese counterparts.
More than 300 women gathered at China Institute in New York on May 18 for the forum "Women and China: How Women Are Shaping the Rising Global Power" at which the speakers were women movers and shakers in industries such as finance, technology and culture. Xinhua reached out to the organizers and speakers via email to learn more about the event.
POSITIVE RESPONSE TO FORUM
Rebecca Liao, Asia head at Globality, a startup which focuses on international trade, moderated the forum's technology panel.
"I was absolutely honored to spend time with this group of highly accomplished, warm and dynamic women," she said. "I was especially inspired to see that a lot of young women came to the forum, and I hope we will have the opportunity to mentor more and form a community to help women grow."
Jeannette Wing, corporate vice president at Microsoft Research, was one of the speakers. She told Xinhua that she enjoyed the event because it gave her the opportunity to meet accomplished Asian women whom she would otherwise not encounter in her circle of colleagues.
"I talked primarily about how technology trends, especially in Artificial Intelligence, data science and cloud computing, are affecting all sectors and professions, not just the tech sector," Wing said.
"We are witnessing a rapid growth and adoption of technology where every company in every sector is undergoing a digital transformation.Participants learned about what these trends are and how they will affect people's lives at work and at home," she said.
Wing said China's rise had affected her career path in a positive way as it has opened up new opportunities for her to meet her Chinese counterparts in academia, government and industry.
"I have been asked to advise Chinese universities and Chinese funding agencies on strategic directions in research and education in computer science. I helped advocate the importance of basic research for industrial research labs and the importance of working closely with academic partners to elevate the overall quality of research in computer science in China," she said.
Virginia Kamsky, CEO of the strategic advisory firm Kamsky Associates, also had good memories of the forum. "It was exciting for me to meet other women who have been dedicated to working in China, both Chinese and Western, and in building constructive bridges between Chinese women and the rest of the world," she said.
"I spoke about my experience of working in China since 1978 at the beginning of the reform and opening-up and the changes between then and now," Kamsky said.
"I also discussed the fact that women in China at the leadership level have, throughout the years, had a passion to help and support other women, even those just starting out like myself in my twenties at the time," Kamsky said, adding that she mentioned two of her female mentors as examples: Wu Yi, former vice premier of China and health minister during the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) crisis, and Xie Xide, former president of Fudan University.
"Female leaders in China have always provided guidance to women in the work force in China. I said that I thought working in China was an advantage because you were not limited in China as to how much you could accomplish based on your gender, as compared to both the United States and Japan and that there is still a 'glass ceiling' for women in America and that that does not exist in China. I encouraged the women in the audience to pursue careers in China," Kamsky said.
"The rise of China has affected my career path personally because in the early days, when China did not have reserves, I would need to structure transactions on a barter basis as compared with today where I have the opportunity to participate in China's outbound investment activity," Kamsky said, adding that now, there is both inbound and outbound work to be done, which she finds "exhilarating and very exciting."
"WOMEN CAN DO ANYTHING"
Anla Cheng, a Wall Street veteran with banking and private equity experience, was the mastermind behind the event. After years of attending China-related events where the majority of panelists were men, she wondered why so many women in influential positions were underrepresented at such events, so she decided to organize a forum especially for women.
When asked what was the most rewarding part of organizing the forum, Cheng said: "Being able to bring such incredibly talented leaders and minds and accomplished women under one roof -- it was very inspirational. Their words of advice resonated with our future women leaders."
Cheng described the atmosphere at the forum as "upbeat, optimistic" and as creating a "feeling of empowerment for women." She cited one participant as saying, "Now I know, women can do anything."
Cheng said studies by Deloitte, MSCI, Credit Suisse and Catalyst (which cover up to 6,000 - 10,000 companies) found that women in the United States held 12 percent of board seats; but only 4 percent of board chair positions.
"That companies with more women on boards had better financial results from all over the world confirms the benefits of gender-balanced boards," she said, citing 16 percent higher Return on Sales and 26 percent higher Return on Invested Capital as numbers that support this. Cheng said that companies with fewer women on boards had more governance-related controversies.
"As we get more women in senior positions, women are making decisions, they are opinion-makers and leaders. With those positions, they are making decisions on how to treat others, what deals are to be made and are paving the way for future trends for both China and the United States."P In fact, she did see a new trend in China. "More women are in Private Equity (PE) and Venture Capital (VC) in China and making acquisitions with better corporate governance, for instance," Cheng said, adding that more women in China are also becoming involved in the movie business and the Internet sector.
"Women understand on-line retailing and the consumer psyche very well as we transition away from shopping malls and stores. Women are more interested in impact investing and social means to make money and help society, is another example. Women are much more interested in the environment as they care more about health for their children and parents. They care more about food safety as well," Cheng said.
On whether women's influence will change if more countries turn toward protectionism and isolationism, she said so long as the economic divide exists, "we will have a society polarized which will favor protectionism." Cheng said it was important for world leaders to come up with solutions to the economic divide in different countries.
"We need to solve this widening gap in order to have a stable and robust middle class. I think women can help influence these changes and come up with solutions to bridge this gap," she said.
(Xinhua writer Xiong Maoling in Beijing also contributed to the report.)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 16:40:56|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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KHARTOUM, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Sudan on Saturday condemned a terrorist attack against a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt's Minya Province Friday, which left at least 28 people dead.
"The ministry expresses its strong condemnation of the armed attack which left dozens of innocent people dead," said Sudanese foreign ministry in a statement.
The ministry described the attack as "a crime that contradicts all moral and humanitarian values and principles."
The statement reiterated Sudan's support for Egypt to protect its people in face of all terrorist acts.
It also extended condolences to the Egyptian government and people and the families of the victims.
The ministry reiterated Sudan's readiness to eliminate terrorism under the framework of international efforts.
At least 28 people were killed and 25 others injured when gunmen on Friday attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt's southern province of Minya.
The attack followed a series of church bombings claimed by Islamic State in a campaign of violence against Copts.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 16:40:59|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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KHOST, Afghanistan, May 27 (Xinhua) -- At least 18 persons were killed Saturday when a suicide car bombing struck a crowded area in Afghanistan's eastern Khost city, a local security official said.
Among the killed were 10 security guards and eight civilians, the source said.
Target of the attack was local off-duty security guards, known as Campaign Forces, the source told Xinhua anonymously.
The blast occurred near a taxi station in southern outskirts where the guards were arriving after a vocation to go to Camp Chapman, a military base run by the United States and NATO forces on the outskirts of the city, he said.
Provincial police chief Gen. Faizullah Ghairat told Xinhua that the police have launched an investigation into the incident which occurred in the morning and details will be shared with the media later on the day.
About six people, including two children, were also injured by the attack in the city, capital of Khost province bordering Pakistan.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.
Late last month, four members of Campaign Forces were killed and six school children wounded in similar attack near the Camp Chapman for which Taliban militant group had claimed responsibility.
The Taliban-led insurgency has been rampant since April 28 when the militant group launched its annual rebel offensive in different places of the country, which had claimed hundreds of lives including militants, security personnel and civilians.
The attack came on the day as Afghans mark the first day of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month during which the faithful avoid eating and drinking from dawn to dusk.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 17:11:06|Editor: Lu Hui
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Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter (Xinhua file photo)
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Zbigniew Brzezinski, former national security adviser to former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, died at age 89 on Friday.
"My father passed away peacefully tonight," Brzezinski's daughter Mika announced late Friday. "He was known to his friends as Zbig, to his grandchildren as Chief and to his wife as the enduring love of her life."
She called him "the most inspiring, loving and devoted father any girl could ever have."
Born in Warsaw, Poland in 1928, Brzezinski moved to Canada with his family in 1938. He moved to the United States and received a doctorate in government from Harvard in 1953.
Due to his books and articles on the Soviet Union in the 1950s, Brzezinski established his status as an expert on the Soviet Union and began to attract the attention of the White House.
He served as a counselor to former U.S. President Lyndon Johnson from 1966 to 1968 and was Carter's national security adviser from 1977 to 1981.
In May 1978, Brzezinski paid his first visit to China to lay the groundwork for the normalization of the relationship between China and the United States.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua in 2009, Brzezinski said that the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the United States and China, of which he was a strong proponent, was "more than just normalizing relations."
"We gave it a strategic significance which I think contributed to greater international stability," he then said.
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1981 for his role in the normalization of the U.S.-China relationship and his contributions to U.S. national security policies and human rights.
Also in 1978, Brzezinski helped Carter to attain the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty.
He was also a prime player behind the failed U.S. mission in 1980 to rescue U.S. hostages held in Iran after the overthrow of the Shah of Iran.
After the Carter presidency, Brzezinski became a professor of American foreign policy at Johns Hopkins University's Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies and a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
Despite his retirement from U.S. politics into academia, Brzezinski remained a sharp-eyed observer of successive U.S. administrations.
He was an outspoken critic of the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq from the very beginning, and he was also a vocal critic of U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an opinion piece written with Paul Wasserman for the New York Times in February, Brzezinski criticized the Trump administration for lacking coherence in its foreign policy.
"So far, President Trump has failed to formulate any significant, relevant statements about the global condition. Instead, the world has been left to interpret the sometimes irresponsible, uncoordinated and ignorant statements of his team," the opinion piece said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 17:51:23|Editor: ying
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MACAO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) witnessed a significant increase in its conference industry in the first quarter of 2017, the SAR's statistics department said Saturday.
Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 366 events were held in the first quarter of 2017, consisting of 344 meetings and conferences, seven exhibitions and 15 incentives, with the total number of participants and attendees reaching 222,000.
The number of meetings and conferences increased by 50 year-on-year, with number of participants rising by 111.9 percent to 54,000.
Those meetings and conferences with 200 participants or more went up by 16 to 54.
Meanwhile, meetings and conferences of four hours or more increased by 66 year-on-year to 247.
The overall average duration of the meetings and conferences was 1.7 days, up by 0.3 day.
The DSEC data showed that the seven exhibitions held in the first quarter were organized by non-government organizations, up by three year-on-year.
The average duration of the exhibitions was 3.0 days, up by 0.2 day year-on-year, and total floor area used rose by 39.1 percent to 14,000 square meters.
Furthermore, the number of incentives went up by three year-on-year to 15, drawing 4,432 participants, up by 135.9 percent.
The average duration of the events was 3.3 days and total floor area used was 16,000 square meters.
Information collected from 160 interviewed exhibitors in the first quarter indicated that 97.7 percent of their receipts were generated from sales of products, while rental paid for exhibition booths accounted for 65.2 percent of their expenditure.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 18:16:30|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
Indian army troopers take position near the site of gunfight at village Saimoo-Tral in Pulwama district, about 40 km south of Srinagar, summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 27, 2017. A top militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and his associate were killed in a fierce gunfight with troops at village Saimoo-Tral in Pulwama district of Indian-controlled Kashmir. (Xinhua/Javed Dar)
by Peerzada Arshad Hamid
SRINAGAR, Indian-controlled Kashmir, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Fresh anti-India protests and clashes were triggered in restive Indian-controlled Kashmir Saturday after the killing of a top militant commander of Hizbul Mujahideen (HM) and his associate in a fierce gunfight with troops, police said.
The duo were killed at village Saimoo-Tral in Pulwama district, about 40 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir.
"During the night, a fire exchange broke out after militants inside a house fired on positions of army and police," a senior police official told Xinhua. "This morning the firing resumed and in the exchange of fire two militants of HM, including a top commander, were killed."
The slain militants were identified as Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and Faizan Ahmad, both local cadres of HM, the region's indigenous militant outfit.
As the gunfight was raging, scores of residents especially youth tried to storm the gunfight site shouting anti-India slogans.
After the news about the death of HM commander spread out, spontaneous shutdown and clashes were triggered in most of the towns including Srinagar city, Pulwama and Anantnag.
Police fired dozens of tear smoke shells and used shotgun pellets in Pulwama and Anantnag to chase young protesters, who resorted to stone pelting.
According to local media reports, many civilians were injured in the clashes.
Bhat was successor of prominent militant commander Burhan Muzaffar Wani, who was killed last year.
Wani's killing triggered massive protests in the region for months, during which at least 90 people were killed and over 14,000 injured. Authorities also arrested around 8,000 civilians to contain the protests.
Authorities on Saturday also blocked mobile internet services in the region.
Anti-India sentiment runs deep in the psyche of majority of Kashmiris.
A separatist movement and guerilla war challenging New Delhi's rule has been going on in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989.
Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between India and Pakistan, is claimed by both in full. Since their independence from Britain, the two countries have fought three wars, two exclusively over Kashmir.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 18:26:32|Editor: MJ
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BRUSSELS, May 27 (Xinhua) -- "China's cooperation with the European Union (EU) has made the 'cake' of common interests bigger," China's Ambassador to the European Union (EU), Yang Yanyi, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.
With the expansion of their cooperation scale, the enhancement of cooperation level and improvement of cooperation quality, more job opportunities will be created for both sides and a more competitive consumer market will be cultivated, Yang said.
"It makes peoples of both sides realize that openness and cooperation is the right choice that leads to a better life through sharing the benefits of globalization," Yang added.
Yang's interview came as Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is set to pay an official visit to Germany and Belgium next week, during which he will attend the 19th China-EU leaders' meeting in Brussels.
BELT & ROAD INITIATIVE BOOSTS CHINA-EU TIES
While talking about the growth of China-EU relations in recent years, Yang gave special emphasis on the positive impact of the Belt and Road Initiative on the China-EU relations.
Since China and the EU agreed to synergize the Belt and Road Initiative and European Development Strategy at the 17th China-EU Summit in 2015, the initiative has grown from a concept into action, from vision into reality, which has brought tangible benefits to the peoples of China and Europe, and greatly promoted the connectivity and common development across the Eurasia continent.
China and the EU have carried out beneficial exchanges and cooperation under the Belt and Road framework, Yang said, adding that special efforts have been made by the two sides to promote connectivity of infrastructure and facilities.
The two sides have reached agreement on establishing the China-EU Join Investment Fund and the Connectivity Cooperation Platform, promoting cooperation between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Pan-European Transport Network, integrating China's cooperation with the Hungarian and Serbian railway construction into cooperation under the 16+1 mechanism as well as the overall EU-China cooperation, she noted.
China and the EU have also signed the China-EU Digital Cooperation Strategy, opened the China-EU freight line, and China has strengthened its cooperation with the EU member states in the airport, ports, aviation and other connectivity facilities, she added.
"All this has facilitated China-EU connectivity on land, sea, air and internet, playing a positive role in promoting economic integration and interconnected development and ensuring that benefits are delivered to all," Yang said.
As for China-EU trade, Yang said that China and the EU are now each other's major trading partners. In 2016, China-EU trade amounted to 547 billion U.S. dollars and the EU invested 8.8 billion dollars in China.
As of March 2017, China's cumulative direct investment in the EU amounted to 73.3 billion dollars, and the EU's cumulative investment in China reached 114.6 billion dollars.
Since the EU-China Investment Agreement negotiations began in 2014, the two sides have worked actively to reach an early agreement and to create an open environment for two-way investment.
MANAGING DIFFERENCES THROUGH DIALOGUE & CONSULTATION
Besides the China-EU common interests, Yang also shared her views about the differences between the two sides.
"The EU has expressed concern on certain economic and trade issues such as steel overcapacity and market access," Yang noted, adding that China, for its part, has expressed concern with the implementation of Article 15 of the accession protocol signed when China jointed the WTO.
The Article 15 states that the so-called "surrogate country approach" in anti-dumping rules expires 15 years after China's accession into the WTO, according to which the expiration date is Dec. 11, 2016.
The surrogate country approach allows an importing WTO member state to refer to prices or costs of the like product in a third country to calculate the value of Chinese products and determine whether it constitutes an act of dumping.
As China-EU economic and trade relations continue to grow, some existing differences between them may be eliminated, while new differences may arise, Yang said. "This is just natural. The key is to understand how to manage and handle these differences properly."
Yang stressed that the two sides should focus on common interests and pragmatic cooperation and try to resolve differences through dialogue and consultation.
"We hope that the EU will maintain market openness and use trade remedy measures cautiously so as to maintain a stable and open international trade environment and refrain from politicizing economic and trade issues. Otherwise, problems will only become more difficult to solve and obstacles to bilateral economic and trade cooperation will be created," she said.
Meanwhile, Yang said China and the EU need to view mutual competition in a right manner. "There will always be competition in the market. We should abandon the idea of a zero sum game."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 18:31:40|Editor: MJ
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A total of 283 overseas institutions have received quotas amounting to 92.72 billion U.S. dollars under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) program to move money into the country's capital account, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange said Saturday.
As of May 26, the quota in the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) program came in at 543.1 billion yuan (79 billion U.S. dollars).
China's currency, the yuan, is convertible for trade purposes under the current account, while the capital account, which covers portfolio investment and borrowing, is still largely controlled by the state due to concerns over abrupt capital flows in and out of the country.
To gradually open the capital account, the government introduced the QFII and RQFII programs in 2003 and 2011 respectively. They give foreign investors the right to move money into the account, encouraging controlled flows.
The QFII program represents China's effort to allow licensed foreign investors to invest in China's RMB denominated capital market. The RQFII program allows institutional investors with offshore renminbi deposits to invest in China's onshore market.
For a small group of landowners in northern Wyoming, the final word on whether a contested coal mine will move forward in the small town of Ranchester wont arrive until mid-summer.
The five-day hearing closed midday Friday in Sheridan, with few answers for the four parties that testified.
Ramaco, a Lexington, Kentucky-based company, received an early nod from state regulators on its plan to mine coal north of Sheridan, an area heavily mined in the early 20th century and the site of thousands of dollars worth of reclamation due to weak soil and sinkholes from earlier mining. The last mining operations in the region, by Big Horn Coal, closed in the mid-1980s.
The Brook Mine would be the first new coal operation in decades in the state but has been stalled by a slew of legal and regulatory proceedings in the last few years.
Local landowners say they fear the worst if Ramaco begins operations next door, as laid out in its plan, which begins mining at the confluence of the Tongue River and Goose Creek. Big Horn Coal argues that Ramaco drew its permit boundary to include land already permitted to Big Horn. The coal company also shares locals concerns that Ramacos plan lacks the finer details to safely mine in the area.
Ramaco has repeatedly contested these complaints, particularly those of Big Horn Coal, a potential rival.
The final party in the mix is the Department of Environmental Quality, which is defending its decision to determine that the mine plan was technically accurate.
After declining a request from the Powder River Basin Resource Council for an informal hearing on the plan in February, the matter was placed before the Environmental Quality Council, an independent board that hears contested cases and approves new rules or regulations.
Local concerns
At the end of five days of testimony, a final decision is only slightly closer than it was last week.
Its hard to read the tea leaves, said Shannon Anderson, a lawyer for the Powder River Basin Resource Council, the landowners group contesting Ramacos plan. The whole week was confusing on some levels.
The strongest defense for Ramacos plan came from witnesses for the DEQ, who defended the states decision to approve the mine plan over the course of three days.
Keith Guille, a spokesman for the DEQ, described the hearing as another opportunity for the public to be a part of regulatory decisions.
We believe that the permit is technically adequate, Guille said. That doesnt mean we are done here. We will take those comments back with us, but keep in mind this is a contested case and we need to let the EQC make a determination.
Former coal miners Anton Bocek and Brooke Collins both testified that they were worried blasting would destroy the foundations of their homes, which sit close to the proposed mine site. Collins lives in a historic rock church in the former coal town of Monarch, within walking distance of the Brook mine boundary. Boceks family homestead also sits close by.
A second-generation coal miner, Bocek raised concerns about water. According to the letter of the law, mining companies are responsible for groundwater impacts outside of the mine boundary, meaning if wells go dry, the company would be obligated to make amends, the landowners argue.
One common complaint by landowners was that they had limited avenues to contest what seemed like incomplete plans for new mining before the Department of Environmental Quality made its preliminary determination on the plan.
The DEQ disagrees, as it sought public comment after its preliminary review, which brought the matter before the EQC.
From subsidence the phenomenon when weakened soil caves in to burning coal seams to contamination of the Tongue River, locals felt Ramaco was inadequately prepared and the state regulators too swift in their determination that the mine plan was sufficient.
Its been hard to get the information that landowners need in order to move on with their lives, said Gillian Malone, a member of the council since 1972, at the hearing Friday morning. You need to know what is going to happen in your backyard if you are going to be able to sleep at night. And we have not gotten that from this proposal.
The council started asking questions about the mine early on but found little to assuage its concerns, she said.
Bigger plans
Confusion about the mine may have been exacerbated by Ramacos evolution since it first proposed the Brook Mine years ago, the company admitted in earlier interviews.
Ramaco originally planned a relatively modest mine operation compared with the large open pit mines in Campbell County. Now their intentions are far broader, with the Brook Mine providing the resource for studying alternative uses for coal at a large complex adjacent to the mine. The coal industry has changed in the years since Ramaco first sought to dig for coal. Its leaders admit that using coal to make carbon fiber products, for example, may offer a stronger business than selling coal for electricity use like other Powder River Basin companies.
Such an enterprise would draw high-paying jobs and increase the value of Wyomings coal at a time when burning it for electricity production is compromised, the owners have said in earlier interviews with the Star-Tribune.
Politicians from Sheridan and neighboring towns have been largely supportive of the mine, which would be a boon for their local economies.
A spokesman for the company did not respond to a request for comment by press time, but Ramaco CEO Randall Atkins told the Star-Tribune in previous interviews that he believed the plan provided a safe proposal for beginning operations. Big Horns objections, he said, were a delay tactic.
The date to continue the Brook hearing has not been set but is likely to take place in mid-June in Cheyenne. The Powder River Basin Resource Council has expert witnesses to testify on the likely geologic and hydrogeological impact of Ramacos mine. The Kentucky company will be allowed rebuttal witnesses.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 18:31:42|Editor: MJ
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QINGDAO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Airbus Group's helicopter manufacturing arm began construction of its first assembly line for commercial aircraft in China Saturday.
The plant, located in the city of Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong Province, will be jointly operated by Airbus Helicopters and Qingdao United General Aviation Company.
The plant will be completed in 2018 and is designed to produce 18 H135 helicopters a year, but capacity could be further raised according to demand, company sources said.
The first aircraft is likely to be rolled out in 2019.
Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury said the assembly line demonstrated a commitment to cooperation with China's rapidly growing aviation industry.
The H135 is a popular light helicopter in China, mainly used in medical aid, rescue, police surveillance, fire fighting and tourism.
In 2016, China emerged as the largest civil helicopter market for Airbus Helicopters, thanks to the opening of low-altitude airspace that stimulated a boom in demand.
According to estimates, China will require about 600 light helicopters in the next 20 years.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:02:00|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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TAORMINA, Italy, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) nations met with African heads of state and government on Saturday at the Italian town of Taormina, discussing issues like migration, development, among others.
Leaders of Kenya, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Niger and Tunisia were invited to join the talks, along with representatives from six African organizations, including the African Union (AU), as the G7 wrapped up its two-day annual summit.
The African leaders were welcomed with a ceremony at Taormina's ancient Greek theater in early morning, before meeting with their counterparts from the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.
Holding the G7 rotating presidency in 2017, Italy wanted to have the related topics of Europe's migration crisis and African development on top of the agenda of the annual summit.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni's government wanted G7 partners to provide substantial help to crucial African countries in terms of investments and development policies, as a way to stem the endless flows of migrants and refugees fleeing poverty, destitution, and war.
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Union (EU) Council Donald Tusk also attended the meeting.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees have been risking their life crossing the Mediterranean from African coasts to Europe in the past years, and 1,520 people were estimated to have drowned in the attempt as of May 24, according to the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR.
Italy has registered over 50,400 new arrivals so far this year, and some 181,000 in 2016, which in both cases would represent the large portion of all arrivals to Europe.
The G7 summit kicked off on Friday morning, with a major focus on terrorism and security, as a terror attack on Monday evening in the British city of Manchester had claimed at least 22 lives, the deadliest attack occurred in Britain since July 2005.
The G7 leaders delivered a common declaration, vowing to increase their efforts in tackling extremism, and to strengthen their cooperation in several sectors of counter terrorism.
As the terror alert dominated the first day's talks, other issues in the official agenda were partly overshadowed. No agreement seemed in sight on climate change, for example, given the wide gap between the U.S. administration and other partners.
Attending his first G7 summit since he was elected, U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday told his counterparts he would postpone the decision on whether to uphold the commitment to the Paris Climate Deal to cut carbon emissions.
Trump had earlier suggested the United States might pull out of the agreement, which was sealed in December 2015, and entered into force in November 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:02:01|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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NEW DELHI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- India on Saturday provided 500 million U.S. dollars credit line to Mauritius as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth in Delhi.
The line of credit agreement was signed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India at the iconic Hyderabad House in the heart of the national capital, where the two leaders held talks over lunch.
Three other agreements were signed between the two countries, including one was on maritime security aimed at bolstering ties in the maritime domain.
"A relationship marked by age-old ties of friendship and deep mutual respect. PM@narendramodi receives PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at Hyderabad House," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.
Later in a statement, the Indian prime minister said that a strong developmental partnership with Mauritius "is a hallmark of our engagement."
"The agreement today on a 500 million U.S. dollars Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects," Modi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:07:04|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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MANILA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government forces promised on Saturday to take a quick resolution to the current standoff in Marawi, the besieged city in the southern Philippines partly occupied by a group of militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS).
The top brass of the Armed Forces of the Philippines vowed to launch more "surgical airstrikes" to clear the city and to bring the conflict to a quicker end.
"We are now on the offensive, and we try our best to clear Marawi City as soon as possible," Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez, the Western Mindanao Command commander, told reporters.
Galvez said the military managed to gain control of some areas but admitted that there are still areas which are under the control of the Maute militants.
"They are employing guerrilla warfare," he said, adding the insurgents are using snipers to fight the troops.
He said the military is now using maximum forces in dealing with a different enemy.
"If we take them very lightly, we will have a lot of casualties," Galvez said.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla also stressed the need to end the conflict as soon as possible, urging the city's residents to cooperate in the ongoing clearing operations.
"In as much as we would like to avoid collateral damage, these rebels are forcing the hand of government by hiding and holding out inside private homes, government building and other facilities," Padilla said.
He said the refusal of the militants to surrender is holding the city captive.
"We desire to free Marawi City of those evil forces and make way for a peaceful Ramadan," Padilla said.
Local reports said the military fired rockets at militant positions Saturday, forcing most of the city's estimated 200,000 residents to flee to nearby provinces of Iligan City and Cagayan de Oro City.
Marawi is the capital city of Lanao del Sur on Mindanao, the Philippines' second largest island.
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, an army spokesman based in Mindanao, said 41 members of the Maute militants have been killed in the firefight that broke out since Tuesday.
As fighting entered the fifth day, he said 13 soldiers and two policemen have also been killed and 45 soldiers wounded.
The number of casualties are expected to rise as the military strengthen operations to retake the city.
President Rodrigo Duterte has placed Mindanao under martial law for 60 days in the wake of the Maute attack in Marawi.
According to military intelligence information, foreign terrorists from nearby countries have converged in Marawi City in an attempt to convert the city into a caliphate of the IS.
People attend a candlelit vigil to mourn the victims of Manchester terror attack at Albert Square in Manchester, Britain on May 23, 2017. On Monday night, a suicide terror attack took place at Manchester Arena at the end of a pop concert, killing at least 22 people, several of whom were children, while injuring 59 others. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
LONDON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- After a four-day truce, election campaigning in Britain resumed on Friday with a war of words over terrorism and defense.
With the snap general election looming on June 8, political parties are engaged in a race for votes to decide who will be at 10 Downing Street on June 9.
All parties cancelled electioneering after Monday's bombing of the Manchester Arena which left 22 people dead and 116 others injured.
Labor's main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn faced heavy criticism after a keynote address he made in London, his first speech since the bombing.
As Corbyn spoke detectives continued to quiz eight men aged 16 to 38 arrested in swoops, mainly in the Manchester area, following Monday's attack. Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said police had got hold of a large part of the terror network suicide bomber Salman Abedi belonged too.
Corbyn said it is the responsibility of the government to minimize the chances of attacks and to ensure the police have the resources they need, that Britain's foreign policy reduces rather than increases the threat to the country.
"Too often government has got it wrong on all three counts and insecurity is growing as a result," he said.
Corbyn said many experts, including professionals in the intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars that the British government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism at home in Britain.
"An informed understanding of the causes of terrorism is an essential part of an effective response that will protect the security of our people. That fights rather than fuels terrorism.
"Protecting this country requires us to be both strong against terrorism and strong against the causes of terrorism. The blame is with the terrorists, but if we are to protect our people we must be honest about what threatens our security.
"We must be brave enough to admit the war on terror is simply not working. We need a smarter way to reduce the threat from countries that nurture terrorists and generate terrorism," said Corbyn.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:32:19|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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MANILA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine government announced on Saturday that it will not participate in the fifth round of peace talks with rebels in the Netherlands.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza told a news conference the Philippine government "will not proceed to participate in the scheduled fifth round of peace negotiations" with the National Democratic Front (NDF), the political arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), until there is an "enabling environment" to proceed with the talks to end Asia's longest-running insurgency.
"The road to peace is not a well paved road. It has humps and bumps along the way. This is not an easy road to peace," Dureza said.
Dureza also cited the attacks by the New People's Army (NPA), the military wing of the CPP, and the latest order of the CPP to its ground forces to intensify its offensive amid President Duterte's declaration of martial law in Mindanao.
"The Party calls on the NPA to plan and carry out more tactical offensives across Mindanao," the CPP said in a press statement on Wednesday.
The Philippine government and the leftist rebels signed "an agreement on an interim joint ceasefire" during their April's peace talks in the Netherlands. However, the government claimed the NPA attacked a food company, torching some equipment and disarming security guards in southern Mindanao on April 29.
NDF negotiating panel senior adviser Luis Jalandoni said earlier Saturday that it received notice from the government about the cancellation.
"So we see clearly, it's their responsibility in doing so because the NDF negotiating panel side was willing to take up such issues as the human right violations and how these can be remedies," Jalandoni said.
The government and the rebel panels are scheduled to resume peace talks from Saturday to Thursday in the town of Noordwijk in the Netherlands.
Norway is brokering the ongoing formal peace negotiations, acting as the third party facilitator of the talks since 2001.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:57:30|Editor: MJ
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BEIJING, May 27(Xinhua) -- China's prosecutors nationwide need to unite with all forces to eradicate school bullying, especially school violence, the country's procurator-general said Saturday.
"School bullying, especially school violence, has severely hindered Chinese students' growth and disturbed the order of campuses," said Procurator-general Cao Jianming.
Cai said that adults suspected of instigating, organizing, or coercing minors to committing crimes should be heavily punished.
Chinese prosecuting departments in 2016 approved the arrest of 1,180 people involved in school bullying and violence, the Supreme People's Procuratorate said in March.
Prosecutors nationwide filed charges against 678 adults last year suspected of having instigated, organized, or coerced minors into committing crimes.
There have been frequent media reports on school bullying in recent years.
A Beijing mother's article in December 2016, describing her 10-year-old son being bullied at school, went viral. After having a toilet waste-paper basket thrown on his head and being mocked by other classmates, the fourth-grade boy was diagnosed with acute stress disorder, a mental illness characterized by severe anxiety.
In April 2016, a video went viral showing a schoolgirl being slapped more than 30 times by a group of older girls. Police detained a number of the perpetrators.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 19:57:35|Editor: xuxin
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (R) receives Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth (C) of Mauritius and his wife during the ceremonial reception at Indian Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, May 27, 2017. India on Saturday inked four pacts with Mauritius, including one on extending 500 million U.S. dollars credit line to the island nation, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth in Delhi. (Xinhua/Partha Sarkar)
NEW DELHI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- India on Saturday inked four pacts with Mauritius, including one on extending 500 million U.S. dollars credit line to the island nation, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth in Delhi.
The line of credit agreement was sealed between SBM Mauritius Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd and Export-Import Bank of India.
Among the other agreements signed between the two countries, one was on maritime security aimed at bolstering ties in the maritime domain.
The pacts were all inked at the iconic Hyderabad House in the heart of the national capital.
"A relationship marked by age-old ties of friendship and deep mutual respect. PM@narendramodi receives PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth at Hyderabad House," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay tweeted.
Later in a statement, the Indian prime minister said that a strong developmental partnership with Mauritius "is a hallmark of our engagement."
"India is proud to participate actively in the ongoing development activities in Mauritius. The agreement today on a 500 million U.S. dollars Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects," Modi said.
He said that he and the visiting Mauritian prime minister concurred that effective management of conventional and non-conventional threats in the Indian Ocean is essential to pursue economic opportunities.
Apart from bilateral issues, Modi said that he and Prime Minister Jugnauth also exchanged views on a range of regional and global issues.
"We agreed to continue supporting each other in multilateral fora and cooperate closely on our common challenges and interests."
On his part, Jugnauth said: "The already excellent bonds between Mauritius and India have taken on a new dimension since I became prime minister."
Earlier in the day, the visiting Mauritian leader, who arrived in the Indian capital on Friday on a three-day state visit, was accorded a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan (Indian president's official residence).
It is Jugnauth's first foreign visit as prime minister. Modi visited the island nation in March 2015 as chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
Mauritius is the largest source of foreign direct investment into India with an inflow of over 110 billion U.S. dollars. On the other hand, more than 100 Indian companies are doing business in the island nation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:17:47|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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MOGADISHU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia, Bahame Nyanduga, has called on the world to support the Horn of Africa nation to avert humanitarian crisis and its current state-building process.
Nyanduga called for unremitting support for Somalia's state-building process and improvement of the human rights situation in the country, saying Somalia is experiencing one of its worst humanitarian crises following three years of drought.
"This drought has come at a time Somalia has not recovered from the effects of the 2011 drought," he said in a statement issued at the end of his fourth mission to Somalia on Friday night.
"I call upon the international community to respond to the appeal for 4.4 billion U.S. dollars to assist Somalia to deal with its biggest humanitarian crisis in history," he added.
"The severe has affected more than half of Somalia's population, creating an acute food and water shortage, child malnutrition and mortality, and loss of livestock," said the human rights expert.
Nyanduga urged the international community to continue technical and financial support to Somalia towards the reform of the police, judiciary and other rule of law institutions, and ensure the establishment of the new justice model, which is the cornerstone of democratic governance.
"The justice sector should be provided with commensurate resources to those currently being directed towards the security sector," the human rights expert emphasized.
During his 11-day visit, the rights expert also inquired about the role of traditional elders in the Somalia justice system, where Traditional Dispute Resolution remains strong because of the institutional weakness of formal judicial institutions.
He recommended the Somalia government, the Federal Member States, and Somaliland "to undertake a comprehensive review of the traditional dispute resolution frameworks in order to ensure that traditional elders protect the rights of women, in particular from rape and other sexual and gender-based violence cases."
Nyanduga expressed concern regarding cases of detention without trial, police brutality, intimidation of journalists, and other violations of the right to freedom of expression and media rights across Somalia.
"I call on the authorities to continue their engagement with media owners and professionals in order to review existing media laws or adopt laws that respect freedom of expression and media rights," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:17:51|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
Palestinian women hold pictures of their jailed families, as they celebrate during a protest in solidarity with prisoners in Israeli jails, in the West Bank City of Nablus, on May 27, 2017. Palestinian Fatah Party Recruitment Commissioner Jamal Muheisen declared that over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have suspended their hunger strike after a deal with the Israeli Prisons Authority. (Xinhua/Ayman Nobani)
RAMALLAH, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian Fatah Party Recruitment Commissioner Jamal Muheisen declared that over 1,500 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have ended the 40-day hunger strike after a deal with the Israeli Prisons Authority.
Muheisen said in a press conference that "the national committee of the strike stresses that the great and legendary victory of the detainees has refuted all Israeli bets and it's oppressive measure as it has forced the Israeli government to hold negotiations with leader of the strike, Marwan Barghouti, after it had rejected that for 40 days of their strike."
"They (Israel authorities) realized that detainees are determined to continue their strike until victory or martyrdom and that violence and oppression tools have not weakened them, but, to the contrary, they have increased their will power."
The head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Detainees Commission Eassa Qaraqe told Xinhua that the deal was reached after nearly 20 hours of negotiations involving Fatah party's leading figure, Marwan Barghouti, the International Red Cross and the Palestinian Authority.
But he said there are no details of the deal itself.
The demands of the detainees include visitation rights, use of a public phone and ending solitary confinement and administrative detention, which is imprisonment without charges or trial.
The strike ended just in time for the beginning of the month of Ramadan, where Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset for one month.
Marwan Barghouti, who led the collective hunger strike that began on April 17, is an elected member of Parliament and a member of President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party's Central Committee. He has been imprisoned since 2004 for a term of five life sentences.
RAWINS, Wyo. "The real product is the inmate."
Those are WY Brand Site Manager Paul Metevier's words, encapsulating in a sense the overall mission of the Wyoming State Penitentiary: a place where men and women go in as criminals and come out as neighbors.
The process by which that is accomplished can be found amidst the quiet buzzing hum of sewing machines, manned by orange-clad inmates dutifully dedicated to the task of sewing, stitching and cutting cloth. They are all workers at the facility's garment shop, one of two sizable industrial workshops that serve as the bulk of the Pen's prison industries program.
"We're really focusing on the soft skills, the hard skills, teaching them how to come to work, how to act in a work environment, how to act professionally with others, as well as some of the hard skills like working the equipment, the machinery," Metevier said. "Give them something to go out with."
Metevier swells with pride as he talks about the Pen's industries programs, manifest as a pair of print and garment workshops. He showcases two very different, but equally diligent, workplaces. The garment shop is enormous, with numerous stations and rows of tables bearing sewing machines and model clothing. There's a decent amount of workers inmates distinct in their orange clothes sewing and stitching, measuring cloth and making cuts.
If not for the prison uniforms and the presence of uniformed supervisors, it'd be indistinguishable from an ordinary workplace.
"We run it like a business," Metevier said. "They're not forced to be there. We're not going out and saying, 'Hey, you're coming to work in industries.'"
There's an application process the prisoners must go through in order to be accepted onto the industries' staff. They have to fill out a form and write a letter explaining why they want to do the work. Metevier said the Pen focuses primarily on high-risk inmates, hoping to target those most likely to repeat their crimes in the hopes of preventing them from doing so.
"We're giving them real skills that they can take, and the ultimate goal is to reduce recidivism so they don't come back," he said, adding that they try to pick inmates with 3 to 5 years remaining on their sentences. "That way we have some time to develop them before they hit the street."
The benefit is more than practical for the inmates; it also serves to boost their self-worth.
"They take a lot of pride in what they do. In fact, sometimes I have to pull the reins when we have tours like today, because they'll want to be involved and even sometimes sell the product that they're making," Metevier said. "We are under strict laws and regulation in how and who we deal with, because one of the things we don't do is compete with the local economy."
The economic impact of prison industries is determined by an advisory board that consists of business leaders from across the state. Carbon County Economic Development Corporation head Cindy Wallace serves on that board, and it was the leadership class that she'd helped organize that was touring the facility the day Metevier spoke to the Daily Times.
Metevier showcased the various workshops, though the print shop seemed to be the real treat of the tour. Metevier told the leadership class that this was the job that inmates really vied for. The inmates worked quietly there, but they were relaxed, they moved about freely and spoke to each other and Metevier with a mutual respect.
Again, if not for the trappings of incarceration, it'd be easy to think you were touring a commercial workshop. Certainly, the inmates looked rougher, more tattooed than your typical print shop workforce, but Metevier spoke to them as though they were employees. And when a member of the tour asked to see a finished product, several of those employees immediately leapt to fetch materials for Metevier to use.
"You emulate what you want to receive," Metevier said. "I believe that if you do that enough, they start to emulate what you want them to reflect. When you do that, most of them are very respectful, really polite. They are very proud and happy to be there."
Metevier said that he will show them positive feedback that their products receive, when he gets it. One of the shops they run is a braille shop, which would create printed materials that blind or visually disabled persons can read, and Metevier said that the workers there appreciate the impact their products have.
"With the braille shop, dealing with one of the girls who is going to the high school, her being successful is something that really motivates them," he said. "They take ownership in it. I've talked to some (of the inmates) and they feel it's a way they give back to the community."
The capabilities of these shops are quite comprehensive, and the program is of benefit to the state on a financial level as well as on a correctional one.
"We do jeans, release jeans, khaki pants for the officers, we do the (uniform) tops, we've reconditioned seat covers for seat vehicles to save the state some money as well," Metevier said. "When you think of the inmate population, they are going to work one way or the other. So we're putting them to work making something with a product. We're paying them either way and we're making a product the state can use, and the state was paying that labor anyway, so we're essentially getting things at cost. So (it saves) tremendous amounts of money."
Metevier has worked in corrections for some years now, working his way up as a uniformed officer, and has been doing industries work for four years, two of them at the Pen itself.
"You get the largest impact to make a difference (working in industries)," Metevier said. "I do things outside in my private life, like search and rescue and sometimes we go feed people at the nursing homes around the holidays. This is an area in corrections where we can actually make a difference and a contribution not only to the public but to the inmates, who go out and stay out."
The Wyoming Department of Corrections reported in December that the success rate for felony probationers in 2016 was 66.8 percent, the highest since 2008, and that overall parolee success rates, defined as parolees who complete probation and do not return to the care of the DOC within three years' of being released was at 71.3 percent. Misdemeanor success was 59.3 percent.
Egyptian policemen block the road about 10 kilometers away from the attack site, in Minya Governorate, south of Cairo, Egypt, May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)
CAIRO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Islamic State (IS) announced on Saturday that its fighters conducted a shooting that killed at least 29 Egyptian Christians on Friday, a statement of the group reported.
"A security detachment from Caliphate soldiers has killed dozens of Christians and burnt out their buses," said the statement posted on Telegram, an encrypted instant messaging system used by the IS to communicate with its followers.
The statement which has been published by the IS-affiliated Aamaq news agency said the attack left 32 killed.
On Friday, masked gunmen in three four-wheel-drive vehicles attacked two buses and a truck carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 29 people, including children, according to the health ministry's latest update.
About 70 Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's population of 92 million, have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.
Those attacks were claimed by the IS.
Egyptian air forces carried out six air strikes against jihadist training camp on Friday in retaliation for the Minya bus attack.
In a televised address to Egypt's people, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said "Egypt will not hesitate in striking terror camps anywhere, either inside (the country) or outside it."
On Saturday, a statement of the armed forces said that the Egyptian military is continuing to carry out air strikes against militant training camps outside the country.
"The air forces completely destroyed the targeted training camps and bases of the terrorists who carried out the attack against the Christians in Minya," the statement added.
The air eagles returned home while the armed forces continue in their operation to maintain the security of the country, added the armed force spokesperson.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:37:59|Editor: MJ
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has allocated more than 140 billion yuan (about 20.4 billion U.S. dollars) this year to keep pace with the needs of poverty relief, said the Ministry of Finance Saturday.
The central government has allocated over 86 billion yuan, up 30.3 percent from last year. A total of 28 provincial governments have allocated about 54 billion yuan.
At the end of last year, China still had more than 43 million impoverished rural residents.
The Chinese government has vowed to lift all the rural impoverished out of poverty by 2020 to build a moderately prosperous society.
Since China started the reform and opening-up drive more than 30 years ago, over 700 million Chinese have shaken off poverty, accounting for over 70 percent of global poverty reduction in the period.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:42:59|Editor: MJ
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QINGDAO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Large-scale algae blooms have been monitored in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea, according to forecasters.
The algae, enteromorpha prolifera and gulfweed, will drift northeastward over the next three days, according to the North China Sea Marine Forecasting Center of State Oceanic Administration.
Gao Song, a senior engineer with the center, said the algae were first detected from late April to early May and are growing. The algae have spread across an area of more than 28,000 square kilometers.
"The gulfweed observed this year is the largest ever. But it will not have a major impact on offshore areas of Shandong Peninsula," Gao said.
Since 2007, algal blooms that formed in the southern Yellow Sea have flowed toward Shandong Province, with some reaching beaches.
The algae are neither toxic nor harmful to water quality, but can lead to imbalances in marine ecosystems by consuming large quantities of oxygen. They can also jeopardize fisheries and tourism, as well as clog waterways.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:43:00|Editor: MJ
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SANSHA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China's newest city, Sansha, in the South China Sea, has received remote diagnosis facilities, enabling fishermen and other locals to consult experienced doctors in distant better-equipped hospitals.
The facilities include a high-definition video conferencing system, a picture archiving and communications system, and portable electrocardiography monitors.
The equipment, donated by the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, arrived at Sansha People's Hospital Friday.
"Sansha's health care system is starting from scratch. Internet technology brings high-quality health care in developed regions to us," said Zhuang Zhongjun, a Hainan Province health official.
Trials of long-distance diagnosis have been conducted, connecting a makeshift clinic on a boat with a doctors' office in the Zhejiang hospital. About 20 fishermen consulted doctors on their symptoms ranging from itching skin to a sore neck.
It has been well received, but the weak Internet connection sometimes causes disruptions.
Wang Jian'an, president of the Zhejiang hospital, said his hospital would regularly send doctors to Sansha to complement the distance medical service and to boost disease prevention.
China set up the Sansha municipality in 2012. The city government is located on Yongxing Island, the largest island of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 20:48:09|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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DUBAI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation(ENEC) said on Saturday that it received the fuel assemblies required to generate electricity from Unit one (out of four), United Arab Emirates (UAE) state news agency WAM reported.
ENEC said the fuel assemblies are securely stored in Barakah until the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation approves the operating license for Unit one and two.
This move would allow the generation of the first megawatts of emission-free electricity to power the growth of the UAE.
"The transportation was made possible thanks to the cooperation of numerous teams at ENEC and its joint venture partner, the Korea Electric Power Corporation, alongside other government and international stakeholders," said Mohamed Al-Hammadi, CEO of ENEC.
"The fact that all fuel assemblies were transported safely reflects the commitment of all these entities to the highest standards of quality, safety, and security," he added.
The fuel assemblies were transported in accordance with the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the report.
In December 2009, the UAE signed a contract with a South Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Company worth 20 billion U.S. dollars to build four nuclear plants.
The total capacity of the four stations, located in the south-west of the UAE capital emirate of Abu Dhabi, reached 80 percent. After the operation of the four plants, scheduled for completion by 2020, the ENEC will provide a quarter of the UAE's low-carbon electricity needs.
The Gulf Arab state, a major oil supplier, aims to save up to 12 million tons in carbon emissions every year through the nuclear plant which will be the first in the Arab world.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:03:18|Editor: MJ
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has called for more efforts to push green development and green lifestyles as the country seeks to better balance economic growth and environmental protection.
At a study session attended by members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee Friday, Xi listed six key tasks, including speeding up the transformation of growth models and intensifying anti-pollution measures.
Xi said that China has made historic social and economic achievements since reform and opening up, which the country should be proud of. Rapid development has also left the country with environmental issues that need to be remedied through great efforts, he said.
He said that to push green development and green lifestyles, the country should adopt a new development philosophy and correctly handle the relationship between economic development and environmental protection.
Xi said the country should protect the environment "like one protects one's eyes" and treat the environment "as one treats one's life."
China should firmly reject development models that damage or destroy the environment and bid farewell to practices that boost short-term economic growth at the cost of the environment, he said.
Key tasks have been listed to promote green development and green lifestyles. Specifically, the country should speed up the transformation from over-reliance on resource consumption, high energy use and high emissions to innovation-driven growth.
Anti-pollution measures should be intensified to tackle key issues such as air, water, and soil pollution.
China should also accelerate ecological conservation and restoration, with priority given to protection and natural restoration of the environment.
Resources should be used more efficiently, as excessive exploitation, use, and consumption of natural resources are the fundamental reasons behind many environmental issues.
The country should strive to achieve the greatest economic and social benefits possible with minimal resources and environmental costs.
Authorities should also encourage green consumption, raising the environmental awareness of citizens and pushing for economical, green, and healthy lifestyles and consumption patterns.
The country should also improve mechanisms that promote China's "ecological civilization," applying the strictest systems and the most rigorous laws to protect the environment, Xi said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:18:27|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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PYONGYANG, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Saturday slammed Japan for denying its history of conducting sexual slavery against Korean women during World War II.
A spokesman for the Korean Committee on Measures for the Sexual Slavery for Japanese Army and Drafting Victims said that the Japanese authorities are making "reckless distortion of history and evasion of responsibility for the past crimes" while rejecting a UN report on the past sexual slavery by Tokyo.
"The UN Committee Against Torture has released a report calling for re-examination of the agreement between Japan and South Korea over the issue of sexual slavery for the Imperial Japanese Army," said the DPRK official organ that is specialized in reckoning Japan's enslavement of the Koreans during its colonial rule of the peninsula.
The UN report said the Japanese-South Korean agreement on the issue signed in 2015 is insufficient for re-instating the victims of sexual slavery system run by Japanese army during World War II.
Japan rejected the report, saying its agreement with South Korea was final and irreversible.
"The government of Japan slandered the report of the international body and justified, beautified its past crimes. This is a grave challenge to the world community as the report fairly reflects the world public opinion," said the DPRK's committee.
It urged Japan to "clearly understand that their reckless distortion of history and evasion of responsibility for the past crimes are improper acts of self-destruction."
Japan annexed Korea in 1910 and had enslaved the Koreans until it was defeated in 1945.
At least 200,000 Korean women were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army as "comfort women" during the war, according to both the DPRK and South Korean historians.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:27:21|Editor: ying
People visit Hangzhou International Future Life Festival in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, May 27, 2017. The 3-day festival would show some technologies and solutions that may affect future life. (Xinhua/Li Zhong)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:28:30|Editor: xuxin
Thick smoke billows from a residential area after an airstrike in Lanao Del Sur Province, the Philippines, May 27, 2017. The Philippine security forces continued their airstrikes, artillery fire and ground assaults on Saturday in the southern Philippine city of Marawi to take back full control of the city infiltrated by Islamic State-inspired militants. (Xinhua/STRINGER)
MARAWI CITY, the Philippines, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine security forces continued their airstrikes, artillery fire and ground assaults on Saturday in the southern Philippine city of Marawi to take back full control of the city infiltrated by Islamic State-inspired militants.
But it did not prevent Muslims from holding their first prayer for the start of their holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Aminola Mitmug, a native of this city, said they prayed on Saturday morning while bombs were exploding in nearby villages.
"In the first day of Ramadan, our main problem is lack of water and electricity. But we need to sacrifice. As Muslims, we accept all the trials with patience and we don't blame anyone for our situation today," he said.
"Allah will see how you will perform your worship with him despite trials," he added.
Fighting erupted on Tuesday when heavily-armed militant Maute group affiliated with Islamic State (IS) swooped into Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur province.
President Rodrigo Duterte has declared martial law across the whole island of Mindanao.
The crisis has entered its fifth day. It was reported that more than 80 percent of the city's 200,000 population have evacuated to nearby Iligan City, as the military vows to use its "maximum power" to flush out terrorist groups.
Brig. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of the armed forces of the Philippines Western Mindanao Command, told reporters they are now on the offensive and assured they will try their best to clear the city as soon as possible.
"I am asking for apology to our brother Muslims because the start of their fasting was affected by the fighting. We don't want this to happen," Galvez said.
Galvez said the military managed to gain control of "some areas" but admitted that there are still areas which are still under the control of the Maute militants.
"They are employing guerrilla warfare," he said, adding the insurgents are using snipers to fight the troops.
Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Restituto Padilla also stressed the need to end the conflict as soon as possible, urging the city residents to cooperate in the ongoing clearing operations.
"In as much as we would like to avoid collateral damage, these rebels are forcing the hand of government by hiding and holding out inside private homes, government building and other facilities," Padilla said.
He said the refusal of the militants to surrender is holding the city captive.
"We desire to free Marawi City of those evil forces and make way for a peaceful Ramadan," Padilla said.
Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera, an army spokesman based in Mindanao, said 41 members of the Maute militants have been killed in the firefight that broke out since Tuesday.
As fighting entered the fifth day, he said 13 soldiers and two policemen have also been killed and 45 soldiers wounded.
Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr. said the military have been pounding with 105 howitzers the position of Maute and Abu Sayyaf militants since Friday.
"It's so painful because it seems we are not feeling the spirit of Ramadan. Unlike in previous years, when the fasting here were festive, particularly at night," Adiong said.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella on Saturday called on civilians to remain vigilant and cooperate with the military.
"Let us be considerate with our Muslim brothers and sisters who have started to observe the Ramadan. Let us pray for peaceful and swift operations to clear the city of violent extremists," Abella said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:38:34|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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By Alessandra Cardone
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) countries should take the lead in fighting the current famine threat, and uphold their pledge to eradicate hunger they had made in 2015, humanitarian groups said at the ongoing summit in Italy.
The appeal was launched by a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which urged the G7 to immediately provide financial resources to tackle the famine that has been declared in parts of South Sudan already, and is threatening northeast Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.
Promoters of the initiative included Save the Children, Oxfam, ActionAid, Action global health advocacy partnership, and Global Citizen advocacy group.
Their appeal comes as G7 leaders met with their African counterparts from five countries and six organizations, in the second day of the summit taking place in the Sicilian town of Taormina.
G7 and African leaders gathered to discuss the related issues of Europe's migration crisis and economic development in the African continent.
At the G7 summit in Germany in 2015, "The G7 had committed to lifting 500 million people in developing countries out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030," Marie Rumsby, senior advisor for Global Citizen, told reporters in Taormina.
Yet, the number of people living in conditions of severe food insecurity was estimated to have risen by about 40 percent over the last two years, according to the groups.
Furthermore, some 30 million people were currently facing the UN-declared famine alert in the four mentioned African countries.
"None of the G7 has yet confirmed its financial commitment to the target expressed at the 2015 summit, after two years," Rumsby told Xinhua.
Furthermore, no G7 partner would have provided its share of funding for the four African countries at risk.
The UN appealed for some 6.3 billion U.S. dollars for the famine emergency in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen, and some 4.9 billion U.S. dollars were urgently needed by July.
"If each G7 government contributed its far share to this appeal... this would raise almost half of the total required," Oxfam said earlier this week.
According to the volunteers in Taormina, the world's seven most industrialized countries have both the power and the duty to act.
"The G7 have the political and economic weight to respond to this current appeal," Giorgia Ceccarelli, agriculture and food-security policy advisor with Oxfam Italy, told Xinhua.
"They also have the political power to detail a long-term investment plan in order to achieve the target they had vowed to reach by 2030," she said.
Besides upholding their commitments on hunger and malnutrition, the NGOs urged the G7 to pay more attention to hunger crisis prevention by supporting more smallholder farmers' resilience.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:43:35|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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HELSINKI, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Finland and Russia have agreed on an expansion of trans-Siberian passenger flights authorizations between Finland and Asia.
Under the new agreement, the weekly two-way crossing rights go up from 65 to 80.
Hanna Lauren, the commercial director of Finland's national carrier Finnair, told newspaper Helsingin Sanomat on Saturday that the new agreement creates possibilities for a 15-percent increase in the business volume of Finnair.
Director of the Market Unit at the Finnish Ministry of Communications, Laura Eiro, told Xinhua this weekend that the agreement with Russia matches the recent options for expansion negotiated between Finland and China.
The agreement with Russia includes the possibility of flying from Finnish capital city Helsinki via Siberia to Nanjing, eastern China.
Eiro explained that the number of flights is actually increased by six per week, as currently there have already been nine temporary authorizations plus the 65 return crossings based on the previous agreement.
Besides China, the new trans-Siberia crossings could also serve Japan and South Korea. The actual scale of services depends on the operating airlines.
Finland and Russia also agreed that flights between Helsinki and Moscow would increase from two to three returns per day. Consultations were arranged in Nowosibirsk, Russia this week.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 21:53:39|Editor: Yamei
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Yu Zhengsheng (front), chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, speaks at a meeting with representatives of China's young private entrepreneurs in Beijing, capital of China, May 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Top political advisor Yu Zhengsheng called on China's young entrepreneurs to contribute to the country's economic development and socialist cause Saturday.
In a meeting with representatives of China's young private entrepreneurs, Yu, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, listened to their presentations and voiced his hope for them.
Yu urged young entrepreneurs to strengthen faith in national development and make further contributions to the progress of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
They were also asked to strengthen their awareness of the law and patriotism to boost the country's innovation-driven growth and repay society.
The senior leader also urged authorities at various levels to enhance contact with young entrepreneurs, sincerely listen to their concerns and help them resolve difficulties.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:13:48|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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JUBA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Efforts by South Sudan's ruling party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to reunify its various factions stalled this week in Uganda after a faction failed to sign the Arusha reunification agreement, officials said on Saturday.
President Salva Kiir had sought his Ugandan ally President Yoweri Museveni to rejuvenate talks to reunify the various SPLM warring factions, excluding former first vice president Riek Machar SPLM-in opposition faction.
"We are committed to reuniting the SPLM and we would have wished the Former Detainees (FD's) to sign the final working document but they decided not saying they needed more consultation," Ezekiel Gatkuoth from the SPLM-In opposition (SPLM-IO) faction of first vice president Taban Deng said in Juba.
In January 2015 the SPLM, SPLM-IO and FD's under the mediation of Tanzania's ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) agreed to the Arusha reunification framework which seeks to bring unity to the SPLM and help end the more than three years violence in the youngest nation.
The SPLM-IO leadership split into two factions following the renewed July 2016 clash in Juba despite signing the 2015 peace agreement with President Kiir to end fighting.
The Arusha framework also seeks to encourage constitutional reforms within the SPLM due to undemocratic tendencies within the senior party organs having contributed to the outbreak of the December 2013 conflict.
Gatkuoth revealed that the ongoing talks that will continue in June will lead to implementation of the Arusha agreement and also bring peace to the oil-rich and yet impoverished country where the UN said one million people are on brink of famine.
"We have agreed to form a working committee tasked with developing the road map for the (implementation of) Arusha agreement," said Nunu Jema Kumba, the Acting SPLM Secretary General and head of the government delegation.
The FD's faction led by the self exiled former SPLM Secretary General Pagan Amum including former defence minister Majak D' Agoot and former finance minister Kosti Manibe attended the Kampala talks and were previously tried for treason and acquitted by the state.
President Kiir recently launched the national dialogue which excludes Machar and both the SPLM-IO and FD's have in the past criticized the process for lack of inclusivity and transparency.
South Sudan descended into violence in December 2013 after political dispute between President Kiir and his former deputy Machar led to fighting that pitted mostly Dinka ethnic soldiers loyal to Kiir against Machar's Nuer ethnic group.
The 2015 peace agreement to end the violence was again violated in July 2016 when the rival factions resumed fighting in the capital forcing the rebel leader Machar to flee into exile.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 2 million from their homes, and forced more than 1.5 million to flee into neighbouring countries.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:18:50|Editor: MJ
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese securities watchdog on Saturday published stricter rules on the selling of stocks of major shareholders as such activity had triggered market volatility and stoked the concerns of retail investors.
The new policy improved regulation on stock reductions through block trading, selling of non-public offering shares, information disclosure, and equity transfers via agreements.
It came only one day after the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said it has planned the revision to curb massive and irregular stock-selling of major shareholders.
"The improved system will guide major shareholders to reduce holdings in a standard, reasonable and orderly manner, which will help stabilize market expectations and shore up investors' confidence," said the CSRC.
The Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges also released detailed rules shortly after the regulator's move on Saturday.
For those who hold more than 5 percent of a company's stakes, their sales of non-public offering shares should not exceed 50 percent of their total holdings in a 12-month period after unlocking. Stocks transferred through block trading should not surpass 2 percent of a company's total shares in 90 days, and the transferees are not permitted to sell again within six months.
Major shareholders, supervisors and management should report and publicize their holding reduction plans 15 trading days in advance.
Deng Ge, CSRC spokesperson, stressed that the detailed rules must be followed and the commission will take restrictive measures against violations and irregular transactions.
The new rules took effect on Saturday.
The CSRC vowed continued efforts to act against false information disclosure, insider trading and market manipulation during stock-selling by major shareholders.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:23:52|Editor: ying
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KATHMANDU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's Kami Rita has become the third person to scale Mt. Qomolangma for 21 times after he reached the summit of the world's tallest mountain on Saturday morning, Nepal's Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation confirmed.
Gyanendra Shrestha, a liaison officer at the ministry, confirmed to Xinhua that Kami Rita reached the top of the mountain at 8:15 a.m. (local time) on Saturday.
According to expedition organizing company Sangri-La Nepal Trek, Kami Rita along with five other Nepalis and six foreigners reached the top of the mountain.
Jeeban Ghimire, managing director of Sangri-La Nepal Trek, told Xinhua that Kami Rita who works for the company as high altitude worker, made the company and the country proud by reaching the summit for the largest number of times.
Kami Rita, who is from Thame village of Nepal Solukhumbu district where the Mt Qomolangma lies, is a seasoned climber of the Himalayan mountains.
He has already climbed most of the peaks above 8,000 meters including K2, Cho-oyu, Lhoste and Annapurna among others.
As the mountaineering season nearing the end, over 300 world climbers have reached the top of Mt. Qomolangma so far this year, according to Shrestha.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:23:53|Editor: MJ
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KATHMANDU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The cross-border optical fiber network between Nepal and China established a year ago may come into operation from the first week of June, said Nepal Telecom Saturday, the state-owned telecom giant of Nepal.
The connectivity established for the first time between the two neighbors through Geelong-Rasuwgadhi border point, has ended Nepal's sole dependence on India for connecting the Himalayan country with global telecom and internet services.
Nepal Telecom (NT) and China Telecom Corporation Limited had established the connectivity in June last year but operation was delayed due to landslide in China damaging the underground optical fibers.
"China Telecom has informed us that they are completing the repairing and rerouting of damaged optical fiber within May," Sovan Adhikari, joint spokesperson of NT told Xinhua on Saturday. "We have been in constant communication with the Chinese company."
Following the connection with Chinese optical fiber, Nepal will be able to purchase internet bandwidth with Chinese companies.
"This will create a competitive environment for purchasing internet services which could reduce cost of internet service here," said Adhikari.
Meanwhile, the NT said it has signed initial memorandum of understanding with China Unicom, another Chinese telecom operator, for further cross-border optical fiber connectivity.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:28:58|Editor: Zhang Dongmiao
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TEHRAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran will send as many as 86,500 Iranian pilgrims to annual Hajj ceremony in Saudi Arabia this summer, Tasnim news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying on Saturday.
The Iranian pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia in 600 convoys, Head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Hamid Mohammadi announced.
All the Iranian pilgrims will be kitted up with electronic bracelets that would work as ID cards and will contain their personal information, Mohammadi said.
The device is paired with a mobile application, helping the pilgrims to find their convoys in case of getting lost, he said.
Over the past year, Iran was in talks with Saudi officials to resolve the issues which had hampered the dispatch of pilgrims to the annual Muslim ceremonies in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca.
Iran decided to withdraw from sending the pilgrims to the Hajj season last year, in which it cited the reason for fearing the safety of its pilgrims after the deadly stampede in Hajj of 2015.
More than 450 Iranians were among 2,300 pilgrims who died in stampede in Mina area.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:28:59|Editor: MJ
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Zhang Dejiang (R, front), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), attends a high-ranking symposium commemorating the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, May 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Li Tao)
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- China held a high-ranking symposium on Saturday to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).
Addressing the symposium, which was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, top legislator Zhang Dejiang called for comprehensive and precise implementation of the principle of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), called the HKSAR Basic Law "a product of ingenuity of a great era," which fully embodies the shared desire of all Chinese including Hong Kong compatriots and has demonstrated great vitality.
SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION
Enacted in accordance with China's Constitution, the Basic Law specifies the guidelines of "one country, two systems", and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy.
The Basic Law is a good law which accords the actual conditions of the nation and the HKSAR and is able to provide a fundamental guarantee for the great cause of "one country, two systems" and withstand the test of practice, Zhang said.
The practice of the Basic Law over the past 20 years shows that the fundamental purposes of safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests as well as maintaining Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability must be adhered to in order to advance the cause of "one country, two systems," Zhang noted.
BEST ARRANGEMENTS
HKSAR Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying said at the symposium that the principle of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law are the best constitutional arrangements for both the HKSAR and the country.
With the combined advantages of "one country, two systems", Hong Kong can participate in the country's major development strategies including the national 13th Five-Year Plan and the Belt and Road Initiative, while serving as a "super-connector" between the mainland and the rest of the world at the same time, Leung said.
The coordinated and joint development of the HKSAR and the mainland would not only improve their overall competitiveness, but provide the world new experiences of cooperation between regions of different systems, thus enriching "one country, two systems," he said.
Elsie Leung, deputy director of the Commission for the HKSAR Basic Law of the NPC Standing Committee, said the implementation of the Basic Law has helped realize the "one country, two systems" concept, stabilize the relationship between the central government and Hong Kong, and clarify the legal status of the HKSAR.
As the Basic Law was well received by Hong Kong citizens, a seamless and stable transition has been achieved with Hong Kong's capitalist system and life styles unchanged, its legal system improved, judicial independence ensured, democracy developing step by step, and external affairs in sound shape, she said.
TO CORRECT MISINTERPRETATIONS
Noting that some people have developed misunderstanding of the policy of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law, Zhang called for efforts in raising public awareness and correcting deliberate misinterpretation of the Basic Law.
"We should resolutely oppose statements and deeds that distort, challenge or even violate the Basic Law to uphold its unshakable authority," said Zhang.
Zhang also stressed that power exercised by the HKSAR is delegated by but not separated from the central government and under no circumstances should anyone be allowed to challenge the power of the central government in the name of a high degree of autonomy.
The political system of the HKSAR is neither one of separation of powers nor a legislative-led or judiciary-led system, but an executive-led system with the chief executive at its core, Zhang explained.
Hong Kong's long-term prosperity and stability can only be based on accurate understanding and strict and full implementation of the Basic Law, according to Song Zhe, deputy head of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council.
DEFENDING THE CONSTITUTION
National identity based on the Constitution is the core value for making and enforcing the Basic Law, said Han Dayuan, a law professor of Renmin University of China, urging efforts to promote the Constitution and make it a powerful guarantee for the prosperity, stability and sustainable development of Hong Kong.
Zhang also called for special attention on strengthening education of the young people in Hong Kong about the country's national conditions and the rule of law to instill in them a strong sense of national identity, of being Chinese and the rule of law.
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Efforts urged to correct misinterpretation of HKSAR Basic Law
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Top legislator Zhang Dejiang has called for more efforts in raising public awareness of the policy of "one country, two systems" and the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to correct deliberate misinterpretation of the Basic Law.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks at a high-ranking symposium Saturday morning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the HKSAR Basic Law. Full story
Top legislator: HKSAR power not separated from central government
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Top legislator Zhang Dejiang stressed that the power exercised by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is delegated by but not separated from the central government.
Zhang made the remarks at a high-ranking symposium Saturday morning to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the HKSAR Basic Law. Full story
HKSAR political system is not separation of powers: top legislator
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The political system of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) is neither one of separation of powers nor a legislative-led or judiciary-led system, top legislator Zhang Dejiang said Saturday.
It is an executive-led system with the chief executive at its core, said Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, while addressing a high-ranking symposium to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the HKSAR in Beijing. Full story
HKSAR Basic Law meets test of practice: top legislator
BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has fully met the test of practice and demonstrates great vitality, top legislator Zhang Dejiang said Saturday.
Zhang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, made the remarks while addressing a high-ranking symposium to commemorate the 20th anniversary of implementing the Basic Law of the HKSAR in Beijing. Full story
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 22:59:09|Editor: yan
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TEHRAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that relations with Russia will be further expanded during his new term in office, Tasnim news agency reported.
"More determined than ever, Iran is prepared to boost mutual and regional cooperation with Russia," Rouhani said in the telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday.
"In the near future, we will witness much closer cooperation between the two countries," he was quoted as saying.
Rouhani urged more joint efforts to promote peace in Syria and fight against terrorism, describing the enhancement of cooperation in Syria as very "significant."
For his part, Putin offered his congratulations to Rouhani on his re-election as the Iranian president, saying the results of the presidential election proved that Iranians are supporting Rouhani's economic and social measures as well as his regional and international plans.
Rouhani emerged victorious in the elections held last Friday and secured a second term by winning 57 percent of the votes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 23:04:16|Editor: yan
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JINAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A higher court in east China's Shandong Province on Saturday officially began reconsideration of the case of a son who stabbed and killed a violent debt collector in his mother's defense.
The defendant, Yu Huan, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Feb. 17, 2017 by the Intermediate People's Court of Liaocheng City.
Yu and three plaintiffs appealed after the trial.
The Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court accepted the appeal on March 24, 2017.
On April 14, 2016, more than 10 people went to Su Yinxia's company in Guanxian County in Shandong to collect payment for loan sharks, allegedly insulting Su and her son Yu Huan.
Police arrived at the scene but Yu later stabbed four of the debt collectors including Du Zhihao, who died the next morning.
In a statement issued March 26, the Supreme People's Procuratorate pledged to review the case to determine whether Yu was acting in self-defence and investigate possible dereliction of duty by police officers involved.
The retrial mainly focused on the reason of the appeal, the facts ascertained in the first trial, and some new evidence from forensic investigations. The mother, Su Yinxia, served as witness in court.
More than 100 people attended the public retrial on Saturday. The verdict will be announced another day.
Iranian worshippers chant slogans against Bahraini regime and Saudi Arabia during Friday prayers in Tehran, Iran, May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
TEHRAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran will send as many as 86,500 Iranian pilgrims to annual Hajj ceremony in Saudi Arabia this summer, Tasnim news agency quoted an Iranian official as saying on Saturday.
The Iranian pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia in 600 convoys, Head of Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization Hamid Mohammadi announced.
All the Iranian pilgrims will be kitted up with electronic bracelets that would work as ID cards and will contain their personal information, Mohammadi said.
The device is paired with a mobile application, helping the pilgrims to find their convoys in case of getting lost, he said.
Over the past year, Iran was in talks with Saudi officials to resolve the issues which had hampered the dispatch of pilgrims to the annual Muslim ceremonies in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca.
Iran decided to withdraw from sending the pilgrims to the Hajj season last year, in which it cited the reason for fearing the safety of its pilgrims after the deadly stampede in Hajj of 2015.
More than 450 Iranians were among 2,300 pilgrims who died in stampede in Mina area.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a press conference in Tehran on May 22, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)
TEHRAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Saturday that relations with Russia will be further expanded during his new term in office, Tasnim news agency reported.
"More determined than ever, Iran is prepared to boost mutual and regional cooperation with Russia," Rouhani said in the telephone conversation with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, on Saturday.
"In the near future, we will witness much closer cooperation between the two countries," he was quoted as saying.
Rouhani urged more joint efforts to promote peace in Syria and fight against terrorism, describing the enhancement of cooperation in Syria as very "significant."
For his part, Putin offered his congratulations to Rouhani on his re-election as the Iranian president, saying the results of the presidential election proved that Iranians are supporting Rouhani's economic and social measures as well as his regional and international plans.
Rouhani emerged victorious in the elections held last Friday and secured a second term by winning 57 percent of the votes.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 23:44:32|Editor: yan
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TEHRAN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Iran sweets and chocolate exports have witnessed 13 percent increase in value and three percent in volume in the past Iranian calendar year, ended on March 20, 2017, compared to the previous year, Iran's Financial Tribune daily reported on Saturday.
Some 214,960 tons of sweets and chocolate, worth 580 million U.S. dollars, were exported to 66 countries in the past, the head of Iran's Sweets and Chocolate Association, Jamshid Maghazei, was quoted as saying.
"Sweets and chocolates account for around 30-40 percent of Iran's total food exports," Maghazei said.
The official said that Iran's priorities for exports have been regional countries, but since some neighboring states have experienced instability over the past years, Iran has shifted to European markets recently.
According to the report, central Asian countries are among major markets for Iranian chocolate.
Iran's East Azarbaijan and West Azarbaijan provinces are the main sweets and chocolate production hubs of Iran.
Maghazei said about 65,000 Iranians are directly working in sweets and chocolate production units in Iran.
Speaking of future plans and goals, Maghazei said plans are underway to increase exports upto 2 billion a year.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 23:44:35|Editor: yan
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BEIJING, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council on Saturday decided to posthumously honor late geophysicist Huang Danian as a "sincere patriot and role model for returned overseas Chinese."
In a statement issued by the office, returned overseas Chinese and people who work for overseas Chinese affairs should take Huang, who made outstanding contributions in education and scientific research, as their role model and make greater contributions to the Chinese dream of national rejuvenation.
The statement urged learning from Huang's patriotism as well as his spirit of serving the country, diligence and professional dedication.
Huang, known for his expertise in deep earth exploration technology, studied and worked in Britain for 18 years before returning to China in 2009. Over the ensuing years, he helped China soar in a number of technical fields, transforming the nation into one of the world's leaders in deep earth exploration.
Huang died from illness at age 58 on Jan. 8.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-27 23:54:38|Editor: yan
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WASHINGTON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Climbing nighttime temperatures, driven by climate change, may harm human sleep, a new study revealed, with the poor and elderly most affected.
"What our study shows is not only that ambient temperature can play a role in disrupting sleep but also that climate change might make the situation worse by driving up rates of sleep loss," Nick Obradovich, who conducted much of the research as a doctoral student in political science at the University of California San Diego, said in a statement.
In a study published this week by the U.S. journal Science Advances, Obradovich and colleagues looked at responses from 765,000 individuals across the United States who took part in a public health survey, alongside temperature data from 2002 to 2011.
They found that a one-degree Celsius increase in nighttime temperature translates to three nights of insufficient sleep per 100 individuals per month.
"To put that in perspective: If we had a single month of nightly temperatures averaging one degree Celsius higher than normal, that is equivalent to nine million more nights of insufficient sleep in a month across the population of the United States today, or 110 million extra nights of insufficient sleep annually," the study said.
The negative effect of warmer nights is most acute in summer, the research showed. It is almost three times as high in summer as during any other season.
It also revealed that those whose income is below 50,000 U.S. dollars and those who are aged 65 and older are affected most severely.
For older people, the effect is twice that of younger adults. And for the lower-income group, it is three times worse than for people who are better off financially.
If climate change is not addressed, warmer temperatures could cause six additional nights of insufficient sleep per 100 individuals by 2050 and approximately 14 extra nights per 100 by 2099 in the United States, it predicted.
"The U.S. is relatively temperate and, in global terms, quite prosperous," said Obradovich, now a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab.
"We don't have sleep data from around the world, but assuming the pattern is similar, one can imagine that in places that are warmer or poorer or both, what we'd find could be even worse."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 00:19:46|Editor: yan
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By Matthew Rusling
WASHINGTON, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. media has taken a break from pummeling U.S. President Donald Trump while on his first overseas trip, but experts expect a renewed all-out brawl between the two sides once Trump returns home.
U.S. media perhaps dislikes Trump more than any other president in recent memory. Critics said the reason is that many reporters were in the tank for Hillary Clinton and are now disappointed that she lost.
Others say Trump has antagonized the media from the start of his presidency, referring to many reports as "hit jobs" and "fake news," as well as blasting particular reporters.
"Media are critical of Trump because he openly campaigned against the media and repeatedly said reporters are dishonest," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua.
Trump demeans specific reporters and shows his disdain for most media outlets, turning large segments of the press against him and encouraging reporters to be very tough on his administration, West said.
Indeed, this week the fight between Trump and the media has calmed down as Trump traveled to the Middle East and Europe in a bid to shore up relations with allies in an effort to turn the screws on terror group Islamic State (IS).
"Presidents typically have more leeway on foreign than domestic policy. They are the commander in chief and when travelling abroad, are able to control media access to what the president is doing. That helps the president stay on message and drive home the message that America is respected abroad and able to meet a variety of people," West said.
Still, the acrimony between Trump and U.S. media is likely to pick up again once he returns home this weekend.
"It is easy for presidents to project leadership when their schedule is filled with meetings and photo opportunities and they are not having to answer difficult questions about investigations or domestic policy," West said.
But, once Trump returns home, it will be harder for him to avoid tough questions or stay on message about presidential leadership. He will have to talk about the FBI investigation on the relations between Russia and his campaign during last year's presidential election.
Trump also has to answer critics who feel that his proposed national budget harms ordinary people and individuals who voted for him, West said.
Dan Mahaffee, an analyst at the Center for the Study of Congress and the Presidency, told Xinhua that much of the media environment is driven by the constant flow of scandals and leaks from the Trump administration, which, in turn, has driven media coverage.
"In many of these scandals, the muddled messages from the Trump administration and the growing scope of scandals further drive media attention -- often at the expense of other stories," Mahaffee said.
That has combined with an environment where media finds itself reflecting the increasingly polarized nature of the American electorate where many seek out media sources that correspond to their pre-existing political viewpoints, he said.
"On an international trip, it does provide imagery of the U.S. president abroad, which tends to draw positive media coverage in itself, and Trump has largely stayed on message overseas, which has also led to more positive coverage," Mahaffee added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 00:49:58|Editor: yan
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PHNOM PENH, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia warned on Saturday of heavy rainfall at sea over the next four days and called on fishermen and travelers by sea to be on high precautions.
According to the weather forecast, a depression is brewing over Cambodia, which will cause heavy rainfall in coastal and plateau areas from May 28 to 31, said a Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology statement.
"The ministry would like to advise the fishermen and travelers by sea to be extra-vigilant during the said period to avoid any possible dangers," the statement said.
Cambodian sea stretches over four provinces -- Preah Sihanouk, Kampot, Kep and Koh Kong -- in the country's southwestern part.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 01:20:01|Editor: yan
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MOGADISHU, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Somalia National Army (SNA), backed by African Union peacekeeping troops, on Saturday recaptured several locations in southern Somalia.
Information Minister for Southwest State Ugaas Hassan told Xinhua by phone that the joint forces conducted successful operations north and south of Baidoa town.
"SNA, AMISOM and Southwest State forces liberated many areas in the north and south of Baidoa town, including Gof-gudud location, which was under terrorist militants in recent past," Hassan said. "There was no resistance from the militants so far and the operation will continue."
AMISOM refers to the African Union Mission in Somalia, a regional peacekeeping mission operated by the African Union with the approval of the United Nations.
Al-Shabaab militants captured the Gof-gudud location, about 35 km north of Bay region, on May 9. They also killed at least six Somali soldiers and injured several others in a landmine blast there in the same region.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 05:05:59|Editor: xuxin
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (1st R) meets with Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat (2nd L) in Valletta, capital of Malta, on May 27, 2017. An EU-Japan trade agreement is a top priority for the EU, said Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a joint press statement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday. (Xinhua/Yuan Yun)
VALLETTA, May 27 (Xinhua) -- An EU-Japan trade agreement is a top priority for the EU, said Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in a joint press statement with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday.
He said Malta was reflecting the position of the EU and this is an issue Malta will be pressing on in the final month of EU presidency, which will be taken over Estonia at the end of June.
Muscat also said he and Abe exchanged ideas on various areas, including educational exchanges as well as commercial and trade issues.
According to Abe, they agreed on the maintenance of a strong Europe and the importance of promoting European integration.
The two leaders also discussed issues of regional issues in the Mediterranean and Asia.
Shinzo Abe was in Malta for official talks after having attended a meeting of G7 in Italy's Taormina.
Japan-Malta diplomatic relations were established in 1965, but this was the first time an acting Japanese prime minister visited the island.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 05:11:01|Editor: yan
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DAR ES SALAAM, May 27 (Xinhua) -- A civil engineering freshman on Saturday emerged as the overall winner of the 16th Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition for foreign college students in Tanzania.
Steven Emmanuel Paul, 20, from the Confucius Institute at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM), beat 11 other contestants in Mandarin fluency.
The civil engineering major said his Mandarin proficiency would help him secure employment with Chinese construction companies in the east African nation.
Twenty-two-year-old Tewele Ayubu, an education major at the UDSM, also wore a broad smile as the second-place winner.
"My burning ambition is to become a Chinese language teacher," Ayubu said. "My desire is to teach Chinese to as many Tanzanians as possible so that they could go to China to learn technology and science and come back to develop our country."
Two other students from the UDSM Confucius Institute and four each from the University of Dodoma, and the Zanzibar Journalism and Mass Media College also participated in the contest.
"Language is a bridge to bring people together," said Minister Counsellor in the Chinese Embassy in Tanzania Gou Haodong.
Yan Liu, director of the UDSM Confucius Institute, said Paul, the overall winner, will go to China to participate in the second round of competition and if possible the final round.
The second-place winner, Ayubu, will also go to China to watch the competition, with all expenses covered by the Office of Chinese Language Council International, Yan said.
He said the Confucius Institute at the UDSM, co-founded by the UDSM and Zhejiang Normal University, was launched in 2013.
"Through language and cultural interaction the Confucius Institute at the UDSM has bridged minds of the people from Tanzania and China, and become a platform on which more Tanzanians come to know more about China," he said.
Rose Uppor, principal of the College of Humanities at the UDSM, said the Confucius Institute has contributed to creating a cultural understanding of the world's largest population and their heritage.
MINOT -- A federal judge sentenced disgraced former Minot neurosurgeon Dr. Marc Eichler on Thursday to 36 months in prison for possession of child pornography, according to court records.
Eichler was originally charged with child sex abuse offenses in district court in Minot.
According to the probable cause affidavit in that case, Eichler exchanged sexually explicit texts and photos with two area girls in 2015 when they were 12 and 13. Eichler also is said to have provided the first girl with alcohol and tobacco and a smart phone and other gifts and also paid for hotel rooms in different locations for her and her friends as an incentive for her not to talk about the abuse. He had also been accused of sexually assaulting one of the girls when she was babysitting at his residence. The charges in state court were dropped when Eichler was indicted by a federal grand jury.
Eichler was formerly a neurosurgeon at Trinity Hospital in Minot. The North Dakota Board of Medicine has suspended his license to practice indefinitely citing unprofessional conduct.
Eichler will be on supervised probation for five years following his release from prison and must register as a sex offender. He must also have no contact with his victims. Under the terms of the plea deal, the government dismissed seven other counts against Eichler.
In the judgement, U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Hovland gave his reasons for the relatively light sentence as the doctor could have faced 10 years in prison. Hovland wrote that Eichler has no prior criminal history, a psychologist has deemed him at low risk to reoffend, he has strong support and he made no threats of violence against the victims in the case, who were 12 and 13 at the time.
Hovland gave permission for Eichler to turn himself in at the Burleigh County Jail in Bismarck on May 30. Hovland recommends that Eichler serve his sentence at a low security correctional facility close to North Dakota so he can remain close to family.
Eichler was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in 2016 with two counts of production of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of minors; two counts of attempted production of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of minors; one count of receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors; one count of attempted receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors and one count of transfer of obscene materials to minors. He pleaded guilty to one count of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of minors under the plea deal.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 05:56:16|Editor: yan
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PARIS, May 27 (Xinhua) -- All actions needed to tackle the vandalism of General de Gaulle's grave "will be conducted as soon as possible", the French presidency announced on Saturday evening.
French President Emmanuel Macron was "with emotion" when informed of the act of vandalism against de Gaulle's grave in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, the Elysee said.
"The memory and figure of General de Gaulle are dear to all Frenchmen, and the President of the Republic has assured prompt repair of the burial," the Elysee said.
Macron also addressed to the family of General de Gaulle "his sincere thoughts", according to the French presidency.
The tomb of General de Gaulle, a world-famous politician and founder of the Fifth Republic of France, was vandalized in the commune of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises in the region of Grand East, local media reported.
An individual climbed the tomb and toppled the stone cross, mayor of the Colombeyt-Les-Deux-Eglises commune Pascal Babouot said, quoted by French radio Franceinfo on its website.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 06:06:22|Editor: yan
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by Mahmoud Fouly
CAIRO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Marco Ayed Habib, an Egyptian 14-year-old boy in the third grade of preparatory school, was carefree while riding his father's pickup car along with his younger brother Mina and several other workers, heading to visit a monastery on the desert highway in Upper Egypt's Minya province.
It never crossed his little, innocent mind that the trip will turn into a tragedy with his farther being one of about 30 victims who were gunned down by terrorists on Friday. Marco survived to become an eyewitness yet he couldn't help his tears while narrating the story.
"Two men stopped our car for a ride at the desert highway. Ahead of the monastery before we got off, they confronted us, asked my father for his ID card and before he gave it to them, they shot him with three bullets. I have seen it," the boy tearfully told Xinhua while rubbing his eyes.
Marco said that the terrorists all together were more than a dozen or maybe 15, disguised in military uniform, and they had video cameras to record the deadly attack on Friday on a bus and two cars heading to Saint Samuel Monastery in Maghagha.
After his farther was shot and the perpetrators were preparing to escape, the boy bravely sneaked into his father's vehicle and made a phone call to his uncle back in his village of Dayr Jarnous for help.
"Marco is the hero of the tragedy, as he is the only one who could go back to the car and call us for help," his uncle Mamdouh Youssef Michael told Xinhua near the altar of the Sacred Family Church of Dayr Jarnous, where a funeral for several victims was held.
Michael continued that they hurried to the scene and saw Ayed, Marco's father, was bleeding but still alive. They tried to move the man to the nearest hospital but the man breathed his last on the way.
"We carried him to rescue and an ambulance met us halfway, took him in and provided him with a respirator, but he died before we reached the hospital," said Marco's uncle.
He added that Marco was surrounded by over 30 dead bodies in a mountainous area, yet the little boy did not only call relatives for help but he also stopped a private car and asked them to take his 10-year-old younger brother Mina to a safe place at the highway.
During the funeral held on Friday evening at the Sacred Family Church of Dayr Jarnous village, hundreds of Copts and Muslims were marching together and shouting slogans of unity and prayers for the victims.
The angry Copts raised long wooden crosses during the funeral while carrying the coffins of the village's victims on their shoulders.
Terror attacks in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) militia, which started to expand terror operations to target the Coptic Christian minority to further pressure the government.
In April, IS-claimed bombings at two churches in Gharbiya and Alexandria northern provinces killed at least 47 and wounded over 120. A similar suicide bombing at a Cairo church in December 2016 killed at least 28 worshippers.
On Saturday, the IS also claimed responsibility for the anti-Coptic attack in Minya, which left victims from Minya, Beni Sweif and Giza provinces who all were heading to the monastery. Marco's father was one of them.
When Marco was asked what he would like to be in the future, he tearfully said nothing, but when he was asked about his message to the terrorists he said: "May God punish them!"
Shell cases collected at the site of the bus attack during an interview at the Sacred Family Church of Dayr Jarnous village, Minya Governorate, Egypt, on May 27, 2017. (Xinhua/Zhao Dingzhe)
CAIRO, May 27 (Xinhua) -- Marco Ayed Habib, an Egyptian 14-year-old boy in the third grade of preparatory school, was carefree while riding his father's pickup car along with his younger brother Mina and several other workers, heading to visit a monastery on the desert highway in Upper Egypt's Minya province.
It never crossed his little, innocent mind that the trip will turn into a tragedy with his farther being one of about 30 victims who were gunned down by terrorists on Friday. Marco survived to become an eyewitness yet he couldn't help his tears while narrating the story.
"Two men stopped our car for a ride at the desert highway. Ahead of the monastery before we got off, they confronted us, asked my father for his ID card and before he gave it to them, they shot him with three bullets. I have seen it," the boy tearfully told Xinhua while rubbing his eyes.
Marco said that the terrorists all together were more than a dozen or maybe 15, disguised in military uniform, and they had video cameras to record the deadly attack on Friday on a bus and two cars heading to Saint Samuel Monastery in Maghagha.
After his farther was shot and the perpetrators were preparing to escape, the boy bravely sneaked into his father's vehicle and made a phone call to his uncle back in his village of Dayr Jarnous for help.
"Marco is the hero of the tragedy, as he is the only one who could go back to the car and call us for help," his uncle Mamdouh Youssef Michael told Xinhua near the altar of the Sacred Family Church of Dayr Jarnous, where a funeral for several victims was held.
Michael continued that they hurried to the scene and saw Ayed, Marco's father, was bleeding but still alive. They tried to move the man to the nearest hospital but the man breathed his last on the way.
"We carried him to rescue and an ambulance met us halfway, took him in and provided him with a respirator, but he died before we reached the hospital," said Marco's uncle.
He added that Marco was surrounded by over 30 dead bodies in a mountainous area, yet the little boy did not only call relatives for help but he also stopped a private car and asked them to take his 10-year-old younger brother Mina to a safe place at the highway.
During the funeral held on Friday evening at the Sacred Family Church of Dayr Jarnous village, hundreds of Copts and Muslims were marching together and shouting slogans of unity and prayers for the victims.
The angry Copts raised long wooden crosses during the funeral while carrying the coffins of the village's victims on their shoulders.
Terror attacks in Egypt have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers since the mid-2013 military removal of former Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in response to mass protests against his one-year rule and his currently-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.
Most of the attacks have been claimed by a Sinai-based group loyal to the regional Islamic State (IS) militia, which started to expand terror operations to target the Coptic Christian minority to further pressure the government.
In April, IS-claimed bombings at two churches in Gharbiya and Alexandria northern provinces killed at least 47 and wounded over 120. A similar suicide bombing at a Cairo church in December 2016 killed at least 28 worshippers.
On Saturday, the IS also claimed responsibility for the anti-Coptic attack in Minya, which left victims from Minya, Beni Sweif and Giza provinces who all were heading to the monastery. Marco's father was one of them.
When Marco was asked what he would like to be in the future, he tearfully said nothing, but when he was asked about his message to the terrorists he said: "May God punish them!"
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 06:36:29|Editor: Liu
(L-R) European Council President Donald Tusk, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Garman Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. President Donald Trump, Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, British Prime Minister Theresa May and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker pose for a photo in the ancient Greek theatre of Taormina, Italy, on May 26, 2017. (Xinhua/Jin Yu)
By Eric J. Lyman
TAORMINA, Italy, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The Group of Seven (G7) summit in Sicilian town of Taormina ended up with an unusual note of discord, as the leaders of the world's biggest industrialized countries failed to come to terms on a common stance on climate change or trade.
The lack of agreement on key issues is unusual for the G7 context, where the final communique is written to reflect only areas where leaders had a shared consensus.
In part the talks were shorter than usual (two days instead of three) and in part because of the long efforts to find common ground on contentious areas, the communique was much less ambitious than in past years, totalling just six pages, compared with 36 for the communique from last year's summit in Japan.
U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly the main factor behind the disagreements. In response to the antagonistic role Trump played in Taormina, the Italian media coined the phrase "G6 plus 1," in lieu of "G7."
On climate, Trump refused to give his OK to language supporting the Paris Agreement on climate change. As a result, the final agreement read that the U.S. was "in the process of reviewing its policies on climate change and on the Paris Agreement," while Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Britain -- the other six countries at the summit -- affirmed a "strong commitment" to the Paris deal.
On trade, Trump claimed other countries were engaged in unfair trade practices that put the U.S. at a disadvantage. Without reaching an agreement, much of the language on trade was left out.
"This was the most challenging G7 summit in years," European Council President Donald Tusk said when the meetings concluded.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the talks as "very unsatisfactory."
"We had a situation of six members, or seven if you want to add in the European Union, standing against one," Merkel said. The European Union (EU) has a permanent observer status in the G7.
Trump was the only G7 leader who did not address the media in Taormina, choosing instead to visit with U.S. military personnel at the U.S. naval Air Station at Sigonella, around 65 km south of Taormina. The president's flight to Washington departed from the airbase instead of from the nearby airport at Catania, as with the other leaders.
There was agreement in some areas, most notably the efforts to confront terrorism, where leaders were galvanized by the deadly attacks in Manchester, Britain just before the start of the G7 talks. In his remarks from Sigonella, Trump said terrorism was a "bad threat to all humanity."
Leaders also agreed on the need to help find a resolution to the problems in war-torn Syria, to confront the rising threat from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and to provide aid to countries in need.
Host Italy pushed for a strong common stance on the issue of migration, an area where Italy suffers more than the other G7 nations because of the tide of migrants landing on the country's shores from conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. But again, the leaders failed to agree on what to say.
In response to a lack of action on migration, Oxfam International, an umbrella organization linking non-governmental groups, issued a statement reading, "Consensus crumbles at the expense of the world's poorest people."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-28 06:36:30|Editor: Yamei
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CAPE TOWN, May 27 (Xinhua) -- The 3rd International Chinese Health Care and Chinese Medicine Seminar was held in Stellenbosch University near Cape Town on Saturday, receiving warm response.
Four Chinese medicine practitioners from Guangdong University of Chinese Medicine gave presentations on how traditional Chinese medicine deals with coughing, hypertension, neck pain, headache, insomnia, and skin ailments like eczema, wart and psoriasis.
Some volunteers experienced treatment of acupunture, red-hot needle therapy and massage during the seminar.
The seminar was hosted by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) and co-organized by Confucius Institute at Stellenbosch University and South African Association of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture (SAACMA).
In his opening address, Kang Yong, consul general of the Chinese Consulate in Cape Town, said Chinese medicine advocates prevention, is eco-friendly and gaining more acceptance globally.
He expressed the hope that China and South Africa would pool resources and enhance coordination to advance traditional medicine around the world.
SAACMA Chair Rubin Rhode said South Africa and China both have long history of traditional medicine and that the seminar would deepen South African Chinese medicine practitioners' understanding of China.
Robert Kotze, co-director of the Confucius Institute at Stellenbosch University, said the seminar broadened local medical students' horizons and provided them with an alternative perspective different from Western medicine.
Shiloh Christian School is planning to host its first all-school reunion on June 9-10 in Bismarck.
The graduation is for those who have attended or graduated from Shiloh.
Shiloh Christian School is an interdenominational school for grades K12, and features preschool programming. Shiloh opened in 1978 with 47 students and has grown to become one of the largest independent Christian schools in a tri-state area, according to a news release from the school.
RSVPs are requested for planning purposes. Reunion space will be made available for the classes of 1997 and 2007. To request space, call the school at 701-221-2104 or email shilohinfo@shilohchristian.org.